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© All characters and storylines surrounding these characters belong to me; Eben Black..

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I washed. I dressed. I was on the war path some would have said. I decided on black, no-nonsense black. A fitted tee, denim jeans and hiking boots. I'd strapped on the leather shoulder holster and the handgun from Kane's room locked, loaded and fastened in the leather bound holster. I opened the bedroom door and stepped into the shadowed room. Fiona, our resident physician had looked over the two wereanimals and had bandaged them up as soon as possible. I gazed across the bedroom and for a moment the impatience and the anger that had seethed through me dulled when I saw them there on the big double bed. Kane was still unconscious, but Snow was up and sat at the headboard of the bed, a hand trailed over Kane's head fur. The two were bandaged up worse than I'd ever seen them. It didn't surprise me that Snow was awake before Kane, we'd discovered the although Snow had a massive amount of strength behind his punches, he also had a high-powered healing factor. He'd even healed silver wounds like normal wounds on a wereanimal.

He smiled up at me, a gentle curve of lips as I stepped deeper into the bedroom. I padded round the bed and stepped up beside him. I sat down on the bed beside him and looked down at Kane. He leaned forward, he winced as he moved, and he brushed a hand over mine. He smiled and then looked at me with those sad, pale-blue eyes. Why was he so sad? Was he that badly wounded? I leaned closer and went to hands and knees over his hunched tall frame. I leaned in close and brushed lips against his own. He stopped dead as I savoured the taste of him on my lips. I loved him. Enough said.

"Why so sad?" I asked with a concerned frown.

He smiled back and replied, "No. No, I'm fine. Its just I can smell him on you."

I looked confused for a moment and then realised who he meant. Alexander.

"Donovan said that renewing a bond with a new alpha might bring back your inner beast. Did it work at least?"

"Yeah. She's back for now, but something frightened her, and now I need answers from Donovan and Noah." I frowned at the human's name.

"Noah? That human who hasn't transformed into his wolf form yet?" Snow replied.

"Yeah. According to Aleksander when Donovan went to check on the monster's corpse, he found a bloodied and broken Noah. He'd got the guy bound in his bedroom now."

Snow frowned at Aleksander's name and I stopped dead for a moment. Did Snow not like Aleksander? That was unnatural. Snow was incredibly laid back around other people.

"What?" he asked.

"You don't like Aleksander?"

"I didn't like him when I first met him."

"And what about now?" I asked.

"He's mellowed out since the first time we met. But he doesn't seem to like me." Snow seemed disheartened almost.

"You want him to like you?"

"Its not me being an idiot. I just don't want to cause friction between the men your seeing. That's all. Donovan and Kane are easy to get along with, but Aleksander is cautious around me."

"Donovan and Kane are understanding where alphas are concerned. Aleksander comes from a proud background. Its now wonder he was cautious around you, considering your so strong."

He almost blushed at that comment and I smiled at how embarrassed he seemed. "You really think I'm strong?" he asked in a hushed tone.

I nodded and added, "That uppercut you pulled earlier almost brought the penthouse down."

He grinned and said, "I've been training and getting stronger whenever I box. The end result is that impact. I don't know where it comes from. Its like a built-in impulse."

"Its not a bad technique to have on hand when a ravenous three-month-delayed werewolf is rampaging around our home."

He nodded and replied, "Where were you headed?"

I smirked and asked, "What makes you think I'm going to see anyone else besides you two?"

"Aleksander told you Fiona looked us over and there were no problems, no doubt. Plus your armed. You never wander around armed unless your doing something important."

"Is that right?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Fine. I wanted to check to make sure you were both alright, but I'm going to meet with Donovan and Noah."

"And where will Aleksander be?" Snow asked without looking up at me. He focused on the unconscious Kane beside him as he spoke.

"He'll be with me and Donovan. We have no idea what Noah is. I'll need the backup. Besides those two are the only ones relatively unharmed."

Snow nodded in agreement and then said, "Be careful, alright?"

I smiled and kissed him again. I gave him a quick cuddle and then headed for Noah's bedroom.

Noah's bedroom was dark and blessed with a bedside lamp. The bed was stained with dried blood stains, and the bed sheets were scattered across the bedroom like someone had ripped them from the bedspread. The pillows had been strewn and gashed open, the mattress ripped here and there. I met Donovan just inside the bedroom. He was stood, back against the bedroom wall, he was bandaged here and there. Around his waist. I glanced around the room and found who I was looking for. I didn't recognise Noah at first, but when I saw how he was handcuffed with silver to a railing on a dresser across the bedroom, I realised he must be Noah. He'd transformed, he'd shrunk out of that muscular, hulking guise from earlier and was now slender, furred and panicked. Blood spattered his body. Snow's blood. Kane's blood. He had a bed sheet thrown over him as he whimpered. His tail limp beside him, heavier bandages circled his chest and arms. For a wolf that had been thrown out of a broken window, he seemed fine, shaken but fine. Did he have accelerated healing like Snow? It was plausible.

I looked up at Donovan and found Aleksander standing beside the wolf King. "Has he spoken?" I asked.

Donovan shook his head, and Aleksander replied, "He's been shaking and whimpering non-stop. Like he's scared of us or something." A growl trickled from Aleksander's lips. Noah whimpered and jumped.

"P-Please...don't hurt m-me!" he squealed.

"Don't hurt you? You'd be so lucky!"

"Aleksander, enough." Donovan frowned at the cheetah and then looked down at me. "I came to check up on him after his run-in with his supposed father. Turns out he was the one who attacked Mikael."

"Mikael bled because of that weakling!" growled Aleksander.

"Regardless, he transformed when I was checking on him and that beast burst free from him. He threw me across the bedroom and knocked me out. Aleksander found me and helped me wake up. We followed the path of destruction and watched you panicking because your transformation backfired. Aleksander informed me of what you said. Your beast faltered, but she's back now, right?" he added with a concerned look. I nodded. That smile graced his lips as he gazed across the bedroom and demanded, "I have a feeling his transformation backfired like yours did too. Hence why he never transformed for three months. I believe he was planted here."

"Planted here?"

"Someone surpressed his beast like they did yours and kept him as a pet, a dangerous pet to be released among their enemies one night."

"So you think someone used him like a time-bomb?"

"I don't know yet. He attacked a cheetah in the wolves' name, that alone could have fucked everything up where the coalition is concerned, but then he was used like some collossal assassin."

"Someone intended on wiping us out from the inside-out, instead of merely trying to mess up our connections with one another," Aleksander added with a deep frown.

"I know I said the cheetahs could play a part in the culprit's punishment, Alek. But I need to understand who sent him here."

Aleksander considered Donovan for a moment and then nodded. "Do what you must."

"Speaking of which, what will you do?" I asked.

"Noah?" Donovan made the man's name forceful and almost commanding. He padded forward and crouched in front of the blooded wolf. "Noah, answer me."

"Yes, pack leader?"

"No. You are no longer a member of this pack. But as an alpha wolf to your submissive one, I demand to know who sent you here."

Noah stared at me, wide-eyed and frightened. Was he frightened of Donovan?

"Noah, answer me?"

"P-Please, he m-made me do i-it! He s-said he'd heal me, c-c-cure me!"

"Who said they'd cure you?" Donovan demanded.

"M-My master."

"And who is that, Noah?"

"He said he'd make me h-human again," a fond smile curled Noah's lips as he gazed up, almost like he was day-dreaming.

"Someone promised to make him human again?" I repeated.

"They did surpress his beast for quite some time. It does seem plausible from Noah's point of view that his condition had been cured."

"He s-said I was in the f-final stages, but I n-needed to come h-here and stay w-with you until the time w-was right." Tears streamed down Noah's cheeks as he whimpered.

"Did you know what you were sent here to do?" Donovan demanded.

Noah shook his head and squealed, "I-I had no i-idea what was happening. My body moved out o-of f-fear!"

Aleksander frowned and repeated, "His body moved on its own out of fear?"

Noah nodded feverishly.

"Please, don't lie to me, Noah. Did you know what you were sent here to do? Did you know you would be asked to assault a member of the cheetah clan?" Donovan demanded.

"N-No, I swear I d-didn't know!"

"Did he do it, though, Donovan?" Aleksander demanded.

Donovan looked the question at Noah. "I b-blacked out and when I w-woke up, I was w-watching a cheetah r-run from me. I blacked out a-again last night when you w-were talking to me."

He nodded and looked back at me and Aleksander. "He did seem unconscious for a split second, then he transformed. So it sounds plausible."

"So he didn't want to assault us or Mikael?"

Donovan shook his head.

"Then who am I to blame, Donovan?" Aleksander demanded with a snarl of impatience. I reached out and touched a hand to his. He stopped dead mid-growl and looked at me with wide eyes.

"We'll find out who did this, Aleksander. Donovan won't let you down." I smiled as I spoke and that seemed to reassure Aleksander's furious beast. Aleksander smiled as his tail curled behind him.

Donovan turned back to Noah and demanded, "Noah? One more time. Who put you here? Who said they could make you human again?"

Noah looked up wide-eyed. He bit his bottom lip and shuddered as fresh tears streamed from his eyes.

"Noah, look at me. Your not in trouble or danger anymore. Whoever did this to you hasn't been in your head since have they?" Donovan asked with a carefree smile.

He shook his head feverishly again.

"Good. And now that we know you weren't initially responsible for the attack on Mikael or the assault on the penthouse, we won't punish you either."

"You won't?"

Donovan shook his head.

Noah smiled, a faint whisper of relief across his muzzle.

"Now please, Noah. In order to stop bad things from happening we need to know who did this to you and us?"

"T-The shadowed fear," he stammered with panicked, wide eyes.

The world stopped dead at Noah's words. I exchanged a look with Aleksander and the two of us seemed to know who Noah was talking about. Noah was unbound and allowed to shower. Donovan made sure Bishop watched him. I followed the two Kings into the corridor. Aleksander frowned and leaned back against the wall behind him. He closed his eyes as a cruel tension coursed through him. Donovan paced slowly, his hands ran through his head fur, the pale-green of his eyes looked lost for a brief moment. I closed the bedroom door behind me and looked to the other two.

"The shadowed fear? Is that who I think he's talking about?" I asked with a cautious expression.

"You know what this means, don't you, Donovan?" Aleksander demanded as he pushed off the wall and stood facing the two of us.

"What does this mean, Alek?" Donovan asked. I had a feeling Aleksander was about to say something that none of us really wanted or desired.

Aleksander frowned harder and replied, "We need to make a call to the council."

I looked wide-eyed at Aleksander.

"Have you figured out what that man is capable of, Eben?" Donovan asked.

"What man?" I replied.

"Don't play dumb. I'm talking about the council leader. Do you know what he's capable of now?"

"You mean the way he manifests fear in those around him?" I replied with a cautious look. Donovan nodded. "I wondered why we all broke down when that bastard left us."

"His mere presence alone instills fear, the tears we all shed one way or another was relief that he was gone," Aleksander added.

"And you want to call him back here?" I demanded.

"He said he'd watch us, he warned us there were some who considered us a threat. He considered us a threat too!" Donovan growled, "And I've had enough of being pushed around by illusions and shadows."

"So we're really doing this? Calling back the eldest of the council?" I asked.

Aleksander grinned. "I like it here, there's always some kind of drama going on around you people."

I smiled, glad someone was joking in a moment like this. "Your cool with inviting that monster back here?"

"No. I want to arrange a meeting elsewhere. He needs to be stopped. He needs to understand what happens when you fuck with my pack!" Donovan snarled as he stormed down the corridor.

"What's riled him so bad?" Aleksander asked.

"Balthazaar threatened his pack. No one threatens Donovan's pack. No matter how far up the food chain you think you are." I smiled as I followed Donovan, Aleksander grinned and followed suit.