Chapter 10
Arthur
The moment he could, Arthur took his peregrine falcon shape and winged his way to Titan and Beatrix. He could feel their excitement as they sensed his approach. By the time he circled the rescue facility, they were both outside looking up into the dark sky.
He landed with a flourish, shifting to his human shape as he touched ground, his coat flaring out behind him. He’d never be as good as a true shifter, but he did practice a few things to show off.
Through his bond, he could feel how impressed his flock was at his showmanship. It filled him with pleasure that he could still impress them.
“I wish my landings were half that smooth,” Beatrix said, running to him the moment he stopped. She jumped up, and he automatically caught her.
“You will be,” he promised. “I’ve been practicing for over a hundred years. Give it a little time and you’ll be better than me.”
“I’m not good at patience,” she grumbled, then kissed him.
As they kissed, Titan moved to stand behind him and wrapped them both in his big arms. Arthur ended the kiss with Beatrix so he could turn his head and get a kiss from his wolf before talking.
“I missed you both very much,” he said. “I wished neither of you would leave me during the day. Can’t we run the shelter at night when I can be with you?”
Beatrix made a scoffing sound. “You know that’s not going to work. Besides, we stayed with you every day for two weeks. Then we promised a full week every year on your birthday. That’s all you're getting.”
Over the last four months, Arthur had been working hard to create an environment that would make all three of them happy. Now, it was finally time to reveal it.
“I have something for both of you,” he said. “Are you done with work, or can I help you finish?”
Titan shook his head. “Everything’s done for the day. All the extra help you hired makes it easy.”
Arthur knew it wasn’t easy. Titan cared so much that it was hard to delegate labor, especially when it came to the medically fragile animals.
Arthur wanted to hire a full-time veterinarian or at least several vet techs to work for the rescue.
Titan said it wasn’t necessary, but Arthur was going to keep pushing until Titan agreed.
“Great!” Arthur said, pulling out of Titan’s hold and setting Beatrix down. “Your birthday gift is ready. Can I give it to you now?”
Titan nearly vibrated with excitement even as he tried to demur. “You’ve already done so much. You don’t need to do anything else.”
“I promise that everything I do is for my own selfish reasons,” Arthur said. “Making you and Beatrix happy gives me more joy than I’ve ever known.”
“You’ve been so secretive, and you wouldn’t even tell me. I need to know! Where is it?” Beatrix asked.
She was a lot less shy about asking for things for the rescue or for herself than Titan.
Although, she didn’t ask for expensive things.
She mostly wanted items that made them all more comfortable, like a giant bed or a couch big enough to accommodate them all without anyone needing to be squeezed too much.
Any time she showed an interest in something, he made a mental note.
Her birthday was next, then Christmas, then New Year’s, then Valentine's Day.
He looked forward to every excuse to lavish gifts on his flock.
Beatrix started patting his coat. “Where is it?”
He grabbed her hands. “It’s nothing that small. We’ll need to travel to the gift.”
“What have you done?” Titan asked with a little frown.
“You’ll see,” Arthur responded.
Beatrix pulled free and grabbed hold of Titan and started pulling him toward the parking lot. “Let’s go!”
Laughing, Titan let her move him to the car they used when they weren’t transporting animals. It was an SUV that comfortably fit Titan despite his size.
Arthur followed them and got into the back as Titan moved to the driver's seat. Beatrix crawled into the back with Arthur and snuggled up next to him as Arthur gave Titan the address to type into the mapping app.
They cuddled and touched as Titan drove. The wolf wasn’t jealous that he couldn’t be part of their backseat shenanigans. All that was coming from Titan was happiness that his mates were enjoying themselves.
Titan had the purest soul of anyone Arthur had ever met.
It didn’t take long for Titan to get to their destination. He pulled to a stop in a designated parking spot, and Arthur could feel his confusion.
“I don’t think this place is open,” he said. “Is the gift inside? We might need to come back tomorrow.”
“I can get us in,” Arthur said, getting out, then turning around to help Beatrix from the car.
They followed him to the front door of the large industrial two-story building. He punched in a code, and the door beeped and unlatched. Pulling it open, he urged his flock inside.
“This looks like the waiting room of a vet's office,” Titan said. “What is this place?”
“This is your second facility!” Arthur announced, throwing his arms out to indicate the whole building.
“What?” Titan exclaimed, looking confused. “Second facility?”
“Yes,” Arthur said, beaming at his flock. He grabbed their hands and led them through another door into a large open space. “This is a 15,000 square foot fully enclosed and air-controlled building. I’ve already had it set up with roomy dog kennels, and there’s a cattery to our left.”
Acting as tour guide, he walked them through all the first-floor amenities, including a medical area, quarantine section, a training and play area, and a breakroom for staff and volunteers.
“But wait, there’s more,” he continued, taking them up a flight of stairs to the second floor. He led them through a set of heavy, industrial iron doors into a beautiful, decorated living room.
“This is our new home,” he announced.
“Our new home?” Beatrix repeated, letting go of his hand to step further into the space.
“Now both of you can work, and I can be close by,” he explained. “I don’t have to wait for the sun to set to be with both of you and help even while the sun shines.”
“I’m happy you’re happy,” Titan said, hugging him tightly. “But you finance most of my rescue now, that’s enough help. You don’t need to do any physical labor.”
He knew Titan was trying to be diplomatic because Arthur still struggled to move during the daylight hours, but he was getting a little stronger every day. It wouldn’t be long before he was able to do more than sit up and talk.
“I’m happy,” he agreed, giving Titan a quick kiss, then pushed him away. “Explore your new home. I know neither of you liked my house much, so I hope I did a better job with this place.”
“I love it already,” Beatrix said, admiring the living room furniture. “It all looks inviting and comfy. I can’t wait for all of us to snuggle up and watch a movie.”
“Don’t you mean try to watch a movie?” Titan teased.
Beatrix stuck her tongue out at him at the same time Arthur chuckled. So far, they hadn’t managed to make it through an entire movie. Either Beatrix fell asleep—as a pixie she needed more sleep than the average human—or they ended up making out and having sex.
The first issue only made Beatrix more adorable to them, and the second wasn’t a bad problem to have.
“I had Maddy help me decorate,” he said.
Beatrix shot him an approving look. “Good call. She’s got good taste and loves doing stuff like this.” He felt realization shoot through her. “That’s why she was asking me about my favorite colors and styles! Both of you were so sneaky, I can’t believe I didn’t figure out what was going on.”
“How could we guess he was going to buy us another facility?” Titan exclaimed, leading Arthur into the kitchen.
Beatrix followed them and whistled with appreciation at the shiny appliances and two extra-large refrigerators. They needed the extra space because Titan had to consume plenty of food to fuel his large body.
Arthur continued the tour. “There are three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. There are also two offices, one for me and one for Beatrix. At the very back, there are several empty rooms that we can use for whatever either of you wants.”
“Where’s our bedroom?” Titan asked.
Eager to show Titan their new bed, Arthur led them to the main bedroom. “This is ours.”
Beatrix gasped. “Where did you find a bed that big?”
“I had it custom-made,” he explained.
“I love it,” Titan said, and Arthur could feel the shifter's relief at having a bed that he was unlikely to fall out of.
“Poor Titan,” Beatrix murmured and rubbed his back. “I never realized how difficult it could be if you're a big guy.”
“So difficult,” Titan muttered.
“Which is why I had the bathroom custom-made,” Arthur said.
A wave of excitement came from Titan, and he rushed off to see. The wolf let out a loud exclamation.
“You could fit two of me in this shower!” he shouted.
“I want to see!” Beatrix said and followed him.
Arthur trailed after her, entering the bathroom to find both of them standing in the dry shower stall.
“Look at this!” Titan said, standing under the showerhead. “I don’t have to duck at all!”
Beatrix put her hands on his hips. “I could wash you down here while you take care of your upper half.”
“Naughty pixie,” Titan said.
“What about me?” Arthur asked.
His flock moved together, grabbing him and dragging him into the stall with them.
“We all fit,” Beatrix said. “This is great.”
“When do we get to move in?” Titan asked, gazing around with absolute joy.
“I’ve hired movers to pack up your things and move them from my home to here while we’re out this evening,” Arthur explained. “They’ll start when I text them. I didn’t want to move anything before both of you approved of our new home.”
“I approve!” Titan said. “You might never get me out of this shower.”
“It’s perfect,” Beatrix agreed. “This place feels like home already.”
“Does that mean you’ll give up your apartment now?” Arthur asked, trying hard not to let his anxiety bleed through their bonds.
She turned to face him and reached up to cup his cheek. “Yes, I’m ready to break my lease.”
Relief made him feel dizzy for half a second. He knew Beatrix loved him and Titan, but he couldn't help but see her determination to keep her old apartment as proof that she wasn’t ready to trust them yet.
“It wasn’t you,” she whispered. “I only needed a little extra time. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
“Nothing to be sorry for,” he assured her.
Titan was going to say something, but Beatrix’s phone chimed rapidly, indicating a flurry of text messages. Then his phone started ringing.
“The outside world pulls at us,” he grumbled, pulling out his phone as Beatrix did the same.
He saw the call was from Maddy. At the moment, that was the only person outside his flock that he’d talk to. When he answered, she spoke quickly. He agreed with her choices, and they hung up.
“We need to get going,” Beatrix said, tapping rapidly on her phone. “Everyone’s waiting for us.”
“Book club isn’t usually so pushy,” Titan commented, reluctantly stepping out of the shower stall. “Could we skip it this time and stay here?”
Beatrix linked her arm in his. “Not this time. But I promise we can play in the shower when we get back, okay?”
“Deal!”
They all walked out of the building, chatting about how wonderful their new home was. They were happier with it than Arthur had dared to hope.
Once outside, Beatrix stopped them before they could get into the car.
“Can we fly to the Dapper Dog?” she asked. “Please!”
Arthur debated for a moment. The bar was within her flight range, but only barely. He hesitated, ready to say no, but then Titan spoke up.
“I’ll be in the car. I can pick both of you up if she gets tired,” he said. “Please, Arthur, she loves to fly.”
Arthur couldn’t refuse his flock. “Fine, but you can’t push yourself like last time. If you start to fatigue, then land immediately, don’t try to tough it out.”
Beatrix held up her hand as if taking an oath. “I’ll stop, I promise.”
Eager to fly, she pulled off her shirt to reveal a special racerback tank top that they’d bought from a pixie clothing company.
If any random human saw her back, they’d think she had exquisitely done dragonfly wing tattoos running down her back.
In reality, they were her pixie wings hidden in her body until she needed them.
It had taken several days for her to learn to pull them out or put them back. Even now, it required a lot of concentration to set her wings free.
After a few minutes of effort, her beautiful wings popped free of her back, glistening in the bright security lights of the building.
“That will never get old,” Titan said, admiring her delicate-looking appendages.
“Never,” she agreed, moving them slowly to warm them up before taking flight.
Like many flying creatures, Beatrix had a natural glamour that hid her from human eyes.
Hers was so powerful that even when she landed, no one could see her wings.
To them, she would suddenly “appear.” They’d found that if Arthur landed close, her glamour would keep anyone from seeing him go from his bird shape to human.
Izzy, a member of the Lobo Gris pack despite being a pixie, had been an invaluable source of information for Beatrix, including what to eat, what to avoid, and how to properly care for her wings.
Those same wings were moving more rapidly now, telling Arthur she was ready to fly. He was so thankful he’d spent decades learning to take his falcon shape because it meant he could soar with his pixie.
Focusing, he shrank to his bird shape and took flight, Beatrix was right behind him.
Pure joy radiated from her. Under them, Titan laughed with happiness as he hurried to follow them in his car.
This was what it meant to have a flock.