Reunion

"Where are you?"

"South side, coming to you. We're about ten minutes away."

"Any issues?" Cassidy glanced up as Jake moved towards her, clearly realising that she was speaking to her pack.

"Kinda. We were spotted yesterday, but we're ok."

"I'll meet you here. It's so good to hear your voice, Saf'."

Cassidy smiled and focused back on the real world. "They're here, my pack are here!" Excitement spilled into her words and for the first time in weeks, Cassidy felt whole again.

As though unable to help himself, Jake smiled back at her. It was a broad, warm smile and one that sent a wave of ease over her and her wolf.

"Which gate are they at? I'll radio in to tell the guards to let them in." He offered, pulling a radio from a clip on his belt that she hadn't noticed.

"Umm, no need. They're here already."

Jake smiled, "it's no trouble. They won't be able to get in otherwise. If they didn't tell you, I'll just warn both gates."

"No, I mean..." Cassidy cleared her throat, suddenly uneasy. Technically her packed should have sought his permission to enter his territory - technically they should have used the gate. "...they're already on your pack lands. They're a few minutes out."

Jake chuckled, "no chance. We've got one of the finest perimeter alarms this side of the Pacific. There's no way anyone's getting through without being toasted by the electric current or without the alarm being tripped. It's no problem, I'll tell both gates."

Cassidy's pack never had been very good at grasping the idea of 'no entry' signs, fences, alarms or warnings. They were, however, very good at sneaking into places they shouldn't be.

"Honestly, Jake. They've made it through. They'll find a way to get around the perimeter alarm, trust me."

Something that looked a lot like doubt, flickered across Jake's face, before he broke back into an easy smile. "Ok. We'll know either way, soon enough."

Cassidy nodded tightly and forced a smile onto her face as Darcy began asking her questions about her pack. She tensed, ready for the question she hated the most.

"How did you become alpha?"

Cassidy's stomach twisted and images of pain flooded her mind, just as she thought she might drown, as the darkness clawed at her throat, a noise caught her attention.

Her pack.

Running as one tight unit, three sets of paws thudded against the hard ground and headed straight for them. She heard more than saw the three wolves beside her tense, and drop into a predatory stance.

Ignoring their bristling, knowing they didnt appreciate the new wolves on their territory without permission, Cassidy pushed past Jake and stood in front of him, smiling from ear to ear as her girls stopped at her feet, brushing their long bodies against her legs, the occasional tongue, darting out to lick her leg, causing her to curse.

Once they'd finished their greeting, she dropped to one knee and held her hands out, running them through their fur as they moved around her. "Home." She whispered as happiness chased the dull ache from her side and the discomfort her wolf felt in another wolf's territory.

She stood back up and waited for the girls to transform, before she swept them into a hug. So lost in saying hello and checking one another over for missing limbs, it took a while for Cassidy to realise that Jake was clearing his throat in an attempt to get her attention.

She stepped back and turned around to face him, a few more wolves gathered behind him.

"Alpha Jake, this is the Rootbridge pack, my betas, Saf, Leah and Kelsey. Pack, this is Jake, he saved my life." She ducked her head slightly, embarrassment colouring her tone.

Jake only smiled, but his eyes held a tightness, a wariness that they'd never held with her. He nodded at the three women, "hi."

Such a way with words.

Cassidy cleared her throat, unsure what to do next, when a single sound echoed across the street, breaking the peace.

The horror etched on Jake and the gathered wolves' faces was enough to confirm what she'd known to be true. Across their pack link, bright red and pain swamped her mind.

She turned, slowly, as if delaying the inevitable would make it less likely to be real.

Anger, raw pain and a fierceness she didn't realise she contained, shot up through her body until her entire being hummed.

Leah, her oldest friend; more blood than beta, lay on the ground, blood pooling on her abdomen. Her body shook, her voice coming out in juts of pain. Her skin had paled and her chest sounded hollow.

In the distance, Cassidy could see one of the older wolves stood with a shotgun, as the wolf next to him met her eye line.

Slowly, Liam raised his hand and pushed the shotgun down until it faced the floor, eyes never leaving Cassidy, probably assessing if she was likely to go for the culprits throat. If only that were possible.

Frozen in the moment, Cassidy could only watch as Saf dropped to her knees and began helplessly pressing on the wound, trying to apply pressure, but with every press, more blood would appear.

Thick, red, shining blood. Blood is thicker than water, they say. Cassidy was almost transfixed by the precious liquid, more valuable than gold, as it trickled from its host and headed off down the street, slowly staining a path through Jake's packlands.

As if sensing her think his name, Jake appeared beside her having barked orders to have the offending wolf captured and the gun removed. She was pretty sure he was talking to her, saying something about apologies and healers, but Cassidy didn't care, couldn't cope. She could only watch as her friend died before her eyes.

How much had she sacrificed to save that she-wolf's life, only for some stranger to steal it away? Cassidy almost felt like laughing, he wasn't even the worst they'd faced. He was just a scared wolf with a gun and a bad decision.

That anger. There it was again. Like molasses it slowly spread across her skin and stuck to her, keeping her in place, rooted to the ground.

Screams fell on deaf ears and Cassidy was pretty sure she'd never move again, when suddenly she spied Kelsey pacing in the background.

Kelsey was a beautiful person. Sunshine and light, caught somewhere between here and there. Cassidy watched as she walked from left to right, would pause, look up at the sky, shake her head and then walk back to the left, before repeating the process.

Suddenly she paused, "did you know that a human body contains over 8 pints of blood." She whispered. "I'm Kelsey. I like parrots." She told Doc as he ran up to Leah and dropped a heavy bag to the floor. He must have gone to get supplies.

"Kelsey." Saf admonished, "nobody needs to know that you like parrots. Leah's been shot, Kelsey."

Her small, cute face fell. Cherub cheeks glowing red in the chilling air. "But alpha said that I should use small talk in awkward social situations. Plus, I was told that if you're worried someone's going to shoot you, you should give them personal details about yourself to make you more human. Or wolf." She chucked. "So, I'm Kelsey, and I like parrots!" She screamed, sending birds shooting from the trees.

Her shout snapped Cassidy out of her trance, she fell to her knees beside Doc and watched as he tried to ease the blood loss. "We need the healer." She told Doc, before turning her head over her shoulder and screaming the same thing.

"Get Elenor." Doc ordered, as the crowd parted like the ocean. A woman, the woman that was stood beside Liam earlier when they'd tried to challenge Cassidy, stepped forwards. Cassidy's wolf coiled inside her, ready to pounce. She didn't trust this woman, she was the person Liam had said was plotting against Jake, but this was also the woman who'd saved her life, and who might just be able to save Leah's life too.

The next few moments were a flurry of panic followed by a reluctant Elenor stepping forward from the growing crowd. Cassidy took in the crowd's demeanour, they were scared, angry and some of them appeared unrepentant.

With every minute, they drew nearer to where Leah lay. Her wolf told Cassidy to kill them all and protect her weakened pack member, so she fought to suppress it. She could feel the tension in the air, the changing tide of opinion as the new wolves interrupted the peace of the pack.

These wolves were no longer people, they were territorial creatures convinced that Cassidy and her pack were here to take what was theirs. They knew that her pack were weak, could smell the pain, they knew this was their moment to attack.

Having heard too many horror stories of this happening in isolated packs, Cassidy jumped to her feet and placed herself between the crowd and her dying friend.

She held out blood soaked arms and held her palms facing the approaching wolves. They froze, eyes switching from bleeding wolf to her alpha.

"Please. Please. We are not here to cause you any danger. My pack needs help, she's injured. I promise we are not a danger to any of you. Please." She practically begged as the wolves approached, the crowd was only growing in numbers.

Just when she thought they might attack, Jake stepped beside her and unleashed his alpha waves across the pack. They froze, flinched and faltered, heads snapping down in respect.

"Give us space." He ordered, his voice lower than Cassidy had ever heard it. Power radiated from every syllable and ghosted across Cassidy's body, causing her stomach to tighten.

She spared him a brief glance and nod, worried that if she focused on him, she might never leave his side. He'd just saved her life; again.

Going back to Leah, she watched in muted awe as Elenor healed her, her hands fluttering over the wound as a sweat broke out on her forehead.

"I can't do much more." She whispered, her voice weak and her body swaying.

"Please." Saf begged, "she's not healed enough yet."

"I-I can't..." Elenor slipped forwards, just managing to catch herself from falling onto Leah.

Panic swirled on Saf's face, before fangs burst from her gums and she growled at Elenor, "I said, fix her."

Cassidy flinched as Saf released a wave of power at Elenor, in her weakened state - and probably even if she'd been at full strength, Saf's power nearly crippled her, sending Elenor's head down until she whimpered. Just as Cassidy got ready to step in, a hand landed on Elenor's shoulder and a wave of power matched and overwhelmed Saf's.

"That's enough." Liam ordered, as he knelt down beside Elenor and gave her a drink and tried to make her eat.

Saf blinked in surprise and rocked back on her heels, as she eyed Liam suspiciously, before refocusing her attention back on Leah.

"Doc, you can keep her stable until Elenor's well enough to try again?" Cassidy asked, stepping forwards to meet the old wolf's gaze. He nodded and ordered two of the omegas to take Leah to the medical centre.

Cassidy was surprised they had one, having spent her time recovering at Jake's, she had assumed they didn't have a medical centre. Her gaze flickered over to him, to find him watching her with an intense gaze once again. Her whole body shuddered under that gaze, but was interrupted but a sudden, horrifying realisation.

She had another pack member. One who was more of a 'kill now, ask questions later' kinda wolf and if she found the man who'd shot Leah....

Well, they'd be lucky if they found pieces of him left. Very lucky.

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A/N

Hello There!!

Sorry this update is a day late, it's been quite a week!

Anyway, I've written the next chapter already so if you're super lucky, I might get round to uploading it early!

Thank you so much for reading - and to those that have voted and especially those that have commented, thank you so, so, so much! It's been as crappy week, so I've adored the feedback!

Anyway, more soon!

Have a great weekend!

<3