Blood Solstice: Part Three in the Tale of Lunarmorte (15 page)

Jaeden
sighed and rubbed at the tension headache in her temple. Ryder made
a noise above her and then he was pulling her hand away from her
head, replacing it with strong fingers that pressed soothingly
against her forehead, making gentle circles. She sighed happily and
relaxed into him.

“
You’ll have me drooling in a minute,” she whispered so as not
to disturb Magnus.

He leaned
down, his lips brushing against her ear, sending a shiver of
delight throughout her entire body. “I’d like to be doing more to
you than that in a minute.”

She
grinned. There were lykans in the room. Lykan hearing. Magnus
snorted. Yup, he had heard them.

“
Ryder,” she admonished him lazily, but that didn’t stop her
hand from inching over his thigh.

He jumped under her touch and then growled, “Right.” He
grabbed her hand pulling her up from her seat, his hazel gaze light
with passion. Clearly he was intending to take her somewhere
private to ravish her!
Hell yeah!
They had missed their ‘wedding night’ after all
and Ryder, the perpetual gentleman, hadn’t wanted to make love to
her until she was his mate for real. She had been waiting for this
night forever.

The door
behind them cracked open, stopping them in their tracks. Caia
appeared through them, her arm wrapped around Lucien’s waist. In
normal circumstances she was tiny next to the giant that was
Lucien, but there was a strength to Caia that made you forget her
stature. Now, however, after the beating she had taken today, she
looked fragile and so small. Jae felt a rush of protectiveness at
the sight of her and tried to forget what it had been like to see
Marita and the others torturing her.

“
Hey guys.” She smiled brightly and Jaeden grinned, happy to
see her friend’s eyes sparkling. Being with your mate tended to
have that effect on you. It was kind of annoying, she grunted,
determined to remember she was an independent woman.

“
Lucien.” Rose half-stood up and Jaeden frowned at
her.

Lucien
nodded gently at her but didn’t leave Caia’s side as he said,
“Thanks for all your help today, Rose.”

She
smiled warmly at him, lighting up under his praise. “No problem. Of
course. Anything to help.”

Jaeden
snorted and then bit back a cry of pain when Ryder pinched her.
Instead she threw Caia and Lucien a sly smile. “You were in there a
while.” She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. Caia blushed,
making Jaeden laugh. “Jeez, I was kidding… but if we’re to go by
those red, red cheeks of yours, clearly I was on the
mark.”

The grit
of Cy’s teeth told her she was probably bugging her, but the look
on Rose’s face was worth it. There was nothing wrong with hitting
home to the delusional woman that Lucien was no longer on the
market. And she knew Caia would never be underhanded or mean to
Rose so… it was up to Jae to do that for her!

“
Hey, I have a question if you’re feeling better, Caia?” Alexa
asked lazily.

Jaeden wasn’t buying the tone. Something
not good
was about to come from Miss
World’s ‘Bitch Division’ Crowning Champion. Caia just nodded,
probably too weary to be on alert. Jaeden tensed,
waiting.

“
So.” Alexa turned towards Cy casually. “How come you let
Marita beat the living crap out of you?”

“
Ale-” Lucien began, but Caia held her hand up to cut him
off.

She
frowned at the other female. “What do you mean?”

“
Well.” Alexa shrugged. “I wasn’t there, but according to the
good folks in this room that were, you turned Ethan’s insides into
kitchen décor last time you were faced by an all powerful magik.
Uh, I’ve heard great war stories that you took out four magiks in
one go just a few weeks ago. All I’m saying is how. come. you.
sucked. ass.
today
?”

Jaeden
was right. Still a Bitch with a capital B. “You’re a bitch,” she
snapped.

Alexa
exhaled, “Uh hello, where have you been?”

“
Jaeden’s right.” Ryder shook his head in disgust at her. “You
always have something unpleasant to add to an already bad
situation.”

Ah that
was her man… always a gentleman even when he traded insults. She
patted his arm affectionately and then glanced up to see her
Alpha’s reaction. Clearly he was biting back a retort cuffed by the
nails Caia was digging into his arm.

“
You’re right, I don’t know why I sucked ass
today.”

“
Tut tut,” a new voice entered the room and they turned to
watch Reuben swagger in. “I was waiting on that answer with bated
breath.” He shook his head. “It was a letdown.”

Ugh. Soulless fiend. Cheating, lying son-of-a-bitch.
A son-of-a-bitch who had used mesmerism on her to
make her leave her own pack! Why was she the only one who saw how
messed up that was?! And to think she had defended him to
Ryder.

“
Did I mention you were right about this douche bag,” she
huffed, turning to her mate.

He smiled
sympathetically. “I heard.”

“
Still angry, Jaeden?” Reuben sighed and then smiled too
sweetly, holding a hand to his heart. “That’s nice. I guess our
friendship meant something after all.”

Ryder
snarled. Jae grinned but threw him a ‘down boy’ look.

“
Anyhoo.” Reuben smirked and looked back at Caia. “I can
answer Alexa’s question, no problem.”

Caia perked up at his regard and Jaeden sighed inwardly. For
some reason Caia actually trusted this jerk, even after he had lied
through his abnormally elongated teeth the entire time Jae had
known him. And he was
good
. He had had her completely
fooled. Did the others know about him? Did Lily and Styx know they
were living it up with a twenty-four hundred year old second
generation vampyre that could snap them in half without even
blinking? This guy had lived centuries doing god knows what and now
he wanted Caia to go off on some suicide mission to destroy trace
magik and free them all! And the idiot was considering it. Jae
sighed. Some serious intervention was going to be needed. And she
really hoped Lucien would be the one to do it cos’ she had a
wedding night to get around to.

“
We’re waiting,” Alexa told him shrilly.

Jae
snickered. Alexa did not like the fact that there wasn’t one guy in
the room who would rather be looking at her than anything else.
After almost eighteen years of school with the girl and drooling
humans following her around with their eyes, it was kind of a nice
change of pace.

Reuben
shrugged. Goddess, his every movement bugged her. She stifled an
irritated growl. “When Marita attacked Caia the only person in
danger was Caia herself.” He smiled softly at Cy.

Alexa
rolled her eyes. “Uh… meaning?”

He threw
her a distasteful look. “Uh… meaning,” he imitated her, “That Caia
like totally isn’t like a self-absorbed bimbo. She only like
totally mashed people into a pulp when someone else is in like
total danger.”

“
I don’t say
like
and
totally
that much, O-K!!”

Jaeden
felt a suspicious shudder from her mate. She scowled. “Are you
laughing?”

He
smirked. “It was funny.”

“
Hmm.”

Yeah it
was… but still… Reuben=bad. No laughing at his mocking a person no
matter how much said person needed to be mocked.

“
What are you saying?” Lucien batted away their
bickering.

The vampyre turned slowly to look at him, his eyes narrowing
on Lucien. His expression had tightened imperceptibly.
Hmm, interesting. Does Reuben have a problem with
Lucien?

“
I’m saying that if we rewind and think about the occasions
when Caia’s other powers have got the best of her… you were
involved.”

That’s true,
Jaeden mused. Huh, that
made sense. He was her mate after all.

Alexa’s
eyes had lit up. “Ooh, right, like when she blasted me against the
classroom window for…” she trailed off and then blushed.

Ooh
. “For what?” Jae
pushed.

“
Um, nothing.”

“
Caia?”

Caia’s
eyes widened at having been put on the spot and then swung around
to Alexa who was pleading with her eyes not to say anything. “Um…
let’s not get into it but… suffice to say Lucien’s name came
up.”

Hmm,
she’d find out from Caia later.

“
See.” Reuben nodded. “A trigger.”

Magnus who had been leaning in closer and closer to the
television to hear
Harry Potter
had given up now and zipped it off with a
frustrated press of the remote. He strode towards the group that
had neared physically closer to one another without realising it.
“Reuben’s right. Let’s not forget it was only when Lucien was being
tortured by Ethan that Caia splattered… smooshed… whatever it was
she did to him.”

Jaeden
smiled at him. “And she only killed those magiks when Lucien was in
danger in the forest.”

“
And I blew up a tree once,” Caia muttered but with lykan
hearing they all whipped around, pinning her with amused glances.
She blushed. “I was pissed off at him.” She smiled adoringly up at
him. “I’m not anymore, sweetie.”

Lucien looked like he wanted to ask what she had been pissed
off at him for but Jaeden was snickering. She couldn’t help it.
They looked at her. She gestured at Lucien pointedly.
“
Sweetie
.”

Ryder
chuckled and pulled her into his side. “Don’t make the Alpha mad,
baby.”

Before
she could retort with something shockingly flirtatious, Alexa was
on her feet. “So… what? We can’t expect Caia to save our asses
unless Lucien’s is under fire?”

Caia was
blushing again but Reuben was shaking his head. “Not at all.” He
pinned Cy with his gaze. “We’re going to train you.”

“
Uh, how about asking her?” Jae snapped.

Lucien
was growling and Jae was bristling; Rose was smirking which made
Jaeden just want to tear out that pretty red hair of hers or maybe
throw her in a room with Alexa and hope the two of them took care
of each other.

“
Guys!” Caia stepped away from Lucien and gestured at them
all. “I’m a big girl. I can speak for myself. And Reuben’s
right.”

“
Wha-”

“
You can’t-”

“
Be ser-”

“
Than-”

“
Shut up,” Magnus demanded. “Let the girl speak.”

Caia
smiled gratefully at her uncle and then spoke directly to Reuben,
“I want you to help me if you can.”

“
And you’ll do what I asked?”

“
I’m still thinking on it.”

“
You have one night to sleep on it.”

“
That’s a little unfair.”

“
What are you talking about?” Lucien frowned stepping between
them. Ah, so Caia hadn’t told Lucien yet about what Reuben wanted
her to do. Yup… that wasn’t going to go down well. There was no way
Lucien would ever forgive her for killing Daylights for a
start!

“
We’ll talk in the morning,” Reuben commanded and she saw the
way Lucien flinched. He was used to being the one who gave the
orders. “Get some sleep. We’ll get you all back to the pack
tomorrow.”

12 – The
Pawn

“
Whoa… this place looks different,” Caia breathed as she
strolled into Marita and Vanne’s suite. Before, it had shared
husband and wife’s taste (heavy on the wife’s), but now all
Marita’s stuff was gone and in its place were Chesterfield sofas
and mahogany tables, and a honking great big old library desk that
looked like it cost more than Caia’s once-upon-a-time brand new
Ford. On the walls hung paintings of hunting scenes and birds
rather than sumptuous renaissance debauchery. Instead of lamps with
vine-leaf stands were green banker’s lamps… there was even an
old-fashioned globe. Come to think of it she had seen very similar
décor once before elsewhere. Caia smiled at Alfred Doukas as he
stood to great her.

Alfred’s
study. Of course.

They had
made Doukas Regent while Marita was A.W.O.L. Caia had awoken to
that news as well as the request for her presence after breakfast.
It had been difficult to pull herself up out of Lucien’s embrace
but at least her shoulder barely ached now.

“
You know, there’s still a few hours til’ after breakfast.”
Lucien had grabbed her gently, trying to pull her back into the
bed.

Caia had
rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you tired out from last night
already?”

He grinned, eyeing her suggestively. “Hey, I wasn’t the one
who started it. I was going to leave you alone because of your
shoulder but nooo… you needed your dose of
Lucien Love.
”

Caia grunted. “Keep calling it that and I’m sure I’ll be
cured of needing a dose of
Lucien
Love
ever again.”