Blood Moon (29 page)

Ella’s relief was palpable. “That’s easy. I’ll be back in a little bit, and I’ll even get the bathroom ready. You could use a little aromatherapy, too.”

Aria closed the door after Ella walked off and she tucked the sheet around her again before moving to Lukas’ chair behind the desk. Ella would be ticked that she’d been left out of the loop later, but Aria just didn’t think her friend would be able to keep this one under wraps for that long.

Aaron, Cern, and Alec returned a few moments later, preceded by a perfunctory knock. Aaron’s face showed concern. “What’s wrong, Aria? Alec won’t tell me what’s going on.”

She couldn’t contain her smile, growing so big her cheeks ached. “I’m pregnant.”

Aaron’s mouth dropped open before he collected himself. Cern smiled, but his concern shone through.

“How long have you known?” Aaron asked, suspicion blooming.

She ignored it. “About five minutes. Alec says he can smell it in my blood, and it explains a lot of other things I’ve just been brushing off. The problem is that I don’t want anyone else noticing.”

Aaron took a deep breath, sorting through the scents. “I can’t scent it yet.”

She turned her gaze to Cern. “This is where you come in.”

“Huh?”

“Considering your…past…you have to have some sort of glamour that could mask the change in my scent.”

He stroked his chin. “Interesting. I have done it in the past, but it won’t work forever. I can mask it for a week, maybe a little more, but after that, the difference will be too pronounced.”

“I just need nine days.”

Cern drew closer, catching her gaze. “Do you understand what you’re trying to do?”

“Haemon and the Council don’t need to know until I’m good and ready for them to. I’m prepared to trade something for the help, Cern.”

Aaron’s growl was almost inaudible. “Can you do anything, Alec?”

The doctor shook his head. “The best suggestions I can give is heavy perfume. It might give you a few extra days, but only two or three. And everyone would know something is up, because you don’t normally wear them.”

Aria stood. “Then I need Cern’s help. In the end, it helps both of us.”

Cern pulled up a chair. “I’m listening.”

Alec started toward the door. “This is a conversation I’m assuming I don’t need to hear, right?”

Aaron nodded. “Yup. Keep this under wraps, doc. No one needs to know, but the four of us.”

“We’re not telling Lukas?” Alec’s question had everyone turning to Aria.

She couldn’t meet their eyes. “You all know how he’d react. He’d never let me go to the Challenge, and I have to. I’ll tell him when we’re already in the car.” She gave Cern a wry smile. “Of course, he’ll know the moment he sees me if this doesn’t work long enough.”

Alec shook his head. “I don’t know if you’re one of the bravest women I’ve met, or the stupidest.”

Aaron grunted an agreement.

“Well, let’s hope it’s the former.”

Aaron took a seat, and they waited until Alec closed the door again. “All right, Aria. Spill it. What is going on?”

She filled Aaron in on the highlights of the necklace, leaving out the significance of the chalice to Cern, other than to say he was its rightful owner. Aaron wasn’t stupid, and she could see the way his gaze assessed Cern that he had a pretty good idea of what it meant.

“I think the best time to steal the chalice is at the Challenge. I can merge the pieces, but I need someone to steal the chalice.” 

Cern raised a hand. “I can’t do it myself, Aria. He’s given a command that I cannot steal it, and therefore I can only get close enough to breath on the damn thing, but I cannot actually touch it.” He harrumphed and rested his chin on his fist. “You have any idea how frustrating that is?”

Aria frowned. “I can’t do it. And the same group of Pack Guards are going with us—they’ll be missed if they leave. Not to mention, they’re all huge. Who is left?”

Aaron rubbed a hand over his mouth. “There is someone, but you’ll have to talk to her.”

Something in his manner screamed reluctance. “Who?”

“Ella. She has an interesting background. You’ll have to ask for the more sordid details sometime, but if you need a thief, she’s the one I’d ask.” He shrugged. “Besides, she’s already told me that if she isn’t allowed to go to the Challenge as your moral support, she’ll stow away in a duffel bag. This is much less cramped.”

Aria nodded and rose, clutching the sheet around her tighter. “All right then. Cern, you might as well start now.” She hadn’t wanted Ella involved, but if all of them were going, and with Council members watching, Ella would be the last one they paid attention to. 

Cern nodded, hands outstretched in front of him and his eyes closed—a study in concentration. His glamour settled over her like a wool blanket, uncomfortable, warm, and slightly itchy.

He smiled. “I’ll keep tabs on it daily, but it should last about a week. Then you’re on your own.”

She nodded. “I’ll worry about that when I get there. I figure Ella’s been upstairs turning my bathroom into a spa and waiting impatiently, so I’m going to take a bath and talk to her.”

Cern clapped a hand to her shoulder. “I didn’t say it before, but congratulations. And good luck with Ella.”

Aaron snorted. “It isn’t luck she needs. She’s giving Ella a mission. She’ll need a leash.”

Chapter Twenty-nine

“What do you mean he’s disappeared?” Aria groped for a chair, her chest tight.
Lukas was gone.

She’d just called Lukas’ hotel room after speaking with Jonas about the location of the Challenge, hoping to give Lukas the news herself. She wanted to be the one to tell him, to gauge his reaction.

Instead, she’d gotten a distracted and worried Pack Guard on the other end of the line. Sebastian’s voice wavered a little. He withheld something, she knew it. “I’ve searched for him everywhere, Aria. He’s just gone. All of his things are here, even his cell phone. I just went down to grab pizza from the delivery guy. It’s like he vanished into thin air.”

Aaron appeared at her elbow, his face grave. He reached for the phone. She shook a hand at him. “He didn’t take anything? And there were no signs of a struggle?”

“I’m sorry, Aria, but there’s nothing.”

He made it sound as if he thought Lukas was running from her. The insinuation added anger to the emotional maelstrom. “Aaron needs to speak with you, Sebastian.”

She didn’t wait to see if he said anything else. Her stomach churned, and she barely made it to the bathroom before she spilled her lunch. Thaddeus appeared in the doorway, his face carefully neutral.

“It isn’t that bad, Aria.” He handed her a wet washcloth as she flushed the toilet, sitting back on her heels. “Maybe he’s just left to follow a lead and forgot to tell Sebastian.”

“Don’t you dare patronize me,” the words came out hard and clipped. She sighed, wrinkling her nose at the foul taste on her tongue. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bite your head off. The nausea, it’s a side effect of the….” She paused, giving a weak smile. “Nerves. I’ll be fine in a minute.”

Thaddeus nodded, backing out of the bathroom. She silently berated herself for nearly giving the secret away, after all the fuss she made to keep quiet. Slowly, she climbed the stairs and brushed her teeth. Feeling a little better, she returned to the room, fatigue hitting her like a brick wall. Dropping onto the bed, tears threatened to overwhelm her. She reached for a tissue, blowing her nose.

“Calm down, Aria.”

Aaron pushed the door closed. “You really can’t keep this up, you know.”

“I have to.” She ran a hand through her hair, and blotted the tears that escaped. “What do you think happened?”

Aaron sighed. “Do you want me to lie or tell you the truth?”

Her arms crossed over her stomach, and she raised an eyebrow.

“I figured. Haemon has gotten to him.”

“Could it be Sebastian?” She held her breath, waiting for the immediate refusal and defense.

Aaron paused, staring over her head at the wall behind her. “I want to say no, but I’m not sure anymore. He’s been acting strange for a couple months now. I thought it was a woman. That’s what he told me when I asked. But it’s more than that, and has been for a while. I’ve been watching him, but I haven’t seen anything suspicious.”

He patted her hand awkwardly. “If I had, I would never have sent him with Lukas. At the worst, I figured Lukas could easily handle him if Sebastian turned on him. He’s strong, but nowhere close to Lukas.”

Aria’s head dropped. “I don’t think Sebastian did the dirty work, but I think he’s been helping Haemon all along.”

Aaron nodded. “Don’t worry. We’ll find him. We can’t go to the Challenge without him.”

Darkness crept over her heart, a shiver rushed over her. “We have to go, whether he’s here or not.”

“You don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Bitterness laced her words. “Oh yes, I do. And you and I both know there isn’t an option. I’ve accepted this Pack as my own and they have taken me in and made me a leader. I have to do what is best for them.”

“If we go, and he isn’t present, Haemon wins by forfeit. Lukas will lose you and the Pack.”

“I know. But if I don’t go at all, the Pack gets disbanded and I end up with Haemon, anyway.”

Aaron suddenly bowed his head. “I underestimated you when you came, and I’ve continued to keep you at a distance. For that, I’m sorry. You’re a good person, Aria. You’re my Alpha’s Mate, and I’ll stand with you until this is over.”

She shook her head, touched, yet his lagging confidence frightened her. “I’d appreciate the support, Aaron. But you have a prior promise to Lukas and the Pack. I’ll either stand with Lukas when this is over or I’ll stand alone.”

He hesitated, refusal hanging on his lips.

“Please, Aaron.”

He sighed, nodding. “All right. This time, we’ll do it your way.”

They sat in silence, and then she took a deep breath, slapping her hands on her thighs. “Listen to us! You’d think we were already defeated. I have no intention of going so easily. What else did Sebastian tell you?”

“He left Lukas in the room and when he came back, Lukas was gone. He said nothing was missing, but with our suspicions, I can’t be certain he’s telling the truth. Thaddeus is contacting an old friend to see if he can get the cell phone logs for Lukas’ phone. It’s a long shot, but I’ve also asked him to get the ones for Sebastian’s phone.”

Aria rose. “Well, there’s two days left. I’ll ask Cern and see if he can find anything out, but I doubt it. After using the Council’s edict against them, he’s not particularly popular at the moment. Jonas knows he’s up to something and doesn’t trust him.”

“Do you?”

“For the moment, we have similar goals, and that’s enough. Past that, I don’t trust him any farther than I can throw him.”

“Are you going to tell the others about”—he motioned to her midriff—“you know…”

She shook her head. “No one knows except you, Alec, and Cern. I need it to stay that way. If we tell Thaddeus and Lawrence, well, I worry how many people can keep that kind of secret. Besides, Cern says he can’t completely cover it anymore. He thinks it will work long enough to get through the Challenge without anyone knowing. But it’s a gamble, either way.”

“You are taking an awful risk. What if it doesn’t last through the Challenge?”

“I’m thinking positive, Aaron. I’ve got too many other issues to worry about. Quite frankly, once that cat’s out of the bag, I can’t do anything about it.”

She followed him out of the room and downstairs. Ella was in the kitchen, and she ran to Aria, throwing her arms around her friend. “Oh Aria, I’m so sorry. But don’t worry. It will all turn out. Maybe it’s just a false alarm.” Her smile was bright, but forced.

Aria shook her head. “It’s okay, Ella. I don’t need to be coddled, but I appreciate the sentiment. Right now, I need chocolate and a plan.”

Thaddeus and Aaron started towards the study. Aria held out one hand. She couldn’t talk about Lukas in the office without crying. The room was saturated with Lukas’ scent, reminding her of his disappearance. “Can we do this somewhere else? I can’t…um….”

Thaddeus picked up on the quiver she tried to hide. He ushered them into the living room. He shooed the teens watching TV out and punched the power button on the remote.

“All right. What do you want to do?” Aaron asked.

Aaron sat on the edge of the coffee table, while Aria, Lawrence, and Thaddeus arranged themselves on the couch. “I’d like to send someone out there to see everything first hand, but we can’t. We’ll just have to wait for Sebastian to get back. Until then, we’re going to keep things together and try to keep the Pack from panicking.” He turned to Aria. “And in two days, all of us will go with Aria to the Challenge.”

“You should stay, just in case,” Aria protested. “The Pack needs a leader.”

“But my friend and his wife need the support of their friends, and my Alpha needs a Second.”

Aria folded her hands in her lap. She couldn’t argue with that. Aaron had been relegated to Pack babysitter enough. This time, he was right—they needed all the help they could get, whether Lukas appeared or not.

“What we really need is assurance Lukas is alive. And only you can provide that.”

Aria shuddered. She knew he meant opening herself completely to the link between them. She was never completely closed from it, but she dreaded opening herself to the connection. If Lukas was dying or in pain, she would know. And if he couldn’t answer her, she wouldn’t be able to help. While she could deal with his pain, she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle it if she couldn’t help him.

“You can still feel him, can’t you?” Thaddeus suddenly looked uncertain.

She nodded. Clearing her throat, she leaned back, letting the sofa cushion her weight. “Just give me a second.”

Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths and then opened the link between them. Her entire body contorted with pain. It seared through her chest and down one arm. Vaguely, she was aware of crying out and concerned exclamations around her, but her consciousness was elsewhere.

Oh, God, Lukas. Where are you? What is happening?