“Well,” Sebastian was whispering now in case of nosy lykan ears nearby, “I don’t think it would be wise. It would be different if you knew where she was. I mean, they obviously didn’t find her or you wouldn’t have had those visions.”

She nodded, her shoulders slumping. “I don’t want to lie.”

He seemed to understand and he drew her into a hug, his chin resting on top of her head. “No one blames you, Caia, for who you are. How many times do you have to be told?”

She didn’t say anything. It wouldn’t matter how many times they told her she was blameless, she would never believe that. If they had just left her in isolation none of this would have happened.

Seb’s arms tightened around her and she knew before the familiar dark voice said, “Am I interrupting?” that Lucien was standing in the doorway.

She drew out of Sebastian’s reluctant hold and winced. Crap. She didn’t even have to be half-magik to understand Sebastian’s body language. He looked Lucien straight in the eye and kept a possessive arm around Caia’s shoulders. Jeez. She really had to remember to lay off touching Sebastian. It was sending him the wrong message. A little worried, for some unknown reason, she glanced up at Lucien from under her eyelashes. And immediately wanted to flinch back. He looked furious.

Sebastian’s arm was abruptly shrugged off.

“I have news,” she said softly. “But I don’t want Dimitri to know.”

Lucien’s expression changed, his eyes widening in horror. “Jaeden’s not-”

“No,” she reassured quickly, still whispering, “But I think our time is running out.”

He nodded and stepped out onto the porch with them, shutting the door behind him. He brushed past them, perhaps knocking Sebastian back deliberately, and they followed him as he wandered down into the driveway so that they were further from the house.

“Speak.”

Caia drew in a breath. “I had another vision. At school.”

“That’s why you’re both cutting class.”

Trust him to notice that in the midst of a crisis. Caia waved the comment off as if she were batting at a fly. “Lucien, she’s in a bad way.”

“What I don’t get is how you can see Jaeden,” he replied, off topic as far as she was concerned.

“What?”

“Marion said you would be connected to the Midnight Coven, but Jaeden’s Daylight.”

Understanding dawned. Caia had already thought of that and shuddered at her theory. “I don’t think the visions I had before of Jaeden in the cage came from Jaeden. I think they were from Ethan.”

Silence.

“And today I think I was seeing through his eyes as he… well...”

More silence.

Caia bit her lip looking between the two males. They both had paled, forming mirror images, shoulders hunched with their arms crossed over their chests, legs apart. They still didn’t say anything. Oh goddess, they were just as creeped out as she was. Maybe this had finally toppled them over the edge. Until now, there had been no real evidence of her connection to the Midnights. She was just a magik and really a Daylight one at that. But forming some scary mind connection to Ethan... well... it was disconcerting to say the least. “Oh!” She threw her hands up. “For goddess sakes, say something.”

“Does this mean you can trace Ethan to Jaeden?”

Caia glared at Lucien. “You know if I had balls that would’ve really hurt.”

Sebastian snorted at her uncharacteristic comment and Lucien smirked. “I’ll take that as a no then.”

She nodded sharply. “I don’t know what Marion meant about me being able to trace Midnights but I feel nothing. I couldn’t tell you where he or any other Midnight was unless they were right here with us.”

Lucien nodded and then looked back at the house, his eyes narrowing against the sun. Caia’s heart stumbled as she let her gaze wander over his face.

“I’m not telling Dimitri,” he agreed. “They’ve only come back for some more supplies and are heading out into the west. Nothing so far. Telling him this would just disrupt the control he’s managing to maintain during the search. An uncontrolled werewolf is not exactly my idea of a party right now.”

“Especially not one like Dimitri,” Sebastian added, his eyes betraying his anxiety at the thought.

“Exactly. OK.” Lucien turned back, glancing at his watch. “School’s out now anyway so I doubt they’ll question your presence, Caia. Go inside.”

She wanted to protest at his command and then rolled her eyes. He was still the Pack Leader and that would pretty much be his argument if she snapped at him. Instead she nodded, jaw clenched, and muttered goodbye to Sebastian as she slumped off towards the house. As she opened the door she turned to look back at the two wolves. They were standing facing each other, and whatever Lucien was saying was having a decided effect on the younger male. Sebastian’s face paled and his shoulders drooped, his hands now hanging by his sides. About to go back and see if he was OK, Caia was stopped as a force pulled her inside the house.

“Ella?” She winced at the female’s tight grip. The door slammed shut behind her.

“Not thinking of disrupting pack business were you?” Ella mused, a smile tilting her lips, although her eyes were deadly serious as she indicated the driveway with a flick of them.

“Pack business?”

“Lucien needed to speak to Sebastian about something. When your Pack Leader asks you to do something, like say coming into the house and giving him some privacy, you do it.”

“You know even for a lykan your hearing is unnatural.”

“Supernatural, don’t you know.”

Caia smirked but couldn’t shake off her worry for Sebastian. Whatever was going on out there was seriously upsetting him.

“Do you understand then?” Lucien sighed, hating the look in the young male’s eyes. He had always liked Sebastian and had not wanted to tell him what he’d had to today. And the news may make him hate Lucien, but that was something he was just going to have to live with.

“Why tell me?” Sebastian snapped.

“Because I don’t want you to get hurt.”

The boy laughed but it wasn’t a happy sound. “Too late.”

“I can trust you with this?”

Sebastian’s gold eyes blazed at him, but he nodded, his jaw clenched so tight it looked like it would shatter. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good. You better go home.”

Lucien turned to leave, but Sebastian stopped him. “She forgives you for deceiving her.”

His heart slammed, and he turned back to the tawny lykan who seemed ready to kill him at any moment.

“She told me so today,” he continued. And then his eyes narrowed. “She won’t forgive you this, though.”

Lucien cracked his neck. Artemis give him strength because, no matter how kind he was trying to be to Sebastian, the kid was really pushing his buttons. “Why?” his drawl was deceptively lazy. “Because she has feelings for you?”

Sebastian winced at his Alpha’s mockery and he shook his head. “No. Because she has feelings for you.”

Well that shut him up.

“And when she finds out, you’ll kill those feelings. And I’ll be waiting.”

Lucien growled, “I think you better leave. Now.” Sebastian nodded, gloating over the fact he had gotten the better of his Pack Leader. As he turned to get into his car, Lucien said softly, “And remember who your Alpha is, Sebastian Trey.”

No matter what issues arose within the pack, respect for their leader was ingrained in their souls. It was evident in the way the light of anger dimmed reluctantly in Sebastian’s eyes, and the slight deferential nod he gave as he climbed into his car.

Lucien heaved a heavy sigh, running his hand through his hair. He hoped Sebastian wouldn’t take too long to get over it. The pack had enough to deal with as it was.

He wandered back into the house, dreading the return. Dimitri was almost unbearable to be around, his anger and pain so thick it was contagious, and Lucien needed to keep a level head. He found Caia in the kitchen with the others, as Aidan and Ryder packed what seemed to be the last of the supplies needed. Dimitri gulped down the dregs of his coffee and clambered off his stool. Lucien noted how Caia watched the Elder’s every move, as if waiting to catch him when he finally broke.

“That’s us,” Dimitri said gruffly, grabbing his rucksack. “We’re heading out.”

Lucien merely nodded and placed a hand on Dimitri’s shoulder as he passed. The Elder stopped, touched his own callused fingers to Lucien’s in acknowledgement and then gruffly left. His son followed him, Aidan striding at the back of Christian. Only Ryder stayed back a moment.

He, like Lucien, was watching Caia’s face. His eyes met Lucien’s over the top of her head and he read what he was thinking. She was never going to stop blaming herself for Jaeden’s disappearance.

“I’ll watch out for Dimitri,” Ryder said. He squeezed Caia’s shoulder gently and she smiled at him gratefully as he passed.

Lucien nodded at him as he walked by him. “Be careful.”

“Always am.”

When they were gone Lucien slid into the seat across from her. “Where’s my mother?”

Caia blushed. “Upstairs with Magnus.”

Lucien laughed at her red cheeks. “You’ll need to get used to how open we are around here?”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“It’s my mother, it bothers me a little.”

“Where’s Marion and Saffron?”

Lucien poured some coffee for himself. “They had to report back to the Coven, but they’ll be back.”

“For my training?”

“Partly. Marion says you’re doing fine, though.”

Caia just shrugged and kept looking anywhere but at him. “Is Sebastian OK?”