"You should go," I say firmly. "It's Harvard. It's your dream. You'd be researching pack dynamics at the highest level, teaching, publishing?—"
"And leaving you. Leaving pack. For at least two years, possibly more."
"We'd visit," Tyler says. "We'd make it work."
"Statistically, long-distance pack bonds show increased stress markers?—"
"We're not statistics," I interrupt gently. "We're us. And you deserve this opportunity."
Through the bond, his conflict is palpable. Want and duty and love pulling in different directions.
"We'll talk about it later," Calder says, entering with two recaptured goats in tow. "After we tell people about the pregnancy. One major life decision at a time."
Julian's eyes sharpen. "You're ready to tell them?"
"We're ready," I confirm. "Everyone's coming this afternoon. It's time."
Mira arrives first, as always.
She lets herself in through the kitchen door, sets a basket of fresh bread on the counter, and pulls me into a hug before I can say anything.
"You're glowing," she observes, stepping back to study me. "And your scent has changed. Deeper. Warmer."
"How did you?—"
"I'm old, little one. Not oblivious." She touches my cheek. "How far along?"
"Three months.Twins."
Her eyes water immediately. "Oh, Elowen."
"We wanted to wait. To be sure. After everything..." I trail off.
She understands without me explaining. The year and a half of trying. The disappointment each month. The well-meaning questions from families that became weight instead of support. The decision to stop trying, to travel instead, to live.
And then, three months after we came home from India, the test showed positive.
"You're sure now?" Mira asks.
"The doctor confirmed it last week. The babies are healthy."
"Then it's time to celebrate." She squeezes my hands. "The universe has its own timing. Asha would say the babies were waiting for you to find her village first. To come home to your roots before they could take root in you."
Trust Mira to make it poetic instead of medical.
Pen and Maya arrive together an hour later, tumbling out of Pen's beat-up car with the energy of college students on break.
Pen's at Manchester University now, studying kinesiology, still doing gymnastics. Maya's at Elderwood, second year, omega studies with a minor in library science. They've become genuine friends, texting constantly, visiting each other, creating their own pack of sisters.
"Elowen!" Pen hugs me enthusiastically. "Your greenhouse is bigger every time I visit. Are you secretly expanding it when we're not looking?"
"Shh, don’t tell the others. It’s our secret." I wink at her.
Maya's less exuberant, but her hug is just as warm. "How are you? Really?"
"Really good," I say, and mean it.
Calder watches, amused, from the porch. Tyler's in the kitchen with Mira, helping with food preparation. Julian's in his study, video conferencing with someone about the Harvard fellowship.
