Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack Book 1)

by Elizabeth Briggs

  I pushed that thought away with a sigh, and my mind drifted back to the mating ceremony, wondering how the Ophiuchus got mates. Did their alpha have a mate already? Or did they not have mates at all, since they'd been cast out of the Zodiac Wolves?

  Mira let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeak next to me, and I yanked my mind back to the present, mentally chiding myself. I should be focusing on the mating ceremony, not thinking about the Ophiuchus pack. Or it's dark, dangerous alpha.

  Mira gave me a wide-eyed look, and I flashed back what I hoped was a reassuring smile. She stepped forward into the circle of witches, and the spell was cast once more. I held my breath as the gold dust settled on her shoulders and seemed to be absorbed inside her. Then Mira looked around, seeking someone out. A handsome, muscular Pisces shifter with sandy hair stepped forward with a dreamy expression, and Mira stumbled toward him, her smile radiant on her face. He was exactly what she’d been hoping for, and I couldn't help but smile too as they took each other's hands.

  Dad joined the Pisces alpha in the center, formally giving Mira over to her new pack. Although I would miss her terribly, I had to admit that Mira had lucked out. The Pisces pack was allied with Cancer, and they were located on the coast of Alaska. Her element would still be water, which I knew mattered a lot to her. She was so connected to the ocean that living somewhere landlocked would have been torture for her.

  Mira and her new mate walked away from the center of the circle, and she shot me a glance as she joined the Pisces pack. I flashed her a genuinely happy smile and gave her a thumbs up. She returned it, something softening on her face like she’d worried what I thought of her new mate. I just wanted to see her happy, and the previous dread gnawing at my stomach dropped away at her success. Hope replaced it, making me giddy with the feeling. Maybe I would find my perfect match tonight too.

  Several more shifters were mated before it was my turn. My gut feeling had been right. I was the last female shifter that remained unmated.

  “Ayla Beros,” Evanora intoned, her piercing gaze coming to rest on me. I stepped up to meet the Sun Witches and the unmated males, which included my brother. It looked like Wesley wasn't being mated tonight either, though he didn't seem upset about that. He shot me a big, reassuring grin, but as I glanced at the other males, I couldn’t help but balk. There were only a few left, including Jordan, the Leo alpha heir. An instant wave of nausea went through me when our eyes met. Anyone but him, I prayed to the gods. Although at this point even the Leo prick would be better than no mate and having to go back to that house with my parents. I'd even take the tall lanky Scorpio shifter who looked like he hadn’t fully grown into his height yet.

  Evanora led me all the way to the center, but instead of starting the spell right away, something cruel shone in her eyes. “You’re lucky that a half-breed mongrel like you is able to shift at all, let alone hope for a mate."

  I stared at her, shocked and disappointed she'd be so rude and hateful too, but what else would I expect at this point? I lifted my chin and met her gaze. "I guess we'll see what the gods have planned for me."

  "The gods?" She threw her head back and laughed. "Not even they can save you from what's coming."

  While I wondered what the fuck that meant, she began chanting the spell, with the other witches joining in after a beat. My stomach twisted as the gold dust fell upon me and melted into my skin, the magic tugging at something deep inside me. For a second nothing happened, and I thought it hadn't worked and I would go home without a mate after all. Then my gut twisted and wrenched, like something was being yanked out of me, and I was filled with an overwhelming need. It drew me forward, my mind blank except for the irresistible pull toward my mate.

  I stumbled toward the males, my eyes locking onto Jordan. No, I thought, panic rising in my throat. I turned back to look at Evanora, but her face remained cold and impassive. How was this possible? I knew that the gods chose the mates, but why would they pair me with such an incompatible match? They knew that the Leo and Cancer packs hated each other. Was this some sort of punishment for me?

  I dug my heels in, trying to avoid the pull, but my feet kept taking me forward anyway. I couldn't resist the urge to go to my mate, even if my mind screamed that this wasn't what I wanted at all.

  Jordan stumbled toward me too, with the same shocked and horrified expression on his face that was probably on mine. He broke my gaze, glancing back at his father with a grimace like he was physically pained by what was happening. He tried to resist the pull as much as I did, but the call was too strong. We took longer to get to each other than any other mated pair had, both fighting every single step. Even with the resistance, we stood before each other in a matter of moments. Only inches away, both of us breathing heavily, our eyes locked together.

  That's when the pull changed to desire. Hunger. Need. I suddenly had to have this male, or every atom inside my body would be torn apart. He was mine, and I was his, and nothing could ever keep us apart from this day forward.

  The rest of the world faded away. All I could see was how gorgeous Jordan was, all muscled and shades of gold, and I had the strongest urge to kiss him. Or tackle him to the ground and tear off his clothes with my new claws.

  I wasn’t the only one affected. As Jordan took me in, I saw his pupils dilate, and his eyes caught on my mouth and lingered as if he was thinking about kissing me too. As we each took a step closer, it felt as if something had slotted into place, something I’d been missing. With a Leo? my brain screamed at me, but I pushed it aside. The mating ritual had bound us together, despite our packs’ animosity. If the gods wanted us to be together, how could we refuse?

  Dad stepped forward, and when I managed to tear my gaze away from Jordan, I realized my father was smiling. I’d seen him smile before, of course, but it was always directed toward Jackie or Wesley, never me. But now he was giving me that same look, almost as if he was proud of me.

  Hope swelled in my chest, a strange and new feeling I almost didn't recognize, and at that moment I saw a different path ahead of me. I could bridge the gap between the Cancer pack and the Leo pack, finally ending the years-long hatred that led us to squabble uselessly. That was my destiny.

  Dad stepped so that he was standing directly next to me, while Dixon, the Leo alpha, took his spot beside Jordan. Dixon looked on edge as if he was still expecting my father to try something here at the Convergence. I had a lot of work ahead of me, I could tell.

  “I give you my daughter, Ayla,” Dad said, nodding his head to Dixon. My daughter. I don’t think I’d ever heard him say those words without it being an insult. “The Cancer pack offers her to you and cuts all pack ties with her. She is one of yours now.”

  Dixon didn’t say anything, and I watched as a muscle twitched in his jaw. He held Dad's gaze for a long moment, before turning toward his son. Evanora brought the ribbon, and I held my hand out so she could wrap it around our hands. Jordan was breathing heavily, staring at the ground and anywhere but me. When he did look up, it was toward his father, who shook his head with the slightest motion.

  That was my first hint that something wasn't right.

  Jordan yanked his hand away, breaking the ribbon binding us together. He stepped back, and my instinct was to follow, to take a step forward to replace the one he put between us, but I held myself back through sheer force of will. This time when Jordan met my eyes, it wasn’t lust in his them anymore, but anger. And worse—hatred.

  “A half-breed Cancer wolf is no match for the son of the Leo alpha,” Jordan snarled, low and intense. “I reject you as my mate.”

  He shoved me away from him, hard. I fell to my knees, as the bond between us was torn asunder, like a piece of paper being ripped in half. Pain seared across my vision as his words sank in. The agony was somehow worse than the forced shift had been, like someone was reaching into my chest and ripping my heart out. I let out a wheeze, unable to scream, unable to do anything but feel the pain coursing through me. I couldn
’t have held myself up, even if I wanted to.

  A gasp went through the audience, the assembled shifters passing along the news. I heard the word rejected thrown around a few times, and it hit me like a bolt to the chest, knocking out all the air. Rejecting a mate was nearly unheard of—it went against everything we were taught our entire lives. It was like spitting in the faces of the gods and defying their plans for you. And worse, it meant that both shifters would remain unmated forever. Unable to join another pack. Unable to find love. Unable to have children.

  That was the fate Jordan wanted for us.

  Dad stepped forward, glaring at Jordan. “You will take Ayla as a mate,” he said, every inch the commanding alpha again. When Dixon stepped between him and Jordan, a low growl went through both alphas. Dad broke Dixon’s gaze first, turning to Evanora. “Make him accept her!"

  I winced as I caught the tone. No one talked to the Sun Witches like that. Most of my focus was on Jordan though. I met his gaze, trying to beg him with my eyes to take me, to accept me. His face was cruel, unyielding, and he refused to even look at me. He’d made up his mind. He didn't want me, just like everyone else who was supposed to love me.

  “It’s out of my hands,” I heard Evanora say, her voice resigned.

  No. Surely this couldn’t be the end of it? We were mated, chosen by the gods to be together. I hadn’t wanted him at first either, but that didn’t matter in the end. We were meant to be together. I'd felt it. Hadn't he?

  “My son deserves better than a half-human mutt," Dixon said, his tone so condescending it almost sent another wave of physical pain through me. "We don’t want her in our pack."

  There really wouldn’t be a change in my fate. Everyone would always hate me for my half-human heritage—and I would never have a pack to call home.

  “Your son is a halfwit who should take what he can get,” Dad snarled. “Ayla’s better than nothing, and that’s what he’ll have if you don’t let them be mated.”

  The Leo alpha roared in response. "You dare to insult my son?"

  “Calm yourselves,” Evanora said, her commanding tone cutting through the night. But no one listened.

  Movement around me made me look up. Members of the Cancer pack formed up behind us, some in human and some in wolf form, supporting our alpha. The tension was shifting, roiling, and becoming even more dangerous. I watched Wesley step away from the group of remaining unmated males and take his place next to Dad, though he looked pained by what was happening. Jackie joined them too, standing proud as the alpha female of our pack. Wolves from the Leo pack responded, facing off on two sides of the circle, while growls resonated through the air.

  As the two alphas started yelling, a few of the other packs began shuffling back, fleeing the conflict. Mira looked at me, eyes wide and dark, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, her mate dragged her away, their hands still bound by ribbon. She cast a helpless look over her shoulder before she vanished into the woods with the rest of the Pisces pack.

  "You have insulted me for the last time," Dixon said. Then he threw back his head and unleashed his Leo lion roar—his pack's Zodiac power. The sound was horrible, sending true terror down my spine, and everyone around us either fled or cowered in fear. I covered my ears and felt like my eyes might bulge out of my face, my body unable to move as the roar echoed through me.

  Even Dad was forced to freeze, and that gave Dixon just enough time to shift into a giant red wolf and leap forward. With a snarl, he ripped my father's throat out with his fangs. Blood sprayed, landing on me, and I let out the scream I’d been holding back for far too long. It happened so fast, Dad didn't even have time to shift or use his crab armor.

  Then Dixon tore apart my father in front of me.

  Chapter Eight

  All I heard was screaming. It was the only thing I could do as I watched in helpless horror as the Leo pack converged on my father's body and tore him to pieces.

  I wasn't the only one screaming though. As I scrambled back, trying to get as far away from the blood and sinew, Jackie rushed forward, screaming and snarling at the death of her mate. It was too late though—Dad was gone, and she was taken next. I tore my gaze away as the Leos descended on her, my terror quickly turning to a desperate need to escape and survive. The Leo alpha's roar was finally wearing off, or maybe it was the shock of the rejection, but I could finally move again.

  As I struggled to my feet, the world around me turned to chaos. Everyone was running, screaming, and shifting. The Sun Witches were gone, and both the Leo and Cancer packs were fighting in the middle of the clearing where we'd just had the mating ritual. I couldn't understand how things had turned so fast, or how I went from getting a mate to being an orphan in seconds. All I knew was I had to find Wesley and get the fuck out of here.

  Aries, Scorpio, and Taurus pack members joined the fray, slaughtering members of the Cancer pack all around me under the command of the Leos. Where were our Cancer allies? They'd abandoned us the second they'd smelled trouble, showing just how little the packs cared for loyalty or honor. Now my pack—no, former pack—was outnumbered and being picked off one by one. While I wasn’t overly fond of anyone in Cancer except my brother, that didn’t mean I wanted to see them dead.

  I yelled Wesley's name, trying to find him in the battle. I couldn't see him among the Cancer pack shifters falling left and right. I narrowly dodged an Aries wolf using their ram charge on a shifter who used to babysit me. The Cancer wolf fell to the ground, whimpering pitifully. I stuttered to a halt in front of her, trying to see if I could help somehow, and her dark eyes rolled up at me. They pleaded with me, though I wasn't sure if they were telling me to help—or to run.

  The Aries shifter turned his gaze on me, snarling, and I quickly ducked out of the way as another one joined him. They pounced on the wolf I'd tried to help, and all I could do was turn and run before they got me too. I tripped over a dead wolf, nearly falling, but somehow managed to stay on my feet as tears streamed down my face. Other wolves were trying to flee too, but the Leos were taking them all down. They didn't want any Cancer shifters escaping the massacre.

  The Ophiuchus pack didn't even need to start a war. We’d done it ourselves.

  Where were the Sun Witches during all of this? The Convergence was supposed to be neutral territory and fighting wasn't allowed, but they weren’t protecting us or doing anything to try to stop this madness. They had betrayed us, just as much as the other packs had.

  "Wesley!" I screamed, trying to crane my neck above the fighters. I scanned the crowd for his familiar face, praying and hoping that he had somehow escaped the initial violence. I hadn’t seen him go down, but that didn’t mean anything. It had all happened so fast, I could have missed it.

  Then I saw him.

  “Wesley!” I yelled again, charging toward him. I had no clue how I made it through that many frenzied shifters without getting a scratch on me, but somehow I reached his side. He looked half-crazed, blood splattered across half of his face—our father’s blood. His hands had turned to claws, but otherwise, he was still in human form, barking out orders to the Cancer shifters fighting around him.

  "Ayla!" He let out a relieved sigh, though his face remained grim. "You have to get out of here!"

  “I’m not leaving you,” I said, drawing up whatever remained of my strength. “You’re all I have left.”

  As I said the words, movement caught at the corner of my eye, drawing my attention toward some approaching shifters. Scorpio wolves, extremely deadly with their pack's signature poison claws and tails. I wouldn’t stand a chance against them without Cancer armor.

  Wesley shoved me behind him as the Scorpios moved to surround us. "Go! I'll be right behind you!"

  I stumbled back, then turned and ran, narrowly avoiding the slash of a Scorpio's poison claws. I thought Wesley was right at my heels, but when I glanced behind me, I saw him fighting the shifters, holding them at bay so I could escape. My chest tightened and a ragged cry escaped me
as half a dozen Scorpio shifters converged on him at once, burying him under a sea of fur and fangs. I let out another broken scream as he fell beneath them, snarling all the way down.

  "No!" I tried to rush forward to save him, even though it would probably mean my death too.

  Suddenly pain exploded in my side, and I dropped to my knees, keeling over and landing hard in the dirt. I gasped in a breath and looked up to find Jordan standing over me, a snarl on his face. He’d punched me directly in the stomach, using his shifter strength and my own forward momentum to make it even worse.

  “I can’t kill you,” he said, sneering down at me. “But I'm going to really enjoy making you suffer.”

  "What?" I managed to gasp out, my head spinning.

  He looked at me with disgust, and I noticed his hands were bloody. “The bond. No matter how much I despise you, it’s still there. Mates can’t kill each other.”

  "But you rejected me." I'd thought he had broken the mate bond between us, but as I looked up at him, I realized he'd only torn it. Being near him again made the connection strengthen, and the pull I felt toward him returned. Everything in me wanted to stand up and draw him close to me, and my limbs actually trembled with the effort to resist the pull. It was fucking torture, and I hated that I still wanted him this much. He’d made it abundantly clear that the feeling wasn’t mutual—and I would never be with him after what the Leos had done. "You killed my pack!"

  "They're not your pack anymore," Jordan said, his voice cruel as he got that jab in.

  "Why?" I asked, gesturing at the chaos around us. "Why do this? Just because I'm your mate?"

  He lifted his chin. "We were already planning to take down the Cancer pack at the end of the Convergence. Our mating bond just sped up the timeline."

  Rage boiled in me, knowing this had all been planned from the beginning. I tried to stand up, to defend my former pack, but Jordan was quick to knock me down again with his massive strength.