Slaved By The Moon God

19

A gasp went through the audience, the assembled shifters passing along the news. I heard the word rejected thrown around a few times, and it hit me like a bolt to the chest, knocking out all the air. Rejecting a mate was nearly unheard of—it went against everything we were taught our entire lives. It was like spitting in the faces of the gods and defying their plans for you. And worse, it meant that both shifters would remain unmated forever. Unable to join another pack. Unable to find love. Unable to have children.

That was the fate Jordan wanted for us.

Dad stepped forward, glaring at Jordan. “You will take Ayla as a mate,” he said, every inch the commanding alpha again. When Dixon stepped between him and Jordan, a low growl went through both alphas. Dad broke Dixon’s gaze first, turning to Evanora. “Make him accept her!"

I winced as I caught the tone. No one talked to the Sun Witches like that. Most of my focus was on Jordan though. I met his gaze, trying to beg him with my eyes to take me, to accept me. His face was cruel, unyielding, and he refused to even look at me. He’d made up his mind. He didn't want me, just like everyone else who was supposed to love me.

“It’s out of my hands,” I heard Evanora say, her voice resigned.

No. Surely this couldn’t be the end of it? We were mated, chosen by the gods to be together. I hadn’t wanted him at first either, but that didn’t matter in the end. We were meant to be together. I'd felt it. Hadn't he?

“My son deserves better than a half-human mutt," Dixon said, his tone so condescending it almost sent another wave of physical pain through me. "We don’t want her in our pack."

There really wouldn’t be a change in my fate. Everyone would always hate me for my half-human heritage—and I would never have a pack to call home.

“Your son is a halfwit who should take what he can get,” Dad snarled. “Ayla’s better than nothing, and that’s what he’ll have if you don’t let them be mated.”

The Leo alpha roared in response. "You dare to insult my son?"

“Calm yourselves,” Evanora said, her commanding tone cutting through the night. But no one listened.

Movement around me made me look up. Members of the Cancer pack formed up behind us, some in human and some in wolf form, supporting our alpha. The tension was shifting, roiling, and becoming even more dangerous. I watched Wesley step away from the group of remaining unmated males and take his place next to Dad, though he looked pained by what was happening. Jackie joined them too, standing proud as the alpha female of our pack. Wolves from the Leo pack responded, facing off on two sides of the circle, while growls resonated through the air.

As the two alphas started yelling, a few of the other packs began shuffling back, fleeing the conflict. Mira looked at me, eyes wide and dark, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, her mate dragged her away, their hands still bound by ribbon. She cast a helpless look over her shoulder before she vanished into the woods with the rest of the Pisces pack.

"You have insulted me for the last time," Dixon said. Then he threw back his head and unleashed his Leo lion roar—his pack's Zodiac power. The sound was horrible, sending true terror down my spine, and everyone around us either fled or cowered in fear. I covered my ears and felt like my eyes might bulge out of my face, my body unable to move as the roar echoed through me.

Even Dad was forced to freeze, and that gave Dixon just enough time to shift into a giant red wolf and leap forward. With a snarl, he ripped my father's throat out with his fangs. Blood sprayed, landing on me, and I let out the scream I’d been holding back for far too long. It happened so fast, Dad didn't even have time to shift or use his crab armor.

Then Dixon tore apart my father in front of me.

Chapter Eight

All I heard was screaming. It was the only thing I could do as I watched in helpless horror as the Leo pack converged on my father's body and tore him to pieces.

I wasn't the only one screaming though. As I scrambled back, trying to get as far away from the blood and sinew, Jackie rushed forward, screaming and snarling at the death of her mate. It was too late though—Dad was gone, and she was taken next. I tore my gaze away as the Leos descended on her, my terror quickly turning to a desperate need to escape and survive. The Leo alpha's roar was finally wearing off, or maybe it was the shock of the rejection, but I could finally move again.

As I struggled to my feet, the world around me turned to chaos. Everyone was running, screaming, and shifting. The Sun Witches were gone, and both the Leo and Cancer packs were fighting in the middle of the clearing where we'd just had the mating ritual. I couldn't understand how things had turned so fast, or how I went from getting a mate to being an orphan in seconds. All I knew was I had to find Wesley and get the f**k out of here.

Aries, Scorpio, and Taurus pack members joined the fray, slaughtering members of the Cancer pack all around me under the command of the Leos. Where were our Cancer allies? They'd abandoned us the second they'd smelled trouble, showing just how little the packs cared for loyalty or honor. Now my pack—no, former pack—was outnumbered and being picked off one by one. While I wasn’t overly fond of anyone in Cancer except my brother, that didn’t mean I wanted to see them dead.