"There they are," Alex said. Shiro looked over to the entrance to see the rest of Jett's friends coming in. They all looked like a big happy family. It was something he had always wished to see with his own pack. That alone made him smile.

They waved them over to make sure that they were seen. The first person to come up to their group was Jett's Gamma. His name was Manny, if he remembered correctly.

"Jin!" Manny smiled when he saw the tall man. "Long time, no see!"

"It's definitely been a while, besides the party of course," Jin smiled. "Now you get to see us all without the kimonos."

"You look sharp," Manny said. Shiro hadn't met him before the party, but he had learned quickly that he was a talker. As soon as he had seen Jin, he stuck onto him. Jin was perfect for someone who liked talking all the time. He was quiet yet attentive. It was a good thing that the two of them got along well. Jin's father wasn't that great of a diplomat. His father's council focused on the internal dilemmas. It had been too long since they had checked their relations with the other packs.

"And you look like a very happy father," Jin told him. His kids were running around looking at all the rides and flashy things that the place had.

"That's if he can wrangle them all in," the Delta, Blake laughed. "Him and Sophie are going to have a blast with finding them by the end of the night."

"I heard an easy trick," Jin said. "If you only give them a certain number of tickets to use on the rides, then they'll always come back when they're done."

"Until they start begging for more," Manny ruffled one of his little boy's hair. "I've tried that before."

They were already getting along with Jin, which made him happy. Then again, from his knowledge, the Valor pack was the most social and friendly out of the four, besides the Noble pack, that was. They were all a lively bunch.

"You seem like you're ready to be a father," Blake looked at him curiously. "Have you found the one yet?"

"It's an unfortunate circumstance," Jin's face fell a bit. But he smiled when he saw the baby girls that Blake had in his arms. "I do look forward to having my own kids, though. Perhaps it will happen soon."

Shiro hoped it would be soon for all of them. Their strife would be over one of these days. It was his mission to make that happen sooner rather than later. For now, he simply enjoyed the day with all of them. It was nice when they got along, although Miki and Tammy had disappeared a long while ago. Sometime throughout the day him and Jett would stray from the group, but they would always come back to talk to them.

They were all talking with the group then when he saw a familiar face. Ava was there with a couple of her friends. But it seemed like she had drifted away from them a little bit. Now there was a man who had gotten her by herself. He could tell just by her tense shoulders that she didn't want to be in the situation.

"Excuse me," Shiro said before he started walking off. Hopefully Jett wouldn't follow him. This was something he'd rather deal with alone.

He weaved through the crowds silently as he got closer to her. It didn't take long before he could hear her conversation.

"What? I'm just asking if you want to have a little fun," the guy told her. He didn't like the sound of his voice. "Don't you want to go on a ride with me?"

"I-I'm sorry," she told him. Her eyes were darting around to try and find a way out of the situation. "I'd rather not."

"Come on, sweetheart," the guy said. "It's just a ride."

"She said no," Shiro interrupted them. He could tell that the man was a human. He looked a bit rough around the edges by the look in his eyes and how worn out his clothes were. He didn't like it one bit.

"Who are you?" the guy sneered at him. "Look Shortstop, this is a private conversation. Mind your own business."

"Then consider this the end of your private conversation," Shiro told him. He then put his hand out to Ava. "And you should learn what the word 'no' means."

"Hey man," he was getting angry. He could tell by the smell of his breath that he had been drinking as well. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Leave her alone," he glared at him. He had pulled her to be behind him. "Consider this a warning."

"You think your all that, huh Shorty?" the guy tried to tower over him. He hated whenever people tried to use their height to attempt to intimidate him. "Ha! I could step on you like the bug you are!"

"I'm not here to cause violence," Shiro told him. The last thing he wanted to do was get into a fight with all these families here. He was sure that Jett and the rest of them were already wondering what was going on. With how loud this man was being, he was sure that someone could hear him from that group.

"You're just saying that because you're a pussy," the guy spat at him. "Do you really think that she wants you?"

"She's not even eighteen," Shiro told him. "I'd suggest at least flirting with someone who's of age."

"Don't tell me how to live my life!" he tried to punch him through his own drunken rage. Since he was human, and a drunk at that, it was much easier to catch his fist than the last time he had to break up a fight. He didn't want to break his knuckles, so, instead, he grabbed his arms and pulled it behind his back.

"Get the security," he told Geo. He didn't want Ava to get lost or caught up with another drunk. She stayed close to him. "Tell them that there's a drunk causing havoc at the northeast corner."

"Got it."

Geo's departure must have caused the rest of them to be curious. It didn't take long for them to find him with the security on their heels. Jett was looking curiously at Ava right when he got on the scene.

When the security officers took care of him, Shiro finally turned to Ava again.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She looked shaken up, and the fact that there were important people from another pack probably wasn't helping her anxiety.

"Y-yes," she said. "I'm alright."

"What happened here?" Blake asked. He looked worried about Ava as well.

"A drunk tried to ask her to go on a ride," Shiro told him. She was too shaken up to talk to them. Her being an omega didn't help either. It was easy for her to be intimidated by others. "He wasn't taking 'no' for an answer."

Then her friends finally seemed to catch up with her. They were omegas as well, and, as usual, once they saw all the ones of higher ranks, they shrank.

"I'm sorry," Ava said quietly. "I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"You didn't interrupt anything," Shiro shook his head. "Jin, can you call her father and tell him that she's on her way home?"

"Of course," he nodded.

Ava didn't have her own car yet, but one of her friends did. He told them to drive her home. The carnival was going to be there for a couple more days, so they could always come back another time.

"Call for me if you need anything, Ava," he mind linked with her. She always forgot that he was merely just one message away.

"Yes, Alpha," she nodded. Then she left to go with her friends.

"I swear she has the worst luck when it comes to things like this," Geo shook his head.

"Who is she?" Jett asked. "Surely she's not one of your own?"

"She's an omega from our pack," Shiro explained. "My apologies for speaking on her behalf. She just gets intimidated easily and is really shy."

"Poor girl looked absolutely terrified," Blake shook his head.

"She didn't look like someone from your pack," Jett asked. "Was she a rouge or something?"

"Her parents were a long time ago," he told him. "They had moved from Russia when their old pack got wiped out. My grandfather accepted them into the pack as soon as they requested it."

"Well, I'm glad she's okay," Manny said. "There's always those kinds of drunks."

They continued their day of fun after that. The situation left him on edge, but he could still enjoy himself. Dusk always left a beautiful glow on the carnivals. All the lights twinkled on as the machines twirled and buzzed.

"What was her name?" Jett asked. It was difficult for him to stay focused on him at the moment. He was trying to get over this bad feeling he had.

"Ava," Shiro told him. "She's practically another sister to me."

"She's very beautiful," Jett smiled. Thankfully he didn't seem jealous. He had been worried that he would be. "I'd be worried about her going to places by herself."

"Her father sends her on errands for him every now and then," Shiro told him. "He probably just wanted her to have some fun now that her school was done for the year."

"Do you have to protect her like that often?"

"Not really," he said. "I try to look out for everyone in my pack, though. It's good to make them feel safe."

"Spoken like a true Alpha," Jett laughed. "Although I didn't exactly look out for every member of my pack when I was your age. It was a bit difficult for me to settle into my role."

"You should pay mind to your omegas," he told him. "People like to abuse them the most."

"Like what happened to Wiatt?"

"Yes."

"There's only so much you can do when it involves school, though," Jett sighed. "It's always difficult trying to stop bullying."

"I agree," he nodded. If it wasn't for him being there to protect the weak, he was sure that the bullying would only continue. But he also believed that there could always be a solution to be found.

"I'm calling a rematch, Puppy," Alex said. Shiro snapped out of his thoughts and looked over to see those two back at the tossing games. Geo had played them so much he had perfected them.

"Maybe if you stop calling me puppy."

"And why would I do that?"

"You'll have to forgive Alex," Jett told Shiro. He had leaned into him to talk since it was so loud and crowded that day. "He can be a bit too much when he finds someone he wants to latch onto."

"I'm sure Geo can handle it," Shiro chuckled. He could tell that his friend was enjoying having someone else to compete with. Him and Miki used to play these games for hours before Miki and Tammy got together. Now they spend as much time together as they can when they're able to.

"Have you always been this quiet?" Jett asked. They walked ahead of the group towards some more rides. Shiro liked the rides, but he enjoyed the shooting games the most.

"Not when I was little," Shiro said. "I used to be pretty talkative when I was younger. My grandfather had a hard time keeping me still at first."

"You know," Jett said. "You always talk about your grandfather when you speak of when you were little. But what about your dad?"

"He was very busy," he explained.

"Even on holidays?" Jett asked. "What about Christmas?"

Shiro took a deep breath. He only had bad memories of his father on holidays. Usually, he celebrated them with friends and Hiroko. They were his family.

"He spent a few holidays with my sister and I," he explained. "But he was typically busy making sure the pack was alright while some of the workers took leave."

"Jeez," Jett shook his head. "Was it just your grandfather that took care of you and your sister then?"

"Not entirely," he smiled. "We both had servants who helped raise us as infants on up."

That reminded him of Nikita. He wished he could take him out here sometime. He used to be able to go out with his grandfather all the time. They would all go some place fun. His grandfather would even let him bring Ava with them.

"You call them servants?"

"It's a bit more informative than if we simply call them maids," Shiro said. "They still get paid for what they do, but their job goes beyond cleaning most of the time."

"I guess that makes sense," Jett said.

He was glad that he came, even though the day started out a little rough. He didn't exactly like just how Jett was looking at Tammy when he first saw her. But thankfully, everything was resolved. After that it had all just been them walking around to different food vendors and going on a few rides. They were able to talk a little bit as well. It was relieving just how Shiro could talk to him. As much as he was still careful with his words, it didn't feel like he had to talk to him as seriously as he normally did with an Alpha. He liked talking to everyone respectively, as it tended to make them respect you as well. But during times when he simply wanted to have fun and enjoy himself, he liked not having to go through all the formalities.

He was actually winding down quite a lot from that event with Ava as well, but that feeling wasn't going away. It was leaving him on high alert. He decided to play it safe and ordered the pack members that were in the city to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Then he tried to reach out to Ava to make sure she got home safe.

"Ava?"

"Shiro!" she sounded panicked again. But this time it was worse. "Help! Someone grabbed me!"

"Where are you? Can you see anything you recognize?" Now he was close to panicking. Whoever got her, must have done it when she had just gotten to the gates. There were so many people here that it was easy to get away with that and go unseen.

"N-no," she sounded like she was crying at that point. "I'm sorry. It's just, it hurts."

"What hurts?"

"Shiro?" Jett got his attention. He seemed to tell that something was wrong.

"Hold on," he told him. He needed to focus on Ava at the moment. It hurt him that she was in pain. He had meant to protect her, not lead her into trouble.

"They put chains on me," Ava said. "It burns, Shiro!"

Burning only meant one thing: silver. And, if it was silver, that meant that their enemies are back.

"Hunters are here," Shiro told Jett. "Tell your pack."

"What?" Jett tried to grab him to stop him, but he was already moving too quickly.

He had to be fast. Ava was an omega, and a sickly one at that. She couldn't survive silver for too long. That was another reason why he always tried to keep a watchful eye on her. It only took a second for all of his warriors to get his message. They worked on trying to shut down the city for the night so that no civilian would get hurt by them.

Meanwhile he picked up on Ava's scent. It wasn't that difficult. Knowing these hunters, they liked to use traps and tricks. It was going to take a lot to out-maneuver them.

"Geo, I'm going to need you and the others for this."

"Already on it," he told him. "I'm right behind you. Some of our other warriors are guarding the carnival. So far, nothing."

"And the Valor Pack?"

"Spreading the word. Noble and Dynamic have some of their warriors here already. Most of them are guarding the humans."

"Good work."

He finally got to Ava. She was in the middle of an alleyway. It was a dead end where five hunters had her chained. All of them had their guns ready for the only entrance. Shiro knew that there was always some way to go about this. The alleyway had doors to some of the businesses. He made sure to send that information to Geo and the rest. For now, it was up to him to get Ava out of there.

"Only a fool comes to a place like this," Shiro said. He was in the shadows, where he was sure they wouldn't see him. He used the walls to echo his voice and throw them off even more.

"Show yourself, Alpha!" One of the hunters said. "If you want one of your monsters to survive the night."

"You men are nothing but hypocrites," Shiro stepped out from the shadows for all of them to point their guns at him. He needed them to not focus so much on Ava.

"Oh?" The hunter laughed. "You think I'm going to listen to someone like you talk about hypocrisy?"

"You call someone who's innocent a monster."

"All of you are monsters," he gritted his teeth. "And you all need to be killed."

"You try to rid the world of us because you believe we are evil," Shiro told him. "You believe that all we think of humans are weak and to be used, correct?"

"We don't have time for your little speeches," the hunter said.

"You are a hypocrite," Shiro continued. "Because you stereotype us as destructive beings just as you believe we see all humans are nothing. You are a hypocrite because you have no evidence that me, nor that girl, has done anything wrong to you, or caused any harm to any human."

"He's just trying to buy time!" the hunter to the left of him said. "Shoot him!"

The group didn't need any word otherwise. They all decided to try and shoot at once. One bullet clipped his right side as he was attempting to dodge them all. But it was too late. They caught onto his plan, but they were too slow in their action. While they shot, the doors that the alleyway had swung open. Miki and Jin grabbed two of the hunters and snapped their necks quickly before moving onto the next. Geo dropped down from the rooftops right onto another hunter.

Shiro disarmed one of them that was pointing their gun at Ava. A quick hit with the butt end of it and the hunter was down and out. He would leave the killing for his warriors, though. His main focus was Ava.

He carried her out of the alleyway, the chains burning him as well. He was going to set her down to yank the chains off when he felt a searing pain on his side. He still had that wound from one of the bullets that had clipped him on his right side. Another one buried itself into his leg while he had hurried to get Ava out of there. It took all he had in him not to scream from the pain of those silver bullets.

He couldn't back down now. He couldn't be weak when his people needed him the most. He closed his eyes and took some deep breaths, willing the pain to null and his body to continue to fight. After only a second, he regained his strength. Pain was all in the mind. If he could control his mind, then he could control the pain.

"Shiro!" a car screeched to a halt right in front of him. He would have been on guard if he didn't recognize that voice. That low voice could only belong to Jett. It alone gave him more energy to keep going.

Instead of answering, he finished his mission. He set Ava down on the ground and started to break the chains off her. She was unconscious at this point. Everywhere those chains were, it burned her. Soon, he wasn't the only one breaking those chains. Jett quickly aided him in his endeavor.

"Do you have a blanket?" he asked. Geo and the rest were done taking care of the hunters in the alleyway, but he was sure that there were more in the city. They must have used the city as their means of entering their territory this time.

"Yeah," Jett jumped up. "What happened?"

"They grabbed her as she was exiting the carnival," Shiro told him. He quickly wrapped her up in the blanket that he handed him and picked the girl up. "There might be more of them. We need to guard this city."

"I already have reports coming in for them being near downtown," Geo ran up to them. "Is Ava going to be okay?"

"I don't know," Shiro shook his head. "I need to get her to a doctor."

He needed to get himself to a doctor. But that was beside the point.

"We can take her to mine," Jett told him. "It's the closest to where we are right now."