AN: Well, updating regularly and often didn't happen right… Sorry! I haven't been playing Skyrim very much (or at all) recently, so I kind of felt a bit removed from this story. I haven't gotten a review lately on this either, but I did get one from Mia (not an account, but a guest), which got me wanting to continue with this.

I realize that I kind of left it on a cliffhanger, and I'm sorry about that! There aren't going to be many more chapters of this left; I don't want to draw it out. I've seen some authors ruin great stories by drawing them out too much. I don't want to ruin something that a fair amount of people seem to like, so I'm going to wrap it up pretty soon!

Sorry for the long AN (I seem to be apologizing a lot recently!)!

Onto the chapter!

It was midday by the time we reached our destination. We set up a small camp in the forest surrounding Fort Fellhammer, and then began discussing our plan of action from this moment on.

It was decided that the mages would go in first with conjurations to thin out the weakest of the Silver Hand; the a group of the Companions would charge after the mages and take what hadn't been killed by the spells and summoned Daedra. Collette would be staying behind at the camp to tend to the wounded.

Aela and a few other Companions would stay back and use bows to take out Silver Hand from afar. Faralda and I… well, naturally, we would go straight into the fort and find Isabelle. Hopefully the bastard will be with her so I can tear him limb from limb.

The midday sun made the snow glow brightly; every eye was squinting to avoid the harsh reflections. As our ragtag group neared the fort, I could see the mages summoning their Daedra, and then making themselves invisible. At the directions of their masters, the Daedra charged the fort. As the fort was flooded with Oblivions' demons, we could hear screams of surprise and pain.

Shortly after, the mages themselves headed towards the fort; they reminded me of Isabelle's slow but sure ways. They were the complete opposites of the Companions; instead of blindly rushing the enemy, they slowly made their way around the fort. Suddenly the air was filled with the crackle of magicka. The Silver Hand bandits were dropping like flies.

When it seemed the mages had thinned out the herd, the Companions charged. Faralda stayed near to me; when everyone else stopped and joined the fight, we kept running past them and headed straight to the entrance. It was eerily silent inside of the halls; most of the bandits were outside in the fight. Every now and then we would have to dispatch a bandit or two, but mostly the halls were empty.

Finally, we reached the deepest part of the crumbling fort. We began to hear screaming; Isabelle's screaming. Before I could grab the handle to the door, Faralda stopped me. "Vilkas, whatever we find behind this door… Don't do something stupid."

I stared at her surprised. Does she know of my curse? "I don't know what you're talking about."

Faralda gave me a withering glare. She knows. "Don't try to make me laugh; I know about your… condition. Most likely every mage you come into contact with does. We can sense the aura of the beast inside of you."

I stared at her, surprisingly unsurprised. "Fine."

She nodded at me. I turned back to the simple wooden door standing between Isabelle and I. Viranus better hope he is long gone from here. I pushed the door open and felt myself loosing control over the beast quickly.

I could hear the clanking of swords above. They've come for me! Vilkas! I was so enraptured with the sounds of fighting, I didn't notice Viranus come into the room.

When he spoke, I violently flinched. "It seems the wolves and the tricksters have come for you. How sweet. Too bad they won't get to you before you die. If you can't love me, then you can't live. Vilkas will be so hurt when he finds you, still warm, but oh so dead."

I could feel my heart thumping painfully. He's never threatened to kill me before! Hurry up Vilkas! I began to shake as I watched Viranus step over to the table full of knives. I felt my heart skip a beat as I saw him pick up a butcher's cleaver from the table. My shaking was causing the chains to rattle above me.

The man looked up from his table with a wolfish grin and murderous eyes. "Are you afraid to die, Isabelle? I would like to say that it will be painless; I don't want to lie to you." As he finished, he took the first slash at me. I was shocked at the force he put behind the cut; Viranus never has aimed to kill me. I've got to get out of here!

I could feel blood running down my arms and legs. I held in my whimpers. He's toying with me at the moment; if I can manage to keep him from finishing, maybe it will give Vilkas time to get here! I just held in my tears as he slashed and cut. I could tell he was getting more and more fed up with me by the minute.

Finally, he stopped. Viranus was breathing hard; he was beyond angry. The crazed man got right in my face and began to scream. "WHY ARE YOU NOT SCREAMING?! SCREAM!" I just ignored the spittle on my face, but did scream when he made an extra deep cut into my abdomen. "THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! AGAIN!" The cutting began to increase in depth and frequency; I could feel myself fading to black. No! Talos no! Please!

The last thing I remember seeing was the door slamming against the wall, and a deep growl.

All of Vilkas' control over the beast was lost. At the sight of Isabelle's mangled body, he lost it. I heard a deep growl next to me, and immediately got away from him. I watched who I assume to be Viranus, get slammed into the wall and mauled; I had to look away. I was a mage, not a warrior. I could tell that the man was long dead, but Vilkas wasn't stopping his attacks. I have to stop him.

With little difficulty, I cast a powerful paralyze spell on the werewolf and watched as he tumbled over, stiff as a statue. When I made sure he wouldn't be getting up soon, I began to look for the keys to Isabelle's shackles. She doesn't look too good. We need to make sure she doesn't get any infection.

When a glance around the room for the keys proved useless, I decided to take matters into my own hands; I melted the locks. Isabelle's too thin body tumbled into me. I cringed at the feeling of Isabelle's blood all over me.

I dragged her to the table near me and immediately felt disgusted. It was littered in knives and embalming tools, all coated in fresh blood. I swiped the table clear of sharp objects and laid Isabelle on the table to get a better look at her injuries. I couldn't stop the tears as I saw what that man had done to her.

Bruises littered her body from head to toe interspersed with gouges from the utensils I just sent flying to the ground. There were fresh cuts on her that had to have happened moments before we arrived. These cuts worried me at the depth of them. She needs Collette. Now. I can only do so much.

I began to use the strongest healing spell I knew on her, and began to worry when the cuts weren't sealing as well as I would like. That man deserved everything he got for doing this!

I heard groaning coming from the floor and whipped around only to meet a naked Vilkas lying on the floor and stretching his stiff arms. I turned back around with a light blush on my face and told him to cover himself up. I heard him shuffle out of the room and return moments later. He had found some simple farm clothes somewhere.

I heard him take in a shuddering breath when he saw Isabelle's beaten form. "Is… Will… How bad is it?"

I grimaced. I had noticed at least three broken ribs, and possible internal bleeding near her spleen. "We have to get her to Collette. Immediately."

Without a word, Vilkas had her in his arms and was running down hallways. I ran past him to clear the way. I could feel the lightning itching to leave my hands. A poor soul met us coming around the corner; I wasted no time in pumping him full of electricity. That felt good.

We reached the courtyard shortly, where the fight was dwindling. I cast a large ward around Vilkas and myself as we ran out of the battle and back to the camp. Collette dropped everything and took Isabelle from Vilkas when she saw what state she was in. I relayed my worries to her, and then lead Vilkas out of the tent.

Where am I? Why do I feel so… detached from everything? Where is the pain? I commanded my body to open my eyes, but nothing happened. Am I dead? No! I can't be dead! I have so many things to take care of! The College needs its Arch-Mage! I still haven't mastered the top tier of destruction spells; I can't die before I master them! I never told him… Vilkas! Oh Talos! I can't leave him!

Fine then! I'll find my way back on my own! Why won't my damn eyes open! Please! Let me go back!

I heard a gravely voice that seemed so far away speak. "Isabelle. Come back to me."

My head whipped up at the voice. Vilkas? I began to scream out in my head. "I'm here! I didn't leave you! Help me!"

My resolve strengthened. I'm going to open my eyes, right now! The darkness began to recede. Freedom!

I heard her thrashing and ran inside of the tent. Isabelle was whimpering and had tears pouring down her face, but her eyes were clamped shut. I kneeled down beside her on the ground. Collette had managed to heal most of the wounds, including all of the major wounds.

I didn't know what to do, so I just began to call out to her. "Isabelle! Come back to me. Please!"

Her thrashing increased, and then suddenly stop. I felt sick. Is she… My morbid thoughts were struck down, when I saw her eyelids flutter open. Isabelle's blue eyes looked back at me with tears in them. "Isabelle."

My own eyes began to water, and I let out a laugh. She's alive. Isabelle is alive! Before I thought about what I was doing, I had her in my arms. I felt arms wrap around me as I held her tightly. "Don't you ever do that again! Dammit, I thought you weren't going to make it!"

I heard her let out a tiny chuckle before I felt her tears on my neck. Is she hurting? "Do I need to get Collette?"

Instead of answering me, Isabelle leaned back and began to stare at me. I looked down, not wanting her to see my tears. The woman put a hand on the side of my face and turned my head back up. Before I could say a word, Isabelle kissed me.

My mind went fuzzy. Isabelle's kissing me. The emotional day had taken its toll on both of us; we had both began to cry again. I held her close to me and stroked her hair until I could feel her breathing calm down again, signaling her sleep. Words didn't need to be spoken; we both understand what the other feels. I closed my eyes and fell asleep holding the woman who had stolen my heart.

The return trip to Whiterun was quick. Everyone had been talking to me and making sure that I was okay on the way home. Vilkas could tell when the jabbering was beginning to tire me, as he would manage to shoo away my visitors before they could entirely wear me out. Vilkas had been perfect since we left the camp. Neither of us had to say anything to solidify our feelings; we had a non-verbal understanding that we loved each other. Not that I would mind actually hearing him say it…

I saw the College members off when we reached Whiterun, and thanked Collette for saving me. "Well, I couldn't let the only person on my side at the College die, now, could I?"

Vilkas carried me from the horse that we had both ridden on, all the way to Jorvaskr. When I asked him why he didn't take me to Breezehome, he told me that he wanted me near, at least until I had healed. I could see the small smirk he wore. That's definitely the only reason he wants me near to him.

Vilkas immediately took me to his bedroom. I had only been in the dark room a few times, and just like every other time, it was covered in papers, books, armor, and weapons. I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow. The last thing I remember is the feeling of Vilkas' arms wrapping around me and feeling a kiss on my neck. I could get used to this.

AN: She's been rescued! I like the way this chapter turned out… I think. Thanks for reading and don't forget to REVIEW!