Dancing with the Shadows // #wattys2019

Chapter 5

Caia groaned as the alarm sounded. She rolled off the bed and took the step to the wardrobe, taking off her pajamas and throwing on a sports bra, leggings, and a black baseball hat. She tied her hair in a ponytail, splashed water in her face, crammed a protein bar in her mouth, and was out the door, stretching on her stairs by 5:15 am.

She ran up 9th avenue, past the early morning workers unloading deliveries, taking in the sunrise, the scents of her city filling her lungs.

Her wolf was fighting to take over, and she let it, allowing her eyes to turn black under the shadow of the cap. She felt the power of the creature flow through her, heightening her senses, telling her where to go, and she allowed it, taking a backseat as the wolf led her on a turn down 58th St. It wasn't where she normally went, but she wasn't in a position to question it too deeply.

She was racing down, past 10th Avenue, towards 11th, when the scent made her stop, turn around, and head back up the street.

Cedric stood, in the doorway of the hotel, panting for breath, his eyes also black as night. His wavy hair blew in the breeze, his face covered in stubble, dressed in blue basketball shorts and a sleeveless white shirt.

Smoke and cider. It engulfed her, sent her reeling.

Caia regained control long enough to see him tilt his head to the side. Her gesture. She growled, annoyed, and he smirked. She sprinted down the street, and he was following. She knew she could not outrun him. He was, after all, an Alpha. But her wolf was pushing her forward, and she found herself enjoying the chase despite herself. She was lost in the hunt, the primal desire of predatory and prey, and who they were didn't matter. Their history didn't matter. It was just her feet propelling her down the concrete, the sweat on her skin, and his scent that clung to every particle of the air around her.

They were approaching the piers when his arms encircled her, and she felt nothing but electricity, tingles spreading from the top of her head down her spine to where his arms met her hips. He spun her around, and his eyes were the deepest black she'd ever seen them. He lifted her into the air, and suddenly her legs were wrapped around his hips, and his lips were on hers, kissing her with hunger; desperation. She wrapped her hands around his neck, and kissed him back, his fingers digging into the bare skin of her back, hers tangling in his hair.

"Fuck, Caia," he breathed against her lips, before kissing her again, and her brain seemed to snap back into place.

This was Cedric. Her rejected mate. Her rejected mate that she was kissing without any concern in the world as the sun rose over the water.

She broke away from him, pushing him away, trying to ignore his confusion.

"Why are you still here?" she managed.

She saw the answer in his eyes, fighting their way back to a clear, brilliant blue. In the way his hands still lingered at her hips.

"I...I have to go," she managed, and sprinted away, down the familiar pavement, away from the man still looking half dazed at her as she disappeared from his view.

*

"Hi," Caia greeted her uncle with a kiss on the cheek as she sat down next to him in the Midtown restaurant. Teleri shook his hand and sat across from them, placing her blazer across the back of the chair.

"Right. Let's cut to the case. What do you need to tell me?"

Caia exchanged a look with Will, who gave her an encouraging smile. They'd arranged the meeting over her's and Teleri's lunch hour that afternoon.

"It's about the Lincoln account," she said.

"What about it?" Teleri asked, giving the menu a quick skim.

"Cedric is the mate that I rejected."

Teleri continued to skim through the menu before her eyes stopped on the page, and she looked up at Caia.

"Alpha Cedric Lincoln...."

"Is my former mate, yes."

"The person that made you switch all pack ties to New York."

"Yes."

"The asshole that strolled into my office yesterday is your mate?"

"Now he's an asshole? Yesterday you were giving me crap about speaking basic facts, today he's an asshole?"

"That was when he was a potential client, today he's the former mate of my mentee who's dragging her back into his territory for God knows what reason." Teleri raised a hand to a passing waiter.

"Whatever your house whiskey is, one large ice cube and a splash of soda." She turned her attention back to the table and shook her head. "Forgive me, but, why does he want anything to do with you? After a rejection, he shouldn't have any connection to you. You'd assume he'd be pissed, hell, if I'd known, I wouldn't have been surprised if he just got up and walked out yesterday."

"The bond's not entirely gone. Or it's started again. The connection is still there. I can't explain it better than that." Caia told her.

"So, what do you want to do? Do you want me to try to get you out of the trip? They called this morning, we're supposed to have a meeting with their Beta and Delta the beginning of next week to sort out the itinerary."

"No, I don't want to back out. But I wanted you aware of what we're going into. You know what my pack was like, why I left. His is more or less the same, but he was worse than my Alpha. He was raised with a very specific view of what women should be, what an Alpha and Luna were. I don't know if that's changed, how much has seeped into the pack. I don't know if all of them knew who I was, what I was to him, but enough of them did that it's safe to assume I will not be welcomed back with open arms." She ended with a grimace.

William caught Caia's eye, giving her an encouraging look, and she nodded back at him.

"We wanted to discuss something else with you too. Caia called me this morning to confirm. When Caia became a member of Midnight Star versus my pack, it was under the assumption that she would be harder to find by Cedric or anyone who might want to make life difficult for her because of what she'd done. But now, Cedric knows where she is, as does his Council. So..."

"So, it doesn't really matter anymore," Teleri gratefully took a large gulp of whiskey the second the waiter handed it to her.

They took a moment to place their orders, and waited for the waiter to leave before Teleri said, "So, you want to start the process of switching over to Wild Thunder?"

"If she does, she'll be able to choose her position, Gamma or Delta, and have all three of us to help guide her. From what Caia's told me, she has a good relationship with the Gamma of Midnight Star, too."

"Dover adores her," Teleri nodded.

"So, she'll have all the support she needs should she choose to take on a role she deserves," William told her.

Teleri focused her attention solely on Caia.

"Is this what you want?" she asked.

"Yes, I want to be back with my family in some aspect, and I want to give serious consideration to taking on a Council role once I graduate." Caia told her, "But, if that will in any way affect my position with you at Morninghill, then I don't want to do it."

"Caia, your position with Morninghill is dependent on your performance and your grades alone, not your pack membership," Teleri said bluntly. "You more than exceed in both categories, and you know this. Otherwise, I wouldn't waste my time trying to coach you. So. You choose where you want to go, what you want to do, and we'll figure the rest out," Teleri assured her, taking another large gulp of whiskey.

"Now, between the three of us, shall we start discussing strategy for our trip? Or are we trying to convince Caia that Delta is clearly the better title to have?"

___________

A/N

Happy weekend loves <3

Votes/comments are much appreciated!!

<3
Z