Kaden made a noise of affirmation and then typed something out on his phone. I smiled at him as I finished eating. This would be sweet, if we weren’t so focused on the fact that I was trying to find my ex-pack while being hunted by enemy shifters. I could imagine a future for us like this. Waking up with Kaden, eating at the kitchen island with him and Stella… All of that could be a reality if we managed to stop the Leos and the Sun Witches.
When we were done, we went back to our room and gathered our things. I was almost sad to say goodbye to the room of a thousand pink pillows. It had been a haven for us, a place where we finally let go of our inhibitions, but I knew we couldn’t hide forever. We needed to get back on the road so we could reach the Cancer pack lands.
The woman was cleaning up the breakfast area when we came back down. “Did you sleep well?” she asked, a knowing twinkle in her eye.
“Yes, your bed was very soft, thank you,” I said with a grin, my cheeks warming.
“We appreciate your hospitality," Kaden added.
“Of course, I’m glad I was able to provide you with a room to your liking. Good luck on your journey." She waved the broom she was holding at us. “I hope your marriage is a long and fruitful one.”
I opened my mouth to tell her we weren’t married, but what would be the point? We’d accepted her room with only one bed, and saying that nothing was going on between us would be a lie at this point. I just inclined my head and gave her one last smile.
We continued down the road for some time and then slipped into the dense conifer trees. The area smelled like Christmas, though the last bit of summer heat still warmed the air. Kaden breathed it in, completely in his element, and then he began to undress. I watched, mesmerized by the way he shed his clothes, so comfortable in his nakedness. Besides, seeing his nude, muscular body never got old.
Then it was my turn to get naked. As I shoved my clothes back in the bag, I felt Kaden's eyes on me too. His cock twitched as he took me in, and one side of his lips quirked up. I held my breath, waiting for him to cross the distance to me, eager for him to throw me down on the ground and have his way with me.
He shook his head as if snapping out of a trance. "If you distract me we’ll never make it to your village."
I let out a long breath and nodded. It wasn’t a ‘no,’ it was a ‘later.’ He was right, of course. We had to keep moving. I just lost control of myself a little whenever he was around me.
Kaden gave me one more heated look and then shifted. In the blink of an eye, a huge black wolf stood where Kaden had before. My shifting took a few seconds longer, but soon I stood beside him on four paws, my long white tail swishing behind me.
You're just as beautiful as a wolf, he told me. I ducked my head, enjoying his praise inside my head. Then he grabbed the bag in his huge jaws, and we sprinted off into the woods together.
It was a relief to be a wolf again. Last time I'd been so focused on getting away from the Leos that I hadn’t had the proper time to revel in it, and I’d been in the desert, which would never be home to me. Out here, in the forests, I truly felt free for the first time in weeks. And even better, I thought, glancing over at Kaden, who loped at my side. He’s with me.
We crossed over into Canada without a hitch, passing a stone marker that let us know we'd reached the border. Out in rural areas, there was no border patrol, and a sign simply told us to self-report to the authorities, which we obviously ignored. We continued on until we reached civilization, and then donned our clothes and took a bus through Vancouver. Once we reached the northern part of it, we got a quick bite to eat, then headed into the mountains to continue our journey as wolves.
The sun had set by the time we arrived at the outskirts of the Cancer pack lands on the coast. In the distance, I heard the crash of waves, and even though I’d never been at home here, it was where I’d spent the most time, and in some ways, it was good to be back in familiar territory. I knew these lands like the back of my hand, and I guided Kaden through the forest easily.
As we approached the edge of the village, Kaden stepped behind a tree and jerked his head at me to follow. We both shifted back and dressed as quietly as we could. There was no way to know how much danger waited for us inside of the village, and my anxiety crept back in.
Kaden pulled me close to him, and I was more than happy to press myself along his side, his warmth spreading out to me. "Are you all right?"
I nodded, taking a deep breath and squaring my shoulders. "I'm fine. I just never thought I'd come back here."
He took my hand. "Let's see if anyone's around."
The moon had barely risen in the sky, but it must have been enough for Kaden to tap into because he turned us invisible. He'd done it to me before during our battle with the Taurus, but I hadn't gotten to appreciate it then. Now I held out my hand, marveling at how I couldn't see it at all. As long as Kaden and I remained touching, the spell would continue.
We walked out of the woods, holding hands, and it would have been romantic if not for the knots in my stomach. We did a brief trek around the outer bounds of the village, noting that the houses there had no lights on and no movement inside.
Kaden squeezed my arm, and I used my power to teleport us into town. We could have walked, of course, but this was faster and would leave less of a scent trail. Also if any enemy shifters were hiding in town, we could catch them off guard completely.
Delphinus was a laid-back fishing village centered around the harbor, with one main street running down the center of it with quaint little shops, bakeries, restaurants, and more. It was late enough now that they should have been lit up from the inside, but the town remained dark. At this time of night, I would have expected people to be heading into the grocery store to pick up some food, or for a few older kids to ride past on bicycles, or at the very least an old truck heading down the road after leaving the harbor. But there was no one here at all.
As looked around, we didn't even need my teleporting or Kaden's invisibility, because it was clear the town had been abandoned. The only flicker of movement came from a seagull walking along the edge of a fence, and the only sound was that of the waves crashing along the rocks nearby. Even the scent of the Cancer pack was faint as if they hadn’t inhabited the village for at least a few weeks.
We did a thorough pass of the village anyway, making sure we wouldn't be ambushed, and that no sniper was waiting on top of the gas station to take us out, or something along those lines.
Kaden let go of my hand and came into focus again. “No one’s here,” he said. “No sign of a fight either."
"They must have left town."
Kaden shrugged. “It’s your old pack. Where would they have gone?”
I gazed across the town I'd grown up in as I considered his question. With my entire family gone—and me presumed dead—the beta would have taken over. He'd hated me, as had his son, Brad. I had no idea where he would have taken the pack. We were at a dead end.
“I don’t know." I let out a frustrated breath. “We could look through the town some more, see if there are any clues as to where they went.”