"Brynn-"

I give Mara a pointed look, and she cuts her self off when she realizes that I know. I want to separate her from everyone else she we can talk about what only the two of us know.

Later, I mouth, and her nod is so small I barely see it.

"We'll set out tomorrow morning to find him. We need to rest and get something to eat first," I say. "He's weak. He won't be able to get far." I'm not worried about not being able to find Kai. Now that him and Mara have realized they are mates, she'll be able to pick up his scent straight from our house and follow it.

Julie and Rick lead us into their house, heading straight for the kitchen. Max and I slump into the living room and curl up on the couch together. His arms are around me and my cheek is pressed against his chest. It's heaven after being separated.

Julie brings us each a plate with leftover fried rice on it, and the two of us shift just enough so we can each hold our plate and eat. Julie offers a sad but hopeful smile before reentering the kitchen.

"Is there somewhere Mara and I can talk in private?" I whisper to Max in between bites.

He nods and whispers in my ear, "Go up to my room. I'll hang out down here until you guys are done." He kisses my temple, and I shiver at the touch of his lips.

We finish eating, and I stack our plates as I move and reluctantly leave Max's arms. I kiss his cheek, my lips aching to feel his against them. I want to so bad, but I know once I do, I won't be able to stop for a long, long time. After not being able to feel his lips against mine for so many weeks, our reunion kiss is going to be anything but innocent.

I head into the kitchen where a mixture of my family and Max's family are quietly conversing. I slip around family members to rinse the plates in the sink. Once they're loaded in the dishwasher, I meet Mara's eyes. I gesture for her to follow me, and she doesn't need to be told twice. Not that I told her anything, but you get the point.

She follows me up the stairs to Max's room, and sleeping arrangements cross my mind. With my entire family of twelve here, I don't think everyone is going to be lucky enough to get a bed. I push it out of my mind for a later thought. Right now, discussing things with Mara is my first priority.

I close the door to Max's room when Mara and I are both inside, and I curl up in his bed. Mara sits down beside me, laying her head on my shoulder. I tilt my head so it's leaning against the top of hers.

"Mara," I say quietly, not sure how to start this conversation. We both know exactly what it's about, but there's no good way to get the conversation going.

"Why me?" she whispers, her voice so soft and quiet that it's barely audible.

"Because you're the bad bitch most qualified," I respond, just as soft and quiet and hoping it'll lighten her mood a little.

"Brynn, what if I never get a second chance mate?"

I'm not completely surprised by her words. I had my ideas, but I didn't know for sure if she would reject him or not. When it comes to mates, all prediction fly out the window. There's too much feeling and passion and power between mates to be able to successfully predict what will happen.

Take Max and I, for example. We've known each other a little over a month and we already have a little one on the way. I never would have pegged myself as the girl to fall for her mate as fast as I did, but look at me now.

Mara sniffles, trying to hide her crying. All of her anger from previously finding out that Kai is her mate had disappeared. Now, it's time to let the realization and understanding of it all sink in.

I know she's not expecting me to answer her question about a second chance mate. She just put it out in the open so I would know what she's thinking. The best I can do is be there for her in silence as she processes everything and mourns for the life she's always wanted and might not ever have.

I sit with her as she cries, her body shaking against mine. I thought there would be more to our conversation, but I was wrong. I think deep down, I knew that Mara would need to let herself break down, and she wouldn't do that if anyone else but me was around.

A few minutes later, when Mara's crying has slowly come to a stop and after thinking about how we can catch Kai, I ask, "So what do you want to do?"

He's Mara's mate. This decision is up to her. She gets to decide how we find him and what we do with him once we have him.

Mara lifts her head from my shoulder, moving mine in the process. She turns to me, her eyes bloodshot and puffy, red streaks running down her cheeks. "We find him," she says simply. "And we lock him in the cell."

"Okay."

Sleeping arrangements are made. I try and sleep with Mara in the downstairs living room, but she insists that I sleep with Max. She refused to let me sleep there with her and most of my siblings.

Max is still helping his parents scrounge up enough pillows and blankets for everyone, so I retreat to his bedroom to wait.

I'm finally alone after the long twenty hour hours we've just had, and the only thing I want to do is curl into Max's arms and sleep for an eternity. I know I have to get up at the ass crack of dawn tomorrow, but it sounds nice.

I also want to shower. One sniff is all I needed to realize that I reek. I head into the conjoined bathroom and turn the faucet in, the water starting to pour from overhead. I find a towel in the cabinet and throw it down next to the shower.

I strip out of my dirty clothes and slip into the shower, the hot water easing my tense muscles and and already washing away the dirt in my hair and body. I close my eyes and focus on the feeling of the water hitting my head and body, erasing every thought about the hybrids and what's happened. I just want a few minutes to relax and not have to worry. I know Mara and Hayden killed almost all of them, but Kai getting away is stopping the feeling of a true victory from settling in. Once we have him, I know things will start to get back to normal.

I'm so focused on not focusing that I don't hear Max come into the bathroom. All of a sudden, he's stepping into the shower right in front of me, and I yelp and almost slip on the slippery ground. His arms shoot out to catch me, and he pulls me into his naked body. His eyes are pitch black and rimmed with red.

"Hi," I say quietly, the close proximity of our unclothed bodies stopping my brain from comprehending any other words.

"Hi," Max replies, his voice low and husky.

I stare into his eyes for a few more seconds, and then I do the thing I've been wanting to do since I first set my eyes on him last night. I slam my lips to his, tangling my fingers in his hair to push his lips even more against mine. His hair has just barely grown a little since I've last seen him.

My body explodes in pleasure after finally satisfying its craving for him. My mind stops working with how powerful my feelings for Max are in this moment. His lips against mind are all I need to forget about everything.

Max responds with the most amount of passion he's ever had. He firmly cups my face between his hands and moves his lips against mine like it's his drug of life and he's on his deathbed. I feel the need and urning coming off his body in waves.

He moves his hands away from my face and to the backs of my thighs, and our minds are on the same page without us having to exchange any words. He lifts me up so I can wrap my legs around his waist, turning us around so my back is pressed against the style. I immediately miss the hot water hitting my back, but this feeling of kissing Max is unbeatable.

"You have no idea how much I fucking missed you, B," he murmurs against my lips.

"I bet I missed you more," I reply, my voice hoarse from how high on this kiss I am.

"Never."