Star Cursed (Zodiac Wolves #2)(64)

"Yes, it's been too long," Kaden said. "Thank you for meeting with us."

"Such a pleasure, Kaden." The female gave Kaden a friendly hug and then turned toward me. "So lovely to meet you. I was wondering if Kaden would ever find a mate."

I flushed at her words, but sensed a trace of humor in her voice and decided to go with it. "He just hadn't found a woman who could stand up to him until he met me."

Both alphas chuckled at that, and the female alpha clasped my hands in hers. "Oh, I like you already. My name is Mae, and this is Theo. Come, we have a meal waiting."

“Thank you,” Kaden said, as we followed them through the maze of tents and campers. "We're pleased you happened to travel this way so we could meet with you."

"It wasn't an accident," Theo said. "There is change in the air and rumors on the wind of an upcoming meeting among alphas who have no interest in becoming subjects of the Leos. We decided to take a trip close to your pack lands, hoping you would venture out this way and shed some light on the matter."

"We'd be happy to do so," Kaden said.

This was already going better than I'd hoped. Warmth bubbled up inside of me as we made our way through the camp, and I enjoyed peering into some of the open campers, surprised at how nice they were, like mini luxury homes on wheels. A lot of the tents were pretty fabulous too, and I realized I'd been expecting something totally different when we arrived here. But it was clear the Sagittarius traveled in style.

The alphas led us to one of the large tents, which had twinkling lights at the entrance, and a long picnic table outside. Inside, the place took glamping to a whole new level with a whole living room set up, including a big-screen TV. A younger couple sat on the couch, holding hands, and I assumed they must be the betas. As they turned around to greet us, Kaden stopped dead in his tracks.

Tension rose thick in the air as the betas rose to their feet, staring at Kaden. The male was very handsome, with short dark hair and a strong jaw, and he grimaced as he looked at us. The female beside him was gorgeous, with long black hair hanging down her back, so straight it looked like she could cut things with it. The female blinked, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing, and then stepped forward almost as if she couldn’t help herself. The male grabbed her arm as if to hold her back. I glanced between everyone, wondering what was going on.

“Oh…” Mae said, looking between the female beta and Kaden, a frown pulling her eyebrows down. “I'm so sorry, I forgot.”

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

“No, no problem,” Kaden responded, but there was still a thread of tension in his voice as he stared at the betas.

The female smiled at Kaden, and there was something in that smile, something I was still missing, along with a hint of sadness in her eyes. “How have you been, Kaden? It’s been so long.”

The male growled, low enough that it was just a rumble. He put his arm around the female beta possessively, and she looked back at him as if she’d just surfaced from a dream.

Kaden stared levelly at the male, not breaking eye contact. A muscle twitched in his jaw from where he clenched it. “I’m fine," he said, in polite, clipped tones. "How are you, Eileen?”

Eileen. The name sparked something in my memory, and everything slotted into place. The tension between Kaden and this female, the way the beta was acting possessive for no particular reason—Eileen was Kaden's ex. His childhood love, the one that Kaden had thought would become his alpha female when he took over for his parents. Then they'd gone to the Sagittarius pack to trade, probably during a meeting a lot like this one, and the mate bond had been activated between her and the beta. She'd left the Ophiuchus pack for good after that.

"I'm well, thank you." Eileen looked over at her mate. “I think you remember Devin."

“Of course,” Kaden said.

Everyone was being overly polite, but each word was strained. The moment was so awkward and uncomfortable, I wanted to walk away from it. Except as I watched Kaden stare at Eileen, another emotion, dark and new, sprang up. I’d never felt it so deeply before, it took me a minute to figure out what it was.

Jealousy. And a huge side dish of possessiveness too. I wanted to bite Kaden, to show Eileen that he was mine, but would Kaden accept that? Did he still have feelings for Eileen? This was the woman who had broken his heart, and if she hadn't found a new mate, they would probably still be together right now.

Kaden rested his hand on my arm, calming my beast slightly. "This is my alpha female, Ayla."

Eileen's eyes widened as she took me in. "Maybe we should leave."

“Yes, maybe you should,” I snapped. Down girl, I told my wolf, who was ready to come out, fangs blazing, and fight for her man.

Eileen tugged at Devin’s arm, and then they walked away from the tent. Kaden watched them go for far too long, and I clenched my jaw and looked away from him.

"I'm sorry about that," Theo said. "I forgot about your...situation. I wouldn't have invited them otherwise."

"It's fine," Kaden said.

"Please sit." Mae gestured at the couch, obviously eager to move on quickly from the awkward moment. "Would you like some wine?"

"That would be nice, thank you," I replied, with a forced smile.