I lunged towards the house, thrumming my paws on the grass and willing them to go faster. I spotted a rogue man-handling my mate and I barked with anger. April turned her head towards me just as I was tackled to the dirt. A heavier-set rogue pinned me down, pushing my muzzle to the ground and giving me no room to fight him off. He growled a warning in my ear and I just tossed my head.

I looked up to see the majority of the rogues pinning pack wolves down or blocking their path. No one could reach April, and that terrified me. Was I never going to see her again? Would we never get to start our life, with her by my side as Luna? I wanted to howl my sorrow to the world.

April locked eyes with me as the rest of the rogues congratulated the bastard who had found her in the safe room. I blinked at her, hoping she could see how much I was sorry for not protecting her. I tried to convey through my eyes how much I loved her, even after the horrid week we'd just put ourselves through. I loved her and I wanted to tell her.

Struggling against the rogue's grip, I watched as April made a dash for the woods. In my fight for freedom, I'd missed how she'd escaped the rogue's grasp. I watched her with wide eyes, willing her to make it to the woods and hide somewhere before the enemy caught up.

I shifted, not caring about my sudden lack of clothing. "April!" I screeched. She turned her head towards me and nearly tripped. She focused back on her escape and a few seconds later she was gone.

I screeched with fury and writhed around underneath the rogue. He kept me pinned, and all I got out of my struggle were deep scratches along my arms and my chest.

It wasn't until April and maybe four rogue wolves were long gone before they released us. I scrambled up, not caring that I was naked, and headed for the trees. A line of red-eyed wolves made me halt at the tree line. "Let me pass," I growled.

One shifted and glared at me with hard eyes. "Not a chance, pup."

"I am Alpha if the Rising Moon Pack, not a pup!" I snapped. "Let me through!"

"We're on our Alpha's orders, not yours."

"You guys are dirty, trash-smelling rogues, cat out of the community. You aren't a pack!" I argued.

"We still show respect to our leaders by calling them the proper title."

I rolled my eyes and returned to the subject of April. "Let me pass, she's my mate."

"Not anymore!" He chuckled darkly, "you probably won't ever see her again."

"What do you want with her?" I demanded.

He shrugged, his face blank. "That's for the Alpha to decide."

I snarled and threw myself at him. Taken by surprise, the rogue crumpled and couldn't stop me as I dashed past him, narrowly avoiding the wolves lunging at me from his sides. I followed April's scent tail, leaving the mangy wolves behind. It led me deep into the woods and ended near a thick oak tree.

That's strange. I thought. There was no further scent trail telling me where she would've gone. However, there was no visible blood around the tree so I took that as a good sign.

"April!" I called out, my voice echoing through the trees. Nothing. I tried again, pacing in circles near the tree, trying to catch any sort of trail. No April, but I did find shorts tucked behind a tree so at least I wasn't butt naked anymore.

I glanced back to the tree line and saw the rogues stalking off in the opposite direction of me. It looked like their Alpha called them away. I growled that I couldn't get my revenge and returned to searching for my mate.

After a few more calls and some more walking in circles, I picked up a muffled sound coming a little ways north of the the oak.

I halted and pricked my ears. "April? Is that you?" The muffled voice came again, but I couldn't make out the words. I followed the sound through the trees until I circled around a big clump of logs and bushes. What I saw nearly made me jump out of my skin.

In front of me was a tiny female hanging upside down from a high tree branch. Her feet and hands were bound by ropes and her mouth was covered. She wore very ragged clothing that stunk of those rogues.

With a flash of green, her eyes flew open from the sound I made and widened in fright. I put my hands up, "hey, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you. I'll help, okay?"

She nodded slightly, but still looked wary of me. I creeped closer, trying not to make her any more frightened. When I reached her, I carefully peeled the duct tape from her face and then got to work untying her hands.

"Thank you." She whispered.

I nodded, acknowledging her. "How did you end up like this?"

She shivered, as if having a flashback. "Rogues." Was all she said.

I growled lowly and she flinched a little. "Sorry." I told her. I finally got the rope off her wrists and scanned the cord that was keeping her off the forest ground. "What's your name?"

"Ivy." She whispered. I smiled just to keep the look of concentration off my face. I didn't want to scare her because I didn't know how I was going to get her down from the ropes.

"Okay, Ivy, do you think you're strong enough to catch your fall?" I brainstormed out loud. If I was being honest, she doesn't look like she could lift a newborn kitten. She was so thin and obviously malnourished. I could see her ribs through her clothing and her arms and legs might as well be sticks. Her black hair was thin and her green eyes dull.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I could try, but I don't know. I'm so weak I might break my arm or something from the impact."

I nodded, "do you want to take the risk, or do you want me to try and come up with a different solution?"

She sighed. "I've been hanging here conscious for over a half an hour and I don't know how long unconscious so I will take the risk. I just don't want to be upside down anymore."

"Alright." I hauled myself tree branch after tree branch until I reached the one with a rope tied tightly around the limb. I scooted out onto the thick branch and started untying the knot. As I reached the last part, I gripped the rope in my hands and called down to Ivy, "ready?"

I heard a faint reply and tried to lower her gently towards the leaf-covered floor. She wasn't heavy so it wasn't that hard but when my chest came in contact with the branch, I knew I'd have to let her drop.

"I can't go any farther!" I told her, panting. "I'm going to drop you now!" I warned and gave her a few moments to prepare herself.

I let my fingers release the rope and there was a short moment of silence before I heard a faint thump and a small cry of pain.

I rushed down from the tree and crouched beside the girl. "Are you okay?"

She sat up and nodded. "My arms caught my fall, but I don't think they're broken."

I gently grabbed her wrists and examined them briefly. "I think you're right, but I'm no doctor. Are you sure they don't hurt that much?"

She nodded and let out a huff of laughter. "Trust me, I've gone through much worse than that."

I widened my eyes. "Did they abuse you?"

She looked at me like I was stupid. "What do you think? They are the cruelest pack I've ever heard of. And they wanted me for the most disturbing reasons." She shuddered.

I helped her to her feet, "I'm sorry that happened to you. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

She shook her head. "You rescued me, you deserve to know."

"Alright, if you want. But can AJ ask you something?" I waited for her nod before I continued, "what's your birth pack? And can you tell me how old you are?"

She shrugged. "I think I'm around fourteen? Fifteen maybe."

I gaped at her. "You don't know your age? How long were they keeping you there?"

She shook her head. "I've been their prisoner for years. I have few memories of my pack and early childhood. I'm not even sure Ivy is my birth name at this point. I was only like four years old when I was taken."

I thought my heart stopped for a second. "That's horrible! Why would they take a child?"

She looked at the ground and didn't answer right away. I didn't press, and just let her think for a moment. After a few minutes she looked up and met my eyes. "I heard you calling for someone. Is April missing?"

I was confused to why she changed the subject, but I answered her anyway. "Yes," my voice dropped to a whisper with grief and sadness. "My mate. She's not a werewolf, so the rogues took her. I don't even want to think about what they'll do to her there."

Ivy nodded sadly. "They took me because they know what I am. Like your mate, I'm not a werewolf either."