Seonghwa stared out the front window as the walls of the fortress loomed closer. He had hoped he would never have to see this place again... And now he was being taken inside as a prisoner instead of sneaking in on his own accord.

The two cars pulled up to a side entrance and he watched out of the corner of his eye as Jongho and San were taken inside one by one. San was carried limply by his brothers. Seonghwa and Wooyoung knew something had happened during the drive up here, but they hadn't seen exactly what.

Wooyoung whimpered next to him and he turned to try and comfort him, but the collar prevented too much movement as always.

He noticed the younger was slowly shuffling his foot forward, trying to stretch it out to reach one of the pearls that came from his broken bracelet. The ropes tightened around him and continued to burn his skin but he didn't give up until he managed to roll it up the side of his foot and into his shoe.

Seonghwa sent him a questioning look and Wooyoung answered with a look that told him he just needed a little bit of comfort. The older tilted his head a little and nodded.

The back of their car opened and Hongjoong was taken inside. He hadn't woken up since the attack...

Finally the side door opened and Seonghwa watched as San's mother untied the rope keeping his hands tied to the seat in front of him. He groaned as she helped him out of the car. It felt so good to stretch his legs.

Wooyoung was brought out after him, held by San's father, and the two of them were brought into the fortress.

As scared as he was, Seonghwa knew he needed to try and stay calm. Even without his wolf, his parenting instincts took over and he would do whatever he could to protect his baby. Even if it meant giving in to Alpha Pack.

There was no sign of their alphas as they were marched into a bed chamber. It was a comfortable room with a large bed, sitting area, and attached bathroom.

"Behave. Don't even think about removing those collars." Silas ordered as he and his mate untied the omegas. They stood in place until the door closed, then ran to each other.

Seonghwa pulled the younger close to him, shushing him as he started to shake with fear. "It's ok sweetie, I've got you."

"Wh-What's going to h-happen to us? P-Please don't let-t them t-take me..." Wooyoung sobbed, pushing his nose into the older's chest.

Seonghwa's heart broke at the words, knowing there was truly no way he could protect Wooyoung if they wanted to take him away...

But they had been given this time, so he wanted to make the most of it. He led Wooyoung over to the bed and sat on it so he was sitting up against the headboard. Wooyoung crawled to his side and laid down so his head was in the older's lap.

Wooyoung brought a hand up to slowly rub Seonghwa's belly. A look of concern crossed his face and another tear rolled down his cheek.  The older reached up and brushed it away with his thumb.

"You have to protect it..." Wooyoung whispered, closing his eyes as he continued his rubbing. "I'll protect it too..."

Seonghwa bit his lip to hold back the sob that wanted to escape. He had to stay strong, for both of them. Especially because Wooyoung basically told him that he would leave with them willingly if it meant protecting the baby.

They were left alone for what felt like hours before the lock clicked and the door swung open. Wooyoung sat up and huddled against Seonghwa as Silas walked in, followed by his sons, and then the person they could only assume was Mingi's father.

As he studied him, Seonghwa could see that Mingi inherited the rigid stature, stone expression, and his eyes from the alpha. His height too. But that was it. This alpha... just seeing him standing there was enough to see that if he ordered a wolf to do something, they would do it with no resistance.

If he had his wolf, he knew it would be cowering.

Mingi's father stood and looked at the two omegas. Seonghwa made sure to keep his head held high as the other focused on his stomach.

"How far along?"

"About three months." Seonghwa lifted his chin a little.

"Well, well." The alpha smiled. "I supposed I should introduce myself. I am Alistar. And it pleases me that you are carrying my grandpup inside you. You should be proud, for he will inherit all of this." He opened his arms wide as his eyes flashed red.

Wooyoung was shivering next to him. Seonghwa said nothing as he continued to glare at the man. He placed a hand protectively over his stomach, causing the alpha to give him a twisted smile.

"It is unfortunate that my son could not join us. I see you broke him away from my influence. I'm impressed. But it is now your loss. As long as you don't disobey me, I promise you will be protected and well cared for. I have the best midwives at my disposal and you will want for naught. If you resist me, you will only regret it. Either way, I will have that baby."

Seonghwa wanted desperately to make some smart ass response, but he knew better.

Alistar chuckled. "Good man." Then his eyes fell to Wooyoung. "As for your friend, it is time for you to say goodbye."

Jasper and Caius glanced at each other and smiled while Wooyoung shrank away from them.

"Same goes for you, mutt. The more you resist," Alistar tilted his head to the side, "The more difficult things will be for your friend here."

Damn him.

Damn. Him.

Going straight for what would make Wooyoung cave. Alistar grinned when he knew he had won.

Wooyoung shifted so he could give Seonghwa a full hug. They wrapped their arms around each other and squeezed as hard as they dared. Neither one could bring themselves to say anything, but as Wooyoung pulled back, he ran his hands down Seonghwa's arms and he felt something small and round get pressed into the palm of his right hand as they met eyes one more time.

Then the young omega slipped off the bed and walked over to join the alphas. Alistar stepped in front of him and grabbed his chin, tilting his head up. "Good boy. Make your new alphas happy."

Wooyoung's lower lip trembled, but he nodded and walked over to San's brothers. They both placed a hand on his shoulders and led him from the room.

Alistar also turned to leave when Seonghwa finally found his voice. "May I see the others?"

The alpha glanced over his shoulder. "It depends on how they, and you, behave. I will send in a midwife in a little bit to start running some tests and make sure both you and the baby are ok."

And just like that, Seonghwa was left alone.

He glanced down at his hand and looked at the little pearl Wooyoung had taken for his own comfort. Finally the tears came when he thought about how the young omega had given that up for Seonghwa, both physically, and with the pearl, just to give him a little comfort of his own.

"Please hurry Mingi..."

.

.

.

.

"Ok, so if we attack by air from this direction, it should draw a good portion of them away." Mingi said, running his finger along an eastern section of the map. "There is a back entrance over here, I think that will be our best bet to get inside."

Colonel Gregson nodded as he followed along.

"Now if we could send some of your... more trustworthy men... on an inside mission, all of the betas and omegas being held hostage are on levels three and four beneath the fortress. I want to free as many of them as possible." He glanced up and locked eyes with the Hunter.

The man hesitated.

"Think about what I told you. They are prisoners there." Mingi's tone got a little deeper.

Sighing, the Colonel nodded. "I can do that. But the main mission is still your father, correct?"

"Yes. And I'm sure he will make himself known right away. I'm worried, however, that he is going to use my mate against me. Your men will need to keep themselves in check while we are inside. I really don't want innocent blood spilled."

The other nodded again, and Mingi had to admit that he was impressed by how well he was starting to handle things. He had stopped flinching when he used 'wolf' terms. He also agreed with Mingi's game plan too, without putting up much fight.

He hoped the only reason the Colonel was doing this wasn't just because he was being led to the gold mine of his kind, but he wouldn't let himself go down that path.

"Is there a way for us to... tell... Which one of them is, um... What do you call your ranks?"

"The alphas are going to be the ones most likely to attack. They are the most dominant and will fight for their territory and their mates. They are usually bigger, and the dead giveaway is when their eyes turn red." Mingi called upon his wolf to give him an example.

To his credit, Colonel Gregson didn't flinch as much as he thought he would.

"Betas are middle rank. They are bigger than omegas and are generally smaller than alphas. Some can be more dominant than others, as you saw with Yunho. Their eyes will turn a bright, sapphire blue. You might see a few attack, but I'd be willing to bet that any who are not imprisoned will flee at the first sign of trouble. And omegas... you won't see any of them on the battlefield. They will all be locked away in the fortress. Their eyes turn yellow or gold."

"And these rules go for either form?"

Mingi sighed heavily. "Mostly. Some are deceptive. Like my mate. He was raised by alphas even though he is an omega, so he comes off a little stronger than most. Again, we are very much like humans. We just have slightly different biological differences. I'm sure humans blur the lines of stereotypes as well."

The Colonel pursed his lips and nodded. "Ok, so look for the eye color and if they are attacking or not."

"Exactly."

"Ok. Well the choppers are fueled and ready to go. I will debrief my men, and then we can get started. Sound good?"

Mingi nodded, then bowed low. "Thank you."

The Colonel just hummed. "You know, you would make a good soldier." Mingi could have sworn he saw a small smile on the man's face as he exited the tent.

Rubbing the back of his head, he wandered to the motel room to check on the others. The two betas at up as soon as they heard the door open.

"Well?" Yunho asked, leaning forward.

"I think we have a plan. He is going over it with his men now." Mingi moved to sit with them.

"Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" Yeosang asked, leaning into Mingi.

The alpha just nodded. It almost seemed too easy. Something was bound to happen to throw everything off course.

He glanced over at where Lizbeth was sleeping somewhat peacefully. Her eyes traveled under her eyelids like she was searching for something.

"Do you think she's gotten any rest?" He asked quietly.

The other two glanced at the she-wolf. "I think so, a little." Yeosang said, moving to sit next to her and rub her head. "She's been asleep this entire time. But I have a feeling her mind never shuts off."

Then as if she knew they were talking about her, Lizbeth sat up and gasped. She looked around with wide eyes and clutched her chest.

"Hey, it's ok. Lizbeth we are here." Yeosang said, grabbing her hands.

Her eyes flashed red and she snarled, forcing him to back away immediately.

Mingi stood up and growled. She flinched and held her hands up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Her voice was weak and she was sweating.

"What did you see?" Yunho leaned forward.

She turned to look at him, then Mingi. "We can't attack them."

All three males stared at her, wide-eyed.

"It's a trap... They are waiting for us."