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“Yes, I am relieved.”
I’d been doing that for a while—not giving my family a full answer. I knew they were all worried about me, but it had been years. I should be over my problems with Pac by now. My family had saved me, and I was safe. But they had tiptoed around me for the first couple of years, and I hated it. Hated that they protected me as if I was fragile and would break at any moment.
“I think you’re lying, but I’ll let it pass for now,” Lira said.
I looked at Lira, but she just smiled at me. I couldn’t help but smile back. As a sister-in-law, she wasn’t half bad. None of them were, which was disconcerting, because I’d never hung out with other girls very much except for Mom, Miti, and Bubbie.
Up till this point, I’d been roughhousing with my brothers. I wasn’t raised to be soft, and I wasn’t always sure on how to act around girls, but I did have a weak spot. I loved weddings. I’d looked at so many wedding pictures when I was young while planning out my own wedding for when I met the right guy. After Pac, it made me sad that I didn’t want to get married anymore or fall for another guy. So I was super excited to be able to plan my brothers’ weddings with their brides.
There had been side remarks by Mom and Miti lately about me finding my mate. As if I wanted to find another man who could hurt me again! The only men I trusted were my dad and my brothers. All the other men in the world should keep a safe distance from me, because I literally had claws that could swing out if they tried anything funny. I laughed at my little joke.
My sisters-in-law were all acclimating pretty well to us being shifters. It was interesting they were all humans, although Lira was a special case, given she was a witch like Miti. Her bond with Bruno was something none of us had ever seen before. The power the two of them held when they were together had the potential to rival Miti’s, and that was saying something.
Miti had honed her skills over many generations. To say Miti was fascinated and Bubbie was horrified was putting it mildly. Miti was ready to utilize and train Lira to her full potential with whatever means necessary, but Bubbie was ready to keep her safe and not use any of her power. The rest of us stood on the sideline and watched as they fought it out, knowing full well at the end of the day that it was up to Lira and Bruno.
“You going to teach me how to shoot an arrow?” Lira said, cutting into my thoughts.
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
As a hobby, I’d taken up archery. A very human thing to do, as Dad liked to remind me, but what was the point of being part human if I didn’t pick up some human hobbies? I’d gotten pretty good at it too.
Handing Lira her bow, I took her step-by-step through her stance and how to hold her bow. Her first few shots went totally haywire, which was expected and also the reason why I had taken us way out of town. This meant the only person we might hit would be Denis, but I had made sure we were loud when tromping through the forest so he knew we were coming.
After thirty minutes, Lira was starting to get the hang of it and had managed to get a couple shots on the board, but I could tell her arms were exhausted.
“Let’s call it a day.”
She released a breath. “Yeah, let’s. I don’t think I’ll be able to feel my arms tomorrow.”
“You did great. Don’t worry, we’ll build up muscles in your arms before you know it.” I slapped her on the back like I did my brothers and watched in horror as she fell. Thank goodness my wolf instincts were strong and I caught her before she slammed into the ground.
“Thanks,” she said.
“I’m sorry. I forgot.” I felt my cheeks growing warm at my mistake.
“Please don’t worry about it. I wasn’t hurt.” She brushed off her clothes as if it was no big deal. “However, I am very much amazed at the amount of strength you and your family have.”
“Comes with being a wolf shifter, or any shifter as far as I know.”
Her eyes popped wide. “There are other shifters?”
“Yes, many kinds, though I’ve never met any of them myself. Miti has, though.”
She took that in, then asked, “So this convoy that Jacob and Millie are going on to see if they can recruit other packs, will they see other shifters along the way?”
“They might. Denis is a great guide. He’s the most traveled of anyone.”
“He’s a great asset then, because I’ve noticed many of you don’t travel.”
“No, we don’t. Brandon going to Crystal Lake for all those years was really the extent of our family’s travels.”
“Maybe we change that,” Lira said, and I saw her eyes shine brighter than I thought human eyes could. “I’ll make sure we fix up a comfortable room for Denis when they get back.”
“Umm . . .”
“What is it?”
“He might not come to Placer Town. His home is on the outskirts of Sugarville, and he’s quite settled there.”
Lira shook her head. “That won’t do. He’ll be a lot safer staying with us.”
I shook my head. “No, Lira. He’s more of a recluse. Always has been. We’ll be hard pressed to get him to join us. I don’t think you could persuade him.”
“We’ll see. I guarantee he’s never met me before.” Lira gave me a wink, and I couldn’t help the smile crossing my face as I started collecting our things to go back home.
I liked this girl, even though I knew she would try to wear me down till I spilled the beans on how I really felt about Pac dying. But she’d also never met me. I could be just as stubborn—much to my detriment, as Dad would say. But I was an asset to the pack. I looked after my brothers for my parents—which, I realized with shock, I didn’t need to do anymore now they all had mates. But there were always the females in the pack. I helped with training them regularly. Unlike some other packs, our females would always be ready for anything.
I was busy enough. Who needed a mate when I was this busy and had all the family I needed? Not many females could boast they had wonderful parents and grandparents, five brothers, and now four sisters. My life was perfect. There was no room for anyone else.
