I thought she had made her choice the moment we found Nidhi alive in the Detroit nest. If not . . . the only reason to drive to Copper River to see me was . . . but then why would she bring Nidhi along? “Are you saying you need time to choose?”

Lena shook her head. “I’ve already made my choice.”

I waited. She folded her arms, grinning mischievously.

“Well?” I said.

“I choose you both.”

“I— What?”

Nidhi chuckled. “That’s pretty much what I said, too.”

“If you’re worried about the sex, don’t.” I could see the anxiety behind Lena’s smile. “I’ve got more than enough stamina to keep up with you both.”

“But not at once!” Nidhi said quickly.

Lena stuck out her tongue.

“You’re proposing that the three of us . . .” I trailed off, trying to find words.

“I know what I am,” Lena said firmly. “I love who I’ve been with Nidhi. If I leave her, if I stay with you, I’ll adapt to your needs and desires. But right at this moment I’m becoming something different. Something more, pulled in two directions at once. I’m conflicted. I want to keep that conflict, Isaac. I want to feel torn. When I’m with a single lover, then every choice I make comes back to what they want. Let me love you both, and some of those wants cancel out. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to truly choosing for myself. I want the conflict. And I want you.”

She glanced at Nidhi. “Just like I want you, too, so don’t you dare pout at me.”

My mind derailed at the idea of Doctor Shah pouting, but that was easier to process than what Lena was proposing. The logistics alone . . . they lived downstate. Were they expecting me to move to Dearborn? Or would Lena commute from the lower peninsula to the upper?

“And you’re okay with this?” I asked, stalling for time.

“It wouldn’t have been my first choice.” Nidhi sighed. “I don’t own her. She’s forced me to confront a lot of my own attitudes and assumptions these past two days. I don’t imagine it will be easy, but I’m willing to try, for her.”

“I’m not asking for promises,” Lena pressed. “I’m only asking for you—for us—to try.”

“The Porters have offered to reassign me to the U.P.,” said Nidhi. “They need someone working with the werewolf packs up here. I could keep up my mundane practice as well. Seasonal affective disorder alone will keep me busy most of the year. I’d get my own place, of course. I don’t imagine you and I would do well living in the same house.”