Hunted (War of the Covens 1)

And then she’d see Alexa’s triumphant face, and whoosh! The dark cloud burst, drenching her in a self-pity she had only ever read about.

“I don’t like this,” she’d muttered to Jaeden during their study period.

“What?”

“This.” She indicated herself dramatically with a wave of her hand. “This person I’ve become … dear goddess, I’m like one of them.” She flicked her pencil at the humans in the room.

Jaeden laughed under her breath. “Caia, it’s called a crush. Believe me, Ryder makes me feel the same horrible mixture of happiness and despair. Add a pinch of lykan volatility and you’ve got yourself the teenage hormonal party from Hades.”

She snorted, but Jaeden’s comforting words didn’t make her feel any better about the fact that all she’d been doing for the last few days was moping about Lucien. Last night at dinner, she’d even been reduced to monosyllables in his presence.

“I heard Alexa’s visiting his store after school.” Jaeden twisted her face in disgust.

“Who told you that?”

“Sebastian sees her when he’s coming home from Yvana’s.”

Caia cupped her chin forlornly in her hand. “I can’t even imagine what my life will be like if he actually mates with her.”

“If who actually mates with whom?” Sebastian whispered, sliding into the seat beside her.

“If Lucien mates with Alexa,” Jaeden answered.

“Why would that bother you, Caia?” Sebastian looked suspicious, pulling his chair closer to hers.

Her heart picked up tempo as her eyes flew to Jaeden. Sebastian couldn’t know. No one else could.

“Uh.” Jaeden swung her pencil about as she tried to think of something. “Because… Alexa hates Caia. If she were to become Lucien’s mate, I mean … she could cause trouble for her.”

Sebastian smirked and put his arm around Caia’s shoulders, his tawny eyes twinkling as he looked into hers. “You don’t have anything to worry about. I’ll protect you.”

Caia grunted and pulled from his embrace as the bell rang. She gathered her things and stood before them. “Thanks, Sebastian, but if worse comes to worst, I’ve always wanted to go to China.”

Saturday morning arrived quickly. The nervous energy in the house was at breaking point as Ella flew between Irini’s and Caia’s rooms to make sure their preparations for the mating ritual were going well. Eventually, Caia decided to leave Irini in the capable hands of her mother and Lucia, who was fixing her hair, and stay out of the way in her bedroom.

She’d changed already, her slender figure wrapped in the dusky-pink satin dress they’d chosen. It was floor length and figure hugging, creating the illusion that she was taller than she was. She was a little self-conscious of the thin straps and low cowl neckline, but Ella assured her she looked perfect. Lucia had sculpted her long, pale hair into a French twist and placed tiny pink rosebuds into the style.

Caia sighed, turning to make sure the dress wasn’t wrinkled from sitting. She didn’t care what Ella said—this certainly felt like a bridesmaid dress.

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway, and Caia spun around.

Lucien.

Tall and wide-shouldered but oozing masculine elegance in a dark three-piece suit.

Oh my, he’s so hot. Her heart fluttered at the vision of him.

“You look …” Lucien stepped into the room and stopped a few feet from her, his hands jammed casually into his trouser pockets. His eyes traveled up her body until he met her gaze. “Wow. You look beautiful.”

Thrill shot through her and she could feel her cheeks burning. “Thank you,” she said, cursing herself when it came out all breathy. She cleared her throat. “So do you.” She flushed again and stammered. “I … I m-m-mean, you look very nice.”

Lucien laughed and she felt instantly tangled in his eyes. They weren’t as silver today, more of an intense dark smoke. “Don’t be nervous, Caia.”

“Nervous? Why should I be nervous?”

He shrugged. “Because you’ve never been to one of these before.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Why aren’t you with the other females, primping and fawning over Irini?”

Caia snorted. “Ah, no thank you. I’m safer here.”

Lucien smiled softly. “No, I guess primping and fawning isn’t really you. Life in a pack is mostly predictable. Not you though. You’re definitely not predictable. Or easy to read.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

He took another step toward her, his voice hoarse as he replied, “No. Definitely not.”

“Caia, there you are.” Ella bustled into the room, unaware of the electric tension that miraculously sparked around the pair. She brushed by Lucien with a distracted smile thrown his way before she grabbed Caia’s wrist. “You’re needed for pre-ritual photographs.”

Caia docilely followed, but Lucien held her gaze until she was out of the room. Her mind whirred. Had they just had a moment? It’d certainly felt like a moment.

Her mind was on the Alpha for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon as they hurried about, preparing the house for the post-ritual party and settling Irini’s nerves. The backyard had been set up with white lawn chairs for the ceremony, all facing the woods where Irini and Aidan would stand before Magnus. The ritual would take place as darkness fell, when the moon was out, and they could call upon Artemis to bind their souls.