Jongho did the best he could to stay calm while Mingi recovered. He knew what if felt like to feel his mate's pain, but there wasn't much they could do about it.

All of them agreed that Mingi would be on a warpath now though... Lance didn't stand a chance if Mingi had the opportunity to get to him.

He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair and stared at their fire.

San had managed to find them a cave to stay in for the night that they were able to drag Mingi to once he calmed down a little bit. Now the alpha was curled up in the corner of the cave trying to sleep. He had asked to be left alone for a while, so they were trying to respect his wishes.

Jongho glanced at the other side of the fire. Wooyoung was wedged in between San and Yunho, with San holding him from behind while Yunho had his long arm draped over both of them. Each one of them had a small smile on their face as they slept, especially Yunho.

It filled Jongho's heart with joy seeing his mate so happy right now. All they needed now was their son... But they would be home soon enough. Jongho didn't have any intentions of being away longer than they had to.

Hopefully they would be able to take Ultima by surprised and figure out where Seonghwa was being kept quickly. The hardest part would be Mingi, but as far as they knew, Lance and only a few of the Primera wolves would recognize him. As long as he kept his head down, he should be ok.

After a little bit, Jongho crept over and gently shook San awake so he could keep watch. The alpha yawned and stretched. Then he surprised Jongho by patting the ground where he had just been laying. He arched his eyebrow to ask if San was sure, and the older just nodded with a small smile.

Slowly, Jongho lowered himself to the ground behind Wooyoung, trying to keep the blush from taking over his entire face. Yunho lifted his arm up to pull him into their little group as the alpha slowly wrapped an arm around Wooyoung's waist.

The omega let out a soft moan and shifted in place a little before setting back down.

Jongho closed his eyes and smiled, then he placed one soft kiss on the back of Wooyoung's neck before taking his turn to sleep.

.

.

.

.

San got himself situated by the entrance of the cave and closed his eyes as a slight breeze blew against his face. He knew this was the calm before the storm, but that didn't stop him from enjoying this moment of peace.

He knew he would need it too. The prospect to getting this close to Ultima made him nervous. They would be out for blood once they recognized them. And the chances of them running into Primera were higher too.

The fact that they avoided anyone in Primera the first time was a miracle. Unless... Unless they knew the entire time and didn't want them to know.

That would make sense with some of the information San had found while he was there.

He glanced back at Wooyoung and sighed.

"What's the matter?" Mingi asked, making San jump. He looked to see the alpha walking over to him scratching his head,

"How are you feeling?"

"Shitty." The taller growled, glaring at the entrance of the cave as he plopped down next to San. "How long have they been sleeping?"

"I just took over Jongho's watch." San said as they both turned to look at the sleeping trio.

"How can you be ok with that? I'd go crazy if any of you tried to sleep with Seonghwa like that. Well, any of the other alpha's at least.

San didn't have to think before he answered. "Because he's my Soulmate. I know deep down that his heart will always belong to me, no matter what happens. Plus... Growing up without a family, I don't understand the full pack bond like he grew up with. I know he craves the contact, and that's why he gets so clingy sometimes. All the abuse he's been through can't erase that." He paused as he looked at the sleeping alpha. "Plus, he was technically Jongho's first, so there is still that connection. In a way, Jongho saved my life."

"I thought you saved his?"

"I did, when those alphas attacked. But... I'd probably still be on my own if he hadn't been willing to let me stay with them that first night. Sure I might still be alive, but I wouldn't know what it's like to love someone, and have someone love you in return. So I have him to thank for that."

"Yeah, but knowing you, you would have followed them to stay close to Wooyoung even if Jongho had rejected you." Mingi chuckled, reaching over to ruffle San's hair.

He hummed and nodded. "You're probably right. But then I wouldn't have the bond with Jongho or Yunho either. Those first few days as a pack really put a lot of strain on us, and I think it made us even stronger. Plus Yunho would have kicked both our asses if we ever did anything to hurt Wooyoung."

They both laughed at this and stared up at the moon.

"Can I ask you something?" San spoke up after several minutes.

"Of course."

"If... If you knew some information about someone, that could potentially hurt them and also possibly take them away from you... Would you tell them?" He looked up at the other alpha and saw his forehead crease.

"What are you talking about?" When San didn't answer, Mingi continued. "I mean, I've learned that keeping secrets, no matter what they are, can do more harm than good. I thought I was going to lose Seonghwa when he found out my dad was head alpha of Alpha Pack. I hid it from him for that reason, and when he found out my fear still almost came true."

San hummed and looked back at the moon.

"What's going on, San?"

"I found out something else, while in Ultima..." He started, but then the sound of rocks rolling down a cliff came from outside their cave.

Both alphas jumped up and moved to stand in front of their sleeping pack. There was no point in trying to hide, their fire was a dead giveaway, but was needed for the cold nights.

Mingi let out a low, rumbling growl as a single red wolf appeared in front of them.

Her eyes zoned in on San immediately.

She was an alpha, and a powerful one at that, but she wasn't showing any signs of attacking. Instead, she nodded and jerked her head to the side.

"What do you want?" Mingi asked, speaking up.

San spun around and worked on waking the others up. He didn't like this. While he didn't recognize the wolf, he didn't want to take any chances.

"No. Tell us what you want." Mingi said, indicating she had motioned for them to follow her again.

Jongho placed himself between Yunho and Wooyoung as soon as he realized what was going on, while San moved to stand behind them. He reached forward and took Wooyoung's hand, needed to draw on some of his strength.

Still the female didn't speak. All she did was jerk her head to the side.

"No." Mingi's voice was firm, but he hadn't tapped into his dominance yet. "We know nothing about you. We aren't going anywhere with you until you give us some answers."

She just huffed and turned to walk away.

"That was weird..." Jongho said, crouching next to Mingi.

"You can say that again. I vote none of us leave this cave for a little while. Who knows what kind of traps that could be placed along the rest of this valley?" San shuffled in place and pulled Wooyoung into his arms. "Plus if she's with Ultima then they know Wooyoung and I are here."

Yunho bristled at the thought of this and rolled his shoulders. "Well we will teach them not to mess with us."

"Don't forget, they know powerful magic. That's why San and I were stuck as wolves." Wooyoung warned. Yunho grumbled and flicked a rock away with his finger.

"I think we may need more help..." Jongho moved to sit down next to his mate, pulling him into his lap to try and calm him down. "If they are as powerful as you say they are, I don't think the five of us can do this alone."

"And what do you suggest? We go back and get Hongjoong and Yeosang?" Mingi snapped, his hands shaking as he balled them into fists. "Seonghwa is in there, having I... I don't what to even imagine what, done to him. I will not abandon him!"

"We aren't going to be much good to him if we are overpowered and captured as well, Mingi." Jongho said, moving Yunho off his lap and standing to look up at Mingi. "I never said to abandon Seonghwa. We all want him back. But I don't think we can do this alone."

Yunho stood too, placing a hand on Jongho's shoulder. "What did you have in mind?"

San chewed on his bottom lip as he help Wooyoung closer to him. He couldn't get over the female alpha. Why had she seemed so familiar? He hadn't really encountered many alphas when they had been with Ultima outside of the elders and head alpha.

Who was she?

The next thing Jongho said snapped his attention back to the present.

"Have you spoken with Colonel Gregson recently?"

.

.

.

.

"Uncle Sangie!" Avayla shouted from her room at the top of her lungs. "Uncle Sangie!"

"What is it baby?" He sighed as he turned to walk down the hallway.

"Help." The little girl held up her workbook to him. She always seemed to struggle with writing, and that was the part she was stuck on.

Yeosang gave her a soft smile before sitting down at her table with her and Theo. "What are you stuck on?"

"I can't get it right." She said, a slight whine to her voice. The beta bent over to examine her attempts to copy the letter 'g' and let out a soft chuckle. They all look like the number '8'.

"You just need to shorten the tail. Like this." He took her pencil and showed her how to do it. Deep down, he knew she could do it on her own, he had seen her do it before. But with Seonghwa being gone almost a week now, her neediness was slowly getting worse.

And it was draining him day by day.

She didn't seem to want Maria as much either, probably because she wasn't used to female company.

Theo, on the other hand, didn't show signs of neediness toward Yeosang or Hongjoong, but he would cry whenever Avayla left him alone for more than a couple minutes.

He spent the next hour or so helping the kids with their letters, only stopping when there was a light knock on the door.

"How's it going in here?" Hongjoong asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Yeosang hummed and looked up at him. "Good, just doing some work."

"Why don't you take a break, love? You look tired." His alpha said as he walked over and started to rub his shoulders.

"That feels good..." Yeosang closed his eyes and leaned back into his mate.

"Come on, let me get you tucked into bed so you can take a name. I'll be right back, ok?" He said to Avayla, who just nodded in response.

Hongjoong pulled Yeosang down the hall to their room. When the door was closed, the beta felt soft lips press against his neck and ears. He sighed and turned to putty in Hongjoong's hands as he was brought over to the bed and guided to lay down.

As soon as Yeosang's head hit the pillow, he started to feel as drowsy as he must have looked. "What about you?"

"I'll stay with the kids. You need to get some rest. You're taking care of two people now." Hongjoong spoke softly as he kissed Yeosang's forehead.

"When do you think they will be back?" Yeosang could hear the slight whine to his voice, but he couldn't help it. He missed his pack. The home was so empty without them...

Hongjoong sat next to him and ran his hands through his hair. "Don't dwell on it, love. They will be back as soon as possible, you know they will. We need to stay strong."

Yeosang nodded and closed his eyes. His alpha was right. There is no point in dwelling on it. He sighed and snuggled down under the covers, feeling sleep overtake him as Hongjoong continued to rub his head.