I stood to the side and watched Perry as he tucked Jupiter into bed. He knelt at her bedside, the warm light of the side table lamp glowing off his face. He pulled the covers up to her chin and kissed her on the cheek.

"Goodnight, sweetie," he said.

"Goodnight, Daddy." She turned and smiled at me. "Goodnight, Arthur."

I crouched next to her. "Goodnight, Jupiter." She reached out and hugged me around my neck, and then kissed me on the cheek. I was stunned for a second; it was the first time she'd ever done anything like that.

"I love you," she said.

I smiled, and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I love you too, Jupiter," I said, and Perry rubbed my back. I couldn't help but be moved by Jupiter's tenderness.

"Isn't there something else you wanted to say, sweetie?" Perry asked her.

Jupiter pulled the covers up to her forehead and shook her head.

"Are you sure? I thought you told me there was."

"It's too scary!" she said from underneath the covers, and I laughed.

"What! Too scary?"

"Would you like me to tell Arthur for you?" Perry asked, and she shook her head again. "Well, come on. You should tell him, then. It'll make him happy."

Slowly, she lowered the covers back down to her chin and looked at me with shy eyes. "I hope you win the race," she said hesitantly, and then with decided commitment added, "I want you to be my Papa!"

My jaw dropped, and I scooped her up into a tight hug. "Thank you, Jupiter. It means a lot to hear you say that. No matter what happens, know that I'll be here for you. And I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that you, your daddy, and I will be together. Okay?"

"Okay," she said, and settled into her pillow. She looked content, and I pulled the covers back up to her chin.

"Get some sleep," I said, and we turned the light off and left her room.

Perry wrapped his arms around me, hugging me from the back. He nuzzled and kissed my neck, and I placed my hand on top of where his forearms crossed my chest. It felt so comforting to feel the movement of his breathing against my back, and the warmth and weight of his body on mine.

I'll never get tired of this feeling, I promised myself. What could be better than feeling his affection for me like that? Feeling the tight squeeze of his arms around me, holding me so close, pulling me in as tight as possible, like he was afraid to let me get away. It was intoxicating. It was everything. How could I live without this? I'd sacrifice everything to always have this.

He kissed my hair and rested his chin into the nape of my neck. His stubble tickled me, and I laughed.

"That was sweet," he said. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the vibrato of his voice being absorbed into my back.

"It really was," I agreed.

"She really loves you a lot. I think this is the first time she's felt like she has someone else she can count on. Someone in her corner."

"I love her too," I said, and I felt tears coming to my eyes. "I meant every word. I'm not going to let her down."

Perry's arms released, and I turned around to face him, wrapping my arms around his waist. I hugged him tightly to my chest, his head on my shoulder. He sighed, and I felt the warmth of his breath through my shirt. All vivid, wonderful, precious reminders that he was here with me. That we were together. What a beautiful thing! Not only to have been brought back together, but to have been fortunate enough to even exist at the same time in the first place. Now I couldn't stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks. We stood in silence, just holding one another. Perry took my face into his hands, and he brought his lips to my forehead, then the tip of my nose, and finally to beneath both of my eyes, kissing away my tears.

"I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you've done—what you're doing—for me." He kissed me, and I savored the taste of his lips on mine. It felt like this was everything I needed to live. I could survive on this moment; on his kiss and his touch.

"And I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you've given me," I said.

"What's that?"

"Love. I'd thought I'd never feel it ever again. But being with you and Jupiter, I feel alive again. Like my life has a purpose. Real purpose."

"Well, that's another thing I have to thank you for," he laughed. "I feel the same way."

We reclined onto my bed, with Perry sat up against the pillows. I laid my head into his lap, and he played with my hair, combing his fingers through it. I closed my eyes, relaxing into the moment. He rubbed his thumbs along my eyebrows and gently down the bridge of my nose. If I had my tail out, it would've been wagging hard. I sighed contently as he returned his fingertips to the top of my head, lightly rubbing them against my scalp. I felt like I was floating in a dream. Perry's scent surrounded me and the warmth of his legs cradled my head and neck, enveloping me in a cocoon of comfort and happiness.

"There's something that I want to tell you," Perry said. "But..."

"Tell me," I said, opening my eyes. He looked down at me and shook his head.

"I can't."

"What? Why not?"

He looked embarrassed. "Too scary," he said, and laughed.

I laughed with him. "Tell me." He grinned and covered my ears with his hands. His soft palms were warm against my cool earlobes. His mouth moved, and I pulled his hands away. "Hey. I want to be able to hear what you're telling me."

"Too late," he said. "You missed it."

I growled and reached back to tickle his sides. "Come on, spit it out." He grabbed my hands and locked them down at his thighs. He gazed down at me, smiling apologetically.

"I'll tell you later. When I'm ready."

"Why'd you mention it if you're not ready to tell me?"

He shrugged. "To give you something to look forward to for later."

I laughed and wrestled free from his grip, and twisted onto my knees to face him. "Damn you," I said, and pounced on him, pinning him back into the pillows. He laughed and wrestled against me as I nipped at his neck. I slid my hands around his waist and squeezed him tightly. He wriggled and kicked his legs, and tried to tickle my waist. "Tell me, tell me," I murmured into his neck.

"Later," he cackled as I licked his earlobe. He wrapped his thighs around my waist and in one quick motion, twisted me onto my back so that he was on top. "Okay?" he said, smiling down at me.

"Fine, if you insist." I slid my hand around the back of his neck and gently pulled his face down to me. We kissed, and he relaxed against me, resting his head on my chest. I held him against me, his head rising and falling with each breath. Everything felt so perfect. I didn't want to move from that position. I wanted to preserve the moment forever.

We stayed like that until we fell asleep, and drifted off into our dreams together.

* * *

"The White Tree Track called to confirm the race," Christophe told me the following day. "Everything is set."

"Good." I nodded. "Excellent."

"You look nervous."

I huffed. "No shit. The pressure is on."

"I've got another piece of news that might make you happy."

"What's that?"

He straightened his shirt in an attempt to look dramatic. "I also got a call today from the head of the White Tree Clan. The news is traveling through the pipeline. In support of your cause, they've offered to grant you exclusive after-hours practice time at the track."

My mouth dropped open. "Hounds of Hell. That does make me happy."

I'd been practicing my ass off at the abandoned track, which was out of standard, in disrepair, and was missing several of the standard obstacles that were at White Tree—ones that Gregor would've had tons of experience with from his home track. I'd told myself I'd make do with what I had, but it'd always been at the back of my mind. Without the ability to practice on a true championship track, I'd be at a great disadvantage.

Until now.

"And," Christophe said, "We've been reached out to by the Birch Mountain Clan. They own Ripclaw Performance, and have offered to sponsor maintenance of your bike. The Crescent Moon's allies are behind you, Arthur. The word is getting out."

I went outside to tell Perry. He was playing with Jupiter, the both of them in their wolf forms, chasing each other around in the forest that bordered the property. I leaned against a tree and watched them, enjoying seeing their happiness. Jupiter looked so carefree, the way she bounded and pranced around, enjoying her new ability. Her ears pricked up and she sniffed the air and then looked at me.

"Arthur!" she barked, hopping excitedly into the air. She sprinted at me, her tongue lolling out the side of her muzzle, and jumped into my arms. Shifter pups weren't exactly small, and she knocked me back onto my butt. "Come and play?" she asked, licking my face.

"Okay, okay," I said, laughing. Everything else in my head seemed to lose its importance at that moment. I just wanted to make Jupiter happy, to enjoy her laughter. I shifted into my wolf form and ran after her.

"Welcome," Perry said. "She's roped you in."

"So, what are we playing?"

"Chase," she said, hopping back and forth from forepaw to rear paw like a bucking horse. Then she took off into the trees, her ears flopping wildly as she ran.

"We'd better get her," I said to Perry, and the two of us sprinted after her, making sure to stay just behind her. I growled playfully and leapt at her, purposefully sailing over her and rolling across the ground. She giggled, ran up to me, and tugged at my tail with her teeth.

"I'm gonna catch you!" Perry barked, and he pounced at her. She yelped and bolted away, twisting around the trees. Perry followed after, laughing as she evaded him. I got up and ran to catch up, ducking back and forth to avoid the trees.

Perry nipped at the end of Jupiter's tail, and she shrieked and galloped faster. I charged ahead and yanked her up by the scruff of her neck, tossing her up into the air. I shifted back to my human form, and caught her as she fell.

"Got ya," I said. She giggled and shifted back to human form and hugged me around my neck. Perry shifted back too, and mussed up Jupiter's hair.

"You're getting used to your legs pretty quick. Aren't you, sweetie?"

"It's fun to run with them," she said. "I can run fast."

"You sure can," I said. "And you'll only get faster." I set her down, and she squeezed her arms around my leg and stood on my shoe.

"Run with me again, Papa?" she said. I blinked, surprised.

"Ah..."

"Arthur isn't your Papa yet, sweetie," Perry said gently.

"Why not?"

"Because he needs to win his race in order for us to be able to move here for good. Once that happens, then he'll be your Papa."

"What if he loses?" she asked, squeezing my leg tighter.

"I won't," I said, petting her head.

"I want you to be Papa now anyway," she said.

"Jupiter..."

"That's alright," I said. "Do you want to call me Papa? Will that make you happy?" She looked up at me and nodded, and I crouched down to her level, taking her two little hands in mine. "Then you can call me Papa. I don't mind. And I want you to remember that no matter what happens, you can always think of me as Papa. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good."

I stood up and mouthed, it'll be okay, to Perry. He looked worried, but reached out and touched my arm.

"Now, why don't you try and catch me, this time?"

Jupiter grinned. "Okay!"

"Let's go, Perry. Try and catch me."

I turned and sprinted away, shifting mid-step. Jupiter squealed and followed, with Perry close behind.

That evening, Perry and I went to the White Tree Track for the first night of training and practice there. We pulled up to the front of the gigantic, glimmering arena, and I realized that neither of us had been back here since the day this all started. It'd been Kota's Teller ceremony, a day meant for good fortune and fate. It seemed like some of that fate altering magic had been passed to me. I took his hand, and the two of us stood in a silent reverence for a moment, both of us contemplating what had brought us here, and brought us back together.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he asked. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to stop asking myself what would have happened if things had gone just a little differently that day. If I hadn't seen you."

"Nothing," I said. "Because I would've found you again anyway. Loch knew that you were back in town. He told me that day. He'd heard it from Dimitrius."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I definitely didn't expect to see you at the track. I didn't expect to see you that day. But you were on my mind, and I was planning on showing up at your family home to see if you were there. So, no matter what, fate meant for us to meet again."

"I didn't know that," he said. "You're right. I guess we had no choice in the matter, huh?"

"Nope. But I'm not going to get complacent, thinking that fate is on our side. I know what Gregor can do on that track."

Inside, we were greeted by one of the track managers, who showed us down to the garages. The arena was spectacularly impressive during its operating hours, filled with the noise of a stadium filled with people and the roar of the bikes, but it took an equally awe-inspiring state when it was empty. Workers picked through the stands, cleaning them, but otherwise we were the only people inside. It felt like being alone in a city. Having such silence in so huge a place gave it a mystical quality, like the temple that was not too far away.

"We have a database of records of the races run here," the track manager said. "If you wish, you can pull them up and run time trials against ghosts. The arena's system will network with your bike, and display a ghost racer of whoever you want to try running against."

"What does that mean?" Perry asked him.

"It means that Mr. Luna can practice against Gregor Houndfang's previous races," the manager said with a slim smile, obviously proud of his cutting-edge system.

I searched through the computer and found Gregor's records. I'd seen them before, but I still felt nervous looking at them. He was fast. Damn fast. He was a pro. I called up the race that I'd studied on my computer, and locked it into the track's system.

"Now what?" I asked the manager.

"Go to your bike," he said.

Perry took up his position at the monitor, and I jogged out to the track, dropping to my paws as my body shifted into wolf form. I drew in a deep breath, pre-visualizing what the race night would be like. The house would likely be packed. It wasn't a publicized event, but people knew who we were, and it was apparent that the reason for the challenge was spreading quickly by word of mouth. I smelled the lingering pang of burnt rubber and gasoline from today's races, and I could almost hear the roar of a crowd. Excitement coursed through my body. I was going to push my skills to the very edge. I was going to get better. And in two days, I was going to win.

I climbed into the cockpit of my bike and sealed the door, shrouding me in momentary darkness until the bike's electronics activated and the window illuminated with the heads-up display information. I locked my paws into the control ports, and lit up the engine. The bike shook to life, like a creature waking from an angry sleep.

"Monitor’s up," Perry said, through the radio. "This is crazy."

"What is?" I asked.

"This is my first time doing this on a proper system. Everything is so much more... overwhelming. And it literally looks like there's another bike on the track with you."

I looked to my right, and was surprised to see a shimmering, spectral looking bike waiting next to mine. It was the training system that the manager had mentioned. Despite all the years I'd raced at White Tree, I'd never had a chance to use something like this before. This was going to vastly improve my skill level. I could actually study Gregor's driving style up close, as if he were really on the track with me.

"Ready?" Perry asked.

The bike's systems flashed green: all safety and system checks completed. "Ready," I said.

"Countdown. On your marks."

The lights above the track flashed red, then yellow, and finally... green. I opened the throttle and shot forward like a missile, the arena around me streaking into a blur. For a moment, I was startled by the grip I had on the track, like my bike was latched onto the asphalt with glue. I'd gotten used to practicing at the abandoned proving grounds, riding on unmaintained track that made my bike feel like it was going to spin out at any moment. But that was a good thing. I'd done so many practice races there that I'd developed a much more delicate sense of control because of it.

I looked to my right and saw the ghost bike flying along right at my side. Come on, I thought. Let's do this.

By the end of the practice run, I was panting to catch my breath. My body shook with adrenaline, and I stumbled out of the cockpit onto wobbly legs. I'd expected the first run to not be so great, but I hadn't expected to get my tail kicked so fucking thoroughly. I'd kept up with Gregor's ghost run for the first half, even pulling ahead of him several times, but as soon as we entered into the major obstacles--the ones that the abandoned track didn't have—I completely fell behind, to the point where catching up was just a dream.

Perry ran over to me, and I collapsed onto the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Shift back. Cool down."

"No," I grunted. "It's just the first run. Just some water."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but he knew I was right. Time was really precious now. There'd be little room for rest this time.

I lapped up water from a watering station in the pit, and then trotted back to my bike, sealing the door behind me. I fired up the engine, settled into the controls, and narrowed my eyes on the track. Again.

"Watch your speed when entering The Dog's Eye," Perry said. "Don't rush it. If you rush it, you'll end up losing time trying to correct for small mistakes."

"Right," I growled. "Let's do this."