In the meantime, Dragos had to follow through with his decision to abdicate as Lord of the Wyr in New York—a position he had held for hundreds of years. He had been intensely busy both with building plans for their new house and working with the sentinels in New York to facilitate a transfer of power to Rune, his former First sentinel, who would act as regent until Pia and Dragos’s oldest son Liam decided if he wanted to take over.

Because Dragos was often in New York, many of the household decisions Pia needed him to weigh in on had been made via FaceTime and text. Finally, after two months of intense activity, it was time to pack clothes and toiletries. They would leave for Rhyacia in two days.

Pia regarded the containers of blush, eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick she held in her hands. She wasn’t clear on how rough the living conditions would be in the new settlement. How likely was it that she would want to wear makeup any time soon?

But this move wasn’t exactly like they were traveling to another neighborhood with a strip mall located a few blocks away where she could buy anything she needed. If she didn’t take things now, she wouldn’t have access to anything like it again very easily.

Her gaze traveled to the nearby French doors, propped open to let in a warm afternoon breeze. Eva had taken Pia’s youngest son Niall outside to give her a break so she could get some serious packing done. While Niall was a helpless two-month-old baby in his human form, in his Wyr form he was hell on four hooves…. And he liked to stay in his Wyr form.

Eva had changed into her canine Wyr form as well. She chased Niall’s tiny streamlined bronze form across the freshly mown lawn. When Niall spun and lowered his equine head to point his horn at Eva, Pia laughed under her breath. That little boy loved to stab things. Eva barked at him, and he tore off in a different direction. Eva lunged in pursuit, and they disappeared from Pia’s line of sight.

She loved everything about the scene outside. Her disaster baby; her best friend. Every detail of the landscaping had been a choice she’d helped to make. When she had first met and mated with Dragos, she’d had to learn to love his penthouse in Cuelebre Tower—and she’d succeeded. She’d made a few changes, claimed the kitchen as her own, and lavished all her attention on decorating their first son Liam’s nursery.

This place was different. She and Dragos had chosen everything about it together. She had helped to create this home from the ground up, and she loved every inch of it.

Man, she was going to miss that KitchenAid mixer. Her chest constricted and the peaceful outdoor scene disappeared as her eyes flooded with moisture.