Another day, another chance to start fresh. I woke up to the sight of boxes scattered around and a slobbery kiss.

"Maxx, stop!"

I shoved Maxx off the bed just as Nilo trotted in, tail wagging. Both dogs immediately started barking, knowing it was breakfast time. I went to the bathroom first and saw Neil's clothes on the floor, the room drenched with water. He’d forgotten to put down the towel while showering, leaving the entire bathroom soaked. I picked up his wet clothes and started questioning why I ever thought moving in with my boyfriend was a good idea.

I made my way to the kitchen, fed Maxx and Nilo, and prepared my own breakfast. After cleaning up, I took the dogs out back. As I opened the door, Fritz slipped inside. Without wasting a moment, I shut the door and jumped into the car. One of my favorite songs came on, which was nice, but I still needed to make a call.

"Hey, baby, how’s your morning?"

"Did you feed the dogs?" he asked cheerfully.

"Did you leave Fritz outside?"

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did, Neil. Be careful—she could get lost, and she’s not afraid of dogs. And with her belly, do you think she could catch birds or anything? She could get hurt!"

"Sorry, babe. I was in a rush and didn’t notice."

"I don’t mind if you flood the bathroom every time you shower or leave glasses of water everywhere... even the piles of clothes you leave around. But if something happens to my dogs or my cat, I’ll lose it."

"Okay, I promise I’ll be more careful. I’m still adjusting to having pets around all the time, but I know how much they mean to you."

"Thanks, Neil. I need to hang up—I’m parking now and gearing up for another Monday of work. Right?"

"Sounds great. See you at dinner, pizza?"

"Pizza’s perfect. Bye!"

WILLIAM

The packs have been a nightmare lately. Since I stopped looking for my mate, the pressure from the werewolf kingdom to pick a strong Luna is driving me crazy. And don’t get me started on the parliament members pushing me about the heir situation—like we won’t live for 500 years! The worst part is that now they've found a reason to force me to meet every strong female in the kingdom. They’re promising to send allies to the strong packs if I personally visit them. Of course, I can’t back out of it, so here I am, traveling with my third-in-command and one of my strongest warriors to thank packs in person, when it would’ve been much easier to bring them to me in Alaska.

"If I don’t get a run in soon, I’m going to lose it. Red’s pushing me to the edge. I’m losing it, man!"

"Don’t yell, Kyle. Humans still have ears, and I don’t think the alpha is in any better shape than you," Mark said.