"He's not eating."

"Point a gun at him and that'll change," laughed the scared man.

The woman didn't look impressed. "He's not worth anything if he starves."

The man scoffed. "A couple of days without food won't kill him. If the dog wants to make handling him easier by not eating, then so be it. He can die with whoever buys him."

His eyes traveled to the corner where I was sitting. I stared right back.

"Trying to be tough now?"

Not responding, I kept my gaze locked on him.

He chuckled and walked to the wall. "I think the mutt needs a bath. He's starting to stink since his type tends to shit wherever they like." Unraveling a hose, he grabbed the nob.

I inched up the walls as my ears stood up. This wasn't going to be pleasant. The water surged out and slammed into the side of my head. I held up my arms to block it and turned toward the wall. He aimed the stream at my back. It had enough pressure to flatten me against the cement. It was freezing.

The man wandered around the bars and sprayed me from different angles. My teeth were chattering. It was getting hard to breath as the cold constricted my chest. The pressure died down, and the man handed the hose to the woman.

"Spray off the floor."

Nodding, she did so. I knelt in the corner and hugged my arms around my chest. Water dripped from my fur and joined the streams going into the grating that ran along the wall. I listened to it gather in the gutter and trickle toward the main drain.

It was already cold but this was torture. The urge to shake the water off came to the surface and I heard a scream as I did so. The woman sprayed me.

"You stupid, mutt. I stink like a wet dog now." Throwing the hose, she marched to the exit. The door slammed shut behind her.

I shook off again and moved to a drier section of the cage. The chain around my neck felt extra heavy from the cold metal. I wanted to go home and sit in the hot pools. Everyone said I shouldn't be afraid of humans, they couldn't hurt me, but they were wrong. They were doing one hell of a job of making my life miserable.

***

(Saigon)

I sat in my truck in an empty parking lot. I didn't know where to go next. Every night for hours, I drove around the city looking for Archer. I had expanded the search for the city nearby, but it was only aimless wandering. He was alive. That was all I knew. The connection I shared with Archer hadn't been broken.

I rested my head on the steering wheel as the angry tears fell. My mate was gone. It was my job to protect him. I didn't give a damn if Archer was a dominant, I was supposed to take care of him. They expected me to be the next beta when I couldn't even protect my mate.

Sobs broke through as I squeezed the steering wheel. I had to find him. My sanity depended on me finding him.

***

I entered Cyrus's house to see someone else sitting in the living room. "Jagger?"

He sat up and held out a bottle. "I came to check on my beta. Raven wanted to come, but with the current circumstances, he's not allowed out of the cave." He forced a laugh.

I trudged over and sat by Cyrus. Taking the bottle, I popped off the cap and took a swig of the beer. "Midfield?"

Cyrus nodded. "The occasion calls for the potent stuff. Rupert and Peter are still out looking for Archer. Your parents and grandparents went shopping for food. Miss Karen informed me she will take care of the cooking." He sighed. "I'm not complaining."

Slumping into the couch, I drank half the bottle. My eyes were still red. I had stopped caring about my appearance. I finished the rest.

Cyrus took the bottle and gave me another with the cap already removed.

Jagger cleared his throat. "Asking how you're feeling is kind of pointless. We're all dominants and know what that mark does to us."

"It makes me feel bad for being pushy with Archer to get over Willow," I muttered. "He was going through hell when the bitch left. I'm still going to kill her, but I get Archer's pain more." I took a swig. "How's Liam?"

Cyrus arched a brow. "He's trying to be positive, but I'm pissed. Trevor doesn't think I can protect him and I can't come home. Fuck him." He wiped his mouth. "I'm tempted to fail my classes just to spite the jackass."

I smiled slightly.

"No sign of him?" asked Cyrus.

"There was never a chance of me finding, Archer," I breathed. "But I can sit here and do nothing, either." My eyes were starting to burn again. "I should've left him in Northern Ridge."

"Archer wanted to come," said Jagger. "He wanted to be with you."

"I'm the dominant partner," I muttered. "Knowing that bitch would team up with humans to steal my mate, I would have forced Archer to stay." I wiped my eyes.

"That's why I came to help," said Jagger.

Waving my arm around the room, I shook my head. "Yeah, because I'm making such progress."

He took a deep breath. "We're a team, Saigon. You and me, we're going to lead Northern Ridge one day. Archer and Raven are just as much a part of that as us. Tomorrow, you tell me where to look and that's what I'll do."

Barely holding it together, I took another drink. "It's a waste of time, but I'm glad you're here."

"My parents wanted me to tell you, they're doing whatever they can," said Cyrus. "So is Trevor and Daven. They're meeting with the local packs around here with Darius."

Falling over my knees, I held my face in my hands. Cyrus rubbed my back.

"It means a lot to me," I breathed. "How everyone is helping me—" I rubbed my face. "I just want him back."

"We will," said Jagger. "It doesn't matter how long it takes; we'll find Archer."

***

(Archer)

"Stop it!"

The water pelted my back.

The scrawny human chuckled. "The smell of wet dog—"

"Shut up!" I bared my teeth at him. "I am not a dog."

"Oh sorry, a half-breed, commonly known as a mutt," he laughed.

I charged the bars and swiped at the man who stayed just out of reach. The spray of water hit me in the face. I swatted at it as I blindly clawed at the air. I'd had it. Human or werewolf, I couldn't take it anymore.

The need to breathe sent me stumbling back into the corner, gasping. I pried at the metal collar around my neck. I'd get out of this cage and rip out his throat. Grabbing the chain, I braced my foot against the wall and tried to yank it free.

"Like a rabid dog," laughed the human.

I gave it all I had and fell backward as the bolts broke and the ends shot through the air. Grabbing the chain, I swung the end at the bars. The man and the other humans retreated to a safer distance. Heaving for air, I slowly rose onto my feet.

"I am not a dog," I growled. "I will not be treated like one."

My ear flicked to the side at the sound of a muted bang. My leg blared with pain and I toppled to the ground. I gripped my thigh as blood coated my fur and spread into the puddle on the ground. I cried out and clawed at the cement floor. They shot me.

The scarred man moved further into the room. "Get out," he said to the others. "I said to wash down the cage, not rial him up. He's still a werewolf and is ranked as a dominant."

"Sorry, sir. We got carried away." The scrawny human side-stepped past the man and ran off with the others.

The man wandered over to the hose and aimed it at the floor to wash away the blood. I looked over the wound. It was healing but blood was still pouring out of the hole he shot through my leg.

"Did it go through?"

"Fuck you," I growled.

"Fine, let the bullet fester."

I faced the wall and examined the wound. "It went through."

"Figures," he breathed. "I was close enough that it should have." He kept washing the floor.

Parting my fur, I gritted my teeth. It still was blaring with a searing pain.

"Has it stopped bleeding?"

I glared at the human.

"What a mess." He went and turned the water off. "I'll have someone come and clean it up later." Reaching into his pocket, he took out a keyring and flipped through them. He removed one from the clip and tossed it through the bars. "Since you ripped it out of the wall, it's not exactly doing anything."

I crawled over and grabbed it.

"I warned you." He folded his arms. "Behave, or I will shoot you."

Turning my head sharply, I felt for the keyhole.

"A couple more days and you'll be someone else's problem." He sighed and headed for the exit.

Maneuvering the key into the hole, I opened the clasp and quickly removed the collar. I threw it across the cage and rubbed my neck. The bleeding was slowing down, but my body was starting to shake. That hurt way more than I remembered.