LIAM: I HAD MY HAPPILY EVER AFTER, I THOUGHT, AS I DROVE PETE OUT TO THE WOODS ON THE EDGE OF BRIAR’S NEIGHBORHOOD A FEW DAYS LATER.

We parked in the lot leading into the public park with a trail leading into the woods, it was foggy out and the weather had turned chilly overnight. Still, though, it was important for Pete to go out and exercise his wolf side now.

I spoke on the phone with Briar while we went out into the woods, walking together until we were a far distance away from the car and any public eye. Pete stripped out here in the woods. He would have done so in the car, but there were too many people about. Briar insisted I stay with him when we go out to run together, with no sight of that rogue being seen since the initial bite.

The hunters were apparently coming back home today, so as soon as they were all rested they'd make the hour long drive to get here and investigate, although hopes of finding the rogue were now slim with how long it had been.

I put it out of my mind as Pete ran around me in circles and chased after the squirrels and birds in the area.

“Pete, if you eat a Live Squirrel I swear to God you will never hear the end of it from me.” I told him as he got particularly close to one. Briar laughed on the other line.

I smiled. Things were going better than I could have hoped between us. He spent a lot of time at my house since I agreed to become his mate, but occasionally had to go back to his home. Today was one such day, otherwise he’d likely be there with us.

Pete dashed forward, suddenly, slipping in the dirt and landing in a puddle of mudd.

“Oh, gross. C’mon, Pete.” I sighed as he stood up, utterly filthy. “I have to drive you home after this.”

Pete growled, sniffing himself awkwardly before sneezing. I laughed at him, he did this to himself. That didn’t stop him from trotting over to me and shaking his fur, spattering mud all over me.

“Pete!” I scolded.

We walked through the woods together for maybe fifteen to 20 minutes before somewhere thunder roared.

I frowned as it started to drizzle.

“Might be time to pack up soon, Kiddo.” I bunched his clothes to my chest even tighter. He made an annoyed grumble.

“I know, I know. It’s cold and wet, though. It’s time to go.” I sighed. He grumbled even more. “Tell you what? You can have 10 more minutes. I’ll leave your clothes here, they’re getting soaked anyways. I’ll go get the car started while you get dressed, sound fair?” I told him, setting the bundle on a rock.

He wagged his tail, which I took as a yes. I nodded, turning around and starting the walk back toward my car.

I hadn’t been separated from Pete for long when I trailed off on the phone call. I noticed a couple of men shuffling about in the woods in the direction Pete and I came from. One of them said something into a radio. They definitely weren’t cops, though.

I told Briar what I was seeing, turning the volume down on my phone as I got closer. I got a real bad vibe off these guys, but I needed to get back to my car.

I took a wide berth around them. I decided I’d go start the engine in my car since I was close now, and walk back out to make sure Pete was okay. They were traveling really slow, surely I had time.

I made it to my car without any further incident, breathing a sigh of relief as I turned my back to the white van pulled into the lot beside me. I leaned into the passenger side of my car to set up the towel I brought to protect the seat from mud, laying it across the seat and tucking it into the sides.

I was midway to standing back up when I felt something hard and cold pressed against my back.

“Don’t move, I have a gun.” Someone spoke, and I froze.

The phone was yanked out of my hand, where I assume he hung up, and dropped it on the ground, stomping on it to try to break it.

“I don’t have any money.” I told the voice, raising my hands into the air.

“I don’t want your money.” He spat. I kept my eyes pinched shut for a moment, blinking the rain out of my eyes as it began to downpour.

“What do you want?” I asked, hoping it was something I could give so that I could get out of this alive.

“The wolf.”

“What?” I tensed.

“I want the wolf.” He said again. A million things crossed through my mind. He wanted Pete.

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“There are no wolves in this state…” I said slowly, carefully.

The gun clicked, and I flinched.

“Don’t fucking lie to me.” He growled, a human sound, but just as threatening. Why couldn’t anyone see this? I looked around me without turning my head. There was no one close enough to see exactly what was going on.

There was no way I was letting him have my Pete. I realized the men in the woods were likely looking for him too. I had to think fast.

“Okay.” I said. “Okay. You want the wolf.”

“And I’m gonna get it.” He bit.

“Right. You already got it.” I said, thinking hard. This was the only thing I could think to do.

“Oh yeah?” He grunted, moving the gun to the back of my neck. “Do I?”

“Yeah.” My voice cracked. “You got me. I won't fight you.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” The gun moved away slightly. “You’re gonna do exactly as I say.”

“Yes, sir.” I nodded. Hoping to God that none of those men had seen Pete. Hoping that someone saw me.

“Walk to the white van behind you. Slowly. Don’t try to look at me, just turn nice and slow and walk to the back of the van.” He ordered, moving away to give me space to follow his directions. I did, trying to hide how my arms and legs shook from fear.

The van doors were already opened. There was a cage in the middle.

“Now climb inside.”

I slowly, tentatively willed my joints to move, creeping along into the van, pausing in front of the cage.

“I said inside.” The gun clicked again, and I moved, crawling on my hands and knees into the kennel. Didn’t turn to face him then, not until he closed the door behind me. I saw him then, he looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, but hadn’t aged well, with creases in his face from where he scowled. Utterly unremarkable, the only real notable feature was the hooked nose. He tugged his hat lower to cover his eyes from me, but I had already seen too much.

He didn’t seem to care, picking up the radio latched to his hip and speaking into it.

“I got him.” was all he said.

“Are you sure it’s him?” Came the reply.

“Matches the description. Only difference is the guy’s an omega.” He said the word with malice.

“Could have been mistaken the night of the attack.”

“That’s what I’m thinking.”

“I don’t see anyone else out here.” the static voice responded, “We’ll pack up and head over.”

I was flooded with relief. They didn’t see Peter. That also probably meant Pete hadn’t seen what happened to me. I stifled the tears that threatened to well up and spill over, hiding it from the man when one of them fell.

“I have a question.” I said after a long silence, the man was waiting for his friends to arrive.

“Shut the hell up, mutt.”

“How did you find me?” I asked, wondering if I ever got out of this, what I could do to keep it from happening again.

“You dogs are all the same.” He grinned over his shoulder, “You never learn to cover your tracks.”

It didn’t make sense to me. Tracks? Like literally? Our—their paw prints?

He walked away suddenly, rounding the car to go around to the front, getting in the passenger seat while one of the men from the woods came into view, along with another one.

“Well well, what have we here?” He beamed, “A pretty one.”

I felt sick.

“Wonder what kinda breed it is.” The other pondered as they jumped in the back of the van, taking a seat beside the cage. It. I tried to keep from crying as they shut the doors, obscuring me from the outside world

God, if you exist. Please help me.

BRIAR: THE LAST THING I HEARD BEFORE THE LINE WENT DEAD WAS “DON’T MOVE, I HAVE A GUN.”

I immediately panicked, I stripped down and tied my pants around my neck like a loose collar and threw open the door, shifting as I ran out into the woods in the direction they had been playing in.

I ran faster than I ever had before, dropping my nose to the ground every other second in search of some hint of Liam or Pete. It was still a little distance away, but surely if I ran fast enough I could—

I made an impact with something hard and heavy, collapsing together in a massive heap.

When I stood up and assessed the situation, I realized it was Pete. He was in wolf form, but was wearing his t-shirt. He must’ve witnessed what happened and shifted to run to me. We sniffed each other for only a moment before continuing to sprint together toward the parking lot of the local trail. We barely bothered hiding from humans in our effort to get to his car. The passenger side was left wide open. He was taken.

The rain muddled it in the air, but I could still scent Liam on the towel inside the passenger side of his car. I noticed his phone on the ground, and jumped into the vehicle and awkwardly shifted in the cramped space. I almost forgot to put on the pants around my neck as I reached down to the ground where I grabbed Liam’s very wet cracked phone. It was barely functioning, but I managed to make an emergency call to Clarice while Pete jumped into the backseat to begin his own transformation.

“Clarice!” I didn’t wait for her to answer “Liam’s been kidnapped! I don’t know entirely what happened, we were on the phone when a man with a gun showed up. I need your hunters down here now!”

“There were four of them! I saw it happen, they were looking for me!” Pete answered as he regained control of his human limbs. “He told them he was the wolf and they took him!”

“Peter, did you hear anything else?!” I asked.

“Nothing useful.” He sounded frantic, hyperventilating and on the verge of a panic attack.

“Sl- dow-… endin- ba-up.” The phone was a garbled mess, I could barely make out what Clarice was saying.

“What!?” I asked, desperately.

“Sen-ng backup.” She responded, she was sending backup. Briar wished he could do more, but he had no way of knowing which way they went.

“Peter, did you see which way they went?” I remembered he was a witness, suddenly.

“That way, left!” He pointed toward the main road. It only helped so much, but at least he knew that much.

I could only wait as I tried in vain to console Peter. The boy was truly panicking now. I wanted to do it too, but I had to be patient, for my Liam.