All at once, a loud sound of gunshot ricocheted through the glass wall, which shattered. Daryn came running in with his hand over his upper arm. It was bleeding profusely. The moment he saw Azura with his gun pointed at her, his beast growled at Azura. It wanted to protect its mate at all costs. He snarled, baring his fangs, "Leave her bastard or I'll rip you apart in shreds!" His pointed claws jutted out and he looked ferocious as hell.

Azura pointed his gun at him.

​​

Daryn leapt at him.

It was over within a fraction of seconds. Daryn was lying in a pool of blood on the floor, as a silver bullet hit him, piercing his rib cage.

"Darynnnn!" Dawn's agonized cry echoed in the villa. Hands pressed against her mouth, she ran over to him and crouched beside him. Lying in the pool of blood, it reminded her of the time when she was bitten and was lying in the crimson river that seemed to engulf her for eternity. Fears rose in her chest and the wail that was forming there, stifled. "Daryn, Daryn," she murmured. "This can't be, this can't be," she said shaking her head violently. She patted his face. "Come back, come back." His body was limp and cold. She pressed her hand on his wound to stop the blood from flowing out.

Azura walked beside her. "I don't think he would ever come back to life now. That's a silver bullet, I pierced in his body," he said pointing at the gaping wound. "And even if he would, by any miracle, you won't be around him." He laughed and held her by the upper arm, yanking her off the ground. "Now come, we have a long way to get out of her."

"No! I won't go," she rasped. "He needs help," she whispered.

"Come on!" Azura shouted. "We don't have time!" He pulled her again.

After that everything appeared to happen in slow motion.

"Daryn!" Dawn shouted as Azura dragged her out of the villa.

'Dawn!' shouted Quetz, feeling her agitation. 'Where are you?' He screeched madly, sensing her agitation, her helplessness and her fears. His dragon rider was in danger.

Dawn's brain had frozen completely. She couldn't comprehend what was going on. She didn't know what was happening around her anymore. Dazed, she let Azura pull her, as she clutched her hand across her tummy. Her lips quivered and her body was limp. Dawn fainted.

Azura scooped her up. He walked out with his trophy in his arms. When he looked around, he saw corpses of his men and that of Daryn's. He scoffed. A helicopter was standing in a small clearing. He sprinted to it. As soon as neared it, the pilot opened the door for him and after securing the two of them with seatbelts, he rushed to the pilot's seat and flew off. The helicopter soon disappeared in the night sky.

---

Quetz screeched and screamed for her. 'Dawn, don't lose me. Talk to me!' His wings flapped fiercely to reach her, to follow her, but he was trapped in the enchanted forests, outside of which he was nothing but a piece of green gemstone.

'Let me out!' he roared.

Not able to feel the bond was unimaginable. It was like an amputation of limbs. The pain—unbearable. 'Dawn!' he called her again. But no sound came.

A few minutes later he heard wings of a helicopter whirring and then it was gone—with Dawn in it.

His claws clung to the tree he was perched upon. He took off and flew as far as he could sense his rider. However, half an hour later he couldn't sense her. She had disappeared off the grid. In rage, he breathed fire. Whosoever had done that was going to get murdered by him, slowly and very painfully.

---

When Dawn opened her eyes, she found herself on a soft mattress, covered with a warm blanket in a dark room. The walls of the room were thick and the only door that was there was made of thick steel. She jolted up and removed the blanket. Her clothes were different and she was wearing a soft, pink maxi. She pounded the steel door. "Let me out!" she shouted angrily. "Azura!"

With her power, she should've been able to tear the steel door, but surely Azura knew her powers as a fellow neotide. He had taken precautions. The door was unbelievably thick and non-destructible. He had ensured that her scent didn't leak for he knew that the pureblooded lykae were too strong with their sense of smell.

"Open the door, Azura!" she banged over and over again. "What is it that you want?" She sobbed thinking about Daryn. "You know that I am married to him. He has marked me." If Daryn died, she had no desire to live. Her natural instincts wouldn't allow her to live. "Please set me free." Suddenly the thought that Daryn had died made the last wisp of air whoosh out of her lungs. She leaned against the door and slid down it to the floor. She fainted.

Azura was watching her through the camera. He hated to see her in that situation. Why couldn't she love him? Why couldn't she see his love for her? He rubbed his chest and walked to the steel door. Punching in a code, he opened it slowly. He picked her up and settled her back on the bed. Then he closed the door and went to the bar to pour whiskey for himself. She had to forget him...

---

"Don't worry," the doctor said as Gayle sat right next to Daryn on his bed. Cole, Neal and some other werewolves were in the healer's room. "This is not the first time Daryn has been shot at with a silver bullet. If it were a normal bullet, he would have become okay overnight, but this one is made from silver," he said pointing at the bloody bullet that was in a tray, which he had extracted from his stomach. "Its poison is going to take at least two days to purge completely."

Gayle nodded. His jaw was clenched and a vein throbbed in his temple. He looked coldly at Neal.

Daryn was lying on the bed, bandages around his stomach and rib cage. It was almost a day when he was extracted from the island and operated upon. The helicopter that he had sent for arrived in time. However the moment the pilot saw the murdered bodies lying on the ground, he had reported it to Gayle Silver, who had then ordered the pilot to come directly to the nearest city.

He had taken the next flight out of Bainsburgh along with Neal, Cole, the family doctor and five other important pack members. A werewolf doctor in that city operated upon his son immediately. The family doctor took over as soon as he was there. When Gayle reached, Daryn was already operated upon.

Cole was freaking out. His eyes were swollen red. "Please tell me where my sister is," he pleaded the hundredth time.

Mr. and Mrs. Rozero were questioned a thousand times and so were all the staff. None knew who was the man who had abducted Dawn. They were made to scour through the surrounding waters so that they picked up any familiar scent but they couldn't. It was like Dawn had vanished in thin air.

They waited for Daryn to open his eyes.