Alpha King Rejected Mate

31

I shook my head. There was no use trying to push him about it since there wasn't anything that could be done about it until we could remove the bonds. “Never mind. Are you staying too?"

Wesley gave me a look that said he thought I was being crazy again, and then he frowned. “I wish I could, but I have to get back to the Cancer pack. Although I don't have a way back there, since my car was back at the cabin in Oregon.”

"Right. At Dad's s*x cabin."

"Um, what?" Wesley asked, and the look of disgust on his face was almost comical.

“When I was with the Moon Witches, my mom told me I was conceived in that cabin. Likely, Jordan was too.”

Wesley made a noise of protest. “Why would you tell me that?”

“Hey, if I had to be cursed with that knowledge, so do you.”

“It's a good thing it burned down then,” Wesley said. “After you told me about the fake mate bonds it got me thinking. Do you think that my mom was really Dad's real mate?”

“Probably not." Although they were a perfect match for each other. Both good at making everyone miserable. But I wouldn't say that out loud to Wesley. Even though they had been awful to me, Jackie and our dad had still loved Wesley. “The Sun Witches probably put them together, although I don't know why.”

“My mom was originally part of the Capricorn pack—the daughter of the previous alpha, in fact—and their bond was the beginning of an alliance between the Cancer and Capricorn packs. That's probably why the Sun Witches wanted them to be together.”

“That would make sense,” I said.

“I never understood how they were supposed to be mates anyway,” Wesley continued. “They fought more than they got along.”

That was true. I hadn't minded the fighting because it meant that they spent less time concentrating their efforts to make my life miserable, but it must have been hell for Wesley. “I don't ever want that to happen again. I'm going to figure out how to remove the spell that the Sun Witches cast on all of us, so we can be free to choose our own mates. It's only right.” I let out a sigh. “And it's going to start with Jordan.”

Wesley nodded. “Keep me updated on that.”

“I will. But first, let's get you back to the Cancer pack.” I stood up and held my hand out for Wesley to take.

He looked at it and raised his eyebrows. “What? You're going to take me there? It's a long way."

“Just trust me,” I said.

Wesley still looked skeptical, but he stood up and took my hand. I concentrated on the little island I'd spent my summers at, where the Cancer pack was now hiding. I could recall it in almost perfect detail and then reached inside of myself to access the magic I knew was there. It was like stretching a muscle. Still sore after yesterday, but I had no doubts I could get Wesley back to where he needed to go.

Something tugged at the back of my gut, and then the calls of the seagulls up ahead were real. I blinked at the bright light coming off the waves as Wesley staggered, looking around.

“Holy s**t,” he said, looking around and then turning back to me. “I'm all for your new powers, but could you warn me next time?”

I grinned at him. “What fun would that be?”

“That's pretty impressive.” He sighed. “No one should have ever underestimated you, Ayla. Not our dad, and not the other wolves in our pack. And certainly not the Sun Witches.”

There was a sudden lump in my throat that I had issues swallowing past. I nodded, hoping that it would convey everything I felt to Wesley. “Thank you,” I managed to say.

Wesley squeezed my shoulder and then stepped back. “I'm going to prepare the Cancer pack to fight and reach out to some of the other packs for alliances. We'll keep in touch, especially now that you can just teleport yourself halfway across the world like it's no big deal.” He grinned at me and then opened his arms for a hug.

It was nice to know I could visit him whenever I wanted. This goodbye wasn't as hard as the last one we'd shared, but I still found myself tearing up as I wrapped my arms around his waist and inhaled his familiar scent. “Yeah, we will."

I stepped back, and Wesley raised his hand to me in goodbye as I closed my eyes and focused on getting back to the lake and Kaden. Home.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The preparations to leave were in full swing as I got back, with Ophiuchus shifters running around between cabins and calling out instructions and questions to one another. I went back to our cabin and began packing up my own things as well. I heard Kaden's voice from the other room and stopped what I was doing to look out into the living room.

He had Clayton and Harper and a few of his other friends in the living room, and they were pouring over a map, discussing what the best way to travel would be. I watched him for a few moments before turning back to my work and finishing my packing. I moved onto Kaden's clothes and toiletries next, gathering them and putting them in a separate bag.

Eventually, I ran out of things to do, and I realized I couldn't put it off any longer. Jordan was being held somewhere, and I needed to see if we could get the mate bond dissolved. I was terrified of what would happen if it didn't work and I'd be stuck with him forever, but I had to face him and try before we left tonight.