Page 6 of Mated in Darkness

“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 twindidn’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.

I wasn’t sure if our cousins or other Packmates ever did this, but it was our thing nonetheless. I’d never heard the Moon Goddess speak to me while we did it, I didn’t think any of us had, but it brought us closer together.

“Ready to go?” Brodie asked as he bounced over. He kissed my temple and took my hand, leading me to the center of the circle.

The Pack circle had been a place of bloodshed, heartache, and monumental decisions in the past, and I knew it would one day be so again, and soon. The stone stadium had been carved into the side of the mountain, the center area packed dirt from centuries of wolves settling their paths over time.

This was where dominance challenges, Pack meetings, and other important events were held, and was where I had become an enforcer of the Pack. Kade had cemented a new layer on the bond that connected me to him and the others, and my wolf had preened. I’d stood next to my brother, and the two of us had been welcomed into our new prospective roles in the Pack, alongside a few of my cousins, and I’d never been prouder to be a Jamenson.

Now we were here as a smaller part of our immense family, knowing I would be off on my journey within the hour. Spencer needed me, and my wolf clawed at me to find him.

“Ready?” Josh asked, a small smile on his face even though I saw the worry in his gaze.

Josh, Reed, and Hannah had fought demons, wolves, and the end of the world to save their family and each other. It was a lot to live up to, and I had to pray to the Moon Goddess I’d find a way.

“Ready,” I whispered.

Then I held Brodie’s hand, took my mother’s free one, and closed my eyes. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to. We just let the power flow through us, protection, warmth, and love gliding over us as if this had been what we’d been searching for all of our lives.

Having a witch, a human, and a wolf as our parents set us apart from the others ever so slightly, and we used that for our gain. The Pack needed us, and we needed the Pack.

Pack was family.

Pack was one.

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