Mr. Aleksandrov’s smile widened. “We go to them.”

Everyone protested at once. Was Mr. Aleksandrov going insane? Since leaving for the council, he’s changed. He seemed a hell of a lot more impulsive now. He stepped back, raising his hands to silence us. “I know it sounds crazy, but this could be our only shot to expose them.”

“Why do you want to expose them?”

“Because our people need honesty. They need to be led by someone who puts the people’s best interests first. Those who run an entire society behind someone else’s face are weak. They’re afraid of the backlash because they know what they’re doing is wrong and would much rather someone else be blamed for it.”

“Why the sudden interest in changing the world, Ivan?”

Mr. Aleksandrov slumped into himself, his eyes quickly flicking to Mila before raking over the rest of us.

“Uncle,” Mila warned, and I looked over my shoulder at her. Her eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed with… anger or embarrassment? I couldn’t tell.

“What’s going on?” I questioned. I pulled away from Eli before I glanced back to Mr. Aleksandrov.

“I need a team,” Mr. Aleksandrov muttered, running his hands over his face. “They’re not going to help me unless they know, Mila.”

“Know what?” I was getting annoyed now. I didn’t like Mila hiding things from me.

Tears welled in her eyes and rolled over the brims before wetting her cheeks. “I-I’m…” She swiped at her eyes before whipping around on her heels and storming off.

I wasted no time in following her. The past few weeks she’s seemed fine—happy, even, so what could be making her so upset?

“Mila?” I called after her. “What’s wrong?”

I grabbed her wrist and Mila lurched forward, snatching her arm from my grasp and vomiting all over the road. I jumped back, cringing before I leaned forward and gathered her hair.

“Leave me alone,” she groaned when she was finished and pulled away from me again.

“I’m not going to leave you alone,” I told her, following her to the second car and out of sight of everyone else. She sat on the hot road, leaning against the tire. She dropped her head onto her hands and her shoulders began to shake as she cried. Why was she having such a hard time dealing with all of this? I never once stopped to think about how this was affecting her. She’s always been a lot more… fragile than me.

“Ruby,” Eli uttered from behind me, but I ignored him. I needed to talk to Mila, alone.

“Not right now,” I told him without glancing over my shoulder. “Mila? Talk to me.”

“Ruby.” I snapped my arm up, showing him the back of my hand. Eli snatched my hand and lowered it. “She’s pregnant.”

I gaped at Eli over my shoulder and he seemed annoyed by the revelation.

“But that’s not possible,” I said, looking back at Mila. She was crying harder now, her body rocking with her sobs. “Right?”

She looked at me, her eyes narrowing into annoyed slits. “Of course it’s possible, otherwise I wouldn’t be pregnant right now!”

“Whose?”

“I’ll give you three guesses, but you’re only going to need one.”

Gabriel. I took a minute step back, pressing myself against Eli. “That’s… that’s not possible,” I whispered. “He’s a guardian angel and you’re a goddess. We can’t procreate.”

“And who told you that?” she snapped. “Whoever it was, you can now call them a lying son of a bitch because I am pregnant—nine weeks’ pregnant.”

I looked at Eli, absolutely panicked. We hadn’t been so careful the last couple of times we… you know… ‘did it.’

“It’s extremely rare, but there have been some cases where it has happened. The higher power—or the council—have always taken care of it.”

The way he said ‘taken care of it’ sent shivers from my head to the tips of my toes.

“So that’s why Mr Aleksandrov is so adamant about changing the laws? For Mila?”

Eli nodded. “We have to go back to the council.”

“And if they kill us?”

His thumb brushed up my arm and began circling my elbow. “We’re dead, anyway.”

Chapter Twelve

Stupid cars. Seriously. I was getting sick and tired of these four wheeled machines. On the plus side, Mr. Aleksandrov told us that his plan was to expose the council before they had the chance to kill us. That was it. The specifics were still unknown. According to him, we were dead anyway, so anything we tried was worth a shot.

Mila didn’t talk to anybody, even though I gave up my front seat to be near her. For hours she sniffled and wiped away tears, behaving like she was all alone on this thing. She wasn’t alone. For example, we were on our way back to the motel we were attacked at to grab the attention of the people who sent the attacker so we could go back to the council’s city and find a way to expose them. All of this was in support of her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered, leaning into her. She looked at me like I was an idiot. Fair call. If it were me, I wouldn’t have told anybody, either.

“We’re going to sort this out, okay? We’re going to clear the law and then you and Gabriel can—”

“There is no me and Gabriel…”

“What do you mean?”

“He doesn’t know and I haven’t spoken to him since we…” She covered her face with her hands. “I can only imagine what I look like to you and everybody else, and Xavier probably hates me, too.”

I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in. “Xavier doesn’t hate you. He was more shocked than anything. We all were, but we’d never judge you, Mila. Ever.”

I ignored the curious nagging in my stomach that urged me to ask why she cared what Xavier thought about her. Now was not the time to pry into her love life… I hardly imagined it to be a topic she’d want to discuss right now.

“I don’t want to do this,” she cried, shielding her face from me again.

“You’re going to be okay, Mila. It’s not the end of the world.”

“It’s not the end of anyone else’s word but mine. I hope they kill us when they see us.”

I frowned. Well, then… wasn’t she just a bright ball of sunshine. She’s in an emotional state, I reminded myself. She doesn’t mean it.

“You’re going to get through this… and we’re going to help you.”

She shrugged out from underneath my arm and angled her body away from me. It hurt, but I couldn’t hold it against her. I sighed and slumped into my seat. What if the council lifted the law and Mila didn’t want to keep the baby—or worse—what if they refuse to lift the ban? We’re dead anyway, I suppose. From the front seat, Hunter groaned.

“Ease up on the negative feelings, you’re making me nauseous.”

I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t shut off my emotions. It was impossible. “Deal with it.”

I peered out the window and watched the tall, thick trees roll past. Most trees were bare, exposing long awkward branches as they prepared themselves for winter. I loved winter. It was my favorite time of the year—or at least it used to be, before Mom died.

***

I don’t know how long it took to get back to the place we’d fled from… I slept on and off for the most part. I dreamt, too, but whenever it turned dark, I was awoken by Hunter squeezing my knee from the seat, and although I appreciated the exit from my nightmares, Eli didn’t. For the most part, I avoided his gaze that occasionally flicked to me. I wonder if we told the council about the sire bond, they’d keep us alive a little longer, or maybe, they’d find a way to break it. Of course, I’d probably have to offer them something in return, like a lifetime supply of my blood or something equally as ridiculous. All I knew was, there was no way I could live like this. Hunter, knowing all of my emotions, experiencing them, was starting to bug me. Someday soon, Eli and I will be together… and I can’t have Hunter around if I want it work. For a while, I was confused about Hunter, and truth be told, I thought I loved him… but looking back, I knew it wasn’t love. He was there for me when Eli was gone. He offered me comfort when I needed it and he encouraged me to be young and stupid, to have fun, and that awed me. Then, he was taken from me. That was the most confusing period for me… I thought he was dead. I was heartbroken because I’d lost the one person who has never tried to change me. After my Mom’s murder, after my transition, after Hank… I was damaged. I needed love and wanted attention. I see that now. What I felt for Hunter pales in comparison to my love for Eli. I would do anything for him… to be without him would be hell, and to feel anyone else’s lips on my skin would be a mere graze to the tsunami of tingles Eli’s sent over me every time we’re intimate.

The car rolled to a stop and the air in the car suddenly became thick with apprehension. Although we put up a tough front, none of us wanted to die. We kept our eyes on the deserted motel. There were no cars… nothing.

“Maybe they don’t know we’re he—”

Hunter’s words are cut off by a blinding light coming from the forest in front of us. I shielded my eyes with my forearm and attempted to peer past the white lights, but got nowhere.

“They know we’re here,” Eli muttered, opening his door.

I shot forward in my seat and gripped Eli’s shoulder. “You’re not going out there,” I ordered, but he slipped away from me and out of the car.

“I am, but you’re not. Stay here and let us handle it. All of you.” He flicked his keys to Hunter, who caught it, just. “If anything happens, get them out of here and keep them safe.

Hunter nodded, but I wasn’t going to take that so easily. “Eli—”

He shut the door and I reached for my own. I wasn’t going to go anywhere without him. As my finger curled around the handle, the door locked and I snapped back to Hunter.

“Why’d you lock the door?” I demanded, pulling a little harder on the handle. I ran my free hand along the door, looking for a button that I could pull to unlock it. Nothing. What kind of death trap was this machine? No manual locks, really? “Unlock the door!”

Hunter shook his head. “Sorry, gotta keep you two safe. De Luca’s orders.”

“Since when do you care what Eli says?” Mila barked, unclipping her seatbelt. “You’ve never done what he’s said before.”

“I happen to agree with him on this one and besides, we both care about the safety of you two.”

“Us two?” Mila scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

“You know, you’re really letting your pregnancy emotions and hormones run rampant today, Mila. Turn it down a notch.”

I growled. “If you don’t let me out of this car, I’ll show you rampant emotions.”

Hunter smiled back at me over his shoulder, his blue eyes glistening. “I’m sure I could take anything that you dish out.”

I looked back through the window. The bright lights were gone and all I saw were at least seven elite guards with guns pointed at Mr. Aleksandrov, Lyric, Xavier, and Eli. I shoved the tips of my fingers into my mouth and began to chew on my already blunt nails. Minutes passed and the guns weren’t lowered. I expected them to shoot at any second, Hunter did too, I could tell by the way his finger tightened around the keys.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Mila whispered, inching closer to me. She was scared, and judging by the way my hands shook, I was, too.

“I don’t know…”

They spoke for a length of time and every couple of minutes I tried my luck with the door. Sadly, Hunter never unlocked it. Quick butterflies fluttered around my stomach and their wings dug into the sides, slicing me with their anxiety inducing tips. The elites could pull their triggers at any second and I’d lose half of the people I loved most. Then what? Hunter would take the wheel and we’d run? Even if that were to happen (touch wood) I couldn’t leave. They’d have to shoot me, too, because I couldn’t live without Eli… I cringed. The mere thought of it was unbearable.

For a moment, my entire world stilled as an elite guard, the one standing in front of the rest, raised his gun directly at Eli. Eli barely flinched—in fact—he seemed a hell of a lot calmer than anyone else. No one moved. I heard the keys jingle as Hunter singled out the ignition key. My entire body was tense—so tense my muscles began to burn.

“Hunter,” I said, my voice dead calm—much calmer than I felt inside, anyway. “Unlock my door.”

“Ruby—”

“If you don’t unlock my door and something happens to him, I’ll blame you for the rest of my life.”

That was wrong of me to say. I knew I would never hold Hunter accountable for whatever happens tonight, but he didn’t. I never took my eyes off the large gun pointed at Eli’s face to gauge Hunter’s reaction, but I could feel his stare burning into me. Not a second later, I heard the car unlock and guns were pointed in our direction as the indicators on our car flashed twice. Eli turned his head. He was mad. I saw his eyes thin and his lip purse. He was an idiot if he thought I’d just sit here and do nothing… on that thought, what the hell was I going to do now? All of the attention was on us.

“I hope you have a plan,” Hunter murmured, clearly unnerved by the situation.