Page 12 of Seduced by Moonlight (Gargoyles of San DeLain #1)

CHAPTER TWELVE – K AYDEN

“I’M SORRY, what?” Kayden asked. Surely, he hadn’t heard Lance right.

Lance hunched down in the driver’s seat. “You heard me.”

“I know I heard you. I just don’t understand what I heard.” Kayden glared at Lance, but he was driving, so he couldn’t see Kayden’s excellent death glare, dammit. “Explain who that woman was.”

“Gah. Fine, fine. Remember, I told you I went to Club Nomadic to help me switch over from days to nights?”

“Yes,” Kayden said, fingers tapping on the center console. “I do remember you telling us. You damn sure mentioned nothing about this , though.”

“I really didn’t see a point in it. I mean, nothing happened.”

“Nothing might have happened,” Mika piped up from the backseat, “but you didn’t pick up anybody that night. Instead, you went for a run. Was she the reason you did that? Because you’d met her, and your tiger needed room to run its aggravation off?”

Lance flashed Mika a dirty look in the rearview mirror. “Maybe.”

“Which in Lance speak means yes,” Mika said.

“Can you just tell us what happened?” Kayden counted to ten in his head. Sometimes they really drove him crazy.

“Really, it was nothing,” Lance claimed.

Kayden reached across the seat and rested his hand on Lance’s shoulder. Getting huffy would only make Lance dig his heels in, so Kayden decided on another approach. “Tell us. Please.”

“Oh geez, you broke out the word please . I protest.”

“You keep saying it was nothing, but obviously it was something.” Kayden ignored Lance’s attempts at being funny. It was a delay tactic, and he knew that. “She creeped all three of us out just now with how she acted, so I think you need to tell us exactly what happened the night you met her.”

Lance sighed heavily. “Fine. When I got there, I immediately made my way to the bar. As you know, they’ve got liquor for humans but also for us. I only had one specialty drink, though. So there I was, sipping my drink and checking out the dance floor.”

“So, business as usual,” Kayden said.

“Yeah.” Lance checked the rearview mirror and then took the ramp so he could get on the interstate. “While I was checking out the crowd, I noticed somebody across the way,” Lance said as he merged into traffic. “And she was absolutely gorgeous.”

“Was it her? Mari, I think you said her name was?” Kayden asked.

“I guess that’s the abbreviated version of her name. But yes, it was her. Her hair fascinated me—that deep violet shade—but her eyes were the killers,” Lance said.

“I’ve never seen eyes that gleamed like molten silver,” Kayden admitted.

“The humans probably thought they were contacts, but I’m positive they were not. Anyway, liquid courage carried me toward her. But as I got nearer, I realized she wasn’t just any paranormal.”

“What do you mean by that?” Mika asked.

“Her aura shimmered with a subtle magic that spoke of old power. I remember thinking that perhaps she was a sorceress or an enchantress? Because whatever she was, she was definitely someone not to be trifled with.”

“Your first thought was some kind of magic user?” Kayden asked.

“She had that smell magic users have. And the closer I got, the more I could see not only intelligence in her eyes but also cruelty. Plus, danger practically poured off her. Whatever interest I had withered as my tiger growled a warning in my head.”

“That’s definitely something a shifter would listen to,” Mika agreed.

Lance nodded. “He’s exactly right. Anyway, we chitchatted for a bit, but it was more like verbal fencing. She asked me if I was enjoying the view, and I said that the club was always full of interesting sights.”

“That sounds more like flirting,” Kayden pointed out.

“It might have sounded like that, but it definitely wasn’t,” Lance said.

“What did she say after that?” Mika asked.

“She said I see , and it was so obvious she was either amused or took what I said as a challenge. So I asked her what she thought she saw. And that’s when she looked at me and said a white tiger among house cats.”

Mika whistled softly.

“Mika gets it,” Lance said, hands tightening on the steering wheel.

“I’m not a shifter, so I don’t get it. Why did Mika whistle like that?”

“Her identifying me as a shifter wasn’t a surprise, but her knowing my precise type, right down to the color, very much was a shock. She shouldn’t have been able to do that, not unless she was extremely powerful. Anyway, she introduced herself, and I did the same.”

“What then?” Kayden asked.

“She asked me why I was there, and I decided honesty was the best policy. I said I was trying to adjust my body clock for some nocturnal work coming up. Then I asked her what she was doing there.”

“What did she say?” Mika asked.

“She just chuckled and said she was searching for someone. And that, unfortunately, I was not who she was looking for. Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes suddenly widened, then she leaned in closer and sniffed me.”

Mika groaned from the back seat. “Any shifter knows what she was doing—and before you ask, Kayden, she was either getting his scent or she’d noticed another scent on him.”

“Exactly. Whatever she smelled made her smile, and that was creepy as hell. Then she told me that perhaps we would meet again. Before I could say another word, she disappeared into the crowd, thank fuck.”

“Yeah, that’s not weird at all,” Kayden said.

“I know, right? Anyway, I went back to the bar and the bartender immediately warned me about her. He told me she was the high priestess of the Sisters of the Crescent Moon, and that Marianna Crescente was evil. Like, seriously. And damn powerful.”

“So she either smelled something on you, or something about you triggered her interest,” Mika mused.

“Lucky me,” Lance muttered.

Kayden glanced into the back seat at Mika, then turned slowly to look at Lance. “Actually, she sniffed all three of us tonight. Remember? Then made some comment about that being interesting. So I think it’s safe to say it wasn’t Lance, himself, but something she smelled on the three of us.”

Mika rubbed his forehead. “Great, now all we need to do is figure out what the hell she smelled on us.”

“What does it matter what she smelled?” Lance asked.

Kayden glanced away from Lance and looked out into the darkness. “Because I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of her.”

“He’s right, Lance. If a high priestess took an interest in us, even briefly, there’s a reason,” Mika said. “We need to understand why.”

“Maybe she caught wind of one of our recent jobs?” Lance speculated. “The last one was for the dragons.”

“Or perhaps it’s something more inherent about us,” Kayden suggested, his voice carrying an edge of anxiety now. “Like some latent power or ancient lineage we’re not aware of.”

Mika leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You know, now that you mention lineage, my grandfather always hinted at our family being tied to some pact or something from centuries ago. I never paid it much mind, figured it was just stories.”

“A pact?” Lance asked skeptically.

“Legends or not, everything in the supernatural world has roots,” Kayden pointed out. “Magic thrives on such bonds and legacies. Maybe Marianna sensed something residual on us.”

“So, what, we’re supposed to dig into our family trees now?” Lance scoffed.

“It wouldn’t hurt,” Kayden reasoned.

The quiet hum of the car filled the quiet as they fell silent. Uncomfortable with where his thoughts were leading him, Kayden shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Lance navigated through the dark streets.

“Got to say, that doesn’t feel right,” Kayden finally said.

“I agree. I mean, we can still look, but I agree with Kayden. That doesn’t feel like the right path,” Lance said.

“It does appear to involve just the three of us, though.”

“We need to get ahead of this,” Kayden said. “First things first, we stop going out on the town—”

Lance groaned.

“—and gather information on Marianna Crescente and her Sisters of the Crescent Moon.”

Lance laughed. “Well now, glad to hear you say that because, um, I already started. And don’t yell at me! Yes, I know that look, Kayden. That’s your about to yell face. I was going to tell you about this and what I was doing. Eventually.”

“Dammit, Lance, we’re supposed to be family. Family doesn’t hide shit like this!” Kayden glared at Lance. And he was not yelling. His voice just carried really well in the truck cab. That’s all.

“I said I was going to tell!”

“Might I point out he said eventually?” Mika asked helpfully from the back seat.

“Shut up,” Lance snapped.

“You’re just mad because you know I’m right. And you shut up.”

“We’ll circle back to that in a minute. Lance? You said you had already started collecting information. What did you mean?” Kayden asked.

“I’ve been looking into anything having to do with their activities, their interests, entities they associate with,” Lance said.

“We also need to figure out what might be similar among us that attracted her attention,” Kayden said.

“Also,” Mika chimed in from the back seat, “we might want to look into any historical conflicts or alliances between any paranormals and the Sisters. There could be old grudges at play here.”

“Good God, where do we even start?” Kayden asked. “It’s not like there’s a database on dark covens or magic users that outlines who hates whom.”

“The dark web,” Lance said. “It’s not all about the humans, if you know where to look.”

“Of course you’d know where to look,” Mika said.

“What can I say? I find technology fascinating.”

Mika sighed but didn’t respond. Kayden wanted to sigh dramatically too, but he didn’t. He also wasn’t going to touch on the fact that his best friend was fucking around on the dark web.

What was that old saying about a cat having nine lives? Because Lance had probably used up a couple of his already due to his antics.

As the truck sped through the night, passing under flickering streetlamps, Kayden tried to figure out not only their next steps, but also why Marianna Crescente had taken an interest in them. He couldn’t figure out a single thing they shared in common, and it was driving him nuts.

Once Lance and Mika dropped Kayden off, he went into his house and double-checked that he had locked everything securely. Call him crazy, but he was quickly becoming paranoid. First Ward acted strange, and now the witch. What the hell was going on?

Before he went to bed, he checked his email and was relieved to see Ward had sent the inspirational pictures for the decor Kayden had requested. He’d look over that first thing tomorrow.

As dawn crept through the curtains, Kayden finally succumbed to sleep.

HE WOKE later that evening, groggy and unrested. The dim light of the setting sun cast long shadows across the room, adding to his disoriented state.

The first thing he did once he was up was review the email from Ward. Oh, he liked the pictures Ward had sent. Many of the things, Kayden would’ve chosen too.

He needed coffee, but his brain was percolating, so he hurried to his office and plopped down at his desk. His handwriting danced across the page as ideas came to him.

This was going to look so good when he got done. He couldn’t wait to phone Ward later that evening and discuss everything with him.

Once he was done jotting down ideas, he brewed some coffee. As the coffee machine worked its magic, he reviewed his notes. Once the machine finished its routine, he used his power to prepare the coffee and had it float behind him while he continued to examine the pictures on his way to his office.

He spent several hours making calls and setting up meetings with potential suppliers for the castle’s construction. As most of his suppliers were paranormals, and some were vampires, working on a Sunday or at night wasn’t a problem, thankfully. It hadn’t always been that way.

Kayden went back to the kitchen, prepared breakfast, and ate it. With night having completely descended, it was now time to call Ward.

Going back to his office, he sat and dialed Ward’s number, eager to discuss the collection of inspirational pictures. As he waited for the call to connect, he anticipated their conversation.

He was actually looking forward to hearing Ward’s thoughts. There was an undercurrent of excitement, a curiosity about what unique angles or clever observations Ward might bring to the table.

And yes, Kayden was looking forward to hearing Ward’s voice too. Sue him. It was damn hot.