CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I moved out of the penthouse that night. It was the only way I could think to get it through Kaden's thick skull that I wasn't his alpha female any longer.
The hotel was abuzz the next day with rumors about me moving into a different hotel room, because gossip spread like wildfire in a place full of bored, anxious shifters. Luckily they quickly turned to other topics as new shifters from the other packs began showing up in droves, filling the hotel to its capacity. Everyone became so busy trying to get the new arrivals settled that they didn't bother asking me what was going on with me and Kaden, which suited me just fine.
The days grew colder and rainier as we settled into December, and snow threatened to blanket the city as Ophiuchus season started. I felt it in my bones, an extra strength that made it easier to fight and to use my pack powers. We all took advantage of the extra strength and started upping our combat practice. I knew it wouldn't give us an advantage at the Convergence, since Ophiuchus season would be over by then, but we were all faster, better at learning, and able to practice stunts we wouldn't be able to otherwise. I just hoped we could learn them fast enough for muscle memory to kick in.
Harper, Stella, and I started training together out in one of the gardens behind the hotel. Since we were all shifters who also practiced moon magic, we were able to fight in ways that others couldn't, drawing upon our strengths to imagine what it would be like to fight both shifters and Sun Witches. None of them could use moon magic while shifted, so we'd started focusing on shifting between human form and blasting moonbeams, and then alternating with attacks in wolf form. It was slow going, but the more we practiced, the easier it became.
We were training together on one particularly brutal winter day, when it was so cold I thought we might turn to ice if we stayed out much longer. My breath fogged in front of me with every exhale, and when I wasn't moving around, my teeth started chattering. This is just another part of training, I told myself. The Convergence would be held in the California mountains this winter equinox, where it would no doubt be just as cold and likely covered in snow too. We needed to be able to fight in that kind of weather.
Larkin and Mira sat at the edge of the clearing, observing us and giving pointers as needed. Larkin, of course, was already adept at moon magic but couldn't shift, and Mira wasn't going to be fighting because she was way too pregnant now. They chatted while they watched, and I heard Larkin telling Mira, “There's a new app I found. It's called TikTok, and I've discovered a bunch of amazing romance novels from this hashtag #booktok.”
“You'll have to send me some recommendations,” Mira said. "Goddess knows I need something to keep me busy since no one will let me lift a finger while pregnant."
As they talked, I shifted from wolf form back to human and lobbed a blast of moonlight at Harper, who dodged it quickly as a wolf before racing forward to imitate a bite. I skittered away, shifting back as quickly as I could. We circled each other, growling and snapping, and then Stella launched her own attack against us.
Finally, Harper shifted back and held her hands up in truce, signaling it was time for a short break. “I think we're getting better at that. I even managed to throw a bit of moonlight during the Aquarius raid the other night."
I settled back into my human form with ease and raised an eyebrow. "How did it go?"
"We managed to sneak inside their lands and free them from the Leos' influence. The Aquarius alpha's daughter was being held hostage, and Kaden used his invisibility to rescue her and take out all her captors. After that, the alpha agreed to form an alliance with us, though he didn't seem as grateful to us as I'd have thought."
"Aquarius has always tried to remain neutral in the Cancer-Leo feud," Mira said. "They don't like conflict and generally prefer to keep to themselves."
"Did you take anyone alive?" I asked. "Or encounter any Sun Witches?"
"Did they know anything about our missing pack members or where the rest of their pack had gone?" Stella asked.
"No Sun Witches, sorry," Harper said. "We did manage to keep a few Leos alive at first, but if they knew anything, they weren't talking. Kaden slaughtered them all once he knew they wouldn't be of any use.”
The shiver that ran through my body wasn't from the cold this time. No wonder the Aquarius alpha grudgingly agreed to follow Kaden after such a display. I was certain Kaden had made it clear that the Aquarius pack would be considered the enemy too if they didn't agree to his terms.
“We have more raids planned in the next few days,” Harper added, glancing warily at me as if looking to see how I'd react. "Kaden wants to do as many as possible while the sun is in Ophiuchus."
A pang of something went through me when I realized I hadn't heard anything about these upcoming raids. Kaden never confided in me anymore, probably because he knew I'd disagree with his plans, or try to talk some sense into him.
As if my thoughts had summoned him, Kaden stalked into the garden, looking pissed. The atmosphere instantly changed, and the chatter died away as we all turned toward him.
“Everyone out,” Kaden said after he'd stepped into the center of the garden and started observing all of us. Though Harper, Stella, and I were all naked, his eyes only lingered over my bare skin. "I need to speak to Ayla alone."
The others hurried to comply, shooting worried glances at me before they scampered out of sight and headed back toward the hotel lobby. No one wanted to get in an argument between mates, especially not when one was an alpha.
"Show me what you've been practicing, little wolf," Kaden said. To my surprise, he settled into a fighting stance and motioned for me to do the same. I stepped into a hesitant starting position, wondering what Kaden was playing at. He nodded, and we began circling each other. He really was going to spar with me, like in the old days, when we were more enemies than anything else. Somehow here we were, almost back at the beginning. Were we enemies again now? I loved Kaden, but I wasn't sure anymore.
Kaden jabbed out first, and I ducked around him, retaliating by unleashing a blast of moonlight. He instantly put up a shield, showing me he'd been practicing his moon magic too, and making me oddly proud—and thankful Larkin was such a good teacher.
We went back to circling each other, prowling around with our eyes locked together. I didn't dare look away, in case I missed his indication of where he was planning to attack.
He shifted so fast I didn't notice it was happening until his huge black wolf was leaping toward me. I shifted in the next instant, barely managing to dodge out of the way in time. Then I did something I'd been working on in private, something I was sure only I could do, thanks to my half-blood heritage: I opened my wolf mouth and spewed moonlight like a fire-breathing dragon, spraying it at Kaden.
He jumped back before it hit him, and then shifted back to human form. "Impressive. But can you still fight without all of your fancy new tricks?"
"Naturally," I said, as I became human again.
We drew in closer to each other, both naked and sweaty now, and the tension rose the longer we went without any contact. There was a sort of danger here that felt thrilling like it could give way to passion at any moment. We were walking a fine line here, neither of us willing to acknowledge what lay between us, but neither willing to back down either.