The day before the race, Perry and I took a walk around the Luna property with Jupiter in the lead, sniffing around the trees and bushes. She was still enjoying the novelty of her wolf form, and it seemed like she was spending more time shifted than not. Perry walked closely by my side, his fingers intertwined with mine. I did what I could to keep my mind present, to enjoy this moment with them. It was hard not to find myself back at the track, analyzing the races in my head. Do I enter this turn at this angle? Or just slightly less? This speed? Gregor seemed to respond this way...

"Do you recall the time we first met?" Perry's soft voice called me back from the madness. I looked at him, and he returned an inquisitive glance and began to swing my hand playfully.

"The very first time?" I asked.

"The very first time."

All thoughts and anxieties of tomorrow melted away as my thoughts drifted back in time. The White Tree Track was at the center of it all.

"I do," I said. It was a memory I'd pushed out of my head for the past thirteen years, along with all the others, so I was surprised how clearly I could recall it now. It filled me with a tingle of nostalgia. "I was in pre-academy," I said, "hardly the same wolf I was today. I was at the White Tree Track watching the races, and I snuck down to the bike bays for a hope at a peek at wolf-cycles. That's when I saw you. I noticed you because you were holding a bag with the Sycamore Creek school logo, and I wanted to know who else at my school was interested in wolf-cycles. I introduced myself to you, and we talked about the bikes."

"Talked?" Perry laughed. "You mean, argued? We disagreed on practically everything! You said the 486z 'Claw' was superior to the 'Vector' model because of its fuel system. Our debate got so heated that we got kicked out of the pits!"

"Okay, you remember this better than I do, apparently," I said, laughing. "I remember having a great conversation with you about the bikes, getting so involved we were asked to leave, and then continuing it all the way back up to the stands."

"People were annoyed because we were blabbing while the races were going on, yelling over the sound of the engines."

"I remember none of this," I admitted. "I do remember the feeling of wanting to keep talking to you, though. Of really having a lot of fun talking to you."

"You found me the next day at school. I didn't realize you'd seen my bag, I was wondering how this weirdo had found me at my school."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes! I had no idea."

"But we became friends after that."

"Best friends," he amended. "Couldn't get you away from me."

I smiled, remembering. "It wasn't long before I had a huge crush on you. Huge. I was afraid to ruin our friendship, so I didn't say anything."

"You were just shy," Perry said, poking me in my side. "If I'd had a crush on you at that time, I would've said something."

"You didn't have a crush on me?" I asked, with feigned shock.

"I grew up with the idea that I already belonged to an alpha. It's odd to think I actually felt proud about it back then. My parents had convinced me it was something to look forward to. I was pretty prissy about it, if I recall..."

I nodded. "You were sort of cold about your feelings. You didn't let people get close to you."

"I guess it was a defense. I knew I was promised to Gregor, so I never gave romance a thought. I always just believed it was something that wouldn't happen for me. What a shock, when I realized I was falling for you."

I nodded, silently. I knew he'd struggled, but it was a story he'd never told me.

"It felt like nothing made sense. How could my parents do this to me? That was all I could think. How could they imprison me like this? I wasn't supposed to fall in love with anyone else. I was supposed to marry Gregor, and I would fall in love with him. The shit I'd imagined about him, what I fantasized it'd be like. It makes me want to throw up. I'd been convinced that I was lucky, being arranged to him. I was in denial about it for a while. I didn't want to admit to myself that I could actually be feeling something for you. I considered breaking off our friendship so many times."

"You tried," I said. "Our last year at Sycamore. You went cold on me, all of a sudden."

"I'm sorry I did that to you," he said, squeezing my hand. "I thought I would be saving myself, when I did that. It was stupid, and selfish. And I realized very quickly that trying to break things off was a lost cause. I was already in deep."

"That whole thing gave me courage," I said. "I realized I shouldn't be afraid of what would happen. I was going to lose you anyway. And almost losing you as a friend, I realized I'd much rather lose you as a lover."

"It gave me courage too," said Perry. "It was a catalyzing moment, wasn't it? And then we both planned to tell each other we were in love on the same day."

I laughed. "Fate has always had a way of fucking with us, I guess."

He stopped and tugged me close to him, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I have something to tell you. Two things, actually."

"Oh?" I kissed him on his forehead. "Is it the thing? You aren't afraid anymore?"

"I'm still afraid. But I'm ready to tell you. Are you ready to hear it?"

"Of course."

He brushed my hair back, and he smiled, his eyes sparkling. Was he crying? I rubbed the corner of his eye with my thumb, curious about what could be making him feel this way.

"I just wanted to say," he announced, straightening the front of my shirt, "that... I love you."

I laughed. "I know that. I love you too."

"And! And, even though Gregor has been my husband for thirteen years... You have always been my mate."

My heart caught in my throat. "You know I feel the same way," I said. "Always."

"And the other thing. It's a big one."

"Okay."

"I'm pregnant."

It took me several seconds to comprehend what Perry had just said to me. Pregnant? I was so shocked, the possibility that I might be the father hardly even entered my head, until he said to me, "It's yours."

I stammered, trying to make sense of it. "But, it's only been like, a week. Is it possible?"

He nodded. "I can tell. When I shift, I can sense it. And I know without a doubt that it's yours, because, well... You're the only one it could be."

My head was spinning. "Hounds of Hell," I said, stunned. "We're going to have a baby..."

Perry and I hadn't taken the precaution of protected sex, so it really shouldn't have been a surprise. He was pregnant with my child.

"Are you... okay?" he asked, looking concerned. "I thought it was important to tell you before the race. I didn't want to keep it from you."

"I'm fine, Perry," I said, shaking away the shock. "I just... We're going to have a baby." I laughed and hugged him. "We're going to have a baby!"

Jupiter pranced over and sat down at our feet, her tail wagging. "Why are you crying, Papa Arthur?" she asked.

"You're going to be a big sister soon," I told her.

Her tail wagged furiously, and she shifted back into human form and jumped up into my arms. Perry laughed and hugged the both of us. I was overwhelmed; it just didn't feel real. We were going to have a baby. Regardless of what happened, Perry and I were bound together. For a brief moment, the whirl of happiness was replaced by a sharp fear. Our situation had become infinitely more complicated. Now, more than ever, I had to win that race.

I could see that same glimmer of uncertainty in Perry's eye. "We're going to be okay," I told him. "I'll make sure of it. This baby will be yours and mine, okay? No one will come between our family. No one."

That night, I couldn't sleep. I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts back on the track. Now, the news of my child had joined the thoughts of tomorrow's race. Perry stirred and nuzzled his face into my neck.

"I can hear you thinking," he said, his voice gravelly with sleep. "Can't fall asleep, huh?"

"I didn't expect I'd be able to," I said. "Tomorrow is the most important day of my life."

"Mine too," he said.

"Our lives," I said.

"No matter what happens tomorrow," he said. "I know we'll find a way to be together. Do you know why? Because we're mates."

I nodded, silently.

"I think I know a way to help us sleep," he said. "It's tried and true."

"How's that?"

In the dark, I felt his soft breath on my neck, and the gentle tickle of his lips. Then, the rustle of the sheets as his hand slipped underneath the waistband of my pajamas.

* * *

I looked out the car window as Stephen drove Perry and I to the White Tree Track. Grey clouds were rolling across the sky, casting the world in a solemn grey haze. I didn't necessarily believe in omens, but it wasn't exactly an uplifting feeling.

"Looks like rain," Perry said. "That wasn't expected."

"No," I said, absently. He touched my leg.

We pulled out of the private access highway into downtown Wolfheart. I saw the impressive dome of the temple off in the distance, and asked Stephen to make a quick detour.

"Making an offering for luck, sir?" he asked.

"I think I'll need all the help I can get," I replied, but there was another reason I wanted to stop there. "We'll just be a couple minutes," I told him as we pulled into the parking lot. "Keep the car running."

"Yes, sir."

Perry and I hurried inside. One of the priests shuffled by, swinging a silver incense holder, the grey-red incense smoke flowing out of the intricate geometry cut into its sides. He stopped and turned towards us. I nodded to him respectfully, and he held up an open palm, and drew his hood to his shoulders. He was half shifted, his face part wolf, part man.

"Arthur Luna and Perry Houndfang," he said in a low voice.

"Master?" I said. I wasn't expecting to be addressed.

He shuffled slowly over to us, his hands clutched at his waist. The incense holder dangled in front of him, giving the impression that he was drifting on a cloud of smoke.

"It is a day of great importance to you both," he said, and Perry and I exchanged a curious glance.

"Yes, it is," Perry said. "How did you know? Have you seen something in our futures?"

The priest chuckled, a low and dry sound. "No," he said. "Your challenge isn't exactly hidden knowledge. Word has been going around. We have a bet going, amongst the priests. I hope you win. Otherwise, I'm going to be out a fair sum of money."

I snorted a laugh. "Well then maybe you can give us a blessing for the race. And another, too."

After he made an offering for us for the race, he took us to the fertility shrines and assisted us in a prayer for our child. Perry and I shifted into our wolf forms and touched noses to the tree. I closed my eyes, picturing the spark of life that had started to form inside Perry.

For this child, I thought.