I still haven’t heard anything. I’ve been sitting here in a daze since Pete made me sit down. He told me I was swaying on my feet. People have been going back and forth trying to figure out what happened. Apparently, Mitchell isn’t talking either which I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t he just say his mother did this?

I wait for hours, no one telling me anything as I sit here waiting for my mate. Why didn’t my power work? I healed Nate no problem. Screw this! My wolf and I are both getting angrier by the second not knowing what has happened, so we hunt down the rest of our mates. I follow their scent to a room on the second floor, ignoring when people try to stop me.

Two wolves are guarding the door. I move to open it when the one on my left grabs my wrist. My wolf flashes and I grab him using his momentum to flip him over my back. The other tries to tackle me but three quick punches to the temple has him crumpled to the floor.

Bursting into the room, my ears still buzzing, I freeze seeing Jonnie. He’s laid on a bed with an IV attached, still unconscious. My mates are all gathered around him, solemn looks on their faces. Mitchell has tears streaking down his face as he looks up at me.

“No!” I gasp, taking a step back.

Jason jumps up, coming over and pulling me into his arms. “I’m sorry Dani. We can’t do anything. Whatever Rosie hit him with, it punctured his spinal cord. He’s in a coma of some kind. Our healers said there is no way for him to come out of it. He’s dying,” he whispers, the heartbreak in his voice clear.

He can’t be dying, he can’t! There has to be something I can do! “Move,” I growl, moving him to the side so I can approach Jonnie. A wolf I don’t know stops me, his hand on my shoulder, “Stay away from him!” he demands, pushing me back.

I look up at him, my wolf rushing to the front of my mind. Whatever he sees in my face has him backing down instantly. “Get out! All of you! Out now!” I demand, putting the will into my voice.

The guy practically runs out the door followed by another man I didn’t realize was in the room. My mates slowly walk towards the door. They all leave one by one, until Mitchell is left. “Mitchell, please stay,” I ask, stopping him from leaving.

He nods, coming back to my side. We hold hands and look down at Jonnie. I know what I have to do. It’s why I sent the others away. If they knew, they’d try and stop me. “Mitch, I need you tell Jonnie, I love him and if there was another way, I would have found it. I tried healing him back in the woods but it wouldn’t work because my energy was keeping me alive. I haven’t healed enough to be at full strength again. Now, I’m going to do what I should have done when I realized.”

I let go of Mitchell’s hand, pulling him to me, giving him one last kiss. It’s a kiss filled with passion and he senses that this is the last kiss I’ll give any of them.

I pull back, gently pushing him to the side as I climb onto the bed above Jonnie. I have no idea if this will work but it has to. There’s no other option.

“Jonnie if this works, I love you and I’m sorry.” I press my hands to his chest, my wolf and I focusing on our core, sending energy through to him.  My body starts to drain, the lifeforce slowly leaking into Jonnie.  I don’t have much to give but, for him to live, I would give him everything.

Yelling from outside the door has me pausing and as the door slams open as I push the last of my energy into Jonnie.

“Quick, all of you, touch her now!” James screams into the room. Mitchell reaches out grabbing me and I feel a spark flare within me. He’s somehow giving me his energy. The others are behind me, each reaching out to offer their touch. I send our energy through the link my wolf feels with Jonnie. His eyes flutter before flying open with a gasp. He sees us all gathered around him. We enjoy the moment, knowing he’s alive before collapsing in a heap. All of our energy is flowing together as one. It’s strange.

James rushes over, pulling me from under Jason who collapsed on me. “You ok, Dani?” he asks, pushing the hair from my eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Is Jonnie ok?” I slur, my tongue feeling too big for my mouth.

James shakes his head, gently placing me on the floor to check on Jonnie. He’s back on the bed, unconscious. I just want to make sure he’s healed. All my mates are lying slumped or unconscious around the bed, the energy drained from them. After checking on Jonnie, he checks on the others for me, murmuring to Jason and Cam who are both still awake but depleted. Once he’s sure they’re all okay, he comes back to me, lifting me in his arms carrying me from the room. Rick and Jake are waiting outside the door, scared looks on their faces.

“Go and take care of her mates. I need to talk to Dani,” he says, walking past them down to the room I woke up in.

Once we’re inside, the door firmly shuts behind us and he sits me on the sofa that has been placed against the wall, facing the bed.  He walks away from me to pace angrily. How did I not see the sofa when I woke up? Maybe they changed the room but I was sure this wasn’t here.

James stops abruptly, turning to face me, anger in his eyes. “What were you thinking Dani?! You were going to kill yourself!”

“I had no choice! My mate was dying! You would have done the same thing in my position so don’t get all high and mighty with me,” I growl through gritted teeth.

He sighs, drooping onto the bed, “You’re right, I’m sorry. You just can’t be so reckless. I swear it’s like one moment you’re acting like a queen then the next it’s like you’re a child. I understand your still a teenager but that means nothing in our world. You will be expected to make decisions beyond your years and that means not sacrificing yourself for your mate. Especially when you have the ability to use their energy. You could have just used it and healed Jonnie, you didn’t need to kill yourself,” he groans exasperated.

“Well, I didn’t know I could share energy! Why didn’t you tell me?” Here he is making me feel guilty for wanting to save my mate when it was the only option I had. I had tried to heal him before we got back to the main house only it didn’t work. I was too weak. I felt the only choice I had was to sacrifice myself so he could live. If put in the same situation with the same information I had at the time, I’d do it all over again.

“I keep forgetting how little you know of us. Your mates Dani, they are your lifeline. Being a mate means sharing everything, including your wolf or energy. That’s what they did when they touched you in there, they offered their energy up to save Jonnie,” he explains.

He pauses, ruffling his hair. “You need to accept our ways and stop thinking of yourself as a separate entity. You are a partnership which means you protect each other. You need to let them protect you the way they are meant to.”

I hear what he’s saying but my wolf and I both feel he’s wrong. They are meant to protect me, I get that. My instincts however, tell me I have to save them. How can they be my protectors when I’m stronger, and faster than them? It just doesn’t make much sense.

“I will try to remember that but it’s hard to fight my natural instincts,” I admit, not wanting to start an argument. There is something much more important I have to deal with now. Mitchell’s mother.

She can’t be left handcuffed forever, she’s Mitchell’s mother for god’s sake. She needs help. I don’t understand why no one has done anything before now. She’s obviously gone rabid. They need to contain her or offer some kind of help rather than just let her live out there like that. What if she attacks a child? What if she kills another pack member? There are just too many variables.

“We done here?” I ask, getting up from the sofa a little shaky. My legs are still pretty weak but this needs to be addressed.

He nods, coming to my rescue, holding out a hand to grab on and steady myself. Stupid energy depletion. I wonder if the guys are feeling as weak? We walk into the room, me leaning against James for support, to see the guys all happily chatting. They see me and Cam rushes to get to his feet and takes me from James.

He lingers in the doorway, obviously not wanting to leave, “James, I’ll be fine. Just wait outside for a minute, okay?” he nods, relieved I haven’t asked him to go too far away.

Cam looks down at me, a mix of confusion and anger. “Why did you ask him to stay close? You don’t need him to help you, that’s what we’re here for.”

I take a step forward, ignoring him. He grudgingly helps me walk to the bed, before letting go of me. Lifting my head, I see concern on most of their faces, “Look, I’m going to ask you all once, did you know how dangerous she was?” I ask looking at each of them and they all shake their heads apart from Mitchell who refuses to meet my eyes. “Mitch?”

He lifts his head slowly, looking off to the side of me rather than meeting my eyes directly. The guilt I sense tells me all I need to know. “Why did you let us go if you knew she was that bad? Look what happened to Jonnie! For god’s sake, she ripped my hair out! If she wasn’t your mother, I would have killed her. You have no idea how much restraint it took to just handcuff her to that bed.” I shake my head disappointed. “Since you refuse to do something, I have to. Did you even think what could have happened if a child went to that cabin? Imagine what could have happened if she left and had that kind of episode. I understand she’s your mom but you know we have to lock her up for her safety and the pack’s. She can’t stay free to do that again,” I tell him, softening my voice so he understands the seriousness of the situation.

I haven’t really thought it through completely but something needs to be done. The only thing I can think of, would be to lock her in a cage, though that seems harsh. She’s obviously ill. There must be something else would could do rather than treat her like a prisoner?

“Guys, what do you usually do in this situation? Do you have a medical centre or something she could go to and be sedated? Dad used to mention a few hospital-like buildings but not the full facilities. Do you think we could use one of them for Rosie?” I ask, looking between, Nate, Cam and Jason. All three of them pay more attention to the goings on in the pack so I’m sure one of them would have some kind of idea.

Jason glances over at Mitchell, obviously feeling bad. “There is a hospital we could take her to but it’s dangerous. They use silver around the outside to keep them in.”

“Ok… Then why suggest it?” It doesn’t make sense he would suggest something that could be dangerous unless he thought she really needed to go there.

Cam wraps an arm around my shoulders, and I lean on his chest, enjoying the touch. “The hospitals that exist for us have been under Luke’s control. So, there’s no telling what they’d do or how they’d treat her.”

Oh, that sucks. “Alright, then I have another idea. Who’s in charge of the Slade pack?”

***

An hour later, I’m sitting in front of Jonnie and Mitchell’s uncle, finding out what he’s willing to do for their mother, which to me, sounds like nothing.

He looks very different to the boys, sandy hair framing his face with deep brown eyes. His face holds a harshness while his voice is soft, like someone who speaks too often. “I want to help Rosie, I do. But what you’re asking me to do, is impossible.”

I take a few deep breaths to calm myself, not liking the way this guy is acting. It’s not like I’m asking him to build a rocket ship. All I want is their mother to be safe. “Look, if you won’t build her a safe place, then you need to send her to the hospital that’s equipped to deal with her or deal with her yourself. If you do that, you can’t lead the pack. They need an alpha who’s only priority is the pack.”

“You’re right. Ok, let me talk to a few of the other members in the pack and see how long we’re looking at. Building a whole new enclosed area around her, especially made from silver, is going to be a very difficult task. Would you like to offer them your input once I’ve discussed it with them?” he asks resigned.

At least now he sees that he has no choice. All I’m asking is they place a ten-foot fence around a certain amount of forest for her. She would be able to run and shift, while being cut off from everyone. This makes her less of a danger and gives her the space to be free until we can figure out a long-term solution. I’m not stupid enough to believe we can lock her in there like a cage but it’s better than actually having her locked in one.

Jonnie and Mitchell have been quiet since I asked for this meeting which is irritating. It’s their mother that we’re discussing. Shouldn’t they have some kind of objection? “Guys, what do you think? Are you okay with this or would you prefer us to do something else?”

Jonnie squeezes my hand, offering a small smile, “I’m ok with whatever Mitch wants to do. He knows what she would want better than I would.”

Mitch just stares at the floor, shoulders drooped in defeat. “Uncle Gary, can you do it? Like I mean really do it?” he murmurs down at the floor before lifting his head to stare at his uncle. “No promises you can make it work if you can’t. I don’t want to have hope that Mom can be contained while having her freedom if you can’t do it.”

Gary slides from his chair, dropping to his knees in front of him, “I promise I will do everything I can to make it a reality. Your mother needs help and until my stupid brother comes back, hopefully this will do.”

I watch the tear fall from Mitch’s eye as he tries to hide it, feeling terribly sad. He misses his father and feels hopeless about his mother. I can’t imagine going through this myself. It would be absolutely heartbreaking. All I know is I’ve done all I can to offer some kind of solution especially when all the history says a wolf that rabid would be banished or exterminated but it’s something I can’t do to my mate’s mother. I just hope it won’t come back to bite me in the ass.