My paws couldn't dig deep enough into the dirt to run fast enough along side the car Eve drove. She was panicked and there was a mess of other emotions that she openly flooded through the bond. She was unaware that every emotion she felt was being shared with me and the more I felt the more I grew concerned and panicked.

She didn't want to go alone but through the emotions she shared I can tell that she felt this sense of duty. If it weren't for the fact that she was putting herself in harms way I would have been happy to see her taking such a stoic approach, but rushing in head-on like she was now was bound to bring more misery than joy.

She needed to stop. She needed to rethink her initiative, it wasn't strategic and it wasn't rational. Eve may have thought it was but it was far from it and the more the car pulled away from my tiring wolf I feared for the worst.

Knowing I couldn't keep up and that the others had long fell behind I howled in frustration and trepidation. Eve was now out of my reach and out of my protection and that left my mouth dry and my heart thudding against my rib cage.

I hastily turned around rushing back to the pack house, I had to get everyone moving and in the cars if I was going to have any chance in making sure Eve didn't get herself killed.

'Loz, get Naní and Taylor in a car. Tell Alex to stay with the pack and have a few more of the pack guard to come with us. By the time I get back to the house everyone should be ready, if they aren't there will be repercussions' I grounded out the last bit as the tension inside of me grew.

'Understood.' Came Loz's reply. I knew they were already getting themselves ready to depart knowing damn well we couldn't keep up with the speed of the car for very long.

I tried searching through the bond for a weak spot in Eve's tidal wave of emotions, there wasn't any. She was so indulged and overwhelmed by the rush of adrenaline that coursed through her body at an increasingly alarming rate that there was no room for a link to form.

I couldn't get to her. I couldn't break through her endless pile of various emotions; it was no use trying any longer as my wolf only grew more and more restless. As I approached the house and the distance between Eve and I grew longer and longer, my wolf was beginning to fight me more and more for control.

He wanted me to turn around, he wanted me to run after her, but that wasn't realistic, it would only set us back, but he didn't know that. To him he thought we were purely abandoning our mate, his own apprehension was weighing on me the more I ignored his pleas to turn around. I feared if I didn't shift back soon he would fight for complete control and I would be nothing but a human mind trapped in a raging wolf. I could harm myself, or worse kill someone.

I approached the clearly out front our pack house to the sound of several car doors shutting. They were ready.

The ride was spent in mostly silence; it was as if the thick silent air was suffocating for all of us. None of us dared to speak or rather couldn't find the words to say, we all stared blankly ahead as I raced down the freeway going forty over the speed limit. No one seemed to noticed and if they did they didn't care to say it.

Taylor was the first to grab her bearings looking at me through the rearview mirror from where she sat in the back seat. Her blonde hair was messy and tangled, she hadn't cared enough to fix her appearance but I doubt she cared very much at the moment. I could tell from her distraught features on her face all she was thinking about was Eve.

"Her sister had called." She muttered finally saying the words out loud since mind linking the message earlier to us. Licking her lips she continues timidly. "She told her to come over alone. I-I tried to stop her." She said admitted feeling shame at not stopping her friend completely.

How couldn't she have stopped her? Eve wasn't human but she was most definitely not stronger than us or fast. So why couldn't Taylor have restrained her?

As if reading my mind I heard a growl of disapproval, scanning my eyes to the other person in the seat next to Taylor I watched golden eyes brighten with fury.

"You just let her leave!" Naní growled, her canines pricking her full bottom lip as they elongated.

"No I-I tried-"

"The fuck! You didn't try. She's basically human, you could have grabbed her, you could have kept her from leaving, and you didn't!" Nani's words came out like venom as it slapped Taylor emotionally to the point tears flowed out of her brown eyes like an endless stream.

If it weren't for the predicament we were in I would have been purely surprised by the sudden tears, finding it out of character for Taylor. Her once confident and overbearing personality seemed to have dissipated with every word Naní spoke.

"You call yourself a best friend?! You set her up to be killed you pathetic little ro-"

"That's enough!" I yelled over Naní's hysterical angry outburst, thankfully my command was enough to will her back into her seat and out of Taylor's tear stricken face. I didn't miss the death grip Loz had on the door handle, his claws had grown out enough to slice the leather design.

'Don't worry I wouldn't allow Naní to attack her.' I assured Loz catching his side glance as I continued driving. 'Taylor is our beta.'

'I wasn't going to stop her. She needs to hear it from someone other than me. Taylor may be a beta now but she's reckless.' His tone was defeated and ashamed as I took another quick glance to Taylor who was wiping away her tears. I knew Loz loved her like any mate but also knew that he had attempted many times to tame her only for her to push back and not adapt to pack life. It was costing us and he knew it.

None the less, I knew what he meant and I wasn't about to lie and deny that she was reckless, because she was, but she did mean well as painful as it was to admit to myself. She cared deeply for Eve and I saw that everyday how she watched over her, but today she failed, and miserably so.

There was a sudden shakiness to the suv as we drove and I pressed the breaks fearing we had popped a tear. The timing couldn't have been worse but as I began to mirage over to inspect when a sudden shock wave shattered the windows of the car. My ears rang as I slammed my foot on the break lurching us forward with the force of the abrupt stop. Holding my ears I waited for the wave of whatever the piercing noise was to fade. It soon did and I was finally able to peer over the dash board to see the entire freeway was stricken with the piercing noise.

The freeway was littered with broken glass and scattered cars. Lookin over to Loz for a possible answer his confused expression only gave me more questions then answers.

"What the hell was that?" Taylor asked peering between the seats to see the mess that laid across the road ahead.

"I don't know." I replied still stunned by the noise. It was so powerful and so... familiar. My heart sank, banshees scream when someone dies.

"Do you think...?" I must have said the words out loud as Taylor questioned me if Eve had died.

"No, I would have felt it." I assured her slowly moving the suv forward, a sound of released pressure was heard and I knew it to be the tire deflating. "Fuck!" I hit the steering wheel in exasperation, my luck right now couldn't get any worse.

"It's fine Caleb we are only a twenty minute run from here. The exit was just up ahead." Taylor explained pointing to the approaching exit sign.

Catching Loz's eyes for a brief moment he nodded in agreement as I pulled the vehicle off to the side of the road. I didn't stand around to see if the rest followed knowing well that they did as I dashed into the near by woods. I cared little about my clothes shredding them with ease as I shifted and took off.

Taylor soon caught up taking the lead in the direction of my mate. My stomach knotted as an overwhelming nauseous feeling built up the closer we came to the property. I didn't know what to expect but the fact that I could still sense Eve through the bond I was satisfied enough to know she was alive.

Nearing a clearing my nose caught whiff of a metallic substance and as I crinkled my nose for more to smell my heart sank. It was blood. Taylor must have smelt it too running more frantically in the direction of the scent. She came to an abrupt halt nearly causing me to run into her backside.

Annoyed with the sudden change in pace I growled at her, but she didn't seem to care as I watched her ears pull back flat against her skull. She looked pained and with a small whimper she laid down in front of me facing straight ahead. Confused, I was about to nip her to make her move but as I peered over her body, I watched as Eve came into view covered in blood and holding a body in her lap.

She was okay, she was alive, my wolf was more then delighted to see our mate in one piece but as I slowly approached her I soon realized that though she physically was in one piece her heart had been shattered into a million.

She clutched the bloody body to her chest as soft sobs reached my sensitive ears. Eve hadn't noticed us approaching and unwilling to distract her just yet from the person she held I listen as she whispered against their hair.

"I'm sorry. I'm s-sorry I didn't get here f-fast enough. I'm sorry f-for being selfish and leaving you here. I'm sorry I w-wasn't around. I'm-" a louder cry escaped her lips as she leaned back and forth on her knees. She couldn't continue taking finding the words to heavy to speak.

No longer able to listen to my mate tear herself apart I quietly stepped close to her nuzzling my snout into her neck. I hoped it wouldn't startle her to much and I was glad when one of her hands came to rest on the side of my neck acknowledging me.

There was only the sobs of Eve and the small chirping of birds in the distance that could be heard. Loz and Naní approached sniffing around for any clues or signs of who did this. Taylor on the other hand stayed laying down by the tree line to ashamed to approach.

Shifting back to my human self I enveloped Eve in a hug rubbing circles into her back to sooth her aching heart. I couldn't bring her sister back from the dead but I could at least be there for Eve, even it I was late.

"S-she gone." Eve whispered against my shoulder. Her warm salty tears trickled down from her face and fell onto my bare shoulder.

Kissing the top of her head I whispered back. "I know. I'm sorry Eve."

Her head pulled away from my shoulder. Looking down at her I expected her to look up to me in sorrow but I was shocked to see her scowling at me instead. Her eyes were narrow and darker than usual, her hair shinned briefly of white before fading back to brown, and to my utter disbelief she shoved me back. I nearly feel over at the unexpected action, catching myself I looked at her bewildered.

What had I done?

"This is your fault." She accused, her tone full of resentment. Blinking at her words still in shock she continued, her eyes never wandering off of my own. "You did this. You didn't find the traitor like you promised."

"Eve I-"

"You didn't do your job!" She screamed her eyes welling up with tears as a cry broke free. "I trusted you. I trusted you and you got her killed." She whispered turning away from me to pull her sisters dead body closer to her chest.

My chest felt tight as I tried to absorb my mates accusations. She wasn't completely wrong I hadn't found the traitor, I was trying, but trying doesn't solve the problem. I left the traitor get away with too much and I now got my mates sibling killed because of my lack of ability to protect and deliver.

I couldn't deliver the traitor on a silver pate for Eve and now she paid the price for my incompetence. I was a shameful excuse of an alpha. I was a disappointment, I should have just let Nora take the role, she would have been better solving this rat problem than me.

I reached out to grab Eve's attention but retracted my hand when she yelled.

"Get away from me!"

"Eve, please I just want to make sure you're okay." I explained keeping my voice low and calm though the inner turmoil of my incompetence raged inside me making me want to recoil away from her as a failed mate.

"I'm not. I never will be again." She pulled away from her sister to gaze up at me her eyes were tearful but they were full of rage. "I lost the last bit of family I have left. I lost everything because of you. I lost my privacy, I lost my sense of home, I lost my sister, I lost everything! This is all your fault."

I felt like I was hit with a bat to my stomach as her words bombarded me like an atomic bomb. I failed and there was no reverse button to take back my failure. It was done there was no changing or fixing anything, a life was lost and it was my fault.

Footsteps were heard behind me and I took a quick glance over my shoulder to see Naní staring sorrowful at Eve. Her eyes never left Eve's figure as she clung to her sister in desperation and agony.

Bitting my lip I linked to her knowing she came over for a reason. 'What is it Naní?'

Stunned momentarily by my intruding voice she shook her head peering over to me. 'I can hear a heart beat coming from the house. Someone is still here.'

I perked up standing up to head to the house just as I was about to pull the back door open that electrifying voice captivated me long enough to stop.

"Leave her be. I haven't told her, her mother was murdered." Eve's monotone voice sounded bitter as I turned around. I was shocked to see she had left her sister's body behind and was now standing near inches from many face.

I stood tall in front of the door trying not to show how her cold demeanor was affecting me. Naní on the other hand pulled her tail between her legs and her ears down as she backed away. Eve's hard gaze on her made her quicken her steps as she rounded the house and out of sight.

I'd never seen Eve so cruel and cold before and watching it now felt off and unnatural. Keeping my composure I tried to reach for her again but she retreated before I could touch her.

I just needed to touch her just a small touch. It'd calm my panicked and nervous wolf down but she wouldn't let me. She wouldn't let me go near her and I doubt she's change her mind any time soon.

Eve moved around me to walk into the house and I took this opportunity to grab her arm to stop her. The tingles felt good against my warm palm but it was momentary as she yanked her arm out of my hand.

"Stay away from me." She seethed.

My heart ached at her words and my eyes grew wide at her hostile tone.

"You don't mean that." I assured her trying once again to grab her. I needed her to know I tried, that I failed but that I had honestly tried, but I should have known my attempts wouldn't be good enough as she stared at my voided of all emotion.

"Oh, but I do."