Free Balance by Leia Stone Page B

he
screamed.
                    I
felt him rip my shirt off and press something hard to my back. A painful scream
tore from my throat as the pressure on my back caused me agony. RAIDOS. Yes, of
course they wanted me dead. Vampire baby-making problem solved. Dammit,
couldn’t a girl just watch a football game in peace?
                    My
eyelids were fluttering. It was so cold. How cliché but true, you got super
cold when you were dying. I was dying, right? Werewolves regenerated, but we
also died of blood loss. By the looks of Max’s clothes, which were dripping
with my blood, I was a goner. When I thought I couldn’t stay awake any longer,
a sudden burst of energy flooded my body.
                    Kai.
                    ‘I’m
coming! Keep talking to me,’ Kai told me but I was too sleepy.
                    ‘Blood
loss.’ My thoughts weren’t working
right. More power flooded me. Alpha power. Kai was giving me all that he had.
                    I
looked up at Max. His eyes were wild, face streaked with blood. “If I die, you
can be second again,” I joked with a slurred voice.
                    His
retort was garbled as he reached out and smacked my face hard, making my
drooping eyelids fly open. I tried. I tried so damn hard to stay awake and keep
talking but in the end, I failed.

Headache
                   
                    I
awoke with a racing pulse and a headache from hell. Witches’ wine had nothing
on this sucker; there was a constant pounding drum in my brain. Sitting up too
quickly, I was slammed with a wave of dizziness. Kai grabbed my shoulders and
pressed his face to mine. “DON’T EVER DO THAT AGAIN,” he commanded.
                    I
winced. “Shhh.”
                    He
backed up a little.
                    “I
didn’t plan on getting shot. Geez.”
                    I
reached around slowly and felt my back. Smooth skin. I took a deep breath, clear.
This werewolf healing thing was insane.
                    “I’m
like indestructible,” I stated.
                    Kai’s
eyes were yellow as he glared at me. “No, you’re not. You almost bled to death.
Max saved your life and you’ve had two blood transfusions aided by the witches.”
                    Shit.
Then all of the memories from last night came back to me.
                    “Earl!”
                    Kai
nodded. “Took one in the arm but will be fine. Has already been discharged from
the hospital. You saved his life.”
                    I
sighed and reached out for Kai’s hand. His hair was wild and I knew he hadn’t
slept. I hated that I did this to him, but it wasn’t like I asked for it.  
                    “RAIDOS?”
I knew the answer.
                    I
could hear Kai’s teeth grind from my place on our bed. He nodded. “They
intended to take you out. Semi-automatic long range rifles. Waiting in the trees.”
                    I
frowned. “How did they know we would be there? The drones are all gone, right?”
                    Kai
seemed to consider this. “I think we have a mole.”
                    I
sat up straighter. “Really? In the pack? No way!”
                    Kai
shook his head. “No, in the militia.”
                    There
were over six hundred guys in the militia and Earl couldn’t know them all
personally. It was a definite possibility.
                    I
whistled low. “What do we do?”
                    He
shrugged. “Keep a close eye for now. I told Earl about it. We should stop
sparring practice with them, pack only.”
                    That
didn’t sound like a great