Luhan waits patiently in muffled anticipation over the next few months as the fruits of his labor start showing completion. Slowly he has been sending out messages to the various people in his true Pack that are spying on the other packs involved with the war efforts. That Kai is preoccupied with his mate and toddler pup, that he isn’t as focused on the war efforts to punish Taehyung’s mates anymore, that Taehyung is safe, even if he can’t confirm it with his own two eyes.

Luhan does not look the part, but he has always been a cunning mastermind in protecting what he can. He’d been a newly trained Beta wolf, learning the various network of spies and informants for the Packs close to his true Pack when Kai had come storming into the Pack territory with his abnormally enhanced Alphas, decimating the Pack he’d been staying with. Because Kai never thought to check the scents of unmated members of the now dead Pack laying at his feet, he had automatically assumed the unmated Beta was a part of that Pack and was more than willing to have him pledge allegiance and loyalty to live.

Luhan’s wolf smirks at the thought as he waits for the latest round of messages to be read before he deletes his side of the messages. No doubt if he were ever to be caught, he’d be executed on the spot. He sighs, raking a hand through his messy hair. Some of it falls back into his face, and he wonders if it’s time for a haircut, but ultimately decides against it. A tradition of his true Pack was to tattoo a little spy symbol right behind the ear, something tiny that could be mistaken for a mole if it’s not looked at too closely, and he’d rather not have someone brush up close enough to him to find it if he cut his hair too short.

Sighing, Luhan gets up from his desk, ruffling things around to find a particular piece of paper that he knows Kai will be interested before heading out towards the Alpha’s office.

The shifter he’d contacted to spread the word toward Taehyung’s mates had confirmed that the VIXX pack was on the move, and it seemed like Namjoon and Yoongi were amongst the group heading towards Taehyung’s location. He would be relieved when Taehyung is back with his mates, but at the same time, he’s anxious to see what will happen when Kai’s carefully laid out plans go to waste as Luhan sabotages them.

He nods to the various shifters going down the hallway towards Kai’s office, the piece of paper carefully hidden in his shirt pocket. Back when he’d first followed Kai, it hadn’t occurred to him to send word back to his true Pack about his whereabouts until several years later when he’d come across another member of the Pack infiltrating Kai’s Pack.

Tao had been a short, but stealthy Omega, coming into the Pack house as a potential mate for Kai from the Pack elders who’d thought Kai would do well with a mate so early in his life as Head Alpha. They’d met quite by accident one day when Kai decided he’d wanted one of the Pack Omegas to pound out his frustrations on.

Luhan had recognized the Omega immediately, his hackles coming up as Tao explained in hushed tones to him that their true Pack had thought Luhan had been abducted by Kai, forced into slavery or dead by the Alpha’s hands when he never checked in for his yearly review and they found out about the other Pack being killed by Kai’s men.

Tao stayed for a few months before he’d left again, sneaking out just as stealthy as he’d snuck in, but not before leaving his contact for Luhan, and that was how he’d gotten back in touch with his true Pack, and back into the spy network.

Knocking on the door, Luhan waits for Kai to acknowledge him. It’s quiet in the office. Too quiet, and Luhan knows that Kai shouldn’t have any meetings or visitors to his office this time of day. Not even Kyungsoo knew Kai’s schedule as well as Luhan did.

He opens the door, figuring he’ll just get yelled at if Kai is busy, but is surprised by an empty office. He sighs, knowing that it meant the Alpha has gone off to see Taehyung, but just as the thought crosses his mind, his heart leaps into his throat. If Kai’s gone off to see the Omega, and he’s got word that VIXX and Taehyung’s mates are on their way to the house to rescue him, that meant that Kai would be caught red handed keeping the Omega hostage.

With that thought in mind, he closes the door to the office, turning and heading straight back to his room to do some much-needed work. If Kai’s going to mess his timeline of events up by going to see Taehyung, he needs to activate end protocols early.

**

Kai sighs as Taehyung sniffs around him in curiosity. The Omega has been sticking to his wolf form almost constantly, and Kai has been far too busy to make the once weekly trips to see him. He’s actually starting to worry that Taehyung’s gone feral, but from all accounts in the history books of shifters going feral is nearly impossible.

“Let’s get you something to eat yeah?” Kai says as Taehyung finishes his inspection, finding nothing different about the Alpha before he goes back to the pile of blankets and clothes that he’s managed to turn into a makeshift nest.

Just as Kai hits the kitchen, he hears voices, and starts in surprise. Luhan hasn’t told him if he’s been able to contact Taehyung’s mates or the Pack that they’re allied with since Kai’s told him to find them. One sounds suspiciously like Namjoon, and Kai’s eyes widen.

His wolf stirs inside him, worry shifting over to instinct as he briefly wonders if Luhan has purposely misinformed him of contacting Taehyung’s mates or not.

Kai stays silent, as Taehyung barely moves in his nest, a light dozing look on his face. The sounds of voices disappear from his hearing, and he sighs. ‘Maybe I’m getting paranoid about things.’ He thinks, striding to the fridge that he’s pretty sure he’d stocked before leaving the last time. The voices he thought he’d heard hadn’t gotten louder or closer to the house, so he wonders if the secrecy of coming down without Kyungsoo knowing is finally weighing on his conscious.

‘When did I come down last?’ Kai thinks, as he opens the fridge to find it stripped bare. His eyes narrow at the sour scent of mold tickles his nose and he coughs to clear his lungs from the offending scent. Looking in the freezer, then the cupboards reveals that Kai has been gone long enough that either Taehyung has eaten all the food, or Kai hadn’t stocked like he thought he’d had.

“I am going to run up to the store and get some food. I must not have stocked enough for you last time.” Kai tells Taehyung as he gathers up his keys and jacket that he’d left by the door.

The Omega just huffs at him, burrowing down further into his nest.

Kai leaves the house, not bothering to lock it as he shifts. His wallet and keys tucked safely into a bag he uses for when he shifts and has to run a long distance. Kai’s been smart, leaving his vehicle at a safe house that only Luhan knows about, just in case someone comes sniffing around the seemingly abandoned house that looks more kept up than the others.

What he doesn’t see, as he leaves, is a set of paw prints that stick out in the soft grass near the front door that are much larger than his own.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait between chapters! I actually ran into some low key writers block after finishing Luhan's part of the chapter, trying to figure out how I would transition things (because spoiler alert! Tae gets reunited with his mates next chapter!!)

I've also been pretty busy with convention work, and work in general has been busy because we're short staffed (again), and I've been doing a NaNoWriMo prep course for creative writing, so yeah, I barely get a few hours of time to do things after work before I have to go to bed and start all over again the next day. Things will settle down next month though, because my convention will be over, and besides bonding and training a new kitten we're getting in Nov (happy birthday to me!), work tends to die down a bit for the holidays.

For those who don't know, my hubby surprised me with a ticket to see BTS in Chicago on 10/3, and while it wasn't eligible for soundcheck, I had the time of my life last week, screaming myself hoarse and loving every minute of seeing them on stage. I have a ton of pictures (well, 174 according to my computer). I have PCD pretty bad, I can't stop listening to the album and reliving the concert, and nearly bawling any time Answer or Magic Shop comes on my player. I can't wait to see them again!

Anyway, better end this AN here before it gets too long. Let me know what you think in the comments!