Some of the other alphas looked surprised at hearing we were staying with them, but no one said anything against it. Everyone seemed hesitant to speak first until the Sagittarius alpha spoke up.
"We apologize for not making it to the previous meeting ourselves," Thom said in a grim tone, while Mae nodded beside him. “Eileen told us everything. We're grieving our beta, and stand with you in the fight against the Leos and the Sun Witches."
"I lost my betas too," Wilson said. "Now what are we going to do about it?"
At his question, everyone began to speak at once, as all the alphas clambered for attention, asked questions, or protested being here at all.
Ethan let it go for a few seconds, and then with a push of the button, muted them all. Some of the alphas continued talking, unaware that no one could hear them. He waited until they all looked out at him, and then unfolded his hands from where he'd steepled them.
I was impressed by the sheer audacity he displayed with that move. He clearly had everyone's attention, and he wasn't going to squander it.
He cleared his throat and began to speak with the charisma of an alpha in his element. "During the solar eclipse meeting, which you've all been briefed on by now, we managed to escape with the Leo alpha, Jordan. Now we've received a package from the Leos and Sun Witches containing the head of one of the Ophiuchus pack members.” Some of the gathered alphas gasped at this and even muted and hundreds of miles apart from each other, the tension was palpable. “They want Jordan back, but we're trying to get information out of him as we plan our next move. We need to discuss the Leo and Sun Witch threat and make a concrete plan once and for all, especially with the winter Convergence coming up. By now you've all been told what's going on. Maybe you believe it, maybe not. This is your time to bring forward your concerns. I'll go around once more and unmute you one by one. Try to be succinct.”
He has balls, I thought again, another wave of respect going through me. To talk to all of the alphas like this? Wow.
To my surprise, he unmuted Wilson first. The Capricorn Alpha glared out at us. “I didn't want to take a side, but my beta's death during the meeting has convinced me that we have to fight back." He didn't sound very happy about it. Ethan waited a moment and then muted him again.
He moved onto the Sagittarius pack next. Thom and Mae shared a look and then nodded. “We're convinced now more than ever that we have to act if we stay free," Thom said. "We don't want any more needless violence, but we aren't going to sit back and let the Sun Witches enslave us either."
Amos was nodding as Ethan unmuted him next. “I don't know how much help the Pisces pack will be unless we get into some water, but we will support you.”
That made the last of the packs that had shown up at the meeting. A wave of anxiety ran through me as I looked at the remaining packs. They hadn't come to the meeting and hadn't heard everything we'd discussed then nor witnessed the slaughter firsthand.
Ethan unmuted the Gemini pack first. The twins shared a look and then nodded. “I think that we should stay out of the conflict,” the female on the right said.
“I think we should fight back,” the male said, shrugging. “We haven't decided yet. We need more time to talk it over.”
“Typical Geminis,” Kaden muttered. “Can't make up their damn minds.”
Ethan shot him a look, and then it was the Virgo alpha's turn to speak.
She looked hesitant, her serene expression shattering. “We've long been hesitant to pick sides in this war. We are the smallest pack, and we are healers, not warriors. But we will fight if we have to.” She sighed and rubbed her temples. “I do have a few concerns. What will we do about the Convergence? Who will help us unlock our wolves or help us find mates if we turn against the Sun Witches? There are shifters in my pack who want to go to the Convergence for this purpose. We cannot deny them that. They've waited twenty-two years for this.”
A few vigorous nods. Mae raised her hand, and Ethan unmuted her. “A few of our pack mates have expressed their concerns about that as well. I'm sure it's similar throughout the rest of the packs.”
Another wave of nods.
The female Gemini asked, “What if we work with the Sun Witches to see what they want?”
"They want to control us," Kaden said, his tone harsh. "There's no way to work with them."
That brought on more protests and questions, with too many people talking at once again. I pinched my brow. This technology was convenient, but it did seem to make real conversation a bit trickier too.
“Can we use the Leo alpha as leverage?” Amos asked. “Or at least get some information out of him?”
“We have tried to talk to Jordan, but he is only interested in speaking with Ayla,” Ethan said with a sigh. I saw the tightening of Kaden's jaw at that fact, but he didn't say anything.
“I'll keep trying,” I said, hating that I didn't have anything else to say yet. I wanted something concrete from Jordan, but I had to keep working at him to get that.
“If we don't stand together against the Leos and Sun Witches, we're going to go back to being slaves for them,” Kaden said into the turmoil. Slowly, the packs calmed down and turned to look back at the screen. Their faces ranged from contemplative to downright disturbed, but everyone was considering it at least. “We should go for the attack,” Kaden added.
A few of the alphas immediately shook their heads. Ethan did the rounds again, asking each of them to give their opinions. The general consensus was that it was too rash to attack yet, said in varying ways.
“We're not ready to make such a bold move,” Wilson said, and I was surprised that the wily Capricorn alpha would be so quick to wait.
“We are,” Kaden replied. “There won't be another chance. This is our best time to strike. We can't put off going on the offensive any longer. If we do, more of my pack members will be sent to me in boxes. This isn't about whether or not you're ready to fight, but the lives at stake. The Leos are weak without their alpha. It's the best time to strike—and rescue my people at the same time.”
We went around in circles for a few more minutes, and I could see Kaden's body winding tighter and tighter with each pass around. No one was getting any closer to making a decision, except all the alphas agreed that attacking now was a bad idea.
Finally, Kaden pushed up from the table with a huff of air. "And this is why the Leos and the Sun Witches are winning."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Kaden stalked out of the room without another word. I shot Ethan an apologetic glance and then hurried after my mate.
The elevator door was just closing as I rounded the corner. “Hold it!” I called, half expecting Kaden to just let it close. He looked like he was considering it, but then pushed the button that had the doors sliding back open. I jogged the rest of the way to the elevator. The doors closed, and we started going up.
In this tight of quarters, it was hard to ignore the annoyance flooding from Kaden. It filled the air as he clenched and unclenched his fist. “This is why I can't stand the Zodiac Wolves. Aligning with them was a mistake. I should have stuck to my original plan of just wiping them all out. They're all so far gone, it would have been better to just start with a clean slate.”