Balance (10 page)

                My
jealousy flared at his term ‘gorgeous woman.’

                Murphy
cleared his throat. “I’m ready to leave.”

                Kai
looked at the second. “Let them both go.” Alpha power oozed from his voice. The
second was technically Alpha now even though I’m pretty sure Murphy was
stronger.

                He
looked reluctantly at Kai. “Now it seems like you are collecting all of the
gifted wolves,” He shot back.

                That
was a threat.

                 Kai
grabbed his throat. “Murphy’s mate is an Alpha and will not be joining my pack.
I am taking Jameson because I would never trust one of my females to your
supposed pack. Pack means family. Don’t ever forget that.”

                The
second’s face was purple. Could a werewolf die of oxygen deprivation? The
curiousness in me was tempted to hold my breath and find out.

                Kai
dropped him on the ground as the second gasped for air and held his throat. Then
he slowly stood, transforming his hand into a claw and quickly swiped Murphy’s
arm. “I cast you out,” he said with a raspy voice. He walked over to Jameson
who lowered his head. Alexa growled and gave him a death glare.

                “I
cast you out,” he finished.

                I
found myself wondering what Murphy’s power was. This guy really didn’t want to
let him go.

                Kai
addressed the pack. “I will send a council enforcer in the morning to interview
you all. Anyone who wants to leave the pack is welcome to. This new Alpha will
be under probation until a trial and sentencing.” Kai glared at him.

                Murphy
stepped forward. “Where’s my mate?” His eyes glowed yellow. It wasn’t a
command, there was a deep desire in his voice.

                Kai
looked at him. “Tucson, Arizona. Her name is Kat. I will arrange a flight for
you.”

                He
grinned. “No need for that.”

                Murphy
then turned to Jameson. “Keep in touch, brother. It looks like you will be
taken care of in this new pack.”

                Jameson,
still in wolf form, nodded.

                Murphy
then looked at me. “Thank you.”

                Then
he turned around, undressed and within seconds, transformed into a giant eagle
and flew off.

                What
the eff? My mouth was frozen open, my eyes wide.

                “Holy
shit! Is that possible?” Max blurted out, saying what we all were thinking.

                I
looked at Kai. His eyes were bugging out of his head as well. “He must have
shaman blood in his line. That’s the only explanation I can think of, but it
shouldn’t be possible.” Kai shook his head, seemingly to clear his thoughts.
Holy crap, what did this mean? Could shamans and werewolves mate? I needed to
ask Nahuel next time I saw him.

                Kai
then looked at all of us. “Let’s go home.” He walked over to Jameson and
brought him into the pack. I felt his energy merge with all of ours. Then I
felt Alexa’s excitement, pure bliss. A mated pair.

                Alexa
and Jameson nuzzled each other and we walked back to our cars.

                Two
mated couples. I sighed. It was starting to feel like I was being pulled into
two different directions. I wanted to find these mated couples and be with Kai,
but the Devi was restless to find Layla and end her. We both were to be honest.
Kai’s eyes met mine and I forced a smile.

                After
we got in late last night, I had to set Kai’s jaw so it would heal properly. Now,
I awoke to find him gone with no note.

                ‘Where
are you?’

                His
energy seemed nervous.
‘Just hanging with Max in the barn, be home in a bit.’

                It
felt like a lie. Weird. Kai didn’t lie to me. Ever. I chugged a huge cup of
coffee, showered quickly and went to find him. As I neared the barn doors I
picked up on a bunch of smells. My father in law was here? Opening the barn
doors, my eyes fell on Alek, Max, Earl, Kai’s father, Sylvia, and Shamus. Whoa.
Big-wig meeting without me? What the hell was going on?

                As
I approached, Kai shushed everyone and I gave him a glare that could cut ice.

                “What
are you secretly talking about?” I crossed my arms and oozed as much dominance
as I could muster. How dare he lie to me! Raj smirked at my defiance, but Kai
glared back at me and no one said a word. Oh my God. They were having a secret
meeting about me!

                “I
thought you were supposed to be helping Emma today?” Kai asked.

                “Aurora,
we–” it was Shamus but Kai cut him off.

                “No!
If you tell her, she will do it and she may be captured or hurt and then I will
kill you all!” Kai roared and the hair on my arms stood.

                Shamus
looked at his friend with compassion. “What other choice do we have? Sometimes
we all have to make sacrifices for the greater good. Think of Sadie and Tara!”

                Kai
scowled at Shamus but then dropped his gaze. I think throwing Sadie and Tara in
there finally got to him. My mate looked defeated.

                “Listen
up,” I told them all. “Kai is my mate, yes, but he isn’t my keeper. From now
on, you don’t talk about me behind my back. You don’t hide shit from me or make
plans about me. I make my own choices, and it’s really starting to piss me off
when I find out you’re all making choices for me. Either tell me your ideas, or
leave!” My eyes were yellow. My wolf didn’t like this situation. All of the
dominants here, talking about me, making plans without me knowing. It was my
idea to have a meeting in the first place!

                Kai
threw his hands up and started talking rapidly in Hindi as his dad chuckled.

                “Come
here, dear.” Sylvia motioned me over.

                Sylvia’s
long hair was braided like a thick rope. She wore an ankle-length dress and
leather cuffs and she looked fit for battle.

                As
I approached her, she reached out and held my hand. “As you know, Layla drank
your blood, so she could now be pregnant with a child. But now two females have
been taken. We are all just talking about different ways to find her and eliminate
her in order to get the girls back. The coven and I cannot search her out by
magical means. She has the help of very dark magic. So, the idea was brought up–”

                From
across the room, Kai growled.

                I
looked at him.
‘Babe, please. Stop protecting me.’

                ‘Never,’
he replied.

                I
sighed.

                Sylvia
cleared her throat. “… to take you away from the safety of the mountain and use
you as bait to draw her or some of her people out. She’s greedy, she will want
more of your special blood for her people. It’s the only way to find the girls.”

                Now
I knew why Kai was so upset. He knew the second I heard this I would do it.
Because it was a good idea, the only idea.

                “I’ll
do it.” I looked at Kai, pleading forgiveness. His eyes were yellow and nearly
caught fire at my acceptance.

                “Over
my dead body.” He growled and began stalking towards me. For a second, I felt
genuine fear. My husband was menacing when he wanted to be. The second he felt
my fear through the mate bond he slowed his pace and his eyes turned brown. He
grabbed the sides of my face. “Meri Pyari, I forbid it. Please, for once in
your life, listen to me. For your own good.”

                I
gazed at his gorgeous face, so filled with concern for my wellbeing. “I know
it’s for my own good, but I need to do what’s good for humanity and for the
girls who were taken, not just myself. It’s my life purpose. You need to
support that.”

                He
could feel the finality through the mate bond, like a steel door shutting. I
wasn’t going to budge and he knew it. Letting go of my face, he turned to
everyone.

                “Give
me a few days to design the mission. I call the shots. If she’s injured or
taken, I will never forgive any of you.”

                I
placed a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. “I’m going for a run.
Alone.” He crossed the barn in seconds and slammed the door behind him.

                I
tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. We never fought. He
never walked away like that.

                Shamus
approached and put an arm around me. “He’s a big Alpha teddy bear who got his
pride hurt and his orders shot down. He’ll be okay.”

                I
nodded.

                “We
need to get Sadie and Tara back. This is the only way to draw Layla out.”
Shamus said. He looked like he hadn’t slept. He was right. Two females were
taken. I needed to help in any way that I could.

                Raj
motioned me over with a flick of his head. Then, Sylvia and the others left and
it was just Raj and me.

                “I
can’t believe you’re back here. Is your pack okay without you there?” I asked
him. He was the Alpha of a huge pack in Delhi and they were the big, bad
fighting kind of werewolves. The flight from India was a good twenty hours.

                Raj
chuckled. “There have been a few issues in my absence. Nothing my dominant
second can’t handle. Nikhil will be a good replacement for me one day. Much
less power hungry and more even tempered than I.” He smiled and I returned the
gesture.

                Raj
and I had a comfortable relationship. He seemed rough on the outside but he was
really just a loyal family guy. Kai and Raj had their issues, but I could see
that all he did for his son was out of love, and I trusted his opinion.

                “So,
this plan—”

                He
nodded. “Is a good one, but I want to remind you of the intel I received from
the captured vampire in my possession.”

                I
shivered. The vision of that creature being starved for information had been a
sore spot with me. But I did remember the intel. The vampires had created some
sort of bloodletting device. They would drain and bottle my blood to sell to
the highest bidding vampire. Drain enough to keep me alive but also enough to
impregnate thousands of vampires.

                I
blurted out something that I wasn’t sure if I should share with him but I was
dying for a second opinion on it. “The witches have found a way to make my
blood infertile to the vampires.”

                Raj
raised his eyebrows. Rarely did you catch this man off-guard. He opened his
hands as if to say, ‘why not do it?’

                “It
would mean that Kai and I couldn’t have kids. Ever,” I told him.

                His
face fell. “Ahh. I see.”

                “But
the whole greater good thing, right? Should I be reconsidering that?” I chewed
a fingernail. I had talked with Kai about this. We had already decided two kids
and then I would do the spell. Why was I reconsidering it? I guess I wanted
someone else to agree with me. I didn’t want to be making a selfish decision.

                Raj
placed his hands on my shoulders and stared me right in the eyes, a big
dominant Alpha stare. “Listen to me, daughter. There is no greater moment in
all my life than when Kai was pulled from Maya’s belly. The second I saw him,
my first born, I realized how incredible life was. The fact that two people can
create a life, it’s astonishing. Would my son become a doctor? Cure cancer?
Would he discover a new planet? Would he fall in love and have children of his
own? There is no greater gift to the world than having a child with the
potential to do anything. Now, not all people want children and that’s fine.
Good for them for having the insight to know themselves and make that decision.
But for me, being a father is the greatest life achievement I have ever known.
Don’t deny yourself of that, if it’s something you desire.”

                My
eyes were swimming with tears. He was right. I shouldn’t let anyone dictate my
life. I deserved to be happy and have everything I wanted. I did want to have
children and I would. After seeing Avery, something in me had changed and now
after getting the last of the doubts out of my system, I was ready.

                I
gave him a hug. “I’m going to go find Kai.”

                Leaving
the barn, I stripped down to nothing. After shifting, I took off running and followed
Kai’s scent as I ran through the thick trees, relishing in the cool breeze
against my white fur. A good hard run was just what I needed. Kai’s scent led
me to Bagby Hot Springs. The natural spring he had taken me to right before our
wedding. He was naked and submerged in the water looking out into the sky. He
sensed me approaching and looked in my direction.

                I
shifted instantly. “What are you thinking about?” I asked him, trying to gauge
whether or not he was supremely pissed at me.

                He
turned to look at me with a serious expression. His wet hair was tousled and he
looked all kinds of sexy. A deep sigh escaped his lips. “I feel like I’m
constantly pulling you in my direction. I had to fight to get you to set a
wedding date, I had to fight for you to want to have children with me, and now
I’m having to fight to keep you from getting killed by vampires. I’m just
wondering what it is you want in life. I’m done fighting. I just want you to
have what you want in life. So, what do you want, Aurora?”

                My
heart dropped, a numb feeling spread throughout my body. He was right. “Kai.” I
climbed over the side of the soaking tub and slipped in beside him.

                “I
want you! I want a baby with you. I want a happy ending,” I told him as I slid
on top of him and straddled his waist.

                His
eyes went yellow.

                “But?”
he asked.

                “But
I have a conscience and I can’t let the vampires take over the world knowing I
am meant to stop it. I have this Devi here inside of me.” I pounded my chest. “She’s
full of power and waiting to lash out when the chance strikes. I’m not myself; I’m
part her. I can’t get rid of her until I fulfill my purpose. Only then will I
be one hundred percent Aurora. I’m doing the best I can to live both lives. You
don’t understand what it’s like. The duality is maddening sometimes. Human,
werewolf, witch, Devi. I’m on the edge of losing it.” My eyes were wild. I
needed him to understand. I was barely holding my shit together lately. He was
my rock and I needed him to be solid right now.

                Kai
gave me an expression of pity. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was that hard. I
can’t imagine what it must feel like to share your body, to feel like your
actions are not your own.” He tenderly tucked a strand of hair behind my ear
and eyed my lips.

                I
shivered thinking about it. “I just want this over, Kai. I want to use me as
bait. I want Layla to show up and I want to rip her head off and burn the
body.”

                His
deep rumble of laughter made me grin. He kissed my chin. “Then that’s what you
shall have, my love.”

                I
was still straddling him … naked. I gave him my best seducing look. “Wouldn’t
it be a cool story to tell our child that they were conceived at the hot
springs,” I kissed him, “one warm summer night after we had a big fight?”

                He
licked his lips in anticipation and kissed me again, his greedy lips parting
with hunger. Standing up, he hoisted me out of the hot tub as I continued to
straddle his waist and kiss him. Walking us over to a soft bed of grass, he lay
me down, kissing my neck, then my chest, my belly button. I moaned. I could do
this. I could have everything I wanted in life. I could have it all. I would.

*

                I
awoke the next morning with a grin. The night before was amazing. Mist crept
down from the trees, rolled across the grass and saturated our lovemaking.

                After
dressing, I went out into the kitchen. Kai was standing over the stove. On the
counter was orange juice, a veggie omelet, toast, fresh fruit, and two bottles
of vitamins.

                I
laughed. “What is all this?” I asked.

                Kai
turned around holding a skillet with veggie patties. “Take one of the prenatal
vitamins and then another of the DHA. Then enjoy your breakfast.”