Star Cursed (Zodiac Wolves #2)(42)

Kaden pulled me close to him, and I was more than happy to press myself along his side, his warmth spreading out to me. "Are you all right?"

I nodded, taking a deep breath and squaring my shoulders. "I'm fine. I just never thought I'd come back here."

He took my hand. "Let's see if anyone's around."

The moon had barely risen in the sky, but it must have been enough for Kaden to tap into because he turned us invisible. He'd done it to me before during our battle with the Taurus, but I hadn't gotten to appreciate it then. Now I held out my hand, marveling at how I couldn't see it at all. As long as Kaden and I remained touching, the spell would continue.

We walked out of the woods, holding hands, and it would have been romantic if not for the knots in my stomach. We did a brief trek around the outer bounds of the village, noting that the houses there had no lights on and no movement inside.

Kaden squeezed my arm, and I used my power to teleport us into town. We could have walked, of course, but this was faster and would leave less of a scent trail. Also if any enemy shifters were hiding in town, we could catch them off guard completely.

Delphinus was a laid-back fishing village centered around the harbor, with one main street running down the center of it with quaint little shops, bakeries, restaurants, and more. It was late enough now that they should have been lit up from the inside, but the town remained dark. At this time of night, I would have expected people to be heading into the grocery store to pick up some food, or for a few older kids to ride past on bicycles, or at the very least an old truck heading down the road after leaving the harbor. But there was no one here at all.

As looked around, we didn't even need my teleporting or Kaden's invisibility, because it was clear the town had been abandoned. The only flicker of movement came from a seagull walking along the edge of a fence, and the only sound was that of the waves crashing along the rocks nearby. Even the scent of the Cancer pack was faint as if they hadn’t inhabited the village for at least a few weeks.

We did a thorough pass of the village anyway, making sure we wouldn't be ambushed, and that no sniper was waiting on top of the gas station to take us out, or something along those lines.

Kaden let go of my hand and came into focus again. “No one’s here,” he said. “No sign of a fight either."

"They must have left town."

Kaden shrugged. “It’s your old pack. Where would they have gone?”

I gazed across the town I'd grown up in as I considered his question. With my entire family gone—and me presumed dead—the beta would have taken over. He'd hated me, as had his son, Brad. I had no idea where he would have taken the pack. We were at a dead end.

“I don’t know." I let out a frustrated breath. “We could look through the town some more, see if there are any clues as to where they went.”

"That could take days," Kaden said, his brow furrowed. "Is there somewhere we can stay while we're here?"

"Take your pick," I said, spreading my arms wide at the empty houses. Of course, breaking into someone's abandoned home and crashing there felt wrong. I shook my head. "I suppose we can go back to my childhood home. I might as well see if there are any clothes or shoes there I could use."

Kaden's eyebrows darted up at that idea. "I would very much like to see where you grew up, little wolf."

I sighed, as the sea air whipped at my hair. "Don't get too excited. I didn't exactly have a happy childhood there."

He took a wayward strand of hair and tucked it behind my ear. "I don't care. It's still a part of your past. I want to know about all of it—the good and the bad."

I swallowed hard, turning my gaze toward the direction of my old home. Even though I dreaded returning there, something in my gut tugged me forward, and I became certain that I had to do this. No matter how hard it would be.





Chapter Nineteen





Kaden took my hand again, giving me the courage to start walking down the road toward the largest house in the village, nestled atop a rocky cliff overlooking the waves. The alpha would never settle for anything less of course, but the house wasn't so grand that it felt out of place in the town either. The two-story house was painted white and gray, with lots of windows so the ocean could be seen from every room. A narrow path led down to the private beach, but we passed it by and headed straight for the front door. There were no lights on inside, not that I'd expected to see any, but each step still filled me with dread as I approached.

The door was locked, but I kicked aside the rock that we kept on the porch with the spare key, and pushed the door open. Once I flipped the lights on, I just stopped and stared. It looked exactly the same as it had the day we’d left for the Convergence. Dad's coffee cup sat next to the sink with the expectation that I’d wash it when we got back. One of Jackie’s gossip magazines was splayed out on the counter next to the rest of the mail.

Kaden was completely silent, but I felt him hovering close to me as I walked through the living room. Jackie had redecorated the place recently, painting the walls stark white, then changing all the furniture to a modern gray, with black and white accents around the room. She loved to do this every few years to keep up with the trends, but to me, it felt staged. The room was spotless, with nothing out of place, like she wanted anyone who came into the house to think we had a picture-perfect life.