He stepped back and swept his gaze around the others. "I don't like being here with these people and animals. I'm going to retire, but remember, courage is doing what we know is dangerous. It's risking our safety for a chance at something better. Don't let your fears shape your reality because no matter how cautious you are, someone or something always sneaks in the back door to manifest that fear. Better to face it and defeat it than to let it attack you unawares."

Before she could comment, he vanished.

Aimee stood there as she considered his words. He was right, but knowing something and acting on it were two entirely different things.

"What did he want?"

She hesitated at her father's question. Over seven feet in height, her father intimidated almost everyone who saw him. But not her. As his only daughter, Aimee knew he'd never harm her. "He was wishing me a Happy Holiday."

Her father smiled before he pulled her against him and kissed the top of her head. "You attract the strangest creatures."

"Is that such a bad thing?" She looked meaningfully at her brothers.

Her father laughed.

But his laughter didn't ease her. "Papa? Can I ask you something?"

He narrowed his gaze on her. "I'm not sure I like that tone of voice, but you can try."

Before she spoke, she glanced to where her mother played with the cubs. "Had you not been fated for Maman, would you have still stayed with her?"

His gaze turned dark. "Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity."

His expression hardened and she could see that her response didn't appease him. "Don't lie to me, Aimee. I can smell it on your skin. You're thinking of that wolf, aren't you?"

She looked away, unable to answer him. Not that he didn't already know.

Her father's eyes snapped fire at her. "He is not our kind."

And in her mind that changed nothing. "I know that, Papa. I tell it to myself every day."