Split in Time Ch. 02

"An hour ago then." Ghan replied.

Mike checked his watch and nodded. Ghan walked back into the room and wondered for a moment how she had gotten out. He noticed the feet marks on the bed and glanced up. Getting onto the bed, he pushed the panel up; he didn't pull himself up knowing the ceiling couldn't hold his weight, yet since she was so light, it had easily handled her weight. He stalked out of the compound and shifted, tearing his clothes from his body as he grew. He grew from seven feet tall to nine as his chest expanded and black hair grew all over his body. He wanted to howl and take up the chase but he also wanted to know why she was stupid enough to try to escape him.

"Oh... did your little human escape." Crystal said in a teasing tone as she was suddenly beside him.

He growled at her, pulling his lips back and showing two rows of deadly teeth. Don't just stand there, track her, and make sure nothing happens to her.

"Do you want me to grab her?" She asked in a bored tone, tracking humans was such a waste of her skills.

No... I want to see the reason she has run on me. Let her get to wherever she's going, she has about an hour head start on us. Stay close but stay invisible. We'll catch up in maybe an hour depending on how quick she moves. He told her.

She sighed and rolled her eyes before suddenly she was gone. He blinked for a moment; he would never get over how fast Crystal could move when she felt so inclined.

He turned to a group of his best men who had come to see what the commotion was. Be on guard, he ordered, as they all straightened and turned to two of them. Hawk, Hammer with me. He ordered. The two men he had called forward quickly changed into their hybrid panther forms, tearing their clothes, and followed him around the building, looking for the spot Keira had used to escape. Ghan located her scent, Hawk and Hammer sniffed around to familiarise themselves with her unique smell, to help with the tracking as they would spread out to catch any back tracking on her part.

Ghan's pack was a mixed bag of whomever he could find who wanted safety and were willing to live beneath him, and included several Were races as well as Elementals, a human, and a lone vampire. His pack numbered eighty adults and about another ten juveniles.

Ghan was off the moment he knew Hawk and Hammer were confident with the scent they were tracking, feeling his anger rise. She had run away, he had been nice, helping her, saving her and she ran away. He wanted to tear, to bite and fight whom ever was important enough for her to run to. However, more than that he wanted to grab her and mate her, linking their minds so that she could never get away from him again.

They caught up with her a couple of hours later, having followed not only her scent but Crystal's that had joined hers a few minutes after going to find her. They followed her to the cave, taking up positions; Crystal was perched in a tree carving a piece of wood while she waited for the others to arrive. Ghan waited to see if she would emerge again, then he would grab her and take her back to the compound.

*

Gabby lifted her empty canteen as she chewed on a piece of bread, she swallowed, "I was getting worried."

Keira nodded as she checked her mother's leg. It had been broken in two places a few days ago when a tree had fallen on her, and Keira was not strong enough to set it.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be so long." Keira told her mother as she lifted the matting she was using to cover the wound where the bone had come through. Keira had managed to get the bone back inside but nothing more. She pulled out the first aid kit she had stolen and opened it; she used the contents to clean and started to redress the wound.

"Why were..." Gabby paused, she could smell blood and it wasn't her own. "You were hurt?" She said firmly.

Keira sighed. "I was shot." She admitted.

Gabby went pale.

"I went to the wastes." Keira began to explain.

"How many times have I told you to avoid the wastes?" Gabby demanded, she reached forward to grab her daughter to see for herself how badly she was hurt.

Keira avoided her mother's hands and pulled out the six tins of food she had found in the wastes. Gabby jerked, surprised at the sheer amount of food her daughter had managed to find. "I found these, there may have been more. A human patrol was stomping around. Their dog found a scent but not originally mine, the dog decided to come after me, I killed it and bolted, I got shot in the arm. I ran, I don't remember much after that except for waking in a bed." She explained.

Gabby sighed, happy it wasn't a bad wound. "A bed?"

Keira nodded, "yes in a compound."

Gabby frowned for a moment, the fact that her daughter had managed to get away was a good thing but it also meant they had to move again, however she was in no state to travel. "Can you get me some water?" She asked, her mind still ticking, Human or Were, which had helped her daughter?

Keira nodded as she finished dressing the wound. She grabbed the ten-litre bottle and the canteen and went to fill them in the creek.

*

Ghan heard movement at the caves entrance. He had perched over the opening ready to pounce. He watched as she walked out after checking to make sure the coast was clear. He watched as she checked the coast was clear before walking out, carrying empty water bottles. He waited several moments before jumping and striking her, knocking her out. He caught her before she crashed to the ground.

See what's in there. Ghan demanded, not caring who did it as long as someone did, Crystal appeared beside him.

"Calm down, you have her now you didn't need to knock her out," she told him. He growled at her in response. "We've talked about this..." she warned him, a deadly hint to her voice, "stop growling at me before I kick your arse into next week."

Hawk and Hammer went to do as Ghan ordered, leaving Crystal to calm him down. Gabby didn't bother to raise the gun, she had smelt them the moment they had come into the entrance. Hawk knelt beside her and checked her leg.

Hammer went out to inform his Alpha of what they had found. A woman. He told Ghan. She's hurt and she's Were. He added, the last part was almost irrelevant, it didn't matter what race she was, what mattered was if she had been a he, if a man had been in there he would be dead, Ghan would not stand for rivals.

Pack their things and get her back to the compound. Ghan scooped up Keira and carried her all the way back to the compound, taking a far more direct route than the one Keira had taken to get here. Crystal followed discreetly just in he needed help. It was just getting dark when they got back; he took her straight to his room and handcuffed her to the bed head. He shifted back into his human form and pulled on some jeans and grabbed a jacket, throwing it on but didn't bother doing it up. He went to the compound's blacksmith.

"I want you to make me a collar." He said with an edge to his voice, the rage of her leaving him still colouring his actions.

Bruno pulled the nearly completed collar from the forge, he knew the moment Ghan went after her that when he came back he would want a collar for her. Some way to keep her from getting away from him again before he could bind her to him.

"It'll be done in a few moments." He checked the metal then cooled it off. Spending a few moments filing the edges down before he then glued leather to the inner edge to make the collar comfortable. He then buffed the metal leaving the outer edge shiny. Bruno offered the collar to Ghan then gave him a decent length of chain, three heavy padlocks and their keys.

Ghan went back to his room. Blast was checking the back of her head, he turned to Ghan, "She is human you have to be gentle with her."

Ghan ignored him and put the collar around her throat. It was loose as Bruno had made the collar assuming she was Were, so that if she shifted the collar wouldn't snap off. He locked the collar closed then started to measure out the amount of chain he was going to allow her to have. Locking the chain to a loop connected to the wall near the bed head he then locked the chain to the collar. With her secure, he took the handcuffs off.

Blast watched Ghan for a moment, if there had been any doubt about where his intentions lay with the woman, him chaining her to his bed squashed them. He wanted her, she was his. Blast stood and left leaving Ghan with the unconscious woman. Ghan started to take off her boots and heavy outer jacket then the jeans she wore. He then tucked her under the covers.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

Ghan growled, his eyes flashing for a moment; he stormed over to the door and yanked the door open coming face to face with Grey, a man he had taken in over a year ago. "Yes Grey." He said barely controlling his anger.

"I want my daughter." Grey said trying to inject as much strength into his voice as he could, he felt his insides churn as his Alpha stood before him, barely contained rage radiated off him.

Ghan blinked. "She's human." He responded not willing to give her up.

"Gabby and I..." Grey started to explain.

"Who is Gabby?" Ghan asked.

"My mate, the wounded woman in the cave." Grey told him. "We found her when she was a toddler, maybe three, we weren't sure. We passed a ransacked convoy, she was the only one alive, albeit barely. We couldn't just leave her to the elements. She had a little bracelet with her name spelt out on it, Keira; we took her to an Elemental we knew. She tended the wounds and Keira recovered. I wanted to give her back to the humans but when I went to broach the subject, I knew it would break Gabby's heart as she had bonded with Keira. We can't have children, a virus destroyed Gabby's womb when she was younger. So we kept her."

"But you haven't formally adopted her, have you." Ghan asked seeing another way to keep her put.

Grey shook his head. "After we found Keira we avoided other Were. So no elders to perform the rites and bind our blood." He paused. "Mind you over the years I'm sure our blood found its way into hers through open cuts. Since she was about six her scent has never smelt completely human."

"How old is she?" Ghan asked curious.

"We think she'll turn nineteen in a little over a month, it's as close a guess as we can make." He answered. "Please my lord, can I take her." He asked.

Ghan growled and Grey cringed.

"No... she's mine." Ghan said staking his claim verbally.

"My lord she is my daughter, until a moon after her nineteenth birthday you can't take her." Grey debated.

"She's staying where I can keep an eye on her, you can visit but she isn't leaving my control." Ghan told him. "In fact since you're staying here now, you may as well adopt her fully." He stepped back and shut the door ending the discussion.

Grey winced and went back to his room. Gabby was waiting, her leg had been set and immobilised the moment she got here.

Gabby glanced around Grey. "Where is she?"

Grey approached his mate and sat on the bed pulling her back into arms, he had been surprised to see her as Hawk carried her into the common room for Maddie to start her healing. He had to pinch himself just to be sure he wasn't dreaming, he didn't remember moving, one moment he was sitting having a snack the next he had his arms around her and his nose in her hair.

If he had been surprised to see her it was nothing to the shock and pure joy she had at being back in his arms. She knew she hadn't lost him that he lived but it had been hard to live without him, but she also knew that he couldn't return. A year ago, he had been hunting and was captured by a merk squad. He had managed to get away but he couldn't go back to his family, it would put them in too much danger. Ghan had taken him in, had kept him alive.

For long minutes they had said nothing, they just held each other, however Gabby's mind always drifted to her daughter. As Maddie examined her leg, she told him that Keira should be here and that she wanted her daughter. Maddie had suggested he go while she tended to Gabby's leg and since Maddie was a healer, even if she was just a trainee, her 'suggestions' were like orders. He kissed Gabby soundly before he started to leave; as he turned Maddie told him they would be moving Gabby to his room.

"She's here but... my sweet... the Alpha... he has claimed her." Grey said trying to break the news as gently as possible.

"No... he can't." She said trying to get up. His hands stilled her.

"Gabby... you don't understand... Ghan... he was furious when she ran. He brought her here, had her arm seen to, and she ran... if she had asked he would have taken her to you and brought you back but she ran away from the Alpha. Rumours have it he's collared and chained her. He won't let anyone near her, his hackles are up." He warned her.

She relaxed against the pillows. "That means his wolf... he is a wolf right, I only saw panthers but I smelt a wolf."

He nodded confirmation.

"She is his mate." She continued her statement she remembered when Grey had first found her, he had nearly attacked her brother thinking he was a rival. He had even gone as far as to kidnap her to ensure that she was his before anyone else sought to take her from him.

He nodded. "He did however give us permission to visit when ever we wanted. She's just not allowed to leave his control, not until he has bound her to him..." He sighed. "To be honest I don't think he'll let her go even after they've mated. He's an immortal Gabby, a very old one. He has found and lost her so many times he has become paranoid."

She sighed in defeat; she would not be getting her daughter back for quite a while. He shifted his mate, sliding her so she could lie down. He then curled around her, holding her and breathing her scent. For the first time in a year, he slept without the aid of pills or concoctions. He breathed in her scent and started to purr, happy to have his mate back.

*

Keira woke with a groan, her head throbbed painfully. Her hand searched out the source of her pain and came to a small bump on the back of her head. She wondered for a moment what had happened. Turning her head gently she took in the gently lit room, her eyes coming back to a man she vaguely remembered, the one who had cuddled up to her the night before. She was back in the compound; he had caught up with her. She felt fear for a moment, fear for her mother, and fear for her self. His eyes flashed bronze for a moment and she knew that she was somewhat safe, no Were would harm her or her mother... she hoped.

Standing, he walked over to her. She gulped as his massive frame approached her, she sensed his rage, he was not happy with her. He was ruggedly handsome and had her feminine side reacting but she quickly stomped on it, she was not going to get involved with anyone, she was not going to bring a child into this world, not if she could help it. He offered her pills and some water, he kept his silence, as he was afraid to talk to her, afraid he would scare her. He was still livid that she had run from him, and he knew she could sense his rage.

She watched his hands for a moment. Taking the tablets from him she swallowed them not bothering to ask what they were, and not willing to spark a Were's volatile nature. Lying back, she was asleep almost instantly.

He watched her for several moments as she slept. Reaching over her, he turned the light off. He took off his heavy jumper and shirt before he kicked off his shoes and slid into the bed. He waited for a few moments she barely stirred as he pulled her to his body, letting his warmth surround her. Keira, he said to himself, it was a beautiful name that suited her. He leant in and took a deep breath, his wolf finally starting to relax.

She rolled onto her side; he copied and slid closer to her until they spooned. He took another deep breath taking in her scent using an arm to hold her to him as he slowly closed his eyes.