Grange was feeling good about the amount of territory he, Trig and Nickolai had covered. They had marked a great deal of boundaries with their scent to let any werewolf, vampire, demon or other supernatural being know that this land belonged to them.

Grange was ready to get to Dawn and didn’t want to take time to stop at his cabin but he and the other men had to get clothes. They couldn’t very well show up in town as wolves or as naked men. He wanted a kiss from his woman, he wanted to fill his nose with her scent and then he wanted a big freshly iced sugar cookie, and knowing Dawn, she would almost certainly have a whole pan ready for him.

He shook out his fur as he neared his cabin, planning to change quickly and then get to Dawn as fast as he could but the scent that reached his nose had him filling with the closest thing to panic that Grange had ever felt.

Dawn. Dawn was in his cabin. She had been bleeding and she was in pain and feverish. But the thing that frightened him the most and had the hair raising on his neck and the growl forming low in his throat was the scent of a vampire. A young vampire. The vampire wasn’t here, hadn’t been near the cabin, but Grange could smell his blood.

Grange gave no thought to the other wolves with him. He didn’t spare them a glance as he jumped through the cabin window, breaking the shutter and landing with a ear splitting growl on the floor below.

He saw his bedroom door was closed and he burst through it, faintly aware of the sound of cracking wood.

His eyes fell on Dawn and everything in him filled with terror. She was lying on his bed, wearing only her thin chemise. Her skin was pale, nearly gray in color and slicked with a sheen of sweat. Her hair was soaked and clinging to her and her neck and chest were covered in dried, cracked blood.

She was shivering and mumbling incoherently. Her blue eyes were glossy and unfocused. Grange could smell that she had soiled herself as she lay there and he could also smell the vampire venom currently coursing through her veins.

Instantly the wolf in him backed off, knowing that only the man could tend to the mate. After he shifted, he was shaking as he neared the bed.

“What the hell happened?” Trig demanded as he came into the bedroom wearing a pair of trousers. Grange dropped to his knees and ran his hand down her arm.

“Vampire.” Nickolai stated as his nostrils flared slightly. Grange felt a rage fill him like he had never felt before.

“Find him.” he snarled in a voice that was barely human. Trig and Nickolai instantly left the cabin. Grange swallowed hard.

“Dawn, love, can you hear me?” Dawn didn’t respond other than to cry out in pain. Grange could tell that the blood on her skin was old. From yesterday if he had to guess. The crumpled dress in the corner was what was covered in vampire blood.

What the hell had happened while he’d been gone?! He put his wrist to her brow and drew it back with a growl when her skin burned him. He felt desperation sinking in.

She had been bitten by the vampire. His poison was slowly eating Dawn’s body from the inside out. His mate was dying. She would already be dead if the vampire had gotten a good dose of venom in her, but judging by the wounds on her neck the vampire had not been able to really sink his fangs in before Dawn had gotten away.

But how had she managed to get away from a vampire that had been preparing to feed from her?

“Dawn… I need you to wake up.” Grange begged as he ran his knuckles along her cheek. He knew what had to be done but he didn’t want to do it. Not like this. Not with her delirious and nearly unconscious. He had wanted to turn her, to mark her, as he made love to her and held her tight.

But if he didn’t do this now then she would die. Vampire venom killed humans. It wouldn’t turn her into a vampire. Vampires had to nearly drain a victim dry and then feed them their own vampire blood in order for that to happen.

And vampires could bite without injecting venom. As a matter of fact they very rarely injected venom and killed their quarry because bodies popping up with holes in their necks would cause too many questions. Grange wondered if perhaps Dawn had somehow hurt this Vampire while he’d been biting her and that was why he had injected her with his venom.

Grange brushed his lips against her fevered jaw and whispered her name again. Suddenly her hand shot up and Grange barely had time to recognize the glint of a gun barrel before the boom of a gun shot filled the air and burning pain filled his arm.

So that was how she had gotten away from the vampire.

“Don’t hurt me! Grange will kill you!” Dawn yelled hysterically and then she collapsed against the bed and her blue eyes glazed over before closing.

“Dawn!” Grange shouted with fear. He laid his head on her chest and heard the faint beating of her heart. He was almost out of time. It may be too late already.

Grange closed his eyes and called on the wolf, who was only to happy to try to make an appearance. Grange felt his teeth sharpen, his muscles bulge and his eyes burn as they turned from blue to gold.

He turned her head and rubbed his nose against her right shoulder, which was blood free. He could smell the vampire on her and it enraged both the wolf and the man in him. How dare anyone think they could touch what was his?

He wished he could wash the scent off of her before he marked her but there was no time. Her heart was barely beating. Without wasting another second, Grange bit down on the soft flesh between her neck and shoulder.

The wolf in him fought to come all the way out but Grange held it back and he felt Dawn’s body stiffening beneath him. He forced himself to pull away from her and wiped her blood away from his lips with the back of his arm. Then he used his teeth to slice open the skin of his forearm and he poured his blood between her pale lips.

He was sure his own heart ceased beating as he watched her for signs of recovery. He put his hand to her brow and realized the fever was gone. He smiled but the smile was quickly replaced with a frown when her shivering ceased, her skin became ice cold and her heart beat stilled.

“Dawn….” he whispered, barely able to find his voice through the fear clogging his throat. “Dawn, please….” he grabbed her shoulder and shook her but her neck just flopped loosely, the bite he had inflicted was failing to heal quickly the way it should have.

His shaking became rougher and his yells louder and more desperate. He wasn’t even aware of his actions any longer. There was nothing. Time had ceased. The world had stopped spinning. All he could see was Dawn, his mate, the other half of his soul and every hope for any happiness in his future, lying dead in front of him.

He had been too late. He had been too late to save her. He never should have left her!

A snarl of rage left his mouth, followed by a roaring growl that shook the log walls around him. He stood and strode from the cabin, shifting as he walked.

He breathed in deep and caught the scent of the vampire. He was scared and running from Trig and Nickolai. Grange started off on a northeast trek, knowing that this would allow him to cut the vampire off.

The vampire was responsible for his mates death and Grange would be the one to end the vampires pathetic existence. He would allow it to be no one else.

Grange ran for a long time, his muscles began to ache, his lungs began to burn and still he ran, giving it all he had and sparing nothing. It didn’t matter if his lungs ceased working or his heart exploded. His soul was already dead.

Then he caught sight of the vampire. The vampire was running straight toward him. Grange saw the vampire’s eyes widen and he skidded to a stop when he caught sight him. Grange did not hesitate. He lunged at the vampire, who caught him in the air, and the two of them flew backward through the air.

They crashed into an oak tree, cracking the wood, and sending shockwaves of pain through Grange’s body, though he did not feel them. He tore at the vampire with his teeth, ripping into him with his claws.

Grange heard Nickolai and Trig coming up behind them and he quickly whirled around and snapped at them, letting them know the vampire was his. The two wolves backed down but paced uneasily, ready to jump in and help their alpha if the need arose.

Grange jumped at the vampire, grabbed him by his throat and threw him to the ground. The vampire had lost a lot of blood at this point and it had weakened him greatly. He wasn’t offering much in the way of resistance.

Grange shifted back to his human form and held the clawing vampire down.

“Why did you do it? Why did you choose my mate?” Grange growled. The vampire managed a smile with his bloody mouth, the blood was a mixture of his own and Grange’s.

“Because she was there.” he replied. “All alone in the woods, smelling of dog but with no big bad wolf to protect her. She tasted good.” Grange punched the vampire in the face with everything he had and the vampire hissed with pain as his nose shattered.

“You killed my mate!” Grange screamed, not caring that he sounded hysterical. He heard Trig and Nickolai whimper behind them as they heard the news.

“Yes well you will pleased to hear that your mate shot me twice and got away. Perhaps if you had kept a better eye on her then her death would not have happened.”

Grange saw red and he shifted as he tore into the vampires body, tearing him, quite literally, limb from limb. Grange continued to rip and tear until what the vampire had once been he was no longer.

Finally Grange stepped away from the mess of flesh and blood and sent up a long, lonesome howl before taking off through the forest.

He didn’t know where he was going or what he planned on doing when he got there. He simply ran. His body was bloody and beaten from the vampire. The vampires venom, while not strong enough to kill him, was enough to cause intense pain and Grange could feel it weakening him.

Between the bites, the loss of blood, emotional turmoil and sheer exhaustion from the last few days of running, Grange did not make it far before he found himself collapsing to the ground.

He wanted to give up. He wanted to die. He had failed his mate. He had not kept her safe. Dawn was the one and only for both the wolf and man in him. She had been his light. His hope. Everything he would ever need and now she was gone.

Grange was aware of whimpering around him and noses nudging him. He growled and snapped at Trig’s face causing the pup to yelp and jump back. Nickolai stepped forward, laying his scarred gray head on Grange’s back. When Grange tried to snap at him, Nickolai growled and snapped back.

Grange gave up and slumped down and the other wolves curled up against him, sharing in his grief over the loss of their pack sister. They stayed this way for a long time. No one moving, no one pushing anyone to get up.

It was Grange who finally shoved himself weakly to his feet. His body too tired, too beat down to remain a wolf, shifted back to his human form and Nickolai shifted quickly as well, catching Grange when his weak legs caused him to stumble.

“You’ve lost a lot of blood.” Nickolai stated as he put Grange’s arm around his shoulder and helped support the other man.

“I’ve lost more than just blood.” Grange replied, the sound of his cold, emotion free voice shocking even him.

“Is she really dead?” Trig asked sadly as he went to the other side of Grange and helped to support him.

“Do you think I would lie about something like that?!” Grange snapped. Trig whimpered and they began the long walk back to the cabin.

“The pup meant no harm in asking.” Nickolai scolded and Grange glared over at him.

“Do you realize what I’ve lost?” he asked, his voice breaking. Nickolai’s pale blue eyes grew haunted and he nodded.

“Yes. Yes, I realize exactly what you’ve lost for I have been where you are now.” Grange looked at the other man with surprise.

“I didn’t realize….”

“I don’t let the pain show.” Nickolai replied with a shrug. “You will be okay, Grange. Never again good, but okay.”

Grange just stared straight ahead as he let his pack help his weak body get home. He didn’t believe Nickolai. He didn’t believe that he would ever be ‘okay’ again.