"Are you okay, honey?" Jessica asked once Katie walked back from the woods. She had been standing next to Jared watching, speechless the whole time. "One moment you and Rick were fighting, the next he was passed out with the Alpha hellbent on murdering him. Don't even get me started on how you got him to stop and pulled him away, like that. It was insane."

Katie groaned. This was exactly what she had expected to happen once she got back. "I don't want to talk about it, Jess." She didn't know how to explain it and she didn't feel like trying. The sun had already set and all Katie wanted was to shower, go to sleep and forget about Rick's hands and mouth on her.

"You're right; I'm sorry. At least tell me you're okay. Rick was going to bite you, I got that much. You should see how pissed off Jared is." Jessica rubbed Katie's back in a soothing manner, helping her anxiety fade a little, and Katie was glad she had her friend by her side.

"I'm alright." Katie nodded with a smile, before seeing an indeed angry Jared make his way to her. "Speaking of the devil."

Gathering her in his arms in an instant, Jared let out a deep breath. "I'm so glad you're okay. I swear to god if Rick wasn't shipped back to the pack house in a goddamn ambulance I would've killed him myself. Seriously, Alpha Zach has both my respect and my blessing."

Katie laughed at her best friend's words. "I'm all good, Jay. Don't worry."

"You should rest." Jared smiled at Katie when she nodded. She wondered if she'll be able to go to sleep after such a long day, but she needed to try. Her body and her wolf were as tired as her mind was.

"Hey, Katie," Mike showed up near Katie's tent with a friendly smile on his face. Katie hadn't seen him since his birthday, before he and Megan had mated. "Do you have a moment?"

"She needs to rest, Mike." Jared stated and Jessica nodded in agreement. Katie couldn't help but smile at her friends, feeling her heart warming up. Today would've been so much worse if neither them nor alpha Zach was here with her, she thought. She knew she could always count on Jared and Jess, and lately Zach's name made its way on that list too.

"It's okay, guys. I'll be fine." Katie added before biding them both a good night. Turning to Mike, she smiled. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm a bad friend." Mike's eyes darted to the floor in guilt. He had wanted to talk to Katie for long, but every time he thought about reaching her, he would feel nervous, as if it was somehow his fault that she and the Alpha weren't together.

"It's all good." Sighing, Katie took a seat on the ground, her fingers playing with the grass beneath. Nature had always succeeded in calming her down, as well as her wolf, who was still fazed by what had happened.

Taking a seat next to her, Mike smiled. "So Alpha Zach is your mate, huh? Megan told me."

Letting out a deep breath, Katie nodded. "Even if she hadn't told you, I'm sure you would have guessed it after what happened today. Look around, everyone is looking at me like I'm the funny girl who's here to steal their Alpha away. I'm sure they're all assuming I'm his mate now,or even worse since he's four years older than I am."

Mike nodded in agreement. Truly, everyone kept talking about their incident, and Mike remembered that the same had happened with Megan years ago when she first dated the Alpha. Yes, the pack wanted the Alpha to find his Luna so their pack would become stronger, but they all wondered if Katie was worthy of him, since she was not only a new addition to their pack, but had always kept a low profile. "True. No one has ever seen Alpha Zach act this way before. Don't be so hard on him, Katie. I'm honestly surprised he stopped at all." Mike shrugged when Katie looked at him. "If it were Megan, I would have killed Rick. Wouldn't have hesitated for even a second."

Katie blinked as she listened to Mike. What Mike said made sense to her, because Megan was his mate. If a male's mate was looked at by another, for even a few seconds more than appropriate, her mate would throw a fit of anger. They couldn't help it; it was simply how they were made. Back in her father's pack, Katie had seen rational, calm and well educated men destroy rooms and start brutal fights over such as a wicked smile or a simple wink that wasn't supposed to be sent their mate's way.

The only problem Katie faced in that equation was that she was no longer the Alpha's mate. She and Zach had broken that bond between them before it even took its rightful place, yet somehow she felt their mating bond getting only stronger ever since.

"Are you happy with Megan?" She couldn't help but ask. She honestly wanted them to find their happiness, even if a little part of her couldn't help but feel jealous, for she too wished to find that happiness with Zach. The idea of finding another mate after him had stopped sounding appealing to her for a while now. She too wished she could turn back time and never rush him into making a decision.

Giving her a sad smile, Mike nodded. "I'm blessed to have her." He wished he could somehow help Katie and the Alpha, but their problem wasn't his to meddle in, not that he had any idea how to help.

"I'm glad to hear that." She smiled sincerely. It hadn't all been for nothing, she reminded herself once more before getting up. "I should turn in."

"You'll be happy again, Katie. One day everything will fall in place and you will be happy." He promised before leaving and Katie found herself smiling as she entered her tent. Today had been a bad and a long day for her, yet the few minutes she spent with Zach had somehow made it worth it. The few moments she had been in his arms, the warmth she had felt there, the safety and calmness that had engulfed her as his arms wrapped around her figure, promised her the same as Mike.

Alpha Zach was her source of happiness, she now believed, and her heart jumped at that conclusion as she went to sleep imagining herself in his embrace once more.

****

"Are you sure you want to come, Katie?" Ella asked again as Katie tied her hair into high a ponytail. "I can go alone. Yesterday had been a long day for you and I still need you to explain what happened because I'm at loss here. I have never seen my brother so angry before."

Katie groaned again as she knotted the laces of her boots. "You know what, Elle? I have nothing to explain. Ask your brother; I'm sure his answer will be better than mine. Besides, because of what had happened earlier I need to go with you. I want some fresh air, away from all this." Katie pointed at where most of the members were. Once again, their eyes were fixed on her as if they were seeing her for the first time.

"I will definitely ask him, believe me." Ella said, her eyes narrowed as she started making her way to the east of the woods with Katie beside her.

"So what exactly do you think we're gonna find?" Katie asked as they looked around them when they reached the river. The sun was up and the weather was amazing, yet there was a faint scent that made Katie frown. "Can you smell that?"

Sniffing, Ella moved her head to both sides, her eyes widening. "I think I can. It's very faint. What's that? It smells like something rotten."

Katie's heart beat faster in her chest as she nodded her head in agreement. It did smell like something rotten, or at least starting to rot. Looking around her carefully, her sense awake and alert, Katie bent to the ground. "Ella, look."

Ella looked where Katie had pointed to find multiple paws and footprints "Someone from our pack might have come this way." She guessed, yet she hasn't quite convinced.

"No. The soil seems fresh. Recent. None of our members would've come this far anyway." Katie's frown deepened when she felt her wolf as worried as she was. Something was up indeed. Suddenly Katie heard a sound from behind the trees. "Stay still."

****

Zach had been feeling uneasy for the past half an hour. Something had made his mood sour and his wolf nervous, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Moving his eyes around, he looked for Kat among everyone present, eager to see her, yet frowned when he couldn't find her. The pit of nervousness in his stomach grew as he looked around again. Where was she?

****

Looking around her once more, Katie silenced her loud heart to focus on her surroundings. A twig was twisted beneath a foot or a paw, and Katie's head instantly turned to its direction, yet again she saw nothing. "Don't make a sound, Ella, and when I tell you to run, run." Katie whispered, her eyes wide and her mind awake.

"What? No, I'm not leaving you." Ella shook her head. Katie had always acted like a big sister to Elle even though she was only a few months older, yet in cases like these, it didn't matter much to Ella.

Katie shook her head, her eyes moving around, scanning the area as they tried to find the source of the sound when they heard it again. Ella had to leave, Katie thought. She would protect Ella with everything she's got. She wasn't just the Alpha's sister, she was her mate's sister, and most importantly her friend. And Katie would be damned if she let any harm touch her friend. Moving her eyes to meet with Ella's worried ones, Katie gave her a clear order in a hushed tone. "I said when I tell you to run, you run."

****

Zach got up from where he was seated and made his way to Nick, his frown deep. His wolf was as anxious as he was. "Hey, have you seen Kat?"

"No, why? What's up?" Nick asked as he saw the worry on his best friend's face.

"Something is not right." Zach stated. He could feel it deep within his heart that something was up with Kat. Wherever she was she was in danger, he just knew it. "I need to find her."

****

"Katie, let's get back. We'll go get Zach and Nick and come back." Ella's whisper reached Katie's ears the same time her eyes caught multiple shadows hide behind the trees near them. Werewolves. Rogues, Katie could tell. A bunch of them.

"It's too late to go back; they've already seen us. I'll distract them while you run. They won't risk following you. Get your brother. Now, Ella, go." Katie commanded when she saw and heard one of the rogues step closer.

It was like Ella's mind had frozen the second she saw the rogues step out from behind the trees. There were seven of them, all large and all deadly.

Katie shifted into her wolf the moment her eyes caught the rogues and as she was about to bark at Ella to shift and run, the rogues attacked.

****

Zach's heart suddenly dropped to his stomach and panic had taken its place. Sniffing the air for his mate's scent, Zach rushed his way to Jared and Jessica. "Where's Kat?"

"We don't know." Jessica shrugged, looking between the alpha and the beta, wondering what was the matter.

"What's wrong?" Jared asked when he saw the worry evident Zach's eyes.

****

A large black wolf tried to jump on Katie but she easily dodged him before pouncing on another, her canine teeth ready to kill. Biting whatever piece of flesh made contact with her fangs, Katie pushed her claws deep into the wolf's skull, killing him instantly. Another tackled her from behind but she successfully rolled onto her back, pushing him hard into the ground. Opening her mouth wide, Katie didn't stop her teeth from sinking in his neck until she tasted his blood.

Ella shifted when she saw the rogues attacking Katie and wondered why hadn't they paid her any attention. Debating whether to listen to Katie and run back to Zach or stay and fight with her friend, Ella chose the latter. She jumped on the first wolf her eyes caught from behind and pulled out his spine.

Katie watched as Ella killed one of the rogues and roared, annoyed at her defiance, yet the fury she had felt only added fuel to her fire as she attacked another that was about to pounce on her friend.

Ella's eyes found Katie tackling a wolf twice her size to the floor and saw the blood splashing from the fatal wounds her claws had created around his neck. A wolf lunged at Katie with his teeth eager and bit through her flesh as he tackled her to the ground. Ella ran to them but she was suddenly pushed to the other side by another before she could reach them.

Katie roared in pain as she felt the flesh of her stomach tear open by the wolves paws.

****

Zach's eyes darted to his stomach when he suddenly felt an abnormal pain there. "She's hurt. Kat's hurt." Was all Zach said before he shifted into his wolf in an instant. Sniffing the air once more, Zach growled in anger when he couldn't catch her scent, yet he sprinted to the woods anyway. He had to find her. He had to protect her.

****

Her pain turning into hot rage, Katie's claws found their way to the wolves throat and she pulled it out in an instant. Moving her eyes to Ella, she noticed her struggling beneath one of the two rogues standing. She noticed how the other one was ready to pounce on her and end her life then and there, but the same plan he had for her his friend had for Ella. Having to decide quickly, Katie knew what she had to do. Choosing to save Ella, she lunged onto the back of the wolf who had her friend pinned to the ground and pulled out her spine.

Ella felt the wolf above her being pushed away the second she heard his heart stop. Blinking, she saw Katie spit out his spine a second before the last wolf tackled her to the ground and bit through her stomach hard enough to kill.

****

Zach suddenly froze in his tracks, a second before a deafening howl of pain sounded through the woods. Kat.