“| knew your mom didn’t have cancer. Didn’t know what it was, but people with cancer don’t have the t


    type


    of episodes she had. I’m guessing she was a shifter, too?” He asks, putting the bite of food in his mouth.


    Something inside me unwinds. | hadn''t realized how much | wanted Benny to believe me and


    agree toe live in our pack. This man, who had looked after my mother and me when we had


    no one, then watched out for me after she died. This man, who has been more of a father to me


    than my own had ever been.


    “She was.”


    He nods. “Is that where you got it from?” He asks, as if we''re talking about the color of my eyes.


    not that I''m a shifter that turns into a wolf.


    “| got it from both my parents.”Têxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    “You ever find that shit for brains father of yours?” He asks. He knew enough to know that my father had kicked us out.


    “Yeah. | took care of it.” He stops, his food halfway to his mouth as he looks at me.


    “Permanently?” He asks.


    Inod.


    “Good.” He says before finishing his breakfast. “He didn’t deserve either of you anyway.”


    “So, Benny, do you want toe live with a bunch of wolves in the woods and help a young girl start her own business in a


    diner?” Eli asks him.


    He shrugs. “I packed everything | own, knowing that there isn’t anything for me back the way | came. Only thing for me is to go


    forward with you folks. If you''ll have me, I''m happy toe along. But | don’t change into anything. What ya see, is what ya get


    with me.”


    | drove home with Benny. We caught up on thest few months and | gave him the full story of my battle with my father. “Alpha


    wolf, huh? That’s like, top dog, right?”


    “Something like that.” | said.


    “It''s good to know the boss.” He said.


    He settled into pack life easier than | would have believed. He moved into the packhouse not showing any concern that he was


    living amongst hundreds of wolf shifters. After making sure that


    +15 BONGS


    he didn’t need to worry about some wolves being the real thing and attacking him, he settled right


    1. in.


    Over the next couple of weeks, he made friends with almost everyone. No one seemed bothered. that we had a human living in


    our pack. He met with Cammy and talked to her about her ideas, and he gave some of his own as well. He worked with her to


    make sure that the diner would be


    built in a way that made it conducive to seatingrge groups of people and still had enough room for a kitchen, a prep station and


    a checkout counter. He took her under his wing, just like he had


    with me.


    Sometimes, he goes hunting with the wolves that bring in meat for the pack. I’ve heard him. arguing that he is the better hunter


    because he doesn’t have teeth and ws, he has to use a gun and his own old eyes and ears.


    He even gets along with the sprites. After Fane left with Alpha Christopher, Funichio didn’t really have anyone to spend time


    with. He and Benny have be good friends. | frequently find them sitting together in thete afternoon, rxing under a tree


    or walking through the forest, just talking.


    He’s chosen a spot where he wants to build a house, and once the diner is built, | doubt I''ll see much of him as I’m sure he''ll do


    what he’s always done. He''ll sit in the diner and keep and eye on everything.


    He did mention to me once that while we may not live in a ‘nudie camp’, people sure al


    are ‘nekkid’ a lot. | justughed and told him it was too expensive to constantly buy clothes if you shift with them on and destroy


    them. And then, you don’t have any to put on when you shift back. He’s learned to adjust.


    All in all, it''s been a much easier transition than | would have expected, and | couldn’t be happier.


    Cooper


    Author