Star Cursed (Zodiac Wolves #2)(51)

On our last night on the island, I was so mentally tired that I fell asleep the moment my head touched the pillow, one of Kaden’s arms curled protectively around my side. When I opened my eyes the next morning, I was in the exact same position we’d fallen asleep in. I took a moment to look over Kaden’s handsome face, my chest bursting with affection. He looked less broody when he was asleep, closer to his actual age, and I wished I had my camera to capture the moment forever.

Breakfast was silent, and when I went to pack up our stuff afterward, I found that tears were prickling at the back of my eyes. I managed to hold them back all the way back to our boat, but when Wesley enveloped me in a hug, I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. This felt too much like a true goodbye for me to think of it being anything else. At the Convergence, there hadn’t been time for goodbyes, just the heart-pounding need to get away from the danger. I didn’t want to leave Wesley, but I tried to reassure myself that we would see each other again this time.

“I’ll see you at the solar eclipse,” I said, with a sniff. “Stay safe and try not to almost die again.”

“You too,” Wesley said, giving me a sad grin. “I don’t know why you’re always such a magnet for danger, but I'm sure you can take care of yourself. And you have someone on your side who will help you now.”

Kaden nodded as he shook hands with Wesley. “She’ll be safe with me, I swear it."

“Good,” Wesley said and stepped back. "I love you, Ayla."

My throat closed around the swell of emotion. I deposited my bag into the boat before going and giving Wesley one more hug. “I love you too,” I managed to get out.

Then I swiped my hand across my cheeks and got in the boat. I needed to focus so we could get going. I pushed the emotions associated with Wesley into the little box I kept in the back of my mind. It had previously held my grief over his death, but now I didn’t have time to deal with the fear of losing him again either. We had so much to do before I could even allow myself the luxury of worrying.

Once Kaden manned up enough to get in too, I started the boat. Wesley watched in silence from a little bit up the dock, and then we were off. I made sure everything was running smoothly before I turned around to face the island. Wesley raised a hand in farewell, and I echoed him. He became smaller and smaller until he was just a speck on the island, but I was sure he watched us until we were gone from view as well. I turned ahead and focused on steering us back to the mainland.

The boat ride was silent for the most part. I noticed that Kaden was less leery of the boat this time, and I couldn’t help the small, wry smile at that. I’ll make a seafarer of you yet, I thought. We docked, and Kaden went ahead to make sure the village was still empty while I turned the boat off and loaded our bags onto the dock.

“Anything?” I asked as Kaden slipped back onto the deck. He shook his head. Good. We seemed to have lost our Taurus tail, and I was more than happy about it. I didn’t know how far Jordan was able to trace the mating bond, but I hoped I’d be able to escape it for a little longer.

“Ready?” Kaden asked as I hoisted myself onto the dock and picked my bag up. “I figure we can make it to another town by nightfall if we get started now.”

“We are not walking all the way to the Ophiuchus pack." I started heading into the town, and Kaden followed me. “We can take one of my Dad's cars."

We trekked back up to my childhood home, but this time I only had to enter the garage, much to my relief. The SUV we'd taken to the Convergence was gone. Wesley had told me he'd left it at the Convergence partly because he was too injured to drive, and partly so the Leos would think he was dead. The only downside was that all of our stuff had been left behind there too.

Luckily, Dad owned a couple of other cars, including a dark red SUV that Jackie always drove, a beat-up white truck he used when he went fishing, and his newest purchase, the one that Jackie had yelled at him about repeatedly—a silver Aston Martin. Totally impractical for a rural area like this, but he'd always been a big fan of James Bond, and during his latest midlife crisis, he'd gotten it anyway. That was the car I headed for now.

I was surprised by the lack of guilt I felt at the thought of stealing one of his cars. He was dead, and besides, he owed me. A car was the least he could do in the wake of the personal hell he’d set up for me with the Leos. Not to mention all the years of abuse at his hands.

I grabbed the keys off the hook and tossed them to Kaden with a grin of triumph. “A present."

Kaden raised an eyebrow at me. “I hope Wesley won’t miss this."

I shrugged. “I doubt he’ll care, but we can make sure to get it back to him at the solar eclipse."

Kaden tossed our meager possessions in the trunk and climbed into the driver’s seat. He turned the car on and waited for me to buckle my seat belt before pulling out of the driveway and out of the town. As we left, I stared out the window. The last time I’d seen this view was before the Convergence. I’d hoped then, as I did now, that I’d never have to see this place again unless it was to visit Wesley. It wasn’t my home, even though it had been where I’d grown up, and relief flooded me as we got farther away. I’d been worried about being torn, but while I still loved Wesley, the Ophiuchus pack was my home now. Kaden was my home. Not that empty village filled with a thousand bad memories.