Zodiac Aligned

14

"I teleported us here, so he has no idea where we are or how to get here," I said. "But Jordan's not the enemy either. You have to trust me on this."

“You should have left me back at the hotel," Jordan muttered.

"Agreed," Wesley said, crossing his arms.

"No way." I gave each of them a stern look. "It's Christmas, and I want to spend it with my brothers. Both of them. I don't care that you two don't get along, or that your packs have hated each other for as long as we can remember. You can suck it up for a few hours and at least be civil. That's all I want for Christmas. Okay?"

"I can be civil," Jordan said, jutting out his chin. "Can he?"

Wesley's jaw clenched. "I'm not the one who helped slaughter the Cancer pack."

Jordan’s posture went from neutral to defensive in an instant. "That was my father's doing, not mine."

“You weren’t exactly an innocent bystander though, were you?" Wesley growled.

"Enough!" I held up my hands, stopping this from going any further. "We all had s**t dads. Here's your chance to prove that you're better than them and that we can put this stupid blood feud behind us, at least for a single day."

“Fine,” Wesley said, stepping back. "Get inside before anyone else in the pack sees you. I don't need any blood stains on my front porch."

"Don't worry, I already promised Ayla I wouldn't kill anyone today," Jordan said.

"It's not them I'm worried about," Wesley muttered, as he led us into the living room.

Last time I'd been here, the house had been packed full of people, mostly teens who'd lost their parents at the Convergence. I was relieved to see none of them were here now since they probably wouldn't think too highly of the Leo alpha either.

A warm fire crackled on one side of the room, and a small, sparsely decorated Christmas tree stood in the corner like it had been an afterthought, but at least Wesley remembered to put one up. I settled in on one of the white sofas, trying to get past the initial awkwardness and tension. I'd known this meeting would be a difficult one, but if we were going to be a real family, and perhaps more importantly, end the war between the Cancers and the Leos, we had to start somewhere.

"You'll be happy to know I'm no longer the Leo alpha anyway," Jordan said to Wesley, as he took a seat. "Your secret hiding place is safe with me."

Wesley shook his head. "I'm not sure what's worse—you leading the Leos, or some other asshole I don't even know."

"For you? Definitely the latter. The new alpha was our former beta and my Dad's closest ally. I don't think he'd hesitate before wiping out your pack. For good this time."

“That’s only temporary,” I said, waving a hand. “You’re the true alpha of the Leos. I know it, and so does everyone else. You’ll get your pack back, and once you do, you can lead them in a new direction.” I leaned forward, glancing between my two brothers. "Together you can turn the Leo and Cancer packs into what they were meant to be. Allies."

Jordan let out a groan. "Okay, we get it. We're going to be best friends by the end of the night. Happy now, Ayla?"

"Very," I said, pulling my legs up onto the couch and settling in. He was being sarcastic, but I could already feel the tension easing between the two men. This might actually work.

Wesley raised an eyebrow. “Well, this conversation got a lot deeper than I expected for a Christmas afternoon. Let me grab some eggnog before we keep going."

"Please tell me it's spiked," Jordan said.

Wesley snorted. "There's no point in eggnog unless it makes the room spin."

Jordan grinned. “Finally, we can agree on something."

After Wesley returned with three mugs and passed them out between us, the awkwardness quickly faded. At first, the conversation was stilted, but soon Wesley was making us all laugh by telling embarrassing stories about me until I threw a pillow from the couch at him in response. Then Jordan told us about how he'd once set his Christmas tree on fire as a kid, nearly burning down his entire house, but he made it so funny we were all soon howling with laughter. The very alcoholic eggnog didn't hurt either.

Eventually, the conversation turned more serious again, and Jordan surprised me by asking Wesley how the Cancer pack was doing these days. Wesley looked stunned by the question, but then set his mug down and gave Jordan an overview. After that, they couldn’t stop talking. About our dads. About our packs. About what they wanted to do as alphas.

At one point, I excused myself to use the restroom, and then I lingered in the doorway, watching them. My two brothers, finally talking to each other. They looked nothing alike, except for their matching blue eyes, but they were more similar than they'd ever admit. With some effort, they might even be friends one day. And if they could get along? Maybe the other alphas could too.

I decided to give them a few minutes to bond without me there, so I slipped out onto the back porch and headed down to the beach. The sun was starting to set, casting brilliant orange and pink light across the water, and the sea breeze caressed my face. I breathed in deep, letting the familiar ocean scent fill me. Even though I’d always been an outcast in the Cancer pack, I still loved the ocean. How many times had I gone to this very spot to escape from my dad and my stepmom?

Heavy footsteps in the sand made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Some instinct told me I was in danger, and when I spun around, a quick bolt of fear shot through me at the sight of my old tormentors, the beta's son, Brad, and his girlfriend, Lori. The pair had taken special pleasure in torturing me back when I’d been completely at their mercy as an outcast half-human shifter.