My eyes slowly opened. Something heavy hung around my neck. I tried to lift myself up but my arms were still asleep. My clothes were gone. I rolled onto my side and used the wall to help me sit up. My sense slowly started to clear as I knelt with my forehead resting against the cement wall.

"Get rid of the boy."

A chill ran up my spine at the man's voice. Turning slowly, I saw the scarred man sitting on a crate. Thick bars sat between him and me. I felt my neck to find a chin attached.

He continued to listen to the person on the other end of his phone call. "Shoot the girl. She's served her purpose, and we don't need them running off and talking." His expression remained blank. "I don't care. Just don't dump them where a pack will find it. They'll use it as some excuse to come after us."

Multiple bangs sounded above my head. I flinched.

"Fucking hell, outside," he yelled into the phone, skating his head at the ceiling. "You're going to clean up that goddamn mess."

A scream filled my senses as gunshots rang out. I gagged and fell forward. I vomited on the wall and struggled to not throw up again. My chest ached as I heaved for air. I shifted to werewolf form and clawed at the ground. I was dying. Had he shot me? I couldn't breathe as I searched for a wound. There wasn't one, but my chest felt like a hole had been ripped through it. I was going to pass out again. My vision was fading in and out.

I managed to regain my breath, digging my claws into my arms. The initial pain was fading, but a deep sorrow took its place. Falling onto my back, I started to sob while my body shook violently. My hand landed on my shoulder. I dug under my fur and stabbed my claws into Saigon's mark. I had a mate. I had a mate, but I lost my first one.

The tears poured out as my connection to Willow was severed. Having Saigon's mark was easing the effect, but I still felt like I was dying. My heart ached. My whole body shook from the pain of losing her.

"It's insane how bad that kills you guys." The man leaned over his knees, biting at his fingernails. "I might as well have shot you." He laughed. "I took care of the bitch. I guess playing human wasn't as fun as she thought, but you're back to having one mate, the better one, in my opinion."

I watched him as my body trembled.

He gave me a smirk. "The beta of Northern Ridge, you caught yourself a powerful werewolf. My men were scared shitless to go anywhere near that house with him around. What did Saigon see in a coward like you? You nearly shit yourself at the sight of a gun."

I scooted to the corner and turned away from him.

"I didn't believe it when the girl said you were afraid of humans and terrified of guns," he said, amused.

I wiped my muzzle. I never should've told Willow about what happened when I was young.

The man chuckled. "It'll make you easier to control."

My ear flicked to the side when I heard a click. The sight of the pistol made every muscle seize.

The human examined it. "You do know even with this, it's kind of hard to kill you." He rubbed his scar. "I've shot my fair share of werewolves and I have never dropped one on the first shot. No matter what, it always takes more than one to either make them bleed out or a perfectly placed bullet right between the eyes. It's hard to do," he laughed. "It's not like you sit still. Just now, it took a few to kill the bitch and her boyfriend."

"What do you want?" I whispered.

"Nothing." He smiled.

I breathed through my nose. "Saigon will give you—"

"I said I don't want anything," he repeated. "Not from Northern Ridge, but others do and they're willing to pay for it." With a groan, he stood. "Don't worry, mutt. You're worth more alive. If you were dead, you wouldn't be Saigon's mate anymore and that would defeat the purpose. I went through a lot of trouble to get you for that exact reason."

I clasped my scar.

"Are you catching on yet?" he said with a smirk, walking toward the exit. "Behave, shooting you in the leg won't kill you, but it'll hurt like a goddamn motherfucker."

***

(Saigon)

I sat with my dad and Peter at Cyrus and Liam's house. I couldn't be in our home anymore. It was a reminder that I had failed to protect Archer. My father and Rupert were talking with Darius. My uncle was on the phone with Trevor, but no one had any idea why this happened.

The three men came into the living room to join us. I searched their faces but found nothing.

"Does Trevor know anything?" I asked.

The alpha shook his head. "Midfield is contacting all of their alleys. I've talked to WIR."

"My mom is going to find out if WIR knows," whispered my dad. He stood. "I need to call my parents and break the news." He headed for the kitchen.

Daraius sighed. "No one knows who's behind it. WIR said we have to wait for them to contact us."

"Contact us?" I squeezed my dad's hand. "Like a ransom?"

Darius rubbed the side of his face. "You are going to be beta. Archer is your mate and that is probably the reason he was targeted."

Rupert let out a huff and marched to the front door. It slammed shut soon after, rattling the picture frames on the wall.

"I better go and check on him." Peter gave me a forced smile.

His eyes were red and swollen, so it wasn't an act I believed. I wasn't the only one who was hurting. The sub stood and gave my shoulder a pat before going after his mate.

My father joined me on the couch and gave me a hug. "We're going to find him."

"How?" I wiped my face as tears started to form again. "No one knows anything. We should've killed Willow when she went rogue. She betrayed him. She turned on the pack and Archer." I hid my face in my hands.

Darius sat on the coffee table in front of me. "I'm going to do everything I can."

"College was a stupid idea."

"Don't say that, pup." He messed up my hair. "You're too smart to let that talent go to waste. No one could've ever guessed this would happen. It's not your fault."

"They took Archer because he's my mate. I left him alone. I never should have left him. He was feeling horrible the last couple of days. That bitch was lurking around. I know it. It was her doing, all of it." I roughly cleared my eyes. "Archer could sense that she was back. I shouldn't have left him alone."

My father brought my head to his chest and held me in his arms. "Archer is a dominant. He never would have let you treat him like a sub. He's strong, Saigon. Trust your mate."

Darius turned to Liam and Cyrus, who were huddled in the corner of the room. "Trevor wants you to send Liam home."

The sub's mouth fell open. "What about school?"

"Trevor is working on it. It might be a human school, but a couple of werewolves are high up in the university. He's going to see if you can finish online or take incompletes."

"I should go home, too," said Cyrus.

"I'm under the impression your classes aren't as easy to switch to being online," said Darius.

"I want Liam with me," said Cyrus. "I'll pull out before I send my mate away."

"You need to call Trevor and work it out with him. He was just throwing around some ideas, but he doesn't like having Liam here. Your rank also puts him at risk."

Cyrus nodded and led Liam from the room. His raised voice could be heard soon after as he spoke on the phone.

With a sigh, the alpha turned to me. "You can drop out of this semester if you want."

"And do what?" I muttered.

"Come home. Aden is telling your grandma, so all hell is about to break loose. It might be easier for you to have your family around."

I shook my head. "Even if I drop out, I can't leave. This is the last place I saw Archer. I have to be here and search for him. If he is strong enough to escape, he'll come here, to our home. Archer will come back, and I have to wait for him."

"Whatever you decided," said Darius. "You can stay or come home. Archer is your mate, I'm going to tell you how to handle this."

"I want to stay." I sat up straight. "I'm going to stay right here and look for him."