Destined (War of the Covens 2)

It made him suspicious.

“Glad you’re punctual.” Marita’s cold tones blew past him as they sauntered inside. He watched as her shrewd eyes nailed Caia to the wall. “I’ve been hearing interesting reports from today.”

“Yes, very interesting.” Vanne winked at Caia.

“Yes,” Marita continued, “apparently, our guest is a natural at natural materialization. She produced a bird, an apple, and for her finale, a grand oak that nearly broke the windows. Oh, and let’s not forget that she completed a communication spell on her first try.”

“Impressive.” Her husband nodded his head deferentially, and Lucien watched as Caia blushed.

Marita nodded, her eyes glittering strangely. “Of course, we all know that it really is impressive, but already gossip has reached me. Some of our occupants think Marion had already trained you on how to do a communication spell.”

He felt a growl rumbling from his chest.

“It’s okay,” Caia whispered beside him, and as usual her perfect understanding of him settled that strange peace over him.

“Well, they’re idiots,” Marion snapped. “Mordecai was most impressed, and the others tend to fall in line with him.”

Vanne smirked. “Yes, very well done in choosing Mordecai. Powerful, influential, and apparently has a thing for petite blonds who can blow his socks off.”

Lucien’s attention snapped to Caia. Had this Mordecai been flirting with her? The guy sounded a little awe-inspiring … should he be worried?

Marion smiled. “I’m not stupid, Vanne. I knew this whole process was going to liken to a political campaign. I rallied the best.”

Marita strode forward, gesturing to a dining table at the far end of the room that had been set up as battle plan central. “Yes, well, you are my sister. Take a seat, people.”

“We also heard that Lucien performed well today,” Vanne murmured as they congregated around. “Anders was very impressed.”

His wife sniffed, eyeing Lucien narrowly. “Anders forgets that Lucien has taken down a few rogues in his time, as well as Adriana Vang, the heir to the Midnight Coven. If we are to go by how very shocked he was by your performance today, I would say he wasn’t listening when I told him not to underestimate you.”

“That sounded like a begrudged compliment.”

Marita huffed in amusement. “Oh, you are so very suspicious, aren’t you, Lucien?”

She knew he wasn’t sure of her, which meant he was giving far too much away. He had to rein in his natural compulsion to observe stonily and try harder to shield his feelings through her trace magik. He didn’t want to seem calculating; if she really was up to something—and he was sure she was—then she would be too on edge to let the smallest thing slip.

“Vang?” Caia mumbled.

Marion placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Your family name.”

Lucien watched worriedly as an emotion he couldn’t identify flittered across her face. And then she was shaking herself, tensing under Marion’s hand. “My family name is Ribeiro.”

He ached for her then. She never allowed herself a moment to feel her mother’s betrayal. Lucien smiled kindly. “And don’t you forget it.”

She turned and smiled up at him. “Did you know it means river—Ribeiro, I mean?”

“Of course.”

“It’s kind of ironic, don’t you think?”

He chuckled. “I guess it is.”

“Excuse me,” Marita said imperiously. “Can we return to the matter at hand? We have a strategy to sort out.”

“Let’s get started, then.”

“First, I’d like to introduce you to the operatives who will be helping us coordinate.” She turned and gestured to Noble who in turn pulled open the door with a flourish. “First, Anders Rosencrantz, Alpha of our Second Unit, with whom Lucien is already acquainted.”

Lucien nodded in acknowledgment to the older lykan who strode purposefully into the room, taking time to shake hands with Caia.

“And Mordecai Cherstvennikov, head of the First Unit, and the water magik who has been instructing Caia.”

Lucien pulled in a breath and then quickly let it go as the stocky young man who looked to be about the same age as him walked stiffly into the room toward them. He shoved at the black glasses that slid down his nose and smiled tensely at Lucien, shaking his hand, and then grinned at Caia and Marion.

Well … that guy certainly didn’t look how he sounded. But he and Caia looked awful chummy awful fast. Lucien resisted the urge to growl possessively.

“And Michael Brown, head of our Third Unit of vampyres.” A tall, slender man who looked to be in his forties—but was probably closer to a hundred years old—glided into the room and over to them. His sharp face remained stony as he shook everyone’s hands.

Marita looked over them all. “I decided not to take any precautions in the defense of the MacLachlans, which is why I am enlisting the aid of every unit. The bonus is that Lucien and Caia will have an understanding of how all of you work individually, and as a team. However, we have two more operatives I would like to involve. I feel it is only right that the MacLachlans have a representative, and so I have asked Phoebe MacLachlan to join us.”