“Oh. O-K.” She was thrown by this news. She thought she might have at least been given time to settle in.
Obviously that was wishful thinking.
Goddess, she couldn’t wait until she graduated at the end of the school year. “I’ll grab my backpack.”
It was awkward at first, climbing into Jaeden’s …
“Can I ask, what is this?” Caia indicated the rust-coloured rust-bucket she had just climbed into.
Jaeden laughed. “I think they call it a 1982 Buick Skyhawk.”
“Wow, I’ve never even heard of a Skyhawk before.”
“She runs like a dream,” Jaeden reassured her, lovingly stroking the wheel of her car.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.”
Again the girl laughed. “Don’t worry. I’d fear for my life as well if I was taking my first look at this baby. But she’s fine. I swear.”
Caia didn’t have a chance to answer because Jaeden launched straight into the questions. “So, what’s it like living with Lucien?” She giggled, her eyes sparkling in excitement. She ran her tongue along the tips of her top row of teeth. “He’s really rather delicious.”
It was Caia’s turn to laugh. “I suppose. To be honest, I really don’t know what it’s going to be like living with him. So far... pretty intimidating. The man is huge.”
Another laugh. “Well, you get used to that. I forget you haven’t been around males, they’re all huge, but yeah, I suppose Lucien is one of the largest, he’d have to be, to be Alpha, there are the Elders though, and maybe Mal, and you’re just about to meet him.” She had an endearing way of rushing one sentence into the other as if afraid she wouldn’t have time to discuss everything she obviously wanted to.
“Mal?”
“Malek,” she explained. “He’s Morgan and Natalia’s oldest son.”
Caia looked at her blankly. She couldn’t put names to faces quite yet.
“Mal,” Jaeden insisted. “You’ll recognise him when you see him; huge, dark and kind of twisted.”
The vague image of a lykan she’d noticed standing head above others in the sitting room last night flitted across her mind. “Actually I think I know who you’re talking about. He goes to school?” She asked incredulously.
“Uh-huh. All the human girls are in love with him.”
“And you?”
Jaeden sneered. “No thank you. He’s so arrogant. You think Lucien’s bad? Ugh. Mal messes around with Dana. Watch out for her, by the way.”
“Dana?”
“Yeah, you’re going to meet her. She’s Daniel’s twin sister, and you’ll meet him, too.”
“Anyone else I should know about?” Suddenly she was extremely nervous. She forgot that there were pack members her age, other than Jaeden, that she’d have to see every day. Would they all be as friendly as Jaeden? Somehow she didn’t think so.
“There’s Sebastian. He’s the same age as the twins, so is Mal. Their little brother Finlay too, he’s fifteen.”
“So … you’re a senior, like me?”
“Yeah, so is Alexa. But, you know, we eat lunch with Mal, the twins, and Sebastian as well. So, you’ll have nearly all of us to keep you company.”
That’s not what Caia was worried about.
Jaeden was full of questions about her life in isolation with Irini, and Caia tried to answer as many as possible, but the girl was like a machine gun. Before she knew it they were pulling into a parking lot behind a large, modern school building. There were lots of kids already buzzing around; the air filled with the scent of teenage pheromones. Caia blew out air between her lips. Although Lucien had come up with an excuse, no doubt the school thought it incredibly inconvenient her transferring one semester away from graduation. It wasn’t going to interfere with her school work, but she had a 3.8 G.P.A. and had scored a 1250 on her SAT’s last year, which meant she would have to go another round of explaining to teacher’s why she hadn’t applied to any colleges. Irini had told her she couldn’t because they didn’t know when the pack would call them home, and since she didn’t know where home was going to be, she couldn’t even apply for a college nearby. Dimitri had told her there was a community college here, however.
Yup, she sighed, feeling the twinge of disappointment again that she wouldn’t be able to go off and enjoy the thrill of college life elsewhere.
“Here we are.” Jaeden smiled at her. Her eyes suddenly softened when she took in her expression. “You’ll be fine. I promise. And if people think it’s weird that you’re transferring at such... well... a weird and pointless time in your high school education then we’ll do what we usually do. Ignore their existence.”
Caia smiled tremulously, grateful to the girl. Her immediate acceptance of her into the pack was going to get her through, what, she had a feeling would be a rough first year. She took a deep breath, her nostrils filling up with those icky pheromones and a hint of damp earth scents mixed with individual fragrances she would soon come to identify with the other pack members her age.
They were close.
“I hope you’re right.” She blew out her breath and got out of the car.
“I’m always right,” Jaeden teased. “Come on, the guys will be waiting,”
Jaeden led her across the car park towards a group of teenagers standing around an SUV.
“Jaeden?” She asked, as her eyes wandered over the group. She recognised, due to his immense height and build for a sixteen year old, what could only be Malek. He was standing in the centre with five other teenagers crowded around him.
“Yeah?”
“Do you know why Lucien pulled me out of school and back to the pack now? Doesn’t it seem like a stupid time? Couldn’t he have waited until after graduation?”
Jaeden smiled. “I heard my dad talking about this with mom.”
“You were eavesdropping?”
She shrugged, and grinned cheekily. “Well... anyway, I heard him say that Lucien wanted you to connect as much as possible with the pack. He thought a semester at school with lykans your own age would do that.”
“I guess that makes sense.” She wasn’t convinced but just then Mal looked up as they approached and any overhanging anxieties she had over Lucien’s reasoning disappeared. She felt Mal’s black eyes burn through her from head to foot. He murmured something to the others and they all turned towards her. Caia was struck by disbelief that humans could possibly think these ‘kids’ were just like them. They moved with an unbelievable grace that bordered on predatory.
“He’s doing it again,” Jaeden grumbled.
“Huh?”
“Looking at you like you’re a snack.”
Caia was confused. Who? What? “Huh?”
“Didn’t you see the way Mal was looking at you last night? You’re fresh meat, baby.”
Caia winced at the thought. From what Irini had told her when pack males turned sixteen they were fully matured (somehow she doubted that) and were more than welcome to start sniffing around the females to find a possible mate. Vice versa for the females. Caia had no intention of becoming involved in this part of the lykan life cycle.
No mating for her.
No. Uh-uh, Haaades no.
“Hey guys.” Jaeden smiled as she drew up to them, standing as close to Caia as possible. She was surprised by how comforted she was by this small gesture of protection. “You all remember Cy, right?”
“Jae.” A tall blonde stepped forward first smiling widely, his eyes twinkling as he turned to Caia. “Hey Caia, I’m Sebastian.”
Caia was somewhat transfixed by him at first; he had this feral quality to all his movements, and of all the lykans she had met thus far he was quite simply the most beautiful - if it was possible to describe someone so masculine as such. The contrast between the smooth, aristocratic sculpturing of his face, and the sinewy wildness of his physique was intimidating; in fact he bordered on damn right scary, except for the gentle light that played in his eyes. Finally, Caia managed to nod back with a
smile in acknowledgment, and was quickly introduced to them all. Finlay was the smallest - being only fifteen - as well as the shyest of the lykans surrounding her. The red-headed Daniel was as friendly as Sebastian, whereas his twin was practically spitting, her eyes flicking between Caia and Malek in outrage. Malek had stepped right up to Caia, closing her off from the others and deliberately surrounding her with his scent. He had reached out and taken her hand into both of his in a flirtatious shake. “Nice to finally meet you properly,” his voice rumbled.
OK, she could see why the human girls were falling over this one. He oozed charm and confidence and that illustrious hint of danger. If only they knew.
Fortunately for Caia - otherwise she might have found herself in a bitch fight with Dana - she didn’t feel that explosive shiver of heat at his touch that a certain other someone had created. Instead she took a step back, releasing her hand from his and giving him a polite nod. His eyes narrowed but he covered his irritation with a smile, and stepped back to place an arm around Dana’s waist. She curled into him like a happy kitten and flashed her blue eyes triumphantly at Caia.
“And this is Alexa.” Jaeden indicated a girl who was so outrageously gorgeous it was almost sickening. She had long blue-black hair and large onyx eyes. She didn’t say a word but her burning stare was enough to make the devil himself want to curl up under the bed.
Caia had been right. Not everyone was going to be as friendly as Jaeden.
“Well guys.” Mal was looking around at them all. “We better show Caia around.”
***
Lucien had taken care of everything. All she’d had to do was go to the school office and pick up a timetable that had been produced based on the classes she was taking at her previous high school. Most of her teachers were OK. Only one of them, her calculus teacher, had decided to pull the ‘stand up and tell us about yourself’ card. The students were curious about her; they whispered to one another, the girls narrowing their eyes in instant dislike, the guys smiling and nudging at each other. Caia was used to this. Irini had explained that lykans were supposed to be natural predators. In their original state when Artemis had first blessed them their hunger had gotten the best of them and they had fed on humans, stealing their flesh and soul. The goddess’ plan had been for them to mate with humans to produce a superior race she could call her own – it had taken a couple hundred of centuries for that to be the result – and one of her genetic gifts from way back then had been special pheromones that attracted humans. At first this had only made it easier for the wolves to hunt them but as the centuries turned so did they. Present day lykans were the product of the mixed heritage of wolf and human, and so their predatory instinct had died over the centuries; in other words they had learned to control their appetites. Nowadays it was rare for a human and a lykan to mate – supernaturals put this down to the fact that the humans no longer believed in the gods, and so Artemis was punishing them by refusing their entry into their wondrous world. Still, speaking of appetites, there was of course the odd lykan who got off on murdering humans - they were rogue, and always hunted down by their own kind. So thanks to the conflicting results of her special pheromones, Caia wasn’t surprised when no one approached her to introduce themselves.
Back at her old high school she used to eat her lunch in her car. Here, well … she had the pack.
Jaeden was in her French class just before lunch so they made their way to the cafeteria together.
“So.” She smiled the wide smile Caia was coming to expect from this sweet girl. “How has the first morning gone at Human High?”
Caia laughed. “To be honest... not much different than before; classes are the same, and the people are the same.”
“Meaning, they don’t talk to you?”
“Exactly.”
“Ah, you know why. We’re all the same. Well … except Malek. He’s always flirting with the humans.”
As they entered the cafeteria she zeroed in on the pack teenagers. They sat sprawled around a table together as other students looked at them, but didn’t go near them. They were looking at her as well, huddling close to whisper when they realised she was with Jaeden. Caia couldn’t understand how they were supposed to go undetected by these people when Jaeden and the others not only looked the way they did, but stuck together like … well, like a pack. Nonplussed, she grabbed a roast beef sandwich and soda, and followed Jaeden to the table. As it had been that morning, Sebastian, Finlay, and Daniel offered friendly smiles; Sebastian pulling out the chair next to him for her so she didn’t have to sit beside Malek. Dana grimaced at her presence, whilst Alexa didn’t even acknowledge it.
Malek smirked. “So?”
She shrugged. “It was fine. The usual.”
He chuckled, his eyes sparkling. “You don’t say much, do you? She.” He pointed to Dana. “Never shuts up.”
“That’s what Lucien said.” Caia shrugged again, frowning. Was she weird because she liked the quiet?
“What?!” Dana’s mouth opened and shut like a fish, and everyone (even Alexa) laughed. Caia realised her blunder and blanched under the girl’s glare.
“No. I mean … Lucien said the same thing about me not saying much,” her explanation produced nothing more than a look so evil she was sure the girl was muttering some kind of curse against her in her head. Caia felt Jaeden kick her under the table in amusement and decided looking at her new friend would only make her laugh, and that would definitely make these lykan girls hate her more than they already did.
“So,” Malek continued again, ripping off a piece of his sandwich like the animal he was and then talking with his mouth full, “Were you dating anyone at your old high school?”
Her brows knitted together, as did Jaeden’s she noticed. “No. It’s frowned upon … that’s what Irini said anyway.”
Malek laughed. “It’s frowned upon. You’re very cute, you know that.”
“Mal,” Jaeden warned.
“What?” He smirked, and then turned back to Caia. “It’s frowned upon to try and make a ‘forever’ deal with one of them, but dating and sex with them isn’t out.”
“It’s not in either.” Sebastian glowered.
Daniel laughed. “Ah come on. It’s harmless fun.”
This set off a debate about the ethics of dating humans. She noticed they were very careful not to actually use the word human - it was always ‘them’. Jaeden and Sebastian were obviously dead set against the whole idea so she had the feeling that it was definitely ‘frowned upon’ by the pack. As they argued amongst themselves, Caia noticed that Alexa wasn’t saying anything but was watching Caia with her dark eyes narrowed in dislike. She felt herself flush under scrutiny. If Caia didn’t know any better she would guess that this lykan was threatened by her. Funny, how she worried only about returning to pack life - it had never occurred to her that she was returning at a time when many of the females were in competition with one another to snag the male of their choice. She sighed and looked at little Finlay who sat across from her watching the goings on. She caught his eye and shrugged as if to say she was sorry for causing the argument. He merely blushed and looked away.
“Ignore Mal,” Jaeden finally spat, turning to Caia. “We’re allowed to be friends with one of them, but nothing more.”
Caia just nodded, whilst Malek chuckled at having so thoroughly annoyed the group.
His next question caused even more of an undercurrent, “So Caia … you got your eye on anyone in the pack, yet?” He leaned back in his chair, puffing his muscular chest up and grinning at her, his eyes turning blacker than black with heat. She squirmed, completely uncomfortable with such blatant attention, but before she could say anything the table jumped and he let out a growl. Someone had kicked him hard and she had a feeling it was Sebastian.
Jaeden grinned. “Be warned.”
Caia hid her smile. Oh boy, was she in for a ride with this lot.
At least, she thought somewhat happily, she had a two lykans who were on h
er side.
***
As she climbed into Jaeden’s Buick, Caia felt like she could breathe again. Her first day of school had gone as expected, except for the overwhelming sense of ‘pack’ that was being thrust upon her. It was strange, but even when one of them hadn’t been in a class with her she had felt their energy throughout the school.
She threw a tired smile at Jaeden. “That was interesting.”
For once Jaeden didn’t laugh. “Cy, I’m sorry about Mal.”
“Don’t be. I mean, he’s harmless, right?”
“Oh yeah,” she agreed quickly. “But, well, it can’t be easy for you coming back to all this. You don’t need a jerk like Malek sniffing after to you. It’ll only cause you more grief.”
Caia smiled at her. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
Caia shrugged embarrassed. She had never had a friend so she wasn’t quite sure how you were supposed to talk with one. “I don’t know. For being cool I guess. You and Sebastian.”
“Cool? About what?”
“Um... I don’t know. You’ve just been really nice to me.”
“Oh.” She smiled, seeming to understand. “You mean because every other bitch at that table thinks you’re a threat?”
Caia snorted at her bluntness. “Yeah, maybe.”
“As long as you leave Ryder, we’ll be cool, my friend.”
“Ryder?”
Jaeden turned to look at her quickly with a quizzical tilt to her brow. “You know, the big guy who was with Lucien last night. He’s Lucien’s best friend, and a Rogue Hunter.”
She honestly hadn’t noticed any big guy next to Lucien last night. She’d kind of been occupied with that big guy all by himself. “Nope. Sorry.”
Jaeden laughed. “Well, you’ll meet him soon enough. But things look good for us if you didn’t even notice him last night. He’s pretty hard to miss.”
Jaeden grumbled away about French class and projects and, for what had to be the hundredth time that day, made Caia feel like she had been her friend forever. So lost in Jaeden’s warm chatter, she was surprised to realise the car had come to a stop, not at the house, but in town.
Moon Spell: Part One in the Tale of Lunarmorte Page 4
