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

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

“Ale-” Lucien began, but Caia held her hand up 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 that were, you turned Ethan’s insides into kitchen décor last time you were faced by an all-powerful magik. Uh, I’ve heard great war 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. Still a Bitch with a capital B. “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 the nails Caia was 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 let-down.”

Ugh. Soulless fiend. Cheating, lying son-of-a-bitch. A son-of-a-bitch who had 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 sighed and then 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. For some reason Caia actually trusted this jerk, even after he had lied through his abnormally elongated teeth the entire time Jae had known him. And he was good. He had 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 that could snap them in half without even blinking? This guy had lived centuries doing god knows what and now he wanted Caia to go off on some suicide mission to destroy trace magik and free them all! And the idiot was considering it. Jae sighed. Some serious intervention was going to be needed. And she really hoped Lucien would be the one to do it 'cause she had a wedding night to get around to.

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

Jae snickered. Alexa did not like the fact that there wasn’t one guy in the room who would rather be looking at her than anything else. After almost eighteen years of school with the girl and drooling humans following her around with their eyes, it was kind of 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 her, “That Caia like totally isn’t like a self-absorbed bimbo. She only like totally mashed 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=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 on Lucien. 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 got 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 had 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 not to say anything. “Um… let’s not get into it but… suffice to say Lucien’s name came up.”

Hmm, she’d find out from Caia later.

“See.” Reuben nodded. “A trigger.”

Magnus who had been leaning in closer and closer to the television to hear Harry Potter had given up now and zipped it off with a frustrated press of the remote. He strode towards the group that had neared physically closer to one another without realizing it. “Reuben’s right. Let’s not forget it was only when Lucien was being tortured by Ethan that Caia splattered… smooshed… whatever it was she did to him.”

Jaeden smiled at him. “And she only killed those magiks when Lucien was in danger in the forest.”

“And I blew up a tree once,” Caia muttered but with lykan hearing they all whipped around, pinning her with amused glances. She blushed. “I was pissed off at him.” She smiled adoringly up at him. “I’m not anymore, sweetie.”

Lucien looked like he wanted to ask what she had been pissed off at him for but Jaeden was snickering. She couldn’t help it. They looked at her. She gestured at Lucien pointedly. “Sweetie.”

Ryder chuckled and pulled her into his side. “Don’t make the Alpha mad, baby.”

Before she could retort with something shockingly flirtatious, Alexa was on her feet. “So… what? We can’t expect Caia to save our asses unless Lucien’s is under fire?”

Caia was blushing again but Reuben was shaking his head. “Not at all.” He pinned Cy with his gaze. “We’re going to train you.”

“Uh, how about asking her?” Jae snapped.

Lucien was growling and Jae was bristling; Rose was smirking which made Jaeden just want to tear out that pretty red hair of hers or maybe throw her in a room with Alexa and hope the two of them took care of each other.

“Guys!” Caia stepped away from Lucien and gestured at them all. “I’m a big girl. I can speak for myself. And Reuben’s right.”

“Wha-”

“You can’t-”

“Be ser-”

“Than-”

“Shut up,” Magnus demanded. “Let the girl speak.”

Caia smiled gratefully at her uncle and then spoke directly to Reuben, “I want you to help me if you can.”

“And you’ll do what I asked?”

“I’m still thinking on it.”

“You have one night to sleep on it.”

“That’s a little unfair.”

“What are you talking about?” Lucien frowned stepping between them. Ah, so Caia hadn’t told Lucien yet about what Reuben wanted her to do. Yup… that wasn’t going to go down well. There was no way Lucien would ever forgive her for killing Daylights for a start!

“We’ll talk in the morning,” Reuben commanded and she saw the way Lucien flinched. He was used to being the one who gave the orders. “Get some sleep. We’ll get you all back to the pack tomorrow.”

12 – The Pawn

“Whoa… this place looks different,” Caia breathed as she strolled into Marita and Vanne’s suite. Before, it had shared husband and wife’s taste (heavy on the wife’s), but now all Marita’s stuff was gone and in its place were Chesterfield sofas and mahogany tables, and a honking great big old library desk that looked like it cost more than Caia’s once-upon-a-time brand new Ford. On the walls hung paintings of hunting scenes and birds rather than sumptuous renaissance debauchery. Instead of lamps with vine-leaf stands were green banker’s lamps… there was even an old-fashioned globe. Come to think of it she had seen very similar décor once before elsewhere. Caia smiled at Alfred Doukas as he stood to great her.

Alfred’s study. Of course.

They had made Doukas Regent while Marita was A.W.O.L. Caia had awoken to that news as well as the request for her presence after breakfast. It had been difficult to pull herself up out of Lucien’s embrace but at least her shoulder barely ached now.

“You know, there’s still a few hours til’ after breakfast.” Lucien had grabbed her gently, trying to pull her back into the bed.

Caia had rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you tired out from last night already?”

He grinned, eyeing her suggestively. “Hey, I wasn’t the one who started it. I was going to leave you alone because of your shoulder but nooo… you needed your dose of Lucien Love.”

Caia grunted. “Keep calling it that and I’m sure I’ll be cured of needing a dose of Lucien Love ever again.”

He frowned. “How’s the shoulder?”

“Good. Ahhhh!” She squealed as he physically hauled her back into bed, rolling her over so she was pinned beneath him. She tried to shake him off but he just laughed and began peppering her face with kisses. The relief that he wasn’t throwing things around in a fit of rage after she had told him what Reuben wanted from her still amazed her. He actually understood why Reuben could be so ruthless.