I couldn't believe it was finally time to go get Hunter. The past few days had been hell. The only thing, person that keep me going and somewhat level headed was Jarek. Two weeks ago I wanted to tear the guys head off and now...we were friends. Friends didn't quite cover it. Brothers. Yes, we were pack brothers who was in love with the same girl. She was ours. Not just mine anymore but ours. I still had mixed feelings about that but the connection we had was strong.

The magic I felt when Hunter held my hand and Jarek's was unbelievable. It just felt right. It felt strong. It was like I finally found the other half of my life that I never knew I was missing. Now did I tell this to Jarek? Hell no! I was not the mushy type and that would never change. Sure I was a bit with Hunter and Jarek would see that side but letting him know how I felt...Well that was just going to stay between me, myself and I.

Nikko just pulled over and it was time to set up the teams that would head up the mountain first to let the rest of us know what to expect. I was torn if I wanted to be selected for that or if I wanted to be in the front lines of the attack. Looking over at Jarek I already knew his thoughts were the same. What we both knew was that were I went he would follow and vice versa. We were stronger together.

Since Hunter was taken from me, from us, my shifts had increased in their speeds greatly. Even my senses had improved. I did ask Jarek about it and he noticed my shifts and said that he was changing as well but before he could explain we were interrupted. The subject was never brought up again.

I was usually the strong quiet type but since Sam has gotten here Jarek was really quiet. He stared at her a lot, but so did a lot of the others. Since she had been here things seemed to be more relaxed. I liked being close to her just because she felt like Hunter. It also made it harder sometimes. I could not even imagine what Hunter was going to do once she found out about Sam. That thought made me nervous and excited at the same time.

Was Sam going to try to take Hunter away from us? Yes, she was her mom but they didn't know each other. Hunter was ours. She belonged to us. Maybe that was why Jarek was so quiet. Maybe he was thinking the same thing.

"Hey man you ready?" I asked Jarek as we stood and waited for the others to come around to where we waited.

Jarek looked at me. Looked through me was a better description. "We fight to the death. We fight for our mate," Jarek's voice sounded different. He looked different. At first I thought he looked older but that wasn't it. It was his wolf. His wolf was at the surface.

"Come on Jarek don't lose it now. Fight!" I hissed. I seen John losing his battle with his wolf and it was not pretty. I was pretty sure Jarek would be worse.

Before Jarek or his wolf could say anything Sam walked up. She didn't look scared. She didn't even look concerned. She should be because I sure the hell was. "Hey," she said in a soft voice staring into Jarek's eyes.

Placing her hands on either side of his face she pulled him down so they were eye level. "You fight together. Jarek is in charge and will always be in charge. Do you understand me?" Her voice was soft but her intent wasn't. Sam moved closer and her lips were close enough to kiss Jarek but she didn't. She stared into his eyes and breathed. A soft blue glow left her mouth and went into his.

Nikko was now standing beside us. He stood still and just stared at Sam and his son. The exchange only lasted a couple seconds than Jarek blinked slowly than a small smile touched his lips.

"Better?" Sam asked while she still held his face in her hands.

"Thank you," Jarek answered, bending over that inch and kissed Sam on the side of the cheek.

"Good. Now let's get ready to get our girl," Sam said looking at Jarek once more before releasing him. She squeezed my hand and gave me a small smile then nodded to Nikko before walking back to her mate.

Jarek looked at me and I could see the peace in his eyes as well as the excitement. "Grayson, my brother lets go kick some ass and get our mate back." With that said he squeezed his father's shoulder and walked further into the awaiting group.

"The two groups are already on their way," Adam jumped right into things or I missed something. "We are going to wait here to we hear from them. It shouldn't take long so please try to be patient. I know we are very close to getting Hunter back but we all need you calm and thinking straight. Now listen and you will hear what group you are in." Adam started giving off names. I didn't pay too much attention because I knew I was with Jarek and our only goal was to reach Hunter and kill who ever stood in our way.

It took a lot longer then we all expected, finally an hour later Jack walked over to Adam. The three Alphas and the Pride Leader leaned against one of the cars while Jack wrote down what he was told the first two teams could see. It was not going to be easy.

According to the two teams the house was gated with a few guards up front. It was at least a 30 minute run along the wall before they spotted a weak spot in the woods. The plan was a third of our group would go that way while the rest took over the gate. Coming in straight ahead was the distraction while the others snuck up through the woods.

The other issues was we didn't know where Hunter was in the property but both Vic and Nikko knew she was there. The other was they had more wolves then we did. If we didn't get close enough before we were spotted things would go bad and fast.

I looked at some of the faces I have known for years and wondered if this was the last time I would ever see them. It bothered me but Hunters safety came first and that was all that really mattered. That bothered me as well but it was the truth. I could tell Jarek was thinking the same thing. He wasn't the only one.

Nikko pulled his sons aside and talked to them. It looked more heartfelt then a strategy meeting. I wished I could have talked to my parents. I haven't thought about them once since Hunter went missing. Now I was having regrets. I may never see them again. I was fine putting my life in front of Hunters. I was ready to die for her and if it came to that I knew my dad would be proud but one last goodbye would have been nice.

"Grayson?" Nikko came up to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Your father would be so proud of all you have done these past few days. You are a fine warrior and I am happy you are my sons friend. You do what you can to get Hunter back. Keep my son alive and I will owe you my debit." Nikko said.

I was speechless. I was touched by his words and the confidence he was showing me. "Yes Sir. We will get Hunter back and I will get Jarek back to you."

As he turned and walked away Jarek came up beside me. "I see he added a little more pressure on you," Jarek said and laughed. "Ready? Let's do this!"

On that note we headed for our assigned groups. We were assigned to the front line attack. As the group for the back assault left we waited on pins and needles for another 20 minutes before we headed up. Taking into the woods for as much cover as we could we headed up the mountain were Hunter was waiting.

My Alpha and the others had many concerns. We did not have the intel we needed and we had to move quick so that our enemy could not see or sense us coming. As far as we knew the groups to retrieve what intel they could had not yet been detected and we hoped it stayed that way.

The further we made it up the mountain the more tense Nikko and Adam seemed to be. I wasn't sure if it was because we were getting closer to Hunter or if they had other concerns. It wasn't like I could have asked since we had to stay silent. Never mind I was just an overall warrior and was to do what I was told. Adam has shown me even more respect then I thought he ever would. I wasn't an equal but he seemed to value you me as a top ranking member of the pack. That helped my confidence. Now I just had to prove that his confidence in me was not misplaced.

One thing we had going for us was that the wind was in our favour. We were down wind at the moment and we all hoped that would not change anytime soon. If it stayed this way we had a much higher chance on a surprise attack. Adam informed us all as long as he did not tell us otherwise as were moved up towards our goal that nothing was out of place. We were so close. The stench of our enemy was growing.

Another 40 feet and we could finally spot the clearing where there was a huge iron gate and the guards shack. To our left we spotted our fellow pack members that had been waiting for us. The only reason we could actually see them was because they allowed it. Oh I could sense my fellow pack members and knew what direction they all waited but it wasn't till one of them stepped out of the shadows that we could physically see them.

They were ready. We were ready. Now we just had to wait for our backdoor group to get in place. No one would move forward and step on the property of our enemy till that moment. And let me tell you that was a very long 10 minutes before Nikko gave the signal to move forward.

As soon as his arm came down in a slashing movement we all took off forward. We were all as silent as we could be with the speed we were going. The ones in their wolf form, of course, hit the guards shack first. I could see the surprise on their face for the briefest of moments before a howl broke the silence like a knife.

We hoped we could have gained entrance before they could alarm the others but we also knew the chances were slim. Our enemy now knew we were here.