She felt the threat of tears and gulped a lump back down in her throat, holding them at bay. Before returning to the pack she hadn’t cried since she was a little girl. These days it was all she seemed to do. She was so tired today. Shaking her head, she pulled her car door open and threw her bag inside.
“Caia, please.”
She drew to a stop at the worried look on Jaeden’s face. She realized Jae was afraid that she’d offended her somehow. She heaved a sigh. She should trust her; she owed her that much.
“I just...” she stopped, trying to gather her thoughts. “I’m happy here, Jae.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“The problem is... I’m happy here, and I never have been before. But this... this is all new, and the pack is just getting to know me. If anyone thought, for one second, that I had designs on Lucien...”
Thankfully she watched the light dawn in Jaeden’s eyes. “I see.”
“I don’t have any,” she rushed to explain, “It’s just... he’s been kind. And not everyone is accepting of me as you are.”
Her friend drew her into an unexpected hug. “I won’t tell anyone you like him. I understand. I won’t tell.”
Caia breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her back tightly.
“Why are you calling?” he asked coldly. “I told you not to call me unless it was necessary.”
He heard her sigh sweetly on the other end of the phone. “Well,” she replied breathily, “Last time we talked you seemed anxious that things weren’t progressing as quickly as you would have liked. Today, I have reason to believe that Phase Two won’t be as far off as we thought.”
He smiled into the mirror above his phone table. He liked the sound of that. “Oh?”
“The girl and the leader are becoming attached.”
“You know this for certain?”
He clenched his fist, knowing she was insolently rolling her eyes. She thought he couldn’t see. “Yes,” she said evenly. “My eyes and ears are everywhere.”
Despite her insolence he felt his shoulders relax a little. This was good news indeed. “What about the others?”
“With the exception of one or two, they actually seem to be rather taken with the little abomination.”
“Good. We are depending on that.”
She chuckled. “Yes, we are. How’s my little pet faring by the way?” she purred.
It was his turn to roll his eyes. “My pet, don’t you mean?”
“Well, of course, my lord,”
“I’m enjoying it. I find it is an excellent outlet for all my pent up aggression.”
“I’m sure.”
Actually at this moment he rather felt like visiting it. Bored with her now, he shut down and said, “Call when there is no doubt about their alliance. We’ll move in for Phase Two.”
“Of course, my-”
He hung up before she was finished and gazed into the mirror again. His eyes narrowed at how unkempt his hair was. Smoothing it with his hands and straightening his collar, his eyes brightened with anticipation, thinking of the pet his spy had given him. It was just a bonus in this tense and frustrating business. He strolled through the house until he came to the large kitchen. At the end of the kitchen was a pantry, and in it was another door. The door led down old wooden stairs to a deep, dark pit. At the bottom he stopped and took in a lungful of the air. He winced at the damp earth that attacked his nose.
Damp earth and fear.
With a snap of his fingers a flame appeared in thin air, dancing in front of him, lighting the entire room and waiting for his command. It followed him as he strode to the end of the dark dungeon-like basement, and came to a stop in front of a large cage. He bent down, his eyes lighting up with delight at the creature inside. “Hello again.”
The fear roiling inside of it him hit with full force. He shivered in delight at the tingling warmth of excitement spreading through his body.