I almost burst into tears because of how relieved I am to see him. He has a black eye and other cuts and bruises across his face, but other than that, he looks like my Max.

He's staring right back at me, and even through the evident pain, he smiles. I smile back, because it's been weeks since I've seen my mate and now he's right in front of me. I love you, he mouths.

I mouth it back, completely forgetting that we have an audience of hybrids trying to destroy us. I'm so overwhelmed with love for him right now, so I really don't care.

I turn my attention back to the group of hybrids in front of me. It's easy to tell who their leader is. He's tall, he's standing front and center, and, not that this determines who the leader is, but his dark features give him an aura of power. He's got a mess of black hair, thick and practically intimidating eyebrows, and eyes like I've never seen before. They're not black, but they're so close you would think they were. They're a navy blue, dark enough where it's not a contrast to his hair.

Daisy and the twin guys that found Max and I in the woods are among the crowd. Daisy's blonde hair is easy to pull out from her front row spot next to the leader, and Rory and Ryker are near the end of the line but still up front.

"You must be Brynn," the leader says, his voice cutting though the silence. It's smooth, but it holds the same power his looks give off. The British accent clear in his voice only adds to this.

This man was meant to be a leader.

I nod in response to his words. There's no doubt that it was not a question of who I am; he knows damn well that I am Brynn.

"I'm Kai."

He waits, as if he's expecting a "nice to meet you" to come out of my mouth.

Yeah, that's not going to happen. Maybe if you didn't beat up my mate and weren't trying to destroy my pack and all the other packs in existence. Maybe then it would be nice to meet you.

When Kai realizes he's not going to get a response from me, he moves on.

"You and your mate are planning something. We heard Max talking in his sleep. He, as you can see," he says plainly, gesturing to Max and his bruised face, "Wouldn't tell us what this plan is. We thought you would be a little incentive for him."

From behind me, my arms are suddenly grasped by two different people. I don't try to fight to get out of the grasp. I just have to distract the the group of hybrids long enough for the fire to really get started. Enough to affect them.

"And what are you going to do to me?" I ask. They're the first words I've spoke to Kai, and flash of surprise goes through his eyes. I don't think he was expecting me to sound so bold. He probably thought I was pissing my pants in terror.

I'm not scared though. For the first time in weeks, I feel calm. Even with my arms trapped behind my back and an army of at least fifty hybrids trying to destroy my entire life standing in front of me, I'm not worried about how this is going to turn out.

"Stop! Let go of me!" I hear a voice from the other side of the house. It's Mara's without a doubt, and all of calmness drops. They caught her. Did they catch Hayden, too?

I hear sounds of punching, but I know Mara and Hayden can't over power the hybrids. No matter how strong they are, they're not strong enough. I fight to get out of the grasp of the two guys holding me to go protect my brother and best friend, but I realize that my strength isn't as strong as it should be.

It worked.

I hear walking and struggling, and I see Mara and Hayden round the side of the house being held with some of the hybrids.

"They were trying to escape through the front of the house," one of the guys holding Mara says. "We caught them before they could run."

I stare at Mara, and I want to laugh. She's playing the fear card really well, but for someone who's known her for her entire life, I'm able to see right through her facade. She's totally faking it.

Kai's gaze snaps to the guy who spoke, and then to Mara. Mara's face loses every element it held, and it's replaced with surprise. And then anger. She's shouting straight fire out of her face directly to Kai. I knew we were all angry with him and the rest of the hybrids, but I didn't realize just how angry. I don't think I've ever seen Mara as angry as she is right now.

Kai turns back to me, and I see a brief moment of weakness cross over his face. Something shook him out of his power trance.

The pieces click together one by one, and I keep my eyes on Kai as I realize what just happened. I cannot under any circumstances let him know what I just found out. With this little piece of information, we just gained a huge advantage in the playing field.

"Let them go," Kai grunts, not taking his eyes off me as he gestures in the direction of Mara and Hayden.

"But Kai-" one of the guys holding a Hayden starts.

"They're puny little werewolves. They're weak. They can't hurt us."

They can't. But one can.

I watch reluctantly as Mara and Hayden are released. They don't make any move to leave, though. Mara stares at Kai even though he refuses to look back in their direction, and Hayden's eyes are on me.

Is it started? I mind link him.

Yeah. It's only a matter of minutes before it hits the gasoline.

Good.

I smell the fire with one little sniff, and I know the hybrids probably can smell it too. I don't let the fear show across my face, but I hope that we're at least able to prolong the inevitable long enough so we at least have a chance to make it out of this.

Kai inhales, and he freezes. He smells it.

I wait for it, but instead, he turns to his army. "I told you guys we weren't setting this place on fire. Who did it?"

No one steps forward because it wasn't any of them, but Kai doesn't know that. It's almost funny to watch as he waits for an answer, not realizing that the more time he wastes, the more he's in danger. I want to laugh, but I don't.

In a furious huff, Kai turns back to me and finally returns to what he came here to do. "You and Max are up to something, and I'm sure the two of them are in on it," he growls, once again gesturing in Mara and Hayden's direction without looking at them.

I can practically see the red smoke coming out of Mara's ears and nostrils, and it's only a matter of time before her wolf forces her to shift. She can only handle so much anger before she loses control.

"And what do you think were up to?" I ask, letting a small smirk slip into my face. Knowing that the fire is started and they aren't actually on to us about our plan at all, I can't help but be a little confident. We may actually pull this off.

"That's what I'm here to find out."

And suddenly, I hear the fire finally catch. It lights up the entire house within seconds, and the fumes start to fill the air. The hold the two guys holding my arms have on me loosens ever so slightly.

"What the-" Kai mutters. I see the gears turning in his head as he realizes it was us who set the fire, not his people. The house wouldn't have caught on fire like it did if we hadn't had the time to douse the place in gasoline. He whips his gaze to me. "You set the fire. But why?"

I don't answer right away. I see some of the hybrids starting to stumble a little as their bodies grow weak, and I mentally yell out in happiness at how fast the smoke is working.

Only Max has no collapsed, and I realize that I need to get him out of here.

I rip my arms out of the hold's of the hybrids, and they're too weak to do anything about it. They stumble back at the force, and I start running in Max's direction.

Mara! Hayden! I need to get Max out of here! Make sure they don't get away! They're growing weak, so you should be able to easily take them down!

"What the hell?" Kai growls, looking around as his army grows weaker and weaker by the second. I ignore him as I lunge for Max, picking his body up off the ground. I hear Mara and Hayden start their attack behind me.

The feeling of Max's skin on mine after weeks of being apart is like a firework show on the fourth of July in my body. It's almost too much for me to handle, but knowing that Max could die if I keep him here too long is enough to set my priorities straight.

With my arm around Max's back to hold him steady, I start walking him away from the hybrids and into a different direction of the woods. I'm support all of his weight, and I don't know how I'm going to get him onto my back.

"I'm going to shift Max, and I need you to crawl on. I'll get you out of here."

He grunts in response, and that's enough for me.

"Okay." I slowly lower him to the ground, and he's able to get himself into his hands and knees. "Try to breathe as little as possible," I tell him, and then I shift. I lower myself to my belly and nudge Max, and maneuver myself as he crawls onto to help him the best I can.

When he's got a leg thrown over me and his hands are loosely grasping my fur, I take off at a trot. If I go at full speed, he'll fall off in an instant. As we get farther away from the house, he'll start to get his strength back and he can hold on tighter.

I know my house is burning in the background. I can hear the battle sounds of Mara and Hayden taking down the hybrids one by one. I can smell the fumes that are weakening them. I pray to the moon goddess for Mara and Hayden's safety, and I mourn for the house I grew up in being destroyed.

The most important thing I care about at the moment is that I have my mate back, though.

Max is all I need to get me through the rest of this.