Inside the store, Mira grinned at me. "When was the last time we went shopping?"
"Seems like a decade ago," I said. Even when we had gone shopping, Dad never let me have any money to buy things. Mira had usually taken pity on me and gotten me something though.
"I'm sorry you had to leave everything behind when we fled the Leos," I said. Mira also had nothing but the clothes she'd escaped in, although at least she'd been dressed more sensibly and was wearing shoes too.
Mira shrugged. "It's okay. I didn't bring anything to their village that I would miss, in case something like that happened."
We both picked out some tank tops and shorts, since the mid-August heat was scorching outside, but also grabbed some jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, plus a jacket, just to cover all the bases. Both the Pisces and Cancer packs lived on the coast, where it tended to be cooler, especially at night. A bra and a pack of underwear were next—the last time I'd had any on was back with the Leos—along with some walking shoes, plus a little travel bag of toiletries, and we were set.
On the way to the checkout, I spotted a stand of burner phones, and plopped one in the basket too, then grabbed some snacks, drinks, and even some lip gloss, because fuck it, I deserved it. I'd been through a lot lately. Kaden could buy me some fruity pink lip gloss.
When I joined Kaden in the checkout line, he glanced down at my basket and narrowed his eyes. At first, I thought he was judging my lip gloss, but then he asked, "A phone? Need to call your precious Leo mate?"
I nudged him out of the way so I could put my things on the conveyor belt. "Don't be ridiculous. I want to be able to keep in touch with Mira this time. I wasn't allowed a phone before, but I'm getting one now, and I don't care what you say about it."
Kaden's jaw clenched like he might try to stop me, but then he just threw his own snacks and drinks on the belt after my things. Mira joined us too and added her stuff, thanking Kaden for his generosity as he paid for it all, and then we hit the bathrooms to change and clean up a bit.
"Come," Kaden said when we met him just outside the store. "We're going to speak with the others before we split up."
"Split up?" I asked as I followed his gaze to where some other pack members had gathered at a fast food place next door, waiting for us. Harper gave me a little wave as we approached.
Kaden didn't answer me, so I worked on getting my phone out of its packaging as we waited for the rest of the shifters to gather around us. I’d just gotten it turned on and the language set to ‘English’ when Kaden cleared his throat, and the shifters fell silent.
"Thank you all for your excellent work during the Leo attack," he said, as his eyes took in his people with pride. "We were successful in our mission, and not only did we rescue our pack member, but we learned how the Leos respond to an attack and what their plans are. But our work is far from over. As I'm sure you've heard by now, I require one more task before you return to the rest of the pack." He gestured toward Mira, who stood awkwardly beside me like she wasn't sure if she should be listening in or not. "Our friend here has suffered at the hands of the Leos, and she needs to be escorted safely back to the Pisces pack. It's possible there will be a group of Leos there threatening the pack and her mate. Deal with them swiftly, make sure the Pisces pack is safe, and then you can return home."
A murmur went through the shifters next, but none of them looked unhappy about their new mission, and I was awed by Kaden’s ability to command a pack at such a young age. He had the presence of someone much older, and no one seemed to mind following his orders at all.
Harper wrapped an arm around Mira's shoulders. "We'll make sure our new friend gets home safely, and gladly take out any Leos we find on the way. Don't even worry about it."
"Thank you," Mira said, giving the other woman a small smile, and then turning her warm gaze on Kaden too.
He nodded in return. "Jack will be leading you. He's arranged some plane tickets since this mission requires some haste and driving to Alaska would take too long. We’ll meet you with the rest of the pack once we've finished our mission.”
"We?" I asked.
He turned his gaze on me. "You and I are going to the Cancer pack lands."
“What?” I blinked at him. “Just the two of us?”
“We don’t know if the remaining Cancers are holed up and waiting to shoot anyone who enters the pack lands, or if the Leos have overrun them and now control that area. They could have dozens of fighters there, for all we know. A stealth mission is our best bet. You and I can use our Moon Touched gifts to get in and out undetected. Once we know what the situation is, we can go from there."
I nodded slowly, unable to argue with his plan. Kaden's invisibility combined with my teleportation would make us the ultimate spies and scouts. Assuming we could get along long enough to get the job done. I had a feeling the tension between us would only get worse when it was just the two of us in the car.
Kaden said a few more words to the pack, laying out the logistical details of their trip, and then the others headed back to their cars and vans. They'd be driving to the airport in Spokane, leaving the vehicles behind there, and taking a flight to Anchorage. Harper gave me a quick hug and promised to take good care of Mira. Dane gave me a short nod since he never spoke as far as I could tell, and Jack gave me a wink.
He clamped Kaden on the shoulder. "Good luck, you two. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"You would do everything," Kaden muttered.
"Exactly." Jack grinned one last time before giving a wave and heading off with the others.
I turned to Mira, who hung back like she was hesitant to go with them. I wrapped her in a hug. "You're going to be okay. They'll take care of you, and help your pack too if they can." I was certain of it after Kaden had called her a friend of the pack. Since he didn't know Mira all that well, I could only assume he did it because of her connection with me, and I was grateful.
She hugged me tight like she was afraid to let me go. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you, too,” I said into her shoulder. I hated that we would be split up again. I wanted all of us to be able to stay together and not have to deal with the Leo pack, but I knew that wasn't possible. We weren't kids in the Cancer pack anymore, playing on the beach near our houses. We'd both moved on, joined other packs, and Mira had a mate to rescue. And me? I had a grumpy alpha to deal with.