Tristan paused mid stride, skidding to a stop as he spun around. He didn't know what it was, but his wolf was suddenly pushing him to go back.

Tristan listened for a moment, but he heard nothing. They searched the whole area...

The others around him circled back as Tristan stood frozen, still listening, but he still heard nothing. A strange panic was rising in his wolf. Right before he felt her fear.

It came out of no where. And it hit hard.

Tristan didn't hesitate, he sprinted back. Racing through the trees.

Dammit!

...why hadn't he listened to his instincts?

"TRISTAN!" She screamed in the distance. It hit him right through the chest, and it spurred his movements even harder, until a sudden hard burning deep inside him nearly made him buckle.

His wolf alit with rage when he realized what it was. A male was trying to mark his gifted...

That cold realization fully hit him.

Tristan snarled and ran harder, leaping over brush and swerving around trees. He had never felt this level of emotion. So many emotions.

Rage and panic being the most prominent of them.

The burning suddenly lessened... relief washed over him he pushed himself harder.

But it was short lived.

Intense white hot pain replaced it. Tristan stumbled right as he was about to leap over a rock and hit the forest floor.

He grit his teeth and for a moment as he struggled to get up. His mate mark was burning. It felt on fire.

Sawyer, Dena and their enforcers raced past him. Tristan forced himself up to run after them, but the burning felt like it was digging deep into his bones. It was hard to focus on anything else.

And then it stopped again. He took a hard breath as sheer panic was taking hold. He forced himself into another hard sprint. Fear was building inside his wolf, more than he had ever felt before.

Finally he heard her. She was fighting. The scent of her blood was making his wolf nearly lose it.

And Cecil's scent...

The rage was consuming. He just caught up to the others, saw the lake through the clearing, when he felt it again. It staggered him briefly, that intense burning. Tristan grit his teeth through it and forced himself to keep running.

So close to her, he felt so many emotions from her. Fear, confusion... sadness. His wolf was panicking, trying to get to her.

And then he felt her doubt, that split second.

Something shattered inside him.

Tristan stumbled again, his wolf was in sudden agony. For a moment, he couldn't even breathe. He couldn't move.

It was a pain he never experienced. Never thought he could experience. It felt like jagged pieces of glass inside his chest, wounding him down to his very soul.

Their bond was gone...

The loss hit him hard. Stunned him. It was jarring in the worst kind of way.

Tristan made it to the lake's shore. He saw Sawyer, Dena and the rest of his enforcers racing to get to the other side. In the fading light of evening, his eyes were immediately drawn to her, lying on the ground.

Tristan's gaze snapped to Cecil, standing over her now.

He had felt rage before, but what he felt now... felt so much more. He didn't even have a word for it. He was shaking with it.

He had never wanted someone's life blood more.

His eyes looked up suddenly, and they locked gazes. With a smirk, Cecil shifted and darted off into the forest, along with all his own that were hidden amongst the trees.

Sawyer and their enforcers just barely missed them, but they raced after them. Dena stopped and shifted in front of his mate.

His mate...

Tristan tried to swallow the thick emotion in his throat.

He felt nothing now.

...and he knew this was his fault, not hers.

-

Lily barely paid attention as that awful wolf left her lying there. The flurry of movement around them, and finally Dena's worried voice above her. She was putting pressure on the wounds at her neck.

Lily just stared up at the sky. She knew Dena was trying to talk to her, but she couldn't focus on anything.

Tears were uncontrollably leaking out of her eyes.

"She's... she's really cold." Dena's worried voice finally broke through when she noticed another standing above them.

It was startling to realize it was Tristan. She didn't feel him. Not anymore. Lily looked up at him with empty eyes, and she didn't know what she felt about the look on his face.

Pain, worry, fear. Anger...

He looked... lethal. Furious.

...why?

Wasn't this what he really wanted? To be free of her? She thought he'd look happy...

His arms were suddenly under her, picking her up against him. It pulled on her wounds painfully, but she managed to keep silent.

His touch no longer fed that warmth into her as it did before... but she couldn't deny she still felt something. Those jagged pieces inside her weren't fully broken.

It gave her no comfort though.

Lily did nothing as he cradled her carefully against him, nestling her head carefully against his neck as he pulled her close.

Like she actually mattered to him...

She knew they were moving, there was talking and shouting. Angry and panicked. Paws running off ahead of them.

She felt her blood pouring onto him. And she knew she was cold. Had she stayed in the water too long? She felt herself violently shivering, even though she didn't feel it much anymore.

"Let me take her." A voice she didn't know. He sounded worried. Deeply worried.

A winter wolf freezing to death seemed... ironic.

She felt the other arms suddenly start to remove her from Tristan, and despite herself she tensed and tightened her hold on him.

She had no right to want to cling to him still, but his scent, feeling his skin... somewhere deep down, it was still a comfort. If she was going to die, she'd rather be with him...

She was relieved when Tristan snarled and whoever it was gave up. Blankets were throw over her suddenly, Tristan quickly wrapped them around her. She hated the loss of contact with his skin...

And then she was jerked a bit as they climbed up onto something. There was the bouncing of the tires on uneven ground. She just clung to him and nuzzled into his neck. She felt suddenly tired, and let herself drift off.

She woke to hot water. And female hands on her. Dena's voice stood out. But she also heard Ada's. They were all worried. But she just felt... numb.

Lily didn't know how long passed, she just let them do whatever. Between the hot water baths, the blankets and bandages. She knew he was there in the room, pacing in the far corner. But she didn't look at him.

She felt ashamed to.

Eventually she was laid in a bed and she turned to face the wall. She just wanted to be left alone.

But the silence was worse then all the noise and commotion, because it brought into focus that strange invasive feeling inside her. Of feeling unwanted things from that vile wolf who forced his mark on her. It was a sick reminder she was now bound to him, in the worst way.

And she didn't even know his name. Not that she wanted to. She wanted nothing to do with him...

She felt another tear leak free. She didn't want this...

She knew forced marks wouldn't last. It was taboo to their kind. Seen as an ultimate sin to taint what was considered a precious ritual to the wolven people. Gifted or chosen, it didn't matter. The claim mark was sacred. Males who did it were often put down. It was an immediate death sentence in most packs.

... but this felt... it felt strange. Dug in deep. Suffocating. Was it her fault? She didn't think she accepted it... it didn't feel like a complete bond. It felt... stringy, not firm. But for it to take, even as much as it had, she knew she was partially complicit.

She thought of her doubt, that brief moment of uncertainty. Of not wanting Tristan or his mark.

That was all it took. And now she had this horrible heaviness in her chest... like a chain.

... was it different because it shattered her gifted bond?

Why had she ever thought the bond to her gifted was a burden? Why had she felt so upset about being wanted just because of it? Now that it was gone... it felt like mourning a death. The loss was hitting her hard.

Everything she thought before seemed... wrong.

The bed dipped behind her, and a gentle touch was stroking her hair.

"Sweetheart, can you look at me?" Ada asked. Lily did not move. Ada just sighed deeply and just continued to gently stroke her hair. Lily felt the tears continue to leak.

Why was she still being nice to her? She wasn't her son's gifted anymore. Lily finally noticed the blood on her, and realized she must be injured...

She didn't know why, but the guilt she felt just dug deeper. Would they even have been there if she hadn't been caught?

"I'm sorry." Ada said, and her voice broke slightly. Lily felt her chest tighten again, she knew this was a mother mourning the loss for them too.

"We will free you from it, I promise." Ada said firmly. Lily still said nothing.

She didn't know what to say.

Eventually she left too after gently petting her and trying to talk to her for a while. But Lily wasn't alone. She hadn't been alone once. She knew he was there, he hadn't left. But he hadn't said anything either.

He'd been quietly in the background.

Being alone in the room with him made the silence feel intense somehow.

She heard him take a deep breath, before the bed dipped even further then with Ada. Lily took a shaky breath herself at his closeness, but when the tense silence dragged on for a long period of time and he still said nothing... Lily slowly rolled onto her back to look at him, wincing from the movement. Her neck and chest had bandages, but the wounds still hurt.

He was sitting there hunched with his head in his hands, facing away from her.

Lily studied him for a time, feeling the ache in her chest deepen. She had hoped he wouldn't be there. That he would just leave.

...why did he look like that? He seemed devastated. It was making everything she felt worse.

...maybe he did truly want her now. Why had she had so much doubt? Looking at him now, it was making her feel... she didn't have words.

Foolish didn't seem to give it justice.

The silence continued for what felt like an eternity. Neither of them spoke.

Lily swallowed painfully and looked away from him. She just wanted to sleep, to pretend this was all just a bad dream. But she doubted she'd be able to sleep.

Not after what she just went through. She suddenly wanted Gila. It hit her hard.

"Did you... did you find those females I had been with?" Lily said hesitantly. He didn't speak right away.

...was he angry?

"No, I'm sorry. Our scouts returned, they said they left two days ago, and the Navarre Alpha doesn't know where." Tristan said, his voice sounded hollow.

It took a moment for his words to sink in.

...they left?

Lily knew they planned to head back to Wayla, they had to leave this area before the mating moon... and that was only a week away now. It shouldn't have surprised her... she even questioned herself whether she should go back to them.

...so why did hearing it hurt so much?

An overwhelming sense of abandonment came over her. Even knowing it was her own fault. Knowing she had no one to blame but herself...

Lily felt the tears start to flow again and she quickly tried to wipe them away. She tried hard to hold it in, but it felt like a dam was about to burst. A sob escaped before she could stop it. And that's all it took. Lily covered her face and sobbed her heart out.

She felt his large hand at her back at first, but he eventually laid down behind her and wrapped his arms around her to pull her in close to him.

Lily let him, and hated that being in his arms still felt right, she fit against him so well, even if she wasn't warmed by his presence anymore.

She soaked in the moment, and it only made her cry harder, especially at how gentle he was with her. Why was he doing this at all?

...what was the point now?

But she found she was just happy he held her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling.

...until something in her chest gradually began to feel... wrong. Something had settled there, unwelcome and unwanted, and now felt like it was being pulled taut to the point of pain the longer she laid in his arms. Lily gasped as it began to hurt too much and she quickly wriggled away from him.

A shocked stillness settled between them.

Lily didn't know what to do. She just stayed frozen in her half sitting position, still facing away from him. He moved away from her.

The horror of the reason started to dawn on her. Her new bond... the one she didn't want... the one forced on her. Why was it affecting her? She took a panicked breath.

The air grew tense.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." She said with a shaky breath.

She didn't have to have a bond to know he was angry. Furious. She could feel it in the air.

-

Tristan stood there, staring at her back. Her apology just seemed to make everything worse.

The last hours he felt like he was just going through the motions. He felt empty. He couldn't do a damn thing. Everyone's talking just felt like background noise.

Byron's healer reassured them it would fade. Should fade.

So why did he feel so unsettled by it affecting him touching her?

Even though scenting and feeling that bond on her was deeply unsettling him. His wolf became enraged. Bond or not, he still saw her as his female. She would, and always would be, everything he wanted.

A bond did not dictate that...

He wanted to hunt down and kill the male that made her flinch at his touch. He was trying to control it, that deep furious rage that kept coming to the surface.

She tensed.

Tristan took a hard breath. He knew he was scaring her. He couldn't feel her anymore, and he realized she likely couldn't tell his anger wasn't directed at her.

Tristan turned to pace the length of the room, trying to get any kind of reprieve from how tightly his body had tensed. But it didn't help.

Every time he looked at her bruised face, he wanted Cecil's blood. And killing him would certainly free her from it...

"It's..." Tristan said as he struggled to keep his voice steady, despite his anger. He could easily see the guilt in her.

And he didn't want her to carry that alone, because he felt it enough for the both of them.

"It's not your fault. This isn't your fault. I started the damage to our bond. This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for me." Tristan said firmly.

"...please leave." She said quietly. Tristan watched her uncertainly, but she didn't turn to look at him.

He didn't want her alone...

And he wouldn't keep making the same mistakes. He wouldn't leave her again.

"No." Tristan growled. She glanced back at him, and they met eyes.

"I'm not leaving you." He said firmly. Tears were still occasionally leaking from her eyes, and even with no bond, they affected him just as much.

And he knew his presence soothed her, even if he couldn't hold her. He moved back to the bed and she watched him with even sadder eyes as he laid down beside her.

Eventually she laid down too, this time, facing him.

It was quiet, tense. She was avoiding his eyes, but he couldn't seem to stop looking at her face. He was trying to avoid looking bandages lest it stir his anger again.

Tristan couldn't stop himself from reaching over and gently brushing her hair out of her face. She flinched slightly when he touched the swollen bruise around her cheek, and Tristan felt the sting of his wolf again.

The anger.

He pulled his hand back, and forced himself to not touch her again, despite the pull to. The need to. That inner part of him was desperate to get their connection back.

But he couldn't do that until he rid her of that bastard's, or it faded.

He just had no idea how long that would take..

Eventually, the emotion of everything seemed to get to her, and she closed her eyes. It took a while longer for her to fall asleep.

He laid there for a while in the silence, before he quietly slipped out of bed. He didn't want to leave, but he recognized he needed to shift, to run out some anger, lest he became unstable.

Tristan closed the door behind him and looked at Dena and Nathan. They were standing there with somber looks. Pity? That's what it seemed like, but maybe he was projecting.

Tristan didn't say anything to them. Down the hall he heard hushed voices. They were in Byron's clinic. He followed it to the front room.

"I don't know. I've never heard of this happening before. Gifted mates do not reject eachother, it's... not possible...." An older female trailed off as they all glanced back at him. Clearly she was their healer.

Nothing she said elicited any kind of reaction. He just felt numb at this point. His mother's eyes were on him with a worried expression.

"Is it possible that it can be mended?" Vera, his grandmother asked. The female sighed.

"I don't know. If they mark eachother... it's possible. Or it may just be like a chosen mate's connection. I just don't know." The female repeated. Tristan looked at the others in the room. Byron, Amelia, Rafe, Sawyer and his grandparents. The latter were injured in some capacity, but nothing life threatening.

"Is it gone completely, or does it just feel broken?" The female asked him. Tristan stared at her. There was something strangely unsettling about all their eyes on him, discussing something that should never have been a public forum to begin with.

It was something that was supposed to be deeply private, between only the two of them.

But he stupidly caused this.

He didn't want to talk about it. But he couldn't help that now. Tristan tried to focus on what he felt, and there was something there. Just... shattered pieces inside him.

But he had no words to describe it.

"It's not... gone." Tristan said, it was the best he could do.

"Is she asleep?" Ada asked. Tristan gave a single slight nod.

"How was she?" She asked. Tristan said nothing. He didn't know what to say.

"I'll give her some ama when she wakes. It will help." The healer said. Tristan just turned to leave. He needed to run for a bit.

...then he needed to figure out getting them all home. He wanted Edith to treat her, not this stranger.

"Wait, we need to talk." Byron said as he tilted his head toward another room. Tristan paused, briefly considering ignoring him. But he turned and followed him. Rafe and his grandfather joined them.

"I don't know how he got that key. Amelia told me it was in our room the last she'd seen it." Byron said. Tristan vaguely recalled being told details by Nathan and the other enforcer who were ambushed while the healer was bandaging her up.

Sawyer and the others had chased them a good way before giving up.

Cecil got away.

"It seems peace was off the table even before my attempt. I suspected Arthur may try something, he's been far too quiet lately, but nothing like this. Parts of their attack seemed very planned out... others not so much, I suspect Cecil acted outside his agreement with Arthur. They didn't seem coordinated. He's always been a bit of a wildcard. Arthur was a fool to trust him if that's the case." Byron said. He looked at Tristan.

"It also disturbs me how much he seemed to know of our pack affairs. It may be time to take a hard look at who you trust." Byron said. Tristan glanced at his grandfather. He had a grim expression.

"I imagine he thought if he took us off guard, he could wipe you out, and us along with it." Rafe said what Tristan had initially thought.

"I'm sorry Tristan, I didn't mean for this to happen. But we need to act quickly, I cannot spare anyone with Arthur potentially coming at me, but if you three can wipe out Ulmer and take Cecil out, I'll gladly take his territory and we can divide the wolves that are worth keeping." Byron said.

"And what exactly do we get out of this?" Hutch said. Tristan looked at his grandfather, he seemed irritated Byron would ask so much. To expect the three of them to go to war and split the gains. Byron just grinned.

"Safe passage off my territory... for one. I'll have escorts for you all home. And I hope to keep our peace. I'm rather tired of war and death." Byron said. Tristan suddenly had a bad feeling by the slightly apologetic, yet wary look he sent at him.

"And I'm afraid I'll keep her as my guest, until this is all sorted." He added. Tristan grit his teeth, the numbness shattered into rage again.

Was he serious? After everything?

"Like hell you will." Tristan snarled, he was barely holding himself back. Rafe put a hand on his shoulder.

"You have my word no harm will come to her, and she can hardly travel yet anyway." Byron said firmly, but he was watching Tristan with caution.

"No harm? Look at her!" Rafe snarled this time. Byron's expression turned tight.

"I can hardly be blamed for what happened." Byron growled.

"You-" Rafe began.

"Enough, all of you." Hutch said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You've known how I felt about him Rafe. Our lands are becoming smaller and smaller with the humans intruding in our space. Cecil has never been trust worthy. I fear he may even reveal us to the humans, he was a problem long before now... one we should have dealt with. He is clearly unstable. Nothing he did was in any way rationale. I expect you'll receive an official message from him in the next few days, demanding to have his mate turned over to him. I've never liked how he or Arthur run their packs. Maybe it is time to clean out the filth." Hutch said as he looked at Byron.

"And the sooner we hit him, the more likely we will catch him off guard, and finish it quickly. He is no match for my grandson, we just need to break through enough to get to him, and try for minimal causalities of pack members." Hutch glanced at Tristan. "If we get rid of Ulmer, Arthur will be on his own. If Byron takes Ulmer territory, Arthur will be left alone here to deal with the human encroachment. We may not even have to do anything to drive him out."

"He has claimed the Varga lands, and as you know... they will be difficult to hit if we do go to war." Byron said.

"Yes but it will take him a lot of time and resources to build it into a livable territory. Resources I suspect he doesn't have if he was so keen to take Byron's territory." Hutch said.

"Do you truly think Jude is alive?" Byron asked. Hutch sighed.

"I know he was gravely injured, that part was no lie. They sought specialty healers. But if he does live, he may not be up to fighting shape. To keep him so hidden, to the point none of us would have seen or suspected, I don't think he is well. Arthur may just have used it as a ploy." Hutch said thoughtfully.

Tristan furrowed his brow as he thought back to that time. They called for a temporary cease fire. Arthur seemed humbled to ask for any healers with particular abilities.

Word reached them he died shortly after, and Arthur came to broker their deal. It was around that time when he first met Emma. She had truly looked like she was in mourning. He had felt a kinship with her, having lost his sibling as well.

How deep was her deception? How much had he really been fooled by her? Had she lied? Or was she herself led to believe her brother died?

He thought he was good at reading people... maybe he was horribly wrong.

Tristan had seen Emma briefly outside as he carried Lo into the clinic. She looked uninjured.

...how was it, every time they were attacked, that she always managed to come out unscathed?

He thought of Jake. And the pup she carried. He knew they couldn't do anything to her until she gave birth, but the fury inside him at Eyolf had his wolf wanting her blood.

"Even if he does live, Eyolf values strength. If he is not up to their standards, he may not be a suitable heir. I also find it hard to believe he hasn't left their territory in over seven years. Or it may all have been a bluff... Ada told me in the past of her concerns with Tristan's mating. Arthur pressured from the start  for Emma to have a pup just as soon as they mated," Hutch said. Tristan stared at him.

Why hadn't he been told this? Then again... he was rarely home. And had not paid attention at the time. He was so war hungry and set on finding the Vargas, he thought of little else.

Not that he was never home during the mating moon. Twice. Tristan had never been so glad in his life that it didn't take.

She had always begged him to come home during the mating moons, it wasn't that he outright ignored her, but that he truly couldn't.

Even the thought of Emma being the mother of his pups now made him physically sick.

All he saw was Lo.

He just... he needed to find a way to fix this.

"I doubt he'd have been so insistent if Jude truly lived, or maybe he wasn't sure yet if he would at the time. He may have just planned to get a pup from our bloodline, then pull her back." Hutch said as he looked at Tristan.

Tristan felt... he had no words how deeply foolish he had been. He took a deep breath. His wolf was far too restless. He needed to run.

"It will take time to scout him and organize an attack of that magnitude. You can't expect to keep my grandson's gifted that long. They deserve a chance to heal." Hutch said.

"I don't intend to keep him from her, he has unlimited access to my territory." Byron said. It brought the anger back, but before he could say anything.

"But it may not need to come to that. Tristan has every right under our laws to challenge him for attacking his gifted." Byron said.

"He will just claim he rejected her. He may be arrogant and rash, but he's not foolish enough to go one on one with Tristan." Rafe said.

"He may, but I doubt he'd fight fair." Hutch said. Tristan stared hard at Byron.

"We are leaving, and I'm taking her. I want Edith to treat her." Tristan said firmly.

"My healer is more than capable, but if you insist, then she can come here. I will not budge on this." Byron said firmly. Tristan grit his teeth, truly trying to reel in his beast.

"Do you have a death wish Byron?" Rafe asked.

"Go run Tristan." Hutch growled.

He didn't need to be told twice, he slammed the door open and shifted straight through his clothes.

He needed to get lost to his wolf for a time.

-

Lily woke early to the sun across her eyes, and Tristan beside her.

Not that he was touching her. But he was beside her. His breathing was even. He was asleep...

It made her feel strange.

For a moment, she had hoped it was all just a nightmare, but it wasn't.

Lily took several deep breaths at the unwelcome feel of a bond she didn't want. Of feeling a wolf who had forced it on her. She didn't want his emotions at all.

Lily sat up and tucked her legs up close to her chest as she stared at the window. The sun was bright...

She felt... she didn't know what she felt.

Broken.

Tristan woke, but they didn't say anything. Neither one of them even moved until a caretaker brought in breakfast. Tristan got up then and left for a while as they tried to get her to eat. Dena and Ada came in, but Lily didn't want to talk. She didn't want to eat.

Eventually they left her alone.

And the day went on.

Tristan was almost always there. He came and went. He seemed angry. Dark and brooding. They mostly sat in silence. He didn't try to make her talk to him...

For that she was grateful.

Those other Alphas kept coming around. She heard them having conversations down the hallway, sometimes they would get heated, but she didn't fully pay attention.

It sounded like they were preparing to leave. She briefly wondered what that meant for her, but she found she didn't care at this point...

"Please eat." A caretaker said. Lily glanced over at the lunch plate she set down on a small table beside the bed. Lily just turned away and went back to staring out the window.

Like breakfast, eventually she gave up, but she left the food there. It made her feel queasy.

"Little wolf, you have to eat." Sawyer said from the doorway, breaking the peaceful quiet. He was apparently next in her series of tormenters. She was currently alone.

Lily said nothing.

"You've lost too much blood, you need to eat." He repeated. Lily took a slow breath. Why did he care? She wasn't his responsibility.

"How about I take you out for fresh air?" He asked. Still Lily did not look at him. He let a tense moment pass, before he sighed and moved into the room.

"I'll stop bothering you if you at least drink this." Sawyer said and suddenly a cup was draped in front of her face. Lily nearly swatted it away, but instead thought better of it.

If it would get him to leave her alone...

Lily downed it, but coughed at the awful biter taste. He rubbed her back for a moment as she gained back her breath.

"Sorry, should have warned you." He said with slight amusement. Lily just thrust the empty cup back into his chest.

"Please leave." She said. Sawyer sighed as he took it.

"It will get better. It should fade, and if it doesn't, we are going to kill that bastard anyway." He growled. Lily took another slow breath.

Why couldn't anyone just understand she wanted silence?

"Lily, come with me." Rafe said at the doorway. His tone firm. Lily glanced over at him with a frown.

A slight anger stirred from her wolf. He was not her Alpha, but she recognized it would have been a command if he was. Lily's eyes turned to the hallway. She hadn't heard Tristan in a while. She knew something had happened... he was furious about something, and he hadn't come back since.

She assumed he was running...

Lily thought about ignoring him, but the need to relieve herself began to gnaw at her. She had ignored it for too long, and she hated the timing. When she got out of bed on slightly shaky legs, the look of relief on his face made her feel strangely guilty, especially as she went straight into the bathroom and closed the door.

Lily turned and paused at seeing the mirror. She stared at herself for a moment, blinking in shock.

She didn't even recognize the female that stared back at her. She was pale from blood loss, her eyes sunken. The eye he struck she could barely open, in her numbness, she'd nearly forgotten about it. That whole side of her face was black and blue. Lily looked down at the bandages. She stared at them for a moment, before a deep rage suddenly took over her. She wanted them off her skin.

She furiously ripped them all off to survey what that male had done to her, and she stood there for some time, staring at her wounds.

She didn't know why she was reminded of that time so long ago, the first time she was kissed, staring at herself in the mirror. Thinking she looked pretty.

The stark contrast was obvious.

Her mother was wrong.

Gifted mates weren't a blessing. They were a curse that brought pain and suffering. It was all just a lie.

She truly believed that now. Everything that happened to her mother... was because she wanted to search for her gifted. And Tristan... had given her enough pain to last a lifetime.

Maybe it was for the best gifted mates faded out of existence.

Why couldn't she have just let Weston mark her? If she had, she wouldn't have known what it could have been like with her mate. She wouldn't be suffering this loss now.

And feeling angry and bitter at the world...

Tears were streaming down her face again and Lily quickly wiped them away. She took an angry breath and quickly relieved herself, before returning to the room.

Sawyer was gone, but Rafe was there, blocking her way to the bed. Lily stopped.

"You're walking with me, outside." He demanded again. Lily looked beyond him to the bed again.

"Where is Tristan?" She asked. She doubted his possessiveness would still be there, but it still made her uncomfortable.

"Running off some anger, after Byron told him of a message he shouldn't have." Rafe said vaguely as he studied her face hard. Lily began to feel subconscious. His eyes turned briefly wolf glazed, anger was clearly there the longer he stared at her, before finally he turned for the door.

"Let's go." He said with a hard tone. Lily reluctantly followed him, even feeling slightly shaky still.

But the moment they stepped out into the air and the sun, she did feel better. Rafe shifted, but Lily hesitated. Her wounds were still healing, she knew it would hurt more than usual to shift.

He stood there patiently, and eventually she did. It hurt just as much as she thought it would... but in her wolf's mind pain was dimmed.

He trotted off toward the hills at a slow pace, and Lily reluctantly followed him. They didn't run, just moved along at an even pace until they were atop one of the smaller hills that overlooked the cliffs that led down to the river at the far south of Byron's territory.

Lily felt shaky as she lay down in fur, enjoying the warm sun. Rafe circled around her for a bit, checking the area.

Not that he needed to... seven Lykaia enforcers had followed them, but were keeping a comfortable distance.

When Rafe returned to her, he was in skin. He sat down beside her.

They said nothing for a while, just sat there in the afternoon sun.

"I need to leave for my territory tonight. I wanted to make sure you were okay before I did." Rafe said. Lily glanced over at him with her sharp wolf eyes. He wasn't looking at her.

...why did these wolves care what happened to her? She had nothing to offer them...

"Byron is insisting on keeping you here, until we can settle some disputes. Our treaty is dead. Tristan and his grandfather are trying to negotiate with him to take you with us." Rafe said. Anger spiked again. It wasn't fair.

Lily reluctantly shifted back to skin. Only because questions began to burn inside her.

"I don't want to go with anyone," Lily said firmly. Rafe sighed.

"Your mate wishes to take you home." Rafe said.

"He's not my mate," Lily said quietly.

"Broken things can be mended," Rafe said. "That unwanted bond will fade, or be broken either way, and your wounds will heal. Don't focus so much on the bad."

Lily went silent. She didn't want to talk about it.

"Do you truly not wish to go with him?" Rafe finally asked to break the uncomfortable silence that settled between them.

...why were they talking about this?

"What is left between us? Without the bond there's just... pain..." Lily said, trailing off quietly toward the end.

Another long silence followed. She felt the emotion welling in her throat. Dammit... she didn't want to keep feeling this.

"I'm sorry... for everything." Rafe said. "But I stand by what I said. There is nothing broken that can't be fixed...we don't know for sure that it won't return if you let him claim you. I doubt it's even completely broken..." He said.

Lily couldn't look at him, but she knew what he meant. She could feel the fragments of it, like jagged pieces in her chest.

...was it possible to mend it?

...did she even want to?

"He doesn't really want me... he made that clear when we met. He just couldn't help it. Even now I don't think he really wants me... he just feels pity, and guilt. I'm clearly not what he needs." Lily said.

She couldn't stop thinking of how many times he stressed strength. Her thoughts went to Emma. Seeing her walking beside him those days ago. She looked like a fighter, even in the vulnerability of pregnancy.

"Truly? Because your connection is gone, and he is still determined to take you back with him." Rafe said. Lily was quiet for a moment.

...what if what he truly felt for her now, was just pity and guilt? A failure on his part to keep harm from coming to her.

Now without the bond... how could they even move forward? She would always wonder if she was good enough...

"I don't think we can ever get past all this." Lily said sadly. She truly didn't.

A long uncomfortable silence followed.

"Come with me then. I'll give you a home. I can offer you protection, though I do strongly believe you will return to him." Rafe said. Lily was quiet as she stared off the cliff into the vast amount of forest.

She didn't know what to do now...

A distance sound from above drew their attention, a whirring of the air in an unpleasant manner. Lily glanced up. She knew it was a human airplane, but she had rarely seen them fly over this part of the woodland. They weren't terribly far from the Varga lands.

Rafe sighed deeply.

"Seems it will be impossible soon... to live separately from them." Rafe said. Lily frowned.

"They aren't as bad as you think." She defended. In her time away, she had met a lot of pleasant humans...

"Is that right?" Rafe said with amusement.

"A lot of other packs have learned to do it, and I think they are better off for it. It's not like we already aren't living with their influences." Lily said. It went quiet between them again, but Lily felt his eyes on her, studying.

She finally glanced over at him. He grinned at her.

"You really have changed, and you truly aren't as weak as you've set your mind to think you are." Rafe said. Lily looked away from him, and a comfortable silence followed for a short while.

"We should get back. You need rest. That healer of Byron's is going to throttle me as it is, I told her we were going on a short walk." Rafe said.

Lily's eyes were drawn to the cliffs when a light breeze began to pick up, ruffling through her hair. It was a bit cold on her bare skin.

Rafe stood and offered her a hand. Lily accepted it as he helped her up. They turned and began to walk back down the hill.

And that's when she heard it.

A bird whistle.

Their own little version of a pack call.

Lily froze, her eyes snapping back to the cliff again. Rafe paused and looked back.

"What's wrong?" Rafe asked.

"Nothing..." Lily said as she trailed off. Had she imagined it?

It sounded again, and Lily took a shaky breath.
Emotion slammed into her.

She wasn't abandoned...

But it didn't sound like it was coming from far. It sounded close. Far too close. Fear mingled within the joy.

How could they be that close?

Lily swallowed deeply in her nervousness and looked back at Rafe.

"I just need a few minutes alone." Lily said as she backed up slowly. Rafe was eyeing her suspiciously.

"No, I need to accompany you." Rafe said firmly but Lily quickly held up her hand.

"Please, I just need a moment." Lily said as she turned, shifted and darted down the hill before he could stop her. She felt tense, worried that her hopefulness was premature.

He didn't listen. With a growl he followed her, but even injured, she was faster. The enforcers chased her too.

Lily raced toward the sound, and as she neared the cliff, she realized it was coming from far too close.

Lily carefully stepped up onto the rocks.

"Lily." Rafe growled at her as he caught up. Lily looked back at him and quickly shifted back.

"I'm not going to jump, Rafe." She said with a tone laced with insult. It seemed to pause him in his step. Lily stared at him hard for a moment, feeling the cool breeze ruffle her hair, before she took another step up to where she could peer down over the cliff.

She didn't know what she expected to see, the cliff was steep and only the craziest of beings would dare try to climb it.

So why didn't it surprise her to see Rin and Sil, hanging off the steep rocks not five feet down from her, wearing only undergarments and with a dart gun in their teeth?

She looked below them. Mia was there, far below on the river in a boat that was rocking against the flowing current, clearly anchored.

Lily felt suddenly emotional. She felt the tears well. Sil balanced her weight carefully with one hand and yanked the dart gun out of her mouth.

Not the time for that, stupid! She angrily mouthed. Lily had got good at reading her lips in all the times they had to be stealthy together. She smiled at her with tearful eyes. Sil's gaze darted upward in a gesturing glance.

How many? She mouthed.

Eight. Lily mouthed back.

"Get back from there." Rafe called to her, harsher now. Clearly he was getting nervous. Lily glanced at him, before looking back at Sil.

Get them closer. Sil mouthed. Lily felt nervous.

Why couldn't they just jump? ...  Mia must be marking a spot clear of rocks. Lily gestured with her eyes.

No followers. Sil mouthed. Lily took a nervous breath and looked back at Rafe. She felt suddenly guilty.

He had done nothing but help her.

... but she needed to get away from there. Away from all of them.

Lily moved further to the edge of the cliff, dangerously close. She heard them tense behind her.

Lily looked back at Rafe.

"Don't." Rafe growled with actual fear in his eyes now, but it was the Lykaia enforcers that ran for her, expecting her to jump.

Sil and Rin yanked themselves over the cliff.

Before they even knew what hit them, they were downed, it was almost a shock to Lily, but Rafe had dove out of the way at the last second.

"Go!" Sil growled as she grabbed her arm and pulled her. Lily spun, ready, but she heard Rin gasp and she stumbled to pull back her momentum to spin back around.

It was like it had happened in slow motion. Instead of retreating with them, Rin had tried to shoot Rafe as he ran at her, but he was too fast. Lily saw him snatch her up. Rin flailed in his grip. Lily spun around when she heard Sil snarl and quickly stopped her as she went for the silver dagger latched at her hip.

"No! Wait!" Lily said in a panic as she looked at Rafe. "Please Rafe, please let us go!" Lily said with as much begging in her voice as she could muster, but it was as if Rafe didn't even hear her.

He was staring at Rin with a hard look of shock.

Rin bared her teeth at him and kicked and flailed but she wasn't able to free herself from the much larger and stronger wolf's grip. He just held her further away from him, and she immediately went for his arm. She was flailing and growling like a wild animal.

Rafe suddenly laughed. Rin stoped in shock and blinked at him. Sil stiffened beside her. Lily stared at Rafe with wide eyes. Rafe glanced over at them, his gaze went to Sil.

"How many of you are there?" He asked with an amused tone. That large grin still on his face. Lily was confused...

"Let me go!" Rin said. She'd recovered from her shock.

He looked over toward them again with an almost deliriously happy look. Lily furrowed her brow and just stared at him.

What was wrong with him?

He slowly set Rin down as he knelt, then grabbed her face to give her forehead a hard kiss.

"I will be seeing you again, very soon little one." Rafe said.

Lily looked at Rafe with wide eyes as they stood there on the cliff. Shouting from a distance drew her attention. More wolves were sprinting toward them down the hill. One wolf in particular drew her eyes.

Lily stared at Tristan. She took a panicked breath and looked back to the cliff. Rin ran right past them and jumped. Sil looked at Rafe once more, before she too turned and jumped.

Lily looked back at Rafe with an expression of gratefulness, he was grinning still.

...but even as she turned to jump, she still couldn't help but hesitate. Lily took a nervous breath and looked back at Tristan.

... this was for the best.

She repeated that in her head several times, right before she turned and jumped too. The water was freezing and she tumbled for a moment before she's grabbed by Sil and Mia and hauled up onto the boat. Lily looked up to see Rafe standing there, watching them. A moment later Tristan stood there, staring down at her. Their eyes lock, but Mia cut the anchor and they started to quickly drift down stream.

-

Tristan panted atop the cliff, he didn't know what he felt more of as he looked at Rafe with rage in his eyes.

"Clever little mice." He chuckled, completely ignoring him. Tristan could barely breathe as he looked back to the river, but they were no longer within sight.

Fury, worry... but there was a relief there too. Even though she ran from him again... she was at least off Byron's territory.

"Enough with that look, this solved a problem." Rafe said with a chuckle. He seemed... weirdly happy.

"Rafe!" Byron snarled as he reached them and shifted back. Rafe just chuckled again. Tristan stared at him as if he lost his mind, before his gaze looked back to his downed enforcers.

"It's just a sedatives, they're fine." Rafe said as he held up a dart. Tristan could hear their hearts. Byron stormed up to them, along with his Beta. Tristan looked beyond them. Sawyer stood up on the cliff, watching the whole scene from afar.

"I'll deal with retribution later Byron, right now, I have something very important I need to track down." Rafe said with amusement. Tristan knew he was typically a carefree wolf, but he had never seen him like this.

A strange peace had settled over him.

Tristan once again looked to the flowing river, and it panicked him that he could no longer feel her. It was a startling realization. How much that connection mattered to him. Had always mattered to him.

Tristan stared down at that river for a moment, before he turned back. Byron was furiously arguing with Eren, but he hardly heard it.

He needed to get his own and get out of there. He wasn't letting her get away from him again. Not with all the dangers out there..