Destined (War of the Covens 2)

A flare of pain radiated from his chest. He believed enough to drag his pack into a coup against the Head of the Daylight Coven.

“Lucien?” Caia was gripping his hand.

He blinked away his contemplation and found the three of them staring at him in concern.

“You okay, man?”

“Fine.” He shook it off gruffly.

“You looked a little put out, that’s all,” Ryder said.

“I said I’m fine.”

Caia squeezed his hand and then released it, turning to Jaeden with a curious smile. “So, this Reuben character?”

Ryder growled and spun away from Jaeden, his body bristling. Obviously, the vampyre was a problem for his friend, Lucien concluded. He could relate with the whole possessiveness thing—a genetic defect of their species, if you asked him.

Jae hid a grin at Ryder’s attitude. “Yeah, there’s not much else to tell except that he’s here, offering his help—”

“Sticking his nose in,” Ryder interrupted.

“No. Being a friend. He and Ryder don’t exactly get along. Especially since my attempted kidnapping the other day.”

Lucien flinched like he’d been hit. Why was this not the first piece of information relayed to him upon his return. “What?”

His friend’s face reddened with anger as he glared back at Lucien. “Yeah, someone tried to snatch her off your grounds. I got there with Reuben just in time. The vamp chased the person into your woods but lost them.”

“Did you see what they looked like?” Caia asked, her face drained of color.

Jaeden shook her head, her lips pinched. “They were apparently dressed in black. Another kidnapping attempt. I’m beginning to think someone doesn’t like me.”

“The Midnights?” Lucien asked Caia, immediately regretting his accusatory tone.

She snapped up off the couch with a disdainful look. “I would’ve felt it if it were the Midnights.”

Jae crossed her arms over her chest defensively. Her eyes, which just moments ago had sparkled happily, were narrowed, trying to mask her vulnerability. “Well, maybe you missed something. Can’t you double-check?”

Caia bit down on her lip as all three of them stared at her in expectation, and Lucien detected the shudder that ran through her body. “Caia, no pressure,” he assured her.

“I’ll check. I’ll be back in a second.”

When she was gone, Lucien skewered the two of them with a look. “Ease up on my mate.”

“You just like saying that, don’t you?” Ryder grinned. “My mate.”

“That’s beside the point. There’s a lot going on that you aren’t aware of.”

“Oh, like the Midnight Ryder’s keeping in his guest bedroom for Caia?” Jae asked dryly.

He had no idea how the two of them had found out that Laila was a Midnight, and no idea how to explain the situation to them. More than that, however, he was curious as to why Ryder would keep Laila under his roof if he was aware of her heritage.

“How did you find out?”

“Reuben.” Ryder curled his lip in distaste at the mention of the vamp. “The guy is weird, Lucien. Knew little Laila was a Midnight right off. I think you should interrogate him.”

“Oh, there will be no interrogating of anybody,” Jaeden snapped, “except perhaps Caia. We’ve been waiting for what seems like weeks for an answer to why she sent a Midnight to us and how she knew Laila was a good guy.”

His ears perked. “So you believe Caia?”

Jaeden snorted. “Have you met Laila and Vil? There isn’t a bad bone in that girl’s body, and I don’t have to be a tracer, or whatever, to know that. Plus, she told me what the Midnights did to her. If anyone has a reason to go AWOL and join the other side, it’s that girl.”

“What happened to her?”

She shook her head, her face taut with restrained emotion. “That’s her private business.”

Lucien scratched his cheek, bemused. “I’m shocked. I thought when we told you, I’d have a battle on my hands convincing you Caia is right.”

Ryder shook his head, sitting back down beside Jaeden. “Nah. Little Laila is a sweetheart. Anyone can see that.”

Hmm, he wasn’t just talking about little Laila.

“What about other Midnights?” Lucien ventured tentatively.

“What do you mean?”

Their expressions changed often as he told them about Caia’s certainty that the war as it stood made no sense, considering there were Midnights who did not believe in the destruction of other supernatural races. And then he broke the news of what Caia had found in the basement of the Center. They listened attentively, their eyes round with disbelief and fear.

“Wait a minute,” Jaeden choked out when he was finished, “Caia’s going to usurp Marita?”

“Well”—Caia’s voice caught hold of Lucien like a hand at the back of his neck—“when you put it like that, it sounds crazy.”

“Cy.” Ryder stood. “Are you serious? Are you really going to the Council to do this?”

At first, Lucien detected the uncertainty in her face. Then she looked at him, and he could tell she was remembering what he told her about confidence. She straightened her spine and swept her hair off her shoulders. “Yes. I’m completely serious. It’s the only thing to be done.”