Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack #1)(70)
Jealousy tore through me at that thought, along with a deep sadness that brought me to my knees. How was I going to live in this pack while wanting my alpha with every fiber of my being? Or worse, watching him mate with someone else—while knowing I would forever be alone and unwanted?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
In the morning, I walked downstairs to the kitchen and stopped dead in my tracks. Kaden was the last person I expected to see after he’d left last night, yet there he was, standing in front of the coffee maker in a shirt that clung to his muscles and jeans that hugged his perfect ass. I stared at him for a few seconds, feeling as if I was falling into a bottomless well of longing and loneliness. His dark hair was messy as if he hadn't slept well, and a scowl seemed to live on his face now. I jerked my gaze away before heading toward the fridge to find something to eat for breakfast.
He cleared his throat. “I need you at the community center."
“Good morning to you too,” I grumbled. "Janitor duty again?"
Kaden didn’t so much as glance at me again as he walked out the door. I threw my hands up as I watched him go. Looks like everything is back to normal. It was as if our kiss last night had never happened, except I still remembered the taste of him. With a sigh, I closed the fridge, and headed out after him.
The community center was in the middle of the town, and when I stepped inside I looked around at the clean space with pride. Thanks to me, it was looking more like a gathering place for the town and less like a giant storage shed that hadn’t seen the light of day for years. The dust bunnies that had gathered in this place had been legendary. Not to mention the mold in the bathrooms. I shuddered just thinking about it. But the place still looked clean, so why was I here?
Clayton exited from a door, and he waved me over. "Good, you're here. Come inside, the others are waiting."
"Others?" I asked as I followed him into the room. "What's going on?"
Stella sat with Harper, Jack, Dane, and Tanner around a long table, while Kaden paced on the other side of it. Stella motioned for me to come sit by her, and I complied, glancing between everyone’s faces. They all looked solemn, and I wondered if someone had died while I’d been asleep.
Once Clayton and I were seated, Kaden stopped pacing and turned to address us. “I’ve gathered you all here to discuss a plan to draw out the Leos. We can't sit around and let them attack us any time we leave our pack lands. The supply run yesterday taught us that much. But they also don't know exactly where we are, or how to get inside our borders, or they'd be here already."
"What do you plan to do?" Harper asked, from her spot next to her twin. I'd still never actually heard Dane speak.
"I’m going to contact them and ask the Leo alpha, Dixon, to meet us on neutral ground to give them Ayla.” Kaden's eyes landed on me. “She’ll be our bait.”
I bit back my initial reaction, which was to say 'no fucking way.' It was what I’d agreed to, way back when Kaden had me in a cell, but that didn't mean I was happy about it. So many things could go wrong, things that would end up with me as a prisoner of the Leo pack. Or dead.
"Are you sure they still want her?" Jack asked.
Kaden crossed his arms, the only one still standing, and he looked every inch the commanding alpha. “The Leo pack keeps sending people to capture her. The alpha heir won't stop searching for her until she's been found. She's his mate." He practically spat the last word.
"Yeah, but he rejected her," Stella said.
"And killed most of her pack," Tanner added.
"That won't stop him from needing to find her," Clayton said. "The draw toward a mate is unbearable. He'll want to find her, even if it's to try to break the bond."
"This is a fun trip down memory lane and all," I said, unable to hide the bitterness in my tone, "but can we get back to the part where I'm going to be bait. Are you actually planning to give me up?”
“Of course not,” Kaden said as if I was being daft. “You’ll just be the lure to get them to meet with us. I plan to challenge the alpha to a duel, and once I win, we’ll wipe out the rest of the Leos.”
“Are you really powerful enough to do that?” I asked. Fear set me on edge as I remembered the ferocity of the Leo alpha as he killed my father. Or how the Leos had attacked so swiftly, along with their allies, brutally taking down the rest of the pack within minutes. They were trained for battle, and there were a whole lot more of them than in the Ophiuchus pack.
"It won't be a problem," Kaden said.
I rolled my eyes. Moon goddess save me from the arrogance of alphas, I thought. "How can you be so sure you'll win?"
"Kaden is Moon Touched," Stella said. "All of the alphas in our pack have been, for as long as we can remember."
I blinked, then turned to look at Kaden again. That explained how he'd been unsurprised by my own strange power, but I was still shocked by the revelation. What sorts of magic did he have? And just how many more secrets was he keeping? "So your pack does have Moon Witch blood? That rumor is true?"
"A few of us still do, yes, though it's pretty rare now," Kaden said. "My family has always been the strongest line."