by L. P. Dover
Twelve
Cedric
Laila fascinates me. When she used her magic to freeze me where I stood, I was in awe but also curious to see what her full potential could be. With her powers, she could take down the entire pack. I don't think she realizes how dangerous she is. Looking at her, you see this angelic red-haired beauty, but underneath, there's a warrior. What I love above all else is that she's mine. Or will be one day.
Laila and I played cards with Faith and Amelie for a little while. It was torture when they went to bed. I was glad to be close to Laila, but dammit to hell, I wanted to be in the room with her while she slept. I wanted to be next to her, holding her. She said the bond wasn't one-sided, and I believe her. I could sense her desire to be close to me, which only fueled my need for her even more.
Sebastian and Micah showed up early to start their training with Laila, Faith, and Amelie. While they are there, I left to run by my house to shower and get into my uniform. When I get back to Laila's house, all of them are still in the backyard, minus Amelie. I know she has a job at Blake's ranch taking over for Tyla until she has her baby. With the mating magic finally returning to the wolves, it makes me wonder what it'll be like when Laila and I start our family. Will they have red hair like her or dark blond like me? Will any of them have magic like their mother?
I look forward to finding out.
As I watch Laila sparring with Micah and Sebastian, a part of me wants to go out there and be the one to train her. Her uncles are some of the best fighters in the pack, but I want to be the one to do it. I get out of my truck and lean against the hood while they finish up. Sebastian takes Laila on, but Micah sneaks up behind her. When mates share blood, they can speak to each other in their minds. If we'd already done that, I could warn her. She starts to lunge at Sebastian, but Micah grabs her and takes her down to the ground. He tries to help her up, but she waves him off. As soon as he turns his back on her, she flicks her hand, and a gush of wind knocks him down. It not only makes me smile, but Faith and Sebastian find it humorous as well.
"Nice," I shout.
Laila gets to her feet and waves at me. Faith joins her and whispers in Laila's ear, knowing very well I can hear her. "Doesn't he look sexy as hell in that uniform?"
Faith's on my side, which I'm grateful for. I can hear Laila's heart speed up, and I avert my gaze, pretending I didn't hear a word. Laila responds with, "Of course, he is."
That right there makes my day. Faith waves at me and goes straight to the porch. "Morning, Cedric. Sleep okay on the sofa?"
She knows I didn't. I was wide awake when she got up at two in the morning to get water. "Yep," I call out.
She smirks. "Okay, just asking. See ya tonight!"
Laila rushes up behind her, her clothes wet from the snow. "Cedric, I'll be right back. I need to change." They both disappear inside while Sebastian and Micah come toward me.
Smiling, Sebastian holds out his hand. "Heard you and Laila went out on a date last night."
I shake his hand and do the same with Micah. "You heard, right. Hopefully, I'm off to a good start."
Sebastian snorts. "You're doing much better than I did with Tyla. She hated me."
I remember that time all too well. He tried making Tyla jealous to get her to notice him. I'm not that stupid. "I don't plan on flaunting women in front of Laila like you did with Tyla."
Micah elbows Sebastian in the side. "The man's a lot smarter than you, brother."
Sebastian bursts out laughing. "That's for damn sure. It's a good thing I was able to show him what not to do." He claps my shoulder and nods toward the house. "She's different today. I think you're headed in the right direction."
"Thanks, Lyall. I'm working on it."
Sebastian walks off to his car, but Micah steps in front of me, his gaze concerned. "Be vigilant out there, Convel. Whatever it was in the woods that day might still be out there. Granted, I haven't sensed it, but you can never be too careful."
I've thought about that day, wondering if it was the fae that had approached Laila. Although, she didn't seem to know what it was either. I know that shifters and fae aren’t the only magical beings in the world. I do know that whoever approached her wasn’t good.
Laila opens the door, dressed in jeans, hiking boots, and a thin jacket with her hair in a side braid. "I'm ready," she calls out, flinging her backpack over her shoulder.
Micah winks at me. "Have fun."
He slaps me on the arm and goes into the house while Sebastian gets in his car and leaves. Laila walks over and stops in front of me. "You look cute in your uniform."
"Damn, I was going for sexy," I reply teasingly.
She rolls her eyes and smiles. "Come on, let's go before I make you late."
I shake my head. "We're good on time." We get in my truck, and I back out of the driveway. The closest neighbors to Laila's cabin are Tyla's parents on one side and Micah on the other. Most of the pack live close together, all connected by private roads. It's like our own community tucked into the woods. Most packs around the world are the same. We all stick close together.
"Does the pack do anything for Christmas?" Laila asks.
Nodding, I look over at her. "Usually we have a big party on Christmas Eve. We all get together at Ryker's and eat a bunch of food. Tyla and her mother are wonderful cooks."
Her eyes light up. "Perfect. It'll be nice to celebrate it in a normal way."
"Normal way?" I ask.
She looks off into the distance, her expression sad. "The idea of a wonderful Christmas for the Sierra pack was to kill. They liked to hunt instead of giving presents."
I'm well aware of how fucked up our kind can be. Rogues murdered my parents for sport. I almost lost myself hunting down their killers. When I found them, I did things I never expected I'd ever do to someone. If Laila were to find out, I'm afraid she'll think differently of me.
Laila blows out a sigh and turns to me with a smile on her face. "Speaking of Christmas, I still need to get a tree for the cabin. Do you have one?"
"Nope," I reply with a shake of my head.
She beams. "We should go buy some after work. One for your place and one for mine. We can decorate them both."
With the way she's smiling at me, there's not a chance in the world I can say no to her. "Sounds good. We'll go this afternoon."
It'll be the first year I put up a tree in my home. There was never a reason for me to have one, but if it makes Laila happy, I'll do it. My Christmases usually consisted of going home with one of the local girls from town and making a night of it. That's the old me. Sometimes it feels like that part of me never existed. Ever since the bond started with Laila and me, all I can think about is her. Everything besides her is a distant memory in my mind.
We arrive at the Cascade Canyon trailhead, and I pull into the parking lot. It's one of the best trails in the Grand Teton National Park. "We're here."
Laila grabs her backpack from the backseat and hops out. "I'm prepared. Got lots of water and snacks in case we need them." She secures the pack on her back and bounces excitedly on her feet. I'm so used to being around human women who hated the outdoors. None of them ever cared about my job or what I do. I don't know what I've done to deserve someone like Laila.
"Are you ready?" I ask her.
She nods toward the trail marker. "More than ready. I want to see what you do."
We walk side by side down the trail, and you can't even see the path because of the snow. I've trekked it a million times to the point I could do it with my eyes closed. Up ahead, a tree has fallen over the trail, so I pick it up and toss it out of the way. Laila watches me with fascination. "Very nice. How do your human co-workers handle stuff like that?"
Chuckling, I wipe my hands off on my pants. "They spend hours cutting it up into pieces so they can haul them off. It takes them a whole hell of a lot longer. That's why Ryker and I do most of the trails."
Laila stares at everything with such fascination. She follows me down th
e trail, and I can feel her excitement. We come upon another tree across the path, and she helps me toss it out of the way. She's so damn strong and sexy. If we had already completed the bond, I would've taken her right then and there in the snow. After she’s completely mine, I can do just that.
When we get up to one of the trail's scenic parts, the gasp that comes out of Laila's mouth makes me smile. "Oh my God, this is fantastic." She climbs up on one of the boulders at the side of the trail. Something changed in her last night after our date; she's happier, more carefree. I feel closer to her. "Honestly, Cedric, I think you have a dream job here," she says, glancing down at me. "You get to be outdoors all the time, and you get to see all of this." She waves her hand toward the mountains. "I think being a park ranger would be fun."
"You're serious?"
She tilts her head to the side and laughs. "Of course, I am. I'd love to do what you do. I just hate that I missed my chance."
An idea pops into my head. "What if it's not too late?"
Her eyes widen, and she hops down off the boulder. "What do you mean?"
I reach out my hand, hoping she'll take it. When she does, I pull her close. "I mean, you can get a job if you want it. We offer apprenticeships all the time. You could get one and be my partner." Her breath hitches, and she stares up at me, her body so close to mine. The thought of her working with me excites me. We could always be together, and I could keep her safe. I look down at her lips and smile. "What do you say? Is it something you'd be interested in?"
Her eyes focus on my mouth, and she bites her lip. "I don't know. Do you think working together is such a good idea? I mean, look at us. We're not getting any work done at the moment."
Tilting her chin up, I slowly lower my lips toward hers to where I can almost feel her, but not yet. "We're allowed a break now and again." Her breathing picks up, and she lifts on her toes. I take that as a yes, that she wants me to kiss her. The second our lips touch, I can feel the fire shoot through my veins. Her lips are soft and sweet; I want more of them. As much as it kills me, I break from the kiss first. Laila smiles, and it gives me hope. "Do you think you'll be happy with me?" And just like that, I can feel her hesitation and see it in her eyes. Every good thing I thought came crashing down.
I step away from her, and she sighs. "Cedric, it's not like that."
"Then what's it like?" I ask, throwing my arms in the air.
She swallows hard and averts her gaze. "I've been trying to figure out when to tell you the truth." Her inner turmoil hits me like a ton of bricks. I have no fucking clue what's going on, but I know it's not good.
"That truth about what?"
Then, out of nowhere, a guy appears behind her as if he'd just walked through an invisible door. I grab Laila around the waist and pull her behind me. I haven't met Beck yet, but when Laila gasps his name, it confirms it. He's dressed in all black with dark hair and pale skin with a sword hanging at his waist. A fucking faerie.
"What do you want?" I growl.
Beck glares at me but then focuses on Laila. "When are you going to tell him, Laila?"
The way he looks at her and says her name makes my body shake with rage. He wants her. If it's a fight he wants, he'll sure as hell get it. "Tell me what?" I snap, trying to keep my wolf at bay.
Laila stands in front of me, blocking me from him. "I was going to tell you. I just didn't want anyone worrying about me."
"Why does he talk to you as if he knows you?"
"Because I do," Beck answers. "A whole hell of a lot more than you."
All I can see is red. My fangs lengthen, and I sidestep Laila, but she jumps in front of me and pushes against my chest. "Cedric, stop. Beck's not the bad guy here."
Keeping my eyes on the faerie, I clench my teeth. "Maybe to you, but what I'm hearing is a fucking faerie who wants his pansy ass wings clipped." He doesn't even have wings, but I wanted to get my point across.
Beck chuckles, and it pisses me off more. Laila jerks around and huffs at him. "Seriously? If you can't keep your mouth shut, then leave."
He holds up his hands and backs up. "I'm sorry. The last thing I want is to anger you, but your pack needs to know what's going on." Then his eyes drop to her jacket pocket. "Even if you did find a black carmine."
The black carmine is the stone she bought last night. "What's the deal with the rock?"
Laila glances at me over her shoulder and slowly turns around. She pulls the rock out of her pocket, holds it in her hand, and looks down at it. "Black carmine is one of the strongest protection stones in history. They're very rare, and it just so happens, the stone shop had one."
There's something she's not telling me. "Why do you need a protection stone? I would never let anything happen to you."
Beck steps forward. "You can't protect her from this. I can."
My resolve is running very thin, to the point, I don't know how much longer I can keep myself from tearing off his head. I glare at him. "You're really starting to piss me off."
"Enough!" Laila shouts. A gust of wind knocks me on my ass, and the same goes for Beck. Not gonna lie, it hurt. I get to my feet and brush the snow off my clothes. Laila blows out a sigh, and her eyes soften when she stares at me. She doesn't even give Beck a second glance, which eases me a little, but not much. Whatever their relationship is, I don't like it. "I know you can protect me, Cedric. That I have no doubt. It's just …" She pauses for a second and then moves closer, her stark blue eyes never wavering from mine. "The fae are different. They fight not only with their strength but with their magic as well. There's a guy named Dorian who's searching for people like me. He's trying to find a way into the Land of the Fae, and only those with fae magic can open a portal."
"Dorian is a dark fae," Beck adds. I keep my eyes on Laila as he speaks. "My people have gone to war with him before, but now he's building another army. If he finds Laila, he'll kill her if she doesn't give him what he wants. That's why I want to take her to the Land of the Fae. She'll be safe there."
And that's when it all becomes clear. "With you, right?" I snarl. "Go fucking figure."
Beck glares right at me. "You're not the only one connected to her. She's the one who has to decide what she wants." With those final words, he looks at her once more before stepping through the portal and disappearing.
Laila hangs her head. "This is not how I wanted to tell you."
"Do you have feelings for him?" I ask, trying with all my fucking heart to keep calm. If she says yes, I don't know what I'll do. I can feel my wolf desperate to break free.
Laila jerks her head up and gasps. "Of course not. It's not like that between us. Beck and I don’t have the kind of connection you and I do. He knew my mother when she was pregnant with me.” She takes my hands, and it helps with the anger, but I still feel like I'm on the verge of losing control. "I don’t want to leave, Cedric. My family and friends are here. You are here. I'm not about to let any of you die trying to protect me." I start to speak, to tell her that I'd do anything to keep her safe, but she lets my hands go and grabs my face. "That's why I'm glad I found the stone. It was the only way I could stay. I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you."
She leans up on her toes and kisses me. It takes every ounce of control I have not to deepen it, even though her touch drives me in-fucking-sane. When she steps back, there's a brief second where her eyes flash to that of her wolf. I don't think she realizes it happened, but it's a beautiful sight.
"What do we do now?" she asks.
Taking her hand, I walk back in the direction we came. "I need to talk to the pack. If there's a chance this Dorian douche can cause trouble, we need to be prepared. Let's just hope that stone keeps you hidden from him."
She nods. "Let's hope. If not, I'll have to leave."
"Then I'll leave with you." I'll run with her if it comes down to that, but there's no way in hell I'll let her go anywhere with Beck. I'll kill him if he tries.
When we get back to my truck, I call Ryker
to give him a heads up of what's going on and that I want to get Laila's family together for a meeting. Laila doesn't want her father to be surprised, so she calls him and gives him a quick rundown of everything that's going on. He wasn't happy. He's going to call Sebastian and Micah to meet me at Ryker's.
Once our phone calls are done, Laila spends the entire car ride back, telling me everything she knows about Dorian. She also happened to mention that Beck is a fucking prince of the winter court. Royalty just like her. It makes me feel even more unworthy to be her mate. How the hell can I compete with that? If I kill him, his people will come for my head. These days, I can't win.
I drop Laila off with Seraphina since she lives the closest to Ryker. That way, she'll be near while I'm at the meeting. Seraphina walks with me to my truck.
"I sense a change in her," Seraphina murmurs. Ever since she found me in the woods when I was eight years old, she's been a mother to me. I can always count on her to give me good advice.
I glance up at the house and can see Laila through the window, drinking a cup of hot apple cider in the kitchen. "How so?" I ask, curious to hear what she has to say.
"I can sense her wolf more than I could before. That part of her is growing stronger."
Breathing a sigh of relief, I smile. This is good news. It's probably why her wolf eyes flashed at me earlier. "Maybe she's starting to warm up to me."
Seraphina giggles. "She's more than warming up to you, son. I know she cares for you. You're a good, honest man, even if you did drive me crazy as a little lad."
Chuckling, I pull her in for a hug. She always smells like vanilla and jasmine. It used to be a comfort to me when I was a kid. Every time I smelled those two things, I knew she was close.