APOV:

"You think you can just walk out of this house?" he screams at me.

"I'm done; I told you last time if you hit me again I was leaving."

"Leaving?" He laughs. "Where the fuck do you think you're going to go? I have eyes everywhere, I fucking own this town and you know it. You won't be able to buy a pack of gum in this town without me knowing!"

"I don't care, I'm-"

I should have expected it, I should have prepared for it but his push catches me off guard and I tumble down the stairs. My duffel bag follows down the stairs after he kicks it, clothes spilling out of the split zipper. I'm lying on the cold, marble floor in the entryway to the house I always hated. The man I'm married to stands at the top of the stairs with a sinister look in his eyes; I know he's right. There's not a damn thing I can do in this town without him knowing. Which is why my only solution is to leave town.

"Get the fuck out of here if that's what you want," he screams. "Hell I'll give you a head start; I'll wait an hour before sending Johnny and Marco to find you and drag your sorry ass back here. Mark my words though, when they bring you back you will regret walking out that door so make sure this is what you really want."

"Oh I'm sure," I snicker. "I told you I was done being used as a punching bag."

"And if you learned how to keep your fucking mouth shut I wouldn't need to punish you."

I slowly pull myself up, nearly collapsing when I try to put weight on my ankle. I don't have to look up to see the smile on his face, I already know it's there. It's the same smile that is always there when he sees the bruises the next morning. I told him after he broke my ribs last month I was done and that if he so much as hit me again I was leaving. I made the mistake of thinking for a brief moment that he was going to change, three weeks had passed by before he even so much as raised his voice at me. All that changed earlier when I walked into his office to tell him dinner was done and interrupted a call I didn't know he was on.

"Clock is ticking Annie," he chuckles. "You have one hour; when you step foot in this house again, be prepared because I won't go easy on you. This is your only warning. You should know by now, no one leaves me….no one."

He's probably going to kill me, but right now I have to leave. I'm not staying in this house another minute and I don't give a shit who he threatens to send after me. I quickly grab the duffel bag I had packed after the last fight, wanting to have it ready because I knew this day would eventually come. I pull out a few articles of clothing and shove them in my purse. My wrist and ankle are killing me so I there's no way I can carry as much as I had packed. Plus with the zipper broken, everything would end up falling out. I pull out my sunglasses, the ones that are on nearly every time I leave the house to cover a bruise, put them on and walk out the door without looking back.

I had this grand plan of leaving when he was at work one day, but he must have caught on because suddenly he started working more from home. In fact all of his business meetings started occurring at home instead of at his office. And the few times he did have to leave for business, he left one of his associates here…just in case as he always said.

I hobble to the door, immediately regretting not changing into something warmer when the cool air hits me. I toss my purse into the car and take off into the dark night; I know I don't have much time but I need to get as far away as I can. I keep a careful watch out my rear view mirror, I have no idea if he was telling the truth about waiting an hour or if he was lying like he usually does. I can't take the risk though, I can't let Johnny and Marco catch me. If I thought I could, I would try to reason with them; hell I would bribe them if I thought I had something they wanted if it meant letting me go. There's no chance though, those guys, just like everyone else in this town, are loyal to Tony.

He has everyone in his pocket and there's no one I can trust. I learned that early on in our marriage when I confided something to a girlfriend that made its way back to him less than an hour later. That was the first time he ever slapped me; he told me I embarrassed him and needed to learn what my place was as his wife. Why the hell I stayed as long as I did is beyond me.

That's not true, I knew the reason I stayed. Because I had no one else; he slowly cut everyone out of my life, not that there were many people in it to begin with. He moved me across the country, away from the only home I knew. Well, I guess I can't say he moved me because I did go willingly; it's not like he kidnapped me and forced me to move here. Emails, phone calls and even text messages were read before they made it to my phone. He said it was to protect his business, but now I know it was because he wanted to make sure I wasn't embarrassing him any further.

I shake my head, needing to desperately focus on the dark road in front of me. I finally make it to a rest step where I park the car and quickly use the restroom. I toss the phone onto the car floor before locking the doors and walking away. I know better than to think that he doesn't know exactly where I am right now. But I also know that the only way he can track me is through the car and my phone, neither of which I plan on taking with me. I head back inside the small rest stop and quickly purchase a few bottles of water and granola bars. It's not much, but considering I'm going on foot from here I can't carry that much. I quickly use the ATM, withdrawing as much cash as I can in a day; part of me is surprised that he hasn't frozen the card yet but the other part of me knows it's because he expects Johnny and Marco to bring me back to his house soon so why bother.

I double check my purse one final time, making sure that there's nothing in it that can be tracked and then I exit the store. This time instead of heading to the parking lot, I head behind the building and into the national forest. When I came up with this grand plan to leave Tony, I figured I would drive a few hours north and then take off on foot. I figured I'd have time to stop somewhere to purchase a tent and maybe even a sleeping bag. I figured I wouldn't be limping and in pain from falling down a flight of stairs. I head into the woods, away from the rumble of the highway and civilization as I've known it. My only saving grace is that I don't need to worry about freezing to death since nights here don't get cold enough.

The woods get darker and darker the further I walk; my only source of light is the small flashlight on my keychain. Again, something I thought I would be able to purchase when I left him. I walk for hours, stopping only for brief moments when the pain in my ankle becomes too much to bear. I can't risk stopping for too long; I doubt Johnny and Marco will think I took off into the woods but incase they start heading this way I need to be as far away from the rest stop as I possibly can get. There were no cameras at the rest stop but that doesn't mean that someone there won't remember seeing a woman head behind the building and into the woods. I walk through the night and all of the next day; my legs are beyond sore, my muscles screaming from being overworked but I don't dare stop for more than a few minutes.

By the time the sun begins to set I'm seriously questioning whether or not I'll survive until I can find the next town. I have no idea where I am; I think I'm still heading north but at this point I could be heading right back to his house-

STOP

I'm smart enough to not get myself turned around; I know I'm not heading south. I'm not going back to that nightmare; not today and not ever again. I need to find shelter and rest, even if only for a few hours. I can't keep going like this, despite my fear that he's still going to find me. I need to rest my body, to give my ankle a chance to heal…at least a little bit before I start hiking again. I manage to find a small area hidden by several big boulders that I think I'll be safe near. I have a lighter and a couple packs of matches in my purse that I hid in there after Tony took me out one night at a club he owns.

I make a small fire, more for comfort than warmth, and bury myself in the small alcove hidden by the boulders. I sweater is all that covers me, but it keeps me warm enough. The fire is small and I don't think I need to worry about it getting out of hand, though I can't say I'm much of a campfire expert. If I thought this plan through better I probably would have read up on how to hunt, what berries are safe to eat or at least would have brought something to fish with. I shake my head, needing to stop doubting myself. I cringe when I slowly take off my sneaker, my ankle once again screaming in defiance. It's easily swollen twice it's natural size and the dark purple color is definitely not my normal skin tone. The pain reliever I took earlier has long worn off and really wasn't even touching the pain, but I think it was my adrenaline that kept me from feeling the amount of pain I'm in right now. I fall asleep with tears streaming down my face; I don't know how I'll get my sneaker back on in the morning or how I'll even be able to walk but I don't have a choice. I need to continue on; I need to get as far away from Tony has possible.

GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I loud growl wakes me; I'm greeted by complete darkness the fire snuffed out a long time ago. My heart is racing, beating erratically as I try to figure out what made that sound and where it came from. The darkness doesn't help; in fact it makes it worse because even if I could move I don't know what direction to move in.

CPOV:

A high pitched female scream has me taking off, racing through the woods, something about her scream calling to me. I reach the area quickly and immediately see what caused the woman to scream. Based on the cries coming from the rocks, the three bears have her cornered there. They're so focused on the woman they don't hear me approach, which I use to my advantage. I charge at the first one, he goes flying across the small camp area landing against a tree. After ensuring he's not going anywhere, I move on to the other two who are now circling around me.

Good they've moved on from the girl. I don't know what it is, but there's something about her that is begging me to protect her. Even if the constant nagging wasn't there, I wouldn't be standing by watching the bears tear a human apart. But with her it's different; I feel like I don't have a choice but to save her. Something inside of me is drawn to her; the overwhelming need to protect her is like something I've never felt before. I want to look over at her, to make sure she's okay and that the cries I'm still hearing are from fear and not because these fuckers hurt her. But I can't; I need to get rid of the bears before I can check on her.

They're challenging me, but even though there's two of them, they're no match for me. Just as one is about to move a growl comes from behind me; immediately I smirk, game on. Taylor jumps out landing on one just as I jump on the other one. Neither go down as fast as their buddy did, but they had a chance to prepare whereas he was caught off guard. The girl continues to whimper and cry in the background but seems to have enough sense not to move from her spot. If she were to try to, the bears would be all over her again. She has food in her bag and they're hungry; she's no match for them.

I focus on one bear while Taylor has the other; we tumble several times, both of us swiping at each other until I manage to pin him down and clamp down on his neck. My teeth immediately penetrate his thick skin just as my paw swipes at his face. He drops to the ground, unresponsive; I pull myself off of him and am about to turn to find Taylor when the woman screams again. Before I can turn around the other bear back hands me and sends me flying across the ground. I growl, pissed off now and charge at him. Out of the corner of my eye I watch as Taylor also runs towards him. We both hit him at full force, immediately knocking him down. Taylor grabs his neck with his mouth, cutting off his air supply just until he passes out.

"I've got this one, go to her," Taylor says.

I nod and head over to where the whimpering sounds are coming from and I'm floored by what I see when I finally reach her. She's bruised, beaten and bleeding but even I know that the bears didn't do all of this to her. I can't help the growl that escapes me when I take in the full extent of her injuries. She cries out, backing herself against the boulder at her back, shaking in complete fear. I want to tell her that everything will be okay, that I won't hurt her, but she won't be able to understand me even if I tried to tell her any of that right now. Instead I slowly approach her, not able to keep myself from her.

Take care of her, protect her. Claim her; she's your mate.

A mate? I don't want a fucking mate! I've never believed the notion that there was one person out there for you that you were meant to be with forever. That they would be marked as your mate and no matter what you did you wouldn't be able to resist them. That you would be drawn to them, willing to risk everything for them because they make you feel things that you never thought was possible.

Yeah, that shit doesn't exist. This fucking voice in my head needs to shut the fuck up.

"What do you want to do Christian?" Taylor returns, cautiously approaching us, but apparently it's not enough because the girl once again screams out in fear only this time she passes out.

"Need to get her out of here, the bears will be back in no time," I keep an eye out for any of them to return.

"Doesn't look like she's going to be walking out of here with us," he chuckles.

"Grab some of the vines, we'll need to tie her to my back."

We get to work quickly, yanking the vines from the nearby trees; they're strong enough that they'll be able to hold her against me even if she doesn't come to right away. Actually it would probably be better if she didn't come to until we got home; right now I can't talk to her, I can't try to explain what I know she won't understand. And out here I can't shift back, it's too dangerous for both of us for me to even try to.

Once we have enough vines, I tear through the only bag I find a camp looking for a blanket to wrap around her so the vines don't scratch her but I don't find any. What the hell is she doing camping out here without basic supplies? There's no tent, no sleeping bag and not even a fucking blanket? But then I remember the bruises covering her beautiful skin.

She's not camping, she's running. She's running from someone who hurt her.

The need to protect her is stronger than before; I can't leave her out here, I can't leave her alone where someone can hurt her again. I can't-

"We should get going," Taylor reminds me. "We need to find a new place to meet the van-"

"Tell them to meet us at Kate's grandfather's old place," I quickly formulate a plan. "Have them pull around to the back of the barn and we'll meet them there."

"Let's get her loaded up and then I'll let them know," Taylor moves towards the woman lying on the ground.

"Don't touch her," I growl. "She's mine."

"Easy man," he takes a step back. "Unless you have a way to load her on your back yourself, you're going to need to let me help you."

I growl but nod, not understanding what the fuck just came over me. I've never been possessive of a woman before, not ever.

"She have a blanket or something?" he asks.

"Nothing."

"What the fuck was she doing out here?"

"Running."

"Fuck."

We find a long sweater nearby which will have to do; my eyes don't leave Taylor as he lifts her up and over to me. The immediate sense of relief that I feel the moment her body is on me makes no sense at all. He helps adjust her before we work together to wrap the vines around both of us, tying her to me so she can't fall off. Or can't jump off if she happens to come to before I can get us home.

Home…I'm bringing her fucking home…I have no idea why. I should drop her off at a hospital and let her take care of them, but I can't.

"Let's go, Sawyer will meet us in two hours."

Taylor wraps the bag around his chest and takes off through into the woods; I quickly follow behind him the added weight of the woman on my back not slowing me down at all. This was supposed to be a quick business trip, hell we weren't even supposed to be in the woods tonight. We were supposed to drive back, but the idea of sitting in a cramped plane again nearly killed me. I hate being cooped up, especially on a plane. So instead, Taylor and I decided we would hike back to Wyoming. We shipped our clothe back, left the rental care at rest stop and took off into the woods. Running through the woods, even in the middle of the night doesn't compare to sitting on a plane next to strangers where I kid is kicking the back of your seat constantly.

I would be worried about the woman on my back, hell I should be worried about her, but I can feel her heart steadily beating against me. Every so often she whimpers and her hands wrap around my fur, but she doesn't seem to wake up which is best given the situation. Taylor and I race through the woods, wanting to put as much space between us and the bears as possible as I have no idea if they're going to wake up and try to track us. I saw Taylor pull the granola bars from her bag and leave them where we found her, so they shouldn't come after us for food.

We finally reach the old farm that Kate's grandfather used to own; it has been in her family for generations. She grew up in the home and probably would have stayed if she didn't meet Elliot; once he convinced her that she was his mate, which wasn't easy, she moved to Wyoming with him. They've leased out the land to a local farmer; at first they were renting out the house, but it makes more sense to leave it empty for situations like this when someone needs a place.

With Taylor's help, we get the woman off my back and lean her against the barn. I have to force back the growl each time Taylor touches her, even though part of me knows he's only doing it to help me. When she's settled, he immediately backs away, heading out to the driveway to keep an eye out for the van. I look over the woman before me, the woman who I can't seem to get out of my head. Her face is bruised, no doubt by someone's fists judging by the looks of them. The slashes on her hand though are likely from one of the bears, though they seem to have stopped bleeding. That doesn't stop me though, I nuzzle her injured hand, my tongue darting over the scratches in an effort to heal them. She moans and immediately I pull back, wondering what the fuck I was thinking.

"They're pulling in now," Taylor says. If I wasn't so focused on the bruised, but beautiful woman in front of me I would have known that. I would have heard the tires of the van coming down the gravel driveway.

The white cargo van quickly pulls around the back of the barn; Sawyer jumps out of the driver's seat raising his eyebrows as he takes in the woman. He doesn't ask any questions, instead just goes to the back of the van and opens the doors. Just as we manage to get her into the car, she comes to.

"What….Who….what….." she cries out, her eyes glued to me the moment I jump in the back of the van.

Taylor pounds on the wall, telling Sawyer to start moving because if we don't get out of here this woman is going to start screaming and drawing attention to us that we don't need right now. I'm dying to shift back but I think right now that might freak her out even more.

"Let me go….please let me go," she cries.

"Ma'am," Sawyer calls from the front seat. "You're safe; we're not going to hurt you-"

"I'm trapped back here with two wolves!" she screams. "They're going to tear me into a million pieces and then eat me alive!"

"I assure you that they won't do that," Sawyer has the balls to chuckle at her.

"Please….just let me go….please….I'll do anything. Did Tony send you for me?"

Who the fuck is Tony? I growl at the idea of another man touching her.

"Oh God!" she gasps.

"Ma'am I don't know who Tony is; I'm here because Christian and Taylor asked me to come and meet you here."

"Who?"

"The wolves-"

"The wolves? They told you…"

"I'm sure they'll explain everything when we get back and they can shift-"

"Shift? What are you talking about?"

"When they're in their human form-"

APOV:

I've kept an eye on the two wolves throughout the entire conversation, but until now they haven't moved from the back of the van. Meanwhile I'm pressed against the wall of the van, wishing it would somehow open so I could jump out. I might even take my chances of Johnny and Marco finding me over staying in this locked van with two wolves staring at me. Well, just one of them is staring at me, the other seems to be looking back and forth between me and the other wolf.

Wait did he just say that the wolves told him to pick me up? And that the wolves would explain everything to me when they shift…when they're in their human form. Shift…so they turn from animal into a human? I've heard folk stories about shifters, but I never believed they existed and now one is staring right at me.