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Alex's expression darkened. "They took him. I tried to stop them, but—" He gestured to a nasty gash on his forehead.

"Took him? Who?" Mo struggled to his feet, panic rising in his chest. “Noah?”

"Noah’s okay. It was shifters in masks who took Zack. They had weapons designed for shifters—tranquilizer guns, stun batons. They knew exactly what they were doing." He paused. “It was hard to tell at first with the smell of the smoke that they were wolves, but I can now. They took out Raschid’s men with the darts. They knew what they were doing.”

Noah appeared at the top of the stairs, his face pale with shock. "This is my fault. They came for him because of me."

"No," Mo said firmly, despite the tremor in his voice. "This is not your fault. It's Pearson's."

Alex moved to Noah's side, placing a protective arm around the younger boy's shoulders. "Did you see which way they went?"

"Toward the town," Noah said. "Three black SUVs. I saw from the upstairs window."

Mo staggered to his feet, fighting a wave of dizziness. "We need to call Victor. Tell him—"

"I already tried," Alex said grimly. "Phones are dead. They must have some kind of jammer."

The sound of breaking glass from the back of the house had them all freezing. Alex immediately pushed Noah behind him, his body tensing as he prepared to shift.

"Get upstairs," he whispered to Mo and Noah. "Hide."

"I'm not leaving you," Noah protested.

Before they could argue further, a massive black wolf burst through the kitchen doorway, hackles raised and teeth bared. Mo nearly collapsed with relief as he recognized Victor. "Victor!" Mo cried out.

The wolf's eyes locked onto Mo, relief visible even in his animal form. Victor shifted back to human form in one fluid motion, not bothering with modesty as he strode toward them.

"Are you hurt?" Victor demanded, his hands running over Mo's body, checking for injuries.

"I'm fine," Mo assured him. "But they took Zack."

Victor's jaw clenched, a muscle ticking in his cheek. "I know. I saw it on Pearson's security feed. It was a trap from the beginning."

"Jacob?" Alex asked.

"Safe. We got him out." Victor pulled on the clothes Alex hastily grabbed from the bin in the corner. "Daniel's bringing him."

Mo clutched Victor's arm. "Why would they take Zack? Why not all of us? And I thought Raschid’s wolves were protecting us?"

Victor's expression darkened. "I don’t know—"

The front door burst open as Daniel arrived with Raschid and several of his wolves. The alpha's expression was thunderous as he surveyed the damage.

"Three of my wolves are dead," Raschid growled. "The others were tranquilized."

"Shifters," Alex confirmed. "They knew exactly what they were doing."

Raschid snarled. The threat was obvious, even from a human throat.

Daniel moved through the house with military precision, checking each room. "We need to make sure this place is secure. They might come back. Raschid, can you take Mo—"

"I'm not going anywhere," Mo said firmly. "Not without Zack."

Victor placed a hand on Mo's shoulder. "Mo—"

"No," Mo interrupted. "He's my mate too. I'm not abandoning him."

“We’re not expecting you to,” Riley said. “We just need to know what we’re walking into and plan accordingly.”