Chapter 16

I know. I fail at updating, what's it been? Like a year... Opps. I haven't forgot about this story, I've just had a serious case of writers black and a computer that decided to delete this chapter after I had struggled with the damn thing for weeks. It was a tragic, tragic moment. Anyway, I plan to finish this story, however long it takes me, so thank you for reading and stick with me

However, on the plus side, no more study for me! I have just found out that I have passed my final exam and am now a fully qualified and Registered Nurse. Whoop whoop. Look out world ;)

Also a special thank you to all those who reviewed- ... and to those who favourite or followed this fic.

I feel that I hsould warn you all that this chapter is rather violent and dark. Mac's obviously not going to be in the best space, and she'll be reliving some of the most difficult times of her life, so I hope I don't upset anyone.

Cheers :)

They ran, the four hulking wolves flying through the forest at breakneck pace, their paws thudding into the saturated ground of the dense forest that covered much of the land around their home.

The pack mind was deathly silent, each wolf choosing to keep as much of their thoughts to themselves as possible, it wasn't easy and occasionally someone would slip, images of the attack flashing through their minds, the tormented form of their brother, the face of a loved one, or the pale face of their missing imprint. The overall flavour of their combined minds wasn't a good one at this time, anger, regret, fear and pain swirling about between them. The Alpha was having a hard time maintaining calm, especially with Seth, his Beta a hairs breath from snapping, and with Paul, his fourth, putting all of his energy into supporting the young wolf back in La Push who was currently fluctuating between life and death.

To be honest Jake wasn't dealing with the whole situation so well himself. Regret seeped into the corners of his mind, he fought to keep it away, but the feeling that he had let his pack down still played strongly in his thoughts. Things would be different if he hadn't chosen to run ahead of the younger, less experienced wolves. He'd been lost in his thoughts, and being faster had simply pulled away from the younger pair. He hadn't meant too. God how he wished he didn't.

He snarled quietly to himself, pushing the harrowing thoughts from his mind and his body faster. The snarl drew the attention of the packs third, who ran slightly ahead of him, her lithe grey form a blur as she manoeuvred seamlessly through the trees. He felt her mind brush softly against his, determined, angry, scared. Her mind was as chaotic as everyone else's, but he still found comfort in the gesture. She was there. She was supporting him. They would do this.

Jake steeled his thoughts and focused on the two forms in front of him. The siblings ran side by side, their pace was relentless but he knew there was no point in asking them to slow down, he didn't want to ether. He vaguely wondered how long they could keep up this at this rate.

The dark form of Embry ran at his flank, and his best friend shot him a worried, but determined look as the Beta in front of them let another tormented thought slip for all the pack to see. Embry wondered how long the younger wolf could hold on? He was so very close to losing it.

Jake wasn't sure, but he hoped like hell that the other wolf kept himself together long enough for them to rescue the missing imprint. They would rescue her, because if they didn't Jake was almost certain that they would lose the younger wolf along with her. It hadn't happened in their time, a wolf losing their imprint, and Jake hoped like hell it would stay that way, but the stories and legends of their people proved to be of little comfort on this matter, they rarely had a happy ending. For a wolf and their imprint it seemed almost impossible that one could survive without the other.

The Alpha preyed that they wouldn't ever find out.

The wolves had been running for hours, Leah wasn't sure where exactly they were, but the group must've been nearing Seattle. All she knew is that the trail they'd been following split off in two directions at Forks, where everyone else had been unsure which trail was the false trail, her brother hadn't even flinched. He'd just kept running and they'd followed, trusting in the bond between the wolf and his imprint to guide them. From what Leah had been able to gather from the jumbled thoughts that her brother occasionally let slip, he couldn't feel Mac at the moment. He knew she was alive, but he had little clue how alive, or where she was.

At the moment Mac was unconscious, and because she wasn't thinking, or feeling anything , the emotions Seth could feel from the imprint bond were minimal. It meant that Seth was just as clueless to where she was as they all were at the moment.

From what Leah could gather, Seth was using faint the scent trail, combined with the last direction the imprint had been pulling him before Mac had slipped back into the depths of unconsciousness, to track her.

The she wolf was terrified. There was so much at stake. If they didn't save Mac not only would she lose her best friend, but she was certain that she would lose her brother as well. Hell, Sue had only just lost her husband a few years ago, Leah doubted whether her mother would cope with losing her sun as well. It'd destroy her, Leah knew that she would never be the bubbly, loving woman that she admired so ever again.

Leah wondered if someone could die of a broken heart? If this didn't work out, she had no doubt that she'd be finding out.

The entire pack had felt Seths' rage when he'd realised that his imprint had been taken. It had nearly knocked the she wolf off her feet. The Beta was already seething about the fact that Ollie was fighting for his life, and when he realised Mac was gone too, he absolutely lost it. Leah was actually surprised that Jakes Alpha command had been able to contain her brother.

She had never felt any one of her pack brothers' burn with so much fury, hatred and fear as she had when Seth had earlier that day. None of them had ever been so close to breaking an Alpha command from Jake.

The trees began to thin, and Leah could hear the sounds of people, she could smell car fumes. They were nearing the bustling Seattle.

Dread filled her. It was night time in the city, but even so it was far from asleep. There was no way in hell the hulking forms of the wolves would go unnoticed. If they travelled by foot, it would slow them down considerably. They didn't have time to spare.

She knew her brothers were thinking the same thing. Leah could feel Seth's frenzied thoughts threatening to overwhelm him. It scared the shit out of her.

"We need to stop", Annabeth murmured, the wolves sensitive ears picking up her words despite hushed tone.

The Beta snarled furiously, his thoughts portraying his utter disagreement with that statement. They needed to run. He wouldn't stop until Mac was safe again and the vampire shredded by his teeth and his claws.

As the rest of the group slowed, Seth made to push onwards, but the voice of his Alpha stopped him.

"Seth, don't make me command you again", Jake growled, ignoring the Betas snarls of protest. "We can't just run wolf into the middle of a city. How the hell do you think that would end? It would be bad, and there would be no way to get to Mac in time!"

The Sandy wolf spun around to face his Alpha, his teeth bared, the flaming anger he felt clearly visible in his massive brown eyes.

He'd stop for now. But if they hadn't made up their goddamned minds in five minutes, he was leaving without them.

The Alpha bowed his head in acknowledgment. He was having a hard time containing the younger wolf already, and he too was eager to keep moving. He doubted they'd even need the full five minutes to come up with a plan.

The colossal wolf paced relentlessly among the trees as the group talked, he listened to their conversation and planning, but there was no way he could phase back and join in himself. He was so far passed pissed off it wasn't funny, it made impossible for him to shift back into his human form.

Every time the face of his imprint flashed through his mind he'd let out an uncontainable bellow of rage, lashing out and swiping one of his massive paws across the nearest tree, his razor sharp claws shredding through the bark and wood as if it was made of butter. Mac was still unconscious, and he silently urged her to wake up. He needed her to wake up.

"They knew that if they went through the city, it would slow anyone who followed them down. Not only that, but all the people, all the smells, combined with this stupid fucking rain, make it harder to track them", Oscar murmured, rubbing his hand wearily over his face.

"I fucking hate this guy", Leah snarled, tearing her gaze from the tormented form of her brother to face the younger of the two vampires where he stood with his back rested against the trunk of a large tree. Unlike Seth, the other three pack members had phased back so they could communicate more easily with the pair.

"We can't just run wolf through the city, but on foot, we'll be wasting time we don't have", Embry stated heatedly from where he sat cross legged on the wet ground, taking the opportunity to catch his breath.

"We need to split up", Annabeth said urgently, "Oscar and I can move through the city quickly and undetected. We can follow the scent trail through Seattle, if Mac were to regain consciousness, then that wouldn't be necessary. The Beta would be able to lead us straight to her. But right now, we have no other way of locating her."

"You four can bypass the city, go around the outside and meet us where the scent no doubt picks up on the other side, we'll stick to the trail, just in case he has her somewhere within the city."

"How can you be so sure she's not somewhere in Seattle?!" the She wolf growled exasperatedly.

The handsome young vampire gave Leah a confident smile, "because my gut tells me so".

"And we're just supposed to believe your gut?" Embry asked disbelievingly.

Oscar snorted in seeming amusement, "my gut's never wrong", he told them all simply.

From behind the group Seth ceased his pacing momentarily to growl lowly at his companions. It had nearly been five minutes. They needed to move.

"Take this cell phone", Annabeth said urgently, tossing the sleek black device to the Alpha. "We'll call you if we find her. But I do think that Oscars right; it is my belief that he will have Mac somewhere more isolated".

Jake nodded, slipping the phone into the pocket of his cut off denim shorts, before stripping them off and securing them securely to his lower leg with the rubber strap that all of the pack used to carry their spare clothes.

"We'll see you soon", he yelled, phasing only moments later and following his Beta into the darkness.

Seth had never run so fast in his entire life. His body was screaming at him to slow down, but he didn't relent.

As he ran he replayed over and over the day's events in his head, wishing that he could go back and change everything. One conversation, one stupid, ill thought out conversation may just cost him his imprint. He wished things had gone differently, but it was useless. Instead Seth resolved himself to finally finish this, he'd destroy this leech once and for all. For Mac, for his tribe, and for Ollie.

Jake had talked to Paul briefly when he had phased in not long after they had started running again. The Doc had finished working on the young wolf, reset his bones and stitched him up as best he could. But the next twenty four hours would be the turning point for the Ollie. Either his body would begin the arduous process of knitting itself back together, or he would fade into the abyss as so many of his ancestors had before him.

Seth knew that Ollie was strong, the kid was a fighter, and he hoped that this, combined with the support of his pack members and the care of the Doc would be enough to save him. But his injuries had been severe, and Seth couldn't stop the doubt from creeping into his mind.

It was as the Beta contemplated the fate of his young friend that he felt a waver through the imprint for the first time in hours. The small motion was the only warning before he was overcome with a tidal wave of confusion and fear. Mac was awake.

Relief washed through him.

Mac was awake and Seth knew where she was. He could feel her. She was petrified, she was in pain, but she was alive.

Alive was good, it gave him hope. The odds were probably stacked against them, but she was alive. He could rescue alive.

Mac groaned quietly, her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton, but somehow, she managed to open them. She wasn't in the car trunk anymore, she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or concerned about that.

The room was dim; the only light illuminating the space was seeping through from the tiny window above her head and the faint red glow from the cheap digital clock on the bedside table. It wasn't a big room, and Mac decided it could really do with a good cleaning. The sparse and cheap looking furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust.

There was a door on the opposite wall, and Mac could hear hushed voices talking through the thin wood. The voiced sounded hurried and urgent, she didn't recognise any of them but she could tell that they were men. Her heart began to pound in her chest. She wondered who was on the other side of that door, and prayed to anyone who was listening that it wasn't the vampire that had made her life utter hell for so long. Seth still felt so far away, and it was all she could do to cling to the slim hope that he would make it to her before the monster did.

Seth was being careful with her, she could tell. He was trying his best to hold back the bulk of his own emotions, to keep her calm and not overwhelm her as he had done before. Mac was thankful for that because right now, her own frenzied thoughts and feelings were enough to make her feel faint again. And Mac knew that if she wanted Seth to find her she needed to stay awake.

The emotions Mac could feel from Seth were overall calm and reassuring, she could feel his relief that she was finally conscious and the determination that pulsed through him. He could nearly pinpoint her location now, and that was something. Occasionally he'd accidently let a trace of his anger or fear leak through. Seth's fear scared Mac. He was a huge shape shifting wolf, if he was this scared, then she questioned whether she really had a chance at all.

It took a couple of minutes of Mac focusing on her connection with Seth, and some deep breathing, before her head stopped spinning enough that she could function enough to sit up, and even then, it took her a couple of attempts. Her hands had been retied and were now bound behind her back with what felt like a plastic cord. Every time she strained against them, the stiff bonds bit into the delicate skin of her wrists.

Mac surveyed the room more carefully, and quickly realised that the only way she could escape the room she was imprisoned in, would be through the door in front of her. The two men on the other side would no doubt have something to say about that, and Mac was quite certain escape wasn't going to happen. But even so she still had to try, right?

It took her a few minutes, but she'd come up with a plan. It wasn't great, and she didn't like her chances of it actually working out, but it was the best she could do. It was something. It was better than just lying there and waiting to die.

And so it was with a certain amount of hopelessness that Mac began to try to free her hands, she was even more defenceless with them bound. It was the first phase of her plan, to free her hands. After phase one was where the possibility of this actually working became even more improbable. Phase two was to sneak past her guards, which she was sure would be nearly impossible. Phase three was to run like hell and that was something that also would be easier said than done. She felt so weak, the knock to the head had really taken it out of her.

She sat on the edge of the grimy bed, pulling, wiggling and squirming against the cord for what felt like hours, the small digital clock beside her reminded her that it had in fact, only been half an hour. Every minute passed painstakingly slow. Every pull and turn caused Mac to bite back a whimper of pain as the plastic tore viciously into her flesh.

She could feel the warmth seep down, over her hands and onto the cover of the bed, creating even more stains on the once cream coloured fabric. Mac felt tears sting at her eyes, and it wasn't long before they started to flow freely. Rolling heavily down her cheeks and dripping all over her blood covered jersey.

Mac was so focused on her task, and the pain it was creating, that she didn't notice that the two men outside had fallen silent for the first time since she had awoken. She didn't even notice when the door handle clunked noisily as it was turned. She did however notice as light flooded the dim room, and the tall figure of one of her kidnappers filled the door way. Mac squealed in shock through the gag in her mouth, pushing herself back onto the bed and scrambling backwards in an attempt to put as much distance between herself and the man before her. Her back slammed painfully into the wall and the man tutted disapprovingly, taking a step towards the shaking young woman.

She had no idea what to do. He was so much bigger than her, he was immeasurably stronger than her, and her hands were still bound, broken and bleeding behind her back. She stood no chance against him. But it wasn't in her nature to give up, and it was as he advanced towards her, his eyes gleaming evilly, that the petrified young woman decided she wasn't going to go without a fight.

All too quickly he was at the other side of the bed, his long lean arms allowing him to reach over and easily wrap a firm hand around her left ankle, tugging her roughly and dragging her across the bed. She screamed loudly, the noise muffled by the gag in her mouth, her hands tightening around the wooden bed head in an attempt to resist the mans efforts.

"Come on girl", he growled, his tone somewhat annoyed. "You're holding us up".

He was much stronger than her, and it didn't take him long to free her grasp on the bed head. He reached to grab her other ankle, which was made difficult by the fact that Mac was kicking, punching and swinging her arms around like a maniac. The dark headed man cursed loudly when a stray kick connected with his nose, sending him reeling back a step and causing him to release his hold on her ankle.

"You fucking little bitch", he howled, clutching his now bleeding nose protectively. "If you weren't worth so much money, I'd fucking kill you myself".

The slight satisfaction that Mac felt at having caused this man some kind of pain was short lived, he was quick to recover, this time managing to seize both of her ankles. With one movement of his arms he sent her flying off the side of the bed and onto the dirty wooden floor. She landed heavily, and the action sent pain shooting through her entire body . Her head started to pound again and her thoughts turned fuzzy once more.

The man pulled her up off the floor, his grip tight on the top of her arm. He set her unsteadily on her feet, and shot her a look of distain.

"Move", he growled coldly, towing the unsteady young woman across the small room and into the adjoining area. She simply staggered along behind him, to tired and dazed to fight any further.

In the back of her mind Mac felt Seth unwillingly let some of his terror leak through the imprint. He could feel her rising fear, he knew that something was wrong, but he had no idea what was happening to her.

It took Mac's eyes a couple of seconds to adjust to the brighter light of the small kitchen and dining room next door. This room to, was in need of desperate cleaning and the furniture it contained was even more beat up than in the bedroom. The small wooden table in the corner looked as though it would collapse at anytime and the wallpaper was outdated and peeling away from the walls in the corners.

"Jesus Christ, from the noises coming out of there you would have thought you were fighting a full grown man, not a tiny girl", murmured a seemingly amused voice.

Mac turned her head to look at the man speaking and recognised him as the blonde headed man who had knocked on her door that morning. The bastard. He was giving his associate an amused look, but his body language was tense, and she noticed that he kept glancing uneasily across the room. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a shadow figure lurking in the doorway that lead out into the dark city night.

Mac's stomach dropped through the floor. Her heart was thundering in her chest. She took a deep breath and turned to face her tormentor.

The man before her was not human, but nor was he the monster that haunted her nightmares.

The unknown vampire had red hair, nearly as red as his eyes. He was slight in build, smaller than the two men beside her, but the small red head was infinitely stronger. She knew it, and from the cautious looks on the faces of the men beside her they knew it too.

The vampire appraised her with a snort, his darkening eyes travelling down her battered and bruised figure. "So, you're what all of the trouble is over? All of this time and money wasted on you?!" the red head chuckled disbelievingly, taking a step towards them. "That crazy old bastard has finally lost it", he said with a shake of his head.

The dark headed man still had a firm grasp on her arm, and as the vampire stepped towards them again he took a step back and drew her behind him. "The money", he stated gruffly, the slight tremor in his voice betraying his cool facade. "Give us the money, and we'll give you the girl", he finished, his grip tightening on her upper arm.

The red headed man froze, his cold gaze travelling over the two men before him. He could kill them so easily, he'd enjoy it to. He could take the money for himself, not that he really needed it, and leave the country. He could do that, he seriously considered it actually. He could almost hear the anguished screams of the men before him as he snapped their bones and drained their blood. He almost did it. Almost. But then the blood red eyes of his long time friend flashed through his mind. Menacing eyes. Relentless eyes. Evil eyes. No, there was no mercy in those eyes, if he betrayed Deimos now, his friend, the vampire he'd known for nearly a thousand years, would take great delight in tearing him piece from piece and turning him to ash.

The vampire flashed the men an impish grin before quickly sliding a sleek black backpack from his shoulders and tossing it into the waiting arms of the blonde haired man beside her. Unfortunately, a humans reactions are far slower than a vampires, and the bag whizzed through his grasp, slamming into his chest so hard it knocked the breathe out of him.

Tony had never seen anything like it in his life, and he'd seen some things. The moment the bag of money crashed into his chest, the red headed man moved. He moved so fast that the only indicator Tony had was the sudden squeal of the girl beside him as her arm was wrenched from his associates grasp. In the blink of an eye she was across the other side of the room, slung carelessly over the shoulder of that thing.

Tony felt his blood freeze. The red head had seemed off to him from the start, and now he was sure that he wasn't human.

He was a monster.

"Have fun boys", the vampire chucked, loving the shell shocked look on the faces of the pair. "You better hope I don't see you around". And with that he was gone, vanished into the city taking the dark headed girl with him.

The two were silent for a long while, both of them trying to come to grips with what they had just witnessed. Eventually Tony turned to the younger man beside him, "I need a beer", he whispered lowly. "You in kid?"

Phil nodded slowly, his dark eyes never leaving the open door where the vampire had departed from minutes ago. "A beer would be good. A few dozen would probably be better".

Tony snorted, picking up the bag of money from at his feet and heading towards the darkness, "Yeah, I think you're right kid. I think you're right". Unfortunately Tony knew that no matter how many beers they consumed, neither of the two men would forget what they had witnessed that night. There were something's you just couldn't un see, no matter how hard you tried.

"I hope you're comfortable", the red head laughed as they flew gracefully over the rooftops, from what Mac could see his feet seemed to barely touch the ground. "It's a bit of a trek".

Mac was far from comfortable, but she was hardly going to tell the vampire that. Instead she squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she could and focused all of her attention on the Seth. It was difficult for her to judge how far away he was, but to her, he felt closer and that thought was at least of a small comfort to her.

It was still raining heavily outside, it had soaked easily through her jeans and jersey and she was now utterly freezing. Her body shook pathetically, the vampires' icy cold body doing nothing to help her condition.

She had no idea how long they'd been running for, she guessed maybe an hour. She knew they were out of the city now, she could smell it. And the few times she had actually opened her eyes, she had caught a blurry glimpse of a few trees as they had whizzed past. The only sounds she could hear were the pounding of the rain and the cheery hum of the vampire who carried her.

Mac decided that humans weren't meant to move this fast, and she was pretty sure if they didn't arrive at their destination soon, she'd be dead anyway. If the cold didn't kill her, her motion sickness probably would.

It was a while longer before they finally stopped, and Mac was filled with such relief that she felt like crying. Then she remembered who she was being taken too, and she felt like crying for a completely different reason.

She heard the creak of a door, and was thankful that at least she would die somewhere dry. Mac was too scared to open her eyes. She could guess pretty easily who would be waiting for her, a guess that was confirmed when an all to familiar voice rung out from across the room.

"Ah, Shaun, my dear friend, how glad I am that you have finally arrived", the voice cooed, sounding delighted. "And you bring with you the lovely McKenna, what a pleasure this is".

"It has been a while, hasn't it", Shaun replied merrily, setting his package down gently on the floor. "I have to say Deimos, when you said you wanted a favour, this" he laughed, jerking his head towards the saturated girl, "is not what I had in mind".

The older vampire smiled gently at his companion and shrugged, "I've been trying to get my hands on this little gem for a long time now Shaun", he explained. "She has given me a lot of grief, and I am thankful for your assistance in helping me put my plan into action".

"Yeah, yeah. Happy to help", the red head chirped as he headed for the door. "So, I call us even then?"

"Yes, we are indeed even my, old friend", Deimos replied, dragging an icy finger across Mac's trembling chin. "I will no doubt, see you around Shaun. Safe travels".

Shaun snorted and shooting his old friend a final look, and the dark headed girl a wink, "Yeah. You two have fun now!"

And then they were alone.

Deimos gently removed the gag from her mouth, and the bonds from her wrists, he chuckled lightly when he noticed how mangled her skin had become from her earlier escape efforts.

"Open your eyes McKenna", his finger trailed delicately along her jaw and down the side of her neck. "I asked you to open your eyes", he repeated, his tone hinting of annoyance.

Mac made no move to open her eyes, she was so frozen by fear that she could barely move. After a couple of moments she felt his hand tighten around her throat, cutting off her air supply. She clawed uselessly at his hands as he lifted her from the ground until her feet were dangling in the air.

"When I ask you to do something, you do it, McKenna", the monster hissed lowly. "You do what I say".

Her eyes snapped open as her lungs screamed for air and for the first time since that night so long ago, her eyes of deep brown meet the haunting eyes of his deep red.

Deimos smiled at her darkly, "ah, much better". His grip tightened slightly before, his eyes remaining locked with hers for a moment longer before tossing her across the room like a rag doll, sending her careening across the small room and into the opposite wall with a crash.

The pain was overwhelming, and Mac was slow to sit up. She was hit with the realisation that she was going to die soon, and that Seth was too late. She didn't want to die. She had thought she did, there'd been times in her life when she would have welcomed death. There had even been a few times when she'd been so close to just ending it all, but at the last second had always pulled out. She'd been so alone, and trapped in despair. Taken from her friend and her home. Her family massacred by a monster, a monster that had continued to hunt her. The last year of Mac's life had been a constant horror movie. She had always been on the run, never staying in one place for more than a few days. She loved her vampire friends dearly, but they could do little to pull her from her depression.

She started to cry now, silently at first but the loud sobs soon followed. She had so much more to live for now. She'd always thought that life would never get any better for her, that she'd remain almost completely alone on rock bottom, but then she'd moved to La Push. She actually had friends, a boyfriend even. She loved them all so much. She had things to look forward to now, instead of dwelling on what she'd lost.

The vampire beside her cooed in what Mac supposed was meant to be a soothing manner, but the noise didn't match the gleeful grin that was plastered on his ancient face. She ignored him, and attempted to yank her jaw free from his grasp, where he had moved from across the room so that his icy cold hands held her chin tilted upwards, forcing her to look into his blood red eyes.

"Don't cry my dear", the vampire practically purred. "It'll be over soon, I promise. I really do hope you don't make as much noise as your mother did, it really detracts away from the meal".

Mac squeezed her eyes shut at that. She didn't want to hear this. She didn't want to remember this.

The vampire beside her grinned at her distress, "I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was so very hungry and was heading into town to hunt. It was the sound of the party that drew me to your lovely house. I was in the mood for an easy feed, and a house full of drunk teenagers never disappoints. And then I came across one of the most delectable scents I had ever crossed".

Mac let out a quiet sob, "shut up", she whispered, but the vampire simply chuckled at her request and continued talking.

"And you my dear, you were having quite the night before I arrived, weren't you? Your parents must have been impressed when they arrived home to find that their darling daughter intoxicated and in the company of fifty of your closest friends", the ancient vampire laughed heartily, his fingers tightening around her forearm and causing her to wince

God she hated him. Mac balled her hands into fists in her lap and willed for the vampire to stop talking.

She tried to ignore the way his fingers were ghosting up her arms, as he talked. She tried to ignore the vile words he was whispering to her. So close that she could feel his breathe brush across her face. She tried to ignore him, go to her happy place or something, but his words painted a picture, they triggered memories she had tried to forget for so long.

Her mothers' scream had rung out from down stairs, the hysterical tone waking Mac from her drunken slumber. She could hear her father yelling. Things breaking. Her mother kept screaming. Then it was silent.

She stumbled down stairs as quickly as she could, her head was still spinning from the shots of tequila she'd been doing only half an hour earlier. Mac staggered into the lounge, her eyes locking with the strange man standing across the room. She'd frowned, she didn't recognise him. Mac had no idea what was going on. Where the hell were her parents?

She looked around the room, still completely unaware of what was going on. Several seconds later Mac noticed two things, the first thing was that her mom was lying on the shattered remains of the family's glass dining table, her limbs twisted at unnatural angles and eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. The second thing she noticed was that she was standing in a puddle of some kind, glancing down, her eyes widened as she realised it was a pool of blood. Dread filled her.

As the pieces started to fit into place her eyes snapped back to her mom's body. Her mothers' body. Her mom was dead. Someone had killed her mom.

"Mom?!" She screamed hysterically as she started towards the bloody shattered table where the older woman lay, her blonde hair splay messily around her.

But she didn't reach it. The man was suddenly in front of her, he'd moved from the other side of the room in the blink of an eye, blocking her path.

"Shut up, Just shut the fuck up", Mac screamed through her tears, kicking and writhing against the tightening grip around her arm. The more she screamed, the more the vampires grip tightened.

She tried, again, to pull her arm from his icy grip, but his hand continued tighten painfully around her. "Stop", she sobbed weakly, "please stop".

He didn't stop.

The sound of bone breaking is never a pleasant sound to hear, it's even worse when the bones are your own. The pains not great either.

Mac couldn't help the blood curdling scream that was wrenched from her lips as the pain swamped her. Her head swam again and her vision blurred.

She was crying again. Louder this time. Wracking sobs that shook her entire body, each movement causing a new wave of pain to rock through her. The vampire continued his story.

"When I crossed your scent, I knew I had to have you. You were- are- the most delicious thing I have ever encountered. I followed the trail, and when I reached your house I could barely control myself", he shook his head, his fingers entangling themselves in her blood encrusted hair.

"Your poor parents simply got in between my meal and I" he whispered darkly into her ear. "Your father tried so hard to save your poor mother, but of course, he was no match for me. It was a valiant effort though, I can see where you get your fighting spirit from", the monster chuckled as he straitened, stepping back and appraising his meal.

Memories of her fathers' crumpled form filled her mind. She'd noticed him out of the corner her eye as she'd scrambled back away from the demon that was advancing towards her. She'd screamed louder, tears pouring down her face as she looked between the broken forms of two of the most important people in her life. And it was her fault. They were dead because of her.

"But this time, my dear. There is no one between us. No one to get in my road. I finally have you to myself", he hissed lowly.

This was it, Mac realised. He was going to kill her. Feast on her blood, leaving her empty and broken for the wolves to find.

God, she didn't want them to have see this. She didn't want Seth to have to feel this. Her wolf was panicking now, she could feel it. Up until now he'd managed to hold the bulk of his feelings back, but after the vampire beside her had snapped her arm like twig, he hadn't been able to contain himself. It was too much. Seth was so scared. He was furious. He was determined. But Mac knew it wouldn't be enough.

She tried to block him out, close of the connection between them like she had before. But Seth wasn't having any of that, he blew right past her feeble attempt at shutting down the imprint bond and Mac whimpered as his rage grew. He knew what she was trying to do. He was frantic.

The vampire beside her laughed, burying his face in the crook of her neck and breathing deeply. Mac's stomach crawled as she felt his icy cold tongue danced threateningly across her skin.

Deep in the forests of the Cascades mountains the sandy wolf and his pack were closing in on the vampire. He could smell his imprint, her scent masked by the sickly bleach like scent of an unknown vampire. Seth couldn't wait to end this. He was already picturing ripping that leech to pieces and rescuing Mac.

It was as he thought of this that he was suddenly over come with such pain through the imprint bond that his steps that had been so sure and steady for the last few hours faltered.

He recovered himself and snarled in pure fury. That fucker was hurting his imprint. They were so close. He could feel it. But he was still so helpless, he couldn't protect her. He'd never felt so useless in his entire life.

The Beta's howl of fury rang out through the night.

At first the ancient vampire had looked confused, as if he was unable to comprehend that his plan had actually failed. The wolves had somehow tracked him here in time. Despite the false trail. Despite the pouring, scent obliterating rain. Despite his best effort, he'd failed.

As the fact dawned on him, the vampires' usually calm and collected facade dropped. His face transformed into one that looked as though it belonged in the most terrifying of horror movies, his lip curled back as a savage snarl ripped from his throat. His fangs were bared and his blood red eyes had narrowed dangerously as his eyes darted manically around the dimly lit room, trying to decide which wall the wolves would burst through.

What had started off as one howl was now many. The frenzied howls seemed to come from all around, the sound bouncing of the trees and rocks that surrounded the rangers hut hidden deep in the mountains and trees.

Everything happened at once.

The door burst open, the massive wolf that tore though destroying half the wall in the process.

Deimos lifted her from the ground, and in the blink of an eye they were on the other side of the room, Mac held pathetically against the vampires chest.

A second wolf piled through the gaping hole, this one even larger than the first. his dark russet fur covered in water dropplets. Outside the remaining pair circled. The dangerous growls and snapping of teeth could even be heard by Mac's human ears.

This was it. Her worst nightmare. The monster that had hunted her, face to face with the people she was so terrified of losing.

Time seemed to almost stand still as the brown eyes of the sandy wolf locked with hers. Seth.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. That was so flaming difficult to write. I hope you enjoyed it all. I promise to crank the next chapter out a lot quicker! Yay!

Please review, I'm eager to hear what you all think