When Yunho woke up he instantly knew something was wrong. He couldn't remember what had happened, but he could sense other wolves and they seemed... off.

He was in the corner of some enclosure. High metal fencing surrounded it, making it impossible to jump out, but he could climb out. And he was just about to when he scented the wolves again. Some were standing off to the side, watching him curiously.

They were... small and cautious. Then in snapped. They were wild. They weren't like him.

He stood, seeing some of them flinch and shuffle away, and looked around. It was obvious he was still in the forest somewhere, but it was all unfamiliar to him.

Then his head snapped to the side as he smelled something new.

Lavender.

Wooyoung! He called out and ran to the scent.

Y-Y-Yunho! Help me!

I'm coming! Yunho sped up, running as fast as his long legs would take him. Any other wolf he came across leapt to the side, fearing him for his size.

He heard the omega whimper and drifted around a mound of boulders only to find him pinned against the fence by three wolves. They were bigger than the others he had already seen, but still smaller than Yunho. He ran forward, letting a snarl rip from his throat.

The three wolves turned around and scurried away. He slowed to check Wooyoung out, scanning him for injuries. The omega whimpered and shoved his head into Yunho's neck. Where are we? What's going on? Where is Jongho and San?

Sshh, Youngie. It's ok. I'm trying to figure that out. Do you remember anything?

Just Seonghwa telling us to run. Wooyoung said, pressing his entire body into Yunho's.

The sound of metal squeaking caused them to jump and Yunho immediately moved to hide Wooyoung behind him. He watched as humans walked into the enclosure holding what appeared to be buckets of food.

We must be in some kind of zoo or... Maybe a sanctuary? Yunho said, observing them closely.

The humans kept their distance from the wild wolves, showing them respect, as they scattered the food across the floor. Some of the friendlier wolves approached on their own accord, however, and allowed the humans to pet them or even give them a hug.

Then one of them turned to glance at Yunho and he snarled.

"Where did they come from?" Someone asked.

"They were picked up about 100 miles north of here. I think Frank wanted to study them because of how big they are."

"That one worries me." One said, motioning to Yunho.

Good. He thought.

"Maybe we can try to separate them and we can run a DNA test. It's rare to see only two wolves together, so something must have happened to their pack."

"Hopefully they don't cause any trouble here."

Don't count on it. We need to get out of here as soon as we can Youngie.

How?

When it's nightfall, we will just shift and climb out.

But that plan didn't end up working. Guards were posted at night to keep an eye on the wolves, so they were always being watched by someone.

They got set up in a corner of the sanctuary, huddled together for comfort and warmth. Yunho tried several times to try and contact their alphas, but they must have been too far away. He had never realized there was a limit to how the mind link could reach, but he supposed that made sense now that he thought of what had happened with Wooyoung and Chan.

They both could still feel their bond with Jongho and that gave them hope. He was alive, which meant that he would do anything to find them.

Yunho just prayed they would wander in range so he could tell his mate where they were.

The wolves grew restless and started to try and approach them. Yunho did his best to keep them away, but the biggest ones were just about the same size as Wooyoung, so they scared him. It didn't make any sense as to why they kept trying to come over to them. There was no way they were that curious.

As he chased a new group of them away he huffed and snapped at their legs, hoping they'd get the message. But others took their place and he had to run after them too.

When he grew tired, he elected to stand over Wooyoung and just snarl at any that got too close. Some of them took it as an invitation to try and play and that just pissed him off even more.

They went through this for a few days and ended up eating very little. The humans were too scared to approach them and it was hard for Yunho to grab them food from the pile without the other's trying to get to Wooyoung.

Then it clicked. They were following their instincts because Wooyoung...

Wooyoung was in pre-heat.

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"I can't take this anymore! Where are they?" Jongho growled as they stopped yet again to take a breather.

Hongjoong had called for it after they had been running for over three hours without a break in a desperate search for their pack.

"I don't know, but you need to calm down. Getting angry isn't going to fix anything." He said, staring at the sky from where he was laying down.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Jongho snarled, marching over to him.

"Jong, stop!" San said, trying to hold him back. The smaller alpha had been doing his best to play peacekeeper and he looked very haggard because of it.

"I will tell you what I want. I am your head alpha now!" Hongjoong jumped up, unable to control himself any longer.
"I should have never agreed to it. As soon as I get my mates back I'm gone!"

"YOU AREN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO LOST SOMEONE PRECIOUS TO YOU!" Hongjoong roared, finally making Jongho stop. "IF YOU WANT TO LEAVE, THEN LEAVE. I WON'T STOP YOU. BUT DO NOT BLAME ME FOR WHAT HAPPENED."

The other two alphas looked away from him in submission and he growled before storming away. He knew they were all on edge after what happened. They had no idea what happened to the rest of their pack after they had fought off the attacking alphas. But he did know that he hadn't been separated from Yeosang in years and he felt empty without him.

It was slowly making him lose his mind. He could feel his mate, but not being able to contact him or know what happened to him was the worst possible thing for him to be going through right now.

He needed Yeosang to function. His mate was his rock, his safe place. Without him... Hongjoong feared he would go insane and jump off the deep end.

A whimper escaped his lips as he fell to his knees, covering his mouth.

Jongho and San were there in seconds and they sat next to him.

"I'm sorry." Jongho said quietly. "I..."

"I know." Hongjoong sobbed, patting the other's knee and whipping his face. San wrapped his thin arms around his stomach.

"We are going to find them. We just need to work together." He said, looking at Jongho as he said it.

The youngest sighed heavily but nodded. "Where do we even start?"

"We should probably keep following the scent of the alphas. If they left then they must have gotten what they came for." San mumbled, not liking how that sounded.

"Yes. That's what we will do. And we need to keep trying to contact them." Hongjoong said, his lower lip still trembling. "We can't give up..."

"We'll follow your lead." Jongho said, standing up and offering his hand to Hongjoong.

He gratefully accepted it and they shifted, picking their way further north to follow the Alpha Pack and try to find their family.

As they went, they got further and further away from any kind of human structures, towns, or any civilization at all...

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Mingi paced the room he was locked in, not taking his eyes off the door. That stupid incense was still burning, so he had no idea where Seonghwa and Yeosang were, nor was he able to contact Hongjoong. His father must have been planning this for years because everything worked perfectly in sync.

After hours of making him wait, Lance finally came to collect him.

His hands were tied behind his back, but he didn't fight it, knowing they would use Seonghwa against him.

Lance led him to the main hall, a giant, open room that they used for gatherings. His father was seated at the far end with an open chair next to him. Mingi's.

"Son. So nice of you to join us." He said, nodding at the chair.

Mingi sat, arms still bound, and waited for what was coming next.

He never in his wildest dreams would have imagined it.

Several betas and omegas were dragged into the room and forced to kneel before his father. His eyes found Yeosang immediately and the two latched onto each other.

He was pleading for help but Mingi didn't know what he could do.

His father snapped his fingers and several other alphas came into the room, stopping in front of the others.

"Father, what is this?" Mingi growled.

"A necessary evil that needs to happen to ensure our future."

Mingi looked back to Yeosang, fear evident on his face, as an alpha forced his mouth open and poured a dark liquid down his throat.