Opening his eyes, he watched her sleep beside him and lifted his head. The pack was sleeping further up the hill and had their backs to them. The tree protecting them gave them enough shelter from any rain and their respect to her allowed them privacy. He looked down at her again and rested his head beside her again. His body ached from the wounds but he couldn't afford to shift until she woke.

He watched her dream, possibly suffer from nightmares, but he couldn't read what was going on inside her mind. She had been given the ability to hide everything and nothing from him by the government. He forced her to allow him to inspect her side every day and the progress was coming along. Each touch however was making it more painful to keep from claiming her and he couldn't keep his eyes off her anymore. She used to be alluring but after losing her, all he could think about was keeping her safe and never out of his sight.

He opened his eyes slowly and felt the warmth in his side. Looking down at her, he brushed her blonde hair from her face and studied the ancient scar on her face. She had never been able to get rid of it by herself but he knew she accepted it as part of her at a young age. Sitting up carefully, he examined her shoulder and found it almost completely healed and no sign of a scar forming there. Her side wound had disappeared without a scar and he prayed the same would happen with this cut.

Watching her sleep, he looked up at her ceiling and tried not to think about the consequences of their actions. He hadn't been able to hold back the hunger any longer and he knew that was going to make their situation worse to start. It would get better but at the moment, it was going to cause lots of problems with the other residents. He hated to admit it but he was a little thankful for having his half siblings here. He didn't see them as his family yet but he respected the pact they had formed with Kara.

She had saved all of their lives and healed Angel when she could have left them all to die. Gabby and Angel had grown close with her over the duration of the trip home and he hoped that bond would help all of them settle in. His eyes shifted down to her just as she woke and took a deep breath. Her green eyes looked up at him and he let his hand slide through her hair.

"How are you feeling?"

She sat up slowly and said "Like I slept forever."

He watched her stretch her arms and roll her shoulders similar to the panther she had become. She shifted as she left the bed and he sat up slowly. He left the bed and moved through her place in his wolf form. She was bathing and letting the water soak into her muscles as if nothing had ever happened. Her eyes came to him as he sat at the edge of the spring with his eyes focused on her.

"Coming in?"

His ear went up and she smirked. All of the distance between them was gone and she knew he was able to be open and at ease around her. The simpliest action like raising one ear made her want to scratch his fur and kiss his nose. He walked into the water and shifted when he slipped beneath the surface. He came up beside her and she watched the water roll off him.

His hand caught her waist and he turned her so he could look at the wound in her side. It showed no sign of reopening after her fight with Lucian and he looked back at her. Her skin was glistening in the candlelight from the water and he brushed her damp hair from her face. Black eyes stared down at her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. His mouth slid over hers, savoring her taste and she slid her fingers through his hair.

He trailed a path of kisses down her neck and she closed her eyes as his mouth captured her breast and he teased her with his hand. The hot spring brought her sensitive skin to a new heigth and she felt him pick her up. Her legs circled his waist and she nipped along his ear at the same fevor he stirred in her with his hand. She could feel everything spiraling into a knot and kissed his mouth when he lifted his head. The contact finished the torment and he surged into her.

Her hands clung to his shoulders and she rode each movement of his hips, slowly taking control of the pace. He held her tightly, closing his eyes, and let her explore the primitive knowledge she possessed as she brought them both racing to the edge. The climax was mind blowing and left them both fighting for their breath. She leaned her head against his shoulder as he helped her down and held her up while her legs recovered. His mouth slid over her shoulder and he looked down into her lit eyes.

"And now?"

She smiled and said "I could get used to this."

"Not here to boil alive."

She walked up to him and said "Just remember I can do so much to you if you push me."

He watched her leave the water and wrap a towel around her as she left the chamber. Her skin was almost dry before she disappeared from sight and she towel dried her hair as she entered her bedroom. The bed was in a tassel from the night before and she dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. She left her hair down and made up the bed. Feeling the hot gaze on her, she finished making the bed and looked over her shoulder.

She found him studying her from the doorway with the towel wrapped around his waist and she tossed him his clothes. He dressed while she slid into socks and a pair of shoes. Taking a deep breath, she took in the feeling of being in clean clothes for the first time in a long time and looked back at him. He picked up his shirt and she caught his hand before he could slip it on. She examined his chest and found the wounds almost non-existent.

"Satisfied?"

She looked up at him and asked "How are they healing so well? You lost a lot of blood."

"I told you I had my genetic code enhanced. It plays on the pure blood."

Kara studied his face and said "Too bad that isn't what they did to me."

He ran his hand through her blonde hair and said "We'll figure out what all happened. Until then, try not to think about it and spend some time adjusting to being home again."

"You mean catch up with my mother."

"I didn't say that."

She sighed and said "You didn't have to."

He pulled his shirt on and they left her quarters. She needed to hunt but he had to check in with Leon and give him an account of everything. Her report would have to come later but not until she was ready to go over every detail that happened. He left her at the stairs and cast a glance to Emily, who was waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. Kara watched him disappear into her grandfather's quarters and walked down the steps.

Emily swept her eyes over her daughter and they walked through the waterfall. The sun felt relaxing on her face and she looked back at her mother. The woman was studying her and she shifted. Her form was thinner but she had grown a coat that was brown along the body and white along the tip of her tail, her legs, and chest. Looking at her, she could be seen as a dog and not a wolf.

"You seem different."

Kara looked back at her mother as they entered the forest and ignored answering the question. She wasn't surprised her mother could see a difference in her but she tried not to think about it. Her senses scanned the area and she found the prey she needed. Emily left her long enough to hunt on her own and they rested in a clearing eating their breakfast in silence.

"How is your shoulder?"

Kara released her form and sat looking at her mother. The woman returned to her human form and slid the sleeve up to expose her wounded shoulder. Seeing it almost healed, she let go of the sleeve and looked back at her daughter.

"Joseph healed you?"

"Yes."

Emily fixed her with her old green gaze and said "You two became close on the trip home."

She drew her knees up and said "We did."

"Did he claim you?"

"No. He just made sure to never let me out of his sight."

Emily smiled and said "I imagine after whatever happened with his distant pack, you became even more close. His brutality towards Lucian was close to uncontrollable. How did you manage to pull him off?"

She shrugged and said "I don't know. I just told him not to kill him and he didn't."

Her mother stared at her again and tilted her head slightly to the side. Her smile expanded and she looked away.

"His possessive tone to me last night means only one thing. You pushed his control too far, didn't you?"

Stretching out onto her back, she felt the grass cradle her and the sunrays strike her face between the tree canopy gaps. She looked back at Emily and knew exactly what the woman was getting at. She wanted the entire story that led up through last night. She wasn't ready to talk about it with anyone, especially last night or this morning. Right now she was trying to remind herself it was all real and not just a horrid nightmare that ended in bliss for once.

"Kara?"

"I protected the pack and him from death. He wasn't happy about it."

Emily looked back at her and watched her sit up. Her daughter was different but not all of it was from the kidnapping event. Something had happened last night between her and Joseph and she hoped she was right.

"He was injured, wasn't he?"

She nodded and said "Took two bullets for me. I was still recovering from the wounds they gave me when they took me and had just woken up the morning it happened. The pack came to our aid when it happened and Angel got hurt. They almost killed her but somehow I was able to keep her with us by connecting with her."

"She looks fine."

"She healed faster than us. The bullets were coated in some toxin made just for Joseph from his time as a pup in captivity."

"He told you?"

She looked back at her mother and nodded. The whole extent of his experience with the government she didn't know but she knew enough to understand what set him apart from everyone on the planet.

"Between the two, it triggered the power in you from your father."

"How though?"

Emily took a deep breath and said "Your father told me it only becomes active in one when they are under dire strain or emotional turmoil."

"I couldn't hold it back and I didn't want to. I let it take over long enough to eliminate the threat and heal Angel's wounds. Joseph wouldn't let me help him but his are practically gone."

"And yours? Where were you hurt?"

She lifted her shirt enough to reveal her side and her mother rested her hand on it. Emily could feel the distant wound but was impressed on how well it was healing considering how her scar on her eye shown through.

"Did he help you with it?"

She shook her head and said "I'm pretty sure he just inspected it but I am not sure what Angel and Gabby did while I was sleeping. They told me I was resting for a long time before I woke. Had to wear off the drugs."

Emily ran a hand through her blonde hair and wrapped her arms around her daughter. The torture she went through was unforgiveable and if she ever ran across a hunter she would avenge the crime. Holding her daughter, she could feel the difference in her still and caught the distant scent shielding her.

The woman sat back and said "He claimed you."

"It wasn't a claim. It was mutual."

Emily smiled and brushed the blonde hair out of her daughter's face. Finally she would get relief from the nightmares and be protected from unwanted male advances.

"This is why Lucian brushed death so closely."

Kara took a deep breath and said "I asked Joseph to not kill him despite how much he wishes the man dead."

"The man cannot control his demons in that category. If Lucian tried to claim you against your wishes and violated the trust installed in him to protect you, Joseph has every right to kill him. It's a crime of the worst among our people."

She shook her head and said "I wasn't claimed at the time and I could have talked him down one way or another."

Emily snorted and said "Kara, you have been claimed since you were four. You two just weren't connected as mates are until last night. He has been your protector all this time and protectors are not chosen for others unless that is their true mate."

"But how did Leon know?"

"The exchange of glances you two had when you met. You saw what was inside Joseph at that moment and his gaze lingered on you differently than others. He seemed uneasy around you from the moment he met your gaze."

She smirked and said "The man has never been uneasy around me. Kept himself at a distance but never uneasy."

Emily chuckled and watched her daughter's head snap to the shadows. Her eyes were skimming the brush and she shifted as she moved to her feet. Her ears were straight up at attention and she looked back at her mother.

We should go

The authority in her voice was a bit surprising but Emily didn't challenge her. They walked back to the ruins, making sure they were not under observation, and stepped through the waterfall. They came in on the scene of Lucian surrounded by the pack. Zeke was standing in front of him with murder in his black eyes and she shifted immediately.

"Zeke."

He didn't move his eyes from his prey but asked "Are you okay?"

She pushed through the restraining brothers and stood beside the two men. Lucian looked back at her and received a blow to his jaw.

"You will not look at her you filthy fool."

She took a deep breath and stepped between them. Her green eyes looked up at Zeke with pure authority and she finally captured her gaze.

"He isn't to be harmed until his punishment is decided by Leon."

"He could have killed you."

She folded her arms and said "And so could all of you and your brother."

The chuckling from Angel and Gabby lightened the air and he relaxed his shoulders enough to let Lucian feel less in danger. She whirled around and face him with the same look and he grew tense again.

"You are an idiot."

He looked down and said "I couldn't hold it back. You have no idea what it was like watching you day in and day out once Joseph had left."

"I don't care. You serve Leon and know better. I was not to be touched by any of you in any way similar to that."

His head went up and he snapped "If you didn't have a protector, you would have been claimed when you came into age by one of us."

Her eyes narrowed and she felt the power slip down her spine. His head jerked up to the top of the stairs and they found Joseph and Leon staring down at them. She met the black gaze and watched the man approach with her grandfather. She couldn't tell which one look more lethal at the moment and she watched the pack allow them into the center of the circle. Joseph came to her side and pulled her back as Leon circled the man.

The contact allowed her to feel all the murderous intentions in him and she held his gaze. He looked back at Leon and they watched the man stand directly in front of Lucian.

"You are lucky you weren't killed last night."

"I wasn't thinking."

"I heard every word you spoke with my granddaughter, so don't play innocent."

The man went pale and dropped to his knee. He couldn't look up at Leon without receiving death for challenging the man's authority.

"Anyone who harms my family deserves death."

"Please sir, it won't happen again."

The growl from the throat beside her made her grab his arm to keep him beside her and Leon looked back at him. Joseph was waiting for the command to come and Lucian would be dead in less than a second. The man had every intention of not letting this fool see the next minute of life.

"My granddaughter doesn't want your death."

Lucian looked up at him and said "I'll do anything to prove my loyalty to you again."

Leon looked over at Kara and found her watching with acceptance for whatever the outcome was. He knew she never wished death on anyone of their kind but her mate would be against the sparing of the man's life one hundred percent and so would his family. Lucian saw the exchange and used it as a chance to push through the circle. He broke into a run on all four and made a direct line to the waterfall. When he was almost free a black wolf leapt in his place and he skidded to a halt.

Joseph stood menancing in front of him and his gaze was a promise of death. Lucian looked behind him and found the others not moving. They watched as it dawned on him that he had decided his fate himself. He turned his gaze slowly back to Joseph and found the black wolf unmoving as if he was solid stone.

Please let me pass. I will leave and never come back.

A bare of his fangs sent Lucian's nerves racing and he stepped back. Joseph struck his muzzle hard with a swipe and shoved him down onto the ground. His black eyes burned down at the fool and Lucian didn't dare move.

She was never free to claim and never will be

I am sorry!

Sorry doesn't mean anything to me

His eyes grew bigger in fear and he felt the paw press into his throat. The need to crush the life out of him was almost unbearable but he casted a second of a glance at Kara and found her watching but from a distance. She had put up a wall to keep the horror of the man's fear from murdering her head and he stared back down at Lucian. No matter how much he needed to punish this fool he couldn't harm her without it plaguing him.

What are you waiting for?

He looked back at her and she stepped past his brothers. They tried stopping her but she approached the two and he stepped off Lucian. The wolf rolled onto his stomach and looked up at them as Joseph left his wolf form.

I will only kill him if you are okay with it

Her gaze held his and she found the desire to kill in his gaze. He had every intention of killing Lucian to avenge her but he was fighting it back for her sake of mind. She felt the frustration in his delayed actions building in him and saw Lucian reach for him with his fangs. Before she could put herself between them, he had Lucian on his back and his throat crushed in his jaws. The wolf lay still below him and she felt the triumph in him growing.

The silence surrounding them disappeared when people began whispering and she watched him walk out the watefall. She wanted to follow him but Zeke caught her arm and shook his head.

"He needs a moment to compose himself before returning to you."

"He needs my help."

"The blood lust in him is too strong for you to face at the moment."

Her green eyes lit up and she said "I know my mate better than you."

She yanked her arm free as the words left him still and she walked through the waterfall. He was getting a drink from the water in the basin and cooling the inner turmoil. His ears went up as she drew closer and he carefully lifted his head. The blood was gone from his coat and she knelt in front of him. His eyes were still burning with the power left in him after the kill and she slid her hand through his coat.

You should go back inside

She continued running her hand through his coat and slowly framed the wolf's face. His black eyes looked cooly at her and she took a deep breath.

There's enough buzzing in there. You need me out here.

He nuzzled her hand and shifted. His eyes were still full of power but the hunger inside him had disappeared. She slid her eyes over him to make sure Lucian hadn't touched him and he caught the examining hand on his chest.

"I'm fine."

"Humor me."

He closed his eyes and allowed her tempting touch to finish checking him over. He had heard the rebutal inside between her and Zeke and could have smirked. She wasn't afraid of the alpha and was willing to stake her ground. The grief he would receive tonight on their patrol would be annoying but he was willing to deal with it. His arm snaked around her and pulled her closer.

If you are so worried, then you should come with me

She stared up at him and smirked. He needed to run to finish shaking the last of the darkness and she hadn't run for ages herself. She shifted before he could stop her and took off. He rolled his eyes and shifted in pursuit. His legs carried him after her quickly and she increased her pace as he closed in on her.