Alright. That elk over there is perfect. It should feed the eight of us for the rest of the week. Hongjoong said, turning to glance at Yeosang. His beta huffed and trotted over to the other pack to try and relay the message.

Jongho still didn't want to merge the packs, which Hongjoong couldn't blame him for. He didn't look forward to the battle for head alpha that could come from it, but it did make hunting a challenge. Yunho was the biggest asset as he was the best at reading others.

Ok they are ready. Yeosang called out to him as he appeared from behind a tree. He wagged his tail in anticipation.

Hongjoong nodded to him and was just about to give the signal when a long howl came from the west. He stood up straight and looked in that direction. The howl wasn't familiar. Abort! Get back to the house!

He saw Mingi and Seonghwa appear next to him, looking worried, and Yeosang turned to go tell the others again. Hongjoong followed behind him, not wanting to let his mate out of his sight.

The howls grew louder. And there were more of them.

It's the Alpha pack. Mingi growled. He moved closer to Seonghwa.

Shit. Hongjoong came to a stop in front of the others. Jongho locked eyes with him, his pack standing behind him.

Cursing the fact they couldn't talk, Hongjoong shifted. The other alpha followed suit, so did Mingi.

"What is it?" Jongho asked.

"It's the Alpha Pack. They are here." Mingi said, wringing his hands.

"What should we do?" Hongjoong said, turning to the taller.

"I don't know... Without being able to communicate... I want to say we split up but what if we can't find each other again?" He glanced at Jongho, who bristled.

Wooyoung whimpered behind him and walked forward so that his head was under Jongho's hand. He was shaking.

"We are running out of time!" Hongjoong said, glaring at Jongho. "It's your choice!" He held out his arm.

Yunho nudged the back of Yunho's leg and let out a small growl. Jongho growled back at him, but then the howls sounded again, closer this time.

Jongho clapped his arm to Hongjoong's to make the pact, and all of them shivered as the pack link opened even more.

Hongjoong breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "How do we want to split up?"

"At least in pairs. But we need to stay in contact as best we can." Mingi said. He looked scared, and that didn't make Hongjoong feel very good, but he nodded.

Everyone shifted back into wolves again and the two groups of four split into their natural groups.

They ran.

And they could feel the alphas following them.

Four jumped out in front of them, splitting the back off into smaller groups.

Hongjoong found himself running with Jongho, San, and Yeosang. The two other alphas panicked at the rest of their pack was gone but they were being herded away from the others.

Mingi! Are you ok?

For now. We are being pushed somewhere.

So are we. Stay alert and protect them. Hongjoong said, trying to work out how they were going to get out of this. They should have expected an ambush, but it had been a couple weeks since Lance had approached them so they had grown lax in their watches.

They were fools. And now his pack was going to pay the price.

Jongho, how many do you think you could take?

Enough. The young alpha snarled. He leapt up to jump off a boulder and slammed into one of the attacking wolves, locking his jaws around his neck. San was there in an instant to help him, taking the wolf's legs out from under it.

Hongjoong swiveled and got in between Yeosang and one of the other wolves, snarling and snapping his teeth. Yeosang came to stand beside him and he was grateful for his mate's presence.

He could hear yelps of pain coming from behind him as Jongho and San fought their way through the attackers.

The alpha in front of him attacked and he and Yeosang jumped to the side. Hongjoong latched onto his back leg and swung him in a circle, releasing him to throw him into a tree. The alpha yelped and struggled to stand. Hongjoong took the chance to rip out his throat.

Yeosang snarled from behind him and two more alphas now stood between him and his mate. Blue eyes flashed at him, full of fear. But the alphas weren't attacking. Instead, they looked like they were herding Yeosang back.

Hongjoong ran forward and attacked one of them, hoping to draw the other one's attention too, but it didn't work. The she-wolf kept herding Yeosang back, using her dominance to overpower him.

Mingi! Mingi they are after the others! He didn't get an answer. Mingi!

The alpha snapped at him and forced Hongjoong back. Two more appeared, effectively cutting him off from Yeosang. He wasn't having that. He ran forward and rammed his head into one of them, flipping the wolf over his back. Then he spun and swiped at another one, catching its jaw and forcing it to the side. All he felt was rage as he felt the need to get to his mate.

Hongjoong! Yeosang called out. He was almost out of sight. He was about to run after it when one of the alphas grabbed his leg and pulled him back. He twisted and snapped at him over and over.

He tried reaching out to the others, but there was so much panic and fear, he couldn't concentrate enough to reach him. Even Yeosang was starting to feel like he was far away from him.

He couldn't let that happen. Twisting himself hard, he yanked his leg out of the alpha's mouth. He could feel the skin tearing with it but he didn't care. He was on the alpha in a second, again ripping his throat out.

The other two got in his way again, but he was smaller and more agile. He over powered them easily.

Please! Can anyone answer me!

I'm here. Jongho said. San is with me. We are trying to get to the others, but there are too many.

Have you heard from them? Are they ok?

No. Jongho's answer was evident. Hongjoong could feel San's worry too. So they were close enough. Why couldn't he reach Mingi? What was going on?

.

.

.

.

As soon as they were separated, Mingi knew they were in trouble. They had broken him away from the other alphas and he knew their plan immediately. He was sure they would be trying to get Yeosang away too.

And something had happened to split the communication between the two groups.

He and Seonghwa snarled as they were surrounded by a circle of alphas, one of them being Lance's silver wolf. He lip curled in what could be described as a smirk as he looked down on Mingi.

Stay close. Mingi said. He sensed movement behind him and turned long enough to see Yunho moving Wooyoung underneath him.

His heart pounded as he also saw his white omega standing tall and proud, fighting against the other alphas' dominance.

The wolves moved closer, knowing that there was no escape.

When they attack I want all three of you to run. Even you Seonghwa. Protect them. Run as fast and as far as you can. You know what they want. Let that spur you on.

I won't leave you. Seonghwa said.

Don't make me order you. I will if I have to.

Seonghwa growled in response but Mingi felt his acceptance.

I will try to buy you as much time as I can. Mingi said, digging his claws into the ground.

Don't get yourself killed. Seonghwa said. If you do, I'll never forgive you. No, I'll bring you back and kill you myself.

Mingi wished he could hug the blonde. He was so scared he'd never get to see him again.

But he needed to protect his pack.

He lunged forward, snarling with all his might to draw as much attention to him as possible. Several of the alphas ran at him, trying to use their strength to over-power him. He used senses to duck under some, allowing them to collide with a sickening crunch.

Mingi kept his eyes locked on the silver fur in front of him, wanting nothing more than to rip Lance's throat out, but someone rammed him and knocked him off balance.

Several paws pinned him to the ground. They weren't fighting him. Seonghwa please tell me you are running...

He didn't get an answer.

Large, black paws appeared in his line of vision. He didn't need to look up to know who it was.

The wolf let out a long, gut wrenching snarl and Mingi felt his body twist against his will. He knelt on the forest floor, head bowed before his father in submission. The alpha's alpha.

"Good to see you again, Son." His father said, reaching down to cup his chin after shifting.

His dominance was so strong that Mingi couldn't bring himself to look in his father's eyes.

"Thank you for bringing me new breeders. I look forward to putting them to good use." He snarled.

Mingi felt his wolf rise up in retaliation, but just as he was about to strike, several hands grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back, tying them together. He cried out in pain and tried to pull free, but he was bound to tight.

"Get him some pants and get him ready. The others are coming back with their prizes." His father said, looking over the next hill.

Mingi struggled to turn and look. His heart fell.

Yeosang was being dragged by his arms between two alphas. His head hung limp and it looked like there was a trail of blood running down the side of his face.

Starting to panic, he tried reaching out to Hongjoong again. What had happened to him? He tried San and Jongho but was met with silence.

His father laughed next to him. "You should have paid more attention in school. Your mind link won't work as long as we have certain herbs burning. Ours is unaffected as long as we drink a special mixture. It' old, ancient magic, but effective."

Mingi felt like he was going to burst from how angry he was.

"Sir! We caught him! But the other two got away." Lance called.

"No!" Mingi cried out as he fought against his captors.

Seonghwa was being marched over to them. He held his head high in defiance like always, but Mingi could see he was scared. Lance was right behind him, holding the ropes that bound his hands. They hadn't even bothered to let him get dressed.

"Ah, so this one is yours? Wise choice." Mingi's father said, patting his son's head before walking up to Seonghwa. "Yes, you will give us good fighters."

"Like hell I will." Seonghwa spat in his face. He was immediately knocked to the group by a slap from the head alpha. He roared and Seonghwa trembled below him.

Mingi felt tears running down his cheeks as he tried to get to his omega.

His father bent down and pulled Seonghwa up by his hair. "Yes. You will do nicely. Lock him up and start getting him prepped. The sooner we get pups in him the better. Same with the other one." Several wolves dragged Seonghwa away.

The omega turned to look at Mingi, a silent plea for help. Mingi never felt more useless in his life.

"Where did the other two go?"

"That one there covered their escape. But we tracked them down... I don't know how easily we can get them." Lance said.

"Why?" Mingi's father growled.

"They were taken by humans."

Mingi couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Hunters?" His father asked. Mingi could have sworn he heard a hint of fear.

"I don't think so. They didn't smell like Hunters. But there is a wolf sanctuary around here that mortals use to rehabilitate wolves. Wild wolves. We could check there."

"See to it. We need them. The more breeders the better. And the other alphas?"

"Gone." Lance said. "They killed several of our men and then disappeared. I'm guessing they were outside of the herbs range so they were about to coordinate."

The head alpha growled, all the others around him flinched. "Increase the guards while we travel. He can't have them freeing the breeders."

"Yes, Sir." Lance marched away, but not before smirking at Mingi.

"Come, let's go home, Son."