Wouldn't that be nice if she could forget who she was and just join this pack? Well, it sucked to be her, because that just wasn't possible. Even if it was possible, she would never betray her parents like that.
Babies were always a safe topic – everyone liked talking about their baby, so Kyra looked down at the sleeping newborn. “He's very cute,” she said.
“Would you like to hold him?”
That gesture told her that Everleigh didn't suspect her of anything sinister. Down the road if Everleigh ever saw her again, she would probably try to kill her. It seemed wrong to hold a female’s baby, knowing what the coven had in store.
Kyra’s stomach turned. Was she doing the right thing? Was it possible to abandon the mission? What would happen if she told Derek the truth? Would he help her?
No! He would try to kill her with the vampires. And she would have no justice for her parents. That's what all this was about, making sure that she sent a message to all of these close minded, bigoted packs that had gotten away with their crimes for decades.
This one had allowed a bear inside its highest ranks, but still no humans, and that was all the answer she needed. Humans were just a side note to them, an amusement to be laughed at and mocked.
She steeled her nerves and lifted the baby into her arms.
One day, in the not-so-distant future, this sweet baby would be a vampire.
Then his father would truly understand his pack’s misdeeds.
Ifhe was still alive.
* * *
All night long,Eliza danced around Kyra, peppering her with random questions and giving out facts of her own. She never mentioned the human thing again, so Kyra wasn't sure if the little girl had lost interest or if she had been told by her mother to stop asking.
She felt terribly guilty about it, but she knew that these shifters would be perfect for Victor's cause. Eliza would make a great hybrid. She was smart, strong, quick, and observant, even at her young age.
Halfway through the dinner, a shifter named Rosa came over, as did one named Jameson. Victor would never try to change the adult males, but if there were compliant females, then he would definitely give them a shot at becoming a hybrid.
The guilt ate at her. At least the females would not be killed. They would get to live on, immortal forever, and they would have each other. They would get to raise their children, something her own mother never got to do.
And their children would have their mothers, something she was deprived of as well.
Victor's words rang in her ears. “We’ll be doing them a favor. Your kind dies so soon. Shifters never make it past a hundred and twenty years old, whereas vampires can live for millennia,” he’d said. “They'll be able to enjoy their lives. They'll never have to worry about running out of time; all their previous hang ups will seem so silly. Being a vampire is a blessing, not a curse, never forget that.”