She’d done that because she’d thought he was a Hunter, and that she could trust him. She had betrayed her own family by letting Sebastian into her life.
She was an idiot. Of all the times for Ion to be correct…
Ion had tried to warn her. He had been able to see right through Sebastian, and she had not been able to. She’d been blinded by her own mate–lust and the romantic whirlwind that had been their courtship.
She had no doubt that Sebastian had known that, that he had even planned it. She’d fallen for him so quickly and so easily. He had probably bragged about that to the rest of his kind. That thought made her face burn with humiliation.
Cara found herself grateful for the fact that she had never told Sebastian about her royal lineage. That was one trick she still had up her sleeve.
The worst part about it was that she could not even go to Nico and give him any information at all about the Fallen’s plans or even where they nested. Sebastian had always been so careful to meet her in public places, and to never betray his own kind.
She could go to her father, though. She did not want to — the idea of telling her father that she had gone to her first mate-lust with a werewolf was not the most appealing idea she had ever had.
It would be embarrassing. She would have to stand before him and the rest of the Tribe and admit that she had been taken for a fool. She was going to have to bear up under the recrimination and accept her punishment.
What would her punishment be? Would they Shun her? That was the most hurtful of all punishments for the Tribe. To be outside of family, to be exiled and alone in the world of the gadjo, was considered the worst punishment of all. And what she had done was unforgivable.
Cara leaned against the building, her eyes still fastened on the vanishing taillights of Sebastian’s motorcycle. He hadn’t seen her. Perhaps she could sit down with her father and come up with a plan that would allow her to get even with him. To use him for information about the Fallen.
She made it home and strode into Nico’s chambers. He looked up from the papers on his desk. “What is it?”
There were others in the room and she gave them a long, meaningful look. Nico read her expression and said, “I need you all to leave me with my daughter, please.”
They left, but Ion was the last to go. He had a vicious little smile on his lips and his walk was cocky as he went. The door slammed and Cara looked at Nico.
Tears filled her eyes. The hurt surfaced again but now it was directed inward. She’d been a fool! “Tati… I… that Hunter…. he’s Fallen. I didn’t know, I swear.”
“I see.” Nico leaned back in his chair, his eyes searching her face and she knew he was also seeing her aura. She wasn’t bothering to hide it form him; she could not have even if she had wanted to. Her thoughts were loud and clear, and she knew he was reading them as well.
“I’m so sorry.” Her throat was clogged and the words were a mere whisper. “Can you forgive me?”
“Yes. But right now we have larger problems than just you being taken in by a wolf in tight jeans.”
Her heart twisted painfully in her chest. Her father would forgive her, that was a relief, but something much worse had to be on his plate for him to dismiss her transgression so easily. “What is it?”
“The Queen is dying. We are gathering to hold the circle. You must dance for the Kris, Cara. It’s your duty.”
It was. There were other women in the family, all of whom would have loved to have been given that honor but it was hers, as her destiny — her ka — had long since decreed. Tears splashed down her face. “Yes, Father.”
“There’s more. The war we have tried to prevent for so long is here. We can no longer allow the Fallen to roam the earth. We must take them out now.”
“But we had a truce!” Was he serious? Open war? That would be dangerous and many would die, including humans who got caught in the middle…
“We have been attacked, Cara. Not just our family, but the Manoli as well. We know who the rogues are too, since we caught them shifting. Ion saw with his own eyes who they are, and he took pictures. Cameras in the phones — who would have thought that would be the way we captured the devil these days?”
Cara’s eyes went to the papers on her father’s desk. Her heart beat even faster. His slender fingers pushed the printed-out photos across the desk. She felt her mouth go dry and she stared at her father.
“Why not just tell their king he had rogues capable of shifting?”
“This rogue is their king, Cara,” Nico said softly. “Their king and his son.”