Running didn't work out as well as Mingi had originally hoped. In his panic, he'd forgotten that he couldn't see anything... So as soon as he got out of his room, he ended up slamming into the concrete lining the hallway.

He grunted and shook his head, blinking rapidly as if that would clear his vision.

But it didn't...

All he saw was black.

Despite the panic that threatened to take over, Mingi gave himself over to his wolf and trusted his instincts.

He whirled on the spot and slapped his hand against the open door to his room. When he felt it swing shut, he followed it and fumbled and until he could turn the lock.

The loud click reverberated in his head a few times before it was drowned out by Nova's unearthly screeches.

He didn't want to stick around to see if someone came looking for her, so Mingi started to feel his way along the wall.

It felt like it took him ages to get anywhere, and it left him feeling so incredibly frustrated.

Mingi kept his arms extended in front of him and slid forward so that he could feel his way with his foot. Each movement was slow and calculated, yet he tried to be hasty in his desperation to escape.

When he eventually found a set of stairs, his heart started to race. For the first time in... months? He wasn't sure, but he finally smelled fresh, clean air.

With freedom so close, the alpha stooped over to crawl up the stairs on his hands and knees. He decided to stay on them when he reached the top, feeling safer being closer to the ground as he tried to follow his nose to the exit.

It took him several minutes, during which Nova's screams of outrage continue to grow louder and louder, before he managed to find what he believed was a door.

By now he was weeping softly. He'd tried to stay strong but...

He was terrified.

How was he supposed to... to do anything like this?

With a broken sob, the alpha guided his hands up the door, searching for the handle.

Nova's voice continued to grow louder, although it kept cracking. Maybe she would wear it out enough to where she couldn't talk...

But Mingi guessed that someone would be here long before that. She must have contacted someone by now.

And to top things off, the door was locked.

Mingi tried to find some way to get it open, however his shaking hands made it nearly impossible to feel his way around.

So he decided to try brute force.

The first time he slammed against the door made him scream in pain as fire exploded in his shoulder and down his back and arm.

He knew then that his body was too weak for this. There was barely any muscle to cushion each repeated blow to his shoulder as he rammed the door again. And again.

And again.

Eventually, the pain simply went away. For a split second, the alpha wondered if maybe he'd done permanent damage...

That thought didn't last long, though, because suddenly the door burst open and he was falling down several stairs.

Mingi tried to catch himself, but since he couldn't see how far away the ground was, he couldn't judge where to hold his arms.

That, couple with the unfortunately realization that he couldn't even lift his right arm, caused him to land face and chest first on the ground.

Leaves, sticks, and stones scratched at his exposed skin. Pure agony coursed through him.

Then... hands. Trembling hands tried to pull him up by his injured arm.

Fear and pain made Mingi recoil with a mangled cry. "Get away! P-Please, just let me go!"

The sound of rustling came from in front of him, along with a soft, pleading whimper.

"Please, please, I c-can't t-take anymore!" The desperate alpha tried to curl in on himself, hiding behind his left arm as if it could shield him.

"Alright, easy. We aren't going to hurt you." A man said. "What happened? Where did you come from?"

Mingi tried to take a deep breath so he could calm down a little. From what he could tell, the man wasn't threatening. Yet...

After a few seconds he was able to tell there were three betas in front of him, which was wonderfully refreshing after being around only alphas for so long.

Despite their obvious stress, there was still the expected calm that came with being around betas. It eased Mingi's panic some and allowed him to relax just a touch.

Especially when... Fir?

He smelled fir trees.

"Theo?" He whispered.

A familiar, gangly body slammed into him a second later and Theo started to nuzzle into his neck on the left side.

Hot tears rolled down his back, and Mingi could feel his own dripping from his cheeks. "Theo... I-I c-can't..."

"I don't know what is happening, but we should leave." A woman said softly. The other beta.

What was Theo doing with them? Was he a prisoner too? Where...

"Where is Ava?" Mingi asked, a new fear starting to bloom within his heart. He tilted his head in the direction the thought Theo's eyes were and said again, "Where is Ava??"

Theo shifted in his arms, maybe to sit up, and Mingi tried to reach for him.

He missed... and fell to the side.

"Easy!" The man hissed, then strong hands gripped his left bicep. "Let's go."

Even though he had someone helping him stand, Mingi still struggled and had to keep his arm extended in front of him.

Pathetic... He was useless and pathetic like this...

A new wave of tears came and the alpha fell back to his knees. "I-I..." He took a deep, ragged breath that turned into a horrible coughing fit.

"Theo wants to know why you aren't answering him." The female asked.

The question was so painfully familiar, yet it felt so wrong not coming from his daughter.

Mingi wailed. He wailed like a little kid lost in the woods without their mother.

Everything was wrong... so, so wrong... He was so confused... Hundreds of questions begged to be asked, but he didn't know where to start. They began to weigh him down, the pressure building and building and building...

Soon he was bent over and clutching his own chest. Scratching, clawing, gasping for air. All sound started to get hazy as his mind began to fog over.

In a matter of seconds, Mingi lost consciousness.

.

.

.

.

"So if all of them are going to die, why are we still being held here?" Hongjoong grumbled to himself as he and San settled into bed for the night.

After Sungjae's reveal, they'd had to go back to work, and dinner had been spent theorizing more, mostly about the Pure Alpha.

Now that it was just the two of them, Hongjoong wanted to get San's thoughts on everything before he made a decision.

"The only thing I can think of is because of Ava." The younger alpha said, his voice soft, as it had been all night since he'd started thinking about his family. "Maybe Nova expected her to put up a fight or... something."

"She has barely even seen Ava! None of this makes sense!"

"No..."

Hongjoong sat up in bed and turned to face Sun, crossing his legs. "What's wrong?"

"Just in my head, I guess."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hongjoong could feel the pain coming from his friend and wanted to comfort him, but he also sensed that San was confused about his own thoughts, so he didn't wan to push things.

"It's silly, really. But I can't help but wonder... What would I be like if my parents... my family... hadn't abandoned me?"

"Those peoples aren't your family, Sannie, not even close. They never would have deserved you anyway."

San's lips lifted slightly in a small grin. "Thanks, Joong."

The older nodded and sat for a long moment, sifting through his thoughts before speaking again. "If Nova is sick, I don't want to wait any longer. Tomorrow I want to speak with Avayla."

Now San turned to look at him, blinking once. He sent his feelings through their link, showing he was ready to agree with whatever Hongjoong was about to say.

Hongjoong sat a little straighter and knew his eyes flashed red for just a second. "I want to leave tomorrow night."

.

.

.

.

When Mingi came to, the first thing he noticed was that he was in a bed.

This sparked an instant moment of panic. He cried out and sat up, then whimpered in pain when his right shoulder exploded with fire and knives  as he tried to lift his arm.

"Easy." The man from earlier said and a hand gently guided him back so he was laying down once more, although a couple of pillows had been placed behind him so he could be propped up a little. "You're safe. My name is Angelo and you're in my home."

Mingi's lower lip trembled. "Wh-What happened?"

"That's what I would like to know."

The door opened, cutting off their conversation, and Mingi instantly sensed Theo. He lifted his good arm toward the sound and sighed with relief when Theo sat on the side of the bed and took his hand in one of his own.

"Theo has been very worried about you."

"My daughter, where is my daughter? Where is Avayla?" Mingi moved his head back and forth between where he thought their faces were.

The sound of writing came from Theo's side of the bed, which answered Mingi's question of how they'd been communicating. It took a few minutes for him to finish, then Mingi felt him reach toward him.

Shame started to rise within him. He had no idea where his eyes were looking, but he knew it probably wasn't at the paper shaking softly in front of him.

No one spoke for several long seconds, then Mingi felt Angelo lean over to take the paper from Theo. More writing began as Angelo started to read aloud. "I haven't told Avayla yet, I've been blocking our link. I didn't want to get her hopes up in case I was wrong about catching your scent. What happened to you? How long have you been here?"

Mingi didn't know where to start. He knew Theo wanted answers, but he needed some of his own too. Although a lot of both would probably be given through telling their stories.

So he started from what he could remember. He remembered going to Avayla and Theo's home after they'd been taken and preparing to search for them when he'd been hit over the head. Then he woke up in that damn room...

When he started getting into what Nova had done to him, Angelo tried to argue with him, tell him that it couldn't be true, but the more Mingi talked, the quieter the beta became. The physical proof was undeniable at this point. Mingi was thin, he could feel it and he knew they had to see it. Without the ability to do anything physical like he was used to, and the fact that he'd pretty much stopped eating due to the pain and depression, he couldn't even imagine what he must look like...

"I just don't understand..." Angelo said softly. His hesitation was evident, but Mingi also detected some defeat in his tone. "Why would she do this?"

"Why does anyone want more alphas?" Mingi couldn't help the scoff that joined his question. To him the answer was obvious.

Nova had to be planning something. All the signs were there.

She would have gotten along great with his father...

Angelo sighed softly, then the sound of paper being passed between the two betas came again. "Avayla, the girls, and I have been fine," Angelo said softly. "We were given a house to live in when we arrived and no one has tried to harm us. Serena has been with us too, and while she's been uncooperative sometimes, she has not been harmed either. Uncle Hongjoong and Uncle San are here too, al-"

"What?!" Mingi sat up a little straighter, surprise making his heart race. That was the last thing he'd expected to hear. And oh how he wanted to start crying again at the thought of seeing his alpha.

Theo squeezed his hand, telling him that it was true and he would explain more later, so Angelo continued reading. "Although they have been held against their will and forced to work in the fields..." The beta's voice tapered off a little. "What...? No one has ever been... I don't understand..."

"I don't think any of us do... but my question is, what are you going to do about it?" Mingi asked, trying and failing to keep his voice from trembling.

He heard the beta sigh. "I don't know... But let me start by at least helping you reconnect with your pack, and then we can go from there. Is that alright?"

Mingi felt Theo squeeze his hand again. It was that gentle motion that gave Mingi the strength to nod his head.

For now, all they could do was take this one step at a time... and pray that Nova didn't destroy them all.