Author: Leia Stone
Date: 2015-08-14T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Romance; Vampires; Fantasy
Description: An Alternate cover edition for this ASIN can be foundhere Book two in the captivating series by USA Today bestselling author Leia Stone that has been optioned for film. When Aurora found out that the vampires were after her blood to procreate, she thought she knew her mission. Take out the vampires and live happily ever after with Kai and their pack. But when the witches discover something about her, everything changes. Maybe Aurora doesn’t have as much control over her fate as she thought and sometimes allies become enemies. Aurora and Kai must defy all odds if their future is to end in happi

Devi

A Matefinder novel

Book 2

By: Leia Stone

Copyright © 2015 by Leia Stone. All rights reserved.

Cover Art by Adithya Kaushik, Copyright © 2015 by Leia Stone

Devi/Matefinder characters, names and related items are trademarks owned by Leia Stone.

No part of this publication may be reproduced. Stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, live or dead are purely coincidental.

Stone, Leia

Devi

For information on reproducing sections of this book or sales of this book go to www.facebook.com/leia.stone

leiastonebooks@gmail.com

ISBN: 978-0982068731

“When you know how to listen, everybody is the Guru.” Ram Dass

For my courageous daughter who is every bit as spunky and feisty as I was as a child, and for my dear son, who has the kindest heart and works so hard. I love you both more than any earthly language can describe.

Contents

Affinity

Attack

Rogue

Chase

Alexa

Luna

Clubbin

Shaman

Tara

Canada

Vision Quest

Ready

Hot Springs

Mexico

Wedding Bells

Mother

Max

Begin

Big Day

I Do

News

Death

Kai

Rescue

Home

Protect

Pest

Goodbye

Affinity

I waved the eagle feather in a light zig zag motion over the smoking sage bundle. “Cleanse this space so that only white light remains,” I told the smoke as Sylvia and the coven looked on. Sylvia had initiated me into her coven a few months ago. Now I was learning magic. Kai wasn’t crazy about the idea but I loved it. I loved learning about all of the different spells and ways to read and manipulate energy. It felt like I could study magic for 100 years and never know it all. I walked over to the copper bowl that held white salt and grabbed a handful. I sprinkled it in a circle around us. “This casting is blessed,” I told the coven with confidence. Sylvia looked at me with pride. She walked over to the large wooden table and began to arrange certain items in a circle.

“Ladies, we are blessed to have Aurora in our coven. These times have become uncertain. The balance has tilted in favor of the vampires and so we witches, who like to remain neutral, have had to take a side. We have sided with humanity, and therefore, with the werewolves who protect them. Aurora is special. She’s lived her entire life believing she was human, and now she is a witch and a werewolf. This gives her a wonderful perspective. We have gathered here tonight to ask our ancestors and spirit guides to reveal her affinity so we may help her develop her magical gifts.” Sylvia carried herself with such confidence and authority. I now recognized her as an Alpha in the witch world.

I stared at my shoes nervously.

“Aurora, Aurora, Aurora.” The witches began to chant and started interlocking their hands to make a circle around me and Sylvia as we stood in front of the table.

Sylvia gestured to the objects on the table. There were five colored gemstones in a circle. “These are affinity stones. The white stone is a scrying stone. Witches with this affinity have the gift of future sight. They are seers. I presume this will be your affinity because of your Matefinder abilities,” she told me. “The black stone is the spell casters’ stone. This is my affinity. Any spell I do is ten times more amplified than an average spell caster.”

Whoa. That must be why she was the high priestess of our coven.

“The blue stone is the healers’ stone. They have a natural affinity for healing spells. Gretchen is an affinity healer.” Sylvia nodded to an older witch who smiled at me.

“The green stone is the alchemy stone. Any metal or mineral can be mutated at the alchemists’ wish. They are usually very rich because they love turning steel into gold.” She flicked her eyes to a middle-aged witch with long black hair. Her neck was adorned in golden chains. Large chunky diamond rings glittered on her fingers. She smiled at me and I caught the glint of a gold-capped tooth at the back of her mouth. Interesting.

Sylvia continued. “The last stone, the red stone, is the power stone. Usually only an affinity to dark witches, it makes them hunger for and absorb other witches’ power.”

My mouth dropped open. I was reminded of Prudence, the dark witch working with Layla. That had to be her affinity. Sylvia gave me a slight nod as if she knew what I was thinking.

“Now Aurora, when I say the enchantment, you will hold your hand over the stones and see which one calls to you. Then you will be mentored by a witch who has mastered that affinity. Ready?"

I let out a deep breath. "Sure," I said, and tried not to let my voice croak. I got hit by a car a few months ago. Then I got turned into a werewolf, found out I was some rare Matefinder that could match up wolves to save my race with procreation, and now this. Not too much to handle. Nope. I could do this. Just breathe.

Sylvia threw some yellow powder over the stones.

"Turmeric," she told me. "To purify."

I was still learning after all.

Sylvia threw her hands up in grand fashion. "Guides and teachers, hear my call! Aurora has chosen to follow her magic, let us put her to the test. Help her choose straight and true; help her be her very best!" I wondered if rhyming was required for spell casting. Mist flew from Sylvia’s hands and surrounded the stones.

My palms began itching. Sylvia had told me before that it was rare that I could see the mist, that I could visually see magic. So maybe I would get the seer stone. I was already able to see the futures of the mates I paired up in my visions. I wouldn’t complain if I got the alchemy stone but I didn’t want the red power stone. My palms were warm and getting hotter. I looked at Sylvia, who nodded. I let my palms hover over the stones and made a circular motion. The white seer stone began to wobble. Whoa! It was moving! Then it rolled a few inches into the center of the circle.

"Good girl! A seer!" Sylvia told the coven and everyone clapped. I smiled. Just as I was about to pull my palm away, I felt it itch again and radiate warmth. A second stone began to wobble, the blue healer stone. I could hear gasps of breath all around me as the blue stone rolled into the center and softly clanked against the white one. My palm cooled and I lowered my hand. I had forgotten about healing Kai’s leg in the woods … Was that an affinity?

"Two affinities," Sylvia said in shock.

"She's a Devi. A flesh wanderer!" another witch declared.

"We don't know that!" Sylvia answered sternly.

Oh, God. Not again. Not another freak thing. What the hell was a Devi?

"Two affinities. Werewolf and witch. There are many signs that she could be a Devi," another witch commented, looking at me curiously.

"A Devi?" I rubbed my sweating palms on my jeans. The word was foreign to me. The witches pronounced it Day-vee.

"Sweetheart, do you believe in reincarnation?" Gretchen asked me.

"Enough! She's had enough!" Sylvia suddenly yelled and the other witches quieted.

"This casting is over. So be it. She will be trained with two affinities." Sylvia had the sweet mom thing going on ninety percent of the time but the other ten percent, she was a force to be reckoned with. This was one of those times. No one challenged her.

I could hear the witches gathering their things and leaving. Gretchen approached me. I could smell her. Frankincense. She placed a hand on my shoulder and I immediately felt comforted and at peace. Was she healing me?

"It will be okay, dear," she whispered, and then she left.

I stood before Sylvia. Something was wrong. She was wringing the hem of her shirt in her hands. She sighed.

“Just tell me.” My voice echoed off of the walls. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could take much more. I didn’t think there could be much more.

Sylvia turned to face me. Her green eyes and striking auburn hair reminded me of a cat. Her eyes transformed and glowed silver. She was in the zone.

“When the balance here on Earth is threatened, a Devi incarnates with a great purpose, to make things right,” she told me in an ominous voice.

“Okay … that doesn’t sound so bad.” I was picking at my cuticles nervously.

“Well, it’s not. It’s just that … legend says, when the Devi is done with their purpose, they leave.”

“Like after that life is over, they die?” This conversation was getting weird. My wolf was coming to the surface. I sensed a threat.

Sylvia cleared her throat nervously. “Like, after their purpose is completed, they leave their body immediately. They always die young.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Yesterday my life couldn’t get any weirder but it just did. I made a classic Aurora decision then. Denial. This wasn’t happening. Buh-Bye.

“I’m not a Devi, and I’m not going anywhere. Goodnight, Sylvia.” I turned and left. She was right, I had had enough. I slammed the door on my way out. It made me feel a little better. I would probably apologize to Sylvia later for running out, but I couldn’t deal with this nonsense.

Sylvia lived deep in the woods of Sandy, Oregon. Her home was a short drive down the mountain from ours. As I drove back up the mountain, I tried not to think of reincarnation and Devis. My brain was a traitor because that’s all it wanted to think about! As I passed the spot where I had my car accident, I slowed. My palms grew sweaty. If I hadn’t been in that accident, then Kai wouldn’t have changed me and I would still be a human with a simple life. Destiny, my wolf told me.

But, then I wouldn’t have met Kai. My stomach warmed at the thought of him. I didn’t trust men. All men in my life had abused me, cheated on me, or walked all over me, but not Kai. I pulled up to the private drive that led to our expansive home on Mount Hood. The trees were so thick on our property, the sun barely made it through. A fine mist covered the ground. It was a cool time of year. I loved the crisp bite of the wind against my face as I rolled down my window to breathe in the morning air. This mountain settled my soul.

I parked my car and sat inside for a few minutes clearing my mind. I didn’t want Kai picking up on my anxiety. I took another deep breath and rolled up my window. After clearing my thoughts, I entered the home we shared. I could hear talking at the back of the house in Kai’s office. I knocked lightly at the door. He had been spending a lot of time in there over the past few weeks, always on the phone, always with hushed voices. He was constantly having ‘meetings’ that took up most of his time.

“Come in, Aurora,” his deep, husky voice said through the door.

I smiled. Of course he knew it was me. I could smell him through the door as well. My werewolf nose was very good. My wolf and I had become one; we were working together like a well-oiled machine. I entered the room and let my eyes roam over my mate. At six foot one inch tall with caramel East Indian skin, I could genuinely say that Kai was tall, dark and handsome.

Never one for beating around a subject, I blurted out what I was thinking. “What’s with these hushed meetings you are having in here?”

Kai smiled and the tips of his canines pressed onto his plump bottom lip. “I can’t slip anything past you, can I?”

He pulled me up onto his lap. I straddled him in his office chair and let my long blonde hair fall like a curtain around us. I nipped his bottom lip gently. “So?” I pressed him again. He sighed but didn’t say anything. I took that as a sign things were about to get serious and stepped off of him. He growled.

“Aurora, I want to marry you,” Kai stated.

Not this argument again. “The vampires want to take my fertile blood after our mating ceremony and create baby vampire spawn. We can’t have that happening, and I can’t kill all of the vampires myself, so …” I put my hair into a big bun, fastening it with a pencil from Kai’s desk. Kai’s father, Raj, had originally advised us not to marry. The intel he discovered a few months ago said I was infertile, but would become fertile after we had our mating ceremony. It was true. I checked it out myself. Infertile. Kai had some big plan to take out Layla, the queen of the North American vampire clan. I thought it was too dangerous. I wanted to marry Kai, I did. But at what cost? Werewolves didn’t exactly have high numbers to rival the vampires.

“So … what’s the plan, boss man?” I teased, hoping to lighten the mood.

Kai stood then and crossed the room eerily fast. His gift of speed never ceased to amaze me, even though I had the same gift. He cupped my face in his hands. His eyes turned yellow; his wolf was out. “Aurora, I need you to trust me. I can’t tell you my entire plan now, only that I have accepted an offer to join the werewolf council.”

I recoiled slightly. “Really? You hate politics! You denied their request three times. Why now?” I remembered the awful day Kai had taken me to the Alpha council meeting and I collapsed in front of everyone when I had my big vision. The council members didn’t exactly seem like a bunch of chummy folks. I couldn’t imagine Kai grouping with them.

Kai’s eyes turned brown. “Trust me, Meri Pyari.” He kissed my nose and smelled my neck. I growled softly. Why the hell was he keeping me in the dark? He thought I was fragile, that I couldn’t handle things. I didn’t like secrets.

Kai gave me a look that said don’t be mad.

“I have a self-defense class to teach at Safe Haven,” I reminded him with just enough sass in my voice to tell him I was upset.

He closed his laptop. “I will come along.”

“Now I can’t be alone? I need a bodyguard?” I grabbed the keys to the new car Kai bought me. Why was everyone trying to protect me all the time? I could take care of myself. Kai grabbed my wrist and turned me to face him.

“Aurora, you are the Matefinder, the most rare and hunted wolf. Excuse me if I seem over protective. It’s because I love you.”

Okay. Dammit. He knew just what to say. I kissed him long and deep and left a growl in his throat when I turned away. He followed.

Attack

The moment we pulled up to Safe Haven, I immediately knew something was wrong. The front glass door was shattered, sirens could be heard in the distance, and it smelled like vampire. Without thinking, I struggled out of my clothes and shifted into my wolf form.

“Aurora! We’re in public,” Kai scolded me.

It was instinct, I couldn’t help it. If I was going to run into a vampire, I wanted to be a wolf; not a hundred and thirty pound human girl with no weapon.

I ran to the open doorway, whimpering as glass cut my paws. Kai followed behind me in human form, gun drawn. The entire pack carried weapons ever since the vampires had waged war on our kind by trying to poison our water supply with liquid silver. Kai held the gun, loaded with silver bullets, in his outstretched hands. The sound of a scream came from the gymnasium, the fur on my coat stood, I ran back there. I nudged open the gym door with my snout. When I smelled it, I howled. Death. Blood. Human. Vampire.

Safe Haven was a shelter, a safe place for women and children to come and escape their abusive lives. The woman that lay before me, was gutted like a fish. I gagged as rage built up inside me. It was a horror show, purposefully meant to send a message. Our wolf, Andy, who was supposed to be on guard duty, was unconscious in the corner. Smart. If they killed him, we would have felt it through the pack bond, but if they quickly knocked him out, it wouldn’t raise alarm. Two women were sobbing and shaking in the corner. I could hear footsteps and saw other women and children coming out of their rooms.

‘Kai don’t let them see! They have seen enough blood,’ I urged him through our bond. The women were supposed to feel safe at the shelter. However, one was murdered before me and two were traumatized in the corner. Livid didn’t even begin to describe how I felt. I wanted every vampire alive to be a pile of dust!

Kai quickly turned to address the women. “Ladies, there has been an accident. Please go back to your rooms while I talk to the authorities. The gymnasium is off limits.” Kai shut the gym room doors. All of the women knew Kai; they trusted him. Damn, he was good with public speaking, an Alpha trait, I guess.

‘Aurora, shift and change. Cops will be here within minutes. I don’t smell any vampires near. They’ve gone.’

Kai approached the two women who stared at me with fear.

“Is that a wolf?” one of them asked with a shaky voice.

“Yes, I breed mountain wolves in partnership with the wildlife and gaming commission to help the endangered species. She broke out of the cage in my truck. She won’t hurt you.”

‘Whoa, you’re a good liar,’ I told him. Interesting. I might have to look out for that.

I padded over to the women’s locker room and nudged the door open with my snout. I cringed at the smell. Sweat. Old Socks. Body odor. I shook it off and shifted quickly. Kai and I had the same ability to shift instantly and be super-fast. In this moment, I was grateful. It was stupid of me to have shifted in public in the first place. Rookie werewolf move. I looked down at my naked body and then across the room to a pile of smelly, old gym clothes. Yikes. I quickly grabbed the grey sweatpants and large black shirt and threw them on. Yuck. I reeked.

I popped open a small window on the far wall and slid out. I was at the side of the building and could hear the sirens screaming. They had arrived. I ran super-fast to the front of the building just as the cops were about to turn the corner. I leapt across the broken glass and through the front door.

A few women were gathered outside the gymnasium doors talking in shushed voices.

“Who is in charge here?” I heard a booming voice from behind me.

I turned around. Cops. I had a love-hate relationship with cops. When my father would get drunk and beat my mother up, I would call the cops. They would come to the house and my scared mother wouldn’t press charges. The cops would look at her shaking hands, bruised face, and split lip and leave. Sometimes they took my father in for a night to dry out, but they never really intervened. I guess they couldn’t legally. I needed to keep reminding myself that the man I grew up with wasn’t my real father. Sylvia had shown me that. I was put with my parents for safe keeping, but I didn’t share his blood. It was oddly comforting.

“I am the owner.” I raised my hand.

The cops looked me up and down. No doubt wondering why I was dressed so poorly, with no shoes.

“Please excuse my appearance. My name is Aurora. I own Safe Haven. I was just about to teach a self-defense class when we saw the broken glass and the body. My boyfriend is in the gymnasium right now trying to calm the women down. Follow me.”

I walked toward the doors.

‘Boyfriend?’ Kai spoke into my mind. He seemed disappointed. So he had heard me. Damn werewolf hearing.

I smiled. ‘Mate sounds weird to humans.’

I opened the doors just as the officers came up behind me. I couldn’t tell before because of the stink on my clothes, but I smelled a witch. One of the cops was a witch. We entered and upon seeing the dead, mutilated body, the cops drew their weapons. The two women were sitting up and facing away from it all. Kai had calmed them down. I breathed in again.

‘One of the cops is a warlock,’ Kai confirmed.

‘Good one or bad one?’ I asked. Sylvia had taught me a little about dark witches and light witches, but I didn’t know how to tell them apart yet.

‘You tell me,’ Kai responded.

“What happened here?” An officer barked at me and had his gun drawn on Kai.

I thought of something.

“We should call our friend Sylvia. She will want to come down here and make sure the other women are okay.”

The darker-haired cop locked eyes with me. His pupils shifted white for the slightest second. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small velvet spell pouch.

“Sleep.” He threw powder in his partner’s face and eased him to the ground as he crumpled into sleep. He walked over to the two women who were looking at him with fear and did the same.

Kai’s wolf was out. His eyes were yellow. I could tell he was ready to shift at any second.

“Friends of Sylvia’s are friends of mine, even if they are werewolves,” he remarked, eyeing Kai.

He pulled out a pendulum, and spun it over the dead woman’s body. I saw a fine mist hover over the pendulum. It was white mist, my sign of a good witch.

“Vampires,” he declared.

“We could have told you that,” Kai offered, tapping his nose. He didn’t need to be rude.

‘Be nice,’ I pressed him.

The cop looked at Kai for longer than what was usually considered polite when making eye contact with an Alpha. “You will have to excuse me, I’m not keen on taking the word of a werewolf.”

This was not going good. I needed to do something.

I extended my hand. “I’m Aurora. I’m Sylvia’s new clan member.”

His eyebrows shot up at my declaration.

“Yep. Witch and werewolf. Unheard of and not possible, but here I stand,” I told him. He shook my hand and then delicately turned my palm up and looked at the lines in it. This was a witch’s way of checking me out. Kai growled, but I shushed him with a glare.

“I’m Adrian. I have heard stories of your kind, but never have I met one. You’re the Matefinder they speak of, aren’t you? Half witch, half werewolf. You can find the mated pairs for your kind?”

I didn’t think he would know so much about me. I cleared my throat and pulled my hand back. “That’s me. I trust that you won’t broadcast that around.”

Adrian looked at me with intrigue. “The entire supernatural community already knows about you, sweetheart.”

‘If he calls you sweetheart again, I’m stuffing that sleeping powder down his throat.’ Kai seethed and stepped closer to me.

I stifled a laugh.

“Why would the vampires be so brazen and attack a public place leaving a mutilated body? They are no stranger to killing, but they don’t usually do so to catch attention. The last thing they want is their food source finding out they exist and fighting back,” Adrian commented.

Something in Kai’s expression changed.

“We don’t exactly have a great relationship with the vampires right now. I think this was done to send me a message,” I admitted.

“Officer Navarro, report on the disturbance at Safe Haven,” the walkie talkie on his belt squawked.

“I have an idea,” he told us.

Adrian grabbed the walkie off of his belt loop and pressed a button. “Officer Navarro here. We have one body. Two witnesses saw a rabid wolf attack the victim. It’s gone now, requesting back up.”

He switched the walkie talkie off and looked at Kai who was eying him with distrust. “Can you shift and walk around in the blood to make paw marks then break through the window and trot off to create a trail? Make sure to leave some fur near the body.”

Kai looked at me. I nodded. It was a good idea. The last thing we needed was an open murder investigation and for the women at Safe Haven to think they were in danger with no one caught.

‘I’ll be okay. Do it. I will pick you up down the street,’ I told him.

‘Now we will have every hunter in the Pacific Northwest looking to kill a rabid wolf!’ he roared.

‘It’s our only option. How else do we explain a body this messy?’ I asked him.

I could hear sirens again.

“The sleeping powder won’t hold much longer. Have you done a memory spell yet, Aurora?” Adrian asked me as Kai shifted and walked around in the victim’s blood.

I shook my head no. Adrian went over to the two women and placed his hands on their heads. He lowered his head and chanted under his breath. A fine white mist left his hands and wrapped around the women’s heads. He walked over and did the same to his partner.

‘Kai, go! If they see you they will shoot you,’ I urged him.

He looked at Adrian one final time and let a low growl rip from his throat before crashing through the window. The sirens were closing in.

Adrian finished with the spell and walked over to me. “Your boyfriend doesn’t trust very easily, does he?”

“My mate, actually. No, he doesn’t. I can’t imagine he is happy to leave me with a man in uniform.”

‘I heard that!’ Kai shouted in my head. I smirked.

“The women outside saw you, so I want you to give a quick statement,” Adrian told me.

“Thank you for your help. If we can repay you in any way let me know.”

Adrian nodded. “I could use some powerful Alpha blood for my spell castings.”

I nodded in return. “Consider it done.”

Witches were always after werewolf blood or hair for their spells. Hopefully Kai didn’t mind me just offering his up.

After filling out the report, I gave and small speech to the women about the rabid wolf and got in my car. I drove down the street to a protected strip of forest and spotted Kai. He was hiding near the bushes and was naked save for a welcome mat over his private parts.

I laughed when he got in the car. “Welcome to my car.”

He glared at me playfully. I grabbed some pants from the back seat and threw them at him.

“Put these on. Although, I’m sorry to see you cover up,” I flirted.

At that, he dropped the welcome mat and fully exposed himself inside the car. He leaned over the armrest and grabbed my neck, pulling me in for a long kiss.

“When is our wedding night? I’m not sure I can wait any longer,” he confessed in a husky voice.

I smiled. But behind my smile I was worried. I wanted to marry him. I wanted to set a date, but … Layla. “You know we don’t have to wait to do it until we are married. This is the 21st century.” I laughed at his nakedness. “Cover up before someone sees you!”

Kai slipped into his pants and gave me a side glance. “Call me old fashioned. I’ve waited hundreds of years for my mate. They say the first time you go to bed with your mate after the mating ceremony, it transcends this reality. The mating ceremony opens the bond forever.”

Whoa. Having a link with Kai I could never close sounded terrifying. I was a stubborn, private woman with daddy issues. He would know everything, all the time. I drove the rest of the way home in silence thinking about his words.

Rogue

‘Pack meeting, now,’ Kai sent to the pack. The merge of the Portland pack with our Mount Hood pack had made our family larger, more powerful. Kai was never after power or large numbers, but it did help.

Kai stood on a picnic table and looked down on all of us. We were clustered in our large backyard surrounded by hundred-year-old trees. The moss was thick on the branches and the fog was settling on the ground. God, I loved this mountain. I held Kai’s tablet pointed at him so that the werewolf council on the other end could see him as he spoke through video chat.

“There has been a vampire attack on Safe Haven. A human was killed. Mutilated is a better description.” Kai’s voice was deep and boomed with the power of the Alpha. The pack members were outraged.

“For many decades, we have lived separately from the vampires and witches. Our concern was with our territory, our own dwindling population. We have been concerned with finding our mates and having children. I fear now that if we don’t deal with the vampires properly, than we will be leaving our children to a world of chaos. They will grow up as warriors and their childhood will be taken from them. Their parents may not live long enough to show them the way of the wolf.”

The pack roared their agreement. I spotted Devon, who placed his hand on Emma’s swollen belly and nodded to Kai.

“Legend says that Spirit created werewolves to protect humans. There are tales of werewolves guarding the heavily populated human streets from thirsty vampires. Of werewolves being so big in number that the vampires feared us! We have relaxed and become complacent. We let the vampires feed off of the humans and only intervene if they kill a few and it makes it in the news. When is the last time we guarded a human night club or bar from the bloodsuckers?” He let the silence linger.

“This stops today! From now on, we are the guardians of humanity and of werewolf culture. We protect what is ours! Our way of life, our females, our traditions will not be taken! It’s time to live out our legend. It’s time to go to war!” Kai screamed and the last part came out in a half-wolf howl.

The council coursed their agreement. “We will spread the word to all packs. By next week, we will start making our presence known to the vampires. Send a message that killing the humans is off limits,” his father, a council member in India, said over the tablet.

Holy shit. My mate could be inspiring and scary. God help whoever tried to take from him the things that he wanted. I knew then that I would marry him. I couldn’t let fear dictate my life. I couldn’t let the vampires win. I was second in command. I was a dominant. That meant I did whatever the hell I pleased, and I didn’t take crap from anyone! The pack began undressing. It was time for a run. I put the tablet down.

‘Two months,’ I sent to Kai.

‘What?’ He caught my eyes from across the crowded lawn. I took off my shirt revealing my teal lace bra.

‘I’m setting a date. I’m going to marry you in two months. It will be spring. There will be flowers and good weather.’ I unclipped my bra and smiled. His eyes roamed over my body and I shifted in seconds.

‘This will be the longest two months of my life,’ he groaned. I trotted over to him and nudged his neck. The pack was still shifting. Breaking bones could be heard all around us. Kai was a changed wolf, not born of two werewolf parents, and so he had a gift. Because I was the Matefinder, I was able to absorb his gift as well as have my own. Kai trotted out to a well-worn path into the thick woods. The rest of us followed.

I took in a deep breath through my nose. A rabbit was nearby. I was a vegetarian while in human form but my wolf had other appetites. I allowed her to catch a rabbit last week and as long as I let my full wolf come to the surface and not my human self, it didn’t bother me. I debated going after the rabbit and enticing Kai with a little race for it, when I smelled something else. I took in another deep breath. It was another wolf, but not a foreign wolf smell. I was trying to figure it out when Emma whined behind me.

‘Rogue wolf. Protect the females,’ Kai told the pack. Max and the other dominant wolves immediately formed a circle around the females. There weren’t many of us. Anna’s power was extreme strength, she hardly needed protecting, but she found her way inside the circle. Izzy was a badass fighter and didn’t need protecting either, but she trotted into the circle and positioned herself next to Emma. Emma was our first pregnant female and also a submissive wolf. A few other females from the Portland pack trickled inside the protective circle. I tried to make my way out of the circle, but Max tightened it, blocking my way. I met Max’s eyes and growled.

‘What’s a rogue wolf?’ I asked Emma. We could communicate telepathically while in wolf form.

‘A wolf without a pack. Usually very vicious if they have survived this long. They are very dominate, usually Alphas. They keep to themselves. They don’t really have a territory so they don’t smell foreign,’ she told me.

I continued to stare at Max, and gave him a little growl. He lowered his eyes and backed up to let me out of the circle. Max and I had a history. I hated to throw my pack rank in his face, but I wasn’t about to let my mate meet some vicious rogue wolf alone.

Kai saw me and let out a small growl.

‘I figured you wouldn’t listen.’

‘Nope. So what’s this rogue want?’ I asked him.

‘If he’s a recent rogue, he will want to join a pack. If he has survived being rogue for a long time, then he only wants to be left alone or to cause trouble. I will know when I see him.’

‘Survived? Is it hard to be rouge?’ I pondered. The smell was stronger. It wasn’t unpleasant like a foreign wolf, but my hairs were rising. My wolf didn’t like it.

‘Wolves need a pack. It’s in our nature. Rogues who have been that way for a long time are usually mentally unstable. They end up killing themselves or going crazy and trying to kill others. The council puts them down.’

‘Jesus.’

I could see him. He was trotting right toward us with amazing speed. He was a huge wolf, like Kai, and all black. Only a few white whiskers around his mouth gave him any color.  I inhaled deeply. Whisky. Smoke. Pine. Kai stepped in front of me. ‘He’s been a rogue for a while. Smells like an Alpha. Stay back. I’m not kidding, Aurora. These guys have taken out entire packs.’

I stepped behind Kai and watched. The wolf stopped in front of us and stared behind Kai, directly at me. Kai let a growl rip from his throat. A few of our wolves behind me howled. The rogue shifted into human form. It was slow and painful, but he didn’t flinch. We couldn’t talk to other wolves in wolf form unless they were pack. Kai shifted instantly.

Both men were staring each other down. The rogue had dark black hair that was wild and dreadlocked; it hung halfway down his back. He was chiseled and buff with scars that littered his deep mocha skin.  Not a word was spoken. A dominance challenge was in place. When a wolf wants to test someone’s dominance without a fight, it begins with a staring contest. Having been through many myself, I knew how tempting it was to test other wolves, but it was rude. You didn’t stare at an Alpha of another pack. Wanting to prove he was more dominant than Kai pissed me off! I could see sweat on Kai’s brow. Oh, this jerk! I shifted instantly without thinking.

“You’re trespassing, rogue! What do you want?” I shouted at him. My voice came out gruff, still going through the change. The man grinned from ear to ear. He broke eye contact with Kai to look at me. I hid my body behind Kai but stared at him.

“I’m here looking for you,” he said, holding my gaze.

“What do you want with my mate? Choose your next words carefully.  They may be your last,” Kai told him boldly.

I could hear rustling behind me. Max and the dominants were coming closer, no doubt. I held the rogue’s gaze even though I was beginning to feel the strain. Anytime someone wanted to test my strength or my dominance, it only served to make me stronger.

The rogue grinned at me again. “There is a rumor going around that the Matefinder is here on Mount Hood. That she has found hundreds of mates already. I’m feeling a little left out.”

“Lower your eyes!” Kai told him.

My hands were feeling shaky. How long had I been holding his gaze? I wanted to kneel, to bow my head. It’s like he was putting those thoughts in my mind. No! A larger part of me wanted to prove I was stronger than he thought. Was that sweat on his upper lip?

“You’ll have to excuse me, Alpha. I don’t get company often. This is my idea of fun,” he told Kai.

“Well, it’s not mine. Take your eyes off of my mate, NOW.” Kai stepped forward and the man broke eye contact immediately. He looked at Kai and smiled.

“Just seeing what dominant females are like these days. You’ve got a strong one there, maybe even stronger than you.”

“You don’t have the greatest set of social skills, do you?” I mocked him.

He grabbed his belly and laughed manically.

‘He’s crazy,’ I told Kai.

‘They all are,’ he replied.

“May I join your run? I promise to be nice,” he asked suddenly.

I could tell Kai needed to tread carefully.

“What is your purpose here? Are you looking to join a pack? Are you setting up territory nearby? Or are you just bored and looking for trouble?” Kai questioned him.

“No, no. I don’t want to join your big, fancy pack. I like my small territory in Washington. No. I’m looking for something more … eternal.” His eyes found me again. There was a sadness there, but just as soon as I had seen it, it was gone.

“Explain,” Kai grumbled.

Then it hit me. “You’re looking for your mate. You want my help,” I exclaimed, stepping forward. One of the pack members, Jake, had run to a nearby cache of clothes that we kept hidden in the trees and handed me a large shirt. I slipped it over my head.

“Guilty.” He took a pair of sweatpants from Jake’s outstretched hand.

“She doesn’t find mates on command, and she cannot do it under force,” Kai told him through clenched teeth.

“I think we got off to a bad start. It’s been so long since I’ve been around other wolves, I’ve gotten carried away.” His eyes lost their yellow color. They became a deep sea blue. “I’m Kaden.” He reached his hand out. Kai shook it, but I could tell his guard was still up.

“Kai.”

I offered my hand. “I’m Aurora, Kai’s mate.”

The second our hands touched, I felt the pull of a vision. I let it take me. I saw Kaden as a young wolf, he was scrappy and always getting into fights. Something about his spirit was restless; he felt like he didn’t belong. He didn’t feel at home in a pack. He was always bullied and teased as a child. He thought it was because he wasn’t Alpha, so he fought his way to the top and became Alpha of a small pack in Tennessee, but he still wasn’t happy. He thought it was because his pack was too small, so he found a bigger pack and a more powerful Alpha to defeat. He fought that New York City pack Alpha and won. He thought at least that would bring him a small amount of peace, but it didn’t.

That’s when he knew. His restless spirit was unhappy around so many others, he needed to be alone. So he went rogue. He severed his ties to his pack and left on a journey of solitude. It was hard at first, but over time it became easier to worry about only himself. He was depressed that life had made him different. He felt alone. But there was something else there. A deep, dark secret he didn’t want anyone to know. He was seeking answers to questions that tortured his soul. Am I normal? Do I have a mate? I could feel myself getting confused about interpreting the vision until I saw his mate. Then it hit me. Why he had been teased, and why he didn’t feel settled. I knew where his mate was and there was a big problem. The vision broke and I pulled my hand back.

Kaden’s eyes were yellow. “What happened?” he asked as he rubbed his hand.

“You’re gay,” I said out loud.

“Aurora!” Kai yelled at me, looking embarrassed.

Kaden looked at me with wonder. “So you really do have visions.”

I nodded. “Is that why you went rogue?” I questioned him.

He sighed. “Being a gay werewolf doesn’t seem to go over so well with the macho Alpha lifestyle.”

“I know where your mate is. I’ve seen him,” I told him with confidence.

Kaden’s hand shook slightly. His eyes stilled on mine. “Are you saying ...” His breath was shaky.

“Did you think because you were gay that you wouldn’t have a mate?” I asked him incredulously. Kai rubbed his hands nervously on his pants.

“Yeah, I did,” Kaden admitted.

“Well, I’ve seen him, but there’s a problem. A big problem.” I looked nervously at Kai.

Kai stood protectively in front of me as I delivered the news. “He’s rogue too, recently. He went a little crazy and killed a human. The council is going to kill him.” The images that had flashed through my mind indicated the future, so it hadn’t happened yet.

Kaden breathed deeply as patches of fur rippled onto his body. “Tell me what you saw,” he commanded me in a deep, menacing voice. I felt Alpha power saturate my body.

Kai took a step toward him. “Have some respect and watch your tone with my mate,” Kai told him.

Kaden’s eyes flashed blue. “You’re right. My apologies,” he said with sincerity.

I nodded. “I saw your mate. His name is Chase. He is scared and alone. He doesn’t feel like he belongs in any pack. His mind isn’t strong; he doesn’t have Alpha strength. He is very submissive and is not doing well without a pack. He is going a little crazy and accidently attacked a human when they pulled a shotgun on him. He was trespassing on their property. Time is hard to tell. Killing the human has already happened, but the council hasn’t reached him yet.”

Kaden swallowed hard. “Do you know his location?” he asked me with as much submissiveness as he could muster.

I nodded. “On a small ranch near Colorado Springs, living out of a barn. I saw a name. ‘Mattie’s Pumpkin Farm’.”

Kaden nodded. “Thank you. If you ever need a favor. I owe you,” he told me and turned away to leave.

Kai looked at me with concern.

‘Kai, he can’t do this on his own. This guy, Chase, is rabid. I’ve seen him in my mind.’

“Hang on there, Kaden,” Kai called to him. “Let us go with you. He’s going to need to be taken into a pack to settle his mind. He’s rabid and will put up a fight. My father is on the council and I’m in the process of joining. Maybe we can appeal to have his case looked at again. Explain that he was scared and it was an accident.”

Kaden looked at him and then to me. “I don’t work well in groups.”

Kai laughed. “I noticed that when you tried to challenge me a few minutes ago.”

Kaden smiled and seemed to think it over. “It’s a better plan than forcing my mate to come home with me and killing the entire council if they tried to hurt him.”

Yes. Yes it was.

Chase

We made a bold decision to take Max with us. We needed all the muscle we could get to tame Chase. We left Jake, Jai, and Devon in charge of the pack. We also brought Anna. I had a feeling her gift of extreme strength would come in handy. Kai was eager to retaliate on the vampires for killing someone at Safe Haven, but we both agreed this was time sensitive and Kaden needed our help. The five of us were in a rented SUV making our way to the farm in my vision from the Colorado Springs airport. Kai hadn’t been able to get ahold of his father because of the time difference in India. He tried him again.

We were in such close quarters, all of us could hear him pick up.

“This is Raj.”

“Papa, it’s Kai. I have pack business to discuss.”

They were so formal with each other.

“What is it?” Raj asked.

“Aurora has matched another mated pair.”

“Wonderful,” his father exclaimed.

“Well, this wolf, Chase, is in a bit of trouble with the council.”

“Ah, Chase Budd of Denver, Colorado. Yes, we just ruled on his case. He killed a human when he could have just injured them or scared them off. It was all over the news. Messy job. He will be terminated today by an enforcer.”

My stomach dropped. Kaden’s growl nearly rattled the car windows. Kai was driving and took a turn down a small farm road.

“Who was that?” Raj asked.

“That,” Kai gave Kaden a glare and then trained his eyes back to the road, “was Chase’s mate, Kaden, a rogue.”

“There’s a female rogue running around? What are you thinking? Take her into your pack.”

Kai rolled his eyes. “Kaden is a male, Papa, and doesn’t wish to join my pack.”

“A male? Two males. Oh. Ohh. Aurora is sure they are mates?”

Oh, my God. Awkward.

I stepped in. “Yes, Raj, they’re mates, but they won’t be for long unless you call off the enforcer. We would like the case reconsidered. He went rogue for personal reasons. He’s a submissive and can’t handle being alone. His mind is going dark. It was an accident. I can project my vision to the council through Jane, if you wish.”

“Hello, Aurora. Kai, in the future I’d like to know when my conversation is not private.”

Kai grumbled. “Yes, Papa.”

Raj continued. “I will bring up the issue with the council, but the enforcers were given notice this morning. The job already may have been done.”

Kai jammed his foot on the gas pedal kicking up gravel and Kaden began shifting. Being stuck in the back seat with three large werewolves was not conducive to shifting.

“You just kill wolves for making mistakes? There’s no rehabilitation program?” I shouted.

Raj laughed. “Oh, Aurora, what a fantasy world you live in, dear.”

Kai blew through a metal gate and gunned it toward a big red pole barn.

“We’re not like vampires. We punish for killing humans,” Kai told me.

Well, he had a point, but geez.

“Bye, Papa, thanks.” Kai ended the call. Kaden had fully shifted in the way back and was crouched and waiting to leap out of the car. Kai slammed on the brakes, coming to a halt at the opening of the barn.

“Smell that?” he asked and opened his door. He ran to the back and let Kaden out.

I inhaled. The rogue and two other wolves, the enforcers?

‘How many were needed to kill a poor submissive?’ I asked Kai.

‘One for doing the job and one to witness. It’s an official bureaucratic process, believe it or not,’ he replied.

Kai and I stripped down and shifted immediately while Max and Anna followed behind us. I heard growling in the barn and raced back there. A huge grey wolf had a small, timid, white wolf’s head in his mouth. A werewolf in human form stood against the wall with black gloves on. Kaden ran the length of the barn and lunged at the grey wolf’s back, sinking his teeth into his shoulder.

Max hadn’t fully shifted yet.  “Wait! The council is reviewing this case. Your orders have been changed. Stand down!” Max shouted. The grey enforcer released Chase and lunged at Kaden.

The man leaning against the wall pulled a long silver chain from his briefcase. I looked closer. It was a whip. A silver whip. He addressed Max. “They all say that to save their wolf. Back off now. Interfering with council enforcers will be punishable by termination.”

Termination? Let’s call it what it was. Murder!

He pulled his whip back and flicked it at Chase, wrapping it around his neck.

Chase had been standing there in shock, looking at the markings on Kaden’s wolf. Chase pulled hard on the silver whip causing the guy holding it to fall forward and let go. Chase shook his head as if to shake his thoughts. Kai approached him slowly. Chase’s head turned in Kai’s direction and he let loose a deep growl. Well, this might get interesting. Anna took the enforcer’s leg in her mouth, ripped him away from Kaden, and pinned him to the ground.

I decided to shift into my human form before things got ugly.

The guy who had fallen, grabbed the whip tightly again.

I pointed at him. “Call the council and talk to Raj. I’m the Matefinder, and as you can see, these two are mates.”

The guy seemed unsure of what to do, noticing their exact opposite markings. “They may be mates, but he’s gone completely rapid. He killed a human. I have orders.”

“Call the council, now,” I said with gritted teeth.

He dropped the whip. Kaden approached Chase slowly, crouching in a submissive walk. Their eyes were locked, their fur patterns matched. Exact opposites. Mates.

Kaden tried to get closer. I knew they were seeing each other’s life review. What got them to this point, how much they had struggled in the past. The thing that happened to every wolf when they met their mate for the first time in wolf form. Chase growled, stopping Kaden in his tracks.

Kaden shifted. “His mind is going rabid. He can’t function without an Alpha or a pack. He’s sick.” He sounded scared. To see such a big, menacing guy pleading for help pulled on my heart strings.

‘What exactly does going rabid mean?’ I asked Kai.

‘Going rogue is only temporary when a wolf changes packs. If you aren’t mentally strong, you cannot make it as a rogue long term. Only Alpha’s like Kaden can and it takes a toll on the mind. You act crazy, like a rapid dog.’

An understanding passed between us. Kai looked at me. I nodded. Kai lunged at Chase and bit into his shoulder causing him to howl.

‘Blood of my blood,’ Kai told him. I felt Kai bringing him into the pack, the pack bonds were wrapping around Chase. As soon as I felt his energy join the pack, I recoiled. He was suicidal, depressed, hearing things, seeing things. The poor soul. He couldn’t think straight. Now that Kai had Chase in the pack, he let him go and stared into his eyes. Kaden looked ready to pounce on Kai at any moment if it went south. I looked at Max and flicked my eyes to Kaden. Someone would need to hold Kaden back if Kai had to fight Chase to tame him. Anna had the enforcer and I had my eyes trained on whip guy who was on his cell phone.

‘I need to make him submit to me. He was way too submissive to be a rogue for this long. He’s more submissive than Emma. He needs order, he needs rules, he needs to be tamed,’ Kai told me.

Chase’s eyes were wild, frantic, rabid. He looked ready to fight for his life. He stared into Kai’s eyes. Chase growled and crouched, ready to lunge. Kaden stepped forward and Max grabbed his arms pinning them behind his back. Kai growled back, long and deep. It made the hairs on my arms stand up. Chase began panting and finally dropped his eyes and rolled over, belly up.

Pack, I heard his wolf say.

Kai nipped his neck and Chase stood, his eyes lowered to the ground in submission.

‘I’m so ashamed,’ he told us. ‘I thought I could make it on my own.’ Being part of the pack, he could communicate with us, but not with Kaden, because Kaden wasn’t pack.

Kai looked at me. ‘He will be okay, but he should stay with our pack for a while. He needs to mentally heal.’

“He’s pack now. He’s okay, but he needs to stay with us for a while. You can stay on the edge of our property,” I told Kaden.

He nodded. “Thank you. Thank you all.”

Anna was in human form and talking to the enforcers.

Max left and reappeared in the doorway and tossed Kaden and me clothes.

The enforcer came back inside the barn. “The council will overturn the sentencing as long as he stays with a pack and doesn’t go rogue again.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” Kaden told the enforcer. Chase walked slowly to Kaden’s legs and lay at his feet. Kaden patted his rib cage. “It’s going to be okay now.”

Every time I brought together a mated couple, I felt a rightness within my soul. It was my life’s purpose.

Alexa

Adrian had just left after retrieving the Alpha blood sample I promised him from Kai. The pack was in the basement training on how to kill vampires; Kai wanted us to start going out on missions and protecting the public. I tightened my grip on the silver stake and taunted Trent, my sparring partner. My cell phone buzzed on the floor mat with a text.

-Meet at that place?- It was Dr. T., Dr. Tavern worked for RAIDOS, the secret government branch of humans that studied supernaturals. A few months ago, I had made an alliance with them. I still wasn’t sure they could be trusted. Dr. Tavern didn’t always seem to follow their orders. She went out of her way to warn me of things and so I was pretty sure that I could at least trust her.

‘Dr. Tavern texted me. I’m meeting her at the falls,’ I told Kai from across the room and met his gaze.

‘I’m coming.’ He told Max something before grabbing his t-shirt and slipping it over his head.

‘Dang, I hate it when you put clothes on,’ I teased.

He grinned at me. ‘Likewise.’

Kai and I walked out of the house and to the car. He wore a tight black cotton t-shirt and blue jeans. His hair was dark and wild. He looked me up and down. I had my long blonde hair down. It hung halfway down my back. Kai pulled my arm, stopping me. He grabbed the engagement ring that hung from a silver chain on my neck. He was careful not to touch the silver chain, as it would burn him. My witch powers made me immune.

“Two months,” he stated and then kissed me.

“Two months,” I echoed.

I heard approaching footsteps and turned to see Emma running over to us.

“Are you going into town?” she asked urgently.

“What’s wrong?” Kai was in front of her in an instant looking at her belly. He was always worried about her.

“I have a crazy craving for Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland,” she stated.

I busted out laughing and Kai sighed.

“You scared me. I thought the baby was hurt.” Kai exclaimed.

“No, the baby is hungry. Can you get an assorted dozen? Devon is at work and I’m not allowed to leave alone.” Her pale heart-shaped face pleaded with Kai.

“No, you’re not. Yes, we will bring them back for you.” He patted her belly. “Hold tight, little one. You will have doughnuts within a few hours.”

I smiled. Was there anything sexier than a sensitive guy that liked babies and pregnant bellies, but could also kill a man with his bare hands? I don’t think so.

***

We pulled our car up to the entrance of Multnomah Falls. Multnomah Falls was a beautiful public tourist spot in-between Portland and Mount Hood. We had set it up as a meeting place if we ever needed to meet. I had visited the falls dozens of times as a kid. I had hiked the area with my mom and Drake. My throat tightened at the thought of my twin brother. Losing him was the hardest thing in my life. Sylvia had told me Matefinders were always female and always born in a set of twins. The boy twin was her protector. Drake had pulled me from the raging creek to save me from drowning, but in turn had been swept up and drowned. My father started drinking and became abusive after that.

“Aurora? Where are you?” Kai was peering at me with curiosity.

“Sorry. Issues,” I muttered.

He smiled and held my hand as we began hiking up the trail to the falls. It was an easy hike and we passed by a ton of tourists taking pictures. Just before we reached the top, we heard her.

“Psst!” Dr. Tavern was on a park bench in a small pull out just off the trail. We walked over and she wordlessly began leading us away into a thick part of the trees. We followed her, but my guard was up. She was acting sneaky. I wondered if we were being followed. Once she had led us far enough away, she turned to face us. There was a bruise under her right eye. She had dyed her hair from blonde to jet black.

“Oh my God, Dr. Tavern. Are you okay?” I knew the signs. I saw them on my own mother’s face growing up. Dr. Tavern was a victim of abuse. She was on the run. She pushed a red button on a disc-shaped tracker. It was some type of signal scrambler. I had seen her use it before.

She touched her cheek lightly. “Please, call me Alexa.” Her voice was raw, like she had been crying.

I looked at Kai. His eyes were yellow. “Who did it?” Kai had infused the power of the Alpha into his voice. It would be hard even for a human not to answer him truthfully.

“One of the guys at RAIDOS. We’ve been dating a while. Things are changing there; he’s not who I thought he was. Anyway, I’m here to warn you. They have gotten word of your wedding. They are scared of the vampires who have been increasing attacks on humans. They’re killing them, draining them of blood, not just feeding from them.” Alexa pulled a blood-soaked shirt from her bag. “Can you smell this? Tell me if it’s vampire?”

Kai took it, but not before lightly squeezing her hand.

Kai brought it to his nose and smelled. Then he growled.

“Vampire. Where did you get this?” he asked.

“A nightclub downtown. It’s called Pearl. There was a ‘gang fight’ there last night. Was all over the news. Last time I checked, gangs didn’t drain people of blood.”

I sucked in a breath. “And then again at Safe Haven. These vampires are really pissing me off.”

Alexa nodded. “I wondered if Safe Haven was also vampires. Look, I’ve left RAIDOS. I’m hiding out at a friend’s cabin in Sandy. I’ll be safe there. Things have changed and I don’t think you should trust RAIDOS anymore. They no longer want to align with the werewolves. You say that you protect humans, but they aren’t seeing it. They want to make sure Aurora doesn’t become fertile and aid the vampires in creating children. I’m pretty sure they will stop at nothing to see that happen.”

Fur rippled on Kai’s skin. He was having a hard time holding onto his humanity. God, couldn’t a girl just marry the man of her dreams and live a happy life!

“Well, I guess we won’t be inviting them to the wedding,” I told her, trying to lighten the mood.

She smiled weakly.

“Come home with us. We can protect you,” Kai told her.

“No, they are still watching you. They have drones all over your mountain. They would find me there and I can’t protect myself like you can. I’m just a human.”

Kai sighed.

“You’re sure you are safe at your friends?” I asked her.

She nodded. “She has gone to Europe for three months and RAIDOS doesn’t know of my friendship with her.”

“Okay, well I want you to check in with me every few days,” Kai told her. A female in need of protection was all it took for Kai to take them in and treat them like pack.

Alexa nodded and pulled her hood over her hair. “Something big needs to happen, otherwise you won’t make it to your wedding day.” The look she gave me sent chills down my arms. She hit the red button on her device and then jogged away. The backpack on her back looked heavy. A light rain began to fall.

“Voodoo doughnuts, anyone?” Humor was always my default in tense situations. Kai had a sinister look in his eye. He was mostly silent for the rest of the day.

***

A light knock at the door woke me up. I looked over to Kai’s side of the bed. Empty.

“Come in.” I inhaled through my nostrils. Diya, my soon to be sister-in-law.

She opened the door quickly and then ran toward the bed.

“You’re not supposed to tell anyone for a while, but I can’t keep it in!” she shouted.

I rubbed my eyes and put my hair in a big bun.

“What?”

“I’m pregnant!” she shrieked.

Oh. My. God. That was fast. First Emma, now her. Werewolves were serious about their pregnancies.

“Congratulations!” I hugged her and then moved into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

“Werewolves don’t waste anytime marrying their mates or getting pregnant, huh?” I pondered aloud.

“Aurora, you grew up in the human world. I grew up with my mother telling me every single day that our race was dying out and the only good thing I could do for the world would be to find my mate and have children.”

Wow, if Kai thought we were having a baby right away, he was crazy. I loved kids, but I wasn’t ready to be a mother yet. I was more like the cool aunt.

“Diya, do they make werewolf birth control?”

Her eyes widened. “You don’t want kids? Does my brother know?”

I threw my hands up. “I didn’t say that I don’t want kids, but I’m not a baby factory. So I don’t want to get pregnant the month after we are married. No offense. We are in the middle of a vampire war. You know.”

“All the more reason to increase our numbers,” Diya added smugly.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. “You will be a great mother. I will too, one day. I’m really happy for you. So, werewolf birth control?” I prodded.

She shook her head. “No, our bodies metabolize it too fast.”

“So …”

“Condoms.” She stated.

Oh. Right. Duh. Diya was a mid-wife and would be delivering Emma’s baby. She pretty much knew it all when it came to making babies. She had told me that werewolf deliveries were rough. In an emergency, a C-section couldn’t be done because our bodies healed too fast and would close around the baby. Sometimes the mothers died of blood loss from the baby shifting in the womb and ripping the placenta. I was hoping Emma’s birth would go smoothly.

I shook my head of those thoughts.

“You okay?” she asked.

I sighed. “Just thinking about Emma. I mean, Kai told me about what happened to Max’s wife, so it’s hard not to think about it.” Max, Kai’s best friend and previous second in command had lost his wife and baby in labor years ago.

Diya looked down, lost in thought. “Labor is hard and dangerous, even for a human. But I’m going to do everything I can to help Emma. It’s horrible what happened to Max. I can’t imagine losing my mate like that. Then to live the rest of my life alone, knowing they were gone.”

Well … That reminded me of Tara. I had a vision at Diya’s wedding that Max had a new mate, Tara. One of Diya’s friends.

“Diya, have you ever heard of someone having two mates?” I asked her.

Diya laughed and rummaged through my make-up. “That’s ridiculous, Aurora. Even more ridiculous coming from the Matefinder.”

“I mean, what if your mate died?”

“Then you live the rest of your life alone,” she said with certainty.

I frowned. “You don’t think Spirit would bless you with another mate?”

Diya stopped what she was doing and came closer to me. “What’s going on with you? You don’t want kids right away, you’re talking about having two mates. Are you and Kai okay?”

I sighed and ran a brush through my long hair. “Kai and I are fine. He knows I don’t want kids right away. I’m just doing a lot of thinking lately. Destiny, mates, reincarnation. Do you believe in reincarnation?” What Gretchen and Sylvia had said got me thinking.

Diya smiled and applied some lip gloss. “Aurora, I’m Indian, my people practically invented reincarnation.”

I smiled back. “It sounds nice. You get another chance to come back and I dunno … do stuff you didn’t do right before.”

“Yeah, it sounds nice, for the humans that reincarnate. My people don’t say anything about werewolves reincarnating.” Diya laughed.

Okay. Clearly I wasn’t going to get into some deep soulful conversation with Diya. Instead, I let her do my make-up and talk about babies. But it was a nice idea. There was this girl Becky in grade school that I had made fun of for always having a snotty nose. Maybe if I reincarnated, I could be nice to her in the next life. I liked the idea of righting my wrongs.

I smelled Kai before I saw him. Given that Diya was doing my make-up, I probably looked like a prostitute.

“Whoa,” Kai said when he walked into the bathroom and saw me.

Yep, prostitute. “What’s up?” I asked.

“Kaden and Chase have settled into a property on our borders. The distance from the pack is good for Kaden, but being in the pack is good for Chase.”

I smiled. “Good job, Alpha.”

“I’m pregnant,” Diya blurted out. Crap, I forgot about her news. She probably wanted some alone time with her brother.

“Diya! So soon? Okay. No, I’m happy but … yeah that makes me think about how you got pregnant and … yuck. But congrats!” he said awkwardly.

“Gee thanks, brother.” Diya stood and Kai hugged her.

“I’m happy, I am. You will be well protected and provided for.”

“I know that, Kai.” Diya kissed his cheek. “Spend some time with your mate. She is asking me crazy questions about reincarnation and stuff. She needs a guru.”

I spit my tongue out at her as she left.

“Reincarnation?” Kai raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah, just pondering life.” I stood and kissed his cheek. It left a red lipstick mark. “I’ve got healing affinity training at Sylvia’s. I’ll catch you later?”

Kai caught my gaze. “In India we believe couples that marry stay together for at least seven lifetimes. Hopefully this is our first and we have six more to look forward to.”

He was trying to make me feel better. He didn’t want me to feel weird for asking about reincarnation. God, I loved him.

“That sounds nice.” I smiled.

“Have fun at witch class. Tonight we spy on some vampires.”

I took a glance in the mirror. Yep, prostitute make up.

Luna

Gretchen was at Sylvia’s when I got there. They were arguing inside as I walked up. My werewolf ears picked up on the tail end of it.

“Well then, why don’t we test her and find out? She deserves to know, so she can prepare,” Gretchen said.

“Shhh, I feel her!” Sylvia hushed her.

Okay, awkward. I knocked.

“Come in, dear,” Sylvia said sweetly. She felt like family to me. I knew she was trying to protect me and as much as I loved living in denial, maybe I needed to find out more about this Devi thing.

I walked in and was surprised by a small white kitten. It was sitting on a pillow on Gretchen’s lap. It purred when it saw me.

“Oh my god! She is so cute!” The kitten leapt off of the pillow and trotted over to me. I picked her up. Her fur was so soft. She had one blue eye and one green.

“She is yours,” Gretchen stated.

“What? Mine? I love her!” I let her nuzzle my neck. Holding a kitten seemed to take all of my worries away.

“First lesson of today: animals have the power to heal. Cats add energy to a home and assist in healings. Luna is a descendant of my greatest healing cat, Venus. She will serve you well.”

Would Kai care if I brought a cat home? No. Probably not.

“Thank you so much,” I told her.

There was silence lingering in the air. Sylvia was rolling the fringe of a pillow in her fingers.

“So, I heard what you guys said about testing me for the Devi thing.”

Sylvia sighed. “I figured you did.”

“So what kind of test is there, to see if I am one? If I am, what does it mean?” Was I really going down this road?

“It would explain why you are so powerful. Matefinder, witch with two affinities, werewolf and witch simultaneously,” Sylvia offered. “The test is not to be taken lightly. It’s a Native American ritual that goes back for generations. Your friend Nahuel could help you.”

“And if I am? I die once the vampire war has ended? I leave Kai behind, Safe Haven, my mom? All of the good things I have done on this Earth get left behind?” I didn’t realize how angry I was until that very moment. If the Universe thought it could incarnate me into a body and have me build this wonderful life just to leave it behind, then it was about to be sorely mistaken. I wasn’t leaving until I was ready. Until I had experienced at least 100 holidays with Kai, had a couple kids, worked my shit out. A glass jar full of herbs on Sylvia’s desk rattled.

“Calm down, sweetie,” Sylvia reminded me.

I took a deep breath and the jar stopped shaking.

“If you are a Devi, it means a higher more advanced soul has attached to your human body and joined your soul. They join a human soul during a moment of weakness, such as your car accident. Then they empower the soul with many gifts, such as two affinities, powerful abilities, and other gifts. Once they have restored the balance, they leave and the process usually takes the human’s life.”

My mouth hung open. Attached to my body. What the hell! I jumped up and shook my body. I felt like ants were all over me. “Get it off!” I shouted.

Sylvia came closer and smiled a little. “Devis are good spirits, don’t worry.”

I shuddered again. “You said they usually take the human’s life when they leave.”

“Usually, yes. As you know, witches are the keepers of supernatural knowledge. We have limited knowledge on these types of stories. A handful of documented cases in all of history.”

“So some soul might be attached to me? Like right now?” I shivered. That was some freaky shit. “Seriously, can we get it off? Like do a spell?”

Sylvia smiled a little. “Devis are good souls. They are like angels. They wouldn’t make you do anything you didn’t want to do. They usually attach to other good souls. If you are a Devi, I wouldn’t be surprised. You opened Safe Haven, and you are a vegetarian. These are all good traits a Devi would find worthy of encasing their soul. You should be honored.”

“So, I don’t really have all of these powers, it’s the Devi?” I asked self-consciously.

Sylvia shrugged, “It’s hard to tease them apart. I can say that if you are a Devi, one of you has the healing affinity and the other is the seer.”

My eyes widened. I put the kitten down. “Okay, I’m officially freaked out now. Can we stop talking about this?”

What the hell? Did I want to wait to have kids because a Devi was inside me telling me to wait or because I really wanted to wait? My wolf came to the surface then. My eyes glowed yellow. No one was separating me from Kai. I don’t care if she was an angel.

Gretchen backed up a little. “Sweetheart, I don’t think your energy is good for healing today. Would you like to meditate instead?”

Of course I didn’t have good healing energy! You just told me my body might have been highjacked by an angel and that I would die when they were done with me. But Gretchen was nice. She was trying to help me and learning healing powers would help my pack.

“Sure,” I said with a little reluctance.

One hour later I came to one conclusion. Meditation was not for the verbally gifted. I had always been a talker. Got in trouble in class for chatting up my friends, had boyfriends tell me to shut up more than once. I was verbose, no doubt about it. It was impossible to keep quiet inside my head. I had too many thoughts. Trying to ‘quiet my mind’ was impossible, but I did feel more relaxed.

Gretchen handed me a thick book as she walked me to the living room. I opened it and saw that it was some kind of picture anatomy book. The human form without skin. I shivered.

She chuckled. “I want you to study this. The more you know about the human body, the better you can visualize. The better you can visualize, the better you can heal.”

I nodded. “Makes sense. Thank you.” I hugged her. I felt calm and at peace as she squeezed me, healer perk.  I picked up Luna, and Sylvia helped me carry her cat box out to the car. I agreed with her that I would talk to Nahuel about testing me for this Devi thing.

As I drove back to the house, I wished I knew where Alexa was staying. She said it was in Sandy. I wanted to check on her, make sure she was okay. I pulled up to our front lawn to find Kai, Max, Jai, and Akash huddled around a remote-controlled two-foot tall helicopter with a huge black net. Boys and their toys. I grabbed Luna and walked over to meet them.

“What is that?” I pointed to the helicopter thing.

Luna took one look at Kai and hissed. Her claws came out and I nearly dropped her.

“What is that?” Kai asked me, looking at Luna.

“It’s a kitten. Don’t scream, you’re scaring her.”

Max tried to cover a laugh. Jai was motioning behind Kai but I couldn’t figure out what he was trying to tell me. Luna was in full freak out mode. Arching her back and hissing. I ran to the front door and threw her inside before closing the door. I looked down at my bloody, scratched arms. They healed quickly before my eyes. Werewolf perk.

“What are you doing putting it in the house? Let it go,” Kai told me.

I looked at Kai, confused. “Let her go? She’s my cat. My healing witch mentor gave her to me. Her name is Luna.”

The veins in Kai’s neck were protruding. “Aurora, I love you, but I’m a werewolf. I’m not sharing my house with a kitten!” he roared.

“They have good energy! I’m keeping her,” I roared back and put my hand on my hip.

Max and Devon walked away. Akash and Jai busied themselves off to the side of the house.

Kai walked over to me. “Aurora, I adore your animal loving spirit, but I’m not sure you have thought this through. That kitten recognizes me as a predator. An Alpha. We will never get along. She won’t get along with any of the wolves. She will be stressed and in fear for her life all of the time. Do you really want to do that to her?”

He was looking at my lips. I smirked. “No, but she isn’t scared of me. Maybe you just need to be nicer. Send her good vibes.”

His deep belly laugh made me grin.

“God, I love you.” He picked me up and I straddled his waist. He pulled my hair back exposing my neck and kissed it softly.

He placed his forehead on mine. “She likes you because you are part witch.”

I sucked his bottom lip and he groaned. “So, can I keep her?”

His voice was gruff. “She can stay in the guest room, but that’s it. Don’t let her out. She might get eaten.”

“Yes, sir. Now what is that?” I joked as I climbed off of him and examined the helicopter.

“It’s a drone catcher. We are going to remove this RAIDOS problem once and for all,” he stated with pride. “The RAIDOS drones have fan blades like this one. We fly this net near theirs and it gets caught. I bring it down to the ground and smash it. Do this until they are all gone. It has a Wi-Fi camera and heat sensing, so I can spot theirs. All state of the art.”

I nodded, impressed.

“Speaking of RAIDOS, how is you know who? Any word?” I was really getting worried about Alexa.

He shook his head and lowered his voice. “No, but I’m worried. She has gone out of her way to help us. Once I take out these drones, I want to offer her protection.”

I nodded. “I agree. What are we doing about the vampire attack on Safe Haven?”

His eyes glowed yellow. “We’re going old school.”

Clubbin

Two hours later, Kai had the entire pack surrounded in the backyard for a meeting. Even Izzy’s human husband, Tristan, was there. The only two missing were her children, Violet and Connor, who were staying the weekend at her in laws.

“Last time we had a meeting, I spoke of protecting the humans, of strengthening our species so we could protect werewolf culture for decades to come.”

The pack yelled in agreement.

“I want us to start a watch. We will break up into groups and guard the human public. Show the vampires we intend to keep an eye on them. We will be in groups of three and start where vampires have been known to frequent. If you see a vampire putting a human in a life threatening situation, you have the council’s permission to kill them.”

A silence settled over the crowd.

He continued. “If a human witnesses the kill, you are to contact Sylvia’s coven. The witches will help modify the human’s memory to keep the supernatural species a secret. All the packs, all over the world will be doing the same. We are sending a united message to the vampires. Any questions?”

Max grinned. “When do we start?”

Kai laughed. “You, me, and Aurora. Pearl nightclub, tonight.”

Max patted me on the back. I smiled. Hunting vampires made Max happy. Protecting humans made me happy.

I had been to Pearl before. I had no idea vampires hung out there. I shivered at the thought that I could have been attacked. I had been antsy about the vampires ever since the attack on Safe Haven.  It felt good to know we were finally doing something about it. That all of the werewolf packs, everywhere, were showing the vampires that they were on our radar again.

***

Kai and Max were waiting in the living room for me. I had taken out one of my old clubbin’ dresses from college. It was black lace, backless and short. I paired it with knee high black leather boots and some red lipstick. When I turned the corner to the living room, Kai’s eyes bugged out of his head.

“Where do you think you’re going dressed like that?” he said with dominance in his voice.

I rolled my eyes. “Have you ever been to Pearl? You don’t just get in. You have to be picked out of line by the bouncers. No offense, but you and Max aren’t going to be the ones getting us in.” I grabbed my keys and headed for the door.

Kai grabbed the keys from me. “I’m driving.” He looked my body up and down.

‘I can’t believe you’re mine,’ he said as I grinned. His dark wash jeans clung to his thick thigh muscles. His biceps pulled his powder blue dress shirt tight.

‘Ditto,’ I told him.

Max cleared his throat. Kai and I were standing in the doorway, staring each other down. I laughed.

Max shook his head. “Come on, lovers, we have vampires to roast.”

***

The line to get into Pearl was longer than I remembered; we were way in the back. It was cold out too. I had a silver bullet gun strapped into my shoulder holster that was concealed by my red leather jacket. Kai and Max were loaded with vampire killing weapons. We just needed to get in the damn club. It reeked of vampires. The poor helpless human girls shivered outside waiting to get in.

“Screw this. Stay behind me, but not too close.” I stepped out of line. Kai looked at me, confused, but followed. I pulled the pen out of the bun that was holding my hair up and shook my mane loose. As we approached the security at the front door, I dropped my pen.

“Oops.” I bent over to get it, giving the doormen a nice view of my black lace boy short underwear.

‘Aurora, I will kill them. I don’t care if they are human,’ Kai warned.

It worked. The lead security released the cord blocking the entrance. “Come inside, honey. It’s too cold for you out here.” He licked his lips. I smiled and nodded for Kai and Max to follow. They swooped in behind me, but the bouncer held his arm out blocking them.

“We have enough gentlemen inside,” he told them.

Kai looked ready to shift.

I trailed a finger down the bouncer’s arm. “Come on, they’re with me. Besides, they’re gay,” I whispered. He looked closer at Kai and Max who were both as red as tomatoes.

“All right.” He let us all in.

The music was deafening, the lights were low, but I could see that it was packed with people.

‘I’m never letting you out of the house again,’ Kai grumbled.

I laughed and danced to the music, rubbing my body against his. ‘Come on. I got us in, didn’t I?’

Kai nodded, watching my body move. “That you did,” he said.

Max disappeared and came back to us with a girl. She was a cocktail server and was wearing tiny silver latex shorts with a black push up bra.

“Guys, this is Kimber. I just bought us a table in the VIP lounge where Kimber says a lot of the interesting activity happens.” Max motioned to Kimber’s neck with his eyes. We followed his gaze and saw two fresh bite marks.

Kai made a soft growl in his throat.

“Lead the way,” Max told Kimber.

Kimber weaved her way through the crowd like a taxi driver in New York during rush hour. Her hips swayed left and right and I glanced at Kai to make sure his eyes were on the back of her head. They were. I smiled.

We reached another set of doors with another bouncer. He smelled weird. Human, but there was a metallic undertone. I couldn’t figure it out.

‘Heroin. He’s high,’ Kai told me.

The bouncer looked at us with half open eyes and then to Kimber. “They paid?”

Max slipped a couple one hundred dollar bills into his palm. “We’re looking for a little fun.”

The bouncer eyed the money with greed and opened the door. As soon as the door opened, my nostrils were assaulted with the smell of vampire, blood, human, and fear.

Kai growled beside me as Kimber led us down the hallway and opened a red velvet curtain, ushering us into our VIP room. She placed a newly opened bottle of vodka, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter on the table and left. But not before giving Max a sexy look.

“It smells like more than one or two vampires in here.” Max growled.

I had a bad feeling about being in the room. I swallowed hard. Kai began pulling out weapons. “And by now they smell us. It’s a feeding ground here, most likely has been for years! All under our nose. How many humans die here? I smell death!” He roared.

My pulse was picking up. “Kai, I don’t think we should stay. This can be a scouting mission. We should call for back up.” I had a really, really bad feeling.

Too late. Just as I said it, a vampire launched himself through the curtain and landed his heavy leather boots onto our table.

“You’re trespassing, doggie,” he hissed, with red eyes. His mouth was stained crimson.

Kai leapt up into the air and came down on the vampire hard, driving a silver stake through his back and out his chest. Kai dropped the stake and I saw burning bubbles on his palm.

“Put your glove on!,” I scolded him as I un-holstered my gun. Bullets wouldn’t kill them, but they would slow them down enough that Kai and Max could finish them off.

A cluster of vampires crowded the doorway.

“Time to kill these dogs,” one of them shouted.

Kai let a curse word fly from his mouth. “Whose idea was it to come here?” He joked and tore his shirt off, shifting to his wolf form.

How were there so many vampires here? It must be a regular thing for them. The smell of human blood made me sick. Was there someone being drained right this moment and I could save them?

I grabbed the bottle of vodka and the lighter off of the coffee table, as the vampires engaged Kai in a fight.

I chugged the vodka as a vampire dug his claws into Kai’s fur.

“Aurora! Now isn’t the time to drink,” Max yelled, after driving a stake through a female vamp’s heart.

I filled my mouth with the alcohol and lit the lighter.

Here goes nothing. I sent a stream of vodka through the open flame and directed it at the doorway and the vamps clustered there. I could hear hissing and screaming. The curtain caught fire and the vampires fled down the hall. Kai ripped off the head of the vampire who was fighting with him, and it turned to ash.

“Time to get out of here,”
I told the boys.

‘Where in the hell did you learn that?’ Kai asked with pride.

‘This artist hippie festival in the middle of the Nevada desert. Called Burning man.’

Kai shifted to human form and slipped on his jeans, remaining shirtless. The smoke was filling the room. He tucked me into his chest as the sprinklers and fire alarm went off. We sprinted through the smoking doorway and out of the chaos of the VIP room. A few vampires were still burning alive and running down the hallway. Another few were a pile of ashes. The sprinklers were raining down on the main dancefloor. Everyone screamed and fled toward the exits. We squeezed our way outside.

Once we were safely in the car, Max turned to me and gave me an appraising look.

“You saved our lives,” he said with sincerity.

I smiled shyly. “Thank God for burning man.”

Kai laughed. “Thank God for burning man,” he echoed as Max shook his head, confused.

Shaman

Kai scanned my body giving me a sultry look. My cheeks reddened. We were standing in the kitchen while Kai made me an omelet. We got in late from the club and I had fallen into an exhausted sleep.

“Have you decided on a place for the wedding? Other details?” Kai asked me.

I smiled. “Well, I have to contact Nahuel about another thing, so I will set the date with him. I want him to marry us. Emma and Diya are worrying about the other stuff.”

Kai nodded. Nahuel was the Native American Shaman who performed the ceremonies for mated couples. He was also some kind of spirit guardian to me. I didn’t really understand it all yet. If I wanted to know for sure if I was a Devi or not than I would have to ask him, and I promised Sylvia I would talk to him about it.

“Most girls want to worry about the decorating and other stuff,” Kai said.

“I’m not most girls.” I gave him a sassy look.

He smiled. “You’ve never said a truer word.” He kissed my forehead. “What other thing do you have to contact Nahuel about?”

I could feel him scanning my emotions. Tell him about the Devi thing now or later? Later. “You let me worry about that.” I kissed him as he gave me a suspicious look.

After breakfast, I got dressed and walked outside to the back side of the house.

I reached inside my shirt and pulled out the medicine pouch that Nahuel had given me after that witch, Prudence, nearly killed me by holding me hostage in the dream world. I emptied the bag into my palm. It held a small sprig of dried juniper, a tiny wolf carving and a black apache tear. Nahuel had said that if I ever needed him, to bury the apache tear and he would come. I dug a hole in the earth and buried it. I covered it up and waited. I wondered how long it would take. How would he get here? Was he human? Kai said that Shamans were a species of their own. Nahuel seemed extra special. He had stopped time at Sadie’s wedding to tell me things. It was fascinating and scary all at once.

After a few minutes, a twig broke deep into the forest behind the house. We had no fences. The pack roamed freely. I peered in the direction of the sound. There he was, between two tall pine trees. He motioned me to follow.

I picked the apache tear up and shoved everything back inside my medicine bag. He was almost out of sight.

“Hey, wait!” I screamed.

I ran to catch up. He turned to face me. We were deep in the woods.

He whispered, “I hear these woods have ears.”

Oh, the drones. RAIDOS. “Yeah, look, I called you because I wanted to know if you will perform the mating ceremony for Kai and me?”

He gave me a sly half smile. “Consider it done.”

“Thanks. We are thinking in about two months.” I lowered my voice to a faint whisper. “Sylvia thinks I might be a Devi. She said–” He placed his hand over my mouth. His head shook left to right. Not here. He mouthed.

Okay, so he knew what that was.

“I need you to come with me for a few days. Can you clear it with Kai?” he asked.

My eyes widened. “A few days? Where?”

“Canada.”

That was vague. I looked at him, confused. “Canada. Okay. Why?”

“So that you can fully get to know your spirit and your life’s purpose. Will you take this journey with me, Aurora? It is my honor to guide you on your spiritual path.”

He was always so serious! Whoa. Okay. “I’m not very spiritual. I mean I don’t eat animals because I don’t want to hurt living things, but that’s about it. I’m not so sure about God.” I was honest because he was giving me a pretty intense look.

He smiled. The smile turned into a full on laugh. I had never heard Nahuel laugh before. His long silky hair was tied back in a thick braid.

“What’s so funny?” I prodded him.

“When white people say they don’t believe in God, it’s like saying you don’t believe in yourself. Very funny. You are right here in front of me, so how can you not believe in God?”

I shook my head, confused. “Well, I’m not God.”

“Or are you? Are we all?” He opened his hands, gesturing to the woods.

“What? You’re confusing me.” Geez. This conversation was not going how I thought it would.

He returned his stony-faced expression. “Yes, everything is confusing on this side of the veil.”

He patted me on the shoulder. “Tell Kai I will pick you up later this afternoon for our adventure. You must come alone. He is not on the same path as you are, so he is not invited. I am sorry.”

“Well, that’s going to go over well. Not.” I said with exasperation.

Nahuel smiled. “You will be well protected.”

I nodded and he began to walk away.

“Wait!” I yelled after him. “How did you get here so fast?”

He turned back to look at me. “You do not believe God exists, you will not believe how I came here so fast.”

Hmm. Fine. Be cryptic. I turned back toward the house to find Kai leaning against a tree in our yard. He was staring at me.

“Hey, Nahuel will marry us!”

He looked pissed. His eyes were yellow. How long was he standing there? With his werewolf hearing he could have heard everything.

“You expect me to let you go into another country with another man? A man who isn’t even a werewolf?” he shouted.

Oh brother! Here we go.

“Canada isn’t really another country. It’s Canada! Like a six-hour drive. They speak English, mostly. It will be fine. Canadians are freakishly nice.” It was true. Never met a Canadian I didn’t like.

“Canadian vampires are not nice. What is a Devi?” he prodded.

“Shhh.” I looked left and then right.

‘I was going to tell you.’

‘Tell me what, Aurora?’ His eyes were brown again, but he still looked pissed. I braced myself for his reaction and told him everything I knew, including the fact that Devis died young. As usual, he listened with a stone-faced expression that scared the shit out of me. When I was done, he sighed.

‘So Nahuel can do some test to find out?’

‘Yes, that’s why I need to go to Canada with him.’

‘If some angel or other spirit is possessing you, I will probably lose my mind,’ he confessed.

‘Me too! I feel like ripping my skin off! But it makes sense to the witches why I have so many powers. Why the balance is out of whack. I might be here to fix it.’

‘In Indian mythology, a Devi is a Goddess incarnate. She comes to Earth to do one of three things. Create, Preserve or Destroy.’

His words gave me chills.
He continued, ‘So how will you fix the balance? War? What about our wedding, having babies, growing old together?’ He complained and I hated that he looked at me different now.

I was in his arms the second he said that. ‘All of that will happen no matter what.  This is my life and no one controls it but me. You should have learned that by now.’

When I was stuck in the dream with the black witch, Kai had come to get me out. He had confessed he thought I was an Alpha because he knew no one could make me do anything I didn’t want to. I reminded him of that.

Kai leaned his forehead against mine. ‘Go with Nahuel. Find out if you are a Devi. We will deal with it if and when we have to.’

He kissed me quickly and began to walk to the front of the house.

“Kai.”

He turned back and gave me a sad look. A look that said he already thought the worst.

“I’m not going anywhere until I’m ready. As long as you and my mom are alive and breathing in this world, than so am I.” My wolf had come to the surface. He nodded and gave me a half smile.

I felt rage boiling up inside me. Where was this ‘angel’ when I needed her before? When my twin brother drowned, when my dad was beating me up, when I had no money? But then, a sudden peace came over me, like my fiery anger had been doused in water. I saw mist surround my body. Magic? It wasn’t mine. Was it? I wasn’t meaning to. I looked around the woods. I took a deep breath through my nose. Nothing. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. The mist dissipated. That was weird.

Tara

I made my way to the front of the house where Max, Jai, Akash, Devon, and Kai were flying the drone catcher and drinking beers. Probably not the best combo.

“Is Emma home?” I asked Devon. He nodded. “I’m going to go check on her.”

Emma had become my best friend. She was loyal, kind, and generous. Being that I was such a dominant wolf and she was submissive, I always felt the need to protect her. This was ramped up one hundred times since she was pregnant. I tried not to think of all the horrible things that I had heard can go wrong with a werewolf pregnancy. Emma would be fine.

After a short walk, I knocked at her back door. I smiled looking at her lawn and remembering it as the place Kai had proposed to me.

“Come in, Aurora!” she shouted from deep inside the house.

I went into the house and followed the soft talking sounds into a back room. Emma was lying on her bed and Diya was squirting jelly on her large, round bump.

I got excited. “Are we finding out the gender today? Shouldn’t Devon be here?”

Emma laughed. “Aurora, I told you! I don’t want to know. I am grateful for whatever. Devon gets queasy at these things.”

A werewolf that beheads people gets queasy at an ultrasound? I looked at Diya. “You will know the sex of the baby, right? You can tell me?”

Diya smiled. “Not if my patient doesn’t want me to.”

“Well, how am I supposed to buy a good gift if I don’t know the sex?”

Emma squeezed my hand. “Grey, yellow, green, brown.”

Umph. No fun.

Diya pressed the ultrasound wand to Emma’s belly. She stared at her handheld monitor for a moment and frowned. “Emma, roll to your side.”

My heart hammered in my chest. My eyes went yellow. I was about to call for Kai when I heard it. Thump, thump, thump. The baby’s heartbeat.

“My God. You scared me,” I told Diya.

Emma looked at me and laughed. “You’re going to have to toughen up if you want to be in the delivery room.”

I smiled. “Really? You want me there?”

Emma nodded. “Who else will hold my hand when Devon faints?”

We all laughed.

Diya moved the wand around. “Eighteen weeks. Everything looks great. I can see the sex organs clearly and it all looks healthy.”

I peeked over her shoulder at the moving blob, trying to interpret the sex organs. I saw a huge, long protrusion. Oh my God, it’s a boy! Diya looked back at me as if she knew what I was thinking.

“That’s the umbilical cord,” she pointed out.

Oh.

“Well, Emma, I’m really happy with your progress. You will need to go on strict bed rest in another few months. The baby will start shifting from human to wolf at about twenty-eight weeks. That will make your uterus contract and can start early labor if you are too active. You can’t shift yourself after twenty-eight weeks, it’s too risky.”

Emma nodded.

“God, what a buzz kill. We were all excited about the baby, hearing the heartbeat, then you have to drop that news,” I joked.

Diya gave me a sassy look. “How many werewolf babies have you successfully delivered?” she asked me. Considering Diya’s mother had thirteen children and that Diya herself had been the midwife to the largest werewolf pack in India, I decided to shut my mouth.

“Touché.”

They both smiled.

Emma reached over and squeezed my hand. “I will be fine.”

“Look, I wanted to tell you guys I will be going out of town for a few days.” I tried to make it sound light.

“What?” Emma sat up.

“Where? With who? Does Kai know?” Diya prodded me.

So much for keeping it light.

“I’m going on a spiritual journey with a Shaman.” There, the truth.

Diya made a face that looked like she was smelling skunk. “Is this a witch thing?”

I laughed. “No, kind of.”

“Because you smell like a cat. You’re all witchy lately.” Emma frowned.

I smelled my underarm. Luna. I wonder if Kai would feed her while I was gone.

“Hey, my witchy powers helped this pack. It’s kind of a witch thing, yeah, and Kai knows.”

“Hmm. Well, be safe.” Diya didn’t seem to like the idea.

Oh well. I stayed and chatted with the girls for the next few hours about plans for my wedding. I wanted it on the mountain. I promised Emma that Voodoo Doughnuts could cater the dessert. I wasn’t your average bride. I didn’t care about colors or cakes. I wanted one thing. Kai. Happiness. No vampires on the guest list.

Emma sat up and grabbed her head. “Something’s wrong.”

Diya looked panicked. “The baby? Are you feeling pain?”

“No.” Emma shook her head. “My mate bond. Devon is alarmed.”

I tore out of the room and into the backyard. When I first became a wolf, Kai was in my head hearing my every thought. It was awful and embarrassing. Over time, he had taught me to subdue it, to block him out. But he said when we were finally joined, finally mated, we could pick up on instant feelings.

‘Aurora, get to the house.’ He sounded mad. Okay. …

I ran super-fast to our backyard. I considered shifting but it was close enough.

I turned the corner and what I saw knocked the wind out of me. What was she doing here? Tara, from Diya’s wedding. Oh God! I never should have told her that Max was her mate. I grabbed my face. Shit!

Max lost his wife and child during his mate’s labor. Since werewolves mated for life and only had one mate, he thought he was destined to be alone. His one great love had died. But, At Diya’s wedding when I touched Tara, I saw that she was Max’s mate. I don’t know how it worked, but she was the one for him. Kai convinced me not to tell Max, but I told Tara. Stupid.

“Hi, what are you doing here?” I asked her. She looked a little worse for wear. Maybe she had gotten into a fight with her pack.

“I’m rogue. I need a new pack. I’m asking permission to join Kai’s.” Her voice was raw, she pleaded with her eyes. This was bad. If we let her in the pack then the first time she shifted, Max would see her markings and know they were mates. It would confuse him. He would yell at her, I had seen it in my mate vision. Max and Devon looked confused.

“Well, I’m sure Kai will let you join. An unmated female is an honor to care for,” Max told her, smiling.

Oh my God, he was oblivious.

“I’m sorry, Tara, I cannot allow it,” Kai told her sternly. Max looked at him in shock.

“Go back to my father’s pack. He must be worried,” Kai told her forcefully.

Tara’s lip quivered. “No. I’m not going back to India. Ever. I’ll find another pack.” She turned to leave.

“Hang on.” Kai grabbed her arm. He sighed. Kai knew why she was here. He must have figured out that I told her. Damn my big mouth.

“Did they hurt you?” Max asked her.

Look at him, already concerned about her. He didn’t even realize.

Tara looked at Max with soft eyes. Her short cropped hair fell in messy pieces around her face. She had a heart-shaped face and petite frame. She was delicate, but strong. She was beautiful.

“No, they didn’t hurt me. But I am hurting,” she told him vaguely.

I realized then how horrible this must be for her. She has waited her whole life to meet her mate. Then, I, the Matefinder, tell her Max is the one, but she can’t have him because his mated wife and child died and he can’t get past it. She must be going mad inside.

“Max–” I was going to tell him, but Kai jumped in.

“Max, leave now!” His Alpha command oozed with power. Max was no ordinary wolf. He was Kai’s second before I came along, third now but very dominant.

“Excuse me?” he asked. “What’s going on here?” His eyes were yellow.

“She’s …” I started.

“Stop it!” Kai screamed at me.

‘Aurora, you weren’t there. I was. I watched Max hold his mate’s hand while she bled out, I watched him cry as he cradled his stillborn child. You weren’t there!’ He roared inside my head. ‘He wasn’t human for so long after that. He is better now. This will undo him.’

Kai was right. Tara would have to suffer so Max could live in peace.

“Max, please leave, this is a personal matter between Tara and I,” I told him.

Max looked skeptically at me. “Okay, but she should be offered a safe pack.”

Kai nodded. “I will call Shamus.”

Max frowned. He nodded to Tara and walked off.

When he was out of earshot Tara began to cry. “I’m sorry, I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about him. About my life, my future. I have no future. If he is my mate, but he won’t recognize it, then I will always be alone. I will never bear children. My life. My happiness. It won’t come.”

Kai looked at her sadly.

“No, it’s just going to take some time for us to figure out how to tell him.” I told her.

Kai looked at me. How did you tell a werewolf that he actually had two mates and his previous wife wasn’t ‘the one.’

Kai placed a hand on her shoulder. “I have a good friend who is the Alpha of the Seattle pack. It’s a three-hour drive. You will be safe with him. He treats females with respect. He took in another one of our females a few months ago.”

I had to suppress a growl. That female, Sadie, was Kai’s ex-girlfriend of five years. We didn’t exactly get along, but I did find her mate for her.

Tara lowered her head in submission and nodded.

“You sure you don’t want to go back to India?” he asked her a final time.

She tipped her head up this time, defiantly. “No, I want to be near him.”

Oh my God. My heart hurt for her. There had to be a way to help her. To make Max see that you could have two mates.

‘Kai, this is sad.’

‘I know,’ he agreed.

“Well, get settled with Shamus’ pack and we will see you in two months. The Seattle pack is invited to our mating ceremony.” Kai offered.

She looked a little happier at that.

Kai put in a call to Shamus and told him of the situation. He happily agreed to take her in. Caring for a female was a great honor in werewolf society.

“Does my father know you came here?” Kai asked her.

She nodded. “Why do you think I look like this? He nearly caged me. I had to force a break in the bond.”

Kai winced. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged and held her arms to her chest.

“Shamus is coming to get you. He will be here in a couple of hours. Until then, you can lie down inside.” He gestured to our house. She thanked him and walked away, making her way inside with her head hung low.

“What’s forcing the bond?” I asked Kai in a whisper. Werewolf culture was still new to me. I was learning as I went.

“You saw what happened when I cast Sadie out?” he asked.

I nodded at the memory. He had swiped her belly with his wolf paw and cast her out. I had felt her energy leave the pack bonds.

“Well, that was me willingly letting her leave the pack. If an Alpha is unwilling, she must force it. It’s painful and hard to rip your energy away from an Alpha, especially an Alpha as strong as my father. She must be very strong. She will feel depression and physical pain until Shamus takes her into his pack and fills the holes my father left. The only thing more painful is the feeling you get when your mate dies.”

I shuddered at that last thought. I didn’t want to think of Kai dying. Ever. Kai didn’t have the greatest feelings for his father, but I saw a different side of him. His father had spoken privately to me and talked about how proud of Kai he was. He wanted nothing but the best for him, but would never tell him so. Werewolf Alpha pride.

“Well, women in love will do crazy things and can be stronger than you think. Listen, I need to pack some things for my trip with Nahuel. Will you be okay to sort this thing out with Tara?”

“If I say no, will you stay?” He rubbed circles on my arm with this thumb. The sensual touch gave me chills.

I gave him a look that said no.

He sighed. “Of course I’ll be fine. Go on your spiritual trip or whatever. Guru Aurora.”

I smacked his arm and laughed. “Shut up.”

He looked my body up and down, finally settling on my lips. “I’ll miss you.”

I grinned at his meaning. I trailed my finger from his stubbly chin to his belt buckle. “Likewise.”

He growled. As I went to walk inside he grabbed my hand. “If you keep teasing me like that, I might just have to take you before our wedding night.” His eyes were yellow. The gentleman had left the building, the lusty wolf in his place.

My belly dropped like I was on a roller coaster. “Promise?”

He huffed. “Get out of here before I lock you up in my bedroom and don’t let you leave.”

“That sounds fun.” I flirted and ran up the stairs, knowing his eyes were on my rear.

Men.

Canada

I packed some extra clothes and snacks in a backpack and a water bottle. I had no idea what Nahuel had planned for our trip or what this “test” entailed.

When his knock at the door came, I jumped up. I was feeling nervous about what the test would require of me. Kai walked past me quickly and opened the door, obscuring my view. I sighed. Alpha males.

“Shaman,” Kai nodded. I could barely see over Kai’s broad shoulders.

“Alpha,” Nahuel spoke. I wasn’t sure if these two had ever used each other’s names.

“Can you ensure that you will keep my mate safe on this little spirit trip of yours?” Kai gave him a stare.

“As safe as I kept her when I helped you get her out of the dark magic dream.” Nahuel returned his jive. Ouch, point taken. Kai growled softly.

I planted a kiss on Kai’s cheek. “I’ll be fine. I’ll come back a Guru and make the whole pack turn vegetarian.” Kai couldn’t hold onto his scowl then. He laughed, his laugh was my most favorite thing about him. It was unique only to Kai.

When I moved to go past him, he grabbed my butt lightly.

‘I like those jeans,’ he told me.

‘You should see what they look like crumpled on the floor,’ I retorted.

He huffed. ‘You’re asking for it.’

‘Yep.’

The sexual tensions between Kai and I had definitely been building. I trusted him, I did, but I was still scared to fully let my walls down. Why? Why did I do this in my relationships?

“Aurora?” Nahuel was asking me something. We had reached his beat up Chevy truck.

“Oh, what?” I asked him.

He smirked as if he knew I was flirting with Kai inside my head.

“It will be a five-hour drive to the border and then another half hour to the ceremony site.” We got in the car. Kai was peering at me through the doorway.

‘Be good. Text me often.’ he told me.

‘Check in on Alexa,’ I told him, as we pulled out the driveway. As we drove further away from the mountain, I felt my bond with Kai weaken.

“So what does this ceremony entail?”

Nahuel was a hard character to figure out. He spoke in riddles, maybe I could get to know him better on this drive.

“It involves a guided journey to the spirit world and then a deep review of the elements of your soul,” he said plainly.

“Wow, Okay. Sounds serious.” I wiped my palms on my skinny jeans.

Nahuel glanced at me. “It is serious, Aurora. I hope you are okay with what you find out.”

My heart picked up. “You’re scaring me a little,” I confessed.

His hands lay on the steering wheel lightly, they were littered with chunky silver and turquoise rings. His long brown ponytail was speckled with grey hairs and tied back with a piece of leather.

“I don’t mean to scare you. Just want to prepare you a little. A Devi has a complicated life path. The Devi has one clear, direct goal, the human soul has other things on their mind. The two can conflict, but the Devi always wins.”

I felt genuine terror. I watched a show once about a spirit possessing an eight-year-old boy. It literally pushed him over a glass coffee table. It was the creepiest thing I had ever seen. Although everyone told me a Devi would be a positive thing, I wasn’t so sure.

“Do you think I am a Devi?” I respected his opinion. He hadn’t led me astray yet.

He glanced at me. “I know you are.”

His blatant admission caught me off guard.

“But you need to see for yourself. You need to see the greater picture.”

I clutched my grey wool coat around my neck and stared out the window in silence for the rest of the trip. The fog was rolling in on the mountain and with it, a depression rolled into me. I needed to have control over my life. If I couldn’t, I would go crazy. No one was having a say in what I did but me. I was a black belt in martial arts, I would kick this Devis ass if I had to.

We crossed the border into Canada without an issue. You hadn’t seen the beauty of the American country until you had driven the length of the Pacific Northwest. From Vancouver, Canada down through Seattle, Washington, over to Portland, Oregon and then the Oregon Coast. That was a drive every person should make before they died. So much green, life, vitality. We were heading down a side road into densely packed forest. It was pitch black out, the Chevy’s headlights illuminated the massive trees around us. Nahuel took a hidden right turn that I hadn’t seen and all of a sudden the forest thinned into a small manicured acre. There was a fire going, two large canvas teepee tents stood on the property and another dome structure. No house, no bathroom, just the fire and the tents.

An older woman was stoking the fire. Nahuel parked the truck on a patch of gravel and moss. I got out of the truck pulling my scarf over my hair to keep the cold out. I groaned a little, stretching my back after the long drive.

The older woman made her way over to me. She wore traditional native dress and her deep brown eyes were hidden under a bed of wrinkles.

“Hi.” I waved at her awkwardly. I hadn’t expected anyone else to be here. I extended my hand. She smiled and touched my forehead with powder, not taking my hand, but giving me a hug instead.

“Welcome, young one, it is an honor. Call me Alma.” Some of the powder fell onto my nose. I wrinkled it to get it off. She swiped ash across Nahuel’s forehead and gave him a long hug.

“Alma.” He bowed to her.

“She has a fierce spirit. That’s why her eyes are so blue. Much water in this one.” she told Nahuel.

He nodded. “She’s stubborn too.”

I cleared my throat awkwardly. It was weird to be talked about when you were right there. But she was old enough to be my grandmother so I wasn’t going to argue.

“Come, child. Let’s clean you up.” She gestured for me to follow her.

I looked down at my clothes. Dark skinny jeans tucked into brown leather boots and a nice wool pea coat. My hair was washed and I had make-up on. I looked pretty clean. We walked over to the larger dome structure. Now that we were closer, I could see that it was a bunch of bent branches with tarps and rugs draped over it. Alma took my backpack and suggested I remove my coat.

“It’s chilly,” I told her.

“You will not be cold in my sweat ceremony. Trust me. Coat, sweater, and boots off. And change into this long skirt, it’s much more comfortable.” She handed me a folded skirt and flicked her wrist indicating I hurry. Okay. Nahuel pulled off his shirt so that he was in a thin tank top. For a forty-something guy, he looked pretty buff. My eyes rested on his jaguar tattoo. I wondered if there was story with that. I peered inside the tent and saw smoking stones. Okay, when in Rome. …

I took off most of my clothes and changed quickly into the skirt while Nahuel turned his back. I was shivering.

Alma came to me with a smile. “You are my guest here. I want you to know that no harm can come to your spirit while you are here. It is safe to be free and be powerful in my presence. It is safe to cleanse yourself of anything that is contaminating your spirit. It is safe to explore your life path. This is a place of refuge.”

Something about her words, her tone of voice, called to something deep inside of me.  All of a sudden, I was grateful to be here, for this opportunity. How many of us took time to mentally cleanse ourselves? To ponder our path in life? We were all too busy with trivial things. Working to make money, to buy a house, to pay off a car. We were working to retire. Why couldn’t we just take some time to really live? Why couldn’t we just stop and go into the forest and sit in a teepee with no electricity or bathrooms and discover ourselves?

I bowed deeply. “Thank you,” I told her honestly. I understood why Nahuel said that Kai couldn’t come. As much as I loved him, this was my journey and mine alone. I walked inside the dome structure. Some red hot stones were in the center of the room, dug into the ground. The dome was about ten feet in diameter. Three feet away from the stones was hard packed earth, but the rest of the area around the edges was blanketed with thick, soft moss. In the back of the dome was an altar. I saw an eagle feather, sage bundle, and other trinkets.

I sat cross legged on the ground as Alma brought a smoking sage bundle over to me. She waved it over my body, chanting in a language I didn’t understand. I saw mist hover over Alma’s hands. She was doing magic and probably didn’t even know.

Nahuel sat next to me and took a deep breath as Alma cleansed him. Alma went over to a clay basin and took a ladle full of water. She poured it over the stones. Hot steam began to rise up. Alma closed the flap over the door to encase the steam inside.

“Sky Father, Earth Mother, Ancestors, Great Creator Spirit. We are grateful for all you give us. We are grateful for your guidance. We are grateful for your presence now to cleanse Aurora and prepare her for her Vision Quest tomorrow.”

She splashed more water on the stones and steam rose up. I was beginning to feel hot.

Nahuel leaned into me and whispered, “We will go four rounds of thirty minutes each. At any time if you need to leave, just tell me. But, if you can stay four rounds, you will benefit greatly and I will be impressed.” He also indicated a jug of water for drinking. Well, say no more, I liked a challenge. I was going to try to go the four rounds.

Alma chanted. Every time her voice went deeper, I could feel my skin buzzing. The first round went fairly easily. It was like hot yoga. My mind was racing with thoughts about Kai, our wedding, the vampires, and Emma.

Alma opened the door for a quick moment and the blast of cold air refreshed me. Then she returned with more hot rocks from the fire outside. She closed the flap after arranging them. Round two.

Round two was completely silent. I was beginning to get bored, when I started to contemplate why I was here. Not here in this tent, but here on Earth? If reincarnation was real then why would I come back? Earth kind of sucked. People were raped, killed and lots of other horrible things. Why would I choose to come to Earth? I was sweating profusely. I even felt a little dizzy. I drank some water and tried to push thoughts of leaving the ceremony out of my head. Alma opened the flap and came back with more rocks.

Round three. Alma went to her altar and brought a stick to Nahuel. It was painted and had carvings on it. He grabbed the stick and thanked Alma. “Spirit, I ask for guidance about my path. The world has become unbalanced. The humans take too much from Earth Mother, they pollute Sky Father. The vampires have grown out of control in their quest to dominate. The werewolves have suffered from my people’s curse and cannot breed to grow their numbers. Help me to help Aurora. Help me guide her and protect her. Help me restore balance to our precious teacher, Earth Mother. Thank you.”

Tears had sprung up in my eyes. I didn’t think I had any liquid left. Nahuel cared about everything and everyone. He was a nice man. I was honored to be his friend. He handed me the stick. I guess it was my turn.

“Spirit, I don’t know you very well. I don’t know much about any of this, but I do want good things for the earth. I care about animals and humans. I care about werewolves and their fate. Please help me figure out why I am here and how I can be of the most service. Put me where you know I need to be.” I was about to hand the stick to Alma when the flap to the tent rattled and I was sucked into a vision.

Nahuel was by my side. We were staring inside of a window of someone’s home. I looked at Nahuel with alarm. “Is this real? What’s happening?”

“Shhh,” He told me. “Spirit is showing you something, pay attention.”

It was dark out. I peered in the window. I heard voices by the stairs. A man walked into the living room.

“We went to a movie last weekend. Let’s stay in,” he argued. I inhaled. He smelled like a vampire.

A woman trailed along after him. “But you know I love the movies.” She smiled.

He grabbed her quickly, showcasing his vampire speed and spun her around. She was human. He smiled and his fangs lengthened. She looked at him with lust and he sank his teeth into her neck. She moaned. After a few seconds he pulled off and licked the spot he had bitten. It healed.

“Thank you, dear. Just enough to tide me over until I can reach the blood bank in the morning. I don’t want you becoming woozy.” He tenderly stroked her face. She smiled and he kissed her forehead, like some perfect suburban couple. What the hell? He wasn’t like the vampires that I had met. “All right, the movies it is.” They left the house. I looked down, through the window and at a desk. A piece of mail stood there.

Alek Crone

3546 NW Bayberry St.

Forest Grove, OR.

Then the world was spinning and I was somewhere else. Nahuel and I were on a side street, leaning up against a brick building. The lamplight cast creepy shadows off of cars. A human woman was screaming and running toward us. I stepped forward to help her but Nahuel caught my arm.

“This has already happened. It’s a replay.”

A vampire leapt up into the air and pounced on the woman, eagerly sucking blood from her neck. She screamed as he sucked on her like an animal. I pushed Nahuel’s hand off of my shoulder and tried to grab the vampire, but my hands went through him like a ghost.

“I told you, it’s happened,” Nahuel said as I watched the woman be drained of blood. The scene faded and we were standing in a corn field with the sun beating down on our heads. It was stifling. Sweat dripped down my face.

“What the hell was that?” I asked him, panting. My nerves were raw from watching the woman be killed. Knowing it had happened and I couldn’t help her infuriated me.

He shrugged and wiped sweat off of his brow. “That was a message. Spirit wants us to know that not all vampires are bad. There are two sides to every story, every race, every world.”

I threw my arms up. “Well, shit. That’s just great. As I am about to declare war with them and Kai wants to wipe out their entire race! Now I have to worry about killing the nice ones?”

Nahuel looked at the clouds. “Guess there’s more to the story. Wiping out an entire race wouldn’t bring balance. Looks like rain. That’s a good omen.”

The second he spoke of rain, my throat became sickeningly dry. “I’m thirsty,” I told him. The corn field scene dissolved. Alma was standing over us, fanning us with sage. I opened my eyes from my trance state.

“Welcome back, child.” She went to the door and opened the flap. Cool night air wafted inside the hut and with it, the smell of rain. I took a deep breath as Nahuel moved beside me.

He handed me water. “Can you go the final round?”

I wanted to say no. I was hot as hell, tired, thirsty, and freaked out by my vampire vision. But I was also stubborn and I wasn’t a quitter.

I nodded. Alma closed the flap. Rain began to fall on the tent. Alma threw her arms up and shouted, “Sky Father! Thank you for this blessed rain. Wash away our impurities, our doubts, all blockages that keep us from our true path. Wash away insecurities, fears, feelings of lack. We are worthy. We open our arms to receive.” Mist flew out of Alma’s hands and wrapped around Nahuel and me. She wasn’t a witch, but she had a natural gift for magic. I guess Kai was right. Shaman’s were their own kind of people.

Her mist wrapped around me and I began to think of Kai. I thought of what Alma said about removing insecurities and fear. Was I afraid Kai would hurt me? Why was I waiting to mate with him? Why had I said two months to get married? Why not sooner? I was scared. I could see that. In the tent, my emotions were so clear. They were laid out before me, raw and bleeding. I was a little girl with daddy issues and I was allowing myself to continue to be labeled a victim. When Kai had tried to get closer to me after Sadie’s wedding, I pushed him away. I buried our bond in my mind. I told him I had issues. But why? Why did I need to continue to play the role of abuse victim? I didn’t. I wouldn’t.

A growl ripped from my throat. Alma nodded as if she knew I had reached clarity on something.

Kai was my mate! The one person in my life I could trust. What the hell was I waiting for? I could die at any time! I could have a heat stroke in the tent. I needed to fully live my life. I couldn’t control when I would die, but I could control when I chose to live. I needed to stop labeling myself a victim. I was strong. I was worthy. I deserved Kai.

The sound of the rain was deafening. It pattered on the tent in a steady drumming beat. I closed my eyes like Kai taught me to and went into my mind. I imagined the woods behind our house. I imagined the place where I had buried our mate bond. I saw the glowing ball just under the surface. I dug it up and nudged the ball out with my wolf snout, the ball hovered around me and then settled into my chest.

I opened my eyes, gasping. So much love. I felt so much love through our bond. I felt as if he was right with me. He was worried about me, but he wanted to be supportive. He was jealous of Nahuel. He was wondering why I wouldn’t mate with him yet, why I hesitated to set a date for our ceremony. He had kept his side of our mate bond wide open this whole time. He had just noticed me uncovering the mate bond. I felt excitement in his energy. We were too far to communicate, but I sent him love. I sent him good thoughts. Alma came to me then. I didn’t realize there were tears on my cheeks until she wiped them.

“There is a rightness in your soul now. Good girl.” She bent down to kiss my cheek and shuffled to walk around Nahuel, placing a tender hand on his head as she passed. She opened the flap and went out into the rain. Steam rose off her body. Nahuel clasped his hands together in prayer pose. “Thank you Great Spirit.” He got up and left as well.

I took a deep breath. I was drenched in sweat, my hair stuck to my back and face. I smelled. I was hungry and thirsty, but I had never felt so alive and so clear. I clasped my hands. “Thank you for your guidance, Great Spirit.” It seemed right. That there was some greater thing out there that I couldn’t explain, that I was a part of it.

I groaned as I got up into a standing position. As I walked outside, the cool rain hit my skin. Laughter began to bubble up inside of me. Alma began to laugh as well and spun around in a circle, dancing like a child.  I followed her lead. I felt amazing. I was free.

Alma took me to behind a thick cluster of trees where there was another tented structure. Inside was a large wash basin and a composting toilet. Alma pointed to the toilet, which had a bucket of sod next to it.

“After you go to the bathroom, place a scoop of sod over it.”

I tried not to wrinkle my nose. Fancy.

There were dried lavender bundles hanging from the teepee’s peak. She left and after I washed up and changed clothes, I went to find Nahuel.

The rain was gone and it was dark out. I had a lantern to light my way. Something about living without electricity or modern plumbing seemed right. The property was practically untouched by man. The moss grew in thick chunks on the branches. The trees were over a hundred feet tall and the weeds and flowers that grew were beautiful.

I found Nahuel lying under a makeshift tent made of tarp by the fire. I pulled out my sleeping bag. He gestured to one of the teepees. “You can have the teepee, it will be warmer. Tomorrow you go on your vision quest. Now that you are cleansed, you are ready to find out about the Devi.”

I nodded and wished him a good night. I was nervous. Once inside my tent, I pulled my cellphone out of my backpack. I could feel Kai’s energy. It was with me always. I could feel he was excited about something.

I turned on my phone. It buzzed with missed text messages. They were all from Kai.

-You opened the mate bond! Are you okay?-

-You feel okay. You seem like you are happy. I miss you.-

-Leave it open. I like it.-

I wrote him back.

-Everything is clear now. I won’t close it again. I love you. P.S. I want to have our mating ceremony ASAP. Next week?-

I felt shock run through our bond as he read it. Then it bubbled with happiness.

-I will arrange everything. Hurry home to me.-

I smiled and turned off my phone and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Vision Quest

I awoke to the sound of voices. Many voices. Men. I bolted upright.

“Where is she?” I heard a strange voice say with authority. I stripped down and silently shifted into my wolf. I shifted so fast you could barely hear the bones cracking before I was on all fours. I took a deep breath in through my snout. They didn’t smell human. I crouched on my paws and then sprang out of the tent. I took a quick scan. Six large Native American men with spears were around Alma. I quickly darted in front of her and growled at the approaching men. Nahuel wasn’t here. I would have to protect Alma on my own. I lowered myself into a crouch, ready to spring.

“Aurora, no child! They are friends. They’re here to protect you during the vision quest.”

The men looked at me with amusement. They lowered their spears.

“She was going to protect you,” one of them said to Alma with respect.

Alma patted my head. “It’s okay, child. Go and change shape. I’m okay.”

I huffed. Well now I felt stupid! How was I supposed to know some big, burly warrior guys were invited? They didn’t tell me. Kai’s energy was frantic. He sensed my fear and thought I was hurt. I took a deep breath and shifted in my tent. I calmed down and sent Kai a text that I was fine. I put on my protection necklace Nahuel made me and then my clothes. I walked outside to find all of the guys telling Nahuel what happened. Well, no way to make this less awkward.

“She has a warrior spirit,” one of them told him.

“Wolf totem,” another said.

I cleared my throat loudly. “Sorry about that. No one told me six big guys with spears would be coming.”

They smiled. One of them, who wore a feather headdress and looked like the leader, stepped forward.

He bowed. “Your first instinct was to protect Alma. It shows you have a good soul. We will be honored to stand guard at your ceremony.”

I blushed a little and nervously played with the ends of my hair. “Oh, well thanks. Why exactly do I need guards?”

Were they expecting vampires?

Nahuel was rubbing white chalk paint on his face. “When we do a vision quest like this, we open a portal into the spirit world. Sometimes other things come through. Bad things. These are my brothers. They will protect the earth from evil coming through our portal.”

My eyes widened. Okay. Sometimes I was sorry I asked questions.

Alma made an egg, black bean, and salsa burrito for herself. My mouth was watering. She looked at me with pity. “No breakfast for you. You will need to fast. Sorry, child.”

I frowned. Instead, I chugged some cold, crisp water. The men were painted up like warriors with white tribal markings across their skin. Nahuel came to sit beside me. He carefully drew two lines of chalk onto my cheeks. Alma had braided the sides of my hair back and out of my face, the rest hung loose.

“I’m hungry,” I told him.

“Me too, but we must give up all that it takes to live in the physical world and rely on the strength of Spirit to sustain us for the duration of the quest.”

My stomach grumbled. “Okay.” I just had to trust that there would be an egg, bean, and salsa burrito waiting for me at the end of the quest.

Nahuel was grinding a small green dried root or herb in a stone bowl. When it was a fine powder, he added it to a boiling water pot that hung over the fire.

I looked at him skeptically.

“Medicine.”

I grew up around natives. It was hard not to in these parts; it was their land first. I knew that ‘medicine’ meant drugs. There was a hallucinogen in that tea. Peyote probably. Maybe mushrooms. I also knew that it was a sacred part of their ceremonies and hadn’t yet heard of anyone dying from it. So I guess I was about to have an interesting experience. Nahuel let the tea boil while he gestured me over to a creek that ran along the side of the property.

He sat cross legged next to the creek and patted the ground next to him. I sat down. He moved so that our knees were touching. He placed a hand on each of my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes.

“I have a great respect for you, Aurora. You were a human girl that knew nothing of this life and you have taken up your new responsibilities well.”

The moment became serious very fast. I nodded. “Thanks, I appreciate you guiding me through this.” It was true. He had been there from the beginning, always warning me or helping me.

“A medicinal vision quest is not to be taken lightly. We do not casually take white women into these.” He smiled.

Wow. A sense of humor! I laughed. “I promise not to embarrass you.”

He squeezed my shoulder and his face became serious. “I’m not worried about that. Taking the plant medicine will open your spiritual sight. You haven’t exactly grown up with the knowledge we have. You will be overwhelmed. You will meet your higher self, your Devi soul, you will know your purpose. So many things will be revealed.” So, he really did think I was a Devi.

“What if I freak out?” I asked him, getting nervous. He took a small chunk of my hair and cut it off quickly. My hand flew to the spot he had cut.

“Hey! I’m getting married. I need cute hair,” I scolded him.

He wrapped my hair in a circle and placed it in his medicine bag around his neck. “No matter what happens, no matter what you see or feel. Know that your soul is safe with me. I will guide you. I will keep you whole.” There was a seriousness in his voice, like he was stating it to the whole Universe.

I nodded.

After I drank the horrid, bitter “medicine” tea, we said goodbye to Alma and began our hike up the mountain. Nahuel said when we reached the top all would be clear. The six warriors hiked in a flanked position around me. Three on my left, three on my right. Nahuel was at my side. He hummed softly. I was the only one who drank the tea. I guess that was a good thing. Someone needed to stay sober. I had texted Kai before I left that he might feel some weird vibes from me, but not to worry.

I had my backpack on and I felt good. This felt right. The sweat ceremony the night before was good and this would be good too. My stomach grumbled. Hunger and nerves did not go well. I felt nauseous after drinking the tea. Alma put honey in it but the taste was still bitter. I shook off the icky tummy and pushed harder into the hike. I always liked a good work out. Nahuel picked up the pace next to me. I glanced sideways at him and become transfixed by the jaguar tattoo on his arm. It blinked and I gasped, shaking my head.

Nahuel gave me a sly grin. “Easy sister, slow your pace.”

I realized I was running. I slowed to a fast walk. I loved the trees! I loved trees in general. The big ones had been there forever. Before me? Before werewolves? The thought spooked me. I slowed my pace more and drank some water. It felt like a million ants were sliding down my throat as I drank. I spit it out.

Then I heard a child laughing in the distance. It was a happy laughter and I wanted to find it. I walked toward it. It was growing louder. I pushed through a dense wall of trees to find a little blonde-haired girl spinning around and around with her little brother.

“Ring around the Rosie, pocket full of posies,” she sang as her and her brother locked hands and spun around. When she got to the part where they fell down, she looked up at me laughing. It was me! It was me and Drake when we were kids. It was a memory, a good memory I had lost.

Nahuel lightly grabbed the sides of my face. “Remember why you are here. What is your purpose?” The children dissipated like ghosts.

The tea was working in full effect. Nahuel looked like he had just stepped out of a watercolor painting. His nose dripped off of his face. What was my purpose? I’m the Matefinder. I kept walking.

How old were werewolves? Who came first? If Great Spirit or God or Sky Father existed, than why did he create all of these different species? Why did evil happen? Why were we here at all? Was this an experiment? My mind was racing.

‘Balance.’ I heard a whisper in my ear. I quickly turned my head to the right. A tree was shimmering like it was made of rainbows. Nahuel got in my line of sight. The tree over Nahuel’s shoulder ripped in half and I saw a vampire wearing a human skin coat with the hair and eyes still attached.

“No!” I screamed. One of the warriors slashed the vampire with his spear and he was gone.

Nahuel grabbed my face gently. “You’re ready.”

I stared into his eyes, Nahuel had a good soul, I could see it. I could see his soul! It was blue and purple and kind. It was linked to mine. Our paths were destined to cross.

“Call on your twin spirit. Call out the Devi,” he told me.

The Devi. How dare she attach to my soul and use me like a car! Drive me all over to do her bidding. I looked down at my hands; they were glowing. My soul was yellow and white and faintly purple.

“Devi, come out. Show yourself!” I said with fierceness. The warriors had taken up stances around me. We were high up on the mountain. Nothing was happening. I instinctively rubbed my palms together warming them up. Mist began to flow out of them. I heard the warriors around me chanting and clanging with their spears. I looked down at my hands again and gasped in shock as I literally watched a ghost climb out of my body. She was beautiful. Caramel skin, long black hair and almond-shaped eyes. She wore a flowing, gold, long sleeved gown.

She bowed to me deeply. “Aurora, it is a pleasure.”

I was speechless. I shook my head and blinked a few times. This tea was crazy.

“What do you want with me? Why are you using me?” I asked her. When I spoke, it sounded like birds were chirping out of my mouth, but she understood me.

She frowned. “I forget that you don’t remember things when you come to Earth. We made an agreement before you incarnated that I would join your body to help bring balance to the earth. You volunteered. I am a Devi, an angel, a pure soul, a God, whatever you want to call me, so I cannot inhabit a body alone. I would shatter it. I would never do so without your permission. Your good, loving soul is working with me to bring about the change needed on the earth. You agreed to help the inhabitants here.”

It was too much, I sat down breathing heavy. Nahuel handed me water and began waving his hands around my body. Golden light poured out of his hands and I felt better.

“I’m not leaving Kai when you are done. I’m not dying early!” I told her firmly.

She looked at me with sadness. “We agreed, Aurora. We agreed that I would join your body in your twenties and when I left, you knew it may expire your body.”

Her look of pity sent terror through me. Tears ran down my cheeks. They felt like cement. “No! I don’t want to expire.” She glided over to me and raised her hands toward my head. I flinched.  She looked hurt.

“Aurora, it’s okay. I would never hurt you. See what I see. Remember.”

She grasped my head. One thousand images invaded my mind, most of them I couldn’t interpret. Thoughts, words, stories, all downloaded there. I knew things. I felt things. Reincarnation was real. Tara was Max’s first wife reincarnated, when his wife died during labor, her soul reincarnated into Tara. If they got married again, they would have the same baby. The same soul. Bodies were just vehicles to explore the world. Nahuel was my brother in a past life. That’s why he called me sister. He knew. If the body expired, it wasn’t a big deal. Your soul could come back. But the choices you made while in that body had consequences. Karma was real. Everything was energy. I started hyperventilating.

The vampires had the worst energy, they were tipping the balance. We came to Earth to grow as a soul, to learn, to love, to challenge ourselves. The vampires were causing a major disturbance in the balance. Souls didn’t want to come here anymore because it was getting to violent, the lessons were too hard. I had agreed to help. I was an advanced soul. It was an honor. I had agreed to let my body expire and leave Kai if it helped the balance. No! I didn’t want that, I needed to stay with Kai.

She took her hands off my head.

“I want to stay. Can’t you stay with me while I live out this life?” I pleaded.

She looked sad again. “A werewolf’s life is long. I am needed elsewhere. Other souls need my guidance. You know that. A year down here is a thousand on the other side. I am needed,” she said with finality.

I had a thought. “After we defeat the vampires and restore the balance, I will drink the tea again and you can detach from me that way.”

She shook her head. “I am just a projection. I am still with you right now. I was only able to join your body because of the car accident that I caused, almost killing you.”

My mouth dropped open in shock. “You CAUSED my car accident!” Black bats flew out of my mouth. Anger. My voice made the earth shake.

She looked hurt again. “We agreed to, Aurora. That’s how I would join you and that’s how you would meet Kai. Only bringing you near death again will allow me to move on.”

It was all tripping me out. But everything she said felt right. Since I had this knowledge, I knew it was the right thing. I started getting scared; nothing was in my control. Nahuel fanned me with sage. “What if I don’t help with the vampires? What if we leave them alone?” I said in defiance.

She frowned and pinched her eyebrows together. “Then the earth will become too dark, demons will be born of the vampires, and the earth will be destroyed. Everything that happens on this side of the veil, affects the other side. You must not allow it to happen. Vampires are the oldest souls. They rarely die. They have been here in the earth school for hundreds of years. When the soul leaves the body, it is able to go back to the spirit world and restore, to see the errors of their ways, to realign with their positive purpose. The vampires haven’t come back to the spirit world in too long. They don’t remember why they are here. They succumbed to evil early on. They have lived and brewed in that evil for hundreds of years. They are lost and need to be cleansed.” Her voice was deep and foreboding.

Chills ran up my arms. She touched my forehead and images flooded my mind of horrible things the vampires did. Their original mission was create an alliance with the humans and willingly form a bond in exchange for blood volunteers. Never harm, never kill, never take without permission. Now, they used all means necessary to get blood, they liked the fear coursing through the veins of their victims. It was like a drug to them. They were lost. But not all of them. Not Alek. The vampire from my vision. He had stayed the course. Our entire mission on Earth was to learn to live in harmony. OH MY GOD. What a failure! Humans started war with humans. Vampires killed humans. Werewolves killed vampires. Witches did nothing. The entire reason of coming to Earth was an utter failure. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Fine. I’ll honor my promise to help you. But when you leave me, try to keep this body intact. Please. I have people here who need me. Not another body but ME, Aurora,” I told her with a fierceness in my voice.

She nodded. “You are very strong, you have much power in this life. I will do my best.”

That didn’t sound like the guarantee I was looking for. All the trees around me suddenly had shimmering rainbow leaves. The Universe was a huge place. We weren’t alone. There were other worlds, other schools. The tea was rocking my world.

The Devi walked toward me. “I’m proud of you.”

All of a sudden I felt like she was my mother and I wanted to cry. She was watching over me always. She wanted to interfere when my father was abusive. She was on the other side of the veil, watching in agony, but she wouldn’t rob me of that lesson. It made me stronger. It made me Aurora.

“What do I do? How do I defeat them?” I asked her as she got closer.

“Kai is on the right path. He has his own destiny to fulfill. Follow his plan. Unite.” She opened her arms to embrace me and dissolved when I touched her.

I began to cry. My whole life was a lie, the world was a lie. People were struggling to work all of these jobs to pay for food, cars, and big houses. They were living all wrong. The earth was meant to be treasured not drilled into, not robbed for her minerals. People were unhappy because they were living wrong. They were sick because they were eating wrong and polluting Earth Mother.

It began to rain. I sobbed harder. Each drop of water was an emotion leaving my body. Nahuel and the warriors danced around me. They chanted and sang and I cried and screamed.  I was tired of being angry, or scared or a victim. My father abused me and I killed him. I would have to answer to that. I did the best I could with the life I was given.  But I was done living in the past. I was ready to move forward. Suddenly, I shed my past like a snake shedding its skin.

At last, I stopped crying and lay back on the grass and looked up at Sky Father. Nahuel danced around me, chanting a beautiful rhythm. My breathing slowed and I fell into a peaceful trancelike state where nothing existed. Just me, floating on Earth Mother’s grass, letting the rain wash my soul clean. Letting my warriors dance protection energy around me. I had a purpose. We all did.

Ready

After walking down the mountain with Nahuel and the warriors, I found my teepee and slept for several hours. Nahuel woke me with an egg, black bean, and salsa burrito. I smiled and scarfed it down. It felt good to be myself again. Although seeing rainbow leaves on trees was fun, I didn’t want that permanently. I looked at Nahuel. Thinking of him as a brother felt right.

“You were my brother in another life. Is that why you called me little sister when I first met you?”

He smiled. “Yes. I have had my own vision quest and have seen my own purpose. It is heavily intertwined with yours, little sister.”

I sighed. “It’s a lot to process.”

He patted my back. “Go on with life knowing that everything you are doing is being guided and it will all work out.”

Go on with life. Hah! Easy to say when you didn’t have a Devi spirit ready to leave your body the second she does her job, possibly killing you in the process.

After breakfast, I said goodbye to Alma and the warriors and headed home with Nahuel. Kai had sent me dozens of texts over my vision quest. He felt erratic emotions from me and was worried. I told him I was fine. I was excited to see him, to live my life fully with no more insecurity, to be done with playing it safe and just be in the moment.

When Nahuel pulled up to our house, I gave him a long hug and thanked him for the adventure. I made my way to the front door with my backpack and saw that Kai had the door open, he was leaning against it.

His eyes looked tired, like he hadn’t slept well. He wore grey sweatpants and no shirt. He brushed his thick tousled hair out of his face with his left hand.

“Welcome home.” He opened his arms in the doorway and I ran into them. We held one another for a few long moments, just feeling the closeness of the mate bond. He pulled back and looked at me grabbing the sides of my face. “You’re different.” He told me.

I nodded and kissed him deeply. I nipped his lip at the end. “Very different,” I told him.

He raised an eyebrow and grinned. I walked into the house and dropped my backpack on the floor. Then I shed my jeans and t-shirt. I turned around to see Kai looking at me with wolf eyes. He had a predatory look on his face.

I unclipped my bra and let it drop to the floor.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” I purred in a sultry voice.

He didn’t take his eyes off my body. He swallowed hard. “Yes?”

I peeled off my panties. “Life is too short for you not to make love to me right now.”

His fingernails sharpened to claws as he tore across the room hoisting me up. I straddled my legs around him. He kissed me hard as he walked me back to our bedroom.

“I wanted to wait until our wedding night,” he said in between kisses. I bit his bottom lip as he shrugged out of his sweatpants. “Screw it. I’m sick of being a gentleman.” He threw me on the bed and climbed on top of me as I laughed at his admission.

***

Making love to a werewolf was everything I thought it would be. Passionate, gentle, and a little rough. Afterwards, I lay next to him, panting. “You’re telling me when we are mated that it will get better?”

He laughed. “That’s what I hear, although that’s hard to believe.” He rolled over and kissed me. “I like this new Aurora. I should send you off on spiritual retreats more often.”

I smiled. “How’s Luna?”

He rolled his eyes. “She’s annoying. I tried to feed her and she attacked me.”

I laughed and began to get dressed. “How did it go with Shamus and Tara?”

Kai shrugged and put his sweatpants back on as I admired his chiseled body. “As well as can be expected.”

“So, Kai …” I nervously played with the ends of my hair. “I saw things, I know things that I never knew before. I am a Devi. There is a purpose to life and I did agree to balance things out.”

Kai stared at the bed and the rumpled sheets that were evidence of our love making.

“Okay,” was all he said, but I felt so many emotions through him. Rage, fear, possession, love.

I didn’t know what else to say. What could I say? “I’m going to check on Luna.” As I went to walk past him, he yanked my arm and made me sit on his lap.

“I love you,” he stated. It wasn’t the words so much as the feelings through the mate bond that made me smile.

“I love you, too, Kai.”

“And from now on, every wolf that smells you, will smell me,” he told me with pride.

I rolled my eyes. “And I’ll bet you love that.”

He nodded. “I like that you opened the mate bond.”

I kissed the stubble on his chin. “I know who I am now, Kai, what I want in life. The past few days has changed me.”

He smiled. “I can see that. My mother is flying in day after tomorrow. We will get married the day after that. Three days.”

“Perfect.” Who knew how long any of us had to live? I didn’t want to waste my life. I didn’t care anymore about the vampires or my blood. I was going to live my life and if it was over before I wanted, at least I could say I gave it my all. I wasn’t going to live in the dungeon of my insecurities and fears.

I returned his smile and stood up to go see Luna.

“What did they give you on the vision quest?” Kai quizzed me.

I smirked. “Some really funky tea that made the leaves of trees turn into rainbows.”

His deep rumble of laughter rang out down the hall as I went to check on Luna. It was good to be home.

Alek

Kai was in his office on the phone, I was about to knock on the door when I heard him speaking angrily.

“I won’t roll over and let the vampires take my city! This is my territory and I will do as I wish!” He roared at the person on the other line. A moment passed and he slammed down the phone. I was debating walking away.

“Come in, Aurora.”

I sighed. It needed to be dealt with. I had to tell him more about my spirit vision. I entered his office. He gazed at me behind his dark tussled hair. He patted his lap and I sat down draping my arms across his neck.

“Are you going to try to wipe out all of the vampires?” I asked him.

He was silent for some time.

“Most of them, yes,” he finally replied.

I checked my phone. It was getting late, but was still light out.

“Then I want you to come with me somewhere. I need to check out something that came to me in my vision quest.”

If all holy hell was about to be unleashed on the vampire race, then I wanted to make sure we weren’t senselessly killing off all vampires. If my vision was true, they weren’t all evil. I wanted to be fair.

“Okay,” he said with skepticism in his voice.

I nodded to the door. “Come on, I’ll explain on the way.”

After the sweat ceremony with Nahuel I had written down the address of the vampire in my phone. Forest Grove was only about an hour drive.

I gave Kai directions to Alek’s house and then told him about my vision. I didn’t exactly tell him everything about the Devi part. I wasn’t ready for that argument yet. I kept out the part where she pretty much assured me I would die when she left my body, which would be soon.

“So, you met the Devi?” he said aloud.

I nodded but kept silent. I fidgeted with the protection pouch on my necklace. There was something else I wanted to mention.

“The Devi spirit said to follow your plan and that you were on the right path. What is your plan exactly?”

Kai didn’t usually keep secrets from me, but every time I probed he didn’t give me details. He had joined the council, had secret meetings, and was acting shady about the whole thing. I didn’t like it.

Kai sighed. “This isn’t just to keep you safe, Aurora. You know the fire you set at the club the other night?”

I nodded. That wasn’t a hard one to remember.

“Well, the firemen showed up quickly and put out the fire, but found four human bodies. They weren’t burned. The news report said they died of blood loss with no apparent wounds.”

My hand flew to my mouth. “Oh my God. They’re draining them.”

Kai nodded. “I think they kill humans all the time and hide the bodies. You setting the fire didn’t give them enough time. The firemen found them and the media got ahold of it.”

I leaned my head back. “Whoa.” This was big. This wasn’t just about killing Layla so she wouldn’t be after my blood to make babies. This was about protecting the human race.

“So, I did a search,” Kai continued as we reached the interstate. “I searched for any news story where the bodies were described as dying of blood loss.”

Chills ran up my arms. Did I want to know?

“How many?” I asked.

“Ten thousand deaths in America this year. That’s just America. Most of the bodies were concentrated in one area of the country.”

I wanted to tell him to stop.

“Here. The Pacific Northwest. Layla’s hunting grounds. My territory! The vampires have gone too far.” His arms were rippling with patches of fur.

I felt my eyes go yellow. I stared forward in shock. Again he dodged my question about details of his plan to eradicate the vampires, but I didn’t care. I was digesting the new information.

The entire drive to Alek’s property was spent in silence.  I wasn’t so sure this was a good idea. What if it was a trick? I had to trust that my vision wouldn’t lead me into a trap. Alek lived on five sprawling acres in the small college town of Forest Grove. We parked at the closed private property gate and got out of the car. There was no call box and no way of opening the gate.

“How do we get in?” I asked Kai.

Kai stood in front of me protectively. “He will have smelled us by now.”

Sure enough, a figure zoomed into our vision from behind the gate. He wasn’t hiding his vampire powers. It was dark out. I couldn’t make out all of his features, but it looked like the guy from my vision.

“Private property. Please leave. I want no trouble with the wolves.”

Kai looked at me with surprise. This was not the typical vampire we were used to dealing with. His voice didn’t hiss, his eyes were calm. He seemed … nice?

“I did a Native American vision quest and I had a vision of you kissing your human lover. You were kind to her and different from the vampires we know. We want to talk,” I blurted out. Kai grabbed his forehead.

‘What?’ I prodded.

‘You sound crazy.’

‘I am a little crazy, Kai.’

The vampire looked surprised.

“Who are you?” he asked.

Kai looked at me and shook his head no.

“I’m Aurora, the Matefinder. The one Layla wants.”

‘Jesus, Aurora! Why not give him our address?’ Kai roared.

The second Layla’s name left my mouth Alek jumped up and over the gate and was in my face.

“Shhh, don’t speak of her here,” he told me firmly. Kai’s arm came out quickly blocking him from coming closer to me.

Alek looked at Kai’s arm. “I told you, I don’t have beef with your kind.  Come inside. Mariam, my wife, is at work.”

‘His wife?’ Kai sounded interested. ‘What vampire takes a human wife? Not a lover, not a blood slave, a wife?’

I shrugged. It was a short walk to the entrance of his home. It was a cute cottage style home with a lush rose garden, just like from my vision. He opened the door and asked us to be seated in the living room.

“Are you two mates?” Alek asked.

“Yes,” Kai told him.

He smiled. His skin was pale and his hair was a dirty blonde cropped cut that extenuated his strong jaw. He was expertly dressed and had a tall, lean frame.

“I have always been taken with the idea of werewolves’ mates. It sounds so romantic.”

Kai and I shared a look. A hopeless romantic vampire? There was a first for everything.

“You will have to excuse us, but we are not used to vampires talking about romance.” Kai stated bluntly.

Alek spread his hands out. “Ah yes, well, we aren’t all blood junkies like the queen you spoke of earlier.”

I frowned. “Blood junkie?”

Alek took a moment to think before he spoke. “Well, yes you wouldn’t know, would you?”

Kai put a protective arm around me.

“Know what?” Kai urged him.

“The queen and her vampires are all blood junkies. They inject their humans with heroin and then drink their blood. It’s the only way to get high because drugs don’t work on vampires directly. So they filter it through human blood.”

Kai’s hand squeezed my shoulder hard. I felt dizzy with shock at this new information.

“So that’s why they are draining them? Killing them?”

Alek shrugged. “I don’t know what they do anymore, but that’s what they were up to when I was around them. They also get high off of human fear. All of these things make the blood sweeter, like dessert. They don’t drink for sustenance, they drink to get high. They don’t care about stopping. One vampire can drain five humans a night to get their fix.”

I felt sick.

“Who knew we were dealing with heroin junkies?” I said aloud.

Kai looked livid. His eyes were yellow and his fingers had transformed into claws.

“That VIP bouncer at the club. He must have been no more than twenty-two years old. His entire future is gone. They’ve made him a drug addict and will drain him when they please. Why didn’t I know about this?” Kai stood up. The skin on his arms was growing patches of fur.

Alek looked on calmly. “Well, your kind have been so preoccupied with finding mates and procreating that they don’t really care what we do.”

I placed a reassuring hand on Kai’s shoulder. “I think we should focus on the fact that not all vampires are junkies.” I gestured to Alek.

Alek nodded. “When you are turned into a vampire, you are bled dry by your master and then filled with their blood. Most times the vampires are too high and greedy to fill their victims back up with blood and so they just perish, but my master wasn’t. I was born of the queen herself, and I was born an addict.”

I tried to contain my shock. Kai and I shared a look. He clearly didn’t like using her first name.

“I opened my eyes to my new immortal life and there was only one thing I craved more than blood,” Alek said with a sinister look in his eye.

“Heroin,” Kai finished.

Alek nodded.

“So every vampire that is from Lay–the queen’s clan, is a heroin addict? And every vampire that they turn becomes one too?”

Alek nodded. “And every human that is a user, was led to be so by a vampire with compulsion. They run the entire North American drug trade.”

Oh my God. Holy hell. I just sat there with my mouth open. Kai recovered before me.

“How did you escape that life?” Kai asked him sincerely.

Alek smiled and went over to the desk, returning with a picture frame. He handed it to us.

“Mariam.”

In the picture, he was sitting on a park bench with her head in his lap. She smiled at the camera while he stroked her hair.

“I was trying to escape that lifestyle and leave the queen’s clan. I didn’t like constantly being strung out and giving drugs to helpless humans at clubs in order to get high. But I was addicted. So I ran. I found myself here, in Forest Grove. I saw Mariam coming out of a class that she teaches at the college here. I imagined a life with her. A human life, like the one that was robbed from me.”

I smiled. “So she helped you get clean?”

He chuckled. “Well, sort of.” He paused. “After I attacked her.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say.

“It’s a long story, we’re past that now. I take little bits of blood from her to tide me over until I can get down to my friend’s blood bank in Eugene.”

“Your vampire friend? Are there more like you? How many?” Kai pressed him.

Alek looked uncomfortable. “I have answered a lot of your questions. Now I have some questions of my own, if you please?”

Kai nodded. “Fair enough.” I could tell Kai respected Alek. He was wary of him, but they had a mutual trust building.

Alek looked at me. “How did you find my home?”

I looked at Kai and sighed.

“I have a Shaman friend. He took me into the mountains and gave me some hallucinogenic tea and I saw you kissing your wife and arguing about going to the movies or staying in. She likes the movies, but you wanted to stay home.”

His hand flew to his mouth in shock. “That’s true. Incredible.” He inhaled. “You’re a witch? Or a werewolf?” He looked confused.

I returned his smile. “I’m both. Long story. ”

His face took on a serious look. “Why are you here? What do you want from me?”

It was Kai’s turn to talk. “The queen wants my mate captured. I will not allow that to happen. If I have to kill every last vampire in her coven to get to her, I will. The witches have sided with us. I guess we’re here to find out whose side you are on and how many of you there are.”

Alek stood and paced the carpet. “The last time I checked, the werewolves didn’t exactly have enough numbers to take on the vampires, even with some witches’ help.”

Kai nodded. “I have a plan.” He stood and indicated I do so as well. “How many are there like you?”

I stood.

Alek turned to us. “Not enough. We make up maybe five percent of all vampires.”

Kai chewed his lip. “Do you want to help us or stay out of it?”

Alek bowed deeply. “If you are taking on the queen, I personally will help you in any way I can, if only to make sure that no human has to suffer the fate I did. But I cannot speak for the rest of my kind. We live in rural places. We stay out of the limelight.”

Kai nodded. “Well, if my plan goes well, your people might be a little uncomfortable in the near future. It would be nice if we could tell good from bad. If you can get them on board, let me know.”

Alek nodded. “All of my people use the same blood bank. It has locations all across America. I can spread the word through there and let you know.”

Kai pulled a card out of his pocket. After taking it, Alek shook his hand.

“Times are changing, aren’t they?” Alek asked him.

Kai nodded. “Yes, they are.”

I looked at my mate. Why did I have the feeling his plan involved total chaos and destruction?

The drive back home was a silent one. I reached over and held Kai’s hand.

“You okay? You’ve been quiet,” I asked.

He nodded. “To be honest I’m a little shocked. He was so normal. If he didn’t smell like a vampire, you wouldn’t have known.”

I agreed. “Yeah, and the drugs. Wow. Who knew?”

Kai shook his head. “That’s the thing. I should have known! I should have been watching the vampires all these years.”

“Kai, you can’t blame yourself.”

“Aurora, I’m an old wolf. I’ve been around a long time. What have I been doing? Roaming packs looking to be Alpha for my own selfish gain, while vampires are drugging up humans against their will! Our job is to protect humans. We’ve grown soft!” The steering wheel creaked under his grasp.

I tried to interject, but he continued.

“It’s sick! It’s got to stop. This was about you before but now it’s about everyone. Layla and her human drugging clan are going to be wiped off the face of this earth.” He clenched the steering wheel, his knuckles white.

Part of me agreed. The Devi? But part of me felt like if Alek could be helped maybe some of them could too. I kept my mouth shut. My mate needed support. I squeezed his hand.

“I’m with you Kai. I’m with you.”

Hot Springs

I had fallen asleep in the car. I awoke to Kai unbuckling my seat belt and picking me up. It was dark out and we had reached home.

“You know what I think is so cute?” Kai whispered in my ear as I clung to him.

“Hmm?” I was awake but still sleepy.

“That even though you’re a werewolf who’s very hard to kill, you still wear a seatbelt.”

I laughed deeply.

“I love you, Kai. I can’t wait to be your wife.”

Kai’s eyes rested on my lips. “I wish you weren’t so sleepy, I wanted to take you for a run and show you someplace special.”

I kissed him deeply and gave him a smoldering look. “I’m awake now.”

He smirked. “There is a place I have been meaning to take you. Are you up for a half hour run to get there?”

I leapt off of him and began undressing in response. He watched me fully undress and shift before he shifted and followed me into the forest.

As we were running, I let him take the lead. He was taking me down a path I didn’t recognize. After about a half hour, he slowed and we came upon a series of wooden sheds.

‘What is this place?’ I asked him. As we padded closer, I saw large wooden tubs. Some of them were huge and others were just hollowed out tree trunks. They were filled with steaming hot water.

‘Welcome to Bagby Hot Springs.’ He walked inside one of the wooden sheds. Two walls were missing, making it open to the lush, green forest. The air was crisp and cold and steam rose up out of the large hot tub. I shifted into my human form, as did Kai. He leapt into the tub and I followed.

“Whoa! It’s hot,” I exclaimed.

Kai laughed and pulled me next to him.

“Mother Nature’s bubble bath.”

“This is one of your last nights as an unmarried man. Don’t you want to be at a bar or a strip club with Max and the boys?” I teased.

He pulled me up onto his lap. “I want to be right where I am.” He kissed me.

I knew that marrying Kai was the best decision of my life.

***

The next morning, I came out to the kitchen to find Kai and Sylvia talking in hushed voices.

“Give it to me straight. I know witches have knowledge on the vampires. How many of them are there?” Kai was questioning her.

Sylvia wrung her hands nervously.

“Are you asking me how many vampires in their entire species or just in America?” Sylvia questioned.

“Both.” Kai growled.

Sylvia shrugged. “We don’t exactly keep track, but a ball park estimate, I would say two billion worldwide and about 100 million in America, most of them belonging to Layla’s clan.”

“Shit. But there are more humans than all of the races combined?” Kai pondered aloud. I shuffled my feet quietly trying to get closer. Kai looked up. I quickly walked toward him.

“Morning.” I gave him a soft kiss.

He looked at me skeptically. “Eavesdropping?”

“Is it possible to eavesdrop in your own home?” I countered.

Kai grumbled and Sylvia smirked.

“What are you going to do about the vampires?” I questioned him.

Kai’s eyes glowed yellow. “Revenge.”

Sylvia cleared her throat. “Well, I think I’ll be going now.” She paused and looked at Kai. “Good luck.”

He nodded.

I eyed him skeptically. “Good luck with what?”

He sighed and put his arms around my waist resting them at the small of my back. I tucked myself into his big strong body. “I couldn’t sleep at all last night. Knowing the vampires were getting young humans hooked on drugs so they could suck them dry like a straw infuriates me.” He told me.

He fingered my long platinum blonde hair.

“Me too. So what’s the plan?” I prompted him. Kai was the Alpha with a plan for everything. I was hoping it wasn’t too crazy this time.

‘We’re going to do something to cripple the vampires’ drug supply. Ever been to Mexico?’ He told me inside my head to keep the conversation private.

My mouth dropped open in shock. “You’re totally crazy, aren’t you? Been alive too long? Have a death wish?” I prompted him.

He laughed. “That’s fine. If you’re scared, you can stay here with Emma and Diya and do make-up and decorating.”

I gave him a glare. “Hell no. When do we leave?”

He smiled. “In a few hours. I have a private plane waiting and I’m firming up some details with the council and some other packs.”

Other packs? Whoa. Looks like we were in for some excitement.

Mexico

Seattle sent twenty of their wolves. We brought forty. We all made our way in a caravan of rented cars from the airport. We stopped at a gas station in Tucson, Arizona to meet with the local pack there. Tucson was close to Nogales, Mexico, the biggest heroin drug entry point in the US.

A dozen bikers rolled into the parking lot just as we exited our cars. A tall, slender woman jumped off her bike and shook out her long red hair. Her arms were littered with tattoos of skulls and roses. She wore cut-off jean shorts that showcased her long, muscular legs. A few bigger boys walked behind her. She kept my gaze but smiled. She was an Alpha. I could tell.

“You must be Aurora?” She hugged me. She smelled like motor oil and sandalwood. I returned the hug, taken aback.

“I’m Katerina. It’s an honor to meet you. We dominant women gotta stick together.” She winked.

I smiled, immediately liking her.

Max huffed beside me. “You’re still a raging feminist, Kat.”

She grinned and gave Max and big hug. “And you’re still just a piece of eye candy.”

He shrugged. “Nothing wrong with that.”

I laughed.

Kat gave Shamus a big hug. “How’s Petra? Still acting like she’s been on her period for ten years?”

My mouth dropped open, but Shamus shook his head, smiling. “It’s good to see you, Kat. And your trash-talking mouth, nothing changes.”

She smiled and then tipped her head to Kai. “Kai.”

Kai nodded back to her. “Kat.”

Something passed between them. Why wasn’t she hugging him? Did they date? Ugh. I didn’t want to know. Clearly they all knew each other. How many exes did my mate have?

“My second, Donny boy.” She gestured to the big brute beside her with black hair and neck tattoos.

“She’s kidding. If you call me Donny boy we will have problems. I go by D.”

Kai smirked at D and shook his hand. “I’m Kai. Aurora, my mate, is my second. This is Max, my third.”

I heard Max growl softly behind me.

Kat winked at me. “Takes men’s egos a little longer to recover than ours.” She gestured to Max.

“Hah! Like that time I beat you in arm wrestling? You sulked for a week,” Max told her.

‘Were you guys all pack?’ I asked Kai.

‘Yes, in Utah. Ages ago.’

She scanned the group of wolves behind us and lowered her voice. “Kai, since you called me, I have had some of my wolves watching the border.”

Kai and I leaned in. Shamus, Max, and D huddled around us.

“You won’t believe it,” she exclaimed. “The border workers are vampires.”

The collective curse word was comedic. “Not all of them, but enough to get a shit ton of drugs through,” Kat told us.

Kai’s eyes went yellow. “The vampires need to be crippled. It’s time we take a stand.”

Shamus nodded. “Agreed.”

Kai looked at Kat. “This is your territory. We won’t wage vampire war here and bring heat on your pack without your permission.”

Kat nodded her head. “Two days ago, my biggest problem was Phoenix pack trying to inch into our territory. Now that I know about the vampires seizing the borders, bringing drugs into our country to pump it into teenagers and bleed them dry, well let’s just say, agreed.”

Max had a gleam in his eye. “Well, that settles it. Please tell me we will be blowing something up tonight.”

Kat winked at him. “You know me.”

We had a plan and I was in position. The Tucson wolves knew the border better than we did. They would sniff out the vampire drug runner trucks and then radio us to take them down. Kai, Max, Shamus, and I were all crouched behind a van in the desert.

“Tango Charlie, we have an eagle inbound. Manuel’s Taco Truck,” Kat said over the walkie talkie.

Kai laughed. “Copy.”

I glared at him and the smile fell from his face.

They totally dated, I decided.

‘You look sexy when you’re pissed,’ he told me.

That got me to smile. I needed to get over Kai’s past. He was my mate.

Our ‘broken down’ van hid Max, Kai, Shamus, and I from view. The other wolves were waiting back in the bushes along the deserted dirt road. It was about ten o’clock and completely dark outside; perfect for vampires to come out of hiding.

‘Get in position,’ Kai told us. He tightened the string that held the nail strip along the road that would puncture their tires. I could hear an engine off in the distance. As it approached, I became nervous. The Mexican drug cartel wasn’t exactly known for being nice. We were constantly seeing them in the news.

‘This is about to unleash a whole new slew of hell on our door step, Kai,’ I told him.

Kai met my eyes. ‘That’s okay. When I die one day I want to say my life mattered. That I did something good.’

Dammit. He had a point. I clutched a silver stake with my bare hand.

“Time to piss off some vampires,” Max said as he crouched down. The truck’s engine was close. I heard the tires roll over the nails with a loud pop and a hiss. The driver slammed on his brakes. He opened the door to get out and I smelled him. Vampire. I could also heavily smell the metallic scent associated with heroin. Kai jumped out from behind the van and rushed at the driver, slamming him onto the hood. I leapt up into the air and jammed the silver stake into his heart. Poof. Ash littered the ground. A couple months ago, I would have been grossed out by that.

“Huh, that was easy,” I exclaimed.

The roll-up door to the side of the taco truck flew open and a vampire leapt out spraying bullets at Kai and I. Kai ducked behind the front of the truck and yanked me by the waist, pulling me down.

Then I heard a snapping sound and a groan.

“All clear,” Max called. We came out from behind the car to see Max standing over a pile of ash, the vampire’s gun in his hand. A bullet wound was bleeding from his shoulder.

Shamus and few Seattle pack members came out from behind a distant bush.

“Push this into the desert; we will deal with the cargo later,” Shamus told his guys. They put it into neutral and pushed it easily off the road.

“Max, that’s a silver bullet,” I told him, eyeing his arm.

He reached inside the wound and dug into it with his fingernails. He winced, I winced and then he pulled the bullet out and threw it on the ground.

The walkie talkie beeped. “Two yellow school busses. Two vamps in each. The cars behind them are human and taking the main road. So this must be the entire shipment for the night,” Kat told us.

Kai grabbed the gun from Max’s hand and handed it to me. “The nails will take out the first bus’s tires, you shoot out the second.”

I didn’t want to split up, but I nodded.

I jogged twenty paces away from the van and took cover behind a large bush.

The large buses’ engines were approaching. I had been practicing my shooting in pack trainings, time to see if it paid off. The first bus passed me and I heard a pop and then he slammed on his brakes. The second bus slowed and I popped the tires with the gun.

The driver of the second bus poked his head out and inhaled. “Werewolves!” he screamed, and gassed it. He slammed into the bus in front of him, pushing him over the nail tack strip.

Shit! I ran out from behind the bush as the two busses began to speed away. Even with flat tires and riding on rims, they were moving fast. Kai took off after the first bus in super speed. I did the same, but headed for the second bus. None of the other wolves could run as fast as Kai and me. We didn’t want the busses getting to their check point with backup.

‘Be careful!’ Kai roared as he leapt onto the driver’s door and pulled him out of the open window. The first bus rolled to a stop and the second bus crashed into the back of the first. I followed Kai’s lead and leapt onto the driver’s door. But the driver was ready for me. He had a silver harpoon gun aimed at my head, ready to take it off. The pointed tip was cutting into my chin. I didn’t breathe. Everything was in slow motion. If he pulled the trigger, I was a goner. My head would come clean off.

He inhaled, as he was about to pull the trigger, he scrunched his eyebrows. Then he spit in my face. “We can’t kill her! She is the one Queen Layla wants!” he roared to the vampire in the back seat. I didn’t even process the information. I acted on instinct. I used the distraction and grabbed the harpoon from him and shoved it under his chin pulling the trigger and taking off his head. Ash rained down on my hand as I jumped down onto the ground and ran to the back of the bus where the other vampire was escaping out the back door.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Kat shouted and threw a huge silver stake from ten feet away. It hit his chest with a hard thud and he was ash.

She high-fived me. “Good job.”

I tried to smile, but I was un-nerved by what that vampire had said about not being allowed to kill me.

‘You okay?’ I asked Kai.

‘Just a little dusty,’ he replied.

I heard him walk up behind me. I turned and saw that he was covered in ash. I smiled. “You look hot when you’re dirty,” I said aloud. Okay, I was an insecure girl and I wanted Kat to hear it.

He grinned and pulled me in for a kiss. “Likewise.”

Kat was staring at us, she looked a little sad. I felt bad then, that we had rubbed it in her face.

“You won the bet.” She smiled at Kai.

His face grew sullen. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

“What bet?” I asked.

Kat shrugged. “Sadie, Kai, and I had a bet going about who would meet their mate first.”

“I’m happy for you,” she told Kai.

I forgot about how big of a deal it was to meet your mate. That it was all werewolves wanted.

“Your time will come,” he told her with sadness.

She nodded and then looked at me. I wish I had some news for her. My gift just didn’t work that way. I shrugged.

“Well, it’s time for a little explosion.” She regained her composure.

We put the taco truck and two busses deep into the desert and Kat rigged them with explosives. I watched the fire burn with intensity and with it, my desire to help the humans burned bright inside of me. I liked what Kai said about dying and knowing you made a difference. That’s what I wanted to do in life. Make a difference.

Wedding Bells

The next morning I awoke to a flurry of activity. Our plane from Phoenix was a red eye and got in early. I had crawled into bed for a little nap and was awoken to Kai’s voice outside. Kai was screaming on the lawn and I could hear a large truck engine in the driveway.

“Gotcha, you bastard!” Kai screamed. My heart was hammering inside my chest. I opened our master bedroom window that led to the side of the house. I kicked off the screen and leapt outside without thinking.

Kai was wrestling a drone to the ground from the net of our drone catcher. Jai, Izzy, and Anna were helping.

“Jesus! You scared me,” I told him. I was in his oversize t-shirt that barely covered my butt. He eyed my bare legs with a smoldering look. Anna and Jai hid their smirks and looked away.

“Go inside and change. The wedding set up people are here,” Kai told me.

Oh my God. I was getting married the next day. I smiled. He grinned back at me.

I heard Emma’s voice then. She was barking orders around the front of the house.

“This is cream! I ordered white! Look at the form. White.” Emma was screaming.

I reached into the bedroom window and grabbed a pair of yoga pants off of the chair. I put them on and ran to the front of the house, pulling my hair into a pony tail.

“Emma what’s wrong? You’re pregnant. Calm down, you might go into labor,” I scolded her.

She had one hand on her belly and the other on a piece of paper. “I ordered a white silk tent for your wedding. Look at this thing! It’s eggshell.” She gestured to a group of guys holding a very large bundle of beautiful silk fabric.

“Emma, it’s gorgeous. I love it!” I told her.

Her face cooled. “Really? Because they can exchange it.”

The guys seemed to be having a hard time holding onto the bundle for very long. I seriously thought it looked white and couldn’t tell the difference.

“Yes, I really do. Set it up out back,” I told them and patted Emma’s belly.

I went inside to shower and get ready for the day. As the water beat down on my back, a sad thought struck me. My mother wouldn’t be able to attend the wedding. My heart ached at the thought. Maybe Sylvia could tamper her memory or something afterward? But during the ceremony she would be so weirded out about the Shaman and the blood exchange and that wouldn’t work. I felt awful.

‘What’s wrong?’ Kai felt my emotions.

‘Nothing, just that my mom won’t be able to see me get married. She has waited her whole life for this day.’

Kai was silent for a long time. I could feel him taking pity on me. ‘I’ll figure something out.’ He didn’t sound too convinced.

Something else had been bothering me too. ‘Kai?’

‘Yes, my love.’

‘Layla has been silent. She has told her people not to harm me. She is waiting for us to marry, then she will come for me, won’t she?’

I could hear the growl in his head. ‘And when she does, I will be ready.’

‘Me too.’ She was evil. She had been here too long, causing too much pain and robbing humans of their futures. I made a promise to take her and that dark witch, Prudence, off of this earth forever.

My phone beeped. A text from Alexa.

-They know about the early wedding bells. Expect drama.-

Okay … I forwarded the text to Kai. They, I assumed, was RAIDOS. How was she still getting information on the inside?

Kai wrote back. -Seattle and India pack are coming. This will be the most heavily guarded wedding in history. Also, I just killed two of their drones =) Bring it on.-

I chuckled.

Never a dull day in this pack. We were doing it. We were getting married. I called my mom to chat about small talk. I didn’t mention the wedding. I didn’t know what to say. She knew we were engaged, maybe I’d just let her think we were engaged for the next year, then do a fake wedding. Yeah.

The morning dragged on. Emma and Diya had done all of the hard work so I didn’t have to think about the small stuff. But still there was so much to be done! Emma, Diya, and I decided to get our nails done in Sandy, at the base of the mountain. We were waiting for three pedicure chairs to open up when Alexa walked in with a baseball cap on and dark, baggy clothes. The hairs on my arms stood. She casually sat next to me. Diya and Emma looked at me waiting for my direction. I shook my head slightly, indicating they shouldn’t talk to her.

She was wearing a Portland State University hat. “I like your hat. I went to PSU,” I told her.

She took it off and turned it over, a note and three small one-inch vials fell swiftly from the hat and into my open palm. I curled my fingers around them and tucked them quickly into my pocket.

“Oh, thank you. I wanted my hair done today, but they look too busy here. I’ll have to come back later.”

She got up and left. Diya looked at my pocket and then flicked her eyes to the bathroom.

“I gotta pee. Be right back,” I told the girls.

I tried to walk slowly and calmly to the back of the salon. Someone was watching us. Alexa wouldn’t have risked being exposed if it wasn’t important.

I shut the bathroom door and locked it. Then I opened the note while setting the medical glass vials aside.

Aurora,

I signed up to be a part of RAIDOS because I was curious about supernatural races and I wanted to minimize their threat to humanity. But I won’t do that at the cost of the lives of good people. You, Kai, and your pack are good people. RAIDOS has a contingency in place that if you and Kai marry … they plan to kill you. They can’t risk it. They don’t want vampires to be able to reproduce and have children, and I know you don’t either. They don’t care the cost. It’s a casualty of war to them. They have silver bullet guns, silver harpoons, silver cages, holding facilities, and much more. They are ready for a war with your kind. They have been preparing a while.

I fear that my time on this earth is going to be short if I don’t make changes soon. They know I have knowledge of their facilities and plans. I wanted you to be warned. Your life will not be peaceful if you marry Kai tomorrow. Be ready for war, not just with the vampires but with humans too. But I understand why you want to marry him. You deserve it. I have enclosed three vials of a serum that protects werewolves from silver. It gives them permanent immunity. Give it to Kai, Emma, and whoever else you want to protect most. (It won’t hurt the baby). I have done some bad things in my life. This will help me set them right. Helping you…

Don’t try to contact me.

Happy wedding day tomorrow.

Goodbye,

Alexa

Shit! I grabbed my temples. It was not what a girl wanted to hear before her wedding day. For a split second, I considered not marrying him, but something within me had changed. Having the vision quest and opening myself to Kai had reconnected our bond. I wanted everything with him. I wasn’t the type of girl to be told what to do. If RAIDOS thought they could keep us from marrying, then they were about to be surprised. We had over 300 werewolves attending this wedding. I would marry Kai. If that started a war with the humans as well, then so be it.

I folded the note and placed it in my pocket. The vials clanked together softly. I casually walked back out to meet the girls. I knew that Kai could talk to anyone in the pack with his Alpha bond. I wondered if, as his second, I could pull on that bond to talk to Emma and Diya. Normally, I could only talk to them in wolf form. I stilled my breathing and calmed my mind. I felt for Kai’s energy. It was there, inside of me, burning bright and strong. Alpha. I funneled that energy into Diya and Emma and saw mist rise up off of my skin. ‘RAIDOS is going to try to make sure the wedding doesn’t happen. We need to be quick, not arouse suspicion. They’re watching.’

Emma’s nostrils flared. Diya glared out the window. They were mad. They had received the message. Then I felt Kai’s shock as he felt me tug at and borrow his Alpha power.

After our nails were done, we got in my car and I sped down the winding road to our house. Kai had texted me twice asking about my erratic energy and the pull on his Alpha bond. I told him ‘wedding stress,’ but used our code word for RAIDOS, adding ‘I’m hungry.’  It pissed me off that they were watching us and tapping our phones. I wasn’t a criminal!

I pulled into the driveway and my tires skidded a little. The yard looked breathtaking. I tried not to peek too long because Emma wanted to surprise me. Since I was closer to Kai, I could fully communicate with the mate bond.

‘Alexa slipped me this note and these vials.’ I handed him the stuff as he met me at the car. Emma and Diya waved to me and walked towards their house.

Sylvia slipped out the front door behind him.

“Oh hi, Sylvia. Are you here for me?”

She looked at Kai and they shared a look.

“No dear, I was meeting with Kai again. I will see you tomorrow.” She smiled. “He invited the whole coven.”

I grinned at Kai. That was big of him to invite the witches. None of the wolves would appreciate it, but he did it for me.

Kai led me inside. He read the note fully and turned the vials in his hand inspecting them.

‘I trust Alexa. She’s pack. She has done nothing but go out of her way to protect us,’ I told him.

He nodded. ‘I agree. She is pack. I’m on the council now. I will bring it up and see if we can officially bring her into the pack as a human. Even if we can’t, I will offer her protection.’

I smiled. We were always on the same page.

‘You need to take a vial, then Emma, and Diya,’ I told him.

He shook his head.

‘No. Protect the women. Diya, Emma, and Izzy. Anna is strong and can fend for herself.’

‘Kai, you’re the Alpha, you should be the most protected.’

‘An Alpha is not selfish, nor afraid. The women get it. End of discussion.’

I glared at him. Kai wasn’t exactly the kind of guy you could force feed a vial of liquid to. I would have to agree with him.

“Go into your room and put on the dress I got you, then meet me in the garage in fifteen minutes. I have a surprise for you,” Kai told me before heading out the front door.

What? Okay … I liked surprises. I grinned. I opened my door and there was a long white silk dress. It was a wedding dress … The wedding wasn’t until tomorrow. What the? I slipped it on and put some make-up on. I met Kai in the garage. He smiled, opening the door to his car.

“You look beautiful. Your mother is going to be happy to see you.”

My mouth dropped open. “What!”

He grinned. “I told her we were eloping at the justice of the peace. She asked if you were pregnant.”

I laughed and gave him a kiss. “So, my mom will get to see me get married?”

He shrugged. “Just a courthouse wedding, but it’s better than nothing.”

“I love you.” I kissed him again, deeper this time. He lightly bit my bottom lip and trailed his finger down my bare back.

“I love you too.”

I shook off the chills he gave me and got in the car remembering the other night when we first made love.  I gave him a side glance, I was a lucky girl.

Mother

We drove to my mother’s house in companionable silence. As we neared her trailer park I became self-conscious. Kai had never been to her house. It was a small, cute, blue trailer with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The only thing of beauty it held was the lush garden my mother tended daily. It was everything to us. Our refuge after escaping my father’s abuse but now it looked sad, old. I felt nervous.

Kai followed my directions and pulled up to my mother’s trailer.

He was looking at the neighbor’s mattress on the lawn. Not everyone kept their home as nice as my mom did.

“It’s not much,” I told him nervously. “It’s all she has.”

He squeezed my hand. “Many people in India would die to call this little blue cottage a home.”

I smiled. “Cottage, Hah! I will buy her a real cottage one day, with a huge garden,” I stated. I was grateful for his kind words. My mother came out of the house wearing her nice blue dress. She was grinning ear to ear. I stepped out and spun around, letting her take in my dress. She squealed and embraced me. “Oh honey. I’m so happy for you. It’s sudden, but it feels right.”

I smiled. “I love him, mom. Forever.”

She nodded. “I know, sweetheart. You’re like one of the roses in my garden. You have finally bloomed.” She smoothed my hair.

After our justice of the peace wedding, Kai took my mother and me out to dinner.

My mom wrapped her hands around her hot tea. “So, when do I get some grandbabies?”

“Mom!” I scolded her and blushed.

Kai put his arm around me. “Soon, I hope.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “In a few years, mom, like five or ten.”

“In ten years, your ovaries will be dead,” My mother stated and we all laughed.

Kai smiled.

The door to the back of the café opened and two large men walked in. My inner wolf spiked with fear. Danger. Women’s intuition was a funny thing. I inhaled. These guys were human, they were dressed like civilians but something told me they were not friendly.

Kai picked up on my energy and followed my gaze. The men were staring at me and told the hostess to be seated at the table behind us. No way in hell was I sitting with my back to these guys. Goosebumps popped out on my arms. One of the men looked at my dress and then at my mother.

“Is this your daughter?” He questioned her, smiling.

“Yes, they just got married,” my mother said proudly.

“Mom, don’t talk to them,” I told her firmly and stood.

“Aurora, be nice.” My mother scolded me. Kai stood as well and stared at the men.

Kai put it together before I did.

“I hope those drones aren’t too expensive,” Kai told them in hushed tones.

The man smiled. “No worries. Your tax dollars pay for them.”

RAIDOS.

‘Get your mother to the car,’ Kai told me with a look that said things were about to get interesting.

I threw money on the table and pulled my mom into a standing position.

“Mom, I feel sick, let’s go.”

“Oh, honey, our food. Okay.” She looked awkwardly at the men and back at Kai. I wasn’t leaving Kai with them. Hell no.

I walked my mom out to the car quickly. “Mom, truthfully those guys are some old alcoholics from Kai’s program. I’m afraid he might be in trouble. I’m going to go get him.”

God, I was becoming a good liar. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. I had devised a good cover story to my mom to explain our interesting lifestyle on the mountain. Alcoholic healing retreat sounded good at the time.

“Oh. Well, what if you get hurt?” My mom asked as I locked her inside the car.

“I’ll be fine. Black belt in martial arts, remember?”  I shouted through the glass window.

I opened the café door just in time to see Kai pick one of the men up by the shirt and pin him against the wall. People were screaming.

“You leave my mate alone!” he roared.

‘Kai! There are humans!’ I scolded him.

‘I don’t care!’ he roared inside my head.

The second man approached Kai and I knew that if I didn’t stop them, Kai was going to shift and all hell would break loose.

“Okay! I cheated. I’m sorry. It was a long time ago. Get over it, baby. Let’s go,” I shouted at Kai loudly as I tugged on his arm. It was the only thing I could think of. He glared back at me with yellow eyes and I quickly dropped his sunglasses off his forehead to cover them.

“Slut,” some old woman mumbled to me as I tugged on Kai’s arm. The other diners were whispering and scowling at me. Great.

‘Kai, if you expose us to the humans. We’re dead. Let’s go.’

A strange look came over Kai’s face. He let go of the guy’s shirt and he fell to the ground gasping for air. Kai grabbed my hand and walked with me outside.

‘All right, I have two plans. Plan A, we stay in Oregon and fight. Plan B, we move to another country and leave the entire pack behind and start again.’

His words shocked me. I nearly tripped over my own feet.

‘I’m not leaving Emma, Diya, Safe Haven, or my mom!’

Kai grinned. ‘Good. I liked Plan A better, anyway.’

I feared how bloody Plan A would be if it meant war between the vampires and RAIDOS. Werewolves didn’t exactly have high numbers. Last time I checked, our species was dying out.

After dropping my mom back off at home, Kai called Trent and asked if he and another pack member could keep an eye on her house.

“You think RAIDOS would hurt my mom?” I asked in shock. We were almost home. This entire day had been unsettling and wasn’t exactly how I imagined the day before my wedding going.

“I wouldn’t put anything past them at this point.”

Oh God. Shit just got real. I leaned my head back on the seat and sighed.

Max

When we pulled up to the house I saw that the Seattle pack had arrived. Max and Tara were talking together and laughing. Kai sighed.

“They gravitate toward each other,” he stated.

“Kai, in my vision quest I learned something. Reincarnation is real. Tara is Max’s mate. Like, literally. Like the same mate as he had before. When are we going to tell him?”

Kai seemed to consider my words. He ran his fingers through his thick hair. “Aurora, if I died in your arms and then another guy came along and tried to kiss you and say he was me, how would you feel?”

Well, when he put it that way. … “Weird. Mad. But in the end, happy?” I wasn’t so sure.

“We will deal with it when we have to. Come on, it’s our time to just worry about us.” He leaned across the steering wheel and kissed my neck. I gave a soft growl and he slipped his hand up my dress. I caught it and smiled.

“Not until tomorrow night, lover boy.” I opened the door and got out. The look he gave me could start a fire. I had to admit, I liked getting him riled up. I greeted Shamus and the others lingering around our front yard. All of a sudden I felt movement at my back. Kai swept me up in his arms and began walking me up the stairs into the house. His eyes were smoldering.

‘I don’t like being told no.’ He stared into my eyes.

I grinned and leaned in to kiss him as Shamus and the others started cheering.

“Get a room!” one yelled as Kai slammed the front door and raced down the hall throwing me on the bed.

I gave him a sultry look and began to unzip the back of my dress. Kai stood in the doorway.

“Are we interrupting?” A voice came from the hallway behind Kai. Kai’s mom! My eyes widened and Kai laughed.

“Mama, you’re here,” he said with a twinge of annoyance and embarrassment.

“Practicing for tomorrow night?” his father commented. I quickly zipped and smoothed my dress and met them in the hallway.

“No, of course not. We were going to nap.” I was bright red.

Kai’s mom laughed. “Yeah, Raj and I napped a lot too before our wedding.” She winked and we all shared a laugh.

Raj looked at me. “Why the sudden wedding date change?”

I sighed as we made our way out into the living room. Kai glared at his father. “Papa, my mate will not be interrogated.”

“I’m not interrogating my daughter-in-law. I’m asking her a simple question,” Raj countered.

I smiled at his use of the term daughter-in-law. He had already accepted me as family.

“Life is short, why wait? Kai and I deserve to be mated, no matter the cost.” I stared into his eyes a little longer than was polite. I needed him to see that I could hold my own. The decision was final.

The corner of his lips curled the smallest bit. “Well, I’ve brought one hundred of my finest wolves. This wedding will be well protected.”

Kai’s mother placed an arm around my shoulders and walked me into the kitchen. “And then I will have some grandchildren soon!”

I smiled weakly but didn’t respond. As we neared the living room, deep growling could be heard outside.

I pushed his mother gently aside and ran out the front door with Kai hot on my heels.

‘Oh, Shit!’ I told Kai as I saw it.

Some of the Seattle wolves had shifted. So had ours. Max and Tara were both in wolf form, staring at each other. Their markings were exact opposite. He was glaring at her with a growl in his throat.

Shamus was running across the lawn in human form.

“No! What happened?” Shamus asked one of his wolves.

The guy looked surprised. “Max asked Tara and a few of us if we wanted to go for a run. Then we shifted and he saw they were mates. Why is he growling at her?”

“It’s a long story,” I interrupted. I quickly stripped off my clothes and shifted. I ran in front of Tara going head to head with Max as I felt Kai come up behind me.

‘I know this is hard to take, but Tara IS your mate. I had a vision at the wedding in India. I wanted to tell you, but Kai didn’t think it was best after what you had been through.’

Max circled me slowly like a predator.

‘Don’t mess with me, Aurora. You’re a witch.  This is a trick!’ He pulled back his lips and bared his teeth. Kai lunged at him and knocked him over.

‘How dare you threaten my mate! You’re my best friend. You helped me pick out her engagement ring. Get your head on straight,’ Kai yelled at him and I think the entire pack heard it.

Max lunged at Kai and knocked him over, pinning him down. Kai could easily push him off and get up, but he didn’t. They stared at each other as Tara whined.

‘Melissa McAlister is my mate. She smelled like vanilla and mint. She had an adorable fear of birds and she was my other half, the mother to my child. Melissa is my mate. If you say different, I will kill you right here. You knew her, Kai. You loved her too.’

I felt tears spring in my eyes. Kai whined. ‘I did love her, like she was my own sister. Melissa is your mate,’ Kai agreed with him.

All right, time to get this shit out in the open.

‘Except Melissa is now Tara reincarnated. Werewolves do only mate once in a lifetime. But if that mate dies and the other lives, the soulmate reincarnates and they find each other again,’ I told him, bracing myself for his response.

‘It’s true,’ Kai added quickly backing me up. Finally!

Max leapt off of Kai and panted heavily. His look was venomous; he was beyond pissed. I felt something pulling on the pack bonds.

‘Max, no!’ Kai shouted.

‘What’s happening?’ I questioned.

‘Brother, no,’ Kai said one final time and winced as Max howled in pain.

Max limped off into the distance as I sat there stunned. Tara lay with her tail between her legs.

‘He’s forced a break in the bond. He’s rogue now.’ Kai stated emotionless as he watched his best friend walk away.

Tara suddenly ran off in the opposite direction as Max. Shamus took off after her, slowly changing his form as he ran.

I whined and went to get near Kai.

‘I told you it would break him! I told you!’ Kai shouted at me and ran off into the woods to follow Max. I was left with a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I shifted quickly and grabbed my clothes as the tears spilled down my cheeks.

Raj approached me as I pushed past him and into the house. “Aurora, dominant wolves have strong emotions. It will be okay.”

I nodded and shut the door, running down the hall and into the room where I kept Luna. She greeted me by purring and rubbing up against my leg. I grabbed her and headed for the small walk-in closet. I dressed quickly and shut myself inside, lying down on the floor with her on my chest. I dozed off.

Begin

A little while later, I was awoken by the smell of food. My mouth watered. We never got to eat at the diner. It was pitch black outside. I left Luna inside her room and went out into the kitchen. Kai’s mom was cooking homemade Indian food.

“It smells amazing in here.”

Diya, Jai, Akash, and Raj were sitting at the kitchen table talking excitedly. Raj wore a huge grin and Akash was patting Diya’s belly.

“My only daughter is pregnant! We are going to celebrate,” Raj told me.

Jai rolled his eyes behind his father and I smiled weakly.

Maya left a simmering pot on the stove and came over to me. She kept her voice low. “Kai came while you were sleeping, said to tell you he was sorry for getting upset. He went to help Shamus find Tara.”

“What do you mean? Tara is lost? Shamus was right behind her?”

Maya nodded. “Tara is a changed wolf. Her gift is similar to a chameleon. She can blend in with her surroundings. She can stay hidden for weeks if she wants to.”

Oh no. “Max?” I was afraid to ask.

Maya looked sad. “Kai and Max have been best friends a long time. I don’t think this will break that.”

“Okay, but did Kai catch up to him? What happened? How long was I asleep?”

Maya gave me a sad look. “Max is still rogue, he asked Kai to leave him alone. You were asleep only a half hour or so.”

Dammit! Max was Kai’s best man. He had to be at our wedding. It wasn’t going to feel right if he wasn’t there.

“Well, you guys enjoy your celebration dinner. I’m going to go see Sylvia about something,” I lied.

Maya looked at me with concern. “On the night before your wedding?”

I nodded and left before she could interrogate me or pick up on my emotions. Her gift of reading people would work against me. I grabbed my pendulum and car keys and got in my car.

I wasn’t going to Sylvia’s. I drove my car a few minutes away from the cluster of pack houses and pulled over. I opened the glove box and pulled out a map of the state of Oregon. I positioned my pendulum over the map and took a cleansing breath. Finder spells were simple and I had already done a few with Sylvia.

“Spirit, our friend Max has run away. Show me his location, so I may find him today.” I was impressed at how easy the rhyming thing came to me. The pendulum was swinging wildly and then quickly stilled over an area. Sandy Ridge Cemetery.

Okay. …

I put the car in drive and made my way there.

I got lost twice but finally found it. Sandy Ridge Cemetery was across from a large family farm. It was a wide open flat land with clumps of trees that I could barely make out in the dark night. Being at a cemetery in the dark was totally creepy, but I could make out Max’s human form. I locked the car and approached him with caution. He was naked save for a torn pair of jean shorts that he must have swiped from the farm next door. His back was to me and he was bent over a gravestone.

I didn’t try to sneak up on him. I walked loudly, my feet crunching on the rocks to give him warning. He would have smelled me already. It killed me that he smelled rogue. No! He was ours.

“I would rather have lived my entire life alone than to have met her and had her taken away like she was.” His voice sounded hollow.

I was close enough to touch him. I looked down at the stone. There was an adult wolf and a small wolf cub engraved on the head stone, a light shown on the writing. Melissa McAlister. Mother, Mate, Best friend. Underneath that said, Infant, loved and lost too soon.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. “Max, listen. I’m so sorry. Just forget about what I said. Come home. I won’t have this wedding without you there. We don’t ever have to talk about Tara again.”

He turned to face me. His eyes were glossy and red. His expression looked lost. Max was a big, strong, guy. To see him crying was hard.

“I can’t forget.” He stated plainly.

I sighed. “I can’t help what I see, my visions.”

He nodded. “I know, and you know what’s crazy?”

“What?” I asked cautiously.

“Tara smells like goddamn vanilla and mint,” he admitted throwing his hands up and kicking the dirt.

My heart raced. Did that mean he believed me?

“Well, maybe you could use that smell to find her,” I joked.

Concern etched into his face. “Find her?”

“Oh, yeah. She went missing after the–”

Max ran his trembling hands through his hair. “Shamus should be able to find her.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “except that she has some chameleon power and can stay hidden as long as she wants.” An unmated female on the loose was not good.

Max took one long look at the grave stone. He caressed the etched wolves.

“Let’s go. I’ll help you find her.” He walked to my car.

I looked at the grave stone and then to Max walking away. If the tables were turned and it was Kai … I couldn’t imagine.

Max and I pulled up to the house ready to help the hunting party find Tara. Instead we found Raj and Alexa. Her hands were tied behind her back. She was face down on the steps of our front porch. The porch light cast eerie shadows of their figures on the house. I threw the car in park and burst out of it.

“Cut her loose right now, Raj! She’s a friend,” I screamed.

Raj looked at me with a dominating gaze. “She’s a human that was sneaking on to the property at ten o’clock at night. She said she is ex RAIDOS and knows of our kind. Was I supposed it invite her in for Chai?” His voice was firm. I shifted my hand into a werewolf paw and clawed her binds loose, helping her up.

I faced my soon-to-be father-in-law. “She’s a friend of the pack and the reason your daughter now has silver immunity. I’m second in command which means I’m in charge while Kai is away.” I loved him, but he could be a pain in the ass sometimes.

He shrugged. “I was unaware of the human friends you keep.”

Alexa looked at me, rubbing her wrists. “They found me, I barely got away. I can’t protect myself like this. I’m sorry. I don’t see how there is any other way.” She gestured to her body. Her hands and voice shook.

I could see her arm was bleeding at the shoulder. Bullet wound.

“Protect yourself like what? Get the pack doctor!” I shouted at Max, who took off running. Raj backed away a few steps and watched us from across the porch. Well, I guess he was letting me handle it. Thanks for the help.

“Like a human. I want to be a werewolf. You offered me protection, but I want to be pack.” She held her chin high even though she looked terrified.

My mouth dropped open in shock at her request. Raj answered before I could.

“As a member of the werewolf council, I can assure you that you will never be pack. We don’t change humans for fun, like the vampires do. We only do it to save lives. That’s how it works.” His voice could cut glass.

It was true. It sucked for her, but it was true.

“It’s true, I’m sorry,” I told her.

She nodded as her lip quivered. “I thought you might say that.” With one quick move, she reached underneath her shirt and brandished a small sharp kitchen knife. What was she doing? I tried to grab her arm, but she was too quick. She slashed at her throat making a four-inch gash across her neck that oozed blood.

“Save me,” she gurgled.

Oh. My. God. I stood there in shock; my eyes wide, my hands frozen.

Raj spoke rapidly in Hindi and started shifting into his werewolf form.

“I can’t change fast enough! She will bleed out.” Raj’s bones cracked. Oh My God. There was so much blood. I shook my head. I didn’t know the first thing about how to change a human into a werewolf! I knew they needed to be near death and needed to be bit. I also knew that I could change my shape faster than Raj, faster than any wolf I knew, save for Kai. Without much thought or planning, I shifted form and lunged for Alexa’s arm, biting down hard. She wailed and the blood in her throat gurgled.

“Again!” Raj yelled behind me.

Alexa collapsed and I bit her leg.

“Hold her leg in your mouth,” Raj told me. I did as he asked. My wolf had taken over.

“Changing a human isn’t just about the bite. It’s about the bond too. You must tie her to you as an Alpha would tie a pack member. Find her essence, bind it to yours. Will her to live. Whether she lives or dies isn’t just up to her, it’s how strong you are too. Be strong.”

I held her leg in my mouth. I tasted her coppery blood. I closed my eyes and imagined myself in the serene woods of my mind. A faint wispy light was snaking through the trees around me. Alexa. I lunged at the wispy light and clamped down on it with my jaws. I imagined my light, bright and big and thick like a rope. I imagined Alexa and my light braiding together, becoming pack. Where her light was weak, I was strong. I gave her my strength.

“That’s it! You got it. She’s healing,” I heard Raj whisper.

I opened my eyes and released her leg from my jaws. Her neck had sealed. She was horribly pale, white as a sheet, but she was breathing shallow, unconscious. Diya, Maya, and Jai were all in the doorway peering out.

Raj sighed. “You could be an Alpha one day, Aurora.”

‘What’s wrong? What the hell is going on? I smell death.’ Kai was close.

‘Alexa tried to kill herself. I just changed her.’

‘You what? I’m coming.’

Raj lifted Alexa’s unconscious body and carried her into the house. I shifted and put on my clothes.

Max came running with the pack doctor.

He saw all of the blood on the porch and raised his eyebrows.

“She tried to kill herself, I changed her.” I told them.

Max looked shocked. “Will she survive?”

I shrugged. I could feel her life force energy, beating alongside me.

“I think so. I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”

Kai ran at us from the thick bushes. He was human and wearing a pair of sweatpants and no shirt. He slowed his pace when he saw Max.

“Did you find Tara?” Max asked him.

Kai looked at me with confusion. No doubt he was wondering why Max was back and concerned about Tara.

“No, but Shamus says she is close by. He can feel it.”

Max shifted and ran off into the woods.

Kai looked at me.

“I found him at Melissa’s grave. He is at peace with things now.” Or at least I think he is.

Kai sighed. “I’m sorry I got upset with you.”

I nodded. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I pushed the truth on Max.”

He pulled me in for a hug but saw that I was covered in sticky blood so he kissed my forehead instead. “How in the hell did you change Alexa?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Your dad helped me.”

He looked at the blood surrounding the porch. “She’s smart. She knew what had to be done for us to agree to change her. Let’s hope she survives.”

“Her neck has already begun healing,” I added.

He nodded. “That is just the lycanthrope virus’ beginning effects. Her body will now attempt to destroy the virus, destroying itself in the process. She will have to fight to live, just like you did.”

I sighed. “Not exactly how I envisioned the day before my wedding going.” I gestured to the blood.

Kai rolled his head side to side, stretching his neck. He looked stressed and exhausted.

“You bound her energy to you, like an Alpha would,” he commented. “I can feel it.”

I didn’t know what to say. “Is that bad?”

Kai smirked. “No, it’s not bad. It’s interesting. We are quite the pair.” He pulled me close to him.

“Now, go and shower and let’s get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.” He told me and I laughed.

‘If your parents weren’t here, I would invite you in with me. You know, to save water.’ I winked.

His eyes roamed over my body. ‘Mine.’

I rolled my eyes and walked inside to shower. Tomorrow, I became Kai’s wife.

Big Day

I awoke to a note on my pillow.

Good morning, my bride-to-be,

Emma has pulled me from my own bed and told me I can’t see you the entire day. Not until the wedding. She’s pregnant, so I don’t want to piss her off. Call me if you need me. I will be at Devon’s. Alexa survived and is doing well. She is resting at Anna’s, but I was wondering if you wanted to help her with her first shift? You changed her and her wolf will feel more comfortable with you there, not me. We can establish her place in the pack and go for a pack run tomorrow.

Love,

Me

Alexa! I had almost forgotten. I searched the pack bonds and smiled when I felt her energy there. She was good, she was pack. She survived.

A knock came at the door.

“Are you up?” It was Emma.

“Yep.”

She came in and pulled a strange face. “Did you fall asleep with wet hair? It looks awful.”

My hands flew to my hair which was matted on one side. “Oh, yeah.”

Emma raised one eyebrow.

I laughed. “Shut up. Let me shower, then I need to see Alexa and then you can make me over or whatever.”

Emma nodded. “We will all be waiting when you get back.”

After I showered, I headed over to Anna’s. She and Jake had settled in well on the mountain. It was crazy to see Anna and remember how she was when I met her. The cancer had eaten away at her body. She was hairless and frail and barely with life. Over time, she had become lean and strong and had a nickname within the pack. Hulk. Anna’s gift had manifested after her change. She was super strong, like lift a car with one hand strong. It didn’t matter if she was in human or wolf form. She was badass.

I knocked at the door. It slowly opened. Alexa stood there, a faint red mark shown on her neck where she had cut herself. Her head was down, eyes on my feet. She looked vulnerable.

“Alexa.” I remembered that feeling. Not knowing what to do, where you stood, how you were going to live this life.

She made eye contact with me for a moment and I saw guilt there. Then she quickly looked at my nose. She knew the rules.

“I’m sorry, Aurora, I didn’t know any other way. I shouldn’t have put you through that. The day before your wedding. I’m so sorry.” Her lip shook. We were bonded. More so than anyone else in the pack. Save for Kai. I could feel her emotions, hear her thoughts. She had no other option, desperate to survive, she had chosen hastily. RAIDOS was bigger and more powerful than I had originally thought. Sifting through her thoughts, I saw that they had private and government investors, they had done science experiments that had been going on for decades.

I embraced her. “Alexa, you’re pack now. Family. Kai and I wanted that the second we met you at the waterfall. I’m sorry it had to happen in a bloody and freaky way, but I’m glad to have you. What you did was smart. I would have done the same.”

The instinct to become strong and survive drove humans to great lengths. We could all relate to that.

She smiled. “Thank you.”

I nodded. “Now, first things first. Where were you born?” I did not want another showdown with some Alpha fighting for Alexa on my wedding day.

“Japan. Military brat. Why?”

I sighed in relief. “Long story.”

‘I wonder if I have a mate. I wonder if she knows who it is.’

Whoa. I was hearing her thoughts, just like Kai heard mine in the beginning.

She cleared her throat.

“Sorry. I’m going to teach you to keep me out of your every thought. It’s the one thing I wished Kai would have taught me right away.” Everyone deserved privacy.

I walked her through the guided imagery, she buried our strong connection, just beneath the surface. I could still feel her a little more strongly than the rest of the pack, but not her every thought. I guess because I was the one who changed her, we were closer than the others. Interesting.

“And for the record, I don’t know who your mate is, but if I do you will be the first to know.” I smiled.

She laughed and her cheeks reddened. “Thanks.”

Anna peeked her head around the corner. “Are you going to help her shift? Can I come?”

The color suddenly fell from Alexa’s face and I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Yes, Anna, you may come. You might need to catch Alexa if she faints.”

We laughed.

We all stood in Anna’s backyard, stark naked.

Alexa had her arms covering her breasts, legs crossed.

“All right,” I began, “first things first. We are always naked and it’s not a big deal. I have seen everyone in this pack naked and they have seen me. So you will just need to get over it. We either look at the ground while shifting or at their face. Got it?”

Alexa laughed and dropped her arms, looking at my face.

“Got it.”

Next, I described how to shift. It came easier to me than others because of the gift I shared with Kai.

“So, when you are ready, just take in a deep breath and let your wolf out.”

I had also explained that because she was a changed wolf, when she shifted, her power would manifest as well. Either right away or sometime soon.

Alexa swallowed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her fingers shifted first. I could hear the bones cracking. Red hot pain shot through our pack bond.

“Ow,” she said.

I winced. “Yeah, first time is the worst.”

Then her arms, torso, and legs shifted. She dropped on all fours, panting, until lastly her face turned into a beautiful wolf. She was grey with a unique pattern of white spots. Her belly lurched and I knew what was coming. Akash had warned me that most wolves threw up after their first shift.

After throwing up, she looked up at me. I shifted instantly and met her eyes.

‘We can all talk while in wolf form,’ I told her.

She gave me a wolfish grin. ‘Cool.’

‘You feel okay?’ I asked.

She nodded.

Anna shifted beside us and nudged my shoulder. ‘Tag, you’re it!’ She took off running. I decided to be nice and took off after her at half of my fastest speed. I turned back and saw that Alexa was hot on my trail. I let out a yip and Alexa returned it with a big wolf howl. Anna howled back.

I led the girls to a small path that went to our house. I had promised Emma that I wouldn’t look at the back yard she was decorating, so we went around the front. A bunch of electrical DJ equipment had been unloaded and lay on the front porch. Kai assured me everyone involved with wedding set up was a wolf or apart of the supernatural community, so I wasn’t worried about being spotted by humans. As we neared the equipment and made our way to the front door, Alexa’s paws started glowing blue.

‘What the?’ She looked at me scared. The DJ equipment suddenly boomed to life! It was deafening. I whined. Alexa’s paws stopped glowing and the noise stopped.

Anna looked at the speakers and approached me. ‘It’s not plugged in.’

I nodded. I could see that.

Alexa was shaking and whining.

‘It’s okay,’ I told her. ‘It’s your gift, just calm down.’

‘Try to control it.’ Anna indicated the speakers and turntables.

Alexa closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. Her paws glowed and the music

blared out again.

‘Softer,’ I told her, wincing.

She breathed deeply and the music quieted to a manageable sound.

‘That’s awesome,’ Anna commented.

I gave a wolfish grin. ‘Well, I’m not gonna lie, that’s a pretty damn cool power. I’m jealous.’

Alexa looked shocked. ‘This will take some getting used to.’

Emma poked her head out the front door. “What’s all this noise? Aurora, we’re waiting for you! Come on, girls, quit messing around. It’s wedding day!” She shrieked. Then she looked at Alexa. “Oh, Alexa, welcome to the pack. Your wolf is beautiful. Now come on!” I wasn’t sure how I felt about pregnant Emma. She was kind of all over the place and intense.

Emma left the door open and I looked at Anna and Alexa indicating they should follow.

All of the pack females from India, Seattle, and our pack, were in the house. There was a henna artist and she was doing designs on the women’s hands. I had told Kai’s mother I wanted to be married in a red sari. I was excited to be honoring his culture. I was getting a traditional henna party!

I weaved in and out of the crowd to my room and quickly changed. After I came out I spotted Tara. She waved. I waved back. She seemed okay, she was chatting with another one of the Indian pack girls. I was glad to see she had been found. I also spotted Sadie, Kai’s ex-girlfriend, who was now in the Seattle pack. Awkward.

“Welcome to your Mehndi party.” Maya gestured opening her arms. She was dressed in full Indian garb. She stuck a bindi on my forehead and gave me a hug.

I smiled. “Thank you so much.” She sat me down on the couch and had two artists work on me at the same time. One was at my feet and the other, my arms. They were drawing intricate designs, elephants, and peacock feathers.

After a while, Tara came to sit with me.

“Hey,” she said, looking at her henna design.

I wasn’t sure what to talk about. Pretend yesterday didn’t happen or ask if she was okay.

“I’m sorry for what happened. I feel like it’s all my fault.” I told her genuinely.

She shook her head. “I’m so glad you told me. I would be living my life in India for God knows how long if you hadn’t.”

I nodded. “So … You’re okay?”

She smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Max asked me out to coffee after the henna party. Then he asked if we wanted to go to the wedding reception tonight … together. Like a … date.”

Her eyes lit up and I smiled. Starting slow, that was good. “That’s great!”

Tara nodded. “So, we’re going to get to know each other. I will stay in Seattle for a while and just see what happens.” She looked a little sad at the thought.

I knew all about taking it slow. When Kai first told me we were mates and destined to be married and have kids, I was terrified. I wanted to progress slowly: boyfriend, fiancé, THEN marriage. After what Max had been through, it seemed like a good move for them.

“Have fun on your date.” I winked at her and squeezed her hand.

The moment our skin touched, I was pulled into a vision. Tara was dressed in a beautiful, long white satin wedding gown, grinning ear to ear. Max stood proud at the end of the aisle, Kai right next to him. I scanned her bridesmaids and the crowd. Where was I? Why wasn’t I there? The vision dissolved.

“Aurora?” She shook me.

I cleared my throat. “Oh, I’m sorry, what did you say?” Mist hovered around me.

She was looking at me with concern. “I said, I will let you know how the date goes.”

I nodded. “I’m sure it will be fine.” I had learned to trust my visions. Tara and Max were well on their way to getting married, but why wasn’t I there?

An hour later, the henna artists were done with me and moved on to the others. The henna was starting to dry a burnt maroon color. The designs were intricate and beautiful. Emma waddled over holding her belly. Her face looked alarmed, but she was trying to hide it. I stood up quickly, careful not to mess up the designs on my arms that were still drying.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered.

She flicked her head outside and began walking away. I followed her, my heart hammering in my chest. I tuned into Kai’s energy. He seemed mad and confused. I could smell him, he was close. I walked outside and Emma stopped me on the porch.

“Kai is right behind this bush. I don’t want him to see you yet, but he needs to talk.”

I looked at the bush and could see him through the leaves. “What’s wrong?”

Kai sighed. “The wolves protecting our perimeter have given me some distressing information.”

I felt dread sink into my stomach. “Spit it out! What happened?”

“Well, RAIDOS showed up on foot, deep in the woods, intending to stop the wedding, I’m sure.”

Well, I guess that was to be expected.

“And … the vampires stopped them. Killed some of them. Sent the rest running.” Kai sighed.

“What!” I shrieked. Oh my God. The vampires were so invested in us having the mating ceremony so that I would become fertile and then Layla could have evil spawn children, that they were protecting my wedding!

“Kai, that’s–”

“I know. It feels like we are doing what they want.” He seemed unsure. Oh my God, he was having second thoughts. Sadness overwhelmed me.

“You don’t want to …” I started. I guess I understood.

The bush rattled and Kai leapt out from behind it and approached me. “What? Are you crazy? No.”

I laughed. “Emma’s gonna kill you.”

He looked at my hands and feet, then at my lips. “You look beautiful and I’m marrying you today. You will be my wife for the rest of my life here on Earth and every life after that.” He pulled my body close to his and tenderly stroked my cheek. I felt my throat tighten with emotion.

The screen door opened and Emma came out. “Kai! You’re breaking tradition! Get out of here.”

Kai faked a scared expression. “Gotta go.” He kissed me quickly.

‘I’ll take care of everything. I just wanted you to know what was going on and I wanted to hear your voice.’

I smiled.

Kai was walking away when he turned to look back at me. “I can’t believe I’m marrying a witch.”

I playfully gave him the middle finger. Emma slapped my hand. “Aurora,” she scolded. “Come on, you have to get ready.”

Can’t argue with a pregnant woman.

I Do

Ouch. My hair was being pulled up tightly in a cascade of curls. There were four attendants working on my wedding makeover. I raised my arms up so the ladies could wrap my sari. Emma finished brushing some lipstick on me with a small brush. I blotted my lips. She started tearing up.

“What’s wrong?” I reached out to touch her. My henna had dried and been washed off and a deep, dark reddish print was in its place. Red and white glass bangles clinked on my wrist.

“You’re so beautiful, weddings are so beautiful. I think I’m a little sensitive because of the pregnancy hormones, but I’m really glad you came into our pack and we became such good friends. You’re like a sister. I love you.” She sniffled.

“Emma! Stop or I will cry.” I gave her a long hug, careful of her belly sticking out. When I pulled away Emma was smiling and wiping her face.

There was a faint knock at the door. Raj poked his head in. “May I speak with you?” he asked.

I nodded. Everyone left me and I was alone with my father-in-law-to-be.

He looked me up and down and smiled. “You look like a true Indian bride.”

I smiled. Raj and I had an understanding. He acted like a big, tough Alpha and I knew better. He was a loyal, loving father and a good man. We had a good relationship.

He looked nervous and cleared his throat. “I wanted to ask you something.”

Uh-oh. He wasn’t going to try to change my mind about marrying Kai, was he? I knew it was asking for trouble from the vampires, but I thought he understood that we deserved our happiness. I thought he agreed that no one else should dictate our life.

“I know your father wasn’t a nice man. You don’t seem to have been treated properly from any man in your life, aside from my son.”

Okay … Where was this going?

He wiped his hands on his shirt. “Aurora, may I escort you down the aisle and give you away to marry my son?”

Oh. Then all my emotions broke loose. His words, his voice, it was too much. I cried and laughed at the same time. “What did I do to deserve to marry into this family?” I asked him.

He opened his arms for a hug and I could see that his eyes looked misty as well. I embraced him. He cleared his throat and stood taller.

He pulled back and looked into my eyes. “What did we do to deserve you?”

I could hear footsteps running down the hall. The door burst open; it was Devon. “Plan B, sir! They brought the helicopters.”

Raj nodded and held tightly to my hand, whisking me down the hallway and into our garage. He jumped into Kai’s Audi as Diya, Emma, and Maya burst through the door behind us.

“What’s going on? What’s plan B?” I screamed. Kai always had his plans and I knew nothing about them! I jumped into the passenger seat trying not to rip my Sari. The girls piled into the back.

Raj hit the garage clicker and the door began to open. “Kai didn’t want you to worry. We have a second wedding location set up in the event that this happened.”

“What!” Emma screamed from the back seat. “I’ve been decorating this one all day.”

I reached back and squeezed her hand. “I’ll see it later, Em. I’m sure it’s beautiful.”

Now I was pissed. How dare they try to ruin my wedding! To get involved in my personal life. Fur began breaking out onto my arms. Raj took a side glance at me. “You have a right to be angry. Hold on.” He put the car in reverse and flew out of the garage spinning the wheels.

He sped down our private drive and onto the pavement, making a left onto the main road, then eased over into the left lane. White snowflakes began to fall from the sky. I smiled.

“Papa, just a reminder, in America they drive on the right side of the road,” Diya told him.

“Oh, right.” He swerved over and Emma screamed. I suppressed a giggle. I could hear helicopter blades in the distance flying toward our house.

“Tristan and Izzy have decided to renew their vows. RAIDOS is in for a surprise when they don’t find you at the altar,” Raj said with a grin.

I opened my mouth in shock. “That’s genius!”

Raj nodded. “I thought of it.”

“Well, at least someone will enjoy my decorations,” Emma said bitterly.

He slowed the car down. There was some type of check point up ahead.

“It’s our pack, dear,” Maya told me.

As we neared, there was another stopped car trying to come up the mountain. Raj rolled down the window and I could hear one of the other wolves asking the woman in the stopped car something.

“Military exercise up ahead, ma’am. I need to see your ID with address to prove you live in the area.”

Raj spoke to one of his guys. “Don’t let anyone come down this road for the next hour. Do whatever you have to,” he commanded.

The man nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Raj took a hard right and led us up a small winding road. I had never been to this part of the mountain. We were still on the mountain, but not exactly in the area where the pack lived and roamed freely. There were a lot of cute little mountain cabins and cottages, mostly inhabited by humans.

“Where are we going?” I pondered aloud.

Raj shrugged. “Kai gave me the address yesterday. I drove the route five times this morning just in case.”

Whoa, my wedding was like a finely tuned military operation. It shouldn’t need to be like that! It wasn’t fair. I was beginning to feel depressed at the way things were turning out. Raj turned into the driveway of a blue and white cottage. It was tiny and cute. It had a white picket fence and tons of roses.

Kai was standing in the front drive way in a dark grey suit. His hair was slicked back. His face was clean shaven. I was about to marry the hottest guy I had ever seen.

“He can’t see you yet!” Emma shouted as Raj put the car in park.

“Screw the rules,” I told her and jumped out of the car and ran to him.

He looked me up and down and grinned. “From this day on you are wearing a sari all the time. You look amazing.”

I smiled and fell into his open arms. He smelled so good; cologne, mint, home.

‘Mate,’ my wolf said. Since I had merged more with my wolf, she didn’t talk as much. Our thoughts had become one, but she was right. He was, and always would be, my mate. My soul mate.

Everyone from the car made their way to the backyard and I was left standing alone with Kai.

“What is this place?” I asked him as he held my hand.

“Well, if it’s okay with you, it’s going to be your mother’s new house.” He gave me a side glance.

For the second time in the same day, tears fell from my eyes.

“You bought my mom a house?” My throat cracked. The snow was falling harder and covering the ground. I felt cold as a werewolf, but not freezing. Our bodies ran warmer.

Kai nodded and kissed my nose, wiping away my tears with his hands. “She shouldn’t have to live in a trailer. She should have a bigger garden and be closer to the pack, but not too close. Don’t want her seeing too much.” He winked.

I was speechless. “Kai, I don’t know what to say.”

He smiled. “Say you’re ready to marry me. Even though Layla is after your blood and RAIDOS wants to capture you, say you want to marry me anyway.”

I gave him a serious look. “I want to marry you.”

Kai nodded. “Say that you trust me to protect you, even if it means doing something crazy, something unthinkable.” He looked nervous.

“Kai, What?”

He shook his head. “Nevermind. I’ll meet you around back.” He kissed me and walked away.

He had been acting weird lately, secret meetings with Sylvia and joining the council. I didn’t exactly know what his plan for the vampires was. The Devi spirit had said Kai was on his own path and to follow his lead, so I was, but I was wondering if I should be questioning him more.

Raj walked over to me and made a motion for me to link arms with him. I smiled. I could worry about everything else later. It was time to live out my dreams and do what was right for my life. It was time to marry my mate.

I turned the corner to see twenty white lawn chairs set up. There was a small white lattice altar at the end of an aisle sprinkled with red rose petals. It was simple and perfect. I spotted Jai, Anna, Akash, Max, Tara and a few others.

At the altar, Nahuel stood with Kai. He smiled at me genuinely. Next to Kai, Max and Devon stood smiling. Across from them, Diya and Emma waited for me as my bridesmaids. It was perfect.

Akash was the ring bearer; he winked at me as he walked down the aisle to stand with his brother. A cute little girl from India pack sprinkled petals down the aisle. It was a perfect day. I looked up and held Kai’s gaze and began my walk.

Once Raj and I reached the end of the aisle, he kissed my forehead and handed me over to Kai. “Protect her well, son.”

Kai nodded. “I will Papa.”

I liked that our wedding was a blend of Indian and American. It was beautiful.

I took Kai’s hands and stood with him before Nahuel.

Mist flowed from Nahuel’s hands as he said an opening prayer. He produced different colored ribbons and bound our hands together like he had in Sadie’s wedding. With each binding of our hands, I felt a piece of me merge with Kai. I felt myself open up to him. All of my hurt, the things I was ashamed of or scared to show, he felt them all. My pride, my stubbornness, my strength, and dominance. They were brought to the surface. They were accepted. I was able to sift through Kai’s feelings, how much he hoped I would be his mate from the day he first met me. How much he had to fight to keep himself from being too dominant with me, in fear of scaring me off.

Nahuel spoke in a calm clear voice, “I join your souls as one. May you have no secrets from one another. I join your souls as one. May you protect one another until death. I join your souls as one. May you respect each other as equals, regardless of pack rank. I join your souls as one. May fertility be bestowed upon your family. I join your souls as one. May you love each other for the rest of your long, long lives. It is done, so be it.”

Then he placed his hand on my head. An electric jolt ran down his hand and zapped my pelvis. I opened my eyes in shock. Kai looked concerned. I smiled.

‘It’s okay,’ I assured him, ‘but I think he literally jump started my ovaries. I felt it.’

Kai had to stifle a laugh.

Nahuel cut my arm and then did the same with Kai’s. “With this final act, you become one. Mates for life. Is this your wish?” he asked me.

“It is,” I replied on instinct.

“Kai, is this your wish?” Nahuel asked.

“Yes,” he answered with a big grin.

Nahuel placed our wrists together and chanted in an ancient language. I saw mist pour down from the trees. I felt Kai’s energy stronger than ever before, his thoughts, feelings, how much he loved me. How scared he was that I would be taken away or hurt, how much he hated RAIDOS and the vampires. How much he hoped to keep a secret from me. I probed at that thought and gasped when I saw what he was trying to hide.

Kai looked into my eyes, seemingly willing me to understand.

“Kai, you can’t,” I said aloud.

The people in the front row mumbled.

‘Shh, my father will kill me,’ he said.

I quieted quickly.

I knew my mate was protective and would protect me at all costs. But never, in a million years, did I think he would expose our kind to the humans in a bid to save my life.

Kai’s eyes flashed yellow. ‘That’s right. Let the vampires try to fight us once I get the humans on our side. They won’t like it if their food fights back.’

Holy shit. Kai was crazy.

The crowd erupted into cheers and Kai’s gaze became a sexy smolder.

Nahuel patted my back. “Congratulations, you’re mated.”

I pushed Kai’s secret to the back of my mind and let this moment settle in. It felt so good to have your person. I would never be alone again on a movie date, no more sad Valentines days, no more abusive boyfriends. Kai was made for me and I for him. We found each other out of all the people in this world and we’ve become one. My eyes glowed yellow and Kai grabbed my neck, gently pulling me in for a kiss. The crowd roared and Kai tipped me back as I giggled.

‘You’re mine,’ Kai told me.

‘Ever since our first kiss in your office, I wanted it to be you,’ I confessed. He stood me upright and held my hand, smiling. The crowd gathered up and down the aisle holding their arms up high creating a tunnel for us to run under.

Kai glanced at me from the side. “After you, my wife.”

I grinned and ran forward. White rice fell from the hands of our friends and loved ones. I laughed and was very touched at the lengths Emma and everyone had gone to give me a wedding close to that of a human.

Kai and I met his father at the end of the aisle. He was on his cell phone shouting orders.

“Papa, give us an update.”

Raj glared at his son, clearly not liking the order.

“Please,” I added, nudging Kai. Kai rolled his eyes.

Raj got off the phone. “The problem has been fixed. RAIDOS came and saw Tristan and Izzy exchange vows. They knew we were up to something, but they can’t prove it. They are gone now. I’ll take you to your reception.”

I looked at Kai. Okay wedding was over, time to talk about Kai’s deep dark secret.

‘Kai, you’re not serious about telling the humans we exist, right? Those were just deep dark thoughts that will never happen, right?’ I had secrets, hell, we all had weird dark thoughts, but this seemed more than a thought. It was more like a plan.

Kai held my hand as we followed his father. ‘Trust me,’ was all he said.

I sighed. If Kai was serious about this, life as humanity knew it would never be the same.

***

The reception was in a huge red barn between Emma and Izzy’s property. There were hundreds of people. It was decorated simple and elegant. As they served the food, Kai leaned into me. “The entire wedding has been catered vegetarian in honor of the bride.” He smiled. I nearly spit out my wine.

“You’re making three hundred werewolves eat vegetarian?”

He nodded. “I am.”

I grinned. Kai slipped his hand under the table and caressed my thigh.

‘What is a polite amount of time to stay at your own wedding reception?’

My belly heated at his meaning. I grinned. ‘When we cut the cake, then we’re out of here.’

He laughed.

The night went smoothly. Kai’s father was gone for most of the reception dealing with security issues at our borders. He didn’t bother us with the details, but he returned to check in on the party and I noticed vampire ash on his clothes. After cutting the cake and dancing, we snuck out. Kai drove us to a secluded cabin high up on the mountain. There were tea lights inside white paper bags leading the way up the driveway.

“We’re not going home?” I questioned.

Kai shrugged. “My father thinks this is a better idea. I agree.”

Whoa. He agrees with his father. That’s rare.

We got out of the car and I inhaled. It smelled like Max, this must be his house.

Kai opened the front door, there were rose petals on the carpet leading to a bedroom door. I laughed.

Kai groaned. “This is Max’s house. He must have told Diya and Emma we were going to be here tonight. They’ve decorated.”

We opened the bedroom door and both started laughing. Condoms, lotions, and sexy lingerie littered the bed, red balloons and roses as well. Kai picked up a black lace bra and a pair of panties and raised his eye brows to me.

I grinned and lifted my arms. “Help unwrap me.” My Sari was wrapped around my body so many times I wasn’t sure I could get out of it myself. Kai helped unwrap me and then began to unsnap my blouse. Once that was gone, he stared at my red bra. He peppered my shoulder with kisses and then hoisted me up on the bed.

“What about the lingerie?” I teased.

“Forget it.” He panted in-between kisses.

I smiled. Guys were so easy.

News

The next morning I awoke with a grin. The night before was mind blowing. Kai was right when he said mating after you were married was different. It was magic. Literally. Mist had crept in through the windows and down the walls. Maybe that was how werewolves got pregnant once they were mated, some kind of magic changed them to be fertile. I reached over and felt the bed, empty. I sat up and noticed a note on the bed. I smiled. As I read the note, my stomach dropped. No!

My dearest wife,

Please forgive me. I do not want you involved with what I feel needs to be done today. My father lost three men in the night. The attacks were relentless, both from RAIDOS and the vampires. We can’t live like this. I must go forward with my plans. Turn on the news.

I love you. Be safe.

Kai

My hands shook. I scrambled out of bed wrapped in a sheet and searched for the remote. Once I found it, I turned on the TV with dread. This would be catastrophic. What was he thinking? If the humans didn’t kill Kai, the council would.

The second the TV came to life, I noticed a picture of Kai, and a frazzled-looking blonde newswoman was explaining the story.

“We have live feed from an interview earlier this morning at Safe Haven domestic violence shelter in Oregon. We have confirmed this is not a computer graphics trick and news is coming in all across social media of reports of werewolves being spotted all over the country.”

Oh shit. He did. Holy, holy shit.

The feed cut to footage of the gym at Safe Haven, Kai looked gorgeous as usual and Max was with him. Damn you, Max! Traitor. The women at Safe Haven were all clustered around them.

“I have dedicated my life to protecting my family, these women, humans,” Kai was saying. The newswoman made a weird face when he said humans. Kai continued.

“So, at this point, I feel that to protect you all the most, I must share with you a secret. This secret may get me killed, but it could save your life.” Kai was turning on the charisma. Not being too stern or scary.

The newswoman was looking nervously at the camera. “We’re here to learn about what you have been doing at Safe Haven,” she reminded him, nervously.

But before she can cut the camera away, Kai shifts into his werewolf form blindly fast. His clothes tear and he stands there in wolf form. His large black fur and yellow eyes are menacing. He lowers his head to try and look timid. The gasps from all the women in the auditorium make the footage seem all the more real. Some of them scream. A few stumble backward. Max looks at the camera. “Werewolves are real and it is our intention to protect humanity from a very real and very scary threat. Vampires. Vampires are real too and they have been injecting your young ones with heroin and drinking them dry in order to get high. They want humanity to be asleep while they continue to use you as food, or worse, change you into drugged up bloodsuckers!” The newswoman was holding the microphone in front of her in a protective gesture. Her hand was shaking.

Max looked at the camera. “Meet at your local parks. Your local werewolf pack will be there to teach you how to protect yourself from the vampires. God help us all in the days ahead. A war is coming and we must unite to protect the human race.” Max finished. The newswoman dropped the microphone and the footage cut off. I was looking back at the woman in the newsroom.

She was speechless. “Uh … well. We will be following this story closely. Let’s … go to commercial.”

I realized I hadn’t taken a breath. I gasped. Oh my God. My mother. She would see. EVERYONE would see. There was no going back.

I picked up my phone and saw breaking news alerts. Videos from werewolves all across the country were being uploaded. I saw one of Shamus. Kai had orchestrated this entire thing.

‘Kai, what have you done!’ He was close. I could feel it.

‘I had a dream,’ he said.

What the hell was he talking about? I heard a car door shut. I inhaled. It was him. I threw on clothes and ran outside.

He was with Max. They stepped out of the car.

“Your Devi spirit visited me in my dream and showed me two versions of the future. In one, humanity and werewolves all but go extinct. They hide in caves and scavenge and kill each other over territory and food. The vampires over populate Earth and live off of drugged up human slaves with their half-breed demonic children.” His jaw is set, veins popping out of his neck.

I grabbed my arms and shivered. I felt sick. “And the other?”

His face relaxed. “We unite. Not all humans will embrace an alliance with us, but most will. It will be enough. We kill Layla and her clan dries out. The senseless bleeding out of humans stop and we all live together in a new future. A more balanced future.”

I swallowed. “After a shitload of drama, I’m sure.”

Kai shrugged. “There was no other way.”

“The council, your father. They’ll kill you.” My eyes went yellow.

Kai gave me a sly grin. “There is a law that states no council member may be punished with death. That’s why I joined, I’m exempt now.”

Relief flooded my chest. “What? You planned all of this, didn’t you?”

Kai grabbed my waist and held me close. “Since the moment I knew that Layla and RAIDOS would stop at nothing to have you.”

I kissed him.

‘You stupid idiot. I love you.’

He smiled and kissed me deeper. ‘I love you too. Remember that.’

I didn’t like the ominous message. “How did you get so many werewolves to reveal themselves?”

Kai shrugged. “I called every pack that you had found a mate for and told them you needed a favor.”

Hah! Before I could retort, helicopter blades whirled in the distance. I broke away and saw a look of sadness etched onto Kai’s face.

Devon and Alexa burst through the trees in human form and immediately began shifting. This was only Alexa’s second shift.

“Kai, they will capture, experiment, and torture every last one of us now,” Alexa said as she was shifting.

She screamed in pain, but the shift was happening with as much grace as she could manage.

“Plan B,” I told Kai. “Let’s leave the country. Let’s run.”

Kai looked at me, his look said good bye and I didn’t like it. “Too late.” He shifted.

Shit! I shifted too. Max stayed human and held up a gun. Men were repelling from ropes. Max pointed the gun right at them and let bullets fly. One guy dropped to the ground with a sickening thud. This isn’t what I wanted. Why couldn’t they leave us alone!

I counted twelve RAIDOS guys, heavily armed, running at us through the trees.

‘Where is the rest of the pack?’ I asked Kai. I knew Seattle pack drove home the night before, but India pack was still around, and our pack as well.

‘My father’s pack is split, fighting the vampires in Portland and here on the mountain. Half of our pack is at the park meeting with the humans. The other half is guarding Emma and the women. It’s just us.’

The men were moving closer and Max shouted over the noise. “Go back now and no one else gets hurt. There are things you don’t know. The vampires are killing your people and keeping them hooked on heroin. We want to help stop that. We’re on the same side.”

Good, he was trying to reason with them.

One of the men responded by pulling the trigger on a harpoon type of gun. A thick silver chain net flew through the air and wrapped around Kai’s body. It clinked tight underneath his belly with some sort of magnets. His head was sticking out and he was trying to shake it off.

‘No!’ I took off running and clamped my teeth down on the metal chain trapping Kai’s body. One of my teeth snapped off. It was burning his skin, I could smell it. Why didn’t he take the silver immunity serum!

I heard Devon and Alexa growling and fighting, Max’s gun was going off. It was like time was going by really slow, but at the same time everything was happening too fast.

The man holding the other end of the harpoon pulled on the net and Kai almost fell, but kept himself upright. Kai bared his teeth and bit down lightly on my neck skin, just enough to break the skin. Ow!

‘Aurora, I name you Alpha of this pack. I transfer pack bonds to you willingly. Blood of my blood.’

No! I felt tons of little strands of energy, like ropes binding themselves to me. ‘Alpha, Alpha, Alpha,’ the pack chanted.

‘What? Kai. No!’ I screamed.

Another silver net flew through the air toward me. In one quick motion, Kai clamped down on my neck skin, like a lion mother would to her cub. He picked my body up and flung me high up in the air, tossing me forty feet into the side yard. My howl cut through the crisp morning air and I hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of my lungs. My ribs snapped. The empty net hit the ground right where I had been standing. The man who had Kai, hooked the net line onto the helicopter line and all of a sudden Kai was being hauled up into the air like a circus animal.

‘Kai!!!’ Hearing my desperate scream terrified me. There was nothing I could do.

‘We need back up at Max’s, now!’ I shouted into the mind of the entire pack, which I could feel was my pack. Alpha power coursed through my veins.

I started to run and I felt myself limping as my bones tried to regrow from my fall.

‘I’m coming, Kai, hang on,’ I told him as they loaded him into the helicopter.

‘No, they want you. They want to kill you. Stay back,’ he pleaded.

‘No way!’

I was headed for the harpoon gun guy, who looked at me with a sadistic grin. He dropped the harpoon gun and raised another, sleeker more deadly looking gun. I didn’t care. He would die for taking my mate. If I didn’t get to Kai soon, I could lose him forever.

The man raised his gun toward me and I picked up my speed, launching myself into the air and knocking him over. I was tearing at his neck when I heard Max’s voice from behind me.

“Look out!” Max screamed. I slowly turned just in time to see Devon leap into the air between me and another RAIDOS agent who had a huge samurai sword. He cut Devon’s head cleanly off.

‘No!!!’ I began to shift and the half human, half wolf wail that came from me sounded like it was from another planet. Mist poured from my skin uncontrollably. Trees shook. The samurai man grabbed his ears screaming. Devon’s eyes were open and staring vacantly at the sky. A sharp pain struck my chest as Devon’s essence left the pack bonds. Then I felt Emma’s pack bond crumble in despair. No. No. No.

I looked up to see Kai being strapped into the helicopter, he was thrashing and biting. He had seen what happened to Devon. He was too high, there was nothing I could do. I felt something inside of me break free, something dark and wild. The mountain began to shake a little. I needed to calm down. In that moment, I knew I had enough untrained magic inside of me to kill everyone on this mountain if I didn’t get it under control. It was the Devi. She was powerful; I had her power at my disposal if I could learn to use it.

Max was talking to me with his hands outstretched in a sign of peace. I couldn’t hear him. I could only replay the sound of the sword cutting through Devon’s spine. Of my alien scream. Suddenly, my chest pinched again and I felt Emma’s energy go completely dark. She was wracked with pain. As Alpha I was able to feel them all, intimately. She was devastated, she couldn’t breathe. The baby.

I looked up at Kai as the helicopter took off.

‘Rest in peace, my brother,’ were his last words and then he was gone.

Death

I wanted to mourn, I wanted to kill, and to freak out and try to shift into a bird and fly up to save my mate, but I couldn’t, I needed to find Emma.

I felt power coursing through my veins. Alpha power. Max’s words came to me.

“Aurora, calm down.” His eyes were lowered. Respect for my Alpha status. I took a deep breath and the trees stopped shaking. Max had killed the samurai man or I would have already.

Alexa was sitting in wolf form, in shock. Her paws were glowing blue. RAIDOS used to be her people; she felt like it was all her fault. I could hear her thoughts. She wanted to run away and leave. She thought she was a curse and she didn’t belong anywhere. She had a deep respect for Kai and me. She felt awful.

I walked over to her. ‘You did good. This isn’t your fault, and you aren’t going anywhere. You’re family and your place is with us now.’

She lowered her eyes and nodded. I could also hear her thinking about different locations she knew of that they might be taking Kai. Good, let her figure that out while I went to Emma. I ran. I ran faster than I ever had before, partly to shake off this horrible feeling of Devon and this feeling of responsibility for a bunch of werewolves that I wasn’t ready for.

When I followed my nose and neared the place Emma was, I could hear the sobbing. My stomach dropped. I couldn’t do this. How did Kai do this? I could feel EVERYTHING. Her pain, her love, everyone’s pain. They all loved Devon, they all felt his energy leave the pack. They were all mourning and it was driving me crazy. I threw on a loose dress from a laundry basket by the door.

I slowly opened the front door to see Emma weeping on the floor. Diya, Izzy, Maya, and Anna were trying to comfort her. Alphas must be strong for their people, show no weakness. I didn’t know if I could be. I was grieving the loss of my mate too, not like hers though.

She looked up at me like a child lost in the woods.

“What happened?” Her voice shook, her eyes poured tears, her nose ran.

“I’m sorry Emma, I should have protected him better. He died saving my life.”

Her lip quivered. “He did?”

I nodded and then the tears came. “He jumped in front of a threat and saved me.”

Emma smiled weakly and held her belly, tears ran down her cheeks. “Then it wasn’t a waste.” Sobs wracked her body.

Maya came forward. “Dying to protect your Alpha is the greatest honor a werewolf can have. He is a hero.”

How could I have handled it differently? Maybe I shouldn’t have gone after the harpoon guy, I should have made sure Devon and Alexa were safe first. I didn’t know how to be an Alpha. How can I protect everyone at once?

Emma looked up at me and her green eyes pierced right through me. She held my gaze longer than I thought would be possible for such a submissive, there was a streak of dominance in her.

“Aurora, this wasn’t your fault,” she declared.

Oh Emma, in her greatest time of need she was trying to reassure that I was okay. I ran to her and we held each other and cried. Suddenly, she hunched over and grabbed her belly groaning. Diya jumped between us and lowered Emma onto the couch. I could hear Diya’s thoughts. This was too much stress, she could miscarry, she needed strict bedrest. Everyone needed to leave.

“Everyone out! Emma needs rest. Diya, stay with her,” I commanded as Alpha power oozed from my voice.

I knelt by the couch and took Emma’s hand. “The man who killed Devon is dead. I will make sure that everyone else involved here today, dies too.” I let Alpha power seep through my bonds. That was a promise.

Her eyes looked fierce, she could only nod. Then she curled into a ball and faced the couch.

I stood. The time for politics and alliances was over. As far as I was concerned, you were either on our side or you were dead. Mist crept from my pores. They will regret this day.

I threw open Emma’s front door and Max was waiting with Alexa and Raj. They were speaking in hushed tones. I felt for my mate bond with Kai. He was unconscious but alive.

Raj watched me make my way down the steps of Emma’s porch. A light smattering of rain fell. Raj was on the council and so I wasn’t sure of his position on the humans knowing about our race.

“Kai did a very stupid thing telling the humans.” He told me.

Well, I guess he was against it.

“Maybe not!” Trent called from the side of the house. He was hiking up from a walking path in the woods and he was followed by a bunch of armed humans.

Trent was worried about Diya, he was also mourning Devon. I could feel everything.

‘Diya’s fine. She’s inside with Emma,’ I told him. Wow, being Alpha was hard work, constantly having to keep everyone’s emotions in check, being able to communicate with everyone’s mind. I also had this underlying fear that someone would threaten my position as the leader.

I glanced at Alexa as the humans drew closer. ‘The second I deal with this situation, we’re going to get Kai back. So, I hope you have a good idea where they are hiding him.’

I sifted through her thoughts. Alexa and I were closer than most, now that I was Alpha, I could access all of her memories. She did know of a place. She didn’t think they would take him to the closest holding facility in Portland, they would go a bit farther to get him to the most secluded and heavily guarded facility. It was hidden in a stretch of woods near Seaside, Oregon. It was on the way to the beach. I had driven through there many times and admired the thick woods. I saw them for what they were, a good place to hide. I nodded to her.

Trent had approached our group with a bunch of our pack and a dozen humans. He waved his hand to a tall, older man with a handle bar mustache and grey hair. He had tan leather skin and a strong jaw. The man tipped his cowboy hat to me and readjusted his semiautomatic rifle.

“Howdy, ma’am. I’m Earl, the leader of the Northwest Militia Group.” He extended his hand and kept his eyes locked on mine. I forgave him for not knowing he was challenging me but my wolf couldn’t. I felt my eyes go yellow. Trent cleared his throat. “You shouldn’t stare an Alpha in the eye, sir,” he told Earl as I took his hand. Earl dropped his gaze.

“Apologies, this is new to us.” He shrugged as more and more humans came through the trees; they had backpacks and gear. It looked like they were ready for to fight.

“Don’t worry about it,” I told him. “Militia? You guys seem pretty prepared.”

He was handling it really well. He flashed me a big smile and I instantly liked him. My wolf did too.

“Our militia was founded in 1929. We are prepared for anything. An overthrow of government, martial law, earth quake, zombies.” He chuckled at the last one.

I smiled. “I’ll bet this falls in the zombie category.”

He nodded.

I watched more and more people come out of the trees. “How many of you are there?”

He puffed his chest with pride. “Six hundred and ninety-seven, ready to bug out at a moment’s notice. We have other chapters in other states. They are rendezvousing at their local parks as we speak.”

I gave a low whistle. Seven hundred! Oh Kai, you did the right thing. I looked back at Raj. His face was blank, but I could tell he was impressed with their numbers.

“Let’s walk,” I told Earl. Max moved to follow. “I’ll be fine, Max.” I dismissed him. Was Max my second? Where did that leave Kai? I shook off my thoughts. Once Earl and I were out of earshot, I gave him 100% honesty.

“Earl, I’m going to hit you with a lot of crazy stuff right now. Can you handle it?”

He nodded, but I saw a flash of fear flicker across his face.

“I was a human too, up until a few months ago.” I told him about my car accident and that werewolves only change humans if it’s to save their life. I told him about the vampires being after me for my blood. I told him that if they got my blood, they might be able to conceive. His eyes widened at that, but he stayed quiet and let me speak. Lastly, I told him about our experience at the night club and the information we had found out about not all vampires being bad. I left out the Devi stuff. It wasn’t relevant to gaining his trust. He had heard enough weirdness.

“Heroin?” He gave a low whistle. Anger replaced his fear. “Vampires hooking teenagers on heroin and drinking them dry. Oh, they’re gonna die.” He put a firm hand on his rifle.

I nodded. “We need your help. You seem like an old fashioned guy. Back in the day you could give someone your word and shake hands and you knew you had a solid deal.” I extended my hand. “Partners?”

He smiled and nodded, taking my hand with a firm grip. “Partners.”

We made our way back to Emma’s yard. “I don’t think I have lodging for all of you,” I said, embarrassed. Not very hospitable of me.

He laughed. “We’re preppers. We go on dry run camp outs all the time to test our gear. We could hunt and forage and live in these woods for a year if need be.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Well, my woods are your woods.” I opened my arms gesturing to the land. I told him about the heated barn and where the local creeks were for fresh water. He nodded and went to talk to his people.

Alexa ran over to me, looking stressed.

“What is it?” I asked. She had a small tablet that was playing the news.

“The entire country is in mass panic. Kai’s video was uploaded to YouTube. Other werewolves began coming out in public too and those videos were uploaded. There is no denying the werewolves race now. The humans are looting stores, vampires are openly killing humans now. Some werewolves have been killed on site out of fear.” My stomach turned to dread. No.

“But it’s not all bad,” she continued. “Lots of footage shows militias banding together with local packs and taking out vampires. But they have called in the US government to treat this as a terrorist threat. They will be watching you closely, Aurora. If you want to get Kai …”

She spoke in her mind. ‘We need to sneak away. They will have eyes all over this mountain in the next few minutes.’

I nodded. I went to walk away to gather my things. She tugged on my arm. ‘We can’t bring too many people. A handful, in and out.,’ she said.

I nodded again. A handful. Who should I bring? Max was strong, but I needed him to stay back and look out for the pack. Diya would want to help her brother, but Kai would never forgive me if she got hurt.

I turned the corner and Sadie was standing there with Shamus.

“Sadie! Shamus! What are you still doing here?”

Shamus gave me a hug. “A few of us stayed overnight after the wedding. Woke up to all this drama.”

“Yeah, I saw your video.” I glared at him.

He shrugged. “Sorry for not telling you, but Kai thought it best.”

Sadie’s eyes were red like she had been crying. “Is it true? Devon’s dead and Kai ...” She didn’t finish. This was her pack for years. She was close with Devon and with Kai.

I had a crazy thought then. Sadie was a good fighter. She cared about Kai as much as I hated to acknowledge it.

I lowered my voice. “Sadie, I’m going to get Kai back. I can only take a few people. It has to be a low key rescue and we need to leave now.” I didn’t finish my sentence. She looked at her Alpha. They were conversing in silence. Finally he nodded. She looked at me.

“Let’s go get him.”

“Your mate?” I queried.

“Is coming too.” Brett rounded the corner. She must have told him through the mate bond. He didn’t look pleased, but he wasn’t about to let her go alone.

‘I’m going to get Kai back.’ I told the entire pack.

“I‘ll be right back.” I ran to my house and packed some things quickly, then I buried the black arrowhead Nahuel gave me.

Kai

We were the last people I would expect to mount a rescue mission on Kai.

“Remind me again why I’m helping you rescue your ex-boyfriend?” Brett asked Sadie jokingly.

“Because you love me.” She flashed a smile.

I couldn’t believe I was in a car with Kai’s ex-girlfriend, her mate, an Ex RAIDOS employee and a Shaman. I had left Max in charge and had told Emma I would be back as soon as possible.

Raj and his high up dominants had to go back to India and deal with the chaos there. All over the world, people were either standing to fight with the werewolves or trying to kill them in a mass panic.

I squeezed Nahuel’s forearm. “Thanks for coming, I really appreciate it.”

He nodded stoically. “I’m glad you thought to ask for my help. Sometimes we forget to ask for the help that is offered and try to do things on our own.”

I huffed. “And I here I thought we might get through a car ride without your philosophy.”

He cracked a smile.

Suddenly, I felt a tug at my chest. The mate bond. Kai was awake. Then a blinding pain ripped through me. I screamed. Luckily Brett was driving or I would have crashed the car. I grabbed my head and closed my eyes.

‘Kai? What’s happening? Where are you?’ I wasn’t sure how the mate bond worked or if we could communicate so far. I went into my mind’s eye and found myself in the woods behind our house. Kai’s energy was there, it was a dim ball of light. It was flickering. I grabbed the ball, Kai’s energy, and was sucked into a vision.

Kai was strapped to a metal table in a large cement room. It was an industrial building. I could smell burning ash, metal, death. The room held tables and tables of laboratory equipment. A man in a white lab coat had Kai strapped down with silver shackles. His wrists were bubbling with red blisters. His breathing was ragged. They were cutting pieces of skin off of him and watching in fascination as it grew back. They tucked the skin pieces inside of a glass tube and capped it off.

‘No!’ I screamed into the vision. I calmed my breathing like Sylvia taught me and imagined a thick cord binding myself to Kai. We were soulmates, we were one. He was my mate. I chanted this in my mind and imagined all of my silver immunity was shared with Kai. We were one. We were one. What was mine, was his. I became aware of a pain on my arms, at the same time I saw Kai’s wrists begin to heal. His breathing evened out. He opened his eyes on the table and gave a weak smile.

“Meri Pyari,” he whispered.

Then I was sucked out of the vision. Nahuel was shaking me.

My eyes snapped open. “What are you doing? I need to go back. He needs me!”

Nahuel looked concerned. “No, Aurora. You stopped breathing for a few seconds. Look at your arms.”

I looked down and gasped. My wrists were bubbled with silver blisters and my forearm had a two-inch square of missing skin. It was healing but slowly, very slowly, like I had silver poisoning. Mist was hovering in the car from my leftover spell.

“You gave Kai your immunity. All of it,” Nahuel said in amazement.

“Good. Then he has a chance.”

I held my left hand over my injured forearm. “Heal,” I whispered as mist seeped out of my palm and coated my arm. It was helping. It was still slowly healing, but that had given it a kick start. My eyes found Sadie’s, she was looking at me in shock.

I shrugged. “Witch stuff.”

“Incredible,” Alexa commented. I kept forgetting she was a new werewolf. I should check in with her and see how she was doing.

“How are you doing with all this?” I asked her.

She smiled. “I’ve seen a lot in my ten years at RAIDOS. I’ll be fine.” And that was that. No need to worry about her. It was time to get Kai.

I stared at the scorched skin around my wrists. I felt Emma’s sorrow turn into a dark depression; all of this boiled up inside me and any notion I had of trying to be nice, was gone. If Earth needed balancing out then I was going to do it. I would purge every last one of the people against us. Human or vampire.

Nahuel gave me a strange look. I stared straight.

The drive to the holding facility in Seaside was surreal. We passed small scuffles of looting and panic. It was daylight out so the vampires were not yet out in full force. A few of the elite vampires had sun immunity thanks to some witches, but not all of them. Layla had it. When the sun went down tonight, all hell would break loose.

Alexa opened a duffle bag and handed out uniforms and badges.

“We’re going in as security, bringing in a wolf. That will get us into the room where they will be keeping Kai.”

Genius! “Where did you get this stuff?” I asked her as Brett crept the car along a thick wooded back road.

Alexa smiled. “Working ten years for a highly secretive government agency will garner a healthy amount of paranoia. I’ve always had multiple exit plans, in case I wanted to leave the agency. I’m still tapped into their computers. They haven’t figured it out yet. I can print high clearance, all access badges.”

I squeezed her hand. “I’m glad you’re with us.”

She lowered her eyes. “Me too.” I could feel genuine feelings of her gratefulness for my changing her. She also felt guilt for pushing me to do it, but it was the only way she felt she could be strong enough. I sent thoughts of forgiveness to her and she smiled.

Is this what Kai dealt with all the time? He knew what every member of the pack was going through and had to keep the peace within each one of his wolves at all times? It’s exhausting! I could still feel Emma’s grief and Diya’s concern and everyone else’s lingering panic. It made me want to drink myself into a coma.

Alexa opened a map application on her tablet.

“Pull over,” she told Brett.

He pulled off the road and hid the car deep in the woods.

She indicated the map. “Through this dense patch of forest is an entry point for receiving. With the latest news, I have to assume they will be capturing and bringing in any wolves they can.”

My anger flared at that. She lowered her eyes and continued. “They have facial recognition software. They will know my face and Aurora’s. We should go in as captured wolves. Sadie and Brett can be guards. They won’t be looking for them.”

I looked at Nahuel.

“What about him?” I asked her.

Alexa cleared her throat. “He doesn’t exactly blend in as a typical guard. He can be our back up outside.”

I scanned over Nahuel, he had a long thick braid with pieces of turquoise and silver hanging from the tips. His chunky jewelry and thick leather cuff bracelets dotted his hands. I eyed the jaguar tattoo on his arm. Yeah, he didn’t look the typical RAIDOS employee.

Nahuel cracked a smile. “Once you make a scene inside, I will use the distraction to sneak in and cover your backs.”

I nodded. “Sounds good.” I looked at my wrists, they were still red and I was feeling tired. I hoped giving Kai my silver immunity meant he was okay. I felt pain and anger through the mate bond, but he was trying to hide most of it from me.

‘We’re here. Hang in there. We’re coming.’ I felt a spike of fear and shame through the mate bond, but he didn’t respond. What the hell?

“Let’s go! We need to get him out of here,” I told everyone.

Alexa stared at her hands. “Hang on, I want to try something. Give me the tablet.” She took a deep breath and her hands glowed blue. Nahuel and the others looked on with curiosity.

I handed her the glowing tablet with the map application open. The second it hit her blue glowing hands, it made a zapping sound and turned off.

Alexa smiled. “I know what this new power is.”

Sadie had come up behind me; she smelled amazing, of vanilla and mango. Damn her.

“You can control electricity,” Sadie stated the obvious, sounding unimpressed.

Alexa grinned. “Not just that. I can make an EMP. An electromagnetic pulse.”

“I know what an EMP is.” Sadie gave her attitude. Good old Sadie. Leave it to her to be bitchy in a stressful time.

“I wonder how big of one you could make. Could you black out a whole building?” I asked her trying to divert the tension, as Alexa gave her a glare.

Alexa shrugged. “We’ll find out.”

Wait until Kai found out about this. Alexa was a very valuable wolf. Should I be protecting her better by not letting her go inside? What would Kai do? I needed all the help I could get.

Sadie and Brett loaded up on guns and weapons while Alexa and I shifted into wolf form and they tied us with silver collars and muzzles. The second the silver hit my skin I felt like it was on fire. It burned. I could see Alexa struggling as well.

Nahuel chanted. He closed his eyes and took in deep breaths through his nose. I was about to look away from him and follow Alexa into the woods when I noticed his face changing shape. He quickly undressed. Spotted fur began to burst out of his skin. His fingers transformed to claws. What the hell! The sound of cracking bones filled my ears and suddenly Nahuel pierced me with a blue cat-eyed gaze. When he was done, he was on all fours; a beautiful and deadly black-spotted Jaguar. He approached me. I knew it! I knew there was something different about him. I knew he wasn’t human! Hadn’t someone told me that some Shamans could shapeshift? That’s why they were allowed knowledge of our kind.

He showed me his teeth in a big cat grin. His fang teeth were two-inches long and thick. If I didn’t know it was Nahuel, I might have been scared. I nudged him with my muzzle and he purred.

‘See you inside,’ I tried.

‘Stay safe,’ he told me.

It worked! We could communicate. But he wasn’t pack. Everything was blowing my mind, but I had to go get Kai. I turned to see Brett and Sadie staring at Nahuel’s jaguar form, in shock.

Sadie shook off her shock and clicked a leash on my collar. “Put up a fight at the gates. Make it look real.”

Well, that wouldn’t be a problem.

Rescue

After walking through a thick stretch of trees, we made it back out onto the open road. The armed men in front of the gates saw us walk out of the woods and came running over, guns raised.

“Our van broke down a mile back! We caught these two causing a public disturbance. Our orders were to bring them here,” Sadie said. She immediately handed him her badge.

I quickly yanked the leash out of her hand and lunged for the guard, growling and showing my fangs. Sadie grabbed the leash and slammed me down hard. Ow! I’ll bet she had been waiting to do that for months. I met her eyes and growled low and deep.

The guard fell back on his butt and handed Sadie her ID without looking.

“Get them inside the holding pen!” he screamed at her. Alexa howled and Brett pulled at her leash causing her to wince. I felt sick and weak from the silver. We walked while the other two guards aimed silver bullet guns at us.

“We have had a lot of drop-offs today. These things are coming out everywhere.”  The guard said.

Sadie nodded.

“How many do you have here?” Brett asked casually. The guard looked at him suspiciously but answered him. “About twenty. Half are in the research holding facility and the other half are going to the incinerator for disposal.”

I stumbled and my face hit the pavement. The incinerator! Disposal!

Brett tried to mask his anger. I could see he was pained too.

“All right, well, where do you want these two?” Brett replied and a faint growl tried to escape his throat.

The guard tipped his head to me. “They’ve asked for any dominate or overly feisty ones to go to research. You can take that weak one to the incinerator.” He gestured to Alexa.

I growled and the guard shoved the gun in my face. Sadie pulled on the leash and muzzle. Sadie and Brett shared a look, no doubt communicating through their mate bond, and walked in separate directions. We followed one of the guards, as Brett walked away with the other. I didn’t like that we were splitting up. But I didn’t want ten wolves to die either. After a small walk, we approached a large cement industrial building, “This is research, you know the drill,” he told Sadie and waved his ID card which popped the door open.

‘Nahuel, go to the incinerator and help Brett. Sadie and I will get Kai.’

‘I’m inside the gates. I see you. I will follow them,’ he replied.

Once Sadie and I were inside and walking down the hallway alone, I realized how awkward this situation was. Imagine Kai’s face when he realized his wife and ex-girlfriend of six years are his rescue party? Even though Sadie and I had our past, I was grateful for her help. Sadie lowered her voice. “I hope you have a plan once we walk through these doors.”

I did. She wouldn’t like it, but I was going to use every advantage I had, even if that meant magic.

She took the silver collar and muzzle off of my neck and snout. I could smell burnt flesh. I was very grateful for my silver immunity, I didn’t realize how vulnerable the other wolves were until then. I needed to remember to talk to Alexa about the possibility of getting more of that serum. I hoped that giving my immunity to Kai had given him enough strength to endure whatever it was they were doing. He had buried our mate bond and was in too much pain to communicate with me, so I was going into this blind.

Suddenly, we heard Kai scream out in pain. Sadie’s face drained of color. It was the worst sound of my life. Kai wasn’t the type of man to cry out. I had seen him endure many fights. Searing pain shot through my mate bond and I began to growl. Sadie kicked open the door, gun drawn.

I scanned the room. There were a dozen silver cages filled with wolves that lined the walls. Kai was strapped to an examiner’s table, a silver mesh net was draped over his body that secured him place. I didn’t even take the time to count how many people were in the room or measure my surroundings. I leapt across the room in three strides. No one was faster than me. The element of surprise was all I had. Three of Kai’s fingers were severed and laying on the floor. A man with bolt cutters and a white lab coat stood over my husband’s bleeding hand. It had only two fingers left. He inspected it and was about to make notes in a chart.

The doctor turned to me when he heard the door kick in and my deep growl. I steadied my gaze on the pulsing vein in his neck. I ripped his throat out before he could even speak. Shots rang out from Sadie’s gun and two guards were down.

Kai was panting. His body was in human form, but patches of fur had broken out along his torso. He was completely naked. A lab assistant cowered in the corner and Sadie knocked her out with the butt of her gun.

I quickly shifted into my human form and unclicked the net and shackles pinning down my mate and slowly lowered him onto the ground. My fingers burned from my brief contact with the silver. Kai was panting. The stumps on his hands were bleeding freely. I was vaguely aware of Sadie uncaging the other wolves in the room. I took a deep breath and found a quiet place in my mind. I willed the blood in Kai’s fingers to clot and heal. Mist poured out of my palms and surrounded his hands. I could feel my energy draining. I needed to heal myself soon. The silver was seriously annoying me. The stumps on Kai’s fingers slowly stop bleeding and crusted over with dark scabs. I wrapped them in a gauze strip and met my mate’s eyes. They were yellow and full of pain and anger. His energy was dark. He didn’t look like the man I knew and loved. He looked wild.

‘I’m so sorry, about Devon, about this. It’s all my fault. They want me, not you,’ I told him.

Slowly, the old Kai returned and I saw his eyes soften to their hazelnut brown. His scowl faded and the mate bond burst open. I realized that he had closed it off partially so I wouldn’t feel all of his pain.

‘Of all the people. You brought my ex-girlfriend to help rescue me?’ He pondered.

I laughed and gave him a quick kiss.

“Will they grow back?” I began to throw clothes on him and help him up. I wrapped him into a lab coat and grabbed one for myself.

“I’m not sure. I think that’s the experiment, to find out.” He cradled his hand.

There were ten wolves standing around Sadie. Most of them were dominant, one of them was more dominant; he began to shift.

When he was human, he looked at me. “Thank you for rescuing us. We are from Seaside beach pack. We came to investigate when we smelled a foreign wolf on our land.”

“You’re welcome. We have two others saving the wolves from the incinerator,” I told him. An alarm sounded and we heard a door slam down the hall.

“Showtime!” Sadie shouted and drew her gun. She tossed me her spare. I stepped in front of Kai.

I looked at the Seaside wolves. “They are just humans with silver! We’re stronger than them, faster than them, and smarter than them. Go for the throats.” They all looked injured and tired, but they also looked pissed off.

The wolves growled. The Seaside dominant wolf grabbed a metal saw from the operating table. It would be dark soon. We needed to get back to Mount Hood to protect the pack before the vampires woke up.

I turned to Kai. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind for a honeymoon.”

He managed a chuckle and I burst out of the room screaming. Sadie and the Seaside pack were at my back. Everyone who was involved in Devon’s death and torturing my mate was about to die. I collided with a security guard and gave him quick hard elbow to the temple, he was out. A bullet hit my thigh and I cried out but stayed standing. I shot blindly down the hallway as the wolves came out behind me. Time for some magic.

I opened the palms of my hands and did a simple illusion charm Sylvia had taught me. White clouds poured out of my palms and approached the oncoming guards.

“Holy shit,” Sadie commented. The Seaside wolves looked at me, confused.

“She’s half witch. Don’t ask,” Sadie told them.

But the clouds obscured us from them and gave the Seaside pack the cover they needed to attack. As wolves, our senses of smell and sight were much better than the humans. The small pack went into the thick clouds at the end of the hall and I heard growling and screaming. Shots rang out.

Kai stumbled out of the door and came up behind me. My leg was killing me and I could feel it bleeding, but I kept my hands out before me to control the cloud cover. Kai was breathing shallow. I turned back for a second to look at him. He looked pale and weak. I was beginning to feel tired myself. I strongly suspected the bullet in my leg was silver. Suddenly, the alarm stopped going off and all of the lights went out. Alexa.

“I need to eat,” Kai told me. “Healing these fingers is taking a lot out of me.”

I nodded slowly to Kai, my hearing was going in and out. I was vaguely aware of Nahuel walking down the hallway in human form and catching me just as I passed out.

Home

When I came to, I was inside the car, lying in the back seat draped across Kai’s lap. I felt better, much better. The mate bond was fully open and my leg was healed. Kai must have given me back my silver immunity. I looked up at him. His color was good, but his eye lids were drooping. He looked exhausted. Brett was driving and Sadie sat shotgun. A Burger King bag sat on Kai’s lap. Ten crumbled burger wrappers littered the back seat of the car.

“Where’s Nahuel? Alexa?” I bolted upright, panicked. My stomach grumbled. I was starving.

Kai eased me back down. “Shhh, they’re fine. They stole a van and are right behind us.”

I let out a breath. I sifted through the pack bonds checking on all the wolves. The sun was setting and the vampires would be awake soon. Emma was completely numb; I could feel her shock of Devon’s passing. Everyone else seemed to be alive and okay. Kai handed me three burgers from the bag.

“Did you know Burger King makes veggie burgers?” He quizzed.

I smiled, taking the food. “Yep.”

“How’s the pack?” Kai asked as I tore into the food.

“Emma’s completely depressed which is to be expected, but everyone else is okay,” I said through mouthfuls.

He nodded.

It was killing Kai not to be Alpha, I felt it. I held out my arm. “Take the pack back.”

I could sense Sadie and Brett in the front seat leaning back to listen. Kai’s eyes bore into mine, going yellow. Something passed between our mate bond. He wanted to make sure I really wanted to give the Alpha power back. He longed to be in charge again, but wanted to meet my needs first. He had always sensed an Alpha lurking inside of me and wanted to make sure we sorted it out. Once he felt my true feelings, that it was way too overwhelming having to be in charge of all of these people and their feelings, he smiled.

“Tough job, eh?” he asked.

I nodded. “I’m not a fan. I don’t like being told what to do, but I don’t want to feel everyone’s pain and issues and feel responsible for their every move either. I’m not ready.”

He nodded. “Alpha bonds can pass between dominant mates, but you must willingly give it back.”

I transformed my hand into claws. “Kai, I name you pack Alpha. Blood of my blood. Take it.” I swiped his good arm. Pressing mine to his.

Suddenly my chest felt empty. My head was free of the chatter. I sighed. It was lonely and relaxing at the same time. Kai’s face relaxed, he looked at peace. Being an Alpha was his place, not mine. Then, he winced.

“I will have to check on Emma as soon as we get back.” He declared.

I nodded and brought him up to speed on the militia and all that had gone on in the media since he was captured.

“So what’s the plan?” I queried.

“Kill Layla and anyone else who threatens our way of life,” he said.

Sounds like a bloodbath.

Getting back to the mountain was more challenging than we thought. There were police checkpoints, riots, and then militia and werewolf checkpoints. We had to hide Kai in the trunk because he would be recognized as the werewolf on TV. Once we reached the base of the mountain we saw Max and Earl standing behind a barricade blocking the road. We stopped the car and popped the trunk. Kai jumped out. His hand was wound up in a bandage and he was disguising a limp. I could feel he was completely drained of energy and in pain, but he didn’t let it show. He embraced Max.

“Good to see you home, brother,” Max told him.

“Good to be home, brother.” Kai grabbed his shoulder.

“Howdy.” Earl tipped his hat.

Kai extended his good hand. “Nice to meet you, sir. My mate tells me you have been a big help. I’m honored to host you on our mountain.”

Earl smiled. “The honor is ours. We just want to do what’s right for our people when the time comes.”

The last bit of sunlight hid behind a large grey cloud. Kai looked up.

“That time is now. Assemble your people. Pack meeting,” Kai told him.

The barn where we had our wedding reception could hold 300 comfortably. There were about 800 of us packed into and spilling out of that barn.

Kai stood on the stage and addressed the crowd.

“Welcome to our home! The knowledge of our race was supposed to remain a secret. But after seeing the vampires drug and bleed humans to death for pleasure, I couldn’t keep quiet any longer!” Kai roared and the faces of the people in the crowd took on menacing looks. I spotted Sylvia and the rest of the coven. They hadn’t yet wanted to come out to the human race and asked Kai not to mention them. They would help, but wanted to go undercover as humans.

“Our kind have long been the protectors of humanity. We have always gone against the vampires. Unfortunately we have been dying out, unable to repopulate our numbers to keep up with the fast growing numbers of the vampires.” The humans were whispering, some looked fearful.

“But there is one race that has bigger numbers than all of the supernatural races combined! The humans!” Kai bellowed.

A roar cut into his speech as the militia began chanting and screaming battle cries. I could see a bunch of people with smart phones were recording Kai.

“That’s right! The vampires think that you are weak, and working alone you might be. But if we work together, we can wipe out this threat forever!” He roared the last words in his deep Alpha voice and the crowd went wild. Silver stakes and guns were being tossed around and people were suiting up.

“My mate is special.” Kai pointed to me. “She has the power to bring together mated werewolf couples. The vampires don’t want our numbers to grow, so they would seek to kill her. She must be protected at all costs.”

He wasn’t telling them about my blood being able to give the vampires fertility? Of course not. The humans would probably kill me right where I stood.

I stepped forward to address the crowd.

“But not all vampires are bad. It’s important that you know that. When all of this is over, there will be some left that wish to live in peace with all of us. They feed off of blood bank donations and do not wish to be lumped with the rest.”  I felt it needed to be said, for Alek’s sake.

Earl nodded to me and stepped on the stage. “There are two ways to kill these blood suckers, a stake through the chest or take off their heads! Happy hunting!” He took off his hat and raised it up. His people screamed and chanted ‘happy hunting.’ I glanced at Kai who smirked. Well, it was show time. If balance was what the earth needed then the cleansing was about to begin.

Kai quieted everyone. “Fight in teams, with a werewolf leading a pack of humans. We can smell out the vampire dens.” And with that final command the entire mob disbanded running off into clusters.

Kai turned to me and cupped my face. “We’re mated now, your blood is fertile, the vampires have everything to gain from capturing you. Stay with Emma and Diya and be safe, while we go out and fight.” It was an order and request all at the same time. Normally, I would refuse but he was right. One more person out there fighting wasn’t going to matter and if I was captured it would be just what the vampires wanted. I kissed his soft lips.

‘Okay.’

He sighed in relief. “Okay.”

Protect

After walking me to Emma’s house to remain inside under guard with Diya, Kai left.

Emma was napping in the guest room. Diya said Emma couldn’t sleep in the bed she shared with Devon. My heart ached for her. I hated just sitting around doing nothing. I was being lumped with the two useless pregnant women. I pulled out my laptop and went on the computer. Kai’s speech at the barn had ten million views on YouTube already! Wow. That was bigger than anything we expected. I wondered how the rest of the werewolves were fairing in their states, other countries even. A loud crash from the room Emma was sleeping in made me jump up. I leapt across the hall with Diya at my back. Throwing the door open, my stomach sank when I saw her.

Layla had Emma pinned down in the bed and was caressing her baby bump. Prudence, the black witch that had trapped me in my dream, was standing outside the open window. Her hands were up and black mist was floating out of them. She was creating some type of spell to keep the wolves from being alerted. I inhaled. I couldn’t smell Layla. They were blocking her vampire scent somehow.

Layla looked up when I entered, her long silky strawberry blonde hair fell to her waist. Her translucent pale skin was revolting. She peered at me with black eyes. “Congratulations on the wedding, dear.”

I wasted no time in getting to the point. “Get the hell off of my best friend before I tear your head off.”

Layla kept caressing Emma’s belly as Emma stared at her, terrified.

“Isn’t the miracle of life an amazing thing?” She crooned.

I launched myself at her, the fastest I had ever been. I ripped her off of Emma and slammed her against the wall, cracking the plaster.

“Diya, get Emma out!” I screamed behind me. Layla looked at me seductively. I heard commotion outside the window. My hands were on Layla’s shoulders pinning her against the wall. I heard the door slam and was grateful Diya had done as I asked.

“You’re making this too easy, dear.” She purred and sunk her teeth into my neck with lightning speed. No! Pleasure exploded inside me. No! She was strong, really strong, stronger than me. But I was fast. A small part of me didn’t want to turn away. A small part liked the feeling of being bitten. Repulsion broke that trance and I shifted into my wolf form blindly fast. Since I was on all fours, I was level with her stomach. I tore into her abdomen with my strong teeth.

‘Layla’s at Emma’s. She bit me,’ I sent to Kai. If she had my blood coursing through her veins, then she would be able to get pregnant. I couldn’t let that happen. I ripped into her belly like a bear gutting a fish. She shrieked. Suddenly, the room went black with smoke. I felt my lungs burning for air and the smoke somehow forced me to turn back into my human form. Magic. Layla kicked me hard and I flew across the room slamming into the wall.

I shifted to my human form and felt the Devi’s presence stir inside of me. It was scary and foreign.

“Layla!” I screamed. “You’re a dark spirit that’s been alive way too long. It’s time I send you home!” I shouted, the Devi within me had risen up to the surface. Those words only felt half like they were mine. I was ready for her. She would not leave this room unless she was a pile of ash in my trash can.

I concentrated on dispelling the black mist with my own white magic. Mist poured from my palms. Layla was holding her abdomen, injured and losing blood. She looked at me with curiosity. I took one step toward her to finish her off, when I heard Emma’s bloodcurdling scream coming from the front of the house. For a second, I couldn’t move. I instinctively wanted to run to help Emma, but something was keeping me here. The Devi? No! I controlled my life. Emma came first. I forced my body to move and ran down the hall leaving Layla to bleed out. The front door was open. I rushed outside and saw Max and Kai running toward me in wolf form.

“Emma!” I screamed.

‘She’s safe with Diya, on her way to your mom’s,’ Kai told me.

“What?” That witch! She tricked me. No.

I ran around the side of the house to where Emma’s bedroom window was. A trail of blood led away from the window and into the forest. I shifted quickly and took off running, letting the blood trail lead me. I felt Kai at my back. No one else could outrun a vampire. Kai and I were the only ones fast enough.

‘She drank my blood,’ I told him.

‘We’ll find her,’ He pushed ahead of me.

The bushes were left shaking in our wake. This speed was dangerous; I barely had time to see a rock or fallen tree before maneuvering around it. There! I saw Layla and Prudence. There were a few militia members fighting off to the right. Kai jumped high and landed on Layla’s back, taking her head in his jaws. Prudence stopped and turned, throwing her hands out and slamming Kai with a spell that caused him to let go of Layla and howl in pain. I shifted to human form and grabbed a sharpened stick that was on the ground and threw it with all my force. Layla moved to the side quickly but not quick enough. It embedded into her shoulder and she hissed. I smiled in triumph. Distracted, I forgot about Prudence, a black wall of smoke crashed into me, sucking my white magic out. I remembered about the power stone and Prudence having this affinity. She was stealing my power! I fell back as waves of white magic poured from me and into Prudence.

“No!” I shouted and threw my hands out, stopping it and knocking Prudence over.

Prudence’s eyes glowed red like a demon. Layla was panting on the ground, losing blood. Prudence threw black magic at Kai and me. “Sleep!” and a wall of darkness took me.

I awoke to someone shaking me. It was a militia member. I was still in the woods. I turned next to me, Kai was rubbing his head.

“You okay?” He asked.

But I wasn’t hearing him. My shaky hand went to my neck. “Kai, she bit me. She …”

Kai winced, not sure what to say. “It’ll be okay.” I heard gun shots and growls all around me. We were at war, the world I knew was gone and I had just given fertility to a heroin junkie vampire queen.

Shit.

Pest

Sylvia had assembled the coven. We were all in a circle in the living room and Kai leaned up against a wall in the background. After Layla left, the vampires all around the country retreated into hiding. No use fighting and dying when you had what you wanted. I looked at Sylvia. “Layla bit me.”

She nodded and shared a look with Gretchen. Gretchen looked at me sadly and nodded to Sylvia.

“What? I hate when you do this. Just tell me.” They were always conversing with their looks.

Gretchen apologized, and rested a hand on my shoulder. “Healing can work two ways. You can give life or take it. I know of a way to make it so that your blood will no longer be fertile to the vampires.”

I grinned. “That’s great! Do it!” If my blood wasn’t fertile to the vampires anymore than I wouldn’t have to worry about them and RAIDOS wouldn’t be after me anymore either. Kai and I could live in peace.

Gretchen looked sadly at Kai and then back to me. “It would make you infertile. Forever. You wouldn’t ever be able to have children with Kai.”

I heard the breath go out of Kai from across the room. My stomach sank.

“No!” he roared.

“Kai, maybe this is the sacrifice we have to make. To stop all of this killing. To end the war. We can still take care of Layla, but then we can rest assured no one else will be coming for me.”

Kai’s eyes were yellow. He stalked toward me like I was prey. Patches of fur were dancing on his arms. “If you don’t want children with me, that’s one thing. But if you do, than no one will take that joy from me. No one!” Dominance came off of him in waves. I could see it like magical mist. For the first time ever, I lowered my head in submission. The witches nervously began gathering their things.

‘Do you want to have a child with me? I know you were hesitant when you first found out about all of this, but do you now?’ Kai asked. He had closed the bond. I couldn’t feel his thoughts. When I had first met Kai and he had told me that werewolves were all about reproducing, it scared me off. I wasn’t sure I wanted a kid that would be the next Matefinder and be hunted down. But when I had found out that I was infertile unless we mated, it awoke something in me. I did want a baby with him, I wanted to be called mommy. I wanted it all.

I nodded. ‘Yes.’

The mate bond burst open and I felt his feelings. He wanted children so badly, but he didn’t want his desires to cloud my judgment. He wanted me to make my own choices.

‘One kid, in a few years and then we do the infertility spell,’ I told him.

‘Three kids,’ he countered and I smiled.

“Two,” I said out loud and the witches looked at me.

Kai grinned. “Deal.”

Alexa burst into the room. She was panting and barely clothed. Kai stepped forward.

“What’s wrong,” he asked her.

“The vampires have completely retreated, but RAIDOS is coming full throttle. They have a dozen helicopters, weaponized drones, the works. They’re going to wipe out the mountain.”

Kai nodded and looked at Alexa. “Do you think you can handle this?”

Alexa’s black cropped bob was slicked back into a small pony tail, her mouth was set into a stubborn line. She nodded.

“Am I missing something?” Sylvia asked.

Alexa put her hands six inches from each other and took a deep breath. A blue crackle fire ball arose in her palm.

The witches stared at her hands in shock.

She smirked. “Time to make it rain helicopters and drones.”

I could hear helicopter blades in the distance.

Kai grabbed my hand and drug me outside. The witches filed out onto the lawn behind us.

Kai’s cellphone rang. He glanced at it and was about to put it back in his pocket when a small vision of the White House flickered in my head. What the?

“Answer it,” I told him.

“Now?” He gestured to the helicopters in the distance. The militia and our wolves were all retreating from the edges of the mountain and coming home.

I urged him with my hands. He picked it up.

“Hello, this is Kai.” I leaned close so I could pick up the call with my werewolf hearing.

“You’ve made quite the civil unrest with your announcement, son.”

That voice was familiar. Kai’s eyebrows pinched together. He recognized it too.

“Who is this?”

“This is the president of the United States of America.”

Kai’s mouth dropped open. I swallowed hard.

“I would like you to know that I have pulled the funding on RAIDOS. Any future actions on their part are not backed from the US government. In other words, they have gone rogue. There is no going back from what you did so we can only move forward into this future together.”

A chill ran up my spine. If they were no longer linked to the government than this would be a blood bath; they were here to kill. No one to keep them accountable.

“Well, your news is timely, sir. They are currently descending on my mountain in full force.”

“Well, then I guess I need to know where you stand. Are you an enemy of the humans of the United States of America?”

Kai stood stiffly. “No, sir. I am an enemy of the vampires and any human that tries to come after my pack.”

There was a pause. “Good enough. I will be contacting you again in the near future.” The president hung up.

Just then, we heard the roaring of jets. I looked to the sky and grabbed my ears. A group of fighter jets raced over our heads and approached the oncoming RAIDOS helicopters, attempting to push them back. There was a tense moment where RAIDOS didn’t move.

Alexa had her blue fire hands raised and ready, but the helicopters began their retreat. Kai leaned over to me. “Those are F twenty-two fighter jets. They would be stupid to engage them.” They were being escorted away. The militia cheered and we all joined in.

I looked at Kai, smiling, but my smile dropped when I saw his sullen face.

“What?” I asked him.

“The immediate threat is over. Now we bury our dead.”

Then it hit me. Devon, India pack, and some of the human militia had died.  This was not a time for celebration. Layla was out there with my blood running through her veins and she was hell bent on getting pregnant. A small victory didn’t mean the war was over. My pregnant best friend had to put her mate in the ground because of me.

‘No,’ Kai said. ‘This is no one’s fault. Devon died with honor. Don’t take that from him.’

I held back tears and nodded.

Goodbye

It was an unusually sunny day on the mountain. We were all assembled in Emma’s backyard. Raj had arranged for the bodies of the Indian pack to be sent back home. The militia’s dead had been buried at the cemetery where Max’s wife was, but Emma insisted she wanted Devon closer.

Kai addressed the hundreds of people gathered. “No one takes the loss of a wolf harder than an Alpha. It’s my duty to protect all of my wolves and I couldn’t protect Devon. In the end, he died protecting my mate, an honor for which I will be eternally grateful. To honor Devon, I will make sure his mate and child are well taken care of for the rest of their long, long lives.”

I stared at the white painted casket that held Devon’s body. I glanced at Emma’s delicate hand which clutched mine and then to her large belly. Her eyes were swollen, but she held her head up high. I squeezed her hand and she returned the gesture.

“After Devon heard about my visit to the vampire nightclub and learned what was going on, he made me make him a promise!” Kai roared. “He said to me, ‘Don’t let my daughter or son grow up in this world the way it is.’ We need change. There must be justice!” Kai roared.

“Justice for Devon!” the pack echoed. “Justice for the humans!”

Max and Kai lowered Devon into the ground and placed the dirt over his body. Emma sobbed and turned to me. My heart ached. How was this happening? Death was such bullshit. Why did people have to die? This was not the world I envisioned when I found out I was a werewolf. I had bonded with my new family and I didn’t want to bury any of them.

‘No more,’ I told Kai. ‘No one else dies.’

Kai met my eyes. I saw so much pain there. Being an Alpha was a huge responsibility for anyone, but Kai took it all to heart. Every person in the pack was like an adopted child or sibling. He would carry this weight forever and I would carry it with him.

“Take me home. He’s not in that body anymore,” Emma told me as she pulled her hand out of mine and walked back into the house.

I watched my pregnant best friend waddle back into her home and I made myself a promise. The world would be a better place for Emma and her baby, free of heroin dealing vampires. It would definitely be free of little vampire spawn, even if I had to die trying. I owed her that much.

Emma’s parents, who were both wolves in a Utah pack were on a flight to be with her. I hadn’t met them, but I knew they must be worried sick. I waited with Emma until she fell asleep and then I went to find Kai.

He was in our backyard, topless and wearing sweat pants. He must have just got in from a run.  My eyes rested on his damaged hand. The fingers were healing and growing back, much to our amazement. There was a thick scar at the base of each finger where it was severed but the new bone and skin was coming in. He sensed me but didn’t turn. I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around his large chest.

“What now, Kai?” I whispered.

He turned to me with yellow, haunted eyes. Devon’s death haunted us all. Kai always had a plan for everything; I was hoping he had a plan to find and kill Layla. To stop the thing from growing inside of her.

“Alek contacted me. He told me where Layla lives and so I sent Max and a few others over there to scout it out.”

Hope bloomed inside my chest. We could go there tonight and take her out, but Kai’s face didn’t look happy.

“It was burned to the ground recently and because we can no longer smell them. Her trail runs cold.”

Genuine fear gripped me. Images flashed through my mind of what would happen now. Layla would get pregnant and …

Kai grabbed the side of my face.

“Stop worrying so much. We will figure this out. We need to regroup and deal with the humans finding out about us. The President wants me to join him in a press conference. To settle the humans’ fears about our kind. Besides, Sylvia can’t find Layla either, that dark witch is hiding her. It takes nine months to have a baby, right? We have time to make a plan to find her and kill her once and for all.”

If Kai thought I was waiting nine months while that thing grew inside of Layla because of me, he was crazy. But he was right. We had shaken up the human world when he revealed our race, we needed to contend with that first. I nodded reluctantly.

“We will lay low for a short time, help smooth over things with the humans. Stop the riots. Then we find Layla. We end this,” I told him firmly.

He swiped the hair across my forehead and tucked it behind my ear. “We end this,” he echoed, “together.”

But I felt the Devi stirring restlessly inside of me. We may end it together, but I may not live to see beyond it. I tried to hide that feeling from Kai, but the desperate look on his face told me I hadn’t.

“Together,” he said again, barely holding onto his humanity.

Acknowledgments

As always, I have many people to thank. To Patti Geesy, my editor, who keeps my writing polished and shiny. To my wonderful, supportive husband. Thank you for doing dishes and changing diapers while I write. You’re my hero. To my mother and my in-laws who tirelessly help with my 2 year old twins so I can have, “Office Hours”. To Dan and Ellen Nakano for beta reading and being awesome humans. To Ben Boomer for your Shaman consultations. To the creative force in the Universe that flows through me without effort. Continue to inspire me and I will continue to write. To every single reader, thank you for the support!

Table of Contents

- Affinity
- Attack
- Rogue
- Chase
- Alexa
- Luna
- Clubbin
- Shaman
- Tara
- Canada
- Vision Quest
- Ready
- Hot Springs
- Mexico
- Wedding Bells
- Mother
- Max
- Begin
- Big Day
- I Do
- News
- Death
- Kai
- Rescue
- Home
- Protect
- Pest
- Goodbye