Wheeler’s eyes flashed up. “You kissed him?”

“I’d hardly call him mashing his sloppy lips against mine a kiss, but yes. He didn’t smell like you, or touch me the way you do. It only took a few seconds for me to know.” I stroked the patch of beard on Wheeler’s chin. “No one compares to my lover.”

“Think we ought to make this official with the papers?”

“Well, I suppose that would be the proper way to go about it, although I’m sure the Council will turn up its nose at our pairing.”

Wheeler sniffed out a quiet laugh. “Should we have kids?”

“Mmm,” I said, snuggling against him. “You want to make babies with me?”

“Someday. Unless you don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m not exactly father material.”

“I think whether we have a panther or a wolf, we’re going to have a beautiful child. With my good looks and your charming personality, how can we lose?”

He wrapped his arm around me and lowered his left leg. “What do I smell like?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you knew it wasn’t me because of his smell. So, what do I smell like?”

I nibbled on his ear. “Smoked meat. You need to stop eating that stuff.”

“At least it’s not raw meat.” He slipped his finger beneath a strap on my garter belt and snapped it against my skin. “This is sexy.”

“Do I have a smell?”

Wheeler pulled me so I was straddling him, and he kissed the base of my throat. “When you’re not bathed in that perfume, you smell like an oven full of hot sugar cookies.” His tongue glided across my skin and I lightly rocked my hips. “Better stop doing that,” he said, his voice husky.

“Why?”

The bristly hairs on his beard scratched at my neck as his mouth reached my ear. “Because it would be a damn shame for me to have to rip this costume off you when the party just started.”

“Save it for later then. Come on.” I stood up and gave him my hand. “Do you think Austin told everyone?”

Wheeler shrugged. “Guess I’ll find out when I get the stares or not.”

Outside, the sharp snaps and muffled booms of fireworks were sounding off. We stepped onto the front porch and glanced up at the dark sky. Giant sprays of white lights twinkled overhead like pieces of glitter thrown to the heavens. Then another that looked like a green mushroom.

I expected to see the children, but I only saw Melody on Jericho’s shoulders at the end of the porch. When I walked down the steps and glanced up, I noticed Maizy standing alone on the upstairs balcony with a melancholy look on her face. She watched the changing colors turn bright and then quickly fade until they were gone.

The front door swung open noisily and I heard footsteps as someone barreled across the porch. I caught sight of Ben just as he threw down his bag and took a swing at Wheeler. The crowd backed away and the fireworks cut off when someone yelled out. Wheeler knelt on the grass and looked up. Without warning, he charged at Ben. Their bodies twirled in the air in a dance of magic as they shifted.