“I don’t even know where to start,” Nana said, sitting across from me.
The padded room was packed. The Elders, my sisters, and I sat at the table. Emmitt, Thomas, Clay, and Luke stood.
“Who’s watching Joshua?” I asked.
“Carlos,” Grey answered. “He won’t let Joshua leave or let any harm come to him.”
I snorted. “I could care less if any harm comes to him.”
“Then why did you Claim him?” Luke asked flatly. His regard hadn’t left me since he’d entered the room. A glint of hurt still lingered in the depths of his gaze, but something else consumed him. Determination.
I ignored his questions knowing I’d explained myself well enough in the room. “Here’s the deal. The world is not just made up of humans and werewolves. There is a third race, the Urbat. They call themselves the dogs of death and are your close cousins.”
“They are the ones you can’t control,” Michelle added, talking to Nana.
I nodded. “Then there’s us,” I said, looking at Charlene, Gabby, and Michelle. “We don’t belong to any of the three groups. Werewolf, Urbat, or human. We are unique.”
“Special,” Nana agreed.
“We are here to maintain the balance between the three groups.” Sam opened his mouth, but I quickly cut him off. “I’m not sure exactly how we’re supposed to do that. We have abilities. Mine is to relive past lives—not just my past lives, but all of our past lives—through dreams. Our abilities seem to help the group we are aligned with in some way. Michelle’s gift is prosperity. In past lives, she knew the locations of lost treasure, herbs with medicinal properties, how to create things to better lives. Pretty much any knowledge that could be used to create wealth. Charlene strengthens the group she’s allied with and so on. I have no idea how that all plays in, but as soon as the Urbat learned of us, they began hunting us.”
“If they are hunting you, why did you Claim one?” Luke asked again, maintaining a calm voice. I wondered how angry he really was.
“We return every one thousand years for a period of time. I don’t know all the details of that either. But I’ve recalled enough of those past lives to know we always die.” Meeting Luke’s eyes, I finally answered him. “I Claimed him to stay alive…to buy us some time to plan.”
Nana gave Luke a look before turning to me. “To plan what, dear?”
“An evacuation, to start.”
“What do you mean?” Thomas asked.
“When the Urbat come, they will use the people we love to try to sway us. First, they use our families, torturing them until we do what they want. If that doesn’t work, they start torturing us.”
“What do they want?” Grey asked.
“For each of us to Claim one of them.” My eyes darted to my sisters.
“We’ve already Claimed someone,” Gabby pointed out. Clay rested a hand on her shoulder.
“It won’t matter. A Claim can be broken by death, or simply by Claiming another. That’s why I was willing to Claim Joshua.”
Stunned silence held the room. Michelle gave Emmitt a panicked look. Luke’s gaze didn’t leave me though I refused to look at him.
“The next step is for life,” I said. Luke growled a deep warning but I kept going. “Once Mated, we don’t Mate again. I mean, they could force us to Claim another and mate, but it doesn’t do any good. Our hearts stay with the first lost Mate. The new Mate holds no influence.”
“Influence for what?” Sam questioned.
“For balance,” I explained. “They have been after power ever since they figured out what we are. The Judgements. In the beginning, we always judged in favor of the humans. At least, that’s my guess. I haven’t dreamed what really happened yet. Since then, as far as I’ve seen, we haven’t made another Judgement. I’m guessing that’s why, despite the inferiority of humans in comparison to your races, they have thrived.”
Sam looked thoughtful. Everyone else just looked too stunned to think much.
“The Urbat are tired of living in the shadows and want to be the dominant race for a while. The last cycle they almost had it, but one of us died. Without all of us to…do something, things will stay the way they are, with humans maintaining control,” I explained. “The cycle doesn’t last forever—only fifty years—so they try not to risk our lives. But they will if they must. After all, we can still be reborn again into the same cycle.”
“So you’re saying we need to clear the Compound because they will come for all of you and use the people here to talk you into surrendering?” Thomas asked, his disbelief evident.
“Don’t doubt it. They will come. They always come,” I said evenly, trying to contain my building dread. I couldn’t afford for Joshua to feel that through our link. Taking a breath to ease the ache in my chest, I added in a low voice, “And death always follows.” Those whispered words caught the attention of everyone in the room. Maybe death didn’t need to follow this time. I held on to that possibility.
“What then? Where do we go?”
“That’s the tricky part. I don’t know where the pack should go, but I know where we need to go. We are missing two of our group. We need to find them.”
“About this evacuation,” Charlene started.
I could see she didn’t want to leave. “Out of all of us, you and Michelle are the most vulnerable. Michelle’s brothers need to be sent away and protected. Emmitt, if he’s taken, will be a risk to both of you. They will want to break the Claim Michelle has as much as they will want to hurt Emmitt to sway you,” I said to Charlene.
She glanced at her son, worry in her eyes. Emmitt gave her a smile and squeezed Michelle’s hand gently. “Don’t worry. We know now so we can make sure it doesn’t happen.”
Charlene nodded, but her fear remained.
“What are we going to do about Joshua?” Grey asked.
“Nothing. At least not yet. Oh, but I can’t be left alone with him. With these stitches,” I gently laid a hand over my middle, “I won’t be able to fight him off.”
“You said you could Claim another to break your Claim,” Nana said gently. “Why wait?”
“Because I’m not done with him yet. Until the Compound is clear and we’re ready to leave, I have to keep my hold on him. It’s the only thing that’s keeping him from reporting back to his leader.”
“Are you sure about that?” Sam looked troubled.
“No, not really but it’s our best chance. Now, there are three Urbat out in the woods waiting for Joshua. Gabby, can you see them?”
All eyes turned to her. She nodded hesitantly, and I reached across the table to lightly touch her hand. “We need to find them and get rid of them before people start leaving. They can’t know what we’re doing.”
“They’re not far from here. But, there are ten more scattered in the surrounding area. Nothing close enough for concern though. The rest are regrouping in the east.” She paused for a moment, a frown pulling at her brow. “More are coming from the main group. I think you’re right, Bethi. They’re coming back.”
I nodded and patted her hand. “It’s good,” I reassured her. “I’d be more freaked out if they weren’t. Pick an Elder and a team of five to go out and hunt the three Urbat down,” I directed. The ones waiting to meet Joshua and me would be the first to question our delay. “Kill them quickly and quietly so they can’t communicate back to their leader. Deal with the ten on the outskirts as needed. Closest first.”
Nana looked troubled.
“No prisoners, Nana. Think of the families running from here with kids. Those ten prowling the outskirts will track and kill them if they get wind that this is a mass exodus. The three need to be silenced quickly without a chance for them to send word.” I held everyone’s attention. I could see questions still stirring, but knew we didn’t have too much time.
“We need to move,” I said standing. “Their leader—”
“Blake,” Michelle interjected.
“Blake will be wondering why Joshua hasn’t reported by now. Gabby, let us know if you see a change in their direction.”
Gabby nodded.
“Nana, will you come with me to talk to Joshua?”
“I’m coming too,” Luke said.
I shook my head. “No, Luke. I need him calm. Help Gabby. Clear the field so we can be done with this and I no longer need my Claim on Joshua.”
His eyes held mine for a long moment before he nodded and stepped back.
“Please excuse us,” Emmitt said pulling Michelle to her feet.
“Where are you going?” Nana asked concerned.
Michelle met Emmitt’s gaze, and must have felt something through their link because she suddenly grinned before turning to Nana with a blush. “Cementing my Claim,” she murmured.
Charlene chuckled. “If you two could wait just a bit longer, we’ll watch the boys for you.”
Emmitt gave a curt nod and held out Michelle’s chair for her again. Michelle sat, red faced, but happy.
Gabby looked over her shoulder at Clay and shook her head. He laughed and bent to kiss the top of her head.
Seeing the room committed to the direction we needed to take, Nana helped me up from the chair, and we left the rest to plan the evacuation.
We could see Joshua pacing the apartment when Carlos opened the door for us. A lamp lay broken in the middle of the floor, and Carlos’ lip bled. I wanted to apologize to him but knew how Joshua would take that. Joshua looked worse. His right eye had swollen shut and purple fingerprints decorated the left side of his neck. I didn’t feel too badly for him.
“That took much longer than I expected,” Joshua said, coming to a stop. His eyes swept over me and held malice as he watched Nana enter behind me.
“I’m sorry about that. Instead of concentrating on the problem of us, they got hung up on the fact that there’s another race and that I’m not exactly human.”
He barely paid attention to my words. He looked ready to fight again.
Tamping down my aversion, I walked up to him, placed my hands on his shoulders, and stood on my toes to place a chaste kiss on his cheek. The tension in his shoulders eased, and a purr rumbled in his chest.
Crisis averted, I dropped my hands, but his arms came up around me before I could step away. I let out a slow breath trying to keep any panic from welling up. I did not want to be in his arms.
“We need to leave here soon,” Joshua said. “Our troubles are still waiting. I’m stalling as best I can.”
Ah. His agitation made more sense. I could only imagine what his leader was screaming at him through their link. I nodded and tried to wear a concerned look. “I’ve asked that the Elders help make our troubles go away.”
He eyed me for a moment. A surge of possessiveness swept through me, then calculation. I didn’t miss the hint of suspicion as he smiled slowly. “That would be ideal.”
The suspicion worried me. Perhaps I was playing it up too much. “Would you mind if I took a bit more time to shower? I think I smell like a hot dog.” Hot Dog? I kept my face straight while I mentally kicked myself over my random choice of smell comparisons.
He leaned in to inhale deeply. “I smell spiced pears. Delicious.”
Crap. I struggled with what to do. I did not want him licking me again.
“Joshua,” Nana rumbled a warning.
He reluctantly released me. “Of course. Go bathe. Winifred can fill me in.”
“I’ll be quick,” I promised him. I just needed to wash my neck where I still felt his tongue. Suppressing a shiver, I walked away and closed myself into the bathroom.
Through the door, I heard Joshua’s howl of frustration and Nana’s calm tones. I stayed in the bathroom, hiding, wondering how long it would take Luke and whoever else to hunt down the three in the woods. Then, how long would it take the wolves living here to pack up and leave? I needed to do something to keep Joshua occupied until we were ready to go. He could send all the messages he wanted after that. The rest of the Urbat would still be too far away to reach us in time. I hoped.
After a few minutes, I emerged with a thoroughly scrubbed neck. Joshua’s eyes tracked me as I walked the short distance to him. He’d once again been pacing.
“We’re leaving,” he growled at me.
“Now?” I forced myself to remain calm. “We still have your friends out there to worry about.”
“Not any longer. They’ve been silenced. He is asking me for information. They are gathering to return. We must leave now.”
I let out a loud sigh. “Of course. Then we need to leave.” Nana sat on the chair watching us. “Is everything ready?”
“Almost,” she said.
My stomach gave a sickening lurch, and a wave of dizziness hit me. A dream called, and it almost knocked me out where I stood. I struggled to breathe and stay upright.
Joshua lunged for me, worry in his eyes. Behind him, Nana rose, her expression determined. Joshua’s hands gripped my arms as he steadied me. I opened my mouth to reassure them both, but only managed a wide-eyed look as Nana reached for his neck. My shocked expression was the only warning I managed to give Joshua. Nana twisted his head sharply, killing him instantly. Before his body could crumple toward me, she pulled him back.
“What did you do?” I gasped, quickly revising my thoughts that older people were nice.
“We’re ready. We don’t need him anymore. The families have packed and the last one is leaving. The unMated are following as escorts. Gabby has given the location of the last ten so they can be avoided. We are all that remain.”
I stared down at Joshua’s lifeless form and felt like crying. His death didn’t bother me as much as the timing of it. I’d meant for him to live to pressure Luke to replace the Claim. Now there was no reason for Luke to give up his stubborn determination to keep me at arm’s length.
“Come, Bethi,” she said, lifting my bag and holding out a hand. Lethal hands, I thought still dazed.
We walked through a quiet Compound. A sense of cold anticipation filled the halls. Doors to apartments stood open. Small things like lamps and blankets were missing. The large pieces of furniture remained. What had I started? They all trusted me. They’d listened. For the first time in all the lives I’d recalled, the people around me had run before it was too late. Did it mean things would change this time around?
Outside, the remaining cars left the parking lot in an orderly fashion. Sam stood on the porch watching it all. Three cars waited nearby with their doors open. Gabby stood near one, her eyes unfocused. Clay stood just behind her, a hand on her shoulder. They both faced the Compound.
“The Urbat have turned,” she said when I stepped onto the porch. “A small group, though.”
“I’m not surprised,” I answered distractedly. I couldn’t see Luke.
Nana nudged me aside, and I watched Carlos stride past carrying Joshua. I hadn’t even known he’d been following us. He stepped off the porch and headed for the woods.
“Where’s he going?” I asked. We didn’t have much time if the Urbat were headed toward us.
“Taking him to the woods. Charlene put her heart into this place. Maybe they will leave it be if he’s found out there,” Nana said, moving past me.
She slid into the backseat of one of the cars, sandwiching two little boys in between her and Jim. Michelle and Emmitt sat in the front. I doubted they’d been given the time they wanted to cement their Claim. Emmitt started the car forward as soon as Nana closed the door.
“Sam,” Gabby said, “we need to leave now.”
Carlos emerged from the woods at a run with Luke at his side. My heart went crazy. Deep down, I’d thought he would leave without me because of what I’d done.
Sam held out his hand and helped me from the porch. He, Clay, and Gabby climbed into his truck while Luke, Carlos, Grey, and I quickly filled the remaining car. Luke kept his distance from me, leaving the space of the middle seat between us. I hugged my arm to my stomach, not so much for the stitches, but for the emotional maelstrom of doubt that lived there. We left in a hurry. Everyone followed the same road heading south. From there, cars in the caravan started taking random turn-offs.
“Does everyone know where to go?” I asked.
Grey answered. “Gabby gave everyone several safe locations where the Urbat population is low. The Urbat are mostly in the northeast so everyone will avoid that area.”
“Tell Gabby we need to find somewhere safe enough to stop for a few hours. We need to plan how to get Peace before the Urbat find her.”
Grey nodded but said nothing. Hopefully, he was talking to Sam.
I glanced at Luke and found him watching me. It hurt to look at him. My eyes burned, and my lips trembled. I struggled to keep it all in. I didn’t think a simple apology would make up for what I’d done to him but said it anyway. He gave the barest of nods and reached across the seat to clasp my hand.
His touch, the light rumble of the tires over the road, and an already long messed up day did me in. My eyes fluttered closed, and a single thought floated to the surface before a dream pulled me under. I hate car rides.
