Destined (War of the Covens 2)

There was some gushing from Desi and her sister, and a few others, but mostly just grateful smiles thrown in with a bit of hero-worship. Normally it would make Caia want to sink into the floor to avoid such flattery. Her plans had changed all that.

As diplomatically as she could, she made her excuses and returned to her suite with a triumphant smile. Things were going very nicely. Just one last thing to do.

With her stare fixed on the offending vase, Caia practically stormed at it, upended its contents on the floor, and sifted through them with her toe.

There you are.

The tiny black chip lay before her mere seconds before she crushed it underfoot. Goodbye, bug, goodbye, Center …

Goodbye, Marita.

21

Finally

He watched the rain, wishing they weren’t stuck in this bubble at the Center so he could hear it battering his windows. The sounds, smells, and sight of rain had always reminded him of the pack, of the damp earth that told him he was home.

Lucien turned away only to glare at the wall that connected to Caia’s suite. Something was going on, he knew it—that she wouldn’t confide in him enraged him past all reason. Her attitude toward him before and after the attack at Remnant Forest had been inexcusable considering he was the wronged party. He wanted to throttle her.

The day he’d cornered her in the library, he’d gone snooping when she left the room, hoping to discover a clue as to what she had really been researching.

Tae kwon do, my ass.

To his ever-continuing irritation, he’d found nothing.

Then there had been her venture into Paris without him, without even telling him it was happening. Ah yeah, Marita had been particularly smug about that when he’d gone looking for her, only to discover Caia was destroying Pierre du Bois’s lab with Phoebe MacLachlan and she hadn’t had the decency to tell him, her pack Alpha.

Lucien growled just thinking about it. Marita was winning this stupid war with him over Caia’s loyalty, and the sooner he could get her out and away from that woman, the better.

He snapped to attention at the soft knock on his door and admonished himself for hoping it wasn’t Rose. Although he hadn’t entered into a relationship with her, she’d been trying to persuade him otherwise, pulling him into surprise kisses and talking about a future together. When she asked if she could return to the pack with him, Lucien felt awful letting her down when she was recovering from the beating she’d taken from that Midnight. She’d been angry at his refusal, but he felt it would’ve been worse to commit to her when all his thoughts were centered on Caia. Not that the little she-witch cared, he grumbled, feeling her rejection like pinpricks of pain all over.

Disgruntled, he yelled, “Come in!” toward the door and hoped his visitor wasn’t looking for pleasant conversation.

“Lucien.” Marion marched inside, slamming the door.

His eyebrows hit his hairline, surprised by his visitor and even more so by the glare she was using to staple him to the window.

“Marion. What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?” Throwing her hands up in the air, she spun away from him and began pacing. “This is why I don’t do romantic relationships. The male species, of any race, are a dim-witted bunch, testing the patience of saints.”

Lucien tried to cover his snort and failed.

“It’s not funny, Lucien. You’ll be laughing on the other side of your face when I impart this next piece of news.”

Just like that, he tensed. “What news?”

The magik strode toward him, her head craned back to look up at him, her eyes narrow slits. “What on earth are you playing at, young man? Kissing another lykan in front of Caia, avoiding her completely? She’s been alone the entire time she’s been here.”

He only heard the first part of that statement. “What do you mean kissing another lykan in front of Caia?”

Marion curled her lip in distaste. “Rose Bronson. You kissed her in the reception area.”

“Caia saw?”

“Caia saw.”

Damn. Guilt flooded him. Rose had kissed him good luck, and he hadn’t exactly thrown her off. What must Caia think? He was such an id—

“Wait!” he snapped, pushing passed her. “I have nothing to feel guilty about. I’m not the one who’s been avoiding Caia, it’s the other way around. She’s been keeping secrets, giving me attitude. She made it perfectly clear that she didn’t need me.”

He expected an apology from Marion, for her to admit graciously she’d blundered and tell him how sorry she was for him.

The witch stared at him as if he was the stupidest person she’d ever met. “And when did this behavior start? Before or after Rose’s arrival?”

“Well …” Lucien wasn’t sure he liked where this was going.

She threw off his dithering with an impatient swat of her hand and stormed toward him again. “Just tell me this … are you with Rose now?”