I followed the others inside, struggling to calm both my mind and the wolf’s as we moved forward. I needed to listen closely to their conversation. There had to be a reason for all of this.
Thank the Goddess for Greta. At least she seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was; I could see it in her expression.
“Why isn’t she inducted into the pack?” I nearly choked on the words. What the hell had I missed?
Greta walked away with her, and even with my heightened hearing, the chatter was too loud and jumbled from across the field for me to make out their words.
Wait**she wasn’t officially part of the pack? That’s what I’d heard. She was a human among wolves, visiting another pack, with no real ties to either one? If they were attacked or ambushed and she was taken, we’d never find her. That couldn’t be right.
Now, I didn’t care who knew**well, not entirely**but I was letting my emotions take over.
“Jeremiah?” I called.
He turned toward me. “What’s up?”
“Did I hear correctly? Kennedy isn’t inducted into your pack, and she disappears regularly?”
“Something like that,” he replied, his expression darkening, though he tried to mask it. At least I knew he wasn’t okay with her vanishing. “It’s a long story. She doesn’t exactly go missing; she’s just really good at hiding from everyone.”
“Come warm up with me. I’ve got time. I don’t have any humans in my pack, but one I took over does, so I’d be interested in your experience. She’s been with you for a while. Why hold back if she means that much to you? It’s clear she’s important, and as long as my sister’s okay with it, I won’t interfere. She clearly has a place among your ranks and can fight**so what’s the deal?” I softened the truth a bit. I had no idea if my new pack included humans, but I wanted to understand his perspective**and their relationship. It was easy to blame my sister for the situation.
“It’s not really that complicated. Kennedy and I are close**about as close as you can be without being biological siblings, maybe even closer given our circumstances.” His words grabbed my full attention, and I stopped pretending to warm up.
“What exactly does that mean? Is my sister safe with you?” I gave him my best protective big brother look, though I hated to admit I’d been thinking of my own feelings before hers.
“What?! Oh, right. I forget not everyone knows our history. Sorry. It’s common knowledge in our pack. Kennedy and I are basically twins.”
“Basically?” I frowned, annoyed by the vague answer. Getting clear information from a non-enemy shouldn’t be this difficult.
“Our mothers were best friends. Hers was visiting mine when they both went into labor at the same time, right here in my pack. We were born on the same day, just minutes apart. We’ve been inseparable since day one. Our bond is like that of twins. We’ve always been treated that way.”
That explained a lot, including my sister’s behavior. Still, the idea of her disappearing unsettled me. But at least my chest eased a little, knowing there was no romantic connection between them.
Josh called us over, interrupting our talk. We all began pairing off to spar, which was the best part of this training. Everyone was on equal footing, and no one had to worry about hurting each other. We could go all out and really test our strength. I naturally chose Jeremiah; I wasn’t finished with our conversation, and it was rare to have another Alpha my age to spar with, so it didn’t seem strange.
“So how does it work with your pack? She’s fully human**I can smell that. How is she with you now, as a warrior?”
He didn’t even flinch. He knew I was still talking about Kennedy, but if he was suspicious of my intentions, he kept it to himself. Maybe this was normal for them. She was certainly special.
“She was made special for us.”
“You’re such a sap,” I teased.
“When it comes to our mate, there’s no other way to be.”
“Stop it. I’m going to throw up.”
“No, you won’t. You almost threw him into a wall because he didn’t have her exact location.”
“Her parents died when she was fifteen. It’s not my story to share, but my mom took her in immediately, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.”
“That still doesn’t explain why she’s not a full pack member, or why she disappears.”
“She can’t be without getting hurt or dying. One of our elders found information saying it would kill a human to be inducted through our rituals. The magic that turns us into shifters is too strong for their fragile bodies. After what happened to her parents, my mom refused to research or test the theory any further.” He shrugged.
That was the end of his explanation? One person said no, so they stopped looking, even though she risked her life daily just by being around us. Training as a warrior isn’t easy for a wolf; for a human, it must be borderline masochistic torture. His mom was an idiot.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.