I stepped up to the door, but to my surprise, Jack slammed his hand over the knob.
“You're no longer allowed to go inside,” Jack said, and though he looked truly apologetic about it, I could tell he wasn't going to back down.
"You dare to stop me?" I asked as rage filled me.
"I'm sorry, Ayla," Jack said, and he sounded miserable. "Kaden gave me an alpha command. If you try to go in, I have to stop you—however I can."
I growled and nearly yelled at him to let me pass, but it wasn't Jack I was mad at. The fact that Kaden had used an alpha command on his own friend only proved how lost he'd truly become.
“Is Jordan okay at least?” I asked. “Healing?”
Jack nodded. “He's almost fully recovered from the other night.”
That seemed to be the best I was going to get. I debated teleporting inside to see Jordan, but I didn't want Jack to get in trouble if Kaden found out. Instead, I walked away, simmering with anger. When I tried to find Kaden to give him a piece of my mind, he wasn't in the hotel and no one knew where he'd gone. Damn him.
My anger persisted throughout the day, and by the time I went to moon magic training that night, I was still upset. It must have been apparent on my face because Stella noticed immediately.
“What's going on?” she asked me. Mira looked over as well, frowning.
“It's Kaden,” I muttered. "He's being especially insufferable."
“Does this have to do with him being the new leader of the Zodiac Wolves and sending them to war?" Mira asked. "Amos told me about that, and asked me to keep him updated, but I couldn't believe that the packs would agree to that.”
“It's true,” I said grimly. “We're going to war under the Ophiuchus pack's leadership."
“I'm glad Kaden is finally taking action,” Harper said. “It's about time we tried to save our pack members and gave the Sun Witches some hell."
"Warriors from all the packs will be arriving in the next few days," I said. "Kaden's planning a series of attacks against the allies of the Leos at first since we can't find the Leos themselves, but then we're taking it to the Sun Witches at the Convergence.”
“That means we'll need to step up training,” Larkin said, tapping a finger against her lips as she thought. “We need everyone to be able to defend themselves against the Sun Witches."
She went ahead with Harper, as they discussed possible ways to train the new shifters, who might have never encountered magic before. Mira and Stella hung back with me, their faces worried.
Mira had one hand cupped under her growing belly as she asked, “You're not happy about this, are you?”
I shook my head. “I'm torn between feeling relieved we're finally doing something, and nervous about what will happen next. I'm worried about Kaden too."
"I'm concerned too," Stella said, biting her lip. "I've never seen him act like this. Yes, he often talked about taking over the Zodiac Wolves, but not with this same level of intensity. I'm going to talk to him later and try to see if there's anything I can do to help.”
"Good luck," I said. "I've tried, and he won't listen to me. Maybe it'll be different since you're his sister."
“I doubt it,” Stella said. “When Kaden makes his mind up about something, there's no stopping him. Even if I don't agree with him, he's still the alpha and I have to take his word as final say.”
I thought about those words the whole time we trained, about how there was nothing anyone else could do to stop Kaden. I was the only one, as the tentative alpha female, who could even stand a chance of making Kaden see reason—but I didn't think I would have much luck there either.
When training was over, I returned to the penthouse alone. I needed time to think, to try to find anything that resembled inner peace. I felt so lost, like I was marooned on an island with no help in sight.
I walked over to the window and peered out at the sky. The moon was covered tonight, clouds completely obscuring the sky, and a light rain fell from them. I could always turn to the moon when I felt lost, but even it wasn't out to help me tonight.
I sighed and shook my head, and then reached for my phone. It had been forever since Wesley and I had talked one-on-one, and I wanted to just hear his voice. Maybe then I wouldn't feel so alone out here.
The phone rang a few times. Pick up, please pick up, I thought. I had no idea what he would be doing around this time, and he was a lot busier now that he was the pack alpha, but I just needed to hear his voice.
The phone clicked, and then— “Ayla?” Wesley asked.
I breathed out a huge sigh of relief. Just hearing his voice made something in me unwind, and I closed my eyes against a sudden press of tears. I had to wait for a few seconds, so my voice didn't shake in response. “Hi, Wesley."
“Are you okay?”
“I don't know." I was torn between wanting to eagerly cheer Kaden on as he conquered our enemies, and worrying about what would happen to us if we became the very thing we were fighting against.
“I have to admit, I was surprised with your willingness to go along with Kaden's plan.” He paused, and there was dead air on the other side of the phone for several long moments. “But it's good we're actually doing something instead of waiting for everyone to agree on something.”
“I agree. I was going insane with the waiting.” I chewed on my lip as I considered my next words.
“But?” Wesley asked.
“But...I've seen something dark in Kaden.” Admitting it out loud felt like a betrayal and like getting a huge weight off my chest all at once. “I'm worried he's going to turn us all into something no better than the Leos.”
"He won't do that," Wesley said. "Because he has you. Surely you can get through to him."
"I've tried, but he doesn't listen to me much anymore."
"Then keep trying. I know you, Ayla. You aren't one to ever give up, even when things get hard. But you'll find your way through this mess—you always do."
His words warmed me from the inside out. "Thanks, Wesley."
"Keep me updated. I've sent some Cancer warriors to help, and they should arrive tomorrow. Don't worry, I didn't send Brad."
I chuckled softly, remembering the bully I'd once been so afraid of. It seemed like a lifetime ago. "Good to know. Keep me updated as well."
“I will,” Wesley said. “I'll see you soon, okay? The Convergence will be here before you realize it, and then this will be over, one way or another.”
We said our goodbyes and hung up, just as the door opened and Kaden stepped into the penthouse. My breath caught at the sight of him, and all the anger returned in full force.
"Where have you been?" I asked.
Kaden shot me a hard look. "I was scouting the Aquarius pack lands to see if we can strike against the Leos there and free the pack from their control."
The Aquarius pack lands were right on Lake Michigan, which wasn't too far from Toronto, but I was still shocked by this. "And what did you find?"
"With a coordinated strike, I think we can take out the Leos there. Then we'll convince the Aquarius to join us."