I opened my eyes to the sunlight streaming into the windows of the lake house. Juniper had bought it for us since we couldn’t own our own property, being fugitives of the government and all. I heard some movement in the kitchen and stretched. Ezra was making breakfast again. I smiled and got out of bed. It had been three weeks since that first night, three of the most amazing weeks of my life. I had never felt so safe before.

I pushed open the bedroom door and made my way to the kitchen. Ezra stood with his back to me, cooking something delicious on the stove.

“Morning babe.” He said without turning.

“Good morning.” I replied, leaning against the wall, watching him.

“After breakfast we can run up to the hardware store and get the paint you want for the living room so we can start remodeling it.” He said, pulling a plate down to dump the food on.

“Sounds wonderful.” I smiled. My phone began to buzz and I grabbed it from the coffee table.

“Hello?” I asked. “Maya? Is that you? Hello?”

The line went dead and I glanced to Ezra who was watching me closely. Suddenly I felt a pull in the back of my mind and my stomach dropped. This feeling…this wasn’t good. I opened up the link I shared with my sisters and waited. It didn’t take long.

“Sissy!” Maya’s voice screamed out to me.

“What Maya, what’s wrong?”

“Lo, it’s Weres. They’re here, they came out of nowhere. I’m in the crawlspace under the house with the twins. I don’t know what’s happening Lo, but it sounds bad. Please, please come.” She rushed out.

“Hold tight, we’re leaving now.” I told her. Ezra was by my side.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Juniper’s, they’re all under attack. Were’s found them. We have to go.” I said, rushing to throw on some clothes before running out the door.

Ezra said nothing. He just nodded, throwing on some clothes as well and jumped behind the wheel. The radio popped on as he pulled from the drive way.

“-vernment has located the location of the head of the Resistance. They have dispatched an elite team to bring the leaders to justice. We will have more updates as they come in.” The announcer said. My blood ran cold.

The town was empty, silent. No one was out, no kids were laughing. It was way too quiet. Ezra moved to hold my hand as we turned onto Juniper’s street. We pulled into the driveway and stopped, scanning the area for threats. I opened my door and got a spell ready on my lips. Before my foot touched the ground a Were shot towards me. I threw my hands towards it and uttered a simple one that pushed him back. His head hit the porch wall with a crack and he slid to the ground, unconscious.

“Logan!” Rowan called, coming out onto the porch. A Were lay at the bottom of the steps half covered in the snow, unconscious or dead, I couldn’t tell. “They’ve taken Juniper and Silven.”

My blood ran cold. “Spenser? Maya? The twins?” I asked, jogging over to him.

“Safe. We’re mostly safe. They killed Josie, Ron, and Kevin, people from Luke’s division. We’ve got some wounded pretty bad, but no one else dead.” He responded, glancing inside.

Ezra and I stepped in, looking around. “How many did we kill?” Ezra asked as Rowan shut the door.

“Five. More wounded. Once they had Silven and Juniper they pulled out. We tried not to kill any but there’s only so much you can do when they’re trying to rip your throat out.” Rowan said, looking to Maya as she came out of the bedroom, the twins with her.

“Momma?” Aron muttered, looking around. I smiled at him and Cal, picking Cal up as he toddled over to me.

“Your mommy and daddy are gone right now. But I promise you, I’ll do my best to bring them back.” I told them. “Cal, while I’m gone, I need you to be the man of the house okay? Look after your brother and Maya. Rowan will help. Uncle Ez and I will be back soon.”

Cal nodded his head, his eyes full of fear and determination. He would take care of his brother. In the silence that enveloped us my phone rang out. I set Cal back down and answered.

“Hello?” I asked, nodding to Spenser as she came into the house, blood on her hands and face. She nodded back and came over to us.

As I listened to the voice on the other end my blood ran colder. I hung up after the line went dead and looked around.

“They have them at Bridgeport. They’re going to…” I glanced to the boys. “They’re going to put them to rest if I’m not there by Sunday. The president and his advisor want me in exchange for them.”

“No!” Growled Ezra, hitting his fist against the wall, “No, I won’t let you go. This is a trap Logan.”

I stayed silent for a moment, letting him calm down, then looked to him, gathering his hands in mine. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going. If I don’t, Cal and Aron won’t ever have their parents back. They’ll be orphans, Ezra. I can not allow that.” I looked to Maya, whose pales eyes stared straight into mine. “Besides, I’ve run out on my family before. I will not do that again.”

Maya shook her head slightly but said nothing. She knew I wouldn’t change my mind. I looked to Rowan.

“Take care of her. I know you don’t care much for me. But I swear on my life, if Maya gets hurt, I’ll find a way to make you pay.” I said. He smiled softly and nodded, moving closer to Maya. Finally, I turned to Ezra.

“I have to do this, and I can’t ask you to come with me. Thank you.” I whispered, “Thank you for everything you’ve ever done. I love you so much.” Ezra pulled me close, pressing his lips softly against mine.

“You’re not asking me. I’m going. You cannot change that. You made me promise we never went into a fight alone, remember?” He smiled, “Come on, we need to leave now if were to be there by Sunday.”

I looked up at him, warmth still on my lips from our kiss. If he came with me we would both die. His eyes told me there was no arguing. I nodded and smiled down at the twins. “Goodbye boys. Ya’ll be good.” I said.

Spenser gave me a hug. “We’ll find you, sis. They can’t keep you forever.” She said. I smiled and nodded, not wanting to take away their hope. After looking around at everyone one more time Ezra and I turned and walked back to his truck.