My stomach lurched again at the thought of Jordan looming over me at the altar. “There has to be some way to dissolve it. I’m not going to mate with my brother. Obviously.”
“There is a way,” Kaden said, his voice growing ice cold. “I’m going to kill him. That will put an end to it.”
"I… I don't know if I can let you do that." I swallowed hard. "As much as I hate him, he's the only family I have left."
Kaden's face darkened. "And that's why I still can't trust you."
He walked away, while I remained caught in the gravity of his words, my heart pounding in my chest. Would I ever be able to win back Kaden's trust, let alone his heart?
Chapter Twelve
The next morning, Kaden shoved some clothes into my hands, and I wondered if they were his. When I held them up to my nose to inhale, right before I changed into them, I couldn’t make out the scent of anyone at all. New clothes then. I tried to tell myself that I wasn’t disappointed.
I took special pleasure in ripping the Leo dress up and putting it on the fire just before the others banked it and cleaned up the campsite. Harper came over and gave me her extra pair of shoes since I'd been running around barefoot this entire time. They were one size too big on me, but better than nothing. Then it was time to get going.
Mira and I packed up the tent, and then Kaden waved us over and told us to get in his car. As he looked at me, I saw a glimmer of distrust in his eyes, like he was waiting for me to turn on him. I wished there was some way to convince him that I could be trusted, but no matter what I said, he still thought I’d run back to Jordan the moment he took his eyes off me.
Even so, it was a nice change to find myself sitting in a car instead of in the back of a van. Apparently, my words last night had gotten through to Kaden on some level, even if he was still cold with me. Kaden drove, while Mira and I sat in the backseat, with Jack in the front. Once we were on the road, Jack put on some music, and I let some of the tension go from my body.
We left Colorado and traveled north along the Rocky Mountains, heading for Canada. As we drove, Kaden stared straight out of the windshield, his mouth set in a tight line. He looked like he was wound so tight that he would pop if anyone spoke to him. I wondered if he regretted letting me travel in the same car as him. Jack was unusually quiet too, and I guessed he was still banned from talking to me and didn't dare go against the alpha's word. After a couple of hours, Kaden switched with Jack and took a nap in the front seat, and we all breathed a collective sigh and relaxed a little.
More hours passed, and we stopped to stretch our legs and grab a quick bite to eat. When we got back in the car, I made sure to sit up front with Kaden. There were still things we needed to talk about.
“You’re taking shifts driving, right?” I asked. “Mira and I can take one each, so you two can rest more."
“Absolutely not,” Kaden said, as he started the car.
"Why? Because you don't trust me? Because you think I'll turn around and drive us straight back to the Leos?"
Kaden shot an exasperated glance over at me. "Because you and Mira still look like shit after what the Leos did to you. You need more time to recover."
"We're fine," I said, though I was still pretty tired. My shifter healing had taken care of my wounds, but spending weeks in captivity had definitely done a number on me emotionally and physically. Now that I was in relative safety again, I felt like I could sleep for a week. Still, I could manage to drive for a short while.
We traveled in silence for some time, and when I glanced back, Jack and Mira were asleep, dozing after their noontime meal. It seemed like a good time to talk to Kaden since it would give us a little bit of privacy.
“Where’s Stella?” I asked quietly, careful not to disturb the two sleeping shifters.
“She didn’t approve of my plan to use you as bait, so I made her stay behind with Clayton and the rest of the pack.” He sounded more annoyed than anything at that, which made me grin.
“At least someone is on my side." My smile fell when I remembered the last time I saw her, trying to save the wolf pups from the Sun Witches. "Was she okay after the attack? How about Clayton? What about all the pups? And the rest of the pack?"
"They're all fine. The Sun Witches and Leos left the pack lands after you made your deal. We all went into hiding not long after that."
I let out a long breath, my shoulders sagging in relief. Jordan really had kept his word, and he hadn't double-crossed me or gone back later to try and wipe out the pack, all things I'd worried about while being held captive by him. "Thank the gods. I feel awful that the village was attacked. It was my fault."