“I would certainly hope so,” Malcolm said. “I may be excited about being a grandfather, but I’m old-fashioned at heart. And I would have a few choice words for you if you weren’t going to be mates.”

“Good,” Luke said, grinning widely as he approached us. He clapped me on the back and looked at Jenn. “Maybe you can figure out how to shut him up for more than a couple of minutes.”

“Don’t count on that,” Jenna said, smirking.

“Well, anyway, congratulations. You two make a good couple.”

The rest of the wolves came up and gave their congratulations. It all felt like an absurd dream. Finally, I turned to Jenn.

“Well, then,” I said. “I guess we should move your stuff into my place.”

“Mind if I crash with you two for a bit?” Freya asked. “I can help with the baby while I look for my own place.”

Jenn’s head whipped around to face Freya. “You’re staying?”

When Freya nodded, Jenn squealed so loudly that it nearly burst my eardrums and ran to hug her friend. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it!”

“Well, I’m definitely not going back to my old pack,” Freya said. “And I’ve kind of grown attached to you, and the other girls. Brixton seems as good a place as any to put down new roots.”

Jenn squealed again, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “This is great!” She hugged her friend again. “I’m so happy. But you do realize this means you’ll be on babysitting duty on more than one occasion, right?”

“Oh no! How terrible,” Freya said sarcastically, a big smile spreading across her face. “I have to spend time with youandyour cub? It’s unthinkable.”

Jenn giggled, and a moment later, Freya joined in as well. Their laughter was absurdly infectious, and it wasn’t long until the rest of us were grinning as well.

“Seems like everything turned out all right,” Jameson said, coming to stand next to me.

“I’d say so,” I said. “Sorry for, you know, running off like that.”

“You’re not sorry at all,” Jameson pointed out.

I tilted my head, considering. “You know what? You’re right. Now, come on. We’ve got some celebrating to do.”

I clapped him on the back, and before he could say anything else, I walked over to Jenn.

Chapter 20 - Jenn

Abby gurgled excitedly as she crawled along the floor. Her adorable, chubby face was beaming, her green eyes—the same color as her father’s—bright with curiosity and intelligence. Her scant hair was currently blond, but something told me it would darken when she got older. We would see, though.

“She’s so adorable,” Freya cooed. “I love her so much.”

“Really?” I asked. “I wouldn’t have guessed. It’s not like you’re over here nearly every day to come see her. Even though you got your own place a month ago.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Freya claimed, blinking innocently. “I’m here to support my friend and help out around the house while she gets settled with a new baby.”

“Oh no,” Andi said. “You’ve definitely got baby fever.”

Andi’s son, Theo, was bouncing up and down on her knee. Watching Abby with intense interest, he started to squirm in his mother’s grasp. Smirking, Andi put him on the ground, and he began crawling toward Abby, who was currently playing with one of her toy blocks.

All the girls were here, watching fondly as the two kids played with each other.

“I’m glad Theo has someone to play with,” Andi mused. “I think it’ll be good for him.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” I said. “Abby’s got a mischievous streak, and she might start getting him into trouble.”

“Nah, such a cutie could never do that,” Evelyn said, leaning over the couch.

I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know her,” I said. “You weren’t there when she somehow managed to steal an entire plate of cookies. I don’t even know how she got onto the table.”