WHILE WAITING FOR BRIAN to come back, I decided I should allow myself a walk. I stood, stretching as the large blanket I had cocooned myself in fell around my feet. I stepped over the fluffy mass, opening the door and yawning. I checked the time; barely two. I sighed and made my way to the dogs, crouching down and cuddling against their sides. Despite being hunting dogs, they were straight up love bugs. I smiled, pressing my cold face against their warm little bodies. The oldest one licked my nose.

"Pleh, nasty!" I stood, backing away. The dog pursued me however, and I couldn't help but smile as he gently ran his claws on the door, as if asking if he could come in. I pouted. Damn my kind heart. I unleashed all of the dogs and opened the door to our cabin and they all barreled in happily, taking immediate solace on the futon couch. I smiled a bit, and piled the inflatable matresses into the corner so that the dogs wouldn't accidentally poke a hole in one of them.

I then collapsed beside the little beasts, deciding maybe all I needed was a little animal therapy.

♡

My phone rang in the darkness of the room. I grabbed for it and answered the call. "Yes?" My voice was raspy, and the dogs started barking at the voice. It was Oscar.

"Hey, I'm so sorry about earlier." He sounded extremely apologetic, so I took it. Plus, it wasn't even his fault. At all. I told him that.

"No, no. It was. I beat Luke pretty badly, and I... I don't know. I mean, I shouldn't have, but these things I feel are everything all at once and sometimes it overwhelms, pushing me under this ocean..."

"Because we haven't done the mating process?" I asked.

"I... don't know. Probably." He sighed on the other end. He was so unsure, so scared and nervous. I didn't understand, but I knew I wanted to take it away.

"Then we do it tonight."

"Wha-what?"

"Tonight. I'll be over at eight. We can do it, the whole thing, then." I hung up.

♡

She hung up. The line went silent, and I felt every muscle tense. It had to be done, but Oscar never imagined... no, he never did think it would be so soon. His hands were clenched at his sides and his body was so afraid, so afraid for Bailey, for him, for them. Because if what happened to his fathers mate happened to them? Oscar had been born before his father met his mate, so he was not the product of a Luna-Alpha connection, but he knew of the risks it took to be a human in a wolf pack, though he could remember nothing of it.

Oscar stood. He shut his eyes. Bailey didn't get the risks. The risks that come along with this process. Oscar did. He would torture himself for her, though it felt mechanical and normal to be doing anything but that.

But, he thought, Bailey was stubborn. And if she knew he was in pain? She'd do anything to stop it. She was strong. Stronger than him, stronger than all of the wolves in the world added up. He admired Bailey for that.

And it was something Oscar wished he could say about himself.

♡

I smiled at Brian as he walked in, carrying a box of twelve root beers and a pint of vanilla ice cream. "Yum," I whispered. I covering my eyes as he turned the light on, mumbling in protest.

"Bailey."

"Yes?" I asked innocently.

"Did you let the dogs in?"

"Who let the dogs out..." I sang, and when I realized he wasn't amused, slowly trailed off. "Well, okay. I needed animal therapy."

He gave me a look. "Don't you have Oscar for that?"

I growled. "Give me the ice cream, please. And a cup. And the root beer."

"Okay. And you're making me one, too!" Brian grinned, returning with two blue cups, handing them to me with a satisfied look on his face.

As I poured the root beer on top of the ice cream in both separate cups, I whispered something too quiet for Brian to hear.

"What was that?" He tilted his head, pushing one of the smaller dogs away as it tried to get to the food.

"Thank you you're a really good brother," I said it so fast I wasn't even sure it was actually said. But he heard it, and he said the kindest thing to me he had said in the past year to me.

"I love you, too. Now give me my float!" He tore the cup from my hand, and I smiled at his retreating form. He was never good with sentiments, but I accepted it.

"Never said I loved you, by the way." I responded, smirking.

He turned around. "You didn't have to."