You smug son of a bitch.
She smiled tightly.
He strolled around the room making small talk, and if she hadn’t been looking for it specifically, she never would’ve noticed the ultra-subtle move he made, dropping something tiny and weightless into a vase by the fireplace.
So now her room was bugged.
His eyes creased in concern. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Honest. Just taking some time.”
“Well.” He grinned and headed toward the door. “Just checking up. Come get me if you need me.”
“Will do.”
“Oh, and Caia … have you thought any more about Marita’s offer? I think you should really consider it.”
I bet you do.
“I’m definitely giving it serious thought. Wouldn’t be here otherwise. You know, there’s just so much more to learn.”
Like just how sneaky and conniving the Head of the Coven is.
He smiled again and left.
Jeez, that magik was a great actor. She’d had no idea he was a scummy little toad working for his mistress. She withheld from snorting in disgust in case the bug picked it up and instead headed for the door.
She had a prison break to put into motion.
Twenty-four hours later
“There you are.”
She tried not to groan at the familiar voice that sent shivers down her spine no matter the occasion. And right now, she did not have time to deal with the person belonging to that voice.
“Ssh,” she hissed at him, sliding the actual book she’d been reading under a copy of Practical Tae Kwon Do: Back to the Roots.
“What are you doing here?” Lucien whispered, sliding into the chair beside her and leaning over to check out her reading material. He raised an eyebrow but made no comment. And then he lifted his silver gaze to hers and she had to force herself not to look away.
“Why are we whispering? There’s no one else in here.”
Caia glanced around the small, empty library and shrugged. “There could have been.”
Lucien stretched back in his seat, pinning her with a look of frustration. “I’ve come to a conclusion after our little meeting with Marita.”
“Oh?”
“At first I was angry. And then angrier. And then today I let my brain take over and I thought, no—Caia wouldn’t abandon the pack after what happened with Sebastian. She still feels raw about that, still feels guilty even though it’s not her fault.” He heaved a sigh, running his hand through his hair, before setting his elbow on the table and leaning toward her. “You still grieve for him. You would never leave us. So why did you tell Marita you would consider her job offer?”
Crap. She had so wanted his obtuse lykan self to not figure out this part.
Even though her heart was determined to race, she held tight in her seat, her butt clenched with the tension it took not to give anything away. “I don’t know what you’re babbling about.”
He smirked, unconvinced. “You’re delaying leaving here. Now, again, when I first came to that conclusion, I thought it was because you were kind of a rock star—enjoying the glory of being a mega-being.” He guffawed. “Then I came to my senses, and thought no, this is Caia, the girl who blushed at her first pack run, the girl who looks as if she would give anything to melt into the wallpaper every time we meet in Marita’s suite to discuss the MacLachlan attack.”
Oh Gaia, she really wished he hadn’t decided to get all perceptive where she was concerned.
“Lucien—”
He held up his hand to cut her off. “So that leaves me with one question.”
She waited.
His eyes narrowed dangerously and his head lowered in mimicry of his lykan when going on the attack. “What the Hades are you up to, Caia?”
“Lucien—”
“I am still your Pack Leader and I demand to know what you’re planning here.”
She wanted to tell him, she really did. But without knowing how he really felt about her, how could she trust him with this before she actually did it? If her plan went accordingly, she would have to tell him eventually. But now, when there was still so much at stake?
“The Center has made me see things differently. I really am considering Marita’s offer.”
He growled. “I don’t believe you.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Caia—”
“Lucien, I’m telling you the truth, so drop it.”
His nostrils flared and he pushed back so hard from the table, his chair flew out behind him and smashed against the wall at the opposite end of the room.
Caia scowled at him. “Nicely done.”
“Don’t even start. Do you know how close I am to … to …” He made a choking gesture with his hands and bared his teeth at her. Instead of responding to him, she glanced in what she hoped was a casual manner behind him and flicked her wrist, setting the chair to right and returning it to the table.
He grunted at her use of magik and then turned on her, his eyes glittering as he leaned down so close to her face she felt his warm breath whisper across her skin. “I will get to the bottom of this.”