Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack #1)(53)

His nostrils flared slightly as he took in my bare flesh, and then he cleared his throat and looked away as if he just realized I was naked. That we were both naked. The sexual tension that had disappeared in the heat of the fight and the rush to get me back to Ophiuchus pack lands returned with a vengeance.

“Better?” he asked, but his voice was rough. Like speaking was difficult.

I swiped a hand over the unmarred skin experimentally. My injury was completely gone as if I'd never been attacked at all. Incredible.

“I didn’t know you had healing powers,” I said because I didn’t think better would be an adequate way to describe how I was feeling right now. I desperately hoped he couldn’t smell it, and wouldn’t remark on it like he had the other night.

Kaden shot me a smirk, back to being the cocky alpha I knew. “All of the Ophiuchus pack have healing saliva. It's our pack power.” He bared his teeth. “We also have a poison bite.”

“I’ll remember that,” I said dryly. "I thought only the Virgo pack could heal."

“They're even better at it than we are, but since I’m the alpha my healing is stronger than anyone else in the pack.”

“Really?” I asked, trying to keep my tone neutral.

“Who do you think healed you when you first got here?”

My eyes widened at the thought of him stripping me naked and healing me when I'd first been captured. Had those oversized clothes been his too? That led me to other thoughts of those days, things I'd avoided thinking about. One of his wolves had bit me, and I'd passed out. "The poison bite...is that how you knocked me out?"

"Yes, a small amount of our poison works well as a tranquilizer. Stella made sure not to bite you for long enough to kill you."

"Stella poisoned me?" I asked. "And here I thought we were friends."

Kaden stood, brushing off his bare thighs before holding a hand out to me. “Can you walk?”

"Maybe." I took his hand, almost smiling as I remembered the first time I’d taken his hand like this. He didn’t try to launch me over his shoulder this time, either. He pulled me up, and I huffed out a breath as I was almost catapulted upright—and straight against his chest.

I put my hands out, my instincts from Kaden’s training kicking in before my logical brain could interfere, and touched bare skin. His hands were on my arms, gripped tight enough that I couldn’t slip free easily, my hands flat against his naked chest. Under my palms, his heart was beating just as quickly as my own.

He was close enough to smell, that odd, musky scent that reminded me of dense forests and moonlight. Home, I thought. His breath ghosted across my lips and neck. The receding blush made a reappearance, and there would be no hiding it from this close, under this much scrutiny. He inhaled, scenting me, and I leaned in, almost involuntarily. I felt a strong pull to him, much like the constant pull of the mate bond to Jordan. But where Jordan’s compulsion felt like a hand always crushing my stomach and yanking it backward, this felt natural, like it was meant to be.

Kaden’s eyes dropped to my lips. I licked them compulsively, and for a moment, I could have sworn I felt the vibration of a low growl sing through the air between us. Then he shoved me away from him without ceremony.

“You should have listened to me,” Kaden said, turning away.

I felt something suspiciously similar to disappointment curl in my gut. I’d wanted him to breach the distance, no matter how much fallout it would cause.

“I told you to run," he said. "You could have gotten yourself killed back there. You’re still in training, and your Moon Touched gift wouldn't help you here. It’s daylight now, in case you didn’t notice.”

“Running would have only brought them back to the pack,” I snapped, unable to hold back. Fuck, he was so infuriating. Hot one minute and cold the next, and always bossing me around like he was my alpha—which he wasn't. “I only stayed to keep you from getting killed.”

“I don’t need your help,” he snarled, turning back to me.

I crossed my arms over my breasts. “You’ve made that abundantly clear."

His eyes dropped to the spot I was covering, and he ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath. “Come on, we need to get back. I need to let the others know that other packs are starting to sniff around our borders, looking for you. They’ll be back in greater numbers, and I want us to be prepared for that.”

He began walking without waiting to see if I’d follow. A thought struck me, something that had been niggling in the back of my mind. It was shaken loose at the idea of them looking for me. Had my bond with Jordan led the Aries pack right to us? Was that how they'd found us so easily?

I shook my head. That was a problem for later. Preferably when I had clothes. I followed Kaden back toward the town, mulling over the events in my head, trying to make sense of them. Unfortunately, the only thing I got was more questions and too few answers.





Chapter Twenty-Two





I was surprised by how normal everything was over the next few days. Almost dying didn’t get me out of my cleaning duties, unfortunately, and Kaden didn’t seem to think I needed any days off either. I woke up the next morning to a note saying to continue cleaning the school. No Kaden in sight.