Balance

by Leia Stone

  “Just tired. No one warns you about that. The sleep deprivation … Awful. Headache, hungr–” She fell asleep, her head rolling to the side. Her arm went slack and I bolted forward, catching Avery and boosting her back up to latch.

  God, being a mother was harder than I thought. Poor Emma. I had never seen her so tired. Not even after Devon died. We expected mothers to labor for hours and push out a human being. Then, when their body needed to rest, we woke them every two hours to feed that human. Yikes. Was I sure I was ready for this? After Avery was done feeding, I lifted her over my shoulder and instinctively patted her back. She gave a big burp and I giggled, walking her back out to the living room.

  Looking into her green eyes, and at her fuzzy red hair, I saw that she looked just like Emma. “I’m your godmother and the coolest aunt you will ever have,” I told her. She scrunched her face and a huge rumbling sound came from her diaper.

  I grimaced. “Thanks, kid.”

  *

  After staying the entire night shift, I woke on the couch to find Alexa shaking me.

  “Hey, it’s my shift,” she whispered.

  I peeked over, Avery was still asleep. Oh, man. I was exhausted. Avery had her days and nights mixed up and only fell asleep an hour ago. I had been up all night rocking her and cooing, taking her into Emma for feedings. How did parents do this every night without a pack to help?

  I extended my hand to Alexa for her to help me up and when my hand touched hers, I was pulled into a vision.

  A guy with short brown hair and kind eyes was chopping wood, a thin silver chain tied him to a nearby tree like a dog. Alexa’s mate, I knew it. He was in a pack in California, in the Redwood Forest. His name was Jameson, someone called his name and he turned to look at him, his Alpha. Seeing his Alpha made my stomach drop. I recognized him. It was Dane’s old second in command. After Kai had killed Dane and taken over his Portland pack, his second went rogue and ran off with a few of the others who didn’t want to join our pack.

  In the vision, his Alpha barked an order at Jameson, who lowered his head and set down the axe, walking towards him submissively and dragging the long chain behind him like a slave. Then the vision changed and I was shown Kai and Jameson’s Alpha locked in a brawl. Something filtered through the vision to me. A knowing. The Alpha didn’t want to give Jameson up because he had a very rare gift. He was a submissive who could amplify his Alpha’s dominance and strength tenfold when they were close to him. His Alpha kept him very close, therefore increasing his strength. The vision went back to the fight and I saw Kai being thrown hard against a tree. The tree broke and Anna rushed the Alpha, knocking him over.

  I came out of the vision and Alexa was standing there with wide eyes and pale skin. Alexa and I were extremely close. I was the one who changed her and it had made us more bonded than others. A tear lined my eye. “I found your mate.”

  Her hand flew to her mouth. “Really?” It seemed that every time I found a mate, there was a problem.

  “But … there’s an issue,” I told her.

  *

  Izzy, our pack member with two human children of her own, had rushed over to watch Avery while Alexa and I found Max and Kai. I knew we needed to find Layla and Tara and deal with the RAIDOS attack but Alexa’s mate was in trouble. Being tied to a tree like a dog with a painful silver chain was not okay. This had to be dealt with now.

  Kai listened to me as I recounted the vision. When I finished, he nodded. “We can go get him. My father is flying in from India and Shamus is driving down from Seattle. By the time we get back, the meeting will be assembled and we can make a plan to get Tara back and find Layla.”

  I could feel Alexa’s excitement and apprehension.

  “And RAIDOS? When do we pay them a little visit for shooting up our football game?” Max glared, arms crossed.

  Kai’s eyes went yellow. “They nearly killed my wife. We will retaliate. It’s just not the right time. We have too much on our plates.”

  Max huffed. I knew he was traumatized from carrying me off that field, bleeding and so close to death, but I think most of his frustrations came from Tara’s absence. I felt her there, in the pack bonds, but it was faint and cloaked with magic.

  “Okay, so Max, Anna, Jake, Kai, Alexa, and I. That’s the group in the vision.”

  Kai seemed worried. “That’s all of my strong dominants. Who will protect the pack we leave behind?”

  I chewed my lip. “We will have to risk it. From my vision, it looks like we will need all of the help we can get in order to get Jameson out of there.”

  Kai’s brow furrowed but he nodded.

  *

  We decided to drive. It was only about six hours. We could do it in one day, taking shifts. We had attempted to make contact with the Alpha, Harris. Since Kai was now a member of the council, he had Harris’ contact info but calling him didn’t go over so well. Harris told us to drop Alexa off and leave but we would not be permitted to linger and he would not be allowing Jameson to leave the pack. Kai tried to explain further but Harris hung up on him.

  Kai slammed the cell phone down on the dash and I cringed as the screen cracked. Well, there went $600. Angry dominant werewolves went through cell phones like crazy.

  “He hung up on me!” Kai roared. I’m guessing Kai didn’t get hung up on often.

  “I haven’t been hung up on since high school,” I stated.

  Max was staring out the window. I reached back and nudged him and he glanced my way.

  “You okay?” I said softly.

  His energy was low. I felt his depression seeping into the pack bond; we all felt it.

  He simply shook his head but Kai and I shared a quick look.

  ‘Tara,’ Kai told me.

  ‘Yeah, I figured. Any leads on where she is?’

  I felt Kai’s anger rise up so quickly my breath hitched.

  ‘No. They blindfolded her and then our bond was snuffed out. I can tell she is alive but I can’t communicate with her.’

  Shit. My mind went through dozens of ideas in trying to find the girls. Spells. Trackers. Anything. But we couldn’t smell the vampires so our trackers couldn’t get a trail, and if they had snuffed out the mate bond they sure as hell wouldn’t be found with a finder spell.

  “Showtime,” Kai grumbled, pulling the SUV up to a large cabin. Kai had said that most all Alpha residences were on file with the council. I gazed up from the dash, the entire Redwood’s pack was assembled in a semi-circle, with Harris in the middle.

  “Well, shit. Homeboy looks ready to throw down,” Max said, cracking his knuckles, readying for a fight.

  I busted out laughing along with Alexa and the others.

  “Homeboy? When did you join a gang?” I joked.

  But Max’s jaw was set. He was a loose cannon. I could see it. He was waiting for something to set him off so he could take out all of his aggression about Tara on someone.

  We jumped out of the SUV and I put a cool hand on his shoulder.

  “You good?”

  His eyes went from glowing amber to ice blue. He cleared his throat and nodded.

  Alexa was wiping her hands on her jeans. Anna, the strongest member of our pack, surveyed the situation as she jumped out of the car after us. I could see her calculating how many people there were. Aside from having super strength as her special power, Anna had really shown improvement in practices. She was a quick learner.

  I took the lead even though Kai tried to walk past me and get in front of me.

  The last time I saw Harris he didn’t want to join our pack and wasn’t strong enough then to fight Kai. Now with Jameson by his side … I was worried about my vision and what it meant for Kai’s safety.

  As we approached, I saw about twenty wolves spread out before us. I could see, just beyond the semi-circle of dominant wolves, that Jameson was chained by the ankle to a tree. He was maybe ten feet from Harris. How close did he need to be for his gift to work?

  I met Harris’ yellow gaze, taki
ng in his appearance. He looked more filled out than the last time I saw him, more toned. His arms were covered in tattoos and his dark hair was slicked back.

  “I believe your wolf Jameson is the mate to our female Alexa.” I got right to it and pointed at Alexa as I felt Kai stand beside me.

  Harris nodded. “Good. Leave the bitch and go.”

  My mouth dropped open. Kai slipped off his t-shirt and tossed it to Max. Oh, shit. Here we go.

  Kai had been through a lot of shit in the last forty-eight hours. Having one of his wolves be taken by the vampires, me getting shot and nearly bleeding to death. I wouldn’t mess with him right now, but Jameson’s gift made Harris super strong.

  Kai’s voice was so gruff I barely recognized it. “I wouldn’t give you one of my females in a million years!”

  The hairs on my arms stood up. God damn, my mate could be scary ... and sexy. I nearly salivated staring at his chiseled, shirtless body.

  Harris took off his shirt and gave Kai a devilish grin. “Then I guess we fight for it. The old way.”

  Kai nodded and his pack formed a circle around them.

  ‘The old way?’ I asked Kai.

  ‘We stay human. First one to get knocked out loses their wolf.’

  ‘Kai, he has super strength with Jameson near.’

  Kai gave me one glance that told me to shut the hell up. I swallowed. I guess I should have said, ‘Go, babe, go!’

  Harris grinned as he slipped on a glove with silver knuckles.

  “Hey! Dirty cheat,” Max roared.

  Harris shrugged. “Anything goes. You are allowed one non-lethal weapon of your choice.”

  Max stalked off to the SUV and returned with a tire iron. Whoa. Shit just got real.

  He handed it to Kai who still hadn’t taken his eyes off Harris. I probed my mate’s thoughts. He was feeling murderous with not one ounce of fear.

  Anna approached Kai. “Let me fight him. It will be fairer.”

  Kai didn’t look away from Harris. “No,” was all he said to Anna and then he walked into the middle of the circle.

  Harris nodded to Kai, who nodded back initiating acceptance of the fight. Then Kai tightened his grip on the tire iron and with blinding speed struck Harris in the side of the neck. It was a blur of fast motion and as he clocked Harris in the side of the head, the entire pack took a step backward. Harris wobbled to the side but straightened himself quickly. He took his silver knuckled hand and gave Kai a strong upper cut to the jaw.

  I heard Kai’s jaw break from where I stood. His body flew up and backward six feet from the force of the blow, leaving him to crash into the hard ground. Holy shit, Harris was strong! A growl ripped from my throat but Kai pushed himself up onto one arm indicating he hadn’t lost consciousness yet. My eyes fell on Jameson who looked scared and was trying to fiddle with his leg chains. He wanted free.

  Anna was shaking her head back and forth. She really would have been a better match for Harris but no way would Kai let one of his females fight for him. I decided I couldn’t watch. If I did, I would bum rush this asshole and blast him with magic breaking all kinds of pack rules and starting a big-ass fight. I had to calm my breathing.

  Suddenly, Kai popped up and hunched over, running at Harris with vampire speed. He crashed into his mid-section and slammed Harris into a tree. I turned away then and began to skirt along the edge of the circle that had formed. I kept my thoughts calm and supportive. I couldn’t have my mate worrying about how I felt right now.

  Max met my eyes and nodded. I nodded back. An unseen conversation passed in that nod. He would watch Kai’s back; I would try to free Jameson. There was no way we were leaving today without him, whether Kai won this fight or not. You don’t tie your wolves to trees!

  I was sneaking slowly around the outside of the circle when all of a sudden I heard a tree crack. My head snapped in that direction just in time to see Kai fall to the ground with the tree falling on top of him. Just like my vision. Anna was a blur of motion as she charged Harris.

  “Anna, no!” I screamed too late.

  Her face looked murderous as she pushed Harris so hard he flew ten feet and slammed into a huge redwood, splitting it. Harris crashed to the ground on all fours, panting to catch his breath. No doubt there were some broken ribs. Kai was barely holding onto his consciousness, his eyelids fluttering.

  I couldn’t move. I had to keep the mist from pouring out of my skin.

  “She interfered with an official Alpha fight! I will have the council put her down! One on one, those are the rules!” Harris roared as he stalked towards her with a slight limp in his step.

  Anna stood there defiantly, not afraid, and met his gaze. Max held her mate, Jake, by the arms, which were twisted behind his back.

  I stepped forward. “Actually, you interfered with the fight first. One on one, you say?” I flicked my eyes to Jameson. “You used Jameson’s gift to make you stronger. Not fair. So I think two on two is fairer.”

  His nostrils flared. I had a point. Kai was still on the ground struggling to get up and I was ready to shift at any moment if shit got more worked up.

  “Fine, two on two,” he said, and in one quick move he clocked Anna in the jaw with the silver knuckles and sent her flying backward.

  “You’re dead!” Jake roared and began shifting in Max’s arms. His teeth were snapping and a guttural howl ripped from his throat.

  I was about to shift when I saw a streak of black launch through the air and knock Harris over. He hit the ground hard, his teeth cracking. I grinned and cheered my mate on.

  ‘He punched Anna! Screw the rules! Rip his goddamn head off!’ I told Kai and then slowly made my way behind the crowd so that I could try to get within reach of Jameson. We needed to plan our exit NOW. Five of the pack’s dominants were guarding him. They stood there like a wall, glaring at me. One of them looked unsure, like maybe he wanted to let me through. I glanced back at Kai, who was winning. Anna stood behind him ready to jump in.

  “Boys, let’s do this the nice way,” I told the dominants guarding Jameson.

  Harris’ second stood forward. He was tall, littered with tattoos, and had that ‘50’s rockabilly look. “If your mate kills Harris, I become Alpha and I won’t let Jameson go either. Leave the girl. Give up and go home!”

  His breath smelled of beef and whiskey. My wolf didn’t like the threat. She came to the surface, eyes going yellow. Little did these idiots know, I had been distracting them the whole time. Alexa had gone all the way around and come up the back of the fight. She made her way over to Jameson and quietly snapped his chain with bolt cutters from the car. They shared a shy smile and she began to undress and shift, then Jameson began to shift into his wolf form and I grinned.

  But the dominants caught me looking.

  “Run!” I told Alexa and Jameson. Without a second thought, they took off like I had lit their tails on fire.

  The second in command tore off after them while four of the other dominants advanced on me. I was a pretty badass martial arts fighter but four dominant werewolves were too much for me.

  “Max!” I shouted, glancing over my shoulder as Kai ended Harris’ life. I saw Harris’ head sail through the air and land with a thud.

  Turning back to the dominants just in time, I blocked a kick but one of the guys grabbed my arm, yanking me forward. Then I got sucked into a vision. Oh Jesus. Bad timing. I couldn’t see, so I tried to back up as a fist landed in my face.

  “Don’t touch her!” I heard Max roar next to me.

  “Mate vision,” I choked out as I followed it. I had no choice.

  I saw Kat, the red-headed Alpha from the Tucson, Arizona pack. This guy holding my arm was her mate. His name was Murphy, I just knew. He let me go as I fell to the ground but the vision played on. He had just been changed last week and he was very dominant. He was a good guy and didn’t want to be mixed up in all this. Harris changed him.

  When I saw the events surrounding his change, I gasped. Murphy and Ja
meson were best friends as humans. Harris stalked Murphy and Jameson for a few days first. He sought out the strong, young males and then changed them against their will. They were walking out to their car after working out at the gym, when Harris lured them to a side building and attacked. Harris wanted a pack full of changed wolves so that they would all have powers. The strong, young human males were more likely to survive the change.

  The vision kicked me out and I gasped for air as I came to. Opening my eyes, I looked around, Harris was dead on the ground. Alexa and Jameson were back and Kai had Harris’ second tied up, his face was shoved on the ground. Everyone else was staring at me.

  I waved awkwardly and then turned to Murphy. “I found your mate and I know what happened to you and Jameson. That is not allowed!”

  His eyes widened and everyone quieted.

  Then I turned to Kai. ‘It’s Kat.’ She had been waiting a long time for her mate. I would be happy to give her this news.

  Kai grinned, but his broken jaw was purple and swollen. I needed to heal it soon.

  “There is something we need to clear up before we can leave,” I shouted to all of them. Harris’ pack watched me quietly.

  “Your Alpha was planning to change humans into wolves to collect powers. He changed Jameson and Murphy against their will! That’s not allowed!” I roared.

  Kai stumbled forward. His brow creased as he reached down and picked up Harris’ second. “Is this true?” he shouted in his rockabilly face.

  The guy swallowed hard, all traces of his tough guy attitude had fled. This was a council matter now and the enforcers would be here tomorrow to take him out if he knew. Murphy glared at the second in command.

  “Remember before you answer, that I have a seat on the council,” Kai told him through gritted teeth.

  The second nodded. “It’s true but I didn’t agree with it. I tried to convince him to turn himself over to the council after he illegally changed the two.”

  Kai rolled his eyes. “Sure you did.”

  The second shouted, “I did! But he was too powerful with Jameson by his side. I won’t lie, I liked having a powerful wolf like Jameson in the pack, but turning humans to gain powers is wrong. I told him that. The rest of the pack didn’t know. He told the pack he saved them from an accident.”