Seonghwa swiped at the ground with his dirt covered paw while letting how an angry snarl. He was exhausted from running all over their territory in search of his mate.

Plus he was upset with himself too... He had let his rage blind him.

How could he be so foolish?

To not even notice that his mate had gone...

He whined to himself while looking around the area where Mingi's scent still lingered. There was no trail from this place, just the hint of it spiking from what was probably a surprise attack before it was swallowed by at least ten other intermingling scents.

Seonghwa, come back. Jongho said, a gentle and understanding tone to his voice. He was doing everything he could to manage the stress of his pack.

But-

You've been out there for hours and keep ending up at the same spot. Come back. We have a plan.

The omega sighed and took one last look around the area, hoping to notice something, anything. But everything looked exactly the same.

Reluctantly, he turned around and trotted home to where his pack was waiting for him.

He was happy to see Gunner waiting for him once he shifted back and changed. Trinity was at his side, hugging his waist with her tiny arms. "Hi Mom." He said softly.

Seonghwa stopped next to him to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "Hi Sweetheart. How are you doing?" He lifted a hand to run it through his son's brown hair.

"Alright. Uncle Jongho is getting impatient so we came out here."

"Oh boy." The omega sighed and shook his head. "Well let's go and see what we are going to do next."

"Is Papa going to be ok?" Trinity asked, a slight tremble to her voice.

Seonghwa did his best to give her a reassuring smile. He wished the youngest's of their pack didn't have to go through this kind of heartache.

Why wouldn't they just live out their lives in peace...?

"Your Papa is one of the strongest alphas I know. He's going to be just fine." He poked her nose with his finger, making her giggle, before the three of them stepped inside the pack house.

Everyone was already gathered in the living room, including Trenton, Jade, and Riley.

Jongho was talking quietly with Riley, with Jade by his side listening attentively. On the couch, Wooyoung was nestled next to Yunho, they were holding hands and leaning into each other for support, while the twins and Stephan stood off to the side. Chan and Rhodey were sitting on the floor, looking between all the grown ups in the room with confused expressions.

Once Jongho sensed Seonghwa, he turned to face the room and looked at everyone in turn. "We've been here before, and we've always succeeded as long as we stick together. I think it's safe to assume that Siyeon's pack is behind everyone's disappearance, so we will start the search where we found Siyeon to begin with." His shoulder's drooped a little before he spoke again. "I hope we will run into Hongjoong and San as well but... we will see what happens."

"I will stay behind and wait for Father." Riley stepped forward with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked like Hongjoong in so many ways, holding himself with the air of the wonderful head alpha he had grown up to be. "I can't afford to leave my pack right now, so I will stay and look after the place while waiting to see if him and Uncle San return. The kids are welcome to come and stay with us t-"

"No!" Chan and Rhodey said at the same time. The young alpha stood up and turned to look at Wooyoung.

"I'm not staying!"

"It's too dangerous for you to go." Jongho said, his voice gaining an uncommon sternness to it. "We don't know what we will be facing.

Now Chan rounded on him and puffed his chest out a little. "I can fight! I'm strong!"

"Chan." Wooyoung slid off the couch to kneel in front of his son. "We don't want to see you get hurt."

"No! I want to protect you!" Chan threw his arms around Wooyoung's neck and shook his head. "Papa is gone, you need an alpha."

"I have Jongho for that." The omega said gently, looking to the rest of his pack for help.

Before anyone else could answer, Rhodey stood up and looked at Yeosang. "I want to go too. I want to help you find Dad. Please?"

"Me too!" Trinity spoke up too, tugging on Seonghwa's shirt.

"Oh no, Little Miss, there is no way you are coming." Seonghwa shook his head quickly. "This is going to be no place for a sweet omega to go."

Shiny tears came to the girl's eyes and she turned to her brother. "Gunner, tell Mama I'm going!"

"No, you're not." Gunner sighed and crouched in front of her. "I want you to stay here with Riley, where you'll be safe."

Hearing her brother say that caused the little girl to start bawling. She refused to let her family comfort her and instead ran over to Trenton to bury her face in his stomach.

"I'll stay too." The omega said softly, running his hand over the back of her head.

Gunner nodded once, as if he had already intended on suggesting that.

At the front of the room, Jongho let out a long sigh. "I agree Trinity should stay, but... I don't think we can stop the boys. They have done well with training, and having another alpha present would probably help."

Chan stood up even straighter and nodded at Jongho in thanks. "I won't let you down, I promise."

Worry flowed off Wooyoung and Yeosang, but neither argued.

With that decided, the pack started to gather supplies for their journey. Large sacs were placed in the kitchen to be filled with food, clothes, and blankets.

Seonghwa watched it all, trying not to stress himself out with how worried he was. They were setting out without any kind of destination in mind and a hunch.

But with eight adults and Chan and Rhodey, they should be able to find the rest of their pack and bring them all home safely... right?

.

.

.

.

A deep groan echoed around the room as Mingi started to stir.

He lifted his head up and tried to force his heavy eyelids open. His head throbbed, over and over...

What happened to him? And more importantly... where was he?

The alpha moved his arms to rub his head, only to realize that he couldn't. He glanced at both of them, growling in anger when he realized he had been chained to the wall.

"Hello?!" He shouted, wincing when his voice echoed off the rough, stone walls around him. "HELLO?!"

With a snarl, he tried to pull down with all his strength, hoping to pull his hands free. But all it did was cause the manacles to did into his wrists, slicing the skin and drawing blood.

He had been chained up so he was sitting on the ground. There was no good way for him to leverage himself while bending his legs.

Whoever had taken him and clearly thought things through...

A door creaked off to the left, gaining Mingi's attention. He watched as a slender woman walked in, hips swaying and head held high in confidence. Her deep purple hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. She stopped in front of him, a knowing smile tilting her lips, then said, "Hello Mingi, I'm glad you've finally decided to join us." The scent of peaches filled the room. Even though it was sweet, it was also incredibly strong.

Alpha.

Mingi growled and pulled at the manacles again. "Who are you? Where am I? Where is my pack?"

"All in good time." The woman waved a hand back and forth. "My name is Nova, and we have a lot to talk about."

"What do you want?" Mingi tried to calm himself down knowing that getting angry wasn't going to do much to help him right now.

"It's not what I want. It's what you'll do to keep what you have." She smirked. "Interested?"

"Do I have a choice?"

She chuckled. "Not really. You see, Mingi, I want your daughter."

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!"

"It's too late for that. She's already here. Along with her mate and two lovely daughters."

Mingi's jaw dropped at the same time his heart did. "No..."

"Oh yes. Thanks to my precious Siyeon, we now have everything we need."

"For what?" Mingi asked, not missing the defeated tone in his voice.

"I want an empire of alphas, and your daughter is the perfect addition."

Just hearing that made Mingi's stomach roil. "I hate to tell you, but it's been done before. The last wolf that made an army of alphas failed."

"And your father had the right idea." Nova chuckled when Mingi froze in shock. "That' right, I know who you are. You're a Song. Your father was on track to reach his goal. If only he had used all female alphas instead. Male alphas have so much testosterone." She said the world as if disgusted by the very thought of it, an awful sneer distorting her face. "So much violence. Females are more... level-headed. Not to mention stronger because of our genetic makeup. Your daughter belongs here. And with Song blood running in her veins, she has great power and potential."

Mingi couldn't believe what he was hearing. Having to go through this with his father in the past was one thing, but going through it a second time? "And... what does this have to do with me?"

"I want more females. The odd beta and omega every now and then is ok, but if you could produce a powerful and beautiful alpha like Avayla with your precious omega, imagine an alpha bred from you and another alpha."

"You're sick! There's no way I'd every do that!" Mingi tried to pull his arms free once more, a growl coming from deep within his throat. "I refuse!"

Nova's gaze turned dark and she growled in return. It was fueled with the power of a head alpha, making Mingi shudder at the dominance. "Then Avayla will lose everything. You will be chained and imprisoned with the other alphas I have gathered. Jongho will join you too if he comes looking for you. Yunho can't have pups, so he will be sent to work or used as a toy. Poor Theo is useless to me since he can't communicate, so he will be killed and leave Avayla to suffer loosing her mate." Her words were so cold, slicing through Mingi like a knife and forcing him into submission, even though she had yet to call upon her wolf. "And if I ever see Seonghwa, he will be sold as a sex slave. I can't guarantee the next alpha that forces themselves on him will be as charming as you."

"You... You won't win this!" Mingi shouted, trying to keep his confidence up, even though hearing an already thought out plan on how to destroy his family ruined him.

"But that's the beauty of this!" Nova held her arms wide and tipped her head back in a menacing laugh, "You already belong to me! You only have two choices here. You can give up your family or your stubborn alpha pride. Either way, you're going to be someone's bitch. Might as well take the choice that benefits you and your family. But once you decide, you can't change your mind. I'm being more than generous here. You have one day to decide. Choose wisely Song Mingi."

With that, his captor spun around and marched out of the room, leaving a speechless Mingi behind her.

He knew there wasn't really a choice. There was no way he'd every let anything happen to Avayla. Although knowing that he was close to her gave him a little bit of hope. If they were in the same pack then maybe he could devise a way to get them out of here...

As long as he could get out of this prison.

Being used to give more female alphas... Was this punishment for being from Alpha Pack? For his father? Had fate finally caught up to him for all the foul things he had done...?

He didn't know. But for the first time in a long time, Mingi was terrified.

Nova knew so much about him already, what else did she know about his family? What had Siyeon told her?

For her to mention Jongho's name... and Theo... If she did anything to Theo, Mingi would never forgive himself...

The alpha sagged in his bonds, defeat weighing heavily on his shoulders.

He didn't need a day.

The decision was already made.