Aren't you happy to see this update? I am sorry I missed last week but like many of us my life got in the way, not to mention I had some writers block with this one. All mistakes are mine. It's shorter than I wanted, and more of a filler than anything for the next couple chapters. *Insert evil laugh here*

Maura was worried.

Jane had made such excellent progress in the last few weeks since revealing her name but things had to change. She couldn't keep her collared indefinitely. Helping the Alpha meant helping all of her, especially her uncollared violent self.

Maura was worried.

She liked the routine they had established with each other. It was comfortable and safe. Jane made progress every single day and Maura knew she would always be making progress. There was only so long she could put off the inevitable, only so long that the peace would last.

Maura was very worried.

She was sitting at the kitchen table, like every morning, waiting on Jane to come downstairs. When she did it was a blur of long limbs and wild hair. Only this morning she went straight to the door to outside. She made a beeline for it.

"Jane"

The Alpha stopped with her hand on the door, and for a second Maura saw her tense, but then she relaxed and turned to face the kitchen table.

Maura smiled at her. "I know your excited Jane, you've been doing wonderfully helping with the Appaloosa, but you shouldn't miss breakfast. Studies have shown it is the most important meal of the day. Especially if one wants to lose weight, not that you need to. It also provides glucose to your brain making you more efficient and alert which you will need today if you really want to help."

Jane just looked at her for a moment. Then with two quick steps she reached for an apple and a banana on the kitchen table and turned back around to head out the door.

"Jane." Maura could swear she heard Jane sigh after this second call of her name. Her lips quirked. "That apple better be for you and not for the horse. She's going to get fat if you keep stuffing her with apples."

Jane turned to look at her and gave her a smile of her own before she left for good through the kitchen door.

Maura sighed to herself. She was worried. They needed to take the next step. It was time.

Jane knew something was different. Maybe she couldn't see it, or touch it, but she knew nonetheless that something was different. The woman, Maura, she was acting different. To most people they would not notice a change in the woman's behavior, but Jane knew it was there. There was something going on underneath Maura's face, something that worried her. She didn't know what to do in response to this change so she tried to keep going. She tried to not let it bother her.

She was worried.

Maura was still happy; she still smiled at Jane and encouraged her. She left her to her own devices and never hovered or reprimanded her. She never hurt her. In the weeks after she had revealed her name, she could see the slight bit of sadness in the shorter woman's face. The worry that clouded her eyes.

She was very worried.

She didn't want to be sent away, but maybe that was what was going on. Maybe the woman had tired of her company and was finally ready to sell her. She was sad too. She didn't want to leave, she liked it here. She liked her. She really liked her. All good things come to an end. She knew that, she had always known that but she had let herself hope that this time would be different.

She was an idiot. She should have known better. She was still alone.

Alone.

Maura quickly realized that Jane knew something was different, that something was going on underneath the surface of the calm waters they had created. She wasn't used to this part. Whenever it came to uncollaring it was always Cameron that handled it. She had been bigger than Maura, more capable to deal with a violent Raven, so she had always handled it. But now Maura was alone, and she had to do it herself. She had to uncollar not just any Raven either, it was Jane.

Jane whom she had become quite attached to in the months she had been at the ranch. The quiet Jane anyway. Maura did not even know if she would like the real Jane, the one underneath the surface of the ring around her neck. God, she had no idea how to go about this. How does one release a Raven without getting oneself killed? This was one of those few instances where she had no idea the answer to her question.

She hoped that the first incident she had witnessed with Jane and no collar would be recurring. She hoped that Jane would be more curious than violent, and remember the kindness she had been shown in the last few months. She hated guessing, but she just had no idea what to expect. She was on uneven ground and knew that one wrong step would plunge her into a chasm she would never be released from. And if that happened Jonathan would be alone.

Putting it off another week or three wouldn't make the slightest difference. She needed to do it before she really lost her nerve.

She needed to call Korsak and tell him to give the ranch hands a few hours off in the early morning. She needed the ranch to contain only Jane and her when she did this. The men could come back later in the day to clean the stalls. And she needed to warn Korsak about what she was going to do, in case something went wrong. She dreaded that conversation.

They were supposed to have a hay delivery the next day as well. She needed to delay that by a day or two. They had enough to get by.

And lastly she needed to see if Jonathan could spend the night at a friend's house. She didn't want him there for this. She knew he be too excited to spent the night with a friend on a school night to notice if something was wrong.

She would do it tonight.

She grabbed her phone from her dresser and dialed the first number.

...

After dinner, when all the dishes had been washed, dried and put away. When only the sound of the insects buzzing outside could be heard Maura readied herself for what was ahead of her. Jane had gone upstairs after she had finished the dishes, like she did every night as part of her routine. Tonight would be different though.

Maura went upstairs to the attic slowly, her feet felt laden with horseshoes as she ascended. She had to take deep breaths with every step she took. Before she knew it she was standing in the doorway to Jane's room. She looked at her with gentle eyes and marveled at the changes that had occurred. She still liked to sleep on the mat on the floor, but she wasn't jumpy, she was relaxed as she read the book in her hands. Maura recognized the cover and took it to be Jane's favorite; she had already read it a few times.

When she knocked on the wall next to the door Jane's eyes jumped to hers, and she smiled.

Oh that smile. It would be the death of Maura, she was sure of it. She smiled in return as she made her way to woman seated on the floor. When she was standing above Jane she was glad to see curiosity in her eyes and not fear. Maura reached a hand out and without hesitation Jane took it. She pulled the taller woman to her feet and slowly led her out of the bedroom and down the hall to the padded room.

Jane hadn't been in there since her first day here. When Maura opened the door the curiosity in Jane's eyes was quickly replaced by fear. Maura hated to see it, but she had agonized over this decision to tell Jane or not that she was going to uncollar her. She had felt this would be the best course of action but maybe she was wrong. She hated to be wrong.

She pulled the reluctant Jane into the room with her and left her standing in the middle of it as she turned around and closed the door, locking it with them inside. She put the key in her back pocket and when she turned around Jane was trembling.

Maura's heart was breaking. She knew it was for the best but she hated herself in that moment.

She took three steps and was directly in front of Jane looking into her eyes. Those gorgeous brown eyes for the first time in a month immediately went to the floor in submission.

Maura reached into her front pocket and pulled out the key to the collar. She slowly reached her arms up and laid her hands on Jane's upper chest beneath her neck. Still moving slowly she reached to the collar with the key and quickly unlocked it. The snap of the lock turning made both of them jump.

Before unclasping it Maura tilted Jane's chin up so she could look into her eyes again. Just one more time before they potentially changed forever. With a large breath she reached her other hand to the clasp on the collar, while still holding Jane's chin with her other hand. Jane's eyes were sweeping back and forth to her own.

With a simple movement of the fingers the clasp was undone, and the collar hit the floor.

It was Jane's eye though that Maura was watching.

Those eyes that as soon as the collar came off dilated and then contracted to pinpoints.

Those eyes that went from gentle to hard in seconds.

And then those long fingered hands were around her neck for the second time.

And then they squeezed.