Chapter Text
Jeonghan is the son of the Head Alpha in his pack. Elegant, highly esteemed and respected is what people assumed he was, but in reality, he was nothing but an unwanted Omega, someone that had to be removed so as to not disgrace the Head Alpha. He was always told that he was unworthy and treated as if he were no better than a lowly beggar. Omegas in his pack were considered inferior to Betas and Alphas, their only jobs were to produce offspring and raise their pups to hopefully become alphas. So when Jeonghan had presented as an omega when he turned eighteen, his father hurried to marry him off to an alpha in another pack. Thus Jeonghan finds himself in times like this, kneeling before his future mate.
"Pretty omega, are you still unwilling to open your mouth?" The arrogant alpha smirks, harshly grabbing on Jeonghan's chin to raise his head up.
Jeonghan stays silent, glaring daggers into the alpha's eyes. This was their fifth meeting already, all of their meetings ending up with Jeonghan crying and curling himself into a ball. He was going to have to mate with this sorry excuse of an alpha.
The alpha grows more irritated with every second that Jeonghan stays quiet and he eventually storms towards the door and locks it. Jeonghan tenses up. He knows what this means, and he also knows there's nothing he can do to stop it. He's tried screaming, yelling for help and even running away, but he never succeeds because no one cares.
So when the alpha comes back to stand in front of him and undoes his pants, Jeonghan knows the drill and reluctantly opens his mouth wide before the stupid alpha forces them open. The alpha seems to get the wrong idea because his smirk turns into a chuckle, "I know you secretly enjoy this omega, love sucking alpha's dick, don't you?"
He doesn't want to answer, nor does he get the chance to before the fat cock gets shoved into his mouth, thrusting mercilessly without giving Jeonghan time to adjust. Jeonghan chokes when the alpha pushes all the way in, his nose already touching the pubic hairs of the alpha's base. His eyes burn with tears, coughing and choking constantly but the alpha doesn't care at all, just continues assaulting Jeonghan's throat as if he were a cocksleeve.
Jeonghan runs out of breath, and he prays that the alpha cums soon because he really doesn't want to faint in front of this alpha, he doesn't know what he'd do to his unconscious body. Fortunately for him, the alpha cums quickly into his throat, and Jeonghan swallows the bitter yet sour liquid down his parched throat before opening his mouth to show that he'd taken it all. The very first time this happened, Jeonghan spit out the white cum all over the floors, and that had earned him a brutal slap to the face and a second round of mouth fucking.
When the alpha's satisfied, he simply pushes Jeonghan off his knees and onto the cold floor before walking off, leaving Jeonghan alone in this hellhole. He wants to cry, he really feels like crying but he takes a deep breath and sucks it all in, he can't cry. He has to be strong.
Distantly, Jeonghan hears a familiar cry from outside his chamber's doors, demanding the guards to let him in. Jeonghan gets up on his feet instantly and rushes to the doors, swinging them open to let a sobbing little boy into his embrace.
"Hyungg! Are you okay?" Chan cries into his shoulder and wets his clothes but he pays it no mind, busy comforting and soothing the poor boy as if he weren't just raped to a certain extent.
"Hyungie's okay, baby. Don't worry." Jeonghan lies, he can be strong for his little brother.
Chan is dressed in beautiful, expensive robes, accessories covering his neck, wrists and a small crown on the top of his head, a total opposite to Jeonghan who's barely dressed, just draped in a dirty cloth.
Chan is only eleven this year, yet to present and therefore their father has been training him to hunt and fight, in hopes of him presenting as an Alpha to take over and rule their pack. So he has always been treated as royalty, and no one dared to mistreat him. But Chan hates it more than anything. He just wants to leave this place with his brother and never return.
"Hyung, let's leave this place. I can't let you mate with that horrible alpha." Chan says, full of spite and determination.
"I've been trying, Chan-ah. Jihyo has agreed to help us escape at midnight, but we must be careful." Jeonghan warns. He has been making plans to escape this place for a long time, they've tried over and over again but so far, they're met with dead ends and failed attempts. Jeonghan prays it will work this time.
That night, Jeonghan pretends to sleep as he lies on his bed, which can barely be called one, as he bites his fingernails in anxiety. Each time they escape, they risk getting caught and even killed in Jeonghan's case.
Time passes by irritatingly slowly, until it's finally time. Jeonghan springs out of bed before expertly jumping out of the window in his room, his feet landing softly on the grass beneath him. He runs across the garden, wincing in pain when he steps on thorns but quickly ignores it, continuing to run in the direction of a stream.
There, he meets Jihyo and Chan, standing by the stream waiting for him.
"I've distracted the guards for awhile, leave as fast as you can." Jihyo says.
Jeonghan nods and bows gratefully. "Thank you, we'll be back for you. I promise." He says and he sees the resigned expression on her face before shifting into his wolf form and prompting Chan to do the same.
His wolf is a magnificent pristine white in color, his furs reflecting the moonlight and he almost sparkles. His eyes are a gorgeous mix of amber and gold and overall, he exudes an aura of grace and beauty. He doesn't get to shift very often in his pack, but he likes his wolf. He isn't very large because he's an omega, but definitely larger than Chan. He ruffles his fur and ears and nudges at Chan to move. Chan's wolf is a majestic grey color, with hints of silver on some spots. His ears are pointed and paired with ethereal amber eyes and a powerful jaw for his age.
Jeonghan has an inkling that Chan would be an alpha when he presents because of how protective Chan gets when he gets hurt or bullied. The young wolf would literally growl at anyone, even their father when they come even a tad bit too close to Jeonghan. Sometimes it almost seems like Chan's the older one between them.
Jeonghan and Chan pad towards the stream, hissing a little when the ice cold water comes into contact with their paws. Eventually, they manage to brave through the stream, Jeonghan catching Chan when he accidentally steps on a slippery rock. The stream will help them erase their scents for awhile, so if their father sends wolves to look for them, this will throw them off a little.
They continue trekking through the dense forests, moving as fast as they can to prevent getting caught. With Jeonghan's knowledge, if they continue moving forward for another mile or so, they'll cross a boarder and step into unmarked territory that will be safer for them. As they run, Jeonghan takes a look up into the sky, appearing as a deep, velvety black canvas sprinkled with countless twinkling stars. The full moon casts a silvery glow, illuminating patches of the forest floor with ethereal light. Jeonghan moves his vision to the forest itself, shadows dance among the tall trees, while distant sounds echo through the stillness, creating a sense of mystery and enchantment. Jeonghan never gets to look at the sky nor the forest back in the palace. He's always just locked in his room and being forced to do things he never wants to. But here he is, getting to admire nature all around him, he feels a tears welling in his beautiful orbs. He blinks them back and focuses on the trek.
When they finally reach the unmarked territory, Jeonghan searches for a decent place to spend the night, pacing around until he finds a spot underneath a huge tree. They settle down and huddle close to each other against the bark of the tree, Jeonghan spooning his little brother as they try to fall asleep.
The warmth of the sunlight peeking through the dense trees wakes Jeonghan up, and he sighs in relief that they haven't been caught and he was actually able to get himself some sleep. The rest of the day doesn't go as smoothly though, as the rain started pouring over them and they had no choice but to keep moving.
By the end of the day, they're both exhausted and hungry, Chan's tummy already making growling sounds though he tries to hide it. So they sit beside a small stream they've managed to find, and Jeonghan tries his best to hunt for fishes they can eat. Jeonghan's never been taught to hunt at all, so he stumbles over here and there, struggling to catch a single fish. He growls softly in frustration, but after hours of trying, he finally manages to trap one in between his paws and he raises it in the air proudly, Chan happily yipping
They shift back to their human forms to make a fire, Jeonghan almost burning himself, and they cook the fish on a stick they found on the ground. The first bite automatically goes to Chan, the boy humming in delight when the fresh tender meat goes into his mouth.
"Yummy?" Jeonghan asks adoringly.
"Mhm! Have some more, hyungie!" Chan offers, but Jeonghan shakes his head.
"You need energy, baby." Jeonghan says, earning a pout from Chan.
The next few days go by in a flash and devastatingly slowly at the same time. The weather haven't been nice to them, either raining, freezing cold or both of them together. They usually end up only sharing one fish a day or if they're lucky enough, they get rabbits. It hurt Jeonghan the first time he had to kill one, but he had to survive, so he closed his eyes and mumbled a silent prayer before he killed it.
Weeks had passed by now and Jeonghan is malnourished. He'd been giving Chan more food than himself and with the amount of trekking they've been doing, Jeonghan's body is about of collapse on himself.
----
Jisoo and Seokmin were out for harvesting, or getting ingredients, Mingyu calls it. With a basket in Seokmin's hand, they walk hand in hand into their forest in search for mushrooms. It's a rather sunny day today, making it easier to harvest.
"Seokie, do you know which mushrooms are poisonous and which are not?" Jisoo casually asks while bending down to inspect said mushrooms.
"I only know not to get those with scales on their caps, Minghao told me about them being poisonous." Seokmin answers, genuinely intrigued by mushrooms. He's hardly sent out to do jobs like these because he's mainly supposed to be in charge of hunting, but he's here today to accompany his mate.
"That's right, we also have to take a look at their stems, there are some mushrooms like this one," Jisoo points, "that have a ring around them. These are mostly poisonous."
Seokmin looks at his mate in awe, "That's so cool! I'm definitely gonna tag along on your harvesting sessions more often." He exclaims, making Jisoo giggle.
The couple make their way deeper into the forest, scavenging for more mushrooms while chattering away. When Jisoo heads towards a group of mushrooms further away, something catches his eye, or rather, someone. He immediately snaps his fingers, gaining the attention of his alpha. Seokmin rushes over in concern while Jisoo carefully treads closer through the bushes towards the two figures.
The two wolves get startled when Jisoo and Seokmin approach them. They look extremely famished and weak, one of them looking like he could be really sick. The smaller one looks at him, eyes full of fear and doubt while the older quickly tucks him behind his back to protect him, even though he clearly isn't in the state to do so.
Jisoo stops when he's close enough, not wanting to alarm them.
"Are you okay?" Jisoo gently asks the older boy, who's currently shaking a little, struggling to even stand properly.
"W-who are you..." the boy questions, untrusting.
"I'm Jisoo, and he's Seokmin." Jisoo introduces, and he notices the boy flinch when he smells that Seokmin is an alpha, so he quickly emits his own calming scent to soothe the boy and cover up Seokmin's scent.
"We're not gonna hurt you, sweet. Can we know your names?" Jisoo tries.
The older boy searches for something in their eyes, something that will tell him they're lying or that they have evil intentions. But when he finds none of that, he relents. "My name's Jeonghan," he gestures to Chan, "he's my younger brother, Chan."
Jisoo and Seokmin both coo, "That's a beautiful name you have, Jeonghan, your brother too." Jeonghan simply smiles.
"Do you need help, Jeonghan? We're from a pack nearby and we were picking some mushrooms before we found you two," Jisoo shows him their basket of mushrooms, trying to allow Jeonghan to relax a little. "and we'd love to help you guys out if we can." Jisoo smiles sweetly at them.
"It's fine, we-" Jeonghan starts but gets interrupted by Chan.
"Hyung, we need to get help." He argues, before turning to Jisoo. "Hyung needs your help. He's barely eaten the past few weeks and we've been running away for so long, I don't think we can hang on for much longer..." He explains.
Jisoo's eyes flicker back to Jeonghan, waiting for him to make the decision.
"You promise you or anyone in your pack will not hurt us, especially Chan?" The protective nature in Jeonghan spikes.
Jisoo nods, eyes still as soft as they were before. "Of course, we promise."
Jisoo and Seokmin lead the two through the forests again, and soon enough, Jeonghan and Chan find themselves looking into the prettiest village they've ever seen. The atmosphere feels so lively and bright, a complete change from back at home. Home? Jeonghan brushes the thought away.
There were omegas, betas and alphas present in the village, talking to one another as if they were all good friends, smiles adorning their faces. There were rows of wooden homes built next to each other at one side of the clearing, slightly to the left was a school. Next in his line of sight seemed like a training ground, there were a few betas and alphas sparing but the fights were friendly, he could see them sharing laughter and smiles whenever one of them lost or made a mistake.
The village was beautiful, it was situated almost next to a beach where Jeonghan could see the horizon. Before his eyes could continue exploring and taking in the sights, Jisoo gets his attention.
"This is our village." Jisoo presents, "I'm not sure if you noticed earlier, but our territory starts at the stream you would have crossed a few days prior, we use that part of the forest for hunting and growing herbs." Jisoo explains and Jeonghan thinks back to a few days ago when they crossed a large stream and took a few sips from it.
"Oh, that's a rather large territory you have," Jeonghan notes.
Jisoo smiles and nods, "That's right, our head alpha made sure we had sufficient space for our needs." He explains while guiding Jeonghan and Chan towards the second house from the forest line.
They take the stairs up to their front porch and Seokmin pushes the front door open, welcoming them in. "This is our home, feel free to make yourself comfortable and we'll get a doctor to take a look at the both of you. Is that alright?" Seokmin kindly offers.
Jeonghan wearily nods his head, he shouldn't be stubborn in times like this, he knows they both need help. He follows Jisoo into their living area while Seokmin leaves to get the doctor and settles down on their couch, immediately pulling Chan close to him. Chan on the other hand, doesn't look weary or afraid at all, just curious about everything around him.
Jisoo's and Seokmin's home looks lovely, from the cute pastel curtains hung up on their windows to the photo frames placed on the tv counter, Jeonghan feels a weird sense of comfort just being here.
"Seokmin and I have lived here for at least four years now, and I apologise if anything looks old or rusty." Jisoo chuckles and Jeonghan is quick to shake his head.
"No! Not at all, this place is lovely. I like it," Jeonghan whispers the last part, mostly for himself to hear. This is what a home should look and feel like, with warm heating and comfortable furniture, not cold concrete and suffocating rooms.
"Great, I'll get you guys some tea. Feel free to look around if you want to!" Jisoo head towards his kitchen.
Jeonghan gets up albeit some difficulty thanks to his tired limbs, but he manages to get himself over to take a look at their photo frames, Chan following behind, peeking above Jeonghan's shoulder. There were three frames on the counter, one is a picture taken of Seokmin and Jisoo at the beach, probably when they were younger he guesses. The second was their wedding photo, both of them dressed in stunning white suits and Jisoo leaning on his mate's chest. The third one was a group photo with eleven people, and his attention couldn't help but be drawn to the man standing in the centre, laughing when the picture was taken.
"That's Seungcheol. The guy in the centre right?" Jisoo takes a wild guess when he reappears with two cups of tea in his hands.
Jeonghan whips his head around, baffled. "How did you know I was looking at him?"
Jisoo shrugs, "Inkling."
Jeonghan and Chan sit back down on the couch, cups of warm tea in their hands as they blow on it. Soon enough, Seokmin arrives with a tall man and a shorter one, both bowing and introducing themselves as Hyungwon and Seungkwan respectively. Hyungwon seems to be the more experienced one, coming forward and asking for permission to access their injuries, Jeonghan urging him to look at Chan first. Seungkwan looks young, and he guesses him and Chan shouldn't have a large age gap. Seungkwan helps Hyungwon with the medical supplies and first aid, the cute bear-like boy getting confused every once in awhile, but still gets his job done.
"Thankfully, it doesn't seem like Chan has any major injuries both internally and externally, he should be recovering well with sufficient rest and nutritional foods. I'll get Minghao and Wonwoo to deal with that part." Hyungwon says in confidence, shooting a kind and charming smile towards Chan who nods shyly.
Hyungwon now moves towards Jeonghan and the moment he lays a hand onto Jeonghan's knee, Jeonghan hisses in pain. Hyungwon frowns in worry, but stays quiet as he continues checking up on the injured boy.
"Can you lift your shirt up for me, Jeonghan?"
Jeonghan slowly grabs the hem of his shirt and raises it high enough for the doctor to see his bruised and cut chest, and Chan gasps in shock. Jeonghan tries to hide from the worried looks of the people around him, but fails when Hyungwon makes him put his shirt back down and asks him a question.
"Some of these wounds look recent, and I believe is probably caused by your journey here, but the rest of them...look like they've been inflicted on you repeatedly over time..." Hyungwon softens when he reaches the end of his sentence.
"Hyung...why haven't you told me? Y-you're hurting so much...and yet you've been protecting me..." Chan cries, gently wrapping his arms around his older brother and hiding his face in Jeonghan's shoulder.
"Jeonghan-ah, are you comfortable with letting us know what happened?" Jisoo asks gently, kneeling beside where Jeonghan sits, cautiously placing a hand on his thighs.
Jeonghan isn't once to trust people easily, especially from where he came from, where his thoughts and opinions were invalidated and his soft nature was taken advantage of. But here, it seems to be different. It's strange to see an alpha and omega get along so well, and Jeonghan isn't blind. Isn't blind to not see the lingering touches between Seokmin and Jisoo, or the loving gaze Seokmin has for Jisoo and how he immediately obeys any command Jisoo tells him. Jeonghan can't wrap his head around how Jisoo is able to talk back to Seokmin or make him do things, wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?
His mind gets overloaded with questions and new insights and amidst that, he wants to know more. More of these people and more of this new village.
"Before that...can I ask a few questions...just, out of curiosity?" Jeonghan asks, slightly afraid that they'd refuse, but that doubt gets shut down right away when Jisoo gladly nods and moves to sit next to him on the couch, seeming excited to tell him more.
"Ask away, Seokmin and I will be very glad to answer any of your questions!" Jisoo says while gesturing for Seokmin to sit on the other end of the couch beside Chan. Seokmin shows off a big smile, and Jeonghan thinks he resembles a puppy, with a personality of a sunflower, if that even makes sense. Hyungwon and Seungkwan settle down on the soft carpet before them, tuning in as well.
"Okay uhm, first question." Jisoo nods, showing that he's all ears. "Is this normal? You being able to talk back to your alpha?"
Everyone in the room other than Jeonghan and Chan freeze at his question and Jeonghan wonders if he had crossed a line. He can't take back what he'd already asked though, so he just nervously studied their expressions, realising that it wasn't anger present in their eyes, but pity and pure shock.
"Jeonghan-ah...w-what- where did you get the idea that us omegas don't get to talk back to alphas?" Jisoo carefully asks.
Jeonghan cocks his head in confusion. "Back at home...us omegas don't have a say in anything, we're not allowed to talk back to any betas or alphas or they'll- they'll hurt us. Is it not the same here?"
"Jeonghan," Seokmin speaks up this time, gaining Jeonghan's attention. "I'm not sure where you and Chan have come from, but here in our land, alphas, betas and omegas are of the same status. We're all friends and family here, our head alpha has made this very clear for everyone, though I don't think anyone would even want to change this rule even if we could." Seokmin explains.
Jeonghan blinks. Of the same status? All friends and family? Is this a dream? He shakes out of it. "So...Jisoo can make you wash the dishes and he won't get beaten?" He genuinely asks.
His question gains a mix of pity and adoration. "Yes, Jeonghan. I actually make him wash the dishes every day." Jisoo admits, earning a chuckle from Seokmin's side.
"It's fair, he does the cooking, and I do the dishes. Sometimes when I feel like cooking up a meal, he'll do the dishes. It's functional." Seokmin adds, having a sense of pride in his words.
"You do the dishes??" Jeonghan gapes, along with Chan.
"I do," Seokmin confirms.
"Only the omegas have to do house work back at home..." Jeonghan thinks aloud.
"Well, we're different here. We don't give people jobs based on their gender or secondary gender. Our head alpha lets us choose what we want to do based on our personal preferences and talents." Jisoo elaborates. "I work at the pre school you saw earlier, because I love kids and helping them grow into mature adults. Seokmin here is a hunter," Jisoo lets Seokmin explain for himself.
"I enjoy hunting and providing for us, I also help teach our pups to hunt with Soonyoung hyung as well!"
Jeonghan nods in understanding.
"Was this a love marriage?" Chan abruptly asks, and Jisoo and Seokmin chuckles.
"Yes it is, pup. All the marriages in our village are love marriages, none are forced or arranged." Jisoo quickly answers.
"Wow, hyung this place is amazing! You don't have to get mated to that disgusting alpha anymore!" Chan excitedly says, forgetting there are other people in the room as well.
Seokmin furrows his eyebrows after hearing this. "Get mated? Jeonghan, were you supposed to be forcefully mated to an alpha?" Seokmin interrogates, but his voice remains soft and gentle.
"I-I ran away from our land because my father, who is their head alpha, wanted to marry me off to some alpha from another land. He wanted to get rid of me, he thinks having an omega son is useless." Jeonghan finally spills it, now sure that these people won't hurt him or Chan.
"Yeah! They always sent alphas to beat hyung up, and-and starve him until he's malnourished, and then...they rape-" Chan adds on but gets cut off by Jeonghan.
"Chan, that's enough-"
"Hyung! Let me finish!" Chan argues, "they hurt hyung so much, that's why we ran. So please, take care of hyung...I don't wanna lose you hyung, you're all I have left..." Chan starts crying again, and everyone tries to calm him down.
"We promise, we'll take care of the both of you alright?" Jisoo reassures.
"B-but, there will be people coming after us, and if they ever find us with you, they won't hesitate to hurt you and this village!" Jeonghan warns.
He expects gasps of shock or looks of betrayal, but instead he sees a warm, confident smile on Seokmin's face. "Oh Jeonghan, I don't think it's us you should be worried for." A tiny smirk crawls up Seokmin's defined face.
----
Seungcheol half hates and half loves his role as the future head alpha. Because while he loves doing good for his land and takes pride in what he does, he does get stressed on some days when the food they have in stock is not enough, or when accidents happen. In today's case, Wonwoo, his admin for the village has informed him they're running low on supplies, meaning he has to move forward their dates for hunting.
His father is a great man, he was the one who created this village from nothing and established the fact that everyone, regardless of gender was equal, and Seungcheol is immensely grateful for that. He's heard of the atrocities the pack a few miles away had done and Seungcheol hates how there's nothing he can do about it for now.
But when he focuses on what he has now instead, it brightens up his day. This village is where he had been raised and grown into the fine adult he is today. All the friendships he had forged since young, the kindest relatives and the sweetest pups, he'd never trade it for anything else.
"Soonyoung-ah," He calls when he reaches their training ground. "Can we reschedule the hunting to this friday instead? Our stocks are running low."
Soonyoung turns around from where he's practicing using his knife, "Sure, I'll let the others know."
"Thanks, Young-ah" Seungcheol says before leaving to head home. He's finally done for the day.
When he reaches the line of houses, he does a routine check, a habit he's developed over the years, of his best friends. He walks past his own home and towards the one right next to his, casually climbing up the stairs and knocking on the door before inviting himself in.
When he steps inside though, he doesn't see what he's used to seeing. Instead of Jisoo lying next to Seokmin on their couch, there were two unknown figures taking their spot. He's gorgeous , he thinks before quickly looking for the home owners for an explanation.
"Cheol! You're a little later today." Jisoo says as he climbs down the stairs of his home, Seokmin following close behind. Jeonghan and Chan, awoken by Jisoo's voice, now stare at the new face, Jeonghan ready to run any moment.
"It's alright Jeonghan, he's not a threat. In fact, he's our head alpha!" Jisoo exclaims.
"Future," Seungcheol corrects.
Jeonghan and Chan immediately scramble to their feet to kneel before the head alpha, head bowed down in fear and respect. Jisoo and Seungcheol exchange looks of confusion.
"We apologise for being disrespectful, head alpha. We'll take the punishment." Jeonghan utters, voice trembling.
Seungcheol hurriedly kneels down to pick the two of them up, face dosed with concern and question.
Jeonghan expected a harsh slap to his face or a kick to his gut, but none of that happened. Instead the hand that brings them both up to their feet are gentle and respectful, holding them by their arms and no further.
"Hey, there's no need to treat me like royalty. Let's sit okay?" Seungcheol tells them with a calming voice.
He brings the two weak figures to sit down while he talks to Jisoo and Seokmin about the situation. Upon hearing from them, Seungcheol feels the strong need to protect them, take them in and look after them, but he also knows the risk of them staying here. That though, is a problem he can solve.
"They're extremely weak right now, so we're letting them stay with us to rest, Hyungwon and Seungkwan will be back tomorrow for another check up." Jisoo wraps up.
"What about the both of you, are there enough beds for you two?" He asks.
At that, they go into deep thought. "I can sleep on the couch," Seokmin suggests.
"Seokie, it's fine-" Jisoo tries to persuade him.
"What if they use my house instead?" Seungcheol suggests, it's only him living in his home anyway. "I can sleep here if they're not comfortable with being in the same house as me. That's if you're okay with having me over for the time being though." Seungcheol emphasises.
"What if I say no?" Jisoo jokes.
"Hey!!" Seungcheol scoffs in disbelief and starts chasing Jisoo around the house as if they were five year old pups. "Do you not remember when I allowed you to ouch crash over at my house because your roof was leaking-"
They make it to the living room and they pause in their tracks, realising Jeonghan and Chan were watching them all along. Both boys had their eyes wide as saucers and mouth agape as if they'd seen something supernatural.
"Oops," Seokmin says on their behalf. "Two grown adults running around like pups, how more embarrassing can you guys get?" He giggles as he makes his way to the kitchen to cook up dinner for everyone.
Jeonghan's head is confused as it was, and now with this scene before his eyes, he doesn't know what to make of this situation anymore. He'd heard Jisoo and the others talking about how friendly everyone in this village is, even towards the head alpha. But he imagined them to be like acquaintances, just exchanging friendly bows every now and then, not this , whatever this is.
"That's...incredible." Chan says on behalf on Jeonghan.
Jisoo and Seungcheol clamp their mouths shut, pretty embarrassed by what they've just done in front of their guests.
"Wait- this, this is normal?" Jeonghan gasps in disbelief, gesturing towards the both of them.
Jisoo and Seungcheol nod sheepishly, and Seungcheol can't help but let his eyes linger on the bewildered omega. Though he isn't in the best condition, Jeonghan looks absolutely ethereal, his eyelashes fluttering whenever he blinks in confusion, his perfect built that looks like he would fit perfectly in Seungcheol's arms, and his pretty blond long hair framing his face beautifully. Seungcheol pries his eyes off the omega.
"Wow...I'm not sure what to think of this, but it does look...fun," Jeonghan admits. He's never had anyone to have friendly fights like this with, or had he had the luxury to play with anyone.
A small whine comes from Jisoo, his wolf feeling hurt for Jeonghan and he comes forward to give Jeonghan a hug. "Well here, you can have all the fun you want, Jeonghan. No one will stop you," Jisoo says and he pulls back, "in fact, they'll join you." He giggles.
Just when Jeonghan was about to answer, their door slams open and another wolf barges in loudly.
"Soonyoung what is your iss-"
"Hello fellas!! I'm here for food. I'm hungry, Jihoon's hungry, and I heard you even have guests!!" The wolf Jeonghan supposes is Soonyoung, yells excitedly.
"Make your own food!" Yells Seokmin from the kitchen, pointing a spatula towards Soonyoung.
"I'm lazy, and he can't fucking cook!" A smaller wolf appears behind Soonyoung, welcoming himself into the home.
"Oh god, tomorrow's dinner is on you two." Seokmin relents and he goes back to cooking.
Jihoon and Soonyoung accept the deal cooly and head towards the two guests.
"Hey, I'm Soonyoung, and this is my mate Jihoonie!" Soonyoung introduces with a hand stuck out for a handshake. The smaller wolf scowls at him for a second before giving Jeonghan and Chan a sweet smile.
"I better go help Seokie out, be nice!" Jisoo announces before heading to the kitchen to help his mate with the increased amount of dishes.
It wasn't long before Jeonghan and Chan warm up to Soonyoung and Jihoon, the older, who is an alpha, introduces himself as a hunter.
"He's my second in command," adds Seungcheol who naturally joins them, sitting on the floor as well. "He's an amazing hunter."
"Ha! See?" Soonyoung puffs out his chest in pride, teasing his mate who just rolls his eyes.
Jeonghan and Chan find out that Soonyoung and Jihoon had been mated for longer than Seokmin and Jisoo had been, and their relationship is actually deeper and stronger than what they show on the surface. Though Jihoon acts annoyed and pissed at everything Soonyoung says, Jeonghan notices the brief smiles when Soonyoung says a terrible joke, or the blush that tints his cheeks for a second when his mate shamelessly flirts with him.
Their dynamic is so fascinating and adorable at the same time that Jeonghan finds himself in awe and wanting to get to know them better. Time flies as he's having fun and soon enough, Jisoo calls them to eat. Everyone takes their own plates and cutleries and Jeonghan gets confused once again, unfamiliar with where they're stored.
"Here," Two sets of cutleries are placed in his hands and when he looks up, he sees the head alpha smiling down at him, his dimples appear as he does and Jeonghan blinks to snap himself back to reality.
"T-thank you, alpha." Jeonghan says out of habit.
Seungcheol pouts and shakes his head in disapproval. "Seungcheol." He corrects.
Jeonghan fumbles for a moment, "Seungcheol?"
Seungcheol nods, satisfied.
When they get to the table, everyone's seated down already, Seokmin next to Jisoo, Soonyoung next to Jihoon, and Chan choosing to sit next to Jisoo, leaving two empty seats next to each other. Jeonghan hands Chan his plate and they all start digging in.
Jeonghan takes the first bite of steak in his mouth and he isn't sure if it's because he hadn't eaten real food in a long time but that steak is delicious, and he guesses it shows on his face because the cooks have a proud smile on their faces.
"Taste good?" Seungcheol asks for them.
Jeonghan nods quickly and thanks them for the meal before stuffing his mouth with food, leaving the rest to coo at him.
Throughout the meal, casual conversations were held, one moment they were talking about the importance of eating veggies and the next they were talking about a tv show they've been watching recently. About half an hour later, they all clear their plates and Jihoon volunteers to wash them. Meanwhile, the rest sit back down around the dining table as if it were a routine, and they easily slip back into conversation again. This time though, Jeonghan can't help but bring up the one thing that's been bugging him ever since he'd gotten here.
"Uhm, I know I've mentioned it earlier but," He looks around the table to see that everyone's eyes are on him now, patiently waiting for him to continue. "my father has probably sent troops to search for me. It's not going to be long until they trace us here, and when that happens...it's going to put all of you in a difficult situation." Jeonghan loves this place even though it's only been less than a day since he'd arrived, and while he really would want to stay forever, he can't risk putting these kind souls into danger because of him.
"Chan and I will be out of your furs when we're all healed up." Jeonghan finally lets it out.
Everyone stares at him, including Jihoon who has now abandoned his job to listen in, seemingly deep in thought.
"Listen Jeonghan-ah," Soonyoung speaks up. "I'm not completely shutting your idea down or anything, but do you want to hear our side of the story as well?"
Jeonghan nods.
"I'm not sure if you know who exactly we are, Jeonghan." Soonyoung continues.
Jeonghan and Chan both look equally confused, it's true that they never asked for the name of their pack because they didn't feel the need to, and since neither of them were allowed to leave their own territory for 'safety' reasons. They were clueless.
Jeonghan shakes his head.
"I'm not sure if you've heard of us, but" Seungcheol carries on after receiving the cue from Soonyoung. "we're Genesis."