Atticus

I wake up with light shining on my face and smell something clean with a hint of antiseptic. Bleach? Oh no, I can be back in that hellhole.

"Glad to see you're awake; I'm Doctor Robert Frost; nice to meet you," Doctor Frost smiled. "I'm sure this is quite a shock, but you are safe here,"

So I'm not back there? That's a good sign; we don't have a man who goes by the name of Frost. "Where am I?" I asked.

"You're in the infirmary of the Crimson Howlers Pack," Doctor Frost said.

"T-this isn't the Golden Leaf Pack?" I said.

"No, that would be our neighboring pack. What's your name?" Doctor Frost asked.

"How long have I been here?" I dodged his question.

"You were found unconscious yesterday," Doctor Frost said.

"What?! Yesterday?! I need to leave!"

"I would advise against that. My alpha needs to speak with you," Doctor Frost said.

"NO!" I started to rip my IVs and other cords off me.

"Please don't rip the cords out! Goddess, I need help over here," Doctor Frost yelled.

I allowed my wolf to take control; I had to get to him and make sure he was okay; we would not survive on his own. I'm coming for you, Link.

Henrik

I ran through the forest looking for the rogue that escaped my infirmity; I told Doctor Frost to get himself and the other nurses to safety so they don't get injured. I haven't told anyone that this rogue is my fated mate. I rendezvoused with Lorian and York. "Have you found him yet?"

"No, Lorian just filled me in on the situation. I'm glad that Frost and the others are okay," York said.

"I have to find him. Show me where you found her York, now!" I ordered.

"Yes, alpha," York nodded.

"Are you okay, Henrik," Lorian said.

I punched a tree in my anger. "York, WHERE, START TALKING!? I NEED TO FIND MY MATE!" I can feel my eyes glowing bright red. I can feel Ghirahim about to take control.

"Mate?" Lorian took a few steps back.

"York, please, where did you find him?" I asked again.

"Right, this way," York said.

"Henrik, you found your mate," Lorian said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

I stopped moving, my back still facing Lorian. "Yeah, I'm sorry but I can't talk right now, I'm sorry. Please look for him." I ran to catch up to York, as he had already gotten a head start on me.

I caught up to York, but then I got a mind link from Lorian; he found something or someone.

"Alpha, I found him. But-" Lorian stopped talking; I could feel his breath hitch.

"But what? Is he okay?" I asked.

"He's fine, but we need Doctor Frost," Lorian said.

"Goddess, okay, York is on his way to the infirmary, and tell me where you are so I can find you," I asked.

I ended the mind link with Lorian before he told me he was in a cave by the river. "York, go to the infirmary and get Frost; I'm heading to the cave where Lorian is,"

I rushed to the cave, and Lorian was standing outside. "Where is he?" I asked Lorian. "Have you gone in the cave?"

"I looked in. But I was afraid the rogue wouldn't let me near," Lorian said.

"Why?" I said.

"He has a child," Lorian rubbed his neck.

"A child?" Ghirahim whined softly; he knew that this situation had gotten more complicated.

"WHERE THE HELL IS YORK AND FROST?! I yelled.

"I go see what keeping them, Alpha," Lorian dashed away.

Goddess, how much worse is this going to get?

"Don't jinx it, Henrik," Ghirahim grunted.

I walked into the cave, and I saw the sight of my mate. His wolf growled at me, his body covering a small body from view. "Easy, I'm the alpha of the Crimson Howlers. We didn't get a chance to meet before you left the infiermery. I understand why you ran. Is the child okay?" I said to the wolf.

I kneeled to meet him at eye level and allowed my eyes to glow.

"I, Alpha Henrik Shephard, offer you and your child a place in my pack. One of my warriors is on his way with the doctor. He will tend to your son and ensure he is okay; then, we will escort you back to the infirmary to get him checked out further and ensure the little man has a clean bill of health. Are you able to shift back?" I said. I need confirmation of safety, so my third can approach the doctor,"

The rogue shifted back and picked up his son. Goddess, he's so thin. What did those bastards do to him? His blond hair is short and messy. He gasped with fear when he looked into my eyes. "You're him, aren't you? The Crimson Alpha? First Alpha to shift under the Blood Moon in the last 500 years? They say you are killer, a bloodthirsty monster that needs be put down,"

"Is that what those werewolf hunters say about me? Do I look like an uncontrollable monster? If I was bloodthirsty as they say I am, I would have given in to my feral urges years ago," I laughed. I coughed. "Forgive me,"

Everything is a mess. This was never how I imagined meeting my mate. Never. It was only a short time until York and Doctor Frost arrived with Lorian in tow. I decided not to reveal I was his mate until he was safe enough to detect it himself. For now, his only focus is the safety of his son. I could feel the fear of him when he asked me if I was the Crimson Alpha, and he was holding his child close to him, fearing that I would harm him, a small, defenseless child. Never would I harm an innocent. But my mate needs proof, and I fully intend to show him the real me.

Doctor Frost checked the child and said he needed to be returned to the infirmary for fluids and food. My mate's name is Atticus, and his child's name is Link. Father and Son. I always knew my mate was going to be a guy. I just never pictured him already having a child. Something terrible happened to these two. I can already feel Ghirahim wanting to protect them both, runoff, track down everyone who ever hurt them, and make them pay. I fully intend to make them pay for what they did and bathe in their blood.

For now, I need to focus on Atticus and Link.

(A few Hours Later)

I was drinking a glass of whisky on my patio; I wanted to be alone to collect my thoughts, and then I smelled my sister and brother-in-law walk through the back door.

"Henrik!" Marian came over to my house with Jessie. "We came as soon as we heard. You found your mate, and he has a child,"

I shattered my glass when I crushed it. "How do you know this? Who's snitching?"

"No one's snitching, Henrik," Marian said.

"You've been walking in my mind again, have you?" I growled. "That is a COMPLETE misuse of the abilities that the Goddess gave us,"

Firstly, we're twins. We have a bond similar to the mate bond, so I can look into your mind whenever I want. Which I don't, you know you better than that. You force your thoughts on me when you get frustrated or overwhelmed," Marian explained.

"I'm sorry. These past few hours have been stressful," I put my hands over my face and breathed.

"Don't be sorry. Next time, please tell me when you're feeling stressed," Marian said.

"Maybe I am, though. I have great control over my mind and powers. Maybe I'm subconsciously telling you.

"How are they?" Jessie asked. "Your mate and his son,"

"As good as can be. My mate was in worse shape than his son. The doctor thinks that whatever food or water he found he gave it to Link." I smiled. "All he cared about was his kids health and safety,"

"He went without for his child," Marian said.

"Where are they now?" Jessie asked me.

"They're in the room beside mine. I cleared it out for them. I also sent York to buy some toys for Link,"

"His name is Link?" Marian smiled.

"Atticus and Link," I said.

"Thank the Goddess that Link is alright. Being all alone in that place wondering where his dad was," Marian said. "I can only imagine the fear,"

"Don't remind me; I feel guilty enough as it is," I said.

"You can't blame yourself for this, Henrik. He was unconscious; you did the right thing by getting him help. He clearly needed it, and I can only imagine what would have happened if he hadn't gotten help when he needed it. He could have gotten worse, been out of it longer, and no one would have known where the boy was. No one could have known there was a child out there somewhere," Jessie said.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Oh, is that him?" Marian moved to look past me as he approached us.

"Addicus, how is he?" I said.

"Link is sleeping, thank you," Atticus said. "He's never had soft, warm blankets to sleep on before,"

"Before we continue, there are people I want you meet. This is my twin sister, Marian, and her mate-"

"Jessie?" Atticus eyes widened. "Jessie, is that you?"

"By the goddess, it is you! I thought you died after all these years," Jessie hugged him. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you,"

"Wait, you know him?" I said.

"Jessie, the story you told me when we met, Atticus is the little boy who died?" Marian said.

"Died?" Atticus's head tilted. "I didn't die,"

"We all thought you did. They found your mother and a blood trail of yours. Everyone in Golden Leaf thought you died too," Jessie said.

"The rogue came out of nowhere; I was with my mom gardening when he burst through the tree line. She pushed me out of the way and shifted, but he was stronger than her. His eyes were black," Atticus said.

"He was feral," Jessie said.

"Feral wolves have red eyes; I have red eyes," I said. "And I'm not a feral wolf,"

"Because your first shift was under a blood moon. Your case is unique, Henrik. Ordinary feral wolves have black eyes," Jessie said.

"Moving on, when the feral wolf killed her, he charged at me. I couldn't shift yet, so he knocked me out. When I woke up, I had stitches in my head, and I was surrounded by hunters," Atticus said.

I growled when he mentioned the hunters.

"From there, those hunters took me to this facility where other supernatural creatures were being held. That's where I lived until I escaped three weeks ago. They were draining us, using and selling our blood. The ones that never stopped fighting were experimented on," Atticus explained.

"What about your son?" Jessie said.

"They loved how I looked and paired me with a woman named Mirage; they forced me to get her pregnant. We tried to shield him as best we could. Link was too young for the draining, but we finally fought back when we overheard that they would use him for experiments. Mirage was my best friend, even though they forced us to make a child. We were in a breeding program," Atticus said.

"Breeding program?" Jessie said.

"For every group of hunters that brought in supernatural in, half of the hunters would in the process. They said they couldn't keep recruiting since it was an extremely illegal business. So they decided to start breeding us to grow their own subjects to use and abuse. They tested for years, but nothing worked. Their 'science' failed them, so they reverted to traditional methods. They tortured us for weeks until we couldn't take it anymore. Then Mirage got pregnant with Link, and they seemed to leave us alone after he was born. For three years, Mirage and I tried to raise him, unaware of the horrors surrounding him," Atticus said.

"Then you and Mirage got wind that they were going to take him," I said.

"Mirage and I refused to let that happen and started planning to escape. What I didn't realize is that Mirage never planned to leave alive. Her goal was to get me and Link out," Atticus said.

"She sacrificed herself," Marian covered her mouth.

"Mirage blew up the lab, taking most of their scientists. What breaks me about losing my best friend wasn't just losing her, but the people in those cages thanked her. They saw what she was doing, and they thanked her. Because of that, it gave us the chance, and I spent weeks running here, trying to find my old pack, Golden Leaf," Atticus said.

"But you didn't know about the neutral zone becoming pack land," I crossed my arms.

"I hid Link in the cave while I went out to find food and tried to find my old pack," Atticus said.

"But you didn't if you were close because there was no neutral land," Jessie finished for Atticus. "I'm so sorry, Atticus. This was my fault,"

"You didn't send that rogue to me. No one could have known the rogue was working for hunters," Atticus said.

"But that same rogue attacked me and Robin, but I shifted early and scared him off," Jessie said.

"But if you never did that, one of you would have died or taken. Stop blaming yourself; we can't change the past. I would like to move on and focus my attention on raising Link the best I can," Atticus said. "Am I still a member of the pack?"

"Yes, but, Henrik-," I interrupted him before Jessie finished.

"Will help them move once they feel up to it," I smiled.

"But Henrik," Marian elbowed me.

"They've been through enough. I imagine he would like to see his home again," I said.

"I would love that," Atticus rubbed his arm. "Is it still standing? I would also like to visit my mother's grave,"

"The house is still standing, our mothers were best friends. She always believed you were alive and never let anyone touch it. After my mother passed away, I continued caring for it," Jessie said.

"I can't believe it. Thank you so much," Atticus hugged Jessie.

"Henrik, why didn't you tell Atticus that you're his mate?" Marian said through our twin mind link.

"Because he needs time to heal. He's been through too much already and needs to focus on Link. I can't force this on him.