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“Eomma. Was appa your mate?”
A hesitation, a pause, before an indulgent voice answered, “Yes, my love. He was.”
The bird song set the perfect background to the sunny spring day. The pup lay with his head in his mother’s lap, eyes closed contentedly as his mother’s loving hand brushed through his hair. The other pups ran through the green field, giggles and screams reaching their ears where they watched from under the oak tree.
“And that means he took care of you and brought you flowers?”
An endeared chuckle burst from the older wolf; the first genuine sound heard from her in a while.
“Yes, my love. Appa took good care of us. He was strong and-”
“And he hunted for the pack,” the pup exclaimed proudly.
“That’s right. Your appa grew strong so he could provide for us and protect us, but your appa was also so loving, which made him the best mate.”
“What do you mean, eomma?” asked the child inquisitively.
“Well,” the wolf started thoughtfully, as she carefully chose the right words that would help the pup understand. “When appa sang you to sleep or brought home deer meat or showed you how to shift, this showed that he loved you. Understand?”
“So… to be a good mate, I should protect and give meat and flowers?” surmised the pup innocently.
Deciding that the finer intricacies of courting and mating would best be left for a future conversation, the wolf simply answered with, “That’s right, pup.”
Content with the answer, the pup and his mother lapsed back into silence, letting the sounds carried by the spring breeze fill the moment.
The king is dead.
The shouts echo faintly through the walls. Oppressive scents carry confusion and panic through the wood and stone.
“His majesty is dead,” the pup whispers into his sister's hair, careful to keep his voice low as his eomma instructed. He is unsure of what the words mean, but understands that something has changed.
The infant fusses in his arms, and Eunsung shushes her as he has seen his eomma do countless times.
The pup hugs her close to his little chest using the worn shawl his eomma had grabbed from the top shelf of the wardrobe in which the two pups sat huddled.
The wardrobe offered little protection, but for the lone omega wolf that paced wildly in guard of the door.
The soft thud, thud, thud of the wolf’s soft paws was the only comfort to be had in the terror-filled night.
The omega attempted to control the panic coursing through his veins, but couldn’t help the slight bitterness that escaped alongside the low, continued growl.
The feral wolf paced back and forth within the confined chambers, shielding the wardrobe from the barricaded door.
Louder and louder the howls echoed as the invading wolves drew closer; the omega understood that they searched for his chambers, thirsty for the blood of his pups, the King’s heirs.
The first bump against the door brought forth a sudden clarity to the near-feral wolf.
They are here. They have come for us.
The horrified thought is the last to echo within the omega’s mind when the door suddenly caves in, and all thought ceases to exist.
The invading men have no forewarning before they find themselves attacked by the feral omega wolf, both desperate and afraid.
Despite the ferocity of the attack, the omega quickly finds itself overwhelmed by the invaders, three unknown alphas holding him down whilst a fourth runs back through the entrance.
As soon as the wolf understands that it has been overpowered, the omega shifts back into human form; impassioned pleas fill the chambers.
“Please, please do not hurt my pups,” the omega wails. “I will do anything. Please.”
The three alphas look helplessly towards each other as they cautiously back away from the omega sobbing on the floor, head bowed and body shivering.
“Has Hobi left to get JK?” the shortest alpha asked. A soft hum of confirmation answers back.
Upon the alphas' retreat, the omega once again attempts to shield the wardrobe, his lithe frame placed before the door.
“Please, I swear if you will only allow us to leave, you will never hear of us again,” the omega pleads. “My pups have no use for a cursed throne.”
Before the three alphas can reply, a fourth wolf enters through the mangled doorway. A commanding aura cloaks this wolf, but it cannot rival the dominating pheromones that emanate from the alpha that follows him.
The alpha is tall and muscular, with a presence that demands obedience and fear. Jimin understands that this must be their leader almost as soon as he recognises the man beneath the imposing exterior.
“Jungkook,” he breathes.
The man who towers over him bears little resemblance to the young wolf from his memory, but he cannot be mistaken. Jungkook paints a terrifying picture, eyes crazed and blood dripping from his mouth, smeared over his hands and across his naked torso.
The omega cowers as Jungkook approaches, the boy from his childhood having become a stranger in the years since.
However, once before him, the alpha drops to one knee.
“Do not be afraid,” he whispers. “I will not hurt you nor your pups.”
The words do little to comfort the omega. “Please, just let us leave. All I ask is that you allow us to escape into the country. I promise you will never hear from us again. My pups will pose no threat to your rule.”
The alpha ignores this.
“Jimin,” he croons and extends a bloodied hand to cup his cheek. “I swear to you, there is no reason to fear me. It is my greatest desire for you to rule by my side. I will take your pups as my own, I will name your eldest as my heir if you would do me the honour of becoming my mate.”
“He’s staring at you again.”
Jimin sighed, tired of his best friend's meddling.
“He isn’t, Tae,” he countered, exasperated.
The two omegas continued peeling potatoes for the pack feast that was occurring that night. The king of the northern packs was visiting their village for the annual winter celebrations, but most people knew that this was merely a farce.
“Yes, he is. Please put the poor boy out of his misery and talk to him. His pining is a little pathetic by this point.”
“He isn’t interested in me, Tae,” Jimin insisted, unsure if he was trying to convince Taehyung or himself. “Besides, you know why I can’t approach him. I would be marking him for death.”
The northern king, more aptly known as the ‘Mad King’, had his eye on Jimin for many months, and Jimin feared that his time was running out.
His friend grew quiet and sombre as they both felt the weight of the inevitable encroaching on their reality.
Taehyung glanced around the kitchen before drawing closer. “We could run away,” he whispered. “The two of us, we could do it, Jungkook could join us too.”
Jimin glanced at the young alpha across the kitchen, the boy’s brow furrowed as he tasted the stewed deer meat.
“I love you, TaeTae,” he smiled forlornly, “but you know I can’t do that.”
“I know,” the other omega whispered reluctantly.
“Are the pups asleep?”
Jimin stares at the alpha warily before nodding. Although the alpha had made no move to make Jimin think he was insincere in his intentions, he couldn’t yet bring himself to trust the other wolf.
Jungkook studied him silently from where he sat, shirtless, on the large, canopied bed. Someone had started a fire in the hearth, and the firelight cast a warm glow on the otherwise cold chambers. Jimin also noted absently that the alpha had cleaned up, body scrubbed clean from blood and violence.
Despite being married to the Mad King for several years, Jimin had never been within his chambers. He found himself suddenly thankful for the fact.
“Did you-did you do this for me?” he asked, flustered by the alpha’s attention, and unsure of what he wanted to hear.
“Would it please you if I had?” Jungkook responded inquisitively.
The flames crackled and popped, filling the space between them; Jimin studied them intensely. “Answer my question.”
Jungkook nodded. “Partly,” he acquiesced.
Jimin considered this quietly. “I wish to sleep with my pups tonight. I don’t want them to wake without me.”
“Of course. I don’t want to keep you prisoner, Jimin. I intend for you to be my equal, and I hope that you will come to trust my words.”
The omega nodded, heading for the door before the alpha’s voice froze him in place.
“Omega,” his voice offered an intimate embrace, a homecoming, a sanctuary for his wolf, who had lived in fear and repression for too long. “There is someone I want you to meet tomorrow.”
The alpha now sounded much closer, and petrichor filled his lungs.
“For your nest,” Jungkook explained as he presented a heavily scented fur to Jimin. “The pups should become familiar with my scent.”
Jimin did not swoon.
He took the fur and fled hastily from the room, haunted by the remnant of Jungkook’s pleased pheromones.
Later, as Jimin lay with the moon as his guardian, the scent of petrichor and Jimin’s own jasmine blend to create a comforting bed for his two pups.
And, he thought as he drifted into slumber, although uncertainty plagued his future, he could not help but think that he and Jungkook felt inevitable.
“Eomma. Was appa your mate?”
“Yes, my love. He was.”
Her son’s curiosity heals a part of her that misses her mate terribly, finding solace in sharing memories of her beloved with the young boy.
“So… to be a good mate, I should protect and give meat and flowers?” surmised the pup innocently.
Deciding that the finer intricacies of courting and mating would best be left for a future conversation, she simply answered with, “That’s right, pup.”
Content with the answer, the pup and his mother lapsed back into silence, letting the sounds carried by the spring breeze fill the moment.
“Eomma,” her pup called again.
“Yes, my love.”
“I want him to be my mate,” the boy proclaimed assuredly, pointing to one of the pups playing chase in the field.
The older woman let her gaze linger on the Park pup, full cheeks flushed with mischief and glee.
“Mm,” she indulged, “you’ll have to grow big and strong like your appa if you want to win the heart of the Park pup.”
“Yes! I want to be the best mate for my Jiminie.”
“I’m sure you will be, pup.” The words carried through the wind like a promise, “I’m sure you will be.”