"Yah!" I yelled out into the wind that was beating against my cheeks, numbing the apples and making my earlobes and jaw ache along with the cold. Naming the Paint Horse Leo right after we broke into the treeline and rushed into the woods behind the mansion, he obeyed my command and galloped powerfully over the dead leaves and pine needles. Organic matter flew up behind us as the speed of Leo increased, the trees whistling while standing naked under the setting sun. Feeling goosebumps cover every inch of my exposed-and covered-skin, I silently cursed not bringing a jacket or wearing a heavier sweater.

The pounding of Leo's hooves against the ground never wavered, never slowed, as I lowered my upper body closer to his mane and gripped the reigns harder to keep from falling. My exposed fingers shone a bright red and could no longer feel the cold the rest of my body was fighting. Soon my toes began to feel the same way and grew stiff and wooden within minutes.

By now the sun was below the trees, I watched, as my tilted head that was resting against Leo's mane felt a frozen prick. Without lifting my neck, I slowly raised my right hand from under my chest and wiped my eyebrow rigidly, coming back with a smeared drop of water. Just then another prick landed on my cheek, then another under my eye.

The snow began to fall heavier as my eyes begged to close. Frozen kisses melted on my eyelids, teasing me with their false warmth. Faintly I thought I heard Nikita calling out to me, but I didn't, couldn't listen. Against my will, a dark craving laced its way around my consciousness and yanked me under, the unrelenting striking of hoof against freezing earth lulling me into a strange sleep..

The sound of crackling was the first thing to break through the ironclad cage of my dulled senses. I couldn't move from my sideways position on a bed, and I didn't try to in fear that the snow and wind would come back even though I could feel neither. A soft hum slowly grew to song lyrics behind me as I cracked open my eyes, seeing a cozy fire burning in a fireplace about 5 feet infront of me.

"I'd go to hell and back with you,

Stay lost in what we found.

Worlds apart we were the same

Until we hit the ground..

Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I'm weak!

Maybe I'm blinded by what I see.

You wanted a soldier but it wasn't me

'Cause I could never set you free.

So fly on your own.

It's time I let you go..

Go.." His voice broke at the end, and I knew who it was. Pushing my upper body from the mattress with my left arm and letting the blanket fall from my torso, I turned my head to see Eric sitting against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest and tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Eric?" I asked softly. He snapped his head up and wiped the wetness from his eyes hurriedly.

"Ellie!" he exclaimed and rushed over to me, pulling me into a firm but gentle embrace. "Oh Ellie, I thought I lost you! First you get kidnapped, and now this? Goddess, you were freezing!" Rubbing my arms up and down, he sat on the bed beside me and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders again.

"I'm okay, but what..what happened?" I tugged the blanket closer as a shiver ran down my arms.

"Well I was outside collecting some firewood since I knew it was going to snow, and I saw a horse just running through the woods! Naturally I got a little curious at a horse running through the woods this far out," he laughed, "so I stopped it and I saw you on the back, completely frozen, blue, and covered in snow. You looked dead, Elenore. I don't know how you survived that.."

Chuckling humorlessly, I wiped my running nose with the back of my hand. "I don't know either, but when you have a purpose I guess you can get through anything, right?"

Nodding and smiling while looking at his lap, he suddenly looked at me in confusion. "Wait, you were kidnapped by Blade, right? How are you here now?"

From there I told him the story of how I intentionally made Blade angry to keep him in his room, making the different bombs and grenades, how I knocked Blade out with a skillet (which he especially liked), and how I had let all of the horses go to make sure none of them caught my scent.

"O-oh!" Eric sputtered while wiping the tears from his eyes. "You hit him with a skillet?!" He calmed his roaring laughter after a few moments. "Oh, your horse is in my woodshop, by the way," he said. "Don't worry, there's plenty of hay in there and it's warm enough, so he'll be fine."

Thanking him, I recalled what he said about a horse being 'this far out'.

"Um, Eric? Where are we, exactly?"

"Oh, well right now you're in my cabin in the outer fringes of the Norton territory, so directly South of the Alpha Territory. You're welcome to stay here, though. While you were asleep I made up the spare room for you, and my wife's clo-... I'm sure I can find you something to wear.." he stopped abruptly and whispered at the end.

I smiled gratefully, knowing he lost his family to a Rouge attack but not how many members it included. "That's extremely generous of you, but as soon as I get warmed up and eat, I'm taking off in the morning to get to Tiberius. I'm so close, Eric! Can't you believe it?" I squealed and grinned, gripping his arm excitedly. He, though, didn't seem nearly as excited-shocked, more of.

"Elenore, why would you want to go there after what he did? He's a monster!" he spat disgustedly. Letting go of his arm, I scrunched my eyebrows in defense.

"He is not! Yea, he killed some Rouges, but he was just doing what he thought was best for the pack! That doesn't mean he's a monster!"

The disgusted look on his face suddenly turned into pity.

"You, you don't know what happened, do you?" he asked slowly. Sweat started to make my skin itch uncomfortably and I could feel my heartbeat pick up speed.

"What do you mean?" I asked him while he just stared at me in shock. "Eric, tell me! What happened?!"

"Elenore...Tiberius had an outburst today, the kind he hasn't had in years. He killed some people, baby.

Mahala is dead."