Strange voices fill my head, I can't make out what they are saying, but they sound upset. They get louder and clearer, and my body starts shaking. My eyes snap open and I see men surrounding me.

My eyes widen and I back up quickly away from them. I shove myself up against the wall while they laugh, and feel my fear be replaced by anger.

I glare at them for making fun of me and move to stand, only to have pain shoot through my stomach and my knee.

I lift up the bottom of my shirt to see that my stomach had been crudely stitched up, but it was bright red and swollen. My knee was twisted at an awkward angle and was the size of grapefruit.

I wince at the sight of my injuries and watch the men's face turn nauseous. I smile slightly at their reactions, but mine soon matches theirs when I see the puss leaking from my stomach.

One of them disappears, and returns minutes later with a frustrated Loke. I glare daggers at him, but he ignores me.

He walks over to my side and uses his claws to rip my shirt. I'm left in a sports bra, and start shivering again.

The silver chains around my wrists are only making me colder. I feel sweat on my forehead, and realize that I also must have a high fever from my infected wound.

"How long was I out?" I ask in a raspy voice.

"A day, maybe longer. Man, I almost wish you had your Lycan, then you would be able to heal and not be such a whiny bitch," Loke sighs in frustration.

"And maybe if you had a heart you wouldn't be such a back stabbing dick," I smile, and his eyes swirl icy blue. The back of his hand comes across my face, making my head snap to the side.

My cheek and lip were still busted from where he ht me before, but now they were bleeding worse and had reopened. I spit out the blood the fills my mouth, and turn back to Loke with angry eyes.

"Daniel, you said you have a medical kit?" Loke suddenly asks one of the men.

I recognize him as the man who has been kind to me.

Daniel, so that's his name, I think, looking at him curiously. He has light brown hair, brown eyes, a good build, and is very tall. He looks very menacing, but I can see right through his façade.

"Yes sir, it has medicine to help the infection too," he informs him. I sigh in relief and let my body sag against the cold, wet stone.

Loke nods before messing with my chains. I hear a click, and my chains fall off. I see Loke tuck a key on a necklace into his shirt before he stands up again.

He gestures to Daniel, who puts one arm under my knees, and the other on my back. I brace myself for the pain that I had felt before.

As he lifts me up, I bite my tongue to stop a scream as pain shoots through my stomach and leg. The pain is enormous, and I feel nauseous again.

I close my eyes tightly and clench my fists into balls. I feel a jolt of pain run through my body with each step, even though Daniel's feet are smooth and graceful.

We reach a familiar cavern and I am layed down on a cot. It is extremely comfortable compared to the stone floor I had been sleeping on.

Daniel takes out my stitches, cleans my stomach and gives me an injection to stop the infection. He redoes my stitches, and I take a second to admire his neat work.

They are perfectly spaced, and the perfect size to keep my skin from ripping. He wraps a bandage around my waist, and starts to pack up the medicine kit.

"Wait, can you check my knee? I think I twisted it," I ask with a pleading look. He nods with a look of sadness and concern.

He rips the leg of my sweatpants up to my thigh and I see his eyes widen at my knee. I lift my head to look at it, and nearly faint.

My knee is bright red, swollen, and looks horrible. I cringe and my head falls back down into the cot.

My foot was facing the wrong way, and I know that I twisted and probably dislocated as well.

"This is going to hurt, unfortunately we don't have any anaesthetics," he sighs.

"Alcohol?" I mumble.

"What?"

"Do you have any alcohol?" I repeat, louder this time. He thinks for a moment before leaving the room.

He quickly returns with two bottles of vodka. I smile and take the one he holds out for me.

I lean up against the wall and manage to sit up slightly. I take the top off and lift the bottle to my lips.

I take a few long pulls before putting it back down. It burns my throat, but I feel that it affects me much more now.

I can probably still drink more than the average human, but nowhere near how much I could before.

My body starts to go numb as I drink more and I sigh in relief. Daniel waits until my eyes are closed before yanking my leg and twisting it back into place.

I scream as the sudden searing pain shoots through my leg, but stuff my arm into my mouth to stifle it. All of the energy saps from my body and I slump tiredly against the cot once more.

Daniel wraps my knee and I feel my mind doze off.

***************

I wake up, surprised to not feel any pain. Sitting up, I see that I am still on the cot.

I look around, and see that I am the only one in here. I slowly move my legs over the side of the cot, and attempt to stand.

I put all of my weight on my good leg, not wanting to risk hurting my knee further. My stomach hurts less, and I can see that it is no longer red.

"You're up," someone says in a surprised voice. I look over and see Daniel walking over to me.

"Yeah, and I'm starving," I groan.

"I brought you some food, its down rabbit," he says putting a plate down at the table across from my cot.

I mutter a thanks and use the wall to make it to the table. I bite into one of the rabbit legs and moan in pleasure.

It was the first thing I have eaten in a few days. I eat everything on the plate he gives me, and down four glasses of water.

I hear a growl echo through the tunnels, and see Daniel's eyes suddenly glaze over, he was mindlinking someone.

"Loke wants me to take you up to the entrance, but I am supposed to gag you," he tells me.

"Whatever," I sigh in defeat. He shrugs and walks behind me.

He puts something in front of me, and I feel something go into my mouth. He ties a strip of cloth around my head, and it is between my lips.

It is fairly uncomfortable, but I shrug it off, after all, Daniel basically saved me from dying of infection.

I lean heavily on him as we travel through the tunnels up to the entrance to the main cave. I can't stand very well, so I allow Daniel to support me.

I look out the cave, to see that snow still filled the sky, and blanketed the ground.

Raven? Shade's voice fills my mind. I inwardly groan in frustration that I cannot answer.

Listen, we are here, I can't hear anything your saying. Ira linked me not long ago and the loner you stay away from her, the less likely it is for you to be able to connect to her again, she tells me, and I feel panic and fear fill my mind.

I don't think I can survive as a human, I love being part animal, it makes me feel free.

I hear footsteps and glance around in panic. Daniel pulls me to the very back of the cave, so that I cannot see the entrance very well.

I see a flame suddenly appear in the darkness, and Shade's wolf is visible in the light. Her eyes widen in shock at Loke who is holding the torch.

She shifts quickly and runs towards his outstretched arms.

"Loke!" She cries wrapping her arms around him, his head resting on hers. I struggle against Daniel's strong hold, and suddenly regret letting him tie the gag.

"You're alive!" She sobs and he laughs lightly.

"Yeah, I've been looking for you too," he smiles as she pulls away, wiping the tears away. I suddenly realize there are other wolves behind Shade, and one pulls her back with a growl.

I recognize the wolf as Ajax, a young but persistent warrior who will be very strong one day.

"Ajax! Calm down!" Shade whispers but he still raises his bow towards Loke. I inwardly cheer and try to escape Daniel's arms, but he tightens them further.

"Shade, get away from him," he growls, and Loke bursts out laughing.

"Ajax, Ajax, you've always been good at finding peoples true intentions, but I promise you that I meant no harm," he says in a tone that sounds full of honesty. My eyebrows furrow in confusion, and I stop struggling in my surprise.

"Listen Loke, if we leave, will you promise to look for Raven? She was last seen here..." Shade tells him, and he nods somberly.

"I saw who took her too. If you come back tomorrow at midnight, then I promise we will have her," he tells her, and she nods.

I groan in frustration and start struggling again, but it is drowned out by the sound of cracking bones. Shade shifts and motions for the other wolves to follow her out.

When a few minutes pass, Daniel releases me and I yank the gag from my mouth. I yell out in anger and frustration that they were so close.

All of my struggling has made me so exhausted that I fall back into Daniel's arms.

So close, how could Shade believe him? I think with a sigh.

Then my eyebrows furrow together as I realize one more thing. Even humans have a scent, and Shade's senses are the best I have ever seen.

So how come she didn't know I was there?