By the time we landed, I was on edge and wanted to run in my fur, but I couldn’t yet. First, I needed to meet with the Alpha of the Starlight Pack and ensure he knew I wasn’t there to poach on his territory. I might be a Tracker, but I had rules to follow, and I didn’t need his people to think I was a rogue trying to take over their Pack.
The Starlight Pack was a large Pack in south Texas, outside of San Antonio. Their territory went east and held some of the coastal areas on the gulf as well. While I knew Kade was more dominant than Riaz—their Alpha—it was only by just a little. They were a strong Pack, and I understood that, thanks to my cousin Parker, we were working on forming an alliance. It was slow going, and I knew we were working with other partners as well. I knew it was for the best.
After centuries of our Packs becoming so insular some had folded inward, we were becoming a power and coming into the new century. We needed to strengthen our bonds with one another because something was coming. We weren’t sure what. Even the Foreseers couldn’t see beneath the veil of shadow around us.
I stepped off the plane into the suffocating heat and wanted to pant like my wolf. It was a humid heat that made my hair begin to stand up off my shoulders, and I held in a growl. I might be used to humidity, thanks to living in the Pacific Northwest, but I wasn’t used to it attached to heat.
“Kaylee Jamenson?” a deep voice asked from beside me, and I turned toward the man. I’d scented him the moment the plane door opened, my wolf on alert for the predator in our midst.
The man in front of me had a wide build, thick muscle roping his body, and dark hair. He looked as if he spent a lot of time outdoors, his skin a deep tan, and his hazel eyes sliced anyone he glared at. Though he scented of dominant wolf, he didn’t have the ring of gold around his eyes, telling me he had complete control of the shifter within.
He met my gaze, and I his, not blinking or turning away. I might not be in my own Pack, or even near anyone I knew, but I wasn’t going to submit to anyone just because I was a stranger and a woman who happened to be of average size. I wasn’t as petite as some of my family members, but I wasn’t the tallest either.
It took nearly a full minute, but finally the other man turned away, seeming to look behind me in order to save face. I let him, as he’d been the one to begin the dominance battle and hadn’t once growled or shown his wolf to me. It seemed to be reflex to him, and I wasn’t in the mood to see who’s was bigger this early in the search.
As it was, the connection that pulsated between the Pack and me, those bonds that weren’t always visible since I wasn’t an Alpha or in the highest hierarchies, pulled at me, and I let out a breath.
“That’s me. And you are?”
“Brendan. I’m Beta here to the Starlight Pack. Welcome to our home. You alone?”
I nodded, looking past him when he faced me again. “I am. Just like promised. I’m here to see if I sense Spencer. Have you heard from him?”
Brendan shook his head, his shoulders stiffening. “No, we haven’t. Not even his parents, which is worrisome. When he joined the Redwoods after going lone wolf a couple of decades ago, it surprised us, since he usually liked staying to himself, but he sounded happy.”
My heart clenched and I nodded. “I don’t know him well, but yes, he is happy. He has friends but lost the woman that would have been his mate during the battles.”
Brendan cursed. “I didn’t know that.”
It ached to even think about, but I ignored the pain. “We haven’t heard from him in over a week, though he should have been back from his trip out east a few days ago. We have another Packmate looking from him there with another Pack. I’m here to track him with what we have and hope we can find him.”
“You’re a Tracker then.”
I nodded. “Not in the sense like a full Tracker would be, but I have the skills.” A full Tracker was blessed by the Moon Goddess with the title. My skills came from my DNA, thanks to Josh. While the Beta looked curious, I didn’t elaborate. I wasn’t about to lie to him about who I was, but he didn’t need to know every single part of where I had come from and what our powers were. We weren’t allies yet.
“We’ll help where we can. You’ll have whatever you need. First, though, you need to meet with Riaz.”
I nodded. “Of course.” I couldn’t enter their lands without meeting the Alpha and being welcomed into the Pack as a guest. If other members of the Pack found me roaming on their lands in search for Spencer without the Alpha’s welcome, it could be a declaration of war. While it might not make sense to humans, it had helped our Packs stay safe for centuries—even with new technology and the fact that our existence was now out to the humans.
We had rules to keep us alive.
And if we didn’t follow them, our lives were rightly forfeit.
I nodded at Brendan and followed him to the car nearby. I focused on my wolf, trying to see if it was telling me anything, and the other wolf frowned at me.
“Did you find anything yet?” he asked as he started the engine. I shook my head. “It takes me a minute to get through the discombobulation of changing settings, if that makes sense.”
“If your power’s attached to your Pack and your location, that makes sense. You’re not near your Pack, not near where you grew up, not near anything that you know. It’s going to take you a minute to find that pulse.”
I gave the other wolf a look and raised a brow. “Intuitive.”
“We don’t have trackers like you in this Pack, but we’re all wolves with bonds to the Moon Goddess. We learned a few things over time.”
I nodded and focused inward, trying to catch any movement inside that would be lead me to Spencer.
“I remember Spencer when he was younger and living here,” the other man said after a moment.
I looked up at him. “Oh?”
“He’s a good man. Or at least he was when I knew him. He calls his parents every week, even now, after so many years. Even when he was a lone wolf, he would make sure his parents knew that he was safe and unharmed. During your war with the Centrals? He made sure that his family knew he was safe. And then again, when the humans attacked us? He was there.”
“Did the government come for your Pack too?” I asked, aware I didn’t know the history of this Pack.
The other man scowled. “They tried. We were one of the Packs that weren’t living out in the open, but it’s not like we can hide in a forest like some of you guys.”
I scowled. “Because you don’t have forests?”
He snorted. “We were on hill country, but it’s a little different than an actual Redwood forest.”
“True.” I paused. “They came after you then?”
He nodded as he pulled up onto a dirt road, and I could sense other wolves nearby. We must be nearing the center of their den, or at least the part they would allow me to see.
“They did. We didn’t let them get far. They didn’t come in as hard as they did with you, as they didn’t know much about us, but like they were doing with much of the wolves around the country, they were trying to set a precedent, give us a message. They weren’t able to.”
“I’m glad that you were able to protect yourself.”