Page 29 of Season's Greetings

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Silence.

That word now resonated in Daniel’s head.

There had been so much noise over the last week—so many opinions, so many voices.

Now the silence was deafening.

Like standing in the eye of the storm.

Whatever happened next was out of his control.

This thing was bigger than he and Matthew.

This was pack.

So he let Rhona handle the bigger picture.

And he re-focused his attention on what mattered most.

His life. His love. His mate. His cub.

And yes—even Barney.

He stepped away from the desk, the weight of the statement still lingering in the air, and walked to the window. Outside, the sky was streaked with winter light, pale gold against the pines.

He thought of Matthew’s laughter. Toby’s stubborn morning grumbles. Barney’s ridiculous squeaky toys.

And he smiled.

Let the world rage.

He had his home.

Chapter 14

Matthew

Closing the door on his relationship with his parents was weird.

But also liberating.

You’d have thought they would’ve fought to keep him in their lives.

But no.

Standing now in his empty kitchen, staring at dirty cups, was oddly grounding. Putting his parents out of his mind—and out of his life—was as simple as placing the mugs in the washer and closing the door.

The oppressive cloud he’d been living under was finally gone.

“Daddy, have they gone?” Toby’s sweet voice called out.

“Yes, baby bear. They’re gone. And they won’t be coming back.”

“Not ever?”

“No, cubby. Not ever.”

“Yay!”

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