“In what way?” asked Jackson, concerned about his son’s behavior. “He isn’t a bully is he?”
“Absolutely not! Daniel is super protective of them. For instance, if Jessica is reaching for something she shouldn’t have, Daniel will growl at her…like yesterday, one of my shirt buttons was on the floor near the three of them. She picked it up and started to put it in her mouth and before I could take it away, Daniel growled and she dropped it. Really rather amazing,” Cody explained.
“I’ve never heard of something like this with pups,” said Jackson.
“Me, neither,” Cody agreed. “Maybe you should ask Oracle…”
“Or my father, since he’s the one who found out what Daniel can do,” said Steel.
“I will,” Jackson said, looking at his son playing with the twins.
Dylon said, “About your cousins…”
“Go ahead, what did you find out?” asked Jackson.
“As you know, they moved back east when their father became the new Alpha of the Rolling Hill Pack and two additional pups were born there for a total of six cousins. From everything I could find out, they had a happy childhood, did well in school, and no behavioral problems. Until their father died, they all lived with the pack.”
“Is Hunter the Alpha now?” asked Jackson.
“No, your six cousins and their mother left the pack and are now living in a cabin on land Hunter bought,” answered Dylon.
“Why didn’t Hunter become the Alpha? He was the oldest,” Jackson asked.
“Don’t know. The only information I could find is that their father’s brother assumed the Alpha position when he died,” Dylon replied. “As far as I can tell, Hunter walked away from the position.”
“Did they form a different pack?” asked Steel.
“If they did, it hasn’t been registered with the High Council,” Dylon said.
“So my cousins are living in the woods with my aunt…you said some of them had degrees. Do they work?” asked Jackson.
“Not that I know of,” said Dylon.
“Did our grandparents set up trust funds for them as they did for us?” asked Cody.
“I would assume so and that would explain why they aren’t working,” answered Jackson.
“There’s something else,” Dylon said. “Your aunt died three months ago.”
The shaft of pain Jackson felt in his heart was surprising, especially since he hadn’t seen her in many years. It reminded him of how he felt when he learned of his mother’s death. At least now everything made more sense—losing their only living parent was traumatic so they were reaching out to the only other family they knew. “How did our cousins find out about us?” asked Jackson.
“About a month ago, Mason, the second eldest, contacted the High Council, asking about the Fox River Pack and that’s when he found out you started the Blackwood Pack,” answered Dylon.
“I remember Hunter and Mason,” Cody said, “who are the others?”
“Sawyer, Sam, Robin and Quin,” replied Dylon.
“Are any of them mated?” asked Jackson.
“No.”
“Cody, what do you think? Should I approve their request to visit?” asked Jackson.
“We have a lot of secrets in this pack and I’m concerned about our cousins learning about them,” answered Cody.
“True, but they’re not visible so unless we told them, they wouldn’t have any way of finding out,” Jackson said.
“What about Daniel? And what if Dakota gets pregnant…I’m assuming that’s his gift…how can we explain an Alpha giving birth?” asked Cody.
