Zodiac Aligned

3

“You’re still the alpha,” I said while munching on a few chips. They weren’t very good, but I ate a few more because I was hungry and I needed my strength. “You proved that during the Convergence when you used your alpha command to save your pack and stop them from fighting.”

“I guess,” he said, staring into the fire. This was a far cry from the cocky alpha I’d come to know, and I hated seeing him so out of sorts. He shook his head after a few moments and turned his gaze toward me. “What's gotten you in a bad mood tonight?"

“Kaden wants me back, but I’m still upset with him." I considered how much I should tell Jordan, before deciding he might as well know all of it. In an odd turn of events, Jordan understood me better than anyone at the moment. “I don’t know where I belong anymore.”

"Hmm." Jordan glanced over toward the tent where Roxandra was being held. "Maybe once the mate bond is removed, you'll know. Maybe we both will."

“I hope so,” I said.

Jordan’s eyes finally lit with the spark I was used to seeing there. “I can’t wait until every bit of Sun Witch magic is removed from me." His hand drifted up to his neck, where he touched the moonstone pendant I’d given him. I’d let him keep it for now since it was the only thing stopping them from getting in his head. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to have their magic in my mind all the time.

“How much did they control you?” I asked in a low voice.

"Too much. It went on for a long time." He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else, but stopped himself and looked away.

“It’s okay if you don't want to talk about it,” I said. “But if you do, I'm here to listen. It might feel good to get it all out, you know?”

Jordan's mouth twisted, and I thought he would keep quiet, but eventually he started talking. “After the summer Convergence, the Sun Witches started living with the Leo pack. That's when they first got into my head."

He paused and I opened my mouth to tell him that he didn’t have to share everything if it made him uncomfortable, but he continued before I could get the words out.

"It was subtle at first. So subtle I didn't even know they were there. They preyed on my emotions, my weaknesses, and my fears, turning them all against me. It wasn’t until too late that I realized they were manipulating me. By then, they had me doing things that I’d never do in my right mind.” Jordan looked back over at me, and a muscle in his jaw ticked. “Things like threatening to light kids on fire. I’m sorry for that.”

I swallowed, remembering how he'd gotten me to leave the Ophiuchus pack with him. I’d hated him for that for a long time. Knowing that it wasn’t him changed everything. I didn’t think it was possible for me to hate the Sun Witches more than I already did, but hearing what Jordan had endured proved me wrong. I had the feeling he wasn’t telling me everything either.

“What else did they do to you?” I asked, almost scared to hear the answer. How much of what I’d hated about Jordan hadn’t been truly him at all?

Jordan stared into the fire as if he was remembering something. “After my father died and I became alpha, it got worse. They made me think I was in control until they wanted to prove a point. Like when they had me beat you when you tried to escape.”

I remembered how Roxandra had whispered in Jordan’s ear at that time. I hadn’t thought anything of it back then, but now it made total, sickening sense. And if they'd made him do that...

“They made you try to force the mating with me too, didn't they?" I asked.

Jordan drew in a shuddering breath. “I still don’t know how you can talk to me after that.”

I swallowed hard, pushing back the memories of that night. “Even after it happened, even when I thought the worst of you, I saw there was some good in you too, deep down.”

"You're wrong." Jordan shook his head. "Between my father’s alpha commands and the Sun Witches whispering in my head, I don’t know who I am anymore. But I know it isn't good."

I bumped my shoulder against his. "All of that is over now. No one's in your head anymore. You get to decide who you want to be now.”

Jordan looked away again, but the frown on his face was more contemplative now. I hoped that my words would give him something to think about at least. Jordan had been a pawn in a long, awful game, but now he had a chance to start fresh and make some real changes. But it was up to him to make it happen. All I could do was be there for him and try to make sure he didn't stumble down a dark path again.

“Hey,” Stella said, and I looked up in surprise as she approached, her boots crunching through the snow. She wore a big puffy coat, but her long dark hair was free and blew behind her in the wind. She gave Jordan a cold look and pointedly didn’t greet him. “How are you doing, Ayla?”

“I’m fine. I mean, as fine as any of us can be.” I couldn’t keep the bitter note out of my voice.

“Somehow I don't believe that." She tilted her head and studied me with eyes that were too much like her brother's. "Kaden looked like hell when he got back to the tent, so I figured you two had another fight.”

I sighed. “Things are complicated between us right now.”

“That's the understatement of the year. I can’t believe what my brother did to you. I gave him an earful about what an i***t he is, and how he needs to let you back into the pack right now. It’s not right. You’re one of us.”