Trigger warning: This chapter gets very graphic. Hope y'all are ready for this😅

When Catalina woke the next morning, she felt much better, and there was only one thing on her mind. The assassin. She crawled out of bed and noted on her way to the shower that Emil was no longer on the floor. His blanket lay folded in her desk chair with his pillow on top of it.

On her way to breakfast, she noticed it seemed a bit quiet in the house but didn't think much of it at first. But, when she entered the dining room and realized there wasn't a single important person there, she grew suspicious. She knew where they must be. She all but swallowed her whole plate in about three minutes in her rush to get out the door after them.

She hit the ground at a decent jog. She was determined not to miss any more than she already had.

Stephon ran his hand through his hair in frustration as he looked at the man in front of him. He'd never had to do anything like this before. He didn't even know where to start, and this man was already in very rough shape. He was covered in bruises, his wrists were a bloody mess, and veins stood out black against his skin from his wrists to his shoulders from the silver cuffs he still wore.

Stephon wasn't a cruel person by any means, but one of his children had been harmed, and he would defend them. To do that properly, he needed to know the who and why behind this unexpected attack.

"Do you know what you're going to do?" Nick asked in a low tone.

"Not really, trying to put it together as I go."

"Where do you want to start then?"

"William, uncuff him and chain him to that chair. He's too weak from the silver to fight much now. There's definitely no way he can shift," the alpha said a hard edge to his voice.

William did as he was told. Stephon unbuttoned his shirt and removed it. His muscles rippled as he stood before the chair in only his black slacks and anger built up in him. The red-headed man looked up at him, hatred flashed in his eyes.

"What is your name?"

The man smirked and looked the alpha over but said nothing. Stephon drew back and punched him in the stomach. The man grunted but continued to smile.

"What is your name?"

He still didn't answer. He pulled his arm back again, the blow landed on the other wolf's jaw. His smile faded, and he leaned to the side as far as his chains would allow and spit out a tooth. He started to hit the guy again when a voice stopped him midswing.

"Devon. My name is Devon, not that it really matters," he finally answered before spitting blood out on the floor.

"What pack are you from?" Stephon asked.

The guy shook his head and said nothing.

"Why are you here?"

"I should think that was obvious, to kill," the man answered blankly, glancing over at Emmitt and Jax, who were standing back watching with the beta's and Emil.

"To kill who?"

Again, he shook his head and didn't answer. Stephon punched him three more times once in the face and twice in the stomach.

"Who were you here to kill?" Stephon growled menacingly, causing Emil and William to shudder with the effort it took not to hit their knees.

The man in the chairs head bowed, but he still said nothing. Stephon was getting pissed and ready to be done with this. His skin stretched and pulled, his bones shifted and creaked as he morphed upwards into his highly impressive war far. The wolf in the chair shuddered and tried to scoot backward in the chair.

Nick stepped forward, ready to stop Stephon if he went too far. They couldn't afford to kill him yet. The alpha looked in Nick's direction. He nodded, understanding.

"Who were you meant to kill?" Nick asked.

Devon looked up at the war form, and his mouth trembled from his effort to hold back the words. The alpha leaned forward and growled loudly over the top of his head, then he stabbed the claws of his right hand deep into the wolf's right thigh. He cried out in pain.

"Not... one... of... you...." he stuttered.

"What does that mean?" Nick asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Stephon twisted his claws right and then left. The scream that split the air could've busted lesser mens ear drums as he continued to twist and then yanked his claws free, bringing chunks of meat with it.

"Well, that wasn't very smart. He's probably going to bleed to death now," Nick said, shaking his head.

Stephon shrank back down to his human size, "Ask the questions!" he barked

William held out a pair of shorts to the alpha. Stephon walked over, took them, and put them on.

"Who were you here to kill?"

"The girl!" The wolf howled through the pain as his whole body trembled.

"What girl?" he growled.

"The witch!" Devon spat with disgust.

The barn door banged open, and venom poured out of Catalina's mouth as she stroud towards the man in the chair, "Why? Why do people want me dead? Why are they going to such lengths to do it? Haven't I been through enough already? You people already killed my first family! You will not take another one from me!"

Emil grabbed her as she went to strike at the assassin and pulled her away.

Stephon shook off his surprise at her being here and started barking orders, "Get her out of here now! How did she even know where we were? Jax, Emmett, go help him get her under control and back to the house."

"Sir, if we don't bandage that leg now, he's gonna bleed out," William cut in, with a look that said he didn't want to be the one bothering him right then.

"Do it," Stephon nodded his head once.

Will leaped forward with bandages and started wrapping them around the guys thigh.

"How did she know we were here? Why did she have to walk in when she did? Has she been out there listening this whole time?" Stephon's thought out loud while looking in Nick's direction.

"I don't know S-"

"She's not leaving," Emmett announced as he reentered the barn.

"You're telling me between the three of you, none of you can get her back to the house?" The alpha hissed.

Jax entered the barn with Catalina and Emil not far behind him, "I'm sure we could, but we're not."

"I don't have time for this," Stephon said, taking a step in her direction.

"No," Emmett said, stepping in the way. "This involves her too. She has a right to be here."

"And you feel the same, do you?" Stephon asked, looking in Jax's direction.

Jax nodded, "I do."

"Fine, stay out of the way," he finally relented.

When they turned back to continuing the interigation, Devon had passed out. Emil splashed a bucket of cold water over his head at Stephon's orders.

"Where were we? Oh yeah, why do they want her dead?"

Devon shook off the cold water, "I told you because she's a witch. She's a mutt, an abomination! Our kind is not supposed to mix with hers. It's wrong! Who knows what damage she could do to our bloodline when she has pups."

"What? That's what this is all about? What issues could she really cause?" Nick piped up.

"Could you imagine an alpha wolf that could do magic? Do you see what that would mean for us? They would be unstoppable! No one should have that much power!"

Emil watched Catalina's face as a whole storm of emotions flickered across it. First the rain as she decided everything had been her fault, then the thunder as she realized it wasn't, soon would be the lightning. Would anyone be able to stop her? He honestly wasn't sure.

"We don't even know she'll have a werewolf mate, and if she does, we definitely don't know if it'll have any magical abilities at all!" Stephon said in amazement.

"But it could, and we can't take that chance!"

"Who is we?" Nick asked.

Devon's mouth closed, and he shook his head.

"We have to find out what pack this is. Who we're about to be at war with," Stephon said as he stepped in front of the battered man. "All you have to do is answer this one question, and it'll all stop," the alpha said and started swinging.

After ten straight minutes of using the hit man as a punching bag, Stephon stopped and gave him the opportunity to speak again. Devon refused.

Nick stepped forward with a pair of pliers. He grasped the tip of a fingernail, and in one quick yank, it was ripped free of its bed. The man screamed in agony but still wouldn't answer.

Catalina picked up the silver enlaid cuffs and started to fiddle with them as she listened to the screams. She was tired of this. It was obvious they were never going to get him to speak. But... maybe she could, she thought as she had an idea and felt the pull of power.

"Torture me all you want. I'll not tell you anything about my pack," Devon said breathlessly.

"You sure about that?" Catalina asked.

Everyone turned to look at her in suprise. Her eyes were focused on her palm, where a stream of silver was coming out of the cuffs and forming a smooth ball in her hand about the size of a marble.

She smiled cruelty at the assassin as she walked towards him, "Do you see this little ball?"

The wolf looked up at her in wide eyed fear, "Get away from me half-breed!"

"This is pure silver."

"Catalina what are you doing?" Stephon asked, unsure if he should stop her or not.

"If I put this into your mouth and made you swallow it... What do you think it would do to your insides?" she asked sweetly as she ran her fingertip along his bloody jaw, staining the underside of her fingernail red.

"No! No! Please no! Please don't let her put that in me?" he pleaded desperately yanking at the chains with strength they didn't think he had left in him.

"Answer the question, which pack?" Nick asked, trying to keep the suprise and concern over Catta out of his voice.

No answer. Catalina grabbed the bottom of his jaw so hard her fingernails pierced his skin. His mouth snapped shut and he tossed his head back and forth violently. She grabbed his nose with her other hand and held it closed with two fingers, holding the ball in the other three.

When he couldn't hold his breath any more a wild look came into his eyes. He opened his mouth and spat out two words, "Blue Moon."

Nick stepped back and sighed in relief that it was finally over. Then there was a screach that was quickly cut off by the sound of sizzling. It sounded like you had just put a cold piece of meat in a piping hot pan. Everyones mouths immediately fell open. Stephon took a step forward as if to stop it but it was too late, there was no chance of helping him now. His eyes rolled back in his head before it fell limp against the back of the chair. Blood, stomach acid, and chunks of his insides started pouring out of his mouth like a pot boiling over. The smell that filled the air was so unbearable they all headed for the door of the barn barely avoiding tripping over each other.

Emil started throwing up on his way to the door, Jax made it just outside before he too spilled his guts. Everyone who wasn't currently puking looked at Catta with alarm.

"Jesus," Nick said running a hand through his disheveled hair.

"What? Stop looking at me like I have two heads. We got what we needed," Catta said with a shrug before sauntering off towards the house.

"You still think she should've been here?" Stephon asked his boys, as the three of them stared after Catta, looks of complete amazement on their faces.