Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“We’re going out,” Mark says as soon as Donghyuck answers his call.

To his credit, Donghyuck takes the absence of any kind of proper greeting in stride easily. He doesn’t ask why, or what brought on such an abrupt and uncharacteristic decision. He just says, “Okay, yeah, sure. When?”

Mark massages his temple with his free hand, trying to alleviate the headache that’s already coming on. “Tonight. I’m done at seven-thirty.”

“Cool, so we’re meeting at eight,” Donghyuck says. “Bar or club?”

Mark wonders why he’s even bothering to ask when he obviously already knows the answer – in all the years they’ve known each other, Mark has never been a club person. He’s too tired to call Donghyuck out on it, though. “Don’t be stupid,” he says instead. “I just need to get drunk. And there’s some stuff I have to tell you.”

Something in Mark’s tone must convey that he’s truly not in the mood for Donghyuck’s usual antics, because all traces of amusement vanish from Donghyuck’s voice when he speaks again. “Well, shit. See you tonight, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Mark says, relieved that Donghyuck doesn’t need any further information. He’s a good friend – Mark’s best friend, in fact, which is unfortunately part of the problem – and Mark takes a moment to silently appreciate him. “See you.”

That night finds them in a bar a few blocks from Mark’s apartment, Donghyuck eyeing Mark over the salted rim of his margarita. “So, you wanna tell me what the hell is up with you?”

There’s no point in delaying the inevitable, so Mark comes clean immediately. “I learned today that Johnny-hyung is joining the Lee pack after his mating ceremony,” he says, fiddling with his stirrer stick aimlessly. “And I didn’t see it coming, for some reason. I guess I always kind of assumed that Taeyong-hyung would be marrying into our pack.”

“Hm. A little sexist of you, but that can happen sometimes,” Donghyuck says, nodding sagely.

It doesn’t help, exactly, but Mark finds that he’s grateful for his friend’s bluntness regardless, enough that he manages to huff out a wry laugh. “It was pretty sexist of me, wasn’t it?” He sighs and takes an unenthusiastic sip of his gin and tonic. “Taeyong-hyung has always been the leader type, so it shouldn’t really have been surprising.”

“And that’s the issue?” Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize you were so against becoming pack leader.”

Mark shakes his head. “I don’t really care about that. It was always a fifty-fifty chance that I’d end up as head alpha eventually. The problem is the other news the elders sprang upon me.” He pointedly avoids Donghyuck’s eyes as he reveals why he’s actually been upset all day. “They explained to me that the Jeong pack has ties with the Lees and the Kims, and while Johnny-hyung’s mating takes care of the Lees, we need a concrete tie to the Kim pack too. Otherwise the Jeongs are at an advantage when it comes to bargaining power.”

He doesn’t need to see Donghyuck’s face to know he’s put the pieces together already – he can smell the realization all over him. “They want me to be your mate? Are they out of their minds?”

“It sort of makes sense,” Mark says half-heartedly, trying to convince himself as much as Donghyuck. “We’re an alpha and an omega who already know each other and clearly get along well. There wouldn’t need to be an awkward courting period and all that logistical stuff.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes in exasperation. “And what the fuck does any of that have to do with anything? I don’t want to be your mate.”

Strangely, it’s his adamance on the matter that coaxes a real smile out of Mark for the first time all day. “Yeah, I know,” he says. “I don’t really want to be yours either.”

“Like you’d be able to handle all this anyway,” Donghyuck scoffs, but his tone turns more teasing as he says it. He’s not wrong, either, Mark thinks with some amusement – Donghyuck is enough of a menace just as his friend, and Mark has never been into the whole “bratty omega” thing the way many other alphas are.

“Well, you definitely need a firmer hand than anything I can give you,” Mark says, smirking a little as he sips his drink again. “But yeah, they seem set on it.”

“I don’t get why they don’t just pair you off with someone from the Jeong pack, if they’re so worried about their increasing influence or whatever,” Donghyuck says, irritation seeping into his scent. “Wouldn’t an alliance with the Jeongs directly solve the problem of them being a competitor in the first place?”

Mark forgets, sometimes, that for all his playfulness, Donghyuck is the son of a pack leader himself and just as well-versed in pack politics as Mark is. “It would, but it’s not something they considered as a serious option. There’s a tangential connection since your brother married into the Jeongs, which I guess they think is good enough. And anyway, as far as I know there aren’t any eligible omegas in the Jeong pack.”

Donghyuck deflates slightly. “Oh, right. I was going to say Jaehyun-hyung’s little brother is an option, but I forgot he just got mated a few months ago. Doyoung-hyung told me it was an arranged mating and they still ended up having to throw together a shotgun wedding, can you believe it? Imagine wanting to settle down as a good little housewife and mother that badly.” There’s an undercurrent of contempt in his voice, which Mark figures has less to do with Donghyuck actually holding any disdain towards the Jeong pack leader’s brother and more to do with Donghyuck adamantly not wanting to become a parent yet. Still, he can’t resist ribbing his friend a bit.

“Now who’s being sexist?” he says lightly, his mouth twisting into a smile again. “What happened to letting omegas do whatever they want?”

Donghyuck pulls a face. “Tell that to your stupid pack elders. Maybe Jaemin was ready to start a family one second after meeting his future mate, but I sure as hell am not.”

It’s just another bullet point to add to the list of reasons why they aren’t compatible, Mark notes. He doesn’t necessarily need a mate and pups immediately, but he does want them sooner rather than later, unlike Donghyuck, who’s perfectly content to never have either. “Well, I don’t see them calling it off any time soon,” Mark says heavily. “Johnny-hyung even thought we would be happy about it. Apparently a lot of people thought we were already courting.”

“That’s so sick and twisted,” Donghyuck says, dramatic as always – but he does have a point, because as much as he loves his best friend, it’s not like Mark disagrees.

“Tell me about it,” he says, heaving a put-upon sigh and laughing when Donghyuck glares at him without any real heat.

“You wish you could get me to accept a courting gift from you,” Donghyuck says, crossing his arms.

Mark grins, feeling better than he has all day. “No, I really don’t.”

Donghyuck shrugs and drains his drink. “Well, at least your mood’s improved now.” He checks the time on his phone and cocks his head. “Tell you what. I’m calling Jungwoo-hyung and Yuta-hyung. Let’s get you to loosen up even more.”

It’s impossible to stop Donghyuck once he’s set on something, so Mark doesn’t try, which is how he finds himself in a club twenty minutes later with his closest friends, watching them order an excessive number of drinks for their party of four. He doesn’t really feel like drinking anymore, now that he’s gotten everything off his chest, but he lets Yuta pull him onto the dance floor, leaving Donghyuck and Jungwoo to flirt with the bartender in an attempt to wrangle some free drinks out of him.

He’s feeling reasonably relaxed as he dances with Yuta when his eyes land on the prettiest omega he’s ever seen, and he feels his world stop for a few seconds. The omega is slim and petite, with soft features and a beautiful smile. He looks completely at home on the dance floor, and when their eyes meet, just for a fleeting moment, Mark is overcome with the need to speak to him, to get to know him and hold him close and make him blush.

“I’ll, uh, I’ll be right back, dude,” he says to Yuta, unable to look away from the omega for even a second.

Yuta gives him a shit-eating grin as his eyes follow Mark’s gaze over to the omega. “Sure you will,” he says. “I’ll let Hyuck and Jungwoo know not to wait up for you.”

It’s incredibly presumptuous on Yuta’s part, but Mark kind of appreciates his confidence, because he feels like there’s a very real possibility that he’ll genuinely die if he doesn’t seize the chance to ask this omega out. So he just nods absently at Yuta and claps him on the back before making his way over to where the omega has just stopped dancing in favor of heading to the bar.

“Um, hey,” he says once he’s in front of the omega, feeling like his mouth is full of cotton. “I noticed you dancing earlier. Well, just now. A few moments ago.”

He internally winces at his own lack of eloquence, but miraculously, the omega doesn’t seem put off by it. Instead, the corner of his mouth quirks upwards as he says, “I noticed you noticing.” He has a sweet, melodious voice that Mark thinks he could listen to forever, and his scent is so heavenly that Mark wants to drown in it. As Mark tries not to blurt out those exact thoughts aloud, the omega’s eyes dart over to where Donghyuck, Jungwoo, and Yuta are huddled together, doing a horrible job of pretending not to watch them interact. “Were your friends hoping for a show or something?”

Mark’s face heats up and he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “Just, um, just ignore them. They think they’re being subtle, for some reason.”

Somehow, that makes the omega giggle, and Mark thinks he might actually faint from how giddy the sound makes him. “My friends are like that too,” he says, gesturing to a couple who are sitting next to each other at a table. Mark can’t make out their faces well, but they’re very blatantly staring at him and the omega. “This is their first time going out since their pups were born, so they’ve decided to parent me all night, now that they don’t have their babies with them.”

“Well,” Mark says, swallowing hard and hoping he doesn’t sound too nervous, “does that mean they’ll object if I ask you whether you’d like to dance with me?”

The omega’s cheeks flush a lovely shade of pink as his scent turns pleased. He ducks his head with a shy smile, peering up at Mark through his eyelashes. “I guess you’ll just have to ask me to find out.”

Mark feels like his heart is threatening to burst out of his chest – unless he’s terribly mistaken, this perfect omega is actually flirting with him. He knows in that moment that he’s completely, utterly, irrevocably smitten with this man – he wants to spend every day of the rest of his life making him smile exactly like this. “In that case, um –” he holds out a hand with a hopeful smile – “I’m Mark. Would you like to dance with me?”

The omega’s smile as he takes Mark’s hand is the most breathtaking sight Mark has ever seen. “Hi Mark, I’m Renjun. And I would love to.”

Chapter Text

“I need you to take me to the doctor today,” Renjun says as soon as Jeno answers his call.

Jeno is silent for several long moments. Renjun supposes he probably could have led with some kind of greeting or context, but he’s been anxious for the past twenty-four hours, and he really just needs Jeno to agree as soon as possible. “Are you okay?” Jeno finally asks. “Why do you need a doctor?”

“I’m fine,” Renjun says, trying not to sound too impatient. “I just need a ride, that’s all. Nothing to worry about.”

He doesn’t need to see Jeno’s face to know Jeno is raising a skeptical eyebrow. “Right,” Jeno says slowly. “That’s why you called me instead of Jaeminnie. Because there’s nothing to worry about.”

“I called you instead of Jaemin because he’s probably in the middle of feeding your pups right now.” It’s unconvincing even to his own ears, and Jeno’s silence speaks volumes. Renjun sighs, defeated. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re annoyingly perceptive?”

“Yeah, you, about a hundred times,” Jeno says, and Renjun can hear the little smile in his voice. “Look, I’ll give you a ride, but I’m going to need a lot more information from you afterwards, okay? And not just because Jaeminnie will kill me otherwise.”

Embarrassingly, Jeno’s gentle concern has tears pricking at Renjun’s eyes. He’s a good friend – not as close to Renjun as Jaemin, who’s been Renjun’s best friend since childhood, but still near the top of the list – and Renjun takes a moment to be grateful that Jaemin’s arranged mate turned out to be such a wonderful person. “Okay,” he says, swiping at his eyes quickly. “The appointment is at twelve. And thank you.”

The ride to the doctor’s office is quiet – neither Renjun nor Jeno is much of a talker – but it’s a comfortable silence, even with Renjun’s inability to stop nervously bouncing his leg. Jeno is tactful enough to not say anything about it, but Renjun can feel the alpha’s worried gaze on him as they make their way into the clinic.

Before he knows it, Renjun has checked in with the receptionist and is ushered into a room to wait for the doctor. Jeno is in one of the chairs next to the examination table, tapping away at his phone with a furrow between his eyebrows – probably trying to figure out how to explain what’s going on to Jaemin without worrying him.

Renjun experiences a pang of envy, for a moment, that Jaemin has someone like Jeno to take care of him, but he forces himself to cut off that line of thinking. After all, the only alpha he’s ever wanted to be with is someone he can’t have. He’s better off keeping himself from lingering on thoughts about things like Mark’s sweet, bashful smile or how addicting his scent was or the way he touched Renjun so tenderly, so lovingly, like there was nothing in the world he revered more.

You’re so beautiful, Renjunnie, Mark had whispered into Renjun’s skin as he trailed kisses across his torso. I wish I could just – mark you as mine.

Renjun had trembled under Mark’s devoted attention, clutching tightly to his back. You – ah! – you can leave all the marks you want, he had gasped. Mark had eagerly done just that, leaving pretty little bruises blossoming all over Renjun’s body, everywhere except the spot where a bite would be permanent. And Renjun hadn’t gone so far as to say I already am yours, but lying in Mark’s embrace after experiencing pleasure like he never had before, the truth of it had resonated in his bones.

Fortunately – or perhaps unfortunately – the arrival of the doctor saves Renjun from having to reflect any further on the bittersweet feeling that accompanies his memories of the best night of his life. “Renjun?” comes an uncomfortably familiar voice, accompanied by an uncomfortably familiar scent. “Jeno?”

“Jaeminnie?” Jeno asks at the same time, his own scent clouding with confusion. Renjun, on the other hand, is so surprised that he’s rendered momentarily speechless.

“What are you two doing here?” Jaemin demands, his hands on his hips.

“What are you doing here?” Renjun asks, finding his voice.

“Where are Jisung and Sion?” Jeno follows up with probably the most pressing question. “I thought you weren’t working today, love. I would have stayed home if I knew.”

Jaemin’s entire demeanor visibly softens at the term of endearment. “The pups are with Doyoung-hyung, he offered to babysit since he and Jaehyun-hyung aren’t busy today. And I wasn’t supposed to have a shift, but I got called in because Ten-hyung took a sick day.”

Jeno immediately relaxes at the reassurance that their children are safe. “Okay, good.”

“Anyway,” Jaemin says, looking between Renjun and Jeno with a vaguely amused smile, “it seems like you wouldn’t have been able to stay home no matter what. Or would you have just left Junnie hanging?”

“I wouldn’t have asked him if I knew you were working,” Renjun mumbles, squirming in his seat a little – Jaemin has always had an uncanny ability to make him feel strangely akin to a reprimanded child, and it’s only gotten worse since he became a parent. “I would’ve called someone else.” He doesn’t mention that he also would have made sure to go to a doctor’s office that Jaemin doesn’t work at had he known Jaemin would be on duty today, but he has a feeling both his friends have already pieced that together themselves.

Jaemin gives him a knowing look. “So Jeno always ranks above me and your brother when you need a ride, unless I happen to be busy?”

Renjun can’t help it – he pouts slightly. “Are you going to bully me for choosing your mate over you and Sicheng-ge for the whole hour, or are you going to do your job?”

After a long moment of scrutiny, Jaemin shakes his head with a quiet but unmistakably fond sigh before snapping into doctor mode. “Well, maybe we should start with why you needed a ride to a gynecologist, specifically. But first, do you want J- ahem, your companion to leave the room?”

It’s hard not to laugh at Jaemin’s attempt to remain professional while referring to his own mate, but Renjun holds it in. “He can stay, it’s fine,” he says instead, offering Jeno a tiny smile and receiving a reassuring one in return. “He’s going to hear about all of this eventually anyway.”

Jaemin nods, though not before flashing Jeno a brief but blatantly adoring smile. “Okay, great. Let’s get into it, then. What brings you in today?”

Renjun swallows. “I’ve just...been having some concerns recently. Related to my heat.”

“Your heat?” Jaemin cocks his head, and Renjun can see the thinly-veiled worry in his eyes – he’s obviously wondering why Renjun hasn’t brought this up in a more casual setting before. “Have you been experiencing excessive pain or discomfort?”

“Not exactly,” Renjun says, fidgeting again. “It’s more like, um, I haven’t been experiencing my heat at all. It’s usually very regular, but I’m...I’m two weeks late.” Next to him, Jeno inhales sharply – he, of course, is well-versed in the most likely reason for an omega’s heat to not come when it should.

A flash of pure shock crosses Jaemin’s face for a moment before he schools his expression back into one of professional interest. “I see,” he says carefully. “There’s no reason to jump to conclusions yet, but I’m going to need to ask you some questions about your sexual history, okay?” Once Renjun nods in acknowledgement, he continues, “Are you currently sexually active?”

“I haven’t been for the past five weeks,” Renjun says, and he can see the exact second Jaemin recognizes the significance of that time frame.

“Did you use protection the last time you were sexually active?” Jaemin asks. It must be a required question for this kind of appointment, because it’s one he already knows the answer to – it was the first thing he had asked about when Renjun showed up at his house the next morning to tell him everything about his first time with an alpha.

My best friend is an omega, Mark had said that night. So he’s drilled it into my head that I should always have condoms on me, just in case, you know, something happens. But I’ve never used them before! I mean, I’ve never used them because I’ve never met anyone I wanted to use them with. Not because I just decided not to use them. He had laughed sheepishly. I, uh, I think maybe I should shut up now.

No, Renjun had said, helplessly endeared. He had leant in and pressed a shy kiss to Mark’s lips before drawing away with a smile. I like it when you talk. Even when it’s about your lack of experience with condoms. He had bitten his lip then, peering up at Mark bashfully. To be honest...I don’t have any experience either.

Mark’s face had lit up in a radiant smile, and Renjun had never felt so pleased with himself. Well, then, Mark had murmured, sweeping Renjun into his arms and carrying him over to the bed before capturing his lips in a searing kiss. How about we gain some together?

“Yes,” Renjun says in the present, clearing his throat to pull himself out of the memory. “He was very...adamant about it. And – and we used a new condom every time.”

Just like he had the first time he asked, Jaemin gives an approving nod. “And did you make use of any other types of contraceptives before or after the sexual activity?”

Renjun swallows. “No,” he says quietly. “I’ve never taken any kind of birth control, and since we used condoms, I didn’t think I would need anything else after...you know.”

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Jaemin says reassuringly. His expression turns apologetic as he adds, “But as you know, condoms aren’t infallible. Have you noticed any changes in your behavior or mood recently?”

“I guess I’ve been a little moodier,” Renjun says, fully aware that laid out like this, all the details really only point to one conclusion. “Maybe I’ve been a bit more tired than I usually am, too.”

“Okay,” Jaemin says, and the smile he offers Renjun has a bittersweet tinge to it. “There’s a chance that the alpha you were with just had strong enough pheromones to cause a hormonal imbalance, but to be blunt, that isn’t very likely. We’ll do a blood test to confirm, though.”

The news isn’t unexpected, but there’s a lump in Renjun’s throat anyway as he nods. He’s quiet as a nurse comes in to extract his blood, quiet as the vials are taken to the lab to be analyzed, quiet as Jaemin squeezes his hand comfortingly and lets him know that it’ll take a few hours for the results to come in.

Jeno has barely said anything since Jaemin walked in, but he speaks up now as Renjun robotically begins gathering his jacket, wallet, and keys in preparation to leave, his voice soft and hesitant. “It was him, right? The alpha from that night at the club?”

“Yeah,” Renjun says without looking up from where he’s focusing too hard on tucking his wallet into his pocket. There’s no point in denying it even though the simple act of thinking about Mark makes him want to curl into a ball and cry. He forces himself to keep speaking anyway. “Mark. I don’t – I did think about telling him, once I started suspecting. I wanted to tell him, but...but there’s no point anymore.”

“Junnie,” Jaemin says, his scent full of distress. “I know this isn’t easy for you, but this is his business too. He has a right to know that he probably has a child.” He’s remembering his own fear of telling Jeno about his pregnancy, Renjun knows, but their situations are hardly comparable. Jaemin had been set to marry Jeno anyway, so the reveal had only solidified their already strong feelings for each other and moved up their wedding date a bit – that’s decidedly not the case with Renjun and Mark.

Jeno’s soothing scent fills the air, like he’s seeking to calm them both down. “I’m sure Junnie has a reason for changing his mind, sweetheart,” he says gently before turning to Renjun. “You don’t have to say why you think telling him isn’t worth it if you really don’t want to,” he says carefully. “But if Mark is anything like me, I know he would be grateful to at least be aware that he has a pup.”

“He’s getting mated to someone else, okay?” Renjun finally snaps, unable to hold it in anymore. “And even if he weren’t, it doesn’t matter. We aren’t on the same social level.” He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “He’s the leader of the Suhs. His pack would never accept me or the pup.”

Stunned silence follows his outburst. It’s news to both his friends, Renjun knows, because he had made a point of not telling either of them about his second encounter with Mark, which had shattered his heart. He wishes, in hindsight, that he had never entered the coffee shop upon seeing Mark’s familiar face inside that day, that he had just let his last memories of Mark consist of waking up curled up against the alpha’s strong chest and the image of his adorable, sheepish expression when the eggs he had tried to make for breakfast turned out to be completely inedible and the soft, lingering kiss he had planted on Renjun’s lips when they parted ways.

Instead, he closes his eyes sometimes and can still see the way Mark’s warm smile had morphed into something pained and panicked when the man accompanying him at the coffee shop said, The Jeongs have confirmed that they’ll be in attendance at your wedding. Of course, it would be unthinkable for them to miss the Suh pack leader’s mating ceremony. Would you like to review the updated guest list, or should I ask your mate?

He isn’t my – Renjun! Mark had called out as Renjun spun on his heel to flee the shop in devastated mortification. Renjun, wait, this isn’t – ! But Renjun hadn’t stuck around to hear more, already valiantly fighting tears as reality sank in: he would never be able to be with Mark the way he wanted to.

“That bastard!” Jaemin growls, suddenly looking murderous. “Wait until I get my hands on him, he’ll wish he’d never been born!”

“Maybe we should try to avoid starting a pack war, love,” Jeno says, but it comes out sounding somewhat half-hearted, since he too looks furious on Renjun’s behalf. “Let’s just make sure we take good care of Junnie and his pup, okay?” Jaemin doesn’t seem particularly placated, but he nods reluctantly, his expression softening as he pulls Renjun in for a hug that Renjun readily melts into.

And he loves both his friends so much, is so beyond grateful to have them. But his traitorous heart longs for the mate it chose without approval from his mind – and try as he might to remind himself that it never could have worked between them, he can’t help wishing he could have Mark anyway.

Chapter Text

“You need to get over here, now,” Mark says as soon as Donghyuck answers his call.

“Wanna try that again?” Donghyuck asks, and Mark doesn’t need to see him to know exactly what his face looks like right now – it’s what Mark likes to call his “you might be the alpha but don’t forget I’m the one in charge here” expression. Usually, Mark would playfully bicker with him over it for a bit, but he doesn’t have time for that today.

“Please get over here, now,” he amends, hoping his tone conveys his urgency. “There’s been...a bit of an incident.”

Donghyuck is silent for a moment. “Do I want to know what kind of incident?”

Mark sighs, rolling his eyes in slight exasperation. “It isn’t anything bad. But I need to go somewhere, like, right away and it would be helpful if you came with me.”

“An excuse to stop shopping for stupid wedding decorations?” Donghyuck says, sounding more interested now. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”

“It’s not like you were shopping for decorations anyway,” Mark mutters under his breath, because it’s true – they are supposed to be picking out decorations for the mating ceremony scheduled to take place in less than a month, but Donghyuck had wandered off to do whatever he felt like doing ages ago. “But seriously, just get here quick.”

He can practically hear Donghyuck raising an eyebrow. “What’s the hurry?”

It’s a fair question, because Mark hasn’t gotten to the heart of the matter yet, even though he knows he needs to. But saying it aloud feels daunting, because he’s terrified of this just being a cruel dream. He takes a deep breath anyway. “It’s Renjun,” he says, his voice cracking a bit on the name. He hears Donghyuck’s sharp inhale on the other end of the phone and knows the gravity of the situation has finally sunk in. “I’ll tell you the whole story on the way. But the main thing is, I-I think I finally have a chance to make things right.”

The truth revealed, Donghyuck meets back up with Mark without delay. And as promised, once they’re in the car together, Mark gives Donghyuck the full rundown of everything that happened since his surprise meeting with an unexpected not-quite-a-stranger ten minutes earlier.

“Hey, I know you, don’t I?” The sound of an unfamiliar voice speaking to him pulled Mark out of the melancholy funk he’d been stuck in as he meandered through the aisles of the department store.

To be fair, Mark thought he was allowed to be stuck in a melancholy funk, given that nothing in his life was going the way he wanted. It had been five months since he met the omega of his dreams and four months since said omega disappeared from his life – maybe forever – not to mention how swamped he’d been with being forced to make decisions about his entirely unwanted wedding.

He glanced up to see an alpha, probably around the same age as him, looking at him scrutinizingly. “I do know you,” the alpha said, luckily seeming to have either not noticed or not been bothered by Mark’s lack of acknowledgement. It had nothing to do with anything, Mark thought absently, but the alpha bore a remarkable resemblance to a Samoyed. “You were at Taeyong-hyung’s mating ceremony.”

At the mention of his brother-in-law, Mark properly regained his senses and examined the alpha’s face more closely. “Oh yeah,” he said with a jolt of recognition. “I know you, too. You were Taeyong-hyung’s man of honor.”

“And you were Johnny-hyung’s best man,” the alpha said. He cocked his head consideringly, which made him look even more like a puppy. “Does that make us...related?”

“Maybe?” Mark didn’t really know what his official relationship to his brother’s mate’s brother was, but he supposed they were at least peripherally associated with each other now. “I’m Mark, by the way. Your name was...uh –” he wracked his brain, wishing he possessed Donghyuck’s borderline scary ability to remember names and faces, before something finally came to him – “Jeno, right?”

For some reason, the alpha’s – Jeno’s? – eyes had narrowed the moment Mark introduced himself. Mark was slightly unsettled – he thought they had been getting acquainted in a pretty amicable way. “Good to know you remember me, at least,” Jeno said. “You’re Mark, the leader of the Suhs.” It sounded like an accusation rather than a simple statement of fact.

Mark blinked. “Yes...?”

Jeno’s scowl deepened. Gone was his soft, puppy-like aura – now he more closely resembled a highly territorial wolf. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t castrate you right now.”

“Castrate me?” Mark couldn’t even bring himself to be embarrassed about how high-pitched his voice got as he said it – he was pretty sure he was rightfully baffled. “I – why? Aren’t you, like, a pack deputy or something? Are you allowed to go around threatening pack leaders like this?”

“I’m your brother’s pack deputy, in fact,” Jeno shot back. “And I’m allowed to threaten knotheads who knock up my mate’s best friend when they know perfectly well that they’re about to get mated to someone else.” He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in challenge, as if daring Mark to disagree.

“What?” Mark was about to categorically deny it when he suddenly remembered the couple watching him and Renjun dance together on the best night of his life – a couple that, now that he thought about it, included an alpha who looked quite similar to the one in front of him. “Wait. Wait, you’re Renjun’s friend!” A shock of adrenaline jolted through him as Jeno’s words finally registered. “Dude, did you just – are you saying Renjun is pregnant?”

Jeno’s demeanor was fairly hostile by now, his scent sharp with irritation and anger. “That’s what ‘knocked up’ means, genius. And don’t call me dude when I’m in the middle of threatening you.”

“He’s really – with my – ? Oh my god –” A myriad of emotions welled up inside Mark, jubilation and distress and pride and worry. He felt like hyperventilating, but he tried to remain calm, acutely aware that he was in the presence of a decidedly unsympathetic alpha. “Why – why didn’t he tell me, oh my god, we’re gonna be parents, I’m gonna be a dad.”

He might have been imagining it, but Mark thought Jeno’s expression softened ever so slightly when he detected the delirious joy in Mark’s scent. His tone, however, was still pointed as he spoke. “Just taking a wild guess here, but it might be because you’re about to get mated to someone else?”

“Not by choice,” Mark said dismissively, still feeling somewhat frantic. “Is Renjun okay? Is our pup okay? Pups? Are there multiple? Does he know how many there are, is that possible by now? Oh my god, what if there’s more than one, what if we already have like three adorable little babies, what the hell –”

“Hey, man,” Jeno interrupted, looking more bewildered than angry now. “Relax a bit.”

Unfortunately, relaxing was pretty much the last thing on Mark’s mind. “Would you be capable of relaxing after being surprised with news of your impending fatherhood?”

“That’s not the point,” Jeno said, though his cheeks turned just a touch pinker. It brought another memory from that fateful night to the forefront of Mark’s mind, a memory of Renjun mentioning that his friends had just become parents. Mark could only infer that Jeno probably understood his exact state of panicked excitement intimately.

“Look,” he said, hoping he could appeal to Jeno’s instincts, both as a mated alpha and a father. “I know you have no reason to trust me. But – but I was forced into a stupid betrothal with my best friend that neither of us wanted, and I’ve missed Renjun so fucking much every day since the morning he left, and he got a completely wrong impression of me when we ran into each other again, and now he’s having my puppies, and I’m literally going to die if I don’t see him immediately, right now. I’m actually so serious.”

Jeno studied him for a few long moments. “Is this a ‘taking responsibility is my duty as an alpha’ thing?” he finally asked. “Because if it is, you can take your responsibility and shove it –”

Mark interrupted before he could finish the thought, shaking his head in frustration. “Du- Jeno, I’m trying to tell you this is an ‘I’m halfway in love with an omega I met a grand total of once who’s apparently secretly having my pups’ thing.” He took a deep breath and pushed away the small, prideful alpha part of him that rankled at the idea of pleading with another alpha – he would do anything if it meant getting to see Renjun again. He met Jeno’s eyes beseechingly. “Please, I’m begging you, can I just talk to him a-and try to explain myself? So he has all the information before deciding whether he wants me out of his life for good?”

Jeno eyed him in silence for long enough that Mark began to consider getting on his knees and asking again. Before he could commit to it, though, Jeno wordlessly pulled out his phone and started typing.

“What...are you doing?” Mark asked cautiously.

“Giving my mate a heads up that the person he hates most in the world is about to show up at our front door,” Jeno said dryly. “Unless, of course, you’d prefer to be attacked by a slightly feral and extremely protective omega before you ever get a chance to see Renjun.”

“Oh,” Mark said, wincing. “Yeah, I would prefer to...not experience that.”

Despite his earlier confrontational attitude, Jeno almost seemed amused now. “Thought so.”

“Could I –” Mark hesitated, unsure if the request that suddenly popped into his head might be asking too much. It was also somewhat embarrassing to admit, even to himself, that it slipped his mind that he technically wasn’t there alone and therefore couldn’t just leave. “Would it be okay if my friend joined, too? He’s around here somewhere, and I, uh, probably shouldn’t just abandon him.” Jeno’s expression suggested that he was going to need to elaborate, and Mark scrambled to comply. “It’s just, he’s the one I’m supposed to be marrying, and he absolutely doesn’t want to marry me, either. I-I just thought, since it didn’t go so well last time, maybe Renjun hearing it from both of us might help make it clear that it’s honestly the truth.” He laughed self-deprecatingly, trying not to dwell on his last disastrous encounter with Renjun. “I just want him to – to understand. To believe that I’ve really only ever wanted him.”

“Hm,” Jeno said, appraising Mark’s face before shrugging. “Well, Jaemin definitely won’t be happy, but I think there’s nothing we can do about that at this point. So sure, fine. Bring your fiancé too. We can all have a nice big party together.”

“Please don’t call him that,” Mark said, shivering a little at the word fiancé. “Especially in front of him. He might actually kill you. Right after he definitely kills me just for the hell of it.”

“You weren’t wrong,” Donghyuck muses. “Killing him definitely would be on my radar if he called me that to my face. Too bad Doyoung-hyung likes him...he probably wouldn’t let me get away with it.”

“Yeah...” Mark says, too busy shuddering at the gleam in Donghyuck’s eyes to connect the dots as to why and how Donghyuck’s brother could possibly know Jeno. “Too bad.”

Jeno and his mate turn out to live not too far from the department store, so it isn’t long before Mark and Donghyuck are following Jeno up the steps to the door of a pretty-looking house. Jeno knocks gently before inserting his key and opening the door to reveal an omega storming down the hall towards them, holding a baby in each arm and wearing a deep, furious scowl on his face. “So!”

Mark instinctively takes a step back. He isn’t embarrassed about his own reaction, even when he hears Donghyuck snicker at him, because in spite of the pups the omega – Mark assumes he must be the “Jaemin” that Jeno mentioned earlier – is holding, there’s nothing soft or sweet about him. Mark has never seen anyone so intimidating in his life. “Hello...” he says, feeling supremely awkward.

“So,” Jaemin repeats, his eyes narrowed into thin slits. Somehow, the pups in his arms seem entirely unaffected by their mother’s anger, and Mark gets momentarily distracted fantasizing about how his babies – should he be allowed to ever meet them – will probably be similarly comfortable with Renjun. He’s drawn back into the present by Jaemin’s scathing voice. “You’re Mark.” He says the name with so much disdain that Mark may as well have been dirt under Jaemin’s feet.

“That’s him!” Donghyuck says cheerfully, even though no one asked him for his input. “And I’m the poor soul who’s being forced into becoming his mate. Also, I think you and I are technically brothers-in-law, or something like that.” Ah, Mark thinks absently, that explains how Doyoung-hyung knows Jeno, then.

Jaemin turns to look at him, scanning him from head to toe. “Kim Donghyuck, I suppose,” he finally says. “I remember you from Jaehyun-hyung’s mating ceremony. You have your brother’s...bluntness.” It’s actually a fair assessment, Mark has to concede, because that probably is one of the only traits Donghyuck shares with the much-mellower Doyoung.

“Sweetheart,” Jeno cuts in before Donghyuck can reply with what would almost certainly be an unhelpful retort, reminding Mark of his presence for the first time since their arrival. He must have had something else to say, presumably, but when Jaemin’s gaze shifts to him, he melts into a frankly embarrassingly goofy smile. Mark wonders if he’ll ever get a chance to react to Renjun’s eyes on him that way – as cringeworthy and slightly pathetic as it might be, he desperately hopes so. “Hi.”

The only sign that Jaemin is at all affected by Jeno’s somewhat cheesy display of adoration is a very faint dusting of pink that rises in his cheeks. “Hi yourself, you dork,” he says before he returns his attention to Mark and Donghyuck. He clears his throat and finally steps aside, handing off both the pups to Jeno as he does. “Anyway, you two may as well come in.”

Donghyuck saunters inside without a second thought, trailing behind Jeno, but before Mark can follow them, Jaemin blocks his path again, his arms crossed and his mouth a thin line. “Yes...?” Mark asks nervously. He’ll never understand people who think omegas are harmless, he thinks, because the one in front of him truly looks like he could rip Mark apart if he wanted to.

“I’m going along with Jeno’s judgement on this,” Jaemin says flatly. “He said there’s been some kind of misunderstanding, and he’s usually right about this kind of thing.” He takes a menacing step forward, his scent flaring threateningly. “But I have no reason to trust you, and Junnie is in a delicate state right now. You make one wrong move, lay a finger on him in a way I don’t like, and you can kiss your knot goodbye.”

Mark winces. “Understood.” He swallows hard and adds, “For – for what it’s worth, I’ll say the same thing I said to Jeno. I’m, uh, I’m pretty sure I’m already halfway to falling completely in love with Renjun, and I have been since the night we met. I-I just want a chance to tell him that. And if he still never wants to see me again after this, I’ll respect that.”

Unlike Jeno, Jaemin doesn’t appear to be particularly swayed by Mark’s words, but he nods stiffly before finally allowing Mark to enter the house. “He’s in the living room,” he says without turning around as he leads Mark down the hall. “We’ll give you some privacy so you can say whatever you need to say, but we’ll be right next door in the kitchen. If he’s in any distress, we’ll know.”

“I don’t want to upset him,” Mark mumbles, suddenly anxious that he hasn’t thought this through. For the first time, it hits him that springing his presence upon Renjun unannounced like this might not be the best idea.

Jaemin exhales through his nose. “Well, considering nothing I’ve ever said has managed to convince him to be upset with you, you’re probably in luck. As long as you aren’t stupid about it, anyway.” His tone is mostly disapproving, but Mark is pretty sure there’s a hint of affectionate exasperation towards Renjun tangled up in there too. To Mark, it sounds kind of like an admission that Renjun hasn’t quite let go of him either, and he’s filled with a surge of hope that maybe Renjun wants to see him, after all.

They find Jeno and Donghyuck in the kitchen, Jeno cooing at the two pups while Donghyuck pretends to be fascinated by something on his phone, likely so he doesn’t have to interact with the babies at all. Normally, Mark would take a moment to be amused by his friend’s aversion to children, but now, he finds himself once again struck by a deep sense of longing for the chance to meet his own pups. It’s only made worse when Jaemin makes a beeline for his mate, pressing a sweet kiss to Jeno’s lips before joining him in fussing over their babies. Mark craves that same domestic familiarity with Renjun so badly it hurts to even think about.

Donghyuck catches his eye and sends him a pointed look – he knows Mark better than anyone, and he’s definitely sensed where Mark’s mind has wandered off to. “Okay, Romeo,” he says, clapping his hands together once, succeeding both in getting the attention of the couple having a quiet discussion in the corner and in pulling Mark back to reality. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Let’s,” Jaemin agrees. He walks through the doorway on the other side of the kitchen, which must lead to the living room.

Mark hesitates to follow, just for a moment. Am I really doing this? he wonders, slightly panicked. Am I ready to see him again?

Donghyuck clearly notices, because the next thing Mark knows, he’s being dragged over to the doorway. “Get a grip,” he says under his breath so only Mark can hear him. “You’re literally the opposite of sexy right now.”

“You always think I’m the opposite of sexy,” Mark mutters back, though the retort lacks any heat, because as always, he finds himself appreciating Donghyuck’s usual blunt honesty – for whatever reason, it helps keep him grounded.

Donghyuck snorts. “Yeah, well, you have about five seconds to shed the loser vibes and figure out how to somehow convince the future mother of your children to think differently.”

Sure enough, Mark can hear Jaemin saying, “Junnie, there’s someone here to see you,” and then he’s walking back past them to join Jeno in the kitchen again – though not without casting one last hard look Mark’s way.

Mark swallows hard and steps further into the living room, only to stop short again when he hears the soft, “Wait, Jaeminnie, who –?” before the person speaking breaks off with a quiet gasp.

“Renjun,” Mark breathes. A lump rises in his throat as Renjun’s eyes meet his and widen in unfiltered shock. The omega is sitting on the couch, frozen in place, and he’s even more beautiful than Mark remembers, with his rosy cheeks and pink lips and – Mark inhales sharply – the swell of his newly-rounded belly. He’s never given much thought to the concept of a pregnancy glow, but seeing Renjun now, he knows beyond a doubt that it’s real.

“M-Mark?” Renjun asks, his eyes darting from Mark’s face to the doorway that Jaemin disappeared through back to Mark’s face again, like he might somehow find answers just from looking. “What – what are you doing here?”

“Renjunnie,” Mark repeats dumbly, because he hadn’t realized how much he missed saying Renjun’s name until this exact moment. Then, without meaning to, he blurts out, “You’re so pretty.” A blush rises in Renjun’s cheeks – which only proves Mark’s point further, frankly – but he recognizes that he needs to say more than just that. “I mean, that’s not – well, you are pretty, obviously, but, uh, that’s not why I’m here.” He considers it for a moment and amends, “That’s not the only reason I’m here.”

Renjun still looks flustered, his hand coming up to rest somewhat self-consciously on his stomach. “That – that’s not –” he breaks off, shaking his head in frustration. “I’m serious, Mark. Why are you here?”

Mark’s heart aches a little at the subtle implication that Renjun doesn’t think he’s attractive in the state he’s in now. There’s no way he can let that go unaddressed – Renjun is carrying their pups, after all. “I’m serious too,” he says. “You were and still are the most beautiful omega I’ve ever seen. And...and I’m here because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how badly I want to always be by your side since the night we met.”

“No,” Renjun says, seemingly unable to look away from Mark, and the very small part of Mark that isn’t transfixed by Renjun’s everything is slightly startled by how adamant he sounds. “You’re lying. I know you’re lying. You’re getting married to someone else.”

“That would be me,” Donghyuck chimes in. “Unfortunately.” Mark startles, having completely forgotten that he and Renjun aren’t alone in the room.

He finds some consolation in the fact that Renjun appears to have not noticed him either. “What?” Renjun’s eyes finally leave Mark – who tries in vain to convince himself that it’s ridiculous to be disappointed by the loss – and land on Donghyuck instead. “Who...are you?”

“Donghyuck Kim, at your service, cutie,” Donghyuck says with a wink. Mark has to try very hard not to give in to the urge to strangle his best friend for choosing such an inappropriate moment to flirt. He does understand it, on some level, because it makes sense that Donghyuck would also be drawn in by Renjun’s charms. On the other hand, he’s the potential love of Mark’s life, not Donghyuck’s – though, to be fair, the omega in question looks decidedly unimpressed, even as Donghyuck continues to speak. “I’m the unlucky man who’s been unwillingly betrothed to this –” he bumps Mark’s shoulder with his own – “sad excuse for an alpha.”

“He is not a sad –” Renjun starts hotly, only to cut himself off abruptly, his cheeks glowing pink. He turns even more red when he catches Mark’s eye again, surely sensing the sudden burst of immensely pleased pheromones that Mark just couldn’t hold in at the realization that Renjun’s first instinct was to defend him. A moment later, he turns back to Donghyuck and clears his throat. “Um, anyway. What do you mean, unwillingly?”

“It was arranged by my pack elders,” Mark scrambles to interject before Donghyuck can do something counterproductive like inadvertently imply that Mark is the one forcing him into the marriage. “Neither of us wanted it in the first place, and – and then I met you, and then I really didn’t want it.” He lifts an arm, desperately wanting to touch Renjun, to squeeze his hand reassuringly, to cup his face tenderly, to smooth away the frown lines between his furrowed eyebrows – but he remembers Jaemin’s warning and it falls limply to his side. He tentatively steps closer instead. “I swear to you, Renjun, I meant every word I said to you that night. It’s only ever been you for me.”

Renjun’s lips part, a shaky breath escaping him, his eyes wet with tears. They’re still fixed on Mark, though, who hopes he’s remembering the way Mark buried his face in Renjun’s neck as they were coming down from their third shared high, lips pressed to his scent gland while fighting the feverish desire to bite down and mark Renjun as his permanently, and whispered, I’ve never felt like this about anyone else. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.

And they really must be fated, he thinks dizzily, because when Renjun finally speaks, he says, “I’ve never felt like this about anyone else, either. And you’re everything I’ve ever wanted, too.” Before Mark can react, though, he’s already choking out a sob and shaking his head, tears rolling down his cheeks. “But it doesn’t matter.”

The sheer euphoria that flared up inside Mark at Renjun’s reciprocation of his feelings fizzles out immediately, replaced with confusion. “What? Of course it matters!” He freezes, realization trickling through his veins like ice. “U-Unless you don’t want to be my mate, obviously. I wasn’t – I mean, I would never force –”

“No!” Renjun interrupts hurriedly, looking stricken. “That’s – you aren’t forcing me. Of course I want to be your mate. I just...can’t.”

Mark is more bewildered than ever. He exchanges a glance with Donghyuck, who seems equally clueless. “I don’t understand,” he says, moving even closer before kneeling in front of Renjun. “If we both want to be mates, then why can’t we? If it’s Hyuck you’re worried about, I promise you he doesn’t care at all.”

“I don’t,” Donghyuck confirms. “I’m begging you to take him, actually.”

Renjun sighs. “You’re a pack leader,” he says dully, like he’s reciting something that’s been drilled into him for a long time. “And I’m no one. Your pack elders would never approve of me.” His hand trembles where it’s still resting on his belly. “Especially not when – well.”

“You’re kidding. That’s your issue?” Donghyuck scoffs before Mark can begin to address how incorrect everything Renjun just said is. “You’re rejecting him because you think pack politics is going to stop him from finding a way to wife you up?”

“What he means,” Mark says, shooting Donghyuck a look of incredulity over his lack of tact before turning back to Renjun earnestly, “is you’re not no one. You’re the person I want to spend my life with. And I don’t actually care what the pack elders have to say about that. Obviously I would never mate with you if you genuinely don’t want it, but if this is the only thing holding you back –”

“You would wish that kind of life on the pup?” Renjun demands, his scent suddenly flaring and his eyes ablaze. “You’re okay with this baby not being welcome in their own father’s pack?”

It’s entirely the wrong time for it, Mark knows, but he can’t help the thrill of realization that Renjun is pregnant with one pup, or the thrum of satisfaction he feels at being referred to as said pup’s father. “Of course they’re going to be welcome in my pack,” he says, shoving the feeling aside for now in favor of wondering why Renjun is so convinced that he and their children would be anything less than revered in the Suh pack. “They’re our pup.”

As Renjun opens his mouth to reply, Donghyuck once again inserts himself into the conversation before he can say anything. “What’s your official pack affiliation?” he asks, apropos of nothing.

Renjun turns to him, his scent slightly soured with irritation. “I was taken in by the Jeongs years ago,” he says. “Why?”

Donghyuck ignores the question. “And what’s your connection to the Jeongs? How far removed are you from Jaehyun-hyung?” He flashes a cheeky smile. “Officially, I mean. Obviously being his baby brother’s best friend doesn’t count.”

“My brother is the pack deputy,” Renjun says, and he looks and sounds properly annoyed now. Even so, Mark still finds him breathtaking. “Why?”

Mark jumps in to answer this time, though he takes a second to tear his gaze away from Renjun’s beauty and throw a grateful look Donghyuck’s way. His friend just smiles smugly in return – he may have an incredibly indelicate approach, but he knows his pack politics like no one else, and they’re both aware that this is better than anything Mark had dared to hoped for. “Because,” Mark says, meeting Renjun’s eyes carefully, “the pack elders arranged my marriage specifically so we’d have a connection with the Kims, to keep up with the Jeongs. And you being a member of the Jeong pack is already great, but having a direct link to the pack deputy too...”

Renjun still looks confused as he trails off, and Mark can’t resist anymore – damn Jaemin’s warning. He leans up, tenderly cupping Renjun’s face with one hand and taking his hand with the other. “It means you’re the perfect choice, Renjunnie,” he says, and his chest aches as something like hope blossoms on Renjun’s face for the first time. “Not just for me, personally, but for the pack, too. Allowing me to marry you would mean officially tying the Suhs to the Jeongs. No need to play keep up anymore.”

“So,” Renjun whispers, fresh tears welling in his eyes as he leans into Mark’s touch, and Mark’s own vision grows blurry too at the intimacy of the gesture. “So we can really – it’s okay for us to be together?” He pulls Mark’s hand to rest on his belly, and Mark can’t control the delighted pheromones that explode from him at the contact. “We’ll get to – to be a real family?”

Mark lets out a breathless, disbelieving laugh, stroking Renjun’s cheek with his thumb. “Yeah,” he says. “Yeah, we will.” Impulsively, he leans down and presses a kiss to Renjun’s stomach. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

“Him,” Renjun says softly.

“We’re having a boy?” Mark asks, his heart leaping as he pictures a little baby boy with his nose and Renjun’s eyes. “For real?”

“I found out last week,” Renjun says. He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, his scent taking on a bitter tinge of regret. “I – I wish you had been there.”

Mark’s heart aches a little. “I’m sorry I wasn’t,” he murmurs, bringing Renjun’s hand to his lips to press a kiss to his knuckles. “But...but if you’ll let me, I-I’ll be there for everything else. Every single moment from now on.”

For the first time today, for the first time since the morning Renjun walked out his front door, Renjun smiles at him. Mark’s breath catches – Renjun so beautiful that he can hardly stand it. “I guess I’ll allow it,” Renjun says with a quiet giggle. Mark wants to kiss him senseless. “As long as you promise to take responsibility for both of us.”

“Of course!” Mark scrambles to say. He’s dimly aware of Donghyuck snickering at how undignified he probably seems, but he isn’t embarrassed by how desperately he wants Renjun to be his. “For the rest of our lives, Renjunnie, I swear. And to be clear, even if you had no connections at all, I still would have done it anyway. I would have done anything to stay by your side. But now it’s going to be so easy that even though I don’t have a courting gift on me right now, since I, uh, I wasn’t exactly expecting the day to go like this, I can definitely still give you this.” He tugs the heavy gold ring that’s sat on his index finger for the past four months and offers it to Renjun.

Behind him, Donghyuck lets out a low whistle, like he’s actually impressed by Mark’s actions for once, but Mark’s attention stays fixed on Renjun, who looks between him and the ring with wide eyes. “That’s your pack leader ring,” he says in a hushed voice. “I – I can’t take that.”

“You can,” Mark says, smiling encouragingly. “Since the pack leader’s mate can wear it whenever they want.”

A shy smile tugs at Renjun’s lips. “I’m not your mate, though.”

Mark’s smile grows so wide that his cheeks start to hurt. He places the ring in Renjun’s palm and gently coaxes his fingers closed around it. “But you will be, I hope. If you’ll have me.”

Renjun tightens his grip on the ring and nods, his eyes shining. “Of course I will.”

“Can I kiss you?” Mark asks, because he genuinely doesn’t think he can hold himself back anymore. He’s almost vibrating with the need to pull Renjun close and taste him again.

“Please.” That’s all the permission Mark needs, and he surges up to press his mouth to Renjun’s the moment the breathless plea falls from Renjun’s lips.

He whimpers in an embarrassingly needy way into the kiss, but Renjun doesn’t seem to notice or care, because he just lets out a soft whine in return and grips Mark’s arm with the hand that isn’t holding the ring, kissing back with all the same desperate longing and fervor Mark feels. The room swells with a mix of their delighted scents, so potent that surely Jeno and Jaemin can tell what’s going on from a room over, too. Mark doesn’t care, though – he’s never been happier, feels like he’s floating on a cloud.

“Marry me,” he murmurs against Renjun’s lips. “Never leave my side again. Be my mate and let me take care of you and our puppy forever.”

“Okay,” Renjun whispers back, meeting Mark’s mouth with his own again and again, like he never wants them to be apart, either. “Okay, Markie. Forever.”

And they still have a ways to go. Mark will have to ask Renjun’s brother – and more dauntingly, Jaemin – for a blessing to go forward with their courtship. He’ll comfort Renjun after he explains why he genuinely believed they had no future together, sharing painful memories of his former pack where he was taught that an ordinary omega like him could never be good or important enough for a pack leader. He’ll face his pack elders and convince them to break off his engagement to Donghyuck so he can marry Renjun instead.

But it will all be worth it, because at the end of it all, Mark will get to have his beautiful mate and their perfect pup by his side forever – and for them, Mark will always do absolutely anything.