Adeline's eyes cracked open, bright, blinding lights meeting her. Darkness immediately settled over her as she slammed her eyelids shut, a groan leaving her parched lips.

Her whole body hurt... ached. Every breath she took hurt, as if her lungs had been stretched as far as they could go.

She had a deep bone ache that went throughout her whole body; the claws of returning pain cleaving through her bones, and into her deteriorating muscles.

"She's awake," a soft voice whispered, urgency and joy lacing their words.

Adeline turned her head, the muscles in her neck screaming in protest, and stared at her tearful parents.

A tear slid down her mother's face, highlighting the dark bags hanging under her eyes, and the hollowness in her cheeks. The Luna's hands were gripping Adeline's thin hand, encasing it in warmth and reassurance.

And, just like the time the Oracle had arrived, she was strapped down to the bed-- thick, leather straps crossing over her body and wrapping under the mattress, rendering her body useless of movement.

Not that she cared. The more secure she was, the better. Should the Beast take over, it would save the others some time to get away, to run as far and fast away as possible.

But she knew that her parents wouldn't do that. No, should the Beast take over, they would fight it in a fury of teeth and claws.

Like warring wraiths, they would attack the raging Beast, delivering bone-crushing bites, fierce bodyslams, and bloody lacerations.

As the Beast grew stronger, so did their attacks.

Her father smiled down at her gently, his large hand reaching up to brush back the hair that had fallen over her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Turning her head away from the alpha's gentle, hesitant hand, she let out a breath, her throat burning. "Fine..."

Gosh, by the way her voice sounded, it sounded as if she hadn't spoken in months. But, in fact, it had only been a few days...

A few days!

"How long," she croaked. "have I been asleep?"

The wild in her parents' eyes had begun to dim, but the wolves still lurked, observing and waiting...

Dillon and Alexandra exchanged glances, probably speaking through their mind-link.

"Honey," her mother said, squeezing her hand. "You have been asleep for almost three days."

Three days.

She had nearly been asleep, for three.whole.days.

And that meant...

A clock chimed from somewhere in the mansion, rattling Adeline's eardrums, and the flesh inside of her skull.

Her whole world spun in violent, sweeping circles. Shadows closed in, dancing from the dark, unseen corners of the room, twirling on spindly limbs of ash and darkness.

Adeline's head snapped to the left, away from her parents as bile rose up from her stomach, charging along her dry throat, and out of her mouth.

All that she had eaten in the past few days left her in great heaves, expelling onto the clean tiles.

Strong hands immediately rubbed her back, running over her spine and shoulder blades in comforting circles, reminding her that they were there. They were also whispering sweet, gentle words, cooing them into her ears, but she didn't hear them.

All she could hear was the roaring of her blood.

The blood that was leaving her mouth.

????

Blood.

Blood was everywhere.

It was on the floor, on Adeline's shirt, on the bed...

The dark red color stained the floor, standing vividly against the moon-white tiles.

Dillon cursed wickedly as he lunged up to his feet, already moving towards his daughter's pale, shaking form.

"DOCTORS!" Alexandra roared, her voice tearing through the room, and out into the world beyond.

Immediately, the sounds of hurried footsteps and rushed words met his ears, getting closer and closer to their private room, but they weren't nearly fast enough.

No one was fast enough, not even him, as Adeline's body fell limp, her head falling back onto the pillow.

The world slowed... halted into a crawl as the alphas' lunged, their claws replacing their human nails in a heartbeat.

Dillon heard the doctors and nurses and healers burst through the door, gasps and cries of shock ripping through the room.

Echoing.

Grating against his very bones.

But all he heard was the sound of Adeline's weak heart.

The soft, fluttering sounds of it...

If they didn't act now, it would cease to beat, resting dormant in Adeline's chest, for the rest of eternity.

Blood so red it was nearly black, oozed from the corner of Adeline's lips, leaking from both of her nostrils.

Her heart fluttered unevenly.

The blood soaked the front of her chest, the leather-strap strapped across it, and, then, also his hands and claws.

Tearing through the thick straps as if they were sticks of butter, Dillon threw them aside, off of his daughter.

He made to grab her, to turn her onto her side so that she would be able to expel the blood and vomit, but, instead, harsh, firm hands grabbed onto his arms, pulling him back.

Roars and howls of rage erupted, shaking the ceiling, the floor, the walls... the whole damned world.

The heavens far above probably shook, too, from the force of their protests.

Dillon wanted the heavens to shake, hell, he was even hoping that Noorali, the god of the underworld and eternal punishment, felt it.

He wanted the Moon to feel their anger... their desperation.

????

"LET GO OF ME!" Alexandra screamed, yanking against the warriors trying to subdue her.

Her feet lashed out at them, aiming for their groins, legs, stomachs... anything, anything that would cause them to release her.

A mouth full of teeth struck the flesh of a hand, tearing through the ligaments and bones there; blood filled her mouth, coating her tongue.

The male howled in pain, but still, they didn't release her.

She drew back her elbow as far back as possible, her muscles tensing as she readied herself for the blow that would not only hurt her, but also the unlucky male that was within range.

Grunts of pain rippled through the atmosphere of pure panic, as the alphas struggled to return to their daughter, and the Western Pack Beta raged to reach his newly discovered mate.

As strong as she was, she was no match for multiple warriors, warriors that have been training since they were pups.

More warriors suddenly appeared, racing through the door, and zeroing in on Dillon and Finnian.

And the warriors dealing with them needed the help.

Desperately.

Dillon was flinging the warriors off of him, as easily as if he were batting away flies. He was a short wolf compared to the others, but he could hold his own against them, with no problem at all.

But, unlike Dillon, the large Western Pack Beta wasn't afraid of throwing punches, or getting them in return.

His large, hard fist slammed into a warrior's face, forcing a bark of pain out of the male. Blood sprayed from the warrior's mouth and nose. A second later, another fist was sent flying, crashing right into Finnian's nose.

He grinned, a wicked, feral thing.

Alexandra's wolf had had enough.

Grey fur sprouted along her arms as her animal took over, howling its oath of vengeance.

The doctors, nurses, and healers swarming her daughter raced around, doing things to her pup that was going to, hopefully, save her.

Alexandra was about to complete her shift, to break through the hoard of wolves surrounding her pup, when a sharp needle pierced her flesh.

"I'm so, so sorry, Luna." A warrior whispered into her ear as her limbs began to stiffen, then lock in place.

Silver.

They had just injected her with silver; but that was a fool's move.

For all for of them.

Even in her unending anger, tears streamed down her face as she caught a glimpse of her daughter's face.

Covered in red, her pale eyes stared blankly up at the many faces above her.

Unseeing.

Clouded over.

But alive.

That was the last thing she thought as the silver pushed back her wolf, and paralyzed her body; freezing it in time.

A time of pain, anger, and so, so, so much hopelessness.

As the warriors carried her out of the room, she glanced briefly at her mate, her daughter's still form, and the roaring male that was so mysterious, yet, somehow family.

Tears raced down her face as the silver raced through her body, leaving it useless and unmoveable-- just like the leather restraints they had to strap over their daughter.

Their poor, deadly daughter.

Their little girl.

The little girl they had failed to protect.

Right before she left the bloody infirmary, she watched as Finnian was injected with silver.

She had expected him to slow down, to start tiring out, even a little, but he continued to punch and kick the warriors trying to restrain him, curses and snarls leaving his split and bloodied lips.

The last thing she saw, was a warrior grab a broken chair leg off of the ground, gripping it in his hands.

The thud of Finnian's body resonated throughout the mansion.