Thane

It all seems to happen in slow motion, Astrea being ten feet away from me one second, then pushing me to the ground the next. I look up just as the gunshot rings out...and my heart wrenches in my chest as she stares at her blood covered hand.

"Astrea!!" I scream as I run towards her, watching with horror as she begins to fall to the ground, blood staining the shirt under her denim jacket. I manage to catch her before she hits the ground, pulling her to my chest as she lays across my lap.

She...she just took a bullet for me...

"Shit, I can't see him, we need to get the hell out of here!" Nesryn yells, firing a few shots in the direction of the sniper, and I jump as a bullet narrowly misses my head.

"Get her to the car! And put pressure on the wound, the bastards are packing silver bullets!" She yells again, "I'll cover you, go!!"

I pick up my wounded mate princess style and begin running to the car, trying to keep myself as low as possible to avoid getting hit. I somehow manage to open the back door and dive into the backseat, cradling Astrea in my arms.

Dear Goddess, please don't take her from me...

I dig around frantically in the car for anything I can use, and thankfully find a first aid kit under the passenger seat. I hold one hand over the wound to somehow stop the bleeding as I rummage through the kit and pull out the gauze and Ace bandages, the sounds of gunfire making my heart race faster.

Needing to get to the injury, I rip off both the denim jacket and the black long sleeve shirt to reveal the white tank top underneath, most of it soaked with her blood...

Dear Goddess...

I shake my head and begin wrapping the gauze around her chest and over the bullet wound, it being so close to her heart only giving me more anxiety than I already have right now. After I go through the whole roll of gauze I go to the Ace bandages, trying to wrap it tight enough to stop the bleeding, but not so much it cuts off circulation. As I finish with the bandages Nes dives into the drivers seat, immediately cranking up the car and squealing out of the lot like the devil was chasing us, her breathing heavy as we race through the town.

"How is she?" She bites out, preoccupied with driving ten miles over the speed limit.

"Stabilizing...but she's still in bad shape, she's lost a lot of blood." I murmur as I cradle her to my chest a little tighter, her heartbeat is weak but steady...and the bleeding has finally stopped.

"Good, cover her with a blanket, last thing we need is someone seeing you and her covered in blood. Put your seatbelt on too, we cannot be pulled over like this."

I do as she says quickly, knowing she's right. With me and Snowdrop covered in blood, and all the weapons we have in the trunk...we'd be in deep shit if we got pulled over right now.

"I just don't know where to go...the original plan was to go to our secret safe house in Oregon, but she won't make it there without real medical care...but where the hell can we take her that won't ask questions or turn us in?" She asks, more to herself than me...and I sigh in resignation as the only solution comes to mind.

"I know a place."

She looks at me with surprise, then expectantly as she waits for me to continue.

"It's in Enumclaw, a little over an hour from here...it's home to the Silverclaw Warriors, a Unit of Bear Shifters." I explain.

"What's your connection there? Friends with the Chief of Silverclaw?" She asks, and I sigh.

"He's my father..."

She stays quiet, but I can see the shock on her face from here. And I honestly can't blame her, me being the Chief's son isn't exactly something I advertise...though part of me wonders if Astrea already knew that about me before she even tracked me down. I look down at her face, it's tense expression reminding me that she's most likely still in a lot of pain. I cup her cheek gently, her skin soft but damp with sweat.

"It's our best option...just keep an eye on her, I'll have to go the speed limit to avoid unnecessary attention." She answers at last.

"I don't plan on taking my eyes off of her at all." I answer, watching as little Ivory climb up to Astrea's face and lick it with soft whines, then curling up on her chest protectively.

"I know...just help me with directions, and help her."

I nod and turn back to Astrea, stroking my fingers through her almost white hair, hoping that it brings hers some comfort somehow.

"Look, I need to know...is there something going on with you and your father? You sounded tense when you brought him up." She asks after a few minutes of silence, and I sigh.

"It's just...I haven't been home in six years, as far as my family is concerned, I'm a rogue." I answer.

"Does this mean you won't be allowed on the territory?"

"I'm not sure, I don't think I'll be banned from entering...there will just be a lot of explaining to do on my end."

"Is it alright if I ask why you left the Unit?"

I hesitate, a little bit ashamed of the reason.

"I was...a troubled kid, I had a lot of anger issues as a teenager, even in my early twenties. I got into a lot of fights, most of which I started, so I got into a lot of trouble with the law. I've been arrested a few times, for fighting, underage drinking, destruction of property...I was a pretty bad kid."

Everything was normal until after my first shift, then I just seemed so full of unexplained aggression, and I vented it in all the worst ways.

"That explains why you're in the ICE system, we have a tendency of keeping records of supernatural creatures that have repeatedly been arrested, especially ones of high ranking families. But that doesn't explain why you left your home." She answers, and I sigh as I listen in on Astrea's breathing.

"I got into so much trouble that the Council and my parents agreed that I was unfit to become the next Chief at age 24, and that it was best that my younger brother Tripp take over instead when he was old enough. I was furious, I had been trained most of my life to succeed my father, only to be told a year before my succession that my brother would be taking it instead...I felt so betrayed...I left."

"That sounds rough." She murmurs.

"It was, but after a while of living on my own I realized they were right...that my behavior wasn't becoming of a Chief, and that behavior as one would be detrimental to the Unit. But by then I had cut off all contact with my family, and I figured it would better if I stayed on my own."

I've honestly missed my family a lot, training sessions and fishing with my father, cooking and putting together puzzles with my mother, and the friendly competitions I had with my little brother.

"To be truthful Thane, I think they'll be happy to see you again...I don't think they'll turn you away, especially considering the circumstances. You've obviously matured a lot since you left." She reassures, and I smile before looking back down at my injured mate. The sight of tears trailing from her tightly closed eyes startles me immensely, and I pull her closer as I try to wipe them away...but the sudden sound of her whimpering breaks my heart.

"Please...please don't leave me..." She whispers, her voice so soft I almost didn't recognize it. She sounds so scared...so hurt, I can't stand it.

"It's okay Snowdrop, it's okay...I'm right here." I murmur, pressing my forehead to hers gently. I honestly don't know what shes dreaming about, but it's obviously something that's hurting her.

"Don't leave me...don't..." She cries, grabbing on tightly to my shirt, and I pull her up so that her head rests over my heart.

"Never, I'll never leave your side Snowdrop. I promise." I whisper in her ear, hoping she can hear me.

I promise love, I promise.

Nesryn

I watch from the review mirror as Thane soothes Astrea as he holds her in his arms, trying to get her tears to subside as she has that dream again. That awful dream made of her worst memories...the one I wish I could take away from her so it never caused her this much grief.

But, that seems to be Thanes responsibility now, for as he comforts her through it her tears start to slowly quiet down...something I was never able to do no matter how much I tried.

I'm a bit hurt, but I understand. He's her Beloved, her soulmate, he was bound to bring her more comfort than I ever could as her sister. And that's perfectly okay, she deserves all the love she can get, and I know that Thane is perfect for her.

~He's exactly what she needs in her life. She deserves a mate's unconditional love more than anyone we've ever met.~ My wolf Thorn murmurs, and I agree completely.

~~~~~

We drive the rest of the way in silence, except for Thanes quiet instructions on how to get to his home in Enumclaw. I've truthfully heard a lot about this particular Bear Unit, most of the shifters consist of Kodiak bears like Thane, the second largest bear shifter next to polar bears.

They have a history of being very ferocious and aggressive in nature, but considering Thane is in the backseat gently cradling his mate like she's the most fragile thing on the planet, perhaps the rest of them have a gentle side as well. At least with their mates, if no one else.

Turning the wheel to take the exit to Enumclaw, I wince as the pain in my arm flares up again. I accidentally got grazed by one the bullets in the gunfight back there, but considering Astrea is in far worse condition I can suck up the pain until we're safe....whatever the hell that means for us now.

As we pass into the city limits a few minutes later, I look to the rearview mirror to see Thane playing with Star's hair.

"Where to next?" I ask, and he glances out window.

"Turn left at the third stoplight, then onto the dirt path on the right. The path is a bit rough, so you'll have to be careful going up the mountain." He answers, and I nod as I begin following his instructions.

"How is she doing?"

"Hanging in there, but she's sweating a lot and her breathing is really rapid." He says, and I curse.

"Check her injury, tell me how it looks."

He pulls back the blanket and raises the bandages, and I can tell by the look on his face that it's not good.

"It's really dark, and hot...even more so than I am." He says with slight panic, and I curse again.

"Shit, a piece of the bullet must have broken off before it went through. She getting silver poisoning."

I speed up a little and run through the yellow light, turning onto the dirt path afterwards. With it that close to her heart, it could turn deadly fast...

"Come on Snowdrop, just hang in there a little longer." Thane pleads, and I grunt as we travel up the bumpy road a little faster than is recommended.

After what seems like a lifetime of driving, I see a sign that marks the entrance to the Silverclaw territory. But as I turn in I hit the brakes as a wall of bears block my path, with a lone unshifted male standing in front of them.

"Thane, you better start explaining. Now."