Her head throbbed as she regained consciousness. The first thing that she noticed was that she was cold and the air smelled terrible. Rory's heart raced as she slowly sat up, her eyes locking on hazel ones that were inches from her.

"What? I?--" Rory paused not even knowing what she was asking or going to say. The movement caused a sharp pain to occur behind her eyes and immediately shut them.

"Careful, you have a nasty wound." A small voice said. Rory frowned and took in the small girl sitting in front of her. The young girl had dull blonde hair, her face was dirty and she was pale. Rory took in the small room and noticed two other people in the dingy room.

"Where am I?" Rory asked, moving to sit up.

"We don't know. They don't let us outside." The small girl said.

Rory nodded and looked around and took in the other two boys. One of the boys looked to be a little older, maybe twelve, he had dark brown hair, and the other boy was leaning into him, and had light blonde hair.

"How old are you guys?" Rory asked.

"I am six, Drew is eleven and Ryan is eight." The little girl spoke.

"And what's your name?" Rory questioned.

"Alice."

"Nice to meet you guys, I am Rory." Rory said with what she hoped to be a friendly smile.

"How long have you guys been here do you think?"

"I don't know, a few weeks. Maybe a month?" Drew whispered. He opened his mouth to say something else, but immediately stopped as the door opened, and heavy footsteps came their way.

"Oh, good." A rough voice said, "You've all met."

Rory watched as Alice scurried over to the other side of the cell, and Rory just noticed that they were all chained to the wall. She was so focused on the pain in her head, that she hadn't even noticed the weight of the shackle on her ankle.

Rory scooted into the wall as the man came to her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Do you know why you are here?" The man asked and Rory stayed silent.

"Fine, I will tell you why. You are going to be my ticket into the Hunter's Circle." The man spoke and she immediately knew that her captor was talking about the same Hunters that Blue told her was hunting members of the Old Kingdom.

Apparently the captor didn't like her continued silence because he smacked her hard across the face and she could taste blood in her mouth.

"When I come back, I hope you are willing to talk." The man spoke, his Brown eyes filled with anger and hate. "Otherwise, I there are other ways to get you to talk." He threatened leaving them to the darkness.

"How often does he come in?" She asked looking the the three children for answers.

"Often." The older boy Drew said with a shudder.

Rory frowned as she heard their captor again. They had to have been left alone for no more than ten minutes, and they spent it in silence. Their captor came into his dingy cell and stared at them, his eyes roaming over the four of them equally, however this time, Rory noticed that he was not alone. Standing behind him was a tall bulky man who had a scar running from his eyebrow to his jaw.

"Who am I going to take?" The man said, with a deep smirk, obviously hoping to frighten them. "I think I am going to take the little one."

Hearing the man's decision to take her, Alice immediately started crying as the bulky man came towards her.

"What are you doing?" Rory demanded only to be ignored. "No, leave her alone."

The men paid no attention to her, and went to unlock Alice's chain and Rory knew that she had to help in any way that she could. Almost without thinking about it, Rory took her free leg and kicked the man in the back of the knee, causing him to fall sideways. She almost regretted it, as the man turned towards her his eyes with fury.

"Ok, girly. You want to play. Let's play." The man growled, gesturing for the bulky man to grab her instead. The man unlocked her shackle, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her feet. Her scalp was burning, as she was pulled down the hallway, her head pounding from the previous injury.

Before she could do anything to get away from her captors she was strapped to a cold metal table, medical tools lying flat and menacing to the side of her.

"Now, as long as you give me my answers I won't hurt you...too bad." The man said a sinister smirk on his face.

"Let's begin." He took a scalpel and slowly ran it across her skin, not deep enough to cut, but to give a threatening tickle at what could come.

"What pack are you from?" The man demanded.

Rory stayed silent; nothing would make her give up her pack. She hissed as there was a sharp cut across her arm, but it closed as quickly as it happened due to how healthy her fox had gotten while in Kole's pack.

"Who is your Alpha?"

Rory stayed silent, wincing slightly at two more cuts. It went back and forth between the two, the man demanding questions and Rory staying silent. Each time she stayed quiet he added an additional cut to the count. Little did he know that she was put through much worse situations while in Darren's pack.

Rory lost count at 19 cuts, her mind was getting muddled but she kept reminding herself not to say anything.

"Get the Wolvsbane." the man demanded of the other bulky man. The other man moved slowly, as if he was hesitant about her tortures' actions but still delivered the clear toxic poison to him.

This time, Rory couldn't help but cry out as he poured the liquid on her cuts causing them to feel like they were on fire.

"Boss, maybe give her time to breath. She will be no use to us dead." The bulky man warned.

"Fine take her to the others." the Boss ordered, rolling his eyes.

Rory was barely able to stand, so when the bulky man pushed her to the floor she easily crumbled. She felt small hands begin to touch her and help her sit up.

"Are you ok?" Ryan questioned, his eyes wide and showed more worry than an eight year old should have to.

"Yes." Rory nodded.

The next two months went the same, the Boss man would torture them for answers and have the bulky man throw them back into the cell to recover. The only reason Rory knew that it had been two months, was due to the tally marks she made on the wall. She was growing weaker and weaker, from being away from her mate and the baby was talking all the nutrients that Rory had. Thankfully, her belly had only kind of popped only enough to hint at a baby, but not unless you were looking for it. The children had quickly became like her own, her Luna and new mother instincts were telling her to protecting her baby cubs. She had learned that the kids were indeed from wolf packs, but their packs were slaughtered and they were what was left of the members that had been taken as hostages.

The door opened slowly, but Rory didn't open her eyes to see who it was. It was either someone with food, or someone to take them to be tortured. A shadow hovered over her and the hands weren't grabbing at her, but searching for a pulse. Peeking her eye open, she was surprised to see it was the Bulky man, who's name she learned to be Titus.

"What are you doing?" Rory questioned, her voice cracking at the lack of use.

"I am getting you out of here." Titus said, his eyes fierce and apologetic.

"Why?"

"This is wrong."

"Its been months, why now?" Rory asked, but Titus didn't respond, but lifted her bridal style, causing her to whimper in aches and pain.

"Let's go." Titus demanded. Rory looked back to see the kids were hesitating but followed behind. "Franklin is gone, so now is the time."

Not having used her legs much in the time she was captive and being extra weak, Rory had to allow Titus to carry her. She was nervous about his intentions but at this point she had nothing to do but let him take her. Her gut was telling her that he was really trying to help, but she was conflicted because of how long it had taken him to realize the that torture is wrong. Something had to have changed to make him act now.

The breeze was the first thing that she noticed when they reached the outside. The air was nippy and she wished she had more than her thin dress that she had been wearing for the last two months.

"Get in the car." Titus said, stopping them in front of an old beat up four door truck. He sat Rory down and opened the passenger side door for her. Rory quickly got in feeling the rush and panic coming off Titus.

"Do you have a pack?" Titus asked innocently as he took off down the road, leaving what looked to be a little shack in the rearview mirror. It hit Rory that this may be a fake rescue. They could want her to spill about where her pack was and hope that she would give them the location, thinking that Titus was really taking her to safety.

Titus looked to her, with a deep frown.

"If you don't tell me where to go, I cant help you." Titus explained. Rory stayed silent biting her lip.

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" Rory asked, her eyes filling with conflicted tears.

"It's not." Titus growled. "My views have changed."

Rory didn't say anything, but looked out the window.

"He killed my mate." Titus sighed, and after a minute of silence he explained. "I've never agreed with what Franklin has done, but he's held my mate over my head. Told me if I did what he said, she wouldn't be harmed. But I questioned him too many times about what he was doing with you and he killed her."

Rory's heart broke, she knew that he was telling the truth, she could see the sadness in his face, but it was his eyes that made her see that he was truthful. Unlike the previous times that she had seen him there was life in them, and at that moment there was nothing but darkness.

"Do you have a phone?" Rory asked. "I can call him to make sure he's aware you are bringing us."

"Here" Titus nodded and gave her a phone. Rory took the phone with shaking hands and typed in her house number. The continuous ringing made her heart pound in her chest.

"Hello."

She couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips as she heard Peter's voice.

"Peter." Rory said, immeditally stating to cry.

"Rory! Where are you? Are you ok?" Peter demanded his voice having a nervous panic to it. She heard Ian yelling in the background, demanding to talk to her and if she was ok.

"I'm fine." Rory nodded, "I am being brought home."

"When? Kole has been going crazy to find you."

"Soon. Is he there?"

"Ian just went to get him, when-" Peter explained but was cut off as if someone took the phone away from him.

"Mate." She heard Kole growl, his wolf more prominent than normal. "Where are you?"

"I am coming home. Someone help me escape and is bring me home."

"Come to the clearing."

"Ok." Rory said trying not to be bothered by the coolness of his voice, she hoped it was only because his mind was more wolf than human, and not that he was angry with her.

"Get off the phone." Titus said, "Too much time and Franklin will track us."

"ok." She said to him.

"Who are you with?" Kole snarled.

"I have to go. I will be in the clearing."

"Aurora, do not hang up on me." Kole yelled, but she wasn't able to respond before Titus took the phone from her and hung up, before throwing it out of the window.

"Give me directions to this clearing." Titus said. Rory nodded and did as she was told, glancing in the back seat to see the children huddled together. She tried to give them a reassuring smile, but she was sure that it came out as a grimace.

Rory gave him the direction and by the time that they got to the edge of the forest, it was nearing dark.

"We have to walk from here." Rory explained.

"Fine." Titus nodded. He came to the other side of the car and helped her out, he went to go pick her us, but she stopped him saying that she could probably manage to walk.

"No can do. I am not about to get torn apart by your pack." He said swooping her up into his arms.

Rory understood and directed him in the right direction, all while making sure that the kids were not falling behind.

The first thing that she saw when they reached the edge of the clearing was Kole pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair. Behind him was Josh, Alex and Peter standing looking alert, and off the the side was Georgia standing next to Ian, looking to be comforting the young boy. Rory was touched that her family was there to greet her and she wanted nothing to do but run into Kole's arms.

A loud growl, followed by several other growls called Rory's attention to Titus, who's grip tightened on her painfully.

"Set me down." Rory said gently, trying not to wince at his tight hold, but she could see that he was prepared for his fate. He was ready to die, as was the punishment for hurting another's Mate.

Titus set her on her feet, making sure she was stable before letting her go.

It all happened so quickly, Kole had her in his arms, peppering her face with kisses, and Josh and Alex had pinned Titus to the ground.

"Wait, he's innocent." Rory said moving to stop Josh and Alex from roughing him up too bad, but was pulled back into Kole's arms.

"Kole, make them stop." Rory cried, as she heard the sound of fists meeting flesh. "He helped me. He never laid a hand on me." She explained, knowing that it wasn't entirely true, but his only crime was delivering her to the torture Franklin gave her. "Please, I just want to go home." Rory shivered the cooling temperature biting at her skin. By her calculations it was the end of November and December and its' snow was right around the corner.

Kole stared down at her, taking in ever inch of her face, before telling Josh and Alex to stop.

"Let's go to the house, we have much to discuss." Kole said, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders. "Who are the kids?" Kole questioned noticing the three standing off to the side, looking to his mate for direction.

"They are the last of their packs, taken as hostages." Rory explained softly.

"Georgia, Ian help get the children to the house." Kole demanded. "Let's go home." Kole scooped her up in his arms, and followed the others to their house.

All too soon Rory was sitting in their house, surrounded in a blanket. She was touched by the worry of her friends and family, but was quickly overwhelmed by the hugs from them. Ian had attached himself to her side, as if afraid she would disappear again, and she did all she could to reassure him.

Tea was made, and everyone was sitting in the living room. Titus was sat in a chair, Josh and Alex standing behind him anticipating him to try to escape. Peter stood in the doorway, his eyes falling on the three children who were siting on a different couch. Georgia and Ian were on either side of her, and Kole sat in the chair next to the couch they were occupying, eyes fixated on Titus.

"What happened?" Kole demanded. "You went for a run and then you were just gone."

Rory nodded and explained all that happened over the two months that she had been captive, but ghosted over the torture, and explained that Titus had truely helped them.

"If he was so helpful, why did it take him two months to get you out of there?" Georgia asked, a look of anger on her face, one Rory had never seen before.

"My mate was being threatened, Franklin killed her, which is why I decided to intervene and get Rory and the children out of there." Titus said. "My mate was with cub too, and I wasn't about to let Franklin end another life before it began."

The room went silent, and that was when Rory realized that Kole still had no idea about the baby.

"A baby." Kole demanded, shocked and angry all at once. "You are pregnant?" He asked looking at Rory, his eyes flickering to her stomach.

"A little over ten weeks along." Rory nodded, and it was that look of paleness that washed over Kole that she knew exactly what he had thought before she had told him how far along she was. He thought that she became pregnant while being captive.

The silence was deafening, before Georgia stood. "I think its time to leave you two alone. I am going to help get the kids cleaned up."

Soon Kole and Rory were left in the room, and Rory stood and walked over to the chair that Kole was sitting shell-shocked in.

"Kole?" Rory questioned, slipping to her knees to be able catch his eyes. "Are you ok?"

"Am I ok?" Kole gave a single laugh, "I should be asking you that." He pulled her gently into his lap, his hand hesitating over her stomach.

"It's ok." Rory said pulling his hand to her stomach and holding it there, she knew it was too soon to feel any movement, but he would be able to feel the roundness of her stomach as it expanded.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there but she was starting to feel gross from being in the cell.

"I'm going to be a father." Kole stated, before giving a nervous smile.

"You are." Rory smile, moving to stand. "Now, I am so happy to be here with you, but can I get cleaned up and get some real food." She teased, but needed to get the cell dirt off of her.

"Oh fuck." Kole stood, eyes wide at the thought of her not having been properly fed. "You need to eat. What do you want? I can run and grab you something, or I can make you something." He rattled off, obviously bothered that he hadn't considered her being hungry before.

"Kole, take a deep breath. I want to get cleaned up first, and then eat." She smiled, before pulling him into their bedroom.

"Oh right." He nodded, running his hands through his hair.

"You're not going to make me shower alone are you? I don't want to be far from you." Rory said suddenly nervous about being too far away from him.

"Of course not." Kole said.

It wasn't until they stood under the running water of their shower that Rory let herself sob into his chest.

"I missed you so much."

"I know, I missed you too." Kole said kissing her.