by Leia Stone
Max nodded. “Weapons are here,” he told me and threw us some clothes.
I looked at Kai. “You got bit by a vampire. What does that mean?” I was hoping it didn’t mean what I thought it did.
He smiled. “Very painful. Will take a few days to heal. But I will be fine.”
I let out a relieved sigh.
I looked again at the stewardess. She didn’t seem fazed. She was making cups of ice for drinks.
“It’s okay, I’m a Duff,” the woman told me.
“A Duff?” I began to clean Kai’s wound.
The girl spoke up. “My parents are witches but I was born without magic, a lower class citizen in the witch world. I make my living by serving the supernatural community but I have no power.”
Oh.
Kai spoke to my mind. ‘Some dark witches put curses on other witches’ unborn children. These children are born without magic but are given the knowledge of the supernatural community.’
‘That’s horrible.’
He nodded.
Izzy spoke up. “So what the hell was that? Why didn’t we see them coming? Do you think the pack we left back at home are okay?”
Kai seemed to consider this. “I can sense the feelings of the wolves we left behind on the mountain. They are worried for Emma but not under attack. We left enough members back that they should be okay if the vampires do attack on the mountain. We know that territory better than anyone. Everyone will protect Tristan and the kids. Don’t worry.”
Izzy seemed assured at his words. Just then, we all felt it. One of our peripheral wolves, Joey, who had come to the airport with us, was killed. It was like a string was being pulled through my body and out of my heart. His pack essence was gone. Kai screamed and the stewardess dropped a glass which shattered everywhere.
The vampires were picking off our already small numbers one by one. We flew the rest of the way to Los Angeles in silence.
The stewardess handed Kai a satellite phone. “It’s the Los Angeles Alpha,” she told him.
Kai groaned. He hadn’t had time to stop and ask our permission for coming into his territory. Someone from the pack we left back must have called him. If he was calling us, it wasn’t good. Maybe he was denying us permission. Anger flared up inside me. I growled lightly. Kai silenced me with one look.
“Hello, Kristoff,” Kai grumbled into the phone. By his tone of voice it didn’t seem he thought this would be a good call, either. After a few seconds Kai sat up straighter. “Excuse me?”
I leaned in trying to listen but the noise from the plane was too loud.
“Well, we would appreciate that. Thank you. We should be landing shortly.” With that, he hung up.
We all stared at him, waiting.
“The Los Angeles Alpha will be sending a few cars and ten of his strongest men. They have sniffed out the vampire hide out and want to help us get Emma.”
Max made a low whistle.
Kai looked at me. “Werewolves usually keep to themselves and fight to death over protecting their territory. It seems now that they will do anything if it helps you, Aurora. Kristoff sends his thanks for finding his mate.”
I swallowed. “Whatever helps Emma.” I searched the pack bonds. She was still there but the connection was weak. If they drugged her or hurt her. I couldn’t even think about it!
‘I’ve tried to contact Emma multiple times. I’m being blocked,’ Kai told me, ‘so is Devon.’
It was that witch! The one who saw me looking for them. If I had trained with Sylvia maybe I could break through and reach Emma, give her hope. I tried to send her a message but felt nothing. I glanced over at Devon. He looked so lost.
“We are beginning our descent,” the pilot said over the speaker.
No witch, no vampire, no supernatural could hide Emma from us now. I could feel a blood-thirsty craze start to hum just under my skin. Emma was an innocent and she would be saved.
***
Sixteen was a good number. It was the year I got my freedom from my drunken father because I had gotten my license and an old beat up car. It was the amount of money I had in my bank account before I started Safe Haven. It was also the number of wolves we were about to barge into the vampire den with and save Emma. We had surrounded the old house on Melrose Ave and I could smell Emma inside. I also smelled witches and vampires. A lot of them. It was dusk out. I had been told on the ride over that dark witches did spells on powerful vampires to give them sunlight immunity, so attacking in the daytime didn’t increase our chances.
Kai turned to me now and placed a silver stake in my hand, it had a rubber grip to protect werewolf skin. “You’re a good fighter; you will be a bigger help to Emma in human form. You go in last.” It was a command but his eyes held a vulnerability. He was trying to protect me. As long as I helped get Emma out, I didn’t care. I nodded and gripped the cold stake in my hand. He began to shift and I took a deep breath. I had never been religious, what kind of God lets kids get abused? But I sent up a silent prayer now. Please let Emma be okay. Let her baby live.
Just then, the most haunting howl cut through the night and I saw Devon smashing through a side window in his wolf form. Kai followed right behind him. The fight had begun. I crept around the side of the house where one of the Los Angeles pack wolves had smashed in the front door. I heard hissing and screaming. Two vampires fled the front door on fire. Before I could take a step towards the front door, a cold hand clamped around my neck.
“Aurora, dear, thank you for coming. I am Layla, queen of the North American vampire clan. You should be honored to be in my presence,” a female voice said behind me. I wasted no time in acting. I grabbed her palm while throwing myself forward and flipping her over my back. But just as quickly, two heaving hands held my arms down and shoved my face into the dirt. The female I had thrown was crouched now and peering at me with her head tilted to the side. Her hair was strawberry blonde and fell to her waist in waves. She was pale and her eyes were black. Her fangs stuck out pressing on her bottom lip. She inhaled deeply and smiled. “You know, people that fight back always taste better.”
My heart was hammering inside my chest. I wanted to call for help but I didn’t want to take any help away from Emma.
“This was always a trap, wasn’t it?” I asked her. She knew my name. She seemed ready for me.
She smiled as I was jerked to my feet and made to stand.
“You were always the prize, yes. Your blood can give all of the vampire women in my command the power of fertility.”
My stomach dropped. No. ‘Kai!’
The dark witch that I had seen in my mind’s eye walked around from behind me. She smelled like witch and smoke, like clove cigarettes. She ran a bony hand through her long black hair and cackled. “I have blocked you from communicating with your pack. It’s just us.” A fine mist covered the both of us and I knew she was right. Layla, the vampire queen, smiled at the dark witch.
A black van turned the corner just then and came to a screeching halt behind us. Men dressed in all black military gear suspended from nearby trees and repelled down to street level. The vampires hissed. I took in a deep breath. Humans?
The humans advanced with silver pointed cross bows. I swallowed hard. They wore all black with a white symbol embroidered on their chest. They looked like hunters. Seasoned supernatural hunters.
‘Kai, run! Human hunters.’ I pushed the thought out with a little bit of what I hoped was magic. I saw mist leaving my body. I hoped the message went through.
A few of the humans raised their crossbows, just as the witch threw her hands in the air and black smoke exploded into my vision. I took in a huge breath and started coughing. I couldn’t see two feet in front of me. There was black smoke everywhere and it was burning my eyes. Someone grabbed me from behind and started pulling me backwards. I rammed my heel into what I thought might be a groin and was rewarded with a moan. Then I was hit with a hard object at the base of my skull and blackness took me.
RAIDOS
I came to with a raging headache. My mouth was dry and I was starving. I squinted at the bright lights and took in my surroundings. I was chained to a chair with silver chains. I was in a large room with rows and rows of bench-type seating. About ten people were sitting on benches but they stood now and aimed their crossbows at me. I was in the center of the room on a dais. It took me a second to realize I was in a church. A crazy thought struck me then. Would I burn alive? I looked down at my body. I guess not.
A man stepped forward. “Aurora?”
I swallowed, trying to figure out how I wanted to play this. They looked scared but they also look like they wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.
“Yes, my name is Aurora. Who are you?”
He looked to a woman on his right and she nodded, seemingly giving him permission.
“We are from a special branch of the International Intelligence Community. Those who know of us, call us RAIDOS. Research And Intelligence Division On Supernaturals. Our mission has always been to gather intelligence on your kind. How much information you give us will determine if we let you live.”
I nodded and tried to keep my wolf from coming out. I could tell by the fact that they stepped back a few feet that I hadn’t succeeded. I knew my eyes were yellow. I took a deep breath. “Well, I have only been a supernatural for a few weeks. I was human for the first twenty-two years of my life.”
The woman placed a tape recorder in front of me. “If you answer all of our questions and we determine you are not a threat to the human race. We will let you go.”
I looked at her. I could tell from the way she was communicating with the other man that they were in a romantic relationship. “I feel it fair to warn you that the longer you keep me here, the more chance you have of encountering my mate. He will bring our entire werewolf pack and they will rip your fragile human bodies apart.”
She raised her crossbow and pointed it at me. “Don’t make threats.”
I leaned forward. “It was a warning. I cannot communicate with my mate because the witch did something to my pack bonds. But he WILL find me and he won’t ask questions. This church won’t keep them out.”
A few of the RAIDOS agents exchanged looks. A petite woman with short blonde hair stepped forward. “So you will answer our questions?”
My mother was human. I was human a month ago. Of course I wanted the human race to survive. But I also needed to protect my pack. I needed to give them information but not too much.
“Yes, unless I feel you shouldn’t be given certain information for the safety of my kind.”
The blonde woman nodded seeming to be okay with that answer. “My name is Dr. Tavern. I am the communications psychologist for RAIDOS. We have been tracking the three supernatural communities for about twenty-five years now. We have intercepted your phones, email, and anything we could, without getting too close to your homes for fear you could smell us. We know you are a werewolf and after listening in on the vampires’ conversations, that you may be able to help them have children. They wish to kill off your kind and take humanity under their ownership as blood slaves with their newly created spawn. So I guess the biggest question we have is, whose side are you on? The vampires or the humans?”
I decided a little humor was in order here. “Couldn’t you tell how much we werewolves love vampires by the way we stormed that house and started killing them?”
Her lips curled into the slightest smile.
“Werewolves protect humans. It’s always been this way. They kidnapped one of our pregnant females. We are here to get her back,” I told her.
She nodded as if she knew this.
“Why aren’t the silver chains hurting you? We have heard other wolves talk about silver incapacitating them.”
“Most wolves cannot handle silver. I am immune to its effects,” was all I said.
The psychologist nodded. “She is cooperating. Untie her. Give her water.”
The man who had approached me earlier seemed unsure but did as she asked. The second he unlocked my chains I could have shifted and jumped out of a nearby stained glass window. I didn’t. If a vampire war was coming then we needed allies. I only hoped it was possible to become allies with these people.
I rubbed my wrist and grabbed the water bottle.
“Thank you.”
Dr. Tavern nodded.
“You said you were human a few weeks ago. What happened? Do werewolves turn humans just to increase their numbers?”
“No, that is against werewolf law. I was in a bad car accident on Mount Hood. I was dying and my mate found me. He is an Alpha and he changed me, hoping I could survive.”
“Kai?” the psychologist asked.
Shit, they knew a lot. I suddenly felt very protective. I opened my pack bond but I couldn’t sense Kai. Did it not work if we were too far away?
The psychologist seemed to register my apprehension. “We have a drone that flies above Mount Hood. We have been watching Kai and his pack for a while. He does things differently. There are no fights in his pack. They don’t do anything illegal. He even pays his taxes.”
I breathed a little easier. “Yes, once Kai changed me, I found out he was my mate.”
The psychologist seemed to mull something over. “I like you, Aurora. You seem very caring, protective, and intelligent. Many of the same qualities we find in humans. I want you to answer this next question very, very honestly. Your life depends on it.”
I sat up straighter.
“Are you the Matefinder and what does that mean?”
Well, shit. So much for not revealing too much. My wolf came to the surface. I felt the need to run. Surly if they knew I could help grow the werewolf race exponentially, they would kill me. I decided to downplay it.
“Yes, I am the Matefinder. There is always one Matefinder in existence to help wolves from faraway packs find their mate. No big deal.”
Dr. Tavern chewed her lip. “And is it true without finding your mate that you cannot conceive children?”
There was no way around this question. I knew where she was going. I stood up suddenly, angry. “Yes! I find mates so we can marry and have a family just like you! YES! If you kill me right now then the werewolf population will significantly decrease over time. But if you kill me, then there will also be less wolves to help you fight the vampires in the future.”
All ten RAIDOS agents had their crossbows pointed at me. All except the psychologist. She regarded me thoughtfully.
“I guess we have a decision to make. Either we as humans work alone to ensure the human race survives or we form an alliance,” Dr. Tavern suggested.
We stared at each other. Challenge, my wolf said. If they made a move to kill me I would fight. I would probably die but I would fight.
‘Aurora? We’re coming! I can smell you. We are close. Hold on!’
Dr. Tavern’s phone beeped. She broke eye contact to look at it. Relief seemed to flood through her. She extended her hand to me.
“We can start small. I would like to start an alliance from the West coast branch of RAIDOS to the Mount Hood pack.”
Would Kai be okay with this? He wouldn’t like that they were watching us but what could we do? We both had a common enemy and a common goal.
I shook her hand.
“My mate and our pack are close. You should all leave. This isn’t the best way for you to meet him.”
She nodded and handed me a thin phone. “We will be in touch.”
‘I’m safe. We have a lot to talk about. Is Emma with you?’ I held my breath.
‘We have her. She’s fine.’
My throat tightened with emotion. Emma was okay. I began to walk outside as the black van pulled away. I could see Kai running down the street in wolf form, a pack of wolves ran further behind him. I ran towards him and noticed he was hurt. A trail of blood trickled behind him.
He nearly knocked me over when he saw me. I dug my fingers into his fur and let him smell me.
“You’re hu
rt,” I said out loud.
‘I nearly tore the head off of every vampire when I realized you had been taken.’
Izzy was limping and Max had a huge gash in his shoulder. Oh God, where was Devon.
“Devon?” I asked.
‘He’s with Emma. They are waiting for us.’
I sagged with relief. The Los Angeles Alpha approached me in human form. “I have a hotel you can stay at until you are healed for travel.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
Kai nipped my hand. ‘What the hell happened, Aurora? You said human hunters had come. Then I couldn’t find you.’
‘We have a lot to talk about. Not here.’ I rubbed the sore spot on my head where I had been knocked out, and followed the Los Angeles Alpha.
Life
As soon as we reached the hotel lobby I smelled Emma. I broke into a run and followed my nose. I ran down the long hallway and stopped at door 137.
“Emma!” I pounded the door. Devon opened it. His arm was in a sling and he had a black eye. He stepped aside to let me in. I ran to the bed where Emma sat eating room service. I could sense Kai behind me. He had shifted to human form before we entered the hotel.
“Did they hurt you?” I hugged her hard and she squeezed me back.
“Not really.” She had a few bruises but nothing bad.
“Once I stopped fighting back, they were okay.”
Kai approached her. “Emma, I will never let that happen again. I promise, you and your baby will be safe with me from now on. But I understand if you want to switch to a bigger pack.”
My mouth opened in shock. Of course Kai would feel guilty. He was supposed to keep her safe. A pregnant female needs the most protection but to switch packs over this? Maybe Emma would be safer in a bigger pack.
Emma held out her hands and Kai took them. “I will never leave this pack. You are my family. You were out of town and no one thought the bloodsuckers were a problem to us. If I left the pack based on the grounds that you couldn’t protect me, I would have to leave my husband, too. He was there and almost died trying to fight them. No one is switching packs.”