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Arlene wraps both arms around them, kissing Damian's hair and Darlene's face as they cling to her. Damian sobs against her neck. Darlene grabs fistfuls of her shirt.

“You died!”

“I know.”

“We watched them bury you!” Darlene cries.

Arlene squeezes her eyes shut and kisses her forehead. “I know, baby.”

Damian's shoulders shake. “I couldn't feel you anymore.”

“I know.” Arlene cups the back of his head and kisses his hair. “But I'm here now. I love you. I love all of you so much.”

Arian squirms in my arms. Arlene looks at him, and her face crumples.

I kneel beside her and place him against her chest. She gathers him into her arms, kissing his forehead again and again. His tiny nose twitches before he presses his face against her.

Arlene closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Damian buries his face against her neck and does the same. Darlene presses closer, breathing her in.

Apple and cinnamon.

Their mother.

Arlene buries her face in Darlene's hair and inhales, then Damian's. She presses her nose against Arian's soft curls and breathes again, holding all three of them as close as she can.

I kneel behind her and wrap my arms around my family. Sparks dance between Arlene and me where our bodies touch. Sandalwood. Apple and cinnamon. The familiar scents of our pups. My wolf breathes with me, settling deeper with every inhale.

Ours.

"Ours."

Darlene pulls back enough to stare at Arlene's face. “How are you here?”

Damian lifts his head.

Arlene wipes the tears from Darlene's cheeks with her thumbs. “The Moon Goddess gave me one final chance.”

Damian's eyes widen.

Darlene grabs Arlene's cheeks. “You saw the Moon Goddess?”

A wet laugh escapes Arlene. “I did.”

“Did she bring you back?”

“Yes.”

Darlene throws her arms around her again. “Thank you, Moon Goddess!”

Arlene laughs through her tears, and the sound hits me straight through the chest. I close my eyes for half a second and listen. Her laugh. Her heartbeat. The pups crying and talking over each other. Sounds I thought I'd never hear together again.

My wolf settles beneath my skin. Mate home.

I press my face into Arlene's hair and breathe. "Mate home."

Nobody wants to go upstairs. Nobody wants to sleep. Nobody wants to move farther than an arm's reach from Arlene. So we don't.

We stay together on the couch until the pups decide the floor gives them more room to surround their mother. Damian keeps one hand wrapped around Arlene's arm. Darlene curls against her side. Arian sleeps against her chest. I sit behind my mate with my arms around her waist, my chest against her back. The familiar sparks keep dancing wherever we touch, and every one of them reminds me she's here.