River Cast: Part Two in the Tale of Lunarmorte (37 page)

“
We?” Ryder
grouched. “Since when does this involve you?”

“
Since he was
made aware of Laila’s existence here,” Lucien’s voice rumbled with
authority and a hint of annoyance.

Caia sighed wearily, her
head aching with the thought of involving another outsider in her
plans. And this particular outsider she wasn’t so keen on. She
tugged on Lucien’s hand. “Reuben should stick around for
now.”

The vampyre played with
his lip ring, his fangs prominent. “Is that a request or a
demand?”

“
A demand,”
she said with quiet dominion, surprising everyone, including
herself. But Lucien was right. If she was to pull this off she had
to begin acting like a leader. Unfortunately part of that meant
laying down the law. “We can’t take the chance of you leaving and
telling anyone about Laila.”

“
He
wouldn’t,” Jaeden assured her, “Believe me.”

Reuben straightened, his
face free of amusement now. “Trust Jaeden. I’m her friend, which
makes you all my friends. I don’t betray my friends.”

We’ll
see.

Caia managed a nod and
sighed, feeling exhausted. “OK.” She smiled at Laila and Vil.
“Unfortunately, I think I really need to get some sleep, but I will
be by tomorrow to see you both. We have a lot to
discuss.”

“
Wait.” Ryder
clapped a hand on Lucien’s shoulder as they made to leave. “What
about me and Jae? Our mating ceremony?”

In a perfect world Jaeden
and Ryder should have had plenty of time to plan a ceremony, but it
would be best if they were mated before things went to all Hades.
Somehow she managed to convey this message to Lucien and he
promised Ryder they would talk about it in the morning.

“
Goodnight,
Callan,” Laila called sweetly as Caia and Lucien left the
apartment, and her face flooded with colour again as she thought of
what Reuben had said.

Lucien chuckle. “Looks
like you’ve got a servant for life in that one.”

“
She’s just
grateful.”

He shook his head as they
climbed into his truck. “You were right. I can’t believe that girl
is a Midnight. She’s as threatening as a butterfly.”

“
Yeah, well
Marita had her locked up as if she were Ethan
reincarnated.”

He made a sound of
disgust. “I knew I didn’t like that witch.”

The house was dark when
they returned, Ella and Magnus having retired for the night. The
thought of bed sounded amazing to Caia as she dragged her body up
the stairs, Lucien’s hand steady on her back as she made her way
down the hall to her bedroom. When she stopped at her bedroom door
he grunted in amusement and took her by the elbow, leading her
further down the hallway.

“
What are you
doing?” She whispered.

He looked back at her as
if she were crazy. “You’re my mate now, Caia. That means my room is
now your room.” He drew her into the master bedroom at the back of
the house. Her pulse accelerated as they entered the largest room
in the house, his huge king size four poster positioned in the
centre of the room. She had never been in Lucien’s bedroom. It was
comfortable yet masculine at the same time, with a sturdy desk
positioned at the back of the room near his walk in closet and
en-suite. At the window sat a chocolate leather corner sofa, some
of his clothes draped haphazardly over it.

He laughed softly. “Get
undressed, get in bed, and go to sleep.” He brushed a reassuring
hand down her cheek. “You must be exhausted.”

Aware only of nodding in
agreement and shuffling around to the other side of his bed, Caia’s
mind was whirring. It had never occurred to her that when they
returned they would be living... well... like mates.

The bed looked so good
though.

Her hands fluttered to the
hem of her shirt and a burst of nervousness knocked the exhaustion
out of her. Glancing up to see if Lucien was watching her, the
sight of him was enough to make her mouth go dry. He was crossing
the room towards the bed, his shirt discarded on the floor, his
hair mussed up and his face unshaven and drawn with tiredness. The
moonlight spilled across the room, highlighting his hard, taught
abdomen and the thick ropes of muscles in his arms. The sight of
him reminded her of the night she had lost her virginity to
him.

Instantly her libido
kicked into gear.

I can sleep
later.

With a flick of her hand
the bedroom door swung closed and the key turned in the lock.
Lucien looked up from unbuttoning his jeans with questioning
surprise.

She smiled shyly at him.
“Suddenly not so tired.”

His answering grin was so
wicked her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her
chest.

***

“
She’s back
with the pack.” He gazed across the table at Nikolai. The magik
looked worn out, his usually distinguished demeanour lessened by
the dark circles under his eyes.

“
Good. We
have everything we need then?”

He shook his head. “There
may be a complication.”

Nikolai shifted in his
seat and he could tell he was trying not to roll his eyes. His
expression read ‘not again’. “Da?”

He leaned across the
Septum they had both been staring at with anticipation. “It has
come to my attention that Caia is intending to go to the Council
and ask to be put forward as a candidate for the Head of the
Daylights.”

Nikolai snapped to
attention, his black eyes darkening impossibly. “Kirios, you can’t
be serious? My Coven will hear of this... it could jeopardise our
plans.”

“
You worry
too much, Nikolai. My source tells me that the Council don’t
reconvene for another few weeks. By then it will be too
late.”

“
Why mention
it at all?” Nikolai grumbled.

He shrugged, relaxing back
in his chair. “I just wanted to keep you apprised of the situation.
Anyway, even if she had gone ahead before we could stop it, it
would merely have been a hindrance, nothing more.”

The magik snorted, “Well,
I am tired of hindrances. My Council are eating away at my nerves.
I can’t wait to begin.” His eyes dropped to the Septum.

“
So
close.”

“
Da.”

23 - The
Council

Jaeden sat anxiously
waiting for Caia in Ella’s kitchen, her cold hands wrapped around a
hot mug of coffee the Elder had planted before her as soon as she
arrived.

“
I’m sure she
won’t be much longer,” Ella assured her, two flags of colour on her
cheeks. Magnus snorted and made a mumbling sound under his breath
that sounded like “Yeah right.”

Jae tried not to laugh.
Lykans were a pretty open bunch, but it was still uncomfortable for
a mother to think about her kids having sexual relations of any
kind no matter what age. A pang of jealousy hit as she heard a
giggle from upstairs and the sounds of something clattering to the
ground. At least Caia and Lucien were free to be with one another.
She had to wait another frigging ten days because her honourable
mate-to-be was old fashioned.

“
What do you
think of these?” Ella slid a bunch of fabric swatches towards
her.

She frowned. “What are
they?”

“
They’re
swatches for the chair coverings, for your ceremony. Julia put me
in charge of decorations.”

Fighting the urge to roll
her eyes, Jaeden nodded at the plain cream swatch. “That’s
nice.”

Ever since Lucien had
gathered her and Ryder together with both their families yesterday
to announce the ceremony could go forward, and preferably soon, her
mother had been driving her crazy with recipes and talks of dress
shopping. Everyone had burst into discussion, Yvana and Julia
arguing over who would take care of the cooking and baking, Lucia
asking if Cera would be wearing the same colour as Jaeden along
with the rest of the women in the family. Only her father had
quietened everyone with a direct question to Lucien. “Why has the
mating to be so soon?”

Lucien had glanced at both
herself and Ryder before telling the others solemnly that he had
something extremely important to discuss with them at the pack
meeting on Sunday. The answer to that question would be answered
then.

“
Will the
fact that my daughter was nearly kidnapped again be brought up as
well, because it doesn’t seem as if anyone is as bothered by that
as I am?”

Well, of course she was
bothered by it. The thought of going through that all over again...
the thought was unimaginable. But she had Ryder now and he had
stopped it. And yesterday Cy had promised to keep looking into it
for her.

“
Caia and I
are dealing with that,” Lucien had said in such a way as not to be
disputed.

Her father hadn’t looked
too happy, used to being brought into Lucien’s confidence in all
matters, and had quizzed Jae all last night about it. As usual he
somehow knew that she knew what was going on. She still couldn’t
believe that Caia intended to put herself forward for the Head of
the Coven, but she’d watched her yesterday with Laila when she had
visited with the young couple again, how kind and gentle she was
with the girl; how easy it was to believe that she could and would
take care of everything. At first she really believed Caia and
Lucien had gone mad, that Caia’s ego had inflated since she had
gone. However, when Lucien explained what Caia had found, that
Marita was experimenting on lykan children... Jaeden had been
enraged. She felt personally betrayed by the witch. Still, taking
her down was a huge deal. Yet when Lucien told her what Caia had
done to those Midnights who planned to attack the MacLachlan pack
she had been blown away and a sense of relief had melted over her.
Never had she heard of any magik doing such a thing. Caia was a
weapon. The most powerful weapon in their world. She guessed they
should feel lucky that she was one of the good guys, one of their
own.

And that was why she found
herself at her house, waiting for her to climb out of her love nest
with Lucien so she could talk to her. Ryder thought they should
clear the air, and she tended to agree with him. They needed to
trust one another if this were going to work.

“
Jaeden!”
Caia bounced into the room, her cheeks flushed, her green eyes
brighter than jade. “Sorry to have kept you.”

Jaeden regarded her
knowingly, somehow comforted by the blush that blossomed across
Caia’s cheeks. It made her seem more approachable. She made a face
and sat down next to her, glancing idly at the fabric swatches Ella
was looking at. Caia grimaced. “Ah mating ceremony plans. Don’t
envy you that.”

Relaxing a little, Jaeden
shook her head. “My mother is taking care of everything and slowly
driving me nuts. It’s been a day. It feels like years.”

“
Tut tut,”
Ella admonished. “Your mother loves you. She wants you to have the
best.”

Jaeden harrumphed at
that.

“
Morning.”
Lucien strolled into the kitchen, his hair more mussed than usual.
He threw a scorching look at Caia before noticing Jae. “Hey Jae.”
He made his way to the coffee machine. “What’s up?”

“
I just
wondered if Caia had a moment to talk.”

Caia nodded at her. “Of
course.”

“
In
private?”

She received a curious
look at that. “Backyard?”

Prying ears could still
find them there, she mused looking around at Magnus, Ella and
Lucien. Magnus was the only one who noticed. He folded his paper
and tapped Ella on the shoulder. “Sitting room.”

“
Huh, what?”
She didn’t look up from the folder she was going
through.

“
Ella, you
can do that in the sitting room. You too, Lucien.”

Jaeden smiled gratefully
at him, and rolled her eyes at Lucien who couldn’t resist pulling
Caia in for a kiss as he passed her.

“
Ready?” Jae
asked, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice.

Caia smoothed her hair,
looking a little flustered, but she nodded in the direction of the
back door. “Sure. Let’s go.”

They stood in the middle
of the yard, their backs to the house, their eyes drawn to the
forest like magnets. A wind whistled gently through the trees
towards them and Jae watched as Caia tilted her face into it,
pulling the rubber band from her hair so that it fell down and into
the wind.

“
Reminds me
of the wind in my pelt,” she explained to her, and Jaeden smiled.
Somehow it made it better knowing Caia loved her lykan side even
though her powers as a magik were phenomenal. “So what’s going on?”
She asked softly, lowering herself on to the grass.

Jaeden stretched out
beside her, sighing. “I thought we should talk... about
things.”

“
Such
as?”

Jaeden shrugged. “Our
friendship. What happened? Other stuff I have yet to
explain.”

“
Well,
friendship wise you still have mine, always will.” She turned her
face away so that Jae couldn’t read her expression. “When I found
out the truth, that
you
weren’t you, that you were gone… I was
devastated.”