Wolf's Desire (16 page)

Devin Caedmon was one daunting man. Or so it appeared…

From the moment Keira entered the Caedmon mansion with Aiden and Blake at her side, the man had looked at her with an angry animalistic stare that rivaled any she’d ever had the misfortune of receiving.

Although
he was beautiful, the expression on his face and the way he stood menacingly at the head of the board room table told Keira that he had a vicious side. The same side she’d seen in Aiden many times before.

The maid that had greeted when they’d arrived, left the room without saying a word, and closed the door
behind her.

There was another you
ng male in the room with Devin, with icy blue eyes and a head full of blond hair. He appeared uninterested with his feet propped up on the corner of the table, and never looked up from the book he held open in his hand.

Aiden
left her side and dropped the chest holding the relics atop the table.

Devin’s emerald gaze
moved quickly over the box, then he looked at her. “Sit down.”

Aiden pulled out
a seat for her, and they all sat down.

“How long have you had these?”
Devin’s arms were rested atop the table, his hands cupped together.

Caught off guard, she
reached next to her and grabbed Aiden’s hand. She hadn’t expected to be questioned. “I didn’t know they were in the house.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure how long they’d been there.”

He examined her.
Like Aiden, Devin could probably smell a lie. “How long have you been living in the house?”

“Two and a half years.”

“Do you know what we are?”

She nodded.

Devin exchanged a look with Aiden.

“She’s my mate,” Aiden said. “
It’s been confirmed.”

Devin looked at Blake.

Blake cleared his throat. “Definitely.”

Keira’s face heated as she remembered how they men had joked on the ride here about how she and Aiden had carried on each night.

“The bond hasn’t been completed.” This came from the young blond-headed male at the other end of the table. He’d taken his feet down and the book he was reading was now closed on the table.

“Mind your business,
Dawson, and stop smelling us,” Aiden said between clenched teeth. “We will complete it when we’re ready.”

Dawson chuckled.

“Ms. Keira Ellis,” Devin said
, his dominant voice cutting through the tension. “I would like what’s in that chest, but I need you to give up your rights to it. They’ve been in your possession too long, and as I understand as part of Ellis’ will, they were left to you. You own them on paper. To take them outright would be like stealing. I won’t stoop to that level.”

She swallowed. “I made a promise to Jamison. I would never let these items
find themselves in the wrong hands.”

“Did he define
wrong hands
?”

“He didn’t have a chance to. They murdered him, Mr. Caedmon.”

Devin gestured with his hand to the chest. “Do you know the value of these things?”

“I imagine they’re worth a great deal of mon
ey. Millions maybe, since they’re dated so far back.”

Devin laughed lightly. “These are worth more than money, Miss Ellis.”

“Call me Keira.”

He grinned. “Call me Devin.”

Her tension began to subside. “I know the story. Aiden told me. I know who they belonged to.”

Devin glanced at Aiden
again, and for a minute Keira thought she’d gotten him in trouble.

“What would
you like in exchange for the contents of this box? One million? Two million?”

“Tell me what the contents mean to you first and then I will bargain.”

Devin looked surprised, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “You want truth?”

She nodded.

“I am a direct descendant of William Caedmon II. The relics within the box contain certain powers. Powers that may only be consumed or delegated by Caedmon males of the original bloodline. Powers we lost when this shit went missing centuries ago, and was hidden by
Others
. I suspect that the
Other
who hide the relics didn’t want us to regain the powers. Somehow, these ended up in the hands of Mr. Jamison Ellis. It doesn’t seem that he wanted to turn the relics over at all either. Why that is…is still a mystery.”

“But you all descend from Caedmon, r
ight?” she asked.

“The only other male in this room who is directly descended from a
previous Caedmon Alpha is Dawson. He is my half-brother.” He swung his arm out toward Dawson. “He and I are the only ones—in this room—that have the ability to consume, harness, or delegate the powers.”

“And outside of it?” She already knew the answer.

“Arnou.”

She bit down on her bottom lip, as a
painful sensation gripped her head. Another migraine.
Damn.
Why now at this moment?

“What will it be, Keira?” Devin pressed. “Name. Your. Price.”

“Avenge Jamison’s death.”
Her demand echoed throughout the boardroom. One could have heard a needle drop.

The corners of Devin’s lips turned up into a grin, and then he turned to regard Aiden, who’d remained quiet beside her. “I need your support.”

“My support is given, Alpha.”

Devin nodded. “Consider it done, Keira. Jamison’s death along with many others will be avenged.” He cast his gaze down at the chest that held the relics, licking his bottom lip as though anticipating his prize. “Dawson, will you have someone deliver a message to
Roman? He will perform the ceremony.”

Dawson stood. “Yes, Alpha.” He left the room.

“Make yourself at home, Keira.” Devin pushed himself up from the table and stood as well. “I’m going to check on Tamara.”

“How is she?
How are the babies?” Blake asked, as the Alpha moved around the table.

“She’s happy.”
Devin smiled. “They’re due any day now.” He paused at the door. “Would the two of you send my orders to both Nick and Jayson? We meet under the moon at five past midnight.”

***

“Keira, right?” Keira nearly jumped out of her skin when the woman spoke to her and touched her on her shoulder. She spun around and found herself face to face with a brown-eyed, brown skin woman. For a moment, she looked on in awe at her, admiring her beauty. Was she a wolf shifter too?

“My name is Arianna.”

“Arianna?” She heard the name the before, during a short conversation the mean had earlier that day.

“Aiden said you probably needed some company. He’ll be occupied tonight, as you can see.” She nodded towards the clearing in the forest where the men had gathered in a circle.

From her position on the wrap around porch of the mansion, she couldn’t really hear anything. It had been at least an hour, and they were still gathered there. The six Council members and two Elders.

“I don’t think they’ll be done anytime soon,” Arianna said.

“I’m sorry,” Keira said. “I’ve been rude. My name is Keira.”

“No need for apologies.”

Arianna joined her on the swing bench, curling her feet up under her. “What are you reading?”

She handed Arianna the book, who took one look at it
, flipped through a couple pages, and said, “Steamy. I’d like to borrow this when you’re done reading it?”

Keira smiled shyly, then nodded her head toward the men.
“Which one?”

“Jayson.”

She remembered Jayson being the one who’d ridden up on a motorcycle, black garments covering him from head to toe. He looked like he wanted to bite someone’s head off. “He wasn’t in a very good mood when he came here tonight.”

Arianna chuckled. “He’ll be okay. His computer crashed this morning, and we couldn’t reach our technician. Turns out he was on vacation.”

“Oh. So, they’re not always this mad.”

“You’ve joined us at a rough time. The Pack is in danger of being split again. On top of that, we’ve all got issues. I take it that you’ve thought about becoming one of us long and hard.” She then arched a brow, waiting for Keira’s answer.

“Aiden’s my mate. There is no other place I’d rather be.”

“Sweet,” Arianna said. “You’ll fit right in then.”

“Do you know what they’re talking about out there?”

“Jayson ordered me not to listen in,” she said, slyly.

“Are you wolf?”

“I’m
Other
,” she said. “And yes, that means I can hear them if I wanted to.”

Keira shook her head. “I don’t want to get you in trouble with Jayson.”

“It’s not Jayson I’m worried about. These orders came directly from Devin.”

“I see.” It didn’t take a whiz to know that you never crossed him.

“I don’t need to listen to know that they’re having talks about the upcoming battle.”

“Battle?” Keira turned in the chair, giving Arianna her full attention.

“With Arnou. This won’t end happily.”

“Would it have been better if we’d not discovered the relics,” she asked.

“No.” Arianna shook her head. “It was only a matter of time before the feuding began. This battle has been brewing years. During that time, Arnou has remained on the sidelines waiting for the right time to strike. It’s not mystery that he’s after what Devin has already acquired. The Caedmon Pack was at its weakest point before Devin. When he accepted the role as Alpha, there was hope again. We are stronger now. Not as strong as we should be, but we are progressing in numbers. Arnou’s jealousy has grown, and he’s gotten greedier.”

Keira looked out at the men, but they weren’t in human form anymore. All six of them were now wolves and they were in a c
ircle around one of the Elders.

“Let’s go inside.” Arianna got up. “We shouldn’t be out her now. They need to concerntrate.”

She followed, but before joining Arianna in the mansion, she asked, “What will they do?”

“I told you. I can’t listen.”

“You can see,” Keira urged. “You know the Caedmon ways. What does it
look
like?”

She
smiled. “You are just as hard-headed as I am. I already see that you and I will get into much trouble together.”

Nonetheless
, Arianna looked back and her gaze locked on the wolves in the field. She stared for almost a minute with a glint of light circling around the irises of her eyes, much like Aiden’s did when he was observing something.

“The Alpha has chosen to de
legate,” she finally said. “That’s why all six of them have shifted. Now let’s go inside before we get into trouble.”

In that instance, Keira knew the Caedmon council had made a decision that would change the course of things forever.

“You have to stop creeping up on me like that.” Keira smiled, dropped her hairbrush on the sink, and turned around.

Aiden pulled her into his chest. “I wasn’t creeping.” He kissed her softly on the face and lips.
“You smell good.”

“They have nice essential bath oils here.” She wrapped her arms around him. “I had a long bath, since you were gone a
long
time.”

“My Council brothers and I ran together. We hadn’t done that in a long time.”

After what Keira understood was the ceremony to raise the powers from the relics of William Caedmon II and delegate them, the men had not returned. Now she understood why. They had been celebrating.

She pulled back and looked at him. His eyes were different, almost a golden hue with specks of red. “What happened out there?”

“Instead of choosing to observe all the powers, Devin delegated them.” His fingers stroked the back of her neck as he held her gaze firmly. “Do you know what this means?”

“No,” she whispered.

“Everything has changed, Keira,” he said. “I’m stronger now than I ever was before, but what we did last night will come with a price.”

“What is it?”

“The time has come. Arnou has waged war against us. We must shut him down.”

She
swallowed, and pressed her forward to his. After breathing in his scent, she could tell that he’d ran wild in the forest. “You will sacrifice everything to save your kind.”

He nodded. “It must be done.”

“Come here.” Keira led him out of the bathroom and into the adjoining sleeping quarters. “I want you to have something.”

“Yo
u’ve given me enough.” He took her by the waist. “You are part of my purpose now.”