Eileen. The name sparked something in my memory, and everything slotted into place. The tension between Kaden and this female, the way the beta was acting possessive for no particular reason—Eileen was Kaden's ex. His childhood love, the one that Kaden had thought would become his alpha female when he took over for his parents. Then they'd gone to the Sagittarius pack to trade, probably during a meeting a lot like this one, and the mate bond had been activated between her and the beta. She'd left the Ophiuchus pack for good after that.
"I'm well, thank you." Eileen looked over at her mate. “I think you remember Devin."
“Of course,” Kaden said.
Everyone was being overly polite, but each word was strained. The moment was so awkward and uncomfortable, I wanted to walk away from it. Except as I watched Kaden stare at Eileen, another emotion, dark and new, sprang up. I’d never felt it so deeply before, it took me a minute to figure out what it was.
Jealousy. And a huge side dish of possessiveness too. I wanted to bite Kaden, to show Eileen that he was mine, but would Kaden accept that? Did he still have feelings for Eileen? This was the woman who had broken his heart, and if she hadn't found a new mate, they would probably still be together right now.
Kaden rested his hand on my arm, calming my beast slightly. "This is my alpha female, Ayla."
Eileen's eyes widened as she took me in. "Maybe we should leave."
“Yes, maybe you should,” I snapped. Down girl, I told my wolf, who was ready to come out, fangs blazing, and fight for her man.
Eileen tugged at Devin’s arm, and then they walked away from the tent. Kaden watched them go for far too long, and I clenched my jaw and looked away from him.
"I'm sorry about that," Theo said. "I forgot about your…situation. I wouldn't have invited them otherwise."
"It's fine," Kaden said.
"Please sit." Mae gestured at the couch, obviously eager to move on quickly from the awkward moment. "Would you like some wine?"
"That would be nice, thank you," I replied, with a forced smile.
As we sat, the tension faded out from Kaden's body, and he looked like he always did. My Kaden, who was trying to win over the packs so that we could stop the Leos. If not for the anxiety fluttering in my gut, I would have thought that what I’d seen was just a trick of the light.
The alphas were eager to please after that, and we sat and drank wine, making small talk for a few minutes. They were surprisingly funny and launched into story after story that had even Kaden chuckling, and soon we forgot about the uncomfortable moment.
Then we moved to the picnic table, where a young woman, who I thought might be their daughter, served us some kind of deer stew with some thick, flaky bread. It tasted much better than I expected, based on how it looked, and the warmth seeped into my bones. While we ate, we got down to business, telling the Sagittarius alphas our long tale about the Leos and the Sun Witches.
The two alphas looked shocked, but somehow not surprised by everything we told them. “Dixon came to bully us after the Convergence,” Theo admitted. “We sent him packing, along with the rest of the Leos, telling him we had no interest in an alliance. We’ve managed to remain neutral, even amongst all of the fighting over the years. We're sympathetic to your cause, but we have no intention of taking sides in this battle now."
“You won’t be able to be neutral forever,” Kaden said. “The Leos don't want alliances anymore—they want subjects. I can't imagine a pack that values freedom so much would ever be okay with that."
"Should it come to that, we would fight to the death to maintain our way of life," Mae said. "But I find it hard to believe such a thing would come about."
"Believe it," I said. "The Cancers never thought the Leos would almost wipe out their entire pack in one night either, yet here we are. Which pack will be next?"
"It is a shame about your former pack," Mae said, then glanced at her husband. They shared a look, communicating in the way that only long-time married couples could.
“Please, just come to the meeting,” I said. "That's all we ask."
Theo met Mae's eyes again and then nodded. "All right, we will come to this meeting. I can’t promise anything, but we will listen at least."
“Thank you,” Kaden said and bowed his head.
I let out a long breath, my shoulders relaxing as relief rushed through me. It was a small step, but at least it was in the right direction. With Wesley working on some of the other packs, we might have a decent showing at our meeting after all.