Having Matty in my arms allows me to take a breath of relief. The aches and pains in my body are coming back as well, the adrenaline from before wearing off. Everything aches, horribly so. But seeing my brother, carried out of the bus by two men on a flat piece of wood has me pushing back my pain.

The wolf inside me is practically howling, clawing at my skin. Seeing my brother- my mate- in such danger is putting me on edge. Matty holding my hand is almost too much for me, my wolf huffing at the feeling of having someone else touch me, especially when my mate is hurting.

Ignoring my instincts, I pull Matty close, the two of us leaning against each other as we follow Jordan and the others back to the colony.

So many of my pack mates are hurt, little ones being carried since they are too hurt to walk. Matty is listing next to me, wincing with every step he takes. Something is clearly broken, and if I had to take a wild guess, I would have to say that it is a rib. He doesn't complain, though, just grinding his teeth as we walk to the cliff that takes us to the waterfall.

"Where are we going?" Matty whispers, looking confused as we stop at the top of the waterfall.

"Ekata." Together, we watch as Jordan climbs down the rocky cliff and under the waterfall. The whole process takes less than a minute, before he is coming back with rope, a large makeshift basket on it. "It's a shifter colony."

"A what colony?" Matty says, eyes never leaving Jordan as he climbs back up the cliff, typing the other side of the rope to the nearest tree.

"Shifter colony. Apparently werewolves aren't the only type of shifters. Jordan," I nod over at the man, who is now directing the two men carrying Henry to lower him into the basket. "He's a bear shifter."

Matty turns towards me then, eyebrows raised, "Really?"

Nodding my head, I pull him closer, resisting the urge to run over to Henry, where Rosalie and Mom are already hovering. "Yeah."

"Wow," Matty mumbles, "I can't believe we never heard of them before."

Jordan climbs back down the cliff once Henry is strapped in, a tarp covering everything but his head. "Send him down!"

The two men who had been holding him, slowly lower the makeshift basket. Henry cries out at the jolting movement, making my wolf flare to life. Ripping away from Matty, making him cry out in pain. I walk over to the edge carefully watching every movement as Henry is passed underneath the waterfall and out of view.

It is only when I can't see him anymore that I realize what I did. Slowly, I look up and behind me. Matty is holding his side, eyes wide and shiny.

"Matty," I say, pushing myself up from the ground.

"It's fine," he murmurs, turning away from me.

"I'm sorry."

He just nods, looking at the ground. I open my mouth to say something else, but Matty is being ushered over to the basket next, his Mom strapping him in.

My hands clench in anger, not at Matty and not even at myself. My wolf is the one getting in the way of all of this. Never before have I pushed Matty away. I have always been in control of my wolf, but now, I feel as if that control is slipping away.

Mom comes over to stand next to me. "What happened back there?"

Shaking my head, I force myself to look at him. He looks exhausted, blood tinging his platinum hair pink. But despite his exhaustion, it is clear that he is worried.

"I-I don't know." Growling, I force myself to look away. "One moment I was holding Matty, and the next I had to get away from him. It's- It's..."

"Your wolf?" a familiar voice says from behind me

Turing, I see that Taylor has joined us. He looks even more exhausted than the rest of us, his youngest, Harper, in his arms. She is sucking her thumb, her head resting on his shoulder. She doesn't seem to be hurt at all, maybe just a few bruises that haven't formed yet.

"Yeah," I tell him, looking away from the tired toddler. "My wolf."

He nods, letting out a long sigh. "This is what I was worried about." He rubs his forehead before dropping his head to rest on top of his daughters. "We didn't go about this the right way." He must see me gearing up to argue with him, because he shakes his head. "I mean that we have all been busy arguing over this that we have just made the problem worse. I-I just wanted what I thought was best for my daughter, but I think I was wrong. I'm sorry, Rowan."

Giving him a stiff nod of my head, I turn away. The basket is coming back up, and the two youngest pack members- Wyatt and Reagan- get piled inside. They both start crying as they are lowered. Micah talks to them the entire way, trying to calm them, but it is no use, they are terrified. Micah and Jesse don't waste any time, climbing down after them.

Someone bursting into tears has us all turning. Liam is turned away from what is going on, all of his children safe in the cave below. His shoulders shake as he sobs, face buried in his hands. Mom and Taylor immediately rush over, along with his mates.

"They- They... I can't believe they aren't here." He Stumbles then, Erik catching him before he can fall. "I-I can't breathe. Oh god, they're gone."

"Oh, love," Ethan mumbles, wrapping his arms around both of his mates, resulting in Liam being sandwiched between the twins.

"Who's gone?" I ask out loud to no one in particular.

"His sisters, and- and Uncle Elliot," a soft voice says behind me. Turning, I see Rosalie standing next to me. Her face is tense, but she hasn't quite mastered hiding her emotions yet. My wolf pushes me to comfort her, but the most I can offer is a side hug. She leans into me anyways, obviously reveling in what I am allowing myself to give.

"What happened?" I whisper, the sound of Jordan yelling causing me to turn my eyes away from Liam. Noah is being sent down in the basket, still knocked out from the crash.

"No one knows," she murmurs, turning to bury her face in my shoulder. "They weren't at any of the exits, but no one saw them get taken down either."

"But what about Ellis?" I ask, already looking around for the toddler. She had been the happiest baby I have ever met, absolutely delighted to be held by anyone. Simply smiling at her would get her giggling.

"Don't know."

Those two words have my heart pounding. Swallowing, I hold back the urge to hurl, all the possible scenarios of what could have happened to the baby running through my mind.

Liam is still sobbing, on the ground by now with his head buried in Ethan's neck. We have all heard of how Liam raised his younger sisters, treated them like they were his own children. It hurts to much to watch him, so I turn away, walking back over to where the men continue to lower the basket down.

My body trembles with exhaustion, so after Rosalie climbs down, I go down in the basket, not trusting myself to climb to the slippery cliff. Matty is waiting with his siblings, but when Rosalie comes to help me out of the basket, he turns away.

It is clear to me that he is hurting, but just as I am about to go over to him, Rosalie starts pulling me over to where Henry is laying on a wooden slab, completely passed out. "Come on, he needs both of us."

Seeing my brother laying here, impaled by a pole makes everything inside me hurt. Rosalie is right, he does need us right now, more so than anyone else.

My wolf calms when I grab my Henry's hand, Rosalie leaning against my shoulder. For the first time in a while, I don't have that nagging feeling in the back of my mind, the pull of my mates appeased for now.

I don't know for how long we sit there, but eventually, Jordan is calling for everyone to follow him. It takes twice as long for us to make it through the caves than the last time I was in here. We have to take frequent breaks, since most of us are hurt.

Just when I feel like I am about to collapse, light starts to filter into the tunnel. A group of people are waiting at the end up the caves for us, including Reseda. She rushes over when she sees Henry, barking out orders to the men holding the wooden slab.

Everything is a rush after that, the pack being split up as the injured are directed to different tents. All those who are okay are taken in another direction, except for me and Rosalie who trail after Reseda.

It seems as if I tune out after that, everything passing by in a blue. Too many voices are talking to us, hands touching us.

The only thing that catches my sight is Matty, sitting alone in the corner of the medical tent. His hand is settled low on his stomach, eyes staring at the ground. Rosalie is holding tight to my hand, not letting go when I try to pull away.

"Just stay with us for once, Rowan," she tells me, looking up at me with pleading eyes. "We need you."

I open my mouth to argue, but Reseda cuts in. "She's right." She is busy patching Henry up. With the pole pulled out and the bleeding controlled, he looks much better. "Your brother is weak right now. He lost too much blood. Contact with the both of you- his mates- will help him to gain some strength. And every little thing will help at the moment."

Turning back to Matty, I see that he is watching us, clearly hearing everything being said. He gives me a shaky smile. "It's fine. Your mates need you."

He turns away then, facing the wall. The decision has been made for me. My wolf is howling in delight, clearly happy with the turn of events. But my heart...

My heart is breaking.