Rex sat on the couch in Drake's living quarters, watching as his older brother slept off the sedation. It'd been two days, and Drake had gotten to the point where he couldn't handle it any time Tessa would scream. He hated seeing his brother and sister-in-law hurting so much. He hoped he never had to see another human changed into what they were.

The doc was sleeping on a cot Gunner had pulled into the bedroom. At this point, the healer was Tessa's only caretaker. Gunner and Rex wouldn't be able to touch her even with the special gloves the doc used. Harold was a pro at being careful with a mated female. Even with the gloves, there was a chance Rex or Gunner would slip up and touch her with their forearm while she thrashed. Harold knew what he was doing, and they had to trust him to keep her sedated and unharmed.

The door to Drake's living area opened in a rush. Gunner stood there with glowing eyes, and Rex knew immediately there was something wrong.

"What is it?" he asked, jumping to his feet.

"Did you hear the fucking shotgun go off out front?" Gunner barked.

"No," Rex snarled. Granted, the room was underground, but his heightened hearing should've detected something as loud as a gunshot.

"That motherfucker is outside, and he's demanding we return his wife!"

"Oh, hell no!" Rex snapped.

"Get his ass up," Gunner ordered, looking over his shoulder. "We have a human to kill."

Rex hurried over to Drake, shaking him as hard as he could. "Man, you gotta wake the fuck up!"

Like a jolt of lightning had struck his big brother, Drake roared as he came to his feet, "Tessa!"

"Not quite, big guy," Rex said, steading Drake. The sedative was still in his system, and his eyes were glassy. "Bradley is on our land. He's shooting at the house and demanding we give him Tessa."

"He's dead!" Drake promised, and stumbled to the bedroom door. He pushed it open, waking the healer. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Harold asked as he stood from his makeshift bed.

"Her ex is here, and I'm going to go kill him," Drake stated. "Do not leave this room."

"Take care of him, and I'll take care of your mate," Harold promised, touching his fist to his heart in a gesture of pride. The male was a good one. He would be repaid somehow in the future by the Morgan clan. It was guaranteed for protecting a mate.

Tessa didn't know how long she'd been screaming in pain. Time was endless in her mind. It could've been two hours or three days, but something had changed in the last hour. The sounds of her panting changed into a deeper sounding growl. A roar sounded in her head. Her mind felt like it was being pulled in two different directions. Something was pushing at her mind, her skin, her soul.

She could open her eyes now, but not for long. Every time she would wake, the healer would be there to reassure her everything was going according to plan, but Drake was nowhere to be found.

Was he sedated?

Was he going insane like he had mentioned?

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There's something wrong with my laptop and i had to edit the chapters on phone....it took alot of my damn time. BUT... I'll update one more chapter today!