After the gym and a hot shower, I sat back down on my bed and watched the puppies play with one of their new toys. They had a million different toys that the twins had found for them, but of course they both wanted the same one. I laughed and played with them for a little while before I decided to go find Caleb and see if he wanted a lunch break.

Caleb opened the door with a grin this time when I knocked. “Hey, Caleb!” I greeted him. The puppies jumped up and down to get his attention until he crouched down to give them some affection. He looked up at me with a smile. “What have you been up to today?”

“Nothing much,” I told him. “I was just checking on you to see if I could interest you in some lunch?” Caleb grinned enthusiastically. “Absolutely!”

I laughed and led the way downstairs. “What are you in the mood for?” I asked him.

“Oh no, Anna,” he told me with a sweet smile. “You have already made me food multiple times, now it’s my turn to return the favor.”

I was surprised but sat at the kitchen counter when he asked me to do so and watched him with curiosity. “Is there anything you won’t eat?” he asked me as he gazed into the fridge.

“Mushrooms and Brussels sprouts,” I told him very seriously.

“Mushrooms, huh?” he asked teasingly.

“What are you thinking of making?” I asked. The suspense was killing me.

“Someone’s impatient.” He smirked. “How do you feel about soup and grilled cheese?”

“I love it!” I told him with a huge smile.

He turned to me seriously. “I do have to warn you that the only soup I know how to make comes out of a can.”

I giggled. “Totally fine with me.”

“I love your laugh,” he told me.

I blushed, embarrassed. I didn’t know how to respond, so I changed the subject. “So how does one become a tech expert for a pack of wolves?” I asked.

“Why, do you have your eye on my job?” he teased me.

“No way!” I laughed.

He told me about his past as he cooked on the stove with dramatic flourishes and kept me laughing.

He had grown up in a pack that did not buy in too much to modern technology. Growing up, he had spent what little money he could earn on his own on tech equipment. “My pack-master thought the computer was a passing phase,” he told me with a laugh.

I grinned. I couldn’t imagine the computer or technology going out of style. So much of what we did was so dependent on technology that it was closely woven into our lives. “So, what does he think now that the world is so dependent on tech?” I asked Caleb.

“Oh, he still thinks people will one day decide they want to go back to life before cell phones.”

“I have a really difficult time imagining that.”

“Yeah, I was more than happy to get out of the pack when I joined the Air Force.”

“Weren’t you worried that you would be exposed as a wolf?” I asked him.

“Nah.” He plated both the grill cheeses and presented mine with a bow and a flourish.

“Why, thank you, sir,” I said with a giggle.

“I’ve never had a problem keeping the wolf side of myself under wraps.”

“But what about blood testing? Or deployments?” I asked as he placed a bowl of soup in front of me. I enthusiastically picked up my spoon and took a bite.

“They just type your blood. Plus, we have people to keep anyone from getting curious or asking questions like that. The council has an entire team dedicated to keeping our kind a secret. It’s not fun to stay in human form for long periods of time, but you can get through it as long as you have other outlets”

“Huh.” I thought about that. “So, did you meet Austin in the military?”

“No, I got out after my first four years and used my GI bill to go to college. When I was in my senior year here at Northern Peninsula University, Austin recruited me to the pack.”

“We must have been students there at the same time,” I told him. “I wonder if we ever crossed paths and didn’t realize it.”

“Definitely not. I would have remembered you if I had passed by you at a party or something.”

I blushed. I had not used my college years to party. I had been really focused on studying, working, and keeping my scholarships. I was a huge dork and had only been to one party in my life. It had not gone well at all, but I really did not want to ruin my good mood by thinking back to that mistake.

Caleb kept me entertained with telling me stories about his awkward days in college and trying to fit in at parties. I really wished I had known him back then; my college years would have been much better than the years of isolation and loneliness I had felt as an outsider.

I finished up the last bite of my lunch as Caleb told me about a frat that had tried to hire him to hack into the university system to change their grades so they could keep their charter.

I just shook my head. “I’m glad you were smart enough to turn them down. I can see how the money would be tempting for a college student.”

He nodded. “If I had gone to college right out of high school, I might have been desperate enough to fit in that I would had done it. My years in the Air Force gave me discipline and the self-confidence to always do what’s right, regardless of peer pressure.”

I smiled. Caleb was a really awesome guy. “It seems like Austin really knows how to find good pack members. Everyone I have met so far is one of the good guys.”

Caleb agreed. “He’s pretty selective. He has gathered people from all different parts of the country and all different walks of life, but the one thing he looks for in everyone is honesty, integrity, and loyalty.”

I nodded. I could definitely see those characteristics in everyone that I had met so far. Even James, I smirked to myself.

“What’s so funny?” Caleb asked.

“I was just thinking that it must be difficult to get anyone approved by James. I can’t imagine him approving 50 different people.”

“James is definitely a hard-ass, but he trusts Austin’s judgment. If Austin approves of someone, James lets them in with a warning and a plan of supervision.”

“He hasn’t said anything to me about a plan of supervision.”

“He also hasn’t let you leave the house,” Caleb said pointedly.

I nodded. “So, what’s going to happen once I have to start living my life again?”

“Do you think you can go back to how things were before?”

“No, I don’t think I can. I didn’t realize how much of life I was missing out on. When I look at going back to my life the way it was before it just seems…empty.”

Caleb nodded. “I felt the same. I had always been on my own and had always felt like an outsider. Then Austin let me into the pack on a trial basis and my life changed. I suddenly had other people to support me and care about me. If I didn’t leave my room for a day, I had someone knocking and asking if I was okay or bringing me food.”

He smiled at me. “You might not realize it, but you fit in here.”

“I don’t feel like I have anything to offer,” I told him sadly.

“You’re the heart. You bring us all together and turn us from a group of guys doing the best they can into a family.” He smiled at me.

“I don’t know,” I said hesitantly. “You guys already seem like a family without me.”

“Do you think any of us would have insisted on ‘family dinners’? But I think that was something that all of us craved deep down. We all want to belong and be part of something larger than ourselves.”

Caleb was smart. I wondered if he were right. Could I contribute something valuable to the pack?

“What about pack meetings? Don’t you guys have male bonding time?”

He laughed no. “It’s more like a cross between a business meeting and, hmmm, what do you call it in the Navy?”

“Quarters?”

“Yes!”

I was suddenly struck by an idea. “How would Austin feel about a weekend BBQ, with the whole pack invited? Not like a ‘mandatory fun day’; just a casual ‘if you are free, you should come by’.”

“I think that’s an awesome idea,” Caleb told me encouragingly. “I know a lot of guys would come because they want to meet you.”

I was starting to get more excited. “We could make it like a pot luck. We could have guys bring meat they want to grill or chips or drinks and just hang out here in the house or around the pool.” I took a moment to envision that and had a smile creep over my face.

Caleb also had a warm smile. “I think Austin would like that. I think he wants the pack to be more like a family but doesn’t know how to get the guys to buy into that. We have a lot of wolves that were once lone wolves and are nervous about gatherings.”

“Aren’t lone wolves joining a pack rare?” I asked curiously.

Caleb nodded. “Yeah, Austin takes it on a case-by-case basis.”

He hesitated. “Have you met Alex and Tony?”

“Yeah, what’s their story?” I asked him. I was curious, Alex and Tony had both helped with the medical treatment I had given to Robbie, and they both seemed like good guys. Austin had also mentioned that they had spoken well about me to other pack members, so it seemed like they liked me, too.

Caleb cleared his throat and looked down at his empty plate. “Tony had Alex with a human woman.”

My jaw dropped. Alex was only half-wolf?

He was just like Evelyn, with one foot in both worlds.

Caleb continued. “The pack-master wanted Alex put out of the pack when it became obvious he would never change into a wolf. Tony refused, he took his wife and son and left the pack.”

“Oh, wow. That must have been really hard for them.”

Caleb sat his soup bowl on top of his plate and reached out for both of mine. “The pack-master didn’t take it well. He retaliated by killing Tony’s wife.”

I was horrified. “That’s awful!”

Caleb looked sad. “Tony and Alex have been on their own for the last ten years. They were reluctant to be a part of a pack, but Austin promised Alex a safe place to live. I think Tony only agreed because he was tired of hiding and worried he couldn’t protect Alex on his own.”

My heart warmed, thinking of how Austin was giving good people fresh starts. “I like Alex and Tony. I’m glad they are here,” I told Caleb.

Caleb smiled back at me and then stood to take our dishes to the sink. “Me, too. Alex is a cool kid. He wants to go to school to be a nurse.”

“That’s awesome!”

“Yeah, Austin offered to pay his tuition if he gets into nursing school and keeps his GPA up. He does the same for the twins when their GI Bill doesn’t cover everything.”

I was surprised. Austin seemed like he really went above and beyond what the usual pack-master did to take care of his pack.

“How did Austin meet the twins?” I asked curiously. There was so much that I did not know about them, and I really wanted to know their story.

“They came with Cody,” Caleb told me. “Cody was in the Marines with their father; they were like brothers. Cody and Mark spent most of their time together on deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mark had no idea what the twin’s mother was doing to them.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” Caleb responded.

“So, where is their father?”

“He committed suicide. He came back from Afghanistan pretty messed up. He found out his wife had been sleeping with their pack-master and other males in the pack the entire time they were married. She told him the twins weren’t his and that she wanted him out of the house and out of the pack.”

“Oh my god. I can’t imagine.” No wonder the twins had issues with trusting females.

Caleb nodded empathetically. “It was just too much for him. He shot himself.”

“Shit.” I stared down at my plate.

“Yeah.” Caleb sighed heavily. “They were lucky Cody took them in.”

“So how did Cody get the twins?” I asked nosily.

“They were angry with their mother and tried to run away. Their mom wouldn’t take them back, so Cody kept the twins with him when he could and got out of the military to take care of them. They joined the Marines once they were old enough to escape the pack. Austin recruited Cody, but Cody made the twins a package deal.” Caleb cleared his throat uneasily. He probably didn’t like telling other people’s secrets.

“The twins just got out of the Marines a year and a half ago when they were offered different assignments for their next duty stations. They did not want to be separated.” I could understand that. They definitely had separation issues and were never far apart.

“How did they manage to stay together in the first place?” I asked inquisitively. I had always assumed that the military sent you where they wanted you, regardless of where you want to go.

“The Marines offer a ‘buddy program’. You can join up with someone, and they guarantee that you will go to basic training and your first duty station together. After that, there are no guarantees.”

“I noticed they don’t like to be separated.”

Caleb nodded. “Yeah, I’ve never even seen them agree to sit separately until you came along. They put you right in the middle of both of them. All of us were shocked. I think having you here has been good for them. They’ve never had interest in getting attached to anyone but each other before.”

“I wonder why?”

“You’re very sweet, and I think it appeals to them to have someone who needs them as much as they need her.”

I couldn’t argue, I did need them. But I didn’t see how they would need me. “That’s why Austin has been okay with them staying close to me?”

“Yeah, I think he and Cody have been really glad that you have been keeping their trouble-making and shenanigans to a minimum. They are dangerous when they get bored.”

“Well, they are Marines.”

Caleb laughed in appreciation. “I could tell you some stories about Marines…”

Caleb and I traded funny stories for a while. I told him how the different branches of military had been explained to me when I first started working for the Navy.

“When the Navy hears the phrase ‘secure the building’, they turn off the lights and go home; the Marines kill everything inside and set up a base for their operations; the Air Force takes out a five-year lease with the option to buy.”

Caleb laughed. “I haven’t heard it explained that way before, but it’s sounds accurate to me,” he joked.

Caleb glanced down at his phone in regret. “I’m having so much fun, I hate to say this, but I do need to get back to work.”

I glanced at the time; we had spent almost two hours together. “Hey, before you go, can I ask you something as the communications expert?”

I could see him wavering. “What do you need?”

“Can you hook me up with everyone’s number?”

He laughed. “I can definitely do that.”

He forwarded his contacts for Austin, Cody, the twins, James, and himself. I also asked him for the group message he had for the pack as a whole. I was going to check with Austin first, but I thought it would be a good idea for me to contact the pack for a weekend BBQ.

I wanted to make it clear to everyone that I wanted to get to know them all. I thought that offering them beer and grilled meat would make a good first impression.

Caleb was back upstairs, and I was trying to organize all the new contacts in my phone when I heard Cody yell out, “Yo, anybody here?”

I jumped up and skipped to the front door. “Cody!” I said brightly.

“Hey, Anna.” He grinned happily at me. “These must be the puppies,” he said. He leaned down to give each of their heads a scratch.

“I missed you at dinner last night.”

“Me, too. Sorry I had to miss it.”

“No worries. The twins are already jealous that I told them I was making you brownies tonight.”

He laughed.

“You do like brownies?” I asked cautiously.

“Oh, yes. I especially like to eat my brownies in front of the twins and tell them how delicious they are.”

“I told them you would probably share if they were nice,” I teased him.

“We’ll see.” He winked. He walked to the fridge and stared into it for a moment before grabbing a bottle of water.

“The guys delivering the table just called and said they will be here in the next thirty minutes. I wanted to be here to inspect it.”

“I’m so excited!” I told him. “Austin said there would be space for us to have family dinners inside now.”

He chuckled. “I heard about the family dinners.”

“Are you not a fan?” I asked worriedly, taking a seat at the counter with my own bottle of water.

“I am. I just haven’t gotten to go to one yet,” he sulked jokingly.

I grinned happily, glad that Cody was going to play along with the family dinners. “I’m sorry. As a consolation prize, you can pick what we have for dinner tonight.”

“Oh, man. I need to think about this.” He took a seat at the counter, deep in thought.

I tried not to giggle at how serious he was taking this. “I can give you options, based on what I have here.”

“Okay.” He focused on me, waiting to hear his choices.

I listed what we had and gave some suggestions.

“You know, ever since I moved here, I’ve become a big fan of southern comfort food,” Cody told me contemplatively.

“Ah, I think I have some attractive options I can offer you,” I joked.

Cody gave me a suggestive grin. “I’m sure you can.”

I blushed but kept focus on the food. “Bacon mac and cheese, chili, cornbread and brownies for dessert?”

“Girl, add some fried chicken, and I will be yours forever.”

“Deal, but can you handle both fried chicken and chili?” I asked flippantly.

He nodded seriously. “Yes. Without a doubt.” He paused. “I don’t want to miss an opportunity to taunt the twins, but how do you feel about apple pie instead of brownies.”

I smiled. “Lucky for you, I have vanilla ice cream on hand for such an occasion.”

He groaned. “I am definitely in love with you now.”

I giggled. “The feeling might be mutual when I see this table you have promised me.” I was surprised at how easily I could flirt back with him.

The doorbell rang in time to save me from further flirting. It was the furniture delivery team. Cody had them bring in a large table and had them set it up with the optional leaves for more room.

I sighed with pleasure when I saw it set up with plenty of room for everyone. Thanksgiving was still several weeks away, but I had some ideas of what I wanted to do. Hopefully, Austin was agreeable to letting me plan a Thanksgiving dinner here.

I started to get excited. And Christmas? I bet the twins would go along with me planning a real Christmas. When I was growing up, my uncle and his wife would have Christmas every year. I would be assigned to cook breakfast while they all opened their presents for each other. They would all laugh and take pictures of each other opening presents while I looked on from the kitchen.

My uncle would be in one of his good moods. Christmas meant he could show off on how generous he was. He would make sure his wife got their kids all kinds of presents so they could post the pictures on social media and pretend they were a perfect family.

I used to dream about being in a family who I could have a real Christmas with. I know the twins would cooperate with me, and probably Cody. Austin would probably agree; maybe he would even let me decorate the house for the pack!

I was ready to start dancing around the house in joy at the thought, but I had to force myself to calm down. I didn’t know what the pack did for the holidays; maybe they all went elsewhere to celebrate with their families back home?

They were from all parts of the country. Would Cody bring the twins with him wherever he went to spend the holidays? My heart started to sink when I thought of spending the holidays here alone. This would be the first year without Evelyn.

Cody walked over as I tried to push back my tears.

“Is it that bad?” he asked me with concern.

“No!” I said adamantly. “It’s that awesome. I was just thinking about the holidays…”

“Oh, yeah.” Cody reached an arm around my shoulder and squeezed. I tried to relax. I was starting to be okay with the twins touching me, but Cody was still new to me.

Luckily, Cody didn’t seem to notice my discomfort, lost in his thoughts. “Austin will probably go all out for this year’s holidays. Our pack is pretty much complete, now that we have you.” He smiled at me warmly.

I felt a sense of warmth filling me. It felt like Cody wanted me here just like the twins did. The head delivery man interrupted the moment and asked Cody to sign some paperwork. Cody examined the table for damage before signing for it.

I was starting to get excited about dinner tonight and having everyone there. “Hey Cody?” I asked as he walked back inside from escorting the delivery team out.

“Yeah?”

“Is it usually you guys for dinner, or do you have some of the other pack members here for dinner sometimes?” I asked thoughtfully.

“If anyone is here working on something with us, they stay for dinner, but usually it’s just us. Why do you ask?”

“I just wasn’t sure how much we would need for dinner,” I told him. “You male wolves eat so much, I’m paranoid about running out of food.”

He laughed. “Yeah, it’s horrifying if you look at how much we spend on food every month. It takes a lot to feed us.” He flexed a muscle and grinned. “But it’s worth it, right?”

I turned bright red. Um, yeah. It was totally worth it; these guys were seriously built, but there’s no way I was going to admit that to Cody.

I just shrugged and started pulling things out of the fridge to plan for dinner. I had a lot of time, but I at least wanted to start the chili simmering in the Crock-Pot. Plus, I kind of needed something to do until the twins came back.

Cody took a seat at the kitchen counter. “I heard you are an expert cook?”

“Oh, no,” I told him. “I’m the head chef, but I utilize multiple sous chefs.” I pulled out the Crock-Pot and started lining up my ingredients.

“Is that right?” He laughed.

“Yep, what are you doing now?” I asked facetiously.

He grinned ruefully. “Um, helping you prepare dinner?”

“Excellent answer,” I told him assertively.

I set him to work peeling apples after I assured him there was no way possible that he could mess it up. He watched me dance around and sing to the puppies as I measured out ingredients for the chili into the crock pot.

“You know, I was a little nervous about you joining the pack, but now I’m really glad you did.”

“Really?” I asked, a little hurt. He had not wanted me in the pack?

“I didn’t think you liked me the first couple times we met,” Cody told me honestly, watching for my response.

I cleared my throat. “I was really nervous about meeting another wolf. You were my first.” I blushed at how that came out and turned to mess with the dial on the Crock-Pot to hide.

He chuckled. “Well, as your first, I hope I didn’t disappoint.”

I turned even redder. “Um…” I tried to think of something to say. “You’re kind of a big guy. I was a little intimidated.”

He burst into laughter, and I realized a second later how bad that sounded. “Um…I mean -” I could not even think of one thing to say to make this less awkward.

“I meant that you’re tall…” I tried to explain self-consciously.

“I know what you mean,” he told me reassuringly. “Austin filled me in later about your past. I think if we had known more about that, we would have approached you differently.”

“Uh –” Now I really didn’t know what to say. Exactly how much did they know about my past?

“I meant about your fear of being found by wolves,” he clarified.

I nodded as if I had not just almost had a panic attack. “Yeah, I realize now that everything I heard about wolves might not be true, but I’m still learning.”

“You’re handling all of this really well. I think all of us were expecting you to have a mental breakdown,” he told me bluntly.

“Well, the twins have really helped me a lot,” I told him honestly.

He smiled at me. “I’m glad. I was worried about how they would react to you, and about how they would react to a female wolf in general.”

“Yeah, I understand they may not have had great experiences with female wolves in the past,” I said absentmindedly, measuring out spices for the apples that Cody was almost finished cutting.

“That’s putting it mildly. They blamed their mother for a lot of things that went wrong in their lives.” He set down the paring knife and started to gather up all his apple scraps to toss in the trash.

“I don’t know exactly what happened, but it sounded like she was to blame for a lot,” I told him pointedly.

He shrugged uncomfortably. “I blame myself for not being there enough. I’m not sure exactly what happened, and they aren’t exactly open about it. I was here for the last time Austin tried to bring a female into the pack, though.”

“Really? I had not heard about that,” I told him curiously. I knew these guys did not have great experiences with females, but I didn’t realize that I was the second attempt to bring a female into the fold. That was going to make things even more difficult for me to fit in.

“Yeah, she was nothing like you,” Cody assured me.

“She was more of a typical wolf. She thought that as the only female wolf, she could come in here and run things.”

“I hope you guys don’t feel the same way about me,” I said anxiously, sprinkling my sugar and spices over the bowl of apples that Cody had cut.

I was worried. Wasn’t that what I was doing, though? I was trying to make them have family dinners, monopolizing the twins’ time and spending Austin’s money. Not to mention, my mere presence was causing other packs to attack them. I was essentially causing them to risk their lives to protect me.

I chewed on my lip. Was it actually a good thing I was here? Maybe James had a legit reason to hate me.

“I promise you are the day to her night,” he told me confidently. “You have nothing to worry about.”

I looked at him doubtfully.

“She treated the twins as if they were her personal servants and complained to Austin when they rebelled against her. She wanted them kicked out of the house, and possibly out of the pack. I told Austin that if they go, then I go.”

“I’m really glad that Austin chose you guys over her,” I told him genuinely. “I would rather have you guys over a chick like that, any day.”

He smiled at me. “Glad to hear it. The twins can be a lot to handle sometimes, but they are really good guys.”

“I know,” I told him seriously. “They have already helped me so much, and I can’t imagine my life without them now. I honestly feel sad when they leave for classes.”

Cody gave me an affectionate smile. “I hate to tell you this, but you are in the minority. Most people can’t handle them for long periods of time.”

“I think they are sweet, and kind, and funny,” I told him honestly.

“They have definitely shown you a side of themselves that they don’t show to everyone. They don’t give you a hard time at all?” he teased me with a glint in his eye.

“Sometimes, but I know they do it out of affection, not because they wish me harm. Besides, I can always just punch them in the arm if they get out of line.”

He let out a loud belly laugh. “I do see why they like you.”

“Should I be worried that they offered to play paintball with me?” I asked apprehensively.

He smirked. “Only if they team up against you.”

I grinned. “Then I need to make sure one of them is on my team, or it’s every man for himself.”

Cody laughed. “I highly doubt they will agree to be on opposite teams or that they will be able to resist teaming up, even if it is every man for themselves.”

I laughed. “So, I’m screwed.”

“Yep,” Cody sniggered.

I was done making the chili and had set it to cook in the Crock-Pot, so I decided to make the crust for the pie. Cody walked over to the sink to wash his hands. He decided to be funny and flick some water at me. I waited until he started to walk away from the sink and grabbed the hose to spray him.

“Hey!” he shouted, trying to block the water from his face.

“You started it!” I yelled back at him.

Jason ran in. “Water fight! We got back just in time!”

I was giggling as Cody tried to wrestle the sink hose away from me.

“I got him, Anna!” Jason shouted as he tried to put Cody in a headlock. Cody somehow ended up having Jason in the headlock. “You’re going to side with Anna? I see how it is!” Cody rubbed Jason’s hair into a mess as he howled.

Mason walked in to absolute chaos but took it all in stride. He merely rolled his eyes. “This is what happens when we leave you alone for the day, Anna?”

I just giggled more as Mason got in on the wrestling match. It wasn’t long before Cody admitted defeat and went upstairs to change out of his soaked clothes.

“Whatcha making, Anna?” Jason investigated the contents of the Crock-Pot carefully. “Is this chili?” he asked excitedly.

“Yep, Cody picked dinner tonight since he got us a table.” I gestured toward the table now in the space connected to the kitchen.

“Awesome!” Mason said. “Now we can have family dinners inside!”

I shared a grin with him, pleased that he shared my enthusiasm.

“What are we having with the chili, though?” Jason asked, his voice sounding concerned.

I had to laugh at how concerned he was over the menu for dinner. “We are having bacon mac n’ cheese, cornbread, chili, and apple pie with ice cream.”

“What!” Mason exclaimed in excitement.

“I’m guessing the menu is approved by you guys?” I asked dryly.

“Oh, yes,” Jason told me. “I’m not even upset that brownies were taken off the menu. I love apple pie. We had one for Thanksgiving last year!”

I felt better about my situation here knowing that doing something as simple as making them a homemade meal could make them so happy. “You guys know I’m going to make you help me set the table and do some prep, though, right?”

Mason groaned, but he had a grin on his face, wide enough to match Jason’s. Jason was not phased at all by that proclamation. “Do the pups need to go outside before we do that?”

The puppies both got excited when they heard the word ‘outside’.

“I think that’s a yes,” Mason said wryly.

“Let’s go!” Jason told the puppies and ran so that they would follow him outside. I laughed at how cute it was to watch them fall all over each other in an attempt to be the first to reach Jason.

Mason gave a chuckle and stood next to me. He bumped his hip into mine. “How was your day?”

“Good,” I told him. “How was class?”

He made a face. “Boring, but we liked your sandwiches.”

I smiled. “So, let’s just say that Amazon showed up with some lunch boxes one day. Would you guys use them?”

Mason looked delighted. “If they were packed by a pretty wolf named Anna, I would use mine and make sure that Jason used his.”

I gave him a secret smile. “Good to know.”

I walked over to the fridge and got out a couple of blocks of cheese. “I need you to grate.” He pretended to look upset, but I could tell that he was still pleased with the idea of having his lunches packed. “Do you want to grate by hand or use the automatic?” I asked him.

“Automatic?” he said, obviously not sure what he was getting into. I showed him how to use the food processor attachment to grate cheese, and he seemed pleased with how easy the task was.

Jason wandered back in as he was finishing up. I didn’t trust either of them with anything other than raw material prep yet, so I asked if they had any assignments for class. They admitted they had a paper due the next day.

“Write your papers while I finish up dinner, and I’ll proofread for you,” I told them both.

Jason eyed me dubiously, and I rolled my eyes. “Out of the three of us, I’m pretty sure that I am the only person here who has had papers published in peer reviewed journals. They both raised their eyebrows.

“Sorry, Anna,” Mason said. “I can’t get used to the fact that you are super-smart and well-educated.”

I threw a piece of sliced apple at him. He just grabbed it out of the air and ate it with a grin. “Love you, too.”

“You guys are lucky you’re so cute,” I told them both.

They looked pleased but pulled laptops out of their backpacks and started to work.

I slid the apple pie in the oven to bake and started mixing up the mac and cheese. Cream cheese was my secret ingredient; it made it super creamy and delicious. I used the food processor to blend all the ingredients perfectly. Once I was satisfied, I mixed in the pasta and set it aside to bake once the apple pie was done. I started to fry up some bacon to add to the mac and cheese before I baked it.

The twins looked like they were still working, so I started on the cornbread while the bacon fried. I was going to make it a sweet cornbread to go with the spicy chili and the salty bacon flavor of the mac and cheese.

The smell of bacon had the twins distracted, so I let them steal a couple of pieces before sending them back to work. I crumbled the bacon into the mac and cheese and stirred it all together before it was time to take out the apple pie.

I set the pie down on top of the stove to cool down and thicken up. It was time to put in the mac and cheese. I set the timer so that I could add the cornbread to the oven when it was about halfway done; that way, both would be done at the same time.

With my tasks done for the moment, I took a seat next to Jason and peered over his shoulder. “I have almost two pages done,” he told me defensively.

“What is the assignment?” I asked.

“We need to write a 3-5-page paper on how we would handle a product recall situation,” Mason explained.

“Oh, lucky for you, product recalls happen a lot in pharmacy,” I told them both.

“Really?” Jason asked. “How do you usually explain that to patients?”

I explained to both of them how the product recall situation worked in pharmacy and how it’s usually handled differently from both a retail and hospital perspective.

I also explained the PR difficulties that were involved. There was a lot more involved when I was interning with an independent pharmacy who manufactured their own medications in comparison with a chain pharmacy who simply distributed them.

They both asked a couple of relevant questions and went back to working on their papers with renewed vigor, so hopefully my opinions had been helpful.

I jumped up when the timer when off to tell me it was time to add the cornbread to the oven. I checked on the mac and cheese while I was in there; it smelled amazing. The apple pie also smelled delish and looked like it was cooling perfectly.

I heard the front door slam and footsteps head in our direction. The puppies ran to go greet whomever it was, and I was worried when I just heard only silence in reply. I started to head in that direction when James appeared in the kitchen doorway. He was eying the puppies, who were jumping up and down in front of him to try and get his attention, but he didn’t respond to them.

“What’s for dinner?” he asked gruffly.

I looked at him, then I looked at the puppies begging for his attention with a raised eyebrow. He got the message and bent down to pet the pups with such a faint smile that I almost missed it. I tried to hide my own smile. He liked them; he was just afraid to show it.

After he greeted my sweet little babies, I answered his question. “Per Cody’s request, we are having bacon mac and cheese, chili, fried chicken, cornbread, and apple pie.”

James looked interested. “Do we have ice cream?”

“Of course we have ice cream,” Jason answered absentmindedly as he worked on his laptop. “Anna was in charge of shopping. She never misses anything.”

I rolled my eyes. I was sure that he was still just trying to get all shopping duties assigned to me. Deep down, I was still a little flattered, though. I was useful, even if it was just to make sure we had ice cream.

I sighed to myself; I needed to start small. It might just be ice cream today, but hopefully one day I would be an integral part of the pack.

“Why does Cody get to pick what we are having for dinner?” James asked. Was that I hint of jealousy I heard in his voice?

I hid my smile. “Cody missed the last two family dinners, and he got us a new table to eat at.” I motioned to the new addition.

James walked over and ran his hand over it. “This is nice.”

I nodded. “Could you set the table while I work on the fried chicken? The twins are busy with homework that I need them to finish before dinner so I have time to review it.”

James’ jaw dropped. He looked at me, then he looked over to the twins working, and then back to me.

Cody came back into the kitchen before James had a chance to respond. “Anna, that smells amazing! Austin won’t be back for another half-hour or so. Can dinner wait?”

“Yeah,” I told him. “I haven’t started on the chicken yet, and everything else can stay in the oven until we are ready to eat. “

“Cool,” Cody said. “Trevor might come by with some of the guys. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” I answered enthusiastically. “Can you help James set the table while I finish this and the twins finish their homework so we can eat on time?”

Cody gave James an amused look. “I’ll get the dishes, if you get the silverware.”

James sighed in resignation but walked over to the silverware drawer. I was proud of myself for how successfully I was able to hide my smile.

Caleb was the next person to make his way to the kitchen. He eyed Cody and James setting the table incredulously. “How did you manage that?” he whispered to me.

“I think it was more the tantalizing scent of food than anything that I said,” I told him sincerely.

He chuckled. “What can I do to help?”

“Can you fry while I bread?” I asked him.

He looked at me doubtfully.

“You just have to make sure the chicken stays in the oil and nothing catches on fire,” I told him reassuringly.

He chuckled. “I guess I can handle that, but if anything catches on fire, I’m blaming you.”

“Deal,” I grinned at him.

The twins started to hover over both of us once we had some of the fried chicken ready for eating. I kept smacking their hands away until Austin came in.

“Time to eat!” I shouted loudly.

“Finally!” James groused.

“Yeah!” Jason leapt over to the table with enthusiasm.

“Jason!” I scolded him. “Take the mac and cheese to the table. Mason, you are in charge of the cornbread.” I carefully handed them each a dish to carry over to our new table.

“James, I need you to help with the chili.” He came over to the Crock-Pot without a word of protest, and I handed him the ceramic dish out of the Crock-Pot carefully wrapped with a hot pad on each of the handles.

“I think the last pieces of chicken are ready!” Caleb called. I walked over to check on them and add them to the serving dish that I asked Caleb to carry over.

Austin walked over to me and chuckled. “You put them all to work, huh?”

“You would be surprised what hungry wolves will do for food,” I joked.

He laughed but walked over to the table with me. “This table looks great, Cody. Thank you for getting it for us.”

“Yes, thank you, Cody!” I added enthusiastically. The rest of the guys added in their thanks.

“And thank you, Anna, for coordinating this delicious meal.”

I smiled. “Thank you to everyone who helped.”

James groaned. “Do we have to keep thanking everyone or can we eat?”

“We don’t have to thank anyone else, just pass the food around!” I told him.

Everyone laughed, but the food got passed around. I grabbed some sour cream and cheese out of the fridge for the guys to add to their chili.

“Austin?” I asked.

“Yeah?”

“Are we having more guests? Cody mentioned Trevor might stop by with some other guys.”

“Oh, yeah.” He glanced at his watch. “He will probably be here any -”

I heard the front door open and a shout, “Yo!”

“We should really start using Marco Polo,” I told Austin seriously.

Jason snorted, and Mason laughed. James looked confused, and I think Cody was just so happy to be eating, he didn’t hear a word that was said. Austin smiled and shook his head at me. “In here!” he shouted back.

I stood up to grab some extra plates out of the cupboard and hand them out to the three guys as they walked in to where we were sitting. They each greeted me with a ‘Hey’ or a nod and took a plate.

Austin stood up. “Anna, I don’t remember if you have met Trevor, Rich, and Davis.”

I nodded. I had, but I appreciated the reminder of everyone’s names. The three latest additions to the dinner party helped themselves to food while I grabbed them some silverware.

“Did you cook this?” Trevor asked.

“Oh, everyone helped,” I told him.

All three guys eyed me and then the food dubiously. “Who helped?” Davis asked.

“Relax,” Caleb assured them. “Anna supervised everything. She just had the rest of us grate cheese or do the easy tasks.”

The guys all relaxed and continued to help themselves.

“I feel like there must be a story behind you guys being nervous about eating food that was prepared by the group here?” I asked Rich, since he was the only one who was still waiting for food to be passed to him.

Rich chuckled. “Does anyone else here remember the Thanksgiving of 2015?”

A couple of the guys groaned. “Everyone got sick,” Caleb told me.

“What happened?”

“No one will admit to anything going wrong, but we all blame the twins.”

“Hey!” Jason said defensively.

Mason shrugged. “We were infantry Marines, not cooks. The only cooking I’ve ever done is heating up an MRE.”

Everyone at the table laughed.

“Well, if Anna is cooking, then I will be more than happy to come this year,” Trevor announced enthusiastically as he shoveled a helping of chili into a bowl. The rest of the guys seemed to agree.

I smiled. It looked like I might get a family Thanksgiving this year. “Do you guys celebrate Christmas, too?” I asked hopefully.

“Oh, yeah,” Jason said enthusiastically.

Mason nodded. “Austin let us have a tree last year!”

“We tried to make eggnog...” Jason started.

“Let’s not talk about that.” Mason interrupted, to the amusement of everyone else.

I just giggled. “Can we have a tree this year?” I asked Austin hopefully.

“Of course,” he told me with a smile.

I settled back in my chair as the guys shared stories of past Christmases here with the pack. This was going to be so awesome.

The food quickly disappeared. When I saw Davis sadly scraping the chili pot in an attempt to get anything left, I jumped up. “Who is ready for apple pie?”

The twins also jumped up to clear everyone’s plates and put them in the sink to wash later. I reached to get some dessert plates out of the cupboard, where I had decided to store them yesterday. I handed the plates to Jason and asked Mason to get the silverware while I grabbed the pie. I asked Caleb to go back for the ice cream.

The pie was still warm when I cut into it, but no one complained, as it was a perfect combination with the cold ice cream.

Trevor leaned back in his chair. “Is it OK if I show up here every night for dinner from now on?” he asked Austin jokingly.

“Yeah,” Davis added. “I’m fine with extra guard duty if I get dinner.”

“I’ll remember that when I make the schedule,” Trevor teased him gruffly as everyone laughed.

Everyone at the table was leaning back with full bellies when the apple pie was gone.

“I need to see you three in my office before you go,” Austin told Trevor, Davis, and Rich. The three of them nodded and made a move to get up. Austin also stood. “Cody?”

“Coming,” he groaned before heaving himself up to his feet. I couldn’t help but giggle.

“It’s not my fault you make such delicious food, Anna,” he told me as he gave me a kiss on the forehead. I pressed my hand up to where he had given me a kiss with a dopey grin on my face.

James looked at the twins sternly. “Anna cooked, so you two can clean up while she looks at your homework.”

Neither of them groaned or complained; they just nodded. James stood and headed out of the room. Caleb looked at me. “What are you doing after that, Anna?”

“We get Anna tonight!” Jason interrupted.

Mason gave him an exasperated look but added, “Anna already agreed to movie night with us.”

“Is movie night just for Anna?” Caleb asked.

“Do you want to come, too?” Jason asked. “Tonight is Thor.”

Caleb nodded. “I love that movie.”

“Me, too!” I said enthusiastically. I stood up and headed to the twin’s laptops. “The sooner we get our work done, the sooner we can play,” I told them both with a cheeky grin.

They both laughed at me but got up to clean up after dinner. Caleb helped them with the dishes while I helped each of the twins edit the final copy of their papers.

“Do you guys need to email or print them?” I asked.

Jason just shrugged, and we both looked at Mason. “Email is fine,” he told us. They emailed their papers in to the professor, and it was movie time!

We all settled down to watch Thor, and despite my long-time crush on Chris Hemsworth, I did not even make it halfway through the movie before I was passed out. At the end of the movie, I woke up groggily in time for Mason to scoop me up with a murmured, “Come here, pretty girl.”

He carried me upstairs and to my bed. I yawned and crawled under the covers. Jason got in the bed on my right, and Mason on my left.

I should probably feel self conscious that I was in bed with two men right now, but honestly it just felt right. I nuzzled my pillow and Mason absentmindedly rubbed my back, as if to soothe me back to sleep.

Not too long ago, I would have been a bundle of nerves and anxiety at the thought of being this close to two men. Having even one guy in my bed would have probably caused me to have a panic attack. Having the twins here with me just made me feel safe and protected.

Being here with the pack gave me a sense of belonging that I had not realized I was missing in my life. I had thought that there was nothing more that I could want in life after achieving my goal of being a pharmacist and being able to provide for myself.

I had always prided myself of being self-sufficient. I never wanted to put myself in the position of needing anyone. I wanted to be able to exist completely on my own. Now that I was here with the pack I realized that I may have been off-base in my goals. Yes, it was important to be able to take care of myself, but what about everything that I had been missing out on while I was alone?

I had never really let go and had fun before. Being with the twins and joining in on their shenanigans made me realize that life was a lot more fun when you had people to share it with. Having people in my life could make it better, not everyone was out to take something from me.

I drifted back off to sleep with the scents of the twins mingling with my own in my bed. My last thought for the day was how glad I was that I finally found somewhere to belong.