Birch's POV

I giggle as me, Roman, Jewel and Myka run around the backyard. I was hiding from daddy, I was mad at him for giving me nasty broccoli at dinner.

I never had been to a doctor before and the whole situation was scaring the crap out of me, but I know my appointment is coming up soon and I just wanna have some fun before we go.

So me and my partners in crime, are trying to find a way out of the backyard. But after that time I got lost in the forest, Hades put up more security cameras and daddy added more fences to the backyard.

*insert cute adorable Birch pout here*

I just wanna explore!

"Come on, slowpokes! Last one over the fence has to do allllll the laundry for the week!" Roman yelled as he tried, and failed to climb over the fence.

"Except Birch! He's too tiny, I really don't think he can lift the mountain of laundry off your floor!" Myka yelled back.

Jewel snorted at that and muttered to me, "Yeah, his rooms a pigsty. Pretty sure there's something living under all that dirty laundry."

I wrinkled my nose at that as Roman yelled, "Untrue! Silas makes me clean it every spring!"

"Gross," Myka murmured as he hopped over the fence.

Pretty soon we were all over the fence and onto our adventure.

**** Timeskip to 8 pm ****

"I'm hungry!" I whined.

I was hungry, thirsty, and in desperate need for a bathroom. Yes, I had fun exploring the nature trails and swimming in the lake. But I wanna go home and have dinner with Paisley and get a nice warm bath then bedtime.

"Where are we?" Jewel asked as we wandered around. Are we even close to the institute yet? Does Mr. Silas even know we're gone?

"Uhhhh.... We're close-ish?" Roman said in a very unconvincing tone.

My anxiety was spiking so badly right now. All I want is to go home, to safety. That's a lot for me to admit right now, that I see the institute and everyone in it as family, but it's true. I've lived my life in fear and pain; and right when I've finally started to accept my role there, it's taken away from me time and time again. Even now, I think about what I went through when I was kidnapped and yet I can't help but think that there's something wrong at the institute, something they're not telling me.

I glare at Roman and say, "What have all of you been hiding from me?! And don't say nothing! I'm little, not stupid."

Roman's breath catches in his chest and looks at Jewel and Myka before saying very fast, "We can't be the ones to tell you, it has to be Silas that tells you about it."

"Bullshit! And you know it! Tell me or so help me god-" I'm yelling but then cut off by Myka.

"Silas was once a big time mafia don but left that life almost a decade ago and now he knows his old life is coming back to bite him in the butt and we're all in a polyamorous relationship and Silas really wants you to be his permanent little and-" Myka gets cut off by a branch snapping in the distance, my almost nonexistent spidey senses are telling me to run, to flee from danger but I can't leave them my new family.

The sky has considerably darkened in the last hour and we were almost covered in darkness. I could see three figures, possibly men, coming towards us out of the tree line.

I'm so scared right now, but just in case it's not one of the guys from the institute, I instantly hide behind a tree. I know, not very imaginative of me, but there's literally nothing else you can hide behind!

I could hear the men coming closer, and one of them was very tall, like Mr.Silas, and the two others were a few inches shorter.

As the moonlight shone on the tallest guys face Roman scowled and exclaimed, "Oh hell no! Go away Alex! Silas forbid you from coming anywhere near us."

"Miss me, Roman? Oh, come now! We're practically family." Alex said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Not even in the slightest. Go away you overgrown strain of herpes!" Roman yelled. Honestly I had no idea what that meant, but it was funny!

Alex looked like he was about to combust with anger as he slapped Roman so hard, he fell to the ground. Roman crawled onto his hands before one of the guys with Alex ground his boot into Roman's hand before he screamed in pain.

Jewel and Myka were standing together, I could see Roman looking over at me. I quickly shook my head no and I could see the tears forming in his eyes.

Roman quickly looked at Alex and said, "What do you want? Silas told you not to go on his lands, and you agreed. As long as we keep to ourselves and bring no trouble then the family protects us. What changed?"

Alex looked over them with a dark expression before his two friends grabbed Myka and Jewel, I could see the tears forming in their eyes as they screamed and fought against their captors until they were knocked unconscious.

"You illiterate little fucker! How dare you-" Roman was cut off by Alex lifting him off the ground by the throat and slamming him into a nearby tree. I could hear the sounds of Roman gagging and the forest was echoing his screams.

I went still with terror as Alex looked straight in my violet eyes and said in a condescending tone, "Come here, little one. I don't bite... unless otherwise provoked. But you won't do that will you?"

God this guy is irritating.

I shook my head no and moved a bit closer to him, being careful of my surroundings and his two very intimidating friends.

Alex quickly walked up to me and held my face in his hands as he studied my eyes. He smiled brightly and exclaimed, "Bloody brilliant this is! A little in my possession, and a rare one at that. I suspect my brother will pay me a handsome price to get you back, or owe me something even more precious..."

I gasped as one of his men brandished a needle containing god only knows what. I scurried away to run, but one of them caught me as the other stabbed me with the needle. The last thing I heard was Alex's manic laughter as I descended into darkness.