Curled up in bed, May cradled her injured arm against her chest and listened to the rain that hadn't stopped since she got home hours before. Anytime she closed her eyes, she was haunted by the eyes of the wolf that had bitten her. Each time her heart ached and the sense of helplessness that filled her made her arm hurt more. It didn't help she caught a bit of the conversation her dad had been having with Eli about the small group being sent out to hunt down one of the Collectors that was released. May knew what would the outcome would be - more death. For tonight, the shifters would be the monsters Josh and his group thought they were.

"May, are you asleep?" Miranda gently asked, peeking in.

"No." She sighed, not willing to move.

Miranda came and sat on the side of Mays bed, before reaching out and brushing May's hair back from her face. With a mother's touch, Miranda took the sore arm and saying nothing, undid the small bandage, frowning with concentration as the dim light showed barely a scratch. She said it had bled, that it deep and horrible, yet after her shower, Miranda realised most of the blood hadn't been Mays. Dark patches of bruises did cover her skin, some parts of the night so easily washed away and the pain her daughter was in now had nothing to do with her arm at all.

"Don't blame yourself sweetheart."

May's bloodshot eyes turned up towards her mother. "He wanted to die Mum."

"I know, and from what you told us that may have been a gift you gave to him rather than a curse." Miranda held May's hand in hers, wanting to so badly to make everything better for her. "It's not too late if you want to stop this. We can get you away from here. You don't need to keep up this act with Thomas, the pack is onto them now and that's all because of you May. Think of the ones who won't be taken now, the ones we can save."

"I know, but it's hard to do. I wish I could go Mum, but I can't leave until we have Caleb back." Sitting up, May practically threw herself around her mother as she held onto her like a lifeline. "Something is wrong with me. I don't know how to explain it, but it's dark and I know I could have killed Josh today."

As she gently rubbed her daughters back, Miranda just listened as May told her about how she got so angry sometimes she felt as though she wasn't in control of her own body, followed the feeling like she could literally fall apart at any second. Plus there was the constant unrest, the need to just go, as far and as fast as she could - like this wasn't where she was supposed to be. It was driving her mad and with everything going on, being with Josh wasn't the only time she had to make herself fake 'normal'.

"Eli seems to think you're changing May and this really does sound a lot like what your father told me about how he felt when he came back from living in the wild. I'd often find him in his wolf form, he'd lose the battle with the animal and have to let it out."

"I don't have a wolf. It came like it was supposed to then she just, left. Caleb sensed her, well his wolf did. It's why he stopped talking to me." May admitted and then shared what she could with her mother about all of that.

"I'm no shifter, so I don't know what you all go through during this time, but May I don't think she rejected you, either of you at all. I think you rejected her and she's fighting now for you to accept who you are so she can come out."

Pulling away, May looked at her mother as though she was speaking a foreign language and even she forgot how to speak for a second, barely mumbling when she did. "What?"

"You were so worried when your birthday came around about not shifting, I think you talked yourself into not doing it. It's hard enough finding your place in the world, working out who you are and where you belong when you're a teenager. Throw in this life altering event of turning into an actual wolf, there is a lot of pressure on you and-"

"You don't know what you're talking about." May snapped, not willing to hear it. "Eli thought I could somehow talk myself into changing, and now you think I've talked myself out of it? Don't you think it's something I would know!"

'Or is it?' May thought to herself.

"Like I said, I'm not a shifter but after everything you've just said, after what your father and others have noticed, I have to wonder." Miranda sighed and slowly got up. "Try and get some sleep darling. Hopefully we'll have some good news in the morning."

All May could do was nod and curling back up in bed, she watched her mother leave, hating the possibility that she could actually be right. For so long she had been fighting what she was, unable to see how she could possibly belong in the pack or why she'd even want to. This time when she closed her eyes, she wasn't stuck remembering the horror of the night - she fell asleep, with dreams flooding her mind of what it felt like to be truly free as she was able to run and run and run; across grassy meadows, climb rocky outcrops and dash through the forest -  only May wasn't on two legs anymore, she had four and the wolves that ran with her no longer ran ahead of her, leaving the human behind because she was one of them, right where she belonged.

_____________________

Bianca looked over the the various documents with Kyle and Morgan. Her eyes longed to close, just for a minute as exhaustion was starting to win out. The non-stop bickering between the pair was worse than anything her children could keep up, and as Braydon came in after cleaning up, she could tell his mind wasn't on anything relevant. She didn't blame him; hearing about what happened at the theatre with May had been in the back of her mind too. The what if's about it all endless and she was determined to stop her from doing any more of these trips with that boy. They'd already lost so many, she wasn't prepared for May to become one of those numbers too.

"Go home." She told him instantly.

"You go home." He answered just as quickly.

"May-"

"Has Miranda and Chad. You've left Cody and three of your pups, plus you shouldn't have even come tonight. Hows your side feeling?"

As soon as he mentioned it, the throbbing pulse of pain returned leaving Bianca nearly breathless.

"It's fine. We need to work out what to do before they change anything. Tomorrow we get our pack back and the other shifters." She told him stubbornly.

Braydon didn't buy it for a second. "You're definitely not doing anything tomorrow if you don't go home now."

"I am alpha and you do not-" She growled.

"I am your second and will always do what is in the best interest of the pack and you. Right now, having an exhausted alpha and two dominant wolves that need to remember their place, is not in the best interest of anyone." Instantly Kyle and Morgan went quiet from their own mumbling. "I'm getting Jay to take you home."

Bianca looked at Braydon, trying to remember the lost boy she had first come across. Of course he hadn't actually been a boy, he was her age, but he had been so confused and troubled she'd just been drawn to help him. Whether they met by some kind of fate that day at the fair or by chance; maybe if they hadn't met at all she knew their paths would have crossed eventually anyway. Now he stood, a force to be reckoned with as he stared her down. Gone was the lonely ache that had caught her attention from the second they met, and in it's place was confidence. He was a wolf who knew his worth, his place and had no trouble staring her down into submission.

"Okay." She huffed in defeat, the relief from her wolf not helping as even the animal was anxious for a chance to rest. Braydon gave a tiny smile, happy with his victory though he was never one to gloat. He had been a great support to her ever since he and Miranda were welcomed to the pack; a missing piece to the puzzle of her life and now Bianca was thankful he was there to take over. "Thank you."

"Don't even mention it."

The second she was gone Braydon turned serious. Listening more to Morgan than Kyle, they went through the documents found at the house with hawk eyes. The addresses for what they suspected to be other facilities were sent to Connor who had a small group of his own doing what they could from hacking into surveillance camera's nearby and anything else that might prove useless. Those who were willing, were contacted in preparation of heading out at dusk while once again, the shifters not involved would move to their safe locations or simply make their plans to stay home. It was nearly three in the morning when Braydon got home, but at least everything was ready.

The relief May felt sensing her father home when she woke was enough to get her out of bed. Thankfully the weekend meant she could hide at home, yet her list was never ending when she thought of her friends - especially Tiffany. At least she could avoid Josh and going into the kitchen, Selena was cooking up breakfast for her siblings.

"Morning!" She smiled as the toast bounced up. "Hungry?"

"No, but thanks." May smiled, going for the fridge she got out some juice. "Everyone still in bed?"

"No. Chad and Eli went out about an hour ago. I haven't seen your parents."

It was strange for her mum to sleep in, but May realised she probably hadn't gone to bed until her dad got home. "Where did they go?"

"Not sure. I think Bianca's?"

May wanted to go too, so slipped away to shower and get ready. By the time she was done, Selena was in the backyard playing with a skipping rope with the kids and her parents still hadn't gotten up. Closing her eyes, she was happy to feel them close by and leaving a note on the bench made the decision to get out of the house. She hadn't gone for a bush walk for far too long and so went the long way to get to the alpha's home. Each breath made her feel more grounded, the earth was still wet from all the rain of the night before, while the air and sky were heavy with the promise of more.

She didn't hurry as she should have, distracted by everything around her. Dew ran down the spindly finger like leaves, brushing over her shoulder so the cool liquid managed to slip under her jumper and run down her back. Mud sloshed over her boots and unbothered by the cold, she stopped to lean against a tree, trying to let go of everything plaguing her mind. It was then something small and definitely rabbit like darted away. May heard every sound it made, her eyes keenly tracking the slight disturbance of the undergrowth in its path before the creature vanished, safe underground. The thought of the chase gave her new energy, a spring in her step that hadn't been there before and it lasted until Nate found her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He growled. "It's too fucking dangerous to be off walkign around by yourself."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the safest out of all of you." May pointed out, as Leanna came running over.

"May!" The girls hugged each other tightly while all May could focus on was the weight Leanna had lost. Her skin was pale, eyes puffy and in all she really didn't look well - worse than a few days ago even.  "I'm so glad you're here."

"That makes one of you." She mumbled, looking at Nate who only growled again.

"You're not invincible May." Nate reminded her.

"I know, but if I didn't think it was safe to do, I wouldn't have done it!"

Nate snorted. "How did that work for you last night?"

"Nate, enough!" Leanna interrupted before May could answer. "Come inside. It's too cold out here."

The pair glared at each other before following Leanna in and instantly May was being hugged by Bianca. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"You too." May told her honestly.

"Your father know you're here?"

"Not quite, he is still asleep." Bianca only nodded, drifting back towards Cody who easily put his arm around her so she was tucked in against his side.

"You're okay? Andy mentioned you'd hurt your arm?" Cody asked.

"It's nothing. Just a scratch really."

"The pack owes you so much May." Bianca sighed and that was when May saw the folders that were like the ones Josh had all over the dining table.

"Did you get these last night?" She picked one up, opening it find pages of things she didn't understand. "Josh, I mean, Thomas has these files. Well, ones like these."

"There isn't a lot in them, but last night your father and Morgan found a few things. Connor managed to break the coding on one of the computers we took which had a few addresses that were frequently visited. From the paperwork, we think it's' another holding facility." Bianca explained.

"Do you think Caleb is there?" May asked instantly.

"We hope so."

"That's not good enough." She snapped. "I've seen what they're doing to the shifters they've caught. We need to get them all back before they end up that way."

"What can you tell us about last night?" Chad asked gently, guiding May to sit down. "We never got to talk much about it."

So May told them everything - the video, the speech, Josh's pressure for her to join the Collectors and what happened with the crazy wolf. Either way, she knew there was no other option for her if she was to keep up with this scheme, she'd have to agree to become one of them.

"Absolutely not." Bianca ordered. "That is crossing a line May!"

"But what if I do and can get in? I could look up where they're keeping our pack, all the shifters. What if all this crap you've got is more dead end and time wasted?" She didn't hesitate in arguing.

"Then we deal with that! I will not back down this time May." The promise was there, and yet May wasn't prepared to back off in defeat just yet. "When I became a mother, I swore their life would not be like mine. They were all going to grow and live, and be happy, never knowing what it meant to lose their family, their friends. What it feels like to lose everything. I will die before I allow another of mine be taken, including you May! It's not going to happen."

May swallowed, the pain the woman felt seemed to suck up all the air in the room, but one thing she knew was that it had to happen. "Caleb is suffering Bianca. Nothing I am doing now is anywhere like what is happening to him. You have to let me do this."

"No." With that she turned to Chad. "Take her home, we'll talk later."

Chad wanted to say something, willing to stand behind May yet he stopped himself and did as Bianca wanted. He paid for it in the car of course, as May seemed unbothered by Eli being with them as she yelled at him for being weak, for letting Bianca make the wrong decision and pretty much for everything that was currently wrong in her world. He didn't stop her, argue or say much back at all, and once she went quiet the air in the car felt lighter around all of them.

"Feel better?"

"Much." May sighed. "Sorry."

"Don't even worry about it." He told her, reaching over to ruffle the top of her hair.

The rest of the day went by in a blur until Eli and Chad left that afternoon to join the others in the attacks against the hunters. While they were making progress, bringing down the organisation and rescuing some of the taken shifters - Caleb wasn't among the ones freed that night.

"How big do you think this really is?" Miranda stayed close by May as Braydon filled them in once he got off the call with Bianca.

"If what May saw is anything to go by, we're outnumbered and out of our league. We have drained every resource we have, every contact and shifter in any position of government has been looking into this with no luck. I don't know what to do, despite all we've done, it doesn't seem to be stopping them at all." Braydon looked at his family, at Eli and Selena; what chance did they have against these people?

"I'll call Jason again, see if he's had any luck too."

Braydon only nodded. Somehow he had ended up as their only remaining option and hopefully he had managed to find out something, anything. "Let's' go to bed, there is nothing else to do now."

Dawn was already starting to break the darkness and instead of going to bed, May simply stood in front of her window, looking at nothing but thinking about everything. Her dad was right, nothing was stopping these monsters. For every step forward they took, they were still miles behind and at a disadvantage. Bianca had to understand that May joining as a Collector was the way to get ahead. Yet the more she thought about doing that, the greater the feeling of unease grew within. It might not be the right option, but right now it was the only one they had.

The small knock on her door snapped her out of her thoughts and going over, Eli stood there nervously. May motioned for him to come in and the pair ended up sitting cross-legged on her bed, just staring at each other.

"You came in here, what do you want?" She finally asked.

"I have a feeling you're planning on doing what Bianca told you not to."

"So? All they're doing is turning out so well, it's not like I have a choice."

Eli thought about that for a moment, running a hand back through his dark hair as his own weariness started to appear. "We're missing something. Connor with all his tech, has done so much, you too, what with us being able to eavesdrop into Josh's place and their meeting spots."

"Yeah?" May wasn't sure where he was going with this.

"But you're right. It hasn't got us far. Well kind of, tonight was big." She nodded, agreeing. Any rescue was a good outcome. "A lot of their stuff hasn't been found in computers or online. They're old school, paper files, reports and photographs. Most of which is the first to destroy itself when breached or acts as good kindling for a fire."

"You're still just saying words to me Eli."

"We're never going to find anything how we're looking now. We need archives, storage facilities, old government bases. I was listening to some of the recordings from their meetings and they talk about everything as facility one, or two, or three etcetera. They use code words that haven't been used since the nineties, yet they never really mention the government. Your video was the first thing really aligning them to that and I don't think it's legit. I think that was solely propaganda."

"We're looking in all the wrong places." May mumbled, more to herself. "But who else but the government could come up with something like this? How did you?"

"Well my Dad likes old movies too, just different ones to yours, especially mysteries. I've been thinking about it for a while now, just didn't want to risk sounding stupid in front of everyone else. And it could be someone who really hates shifters and knows the right kind of people to get this kind of thing set up."

"That doesn't help."

"Well, maybe we can ask Bianca if she knows of any life long enemies shifters have. Maybe someone knows someone who got really pissed off at one us. A runt like us from years ago that has a vendetta against packs and has roped in a bunch of stupid humans to hunt us down?"

May slowly nodded. "I wonder if Amber ever came up with anything?"

"Well as soon as everyone is awake, let's find out." Eli decided, both of them getting excited at the prospect they might finally be getting on the right track.

_____________________

"It's been thirty two days, sir. Subject One Ninety Nine is not responding to any of our techniques at all." The doctor didn't look up from her clipboard as she went over the data. "The wolf has gone dormant. Even injecting him with serum delta did not produce the results we were expecting. We suggest sending him on for-"

"No. We will not be sending him anywhere. Do you know who this one is? Not only is he a full blood, his bitch of a dam is their alpha. He's young, we could have damaged the animal. We've seen some go into shock before. We just need to find what his triggers are. Get Brown down here, have him review the tapes. Maybe he can do some of the psychology mumbo jumbo shit he does so well."

Finally she looked up, glancing into the cell where the male sat in the corner; his arms covering his head which was tucked against his chest behind his knees. "There isn't much in them. Brown will think it's a waste of his time."

"There will be something. He mutters to himself in his sleep, see if there is anything in that." He decided. "It'll be a challenge for him."

"Of course." She nodded, the pair starting to move back down the corridor. They hadn't gotten very far when one of the doors to a cell opened. "Oliver, I mean Sir. I wasn't expecting you down here."

"Hello to you too Doctor." He smirked, nodding slightly to their superior. "Had to bring this one back down after his daily exercise."

No one asked anything more and the trio left the holding block.

"I'll call Brown now, Sir." The doctor mumbled, moving to her office as she was eager to put some distance between herself and her boss.

"How are things going around here? I'm sure you heard about what happened last week?"

"I did Lieutenant Baker. The wolves are getting smart, too smart even." Oliver mused. "What are the plans for retaliation?"

"Nothing. The board is getting a little worried about the force and brutality of these attacks. Who knows what the Collectors they got hold of have told them. Their priority is changing passcodes and some bullshit. I tell you, if I had my way-"

"The world would be a very different place." He cut in dryly.

Lieutenant Baker smirked. "Very, and even you better not forget that."

Oliver never would, because if there was anything Baker hated more than his superiors it was the shifters and he still wore the scars that reminded him that was all he'd ever be to the older man. Closing the office door, the doctor looked up startled before relaxing. Sighing, he moved to sit in the chair opposite her desk as she continued to type furiously.

"I'm going to have to get out of here Maggie." Oliver rubbed his eyes, feeling much older than his thirty six years. "We need to end this."

"At least the poisoning hasn't come out yet. We'd be killed if they knew what we did and no pickups have been made from any hospital lately." Maggie whispered, her eyes now glued to the door in fear of someone over hearing them. "None of them have mentioned the smell when being tested have they?"

"No. The ones I hadn't been able to get the message to were over where the last raid was. How did this all get so fucked up?"

"People fear the unknown Ollie, it was never going to end well." She held back on the lecture, he had heard it so many times before anyway he could probably recite as easily as he could his favourite song. "What about your friend, the one you said could help?"

"It's too risky, I don't want them to find out about her. He thinks she died with her father, but well, at least I think that's what he wants me to think. You know?"

"Yeah. We might not have any other choice. I tried to get the Matthews boy transfered, I've been trying all week. I'm worried about him." Maggie frowned. "His vitals are weakening, his wolf is MIA and I think he's starting to give up completely. He has even stopped trying to escape."

"Brown is coming?" Oliver knew the answer, he just wanted to make himself feel even worse when she told him yes.

"He is. I bet he's been waiting for this too. Creep." She shuddered, thinking about the shrink who could be considered even worse than Baker. The only pain the lieutenant delivered was physical, and while it could be brutal, it wasn't like the mental breakdowns the psychologist gave. "Let's hope he takes his time getting here!"

Instead, it took barely a day for Doctor Brown to arrive and the second he did, Oliver realised Maggie was right; he had been waiting for this. There was no need to brief him, show him the tapes Baker had organised for him to view. He simply had a small suitcase and a smug gleam in his eyes as he took up residency in one of the spare offices. For some strange reason he made a point of combing his thinning grey hair in the small mirror he held in front of his face.

"I've been looking into a few patterns that the males seem to show towards females. I believe they can be attached to one female, and do not just seek out breeders." Brown told Maggie as she and her assistant stood by the door, waiting to accompany him in to see Caleb. "Due to the reasons of his capture as reported by, a Mr. Rohit Kishor, I am eager to see if there is some truth to my hypothesis."

Maggie's stomach sunk, yet she forced a small laugh. "Sir, I do believe you are wasting your time. The werewolves we have here have not shown any sign of this so far, or the ex-pack allies, some of which even work here, have even mentioned such attachments."

"We're humans Doctor O'Neill. Do you really think they're ever going to tell us all their secrets, even the ones on our side?"

The women put on their protective equipment and joined the two guards that followed Brown down to One Ninety Nine's cell. The suitcase remained in his hand the whole time and not having any uncertainty in his actions, Brown took a seat on what was supposed to be the bed in Caleb's cell. He didn't even seem to acknowledge their arrival; no growls, no watching - no attacks towards the guards. Nothing.

"You've been the most unwilling subject, Caleb." Brown started, sounding more like a disappointed parent than anything else. "Thankfully, we haven't had those issues with others. In fact some have been rather understanding of our cause, happy to join us. I think you might even know her. May Winters?"

Ever so slowly, Caleb's arms moved to hug his legs, while his eyes opened and peered up at the stranger who dared say her name.

"Oh you do know her?" He teased. "She's been our most promising recruit. You see, we don't care that she's a cross breed. We see her potential, and she fits in well. It's like she was always supposed to be one of the family. That's what we are here, Caleb. A family."

"Liar." Caleb croaked, trying to make sense of what was being said. May wasn't a part of this, she wouldn't be.

"Her boyfriend is proud of her too. Joshua just loves showing her off around the base." He paused as Caleb growled. "Of course, if you did as we wanted, maybe she would like you again? We know you two had a fight. Wouldn't you like to, I don't know, clear the air?"

Caleb thought about everything being said; it had to be a lie. Another trick. Yeah, May was angry with him, but she was breaking up with Josh. She was going to be with him. There was no way she would be one of these assholes, she wouldn't betray the pack like that - her family. Him.

It was a lie.

Lie.

Lie.

"I can see it all over your face son, but I am not making it up. Look for yourself."

The suitcase was opened and the screen in the top of the case showed May walking with Josh at school, laughing - holding hands. Her scent hit him out of nowhere, making him drop his arms as he subtly moved a little closer. The whole thing smelt of her, and Caleb breathed in it as though it was more important than air. Looking again, he didn't know where the two of them were and stopping by a pub, he didn't hide his fear as the same masked guards that had taken him that night walked over towards her. Yet one opened the door inside for her, the other put his arm over her shoulders and she smiled at him as he lifted his mask up. The footage ended as they disappeared inside.

"She's one of us now. You all treat her differently, but we don't." Brown pushed as Caleb moved to sit up a little higher and inside the bottom of the case was a knitted jacket. May's jacket. "Take it. She wanted you to have it, to prove what I'm saying is true."

No thinking Caleb reached out to touch it, and he growled again as the doctor picked it up and threw it at him. He held onto it like a child with his favourite teddy bear, earning a big toothy grin from the stranger. Yet as he touched it, he noticed something off about the arm; extending it out the tear was bitter with old blood - some May's, some unknown.

"Where, where did you get this?" Caleb coughed, dropped the jacket as he made himself stand up.

"I told you, she gave-"

"You're lying." He growled, the rush of anger giving him a hit of adrenaline that didn't make him feel so weak and tired. "Where did you get it? What did you do to her?"

For a second Brown's face paled, and he stood so Caleb wasn't towering over him. The guard shifted uneasily, while Maggie and her assistant could see where this was going and took a synchronized step back to the door.

"Calm down Caleb. She's fine. I told you she wanted you to have it." He spoke slowly, assertively, yet Caleb barely heard it.

"It reeks of her blood and someone else's. If you have hurt her-" Caleb lunged, knocking the doctor down as his hands locked around his throat. "I will kill you!"

The kick to his ribs had Caleb falling to the floor, but he wasn't done and slowly getting himself up, he stared the guard down as he snarled, the eyes of the wolf making the man step back nervously.

"Now Caleb-" Doctor Brown began, closing his case as one hand stayed on his throbbing neck. "Don't do anything you'll regret later. May wouldn't you to get hurt."

Caleb decided that was probably true, and also that this man would want him to do exactly that. So he stood there, trembling in rage as he tried to work out what to do now.

"Good, good." The man muttered when he realised Caleb was going to attack again. "Now, when I come back, you're going to do exactly as I say. We have big plans for you and-"

"Oh I will, will I?" Caleb challenged, meeting the man's eyes.

Doctor Brown barely had a second to react before Caleb had punched him. The force of the hit sent him falling to one side, yet the guards had been prepared and the tranquiliser was snatched from the doctors tray. One guard threw his weight into Caleb, knocking him against the wall as he was pinned there and the other injected the liquid into his arm. Sure enough, Caleb couldn't keep fighting and as his muscles turned to jelly and his brain became foggy, he was let go and allowed to fall in a heap on the floor.

"May." He whispered, the jacket just out of reach before it was snatched away from him and he was alone once more.

__________

Hope the jumping from May to Caleb isn't annoying.
ER xx

PS- anyone remember Oliver?