She quirked her lip, shaking her head softly. “Unfortunately, only the Head of either Coven is blessed with that ability.”
His gaze snapped to Marion who was already shaking her head. “Nope, 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,” he heard Ryder mumble under his breath.
“Lykans aren’t the only ones with good hearing,” the faerie snapped at him. He smiled innocently, which seemed to annoy her more.
Usually their childish banter would have amused Lucien, but now he was too nervous. 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,” he could hear Marion whisper, and so turned back to her carefully.
“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.”
He was irritated by the demand in her voice, not used to having his decisions made for him, especially when he’d already decided on that course of action. “I’m going to,” he growled lightly. “But only about The Hunter and her heritage. The other... well... she needn’t know about that just yet.”
“You’re sure?”
He felt his shoulders tense, his teeth clenched. “Yes,” he managed.
“OK then.”
Her eyelids felt as if a pile of lead had been piled on top of them, refusing to let them open. Come to think of it, her face felt pretty heavy, too. Slowly, Caia managed to open her eyes, the sleep easing from them until she had focused on the ceiling. Ugh, what a weird, deep sleep she’d had. She felt her right arm lying across her stomach, but her left one, she couldn’t. Groaning, Caia turned and used her right arm to pull it out from under her pillow. Numb. She used her right hand to shake her left into waking, until gradually she was moving each finger. Flexing it, she sighed as the sharp burning tingles brought it back to life. Flopping back onto her pillow, Caia’s gaze found its way back to the ceiling, her mind assailed with images. Her fingers unconsciously brushed her lips as she remembered Lucien’s kiss. It had been a great kiss. Her first kiss. At the mere memory, an eruption of butterflies exploded 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 each and every one of those butterflies with the force of a shotgun.
Alexa taunting her about having slept with Lucien.
Caia cursed them both, groaning at having stupidly fallen for Lucien’s easy charm. And that hadn’t been the worst of it. Her heart sped up again, remembering how she’d had no control over her change at school, at Sebastian having saved her ass and the pack’s, from exposure. She felt a wave of sickness. Climbing out of bed, she dozily made it into her bathroom and breathed with relief when the nausea passed. She braced herself against the sink and stared deeply into the mirror above it, hoping to find answers to the questions she saw in her eyes. But none were forthcoming. Instead she ran the cold water and, cupping a handful of it, threw it up and into 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 when she’d been changing in his car, rang in her ears.
Her eyes flashed and she growled, 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 tore down the stairs as if the hounds of Hades were nipping at her ankles. Her bluster, however, slowly died at the sound of voices coming from the living room, bringing her to an abrupt halt. 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. She grumbled, realizing she couldn’t exactly rip Lucien’s head off in company. Oh, but he had it coming.
Sighing heavily, she finished her journey to the doorway of the living room, only to be taken aback by the sight of all them. They were all turned towards her, as if waiting for her. Her eyes immediately went to Lucien and she was angered by the tenderness she saw in his face. She flushed as she remembered the hot kisses they had shared, and how Alexa’s taunt had sent Caia into a blazing rage, enough of one to have been able to what... throw Alexa telekinetically across the room? Frowning at him, and at her own anxious thoughts, she took in the rest of the group. Ryder stood beside Lucien, and on his other side were two unfamiliar women. The first was a small woman with long red hair and wide violet eyes. She was attractive and very delicate, like a doll, and Caia guessed, by the way she held herself, older than she looked. The scent Caia picked up from her, surprisingly, was a strong vanilla, so strong she could almost taste it. And next to this woman was the most stunning creature Caia had ever seen. The woman was tall, only a few inches shorter than Ryder, with a slender figure and graceful limbs. Her perfect face was framed by short, sharp blonde hair that followed her jaw line in strands of thick silk. Her ice blue eyes were watching Caia curiously.
“Hello.” The red-head stepped forward, her words tinged with an accent. “I’m Marion.”
A wave of feeling rushed up and over Caia, a safe feeling, like she could trust this woman with anything. Engrossed in the feeling, she almost forgot her manners. “Sorry.” She took the woman’s hand in her own. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I have a lot to thank you for.”
She shrugged, laughing warmly. “Not at all. Oh.” She seemed to remember herself, and turned back to her companion. “This is Saffron. My faerie.”
A faerie? Caia blinked, remembering the amazing stories Ryder had imparted. “Nice to meet you,” she said, trying to hide her awe.
She watched as Saffron wrinkled her nose and turned to Ryder. “She smells different from the rest of you.”
“Shut up,” he hissed back, glaring at her.
“Wh-”
Before Caia could ask her question Magnus stepped forward, interrupting her. “We need to talk,” he said softly. His worried eyes made the hair on Caia’s skin rise. If she had been in wolf form her ears would have twitched, her hair would have spiked, and she would have lowered to her haunches, awaiting the attack.
They knew!
They all knew what was wrong with her... and no one had told her.
Even the witch and the faerie knew.
She could feel everyone’s anxiety over having to tell her. Angry tears pricked the corner of her eyes. All this time they had been keeping something from her. She had trusted them.
Her gaze blazed with accusation as it moved from one to the other. She took perverse delight in watching them squirm. “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?!”
Their mouths had fallen open, ears disbelieving at what she was telling them had happened to her.
“Caia.” Lucien made a move towards her, his eyes full of guilt and anguish.
“Don’t.” She stepped back from him, her eyes accusing and filled with dislike. He was the last person in the world she wanted touching her right now. She took satisfaction in the way he flinched, hurt by her rejection.
He sighed and looked at Magnus, and then back to her. “You should know Magnus wanted to tell you from the start, but he was outvoted.”
Caia looked at her uncle, and nodded, as if she had known all along he would not hurt her. “Then you explain, Magnus. Please, just tell me what’s happening to me?” She crumpled into a chair, hating the way her eyes filled with tears as they pleaded with his. “I’m scared.”
She looked at Lucien sharply as he made a sound of distress. His emotions hit her like a wave and she gulped under the force of them. Despite whatever had happened between him and Alexa, he had some caring feelings towards Caia - enough to feel hurt when she was hurting. She didn’t want that. She just wanted to be mad at him. She looked away, as Magnus approached her, ignoring her feelings for her Pack Leader, and taking comfort in the strong arm her uncle placed around her shoulders.
“You don’t have to be scared, Cy. We’ll get you through this.”
“Get me through what?”
“For you to understand, we have to go back to the beginning.” He sighed, rubbing her shoulder in comfort.
And then he began to tell her a tale that threw her back into a past she had never known existed. To a history that had been rewritten.
16 - The Awful Truth
19 years ago
“How could you, Mikhail?” Albus burst out in rage, his hands trembling with so much emotion, so much confusion.
His older brother shrugged, defeated and weary. “I don’t know.”
“You’re the Pack Leader. To have an affair... with the enemy?” Rafe added in disbelief. Albus was glad for his presence. It calmed his fiery temperament.
Mikhail’s eyes flashed at the young man. “Why are you even here? This is between me and my brother.”
“Mikhail,” Albus warned, angry at the obvious blow Rafe took. He tried not to show it but Rafe’s eyes darkened with sadness. It had taken Ella’s persuasion for them to see that Rafe was an excellent man, a young man who had suffered for the sins of his father. Albus knew he thought of himself and Mikhail as his own brothers. For Mikhail to hint otherwise was a verbal punch to the stomach that Albus wouldn’t stand for. “Don’t take your own foolishness out on Rafe.”
Mikhail groaned, “Nothing will come of this. I promise. The affair is over with Atia.”
“You had an affair with the wife of the Head of the Midnight Coven! If Devlyn finds out, this will never be over!”
“Well, Atia. You have been a naughty wife, haven’t you?” Devlyn murmured as he circled her like an animal. His eyes raked over his beautiful wife as she dangled by her arms, arms that were clapped in chains attached to the ceiling. A long time ago he had thought Gaia had created this enchanting creature just for him. Now his stomach turned just thinking about where her body had been. “How was it? Sex with a dirty animal? Not even an influential Pack Leader... some small time piece of filth who has the audacity to call himself a leader.”
He watched as her eyes began to tear in rage and frustration. She pulled at her chains, her body swinging from the motion. “I told you I killed Mikhail! It is over, and there is one less lykan in the world!” she cried, her tears turning to blood as they ran over the wounds he had inflicted on her. “Please, Devlyn...”
He laughed humorlessly. “What? You think I’m happy with the death of just one of those mutts? More of them must know that my wife had an affair with one of them. If the Coven ever found out...”