Tuesday morning, Abigail picked up her cell phone and dialed the number to the Pentagon that she knew would get her on the line with Caleb. She was due to have a busy day. Riley wanted to hang out for lunch, then Thomas wanted to take her house hunting. She wanted to do this first. She wanted to go with Thomas, her decision already finalized so he knew she was serious.

“Miss Harris,” Caleb answered brightly. “I’m glad to hear from you.”

“You won’t be in a moment,” she said, laughing. “I’m calling to tell you my decision.”

“Oh damn,” he groaned, the good mood immediately gone from his voice. “You’re turning us down?”

“I am,” she confirmed. “I don’t want to move to DC and I’m not willing to leave the Pack I joined earlier in the year.”

“I told the director that extending those rules to non-agents was going to cause a problem,” he mumbled. “Abigail, if there’s anything I can do to convince you otherwise, please tell me.”

“There isn’t,” she replied kindly. She was trying to let him down softly.

“Are you sure? He’s going to call you, you know. He wants you for the position. He doesn’t like not getting what he wants.”

“He’s an Alpha.” She laughed again. “If he didn’t call me and try to convince me, I would almost feel insulted. Just let him know my answer won’t change.”

“I will. Would you recommend someone else to take the job?” Caleb was tapping something on the other end. She could just hear it, like a pen onto a notepad. It annoyed her a little.

“No.” Abigail paced around the living room of the farmhouse. She was, thankfully, alone in the house. Her wolves had run off to get work and errands handled around town, leaving her with Fenrir. “Anyone you have to fill the department would be good. No one specific comes to mind as the best option. You’ll have a problem with people relocating, though, no matter what. We’ve all kept private patients over the years and it was allowed, but relocation would uproot our business.”

“The SSTF is a job, though.” She realized Caleb was looking for something of a debate.

“A job that doesn’t pay well for what we are and how long we live. How much we need to move around, what doctors we’re required to use. A job that requires us to see the worst.” Abigail sighed at that thought. “I love my work, Caleb, but not enough to throw away something else that’s wonderful in my life. I would take the job if I could come home to the beautiful things in my life. You are requiring me to leave those behind.”

“I’ll let you go, Miss Harris.” He was professional again, but she was hopeful he would listen to her and pass on her reasons to the director.

“It was an honor being considered,” she told him. “Have a nice day.” She hung up on him and put her cell away. One thing down. She was excited about it. It felt exhilarating to not know what the future of her career held. She had been so dedicated to it for so long because she loved it and she had nothing else.

Abigail whistled, and Fenrir jumped up from his bed. She was so impressed with how quickly Antonio was training the wolf-dog. They kept telling her that it was because they were wolves, he recognized that and accepted his position as lowest-ranking member of the Pack.

None of it really matter to her. She thought he was an exceptional dog and today he would be leaving with her.

“Ready to go, big guy?” she asked, looking down at him. “We’re going to see the Pride today. You liked them.”

He just gave her a woof back and seemed to dance around on all four paws. Abigail grinned and grabbed his leash from the kitchen counter then considered it. He didn’t really need it, but it was a safety thing if she needed it. She snapped it on, just in case, grabbed her purse and the keys to Thomas’ truck, since she had finally turned in the rental. Thomas was riding in his gorgeous blue sports car, the one that she hadn’t yet gotten to even sit in, and she was waiting for her car to ship from LA. He’d offered her his truck for the week she would be waiting on her car, noting that the weather was finally nice enough for him to drive his car.

Abigail helped Fenrir into the truck and left the farmhouse. The wolf-dog sat patiently in the passenger’s seat, tongue lolling out in a goofy expression. She chatted aimlessly to him about absolutely nothing. Asked him if he was excited to see everyone, if he was going to be nice to Star, Riley’s cranky tripod cat.

When she made it to the Kingson Estate, the massive mansion that loomed over anyone who was driving up, Abigail laughed at Zachary and Riley waiting on the front porch. When she parked, the first thing she did was open Fenrir’s door and watched the massive dog jump out and run for Zachary. Abigail watched Zachary’s face, normally set in a hard cranky glower light up like a Christmas tree. It reminded her of the Pride’s youth.

“How are things?” she called as she got out. “Fenrir missed you, it seems.”

“Good,” Riley laughed, walking out to her. She hugged the cheetah after she closed and locked the truck. “How are things with you?”

“Oh, you know, turned down my dream job today.” Abigail said it with humor, but Riley’s face morphed. She hadn’t taken it as a joke.

“What?” Riley hissed, but not angrily. It was a low, shocked hiss that had Abigail shrugging back.

“I didn’t want it.” She took a moment to explain why, the easy reason. Moving to DC, leaving the Pack. By the end, Abigail and Riley were inside, sitting at the kitchen bar, watching Zachary and Fenrir wrestle on the floor.

“I’m glad you thought about the guys in that decision.” Riley chuckled, nodding appreciatively. “Seriously. You deserve them.”

“You know, it’s not just them. It’s you, too. And that.” Abigail nodded to Fenrir and Zachary, now being watched by Brenton and Andrew. Before Riley could say anything, Troy and Gabe walked in and started taking bets. It wasn’t like Fenrir was going to beat Zachary, but it was still a humorous sight.

Riley turned away from her men playing with Fenrir, a strange look on her face. “They want a dog now,” she whispered, looking at Abigail like it was her fault.

“I have nothing to do with that,” she retorted, pointing at the scene.

“You brought him.” Riley crossed her arms.

“I couldn’t leave him at home by himself,” Abigail reminded her.

“He is a sweetie.” Riley sighed, looking back to the scene. “They all hate my cat.”

“Your cat hates all of them.” She tried to contain the smile. It was true.

“My…you know, I’m tired of arguing about it. Yes, she gives all of them a hard time but not me.” Riley groaned, shaking her head. “I get it.”

“You haven’t shown me the ring yet,” she said slyly, changing the topic before anyone else could hate on the little cat Riley loved so much.

“Oh shit. You haven’t seen the guys’ rings either!” Riley grinned and brought her left hand up. Abigail leaned over and looked over the stunning gold band with its four stones. After that, the guys realized what they were doing and showed her all of theirs as well. She figured out the theme quickly. Brenton’s was just gold with no stones. It matched his eyes. Zachary’s gold band had a small sapphire in it. Gabe’s emerald matched his eyes. Troy’s diamond was as colorless as his mercury eyes and silver hair. Andrew’s ruby was as warm as he was.

Riley’s ring had all of them.

Abigail thought it was the most touching thing she’d ever seen.

“It’s not like I can legally marry all of them, you know?” Riley whispered, as the guys went to take Fenrir out back. “And I was never going to choose one to marry over the others. I don’t even like weddings.”

“So…”

“So they schemed to get these rings for us, while I schemed with them to change our names. Different things for different reasons, but…it came together pretty perfectly. Brenton kept me in the dark on the rings. I kept him in the dark about the names.”

“Zachary, Andrew, Troy, and Gabe knew both?” Abigail smiled at the thought.

“Yeah. Apparently, they were keeping all sorts of secrets.” Riley snorted, rolling her eyes.

“I’m so happy for you,” Abigail told her, watching the cheetah look towards the backdoor and the windows to their backyard and woods. She turned as well and smiled at the sight Riley was watching. They could see the guys come in and out of view, playing tug-of-war with Fenrir and tag after that.

“Me too,” Riley whispered. She saw the young woman’s eyes get teary. “I love them so much, ya know? I never thought I would get a forever like this.”

“I know what you mean,” she empathized.

“You do,” Riley laughed, wiping her eyes. “How is that going?”

“I’ll tell you more…tomorrow,” Abigail replied. “I’m having an important talk with Thomas today.”

“Oh, good luck,” Riley huffed. “I’ll be waiting on bated breath. How are other things? You have a pregnant sister, how’s she? I never ask about your family.”

“I haven’t heard from her, but unless something went wrong, I wouldn’t hear about it.” Abigail chuckled. “So she must be doing fine. Let me text her and see what she says.” She sent a quick ‘how are things’ to her sister as Riley got up to get them both something to eat.

“I have pie from the diner,” Riley told her. “I don’t care if you’re on a diet or something, you’ll eat it.”

“Oh, okay.” Abigail wasn’t sure how to respond. She blinked several times, wondering where that came from.

“I made the pie,” Riley admitted, smiling. She must have noticed Abigail’s reaction to her declaration. “Andrew said I did a great job. I’m proud of it.”

Abigail laughed and took a bite. It was cherry pie, a staple, and it was delicious. Abigail moaned at the taste that exploded in her mouth. She nodded, taking another bite. She wasn’t on a diet and she was thankful for it. This pie was fantastic.

“I have a second one…if you want to take it to the guys,” Riley offered, looking a little insecure.

“The Pride?” Abigail frowned.

“No. The wolves.”

“Oh!” She nodded quickly. “Yeah, I can definitely take it to them. They will be all for it. So what’s our plan after pie?”

“Our nails? We haven’t gotten them done in a little while. I enjoy doing that with you.”

Abigail thought about it and shook her head.

“That’s my thing,” Abigail said. “If I’m going to stay here in Wild Junction, let’s do a you thing.”

“A ‘me thing’?” Riley looked confused. “Abigail. I just got my clit pierced. You don’t want to do ‘me things’.”

She coughed, choking on a bite of the pie at that. There were a lot of things she’d been expecting, but that hadn’t been one of them. “Oh,” she finally got out.

“Yeah. Oh. I did it last night. My guys are a bit upset we can’t have sex for a few weeks while it heals, but why not? They’ll enjoy it when it’s healed, and so will I,” Riley explained, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Are there any less…painful things you like to do?” she asked cautiously.

“Uh…ride my motorcycle? Paint.” The cheetah looked thoughtful. “Have any tattoos?”

“That’s painful,” Abigail reminded her.

“Damn,” Riley sighed. “We could get our hair done?”

“I’m waiting on mine to grow out,” Abigail informed her.

“Yeah, I just took off a couple inches to help with split ends,” Riley sighed. “This is hard.”

“We could just turn on some bad rom coms and eat pie?” Abigail offered, shrugging.

“You know what?” Riley nodded. “Let’s fucking do that. Come on. We can steal the den and the guys can keep Fenrir.” Riley picked up the pie and Abigail took their plates. She followed Riley back to the mansion’s den. There were lush leather couches and Abigail took the middle one with Riley. She put their plates on the coffee table in the middle, and Riley put the rest of the pie next to it. “We’re going to eat all of this.”

“Yes, we are,” Abigail confirmed, not feeling even the slightest bit guilty. “Let’s just hope it’s enough so I don’t eat the other one too.”

“Oh, damn.” Riley laughed at her. “You like the pie, I’m thinking.”

“Love it, obviously,” Abigail scoffed. “Turn on a movie. I can stay for one, maybe two.”

“What else do you have going on today?” Riley asked, falling on the couch next to her with the remote.

“House hunting,” she chuckled. “Somewhere I can get away from the wolves and see my patients.”

“There’s an open space on the square right now. You should check that one out.”

“But can I live there?” Abigail brought her eyebrows together.

“Most of the buildings on the town square have apartments in the top. The owners live there normally, like Joe lives over his grocery store.”

“That’s an idea,” Abigail conceded. “I would assume there’s no yard for Fenrir.”

“No, there wouldn’t be, but if you have him there for a night, it should be fine.” Riley hit play and the movie started. “Just an idea.”

“You have a lot of them,” Abigail mentioned.

“Yeah, but this one didn’t involve burning anything down,” Riley joked.

“I’m so glad you’re also in on that joke,” Abigail muttered. “You all just think it’s so funny that you set a house on fire.”

“You’ll notice people don’t fuck with me, either,” her best friend pointed out.

Abigail didn’t have a response to that. There really wasn’t one. Riley was the type of woman who would raze the earth to protect those she loved, and Abigail figured every shifter on the planet knew it. Riley put her foot down; she drew the line and dared others to cross it and suffer the consequences. She was willing to go through with every single one of her threats. She was willing to play dirty.

“I wish I was as strong as you sometimes,” Abigail declared. She did. Then her father would never try to push her into a life he’d accept. The SSTF would have listened to her years ago and not in hindsight. She would have admitted how she felt to the guys earlier.

“You are strong,” Riley whispered. “Sometimes I wish I didn’t need to be scary to be heard. You don’t need to terrify people to get them to listen to you. You just are who you are. People take notice of the doe who’s unafraid of the world of predators around her. We’re strong in different ways.”

Abigail looked at the amber eyes that watched her. They shared a moment of silence. They were two very different women, but she knew they were also kindred spirits in some way.

“You have to be strong to love a lot of people,” a male voice cut in.

Abigail looked up and saw Brenton watching them from the door. “Riley, beautiful, Zachary and I are heading out to Denver for a couple of meetings.”

“Oh damn,” Riley groaned, standing up. Abigail looked back to the movie to give them privacy. “Be safe.”

“Of course,” Brenton whispered. “Love you.”

“I love you too. Zachary going to come say goodbye?”

“I’m here,” Zachary’s gruff tone answered. “Love ya, baby girl.”

“You too, cranky,” Riley chuckled softly. “Go. See you tomorrow.”

Abigail heard the door click closed and Riley sat back down next to her.

“He’s right, you know,” Riley finally murmured, pulling her legs up onto the couch. “It’s not easy loving so many people. We do.”

“We do,” she agreed.

“Ah, so you do love them,” Riley said mischievously. “I was wondering if you were going to tell me today.”

“It’s obvious that I love them,” she mumbled, keeping her eyes on the movie.

“And?”

“Thomas hasn’t said it back,” Abigail told her. “James and Antonio have though, which gives me hope I’m not screwing this up by turning down the job with the SSTF.”

“He does,” Riley said decidedly. “He’s too good not to love you. He’s a great man. He’s the older brother I’ve never had.”

“I like to think so,” Abigail giggled. “I’m going to let him say it though. No reason to rush.”

“See? Strong. You’re willing to wait on him.” Riley elbowed her. “Now let’s commiserate over our love of our men by eating too much pie and watching bad romances.”

“I love that idea.” Abigail laughed. “Oh, telling my family about all of this is going to be awful.” Abigail hadn’t even thought about it.

“Oh shit,” Riley gasped. “You haven’t?”

“Not really?” Abigail chuckled weakly. “Oh man. I don’t think I’ve really told Karli. They are going to freak. Three men, all wolves.”

“Fuck ‘em,” Riley spat out. “It’s what I say when Keith sometimes gets weird. He’ll deal. This is my life. My love. My future. Tell them and move on from it.”

“Good idea,” Abigail agreed. “I should do that.”

“You really should,” Riley repeated back to her. “Speaking of, has your sister texted you back?”

“No,” Abigail snorted. “It could take days.”

“Okay then. Back to pie and bad movies.”

“Definitely.” Abigail would do the family thing after she talked to Thomas.