I went to sit across from him. “We're going to attack the Leos tonight."
Jordan met my gaze levelly, and there wasn't a flicker of surprise across his face.
“You're not surprised?" I asked.
“No,” Jordan said. “It's what I would do."
"Of course it is," I muttered.
He leaned back with a smug grin. “How does it feel to know your precious alpha isn't any better than I am?”
I'd once wanted to believe that Kaden would have never stooped down to the Leos' level, but here we were. Jordan could gloat all he wanted, but it would be a hollow victory when he was paying in the lives of his pack members.
"I'm here to help you," I said. "The mating frenzy will start soon."
"I know. I can already feel it." He turned away, staring outside his window at the sun setting on the horizon, as if he couldn't stand to look at me any longer. "What are you going to do about it? You know I'll try to break the door down to get to you, no matter how much the thought disgusts me."
The fucking mating bond. I felt it too, much stronger than before, like the rising moon was taunting us with its pull. As an Ophiuchus, I wouldn't go into heat now, at least—but it would be sheer torture for Jordan. I had no idea what would happen to me either if I stayed near him. Maybe it was better I would be thousands of miles away tonight.
“I'm not going to let that happen," I said. I called out for Jack, and he came in with another guard, carrying a huge set of silver chains.
Jordan's gaze followed them as they approached, and he snorted. “Going to tie me up and leave me to suffer, then?” His eyes were hollow when they slid back to mine. “I suppose in your eyes, it's no less than what I deserve for all the wrongs I've committed against you and your precious alpha.”
“No,” I said. “I'm not as cruel as you think I am.”
Lightning quick, before he could do so much as twitch, I grabbed his arm and yanked it toward me. My teeth turned to canines and my poison began to flow as I sank my fangs into his bare skin. Jordan jerked back just as quickly, trying to free himself, but I held on tight, releasing my poison as I counted to three. Then I let him go.
“What the fuck?” Jordan asked, but before he could ask me anything else, his face went slack, and he slumped down in his chair. I watched him for a few moments, trying to see how well I'd gotten the poison into his bloodstream, but he didn't so much as twitch. He was out cold.
Jack and the other guard quickly chained Jordan up and even attached him to the wall, strapping Jordan's arms flat against his sides, then repeated the process with his legs. By the time they were done, he was completely wrapped up. I hoped I'd dosed him with enough poison to keep him asleep for the night, but at least if he woke up it would be a lot harder for him to hurt himself—or get to me.
I got up to go, but Jordan suddenly twitched and groaned. I froze and glanced down at him. Was the frenzy starting already? Or had I not poisoned him enough?
“Thank you," he said, his words slurred as he somehow opened his eyes to look at me. “Be careful, Ayla.”
I blinked at him as his eyes slipped shut again and his breathing went deep and even. The poison had fully taken effect, and in his sleep, he looked so young and innocent. He looked like my brother.
Be careful, he'd told me. He hadn't asked me to spare any of his people. He hadn't pleaded for their lives or told me not to go. But he'd told me to be careful.
I wasn't sure what to think of that.
A few hours later, when the full moon was high in the sky, I felt itchy in my skin. Not exactly a pull back to Jordan, but a feeling of being uncomfortable and antsy. I couldn't tell if it was from Jordan going into heat, or anticipation for what we were about to do.
When it was time, I teleported to the garden behind the hotel, where Kaden and a group of shifters waited for my arrival. Dozens of them, mostly from the Ophiuchus pack, but with a few Libras too, I was surprised to see. I recognized many of them—Harper and Dane, of course, but also some who had come to the magic training to learn how to fight the Sun Witches. I could only pray we wouldn't face a lot of them tonight. I'd already pleaded with Larkin and Stella to stay behind in case something went horribly wrong—they would have to lead the pack in case that happened.
"Jordan's out?" Kaden asked, as soon as I appeared.
I nodded. “Like a light.”
“And he won't wake up and escape?”
“Do you want to go check him yourself?” I asked, annoyed at being questioned like this. He should be able to trust that I could handle this, at least.
Kaden looked away, jaw clenching as he looked around the rest of the gathered shifters. The tension was running high and there wasn't a single cheerful face to be found. Harper caught my eye and gave me a short nod, always eager to rush into battle alongside her twin.
“Is everyone ready?” I asked.
A murmur of assent went through the group, and Kaden inclined his head slightly. The full moon was shining bright overhead, and when I drew on my magic, it came quickly and easily to me. I let the moonlight fill me and spread out to touch every one of the gathered shifters as I thought about the Leos and their village in Arizona, with the dry sand and rows of nearly identical sand-colored houses.
A second later, we were there under a full moon that was in a slightly different position in the sky. I'd teleported us just outside of the Leos' town, far enough away that they wouldn't be able to smell us the instant we arrived. We would have a bit of the element of surprise, but not for long.
Kaden started giving hand signals to split us into groups. I was in his group and we slinked toward the village, while the other groups circled around to enter through the back side. We'd have all the entrances and exits blocked, effectively stopping any shifters from escaping. Not that it mattered. They would likely be too wrapped up in their mating frenzy to even try to escape.
But as we approached, we all realized something was wrong.
After a moment, it hit me. There should have been the sounds of a pack in heat. I'd expected something along the lines of one of Mira's stories about the Cancer pack in heat, when groups of shifters gathered on the beach around bonfires, fucking their mates all night long until no one could move any longer. I'd experienced a similar thing when I'd gone into heat myself, and Kaden had done everything he could to satisfy me. So why was the village so quiet?
We sneaked into the town on high alert, some of us in human form and some in wolf, but after a moment, Kaden raised his nose and inhaled sharply.
“There's no one here,” he said.
A strange mixture of both relief and despair rushed through me at his words. On one hand, no one would die tonight. On the other hand, there went our chance to save the missing pack members or capture a Sun Witch.
We continued forward, still cautious in case we were wrong, but it was obvious the town had been abandoned. The other groups of attackers joined us in the middle of the town, looking just as confused as we were.
“Go search the houses," Kaden said. "I want to know if they're hiding from us, or if they've been gone for a long time. If you pick up a trail, alert me instantly.”
The other shifters nodded and broke away again to start their search. It was eerily quiet in the village, especially after the weeks we'd spent in the city, with noises around us at all times. Kaden stayed still for a few moments, his gaze pinned on something in the distance. When I turned to see what it was, my blood ran cold. The gazebo.