29. EZRA: THE PLAN

He wasn’t happy.
But then again, Obsidian was never happy about anything when it didn’t go according to his plan. He didn’t have much of a say anyway because it was the only plan we currently had. There was no guarantee that it was going to work just like we had planned things, but we had to try.
Red leaned against his car, arms crossed over his chest and his expression matching Obsidian’s. Iris sat crossed-legged on the ground a few feet from his feet. Devrim and Obsidian were unable to sit still and Vanya had disappeared into the house a few minutes ago.
The plan had been laid out; all that was left to do was to work out the small details.
I had gotten in touch with Orion the day after Red dropped me off and Obsidian asked about my plan. He had informed me that more members were starting to turn against the idea of starting a war with the humans. Thanks to Dorian who understood what I wanted him to do, they had realized that thing would get much worse if the humans were killed.
We were free from the facility, but the humans kept us alive. There were still a lot of things we couldn’t do which they could. If they were killed or forced to leave the island, we would either starve to death or turn on each other once all the animals we could hunt for were killed.
I was sure that we would be able to handle some things on our how but it was the only thing I could thing off that could be used as a reason to get the pride back on our side.
His numbers of supporters had decreased enough for us to step in and take control of the situation. We were no longer outnumbered so the chances of us going back home was looking good.
Our plan was simple; Devrim and Obsidian were going to go home and take out the members of the pride who were a threat. Iris, Vanya and I were going to stay until it’s save for us to return home too. Since I wasn’t healed fully, I made the suggestion that Red stay with us so he could help me protect my mate and Iris if it was needed.
Obsidian was okay with the plan until he learned about the fact that Red was staying with us.
They had been friends until Obsidian met Vanya. He knew Red better than any of us so I understood why he didn’t want the man anywhere near Vanya. Beside that fact, Obsidian and Vanya were newly bonded; neither of them would survive long by being separated.
Obsidian needed to be at Devrim’s side because he was more skilled than me. I knew that Devrim would stand a better chance walking out of this alive with him by his side than he would have if I were to go with him.
“It would be best if you leave during the night or in the early morning hours,” Red said, breaking the tense silence. “You need to attack first which will give you more of a disadvantage.”
Obsidian snarled.
Devrim glanced at him as he nodded. “I’ve considered a surprise attack.”
As they continued to discuss the plan, I silently got up and entered the house to search for Vanya. Her scent led me straight to the uncompleted bathroom attached to the room we’ve been sleeping in.
She sat in the corner, head buried against her knees.
I hesitated before I took a seat next to her. The moment I was seated, she crawled onto my lap. I dropped my chin to the top of her head as I wrapped my arms around her.
“Every time one of you leaves, you barely make it back to me in one piece,” she whispered. “I have a bad feeling about this, Ezra. I don’t know how to explain it to you; I just know that something bad is going to happen.”
“Vanya,” I sighed.
I had learned from a young age to follow my instincts. So far they had not been wrong. I felt certain that Devrim and Obsidian would make it out unharmed.
“Aren’t you feeling like this because Obsidian is leaving?” I asked her. “You’re newly bonded. It’s normal for you to want to be close to him at all times after a bonding.”
She gripped my t-shirt. “I don’t know what it is,” Vanya whispered. “I just know that I don’t want them to leave.”
“They have to.”
Vanya sat up and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. Reaching out, I gently tugged on a strand of her hair to make her look at me, but when it didn’t work; I gripped her chin and turned her head towards me.
“There’s always going to be the possibility of danger in our life. We might be able to live peacefully for months or years before something happens.” I blew out a breath. “What I’m trying to say is that there will always be danger. It’s something that can’t be prevented because of what we are. All we can do is make the best of the time we have together.”
My fingers slid along her jaw and down her neck to the purple-blue bruise near her collarbone.
“You’re important to us,” I told her. “You’re the reason we want to live. Our instinct drives us to protect you, sugarplum. You might not always like the way we do it, you might hate us, but it’s not something that can be changed. You will always be our first priority. We want to make sure that you’re happy.”
“I am happy,” she said.
“But not here,” I muttered. “You’re happy because we are with you but you’re not happy to be staying here in this house.”
Her lips parted but she pursed them when I narrowed my eyes at her. Vanya didn’t try to argue with me or deny the fact that I was right.
“Can you talk them into staying? Just for one more day, please?”
My eyes darted over her face. It was hard to say no when she looked at me like that.
“The sooner we do this, the sooner we can go home,” I told her. “Not only that, but the longer we wait to take them down, the bigger the chances of them winning.”
Vanya’s eyes fluttered closed. “I don’t want to say goodbye,” she croaked.
I cupped her cheeks and leaned forward to press my forehead to hers. My eyes closed as I breathed in her scent. All that was missing was mine. I pushed the flare of jealousy down and focused all my attention on her.
“It won’t be goodbye,” I whispered. “It’ll just be a see you later.”
I kissed her slowly until the tension left her body and she melted against me. Pulling away, I gave her a smile. If she felt this way about them leaving then it was best that she’s not there when they go over the smaller details.
“Let’s go for a walk.” I stood and slowly lowered her to the floor. “I want to show you something.”
Vanya looked like she wanted to argue but she nodded and allowed me to lead her out of the bathroom and towards the sliding door next to the fireplace. We took the overgrown path into the forest.
“Where exactly are you taking me?” she asked.
“Why, my dear, I’m taking you far away so I can eat you up,” I growled.
A glance over my shoulder at her made me smirk. I loved the fact that I affected her just as much as she affected me.
“There’s only one thing I can think of when you talk about eating me up,” she said softly, making my steps falter.
Turning around, I silently studied her. “You want a distraction.”
“Will you distract me?”
My eyes darted over the top of her head in the direction of the house. We were completely hidden by the trees. Nobody would see us if they looked out the window. But was I willing to risk it?
I swallowed.
Obsidian had cornered me and made sure that I understood what he was going to do to me if I went against his orders to wear condoms when Vanya and I had sex. He wanted to prevent a pregnancy just like Devrim.
*“I want. . .pups. I’m just not sure that now will be a good time to start a family. I don’t want our kids to constantly be in danger.”* Vanya’s words flashed through my mind.
Stepping closer to her, I stared down at her silently for a few seconds. “Do you remember when I asked you if you want pups?” She nodded. “Do you remember what you told me?”
Her brows dipped down into a frown.
“Your reasons for not wanting pups now are the same as Obsidian’s. Now won’t be a good time for you to get pregnant, sugarplum. No matter how badly I want to come inside you until my seed takes in your body, I know that we still have a lot of things to take care of before we can even consider having pups.”
“Did Obsidian threaten you?” she asked.
I smirked at her. “I’m sure you would love to know what he said, wouldn’t you.”
Vanya rolled her eyes but her lips tilted up into a smile. Throwing an arm around her shoulder, I pulled her against my side as I continued to lead her deeper into the forest.