“Great,” I sighed and looked around. It dawned on me that someone was missing. “Where’s Jane?” Jack pursed his lips and nobody said anything. “Jack? What happened?”

“The lycan took her with them,” Jack said quietly.

“Oh my god.” I ran my hands through my hair. “This is a fucking nightmare.”

“We’ll get her back,” Peter promised. His green eyes met mine, and I felt Jack bristle, but he did nothing. “We’ll make the trade, me for her. They can’t deny it.”

“We are not sacrificing you,” Ezra said firmly.

“Why not?” Jack scoffed. “It’s his fault we’re in this mess! He almost got Alice killed, and who knows what’s happened to Jane!”

“We’re not giving them anybody,” Ezra said, looking at Jack sternly. “We will stop them.”

“What if we can’t?” Peter asked. “We should all die for my mistakes? No. I won’t let that happen. This is my fault. This is my war.”

“We’re all involved in it now,” Ezra said. “Do you think they’ll really just let us walk away if we give them you? That would be too easy for them.”

“You should’ve just let me die in Finland!” Peter shouted, his face raw with pain. “I told you to leave me there! Why wouldn’t you listen?”

“I’m more than happy to let you die here,” Jack offered.

“Nobody is dying here today!” I held up my hands to silence them. “We’ll figure something out! I don’t know what but… We’ll do something.”

“See? Firecracker,” Olivia smiled at me.

“We need a better plan than arguing with each other,” Ezra said. “The lycan will track us soon.”

“Maybe sooner than you thought,” Olivia said, and she reached back for her arrows.

As she set her crossbow, I peered down over the balcony. A dirty, disheveled lycan was walking down the center of the aisle of the church. I heard the click as she set it, and then he looked back up at us, his brown eyes wide and innocent. I can’t explain it, but as soon as I saw him, I knew he wasn’t with them.

“Stop!” I shouted, my voice reverberating off the ceilings, and I held my hand up in front of her crossbow. Leif stood in the center of the church, staring up at us. He would willingly take whatever fate we dealt him.

“What? Why?” Jack looked at me like I was crazy.

“No, she’s right,” Peter agreed. “He’s not like the rest of them.”

“Leif!” I leaned over the balcony, as if I thought that would help me speak to him.

“I’m not with them!” Leif yelled back. “I came here to warn you! It’ll be harder for them to find you with me. I’m the best tracker they have, but you’re so close, and Stellan tasted your blood. I’ve beat them by a matter of minutes.”

“Why would you help us?” Ezra asked. Leif looked at Ezra for a moment, then looked back at me.

“Really?” Milo scoffed. “Does every vampire in the whole world want to tap my sister?”

That wasn’t it, and I knew that, but I couldn’t explain it. There was nothing sexual about the way Leif looked at me, and I wasn’t even remotely attracted to him. It was something else entirely.

“No, I don’t want to … ‘tap’ anyone,” Leif looked unsure of the word. “I’ve just had enough. They are cruel and sadistic, and I’ve seen that vampires can live another way. I don’t want to stay with them anymore. They shouldn’t even be alive. They are abominations.”

“How do you propose we stop them?” Ezra asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Leif said sadly. “But I will help you anyway I can. Even if you just want me to bait them. If I can save you, I will do it.”

“Do you trust him?” Jack looked seriously at me.

“Yes,” I said, and Peter nodded in agreement.

“I think he’s okay,” Milo said.

“Hey, how did you find Jane?” I asked, looking down at Leif. It made sense to me that they’d be able to find me since they had met me before, but I didn’t understand how they’d even know she was associated with us.

“She was wearing your clothes walking around downtown,” Leif said, sounding ashamed. “I smelled you on her. We tracked you down to Minneapolis by asking around. Gunnar knew people that knew Ezra.” His face flushed guiltily. “I never should’ve come with, but if I hadn’t they would’ve killed me, and they still would’ve killed you. When we got on the boat, though, I knew I had to find a way to help you. That was a complete massacre.”

“Oh my gosh.” My jaw dropped as it hit me. “That was you? On the tanker that crashed into Newfoundland?”

“I’m not proud of what they did, and I will pay for my sins,” Leif raised his chin when he looked at me. “I assure you that I will make amends.”

The cathedral echoed with the sound of broken glass, but Leif stood his ground. The stained glass windows shattered, sending bits of broken glass raining down all around him, as the lycan crashed in through them. The lycan walked slowly in the pews towards him with Gunnar leading the way.

- 35 -

“Bear told me you were Judas,” Gunnar said to Leif. “I thought he might be right, but I knew that you would still lead us right to them. You failed at killing them and at saving them. You’re absolutely useless, aren’t you?”