"Keep him contained!"

"He won't listen to us!"

Fear. Discomfort. Pain. Anger. All of it was closing in. Suffocating. Squeezing.

It was too much.

Then, there was crying. Lots of terrified crying.

"Stop struggling!!"

A familiar whimper followed the order, sending a wave of rage.

"Get down and obey me. NOW!"

Any wolf would submit to the power of that command. It was from a strong, dominant, head alpha. The power behind it was undeniable.

But when a Soulmate bond was put into the mix, anything was possible.

Avayla's eyes snapped open and she whipped her head around, trying to process several things at once.

Where was she?

What happened to them?

Where where her children?

What was happening to Theo?

The last one was the most urgent one in her mind. She could feel every ounce of her mate's stress through their link.

Ava! Ava!! Alpha answer me!! He sounded terrified, but he had a vicious rage rolling off him at the same time.

Theo! The alpha called out. She pushed herself off the ground, quickly registering that she was in some kind of a tent, and pushed her way outside.

She was instantly blinded by sunlight. Her arm flew up to shield her eyes. Unfortunately it stunned her enough that she couldn't move anymore.

But that didn't stop her from using her other senses.

She knew that Theo was somewhere to her left by feeling him through their bond and by the ruckus being caused by whoever he was fighting.

"ON THE GROUND. NOW!!"

Theo cried out with an awful whine. His will was collapsing with each and every order thrown at him.

Avayla gave her eyes a couple more seconds to adjust before she charged forward. Right as the tent in front of her collapsed in on itself with the growling and roars from several wolves.

"No, stop!" A familiar voice said from behind her at the same time as someone grabbed her hand. "Don't!"

"Let go!" Avayla snapped. She yanked her hand away and turned to see Siyeon, dressed in what looked to be black, leather armor, looking at her with a stern gaze.

"I'm just trying to protect you."

"No, you're keeping from my mate! What the hell is going on?!" She didn't even know where to begin, but a loud cry from Theo crushed her heart.

"He's gone crazy, they are trying to get him under control." Siyeon said, then started to speak again, "We don't want him to hurt y-"

"You know nothing!" Avayla cut her off, eyes turning bright red.

She could hear Kendra crying somewhere, in some other tent, and as much as her motherly instincts wanted her to protect her child, Theo needed her more.

Three wolves, two black and one brown, ripped the fallen tent to shreds, freeing themselves from the heavy canvas, then started to circle around where Theo was cowering on the ground.

He was curled on the ground, trembling from the pressure of the commands being thrown at them. And now they were all just snarls and the snapping of teeth.

Which he couldn't fully understand...

"Leave him alone!" Avayla roared, then ran forward.

The three wolves, all of them alphas, turned to face Avayla, growling at her in warning.

She ignored it, zeroing in on where Theo was covering his head with his long arms. His entire body was trembling, almost as if he was going to explode from all the pressure being inflicted on him.

"Stand down." A cool, calm and collected voice said, adding yet another alpha presence to the area.

To say she was stunning was an understatement. Dressed in a similar sit of leather, skin tight armor, this alpha walked with a grace Avayla had never seen before. Her long, mid-back length hair was a magnificent shade of dark purple that framed her sharp features perfectly.

She absolutely radiated head alpha energy.

But one thing didn't make sense...

Avayla had already sensed a head alpha in the three surrounding Theo, right?

"Stand down." The new alpha said again.

Ava... Theo's voice was weak in her head, but Avayla still turned to him out of habit.

That movement caused the three wolves to pin their ears back and growl at her in warning.

Stay down. Avayla warned. I have no idea what is going on, but I will get us out of here.

Silence fell over the small clearing. From what Avayla could sense, she was up against five alphas. The only betas she could sense was Theo and Maria.

"Where are my children?" Avayla asked, staring down the new alpha.

Siyeon was the one to answer her. "They are safe. We haven't harmed them."

Avayla rounded on the alpha she had though she could trust. "Haven't harmed them? Tell me. Where. Are. My. Children?! What are we doing here?! I want answers. NOW!"

"We only want to help you." Siyeon's forehead creased in concern and she stepped forward. "But we need you to stay calm. I'll explain everything."

"Siyeon has told me much about you." The other alpha said. "Thank you for helping her when she was wounded."

The other three alphas shifted back, and while they immediately bowed their heads with respect, the first thing Avayla noticed was they were wearing leather armor as well. She tilted her head in confusion, wondering how it was possible that the armor shifted with them.

A soft but bright chuckle came from Siyeon. "Neat, huh? There's a lot we can show you when we get home."

"What?" Avayla turned back to her and shook her head. "What are you talking about? I do-"

The semi-calm they had created was interrupted by a familiar howl.

The hair on Avayla's neck and arms stood on end when an orange furred wolf burst from yet another tent.

It was Serena.

What was she doing here?

Everything was so overwhelming, Avayla was unable to move. It was like her entire body locked up as she watched Serena run for the purple-haired alpha.

The other three shifted back into their wolves in one fluid motion before charging forward. They surrounded the threat and ganged up on her to try and force her into submission.

Because of the distraction, Theo was able to pick himself up from the ground and he started running toward Avayla. This drew the attention of one of the wolves and she turned to give him a warning growl.

Which of course he didn't hear. And Avayla wasn't thinking clearing enough to even process what was going on.

It was like watching a scene in slow motion.

Serena was overpowered and thrown to the ground, then pinned by the two alphas over her.

Siyeon held up a hand and called for Theo to stop at the same the third alpha charged forward.

And all Theo could do was focus on getting to his alpha.

Avayla screamed when teeth closed around his outstretched arm. He cried out too, turning to look at the wolf with surprise, which quickly turned to fear when the wolf yanked back and threw him across the field.

"THEO!" Avayla was quick to run after him, ignoring all warnings for her to stay still. She had to beat the wolf, who was charging forward to attack him once more. "Stop! Please! He doesn't understand!"

She could hear her mate calling out for her through their link, but things were so frenzied she was having a hard time understanding him. That didn't stop her from feeling his pain though. She felt each individual tooth that had punctured his arm and was now seeping blood.

Trying to think quick, she rammed into the side of the black wolf in front of her, sending them both rolling to the side. "Leave my mate alone! He doesn't understand what is going on!"

"Everyone stop." The purple-haired alpha said. The power had returned to her voice. It was strong, even without her wolf behind it. And everyone listened to her, except Theo.

Anger flashed in her eyes for a second, but she allowed Avayla to run to him and pull him close. It's ok. I'm here. You're ok.

A-A-Avie... Theo whimpered and used his good arm to pull her close, scenting her neck to try and calm himself down. She did the same, using her pheromones to ease his stress as best she could.

"That's one disobedient beta you've got there."

Avayla growled and snapped her head to look at the alpha. "How dare you. You know nothing!"

"I know only what Siyeon told me, and it wasn't much about your chosen mate. We can help you control him better."

Rage and disgust surged forward. It took every ounce of strength Avayla had to not lunge forward and rip the bitch's head off where she stood. "Theo is twice the wolf you'll ever be! You will not touch my mate EVER again."

"Then he needs to learn to obey."

"HE CAN'T HEAR YOU!!" Avayla roared back at her. All five unfamiliar alphas froze in place, as if trying to fully understand what she was saying.

Theo knew right away, though, and he curled into her chest with a little whimper. She didn't even have to speak through their link for him to sense her anger at the situation.

Siyeon was the first to step forward, her hand clasped over her chest, and she shook her head a little. "I'm sorry, I- I didn't know."

A growl ripped from Avayla's throat and she tightened her grip on her mate. "Is this the thanks I get for trying to help you? You kidnap me and my family and then attack and insult my mate?"

A low rumble of agreement came from Serena and for the first time the two semi-pack mates made eye contact. The confusion was clear in Serena's eyes, as well as the fear. She was cut off from everything. Since the twins had broken off from the pack, there was no way for her and Avayla to communicate.

Even so, Avayla tried to send her the silent message that she was going to figure this out and get them out of here.

"That was not our intention." The other alpha said, moving to stand next to Siyeon and place a hand on her shoulder. "There is a lot that needs to be discussed. I offer my sincerest apology for harming your mate. We did not realize that he is... different."

Avayla winced at her words and growled once more.

Just as she was about to snap back, yet another tent flap opened and a sixth female alpha stepped out while holding Maria's hand. In her other arm was Kendra. Both girl's eyes were red and still glistening with tears.

The whine that came from both parents when they sensed their children was one of relief and anguish, especially because Theo was too afraid to move and Avayla couldn't leave him.

But luckily they let Maria run forward. She threw her arms around Avayla's neck and started to cry once more. "M-Mama!"

Avayla couldn't even bring herself to speak as she held her eldest close. Theo was quick to push himself up and press several kisses to his daughter's cheek and hair, even nuzzling her gently to give her as much affection as possible.

Soft cries came from Kendra as well. The other alpha brought her over and gently passed her into Avayla's arms.

A sense of feeling whole again washed over her as she glanced at her family. At least they were together. Right now, that was the most important thing, and really the only thing she could focus on as she pressed her tear soaked lips to Kendra's forehead.

Serena was eventually allowed to come over and join them as well. She was given a blanket-like shawl to wrap around herself once she had shifted back and she quickly took up a place by Avayla, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing.

"Now that we have calmed down a little, allow me to introduce myself." The purple haired alpha bowed her head. "My name is Minji. You've already know Siyeon, and this is Bora, Handong, and Yubin," She motioned to the three alphas that had been fighting them, "And Yoohyeon," She nodded her head to the alpha that had been with Kendra and Maria.

"What do you want with us?" Serena asked, speaking up when all Avayla could do was attempt to take a shaky breath."

A smile that could be described as warm and welcoming crossed Minji's face, then appeared on the rest of the group. "To give you the life you deserve."