Abandoned and Unseen (Branded Packs #2)(6)

“But I like the cats,” Lucas said. “I mean, you told us there were others like us, but different, but we only saw bears before.”

“Uh-huh. I like seeing the cats. And sometimes there’s a wolf that sleeps under the tree when Cole sleeps in the branches. They’re friends I think.”

Anya thinned her lips. That wolf would be Gibson, the Pack tattoo artist. She didn’t envy that job in the slightest since part of his job was to ink over brands and make them the shifters’ own. He and Cole were friends it seemed, though she didn’t know the wolf well. She didn’t know the cat well either. Or at all.

“I think they are,” she agreed, trying to keep her attention on her sons and not the cat. “But boys, please do what I say. Okay? Once we know the lay of the land, we can go out and play more, but for now, we have to be careful. I know it’s not fun to be locked up inside all the time, but it won’t be forever.”

Her boys nodded, their little faces in frowns. She held out her arms and they went to her, wrapping their tiny little arms around her neck. She squeezed them tightly, inhaling their little boy scent. Her babies wouldn’t be little forever, and she cherished these hugs, even if they came after her having to be harsh.

“Okay, now I have to go to a meeting with your uncle and the Alphas, but the maternal bears will watch you to make sure you stay out of trouble.”

Owen smiled up at her, his eyes bright. “We’ll stay out of trouble.”

“You bet,” Lucas agreed.

Anya thought they had a fifty-fifty shot at not getting put in the corner by one of the maternals, but she didn’t say that. Cubs needed to push their boundaries as they found their dominance and structure, but it was the safety issues that made her worry. A momma bear always worried.

She kissed her sons quickly then led them to the maternals’ camp, an older building that they were renovating. When they’d been forced to move into this compound, they’d left their homes and pasts behind. They’d been allowed to bring whatever meager possessions they’d acquired over their lives, but that was it. Now they were forced to use a third of the compound that had once been filled with all wolves. People were living two to three families to a home while they worked on building more. She and Oliver had their own place since he was the Foreseer and needed space to keep sane, for lack of a better word, but their home was half the size of the one they’d used to have, and honestly, their old place hadn’t been all that large. The wolves and cats were helping with the construction since they too had to build more to accommodate their numbers. Things were in such flux that she wasn’t sure what the future held, but she’d go into it with her chin held high. There wasn’t another choice.

“I’m not really in the mood to deal with a meeting of the Alphas,” Oliver said softly as they made their way to the center of the den. The compound had been split as evenly as possible into thirds with the addition of the bears, but the center was for all shifters. The forested area was also mixed, as the humans hadn’t allowed them that much room to begin with. Anya had a feeling the territory, as it was, would one day blend even more. There wasn’t enough space to keep just a dividing line between them. That was one of the points of the meeting that day, she knew.

Oliver was part of the meeting as the Foreseer, and since he didn’t have a mate, he was allowed to bring Anya. Visions took a lot out of him, and he needed someone there to catch him if he fell. No one would ever dare think he was weak for his need of another, but it still took a toll. It also wasn’t as if he could lean on anyone else. The closer he got to someone, the less clear his or her future became to him. He couldn’t read his own path, nor could he get more than a casual glimpse of hers or her sons’. She hated that he put so much distance between himself and the rest of the world, but he did so to protect them. Or so he said. She’d always thought it was a way to protect himself, as well.

“It won’t be too long, I don’t think. It’s just the Alphas, Betas, and your counterparts, right?”

Oliver nodded. “Plus whatever mates and family members they have. The mantle isn’t just on the shoulders of those with the title. Though I don’t know if there are counterparts right now. The wolves don’t have an Omega, and the cats are missing their Shaman.”

It broke her heart to hear it. Before they’d been locked inside the compounds thanks to the humans’ fear after the Verona Virus, bears, cats, and wolves had roamed free. While they were out there, they could venture to other Packs and meet those that could eventually join them. It was easier to find true mates, and those that would fill the roles of Alpha, Beta, and whatever their third member was—Omegas for wolves, Foreseers for bears, and Shamans for cats. Now though, they only had a small pool of shifters to work with. The bears had been blessed with finding a Foreseer, but the others were still searching amongst their own. It could still happen, she knew, an Omega or Shaman could be born to the Pack, or even born out of tragedy. It wasn’t always known from birth what a shifter would be. The three species might have had their territory disputes in the past, but there had never been a true hatred between the three. She wasn’t sure there was now either, beyond the teasing and close quarters.

Anya let out a breath as soon as they entered the outdoor circle where the meeting would take place. Holden, the Canine Alpha, and his mate, Ariel, were sitting on a log, leaning into one another. Holden’s Beta, Soren, sat on the ground, leaning between the slightly spread legs of his mate, Cora. Cora wasn’t a wolf, but rather the tiger princess. Her father, Jonah, the Alpha of the Golden Pack, sat across from them, talking with the two of them and his Beta, Max. There had to be history between Max and Soren and Cora because Anya could practically taste the tension.