Claire scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed until I was pretty sure my hair could not get more clean. I was thankful for the werewolf body heat, it ran higher than a human's because the creek water was certainly not warm as she dumped it over me.

Once Claire, and her wolf who I could see eyeing me from behind her hazel eyes were satisfied with their job we headed back to camp. Claire laid out a sleeping bag for me next to a fire that Remi and David had built, close to where Lander and Levi were skinning my bear so I could watch.

They were so careful with their craft. They were careful to not harm what would be the leather but thorough to make sure they got the excess fat and leftover bones and innards off it.

I didn't realize how big she was until they had the skin strung up. It looked about six feet tall and around four feet wide, my wolf and I swelled with pride at the sight. We killed that. We did that.

Claire started to lay out some gauze, antibacterial, cotton balls, and other medical supplies around us. She poured some antibacterial on a cotton ball and gave me an apologetic look. "This will sting, sorry."

I sighed and nodded as she lifted my shirt up to attend to the nastier gashes. The smaller ones were starting to heal already, but the large ones would take a little longer.

It stung like a damned bee. I bit back a growl and breathed through the pain. After a while it got more tolerable, but barely.

Remi trotted over to me while Claire continued her task with a large smiled plastered on his face. "That was some dope shit, Char." I laughed and patted the spot next to me for him. He sunk down and looked over at Claire who was intensely focused on my skin. "Do you need help?"

"No," she breathed out then smiled. "But you may want to get Charlie something to eat."

"I'll be right back, I think Elliot has some stuff in his pack," he replied quickly.

Claire started to wipe some cold cream on my skin that made me shiver. "It may scar but this should help to keep it from being too noticeable."

"Thank you, although I kind of like these battle wounds," I said without taking my eyes off my bear skin.

Claire chuckled and started to place some gauze over the wound. "Touche, Char."

Remi came back with a bag that Elliot had pulled out of his backpack. He plopped down next to me and dug around in it. "Well, looks like we have granola, jerky, a few waters–"

"Definitely a water," I interjected.

He quickly pulled a bottle out for me and twisted the top off. I drank greedily while he went back to searching through the bag. "Goldfish, dried fruit, cookies–"

"Cookies!" I said with a mouth full of water that almost spilled out of my mouth.

Remi chuckled and pulled out a plastic ziplock of Chocolate Chip cookies that Derek had made. "Nice choice, mind if I try a few?"

"Course, these are seriously heaven," I said while quickly grabbing two.

Remi and I sat and chatted while Claire cleaned up the rest of my wounds. They were a little more sore and my limbs were a little more tired. We had fought hard and were definitely going to sleep well that night.

Remi and I had finished the bag of cookies and were now making a dent in the Goldfish when Liam trotted over. He, Bowie, and David had gone hunting and looked as if they filled their bellies well.

He shifted from his fur and I couldn't help but let my eyes trail across him. Damn bond.

I knew he saw me. A small smirk pulled at his lips which only made me eat my Goldfish more aggressively.

Claire started to braid my hair in french braid pigtails while the other's added firewood to the campfire. Liam pulled on some track pants and a long sleeve shirt then walked over to Remi and I. "How do you feel?"

I shrugged. "Doesn't hurt too bad. The antiseptic your mom used burned like hell, but it should be fine tomorrow." I offered him some Goldfish which he greedily took. He pulled out what looked like half the damn bag and tossed a few in his mouth. "Hey! You turd!" I said while tossing one at him that had fallen.

He chuckled and ate another. "What are you going to do about it, Char?"

"Would you like to find out?"

"Maybe another time," he replied playfully and winked.

Remi rolled his eyes and got up. "I'm going to scout."

Liam nodded at the lanky boy as he walked over to his dad who was sipping a beer next to David in front of the fire. He moved over into Remi's spot and started to mindlessly play with my hair. I doubt he even realized what he was doing, but it was everything I had to keep my wolf from purring.

"Liam," I warned.

"I can't believe you did it today," he murmured out. "I mean, I can, it's just–that female was so big. But damn Char, I wish you could have seen the way you moved. I am pretty sure that Remi was scared shitless of your wolf afterward, he definitely likes his eyes too much."

I laughed and tried to shake his hand away from my hair but he only tickled my neck. It sent chills down my spine that I knew would only stir something we should not stir. "Liam," I warned again.

"Do you know how hard it was for me not to run out there and help you, especially when she knocked you down. My beast wanted to tear that bear apart so badly. If my dad wasn't there I probably would have."

"Liam you should go help your dad and Levi."

He looked down at me. His silver eyes were in a battle that was tipping to the side of the bond. "Charlotte..."

"Go," I bit out a little too harshly. I felt bad but we couldn't keep this up. I wouldn't do this to him, to his mate. Neither of them deserved that kind of heartbreak.

He sighed, a little defeatedly, before walking over to his dad who was still scraping off excess flesh from my skin. David eyed me from across the fire and came over to where I was laying on my side. He offered me a water, which I gratefully took, then settled down next to me.

He watched Liam as Lander looked over to him. Lander's eyes were hard, a lack of tolerance present. "I'm taking Liam scouting. I think Remi wanted to go too."

Levi nodded. "Take Elliot with you."

"Here, I can help ya," Bowie told Levi as Lander set his knife down. He looked over at Lander with a wicked smile. "Besides, we don't want Lander butchering her skin like he did his."

Lander groaned and waved him off as he and Liam walked over to Remi. The three of them darted into the forest with Elliot in tow, disappearing from our sight, which made me feel more relieved. I was getting sick of this bond.

"Don't be too upset with him, it's not all his fault," David said from next to me. He picked up a Goldfish and tossed it into his mouth while I let out a tired sigh.

"I know."

David smiled at me and ate another goldfish. "You did real good with that bear girl. Not that I am entirely surprised, but I don't think I have seen a female quite as vicious as you in a while."

I eyed him curiously. "Is that a good or bad thing?"

He gave me a coy smirk. "I am the Master of Arms, what do you think?"

I laughed and tossed a Goldfish into my mouth. "Fair enough."

David kept me company while I rested my limbs from my fight. He brought out a deck of cards and taught me how to play solitaire then poker, which we used Goldfish as chips.

He reminded me of a drill sergeant, but the man had a soft side. He apparently had a daughter that was young, around ten or eleven. He raved on and on and on about her which made my heart swell for him. I would love to see that man, built like a damn G.I. Joe doll having a tea party with his daughter. In fact, I would probably pay to see that.

Eventually, Levi and Bowie finished skinning the hide and salted it excessively before rolling into itself, flesh on flesh, and carefully putting it into a plastic bag. According to Levi, it would preserve it until we could get back home where he would start to cure it.

They dug a few holes, not more than four feet deep and put the insulated totes and my hide in them, then dumped ice around them. I looked at the curiously as they buried it back while David was eyeing his cards. He looked over at me then back to the men. "It will keep it cold. We don't have a freezer out here, and we don't want other animals to get it."

"Ah, makes sense."

David nodded then looked at his cards. "Well girl, let's draw."

We continued to play and eventually Bowie and Lander joined us. Claire sat with me and helped; it may be for Goldfish but my beast and I wanted to win. I mean, we did love Goldfish after all.

Unfortunately for us, Bowie was insanely good at poker. He had a massive pile of those orange little fish towards the end of our game which he called, 'Mount I-Kicked-Your-Ass.' However, he did share with me, which only infuriated Levi who lost tragically.

Liam, Remi, and Elliot returned right after dusk. Apparently, they both got really good sightings of their bears. They kept talking back and forth about how they were going to take theirs down. Although David kept teasing them that neither of them were going to do as well as I did today, he even put money on it with Lander.

Claire helped me into my tent and Elliot crawled after me. He jumped in my sleeping bag before I could finish putting my thick socks on and smuggled down in the soft fabric.

"And what do you think you're doing?" I asked coyly while I zipped up the tent. I didn't zip it all the way up though in case Levi decided to show up again.

Elliot shrugged then gave me a pleading look with puppy dog eyes. "Pleaseeeeee Char. It's too cold outside anyways."

"You're a vampire doesn't that like, not bother you?"

Elliot scoffed in mock hurt while I slid in next to him. "Just because I am the living dead, that does not mean that my heart is dead Char."

"Ok fine drama queen."

He chuckled and turned on his side to face me. I was getting sleep. Our little bed was nice and toasty and my body was worn. "How does it feel?"

"How does what feel?" I asked on the breath of a yawn.

"To finally accept what you are," he asked with a soft smile. He sighed and played with the end of one of my pig-tails, musing to himself. "You did not walk away from that hunt the same wolf Char, we all saw it, we all know it."

I sighed and bit my bottom lip while I thought. I wasn't sure how to answer his question. I felt different but in ways that I couldn't necessarily point out. I shrugged and met his gaze. "I know. I don't know I feel different but still me. I feel like I left a burden back there that I've carrying for a while. It's strange. I mean, I feel like me, but I look at my old life and I don't know. It's like it was a different life for me. I know it's my past but that's all it is, the past."

Elliot nodded and chewed on my words a bit. "Well, you feel stronger. I can feel your wolf more than before, even now."

"Really?"

"Mhmm. You two are strong Char."

My wolf stirred and let out a soft growl of approval. "She agrees, as do I. I feel closer to her. I don't know. It's strange. I feel it but it doesn't feel new to me."

"Hmm, well either way, you're still going to a little handful."

"I am not little!" I said while playfully slapping his chest.

He rolled his eyes and turned out the lantern that he had on, letting the darkness blanket us. Not like it bothered us; apparently, I had crazy night vision now, as did most supernaturals. It was very convenient when I needed to sneak through the cabin so I could make myself a sandwich at night.

"Pft, you're like a foot shorter than me."

"Pft, you're like a damn giant," I replied sardonically.

Elliot chuckled and let me snuggle into his chest. It was warm and I was too tired to keep up this fight with sleep, as was my beast. "Night Char, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Elliot."

I slept hard that night. Like I had died. Apparently, Levi did creep into the tent in the middle of the night, although I didn't even notice. I was too busy sawing logs.

I woke up and I was snuggled into Elliot's Chest while Levi laid at our feet. He barely fit in the tent with all of us, but I knew his beast probably couldn't stay away for too long. I was his pup. His responsibility. My beast understood. We would be the same way if we had pups.

I yawned and stretched then shook Elliot awake. He groaned and sank down in the sleeping back while Levi stirred. Elliot started to tickle me and I couldn't help but shriek with laughter. The loud shrieks and laughs startled Levi, but once he saw why he just rolled his eyes then trotted out of the tent.

I stepped out into the morning air and stretched. My limbs felt better and from a glance, it looked like the gashes were healed. Claire checked on me once she woke up and assessed my body for herself. They looked like mere scratches now and gave me her stamp of approval to go on the hunt today as backup.

It was decided that we would look for Liam's bear, first. If he didn't show, we would go looking for Remi's. We set off as a group towards a small meadow that Liam had apparently seen his bear snoozing a few times.

His wolf was excited and I was excited for him. I slowed down my pace on the way and trotted with him. My beast rubbed her cheek against his, much to my disapproval, drawing a low approving growl from his lips.

I sighed. I only hoped that he wouldn't get hurt, but my beast was confident in the future alpha wolf.

I followed David to a spot under some bushes while Liam and Lander stalked over to an area where Liam could easily pounce on his bear. Levi followed them as well. Liam wasn't his pup, but he did care about his nephew, his successor.

We waited for a while. Remi and I opened our own link and chatted back and forth for a while, then we added David. We played games like 'Categories' and 'I Spy' as we waited and waited for Liam's bear.

I felt like we may miss him and felt bad for Liam. From across the meadow, I could see him. The male was getting frustrated, angry. He wanted to prove himself to the group, to his future pack, that he was a capable alpha. I saw it in his eyes even from where I was.

Soon though, a large brown bear stalked into the meadow, a male. It looked sleepy like my bear had. It must have just eaten something and was looking to nap in the mid-morning sun.

Liam licked his lips but held his place. He was being patient and waiting for the perfect time to attack.

The male looked young, strong. He reminded me of Liam, a well-built male starting to come into himself. He was bigger than my bear. He had eaten well over the summer, and he would not be easy to take down. Not at all.

"Alright stay alert, we just need to make sure that he doesn't try to leave the meadow," David said through the link.

Liam sprung to life and went for his bear in a formidable fury that was frightening enough to put true fear into anyone's eyes. The male bear was caught off guard, but it didn't take him long to respond. He was younger than my bear and more agile. He wasn't a slow mover, this bear was sharp, a true challenge for Liam.

But Liam was ruthless.

Liam struck that bear and struck that bear and struck that bear until it looked like the bear was going to die of pure shock. While Liam had some good gashes of his own from his prey, his bear was fairing much worse.

The bear turned as Liam prepped to pounce on him and headed straight for David and I, trying to escape; but David and I were not about to let that bear leave, he didn't get to walk away from this fight.

We sprung from our hiding place and snapped our jaws at the angry male. He tried to swipe at us, but we just dodged him and held our corner.

The male was angry and turned to swipe again at me with his large paws, the female who he assumed was weaker. My beast let out a chilling growl then nipped his foot, causing him to pull it back like it was electrocuted.

Liam let out the deepest blood-curdling growl that even made my beast shiver a bit. The bear went for David, who warded him off, then for me again. I snapped at him right as Liam darted around me to his bear. The bear tried to swipe at from the side but Liam caught his Radius in his mouth and bit down so hard that when he let go, the thing was bent in a ninety-degree angle.

He snapped at the beast and started to herd the scrambling creature back to the center. I could feel him gently caress my mind, checking to see if I was ok. I pushed back at him, urging him to focus on his bear and not me.

The bear tried to leave twice more. The second time Remi and Claire were waiting for him. Remi was fast, light a bolt of damn lightning. He and Liam had that bear back in place before the bear even knew what was happening.

The third time the bear ran into Bowie and Levi. Levi's beast didn't even look phased. He was the alpha of this forest. He was almost as big as that damn bear, and he knew it. He walked casually towards the bear, that kept trying to swipe at Bowie, and snarled so viciously at the beast that it made my wolf whimper while it physically shook the bear.

Liam walked up next to Levi who nodded at him then went back to his hiding spot. David and I crept back but scooted up a bit closer just in case the bear tried anything again.

David's wolf looked over at me with excited eyes. "Nice work girl!"

I bumped him playfully and looked back at Liam and the bear. Liam was stalking him slowly. The bear finally came to realize that it was either him or the wolf, and made one final attempt to free himself.

It was then I saw a change in Liam. As he stalked the bear standing on two legs he looked more and more like an alpha wolf, like Levi. He didn't falter, he was full of fury.

Once the bear put his front paws back on the ground, Liam lunged at him and sunk his teeth deep in the bear's neck. It was game over. The young alpha wolf severed his neck so much that the bear's head was practically handing off its body before it hit the ground.

Our group yipped in excitement as Liam dug out its heart then ate it for himself. He would be a great alpha someday, something to be truly feared by the forest.

Lander walked out to him and shifted. He was beaming with pride as his son. Liam shifted to his skin and smiled at his dad who hugged him then handed him some pants and the same knife we used to gut my bear.

I trotted over to Remi who was sitting patiently next to Claire, but his look didn't fool me. He was ready, especially after watching Liam, to take down his own bear.

I rubbed my cheek against Claire who watched her son with glassy eyes filled with love and pride. She licked my face then trotted over to her boy and hugged him from behind then started to help him and Lander get the bear quickly gutted.

I bumped into Remi and sat down. "You ready?"

"Very, my beast is ready to go. It's hard enough to keep his ass planted to the ground right now."

I let out a wolf type laugh and nudged him again. "I'm excited for you, I'm sure you'll do great. You did well herding the bear back in."

"Thanks," he replied gratefully. We kept watch for any predators that had a mind to scavenge Liam's kill. Liam was helping Lander pack all the meat in trash bags and into saddle bags and another duffle that Elliot had brought them. His eyes caught mine and for a second my heart skipped. The bond was simmering away at my limbs from his look of desire. I felt my skin heat. My wolf let out a whine and looked down. He wasn't our mate. She knew that. But this bond was hard for both of us.

Remi looked at Liam then to me and nudged me. "Come on, let's find my dad." I was grateful for the diversion from Liam's heated gazes. "Is it getting harder?"

I nodded as we walked. "I think the rush of his kill is feeding it."

Remi groaned over our link. "That's what I was afraid of. It's not his fault Char, but stay close to Levi or David. I would let Liam have some space after this, he needs to walk off the leftover thrill running through him."

"Thanks, Remi."

"Anytime. I'll stick next to you as much as I can. Just stay next to one of those two while I am hunting, ok?"

"Aye Aye captain."

Remi shook his head as we approached Bowie and Levi. Levi looked at Remi for a long hard while before letting out an annoyed sigh. He got up and herded me over to sit next to Bowie then rubbed his cheek against mine thoroughly. He sat next to me then licked at my ears and my neck until the fur was almost wet, overprotective dad is what he is.

Remi looked over at me with apologetic eyes. It wasn't his fault and as annoying as it was, Levi was just trying to protect me. Lander and Liam walked over to us. Lander had two saddlebags on him; Liam, while he had fought very well, but he still had some gashes like I did on his back.

Liam took a step towards me and Levi snapped at him. His shocked eyes flicked over to Levi's who held his in a hard stare. Liam broke away from his gaze and backed up then trotted away, over to Elliot.

We made it back to camp and started to bury the meat like we had done mine. Levi kept his eye on me, though. He was right next to me at all times, warding off Liam's hot gaze and attempts to get close to me.

We lounged around and rested, while Bowie and Lander taught Liam how to skin his bear, until dusk, until it was Remi's turn. Remi's wolf was growing more excited and anxious by the minute. Bowie would sometimes pause his knife to turn and look at his son and chuckle.

We buried the skin in the duffle bag with the meat before setting out to get Remi's bear. I trotted next to Remi, whose anticipation was contagious. We were all excited for him.

We made it to another stream, not too far from the spot we found my bear. David walked up to Levi and I while Remi broke off with his dad.

"I'm going with Remi, take Charlie girl with you," Levi ordered over the link. I walked up next to David who bumped me playfully. My beast liked this male, he was like our silly uncle in a way. "And David," Levi called out.

"Yap?" David paused and looked over his shoulder to Levi who was staring directly at Liam.

"If Liam goes near her neck, put him on his ass."

David chuckled and nodded then started to lead me over to a set of trees with low hanging branches. We laid on our bellies, alert but comfortable.

Levi, Remi, and, Bowie were hiding behind a log. He looked ready. He was letting his beast have more and more control. He looked dangerous, lethal; he may not be an alpha wolf, but he looked like he could certainly hold his own.

Lander was with Claire in trees across from us. Claire's playful gaze met mine and she winked at me. I shook my head She had such a youthful heart.

We didn't have to wait too long, and I was glad. A large male black bear came from out of the trees north of us and started to walk along the stream. Poor sucker didn't even have a clue that he was about to be nice blanket for Remi.

Remi let him get about a foot deep in the water before surging from his hiding spot towards his kill. I was impressed. The young wolf was ridiculously quick, scrappy, and flexible. He had that bear so turned about that it didn't even know what happened by the time Remi took a large bite out of its flanks.

Remi danced around the bear like I did and took bite after bite after bite at it. My wolf was impressed with this male, he did not look like he was this much of a fighter, but dammit he definitely was.

"Damn Remi is fast," I said to David over our link.

"I know, it's why he does well when he spars back home. He's so much faster than the other boys, comes with being a tracker. That and he's smart. He'll watch his opponent and let them have a few hits just so he can figure out how to take them down when he does strike it's usually hard and in a spot that is going to really hurt. It's that tracker blood. They are bred to be that way."

We continued to watch Remi. The bear tried to run twice, but we didn't even have to herd it back, Remi was way ahead of the bear before he even knew what was happening.

His strategy was simple. Wear the bear out. Remi was practically running circles around the bear, dizzying it and me as I watched.

David was right though, his beast was just waiting for the right moment. He ran a loop around the bear then struck him hard and tore at his front arm. The bear got a few good swipes in, but that didn't stop Remi.

He just darted away, not minding the wounds that were oozing our blood and charged again at his bear. He jumped on its back and sunk his teeth deep into its neck while he let his claws rake against its belly.

The bear went down in two seconds, and in two more seconds, Remi had ended its life.

His wolf was beaming. Like Liam and my beast did, his wolf dug out the heart and ate it and only a few bites while his dad walked out. Bowie was beaming with pride at his son.

Remi shifted into his skin and let his dad wrap him in a bear hug of his own. He slipped into some track pants and took the knife from his dad then started to skin his black bear.

It was a good day.

When we got back to camp I gave Remi a big hug. He was still buzzing with energy from his kill, proud of the black bear he took down.

Claire took him to the stream to bathe like she had done with Liam and I, then brought him back to sit in front of the fire pit while she patched him up.

"Need help?" I asked while she looked over his back.

She nodded. "If you don't mind, hold this for me," she said while handing me a little container of cream.

I sat in front of Remi and handed him a water bottle with my free hand. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Blanket," he answered without taking his eyes off his skin that was hanging up across from us. Bowie and Lander were at work carefully skinning it, prepping it so it could cure when we got home.

"That poor bear looked like his brain was scrambled towards the end, ya know?"

Remi smirked as Claire chuckled and slathered cream on a deep gash across his shoulder blade. "I won't lie, watching you made me a little dizzy Remi," she teased.

Remi chuckled as she dipped her fingers in the container again. He shrugged at me as Elliot plopped down next to us with a bag of jerky, which he tore into greedily.

"True," I added. "But still, I think my bear is bigger."

Remi snapped his wide eyes to me and rolled them. "Please Char, we both know that's not true."

"Listen, it's whatever you wanna tell yourself Remi. It could be our secret you know." My mock innocent voice made Elliot burst out laughing. Claire chuckled and started to tape gauze to Elliot's back, who just rolled his eyes sardonically.

"You're making this sound like a dirty little secret Char," he teased.

"Remi are you saying you have a crush on me," I snapped back playfully as I tossed a piece of jerky at him.

We both laughed with Claire and Elliot when a low rumble broke us up. I looked over Remi's shoulder to see Liam starting furiously at us. Claire snapped her head around then stood up and blocked us from his line of sight.

They held each other's gaze for a tense moment when another rumble came out from his lips. Claire snarled lowly to him as her fangs started to poke through her lips. "I may be your mother son, but believe me when I say that if you don't go cool down, your ass will look a lot like that black bear's hide over there." Liam's eyes widened, he looked to be contemplating the weight of her words. "Now!" she barked at him, causing him to turn quickly and run into the forest.

Lander stepped over to us and looked his mate once over then back into the forest where Liam had disappeared to. "I'll go after him."

"He needs to run it off, Lander."

"I know," he grumbled as he walked away.

"I'm sorry Claire, I didn't think that–" Remi started, but Claire put her hand up. She watched her mate disappear into the thick of the forest then turned to us. Her eyes had calm but her wolf was still close.

"Don't be sorry Remi, you have nothing to be sorry for." She sighed and kissed his forehead. "I'm proud of you, you did well today."

Remi smiled at her as she cleaned up the first aid supplies. She put the trash in a small bag then walked over to Levi who was chatting next to David. I shuddered inwardly. Levi was getting more and more annoyed with Liam and I couldn't blame him.

We all turned in early that night in prep for the trek back home. I slept in skin again, on Claire's orders. She was making me take it easily until my wounds from this trip were fully healed.

We rose early the next morning and started to make the haul back home. Levi harnesses the saddlebags on me that contained my bearskin, and I couldn't be more happy. My wolf relished in the smell of her kill on the back, the closeness of it.

The way home was not as bad as I thought it would be with carrying three bears with their skins. While it was slower, we did make it in two days. Levi was the happiest about all of this because he was craving his favorite donuts.

David and Remi rode in the car with us and Liam and Lander rode with Bowie. Liam was still brooding and Levi didn't have the tolerance to put up with his 'damned male ego.' Although he started to regret letting my two new friends ride with us when we got to the donut shop. They got sprinkled donuts, like myself, and proceeded to spill rainbow sprinkles on the ground right after Levi lectured us about for ten minutes; my new partners in crime is what they were.

I felt bad for Liam though. I knew the bond was hard to fight, but we couldn't feed it. You feed the beast and the beast will grow, this was not something that needed to grow. We both knew that too well.

We dropped Remi and David off at the pack line. Remi wanted to run always back to his house and David wanted to do a perimitter check then touch base with Blake.

We pulled into our driveway, to our home. It was a weird feeling coming back from this trip. I left this cabin as one person and returned as an alpha female. I couldn't help but smile inwardly at the thought.

It hit my nose as soon as I opened the door.

Rogues.

It was foul. The place reeked of them.

I looked over at Elliot who was stalking over to Levi. Levi looked over at him as I stepped up behind him with eyes filled with cold fury. "Stay here."

I gave Elliot a worried look. He tried to give me a half smile, but I could see his worry. His eyes were conflicted and his fingers twitched.

Levi wasn't three steps away from us when the cabin door opened. A burly man with wiry blonde hair and a red trucker hat step out and waved at us. The wind picked up and rolled off of him and over to us. He smelt like filth.

Levi let our a low blood-curdling growl. The man held up his hands and flashed up a wide devious smile. "Easy alpha, I would tread lightly if I were you."

My wolf was already furious, but the sight of a smaller stocky man dragging Derek out by his hair sent me over the edge. Elliot tried to run to him but I was quick and grabbed his arms then threw him behind me. "Wait," I pleaded.

Elliot snarled in the direction of the rogues. Four more stepped out. They all teased, taunted, and kicked at Derek. He looked horrible.

My wolf whined low for him. He was paler than usually, and that's saying a lot since he's a damn vampire. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked exhausted, on the brink of sleep.

Elliot was fuming behind me, I could feel his anger radiating off of him in waves. It caressed my skin and fed the fire that was already burning in my veins. "He's been blood deprived," Elliot seethed through his gritted teeth.

Levi growled low again at the men on our porch that dare invade our home. "This is your only chance to let the vampire go and get the hell off my property."

A man with moppy brown hair looked over at the blonde with the red trucker hat and smirked. He looked back at Levi and shook his head. "I don't think so alpha." The man nodded to the stocky man who drug Derek to the edge or the porch until his face barely passed over the line of shade. The sunlight that hit his cheek started to slowly burn him and draw a pained moan from his lips.

Elliot charged again but I pushed him back, we had to be smart here. My beast growled at Elliot. He needed to listen to his brain. "Use your brain, Elliot," I whispered out.

"Rogues. There are six rogues at Levi's house, they have Derek hostage, there may be more, but we don't know yet, send help now," I called out through the hunting group's link as I stepped towards Levi. I came to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. My beast wasn't going to let him do this on his own.

He tensed up as we neared. I could feel his wolf, the anger rolling off of him was almost suffocating. "You need to stay back girl."

"If you think I am going to let you do this on your own then you're out of your mind," I hissed back. The men tossed Derek back into the shade harshly, chunking him into the doorframe. "Why does it burn now?"

"Blood loss. The sun doesn't hurt older vampires as long as they have plenty of blood in their system. Once the blood leaves, their body starts to shut down."

I felt a growl surface through my lips at his words. I wanted their heads for hurting Derek, my wolf wanted their necks, and I was damn close to obliging her.

The blonde man snapped his eyes to me and gave me a cynical smile. "Nice little woman you got there, send her over here and we will give you the vamp."

"We're on our way, just stall as long as can," Liam said frantically through the link.

"No," Levi growled out towards them.

"Levi I will be there in t-minus ten with a group of warriors," David added through the link. I groaned inwardly at his words, ten minutes was a damn long time.

The blonde man shrugged and waved his hand to someone inside the door. Two more rogues stepped out, smelling as rotten as the innards of my bear, but what followed them made my heart take a dive in an ice cold fire of fury.

"Charlotte?"

Marcus.