"No, it hasn't been a week."

The words tumbled out of my mouth quicker than I could form them, my mind racing.

This isn't possible, I thought. Alpha Reid said we would have a week. It's only been a few days.

Bates just shook his head and I felt my heart sink to my feet, my worst fear confirmed.

Alpha Reid hadn't been able to hold off my father any longer.

"Where is he?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"They're camped out outside the gates," Bates told me. "I don't know how much longer border patrol can hold them off."

"I'll go," Luca said.

"I'm going with you," I said immediately.

He shook his head, turning to me.

"No," he said. "Bates is taking you to the meeting house where your scent will be hidden."

I tried to argue as he grabbed my upper arm and pulled me back into the bedroom.

"Luca, I'm not going into hiding," I said. "This isn't right. I'm part of this pack now, too."

He pushed me against the wall, holding me eye-level with him under my armpits.

My eyes widened as I came face to face with his stony expression.

"Listen to me," he said, his voice low. "This is serious. You're going to do exactly what I say. I don't have time to argue with you. I have a pack to protect and you're going to go to that house with Bates and you're going to stay there until I come to get you. Do you understand?"

I gulped, nodding.

Luca let go of me, letting my feet return to the floor as he went into the closet.

"Go downstairs and get into the pool," he told me, emerging from the closet with clothes in his hands. "Bates is going to give you something of his to change into when you get out and that's going to help mask your scent so you can get there safely."

I found myself nodding again—unable to speak with the adrenaline running through me—and I followed Luca out into the living room where Bates was waiting.

"Meeting house," Luca told him, shoving the clothes into his backpack. "You're going to stay there until you hear from me."

Bates nodded curtly.

Luca turned to me and placed a quick, soft kiss on my forehead.

My eyes closed as I tried to remember everything about that moment: how he smelt, how his lips felt against my skin, the softness of his t-shirt under my fingers.

Pulling away from me, Luca ran out onto the porch through the open front door and shifted mid-air as he leapt over the staircase to land in his wolf form.

He took off running, the backpack secured between his teeth.

"You heard him," Bates said, closing the front door and pulling my attention from Luca's departing wolf. "Time for a dip."

He followed me downstairs quickly as I opened the backdoor to the dark pool.

I dove into the frigid water without a second thought, soaking Luca's shirt that I wore.

Bates was removing his own shirt as I resurfaced from under the water. He held his hand out to pull me from the pool.

"Turn around," I said, taking his shirt from him.

Bates did as he was told, his broad shoulders turning away from me as I peeled Luca's shirt from my soaking wet body and put Bates's dry one over my head.

Bates pulled me away from the pool, towards the gate that would lead us up to the driveway.

"Do you have anything else I could put on with this?" I asked him, feeling the cool night breeze against my naked skin under the t-shirt.

"I have a gym bag in the car," he said.

Bates and I ran up to his Jeep as a bone-chilling howl split the silent night air, making us both freeze in our tracks.

"What the hell was that?" I whispered, my heart racing.

"It was one of ours. It's just a warning," Bates assured me.

He reached into the back of his Jeep and pulled out a duffle bag as I got into the passenger seat through the door-less opening.

Bates tossed the bag in my lap as he started the car, immediately backing down the driveway at a high speed.

I buckled as he whipped out onto the main road and drove quickly towards the meeting house.

I sorted through his bag, pulling out a pair of boxers and basketball shorts to slide on under his shirt.

My hair flew into my face, drying quickly in the night air that whipped in and out of the Jeep as we drove.

Bates turned off his headlights and pulled off the road into trees that lined the side of the pavement, hiding us from any passersby.

He got out of the Jeep and circled around the front, coming to stand next to my side of the car.

"C'mon," Bates said quickly, unbuckling me as he pulled me from my seat faster than I could stand.

I felt somewhat numb, like my mind was struggling to wake up and realize what was going on.

Wincing, I walked behind Bates cautiously as twigs and sharp rocks cut into my bare feet.

He turned to see this and offered to carry me on his back.

Just as I was about to hop on, we heard another howl. This one was much closer to us.

I put a hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming as Bates shoved me behind a tree, facing away from the direction the sound came.

We both held our breath for a few moments, listening for something, anything to indicate if the wolf was getting closer or moving farther away.

Bates was so close to me I could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage, or maybe it was mine. I couldn't quite tell.

After a few painstakingly slow moments passed, Bates pulled away from me slightly and peeked around the tree.

I lowered my voice, speaking as softly and as quietly as I could.

"Is someone there?"

I saw him hesitate to answer, like his eyes were still searching to make sure.

I heard a twig snap a few feet away behind us and my whole body jolted in surprise. Closing my eyes tight, I began to pray whoever it was, whatever it was, friend or foe, would go away.

Bates began to press me into the tree further, his large, muscular frame completely encompassing mine.

Then, he did something I wouldn't ever have even imagined:

Bates kissed me.

My whole body froze in shock.

My eyebrows furrowing deeply as his lips pressed into mine, a deep pit formed in the bottom of my stomach. I put my hands against his chest, trying to push him away but he held me tightly by my arms.

I felt a gust of wind against my side as a shadow passed us, hearing leaves crunching under paws a few yards away as it ran in the other direction.

When Bates pulled away slowly, he quickly placed a hand over my mouth; obviously anticipating the onslaught of curses that I planned on spewing.

He picked me up and began to walk quickly through the trees.

It wasn't until we reached the edge of the tree line that I saw the brick meeting house, illuminated by moonlight.

Taking a moment to gather his courage, Bates took off running across the lawn, out from under the cover the trees provided, exposing us for a brief moment to whoever may have been watching.

I could only hope and pray that no one was.

Bates put me down on my feet as he dug up a spare key in the flower box hanging next to the front door and unlocked it for us to walk inside.

He securely locked the door back behind us before guiding me through the dark house to the study where the hidden entrance to the basement was still concealed by the bookcase.

He opened the door and pushed me inside, locking it behind us with two steel bars coming down to secure the door from the interior.

We walked down the staircase and Bates flipped on a light switch to illuminate the empty room and it's cold, concrete walls.

I turned to look at him, the shock of his kiss still settling in.

He looked at me warily before pushing past me.

"That wolf was closing in. I did it to cover your scent," he said with a low voice.

"You covered my scent with yours," I said, confused. "Shouldn't he still have been able to smell us?"

"Cedarwood and pine," Bates reminded me. "I wear it to mask my scent. Besides, that wolf was from your pack, he wasn't one of ours. Even if he could smell mine, he was likely just looking for your scent."

We were silent for a few moments as I let his excuse sink in, realizing it was valid enough. I couldn't get too mad at him for doing what he needed to do. It worked, after all.

"I don't want to talk about it any more or ever again," Bates said. "Let's just forget about it."

I nodded slowly, knowing that was probably best.

I just had to figure out how I was going to keep Luca from killing Bates when he inevitably found out.

My body slumped down into a chair that sat around the large, empty conference table.

I could feel every heartbeat in my chest, my hands shaking with adrenaline that I didn't anticipate would calm anytime soon.

Letting out a shaky breath, I tried to compose myself. I closed my eyes, counting to twenty and back down.

But it was all too much.

My mind immediately wandered to Luca. To the pack border. To my father. The scenarios my imagination was playing out before my mind's eye tortured me.

Was Luca okay? Was there a problem at the border? Is that how the wolf from my pack got within the gates? Are there other outside wolves in our pack land as well? Does our pack know? Are there measures being taken to protect people? Does Cristina know? Are the kids okay? Does Norah know? Mady? Blaine?

"Carrie."

I opened my eyes to see Bates standing in front of me, his hands pressed against my shoulders.

He looked at me with eyes full of concern.

"You need to calm down," he said firmly.

I looked down to see my hands shaking violently and I slid them under my thighs to make them stop.

"I'm so scared," I admitted.

"Hey," Bates said, making me look at him. "We're going to be fine. This will all be over by morning. We're safe here–"

He was interrupted by the lights flickering out.

Safe, my ass, I thought.

"Shit," he whispered. "They cut the fucking power."

I could feel the hair on the back of my neck call to attention, goosebumps covering my arms as a chill ran down my spine.

The lights turned back on suddenly and my eyes were immediately drawn to the figure standing across the room on the other side of the table.

I turned my head slowly, my heart dropping in my chest as I saw him.

Dad.

Before my lungs could fill with air to scream, he lunged at Bates and I, jumping over the table.

With a quick shove, Bates pushed against my shoulders and the chair rolled backwards in just enough time to separate us before my dad tackled him to the ground.

My bare feet slid across the floor as I rolled backwards, unable to gain enough traction to stop myself before the chair came to an abrupt halt as it hit the wall.

The sound of shredding fabric bounced between the concrete walls as Bates shifted into his wolf.

I sprinted towards the two of them, watching as my father pinned Bates to the ground with strength that surprised me seeing as Bates had shifted and my father had not.

I leapt onto my father's back, arms wrapping around his neck as my weight threw him off balance and we both fell to the floor.

"Stop!" I screamed, holding onto him as tight as I could while he stood back to his feet.

I gasped as he pulled me over his shoulder by my elbow, my arm popping as it was jerked out of socket.

My body hit the floor hard, pain erupting from several points along my back and arm.

I groaned in pain, looking up to see my father stalking back towards Bates, who was crouched low, snarling.

Bates lunged at him and my father threw a left hook that landed in Bates's ribcage and sent him flying into the wall.

I forced myself to my feet as Bates's wolf hit the floor.

Before I could take a step towards him, I felt a popping in my knee, causing me to let out a shout of pain.

The other knee popped, sending me crumbling back to the floor.

I felt a sharp pain in my elbow, followed by another in the other arm.

It took me a moment to realize what was happening.

I screamed in agony as my teeth extended out from my gums, claws growing from my fingers that were shrinking back into paws.

My ears were ringing as colors and unintelligible shapes danced in my vision, my whole equilibrium thrown off as I rolled over on my stomach.

A feeling of numbness settled over my body as I laid there, a buzzing sound reverberating in my ears.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the particles of dust floating in the bright, florescent lighting.

I realized then that the ringing in my ears was the sound of electricity which flowed down the corded light fixture into the bulb.

I heard a sharp yelp and turned to see my father with Bates's fur between his fingers, slamming Bates's head down on the concrete floor.

Standing quickly on four legs instead of two, I was wobbly at first but quickly gained my balance before charging at my father.

Jaws open and teeth bared, I lunged with the intention of snagging my father's neck but he raised an arm and blocked the bite. Instead, I chomped down on his forearm, eliciting a cry of pain from him.

Using my momentum, I yanked his arm forward with me as I completed the jump, landing hard on all fours.

I felt his flesh tear in my mouth as he tried to rip his arm from my clenched teeth but I growled and continued to pull him away from Bates's motionless form.

With his free arm, my father backhanded me across the snout, making me dizzy.

After the second blow, my grip loosened enough for him to pull his arm from between my teeth.

I couldn't help but sneeze under the pressure that was building in my nose, the blood rushing to the injured area.

I felt his hand grab around my snout, keeping my jaw shut as he got in my face.

With blurred vision, I could barely make out the outline of his face, the bright blue irises standing out in the haze.

I remembered Clara's words, immediately closing my eyes to keep them from peering into his.

"Look at me," he growled.

I couldn't help but let out a whine as his hand squeezed tighter around my snout.

"Do you understand why I've done this?" He asked me. "I did this for you. And now you've betrayed us. You carry his scent, you've left our pack!"

His voice became increasingly louder with each word.

"Look at me!" He bellowed.

I felt a sharp pain against one side of my face, spreading quickly to my ear. The blow knocked me over, my ears ringing as I became completely disoriented.

I could hear his muffled voice continue to shout, but his words remained unclear.

My fur ripped under his fingers as he grabbed the nape of my neck. He began to pull me along behind him, my claws scratching at the concrete floor trying to stop myself.

My father threw me into Bates, my body landing against his with a sickening crack.

"I'll let you lick his dying wounds as you take the time to think about where your loyalties lie," he said. "But for now I have to deal with the mutt you're mated to."

I snarled at him, making him scoff.

"Don't worry," my father said. "I'll let you bring his skinned hide back home with us as a reminder to be obedient."

I felt pure rage fill me as I watched him turn away from me, walking towards the staircase to leave.

You wanted to be a Luna, a voice within me growled. Start acting like it.

Without so much as a second thought, I pulled myself quickly to my feet and ran towards him.

I saw the fear in his eyes as he turned back to me, seeing my advancing wolf.

Teeth bared, I pounced.

But I never made contact.

When I landed on the floor, I turned quickly to see he was gone. Vanished.

He disappeared into thin air.

I ran over to Bates quickly, nudging him with my nose as I sniffed over his wounds.

Seeing the blood pooling on the floor beneath his skull, I felt panic settle in.

Bates! No, no, no, this isn't happening.

His heart rate, while steady, was slow.

I shifted back, my bones and joints snapping back into place quicker than they had before.

I took Bates's head in my hands, cradling it in my lap.

Reaching around us, I grabbed what was left of the shredded clothes he'd been wearing and pressed them to the wound to suppress the bleeding.

I couldn't help but sob, feeling utterly helpless.

He needs help, but where do I go? What do I do?

Snuffing, I laid his head gently back down on the concrete and stood to my feet.

My entire body ached from head to toe, my nose was pulsating and my left eardrum felt like it had burst.

When I caught myself against the table, I saw the blood dripping from my nose, falling to pool under me.

Go, a voice said.

I stood up straighter, putting one foot in front of the other until I was at the bottom of the staircase.

Looking between Bates and the staircase, I hesitated for a moment.

Go.

- - -

It only took her forty-three chapters but she finally shifted! Don't worry, we'll see more of Carrie's wolf in the next chapter...

I'll be uploading tomorrow's chapter in the EVENING at 8:30pm EST (New York time). Got some stuffs to do tomorrow morning so I won't be around to upload a chapter, but not to worry! You'll still get one later :)

Leave your theories and thoughts in the comments and don't forget to vote!

I'll be seeing you guys laterrr... ;)

MaybeManhattan .x