Hunted (War of the Covens 1)

Alexa flipped her long, thick hair over her shoulder. “They just see us as a bunch of really cool, hot kids who only like to play with other really cool, hot kids. They call us weird and whisper about us because that’s what jealous bitches do. And we’re not stupid. Lucien moved us into town gradually over five years. We didn’t all just appear here together. One family moved in, and then another, and we pretended to befriend each other, just like ordinary folks. So,” she gestured to the human students. “Not suspicious. Jealous. Normal, teen green envy. You should feel honored to be one of us … Cy.”

Caia wasn’t sure she was convinced. “Bu—”

“Why don’t you can the questions?” Alexa glared pointedly. “Remember, you don’t want to annoy me.”

What she really wanted was for her to go to Hades, but Caia worried Lucien would fall for Alexa’s manipulation. It was never a good time to cause trouble with the Pack Leader and Caia had no intention of doing it after a mere two days.

So Caia stayed quiet and Alexa preened like she’d won. Dana snickered at Alexa’s victory. It was a short-lived snicker, followed by an “ow.” Jaeden kicked her under the table before throwing Alexa a warning baring of her teeth. “Sheath your claws, Alex, or I’ll do it for you.”

“I hate that name,” Alexa spat.

“I know.”

“Ladies,” Mal huffed, “please. Take the bitch fight elsewhere. You’re spoiling my appetite.”

“I’ll spoil more than your appetite, Mal.” Jaeden stared at the them one after the other. “We’re pack. Let’s start acting like it.”

“That’s why you didn’t tell that spawn of the undead to drop dead again?” Jaeden mused as she drove Caia home. Caia had confessed what had happened between her and Alexa in class.

“Pretty much.”

“And you didn’t shove her chair?”

“I swear to Gaia I don’t know what happened in that classroom.”

“Just ignore her, then. You know Alexa’s unbalanced enough to have pushed her own damn chair away from you.”

“I suspect she did which is why it bothered me. I hate games.”

Caia was exhausted. She hoped every day with the pack wasn’t going to be as trying as today had been.

And she had been so stupidly optimistic this morning.

Jaeden pulled up to the house and Caia was surprised to see Lucien already home, an unfamiliar car parked beside his.

“Should I expect a lot of visitors?” she asked.

“He’s Pack Leader, so you’ll find the house pretty busy. You know, if you ever need space to breathe, you’re always welcome at my house.”

It must have been the exhaustion but Caia felt her eyes water at this girl’s kindness, her friendship like air to a trapped claustrophobic. Rapidly blinking to blot out the tears, she thanked her.

“Cy?” Jaeden stopped her as she was getting out of the Buick.

“Yeah?”

A deep frown creased her eyebrows. She seemed hesitant to speak of a sudden.

“Jaeden,” Caia prompted.

She leaned toward her. “I … just … I want you to tell me if Alexa bothers you. Okay?”

“You know, contrary to popular belief, I can take care of myself.”

“I know. But I’ve known her my whole life, and she’s manipulative.” Her blue eyes saddened. “Her brother Dermot … he died in the Lunarmorte against Lucien.”

Caia’s eyes widened at this new information. “He tried to take Lucien’s title?”

Jaeden nodded solemnly.

She considered this. It didn’t seem right to condemn someone for their family’s mistakes. Then again, Alexa was pretty scary. Ruthless was her middle name. But … nah … she shook her head. “That doesn’t mean Alexa is ambitious. Look at my grandfather. He tried to take Lucien’s dad’s title and my father was nothing like him.”

“Cy,” Jaeden said, her voice firm, “Alexa is beyond ambitious. She wants to be Lucien’s mate. She’ll stop at nothing to get him.”

“I’m not standing in her way.”

Her friend shrugged, starting the engine again. “Apparently, she thinks you are.”

Caia laughed humorlessly. “Are you all crazy?”

“Just promise if you need me, you’ll come to me?”

“I feel like I’ve landed in a bad Mafia movie.”

Jaeden snorted. “You’ve lived the life of a human too long. Pack politics are normal for us.”

“Yeah, well, Irini could have at least warned me about it.”

Expression abruptly deadly serious, she whispered, “Yeah, she should have.”

Caia raised a questioning eyebrow—these lykans confused the hell out of her. They were so blasé one minute and then the next, as grave as a funeral.

“See you tomorrow, Cy.”

She waved silently as Jaeden drove away. Then she looked up at the house. When she’d stood in the airport breathless with panic at the thought of returning to the pack, she hadn’t been afraid because she knew what was awaiting her. She’d been afraid because she hadn’t known. If she had … well, she might have jumped on the next plane to anywhere else.

As she entered the house, she could hear Lucien talking to an unfamiliar female in the kitchen. What she really wanted to do was run upstairs to her bedroom, shut the door, and bury her head under her pillow.