WILLIAM

One of the guards from the dungeon screamed through the link, pack wide. HELP! ANYONE! TO THE DUNGEONS! WERECREATURE ESCAPED! NEED HELP! GUARD BITTEN!

The wolves seated around the banquet table stared around. Could we help? Certainly Blake could not. But as Caroline was with Catherine, and I was Beta I figured I'd take the lead. I stood up slowly and gave a look to John that meant follow. As Blake had heard the announcement, I chose to just nod a farewell. John and I met up a few steps away and started carefully making our way into the packhouse human speed. Why did we let humans come here! Eric was insane.

When we hit the packhouse doors we started a run for the basement, but that's when my life was nearly ended.

Eric's link tore through me. Holy shit! William, Kara just jumped a window into the dungeon!

My curse words back to him were not polite as my feet sped to the outer wall of my capabilities. I tried to scream at her through the link, but she was not listening. Eric in wolf form, along with another of his friends stepped in front of her for protection. But she tossed them across the room like paper airplanes as I hit the dungeon door. I pressed the code in the electric lock almost denting the buttons as I saw her challenge the creature.

"Kara! Get out of the way!" I shrieked through the broken viewing window to the side.

The door unlocked and I raced the platform and hurled myself over the stairs as the werecreature charged. I pushed her out of the way just in time, and gathered her sheltered in my arms as we slid across the floor, slamming back first into bars of an empty cage. A single breath of relief left me.

Her muscles softened in my grip and she started to dart glances around the room.

"Are you crazy! Get out of here!" I hollered as the beast ran around us.

Her panicked eyes sought mine as she quietly spoke my name. I couldn't be brought down with the innocent look of her eyes, still flitting about the room. I pressed my hand at her cheek to get her glance to me. I couldn't even imagine how she got here or why she was down here. It was so incredibly dangerous! She could die! But she stammered as if she didn't even know how she was where she was.

John made it down to the main floor and shifted trying to keep the werecreature's attention with Eric and the others. It was spinning between wolf to wolf behind us. Each trying to stay from its jaws, but keep it contained away from Kara and I. But it didn't last. The werecreature faked a left and hit Guard Ryan with a powerful bite. Ryan cried out in pain and I turned to gasp. But as I did Kara's muscles tensed and she rose from my embrace starting toward the creature.

"No!" I cried, grabbing her waist to dash her back upstairs and away from the diseased thing. I would take her far from this room, this instant! But as soon as my arms were on her she turned to me. Her eyes ringed in a tiny amount of gold peering out from under the blue contact, brought my wolf to the surface. Her quiet stay was just as strong as any full alpha command I've ever been dealt. It was the power of the absolute marking! She wasn't letting me go to help her!

"Get her!" I cried to my pack as the creature turned to her. "She won't let me help!" She was going to die!

Eric's wolf came up on her to push her out of the way of the creature's charge but she made some twisting move away from Eric and warped the creature's charge around her. She flipped it with ease to the ground, her legs caging its arms.

I could only watch, glued in place by her command. This was insanity! "Kara, let me go!" But my terror lessened as I watched her now. Her pin had been so effortless. She had the creature totally at her mercy, every force it gave easily diverted by her quick hold. While my mind was racing with fear, my wolfen side was gratified of the power my mate.

Her hands pressed into the snapping face and Eric made a grab to move her hand, but the snout had been caught and healing had already began.

As others arrived on the dungeon floor, we all stared helplessly on as the creature slowly became human again. A true full transformation from monster to human. The pack link was all in utter confusion and wonderment of her act and now this man nude on the floor. They all drew in, watching between the two intently. The man, early twenties, a werewolf from another pack, Alpine Ridge if I could scent him right. He lay unconscious and Eric's link summoned medics from the upper hospital unit.

I could barely wrap my head around the creature being healed before Kara was up again in a quick determined motion.

"Wait!" I called to her, my hand coming up in agitation, legs still locked, but she was at Ryan's side and the wound at his bicep sewed itself back together before our eyes. As we stared in admiration she moved in a flash to Aaron's side. He was holding his wrist in agony, pressed down to the floor near the cell the creature had been in. She held his wrist and again we watched the wound mend itself.

Her stance was trembling as she stood upright and searched the room, not really seeing. "It is done."

The moment her eyes closed, I felt her command around me unlock. She then started to topple backwards. With wolfen speed I was there to catch her, letting her droop into my body.

I sat to the floor with her, letting her head rest against my chest. I could hear her heart, feel her breath, but still my words were fraught with worry. "Kara? Kara! Caroline! Wake up!" Eric and John, as well as a few other guard wolves transformed human and came over to us.

"Is she alright?" John asked staring over her.

My glance darted between them. "She's not waking up."

Eric took her form in and then looked over to the medics taking the Alpine Ridge man up the stairs. "Maybe a full heal takes a lot of power and she's not used to it? Try forcing her own healing."

I shook my head, Kara still limp in my arms. "Force her? What does that mean?"

His head nodded to her throat. "Bite her mark. Use the mate bond. Tell her to heal."

I looked down to her asleep in my arms, still an angel, and blew out a breath. I hoped Eric knew what he was talking about. I positioned her so her neck was wide and latched on to my mark.

It only took three seconds before she gasped, eyes and mouth opening wide to the ceiling. Her breathing came out labored and painful and she closed her eyes and moaned.

"Kara? Caroline? Are you okay?" I asked softly rubbing her face and she then opened her beautiful eyes to me, only contact blue, a final cut across her forehead mending before our eyes.

"William?" Her voice was silk soft, and a smile tried to tug a side of her lip.

I let out a relieved breath and smiled back. "Hey sweetheart."

But the smile faded as her glance strayed to Eric and John, kneeling beside us. Then her lips parted with a stronger breath as she took in her surroundings and her eyes trained on wolves still transformed watching over the scene. Her heartrate pounded as she spotted the werecreatures filling cells around us, still snarling and fighting their cages. Her fingers curled around my arm in distress, her shock cascading into me.

Her panic started to erupt, and I felt the need to calm her tingling through me. "Sweetheart. It's okay. You're safe. Calm down."

"William?" Her breathing became shallow as she stared instead to me. She paused, staring deep within me. The calm before the storm. "This ... isn't a dream.... Is it?"

I shook my head lightly. "No love."

Her heart sprinted. "No. No, it can't be!" She panted horrified.

Eric's voice cut in. "This is real Kara. Werewolves are real. You knew it before, you just need to remember."

She then gasped, her body tightening, irises widening beyond the contacts, giving just an edging glimmer of gold and she rushed off my lap. "Wait!" I called.

She turned only a moment, but then eyes darted to the many wolves stepping after her.

"Stay back!" Eric commanded them. "Kara, it's okay," he stood as calming as he could. But it didn't work.

"No!" I hollered as she took off for the stairs. Her speed was incredible! She was suddenly clear up the stairs, in front of the locked door. "Kara!" I yelled again, starting my own speed toward her.

She inhaled a frightened breath as wolves flanked me and looked at the window she had previously broken through. "Kara, don't try it!" I pushed off a wolf flanking me. "Stop scaring her!"

But she did try it.

Caroline leapt in the air from the platform, catching the window with handfuls of broken glass. The sharp bites of mirroring cuts smeared over my own hands, knowing hers were probably sliced clear to bone. Before I could say anything else, she was pulling herself up and out through the shattered window, slices cutting down her legs.

"After her!" Eric called through the guards.

"No! We'll scare her!" I made the stairs and punched in the code for the door to open.

"She'll hurt herself again!" He yelled back, staring at the red splashed over the broken window.

When I noticed all the seeping blood I gasped, fearful for her life. "Help her." I spoke to the stains.

Eric closed his eyes and linked for any help.

We could hear her running footsteps already a floor above.

"She's upstairs!" Eric and I flew to the stairs and ran after her calling footfall, following the red drops on the floor until they lessened then stopped completely.

We made it through all the lower layers and clear up to the fourth upper floor when we caught up to her. She had paused as men stopped her travel higher on the stairs. She halted on a landing between floors, eyes training on the large window to the forest.

"No. Caroline, sweetheart. Calm down. It's okay." I spoke gently as I began to shuffle relaxed steps toward her. She turned her sights on me and I noticed her stance and shoulders soften, but feet and fists poised to flee again. "Come with me. We'll talk this through." I still could catch glimpses of gold as her glance darted around, pulling at the edges of her contacts.

"I can get her," a man from the stair above said, flying over the railing.

"No!" Eric and I both screamed together.

Her eyes flew to him and as he tried to topple her to the ground she dashed to the side, backhanding him toward us like bowling pins. Her muscles stiffened and she ran at the window, bursting it to pieces as she fell.

"Caroline!" I yelled in horror and sped to the broken window. I stared helpless as she collapsed into the ground below, summersaulting out of her fall. Her leg surely broken with the burn I was feeling. Her glance up to me showed her face and arms covered with red cuts. I turned back to Eric, finally looking over the window himself. "I think she broke her leg."

He let out a breath as if she were finally safe. "She'll heal. Don't worry." He closed his eyes to link. "I've got a few men from the lobby going to grab her."

"Don't let them scare her."

"They won't."

Her head then lowered and her hand pressed over her left shin. I started checking the length down the building to the ground watching for places I could jump from.

Eric noticed my eyeing. "Don't," he cautioned already sensing my idea. "Come on, she's fine for the moment. It's better than breaking your leg too." He grabbed my sleeve and started dashing us downstairs.

When we made it to the ground level and out the doors, Kara was gone from under the window. The guard wolves were clear over inside the surrounding forest. We ran for them and men were running around in circles through the underbrush.

"Where is she?!" Eric hollered.

"She limped into the forest when she saw us. But we lost her Alpha," an omega woman bowed in remorse.

"What do you mean you lost her! Just track her!" He took a deep inhale of the air and groaned. "She masked her scent!" Eric looked back to me. "Are you able to pick her scent out?"

I took a lungful of her in and turned to point between two spruce trees. "Yes."

"Everyone. Back to work." He ordered the wolves around us. They immediately bent their submissions and scattered. "Go. I'll follow you."

I let my inner wolf follow his mate's scent and started running the direction, Eric fast on my feet. We jumped underbrush and he stared around the forest.

Her footfall dashed around in zigzags for a mile or so, but then straightened out like an arrow. After a minute of watching the direct path, Eric smiled over to me. "I think I know where she's going."