True to his word, Ethan managed to get all the alphas in our tenuous alliance together on Zoom by late afternoon. Once again, I was impressed by the sway he had over the other packs.
As soon as everyone was gathered, Kaden started talking. “I'm done waiting for you to decide on a course of action. You're fractured and weak, and you need someone to lead you.” He crossed his arms, radiating his alpha energy throughout the room. “I'm taking over as leader of the Zodiac Wolves. You can either follow me or become my enemy. But know now that I won't show any mercy to my enemies.”
The dread that had plagued me all morning while waiting for this meeting intensified. How does it feel to know your precious alpha isn't any better than I am? Jordan had asked. Kaden had once talked about taking over the rest of the packs or killing them if they got in his way, but I didn't think he would actually do it. I moved away, making sure I was off-screen in case I was unable to control the horror flickering across my face. The other alphas would be watching me, and if we didn't appear to be in sync, it could undermine what Kaden was trying to do. And even if I disagreed with this course of action, he was still my alpha—and I had to admit he was right, on some level. The other packs had taken far too long to do anything. Maybe this was the only way.
“Why should we follow you?” the Virgo alpha asked. She looked angry, much angrier than I'd seen her before. “How are you any better than Jordan and the Leos?”
“I have no interest in controlling you,” Kaden said. He glanced over at me, and for the first time, I saw him soften a bit. “The Sun Witches are the real enemies, and I will destroy any pack allied with them.” He turned back, and that brief flash of softness disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “And if you're not allied with me, you might as well be allied with them."
“I agree with you,” Ethan said, surprising me. “We've had enough time to deliberate and we need to come to a unanimous decision. But we are all equal here, as alphas of our respective packs, and I'm not sure we need one person to lead us. And if we do, I'm not so sure it should be you."
“We've tried it your way already, and waiting around and hoping for diplomacy isn't working,” Kaden snapped. “Look at us, we've been going in circles over the same decision for weeks now, and the Leos continue to plot their revenge and get ready for their next attack. We can't waste any more time. They're holding members of my pack hostage, and the Leos have left their village and gone into hiding. They need to be found, and we need to prepare to launch an attack on them and on the Sun Witches. Since none of you are willing to make the tough decisions, I'll be the one to do it.” He paused and glared at Ethan. “Unless you think you can lead us better?”
“Yes, actually,” Ethan said coolly. "I think I can."
“Then I will fight you for it,” Kaden said in a low, menacing tone. “To the death, if need be."
“Kaden,” I whispered, horrified. I didn't care how my reaction looked to the rest of the alphas. He couldn't kill Ethan—he was our friend, and he'd taken in the Ophiuchus pack when no one else would. Who had Kaden become, making these blatant statements of violence against people who were our closest allies? I hardly recognized him.
Kaden and Ethan didn't break eye contact and the tension in the room ratcheted up, making it almost impossible to breathe. Were they going to fight right here, on the live stream with everyone watching?
Ethan finally looked away after a few more heartbeats. “Very well,” he said. “We'll try it your way. You have the Libra pack's allegiance.”
I let out a long breath I'd been holding, and the tension diffused noticeably. Kaden nodded, though he didn't look as pleased as I thought he would. Then he turned back to the computer screen and began unmuting the other alphas one by one. To my surprise, the other packs gave in more easily. The Sagittarius, Pisces, and Capricorn packs all agreed to follow Kaden without question.
“If we're trading one asshole for another,” the old Capricorn alpha muttered, “I'd rather have the one who's promised not to control us.”
When Kaden unmuted Wesley, my brother hesitated. I was surprised, since of all the alphas, Wesley knew Kaden the best. "Ayla?" he asked.
I moved back into screen and gave him a tense nod. "I'm here."
Wesley searched my face for some time before his eyes darted back to Kaden. "Then you have the Cancer pack's allegiance, as long as Ayla is by your side, keeping you in line."
I swallowed hard. Could I keep Kaden in line? I wasn't sure anymore.
The Gemini alphas shared a glance when it was their turn to speak. “Before we agree, we want to know your plan,” the female one said, and the male one nodded. For once, they seemed to agree on something. Maybe Kaden was right, I thought. They needed someone to give them an ultimatum.
“I'm taking the fight to the Sun Witches and their allies,” Kaden said, to my surprise. “We'll do a series of targeted attacks against the packs who have allied with them, and then confront the Sun Witches at the winter equinox Convergence and demand they release us from the magic binding your wolves and controlling the mate bonds. If they refuse, the combined might of the allied Zodiac Wolves will take them down.”
The Gemini twins shared another long look, and something seemed to pass between telepathically, before they both nodded. “Then we will ally ourselves with you," the male said. "Like Capricorn, we'd rather be free and under someone's directive than enslaved.”
The last one was the Virgo alpha, who had stubbornly refused to say anything thus far. She sighed and rubbed her temples. She looked much older suddenly, as if the weight of too many lifetimes rested on her shoulders. “I don't like this, not one bit, but we can't afford to become your enemies either. The Virgo pack will ally with the other Zodiac Packs to fight against the Sun Witches.”
"Good," Kaden said, his shoulders relaxing slightly, though his tone stayed firm. “Now that we're all on the same page, each one of you will send some warriors and representatives to this hotel. It'll be easier than getting on Zoom calls every time we need to discuss something. We can coordinate attacks and make plans from here.”
One by one, the other pack alphas agreed and got off the call to begin the arrangements. When it was done, Ethan got up and left the room without a word. I watched him go with a sigh.
Kaden glanced over at me once we were alone. “We need to start getting ready for their arrival. We're going to have a harder time getting these shifters to listen when they're used to listening to their own alphas. Are you going to stand with me as my alpha female?"
"I'll do what I must to keep us all safe," I reluctantly said, which wasn't exactly a yes, but it seemed to satisfy Kaden. For now, anyway. I feared I would be the only person who could stand up to Kaden if he crossed the line, and I was terrified of what it would do to us if I had to make that choice.
This was it. We were going to war...and I had no idea who Kaden was anymore.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The following day, I went to see Jordan at the usual time, sans my deck of cards. There was no need to pretend that I had to play games with him to see him. I just wanted to check up and see if he was all right and tell him what was happening. He might be able to give us a way to avoid going to war, though I doubted it.