Page 72 of Seduced By Moonlight

“She has a point,” Mika said. “Last time we tried to leave Ward’s territory, it didn’t work out so great.”

Kayden gazed intently at Celine for a few long moments before he finally shrugged his shoulders with a resigned sigh. “I’ll have a word with my guys. But if they decide to go, I won’t stand in their way. I would hope that no one else here would try to prevent them, either.”

“No one will stop anyone from leaving. But I have to stress, again, it would be safer for all of you to say here. At least until you talk to Ward,” Celine said. “Especially you three.”

“Why us?” Lance asked immediately.

“Because Mariana seems to be focused on you three in particular,” Celine said.

“Shiiiiit.” Lance glared at the hunk of bread he’d just torn off before eating it.

Kayden agreed.

“It seems everyone has finished eating, so clan members will clear out so you guys can talk,” Celine said. “I’ll be back in an hour. Or, how about this? I’ll give you my cell phone number and you can call me when you’re done discussing the situation.”

“That sounds good. Thank you.” Kayden took his cell phone out, then added Celine to his contacts. “I’ll call you before anybody does anything, okay?”

“Thank you.”

After she left, Kayden’s crew moved closer together.

“You guys heard what she had to say. Thoughts?”

Mika leaned back in his chair. “Honestly, I think staying makes the most sense. We’re not equipped to handle a coven of witches. Most of us are shifters, not magic users, and the humans are even more vulnerable.”

Lance nodded. “I hate the idea of sitting tight—feels too much like hiding. But Mika’s right. We’re out of our depth here.”

“But this really has nothing to do with us—it’s between the witches and the gargoyles,” a crew member said.

Several people agreed.

Another crew member said, “I feel that if we stay here, we will definitely be caught in the middle, just like earlier. And I don’t want that.”

“Exactly,” someone else said.

“Unless they plan on forcibly making us stay, I’m leaving,” another person said.

It didn’t take long to see the crew wanted out of there immediately. Kayden had a feeling it was going to go that way.

He sent Celine a quick text, and when she returned to the table, he told her what his crew had decided, including Matt. She wasn’t happy, but she escorted them to their vehicles, and they left.

Kayden rubbed his temples. His head still ached some.

“You were in the infirmary earlier so I could monitor you, but I think you can have your own room. You do look as if you need to lie down, though,” Celine said when she returned.

“I wouldn’t mind shutting my eyes for a bit. What about you guys?”

“They’re welcome to use any of the facilities here—the tennis court, the pool, the game room—”

“Game room?” Lance perked up, as did Mika.

Celine waved down another clan member. “Would you show our guests to the game room? I’ll escort you, Kayden, to your room.”

“I’ll text everybody once I’m up,” Kayden said. “See you guys shortly.”

CHAPTER TWENTY –WARD

THE MOMENT the sun released him, Ward quickly left the rooftop. The restlessness that he had been suffering from—and had disappeared lately—was suddenly back.

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