Silas' POV

I have always been a patient man, I patiently waited for my father to recognize me as his heir for years before he did.

I waited patiently for Hades to love me back all those years ago when I first realized I loved him; he almost rejected me but with proper communication and more than a little begging he finally accepted me and my love and we've been together ever since.

Just like right now, how I'm waiting ever so patiently for Hades to explain to me how two of our subs and my little were able to get through our security, over our fence, and also lost in the forest (again) all in one day.

They were supposed to be watching a Despicable Me movie marathon and then we were all going to go shopping with Birch for some little stuff.

I lost him, my little sapling. It wasn't just that Birch is a little, that's not what draws me to him. It's his personality, his innate curiosity of the world and everything in it. He has this unquenchable thirst for knowledge that I've never experienced in anyone else. Most of the kids I end up teaching hate school and learning with a burning passion. But he's different, my little sapling. And that just makes me love him more.

Which is why I'm so angry right now, my little sweetheart is gone and we have no idea who has him or where all of them are!

"Okay, don't freak out, but it looks like the Wi-Fi on the security system went out that morning and it was trying to reconnect but failed. The servers on the server farm we use went out as well as multiple other-" I cut off Hades before I got a migraine from the techno babble. Honestly, it just goes right over my head.

"Do you think this was a hack or was it just convenient timing? Maybe something else..." I started to think about all of my enemies. And trust me, I have a lot so just mentally exhausted

Hades had a thoughtful look as he kept typing, going into his own world

After hours of him hacking and doing his tech thing he finally turned around and said, "So do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

I gave him a deadpan look and said, "Always bad, dear. Then you can sweeten it with the good."

Hades rolled his eyes at me and said,"Well it looks like it was a hack. But before you freak out, I traced it to a computer that's registered to a company that Alexander owns."

I wasn't seeing red like in all of those stories and movies tell you. I was seeing black, the color of my soul. I know I'm a bad man trying to mask as good, but knowing my mafia tied brother has my three subs and little makes me take out the monster that I so well have hidden for all of these years.

He stole what's most precious to me, and I'll make him regret ever breathing if he so much as touches a single hair on their heads.

I picked up my phone and call Alex, god this will be interesting. "Alex, what the actual fuck were you thinking on taking them, huh? They're mine! I swear to god-" I'm cut off by Alex's annoying voice.

"My god! Can you stop whining already! They're mostly okay, the mouthy one had to be shut up but before you go all postal on me, he's still breathing! Honestly, he's better this way. So much less annoying!" Alex says in that same whiney tone I hate.

I run my hand over my face in stress and reply, "Just return them all safe and sound then no harm done. But, I swear to all that's holy, if you hurt them in any way, not even your mafias considerable influence can help you from the absolute hell that'll be upon you if you do."

"How about I give you the mouthy one, the quiet one, and the constantly crying one back and I can keep the sweetheart? He's really so precious, and who knows?! Maybe I could learn to be a daddy..." Alex muses, while I boil on the inside.

"Hell no! Give me them all. Alex you literally are a master dom, you can't learn to be a daddy. It doesn't work like that. Plus, Birch has already been classified and I've adopted him as my little." I can feel an overwhelming anxiety run through my body, my brother doesn't need to know we haven't fully registered with the government yet. We were going to wait til Birch has fully settled in here and went to school with some of the other boys come fall.

Please don't read my lie. Please, I need them.

"Oh my god, you're a terrible liar! This would be funny if you literally weren't bargaining with your life. I know how important he is to you, so my question is this... is he worth more than your life?" Alex exclaims with a wicked tone in his voice, I could practically hear his smirk through the phone.

I could practically hear my heartbeat almost bursting through my chest. My life? Would I give my life for Birch's? Yes. In an instant I would if I trusted the one I was bargaining with. But my brother Alex has always been unstable and extremely unpredictable. I knew he would kill Birch without batting an eye, hell, I'd seen him do it on so many occasions.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and muttered a low, "Yes."

"That's good to know dear brother, but I must go. Seems like your or should I say my precious baby just woke up from his nap. He must be hungry after all that crying, but no worries. He'll be so happy with his new mommy and daddy now." Alex said in that smug tone of his that I hated so much before the phone cut off.

I looked over at Hades who shook his head and said, "He had an extremely good phone signal blocker, practically military issue. And they seemed to be on the move, most likely in a car. Getting close to the border, from there they can take a ferry and then a plane to practically anywhere in the world."

Fuck. I can't believe I just lost him.

I couldn't feel the tears raining down my face, but it felt like my heart had shattered. I just lost my most precious boy, a boy that has had a life of absolute hell before he came to us.

But Alex's in for a rude awakening once he realizes I'm not just a daddy, I'm a former mafia don who has connections that he's only dream of.

I'm determined to get my boys back, even if it kills me.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

Hey guys, it's sunny!

I'm so sorry this book has taken a back burner lately but my grandpa just passed away a few weeks ago and life has been crazy and I really haven't felt inspired to write. This was partially in my drafts before he died and all I did was add some extra dialogue to how I want the story to go.

Also, this time we'll really get to see more feral Hades and Silas in the coming chapters and next chapter we get to see where Alex has taken him and the other boys.

We'll also see the reasoning on his first kidnapping, more information on his parents, and Birch finding some answers onto who Silas used to be as well.

Lots of secrets will be revealed later on and then we'll get to some more little fluff and Birch's first doctors appointment while little.

Trust me, Alex is an ass, but there are some reasons into why he's like this and we'll also delve into Alex's past with his father. And maybe he's not the bad guy everyone makes him out to be...