Norah waited anxiously, her heart pounding a frantic tempo in her ears. She didn't know how long Liam would leave them there, but it couldn't be for long. The others surely had come back to the clearing by now and realised what had happened. They had to have seen the massacre - seen Annie. Norah bit her lip, a tear escaping. How could they do this to their own family? They would be looking for her - she hoped - and they should be able to track her scent.

She hoped.

Standing for a few minutes, Madison came to stand beside her. Her fingertips were a faint blue and Norah wondered how long she'd been in the freezer. Surely they hadn't kept her in here for the last couple of days? Norah grabbed her hands, folding them in Madison's jacket. Madison shot her a weak smile.

The sound of a chain rattling clanged against the outer wall and both girls tensed. Norah lifted the meat hook high, desperately putting all her remaining energy into her arms. They trembled slightly but she stood strong, relying on the adrenaline she was sure was running through her to give her the strength to do this. There was a good chance this would fail, but she had to try.

The door opened and for a brief moment, her heart stopped, her entire being focused on the task at hand.

Once the door was open enough, she swung the meat hook, gritting her teeth as she felt it connect. She turned, pushing it harder and came face to face with Nick. His eyes were wide with surprise. He was too strong and resisted her, it was difficult to push the meat hook through his body - it was blunted from years of use - and she felt a sliver of despair.

Madison suddenly came up behind Norah, her hands covering her own and helped her push. Nick grunted, falling to the ground and the girls fell on top of him, helping to push the hook all the way through his chest. He gurgled, hands reaching for them but Norah slapped them away, scooting away from him.

"Quickly!" Norah hissed. She rushed to stand, attempting to drag Madison. Madison was trying to pull the hook out of Nick and she swatted her hand away. "Leave it, there's no time!"

Grabbing Madison's hand, Norah looked around. There was a light through the trees to her right and she guessed there was a house there. Not that way. She turned to her left and rushed into the forest.

The light of the moon was enough to show them the way, but she stumbled on unsuspecting branches that lay fallen on the forest floor. There was no sound behind them and she wondered how long they would have. It wouldn't take them long to realise they were gone.

"Where are we going?" Madison huffed.

Norah pulled her along. "I don't know. As far away as we can."

Norah's chest was tight with pain. The beatings had taken their toll and after running through the forest, her body was beginning to warm and the pain was making an unwelcome return to her limbs. The side of her face throbbed painfully and she felt her vision blurring every so often. The kicks  to her chest made it difficult to breathe and what should have been an easy run for her was excruciating.

Madison lagged behind and she knew the poor woman had to be weaker than her after being tied up for so many days. Still, she didn't complain and she pushed herself to match Norah's pace, neither of them very keen to get caught once more.

Howling tore through the night air and Norah felt tears sting her eyes. They'd been discovered. "Run faster!" She cried, knowing their time was running out. She wanted to scream for Rylan, for anyone for help, but if she did it would only give them away to Liam and Daniel quicker.

Oh, how she wished it had been Daniel who had opened that door! She would have stabbed that meat hook through his body repeatedly until he could never move again. Of course then she would have been caught and it would all be for naught. Maybe it was better he hadn't been the one who opened the door.

They kept running, both knowing it was only a matter of time before they were caught. The sound of Madison's wheezing breath filled her ears and she pulled her along, her grip on her hand painfully tight. Growling sounded behind them and her body trembled, the adrenaline coursing through her making it impossible to think.

As the noise gradually began to get closer, Norah stopped, knowing it was pointless to keep running and reached on the ground until she found a firm feeling branch. Picking it up, she held it tightly. Madison collapsed to the ground, sobbing quietly. "It's over."

"It's not over yet." Norah stood in front of her. "You should keep running, I'll hold them off for as long as I can."

Madison gripped her leg. "I'm not leaving you alone, Norah. They'll tear you apart!"

Norah knew it was true, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She didn't know where this courage had come from, but she wasn't about to question it. She just hoped it didn't leave her when they appeared.

The sound of wolves drew closer and the branch began to tremble in her grip. Her fingers tightened, the skin digging into the bark, surely drawing blood. Her mind went blank and she stared into the darkness, waiting for their impending death.

"Norah," Madison whispered. "Over there."

Norah looked where she was pointing and her heart stopped. A pair of eyes twinkled in the dark of the trees and she bit her cheek, stopping a sob from breaking forth. One by one, wolves started stepping out from the trees and Norah knew they were done for.

She had thought Liam's group only small, maybe ten at the most. She counted at least fifteen to twenty and a memory reminded her that there had been rumours of Liam recruiting wolves from other packs. It would seem they were true.

Liam shifted, his eyes filled with a cold fury. Norah glanced at a wolf to his left, seeing a large scar on his face.

"You are not a smart girl," Liam said quietly. Norah raised the branch and Liam laughed. "You have fire, I'll give you that. I'm going to have fun snuffing it out."

He stepped towards her and she moved back, her legs pressing against Madison. Liam stopped, turning to look to his left. He growled, his body shifting and Norah jumped as another wolf ran out of the forest, grabbing his neck.

Norah gasped, other wolves appearing and she caught a flash of white.

Rylan.

Relief seeped through her and her grip on the branch loosened. Help had arrived. Norah cried out as the wolves merged on one another in a mêlée of fur and blood. She crouched down, trying to grab Madison so they could make a run for it. "Come on, we have to go -"

A sharp pain lanced through her ankle and she screamed.

"Norah!"

Madison looked behind her and Norah turned. The wolf with the large scar had his jaw clamped tightly around her ankle. His eyes glared at her knowingly, a sense of triumph flashing through them.

His teeth pressed deeper and Norah screamed again. Her leg moved involuntarily to get away only causing her more pain. The pain started to burn up her leg and she tried to hit him with her fist, anything to make him left go.

Madison reached for the branch and hit Daniel on the head. He didn't let go, but only clamped down tighter and Norah was sure he was going to bite her foot off. A flash of white rushed past her and tackled Daniel. He yelped as they tumbled away and the pain in her foot heightened as the blood began to flow freely. Madison crawled forward, trying to apply pressure to the bite marks. The blood was flowing too quickly and she couldn't stop it.

Norah felt lightheaded. A strange feeling of euphoria spread through her body and she slowly sunk to the ground. The pain in her foot became a numb throbbing and the world seemed to fade.

"Madison," she whispered. Her voice sounded like it was coming from the end of a tunnel. "I think something's wrong."

"It's all right Norah," Madison was shouting, Norah could tell by the look on her face but to her ears it was a faint whisper. "Keep your eyes open, stay with me!"

Norah looked around, her head lolling to the side. The wolves were slaughtering each other. Her vision blurred, coming in to focus with each throb of pain causing the wolves to look like one large ball of fur. She saw three wolves attacking the one. Two of them looked frighteningly similar and she couldn't tell if they were the same or her vision playing tricks on her.

She tried to move her head, to look away as they tore the creature apart, but her head wouldn't move. She tried to speak to Madison, to tell her something really was wrong, but her mouth wouldn't obey her commands. She started to panic.

A cold spread through her, starting from her legs and her breathing began to shallow. Was she dying? She had heard you went cold when you were. She tried to remember where she had heard it from and then wondered why she was wasting her time trying to remember pointless things.

"Norah!" Her head was moved and she found herself looking up at Rylan. Blood covered his skin, a large wound covered his entire shoulder and she wanted to reach up and try to stop the bleeding. Her body refused to do anything though but breath and stare. She saw his eyes glance down, his face turning whiter than his wolf fur. The words 'toxic' and 'bite' formed on his lips but she didn't know what that meant.

Holden appeared to her left. She saw his hand reach down and knew he had to be touching her leg but she couldn't feel it. From the look on his face, she knew the prognosis wasn't good. She looked away and kept her eyes on Rylan, wanting him to be the last thing she saw.

The darkness slowly started closing in and she wished she could say something, anything to take the frightened look off his face. His lips moved one last time before the world went dark and she thought she knew what words they formed but before she could decipher it, she knew no more.

She was lost in darkness.

Voices faded in and out. Some she recognised, others were strange to her. Her body felt heavy. At first the pain had been agonising. She had had moments of consciousness but they were filled with nothing but agony. Her body felt as though it were on fire, her limbs taut and heavy. She remembered flashes of Olivia and Logan holding her down, Cassie brushing her forehead and murmuring softly in her ear. She didn't know what was happening but something told her it was not natural.

She was aware of time passing slowly, and the moments of pain and consciousness receded until she was forever in the dark. The pain was gone, but so was everything else. Norah had an awareness of there being people around her, but she couldn't awaken.

There was a sense of peace in the darkness that gave her comfort. Peace from the pain and troubles of werewolves and dangerous men - she sometimes thought it would be nice to never wake. The voices were comforting and she recognised Olivia and Cassie's the most - but there was one voice that she did not hear which she longed to. The lack of his presence left her feeling afraid.

Was he all right? Did something happen to him after she had fallen unconscious? A part of her wanted to wake and discover if he was there, but the other part was afraid that if she did, he would be gone and she would be alone.

She drifted in the darkness, waiting for some chance, some sign that she should find a way out. She waited to hear his voice telling her everything would be all right.

As the time passed, her sense of her surroundings became more focused, the voices sharper and she could feel when people touched her hand, her forehead - a desire to live spread through her and she clung to it. He may not be there, but she had to wake up. She had to know for sure.

Eventually, she felt someone press their lips lightly against her own, the gesture sparking a sense of familiarity in her.

"You need to wake up, Norah." The voice filled her with relief and happiness. He was alive. The voice itself sounded sad and she tried to reach for it. "My ego is running wild without you here to keep it in check," he joked lightly. He kissed her again and she felt him grab her hand. "Please come back to me."

The darkness started to clear and she welcomed the light, her fingers curling around Rylan's as she returned to the world.