Page 58 of Fur-Ever Home

We found more guests in the living room when we returned. I loved Ben's sister Josie, but her wife Audrey and I had become faster friends. Audrey was a badger shifter, and we played the best animal games. Jeff showed her the ornament and carefully showcased it for Alex and Shelly, who had just arrived with their year-old twins. We all watched as Jeff placed the ornament in the middle of our bare Christmas tree.

Since it wasn't Thanksgiving anymore, we thought it would be fun to decorate with our extended family. The tree was yetanother gift from Ben's family, along with ornaments they said were his. Inside the box, we found handmade "atrocities," as Ben called them, and some cute ornaments he'd never seen before.

That didn't stop me from going all out online. I loved Christmas. I'd bought several sets of lights, balls, garland, and crafting materials so we could make our own ornaments after dinner.

Neither of us knew how to cook a turkey, so when Ben's parents arrived with the roaster, already-cooked turkey inside, we set out the rest of the side dishes. We had green bean casserole, stuffing, and a mixed vegetable dish warming in the oven, along with cranberry jelly, cottage cheese, and a raw vegetable tray with three kinds of dip waiting in the refrigerator. We even had apple and pumpkin pie cooling on the counter for dessert.

The meal and company were everything I'd ever wanted from a family gathering. No one made awful jokes to put anyone else down, and no one cried, screamed, or shifted and ran across the table. In my pack, those had been commonplace disturbances at pack dinners.

Afterward, we finished decorating the tree and watched the holiday animated classics. Jeff and Jonah were on their best behavior, though Jonah was young enough that he still watched with delight, while Jeff looked bored out of his mind.

Jordan had been down for a nap during dinner, but Ben passed her around to anyone who wanted to hold her afterward. I made a show of putting a little wolf decoration on the tree, and she flashed a toothless grin at me from her papa's arms. Everyone said it was gas, but I knew better.

I didn't want the night to end, but it was getting late. We said goodbye to our guests and locked up. Ben tucked Jordan into her crib, turned on the baby monitor, and joined me in bed.

"Happy Thanksgiving," I whispered to him.

He snuggled closer and draped his leg over mine. "Happy everything," he said. "Nine months ago, I didn't think any of this was possible. Hell, I didn't even want this. I thought I was destined to spend the rest of my life avoiding alphas. Family get-togethers like these were a nightmare because Jake, Alex, and Josie always had some friend lined up to meet me."

My wolf's hackles raised at the thought of someone else dating my mate, but he soothed me with a kiss.

"Then I met you, and my life made sense. I love you so much, Connor."

"I love you, too." I said. "You are my perfect mate. I always knew you were out here in the wide world."

He snickered and rolled over, slotting his back against my front. "Who meets their fated mate at an airport, though? No one believes me when I tell them." He couldn't tell them half of it, since I was only human to the folks who worked at the bank, and humans didn't have fated mates.

"I just knew." I nuzzled behind his ear in the way he loved. "That's what I tell them."

It was still too soon after Jordan's birth for more than cuddles, but I loved snuggling with Ben, especially when he wrapped his arms over mine and tugged them closer to his chest. We fit together like pieces of the most glorious puzzle.

Our third piece let out a wail from the other room, and we both jumped. "Rest," I said, kissing Ben's temple. "I've got this."

I warmed up a bottle Ben had pumped, testing the temperature on my wrist as I hurried to Jordan's room. She was so tiny in her crib, but she had an appetite like no other and a voice to match. Again, I was amazed at how easily she fit in the crook of my arm while I provided her midnight snack.

She fell asleep still suckling, which made it easy to put her back in her crib. I eased myself back into bed beside a sleeping Ben and cuddled him close once more.

We fit together so well, Ben, Jordan, and me. We were the perfect puzzle pieces to build my fur-ever home, though I wouldn't have ruled out one or two more.

EPILOGUE

BENJAMIN

Two yearslater

As the Foreign Finance department head, I sometimes traveled for work. I should have known. It was now my job to attend the same conferences Brian Avery and I had attended together when I worked for Barclay Foods.

Meanwhile, my replacement, Sid, the same young omega I'd trained as my assistant, sat in the chair behind Brian, taking pages of notes and frowning while Brian studied his phone. His earbuds were cordless now, but I could see them in his ears. His phone screen flashed like he was watching the first baseball game of the season.

When the session ended, I approached them, shaking Sid's hand and nodding to Brian. "Who's playing?"

"What?"

"Baseball, right? Padres or Giants?"

"Dodgers at Detroit."

"I bet Mr. Danbury would love to hear about that." I walked away while Brian stuttered a justification for watching a baseball game when he was supposed to be learning about fiscal responsibility.

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