“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“We thought humans were a weak race.” I gestured to the pile of ashes that symbolized dead vampires.

Max chuckled. “Guess we gotta up our game and buy a helicopter.” He nodded to Kai.

“Consider it done.” Now Kai smiled.

New Family

A month had passed already. It was a rough two weeks with no shower. We had been bathing in freezing cold creek water and only drank bottled water. When the running water tested negative for the silver particles, we were finally given the all clear. Kai had ordered a device on every water tap on every pack members’ house that glowed blue if silver was present. This would prevent future attempts. So today I packed my bags to accompany Kai to his sister’s wedding in India.

We drove with Akash, Max and Trent to the airport. I hadn’t heard anything from RAIDOS. I didn’t know how long it took for a vampire pregnancy to show. I knew Kai was working on something. He had a plan A, B and C in case certain things came about. I didn’t want to be involved. I focused on my Circle nights with Sylvia and her coven. I was learning about my witch powers. Diya had been video chatting me and Emma nonstop lately to show us last minute things for her wedding and to get our opinion. I was excited to have her and Jai join our pack; we had grown close.

Kai told Emma she couldn’t travel pregnant and left most of the pack behind to protect her. Only the five of us were going. We boarded the private plane and took our seats. The same stewardess that we had on our LA flight was there to help us. Max appraised her body and then caught me looking and blushed. Kai poked him with an elbow.

“Why not ask her on a date?” Kai challenged when she was out of earshot.

Max’s face looked pained for a second and then it was gone. “I was just looking. I’ve had my great love. Anything else would taste like orange juice after brushing your teeth.”

“I’ll ask her on a date,” Akash said, grinning. One stern look from Kai had him staring at his shoes.

I laughed.

‘What does Max mean?’ I asked Kai.

Kai looked at Max sadly. ‘He was mated for four years and she died about twenty years ago during labor with their first child. Neither of them survived.’

I tried to control my breathing and my face. I didn’t want Max to know we were talking about him. I swallowed hard. ‘That’s horrible. What happened?’

‘The baby shifted into wolf form during labor, while inside her belly. The placenta tore. They both bled out. She couldn’t heal fast enough.’

My hand went to my mouth. ‘Could that happen to Emma?’

‘I won’t let it.’

Oh my God. Why hadn’t I thought about this before? Of course werewolf pregnancies would be hard. You were carrying a shape shifting baby! Emma would be okay. I told myself. I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep. I awoke as the plane landed.

We were greeted at the airport by Jai, Diya, and the buffest man I had ever seen. He was seriously like a Vin Diesel, with hair. Kai embraced the large man lifting him off of his feet. The man ruffled Kai’s hair and then turned to me. He placed his hands in prayer pose and bowed lightly. “Namaste, Aurora.”

I grinned. “Namaste.”

“I’m Nikhil, welcome to India.”

Kai punched him in the shoulder. “He is my middle brother and my father’s second. He has a weak right hook and makes horrible chai.”

Jai leaned into my ear. “I’m his favorite brother though.”

I laughed as Nikhil retorted something about working on his boxing.

I looked over Kai’s shoulder to see Diya kissing Trent. I smiled. Weddings were fun. Kai cleared his throat loudly and they broke apart.

“You aren’t mated yet. Get over here,” he scolded Trent. We all laughed.

I took in a deep breath. India. It had a distinct smell. Your clothes smell of spices for weeks after you’ve left. I had missed it. After grabbing our bags, we made our way outside. The road was packed with cars, rickshaws and motorbikes. We all piled into two waiting taxis, I sat in back with Kai and Nikhil.

Nikhil turned to Kai. “We lost a few wolves protecting the water supply from the vampires, but thanks for warning us.” He tipped his head to me and smiled. I suddenly felt uncomfortable. If I hadn’t had that vision and warned everyone… I shuttered. I smiled back.

“We didn’t lose any wolves but we had our own complications.” Kai was leaning into me. I felt safe.

Nikhil placed a hand on Kai’s knee. “I’ve missed you, brother. The pack isn’t the same without you.”

Kai placed his hand over his brother’s and gave a deep rumbling laugh. God I loved that laugh. “I’m sure father is glad I’m gone and you made second, so it all worked out.”

Nikhil stared out the window. “Papa is becoming obsessed with the vampires attacking us. He doesn’t want to sit idle and wait for another attack. I feel it fair to warn you, this trip isn’t just about Diya’s wedding. He will want to talk about the next step.”

Kai sighed. “I figured. That’s Papa. Can’t sit still for a single moment. Always moving, never sleeping, always planning. In some ways it’s good.”

“Sounds exhausting,” I commented.

“It is,” they said in tandem and laughed.

We only booked a two-day trip to India, with two days eaten up for travel. That was being away from the pack and Emma for four days total. After settling into our hotel, I was quickly wrapped into a sari and taken to Diya’s henna party. It was girls only. I made small talk with some of the other girls, surprised to see a few white girls in the pack. I had assumed they would all be Indian. I was careful not to make eye contact. I felt that my dominating and foreign wolf presence made a few of the more dominant wolves edgy. I stuck to conversing with the submissives. I found Diya who had an artist working on her feet and another on her hands. An intricate elephant design was being drawn onto her palm.