“No, that would just be Josh being overprotective,” Reed said as he kissed his husband’s temple. “You do know that Josh is a Tracker, though, so he can go with you if you need him.”
My wolf bristled, but my father’s wolf was more dominant than mine, so it wasn’t like I could push back too much.
“I’m fine. If I need help, I will call you. All of you. I can take rogues down on my own, and we know that going into another Pack’s territory means it is better to go one at a time. Especially because we don’t know the Starlight Pack that well.”
The Starlight Pack was in southern Texas, the starting point for my search. I wasn’t sure why I knew that, but it just clung to me, part of my tracking. After all, Spencer was from down there. Maybe he had gone home. Or maybe my wolf was twisting me up into knots because I couldn’t tell.
It wasn’t like I could imagine a golden thread to lead me down there. It was just my wolf pushing me in that direction. But I could be wrong and following the wrong path.
“Where is Nick going?”
“Out to Philadelphia,” Conner said as he hugged Mom. “That’s where he should have been for his business meeting.”
“But if you feel that you need to go down to the Starlight Pack, that’s where he probably is,” my mom said softly.
“Not necessarily. My tracking isn’t as good as Dad’s. I’m going to find him. Even if I have to go back up to Philly.”
“We’ll see,” Dad said, frowning.
“You know my tracking is hit or miss unless I have an emotional connection to my target these days.”
He nodded, but before I could say anything else, my other siblings walked in.
Nico, Addison, Monica, Redmond, and Brodie all tumbled in, laughing and acting like adolescents rather than the twenty-somethings they all were.
My parents went big or went home, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Some of us looked more like Reed than Josh, so we knew who our genetic father was, but both men had raised us, along with our mom. How my mom had gone through labor and delivery so many times, I didn’t know, but I knew that on Mother’s Day she always got the best flowers and a day off. After all, she’d had to help raise us. We were little terrors.
“No more talk of tracking before dinner,” my mom said as she nodded tightly. “We are going to have a good dinner and not have a food fight, as you guys aren’t five anymore, and then we’re going to go to the Pack circle and listen to the Moon Goddess.”
My brows rose. “When is the last time that we did that?” I asked, looking at my sisters.
Both Addison and Monica just shrugged.
“I just feel like we need to do it,” Mom said. “I know it’s weird, but we’re going to go down and stand in the circle as a family. We don’t need to offer a sacrifice or build an altar, that’s not what we do, but I feel like we need to respect the Moon Goddess.”
“Doesn’t she speak directly to Cheyenne and Max now?” Conner asked.
“As they’re the Supreme Alphas, that is true,” Reed said as he helped the others set the table. “It’s not like we can just ask our friends to go draw up a line. And they’re not here anyway.”
I blinked. “Where are they?”
“They’re in DC meeting with the President of the United States. Big things. Then they’re off to the Thames Pack to go meet with that Alpha, Allister.”
I grinned. “How is the Alpha?” I practically purred, and Addison cackled.
“Too old for you,” Josh growled, sounding much more like a shifter than a human.
“Didn’t you go on a date with him?” Monica asked softly.
“We had coffee, and he was nice, but I’m never going to go out on a date date with the man. I’m not going to mate with the Alpha of the Thames Pack. I would never get used to driving on the wrong side of the road.”
Mom winked. “If he were your mate, we would be happy for you, even though we would miss you. Technology is great, and we can see each other often these days, but I don’t even like you living outside of the house, let alone so far away.”
“The Alpha of the Pack in England is not my mate,” I said drily.
“But he is dreamy,” Monica sighed, and the rest of our brothers groaned.
“You would think we were all teenagers and not full adults all in the process of mating on our own. I mean, our cousins have children. Maybe it’s time we find our mates.”
“I was far older than you by the time I found your dad and mom,” Father said. “In fact, all of my siblings, other than Cailin, were either near one hundred or over it by the time that we found our mates.”
“I don’t want to wait that long,” Monica sighed.
“Same here,” Nico put in.
“Well, I’m not going to be tracking for a mate. I’m going to be tracking for a part of our Pack. So I should probably focus on that, and not on a certain swoony Alpha.” My wolf pushed at me, and I knew she was anxious to find our forever. Only, I didn’t know when that would happen. I couldn’t put out an ad for a mate, so I’d have to wait.
My twin just rolled his eyes, and my mom tapped me on the nose. “Only happy talk. We’ll talk of the serious soon.”
I grinned, kissed my mother on the cheek, and stole a roll.
“Okay then, talk of the happy, and then we talk of magic.”
Because we were family, we were Pack, and we were Redwoods.
Chapter 3
Kaylee
If my twin didn’t stop glaring at me, I’d have to slash him with my claws and prove who could be more dominant. Conner might be slightly more dominant than me most days, but thanks to the twin bond, I could take his wolf if a strong emotion took over me. With my twin wanting to coddle me like usual, that emotion wouldn’t be hard to find.
We were at the same place in the hierarchy, with our individual talents leading us to similar paths, but he still treated me like the baby sister, and I resented it. It didn’t matter that we had five other siblings. I was the first baby to him.
I wanted to nip at him just because.
“Stop growling at your brother,” Mom whispered from my side, and I leaned into her, scowling down at her. She was a few inches shorter than me, even though I wasn’t too tall, but Mom was a compact powerhouse.
“He’s glaring at me. What do you expect?”
“Reed is telling him to stop. We’re here to find peace as a family before you go off on your journey. It’s hard to watch your children grow and make choices and take chances that could hurt them. Even though at the same time it’s fulfilling and wonderful that your babies are well rounded and nurtured enough to be enforcers for the Pack.”
I smiled and kissed the top of her head. “You’re the best, Mom. All of your chicks are leaving the nest and finding their places.”
“I have no idea how it happened. At least I don’t look a day over thirty. If we weren’t part of the Pack with magic that leads to longevity, I know all of you would have turned me gray after your first birthdays.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “We try our best.” I sighed and looked out at the Pack circle, where we had come for the evening. We weren’t there for a ceremony or a true event, but coming here as a family had always brought us a sense of peace. We would stand in the circle, link hands, and allow our family’s magic to run through our familial bonds.