The warm night air hung over the landscape, signaling the coming summer. Minseok felt the heat, it bothered him. It contributed to his restlessness – it was another excuse for why he couldn’t seem to fall into effortless slumber. It was almost three in the morning and he had spent a few hours changing positions, throwing off his covers, pulling them back over himself and throwing them off again. Yet sleep eluded him, try as he might it would not come easily.

Minseok sighed. Luhan was next to him, snoring lightly, oblivious to his mate’s discomfort. Finally sick of his endless struggle to get comfortable, Minseok left their bedroom and made his way to the living room. Lately he had fallen asleep effortlessly, especially since he became pregnant. He was far more tired than he had been pre-pregnancy, his body worn out from carrying the pups. But tonight was different and he had no idea why.

He decided it must be intuition that drove his insomnia, a decision that was based off of a familiar scent carried on the warm night air. More than one scent actually, one of which he had not experienced in decades. One of which he dreaded, one of which he never believed he would ever experience again.

***

Tao had quickly discovered that a pregnant Sehun was ten times as demanding as normal Sehun. As in he had decided Tao was a very adequate butler, waiter, foot massager, and anything else he needed at the moment. Tao complied, because to be honest he was still scared less at the prospect of becoming a parent. So much so, he was at a loss for what to do next.

In a way he was happy Sehun knew what to do next – tell Tao what food he wanted, tell Tao that he felt sick, tell Tao to rub his tired feet. It was something, if not exactly a parenting guide, maybe a narrative through the first week of pregnancy at least. It was the middle of the night and Sehun wanted some of the leftover steamed potatoes, so Tao agreed readily to go get them for his mate. A rough guide to pregnancy.

Dressed in sweat pants, shirtless, Tao made his way to the kitchen. It was a much smaller room, well area- it couldn’t really be called a room – than what they had in the mansion, but it still had counter space and a sink. For Tao it was good enough, considering the Cloud Mountain pack had once called the streets home. Sehun complained there was no ice dispenser or water filter, but Tao just smiled. It was adequate.

As Tao walked into the living area he noticed Minseok, standing near the door.

“Hyung, what are you doing up?” Tao was used to late night orders as of late, but Minseok was usually fast asleep at this time.

When Minseok didn’t answer Tao approached his hyung, calling his name again. Still nothing.

Victoria, who had been sleeping in the small room off of the kitchen, was soundlessly behind Tao in a matter of seconds. Tao had jumped when she grabbed his arm, but at her motions towards silence he wisely complied. He understood why as soon as he picked up the scent. There were hybrids, unfamiliar hybrids, nearby.

***

The forest at night was a long forgotten memory, flooding back in waves. Clean air, the sky that revealed itself through the few openings in the thick brush. The sound of night, of animals, of insects, of a place where the complications were not manmade.

Her breath was raspy, pained even, as she in the feeling of freedom. She was stumbling, her legs full of pain. Her legs had hurt for a long time, but she had not had the opportunity to walk more than ten feet and feel that pain – not for years. It was all cramped spaces, metal, antiseptic smell. Needles.

She began pulling away, the flashes in front of her bringing her back to that raw place that told her the only thing to do was try to run, try to drag herself to the furthest space she could find away from that horrible reality.

A strong hand kept her upright, pulling at her wrist painfully. She screamed – or at least tried to scream. It was more of a hoarse coughing. Did she know how to scream anymore?

Trying to fight now was as useless as it had always been, but she had to try. She always made an effort. Because she had a will to survive. Because she had to see her pup one more time before she died.

***

“Do you think this is the best way…”

Professor Jung answered confidently, because he truly believed it. “Yes, I do.”

Changmin nodded. He was not one to always follow after Yunho, but he trusted him. He trusted him, and only called bull if he had a better plan or deciphered a clear flaw in the Professor’s reasoning. He didn’t have a better plan at the moment. Victoria, the one woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, was as good as dead if she ever set foot in Seoul again. He needed a plan at the moment.

“They will be arriving soon if my calculations are correct.” Professor Jung commented a few minutes later. The headlights of the small, beat up car were the only man made illumination for miles. They had started the journey hours ago, on a hedged bet that the scientist would do exactly what he said he would do. What they told him to do, or else.

“What happens if they get there first?” Changmin asked quietly.

“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” Professor Jung whispered. If that happened there was no way to calculate the damage that would be done.

***

Luhan bolted upright. He had been deep in sleep, dreaming a fuzzy scenario that had him carrying his pups to soccer practice – Minseok behind him nagging the whole time about making sure their pups would be safe. Funny how he was the one scolding Minseok only a couple of months before for the same thing, safety during a rough soccer game. Funny how it worked.

He wasn’t sure at first what had driven him out of his slumber. Luhan was confused, even more so when he realized Minseok was not next to him. He stood, rubbing his eyes as he adjusted to his darkness. It was a few seconds later before he registered the foreign scent. Someone was nearby, someone he didn’t recognize.

***

The dead leaves, left over from the autumn, thawed in spring and still coating the forest floor, rustled as she dragged her feet. It was a weak resistance in the face of such a powerful force dragging her. She tried, she tried.

He didn’t care. He couldn’t care. She was not in any more pain than she had been. No, she would be better now. They would be better now. If he could get her there, if he could move her. If he could ignore her small whines, her raspy moans of pain and displeasure and panic. She may not know him anymore, but he knew her. He knew her more than he had ever known anyone in his life. He knew her….and this was for the best.

***

Suho nudged Jongdae awake, putting a finger to his lips he beant down and whispered in Jongdae’s ear “Someone is coming”

Jongdae blinked rapidly, adjusting to the darkness. He could smell it too. When Suho grabbed his hand and helped him up from bed he followed, groggily. They made their way down the small hallway to the living room. Jongdae could make out Tao, Minseok, and Victoria’s silhouettes standing near the door. Their postures were stiff, evident even in the darkness.

Suho grabbed Jongdae’s hand tightly. They waited, breathing in the approaching unknown.

***

Professor Jung had made the decision easily, once he had considered all of the facts. If the Eastern Dawn and Cloud Mountain packs had infiltrated the lab – even with the help of an insider – there was a damn good chance at least one of them would not be coming back.

Was it an easy way out? Was it the right way? He hoped so.

“He said he would get them out….” He repeated over and over in his head. It had to be true. If it wasn’t true they were back to the beginning, their leverage gone. If it was a lie, which it could be, he had failed them all.

***

Luhan ran to the living room, hitting his shins on the door frame in the process. Ignoring the pain he found his mate in the living room, ready for what was coming.

“Who is it?” He asked, only to have Victoria to loudly shush him.

He was quick to Minseok’s side.

“It is my Mother….” Minseok whispered, not moving.

Luhan felt cold, suddenly very cold. Wasn’t Minseok’s Mother dead?

“My mother…” Minseok repeated, never looking away from the door, from the open window.

***

She was crying, but it was guttural noises of frenzy not an expected sob. He didn’t care, he was so, so close. He dragged her into the clearing, seeing the stone house in front of him. He could sense their child was near.

It was adrenaline driving him, he turned and swept her into his arms. He carried her to the entryway, not bothering to knock or give a what would welcome him, he threw open the door.

It was an instant commotion as the door hit the wall with a thud, the falling of plaster.

“Minseok!, Min!” It was his son’s mate, his voice a chocked sob.

“Hyung!” He recognized the voice as another member of his son’s pack, his voice full of distress.

The woman in his arms was struggling, but it was a weak fight. He ignored her, his eyes glued to the limp form on the floor, surrounded by four other hybrids. His son was not moving, he could make out a small pool of blood forming. The woman in his arms struggled still, but it didn’t’ matter. Did anything matter anymore?

***

“I should kill you.”

When So Ra was angry..well, she was angry. Chanyeol hid his face behind Baekhyun’s shoulder as he witnessed So Ra’s full wrath for the first time. He was just happy he wasn’t on the receiving end.

“Sorry.” Professor Jung spoke earnestly, his face pale and sickly. His sorrow was evident to anyone that just looked at the man.

“Why? Tell me ing why this was a good idea?!” So Ra was only inches away from the Professor’s face, staring him down.

“Because it was the only way I knew one of them wouldn’t die.” Professor Jung answered solemnly.

“And one of them MIGHT die” So Ra shouted back. If there was one thing that could anger this woman more than anything else it was an injury paid to her pack. Or the future generation of her pack.

“I am so, so sorry.” Professor Jung hung his head low, the tears flowing.

***

The air on the mountain was clean, the night sky was clear. It was winter on Mount Halla – a time when all of the residents of the mountain became hungry foragers finding solidarity in the cold and brutal months.

As the cold hung over them, surrounded them, housed them, he couldn’t understand why the pups were sent to bed before the nighttime hunt. Why was he sent to bed before his Mother and Father joined the others to stalk the large game of the mountainside? In the summer the pups were alongside them – well a good enough space behind them – learning to hunt from afar.

He whined that night, nudging his cousins awake in his frustration.

But his Mother had stayed behind then, grabbing him by his scruff she had cuddled him into her warmth.

“You will grow up to be the mightiest wolf of all” She had sang to him in low, melodic tones that put his anxiety to rest. He had fallen asleep, his face buried in his Mother’s fur.

It had been the day before the humans had shown up. The day before the death of his innocence.

***

“I will kill you.” Luhan had Sung Woo against the wall, his eyes flashing a hint of his wolf form – of the anger coursing through him.

Sung Woo let the younger man back him up against the wall. He deserved it.

“Stop..” So Ra put a hand between the two, the only one that would dare to do so.

Luhan still had Sung Woo’s shirt in his grasp, but he leaned his weight back a bit, giving the older man room the breath.

“Luhan..”  A familiar voice spoke his name.

Luhan hadn’t even realized Professor Jung was there. Minseok had collapsed, hitting his head, bleeding from a nasty gash. It had happened as soon as Sung Woo had come bursting in, a crazy hybrid woman in his arms. Minseok’s Mother? Luhan didn’t care at the moment – what he cared about was his mate, his pups, and the way Sung Woo never failed to damage them at every turn.

“Professor?” Luhan let Sung Woo go, “Why?”

“Luhan, I can explain – “

“Please do.” Luhan directed his rage towards the new comer. When Victoria had arrived at the house she had confirmed exactly what Luhan knew to be true – they would be infiltrating the lab soon. They would record the experiments being performed on hybrids, they would gain evidence to bring to the populace.

Professor Jung took a deep breath, because he had known hybrids long enough to know that their anger should be sated quickly, “If you had gone to the lab, one of you would probably not have returned. It was a suicide mission, at least for one of you. After we analyze the site more…there was no hope for all of you to get out. We bribed the scientist to let Sung Woo go…along with Minseok’s Mother. He will help you now – Sung Woo knows how Ahn incited the hybrid attacks. And he has evidence from the lab.”

Luhan considered the words for a moment, knowing the honesty that the Professor abided by.

“I hope you are right, or I will kill both of you.” Luhan turned and stalked back into the bedroom where his mate was lying, unconscious.

***

Tao held a wet cloth to Minseok’s forehead. He had cleaned the blood away, the cut was not as deep as he had first suspected. Minseok had hit his head on the stone floor when he fell, he probably had a slight concussion, but he was not near death.

Luhan entered the room. Tao didn’t even bother to look at Luhan’s face, he knew the man was angry. When Tao thought of the same thing happening to Sehun he understood how Luhan felt. If he was in Luhan’s place he would probably have ripped Sung Woo apart.

“I think he is going to be okay.” Tao tried to reassure Luhan.

“Thanks Tao.” Luhan sat on the edge of the bed, raising a hand to Minseok’s cheek, “You can go now.”

Tao was not about to argue, he left quietly, snaking past the dramatic scene in the hallway. He found Sehun in their room, his face buried in a pillow.

“Can we just have a peaceful day?” Sehun mumbled into the pillow.

“Hopefully someday, Hun-ah.” Tao laid down next to his mate, pulling him close.

***

So Ra stared at the woman before her. No- the hybrid woman before her.

She was broken, crazy even. Skin and bones. She had bruises covering her pale skin, her eyes dull like the fire of consciousness had long gone from her body.

“Your son is here”

Professor Jung did not have to fill So Ra in that this was Minseok’s Mother. One look at the woman and you could see the uncanny resemblance.

So Ra had taken this confused soul to one of the upstairs rooms, trying to soothe her and calm her down. She was frantic but too weak to really put up any kind of resistance to any direction.

“You must have felt so much pain.” So Ra kneeled down, looking the scared creature in the eyes.

The woman darted her gaze to a corner of the room.

“Minseok is here. And he is going to have pups of his own.” So Ra said quietly, “You are going to be a grandmother.”

The woman looked at her then, a light firing behind those cold grey eyes, “M…mmm-iiinnn”

“Yes, Minseok. Your son.” So Ra smiled at the woman, “He is here.”

***

He regained consciousness slowly. It was the ceiling, all dark wooden beams and plaster that greeted him first. As his eyes adjusted he could make out a fuzzy form above him.

“Min?”

It was Luhan. Thank god it was Luhan.

Minseok tried to sit up, but Luhan shot an arm out to gently hold him back, “Rest.”

“My mom…”

“Yeah. Let me explain.”

***

It was a lot to piece together. Professor Jung had made an executive decision – picked plan B when they only had plan A. It was too risky to infiltrate the lab, especially after he learned the extent of the hybrids guarding the place.

The scientist that they had blackmailed had offered up a mutually beneficial scenario – he would let Sung Woo and Sun Hi escape. He had the ability to transport inmates to an outside medical building for experimentation. He ordered it for the couple, and loaded them up on a transport out of the facility.

The transport took the duo within fifty miles of the refuge place of the Cloud Mountain and Eastern dawn packs. From there Professor Jung had arranged directions to meet in place near the outskirts of the forest – a place that Sung Woo never appeared at. Professor Jung knew well enough that Sung Woo was going to find Minseok on his own, the Professor be damned.

"My  Mother…she is here?” Minseok asked the Professor. After telling an overprotective Luhan to back off and let the professor in, Minseok was full of questions.

“Yes, but she has been confined for a very, very long time Minseok.” Professor Jung explained, “She is not the same person that you remember.”

Minseok swallowed. He spent a few years in that hell himself, he wouldn’t expect her to be a whole person after spending far longer being tortured. He remembered how his Father had told him as much, that his Mom was still alive in a lab. Could he trust Sung Woo?! A little…

“What about Sung Woo? Why trust him now?”

“He knows what he did wrong” Jung shook his head, as if to show disappointment at Sung Woo’s previous actions “He isn’t going to make that mistake again.”

Minseok took it all in.  “Now what?”

“Your Father has evidence on the lab, and he knows how Ahn incited the hybrids into the attacks in Seoul. We have what we need.”

“So this is it?” Minseok asked, squeezing Luhan’s hand. Luhan had remained silent, staying at Minseok’s side, sitting on the bed next to his mate as he listened to the conversation.

“Maybe. We have more than we have ever had…we need to go back to Seoul.” Professor Jung looked from one man to the other, “If you are both ready for it”

They answered in unison, their resolve clear. If they were going to have a future, if their pups were going to have a future, the answer was clear. They had to go back to Seoul and fight

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a/n-  A little different pacing from past chapters, I hope you enjoyed it! So yeah, Sung Woo didn’t lie – Min’s Mom was in a lab. So….what will happen next?!

I am having a hard time realizing this plot is coming to an end. If I want to tell a decent story I am giving this fic four to five more chapters at the most, if I want to hang on to this story (which I do) you can expect me to drone on and on – with a lot of fluff towards the end. So what do you want to read? A well plotted story or me going crazy on not letting this go? You guys decide. I look at this story as therapy in a lot of ways, I don’t want to let it go!

Thanks for subbing! Love you for voting! And check me out on tumblr if you are bored. Cheers!

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