Caia had never been so thankful to see anybody in her life.
“Caia?” Sebastian asked in amazement, his eyes darting around and then coming back to her. “What are you doing?”
She whined again and he ushered her inside.
“I’ll get you clothes.” He nodded and hurried out of the kitchen.
Back in a flash, he held a pair of jeans and a large Killers T-shirt. “The jeans are my mom’s. I couldn’t find a shirt for you, though, so you’ll just have to wear mine.”
Caia waited for him to leave but he just stood there watching her, his hands jammed in his pockets. After a moment, she growled, and he took the hint and left.
Her change back was just as quick, and again she marveled at it. It feels almost like cheating, she thought as she pulled on the clothes. Sebastian’s mom’s jeans were a little on the long side, so Caia rolled them as best she could and pulled on Seb’s shirt. It smelled of him, and she wondered momentarily if he had lied about not being able to find her a shirt from his mom’s closet, just so she would be encased in his scent.
Shaking it off as paranoia, Caia wandered through the house until she found him waiting for her in the sitting room.
He smirked, drinking her in, and she felt his rush of pleasure at seeing her in something he owned.
“I need shoes.” She distracted him.
“What size?”
“Seven.”
He grinned and got up. “My mom’s an eight—that’ll do, right? My mom has really small feet for a tall chick.”
“You call your mom chick?” she called after him.
“Not to her face.”
Once she had on sneakers and socks, Caia was able to explain the entire mess to Sebastian.
When she finished, he shook his head in disgust. “I can’t believe he did that.”
“Yeah, well, I should have seen it coming. He’s so …”
“Obnoxious,” Sebastian supplied cheerfully.
“I was going for overprotective, but obnoxious works just as well.”
He grinned and then stilled, looking serious and very grown-up all of a sudden. “So what’s the plan?”
Caia began to pace, hoping to Gaia that Sebastian would go for it. “The guys are staying at the Motel En El Camino. I thought we could take your car and head out after them and meet up with them. Once we’re halfway there, they’re not going to send us back, and if they try to, this time I’m pulling out the big guns.”
Sebastian looked worried. “Magik?”
“Yes. If it’s the only way.”
“Caia, you sure you want to do this?”
Yes. Didn’t he understand? Jaeden had been kidnapped because of her and now four of the pack’s strongest young males were headed out after her friend. Lucien was going—and they didn’t have the backup they needed. She wouldn’t let them do this alone.
“I have to.”
Sebastian nodded. “Then let’s go.”
“Sebastian, you don’t have to. You could just give me your car.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “No way are you leaving me out of the action.”
27
The Fight Before Battle
Sebastian left a note for his parents, telling them he was at Caia’s. He guessed once they found out the truth, he and Caia would already be with Lucien, who would most probably call Ella to let her know.
The drive was quiet other than when Caia gave him directions. The closer they got, the stronger the icy pull she felt from Ethan. What disturbed her more was the shades of familiarity that hit her every now and then as they passed a town; incoherent thoughts would reach out at her, some dark, some dismal, some mundane. But she could’ve pinpointed the exact location of those thoughts, told Sebastian to turn around and drive right up to the spot where they originated.
This is what Marion was talking about, she leaned her forehead against the car window. Her body hummed with connections that grew more numerous as the hours ticked by until Caia felt like she might burst out of her skin. It scared her more than she liked it; she put a plug in her emotions so Sebastian wouldn’t scent her fear and mistake its reason. She was frightened by the thought of being connected to thousands of Midnight magiks and what that would do to her sanity once she reached full capacity.
“Are you okay?” Sebastian asked quietly, keeping his attention focused on the road ahead. “You know, we could just turn back.”
“Is that what you’ve been thinking for the last two hours, Seb?” she replied, trying not to be snarly. His response was a tense silence. “No, I didn’t think so. My bet is that you’ve been playing over and over in your mind Jaeden’s rescue.”
He smirked. “You know me so well.”
“I need to bring her home, Sebastian. There is no going back.”
He nodded and let the silence fall between them again.
They couldn’t be too far behind Lucien and the others. Caia breathed in deep relief when they found the motel, and sure enough, Lucien’s truck sat parked outside a room farther down the lot.