Micah

Frig, frig, frig! Who went rogue? Did they take him out? Or is he still lurking around somewhere? How close did he get to the Homestead?

I glance out the window beside me uneasily. Restlessly I look past Mikkarl to look out the driver's side window. I frown at the soft rhythmic thumping and glance down before shifting uncomfortably as I realise it is my leg jerking making my foot tap.

Who went rogue? Did they take him out?

I glance down at my phone in my right hand, a quick glance at Chris in the back seat shows me he is holding his phone as well. A glance at the centre console and I see Mikkarl's phone sitting in the mobile holder.

Who went rogue? Did they take him out? The questions are on repeat in my mind.

"Tell me exactly what you were told!" I say and grit my teeth.

"Lydia sounded like she was panicking. Kept saying 'Oh my God! Oh my God! We need Aaron here! Oh my God!' It sounded like the phone was snatched out of her hand," Mikkarl says and takes a deep breath. "Then a male voice spoke. 'It's Ed here he went rogue shit man we need help to put their pieces back together'. Sounded like he spoke to Lydia trying to calm her, I could hear her crying. Then he said 'Call the doc we need the doc'. He was usin' Steven's phone but it wasn't my brother ..."

"You sure that's all you were told?" I demand of Mikkarl.

Don't think it! There has to be another reason why Steven didn't make the call! Don't jump to conclusions!

The low growl that rumbles in Mikkarl's chest makes my inner cat want to roar his anger and I turn my face towards my window as a low enraged growl escapes me.

Who went rogue? Did they take him out?

I am jerked from my worrying as the vehicle slows dramatically. I look out the front windscreen and frown at the sight of a cow and a very young calf standing on the edge of the road. The calf is wobbly and it trots off the road onto the grassy shoulder while the mother stands her ground as she shakes her head and faces the 4WD as we go by.

"Silly Mumma," Chris in the back chides softly as the vehicle rapidly gains speed once again.

The opening notes of Pink's Raise your Glass ring out and both Mikkarl and I reach for his phone. He is slightly faster than I am and the phone crackles to life beneath his touch.

"Mikkarl?"

Relief floods through me as I hear the voice of my best friend Steven, Mikkarl's brother.

"You're on speaker," Mikkarl says.

"Is there a threat slinking around somewhere?" I ask quickly.

"He's been dealt with," Steven says. His sigh is loud and I can hear him grinding his teeth.

"Chris along as well?" Steven asks tightly.

"Yeah I ..."

"What happened?" I demand cutting off Chris's reply. "Who is hurt?"

"Fuck," It sounds like Steven has covered his mouth with his hand and tried to muffle the sound of his voice.

"We don't know exactly what happened ... think he went after Sasha..." I hear the break in his voice hear, him swallow hard.

"You stopped him but, you kept him away from her!" I snarl. It suddenly makes sense why Lydia was upset. Sasha had witnessed what would have been a savage fight. At

least one of our own was seriously injured if they needed more medical supplies than they had on hand.

"How far out are you?" This time it's Malcolm's strained voice.

"Ten, fifteen," Mikkarl grunts increasing the speed of the vehicle even more.

"Don't kill yourself before getting here," Malcolm growls in warning.

Mikkarl:

Micah and Chris rush from my vehicle before I have put it into park and pulled the handbrake on, I quickly turn the engine off and hurry after them. Micah pushes past Steven as he reaches the top of the steps and hurries inside, my brother turns his head to watch him disappear before turning his attention to Chris who he has stopped at the top step. I hurry up the steps towards them, listening as my brother begins to speak.

"It's bad in there," Steven says and directs a hard look at Chris without looking my way.

"First you check all four injured out and then ..." Steven swallows hard, " And then you work on who has the best chance of survival first."

"Shit!" Chris hisses and I don't envy him the responsibility.

"Who...?" Chris begins but is cut off by the low inhuman cry of distress from inside. Steven flinches and glances towards the door uneasily, I come to a stop and raise a hand to clasp his shoulder firmly. Steven turns his face back towards us, his eyes are red-rimmed and have a haunted look to them. I feel a slight tremor pass through his body and his eyes flit between Chris and I.

"He got to Lilly, Sasha and the boys ..." Stevens voice fails him and I squeeze his shoulder hard as he fights for control.

Chris seems to forcefully pull himself up straighter and heads into the house with a firm tread. I glance at my brother, he is swallowing back tears and I give him a few moments to collect himself.

"What happened?" I ask quietly.

"Annush and Kia were with Lilly, Sasha and the boys down at the river. The boys musta wanted more to eat or something, Annush n Kia come out of the trees down there ..."

I look to where Steven points, his hand is visibly shaking and he runs it through his rumpled hair.

"They were ... you know that feeling you get when you know something bad is about to happen in a horror movie ... I swear it was like a wave of horror hit us all ... we all suddenly started changing then we took off running ... when we got there it was like a scene from some monster horror nightmare only the monster was real ..." Steven makes a sound that is somewhere between a sob and a hysterical laugh.

"He was standing on two legs ... bipedal ... huge claws, horrible stink, he wasn't right you could smell the wrongness ... Rosy suddenly just drops into a stalking crouch and charged like an avenging angel ... I swear I saw sparks arcing between her and the ground and I could feel static electricity, Sam charged right behind her ..."

Steven falls silent for a moment and I know without being told he is back there once again as he remembers what happened.

"It was surreal, there's no way to explain how she hit him so hard without it affecting her even when he slapped her alongside her head ... Rosy took that ... knocked that freak down ... it was mayhem. He'd used those claws of his, it was like he lashed out to hurt and maim Sasha and Lilly so we would rush to help them and he'd have a chance to escape. But we were right there to back her up and he didn't get away." Steven stops talking and glances towards the front door.

"How about we go in?" I ask Steven. I am stunned to see my brother so shaken, whatever awaits us inside must be bad to have shaken him to this degree. I give his shoulder one last squeeze before I drop my hand and take several steps towards the door, behind me Steven gives a soft moan and I know he is following me.

Chris is walking towards us as we enter the house, he hesitates in a doorway before turning away and entering the room. The metallic scent of blood hits me as I stop in the doorway and look inside. There is a small black form on the bed and Rosy is kneeling on the far side of the bed, leaning against the side of the bed as if it is the only thing stopping her becoming a helpless mass on the floor. She has one arm stretched out to rest her fingertips against that still small form. Her eyes are too large for her face and brim with unshed tears as she watches Chris looking for something in the medical bag he has placed on the end of the bed.

Micah stands at the foot of the bed, his massive shoulders are shaking, his head is bowed and his hands are clasping the back of his head. He flicks a glance our way as if sensing our presence and I am shocked by the helpless look on his face. The soft clink of metal on glass diverts my attention and I watch as Chris carefully removes any air from the liquid in the syringe he is preparing. He deftly injects the medicine into the back haunch of the small feline form before looking at Rosy who is watching the small form unblinkingly.

"That should ease any pain he is in," Chris says gently.

"Please he needs you to stitch him up," Rosy pleads lifting tear filled eyes to look at him.

"Ro ..." Chris looks away and swallows uneasily. He reaches a trembling hand out towards the black feline form for a moment before turning away.

"Please," Rosy begs with a quiver in her voice. "I can't remember how to do it,"

"I ..." Chris mumbles. He glances at the kitt clearly torn before he turns away and closes the medical bag with a loud decisive click.

"You have to understand I have to help the others first because I know I can save them if I stitch their wounds up straight away," Chris says hurriedly. "You have to understand."

With those words Chris snatches the bag and hurries from the room pushing past me roughly, I glance back at Rosy. She is looking at the door where Chris left, her eyes flick to mine for a moment and I see the understanding and grief deep in her eyes. She looks back at the form on the bed, presses her lips together tightly and crawls up onto the bed to curl up around the small black body.

"Mumma is here, Mumma is here," Rosy murmurs in a low soothing tone.

I look towards Micah as I hear a thud and see he has dropped to his knees, I back away from the doorway and turn to follow Chris.

"It's Terry," Steven whispers as we head towards where I can hear muted voices.

In the kitchen Sasha is sitting in a chair at the table with Malcolm and Lydia either side of her while Chris is setting out a suturing kit out on a cloth on the table. He flicks a glance our way as Steven follows me into the room.

"Rosy needs to eat, so will Sasha when I finish here," Chris says firmly. "Strong sweet coffee for everyone, food, and plenty of boiling water to sterilise instruments between patients. Someone needs to go check on Kia, Annush, Wynn and Dacey,"

"I'm on kitchen duty," I say as I head for the stove. "Steven, check on the boys, Annush and Kia." I order knowing Steven will do better if he has something to focus on until the shock wears off.

"Annushka is dead," Sasha's whisper quiet voice stops me mid-step and I turn to face the table in stunned disbelief. Chris is staring at Sasha in shock and looks to Malcolm

who scrubs his face with both hands. A female werecat dead, another one ... no two injured, I think as I recall smelling Rosy's blood ... plus Terry seriously, if not fatally injured.

"Bulk quantities of medium rare meat it is," I say firmly as I walk to the large upright deep freezer Rosy and Micah had installed back when this was their home. I quickly take bags of steak, mince and roast from the cold interior, I hesitate a moment as I hear Chris murmuring to Sasha and Malcolm, the words Brachial artery chill my blood. I swallow hard as I push the thought of the main artery that runs directly from the heart and down into the left arm from my vivid imagination as I grab several large frozen bags of pre-cut frozen vegetables.

As I work I listen to Chris talking quietly and soothingly. I make sure to have water on to boil before starting on thawing and cooking the pieces of meat. With a large bowl of half cooked minced steak I call Steven to the stove to cook while I take the food to Rosy.

Rosy

I know without looking the moment Micah enters the house. The sensation of his presence precedes him into the room but I can't make myself take my eyes from our badly wounded son, afraid of what may happen if I stop watching him breathe. I can't form the words to attempt to apologise for not keeping our children safe. A part of me wants to blame myself, I should have been there, I should have prevented this disaster.

I should have I should have ...

Another part of me knows there was no way I could have prevented the events that had culminated in my son laying here on this bed, while the mother in me sobs that this happening to my boy is unfair.

I feel Micah enter the room, a tightness in my chest eases just the slightest. I know I can weather this with him holding me. His footsteps stop and I almost turn my head to look at him but my shame and guilt hold me motionless.

I look up hopefully as Chris comes into the room, he hesitates a moment beside me and I know he is looking at my head where I am dimly aware of a warm wetness. He sucks his breath in sharply between his teeth before turning to Terry where he lies on my bed, his only movement the slightest rise and fall of his ribs as he breathes. He reaches out and lifts the soft damp hand-towel I had used to cover the terrible claw marks with and the wounded shoulder is exposed in all its horror. Torn skin and muscle, ripped flesh that gapes open exposing bone, tendons and ligaments, the delicate tissues already drying out and dying.

The sound that comes from Micah echoes the wounded sound that wants to burst from my inner cat but she refuses to give in to her weakness. While there is life there is hope she insists.

I don't protest as Chris leaves the room with some mumbled talk of checking the other injured. I wait for Micah to approach closer, my chest is tight, and breathing is a task I have to keep reminding myself to do. One of the kitts in my womb stretches and kicks weakly before stilling. My chest is uncomfortably tight, my back aches and I feel sick to my stomach.

Not only did I fail Terry I failed all three of my sons. I should have been there. Now Terry is hurt, Sasha is hurt, Lilly is ... is Lilly dead or alive? And Annush ...

Chris is back and I watch hopefully as he searches through a familiar looking case, his hands tremble slightly as he measures out an injection but there is no shaking as he administers the needle to Terry..

"That should ease any pain he is in," Chris says in a soft voice. Something about the tone of his voice has me looking up at him and begging.

"Please he needs you to stitch him up," I manage before my inner trembling silences me.

"Ro ..." Chris looks away. He reaches a trembling hand out towards Terry for a moment before turning away.

"Please," I plead. "I can't remember how to do it,"

"I ..." Chris glances Terry then turns away and closes the medical bag with a snap that makes my stomach drop.

"You have to understand I have to help the others first because I know I can save them if I stitch their wounds up straight away," Chris says hurriedly. "You have to understand."

I follow him from the room with my eyes. I don't want to understand why he means he is leaving my child to last. I don't want to understand that others are so badly hurt BUT they must come before my child, my boy. I don't want to understand, I really really don't want to understand the WHY ... but I do.

I glance between Mikkarl and Steven who are just inside the doorway. I turn away from the looks on their faces and press my lips together tightly to stop them trembling, to keep my tears at bay as I crawl onto the bed and give my son the only thing I can - the comfort of my presence.

If only Micah would forgive me for not keeping our boys safe, if only he would hold me. Then I know I would be able to face what Chris didn't say.

Micah

Cold dread washes over me as Chris leaves the room, I hear the faint brush of footsteps as others leave but I can't take my eyes from the two forms in front of me.

Why didn't I insist the boys went home with me earlier?

Guilt and self-loathing churn in my stomach until I feel like I am going to be physically ill. The knowledge I had failed the ones most reliant on me burns like acid and weighs heavily on my conscience. Rosy and our sons should have been able to rely on me no matter what!

Wade was right all along! I am a failure! I'll never amount to anything! Now the ones I love the most are suffering for my mistake.

Self-loathing fills me as I pick myself up from my knees and stumble from the room. I barely make it outside before I loose the contents of my stomach. I stay bent over, my hands on my knees as I close my eyes and take slow deep breaths to steady myself. When the shaking finally stops I open my eyes and stand upright before looking around. Ed is standing a short distance away, clearly he would rather wait for someone he respects to come out and talk to him. I glance back at the dark entrance of the house before turning towards him. The least I can do is speak with the warriors so the others can stay where they are needed, wanted.

"What can you tell me about what happened?" I ask. Ed steps towards me with a relieved expression on his face.

"Ceskia, Annushka, Lilly and Miss Sasha had taken the three boys down to the creek after the werewolves had left," Ed says with a nod. "I was down stream about a good mile and a half from them about to start replacing that rusted section of wiring in the fence. It's a simple job, one person, well everything was ... well normal then suddenly it felt like someone had run an electrical current through me. I found myself down on my hands and knees changing but I hadn't made a decision to change, it hit me like I was demanded or commanded to change. Then I heard Miss Sasha and Lilly start screaming like they were being murdered and I was up and running to them to help them," Ed stops and takes a deep breath glancing at the other toms who had gathered around.

"When I saw them Miss Sasha was making the boys run ahead of her, the two little ones were running for all they were worth. Dacey had hold of Wynn dragging as fast as he could go, Lilly was out of sight for a bit but I could hear her yelling and swearing up a blue streak. When she came into view there was a little black kitt with her and both where trying to hold off something. Lilly had a long piece of branch, the little one was all growling and teeth and claws flashing. I recognised John, I'd seen him in that form before. He sent the little cat flying with one swat of a paw and when Lilly turned her head he knocked her down as he went after Miss Sasha. I got there just in time to distract him before he could pick her up in his front limbs and run off with her. Then everyone else started showing up." Ed stops to take a deep breath before resuming.

As Ed continues his recount of what happened my stomach turns at the picture his words paint and my guilt increases. He pauses and we watch as Rosy's Uncle who is a practicing vet arrives, Ed is silent for a moment as he glances at me but I nod and ask him to continue. I know my Rosy couldn't want me in there with her.

Rosy

I sit motionless on the chair I had been forced to sit on. I don't take my eyes off Ceskia who is in cat form as she lays curled around Terry. I ignore the slight burn of my scalp as Chris works to sew the large gash in my scalp up. I don't take my eyes from that small black body, those little ribs that rise and fall as he takes each breath. I can hear Chris muttering to himself as he works, I can hear others walking around within the Homestead but still my attention remains on my son.

"Hallo Tawny,"

I know the voice but don't look away from the bed.

"What have we here?"

The growl on my lips slowly dies as I remember the form that moves to bend over Terry and gently lift the cloth covering his shoulder. A stethoscope is used to listen to his heart and lungs before his gum colour is checked. My eyes search the strange yet familiar face that turns to look at me and for a moment I can't remember his name.

"You have surgical training Chris?" My uncle asks.

"I am trained as a paramedic," Chris answers from behind me. "I've never done surgery. Doc ... err Aaron has always done anything major,"

"Okay, you will be able to assist me," Unca takes a deep breath as he glances around the room.

"What do you need?" Chris asks as he gives several small tugs that make another section of my scalp feels as if it's being pulled tight.

I block out the drone of their voices and concentrate on watching my son as the steady sequence of burning jabs and tightening tugs continues. Gradually the dirty ends of my fringe lift until they no longer brush against my nose and cheeks. I grit my teeth as Chris uses his fingers to squeeze any extra blood from beneath my scalp before resuming stitching.

I find myself looking into my uncle's face as he squats down in front of me and I blink back tears at the sad look on his face.

"I can operate to relieve the pressure from the skull fracture. The damage to the shoulder is beyond repair and your son will be able to manage without the leg. " A soft sigh comes from him as he covers my clenched hands with one of his own.

"Will you give me permission to remove his leg so he has a chance to live?"

I feel tears begin to roll down my cheeks and I nod when I can't force words past the thick lump in my throat.

"You save his life and we will help him live with the cost," Lydia says from the doorway.

I glance her way, my vision blurred by tears and mouth the words 'Thank you'. I can smell Sasha and watch as she walks in with Malcolm by her side. Her left arm is heavily bandaged and strapped against her body holding it immobile, scratches from small branches mar her face and neck but they are barely more than broken skin. She crouches at my feet, leaning against my legs as she buries her face against my thighs.

"I'm sorry I didn't protect Terry from getting hurt," Sasha sobs as her body shudders against my legs.

I glance down at her motionless for a few seconds. I find myself threading the fingers of both my hands through her hair and forcing her to lift her head and look at me. A strong hand descends on my shoulder gripping firmly and I hear a growl come from Malcolm as I attempt to shrug his warning hold off.

"Sasha," I say firmly as I meet her eyes. "It was not your fault. It just happened. It is no ones fault. Sometimes things just happen."

As I say the words I feel the power of them wash over me. It is true.

No one is to blame. And sometime in the future the WHY they had to happen will become clear.

Sasha holds my gaze as I loosen my hold on her hair and stroke my fingers over the strands, I tuck some hair behind her ears and manage a watery smile as I cup her face and lean my forehead against hers.

"I am so glad you will be okay," I whisper softly.

"Ummm ... I have something that should belong to you,"

I open my eyes and lift my head at the nervous words from her. I glance down at the object wrapped in stained material that she places on my thighs. Carefully she unwraps the bundle with her free hand to reveal an old leather bound book. I stare at the etching of Mount Warning on the front cover and the word stamped into the leather below the picture.

Jeddah

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