-Alex-

I woke up, my entire body aching as I groaned and looked around. I was in some small cage-like cell, and Geoffrey was in it with me. I blinked up at him in confusion until he glanced back at me and I saw his tear stained face.

He'd been crying, and I felt my heart ache. None of my pack members deserved to feel that much pain. Suddenly I heard a whimper and Geff was hugging me, sobbing as he clutched me close to him. I felt frozen, shock and fear running through me. He wanted my touch, wanted to feel me. I unconsciously hugged him as I tried to stay calm.

What had they done to him? What could they have done to Geoffrey that would be so terrible that he'd want me to touch him? I shoved down a furious growl at the thought. They'd hurt my omega- my omega- and they didn't expect me to get retribution? They were in for one hell of a surprise.

I heard Geff whisper something, so quietly I couldn't hear him. I bit my lip looking down at him. He was bruising near where I touched him, and he was shivering in what smelled like pain. I tried to find him in my head, only to realize he wasn't there. I was completely alone. I felt tears sting my eyes as I realized just how alone I really was. Then Geff spoke again, louder.

"Bite me... please..." His voice broke on the last word and his sobs grew worse, his grip getting tighter as he still refused to make a sound. He had spoken just barely loudly enough for me to hear, and I felt stunned.

He wanted to be back in my pack, my pride. He wanted to be connected to me. He was in pain without that connection, and I knew how hard it must've been at this point for him to make such a request. It wouldn't be hard for me to fulfill his request, and I knew exactly what to do- I'd done it before. In fact, I'd have begged for him to let me if he hadn't asked me too; it was almost as painful for an alpha to lose their pride as it was for an omega, though the consequences weren't as bad.

I gently tilted his head to the side, barely brushing my hand against his cheek, and lowered my lips to his neck, gently opening my mouth as my breath blew across his skin. Goosebumps formed in his neck and he shivered, a low whine of pain forming in his throat. Even my breath was hurting him, so my bite would be excruciating. However, a true bite was the only way to make a connection so strong even a witch couldn't break it. Or... that was the hope.

I bit, breaking the skin easily and going down through the muscle till I tasted his blood. He gasped, his chest contracting violently as he lost his breath and struggled to get it back. I carefully pulled back, licking the wound to let my saliva heal it faster before gently pressing my teeth against the back of his neck. I would bind him so tightly this time that no one could break his pack bond again.

He panted, collapsing against me as he tried to breath, his neck slipping away from me as I held him close. I felt him shivering underneath me, quiet sobs of relief echoing through both the cell, and my own mind. He felt overwhelmed, and from what I could feel of his senses, he was overly affected by them all. Though that was rapidly dulling, as was his ability to stay awake. The healing enzymes in an alphas saliva tended to put the persons body to sleep and cause relaxation in order to help speed the process of healing.

I found it useful in putting injured pack members to sleep as they healed, saving them from a large amount of pain as I licked their wounds for them and knocked them out at the same time. Soon Geff was a sleeping body in my hands, limp and heavy and innocently perfect in the most adorable way. I sighed, finally letting my own tears fall. We were still stuck in this hell hole, no matter how much better it was now we were bonded again, and if Geff had reached this level of frayment, I'd been asleep for far, far too long.

"I screwed up." The voice was deep and smooth, pain and regret lacing every word. I looked up, my eyes filled with fury and hatred. It was a vampire, mason, the right hand man of Orlando; the jerk who'd brought me here and somehow taken out Geoffrey's link. I wanted to know how he'd managed that, but I doubted I'd understand it, even if I was told.

"Go away, demon. If you hurt him again-"

"I wouldn't ever hurt him." Mason interrupted, his expression serious, and his tone almost zealous in its belief. I studied him, my blood too hot to think straight. I could feel myself regaining some of my former strength, most of it having been tied to my pride and their loyalty. I couldn't even dream to take on a vampire, not yet, not until I had most of my pride back, but I didn't care. Mason had hurt Geoffrey, and badly, otherwise he wouldn't have begged to be in my pride again.

That aside, Geoffrey stank of the Vampire in front of me; meaning they'd been very close for a very long time- not something Geff was very keen on.

"I think it's a bit late for that, leech." I glared at him, and he winced, eyes showing off more pain than I'd ever seen from a Vampire before. Admittedly they were normally dead corpses with little to no expression or emotions other than sadistic glee, but... still.

"I am sorry, I didn't want to hurt him... I thought-"

"Thought what?!?" My blood was boiling now, and I was beginning to see red. "Thought that he was a perfectly stable Beta? Thought you could treat him roughly and break him and he wouldn't break?!? What the hell is wrong with you!? He isn't normal! He can't handle touch like a normal person! He-"

"I know!"

Geff let out a quiet whimper, and we froze, our voices dying in our throats. The place was quiet for a moment, then Mason spoke up again, just above a whisper. We'd been shouting before, so I had to strain to listen.

"I know. I know he isn't normal, I know he can't handle it. I learned that just an hour ago, before he came in here and tried to shake you awake." I blinked. I hadn't thought Geff would be capable of shaking someone. "I wanted to say I'm sorry, and I know that words aren't enough. So, I'll prove that I'm sorry. Is that okay with you?"

I frowned, still glaring at him, and trying to figure out his reason for lying. He had no reason to apologize- well, he had every reason, but he wouldn't admit to them- and he was completely in control of the situation. There was no where for us to go, and he could easily beat me with Geff sleeping on my lap.

I hesitantly nodded, still not trusting him, and he smiled.

"Thank you, Alex. I'm Mason. I'll help you and Geff get back home, then- if you'll allow me- I'd like to try and make Geoffrey love me the right way. I'll date him, I'll go slow, I'll wait for him to decide... I'll do what I should've done in the first place. Please?"

I was frozen, staring in shock at Mason. He'd told me his name, his first name- and on top of that, he'd not only apologized, he'd admitted he'd been wrong; he'd just let his ego die more than any other Vampire I'd ever even heard of. It was as if the world were flipped on its head, and I was suddenly very small. 

Yes I'd known his first name before, but he'd never told me himself. For a vampire to tell you their own first name, they had to respect you a lot... you normally had to simply listen and guess at their names until you had it correctly. Orlando was easy, they all deferred to him. Mason too... he was second in command, after all. 

"I... don't think that's my decision to make..." I glanced down at Geoffrey, biting my lip as I used him to remind myself that I was, indeed, in the real world- and not dreaming.

Mason nodded, eyes softening as he watched Geff sleep. "No... I suppose it isn't... if he agrees, will you give me a chance? Please?"

I looked up at him, a Vampire who'd completely defied what I knew of Vampires in favor of something I could call semi-decent. I didn't trust him entirely, but... after that little display, and knowing that he was likely our only way out of here...

"Yes... I can allow you a chance... now get us home so I can get my pride back..." I hesitated, looking him in the eyes before I, reluctantly, said, "Please?"

He smiled, nodding, then dashed away, gone in an eyeblink. I stared at where he'd been, alarm growing until he was suddenly back; with keys in one hand and a woman in the other. She was a witch, obviously not a Vampire, and too human smelling to be a were. I watched her, curious as to what she was doing here, and confused at Mason being on good terms with any witch.

"Alright, Mason. Open the door and let's get you all back to 'Sugar Salem'; stupidest name for a town ever. Why would someone name a town after an artificial sweetener?" She huffed, rolling her eyes in distaste. Whether at the situation, the Vampire, or the town name, I wasn't quite sure.

Mason unlocked the door and stepped in, pausing a bit more than a foot away from me and Geff. Yet another surprise; he was respecting our personal space. The witch hummed, looking at us from every angle, making me steadily more uncomfortable until she nodded and stepped back.

"I can do this, easily. I don't know why you were so worrie-" a loud screech cut her off, and I caught a glimpse of Orlando running towards us at full tilt, claws extended as his human visage burned away in favor of a more feral one; then we were suddenly in the alley where Orlando had attacked me, and I blinked in shock.

"That boy is more trouble than he's worth; I'll have to talk to him." I glanced at the witch, confused and slightly scared. If she was completely unconcerned about Orlando, she was either powerful, had some kind of blackmail on him, or she was an idiot. Considering how powerful and meticulous Orlando was, I was assuming the last option was the right one.

She vanished and left me alone in the alley with Mason and Geoffrey- the tall, gangly omega still curled up in my arms. We watched each other for a few minutes, silence reigning as neither of us knew what to say. The world slowly started to get darker, and I realized that it was late in the afternoon; who knew how bad my pack must be? The first thing was first, though; Geff would want to wake up at home.

I stared up at Mason, taking deep breath and releasing it in reluctance. "Hey... I'll need your help."
________________________________

-George-

I was sitting in the couch staring at a black TV screen, feeling vaguely hungry but not enough to care. I'd felt that way for the past week, and I could see the effects of the unintended fast every morning in the mirror. My arms were thinner, almost unnoticeable so, and my muscles were more defined than they had ever been. My cheeks were starting to look hollow and my eyes had purple-black bags under them from sleeplessness. My skin was pale, my hair felt greasy, and I felt sick ; I could feel everything aching as I breathed.

It had been a month. One, long, painful month, and there had been no ransom, no letter, no sign of him anywhere. The police thought he was dead, my parents cried every night in their room, and the girls had never been so silent or obedient in their lives. People still showed up asking if they could help, asking if we were okay, asking what they could do. There weren't many, though, after a month of nothing but dead-ends.

I heard a knock on the door and stood, knowing that whomever it was, they wouldn't leave until we'd answered the doors, and the rest of my family needed their sleep. None of us had gotten much over the past month. I opened the door and blinked tiredly at the stranger standing there. He was vaguely familiar, though I couldn't tell where from, and he seemed exhausted and in pain.

"Can I help you?" My voice seemed dull, monotone, and I knew my face matched the sound. It was hard to fake emotion after an entire month of slowly slipping from fear and worry into hopeless sorrow. He looked at me, then I saw his eyes water slightly as he took a shaky breath.

"We got out. I have a... friend, bringing him. He was too tall for me to carry well... don't be loud. They were really loud in... that place." I stared at him, confusion hitting me hard. What was he talking about? He saw my confused look and frowned, looking down and bitting his lip as if trying to remember something. Then his eyes lit up.

"Geoffrey. He said his name was Geoffrey, and he lived here. He fell asleep on the drive down here... I-" he hadn't even finished before I grabbed his shoulders, my shock at Geff's name dying as I realized what he was talking about. I gripped him like a dying man, my voice hoarse as I strained to hold it to a whisper.

"Where is he?" My eyes were wide, my left eyelid twitching, and my breathing was shaky and heavy; as if I'd just run a marathon while sobbing. All of my attention was on the man in front of me, my desperation burning as I stared searchingly into his eyes.

Then a tall, pale-skinned man round the corner of he block and whistled. I turned to glance at him, not hearing the mans reply. The pale man was carrying Geff, and he wasn't dead. I shoved the man in front of me aside as I dashed past him, sprinting full tilt until I skidded too a stop in front of the my brother. I reached up with a shaky hand and touched his forehead, the feeling of his skin making my knees weak and my breath catch.

The man spoke up, startling me out of my silent awe and back into reality. "We should get him inside." I looked up at him, the amount of worry and regret in them shocking me. I slowly nodded and watched him walk to my house, jogging to catch up as he started walking up the path to the front door. I got inside and watched him set Geoffrey on the couch and kneel next to him, watching him sadly as I got closer until the man at the door cleared his throat. The man sighed, standing to leave before I caught his arm. He stiffened and I spoke before he could get mad.

"What are your names?" They glanced at each other, as if they hadn't expected me to ask. Then the man at he door slowly spoke, hesitating slightly as he said the words.

"I'm Alex... he's Mason." I looked between them, nodding slowly as I memorized the names and faces. I'd see if I could find them again later on; then I'd give them the best thank you anyone has ever received.

"Thank you... so much-" my voice cracked and suddenly I was crying while hugging Mason, sobbing my relief into his chest and murmuring the words 'thank you' over and over again as he stood stiffly in my hold. It took me maybe ten minutes to calm down enough for him to move me over to my brother- then cradled his head in my lap and sobbed over him.

I didn't even notice they were gone until my parents came down hours later. I was done crying by then, and I had just stared at Geoffrey's face in a disbelieving, relief-filled joy until two voices suddenly began shouting in unison as my parents rushed over to the couch. Geff jolted awake, covering his ears and whimpering as he held his eyes shut. I pulled him into a hug and waited, letting him hear my heartbeat as our parents froze, the girls throwing themselves down the stairs to see what had scared our parents.

After a few minutes, we were all hugging a disoriented Geoffrey while he blinked around in disbelief and shock. He seemed almost scared, but the amount of relief I could feel from him told more than than his expression.

He was home, and I was going to make those strangers feel more thanked than any other person had ever been before.

They'd saved my brother.

_________________________________(A/N) Hey Guys! How's it going? Sorry, I lost my electronic last week, so I wasn't able to write my story. I'm just glad to have them back. I'll be a bit faster now. I hope you enjoy! :)

What do you think of Mason? Would you like to hear more of George's POV? What do you think is going to happen next between Mason, George, Alex, and Geoffrey?

Let me know in the comments!

This is going to be fun. XD

Till next time, Sept-Mates!

Your Poet and Scribe,
~ShadeFinder<(0^0)>