Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack #1)(6)
I left my bag behind since it was so heavy, planning to come back for it later, and followed Dad and Jackie through the parking lot with Wesley at my side. I caught his eye as we wound through the cars. He grinned at me, excitement pouring off him. It was infectious enough that it chased away most of the anxiety.
“Lighten up, Ayla,” he said. “We’re here now.”
I nodded and relaxed a little. If he wasn’t nervous, I didn’t have to be, either. He’d been through this, and he’d be sure to pass on any important information to me. Besides, tomorrow I would finally get my wolf, allowing me to become my true self. There was no reason to be worried. Right?
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Jackie tossed over her shoulder. “All eyes will be on the alphas and their families. Especially Wesley, as the alpha heir.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want anyone to suspect we’re not the perfect nuclear family,” I said, sarcasm dripping off every word.
Dad spun around and lifted his hand like he was about to hit me, but then checked himself. He glanced around at all the people nearby, before speaking in a low growl. “Watch yourself, Ayla." He infused power into the words, giving me an alpha command that wrapped around my throat like a vice, forcing me to obey. "Or you’ll regret it.”
“Dad, stop,” Wesley said, moving to stand at my shoulder. He couldn’t officially challenge our father, not unless he wanted to fight for the role of alpha. Which would probably leave one of them dead. I touched Wesley’s arm to show everything was okay—I couldn’t bear the thought of possibly losing him. Someday he would be alpha, but until then, I could handle it.
We kept walking, pretending nothing was wrong, but there would be no relaxing as long as I was around my parents. I couldn’t wait to get away from them. It was one of the perks of coming to the Convergence—I didn’t have to always hang around my pack. I’d get a taste of how it would be to live among people who didn’t hate my existence. Surely not every pack had the same toxic views toward half-human shifters. I knew I couldn’t be the only one to exist. The more we mingled with humans, the more likely we were to interbreed with them.
The closer we got, the less like a random jumble the tents became, and a pattern began to emerge. Banners were stuck into the ground with Zodiac symbols on them to represent the different packs. The campground had been divided into quadrants representing the four elements, and we headed to join the other water signs.
Winding in between the tents were hundreds of shifters in both human and wolf forms, all here representing each of the twelve packs. Shifters of all ages mingled with other packs than their own, sharing meals, laughing together, and dancing under the sun like they were at a music festival. I’d never felt such camaraderie between different pack members, even the ones who were on good terms. The Convergence was neutral ground, and no one had to be worried about potential schemes or any attacks. Fighting was prohibited here, and the Sun Witches made sure everyone stayed in line.
Dad pulled aside a Pisces shifter and asked him where we should set up, but I was too focused on trying to take everything in to listen to the details of their conversation. The male pointed toward the northern side of the clearing, all the way to the back. Dad nodded and we began working our way through the Pisces and Scorpio tents to the Cancer area.
I recognized more people than I thought I would. Many of the different alphas had visited our house for as long as I could remember. There was always business to attend to, figuring out land disputes, negotiating alliances, and distributing resources. The Cancer pack was one of the largest ones, and we were allied with the Pisces, Capricorn, and Aquarius packs. We’d had a long-standing rivalry—or worse—with the other largest pack, the Leos, along with their allies, the Aries, Taurus, and Scorpio packs. The remaining Zodiac Wolves—the Gemini, Virgo, Libra, and Sagittarius packs—all remained neutral at the moment, but alliances were constantly shifting and changing. By the end of the Convergence, it might all be different again.
We passed by the Aquarius and Pisces alphas deep in conversation, and before I could recall the last time I’d seen them both, Mira came running over. I paused, letting the rest of my family pull forward a little bit to give us the semblance of privacy. It wouldn’t do much, not with so many shifters around. Nonetheless, I’d never turn down an opportunity to distance myself from my parents.
“Ayla,” she said, eyes shining as she danced around me, practically jumping out of her skin. “Can you believe how many shifters came this year?”
“No,” I said, grinning back at her. Her good mood was infectious, and despite the torturous fifteen hours I’d just spent in the car with Dad and Jackie, I cheered up. “It’s amazing. I knew there were a lot of shifters between the twelve packs, but seeing everyone together makes it feel like we could take on the whole world somehow.”
Mira lowered her voice and pulled me in closer to her. “Have you seen all the hotties here?” she asked, eyeing a group of younger Scorpio pack males as they passed by us, none of them wearing shirts. “Mmm, delicious. They’ve certainly been training.”
I laughed as one of them looked over and slanted a crooked grin at Mira. She glanced down demurely, but I could see the glee in her gaze. I opened my mouth to tell her that she wasn’t being as sneaky as she thought she was but thought better of it. Why ruin the fun? Almost everyone here already had their wolves, and they would hear even the lowest whisper.