“Jess and Ric watched as a shifted Blayne chased the squirrel, caught the squirrel, toyed with the squirrel, let the squirrel go, only to go chasing after it again. Until she was distracted by the crow that she tried to catch in her mouth.“So…when are you due?”Jess winced at Ric’s question as Blayne ran into a tree, backed up, and went after the bird again.“Mid-March.”“And you’re having a—”“Yes. Yes, I’m having a wolfdog.”“Huh.”Blayne was turning in circles now, trying to catch her tail.“Blayne,” Jess called out. “Blayne!” The wolfdog immediately stopped and started to walk over to Jess and Ric. Too bad the dizziness got the best of her, though, because she stumbled sideways into another tree and slid down, panting.”

“It was a hate crime.” Jess looked at Ric and back at Blayne. “You mean they attacked you because you’re bl—” “A hybrid. Exactly!”

“While the two females snarled viciously at each other, Ric grabbed a stick from the ground and waved it between Jess and Blayne. “Look! Look! A stick! Who wants it? Who wants it? Go get it!” He threw the stick and Jess and Blayne watched it flip across the forest floor. Once it landed, they looked back at Ric.“Dude,” Jess told him, “that was just rude.”

“Reaching out, Lock snagged Blayne by the forearm and pulled her back. “When this is over, she still better love me.” “Don’t worry about anything,” Blayne promised. She leaped up and kissed his cheek. “You’re the bestest bear ever.” “Yeah, but I better not be the loneliest,” he called after her.”

“What are you wearing?” Blayne glanced down at the tiny velvet green minidress she wore. “Jess asked us to be Santa’s helpers tonight.” “You look like Santa’s whores.”

“Like heavy-duty Tupperware, Blayne kept bouncing back.”