The Rejected Luna’s Prince By Aurora Archer
Chapter 43 – John
(Cali)
I turned on my heel slowly. Nerves coursed through me, I couldn’t suppress them fully.
Did someone recognize me? See through me?
A man walked toward me on silent feet. The air around him fell silent, but it wasn’t the same as when Caspien entered a room. He didn’t emit an almost oppressive air that screamed authority, it wasn’t cold or ancient or powerful.
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I actually felt nothing, but there was a shift.
I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow, “If you’re going to ask to buy me a drink, no, thank you, I already overpaid for that fire water.” I gestured to the bar, I saw the old woman gaping at us, but she closed her mouth when she met my eye.
The man was hooded, and one side of his lips tugged up, meeting a scar across his face. He looked like the main character of a video game.
I still couldn’t believe this was real life, my reality now. I pushed that thought away; the show must go on.
“I wouldn’t insult you by insinuating you needed someone to buy you anything,” His voice was low, smokey even.
I tilted my head and pushed my hair behind my shoulder, running a hand through my long curls. I made a show of studying him, but I couldn’t see anything with his hood besides his full lips and faint pale scars that stood out against his tanned skin.
“You also wouldn’t insult me by hiding yourself while speaking to me,” I held my ground, “I thought gentlemen didn’t wear hats, or uh, cloaks, inside,” To be honest, I was really upset I didn’t have my cloak now, Caspien refused to let me wear it tonight and even threatened to burn it if I tried to sneak it out. Kill joy.
“Who says I’m a gentleman?”
“Just the company you keep, the bars you frequent,” I motioned to whatever this place was, “Screams nothing but cla*s*s.”
He smiled again, that half-smile that looked actually amused, “Sit with me?” He motioned to a table behind him.
I nodded once and followed him, taking the seat he offered. I glanced at the bartender; the woman was shooting daggers at me, or him, no me, definitely me.
Was this him? It couldn’t be.
“I heard you were looking for someone,” He leaned forward, intertwining his hands.
“I am, but one person specifically. I need a job filled and I require an in-person meeting before starting a long-term relationship.” I leaned back and twirled a curl in my finger, absentmindedly looking at it. It was unnerving, to be only able to see half of his face, and annoying, really annoying. But I could play whatever game he was starting and win.
“Who sent you here? Who are you working for?”
I stopped playing with my hair and pinned him with a dead stare, “Why do you think anyone owns me?” I let some anger flicker in my voice that I tried to keep contained; it sparked up, “I am here on my own accord; I have no master but myself.” I let some more of that fire out before I reigned it in, but it still lapped up, willing to be unleashed.
He nodded once, “Apologies, I just-”
“You just a*s*sumed,” I cut him off, “I don’t like a*s*sumptions.”
“Noted,” There was an amused undertone in that word.
“I do have to be going; I’ve overstayed my welcome, it seems,” I smiled at him, and we both looked towards the old woman who wasn’t even pretending that she wasn’t watching us, “A friend of yours?” I asked him.
“Something like that,” He closed his eyes, shaking his head once. A smile tugged up both sides of his lips as he looked at the woman who had turned her back on us now, “You want to meet him?” His attention was back on me before I noticed.
“Yes,” He looked me over for a long while, or I thought he might be. He sniffed his drink before downing it.
He pushed back his hood, showing himself in the dim light. Black hair fell over his face, and he tucked it behind an ear. More scars than those visible peppered his face and almost looked like wrinkles adorning his lightly tanned face.
An a*s*sa*s*sin’s wrinkles must be scars; they probably didn’t live long enough to be awarded actual ones.
His gray eyes met mine, and I swallowed. In my past life, I might have found him attractive. Someone that was so clearly wrong for me, but the only thing I could think of now was going back to Holden and telling him everything about this weird night. I couldn’t wait to see his response and hear his input on it all.
A smile darted across my face before I could stop it, thinking of him.
“See something you like?” He purred.
“Gross,” My smile faltered.
“I do admire the confidence; where does it come from?”
“I would say it’s a coping mechanism from years of carefully constructed facades,” I shrugged, “But if I said that, I wouldn’t be telling the full truth.” I met his impassive stare with a firey one, “I was born with this, I have always known what I deserved, and I will not apologize for it.”
“I respect that,” He ran a hand through his unkempt hair.
“I don’t care,” I honestly didn’t, “Who are you?”
“I go by many names.”
I closed my eyes, “I really don’t have the time or energy for riddles.”
“I’m the one you’re looking for.” My eyes snapped open.
“I don’t believe you. Why would he be here?” I never thought to get a description from Caspien, and he never told me. There was no way in h*ell that he would be here.
“I like to keep tabs,” he shrugged, motioning to the bartender for another drink, “It’s not so bad.”
I looked around and scoffed, crossing my arms.
“It’s not,” he repeated and fixed me with a smile that seemed too old for his face.
“So, why show yourself? You don’t know me,” I c*oc*ked my head.
“Are you here to kill me?” He asked, “Do you think you can?” His voice dropped. He tilted his head towards me, and some of his dark hair fell forward.
“No,” I replied honestly, no way in h*ell.
“Most people think they can,” He smiled at the old woman who brought him his drink; she lingered at our table.
“I’m a*s*suming those people are dead,” I pinned him with a stare that earned me a full smile, the first one directed at me this evening.
He tilted his glass to me, “You’re right.” I gave him a few moments to drink, not sure why he invited me here if he was even who he claimed to be.
It didn’t add up; none of it did.
“You wanted a meeting, and I’m here,” he motioned to himself.
“Allegedly,” I countered.
“Well, I don’t have proof,” he smiled, amusement dancing on his sharp features.
“What? Your passport doesn’t say ‘The Silent a*s*sa*s*sin’ on it,” I asked, leaning forward and whispering, “Or one of your thousand aliases,” I waved my hand.
Still smiling, he shook his head once and placed his glass on the table.
“As I told that woman, he can contact me if he wants to meet,” He opened his mouth to say something, “As I also told her I would not conduct business here,” I moved to stand up, “Thank you for your interesting company,” I looked down, dismissing him.
He donned his hood again, “It has been,” He agreed, “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Names don’t matter. Besides, you never told me yours.”
“It’s John,” He said.
“You poor thing,” I turned on my heel and marched out, not stealing a backward glance at him, the woman, or the bar.
(Willa)
I waited with the kids and Nora while our guys went out to back up Cali. I trusted her, but I didn’t trust the situation. It sounded like we had no idea what we were going up against. All the rumors I heard had been more of fairytales, dark ones. An a*s*sa*s*sin king with an ever-changing team that roamed taking jobs not caring about who was at the other end of it as long as the jobs paid.
An a*s*sa*s*sin able to be bought by the highest bidder was something out of a nightmare.
“They will be fine,” Nora looked at me with sleepy eyes. I had just put the kids to sleep.
“How are you so sure? I feel like Griffen is the type to be first on the battlefield,” I went to pick up a blanket and draped it over her. She smiled at me appreciatively.
“I could be worried every time he walked out the door, and I used to be,” She shrugged, “But it did nothing for me, and I have seen him in action,” She looked at me, seeming a bit more awake, “They’re good, Willa. Like good good. I know you haven’t seen them fight but,” She shook her head, “I haven’t seen anything like it, not even close.” Her eyes dropped but a faraway smiled donned her face.
“Get some sleep. Can I get you anything?”
She groaned and sat up a bit, “Easier said than done, I keep getting jabbed every time I get comfortable,” She repositioned herself on a pillow and winced, “I guess you know what it’s like at the very end,”
“I do,” My voice sounded quiet. I didn’t remember much about my pregnancy besides the hurt and anger. I was so angry at Nolan for taking away any happy memories of my pregnancy, but that wasn’t the important part. I was there for Emmett, even when I couldn’t be there for myself.
“I thought I would be catching up on sleep before the baby gets here, but no matter how many naps I take, I never feel rested. I feel bloated and achy and uncomfortable.”
I gave her a sympathetic smile, “It will all be over soon, and eventually you catch up,”
“When?”
“Two years, three?” I shrugged, smiling. I wanted to lessen the blow that I wasn’t joking.
My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it, sitting up. Nora tracked my movements and I put Caspien on speaker.
“Hi,” I clutched the phone.
“All good here. Cali is heading back; I got confirmation from her driver,” I let out a deep breath and sunk into the chair.
“Amazing, see you soon,” I hung up.
Nora smiled at me, “I told you so,” She shrugged and let her eyes close.
Cali got back before the guys and walked into Caspein’s wearing her cloak, a gleam in her eye. I raked my gaze over her confirming she was in one piece.
She took the seat at the end of the couch where Nora was balled up, “I think I’m drunk,” She announced, smiling widely.
“How?” I asked, laughing.
“From drinking?” She gave me a wry smile, “Anyone want a drink?” She asked, moving to stand.
“Sit. I’ll get something, but first fill us all in, and then you can continue on your path to drunkenness.”
“Continue on my quest,” She gestured to her coat, “I’m medieval now,”
“Apparently,” I shook my head and walked up behind her on the couch and placed a k*iss on her head. She smelled like cheap beer, strong liquor, and smoke.
When I went to choose some wine from Caspien’s cellar, I heard the guys come in. I felt Caspien’s presence behind me; it was solid and warm. He wrapped his arms around me, leaning his chin on my shoulder.
“That’s a good vintage. She’s tipsy; she won’t appreciate it,” He frowned, looking at the bottle I chose.
“Oh, I liked the flowers on it,” I put it back, shrugging, “We all can’t be wine snobs. Plus, she did just go into an a*s*sa*s*sins’ den for us.”
He laughed once and k*issed my neck, “Fine, let’s bring out the champagne.”
He stood up and reached above me for some bottles, and I went to grab some glasses and a sparkling water for Nora.
Cali was in Holden’s lap on a chair, and Griffen had Nora’s feet in his lap, ma*s*saging them. It was such a nice scene. Cali and Nora seemed like complete opposites, and so did Griffen and Holden. But everyone balanced each other and completed us and I couldn’t imagine this group without any one of them.
“Start,” Caspien said. Cali reached for a bottle, “Start talking first,” He commanded. She sat back and crossed her arms, “Fine,” Caspien popped the cork and poured her a glass, earning him a satisfied smile.
“Why didn’t I get one?” Holden complained, and Caspien sighed, pouring everyone a glass before tugging me into his lap. I leaned into his steady warmth, savoring his strong presence behind me.
“I met a guy claiming to be him,” Cali rolled her eyes.
“That was it?” Griffen asked.
“I literally said one thing. You’re going to need to hold your questions,” Cali stared at Griffen, who held his hands up and muttered an apology.
“I talked to a woman at the bar, strange woman actually,” She paused, shaking her head once, “I told her that I wanted to meet him, give him a trial run. I handed her a wad of cash which hurt me to my core, and the card you gave me,” She took a long sip, “Also had some horrid liquor,” She winced.
No one said anything, waiting for her to go on.
“When I was leaving, someone stopped me and asked me to sit with him. He claimed to be the person I was looking for,” She snorted.
“What did he look like?” Caspien asked.
“Black hair that was shoulder-length, gray eyes, lightly tanned skin, scars, full lips-” Caspien tightened under me.
“Okay, okay stop,” Holden cut in, “He sounds f*uc*king handsome,” He muttered, wrapping his arms around Cali, almost spilling his glass.
“Get this; he was wearing a cloak. I would have fit right in,” She arranged her cloak, admiring it.
“Is that him?” I asked Caspien.
“I can’t be sure. When he came to me it was years ago. His sides of his head were shaved, but yes, black hair and gray eyes.”
“Nice lips?” Holden asked.
“I guess you could say that,” Caspien responded. Cali snorted once into her glass.
“Did he give you a name?”
“John,” Cali shrugged.
“You’re joking,” Griffen cut in. Cali shook her head.
“I have never heard him use anything other than one of those ridiculous aliases,” Caspien said.
“The Silent a*s*sa*s*sin, The Blade,” Griffen ticked off names on his fingers, “The Deathless Night,”
“Loved that one,” Holden laughed, “This guy really is poetic,”
“Midnight a*s*sa*s*sin,” Griffen went on.
Holden shrugged, “Eh, not his best.”
“Blaze, The Beta Killer,” Griffen looked at me, “He was going through a phase.” He explained.
“Clearly,” I shook my head, smiling.
“Cheshire Wolf,”
“Doesn’t even make sense,” Holden said, taking a slug of his drink.
“Does he get these names, or is given them?” I asked.
“Both,” Caspien said, placing his arm around my stomach and pulling me closer, I settled into his chest and let the warmth radiate through me.
“Five knives,” Griffen went on, “The Serpent, and now John,” he shrugged.
“That is one hefty list,” Cali noted.
“I want details, everything that you saw, heard. Everything you can remember from your conversation.”
Cali sighed but went into full detail, everyone’s attention was on her, and I think she was enjoying it.
“Well, if that truly was him, then I think he will call,” Caspien said. He interlaced his fingers with mine and squeezed my hand.
“So now we wait,” Holden said.
“For how long?” Cali asked.
We all looked toward the burner phone sitting on the middle of the table. It was supposed to be unable to be tracked, the number untraceable, or something like that. I didn’t really understand it, nor did I care to.
“There’s no way to know,” Caspien said.
“Do we retract the hit?” Griffen asked.
“No, I don’t want anything that could be seen as a link,” Caspien responded, and Griffen nodded once.
The phone buzzed on the table, the small square lit up on its front.
Unknown Caller
Cali wore a satisfied smirk and leaned back into her mate.
“I guess we don’t have to wait anymore,” Caspien said, motioning for Cali to answer.