Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack #1)(40)

“That’s not true,” I said instantly. “The Sun Witches have protected us for as long as the Zodiac Wolves have existed. You must have it wrong."

"How exactly are they protecting you?"

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, but then said, "They stop us from getting the Moon Curse."

Kaden scoffed. “That? That’s a lie. The Moon Witches removed the curse hundreds of years ago. It was wrong, inhumane, and they realized that. The Sun Witches are lying to you and all of the packs so that you need them.”

“But why?” I asked, feeling as if I was very far away from my body. What Kaden was saying didn’t make any sense, but the more he talked, the more I started to question everything. “It doesn’t make any sense. They...they protect us. They help us get our wolves and our mates.”

Kaden took a step toward me, his voice heated. “No, they keep your wolves locked away until you’re twenty-two. You’ve seen the wolf pups here. Stella told me how shocked you were by them. But that's normal here, and it should be normal for all the other packs too."

I shook my head, unable to believe so much of my life was a lie. "I'm sure there's a good reason..."

"There is. The Sun Witches want to enslave all twelve packs again. They're slowly changing the amount of control they have over the Zodiac Wolves, so slowly that no one will notice or speak up about it until it's too late.”

“Why would they want us enslaved? I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care what you believe,” Kaden said, turning away abruptly. “And none of it will matter anyway, once the other packs are wiped out.”

Back to being the same arrogant, prickly alpha. “What does any of this have to do with me?"

Kaden looked over his shoulder at me. “I suspect that your mother was a Moon Witch."

The words hit me like a punch. I started shaking my head before I could even fully comprehend them. “No. That’s not possible. She was human.” I took a step back from Kaden, his words ringing in my ears. “And even if that was true, there’s no way for me to find out because my entire family is dead.”

Kaden turned back and met my eyes, and I saw the slightest hint of humanity in them. “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.”

Something crossed his face, something that might have been pity, and I couldn't stand to look at him for another second. I had to get away from him and all the insane things he was saying. There was no way any of them were true.

I broke into a run, heading back to the house. He didn’t call after me, and I didn’t expect him to.

I didn’t stop running until I was locked inside my room, gasping for breath.





Chapter Seventeen





Over the next few days, my life settled into a routine. In the morning, I cleaned whatever place Kaden had assigned me to for the day. Then I had a quick lunch, before joining him outside for combat training, followed by wolf training with Stella.

My guards went everywhere with me during the day, tailing me close enough that it felt like they were always breathing down my neck. The only time they weren't around was when I was in the house, or training with Kaden and Stella. Clayton and Jack never hurt me though, and once I got used to being followed so closely, I found they weren’t that bad. The only problem was that Kaden had told them not to answer any of my questions, much to my dismay.

Everyone else in the town was polite to me, although no one got too close either. It had been a few years since the Ophiuchus pack had gained a new member, Stella told me, so news of my arrival had spread fast. They all seemed to be waiting for their alpha to make a decision about me, but I wasn’t called ‘half-breed’ or ‘mutt’ by these shifters, which was a nice change. I kept holding my breath and waiting for the other shoe to drop, or for the hatred to start, but after a week, I tentatively began relaxing around the pack.

The only person whose attitude remained frosty was Kaden’s. I actively spent time trying to avoid him, but living with him made that difficult. Sometimes I ate meals with Stella, and other times I took my food up to my room so I could hide.

The routine kept my mind off of my brother and everything else, and it was only when I was alone in bed that the overwhelming grief swallowed me whole again. I cried for Wesley, for Mira's parents, for every person who had ever been kind to me in the Cancer pack. I cried not knowing what had become of the people who'd stayed home during the Convergence, and whether or not any of them were still alive. I cried for the future I might have had, if not for the Leos’ betrayal.

And then, once I'd finally exhausted my grief and hoped I might be able to sleep, the mating bond thrummed to life again. It was always there, in the back of my mind, and when I was alone and quiet it was harder to ignore. The annoying tug turned to a desperate need, an aching for something—no, someone—along with the constant feeling of being unfulfilled. I'd toss and turn, desperate to put an end to the torment, but nothing worked. I even slid my hand between my thighs and tried to get myself off, hoping it would relieve the throbbing hunger in my pussy, but it was useless. Only Jordan could fix what was wrong with me.