Shadows of the Past

Ten

"Ready?" Mom asked me when Xavier and I arrived at the front of the house. "Your things are already in the car. Dad's out of the meeting and the enforcers are all ready."

Wow. Go for a walk in the gardens and you miss everything!

"Where are you guys headed next?" Xavier asked, his curiosity clearly getting the best of him. Suddenly he had reverted back to the puerile kid I had seen sitting at the dining table. In a weird way, I could picture glasses on his face that needed to be pushed up his nose all the time. I knew it was just because he was pre-shift pubertal.

"Crescent Moon Pack." Dad announced, entering the foyer from a side hallway. He placed his hands on Mom's shoulders and gave them a quick squeeze. "Just a short, thirty minutes or so away."

I widened my eyes. I hadn't realized two packs lived in such proximity to each other. It was a good thing they seemed to be friendly allies with each other, otherwise the lack of distance could turn out disastrous.

We said quick goodbyes, and I sent a quick wink to Xavier—to make him feel better about what I said—and then we were piling into our vehicles and driving off. The tires kicked up a giant dust cloud from the gravel as they spun.

Cole was asleep within five minutes of the ride. I rolled my eyes, he must not have slept that well, either. Working up some courage, I spoke to my parents.

"The Menai Moon Pack is pretty close, too, isn't it?"

Dad answered. "Yes. About two hours from Crescent Moon."

I chose my next words carefully. "Why don't you ever stop in there when you visit these two packs. Since they're so close."

My parents shared a quick look over the center console. My heart pounded in anticipation for answers. Anything, really, that could clue me in on what created the fall-out between Mom and her family. At least her mother. Tally was still friendly, even if she didn't come around anymore.

I dared to continue, "When Tally comes, she always visits us, but we never visit her."

"We just. . . don't want reminders." Mom said softly. Dad placed his hand in hers, and they clung to each other, their entwined fingers resting on Mom's leg.

"Shouldn't I know?" I whispered, staring out the window. "I'm going to be alpha soon. Sometimes I think you guys forget that."

"We don't forget." Dad told me, and I turned to meet his eyes through the rear view mirror.

"You're right. You should know." My ears perked up at my mother's agreement. "Just not right now. Come ask me in a more private setting some time."

Glancing at Cole—who was slumped against the interior of the truck door, his head on the window, definitely out cold—I wondered when I'd get them in a more private setting. They were busy, I was busy, it just went in circles.

"Okay." I said finally, making a mental note to try and remember. I didn't want to go to Sydney or Jaycee over my mother's history, but I was starting to think I might have to.

The thirty minutes were gone in a blink, and suddenly we were turning into a wide, brick driveway. It was short, so the house was in full view from the road, and it was. . .different.

Beautiful, of course, but the style leaned more towards Mediterranean, with its creamy stucco exterior and brown accents and tiled roof. For a moment, I forgot we were still in northwestern Virginia, not Florida. The house, it seemed, would be better suited surrounded by palm trees, not firs and maples and oaks.

A small fountain sat to the side, turned on and spurting clear water from the top where it then poured down a tier into the shallow pool below. Next to it, the wooden front door was a double, and each had windows placed into them and as we came to a stop in front of the large, brown garage doors, I could identify thin black weaving of design printed into the windows. Above the front doors was a large arched window, crystal clear glass with no lined panes. The tiny porch was enclosed with a wall, the arch in front of the door high and open, welcoming. On either side of it, the house was shaped into curves I assumed created round rooms inside. The curved walls were lined with arched windows, split into simple panes.