Icey eyes grazed over the small pack as they moved about through the forest below. Tiny yips came from the three pups as they tumbled around with their father cause the she-wolf at the top of the ledge to hackle. With a short bark from a large brown wolf in the center of the all the chaos, the wolf stood from her position and began trotting back towards her family.

The snow white she-wolf was only yards away when a weak copper scent hit her snout. Pausing, the wolf scanned the area looking for signs of trouble. Nothing. 'You better hurry up before we leave you' a voice laughed in her head. 'Right because you can get so far without me' she mocked knowing very well the pack was not going to leave without their alpha. There was no response, only the sweet sound of silence. The wolf once again began her descent towards her pack, only to be stopped once again by the sickening small of copper.

 
Focusing on the smell, the wolf took off away from her destination and let the scent guide her. It almost became to much when she spotted spots of blood on the white ground. The sight made her whimper, she knew something wasn't right. With her hair raised and the ears pointed, the alpha stalked along the path until she froze upon the scene in front of her. Growling, the white wolf inched closer and closer and then let out a soft whimper as her eyes raked over the small body lying in a puddle of crimson. Shoving her nuzzle into its hide, she prayed to the moon goddess that the pup would move, but there was no response. Her heart dropped and she collapsed, pulling the small wolf against her own body. Shuddering, the wolf howled into the night, images of the pup flowing out to the rest of the pack. One by one howls appeared into the daylight, a sorrowful song shifting through the winds.

Klaire shot from her bed with a small scream. "Lilli..." She called out as she searched the room for her friend. When only silence replied, her heart dropped. With the dream still haunting her memory, Klaire jumped from her bed and ran from the room searching desperately for her alpha. Every door she opened she was met with disappointment, Lillian was no where to be found. Klaire reached for another door when something groaned behind her. Turning slowly, Klaire's eyes widened as a small shadow began taking a shape of its own and started creeping forward. More began to follow that first, and suddenly all of them were moaning out in pain, calling out her name as the cornered her at the end of the hall way. "No!" Klaire dropped to the floor with her knees against her chest and covered her ears in hopes to make the noise go away. Nothing worked. She froze as a large figure hovered over her, it's hand reaching out.

"Klairey?" A soft voice cut through the darkness. Rayce was standing in front of his open door way staring in shock as Victoria moved across the hallway to reach Klaire. A sob broke free and Klaire tackled into Victoria hoping everything would go away.

"It h...happened again. Lillian is gone...I...I don't know where she is...but it's happening again!"

"Calm down, I'm here and everything is okay." Looking up to her mate, Victoria sent a mental link telling him to find Lillian. He nodded and took off, sending glances back to the two girls until he was out of sight. When Victoria knew they were alone, she pulled Klaire into her lap and held her close as she lost control of her tears. "It's okay now. Just close your eyes and breath. Lilli will be here soon." Klaire tried to speak, but her breath wad unstable and every word just turned into ragged puffs of air. Closing her eyes, Klaire's brain sparked to life and images came flooding back. She cried out at the despair drowning the small she-wolf as it shoved it's nuzzle into the small pups lifeless pup. It was like a storm was crashing through her heart tearing everything to shreds. No matter how hard she tried, there was so much pain. Klaire clung to Victoria as she whimpered in pain. Her body was on fire, sweat soaked her tank top, beads dripping down her neck as she began fighting consciousness.

"Klaire!" Victoria shook the girl in her arms as her eyes began dilating. "Klaire! You've got to fight it! Stay awake! Lillian is coming, she's on her way-"

"What's going on?" Looking up, Victoria found Rayce behind their alpha. His eyes were quick to slide off of the she-wolf and on to the girl in her arms.

"I couldn't find Lillian, and he's her mate..." Rayce held up his hands in defense.

"Do you actually want to help, cause if you don't, then either leave or make yourself useful and find your sister." She snapped.

"Don't you dare-"

"Make up your god damn mind!" She screamed. He stared at her in shock. The she-wolf had a look that could kill, and Damien knew she would go in for the kill if given the chance.

"What do you want me to do?" He growled.

"Hold her, act like an actual mate."

"I'm not going to hold her."

"Get over yourself Damien! I get it, you hate humans, I know what they did was wrong, but Klaire is your mate. She is the one who is going to get you through the tough times! She is the one who is going to give you the power to protect the things that you actual care about! So can't you for one second stop looking at her like she is the fucking enemy and see her for what she is? She is your mate, your other fucking half. She was a gift given to you by our goddess even after all the shit you did. You don't deserve her Damien! Klaire is way to precious for someone like you to have, yet here she is, and if you would simply be nice to her, she would give you everything because that's the kind of person person she is! So get over your stupid pride and take care of her!" Victoria stared at him through angered eyes and waited for his response. He nodded slowly, surprised by her tone towards him, and then sunk to the ground closeenought for Victoria to hand over his mate.

The moment Damien had her, Klaire began to resist. Victoria was always the one to comfort her, but Damien was the last person she wanted around. She trashed in his arms, cries slipping through her lips as she pushed away. She was close, his grip slowly loosing, but Rayce was quick to speak.

"Klaire it's obvious that something has upset you, and I understand that Damien is the person that you did not want, but he is your mate. Having a mate means a lot, you nee to let him calm you down. That's one of the functions of a mate, they are there to help you gain control when your lost."

"Rayce..." She wimpered.

"Just listen to his heart. Let the beat of it give yours a rhythm to match. Let his breath flow with yours, let him take control and give you back the hold you once had. It will help Klarissa. You may not like it, but it is what you need." Klaire paused in her struggles and let the words soak in. He was right, she needed to calm the storm of emotions wirling inside her chest. With a ragged breath, Klaire let Damien pull her fully against him, and closed her eyes, focusing on the soft pounding within his chiseled chest. It was soft, like rain drips falling from the sky onto a small patch a grass.

Every beat pushed away the images flashing on the back of her eyelids. It was strange, it took only a matter of seconds, and her own heart began slowing down in order to meet the speed of her mates. The corners of her lips tugged up forming a peaceful smile as a soft purr erupted from his chest, pulling her deeper and deeper into the darkness that was Damien.

"Are you good?" He whispered tenderly against her head. She nodded, to consumed by the vibration to answer with words. "Good." Damien pressed his lips on the top of her head, and then suddenly stood up. Klaire looked up and stared. He was pissed.

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly.

"Don't ever call me for shit like this again." He turned on his heel and stomped off. Victoria let put a sigh as soon as he disappeared down the ladder well.

"And they say girls are moody."

"I really don't get that guy."

"Who don't you get?" Lillian questioned towards Rayce's remark as she slipped from the shadows. Klaire forced out a joyful smile and crashed into her friend.

"No one Lill, where have you been?"

"Couldn't sleep so I went for a run. How long have you been up?"

"Like an hour, you weren't there when I woke up so I decided to go look for you."

"Oh, so why were you on the ground?"

Klaire let out a nervous laugh and came up with the most believable excuse that her brain could create, "Well you see I began shouting your name thinking you would respond and Victoria opened her door to yell at me to stop and when she did I was surprised and because of that I turned around a little too fast and fell on my face. Vicki felt bad so she came to my rescue."

"And they call me the clutz?"

"I know right? Well do you want to head back to bed or go get ready for the day?" Lillian looked at the watch on her wrist and then grabbed onto Klaire with a grin.

"Five in the morning breakfast sounds great to me!"

"Your crazy!" Klaire groaned and reluctantly followed her friend towards the kitchen. With a quick glance she smiled at Victoria.

Everything was quiet after the girls left, when given the right moment Rayce finally questioned his mate.

"What was that about Tori?"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter anymore." She gave him a small peck on the cheek and pulled him back into their room with a grin on her face.

A/N: Damien just can't be nice can he? All Klaire needs is a little care from the guy and it's like the moment he shows the slightest emotion, he goes all cold. Klaire really does deserve someone better.

Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated, I have become very busy lately, and trust me I would much rather be lazy and give the wonderful readers of mine more to read.

Also, I shall be going over the earlier chapters and updating them slowly. If my updates became slower then that is why.

Last thing! So I'm still having troubles coming up with the plot of Blazing Protection, it's just not sitting right in my gut if you know what I mean. So I might instead be adding my book Chained, but it will only be a preview. The book is my baby, I've edited that thing over and over again, each chapter has been written, typed and then retyped and sometimes typed a third time depending on what my mind created. Anyway that is my news. I hope you have enjoyed Crossfire so far and will also enjoy the rest!