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Felix slowly made his way toward the entrance of the cave, not making a single noise and mindful not to attract attention. He could hear other wolves howling somewhere in the distance, and there was something in the noise that tugged at his heart, making him yearn for proximity.
However, just as he was about to take a step outside—
“Felix!”
Crap.
Felix instantly retreated, aware he’d been caught and that putting up a fight wouldn’t end in his favor when he was already in trouble for disobeying. He quickly returned inside the den where his packmates were resting, and gulped as he found Minho, his alpha, glaring at him.
“Minho—”
“The rules are clear, Felix,” snapped the older wolf, baring his teeth. “You’re not allowed to go outside when another pack is around. What if they’d caught your scent, huh?”
Felix flinched a little. “I- I’m sorry. I was just curious…”
“Curiosity will get you killed,” hissed the alpha, getting up. Felix flinched as the older walked past him at a brisk pace. “Don’t you ever learn!?”
“Minho—”
“No, I don’t want to hear it. Stay with Jeongin, I’m going to secure the perimeter – and I swear, Lix, if I catch you trying to sneak out again—”
“I’m sorry,” repeated Felix, baring his neck in submission. “It won’t happen again.”
Minho glared, but didn’t say anything else and left. Felix’s head lowered even more, painfully aware that he’d thoroughly disappointed the older, and he dragged his feet over to Jeongin’s corner of the cave, where his fellow omega was waiting for him. Jeongin opened his arms, and Felix didn’t have to be told twice – he promptly laid down with the younger wolf and wrapped his arms around him tightly, inhaling his comforting, soft flowery scent.
“You know he’s only worried about you, Lix,” remarked softly Jeongin, rubbing his back.
Felix’s lower lip wobbled slightly. “I- I know that. I just… I just wanted…”
“Shh, it’s okay.”
Unable to help it, a sob escaped Felix, and he hugged Jeongin even tighter as his fellow omega began scenting him in an attempt to comfort him. It wasn’t the first time Felix tried to sneak out while another pack was around, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last – Jeongin simply wished Minho could be a little more understanding.
They were a somewhat unusual pack. Jeongin and Felix had been friends for years, knowing each other since they were pups and eventually growing up and deciding to form a pack together. They met Minho not too long after, the alpha revealing himself to be Jeongin’s mate.
For a year or so, it was just the three of them – one alpha and two omegas. They didn’t mind the rather unusual dynamics, though, quite happy with sticking together and living their life as they pleased. Even though Felix didn’t share the bond Jeongin and Minho had, the other two never made him feel alone or rejected. Jeongin was still his best friend, and Minho was like his older brother, even kind enough to help him through his heats when they happened.
They also managed to claim a territory for themselves. It was rather small, and it didn’t have a lot of resources either, so the bigger packs weren’t interested. It was quite cozy and perfect for them three, though, and they managed to live quite peacefully.
That is, until another small pack showed up.
Other packs usually simply passed through, and they rarely sought them out. This time around, however, Felix had been collecting water at the nearby stream when they showed up – three alphas, who seemed friendly enough, and who were apparently on their way to a human city to meet up with some friends.
Felix was more than happy to give them directions and converse with them for a bit since he rarely got the chance to talk with other people. However, when he eventually decided to take his leave, the three alphas – Chan, Jisung, and Changbin – refused to let him.
That’s when Felix realized he’d trusted them too easily.
They’d tackled him to the ground, pinning him down and scenting him heavily. They’d just begun ripping through his clothes when Felix had managed to kick Changbin in the face and slip from their grasp, taking off without another look back. He'd run, calling for help as the alphas chased after him, intent on taking him against his will. By the time he'd made it back to the cave, he was crying and exhausted, bleeding from scratches the older wolves had dealt when they'd almost managed to catch him again, and Minho was right there, waiting for him.
Upon realizing the problem, Minho had urged him to go back inside to Jeongin while he dealt with the intruders. The omegas could still remember how scared they’d both been at the time, forced to hide and listen as the four alphas fought outside. Minho had won, eventually. He'd managed to severely injure Chan, the leader, and the other two alphas has grabbed him before taking off. Minho had then collapsed, his exhaustion and his injuries getting the best of him.
They really thought he was going to die, at the time.
Minho had made it, thankfully enough, but the incident finally made them realize an issue they’d overlooked before – even though Felix was a part of their pack, he wasn’t marked like Jeongin, which meant his scent was much stronger and could be smelled by any wolf passing by.
Ever since then, Minho had grown ten times more protective than before. Felix wasn’t allowed to go very far from the cave on his own, nor was he allowed to go out when other packs were close. Minho was scared that, if a similar incident occurred, he wouldn’t be strong enough to protect his omegas – he was only one alpha, after all, and they all knew he’d been very lucky to win the encounter with the other pack the first time.
Still, while Felix completely understood why he was so protective, it didn’t change the fact that it’d been over a year since the incident, and thus two since they’d formed their pack, and he was starting to get… lonely.
He knew he had a mate somewhere out there. As much as he loved Jeongin and Minho, he wanted to have someone with whom he could develop that special bond. Even if they tried to include him as much as they could, there were simply some things that Felix couldn’t infringe upon, such as Jeongin’s heat or Minho’s rut – and, during those times, Felix was always forced to stay alone in a separated alcove for days on end.
As traumatized as Felix might have been by his encounter with the alphas, he knew he wouldn’t be able to find his mate by constantly staying in the cave and avoiding any sort of confrontation with other packs. And, while Jeongin understood, they both knew Minho would never allow it – he’d never risk losing his precious packmates, no matter what.
When Minho returned a little later, he found Felix asleep in Jeongin’s arms with dried tear tracks on his freckled cheeks. He heaved out a sigh, coming to lay on his other side, and Felix unconsciously relaxed as the alpha briefly scented his neck.
“You shouldn’t be so hard on him,” stated softly Jeongin.
“There are rules, Jeongin—”
“He’s lonely, Minho,” replied his mate, his tone a little harsher.
“… I know that. I just… I’m just so scared of losing him… or you… What will you do if I have to fight another bunch of alphas, and I don’t win this time around?” He shook his head, reaching out to squeeze Jeongin’s hand as he wrapped his other arm around Felix’s waist. “No, I can’t let this happen. I- I can’t risk it.”
Jeongin sighed but nodded in understanding. He could easily smell the distress Minho felt at the mere thought of either leaving them to their own devices because he was killed, or one of them being hurt because he wasn’t strong enough to defend them.
They really were at an impasse.
.
Ever since the last confrontation between Minho and Felix, tensions had been running a little high and, wanting to have a serious talk with his alpha, Jeongin asked Felix to fetch him some new blankets and clothes from the nearest human settlement, to which the freckled boy had eagerly agreed.
It wasn’t the first time Felix went to the town alone. While Minho hated whenever him or Jeongin went, there was no denying that the chances of running into an ill-intentioned alpha were slim to none – with all of the scents mingling in the town, it was practically impossible to make out an omega’s scent (hence why Minho hated it so much, because he couldn’t track them down if need be).
They had money to buy supplies thanks to the herbs, meat, and furs they sold every few months. Everyone in town knew what they were, since their eyes were anything but human, but no one really minded them – contrarily to bigger packs, they didn’t cause any trouble, and they’d managed to establish a peaceful coexistence with the townspeople.
Another reason why Felix loved going there – because as much as he loved his packmates, there came a point where they didn’t have much to talk about.
“Oh, Felix!” greeted cheerfully Hwasa, the most talented seamstress in town. “Been a while since we’ve seen you around! How have you been?”
“Pretty good,” smiled the freckled boy. “How about you? Your business is going alright?”
“I’ve managed to sell a lot of my merchandise in the big city, so that’s good,” she replied with a small shrug. “In any case, what can I get for you today?”
“I’ll have three blankets, six shirts, six pair of pants, and some extra supplies to mend and wash our clothes.”
“Alright, give me a second, I’ll fetch those for you in the back.”
“Thank you!”
Hwasa always had their orders at the ready, since they always asked for the same thing every few months or so. She’d also been kind enough to teach Jeongin and Felix how to sow, so they could repair their clothes if they accidentally ripped them up while in their wolf forms.
He exchanged some more pleasantries with the older woman as she packed everything in a large basket and, a few minutes later, Felix walked out with his order. Since it was still quite early in the day, though, he decided to make a detour by the open market in the town square. With some luck, they’d have those delicious meat buns on sale!
On his way to the market, Felix greeted a few more townspeople, growing a little happier every time someone stopped to converse for a bit. Even if it was just small talk, Felix really appreciated the friendly relationship his pack had managed to establish with the town – he’d heard of other places where humans and wolves fought every day, and he was glad they didn’t have to worry about that.
He was overjoyed when, upon reaching the market, he caught the scent of the meat buns he wanted. He quickly made his way to the stall, where Old Man Jung offered him a grin.
“Why hello, Felix. It’s been a while.”
“I just couldn’t resist your meat buns any longer,” half-joked the boy. “I’ll take six of them, please!”
“Right away,” chuckled the old man.
As he started wrapping up Felix’s order, there was a loud exclamation somewhere behind him. Just as he turned around to check what the commotion was about, someone ran smack into him, and both him and his impromptu attacker fell on the ground.
“So- sorry!” The man who’d fallen next to Felix got up. “I’m so sorry about that, the meat buns smelled so good, I completely lost it for a second. Are you alright?”
Felix looked up, about to reassure him, and their eyes met. He froze, his eyes going wide as the words died in his throat. The one before him was obviously an alpha wolf, and he looked just as shocked as he stared down at the freckled omega.
Felix’s blood was thrumming, there was a faint ringing in his ears, it felt as if the entire world had narrowed down to the alpha before him—
“Wooyoung! I told you to be careful!”
“I—!”
Felix tuned out whatever else the alpha before him said, because the rest of the man’s pack suddenly arrived – two other alphas. Upon realizing what they were, panic took over and, without even picking up the basket of clothes he’d dropped, Felix scrambled to his feet and ran off.
.
There was a moment of startled silence as the three alphas stared after him, confused.
“What did you do to him, Woo?” asked Yunho, quirking a brow.
“I- I need to go after him!” exclaimed Wooyoung, quickly picking up the basket the omega had left behind.
“What? Why?” protested San.
“I think- I think he’s my mate!”
His packmates didn’t have the time to say anything else, Wooyoung had already ran off, too. The older alphas exchanged a frown. If the omega really was Wooyoung’s mate, then why had he run away?
“Who are you?”
Surprised, they turned as one to face the man in charge of the stall. The old man was eyeing them with palpable distrust, a bag of meat buns in his hands – probably the omega’s order, now that they thought about it.
“We’re new around,” answered simply San. “Tell me, sir, would you happen to know who’s the wolf who just ran off?”
But the man simply narrowed his eyes. “No idea. Now go away, you’re scaring off my costumers.”
He was obviously lying, though they didn’t really understand why. However, not wanting to cause trouble, they bid him a good day and walked away.
Hopefully, Wooyoung would have a little more luck.
.
Felix didn’t really know what came over him. The moment the other alphas had shown up, an intense fear had gripped his heart and he’d taken off without thinking. He was so scared, he could still hear them howling behind him, enjoying the thrill of the chase, their feet thudding against the ground and getting closer, closer, closer—!
“Felix!”
He hadn’t even realized he’d made it back to the den. With a sob, he crumbled in Minho’s arms, and the alpha instantly closed them around him, frantically looking around in an attempt to find whatever threat had scared Felix so.
“Felix? Lix, what’s wrong? What happened?” he asked urgently.
“A- alphas in town, I got- I got scared, I don’t- I don’t know, I’m sorry, I’m sorry—”
“Shh, shh, it’s okay, you’re okay,” murmured the alpha, sparing another wary look around before picking up the distressed omega. “Come on, let’s go back inside.”
“I- I forgot the- the blankets and- and the food, I’m sorry—”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
Felix kept on crying as Minho carried him back inside, and Jeongin was quick to come to them the moment they entered, visibly worried. Minho handed him the smaller wolf, silently urging him through their bond to take care of him while he returned outside and secured the perimeter.
The moment he was out, he heard it – the hurried footsteps. He tensed, crouching on the ground in front of the cave’s entrance in a defensive position. He growled in warning when the intruder finally made his appearance – an alpha, like Felix said, and carrying… a basket of clothes…?
“Stay back!” barked Minho when the alpha took one step too close for his liking.
The intruder instantly froze, only now seeming to notice him. There was a moment of tenseness, before he carefully took a step backward.
“I- I’m sorry for intruding on your territory. I- I’m looking for an omega—”
“He’s not here.”
The man’s brows furrowed. “I can smell him. He’s in the cave right behind you. Are you his alpha?”
Minho gritted his teeth. “What do you want with him?”
“Look, I don’t want any trouble,” assured the alpha. “I just—I literally ran into him in town, and I think… I think he’s my mate.”
“You think?”
“Well, it was a little hard to tell with all of the scents mingling around us… and he kind of ran off before I could say anything… He- he forgot his basket, by the way.”
That sounded… plausible. Felix had probably reacted on instincts and, in his panicked state, he wouldn’t have noticed the imprinting process. However, he couldn’t just trust the words of a random alpha, no matter how sincere he appeared to be. After a few moments of tension, Minho finally straightened up.
“He won’t see you today.”
Instead of getting angry, the alpha’s expression crumbled with despair. “Please—”
“He’s too shaken up,” cut Minho – the last thing he wanted to hear was a random guy begging, because he genuinely had no clue of how to deal with that. “He doesn’t have a good history with alphas. You can… come back tomorrow. Alone. If he wants to see you then, he will – if not, I’ll have to ask you and your pack to leave.”
Minho fully expected the random alpha to put up more of a fight but, after a few seconds of consideration, the intruder nodded firmly and placed the basket on the ground before him.
“Alright, I’ll return tomorrow. And… please tell him that I’m sorry for running into him, and for scaring him so badly.”
Minho simply nodded back and, with a sigh, the other alpha walked away. Minho waited for about five minutes, afraid the intruder would return and try to get inside the cave by force, but he eventually had to come to an understanding – the alpha was a decent one and, as luck would have it, probably Felix’s mate, too. With a click of his tongue, Minho went to pick up the basket before returning inside the cave.
Inside, Jeongin was waiting anxiously for his return, while Felix was already passed out in his arms.
“What did he want?” asked worriedly his mate.
“He said he was Felix’s mate.”
Jeongin’s eyes widened. “Was he telling the truth?”
“He believes he is, at the very least. Since they met in town, he couldn’t be certain, and Felix ran off in a panic before they could talk.” The alpha placed the basket of clothes in a corner before coming to sit beside his two babies, gently running his hand through Felix’s messy hair. “Poor thing was so scared… I hope he’ll feel better tomorrow. I told the alpha to come back then.”
Jeongin snorted. “You actually invited a random alpha over?”
“It’s not like that,” huffed Minho. “I just… I hope he’s telling the truth. For Felix’s sake. You asked me to give Felix a chance to find his mate, so that’s what I’m doing. I just… I just hope I won’t regret it.”
His mate smiled softly at that, giving him a brief kiss. “You have good instincts, Min. If you think he’s telling the truth, then it’s worth a shot.”
Minho offered a tentative smile back, wishing with all his heart that Jeongin was right.
.
When Felix woke up the next morning, he had a pretty bad headache, but it was quickly forgotten as he remembered what had occurred the day before. Now that he was no longer prey to his own instincts, he couldn’t get the handsome alpha out of his head.
When their eyes had met, for some reason, Felix had felt overjoyed, as if a piece he hadn’t even known had been missing had clicked back into place. The yearning to see the mysterious alpha again was so strong it made his head heart even more, and he almost started crying when he realized that, with how he acted yesterday, the alpha probably wanted nothing to do with him.
There was only one reason Felix would have felt that way, perfectly matching the description Jeongin had given him once, and at the same time totally difference.
“Lix? Are you okay? How do you feel?” asked urgently Minho, suddenly crouching beside him.
“Min… I- I think I met my mate yesterday,” he choked out, his eyes filling with tears. “And I- I think I seriously messed up. Who runs away when they meet their mate…? Fuck!”
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, don’t worry,” quickly assured the alpha, rubbing his head in comfort. “He… came by yesterday. Followed you to the den.”
Felix’s eyes widened in horror. “I- I’m sorry—!”
“No, don’t apologize for getting to safety,” lightly scolded Minho, flicking his nose. “I’d rather have you where I can protect you. In any case, though, I talked with him a bit yesterday, and he agreed to come back later today so you could talk.”
“O- oh…”
Jeongin chuckled, and it’s only then that Felix realized he’d basically fallen asleep on his fellow omega again. He flushed a bit when Jeongin wiggled his eyebrows playfully, whining and whacking his arm.
“Don’t tease me!”
“But you finally found your mate~!”
“Shut up!”
The two omegas started playfully wrestling around and Minho backed away a bit, watching them play with a fond smile. He always enjoyed watching the two omegas’ interactions, they were quite precious together.
Though, will they be able to stay together if Felix really has found his mate…?
It was an unspoken rule that the omega joined the alpha’s pack. It had been a bit different with Minho and Jeongin, since neither of them had had a formal pack when they first met, but with Felix…
No, he wouldn’t think about this now. Even if that alpha was Felix’s mate, it wouldn’t be that easy to earn the freckled boy’s trust and affection. Just because they were mates didn’t oblige either of them to pursue a more serious relationship and, until the alpha had made his intentions clear, he’d try not to worry about unnecessary things.
.
As promised, the alpha returned a few hours later, and Felix was pleasantly surprised when he caught the scent of the meat buns he’d forgotten the day before. He was even happier when, instead of inviting himself inside their cave, the alpha sat down at the edge of the clearing to patiently wait for him to come out. After a minute or so of silently observing him hidden in the cave, Felix eventually managed to gather the necessary courage to step outside. He held his arms tightly against himself, ready to pounce back to safety the moment the alpha made a wrong move, but sincerely hoping it wouldn’t come to this.
Contrarily to yesterday, he managed to catch the alpha’s scent, and it almost instantly made his head spin. The scent of fresh pine and cloves filled his senses and made him yearn for proximity with the alpha so he could completely engulf himself in it, but Felix denied his wolf and stopped about two meters away, instead.
When he finally dared to look up, he found beautiful hazel eyes already staring at him, and he couldn’t help but blush a little.
“He- hello.”
“Hi.” After a moment of awkward silence, the alpha shook his head. “So- sorry, I just… I didn’t expect to find my mate, so I’m a little at a loss as to what to do…”
Felix couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Yeah, well, that makes two of us. I’m Felix.”
“Wooyoung.” The alpha bit his lower lip, then lifted the basket he’d brought. “Um, care to share lunch with me?”
Felix couldn’t help but feel a little endeared by the mild awkwardness of the alpha – he wasn’t demanding or imposing like the other alphas he’d met before. Feeling a little reassured, the freckled boy nodded, offering him a tentative smile as he went to sit down next to him.
“I’m sorry for running off yesterday,” he said softly. “You must have been really confused… Also, thank you for bringing back my stuff.”
“Of course. And I’m the one who should be apologizing, I was the one who basically knocked you to the ground,” cringed Wooyoung, offering him a bun. “I had a hard time getting those, by the way – you have good friends. The old man wouldn’t let me buy anything until I practically groveled for them.”
“O- oh. You didn’t have to go that far…”
“I wanted to. It was my fault you didn’t get them in the first place,” shrugged the alpha. “Speaking of yesterday, the two you met yesterday are two of my packmates, San and Yunho.”
“There are more of you?” asked Felix, curious – bigger packs didn’t pass by often.
“Hmm. We have Yeosang and Seonghwa, our omegas, and Peniel, our pack alpha. Yeosang is mated with Yunho, and San is mated with Seonghwa – so you don’t have to worry about them.”
“Worry…?”
“W- well, your pack alpha mentioned something about you having a bad history with alphas…” Felix lowered his head, and Wooyoung added hastily: “I’m not asking for details or anything! I just… I just wanted you to know that you’re safe. With us. And me, too.” Wooyoung cleared his throat, berating himself for maybe being a little too forward. “In- in any case, the man I met yesterday was your pack alpha, yes?”
“His name is Minho. And yes, he is.”
“How many others are there?”
Felix bit his lower lip. “I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to say.”
Wooyoung simply smiled reassuringly. “Oh, it’s okay, don’t worry about it. I was just asking because we initially didn’t intend on trespassing on your territory for too long, but now that I’ve found you, well…”
“I don’t think Minho will have an issue with you sticking around,” nodded Felix, thinking it over. “But he’s not the type to appreciate surprise visits. You shouldn’t bring your packmates anywhere near our den until he’s given the okay.”
“Of course, that’d just be rude,” scoffed Wooyoung, as if the thought was truly a ludicrous one.
“You’d be surprised how many don’t share the same respect of manners,” chuckled dryly Felix, shaking his head. He then offered him a smile. “Thank you for the food, by the way – they’re my favorite.”
“They’re really good!” grinned Wooyoung, happily taking another bite of his own bun. “I smelled them from the other side of the market the other day, that’s why I was in such a hurry. They’re definitely the best I’ve ever eaten!”
“Right?” beamed Felix. “No one does them like Old Man Jung! And don’t worry, I’ll talk to him and the other townspeople – if you and your pack are going to stick around for a while, it’d be best that you keep a good relationship with them.”
“We’d appreciate that. We don’t want to cause any trouble for anyone.”
“Why did you come here, anyway?” asked Felix, curious. “There’s a reason there aren’t many wolves on this territory. Surely a big pack like yours could do better, right?”
Wooyoung offered him a somewhat sad smile at that. “We were just looking for somewhere to start anew. Bad memories tend to linger, so we figured it was best to simply move to a new territory.”
Felix simply nodded in understanding, promptly changing the subject since the alpha looked like he’d rather not talk about it. Wooyoung offered him a grateful smile, and he simply took the opportunity he was offered to change the flow of the conversation.
.
They spent the entire afternoon talking and getting to know each other. Minho had come out of the cave to silently observe them from afar for a few minutes before returning inside, seemingly satisfied that the other alpha wasn’t causing any trouble, and Felix was relieved that Wooyoung had apparently earned Minho’s approval.
The alpha was incredibly nice, and funny, and they hit it off quickly. By the end of their afternoon together, Felix was confident that he and Wooyoung could at least be considered friends, if nothing else – even if, not-so-deep-down, he yearned for a lot more than that.
Thankfully, Wooyoung seemed to share the sentiment because, as he got up to leave, he carefully reached out to grab Felix’s hands.
“Felix… Will you please allow me to court you?”
The omega simply smiled and nodded in agreement, too overjoyed to put his acceptance into proper words. Wooyoung instantly grinned back, just as happy, and Felix flushed a deep red when the alpha kissed his knuckles before taking off into the wild. Barely a few seconds later, a cheerful howl echoed in the distance, which made Felix’s blush deepen even more, if possible.
“Well, someone sounds happy.”
“Minho…” Felix bit his lower, glancing hesitantly at the alpha. “I- I know I should have asked you first—”
“Felix, it’s okay. You’re not a pup and, even though you’re under my responsibility, you’re still allowed to make your own decisions,” cut Minho, offering him a reassuring smile. “You’ve found your mate, and I couldn’t be happier for you. I don’t know about his pack just yet, but he looks like a decent one, at the very least.”
“So, you’ll give him a chance?” asked Felix, hopeful.
“Well, I didn’t scare him off when he asked to court you, so I daresay it’s self-explanatory. Just make sure you take your time with this, okay? You’re in no rush, and mating is for life – make sure you’re absolutely certain before making your final decision. If he really loves you, then he’ll wait for you for as long as you ask him to.”
The freckled omega nodded in understanding, and Minho chuckled, gently nudging him back inside the cave.
“Come on, go find Innie – he’s dying to know how your date went.”
Felix instantly flushed a deep red again. “It- it wasn’t a date!”
“Uh-huh.”
“It wasn’t!”
“Try telling Jeongin that.”
“Ugh…”
.
“So? How was he?”
“He’s so adorable, Hwa,” groaned Wooyoung, flopping onto the mess of furs and pillows that served as his bed. “And his scent, I swear it was driving me insane… He’s so cute, and his smile was just—”
“Oh my God, don’t you start ranting about your omega – we had to suffer through enough of that when San started courting Seonghwa,” huffed Yunho, throwing a pillow at his head so he’d shut up.
“He’s perfect, guys,” sighed happily Wooyoung, simply catching the pillow and lying down on it. “Tomorrow feels so far away already…!”
“So, he agreed to let you court him, then?” asked Peniel, quirking a brow.
“He did!”
“What about his pack alpha? What did he say?”
“He… didn’t say anything. I didn’t get to talk to him again, actually,” admitted Wooyoung, sobering up a bit. “Felix did say he wouldn’t have an issue with us staying around for the moment, but to not approach the den uninvited.”
“I mean, obviously. What kind of uncivilized jerks do that?” huffed San.
“Well, apparently, some packs caused them some trouble in the past, though Felix didn’t go into the details about that,” shrugged Wooyoung. He then glanced back at his pack leader. “Do you want me to pass along a message? Or to meet with him? I can ask Felix when I go back tomorrow.”
“No, it’s alright. Let’s give them a few weeks to acclimatize to our presence. If things go well with your courting, then we’ll see about some proper introductions,” decided Peniel, lying down on his back with a sigh. “Until then, I don’t want any of you trespassing more than necessary. Get your supplies from the city and keep the hunting to the minimum – we’re already impolite enough by invading their territory, let’s not leave a bad impression when Woo’s trying to woo one of them.” He flashed them a grin. “Get it? Woo is wooing someone—oof!”
“If you want to leave a good impression, don’t make your bad jokes when you finally meet them,” snorted San, picking up the pillow he’d slammed in Peniel’s face before the older could retaliate.
“Yah!”
As his packmates began playfully bickering, Wooyoung stared up at the rocky ceiling above him, all of his thoughts centered around a certain omega as he started drifting off to sleep.
I can’t wait to see him again…
.
The next day, Wooyoung returned to Felix’s den bearing gifts. He didn’t want to go overboard, so he didn’t bring too much, but he did bring meat he’d hunted himself, some wildflowers he picked up with the utmost care, and his favorite blanket. When he arrived at the cave, he was pleasantly surprised to find Felix already waiting for him outside.
“Wooyoung!”
The alpha’s heart practically melted when the younger called out his name so sweetly and cheerfully. Seriously, how could someone be this cute? He knew it was kind of an omega thing, but Felix was way too adorable and enticing, even for an omega’s standard – or maybe he was just biased, he really couldn’t say.
“Good morning, Felix,” he greeted with a smile. “Here, for you.”
The red dusting Felix’s cheeks made his freckles stand out, and Wooyoung had to refrain the urge to kiss every single one of them – instead, he offered him a smile, urging him to take the bouquet of flowers he was handing him. Felix shyly accepted them, obviously touched by the attention.
“Thank you. They’re lovely,” he beamed.
Not as lovely as your smile—oh God that’s San’s influence right there. Shut up brain!
“You’re welcome,” he settled for answering. He then offered him a small bundle. “I also brought meat for you to share with your pack. And, um… you can keep the blanket, too.”
“Blanket…?”
It took Felix a moment to remember everything Jeongin had told him about the courting process – apparently, it was usual for the alpha to offer an object in which their scent was imbued so the omega could keep it close. It was a way of getting accustomed to the alpha’s scent without becoming overwhelmed, and also a more subtle way to warn other potential alphas that the omega was being courted.
His blush deepened as he held the blanket against his chest. “I- I’ll go put those inside… Just- just give me a minute!”
“Sure, take your time,” chuckled Wooyoung.
Felix quickly returned to his den, and the alpha couldn’t help but smile endearingly. The omega was so easily flustered! Wooyoung had been a little awkward yesterday, since they were talking to each other for the first time but, now that he’d made his intentions of courting clear, he intended to pull all the stops to make Felix his.
(He wouldn’t be as shameless or as forward as San had been when courting Seonghwa, but he would still take great pleasure in flirting with the shy omega and watch him become a red, flustered mess – he was too cute, Wooyoung couldn’t help but want to tease him endlessly.)
When Felix came back, he was still blushing, but Wooyoung easily guessed it had something to do with his mysterious packmates – they probably teased him a lot.
“Come on,” the freckled boy urged, hesitantly taking his hand. “I’ll show you around.”
Wooyoung’s smile simply widened as he intertwined their fingers. “Let’s go.”
.
If yesterday had been tinged with the nervousness of a first meeting, today was all about letting loose and getting to know each other without having to worry about first impressions and uncertain expectations. Felix was more than happy to show Wooyoung around the territory that had been his home for over two years, now. He showed him the best spots for fishing and hunting, where they gathered their herbs, and how far exactly their territory extended.
Once they were done exploring the major parts of the forest, Felix took Wooyoung back to the town, where he started introducing him to everyone. He made sure to drop by Old Man Jung’s stall to apologize for running off so abruptly the day before and, though still a little wary of the new wolf, the human had mellowed out a bit.
He wasn’t the only one. Everyone Wooyoung and his packmates had crossed paths with the day before was a lot friendlier now that Felix was with him, and it didn’t take long for him to realize it was because, despite their differences, wolves and humans seemingly got along quite well around these parts.
What surprised Wooyoung the most, however, was when they stumbled upon a bunch of children playing near the town square and, upon seeing Felix, they’d abandoned their game to come smother the freckled boy with affection. They were hugging him and kissing his cheeks, trying to drag him away so he’d play a bit with them, and Felix simply laughed all along, patting their heads and urging them to go back to their parents before it got too dark out.
Watching the children and Felix interact really put things under a whole different perspective. The townspeople didn’t only respect Felix, they actually trusted him, even though he was a wolf.
“Are you okay, Wooyoung?”
Huh. He hadn’t even noticed the children had run off.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking.”
“What about?” asked Felix, intertwining their fingers.
(How could his hands be so small? He didn’t understand how someone could be that cute, seriously.)
“I was just thinking… that your relationship with the townspeople is really nice,” he admitted, taking comfort in the physical contact. “I wish humans could be this open-minded everywhere.”
Felix hummed in understanding as they started walking again. “We were lucky. The townspeople were a little wary of us at first but, after a bit, they understood we didn’t mean any harm and simply accepted to cohabit with us.”
"How?"
"Oh. Well, one of the children got lost in the woods, and it was starting to get dark... my packmates and I volunteered to search for him, and we eventually managed to track him down. He was exhausted, but uninjured and, after we brought him back, our relationship with the townspeople definitely improved."
Wooyoung couldn't help but notice that, once again, Felix had avoided giving away any information about his pack or his packmates. However, he figured it either wasn’t important, or the omega still wasn’t entirely comfortable with telling him – which was fine, of course. They’d only known each other for two days, now, so it was only natural neither of them would divulge every single thought right off the bat.
Still, after today, Wooyoung was certain: Felix was the one for him. He’d court him for as long as it’d take, he didn’t care how long if he ended winning Felix over at the end of it. And if, despite his best efforts, Felix still ended up rejecting him, he’d most assuredly be heartbroken…
It was quite rare for a wolf to reject their mate once found. The courting process was an old tradition that allowed both parties involved to really get to know each other and make their bond stronger but, ultimately, pretty much all courting ended up successfully.
Of course, at the end of the day, there was always the slightest chance of a rejection, but—
No, don’t start thinking like that, he berated himself. It hasn’t even been a week. Just do it right, and everything will turn out alright. And if he does end up rejecting me, then that just means I didn’t try hard enough.
But as he listened to Felix ramble happily about a memory of his first home, he couldn’t help but feel like everything would be alright.
.
It took about two weeks of Wooyoung dropping by every single day for Minho to finally give his permission for some of his packmates to drop by for a visit. Since they didn’t want to overwhelm Felix’s pack, it was decided that only Wooyoung, Yeosang, Seonghwa, and Peniel would go.
Peniel wanted to have a long overdue talk with Minho, pack alpha to pack alpha, and they figured only bringing the omegas would help Felix’s other packmates feel a little more at ease. And, while San and Yunho weren’t entirely pleased at the thought of letting their mates venture into unknown territory, they knew they’d be in good hands with their packmates, so they agreed to stay back and guard the den.
When Wooyoung and the others reached Felix’s den, they found the freckled boy waiting outside, seemingly a tad anxious. However, he relaxed when his eyes met Wooyoung’s, almost instinctively walking up to him.
“Felix, these are Seonghwa, Yeosang, and my pack alpha, Peniel. Guys, this is Felix.”
“Hello,” greeted softly Seonghwa. “Wooyoung told us a lot about you.”
Yeosang snorted. “You mean he couldn’t shut up about him.”
“Yah! Don’t start!” protested Wooyoung, slightly embarrassed.
Felix laughed, and Wooyoung found himself grateful that his packmates had managed to help him relax so quickly, even if it was done at his expanse. And, when Peniel stepped up to greet him properly, he couldn’t help but feel a little pleased as Felix instinctively leaned a little more into his side, for protection.
“Hi, Felix. It’s nice to finally meet you. Thank you for inviting us today.”
“Of- of course. It was about time we met our neighbors, anyway,” replied Felix, half-joking. He bit his lower lip, glancing back. “The others shouldn’t be too long… But aren’t you missing a few members?”
“We didn’t want to overwhelm you. We understand that you’re not entirely comfortable with unknown alphas, so we preferred having them come over another day, if you’ll let us visit again,” simply answered the pack alpha, offering him a reassuring smile.
Surprised, Felix then smiled back. “That’s very thoughtful of you, thank you. We—”
“So, you’re the pack alpha.”
A mild tension rose in the clearing as Minho stepped out. Felix was a bit afraid he was going to pick a fight, but then he noticed Jeongin also coming out of the cave, which made him relax – Minho would never pick a fight with his mate out in the open like that.
“Peniel.”
“Minho.”
The two alphas stared each other down for a moment, visibly gauging each other’s strength and intentions. After a few seconds, Minho relaxed slightly, nodding in greeting.
“Thank you, for being so patient and understanding of our pack’s boundaries. Many wouldn’t have bothered to show us the same consideration.”
“We were already intruding on your territory, it’s really the least we could do.”
Nodding appreciatively, Minho then glanced back at Jeongin, who’d been hovering by the entrance. With his mate’s permission now granted, the omega practically skipped over to the small group, brimming with curiosity. Felix might be the one most eager to meet new people, but Jeongin didn’t go out often, so he was obviously curious about the pack they’d been cohabiting with for the past few weeks.
“I’m Jeongin, Felix’s best friend and Minho’s mate,” he introduced himself. “Welcome to our den!”
There was another brief round of introductions, before Yeosang glanced at the cave behind them with blatant curiosity.
“Are your other packmates not coming out, then?”
Felix and Jeongin exchanged a glance, before looking at Minho. With a sigh, the alpha figured that they might as well come clean – with how things were progressing between Felix and Wooyoung, it wouldn’t take much longer before the truth came out, anyway.
“It’s only us,” he admitted, crossing his arms over his chest.
It took a moment for his answer to sink in. The other omegas’ eyes widened in surprise, while Peniel quirked a brow, and Wooyoung turned to Felix.
“That’s why you were so wary of us at first,” he understood, gently squeezing Felix’s hand.
“Hmm. We’re a really small pack, and with Minho as our only alpha, it can get a little difficult to ward off rogues or ill-intentioned packs that pass through.”
It certainly explained why they didn’t want Wooyoung’s pack to get too close, or why Felix never said anything about his packmates beyond some vague, basic information. It could be dangerous information if it fell into the wrong ears.
“Thank you, for trusting us with this.” Peniel bowed, and his packmates were quick to follow his example. “Rest assured that no harm will befall your pack for as long as we stay around.”
“I can protect my omegas just fine,” scowled Minho.
“I’m aware. Take it simply as a thank you for allowing us to stay on your land, and for giving Wooyoung a chance.”
After a moment of consideration, Minho nodded in agreement. It’d not like they had anything to lose by accepting Peniel’s offer of extra protection – he simply hoped there wasn’t an underlying intention behind it.
“Well!” Jeongin clasped his hands together with a cheerful grin. “Who’s hungry?”
The mild tension instantly broke and, with a laugh, Felix started pulling Wooyoung toward the cave, the others soon following suit.
.
To say Felix was relieved that everyone got along would be an understatement. Things would have become incredibly harder had they disliked each other. When Wooyoung and his packmates eventually left, though, Minho admitted to liking them.
“They’re different,” he simply said. “And they know their manners, too.”
As for Jeongin, well, he was simply overjoyed to have new omegas to converse with. They were slightly older than Felix and him, and it was the first time since they’d split up from their familial pack that they actually had the chance to interact with fellow omegas – packs that occasionally passed through their territory usually kept them hidden with the alphas’ scents so as to protect them and, much like Minho had done with Jeongin, they didn’t let them interact with outsiders.
Two days later, they invited their neighbors over again though, this time around, they were accompanied by San and Yunho. Although he’d heard a lot about them from Wooyoung, and though he knew they were already mated, Felix still nervously stuck to Wooyoung’s side like glue.
Thankfully, the alphas didn’t hold it against him. In fact, they did everything they could to accommodate to his needs and boundaries, for which Felix was incredibly grateful. Even if he knew, deep down, that they weren’t going to hurt him, there was still that distinct fear that had been scarred into his mind a year ago.
And then, about a week after their initial introductions, Wooyoung invited Felix to visit their temporary den. Felix had admittedly been a little hesitant but, with Minho’s unexpected support, he eventually agreed to it. To say he was a nervous wreck would be an understatement but, thanks to Wooyoung’s patience and the presence of the other omegas, he finally managed to relax and enjoy his evening with them.
A new routine was soon established between the two packs. Wooyoung kept on courting Felix, coming to his den every day and bringing him a gift every single time – often flowers or food, and sometimes objects like a pillow or a piece of jewelry, or even a small wolf he’d sculpted from a piece of wood.
(It was pretty ugly, not going to lie, but the mere fact that Wooyoung worked so hard on it made it his favorite.)
They started becoming more open with physical affection. Felix was a cuddle-bug by nature, and Wooyoung was more than happy to answer to his every need, even if it meant becoming a pillow for an entire day. How could he mind when he had such a cute omega clinging to him as if his life depended on it?
They began scenting each other after almost two months. Scenting was a rather intimate act between wolves, since it was a sign of trust and love. Felix often scented Jeongin and Minho, and he used to do the same with his family, but it was different with Wooyoung – in addition to being pleasant and comforting, it made him feel safe.
(So much, in fact, that he’d gotten high more than once on Wooyoung’s scent, growing completely boneless against him and entering his omega headspace, which normally didn’t happen outside of an omega’s heat, because it left the omega in a very vulnerable and fragile state.
Wooyoung didn’t mind taking care of Felix, though. If anything, he was overjoyed that Felix trusted him enough to slip into his omega headspace, even though unconsciously.)
Their respective packs had grown closer, too. At this point, Jeongin often sought out Seonghwa and Yeosang to go into town with them, and Minho seemed much more at ease now that he didn’t have to constantly worry about the potential threat of a hostile pack invading their home. Now that he wasn’t the only alpha around, he could finally allow himself to relax a little.
Things were definitely looking up for everyone.
.
It was now the beginning of the fifth month since Wooyoung started courting Felix, and to say they were in love would be an understatement. While neither had outright confessed to each other, everyone was aware of their blooming feelings, and no one had any doubt that Felix would ultimately accept to become mated with Wooyoung.
Felix laughed as Wooyoung caught up to him and tackled him to the ground, the pair rolling in the grass before eventually stopping with the freckled omega now lying on top of his mate. They stayed like that for a moment, panting as they lost themselves in each other’s eyes. Then, Felix let out a nervous laugh and climbed off Wooyoung, sitting down next to him instead. While he wanted nothing more than to be as close to his mate as possible… he simply couldn’t.
About two weeks ago, Felix had returned from another date with Wooyoung and had stumbled upon a conversation he wasn’t supposed to hear.
(“I- I don’t want him to leave, Min…!”
“Me neither, Innie, but there’s not much we can do about it. If he loves Wooyoung, then it’s only natural that he’ll join their pack.”
Jeongin had simply cried harder. “I’m going to miss him so much…!”)
Frankly, Felix hadn’t thought that far ahead before. The moment Wooyoung started courting him, he lost himself to the feeling of want and completion that took over whenever the alpha was around, and he hadn’t thought much about what would come after the courting.
Felix… Felix didn’t want to leave.
The mere memory of Jeongin crying made his heart clench painfully. As happy as Wooyoung made him, he knew for a fact that he wouldn’t be able to be truly happy if he left his packmates behind. Jeongin and Minho were his family, his pack – leaving them wasn’t an option.
Then what? It’s not like he could ask Wooyoung to join them instead, that wouldn’t be fair of him to demand that he separate from his own pack when Felix wasn’t willing to do the same. However, that left him at an impasse: what was he supposed to do?
The issue had been bothering him for days, even keeping him awake some nights. He didn’t want to bring it up to Wooyoung just yet, not when he didn’t even have an inkling of a potential solution, but keeping it to himself only stressed him out even more. He’d thought of talking about it with Minho and Jeongin, but he already knew what they were going to say – that he should follow his mate and don’t worry about them.
But he did worry about them. He didn’t want to leave them. He didn’t—
“Felix…?”
“Ah, sorry,” he chuckled, snapping back to reality.
“What were you thinking about?”
“I was just…” Thinking fast, Felix asked the first thing that popped in his head. “Just thinking back to when we first met - properly, I mean. Remember, when I asked you about why your pack came here…?” Wooyoung’s expression darkened a bit at that, and Felix instantly felt bad for bringing it up, even as an excuse to hide his real thoughts. “I- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked again.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” assured Wooyoung, reaching out to grab his hand. Felix let him, knowing the physical contact appeased the alpha. “It’s been a while, after all – it’s only natural for you to be curious. And really, it’s not like it’s a secret. Our pack just… doesn’t like talking about it. But since you’re going to join our pack, you’ll hear about it sooner or later, so I might as well tell you now.”
Felix didn’t even have the time to process the last part, because Wooyoung was already throwing himself in his explanation.
“Peniel used to have a mate. An alpha, like him. She was fierce and headstrong, and basically everyone’s older sister. We loved her a lot. A few winters back, however… she got sick. Caught an illness that could be lethal if not treated properly.” He gulped, lowering his eyes as he fiddled with Felix’s fingers. “We tried to buy the medication she needed, but the humans… the humans didn’t like us very much, back there. They weren’t outright hostile, but they certainly weren’t willing to help, and they refused to sell us the medication.”
“Woo…”
“She died barely a few weeks later, and there was nothing we could do about it. We’d considered stealing the meds, but she was honorable to a fault – she wouldn’t have taken the medication knowing we’d stolen it.” He let out a shuddering breath, shaking his head to chase the tears away. “The entire pack was devastated but, obviously, Peniel took it worse. It took him a long time to start getting better again, but he always slipped back to a depressed state whenever winter came around and, eventually, we figured it’d be best for everyone if we moved on and started anew somewhere that didn’t hold so many painful memories.”
“I see. I’m sorry about your loss. Thank you, for telling me.”
Felix’s heart was crying in sympathy, but also thundering with an unexpected nervousness. With what Wooyoung had said just before, about him joining his pack, as if it was the obvious choice or outcome…
No, Felix needed to talk to him.
“Wooyoung—”
“Felix—”
They both stopped, exchanging a surprised look, before Felix chuckled and gestured for him to go ahead first. Wooyoung returned his smile and shifted around so he could face him instead, still holding his hands.
“Felix… We’ve known each other for a while, now. I’d understand if this still feels a little too soon for you, but I want you to know that I love you. I love you, and I want us to mate, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Felix was frozen as Wooyoung stared at him with so much hope and affection… “You don’t have to answer if you don’t feel the same just yet. I’m willing to wait longer, to keep on courting you – I just needed you to know. I love you, I want you to join my pack, I want to be able to call you mine… I love you so much, Lix—”
“No…”
There was a moment of silence, and Wooyoung stiffened. “W- what?”
“No…!” Felix suddenly surged to his feet, stumbling back as panic took over. “I- I can’t, I can’t—! I- I’m sorry…!”
Too overwhelmed by his clashing emotions and the stress that had been accumulating for weeks, now, Felix did the only thing he knew how to do in such situations: he ran away. He ran, tears already streaming down his face as his heart shattered over and over again as the pain in Wooyoung’s eyes haunted his mind. It was almost ironic, that things would end the same way they started.
Except this time around, Wooyoung didn’t run after him.
.
“I rejected him.”
Felix was crying. He looked in so much pain, and neither Minho nor Jeongin could understand why he’d done it. Minho’s first thought was that Wooyoung had done something wrong but, upon noticing Felix’s expression, he quickly understood that it was something else.
“Why?” asked gently Jeongin, pulling Felix so he’d lay with him. “I thought you loved him, Lix. What happened?”
“Nothing- nothing happened. I love him so much,” sobbed Felix, holding on tightly to his fellow omega. “But I- I can’t leave you…!”
Understanding dawned on the mated pair: Felix had rejected Wooyoung because he didn’t want to leave their pack. Had he agreed to mate with Wooyoung, he’d have had to join Wooyoung’s pack, and then they would have left because the territory definitely wasn’t suited for a bigger pack (and it was starting to show, too).
“Oh, Felix…”
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…!”
They didn’t know who he was apologizing to, but one thing was obvious: if Wooyoung left, it would destroy Felix – and something told them the alpha wouldn’t be any better off. The pair was meant to be, and for them to be torn apart in such a way would definitely end in a disaster for everyone involved.
Thankfully, Minho had a plan – now all that was left to do was see if it’d work.
“Take care of him, Innie,” he murmured, kissing Felix’s forehead – the poor boy had cried himself to sleep and was now completely conked out. “I’ll be back soon.”
Jeongin simply offered him a reassuring smile, aware of what he was doing – they’d already discussed it, after all. Minho simply wished he’d have had the courage to bring it up before the couple tore themselves apart over that particular issue.
.
When Minho reached their neighbors’ den, he found them in the midst of packing. Since Wooyoung’s courting was over, they had no reason to stick around, and they probably preferred to make the rejection easier for both Wooyoung and Felix by leaving as soon as possible.
When Peniel saw him, he offered him a sad smile. “Don’t worry, Minho. It won’t take us long to leave—”
“Let us join your pack.”
There was a moment of silence as all wolves paused in their activities. Even Wooyoung, who’d been curled up in a corner to wallow in his misery, perked up. Peniel’s frown mellowed into a slightly confused expression.
“I’m sorry…?”
“The reason why Felix rejected Wooyoung is because he doesn’t want to leave our pack. I’ve already discussed it with my mate, however, and we… we wouldn’t mind joining yours, if you’re willing to accept us.”
“But you’re also a pack alpha,” pointed out Seongwha, rightfully worried about how their dynamics would work.
Minho simply shook his head. “I’m the pack alpha because I’m the only alpha. I was never interested in a position of leadership, and I’m more than willing to relinquish that responsibility to you, Peniel. Of course, old habits die hard, so it might take me and Jeongin a little while to adjust to different dynamics but… it’s for Felix, and for Wooyoung. We want them happy as much as you do.”
“Is that… is that really why he rejected me…?” Minho glanced at Wooyoung, who’s eyes were puffy and red, but also filled with uncertain hope, now. “So I didn’t- I didn’t do anything wrong…? I thought- I thought I’d scared him off…”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” confirmed firmly Minho. “I take it he didn’t tell you?”
“He just- he just said he couldn’t accept… and that he was sorry… and then- then he ran off, and I couldn’t bring myself to follow…”
“Felix has the unfortunate habit of running away when overwhelmed by his emotions. He was probably too shaken by his guilt to face you properly,” sighed Minho, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But I promise you, Wooyoung, he loves you very much – told us himself while he was bawling his eyes out. He cried himself to sleep, too.”
Upon hearing that, Wooyoung sprung to his feet. “I- I need to talk to him—”
“Wait.” The younger alpha paused upon hearing his pack alpha’s order. Peniel shot a look at Minho. “Does Felix know about what you’re offering to do?”
“No, I didn’t want to get his hopes up. I was intending on bringing up the matter with you sometime this week, but Wooyoung confessed sooner than I expected, so that plan went out the window.” Minho bit his lower lip. “Look, I understand this is asking a lot of you, and we still don’t know each other that well—”
“Minho, like you said, we want them happy as much as you do,” replied Peniel with a smile. “I’d figured you two and Felix would be a package deal. If you’re willing to give our pack a shot, then I have no issue with you joining.”
Minho visibly relaxed at that. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Peniel then shot a half-glare at Wooyoung. “Woo, sit your ass down. You’re not going anywhere tonight.”
“What? Why!? I need to talk to Felix—”
“It’s late, and Felix is already asleep. Also, you look like a mess. Take tonight to rest, and we can all go in the morning to settle things properly. Got it?”
Wooyoung grumbled under his breath, but eventually settled back down. Understanding they weren’t leaving anymore, the others stopped packing their things, and Peniel walked up to Minho to squeeze his shoulder in comfort.
“Go home, get some rest. We can work out the details tomorrow, alright? No rush.”
Minho offered him a genuinely grateful smile at that. “Thank you – again. It really means a lot to us.”
“You’re saying that as if you weren’t the ones doing us a favor,” chuckled Peniel, patting his back. “But, Wooyoung and Felix’s situation aside, you and Jeongin are also our friends, now – we’re happy to have you with us, okay? No need for debts of gratitude between friends.”
Minho simply smiled again, before biding them all goodnight and taking his leave. The moment he was gone, San let out a loud sigh, flopping tiredly on his bed.
“Ugh, talk about a bunch of unnecessary drama… You good, Woo?”
“I’m just so glad… I really thought I’d done something to mess it up…” sniffled the alpha.
“You can discuss things with Felix properly comes morning. Just make sure you don’t let him get away if he tries to run again,” replied Yunho, half-teasingly.
“I won’t,” assured Wooyoung, strangely solemn. “I’m not letting him go ever again.”
.
The sun had only just started rising when they were woken up by an all-too-familiar howl.
A call for help.
Peniel was the first out, being the closest to the entrance. The alphas were quick to follow, and they were all shocked to see none other than Jeongin stumble through the foliage in his wolf form. He shifted back to his human form as he reached them, visibly exhausted and bleeding from three rather deep scratches on his stomach.
The pack alpha was by his side in a second, helping him sit up.
“Jeongin? What happened?”
“Ro- rogue alphas, a- a pack,” he heaved out, tears streaming down his face. “They came for- for Felix…! P- please help us…!”
Peniel didn’t even have to look up to know Wooyoung was already gone. Not wasting any time, he handed Jeongin over to Yeosang and Seonghwa, who’d just joined them outside, and then gestured for the other alphas to follow. While he wasn’t fond of leaving their omegas alone and undefended when they knew an enemy pack was around, they didn’t know how many rogues they were dealing with, nor in what state they’d find Minho – they needed as many people on their side as they could.
They ran, Wooyoung already leagues ahead of them. They’d shifted into their wolf forms to go faster but, upon reaching the clearing where their den was, they quickly realized that they were still too late. The rogues were gone, Minho was lying unconscious in a pool of his own blood, and Felix wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
“Minho!”
The alpha was still alive, thankfully, but thoroughly beaten up. Peniel instantly ordered Yunho to bring him back to their den and leave him to the care of the omegas before returning to them and, as soon as they were gone, the pack alpha turned to San, their best tracker.
“How many?”
“I can smell five of them – all alphas.”
“Do you know in which direction they went?”
San nodded with a grim look. “The town. They’ll try to shake us off their trail by drowning Felix’s scent in there before taking off.”
“We need to find them now,” growled Wooyoung, obviously on the verge of losing control.
“The town is too big. We won’t be able to find them on our own. All we can do is cover their potential points of exit and wait for them to leave—”
“The longer we wait, the more Felix is at risk!” snapped Wooyoung. “If one of those assholes marks him, he’s going to…!”
He didn’t need to finish for the others to know what he was implying. Forcibly mating an omega usually led them to rejecting the bond and, when that happened, the results could range between driving them insane and outright killing them.
No, Wooyoung needed to find him before that happened.
“I know who can help us,” he then said, gritting his teeth. “Let’s go.”
Peniel and San exchanged a glance, then the pack leader nodded in agreement. If Wooyoung had a plan, they might as well give it a shot. Time was of essence, after all – any second wasted could be the one they completely lost Felix. And, if that happened, there was no telling what kind of hell Wooyoung would unleash upon everyone – rogues, townspeople, and packmates alike.
.
It didn’t take much to rope the townspeople into helping them.
Despite the early hour, many were already up to tend to their business and, upon hearing about Felix’s kidnapping, they’d been quick to pass the word around. Children and more vulnerable people locked themselves in their homes to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, while the rest of the humans gathered their weapons and quickly rallied to block any potential point of exit in the town, intent on rescuing the sweet boy.
It was dangerous to get humans involved, but the chances of the rogues escaping were now practically nonexistent thanks to them, so they’d take all the help they could get.
Now, it was a matter of finding them before it was too late.
.
“—about the humans getting involved! The entire town’s on lockdown!”
“So what? They’re just humans. We can easily kill them and be on our way.”
“That is not what I signed up for. It’s one thing to kidnap an omega – it’s another entirely to get hunted by the entire fucking town!!!”
A faint whimper escaped Felix as a threatening growl echoed not too far from him, and a heavy silence instantly ensued. Felix’s eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he noticed was the pain in his arms – his wrists were tied together and attached to a wooden headboard, the bindings so tight his cut the blood flow in his limbs. Another whimper escaped him as he registered the pain in the back of his head, too, vaguely remembering something heavy hitting him. How had he gotten there? And where were Minho and Jeongin? Why was it so hard to think…?
“Hello, Felix.” It took a moment for his blurry sight to focus on the shadow now looming over him but, once it did, fear struck his heart. “It’s been a while.”
Despite the large, ragged scar adorning his face, Felix easily recognized Chan – his face still haunted his nightmares sometimes. He instinctively tried to back away and call for help, but his bindings were too tight to let him move an inch, and his voice was muffled by a thick rag wrapped around his mouth as a makeshift gag.
Chan chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching out to cradle Felix’s face with one of his hands. When the omega flinched away, all he did was tighten his grip and force the freckled boy to meet his eyes again.
“I’ve missed you,” he murmured, almost to himself. “I tried to forget you but, thanks to the little gift your pack alpha left me, it was practically impossible.”
“Chan, we don’t have the time for your villain rant,” deadpanned an unfamiliar voice, the one who’d growled earlier. “What do we do?”
Felix managed to tilt his head back enough to take a look and found a tall man with pale blond hair much like his own leaning against the wall in the corner – an alpha, too.
“Are Jisung and Changbin not back yet?” replied Chan, releasing Felix with a click of his tongue, visibly annoyed. “What about Hongjoong?”
“They’re still out. It’d be a miracle if they haven’t gotten caught already.”
Since they were caught up in their argument, Felix tried to use that opportunity to shift to his wolf form and make his escape. However, the moment he tried, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and a bitter scent wafted over to him.
Aconite, he realized with no little amount of dread. There’s aconite in my bindings…
“Look, we got what we came for,” snapped the scarred alpha. “I promised you an unmated omega, and there you have it. All we gotta do is mark him and call it a day – his packmates won’t dare risk hurting him by killing us once that’s done.”
Once an omega was marked, even unwillingly, losing their mated one would drive them insane with grief and pushed the more mentally unstable ones to kill themselves – and, since Felix’s mental state would already be terribly shaken by being forcibly marked and rejecting the bond, there was no way he’d be strong enough to resist the urge to drive a knife through his own throat if Chan or whoever marked him died.
“Fine, then get to it,” barked the other alpha.
Chan growled in warning. “Don’t forget who gives the orders around here, Minhyuk – go outside and keep watch. It shouldn’t take long, and then you’ll get your turn.”
Minhyuk glared right back but didn’t say anything else and stepped outside. The moment the door closed behind him, the gravity of the situation sunk in for Felix, and he started struggling against his bindings with much more vigor.
Unfortunately, that only seemed to amuse the rogue wolf beside him.
“That’s it, keep struggling, little omega,” he growled, straddling his waist as his hands started roaming under Felix’s shirt. “No one will save you this time around.”
Felix tried to shove him off, wriggle out from underneath him, but he didn’t stand much of a chance against an alpha, let alone in such a vulnerable position. The tears started falling as Chan’s nose found the scent glands in his neck, roughly scenting him with abandon as a sickeningly pleased rumble rattled his chest.
“You smell even sweeter than I remember,” he exhaled, now downright lapping at the exposed skin – cleaning the spot where he’d leave his mark. “You’re mine, all mine…!”
Felix let out a muffled sob as he felt the alpha’s teeth now tracing along his sensitive skin, painfully torn between his weakening attempts to push him away and his instinctive need to bare his neck and submit to their dynamics. And then, Chan stopped. Felix could feel him grinning against his neck, baring his fangs, bracing himself for what was coming next.
“Welcome to the pack, little omega,” he growled.
Felix cried out, closing his eyes as he felt the alpha’s teeth press down on the skin over his scent gland. Just before his fangs could pierce the flesh, however, the door suddenly flung open, and a beastly growl echoed.
One second Chan was straddling Felix and, the next, he was literally sent flying through the wall.
“Felix!”
The freckled omega didn’t bother holding back his tears anymore, crying in relief as none other than Wooyoung appeared in his line of sight. The alpha didn’t waste any time in cutting through his bindings, hissing as the aconite stuck in hit burned his palms, but uncaring of the pain – all he could think about was untying Felix.
The moment Felix was freed, he threw his arms around Wooyoung’s neck and held him tightly, his sobs only growing louder when, despite their position, his mate managed to undo the gag tied around his mouth. Wooyoung was quick to gather him in his arms, gently scenting his neck to try and calm him down – and also get rid of the rogue’s stench now clinging to his sweet omega.
“Shh, it’s okay,” he murmured, lapping at the small dents Chan had managed to leave in the boy’s skin – not deep enough to mark him, thankfully, but still there all the same. “You’re safe, now, I’ve got you. He won’t hurt you anymore.”
“I- I’m sorry…!” cried out Felix, all of his limbs wrapped tightly around Wooyoung, as if afraid the alpha disappear the moment he let go. “I- I love you too, Wooyoung, so- so much, and I- I’m sorry for rejecting you, I didn’t- I didn’t mean to…!”
“I know, baby, I know, it’s okay,” he assured, rubbing soothing circles on his back. “Minho told us everything, and it’s okay, we’ve decided to—”
A loud, hostile howl echoed outside, and Wooyoung glared at the hole in the wall Chan had left when Wooyoung had kicked him through it. He’d half-hoped the rogue would have died upon impact – they were on the third floor – but wolves were resilient by nature, so it really wasn’t much of a surprise that he’d survived. From the angry noises outside, though, he easily understood his packmates had gotten a hold of him and, not wanting Felix to be close to Chan or any of the other rogues any longer, Wooyoung rose to his feet, picking up the omega at the same time.
“Come on, love,” he murmured, tucking Felix’s head in his neck, hoping his own scent would help him calm down. “Let’s go home.”
“The- the others—”
“Peniel, San, and Yunho are handling it. It’s okay, you don’t have to worry about them anymore. Why don’t you close your eyes and rest for a bit, hm? I promise I’ll keep you safe.”
“I- I know you will,” mumbled the omega, his brain fogging up both from his emotional exhaustion and his mate’s scent. “I- I love you… Wooyoung… Thank- thank you…”
“I love you too. Now sleep. Everything will be better when you’ll wake up.”
In a matter of seconds, Felix was out like a light. Wooyoung heaved out a relieved sigh, pressing a kiss to his temple before carrying him outside. Once there, he found a crowd of people anxiously waiting for them, and he offered them a reassuring smile.
“He’ll be okay.”
They all instantly sighed in relief, the tension in their shoulders vanishing. One of them, Hwasa if Wooyoung recalled correctly, stepped forward and gently wrapped a thick, but soft blanket around Felix and, though Wooyoung didn’t appreciate anyone coming this close to his mate when he was in such a vulnerable state, he managed to reign in his instincts and thank her.
“We’re the ones who should be thanking you,” she simply replied, her eyes sad as they landed on Felix’s face. “Who knows what would have happened to him if you hadn’t been there? Thank you, for taking care of him.”
Numerous of the townspeople offered similar words as Wooyoung made his way through, and Wooyoung was once again struck by how different the humans were around these parts.
If only there had been humans this kind back then…
He shook his head – now wasn’t the time to get lost in his memories. He had Felix to take care of, and that was all that mattered.
.
“So? What’s going to happen to them?”
“Two of them managed to escape, and the other three are being detained. They’ll be sent to the big city where their fates will be decided – you know how higher-ups hate troublemakers like them.”
Chan, Minhyuk, and the one named Hongjoong had been beaten black and blue by Peniel, San, Yunho, and Wooyoung. With the help of the townspeople, they’d been put under locks and, soon enough, a police escort would come and pick them up to drag them back to the city where they’d receive proper judgement from the wolf council.
(Wolves were all about freedom, but rogues who caused trouble had to be contained, because they were the ones because of whom relations between humans and wolves were to tense in the first place.)
Jisung and Changbin had escaped. They didn’t know where they’d disappeared to, but they could only hope the pair of alphas wouldn’t come back.
It was now two days after the incident. Jeongin and Minho were both well on their way to a full recovery thanks to the townspeople support, but Felix had yet to wake up. The doctor in town had assured them that he was only resting, and that it wouldn’t take much longer before he woke up, but Wooyoung was terribly worried and never left his side once.
Thankfully, the doctor was right.
“Woo…?”
"Felix!"
Felix felt a little groggy, and he let out a small whine when Wooyoung tried to move from underneath him. He was comfortable and warm, why was his mate moving away? The alpha let out a breathless chuckle but stopped fidgeting, and he started carding his hand through Felix’s hair instead, slowly chasing away the remnants of his brief coma.
When Felix finally found the strength to move a bit and look up, Wooyoung smiled. “Hello, love.”
Felix smiled back. “Hi.”
“How do you feel?”
“Exhausted. I don’t know why, though.”
“Well, you were out for quite a while,” mused Wooyoung, distinctly relieved as he gently traced the side of Felix’s face with his knuckles. “Peniel thinks it’s because you were bracing yourself to reject the bond, and that took its toll on your body.”
Felix paled a little at that, his hand flying to his neck. “He didn’t—”
“He didn’t,” assured soothingly his mate, kissing the tip of his nose. “It was a close call, but he didn’t mark you.”
Felix relaxed at that, rubbing his face in the crook of Wooyoung’s neck. “Thanks to you.”
“I was so scared,” admitted the alpha, his hold around Felix’s waist tightening a little. “I really thought I was going to be too late, that I was going to lose you…”
“But you weren’t, and you didn’t.” With a soft smile, Felix leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss on his mate’s lip. “You saved me. My alpha. My mate.”
“Felix…”
“I’m sorry, for rejecting you the way I did,” whispered the omega, wrapping his arms around the alpha’s neck and nuzzling his chest. “I was so scared of having to make a decision, I ended up making the wrong one. And- and instead of taking the time to talk it out with you, I panicked and ran away. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Lix.” Wooyoung suddenly sat up, Felix ending up straddling his lap, and the alpha returned his previous kiss just as gently. “Run as much as you want – I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
Felix smiled, kissing him back for a bit. Then, he pulled away… and snorted.
“What?”
“Nothing, it’s just… well, it sounds a little stalker-ish when you say it that way.”
“What—I was trying to be romantic!!!”
Felix simply laughed again before leaning in to give him another kiss, warmth and happiness fluttering in his chest as Wooyoung held him even closer, if possible.
My alpha, the wolf inside of him crooned. My mate.
“My omega,” said softly Wooyoung, as if reading his mind as he started scenting him again. “My mate.”
“Yours,” breathed out Felix, baring his neck in submission. “Alpha, please…”
“Are you sure?” When the omega didn’t answer right away, Wooyoung gently cradled his cheek so their eyes could meet. “Felix, are you certain?”
“I am,” assured Felix, playfully brushing their noses together. “I want you, Wooyoung. You’re the only one for me – and I’m yours, if you’ll still have me.”
“Always.”
They exchanged another kiss, before Wooyoung returned to gently scenting him. Once certain Felix had slipped into his headspace, he started lapping at the skin over his scent gland and, with one last “I love you”, he bit into the offered flesh.
Felix gasped, writhing a bit in his hold, but Wooyoung merely sunk his teeth deeper – the omega headspace allowed the pain of the marking process to be transformed into pleasure, and he could feel the change in their bond as their hearts began beating at the very same pace.
Felix was his, and he was Felix’s – nothing and no one would ever be able to separate them again.