“I’m telling you I’m losing my mind,” she grumbled to Caia as she practiced her telekinesis with her. Laila and Vil sat on the back porch, glad to be free of Ryder’s apartment and taking in the fresh air. Caia liked them nearby, still afraid that Marita would suddenly grab a hold of Vil’s trace and appear out of nowhere to take them away from her.
Caia chuckled. “You have one more night and then he’s yours.”
“Yeah, he’s going to pay big time for this,” she grunted throwing all her energy into spinning Lucien’s weights into the forest. Caia had been impressed by Jaeden’s accuracy, but remembering how she’d had to telekinetically throw a car once, she wanted to build Jaeden’s strength. Lucien had pretended to be more than happy to donate his training weights for their purposes.
“Nicely done.” Caia nodded encouragingly.
“It’s rather therapeutic,” Jae decided, her hair sticking to her forehead with the exertion. “I can’t wait to move into Ryder’s. My parents are driving me insane.”
Caia winced. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. I’m a grown woman with the right to make my own decisions. If I choose to support you that is none of their business. Personally I’m a little disappointed in them.”
“They’re entitled to their opinion.”
“Come on!” Jaeden hissed, throwing a meaningful glance towards Laila. “They’ve met her, they’ve know you. You both have Midnight blood in you. That isn’t telling them something!”
“You can’t just wipe out centuries of hate, Jae.”
She snorted. “Yeah well, better you than me running this show because I would just lose my rag with the whole lot of them. How are you so calm, so patient?”
Caia laughed humorlessly. “I’m not. I’m just good at pretending otherwise.”
And it was the truth. As she sat with Lucien in his backyard, watching happily as Magnus asked Artemis to bless the mating between Jae and Ryder, she was uncomfortably aware of the discontent among the pack. Loyally, they had shown up for the mating, but many of them were avoiding Caia. She felt a little teary when the moon colored glow lit up between her friends bound hands. They kissed each other passionately and she felt herself leaning into Lucien. The pack cheered and everyone stood to congratulate them. Caia quickly got out of their way, edging closer and closer to the woods. As they dispersed, walking in little groups into the house where the festivities awaited (weird, strained ones she was guessing) Caia looked longingly into the dark velvet of the forest.
“You want to run,” a hot breath whispered in her ear.
She grinned. “You have no idea how much.”
Lucien took her hand and began pulling her into the trees. “Come on then.”
A little while later they lay tangled in one another’s arms, their clothes abandoned around them. Caia shivered as he stroked her hair, loving the sound of his heartbeat beneath her ear.
Why couldn’t this be her life? Why couldn’t it be this simple?
“You wish we had a proper ceremony?” Lucien asked her softly.
“No.”
He chuckled. “That was certainly adamant.”
“Can you imagine all that attention?” She shuddered. “No thank you.”
He shook with amusement. “You do realize that running a campaign for Head of the Daylights and actually being the Head of Daylights requires quite a bit of limelight?”
“That’s different, that’s necessary. I don’t need a ceremony with lots of people watching on to know that I belong with you.”
He squeezed her closer and pressed a loving kiss on her forehead. “Ah, querida. I feel the same.”
“Why do you call me that?” she whispered lazily, knowing this moment was a little slice of sunshine in their murky little underworld. She swore she could feel him smiling into her forehead.
“My dad. He called my mom it and I remember how happy it made her.”
“I’m such an idiot,” she groaned and he laughed at what she knew sounded like a change in subject.
“Explain.”
“You called me that after the daemon attacked me. If I had opened my eyes a little I would have known how you felt way back then.”
“You know now, that’s what matters.”
They lay for a little longer, snuggled together in the darkness.
“We should get back,” Lucien said reluctantly.
“I’m afraid to.”
“Why?”
“In case we never have a moment like this again.”
“Caia.” He pulled her up so he could kiss her tenderly. “I promise you that after the storm passes there will be plenty of moments like this for us.”
Although averse to shimmying back into the little strappy dress she wore, Caia did so, and hand in hand they walked back through the woods to their home.
Where another surprise awaited them.
Jaeden was waiting with Ryder in the backyard, their faces a perfect mirror of anxiety.
“What’s wrong?” Lucien picked up his pace.
Jaeden shook her head. “We’re not sure. Marion’s here.”
Caia’s heart jarred and she rushed past them and into the house. She found Marion talking with Magnus, and Caia could tell immediately from her body language that something was wrong.
She must know.
“Caia!” Marion’s eyes lit up when she saw her. “Thank Gaia.”
Or not.
“What’s going on?” she asked in trepidation.
The magik took her by the wrist and led her all the way upstairs and into her old bedroom.
“Marion?”
“Caia, everything is a mess.” Marion pushed her hair back frantically. Caia had never seen her so uncollected before. “My sister found out that certain members of our Council have been feeding information to the Midnights! She can’t get a handle on all who were involved - they’ve combined their power to manipulate the trace… so she has dissolved them. The entire Council. The Coven is in chaos... there were actual riots inside the Center!”
Marita had dissolved the Council because of her. Caia couldn’t believe it. How could this be happening? This couldn’t be happening. She felt breathless and faint, all of her plans crumbling around her. Saffron had been right. She hadn’t been prepared for the lengths Marita would go to, to remain in power and annihilate the Midnights.
“How...”
Marion shook her head. “She has witnesses from within the Council member’s households. This level of treachery is unthinkable. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
“How come she’s only finding out now? Her trace...?”
Marion shrugged but the move was more violent than vague. “She had no reason to suspect them before, so she didn’t go looking.” But Caia could see the uncertainty in her eyes. This was insane. Irrational. And Marion knew it. She was just… afraid.
“Why are you here?” Caia asked softly.
The witch scoffed at her question. “I would have thought that was obvious.”
Oh crap. She does know about me.
“Caia, we need you at the Center. We held off because of Jae and Ryder’s ceremony, but it’s done now and we need you there to help control this situation. Half of them admire you and the other half fear you, it’s perfect.”
“Did Marita request this?”
“Who else.”
Did Marita really think she would be stupid enough to return to the Center, to a trap? She must think I won’t be able to come up with a reason not to return with Marion.
“OK,” she improvised, hoping she looked sufficiently agreeable, “You go back. I have to settle things with the pack. I’ll get Lucien to drive me to the portal tonight.”
“Caia, just say goodbye now.” Marion shook her head.
“I can’t. I might not be coming back. This is important.”
“Magic Fitness won’t even be open by the time you get there.”
“Like that will stop me.”
Marion heaved a huge sigh of exasperation. “Marita specifically told me to bring you back now. Arrggh. Fine,” she snapped, “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
She disappeared immediately, leaving Caia trembling with relief. She found Lucien waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase and she quietly related what had happened.
“What the Hades are we going to do now?” he hissed.
“I don’t know.” She shook frantically, her heart feeling like it was going to explode. “I don’t know.”
She dodged quizzical looks from Magnus and Dimitri who stood in the doorway of the living room, drinking scotch.
“OK.” She smoothed a hand absently down Lucien’s cheek from her higher position on the stairs. “Six heads are better than two. I know it’s unfair but this is kind of an emergency.”
“You want me to get Jae and Ryder.”
“Yes. Get them, meet me at the car. We’re going to Ryder’s apartment to talk this over with Laila and Vil.”
He nodded, planting a quick kiss on her lips before he turned to Dimitri and Magnus. Cleverly he managed to draw them away from Caia while searching for Jaeden and her mate.
Caia blew out a shaky breath and headed outside, her feet taking the porch steps two at a time. Thankfully, the pack had parked their cars around the edges of the circular driveway, so Lucien’s truck wasn’t jammed in.
She was just about to open the passenger door when she heard a crunch of gravel behind her, and a burst of pain slammed from the back of her head like a speeding train knocking her into darkness.
25 - Taken
Lucien could feel the panic building in his chest, threatening to cut off his airwaves.
Ryder flew in from the backyard, his breathing heavier than usual. His eyes were bleak as they fell on Lucien, surrounded by most of a very silent pack. He shook his head. “She’s not there.”
“Lucien!” Malek hurtled in from the front door. “We checked the whole driveway over again. You might want to see this.”
He jerked away from his mother’s comforting hand, following the boy outside at a frenzied pace. He refused to listen to the whispers among the pack, that maybe she hadn’t been taken, maybe she had deserted them. Caia wouldn’t leave him willingly. His chest constricted with fear.
Malek led him down to his truck, where Daniel stood by the passenger side, his face pale.
“What is it?” he snapped.
Daniel just pointed and Lucien felt his whole world tilt as his eyes found the splash of blood across the passenger door. Caia’s blood.
No.
“CAIA!” He turned and bellowed into the night. “CAIA!”
He would have yelled himself hoarse if Jaeden hadn’t broken through the crowd the pack had formed around him. Distantly he saw his mother crying, Magnus close to tears. Why were they crying? She wasn’t gone!
He couldn’t breathe.
“Lucien!” Jaeden stumbled towards him, her face flushed with fury.
He looked at her dazedly, his throat closing with terror.