Balance (13 page)

                ‘What’s
wrong?’
Kai picked up on my feelings.

                ‘Nothing,
just doing a spell in the barn,’
I told him. I couldn’t let Nahuel leave like that.

                I
pushed past the witches and followed Nahuel outside. “Wait! What’s wrong?” I
called out.

                He
looked over his shoulder. “Nothing, little sister. The time has come for me to
fulfill my purpose just as you should fulfill yours. Our time together has come
to an end. You’re ready.”

                Panic
gripped me. “Will I be able to?”

                He
gave me a look. “I’m not worried about that. You are powerful, too powerful.”
He said it like it was negative.

                “The
Devi,” I stated.

                He
nodded. “There’s a reason everything has come so easy to you. When the Devi
gets what she wants …”

                Realization
crashed over me. He was saying goodbye because he knew I would defeat Layla and
then I would die. “So, you’re saying I’m only strong because of the Devi. That
I’m not strong enough by myself. To survive.” My hands shook.

                He
gave me a pained expression and walked back over to me. “I’m saying it has been
my pleasure to guide you. I’m here for you and I believe in you.”

                What
the hell? Why was he always so serious? Why did I feel like I wouldn’t see him
again? “I love you,” I told him. I didn’t want him leaving without knowing how
much he meant to me. Because this sure as hell felt like a goodbye.

                He
smiled. “And I love you, little sister. Remember that. Only love is real.”

                Great.
Leave me with a metaphor. Typical Nahuel.

                He
walked off into the woods, leaving me confused.  

                I
exhaled. It was true. I was super powerful, two affinities, Matefinder,
werewolf, witch. Earthshaking magic, healing abilities. I swallowed. If I took
Layla down and survived the Devi leaving me, I would be a completely different
person. Still a Matefinder, but … who knew? I shook off these thoughts and
turned around to see Sylvia was waiting in the barn doorway for me.

                I
tried to put on a smile. “I got her full name.”

                Sylvia
nodded, but her eyes gleaned with tears.

                I
walked over to her and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

                She
laughed. “I’m just proud of you.” She smoothed my hair. “I’ve watched you grow
from a scared, unsure, newly-changed werewolf, to a beautiful, strong woman.
I’m very proud. As if you were my own child.”

                “Sylvia.”
I hugged her, but I couldn’t help but feel like people were saying goodbye to
me. What the hell?

                When
she pulled back her face was serious. “Do you trust me, Aurora?”

                I
frowned. “Of course.”

                She
nodded and produced a dagger and glass jar, then asked for my finger tip. I
hesitated for a second but I did trust her. I extended my finger and she
pricked it, milking the blood from it. Then she pulled a hair from my head and
placed it in the jar.

                I
wanted to ask her what it was for, but part of me didn’t want to know.

                She
gave me a sly smile and a big hug then walked back into the barn to get her
things and left with the rest of the witches. I stayed behind for an hour or
so, lost in my thoughts. I thought back to a year ago; my biggest worry was
getting enough donations to keep Safe Haven running. Now I had two locations, I
was married, probably pregnant, and had a legion of vampires after me and
another soul sharing my body. WTF? Major life issues.

                I
put my head in my hands. There was also RAIDOS to worry about. They were so
hell-bent on taking me out, they almost killed Earl, a human. They had gotten
reckless and it scared me. The world was a scary place right now. I was so lost
in my thoughts I didn’t sense Kai approach until he was right behind me. Not
being able to smell him was so weird.

                “I
can feel your stress,” he said and began to massage my shoulders.

                I
sighed and let my head roll forward, pulling my hair out of the way so he could
rub my neck.

                “I’m
just trying to make decisions that will be the best for everyone involved,
while also having my happy ending, too. Sometimes I don’t think I can have both,”
I confessed.

                Kai
stopped massaging me and sat down beside me on the bench.

                “Don’t
say that. Where is my confident ‘I can do anything and I don’t give a shit what
you think’ Aurora?” He gazed in my eyes and I laughed.

                God
he was gorgeous. My gaze roamed over his body.

                “Maybe
I just need something to take my mind off of everything.” I raised one eyebrow.
He grinned and his white canines pressed into his bottom lip. I was told newly-mated
couples rarely left the bedroom. Kai and I didn’t have that chance with all of
the drama. He got on his knees before me and peeled my shirt up over my head
revealing my black lace bra.

                “I
am at your service,” he said and kissed me with heated passion. I smiled as he
lay back and pulled me on top of him. How would I explain this feeling to a
human? This complete wholeness that comes over you when you’re with your mate.
People go lifetimes without ever finding a love like this.  I had made a lot of
stupid choices in my life, but being with Kai wasn’t one of them. No matter how
much people wanted to bring us apart, Kai was my destiny; I knew it.

                I
had just finished another shift of watching baby Avery. Emma was doing well and
Kai was in the basement with Jeremy and Alek. Today was day five of feeding him
clean blood and they were testing whether or not he could be let free. I sat there
playing with Luna when Alexa knocked on the door.

                “Come
in!” I shouted.

                She
came in holding a tablet. “We might have some more trouble,” she said. Alexa
and Jameson were so damn cute together. I was really happy for her.

                “What’s
up?” I stood.

                The
tablet flickered in her hand. Alexa had a gift of shorting out appliances and
lights. She could make an EMP blast and take out entire buildings. She was inarguably
our most valuable wolf.

                I
took the tablet from her and saw a news clip. “We’re live and humans have
stationed themselves at the base of Mount Hood. They are requesting a meeting
with the wolves,” a newswoman said and the camera panned to a scene that showed
the humans at our farthest check point. Some militia members and Anna were
holding them back. Shit.

                Kai
burst into the room then, as I continued to watch the screen. One man wheeled a
frail woman with no hair forward. “Is it true that if you change a human into a
werewolf, they won’t have disease or get sick? Please change my wife. Save
her!” he shouted. The other humans shouted
Change me! Change me!

                “Shit,”
Kai said and started running outside.

                “Stay
here,” I ordered Alexa and ran after him.

                We
ran to the base of the mountain in human form and slowed when we saw reporters
so we wouldn’t scare them with our super speed. Seriously? Could we catch a
break? It was one drama after another, but I guess that was life. The militia
had barricaded the small two-lane road with two pick-up trucks parked sideways.
There were a dozen humans and a cameraman with the reporter. Kai leapt up into
the back of the pick-up truck making the humans go quiet.

                “I
am going to say this one time, so listen up!” Kai said with a deep, booming
Alpha voice. “We do not change humans for fun. We have rules that our society
has followed for thousands of years. If the rules are broken, wolves die. I can
speak for every wolf alive when I say that we will NOT be changing humans to
grow our numbers. Go home!” he roared.

                A
few of the younger teenagers wearing wolf t-shirts booed and walked away, but the
man who stood behind his wife in the wheelchair came forward. She was in her
early thirties, a breathing skeleton. I swallowed hard and tried to control my
emotions. She reminded me of our Anna before we saved her.

                “But
to save a life? She’s terminal. One month to live.” The husband hunched over
her wheelchair, a broken man looking for any option. He was maybe thirty-five years
old, but this disease had aged them both beyond that. My heart hurt for them. This
was the kind of shit that would keep me up at night. Anna met Kai’s eyes. Oh,
Anna. Our sweet Anna who was dying of cancer when I found out she was Trent’s
mate.

                I
could feel Kai’s pity through the mate bond. “Women rarely survive the change.
It’s a dangerous process. It’s painful. If it worked, your wife would live on
for a hundred years and you would grow old and die,” Kai said as the camera
panned back and forth between them.

                The
man shrugged. “I would rather her die trying to be saved than waste away before
my eyes. I would love nothing more than to watch her be a strong and powerful
werewolf. Even if it meant I grew old and died without her. Wouldn’t you do the
same for someone you loved?”

                I
saw a flash of weakness fall over my mate’s face, but then it was replaced with
a cold, hard Alpha glare. Kai gritted his jaw. “No, that’s not how we work. I’m
sorry.”

                Kai
jumped off of the pick-up truck and I slipped my hand into his as we began to
walk away. When we were far enough away that I knew we were alone, I turned to
face him. The thick trees surrounded us as I looked up into his eyes.

                “Not
what you had in mind when you told the humans about our kind, huh?”

                His
deep brown eyes held so much emotion.

                He
shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. I forgot how weak humans were. Cancer,
diabetes, mental illness. We don’t get any of it.”

                Standing
on my tiptoes, I kissed him lightly. “Maybe it’s something to bring up with the
council.” I raised an eyebrow.

                “What,
take in all the terminal cases and change them? Our numbers would blow up. The
human government would feel threatened. They only tolerate us now because they
need us, and they out number us. You forget that many wolves die in the process
of the
change
. You haven’t seen that. No!” Kai said and walked off.

                I
ran after him. “I’m just saying a few here and there wouldn’t hurt. It’s good
PR and the decent thing to do.”

                He
gave me a side glance and shook his head. “Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s your
greatest strength or your greatest weakness.”

                I
stopped. “What?”

                “Your
heart,” he said seriously.

                I
smiled. “Probably a weakness, but I don’t care.”

                He
smiled softly and looked off to the side. “The moment the first human died during
the
change
it would ruin all we have built with them.”

                I
sighed, because he was right. This relationship we had with the humans was
fragile.

                Kai
creased his brow. “Alexa wants us to come home. The vampire kid is up and
feeling better.”

                Duty
calls. I officially decided that I needed a damn vacation.

*

                Jeremy,
Alek, Kai, and I sat around the kitchen table. My mom was back in the guest
room with Luna and we were waiting on Earl and Todd. Kai’s dad had gone to
Seattle with Shamus to have a meeting about Sadie. Ten females had been taken
by the vampires. Ten. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we needed to act
quickly. Find Layla and snuff out this fire before it grew. She had an entire
bag of my blood now. It only took one drink to make her fertile. I had a
million questions about how vampire fertility worked. Was she fertile forever
now? I didn’t think so because of what Jeremy said about her needing more
blood. Did the men need to drink it? Did they drink off of her? I shuddered at
the thought. A knock at the door snapped me back to reality, as Kai squeezed my
hand.

                “Come
in!” Kai roared and Earl and Todd entered. They were dressed in full army
fatigues.

                Earl
nodded to all of us and then looked Alek in the eye. “I’ve spoken to the
chapter presidents across the country. Most are in agreement that it would be
wise to donate blood to the vampires willing to join our fight.”

                Alek
looked shocked. “Thank you.”

                Earl
nodded. “We can choose to stop at any time. Our goal is to keep humanity
thriving for thousands of years to come. Layla and anyone else associated with
her will be wiped out. After that time, maybe we can all coexist.”

                Kai
grabbed Earl’s shoulder. “Well said. I will get some mobile blood donor trucks
up here. Thank you.”

                Earl
nodded. Todd had been quiet the entire time, he was staring at Kai with an
expression I couldn’t read.

                “Is
there a problem?” I questioned Todd. I couldn’t have a loose cannon on our
inner circle.

                Earl
looked uncomfortable as Todd looked at me. “Is it true that werewolves don’t
get sick?”

                I
sighed. He must be referring to the commotion with the newswoman. “Yes,” I told
him truthfully.

                He
froze. “Is it true that a sick human can be changed into a werewolf and be
healthy again?”

                Shit.
That question was a bit more calculated.

                Before
I could answer, Earl put a hand on Todd’s shoulder. “Todd’s brother is in a
wheelchair. His legs were affected when he got polio as a child.”

                Todd
nodded. “We were stationed with my dad who was serving in the military in
Japan. If you could change him, he could walk again.” His face looked hopeful.

                Kai
let out a deep breath. “I’m really sorry to hear about your brother. I’m sorry
to hear about any human suffering. Werewolves have an intricate political
system. It’s what sets us apart from vampires. We don’t change humans for
sport.”

                Todd
glared at Kai. “I’m not asking you to change him for sport. I’m asking you to
change his life. Give him a chance at walking! At a long and healthy life.”

                Earl
faced Todd down. “That’s not going to happen, son. Don’t ask again!”

Todd
gave Kai one last long look and then stormed out, slamming the door.

                “I’m
sorry about that. He heard about the news and got excited.” Earl twisted his
handle-bar mustache.

                Kai
nodded. “I’m sorry, too. Our peace with the human government is fragile. I
can’t go changing every sick human. Most would die during the
change
, I’m
sure you understand.”

                Earl
nodded. “Absolutely. I’m in agreement with you.”

                Jeremy
cleared his throat. “Vampires don’t get sick either, why doesn’t anyone want us
to change them?”

                Alek
smiled. “Because no one wants to be a bloodsucker, kid,” he joked and we all
laughed, easing the tension.

                ‘Kai,
would changing a few sick humans help boost our image with them?’
I wondered again.

                ‘No,
I have been having meetings with the president, the deputy secretary, the CIA.
They all have one strong request. Don’t let the supernatural race overpower the
humans. Right now they are in a strong position with their numbers and they
want to keep it that way. They don’t even know about the witches. If we change
one, it will spread like a wildfire. The government will take us out.’

                I
groaned. He was right. We had RAIDOS and Layla’s clan against us. We didn’t
need any more enemies. Shit, this entire situation was spreading. I was human
not too long ago. I understood the desire to want to be healthy, but this
couldn’t be the future. Kai was right. If we changed too many, the government
would rise up in anger. If too many died during the
change
, the humans
would retaliate. It was a damn shitty situation to be in.

                “So,
what’s the next step? My men are hungry to take out this vampire queen and all
of her drug runners,” Earl asked.

                Kai
glanced sidelong at me. “Layla may not take the bait now that she has a bag of
Aurora’s blood. We should think of another plan.”

                I
rolled my eyes. “Kai, it’s still a good plan. Of course she will still want me.
That blood bag will run out soon.”

                Kai
glared at me. “Hear me out. Kat called to thank us for finding Murphy and said
there was some retaliation on her pack from our little stunt at the border a
few months ago.”

                Yeah,
I could imagine there was. We hijacked three busloads full of heroin and sent
them up into flames.

                “She
said Murphy has been able to fly across the border and get more information. I
say we take some of our guys, some of the militia, and go back to the border.
Team up with Kat’s pack and see if we can’t stir up trouble and coax Layla out.
If we stop her drugs, they will take notice.”

                Alek
had been listening quietly the entire time. “You have no idea how deep the
queen’s pockets are,” he commented.

                Why
didn’t he say her name?

                “So,
she’s rich. Big deal,” Earl said.

                Alek
grinned. “Kai’s rich. Hollywood actresses are rich. Layla is beyond rich. Her
wealth can buy anything. She is worth billions. She has her hand in politics,
cosmetics, drugs, land development, prostitution, you name it. She can buy
humans, she can buy favors, she can buy anything you can’t.”

                For
the first time, doubt crept into my mind. I liked thinking of Layla when she
was just some vampire bitch bent on making babies for a little power.

                Alek
seemed to be in a sharing mood so I decided to ask him the one question that
had been bothering me. “Why. Why does she even want to make a baby? She would
be a horrible mother.”

                Alek
laughed and folded his hands, giving me a look. “Aurora, when you become a
vampire there are a few things that you are told that will never change. You
will need to survive off of blood. You do not age. You will live forever unless
killed a certain way and …”