My heart nearly stopped when everything went silent. There was no more fighting, no more talking. 

Nolan and Jon looked at each other, their eyes locked. Jon nodded once before going around and out of the way. 

"She's over here, Rafe!" Nolan yelled. 

I opened my mouth to shout at him, to tell him not to listen to Nolan, but just then Nolan's head whipped around, warning in his eyes as they flashed red before quickly going back to normal. 

I froze in place. What the hell had just happened? What had I just seen? Whatever it was, it had been enough to make me shut my mouth.

Rafe emerged through the trees, standing not thirty feet away. I could see the flash of anger in his eyes as he assessed the situation. He had noticed me sitting on the ground, my hands bound while Nolan hovered close by. 

I heard a low rumble come from him as he shifted slightly, deciding what his next move would be. 

"Careful there Alpha, or she might just get hurt," I heard Ria's voice and I felt a claw slide down my cheek. 

I heard him growl louder sending a chill through me and I was glad it wasn't directed at me. 

Everything turned into a blur. Rafe lunged at Ria, and Nolan lunged at Rafe. I was trapped right next to it all. 

After what seemed like ages, the three backed up, each of them panting, the tension running through them. 

 I jumped when I heard more people approach. Some of them were Rafe's men, but some weren't. 

"You see, here's the thing, Alpha," Jon sneered. "We have you're pack, well, our men are in the process of taking it right now." 

He smiled and took a step closer. 

"You'll never get the pack, your numbers don't matter, we have the best army for miles."

"Compared to other packs, maybe. But we aren't a pack. We're rogues. Many of us aur rogues because of who we are, and what we do." Jon bit off the last word. 

 Rafe's eyes went blank, staring off. I knew he was in contact with someone else, I just hoped it was good news. The corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk and he focused back on the people in front of him. 

"Then I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this plays out, won't we?"

Jon smiled, "I suppose we will."

Jon nodded to his men that had appeared and they slinked toward Rafe's people. Almost instantly the small space was filled with wolves. Sharp, white teeth snaped and they went at each other. It was a loud blur of claws, fur, and fangs, wolves flying all around. 

Rafe stepped forward watching the three carefully as the fighting went on around them. I wanted to close my eyes, I didn't want to see all of this, but I needed to. I needed to make sure that they were going to be alright. 

"Why are you doing this?" I said. 

"We already told you why, now shut up." Jon's heel lashed out, clipping me in the jaw. 

Rafe growled and leapt toward him, I could see the fire burning inside; he wanted to tear them apart. I pulled at the binds, feeling the burn as the mixture burned through my skin. I had felt my wolf weakening throughout the day. She was hanging in there, but what they'd put on the ropes was making her slip away. 

I had to get out of these, if not for Rafe and the pack, then for her. I looked around for something, anything, that would help me cut through the binds, but I couldn't find a single thing. 

I felt a shift in the atmosphere and I heard Rafe swear under his breath. My blood ran cold, because I knew it wasn't good. When I looked back up, somehow Ria and Nolan had managed to grab a hold of him, eliminating any movement. 

Jon's eyes sparkled with excitement. I could tell this was truly what he'd been waiting for. Sure, they had said that making Rafe live after they destroyed everything of his was what they wanted, but I could see what they really wanted, I could feel it. Jon wanted to take Rafe's live, and he had just been given the perfect opportunity. 

Jon's clawed hand went back before swinging forward with momentum. 

"No!" I screamed as his hand dug into Rafe. I could hear the tearing of flesh, the scrape of the nails on bone, the shredding of muscle among other things, and Rafe's choked off scream of pain. I smelled the blood as it surfaced, seeping from the deep wound. 

The binds snapped and I jumped to my feet. I felt the flare of rage within me, coming from both me and my wolf. Not my mate, not. My fucking. Mate. 

I ran forward before Jon even had the chance to turn around, grabbed his head in my hands and twisted it sharply, snapping his neck. I let his limp body fall to the ground. Ria and Nolan dropped Rafe, his body falling just as Jon's had. He couldn't be dead, he couldn't, not Rafe. 

I could see it in Ria's eyes, she wanted to attack me, she wanted to kill me for killing Jon, but Nolan was pulling her back. I saw in her eyes the same thing she saw in mine and I knew my guess had been right. Ria had been Jon's mate. Under different circumstances, I would have felt bad, but not today, not after what he had just done. 

Ria ran and a few of their people followed. Others were lying dead on the ground, as were a couple of ours. Nolan looked back for a moment before continuing on

I fell to my knees next to Rafe, hot tears flowing down my face. 

"No, no, no." My hands ran through his hair. I could still hear his heart beating, he was still alive, but I knew chances were, he wouldn't be for long and we were a day out from the pack in wolf form. There was no one who could heal him. 

"This is all my fault, I was so stupid." I whispered. Rafe's hand moved slightly, touching mine. 

"I'm sorry I hadn't listened to you sooner," Rafe said, coughing with the effort. He switched methods instead talking directy to me. 

If I would have listened to you, I would have come out here with you in the first place. You woulnd't have had to keep this from me. I'm sorry that you felt you had to go behind my back. 

I just shook my head as the sobs broke through and my eyes wandered down to the wound in his abdomen.

It didn't matter, I shouldn't have done it anyway, and now it was too late. 

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and my head whipped around. Ty crouched next to me, looking Rafe over. 

"He needs medical attention. He won't make it without." Ty looked around and motioned for someone to step forward. It was a woman I had seen one once before. 

She looked him over, shaking her head and I knew that it couldn't be good. 

"There isn't much we can do with what we have. I don't have anything with me, and this area doesn't offer much in what we need," she said. 

"You have to help him, he's your Alpha," I said through gritted teeth. 

"He is, and I'll do what I can. I'm just saying we don't have what we need."

"Well figure it out." 

The woman nodded and turned around, going back to the others as they started looking around the area, combing the woods for the gods knew what. 

"Katarina," Ty whispered. 

"No. He's going to be okay."

Rafe's eyes had closed, but I could still feel his warmth and for now, that's what I was going to hold on to. 

The others had found various leaves and other items from the trees and ground and had fashioned together something to close up the wound. They hoped that it would be enough to get him back to the pack and in for real treatment. But I wasn't so sure. 

I had felt my wolf slipping away again after I had calmed down. She was still there thankfully, but what they had put on the binds had really weakened her. I couldn't trouble them with that now, I knew I was going to be fine. Our first priority was getting Rafe back, and hoping the pack was still standing so we could get him the help we needed. 

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

Kat's wolf is slipping away, and Rafe's hanging on by a thread. Let me know what your thoughts are below with your comments. And don't forget to vote!!