Devi: Matefinder Book 2 (24 page)

                It was an unusually sunny day on the mountain. We were all assembled in Emma’s backyard. Raj had arranged for the bodies of the Indian pack to be sent back home. The militia’s dead had been buried at the cemetery where Max’s wife was, but Emma insisted she wanted Devon closer.

                Kai addressed the hundreds of people gathered. “No one takes the loss of a wolf harder than an Alpha. It’s my duty to protect all of my wolves and I couldn’t protect Devon. In the end, he died protecting my mate, an honor for which I will be eternally grateful. To honor Devon, I will make sure his mate and child are well taken care of for the rest of their long, long lives.”

                I stared at the white painted casket that held Devon’s body. I glanced at Emma’s delicate hand which clutched mine and then to her large belly. Her eyes were swollen, but she held her head up high. I squeezed her hand and she returned the gesture.

                “After Devon heard about my visit to the vampire nightclub and learned what was going on, he made me make him a promise!” Kai roared. “He said to me, ‘Don’t let my daughter or son grow up in this world the way it is.’ We need change. There must be justice!” Kai roared.

                “Justice for Devon!” the pack echoed. “Justice for the humans!”

                Max and Kai lowered Devon into the ground and placed the dirt over his body. Emma sobbed and turned to me. My heart ached. How was this happening? Death was such bullshit. Why did people have to die? This was not the world I envisioned when I found out I was a werewolf. I had bonded with my new family and I didn’t want to bury any of them.

                ‘No more,’
I told Kai.
‘No one else dies.’

                Kai met my eyes. I saw so much pain there. Being an Alpha was a huge responsibility for anyone, but Kai took it all to heart. Every person in the pack was like an adopted child or sibling. He would carry this weight forever and I would carry it with him.

                “Take me home. He’s not in that body anymore,” Emma told me as she pulled her hand out of mine and walked back into the house.

                I watched my pregnant best friend waddle back into her home and I made myself a promise. The world would be a better place for Emma and her baby, free of heroin dealing vampires. It would definitely be free of little vampire spawn, even if I had to die trying. I owed her that much.

                Emma’s parents, who were both wolves in a Utah pack were on a flight to be with her. I hadn’t met them, but I knew they must be worried sick. I waited with Emma until she fell asleep and then I went to find Kai.

                He was in our backyard, topless and wearing sweat pants. He must have just got in from a run.  My eyes rested on his damaged hand. The fingers were healing and growing back, much to our amazement. There was a thick scar at the base of each finger where it was severed but the new bone and skin was coming in. He sensed me but didn’t turn. I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around his large chest.

                “What now, Kai?” I whispered.

                He turned to me with yellow, haunted eyes. Devon’s death haunted us all. Kai always had a plan for everything; I was hoping he had a plan to find and kill Layla. To stop the thing from growing inside of her.

                “Alek contacted me. He told me where Layla lives and so I sent Max and a few others over there to scout it out.”

                Hope bloomed inside my chest. We could go there tonight and take her out, but Kai’s face didn’t look happy.

                “It was burned to the ground recently and because we can no longer smell them. Her trail runs cold.”

                Genuine fear gripped me. Images flashed through my mind of what would happen now. Layla would get pregnant and …

                Kai grabbed the side of my face.

                “Stop worrying so much. We will figure this out. We need to regroup and deal with the humans finding out about us. The President wants me to join him in a press conference. To settle the humans’ fears about our kind. Besides, Sylvia can’t find Layla either, that dark witch is hiding her. It takes nine months to have a baby, right? We have time to make a plan to find her and kill her once and for all.”

                If Kai thought I was waiting nine months while that thing grew inside of Layla because of me, he was crazy. But he was right. We had shaken up the human world when he revealed our race, we needed to contend with that first. I nodded reluctantly.

                “We will lay low for a short time, help smooth over things with the humans. Stop the riots. Then we find Layla. We end this,” I told him firmly.

                He swiped the hair across my forehead and tucked it behind my ear. “We end this,” he echoed, “together.”

                But I felt the Devi stirring restlessly inside of me. We may end it together, but I may not live to see beyond it. I tried to hide that feeling from Kai, but the desperate look on his face told me I hadn’t.

                “Together,” he said again, barely holding onto his humanity.

Acknowledgments

                As always, I have many people to thank. To Patti Geesy, my editor, who keeps my writing polished and shiny. To my wonderful, supportive husband. Thank you for doing dishes and changing diapers while I write. You’re my hero. To my mother and my in-laws who tirelessly help with my 2 year old twins so I can have, “Office Hours”. To Dan and Ellen Nakano for beta reading and being awesome humans. To Ben Boomer for your Shaman consultations. To the creative force in the Universe that flows through me without effort. Continue to inspire me and I will continue to write. To every single reader, thank you for the support!