Slaved By The Moon God

28

I was grateful to have the clothes, but what I really needed was a shower. I reeked, and when I reached up a hand to run it through my hair, I grimaced. There was still blood in it. It could have been mine, or my father’s, or someone else’s. I didn’t know, and I didn’t care to either. I sat back down on my cot and devoured the food—this time, a burger and fries, plus an apple. Once I finished, there wasn’t anything else to do except think and pace, and I wasn’t about to give the invisible Kaden surveilling me the satisfaction of showing my nerves. I could see how people went insane from periods of long capture. I was just about over it and I’d been here for maybe a couple of days if the feeding times were anything to go by.

I tugged my mind away from that. It would be best not to dwell on it, or I’d find myself slipping into something bad. I needed to stay focused, and luckily, Kaden had given me exactly the thing to mull over.

The idea of getting revenge on the Leo pack intrigued me. The thought of knocking off the smug snarl on Jordan’s face played through my mind several times before I snapped myself back to reality. They deserved to pay for what they'd done to my pack, and to my family. My throat clenched at the memory of Wesley being taken down. For his death, I would burn the entire Leo pack to the ground.

The unpleasant part was being the bait. I didn’t want that, any more than I wanted to go back to the Cancer pack, whatever remained of it anyway. But what option did I have? The Ophiuchus pack was terrifying, and from what I’d seen of Kaden he was dangerous and unpredictable. But maybe that was exactly what I needed right now.

I had no pack to call my own, not anymore. No one would take me in and shelter me. There was nowhere else for me to go. The Ophiuchus pack might be the only ones who could keep me safe from the Leos, and if they were offering me revenge on the people who killed my brother and stole my future from me, I would take it.

But why did Kaden want to take down the Leos? The Ophiuchus pack had come to the Convergence and asked to be made part of the Zodiac Wolves again but were turned down. The Leo alpha had been an asshole about it, but so had many of the other alphas. Was there another reason Kaden wanted vengeance on the Leos in particular?

Before I could ponder it further, the door opened again. This time, Kaden wasn’t alone. Two big, muscular male shifters appeared on either side of him, staring at me blankly. I looked between the three of them, my pulse skyrocketing. s**t, s**t, s**t, I thought but kept my voice even. “Is this where the torture starts?” I asked. “Did I not make my mind up fast enough for you?”

Kaden gave me a sharp look, then gestured to the other two shifters to stay back. He walked up to my cell, and I tried to hold perfectly still. He went from playing my friend to threatening to kill me from one moment to the next, and it was impossible to read him. I didn’t know him well enough, but I had the feeling that even if I’d known him my whole life, he’d continue to surprise me.

“Have you thought about what we discussed last time?” he asked.

“Are you serious about helping me get revenge?” I had several smartass remarks available, but I wanted a straight answer from him.

“I am." He looked me dead in the eye. I tried to find any deceit in those blue depths, but they were a mystery.

“What’s in it for you?” I asked.

“I have a score to settle with the Leos personally. But it’s not just them." A villainous smile crossed his lips. "I want all the Zodiac packs dead or defeated. The Leos took out the Cancer pack for us, but we still have eleven to take care of.” The words sent a chill through me. All twelve packs, defeated? What could he possibly have against every single pack?

"Why?"

“It’s time the Ophiuchus pack was recognized. I tried to play nice with the other packs, give them a chance to let us back into the fold. They turned us away like unwanted puppies.” He drew himself up, eyes going dark. “The thirteenth pack is done being outcasts. Now we’re going to rule, and anyone who doesn’t bow down to me as alpha will burn.”

On some level, I understood. I’d been an outcast my whole life, rejected by those who were meant to help me and keep me safe. I felt no remorse over the loss of the Cancer pack, except for a few people like Mira's parents who had always been kind to me. Once the initial shock of Dad and Jackie being killed in front of me had worn off, I didn't feel sadness, only a strange loss at what might have been. It was only Wesley’s death that truly gutted me.

Thinking of my brother brought back the hatred of the Leo pack and the deep pain of loss in equal measures. I was almost bowled over by the intensity. I hadn’t had time to properly grieve, and I didn’t know when I would. I had to be safe first, and it wasn’t happening in a cell.

As for the rest of the packs? They’d either sided with the Leos or run away like cowards, leaving the Cancer pack to their fate. Even the Pisces pack hadn’t helped me, after years of camaraderie with the Cancer pack. Maybe they should all burn. There was obviously something wrong with the Zodiac packs, something festering from within, and perhaps it was time for a complete overhaul.