Moments of peace and quiet were few and far between for Kieran, and he was going to take what he could get. The day was hot, but with his feet hanging over the dock dangling in the cool water of the small lake, he didn’t mind it too much. The smell of the lake almost overpowered the scent of the forest, but when he breathed deep, he could still scent the richness of the pine trees and earth. Sometimes it still amazed him how, after nearly five years of living in the camp, he could still take comfort in the smell of the forest.

If he tried, he could hear the distant sounds of laughter over the wind blowing through the trees. The camp’s activities were in full swing still and he knew he would need to return before he was missed. He was finding it difficult to motivate himself to get up from his spot on the dock. Kieran loved the days of summer that were the perfect mixture of heat and cool winds, especially when he could soak in one of the many small lakes that dotted the property. Summer was the busiest time for the camp, and he didn’t get many opportunities to enjoy some peace and quiet.

The dock creaked beneath him and he looked over his shoulder to find Cole making his way toward him. His husband was dressed in a pair of loose shorts and flip-flops, having apparently forgone a shirt for the day. Cole wasn’t prone to accepting days off, but when the rest of the pack ganged up on him, he tended to bend. It always made Kieran smile to see the man so relaxed and willing to be so casual. Cole, despite all his stubbornness over it, was at least willing to commit to a day off when he was pushed into it, unlike Kieran.

“Slacking?” Cole asked as he settled himself next to Kieran.

“Taking a moment to enjoy the peace and quiet,” Kieran said.

Cole smiled as a whoop from somewhere in the woods cut through the quiet. “About that.”

Kieran chuckled, recognizing the camper’s voice who had shouted. “I think Sean and Brad are at it again. They’ve really let loose since they’ve come here, but I think Sean is almost ready, we’re going to have to start keeping a closer eye on him. I don’t really want to deal with him wolfing out in front of everyone.”

Cole nodded. “I’ll pass the word along, and send word to Artemis to let her know.”

After the continued success of the original camp, it had been Kieran who’d offered up the idea for another. In his mind, if they were doing so much good for the lost pups when they were adults, it would be even better to find them when they were younger. It had taken a few years, but eventually they’d been able to buy another chunk of land that was close but separate from the main camp, and opened up another retreat, but specifically for lost pups still in their teens. They were still sticking to the all male theme, but Artemis had started talking about opening up camps in the future that would be female focused.

“Think Brad will be next?” Cole asked.

Kieran thought of the two teenagers, and their sudden and close bond upon meeting one another. “I think if one goes, the other won’t be far behind. I’ll have to make sure to talk to Sean if he goes through his first change though, I don’t think those two hide much from one another. We can’t have him ruining the surprise.”

Cole chuckled. “Is that what you’re calling it?”

“No, that’s just one of the nicer ways some of them have described their first change,” Kieran said.

Cole smirked. “And what’s been your personal favorite?”

Kieran sighed. “Remember Luke? He described it as when his ‘soul came.’ I’ve never been able to rid myself of that mental image.”

Cole burst into laughter at Kieran’s pained expression. “You’re the one who offered to take over the new camp, you brought this on yourself.”

That wasn’t necessarily true, since it had been more or less thrust upon him. It had been his idea in the first place, so there’d been the expectation he would spearhead organizing the whole thing. After working and learning all he could while working in the original camp, Kieran had been confident in his ability to manage another camp on his own. It was also due in no small part to the fact that after a few years, there had been a growing tension between the twins and Kieran. As much as they had tried to cohabitate, their alpha natures were beginning to rub one another raw. Having a camp of his own to manage had given Kieran the space all the alphas needed. They were all a pack still, but Kieran was finally given a territory of his own to lead.

Cole poked his side. “Oh don’t get that look on your face, you love it.”

Kieran did, but not just because he finally had a space of his own either. He’d been thrilled to finally have the freedom to do what he pleased, but he’d found the work more rewarding. He never would have believed he would be skilled at working with anyone, let alone teenagers. The couple of years managing the camp for teens however, had done wonders to prove him wrong.

He had a far easier time dealing with others than he could remember ever having before. There were still those people who took badly to him, but Kieran hardly noticed it, and tended to chuckle at it when he did. He’d always avoided being around children and teenagers as an adult, believing that if adults were prone to being wary and hostile around him, he’d endure even worse at the hands of the younger generation. Learning to handle his werewolf nature had done a lot to improve his disposition and how it affected other people, but being truly happy and content had done even more.

Most of the teenagers who came into his camp reminded him a lot of the people he grew up around in his old neighborhood. They were rough and coarse, and they seemed to enjoy trying to get a rise out of Kieran whenever they could. Kieran wasn’t sure when he’d developed patience at their troublemaking, but he thought it had a lot to do with the fact that he understood where so much of their frustrations and anxiety came from. Though he’d had to be firm more than once with some of the more rowdy teens, he found that more often than not, letting them work it out of their system was the better option.

“What are you doing over here?” Kieran asked Cole.

“I wanted to see what you all were up to today, it was getting boring sitting by myself and Tristan is MIA,” Cole explained.

Kieran raised a brow. “Where’d he disappear off to?”

It wasn’t all that unusual for Tristan to be gone for days at a time. There were other groups of werewolves in the world who needed the kind of skills someone at the camp could offer. Tristan’s unique style of provoking a reaction from lost pups and more repressed werewolves grew in demand as the reputation of the camp spread. Tristan had started working with small groups or individuals as much as he worked within the camp. The latest trip he’d taken had been done as a favor to a friend of his, apparently there was a werewolf out there who was so repressed that he might as well have been a lost pup.

“From the sounds of it, he’s still dealing with the werewolf he was sent to help,” Cole answered.

“Still? Geez, who could tolerate having to deal with Tristan on a one on one basis for that long?” Kieran asked.

Cole laughed. “You do it all the time when he’s the only one over here to help you.”

“Yeah, but I’ve had years to get used to him. Some poor bastard who doesn’t even know him is going to end up trying to kill him,” Kieran said.

“If I heard Artemis right, Tristan is working overtime. By which I mean, he fulfilled his contract already and is hanging out with the guy he was helping before in a far more personal setting,” Cole said with a laugh.

“Isn’t he just like...a hit it and quit it sort of person? Is it a big deal that he’s spending more than a day or two extra?” Kieran asked.

Cole nodded. “I’ve never known Tristan to do more than have a bit of fun with someone and split. Maybe he finally found something in this Dyne guy to keep his interest. I hope so, someone needs to tie his ass down eventually.”

“Interesting name,” Kieran said.

Cole shrugged. “Variety is the spice of life. I’m sure Michael will be glad to have him come back around though. Poor guy doesn’t seem to have as much fun when Tristan isn’t around.”

“I still can’t believe there was nothing going on between them this whole time. I was so sure something was going on there,” Kieran grunted.

“You weren’t the only one, but I guess Tristan is just getting better at making friends nowadays,” Cole said.

Kieran snorted at the thought. “I wouldn’t go that far, but if he’s found someone who can keep up with him, more power to them. If that works out, we’ll have to start finding someone for Artemis and Apollo.”

“I don’t even want to imagine what sort of person would be able to keep up with Artemis, or who could read between the lines with Apollo. You ask me though, I think Apollo is seeing someone,” Cole said quietly.

Kieran looked at him in surprise. “No! Who?”

Cole shrugged. “No idea, but as far as I can tell, he’s been gone a little more often than usual. You get so used to seeing him quietly following Artemis around it’s weird not seeing him like I used to. I asked Artemis once, and all she did was tell me to mind my own business for once. Which, while rude and totally wrong in its insinuation that I’m nosy, told me it wasn’t pack business that had Apollo missing.”

Kieran laughed. “Did you just say you aren’t nosy?”

“I’m not!” Cole protested.

Kieran continued to laugh, trying to stifle it when Cole glared at him. “I’m sorry Cole but, that’s like saying Tristan isn’t a pain in the ass and Apollo isn’t quiet.”

“You want to sleep alone tonight, don’t you?” Cole asked.

Kieran leaned closer, kissing and nibbling the side of Cole’s neck gently. “You know I love you dearly, but you do love to know what’s going on. You just like knowing so you can help people better babe. It’s your big heart is all, she knows that, but she’s Artemis and she’s bound to give you hell about it.”

He could feel Cole’s smile. “You’re just saying that because you want to get laid.”

Kieran gave a rumble of pleasure as he kissed Cole’s jaw. “I always want to get laid, but it doesn’t make what I said any less true.”

Cole continued to glare at him, but Kieran could see it wasn’t genuine. He’d been in trouble a few times with Cole over the past few years, and was adept at spotting when his husband was truly pissed at him. Their arguments were few and very far between, but Kieran had learned plenty from them, namely how to spot the danger signs of having crossed a line with Cole. The past five years of his life had been an education in how to navigate a romantic relationship and its various perils, and sometimes he found himself scratching his head at the reaction of his more sensitive other half.

“I wouldn’t trade you for anything or anyone in the world,” Kieran told him with a smile, meaning it as he did every time he said something like that to Cole.

Cole turned to Kieran, kissing him. “How do you always manage to sound like the biggest sap while trying to tell everyone you’re about as romantic as a stump?”

“I still say that a stump has more romantic finesse than I’ll ever have,” Kieran said with a laugh.

“It’s not about finesse,” Cole whispered as he kissed Kieran again.

Kieran had grown up seeing relationships burst into life and blow apart just as quickly. He’d known how bad relationships could get, and even when they weren’t violent and abusive, they could quietly become sour and unhealthy. He’d never quite seen the point in involving himself with someone romantically if that was all he had to look forward to. His lack of success with romance had done little to assuage his bitter attitude toward it, and he’d never been one to invest himself in a relationship.

That was until he really tried to make things work with Cole, and he didn’t regret that decision for a moment. He found he sometimes wished he’d seen a relationship like the one he had with Cole while he was growing up. Everything in his life growing up seemed tainted by anger and bitterness, and sometimes it still amazed Kieran that there could be something as wonderful as his bond with Cole.

Cole peered up at him, squinting. “You’re getting that faraway look, what thoughts are you wandering off into now?”

Kieran chuckled, scooting Cole closer to him. “I’m just thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life.”

Cole cocked his head. “Okay, but what were you really thinking about?”

“Are you ever going to stop doubting me when I say you make me the happiest person in the world? Good lord, we’ve been together for years, and last I checked, we married one another last year. What do I need to do, erect a statue in your name?” Kieran asked with a laugh.

Cole bumped him with his shoulder. “Don’t be a shit.”

Kieran rocked with the nudge, still grinning. “I know I’ve said it before, but I’m going to keep saying it so long as it’s true. I’ve never been as happy with myself and my life as I’ve been since I decided to stay here with all of you. I’ve never loved a job like the one I have here, and sometimes I still wake up and am amazed to discover I have a family. And before you say it, no, I haven’t been sitting in the sun for too long.”

Cole grinned propping himself up so he could look Kieran in the eyes directly. “I wasn’t going to say that. I was only thinking about how different you were years ago, when you first came here. You seemed like a totally different person than you do now, but looking back on it, all the same traits were there. You were just…hiding them better.”

“I didn’t know they were there in the first place, but being here is what helped me to realize it and bring them out. Being here was more than just discovering I was a werewolf, it was about discovering who I was as a person. That’s why it doesn’t bother me when one of the kids starts causing trouble or giving me hell. There’s still so much they have to learn, about the world and themselves. That’s what we do here, help them to find that, and I get to do that while standing beside the people who matter most to me,” Kieran said wistfully.

“Wow, you really are in a weird mood today,” Cole smiled warmly.

Kieran eyed him. “Just because I’m feeling a little soft and squishy doesn’t mean I’m not going to jump you later.”

Cole let out a bark of laughter. “Now there’s the complete Kieran package, sweet and idealistic one moment, and then horny alpha the next.”

Kieran bent forward to kiss Cole soundly, smiling as he heard Cole give a happy hum at the gesture. Kieran’s fingers curled around Cole’s hips and drew him closer, feeling their mutual excitement grow between them. Kieran gave a low growl, feeling the noise draw a shiver up Cole’s lithe body. Five years of constantly being around one another, and kissing Cole still felt so much like the very first time they’d done it.

“Hey! Are you guys gonna keep making out or are we going to do something?”

The voice of Kieran’s resident troublemaker, Sean, drew them away from one another in surprise. Kieran glanced at the shoreline to see Sean and all the other teenage boys standing on the beach, smirking at the pair. Cole flushed and looked away, while Kieran frowned at the group.

“Don’t you have better things to do than spy on us?” Kieran asked.

Sean tossed a crop of his unruly dark hair out of his face. “Yeah, we’re supposed to be with you, doing whatever the hell you have planned for us. Or was your plan for you to grope Cole all day long?”

“If I want to grope my husband, I will, thank you very much,” Kieran told him.

Sean smirked. “I thought we were supposed to be the horny teenagers around here?”

Cole chuckled against Kieran. “He’s got you there.”

“I suppose I should probably get back to work, since apparently my bosses are calling me back,” Kieran told Cole.

Cole kissed him, earning another round of jeers from the crowd. “See you later?”

Kieran looked into Cole’s eyes, smiling warmly. “I promise.”