Hitsugi stumbled over a rock and fell to the ground, but Aoi was next to him to help him up. The omega nodded in thanks as Aoi helped him to walk through the woods. The sun had fallen some time ago and that caused them to slow down greatly. Every time a twig snapped or the wind blew they flinched. They were scared to say the least. Aoi didn't know where they were going and Hitsugi was hurt.

As they moved on, they heard footsteps nearby. They quickly hid in some bushes and waited. They listened carefully as the footsteps came closer. Shadows were coming, but they couldn't smell anything. As the figures came closer the omegas recognized the shapes and soon the faces. Aoi gasped in relief as he jumped up and started walking to them.

Kaoru froze ready to defend himself, when Aoi and Hitsugi suddenly came out of the bushes. Kaoru felt relief flow through his body seeing his omega scratched up, but okay. Shinya and Ryoga were still wolves, but rubbed against the omegas to greet them. Aoi walked straight to Kaoru and planted a kiss on his lips.

"I was so worried." Kaoru whispered rubbing his head against the omega. Kyo groaning in Kaoru's arms interrupted their reunion. "Come on, we're almost to the cabins. We can catch up there."

They continued their trek through the woods in silence. Shinya led the way with Ryoga bringing up the rear until they finally made it up to the familiar cabins. As they walked up they heard a deep growl and a black wolf covered in mud and blood came from the cabin, but it stopped growling. Shinya and Ryoga finally changed back as well, relieved to see more of their pack.

"The first cabin has a bed made up. We already have the medical supplies set up in there for you." Kai said changing into his human form.

"Thank you." Shinya said and Kaoru carried Kyo inside.

Ryoga walked up to Kai. "Tsu?"

"Pissed off, but safe. He's in the second cabin." Kai said.

Reita held the door open for Kaoru, and the alpha laid Kyo down on the single bed once inside. Shinya started going through the bandages as Reita brought a metal bucket full of water. Shinya smiled and they both started working on washing Kyo's body off.

"I'll get more water for you." Kaoru said. "Aoi, help them."

The raven nodded and took a spare rag to wipe the mud off the pack leader. Kyo was groaning in pain as the wiped over his wounds. Shinya was shaking trying to keep his emotions together as he cleaned his injured mate.

Ryoga knocked on the cabin door as he walked inside. Ruki was sitting next to the bed as Uruha slept soundly on it. Across from them Tsuzuku was sitting against the wall, but he glared at Ryoga as he stood up. Tsuzuku stormed out of the cabin, pushing his alpha to the side as he did. Ryoga followed him out to confront him, but before he could Tsuzuku punched him in the stomach. He groaned stepping back and Tsuzuku slapped him across the face. The omega grabbed Ryoga by his blonde hair and pulled him close to, surprisingly, kiss him.

Tsuzuku pulled away with tears running down his cheeks and he placed his head on Ryoga's shoulder. The alpha patted Tsuzuku's back as he hugged him.

"So are you mad at me or—"

"Shut up." Tsuzuku sniffled. "You're an asshole. You knock me out and leave me after I told you not to. I told you not to leave me and you did it anyways!"

"I didn't leave you." Ryoga said. "I made it so you could leave me and so I could fight. I couldn't concentrate if you were in danger, so I had to make sure you were away from all the fighting. I had to make sure you were safe. Even if I died, even if it made you hate me, I had to get you out of there."

Tsuzuku shook his head. "Next time we fight together. No more lone wolf, okay. You have me now and I want to protect you, too. I'm getting better and soon I'll be strong enough to fight again."

"I know." Ryoga whispered kissing the brunette's cheek. "So, will you forgive me?"

Tsuzuku lightly punched his chest. "Sure."

"Ryoga." Kai spoke up. "You need to get your wounds treated. Then I'll need your help keeping watch."

The blonde nodded then looked at his omega. "Go rest. I'll join you later when the others get here."

Shinya was shaking as he wrapped another stitched wound on Kyo's arm. He was about halfway done when the door to the cabin opened up. Melody walked in with Miyavi, Hiroto, and Koichi. Most of the pack was here now. They were all injured, but the new arrivals sat off to the side waiting to be treated. Hiroto ignored his own injuries and gathered some things to help treat the wounded. Shinya ordered Aoi to help Hiroto and so they began treating the pack members. Miyavi had a nasty gash on his upper arm, and bite marks all over his body that needed tending to. Koichi's ankle was bleeding nonstop and was swollen. He had a cut under his right eye and one on his head. His hands were torn up pretty bad too.

Melody's wounds weren't that bad. Just a few bites on her sides that she treated herself before going outside to help guard the area. When she did, she finally forced Kaoru inside so he would get his injuries treated. Shinya was stitching a gash on Kyo's side when he told Reita to tend to Kaoru. The blonde did what he was told and wrapped up the alpha in bandages like everyone else. They both shared a worried look though. Shinya was covered in blood and they knew most of it was his own. They also knew the beta wouldn't rest or get treated until Kyo was in the clear.

Ryoga kept smelling the air around him, differentiating the scents around him as well as familiarizing himself with the sounds of the woods. Within twenty minutes he knew about the deer sleeping nearby, the toads jumping in the nearby stream, the bats flying above them, and the owl hanging out in a low tree branch. He knew when something moved and what caused it to move. So when he heard something coming towards them, he knew it wasn't the wind or the deer. It was more than one person walking.

Ryoga waved at Kai and pointed at some trees. Melody walked up to them, all three ready to fight if a threat came, but three familiar faces came through instead. Byou, Shou, and IV almost collapsed seeing their pack. They were finally able to breath. Melody led them to the cabin to get their injuries tended to.

Byou stepped in seeing the situation and went to Shinya first. He saw the beta's condition and was instantly worried. Shinya's face was pale and sweaty, his hands were shaky as they wrapped Kyo's chest with a bandage. Byou patted Shinya's shoulder.

"Let me finish. You need to be looked at."

"No." Shinya growled, but his eyes suddenly closed and he fell forward.

"Shit!" Byou gasped, catching. "Shou help me."

The omega limped over to help lay Shinya out and both were quick to start wrapping the cuts and gashes. Shinya grunted as they prodded his injuries, but he was too weak awaken let alone protest.

Shinya woke with blurry vision at first but after blinking a few times he was able to gain his sight. He felt thirsty and he slowly sat up only for a hand to push him back down. Reita was smiling down at him.

"Kyo…where?" Shinya asked.

"Next to you." Reita said pointing up. Shinya noticed he was lying on the ground next to the bed so he started sitting up again, this time pushing Reita away when he tried to stop him. Shinya looked at Kyo sleeping soundly covered in bandages. The beta ignored is sore body and climbed on the bed to lay next to this mate.

"Do you need anything?" Reita whispered.

"Water."

The blonde nodded and was quick to grab a cup of water for him. As he lifted Shinya's head for him to drink, Kyo grunted. They both looked at him as he opened his eyes.

"Kyo." Shinya gasped.

"Shinya." The leader whispered and smiled.

Kaoru looked up at the morning sky and smelled in the morning dew. He and the other alphas had been up all night on guard, but they still couldn't rest. They were still close to the city and Dogma could find them any moment. Ryoga volunteered to periodically scout the area to make sure nobody was nearby. Since he was constantly moving they had him lay down to rest for a little bit. It was quiet until they heard Shinya yelling and they turned around as Kyo walked out of the cabin with his beta stomping behind.

"You need to be laying down!"

"Quiet Shinya!" Kyo snapped. "I'm well enough to check on my pack."

Kaoru sighed as he walked over to his friend. "Kyo, you need to be resting. We have the watch under control."

"Has everyone made it? Is anyone seriously hurt?"

"Yes, you are." Shinya snapped. "You need to lay down."

"As do you Shinya." Kaoru said. "You both need to rest."

"Has everyone made it here?" He asked once more and this time he earned a sad looked from his friend. "Kaoru?"

"Toshiya didn't make it."

"What?" Shinya gasped. Kaoru forgotten that this was his first time hearing it too.

"Byou, Shou, and IV saw Dogma aiming a gun at him. They didn't see him shoot, but they heard it. Toshiya…would have made it here by now."

"That bastard." Kyo growled before grunting and falling forward. Kaoru helped to steady him. He helped Kyo back into the cabin to lay down and Shinya laid next to him. The two were out in seconds.

As the day moved on, everyone did their part to help out. Kai, Hitsugi, and IV worked on the bear that was killed the night before. They needed the meat to eat that night. Melody led a small group to gather water and hunt for extra food. Hiroto, Shou, Aoi, and Reita were changing out bandages and making sure there were no infections.

Uruha was sleeping most the day which was worrying Ruki to no end. He would wake his mate only for the honey blonde to go back to sleep. Ruki rubbed Uruha's stomach before finally breaking down and getting Byou to come check on him. Ruki bit his thumb nail as Byou woke Uruha up for an examination. It was quick and Uruha was allowed to sleep again. Byou pulled Ruki out of the cabin with a smile.

"He's fine. His pregnancy is going to be filled with fatigue and the situation right now had him tired out. Which is a lot better than being stressed out. Remember Ruki, male carriers have it harder than women do. Their bodies go through some major changes in a short period of time. Uruha will need his rest."

Ruki nodded. "Just as long as he's okay."

"It's always entertaining to watch fathers freak out over their mates and children."

"Shup up." Ruki said rolling his eyes.

Byou patted Ruki's shoulder. "How's your neck?"

"It's fine, a little itchy."

The blonde nodded. "I'll change the bandages later, why don't you go and lay with your mate. And don't give me that tough guy act, we can all see you're tired."

Ruki sighed with a nod before retreating back into the cabin. The brunette quietly climbed onto the bed behind Uruha's sleeping body where he hugged the omega. Uruha hummed as he turned over to snuggle up to Ruki's body.

Reita was sitting by the fire he just made for Kai to start cooking the bear meat. The blonde was staring into the fire off in his own world when his mate sat next to him. Kai pulled Reita into a hug and kiss.

"Why are you sad?" Kai whispered.

Reita buried his head into his alpha's neck. "If I had never came here, Dogma wouldn't have attacked you all, and he wouldn't have killed Toshiya. If I hadn't come here—"

"We wouldn't have met." Kai spoked. "We wouldn't be together. You wouldn't have found a family, you wouldn't have found your inner wolf, and you wouldn't be right here sitting with me. None of this is your fault. We all have pasts that haunt us eventually, but that doesn't mean we should regret what we do."

"But Toshiya…"

"Fought to protect what he loved. We would have all done the same. This happened because Dogma decided to create chaos not because you came here."

Reita sniffled nodding his head. Kai held him close sending soothing waves of pressure into his body.

Shinya woke up feeling his mate rubbing his arm. Kyo had been staring at the ceiling for some time now thinking. Wondering if he had made the right choice, if he could have changed anything, if he could have saved his friend.

"It's not your fault Kyo." Shinya whispered. He sat up to kiss his mate on the lips. "Toshiya would die a hundred times if it meant protecting his family."

"I don't understand, Shinya. Every time I chose to fight I lose someone, but if I choose not to fight then we would all die. I've started to doubt whether or not I'm suitable to be a pack leader. Whether or not I can protect my pack."

"You just lost a good friend. That doesn't mean you've made bad decisions. You've always done what was best for all of us and you still do. Things happen and we can't always stop it. We can only move ahead."

Kyo hugged Shinya tightly and kissed his forehead. "I know, I just don't know how."

"We'll figure it out, we always have."

"Thank you."

The fire crackled as the meat cooked over it. Reita was helping his mate pack up most of it for when they started their journey. Ruki and Uruha had come out to sit by the fire now that Uruha was feeling awake, but he was also very hungry. Uruha's mouth was drooling at the sight of the cooked meat. His hand began to reach for it when Kaoru swatted the back of his head.

"You know better," Kaoru snapped, but earned a low growl from Ruki.

"Don't touch my mate, Kaoru." The alpha snapped.

"He knows not to eat before Kyo does." Kaoru growled out and Ruki stood up.

"Please stop you two." Uruha whimpered, but went on deaf ears as they growled at each other. Reita looked Kai who was ignoring the scene as if nothing was happening

"Kai," Reita said.

"Ignore them. Happens when tensions are high."

They two continued to growl at each other and stepping closer. Both Uruha and Reita were worried a fight was about to break out. The two had their claws coming out and teeth growing.

"What's going on?" Kyo snapped earning everyone's attention. He had heard the commotion from inside the cabin and came out with Shinya close to his side.

The two back off, Ruki sat down, and Kaoru nodded to the leader. Kai clapped his hands. "Just in time, Kyo. Your food just finished."

Kyo took the hint and walked to the fire to sit down. Kai handed him and Shinya both a large leaf with cooked bear meat on them. Once they took the food, Kai passed food to Uruha before the alphas came in to eat. It was soon that everyone had food in their hands and finally eating for the first time since the attack the day before. Everyone's hunger was showing except for one.

Reita was picking at his food which didn't go unnoticed. Kai rubbed his back. "You need to eat." He ordered softly and Reita shivered.

"Kai…"

"I know, but you need your strength."

Reita nodded and started chewing on some of the meat. Uruha on the other hand had inhaled his meal and was picking from Ruki's food. The alpha happily gave his mate more food. Uruha felt so spoiled and happy until his stomach churned. As Reita picked at his food, Uruha jumped up and ran to the bushes to puke. Ruki was quick to run after him and Shinya moved to get up, but Byou waved for him to stay.

Uruha was apologizing to Ruki for wasting the food while Byou told him it was a normal symptom. They kept telling him it was alright even though, but kept saying 'sorry' over and over. They were finishing eating and spreading out a bit when Ryoga became alert. He sniffed the air smelling blood and then he heard grunting. He caught everyone's attention and everyone became alert, ready for another attack. Ruki stood in front of Uruha prepared to run with him as the bushes shook and loud grunt came.

"Damn it, can't you walk straight?" A man snapped.

"Yeah if you knew how to fucking help someone walk." A familiar voice spoke.

Kyo stepped closer as the two forms walked into the opening and they all got the shock of their lives. Standing in front of them was Die holding up Toshiya as they bickered at each other.

"Toshiya!" The pack shouted seeing him alive, bloody and hurt, but alive.

"Good, we made it." Die gasped before collapsing, taking Toshiya down with him.

Toshiya grunted when he hit the ground, but Shinya and Byou were quick to get to him. They flipped Toshiya over and the alpha groaned some more.

"I thought you were killed." Byou gasped.

"I would have been," Toshiya said gasping for air, "If that…kind asshole hadn't saved me."

They looked at Die who was passed out on the ground. Shinya nodded. "Let's get you inside and cleaned up."

"Shinya." Toshiya said. "I'll be okay. Die was shot. He needs help first."

They were all shocked. Toshiya was telling them that Die needed their help. Die, the guy from Hiro's pack who has attacked them, hurt them, and fought them. Shinya and Byou looked at Die then over at Kyo. The pack leader walked over to them and Toshiya spoke up again.

"Kyo, he saved me. He helped us. It's only right."

Kyo nodded. "Treat him."

Shinya had Kaoru help Byou take Die into the cabin while Hiroto and Shou took care of Toshiya. They helped the alpha to the cabin and laid him on a blanket on the floor. Shou cleaned up the wound on the alpha's leg while Hiroto took care of the wound on his arm. Die was laid on the bed Kyo had been on earlier that day and his shirt had been cut off. A makeshift bandage was wrapped around his stomach, so they cut it off as well. Shinya looked at the hole in his lower stomach and prodded it making Die groan. The black and red headed wolf woke for a moment before passing out again.

"It's not serious." Shinya said. "Went through muscle, missed all his organs. We need to clean it out though."

Byou was already getting everything ready as he listened to Shinya diagnosing the wound.

Toshiya was treated and laying quietly as Shinya finished helping Die. Kyo had come in sitting on the edge of the bed while, Shinya and Byou settled on the floor. Shou and Hiroto left the cabin leaving them be, but Kai stood by the door glaring at Die.

"Toshiya, what happened?" Byou asked.

The alpha sighed as he slowly sat up and leaned against the wall. "I got caught and held down. I tried to escape with everyone else, but I wasn't strong enough. Dogma was just about to kill me, when this crazy guy came out of nowhere." He said looking right at Die.

~~the fight~~

Toshiya growled as wolves dug their fangs into his body holding him down to the ground. He watched as Dogma glared at him and lifted the gun right at his face. Toshiya growled at the pack leader. He wasn't going to die in fear, but fighting to the last second. He watched as Dogma moved to squeeze the trigger. Dogma turned as a loud growl sounded and a brown and white wolf came jumping through the air. Die growled as he bit down on Dogma's shoulder and the pack leader squeezed the trigger. The gun went off as they fell to the ground.

One of the wolves holding Toshiya down let go to help Dogma and it was enough that Toshiya could pull away from the wolves' grasps. He jumped to his feet and tackled the brown wolf before it could attack Die. Toshiya took off though and snapped at Die as he ran past him and the other alpha took off as well. They started running away from the wolves and jumped over some that tried to block them off.

They hauled ass through the streets and noticed a crowd coming and quickly changed into their human forms. They change before anyone spotted them and they started walking to avoid attention bringing to them. They heard a scream in front of them. A woman was pointing at three wolves running towards them and they took off running with the crowd. The wolves started chasing them, but police officers came between them with guns drawn.

Toshiya heard shooting behind him as he led the way to an alley. Die was behind him as he ran up to a trash can. He ripped open a trash bag and poured the contents on himself.

"That's nasty." Die said.

"Yeah? I rather stink than those wolves hunt me down by my scent. I don't know if you noticed, but they outnumber us."

Die walked up to rub trash over his clothes. He looked down when he felt something wet. He lifted his black shirt to see the gunshot wound then dropped his shirt before Toshiya noticed. They covered up more before walking away.

Toshiya led the way as they moved through the crowds until they made it to an apartment complex. They went up to the fifth floor earning disgusted stares by the people they passed. Die watched as Toshiya grabbed a hidden key from under a mat and unlocked the door. They got inside and locked the door.

"Ryoga used this place so there should be some clothes. Let's clean up." Toshiya said. He threw off his clothes and walked to the bathroom and started the shower. He scrubbed off the trash smell and got out. He wrapped his waist with a towel before walking out finding Die still standing in the same spot. "Shower's free."

Die nodded as he started to move, but grunted and fell back into the wall. He grabbed his stomach on instinct and gasped. Toshiya's ears perked from the sound and he looked towards the other wolf.

The alpha walked over seeing blood smeared behind Die's body. He moved Die's hand to the side and lifted the black bloody shirt to see the wound. Die pushed him away.

"Get some bandages while I wash off." He said going into the bathroom. Toshiya rolled his eyes, but started going through the whole apartment looking for something he could use, but Ryoga didn't have medical supplies here. Toshiya had got himself dressed before Die stepped out with a towel around his waist which was already becoming red as the blood streamed down. He went straight to Die with a folded up shirt and pressed it against the bloody wound then pressed a second one where the bullet had exited.

"Hold it." Toshiya ordered and the other alpha let out a low growl for it. Toshiya grabbed a torn strip of towel and used it tie the folded shirts in place. "There's some clothes in the living room for you."

Die smirked as he grazed a finger on Toshiya's arm. He let the towel from his waist as he walked through the apartment.

"Doesn't work on me." Toshiya snapped, but he let his eyes fell on the other alpha's thin body. That when he saw a tattoo on the middle of his back just below his neck. It was a decent sized barcode with the numbers: 20193 underneath it. Toshiya looked away pretending he didn't see it.

They decided to rest there for the night, but Toshiya couldn't sleep. He kept checking on Die's wound to make sure he wasn't bleeding too much. Which annoyed the other alpha a little bit, but he ignored it. It was silent for a while when Toshiya let out a heavy sigh.

"Why did you disappear for two days?" He asked.

Die turned his head to look over at his companion. "Sorry about that. When I went to meet up with you guys, I noticed I was being followed. I confronted the wolf and we got into a bit of a scuffle. I tore him up pretty bad, but a few of Dogma's pack had come out of nowhere and chased me. I managed to lose them, but they were looking all over for me. I couldn't risk it."

Toshiya stared up into the darkness and hummed. "Oh."
"Yeah… can we sleep now?"

"Sure."

When Toshiya did fall asleep, he stayed asleep until the next afternoon. When woke up it was with a start and looked around. Die was awake looking out the window, holding his stomach. Toshiya changed the makeshift bandage and they decided to head out.

They walked through the city streets and crowds keeping an eye for enemy wolves. It was hard though being surrounded by so many scents. They moved through towards the city limit when they noticed that they were being followed. Toshiya knew Die wasn't in a position to fight. They kept moving though until they walked to the edge of the city and away from any people. That's when three brown wolves walked out.

Toshiya growled showing he was ready for another round. Die growled out at them as they moved closer. The two alphas quickly changed as the three wolves came charging in. One tackled Die as two took down Toshiya. They tore into each other fighting for their lives. Toshiya whimpered out as one of the wolves bit down on his leg and ripped into it. Die was quick to get on top of his opponent and bit into the soft tissue of its lower neck.

The brown wolf stopped moving under Die's grip and he backed up. Toshiya was rolling on the ground fighting off the two wolves when Die ran in to pull one off. From then on it was a fair match and Toshiya quickly took out his opponent before helping Die finish off the third one. The two quickly ran off into the woods where they stopped to roll in some mud and leaves. They changed into their human forms as they took a minute to breathe. Toshiya went to stand up, but stumbled and fell when he put too much pressure on his leg.

Die laughed as he walked over to the other alpha. "Hurt?"

"Shut up." Toshiya snapped. "Help me up."

"Why?" Die said sitting down. "I got you out of the city. You can go find your pack now. I have to leave while I still have the chance."

"Help me get to my pack," Toshiya said. "And I'll get Shinya to treat your wound. You can't get far in your condition. You'll bleed out."

Die smirked. "Yeah? Well when I do get you to your pack they'll kill me. I'm your enemy, remember?"

"If you were my enemy, then why did you save me?"

"To piss off Dogma. He took my home too."

"So you're going back to Hiro then?" Toshiya asked turning over.

"No. He betrayed us. He allowed another pack to come in and control us. I can't follow a leader that relies on another's strength."

"Kyo will help you if I tell him you saved me." Toshiya said.

"Yeah right."

"I know him." The alpha sighed. "Die, we trusted you with information you gave us about Dogma and your pack. Now I want you to trust me."

~~Present~~

Kyo had everyone leave the room so the two could rest in peace. He was going to allow Die to stay for now as to keep Toshiya's word. His pack was not comfortable about this in the least and Kai was enraged by it. Reita had pulled him away to the edge of the woods and had him lay down. The blonde had crawled over him and started kissing him. Kai rubbed Reita's thighs up to grip his rear. Kyo smiled, happy Reita was doing his job in keeping his mate calm.

"Kyo." Hitsugi sighed walking up to him. The omega looked down scratching his head, sweat dripping down his face. "I know this is bad timing, but…I think my heat is about to start."

"Oh shit." Kyo said stepping back. He looked around the area and rubbed his face. This was not good.