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Chapter one
Prologue
Five months earlier…
Royce
This was going to be fun. It wasn’t very often that we got to introduce newbies into the pup-world, but Jax’s new boyfriend, Ward, had managed to bring some people in. Jax said Ward’s best friend had his own law practice, and some of his employees wanted to see what this was all about. That friend, Drew, was here with his sub, who was not a pup, but the two kinks sometimes went together well. None of us cared who was a pup and who was not in this group anyway. As long as everyone was supportive, and they were.
I hoped there would be someone fun here for Todd, our pup Sunshine, since it seemed like he could never find a partner who could get behind the pup stuff. Well, to be fair, neither had Jax or me until Jax met Ward at the pride parade. So maybe there was hope for all of us.
I donned my red mask, favorite red MMA gloves, black bike shorts, and a red halter. I’d also pulled on heavy-duty knee pads since we were told there might be some walking play. We didn’t do that often, but it would let potential new handlers get in on the action more. As soon as I had my gear in place, I leapt to the mat. Sunshine tumbled over me, and Jay yipped at us from the side. There wouldn’t be a ton of playing together like this because today’s mosh was more about education than play. And Jax wanted us to interact with the new people.
Egypt, Niki, Dallas, and the Dalmatian, Marshall, were also here. Egypt had a handler already, but the rest of us were single.
After a few minutes of play, Chris instructed the handlers to interact with us. Some threw the ball and toys for some fetch, and some coaxed us with treats. Sunshine fetched a bone and took it back to the guy who’d thrown it, then proceeded to get into a game of keep away with him. Looking around, it seemed as if everyone was having fun. Except for one guy off to the side. He wore a golf shirt, khaki shorts, and a look on his face full of longing. He wanted to get in on the play and didn’t know how or didn’t trust himself. I didn’t know, but something was holding him back.
I tilted my head to the side when I caught his gaze. He smiled shyly. Ah…damn, this guy was a cinnamon roll if I ever saw one. I went up to him and sat in front of him, hands between my knees, and panted softly while I waited. After an uncomfortable minute, he reached out and patted my head.
For once, I wished I liked cats more because I wanted to purr. Instead, I chuckled and barked. The cinnamon roll jumped back a second, but when he looked at me again, sitting there with my tongue hanging out the side of my mouth, he came a little closer. “You’re cute. You want to play?” he asked.
I lifted up, holding my hands in front of my chest as if they were paws. I barked again, quieter this time, more like Jay’s happy yips.
“Okay…” He looked around, but before he could find anything to play with, Chris handed him a leash.
“This will be fun. Boone likes a walk, don’t you.”
Hearing my name and the word walking together, I immediately started bouncing around, letting a few more happy barks out.
“Okay. Boone, is it? Come here.” He snapped his fingers. “I’m Quinn,” he introduced himself as he snapped the leash onto my leather collar.
He was so sweet, I figured I could give him a break, and I sat quietly at his feet to wait for our walk instead of jumping around excitedly, but my heart was still pounding. I liked this guy already, and my heart filled with hope.
Chris clapped his hands. “Okay, everybody. If you have a pup and want to walk around outside, grab a leash if you don’t have one and let’s go. Remember, your pup is under your care. Be sure to watch out for anything on the path that might hurt them and stay on the grass.”
Then we were off. I walked—on hands and knees—calmly beside Quinn as we made our way out. Jax and Ward had spent some time with Chris and Gunner to make sure the grassy patch around the refurbished yoga studio was safe for pups to walk. We didn’t go outside often because the environment wasn’t as easy to control, and safety was always first. But it was a gorgeous day, and I liked walking with Quinn. I held my head high as we paraded around. Quinn took to it like a natural, slipping me a couple of treats of peanut butter-filled pretzel bites now and then.
Afterward, Quinn helped me with water and getting my gear off. I took a long pull from the cold bottle of water. “Ahh…thanks.”
“Sure.” Quinn pet my hair, now that it was free from the mask. “Is this okay?”
“Yeah. It’s nice. But I’m kind of sweaty.”
“I don’t mind.” Yep, one hundred and fifty percent cinnamon roll.
“You’re sweet, Quinn.”
“You are too, Boone.”
I gave him a wink. “My name is actually Royce. Boone is for when I’m a pup.”
“Okay. Nice to meet you, Royce.”
Jax bounced over and invited us to their place afterward for drinks and then bounced off again without waiting for our response, simply assuming we were going. But that was Jax.
“Sounds like fun. Want to go?” Quinn asked.
“Sure. I rode with Sunshine, uh, Todd. There.” I pointed to our other friend. When we moshed, sometimes, we carpooled since the parking lot was small, and more people were expected today. “It was easier to ride with him. I drive a sportscar, so not much room for extra bodies and gear.” I held up my mask.
