Balance (14 page)

                I
held his gaze. “You can’t have children.”

                He
pointed at me. “Yes! So imagine what the millions of vampires around the world
will think when the North American vampire queen falls pregnant with a healthy
child. When she bottles the cure for infertility and offers to ship it
overnight.”

                Kai
growled. “She will be the most powerful and the richest vampire in the world.”

                Alek
nodded. “Yes, and she will reign queen over all of them. She will control all
of the vampire assets in every country. She will be given favors and power
beyond her wildest dreams.”

                Fur
began to ripple on my arms as I slammed my fist down on the table. “No!” I
shouted and Kai looked at me with shock.

                Kai
frowned. “Your eyes are green.”

                ‘Good.
Let the Devi come forward and kill her,’
I told Kai and realized that slowly the Devi was taking control.

                ‘Then
when the Devi is done. What happens?’
Kai asked me with yellow eyes.

                I
frowned. I had agreed to help balance Earth. This Devi spirit attached to mine
came with an exit clause. When she leaves, I might die.

                ‘I
don’t know,’
I told him
honestly.

                He
growled.

                Everyone
cleared their throat and Kai took his attention back to the room. “So, I want
to take a team to the Arizona-Mexico border and take down Layla’s drug supply.
If that doesn’t coax her out, then we can go forward with the plan to use
Aurora as bait.”

                Earl
nodded. “It’s better than standing around. I will gather a hundred of my best.”

                Kai
nodded. “That should do.”

                Everyone
cleared out except for Kai, Jeremy, Alek, and I.

                Kai
looked at Alek and Jeremy. “Jeremy, you may stay here with Alek as a guest in
my home.”

                Jeremy
shrugged. “Can you get a TV and some video games in the basement, at least?”

                Kai
let out a genuine laugh and it shocked me how long it had been seen I had heard
him laugh like that. My favorite thing was to hear his deep rumbling laugh. This
drama with Layla and Devon’s death had taken the happiness out of all of us.

                “Yes,
I will get you a gaming set up,” Kai told him.

                “Yes!”
Jeremy put a fist in the air and left to go down to the basement.

                “He
seems better,” I told Alek. It was just the three of us now.

                Alek
nodded slowly. “You’re good people to take in two vampires,” he said honestly. 

                “How’s
your wife?” Kai asked.

                Alek
shrugged, looking resigned. “She’s fine, but I miss her. We talk on the phone.
I’m not sure when I will be able to see her again. I can’t risk bringing
trouble to her and I can’t protect her from the queen by myself.”

                Kai
and I shared a look. One thing about the mate bond and about Kai that I loved,
is that when we shared a thought, it was like a click. Like two puzzle pieces
came together.

                “You
know, I have an extra empty house on the mountain that Aurora’s mother was
living in. We can clean it up and you, Jeremy, and your wife are welcome to
live there under the protection of my pack.”

                Shock
registered on Alek’s face. His mouth opened and he stuttered for a second. “I’m
not sure I can accept that,” he said, finally.

                Kai
clapped him on the back. “It’s already yours.”  

                I
chewed the inside of my cheek. God, Kai was such a good man. He opened our pack
to humans, vampires, and anyone else in need. He would be keeping them at a
distance but close enough to offer protection. My mother would have to stay with
us until this was all over, anyway. Even after that, we would need help when
the baby arrived. The baby. It was weird to think I might actually be pregnant.

                “Thank
you,” Alek said and shook Kai’s hand before retreating to the basement.

                Kai
sighed and rolled his neck back and forth, then he met my gaze.

                “I’m
going to tell you to do something and I want you to do it,” he said with a
serious tone.

                I
raised one eyebrow. “When has starting a sentence with that ever worked for
you?”

                “Stay
back and let us go to Mexico and lure Layla out. We can find where the girls
are being kept–”

                I
didn’t even let him finish. “No.”

                He
sighed. “Yes.” His eyes flashed yellow and he stared me down. When he had
forced me to stop driving the car to my mom’s, something went wild within me.
This need to break free and now it turned into a need to prove myself to him.
To prove what we both suspected. I was more dominant.

                I
stared him down and straightened my posture.

                “Don’t
do this,” he told me and stared back with yellow eyes.

                “Kai,
Gretchen told me that she could see I was already pregnant,” I told him.

                His
eyes lit up with joy and surprise, but I quickly got to the point. “I’m not
going to be killing vampires while waddling around with my huge baby bump. I
want this done. NOW!” I roared and continued to hold his gaze.

                Sweat
began to break out onto my forehead. Kai looked strained as well. I held my
chin high. I needed my mate to know how important this was to me. This wasn’t
just about killing Layla and helping the humans. It was about having a purpose
in this world and needing to fulfill it. A purpose that was mine alone.

                Kai
bore into my eyes. “If you’re pregnant, than all the more reason to keep you
safe!” he roared.

                Mist
crept from my skin as the pictures on the wall began to rattle. “Kai! You don’t
understand. I’m the only one who can stop her. It’s my purpose. Let me do this!”
I felt dizzy with the pressure of his dominance. His upper lip was sweaty and the
pictures rattled more. My mate continued to hold my gaze. I felt all of his
possessive love saturate my body and I realized now that if Kai has his way, I
would be caged in the basement.

                “What’s
going on? Earthquake?” My mother’s voice came from the hall.

                Shit!
Kai and I broke away panting as my mother came into the room, looking at us
with wild eyes.

                “No,
mom. It was me. Sorry.” I told her, trying to catch my breath. What the hell
was I doing getting into a dominance battle with my mate? Was I stupid?

                She
looked confused. “Okay …” She looked between me and Kai.

                “You
raised a stubborn woman,” Kai told my mother in a deep voice, smoothing back
his hair and wiping the sweat off of his upper lip.

                My
mother smiled, nodding. “She was born that way and that stubbornness saved my
life.”

                Tears
lined my eyes as I smiled at my mother. She may not have given birth to me, I
never knew that woman, but this woman before me was my mother. I was stubborn
and I wouldn’t have chosen to change anything about my life. Even though I had
been through a lot, it made me who I was.

                Kai
slipped his hand into mine.
‘Can you give me this one thing? If I don’t
capture Layla at the border, I will come home and we will go forward with the plan
of using you as bait. I’m your Alpha and your mate. Allow me this one last time
to try to protect you.’

                I
sighed.
‘Fine.’

                Kai
grinned.

                “By
the way, mom, I’m pregnant,” I told her, changing the subject to lighten the
mood.

                Her
eyebrows shot up, mouth hung open. “Aurora! Wow. That’s wonderful. Will the
baby be a …?”

                I
looked at Kai and smiled. My mom didn’t know about the witch race or that I was
the Matefinder. We didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was.
“Yes. The baby will be a werewolf.”

                She
looked a little frightened at that. “Oh, well, that’s good. Right?”

                Kai
went to the kitchen and held up a bottle of wine. “Let’s celebrate!”

                I
smiled.

                “No
drinking for you,” Kai told me and I frowned as he handed a glass of wine to my
mother. Here we go, he was already taking away my wine. I growled.

                I
awoke the next morning and reluctantly said goodbye to Kai and the crew that he
was taking to Arizona. He left Max and Jai with me for protection. Both had
their smells taken by the witches so they would be good guards for me and the
others. I stood next to Max, waving them off and leaned in to smell him.

                Max
gave me an odd look. “What? I wore deodorant,” he stated.

                I
laughed. Max and I had a rough start and it made our friendship now that much
sweeter. I would do anything for him.

                “I
can’t smell you. It’s weird,” I told him.

                “Oh,
that.” He gave me a small smile. “It’s pretty cool.” He shrugged. Max was
normally a vibrant person, always inserting his opinion whether wanted or not.
Lately he seemed off.

                “You
okay?” I asked as the troupe of cars drove away from the house and off to the
airport.

                Max
and I were alone now as he seemed to consider my words. “You know in our
culture, finding your mate is a huge deal. Huge. It’s everything we strive for.”

                I
frowned, knowing where this was going.

                “Max.”
I reached out to touch his shoulder. Watching the lines of pain dance across
his face.

                He
shrugged me off. “No. It’s my fault! How stupid. She’s my mate! I should have
had the mating ceremony. Opened our bond. I can feel her a little, but it’s
faint and what I feel scares the shit out of me. I feel pain and rage and
fear.” His jaw clenched, then he met my eyes. Yellow wolf threaded into his
crystal blue eyes. “If Kai doesn’t fix this soon, I’m going rogue. I need to
find her. I’m going crazy!” He banged his fists on the sides of his head.

                My
heart broke. I was the same way when Kai was taken by RAIDOS after Devon died.

                All
of a sudden, a huge wave of responsibility crashed over me. I may not have
caused Tara and Sadie and the others to be taken but I could stop it. I could
give myself up. Let them take me and then kill Layla and end this bullshit once
and for all!

                I
could feel Kai probing my feelings so I quickly pushed them down but I would
fix this, no matter the cost. Tara and Max deserved a future together after all
that had been taken from him. I wouldn’t take his second chance at having a
mate and a family.

                I
let my wolf come up to the surface and held Max’s gaze. “Max, I won’t be
selfish.” Dominance oozed from me. “If there’s something I can do to get the
girls back, I will.”

                Max
nodded. “I know that. That’s why I let you be second.” He swung an arm around
me and we walked back into the house.

                I
laughed. “Hah! Let me. Whatever.” Shaking my head we entered the house and I was
surprised to see Alek waiting for me.

                Max
glared at him.

                “I
wonder if I might speak with Aurora alone?” Alek asked kindly as he sat perched
on my couch.

                “Nope,”
Max said immediately. Kai had left Max in charge of my safety. Freaking great.

                I
looked at Max. “Go for a run. I won’t leave the house.” It was an order.

                Max
pinned Alek with his eyes. “I will go for a short walk around the house.” My
mother was at Emma’s helping with the baby and Jeremy was in the basement. We
were alone.

                After
the front door clicked closed, I sat down on the couch opposite Alek. “What’s
up?”

                Alek
sighed. “I feel that if I told you certain things, I would be betraying my kind.
But I need to tell you something.”

                Fear
came over me and I sat up straighter. “Tell me what?”

                Alek
put his hands out. “Nothing serious. Just … vampire knowledge is kept very
secret. If you are to truly defeat the queen, I think I must help you. Tell you
things.”

                I
swallowed, relaxing slightly. “Okay.” Hell yeah, tell me secret vampire shit. I
was slowly cataloging little pieces of information against these two. I had Prudence’s
full name and now I was getting something on Layla.

                Alek
nodded. “I would kindly request you don’t share this information with Kai, the
pack, or the witches.”

                Not
share it with Kai? “Okay. You have my word.” Kind of, I mean I couldn’t keep
things from Kai.

                Alek
nodded. “When this is over, I would hope that my people can start anew. This
knowledge would help those that want to harm us, so it needs to be kept secret.”

                Whoa.
This was about to be some juicy gossip. I nodded. “I understand. You have my
secrecy.”

                Alek
took a deep breath. “When a vampire bites a human and then offers them their
blood, it turns them into a vampire.”

                I
nodded. I knew that.

                Alek
chewed his lip. “When that new fledgling vampire completes the change, they are
powerful. Strong. The sire or vampire that changed them feeds off of the
fledgling once more. It gives the sire the power. A sire that has changed ten
humans into vampires, is ten times as powerful as a vampire who has changed one.”

                My
stomach sank, because I knew where this was going.

                “Okay.
So how many has she changed?” I didn’t have to say her name. We both knew who I
was talking about.

                Alek
shrugged. “Thousands. Maybe more.”

                The
breath went out of me. “So she can’t be killed? It’s impossible if she’s that
powerful.”

                Alek
put his hands up. “That’s not true. Do you know why a stake through the heart
or decapitation kills a vampire?”

                Excitement
ran through me. Did he know? “No.”

                “I
shouldn’t be telling you all of this,” he said, running a shaky hand through
his hair.

                “No,
Please. I promise not to tell anyone. You can trust me. I only want peace
between all of the races. I want balance. A new way for all of us.” It was
true. It reminded me of something Nahuel said. Killing all of the vampires
wouldn’t bring balance. We all needed to coexist. I just wanted the bad ones to
be nice, pretty piles of ash.

                He
nodded. “When a vampire changes from human to vampire, it’s because of a virus.
Similar to the lycanthrope virus. The vampire virus is transported through
blood, it shuts down the humans’ organs, effectively making them somewhat dead.
Preserving them. That’s why we don’t age at all, ever.”

                My
mouth was open in shock, absorbing everything.

                “But
our heart and our brain are the weak spots. It’s what keeps us
alive
.”
He did air quotes. “Pierce the heart or detach the brain from the body and you
render the vampire virus useless. Those two organs are what keep us animated
and moving and thinking. Without one, the virus dies. Our bodies decompose
immediately. Into Ash.”

                I
already knew how to kill them, but it was helpful to know the mechanics of how
it worked.

                He
leaned in so close to me, I could barely hear him. “If you want to kill Layla,
you will have to kill Prudence first. The witch has done dark magic to tie them
together and make each other stronger.”

                Holy
shit. Alek had just given me news that would change the game.

                He
leaned back and went on. “When a vampire sires a new fledgling, that vampire is
powerful, yes. But not invincible. I’m telling you this so that when you get to
that point with the queen, you remember that she has a weakness. They all do.
No matter how powerful, no matter how many she has sired. She is infected with
a virus and can be defeated. Her heart, her brain. Take those and she will be
ash in your hands!”

                A
light growl ripped from my throat. His speech had given me the boost I needed
to go after her. When Kai got back from Arizona, I was ready.

                “Thank
you,” I told him.

                He
nodded and after a few moments, wished me a goodnight and walked back down to
the basement.

                Whoa.
That was a lot to digest, but it also was good information to have. No matter
how powerful Layla seemed, she had a weakness. Two actually. I owed Alek big
time for that pep talk.

                A
few minutes later there was a knock at the door. I rolled my eyes. “Max, you’re
such a guard dog!” I shouted, opening it.

                But
it wasn’t Max, it was Emma.

                “Hey,
what are you doing out here?” As I got closer, I saw that her eyes were red like
she had been crying.

                “What’s
wrong? Avery?” My stomach dropped.

                Emma
shook her head. “She’s fine, can we talk inside?”

                She
was making me nervous. I led her inside and sat on the couch.

                She
reached out and touched the black chunk of my hair. “It’s weird to see that.”

I
sighed, remembering her lying there … dead. Yeah, that was weird, too. I
squeezed her hand.

                “So,
what’s up?” I knew my friend. She didn’t look good. Something was majorly
wrong. Had I been helping out enough? I had been a little busy with all of this
drama and being a new mom was hard.

                She
looked on the verge of tears. “I think I should move back to Utah and be with
my parents. Join their pack.”

                My
mouth dropped open. “What? Why?” Kai would be devastated, Emma was his
favorite. She was my favorite. No way!

                “I
need more help with Avery. It’s too hard,” she said and stared off, not looking
at me as tears fell from her porcelain cheeks.

                My
heart ached for her. “Well, give us a chance. We can increase shifts. I will
move in with you. I thought the pack was helping enough, but–”

                “I
can’t stay here!” she shouted and started crying. Big sobs racked her body and
as she leaned into me and I held her tight.

                I
grabbed the sides of her face, pulling her up to look at me. “I’m pregnant,
okay?” I told her.

                Suddenly,
she smiled, tears still leaking from her eyes.

                “And
you’re my best friend. I want our kids to grow up together. You have to teach
me how to be a mother. I need you. Don’t leave me,” I whimpered. Screw this
dominance thing. I would straight up get on my knees and beg for Emma to stay.
I would do anything for her.

                Emma
chewed her lip. “Okay, it’s not that I need more help with the baby. I lied.
Everyone has been overly helpful. I’m the most well-rested new mother in the universe
and my house and clothes are too clean.”

                My
head jerked back at her admission of lying, my hands fell to my lap. “Okay … so
what is it? Do you feel unsafe?” Female werewolf safety was a big deal and
lately they were getting snatched up. Maybe she thought we couldn’t protect her
and Avery.

                Emma
gave me a haunted look. “That house!” she screamed, pointing in the direction
of her home. “Our room, we picked out the bedspread together. The living room paint
color, we fought for three days over that. It’s all Devon. Everywhere it’s all
I see. My soulmate. I miss him.” She collapsed into sobs again.

                Oh,
shit. I hid back my own tears and swallowed hard. How stupid of me. I should
have guessed. Why didn’t I think of this sooner? Why did we keep her in that
house?

                I
held her as she cried. “I understand and I’m so sorry. We’ll fix it. If that’s
the only reason, we can fix that. You can have our house. You can have any damn
house you want. Just don’t leave me!”

                Her
sobs turned to laughter. “I’m not taking my Alpha’s house.” Her gaze rested on
my chin and my little submissive mouse was back.

                I
smiled. “If you want it, you can have it. Whose house do you want? You name it
and it’s yours.”

                She
laughed. “There are perks to being best friends with the Alpha’s mate.”

                I
laughed. “Yes, there are. Think about it. Seriously, anyone in this pack would
switch with you. Kai owns them all, anyway. Take Max’s house, it’s nice.”

                She
smacked my arm. “You just want to piss Max off.”

                I
grinned. “Maybe.”

                “All
right, I’ll stay if we can move Avery and me,” she said finally and it looked
like a weight had lifted off of her.