Chapter 5

"I didn't think we'd ever see you two again." Seth strolled through the trees, smiling at his brother and his new mate. "You've been going at it for two days straight. Did you at least break for food?"

"We did; mostly because she made us. I was perfectly content to stay in bed and only come out when we were too weak to continue." Dean bumped his shoulder into Seth's; the two of them chuckling until Cassandra quickly scaled a tree with a furrowed brow of concentration.

"Uh, what is she doing, bro?" Seth backed up a few feet and watched the huntress practically run up the tall tree.

"She's trying to see if any of the changes the mating was supposed to bring forth have actually happened yet." Dean cast an uncomfortable look at Seth before leaning closer to his ear. "She's getting a little nervous that the mating didn't take because she doesn't feel any different."

"We both know the mating took since she is linked to the pack's mental connection. She used to only be able to hear our thoughts as a Hunter but now we can hear hers as a pack member. Maybe it's the prophecy that's wrong," Seth whispered back to his brother.

"And that is just another thing that hasn't changed," Cass shouted from above while she hung upside down by her knees on a branch. "I heard all of that with my normal hearing!"

"Fuck, you're a little monkey," Seth looked up in amazement when she swung and flipped through the air, catching a branch of the next tree. "Have you always done that?" he followed along with Dean when she kept switching trees.

"Yep, I've always done this. When I was still a kid, I'd scale trees to the very tops and sway with the limbs in the breeze. I thought it was the most amazing thing ever; like I was flying, and the view was always a treat. It was probably my fondest memory growing up so it stuck with me. This did too," she scrambled up to the highest limbs, glanced over the horizon before looking down at Dean and Seth, and let go.

"Cass!" She was freefalling horizontal with the ground. She looked so peaceful; like she was cushioned by the air that streamed through her hair and caressed her skin, but her mate felt anything but peace. His heart jolted in his chest hard enough that he felt it seize even as his legs catapulted him forward. The fear coursing through his veins was so intense that his wolf joined in his panic. He threw his body through the air but it was the wolf that caught Cassandra's falling body against his chest; the two of them crashing to the ground on Dean's back with his mate safely tucked away, held in place by his huge paws.

"Holy shit," Seth gasped; grabbing Cass' underarms to pull her to her feet when she scampered into him once Dean rolled over and stood.

'Have you lost your fucking mind, woman? You almost gave me a heart attack!' Dean narrowed his eyes on his mate; growling in wolf form even as he yelled in her mind. It took him a minute to realize both his mate and his brother were staring at him with wide eyes and slack jaws. 'Why are you looking at me like that? Will someone say something?' They remained silent but Dean saw Seth's eyes lower and look back into his eyes, and it dawned on him; he was on eye level with his mate. 'Holy shit, I'm fucking huge!' he smiled; glancing back up when his brother laughed. His mate, however, was still stunned silent and backing up a few feet. "Cass, are you okay, baby?" he asked hesitantly once he shifted back.

"You are never fucking me like that again," she shook her head before flying up another tree.

"Does that mean you were going to let me?" he yelled up at her with a grin.

"I didn't say that!"

"It sounded like it to me, darlin! Will you get back down here?" he huffed, following her from tree to tree.

"What's going on?" Roman asked Seth who was practically breathless from laughing.

"You have to see and hear it for yourself!" he choked out while clutching his stomach; tears in his eyes.

"Even if I was, there is no chance in hell now! You're three times the size you were! My vagina has just started its life and isn't looking to die this soon so keep that thing away from me! Stop laughing, Spike!" she shouted at Seth while he continued to belly laugh.

"Oh my God!" Roman started forward when she began to freefall once again but Seth caught his arm.

"Watch this," he jutted his chin out and smirked when Roman's jaw dropped.

"Will you stop catching me, you silly mutt?" Cass rolled off of Dean's chest and squealed when he flipped over and pinned her to the ground.

'I have no desire to see my mate splattered all over the ground so no, I won't stop catching you!'

"Dean…what?" Roman shook his head in amazement.

'I know; it's fucking cool, right?' he panted at his Alpha before his attention returned to his female when she tried to slink away. 'You stay where you are, woman,' he laid down on top of her, laughing when she squirmed and swatted at him. He glanced down at her in surprise when she shifted his weight off her body and rolled to her feet. 'Is that part of mating thing?' he cocked his head at her.

"No, I've always had that strength too. So far, you're the only one that has shown any change from this last mating," she lowered her head and wandered over to another tree, glancing up at its branches.

"Maybe it's taking longer since your changes are more intricate. We are talking about your heart, baby. Really, it is a complete overhaul with the enhanced senses and reflexes," Dean rubbed the back of his neck once he shifted back; feeling his mate's unease. "Cass, please stop falling out of the fucking trees. I really don't think my heart can take it," he sighed when she ran up the one she was standing by.

"Just trust me and don't catch me, please!"

"So where do you hail from, Princess? Where were these trees you remember as a kid?" Seth called up to her when she picked her spot.

"My earliest memories are of New Zealand; woodlands and mountains, anyplace remote that Shifters tended to reside. I don't remember much of my parents; nothing whatsoever as a matter of fact. I do remember how upset I was when I was summoned for the war. I scared the emissaries that were dispatched to collect me," she chuckled softly. "I enjoyed the solitude of my home and didn't take the news well that I was needed due to my exemplary skills which was a nice way of saying 'you're our best killer'," she shrugged her shoulders, staring off into the distance for a moment.

"So that is why you bow hunt?" Seth cocked his head, bringing her back out of her memories.

"Bows, knives and swords are my specialty. My hands are just as deadly. I find guns offensive and loud. They disrupt what little calm I possess and make my charges nervous."

The three wolves watched her move effortlessly across the top branches, swaying with the breeze until she let go. All three collectively gasped and had to force themselves not to move while she plummeted towards the ground. Again she was horizontal until feet from the earth before bringing her legs up over her head, rolling and landing on her toes in a crouch.

"Pretty cool, huh?" she wagged her eyebrows, standing up and moving into her mate's arms. "Not as impressive as shifting into a monster wolf but I always loved that ability," she shrugged.

"You don't sink in the snow at all, do you?" Seth asked after crouching down to see barely a trace of her toe or footprints.

"Not my Legolas," Dean pulled her into his chest and kissed the top of her head.

"By the Gods, you are such a nerd," she rolled her eyes. "No, walking lightly and the ability to traverse any terrain with zero effort are both first generation traits. Trees, rocks, anything; it is like running on even ground to me. It makes me a true hunter in every sense," she shrugged her shoulders, dropping to sit on the ground while she stared up at her mate. "So how does it feel? Your new form; or one of them anyways? Malakai said you'd be able to shift into something else too but this big, bad ass wolf form must feel different," she laid back, smiling up at him.

"It feels amazing but I'd like to go for a run and see how it feels when I cut loose. I know how fast and strong I was before but I need to test this out to get a real read on it. You think you'll feel up for a run later?" he asked while he sprawled out on top of her, linking their fingers and holding her hands above her head.

"Maybe," she shrugged with a grin.

"So what is this no sex with the wolf thing? You let me do it again the next day with no complaints," he smirked, grinding himself between her spread legs.

"You didn't need to tell your brothers that!"

"Uh, Cass, we knew the instant he did it," Roman said with a blushing smile. "Your thoughts popped into our link once you mated and uh, we heard everything."

"Of course you did," she sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "There are no secrets between pack mates, after all."

"Come on, baby; both of your wolves want their mate," Dean rasped out; kneeling and lifting her by her hips to grind against her.

"Dean, you don't want to wreck your new plaything already, do you? I mean, you almost split me in half before you tripled in size. I guess if this immortality thing doesn't kick in completely, I'd prefer to die by dick rather than a heart shot but I'll never walk right again before you eventually kill me with that thing," she threw her head back when the head of his cock rubbed against her tingly flesh; a guttural moan rising in her throat.

"Are you still in heat?" Seth smiled down into her face when her eyes snapped open and narrowed on him.

"Man, she really hates that word," Dean chuckled at his brother; holding his lady down.

"Well she's putting off a scent that is making me and Rome crave it so you two better start popping out some female pups and we can hopefully find our mates out of your litter," Seth chuckled when Cass looked at him in abject horror before she began to growl low in her throat and struggle against Dean's hold.

"You better run, brother," Dean laughed.

"Aw shit, Seth!" Roman shouted; scrambling to his feet with Seth and taking off when Cass got loose.

"You are so fucked, Spike!"

"That is exactly what I'm wanting! I need to get laid so start replenishing the ranks with female pups to pick from!" he shouted back before he shifted and ran for home with her right on his tail.

Dean couldn't keep the grin off of his face when he shifted to his new form and took off after his mate, Alpha and brother. He closed in on her heels quickly but knew she wasn't hitting her top speed. She let Seth and Rome keep a slight lead on her and knew she was playing with them. His brothers entered their land amidst the rest of their pack; all of them clearing a path when Cass leapt into the air and twisted her body to land facing Seth. Dean charged forward, jumping over his brother and barreled into his mate, flattening her to her back.

"Dean!" Roman shouted; running on two legs towards them when he saw Cass' arms and legs flail beneath Dean's big body. "Oh my God, you two suck," he exhaled in relief when he found Cass laughing uncontrollably while Dean licked her face.

"Get off of me, Pup!" she pushed him back and rolled out to her feet. "Yes, he's like the Hulk of wolves now. It is a nifty perk of our mating," she told the rest of the pack when they converged on Dean.

"What perk did you get?" Antonio asked with an arched brow.

"So far, apparently being in heat forever," Cass answered awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

"No, that is another perk for Dean," Phil chuckled; shrugging his shoulders when Cass scowled at him. "Aw, come on, little sister! We all heard how enthusiastic you were for him these past two days. I still have a headache from your screams in my mind."

"As far as you know, I'm the oldest living thing on this planet, little brother," Cass cocked her eyebrow at Phil with a slight smirk.

"But you're too cute to be our older sister so little it is," Roman wrapped an arm around her neck with a laugh when she swatted at him.

"So since you guys are new to the property, how would you feel about a run down the river to the hunting grounds? I know Dean wants to try out his new legs and I can give you the guided tour of the neutral territory and the area cleared for hunts," she cocked her head at Roman while Dean shifted back to human form.

"Sounds like a plan," Roman nodded with a smile. "Do you plan to kill Seth while we're out?"

"Probably; do you mind?" she asked sweetly with an adorable tilt to her head.

"I might have once but after that litter comment I'll let it slide," he chuckled, ruffling Seth's hair when he pouted.

After the long but relatively fast run down the riverbank, Cass watched from the treetops while the pack hunted together. She smiled softly while watching the pack interact and felt a warmth in her chest when she picked up her name tossed around their conversations. All this time she harbored Shifters, this was the first time she felt like she was a part of an actual family. Her mate's family accepted her into their ranks like she always belonged there. She glanced down at him lovingly. Dean remained close by, testing out his larger form while keeping an eye on her. She dropped down to land beside Seth, startling him with her sudden appearance, and laughed at his frown while she walked to the river's edge.

"Are you going to walk on water now, your Highness?"

"I don't walk on water, Spike," she shook her head, grabbing the hem of her tank and pulling it off, tossed it at his feet. "I do, however, hold my breath for an impossibly long time and temperature doesn't affect me in the slightest," she gave him a crooked smirk, pushing her shorts down before she ran and disappeared under the water.

"You lucky son of a bitch," Seth shook his head with wide eyes, glancing at the clueless Dean when he wandered up.

"What?"

"I hate you," Seth frowned and flopped down on the riverbank.

"What did I do?" Dean sat beside him with a confused look.

"You did that," he pointed at the water and huffed when his brother glanced between it and him just as lost as before.

"I don't get it."

"He means you got it all, Dean," Roman sat beside them, staring at the water with Seth; waiting to see how long Cass stayed under. "You mated an Immortal, fulfilled this ancient prophecy, turned into this kick ass wolf, get to make love to that kick ass woman and breed kick ass children. You got it all, bro."

"At this point, I hope I don't find my mate until your kids are born. I want one of your daughters," Seth nodded with raised brows, keeping his eyes on the river.

"I'm going to have to second that," Roman nodded along.

"Hey, whoa! Those are my kids you're talking about! That would be skeevy as fuck if you two hooked up with my girls! Fucking perverts," he elbowed his brothers with a scowl. "What does any of that have to do with the water?" he glanced between them still confused while they laughed until he saw his mate emerge in front of them. "Baby, why are you naked in front of these perverts that want to mate our daughters?"

"Everyone is naked, Dean, even you. I felt out of place," she turned sideways to smile at him.

"Your nipples are hard as rocks," he licked his lips, feeling his cock jump.

"Yeah, they are," Seth piped in with a laugh; fending off his brother when he jumped on him.

"Stop getting hard over my mate!"

"Her scent makes my mouth water and she's hot! Why can't you share?" Seth laughed uncontrollably.

Roman chuckled softly, watching the two wrestle around before he glanced up at Cass when she stopped in front of him, looking upstream with narrowed eyes. "What is it, Cass?" She didn't answer him; instead turning her ear to the North. "Cass?" He went to question her again but she put a finger to his lips, closed her eyes and concentrated before they snapped open; a look of fright on her face. "Baby girl?" Roman knew something was wrong when she paled considerably; a shudder passing through her body before she started running upstream. "Cass!" he shifted when he couldn't catch up to the woman in human form. 'Something's wrong, guys! Let's go!' he yelled at the pack; all of them following their Alpha.

'Cass, baby, what is it? What's wrong?' Dean called out to his mate as she quickly pulled ahead and began to fade from sight.

'Hunters! Malakai's sleuth!'

'Dean, Seth, Brad! Get on her ass now! Try to keep up!' Roman shouted while they ran full speed up river. He threw his head back and howled. Almost every Shifter would recognize it as a sign for danger. Erik and Xavier would know it as a call to arms. When they neared their land, he ordered Phil to take AJ and the other females home after alerting Erik and Xavier of the danger to Malakai and his family. Phil and AJ were a mated couple and couldn't go into battle. If they lost one, the other would die. It was the way of their species and Roman feared for his brother and new sister. Cass could not sit out of a battle; it was the way of her species, and Dean wouldn't leave her side. 'Dean, she doesn't have her weapons!'

'I don't think she cares, Rome! I can't even get through in her head right now! It is so loud in there; I can't find her in all of it. Seth, do you see her?'

'No, but I can hear her and you should too! Focus past your panic and on your mate! Goddamn it, Dean! You know how mated couples work! If we lose one of you, we lose both!'

The noise in Cassandra's head seemed to echo off the insides of her skull. Every Shifter on the property was in a state of alarm but Malakai's people were scared to death, and that fear along with their loud cries for help began to creep into her bones and threatened to shatter them from within. 'I'm coming, Mal; I'm not far,' she called out knowing he couldn't hear her thoughts. Her mind only accepted incoming calls from other Shifters. The open lines of communication were only gifted to Dean's pack through their mating.

She had never pushed her legs this hard before. The landscape sped by without notice but she knew she was three-quarters of the way there. A few minutes more and she'd be able to save her oldest friend. The barest hint of a scream began within her mind right before a slice of pain ripped down her back that made her body seize up; hands reaching for the phantom wound even as her legs gave out.

'Cass!' Dean came up on his mate when she crashed in a jumbled roll to the ground, clutching wildly at her body. Her blood-curdling scream rent the air before he completed his shift and knelt at her side. "Cass, baby, what is it? What can I do?" he cried out, jerking his hands back from her body when she continued to writhe in agony. "Ro, I don't know what to do!" Dean shook his head with tears streaming down his face; the screams of his mate slicing through his soul.

"Baby girl," Roman whispered in a hitched voice, kneeling beside the thrashing woman. She rolled on to her stomach for a moment; a hand grasping at the flesh at the start of her spine, and Seth sucked in a harsh breath; his eyes wide in horror. "What is it, Seth?" Roman glanced up at him while helping Dean restrain Cass' body. "Seth?" he asked again when his pack mate ran his fingertips over the scarred flesh on his upper back, just below his neck.

"She said she could feel things from us if we felt them strong enough," he mumbled out quickly; feeling his breath catch in his throat. "We need to get to Malakai now!"

"We don't know where his sleuth lives and the older residents haven't caught up yet!" Roman turned his attention to Dean and his struggling mate. "Dean, you have to get through to her somehow!"

"She's in so much pain, Ro! I can't pick up a thing from her and haven't had this gift long enough to master it," Dean cried; clutching his mate to his chest. 'Cass, please!' His cry in her mind seemed to snap her to a semblance of reality and she slowly rolled her pain-wracked body over to rise on unsteady legs. "Baby," he gasped when she took a hesitant step forward only for her back to arch; her body seizing up badly enough to fall to her hands and knees, crying out in pain. Dean shifted into wolf form, stepped up beside her and nudged her shoulder with his nose. 'Get her on my back!' He waited until his brothers lifted her shaking body and settled her on his back; saw her trembling hand pointing a direction and took off running when she collapsed astride his large body.

Seth kept a close eye on Cass while they ran; the way her body jerked, tensed up and shook, the way she screamed, cried and whined, and found he felt infinitely worse when all those things began to taper off in intensity. 'We're too fucking late,' he thought sadly; his high pitched whines growing in volume.

They smelled blood long before they saw it. The forest was silent now; as was Cass; her screams diminished to shuddering sobs. Roman told his pack to stay sharp despite the stillness ahead. The wolves cautiously stalked forward through the trees and brush knowing what they were going to see once they hit the clearing. Cass pushed herself upright on Dean's back, bringing her left leg over to slide down to the ground, collapsing to her hands and knees. The pack came to a halt; their eyes falling on the huntress when she dragged herself to her feet and stumbled forward in a daze. Her large wolf remained at her shoulder; his fur brushing her naked side as a physical reminder that he was there.

She sagged against him; her strength fleeing her body at the first sight of a bloody, skinless bear. Seth whined; moving his head under her hand and nuzzling against her leg while they continued forward, finding more bodies with each step. Silent tears streamed down her face; a steady sound of pain rising in her throat with every skinless corpse her eyes fell upon. It wasn't until she came upon Malakai's skinned body that she collapsed to her knees in a broken heap; eyes wide, chest heaving before she threw back her head and screamed her pain to the universe.

Dean curled his big body around his trembling mate while Roman and Seth stood guard over them. The rest of the pack fanned out to check the land for survivors or straggling Hunters.

'Cassandra!' Antonio called out at the same instant that her head snapped up.

The tears still glittered on her eyelashes but Roman saw nothing but death in her cold, black eyes. She fluidly rose to her feet, listening to the sounds of the forest while stalking forward and pulling a hatchet from a log. 'Seth,' he called his pack mate into movement when Dean bolted to his feet and followed his mate; the two of them on their heels. 'Antonio, get back to the camp and form a perimeter,' he ordered while he kept up with the mated couple.

The scent of human hit their senses immediately and under that lay the Hunter gene. The three wolves were hard-pressed to keep up with Cassandra, and it became nigh impossible when she took to the trees; virtually running from one to the next while she stalked her prey. The lone man was laden down with the weight of the animal skin and his hunters were downwind. Dean's heavier footfalls alerted him to their presence an instant before he dropped his trophy and turned with his weapon drawn. He wasn't ready for the body that slammed into him from above; the two of them rolling through the snow before Cass settled into a sliding crouch, using her hand to claw into the packed powder to halt in place.

The males moved into a wide circle around the two combatants; occasionally stomping a paw with the urge to sink their teeth into a killer. They stayed at the ready; held in place by their awe of his dissection at the hands of the woman they were sworn to protect. The way she moved around him, landing various hits was like a dance in their eyes. Dean tensed up his big body when the shotgun was brought forth once again but stomped both feet in approval when his mate moved in close, cleaving the weapon in half with an elbow. Tossing it aside, he withdrew a knife from behind his back but Cassandra caught that wrist in a vicious grip and drove him back into a tree with an unyielding shoulder and strong legs that weren't hampered by the snow.

Her cold black eyes darted down to the discarded skin of one of her charges before leveling on the man. "They screamed like pigs when we…" he ended that speech with a piercing scream when her borrowed hatchet cleaved through his forearm and embedded in the tree.

"Did it sound something like that?" she asked while she glanced down at his hand still clutching his blade beside her bare feet. Her hand moved from his bloody stump to his neck, holding him in place while her eyes drifted from his face to his chest. "I didn't bring any iron," she spoke in a deadpan tone before death returned to her gaze; rearing a hand back and driving it into his chest. "This will have to do," she turned, letting his body slump to the ground before releasing his heart from her fist.

'Cass, do you want us to?' Roman asked when she knelt next to the bloody pelt. She shook her head no, pulling trembling hands back to scrub off the blood of her kill with snow. The Alpha watched her mate move up behind her, nuzzling his nose in her hair while she shakily gathered the fur in her arms and rose on unsteady legs. Roman glanced at Seth and the two of them walked on her left while Dean kept close to her right; the four of them returning to Malakai's land.

'The males from Erik and Xavier's camps have arrived,' Antonio informed them upon their arrival, taking in Cass' stoic nod. 'Several have shifted to build a funeral pyre while the rest have fortified the perimeter,' he turned his attention to Roman when the huntress wandered towards the laid out slain. 'Roman, we found a survivor.'

"Where?" Cass spun on her heel after laying the remains with its family.

"I have him," Erik came forward; knowing the subject discussed by her reactions, carrying a little bundle of white fur in his arms. "Brad found him hidden in the crawl-space beneath Malakai's cabin. It is his son," he said in a broken tone; tears starting to fall while the infant cub cuddled into his chest.

"He saved his son," she gasped out on a sob; nodding her head rapidly, she backed away until she jumped when a blanket was wrapped around her nude form.

"It's just me, Cass," Seth whispered in her ear, leading her over to a log near the pyre.

"Thanks, Spike," she sniffled, hiding her face in his shoulder.

"What's happening?" Seth asked a few minutes later when the other Alphas of the property showed up and joined the others by the fire pit.

"The Alphas are here to pay their respects and send Mal's people along to their next life. A majority of them shouldn't be here since they are mated but Malekai was their elder," she wiped the moisture from her face before resting her head on his upper arm.

"Why is Dean up there with Ro?"

"Because he is the Alpha of our pack; his and mine, and I can't put the torch to my friend's body," she shrugged; letting him pull her tighter into his side when they both startled from the sound of the fire jumping to life.

"You know you and Dean shouldn't be here either. I know you have responsibilities but you're mated now and if your true immortality doesn't kick in and something happens to either of you, we could lose you both. We can't lose you, Cass, you're important to our pack as much as you are to this prophecy or your oath," he wrapped his other arm around her; hiding the flames from her peripheral sight. "He's my brother and you're one of us now; I kind of like having you around."

"I like having you around too, Seth," she whispered into his chest, running a hand up his back until it settled over his scar tissue. "I know, Pup, you don't have to say anything but I'm so happy you survived," she cried softly, clenching her eyes when the wood popped from the flames.

"I was the only survivor of my pack. He, uh, just got the blade in and I shifted to human, threw him off balance and ran like hell. I saw you grab at your back and I just knew what was happening, that you were feeling it; their fear, their pain and their deaths just like I felt my family. Fuck, I'm so sorry you lost your oldest friend, Princess," he sniffled, sharing their mutual pain over the skinnings. "I lost my first pack that way, Cass. I can't live through that again."

Dean and Roman joined them on the log, watching the fire until the night air claimed the ashes. Roman held council with the other Alphas, laying out plans for patrols inside the property lines. Cassandra kept silent and remained removed from the conversation, sticking close to Seth. All were in agreement to start immediately and wait until Cassandra was a little more stable before drawing up hard outlines on protecting their home. Roman suggested that Erik keep Malakai's cub and if their huntress had any issues with it, they would deal with it then. Xavier agreed; shutting down some arguments from other Bear Alphas.

"Why is this one giving us orders? He's barely been here a week! Our guardian needs to rule on this matter!" Marcus; the Black Bear Alpha, stepped forward and pointed at Roman in irritation, only to cower when Dean got in his face.

"My mate will not be ruling on any matter until she sees a reason to. You will not bother her with this petty bullshit either or you'll deal with me. Am I clear?" he growled in a low raspy tone.

"I've known her a long time and I've never seen Cassandra this lost before. But I can tell you that Erik is her friend and Malakai called him friend. She trusts Roman's judgment; she mated into his pack, and there is nothing to argue about here! The boy stays with Erik and that is final unless she says different," he waved them off in irritation. "Let's go home, my friend," he walked beside Erik, turning back to see Roman and Dean help Cass to her feet.

"I've got you, baby," Dean mumbled against her temple, kissing the top of her head while he led her home.

*CLICK*

The mated couple slowed to a stop and glanced over their shoulders towards the sound.

*CLICK*

*BOOM*

Random Shifters turned at the shot and sound of parting air to see Cassandra straight-arm her mate off his feet. "Get down!" They threw themselves to the ground or took cover; only lifting their eyes when an "Oof" escaped Cass' lungs and they saw her blown back off her feet and land on her back.

"NO!" Dean screamed and scrambled across the ground to his mate. "Oh baby," he gasped, quickly pressing his hands down over the bleeding wound in her chest.

"That was a sniper shooting from a distance. It was too long between the shot and impact," Roman crawled forward; fear gripping his heart when he saw Cass labor for breath. "Oh my God, Dean," he slapped his hands over his brother's, trying to stem the blood loss.

"Cass, stay with me!" Dean shouted in a near frenzy when her eyes began to flutter.

"We need to get her back to the house!" Seth tore some strips of cloth off the blanket he had previously wrapped around her by the fire. "Dean, you need to shift and run her back. Move your hands so I can bandage her up for the run!" he slapped a wadded up piece of cloth between her breasts and wrapped the strip around her torso, tying it off. "Rome, get her on his back! The rest of you Alphas instruct your people to take their positions. Remember these Hunters can die from mortal wounds. Everyone else meet us at her house," Seth shouted out Roman's last orders before shifting in mid-run and followed Dean, his Alpha and Cass. 'You stay with us, Princess!'