Part 1

When Leo came to his senses, the first thing that he noticed was the fact that he was lying on his back on a damp floor. The room is cold and dim, almost void of any light. If it weren't for his feline sight he would be unable to see in the room. There were no windows in this structure. By the smell of it, the dampness, he decided that most likely is being held in a basement. The walls around him were an ugly, dull grey of concrete and brick. There was a thick metal door with only a handle. He was trapped. Why?

He blinked once, twice, and just as he was about to blink again, a startling conclusion struck him. His mate is not by his side. She was taken from him.

He roared.

Leo jumped to his feet and threw his head back, snarling the words, "MINE! MY MATE!". He knew that having a mental breakdown would not help him but he couldn't seem to grasp onto any sensible thoughts. All he could feel was all-consuming panic and rage.

"Sara?", he roared again, hoping, praying that she would call out to him. That she could at least sooth the best within him that feared the worst. That she was dead, taken, or worse.

When there was no answer he threw himself to his knees, ignoring the stinging pain, and let out a gut-wrenching scream. He balled up his fists, his claws digging in deep and painful into his hands, and pounded them against the concrete floor.

His entire body felt like it was on fire, burning tremendously. The beast within him raged at the loss of his mate. At not holding her delicate form against his own. At not seeing her beauty. At not hearing her call to him. At not smelling her entrancing scent. At her absence.

Leo cannot remember the last time that he felt so helpless. Even when he was at Mercile and tortured every day because he was different, he never felt so without hope. Even when he only saw his own species when he was forced to fight them to the death in training he never felt so alone. His heart felt as though it had been ripped from his chest and stomped on. Where was his mate? Where was his Sara? His little one.

There was no consoling him. He felt himself lose what little sanity he had left and slipped into madness.

For the next several hours that he was conscious, all that was heard by the guards posted outside was a collection of painful sobs and a continuous loop of the phrase, "My Sara!" roared in insanity until finally, all was silent. All was silent because the proud male banged his head against the wall until he was unconscious and bloody. No one came to save him.

Part 2

The first thing that Lauren heard were the sounds of deep hushed words from two males. She was unable to make out what they were saying, her head was swimming too much. She recognized the voice of Flame but did not know the other male.

She groaned. Her head hurt like a bitch and her chest felt constricted. She took a deep breath through her nose and tried to clear her thoughts. What happened, she wondered.

She knew that something wasn't right. She felt wrong, like she was missing something. What the hell was going on?

She peeled her eyes open and winced as the light hit her eyes. Great, she thought. Another thing that hurts. This must be my lucky day.

"Jesus Christ", she croaked, forcing her eyes open once again. She sensed someone moving closer to her and she turned her head to see who it was. All she saw was a grey shirt stretched over taught muscles so she moved her gaze up and caught Tiger's eyes. He looked warry and his mouth was pressed in a tight line.

There was another movement behind him so Sara flicked her gaze to the side and she saw Flame's enraged expression. His eyebrows were drawn over his beautiful cat-like eyes and he was breathing hard, his canines poking out of his slightly parted mouth.

"What is going on?", Sara asked desperately wanting to figure out why the two species were angry and how she ended up in the hospital.

Tiger growled slightly and Flame stomped to her side and sat down next to her bed. He still looked angry but now there was a softer look in his eyes. "You don't remember what happened, Sara Bear?".

"Um, do you think I'd really be asking if I remembered?", she retorted trying to add humor to her voice to lighten the mood when really she just wanted to lay down and sleep to get rid of the aches and pains in her body.

Tiger took a deep breath and responded for him, "A male from the Wild Zone came to you for an appointment last week and used another's name to gain entrance into the facility. Justice had forbidden him from making an appointment because he has been wanting his tail removed so that he seemed more normal and more attractive. He has been lonely and wants a mate but his extra animal traits scare even out more aggressive females. He used another's name to gain entrance and when he got here, he attacked Flame and stole you. We think that he scented you and decided that you were to be his mate. He carried you all the way back to his home in the Wild Zone and the bastard tried to force mate you. We got to you in time before he could do any real damage.", Tiger took another deep breath before continuing carefully on with the story. "Personally, I don't think that he was trying to hurt you but some of the residents are a little off. When we got there, we were able to drug him but somehow he shook off the tranquilizer when he heard you scream and tried to shield you with him body. He's one big mother fucker and we knew we wouldn't be able to get you out of his grasp without losing our throats so we tranqued him again. That seemed to knock him out but unfortunately the male is fucking huge and crushd you when he slumped down. It caused you to start to suffocate and you ended up hitting your head. You've been in here ever since". Tiger looked her in the eyes and a grim look was plastered on his face. "Don't worry. The male has been taken care of", he assured.

Flame picked up her hand and said, "I'm trying to petition Justice to kill him. He tried to force mate you and that means he is crazy and has no regard even for a tiny female like you. I want him gone."

Sara looked at both men in horror and yanked her hand back from Flame's grasp. Oh my God, she thought. OH. MY. GOD! "I've been out for a week?". She looked to Tiger with a frightened look on her face. Did this really happen to me? This can't be real. I'd remember that kind of thing, wouldn't I?

"You think that the male didn't try to hurt me? That he was just lonely and thought of me as his mate?", she asked in a tiny voice.

"Yes. We think that he scent imprinted on you and decided that you were his. We don't hurt those that are ours but it wouldn't be the first time that a Wild Zone resident tried to take a female without her agreeing to it.", Tiger replied with trepidation in his voice. "The Wild Zone residents are more animal than man and therefore don't always get why they can't steal a female. Most of our makes are kept in line by the leaders of the Wild Zone and therefore don't go after them. Unfortunately, the one that took you is one of those leaders and had no one to reason with him".

He didn't actually hurt you so I don't think that he should be put to death", Tiger shot a sharp glare at Flame, "and I think that he needs to just be watched more and punished, but because Flame petitioned Justice, the male has been held in our cells until a decision can be made".

Sara shook her head trying to figure everything out. This is so much information. Way too much for her to process at once. She's been out for a week, a male tried to mate her, she's in the hospital after being crushed, and now she finds out that this male might get put to death. When did my life become so complicated? She groaned inwardly and rubbed a hand down her face.

"Did you talk to the male? Did you ask him why he kidnapped me?", she questioned Tiger.

Tiger looked at her sadly and said, "When I went to question him I had just visited you and I think he scented you on me and he freaked out. He started snarling your name and banging his head against the wall again. He pulled at the restraints and bloodied his wrists and ankles. When he realized that he couldn't get out, he started whimpering 'mine' with tears rolling down his cheeks.", Tiger looked at her with wide eyes and continued, "I have seen a lot of horrible and fucked-up things but I have never seen something so heartbreaking. No one has been in his cell since. He won't eat. Every time the door opens a repeat happens and he has to be sedated in order to get him to stop banging his head against the wall."

Leo. The name suddenly came to her and she decided what she needs to do. She starts to get up from the bed. Flame instantly plants a large hand in the middle of her chest and pushes her back down against the pillows. "No", he growls at her, getting in her face.

Sara's face screwed up in anger as she felt her adrenaline start to kick in. "Excuse me?", she asks not really expecting an answer. "I want to go see this male. I don't know why, but I feel like I know him. After hearing how he is acting, I don't think he'll hurt me. Let. Me. Go", she tells him.

Tiger suddenly growls at Flame and orders him to leave. Sara concentrated on Tiger and faintly noticed Flame jump up from the bed, stomp to the door, open it, and then slam it loudy behind him. She winced at the sound and Flame's obvious anger.

Once Tiger was certain that Flame had left the building, he looked at Sara and said, "Alright. I'll bring Doc Trisha in here to clear you and then I'll bring you to the holding cells to see him. Don't be alarmed at his appearance. If he so much as tries to go after you, we will tranquilize his ass. We don't want him put to death so maybe him seeing you will calm him enough so that Justice won't have to order his death. He's been delaying the decision until you woke up so that you would have a say."

Sara looks him in the eyes and for the first time notices some sadness in their depths. "Okay", she says. She looks down at her attire and notices that she is only wearing a thin paper gown and a blanket. She blushes and looks away from Tiger, "Can you get me some clothes? I want to go over as soon as possible and for some reason I have a feeling that it wouldn't be the best idea to leave here practically naked".