My eyes flutter open as I try to pull myself from the deep sleep I was put in. I hear the crackling sound of a fire and the scent of the forest. My head is pounding and it takes almost all of my energy to try and look around.

From where I lay, the room was dark except for the fire that was burning in the large fireplace. I was laying on a couch in-front of the fireplace in a room I don't recognize.

My arms won't move when as I try to push my body up. I can wiggle my toes and fingers, but I can't get anything else to move.

Katon! Where are you! I yell at my wolf. I can feel him but he won't or can't answer.

"Don't bother trying to get up. I've given you something to keep you from moving" I heard a voice call from behind the couch. It was a voice I recognized...Pete!

Questions flood my thoughts...how did I get here? Why is my father-in-law here? Where's is Dane...my PUPS!

Fighting my own body, I try to sit-up.

"Stop wasting your energy. We need to have a conversation and I need you to pay attention. Don't worry, my grandkids are just fine. They are in the bedroom sleeping. Sariah has been eating like a champ and can walk to the bathroom without anybody helping her. My little serum won't hurt your unborn pups either" my father-in-law barked.

"Why the hell did you drug me and where's Eileen" I ask. His body tenses when I mention his mate. I have never known them to be without each other for long. What the hell was going on...

"What is the last thing you remember" he asks sitting on a chair next to the couch. The chair was situated so I was looking right at him. I was shocked to see how pale and aged his face had become. His salt-n-pepper hair had grown longer and messy. Not once since I've known him has he ever looked this disheveled. His eyes only held anger.

I close my eyes trying to focus on remembering but my head feels heavy and fuzzy. Images pop in but leave quickly...

Dane had left the hospital and the rest of us stayed in the hospital room... I remember Pete showing up and how excited the pups were to see him... Brian had come in and somehow we had both convinced him to let us take Sariah back to the suite...

It goes dark after that until I recollect hearing Dane's voice.

Darkness again takes over.

"I remember you coming to the hospital and we both talked to Brian" I respond. My brain is still trying to process that my father-in-law just told me he drugged me.

He sighs and starts rubbing his hands together.

"When Colleen came to us and told us you were her mate, we begged her to reject you. We promised that we would find someone worthy of her—an alpha or beta. Maybe even a gamma. She wouldn't even consider it. We despised you a little less when you became a pack doctor. At least that position holds some importance in a pack.

Once our grand-babies came, Eileen and I nearly forgave you for taking Colleen away from us. Again, we begged you to join our pack. But instead, you chose some stand-in family over Colleen's own blood. And then, you couldn't even protect her.

You killed my daughter. My only daughter.

We only came down to take back the grand-kids. We never intended for you to return with us. Your damn Alpha stuck his nose in and we were ordered to take you back with us.

We hoped that you wouldn't survive losing Colleen. We knew that if you did, you would one day take the kids away from us just like you did our daughter. Once you did start improving, we quietly started making preparations. Two-years ago, we bought two cabins. This one and one that is close to your pack's borders. We slowly started stocking them with supplies. Two-days after you left, we packed up the truck and came down to the cabin by your borders.

We raised those kids, not you. Did you actually think that we would let you take them from us for very long" he seethed glaring at me.

"Why? I don't understand any of this" I exclaim.

"SHUT UP" he growls. I can feel the anger rolling off his body. He takes deep breaths to calm himself and then continues.

"I would think that after your pack was attacked by rogues, your Alpha would ensure that his boundaries were well guarded. It took no time at all when we first came to learn the border patrols routes. Once we knew that, we easily masked our scents and had full reign of the territory. We happened upon the cavern in the rock formation by accident. It made for a perfect location for a base-camp.

Wolves focus on the ground, but forget the sky. We set up cameras in the trees around the pack house and watched.

When we watched you and that bastard of a Beta together on the front steps of the pack house, we knew you were mates. If that wasn't bad enough, you let him near our grand-babies. The Beta complicated things but made us more determined to get them away from you.

And then, it was like the Moon Goddess herself was blessing us when we saw what happened with Nero. We killed the guards and agreed to free him if he helped us. He was more than willing especially if it meant killing the Beta.

We continued to gather intelligence and he recruited more rogues. Things were going as planned until we observed that the border patrols routes and shift times had changed. The plan got delayed until we could test the boundaries to determine the new system" Pete spoke, his gaze fixed on the fire-place.

"Something went wrong didn't it" I ask with gritted teeth. I was desperately trying to contact Katon for help.

After a few moments, he looked back over at me. His eyes held sadness and his body slouched with defeat.

"I needed to get some containers from the store and had dropped Eileen off at the rock formation so she could take over monitoring the camera feeds. Not to long after, she called me and was near hysterics. Nero had declared himself to be the Alpha and wanted to attack that night. We needed at least two-more weeks before we had the capability to overtake the pack. Nero was going to ruin any chance we had. I raced back to find an empty cavern except for Eileen. She was dead. Blood was everywhere...her blood. I took Eileen's body, as much masking spray as I could carry, the laptops, and headed back to my truck before they discovered me.

I couldn't return to base-camp and the cabin was too far away. So I found a motel in town and re-grouped..." he continues.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH. It was you wasn't it, you made the mixture that Nero gave Sariah to keep her quiet. YOU ALMOST KILLED YOUR OWN GRAND-DAUGHTER YOU PIECE OF SHIT" I roar interrupting him.

My body still couldn't move but it felt like it was on fire.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP...that was all a mistake. We had planned to coat claws with it prior to the attack. It was never meant for the children. I discovered it was gone when I found Eileen. Nero must have taken it" he growls.

I stay glaring at the evil asshole in-front of me.

"How did you know Sariah was awake" I ask.

"I didn't. But I couldn't spend another night in that damn motel. So I packed some clothes, masking spray, and some other goodies in a back-pack and snuck unto the territory.

I knew you would ask me to stay in the pack house even if she wasn't awake. When she finally woke up and recovered, I would wait for the right moment and then disappear with my grand-kids.

The Moon Goddess couldn't have given me a better opportunity. Your mate was gone and all of you were together. We convinced your dumb doctor friend to release Sariah. After that I slipped a sedative in your drink. Just enough so you wouldn't be able to link but still get us out of the territory without raising suspicion.

Don't bother trying to link, we are too far away" he explains with an evil smirk plastered on his face.

My body tensed when I realized all the yelling should have woken up the pups but not one of them had come out the room. Fear pulse through my veins.

"What did you do to my pups Pete? Why haven't they come out here with all the yelling we've done" I ask angrily.

"I didn't know how tonight would go, so I gave them a natural sedative" he state shrugging his shoulders.

I growled back at him. Sick son-of-a-bitch...

"Dane will find us Pete. He will never stop and when he finds you, he will rip you apart" I yell.

"I am counting on him coming after you. I gave him just enough bread crumbs to buy me a few days. During my time at the motel, I came to a realization. You and your mate needed to die. I have no doubt that you both would never stop looking for us. With Eileen being gone, it will be too difficult constantly looking over my shoulder and trying to give the kids a good home-life. Second, those abominations growing in your stomach..."

"YOU BASTARD" I growl as loud as I could cutting him off. He sat in the chair chuckling.

"Scream all you want. You, Dane, and your un-born pups will die" he evilly tells me.

Anger and fear took over my body and tears roll down the side of my face.

Pete stood up and walked over to me. Kneeling down, he says coldly, "how you spend your last days is up to you Caleb. Fight me and I'll make sure you stay on this couch and hardly see your pups. IF you are a good, I will let you up and you can spend time with them. This is the only time I will offer this. If you try to escape, I will show no mercy."

One more thing. Don't mistake me for an idiot. Everything I told you tonight, I wanted you to know before you died. You are weak and pathetic like your pack. I am smarter than you, your mate, and your Alpha. This doesn't have a happy ending" he cockily spews as I feel a sharp prick on my neck.

My eye sight starts to get blurry as I try to fight the darkness.

Please Dane...find us...