Hey all! So here is the next chapter. Let me know what you think about it. I'll update again as soon as I can. Hope you enjoy, and leave reviews please!

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and energetic, ready to take on the day. The night before, I didn't have any nightmares and slept like a baby. It was such a good feeling to be able to sleep soundly and not wake up from a treacherous dream. I got up being very careful not to wake the beautiful sound-sleeping sabress next to me. It was tough because she had her paw over my shoulder and I had to slowly ease it onto the ground without waking her. I took a moment to just enjoy looking at her warm body, her chest slowly moving up and down as she slept. She had a small smile on her face, which made me think she was dreaming something pleasant. I then notice her leg that was once severely cut was now healed, as if she had never been hurt. Of course that made me happy, but I also felt a little scared.

'She can walk again, so what's stopping her from leaving now? Nah, she won't just leave that quick…will she?'

I put that out of my mind for the time being and decided to go hunt for some breakfast.

It was colder this morning than it had been recently. Fresh snow covered the ground from the night before, which made hunting even harder since there were no visible tracks. After searching for a while, I finally found a rabbit nibbling on some tall grass. It wasn't much, but at least it would hold me over for a while. Slowly, I snuck up on it and pounced. Unfortunately it heard me at the last second and dashed off before I could grab it. Frustrated and cold, I made my way back toward the cave.

I could see the cave opening from about twenty yards away when I suddenly heard a female voice cry out "No! Let me go!" I ducked behind some bushes to keep out of sight. A few seconds later, I saw three sabers come out of the cave, the biggest one carrying Shira on his back. Her eyes were shut and she was motionless. They all had the same color pelt as I did which shocked me. At that moment, I recognized them.

'Dad? Rico, Oscar?!'

I couldn't believe it. My dad, Torren, and my two brothers somehow found out where I was. It had been years since I had seen them. But why would they be after Shira? They didn't even know her. All I knew is that I had to follow them and make sure they didn't harm her.

I quietly moved through the greenery making sure I was close enough to see them, but not too close where they could see or hear me. Not too far away, they entered a cave in the side of a mountain. My dad took Shira off his back and put her in what looked to be a makeshift cell of some kind that was adjacent to the cave opening. He sealed it with a large boulder that only he could move. My brothers appeared to be standing guard outside the cave, like it was their job or something. After my dad went back in the cave, they followed closely behind him.

Hours went by and she still had not woken up. I really wanted to get her out of there, but I knew it would be easier in the dark. When darkness finally fell, I slowly emerged and made my way to the cell where she laid. Fortunately my dad and brothers were asleep in the cave and didn't hear me.

"Shira? Shira, are you ok?" I whispered to her. Gently I nudged her and she woke up startled.

"Get away from me!" she shouted.

"Shh shh, it's me, Diego. You need to keep quiet."

"Diego! Oh thank goodness. H-How did you find me?" she asked relieved.

"I heard your scream from the cave and I followed the sabers that took you. They don't know I'm here."

"We do now." a deep voice said behind me. "So what do we have here? My long lost son, here to rescue his little pet. How sweet."

I turned around to come face to face with my father. He was smirking like he had accomplished something big. My brothers joined him, one standing on either side with menacing smiles on their faces.

"What are you guys doing here? And how did you find me?" I said with a demanding voice.

"You still haven't put it together? Huh, you're dumber than I thought. Why don't you ask your little 'pet' how we found you?" my father said sarcastically.

"Shira, what is he talking about?" I ask with a confused look.

"Diego, I….I" she started to answer but was interrupted by Oscar.

"She has been working alongside us since the day you two met. That cut she had on her leg wasn't a hunting accident. We staged it to look like that."

"To put it to you simple, son, we created this whole plan to get to you. And it worked like a charm thanks to her. She's like my little puppet, doing anything I tell her to without hesitation. She knew what would happen if she defied me."

I was mortified by what I was hearing. I didn't want to believe anything my father told me; I couldn't. This beautiful, amazing sabress that I had fallen for couldn't be doing this to me.

"I don't believe that! You're lying! She isn't like that." I said enraged.

"Wake up you idiot! She's been behind this the whole time. Do you actually think she cares about you?! I told her exactly what to do, what to say…everything! No one has EVER cared about you, and no one ever will!"

"Shira, please tell me this isn't true. Were…were you really using me this whole time?!" There were so many emotions packed into those few words; anger, sadness, hopelessness, hurt, just to name a few. I could feel moisture building up in my eyes, but I held it back.

She was crying at this point and she had a hard time getting any words out.

"Diego, I…I didn't h-have a choice. H-he threatened to k-kill me if I didn't obey him. I'm so s-sorry. I never wanted to h-hurt you."

That completely crushed me. My heart was breaking and I didn't know what to do. Deep down I knew I loved her, but after this, I just didn't know anymore. I thought she loved me too, but how could she? I knew it was too good to be true. I was destined to be alone and hated forever.

"Now that that's all out in the open, there is one more thing you should know…before I destroy you."

A/N:

Yeah, a bit of a cliffhanger there at the end. I had a hard time thinking this chapter up, but I hope you guys like it. Updates will probably be sporadic since I recently started back at college, but I will post chapters when I get the chance.