3rd Person POV

Cassius walked into the packhouse clearing to find his dad, Michel and a couple of others standing outside the packhouse. Michel was holding his arm as he spoke aggressively to the others. His dad looked disgruntled and lost in thought.

"What's going on," Raphael asked.

Cassius came to stand beside him, Azriel partially hidden behind his body.

"One of those rouges infiltrated the territory and took a chunk out of my arm," Michel said dramatically.

He took his hand off his arm to reveal what was little more than a scratch. Cassius resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Michel had broken his leg when he was twelve and had barely shed a tear but when he wanted to he could whine about a scratch for hours, the prick.

"I can fix that," Azriel said graciously.

Before Michel could protest, Azriel's glowing hands had erased the scratch and the scar that it probably would have left.

"Whatever. That rouge is still alive and dad won't let me kill it," Michel said angrily, still sounding like a spoiled brat.

Cassius would have tried and potentially failed at kicking his ass for being rude to Azriel but now wasn't the time.

"You captured a rouge? Alive," Raphael asked in shock.

"Well yes it was just a twelve year old boy so the guards couldn't bring themselves to kill the little savage," Michel snapped.

"Black hair. Pretty scrawny," Cassius asked eagerly.

"Yeah do you know," his dad started.

"Where is he," Azriel interrupted.

His dad frowned at the interruption but still told them the cell number that they'd put the boy in. Cassius was off, Azriel on his heels. He collided straight into Desmond as he entered the building.

Desmond looked relieved as he held Cassius back with his hands on his chest.

"There was an attack. Where the hell have you guys been," he asked.

"The attack was by Alex. He's here," Azriel explained quickly.

Desmond didn't ask for much else as he followed Cassius and Azriel down to the prison cells. They finally stumbled on Alex's cell in the winding catacombs that were the pack dungeons. The boy was nothing like the one that they'd rescued and if Cassius didn't know better, he wouldn't have even recognized the boy.

There were no whites in his eyes as he clawed at the ground with bloodied nails.

The moment he saw them he leapt towards the bars at a speed, faster than Cassius had ever seen any living being move. He bared his teeth and growled viciously. The three of them took a startled step back, more out of shock than fear.

"Oh god what have they done," Azriel asked.

They'd known that this happened but to see it happen to someone they knew was a new level of horror that made Cassius want to puke. The boy they'd known was quiet, moody, and said all of two words if pressed to. This boy, well, wasn't really a boy at all.

The boy was now banging his head against the bars as blood dripped down staining his torn navy blue shirt.

"I can't watch this," Azriel said.

Cassius realized Azriel was crying as he turned and buried his head into Desmond's shoulder. Desmond looked pained as he wrapped an arm around Azriel's shoulder in an effort to comfort him. That's when Raphael joined them on the scene, Laura at his heels.

They looked just as horrified as they took in the scene before them.

"We need to give him some kind of sedative before he kills himself," Laura cried out, bounding forward on impulse.

"No one's going to go anywhere near him when he's like that," Raphael argued, yanking her back.

Azriel looked up then, pulling himself away from Desmond's hold.

"I can knock him out for five or ten minutes. Do you have something to sedate him with," Azriel asked.

"Back at the lab. I'll go get it," Laura said.

She took off, and returned ten minutes later with a syringe in hand. The syringe seemed to send Alex into a new kind of frenzy as he began to howl mournfully while continuing to hurt himself. Raphael had puked in an empty cell at this point. Cassius sunk to the ground, Azriel and Desmond at his side as the three of them tried to block out the sounds of the boy's screams.

Alex still hadn't managed to knock himself out yet as he threw himself at the metal bar.

"Who's doing this," Laura asked.

"I'll do it," Desmond said immediately.

No one could really argue as Desmond plucked the syringe out of Laura's hand and cautiously approached the cell. He then turned to Azriel and nodded. Azriel snapped his fingers and the boy collapsed to the ground.

Desmond stepped forward and plunged the needle into the boy's arm. Cassius held his breath in fear. The needle's contents emptied quickly and Desmond set the boy down gently before getting out of the cell.

It was only then that Cassius could breath because that kind of rage and power, Desmond would have been dead before Cassius even reached him.

Laura then crept forward and drew a sample of blood from the boy. Still, he didn't stir. She turned around with a triumphant smile, like she hadn't just drawn blood from a twelve-year-old child turned into a monster.

"We've never had a live sample. This could produce a breakthrough," she said excitedly.

She and Raphael left talking in hushed voices. Cassius stood up to leave, Desmond following suit. He didn't want to be here a moment longer for how much misery and pain that the cell seemed to reek. Azriel didn't get up though, his eyes fixed on the boy, mournful.

"What," Desmond asked.

"I usually avoid doing this," Azriel said slowly.

"What are you talking about," Cassius asked.

He crouched before Azriel but Azriel's gaze remained fixed on Alex.

"I can filter through his short-term memories and see where he's been. I could find out where they kept him and hopefully, she'll be there too," Azriel explained.

"What could go wrong," Desmond asked sharply.

Cassius could detect the warlock's hesitation as well. He knew how much Azriel cared about Catherine and how little Azriel cared for himself in general when it came to saving others. If he was hesitating to try and find her this way, Cassius could only begin to think of all the things that could go wrong.

He couldn't lose someone else.

"There's no need to be pessimistic darling," Azriel joked.

"Please Azriel we can't lose you too," Cassius begged.

He reached forward and brushed a finger over Azriel's cheekbone. Azriel leaned into his touch, eyes fluttering shut. When he opened them again, they were filled with some of the fear that he'd hidden before.

He really believed that they would let him do this; trust him to do this, despite everything that could go wrong.

"Entering a person's mind isn't just flipping through their memories like a photo album. You relive each memory. You feel the pain, the anguish, and the sorrow. All the emotions are in fact amplified. I won't lie to you, many warlocks have lost their minds in other people's memories," Azriel explained slowly.

"You're not doing this. I'm not letting you do this," Desmond said quickly.

Cassius nodded vigorously to show his support. Catherine wouldn't want them to find her this way. If she were here in fact she'd have probably kicked his ass.

"It's a risk but imagine Catherine like that boy. We have no leads, no way of tracking her. We're running out of time guys," he pleaded.

"You could lose your mind Azriel. This isn't up for discussion," Desmond growled.

"Azriel he's right. She wouldn't want you to do this," Cassius pleaded.

"She's not here," Azriel replied softly.

"Azriel please there's got to be another way," Cassius begged.

Azriel stood up off the ground and his hands began to glow with magic.

"I refuse to lose you like this. What part of, this isn't up for discussion, did you not understand," Desmond snapped.

He moved to presumably punch Azriel in the face, knock him out even. Anything to stop him from doing this but Cassius moved to stop him. Desmond struggled, shouted, but Cassius held him firmly in his arms.

"Tell me that you thought this through," Cassius yelled over Desmond's furious shouts.

"Trust me," Azriel replied simply.

The world seemed to stand still as Azriel's violet eyes met Cassius's teary gaze. Every cell in Cassius' body told him to release Desmond, to stop Azriel. If something happened to him now, Cassius would never forgive himself.

But Azriel was asking him to trust him and ultimately, this was his decision to make.

"Promise me you won't go insane," Cassius begged.

"I promise you I'll try my best," Azriel whispered.

Cassius closed his eyes as Azriel began an incantation. Desmond had stopped struggling in his arms now and Cassius loosened his grip. He turned and Cassius half expected Desmond to hit him.

He would have let Desmond pummel him to death because right now, he couldn't feel anything but paralyzing fear anyway.

But Desmond only shook his head with disappointment before turning his attention back to Azriel who's incantations rang in Cassius' ears as Cassius fervently hoped that he hadn't made a mistake.

1st Person POV

I'd memorized the location as best as I could before I'd gotten myself out, an easy enough task thanks to my fly form. It was an unremarkable grey, long building in the middle of the woods. Once I was sure I'd gotten far enough, I shifted back into my human form and collapsed against a tree.

If there was something that was going to kill me now, it was starvation.

I gently worked through the cramps in my arms and legs before setting off on a steady walk once more. There was nothing but trees for miles in every direction. I had no phone, no clothes and no food.

This situation would have been deadly if I wasn't shapeshifter.

I shifted into a bird and flew upwards. My wings were beating weakly against the buffeting winds. I wanted nothing more than to curl up under the base of a tree and take a nap.

But I finally managed to get above the tree line.

Towards the east a small town appeared, the only civilization for miles around. From what I could tell, I was far from the academy but still fairly close to Annabelle and Theo's house. I flew towards the town, praying I had enough energy left to get there.

I touched down in a fairly isolated alley between a convenience store and a small deli. Shifting back, I realized few people would be inclined to lend a naked woman their phone. I scanned the area and my eyes landed on the trashcans lined up at the far end of the alley.

I rifled through it until I found a raggedy pair of sweatpants with numerous holes and a men's blue shirt that had faded to grey.

This would have to do. I slipped it on and entered the street. People looked disgusted as they backed away and went about their business.

I didn't completely blame them.

One extremely drunk man however approached me on stumbling feet. He towered over me at close to six foot but I knew the only way he could hurt me was if I let him fall on me. He braced himself against the alley wall before appraising me curiously.

"I'll buy you food if you can return the favor doll," he slurred.

His eyes raked my body and I shivered with disgust. At least it didn't make me feel bad about what I did next. I gestured for him to come closer.

Once he'd entered the alley completely, I gave him one solid punch to the gut and he went down easily.

I fished through his pockets and found a cellphone, and a wallet. Unfortunately he had no car keys but I could only get so lucky. I pulled his body further into the alley before dialing Desmond's number.

It went straight to voicemail.

I dialed Azriel and Cassius and neither one picked up. I was going to kill them when I found them. I pocketed the phone with frustration before realizing that there was one more number I could call.

Rafia Hamilton picked up on the first ring.

"It's Catherine. I managed to get out of there. It's a long story but I need you to pick me up," I said.

"Where are you," she asked.

I scanned the area before my eyes landed on the local newspaper in the trashcan.

"A small town called Ashville," I replied.

"Look I can't leave the academy undefended but Ashville is close to Demetrius pack lands. Your boys were heading there the last I heard. Find them," she said.

Before I could argue, she cut the call. I always knew I didn't like that woman. I pocketed the phone before pulling out a crumpled twenty-dollar bill I'd taken from the drunken man.

Might as well eat first. 

A slightly short chapter, more like a build up for the next one. Catherine is finally out! If only the boys could pick up their phones and save themselves the trouble. Poor Azriel. I left you guys on a bit of a cliffhanger so don't worry the next chapter will be out soon. 

In other news, we finally hit 3K! Another milestone! Thank you so much for all the love you guys are showing this book. It's only going to get better, I promise. 

If you liked this chapter don't forget to vote and comment down below. Let me know what your favorite part of this chapter was. The next one will be up soon! Until then, 

LOVE, 

ASH