📎A/N .. that tree took longer than expected ;-) I hope you enjoy the chapter.

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Although she was loath to get her expectations up, Kaitlyn couldn't help the hope that flashed through her.  She had to hold on to the belief that her mother was at the same location as her watch and they hadn't discovered that it was transmitting its whereabouts.

Kaitlyn raced into her bedroom, changed out of her suit and into dark track pants and a hoodie ‑ something more suited to what they were about to do. She unlocked her safe, pulled out her gun and grabbed two extra magazines.  After attaching the gun to her holster, she was ready.

"Okay, let's go," she said as returned to the others and grabbed her bag.

Joshua paced the small lounge his usual relaxed expression now wore a pensive worried one.  The lines etched into his face had aged him in the short time since her mother's abduction. Across the room, Kaitlyn spotted Liam and Molly huddled together.  They were looking at each other with intent.  She recognised this as a sign they were speaking telepathically.

Murphy, who had been leaning on the breakfast bar, stood up nodded at Kaitlyn and headed towards the door.  At his sudden movement, all eyes turned to him. "Take mom back to the house," he said to his father, "I don't know how long we'll be."

"No."

The curt reply from Liam had Murphy halting in his tracks.

Before his son could respond, Liam continued with, "We're coming with you."

Murphy's eyebrows shot up.  "Pardon?"

Liam trailed behind Molly, who had made a move towards the front door.  "You heard me," said Liam, "we're coming with you."

"Why?"

"I hope I didn't raise an idiot," Liam said as they stopped in front of Murphy.  "I would have thought that obvious.  The last time you went up against Elijah, I failed to support you.  Had I been a better parent I would have ignored the council's decision and my duties as an elder.  I won't make that mistake again," he vowed.

Liam paused and took a deep breath.  "We will take Elijah down – as a family.  June was not just your mate; she was part of our family.  We can do this together ‑ If you'll let us."

Kaitlyn's throat constricted as she watched the two men face off.  It never ceased to amaze her how similar they were.  Liam's heartfelt plea couldn't help but affect her.  Her own trouble suspended, she watched the scene anxiously.  Liam's black eyes, the mirror of his son's, were projecting a silent and raw plea for forgiveness.

This was something that any other day, Kaitlyn would not have thought possible.  Molly had become teary as Murphy, instead of replying, reached a hand out towards his father. 

The past few days had been a series of compromises for both men.  They had somehow managed to put aside the animosity towards each other, and the rift that had festered for decades had begun the slow healing process.  Molly had already confided to Kaitlyn that she had been waiting for the bubble to burst.  She was sure it wouldn't last.  They were too alike.  Molly knew that they were civil to each other for her benefit only.

Instead of taking the offered hand, Liam pulled his son in for an embrace.  Molly let out a small whimper as she brought her hands up to her mouth as if in prayer.  Kaitlyn couldn't help but be affected, her throat dried and she felt the back of her eyes prick as she fought to keep the tears that threatened at bay.

"That's enough girly who-har," Joshua said from the door, interrupting the tender moment.  "We need to be going."

Kaitlyn suppressed a smile.  She could see that the emotional scene had affected even her grandfather.  His glazed, blinking eyes had given him away.  After locking her newly fixed door, they raced downstairs.  Their focus now on rescuing her mother.

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The drive to New Hampshire was the longest Kaitlyn had ever experienced.  She was sure they were on the receiving end of every red light, slow driver and jaywalker within the state.  Her mind focused on a single topic, and she wavered between despair and hope.  Vivid possible scenarios of how they would find her mother were taunting her over active imagination.

Each time they raced out of control, so too did her pulse.  Panic took hold and she broke out in a cold sweat. 

Murphy reached over and placed a warm hand over hers.  "Breathe, just breathe," he assured her, "we'll get her back."

"Alive and well," he added, anticipating her response.

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It was early evening by the time they reached their destination.  They regrouped just outside of town waiting for the others to arrive.  Not long after their arrival, a car pulled up behind them and a man Kaitlyn recognised as Tim Maxford, the immigrant that was serving as a Boston PD Sergeant emerged and walked towards them.  She could see that two others had remained in the car.

"We did a quick drive-by," Tim began, "the estate is heavily gated and we couldn't see the house from the road.  No guards at the entrance."

Murphy rubbed his jaw as he considered Tim's information.  "We can't make a frontal assault; we need the element of surprise."  He pulled out his phone and brought up a map of the area.  "The house backs onto a forest.  We need to come in from there."  He glanced up and down the road.  "But first we need somewhere to lay low until we've taken a closer look."

He turned back to Tim, "Notice any for sale signs?"

"Two different agents," Tim replied giving them the name.

Kaitlyn was a little confused.  "What do real-estate agents have to do with anything?"

Murphy grinned, "Plenty.  It's an old Werewolf trick," he explained as Tim leafed through his phone, "In more affluent areas such as this, when houses go on the market they tend to be vacant.  The agents leave the key in a locked box so others can take clients through without having to worry about who has the key."

"Got one!" Tim cried out, showing them a photo from a local agent's website.  The house boarded the same forest as the estate they believed her mother held prisoner.

Within ten minutes, they had deftly opened what Kaitlyn had considered until that point, a safe key box, parked their vehicles in the large garage and had taken over the dwelling.  She had to roll her eyes at the lax security.  The alarm code had been attached to the key ring.

Once they were secure within the near empty home, Kaitlyn set up her laptop and paired it with her phone.  Murphy then took over and brought up an aerial photo of the surrounding area.  The others gathered around the screen.

"There are no obvious positions that will give us the best cover," he frowned as he scanned and zoomed in on the property.  "We'll need to go in and take a closer look."

Kaitlyn had to agree.  There was too much space between the treeline and the large house.  They would be exposed and lose any element of surprise.

Murphy headed towards the patio doors facing the back of the house.  "Joshua," Murphy said as he pulled his top off and threw it on a chair.  "You're with me.  We need to see what we're dealing with."

Joshua nodded and made a move towards him.  Kaitlyn pulled out her gun and checked her clip, she placed it back in her holster and followed him.

Murphy set his phone on the bench and looked at her quizzically.  "Where do you think you're going?"

She glanced up at him with a blank look.  "With you, why?"

"No, you're not.  You're staying here with the others."

She opened her mouth to argue, Murphy cut in before any words could escape.  "We will be in wolf form.  Unless you can keep up with us, see in the dark, hear or smell as well as we can, you're staying right here.  We can't risk your mother's life by being spotted. We need to know what we're dealing with."

Kaitlyn snapped her mouth shut.  It irked her, but he was right. Once over the gut reaction, she understood that this was their best chance of retrieving her mother.  They had no idea how many immigrants and humans were roaming the estate.  She would be of no benefit to her mother wounded, captured or worse – dead. 

She slumped her shoulders.  Kaitlyn wasn't happy, but there was no choice.

Once both men were barefoot, Murphy glanced around at the others. "Stay here.  Keep the lights out.  We don't want to be discovered by some nosy neighbours."

His gaze rested on Kaitlyn and he stilled.  In the dark, with the moon as the only source of light, she couldn't guess his thoughts ‑ his face was hidden from her.  She strained her vision in an attempt to gauge his mood.  It was no use; his eyes had melted into the shadows playing across his features.

The moment ended and, as if jolted out of a trance, he spun around and cleared his throat. "Dad, you're in charge until I get back." 

With that, he and her grandfather disappeared through the glass doors.  They watched as the two men leapt over the back fence and disappeared into the trees beyond. 

Silence descended on the room.  Kaitlyn sent out a prayer to keep her mother safe.  She was still not pleased that she wasn't able to accompany Murphy to assess the estate's breach points.  However, in this instance she would need to defer to Murphy's experience.  Something, she realised, that the others had automatically done.  Not one of them had balked or murmured a disapproving word when Murphy had taken control.  This was his operation.  They all knew it and accepted it.  Including his father.

Kaitlyn glanced around the room.  Tim and the other immigrants masquerading as Boston PD officers were taking up vigil at different windows on Liam's orders.

Molly had mumbled something about making some coffee to pass the time.  She reappeared a few minutes later, tray in hand, white foam cups balanced on top.  "I hope you all like tea with no milk or sugar.  The kitchen's empty and this is all I could find."

After she had offloaded the drinks to the men standing guard, she carried the final two cups over to Kaitlyn, who had taken a seat on the couch. 

"Here you go luv," Molly said as she placed the drink on the table in front of Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn threw her a grateful smile.  "Thanks."

"What are you looking at?" Molly asked as she sat down beside her.

Kaitlyn showed Molly her phone. "Just some photos of my mom," she replied, referring to the image she had been studying. 

The selfie's were from two Christmas's ago.  Both Kaitlyn and her mother had gotten home from last minute shopping to discover the turkey they had purchased would not fit into Madeline's fridge.  In the end, there was no option, they needed to clear space.  This required them to not only consume half a cheesecake, but extended to two bottles of wine, and a half jar of gherkins. 

They were lightheaded and quite inebriated by the time the desert was finished.  She could still remember everything seemed funny that night.  It didn't matter what it was.  They especially thought the empty container was hilarious, and so both of them had whipped out their phones to take a photo.  That too proved to be humorous and they were almost unable to take a picture together without breaking out in giggles every few seconds.

Kaitlyn stared at the image.  Their faces together, eyes glazed and both looking happy as if they didn't have a care in the world.

"What if we don't get to her in time?" Her voice came out in a slight desperate sob.

"Hush," Molly said as she put an arm around Kaitlyn. "I'll not hear you talk like that.  We'll get her out safe and sound.  Just you see."

"I'm just not used to sitting around waiting," Kaitlyn admitted.

"You know, you're a lot like him."

Kaitlyn tilted her head. "Who?"

"Your father," Molly said, "Never could sit still that boy.  It was like he had ants in his pants."

Murphy's mother sighed and reached for Kaitlyn's phone.  She quietly flipped through the images of her mother. "My Lord, how your father loved her," she murmured. "And when you came along, well, that was just icing on the cake."

Molly wiped a tear from her cheek.  "I don't think that a day has gone by that Joshua hasn't mourned Ryan's passing.  While the situation wasn't ideal in how you came to know about us, I'm pleased that Joshua has you back in his life."

Kaitlyn's emotions had gotten the better of her.  She was unable to speak.  Memories of her parents crowded and jostled for attention.  Each one more vivid than the last.  She reached for her phone and switched the screen off.  "We have to get her back," she said, and then with more force, "And Elijah has to die.  This is all his doing."

"I'll be happy when this is all over," sighed Molly, "Elijah has caused so much damage.  There will be closure for the families he has affected, and Murphy will finally be able to move on."

Kaitlyn stiffened and glanced across at Molly, not sure if her last comment was directed at her or not.  A sinking feeling swept through Kaitlyn.  Was Murphy's mother trying to warn her?  Did she know what had happened between them?

She, however, couldn't deny the fact she already knew Murphy would move on once Elijah was gone.  The thought he would be out of her life for good pressed against her chest and manifested as a physical pain.  This was something she couldn't deal with.  Not right now while her mind was already in turmoil.  She would deal with it once this was over and her mother was safe.

By then he'll be gone for good! her mind taunted.

Before Kaitlyn could respond, Murphy's phone began to vibrate.  Liam reached across the table to pick it up and glanced at the screen.  "It's Alpha Rossi," he said before answering.

Kaitlyn couldn't make out the conversation.  Liam's words too low for her to hear.  She was confused when he handed her the phone a short while later saying, "He wants to speak to you."

She raised an eyebrow as she took the phone from him.  Liam shrugged and moved to where he had been standing guard.

"Kaitlyn Quinn speaking," she said after putting the phone to her ear.

"I'm sorry to hear your mama was taken Miss Quinn," the accented voice of the Alpha sounded sincere, putting her at ease.

"Thank you, Sir" she began hesitantly, "and you can call me Kaitlyn."  She was still none the wiser on why he would want to speak to her.

"Elder Liam tells me that Murphy is at long last at the end of his search? No?"

"No‑I mean yes." Kaitlyn cringed at her slip up. "Alpha Rossi, what can I do for you?"

"We may have a problem," said the Alpha getting to the point. "The reporter you had us commit to a psychiatric ward, Andrew Robbins, has been discharged from the hospital."

Kaitlyn startled, shot up from where she was sitting. "What? We only saw him earlier today.  He was supposed to be kept in there for the next few days."

"I know," sighed Alpha Rossi, "But my sources tell me that not long after you departed, some government men in suits turned up, had the correct legal papers to have the hospital to release the reporter, and then walked out the door with him."

"Do you know who they were?"

"I can't confirm it, but we think it might have been Homeland Security."

This stopped Kaitlyn in her tracks. "Are you sure?"

"That's what they told the hospital staff.  Their names, however, lead us to believe otherwise."

"Oh?"

"One was a Mr Green, the other was a Mr White."

Kaitlyn continued to pace the floor for a long while after she had ended the call with the Alpha. Had they missed something?  Who had taken the reporter, and why?  She couldn't help but feel there was a significance to him being taken.  She closed her eyes and thought back to their conversation.  Andrew Robbins had stumbled onto the existence of Werewolves.  Despite being a reporter, he was known as a conspiracy theorist.  Without the proof, which they had, he was just another nut.

Her eyes narrowed to crinkled slits.  Robbins had been drugged, not giving Murphy enough of a baseline to know if he were lying.  Why would he be taken by a government agency if he didn't have proof?

Kaitlyn rubbed her forehead sifting through the possibilities.

"Oh God!" she groaned.

He had more copies somewhere.  And now, the government had the proof!

Kaitlyn mulled and obsessed over the revelation for the next two hours.  How did she tell the others that evidence of their existence might now be in the wrong hands?  They had kept under the radar for millennia and one nosy reporter was about to put an end to their anonymity.

Her distress radiated across the room and she was unable to contain her emotions. 

Molly approached her in the dark and put a soothing hand on her arm. "Is everything okay?  You seem to be on a slow burning boil."

"I'm fine," Kaitlyn reassured her.

From the expression Molly threw her way, she didn't believe a word of it.  She was saved from having to explain herself when Molly suddenly cocked her head and a moment later spun her head towards Liam. 

From Molly's rigid stance, Kaitlyn guessed that someone was approaching.  She glanced across towards the windows where Liam and the others were stationed and frowned when she couldn't make out their expressions.  With as much stealth as possible she zig-zagged across the room, bypassing the scant furniture until she came up behind Liam.

She was thankful for the thick sheer curtains adorning the window.  From her vantage point, Kaitlyn peered out the window, onto to the well-lit street beyond.  They were fortunate in that the house had no houses near it to notice their arrival earlier.  She watched as a car passed, its speed to fast for her to make out the passengers.  There was no movement from the front of the house.  Everything was deathly quiet. The only sound Kaitlyn could hear was the sound of her own breathing as she attempted to remain still.

Kaitlyn jumped when Tim's voice called out, "They're back."

The tension that had manifested itself immediately evaporated and they all breathed a sigh of relief. The sound of the ranch slider opening was music to Kaitlyn's ears.  She couldn't help the smile that materialised when Murphy and Joshua walked through the door.  They were now one step closer to rescuing her mother and putting an end to an evil that had walked the earth for far too long.

"Elijah has somehow managed to build himself quite a little army," Murphy said, once they had gathered.  His voice was grim, an indication that even he was concerned.

Joshua confirmed the assessment. "There are three humans positioned on the roof.  We spotted five Werewolves patrolling the grounds."

"While we were there," Murphy began, "another five relieved them.  The ones that had just come off duty immediately took off to let their wolves out."

"Did you see where they were keeping my mother?" Kaitlyn asked, not able to stay quiet any longer.

Murphy nodded, "We think they have her in one of the rooms on the second floor.  There was a lot of movement inside and we noticed a few of them putting thick plastic sheets over a door that leads outside.  It looks like glass had been broken."

"So what's the plan?" Liam asked.

"We need to take out the patrol first.  Once they're down, the roof sentries.  Only then can we storm the house.  The problem is, we have no idea how many are inside.  Our current guess will be anywhere between ten and twenty.  This means that as long as we don't lose the element of surprise we should be able to deal with them."

Murphy turned to Tim and the other two Werewolves. "Tim, Danny and Jose.  You three will stay in human form.  As soon as we get rid of the patrol you will need to take out the snipers on the roof." 

For the next half hour, Murphy outlined the remainder of his plan.  By the time he was finished everyone knew their part in the operation.  Kaitlyn was eager to start, her nerves were frayed and she needed to do something before she exploded.

"We'll attack a few hours before dawn.  The majority of the house should be asleep." Murphy glanced around the small group. "Any questions?" he asked.

No one spoke.  They knew exactly what they needed to do and why. 

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📎A/N .. tension is mounting now... they are on their way to confront Elijah and the others...

... the big question is, will they be able to hold their own against a larger number of Werewolves?? Will they get to Madeline in time?

... and poor Kaitlyn ... she is bracing herself for Murphy's immanent departure!!!

Next chapter out this weekend...

Till then, take care and don't forget to vote :-)

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