I woke up in a panic. I had that same feeling of dread I did when the rogues were near. Turning on the lamp I looked around the queen's sitting room. I had been sleeping here while the queen was ill just to be close at hand.

Rubbing my eyes I got up from the couch and checked the balcony doors. They were still locked. Next I rushed into the queen's room and was slightly relieved to see that she was still sleeping soundly. But I still had the feeling of dread.

Dalton! I sat down near the queen while I waited for Dalton to pull himself from his sleep.

Artemis?

Dalton something is wrong!

What's going on?

I have that feeling again, like when the rogues came.

Shit! I'm coming now. How far away are they?

That's the problem I don't know! I just know they are close.

Ok, Stay calm. I'm on my way and I'm bringing people with me. Where are you?

Queen's quarters.

Perfect. Security there is beefed up. Stay there. We'll come to you.

CRACK! My whole body flinched at the sound that came from the other room.

I ran to the door I had left opened and looked into the sitting room. A hole had been punched through the balcony door and a hairy masculine hand had slipped through in an attempt to open it. I quickly shut the door and scrambled back to the queen's side.

DALTON! They're here!

Fuck! Ok Artemis I need you to hide. Find someplace quiet. I'm running to the guard commander now. He'll mind link the guards there and they'll be in to help you in just a few minutes. Just stay low and stay quiet.

My breath was ragged as I tried to keep the terror I felt at bay. I looked around the room desperate to find a place to hide. I was startled when a hand grabbed me in my panic.

"Artemis?" The queen whispered concerned. "What's wrong" I didn't have a chance to answer before the bedroom door opened. The queen connected the dots. "Quickly Artemis you need to hide under the blanket. Quickly!"

A giant bulky man with blonde hair slinked his way in. Upon seeing the two of us he gave us a menacing smile.

"Brent,′ the queen whispered. I looked at her face and she was terrified. She knew who this person was. The man chuckled back and began to stalk towards the queen. I wasn't going to let him touch her.

Springing into action I dove at the man digging my nails into him. Instead of nails, claws and teeth found flesh and began ripping away at the intruder. The man lost is balance and we both fell over crashing through something. We tumbled down a hard rough surface and landed with a thud.

Looking around I realized we had fallen out the window and landed on the roof below. An alarm somewhere was blaring. In my panicked rampage I had shifted into my wolf. I scrambled to my feet to stare at the brute.

My wolf started to take charge again, forcing my body to leap onto him before he recovered. I could feel as her hind legs tried to claw at his belly while I held on for dear life. Within seconds we were thrown off again this time being thrown to the ground below. Looking up to the overhang I saw another young man with dark brown join the brute. I recognized him. It was the same guard who had helped me the first time I served tea to the queen. What was he doing?

My wolf didn't wait for an explanation she growled at the pair challenging them to fight her. The guard look down confused while the brute scowled.

"New plan," I heard the brute say. "Catch the white wolf. We're not going back empty handed."

My wolf gave a roar and then ran off. There was no way we could take them both. Running past buildings she steered us towards the nearby woods. There we could hide until help arrive.

Artemis where are you! Dalton screamed in my head. The adrenaline in my system made it hard to communicate back. Everything was coming out scrambled.

Woods! was the only thing I got out.

On my way! Head for the stream. You might be able to throw them off your trail if you wade through the water. My wolf gave a huff and sped that direction. We were almost there when she was thrown off course with a tackle from the side. I could feel my body tumble across the ground. Scraped formed with the skin rubbed against the rocked and stones.

Once the rolling stopped my wolf stayed on the ground feeling our limbs to make sure they were ok. Moving them brought no pain so she rose to look at our attacker. A red wolf looked down at us with his brown eyes. They did not hold the conviction the brute had.

My wolf recognized whoever it was and a growl rumbled from her lips. As she rose the red wolf stepped back feeling the pressure she gave off. My wolf stalked towards him slowly but with purpose.

What are you doing?!? We need to run! My wold didn't care and no amount of pulling swayed her. She had unfinished business here. Stalking forward she backed the red wolf against a giant tree and stared him down her pray. I felt as she reached out towards him and gave a tug. The red wolf collapsed at the pull. Whatever she was doing he was trying to fight it but she wouldn't have it this time. This time?

There was another tug and whatever she pulled on hummed to life. I felt as a connection was made. The thoughts of the wolf instantly filled my head.

Shit what the fuck did you just do to me?!? My wolf just gave a huff of annoyance. She turned to walk away and took a few steps. The red wolf stayed still, too scared to move. With another huff of annoyance my wolf looked back.

Follow Delta. It was a command. The red wolf shook his head trying to fight the pull but slowly step by step he began to follow us. I had no choice but to stare in shock at what was happening. I was just a bystander in my own body. How often did my wolf take over like this without me knowing?

We weren't able to get far before there was a large roar and another body jumped onto us. The brute still in his human form tackled me and pinned my wolf to the ground with his burly arms. My wolf tried to scratch and bite back at him but the bury man just squeezed us making it difficult to breathe.

"Ace!" he called out. "Get your fucking ass over her and help me." The red wolf just continued to stare at us not sure what to do. "Ace now is not the time to freeze up," the burly man continued between grunts. "You get your ass over here or I'm going to beat your ass next." My wolf was growing tired. He was too strong physically for us. I could feel her grow more desperate as her limbs became sluggish.

Help! I shouted at my wolf. We need to call for help. My wolf instantly agreed and let out a longe howl that echoed over the trees.

"Fuck, Ace shut her up already. She calling for help." My wolf gave out one more long howl before something large and hard slammed into our head. My world spun and my head began to pound. I couldn't focus on anything.

"Don't give me that look Ace. You weren't helping and she needed to shut up before someone-" A loud roar sounded across the trees cutting the man off. What ever called out, it was big and it was angry.

"Shit. We have to go. Now!" I could feel as the burly man tried to pick me up but he was pushed over by the red wolf. The red wolf stood over me his teeth bared. The burly man look back in disgust and disappointment.

"Don't be an idiot Ace. You know you can't take me alone."

He's not alone. The burly man was dragged back and thrown off by his leg. A steel gray wolf now stood in front of us looking at where the man was thrown. I recognized him immediately. Dalton.

The burly man quickly recovered. There was rage in his eyes at being denied his prize. Dalton moved himself to be another barrier to me.

"Alright then. We'll do this the hard way," the burly man snarled. He stretched out his neck and rolled his shoulders before shifting into a large black wolf. He was huge. Larger than both the red wolf and Dalton. Dalton didn't hesitate to jump at the black wolf who threw him off. Red wolf jumped next with almost the same effect. Even with it two against one the black wolf was winning.

My wolf tried to get up but it hurt to breathe as I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Instead she opted to crawl away from the melee behind us. We got a few feet before the red wolf was thrown into the tree in front of us with a yelp. The red wolf tried to get up but collapsed unable to bear weight on one of his legs.

Another yelp sounded to our left and we looked to see Dalton crumpled on the ground. He wasn't moving at all. His pelt was covered in slashes which bled into his fur.

Heavy breathing could be heard behind us. My wolf turned our head to see the the black wolf stepping towards us. He had some red slashes as well but they didn't seem to bother him. His red eyes shone as he stalked towards us. My wolf was able to stand but I knew we would not last long before we fell again. She bared her teeth as she roared at the beast. The black wolf chuckled. He wasn't scared of us.

Leaning his head down he picked my wolf up by the scruff of her neck and began to walk away but stopped stiff when we hit the brush. In the darkness were two silver eyes glowing. I could feel my wolf inwardly sigh in relief. I was mesmerized by those eyes. They called to me and I wanted to go to them.

Too late my wolf chuckled in our head. The silver eyes grew larger as out of the bush a silver wolf stepped into view. The wolf wore a calm rage. You could feel the anger bubbling at the surface ready to be released. As the silver wolf stepped forward the black one stepped back away. Once the silver wolf came into view I heard a voice call out to the black wolf.

Drop her! it growled. My body instantly fell to the ground and my wolf grunted on impact. As my wolf recovered I could hear the snarls and ripping of flesh. Looking over the silver wolf was tearing into the black one and was easily overpowering him. This wasn't a fight this was a massacre. My mind grew dizzy as I tried to focus on their movement but it became too much and my wolf began to close her eyes.

No! I called to her. You can't go to sleep now! You need to stay awake! My wolf only chuckled as she pulled me into unconsciousness.

Do not worry, she replied back. Mate will protect us, and we fell into abyss.