Jack shrugged. "I guess we'll find out."
Chapter Eighteen
That afternoon, Stella canceled our usual training exercises and told me to get some rest. She said I'd need it for tonight while tossing me a bag of chips. Resting was hard though because I was a jittery bundle of nerves, too anxious for sunset to arrive to relax. The Cancer pack had never let me join them for anything like this, and I wanted to do a good job, to prove myself to Kaden and the others.
When the time came, I dressed in sweats and a t-shirt—clothes I could shed easily for our shift—and then headed outside. Stella waited for me behind the house and looked almost as excited as I felt, and I grinned at her as I walked up.
"Where is everyone else?" I asked.
"They're with Kaden at the clearing. We'll join them in a minute." She gave me a warm smile. "I thought you might want to shift here instead."
A touch of heat hit my cheeks, but mostly I felt gratitude for her kindness. Even though I'd never said anything, Stella had recognized I was nervous about being naked around others. I quickly stripped down and let my wolf free, my white paws sinking into the grass and my tail whipping about. At last, my wolf seemed to say.
“This is going to be a relatively short hunt," Stella said. "Tonight Kaden and some of the others are teaching the teenagers what to do, and you’re going to observe. I’ll stick to your side in human form so I can explain how the pack hunting formations work, what they’re tracking, and how they communicate to bring down prey. It’s all about cooperation and communication, and it's important for you to see and smell the hunt with your wolf senses.”
It didn’t matter that I wouldn’t be joining the actual hunt, I was thrilled to even be included. Besides, I hadn’t really given much thought to what place would be the best to sink my teeth into on an animal to bring it down. Truthfully, I wasn't sure I was ready for that.
We headed into the forest to find the rest of the pack. I heard their movements up ahead, and my anticipation only grew. I was determined to prove myself to them, however, I could. Surely this hunt wouldn’t be much more difficult than learning to throw a punch or sniff out a correct object in the forest. If all these pups can do it, so can I, I thought. Of course, they'd had their wolves long before I did. I’d spent twenty-two years without my wolf, where they got theirs as toddlers. It would take time for me to start thinking like one.
As we approached the clearing, I peered through the branches, trying to catch a glimpse of the pack. I spotted about a dozen wolves, all in different shades of fur, and it wasn’t hard to pick Kaden out at the front. He was huge and solid black. I’d seen Dad's wolf form several times, and he had nothing on Kaden, who looked equal parts majestic and deadly, an alpha that deserved the respect he received.
When the group was getting ready to go, Kaden circled them, preparing them for what was to come. I remembered Stella saying they could communicate telepathically in wolf form, and wondered if Kaden’s wolf’s voice was as dominating as he was in human form.
“Okay, we’re off,” Stella said, as the wolves began to bound into the forest. “Let’s follow them. Stay back and don’t get in the way. Kaden is teaching them formations.”
I nodded as well as I could in wolf form and loped at a comfortable pace beside Stella. She was nimble and quick in her human form, but I could have easily outpaced her. I put my nose to the ground and tracked the group by scent, staying a short distance behind the other wolves so I didn't interfere with their hunt. Deer. I pointed my nose in the direction, and Stella smiled her approval.
“Come this way," she said. "We’re going to go up onto a ridge so we can see the pack better.”
I followed her up a slight incline. From up here, I could see Kaden leading some of the younger wolves, heading around the edge of the slight depression the deer were settling down in. One group flanked the deer, chasing them in the right direction so they would head straight into the ambush waiting for them at the end.
As I watched Kaden and the younger shifters, I longed to be out there with them, feeling the thrill of the hunt and the surety of having a pack at my back. My wolf wanted nothing more than to be free and run down deer with the rest of the pack. The need to belong, to be a part of something more than myself, burned inside of me.
The Cancer pack had never felt like home, but even in the short time I’d spent here, I could see the Ophiuchus pack being the place where I could finally feel accepted. I could already picture myself down there with the rest of them so easily, and I wanted it so bad it made my chest ache.
I rode the high of the hunt with them, even from many feet away. It was easy to do, my wolf’s enhanced senses picking up on the smallest of movements, while Stella watched beside me, sometimes explaining what they were doing.
The pack cornered one deer, a huge buck that was almost as big as Kaden. The rest of the deer split off, and the wolves parted to allow them to pass. Together the wolves took down the deer, Kaden jumping onto its back while one of the younger wolves darting in to bite its throat.
The moment the deer went down, I felt something bubbling in my chest. If I’d been in human form, it would have been a cheer, but as it was, when I opened my mouth, a howl poured out. I didn’t even mean to let it loose, and I quickly clamped my jaw shut, but it was too late. My howl was out there, the first time I'd ever heard it.
Stella made a noise next to me. I looked over, trying to see if I’d done something wrong, but she had a hand in front of her mouth as if she was covering a smile. I narrowed my eyes at her. She was trying not to laugh. A moment later, the howl was echoed in the group, one young shifter picking it up, and then the next. Soon the howl went through the entire group, and Stella’s shoulders started shaking with silent laughter as a few more howls echoed from the town, just a few miles away.
A single, low howl pierced through everything, the loudest and most haunting one of all. When I look down at the group, Kaden had his head tilted back toward the moon, which danced across his black fur. The rest of the wolves fell silent at his signal.
I swore he looked at me as he ended the howl, and if I could blush as a wolf, I had no doubt I would be doing so. The howl had felt right though, in the moment.
Stella shook her head, smiling. “Are you ready to head down?”
She pulled my clothes out from the bag she carried, and I shifted back to human form to put them on. We walked back down the ridge, and I watched as a group of the younger shifters dragged the deer back to be cleaned and dressed, shoving each other and laughing.
Once we'd made it back to the clearing, Kaden walked up to us. He was shirtless, no surprise there. I grinned at him, unable to keep the joy I felt in check. Even though he didn’t smile back, he looked less moody than usual, the harsh lines of his handsome face softening into something more approachable.
“What did you think?” he asked, hands stuck in his pockets. The question was casual enough, but he watched me closely for the answer.
“It was incredible, the way you all moved in formation together, like you’d been doing it forever. I'd like to learn how to do it too."
Kaden looked at me for a long moment. “Once you’re in a pack, you’ll be able to communicate thoughts as a wolf with pack other members. That’s what made it look so easy.”
“I want that,” I said in a rush, the words coming out before I'd even realized I'd made up my mind on the matter. “Being part of a pack.”
I felt it, deep in my bones. Like all other wolves, I was born to be part of a pack, even with my half-human heritage. Somehow I would find a way to get Kaden to trust me and to prove to him I could be a part of his pack. Even if it meant cleaning every toilet in town.
When I met Kaden’s gaze again, he tilted his head at me and the look on his face was almost approval. Then a slow smirk crossed his mouth. “Nice howl, by the way."
I blushed, but his tone was light enough that I didn’t feel too bad about it. "It was my first one."
"Not bad. T
hough I bet you could howl louder under the right circumstances."
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. "Maybe you could show me."
He opened his mouth to reply, but then shook his head and looked away. "Come on. They'll be waiting for me."
As we headed back toward the house, I lifted my head and scented the air, smelling people and food. Stella had gone ahead, leaving me to walk with Kaden, though his company was silent. I didn’t mind, since I had a lot to process. The high of the hunt had worn off finally, and I'd never imagined the thrill that would have come with being part of it. I doubted I could sleep tonight, for entirely different reasons than usual.
When we got to the house, I froze. Kaden’s normally empty backyard was alight with string lights and full of people talking in groups, with the smaller children and teenagers running around. They must have set this up while we were on the hunt. A grill was set up to one side, and the crowd cheered as Kaden walked over to it and waved.
I paused at the edge of the forest as pieces of meat were brought out and set onto the grill for Kaden to cook. The deer, I realized. Kaden hadn’t mentioned a barbecue before, but then again, he seemed to enjoy keeping me on my toes. I wondered if I was invited. There were more shifters from the Ophiuchus here in one place than I had seen yet, and they all seemed to know each other. I felt intensely out of place, unsure if I was allowed to even be here, or if Kaden expected me to go inside.
As I debated, I found myself watching the wolf pups. They wrestled in the grass, growling and baring their teeth at each other. It was still shocking to see them, but they were incredibly cute, and I couldn't help but smile. A group of teens passed close to me, and I heard one of them giving a recount from the hunt. He must have been the one to kill the deer.
The longing to be a part of this, to be one of them, hit me once again. Everything I’d heard about the thirteenth pack had been wrong. They weren’t monsters or bogeymen. They were just another pack and a good one at that. Maybe Kaden was right, and everything I knew about the Sun and Moon Witches was wrong as well.
I turned my head as something caught in my peripheral vision. Clayton was walking toward me holding hands with another male shifter, who was a lot smaller than him. Then again, everyone was smaller than Clayton.
"Come join the party," he said. "You were part of the hunt too, even if you didn't participate."
I ducked my head. "Thanks. I wasn't sure..."
"I remember that feeling, but you'll be one of us soon enough," the other man said.
Clayton gestured to the man beside him. "This is Grant. My mate."
I blinked, my mouth falling open. I’d never seen a gay mated couple before. “You have the mate bond?”
“Of course we do,” Clayton said, standing a bit taller. “Why wouldn’t we?”
I held my hands up. “I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I just didn’t realize it was possible. In the Zodiac Wolves, there aren’t any homosexual mate pairs.”
Grant gave me a sympathetic smile. “I was originally part of the Libra Pack, but I left when I met Clayton and felt the mate bond. It was right after I turned twenty-two and got my wolf, but luckily I hadn't been mated at the Convergence. I went hiking in the woods on a trip, and everything changed for me when I stumbled onto Clayton by accident while he was on patrol.” He squeezed Clayton’s hand, and for the first time, I saw Clayton’s stoic face soften. They looked as in love as any other couple I’d seen mated. It must be true. "They let me join the pack, and the rest is history."
"That's...that's great," I said, and I meant it, though my mind was working double time. Would Grant have been mated to a female mate if he hadn’t left the Zodiac Wolves? Or would he simply not have gotten a mate at all?
A darker thought hit me. Was it possible that the Sun Witches controlled the mate bonds too? They could use it to manipulate the wolves, moving shifters between the packs like chess pawns, if what Kaden had said was true. I didn’t know why they’d ban homosexual pairings, but I remembered someone saying that the reason for the mating bond was for procreation, to keep shifters strong and their blood pure. They’d definitely use it against us, I thought darkly.
Anger filled me. People should be able to love who they wanted to, not be forced to love whoever the spell chose.
And if this was true, then it meant my bond with Jordan might not be real either.
“There you are!” I was pulled out of my thoughts by Stella, who ran up to me, beaming. “Come sit with us while Kaden grills. It’ll take him forever, and you might as well come hang out.”
She pulled me by the wrist to a patch of grass where some of the other female shifters were sitting. I recognized a few in passing, but Stella quickly introduced me to the others. They all worked as teachers and quickly made room for me in the circle.
“The hunt went well?” the pretty blonde named Marla asked, and it took me a moment to realize she was asking me.
I cleared my throat, surprised to be included in the conversation so easily. "I think so. It was amazing to watch,” I added, letting some of the awe overtake me as I thought about the forest once again, the coordination of the pack, and the way that Kaden had directed them all flawlessly.
“I bet you had fun watching Kaden, as well,” said a woman with curly brown hair, who I remembered was named Carly. She grinned at me and waggling her eyebrows. I ducked my head and blushed.
“Ah, I wish the mate bond would activate for me,” Marla said, putting a hand to her chest. “I would kill to be his mate. He’s so strong and handsome.”
Stella made a choking noise, her nose wrinkling. “You do realize you’re talking about my brother, right?”
"And we'd all very much like to be your sister," Carly said with a laugh.
I grinned as I looked between them, shaking my head. For the first time ever, I didn’t feel like an outcast, and this wasn’t even my birth pack. But could this feeling last? What if they found out more about me—that half of me was human, or that my mate was a Leo—and changed their minds about me?
Kaden still stood at the grill, a beer in one hand, and flipping the meat with the other. Jack and another male shifter stood next to him, laughing about something. I watched as Kaden’s lips twitched up at whatever they were saying. He looked relaxed and almost happy, but even from this far away, I could sense the power radiating off of him. The other shifters looked at him for approval and seemed to gravitate around him. There was no way anyone could doubt that he was the boss.
As I continued watching, he glanced up from the grill and surveyed the backyard with a look of pride and affection. It was obvious he saw the entire pack as his family.
Then his eyes landed on me, and they smoldered. The look he gave me was so intense it made my breath hitch and my heartbeat go erratic. My entire body flushed with heat as he continued staring at me as if he was singling me out as the thing that didn’t belong. I almost expected him to walk over and ask me what I was doing there, but then he turned away to say something to Jack.
I went back to chatting with Stella’s friends, who were telling me about the school they worked at, but I felt his eyes on me again, as if he was watching me.
The feeling didn’t leave for the rest of the night.
Chapter Nineteen
The weight of Kaden’s gaze seemed to follow me all the way to my room later that evening, and I couldn’t shake it no matter how hard I tried. I took a long, hot shower before crawling into bed, and tried to relax. The only saving grace was that the annoying mate bond wasn't bothering me tonight, at least. I was still riding out the rest of the adrenaline from the hunt, and it took what felt like hours for me to fall asleep.
Then I was in his backyard again, but now it was just the two of us standing under the moon. His eyes found mine, pinning me in place like they had before, and I wondered again if he was singling me out as something that didn’t belong. But when I looked again, I realized the heat behind his eyes wasn't anger or hatred. It was hunger. He looked like he
was going to eat me alive. I couldn't tell if he wanted to kill me...or fuck me.
He stalked toward me with the moonlight streaming down upon us, illuminating his chiseled jawline and broad shoulders. I took an involuntary step back, and my back brushed against a tree trunk. I stopped, unwilling to press myself further against it, but even more unwilling to break eye contact with Kaden.
“You’re here,” he growled, walking toward me until we were almost touching. He leaned down so his face was only a few inches away from mine. I’d seen that look in men’s gazes before but never directed toward me. It went like a shock through my entire body, resonating deep down in my gut.
“I’m here,” I responded, completely breathless. No snappy one-liners could save me now.
He reached up and slid his hand behind my neck, his long fingers tangling in my hair. “You’re mine."
I gasped at the sheer amount of possessiveness in his voice. Before I could fully comprehend it, he closed the few inches between us, and I was trapped between the tree and the heat of his body. His lips crashed into mine, claiming me, branding me as his. I melted into it, feeling the rightness of it. He wasn’t my mate, but something about this felt as if it had been destined.
I should have pushed back. I should have demanded to know what made him think he could claim me like this when I wasn’t even part of his pack. But I couldn't.
I needed him.
Kaden's hands gripped me tightly, his hard body pressing me back against the tree. I reached up, brushing my hands against his face and down his neck. He growled against my lips, kissing me so hard I thought he was trying to break me, before drawing back and looking down at me.
I couldn’t catch my breath, so caught up in the moment. His eyes had shifted fully from danger to lust now, but I felt even less at ease than I had when I didn’t know his intentions. The possessiveness in his eyes continued to send little electric bolts through me as he looked me up and down.
Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack Book 1) Page 14