Sighing heavily, she finished her journey to the doorway of the living room, only to be taken aback by the sight of all them. They were all turned towards her, as if waiting for her. Her eyes immediately went to Lucien and she was angered by the tenderness she saw in his face. She flushed as she remembered the hot kisses they had shared, and how Alexa’s taunt had sent Caia into a blazing rage, enough of one to have been able to what... throw Alexa telekinetically across the room? Frowning at him, and at her own anxious thoughts, she took in the rest of the group. Ryder stood beside Lucien, and on his other side were two unfamiliar women. The first was a small woman with long red hair and wide violet eyes. She was attractive and very delicate, like a doll, and Caia guessed, by the way she held herself, older than she looked. The scent Caia picked up from her, surprisingly, was a strong vanilla, so strong she could almost taste it. And next to this woman was the most stunning creature Caia had ever seen. The woman was tall, only a few inches shorter than Ryder, with a slender figure and graceful limbs. Her perfect face was framed by short, sharp blonde hair that followed her jaw line in strands of thick silk. Her ice blue eyes were watching Caia curiously.
“Hello.” The red-head stepped forward, her words tinged with an accent. “I’m Marion.”
A wave of feeling rushed up and over Caia, a safe feeling, like she could trust this woman with anything. Engrossed in the feeling, she almost forgot her manners. “Sorry.” She took the woman’s hand in her own. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I have a lot to thank you for.”
She shrugged, laughing warmly. “Not at all. Oh.” She seemed to remember herself, and turned back to her companion. “This is Saffron. My faerie.”
A faerie? Caia blinked, remembering the amazing stories Ryder had imparted. “Nice to meet you,” she said, trying to hide her awe.
She watched as Saffron wrinkled her nose and turned to Ryder. “She smells different from the rest of you.”
“Shut up,” he hissed back, glaring at her.
“Wh-”
Before Caia could ask her question Magnus stepped forward, interrupting her. “We need to talk,” he said softly. His worried eyes made the hair on Caia’s skin rise. If she had been in wolf form her ears would have twitched, her hair would have spiked, and she would have lowered to her haunches, awaiting the attack.
They knew!
They all knew what was wrong with her... and no one had told her.
Even the witch and the faerie knew.
She could feel everyone’s anxiety over having to tell her. Angry tears pricked the corner of her eyes. All this time they had been keeping something from her. She had trusted them.
Her gaze blazed with accusation as it moved from one to the other. She took perverse delight in watching them squirm. “Is someone finally going to tell me why every time I have an emotional outburst water pipes instantaneously rupture? Why I can throw someone across a room without even touching them? Why I started to change in front of a class of humans yesterday, and could do nothing to stop it?! Why I can actually feel your emotions right now?!”
Their mouths had fallen open, ears disbelieving at what she was telling them had happened to her.
“Caia.” Lucien made a move towards her, his eyes full of guilt and anguish.
“Don’t.” She stepped back from him, her eyes accusing and filled with dislike. He was the last person in the world she wanted touching her right now. She took satisfaction in the way he flinched, hurt by her rejection.
He sighed and looked at Magnus, and then back to her. “You should know Magnus wanted to tell you from the start, but he was outvoted.”
Caia looked at her uncle, and nodded, as if she had known all along he would not hurt her. “Then you explain, Magnus. Please, just tell me what’s happening to me?” She crumpled into a chair, hating the way her eyes filled with tears as they pleaded with his. “I’m scared.”
She looked at Lucien sharply as he made a sound of distress. His emotions hit her like a wave and she gulped under the force of them. Despite whatever had happened between him and Alexa, he had some caring feelings towards Caia - enough to feel hurt when she was hurting. She didn’t want that. She just wanted to be mad at him. She looked away, as Magnus approached her, ignoring her feelings for her Pack Leader, and taking comfort in the strong arm her uncle placed around her shoulders.
“You don’t have to be scared, Cy. We’ll get you through this.”
“Get me through what?”
“For you to understand, we have to go back to the beginning.” He sighed, rubbing her shoulder in comfort.
And then he began to tell her a tale that threw her back into a past she had never known existed. To a history that had been rewritten.
16 - The Awful Truth
19 years ago
“How could you, Mikhail?” Albus burst out in rage, his hands trembling with so much emotion, so much confusion.
His older brother shrugged, defeated and weary. “I don’t know.”
“You’re the Pack Leader. To have an affair... with the enemy?” Rafe added in disbelief. Albus was glad for his presence. It calmed his fiery temperament.
Mikhail’s eyes flashed at the young man. “Why are you even here? This is between me and my brother.”