“Sorry about him,” Arianna says quietly as soon as Ethan’s out of hearing range. “He’s just been a little paranoid ever since Lydia’s prophecy. It’s not you, I swear, it’s just...”
“He’s worried about you.” I shrug. “I can understand that. There’s nothing to apologize for.”
She smiles hesitantly. “So, you ready for tonight?”
My face hardens as I picture what Caroline will do to those monsters who tried to kill my father. “Absolutely.”
* * *
Caiden picks me up from Arianna’s a little while later and we go over our plans for tonight. Homecoming starts an hour after school lets out. We’re going to meet Arianna, Lydia, and Ethan at the dance, and then all leave for Caroline’s from there.
At my locker, Caiden pulls me in close. “It’ll all be over tonight,” he whispers. He gently kisses my forehead and heads off for his own locker.
I close my eyes and lean my head against the cool metal. Tonight. The reality hasn’t yet sunk in. I picture my dad laying in the big, white hospital bed, his head bandaged up tight, all those machines beeping.
Caroline was right about Silver Lake. I still don’t believe that my mom committed suicide — she wouldn’t have left me if she could’ve helped it. No, she was murdered, killed by the pack that was hunting us my entire life. And now they’ve tried to kill my dad…
Tonight I’ll see him avenged. And my mother as well.
“Another rough day, Luna Moya?” Gray asks sarcastically.
I lift my aching head and stare Grayson straight in the eyes. After the sleepless night I’ve had, I don’t have the energy to deal with him. I don’t say a word.
“Damn, Emerson, what happened?” He says, all trace of humor gone as he takes in my drawn face and swollen eyes.
I ignore him, not trusting myself to talk, and gather my books as quickly as I can.
“Hey.” His voice comes out as a growl this time. “Tell me what happened.”
He takes my shoulders and turns to face him. Seeing as he’s twice my size, I know he can keep me here all day if he wants to.
I look up into his face, confused at the worry I see there.
“Are you okay? Emerson, answer me.”
“My dad’s in the hospital,” I hear myself say.
His silver eyes study my face, waiting for me to elaborate. I don’t mean to say anything more, but the words coming tripping out of my mouth.
“He was hurt. Almost died.”
He sucks in a gasp. “Do you know who attacked him?”
Alarm bells go off in my head. “How do you know someone attacked him?” I try to take a step back, but his hands hold me in place.
“He was attacked, wasn’t he? And you think you know who did it?”
I narrow my eyes at him in warning, tired of playing this game. If he is part of the pack, then he is responsible for my dad’s injuries too.
I glare at him in warning. “Yeah, we know who did it, and believe me, we are going to tear them apart.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I call up a tiny portion of energy and use it to knock his huge form away from me, slamming him into the lockers behind him.
His mouth tightens in anger, but there’s no surprise in his expression. He knows what I am.
“I’m sure.” I bare my teeth at him in a semblance of a smile before stalking off down the hall.
As I enter homeroom, I find myself smiling for real. It felt great to wipe that smirk off his face. I knew Gray was involved in all this. It’s the only explanation for how he knew about my father. How he obviously knows about me.
I spend the rest of the day alternating between imagining how shocked Grayson and the rest of the pack will be when Caroline completes her ritual tonight, and worrying over my dad, who’s still at the hospital undergoing more tests. The doctors are baffled by how fast he’s healing and they’re refusing to release him just yet.
Grayson is at his locker when Caiden walks me there at the end of the day. When he sees Caiden with me, his eyes tighten but he doesn’t say anything. He glares at Caiden before putting his books away and stomping off to the parking lot. I can’t help but smile a little at his retreat.
“So I’ll drop you off at Arianna’s to get ready for the dance?” Caiden asks as I put my school stuff away.
“Do we really have to go to homecoming?”
“You heard what Caroline said. It’s safest to stay in a crowd until she has everything set up.”
“Fine,” I huff, knowing it’s a losing battle. “But I need to stop off at my house first.”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” His jaw clenches with tension. “I don’t want you anywhere near that place.”
“I need to get my dress for the dance that you insist on going to. Besides, they aren’t going to expect me to go back there. Not after what they did to my dad.” Concern for him momentarily eclipses all my other concerns. “I also want to check on him in the hospital.”
“Em...” He groans in frustration. “We can’t take any risks now. If they’re going to ambush you anywhere, it’ll be at the hospital. For all we know, they were planning on using him as a trap from the beginning.”
I sigh, knowing he’s probably right. “Yeah, okay. But I still need to stop at my house to get my dress.” Sensing his weakening resolve, I press. “Come on, Caid, I’ll be in and out in five minutes.”
When he looks away, I know I’ve won. I throw the rest of my stuff in the locker then take his hand and hurry out to his car.
His eyes continuously scan the area as we get closer to my house. Pulling into the driveway, he cautiously steps out, stopping every few seconds to listen, keeping himself protectively in front of me.
I unlock the front door and we quickly climb the stairs and enter my room. I dart to my closet, quickly snatching up my strappy black stilettos, and rifle through my hanging dresses for the one I want.
“You have two minutes, get what you need and–” Caiden’s voice cuts off abruptly.
I glance back to see what caught Caiden’s attention. He’s standing in the doorway of my room, frozen, his eyes so wide I can see the whites all around his pupils. His mouth opens and closes, but no sound coming out.
From the corner of my room, a deep female voice calls out, “I hear you’ve been looking for me.”
Chapter 27
From the shadows a figure emerges, blurry at first, but quickly coming into focus. I find myself staring into a pair of violet eyes the exact same shape and color as my own. Her black hair is threaded through with white, flowing down her back, all the way to her thin waist.
I take a step forward, unable to believe my eyes, but she flings out a slender hand and my muscles lock tight. I try to take another step, but my body won’t respond. I can’t even turn my head to see Caiden.
Then a man appears to my left, his dark, military style haircut all too familiar, gold eyes glinting. She’s with him? The werewolf who chased us out of Ashwood Creek?
I try to run, but I’m held immobile. The werewolf walks up to Madelyn, taking up position by her side. My heart pounds, sweat breaking out on my forehead.
My grandmother is aligned with the pack that’s trying to kill me.
“The pack is not trying to kill you,” Madelyn’s eyes pierce into mine. “Most especially not Vasily,” she says, tipping her head to indicate the man beside her.
I open my mouth to protest, but no sound comes out.
“I will let you speak, but only if you do not scream. Do you understand?” I try to nod, but my body doesn’t cooperate.
“Alright then.” Another wave of her hand and my throat relaxes enough for me to gasp.
“You’re Madelyn. My grandmother.” How could she do this? How could she kill her own daughter? And now she’s here for me...
“Yes, you are my granddaughter. It’s nice to finally meet you. I wish your mother had told me about you…” She studies me for a few moments. I tense up, expecting an attack.
“You can relax,” she says quietly. “I am not here to hurt you, and neither is the Silver Lake Pack. We are here to protect you. And we are going to bring justice to your mother’s murderer.”
“They killed my mom!” I yell, glaring at the man by her side. “Her killer is standing next to you!”
“No, Emerson.” Sad, ancient eyes stare back at me in compassion. “Believe me, no one in the pack would have harmed a hair on my daughter’s head. And if we had known about you, we never would have left you unprotected.”
“You’re lying,” I growl. “You’ve been following me, spying on me — you, him, Grayson! You attacked my dad!”
She nods her head slightly and my vision turns red, a snarl ripping up my throat. She ignores me and continues in a steady voice.
“Yes, we’ve been following you ever since Vasily and Grayson first saw you outside my home, but we had nothing to do with the attack on your father. That was another. The same person responsible for Elizabeth’s death. The same person who tampered with Michael Holt’s memories the night of her murder.”
Someone changed his memories? The only person who can do that is–
My mouth opens in shock and I let out a disbelieving laugh. Surely she’s not accusing Caiden of this?
“No, not him,” she answers, reading my mind. “But he did give her the ability, many years ago.”
Who? Caroline?
“Who else would have had the means and reason to manipulate your father into believing werewolves attacked him?” Madelyn continues ruthlessly. “Caroline wants you under her thumb. More specifically, she wants your powers. She knew if you believed your father was in danger, you would agree to the blood bond to protect him.”
“Caroline?” I ask derisively. “You want me to believe that she killed my mom and attacked my dad?” Though what she’s saying seems ridiculous, there is a small kernel of doubt in the back of my mind.
I think back on all the inconsistencies and holes in Caroline’s story.
When I first met her, she tried to convince me my mother killed herself because she was unstable, but after my trip out to Ashwood, she changed her story, telling me that the Silver Lake Pack was hunting Elizabeth, and she killed herself to hide me.
Neither story ever made sense to me. Isn’t that the reason I broke into the sheriff’s station and stole the files? Isn’t that why I insisted on interviewing the witnesses myself?
Because I knew, all along, that something wasn’t right with Caroline’s version of events.
An image of Michael’s face appears, his eyes unfocused, confused, trying and failing to remember any other cars on the bridge the night my mom died, even though police records say there were two other witnesses.
Come to think of it, Caiden had the same look on his face when he tried to recall the night my mom showed up at their circle that night. He remembers that my mom was there, but he can’t remember any specific details, and Lydia doesn't even remember my mom being there at all. Did Caroline wipe all of their memories?
“You’ve suspected her before,” Madelyn says, studying me.
*How do you know that? You can read minds?* I ask Madelyn in my head.
*Of course,* she answers. *We have some of the same abilities. You are of my blood, after all.*
*This is a trick! Don’t listen to her!* Caiden’s voice screams through my mind. *She’ll say anything you want to hear to get you to believe her!*
I turn to him, surprised that I’m able to move, and meet his terrified eyes.
“If they wanted to kill me, they would have done it already.”
*You can’t trust her! She’s with the werewolves!*
I look back at the man with the golden eyes. Vasily, she called him. “Why would you want to protect me. You’re a werewolf, I’m a witch.”
“So is Madelyn,” his voice rumbles out. “As is the rest of her coven. But my pack would never harm her or you, or any other witch for that matter. Not without good reason.”
“Vasily is Silver Lake’s second in command. He and his pack have been guarding you since you showed up at my house.”
“Really? Is that why he attacked us in Ashwood?” I say scathingly.
“He and Gray saw two unknown witches prowling around my house. What would you have done? The moment Vasily realized who you were, he informed the rest of us and we took precautions to protect you here in town.”
I think back to that afternoon. After I threw Vasily off of Caiden, a large black wolf showed up, ready to attack, and Vasily held his hand out, stopping the wolf. Was that wolf really Gray? I can’t wrap my head around it.
“Let me prove it to you.” She looks towards Caiden. “He wasn’t able to break through the locks Caroline placed on Michael’s mind, but has he tried to get into your father’s?”
“No... There was no reason to try.”
She focuses back on me. “I’ll take you both to the hospital. You’ll see the truth for yourself.”
*You can’t go anywhere with them! It’s a trick!* Caiden says furiously.
*But what if Madelyn is right?*
He glares at me, fuming.
*Think about it,* I tell him. *The stories never added up. There’s something going on here. Let’s just go along with them to see my dad, see if you can find anything out from him.*
*And how do we know she hasn’t tampered with his mind? She could replace his memory with anything she wants!*
“I don’t have that ability,” Madelyn answers Caiden’s thoughts. “Neither does anyone in my coven. It’s an extremely rare gift, even among the Love God Class, which is the reason Caroline wanted it so badly, just as she wants Emerson’s powers.”
He continues to glare at me, angrier than I’ve ever seen him.
*Caiden, we don’t have a choice. You really think they’re just going to let us walk out of here so I can blood bond myself to Caroline?*
Caiden stops arguing and instead stares daggers at Madelyn and Vasily. It’s obvious he doesn’t believe a word they’re saying, but he realizes that running isn’t an option.
Madelyn frees Caiden from whatever binding spell she placed on him, then she and Vasily march us down the stairs and into my car.
Caiden insists on driving, unwilling to put himself in their power any more than necessary. Surprisingly, Madelyn doesn’t argue. I suppose, being able to read minds, she’ll know if he decides to try anything.
The ride to the hospital is fraught with tension. Caiden’s busy trying to navigate the roads and simultaneously watching both Madelyn and Vasily for any kind of attack.
I spend the time analyzing every word, every look Caroline has directed at me since I met her. I still don’t trust Madelyn and Vasily, but I don’t trust Caroline either...
We enter the hospital and head straight up to my dad’s room. Caiden keeps himself between me and the others. The nurses don’t notice us when we pass, and I assume this has something to do with Madelyn, but don’t care enough to ask.
My dad is asleep in his bed, heart monitor beeping rhythmically. He seems to be hooked up to fewer machines now, which is encouraging.
“Now, Caiden,” Madelyn begins in a whisper. “When you try to access his memories, you are going to come to a wall, the same way you did with that other man. Caroline will have locked his memories so you cannot see the truth. But your power is stronger than hers. She has but a fraction of what you do. You need to find the chinks in the wall, slowly dismantle it to see what she has hidden.”
He glares at her so menacingly I’m afraid he’ll do something stupid like attack her.
“Come on, Caiden.” I whisper urgently. “Just try. If she’s lying, we’ll know as soon as you get inside his head.”
He turns his icy glower on me now.
“And what happens if I push too hard and fry your dad’s brain completely? Are you prepared to turn your father into a vegetable just because they tell you some bullshit story?”
My breath freezes in my lungs. What if thi
s hurts my dad even more? I couldn’t live with myself if I caused any more damage to him.
“Your father will be fine,” Madelyn says calmly. “There will be no permanent damage. Caiden will just be viewing his memories, not changing them. This will have no effect on his cognitive function.”
My stomach in knots, I meet Caiden’s eyes. “We don’t have a choice. If Caroline did this, then we’re all in danger. Who’s to say she won’t come back here and finish him off anyway? We need to know the truth Caiden. Otherwise, we could all end up dead.”
I don’t know if my words convince him, or if he just realizes that there is no other way out of this situation, but he steps closer to my dad, his face creased in anxiety.
He gingerly rests a palm on my dad’s head and closes his eyes. I hold my breath, waiting, watching for the tiniest hint of what Caiden is seeing. His brows pucker, the same look of frustration that I saw at Michael’s house. Sweat beads on his head, his eyes squeezing tighter.
It’s not going to work. He’s not going to break through. This is just another dead end. My stomach sinks.
His sigh of relief nearly stops my heart. His expression smooths out, jaw unclenches. He did it! He broke through!
Abruptly, he catches his breath. The color drains from his face as his mouth opens in horror.
His eyes snap open and meet my own.
“She’s right...” His voice is so low I almost miss it. “Caroline did this. She was at your house...” He sways slightly and clutches the bed rail to keep himself upright. “We need to warn the others. Ethan, Arianna, Lydia... They need to know.”
With a surge of energy, he locks his knees and straightens his spine, whipping out his cell phone, dialing frantically.
“Damnit.” He hits end and dials again. And again. And again. Getting more and more frustrated each time.
“They’re already at homecoming. We have to go warn them!” I wheel around, ready to bolt out of the room, but Vasily stops me.
“We can’t let you go there; it’s too dangerous. The best we can do is gather the pack and get to Caroline before she harms these friends of yours.”
Deceitful Circle (Silent Circle Book 2) Page 18
