Ascended (War of the Covens 3)

Jaeden wasn’t buying the tone. Something not good was about to come from Miss World’s Bitch Division Crown Champion. Caia nodded, probably too weary to be on alert. Jaeden tensed, waiting.

“So.” Alexa turned toward Cy. “How come you let Marita beat the living crap out of you?”

“Ale—” Lucien began, but Caia held up her hand to cut him off.

She frowned at the other female. “What do you mean?”

“Well.” Alexa shrugged. “I wasn’t there, but according to the good folks in this room who were, you turned Ethan’s insides into kitchen décor last time you were faced by an all-powerful magik. Uh, I’ve heard stories that you took out four magiks in one go just a few weeks ago. All I’m saying is, how come you sucked ass today?”

Jaeden was right. “You’re a bitch,” she snapped.

Alexa exhaled. “Uh, hello, where have you been?”

“Jaeden’s right.” Ryder shook his head in disgust at her. “You always have something unpleasant to add to an already bad situation.”

Ah, that was her man … always a gentleman even when he traded insults. She patted his arm affectionately and then glanced up to see her Alpha’s reaction. Clearly he was biting back a retort cuffed by Caia’s nails digging into his arm.

“You’re right, I don’t know why I sucked ass today.”

“Tut-tut,” a new voice entered the room, and they turned to watch Reuben swagger in. “I was waiting on that answer with bated breath.” He shook his head. “It was a letdown.”

Ugh. Soulless fiend. Cheating, lying son of a bitch. A son of a bitch who’d used mesmerism on her to make her leave her own pack! Why was she the only one who saw how messed up that was? And to think she had defended him to Ryder.

“Did I mention you were right about this douche bag?” she huffed, turning to her mate.

He smiled sympathetically. “I heard.”

“Still angry, Jaeden?” Reuben smiled too sweetly, holding a hand to his heart. “That’s nice. I guess our friendship meant something after all.”

Ryder snarled. Jae grinned but threw him a “down, boy” look.

“Anyhoo.” Reuben smirked and looked back at Caia. “I can answer Alexa’s question, no problem.”

Caia perked up at his regard, and Jaeden sighed inwardly. Caia actually trusted this jerk, even after he’d lied through his abnormally elongated teeth the entire time Jae had known him. And he was good. He’d had her completely fooled. Did the others know about him? Did Lily and Styx know they were living it up with a twenty-four-hundred-year-old, second-generation vampyre who could snap them in half without even blinking? This guy had lived centuries doing gods know what, and now he wanted Caia to go off on some suicide mission to destroy trace magik and free them all! And the Caia was considering it.

Jae sighed. Some serious intervention was going to be necessary. And she really hoped Lucien would be the one to do it ’cause she had a wedding night to get to.

“We’re waiting,” Alexa told him shrilly.

Jae snickered. Alexa was finding the adjustment of not being center of attention when there were men in the room a little tough. After almost eighteen years of school with the girl and drooling humans following her around with their eyes, it was a nice change of pace.

Reuben shrugged. Goddess, his every movement bugged her. She stifled an irritated growl. “When Marita attacked Caia, the only person in danger was Caia herself.” He smiled softly at Cy.

Alexa rolled her eyes. “Uh … meaning?”

He threw her a distasteful look. “Uh … meaning,” he imitated, “that Caia, like, totally isn’t, like, a self-absorbed bimbo. She only, like, totally mashes people into a pulp when someone else is in, like, total danger.”

“I don’t say like and totally that much, O-K!”

Jaeden felt a suspicious shudder from her mate. She scowled. “Are you laughing?”

He smirked. “It was funny.”

“Hmm.”

Yeah, it was … but still … Reuben equals bad. No laughing at his mocking a person no matter how much said person needed to be mocked.

“What are you saying?” Lucien batted away their bickering.

The vampyre turned slowly to look at him, his eyes narrowing. His expression had tightened imperceptibly. Hmm, interesting. Does Reuben have a problem with Lucien?

“I’m saying that if we rewind and think about the occasions when Caia’s other powers have gotten the best of her … you were involved.”

That’s true, Jaeden mused. Huh, that made sense. He was her mate, after all.

Alexa’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, right, like when she blasted me against the classroom window for …” She trailed off and then blushed.

Ooh. “For what?” Jae pushed.

“Um, nothing.”

“Caia?”

Caia’s eyes widened at having been put on the spot and then swung around to Alexa who was pleading with her eyes to not say anything. “Let’s not get into it, but … suffice to say Lucien’s name came up.”

Hmm, she’d find out from Caia later.