“Joshua, I’d like to meet with the Elders and figure out how we can leave here without dying.”

He purred with satisfaction and in a quick move, wrapped his arms around me in a hug, pressing me tight against his body.  My stitches pulled and I made a small noise.  Oblivious, he leaned in and nuzzled my neck.  I fought not to gag.

“Moron, you’re hurting her,” Luke growled taking a step toward me.

Over Joshua’s shoulder, I watched Grey clamp down on one of Luke’s arms and Sam the other.  They held him back as his body flexed in a constant state of shifting.  I couldn’t tell if his wolf was coming or going.

“Please, Joshua. He’s right.  You’re hurting me.  I was cut recently.”

Joshua still didn’t pull back.  His hot breath warmed my neck a second before his tongue laved it, just below the ear Luke had kissed not long ago.  Joshua was marking me, wiping away Luke’s scent.  Not good.  I could feel his desire rising again.

“Nana,” I called in a slight panic.

“Joshua,” Nana warned.  “She is in no shape for what you’re thinking.  Stop now or for her safety, I will stop you.”

He laughed, a rumble I felt in my own chest since we were pressed so close.  But he did ease back.  “Soon,” he whispered, ducking down to meet my gaze.  “They can’t stop a Claimed pair,” he promised, his hand drifting to my belly.  His fingers traced the stitches through my shirt.  “A few days will see us truly together.”

I nodded slowly as if agreeing while trying to keep the tremors from my body.  He smiled in return and released me.  I couldn’t look at Luke.  I wanted a shower.

Nana held her hand out to me.  I clasped it tightly and left the room with her.  I hoped they knew to keep an eye on Joshua.  He wouldn’t leave without me.  I’d ensured that when I Claimed him.  But, I didn’t want him near Luke.

Chapter Sixteen

“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 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 eyes hadn’t left me since he entered the room.  A glint of hurt still lingered in their depths, 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 looked 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’s 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.”  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 since they figured out what we were.  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 onto 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.