Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack #1)(71)

"How am I just finding out about this?" I asked.

“Now that you’re a member of the pack, you can know the truth about us,” Harper said, as she nudged her twin. "Our family has a little Moon Witch blood too. Dane here can look into a pool of moonlight and see the past sometimes."

My eyebrows darted up as Dane nodded, his lips pressed into a tight line. I glanced around the rest of the table, wondering what else they could do.

“You asked once about the pack land boundaries,” Clayton said. “Kaden’s set up magical wards along the borders of our land, which keep us hidden and protect everyone inside. No one can track us back here or enter the area without our permission.”

“He can also go invisible,” Stella added, and I glanced over at her to see her wearing a mischievous smile. "We both can."

Well, that explained a lot. Kaden seemed to have the ability to eternally sneak up on me, even after I’d gotten my wolf unlocked and had my enhanced senses. And the number of times I'd felt like he was there, watching me... I narrowed my eyes at him, realizing he really had been watching all along.

"That's impressive, but is it enough to stand up against the Leos?" I asked. "I was there, you know. I had a front-row seat as the Leo alpha used his lion roar and made everyone either freeze or flee in panic. I still remember the spray of blood as he tore my father apart in front of me."

"It'll be enough," Kaden said.

"I have to agree with Ayla," Tanner said. "I think we're making a mistake going up against the Leos. We're safe here. They can't get to us as long as we remain inside the pack lands. Why risk all that?"

Kaden grabbed the back of a chair, leaning forward as he addressed us, his eyes intense. "Because we can't stay hidden in the pack lands forever. Even if we forget that Ayla will always be hunted by the Leos, or how they murdered my parents, this is a fight that will come to us, sooner or later. The Leos won't stop until all other packs bend to their rule, including ours."

"We don't know that," Tanner said. "We've hidden from them for centuries. Nothing needs to change now."

Kaden's hands tightened around the back of the chair so hard I thought he might break it. "The future of our pack depends on it. My parents recognized that. They saw that our numbers were dwindling, that we had fewer mates among our own pack, and that our long-term survival depended on rejoining the Zodiac Wolves so we could breed and trade with them. But the other packs don't want us, which is why we will force them to accept us as one of them. Even if it means wiping most of them off the face of the world."

"How does that make you any different from the Leos?" I asked, my spine stiffening at his words.

Kaden's eyes blazed as they landed on me. "Because we're doing it to survive. Not to rule."

I spread my hands wide. "It's all going to feel the same to those that are dead."

Kaden drew himself up a little taller. “Once the Leo pack falls, the others won't put up much resistance. We'll avoid as much unnecessary bloodshed as possible.”

He had a point there. The Leo pack had always been one of the two pillars of the Zodiac Wolves, with the Cancer pack being the other one. But I still felt like the Ophiuchus pack was vastly outnumbered.

“What about the Moon Witches?" I asked. “Can’t they help us against the other packs, like the Sun Witches are helping the other Leos?”

“We haven’t seen them for decades,” Stella said, shaking her head. “They must be in hiding from the Sun Witches and the other Zodiac Wolves. We have no idea how to even contact them."

Damn. I swallowed, my stomach twisting as my anxiety spiked high. I didn't like anything about this plan. There were so many things that could go wrong. But at the same time, I also understood Kaden's point that we couldn't hide here until the Leos eventually found us and wiped us out. Like they'd done to my former pack.

Everyone seemed to be waiting for me to say something. I was the crux of their plan, I realized, but they wouldn't force me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with either.

"Fine, use me as bait." I sat up straighter and met Kaden's eyes with resolve hardening my own. “All I want is vengeance against the Leo pack for killing Wesley—and I want Jordan dead. I can’t do it myself because of the bond, but I will do whatever I can to help you end his life.”

Clayton cleared his throat. “Ayla, there's something you need to know. If we kill the Leo alpha heir, the shock of it to your newly formed bond might kill you too."

I sucked in a deep breath. Fucking mating bond. It never ceased to give me problems. I considered what he said for only a second, but the choice was easy. “It’s worth the risk. I can’t live like this. I'd rather be dead than tied to that asshole forever.”

Kaden's face darkened, until he looked almost murderous. "I'll make the arrangements."

We all glanced around at each other, the grim determination I felt echoing in everyone else’s eyes. This really was it, the turning point we couldn’t go back from. I was ready for it, more ready than I had ever been before.

Let the Leo pack try to take me. I’d go down kicking and screaming if I had to, and I’d take as many of those fuckers with me as I could.