Ronan saw red. He heard nothing, felt nothing but the frantic pull of that meaningless pulse beneath his unrelenting fingers, and tightened.

"You're dead." He drawled furiously on a baneful snarl.

"Ronan – " a feminine voice exclaimed from a remote place apart from his rage, "Don't kill him!" suddenly a hand clamped around his forearm, fingers digging, struggling to loosen his hold.

He was vaguely aware of anything in that moment. He felt the fury in him intensifying, churning deep and bloodthirsty stirring that feral side of him. He felt the imminent shudder beneath his skin, a subtle cautioning that his beastly other roused to the avowal of bloodshed, and grinned toothily as he imagined the mortal's neck snapping beneath his fingers.

It would be so easy.

"Ronan!" commanded that feminine voice and then, "She will hate you!"

He stiffened from his reverie as if doused in icy realization as he dragged his gaze to the woman clasping his arm, "Bennett –"

Julie peered beseechingly with cerulean eyes, "If you kill him, Kate will hate you for it."

He tried wrapping his mind around those words despite the violent fog that clouded his thought process. His jaw tightened, going taut as he inhaled a deep, measurable breath. "He deserves to die."

Her fingers tightened, "Not by you."

His silver eyes narrowed, surveying the vermin nearly blue at the base of his fingers. This bastard, this pathetic slip of human waste, had tormented Kate. He had discolored the beauty of her skin in shades of black and blue, split her beautiful, kissable mouth with a crack to the face. He had dared to snuff the very light from those beautiful, green eyes. He had taken something so precious from her; forsaking her to a chasm of emptiness.

He felt his fury rekindling, darkening to something precariously ruthless. He had the bastard at arm's length. He could kill him with a simple flick of his wrist and think nothing more of it. It was that simple. Kate would be safe. She would no longer live in fear of this third-rate waste of skin. The world would be a better place without him.

She would hate you for it. Bennett's warning struck a vital chord and it resonated through that impenetrable haze of red.

Kate had witnessed a part of his true self and he recalled the terror that had glinted discernibly in those green eyes. She had perceived him as a monster and to kill this man would simply magnify her fear of him.

Reluctantly, his beast grunting its displeasure, he released the man and he crumpled to the street in a hapless heap.

He took a step back and fisted his hands, "Where is she?" he asked Bennett, his eyes never straying from the unconscious human.

"She's in the diner."

He averted his attention to Julie, "Take her home." He commanded once more. "Make sure she stays there."

"What are you going to do?" her eyes glanced fleetingly to the man at their feet.

Ronan hadn't time to contemplate the man's fate for he felt a sudden prickling of peril at the nape of his neck and stiffened.

"Get out of here." He growled low, warningly, "Now!"

Julie blanched and spun on her heel as a peal of laughter rang from the dark, producing two distinct shadows as they stepped beneath the moonlight.

"Your mercy astounds me." Von hissed, ambling forward as Draven advanced to the right of him. "I doubt Roux would feel the same."

Ronan narrowed his eyes, his fists tightening as he braced for a fight. "Have you come for me to finish you off?" he barked ominously.

Black eyes glinted savagely, "Nothing would be more gratifying than to watch you bleed."

Ronan smirked, "I encourage you to try, but I promise death awaits you."

Von paused, his thin lips broadening into a cruel snarl as the darkness shifted, betraying a sudden shape, and then another. Ronan tensed, surveying the bodies circling, enclosing around him, multiple pairs of glowing eyes peering back at him.

He growled low in his throat and summoned his beast.

"We need to go!" Julie urged, appearing above her and grasping her arm.

Kate grimaced as a familiar, dull pain shot through her ribs, "What's happening?" she demanded, her voice unbearably raspy as she pressed a palm to her throat where Danny's hands had been only a moment ago.

"Julie!" she implored painfully, seizing her friend's forearm with sudden alarm. "Did Ronan kill him?"

Julie froze, anchored by those wide, green eyes and shook her head. "No."

"You saw him." Kate asserted, "You saw what he is."

Her friend inhaled a deep breath, her shoulders dropping in accordance as her expression betrayed little disturbance with this truth.

Kate's brows drew together in a puzzled line, "Why do you look as though you're not as shocked?"

"Kate – " Julie interjected, " – I'll explain everything later, but now is not a good time." She regained her grip and proceeded to pull her outside. "We have to go."

A foreboding draft struck her icily in the face but it wasn't so much the chilling air that gave her pause, but the menacing and violent snarls that impaled the night, riveting her with a crippling and horrifying fear. "What is that?" she croaked.

Julie said nothing but tightened her grip, dragging her towards the jeep. "Get in!" she ordered sharply.

Her heart erupted against her chest as another outburst of savage growls rendered like a crackling force against the gloom. "Ronan – " her eyes widened, a fear unlike anything she'd ever encountered taking hold of her, immobilizing her.

"Get in the jeep, Kate!" Julie bellowed.

Kate cast an agonizing glance toward the alleyway, those heinous snarls resounding like thunder to her ears. She climbed into the jeep as Julie turned the ignition. She slammed her foot down and the vehicle jolted forward.

"You knew?" Kate drawled incredulously, gaping at her friend warily.

Julie gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles whitened beneath the flickering street lights. "I wanted to tell you."

Kate shrank against the door, her eyes widening as they swept distrustfully over her friend. "What are you?"

Cerulean eyes glanced briefly at her before lulled back to the road ahead, "Human." She assured quickly.

"You knew what Ronan was and yet you didn't tell me?"
"Would you have believed me?" Julie attested.

Kate fell silent, mulling that over. No – she wouldn't have. She hadn't believed Ronan. And now her world was completely and utterly flipped upside down. "What was happening back there?" and when her friend appeared on the verge to say nothing, added, "You owe me an explanation."

Julie exhaled an exasperated breath, "I'm not sure, but it didn't bode well for any of us."

"You're not just human." she argued, "Are you like him? Are you a w-werewolf?" the very word made her shudder as trepidation swept over her.

Julie chuckled over the steering wheel, "Hardly!"

"I don't find any of this amusing." Kate snapped.

"I'm sorry." Julie expressed with a hint of remorse. "This must be very terrifying for you." She peered at Kate from across the jeep, her expression turning direct. "All the stories you were told as a little girl of things that go "bump in the night", they are all very real."

Kate turned a shade whiter, her stomach coiling with a sinking feeling. "Like what exactly?"

Julie peered ahead, her fingers tightening about the steering wheel. "Werewolves, vampires – "

"Vampires?" Kate exclaimed, "You can't be serious?" shaking her head, she added, "You all have gone mad."

"I wish I had." Julie answered sincerely.

If she could shrink any further into the door, she would have. She pushed a shaky hand through her tangled hair, realizing what a disheveled mess she must look, and swallowed, wincing against the ache that followed.

"So, who are you really?" she demanded once more, eyeing Julie with wary, green eyes.

Julie sighed heavily, declaring softly, "My father was a hunter. I come from a lineal descent of vampire hunters."

"Y-you're a vampire hunter?" Kate asked skeptically.

Julie nodded, "And a waitress." She added with a small grin from across the way.

"D-do you hunt werewolves?" she couldn't believe she was having this conversation. For the first time in her life she felt inclined to seek comfort from the bottom of a whiskey bottle. She rarely drank, having witnessed its absolute ruin at its finest in Danny.

"A werewolf justly becomes a target if they turn rogue."

Kate frowned, "Rogue? What is that?"

"A rogue wolf submits entirely to carnage. They turn recluse, abandoning their laws, their pack, and every shred of compassion for the living – no matter the species. They bend entirely beneath the will of their beast, and they want but one thing – bloodshed."

Kate suppressed a tremor and then recalling the article from the newspaper earlier that day, gasped, "Are there any in BlackMountain?"

Julie shook her head, "I cannot say for certain. There have been two attacks thus far and it doesn't bode well for Ronan."

Her heart wrenched, "Why?" she demanded.

"Ronan is Alpha. He is bound by certain obligations. He will be held accountable if a member of his pack committed these crimes."

"You hunt vampires, why not werewolves too?"

"I have only known Ronan and his pack. Before me, my father had made a pact with Royce Morrissey, Alpha of the BlackMountain pack."

"Royce?" Kate asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Ronan's father." Julie answered and Kate realized in that moment just how little she knew of Ronan and his family – of wolves. "From my understanding the wolves wanted to coexist peacefully, undetected among humans. To ensure that, Royce vowed that he and his pack would not hunt or harm humans, in fact, they would see to protecting all inhabitants of BlackMountain and its accompanying towns."

"And your father?"

"He wanted the same and in return vowed to not hunt any of the wolves, becoming an ally of sorts, unless of course a wolf proved to be a threat, then their arrangement was void to the wolf in question."

Kate sighed, her body relaxing as they pulled into her gravel drive.

"But not all wolves are alike, Kate." Julie warned, "Keep in mind that there are some that would not think twice on killing us."

She trembled at that prospect.

They had stopped just short of her house and Kate realized Julie had not switched off the ignition, frowning, she asked, "Aren't you coming in?"

Julie smiled subtly, "Has your trust in me been restored then?" and added, "I'm afraid I can't."

A panic hastened over her, "What do you mean you can't?"

Julie shifted to better peer at her, "Go inside and lock the doors. Do not open them for anyone but Ronan or I, do you understand?"

Kate paled, "How can you leave – "

"I don't want to." Julie interjected, "But the wolves shifting while in town, it goes against the treaty. I have to report to my family on what's happened."

As understanding dawned, Kate resisted another tremor. She had never been this petrified before in her life. Not even with Danny. She couldn't turn to anyone, not even Ronan. Her stomach sank to the pit of her stomach as she recalled those inhumane snarls splintering the night. She hadn't believed any of Ronan's lycanthropy nonsense and had in fact, believed him somewhat criminally insane. Yet, despite all that, she couldn't deny the irresistible attraction between them. She was like a moth to a flame. How could she turn from this with a sane mind?

She had trusted Julie. She had given herself completely to Ronan. How could she trust anyone in this town from this point onward?

There's no turning back. Ronan's declaration suddenly replayed on her brain as she remembered their lovemaking and the heated promise of his words as they advanced forcibly to the frontal of her thoughts. You'll be mine.

Kate drew in a sharp, audible breath as her heart all but slammed against her chest. Oh, Lord! What had she done?

She pressed a hand against her mouth as if to quell a cry.

At the time, she had been so enraptured with him, so enthralled with his caresses and kisses that she hadn't paid any heed to the words he had cited.

Her heart froze within her chest.

He had claimed her, just as he said he would do. And now she was his. They were mates for life. He would come for her. He would take her. No matter her defenses, no matter her objections. And there was nothing she could do about it.

"Kate?" Julie commanded of her attention.

It took every bit of her willpower to not crumple into a heap of tears. She was shutting down, withdrawing into that shell of herself. How could she have let her guard down? How could she have let herself fall for a man who wanted nothing but ownership over her?

She didn't know what to say to Julie in that moment. She needed separation and so she pushed open the door and climbed from the jeep.

"Kate, are you okay?" Julie demanded her tone fraught with concern.

"I'm fine." She muttered, "I'll see you later." and hurried inside.

Fuck. He was bleeding profusely, could feel the sticky, warm substance of his blood seeping from the lacerations on his chest and thigh.

He hadn't fully transformed into his wolf, which had cost him, having gained a few wounds for his attackers had taken on their beastly others, their sleek coats glistening beneath the radiant moon.

He struggled to focus on the onslaught of talons and jowls for his thoughts continuously strayed to Kate. Had Bennett gotten her safely home? Was she hurt? Had any of Nico's wolves followed them?

The latter forced a vicious roar from his throat as he launched midair to intercept two kappas' advancing him head on. He deflected their blows with an ease that proclaimed his alpha prowess, but he was weakening, and fast.

They kept coming from every angle of darkness that encompassed him, all the while, Von stood apart from the fray, smirking.

I'll kill you! He vowed silently. If harm comes to her in any way, I'll rip you apart!

He felt a sudden set of jowls clamp fiercely about his left thigh, nearly forcing him to his knees. He grasped the wolf's thick neck and with just enough force, snapped the bone effortlessly.

The wolf crumpled to his feet and Ronan staggered forward, his frame slightly hunched over from the agonizing pain filtering his limbs.

"Do not kill him!" Von snarled to the wolves crouching forward. "Save him for Roux."

"Come at me!" Ronan roared, silver eyes clashing furiously with black.

Von ambled forward, the wolves parting from his path as he peered down the bridge of his nose at Ronan, his thin mouth peeling into a minatory sneer. "I will enjoy watching Roux rip you apart, but not before you watch me peel the very flesh from your woman."

Ronan thundered an ungodly growl, gnashing his teeth as he launched, mindless of the pain, straight for Von's jugular.

Taken aback by Ronan's abrupt charge, Von stumbled backward, motioning the others to attack as he barely escaped the talons whizzing perilously close to his throat.

He cursed as he connected with nothingness and braced his body for the onset of wolves coming at him. He proceeded to fight them off, one by one, weakening all the more. When at last his legs gave way beneath him to a pool of blood, he collapsed to the cold, unforgiving concrete.

Their snickers resonated in the dark and he felt them drawing near.

Get up, damn it! She needs you. You need her.

Ronan rolled to his shins, gritting his teeth and tasting blood as he staggered afoot. They stared at him uneasily, passing glances from one to the other as he loomed furiously before them.

"Attack!" Von bellowed angrily. "What the hell are you waiting for?"

And as Ronan squared his shoulders for another assault, pulling a ragged breath into his lungs, he sensed the suddenness of a welcoming and familiar presence as the darkness unleashed an outline of several bodies, one in particular poised in the center, as a menacing tone so unlike his beta, commanded from the shadows.

"Kill them softly, boys." Micah announced with chilling ease.

**********