Pain slivered past the drugs the Hyuuga had given her. And then teeth sank into her skin, over her jugular and windpipe, biting into flesh. She screamed and jackknifed, one last scrabble of legs even as she realized she could not win. She went limp before the jaws closed, before the other alpha tore her throat out rather than let her fight.

Limp and shuddering, instinct whispered a lullaby in her ear that if he was stronger, he could protect her better than she could. It was time to let him. But terror hadn't let her go yet. Her muscles stood rigid even as her chakra ebbed low. Her breath came ragged and fast, sobbing out of her lungs in short, staccato bursts. She kept her chin up, throat exposed, and lay still.

They were going to tear her chakra system in half. They were going to kill her, before the rot ever did--her or her familiar.

Memory surfaced, her team leader insisting they leave Kuromaru. He was just a dog. The people were more important.

She'd gone back for him then, risked charges and capture. Had been captured. And held. And raped, and hurt, before they'd gotten free. He wasn't just a dog. The people weren't more important.

Decaying leaves smeared with her blood twitched as she keened, free hand clawing into the dirt purposelessly. "Don't--don't let him die." She closed her eyes, blocking out the world. "Don't do that."