“No,” he snapped. “The information you have sent me tells me nothing. We have no ‘in’ yet, and we need an ‘in’!”
“I’ll get you an ‘in’,” she whispered.
“Oh, you will,” he demanded menacingly. “In fact, if you don’t get me the information I need to wage war with this despicable race of … of dogs, within the next few months, I am going to have to go in all spells blazing. And if that happens, my dear little spy, you will be the first casualty.”
11 - Trade Off
The intimate run with Lucien had given him a permanent starring role in her dreams. Sometimes the dreams were so real she felt absolutely consumed by them, lost in them, finding it difficult to fight her way through the sleepy fog into reality. The fact that the dreams inevitably ended with Lucien kissing her, however, was the wakeup call that she needed. Kiss. Bam! She was awake, and Lucien-less. Caia was trying to control her fantasies, she really was. She lived with the guy. He was Pack Leader for goddess-sake. But it wasn’t like she could avoid him. When he wasn’t at work, he was usually hanging around the house with Ryder, so that people always knew where to find him. And Ryder and he were always so friendly, welcoming her into their company. They were her friends. It was during these little gatherings that her eyes would drift over Lucien’s face, with its fierce silver eyes and sultry mouth. And then lower, to his strong sinewy forearms and large capable hands. The tug in her lower belly would just get more insistent. She had no clue what was happening to her. She was even day-dreaming in class, and she was not the day-dreaming kind. Caia doubted he was day-dreaming back. She was just a kid to him, right? Ugh, she didn’t even want to think like that. Of course she was just his friend. Didn’t she get that feeling when they playing during their run together - he suddenly pulled back like he didn’t want to cross some line with her. She had been disappointed, but amused at his tentativeness at the time. But in truth it was kind of hard to get over her crush when he acted like such a gentleman.
A week after the infamous run with Lucien, a run that she hadn’t even told Jaeden about, he called to her from the hallway as she was finishing her breakfast. Caia frowned and glanced at the clock. Jaeden was late to pick her up. After Lucien called her again, she took her last bite of toast and curiously strolled out of the kitchen to find him standing at the front door with a big grin on his face. “I want to show you something?”
Caia shook her head, stepping back. “Uh no. I’m not falling for that again. Last time you and Ryder said that to me, I had heart failure.”
He had the decency to look sheepish. “How were we to know you were afraid of spiders?”
“Spiders?” Caia spluttered. “It wasn’t just a spider. It was the mother of all spiders.”
Lucien laughed. “This isn’t a spider. Will you please just come?”
Huffing somewhat as she remembered the huge, brown, spindly creature they had thrust in her face about two weeks ago - thinking she’d find the alien monster from Hades as amazing as they did - she walked cautiously after Lucien. She followed him outside and stopped short on the porch as he approached a brand new car.
“I know it’s no sports car.” He slapped the roof of it, like it was an old friend. “But it’s brand new.”
“What is it?”
“The new Ford. You like the colour?” His eyes seemed to be watching her carefully for a reaction.
Caia smiled in confusion. It was gold pistachio; metallic; very pretty. “Yeah? Why?”
He grinned. “Because it’s yours.”
Her jaw must have hit the floor. Was he kidding? Nope, not by the cheesy grin on his face. “Lucien I can’t accept this.” But she was already gravitating towards the vehicle. She ducked her head inside the passenger window, checking out the colour co-ordinated interior, and inhaling that wonderful new car smell. “I really can’t accept this.”
She heard him grunt from the other side of the car. “No can’t about it. It’s yours.”
“Does she like it?”
Caia straightened to see Ella rushing excitedly out of the house. “Huh, what d’ya think, Cy?”
“I think it’s too much,” she said regrettably. It was such a nice car.
Ella’s face fell. “But... Lucien went to a lot of trouble-”
“Mom.” He stopped her, shaking his head in what Caia had come to recognise as irritation. His gaze swept back to her. “You’re taking the car.” It was a demand.
“Bu-”
“No buts. Jaeden’s not picking you up this morning so unless you’re going to change into the wolf suit and run there, you’re going to be late.”
***
They were waiting for her, standing around Mal’s SUV, as she pulled into the parking lot in the Ford. It was a dream to drive. She’d actually forgotten how much she’d missed having a car, although back in her life with Irini it had been a beat up Mustang she’d driven. A feeling of self-consciousness fell over her as she got out of the vehicle and headed towards the pack. Jaeden was smiling devilishly at her.
“You knew about this,” Caia stated grimly, coming to a stop in front of them.
Jaeden nodded impishly.
“Nice ride.” Mal laughed. “Looks like you’re all set to be a Soccer Mom.”
“Shut up!” Jaeden slapped him across the head, incurring a low growl from the back of his throat.
Caia looked thoughtfully back at the shiny machine. “I was actually thinking that if he was going to get me a car he could have gotten me a nice, cheap, old thing.”
“Yeah.” Jaeden laughed, and eyed her meaningfully. “He could have.”
She rolled her eyes. Jaeden had begun making little innuendos about her and Lucien for the past few weeks now. Just because he was being nice to her and trying to make sure she integrated back into the pack without any problems, Jaeden thought his preferential treatment meant something. The only feelings between Caia and him were the private ones emanating from her fantasies, and she was telling no one about those; not even Jaeden. Not that it mattered as she had a feeling Jaeden was aware of her crush. Her perceptiveness could be a little disconcerting sometimes. Besides, Caia thoughts depressed as her eyes fell on Alexa, why would Lucien be interested in the little orphan Annie when he could have the gorgeous Alexa?
“Lucien is being generous,” Dana’s annoying voice cut into her thoughts. “You should be a little more grateful.”
Alexa smirked. “Yeah, Caia. If he could hear you now... tut-tut.”
Caia felt like hissing. The terrible twosome still didn’t like her. “I didn’t say I wasn’t grateful.”
“Back off.” Sebastian sighed, clearly as fed up with their sniping as Caia was. He drew her towards him protectively, a gesture Caia accepted, and she and Jaeden followed him towards the entrance of the school. “You know, I wish they’d get over it already,” he voiced her thoughts. “You haven’t even looked at Mal twice since you got here, so what’s Dana’s problem?”
“She’s a sheep,” Jaeden chimed in. “She does whatever she thinks will make Alexa happy.”
“You know.” Alexa made them tense as she appeared suddenly, striding up to them. “That was kind of rude Sebastian.” She moved past them gracefully, an ugly twist to her mouth. “But I forgive you. I’ll have to get used to being magnanimous. It’s what a Pack Leader does.”
Jaeden guffawed, “What?!”
“Are you completely psycho?” Sebastian asked incredulously. “You are aware that you’re not Pack Leader?”
Alexa smiled evilly, her eyebrow quirking up as she drew them to a halt. She turned that wicked smile on Caia. “But I will be mate to Pack Leader. The party at Lucien’s will be a perfect opportunity for me to show Lucien what a mistake it’ll be if he chooses differently.” Her eyes narrowed in calculation. “He wouldn’t want to choose someone, say, who would jeopardise the pack by foolish displays of strength in front of ‘them’.”
Caia heaved a sigh. She had hoped Alexa had forgotten that by now. No other weird
occurrences had happened since the calculus solution, so Caia was left without explanation for it. She was afraid there would be questions, and trouble, if Alexa did mention it to Lucien.
“You know I didn’t do that, Alexa.”
She snorted. “Oh goddess, are we still on that track?”
The bell rang. Caia shook her head in disbelief. “I actually thought you were off my back. No one here cares about your designs on Lucien.” OK, that was a lie. “Do what you want. Stay out of my way, and I’ll out of yours. OK.”
“You don’t fool me, Caia.”
Sebastian groaned. “Oh come on.” He tugged Caia and Jaeden past the she-devil. “You’re delusional, you know that.”
They had gone only a few steps when Jaeden threw over her shoulder, “In more ways than one. Lucien will never choose you. Don’t you think he would have already?”
“She’s exhausting,” Caia growled, as they walked towards class. “Every time I get into it with her I feel like I’ve stepped into an episode of Gossip Girl.”
“What girl?” The two of them asked in unison.
Caia shook her head. She forgot that because of her long period of isolation from the pack she’d watched a lot more television than they had.
“TV show.”
“Oh, yeah.” Jaeden nodded. “I never watched that one. Is that the one with the annoying girls with so much money they have to resort to cruelty and manipulation out of sheer boredom?”
“Yeah.” Caia snorted, eyeing her suspiciously. “Sure you haven’t watched at least a couple of episodes?”
“We-”
“Don’t let her get to you,” Sebastian said softly, interrupting them, and returning the conversation back to Alexa. His eyes were concerned as he rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. “Ignore her.”
Caia nodded. She’d try.
But that day in English, with the she-devil sitting right beside her, she couldn’t help but have a different kind of day-dream. One in which Alexa was Lucien’s mate, and she kept Caia in a cage as an amusing pet. Lucien would come over to the cage to poke and prod at her with a stick, to the delight of his new bride.
“Miss Ribeiro?”
“Hmm,” she mumbled, wincing as if she really felt the prod of that stick.
“Caia?”
“Huh?” She blinked, and realised her English teacher was asking her a question. She straightened knocking her book to the floor. The class snickered and she tried to hide her blush.
“Thank you for joining us, Miss Ribeiro,” the teacher said sarcastically.
“Sorry,” she mumbled and glanced at Alexa. The girl was gloating at her like she knew what she’d been day-dreaming about. OK, the girl was gorgeous, but could Lucien really be attracted to her? Caia sighed. She needed to stop thinking about her Pack Leader. She didn’t even recognise this whiny person she’d become. She should avoid Lucien at all costs.
***
Lucien was happily surprised when he heard the chime on the front door of the store sound, and then the familiar, sweet scent of Caia drifted into his workroom. He smiled and wandered out into the store front to see her running her hand along one the rocking chairs he’d designed.
“Like it?”
She spun around in surprise. “I don’t know how you manage to do that?”
“This.” He tapped his nose. “You need to focus on using it more. You don’t get taken by surprise as much. Although this is a surprise.” He gestured indicating her presence.
He thought he sensed shyness in her smile as she walked around the room, keeping her gaze on his furniture. He watched her furtively, enjoying the way her long hair slid across her shoulders like silk. When his thoughts wandered to wondering what that hair would look like spread across his pillow he gave himself a mental slap.
“You here for a reason?” Lucien prodded, hoping his thoughts weren’t clearly written on his face. Instead he concentrated on trying to keep amusement at her presence out of his voice. It seemed to annoy her when she thought he was laughing at her.
Finally Caia looked up, stopping and sitting in one of the dining room chairs. She halted abruptly and flushed. “Do you mind?” She asked.
“No.” He smiled. “It’s what it’s there for.”
She relaxed and eased back into the chair. “I’m actually here about the car.”
Lucien groaned. She was keeping the damn car. He was about to tell her so when she lifted her hand up to stop him from saying anything.
“I’m keeping the car.”
It was his turn to relax. “OK. Good.”
“But on one condition.”
His eyes narrowed. He was used to giving the orders around here and setting the conditions. Usually, that would be his reply to such a statement, but it caught in the back of his throat. He cleared it. “What condition?”
“That you let me get a job.”
That wasn’t what he expected.
No. He had the luxury of being able to take care of his kinswomen. His mother didn’t have to work, and he hadn’t demanded Irini get a job when she’d come home because she’d been working her ass off all the time she’d been gone. Now, he wasn’t some old-fashioned chauvinist, but the women of his family only worked if they wanted to, but if they didn’t need to, then he didn’t want to make them. Besides, Caia was too young for a job. She should be concentrating on school.
“I don’t think so.”
She smiled that crazy sweet smile that seemed to work its charm on all the men in the pack. Magnus and Ryder crumbled under it.
“I thought you would say that. So, I was thinking that I could work for you here, at the weekends or something.”
“For me?” He asked incredulously.
He watched as her expression became unsure. “Well... I just thought you know... you don’t have anyone manning the store front, and you can get busy at the weekends...”
Lucien grinned. He was sold. “I think it’s a great idea.”
Caia grinned back at him. “You do?”
“Sure. This Saturday OK?”
She nodded happily, and he realised she was just glad to be contributing something to the family. He understood that. But for him, it was a perfect opportunity to keep an eye on her.
12 - Witches, Vampyres and Faeries, Oh My
Jaeden couldn’t help herself. She told everyone at lunch the next day that Caia was working for Lucien. Alexa’s reply had been to storm away from the table, causing a scene. The humans had watched them for the rest of the lunch period, wondering what an earth had happened at the ‘pretty people’ table. Caia knew Jaeden was just as pissed as she was that Alexa and Dana wouldn’t get off her back, but really, telling Alexa that she was going to be spending even more quality time with Lucien was just asking for the girl to tear her apart. For the rest of the week she was met with icy resentment, which as far as Caia was concerned was better than the girl actually speaking to her.
It was with a huge sigh of relief that Saturday rolled around quickly. She hadn’t seen much of Lucien lately, and although it had been her intention (before she went and asked him for a job working beside him) to avoid him, she was missing him a little. Moreover, she was more than a little relieved to be getting out of the house. She assumed she hadn’t seen much of Lucien because, what with Irini and Aidan’s mating only a week away, Ella had turned the house into party planning central.
As Lucien always left for a work a few hours before the store actually opened so he could get a start on his furniture before the interruptions began, Caia didn’t arrive for her first day until eight forty-five. She was surprised to see Ryder was already there. He smiled teasingly at her, as Lucien gave her a run through of her duties. There was nothing major to undertake - the cash register seemed easy enough to understand, and besides, he had told her if she was asked any questions she couldn’t answer to just give him a shout.
“I can’t believe your working here.” Ryder smirked, settling into a rocking chair as Lucien departed into his work r
oom.
“Should you be doing that?” Caia asked, sliding onto the stool behind the front counter.
Ryder chuckled and shrugged. “Dunno, you tell me. You work here now.”
Caia laughed. “Why is that so amazing to you?”
His eyes twinkled but he shook his head, refusing to say anything. She felt her stomach flip. Ryder didn’t suspect her feelings, did he? Holy Artemis, that would be awful. Worse than awful. Utter mortification was in sight. “You haven’t had a job lately,” she stated, trying to turn the conversation away from her.
He nodded. “True. Things have been quiet for a while.”
She leaned against the counter, her eyes wide as she asked, “So you must have come across other supernaturals on all your trips, right?”
“Sure.”
“I haven’t met any.” She sighed, thinking of all the creatures out there that shared their world, and she had no idea what any of them were like.
Ryder frowned. “What about Marion?”
“The magik who put the protection spell up around me?”
He nodded.
It was her turn to shrug. “I never met her.”
Ryder grinned. “I can’t believe that. Marion is great. You’ll really like her. Powerful witch too. You know her sister is the Head of the Daylight Coven?”
Caia shook her head. She had had no idea. That meant that for ten years she had had actual royalty looking after her, watching and protecting. Wow, the pack really did have connections in high places. “How do you know a witch that high up in the circle?”
He winked. “How else?”
She shook her head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I keep forgetting you’re only seventeen. Mind you when I was seventeen I knew-”
Caia frowned. “Ryder, the point?”
The hunter laughed at her impatience. “OK, OK. The pack is good friends with Marion because once, a long time ago, Magnus was really good friends with Marion.”
It took a moment for that to sink in, and then she gasped, “Magnus was with a magik?”
Moon Spell: Part One in the Tale of Lunarmorte Page 11
