Aislinn was snuggled in the bed Kio's small soft body curled into her chest his nose tucked against her neck. His breath ticking against her skin. Looking up she watched as he entered from the bathroom his hair damp from his shower. A pair of black sweatpants hanging low on his hips as a white t-shirt pulled tightly across his muscular chest. His feet bare as he padded silently across the room to the sofa.

Not sure she could speak the words she let her mind seek his out, it scared her a little how easy it was to find his. How familiar and right it felt.

"You don't have to sleep on the sofa." She thought making sure to keep her words steady, her emotions were locked away for the most part and those that were managing to escape, she was choosing to completely ignore. She was still not totally liking how it felt to well ... feel them again. It was just they were so confusing and overwhelming changing how she thought and acted, it made her uneasy, off-balance, and well just plain terrified.

His head whipped up his eyes opening wide as he looked over at her his eyebrows furrowing together.

"I don't mind." His voice was hesitant as he spoke out loud, while he eyed her.

"You can think thoughts at me and I can hear you." She said into his mind again ignoring his comment.

"Like a normal link?"

"Not really. You don't send them to me more like I pick them up from you, but if I'm listening I will hear you the same."

"Okay." He said sitting down on the sofa he looked exhausted.

"You don't have to sleep on the sofa." She said again wanting to go to sleep as she felt her own tiredness.

"Its fine plus I don't want to be away from you." She smiled internally as she listened to his words. What she said was true he didn't push the words into her mind like in the mind link but her wolf could 'hear' when someone was trying to speak to her, her father had explained it that their wolf was calling to hers the intention being to grab her attention like hollering across the room.

"The bed here is big enough, you don't need to sleep on that." She said simply letting herself finally give into the sleep that was tugging at her.

Kaiden sat stunned for a few moments before slowly moving to the bed. It dipped under his weight as he looked over at his mates back. Her hair spilling across the white sheets tangling around her body like ribbons. He could just see the tips of her wolf pups ears sticking up from where he slept peacefully his soft breaths and heartbeat mixing with hers. Moving cautiously he pulled the covers back before sliding between the sheets.

.

.

It was cold. The sky was dark the moon hidden behind thick clouds, only their night vision was allowing them to be able to move through the thick forest.

Branches scraped against her skin, pulled at her clothing, caught in her hair. She didn't stop. Didn't even pause.

She knew they were behind her. Could her their frantic calls. Their heavy footfalls. Panic and anger meaning they weren't moving carefully. They were hell bent on catching her.

She didn't stop. She couldn't.

She knew she worried him when she bolted from the bed, throwing herself across the room and out the door without pause. Flying down the stairs she had nearly thrown Kio at Clay's sleepy face as he came out of his room, rubbing his hands over his face as his hair stuck up everywhere, he stared at her with blurry eyes in only a pair of boxers. He had only just managed to grab the fur ball that was shoved at him without dropping him. He had cursed but she hadn't bothered to listen instead throwing herself over the railing to the floor below and out the door.

She could hear his voice now mixed with the others. They shouted and cursed.

She didn't stop.

She had to get there.

She had to.

She couldn't be too late.

She had to make it.

She wouldn't have more blood on her hands.

Finally after what felt like hours his scent hit her nose. It was like a vicious kick to her abdomen. Her stomach clenched, rolling as bile burned her throat. But she didn't stop.

Blood. Fear. Pain. Violence.

So much violence. How could someone do this? She didn't let herself feel. She pushed it all back down refused to let herself collapse, refused to give into the horror that she was seeing, into the weakness within her pleading for her to look away to hide from the sight before her.

She couldn't.

Be strong.

She pushed through it, growling at the feel of tears springing to her eyes as she refused to let them fall.

Racing to the body she didn't hesitate. Her hands grabbed the bindings. She didn't let herself feel the burn as the wolfsbane began to burn the skin off her hands. She tore at the ropes and chains. She heard the shouts getting closer.

Someone started vomiting. Aislinn couldn't find it in herself to judge them, she was still fighting to choke her own back.

Hands on her shoulders tried to pull her back. The sparks told her who it was. She shook them off, not looking back she continued to furiously try to free the man.

Giving up he dropped beside her his hands coming up behind her own grabbing a rope pulling it free hissing as his hands got their first lick of the poison that coated the body.

"Holy F*ck!" Austin shouted his hands on his head as he looked at the body tied in lengths and lengths of wolfsbane soaked rope and chains of silver his face pale.

The body was nearly unrecognizable. Nearly all of his skin burned from his body the little left covered in deep gashes and dark bruises.

"Austin, Richard get back to the house get some blankets and towels. He's covered in this sh*t. We need to wrap him so we can carry him." At Kaiden's words they were off shooting back through the trees.

They were back just as Aislinn pulled the last thick chain of silver from around the man's neck. He let out the slightest groan as it fell away. Kaiden broke the shackles on his wrists and ankles. Richard moved forward with a soft sheet as the man's body fell forward.

Aislinn let her body collapse to the side for a moment staring down at her burned and mangled hands. The tissue raw and vicious looking. Kaiden looked over at her and she looked deeply into his eyes. He was in full Alpha mode as he took control of the scene, but he paused as he looked at her. She nodded once letting him know she was okay before pushing herself up. Not letting herself wince or display the slightest flicker of her own pain. How could she even if she was not trained the way she was. How could she possibly give into her own pain when she stood next to the tortured body of this unknown wolf?

It took them longer to get back to the house. Austin and Richard carrying the man as he hung between them in a sheet. Letting out a low moan of agony every time they rocked him. He soon lost complete consciousness his breathing becoming alarmingly erratic as he lost more and more blood his body unable to repair itself.

Bursting through the back door they were met by Blair and Olivia. Not stopping to answer any of their questions Kaiden threw the doors open leading them to the infirmary Aislinn hot on his heels the others following.

The sight they were met with in the light was horrendous. In the dark they hadn't been able to see just how bad it was. Now under the bright white lights, none of them could understand how this man was still alive.

Richard and Olivia began tearing up more sheets grabbing bowls of warm water to try and remove the wolfsbane from his skin. It was a long horrible process.

Aislinn stood in the corner, her face blank her eyes void. She said nothing. She did nothing. She just watched. Watched as they scrambled around. As the blood and poison dripped crimson against the pure white of the tiles. As it stained the sheets. Their hands. Their eyes.

The worst was when he woke up. His screams tore through the air. Cut to the bone. The agony though was too much and soon the blackness took him once again.

Still Aislinn didn't move. After what seemed like hours but wasn't nearly that long, her mate stepped closer to her. He was hesitant watching her.

She looked up into the cool steady icy blue of his eyes. His mouth moved as he spoke but she didn't listen. He reached for her but she flinched back. His face flashed with hurt before he hid it his hand falling to his side. She didn't listen as he turned his head his lips moving again. Didn't look up to watch as Richard turned from the man fighting for his life to crowd around her. She stared into the blue.

Sometimes it was darker, a stormy sea blue. Like clouds washing across the swells of the ocean. Blue with a depth of churning, erupting, ferocity. Other times it was clear and bright, as they reflected the summer sky where the sun hung high overhead. So crisp and clear, sparkling with everything good and pure. But now, now they were ice, harsh and cold. Cutting and unbreakable as they sharpened taking in everything, missing nothing.

Blue.

She didn't notice as Richard looked at her in concern. Didn't react to his comforting voice or the feel of his wolf reaching through their bond to her.

All she was, was blue.

Blue.

She used to be green. That was what used to look at her with. Green, but not spring green. No more of an evergreen, dark and lush. The color alone enough to elicit the smell of thick forests and damp moss, the taste of rain soaked branches and heavy vine covered pines on your tongue. It was a green of warmth and affection. Never anger, never harshness, only laughter and love. She would look into the green and she knew she would always be loved. She would always be safe. She would always be home. All because she had the green.

And then the green left. There was no more green. No more love. No safety. No home. No nothing. left and the green left with her. She never wanted it again. She learned how to not need it. She had lost all of that when left, when was torn away. When body had been ripped to shreds,screams finally silenced, the green finally extinguished.

But now there was blue.

Blue.

"I can save him." Her voice was weak. Small. Broken. She was six and she was watching them all die. Their blood coated her, the smell, the taste. It would never completely fade no matter how many showers she took. No matter how she scrubbed she was never free from it.

She was six and she didn't save them.

"What?" She didn't care who spoke.

"I can save him." Her voice was just as weak, just as small as before. She wasn't strong. She wasn't in control. She was a scared lost little girl, but she wasn't going to watch another person die. Not because of her.

She moved between them her eyes now fixed on the wolf slowly losing his own battle. She felt him beginning to slip, beginning to give up. She knew how he felt. Knew how tired he was. How scared. How much he just wanted to sleep. To find peace. Any peace, even if it meant giving up everything. Sometimes the pain is just too much. That was something she could definitely understand.

Moving to the side of the hospital bed her hands hesitated over his arm. She felt herself begin to panic. Her mind fighting her. Her breathing picked up as she tried to force her hands forward. She felt self-loathing sweep through her. Sharp and icy as it coated her. She was so weak, so broken she couldn't even save this man lying dying right in front of her. She was pathetic.

His scent let her know he had moved to her shoulder. His warmth pulsed against her side. Her panic eased just a little in his presence but still her hands would not move.

"Shh love, it's okay. Hey look at me." Slowly she did as he asked.

Blue.

"Put your hand on mine." Again she did as he asked slowly she reached out her left hand. Slowly she lightly ever so lightly rested it on where his hand was laying on the bed. Her eyes closed in relief when the pain didn't come. Only the sparks. Pleasure soon replaced the relief and she felt more of her panic ease off.

"Now reach out your other hand." Her eyes flew open.

"I promise love, it won't hurt. Focus on my hand. Focus on me and reach out."

Her heartbeat spiked at his words, her panic coming back full force.

"Shh little one. It's okay I promise." He soothed gently.

She took a deep breath, letting it out she heard the man's heartbeat drop even more, his breathing now impossibly shallow and labored.

"That's it love, now just reach out your other hand."