--Zayne's POV--

Creeping out of the bushes, my ears twitched as I followed the scent trail left behind by Koda. The little pup had scampered through the woods, no doubt getting distracted by all the new scents. Even my nose was twitching like crazy.

I huffed a relieved breath when I spotted the pup a few steps away, wagging its tail off as it stood in front of old fallen tree. Frowning, I stalked a bit closer and stopped when I spotted the two other pups Koda was happily inviting to play.

"Those...aren't pups from the pack..."

Koda huffed when they stared awkwardly at him before they whimpered as they spotted me. The two little pups were ragged, filthy and obviously tired and afraid. They kinda reminded me of myself.

I kept my body low as I hesitantly took a few steps closer, pausing to look over my shoulder in the direction of the pack. Nobody was looking for Koda or me yet but I had a feeling they were going to come after us soon.

Another soft whimper drew me back to the unknown pups as they slowly crept a bit closer, fear and curiosity warring in their eyes as they stayed huddled together. I didn't know what to do; should I contact the other wolves and tell them I found some unknown pups?

But what if they belonged to the other pack? Then I'd be bothering them for nothing. I watched for a moment as the pups seemed to talk quietly to one another while I held a paw on Koda's side when he went to tackle me.

Koda growled and yipped before gnawing at my paw while I tried to think what the best course of action was. I could try and bring them along but judging by the way the bigger pup was flopped on the floor and the other pup was panting heavily, they didn't have the energy to lift a paw.

Just when I made the decision to try and contact Marcus, I heard a barely audible rustling in the bushes. My wolf was instantly on edge at the new sound, as well as they other pups as all of our tiny heads swiveled to catch a glimpse of the source of that sound.

"And here I thought I'd had to sneak my way in their pack house to find you. Seems that even Pack Law finds you a disgrace of wolf kind, you little runt." A voice sneered behind me, a voice that sounded horribly familiar as my wolf whimpered in my head, fear flooding my senses.

I jumped and spun around, watching the Beta stalk out from the forest with a sickening smirk on his face. My whole body started to tremble and judging from the twin whimpers behind me, those pups knew the Beta as well.

They're from my old pack?

My body froze and lowered with each threatening step he made out of the shadows, circling our little group. His eyes slid behind me before he narrowed them in distaste. "Wanted to warn the pack huh? Don't worry, I'll deal with you traitors later." The Beta hissed sharply, earning himself another pair of breathless whines.

Koda didn't seem to understand why the three of us were cowering away but he knew something wasn't right and growled lowly, yipping up at the Beta. When the man lowered his eyes to the pup, I swallowed heavily as recognition flittered through his eyes.

"Seems like the bitch made it after all." He stated coolly, watching as Koda flinched and lowered his ears with a pitiful whine. I'm sure the pup's wolf knew that the Beta was his father and to be outright rejected at such a young age?

The man grinned evilly before he his eyes lazily trailed back to me. "Alpha said to come and get you, runt. You're in for some long overdue punishment." He chuckled before stalking to me.

I whimpered, my mind completely blank as I shuffled backwards. To everyone's amazement, Koda launched forwards and sank his little teeth in the Beta's ankles, prying a pained snarl from the man before he kicked the pup off his leg.

Koda yipped as he bounced of the floor, whimpering as he skidded to a painful halt. My eyes widened as the Beta snarled angrily, eyes burning as he stalked closer to his own son. When he reached a hand out to snatch the pup of the floor, my own wolf reacted instinctively.

My paws thudded against the floor as I propelled myself forwards and dug my teeth in the Beta's wrist, shaking my head as a growl slipped past my lips. The combination of having to witness these children younger than me being scared and abused and knowing that I was certainly going to be killed by the Alpha or the Beta, was enough to make both my wolf and I mad.

"You little SHIT!"

Pain exploded behind my eyes as the Beta's fist rammed against my cheek, only provoking my wolf to bite down harder, even if we were now suspended above the floor. The man curled his lips in a furious snarls, trying to shake me off of his hand.

My stomach protested at the swirling surroundings as the sky changed places with the earth before flicking back to its original spot, all accompanied by the pained and angry snarls of the Beta.

Suddenly his claws pierced through my scruff, pumping his toxins through my nervous system before he yanked me off of his hand and threw me away. Koda and the other pups scrambled into the bushes as I flipped and tumbled to a halt, feeling extremely dizzy, dazed and afraid.

Shaking my head, I blinked and saw him approaching me with a deadly glare, causing my heart to jump in my throat. A yip from the house drew the Beta's attention for a moment as I tried to find a way out of this situation.

I cried out in fear and pain as the Beta shifted and snatched me up between his jaws before he turned away from the house and started to sneak away, ears pinned to the sounds of the woods.

My eyes widened fearfully as I realized that the man was taking me away from the house, my new pack to face a gruesome punishment in my old pack. With all the energy I had left in my body, I started to flail and turn my head, attempting to grab a hold of the man that had every intention of ending my life.

"MARCUS!!!!!!!"

--Marcus' POV--

I rolled my shoulders as my eyes flitted over both the packs playing outside, taking a break of the tension that came with searching for Zayne's old pack and planning to invade it.

My eyes narrowed when I didn't spot Zayne anywhere between the wriggling forms of countless wolves and any other time, I would've thought he might have slipped back inside to hide from the crowd.

But my instincts were on high alert, screaming that something was wrong as I swallowed, grimacing at the taste of bile on my tongue. Something was seriously wrong... Unfolding my arms, I just took a step forwards when I felt a sharp pang of fear stab me in the heart, followed by a sound that made my wolf take charge and shift on the spot.

"MARCUS!!!!!!!"

Zayne's voice was absolutely terrified as it screeched through the mind link, alerting every wolf from my pack that Zayne was in danger. My wolf was already charging through the forest, ignoring the branches that slapped against my muzzle and hopping over any obstacle.

A bark followed by a howl rang out, alerting everyone of an intruder just as I spotted the back of a black wolf sprinting away. My claws dug deeper in the soil as I spotted Zayne's form between the jaws of the unknown wolf.

For a moment I felt ice-cold, terrified that Zayne was mortally injured or even- No, he flailed and bit in the side of the wolf's muzzle. My heart warmed instantly as I shook my head to dispel the remote thought of Zayne dying.

Terrance suddenly shot out of the bushes and snatched the wolf by the scruff with a snarl, forcing him to drop Zayne before he was flung through the air and against a nearby tree.

I sprinted towards Zayne, my mind barely comprehending that the rest of the pack and Callum's wolves descended on the intruder, snarling and snapping their teeth before chasing after the wolf when it attempted to doge the pack and escape.

Skidding to a halt next to Mike, I watched as he tried to hold the wriggling pup still, assessing his injuries as best as he could. "Guys, I found some terrified pups hiding in the woods, are they yours?"

I frowned at Callum's voice, or rather the plural he used. Pups? The only pups in our pack were Koda and Zayne, though the Omega was only nicknamed that because of his size.

My eyes flitted from Zayne to the new wolf before I curled my lip in distaste. "I believe those pups and the new wolf might be a part of Zayne's old pack. I doubt the pups had anything to do with the attempted abduction."

"Thought as much." Callum replied calmly before adding, "I'll take them inside, two of my men are on their way as we speak." I nodded to myself before grabbing a gentle hold of Zayne's scruff, feeling anger blaze through my body at the metallic taste of blood.

I let out a soft purr, further calming the squirmy pup down as he simply hung from my hold before I placed him down to adjust my grip, gently clamping my jaws around his midsection before I ran for the house.

As I ran, I nearly bumped into Callum and his men, each carrying a little pup in their muzzle. In another situation, it would've been extremely amusing to see four big, powerful and intimidating wolves running through the woods in full protection mode as they each tenderly held a fragile pup.

Callum glanced worriedly at Zayne, noticing that the pup was still shivering although he had relaxed completely. "I smell toxins, probably the work of the intruder." I hissed in reply to his questioning look. The wolf's hackles raised in anger, a tiny muffled growl slipping from his lips before the soft thudding of paws changed into rhythmic clicking of nails when we made it in the pack house.

I hurried past the other wolves and only stopped to jump onto the large couch before I settled down. As soon as Zayne was free, he spun around and buried his muzzle in chest, whimpering as he tried to wriggle himself as close as possible.

"Shh, Zayne. Its alright, you're safe." I shushed the whimpering pup while I worked on cleaning his wounds. Callum walked by and placed a pair of shorts beside me, giving me something to wear as I shifted back before Zayne was cradled in my arms.

Even after lapping at his minor wounds until they were closed, Zayne was still shivering, releasing a tiny whimper now and then. I frowned and shared a confused look with Callum and Lee; the toxins were supposed to be out of his system so why was he still whimpering as if he was in pain.

"Hurts..." Zayne whimpered as he curled up in my arms, my wolf whining at the sight of our mate in pain while there was nothing I could do about it. When I pushed against Zayne's mind, all I could feel was an oddly familiar throbbing pain, along with an intense fear and need.

Zayne and his wolf were both unified in their need, but only Zayne's wolf understood that he needed his mate, me. And they wanted me as close as possible. I swallowed, tongue flicking out to moisten my dry lips as I cuddled my little pup closer to offer him comfort and love.

I nuzzled against his throat, feeling the whine vibrate through his tiny chest while I mentally called Alice. She appeared not a moment later, her mate Logan frowning as he followed every step of the way.

"I'm not leaving you on your own love, especially not after that dog managed to get past our defenses." Logan rumbled in his deep voice when Alice huffed in irritation and blew her hair out of her face.

"Fine! But can you stop following me around? You're making me nervous!" She pleaded, softening Logan's expression before he sighed and nodded, placing a tender kiss on her forehead before he walked through the room and disappeared in the kitchen.

Alice rolled her eyes, muttering something about an "overprotective oaf" under her breath before her eyes landed on Zayne. Her brows furrowed instantly as she kneeled and gently laid her hands on Zayne.

My little omega whimpered and squirmed out of her hold before he buried his muzzle against my throat, shaking softly. "It hurts..." He whined pitifully, making me swallow to push back he emotions as I petted through his fur.

"What's hurting love? I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong..." I murmured in his fur, my wolf almost desperate as it paced back and forth in my head. What was wrong with our mate?

"Everything hurts, my head, my body-" He whimpered his response, shivering once more as Alice' eyes grew wide, her mouth hanging open in shock. My wolf snarled, not liking that shocked expression one bit.

"What?" I snarled as I protectively pulled Zayne closer to my chest. Alice shook her head slightly but didn't need to answer as Zayne's whimpers only heightened in pitch, drawing everyone's attention as Sebastian and Wyatt both flinched at the sound, the Alphas eyes filled with pain as Zayne jerked in my hold.

"HURTS!"

A dry snap rang through the room, followed by several sharp intakes of breath as Zayne's little body convulsed as pained cries slipped from his muzzle. Another snap announced the breaking of another bone as everyone winced, the guys still in wolf form whimpering at our little omega's pain.

He's shifting....