"I'm older than you are," Larkin said with a scowl.
"Larkin's body has been trapped in time. It's complicated." I sighed, realizing this would be a lot harder than I'd expected. "The Moon Witches are not the evil people the Sun Witches led us to believe they are. They just want to live in peace."
“What about the Moon Curse?” Amos asked.
"There is no Moon Curse," Larkin said. "We removed it long ago from all shifters."
"How do we know that?" Ethan asked, arching an eyebrow.
"The Ophiuchus pack doesn't suffer from it," Kaden said. "And we never get the Sun Witch blessing as babies."
I took a deep breath and looked around the room. It was time we began taking back our own power, and it had to start right here, in this room. "That's how they're locking away your wolves and your true mates. The ritual they perform on newborn shifters isn't to bless them and protect them from the Moon Curse, it's to make sure that they can't shift until the spell is lifted. They've convinced the Zodiac Wolves that you all need their spells to keep you safe from the Moon Curse when in reality they're using it to control you—all to keep us weaker and ensure we stay reliant on their magic."
There was a murmur of surprise around the room, and some of the shifters shared disbelieving glances.
"You're all welcome to meet our wolf pups while you're here," Stella said. "They begin shifting when they're toddlers, and learn how to control it by the time they're five or six."
"You said they're locking away our true mates too?" Mira asked, her eyes wide. Beside her, Aiden's jaw clenched, as if he was scared to hear the answer.
I swallowed, knowing this would hit her hard. We'd both talked about wanting to find our fated mates for so long, and she'd been ecstatic when she'd been paired with Aiden. Learning that was all a lie? I didn't want to tell her, but she had the right to know.
"Yes, the Sun Witches also lock away our ability to sense our mates," I said, my voice soft. "All so that the Sun Witches can create fake mate bonds, like the one they made between me and Jordan.
"No, I can't believe that," Aiden said, taking Mira's hand. "What I feel for my mate is real."
I gave Mira and Aiden a sympathetic look. "There might be a few that are real, but from what the Moon Witches have told me, those are rare."
"Why would they want to control the mate bonds?" Ethan asked.
“They've been breeding us like dogs for years, shaping and guiding each pack into what they want," I said. "All so they could make us weaker and easier to control."
“Prove it,” Amos said.
I lifted my chin and met his gaze directly. "I can't. Not yet. But we know my bond with Jordan is fake—Wesley already told you that he found proof the Sun Witches created that bond. But what he didn't tell you is that Jordan is my half-brother. We share the same father."
Amos's jaw dropped nearly to the floor. “Harrison had a child with a Leo?”
Others around the group also muttered their shock and outrage, but I held up my hand to request silence. "Yes, and we've captured him now to try to break the fake mate bond with Larkin's help. If it's possible, we'll be able to break other ones too and prove that the Sun Witches have orchestrated them all."
"We'll also interrogate him on what he knows about the Sun Witches," Kaden said with a dark tone. I had no doubt his interrogation of Jordan would be...intense.
“I don't think Jordan will tell us anything,” Wesley said with a snort.
Ethan leaned forward and met my eye. “If this is true, the other packs need to know. All of the Zodiac Wolves should have the opportunity to learn the truth and make the decision to leave the Sun Witches and join our side.”
“I don't know if any of the packs would believe it,” Amos said. “Hell, I can hardly believe it.”
“We have to try,” Wesley said. “We need to unite as many of the packs as we can against the Sun Witches. We know that the Leos won't be swayed, but we have to get the other packs on our side if we want to break free of their control.”
“The Capricorns will join with us once they hear what happened to their betas,” Amos said. “I will pass along the information. There is no way they can ignore this now.”
Eileen sat up straighter. Her eyes were red and wet with tears, but she pulled her shoulders back and looked Kaden square in the face. “I will return to my pack and tell them everything. You will have the Sagittarius's full support.”
Though I'd once felt hesitance or jealousy when it came to Eileen, now all I felt was sympathy. She'd lost everything today, and yet here she was, still trying to put on a brave face and help lead her people. Her eyes flicked to me as if she'd heard my thoughts, and they were so full of pain, I shuddered to think I'd have been in the same position if I hadn't been able to help Kaden today.
“I can contact the Virgo pack again,” Wesley said. “Now that we have more packs on our side, they might be more receptive to joining us. Especially after the events of today, they really can't ignore what's going on any longer. If we have most of the packs on our side, we might even be able to convince the Aries, Taurus, and Scorpio packs to turn against the Leos as well.”
I didn't think that was possible, but I wasn't going to tell Wesley as much in front of so many of the other packs. We needed to present a united force. And it was possible, just not probable.
"I'll contact some of the other pack alphas too," Ethan said. "I've tried to remain neutral in all other pack conflicts, so they'll listen to me when I tell them neutrality won't work any longer."
Kaden nodded. “Then we all know what to do. For now, we must rest and recover, because tomorrow we will leave this place."
“I'll help get everyone settled,” Stella said, rising to her feet. "Come with me and we'll find a place for everyone for the night."
She led the other shifters out, leaving Kaden and me seated beside each other. He looked over at me and arched an eyebrow. "You look like you're about to pass out. Time for bed."
“Yes, please,” I said with a groan. Before I could stand up, Kaden was already on his feet. He leaned over and lifted me up, bridal style. I pretended to struggle. “Hey, I can walk.”
“I doubt that, little wolf,” Kaden said dryly, and carried me up the stairs to the door of our bedroom. “You need to rest.”
I opened my mouth to protest again but then decided against it. I was in Kaden's arms, the exact place I'd wanted to be for the past few weeks. I leaned my head against his chest and listened to the beat of his heart until he set me down on the bed.
I was home.
CHAPTER TWELVE
My heart rate picked up as Kaden began stripping his shirt off. He stopped and gave me a hard look as I ogled his muscular chest.
"Don't even think about it," he said.
"I can't help it. It's been months since I saw you." Emotion welled up inside me and I took a long breath. "I didn't know if I would ever see you again, but here you are, in front of me. Alive."