Twenty-four hours had passed before Daryn opened his eyes. Cole was sitting in the same room for all the time. He wanted to know where Dawn was. He was holding his fists tight hoping that Dawn was alive. He hadn't been able to eat or sleep. Every time Daryn stirred, he would get up and lean close to his face to see if he had woken up, but would feel bitter when Daryn didn't wake up. It seemed like an eternity and all he wished was that this was somehow a dream. Was there any respite? What was Dawn's fault? That she was trying to protect him and that she wanted all that back, which belonged to them?

Neal had come to give him dinner, but Cole refused to eat. Neal felt really bad for the child. As for Gayle, he had been frantically searching along with his team to look for traces of Dawn. The entire area was searched over and over again. There were three teams that patrolled the field, but there was nothing.

Cole's eyes were red, as he looked at Daryn. He had heard that his sister was Daryn's mate and he had come to understand that finding mates was so rare. If one mate died, the other simply withered away or took his or her own life. His heart stabbed with pain for his brother-in-law. He prayed to God that Dawn be found soon and that Daryn woke up.

He made a deal with God. "I will go to the church for Sunday mass on my Birthday. Please just get my sister back."

---

There was so much blackness around him that he couldn't find direction to go back to his mate. He clawed the darkness, fumbled through it, but he was trapped there for eternity. Not able to smell her, not able to feel her presence made him desperate. He thought he would become crazy again if he didn't meet her. He existed for her. He fought with the darkness as hard as possible and yet the Cimmerian persisted. Dawn would appear obscurely somewhere around him and he would lope towards her, only to find that it was a mirage. He screamed and screamed her name, but she didn��t come to him. He had to fight the gloom, the blackness that was enveloping him.

Daryn got up on the bed with a jolt and a shriek, "Dawn!" He opened his eyes wide to comprehend his surroundings. There were tubes running out of his body. Sharp pain jabbed in his stomach. He looked down and saw the bandage covered with dots of crimson. The scene when Azura shot him came vivid in his mind. His palms closed into tight fists and his claws jutted out in fury.

Cole jumped to his feet and rushed to him. Neal was sitting outside talking to one of the patrolling teams. As soon as heard Daryn, he came rushing in.

"Where's Dawn?" he asked with urgency.

Cole and Neal stood there with their heads hung low. Daryn could sense that Cole was crying. A vein throbbed in his temple. "Where's Dawn?" he grated.

"We haven't been able to find her," replied Neal. Over the last two days, Neal had not left his Alpha's side. He was unshaven and looked like hell. He hated the fact that Caleb wasn't there. He had no hopes for Sedora. But Caleb? He was Daryn's elder brother, for God's sake. "Gayle has been scurrying the region zealously."

A growl formed in his chest and he roared with frustration. Cole backed a little in fear.

Next instant Daryn was pulling the tubes out of his body. As the needles came out, blood also oozed.

"Stop it Daryn!" Neal had to shout.

But Daryn wasn't listening. His mate, his wife—she was in danger. He could feel it. His skin prickled like there were a thousand thorns. He didn't need those tubes, he needed his Dawn. He got out of the bed. "I failed her…" he rasped. "I shouldn't have left her… I should have taken her out…"

Where your mate goes, you go… Protect her… His beast clamored inside. It was rising in panic along with him.

"Daryn, you need to sit down," Neal said with caution. There was no one as dangerous as a werewolf who was seeking his mate.

Daryn growled at him and bared his fangs. "I have to protect her!" he bellowed. It was his fault. Surely, it was his fault. Worry stabbed his heart. He whipped around, to find some clothes to wear. He couldn't leave her. She needed him. He would kill those who dared to abduct his wife. He would kill them so slowly that they would wish they die each day, every minute, but he wouldn't let them.

Once he recovered her, he would take her away to the only place that was safest, to the place where there was no one, no danger. Scotland. Where he had vast expanse of land that stretched hundreds of acres and a mansion. He was crying from inside.

"Daryn, I have very important news for you. You have to listen to me!" Neal roared, trying to calm down Daryn.

Daryn turned his head sharply at him. "If you don't have any information about Dawn, then don't bother to talk!" he snapped.

The nurse came running in and was aghast at the bloodied site of Daryn. There was blood on his arms. The tubes were stripped off. "Mr. Silver, if you don't tend to those wounds, you might get an infection," she said very softly with fear in her eyes. He looked so dangerous that she trembled when he shot a glance at her.

"Please go out," Neal warned her and she gulped. Without a question she went away.

Neal turned his attention to Daryn. "Daryn, please sit down. You have to listen to me!" Then he dug his hands in his suit and took out the two pregnancy sticks. He handed them over to Daryn and carefully said, "I found these two sticks after Dawn left. Your wife, our Luna, Dawn, is pregnant with your pups."