Chris woke to the feel of tiny hands scrambling over him as they tugged at something. He groaned as he cracked an eyelid. He was surprised to find Annabelle kneeling before him, her delicate nose scrunched in frustration. He blinked as he tried to figure out what was going on, and just what she was pulling at.

His throat was unnaturally dry. His tongue felt funny, and was that burnt hair he smelled? He swallowed heavily to wet his parched throat in order to find words. What had happened? His gaze shot to the video game he'd been playing. The screen was still on, his car was crashed into a wall and a prompter asked if he planned to continue. The only thing he intended to do was figure out what was going on.

Annabelle grunted in frustration and then jerked hard on something. Chris's hand went with her. He was surprised to see a rope falling away from his wrist. "What..." the word came out as a croak. He swallowed heavily as Annabelle's sea colored eyes came up to his. The terror in her gaze was almost enough to make him lose his voice again. "What happened?"

Annabelle tugged at his other hand and freed the last rope keeping his arm in place. "Dani happened."

"Excuse me?" he choked out.

Annabelle nodded as she rose. She kept her hand on Chris's arm as she grabbed a can of soda from the table. She thrust it at him and studied him apprehensively as he took a small sip. "How are you feeling?"

Chris shook his head, grateful for the drink. His mind rapidly cleared, but he was beginning to wish it hadn't. "Where's Cassie?"

Annabelle shook her head. "Gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" he demanded, nearly spilling his soda as he lurched forward.

"I don't know," she whispered. "We've been out for hours Chris. They could have taken her anywhere by now."

Chris's heart pounded against his ribs with the force of a jackhammer. He stumbled up, and nearly tripped over the video game controller that had fallen at his feet. Annabelle steadied him before he could take a header through the flat screen. Panic caused his temples to throb with the rush of his blood.

"We have to find her! What happened?" he nearly bellowed.

"Chris calm down," Annabelle urged. "Please, just calm down, we have to think. We have to figure out who came here, who took her."

"I don't know what happened, one minute I was playing a game, and the next you were untying me from this chair!"

His voice reverberated loudly around the room. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself but failed miserably. Cassie was gone; someone, or something, had taken her. He cursed viciously as he slammed his fist on the table. His soda rattled, some of it splashed over the side, but everything remained standing.

"Feel better?" Annabelle asked.

No, he felt like an idiot, torn and tormented. He felt like tearing this house down, then the woods, and then whatever else he could get his hands on, but none of that would do them any good. He took another deep breath, as he ran his hand through his hair and tried to steady himself.

He didn't understand where the full force of this panic and anger was coming from. Yes, he should be terrified, and upset, but this bad...

His thoughts trailed off as realization dawned on him. It wasn't him who felt like ripping the house down, or the woods, or everything in his way. It was Devon. Devon was near, and his emotions were so strong, and so forceful, he was picking up on them, and being affected by them. His skin became flushed as a cold chill swept down his spine.

"Devon's almost here," he told her.

Annabelle's eyes widened, her mouth parted as she glanced at the window. "How bad is he?"

"Bad," Chris whispered.

Annabelle turned back to him and her hands fisted. "Chris, I think you should go somewhere else, at least until he calms down. He's going to be on a rampage, and he's not going to care who is in his way."

Chris gaped at her, aghast at the thought. "I'm not hiding from him," he informed her.

"It's not hiding Chris, but he isn't going to be controllable, and if you get in his way we may not be able to stop him. When a vampire's mate is threatened, or lost to them, they don't think rationally. What is going to come through that door is not the Devon you know. What is going to come through that door will destroy anyone who gets in between him and Cassie."

"Well, we aren't in between them," Chris grated. "And I'm not leaving you alone with him."

"I'm sure Liam is with him. Maybe even the others still."

Chris tried to sort through Devon's emotions to see if there were others with him, but it was impossible to tell beneath all of the fury. Devon's emotions threatened to bury him beneath their sucking tidal wave. He’d thought Devon's misery and anguish had been bad when Cassie broke up with him, but this was far far worse. This bordered on the edge of insanity.

"He's going to kill us all," Chris whispered, suddenly convinced of it. Devon was strong enough, and savage enough right now to destroy them without batting an eyelash. He could kill hundreds of people before someone ever stopped him. If someone, other than Cassie, even could.

Annabelle's delicate jaw was set and her sea green eyes hardened. "If Cassie is still alive, we have a chance of reaching him. If she is dead, then there will be no stopping him. A vampire without their mate is as good as dead."

"She has to be alive," Chris said. "She has to be."

"Do you know that for sure?"

Chris shook his head; the only thing he knew for sure was he wasn't ready to face the loss of his best friend, or the loss of his own life for that matter. "No, I don't, but even…" he broke off. "Even if she is dead, I thought they didn't complete the ritual. I mean Cassie is still human. They aren't mates, right?"

Annabelle had made her way over to the window. "He still recognizes her as his mate. He still knows in his heart she is his. He cannot live without her, Chris."

"Will he know if she is still alive if the bond wasn't completed?"

"For our sakes, let's hope so," she whispered.

"He's here."

Annabelle stepped away from the window. The luminosity of the moon and the television cast an eerie glow about the living room that did little to ease the chill taking up residence inside him. Over Annabelle's shoulder he could see a figure emerging from the woods, moving with so much speed it was a blur amongst the trees. Chris took an involuntary step back as he tried to avoid the frenzy emanating from the blur.

"Where's Liam?" he whispered.

"He's not as fast as Devon." Annabelle moved closer to Chris and stepped in front of him.

Footsteps sounded on the porch. Chris braced himself as the steps hesitated before stomping into the house. Devon's ferocity pounded against him as he made his way into the foyer and his silhouette appeared in the doorway. He held something in his hand and his head was bowed over it. For a single moment he fingered it before lifting his head to look at them.

Chris inhaled sharply as Devon's blood red eyes narrowed upon them. Annabelle straightened her shoulders, but Chris could feel her fear. "Where is she?" Devon demanded.

"Devon, you have to calm down," Annabelle urged.

He took a step into the room. "Who took her?"

"Devon..."

"Who Annabelle?" he bellowed so loudly the windows shook.

Annabelle jumped and pushed Chris back as she moved away. "That is what we must figure out," she said calmly. "But I believe it was The Commission."

Chris glowered at her. He didn't like being associated with anything, or anyone, who may have had something to do with Cassie's disappearance. Unfortunately, The Commission was something he could be associated with. Devon was irrational right now; he might blame Chris for Cassie's disappearance.

"Devon look, we need to figure this out. If you could just calm down, we may be able to trace her location. Her blood is inside of you." Chris was riveted by shock. Cassie had allowed Devon to feed from her? He didn't know why he was so surprised; it made sense for them to crave that connection after all. He just hadn't suspected it had happened already. "I know you've fed from her. I can smell it, and sense it, in the power radiating from you. That power is also making you more irrational now."

Another blur caught Chris's attention before fresh footsteps hit the porch. Liam appeared behind Devon and his silver eyes instantly latched upon Annabelle. Though Chris had been afraid to move an inch, Liam strode past Devon as he hurried to Annabelle's side. Chris could sense their longing for each other, but they didn't touch as Liam reached her side.

"We, all of us, we can find her Devon," Annabelle continued gently. "With all of our gifts..."

"Before they hurt her?" Devon demanded. "Can we find her before they hurt her?"

"We can find her. If she is still alive, we can find her. And she is alive, right Devon?"

Chris could read the truth in the easing of Devon's features, Cassie was alive. His best friend had not been lost, yet. There was still time to get her back. Hopefully before Devon went completely insane.

Headlights filtered over the windows and tires crunched in the snow. Doors opened and slammed, running footsteps sounded over the driveway and then up the steps. Melissa and Luther burst through the door and skidded to a halt when Devon turned wrath fueled eyes on them. Luther shoved Melissa back a step, Liam moved instinctively closer to them.

"Devon please come in and sit down," Annabelle coaxed. "Please."

Devon didn't move. He remained standing like an opposing avenger sent straight from the depths of Hell. Chris only prayed he wouldn't turn that wrath upon them, though he still appeared very close to doing so. "No. Tell me what happened here," Devon commanded.

Annabelle looked around helplessly. "At least let me turn on some lights. Let us get comfortable, so we can try to formulate a game plan."

Annabelle moved away as she hedged toward the switch by Devon. Liam bristled beside Chris, but didn't move to go after her as she neared Devon. The lights flared on, causing everyone to blink in surprise. "What happened?" Liam inquired as he glanced around the living room.

Chris took note of the rope on the floor by the chair where he'd been tied. He glanced at the bowl of soup he'd eaten shortly before utter blackness had claimed him. A bowl of soup Dani had made for him.

"Dani happened," he muttered as Annabelle's words finally sank in. He hadn't known what to make of her statement earlier, but now, with nausea twisting through his belly, he completely understood what she'd been trying to say. "Dani did this."

"Yes," Melissa said flatly. "She did."

Chris frowned at her as he sensed more behind her words. "You had a vision?"

Melissa nodded briskly. "Too late though, they're almost always too late!" she spat.

"But what exactly did she do?" Chris demanded. "I was playing the video game, and next thing I know I was waking up tied to a freaking chair! And why? Why did she do this?"

"I think there was something in your soup," Annabelle answered. "Some kind of drug, you were out cold when I got down here."

"Where were you?" Liam inquired though the tension in his voice belied his quiet tone.

Annabelle ducked her head as her long lashes fell to cover her eyes. "Upstairs," she admitted. "Dani came into my room, and we were talking. She said she was scared, confused," Annabelle's delicate forehead furrowed as she tried to recall the conversation. "I remember giving her a hug, and then nothing. I was tied to the bed when I woke up, the hair on my arms was still slightly singed."

"She electrocuted you," Liam grated.

Chris took a small step away from him. They already had one very pissed off vampire to deal with, they didn't need another one. Annabelle nodded. "I believe so."

Liam let out a low growl. Annabelle went to him and took hold of his hand as she turned toward Melissa. "What did your vision show you?"

Melissa shot an anxious look at Devon, who was watching her raptly, his eyes cold and furious. Chris was certain Devon had already heard the answer to this, but he wasn't going to stop her from the retelling. "Dani tasered Cassie. I saw her go down, and then four men came out to retrieve her."

Devon swore furiously, he spun on his heel as he paced away. Melissa and Luther took that as their chance to slip by him and join the others in the living room. "The men?" Chris asked.

"Were out in the daytime, they were human. I'm almost positive they were part of The Commission."

Devon swore again as his pacing became more agitated. "Why would Dani do this?" Chris asked.

"I don't know," Luther answered. "Maybe it has something to do with her brother, but I don't know. We have no idea what happened to her, or what she did, before we met her."

"I know what will happen to her when I'm done with her," Devon snarled as he stopped in the doorway again.

The hair on Chris's arms stood on end. He'd seen Devon out of control, feral. It had always been when Cassie was threatened, but this was... well this was different. Devon would destroy Dani; if he found her he would kill her. Chris wasn't too fond of the girl anymore either, but what Devon would do to her was something he didn't want to imagine, or see.

Then, suddenly, those malevolent red eyes were locked upon him. "You didn't sense anything from her?" Devon demanded.

Chris swallowed heavily. "No, nothing like this."

"What did you sense then?"

"Fear, confusion," he said. "I sensed no betrayal in her, no animosity, nothing deceitful or mean."

"How could you not?" Devon demanded.

Chris took a deep breath as he tried to puzzle that out for himself. "It's stronger when I touch a person. I can always read their emotions and inner personality better then. But now that I think about it, I haven't touched Dani in a long time. I never questioned it at the time, never realized it until now, but she must have stayed away from me on purpose. Also, yours and Cassie's emotions have been running so high lately it's been difficult for anything else to get through. Especially here, Cassie was a jumbled mess of confusion and loneliness while she was here. What I sensed from Dani was nothing compared to that."

For a second Chris was certain Devon was going to fly across the room and rip his head off. Chris knew he was quite capable of doing it. Swallowing heavily, Chris took a small step back but it would do him little good. If Devon was determined to get a hold of him, he would.

"I thought you could block out people's emotions," Melissa said.

Chris looked helplessly at her. "Not when they're so strong like that. Their emotions get through anyway, no matter how much I try to block them out. In all honesty, I trusted Dani; I never sensed any animosity or ill will from her before. I never thought to search her anytime recently; there was no reason to doubt her."

"Ok, so none of us saw this coming," Annabelle interjected.

"Until it was too late," Melissa muttered in disgust.

Chris squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "We have to find out where they took her," Luther said. "And why she's still alive."

Chris inhaled as he shot Luther a ferocious look. He loved the man, but sometimes he could be completely obtuse. "What do you mean why she is still alive?" Devon's voice was so low and menacing everyone took a small step back from him.

Luther, realizing his mistake, cleared his throat nervously. Chris fervently hoped he would change the subject, or at least think of some way to cover his words. Unfortunately, Luther didn't possess those social skills. "They came for her because of what type of Hunter she is. We’d assumed they killed off the other Hunters like her, but if they took Cassie alive we may have been mistaken. They may have been doing something else with those Hunter's, we just don't know what."

Stunned silence followed his statement. Chris waited with bated breath for Devon's reaction, which he was sure was going to be violent. He wasn't disappointed. A loud bellow ripped from Devon as he seized hold of the hall table near him. Lifting it, he swung it easily up and slammed it into the wall with enough force to shatter the table and plaster. They all instinctively ducked as plaster exploded in bits of white powder, and table pieces flew outward.

Devon stood amongst the ruined debris, his shoulders heaving, his fists clenched so firmly the muscles and veins in his arms stood out starkly. Though he looked on the verge of tearing the whole place down, he didn't move to destroy anything else. "Nice Luther," Melissa scolded.

He shot her a severe glance. "There is no sugarcoating this," he replied. "We need to figure out what is going on, where she is, and we have to do it quickly. As long as she is alive, Devon will hold himself together."

Chris didn't care to think about what would happen if Cassie didn't stay alive. He had grown close to Devon, had started to consider him one of his good friends, but if Cassie died that Devon would cease to exist. And this Devon would take over completely. The man would be destroyed as the demon inside rushed forth to take control. Chris shuddered as he realized there was a good possibility he may lose two of his best friends. That he may have to destroy one of them himself, if Devon didn't destroy all of them first.

"So let's find her," Liam said. "Devon can you track her through her blood?"

Devon stood rigidly for a minute, his hands uncurling as he seemed to regain some control of himself. When he turned to them though, his eyes were still the color of rubies. "No. I picked her scent up again when we were miles away. It came here, and then it just stopped."

"That makes no sense," Annabelle murmured.

"He picked up the trail on what would have been their way out," Liam explained. "Where he started is also where we lost her."

"That still shouldn't happen," Annabelle insisted. "I know where Liam is at all times, I could find him anywhere. You should be able to find her."

"Our bond isn't complete Annabelle!" Devon grated. "Cassie doesn't have my blood in her, and although I have hers, the bond isn't strong enough for me to follow her."

Chris looked at Luther and Melissa to see how they would react to his statement. Both of their faces remained impassive, but Melissa glanced quickly over at him and he could feel her surprise. She hadn't known what had transpired between Devon and Cassie either, but he was fairly certain Luther had, or he had at least suspected it.

"But you can't follow her blood?" Luther inquired.

"Only so far," Devon answered. "They've taken her beyond that point, and it's been so long..."

Devon broke off and shuddered as a trace of humanity slipped through the fright and rage boiling inside of him. Without Cassie, Devon wouldn't survive, and yet Chris sensed no concern for Devon's own life. He only cared about Cassie's. For a moment his eyes turned green again, and then the red shuddered back into place and fury blasted against Chris once more.

"There has got to be a way!" Melissa cried. "There has to be! We can follow her trail until Devon loses it and then we'll just have to..."

Melissa looked helplessly at Chris as tears slipped down her face. Chris understood her helplessness, her complete and utter lack of power. "Liam, what ability do you have?" Luther demanded.

Hope shot through Chris as he turned to Liam. They didn't know what he was capable of, what ability he may possess that could be of use to them right now. "I can communicate with animals, which does us little good in this situation."

Chris started in surprise, it seemed like a handy little gift to him. "Can't we just talk to them; won't they be able to tell us where they took her?"

Liam frowned as he shook back his brown hair. "They may be able to tell us for a little bit, but to find enough of them that have seen something..."

"We need something quicker and easier," Devon interrupted.

Devon emitted a low growl as he paced to the door and then back again. Chris stood quietly as he tried to piece everything together. He needed to think, they had to figure something out before it was too late.

"Julian," he stated.

"What?" Melissa asked in surprise.

"Julian," Chris gushed out. "Julian can find where she is. All we have to do is give him something of Dani's, and he will know everything she knew! He can tell us where to find them!"

Astonished silence met his eager outburst. "Why would he help us?" Annabelle finally asked.

"Because we're going to make him," Devon grated out. "We have to gather some of Dani's things."

Before anyone could respond Devon turned and rapidly bounded up the stairs. Chris listened as he threw open doors before finally finding Dani's room. "I'll go help him before he tears the place down," Liam said before he disappeared from the room.

"What if this doesn't work?" Melissa inquired.

"It has to," Luther answered. "It's all we have."

"Did Devon run the whole way here?" Chris asked, more to divert the conversation away from the doubt than out of any real curiosity.

Luther shook his head. "He got out of the vehicle about thirty miles back. That's probably where he picked up her scent."

"If we don't find her, this will get ugly," Annabelle whispered. "And I'm fairly certain all of us together won't be enough to take him down."

"No, we're not," Chris agreed.

Melissa squeezed his arm. "We'll find her, I don't care what it takes we will find her. Julian will help us."

Chris wanted desperately to believe her, but he was unable to bury the doubts blazing through him. He listened as Devon and Liam pounded back down the stairs. "Let's go," Devon commanded briskly.

"Wait, Devon." Luther held up a hand and took a step forward to intercept Devon before he could leave. "I think we should split up. Liam and I should stay here and search for the animals. It may be a long shot, but it is one we should pursue."

Devon's shoulders became rigid. "Fine."

Annabelle looked about ready to protest as her eyes darted toward Liam. Liam gave a brief shake of his head to forestall her words. "It will be for the best," he said. "Luther can drive while I search the forest, and he can find us places to stay during the day."

"It's settled then, let's go."

Before anyone could say anything more, Devon stormed out of the house. "Liam," Annabelle whispered.

He shook his head as he seized her hand. "You must stay with him, Annabelle, you may be one of the only people who can keep him calm, and I must go. We have to find her before he begins to truly destroy everyone and everything. I will be fine, now go on."

Tears shimmered in Annabelle's eyes as she stood on her toes to kiss him. Chris turned away and followed out the door behind Melissa and Luther. Devon had already disappeared into the forest.