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I shift into human form again, ignoring the mud that covers half my body. Paxton hesitates. “Shift,” I tell him, my voice rising with panic. The second he’s in human form I grab him by the shoulders, forcing him to lean toward me. “How many of your siblings would be living alone right now?”
“I don’t know; most of them probably. Why does it matter?” His eyebrows tilt down, his mouth forming a thin line as he stares exasperated at me.
“Hear me out. I know it sounds crazy, but the Luna Sovereign came to me in a dream. She warned me about living alone and then immediately told me to bring the family together. It seemed like she meant my family, except why would she think I needed that warning about my own family? Of course I would already be trying to bring my own family together.”
“We’re not bringing my siblings here.” Paxton’s body language closes up, his shoulders going stiff as he clenches his jaw.
“Paxton…”
“No. It’s not a fucking option, Tasha. We don’t know anything about most of my siblings. I’m not going to bring a bunch of strangers here just to support this insane crusade you’re on to bring us all together. For fuck’s sake, my sister just put your life in danger a few days ago, and you think I want to summon the rest of them?” He stomps several feet away and then turns to stomp toward me again.
“You’re fucking insane. You know that?” Paxton sneers at me. “A year ago, I had complete freedom. Unmated shifters threw themselves at me everywhere I went. I traveled when and where I wanted. I didn’t have to worry about anyone but myself, and it was so fucking easy living that way. If I had never seen that damn picture, my life would be a hell of a lot easier right now.”
I knew he would snap eventually, but I didn’t expect it to make me ache like this. I rub at my chest as if that will ease the pressure building behind my breastbone.
I’m watching him closely enough to see the second the regret hits him. He reaches for me, but I step back to keep the distance between us. Even if he’s regretting it now, he meant what he said. Besides, there’s something he’s mentioned more than once now that I have questions about.
“What picture?”
He swallows hard. “There’s an old guy that trains fighters down near the panhandle. His reputation isn’t that great, but a friend of mine said they needed someone like me to spar with some new kid he was training. I’m known for being ruthless in a training ring, so it gets me a lot of gigs breaking in big guys who need real experience.
“There’s a shifter bar right by the training grounds down there. Your picture was on the wall. I happened to see it heading to the bathroom, and I felt the bond the second I laid eyes on it. That was how I knew to start looking for you. It took me months to track you properly. No one in the bar seemed to know who you were.”
“Then why the hell was my picture on the wall?” That doesn’t make any sense. I’ve never been that far south.
“I don’t know. The whole wall was covered in pictures. The guy that owned the place told me there’s a tradition where someone brings in a picture of someone who needs protection and puts it on the wall as I guess some kind of plea to the spirits.”
This is getting weirder by the second, and Paxton seems to realize it too.
“Maybe your brother put it there?” he suggests.
I shake my head. “My brother is intensely private. He would never have been carrying around pictures of Tess or I. Much less would he tack one up on a wall in the middle of a strange bar. Was it a recent picture?”
Paxton shakes his head. “Probably a few years old, if I had to guess.”
As if everything that’s happened and been revealed over the course of this past week hasn’t been enough, Paxton has just dropped another bomb on me. I feel like I’m about to crack under the pressure of all the things that are weighing on me that I don’t understand.
Screw Paxton Glass. I need to find someone to help me who isn’t going to second guess my every move. And I have a possibility in mind… I just have to convince him first.
* * *
“You tricked me.” Peter gapes, his eyes darting between Paxton—who looks ready to blow a gasket—and me. He shakes his head in disbelief, his curls bouncing from the motion. “My big brother looks just fine to me.”
“I had to prove a point.” I raise my eyebrows at Paxton. “Peter came running the second he thought you were in trouble. That’s what family does for each other.”
Paxton works his jaw back and forth but says nothing. That’s just as well because I’m still hurt, turning his words from yesterday over in my head. We managed to share a bed last night because the sofa was ruined by the leaky roof, but I’ve refused to speak to him since he revealed that he found me based on a picture on the wall of some bar.
“Go do something else,” I tell him. “You already made it clear you don’t want to be involved in anything that includes your family. Peter and I can handle things just fine on our own.”
“Handle what things exactly?” Peter asks.
I slip my arm into Peter’s and start toward the section of garden that survived yesterday’s storm. I can hear Paxton growling like a brute behind us. “Ignore him,” I mutter. I wait until we’re out of earshot before I explain, “I’m going to make good on my promise to you and find your siblings. And you’re going to help me bring them here as we find them. Well… not here exactly. To the Anchorage Lake Pack. My sister has agreed to arrange housing for all of you until we know everyone is safe.”
“What? You think we’re not safe?” He’s already pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I have to call Poppy. She’s been following a sketchy lead for the past few days. I warned her not to but—“
“Peter.” I release him. “Call her and ask her to come home. I’m not certain of anything, it’s only a hunch. But best case scenario, as news gets out about Paxton and I, there might be shifters who think going after his family might flush us out.”
“That’s a fucking joke,” Peter mutters.
