“It’s not. I’ve heard my mom and dad talking about it. My mom says Dalton’s views are what’s unnatural.” That was true, by the way. I’d overheard them talking about it in hushed tones several times over the years. “My mom says it’s bullshit. She says not being allowed to love who you love is what’s unnatural.”

Jules’s eyes were like saucers. “She said that?”

“Yeah, she meant it too. I could tell.”

“What did your dad say?”

“He didn’t disagree. He just told her to lower her voice and then begged her to calm down when she didn’t.”

I could tell how shocked Jules was. Actively disagreeing with the pack leader was nothing short of sacrilege. It was unheard of.

“What do you think?” he asked.

I wasn’t expecting the question, and honestly, I’d never given it much thought, but the second he asked it, I knew how I felt. My mother always said, “Your first instinct is your best instinct.”

“Of course it’s natural. Of course it’s good. What could ever be wrong with one person loving another?”

Jules gave me an uncertain but grateful smile. “They do seem really happy. And Mason’s mate, Joe, is a great guy.”

“Then I’m nothing but happy for them. And I’m nothing but sad for us that we lost them over something so dumb.”

“What do you think about having kids though? Obviously, two guys can’t have kids.”

“There are lots of different ways to have kids. But even if there weren’t . . .” I paused dramatically. I knew what I was about to say was going to blow Jules’s mind and shock him to his core. “. . . who the hell wants kids anyway?”

“WHAT?”

“You heard me.” I chuckled. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I fully accept that I’m going to spend most of my adult life trying to get a shifter gal pregnant, but let’s just say, I won’t be even a little disappointed when it doesn’t work.”

Jules gawked at me, mouth and eyes perfectly round. “But, but what about the future of the pack?”

“I guess I always just figured procreation was on you.”

“Oh, fuck you very much, Sully Cleary.”

I smiled and tapped my foot softly against his. “Don’t want them either, huh?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re cute as hell,” he said, laughing, “but God, they’re a pain in the ass.”

We both lay back on the dewy grass with our hands tucked under our heads and looked up at the moon peeking through the sloping branches of the willow tree. For the first time that whole summer, I felt content. I had Jules at my side, the earth under my back, and my whole life ahead of me.