"Mama? How long are we going to stay here?" Chan asked as he curled into Wooyoung's side.

Their pack had taken the larger bedroom, but Wooyoung and Chan had come with Stephen and the twins into their room for the night and were laying down on the large bed.

"I'm not sure." The omega answered honestly. His eyes drifted to Lorelai, who was sleeping on his other side. Lizbeth was holding onto her from behind, though the arm on top was stretched out to rest on Wooyoung's stomach.

Stephan had chosen a seat near the door so he could be by it and watch the window at the same time. His alpha pheromones  kept coming in waves, giving away how much he was struggling to stay in control. "I want to leave as soon as possible." He growled softly.

"I do too." Wooyoung agreed. "But I think we also need to consider the possible benefits of staying, even for just a few days."

"The more time we waste playing house, the longer my sister is in danger."

"And my mate, the father of your mate and my children." Wooyoung said harshly. Then with a sigh, he watched Stephan slump in defeat. "I know it's hard, but we need to be smart and make sure we are looking out for each other."

"I know. I'm sorry." Stephan offered a crooked smile, which Wooyoung returned with his own loving grin. "You don't have to worry about anything. I'll help Jongho protect everyone."

Wooyoung's chest warmed with pride. "I would never doubt it." He looked back at his daughters, his wolf bursting with happiness at having them both by his side. "You and Serena have both been good alphas to my girls."

Lorelai let out a quiet groan and shifted in place. Wooyoung was quick to fit a hand to run his fingers through her long, golden hair. She made a contact sound while trying to press closer to him, which made Lizbeth move too.

Both Wooyoung and Stephan watched them with pure love in their eyes. Even Chan's lips tugged up slightly before he yawned and hurried his nose into Wooyoung's chest.

His heart felt so incredibly full at that exact moment, except for the fact that his mate wasn't there.

He'd felt something in him break earlier when Seonghwa had collapsed in Gunner's arms after sensing something wrong with Mingi... It was so hard to watch a member of his family go through that, especially when he thought about how little contact Seonghwa had with his mate...

Because of the Soulmate bond, Wooyoung was able to sense San all hours of the day. He knew his alpha had been hungry for a couple of days, just as he knew that San was being forced to do some kind of physical labor that made his muscles ache. But he also knew that San was safe, maybe not fully since they still had no idea where he was, but he wasn't being hurt or tortured.

That small bit of knowledge was what allowed Wooyoung this moment to relax and comfort his daughters.

His thoughts drifted back to his earlier mini spat with his best friend. While he didn't agree with how Wooseok had been acting with Jongho, in fact, he'd wanted to rip the omega's arms off when he tried to hold Jongho's hands, Wooyoung also noticed that Jongho's attention had always returned to Yunho. There hadn't been any stray looks, changes in Jongho's scent, or any indication at all that seeing Wooseok would change anything.

And Wooyoung hated seeing the alpha so upset over Yunho ignoring him. So, he'd taken it upon himself to remind Yunho of just how special Jongho was and all the amazing things Jongho had done to show his love.

The unintelligible grumbles he'd received in return was the only answer Wooyoung needed for a smug look to cross his face, which stayed during most of the meeting discussions what the pack wanted to do next.

It was decided that they would stay here for a couple of days to start with. During that time, they would rest, recover their strength, and talk to the other pack members to see what they could uncover.

The one piece of hope they had was the fact that this pack consisted of wolves from several other packs

Any shred of information would be enough for them. If they could even just discover what direction they needed to go...

Wooyoung was up early the next morning. He carefully slipped out of his children's arms and made his way to the kitchen. Last night he'd happily discovered that it was fully stocked, so he wanted to do something nice for his pack while making sure they had energy for the day.

Hand cut and cured bacon sizzling on a large frying pan was what started to summon his family one by one.

Seonghwa and Yeosang were the first to arrive. All three of them exchanged comforting hugs, then stayed close together while continuing to cook.

Chan was the next to come, sticking by Wooyoung's side until he was asked to set the table. He jumped a the chance to help, only stopping to greet Rhodey with a wide grin when the young beta joined them.

If it weren't for the fact that he was cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen, Wooyoung felt like this could be the start of a normal day for their family.

But it wasn't... Several very large holes made themselves present in the way Hongjoong wasn't clinging to Yeosang, or Mingi wasn't on track to fall back asleep on the couch, or San wasn't pressing a soft kiss to the back of Wooyoung's neck...

The omega sighed softly and focused on his link with his mate. For now, San seemed o be alright. It felt like he was tired, maybe a little stressed, but still not hurt.

Wooyoung tried to fill his thoughts with how much he missed and loved his alpha, praying that San would feel it... somehow.

Once everyone had gathered and eaten, they decided to split into groups when they ventured out of the house.

Stephan, Lizbeth, and Lorelai would ask for information in the southern part of town. Seonghwa, Gunner, Wooyoung, Chan, and Rhodey would check the northern side. While that happened, Jongho, Yunho, and Yeosang would offer their services for hunting.

Jongho expressed his unease at everyone breaking apart, but once they worked it so that each group had an alpha he calmed down a tiny bit.

"Let's stay in contact, as much as we can." The alpha said, looking at his pack with worried eyes. Then he turned to Stephan, "We will meet back here for dinner?"

The other alpha nodded once. "We will be here. If we find anything, we will look for Wooyoung and Seonghwa so they can contact you."

Off to the side, Wooyoung took a moment to hug the twins. "Be careful." He whispered with a a kiss to each of their temples.

"Don't worry, we will." Lizbeth said, grabbing Lorelai's hand. "And you," she used her other hand to ruffle Chan's hair with a playful giggle.

"Take care of Mama." Lorelai finished for her sister.

Chan grumbled and stepped out of his sister's reach. "Don't I always?" He huffed.

"Ready?" Stephan asked, coming up to stand next to his mate. When everyone was in agreement, they exited the cabin and broke off into their smaller groups.

As if he knew, Wooseok appeared a few seconds later and smiled widely at Jongho. "Good morning!"

"Morning." Jongho answered with a quick nod of his head while grabbing Yunho's hand.

The omega hesitated and tried to cover it up by looking at everyone. "Where are you going? Can I direct you anywhere?"

"Actually, you can take me to whoever I need to see about helping with hunting." Jongho said with a kind grin, which only grew wider when Wooseok clasped his hands in front of his chest and gasped.

"You're staying?!"

"For a few days."

"Oh this is wonderful news! Come, we will get you signed up. A few of the alphas were-" The omega continued his babbling happily, walking on Jongho's other side as that group disappeared.

Chan crinkled his nose, scrunching it in a way that made him look even more like a mini San, then grabbed Wooyoung's hand to start pulling him north.

The omega exchanged an amused glance with Seonghwa as his pack mate fell into step beside him.

They started to observe their surroundings, taking in every little detail they could

A weird sense of déjà vu started to creep over Wooyoung. To some extent, he felt like he was back with Ultima...

Everywhere he looked the pack was doing things to help each other. In one area, a trio was clearing out some vegetation to lay down garden boxes. A few minutes later, they passed a large log building with only three walls that housed giant fire pits and wood-burning stoves where a few omegas and betas were baking bread.

One of them, an older female, came forward to offer them a loaf fresh from the oven. "To help keep you warm."

"Thank you." Seonghwa took it and immediately broke off pieces to give the kids. "Would you mind if we asked you a couple questions?"

"Not at all, Sweetie." She smiled and tilted her head in a way that reminded Wooyoung of Maria. Seonghwa and Gunner must have thought the same thing, because they both sucked in a breath.

After a few seconds, they were able to ask the omega what she knew of the surrounding area, where she was from, and if she knew or heard of any other packs in the area.

A couple others stopped to also answer the questions as well when they grew curious about the growing group.

They learned that this really was a pac of misfits. Most claimed they joined because they lost their old pack, or most of their old pack, and they missed the feeling of being with others. A few younger ones had decided to stay after the sickness had orphaned them, too scared to venture out on their own.

Nothing but good things were said about Minhyung and the other alpha leaders. They helped to keep the pack strong, both physically and emotionally.

A few had been bitter at first, scared that letting so many alphas lead them would create another 'Alpha Pack', but they had been the ones who weren't from Minhyung's pack originally.

Dividing responsibilities between all the alphas had helped ease tensions, too, and now they had a good system to help everyone.

They had settled in this area about fifteen or so years ago, deciding they liked how secluded it was. The wild game was usually plentiful, although the harsh winter had hit them hard as well.

In the end, only one or two of the pack members they spoke to had any information that could possibly be considered relevant.

One, a younger female beta, said she'd noticed tracks heading deeper into the mountains during one hunting trip, but they had been old and that had been several months ago.

Another beta, a wise looking male, mentioned  that south of them was a large game trail that was one of the safest ways to go over the mountains. The deer liked to travel it because far to the west the grass started growing earlier in the year.

"Has anyone gone to explore the trail at all?" Gunner asked.

"Not all the way to the end." The beta admitted. "I've gone for a couple hours, but I didn't want to continue in the dark, and it hasn't been important enough to us to form a scouting team. There's never been any threat that's come from that direction."

Seonghwa pursed his lips and crossed his arms. "Have there been any threats at all recently?"

The group in front of them all exchanged contemplative glances, then the beta spoke up again, "Not for a few years, and even then I can't really say they were a threat, just some travelers passing through. They were looking for someone from their pack too, some omega."

Wooyoung froze and tried not to give away that his anxiety immediately shot through the roof. Had Ultima come this far out to try and find him?

His question was answered when Chan stiffened next to him and turned to look at where the crowd was parting.

There was no questioning it, yet Wooyoung couldn't believe who he saw walking toward him.

His heart ached for some reason he didn't fully understand.

No... that wasn't true.

He knew why part of him acted like this. He knew...

"Mama..." Chan whispered, his nostrils flaring as he scented the air.

Seonghwa took a step forward, a low growl rumbling deep in his chest, which made the wolves from the hosting pack either back away or bristle.

But Wooyoung only had eyes for the older omega walking toward him with tears in his eyes.

"Hello, Sir."

Wooyoung sucked in a breath, his heart beating even faster than before. "Hello, Lionel."