Half-Blood Curse

12 - They Want War

Caroline left the elevator on the second floor to go to the cafeteria. Lucas continued to the third floor so he could wait for Sonia.

He hadn't seen her type her door code in, so he stood outside her door and paced in the hallway nervously while he waited. He'd promised Sonia he would stay with her, but as soon as the first excuse to leave came along, he took it. He felt like a piece of shit.

And he had a sinking feeling Gabriel was going to ask questions that Lucas didn't know how to answer.

Almost an hour later the elevator chimed and the doors opened revealing Sonia, Joseph, Gabriel, and Micheal. Lucas sagged with relief. He and Sonia met in the middle of the hallway and threw themselves into a fierce hug.

"I'm sorry," Lucas said. "I'm sorry I didn't stay."

"It's okay, I understand." Sonia squeezed him tight. Lucas closed his eyes and put his face against her hair.

"I told you I wouldn't leave."

"I told you not to even come. Joseph was there, and Gabriel wouldn't let anything happen to me. You know that."

"I'm sorry." Lucas couldn't fully explain with everyone else there, but Sonia knew who his father was.

She pulled back and gave him a small grin. "It's really okay."

"What happened at the meeting?" He was asking her, but he glanced at the others in the hall in case they wanted to contribute an answer as well. Gabriel was watching them embrace with a strange look on his face. Joseph looked embarrassed for them, like their hug was too intimate for public.

"It was fine," Sonia answered him. "There was an SIA agent there. They wanted me to make an official statement that I chose to stay here. I don't know if that agent was in their pocket or not, but I made sure to bring up the missing wiccans. Maybe it will help."

"I had no idea there was such a distinction between the different kinds of magic users." Micheal said. He saw that their hug-fest was done and walked a little closer. Gabriel was close behind and looked on the verge of snatching Lucas in for a hug himself.

"It's a real problem," Sonia sighed. "They've turned it into a caste system, and only wizards get any resources or protections."

"They had a lot of questions that made me kind of confused," Micheal said.

Sonia stiffened in Lucas's arms. She gave Lucas a meaningful glance.

"They wanted to know how I survived the attempts on my life."

"They underestimate wiccans," Lucas said. Sonia nodded.

"I told them to fuck off. I wasn't convinced the council had anything to do with the Gather massacre when it happened, but the fact that the SIA betrayed us and the way the wizard 'officers'" Sonia put the word in sarcastic air quotes, "tried to murder me in Mineapolis, it doens't look good."

"Bit slow on the uptake, aren't ya?" Lucas asked, and she smacked his shoulder in response.

"Lucas, I want you to meet some pack members," Gabriel said. "They gathered for the wizard meeting so they are already all here. It's a good time to introduce you."

The stubbornness in his voice made his underlying message clear. He wasn't ashamed of Lucas's quarter status, and he would eviscerate anyone who dared to insult him. Lucas would meet the shifters whether he wanted to or not. Caroline was apparently going to be the only one getting a free pass on insulting him.

"Now?" Meeting a bunch of full-blood pack members that were high on the totem pole of power was the last thing he wanted to do.

"No time like the present, alpha," Joseph said encouragingly. "Just do like I told you. You'll be fine."