Moon Spell (The Tale of Lunarmorte #1) (7 page)

As they entered the cafeteria she zeroed in on the pack teenagers. They were sitting sprawled around a table together as other students looked at them, but didn
’
t go near them. They were looking at her as well, huddling close to whisper when they realized she was with Jaeden. Caia couldn
’
t understand how they were supposed to go undetected by these people when Jaeden and the others not only looked the way they did, but stuck together like … well, like a pack. Nonplussed, she grabbed a roast beef sandwich and soda and followed Jaeden to the table. As it had been that morning, Sebastian, Finlay, and Daniel offered friendly smiles; Sebastian pulling out the chair next to him for her so she didn
’
t have to sit beside Malek. Dana grimaced at her presence, while Alexa didn
’
t even acknowledge it.

Malek smirked. “So?”

She shrugged. “It was fine. The usual.”

He chuckled, his eyes sparkling. “You don
’
t say much, do you? She,” he pointed to Dana, “Never shuts up.”

“That
’
s what Lucien said.” Caia shrugged again, frowning. Was she weird because she liked the quiet?

“What?!” Dana
’
s mouth opened and shut like a fish, and everyone (even Alexa) laughed. Caia realized her blunder and blanched under the girl
’
s glare.

“No. I mean … Lucien said the same thing about me not saying much,” her explanation produced nothing more than a look so evil she was sure the girl was muttering some kind of curse against her in her head. Caia felt Jaeden kick her under the table in amusement and decided looking at her new friend would only make her laugh, and
that
would definitely make these lykan girls hate her more than they already did.

“So,” Malek continued again, ripping off a piece of his sandwich like the animal he was and then talking with his mouth full, “Were you dating anyone at your old high school?”

Her brows knitted together, as did Jaeden
’
s she noticed. “No. It
’
s frowned upon … that
’
s what Irini said anyway.”

Malek laughed. “It
’
s frowned upon. You
’
re very cute, you know that.”

“Mal,” Jaeden warned.

“What?” He smirked, and then turned back to Caia. “It
’
s frowned upon to try and make a
‘
forever
’
deal with one of them, but dating and sex with them isn
’
t out.”

“It
’
s not in either.” Sebastian glowered.

Daniel laughed. “Ah come on. It
’
s harmless fun.”

This set off a debate about the ethics of dating humans. She noticed they were very careful not to actually use the word human - it was always
‘
them
’
. Jaeden and Sebastian were obviously dead set against the whole idea so she had the feeling that it was definitely
‘
frowned upon
’
by the pack. As they argued among themselves, Caia noticed Alexa wasn
’
t saying anything. Instead she was watching Caia with her dark eyes narrowed in dislike. Caia found herself flushing under scrutiny. If she didn
’
t know any better she would guess that this lykan was threatened by her. Funny, how she worried only about returning to pack life - it had never occurred to her that she was returning at a time when many of the females were in competition with one another to snag the male of their choice. She sighed and looked at little Finlay who sat across from her watching the goings on. She caught his eye and shrugged as if to say she was sorry for causing the argument. He merely blushed and looked away.

“Ignore Mal,” Jaeden finally spat, turning to Caia. “We
’
re allowed to be friends with one of them, but nothing more.”

Caia just nodded, while Malek chuckled at having so thoroughly annoyed the group.

His next question caused even more of an undercurrent, “So, Caia, you got your eye on anyone in the pack, yet?” He leaned back in his chair, puffing his muscular chest up and grinning at her, his eyes turning blacker than black with heat. She squirmed, completely uncomfortable with such blatant attention, but before she could say anything the table jumped and he let out a growl. Someone had kicked him hard and she had a feeling it was Sebastian.

Jaeden grinned. “Be warned.”

Caia hid her smile. Oh boy was she in for a ride with this lot.

At least, she thought somewhat happily, she had a two lykans who were on her side.

As she climbed
into Jaeden
’
s Buick, Caia felt like she could breathe again. Her first day of school had gone as expected, except for the overwhelming sense of
‘
pack
’
that was being thrust upon her. It was strange but even when one of them hadn
’
t been in a class with her she had felt their energy throughout the school.

She threw a tired smile at Jaeden. “That was interesting.”

For once Jaeden didn
’
t laugh. “Cy, I
’
m sorry about Mal.”

“Don
’
t be. I mean, he
’
s harmless, right?”

“Oh yeah,” she agreed quickly. “But, well, it can
’
t be easy for you coming back to all this. You don
’
t need a jerk like Malek sniffing after to you. It
’
ll only cause you more grief.”

Caia smiled at her. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

Caia shrugged embarrassed. She had never had a friend so she wasn
’
t quite sure how you were supposed to talk to one. “I don
’
t know. For being cool I guess. You
and
Sebastian.”

“Cool? About what?”

“Um... I don
’
t know. You
’
ve just been really nice to me.”

“Oh.” She smiled, seeming to understand. “You mean because every other bitch at that table thinks you
’
re a threat?”

Caia snorted at her bluntness. “Yeah, maybe.”

“As long as you leave Ryder alone, we
’
ll be cool my friend.”

“Ryder?”

Jaeden turned to look at her quickly with a quizzical tilt to her brow. “You know, the big guy who was with Lucien last night. He
’
s Lucien
’
s best friend, and a Rogue Hunter.”

She honestly hadn
’
t noticed any big guy next to Lucien last night. She
’
d kind of been occupied with that big guy all by himself. “Nope. Sorry.”

Jaeden laughed. “Well, you
’
ll meet him soon enough. But things look good for us if you didn
’
t even notice him last night. He
’
s pretty hard to miss.”

Jaeden grumbled away about French class and projects and, for what had to be the hundredth time that day, made Caia feel like she had been her friend forever. So lost in Jaeden
’
s warm chatter, she was surprised to realize the car had come to a stop, not at the house, but in town.

“Why?” she asked, indicating their unfamiliar surroundings with a sweep of her hand. Jaeden nodded to the store they were pulled up outside of. It was called
Luar Furniture.
Moonlight Furniture
.
Caia snorted. “That
’
s subtle.”

Giggling, Jaeden reached into the back seat for Caia
’
s backpack. “Yup, well Lucien
’
s not exactly a subtle kind of Alpha.”

“This is Lucien
’
s place?”

“Yup. He asked me to drop you off after school.”

“Why?”

Jaeden shrugged. “I have no idea, sorry.”

“OK.” Caia tried not to bite her lip anxiously. “Well, thanks for the ride.”

“I
’
ll pick you up tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” She reached for the door handle to get out, and then slowly turned back to Jaeden. “And thanks again for … well … you made today a lot easier for me.”

The young lykan
’
s smile lit up the whole car. “I
’
m really glad you
’
re back, Cy.”

Smiling despite herself, she climbed out of the Buick, and waving Jaeden goodbye made her way into the store. All was quiet with no one manning the front. Taking in a set of doors at the back of the room she guessed Lucien was in there somewhere. It was quite a large space; the showroom was filled with all kinds of pieces of furniture. She looked over some of it, awed at how beautifully crafted they were. His work came in all styles and woods. Stunning, she shook her head amazed, and then thoughtlessly turned over a tag on one of his rocking chairs. Her eyes widened. That
’
s how Lucien was able to contribute so thoroughly to the already substantial pack inheritance. Entranced by the rustic whimsy of the chair, Caia didn
’
t hear Lucien come up behind her.

“So how was school?” The dark voice rumbled in her ear.

“Wha...” She jumped, turning to face him, her hand floating to her heart in reflex.
Dammit
, she breathed closing her eyes. She did not want him to know how much he unnerved her. She opened her eyes at his gentle, mocking laughter.

“Didn
’
t mean to scare you.”

“Yeah, well, if your intention is not to scare people don
’
t sneak up on them.”

“I thought you would have at least smelled me. I picked up your scent, that
’
s how I knew you were out here.”

She shook her head gently, turning to look back at the rocking chair. She didn
’
t want to analyze the rush of hot shivers that ran down her spine when he mentioned he
’
d followed her scent. She was acting like an idiot.

“I was too busy looking at this chair. It
’
s really beautiful.”

“Thank you,” he acknowledged and took a step back from her. Her body appreciated it and was almost functioning normally again. “So how was school?” he repeated.

“Fine. I met Dana and Daniel, Sebastian, Alexa and Finlay, and their brother, Malek.”

“How was that?” Lucien smirked, as if he knew how uncomfortable it must have been for her.

“Again, fine.” No way was she going to let him think this was hard for her. From what she knew of Pack Leaders he
’
d treat her like a baby otherwise.

“Just fine?”

“They
’
re nice.”

Lucien laughed outright. “Nice. No. Uh, I
’
ve met Dana, Alexa, and Malek and they
’
re not nice.”

Caia rolled her eyes. “OK, well … the others were nice.”

“And …?”

“And nothing.”

He quirked an eyebrow in a very disarming way, something inside her stomach actually tugged in reaction to it.

“I
’
m trying to fit in with everyone here. If I have the Pack Leader running to them every time I
’
ve got a problem, they
’
re going to hate me.”

“So there is a problem?”

Caia felt a growl purring at the back of her throat. She never growled. “No,” she said between clenched teeth.

He seemed to take the hint. Kind of. “Your classes OK?”

“Yes. Thank you. They
’
re fine.”

A moment of silence descended upon them. His silver eyes never left hers and she began to squirm, stepping from one foot to the other. She hated that he affected her so much. When she couldn
’
t take it any longer she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Why did you ask Jaeden to drop me off here?”

She thought he wasn
’
t going to answer. He stood staring intently at her for what seemed like hours, before he suddenly stood up from the desk he was leaning on. “I wanted to see how your first day at school had gone.”

“Couldn
’
t you have just asked me when you got home?” she asked a little mulishly, and then seemed to remember who she was talking to and blanched.