So, first thing first: it's still Monday here, and only 8:15 pm! Sorry if it's Tuesday where you are! Bet you'd like me better if I lived in New Zealand, huh?!?!

Also, STAWP is ranked #5, which is my lucky number!!! 

I have one quick change. No biggie, but it's IMPORTANT: Beta, the Rogue Kid, and the older brother confiscated and broke everyone's cell phones in chapter 35 - part 2. I went back and edited it in. 

Dedicated to Kinaru_Sad_Ninja for solving my italics problem! I am forever in your debt (as is everyone who wants the linking italicized)!

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Logan

"Saffron's vital signs are good," Doctor Dev assures me. "It's safe to move her, as long as we keep pressure on the wound."

She gestures for me to take over. As soon as my hands replace hers, she shifts into a wolf and runs across the clearing. When she reaches the pile of torn clothes, she shifts back into human form. She grabs the black tank top Saf was wearing earlier and then a pair of stretchy black tights that must belong to Zara. The only reason I even know they're stretchy is because Doctor Dev pulls at them a few times to make sure. It actually takes me a few more seconds to figure out what she's doing, but when she starts ripping the tights into strips as she runs back toward me and Saf, it starts to make sense.

"Press this against the wound," she tosses me the black tank, and starts tying the pant strips together and wrapping them around my mate's wolf form. When she's done, the shirt and bindings stop the bleeding, freeing up my hands so I hold my mate. "Take her to the house," Doctor Dev orders, "I need to get back now to prep for surgery. The girls both need blood transfusions, and Joshie's leg has to be set."

"What about Nisha and Nicki?" I hold my breath.

"Nisha's fine," Doctor Dev says, and I feel a wave of panic for Zara's little sister before she continues, "Nicki's back at the house. She's the one who got help."

"Thank the Moon Goddess."

"Don't thank her yet. Get Saffron back to the house and let me patch her up before you thank anyone." Doctor Dev turns away and shifts, then addresses Father over the link. Alpha, call ahead and have Luna set up two IVs and get everyone who's injured back to the house.

I'll do that, Father shouts, shifting into human form. You three, go with Doctor Dev. Be vigilant. It could be a trap.

Yes, Alpha. The wolves Father gestures at—all parents of kids my age—flank Doctor Dev and race toward the house.

Logan, do you have a phone? Father demands as I scoop Saf up and get to my feet.

It's in my locker. Check their clothes!

Father heads toward the discarded clothes Doctor Dev didn't touch and picks up a familiar-looking cheerleading uniform. It's right next to the black jeans Saf was wearing earlier, some little kid clothes, and what I'm assuming must be Zara's purple tank top. I didn't really pay attention to what Zara was wearing, but when we walked them out after school, I noticed Jess was in uniform, even though practice was canceled.

Where's Jess? I demand. Is she back at the house?

Jess? Father asks in surprise, looking down at the uniform. Is this hers?

I think so. It could belong to some other cheerleader, but Jess is the only one who I could see being out here with Zara and Saf.

Father lowers his head and inhales. I can smell her!

Where is she? Did she get away? Or did they—whoever they are—take her?

How many attackers? Father demands, and I realize that I was so focused on my mate, then Zara, and now Jess, that I've completely forgotten my Alpha training. Luckily, Father has taken care of everything, ordering the Trackers to comb the field for clues.

Six, including those three, Dave Johnson, one of the adults, and co-leader of the group, announces. We're locked on their scents.

We also picked up six of ours, his partner, and mate, John Johnson, adds. He runs up and gives Jess's uniform a sniff before running to the middle of the field. I smelled her blood here, but then another scent joins hers and she disappears. 

They picked her up and took her? Father demands.

Looks like it, Alpha, John agrees.

John, David, get a search party together, Father orders, crossing toward the backpacks. Three clearly belong to the little kids—one pink covered with sparkles, one purple made of shiny fabric, and one blue with dinosaurs on it. The others are Saf's green bag, Zara's black one and the pink backpack I used to carry for Jess back when we were dating. Father starts to reach for it, then changes his mind and kicks aside a few discarded binders. Then he bends down and picks up a bunch of broken phones. Even from here I can tell they've been smashed to pieces so no one could call for help.

I'm getting Saffron home, I yell, cradling Saf against my chest as I head across the field. The quickest path takes me past Father, and when I get closer, I spot the last dead wolf. He's so small I didn't notice him at first, but now that I do, I realize his throat is also ripped open. He may be a rogue, but he's just a kid. How could someone kill a kid so brutally, no matter what he did? The other two, that I get, I'd have done the same thing. I shoot another angry gaze at them, pausing on the familiar wolf. He smelled familiar too, like... like... that guard!

Father, he was following us. That wolf, the one by the tree, I shout and quickly explain that we'd seen him at school and by the pack house.

On pack land? Father demands. How did he—never mind, we'll get to that later. He stalks toward the two unconscious wolves.

The bigger one, I correct, when he heads toward the other wolf first.

Father bends down, examining the wolf, and suddenly shouts, He's still alive. I catch the shock in his voice, but then I'm shocked too. How can any wolf with a throat torn to that extent survive?

Father spins around to face the pack. You two, he gestures at two of the closest wolves, get him to Doctor Dev. I want him to recover so I can kill him myself. Everyone else, spread out. I want his accomplices found. They took Jess for a reason, and we're getting her back. Then, we get our revenge.

Yes, Alpha! voices ring out throughout the clearing.

Wait, Father shouts suddenly, squatting down next to the other gray. This one's alive too. He's breathing.

My own surprised gasp joins dozens of others, and soon joins cries of shock as Father discovers that the smaller wolf is still alive too. How is that even possible? How can anyone tear a wolf's throat without killing them? That would be like shooting someone through the heart and discovering they're still alive. Impossible!

If it was the one wolf, I'd chalk it up to a medical miracle. But three wolves, with throats ripped open, and identical damage, all still breathing? Who would have done it, and more importantly, how?

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Erm, what's going on there? 

What'd you think guys?

♥ Next update is on Friday. Though I keep promising myself I'll sneak a chapter in on Wednesday as an added bonus. ♥

♥ I'd was also looking through your comments on the last chapter and I would love some help running the STAWP art contest!!! I'm thinking maybe 3-5 people who would like to help me decide what the prizes should be and what the entry requirements are, and help me figure out how winners should be selected. If anyone's artsy, I could totally use help creating a poster/graphic for the contest too! ♥