We met with the families in the pack house living room; everyone else had been asked to give us some privacy.

“You have heard what has happened. The Ocean Shore pack no longer exists, and my brother is dead. You don’t have the option to go back. I’m sorry, I know this is hard, and the old pack land and how it used to be will always be a part of us,” Finlay told them. Sober faces nodded at his words.

“You need a new pack,” I said. “We would be more than happy to have you in our pack. Most of you have ties to this pack, and we have enjoyed having you these months. If you feel like this isn’t the right pack for you, we will help you find another. All our allies are open to taking you into their packs,” I told them.

“We are not asking you to decide today, but it would be best for everyone if you did make a decision in the coming weeks. Mine and Amie’s door is always open if you have questions or need to talk to us,” Finlay said. We talked with them and answered the questions they had. Then we let them go on their way to discuss what to do. Martin’s family lingered, and I smiled at Bridget.

“Alpha, Luna, we have been talking for weeks about this, and we would like to become permanent members of this pack,” Kyle said.

“We have felt so welcome here, and it reminds all of us how it used to be in the old pack. We feel safe here,” Bridget said.

“It’s almost as if Martin is watching over us here; it’s comforting,” Martin’s mother said, and his sister nodded.

“We are happy to take the money we will get from selling the pack land and buy the house we live in,” Kylie told us.

“We would be happy to have you. You fit into our pack, and we would love to make it permanent,” I said.

“And the house is yours. As Martin’s closest family, it should fall to you. No money is needed to exchange hands. The money can be used for other things,” Finlay said.

“I have always wanted to open a flower shop,” Bridget told us.

“Oh, we don’t have one of those in the village!” I was excited about the idea; maybe I could talk to her and see if she was interested in expanding her idea into something like a garden centre. Then I wouldn’t need to go all the way into the closest human town to get things for my garden.

“I will become your first and most loyal customer. Amie has a thing for flowers,” Finlay told her. The family thanked us, and we told them Medow would be in touch with them to plan the bloodening. We headed for the meeting room where the rest of the top tier waited for us. As we sat down, Finlay fished an energy bar out of his pocket and handed it to me. I smiled and accepted it. We talked with the group for a long while. There was a mix of sadness and relief in the air. Medow and I were the only two who had never been a part of the Ocean Shore pack. All the others had been born and raised in the pack and needed to grieve its destruction. At the same time, we were all happy not to have what had happened in the pack in the last year hanging over us. Grieving was the first step in moving on.

It was nice to get into our bed, in our house, at the end of the day. I let Finlay pull me into him.

“Do you feel better?” I asked. He chuckled and kissed me.

“I should be asking you, but yes, I feel a lot better. I’m starting to come to terms with killing him. I don’t feel any remorse about it, and I’m getting to terms with my lack of guilt as well,” he told me. I let my fingers trace his face.