Kane's mind was solely on Nora as the cars travelled through the woods. Owen drove their car, following behind the others. Kane wished that he would drive faster. The address had led them up into the mountains. Kane's eyes watched the woods with a careful gaze, sure that if they were spotted their plan was ruined. He was thankful for the thick cover of bushes and trees that hid the road. The drive felt like it was never ending. Kane just wanted to get there. His mind had been running over scenarios all night and he was about to see which one of them was to be true. He hoped that they would find Nora safe. The bond begged him to find her, to hold her in his arms.

He felt through the bond, reaching out and sensing Nora. They were close, he could feel the mate bond strengthening the closer they got. It was a relief. She was there and she was alive. She was close. He hoped that Nora was noticing that he was closer as well.

The cars stopped. Kane looked around, only trees still surrounding them.

"The cabin is up ahead," Owen told them. He turned off the car. "We will walk from here."

Kane stepped out of the car. He watched as the fighters around him all transformed, their bodies turning into wolves before his eyes. He felt more confident, seeing them in their wolf forms. They were big and strong. Eve's pack really did have a good force of fighters.

Eve approached him. "You have to tell us where she is in the house. That's your job. You aren't going to be involved in the fighting."

Kane didn't like the sound of that. The thought of fighting against the monsters who took Nora was keeping him from going crazy. In all of the scenarios in his mind, there wasn't a single one where he avoided the fight. He didn't want to stand back. He wanted to protect her. He was sure that the bond had a lot to do with it. He couldn't stand by while his mate was in danger. Pointing to a room wasn't exactly important to someone whose mate's life hung in the balance. "I've been trained. When it comes to fighting, I know what I'm doing. I won't stand on the sidelines."

Eve looked conflicted. She thought for a moment before saying, "You have a more important job than fighting, no matter how good you think you are. Trust me, our fighters have a real plan. They know what they are doing."

With her words, Kane realised he was doing exactly what Mason had that morning. He needed to think of the bigger picture, he needed to take his own advice. "You're right," he agreed after a few seconds. "I'm sorry, I just think about Nora in trouble and I just want to do everything I can."

Eve nodded in understanding. "You're going to stay behind us and when we ask, you need to point to where she is."

Kane nodded. "Okay."

Without a word, she threw her own clothes to the ground and transformed. Her dark skin shifted over her bones until a wolf appeared where she had stood. Kane transformed as well. He followed Eve as the wolves around him split up to surround the property. They weaved their way through the trees until there was a cabin in view. It was two stories high, made of dark wood. The cabin was run down, with a few broken windows and dead flowers sitting in what was once a small garden. The cabin backed onto a small lake. Kane could see the edges of the lake sitting out on each side of the cabin.

He spotted a few men standing to the side of the house. He felt his breath quicken. He tried to find Nora, sensing her through the bond. She was close, he could tell that much. Eve looked to him before glancing at the cabin. Kane nodded. Nora was in there.

Kane didn't know how they were going to cross the open space between them and cabin without being seen. He waited, watching the cabin for any other signs of people. In the corner of his eye he saw wolves moving towards the cabin. They were Eve's fighters. They were quick, making their way towards the men. In an instant the men were pushed to the ground, rendered immobile under the weight of the heavy wolves. Kane saw Owen's wolf edge out from the trees, followed by his group of fighters. Eve motioned for him to follow as their group did the same.

Kane felt his heart beating out of his chest as he ran behind the fighters, Eve to his side. He kept checking the mate bond, trying to see where she was. The rogues must have realised what was happening, because suddenly there were hordes of people running out of the cabin, transforming as they went. Kane stood back as the fighting started. Wolves were plummeting each other into the ground. Kane searched the broken windows for any signs of Nora. He had been searching through the bond when he realised how many rogues had joined the fight. Eve was locked in a fight with one wolf to his side. The others were being taken down by other fighters. There were more rogues than fighters. Kane didn't know what to do. He ran to Eve's side, shoving the wolf off of her. She nodded towards him before running off, taking down another one.

Kane saw Owen to the side of the cabin, his jaw locked around the leg of a dark coloured wolf. As Kane's gaze flashed past the house he saw a face looking out of one of the broken windows on the second floor. He recognised his face instantly. It was the beta from the woods, the one that had set his sights on Mason. Kane looked around him. There was no one to tell, no one to go get him. All of the wolves were fighting. He looked to Eve, but she was further away now locked in a fight with a smaller rogue. Kane looked back up to the window and the beta was still there, except this time he was smiling down at Kane with a sly grin.

Kane ran. He weaved past the wolves, dodging their swinging paws and teeth. He was glad that they all seemed distracted enough that none of the rogues had started following him towards the house. The bond had taken over. The beta had Nora. The same man who had tried to take Mason before was right there. He knew where Nora was. He pushed past the door and ran up the rickety stairs, half believing that they would crack under his heavy paws. At the top of the stairs sat a hallway, only one door open. He slowly made his way to the door, realising through the mate bond that Nora didn't seem to be any closer than she had been before. She wasn't in the house, he realised as he stepped into the doorway.

The beta stood facing him in his human form, that sly smile still plastered to his face. "You're a tad early, don't you think?"

Kane's eyes searched around him. They were alone in the small room, a bed pressed up against the wall with a dirty blanket haphazardly thrown over it. He transformed and stood. "Where is she?" he spat out.

The beta laughed. "I could ask you the same question. Where is your mate?"

Kane shook his head. "Nora first."

"If your little friend was anywhere near here we would have caught his scent. We can all track him now." He walked over to the bed and picked up something that had been sitting next to the blanket. Kane cursed himself as soon as he saw it. Mason's grey shirt was in the beta's grip. They had his scent. He must have taken it from the hotel room when they took Nora. Kane breathed out a sigh. Mason wasn't here. They weren't going to find him. Mason was safe. He couldn't say the same for himself. Strong hands wrapped around his arms.

Kane's eyes flashed between the two rogues at his sides. Their grip was strong. He tried to pull himself free but they were too strong. The beta laughed. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" He walked closer to Kane so that they were standing eye to eye. It was the amusement on the beta's face that made Kane's stomach churn. "We have you now," the beta explained, "I didn't really think you would be dumb enough to just give the boy over, but now that we have you, the boy will be eager to come sacrifice himself for you. He's your mate, after all."

"Mason isn't going to give himself up!" Kane told him.

The beta shook his head. "Did you forget that I met you all once before? I heard how eager he was to sacrifice himself for you two that day in the woods. That boy would do just about anything for you."

One of the rogues pulled a chair into the room behind them. One of the hands released his arm as he was tossed a pair of shorts. "Cover yourself up," the beta told him. "Don't even think of fighting against us. If you attempt to escape we will be forced to hurt your friend."

As soon as Kane slipped the pants on he was pushed back into the chair, a metal chain wrapped around his legs. Loud bands sounded from beneath them, followed by sounds of fighting. The beta turned to one of the other rogues, "Go check on what's going on down there, and while you're there go to the lake and alert the Alpha that we have Kane Moore."

Kane prepared to fight. When the rogue who was wrapping the chain around him stood up he was going to grab him. He had it all mapped out in his head. Fight the rogues long enough until Eve and Owen found him, then go find Nora. He wasn't going to be the willing prisoner that the beta wanted him to be. He was about to strike when he was hit with a feeling through the bond. It was like he had been hit over the head. He screamed out, his hand rushing to his head. "Where is she?" he screamed. His head throbbed from the bond. He felt her through the bond, the pain helping him find her. She was past the house. She was outside somewhere. He pushed against the chain with all his strength and the chair broke beneath him, sending him toppling down onto the floor. Rogues grabbed at his arms and legs, holding him down. Nora was hurt. They had hit her over the head with something. Kane fought against them, knowing that he had no time left, he had to get to Nora. He fought against them until, unexpectedly, he felt like the air had been pulled straight from his lungs. He coughed and struggled, his hands rushing to his chest. He didn't understand how, but he was drowning. His brain saw the room, the rogues in front of him, but his body was under water. The mate bond was under water. "Where's Nora?" he screamed past the coughs and gasps that racked his body.

The beta was staring at him with narrowed eyes. "How are you feeling that?" he asked in wonder.

"STOP!" he screamed. "STOP HURTING HER!"

The beta laughed. "The boy isn't your mate at all. It's the girl. I guess I can't really hide the fact she'll be dead, like I planned."

"WHY?" he screamed.

"We have you, so she's of no use to us anymore."

Kane felt like he was going to pass out. He struggled to breathe, the bond fracturing and breaking inside of him. He tried to push through the bond, to feel her, but he could hardly even sense her. All that he felt was her pain and the fear that seemed to surround him. The world around him faded to darkness, and the last thing he saw was the beta's smirking face. The last feeling he had was of the last threads of the bond snapping in two, until he couldn't feel her at all. Nora was dead.

The next thing he felt were strong hands grabbing at his shoulders. His eyes whipped open. Owen was kneeling above him. "Are you okay?" Owen was asking, in a tone that insinuated he already knew the answer to that question. "What happened?"

Kane blinked, trying to right his blurry vision. His head didn't hurt anymore. He could breathe easily. The bond was gone. He sat upright so fast that he and Owen almost knocked heads. "Nora!" he screamed. "The lake! She's in the lake!"

Owen's eyes widened. "The lake?"

"Go!" Kane yelled. He picked himself up off the ground, only slightly registering the kicked in door and the beta on the ground with one of Eve's fighters sitting on his back. He followed Owen as they ran down the stairs, transforming into their wolf forms as they went.

Kane ran as fast as he could. They ran out of the house, to where the wolves were still fighting. Kane dodged their swings and tackles as he made his way around the house to the lake. In the distance he could see a small wooden cabin on the edge of the lake, but it was on the other side of the lake. Kane threw his paws to the ground and ran as fast as he could, barely realising that more fighters had joined him and Owen.

In the door to the lake house stood a man Kane realised was the Alpha as soon as they got close enough. The wolves ran to him, right as he transformed. Kane ignored the fight, instead he ran towards the water, his eyes searching for Nora. He saw her, her body floating in the lake. Kane transformed and jumped into the water. Dread filed every fibre of his body as he rushed towards her lifeless body. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her out of the water.

Owen joined him, helping get her onto the grass. Kane didn't know what to do, as he stared down at her still face. He blinked back tears as he realised that his worst nightmare had come true. "She's dead," Kane whispered.

Owen jumped into action, his strong hands pressing against her chest. Kane looked away. He couldn't watch this. His hands covered his face. He tried to feel the bond, knowing that he couldn't. There was no bond to feel. It had been taken from him the moment she'd stopped breathing. Tears burned at his eyes. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

The sound of coughing forced him to pull his hands from his eyes. Owen was holding Nora on her side as she coughed water from her mouth.

"Nora!" he rushed to her side.

"She's back!" Owen said with heavy breath.

Nora's eyes were closed, drops of water falling from her lips, but her chest was moving. She was breathing. "You saved her," Kane said to Owen. Kane pushed her wet hair back from her face, revealing drops of blood. He ran his fingers through her hair and felt the cut that was hidden by her hairline. It didn't feel big, Kane realised in relief. "Nora," he called her name, but she didn't open her eyes. He looked to Owen. "We need to get her to a hospital."

Kane pulled her into his arms and stood. As he walked away from the lake house he turned back. The Alpha was being held down by two of the fighters. As they crossed the distance back to the house they were met by Eve. She was covered in dirt, a few cuts littering her arms. She was wearing her clothes from before. Kane took that as a good sign. The fighting must have been over. 

She ran to them the second she saw them. "Is she alive?" she called out, fear in her words.

"Just," Kane admitted. "We need to get her help."

Eve nodded. "Yes please take her." She motioned behind her. "We have all the rogues tied up outside the house," she told them. "I'll meet you at the hospital once I've sorted things out here."

Kane got her to the car. He sat in the back with her while Owen threw the car into reverse and sped down the road. Kane looked down to Nora, who was motionless in his arms. He watched her chest rise and fall. She was alive, just. "Hold on for me, Nora. Stay with me," he told her, willing her to hear it. "Please." It was a strange feeling for Kane, to look at Nora and not see a mate. The bond was gone, and he felt like he could see her with new eyes. His friend was in his arms, not his mate. His thoughts jumped to Mason, what would this mean for them?