02

Author's note: This story is a spinoff of the Were Wars series (Behind the Lines of the Were War, Beyond the Were War and Between the Were Wars) and takes place about a year after that story ends. It is not necessary to have read that series first, but why wouldn't you? I think you'll enjoy them.

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Chapter 1

"And Nyx (Night) bare hateful Moros (Doom) and black Ker (Violent Death) and Thanatos (Death), and she bare Hypnos (Sleep) and the tribe of Oneiroi (Dreams). And again the goddess murky Nyx, though she lay with none, bare Momos (Blame) and painful Oizys (Misery), and the Hesperides ... Also she bare the Moirai (Fates) and the ruthless avenging Keres (Death-Fates) ... Also deadly Nyx bare Nemesis (Revenge) to afflict mortal men, and after her, Apate (Deceit) and Philotes (Friendship) and hateful Geras (Old Age) and hard-hearted Eris (Strife).

— Hesiod, Theogony 211, translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White

Near Telluride, Colorado

Border of San Juan National Forest

The huge estate was dark and quiet in the hour before first light. If you looked carefully, you could see that wolves patrolled the treeline surrounding it occasionally, and armed men patrolled inside and outside the house. The only noises were from the kitchen, where the staff was already starting to prepare the food for the formal breakfast a few hours away.

On the top of the six floors, a window quietly opens and a woman peeks out. She has raven black hair pulled back in a ponytail, and her hazel eyes are almost luminescent as she observes quietly. Whatever she was waiting for has happened, and she removes a rope from a backpack and quietly lowers it down. She stands and removes her black jumpsuit, placing it carefully in the bag before putting the bungee cords around her shoulders. She smoothly exits and lowers herself without a sound, pausing occasionally to look and listen for patrols. When she reaches the ground, she jumps forward and shifts.

When she lands, she is in her jaguar form. She is almost completely black, with lighter brown fur defining the spots in her coat. She was rare, only six percent of jaguars have that dark pigmentation; you had to look close to see shading. The camouflage effect was excellent, she glided across the manicured lawn without making a noise. She was a big cat, about a hundred and fifty pounds, standing three feet high at the shoulder. Her wide paws tipped with sharp claws helped her move noiselessly to the treeline. Looking back, she noted the positions of the wolf patrols before moving south.

She moved silently through the forest, her fast lope eating up the miles as she moved. Jaguars aren't particularly fast or agile, they can't run like the wolves back there could. Stealth and silence were her friends as she made her escape. She figured she had a couple of hours before she was discovered and they came after her, by then she needed to be out of the Pack territory and find a way to disappear. Along the way she used a few tricks to throw off any trackers that may follow, especially when she found water. Jaguars are excellent swimmers, and wolves don't like water and it dilutes and hides her scent. She took the time to leave some false trails and dead ends, doubling back and using the trees to move for a while before dropping back down to the ground. Wolves don't climb, and jaguars are excellent at it.

It was just after dawn when she heard the first howls. She picked up her pace, knowing that the whole might of the Pack would soon descend on her if she couldn't get past the border patrol. She abandoned any efforts to hide her trail, at this point it was a matter of time. If she could get out of the territory and make it to her truck, they'd never catch her. If she was caught, she'd be torn to pieces in seconds by the furious pack members.

The pack was getting closer. She could hear their yelps clearly now in the quiet of the morning. Even the birds knew something was going on, their morning songs were silent. She pushed on through the mountains, her chest burning with the effort in the thin mountain air. She heard the frustration in the Pack as they lost her scent, gaining her precious time, but then the excited yips told her they had found it again. There were not enough tricks left, and there was not enough time.

She was so focused on keeping track of the Pack behind her that she lost focus on the dangers ahead. It was only her reflexes when she saw the flash of brown and black that kept her from getting her throat torn out. She darted to the right, turning in the air, and the jaws of the border patrol wolf grabbed her backpack instead. They tumbled down the trail, the straps giving way as the wolf went over her back and smashed hard against a tree. She was quickly on her feet and took off again before it could regain its wits. She had made it a mile or so before the wolf caught up.

This time when it leaped for her, she dropped below him and raised her front right paw. The razor sharp claws ripped through the chest and stomach of the wolf, spilling his intestines as he fell. She didn't take time to finish him off, she took off running again. The Pack was too close, and she knew that they would follow his howls and be here within minutes.

A larger patrol found her first. Four wolves coming from ahead of her on the right, forcing her to veer to the east and farther away from her truck. She didn't have a choice, she was tired and had no chance against that large a group. She worked her way up the slope, knowing she was better suited to the climb than the wolves were. Both groups were closing in on her.

In the end, she ran out of real estate. She reached the plateau at the top and tried to move back south since the canyon wall to the Pino River below was too sheer for her to climb down. She chanced a look back to see the main Pack body was now behind her, and now the patrol was closing in fast from her right.

They had her trapped.

With only a minute or so left until they reached her, she sprinted for a large pine tree at the edge of the cliff. Leaping high, her claws dug in and allowed her to pull herself up to a high branch where she draped herself over it and caught her breath. She watched the wolves gather below her, and knew that her life was over. The tree would only delay the inevitable. They would have their revenge on her.

Her mind drifted to thoughts of her daughter, and whether she would survive her failure.

A group of thirty or so wolves now surrounded the base of the tree, howling and growling away as they circled beneath her. They wanted blood, they hadn't come this far to be denied now. She watched them with amusement, knowing that at least they were realizing the limits of a Werewolf form when dealing with someone like her.

A half dozen men shifted to human form and stood naked in her view. All were large, handsome men; the scars on their bodies spoke to the violence of their pasts. The largest one, clearly the leader, looked up to her and in a command voice said, "Shift." She shook her head, she wasn't going to give them anything. The man grew angry, and looked at his men. "Max, take a dozen men and form a perimeter around this area. Cal, take a few guys back to the women's cabin, get the chainsaw from the shed and the rifles. Frank, you take a few men with you and hunt, we passed some deer a few miles back. The rest of you gather wood. We're going to feast her capture and execution." The group split up, each moving to their assigned tasks, as the leader moved casually among the remaining men.

She stretched her aching muscles as her head lifted from the branch, the run had taken a lot out of her. Looking around, she considered her options and none of them were good. They would eventually get her, it was only a matter of how. Her advantages were gone now. She hunted best in the night, in cover, and here the sun was shining brightly and this was the only tree around. Her dark coat stood out now as the tree provided little to hide behind.

She looked down, it was at least a hundred feet down to the river and it was filled with huge boulders and pools. She looked longingly at the other side. It was a good forty feet away, with sheer walls and loose rock. On her best day it would have been an impossible distance, and this was far from her best day.

"I'll give you a choice." She looked down at the man in charge, he was standing with his arms across his broad chest where he could see her easily. "We want to know who sent you. Tell us this, and I promise you a quick and painless death. If you don't, we will get it from you and it won't be pleasant. There are things worse than death, you know."

Yes, she did know that, she knew that all too well. She made her choice.

She gracefully got to her feet and turned around on the wide branch to head back to the trunk. The men below watched as she moved, appreciating the liquid movement of her limbs and the strength of the muscles beneath. Some were already imagining the womanly form that must be there after a shift, and hoping their Beta would give them a chance to sate their lusts on it before they killed her.

She got to the trunk and tuned again. Looking down at them, she shook her head slowly side to side. Gathering herself on her back legs, she sprinted along the branch, reaching full speed in just two strides. With one mighty push, she leaped off the branch, stretching for the other side, and hoping that the extra height of the tree would give her enough distance to make it.

Halfway over she realized it wouldn't.

She fell below the edge, her front paws and claws frantically trying to find a hold as her body continued to fall. Her chest and back legs made contact, but with nothing to hold onto she tumbled back and away from the wall again. She didn't make a noise as she dropped, the wolves noticed. She hit an outcrop about halfway down and then spun end over end until finally landing with a great splash on the river below.

The men watched from the edge as her body floated down the river. She was motionless and they could see blood on her fur and in the water as the strong current carried her away. Those in wolf form let out howls of frustration, they had been cheated of the kill and their Beta didn't get what he needed to find out first.

The leader looked at one of his men. "Go downriver and collect the body. Bring it to the logging trail and we'll send a Jeep to meet you." He took a deep breath and let it out. "John, take a few trackers with you. She was heading south until the patrol caught up to her, so follow that direction past the edge of Pack territory and see if you can figure out where she was going. Everyone else, head back to the Pack House. We've got work to do."

Taking one last look, the leader caught a glimpse of the large black form as the river carried it out of sight. He sighed with regret, he had recognized her skills and she was a formidable opponent. They had no contact with the big werecats, and no reason he could think of for this one to do what she did. That usually meant someone else was behind it.

Chapter 2- Rescue and Discovery

Falls Creek Cabins

Colorado

Joe walked out of his vacation cabin, hip waders on and fly rod in hand. Trout fishing had become somewhat of an obsession for him in the past year; the solitude and challenge gave him something to focus on other than the hole in his heart. His beloved mate Daria, lost before she was even mated fully to him and while still human, had been taken from him in an act of senseless violence.

Many werewolves would have ended their lives right there, but he had vowed to exact justice for her and eventually he did. Watching death come to the Alpha responsible had not filled the hole in his heart, and it did not satisfy him as he thought. He would have died there if it was not for a new vow, this one made to the Alpha who allowed him his revenge. Renee Hastings challenged him to live, to continue on, maybe even to love again. His honor was stronger, so here he was.

It didn't mean he was happy about it.

His own Alpha in the El Paso pack had given him as much support as he could, but the more his Pack tried to bring him in the farther he withdrew. He couldn't function in his job as Beta, so he stepped aside and was granted a leave of absence to get back to himself. That led to long runs as a wolf, wanderings between packs, and now fishing trips deep into the wilderness seeking the peace that had so far eluded him.

Well, that and rainbow trout.

His remote cabin on the Falls Creek was near the junction with the Los Pinos river in southern Colorado. For the past week he would run into the late night in the woods in wolf form, return to the cabin to fish at first light, then he would sleep through the afternoon and early evening before starting again. The cabin was small and comfortable, and very remote. He hadn't seen another person since he arrived, and that was fine by him.

Joe worked his way down the trail to the Los Pinos river, which at this time of year was a better bet than the small creek. He entered at the junction, his practiced eye catching the small eddies and pools that might hold fish. Two hours later, he had caught and released a few small ones but had not found the big fish he sought. It was time to change tactics.

He shifted to a weighted leader and a swimming fly, since the fish weren't rising to the floating ones. He headed to the deeper, slower part of the river and set up below a large eddy. Making long casts, he pulled the line in with his fingers while concentrating on the rod tip and the feel of the line in his fingers. His first cast was rewarded with a nice size rainbow, which after a short battle was put into the fish basket at his waist. He was about to cast just below a deadfall on the far side of the river when he froze.

Sticking over the log was an arm. A human arm. Deeply tanned, but the fingers were pale with blue tips.

Joe tossed his equipment on the bank, stripped down and dove into the water. His powerful strokes carried him across quickly, and his strong arms grabbed onto the log and pulled him around. Tangled in the roots of the deadfall was a strikingly beautiful brunette who was naked and nearly frozen. He untangled her from it and pulled her to his chest. She was badly battered, he could see bruising over most of her body and could see that she had numerous broken bones on her legs and arms. He put his ear to her mouth and was happy to sense she was breathing, even if it was weak. He put his ear to her chest to check her heart rate when his wolf sat up at attention in his mind.

He had taken a good sniff as he moved past her neck, and that sniff was all his wolf needed.

This woman, whoever she was, his wolf had claimed her as his mate. He pulled her closer and walked with her to the deep water, then he floated her with one arm while he sidestroked his way back to his side of the river. He carried her gently to the grass, then dressed her in his dry clothes. They were way too big for her, after all he was six foot four and about 220 pounds, and she was maybe five eight and 140. Her lips were blue along with her fingertips, sure signs of hypothermia from being in the cold mountain water too long. Abandoning the other gear, he set off wearing only his boots and boxers, her being carefully held to his chest to warm her up as they went.

It took twenty minutes of fast walking to get back to his cabin. He laid her gently in the bed and covered her up with every blanket he could find before he stoked the fire. Taking his cellphone off the solar charger, he ran to the clearing where he knew he could get a signal. He nervously waited for the call to be picked up, he needed her to be there for him now.

"Hello?" Julia was the Pack Doctor of the El Paso pack. Last year she was mated to Richard, an enemy Beta who Joe had forgiven for his part in the attack on his mate.

"Julia, it's Joe. I'm in southern Colorado, I have a woman here with severe blunt force trauma to the head and torso. She's a real mess, her body temperature is really low from spending too much time in the river. I need your help."

"Joe, you need to get her to the closest hospital. Let them deal with the humans."

"I can't, Julia. She's my mate." He heard the phone drop on the other side, then she picked it up and checked he was still there. "I need her with me, ask Alpha Merino to send the helicopter and come pick me up." He relayed the GPS coordinates of the clearing he was in.

It took a few minutes to get it all arranged, but she gave him basic instructions- set and splint her broken bones as best he could, keep her legs elevated to prevent shock, and keep her warm- and then she hung up to go to the helicopter. Flight time was thirty five minutes.

It took Joe that long to prep her for transport. He used pieces of split kindling and torn shirts to splint her arm and leg breaks. He then rolled her gently so he could get the blankets around her and rolled her up in them. He could tell she was starting to warm up, her lips were no longer blue and her face was showing color again. She was beautiful, he thought, at least she would be after the damage to the side of her face and head was healed. She had glossy black hair down below her shoulders, a delicate thin nose, and full soft lips. By the time he had her in his arms again and was out the door, he could hear the helicopter approaching.

The Sikorsky had scarcely landed when the door opened and Joe was handing her over. They got her on the backboard and strapped her in while Joe was taking a seat and getting the headset on.

Soon they were back in the air and on the way to the El Paso Pack Hospital. Julia and her nurse were moving quickly, starting a large bore IV and checking all her injuries. Julia looked up after a few minutes. "You did good getting her this far, Joe. I'm not concerned about most of her injuries, we'll get x-rays when we get back and rebreak and set what we need. Its her head injury that is concerning. She has multiple fractures of her cranium above the left ear, and her eye response is slow. She has a severe concussion and might have brain damage. It's actually a good thing she was hypothermic, it helped slow the pressure build in her brain. I need to get monitor her intercranial pressure carefully and hope the fractures allow any swelling to occur without permanent damage."

"Will she make it?"

"I don't know, Joe. I just don't know. I need to keep her in a coma for a week or so, long enough to allow her brain to recover. That will also help he body to heal. We'll do our best."

Joe closed his eyes and prayed to Luna for her. "Please, not again. Don't bring me another mate just to take her away, I don't know if I can do this again. Please, Luna, heal her and give her to me." He reached over and held her hand, it was still cold but he could feel slight tingles in his arm when he touched her.

He pulled her hand to his nose and took a deep whiff. "Doc, I've scented her but something seems off. She's a shifter, I'm sure, but I don't recognize any pack scent and I've never smelled something like her. Do you know what she is?"

Wendy took a smell of her neck and lifted an eyebrow. "Nothing I've come across before. I guess we can ask her when she wakes up."

Suddenly, the woman started to seize and the monitors started to alarm. "She's arresting, start CPR!" The nurse knelt at the patient's side and started to do compressions. Wendy was breaking out the paddles as the "one and two and three and four and five and" count went on. "Joe, do you know CPR?"

"Yes, what can I do?"

"Get by her head, do breaths every five compressions." Joe unbuckled and squeezed past, raising her neck with his right hand as his left tilted her head back and pinched her nose. On the "and" after five he gave her a quick breath, looking down to make sure her chest was inflating. Wendy got the paddles in place. "CLEAR!" They both raised their hands and leaned back as the electric shock was delivered. Her body jumped, but the heart monitor stayed flat. "Charging 200, resume CPR." They were able to do another three sets before the next shock.