Page 2 of Mated in Darkness

Relief slid through me for an instant, because this wolf was shifting back.

If they could shift back, that meant maybe we didn’t have to kill him.

The problem with rogues was that they killed indiscriminately, harming anyone in their path.

We were the protectors of this place, of the weaker shifters, of the witches, of the humans.

If we didn’t take care of the wolves, others could get hurt, and it could ruin the tableau that our peace was at the moment.

The wolf finally finished shifting as I held it down, and I found myself holding a naked man, covered in blood, and crying into his hands.

He finally passed out, and I looked up at Conner, who had changed back to human, and thankfully put on clothes. We were shifters and usually didn’t care about nudity, but he was my twin brother. There were things I didn’t need to see on a daily basis.

“We’ll get them back to the den.”

I nodded. “Did you call Dad?”

“Yeah, Dad’s on his way.”

Dad being Josh, while Reed was our Father.

We were the children of the Redwood Pack Triad, the legendary story of Reed’s, Hannah’s, and Josh’s romance bringing thrills to anyone who heard it.

There was even a movie coming out about their romance. As one intrepid reporter had heard about it through the grapevine and had written the story on their own, some of it was embellished, at least according to my mother, but most of it seemed a little too genuine.

Not that I needed to see the graphic scenes that were going to be the triad that are my parents.

I shook my head and pushed those thoughts from my mind.

“This is the fourth rogue this month,” I whispered, and Conner nodded, his jaw tightening.

After we had found peace with the Aspens, we had a little bit of time to breathe, but not enough.

The Aspen Pack was dealing with their new hierarchy and were being quiet. The Talons were the ones that dealt with them more often than we did, because they were closer in proximity and in connections. Though I was an enforcer for my cousin, I wasn’t in the hierarchy where it came to being ‘in the know’ for some things.

The little bit of peace hadn’t been enough for those that were too close to their animals. Rogues were all around the nation, and they were starting to attract news stories.

That was a problem because we shifters were out in the open now, and though our current president was a fan of shifters and had them in the family, he would be up for re-election soon, and laws could be changed.

We needed to act like the civilized shifters that we were to keep the peace that we so desperately craved.

If we weren’t careful, whatever was driving these rogues, if it were something beyond the Moon Goddess, would be trouble.

Thankfully, our wolves now had the Supreme Alphas, a mated pair in the Talons that I knew decently well, who were taking charge of it and making sure that the world knew that we were on top of things.

Our cousin, Parker, the Voice of the Wolves, was also in the thick of things. He was the shining face and beacon for all those who wanted to see a wolf in action with a smile. He was the one who connected the Packs across the world, as it was his role placed on him by the Moon Goddess.

He was also the one that was getting on my last nerve because he needed my power. He wanted me to use it more than I was, but since I still didn’t have complete control over it, that wasn’t easy.

Not out of hatred or selfishness, but because my power was special.

I could find anyone in the world once I got their scent, their sight, or a vision. My dad, Josh, was the same way, though he was human.

Out of all of us seven siblings, we’d each received something special from our parents.

As Reed was a wolf of immense power with beautiful talents in art, some of my siblings took a shine to him. Our mother, Hannah, was a powerful earth witch, possibly the most powerful earth witch in the country, and a couple of my siblings held an affinity for her magic as well.

I was the only one with Dad’s genes that held through.

---