Lucas' Point of View.

Josh has been in the room with Katie and Melody for over an hour while I sit and watch John have a breakdown as he writhes in pain. Every time he begs for help I just shrug, "I can't help you. You can help yourself."

Once a traitor always a traitor.

It's all about their breaking point, how far do we have to go before he changes loyalties again. Not that it would matter he knows he's dead either way. Question is, how much does he want to suffer in the meantime? Then I get to thinking about the recent discovery, first how none of us could have thought to check the sensor triggers is beyond me. Even if they had gone off our land, we could have seen which direction they went by which sensor went off. Second, there has to be a way for them to be getting on and off our land without us noticing. Honestly, they couldn't have thought about staying on our territory for the rest of their lives and if Thomas just now marked her he would have had to get on our land somehow.

So, would they be close to our pack border?

We're starting from the east and working our way to the west. We're searching every house.

Every single one.

All pack members were willing, which was a great sign. Farkle and Zay are currently working to obtain heat maps in case they're underground. Which is my bet, how else could we not notice them? Smackle and Vanessa are currently handling Luna duties, since Maya is gone and my mate is indisposed. Which reminds me, I need to talk to Dr. Packwood. "Would you shut the hell up?!" I snap at John, "You put yourself in this position. It's simple, you tell us where Luna is and this shit stops."

He keeps crying and fighting against the silver chains we used to keep him to the wall. 'Dr. Packwood. Go to my mate. I would like you to check up on her. I know she's upset about Luna, but there's something else.'

He responds saying he is on the way up there now and that's when the independent cell opens. Alpha is worse than yesterday, amber orbs stare back at me and flash a smile. If Josh was in control there's no way he could go through with what he's doing to Katie. Mates will do what they need to do to get their mates back. If Luna finds out what Jax is doing… I honestly don't know how she'd react. I'm a little scared to find out to be honest, if he's inflicting the same pain she's receiving then would Maya approve?

No telling what she'd do for Josh though.

"I come back in 2 hours." Jax sings in his deeper, huskier voice. "You wanting to talk yet John?" Jax nods his head when John silently cries. "Awe don't cry, I'm sure we could get you involved in the fun."

"Please let my mate go, she wasn't involved." His words were barely a whisper and quite frankly, he sounds 100 percent broken. The way Josh sounded until he felt Maya being marked. I think John needs a little more until he cracks.

Sighing, I just yawn. "It's easy John. You tell us and we won't hurt her. In fact, once we take her out of solitary for the day we can put her in a cell with some wolves who'd love to play around." Absolutely not, we'd never do that. He doesn't know that, he knows we're abusing women which is something we completely detest so no telling if he believes me or not.

By the way he growls and practically roars, he believes me. "You have 2 hours before we make good on our words."

Immediately mind linking the pack to clear out the pack house we saunter inside.

'Beta Lucas, I think it's best if you come to the hospital wing.'

"Alpha, my mate is in the hospital –

"Go." He immediately says, I know he's thinking about Maya and how he'd do the same. He'd never deprive me from Riley no matter how much he hurts.

I nod, telling him I'll be back as soon as possible but in reality I miss my mate, Riley. I'll probably soak up as much time as I can with her. I hope she's awake, I love her lavender scent and her soft luscious hair. Her silky smooth skin and bright smile, especially when those dimples pop out, or in? The moment I laid eyes on her, my heart was hers. I had no care that she was a rogue, she was tiny, she was perfect and she was all mine.

Is all mine.

Practically breaking down the door, I see my mate lying on the bed half-awake but staring at a screen. "Dr. Packwood, what's going on? Is she okay?" He nods and glances at Riley, her eyes are slowly shutting and I feel my heart deflate. She's sleeping, again. "Then why is she sleeping so much? I know my female, she'd be upset but she'd be out helping us."

"Hold on one second Beta Lucas." He lifts up my mate's shirt and in an instant I'm gripping his hand to prevent him from doing anything else while releasing a low warning growl. "You're going to want to see this." He winces from the force I'm pressing on his fingers, before I relinquish it. Growling lowly, I nod and take a step back to hold my mate's hand. A blue goo is placed on her stomach, and he glides some sort of something across her stomach. "It's an ultrasound." I furrow my brows but let him continue, he presses a few buttons and points to a peanut looking thing on the screen.

"Is that a tumor or something? Fuck no! GET THAT OUT OF HER! IS SHE DYING?!" My wolf starts to whimper from the mere thought, hell I start to tear up from the mere thought.

"Beta, it isn't a tumor." His voice was a whisper and almost harsh. His version of telling me to shut up because Riley is sleeping. He presses another button and a whooshing noise echoes throughout the room. "That, Beta Lucas is a little pup!"

I freeze completely, staring at the black and white screen. At the white peanut on the black background. I'm going to be a dad. "I'm a dad?"

"She's only 6 weeks, but yes you have a little pup on the way. You're going to be a dad." I smile widely and press my lips against Riley's sleeping ones.

"You're going to be a mom, princess." I stroke her cheek, effectively moving her hair out of the way and place several small kisses all over her face. "You're going to be the best mommy in the world. Please wake up princess, please wake up. Come on, did you hear you'll be a mommy? Wake up princess, we need to celebrate." I knew my pleas were going unheard, but a small part of me wished she would hear what I had to say and wake up.

Dr. Packwood comes around and inserts a needle in her arm, "She hasn't been taking care of herself Alpha. Being pregnant as a human is one thing, it's strenuous on the body. Being pregnant with a werewolf pup is a whole other. The pregnancy is only 6 months but it's rough. The need to be close to you, the amount of food she'll want to eat, she'll want to sleep but she needs to go outside as well. I'm going to put her on an IV, get her some fluids and as soon as she wakes up we're shoveling food in her. Riley's sleeping a lot because your pup is taking away all of her nutrients and what little food she is eating."

That's a relief, easy fix. I'll force feed her if I have to. "Okay so my mate's okay just a little malnourished. I'll make sure she eats. Is he okay?"

"So sure it's a he?" He quips, but when he sees the seriousness in my face he straightens up. I'm not playing around with my mate's or pups safety, they mean the world to me. My wolf is howling like never before. His protective instincts growing stronger by the second. "He's fine, he's making sure of it. She's low on her vitamin D, which also attributes to her sleepiness. Even as a werewolf we can get low on nutrients, I recommend her taking 2 vitamin D's a day for 2 months then going down to 1 a day for the rest of her pregnancy."

I nod as he passes me a bottle of the pills, I just arch my brow and he gives me 4 more bottles. Smart man, I want to be fully stocked. I mind linked Maggie to make my mate a meal that has every food group in it but mostly protein. She hasn't had any aversions to food that I'm aware of, and since she's been sleeping so much I don't know of any cravings. She may not be feeling the side effects yet. "Any news of Luna?"

I just shake my head and wipe the gel off of her stomach while some pictures are printing. "Not yet, but we're getting close I can feel it. If we don't find her soon, some prisoners will crack and tell us." I place my lips on her stomach and kiss her gently. "Hi little man, this is your daddy speaking. Take it easy on your mommy, I'll make sure she wakes up to eat from now on. I love you so much." I whisper and peck her stomach again.

"I surely hope we find her soon, I've had several females in here specifically from stress and worry. Her absence is taking a toll on the pack."

He couldn't be more right, "I'm just worried that when we get her back she won't be the Luna she was before. Her wolf has been gone for 46 days, if it weren't for the mate bond with Alpha we'd have no idea if she were alive."

"Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

I'm about to speak again when the door opens, I say opens but the door is thrown. A frantic looking Alpha bursts inside, all smiles and I'm wondering what the hell happened. "WE'VE FOUND HER! I KNOW WHERE SHE IS!"

I glance towards my mate, then back towards Alpha Jax. "I'll watch her Beta Lucas. I'll make sure she eats."

I nod my head, my wolf feeling conflicted. I'm Luna's personal guard and I need to be involved but, my mate is in the hospital and I'm going to be a father. My mouth curves into a smile, I want to make my pup and mate proud. Leaning down, I press my lips against hers. "I love you princess, I'll be back soon and I'm going to bring back Luna Maya."

Stalking out of the room, we walk with a mission towards the front. "You had your link blocked." He mumbles out, "We attack today. The gammas are gathering 20 of our best warriors. My father is waiting on the steps, I'm getting my fucking mate back."

"How many are down there?"

"Around 12." He replies, "Where's Kris?"

"Here." He's already waiting on the steps, his orbs flashing back and forth while he tries to gain control of his wolf.

I stalk towards him and clutch his face quite firmly, "Are you going to be stable enough to go? You can't go if you can't follow orders." I snap, he'll put everyone else that's going in danger should he stray from the plan.

Ripping his chin from my grasp, he growls lowly. "I'm going."

I avert my gaze towards Josh, "I'll take him down if he doesn't listen. I'm not going to have anyone mess this up. I need her in my arms." From the trees, the warriors are led out by Farkle and Zay as they sprint our direction. They're on edge, you can tell from how jumpy they are. They know what's about to happen and they're chomping at the bit. Farkle and Zay join us on the steps taking mine and Allen's flank. Kris completes the triangle in the middle of the gammas. "Warriors. We're getting our Luna back. We're running, it's 30 minutes in fur. It's underground around our territory lines." So that's how they've been getting in and out! Must be tunnels, damn it. "The previous beta, John owns property – his parent's previous home that's where we're headed. NO ONE KILLS THOMAS OR KERMIT! YOU DO YOU DIE! THEY'RE MINE!"

A series of 'yes Alpha's' ring throughout the field. "This is a stealth mission, and I have no idea what to expect. Just, let's get my mate back. Yeah?"

"Yes Alpha."

'How'd you find them?'

'John cracked. Katie's heart may have stopped. It was confirmed when we looked at the heat map, that's how we know how many wolves are down there. She's not dead, we shocked her back to life. But the pain was enough to get him talking.'

I nod, but if Katie couldn't handle 2 days of what Maya's supposedly gone through then… the thought kills me. Josh takes lead, as soon as he shifts he puts his clothes in his mouth. The rest of us follow suit, we don't howl. We don't want any chance of them being alerted that we're on the way. Thunderous paws take off in unison.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I know I should be thinking of Luna, but my focus is on my pup growing in my mate's belly. I can picture Riley now with a cute little bump. She's going to be even more gorgeous, if that's possible. My wolf purrs in delight at the sound of her stomach being swollen because of children. I'm also glad Luna Maya wasn't pregnant, when Josh mentioned that she was on the pill I was kind of shocked his Alpha wolf let him. Aside from having a strong pack, and meeting their mate, a pup was a close second to what an Alpha wants. They live for heirs, not to mention she was in heat.

Riley hadn't had hers yet.

'Focus Beta.'

Alpha Allen's voice echoes in my mind. I bow my head slightly in acknowledgement before leaping over a branch. He's been of great help since Luna went missing taking over and leading where I can't. Mostly in pack to pack relations. Some Alpha's just don't respect me like that. He's a hard man to read, I couldn't figure out how he was feeling in this whole situation. He put his emotionless mask on, because someone had to and wouldn't even talk to Luna Amy about what he was feeling. I know he specifically pushed Morgan to stay at her boarding school during this time.

Eric and his wife Rachel called daily since she was taken and even after we sent them back to their pack, Eric sent out scouting wolves to see if there was any track of Crescent Moon or Alpha Thomas' pack in his area. Unfortunately there wasn't. Which leads to another question, where the hell were they?

We slowly come to a halt, a quarter mile ahead of us is the house. Still in pristine condition even though John's parents died together 10 years ago. It was huge ordeal, since John's father and mother were the beta and beta female. If only he could see how his son turned out, it's sad really. I wouldn't ever do that to my pack, ever. I don't care the situation, I would be tortured and die before I ever relinquished information that could hurt my pack.

If someone were to attack our pack right now, I have no doubt we'd be an absolute disaster. So much for the strongest pack… a strong Alpha and a strong Luna – strong leaders, make a strong pack. And let me tell you, Josh and Maya are young but they are already damn good leaders.

Josh shifts to skin and we all follow suit, putting our clothes back on. I'm sure he's not wanting to frighten Maya with his wolf. We have no idea what she's been subjected to, but I'm sure once she sees him she'll be relieved. If she sees Jax, it may not register. 'Father, Kris, Lucas, Ryder and Xander follow me. The rest split off into groups of 12 stay here and circle the house. The rest, I want to step out of our territory and search for the exit they've been using. I don't want anyone getting away.'

Immediately they take off into their positions. Stealthily we climb up the steps and to our luck the door was unlocked. "Look for a basement or anything that could lead underground." Doing as he instructed I head directly towards the back door and kitchen where a basement would normally be attached. Unfortunately there was no door leading to a basement.

We searched for 20 minutes but there was nothing leading underground. Could it be on the side of the house? I take a step towards the big couch and hear a creak underneath me. Furrowing my brows I apply a little more weight and hear it again. No other part of the floor in this house made a noise like that. Josh is behind me, I gesture towards the couch and Kris takes the other side for us to move it. There's a door, a fucking trap door.

All of us clench our fists when Josh bends down and slowly lifts the door. Concrete steps lead down underground, and we all file in. I hear Allen call for 8 more warriors through the mind link to come inside and take our flank. 5 against the 12 that they saw is a little unfair though we could probably handle it. Safety first, I'm a daddy now I can't go into these things willy nilly.

Damn that feels good to say. I'm going to be a daddy.

As soon as we all get off the steps we're attacked. Wolves fly towards us, Allen wastes no time and snaps a wolf's neck. Josh slashes a throat and growls loudly, Kris is currently crushing someone's windpipe while Ryder and Xander leap over us and take the next wave of 2 wolves since this hallway is so narrow. Me? I'm standing here like a loser since I was in the middle, I feel a little left out. Our reinforcements come down the steps, silver entwined rope hangs loosely from their belts and their gloved hands are fists. "Alpha." Josh halts his fist and glances at me, "It's probably best if you stay as clean as possible, for Luna." As soon as I say that he glances at his shirt that's splattered with blood. He curses and I switch shirts with him.

2 loud growls resonate throughout the dimly lit hallway, besides the sound of Kris snapping a neck it was silent. Alpha Thomas and Alpha Kermit stood in front of a door. And it's then that I take in the smell. Goddess this is awful, blood and vomit. I think I'm going to be sick. Alpha Allen and Alpha Josh step forward, their claws elongating. "I'm going to fucking kill you. Slowly, painfully and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. You're outnumbered." Josh growls.

Without hesitation they both sprint down the hallway. "Follow them." I order and everyone but Kris, myself and Josh sprint down the corridor. I'm sure Josh and Jax are itching to tear their throat out, but the need to see his mate is greater. The door is made of concrete, and the lock on it is made out of stainless steel.

The fact that we don't have the key doesn't deter anyone. Josh rips it off without reluctance and swings the door open. The revolting smell became stronger and even Alpha gags. I see his chin trembling, this is where they kept Maya? We step into the room and Josh's eyes glisten with unshed tears. Slowly he saunters towards his mate, our Luna.

There's not an inch of skin that isn't purple, black, blue or scarred. Dried blood crusts her skin, silver shackles are clamped around her ankles and from the blood oozing out of them it has clearly been awhile if ever not taken off. "M-maya?" She's curled into a small ball in the corner of the room, unfortunately she's not moving. He chokes on his sobs and drops to his knees, his hands shaking. He knows he'll put her in pain the moment he touches her. Gently he strokes her greasy hair back and out of her face. "Baby girl?"

Almost as if he can't take it anymore he lifts her into his arms and when she doesn't wake up, I focus strongly on her heartbeat. It's slow and very weak, but it's there. And then Josh does something he's been strongly trying to avoid doing in front of others. He cries.

He breaks down in front of Kris and I.

His frail and bony mate is cradled delicately in his arms, their foreheads resting together as he rocks. Heart wrenching sobs fill the room as he brushes her cheek with his thumb, his lips press against hers. "Maya, baby girl wake up. Please, wake up. I'm here baby, I found you." He kisses her again, but she's still sound asleep. "Please wake up!" He all but yells.

"Alpha, let's get her to Dr. Packwood."

He nods and his entire form is shaking from his cries. Shakily he walks towards the exit and up the stairs. Allen has Thomas in his grasp while Xander ties him up with the rope. Alpha makes eye contact with Thomas, "You'll die. Not today. Today my men will take turns beating the hell out of you. 46 days Thomas, 46 days. I won't let you die before, you'll die by my hand and you'll be begging for death before then." Where the hell is Kermit?

No one else heard it. I did. I heard the whimper Josh let out whenever he glanced at Maya.

If I thought Josh was broken before, then I have no idea what to call this.

I hurriedly wipe away the tears that I've silently shed. I'm not sure if I'm crying because we found Maya or because of Josh's reaction. But as soon as Josh falls to the ground and howls out his sorrow to his mate, I realize I'm crying for the pain Maya's suffered. I follow, my howl echoing through the woods.

We release as much pain as we can, we're letting out our apologies to Luna Maya for not finding her sooner.

We continue howling until we hear the entire pack joining in.

And when everyone stops, and it's silent. All we hear is Josh crying.

GMWGMWGMWGMWGMW

Slightly emotional. I may or may not have cried, no big thing.

Thanks for reading!