Forever by Rebecca Royce

away the feeling. Gods, he could use a run in his Wolf body. Why wouldn’t it come back?
    “What were you thinking you could do?” His father leaned back with a guarded expression.
    “See the problem, Dad, is I’m not really good for anything. I’m not a Wolf anymore.”
    His father shook his head. “Losing the beast happens. It’ll come back.”
    “Maybe not.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “No one can really tell me one way or the other.”
    “You can’t accept life without your wolf like it’s even a possibility.”
    Yes, that was how he’d been raised. Never give up. Never give in. When the cards didn’t go your way, you played the next hand until you won. The constant drive was what had made his father so successful in business and also allowed him to roll with it when he failed. He had never wanted any of them to go to war. But service had been the lot of their time. Fight the Dragons or let the monsters kill their packs and destroy their lands.
    “I’m not hoping it’ll stay like this, Dad. I’m just being realistic.”
    His father cursed. “What, then, are you thinking you can do for a living if you can’t shift?”
    It seemed like a funny question. Most professions didn’t actually require any shifting abilities. His father, for example, hadn’t needed to be in his Wolf form to conduct business. Devin had certainly been aware of his Wolf around when he battled the Dragons—even when he hadn’t been in his Wolf form. But successful Wolves insisted they could feel their Wolves inside of them—helping them, making things easier.
    Devin had never known any humans, but he was going to have to pretend he was one if this was going to work. “I’ve been fixing up the Knox house for the last few weeks. I’m really good at it. Maybe I could make a living doing carpentry. I could become some kind of contractor.”
    “You’d be a good one.” His father nodded. “But the problem is there aren’t too many Wolves around who could afford to pay you.” The years seemed to catch up to his father all at once. “Look around. More houses than not are falling down around themselves. Nine out of ten banks have had to close, and the very few which are left won’t give loans except to the most exclusive of families. I’m not even sure I could get a loan if I needed one at this point.”
    “Really?”
    His dad nodded. “Yep.”
    “Well, that blows that right out of the water.”
    His father stared out the window into the setting sun. “Maybe you could build something for the war effort.”
    “Might be an idea.” He could speak to his old commander. “Good idea, Dad.”
    “Well, that’s why they used to call me the idea man.”
    Devin grinned. Even though the moments were filled with so many things they couldn’t talk about, a comforting rightness filled him because he could just be with his father. “What do you suppose Mom is making for dinner?”
    “I have no idea. She’s still out, so I imagine we might be getting takeout of some kind.”
    The Dragon alarm sounded in the distance. Devin’s whole body tensed. He knew they were false alarms, but they still got him worked up. On the front lines, when the alarm sounded, there was nothing fake about it.
    “How long does it usually go on?” He’d been more than just a little distracted the first time he’d heard the shrill, piercing sound. Keeping Lena safe had been the pivotal thought in his mind.
    “Maybe a minute.” His father stood up. “I wish they’d stop sounding them.
    Everyone knows the Dragons never get in this far.”
    “Going running tonight?” Devin could hardly think with the Dragon alarm ringing. He wanted to be distracted; he needed his father to speak.
    “It’s going on a bit long now.” His dad walked over to the window facing the street. Devin joined him to peer outside.
    A sight tremor overtook his hand, and he put it in his pocket so his dad wouldn’t notice. Why was he so worked up? His nose twitched