Traveling, the young woman was quickly coming to find, was getting very, very difficult. Of course she knew, logically, that with breeding came pregnancy, because pregnancy came before puppies – she’d witnessed her mother’s pregnancy with Lila last year, after all. Even though she had a litter of one, Aponi had ballooned to a size that worried her other daughter (for secretly she feared the silver female might actually explode). But never had she appreciated how exhausting it was – as soon as this trip was over, she was returning to Aurora Heights, and she was staying there until this strange purgatory was over.

But, since she was here…

Kyna came to a halt at the border of Sahalie’s new pack – it had to be. She recognized so many smells here: Hal, Alastor, and even Halie’s weird friend, Larkspur. There were others, too; perhaps the Tainn had more luck recruiting. Setting the small snowshoe hare down, the woman’s tail wagged as she caught her breath. Then she set her snout skyward and let loose a howl, calling for her friend, for the new alpha, for her new neighbor – and if Alastor wanted to visit, he was welcome, as well. She might have brought Greer, but someone had to stay home; there would be time for more socializing after their pups came.