Blood Solstice: Part Three in the Tale of Lunarmorte (26 page)

“
What?” she had whispered.

“
That can’t happen ever again.” He gestured stupidly at the
spot where he had just been sitting.

Rose had
gazed up at him in hurt. “Why not? You kissed me back.”

“
No!” He argued vehemently, fearing what such a sentence would
do to his relationship with Caia if it ever got back to her. “No I
didn’t. I was surprised.”

“
Surprised?” She snapped up off the seat. “Lucien, how can you
be surprised? It’s obvious I’m in love with you. Everyone knows
it.”

Oh crap.

“
Rose. I care about you, I do. But I love Caia. She is my
mate.”

“
She has a funny way of showing it.”

“
Our problems are between us,” he warned. “I don’t want anyone
bad mouthing her, OK.”

“
I’m not bad mouthing her, I just don’t get it. I don’t get
your relationship with her.”

“
You don’t have to get it.” He had ran a hand through his
hair, trying to brace himself for her reaction to his next
suggestion, “Maybe we should try and contact the Centre and see if
it’s safe for you to go home. Or maybe see if you can stay at the
Centre.”

Rose had
shaken her head, looking frightened now. “I don’t want to. I feel a
part of a family here. I’m sorry I’ve made you uncomfortable,
Lucien, I really am. I promise I won’t cross the line again. I just
had to tell you how I felt-”

“
Yeah, but it could be a problem-”

“
It won’t. Jeez, Lucien, the female members of the pack who
aren’t related to you are all half in love with you anyway. I’ll
get over this… but not if I lose your friendship.”

He
sighed. “You never have to worry about that.”

So here they were having dinner together with the pack and he
was hoping he wasn’t delusional about their circumstances. Rose
believed they could make it work as just friends and he really
didn’t want to kick out one more female he cared about. As he mused
over this, Lucien felt a change in the air, and was taken aback to
see Jaeden and Ryder walk into the dining hall smelling of one
another and holding hands. Lucien had known Ryder was heading out
to find Jae and try and talk some sense into her, but Jae had been
so adamant of late he hadn’t really thought his friend would
succeed. His fault for not trusting the strength of a mating…
probably because his own was going
so
well. Lucien smiled at Ryder as
they crossed the room towards the pack.

“
You guys OK?” He grinned cheekily.

It was
good to see Ryder smile back at him. His friend was generally a
light-hearted person. It was tough seeing what the last few weeks
had wrought on him. On them all.

Although
he had to admit that their time together as a pack at the hotel had
really helped them get through it. Draven and Kade’s suffering was
different, having lost their only children, but Draven’s brother,
Isaac, and his wife, Imogen, were proving inseparable companions,
having lost Sebastian last year, and subsequently understanding the
hell they were going through. Lucien especially thought their
nieces, Seana and Sunday, had helped Draven and Kade. Nothing could
ever ease the pain of losing those people closest to them, but
Lucien reckoned it would have been harder for them all if they
hadn’t had this time together. The only exceptions to that rule had
been Alexa and Jaeden. Alexa wasn’t budging on it, but Lucien
noticed the difference in Jae immediately as she stood with her
mate.

Ryder
nudged Jaeden towards him. “Jaeden has something to tell you.” He
looked at her sternly. Lucien watched in bemusement as Jae glowered
at her mate.

“
You don’t have to shove me forward like an errant child,” she
huffed.

“
Jaeden,” Ryder warned.

The look
in his eyes abruptly caused Lucien to tense. Ryder was serious.
Which meant this was serious. He scowled. “What’s going
on?”

The trembling of Jae’s lip sent his heart into overdrive. OK,
if Jae was afraid to tell him then this was
really
serious.
“Lucien.” And then she looked up at all the pack gathered
around the table. “Everybody. I did something. Reuben-”

“
NO!” Alexa cried shrilly, leaping to her feet, knocking her
chair to the floor with a loud clatter. “Don’t you
dare!”

What the
Hades was going on here?

Lucien
stood slowly to his feet, emitting mega Alpha vibes. Alexa
faltered. “I want to know exactly what you’ve done and why Alexa
doesn’t want me to know about it.”

Jaeden
nodded quickly and leaned back into Ryder for support. “Caia didn’t
leave by choice.”

Her words
turned to a panic that instantly gripped his chest and he grabbed a
hold of the back of his chair, curling his fingers around it. He
had a very, very bad feeling about this.

Alexa was
yelling again, her face mottled with fury. “NO! Jaeden! You
st-”

“
YOU!” Lucien roared, interrupting her. “Shut up!”

The
tension in the room went up a hundred notches, seizing the entire
pack. Only Magnus had the courage to speak up, “Jaeden, get to the
point,” he bit out.

“
Reuben blackmailed Caia into killing the Septum.”

The air
rushed out of his lungs as emotion took hold of him – that burrowed
under the skin, buzzed in your brain, wouldn’t let go of your body
kind of rage. “Explain,” his vocal cords were completely
overpowered by his lykan. The hush continued amongst his
pack.

Jaeden
was trembling again, but distractedly he admired the way she stood
her ground and met his eyes. “Reuben told Caia he wouldn’t give us
safe haven and mask our trace unless she killed the Septum, and
Alexa and I didn’t stop him. In face we encouraged him.”

Oh gods.
He dropped back into his chair and groaned into his hands. He felt
his mother’s hand on his shoulder, trying to offer comfort. But no
one could give him that. He had kicked his mate out of his pack
when all she had been trying to do was protect them… protect them
when he should have been!

“
AARGGGH!” He let go all of a sudden, seeing only red as he
stood and threw his chair across the room. It shattered into bits
against the wall. “Where is she?” He demanded, spinning back on Jae
who had paled considerably now.

“
I don’t know,” she whispered. “Lucien, I am so sorry. I feel
terrible. Caia promised me not to tell you the truth and I was just
so angry, I wanted revenge and I just couldn’t see past
i-”

“
Enough,” he ordered. He didn’t want to hear her excuses. Her
or Alexa. Gaia, he could barely look at the two of them. “You had
weeks to tell me this-”

Ryder
stepped forward, looking wary but determined. “She’s telling you
now. Caia was the one who didn’t tell you, man.”

“
Because she knew I would stop her, and the pack would be
without protection!”

“
I’m just saying-”

“
Save it! I don’t want your excuses for your mate’s behaviour.
Alexa and Jaeden are now under house arrest. No runs, no dining
with the pack. They’ll be locked in their rooms and their meals
will be brought to them.”

Jaeden
merely nodded but Ryder scowled. “For how long?”

“
For as long as I need them out of my sight,” Lucien spat. He
cursed and ran a shaky hand through his hair, trying to think.
Having no idea where she could be wasn’t giving him much to act on.
But he wanted her back with the pack even if it meant they didn’t
have Reuben’s protection. She was his pack and he should have been
protecting
her
all along. He ripped his cell phone out of his pocket and
searched through his contacts for Reuben. His whole body trembled
as he pressed the call button.

“
I’m sorry, this number has not been recognised.”

Lucien
paled instantly. The son-of-a-bitch had disconnected his phone! The
pack looked around at one another with grim looks, having heard the
misdial message with their lykan hearing.

“
Lucien.” Magnus stood up quietly, as all the pack stared at
their Alpha apprehensively, waiting for the next explosion. “You
couldn’t have known.”

That
wasn’t an excuse. There just wasn’t an excuse. He had acted like a
faithless fool.

He curled
his lip in self-directed derision. “I should have. I should have
trusted that Caia doesn’t have the soul to kill seven innocent
people unless under extreme duress. Like a true Alpha she did it to
protect her pack… whilst I let that slimy bastard walk out of here
with her without a fight.”

“
Lucien-” Rose spoke up but he shook her off with a glare. He
didn’t want anyone’s reassurances. He didn’t deserve
them.

For a
while Lucien just stood there, numb now, shock taking over his
system. Finally, when it felt like the entire room might crack
under the extreme tension, he glanced over at Vil who was watching
him carefully. “Can you find her?”

Vil shook
his head sadly. “I’ve been trying these last few minutes.
Something’s blocking me. I can only try places she might
be.”

Jaeden
coughed. “Can I make a suggestion?”

He shot
her the filthiest look in his repertoire. “What?” he snapped and
she flinched at his temper.

“
Well,” she managed with a shaky breath, “It’s been weeks. I
reckon Caia’s dealt with the Septum and is now at the Centre, since
she has nowhere else left to-” she broke off abruptly,
awkwardly.

“
Nowhere left to go, right?” he hissed at her, approaching her
slowly. She backed up into Ryder. “Whose fault is that?”

“
Hey!” Ryder pushed Jae behind him and held up a cautioning
hand to ward off Lucien. “Back off, man. She said she was sorry.
You’ve dealt out your punishment… now back. Off.”

He wanted
to kick Ryder’s ass. He wanted to punch him and throw him and crash
him against something. The feeling was overwhelming, until Ryder’s
familiar eyes locked with his and he remembered who it was in front
of him; his best friend, his brother. Lucien shuddered, trying to
gain some control.

“
Shall I go to the Centre?” Vil enquired
tentatively.

Lucien
exhaled deeply and turned back to the magik. “Yes, please, Vil.
Tell her what has happened. Tell her… just bring her back to me.
Please.”

“
Of course.” The magik pressed a soft kiss to Laila’s lips and
then disappeared at the table.

“
Lucien, are you going to be OK, man?” Ryder asked
quietly.

“
No.”

There was
a possibility that Caia would never forgive him for this. That she
would never trust him, just as he hadn’t shown her enough
trust.

He glared
over at Alexa who was still spitting mad at Jaeden. “You,” he
growled. “The pack are going to love you and Jaeden. House arrest
means work for everybody.” His gaze slid to Magnus. “You have first
shift, Magnus. You will escort Alexa to her room and guard her
door. Aidan.” He turned to his brother-in-law. “You will have the
unfortunate task of guarding outside her window.”

“
Lucien, is this really necessary?” His mother suddenly piped
up. His only reply was a withering look that made her clamp her
mouth shut.

“
Mom, you will relieve Magnus of his duty in eight hours.
Ryder, you will relieve your brother of his in eight hours. As for
Jaeden.” He glared at her again. “Since both Alexa’s and your own
room are next to one another I suppose the one guard outside will
do.”

“
I know you hate me right now, but can I ask a favour?” Jaeden
asked softly.

The only
reply she got was a long drawn out snarl.

“
I know. I just. I would really like to have some time with my
mom.”

Lucien
groaned inwardly. How could he say no to that? Julia was grieving
for her mate and at a loss on how to deal with her daughter. Now
Jaeden actually wanted to speak to her mom… he would be an ogre if
he said no. He gave a quick nod and ignored the grateful smile she
threw him before her and her mother ambled out of the room
together. Magnus trailed at the back of them, his hand cuffed
tightly around Alexa’s upper arm. As always Mal and Finlay weren’t
far behind their big sister.

As the
pack slowly filtered out leaving him alone in the dining hall with
his best friend, a wave of anxious nausea rushed over him. For a
guy who hadn’t been afraid of anything before, he was suddenly
terrified of a tiny blonde who had the power to hurt him more than
anybody else on this planet.

“
She’ll forgive you,” Ryder assured him softly, as per usual
reading his mind.

“
I don’t even forgive myself, Ryder. How can I expect her
to?”

22 –
Expect the Unexpected

Once more
Caia glanced down at the palm of her right hand where it was
temporarily scarred by a faint silver annulet. The scar was a
symbol of a reminder of her blood oath to the Council, every inch
representative of that vow and the consequences that would follow
should she break it. It was her hand that was scarred, for the hand
was often a symbol utilised to represent a pledge of sincerity and
justice. The annulet was the symbol of fidelity, and the scar
itself shone silver when the light hit it, for silver was the
colour that represented peace and sincerity. If Caia made good on
her oath then the scar would disappear immediately; if not, all her
powers would transfer to the Council, leaving her with the annulet
as a reminder of her deception. Not that she had any intention of
keeping the trace.