101- Nobody knows my heart like you do

An event this big, especially considering half of the family wasn't allowed to come for Christmas because of the hunter, was sure to be huge. I had a feeling the whole extended family would turn out for this one, as well as half of the shifters on the peninsula that Half Moon was situated off.

There was a little handwritten note at the bottom. ‘PS.” I read softly. “Nobody knows I've sent this. It would be a wonderful surprise for everyone if you could come. We miss you. All my love, Aunt Verona.” My lips tightened as I closed the card and set it back down.

“You should go,” Milan said.

“I want to,” I admitted. “But it's my year away.”

“The only issue is if people see you, right? We could rent a car with tinted windows or something. Go straight to your aunt and uncle's place. And as long as there aren't any humans at the party, it'll be okay. Right?”

“Yeah,” I said. It would work as long as no humans saw me. I drummed my fingers against the table. I did kind of want to go. And I knew that. If I took too much longer the surprise of seeing my true mate and our twins would be overshadowed by how concerned everyone was about me. I couldn't stay away without telling them the good news for much longer.

And of course, it was a celebration for Carrick. Out of all of my cousins, he was the one who felt most like my brother. He was my best friend. Practically my twin, which is what we thought we were for years. I knew he was hurt that I left Half Moon so soon after Wane was born. Even if he didn't know I was invited, there was no way I could miss this party. It was in two weeks, which considering the café was closed anyway, was more than enough time.

“Let’s do it,” I said. surprised by how excited I felt about the idea. “Let's do it!”

Riveria started fussing, and my mate looked over in her direction. “Someone's hungry,” he said.

I started to put down the invitation to go help, but Milan was quickly becoming adept at swapping the twins. He gently put Torrin down, with a little bit of a protest and scooped up Riveria from the same bassinet. By the time he was back to his chair and comfortable, she was already latched on and happily nursing. I smiled as I watched him. I felt like I was positively bursting with joy. My wonderful mate, my twins, and now the whole family was going to know. And somehow, I felt like with every passing moment, I was even more excited to get back to Half Moon to see everyone.As we drove across the long bridge that led from the mainland to Half Moon Island, I felt a strange sense of coming home that I wasn't sure I had ever felt before. Maybe it was something about returning to the place I had always known with my true mate. Maybe being with him just made anywhere feel like home.

“Here we are,” I said. I realized there was a little bit of pride in my voice and smiled.

We reached the island and turned down Main Street, heading to my aunt and uncle's private island. Even though I was carefully watching the road for pedestrians and crossing ducks, I knew each and every shop as we drove by it.

“That’s Tessa’s bakery,” I said as we drove by, narrating as we went. “My aunt and uncle's restaurant, Rion tends the bar there.” I slowed down, since there was no one behind us. “And right here…”

Milan just happened to be looking out the wrong window at the gazebo and beautiful water beyond it. “Wow, what a great view.”

I chuckled. “Especially when you look to the other way.”

He turned and gasped as he saw my café. “There it is,” he breathed. “That's it.”

“I love it already.”

“I’m glad. Unfortunately…” I eased my foot back down on the gas pedal and slowly kept going. “I can't risk any of my human employees seeing me.”

“I'm sorry,” he said softly. “I shouldn’t have urged you to come back early, I didn’t think about you having to see your café from a distance.”

I shook my head. “You didn’t have to convince me, I wanted to. And I haven't seen anyone I recognize yet, so I think we're okay.”

We turned on to a couple of back roads and then drove up another bridge. I pulled up to the gate across the middle as Milan looked around curiously. I punched in the code on the keypad and the gates slid open.

“You weren't kidding when you said they have a private island,” he said.

“Yeah,” I chuckled. “Where else are you going to have a bunch of wolves running around every month?”

He laughed. “Don't the Half Moon residents suspect anything?”

“Luckily, the same shifter magic that wipes me from their memories after a year away works for that too. Supposedly, they forget any howling they may hear pretty quickly. And just in case they don’t, we spread the word that the island is a nature preserve. There are a bunch of endangered birds and things that breed here. And everyone's under the impression we have a pack of dogs to guard the island and chase away geese and stuff.”

“Clever.”

As I nodded, we pulled up into a familiar driveway, absolutely packed with cars.

“Damn, there sure are a lot of people here,” I said. “Not that I’m surprised.” I spotted a Milaniana plate and grinned. “Oh great, Lysee is here.” No sooner had I said it, when I saw two cars with New York plates. “Looks like, Uncle Gavil, cousin Dovar, and my grandfathers are here too.” “So, I'm about to meet your entire family,” Milan said, with a disbelieving laugh. “I feel like I

should be more nervous than I am. But really, I'm just kind of excited.” “I am too,” I said, realizing that I meant it. “I am too.”