“Having a good time?” she asked, sipping a glass of water.

From the corner of his eye, he watched Ajax excuse herself and leave Nico with Adrian and Zander. She stepped forward with that regal, smooth glide he was growing accustomed to, linking her arm through Lyra's.

The women faced him together. A united front. The two predators, by more than virtue of species, mated to his sons. Neither of these two women were ever going to be controlled, be handled. He admired their gumption if nothing else and grinned, not caring if it was just this side of feral. They could deal with the sometimes murky politics of a predator shifter's family.

Both narrowed their eyes at the look, both did that little subtle shifting of stance that warriors did when preparing for battle. Oh, yes. Worthy women. And if the future brought what he suspected it would for all shifter species, if that dark cloud looming on the horizon came to pass, they would need to be. But he wouldn't dwell on that today. Today he'd enjoy being in the presence of his family, ignoring the ever-present pang of grief and guilt caused by the one who refused to be with them. Another secret he'd kept from his sons, another lie he'd told. For their own good, or for his? He didn't know anymore. He shook his head. There would be time enough for that later.

He saluted Lyra with his glass. “To the next generation of Leonidas leopards.”

She cocked an eyebrow and took a drink from her glass. “What makes you so sure they'll be leopards?”

He choked on his wine, and Ajax hit him just a little too hard on the back while he coughed. He knew by the look in her eyes she was aware of what she was doing and took enjoyment in it. Ignoring her, he focused on his youngest son's mate.

“Of course they'll be cats. Dominant DNA and all that.”

He waved a hand through the air knowing he shouldn't have to explain it to a doctor. At least he thought not. Ajax and Lyra exchanged a long, knowing look and both burst out laughing. He glared. They'd probably both refuse to have leopards just to spite him.

The others approached. Celeste with her gentle smile, Cleo trying not to show her hyper-awareness of all the strangers in her house. His boys. Tall, strong. Good. With everyone gathered around it was time to get down to business.

He looked at his oldest, Jason. His pride and joy, the one who'd broken when he thought his mate had died. This was his chance at redemption. “Have you decided?”

Jason pulled Celeste to him, wrapped his arms around her waist. Slowly he nodded while holding Hector's gaze. “I'll come home and take my place as CEO again. And look after security since Nico's taking up with the birds.”

There was an audible sigh of relief through the group, but it seemed to be most heartfelt from Adrian. The boy had taken on an unusually hard task when Jason had left. One he hadn't been trained or prepared for, but he'd done well. Hector allowed himself a small bit of pride. He'd been hard on his boys, but they'd grown up strong, smart.

There was one other matter to settle and he kept close watch on Ajax with gleeful anticipation when he delivered it. They'd been butting heads for weeks, he and his newest daughter-in-law. He knew she'd flown to Arizona expecting to leave him behind when she returned home. Little did she know.

“Adrian, I don't care how you and Jason work it out, but you two are in charge. I'm retiring officially and going back to Tennessee with Nico and Ajax.”

Ajax was speechless for only a moment. “Absolutely not!”

“I'm afraid my mind is made up, dear.”

She narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits. “Listen, cat, I've had enough of you. It's someone else's turn.”

His other daughters-in-law were all quick to jump in to support his choice. If he didn't find the whole thing so amusing, he would have been insulted. The boys, he noticed, were all suspiciously quiet. That was fine too. He was happy just to see them together, everyone speaking to each other. Life was good again.

Smiling, he slipped away, leaving all his children to squabble amongst themselves, to find a quiet place to watch the sun set.