Nervous anxiety churned in Ludwig's stomach as he waited for the patrol group to return. He had suggested Lili go with them, but he didn't realize he would be so uneasy about it. They had been gone an awfully long time, haven't they? Maybe he was just overreacting. It was true that he felt very protective of the girl ever since they had shared a kiss, actually several kisses, in the field of moonlilies. Even more protective than he had before. He couldn't help pacing around the clearing to relieve himself of his nervous energy.

"Just relax, West," Gilbert called. He was lying in the shade to stay cool. "They'll back soon. Lizzie's with them, so what could go wrong?"

Ludwig wanted to be as calm as his brother, but it didn't seem possible at the moment. "It's been too long," he muttered under his breath.

His brother could still hear him due to his sensitive wolf hearing. "Don't make me beat you up, West. It's not going to be pretty."

It would have been laughable to think Gilbert could win in a fight if they were both in their wolf or human forms, but with Ludwig currently in his human form and Gilbert as a wolf, the elder brother might actually stand a chance. Ludwig really wasn't in the mood for a tussle, so he quit pacing before his brother could get any more ideas. Just as he did so, Feliciano and Lovino entered the clearing with freshly caught prey in their mouths.

"Where is everyone?" Feliciano asked.

"Still on patrol," the alpha answered.

The small brown wolf looked concerned and set down his kill. "Still? It seems like they've been gone a long time. Didn't Lili go with them?"

Feliciano's unease only helped to increase Ludwig's anxiety. It would seem that he wasn't the only one who thought they had been gone for too long. Maybe he should send a group after them, just in case. He was about to do so when Antonio appeared from the brush in his human form dragging a young boy behind him.

Lovino stared at the two with exasperation. "You're not supposed to bring the enemy here, you stupid bastard," he growled at the curly haired man.

"Sorry, sorry," Antonio apologized with a smile. "It's just that I caught this guy sneaking around the border, but he won't tell me what he was up to. I thought maybe Ludwig could knock a little sense in him, if you know what I mean." He glanced around the clearing, and his smile faded. "Where's Elizabeta and Lili? They're not back yet?"

A block of cold, hard lead seemed to settle in the pit of Ludwig's stomach. "Why aren't they with you?"

"We got separated when I went to chase this little guy here. I thought they would just come back to the cave since I took so long but…" Antonio trailed off leaving a heavy silence over the group.

"Tell us what you know, you snot-faced brat!" Gilbert growled menacingly as he grabbed the young boy by the collar of his plain red shirt. He had changed back into his human form, and anger in his voice was unmistakable. "If you want to keep that face of yours, you're going to tell us what's going on."

"I-I c-can't!" the boy stuttered out. "I-Ivan would k-kill me…"

"So you really are part of Ivan's pack of lowlives, eh? Tell us what happened to Lizzie or I'll make you regret ever being born!"

"I-I don't k-know what happened t-to the other one! W-we just wanted t-the human!"

"Cut the crap already!"

"Enough, brother," Ludwig said. He felt just as panicky as Gilbert, but as alpha he needed to maintain his composure. "You can do this the easy way, or the hard way," he said to the boy, who now looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Why don't you start by telling us your name."

"I-I'm Ravis, sir."

"Okay, Ravis, tell us what you were doing on our side of the border."

"I-I can't t-tell you that..."

Ludwig cracked his knuckles.

"We were scouting out your territory and waiting for your patrol, sir!" Ravis practically shouted. "We were supposed to only engage you if the human girl was with you! I was designated decoy while Natalya was supposed to get the girl, sir!"

"And why do you need Lili?"

"I'm n-not supposed to say..."

Ludwig grabbed a handful of the boy's curly blonde hair.

"Ivan needs her to turn the humans against you!"

Silence filled the air. Even the birds in the trees seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and ceased their chatter. Expressions of shock and disbelief appeared on everyone's faces except for Ludwig and Ravis. They continued to stare at each other. The former trying to figure out what Ivan was up to, and the latter hoping to not have his face smashed in. The rest of the pack began to shake off their stupor and shared grim expressions. It was no stretch of the imagination to figure out the implications of what Ravis had said. Ivan was planning to take over everything.

"We need to find Elizabeta," Ludwig said in a low, controlled voice. "We don't know if Lili was taken, so they might be hiding somewhere together." He looked at Antonio. "Can you take us to where she was?"

"Yeah, it was right on the eastern border."

"You and Gilbert are coming with me. The rest of you are going to stay behind until we get back." The alpha looked at Feliciano and Lovino. "Don't let him get away," he said indicating Ravis. "And don't do anything rash. Just stay here and watch the cave."

"Be careful!" Feliciano called as the three in the search party took off for the forest.

Ludwig transformed mid-stride and followed Antonio as they ran at full speed through the shade. Gilbert ran close behind, a look of determination on his face. They didn't slow for anything and jumped straight over any obstacles in their way. Ludwig felt his heart pounding in his ears. He concentrated on running so he wouldn't think about Lili being gone. No, she might still be okay. There was a chance that she and Elizabeta had gotten away. He held onto that glimmer of hope to keep from going crazy.

"It's just up ahead," Antonio said. "We should be there any-"

They weren't expecting what awaited them.

Large gouges had been made in the earth to indicate that some kind of struggle had taken place,and loose bits of fur blew through the air every time a breeze disturbed the area. The worst part was the blood. There was so much blood that Ludwig had a hard time believing that whatever had been bleeding could still be alive. A large pool of the crimson liquid had soaked the ground in one spot, but there wasn't a body anywhere to be seen. The only clue that had been left was a trail leading toward the shared border with Ivan's pack. No one said a word for the longest time.

"This isn't…...this can't...it's not…" Gilbert stumbled forward as if in a daze. He tentatively sniffed a large clump of fur and recoiled as if struck. "Lizzie." He shot off in the direction of the blood trail.

"Brother!"

The two other wolves followed behind as quickly as they could while making sure not to step in any of the gore. Ludwig wrinkled his nose against the strong odor of blood and instead focused on following his brother. Nothing could be seen of him except for the occasional flash of white through the brush. It was impossible to follow the white wolf by smell due to the lingering stench of blood, which seemed to be growing stronger with each passing minute. They broke through a thick patch of bushes to see him sniffing something on the ground.

"Please, no. Please. Lizzie, open your eyes. C'mon! Wake up Liz. I need you." Gilbert prodded the unmoving form with his snout, which came away covered in blood.

Ludwig stepped forward to see Elizabeta's unconscious form sprawled out on the ground. She had reverted back to her human form and had a deep bite wound in her neck. It seemed to be healing already, but it still looked awful. Vivid splashes of blood covered her neck, face, and clothing, and a thin trail trickled out of her mouth. The one thing that didn't make the situation completely hopeless was the steady, but shallow rise and fall of her chest. As long as she was breathing, she would live. Werewolves could survive almost any injury as long as they weren't dead.

"She's going to be okay," Ludwig said to his brother.

"I want to know who did this to her," the white wolf growled. "I want them to suffer the same way she did."

"The important thing is that she's alive. Revenge is never the answer, brother."

"Aren't you worried about Lili at all? If this is what they did to Lizzie, imagine what they'll do to her!"

His brother's words cut into his heart like a knife. Ludwig had been so shocked by the blood that he had forgotten about Lili. If she wasn't here, that meant that Ivan had her now. He tried not to think about it that way. Maybe she had escaped after all. There was no knowing for sure until Elizabeta woke up.

Some kind of cough or gurgle came from her as her eyelids fluttered. Gilbert licked her face gently as she struggled into consciousness. "Gil...bert…?" she rasped. Her voice came out sounding like a tired wheeze. "I…coud...n't...win."

"It's okay, baby, it's okay," he murmured. "Don't talk. You need to rest."

"I'm...sorry. I tried...my….best…" Ludwig's blood turned to ice as Elizabeta continued to talk. "They…took...her. Li...li...she's…...gone…"