"You going to be okay without me, Son?" Dad asked once we got to the main square of Sage Circle where the get-together always happened. He clapped a hand to my shoulder, grinning that he was going to go catch up with his twin, her husband and Mr. Dennison. They were a tight-knit group now, despite there still being some jabs here and there between Aunt Emeel and Mr. Dennison. Nothing that Uncle Jim could pacify, of course.

I grinned back, nodding and watched him beeline over to my Aunt Emeel waving her hand in the air, calling to him. Mr. Dennison was mocking her, waving his own hand a little more animated than necessary. Immediately, my aunt sneered in the older werewolf's direction and balled up her fists. Uncle Jim, without turning away to greet my father, grabbed hold of Aunt Emeel's elbow. Mr. Dennison stuck his tongue out at her.

Blowing out a long breath, I scanned the set up of today's gathering. There was music playing on speakers placed strategically around the main square, tables set up for the massive feast and for us to sit down to enjoy said feast, a part of the square was blocked off for dancing where some children were running around on, and the pack members that were either already seated and enjoying one another's company or still helping with the set up.

The gatherings were something Alpha Brown insisted on every few months to keep in touch with the two areas of pack members he had. Though he took on a massive number of werewolves under his care, the alpha made it look like breeze. His daughter, Ophelia, was technically supposed to assist him. He'd been training her properly since five years ago but the alpha's daughter had been a spoiled little princess a lot longer than the five years of trying to reform herself into someone people wanted to be around. It was a work in progress, I guess.

Speaking of Ophelia, she wandered into my view at one of the many long tables with food, desserts, and drinks. Ophelia eyed the three tier stand of cupcakes. Either she was contemplating which one she wanted or she was ready to make some kind of remark about it. Pretty sure it was the latter, and I was right.

When a few pack members were adding a few more tier stands of desserts to that specific table, Ophelia pointed at it with this stink face. The young woman she was speaking to looked like she was groaning internally having been caught in the alpha daughter's sights. After a moment of talking the woman's ear off, Ophelia straightened and crossed her arms with her nose up in the air. The poor woman glanced around, seeking assistance but the others had quickly dispersed, leaving her on her own.

Ophelia was saying something again until a redheaded female popped on over to say something to her. The alpha's daughter's hoity-toity attitude shifted to Athena and gave the young woman the chance to book it. Ophelia's bodyguard was used to Ophelia since high school apparently, and was taking whatever Ophelia was saying a lot better than the young woman. Athena just nodded with a bored look then reached over to grab a cupcake and shoved it into Ophelia's mouth. To my surprise, Ophelia didn't wig out like expected. Not entirely.

At first, she looked stunned at what Athena did then opened her mouth to chew her out, but instead, chewed on the cupcake a few times in between words. Her bodyguard's eyelids lowered at half-mast, crossing her arms and tilted her head. Ophelia turned on her heel, marching away with a hand thrown up in the air and Athena sighed, rolling her eyes and grabbed the cupcake tier stand, carrying it in tow of her future alpha.

I grinned, figuring that Ophelia was usually pacified whenever Athena was around to set her straight. Other than the one time, Thea had to put Ophelia in check with a full on ass kicking, Athena was the alpha daughter's calming cup of tea. If it weren't for the fact that Athena was playing hard to get with one of the Six, it wouldn't be far off that the two she-wolves had a thing going on with one another.

"Cousin Kale!"

Turning at the call of my name, Thea's youngest son was sprinting towards me with his arms up in the air and a big ol' smile on his face. He had light up converse that were his favorite and blinking as fast as he was running.

I leaned down, holding out my arms for him to jump into. Little Maddox leapt up, giggling as I caught him and pretended to groan as I lifted him up to hug. He wrapped his legs and arms around me while I kissed the side of his head a few times.

"You're getting a lot bigger by the minute, Maddie!" I teased, shifting him onto my hip.

In all honesty, it wasn't really teasing. The kid was the son of a father who happened to be a Werewolf, and a mother whose being a half Advanced Hunter contributed to the only 'half Hunter, half werewolf' bloodline we all dubbed as Hybrid. For both Maddox and his older brother, Connor, they were an anomaly within an anomaly in the Supernatural world. So, while Maddox was going to be four soon, he was already reading and writing by the time he was two, and looked a year or two older than he actually was. Still the cutest little guy around though.

Maddox giggled again, saying how silly I was and that he missed me 'so much'. He pouted, sharing that he was always feeling sad that I lived so far away from the Alliance but now Maddox felt better since they would be visiting for quite a while. "It's going to be my birthday soon!" Maddox reminded me. His nose leaned against mine. "Did you get me a present? Huh, Cousin Kale? Huh?"

I grinned, chuckling that he'd have to find out on his birthday. The kid groaned with his head tipped back. It was too far away still, he said. It wasn't.

Catching up after his rambunctious son, Dennison strolled over with his hand in the pocket of his sweatshirt, holding Maddox's discarded one in his other.

"Kale..." Dennison greeted, a stoic look on his face. His tone sounded just as much. Auric Dennison was a man of few words, and I've learned that if he didn't want to talk to you, he wouldn't. And that he could say a lot with just the tone in which he said things. So I was not offended by his greeting tone since I was typically one of the few on his good side all the time—if we're not counting Christmas time when I'm watched like a hawk around any sort of flame.

Giving him a nod, I asked how the trip down was. Dennison rolled his eyes, sighing that he had two growing boys who needed constant snacks, so this trip took a bit longer with how often they had to stop for bathroom and snack breaks. I grinned, knowing the feeling I put Thea and our departed friend, Maddox Hollow, through those days traveling to Blood Moon Falls for Aunt Penny's wedding.

I asked where Thea was and Dennison gave a lazy nod behind him. "You know her. She's got to say 'hi' to everyone along the way or she feels rude. It's the price to pay, I guess, when you save the Werewolf race from Werewolf Hunters, and now everyone adores you." He sneered a bit, glancing off to the side and grumbled something about wanting his 'potato' all to himself.

"Ah," I tipped my chin. "How about Con? Where's he at—?"

"Dad, Uncle Jonah keeps flicking my ear! We just got here!" Connor growled, appearing beside his father with that infamous scowl Dennison passed onto him. My cousin kept rubbing his ear that was a little red around the rim. Connor glared in his uncle's direction, across the square where he was mingling with some of Alpha Brown's pack members.

Anyone who looked at Auric Dennison knew better than to fuck with him or his family. The guy was six-foot-four with broad shoulders and a muscular build had a lot to do with a warped serum that was given to him some years back, physically changing not only the way he shifted into this half-wolf, half-human beastly thing, but his physical appearance once he was back to human. Off the bat, the scowl he gives could scare the shit out of anyone who looked at him the wrong way. So, you'd think Jonah wouldn't mess with his younger brother's kids but, let's face it, Jonah Dennison could give two fucks because he knew deep, deep, deep, deep down that his twin adored him.

Dennison stared over to where his brother was, eyes narrowing slightly before lowering a brow and declared, "I give my full permission to handle your uncle as you see fit, Faolán." then winked at his nine-year-old.

Connor smirked, eyes narrowing as he looked over his shoulder in his uncle's direction. Poor Jonah.

I realized that Maddox was still talking the entire time of my talking to Dennison and he hadn't realized I missed the entire conversation. My brows rose at the kid leaning his head back with his arms spread out wide as he was in the middle of a story.

"And it was this big! And I told Daddy that the fish was a monstah and almost ate my face off!" He curled his fingers against his face, scraping his cheeks with his eyes wide. I raised a brow, lowering the other and tried to hide my grin. "But Connah said it wasn't a monstah and that—that—that it—um—that I—I was eggs-erating."

My grin widened, asking if Maddox meant 'exaggerating' and he nodded, brows raised that that was what he said. I nodded, "Oh, okay." and listened to him topic change to the time he saw the moon a lot closer than it usually was and how big that was instead.

Scrunching his nose, Maddox leaned in close and whispered, "Do you know how big the moon was, Cousin Kale? Huh? Do ya?"

"No. Why don't you tell me, Maddie?"

He tossed himself backward again—catching me off guard—with his arms spread out as he shouted, "It was humbugnus!" then straightened to giggle that it looked like cheese. I glanced at his father who had a soft spot for his kids. 

If I was being honest, his biggest soft spot was a defiant, five-foot-two, stubborn as an ox woman whose Hunter Mode was lethal. Damn Dennison was a German Shepherd turned Golden Retriever when it came to Thea. Thea is probably the only person who isn't scared of Dennison. His short temper matches her own, so you'd understand me when I say the two are a total match made in heaven based on what kind of make-up sex they both have whenever one is angry with the other.

A prime example of this was actually at Mr. Dennison's birthday when I was put on Connor and Maddox babysitting duty because my cousin marched off after telling her husband that he could 'kiss her ass' when Dennison mentioned that my Uncle Jim went all out for Mr. Dennison—and Thea took it as an insult that she didn't go all out for her husband.

After she stormed off, Dennison rolled his eyes and sighed before asking—Ordering—me to watch his kids while he "handled his potato". I was expecting a few minutes of them being gone, but it was, like, thirty minutes of them being M.I.A. that I had to go searching for them.

Let's just say, that I will never open the coat closet at the end of the hall in Aunt Penny's house for as long as I live. Because that's where I found them getting it on like fucking horny ass teenagers!

Dennison had my cousin pinned against the wall with the skirt of her dress hiked up. Dennison even had the fucking audacity to turn his reddish-gold glare over his shoulder at me with a possessive growl and hold on my cousin. Yeah... Okay. Like I'm gonna try something. Instead, Thea grabs the sides of her husband's face and yanked him in for a hard make out.

I slammed that door shut so fast, leaning against it with a wide-eyed shock when I could hear Connor coming into the house, his voice trailing towards me, "Kale! Have you seen my mom?"

"Nope!" I cried, marching as quickly as possible to the puzzled kid and turned him around to head back outside. I assured Connor that his mother was busy at the moment.

"Doing what?" he asked, frowning up at me.

"Your dad, apparently," I muttered under my breath then winced when I forgot about the Goddamn Werewolf hearing the kid had.

"What do you mean?"

I winced again, shaking my head and pushed Connor to forget what I said, and that I'd help him with whatever it is he needed at the moment.

Not that Dennison didn't adore his children because the man would kill for them, but Thea was held on a different kind of pedestal. So seeing that affectionate look on Dennison's face was kind of heartwarming... and rare.

"Are you chatting up Cousin Kale already, Maddie?" my cousin asked, appearing beside her husband now. Thea smiled, leaning up as I leaned down to kiss one another's cheeks as a hello. She stepped back, teasing her son that my ears were going to fall off he talked too fast. Her son's eyes widened, gasping as he looked at me.

I winked, whispering that his mother was joking. It made him sigh in relief before he started messing with the nylon cord of my pendant.

Facing Thea, I asked how she was doing and she nodded that she was good, glancing up at her husband doing the same to her. Thea turned to me and shrugged, "It was quite a drive, I guess."

"So I heard," I grinned, admitting that I didn't envy them.

Thea asked how I was doing these past three months of officially moving to Blood Moon Falls with Dad. She had that motherly worried look on her face—it was so easy to read my cousin's emotions—and she crossed her arms.

I shrugged a shoulder, adjusting Maddox on my hip better and replied that I was alright. "Kind of boring around here without you guys, though." I chuckled that I was kind of used to seeing the boys more often than I do now.

My cousin stared at me, that worried look increasing before reminding me that there was still my old home at the Alliance if I ever needed it. "Even if it's just to visit," she coaxed.

I sighed, shaking my head that I knew that but that Dad and I were trying to find a place of our own here in town. I shrugged a shoulder that it might sound silly to them but that it was a lot easier for Dad to be here because of his growing friendship with Thatcher. They were two peas in a pod when Aunt Emeel was out of town.

"It'd be weird for me to leave him by himself in that house, anyway," I pointed out. "Thatcher has Aunt Penny but my dad doesn't have... well, anyone like that."

I scrunched my nose, mentioning that I wasn't opposed to Dad finding someone someday or whatever but that until then, I felt better knowing he had my company in that big house. "Unlike you who'd probably find a closet somewhere," I tossed out. Completely unnecessary, I know but also worth the way Thea's face got all red.

She smacked my arm and scolded me to 'let it go' already. I sneered back that I'd let it go when she and her husband learned to nail each other behind the privacy of their bedroom door. Again, Thea smacked me.

"Ow! Dammit, Thea! That fucking hurt!" I leaned back from her trying to swat me again.

"Language, Kale! My son doesn't need to know what happens between consenting adults, thank you very much!" Thea's brown eyes narrowed with a warning before a gleam appeared and she grinned, "And it was amazing, by the way. You're just mad because you have no one to fool around with in a closet like I do."

I shot her a look, lip curling when that gleam brightened with a quipped, "Not yet anyway."

Her husband smirked as I shot back, "The fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"Language, Kale!" Thea scolded again with another smack I didn't evade in time.

I winced, stepping away from her before placing her son on his feet.

Maddox took hold of my hand, standing so patiently beside me while humming to himself and looking around. I never understood why he liked just standing there with me when he could have been playing with the other kids. He was pretty attached to my hip all the time unless—

Maddox suddenly gasped, squealing as he let go of my hand and took off in a run. Thea, Dennison and I turned to watch the kid gain others' attention by his arms out spread and giggling, "Vi!"

The she-wolf in question had just appeared with Valentine from within the now crowding main square. Violet raised a brow, seeing my little cousin making a dash for her. Maddox halted in front of her, bouncing up and down with his arms up as he greeted her. The she-wolf's nose scrunched, recoiling a bit at Maddox clinging to her leg like he loved to do every time he saw her. He said something to her that I couldn't hear and Violet rolled her eyes before sighing and lowered to carrying him. My little cousin was ecstatic as he hugged her. Even if she liked to pretend the kid's behavior towards her annoyed her, Violet was a softie deep down. The she-wolf shut her eyes, smiling as she snuggled with Maddox.

When I turned back to Thea and Dennison, the former was giving me this 'look' that had me craning my neck back. "What...?" I asked, eyeing her warily. When I glanced at her husband, he just smirked, already reading the situation.

"I'm glad to hear that Uncle Vincent is getting along in his move here, Kale, but I would like to hear the part where you—" she craned her neck forward, brows raised. "Are settling in because you're happy, not because you have to for Uncle's sake."

I raised a brow. "Excuse me? I don't know what you mean. I've nothing to hide, Thea." My brows furrowed. "If I recall, my dad is supposed to be the one who senses feelings. I don't recall you being born with any advanced gifts."

"I wasn't," she agreed with an eye roll. "But I'm human, Kale—partly—" Thea added in when I gave her a flat look. "And I learned to tell when someone is hiding something. I should know from experience."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes, muttering that I wasn't hiding anything, and that if everyone could get off my back about 'how I'm adjusting' would be great.

"You make it seem like I'm holing myself up in the house. I do get fresh air, Cousin, if that's what you are so worried about. It's a small town but there's stuff around here that I just haven't explored yet, is all."

"Oh, sure..." Thea sniffed, crossing her arms. "And would it hurt to give yourself a chance to make platonic connections with a certain someone instead of making a face like we do with your burnt apple pies?"

I turned my face away a little, narrowing my eyes at her and pursed my lips. "That's a low blow about my pies, Thea. Low. Blow."

Thea sighed, realizing that she got a little too heated on the topic. She apologized, scrunched her nose when she tried to mend with, "You're improving at least."

"Is he though?" Dennison muttered, hands in his sweatshirt pockets as he stared at me.

Thea scoffed, nudging her husband that he was supposed to be nice today. Dennison's lip curled, looking at her as he replied, "Deal with it." He then turned to me, reiterating that I was, in fact, not improving and should really put my recluse time to good use. Harsh, Dennison. Fair... but harsh as fuck.

"Auric! Stop being rude, WereJerk!" She turned to her husband, looking up to give him the stink eye. It did nothing for him except growl, "Make me."

I glanced between the two, scrunching my nose and spoke up to break up any growing horny feelings between them. "I did get a library card last week," I mentioned, getting Thea's attention although Dennison was still eyeing her. "I plan to pop over and see what kind of books on baking they have on the shelves. Particularly for apple pies."

Thea squealed, clapping excitedly (and now I realize where Maddox gets this from) that she couldn't wait for me to become the family baker. I grinned, appreciating the confidence she had in me, even if I didn't believe her. My grin faded, now frowning at her husband whose brow rose when I narrowed my eyes and huffed, "Why don't we talk about you for a moment, Mr. High and Mighty."

Dennison's appreciation of his wife was cut short, looking at me with a scowl. "Me...? What'd I do?"

"Uh, well," I looked upward, raising my brows. "How about not giving me a damn heads up that either of you wouldn't be bringing the damn fish food to me, after all? I was expecting for you guys to show up but no. No, instead—" I craned my neck forward. "You send Mr. Fucking Moody Pants to my house!"

Dennison lowered a brow, tilting his head to the side and blinked a few times. It was one of those rare moments when actually confused, and I frowned, wondering why. He looked at Thea who shared the same confusion. They both looked at me when Dennison shook his head that he didn't send Easton to my house.

"Wha—What do you mean you didn't send him?" I swallowed, looking back and forth between them as I clarified, "Easton told me that something came up for you guys so he—he said that you made him go get the food!"

When his brow lifted higher, Dennison just stared at me, letting that information process. His brows dipped into a deep 'V' before shaking his head that, again, he didn't send Easton.

"I had mentioned that I was going to swing by the pet store for the food for Maddox's fish and sneak out without the boys knowing I was popping over to your house. The moment I said that I'd drop it off at the gathering today, Easton volunteered to go get the food himself."

I blinked, once. Twice. Thrice. Then my gaze switch between Thea and Dennison whose faces were still just as confused as before. I swallowed hard, thinking back to my conversation earlier with Easton and replayed it over and over, and I swear he said that he was forced to buy the food. Didn't he?

Biting my lip, I stared at the space between the couple and me. I frowned, still thinking over my earlier conversation until muttering, "But he said you... Why would he say that you forced him to buy it... if you didn't?"

I looked at the couple, waiting for one of them to say something. Thea tilted her head a little, pursing her mouth to the side and shrugged a shoulder coyly. "Maybe so you didn't know the truth...?"

"But why not tell me the truth?" I whined, scoffing as I shook my head. "What did it matter if he volunteered?"

Dennison raised a brow, glancing down at his wife looking up at him with a knowing look that I didn't seem to read very well. Frowning between the two for the silent conversation they were having, I snapped, "Hey!" and waved my hands in front of me to gain their attention. "I'm still here, you weirdos! And you didn't answer my question!"

The former alpha raised his brow further while tilting his head as he threw a question back at me. "Don't you think maybe you're asking the wrong person?"

His gray eyes shifted behind me and I frowned, looking over my shoulder until I stiffened at what Dennison spotted.

The main square was crowded with the conjoined packs but even through the crowds of pack members all chatting, laughing, and dancing I could instantly spot the tall moody blond who had been at my house only hours ago. He was standing with the rest of the Six, arms crossed and scowling at whatever was being said. Easton didn't look pleased to be standing there (typical) but made no attempt to escape. He seemed to be comfortable (though moody as hell) around his common companions.

Easton was no longer wearing his jean jacket from earlier, but replaced it with a flannel. The sleeves had been rolled up to the elbows and one hem end of the flannel was tucked into the belt of his jeans. His appearance should have looked sloppy, but oddly enough it didn't. Go figure.

I gulped seeing him here. This was the reason I wanted to stay home. I would rather be having another staring contest with that googly eyed little shit in my room than be here where I'd be spending most of the event trying to avoid any contact with the Six. Perhaps more Easton. Okay, fine! Just Easton.

Like it was instinct, Easton's ice blue gaze flicked in our direction. My eyes widened, whipping around to face the couple again. My cousin offered a sympathetic smile while Dennison raised a brow through that stoic look of his.

I swallowed again, scrunching my nose and stammered out, "He's—He's not coming over here... Is he?"

Thea raised her brows, stretching her neck in the most obvious way possible (thanks to her being vertically challenged) to peer around my frame. "No... I don't think he's—" she frowned. Her eyes widened then straightened back into place beside Dennison as she quickly whispered, "He's totally coming this way!"