Hunted (War of the Covens 1)

“Caia?”

They were here already. How did they get here so fast? She wasn’t ready yet.

“Caia?”

Pain flared up her arm and she looked down to see the cause of it. Dimitri gripped her tightly by the bicep, so tightly he was close to cutting off her circulation. She stared up at him stupidly, her eyes clearing at his worried expression.

“You all right?”

She needed to get herself together. Lykans didn’t act like this. They didn’t wimp out. Nodding, she pulled from his grasp.

“You got everything, then?” he repeated, looking a little annoyed now. “We really should get going.”

Oh my.

Those earlier butterflies suddenly burst into flames in her stomach, the metaphorical ash residue covering her lungs in an attempt to suffocate her.

“I … uh … I just need to … use the bathroom.”

“Fine. Hurry up.”

She slammed the door of the ladies’ room behind her and stumbled over to the sinks, striving to get her breath back. If she wasn’t mistaken, she was having a full-blown panic attack. Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it. But the more she said it, the faster her head whirled.

Caia suddenly stilled at the beginnings of a rumbling noise.

Was that her heart?

No. She shook her head, looking around as the rumbling increased in volume. Holy Artemis, Caia exhaled, stepping back as the entire length of sinks shook ferociously, the rumbling coming from the pipes. What the—

All the taps blasted open, and water streamed into the sinks with the power of a fireman’s hose, the rumbling now deafening. Ceramic tiles cracked and fell away from the walls; water billowed over the basins and onto the floor.

“Caia?”

She whipped her head toward the door where Irini stood looking shocked. The water abruptly stopped.

“What the Hades?” Irini indicated the watery mess in front of her.

Caia gaped at her. “I have no idea.”

“Well, come on, quickly, before you get the blame,” she snapped, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her outside.

“How could I get the blame?”

“Just come on.”

Her breathing regulated once they left the airport. They drove directly through the large town and then made a turn onto the highway, which caused her breathing to feel a little forced again. She was nearly at her new home.

Caia could see why they’d chosen the town. It was large enough to melt into but had enough surrounding rural area to run free in. There were a few roads dotted along the highway leading off into what she thought must be neighborhoods.

Finally, Dimitri drove down a road closed in on either side by woodland. At last, the trees opened into a huge, circled clearing, and in the center sat a large home with an old-fashioned wraparound porch. She drew in a deep breath.

“The whole pack is here?”

Dimitri nodded, his eyes brimming with understanding. “It’s the only way to welcome you.”

Irini, on the other hand, was bubbling with excitement. Before Dimitri had even parked, she was out of the car and running for the house. He laughed and shut off the engine.

“Ready?”

“No.” Caia shook her head. “But then I’ll never be ready for this moment, so we might as well shove my ass out of the car, right?”

He chuckled and got out of the driver’s side. “That’s the spirit.”

Caia had no idea how she managed it, but she got out of the car and slowly followed Dimitri up the front stairs to the porch. Her lykan ears could hear the sound of Irini crying happily and people murmuring warm words of welcome. She could hear her growl Lucien’s name, but then start crying and mumbling, “I missed you, brother,” over and over.

I guess all is forgiven, Caia thought.

As her light foot came off the last step, she was seized once more with anxiety, undiluted and pure. She steadied herself, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t let them see how nervous she was. Dimitri had swung open the porch door and was now throwing open the main door with as much grace.

“Well, hell!” he shouted in amusement. “Look at you all … you didn’t eat everything already, did you?”

“I managed to save you some food,” a female voice singsonged back at him. “I hid it from these vultures for you.”

She could hear Dimitri smack a kiss on someone and the pack chuckled lightly. The sounds of familiarity between them all sent another wave through Caia’s stomach, but before she could melt into an anxious puddle, Dimitri’s head popped around the doorframe. “Come on, Cy.”

A sudden hush fell over the room. Slowly, Caia pushed through the porch door and stepped into a beautiful open hallway with a wide antique staircase winding up from the center of the room to the next floor. Bracing herself against her own insecurities, she looked into the sitting room and stared at the large pack that was to be her new family. There looked to be about thirty of them—large, feral, handsome males, young and old; beautiful, athletic females; small children with inquiring eyes.