Revolting

The sun was just setting, staining the clouds in shades of orange and purple. The small group of rogues sat around the fire despondently, with the exception of Boyd, who refused to shift back to his human form. He kept some distance from the others and stayed curled up in a ball of fur. Hannah brought him a bowl of stew, only to leave the untouched bowl by the tree when he refused to respond. Her heart hurt for him, and she wished she had some way to comfort him. She slowly crept back to Michael. She was just as aware of his physical pain as she was aware of Boyd's emotional pain. She felt the burning, aching sensation in her own hip and shoulder. She also felt his anxiety over their situation. He kept watching the woods, as though he expected another ambush at any moment. He was restless, but his wounds kept him from moving and releasing that nervous energy. The only thing that calmed him was Hannah's skin making contact with his own. She would sit next to him on his good side and lean into him. Or she would rest her small hand on his strong forearm. She seemed to understand his need, and stuck close to his side, except when she saw something that needed doing.

Time and again her face turned toward the forest, and her eyes would fade out. Michael wondered what she was communicating, and with who, although he felt sure it must be her brother. He was helpless to get any useful information from her. If he tried to talk to her, she only grunted, or growled, or gave him a funny look in reply. He sighed and leaned back into an old tree trunk.

"Someone's coming!" Sarah hissed, she jumped to her her feet. All the others followed, with Michael being the last to straighten because of the pain of his injuries. Instinctively he shoved Hannah behind him and faced the western forest. Two men emerged from the trees. They were still pulling their clothes into place, indicating that they had just shifted a moment before they came into view. The two men stood unnaturally close to each other, in such a way that anyone would automatically know they were mated, even if they couldn't smell their mingled scents. The blond man stopped abruptly, and restrained the bigger man with his arm. "Michael." He spit out the name like a dirty word.

"William," Michael stared hard at the man who had once been his lover. He was still handsome, with his perfect blond hair and blue eyes, but Michael no longer felt any stirring of attraction. His eyes shifted to the slightly taller man at his side. He didn't know the man's name, but he recognized Hannah's brother immediately. Even if he hadn't once hunted the man, he resembled his sister. His features were a more masculine version of hers, and his hair, although darker, had the same red tones. His face was a cold mask of hatred as he stared at Michael, a muscle twitching dangerously in his jaw.

"Why. Are. You. Here?" The man bit out the words, as his hands flexed and curled into tight fists.

It was clear that only William's gentle, restraining hand kept him from leaping across the camp to tear Michael apart.

At the sound of his voice, Hannah eased around Michael's big body. Her eyes were wide and she was visibly trembling.

"Hannah!" Her name came out as a strangled cry, as the man finally broke free from William's restraining hand and ran towards his lost sister. He scooped up her slight body and crushed her in his arms. "Thank God, Thank Goddess, thank the whole damn Universe!"

Hannah allowed him to squeeze her, but her face was confused and she remained silent. Heath pulled back and looked deeply at her. "Hey... Hannah... what's wrong with you?"

She blinked at him, her eyes still wide and uncertain. She pushed her nose close to his chest and inhaled his scent, then she took a hesitant step back.

"Hannah! What is it? Why don't you say something?" Heath's voice was agonized. His eyes scanned the other people in the camp, all of them watching him warily, poised to fight or flee. Finally his gaze fell on Michael, who was watching the interaction closely, with something like hope on his face. "YOU!" he growled fiercely. "What did you do to my sister?!"

Before Michael could articulate a response, Heath launched himself at the big man. But before his fist could connect with any part of the larger man's anatomy, Hannah flew between them, and with an angry snarl, she grabbed ahold of Heath and spun him to the ground. Heath landed on his back with a heavy thud and stared up at his sister with both shock and disbelief. "Hannah!" his voice broke with barely-restrained emotion. "What? Why?"

She pushed herself off from her brother with a deep growl and stood like a tiny body guard between Michael's massive, but injured form, and her brother, as he peeled himself off the ground. Heath stared between the two of them in disbelief. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER!" He demanded in a roar.

Williams face finally registered understanding as he watched the strange interaction. He noted Michael's strange, defeated posture, the wild look in Hannah's face, her half-matted hair, her strange behavior. He came and put a hand on his mate's shoulder. When that wasn't enough to calm the man, he slid both of his arms around him and hugged him from behind. "Michael didn't do this," he murmured against Heath's shoulder. "She's gone feral."

Heath's jaw dropped, and all the fight seemed to drain out of his body. "No. No it can't be." He looked up at Michael, his expression begging the bigger man to deny it. Michael only looked down at the ground and nodded.

Michael sighed, and reached for Hannah with his good arm. She came to him willingly and pressed her small body tight against his side as though she were seeking comfort and reassurance from the contact. "I've been tracking her for months. We finally picked up her trail near the Canadian border. We caught her up in the North East Kingdom."

"More like she caught you!" Lonnie snorted. One scowl from Michael, and he lowered his gaze and shut his mouth submissively.

"I was trying to get her to Rebel Moon," Michael admitted. "I thought, if she was around people she knew and loved, it might... bring her back."