"Is too!"
"Is not!"
Before I knew it, the wolf and fox tussled. I wondered if it was a canine thing. My twin sister, Lupa, was also a wolf shifter, and she was quick-tempered and outgoing, the total opposite of me.
Although the fight wasn't serious, I knew I should break it up. But if I physically separated them, that meant I had to get up. And if I got up, that would ruin my unfinished braiding job. I didn't want to undo all of Autumn, Annabelle, and Jace's hard work.
Instead, I used the most powerful tool in my kit—my voice.
"Guys," I said calmly.
Instantly, the tussling stopped. Azure and Celeste blinked at me, like they were surprised I'd interfered. They slowly untangled and shook out their fur as a kind of emotional reset.
I understood. I needed emotional resets sometimes, too.
"All done," the hair-styling girls announced.
"Aww done!" Jace chimed in.
They leapt onto the grass so I could sit up properly. I patted the back of my head, feeling braids of various lengths and sizes, tied up with long bits of grass. My hair only reached the bottom of my neck, so I thought they did a great job with the little material they had to work with.
"I wish I had a mirror," I said. "I'd love to see my new hairstyle."
Autumn happily gasped, showing off her big bear teeth in the process. Annabelle picked up Jace and hugged him, careful not to squish her mouse cousin.
"Wow, that looks great!" Celeste cried, flapping her shadowy wings closer to get a better look. She looked at her fox paws. "You guys are lucky. I can't do anything with these. Except boop Uncle Lev."
I poked my finger against the tip of Celeste's wet nose to show her I was willing to engage. "Boop."
Celeste giggled and pressed her paw against my nose in return. "Boop!"
Warmth filled my chest. When my cousins all started having children, I wasn't sure about becoming the pack's impromptu babysitter. Taking care of kids was a lot of responsibility. I was nervous I wouldn't do a good job.
But I remembered my own childhood, how Uncle Red took care of us. Some of my fondest memories were playing with him. He was easygoing, always joking around. He'd make sarcastic remarks that flew right over my head, but I liked them anyway. He was always willing to spend time with me even though I was different from my other cousins.
I wasn't like Uncle Red at all. I didn't have his dramatic grandeur or his wild charisma. But when I took over his role, my nieces and nephews didn't seem to mind. They loved me the way I was. And I loved them, too.
A cheerful howl caught my attention. I'd recognize Lupa's voice anywhere.
I turned to look past the circle of trees surrounding the grove. The rest of the pack was hanging out further away, all chatting and catching up on the latest news and gossip. The only member of the family who was missing was Lupa, who accidentally scheduled a date on the same day as our family gathering. Lupa would never miss family time if she could help it, but she was showing up later than I expected.
"Aunty Lupa!" the kids cried. They all shifted into whatever form ran fastest and bolted over to her. I lagged behind. As much as I loved my family, it was a big crowd when everybody gathered in one place, and I didn't like crowds.
I shifted into my hare form, something I did when I felt overwhelmed, and hung back while everybody else greeted her. Despite being further away, my big ears easily picked up the conversation.
"Sorry I'm late!" Lupa said breathlessly, wiping the sweat off her brow. "You're not gonna believe what happened."
"What is it, baby?" Len asked. He and our other father, Hugo, stood closest to my sister. Even though Lupa and I were adults and not babies anymore, I thought it was cute that Len still called us by pet names.
When Lupa caught her breath, she exclaimed, "I found my fated mate!"
I froze.
I stood still, only the wind ruffling my fur.
"Oh, that's amazing!" Len cried, hugging her.
"We're so happy and proud, Lupa," Hugo said warmly.