Devoted (Book Two, Caylin's Story)

by S. J. West

  “I promise I won’t take any unnecessary risks. You won’t lose me. Not anytime soon at least. Not until we’re old and grey with a ton of grandchildren running around us.”

  Aiden tries to smile, but I can see how forced it is. He’s still worried.

  He lifts his free hand and traces the edge of my cheek. He leans in and kisses my lips so lightly I barely feel it.

  “Is that the best you can do?” I ask him, hoping to tease him into a better kiss than that.

  “It is while I’m in your bedroom,” Aiden tells me. “Get some sleep, beautiful. I’m not sure what will happen tomorrow so you need to get as much rest as you can.”

  I crawl under my covers and Aiden straightens them across my chest.

  “Sweet dreams,” he says to me, turning off the lamp on my nightstand.

  “Will you stay with me?” I ask him, not wanting to be alone just yet. “At least until I start to snore. Then you can leave.”

  I hear a soft chuckle come from Aiden as he sits back down on my bed.

  “I’ll wait,” he promises.

  I reach out a hand to him and he clasps it gently.

  When I close my eyes, I sigh in contentment because I know the man I love is watching over me.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  When I wake up the next morning, I smell the sweet aroma of apple cinnamon muffins and bacon. I notice the door to my room is wide open which is strange because I never leave the door open at night. I sit up in bed and hear familiar voices coming from the kitchen.

  One of the voices definitely belongs to Aiden.

  I quickly get out of bed and phase to the kitchen.

  I find Aiden there flipping an egg with a spatula in a pan on the stove with my dad standing beside him watching.

  “You need to control your strength and do it more gently,” my dad tells Aiden. “You broke the yolk by flipping it too hard.”

  Aiden’s mouth quirks to the side. “Hmm, yes, I see that.”

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, drawing Aiden’s attention away from the pan.

  “I invited Aiden to stay for breakfast,” my dad says, being the one to answer my question instead.

  “Stay?” I ask.

  “I never left your room last night,” Aiden tells me. “After what happened to you yesterday, it didn’t feel right to leave you all alone.”

  I look at my dad assuming I’ll see steam coming out of his ears at any moment by this knowledge, but he doesn’t look phased by it one bit.

  “Aiden kept the door open all night,” my dad tells me. “I saw him in there when I went to check up on you, and we had a talk.”

  I’m not sure what all the ‘talk’ entailed, but I guess things such as the proper etiquette while in my bedroom were discussed.

  “And you were ok with him staying?” I ask my dad.

  “I understood his motivation,” my dad replies.

  Aiden smiles at me, and I notice him staring at my hair.

  Self-consciously, I run my fingers through it and know instantly why he’s staring at it. It’s a total mess.

  “I should probably go get ready for school,” I tell them, phasing before Aiden can take a permanent mental picture of me with my rumpled pajamas and messy hair.

  I quickly jump into the shower and get ready for school. I wear my usual uniform combination of plaid skirt, white shirt, blazer, tie and knee high black boots. I grab my backpack from my desk and head downstairs.

  Just as I exit my room, I literally run into a half-naked man I’ve never seen before. He was towel drying his hair as he came out of the bathroom and obviously didn’t see me.

  Without even thinking about, I drop my backpack to the floor and grab the man by the throat as I slam him hard up against the wall.

  “Who are you?” I demand.

  My mother phases to my side almost instantly.

  “Caylin, put him down. He’s Mae’s wolf.”

  I look into the stranger’s handsome face and am immediately drawn to his blue eyes. They hold the same sadness of the wolf from the night before. Slowly, I loosen my grip and step away from him.

  “Sorry,” I say, briefly taking in his muscular form and tanned skin being exposed in his shirtless state.

  He’s only wearing a pair of blue jeans, and his short blonde hair is standing straight up from his head like it’s permanently gelled that way.

  “No, I’m sorry for running into you,” he says. “I should have been watching where I was going.”

  I look over to my mother, and I see her shake her head slightly. She knows I want to ask questions, like why the heck is this guy still here, but apparently my mom doesn’t want to discuss it in front of him.

  “Tristan,” my mom says, “I put some more clothes in the guest room I showed you. Feel free to wear whatever you want. It’s all yours now.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Cole.”

  “Call me Lilly, Tristan.”

  Tristan nods but he doesn’t look like he’ll be very comfortable addressing my mother so informally.

  “I’m sorry I scared you,” Tristan tells me. “I’ll try to watch where I’m going next time.”

  He turns away and walks to the guest bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

  “Why is he still here?” I ask my mother as I pick my backpack up and we walk downstairs together.

  “He doesn’t really have anywhere else to go,” my mother answers.

  “I thought he would go back to his father.”

  “He can’t.”

  I stop descending the stairs halfway down.

  “What do you mean he can’t?” I ask.

  “When he defended Mae against his father last night, he broke his bond to him. He’s no longer connected to his father anymore.”

  “So, what…he’s like a lone wolf now or something?”

  “More like rogue.”

  “Does that mean we have to keep him forever?”

  My mother smiles. “You make him sound like a dog Mae picked up off the street and brought home.”

  “He kind of is, isn’t he?”

  “Yes and no, I guess. He isn’t our pet, but he’s formed a bond to Mae.”

  “What kind of bond?” I ask, downright suspicious of this wolf’s motives.

  “I’m not completely sure yet,” my mom admits. “Malcolm wasn’t certain what it meant either. No wolf has ever broken the bond with their father before. I’m not even sure Tristan understands what happened last night. So, let’s give him some space and time, ok? He did protect Mae. We owe him a debt of gratitude for that.”

  “How long is he going to be staying here?”

  “Just until he figures out what he needs to do next. I don’t think it will be for very long.”

  I don’t like it, but I can’t exactly argue that Tristan didn’t save Mae’s life last night either. Who knows what his father would have done to Mae if Tristan had handed her over to him. I didn’t want to think about it, and thanks to Tristan we didn’t have to find out.

  We’re half way through eating breakfast when Uncle Malcolm comes over dressed in his usual teacher garb of suit, tie and black rimmed glasses. He’s carrying a pink pastry box in his hands, and I know he’s already been to Paris that morning to buy my mother her favorite chocolate croissant rolls. He’ll do it every morning of her pregnancy until she gives birth. It’s tradition.

  “So, where’s the dog?” Uncle Malcolm asks, snatching a piece of bacon off Will’s plate as he hands my mom her box of croissants. Mae climbs up on her chair seat and holds her arms out to Uncle Malcolm until he comes to get her.

  “Tristan,” my mother says as if correcting Uncle Malcolm, “is up in his room.”

  “His room?” Uncle Malcolm questions with a raised eyebrow, settling Mae against his hip while he looks at my mother. “Lilly, you aren’t seriously going to let him stay here, are you?”

  “Do you have a better idea?” My mom questions. “He’s basically homeless now because of us.”

  “
Nonsense,” Uncle Malcolm scoffs. “He made his own decision. Besides, I can set him up somewhere out of our way where he won’t hurt anyone.”

  “We’re not going to just abandon him, Malcolm.”

  “But dearest, he could be a danger to all of you. Let me take him somewhere. I’ll make sure he’s well taken care of.”

  “No.”

  And that pretty much ended the discussion. Whenever my mother said no, she meant it. Uncle Malcolm was well aware of this fact and didn’t try to argue his point any further.

  There’s a knock on the door and Leah pokes her head inside.

  “Morning everyone,” Leah says, walking in with Mason and Jess following in behind her.

  Mason is carrying a black garment bag over one arm with JoJo’s signature hot pink ‘A’ stitched on it, and Jess looks like she’s prepared for war. She’s dressed in her white leather outfit. She has her sword strapped to her back in its baldric, plasma pistol in its holster strapped to her right thigh and two new belted sheaths against each hip that I haven’t seen before. Each sheath holds one of the silver daggers in it.

  “So Malcolm told us you had an encounter of the Lucifer kind last night,” Jess says to me, giving me a brief hug after I hand my dad my dirty breakfast dish.

  “Yeah,” I say. “I’m not sure how you could stand being around him, Jess. He gave me the creeps.”

  Jess lets out a half laugh. “Lucifer is an acquired taste, I guess. But, I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t have to deal with him again. Honestly, you and Malcolm are the first of us to see him since the Tear was closed.”

  Jess pulls out one of the silver daggers hanging on her hip from its sheath.

  “I want you to keep this with you,” she says, handing me the dagger.

  “I don’t think I’m supposed to take weapons to school,” I tell her and realize how stupid it sounds coming out of my mouth after I say it.

  “Don’t worry, kiddo. No one is going to search you for weapons. Just stick it in one of your boots. If one of your classmates happens to see it, just tell them it’s a stage prop or something. And Malcolm will be there in case any school official asks you about it. If Lucifer sees you as a threat now, there’s no telling what he might send after you. This will at least give you an upper hand in case it’s one of the princes.”

  “Is that for me?” Aiden asks Mason.

  Mason hands Aiden the garment bag. “JoJo said it should fit.”

  “Did you need clothes for something special?” I ask Aiden.

  “I’m going to school with you,” he tells me. “But, I needed to go in without anyone being able to see me. This outfit is like Jess’. I can turn invisible when I’m wearing it.”

  “We’re both going with you today,” Jess tells me.

  “Not that I’m complaining,” I say, “but shouldn’t school be a safe place for me? Aiden told me they never attack in public areas.”

  “Usually not,” Jess agrees, “but we have no way of knowing how desperate they are right now. Anything can happen. I’m mostly going to make sure there aren’t any more changelings in your school. I’m really the only one who can see them since their auras are different. After I do a sweep, Mason and I will be heading after one of the princes today.”

  “Alone?” I ask.

  “No, Zack, Chandler, Jered, and Andre will be going with us.”

  “Do you need me?” I ask.

  Jess shakes her head. “No, we can take care of Amon ourselves. Once we have him, that’ll only leave us five more to take down.”

  “I’ll be right back,” Aiden tells me before he phases.

  I assume he’s gone to one of his homes to change clothes.

  “I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something?”

  All eyes turn to Tristan standing just outside the kitchen in his jeans and a buttoned up blue green plaid shirt.

  “Puppy!” Mae says, before scrambling down from Uncle Malcolm’s hip and running to Tristan like he’s her long lost best friend.

  Tristan bends down on one knee as Mae runs up to him and wraps her little arms around his neck. She hugs him fiercely before pulling away.

  “Come play with me,” Mae says, taking one of his hands with her own.

  Tristan looks uncertain and directs his gaze to my mother as if asking for her permission.

  “She won’t be satisfied until you do,” my mom tells him. “You might as well get it over with.”

  Tristan grins and stands up to follow Mae’s lead into the living room and straight to her Victorian dollhouse.

  “So…” Jess starts in a whisper, “what’s up with that? Why does Mae seem so attached to the wolf?”

  My mom shrugs. “I’m not sure, but whatever the connection is it seems to have saved her life last night.”

  “Have you talked to Tristan about what happened?” Uncle Malcolm asks.

  “A little,” my mom answers. “Basically, he just said he felt an overwhelming need to protect Mae, even from his own father.”

  “I’ve never heard of a wolf disobeying their father,” Mason says as he watches the two of them in the living room. “The bond is usually so strong they follow any order their father gives, especially when they are in wolf form.”

  “We’ve always been able to keep the wolves at bay,” my mom says. “Even Caylin saw her effect on the wolves with the Watchers who attacked Aiden.”

  “True,” Brand said. “I remember Abby telling me how much you affected her when she was in wolf form.”

  “And the wolves when Tara and Malik were attacked that Halloween,” my mom reminds my dad. “They did what I told them to do.”

  “But that’s not the same as a wolf severing his bond with his father,” Mason points out.

  My mom watches Tristan and Mae playing by the dollhouse.

  “I just don’t feel any danger from him,” my mom finally says. “I don’t think he would hurt Mae or anyone else in this family for that matter whether he’s in wolf form or not.”

  “I have to agree with Lilly,” my dad says. “I don’t sense any malice from him. He just seems lost more than anything else.”

  “Well,” Uncle Malcolm says, crossing his arms over his chest as he watches Mae and Tristan play, “if he doesn’t behave himself I can always get him a leash.”

  “Malcolm…” my mom says in her ‘warning’ voice.

  “Just making the offer, Lilly,” Uncle Malcolm says with a shrug.

  Aiden phases back and I literally do a double take at his outfit.

  It’s black. It’s leather. And it’s tight.

  “I think JoJo thought I was a bit smaller than I actually am,” Aiden says, self-consciously rubbing at the thighs of his pants as if the action will magically cause the leather there to stretch an inch or two.

  Personally, I think they fit perfectly because I absolutely can’t stop staring at Aiden.

  I feel Uncle Malcolm’s index finger slide underneath my chin gently tilting my head back up.

  “Eyes up,” he whispers to me, and it’s only then that I realize my gaze wasn’t exactly directed to the most proper spot on Aiden’s person. But, it definitely stood out to my eyes.

  I try to shake off the effect Aiden is having on me, but I feel almost drugged because my head is spinning. When I look back over at Aiden, I swear he’s blushing.

  “We should head to school,” Uncle Malcolm says, his words acting like cold water in my face. “Otherwise, we’ll be late.”

  “Aiden and I will phase there ahead of you,” Jess tells me. “I’ll be invisible, but I’ll stay there until I’m certain there aren’t any changelings around.”

  I nod. “Ok. Be careful.”

  Aiden doesn’t say anything to me, but he does wink and smile before he phases him and Jess to my school.

  When Leah and I arrive there, I immediately wonder how I will know where Aiden is.

  It’s not until I’m at my locker to grab one of my books that I know Aiden is nearby.

  I feel someone pl
ay with the back of my hair, but when I look behind me, there’s no one there.

  I turn back to face the inside of my locker and whisper, “Is that you?”

  “Yes,” he whispers back.

  “Are you going to act as my shadow today?”

  “Yes,” he says, and I can hear a distinct smile in his voice.

  “I hope you don’t get too bored.”

  “Never.”

  I close my locker and head to my first class.

  As I sit in my American History lecture, I wonder where Aiden is. But, how am I supposed to figure that out?

  Then I have an idea.

  I find a clear page in my notebook and write, Are you there?

  I feel Aiden wrap his hand around mine and guide my hand to write, Yes.

  I wish I could see you

  Why? Do you like the outfit that much?

  I do like the outfit. I’m not going to lie about that. But, no, I want to see your face.

  I hear a slight creaking of leather before I feel a hand underneath my desk grab the hand I have resting in my lap. Before I know it, I feel Aiden’s face pressed against my palm. His warm breath tickles my skin, but just being able to feel him and ‘see’ him with my hand makes me smile.

  I don’t smile just because I can feel him. I’m smiling because he’s showing me yet again just how much he loves me. Not that I had any doubts about that fact, but a girl likes to know she’s worth having someone sit on a cold hard floor, crouched uncomfortably beneath her desk just so she can feel the face of the man she loves.

  After a while, Aiden kisses the center of my palm and his face is gone.

  Thank you

  Anytime, beautiful.

  When lunch rolls around, I feel like Aiden is wasting his time watching over me. I feel sure he would be of more use to Jess and Mason in helping them take down Amon.

  “Are you hungry?” I ask him as I sit at the table.

  “No,” he says from behind me, and I feel him play with the back of my hair a little bit, like he needs to touch me.

  “I like that,” I tell him.

  “Good.”

  Leah, Will, and Linc join me soon after.

  Will starts to wave his hands in the air around me looking like a wacked out mime.