Mara nods, solidifying my answer.

"How are we supposed to hold them off for a month? If it was a week, we could figure it out. But a month?"

"Hayden's right," Violet says. "How are we supposed to hold off a group of hybrids for a month? There's nothing we can do to defend ourselves until then."

My mind is racing with possible solutions. There's gotta be a way to hold off the hybrid's attack until the solar eclipse. There has to be.

Max's hand grips my hip tighter, and I know his wheels are spinning too.

Mara sighs, "We have to find a way. The solar eclipse is our only chance to defeat the hybrids."

"Well," Lacey snaps, "I don't want any part of this. I'm not helping." Her eyes zero in on Max and I, and her voice is worse than vicious when she says, "This is all your fault. If you two weren't hanging around here still, the hybrids would want nothing to do with us."

I want to point out that the hybrids aren't attacking our pack because Max and I didn't join them; their plan is to kill all werewolves and vampires. The hybrids would come to kill my pack eventually. I open my mouth to fight back, but my dad surprisingly beats me to it.

"That's enough!" he roars, and I've never seen Lacey look so surprised or scared. "Brynn is my daughter, and I'm the only parent she's got after you disowned her for something that shouldn't matter! If we don't figure out how to hold off the hybrid's attack, we will all die! The hybrids are going to attack whether Brynn and Max are here or not! So are you going to help protect your family, or are you going to let one experience with a bad vampire that happened years ago control you?"

Everyone is silent. Even Carter stops fidgeting, staring at my dad with wide eyes like he can't believe what just happened. All my brothers and sister have wide eyes and jaws to the floor. Everyone is looking at my dad, shocked but not surprised at his sudden outburst.

The only sound in the room is my dad's ragged breathing. He's mad.

I don't think I've ever seen my dad this angry before. Under any other circumstances, I think I would be pissing my pants in fear. His anger is stemming from wanting to protect me, and I can't be scared from that. Lacey needs to be put in her place, and the only person who can accomplish this is my dad. If he's not able to do it, I don't think anyone can.

Lacey finally breaks the silence. "How dare you speak to me like that," she says in a harsh whisper. "I will always put my family first. I will do anything to protect my family. She," she gestures in my direction, "Is not my family."

Her words hit me hard. I think I would have started crying without the added pregnancy hormones. They just make it worse. I turn and curl my head into Max, trying to hide the sounds of my sobs.

"If that's how you feel, then leave." My dad's voice is void of any emotion. There's no way to tell what he's thinking or feeling right now. If I had to guess, saying his next words is going to be one of the hardest things he's ever going to do. "You're making me choose between my mate and my daughter, and I will always choose my daughter. I should have never let Brynn leave the other night."

I'm still hiding my face in Max's chest, but I smile at my dad's words. No matter how hard it was from him to say, I know what he said is true. I wish Lacey wasn't making him choose, and it would be ideal if she could just go along with the program.

I turn away from Max's chest to watch what happens next. Lacey's jaw is to the floor, and she's looking at each of my siblings in turn, waiting for one of them to stick up for her. No one says anything.

Sorry Lacey. If you're gonna be a bitch, you have to face the consequences.

"You're all gonna side with her?" Lacey spits, flicking her hand in my direction. "After everything I've done for you all?"

"Brynn's part of our family," Lexi defends without missing a beat. Her voice is so defiant. She's so confident in her words, and I've never been mote proud of her than I am right now.

"She's a vampire," Lacey fights back, but to no avail.

"And she's never made a single move to harm anyone," Violet snaps. It's so unlike Violet to sound so hostile, but I love that it's for me. They're all defending me to their own mother without hesitation, and it just shows how strong my bond is with my siblings. It shows how much we care for each other.

"If you think we're going to pick you over her after how you've treated her, you've got some serious shit to sort through," Ryder says, his tone laid back and unaffected by everything going on around him. Lacey glares at his choice of words, but the younger kids don't seem to care. They're watching this all unfold with wide eyes, not believing their mom could be this mean.

Lacey looks at my dad one more time. He stares right back, not making a move to say anything. Her eyes soften just a little. It was barely noticeable, but it was something.

I speak up.

"Are you really going to let your hatred for Max and I overpower your love for Dad?" I ask.

She snaps her eyes to me, and they harden again. She doesn't say anything for a few moments, and it actually surprises me.

I know what the mate bond feels like. If I hated something as much as she hates me but it was standing between Max and I, I would choose Max in a heartbeat. No question. No feeling will ever be stronger than the love I have for Max. I don't understand how Lacey doesn't feel the same way about Dad.

"You don't get it," she hisses, her voice still hostile

but not as powerful. "I grew up fearing vampires after I was attacked by one. I was told all my life that vampires were bad and to stay away from them. Come to find out, after almost eighteen years of being with your dad, I learn that his daughter is half vampire, and I've been raising her like my own daughter the entire time."

"So you should know that I'm not going to hurt anyone," I fight back. I'm furious with Lacey for how she's treated me and the things she's said, but I can't let her leave my dad. It would crush him. He can't lose another mate. I refuse to leave, though, so the only option is to make Lacey understand that neither of us is going anywhere. "It doesn't matter if I'm half vampire. There are good vampires out there, just like there are bad werewolves."

I know I get something through to her at the mention of werewolves, so I keep pushing. "Bad werewolves attack people too, but you've never been scared of werewolves. There's good and bad people out there everywhere, and you can't hate an entire species for what one of their kind did."

She cracks. She rushes over to my dad, tears sliding down her face before she buries it in his shoulder. He pulls her into him tightly, and I feel Max's arm slide around my waist. He pulls me into his side, and I relax my head as I watch my dad and Lacey.

"I'm sorry," I hear her say quietly. "Brynn's right."

I smile a little. I don't know what Lacey and I's relationship will look like going forward, but I convinced her to stay.

When Lacey pulls away from my dad, she hesitantly approaches me. "I'm sorry," she says meaningfully. I'm the one who makes a move to hug her. She wraps her arms around me, holding me in the motherly way she always has. She doesn't say anything else, but the hug says it all.

"I hate to break up this little family reunion, but does anyone have any clue how to fight the hybrids? They're our number one priority right now," Mara says loudly. Lacey and I pull away from each other, and she moves to stand by my dad again.

Max wraps his arms around my waist and pulls my back against his chest. His hands are loosely resting on my stomach, and I smile. I can't help it.

And then he says, "I have an idea, but you guys aren't going to like it."