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As a Zodiac Wolf, my fate was tied to the stars. Too bad my stars were more crossed than aligned.
The new bruises only added to the fading ones from the alpha. As long as I could remember, he’d been making bruises all along my body. Never my face, though. He did have appearances to keep up, and beating your daughter didn’t lend itself kindly to the gracious alpha persona he worked hard to protect.
“Good. With any luck, you won’t be coming back here. I can’t wait to hand you off to some other poor sucker. Let you be their problem.” “Amen,” Jackie muttered, just loud enough for me to hear.
Something inside of me died at the words. I’d hoped that outside of the Cancer pack, my heritage wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but here I was, dealing with the same prejudices I’d encountered on a daily basis. I was never going to escape this shit, was I?
He spent so much of his time talking about Wesley that most packs forgot he also had a daughter, and a half-human one at that. It was an impressive feat he’d managed, almost completely erasing me from the minds of the other packs.
His gaze darkened further, his blue eyes going almost black. “You have a death wish, little wolf.” Somehow that rankled more than mutt or half-breed. He couldn’t have been much older than I was. “No, I’ve just got nothing to lose.”
The set of the alpha’s jaw confirmed my feelings. He had a villainous gleam in his eyes that set my teeth on edge. We should listen to him, I thought.
The Ophiuchus pack didn't even need to start a war. We’d done it ourselves.
Here I was, being held captive by the worst of the worst, and they hadn’t done anything more menacing than send their alpha to growl at me and ask me some questions. Shit, they’d fed me and hadn’t beaten me yet. This was already two steps above my life in the Cancer pack.
“And the bad news?” “You’re going to use your bond with your Leo mate to set a trap for the Leos. You’re going to be our bait."
“The thirteenth pack is done being outcasts. Now we’re going to rule, and anyone who doesn’t bow down to me as alpha will burn.”
Maybe they should all burn. There was obviously something wrong with the Zodiac packs, something festering from within, and perhaps it was time for a complete overhaul.
“I’m giving you a chance,” he continued. “If you prove your loyalty, you will never be mistreated or abused, only welcomed as family. But if you do anything—anything—to betray or hurt my pack in any way…” He trailed off and inhaled deeply. Probably smelling my fear and my desire, mixed together. “You won’t live long enough to regret it.”
She’d lived an entirely different life than I had, I realized suddenly. I’d never seen someone look so content with their alpha before. I wished, not for the first time, that I’d been born someone else.
“Kaden just wants to make sure you're not a threat to the pack. He's been burned too many times in his life to trust easily.” "I can understand that," I muttered as we kept walking.
"I know what you are," Kaden said. "I suspected it before, but after seeing you move in the moonlight, it's obvious now. You’re Moon Touched."
“I'm sorry. I know what that's like." I laughed, but it was bitter. “No, you don't. You have your sister and your pack. But me? I don’t have anyone at all.”
A darker thought hit me. Was it possible that the Sun Witches controlled the mate bonds too? They could use it to manipulate the wolves, moving shifters between the packs like chess pawns, if what Kaden had said was true.
I closed my eyes, the mortification filling me. Once again, I'd been rejected by a man I thought might actually care about me. How the hell was I supposed to live in this house with him now?
“Are you willing to put your life on the line to help a pack that isn’t even yours?” I nodded and steeled myself, lifting my chin as I stared back into Kaden’s eyes. “I’d give my life for this pack if need be.”
“What the hell are you doing?” “We call them hugs, Kaden,” I said. “They’re used to show gratitude among people who aren’t emotionally stunted.” “You’re insufferable,”
My alpha, I thought as warmth spread through me. But I couldn't stop the heartbreaking thought that followed it. He should be my mate too.
"It won't be a problem," Kaden said. I rolled my eyes. Moon goddess save me from the arrogance of alphas, I thought.
“It’s worth the risk. I can’t live like this. I'd rather be dead than tied to that asshole forever.”
"Kaden." I had to say something or I would regret it forever. "No matter what happens when we meet the Leos, I need you to know this. You're the one I want. Not him."
I wasn’t the same scared, helpless weakling that Jordan had tortured at the Convergence. I was a fighter now. I was a member of the lost pack.
