Everyone enjoys their food, asks for seconds, and compliments how good it is.

" Wow, Apphia, you're the real deal," Blade says. 

Later, after lunch, Nicholas and I stroll on the grounds. It's serene, and the weather is lovely. It looks like it's about to rain, but not quite. We go to a lake, hand in hand, to enjoy the day. For the first time in a while, I feel my wolf close. Ziora surfaces when Nicholas is close to me, but I can't tell him that,

" This is my favorite spot in the pack. I used to go to this lake often as a child," he says as...