Zodiac Aligned

34

"No," Brea said, as she flipped another page. "If anything, her moon magic should be helping me. It has always fought against the blessing spell. It's the only reason she's been able to resist Jordan so long." She paused then and stared off into the distance. "Moon magic..."

Debra sucked in a breath. "You think?"

Brea slammed the book shut and handed it to Debra. "Yes. A mixture of sun and moon magic. Like the witches of old used to do. It might work."

My head jerked up, but I was scared to hope again. Still, it was worth a try. "What do I have to do?"

For the next thirty minutes, Brea taught me how to do the spell, while Kaden took Jordan for a walk. It was a lot easier for me to think without him nearby, and I picked up on the ancient Greek quickly after all my time spent studying it with the Moon Witches. Then Brea moved me through a series of hand flicks and twists, repeating it slower and then faster, while Debra barked out her critique of my movements. I'd never done magic like this before, where it was more like learning a dance than a spell, but Brea eventually decided I was ready, and Debra reluctantly agreed.

We summoned the men back, and then it was time. I met Jordan's eyes and swallowed hard. This was our last chance. If this didn't work... I couldn't bear to think about it.

Brea began chanting and gathering her sun magic, channeling it toward me, and I repeated her words and movements, calling upon the moon. I expected the magic to clash, like when I'd fought Roxandra, but there was no explosion as the opposing forces met. Instead, the sun and moon magic twined together in a weave of light that settled over me like a balm. The magic spread inside me, making me glow with a mix of gold and silver, hot and cold, male and female. Tiny little needles of light seemed to burrow into me, pricking something deep inside of me, not just in my body, but in my very soul. There was a sharp gasp of pain and a bright burst of light, and then I felt something release. The magic that held me tight suddenly let go, and I fell to my knees as the weight of it left me in a rush.

Kaden and Jordan hurried to my side, checking to see if I was okay, and I blinked and tried to focus on them. Their handsome faces were both taut with concern, and they kept asking if I was all right.

I sucked in a breath as my senses came back to me, and then I looked at Jordan and felt...nothing. Love, yes, but the kind that a sibling feels, and nothing more. No lust. No pull. No mate bond.

I wept with relief. "It's gone. It's really gone."

Jordan let out a strangled sound in his throat, and then he grabbed me in his arms and we cried together, the relief so overwhelming it was like a dam had burst in both of us. It was over. We were free.

I pulled back, wiped my eyes, and turned toward Kaden. He watched me with hope in his eyes, but it was the kind of hope that you're afraid to feel because it means too much, and you know you'll be crushed if it turns out to be false. I understood completely. Would we be mates now? Like him, I was scared to hope.

A sharp pain ignited on my chest, above my heart, and I gasped and pressed a hand there. It felt like something had burned me. A stray bit of sun magic? A side effect of the spell? It faded quickly, but when I moved my hand, I couldn't believe what I saw.

A pack mark.

I unbuttoned my shirt a little to get a better look, marveling at what I saw. An Ophiuchus symbol, as clear as day, sitting right over my heart. The spot where it would be if I was an alpha female.

"Did you do this?" I asked, glancing up at Kaden.

His jaw was practically on the ground and it took him a second to reply. "No."

"How?" I asked.

It was Jordan who answered. "Because you were meant to be an Ophiuchus all along. Just like your mother said."

I pressed my hand over the mark and closed my eyes, feeling whole and completely me for the first time in my life. I was an Ophiuchus by right. I didn't need Kaden to give me a pack mark. I'd earned it all on my own, and this one would never be taken away from me.

"I knew it," Kaden said, his voice barely above a whisper. He stared at the pack mark above my heart, and then he dragged his eyes up to mine. Something stirred inside me, a call I couldn't ignore, and my wolf howled inside me, aching to be freed.

"Tonight," I told him. True mate bonds were activated when both shifters were in wolf form, or so I'd been told. Tonight, we would find out if we were truly meant to be together.

He nodded, knowing what I meant, and the hope in his eyes changed to something else. Something like hunger.

I turned toward the two Sun Witches, who watched the entire thing with interest. "Thank you," I told them before my throat closed up with emotion. I wanted to say more, but it was too much. I could only hope they read it on my face.

"You're welcome," Brea said, bowing her head slightly. “I’m pleased it worked. I finally feel like I’m undoing some of Evanora’s evil.”

"It's a start," Jordan said.

"Are you feeling all right?" Debra asked him, as if he'd been the one who'd just had a spell cast on him.

"I'm fine. Better than fine." He ran a hand through his golden hair. "Although I'd be a lot better if the blessing spell on me was gone too. Are you up for it, Ayla?"

"Of course." I grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it down, feeling parched. That spell had really taken it out of me, but this wouldn't be finished until Jordan was completely free too.

And then we'd figure out how to free the rest of the Zodiac Wolves.