Chapter Text
“So … you know what you must do?” The woman looked at the man in front of her, eyes glowing red with authority.
“I understand the mission. I will do whatever I can to make sure I succeed.” The man bowed slightly, showing his submission.
They were both in a dark room only lit by one lantern. The darkness made their shadows grow bigger on the wall, the ominous energy causing the man to look towards the floor. The last thing he wanted to do was cause waves with the woman in front of him.
“Taehyun, no need to be so tense.” The woman lightly placed her hand on his shoulder, her red eyes causing the man’s to glow green in response. “Your mission is to capture one of the omegas in the small neighboring pack. Once you bring them here, we can dispose of the alpha properly. This should be an easy task for you as a delta. Don’t disappoint me.”
The last sentence came out cold, a small shiver running through Taehyun’s spine before he nodded his head. Even though he kept a calm demeanor, he knew never to cross the woman in front of him, their pack alpha nothing but ruthless to those who don’t follow her orders.
After going over preparations one last time, Taehyun left the room to start preparing himself for the mission ahead. For him, this should be one of the easier missions he’s been tasked with, known in his pack as merciless and cold. Taehyun had killed many in previous missions, and he saw this mission as no exception. His pack wanted to grow, and to do so, they had to get rid of the smaller surrounding packs.
Delta wolves are extremely rare in any pack, making Taehyun a rare sight for many. His green eyes were the only indication of his subgender, his scent similar to a beta’s. He was currently the only delta in the pack, having been turned into a delta after earning the pack alpha’s trust over years of hard work and dedication. The only known way a delta is formed is to be a trusted beta by an alpha in a large pack, Taehyun being the only one to have met those requirements.
A delta’s role in a pack is to help with hunting, protect the pack, and infiltrate other packs, earning their trust before destroying them from the inside out. Taehyun had been on many missions, and only a handful of them involved fooling other packs and manipulating them into their own demise.
The pack alpha knew he was the only one suited for the job, Taehyun’s eyes emotionless as he prepared everything he would need. After only a couple minutes, he set out to start his mission, hoping that it would be quick and painless.
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Taehyun was currently panting, mud covering his clothes as the rain continued to fall. He was bleeding from multiple wounds on his limbs, chest, and back, resting his body next to a tree as he tried to catch his breath. Even though members of his own pack were chasing him for show, they still treated this as a type of training.
Taehyun could hear his packmate’s footsteps close behind him, knowing that he no longer had any energy to shift. He began running, the cold air burning his lungs as he moved forward. He knew he was on the border of their territory, not far to go until they could no longer follow him without the possibility of starting a fight with the neighboring pack. It wasn’t long until one of the chasing wolves caught up to him, knocking his body to the ground.
The wolf scratched Taehyun’s cheek, just lightly enough to cause bleeding but not enough to become a serious injury. Taehyun used the last of his strength to push the wolf off of him, running the back of his hand over the new wound to see more blood. He already felt like he was going to pass out, his run slowing to a jog as he found a small area to try and hide.
The area wasn’t anything spectacular, a couple bushes surrounding him to allow him to hide. There was also a small cavern, only big enough for him to crawl in and lay down to get away from the rain. With all of his new wounds, his body felt weak and began to shiver in the cold.
He heard footsteps running past the area, tension diminishing after he heard them move through the area. He knew he couldn’t do anything until the morning, curling in on his body as tried to stay silent while shivering. His clothes were soaked, the wind cold on his skin as he tried his best to rest. It wasn’t long before he fell unconscious, a mix of exhaustion and blood loss bringing him to slumber.
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“—llo?”
Taehyun’s eyelids pressed tightly as he sensed light, his forehead immediately wrinkling at the pain he felt from the night before. While his eyes were adjusting to the new light, he slowly blinked them open, seeing a fuzzy figure in his vision.
“Hello? Are you okay?”
Taehyun’s vision was finally coming into focus, the figure of a man standing outside the small cavern coming into view. The man looked worried, his eyes large as he seemed to be looking over Taehyun’s body. Even so, the man looked timid, as if he was ready to run at a moment’s notice.
Taehyun quickly scanned his own body, noticing that he was still shivering. However, most of his wounds seemed to have started the healing process. Even though his body would naturally heal, it still did take some time. He tried to sit up, causing the mystery boy to flinch and take a step back.
“I’ve been better.”
Taehyun tried to chuckle, but the pain running up his back was only a telltale sign of how much damage was done to him last night. Taehyun couldn’t help but continue to wince as he tried to stand up. As he tried to move outside of the cavern, the other man took many steps back, standing behind a small tree and peering around it. Taehyun couldn’t help but find the action interesting to say the least.
“You’ve been hurt.”
Taehyun tried not to scoff at the obvious remark, now fully standing as he got a better look at his wounds. Some of them were fairly deep, knowing they would take days to heal. When he looked back at the other to respond, he could feel his body shaking and his vision becoming blurry again.
“Um … I don’t know what to do.” The man looked to be talking to himself, looking between Taehyun and an unknown place behind him while moving his hand through his blonde hair. After a couple seconds, he slowly moved out from behind the tree, reaching out a hand to Taehyun. “You should come with me before someone else shows up.”
Taehyun watched as the man held out his hand to help Taehyun get out of the bushes, seeing that he was still unstable. Taehyun could tell just by sight and scent alone that this man was an omega, likely one of the pack he was meant to infiltrate. He could trap the boy now and complete his mission, but even so, he wasn’t sure he had the strength to do it in his current state.
After a couple seconds of thought, he took the boy’s hand, slowly standing up. He couldn’t help but wince at the pain once again, trying to gain his footing. At Taehyun’s sporadic movements, the boy let go of Taehyun’s hand, quickly moving back behind the tree. After Taehyun moved himself out of the bushes, he slowly walked towards the boy, trying to show he wasn’t a threat.
“Follow me.” The man waved towards him as he began to walk a couple steps in front of Taehyun. He didn’t expect the man to be so tall for an omega, the man’s height easily towering over his own. They walked in silence for a bit before the man spoke up. “My name is Kai by the way. I’m part of a small pack around here.”
“I’m Taehyun. I’m a lone wolf. Haven’t been part of a pack for a while.” Taehyun had become accustomed to lying through his teeth, feeling no remorse for his actions. “I was travelling through last night when I was attacked by a small group of wolves. I guess it wasn’t your pack, or you wouldn’t have offered to help.”
Kai nodded, smiling slightly in hopes to show Taehyun that he was only here to help. They quickly fell into conversation. However, it was more Kai talking than anything else. Even though the boy was skittish in the beginning, Taehyun could tell that the boy was a chatterbox when he got going.
Taehyun started to feel the exhaustion taking over, the process of healing his wounds taking up most of his energy. Kai could tell that Taehyun couldn’t take much more, telling the man that they were almost at his home. After about ten more minutes of walking, Taehyun could already smell the other wolves in the area.
When they reached a small clearing, Taehyun could see a small house come into view. It looked almost like a cabin, enough to house a couple people but nothing more. They were just on the outskirts of the woods, the door to the house quickly opening as two people sprinted outside. Kai smiled as he ran towards the two figures.
Kai gave the smaller of the two figures a hug, but he was immediately pushed behind the man’s back before the man in question shifted into his wolf. The wolf was a light gray with a white underbelly, similar to the man’s silver hair before he shifted. Taehyun immediately felt the need to shift, but just as he tried to do so, he kneeled down in pain, everything stinging from his wounds.
Before he knew it, the taller figure was already next to him, holding him up by his shirt with a hand on his neck. Taehyun could tell this man was the alpha, knowing that he could snap his neck with a flick of his wrist. Saying Taehyun was scared would be an understatement, feeling the man’s grip only tighten around his throat and making it almost impossible to breathe.
“Stop!”
Everyone looked towards Kai who was currently trying to get around the wolf in front of him. No matter how hard he tried, the wolf kept Kai in front of the house, not able to reach Taehyun. All of the screaming and noise had caused someone else to rush out of the house, everyone turning towards the new individual. Taehyun’s eyes were squinting open, using most of his strength to focus on breathing.
“What the hell is going on out here?”
The man had dark blue hair, long enough to reach just above his jaw. He looked obviously annoyed, looking at the scene to see Kai and the wolf near him and the alpha holding a man about twenty feet away. He started stomping towards the alpha, the wolf quickly moving in front of him as well. However, after one stern look, the wolf’s ears went flat as they slowly backed up to Kai’s side. It wasn’t long before the man was close to the alpha.
“Let him go, Soobin. Can’t you see how injured he is? He needs our help.” The man placed a hand lightly on Soobin’s wrist, the one still holding tightly onto Taehyun’s throat.
The slight release in the alpha’s grip allowed Taehyun to breathe better but only slightly. He could tell by scent that the blue-haired man was an omega, and by the looks of it, a pregnant one at that.
“He could be dangerous. We don’t know who he is or what pack he belongs to.”
Soobin’s grip hardened once more before the other man slapped Soobin’s shoulder, causing Soobin to lose his grip and drop Taehyun to the ground. Taehyun started coughing erratically, trying to catch his breath. Before he could stand, he winced in pain due to his wounds.
Even though he had started to heal, he slightly exaggerated the wincing to try and gain some sympathy from the small pack. Soobin stomped towards him before the blue-haired omega placed himself between Soobin and Taehyun. It was obvious that Soobin was fuming, his eyes turning a tint of red. The other man placed a hand on his chest, as if asking him to stop and listen.
“He needs help, Binnie. We need to help him.” Soobin kept his eyes on Taehyun as the man spoke, not wanting to take his eyes off of him for a second. “You can stay in the room while Kai and I treat him if you want, but you need to calm down. We’re all okay. See?”
The man turned Soobin’s face away from Taehyun to see Kai and the light gray wolf. The wolf was still in a protective position, but it was obvious that Kai was scared and nervous at how things would play out. When Soobin looked back at the omega, he could see the man’s eyes turn a shade of blue.
“We’ll be okay. But he needs help.”
The man looked at Taehyun, moving to help him stand up. Once Taehyun was standing, it was obvious he was still shaky on his legs, the man moving to wrap one of Taehyun’s arms around his shoulder as he started moving towards the small cabin. It was obvious that Soobin didn’t like what was going on, but he stayed directly behind the omega, ready to intervene at a moment’s notice if needed.
It wasn’t long until they reached the front door of the cabin, Kai putting Taehyun’s other arm around his shoulder to try and help Taehyun get inside. The wolf had since changed back into their human form, a man with silver hair now joining Soobin as they all entered the cabin.
The building wasn’t anything spectacular, but it seemed very cozy compared to where Taehyun lived with his pack. Kai and the other omega gently sat Taehyun on the couch, looking over his wounds. The omega had asked Kai to get some supplies, but Taehyun couldn’t take his eyes off the two men currently staring him down.
“Don’t be scared of them. You should worry about yourself.” The man kept looking over Taehyun’s wounds, his face scrunching when he came over one particularly deep. “My name’s Yeonjun by the way.”
Kai had arrived with the supplies. Taehyun could see some bandages and fluid to clean the wounds out. Either way, he knew it was going to sting. He could heal his wounds himself, but he knew this would be faster and would help gain their trust as well. Yeonjun and Kai got to work, trying to keep Taehyun’s pain to a minimum as they bandaged him up. As time went on, it was obvious that Soobin and the other wolf still didn’t like Taehyun’s presence in their house.
“Yeonjun, you shouldn’t be exerting yourself like this. Let me do it.” The silver-haired man went to grab the bandages out of Yeonjun’s hand before the omega slapped the man’s hand away.
“Why? Because I’m pregnant? I’m not incapacitated, Beomgyu. And I’m not fragile either. I can handle a few bandages.”
After a couple more minutes, Taehyun was fully bandaged up, the white fabric now covering his limbs, chest, and back. The fluid they used to clean his wounds stung, but he could already tell that they were healing faster than before.
When he looked up, he could see Soobin looking at him with his arms crossed in front of his chest. The silver-haired man, who he now knew to be Beomgyu, was not far away as he tried to look nonchalant, but it was obvious that he was keeping his eyes on the intruder.
“There all done.” Yeonjun and Kai both smiled, sitting back and looking proud of their work. “You should be feeling better in no time.”
Yeonjun stood up with the help of Kai, one hand placed lightly on his stomach as he used Kai to regain his balance. Yeonjun looked like he was just starting to show, still likely a couple months from giving birth. After smiling towards Taehyun, the man headed towards a chair in the same room. For what he could tell, it was a rocking chair, probably more comfortable for the pregnant man. However, it wasn’t long before Soobin was standing directly in front of him, his eyes almost like daggers.
“Now, let’s get down to business. Who are you?”