“Which makes the blood sacrifices she seeks more valuable. The purer the soul, the more power each kill will grant her,” I finish for her. They nod. “Can I go with you?”
“No,” Mom answers at the same time Dad says, “Maybe.”
I perk up, my inner wolf totally losing it. “I can go?”
Mom shoots Dad a reprimanding look. “Aric is almost of age, Eliza,” Dad gently reminds her. “He’s far surpassed seasoned weres in strength, ability, and cunning.”
Mom leaves Dad’s lap, taking the empty pan with her. “No,” she says.
Dad and I exchange glances. I know better than to speak up. Mom walks to the large porcelain sink and dumps the pan, gripping the edge. “Our world isn’t what it once was,” she says. “It’s changing in ways even the wisest among us never predicted, Aidan.”
Dad gets up slowly, briefly pausing behind her before his hands encircle her waist. He kisses her shoulder. “The world is changing,” he agrees. “But it’s our duty to maintain it, so good continues to prevail.”
“There are many weres across the globe now,” she reminds him. “Unlike generations ago, when our kind struggled to breed and flourish.” She looks up at Dad, her soft brown eyes pleading. “Request that another pack or Leader go in your place. I hate it when you hunt. I hate it when you leave me. Please, my love, don’t take our son, too.”
“All right,” he tells her.
“Wait,” I interrupt. “Don’t I get a say?” I don’t know who’s more bummed, me or my wolf.
Dad turns around, keeping Mom against him. “I need you here to protect your mother,” he says.
I raise my eyebrows at him. He grins and so does Mom. She’s almost sixty and Dad is seventy-five. Although they tried, they didn’t have me until late in life. That doesn’t mean either couldn’t wipe the floor with anyone who messed with them. And if I wasn’t around, Mom would be the one hunting alongside Dad, just as they did for years before I came along.
“Aric,” Dad says. “I’m not yet sure I’m going. There’s already a local pack assigned to track and kill the witch.” He looks at my mother. “But in the chance I go, I won’t upset your mother further by taking you along.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you,” I insist. “And if I’m with you, nothing will happen to us.”
I mean what I say. My dad is unstoppable. A king among weres and my hero.
Dad offers a lopsided smile. “Aric, your mother is worried enough.”
“I know, but—”
“Especially with all those females knocking on our door, seeking your company,” he interrupts.
I roll my eyes. The females I know are annoying at best, looking to get with me for all the wrong reasons. “I don’t even like them.”
Dad barks out a laugh. “Not yet. But you will, son. It’s just a matter of time.”
“I just hope it’s not any time soon,” Mom quietly adds. She’s still upset.
I rise, recognizing they need time. “Where you off to?” Dad asks.
“Hunting,” I reply, excited for our plans and that we finally get a few days off from school. “Liam swears he scented elk near Mount Elbert.”
Dad leads Mom forward, his fingers threaded in hers. “Is it just you and Liam?” he asks.
“No. Gemini is coming and so is Koda.”
Mom exchanges a worried glance with Dad. “How is Miakoda?” she asks.
I shrug. When it comes to Koda, I walk a fine line between betraying my friend and keeping things from my parents. For the most part, I’m allowed free rein. They trust me, and I want to keep things that way. So, I tell them just enough to stay true to my friend.
“Koda’s all right. He mostly stays at Liam’s. The other night, he was with Gem.”
Dad’s voice grows an edge. “Do I need to pay his father a visit?”
My gaze lowers to the floor to hide my growing resentment of Koda’s father. Except, resentment, anger, any emotion carries a scent my folks will recognize as easily as they take their next breath. It’s the reason weres are so good at sniffing out lies.
Koda’s relationship with his dad isn’t like mine. Where I’d take a spray of gold bullets to keep my parents safe, Koda would run the other way with tears of agony mixed with relief likely streaming down his face.
“Aric,” Dad says, his tone more severe. “Is Koda’s father hurting him or his mother?”
“No,” I answer truthfully. But only because Koda hasn’t been around to let him.
Dad is a pureblood and Leader, just like Mom and just like me. Dad is also our pack alpha, the one who oversees weres and their activity within his territory. As formidable as he is, he’s often tasked with solving matters outside our region that other weres can’t handle. But his responsibilities are first and foremost to his pack. The same pack Koda and his family belong to.
“Aric,” Dad says, this time more gently. “I’m only trying to help Koda and keep him and his family safe.”
“I know.” I meet my father square in the eyes, something most weres wouldn’t dare do. “I’ll try to talk to him today and see where he’s at.”
Dad nods, but he doesn’t appear any less concerned. I can’t blame him. Not after everything Koda’s been through.
“Tell Miakoda he always has a home with us,” Mom says.
“I will. Thanks, Mom.”
My wolf stiffens when I bend to hug her. We have company. I release her slowly and turn toward the front of the house, my excitement building when I hear the voices of my friends.
“They’re here,” I say. “Gotta go.”
“Be careful,” Mom says.
I grin. “I’m going hunting, Mom. What could happen?”
I glide down the steep incline on four paws, digging my claws into the thick forest bed to keep my balance. The weight of my three-hundred-pound wolf form leaves deep indentations in the soil. There wasn’t just one elk. There was a massive herd. We separated them as a pack, targeting the
