When the Great Alphas found Bayaq, he was sitting in a tree worrying over the problems his prank had caused. He had been hiding from Q'wati in fear that Q'wati would banish him from tribal lands. When he expressed his concerns to the Great Alphas, they decided that they would help Bayaq. They said that if Bayaq were to help them kill the Cold Ones, they would assure that he would not be removed off their lands. Reassured by the Great Alphas promise, Bayaq instructed them on how to kill the Cold Ones. "When you attack them," he said, "rip them apart and burn the pieces before they can reassemble themselves, but be careful! One bite is enough to kill even the strongest of wolves in your pack."

It was midnight. Ordinarily, the Alpha Male and Female would have been asleep trying to allow their bodies time to regenerate from the time they spent talking to each other throughout the night, but this was no ordinary night. Leah, who was on patrol with Kato, had seen a leech break through the borders. Currently, Sam and Paul were with the wolves trying to alert any wolves who were unaware of the news while catching up with their pack mate.

Jacob leapt off the back step phasing mid-air. Behind him, Asha followed his lead, and together the two rushed through the woods. They ran swiftly through the trees leaping over fallen logs and ducking under low branches. In a short amount of time, they had caught up with Leah and Kato.

Jacob ordered Sam to take his left flank while Leah took his right. He wanted Paul to go find Collin and Brady and have them circle around, and try to trap the leech from the front. Most importantly, he wanted them to stick together. Paul gave a mental salute to his alpha before phasing out.

Asha quickly called Kato to her side at the same moment that Antaeus and Dilwyn phased in. Asha's pack immediately moved so they blended in with the mix of wolves rushing towards the Cold One. Asha ordered Antaeus to go with Paul and stick with Collin and Brady in case they met the Cold One before the rest of the wolves made it to them. Antaeus snorted in acknowledgement and quickly hurried off.

Leah pushed herself faster, so that she was a slight step ahead of Jake while Seth struggled to keep up with their new pace. Behind them, Sam was ordering the other wolves on where to go, and what to do while Asha sent a few wolves of her own with them.

Eventually, all that was left was Asha, Leah, Jacob, Seth, and Amory. The five kept silent taking notes from their pack mates on when the leech was changing position and how he was moving.

Kato was the first wolf to see the Cold One, and he froze mid-step as he recognized the Cold One. His body shook out of rage, and his eyes began to see red as he remembered the face of the Cold One that killed Aden.

Asha cursed loudly and began to tighten her mental hold on Kato. She tightened her grip until she had him bound by an invisible leash, but that still wasn't strong enough. Kato was getting too out of control, too unstable.

With a sudden burst of strength, Kato broke Asha's hold and headed towards the Cold One. He was going to kill this leech. He was going to personally rip it apart bit-by-bit until it was begging for mercy. He was going to listen to his alpha! Asha's thoughts broke through Kato's as she struggled to regain her hold on him. The older wolf collapsed to the ground from the weight the command, and his body released a violent tremor before he returned to his human form.

Asha made Amory head over to Kato while she continued to run with the La Push pack. When Amory made it to Kato, she focused on the hunt.

Paul had located the leech, and he and Sam were closing in. Jacob nodded his massive head before gaining speed leaving Leah, Asha, and Seth alone. The three wolves managed to maintain a steady pace as they headed through the trees navigating the rest of the pack.

Up ahead, Collin had managed to take lucky hit at the leech momentarily knocking it off balance. At the same moment, Brady had clamped his teeth around the leech's arm easily ripping it out of the socket. Howling in pain, the Cold One made a wild dash towards a group of trees but stopped when Asha, Leah, and Seth approached him.

"I have a message for you." He hissed backing away slowly. Leah raised an eyebrow as she gave him a warning growl. The she-wolf wasn't in the mood to play games tonight. "You're Beta Female and sister, Neima, wishes to see you again." Asha let out a warning growl of her own before approaching the vampire cautiously.

"The Arizona Alpha is waiting for you, Asha."

Apologies for the short chapter… the next one will be longer.

~B