It was actually a good plan. “Okay. Let’s do this. Bring the girls home.” The Devi stirred within me.

Hanging up, I changed into black yoga pants and a t-shirt. I made sure that my special protective necklace pouch was around my neck, the one that held Sylvia’s hair. After slipping a silver stake, a gun, and my cell phone in my purse, I took a deep breath.

‘You okay?’ Kai checked in with me. It was amazing that no matter the distance, his voice was like he was right next to me. Our mate bond was strong and I panicked as fear shot through me. Did he know? I forgot to hide my feelings when Brett called. It felt awful to lie to him. I didn’t know what to say so I kept silent, trying to think of what to reply.

My phone rang; it was Kai.

Shit. I evened out my breathing and answered.

“Hey, babe,” I said calmly.

“What’s wrong? Why didn’t you answer me?” Kai’s voice was pinched with tension.

I said the first thing I could think of. “Emma wants to leave the pack.”

“What! Why?” I felt his shock through the bond.

It was a perfect cover for my feelings and also true, I explained her sadness about living in the house she once shared with Devon.

He sighed in relief. “She can have a new house. I’ll give her any damn house she wants.”

I smiled. “That’s what I told her.”

“So, nothing else is wrong?” He questioned and I swallowed hard.

“How’s it going over there? Any sign of Layla?” I changed the subject.

He sighed. “No. We questioned one of the vampires under duress. He said she isn’t here.”

Duress. That was Kai’s code word for torture. Great, and Layla wasn’t even there.

“Yet.” Kai added. “We took out a huge shipment. We will keep at it until she shows up to retaliate.”

“She’s not going to show, Kai. She isn’t stupid. She will send lackeys to retaliate. We need to go forward with the plan to use me as bait. I’m the only thing she wants, the only thing she will risk exposure for.”

Kai sighed. “Aurora, there is another way–”

“Kai! I love you but you’re being selfish! There are ten females scared and locked up and possibly tortured right this second because you won’t man up and do what’s best for the collective whole.”

My skin tingled as the Devi stirred inside of me.

“Man up? What kind of man sends his pregnant mate into a vampire trap!” he roared.

This was awful. I felt sad that we were fighting, I didn’t want this. This wasn’t how Kai and I were. He felt my feelings.

“I’m sorry. I only do what I do because I love you. I want to keep you safe.”

I nodded as tears fell down my cheek. “I know, but I don’t think you can keep me safe.”

“Don’t say that,” he told me.

“I love you, Kai. We can talk about this tomorrow.”

His panic run through the mate bond. “Okay. I love you, too. Goodnight.”

I hung up and wiped my tears. Enough was enough. I pushed my love for Kai deep down inside of me. I had hopes and dreams for this baby, for Kai and I, and every single one of them involved a world free of Layla. I pushed everything down that made me weak and then I brought my wolf and the Devi to the surface. It was time to end this. I would not bring a child into the world knowing it would live a life of being hunted! If I died because of it, then so be it. I couldn’t sleep one more goddamn night knowing that Layla was alive and experimenting with my blood! My wolves! She was as good as dead. A growl ripped from my throat.

I was ready. My entire journey had led me here to this moment.

Grabbing my car keys, I crossed the living room quickly and went into the garage. After sliding into the car, I pressed the button to open the garage door.

“Going somewhere?” a voice from the backseat asked.

I jumped up screeching. “Jesus Christ! Max, you scared the shit out of me.” My heart was in my throat. Bastard.

Max wore a grin from the backseat. I inhaled. I couldn’t smell him. Shit, I forgot. He smiled.

“The witches took my scent, remember? Helpful when I need to spy on you.” His eyes narrowed.

Think. Think. Think. I started the car. “Why are you spying on me? Get out. I need to go get a few things from my mom’s house.” I tried to keep my face calm to cover the lie.

Was I really doing this? It was a smart plan. If Kai made some big plan with tons of wolves, the vampires might not come. But with just Brett … we had a chance. I needed Max to leave.

“Hmm, you know, normally I would,” Max said but sat there. I turned around and stared at him.

“Max! Get out of my car. That’s an order.” I glared, pulling dominance into my voice.

He stared back with suspicion. “I would, but my Alpha just texted me and told me to keep an eye on you. He also made it an order. Why are you going to your mom’s at ten at night?”

I sighed and threw the car in reverse. “Fine come with me. She needs her night clothes and things.”

I pulled out of the driveway. I needed to come up with a plan. Either I go to my mom’s, get Max inside the house and try to ditch him or…  I looked into the rearview mirror and met his eyes. He knew something was up. Frick. I pulled over, put the car in park and turned around to face him.

“Do you love Tara?” I asked him seriously, giving him the stare down.