"I love you, Kaden," I said, as I pulled away from him and shivered in the cold, finally feeling it now. "But this doesn't change anything between us."
His eyes flashed with darkness, but he bent down and tossed my clothes at me. "I didn't think it would. I just wanted to feel you come around my cock while crying my name, so I knew you were still mine."
He stalked away, and somehow I felt like I'd lost the battle between us again. I quickly got dressed, but even in my warm clothes, I shivered the whole way back to the hotel.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
We continued getting ready for battle over the next few days, as time slipped by at that strange pace of being too fast and too slow all at once. I wanted the Convergence to be here already so we could get it over with, but at the same time, I dreaded its arrival. I didn't know if an entire lifetime would make us ready to fight the Sun Witches and their allies.
At the next full moon in the middle of December, the Ophiuchus pack held its annual birthday celebration. Since most shifters in a pack had the same birth month, it was easier to just hold one big celebration rather than spreading it out. It was huge in most packs, with lots of food and fanfare, and the Ophiuchus pack was no different.
There were also no gifts exchanged, which made it focused on just being with each other. The only time that presents were given were between family members on rare occasions, usually for a milestone birthday. I'd never been a fan of attending the Cancer pack's annual celebration, simply because no one seemed to want me there—especially because my own birthday was in March. Not that my parents had deigned to celebrate it then either.
This was a new experience for me, to be surrounded by people I loved and cared about, and to be completely welcome. No one seemed to mind that my birthday was in another month—since I was part of the Ophiuchus pack, they celebrated me too.
We held it at the nearby nature reserve since the wolf noises would have been too much in the city and might have gotten some unwanted attention thrown on us. We didn't need any drunk shifters accidentally becoming wolves while a human was walking down the street.
We'd found a nice clearing in the park that the Libras often used for events, and all helped to decorate it with string lights and balloons. Someone had brought a speaker, and upbeat music filtered through the entire clearing, setting the mood. There were tables set up with food, so much that I had trouble choosing because I knew I wouldn't be able to try it all.
After I'd loaded up my plate, I began walking through the crowd. People called me by name, patting me on the back and grinning at me. No matter how much of a tumultuous start I'd had as part of the pack, I'd still been accepted. It was times like these that reminded me of how different my life was here from the Cancer pack—even if I was no longer alpha female.
It was also a much-needed break for everyone attending. The weeks leading up to the big battle had taken a toll on everyone, as well as all the raids the fighters were going on. Everyone needed time to unwind and to remember how to smile. Even though everything was about to change for us at the Convergence, we could still take this time to have a little fun.
I caught sight of Mira, seated on the ground with her mate, Aiden. She waved at me but didn't get up. He had an arm around her, and her head was resting on his chest. I smiled at how happy they seemed. I still felt bad about pushing her toward Wesley when she seemed happy with Aiden, and now that she was pregnant, I felt even worse. Besides, who was I to tell anyone who or how to love, when I was a total mess when it came to Kaden?
I turned away and grinned as I caught sight of Harper and Stella dancing together. They each had a drink in hand, and I watched as Stella threw her head back and laughed. It was the most carefree I'd seen her in a long time. I smiled softly and started walking toward them, but before I could, my eyes were drawn to Kaden, easily finding him in the crowd like a second mate bond was pulling me toward him.
He looked at ease, not quite smiling but close to it. Jack stood next to him, grinning at something one of the other fighters was saying, and Dane nodded solemnly. They were sharing a story, from the rapt attention of the gathered crowd.
Kaden looked delicious tonight in a tight black t-shirt and dark jeans. I paused and let myself look him over. I'd thought about our time in the garden together every night since we'd parted ways. It had physically hurt me to push him away, and since I'd done so, I'd had a lot of time to regret it.
I watched as Kaden's muscles flexed as he raised a bottle of beer to his lips. Everything else faded away as I watched him. The music lowered to a thrum, and everyone else blurred around me. I only had eyes for Kaden.
Suddenly, nothing mattered except him. We were meant to be together, and I would make sure he stayed on the right path. The other alternative was to not have him at all, and in those days between him fucking me in the garden and now, I'd had plenty of time to think about how cold and empty my bed was without him in it. And maybe he was right—maybe I did like him a little too much as a villain.
I walked toward Kaden, and Jack nudged him. Kaden turned around and straightened, heat going through his eyes as he gave me a slow once-over. I blushed as I remembered him doing that many other times, usually when he'd been about to rip my clothes off with his claws.
Jack and the other shifters melted into the crowd to give us some privacy, leaving us with our own little secluded area of the clearing. I smiled at Kaden, and took my hand from behind my back, presenting him with a gift. I had struggled with the decision of whether or not to bring Kaden's present with me tonight, but figured it would be best to give it to him in public. If I waited, I wasn't sure I'd give it to him at all.
He frowned down at the bag and took it from me. “What's this?”
“Your birthday present."
Kaden took the book out of the bag and stared at it for a long moment. I'd agonized over what to get him for the longest time. Nothing seemed to fit until I found this book. Astronomy was Kaden's passion, the one thing he allowed himself to have that wasn't conducive to being an alpha. It was also one of the only things that linked him to his parents. The book of astronomy seemed to be the most thoughtful thing I could give him, an acknowledgment and an apology all in one.
“This is…” he trailed off and shook his head. I waited for him to say something else, but after a few moments of silence Kaden simply said, "Thank you."
Before I could respond, he pulled me in and kissed me. This was nothing like the garden, but was all soft, with no bite. There was still passion though, and I swooned into it, letting my eyes close and my body melt against his. This is where you belong, I thought. A key fitting into a perfect lock.
I drew back. “I don't want to be away from you any longer."
"It's about time you realized that," Kaden muttered, then pulled me close to kiss me again, deeper this time.
Suddenly, a shout cut through the festivities. I turned around to see what was going on and watched as the crowd parted to let through a harried-looking Clayton. He pushed his way through the last of the crowd and came to stand in front of Kaden. He was breathing hard and smelled of fear. I was instantly on high alert, whatever I'd been about to say to Kaden forgotten instantly in the face of danger.