Kane sat at the small table with his feet tapping against the ground. He hadn't slept, his worries for Nora plaguing him every moment of the night. He had almost left the hotel room more times than he could count. He would have gone straight to that address written in on the note, angry and vengeful. He would have tried to save Nora. He would have fought every rogue that stood in his way, but he might have killed them both in the process. That was the only reason he was still sitting in the hotel room.

He glanced at the sofa, it had been righted, but only a few hours before it had been on its side. One of the few pieces of evidence that something horrible had happened here. There had been glass shards on the floor, but Mason had cleaned them up. Now, the only evidence which remained was the note left by the rogues. It had to be the rogues, there was no one else that would have done this. There was no one else who wanted Mason.

Kane wondered what he would tell Nora's family. He shuddered at the thought. He tried to push it from his brain, but images of Nora swirled around his thoughts. Suddenly, a cup of coffee was placed in front of him. He muttered a thanks to Mason, who had taken a seat next to him. He couldn't look at Mason without remembering that he was leaving. Nora was missing and Mason was leaving. His own mate had broken up with him. He could have cried if he had the brain capacity for more emotions. Instead, he tried to focus his mind on his determination to find Nora. He didn't make a move towards the coffee. His eyes were glued to the floor.

"It's the way you like it," Mason told him, like it mattered.

Kane nodded. Mason was leaving. Nora was missing. He didn't care for coffee when his world was falling apart. He took a deep breath, trying to get his mind together. Focus on Nora, his mind repeated to him. Nora needs you to be strong.

"We are going to get her back," Mason told him. He spoke with conviction. Too much conviction. "Whatever it takes. No matter what we need to do."

Kane knew what that meant. He lifted his eyes from the floor and quickly turned them to Mason. "Stop acting like your life means nothing." The words flew from his mouth angier than he had wanted them to be.

"It's my fault that we are in this situation to begin with," Mason explained, a careful caution to his tone.

"No," Kane argued, "you aren't at fault in any of this. They are the ones who killed your parents. They are the ones who've been hunting you. They took Nora. You feel like it's your fault so you want to offer yourself up. Don't be that selfish."

"You think it would be selfish of me to surrender to save Nora?" he asked.

"Your life matters," Kane told him. He shook his head at the floor. He couldn't believe that he really thought that little of himself. "You matter."

"If I'm gone then the pack is safe, you are safe."

"I don't want to be safe if it means I'm not with you. Don't you get that?" Kane reached over and cupped Mason's cheek. He looked into those grey eyes that he loved so much. "I love you, Mason. My life isn't worth living without you in it."

Mason stared back at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but a knock on their door interrupted the words from forming. Kane stroked his thumb over Masons cheek gently before letting go. He silently prayed that wasn't the last time he touched Mason. He walked over to the door hesitantly. He wondered for a second if the rogues had come back to take Mason themselves. He pressed his eye to the peephole, revealing that it was Eve and Owen standing behind the door.

Kane unlocked the door and pulled it open. Behind them stood a dozen men and women, none of whom he recognised.

"You made it," Kane said, outstretching his hand to Owen.

"Of course we did," Owen remarked, shaking his hand. "We are here to get her back."

Kane looked at Owen and Eve, it was strange to see them in all black. Eve usually had bright sundresses and wild hair, but today her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and Owens black ensemble somehow made his muscles look even bigger under his clothes. Kane felt safer, looking at them and the swarm of men and women behind them. These people would know what to do. These people were going to save them.

Owen made his way into the room. Eve stepped towards Kane. "I did tell you to be safe," she said with sadness in her eyes.

"Not safe enough, apparently," Kane responded.

Eve hugged him. She whispered in his ear, "We will get her back."

Kane nodded. "Thanks for coming, and for bringing your fighters. You have no idea how much we appreciate it, and on such short notice."

"Anything for you guys," Eve said.

Kane ushered everyone into the room, which was way too small to accommodate them all. The packs fighters started bringing supplies out of their backpacks and started speaking amongst themselves. A map was strewn over one of the beds, people standing around it.

Kane looked for Mason. He saw that he was standing with Owen. "What's the plan?" he asked Owen.

"We tracked that address on the note to a remote cabin in the woods. It's quite a big cabin, but we have the blueprints and we know where all the exits and rooms are. We don't wait until the meet time. We go there soon, catch them off guard and ambush them. We have found the most likely places someone could be kept and we will focus on those areas."

"What if they panic and kill her?" Kane asked.

"Rogues aren't exactly the most trustworthy people," Owen explained. "We can't be sure that they don't plan on killing her anyway. They would gain the most by waiting until you and Mason are with them, so that they lure you away and kill her, leaving you in a state of being unable to protect Mason. We think that's their most likely plan."

Kane wanted to throw up at the mere thought. He took a moment to steady himself. "Okay, so we turn up and attack them when they least expect it."

"Yes," Owen glanced between he and Mason. "There's another part of this plan that you're not going to like."

Kane nodded. He wanted to know.

Owen continued, "Kane we need you there, so that you can feel your mate bond and tell us where Nora is in the house. That's a vital role. You will stay with me and Eve. But," he turned to Mason, "we can't let you come with us."

"What?" Mason asked. There was anger in his voice. "What do you mean?"

"You will be taken somewhere else, with two of our fighters, in case they decide to come here for you. No one will know your location so that there's no way for them to find where you are."

"I am coming with you," Mason argued, "I need to help you get Nora back."

"Having you there means that we need to protect you as well as Nora. They will try to take you the moment they see you. It's a risk we cannot take."

Mason turned to Kane. "You know me," he begged, "you've seen how fast I can run, I can evade them, I'm a good fighter. I could help. Please let me help."

Kane agreed. He was fast. He was agile. He could be an asset. He wanted to say yes, to get angry with Owen and back up Mason, but he knew that he couldn't. Mason was willing to give himself up to the rogues to keep Nora safe. He couldn't risk Mason being taken, and he knew that when push came to shove, the mate bond between he and Nora would force him to save her over anyone else. His mind flashed back to when they were first attacked that day in the woods. He remembered how he had saved Nora first, without a second thought. He couldn't live with himself if Mason was hurt, if he was taken, because he hadn't been there to protect him. His mind, his focus, had to be on Nora.

Kane reached for his hand. Mason hesitantly let him take it. "Do you trust me?" Kane asked.

Mason nodded slowly.

"Do what Owen says. As hard as it is for you to stay away. It's the right call, trust me."

Anger rose in Mason's eyes for a mere second, before it slowly died down. He sighed and squeezed Kane's hand. "Okay," he conceded.

Kane knew how hard that must have been for him. He smiled over at him. "Thank you."

"Bring her home. She's an annoying cow most of the time," Mason joked, "but please bring her back to us."

Kane nodded. He would do everything he could to get her back. "She will be back, annoying us in no time."

A few hours passed and it was time to go. Kane walked to the back carpark with Mason hand in hand. There were four SUV's that had been parked in the back parking lot, away from the eyes of the road. Two of the fighters came over to them. They were the ones who would take Mason. He wanted to know where Mason was heading. He wanted to be sure that it was safe, but he knew that there was a reason they couldn't know. A reason that Owen didn't elaborate on. If they were captured, the rogues would do anything to find Mason's location. Even if forced, they couldn't tell them information they never had.

"We are ready whenever you are," one of them told Mason.

Masons eyes widened. Kane stood in front of him. "I'll see you soon okay."

Mason let go of Kane's hand to reach up and cup his cheek. "Please be safe," he said. "Don't do anything silly. I need my boyfie to come back to me."

Kane laughed. "Boyfie really is catching on, isn't it?"

Mason smirked. "Just for today."

"Whatever you say, babe."

Mason's eyes grew concerned. "Seriously though, I love you. Be safe."

Kane tried not to think about the fact that Mason still planned on leaving. The same boy who was cupping his cheek and telling him that he loved him. That same boy was going to be gone, into the wind, the second that they got home. Kane wanted to forget about that. He wanted to believe that if he brought home Nora safely that would mean he would stay. If he saved the day, brought home the girl, that everything would be okay. He wanted that to be true, but he knew it wasn't. Mason was still leaving, regardless. He might stay if Nora didn't come home, he realised, but that didn't help matters.

"I love you, Mason." He said, as if it was the last time, and maybe it was. Maybe he would come back with Nora and Mason would already be gone in the wind, going someplace where the two of them wouldn't be able to convince him to stay. He hoped that wasn't true, but he knew that any separation between them could be their last. "I've loved these few months. You've changed my life, you know that?"

Mason looked at him quizzically. "This isn't goodbye," he said.

Kane wondered if that was a lie. "I know," he said, lying as well. "I mean it though," he added, truthfully.

Kane walked away and when he glanced back at Mason he saw him getting into the van with the two men. He turned off his thoughts about Mason, knowing that he was safe now. His only focus was on Nora. He felt the mate bond, the comfort of knowing that it still existed, she was still alive. He almost smiled, thinking that it was the second time he'd ever been thankful for the bond. The first had been when they discovered the hotel room in shambles, and he had known that at least she was alive.

"Are you ready?" Eve said as he walked over to her.

"Yes," Kane said with certainty. "Let's go."