He curled his head back towards her, enough to raise a mocking eyebrow. “Such as the ability to morph into a wolf.”
Ugh.
She grimaced. “You really are unpleasant when you’re not getting your own way.”
“No. I’m just used to having my orders obeyed.”
“There’s a difference between that and abusing your position to nose into my privacy.”
Scowling, he made to turn away from her, and before he disappeared with a banging of the doors together, he murmured, “Don’t think I don’t find the Jaeden question weird.”
When he was gone, Caia blew out a weary breath.
Jaeden was OK.
And she would remain such as long as Caia had any say in it.
23 hours later after that
Vilhelm gazed back at her wild-eyed and shaking.
“You’re sure this is going to work?”
Caia nodded, poker-face on, her body steady as a rock. If they were to pull this off, she needed to project a calm confidence that he wouldn’t question.
She had to hand it to the kid, he was either extremely brave or just stupidly in love. After hunting him down it had taken very little to convince Vilhelm to break Laila out of the Center and take her to Ryder’s. It seemed they were both desperate enough to place their trust in a stranger. They stood now in a janitor’s closet, a few corridors away from the prison.
“You ready?”
Vil nodded excitedly. “Do it.”
With unruffled nerve, Caia raised her hand so that it hovered an inch in front of Vil’s face. Slowly and carefully, her fingers crackling with energy, she swept the air in a vertical motion from the tip of his hair to the tip of his chin.
“Is it done?”
She bit her lip, gazing at Vil who was now the exact image of Vanne. “Not quite.”
Softly, she placed a hand on his neck, where his voice box was.
“Cold,” he chuckled nervously.
With a satisfied nod, Caia pulled back. “Say something else.”
“I can’t wait to see Laila.” His eyes widened. “I can’t wait to see Laila. Wow I sound exactly like Vanne.”
Caia nodded briskly. “Remember, you have exactly thirty minutes to get in there and get out of the Center before your face and voice returns. Hold out your hand, palm forward.”
He did as she instructed and she placed her small hand against his large hand.
Lucien had almost caught her researching this act she was about to perform: the transfer of a small amount of her power to another magik. The transfer would last only ten minutes at the most, but they needed this so that Vil could break Laila out of the bars in her prison.
Yesterday morning, Caia and Vil had managed to sweet talk (to her utter mortification) the name of the spell wrapped around the bars holding Laila in, from a junior officer in the containment center. He had been more than happy to show off how the facilities worked for the VIP magik in their midst. With the help of a little something Vil had picked up during one of his air element lectures, he was able to stop the memory of their having been at the containment center by temporarily starving the oxygen flow to the hippocampus of the officer’s brain, where memories were consolidated from short term to long term.
It tended to be a little painful and cause some confusion for a moment, giving them plenty of time to get out of there before he came back to his senses.
Lucien had then interrupted Caia’s research in the library where she discovered what kind of spell to counteract the one keeping the magik up around the bars. It was a small incantation that needed to be said while focusing the energy used to produce glamour on the bars. The transfer of her power to him temporarily was necessary, since Vil wasn’t really good at anything but utilizing his air element and being a Traveller.
“You remember the password and incantation?”
Vil nodded vigilantly. “Locked in tight.” He tapped his brain.
It was weird talking to him when he looked and sounded like Vanne. Heart pounding with trepidation, Caia jerked her head towards the closet door. “You better get going. Remember you can trust Ryder, he’ll keep you safe. Just don’t mention Laila being a Midnight just yet.”
“Got it.”
“Just tell him what I told you to tell him.”
“Don’t worry, I will. I trust you.”
She guessed it was easier to trust the person who tells you they think the girl you love is actually a good person, than the person who imprisoned her and forbade you from ever seeing her again.
It was at that moment the familiar, sickening, icy feeling shuddered through her body, and a wealth of new information poured into her.
“Crap,” she whispered.
“What, what?” Vil asked frantically.
“Nothing. Nothing. It’s not about this, it doesn’t affect this. Go!” She pushed him towards the door and watched impatiently as he ducked his head out to make sure the corridor was clear. Caia closed the closet door behind her and nodded at him. “See you soon.”
He smiled tremulously. “Hope so.”
With that, they spun away from each other and headed in opposite directions. At the elevators, Caia picked up the intercom system.
“Center Reception, Chloe speaking.”
“Chloe, it’s Caia Ribeiro. Can you put me through to Marita?”
“One second, please.”
The line was silent for only a moment or two.
“Caia?” Marita’s imperious voice rang down the phone line. She felt her face grimacing in anger and scolded herself for being obvious even if the witch couldn’t see her.
“Could you please gather the tactical team for the MacLachlan’s together?”
“What’s going on?”
“I have some important news.”
16 - You
“I thought we were going to spend more time apart until Lucien gets back?” Jaeden stood slouched and languid against her doorframe, her mouth twisted in mockery, her tone suggesting irritation. But Ryder was not deterred. He grinned cockily into her dark blue eyes and found in them attraction, happiness that he was on her doorstep.
Shrugging, he mirrored Jaeden’s pretended indifference. “I’m bored. Thought you might be bored. Maybe desperate to get some air?” He nodded behind her shoulder, his eyebrows raised pointedly. He watched, amused, as she struggled to hide her smile of relief.
Yeah, she could definitely do with getting away from her parents for a while.
“Come on, Jae,” he taunted at her hesitation, “You know you want to.”
She huffed in response, “You are such a tease.”
Grinning wolfishly, he gestured with a sweep of his hand to his truck. “Not tonight.”
Her eyes lit up and he had to stifle his groan of frustration. He had no intention of doing what she thought he intended on doing. The truth was he couldn’t seem to last a few hours without her, despite the restrictions he put on the activities allowed during their time together. But he’d rather she was alone with him than with Reuben, who was constantly in her kitchen.
“Fine,” she pretend grumbled, and then shouted back inside as she shut the door, “I’m going out with Ryder for a while!”
Grabbing his sleeve, Jae began tugging him at full speed towards the truck. “Hey, where’s the fire?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “We need to get out of here in the next ten seconds or the-”
“Jaeden!”
“Oh, great.”
They both turned at the sound of Dimitri’s voice. He stood, glaring at them from the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest, his feet spread apart.
“Where are you going?” The question was directed threateningly at Ryder.
Great. He scowled at Jaeden as if to say ‘nice going’. He really hoped her dad would back off once they were actually mated.
“With it being such a nice night and all I asked Jaeden if she would like to go for a run.”
“We’re going for a run?” He was relieved to hear that her surprise was tinged with pleasure.
“What about asking me?” the Elder grumbled.
Ryder straightened his shoulders. “Well, sir, I never thought. Would you like to come for a run?”
“Not me going with you, you idiot.” He shook his head in disgust. “How on earth did you make it to Rogue Hunter status with that brain in that head?”
“Dad,” Jae warned.
He shrugged and gestured towards him. “He’s the one asking the stupid questions. I meant... why did you not ask permission from me to escort my daughter on a run?”
“Dad, I’m eighteen.”
Dimitri merely snorted, “Yeah, and that makes you mature.”
Ryder stiffened, feeling Jae’s bristling between them. And Dimitri thought he was the dumb one.
“No,” she snapped, stepping menacingly towards her father, “But weeks in a cage at the hands of a psychopath, and then months living by myself hunting kind of does.”
Dimitri blanched. “Sweetheart, you know I didn’t mean-”
“Dad, I don’t want to argue.” She sighed, and then threw a meaningful glance at Ryder, one that he couldn’t help but enjoy. “I just want to spend some time with Ryder.”
The Elder stared at them for some moments and then nodded stiffly. “OK.” His hand shot out towards Ryder, his finger pointed in warning. “No funny business though, or I’ll kill you.”
“Daddy,” Jae groaned, “Ryder is a perfect gentleman.” She lowered her eyes, blushing and murmuring, “... so embarrassing... kill... ’rents...”
Ryder struggled not to laugh as he grabbed a hold of Jaeden’s hand. “I’ll take good care of her.”
“You do that.”
They lay side by side on top of the hood of Ryder’s truck, their limbs torpid and warm from their run in Lucien and her father’s woods. Jaeden smiled softly, comforted by the heat of him next to her, by their recent playfulness in their wolf form. Ryder was a big gentle beast. No matter how hard she came at him he would just shrug her off placidly and tickle her with his snout. It wasn’t like Lucien with Caia. She had watched them play together and Lucien was a rougher kind of guy; nudging Cy as hard as she nudged him, nipping, biting, tumbling. Ryder just seemed happy to be there with her, despite the bruises she inflicted.
She giggled.
“What was that for?” Ryder asked in an amused, sleepy voice.
She shook her head and watched him from the corner of her eye. His eyes were in fact closed, his arms locked behind his head.
“You’re not what I was expecting.”
“Hmm, no? I guess I wasn’t expecting you, at all.”
She chuckled at that and gazed back at the stars, far above lights in the dark ceiling over their heads. “Fair enough.”
“You glad to be home?”
It was weird how glad she was to be home. Having been so set against coming back, having been so determined to leave in the first place, she still couldn’t quite work out her own sudden feelings.
“Very.”
“Told you.”
“Yeah, there’s no need to be smug.” She sighed and edged a little closer to his body heat. “It’s still weird, though.”