“Yes. Just like the Cancer pack, we have a place we can escape to in case of danger.” He hopped out of the car, obviously eager to be back with his pack.
When I opened the car door, I took a moment to stop and breathe in the air. The cozy smell of wood smoke and forest immediately soothed me. Even better was the sight of familiar Ophiuchus pack members chatting with each other, along with a group of pups playing in a grassy area by the lake. The sun had just set, and the last of summer's warmth still hung in the air, and everything about this moment felt perfect. This was where I belonged.
The pack members spotted us and waved, some of them calling for Kaden, and he waved back but walked toward one of the cabins right by the lake. This one was larger than all the other cabins, and though it was a far cry from his house in Coronis, I could still tell this was the alpha's home.
The door to the cabin opened, and Stella poked her head out. “Kaden!” She bounded down the steps and threw herself into her brother's arms. “I’m so glad you’re back,” she said, and then drew back and grab me in a hug next. "Ayla! Oh, thank the goddess!"
I stepped forward to hug her. “I’m so happy to see you again."
“I’m so relieved you’re both home safe." She ran a critical eye over my body as if checking for injury. I shook away her concern. All the wounds from the Leo pack were long gone at this point. The only mark I still had on my body was from where Kaden had bitten me, and I didn’t want to explain that to her yet.
"Come inside," Stella said. "I have pasta already cooking, and you can tell me everything that happened over the last few weeks. I'm dying to hear about it all."
"We'll tell you everything, but first I want to know how you're doing," I said as we entered the cabin. It was rustic inside and looked like it hadn't been updated in at least ten years, but it was comfortable too.
“Oh, you know, it's been a lot of work," she said as she went to stir the pasta. Under the kitchen lights, I saw dark circles under her eyes, and she looked older, as if she’d lived a year in the few weeks it had been since my capture. "People were not happy to leave Coronis, not one bit. We’ve gotten a lot of protests, which I get, but it's not like we had any other choice.” She shrugged. “But other than that, we’re managing.”
“That has to be rough." I reached toward Kaden unconsciously, putting my hand on his shoulder as I turned to him. “But now Kaden’s back, and he can boss everyone around. You’re too nice to do that.”
Stella’s eyes were caught on my hand on Kaden’s shoulder, and how he wasn’t shaking it off. Shit. She narrowed her eyes, gaze flicking between us. “Are you…?”
“Stella,” Kaden said, but it wasn’t a true warning. He still made no move to widen the space between us, so I supposed it was fine that she knew.
She let out a laugh and went to punch her brother in the arm. “I knew it! Took you long enough.” Then she spotted the mark on my neck and her jaw dropped. "Oh shit. Is that what I think it is?"
I self-consciously adjusted my shirt as my cheeks grew warm. Even though the wound had healed days ago, a tiny mark would always be there, showing everyone that Kaden had claimed me. She punched her brother again, squealing.
Kaden shoved her off with a grumble, and Stella went back to her side of the counter, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Say it. I want to watch Kaden die with embarrassment on the inside.”
“We’re together,” I said, the words feeling strange on my lips.
Stella’s grin was wicked as she watched Kaden shake his head and run a hand through his hair. “You know you’ll have to tell me everything. I mean, not the gory details, because yuck, but I want to know what finally changed his mind.”
“That's enough,” Kaden said.
“You know, I was about to start placing bets on how long it would take you two to finally get together.” She cackled as Kaden glared at her, but she ignored all his protests. “So who made the first move?”
I shook my head and opened my mouth to humor her, but another sound came from outside. It sounded like someone was walking up to the door, and before I could look back over at Kaden and Stella to see their reactions, the person hammered on the door so hard that it groaned.
Someone shouted, and it sounded a little further away, and then there was the sound of someone else on the porch. “Shit,” Stella said. “I was hoping that this wouldn’t happen.”
Kaden stood up and put himself in front of me. I could see he was preparing himself for a fight, metaphorical hackles raised as he faced the door. I looked over at Stella, who looked grim. Kaden’s free hand was clenched into a fist as he opened the door.
Tanner stood outside, and I let my guard down a little until I saw his face. He was angry and looked as ready for a fight as Kaden did. I blanched. What was going on?
“Tanner,” Kaden said, cool as a cucumber. “I don’t suppose you’re here to welcome me home.”
Tanner was big and muscular, and I'd always thought he looked like a surfer, with long blond hair—but now he'd cut it short, almost military-style, and it gave him a much harder edge. He filled the doorway, blocking the outside light fading into dusk, and I watched him take in the room. His eyes settled on me, and the anger in them flared.
“She needs to leave,” Tanner said, raising a hand and pointing to me. "She doesn't belong here."
Shit, I thought. Not this again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I stood up, my fight or flight systems engaged, and I wasn’t about to flee. This was my pack, and I wasn’t about to be kicked out of it. I’d spent my whole life being an outcast, and I was sick of it.
“What the fuck, Tanner?” I asked. "I thought we were friends."
"That was before you brought the Leos." Tanner’s lip curled, but he stepped back.
At first, I thought he was backing down, but as I looked over his shoulder, I realized he was letting us see the crowd gathering outside. Faces I’d grown to know and trust stared back at me. Some looked angry, others nervous, and a few looked confused.
“The pack doesn’t want her here," Tanner said. "She’s not one of us.”
Suddenly, the presence of the crowd made startlingly clear sense. They were here for a confrontation with their alpha. With me. Flashbacks of being in the Cancer pack ran down my spine, and my throat tightened. I thought I'd escaped the shame of being the unwanted member of the pack, yet here we were again.