*AUTHOR'S NOTE: WARNING SOME VIOLENCE, LANGUAGE, BLOOD, AND GORE. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED*

RHYS

"RHYS WAIT!!!" My Uncle roared as my figure retreated

I ignored him and pushed my Wolf faster and faster, dodging in and out between the trees faster than we ever had before.

I had to reach her

I needed her in my arms, in the place I knew that I could protect her from all the bad things in life that want to harm her.

Powerful pounding of the earth and low familiar growls sounded from behind me, alerting me that both my Pack as well as the Matthews siblings and my Uncle had followed.

'SAVE MATE!!! SAVE MATE!!!' My Wolf chanted continuously in our head, increasing his speed to an almost blinding rate.

The moment I caught her sweet scent mixed with the metallic tang of blood, my Wolf lost it and forced our shift.

'MATE DANGER!' My Wolf snarled

'I KNOW!' I snarled right back

A Witch stepped into the middle of our part, mumbling what I assumed to be a spell, and before she could even finish, my Wolf lunged for her and bite her head off.

At this point, we're done playing the civil and dignified Alpha.

We're sick and tired of playing by the rules when it's clear that everyone else is obviously not.

If you step in our way of getting to our Mate, regardless of who your are, we won't hesitate to rip you apart piece by piece.

Consequences be damned

I waited for my Mate for as long as I could comprehend how special Mates were

Rhys, 6 Years Old

"Mom, what are Mates?" I asked my Mom as I watched another one of my Pack members introduce him Mate to my Father "And why are they so important?"

My mother, startled by my question, stopped decorating my birthday cake

"Mates?" She asked, coming to pick me up and depositing me on one of the Island chairs "Why do you want to learn about Mates Sweetie?"

"I dunno" I shrugged "Matt kept going on and on about Mates and how he was going to make Mia his Mate one day and since Dad is always introducing us to newly 'Mated' people I wanted to know what that meant"

"You don't need to worry about Mates right now Sweetie" She giggled, ruffling my hair fondly "I'll tell you about them when your older"

I frowned

"I'm going to be the next Alpha" I said matter-of-factly "I think I deserve to know now"

"Deserve to know what?" My father asked, walking into the kitchen and wrapping an arm around my mother

She giggled more

I sat up straighter "I want to know what Mates are"

My father stilled and his face grew serious

"Mates are the most precious things in the world son," he said, looking me in the eye "They're the other half of your soul, the one thing in the world that pushes you to be a better man. Your world rises and sets around them. When they're around, your smiles are endless, your heart is full. When they hurt, you hurt. When they cry, so do you. Life before them is meaningless and life without them is worthless,"

I stared at him in awe, absorbing every last detail he was sharing with me

"Hear me Son, Mates are sacred and deserve the utmost respect" he glanced at my mother with a loving look in his eye "They are your equal, in every sense of the word, your partner for life and death. Even if your don't remember all that I spoke to you of today, remember this: Be worthy of your Mate. Although you have not found yours yet, treat them with respect. Do not mess around or fool with others hearts. Respect your body in the way you would want your Mate to respect theirs. Most of all, be proud and honored to have the other half of your soul by your side. No matter who they are or where they come from, love them with everything you have"

The memory I kept so close to my heart for all those years faded as the smell of her blood became more pungent as we got closer to the edge of my territory.

I broke into a wide open cleaning and froze when I saw her chained down to an alter, blood running down her arms and panic clear in her beautiful face.

"Rhys!" She cried out, struggling against her chains "Leave! Turn around! Go home before it's too late!"

I shifted

"I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU" I vowed fiercely, making my way to her "I WILL PROTECT YOU WITH MY LAST DYING BREATH"

I kissed her quickly but passionately, tugging on her chains as I enjoyed her soft lips. One chain easily fell apart at my tugging.

She was surprised and reciprocated right when a shot rang out from behind us.

My hackles raised and my muscles tensed

"Rhys he's delusional" Kassi whispered "And dangerous. He killed Marcy. Shot her right in the head"

I tensed even more, eyes locking with the Hunter

"So she was the mole" I concluded

"You knew?" Kassi asked, desperately trying to remove the other chains

"I had my suspicions" I said, widening my stance to protect my Mate "The Hunters knew about your existence too soon. I suspected Orion but realized that Hunters knew things about my Pack even before you got here. There were too many 'Accidental' Hunting deaths"

"Sorry about that" The Bastard smiled smugly "Slippery fingers"

He pointed the gun at my head

"And as much as I enjoyed your disgusting reunion, I've decided that I've seen enough of this lovey dovey crap. Glad your got to see her one last time before you die,"

I watched as his finger twitched on the trigger

"And don't worry" he smiled "I'll make sure she's good and taken care of. If she's good, I might even let her hang your fur in our sons nursery"

I was about to lung for him and rip his throat out when a grey blur knocked him to the side.

"HE'S MINE" I snarled and shifted, running toward the soon to be dead and mangled Hunter

Growls and shots broke out all around us and in less than seconds, the clearing became a bloody battlefield.

Blood spurted everywhere, hands and heads flying in the air as I made my way toward my prey.

From the corner of my eye, I watched as the Matthews formed a triangle, their backs pressed against each other as they took on the Witches in Human form.

My Uncle and his inhuman speed ran past me, his eyes dark maroon as he tore into a fellow vampire's neck, ripping a huge chunk of flesh right off the man before cleanly swiping his head off.

I finally reached the Hunter and was about to pounce when another Hunter stepped in my way and hit me with a knife.

It must have been laced with Aconite because it hurt like a Bitch

I lunged for the Hunter, managing to lock my jaw around his throwing arm. Blood flooded my mouth and before he could counteract my attack and stab me again, I shook him hard. The sound of bones crunching and his screams were music to my ears.

Another ambushed me from behind and was about to shoot me when Ethan snapped his neck

"GO!" He yelled, nodding his head toward Kassi "BRING HER HOME! END THIS!"

I nodded my beg Wolf head, shook the crying Hunter one last time for good measure and threw him against a tree 30 feet away.

I ran towards my Mate, who was struggling to get the last chair on her ankle off

I shifted again and tugged on chain

Nothing happened

"I think they spelled the last chain" Kassi said frantically "Right before you got here, a Witch touched it. She didn't say anything nor did her eyes glow. She just touched it"

"Don't worry" I grabbed her chin "We'll get you out of this"

"EVERLY!" I yelled for my Third as she finished up with 2 rogues, slashing at their throats with a huge sword she got from God only knows where

"Yes Alpha?" She kicked them away from her, running a hand through her now bloody blonde hair

"Where's the Witch we captured?"

She stabbed one vampire with the sword while using her claws as a shield from another one

"Back at Base with Shawn and Alpha Kaden's Mate" she grunted at a Hunter knocked her down to the floor

"Cheap shot Bitch" she cursed at him as he pick up her sword

The Hunter smirked and was about to stab her with the sword when she kicked him in the nuts

"Lucky for you, I'm the Queen of Cheap shots" she stuck her tongue out at him before stomping on his package with her steel-toe boots

"GET ME THE GIRL!" I Yelled "HURRY!"

"AYE AYE CAPTAIN" She yelled back

"Rhys" Kassi said quietly, pulling me back to her beautiful face "I need you to do me a favor"

"What is it?" I answered, pulling the chain harder than anything in my life

"I need you to take the others and leave" she said quietly, so quiet that I almost didn't hear her

"What?"

"I need you..."

"I heard what you said" I cut her off "I just can't believe you said it"

"I can't let you guys die" she said, clawing at my shirt "I just can't be responsible knowing that I'm the one that caused this. That I'm the one that forced so many innocents to die"

"This war would have happened either way" I caressed her face gently "It has nothing to do with you. This has been brewing beneath the surface for a long time"

"But..." she started

"We're all here because we care about you" I said "We knew what we were risking when we came here"

"Watch out!" Someone yelled from beside of us before pushing me to the ground

A second later a blood curdling and heart-wrenching scream rang out

I watched in horror as Ethan slumped against Kassi, red blood oozing rapidly from a gaping wound in his skull.