Hongjoong stared down at the large gathering of wolves, and for what was probably the first time in his life... he didn't know what to do.

There were too many wolves in their way, too many unknown factors, too many risks...

Joong... Yeosang extended his neck to press his nose to his mate's shoulder.

The alpha shook his head and swiped a hand across his eyes. "Eunkwang, is there anything else?"

The older was quiet, eyes narrowed with focus. Hyunsik must be talking to him.

Seonghwa and Gunner started to grow more and more restless, barely containing their whines of stress and worry.

They were running out of time.

Suddenly Eunkwang spun in place, face set with determination and concentration. "Hongjoong, shift. Then all of you follow my lead." His eyes flick to Rhodey and Chan for a second, but when both boys stood a little straigher he continued, "You stay by me, don't stop for anything until we get to those posts."

"But how are we going to do that?" Hongjoong asked.

"Hyunsik is going to create a diversion. Changsub is on his way, and so are Minhyuk and Sungjae. They will draw most of the attention and we will slip in and rescue Avayla and the others."

Hongjoong glanced back at the courtyard. "She has all of the Elite?"

"Yes, she's labeled them all as trators."

Who are the Elite? Wooyoung asked.

Seven alphas who used to be Nova's most trusted group. San explained, nervously looking at the rest of his pack. Siyeon is one of them.

Seonghwa snarled, Like hell we are helping that bitch! This is all her fault!

Calm down, Seonghwa, please. A lot has happened since then, and Avayla trusts her. Hongjoong said, adopting a stern tone. If you trust her, then you will help us save her friends.

The omega's displeasure slammed into all of them, but Seonghwa didn't push the subject.

When Hongjoong turned back to Eunkwang, the alpha arched an eyebrow, which Hongjoong dismissed with a shake of his head.

Too Much... There was too much that needed to be explained on both sides, and not enough time to get everyone on the same page.

"We will follow you." Hongjoong said to the other alpha, nodding as a symbol of turning over power.

Eunkwang clenched his jaw, then both alphas shifted once more. The older shook out his deep, chocolate brown coat before turning to Hongjoong and huffing once.

Rhodey, Chan, stay in the middle so you don't get separated from us. Hongjoong pressed his nose to each of their necks in turn, and he recieved a lick on his in return. The rest of you, stay close and follow Eunkwang. You can trust any wolf he directly interacts with, I promise.

His pack bowed their heads to him, even Seonghwa and Yunho, to show him they understood. Even now, even with all the anger and frustration, his pack still treated him with the respect earned by a Head Alpha.

And he loved them so damn much.

With a final nod to his family, Hongjoong turned back around to face Eunkwang.

The alpha bolted in an instant, reaching the top of the hill right as the crowd started screaming.

Hongjoong's ears flicked forward, trying to pinpoint the source of the commotion.

He saw it first. The crowd parted far to their left, causing everyone closer to courtyard to turn in that direction, curious as to what was happening.

Several wolves had fallen into a formation in the shape of a pyramid, slicing through the gathered pack around them like a knife through soft butter.

From what he could tell, they weren't hurting or attacking anyone, just stirring them up and doing exactly what was promised.

Causing the perfect distraction.

Several of the alphas in the courtyard were gathering around Nova, forming a protective ring around her and the alpha holding Maria and Kendra.

Eunkwang noticed it too and took a sharp turn to the right, leading them around the outside of the crowd. They were moving fast enough that most pack members didn't noticed them, those that did took one look at the group of nine wolves and fled the other direction.

But there were still too many people in their way...

And there was always the chance Nova wouldn't fall for the distraction and move forward with the executions.

Either way, they were running out of time.

Hongjoong wouldn't let her destroy his family more than she already had. He couldn't.

Especially with what she'd done to Mingi. The very thought tore at his already broken heart. How could she do that to another wolf? He would never understand the evil that could grow in the hearts of others...

But it still changed nothing. Mingi was his. Mingi was part of his pack and Hongjoong would continue to love and protect him.

Hongjoong would also take revenge for him too.

Nova was now marked for death.

And Hongjoong wanted nothing more than to be the one to rip her apart, piece by agonizing piece.

.

.

.

.

Avayla felt the shift in the pack mere seconds before the screaming started. She allowed herself to tear her gaze away from her daughters for only a few precious seconds to survey what was happening.

Several of the female alphas were trying to force their way through those gathered around the edges to go investgate, while others closed in around Nova to act as some form of protection.

Which was were her daughters were too.

Maria was still crying, her hands gripping the arm that was around her throat now. It wasn't tight, but it was ready to yank her around if needed, keeping her locked against against her captor's side.

She would be the first one Avayla killed.

The alpha zeroed in on her target, then began tugging on her bonds once more with renewed effort.

A surge of violent emotions slammed into her through her link with Theo, fueling her urge to rip someone's throat out.

If she were thinking clearly, she would have tried to contact him to make sure he was alright. But she wasn't. Thoughts were pointless right now.

Feelings and urges ruled her.

She would save her daughters. Nothing else mattered.

And somehow Theo was able to bolster that strength within her simply by fueling his own bloodlust.

"Don't move!" Nova ordered from the center of the courtyard, pointing directly at Avayla. "Or I will give the order to kill your daughters, starting with the youngest so the oldest has to watch."

Maria wailed, both in fear and anger, only to be silenced by a quick jerk from her captor.

Avayla roared into her gag, knowing she couldn't risk shifting now.

She watched Nova closely, taking in how sickly the head alpha looked. Her skin was pale, almost white in some places, and she couldn't stand up straight anymore. It looked like she'd lost something, some part of herself that had contained her strength.

Which meant she would be that much easier to kill.

All around them the screaming continued, but it was getting louder. The gathered pack started looking at each other nervously, many starting to back away or leave all together.

"Get ready to start the executions." Nova looked to one of the alphas next to her. "We end this now."

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.

.

As they got closer to the pack, Theo worked his way around until he found the beta cabins. His hope was that the fighting would have cleared the area out so he could take a moment to try and figure at what had happend.

With the alphas attacking them, he'd worked out that fighting had certainly happened. It's what Angelo had been getting the others ready for when Theo had left with Mingi.

It was what all of them had expected to happen once Nova's plans had been revealed. There was no way she was going to let Mingi leave, not with what she wanted from him. And she'd made it very clear that it didn't matter who got in her way.

But he hadn't expected to see so much damage and... so much death.

His fury all but vanished when he saw how many bodies littered the ground, both human and woIf.

Especially when he recognized some of the betas...

With a whine, Theo started to look around for those he'd grown closest to. He dropped Mingi's hand, moving from body to body.

It broke his heart knowing the pack had fallen into such chaos... How many of these people had known each other? Hunted side by side? Lived next to each other?

Only for Nova to drive a wedge between them because of what she desired.

He wondered if she knew, or ever cared, about all the lives her pack had lost.

Then his heart dropped at of his chest and a wail left his lips. He ran past a couple more bodies before falling to his knees next to one he'd been hoping to not find.

Angelo looked like he'd gone down mid battle. Bite marks marred several parts of his body. There was also a large chunk taken out of his upper shoulder and neck...

With a trembling hand, Theo reached out to close the beta's eyes. Then he closed his own and bowed his head. It was the only way he could think of to honor the beta he'd grown to consider a friend.

A sudden but gentle touch on his shoulder made him jump. His head whipped up, expecting to see Mingi standing over him.

But it wasn't.

Annabelle collapsed into his arms, both of them squeezing as hard as they could to express their support and joy that the other was safe.

When she finally pulled back, Annabelle's eyes were rimmed in red. 'Are you alright?'

Theo nodded and motioned to her in an attempt to ask her the same question.

She bowed slightly, then started to cry, yet still did her best to make sure Theo could see her lips. 'It was awful... They never gave us a chance, it all happened so fast... I did my best to help, but..' She started crying harder, bending over with her face in her hands.

Theo immediately started rubbing her back to try and comfort her, also taking that time to look for his uncle.

Mingi was standing in the middle of the battlefield, head bowed and a look of agony on his face.

Then, both he and Annabelle stilled.

Theo's head jerked back and forth, waiting for one of them to start talking so he could find out what was happening.

He also felt a surge of anger in his bond with Avayla, but when he tried to contact her, it was like there was a wall between them, fueled by her rage and fear.

When Annabelle still didn't say anything, Theo tapped her leg to get her attention.

'There's screaming.' Her lips barely moved as she spoke. 'So much screaming... Something is wrong...'

Theo felt his heart start to beat faster and he quickly tapped his mating mark several times.

Annabelle frowned, looking slightly ashamed. 'I don't know where she is, I've been too busy with all of... this...' She motioned around her, then snapped her head in the same direction as before. 'But I think I knew where she may be.'

When she finished, she turned to face Mingi, and Theo managed to catch the last part of whatever he said. '-me. We have to hurry. Please, can you help us?'

'Of course.' Annabelle said, helping Theo stand with her. 'Follow me.'

She hurried to Mingi and helped him navigate the sea of bodies, then motioned to Theo before going down a side street between some houses.

The beta followed her without a hint of hesitation. He knew Annabelle would do whatever she couId to help.

Just as he knew he was about to see his mate again. See her, protect her, and save her.

He also knew, and accepted, he was going to enter what could possibly be the final moments of his life...