by S. Young
“Lucien,” she heard Sebastian say, and realized he must be on his cell, “we have a problem. It’s Caia. It’s happening. Meet me at your house.”
What is happening? she screamed inwardly and let out a low growl of anguish.
Did they know already? Did they know what was wrong with her?
Daddy, she thought for the first time since she was a little girl, when she would speak to him in her thoughts. Daddy, I’m scared. But unlike when she was little and an imaginary strong voice would always reply, Caia heard nothing—nothing but the steady thud of her heart and the squeal of Sebastian’s tires.
15
Time
Lucien flew up his driveway, the gravel rioting against his paintwork as he skidded to a stop two seconds behind Sebastian’s car. His heart hammered in his chest and blood whooshed in his ears as he jumped out of his car and hurried toward an anxious and flustered Sebastian.
I knew it, he cursed inwardly. He’d known yesterday something was wrong with her. But he’d been self-absorbed enough to think it had something to do with the kiss they’d shared.
“What’s going on?” he managed as he reached the young male, looking beyond him and into his car. He could see a lump under a blanket in the back seat. “What the …”
Sebastian raked his hands through his hair and Lucien noted how they trembled. “I caught her in the hallway. She was so scared, Lucien … and she was changing.”
Lucien flinched at the thought. She must have been terrified. Growling, he brushed past Seb and pulled open the car door with enough force to unhinge it. He ignored Sebastian’s squeak of protest and slid the blanket away, revealing Caia underneath, lying facing him in her lykan form. Her snout was nestled between her forepaws; her large green eyes stared up at him, blazing with fear.
“Caia,” he whispered, reaching for her. At the sound of his voice, she leapt out of the car, loping past him and into the house.
Sebastian shrugged at Lucien nervously and then followed Caia inside.
Lucien took a gulp of air, feeling his own hands shake. Guilt pounded in time with each step as he followed the two inside, trying to focus enough to form an explanation for her. Inside he found Sebastian in the sitting room, his neck craned as he stared at the ceiling. Lucien frowned and then understood as he heard Caia’s movements from above. She was obviously trying to change.
He waited tensely in the sitting room, his jaw clenched in self-directed anger, his brain refusing to formulate the explanation he knew Caia deserved.
“Do you think this is it?” Sebastian asked in hushed tones.
Lucien threw him a look that clearly said, “You think?” He threw himself into his armchair. “We need to ask her what triggered it.”
“Should we call anyone else?”
Lucien nodded. “Call Magnus. My mother will be with him. And Dimitri.”
Sebastian nodded distractedly and wandered into the kitchen to use the phone. Lucien shook. If it was happening, he’d left Caia scared and unprepared. Magnus was right; they should’ve told her as soon as she’d arrived. How would she ever trust him now?
His eyes shot back to the ceiling at the sound of a thud and he was out of his chair within seconds, pounding up the stairs to her bedroom. At the sight of her crumpled on the floor, he drew in his breath and rushed to her. He pressed his fingers against her neck and exhaled in relief at the healthy pulse he felt there. She’d changed back and had obviously been in the middle of getting dressed when she passed out. No doubt from shock.
She’d thrown on a long T-shirt and had been in the middle of pulling on her jeans. Lucien, trying to be as gentlemanly as possible, removed the jeans and quickly picked her up with the intention of sliding her into bed. But once in his arms, she snuggled her head into his chest, making mewling sounds that sent affected his pulse. He held her like that for a while, knowing this might be the last time she accepted his touch.
He pulled her tighter into his chest. When had she become so vital to him?
Watching her sleep, he finally forced himself to let her go and laid her in the bed. Pulling her duvet over her, Lucien pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
Shit.
She had no idea what was coming.
The guilt he felt for not telling her sooner burned in the back of his throat. He’d done what he thought was best for the pack. Dimitri, his voice of reason, told him that no one knew what hidden darkness could do to a person. How it might change the best of people.
But now Lucien was sure of Caia. Sure she was good, that she didn’t present a danger to the pack.
“Is she okay?”
Lucien found Sebastian standing in the doorway, gazing at Caia, worry tormenting his young face. An image of a drunk Sebastian leaning in toward Caia on Saturday flitted across his mind, and he realized he wasn’t the only one who was worried they wouldn’t be forgiven for their deceit when she woke up and learned the truth. He didn’t want to think about that; on the one hand, he could empathize, but on the other, he didn’t want this stupid kid anywhere near her in that respect.
He was beginning to understand the possessiveness of the mated wolves in his pack. “I need you to call Ryder,” he ordered gruffly as he brushed Caia’s hair from her face. “He’s on a job for Marion.”
He looked back at Seb whose eyes were round as he watched Lucien’s touch her with tenderness. Disappointed darkened his eyes as if he understood. “Are you—?”
“Call Ryder,” Lucien demanded, making it clear his private business was exactly that. “And tell him to bring Marion back with him. Tell him … tell him it’s time.”
Magnus, Dimitri, and Ella returned home. Ryder was already on his way back with Marion, Sebastian informed him. Apparently, they had news of their own. Lucien wasn’t sure he could take any other news at the moment. He told Sebastian not to tell his parents anything yet, but to go home and get some sleep. He would call him when it was time.
Ella tried to ease her son’s guilt, assuring him they’d all done what they thought was best.
But none of them knew what had been happening to Caia lately. None of them knew the extent of her fear. And they should have. He should have. He should have scented it on her at the very least.
Lucien could feel Magnus’s disapproval rolling off him in waves. He deserved the Elder’s anger; he welcomed it at the moment.
As for Caia, she made no move toward waking. They checked on her regularly until Dimitri assured them she was just exhausted.
Finally, Lucien sent them all to bed while he stayed up all night, unable to sleep for worrying.
At 6:00 a.m., he heard an approaching car followed by heavy feet on the porch steps. The front door swung open. Lucien trudged out to investigate.
There before him was Ryder, his face tight with anxiety, and next to him, Marion. She was a small woman with flaming red hair that reached her buttocks. She had the largest pair of violet eyes Lucien had ever seen, and pixie features that gave away her heritage as a magik.
“That was fast,” he said in appreciation.
Ryder grimaced. “It sounded urgent.”
“It’s time.”
“Apparently so.” Marion’s voice was like a wind chime, a tinkling, musical sound so in contrast to a husky lykan’s. Lucien watched in bemusement as she looked around the home, wandering from room to room, and eventually fell into an armchair in the main sitting room. “I can feel her.”
Lucien was unsurprised by her comment. He looked at Ryder. “Why were you already on your way back? Seb said you had some news.”
“That would be because of Saffron,” Marion interjected.
“Saffron?” His face scrunched in confusion. When no answer was forthcoming, he turned to Ryder with a snarl curling his lip. He wasn’t in the mood for a mystery. Sleep deprivation and his worry for Caia didn’t exactly bring out his patient side.
Ryder’s expression was hard. “Saffron. She’s Marion’s faerie.”
“And?”
&n
bsp; “She was the one who came to inform me about the rogue. But she waited until we got back to Marion to tell us she’d also felt energy in our town.” Ryder’s eyes snapped to Marion in irritation. Lucien could feel an argument brewing and managed to refrain from yelling at them to explain what was going on.
He spoke slowly and quietly, a growl coiled around the last few words, “Would someone please explain to me, in full detail, what the hades is going on?”
Marion’s eyes flashed. “There’s no need to be rude, Lucien.”
A deep rumble rattled in his chest.
“Oh, all right. Saffron, my faerie,” she enunciated carefully, as if speaking to a moron, “came to get Ryder because we’d encountered another pesky rogue lykan. When she returned with him—after some ill treatment from your lykan there, by the way”—she gestured to his friend with a look of reproof—“she told me she had sensed the energy of another faerie in town.”
“Another faerie?” The blood drained from Lucien’s face. “As in an enemy faerie?”
Her countenance was suddenly grave. “The Daylight Coven would know if we had a faerie in town with you.”
“You’re sure this Saffron is right about this?”
“Of course, I’m right!” a voice squeaked from behind him. He whirled but could see no one. He looked at Ryder in confusion, but he only shrugged.
“Where are you?” Lucien snarled.
“I’m right here,” the voice answered just as testily. His lykan ears strained, swearing the voice was coming from the window, but there was no one there.
“Marion,” he warned.
“Saffron, stop playing games. I’m afraid our young friend is in no mood for it.”
“The window!” the voice cried.
Lucien took tentative steps toward the large window in the sitting room, his eyes straining to see anything.
“Here!”
That time he caught a flicker on the pane and his eyes narrowed on the small face smirking at him. He should have known. The faerie’s face was, in fact, a spot of sun dapple filtering onto the window through the branches of the surrounding woods.
“Goddess,” he muttered, amazed by their abilities and what treacherous spies they made. Glaring at Marion, he demanded, “Make her appear.”
“They do like to show off, don’t they?” Marion chuckled. “You heard him, Saffron.”
He heard a weary sigh, and in the matter of a few blinks, a tall, willowy blond stood before him, her hands on her hips, her ice-blue gaze flicking between him and Ryder. “Your kind needs to learn patience.”
“Patience? I think I’ve shown quite a lot of patience considering I’ve just been informed there’s an enemy in my town and everyone is taking their sweet time with the details.”
Saffron sashayed over to Marion’s side. “Faeries have an energy like all of us beings—”
“Trace.” Lucien nodded. Everybody knew about trace; it was part of their energy, their existence.
“Yes. Trace. Only a very, very old faerie can mask their trace. I’m talking half a millennium old, and there are only a few of those old spies kicking around, not to mention that every single one of them works for Daylight.”
Lucien nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “So this Midnight faerie … it can’t mask its trace, so you sense it here?”
“Exactly.”
“Yeah.” Ryder slapped Lucien’s shoulder to get his attention. “The dumb tree sensed it and didn’t say anything until we were at the coven with Marion.”
“Am I the tree in that sentence?” Saffron hissed.
“Children, please.” Marion rubbed her temples.
“Yes. Children,” Lucien agreed, smirking at Ryder before directing his next question at Saffron. “Can you follow this trace?”
“Unfortunately, only the head of either coven is blessed with that ability.”
Marion was already shaking her head. “No, Lucien. My sister and brother-in-law are in the middle of their own little mess at the moment. Marita does not have time to come down here, I’m sorry. At times like these, you’re lucky to have gotten me and Saffron.”
“Lucky isn’t the word I’d use,” Ryder muttered under his breath.
“Lykans aren’t the only ones with good hearing,” the faerie snapped.
Ryder smiled innocently, which seemed to irritate her more.
Usually their childish banter would amuse Lucien, but now he was too concerned. Spinning around to face Ryder, he let his emotions play on his face as he only could with his closest friend. “This is about Caia.”
“I tend to agree with you there,” Marion whispered.
Lucien glanced back at the magik. “I need your help with Caia. She’s showing the signs.”
“Have you told her the truth yet?”
“No.”
“Well, I can’t help until you do so.” Her tone was disapproving.
“I’m going to,” he bit out. “But only about the Hunter and her heritage. The other … she needn’t know about that just yet.”
“You’re sure?”
His shoulders tensed; his teeth clenched. “Yes.”
“Okay, then.”
Her eyelids felt as if lead had been piled on them. Come to think of it, her face felt heavy too. Slowly, Caia opened her eyes, the sleep easing until she could focus on the ceiling. What a weird, deep sleep.
Then she realized she could feel her right arm lying across her stomach, but there was no sensation in her left one. Groaning, Caia used her right hand to pull the left out from under her pillow. Numb. Shaking and flexing it, she felt the sharp, burning tingles of life flowing back into it.
Flopping back onto her pillow, Caia’s stared at the ceiling, her mind assailed with images. Her fingers unconsciously went to her lips as she remembered Lucien’s kiss. It had been a great kiss. Her first kiss. At the mere memory, butterflies erupted in her stomach, their little wings flapping rapidly against her heart and kicking it into an erratic speed. And then memories of the day before intruded, obliterating every one of those butterflies with the force of a shotgun.
Alexa taunting her about having slept with Lucien.
Caia cursed them both. She was so stupid for at falling for Lucien’s easy charm. He was pack leader. There’s probably some unspoken rule that he could flirt with any female he wanted and everyone understood it didn’t mean anything until he said it meant something.
And that hadn’t been the worst of it. She’d had no control over her change at school, and Sebastian saved her ass—and the pack’s—from exposure.
She was going to be sick.
Climbing out of bed, she made it into her bathroom and breathed with relief when the nausea passed. She braced against the sink and stared deeply into the mirror above it, hoping to find answers to the questions in her eyes. But none were forthcoming.
She ran the cold water and cupped a handful, splashing her face, enjoying the icy rivulets running down her skin. And then an invisible hammer hit her head as she glanced back at the mirror; the conversation she heard between Sebastian and Lucien yesterday while changing in Sebastian’s car rang in her ears.
She snarled, wanting to rip the sink off the wall.
They knew!
She tore out of the bathroom, hurriedly pulling on a pair of jeans, and then flew down the stairs. Her bluster, however, slowly died at the sound of voices coming from the sitting room. She sniffed the air and found the familiar scents of her housemates, plus Magnus, Dimitri, and Ryder. Among the scents were two unfamiliar ones—of the non-lykan variety. Caia grumbled, realizing she couldn’t exactly rip Lucien’s head off in company.
Oh, but he had it coming.
Finishing her journey to the sitting room Caia abruptly halted. They’d stopped talking, all eyes on her. Lucien, she was angered to see, wore a tender expression. She flushed as she remembered the hot kisses they’d shared, and how Alexa’s taunt had sent Caia into a blazing rage, the kind that made her, what? Able to telekinetically throw
the other wolf across a room?
Ryder stood beside Lucien, and on his other side were two unfamiliar women. The first was a small figure with long red hair and wide violet eyes. She was attractive and delicate, like a doll, and Caia guessed, by the way she held herself, older than she looked. The scent Caia picked up from her was a strong vanilla, so strong she could almost taste it.
Next to this woman was the most stunning creature Caia had ever seen. Tall, only a few inches shorter than Ryder, with a slender figure and graceful limbs. Her perfect face was framed by short, sharp blond hair that followed her jawline in strands of thick silk. Her ice-blue gaze curious.
“Hello.” The redhead had a slight accent. “I’m Marion.”
A wave of feeling fell over Caia, a sensation of safety, like she could trust this woman with anything. She took the woman’s proffered hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I have a lot to thank you for.”
“Not at all. Oh.” She smiled and gestured to her companion. “This is Saffron. My faerie.”
A faerie? Caia blinked, remembering the amazing stories Ryder had imparted. “Nice to meet you.”
She watched as Saffron wrinkled her nose. “She smells different from the rest of them.”
“Shut up,” Ryder snapped.
“Wh—”
Before Caia could finish her question, Magnus stepped forward. “We need to talk,” he said. His worried eyes made the hair on Caia’s skin rise. If she had been in wolf form, her ears would’ve twitched, her hair would’ve spiked, and she would’ve lowered to her haunches, awaiting the attack.
They knew!
They all knew what was wrong with her … and they’d hidden the truth from her.
Even the witch and the faerie knew.
She could feel everyone’s anxiety. Angry tears pricked the corners of her eyes. All this time, they had been keeping something from her. All the while she’d trusted them.
Accusation practically exploded from her very nerve endings and she took perverse delight in watching them squirm under her incensed gaze. “Is someone finally going to tell me why every time I have an emotional outburst, water pipes instantaneously rupture? Why I can throw someone across a room without even touching them? Why I started to change in front of a class of humans yesterday and could do nothing to stop it? Why I can actually feel your emotions right now?”