“That’s my mom and dad,” Sebastian whispered in her ear, pointing to a young looking family. “And my kid sister, Seana. She’s a pain in my ass.”
Caia smiled, detecting the affection in his voice. He waved at his parents, who smiled back and nodded politely to Caia. She returned the gesture, and smiled at Sebastian after he nudged her teasingly with his shoulder. She glanced around them all again, and then realized there was someone missing.
“Where’s Yvana?” she whispered to Jaeden.
Jaeden screwed up her face. “Everyone heard about how she reacted to you. Lucien banned her from this run. As punishment.”
Caia’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected that. She glanced shyly over at Lucien only to catch him watching her intently. His silver eyes flashed concern at her, and she nodded her head gently to let him know she was OK. Goddess they were a protective lot; it was wearying, but nice. He nodded back and turned to Ryder to murmur something.
They stood for a few more minutes, talking among themselves, until a hush fell over the pack as they all turned to gaze up at the quarter moon.
“Tonight is a special run,” Lucien’s voice rumbled through the pack, drawing all eyes to him. “Tonight we run in honor of the safe return of my sister, Irini, and our brother, Rafael’s, daughter, Caia.”
Caia felt her face warm as a hum washed around them. She waited for him to say more, her eyes drinking in his own silver pools as they scanned the pack. He was born to be a leader; his magnetism alluring, his strength and assuredness comforting. She could feel it drifting over the other pack members, wrapping around them. They were happy with their young leader that was for sure.
“Artemis, go with us,” Lucien rumbled.
“Artemis, go with us,” the pack repeated, and then, just as she had felt herself easing in to the moment, they began to undress. She turned away as Jaeden and Sebastian stripped without any hesitancy; gaped as Irini and Aidan undressed each other, grinning wildly as they touched one another. It wasn’t just them, Caia realized. Couples watched each other intensely as they disrobed, regardless of the other lykans. Everyone was just so at home in their own skin. She felt a pinch on her arm and turned (keeping her eyes at face level) to find Jaeden pointedly raising her eyebrows at her. Sighing, her fingers trembling, Caia began to undress. No one’s looking, no one cares, pretend this is just an ordinary run, and it’s just you. You do this all the time.
The mantra may have worked but as her last piece of clothing dropped to the slightly damp earth and goosebumps erupted across her soft skin under the cool night breeze, she made the mistake of looking up and found Lucien gazing at her. Not just gazing either. His eyes were running the entire length of her body, and when he finally realized she was looking back, he didn’t smile as if he was teasing her. His jaw was clenched, his eyes darkened to a coal grey. Her breath caught, and she felt glued to the spot. Finally, Caia mentally slapped herself, as she realized she was staring at him also … really staring … at everything, and enjoying the view. She tried not to blush, looking around to make sure no one had noticed. And of course Alexa had. She was glaring at Caia like she wanted to rip her throat out. Her eyes narrowed, and Caia could almost hear her threatening to tell Lucien about their little incident earlier on in the week. She couldn’t have that. She was still trying to figure things out herself.
As the moaning and growling of the pack drifted into her awareness she shoved aside the animosity pouring out of Alexa. The pack were all changing around her. A tingle of anticipation rushed through Caia at the sound of their cracking bones as they contorted and reshaped. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, feeling the breeze, hearing the whispering of the trees, bathing in the glow of Artemis.
And then it was there, the pelt pushing through, the change burning like growing pains. Before she knew it she was thudding to the ground on all four paws, her sharp wolf eyes taking in the sight of the pack, now seeming pretty huge in its wolf form. It was an impressive sight, so much so, she took an involuntary pad backwards, watching them all shift and nudge each other. And then a huge, black, and superbly powerful lykan padded into the center of the wolves, his large silver eyes sweeping them all.
Lucien.
She followed the others’ example as they bent their hindquarters and lowered their head to the ground, bowing to their Alpha before the run began. She had very little time to enjoy the awe of the moment. To bow with them all to Lucien tugged at her more than anything had thus far. She felt part of the pack, part of their history.
She felt extraordinary.
And just like that the pack took off, running so fast earth and dirt kicked up in the aftermath. With one last look, Caia burst out after them, extremely conscious of how aware they were of her movements. Knowing this, she couldn’t quite enjoy the run as she would have done, too busy watching them as they played with one another, never realizing the comradeship and intimacy that was possible even in lykan form. She realized relationships could actually be built out here. Like this. Unused to the idea, slightly uncomfortable with it even, Caia raced past them all, ignoring them and enjoying the rush of the wind on her pelt. She was fast, possibly faster than the rest. She laughed a little, enjoying the thought. But her laughter was cut short by the thunder of someone chasing her, and before she had time to react a weight crashed into her side, sending her paws out from her under her. The impact didn’t hurt, it barely winded her, but she turned to growl at her attacker in instinct, only to find her nose inches from silver eyes. Caia stumbled, taken aback that Lucien had come after her. She would have thought he would have been too busy overseeing the pack. She watched in amazement as he began to almost dance around her, butting her playfully with the top of his head. He wanted to play with her as she had seen the others play! Caia sensed his amusement at her uncertainty and couldn’t help but smile inwardly when he butted her again and then rolled away from her. He made a choking sound like laughter, and slowly Caia began to relax. Eventually, without thinking, she was moving forward with great speed and grace, dancing around him, disconcerting him, and in doing so finding the opportunity to butt him back forcefully. Again, he made the choking sound as he got back to his feet, bowing his head appreciatively at her efforts. Caia had no idea how it happened but she found herself rolling and tussling in the dirt with this huge lykan, knocking him back just as hard as he did her, and enjoying this moment of freedom with one of her own.
But when Lucien nipped her a little hard and she made a noise in reflex, he was quickly beside her, bussing his head against hers. If that hadn’t been enough of a surprise, he then licked the spot he had hurt. At this Caia jumped back, wary of the intimacy in his action. Was it intimacy? She had no idea, she was just getting used to this whole thing. Lucien seemed to sense this, and turned, gesturing with his head for them to return to the rest of the pack. She was grateful. She ran with him, managing to keep pace with him even though he was extremely fast. They were upon the pack within minutes, racing by many of the members. Of a sudden she was flanked on either side by a brown lykan female more long and languid than she, her laughing blue eyes drifting questioningly between her and Lucien. The other lykan was larger and sinewy, his sandy pelt and soft eyes so like the human version of Sebastian, Caia almost found it comical. She enjoyed the playfulness of Jaeden and Sebastian, who seemed to want to ease her into the play much more slowly than Lucien had. So caught up in her new friendships and this bizarrely, wonderful experience with them in lykan form, Caia didn’t notice the black wolf who sidled up near them, her paw striking out deliberately. She heard the choking noise of laughter, however, when she found herself tumbling hard into the dirt. Surprised by Alexa’s deliberate trip, Caia shook her head, slowly pushing herself back up on all fours, aware of Jaeden and Sebastian’s annoyance and the wary presence of Lucien, who had reappeared. His hovering and questioning eyes demanded reassurance that she was alright. She dipped her muzzle and watched as he thankfully eased back. Alexa, however, just as dangerously beautiful as a wolf as she was in human form, twitched her nose from Caia to Lucien, her wolf eyes narrowing in irritation, her hostility palpable. Her back went up, tensed, her hindquarters bent, and Caia realized she looked ready to pounce on her. In barely a second of blurry movement Lucien was in front of her, growling in irritation, making Caia’s heart pound. He wasn’t going to fight this small female over her, was he? Never had she been so grateful for the silliness of Jaeden and Sebastian together as they dispelled the moment by throwing themselves playfully at Alexa. She at first continued in aggravation, snapping her jaws near their throats.
But soon realization must have dawned on Alexa: they had diffused a situation in which she would have found herself out of favor with the Pack Leader.
The last thing she wanted.
Caia gazed up at her ceiling, her muscles weary from the most energetic night she had ever spent as her wolf self. It was a pleasant, physical exhaustion that had taken over her previous mental exhaustion, and for this she was thankful.
Tonight had been an unexpected one. She had feared losing something special by running with the pack, but instead she had touched what it really meant to be a lykan. There was this incredible freedom in being in wolf form. A freedom in expression; to show affection that she might not normally show as a human; a childish, animal playfulness that was frowned upon in human society, and yet was probably the most fun she had ever had. More than anything it made Caia feel a part of something, a part of a family, like she had done on Friday night with Lucien, and with Jaeden’s family. It was intimidating, and scary, and exhilarating all at the same time. She turned on her side, her eyes drifting out of the window and into the dark of the trees where she had played merely hours earlier.
Still, what was she to make of the pack?
Jaeden and Sebastian she got; Irini and Aidan; Magnus too, and even Ella. But Lucien? She felt something for him. Attraction? She didn’t know. She had never felt it before. Whatever it was, it was making her dream of him. And after tonight and his long, languorous perusal of her, she imagined she would be dreaming of him again. Caia sighed, and flipped onto her back. She couldn’t have feelings for Lucien. She just couldn’t.
Alexa would kill her for starters.
9 - By Artemis’ Will
The next few weeks with the pack seemed to drift by quickly in a massive blur of new emotions and experiences. Her friendships with Sebastian and Jaeden had deepened surprisingly fast, particularly with Jaeden who was her constant companion. If anyone had asked her just a few months before how she would feel about that, she would have readily replied that she disliked the idea of having her privacy intruded upon so much. To constantly be surrounded by people? No thanks. But these weeks with the pack had changed her. If she came home to a quiet house, which was a rare occurrence indeed, she felt her mood darken, an inexplicable anxiety pressing on her chest. Part of her resented this chip that had been knocked out of her fierce independence, and another deeper, hidden part of her that she was reluctant to accept, was glad of the company and happier than she had ever felt. She was also gradually getting to know the rest of the pack as they sought advice from Lucien. Moreover, she had enjoyed another run with them, wherein it was easier for her in wolf form to have fun with others, out-with her circle of friends.