Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Run. Run. Run. Run.

Thoughts in wolf form are simple, but Seokjin knows that even on two feet his mind would be entirely focused on getting as far away as possible from the pack’s territory.

His world is reduced to what’s ahead of him. Breathe in, breathe out, keep going . 

His paws hitting the still frozen ground and his panting are the only sounds his ears can detect, but he keeps running. He’s certainly faster than his chasers, his legs longer than the bulky guards of the border. His mountain blood is no match for the forest wolves, but they are stubborn, and they won’t let their alpha’s bride escape before the mating ceremony just like that.

Damn, they went as far as to shoot him. And although they didn’t shoot to kill, one of the arrows still hit its target, and Seokjin is bleeding, pain exploding in his left shoulder every time his front legs take his weight. He’d worry about the red trail he’s leaving behind, but he ran straight to the nearest stream and made sure to lose it. 

For a while at least. 

Seokjin is making it hard for them to find him but not impossible. He’s starting to feel tired, and the loss of blood doesn’t help. Night will fall and the full moon will give the alphas that extra fire to catch him. He needs to get out of the woods before that.

Sending a prayer to whatever deity listening, Seokjin keeps running, hoping to see the meadows soon, ignoring the pain in his body,  and the utter fear of heading into the unknown.

At least he knows that whatever he’s running towards is better than what he’s leaving behind. 

“I think I'll end up with blisters in my ass.”

Yoongi’s voice is barely an added murmur to the early evening breeze, but the groans his comment elicits break the peace of the quiet road. 

“Thanks, hyung,” Jimin grumbles, a grimace clear in his voice. “That's exactly the image I needed to ride through the night.”

Namjoon chuckles lowly as he watches Yoongi turn around on his horse and argue with Jimin through a pout, “You were the one telling me about your sore butt this morning.”

“I said no such thing!” Jimin looks around, as if he had a crowd to convince, and Yoongi keeps teasing from there. 

“One of those two is not going to make it back home,” Hoseok mutters, leaning to his side, an amused grin on his face as the argument escalates on the front.

“It’s been too long of a journey,” Namjoon says, rolling his eyes when Yoongi’s horse sprints ahead with Jimin following him closely, laughter and angry yelling swirling in the mellow dusk air.

It has been a long journey for sure. They left their hometown more than a month ago. It took them three weeks to arrive at their destiny, a week to convey their message, then another one to accept that they failed their mission. Now they’ve been riding for days, undoing the way and preparing for the rage of their pack’s mayor when they deliver the bad news. 

But those are problems for their future selves.

Despite the defeat and the upcoming trouble, Namjoon is enjoying the ride. They don’t have many chances to travel. Sure, they hunt in the mountains and forest surrounding their town, but crossing half of the country, seeing other towns, different packs, it’s an extraordinary opportunity. 

Answering solely to themselves is nice, too. The others would say that Namjoon is the lead alpha among them, but the truth is that the bond they share is one of friendship and companionship, and their dynamic is not one of leader and subordinates. They trust Namjoon’s judgment, and Namjoon trusts them back.

“Wouldn’t it be nice?” Hoseok is taking a deep breath beside him, his arms extended to his sides, his head thrown back, his face caressed by the shy moonlight. 

The full moon is rising over the treetops, round and big, bathing the evening with her bewitching energy and a hush that is not quite silent.

It’s not the first time Hoseok says something like that. They’ve talked about it in daring whispers around the fire. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if this was their life? If they could go out in the moonlight whenever they liked. Do as they wished. Wouldn't it be nice if they were their own people and not servants?

This journey has been tempting. Freedom whispers sweetly into their ears in every step of the way. They could keep riding, turn around and find their own path, never go back to the town that raised them but never claimed them. But…

“We can’t.” 

Those sad words always end that conversation. The guys all have attachments in town, and Namjoon is deeply attached to them, his friends, his brothers. His pack, if they were allowed. It would be nice, but they can’t.

“We should camp under those trees,” Namjoon says, nodding ahead, where Yoongi and Jimin disappeared from sight.

The road connecting the different pack towns in the country is ancient but well kept. Most of it crosses open fields, lots of people have made sure it stays that way through the years: well distanced from the woods that home the traditional packs. Still, the forest is stubborn, so the road crosses patches of trees at some points, like the one ahead of them, that seems to extend for a couple miles. Those woods are neutral territory, so the wild packs should stay away. There is a treaty and both parties have known to respect it.

Namjoon stretches his back and rolls his shoulders. Maybe Yoongi wasn’t wrong about those blisters. The small of his back is killing him too. They stop every few hours to let the horses rest, but their asses don’t go back to their original shape so fast. A warm meal and a good night of sleep will be good for all of them.

“Let’s go, Sweetheart,” he mutters, touching his horse’s neck. “Just a little more and we can rest.”  

The mare lets out a huff, as if she too couldn’t wait. 

“I hope those two idiots didn’t go too far,” Hoseok says, as they reach the trees. “I’m not going after them–”

Just as Hoseok’s words are out, the sound of two horses getting scared puts them both on alert. 

Namjoon’s chest gets tight, his instincts suddenly screaming. There’s a deep growl, the dull sound of a body hitting the ground, and then Jimin’s mare comes running towards them.  

“Joon-ah!” Yoongi’s alarmed call is the last drop for the chills to start running down his back. 

Hoseok curses, watching between the road ahead and the horse running wild in the opposite direction.

“Go get her,” Namjoon says, jumping off Sweetheart. “Put them somewhere safe and then approach carefully.”

Hoseok nods and grabs the reins of Namjoon’s horse before dashing after Cloud. Namjoon runs the rest of the way, following the scents of his two packmates. 

The closer he gets the more the distress in the air grows. And it’s not just Yoongi and Jimin’s. There’s a third scent, its sweetness spoiled with wild aggression. 

“Easy!” Jimin is hissing when Namjoon arrives at the scene. With appeasing hands held up, Jimin is taking slow steps back to where Yoongi is trying to keep his horse under rein.

In front of them, and growling menacingly, there is a wolf. 

And actual wolf, all white and livid.

It’s a striking sight. Wolves are practically never seen in pack towns. Their society claims to have evolved from their primitive animal forms. Shifting is seen as a loss of control and treated as such too: with isolation and sedatives.

This wolf in front of them - an omega, judging by the sweetness in its scent - must be from the wild packs, but even among them, Namjoon knows that white wolves are rare. He has never seen such a beautiful, pure white coat. 

Well, maybe pure is not the best word: Its legs are darkened with mud and its left shoulder is marred with blood, both dried and fresh. 

It’s hurt. Or is it a she ? It could be a ‘he’ too. It’s hard to tell in that form. In any case, the wolf is about to jump at Jimin’s throat.

“Omega,” Namjoon starts, and the wolf shifts its focus to him, letting out a bark before resuming its growling. “Please, calm down.”

The deep amber eyes that fix on him are far away from reason. The feral snarl is meant to be intimidating, but Namjoon sees fear too. 

“We’re in neutral territory, so if you so desire, we can part ways in peace, but…”

He takes a step closer to the wolf and everyone tenses. Auntie lets out a neigh, and for a moment Namjoon thinks the wolf is going to charge against the horse, but Yoongi manages to quiet his mare and pull her back.

“Hyung, I think we should just leave her al–”

Jimin is cut by a sharp bark. Namjoon makes a gesture for Jimin to back off, but his eyes don’t leave the wolf.

“Omega,” he tries again. “You’re hurt. We can treat your wounds, and then…” Daring one step forward, Namjoon tries to present himself as non-threatening as possible. “Then we continue our journey. Each to our own.”

Namjoon takes a couple more steps forward, ever so slowly, and maybe it’s a good sign that the omega doesn’t retreat. They still look around, as if checking escape routes.

They’re not trapped. 

"There's nothing to fear. We just want to help."

Something in Namjoon’s stance must convince them, because they stop growling and relax their posture a little, but right then there’s a sound behind Namjoon: A stick breaking under a foot, a new alpha scent. Hoseok sneaking around.

The spell breaks like a glass on stone floors. 

The omega jumps towards Namjoon with a snarl, and he just braces for the impact. There are screams from his packmates, but fortunately no one intervenes, so Namjoon, not wanting to do anything against the omega, takes the bite.

It hurts like hell. The sharp fangs tearing into the skin of his forearm pull out a rumbling growl of his own. His instincts scream, outraged at the audacity of the omega, urging him to make them submit. And although he’s not acting upon those instincts, that’s exactly what he does.

It’s a bit shameful for an alpha to impose like this, it’s not a fair fight at all. Even though the omega is strong, they’re hurt, and their raw aggression is no match for Namjoon’s trained skills.

He puts the wolf in a chokehold and applies the right pressure to make them go down, but in the struggle, the omega turns and the change from soft fur to warm skin startles Namjoon, making him release them.

It’s too late, anyway. The omega falls to the ground unconscious. 

“Holy shit,” someone says behind him, but Namjoon doesn’t pay them much attention.

He’s enraptured by the sight in front of him. 

The omega is completely naked and has an undoubtedly female body, but their curves are sharpened with lean muscle, and even unconscious, there’s a rough energy in their lines that sets them apart from the dainty omegas from their town. It’s in the finer details, too. Their right shoulder and upper arm are taken by a clan tattoo that only men are allowed to take, or at least that’s what Namjoon knows about traditional packs. The omega’s hair is styled in the way of the men from the forest too: sides shaved and the rest of the hair in a long braid. 

Gender incongruences aside, Namjoon can’t help but stare. Despite their clear exhaustion, they’re possibly the most beautiful omega he’s ever seen. Their soft cheeks and full lips are made to smile, but their regal nose and brow speak of power and pride. Their hair is as white as their coat, and Namjoon would love to see it cascading down their shoulders and maybe card his fingers through the long strands– 

“Joon-ah? Are you even listening?” Yoongi’s annoyed words bring him back to reality.

“S-sorry, what?”

“I said you’re bleeding like crazy, what do you want to do?”

“Oh…” Now that Yoongi pointed it out, Namjoon becomes aware of the throbbing pain in his forearm. “It’s fine.”

He stands up and takes off his cloak. Covering the omega with it, he carefully picks them up and turns to his packmates.

“Let’s camp here,” he says, gesturing towards the forest with his chin. “Away from the road.”

Three pairs of concerned eyes fix on him. Namjoon can smell their scents, still spiked with adrenaline and souring with worry, but in the end, they nod and begin to move.

“Alright then.” Hoseok chuckles, pulling three horses by their reins. Namjoon pretends not to hear him, but when his back is turned to them, Hoseok mutters something like, “We’ll pretend nothing happened.”

“Do you think they’ll bite my hand off if I offer them a bowl?”

The lowly spoken words are clearly registered by Seokjin’s drowsy mind, but he doesn’t understand their meaning. He doesn’t know that voice, the scents around him are not familiar. His own scent feels odd, stained in a way. Forest, blood and something musky and warm. An alpha’s scent. All over him.

His betrothed.

Seokjin gasps fully awake and sits up. This is not the pack alpha’s cabin. The scent all over him is not his. This one belongs to an alpha at his prime, quite different from his betrothed, an old wolf with poor hygiene. Not this one. This one is almost nice. 

Almost…

The last three days come back to him like a strike of lightning. The desperation, the anger, feeling powerless and betrayed. His sire gave him away like a stack of furs or a basket of ripe fruit, a present to cozy up to a neighboring pack. Part of him has to admit that he should have seen it coming, but it still hurts. 

Tears sting his eyes, but he swallows them back. He promised himself he wouldn’t cry. He wouldn’t give his sire or his betrothed the pleasure of watching him break.

But he’s not with any of them. No. He’s with four alpha travelers, and not just any alphas, stone wolves . The clothes he’s wearing, the scent that’s sticking to his skin and permeates the tent he’s in right now belongs to the dominant one, the one who… strangled him.

Holding back an angry growl, Seokjin grabs the neckline of the shirt he's wearing, ready to rip it open, but the very bastard who strangled him chooses that precise moment to crawl into the tent.

“Oh, you’re awake–” 

His smile morphs into an expression of surprise when Seokjin charges against him and tries to claw his eyes out. 

To Seokjin’s outrage, the alpha grabs his wrists before he can even touch him, and although his grip is not harsh, the movement sends a shot of pain to his wounded shoulder. An involuntary whimper escapes through his lips, and the alpha releases him immediately. 

“Sorry!” His hands reach for him as if he wanted to stop his pain with them somehow. “Please, calm down. We just want to help–”

Seokjin huffs a bitter laugh and drags himself back using only his right hand for impulse.

“Four stone alphas helping a wounded omega on his own?” Seokjin looks at the alpha up and down. “I might be from the wild but I’m not stupid.”      

“ Stone … What–? No, no, no. Look.” He takes a deep breath and crouches by the entrance of the tent, opening one of the flaps so Seokjin can see the sunny exterior. “You are not a prisoner or anything. You can go whenever you like, but–”

Seokjin chuckles without an ounce of humor. If there’s a but, he isn’t as free as this alpha preaches.

“ But .” The alpha holds appeasing hands up, as if he knew exactly the path Seokjin’s mind took. “We would like to make sure that your wound is healing well, and maybe you could have something to eat too?” 

He seems almost scared of his reaction, his posture tense, as if he was ready to take another… Oh . 

Seokjin winces at the sight of his bandaged forearm, but he mentally shakes his head right after. He shouldn’t feel bad about biting this alpha. Fuck, he choked him unconscious. 

“ Yeah? And whose fault was that? ” the annoying voice of his conscience provides.

The whole situation escalated out of control, and maybe he was to blame. In part.

He collapsed near the road the night before, exhausted after running the whole day with a bleeding wound and an empty stomach. He was startled back to consciousness by loud voices and horses neighing, so he was certainly not in the most reasonable mood.

The fact that they still treated his wound –if that’s what they did, judging by the bandage he feels wrapped around his shoulder– and even gave him a safe place to rest says a lot about the kind of wolves they are, but Seokjin knows better than to trust an alpha’s kindness so easily. 

“I know we didn’t start with the right foot,” the alpha starts hesitantly, “but we honestly just want to help you. I mean, what kind of alphas would we be if we didn’t? You're certainly not helpless, I mean…” He chuckles and moves his bandaged arm. "But it seems like you could use a hand right now, and we can't just go away and ignore it."

Oh, he’s good at sweet talking. 

His deep voice is warm, his words gentle, his eyes honest. His back is straight and his posture open. He has nothing to hide and he knows how to look like it. His scent backs him up too. Rich and stable. Trustworthy , his instincts say. It’s either that or Seokjin is still too weak because of the blood loss.

Seokjin is not easily swayed by an alpha's looks, but this one makes it hard.

His shy smile reminds him of easier times, of lazy afternoons under the spring sun and the breeze ruffling his hair. Dimples tease both of his cheeks, and maybe in a different life, Seokjin would have thought he was attractive, with his dark hair and sharp eyes, his enticing scent.

Almost .

He’s by himself now and he can’t put his guard down for a handsome alpha.

But then again, his first day as a lone wolf didn’t end very well. He’s still tired, hungry and in pain. Like he said, he could use a hand right now.

Maybe he should give these alphas the benefit of the doubt. Besides, whatever they’re cooking out there smells delicious, and he has to admit that his pride has a limit. He can always shift and run the fuck away from them at the first sign of anything weird. After all, they’re just stone wolves. They won’t be able to chase him.

“Food sounds good,” he mutters and rolls his eyes at the fully dimpled smile the alpha gives him.

The guys go quiet when Namjoon comes back to the fire with the omega. He knows Hoseok bet two rabbits that he would come back only with another bite.

“Yoongi-hyung, we’ll need a bowl for…?” He turns to the omega and prays that he’s not crossing a line.

“Seokjin,” the omega mutters reluctantly, scratching behind his ear.

“Nice to meet you, Seokjin-ssi.” The honorific is received with a frown, but Namjoon powers through the awkwardness. “My name is Namjoon, and these are Hoseok, Jimin and Yoongi.”

He points at each of his packmates accordingly, and Seokjin spares them an uninterested glance.

Namjoon clears his throat and beckons the omega to sit around the fire. “I hope you like rabbit stew. It’s the only thing we’ve been able to hunt on the road.”

Seokjin nods, eyes on the ground, his knees drawn close to his chest. 

Namjoon’s stomach does a weird flip as he sits beside Seokjin. He isn’t small at all, he’s almost as tall as Namjoon, and his shoulders are wide for an omega, but Namjoon’s clothes are still baggy on him, making him look oddly delicate. The stain of Namjoon’s blood around his neck, however, tells a different story.

Jimin cleaned and bandaged Seokjin’s wound, but he didn’t dare to clean anything else. It would have been inappropriate. And he wasn’t up to take a bite.

“Oh, the food might take a little while,” Namjoon says, standing up again. “Maybe you would like to clean…” He gestures at his neck. “That?”

Seokjin nods again and follows him to the edge of the camp where they put a basin with fresh water to wash their hands. Ignoring the less than discreet whispering of his packmates, he looks around for a cloth to give Seokjin. Once he finds one, he racks his brain for something to say to fill the silence.

“I’m sorry I didn’t have any clean clothes,” he says while Seokjin wipes the blood from his neck. “We’ve been waiting for a decent stream to wash our clothes.”

“It’s alright,” Seokjin says, wringing the cloth on the quickly reddening water. "It’s better than nothing."

A shadow of a smile crosses his face, and maybe there is hope. 

Once Seokjin is clean and fresh again, they go back to the fire, where Yoongi is already serving the stew. 

When everyone has food on their hands, the tense silence is stark. The guys are looking at him, as if they were waiting for him to fix it, and Seokjin is just stirring the stew with the spoon, probably too self-aware to start eating. Namjoon’s mind is blank. Every possible phrase sounds more stupid than the previous, and he really doesn’t want to break the fragile trust the omega is putting on them.

“Fuck, I can’t take this anymore,” Hoseok says, putting his bowl down. Everyone tenses, but before someone can jump the gun, Hoseok continues, “Look, Seokjin, we didn’t meet in the best of circumstances, but I can assure you that you’re absolutely safe. None of us is going to hurt you or anything, and if you worry about us being alphas and you an omega on your own,” Hoseok makes a strange gesture with his hands, “Don’t, alright? I don’t like omegas that way, these two have mates back home,” he points at Jimin and Yoongi at each of his sides with his thumbs, “And Namjoonie would literally let you maul him to pieces before putting a dishonoring finger on you.”

Seokjin’s eyebrows raise in shock. He seems at a loss for words. 

Namjoon looks between the omega and his friend. “He didn’t mean to–” 

“No, this is important, Joonie,” Hoseok insists. “If my sister was lost in the forest and met a group of alphas, I would like her to be safe and reassured. We can’t beat around the bush with these things.”

“These things?” Seokjin narrows his eyes, a speck of mirth behind them.

“Oh, you know,” Hoseok shrugs. “Rape and shit.”

Seokjin lets out a chuckle. “Stone wolves are certainly different.”

Namjoon breathes out a bit of tension. The air is still awkward around the fire, but it doesn’t seem like Seokjin is going to break in a run or attack them. He actually seems more relaxed.

“Alright, first of all,” Yoongi clears his throat, “I want to clarify that I’m not mated–”

“Neither am I,” Jimin chides in, but Hoseok interrupts them both with a snort.

“ Please , Taehyung is literally pregnant. You’re not mated by ceremony, but you’re certainly mated in fact ,” he laughs. “And you, Jiminie, have been pining for the same omega since you’re fourteen, even if you think no one notices.” 

As the two exposed alphas sputter explanations, Namjoon notices another flash of mirth in Seokjin’s eyes. He would dare to venture that the omega is holding back a smile.

“If it’s worth something,” he starts, and everyone turns to him, “I’m not lost either.”

“Doesn’t seem like you have somewhere to go back, though,” Yoongi says, his eyes lowering to Seokjin’s shoulder.

When Jimin was cleaning the wound, he noticed that it was caused by an arrow shot from behind, so it’s safe to assume that Seokjin was chased away. 

Seokjin shrugs. “That doesn’t mean I’m lost.”

“Alright,” Yoongi concedes with a gesture of his hand. “Clarifications aside, I was meaning to ask, what the fuck does ‘stone wolf’ means?”

“Yeah,” Hoseok agrees. “We’ve been called that the whole trip.”

Namjoon turns to Seokjin. He’s been curious about the title too, but more than anything, he’s relishing the sight of the omega relaxing enough around them to put down his animosity. 

“Well, that’s just what everyone calls wolves that stay in one form and live behind stone walls.”

There’s a collective sound of understanding.

“Makes sense,” Namjoon hums.

Ever since the first pack town was founded, their lifestyle has been regarded with contempt by outsiders. Walls were built to protect them from attacks and pillaging; they quit shifting to protect their stability. Most of the traditional packs think that their organization betrays their nature, and in part, they’re right. Packs in the wild are either nomads or settle in small groups, relying on their animal side to survive. 

They’re wolves first and humans second. And that’s, of course, the way nature intended it, but living at the mercy of the elements was tough and it didn’t assure survival. Working together did. 

Pack towns are big settlements built by different clan packs united under a leading clan elected by popular vote. Or at least by alphas of age that belong to a clan. Hierarchy is built around that. Cooperation is in the essence of any pack no matter the scale, but pack towns rely on their human side to make agreements and distribute power. 

That’s why shifting became problematic, and eventually, banned. For pack towns to work, everyone needs to suppress their instincts and follow the rules.     

“What I still don’t get is how can everyone tell that we come from a town?” Jimin asks, leaning closer to Seokjin, as if he didn’t want to miss a word of his answer.

Seokjin chuckles. “Who else puts lashes on other animals?” He points his chin at the mares eating nearby.

Hoseok huffs. “That’s a debate for another time.”

Ignoring Hoseok’s intervention, Jimin continues, “But sometimes we weren’t on the horses, and they still looked at us like cockroaches.”

Seokjin takes a moment to answer, his eyes on Jimin’s candid expression, and Namjoon can see the fraction of a second that takes him to decide against being mean to him.

“Well, there’s something different in your scent too,” Seokjin says, moving his hand around his neck. “Like there’s something that’s not flowing.”

“We just smell like horse shit, don’t we?” Yoongi says and lets out a tired sigh. 

“Well, a little, yes,” Seokjin concedes and laughs.

“Fucking Kyungjae-mayor-nim. It’s gonna take another month to clean our scents,” Yoongi grumbles, and Jimin and Hoseok join in the complaining.

Namjoon pays them little mind. He was right: Seokjin has a beautiful smile, and his laugh is very contagious. He sobers up when he catches Namjoon staring.

Namjoon clears his throat and forces his brain to come up with something smart. “Seriously, though. Does the lack of shifting really change something in our scents?”

“Of course!” Seokjin huffs, as if it was obvious. “Everyone knows that if you don’t shift for a while, you get sick.”

“I’ve never shifted in my life,” Namjoon says as a matter of fact.

Seokjin gasps. “Well, that’s…” His brow furrows in a concerned frown. “That’s truly tragic.”

Namjoon looks away from the pity he sees in Seokjin’s eyes, suddenly awkward. Fortunately, the guys make sure to kindle a comfortable conversation as they finally start eating.

“I spent half of my teens locked up for shifting,” Jimin says and snickers.

“You were such a pain in the ass,” Yoongi sighs. 

“What are you talking about, hyung?” Hoseok laughs. “You always finished the fights this idiot started. Then noona had to go pick the both of you from the cages.”

“That’s not–” Whatever Yoongi had to say is drowned by Jimin’s laugh.

“Yeah, you always were in the cage beside mine, hyung.”

“Are you siblings?” Seokjin asks him in a quiet voice as Yoongi recounts one of their locked-up nights.

Namjoon tilts his head, considering his answer. “In a way, I guess we are, but we’re not related by blood, if that’s what you mean. We grew up together, along with the rest of the kids without a clan.”

Seokjin frowns at the last words.

Oh, the downside of town packs: Bastards live in the cracks of their society. 

Their town was built by five clans, or packs with a common ancestor, whose heads came to an agreement with each other to join efforts and keep all their people fed and safe. With time, there has been some mingling through mating, and even though other minor clans have joined their town, the five founding ones remain strong to this day. 

Their town is so prosperous that they often receive lone wolves or small families that are looking for a new start. However, the only way to join a clan is by birth or by mating. There are adoptions, too, but they’re rare. None of them had that luck.

Kids without a clan grow up to be servants depending on their skills. The four of them are part of the guard and dependent on the pack mayor in turn. They’re meant to fill the lines of the town’s warriors if the need arises, but in times of peace, they hunt for the leading clan, patrol the perimeters, and on counted occasions, like this one, they act as messengers for their pack mayor. 

“Does that mean you don’t have… blood relatives?” Seokjin asks hesitantly, as if gauging how delicate the topic is for Namjoon.

“I don’t,” Namjoon says, not giving it much importance. “My mother moved to the town when she was pregnant with me and died giving birth."

"I'm  sorry," Seokjin mutters. 

"It’s alright. I mean, I'm sorry I never got to meet her, but Hoseok ’s mom took care of me. She took care of all of us, actually.” He steals a glance at the others. “Yoongi has a twin sister and ghosts parents, and Jimin’s father was… Well, he was there but not really, you know? We grew up like brothers, even though we come from different places.”

Seokjin nods. “It’s good you have each other,” he says, and there’s kindness in his eyes. 

“Yeah.” Namjoon tries his best not to look away, but he might not make it without blushing.

“Um…” Surprisingly, Seokjin is the one who looks away first, the tip of his ears turning red. “Sorry for biting you.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Namjoon chuckles, touching his bandaged forearm. It still hurts and there will be a scar, but for some reason he doesn’t mind. “Sorry for…” He raises a bended arm, mimicking the chokehold. “It’s what we’re taught to do in those cases.”

“I guess I was a bit out of control,” Seokjin winces, looking down as if he was embarrassed. “I’m usually not that violent, but I’ve been on edge lately–”

Silence falls around the fire at once, their instincts blowing cold at the back of their necks right before a soul-piercing howl fills the quiet afternoon air with dread. 

A couple more join the first soon.

Seokjin stands up. He looks and smells agitated, his scent bittered with fear. “I’m not going back,” he mutters and his deep amber eyes turn to Namjoon, a mute pleading in them.

Namjoon stands up too, and with a solemn nod, he starts moving.

It’s a rush of quick feet and deft fingers. The five of them break camp in a matter of minutes.

“How far do you think they are?” Hoseok asks, putting down the fire with hasty feet.

“Not very,” Yoongi says, saddling the horses.

“They’re slow,” Seokjin comments, helping Namjoon fold up the tent, but he sounds more hopeful than certain.

“Let’s just go quickly,” Namjoon says and puts the folded tent in the bag tied to his horse's saddle.

Hoseok, Yoongi and Jimin mount and turn to him expectantly. Taking a deep breath, Namjoon puts a foot on the stirrup and swings his other leg over Sweetheart. Once mounted, he offers Seokjin his hand.

The omega hesitates. His eyes take a look at the woods around them, the sky, Namjoon’s hand again. It must be a difficult decision, a leap of faith. Namjoon is half expecting Seokjin to reject him, but then, with a resolute nod, he takes his hand.

They ride away as fast as the mares’ powerful legs allow. 

Chapter Text

“If she’s tired I can walk, you know?”

The alpha chuckles and his breath tickles the back of Seokjin’s neck. Despite Namjoon’s efforts to keep a respectful distance, the rhythmical rocking of the horse walking brings them an inch together with every step.

“She’s not tired,” Namjoon says, and Seokjin swears he feels the words rumble against his back.

“How do you know?” 

Seokjin’s voice is thin, he’s aware of every inch of his body that is in close proximity to the alpha, and that’s driving him mad. 

After hours of riding nonstop, night is falling around them, accompanied by a hush spell. 

As soon as the patch of forest was left behind and they were sure there were no wolves chasing them, the horses slowed down to a quiet walk. The alphas fell quiet too. 

There are questions hanging in the air between them, but Seokjin refuses to acknowledge them. He can’t think about that now. His whole mind is focused on the warmth radiating from the alpha behind him; his scent, already on his skin from the clothes he lent him, now wrapping around him with a fresh claim. 

“I know,” Namjoon says, and for a moment, Seokjin panics, even though there’s no way the alpha could hear his thoughts. “If she was tired, I’d know.”

Seokjin breathes out his relief, that is only momentary: Namjoon is still right there.

“But how?” Seokjin has always tackled awkward situations with stubborn evasion, and this won’t be an exception. It’s not like he hasn’t been close to an alpha before. This stone wolf is nothing special. “How would you know if she’s tired? She can’t tell you.”

Namjoon laughs, and Seokjin frowns. His voice has no right to be so deep and velvety. It’s not fair. 

“If she was tired, she would just stop moving. Maybe even kick us off,” Namjoon says and chuckles. “Though she’s sweeter than that, aren’t you, Sweetheart?”

The mare huffs, as if answering him, and Namjoon leans forward to touch her neck, his chest touching Seokjin’s back momentarily. Seokjin manages to catch a growl of frustration. 

“Auntie would kick me off, you know?” Yoongi says, catching up to Namjoon’s pace at the head of the small group, and Seokjin is grateful for the diversion, because he can feel himself blushing. 

“She has,” Yoongi continues, “and I feel like she will again. Soon.”

Namjoon pulls the reins gently to stop his horse. “You say we should camp here?”

The other three stop to look around too. 

No , it’s the obvious answer. These are the vast meadows Seokjin was running to, the division between stone wolves’ territory and the wild. No forest wolf ventures this far, but it’s still too close to be safe.

“I mean not here, it’s too open.” Yoongi says. “But we should stop for today.”

“We could let the girls graze in the meadow and go see what we can find over there,” Hoseok suggests, pointing at a little grove ahead.

They’re still in relatively high land, the whole valley is at their feet, with its waves of green and small patches of trees. They still have at least a day of travel before reaching the big river, but after crossing it, they’ll start finding stone wolves’ packs every couple of miles. 

“Sounds good,” Namjoon says, and the others get down the horses instantly, as if they were only waiting for Namjoon’s confirmation to do it.

Seokjin breathes out his relief. He was quite ready to put a healthy few feet of distance between Namjoon and him hours ago. In fact, he could have left when they put the forest behind them, but something stopped him. 

He’s still not sure if it was uncertainty or the stupid sense of debt he’s feeling. Maybe Namjoon’s sensible tone when he told him to save energy for the rest of his trip. Definitely not the warmth of the alpha’s body so close to his. 

“Do you need help?” Hoseok asks, pulling him out of his reflection. 

Hoseok is smiling, offering his hand candidly. Seokjin frowns, and all the frustration he has accumulated during the last couple days finds an unsuspecting target: A menacing growl is all the answer Seokjin gives, and Hoseok startles, falling to the ground on his butt. 

Without any remorse, Seokjin swings his leg over the head of the horse and jumps down the other side. His shoulder hurts on the landing, but his pained whimper is covered by Jimin’s loud cackles.

“At least he didn’t bite you,” Namjoon teases and laughs too.

Confusion takes over Seokjin as he watches the lead alpha dismount and help his packmates take the load off the horses. Back home he would have gotten at least a growl in return. A scolding from a lead alpha, a hit even, if they were older.

Here, he only got laughter. And not even the mean kind.

Seokjin wonders if all stone wolves are like this or if it's just these four. His sire would have said they don’t have what it takes. And well, no. So far they’re not brutes, so they wouldn’t fit his sire’s standards at all, and that’s not exactly a bad thing. They seem strong enough, their bodies have the shape of capable fighters, their senses are sharpened as those of a hunter. Even though they’re far from their territory, they know how to handle themselves in the wild, but there’s something gentle in them, in the way they treat each other and him. There is no power struggle between them, and Seokjin is admitted into their circle just because he’s there. The condescendence he knew from his sire, or the deceiving kindness of those wanting to seduce him is nowhere to be found. 

Maybe it’s too soon to judge, but it makes him feel safe.

Dusk wraps around the meadows while Namjoon finishes brushing Sweetheart. It was a long day, and Namjoon appreciates the little time alone. He rests his forehead on the mare’s dark neck and takes a deep breath of her familiar scent.

“Thank you for today, Sweetie,” he mutters, his heart finally beating at a normal pace.

Riding with Seokjin today was an intense experience. He tried his best to hide it as much as he could, but it pleased him way too much. He’s never been one to pay attention to omegas, always too busy or too awkward, but Seokjin makes him want to… pay attention. It’s odd, he’s not completely sure how to word it, but he wants to know what to do around him and gain his attention as well.

It’s not a thought he should entertain, but he feels drawn to the omega anyway.

Namjoon leaves his mare to graze with the other horses by the little stream they found near the grove and walks towards the camp that’s slowly being put together. 

Hoseok is setting up two tents. Only two, because they can’t get too comfortable before crossing the river. Yoongi, as usual, is making dinner. They always end up ushering Namjoon away when he offers help, so he goes check on the other two members of their current party. 

Jimin is cleaning Seokjin’s wound. They found a convenient formation of rocks to install an improvised infirmary, and although the omega seems tense, he’s letting Jimin do his thing.

“It’s healing well,” Jimin is saying when Namjoon approaches them. “Just try not to move more than necessary or the wound could reopen.”

Seokjin nods, putting back on the sleeve he had taken off to give Jimin’s space.

“Now’s your turn, Joonie-hyung,” Jimin says, startling Seokjin, who turns around as if he just noticed Namjoon behind them.

His eyes drop to Namjoon’s bandaged forearm, and there’s something like guilt in them when he looks at him next.

“It barely even hurts, don’t worry,” Namjoon says, taking off the bandage and walking towards Jimin’s awaiting hands.

Jimin is not officially a healer, but he’s learned a thing or two from Hoseok’s sister, who is an actual apprentice of the town’s healer. Jiwoo insisted, since they go out to hunt together, and although it’s not an often occurrence, sometimes they get injured in the woods. She thought it was convenient that at least one of them knew how to patch up the others in case of an emergency. Jimin was the best student.

“I still feel bad about it,” Seokjin mutters, hugging himself. “I was out of control.”

He seems hesitant, his energy subdued, as if he didn’t know how to act around them. Namjoon would love to know how to ease things up for him. He racks his brain, but Jimin is quicker.

“Joonie-hyung has gotten much worse,” Jimin says, pride dripping from his words. “Like that time a bear almost clawed his arm off.”

“What?” 

Namjoon doesn’t miss the quick up and down glance Seokjin throws at him, as if he didn’t believe it.

“It wasn’t like that–” Namjoon starts, rolling his eyes, but Jimin interrupts him.

“He killed the beast.”

Seokjin raises his eyebrows. “Oh?”

“It was young, I–” Namjoon tries to explain, but Jimin once again cuts him off.

“It wasn’t that young. And he did it by himself.” 

“Can you stop bragging about shit on my behalf?” His voice comes out a little more growly than intended, his cheeks are heating up. “Seokjin is not a town omega to impress with hunting stories.”

Jimin purses his lips to hold back a grin and finishes wrapping a new bandage around Namjoon’s arm in silence. Namjoon doesn’t dare to look at Seokjin, but a breathed out chuckle from the omega makes him raise his eyes.

“I am a bit impressed anyway.” Seokjin shrugs his good shoulder. “Can I see the scar?”

“Yeah, show him the scar, hyung.” Namjoon can’t tell if Jimin is teasing or if he’s really excited about the turn the conversation took. Namjoon glares at him regardless.  

“You should go help Yoongi-hyung with the meal,” Namjoon mutters through gritted teeth, and Jimin scuttles away with a snicker.

Seokjin is looking at him with something like amusement dancing behind his eyes when Namjoon turns to him again.

“So you won’t show it?”

“M-maybe another time,” Namjoon says with a nervous chuckle.

Seokjin nods and lifts one of the legs of the loose pants he’s wearing. By his mid-thigh, an old scar marks his skin in the shape of a half moon the size of his palm.

“I got that one against a boar,” he says. “Best ribs I’ve eaten in my life.”

Their eyes meet for a moment, and Namjoon is not sure what the omega expects of him but he barks out a laugh. 

“I still use that bear’s pelt on my bed during winter,” he says, and Seokjin smiles.

What the fuck am I doing?

Seokjin cracks his fingers in a weak attempt to release some tension. He’s eating with the alphas again. Some rice porridge that looks awful but tastes delicious. Yoongi has to be the first alpha he meets that can actually cook.

I should go.

The Big River is right there. If he crosses it, neither his betrothed nor his sire could ever find him. He’d be free, but… to go where ? He can survive on his own, he knows he can, but is that what he really wants? To be a lone wolf for the rest of his life? That doesn’t sound very attractive, but wherever he goes he’d have to submit to an alpha, and he sure as hell doesn’t want that.

So what are his options?

Hoseok’s and Jimin’s loud laughter brings him back to the circle around the fire. It’s not hard to throw his worries to the back of his mind and let himself be wrapped by the easygoing atmosphere these alphas create. 

“I’m not showing you my butt, Jimin-ah,” Yoongi grumbles. “I’m dealing with the blisters myself.”

“You don’t have blisters, hyung,” Namjoon laughs. “Stop being so dramatic.”

“Blisters or not, I’m not riding an entire day again, Joon-ah.”

“I must second that,” Hoseok sighs, looking up to the sky. “We should cross the river and take a proper rest. A month would be nice.” 

The other alphas hum, a longing sweetness swirling in their scents. As if a month of rest was a dream they can’t afford.

“Maybe if we go back after summer ends Mayor-nim will be less mad,” Jimin says, his voice hopeful.

“He’ll be mad regardless of the season, Jimin-ah,” Namjoon says, putting a comforting hand on Jimin’s shoulder.

It’s none of his business, but from their conversations, Seokjin can assume that their trip is not a casual one. They were sent by their pack alpha on a mission, and it seems like they failed.   

“We won’t take that long though, right?” Yoongi asks after counting with his fingers. There’s at least two more moons until summer.

“Spring just started, hyung,” Namjoon assures him. “We should be there before it ends.”

“Your mate is pregnant.” The thought springs in his mind and goes right through his lips. 

Hoseok said that about Yoongi the last time they sat around the fire, as if having a pregnant omega back home would make him less of a threat to Seokjin’s virtue. Among the forest wolves that doesn’t mean much, but it seems like it does for these alphas, because his words bring about a tense silence.

“Tae is not my mate,” Yoongi says, rubbing his temple as if the topic gave him a headache.

“He’s carrying your pup…” Isn’t that the same? Seokjin frowns. “You’re not claiming them?”

“It’s not that he doesn’t want them…” Jimin says, looking between Seokjin and Yoongi, who’s just lowering his head. 

“We’re not allowed to mate,” Namjoon explains. “We don’t have a clan, so we’re not a proper match for anyone.”

“What do you mean?” Seokjin is even more confused now. “You seem like capable alphas.”

“We are.” Hoseok chuckles. “But it’s the law. As servants, we can’t mate or have children.”

“But then…” Seokjin looks at Yoongi, who seems to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“The moment someone finds out Tae’s child is mine, I’ll be demoted to…” Yoongi looks around, as if he was surrounded by the awful possibilities. “Fuck if I know, sewer cleaning or some shit like that.”

“That is if his father doesn’t ask for your head,” Hoseok mutters and winces, as if he regretted saying those words. 

“Thanks, Hoseok-ah.” Yoongi rolls his eyes. “That makes me feel much better.”

“Sorry, hyung.”

“What about… Tae?” Seokjin asks. He doesn’t understand stone wolves’ nonsensical laws, but he’s curious about where omegas stand in them. “What happens to him?”

“He’ll be fine,” Yoongi says, and a sad light takes over his eyes. “His clan is powerful, and he’s his father’s firstborn, so he’ll be fine. He’s supposed to mate with someone convenient, he has a lot of clan alphas wanting to court him . His options will be more limited now, but someone will take him for sure–”

Seokjin huffs. Just when he was beginning to believe they were decent. 

“So you ruin him and then leave him to the highest bidder,” Seokjin says, not even trying to hold back the disgust that takes over his face.

Yoongi’s expression sours, but he doesn’t say anything.

“It’s not like that!” Jimin frowns at Yoongi for not defending himself. “They love each other. Hyung would take him if he could, but… it’s complicated.”

“I did ruin his life, though.” Yoongi lets out a sad chuckle. “I knew I would, and I still… The best I can do for him now is letting him go.”

As if the omega had no say in the turns of his life. Seokjin knows he’s poking at an open wound, but he’s never known when to fucking stop.

“He chose you for a reason,” Seokjin says. “Don’t let him down.” 

“What do you know anyway?” Yoongi’s face barely shows any emotion, but his scent sharpens with a dark edge.

Seokjin shrugs, he refuses to back down. 

“That’s all omegas want,” he says, “for the alphas in their lives to not let them down.” 

He knows he crossed a line, but he also knows he’s right. 

“Is that what happened to you?” Hoseok asks carefully, as if he sensed that he’s stepping towards another line but wanted to even out the ground. After all, it’s only fair.

“Yes,” Seokjin says with a sad smile. “My sire let me down. He gave me away to someone convenient. I thought that only happened in the wild.”

“Sadly, no,” Namjoon mutters, and there’s a shadow of shame in his eyes, as if he was personally responsible for all alphas’ sins.

“It is how it is, I guess.” Seokjin shrugs, but indifference is hard to feign. 

He’s seen it happen so many times. Damn, he was born from an arrangement like that, but he was foolish and thought it wouldn’t happen to him. That he was different, that someone would intervene. 

Silence stretches uncomfortably around the fire, sucking up the oxygen and making Seokjin aware of every beat of his heart. There are questions still hanging over his head, but the alphas are too kind to ask them. 

Or maybe not.

“So? What happened then?” Yoongi tilts his head, his voice is cold. “Did you kill them all and then ran away?” 

“Hyung!” 

Yoongi ignores the warning glares the others throw at him. Seokjin just looks at him, he’s looked down at so many hurt alphas before.

“How did you end up with an arrow on your back?”

“You don’t need to answer,” Namjoon assures him, but Yoongi snorts.

“What do you mean? He could be a fugitive murderer for all we know.”

Namjoon opens his mouth to cut the whole discussion off, but Seokjin has no problem with telling the truth.

“I wish I had, but I didn’t go that far,” he says. “I escaped before the mating ceremony. My betrothed sent his guards after me, and they tried to stop me however they could. Can’t have their pack alpha looking like a fool that can’t hold a bitch down.”

“You were going to mate a pack alpha?” Jimin asks and looks at him as if Seokjin had revealed a new skin.

“An old one, yes. My sire is the head alpha of our pack, and I am his firstborn, so naturally, as an omega, I was meant to strengthen our pack through strategic mating, but…” He looks at his calloused hands and shrugs. “I’m not precisely an obedient omega. I’m not a bride, never wanted to be. I did everything I could to be useful to the pack in other ways. I thought my sire would see that, but…”

“He still sent you away,” Namjoon guesses.

“Yes, and he couldn’t choose a worse pack,” Seokjin grumbles, kicking a stick into the fire. “I mean, my sire’s pack is traditional, but the one I was being mated into… They're downright brutes.” He shakes his head. “I would have been nothing but a ragdoll to fuck and a womb to breed–”  

It’s suddenly too much. Putting the fear and the pain of the past days into words is more than he can handle. More than he can handle without breaking.

“Excuse me,” he mutters and doesn’t wait for an answer before turning around and shifting away from the pain in his chest.

“You should go see if he’s alright,” Hoseok whispers in the wake of Seokjin’s departure.

It startled them all. The tension with Yoongi had passed, and Seokjin was seemingly fine sharing his story. Until he suddenly wasn’t. He changed forms in a blink and disappeared in the darkness.

“He seemed pretty shaken,” Jimin mutters.

“He literally ran for his life just yesterday,” Hoseok takes a deep breath. “Anyone would be shaken.”

“You’re right. I should go–”

“Do you want to get another bite?” Yoongi huffs. “Let that omega be.”

“He’s hurt,” Namjoon says. He can still taste the raw pain bittering Seokjin’s scent in the back of his throat. “And he’s not safe yet.” Namjoon stands up and picks up the clothes Seokjin’s wolf kicked off. “I’ll find him and I’ll tell him he can come with us.”

“What?” Yoongi grumbles. “Hell no.” 

“Don’t be petty, Yoongi-hyung,” Jimin slaps Yoongi’s shoulder. “Just a couple of hours ago you were saying that he was cool.”

“Lies,” Yoongi says and before Jimin can start arguing and slapping him again, he adds, “I said that he seemed like everything Taehyung wants to be.” 

Yoongi sighs, he opens his mouth to speak again but reconsiders it. He’s grumpy, especially with anything Taehyung related, but he’s never been mean. 

“Go,” he says. “Bring him back.”

Namjoon doesn’t stay any longer.

Fortunately, finding Seokjin is not too hard. His scent left an unmistakable trail in the otherwise undisturbed meadow. Namjoon steps carefully but lets his presence be known, not wanting to scare the omega. When he finally finds him, he stops at a respectful distance.

Seokjin is curled up on himself between two lush bushes, his snout tucked under his paws, as if he was hiding from the world. It’s an adorable sight, but there’s a cloud of sadness wrapping the omega. 

“Are you alright?” Namjoon speaks softly.

Seokjin lets out a little whimper and raises his head. His posture speaks of trust, so Namjoon walks a little closer.

“I brought the clothes, if you want to talk,” Namjoon says, venturing a little smile as he holds the clothes up.

After a moment of consideration, Seokjin stands up and walks towards him slowly. There’s a slight limp in his otherwise elegant pace, but he still exudes a kind of power that’s nothing but wild. Seokjin is certainly a beautiful wolf. His white coat contrasts with the dark ground like another beam of moonlight.

Namjoon wants to touch him, to feel if his fur is as soft as it looks, but he would end up with another bleeding bite for sure. He loses his chance to risk it. Seokjin grabs the clothes with his teeth and walks behind a tall bush to change.

Namjoon’s heart beats loud on his chest. He’s not sure what he should say or how to say it. Seokjin doesn’t seem like an omega who would appreciate comfort from an alpha. And he’s sure he left just because he didn’t want to cry in front of them. Maybe coming after him wasn’t a good idea, but since he didn’t bark him away, he’ll take the chance. 

“I’m sorry,” Seokjin says as soon as he comes back on two feet. 

Namjoon tilts his head, confused. “Why? You’ve done nothing–”

Seokjin shakes his head. “I shouldn’t have been so rude to Yoongi. I was out of line.”

Oh. 

He’s looking away, arms crossed and posture tense. Maybe he doesn’t want to talk about himself. Maybe he revealed more than intended. Maybe Namjoon is just overthinking. In any case, he’ll let Seokjin set the tone. 

“He won’t hold it against you,” Namjoon starts but doesn’t know how to continue. Seokjin didn’t say anything Yoongi’s sister hadn’t told him before. In fact, Seokjin was a lot kinder than Yoonji. But the situation is more complicated than just doing the right thing. “He already beats himself enough for that situation, so we try not to poke that wound even more.”

Seokjin nods, and after a few beats of silence, he drops himself to the ground, wrapping his arms around his legs and hugging them close to his chest. His forehead touches his knees, and a sigh relaxes his shoulders. 

This is just another expression of the position adopted by the white wolf he found moments ago, and Namjoon marvels at the duality. Two sides of the same soul, the elders say.

“You must think I’m just an ungrateful bitch,” Seokjin mutters.

“I think you’ve been through a lot,” Namjoon says and sits down too. The night is so quiet that Seokjin feels a lot closer than the handful of feet between them. “We didn’t help you because we were after something. You don’t owe us anything.”

“But you helped me,” Seokjin insists. “And I keep biting your hand.”

Namjoon chuckles. “I wouldn’t expect you to lick it either.”

Seokjin turns his face towards him slightly; there’s a smile curling his lips. “I wouldn’t.”

Namjoon nods. “See? I knew that.”

“I am grateful, though,” Seokjin says. “I wouldn’t have made it out of the woods without you.”

Namjoon knows he means ‘you’ as in the four of them, but there’s a part of him – the dumb alpha part of him – whose chest swells with pride at winning the omega’s favor.

“Come with us,” he says, without preamble.

Seokjin raises his head, his eyes unreadable. “To your town?”

“Wherever. I mean,” Namjoon clears his throat, trying not to show his eagerness. “Travel with us. Until you find a place to call home.”

Seokjin stares at him for ten excruciating beats of his heart. Namjoon counts every one of them, seized by the spell in the amber of Seokjin’s eyes. He’s searching beyond Namjoon’s dark eyes for something that can’t be seen but needs to be trusted. Once he finds it, Seokjin nods.

Namjoon’s chest fills with a warm cloud of relief; the meadow around him comes back to life with its subtle sounds and movements.

“I’ll go,” Seokjin starts softly, and Namjoon’s world stills once again. After a moment of consideration, Seokjin adds, “but no more horse riding. I’ve heard enough about blisters, and I don’t want them.” 

Namjoon chuckles. “Fair enough.” 

Heat and a drop of disappointment bubbles up his neck, but Seokjin looks up to the sky right on time. Maybe out of mercy so Namjoon can’t blush in private. 

When the silence stretches beyond comfort, Namjoon clears his throat and stands up.

“You can sleep in one of the tents tonight,” he says, his voice a bit strangled. “Two of us will stay up through the night just in case.”

Why is he so damn nervous ? He’s offering a tent to a guest traveler, nothing more. Of course it would be his tent, but Seokjin doesn’t need to know that, or why that’s so important to Namjoon. Not that he knows either. 

Focus.

“That’s very kind, but I’d rather, um…” 

When he looks at Seokjin, he sees him gesturing awkwardly to his surroundings. The light is minimal, but the thickening of his scent confirms the faint blush Namjoon can make out in the omega’s face. Oh no. He’s making Seokjin uncomfortable, shit.

“It’s alright,” he rushes to say, just as Seokjin adds, “I’ll sleep here.”

“As you wish, of course,” Namjoon fidgets with the clasp of his cloak. “Won’t you be cold, though? I can lend you my cloak–”

“Don’t worry,” Seokjin says, and that amused light is back to his eyes, as if he knew. “I have a thick coat of natural fur, remember? I’ll be fine.” 

“Right.” Namjoon clears his throat yet again. “You know where to find us then.”

“Yes.” Seokjin stands up and bows slightly. “Thank you.”

Namjoon returns the bow and runs away before he can do something stupid. (Like listening to his dumb alpha instincts and scenting the omega goodnight.) 

The sun is teasing the horizon with a faint orange glow when Seokjin returns to the camp. The alphas are already picking it up, and he’s received by yawns and sleepy eyes. He offers his help, but the instruction he gets is a bag of potatoes from Hoseok. 

“Where should I–?” Before he can finish the question, Jimin comes, takes the bag from him, and hands him a metal cup with warm water.

“Drink some,” he says, with a gravelly voice, and leaves. 

Seokjin takes a sip, and as he lowers the cup, he meets a frowning Yoongi.

“Yah, don’t drink it all,” Yoongi says and changes the cup in Seokjin’s hand for a piece of nurungji without another word. Seokjin takes it as a peace offering. 

They take the road heading towards the Big River accompanied by the first rays of sunshine. They move slowly at first, but their feet begin to pick up the pace as they wake up. 

“They’re all female,” Seokjin comments when they’ve been walking for almost an hour and no one has said a word.

Honoring their agreement, Namjoon proposed to the others that they should walk for the day. No one opposed, so the alphas are pulling their horses by the reins instead of riding them. 

Seokjin is now walking between Hoseok’s and Jimin’s mares, and he wonders if they did it on purpose or if it just happened, but he’s right in the middle of the procession, with Namjoon on the front and Yoongi closing it. It’s the safest spot without a doubt.

“It’s because they’re more agreeable,” Hoseok says and chuckles. “Males bristle as soon as we approach.”

“They’re in love with us,” Jimin croons, hugging his horse and rubbing his forehead on her neck.

Yoongi snorts. “Creep.”

“You’re the one who talks to Auntie as if she was a baby!”

“Right, we haven’t formally introduced you!” Hoseok says over the bickering of the other two. He beckons Seokjin closer and hooks their arms together. “So, Sweetheart and Auntie are sisters,” Hoseok explains, pointing at the horses Namjoon and Yoongi are guiding respectively. “Sweetie had a foal the same year Auntie was born, hence the name. They’re purebreds but didn’t make the cut for the Mayor’s clan’s stables.”

“They’re beautiful,” Seokjin mutters. Horses are not a common sight in the woods; Seokjin had only seen a few pulling the carts of traveling merchants, but none like the shiny brown mares, bigger and somehow prouder than the other two. 

“Mine is called Pepper,” Hoseok continues, smiling at the black mare walking by his side. “She’s practically a granny but can beat these girls in a race any day.” There’s a murmur of agreement from the other alphas, and Hoseok giggles. “And last but not least, we have Cloud.” He gestures towards Jimin’s horse, a dark brown mare with a few white spots. “She’s the youngest, just like Jiminie.”

“Oh.” Up until now, Seokjin hadn’t thought about their ages. Judging by the honorifics they use, Yoongi is the oldest, and he wonders how close they are in age. 

“Speaking of…” Jimin catches up to them with a glint of mischief in his eyes. “How old are you, Seokjin-ssi?”

Seokjin doesn’t know what that honorific means. Back in his pack, they only used those denoting age difference, but he guesses they keep using it because they don’t know his age.

“Um, I turned twenty-nine this past autumn,” he says and frowns when Jimin and Hoseok let out a cheer and shake each other’s hand. “What?”

“As we move forward in this trip, you’ll realize that these guys are just overgrown children,” Namjoon explains from the front without turning around. “They communicate and make decisions through games. Their life is organized in prices and punishments.”

Yoongi huffs. “As if it wasn’t you who proposes rock-paper-scissors for everything.”

Hoseok dismisses the last two comments with a gesture of his hands. “We were wondering if you were older than Yoongi-hyung or not. He was sure you weren’t, and we told him that he would have to catch fish for dinner today if he was wrong.” 

Seokjin looks from a snickering Hoseok to a frowny Yoongi. “So, am I older than you or not?”

“I turned twenty-nine by the end of winter,” Yoongi grumbles.

By just a little . Still, the knowledge brings a smile to his face.

“We should all call you hyung then,” Jimin says, a devilish smile on his face.

Seokjin feels his ears warming up, but he nods nonetheless. “If you want.”

“I turned twenty-eight this winter,” Hoseok says, always helpful. “Namjoonie will too this autumn. And Jiminie is twenty-six.”

Seokjin smiles at Jimin, who’s batting his eyelashes trying to act cute. Even without knowing their ages, he would have known Jimin was the youngest brother. He’d recognize the spoiled attitude anywhere.

“Do you have siblings?” Hoseok asks, and Seokjin can’t help a wave of sadness.

“One,” he says through the ache of his heart. “A brother. He’s younger than Jimin.”

Seokjin knows that the guys sense that there’s more to be said, but fortunately Namjoon chooses that moment to call their attention.

“I can see the river!” Namjoon announces, and Seokjin breathes out his relief. Thinking about his baby brother is what has hurt him the most since the announcement of his engagement. 

With a deep breath, he sends all thoughts of Jungkook to the back of his mind.

“We want two juicy fish each, hyung,” Jimin says from his comfortable position under a tree. He and Hoseok are resting in the shade, while Yoongi is standing by the shore with an improvised rod waiting patiently.

“I’ll see if I can find a few crabs,” Namjoon adds, stepping carefully between the slippery rocks. 

It’s way past noon, but they made it to the river without any incidents. They found a nice spot by the river, with enough grass for the horses, shade for them and a natural pool, where Seokjin is currently floating.

“We’ll grow old before any fish takes that bait here,” Seokjin comments from the water. 

“Oh, yeah?” Yoongi doesn’t look away from the thread dipping in the river, but his tone reveals his annoyance. “And why is that?”

“These are still wild fishes.” It’s hard to tell if Seokjin is teasing or not. “They won’t fall for that crap.”

Yoongi grunts, holding back any biting words. Namjoon looks at Jimin and Hoseok and snickers with them.

“How would you do it?” Namjoon asks, standing up as Seokjin too gets on his feet.

“The wild way, of course,” he says with a smug smile.

Seokjin crouches so the water covers him up to his shoulders and shrugs off his clothes, but before Namjoon can even get surprised, the white wolf takes Seokjin place. He swims out of the pool and jumps upstream to a little slope where sometimes fish fly out of the water and into the current again.

At first Namjoon is smiling, but after a while he’s laughing out of endearment. More than catching fish, it seems as if Seokjin was playing around, like a pup catching the embers of the fire. It’s lovely, but then he catches a fish.

“Woah!”

The white wolf makes a gesture at him, a little growling sound, and Namjoon gets the message, but Jimin is faster. He runs into the river and takes the fish Seokjin bit right in the middle. 

“That’s so cool, hyung!” Jimin cheers.

Soon the first caught fish is joined by a second and then a third.

“I gotta give it to you,” Yoongi admits, joining Seokjin after sharpening the edge of the stick he was using as a rod now transformed into a spear. “This is a convenient position.”

Yoongi makes it on his third try, and Seokjin barks at him, jumping around and spraying him with water. Catching fish eventually turns into a play of tag, with Jimin running after Seokjin and Hoseok being pushed into the water, all the while Yoongi keeps spearing fish out of the river.

Namjoon watches them from the shore, his chest full of a warm feeling and an endeared smile plastered to his lips. If this was his pack, he’d live a happy life.

“I’ll get the fire started,” he says, even though they’re too far away to hear him. 

“No, hyung, come here!” Jimin calls, but even from afar, Namjoon can tell that his intentions are wicked. 

Namjoon prepares himself to fight for his life, but Seokjin gets Jimin before he can come out of the river. Jimin ends up ass-first on the water.

“Thanks!” he waves at the white wolf and busies himself with the fire.

Namjoon is blowing the little flames into a good cooking fire when Yoongi comes back to the shore, all drenched but with a bucket full of fish.

“Two each and then some,” he says, sitting by the fire to rest for a moment.

“Quit it, you two!” Hoseok comes out of the river drenched too, smacking the air at Jimin and Seokjin, who were sneaking behind him. “I’ll make some rice!” he announces, as if to end the chase.

Seokjin lets out a small howl and jumps back to the river followed by Jimin. 

Namjoon, Yoongi and Hoseok prepare the meal with Jimin’s shrieks and Seokjin’s barks in the background. When the smell of roasted fish begins to swirl in the air, Jimin crawls back to the shore, exhausted but with a happy glow on his face.

“I’ll clean up,” he says and sprawls in the sunlight to dry up.

Namjoon looks around, searching for Seokjin, but the white wolf is already skipping towards him, dripping water from his fur. For a moment, Namjoon thinks he’s approaching with mischievous intentions, but then he notices Seokjin brings something between his teeth. He puts it gently on Namjoon’s thigh and sits by his side. 

“What–?” Namjoon giggles as a crab tickles his leg in its efforts to escape. “Thank you,” he says, grabbing the little creature and letting it crawl from one of his hands to the other.

Seokjin lets out a happy bark and jumps to his feet, spraying water all over Namjoon when he turns around to leave. Namjoon only smiles as Hoseok, Jimin and Yoongi laugh.

After fishing his discarded clothes from the pool, Seokjin comes back on two feet and sits by his side, as Hoseok begins to serve the rice and Yoongi passes the first two roasted fishes.

“It’s getting cold. I could lend you some dry clothes,” Namjoon says and hopes his scent doesn’t betray his true intentions.

He was the tiniest bit upset when Seokjin got in the water with his clothes, knowing that the last of his own scent lingering in them will be washed away. 

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do, alpha, ” Seokjin says. There’s a smirk on his face, but his eyes are on the potatoes roasting by the fire.

“I–” The crab falls from his hands, and Namjoon lets it escape. “No, I wasn’t– I mean, I didn’t–”

“It’s alright,” Seokjin chuckles. “You can’t help it,” he says, and after throwing an amused glance at him, he picks the potatoes and begins to peel them for the others.

Can’t help it?

Namjoon feels seriously tempted to jump head first into the river.

They spend more of the afternoon by the river than initially planned, but eventually they continue their journey, aiming to walk as much as possible before the sun goes down. The posts of the bridge are already in sight, so reaching the crossing shouldn’t take them long.

“Just a quick look, hyung,” Jimin says, stepping in front of him and walking backwards. “You got wet and moved a lot.”

Jimin began to fuss about his wound right after they finished eating, and although Seokjin has told him not to worry about it, he keeps insisting. 

“It’s fine,” he says for the hundredth time. “I’m fine, alright?”

“At least let me put a clean bandage on you,” Jimin says and pouts, as if that would persuade Seokjin.

He rolls his eyes; that’s a mean pout. Still. “Do you smell any blood? I don’t need a bandage anymore, let that shit scar in peace.”

Someone moves behind him and he hears a sniff right by his left ear. 

“There’s no trace of blood or Joonie in his scent, I can confirm that.”

Hoseok jumps back in time to dodge Seokjin’s slap. Seokjin narrows his eyes at the snickering alpha. He’s pulling both Pepper and Cloud and closing the procession. Yoongi went ahead with Auntie to scout the terrain.  

“Here’s another benefit of regular shifting,” Seokjin says, and even Namjoon turns around to hear. “You heal faster.”

He shrugs the neckline of the shirt down his shoulder and turns around so the others can see his wound already covered by scar tissue.

There’s a murmur of surprise, and Jimin holds his hands up in surrender.

“Alright, you win,” he says. “I’m glad to see you healed well,” 

“Thank you for your kind treatment so far,” Seokjin says and bows his head to Jimin. “Although it was not necessary–”

Jimin gasps and touches his chest. “You hurt me.”

He seems to recover quickly, though, because he skips forward and hangs off Namjoon’s shoulders. 

“Now you know what you gotta do, hyung. Shift a couple of times before that bite gets infected.” 

A pinch of guilt tugs at his chest. “Is it… getting infected?”

“No, it’s just Jimin exaggerating,” Namjoon says. “I’ll be fine in a week top–”

The hooves of a horse hitting the ground interrupts Namjoon, and everyone tenses when they see Yoongi coming back at all speed.

“What’s going on?”

“There are wolves waiting on the other side of the bridge,” Yoongi says.

Everyone’s eyes turn to Seokjin.

The cold of the dying afternoon seeps into his skin, as the illusion of safety breaks over his head. “As in…?”

“As in there are people, merchants and town guards, and there’s also a group of around six wolves waiting on the other side.”

“I see.”

“How did they get there before us?” Jimin asks.

“There’s another crossing at the edge of their territory,” Seokjin says, the fact only dawning on him now. “They must have headed straight there after losing us.”

“Why are they there though?” Hoseok frowns. “I mean, why wait out of their territory when they could have hunted us?”

“I guess, they’re not complete idiots.” Seokjin sighs. “They won’t risk a fight with stone wolves when they can just assert their rights of property.” He wants to punch something, his hands shake out of rage. “Even though the ceremony didn’t go through, I belong to their pack alpha from the moment my sire agreed to our engagement. They’ll let you go but not me.”

The air buzzes with the outrage that spurts on the alphas' scent.

“Did they see you?” Namjoon asks Yoongi, his voice practically a growl.

“Of course not,” Yoongi grunts. “There are trees covering the road up to the bridge on this side.”

Namjoon draws in a calming breath and turns to him. “Would you mind a little more horse riding?”

“I–” Seokjin feels at a loss for words. “You can go. Tell them I ran away–”

“When I asked you to come with us, I meant it,” Namjoon says. “Until you find a place to call home, remember?”

“But…” Seokjin shakes his head. He doesn’t want to cause them any inconvenience, make them lose time with a detour. “It’s not fair–”

“We were aiming for the West Road anyway,” Yoongi says with a casual shrug. “Getting on the other side of the river soon was desirable, but the mountain crossing works fine for us too.”

“What?” Seokjin looks from one alpha to the next.

He always thought they lived in the valley at the other side of the river. The West Road goes up north, to the Han River and the big cities around it.

“Didn’t we tell you?” Hoseok asks with a smirk. “We come from the Capital.”  

Seoul, the first pack town. The Capital. These are not just some stone wolves. These are the stone wolves.

Chapter Text

Seokjin squeezes his hands to suppress the tremor in them. 

“Such pretty hair…” Cold fingers card down the length of his hair. “We can’t do anything about the sides, though.”

The omegas working around him murmur their agreement. They’ve been kind to him since the moment Seokjin was handed to them for the ceremony preparations. Too kind maybe, as if they were grateful that it’s Seokjin, a stranger, who’s being taken by their pack alpha in their place.

“Look up, darling,” one of the young ones says, pushing Seokjin’s chin up with a gentle finger. “You’re so beautiful,” she whispers, and Seokjin can see the smallest speck of pity in her brown eyes. 

She applies something sweet on his lips and instructs him to press his lips together to spread it. 

“I don’t think he needs the powder. His skin is naturally fair,” the omega says, touching Seokjin’s cheeks softly.

“Good, because I'm using it all to cover up this emblem,” an older omega says, not as kindly as the others. She seemed personally offended by the clan tattoo on Seokjin’s shoulder when they undressed him for the bath. 

“What were you thinking?” the omega grunts, applying powder to his skin with vengeance. 

“Omegas take them in the mountains,” Seokjin mutters, unable to hold back.

“Yeah, but you were born in the heart of the forest.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes. 

The door of the cabin opens, and a new omega enters, along with a cold stream of air. Seokjin shivers. He’s naked; the omegas bathed him and let him dry in the cold room before smearing oils on his skin. After that was done, they started with the makeup, while another one tried to work miracles with his hair. 

The style for a mating ceremony is a braided bun at the back of the head, but Seokjin’s hair is too short on the top, his sides are shaved, and the long strands at the back are not enough for it to work.

“I brought the furs,” the newcomer says, sorting through the different furs in her arms. “Unattempted?”

“Yes,” one of the omegas answers, and Seokjin feels heat rising up his neck. The fact that they had a whole discussion about his virtue as if he wasn’t right there a few hours ago will probably haunt him forever.

“Did you check?”

“There’s no need for that–” Seokjin starts with a strangled voice, just as the omega covering his tattoo grunts, “Scents don’t lie.”

Seokjin lets out a relieved breath. The omega with the furs pulls out a pristine white cloak from the pile and hands it to one of the others, who puts it over Seokjin’s shoulders. Despite the excruciating situation, Seokjin appreciates the warmth that immediately wraps around him. The beautiful piece is carefully crafted: white fur around the neck connecting seamlessly with the heavy wool cloak, long to the ground.

“Stand up,” the omega orders after leaving the other furs on a table nearby. Her tone makes his instincts bristle, but Seokjin obeys quietly, saving his energy for the real battle. “You couldn’t do anything better with the hair?”  

Murmured excuses come from behind Seokjin, and he seizes the chance to throw his shoulders back and raise his chin proudly. He’s at least a head taller than all the omegas in the cabin.

“I’m ready,” he says, and the omega bows her head reluctantly, her eyes full of contempt when she raises them again.

“Follow me.”

As he steps out of the preparation cabin, Seokjin lets the cold earth under his feet ground him. He clenches his jaw and keeps his eyes on the front, back straight. The whole pack has gathered in the streets to see him, to cheer for their pack alpha’s engagement. There’s a celebration, there will be a feast too, but that ceremony doesn’t include him. It will go on for the whole night, while Seokjin’s waits in the pack alpha’s private rooms; in his bed. Then, at dawn, his betrothed will go to his cabin and take his bride until they can meet the full moon as a mated couple.

His stomach turns at the mere thought. At least his sire sent him after his winter heat. His mind is not clogged by biological imperatives, but that just leaves him in the dilemma between duty and his personal desires. He’s still unsure of what will prevail. 

They reach the center of the pack: his betrothed is sat in front of his cabin in some sort of throne, a line of strong alphas behind him. The old alpha is clapping at the people dancing around a big fire at the heart of the festivities, cheers and laughter complement the music swirling around the flames. 

The music ends when they notice his arrival and all eyes fix on him. Seokjin can’t breathe.

An elder starts the ceremony, but Seokjin barely hears the words. White noise fills his ears as he stares at the pleased smile on his betrothed’s face, half hidden by a gray beard. His eyes are lustful and mean, and Seokjin feels them as a clammy grip on his throat.

“Go inside, omega,” the elder says, snapping Seokjin out of the bubble of terror closing around him.

Drawing in a shaky breath, Seokjin moves forward.

“ Hyung ?”

Seokjin wakes up with a gasp. His heart is still beating hard in his chest from the vivid memory his mind decided to show him. He takes a deep breath, and his lungs fill with Namjoon’s comforting scent. Seokjin hums and rubs his cheek against the warmth beneath it.

Wait.

Namjoon has a hold on his wrists, probably the only reason why Seokjin didn’t fall off the horse after falling asleep on him. He’s practically hugging Namjoon from behind, his cheek pressed against the alpha’s back.

“Are you alright?” Namjoon asks in a soft voice, squeezing his wrists gently.

“Y-yeah.” Seokjin clears his throat and pulls back, retrieving his hands. “Where are we?”

Namjoon straightens his posture and pulls Sweetheart to a stop. “At the mountain crossing. Almost.”

Indeed, the posts of the bridge are visible between the trees ahead.

“Oh.” 

He must have dozed off at some point. He remembers the evening closing in on them, the sky turning dark as they raced up the mountain, now moonlight is bathing everything around with a silver glow. The breeze is icy cold up here, as if they had stepped back into winter. A shiver makes him lean closer to Namjoon.

“Why did we stop? Is there a problem?”

“No…”

“What is it?” He can’t see Namjoon’s face, but his hesitation doesn’t bode well. 

“There are guards on the other side of the bridge,” Namjoon says. 

“As expected…” Seokjin frowns.

“They will ask for our passes.”

“And I don’t have one.” He looks around; the other alphas are halting their horses around them too. “So what? The road is neutral territory. I don't see the problem.”

“There is no problem,” Hoseok says. “Namjoon is just overthinking the situation.”

Seokjin frowns. “What do you mean?” 

“It won’t look good,” Namjoon says without turning.

What…? Oh . 

An unmated omega alone with four alphas? Anyone would be suspicious. Seokjin is not going against his will, that much is obvious, but then again… Many forest omegas throw themselves into the arms of travelers to get away from their birth packs. 

“I doubt border guards have any moral ground to judge,” Yoongi chuckles. “Let’s just go.”  

Namjoon shifts in the saddle, uncomfortable.

Seokjin sighs. Alphas and their pride.

“Who cares what they think? Let them make their assumptions.”

“Yeah, but–” 

“I’m sure there’s no fault in having a little fun on the road.”

“What?” Namjoon turns around as much as he can, but Seokjin is already dismounting.

“You heard me,” Seokjin says and chuckles when Namjoon averts his gaze as soon as their eyes meet. “I didn't know you were such a pup.”

“I'm not,” Namjoon mumbles, not helping his case much. 

Jimin snickers. “Joonie-hyung is going to blush.”

Seokjin looks at Namjoon, but his eyes are on the posts of the bridge ahead. It’s hard to tell in the moonlight, but his scent gives him away: It’s thickening with embarrassment. 

“Namjoon-ah,” he calls, and the casual addressing makes Namjoon look at him. “Give me your cloak.”

“My cloak?” Namjoon’s hands go to the clasp, and he narrows his eyes. “Why?”

Seokjin huffs. “I guess it can be someone else’s cloak–” 

Before he can turn around to any of the other alphas, Namjoon grunts, “Here.”

He takes off the garment, and Seokjin bites his lips to suppress a smile. Hoseok is not so kind and laughs out loud. 

“What?” Namjoon glares at Hoseok. “My scent is already on him after riding together all night. I doubt he wants to have a collection of scents on him.”

It should bother him. It would bother him if it was anyone else, but he can only feel endeared by Namjoon being so invested in his circumstantial claim. Seokjin doubts he’s even conscious of the meaning of his actions. He’s just trying to be courteous. 

“Alright, I’ll put this on and stay quiet,” Seokjin says, putting on the cloak and pulling the hood over his flashy hair. “Let them think whatever they may. If you think about it, the worse they think, the better.”

Yoongi chuckles. “And why’s that?”

“Because the wolves after me will eventually realize that we came here, and if they happen to come and ask those guards about me, they might actually give up if they hear I’m your bitch now.”

Namjoon sputters some sort of excuse, as Hoseok and Jimin cackle.

“Please, don’t tell me my wild language offends you.” Seokjin chuckles. “I’ve heard some stories from the Capital.”

“Whatever,” Namjoon grunts. “Let’s just go.”

Seokjin stretches his hand to Namjoon, and the alpha sighs before taking it and helping him mount again. On the front this time.

Namjoon makes a click with his tongue and Sweetheart starts walking again.

He’s not comfortable, Seokjin can tell. He’s never met an alpha who cares so much about his reputation, and part of him feels guilty for messing with it. 

“One at a time!” comes a voice from the other side of the crossing when they reach the edge. 

The Big River flows at the bottom of a deep gorge here; the bridge is a narrow passage made of wood and ropes, extending for around sixty feet.

“I’ll go first,” Yoongi says and heads towards the bridge resolutely. 

The creak of the old wooden deck echoes in the quiet night with Auntie's first step.

“Shit, I don’t want to do this,” Hoseok whines under his breath. 

Jimin giggles. “Just don’t look down, hyung.”

Hoseok grunts and beckons Jimin forward. “After you then.”

“You’re going to like this, Hoseok-ah,” Yoongi chuckles, waving at them from the other side. 

The bridge swings side to side after horse and rider step out of it.

Jimin gulps. “Elders take the first bite–” 

“Cross that fucking bridge, Jimin-ah,” Hoseok hisses, and Cloud trots forward with the daring spirit of youth before Jimin can even protest.

After Jimin is on the other side, Hoseok has to do some heavy sweet talking to make Pepper step on the bridge. Maybe the mare senses Hoseok’s fear, or maybe they are truly soulmates, as Jimin likes to preach. Either way, Hoseok crosses the bridge after some inconvenient pauses in the hanging bridge.

Sweetheart moves forward then, and Seokjin can’t help but tense.  

“Um, you could…” Seokjin grabs one of Namjoon’s arms and wraps it around his own waist. 

“Don’t worry, it's safe,” Namjoon mutters, but he still passes the rein to his other hand and holds Seokjin close.

His stomach flips, and he’d rather blame the slight swinging of the bridge than the alpha’s big hand on his waist.

They make it to the other side after what feels like ages. Two armed stone wolves are waiting there. Seokjin lowers his head and makes himself look smaller, burrowing closer to Namjoon.

“Passes,” one of the guards says, and Namjoon hands him a folded piece of paper. The guard reads through it and gives it back.

Seokjin keeps his eyes on Sweetie’s dark mane but feels the gaze of the two guards on him.   

“Who is this?”

“A travel companion,” Namjoon says, voice flat. 

The guard chuckles. “You brought yourself a bitch from the wild?”

Seokjin purses his lips to the side. Ten years ago a comment like that would have been the start of a fight with Seokjin throwing the first punch. Now, he only squeezes Namjoon’s arm to stop the rumble of a growl in the alpha’s chest.

Namjoon clears his throat. “I'd rather you didn't use those terms.”

“I apologize,” the guard says, with a condescending nod. “Make sure your travel companion gets a temporary pass in the next town.”

“Will do,” Namjoon grunts and touches Sweetie’s side with his heel.

The mare lets out a huff and gallops away from the bridge and into the dark road, followed by the other three.

Once the crossing is behind them and the terrain is flat enough for the horses to be comfortable, they decide it’s time to rest. 

They divide in their usual tasks: Namjoon takes care of the horses, Yoongi lights a fire and prepares some food, and the other two set up the tents. After Seokjin offers his help, Yoongi hands him a bucket to search for fresh water. The omega comes back with the bucket full of snow that they melt to drink and wash their hands. 

When they finally sit around the fire, Yoongi distributes bowls with rice and leftover fish that they eat in tired silence. 

“It feels like winter here,” Hoseok comments, putting his empty bowl down and wrapping his cloak around his folded legs.

“If you want cuddles, you just have to ask, hyungie,” Jimin says, throwing his arm over Hoseok’s shoulders and giggling when Hoseok elbows his ribs.

Namjoon would be down for some extra heat, to be honest. He crosses his arms, trying to keep the warmth of the food within. Every blow of the wind sends a chill down his back, but Seokjin is still happily wrapped in his cloak: a little black mound with a long white braid. He would freeze to death before disturbing such a cute scene.

“Seokjinie-hyung also looks like he needs cuddles,” Jimin says, giving up on Hoseok and crawling towards Seokjin. 

Namjoon watches with hardly concealed annoyance how Jimin wraps himself around Seokjin and snuggles against him. Seokjin only rolls his eyes and smiles. Namjoon has to look away before he does something stupid like growling at Jimin.

Just as he’s done getting comfy, Jimin groans and moves away from the omega. “Your scent is all spoiled by Joonie-hyung’s,” he whines. 

Namjoon’s head whips back to the pair, his heart suddenly picking up at a thunderous pace.

“No offense,” Jimin says, giving Namjoon a candid smile. 

Namjoon ignores him, only caring about Seokjin’s reaction.

“Take it or leave it,” Seokjin says, closing the cloak even tighter around him. 

Well, at least he doesn’t seem mad. He asked for the cloak in the first place . Yeah, and his plan worked perfectly fine, with Namjoon’s unintentional help. It could be said that his honesty played the role everyone expected, and he can’t help but feel a bit like an idiot.

It was convenient. Why is he put on edge by the mere idea of people assuming he's got a claim on Seokjin? 

“Where are you sleeping, hyung?” Jimin asks out of nowhere, dispeling every thought in Namjoon’s head. “I can share my tent with you–”

Namjoon throws a glare at their youngest and swallows back a growl.

“Don’t push it, Jimin-ah,” Yoongi says, looking at him with amusement in his eyes.

Jimin shrugs, the smile on his face is the perfect imitation of innocence. “I’m just asking.”

“Sure you are,” Hoseok snickers.

Namjoon narrows his eyes at his friends, all suddenly feigning ignorance.

“Anyways, I’m going to sleep,” Yoongi announces. “Wake me up when it’s my turn to watch.”

He makes a weird combination of a wink and a smirk and goes to his tent. He always gets the last watch anyway.

Hoseok groans. “Rock-paper-scissors for the first watch? I’m exhausted.”

Jimin falls back to the ground and pretends to cry, while Namjoon brings his fist forward, resigned.

“I can watch, you know?” Seokjin says. “The rest of the night.”

Namjoon shakes his head. “That’s not fair–”

“I mean,” Seokjin continues, “I’ll sleep out here in wolf form anyway. If anything or anyone approaches, I’ll wake up right away and alert you. There’s no need for anyone to lose sleep.”

“You’ll sleep out here in the cold?” Jimin asks with a pout.

“ Please , this is not cold. Besides,” he steals a glance at Namjoon. “I have this.”

He raises his shoulders to his ears to show off the cloak. Namjoon looks down, trying to keep the satisfaction flooding his chest out of his expression. He’s not used to all these surges of alphaness. 

He takes a deep breath and raises his eyes to find Hoseok and Jimin looking at him with a question in their eyes.  

Namjoon clears his throat. “Are you sure?”

The look Seokjin throws at him has barely concealed exasperation behind. 

“Alright,” Namjoon holds appeasing hands up. “But do wake us up if anything happens, yeah?”

“Yes, alpha ,” Seokjin says, and Namjoon can’t tell if he’s teasing or not.

“Thanks, hyungie!” Jimin blows a kiss at Seokjin and runs into his tent. 

Hoseok thanks him too and leaves, then it’s just Namjoon and Seokjin.

For a moment they just stare at each other, the silence growing and weighing down any word that comes to Namjoon’s head.

“Rest well,” Seokjin whispers.

“Y-you too,” Namjoon answers and bows his head a little before skittering into his tent.

The sun is slowly rising to its highest point when the first of the alphas emerges from his tent.

“Good afternoon,” Seokjin says, and Yoongi’s frown morphs into a surprised expression.

“Is it really that late?” 

Seokjin chuckles. “I’m not sure,” he says with a shrug and nods at the pieces of roasted rabbit he’s been taking out of the fire. “Have some breakfast.”

“Where did this come from?” Yoongi frowns at Seokjin. 

“I went for an early morning hunt,” he says. 

Seokjin woke up to the sounds of little feet sneaking around the camp. He didn't even have to lose sight of the tents to get enough for breakfast. He then rummaged through the provisions Yoongi keeps for vegetables to make soup with the mushrooms growing all around. He’s currently stirring it, and it smells delicious. If he says so himself.

“What are you doing?” Yoongi asks, eyeing the soup curiously.

“Soup,” Seokjin chuckles. “It ain’t that hard, and these woods are full of rabbits coming out of their holes for spring.”

Yoongi grunts, his frown only softening a little. “You should have woken me.” 

“I didn’t want to bother you.” Seokjin shrugs. “You all haven’t slept much lately. I thought I’d just wait for the smell of food to lure you out of your dens.” 

Seokjin smiles when Yoongi takes a bite of rabbit and his frown finally melts.

“It's really good, thank you,” Yoongi mumbles through a mouthful of meat, and after swallowing, he adds, “That kind of subtlety doesn’t work with these guys, though.”

“I figured,” Seokjin says and breathes out a laugh. “Let's give them a little more time.”

He finishes the soup, while Yoongi eats in content silence. 

“Is that roasted rabbit?” Hoseok is the next to come out of his tent, his gaze fixed on the food cooking in the fire.

“Show your respects to our omega-hyung first,” Yoongi grumbles, slapping Hoseok’s hand before he can take a piece of rabbit.

“Seokjin-hyung cooked? Really?”

“Yah, why the surprise?” Seokjin feigns offense. “I’m a very good cook, actually.”

“Thank you for the food, hyung,” Hoseok says with a full waist-bended bow.

“Eat before it gets cold,” Seokjin says and pours a bowl of soup for the two alphas. “Should I really go wake the other two? Like…” He makes the gesture of shaking someone and looks at the still occupied tents. “Won’t they bite me off?”

“Jimin would probably pull you in,” Hoseok laughs, “He’s just a big pup.”

“Yeah, and Namjoon would bite our heads off,” Yoongi says. “ Our heads. Not yours. You should go and try.”

Yoongi hides a smile behind the bowl of soup, and Hoseok giggles. Seokjin is not sure how to answer. Namjoon has been nothing but kind and polite to him, and Seokjin is assuming that he’s the kind of alpha who likes to be gentle to omegas. But now that he thinks about it, he has no one to compare.

“He’s kind to me because I’m an omega and he can’t help it…” Seokjin trails off when he sees Hoseok and Yoongi sharing a knowing look. “He’s just a gentle alpha.”

Silence.

“Oh, come on,” Seokjin feels his ears warming. “He’s the kind of alpha dams love, isn't he? Like he's soft spoken and polite…”

Yoongi laughs.

“You’re just as dumb as he is, aren’t you?” Hoseok says, with something like endearment in his grin.

“What?”

Before they can answer, Namjoon comes out of his tent. 

He must have heard , Seokjin thinks, stealing a shy glance at the lead alpha. Namjoon bows his head to them and goes into Jimin’s tent. They hear a few murmurs, a growl and a whine, and then Namjoon comes out pulling a puffy eyed Jimin out. They sit around the fire and start eating after mumbling a couple of sleepy thanks.

“Jinie-hyung, did you hunt these rabbits the wild way too?” Jimin asks, taking a bite of rabbit.

“Well, in lack of a good bow...” Seokjin sees the chance of a safe topic and takes it. “You don’t carry any weapons?”

“We do,” Hoseok says and turns to Yoongi. “The only one that’s useful for hunting is hyung’s crossbow, though.”

“ Crossbow ?”

The alphas turn to him with surprised expressions.

“Some packs still use rocks in the wild, don’t look at me like that,” Seokjin chuckles.

“Oh, well,” Yoongi shrugs. “A crossbow isn’t that different from a regular bow, it’s just easier to shoot.”

“Admit it, hyung,” Jimin smiles mischievously, “you were just too lazy to learn the bow.”

“I can use a bow too, Jimin-ah, fuck you very much.”

As the oldest and the youngest begin their daily bickering session, Seokjin’s attention is requested by Hoseok, who shows him one of the blades they carry. 

One of the differences between the wild and the town packs is the forging of steel. Seokjin has only seen this kind of weapon hanging off the waists of traveling merchants. Hoseok assures him they’re all quite decent swordsmen and shows him a bunch of other stuff, like axes and arrowheads they have just in case . He seems to be in charge of them.

When they return to the fire, the others are finishing their food, so Seokjin gathers the empty bowls and stands up to rinse them.

“No, wait!” Namjoon stands up behind him and takes the bowls from his hands. “You already cooked. Let us clean.”

Seokjin smiles. “Alright.” 

He follows Namjoon to the bucket of water, with every intention of clearing the air between them. Namjoon has been stiff around him since the crossing, and Seokjin is coming to realize that he can’t stand that. It’s been just a couple days, but he already grew attached to Namjoon’s dimples. He needs them back.

But more than anything, he doesn't want to be a burden to the alpha who saved his life. 

“I’m sorry for stealing your cloak,” Seokjin starts, prodding for the source of Namjoon’s awkwardness. “I didn’t actually sleep on it, so don’t worry, my scent will go away soon. Omega’s scents are lighter, you know? They don’t linger for as long…” His words falter when a frown flashes over Namjoon’s face. 

“It’s alright,” he says, but he doesn’t seem like it. “You can keep it–”

“Namjoon.” 

The alpha shifts his attention from the bowls to him, and Seokjin loses half of the courage with his sharp gaze on him. He doesn’t know what to do with his attention, so his thoughts begin to spill out of his mouth. 

“I made you uncomfortable,” he says. “Tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it.”

“What? No, you–” Namjoon drops a bowl. He mutters a curse and leaves the rest on the ground. “You’ve done nothing wrong, Seokjin… I mean, hyung. Seokjin-hyung. It’s me, I mean–” He takes a deep breath and continues, “I’m terribly awkward with omegas.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, it’s just that half of the time…” Namjoon looks like a rabbit caught in a trap. “I don’t know how to act around you.” 

Seokjin presses his lips together to hold back a smile. Namjoon is cute when he fumbles with his words.

“Well, you don’t have to do anything special.” He raises his hand but stops himself before he can touch Namjoon’s arm. This is all about pushing boundaries after all.

Namjoon looks at him with round eyes, noticing the movement. 

Seokjin smiles apologetically. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why, but it’s easy to feel comfortable around you. I forget we just met.”

Namjoon chuckles and lowers his face shyly, his dimple cutely popping. Finally.

“It’s alright, um…” Namjoon swallows. “I feel the same. Close– I mean, you feel closer than we actually… are.” 

“Instinct is wise, you should–” Seokjin starts, but then it dawns on him, and heat begins to creep up his neck.

Instinct is wise, indeed. It shows the truth before the mind can twist it.

He gravitates towards Namjoon so naturally, and he has to admit that he finds him quite attractive. Maybe it’s the same for Namjoon, and Seokjin has no idea what to do with that realization.

Most of the alphas in his pack saw him as just another guy. He was used to that. He counted on that.

There’s no difference between pups while growing up, they were all a little wild together, but then Seokjin presented, and his omega scent made things awkward for a couple of years. When the novelty of an omega training and hunting alongside the young alphas finally wore off, everything went back to normal. 

He was one of the guys . Back in his pack, no one saw him as anything else. To the rest of the world, however, he’s an omega. An omega who doesn’t conform to the roles assigned to his biology, but an omega after all.

Namjoon has been nothing but respectful and kind, and Seokjin assumed that, as the lead alpha, his instincts told him to protect the omega amidst them, that he couldn’t help it. That he would eventually realize that Seokjin is just another guy. But maybe… 

Well, maybe he doesn’t mind. Omega guy or not, he is attracted to Seokjin.

“No,” he blurts, and Namjoon frowns. “I mean, you should listen to your inner wolf, but– Instinct… I mean–”

“Hyung?”

Seokjin takes a deep breath. “Things have been a bit confusing between us,” he says with a nervous chuckle. “It must be the sudden closeness, you know? Your scent on me, adrenaline, and all that. We should put some distance between us or else it’ll get even more confusing.”

“What?” Namjoon seems clueless at first but then mortification takes over his face. “Hyung, I–”

“It’s alright!” His face must be all red, a painful laugh escapes his lips. “Let’s just go back to the road soon, yeah?” 

He walks away before he can embarrass the two of them any further.

Stupid. 

Why did he do that? The omega in him is crying in despair. Distance? That's the least he wants with Namjoon!

He might as well get that crossbow thing and shoot himself on the feet.

“There’s a town just a couple of hours ahead,” Hoseok announces, checking the map. “Maybe less if the girls stretch their legs a little.”

They’re back on the road, walking at a lazy pace. 

After that odd chat with Seokjin, Namjoon suggested resuming the trip before they lost any more daylight, and so the camp was packed in a matter of minutes. Seokjin has been avoiding him at all costs. He even found his cloak folded on top of Sweetie’s saddle while loading her.

He doesn’t understand what happened, and it’s obvious that more conclusions were drawn in their heads than out loud. But it's not like he knew how to properly approach Seokjin to clear things out. He’ll let that rest for now or else he might say something he’ll regret later. 

He promised Seokjin a safe trip. That’s all he should focus on.

“Do you think there will be a sauna in that town?” Yoongi asks, stretching his arms up. “I’m in dire need of a bath and some relaxation.”

“Me too,” Jimin agrees. “And we could get Seokjinie-hyung some shoes.”

Namjoon feels as if the ground under his feet had disappeared. He never thought about that. 

“Oh, shit!” Hoseok seems horrified. “We’ve been walking for days, hyung!”

Seokjin laughs, dismissing the matter with a gesture of his hand. “I rarely wore shoes at home. I don’t mind, but I would like to get clothes that fit me.”

We should put some distance between us.

He wanted to die a little when Seokjin said that. The least he wanted was to make him uncomfortable with his stupid alpha behavior. Seokjin teased him about it, or at least Namjoon thinks he did. Now it seems like he prefers having clear boundaries. 

Namjoon prefers it that way too.

“Let’s ride, we have enough coin to sleep in an inn tonight,” Jimin says, and turns to Namjoon with his hands put together. “Say yes, Joonie-hyung, please…”

“Sure. I mean, if everyone agrees,” he says and steals a glance at Seokjin.

How much distance can there be if they ride together? Will he ride with someone else?

“Yeah, let’s go,” Yoongi says, getting on Auntie right away.

“Alright,” Hoseok says, mounting too. “Last one to make it to the gates invites the first drink.”

Yoongi and Jimin agree, but Namjoon turns to Seokjin.

“I could stretch my legs too,” Seokjin says, the tip of his ears turning pink.

“Hyung–” Jimin starts, but Seokjin is already shrugging off the sleeves of Namjoon’s shirt.

“Take them, please,” Seokjin tells no one in particular and shifts, wiggling off the clothes before storming off ahead.

“That's cheating!” Hoseok chuckles and clicks his tongue for Pepper to follow the white wolf in a light run.

Jimin looks at him and then at the clothes. As far as he knows, the guys don’t know about his conversation with Seokjin, but Jimin has always been very perceptive. 

Namjoon picks the clothes up before Jimin can offer. Requested distance aside, those are his clothes, and no other alpha should touch them. Seokjin will have to bear with his scent for just a little longer.

They make it to the town with the last lights of the day.

The familiar landscape of rice fields glinting gold in the sunset at both sides of the road is a comforting sight. Farming is one of the things that set them apart from the wild packs, at least in scale. 

People and wolves returning to their homes, however, is not a familiar sight at all. Even though the wild territories are on the side of the river they already left behind, these towns are still too close to the border. With plenty of migration from the wild packs and not a very strong enforcement of the laws dictated from the capital, these towns are a sort of blend between wild and… stone wolf customs.

“What’s wrong?” Yoongi asks, squinting their eyes at the road ahead.

At some point the four of them fell into pace and lost sight of Seokjin. Now they all meet again at the gates already closed for the night. 

Seokjin is sitting in the middle of the road, his tail swaying lazily from time to time; in front of him, there’s a line of tense wolves and one armed guard cutting the way.

“Good evening,” Namjoon says, getting off his horse and approaching the guard. “What’s the matter?”

“Unidentified wolves can’t enter after the last call,” the guard says. “The doors are closed.”

“Oh, we have passes, and he’s traveling with us,” Namjoon says, gesturing at Seokjin. “This is the first town we reach, so we haven’t been able to ask for a temporary pass for him. We’re heading to the capital.”

The guard chuckles, as if that didn’t impress him. “I’ll let him in since it’s just an omega,” he nods at Seokjin. “But you’re responsible for him until he gets a pass.”

“Thank you,” Namjoon says with a brief bow of his head.

“Welcome to Sinsang-ri,” the guard says and the line of wolves opens to let them pass.

Namjoon looks at Seokjin; the white wolf is still sitting on the road, his amber eyes fixed on the guard. There’s a quiet sort of rage coming out of him, and Namjoon wonders if they’re seconds away from disaster. 

“Seokjin,” he calls as firmly as he can without sounding commanding. 

The amber gaze turns to him, and after a few excruciating beats of his heart, the tension clears out, Seokjin stands up and lets out a little bark. 

“Let’s go, hyung.”

An impulse springs up in his head, and he follows it before self-preservation can put it down: Namjoon stretches his hand towards the wolf, but instead of the bite he feared, Seokjin touches his fingers with his cold nose and licks them.

It’s a fleeting moment, but Namjoon’s chest fills with a bubbly feeling. He’s not sure if the gesture has a deeper meaning, but it makes him happy. 

He has always heard that wolves can’t lie or pretend.  

Seokjin might have called him out on his alpha urges taking liberties, but there might be hope for friendship still. Holding back a smile, he guides Sweetie to the gates, with Seokjin walking by his side, and the guys behind them.

Once inside, they realize that although the gates were closed for the night, Singsang-ri is still awake and moving. The town is built around the road, like many other towns in this region, so it serves as the main street with many alleys and narrow passages stemming from it. Most of the shops and services can be found on the main street, and as they walk deeper into the heart of the town, they are approached by people offering their products and promoting their establishments.

“Should we go for a bath first and then eat?” Hoseok looks at him with a pensive frown. “Or we could go for food first…”

“How about a bath, food and then a few drinks?” Jimin suggests with a devilish grin.

“That sounds great–” Namjoon starts, but before he can voice his opinion, an armed guard blocks their way.

“Wolves are not allowed inside the walls. Town’s rules,” the guard says in a voice that aims to be intimidating even though he’s too young to inspire any fear. “She needs to shift.” 

Seokjin’s body tenses and a snarl takes over his features. The guard gulps but stands his ground. 

“ He will shift as soon as we find a private place for him to get dressed,” Namjoon says, trying to be polite enough to avoid confrontation but firm enough to make his point clear. 

The guard’s eyes widen; he must have noticed his mistake. “Let me show you the way to the cubicles.”

They’re guided back to the gates; on the left side, propped on the stone wall, there is a line of wooden cabins.

“People coming back from running outside use those cubicles to get dressed. Please,” the guard bows to Seokjin and points at the cabins.

Seokjin grunts. Turning away from the young guard, he touches Namjoon’s leg with his snout.

“Oh, right…” Namjoon takes the clothes Seokjin’s been wearing from his bag and hands them to the white wolf, who picks them between his teeth.

After Seokjin enters one of the cubicles, Hoseok approaches the guard.

“It’s our first time in this town… Could you recommend a good inn with stables?”

“Well, there’s only one,” the guard says. “The Choi House. But it’s a bit pricey.”

Hoseok huffs, an offended pout on his face. “That ain’t a problem, kid. We come from the capital.”

The guard shakes his hands in front of himself and bows again. “I didn’t mean–”

“It’s alright,” Jimin says and slaps Hoseok’s arm. “You make it sound as if we were almighty clan alphas or something.” Jimin laughs as though the mere thought was hilarious.

“You’re not?” the guard asks, looking between Namjoon and Hoseok.

“We’re in the guard of Seoul’s Mayor,” Namjoon says. “We were sent to Daegu on an important quest for him. He was very generous with coin.”

“Generous? I’m sure he doesn’t even know how much shit costs,” Yoongi says, chuckling. 

“Well, there’s that too,” Namjoon agrees. 

The guard smiles hesitantly.

“Good for us!” Hoseok says. “We won’t let it go to waste, and we sure as hell won’t return it,” he snickers. “Pricey sounds about right.”

Namjoon laughs. They were frugal on their way to Daegu, trying to save as much as they could in case they succeeded on the quest, but since they didn’t, they have all that coin for the trip back to Seoul. And as Hoseok said, they better use it, or they will have to return it.   

“I vote for the bath first,” Seokjin says, joining them again in human form. “I’m covered in grime.”

“Hyung…” Jimin giggles behind his hand, and Seokjin swats halfheartedly at him.

Namjoon’s heart hurts a little at Seokjin downcast energy. He looks just like someone who ran a few miles on a dusty road. And smells like it too. His pout and slightly hunched shoulders are making Namjoon’s protective instincts rise up. 

“T-the Choi house has i-its, um, its own baths,” the guard says, stealing little glances at Seokjin, clearly impressed with his human form.

Namjoon can’t blame him. Even under the dirt, Seokjin is stunning. His skin is shiny with dried sweat, and his hair is a dusty, tangled mess. Part of Namjoon wants to cover him so no one else can see him, because for some reason the sight feels private.

“Show us the way then,” Namjoon says, beckoning the guard to turn around and start walking. 

Putting his pride aside, Seokjin has to give this one to stone wolves.   

This is something I could get used to, Seokjin thinks, taking a deep breath and sliding further down into the warm water. 

The baths are mostly empty, there’s only a few other omegas washing their hair or scrubbing off the dirt of a day of hard work in the fields, so he wonders if this is a privilege. 

It sure was in his pack. Heating multiple buckets of water only to use it for a bath was considered a huge waste of time and resources. Here, everything reduces to coin, and that, Namjoon said, they have to spare.

“Can I help with your hair?” 

The sweet voice startles him. Seokjin sits up and turns to the young girl waiting by the side of the bathtub. She can’t be older than thirteen, still unpresented. Her cheeks are plump with baby fat, which makes her smile impossibly cuter.

“Sure,” Seokjin says, returning the smile. “It’s a mess, though. I haven’t been able to take care of it in a while.”

“Oh, why?” the girl asks, bringing a little stool to sit behind Seokjin.

“Well, I lost all my things,” Seokjin says, hearing the girl rummage through a pouch he saw in her hands. “Hair brushes included,” he adds when the girl pulls his hair back and begins to brush the tips.

“That’s terrible,” the girl gasps. “Did bandits rob you?”

“No,” Seokjin hums. “I had to leave my home. I couldn’t bring anything.”

“Oh.” The girl doesn’t ask further. Maybe that’s not an uncommon situation in this border town. “Where do you come from? I’ve never seen a hair of this color, is your wolf white too?”

Seokjin smiles. “My mother was from the East Mountains. Most wolves are white or gray over there.”

“That’s in the wild, right?” 

“Yes.” Seokjin turns around, his folded arms on the edge of the bathtub. “Omegas are fierce warriors there, you know? We protect our pack alongside the alphas–”

The girl gasps. “You’re a warrior?”

Seokjin nods. This girl doesn’t need to know that he’s never set a foot on the East Mountains.

A clap of hands startles them. “Quit putting your wild ideas in the girl’s head.” 

An old omega approaches them and makes a harsh gesture to the girl. The girl stands up and leaves the room with her head hanging low. When Seokjin looks at the granny, she’s frowning at him.

“I didn’t mean bad, granny,” Seokjin says, shifting to his knees and bowing his head respectfully. 

“You’re the omega staying with those alphas from the capital?”

Seokjin nods.

“Are you mating one of them?”

“What–?” Seokjin chokes on the suddenness of the question. “No, we’re just traveling together.”

The granny grunts; her frown deepens. “You better get out of the water before you prune up.”

Seokjin learned long ago that you should never argue with elderly people. He rushes to get out of the water and wrap himself in the robe he was given at the entrance. Toweling his hair, he walks out of the baths and almost bumps into the girl, waiting by the door.

“Sorry about granny. She doesn’t like travelers,” the girl says; a worried tilt on her eyebrows.

“It’s fine,” Seokjin shrugs. “I always make grannies mad.” He chuckles and beckons the girl to walk with him. “You never told me your name…”

“Oh, I’m Choi Misuk,” the girl says, bowing her head. “My grandfather owns this inn.”

“Nice to meet you, Misuk.” He returns the vow. “My name’s Seokjin.”

“Are you really traveling with those handsome alphas?” 

Seokjin snorts. “I guess they are pretty handsome.” He looks at Misuk and her eyes are full of stars, as if Seokjin was living her dream. “They’re all taken, though. No hope there,” he jokes.

Misuk whines. “I’m too young anyway. Hopefully, more alphas from the capital will come around when I’m older.”

Seokjin laughs. “What’s wrong with alphas from this town?”

“They’re all idiots,” Misuk says, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“I’m sorry to break it to you, Misuk-ah, but alphas are idiots everywhere.”

Misuk  giggles. 

“I hope I’m the exception that proves the rule.”

Seokjin smiles upon hearing Namjoon’s deep voice but ignores the comment. “See you later, Misuk-ah. Thank you for brushing my hair.”

“It was my pleasure, un– I mean, oppa.” Misuk throws a scared glance at him, but Seokjin only smiles. “You should keep this,” she says and hands Seokjin a hairbrush. 

Before Seokjin can even open his mouth to refuse, the girl adds, “I have many, you have none, please keep it.” 

“Thank you,” Seokjin says and bows.

The girl smiles at him and runs down the hallway.

“Who was that?” Namjoon asks, waiting for Seokjin to fall in step with him.

“Oh, just a little friend I made in the baths.”

Namjoon smiles. “Did you like them? The baths, I mean” 

They take the hallway that leads to the rooms.

“Well, I had to be told to leave before I pruned up like a raisin, so...”

Namjoon laughs. He seems fresh out of the bath too, his cheeks are pink, his dark hair still wet, the longer strands curling around his neck. 

It’s one of the first things he noticed about his travel companions that startled him: They wear their hair short. 

In the forest, wolves present and never cut their hair again. For alphas is their pride; for omegas, a sign of beauty. Outsiders who want to join a pack are required to cut it, to show that they’re starting anew. Alphas who lose a challenge cut it too. 

When he asked, Jimin told him that alphas without a clan are not allowed to wear their hair long in the city. 

Shouldn’t he cut it too? He doesn’t have a clan anymore. He’s a lone wolf and still has to prove himself.

His heart aches at the mere thought.

“Will you, um, lend me your clothes one more time?” Seokjin asks to distract himself.

Despite the town being quite lively after the last call, all the shops close early, so he’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get his own clothes. And well, he can’t walk around the inn in a robe. He’s not fond of stone wolf prudish ways, but he’s not an exhibitionist either.

He looks at Namjoon. He’s wearing a robe similar to his, but Namjoon’s is loose around his shoulders, a big portion of his chest and collarbones are exposed.

“Sure, hyung.” Namjoon clears his throat. He caught Seokjin staring.

Seokjin averts his gaze from Namjoon’s caramel skin and looks at the hallway ahead.

Stupid. He’s just so stupid. 

They’ll be sleeping together tonight. The five of them. Namjoon offered to rent a room just for him, but Seokjin refused, arguing that the rooms were big enough to fit all of them and five more. It was true, but maybe he should have considered that no space is big enough to fit the butterflies Namjoon’s closeness makes him feel.

“Um, I should tell you, though… Someone came to the room and offered to wash our clothes,” Namjoon says. If he notices Seokjin’s awkwardness, he’s powering through it. “We gave them all of it.” When Seokjin turns an alarmed look to him, Namjoon rushes to add, “But there are some scentless clothes we can wear in the room. They’re included in the fee.”

“Oh.” Seokjin nods. “Good.”

Scentless . He shouldn’t be disappointed.    

Only the sound of their naked feet on the warm wooden floors fill the tense silence that falls over them for the rest of the walk to their bedroom.

It’s easy to be with and talk to Namjoon until he’s reminded of the stupid attraction he feels for him. Seokjin takes a deep breath, clearly his brain got a bit melted by the hot water.

“The guys must be already in the dining room,” Namjoon says, opening the sliding door and letting him walk in first.

Seokjin hums. He’s sure his entire hut back in his sire’s pack could fit in this room. Five thick padded mattresses are extended across the room. There’s a small table with a water jug in a corner, and a few other tables with candle holders here and there. Namjoon opens another sliding door to a little wardrobe and takes two sets of pants and shirts.

“I hope you don’t mind sleeping in the middle.” Namjoon says, scratching the back of his neck. “Yoongi and I always end up fighting if we share small spaces, so we take the edges,” he points at the mattresses on the ends. “I’ll go out so you can dress–”

Seokjin clicks his tongue, suddenly exasperated. “We’re adults already. We can just turn around.”

“Oh, alright,” Namjoon says and fidgets with the clothes in his hands before throwing Seokjin a set.

They arrive at the dining room when there are a few dishes already on the table. If anyone notices their blushed cheeks, no one comments on it. They sit at opposite ends of the table and focus on the food laid out in front of them.

“We ordered a bit of everything,” Hoseok says, beckoning them to sit down. “But we were waiting for you to start.”

There’s a little round grill in the middle of the table, the fire already burning, and a tray with beef and pork pieces waiting to be cooked. Many bowls with side dishes, soup, and vegetables are spread on the table, and there’s a bowl of rice in front of every seat. The dining room is packed with loud customers enjoying their food, so the inn must serve as a restaurant too.

“Is any of this new for you, hyung?” Jimin asks, moving some bowls closer to Seokjin.

“As a matter of fact,” Seokjin starts, and the others turn to him. “This would be my first time eating beef.”

“What?!”

And that’s how the alphas spend the rest of the meal passing him the best pieces of beef. Jimin becomes his self-appointed teacher of stone wolf culinary – in his own words – and makes him try everything on the table. Seokjin tells them about some packs raising chickens in the woods but never cows.

“The mountain packs always bring goat meat to the summer festivals, but in the forest fresh game is the most popular, you know, deer, boar, the stuff to brag about.” Seokjin chuckles at the memories of the huge gatherings. 

“They have festivals in the wild too?”

“Hoseok-ah, please,” Yoongi chuckles. “We all come from the wild in the end. We have adapted their culture to our… stoney ways.”

“It’s a very old tradition, yeah.” Seokjin smiles. “There are different festivals all over the country. Special places dedicated to them, the surrounding packs gather there, and there are feasts and trade, offerings to the Moon Goddess, music and dancing. Debauchery. You know, all the good stuff.”

The alphas laugh.

“We’re not that different after all then,” Namjoon says, a fully dimpled smile on his face, and Seokjin can’t help himself.

“You partake in debauchery too?” 

Namjoon chokes on the sip of soju he was about to take. “I-I mean, I– No, but… I mean–”

Seokjin laughs and the others join him.

“You’re so easily flustered, hyung,” Jimin giggles, bumping his shoulder with Namjoon’s before taking the little cup from his hands and filling it again.

And just like that, as plates and bowls begin to empty of food, bottles of soju begin to fill the table. 

“You have soju in the wild too, hyung?” Hoseok asks, but judging by the mischievous glance he throws at Yoongi, he’s just aiming to annoy the other alpha. 

Yoongi just rolls his eyes. Seokjin huffs. 

“You call this soju?” Seokjin chuckles and downs a cup of the strong liquor. “There’s a pack at the foot of the mountains that’s famous for their soju. It can knock down a grown alpha with just one bottle.”

There’s a round of impressed oh’ s .

“And what about omegas?” Jimin asks, wiggling his eyebrows. “How many bottles do they need?”

“Oh, well,” Seokjin shrugs one shoulder. “I’d rather not disclose that information.”

Jimin giggles and fills his cup to the brim.

It's fun. It's the first time Seokjin has fun drinking with a group of alphas. As alcohol takes over their tongues, the guys grow loose and loud, they make fun of each other but they're never mean. And Seokjin fits right in. It’s really fun how the alcohol brings out parts of their personality that Seokjin wouldn’t have guessed: Namjoon has a very loud laugh, Seokjin has seen him smile until his eyes are nothing but two happy slits, but he’d never seen him laugh so freely. Yoongi turns coy, soft in a way that makes Seokjin want to spoil him; the others do, hand-feeding him or poking his cheeks when he blushes. Hoseok is probably the funniest, turning somber and brooding the more he drinks. Jimin is his usual handsy, and  flirtatious self, and Seokjin wonders if he’s even tipsy. He makes sure to fill everyone’s cup, and although he has drunk just as much, he doesn’t seem too affected by the alcohol. 

“I wish Tae was here,” Yoongi says at some point, and the mood takes a sad turn. Hoseok ends up crying and mumbling nonsense into his crossed arms, and they're not sure if they should comfort him or just laugh their asses off like Jimin does.

“I'm gonna die alone,” Hoseok sniffs, and everyone starts telling him not to be so dramatic, but then he continues, “You have your omega darlings,” he says pointing at Jimin and Yoongi, “now Joonie got himself a pretty omega on the road too.”

Seokjin laughs. “What?”

But as Hoseok turns to him to explain, Namjoon stands up on unsteady feet and blocks Hoseok from his view.

“I think you had enough,” Namjoon says, and together with Yoongi they help Hoseok stand and attempt to drag him out of the dining room.

“No, no! I'm going out!” Hoseok protests halfway to the exit, and in an impressive display of balance, he swings his body out of the grasp of the other two and runs away.

“Wait!”

Yoongi and Namjoon go after him. 

“Don't worry,” Jimin says, swiping tears from his cheeks after laughing so hard. “Hobi-hyung always gets like that when he drinks.”

“Will he be fine?”

“Yeah.” Jimin chuckles. “He will cry some more, and maybe they'll drink some more, and when he's passed out, they'll bring him back.”

“Alright…?” 

Jimin laughs at his hesitant tone.

“Let's just appreciate this chance, hyung.” Jimin turns to him, a cryptic smile on his face, and Seokjin is sure he steals omegas' heart left and right with that smile. “Just you and I for once.”

“Just you and I…” Seokjin repeats, mirroring Jimin’s position with his elbow on the table, and his cheek on his palm. “Will you tell me about the omega waiting for you in the capital now?”

Jimin looks down, his smile shrinking a little. He brings his cup to his lips and drinks its content in one go. “She's not waiting for me, hyung.”

“Oh,” Seokjin blinks. He’s a little bit more than tipsy, his brain not processing the information fast enough. “She doesn't know you love her?”

“Oh, she knows.” Jimin sighs. “She might even have some love for me, but… It’s impossible.”

Seokjin grunts, his heart hurting at the sadness wrapping around Jimin’s scent. “Your stupid town's rules?”

“It's not as bad as with Yoongi-hyung and Tae. I mean, I wouldn’t lose my head, she wouldn’t be disgraced, but still. We would lose everything we’ve worked so hard for.”

“I'm sorry,” Seokjin mutters and grabs the half empty bottle of liquor between them to fill Jimin’s cup.

“Let’s not talk about sad things anymore,” Jimin says, taking his cup and raising it. “Let’s play a game.”

Seokjin chuckles. “A game?”

He touches Jimin’s cup with his and they both drink a small sip. There’s a cunning spark in Jimin’s eyes, and Seokjin won’t let him get away with whatever he’s planning.

“Do you know that game, fuck-mate-kill?”

Seokjin snorts. “Yeah, but isn’t it a bit inappropriate? I don’t think I can answer.”

“It’s just a game,” Jimin groans. “I’ll start if you want.”

“Alright.”

“You can try to guess. If you’re right, I’ll drink. If you’re wrong…” Jimin makes a gesture at his cup. 

“Alright.”

Jimin giggles. “Let’s start with kill.”

“I think that one’s easy,” Seokjin hums and narrows his eyes. “Yoongi.”

“Drink!” Jimin laughs. 

“What? You fight all day long!”

“Precisely!” Jimin says, beckoning him to drink and filling his cup again when Seokjin does. “That’s the spice of life, hyung. That’s why I would mate Yoongi-hyung.”

“You’re insane,” Seokjin grunts. “Hoseok?”

Jimin hits the table with his palm and throws his head back to drink his cup of soju. 

“Yoongi-hyung and I fight all day long, but it’s Hobi-hyung who has teased me for as long as I can remember.”

“So I guess you’d fuck Namjoon?” Something twists in his stomach while saying the words. 

He giggles. Ridiculous, he should slap himself.

“Drink again,” Jimin winks. “I would never do that to you, hyung.”

Seokjin coughs, searching for the meaning of Jimin’s words in his amused grin. 

“It’s your turn, hyung.”

“B-but what did you mean?” Seokjin watches Jimin push his cup closer to him with frown. “You didn’t answer!”

“I think you would kill Yoongi-hyung.”

Seokjin huffs. “Drink! I would kill you .” 

Jimin laughs, his body falling to the side. When he sobers up, he sits up and grabs his cup. “Fair enough,” he says and drinks.

“Alright.” Seokjin nods at Jimin. “Mate.”

Jimin smiles with his eyes first, then his face is taken by a wide grin. He leans towards Seokjin and tries to pinch his side, but Seokjin bats his hand away. 

“ Joonie-hyung, ” Jimin whispers, his face just a breath away from Seokjin’s.

“D-drink,” Seokjin grunts and looks away. “You can’t mate, none of you.”

Jimin gasps. “Hyung, that’s cheating!”

“It’s not. Drink.”

“You would fuck Joonie-hyung then,” Jimin says with a defiant rise of his chin. “There’s no crime in that.”

“Drink.”

“Oh, come on!” Jimin hits the ground with his fists and points at him. “You’re not being fair. I gave you answers!”

“You didn’t answer the last one, so neither will I.”

“That’s not fair!”

Seokjin chuckles, Jimin looks funny when he’s angry. He’s about to poke some more fun at him, but an omega approaches them with polite but firm steps.

“You should go to bed,” she says, “We need to clean for tomorrow.”

Seokjin and Jimin bow their heads and apologize. They leave the dining room with quick feet and some more bows.

Only when they’re both laying on their mattresses, with the flickering light of a candle near their heads, does Jimin let out a soft chuckle. 

“I’m sorry, hyung,” he says, turning in his mattress. Seokjin can feel his gaze on him, but he keeps his eyes on the tumbling shadows on the ceiling. “I went too far with that stupid game, I just…” Jimin continues hesitantly, “I’d like to know how you feel about our Namjoonie, because he seems to like you a lot.”

“Oh?” Seokjin holds back a wince, hoping his scent doesn’t betray him. 

“Yeah, but he can be quite dumb when it comes to omegas."   

Seokjin shakes his head. “He's sweet.”

“Oh, really?” Jimin giggles. “I’m glad you see it that way, because he is. Joonie-hyung is a really cool guy, he's strong, smart... He can even read the stars to travel, did you know?” 

Seokjin breathes out a laugh. “Alright.”

Jimin sighs. “He just took that part of our vows that said we’d give up mating and omegas too seriously.”

“ Vows ? You vowed that?”

“On our blood.” Jimin chuckles. “You'd think we're monks instead of soldiers.”

Seokjin hums. That explains a lot, it makes him respect Namjoon a little more too. And for some reason, it makes him sad.

“I love how Joonie-hyung blooms when he’s with you.” Jimin chuckles. “He doesn’t allow himself much happiness, and he tends to make our problems and pain his own.”

That makes Seokjin turn his head. Jimin’s eyes are on his own finger drawing invisible patterns on the mattress.

“He’s a good alpha, a good leader, and an even better brother,” Jimin smiles, “We’re all very protective of him.”

“I can see why,” Seokjin says, his voice barely over a whisper in the quiet room. “I owe him a great deal, so I would never be cruel to him.”

“I didn’t mean–” Jimin shifts closer, surprise widening his eyes.

“Maybe not.” He touches Jimin’s hand and turns on his side. “I can see he has a noble heart, and people often take advantage of that. I won’t.” Seokjin takes a deep breath and smiles at Jimin. “And if you really need to know… I do like him a lot.”

Jimin’s eyes turn into happy crescent moons with how wide he grins.

“I knew it!”

“Were you tricking me into that?” He tries to grab Jimin, but the young alpha scoots out of his reach.

“No!” 

Jimin laughs, and Seokjin just rolls his eyes. Jimin is quite hard to resist.

“They let you get away with anything, don’t they?”

“As they should. I’m the baby brother,” Jimin says with adorable entitlement. 

“Namjoon told me that Hoseok’s dam raised you all,” Seokjin starts, testing the waters. 

“Yeah, she’s a lovely woman,” Jimin says, his scent warming with a comforting sweetness. “Never hesitated to spank our asses when she had to either.”

Seokjin breathes out a laugh. Memories of his sire softly biting his tail when he was causing trouble come to his mind. His sire was always more approachable as a wolf than as a man. But a mother’s love is not something he ever knew. Jungkook’s dam was kind to him, but she wasn’t his dam.

“May I ask why?” Seokjin starts carefully. “Where were your…?”

“My parents?” Jimin looks at him with transparent eyes. “My dam died when I was young.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.” Jimin smiles warmly. “I don’t remember much about her, just that I snuggled into her side and she scratched behind my ears until I fell asleep every night.”

“As a pup ?”

“Yeah, we used to live in a small town down south, even smaller than this town. No one cared much about which form you walked around. That’s what my sire said anyway.” Jimin shrugs. “My dam grew sick one winter and didn’t make it to spring. I was three. Sire took me and traveled north to the capital. He tried to adapt but didn’t really make it–”

“He died, too?”

“No, he’s just…” Jimin lets out a bitter chuckle. “He’s probably passed out drunk in some dirty corner of Seoul right now. He left me with the omegas of the Rose Clan.”

“Rose Clan?” Seokjin breathes out a laugh. “I’m sorry, I keep asking questions.”

“It’s alright.” Jimin turns a cryptic smile to him. “The Rose is the most popular tea house in Seoul. It also gives shelter to omegas without a clan or a mate. Widows, orphans, bastards… Only omegas and children.”

“I see,” Seokjin mutters, frowning at the unspoken words in Jimin’s gaze. “What else?”

“They only have a place in the pack because they provide a certain type of service…”

“Say no more. I get it.” But then it dawns on him, “Hoseok’s dam…?”

“Oh, no, she’s a widow. She moved there after Hoseok’s father died during a raid from a northern wild pack.”

“Damn…” Seokjin props on his elbow to look at Jimin. “Does that happen regularly?”

“Not regularly.” Jimin hums, counting with his fingers. “We’ve fought, like, twice since we joined the guard. I was nineteen the first time.”

“Shit…” Seokjin lays down again. “Not even in the wild.”

“Really?”

“At least in our forest everything is settled with diplomacy. You know, a certain amount of potatoes every spring so you stay away from our hunting grounds. Your children mate my children and we don’t absorb your pack.”

Jimin lets out an incredulous chuckle. “Is that why your sire sent you away?”

“Kind of…” Seokjin hums. “My sire was getting old, our pack was not that big, and border packs are always ruthless. With their protection we would have been safe until a new alpha took my sire’s place.”

“So what happens now? Will they attack your old pack?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. It doesn’t work like that.” Seokjin sighs. “I didn’t return to my sire, so it’s not like he broke his promise, but the bridges are definitely burned thanks to my selfish decision.”

“Hyung, it’s not selfish–” At Seokjin’s glare, Jimin starts again, “I mean, it’s not bad selfish. You shouldn’t be forced to give yourself away for your pack.”

“That goes right back at you,” Seokjin huffs.

Jimin chuckles. “You’re right.”

Seokjin frowns, confused by Jimin’s smile. “Yeah?”

“Maybe this trip will change something,” Jimin whispers, closing his eyes as if those words were powerful enough to lull him to sleep.

Seokjin wants to ask further, but then bumps and growls in the hallway outside the room signal the arrival of the others. After everything that’s been said, Seokjin is not sure how to look at Namjoon, so he curls on his side and pretends to sleep.

Namjoon wakes up with a start.

He didn’t drink enough to be hungover, but his eyes still resent the short sleep. He stretches and yawns the remnants of drowsiness, and takes in the peace of the room. The silence is only broken by the others’ breathing; someone is snoring lightly. The alpha scents filling the room ruffles something at the very back of his instincts, the alpha in him demanding distance from other alphas.

With a speck of guilt in his chest, Namjoon tries to find Seokjin’s scent amidst the alpha musk. It’s soothing in a very primal way. They agreed he should sleep in the middle in hopes of helping them endure the closeness with each other better. It works; Seokjin would be able to set the tone if conflict arose. 

The sweetness of the omega’s scent lingers in the room, but…

Namjoon sits up. Seokjin is not in his bed.

It’s none of my business.

He might have gone to the toilet, or just to take some fresh air. 

He was pretending to sleep when they arrived last night. Curled up in his mattress, with only the top of his head visible under the covers, Namjoon wanted so badly to nuzzle into the little mound of blankets and omega until he found Seokjin’s neck and could breathe in his delicious scent– 

Shaking his head, Namjoon gets up and exits the room.

Maybe he’s the one in need of fresh air. 

A little pile with their washed clothes is waiting outside the room, so Namjoon gets dressed and looks for a way out. There’s no point in going back to bed again. Once he’s outside, he realizes there are people already coming and going about their day, even though the sun is barely peeking over the East Mountains; the early morning chill still hangs in the quiet air.

Namjoon walks across the inner yard towards the gates without anything in my mind, but he’s two steps out when he sees Seokjin walking down the street.

Namjoon frowns.

The omega is dressed in the clothes the inn provided, which are too thin for the cold morning, but there’s something else missing… Namjoon tilts his head, inspecting the omega’s appearance. His neck seems too exposed, it used to be covered by– His long braid is gone. Seokjin cut his hair up to his neckline.

Namjoon ponders his options quickly and makes a choice that might go against his best judgment: He follows Seokjin. 

Where did he go? And what made him take such a harsh decision? Long hair has a meaning in the wild just as it does in town packs.

Seokjin is carrying a bag over his shoulder, but Namjoon is too far to guess its contents. He walks resolutely, as if he knew where he’s going, but when he reaches the main street, his steps falter.

Seokjin turns around before Namjoon can even startle. Their eyes meet even though they’re at least a dozen feet away from each other.

His cheeks heat up with embarrassment, as if he had been caught in something worse than what he actually did. Seokjin rolls his eyes and beckons him to his side.

“I didn’t mean to stalk you or anything, I just–”

“Yeah, whatever,” Seokjin dismisses his attempt at an apology with a gesture of his hand. “Come with me.” 

His brain goes blank for a couple heartbeats, but then he nods and they start walking together.

“Your hair…” 

“It doesn’t look half bad.” Seokjin smiles, but the rim of his eyes are a bit red.

“But–”

“If I’m starting anew, I must do it properly, don’t you think?”

Namjoon nods, amazed by the omega’s strength one more time.

“Where are you going?” Namjoon asks, hoping it doesn’t sound overbearing.

Controlling the omega’s every move is not his intention, although his actions don’t speak too well of him.

“I’ll try to trade a few things I got out there for some clothes.” Seokjin flashes a hopeful smile at him. “I asked around and some people accept fresh game for their products.”

“Oh,” Namjoon swallows back another rush of admiration. “R-remember that, um, we have coin if you need anything–”

“I know you can provide, alpha,” Seokjin chuckles. There’s a spark of mischief behind his eyes when he looks at him. “But seriously, I don’t want to abuse your kindness–”

“You’re not–”

“Just let me do this,” Seokjin cuts him off, but his tone is not angry. “It’s important to me.”

Namjoon nods. “I understand.”

Seokjin is trying to stand on his own. Their help is well-intentioned, but the first steps he takes as a lone wolf are also a way to heal the broken bonds with his old pack.

“Why were you following me anyway?”

Namjoon chokes on air. 

“I wasn’t,” he lies, and Seokjin throws a look at him that tells he doesn’t buy it. Namjoon takes a deep breath and tries again, “I don’t know, I just saw you and…”

“You followed me like a lost pup?”    

Namjoon chuckles. “I guess.”

Seokjin bumps him with his shoulder and shakes his head. There’s an easy smile on his lips. 

“What do you have in there?” Namjoon asks, nodding at the bag.

At this distance, he can smell blood and the scent of small animals.

“A couple rabbits and a bunch of birds. Mushrooms too, some herbs.” Seokjin shrugs. “I hope they have some value on this side of the river.” 

“I’m sure they do.”

They look around in the narrow alleys around the main street until they find a small shop that has the articles Seokjin wants.

“I just need something comfortable,” he says to the middle-aged omega keeping the stand. She accepted the whole bag for whatever Seokjin needs. “Two changes should be enough, right?” 

Seokjin turns to Namjoon. He’s standing far enough to give Seokjin space while trading, so he feels a bit surprised to be consulted.

“Sure. And don’t forget the shoes.” 

Seokjin groans. “Yeah, and some shoes.”

The omega shows him a few options, and Seokjin doesn’t take too long to pick two pants and a matching jeogori for each. He asks the omega for a long strip of cotton too, but Namjoon doesn’t know what the use for that would be. Then the shoes give him some trouble; they’re all too tight for his taste.

“What about these?” Namjoon picks a pair of straw sandals and shows them to Seokjin.

“Wouldn’t those be itchy?”

“You’re supposed to wear socks–”

Seokjin groans again, and Namjoon can’t help an endeared chuckle.

“You should have considered this before mating a stone wolf,” the stand keeper says, looking from Namjoon to Seokjin with a knowing smile.

“Mating…?” Seokjin tilts his head and gasps when he understands. “Oh, no! W-we’re not– Not mated, no.”

Namjoon looks down to hide a blush when the stand keeper laughs at Seokjin’s stammering.

“We’re just travel companions,” Seokjin says in a rush, and Namjoon nods.

“Alright,” the omega says, not quite convinced. Namjoon looks up to see her rummaging through some boxes behind her. “These might be a better transition for you.” 

She hands Seokjin a pair of slippers. The soles are made of tightly knitted straw, the bands that go around the foot are covered in soft fabric. They’re certainly more convenient for Seokjin, who still shifts regularly, and even have pretty embroidered details.

“But, um, these are surely more expensive than a couple rabbits…”

The omega shakes her head. “Take them,” she says, “May these ease your steps into a new path.”

She touches Seokjin’s hands when he takes the slippers. Seokjin seems moved.

“You’re from the wild,” Seokjin says. It’s not a question.

“The mountain wolves visited the East Coast a lot,” the omega says, with a warm smile on her face. “I always admired those fierce omegas. They gave me the strength to leave my pack and find a better path for myself.”

Seokjin bows his head. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry, and be careful with that one,” the omega shoots a playful glare at Namjoon and leans closer to whisper something in Seokjin’s ear.

Seokjin lets out a nervous giggle and bows again. “May the Moon bless you.”

“You as well,” the stand keeper says and waves them goodbye.

“What did she tell you?” Namjoon asks when they’re back to the main street.

Seokjin shakes his head, but he’s holding back a smile.

“Oh, come on!” Namjoon chuckles. “She cursed me, didn’t she?”

Seokjin fixes him with playful eyes.

“Do you really want to know?”

“Shit, now I don’t know.”

“ He seems to like you ,” Seokjin whispers, a devilish glint in his eyes. 

Namjoon sighs. “You spend two hours alone with Jimin…”

“That’s what she said!”  Seokjin laughs. 

“Well–”

“Was she wrong?” Seokjin arches an eyebrow at him, and Namjoon’s heart skips a beat.

One. Two. Three. His heart hammers in his chest one more time, but he’s unable to say anything. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.

“Oh.” 

Seokjin looks away, his scent suddenly thickening, a blush taking over his face.

“Look, y-you should get a cloak too!” 

It’s a cowardly move, but Namjoon escapes. He stumbles into a shop and starts inspecting wool cloaks.

“Namjoon.”

“This one seems good,” he says, taking a dark cloak, pretty much like his own. “I’ll buy it for you.”

“Namjoon-ah…”

Without stopping to give it a second thought, he pays the shopkeeper and promptly walks out of the shop, followed by Seokjin.

“What was that?” Seokjin chuckles.

“I’m sorry. Please, accept it.”

Namjoon holds the cloak towards Seokjin and looks down. After a couple heartbeats, Seokjin sighs and takes the cloak.

“You’re unbelievable,” Seokjin mutters.

Namjoon raises his eyes to see Seokjin pursing his lips to suppress a smile. He pushes the bag the omega gave him with his new clothes into Namjoon’s arms and puts on the cloak.

His heart does a weird flutter, and the air gets stuck midway to his lungs when Seokjin looks at him and frowns.

“What? It’s a cold morning.” He takes his bag back and starts walking towards the inn. “Let’s go get some breakfast.”

Namjoon gulps. What just happened?

Seokjin turns around and rolls his eyes when he sees Namjoon just standing there.

“Dear Moon…” He returns and takes Namjoon’s hand. “A lost pup, I swear.”

He lets Seokjin pull him back to the inn, his hand firmly held by Seokjin’s.     

Chapter Text

“My own pass, uh…”

Seokjin inspects the piece of paper he was given when they left Sinsang-ri with a skeptical look on his face. His name, his age, a description of his wolf form, Namjoon’s signature to confirm the information, nothing else is written in his temporary pass. He chose not to give his sire’s clan name or information about his birth pack.

“So? What does this make me?”

“Someone with a temporary pass,” Yoongi says dryly. 

“Wow, I feel changed,” Seokjin says, equally dry.

Jimin giggles. “Well, for one, people can’t assume you come from the wild now.”

“Oh?”

“At least not immediately.”

Seokjin laughs under his breath at the implications of that addition. Pass or not he's still an unruly omega.

“They’ll know you’re a runaway, though,” Hoseok says, pointing at the pass. “No birth pack registered? Suspicious.”

“A runaway omega with four alpha travel companions,” Seokjin sighs. “I guess I still can’t clear your names.”

Hoseok chuckles. “At least you have your own clothes now. No alpha scent stuck to your skin anymore.”

Seokjin hums. If it comes out with a pinch of sadness, no one notices.

Namjoon has been a little jumpy since their shopping morning. And Seokjin it’s really good at pretending, but he’s not stupid. Namjoon has feelings for him that go beyond those of a friendly acquaintance, and he’s awfully pleased by it. Once the shock of not being invisible to the eyes of an alpha who actually respects him and whom he respects as well vanished, Seokjin began to chew over the thought. Namjoon likes him, he’s attracted to him. Namjoon sees him. Seokjin might act oblivious, but he’s now well aware and waiting for the alpha's next move expectantly.

If he has to be completely honest with himself, he wouldn’t mind being courted by an alpha like Namjoon. Correction: He wouldn't mind being courted by Namjoon.

A rush of giddiness bubbles up Seokjin’s chest at the thought. He purses his lips to hold back a silly grin and thanks the spring breeze for carrying his scent away from the alphas’ noses. 

They’re back on the road, walking alongside the horses. They had a quick lunch at the inn at noon and left as soon as Seokjin’s pass was ready. He thought it would take longer, but once the guys dropped a casual “ we’re part of Seoul’s Mayor’s guard ”, the process went down surprisingly quickly.

“Not just anyone gets in the Guard,” Jimin whispered to him with his hand covering a smug grin, and Seokjin wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but he was grateful.

He’s glad to be back outside. He felt the confinement of the stone walls despite being in town for less than a day.     

“How many towns till Seoul then?” he asks, stretching his arms over his head. 

“You’re going to Seoul?” Namjoon turns around with an arched eyebrow.

“It’s the final destination, isn’t it?” Seokjin shrugs. “I might as well see your stone city now that I have a chance.”

“Yes!” Jimin jumps around him with a wide smile, as the others too express their approval.

“You’ll hate it though,” Hoseok chuckles.

“Yeah, it mostly smells like horse shit and rotting fish,” Yoongi agrees. 

“Stop!” Jimin groans. “You’ll make him change his mind.”

“I’d save him a disappointment–”

“He should build his own opinion about the capital. When he’s there. With us.”

Seokjin has to bite his lip to hold back an endeared smile.

“Hyung is free to do whatever he wants, Jimin-ah.” 

“I know! But I really want hyung to come with us…”

“I'm sure you're not the only one,” Yoongi mutters, mischief clear in his tone. Seokjin chooses to ignore him.

“I want to travel with you for as long as I can, Jiminie,” Seokjin says, batting his eyelashes at Jimin with exaggerated sweetness. He steals an unconscious glance at Namjoon and their eyes meet for a fleeting second. "And if Seoul is a shithole, well… At least I saw it myself."

Jimin giggles. “Alright.”

“We’re happy to have you for as long as you want, hyung,” Hoseok says with a bright smile.

“Thanks.” Seokjin bows his head to the alpha. 

“Just don’t say no one warned you,” Yoongi teases, and Seokjin laughs when Jimin tries to grab him.

They keep walking at a comfortable pace. The walls of Sinsang-ri are way in the back, and the mid afternoon sun washes over the empty road.

“So how many towns left?” 

“Um, I don’t know.” Hoseok pulls a map out of one of his bags.  “We should be there in like… four, maybe five weeks.”

“Five weeks?!” Yoongi takes the map from Hoseok’s hands and frowns at it. “I’ll be damned…”

“How far are we? It can’t be that much.” Namjoon stops and all the horses halt their steps. He joins Hoseok and Yoongi around the map.

“Alright, maybe I’m considering more leisure stops like the one we just had,” Hoseok admits with a chuckle. 

Yoongi grunts a curse and elbows Hoseok on the ribs.

“Still, we won’t be back before the next full moon,” Namjoon says, tracing the way they have left with his finger.

Seokjin gets curious. The map is less of a tool and more of a very useful piece of art, showing the location of all the major pack towns and the roads that connect them. He finds Sinsang-ri and eyes the golden line that snakes west and up north to Seoul. It’s long compared to the actual distance between the two points.

“Why don’t we cut through these woods?” Seokjin points at the artfully drawn group of trees ahead. The road surrounds it, adding a good couple weeks to the trip.  

“Um…” The alphas exchange wary looks.

“What?”

“I mean, those are not officially wildlands…” Hoseok ponders.

“We would save a lot of time,” Yoongi hums.

“Not wildlands, but we still don’t know what could be there,” Namjoon says, frowning at the map and then at the woods ahead. “We’d make it to Chungju lake in around ten days…”

“From there it’s a week-long trip to Seoul.” Hoseok tilts his head, there’s a speck of sadness in his eyes.

“I’d risk it,” Yoongi says.

Namjoon hums. He looks at Seokjin and searches for the answer in his eyes.

“What’s the worst we could find there?”

“Bandits,” Namjoon says. “Ferals.”

Seokjin snorts. “What could we fear from feral wolves?”

Namjoon rolls his eyes. “Bandits could be a problem though.”

“Well, I was under the guise that my travel companions are members of an elite guard. I’m sure they can fend bandits off.”

The spice of challenge surges in the scents of the alphas around him.

“Let’s fucking do it,” Yoongi says, nodding at the woods ahead. “Straight to the lake, no golden path.”

Namjoon finds Yoongi’s eager eyes, and then Hoseok’s resigned ones.

“What do you think?” Namjoon turns to Jimin, who had been watching them from a few feet away.

Jimin shrugs. “I’ll go wherever you say we go. I’ll cut some bandits down if we have to, I don’t mind,” he says, with a dark smile.

“We should have got you a bow in town,” Namjoon grunts, folding the map and throwing a frown at Seokjin.

Seokjin chuckles. “Don’t worry, I run really fast.”

Namjoon barks a laugh. “Such a hero you are.”

“That shit’s for alphas. I fight smart.”

The first few days of going off track pass by uneventfully.

They walk during the day and rest at night. They make stops every few hours to eat or let the horses rest. The woods are generous with rabbits and birds they can hunt, and berries and mushrooms they can pick up. Fresh water is never too hard to find, and overall living is quite uncomplicated. 

Namjoon can’t help but think there’s a storm brewing in their horizon, but he’s always been good at overthinking and terrible at being optimistic.

“Honestly, I'm trained to fight but not on two legs.”

Namjoon takes his eyes from the potato he was trying to peel to Seokjin, testing the balance of the blade in his hand.

At the possibility of bandits, the talk of giving Seokjin a weapon in case they need to defend themselves began. Hoseok and Jimin have been making him try his hand at the different options they have while dinner is prepared.

“Go play with them,” Yoongi says, pulling his attention back to the vegetable in his hand. 

“I’m almost ready with this.” Namjoon shows Yoongi the half peeled potato, and his eyes fall to the pile of perfectly peeled potatoes in front of Yoongi.

“It’s alright, Joonie-yah. Go.” Yoongi gestures for the potato and the knife in his hands and then ushers him away.

“So you don’t have fighting experience,” Hoseok is saying when joins them.

“Well, there was peace in the forest. Mostly.” Seokjin’s arms are crossed over his chest, his eyes following Hoseok closely.

Hoseok is a stern teacher. He’s not the strongest warrior among them - that position is quite debatable, because they all have different strengths - but he is the fastest learner, and during their years of training, he was the one who helped them catch up whenever they missed the rhythm of the lessons. 

“You’ve never fought someone who’s actively trying to kill you.”

Seokjin sighs, his eyes stay on the ground when he mutters, “No.”

“That’s a good thing, hyung,” Namjoon says, interrupting the circle Hoseok was pacing around Seokjin. 

Namjoon stands in front of the omega and holds his surprised gaze. If there’s a difference, it must be barely an inch or two between their heights. Their build, however, puts Namjoon in clear advantage.

“Not that good if I’m planning on being a lone wolf.”

The alpha in him bares his fangs against that statement. Seokjin becoming a lone wolf implies that Namjoon will have to let him go, and well. He has many conflicting feelings about that.

When we reach Seoul, there’d be no hope for us anyway , his mind helpfully provides.

Us? Namjoon clears his throat. He’s getting way ahead of himself.

“When you put it that way, well…” He nods, trying to focus on the topic at hand. “I put you down too easily that time.”

Jimin’s chuckle is the sign that he fucked up.

“Excuse me?”

Seokjin’s posture changed entirely. His shoulders are thrown back, his chin up. His eyes are lit with the embers of pride.

“I-I mean, it wasn’t a fair fight to begin with–”

It’s not the right thing to say. Hoseok laughs under his breath, and Namjoon resists the urge of taking a step back when Seokjin moves forward.

“Damn right it wasn’t a fair fight,” he hisses. “I was bleeding and starving. I'd been running for my life the whole day.”

Seokjin narrows his eyes, daring him to step back. Maybe he should. If only his sense wasn’t lighting on fire with Seokjin’s scent all spiked with aggression.

“That’s not an excuse,” he says, throwing self-preservation overboard. “What if we would have been bandits? What if they ambush us after a long day, or in the middle of the night and we’re only half awake?”

“What do you mean?” Seokjin’s eyes turn even darker. “You say that I should have aimed at your throat instead of your arm? You'd be dead now.”

“I'm just saying…” Namjoon uses that inch and a half he has on the omega to sign his challenge. “You have to be ready all the time.”

Seokjin growls. “Let’s see if you can put me down so easily now.”

Namjoon chuckles. “Is that really necessary? Hyung–”

Seokjin is already untying his clothes. Namjoon looks at Hoseok, but he’s sitting next to Jimin and they seem ready to enjoy a good show.

“Don’t talk shit if you won’t back it up, Joon-ah,” Hoseok says with an amused grin. “Watch out.”

Namjoon shifts his attention back to Seokjin, who’s already an angry white wolf baring his teeth.

“I don’t want to fight you,” he says, but his body tenses, ready to react at the wolf’s smallest movement.

“I don’t think you have a say in this matter, hyung,” Jimin says with a giggle.

Seokjin snaps his teeth threateningly, and Namjoon lowers his stance. Their eyes meet for just a heartbeat, and a rush of adrenaline runs through his bloodstream. Next thing he knows, Seokjin is pouncing onto his feet. 

His reaction is too slow, he can’t reach down in time. Namjoon takes a bite on his ankle and his other leg is not ready for Seokjin’s push. He falls on his ass and tries to roll onto his feet as soon as he touches the ground, but Seokjin’s paws push him down and his fangs close around his shoulder, just shy of his neck. 

There’s no real pressure in the bite, but the gesture is enough to make his blood boil. Namjoon huffs, there’s a buzz under his skin and he knows that if he lets it consume him, he’ll end up on four legs.

He moves to grab any part of Seokjin he can reach, but instead of fur, his hands meet soft skin and a sweet scent engulfs him.

“Wasn’t that too easy?” Seokjin whispers into his ear. He’s still pushing his shoulders down, Namjoon’s hands are on his naked thighs, caging his middle against the ground.

Namjoon lets out a scared sound, and his body crumbles under the struggle between getting away from the naked omega or pulling him closer. He detaches his hands from Seokjin’s skin and stays motionless while Seokjin stands up.

He closes his eyes but still catches a glimpse of Seokjin’s perfect figure. His breasts are covered by a cotton strip - that somehow stayed firmly wrapped around his chest through the shifting - and that’s the only cover he has.

Once his ears stop ringing, Namjoon is able to hear Jimin and Hoseok’s cackles and enthusiastic clapping.

Namjoon sits up and raises cautious eyes towards Seokjin. His pants are on again, he’s shrugging on his jeogori, and there’s a smug grin on his lips. Namjoon clenches his jaw and closes his fists, hoping that the sparks of arousal  traveling south are not enough to give him an inconvenient boner.

“Another big, strong alpha defeated by the power of a naked cunt,” Seokjin laughs. “Don’t worry, love. You’re not the first.”

Hoseok and Jimin laugh even harder. Namjoon lets out a grunt and rolls his eyes.

“That wasn’t fair,” he grumbles, even though he knows it’s a lost cause. “I thought the fight was over.”

“You had your chance but didn’t take it,” Seokjin chuckles. “Bandits would not hesitate to pin me down if I laid vulnerable on top of them.”

“But I–”

“I know my strengths and my limits, Namjoon.” 

Seokjin offers his hand to help him stand up. Arrogance is gone from his expression, his smile is gentle and his eyes kind. Namjoon takes his hand and lets the omega pull him up.

“You don’t need to worry about me,” Seokjin says while still holding him close.

“I’d ask you to get a room, but that’s literally five feet from my food.” 

Yoongi’s comment pops the sudden bubble that had closed around them. Seokjin releases him, and Namjoon steps back, taking a deep breath of air that’s not saturated with Seokjin’s sweet scent.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Yoongi says, so they wash their hands and take a seat around the fire.

As night falls around them, an easy conversation blooms in the group, but Namjoon can’t gather his thoughts enough to participate. His mind is determined to keep the memory of Seokjin’s soft skin under his palms on the forefront of his attention.

Six days into the woods and the skies begin to gray. 

“I don’t mind walking in the rain, but the girls will get scared if there is thunder,” Hoseok says while they’re busy packing up the camp to get going.

“Well, what can we do? It might rain for days,” Yoongi grunts, trying to fit all the pots and bowls in a bag. Something is giving him trouble and he’s insisting with maybe more force than necessary. “Fuck!” He throws a bowl across the camp and huffs. “These woods are fucking eternal.”

No one flinches at the outburst. Seokjin simply gets the bowl and takes the bag Yoongi pushed away, just as Namjoon sighs and gives Yoongi the last of the water they use to cook.

“We’re making a five week long trip in a little more than two,” Namjoon reasons. “Time will fly as soon as you stop worrying so much.”

Yoongi glares at Namjoon and catches a growl before it becomes a challenge. Namjoon simply just dismisses the whole thing with a gesture of his hand.   

Alphas are bound to fight when they spend too much time together. These four are unusually armonious, and Seokjin thinks it’s all thanks to Namjoon, who’s a very reasonable leader. Yoongi is not much different, and as the second in command, he usually supports Namjoon’s decisions and provides his sound point of view with kindness. But these days, they’ve been butting heads more often.

“Yoongi-hyung’s time of the season is probably coming soon,” Jimin tells him when they finally resume the walk.

Yoongi is on his horse, leading the party a few feet away from the rest. He seems tense, on edge, and Seokjin knows he worries about the pregnant omega that waits for him in Seoul, but then Jimin’s words sink in.

“Shit,” he turns to Jimin, and it’s like he shed a layer of skin and revealed something that… was entirely not a secret. “You’re alphas.”   

Jimin snorts. “We are.”

Just like omegas go through a heat every season, alphas also reach a peak in their breeding capabilities. It’s different for everyone, but most people have a regular cycle, and there are always cues and signs when a rut or a heat is coming. Short temper is common for alphas.

“My heats are always at the end of the season,” he voices the thought that comes to his head, as if to remind himself. “I should be settled somewhere by that time.”

Jimin hums. “You could even have a mate…” 

Jimin’s teasing glance jumps from him to Namjoon, and Seokjin slaps his shoulder.

Namjoon has been weird lately since their little play fight. He can’t hold Seokjin’s gaze for more than a couple seconds, and he flusters out of nowhere when Seokjin is around. If he was shy before, now it’s ridiculous. Seokjin is not sure how to approach it, the least he wants is to push too far and make Namjoon close up. 

“In case you’re wondering…” Jimin’s suggestive voice interrupts his musing. “Joonie-hyung’s ruts tend to be during the second moon of the season, so–”

“Stop right there if you don’t want fangs scars in your ass.”

Jimin laughs, but the seed is already planted in Seokjin’s mind. Pun absolutely unintended. His guts twist at the mere thought.

He’s never been with anyone. At least not in a way that counts. 

After his first heat, his sire had a serious talk with him. Although he didn’t explicitly forbid it, his words implied that Seokjin shouldn’t give himself away to the first alpha that came around and tried to court him. He was the firstborn omega son of a pack alpha. That put a good price on his virtue, and Seokjin was not opposed to the idea of saving that part of himself for the right person.   

His eyes find Namjoon’s back. He’s deeply focused on whatever Hoseok is telling him, his brow furrowed, his jaw slightly jutted. 

The air gets lost halfway out of his lungs, and Seokjin needs to gasp his next breath. Namjoon could be the right person. He could absolutely be that person.

If Namjoon doesn’t get his head out of his butt soon, Seokjin will have to cout him himself.

Rain is merciful and starts pouring in the late afternoon.

Since spring just started and the woods’ canopy is still in the process of thickening, it doesn’t offer significant cover, but they’re lucky to find a rundown shed to shelter. It’s only four posts with a roofing that has definitely seen better days, but it’s enough to give the horses a little sense of safety when thunder starts. And does it start.

They barely sleep that night, and when morning comes, the storm has no intention to ease off.

“Let’s just go,” Yoongi says. “It’s all the same here and out there.”

“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that, hyung…” Hoseok’s eyes are on the little streams that formed around them at some point during the night.

“Let’s wait,” Namjoon says. “We don’t want to risk a broken ankle.”

Yoongi doesn’t seem happy with the decision, but he nods and mutters something about taking a piss before walking into the unforgiving rainfall.

“Hyung, would you help me make some food?” Jimin beckons Seokjin to the fire and the two of them start the preparation of some sort of soup.

Namjoon feeds the girls some of the carrots they bought in town with Hoseok following him closely. There’s something in his mind, Namjoon can tell.

“What is it?” 

Hoseok breathes out a little laugh. “Nothing, just… You’re unusually calm.”

Namjoon shrugs. “It’s just a storm. It’ll pass.”

“It could be days until that.”

Namjoon holds back another shrug. There’s a selfish good bouncing in his mind.

Hoseok chuckles and claps Namjoon’s back. “You’re finally seeing things like I do.”

“Yoongi-hyung will worry himself to an early death, though.”

Hoseok clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “That’s the rut looming over him. Taehyung is fine, Yoonji-noona is taking good care of him. The best hyung can do now is stay away.”

Namjoon chuckles. “Don’t let him hear that.”

“I’ve told him,” Hoseok shrugs. “When it comes to Tae, he has no self-control. I mean, there wouldn’t be a dead sentence growing in Tae's belly if he had. If we had stayed in Seoul, he would have been caught in a matter of weeks.”

Namjoon hums. It's harsh to put it in those terms. Namjoon knows he would be happy that one of his brothers is having a pup if that didn't mean he could suffer terrible consequences because of it. Hoseok is right, this trip has bought Yoongi a lot of time.

“I just hope his rut hits soon, so he can go back to–”

“At least half wise and mature and reliable?” Hoseok finishes and the two of them laugh.

Hoseok sighs and turns a content look to the rainy forest. “Look at it.”

Colors are more vibrant with the rain, the air charged with energy and life. Namjoon fills his lungs with the fresh scents of the forest. 

“I’m enjoying this little detour,” he admits.

It's cutting down the time they can spend in freedom, but it grants a kind of freedom they could not enjoy on the road stopping by towns every few miles.

Hoseok nods. “That's good. You should enjoy it more.” Hoseok arches an eyebrow and throws an eloquent glance at Seokjin.

Namjoon sighs. “That’s…”

“Before you say anything, that omega would eat you alive if you let him. You’re an idiot if you don’t see it.”

Namjoon is not an idiot. Seokjin’s attitude towards him changed at some point from wanting distance to making up excuses to touch him or being close to him. And Namjoon is in awe that this incredible omega is interested in him, but he’s also scared of ruining whatever might be blooming between them. He’s not sure how to approach it. 

How is he supposed to let Seokjin know that he wants him without sounding like a knothead? He can’t offer Seokjin more than a travel affair. A future together is impossible. 

Isn’t it?

Night comes and goes and the sky is still falling over their heads.

Yoongi hasn’t come back, but no one seems too worried. “He does that,” Jimin assures him in the evening of their second day under the shed.

The guys put up a tent and they’ve been taking turns to rest. The horses are now used to the strong winds and there hasn’t been thunder again, but they still fear for them.

“Our girls are not used to so much adventure,” Hoseok says with a chuckle. He just finished shoveling shit away from their little camp. The shed is only big enough to put some distance between the horses and their fire.  

“Go to sleep,” Namjoon tells him, ushering him into the tent Jimin just entered.

Hoseok hesitates. He's visibly tired but still worries for his friend.

“Go,” Namjoon insists, frowning, as if seeing Hoseok standing there personally bothered him. “You’re of no use if you can’t stay awake.”

Hoseok laughs. “Alright, but wake me up when you get tired.”

Namjoon hums. “Just like you did last night?”

Seokjin smiles. Hoseok stayed up the previous night and sent Jimin into the tent with Namjoon. He pulled out a bottle of soju from one of his bags and they drank it all together, sharing hushed stories over the fire. At some point the conversation strayed to shifting, and Hoseok confessed that he used to shift with a boy he met in secret in the woods near Seoul. One thing led to another, and the two of them ended up howling to the moon they couldn’t see through the thick storm clouds. Namjoon and Jimin had to take over the watch a couple of hours before dawn because two drunk wolves couldn’t stay sitting in one place for too long. 

“Honestly, I thought you’d be much harder to crack about shifting,” Seokjin comments when it’s only him and Namjoon around the fire.

Namjoon laughs, his eyes on the fire. “Don’t get your hopes up, Hoseok is the most inclined to wildness. He was just waiting for an excuse.”

Seokjin takes a sip of tea and inspects the alpha in front of him. He’s wrapped in his cloak, elbows on his knees, his fingers laced, hands hanging in the space between his knees. The fire casts dancing shadows on his face, giving a soft warmth to his strong features and sharp eyes. He’s as handsome as ever, and Seokjin is wondering if his wolf is this majestic too.

“What about you?” Seokjin mutters, breaking the comfortable silence settling between them. “Do you need an excuse? I can make one up in a heartbeat, you just have to say the words.”

Namjoon shakes his head, his lips pressed together to hold back a smile.

“I’m fine like this.”

Seokjin makes a grimace to show his disapproval but doesn’t insist. Maybe it’s better if Namjoon doesn’t shift. Seokjin doubts he’d be able to hold back and not act on his attraction to the alpha.

“You too can go to sleep if you want, you know?” Namjoon says, finally raising his eyes to Seokjin. “No need to stay up because of me.”

Seokjin hums. “And it’s getting a bit cold too…” His clothes and the cloak Namjoon bought him are enough, but nothing compares to his natural coat. “Maybe I’ll take on your offer.” 

He drinks the last of his tea and stands up. With a big yawn, he stretches his arms up, convincing himself that the idea that just popped in his head is brilliant. He takes off the cloak and after folding it, he leaves it on top of his bag. He turns to Namjoon and gives him a once-over. 

“Close your eyes.”

“Excuse me?” Namjoon’s eyes widen cutely.

“I need to undress, could you please close your eyes?”

Namjoon chuckles. “Since when do you know modesty?” 

Seokjin huffs, hiding how pleased the teasing remark makes him. 

“I’m not asking for me,” he says with feigned haughtiness. “I’m asking for you. You get uncomfortable when I’m naked.”

Namjoon chokes on air.

“It’s cute, actually,” Seokjin coos. “You have no idea where to look. I’m saving you the inner conflict.”

Namjoon curses under his breath and covers his head with his cloak. Seokjin bites his lip to hold back a giggle and quickly takes off all his clothes. 

Breathing out all tension, Seokjin lets his wolf take control. 

And the thing is, thoughts in wolf form are simple. Selfish in the most innocent way. 

Seokjin’s mind has a single focus once he stumbles onto four legs: Namjoon. 

Namjoon with his rich scent and warm body. Namjoon, who is the most attractive alpha he’s ever met. Namjoon, the man whom his instincts are hellbent to point out as his ideal mate. 

Namjoon, whose heart skips a beat every time Seokjin steps close to him.

He touches Namjoon’s arm with his snout, and the alpha raises his head. Seokjin’s tail wags happily when their eyes meet and Namjoon’s pupils dilate. Namjoon likes him, and he smells so nice… Seokjin lets out a whiny howl. He wants to drink up that scent, get it all over himself. Now. 

He steps closer, determined to bury his face on Namjoon’s neck, but the alpha stops him.

“What are you doing?” Namjoon asks with a nervous chuckle.

Seokjin whimpers. I just want to be as close to you as I can.

Namjoon breathes out a laugh and moves until Seokjin can comfortably settle on his lap. He makes himself as small as possible to fit in the cradle of Namjoon’s crossed legs.

“We can laugh in the face of cold now,” Namjoon mutters, placing a hesitant hand on his side.

Seokjin hums his approval and closes his eyes to enjoy Namjoon’s shy petting. 

“You’re so soft…” Namjoon mutters, feeling his fur between his fingers. “In any form, you’re just–”

Namjoon’s scent thickens with embarrassment, but Seokjin couldn’t be happier. He rubs his face on Namjoon’s knee and yawns. He’s so warm and content that he doesn’t even realize he fell asleep until he wakes up with a start.

The fire is but a few glowing embers, and the rain has finally stopped. Namjoon is lying behind him, an arm thrown over Seokjin’s side and his face on his neck. For a moment he just wants to go back to sleep and enjoy his alpha’s closeness a bit more but then he hears the little crack of sticks breaking under careful steps.

It must be what woke him up in the first place.

Seokjin slips out of Namjoon’s hold carefully and stands up, his ears raised trying to hear beyond the buzzing silence of the early morning, his posture ready to jump.

“What is it?” Namjoon rasps, sitting up slowly.

Seokjin shushes him with a huff, but whatever is out there is moving without restraint now. 

A gray wolf comes out from between the bushes and approaches with loose steps. 

Offended by the audacity of the wolf, Seokjin growls. He’s ready to pounce when the wolf dares to step under the shed, but Namjoon gets between them, holding appeasing hands up.

“It’s Yoongi-hyung,” he says, “That’s Yoongi-hyung.” 

Seokjin is confused, but now that the wolf is closer, he recognizes Yoongi’s brown eyes; his scent, thick and musky under the cover of rain and mud and forest.

Seokjin sits back and watches Yoongi nose into last night’s dinner’s leftovers.

“Welcome back,” Namjoon says with a chuckle. The wolf’s only answer is a grunt.

While Yoongi eats a piece of roasted bird, Namjoon rummages through his bags until he finds a set of clothes. He offers them to the wolf, and after a few moments of fidgeting, Yoongi shifts back into a man and takes them.

He visibly shudders and gets dressed quickly. “Thanks, man,” he says and reaches for the closest canteen to drink its content in long gulps. He then starts throwing sticks to the fire to light it up again.      

Seokjin looks at Namjoon, who only shrugs with a resigned smile.

Curiosity is stronger. Seokjin fetches his own clothes and shifts back too.

“What the fuck? Just like that?”

Yoongi groans and makes a face but continues his efforts to rekindle the fire.

“Don’t say anything else, and I’ll forget that I found you two cuddling instead of watching the horses.”

Seokjin huffs and rolls his eyes. Namjoon is blushing and failing miserably at trying to hide it.

“I could hear you anyway.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t really trying to be stealth.” 

“Yoongi!”

“Just let it be,” Yoongi groans. “My head is killing me and every muscle in my body hurts, alright?” Yoongi glares at him, but then he sighs and beckons him to sit down. Seokjin sits, and only then the alpha continues, “I went into rut, I ran it off as a wolf, I lost my clothes in the forest, then I came back. That’s the whole story, happy?”

“No.” Seokjin sighs when Yoongi turns an incredulous glare to him. “I mean, it sounds like you had a shitty couple days. That doesn’t make me happy.”

Seokjin touches Yoongi’s shoulder with the intention of being comforting, but Yoongi tenses. His eyes jump to Namjoon, and Seokjin draws his hand back as if Yoongi had burned him. 

Nothing is said out loud, it doesn’t make much sense to their human minds, but instinctively they all know. Seokjin is carrying Namjoon’s scent now. Yoongi is fresh out of a rut. If they’re all sitting together right now, it’s because Yoongi and Namjoon are family. 

Namjoon clears his throat and stands up.  

“We can rest this morning,” Namjoon says stiffly. “Get some sleep–”

“No, I’m good to go,” Yoongi says, standing up too. “We must not waste the rest the rain is giving us.”

The air between the two alphas is heavy, and the two of them seem bothered by it, as if they didn’t mean to feel the way they do but they can’t help themselves.

“I’ll wake up the guys then.”

“I’ll pack up,” Yoongi says and bows his head a little, trying to make peace with his lead alpha.

Seokjin is not quite sure what he’s supposed to do, but he stays as far away from Yoongi as possible.

Once the camp is lifted and the horses are ready, the alphas come to an agreement in a matter of a few looks and nods.

“Hyung,” Namjoon comes to his side with his eyes down. The others are mounting and tutting their mares into motion. “Would you, um…?”

Namjoon gestures towards Sweetie and meets his eyes shyly. Seokjin’s heart is suddenly too big for his chest.

He nods. Namjoon gets on the horse and looks at him with uncertain eyes.

“Help me?” Seokjin stretches his hand, and Namjoon takes it right away, pulling him onto the horse in front of him.

It’s awkward for a moment. The breath of distance between them is blaring, but none of them dares to make the first move.

Seokjin opens his mouth to say something, he’s not sure exactly what, but Namjoon beats him to it.

“I’m sorry I acted a bit weird before,” Namjoon blurts out. 

Seokjin lets out a breathy laugh. “It’s alright, Namjoonie.” 

Seokjin turns his head. The others are already out of sight, it’s just him and Namjoon under the shed. This could be a chance. Seokjin takes a deep breath for courage and keeps his eyes on his own shoulder in a way he hopes looks seductive. 

“You’re bound to guard what’s yours.”

Namjoon breathes out through his nose and his forehead touches the back of Seokjin’s head.

“Can I–?”

“Please, just do it,” Seokjin sighs, and so Namjoon wraps an arm around his waist, finally closing the distance between them.

Burying his nose in the crook of Seokjin’s neck, Namjoon touches Sweetie’s sides with his calf and leans forward so the mare starts walking. 

And Seokjin, he fears his heart might beat out of his chest, he might melt down in Namjoon’s firm hold, but wouldn't that be a sweet way to go?

A drizzle starts falling by the late afternoon, but this time there are no abandoned sheds around. 

Not knowing if the rain would stop or get heavier, they decide to stop for the day and set up camp while they still can. After all, they came well prepared for eventualities like this. While they make sure the tents will have no leaks - above or below - Seokjin finds a way to tie branches and foliage over the horses’ heads to guard them from the rain at least a little.

There’s no point in lighting a fire, so Yoongi rations some of the provisions they have and gives everyone a serve of dry meat, a handful of nuts and a nurunji to eat in their tents. They say goodnight, and Namjoon waits for the guys to enter their tents before turning to Seokjin.

“Hyung, you should–”

“Yeah, I know,” he sighs and nods at Namjoon’s tent. “Lead the way.”

Once the two of them are inside the tent, Namjoon notices how small the space is. He rode most of the day with Seokjin’s back plastered to his front, but this is different. Now he has to look him in the eyes and…

“Let’s just eat,” Seokjin says with a chuckle. He seems nervous too. Fuck, he smells nervous, as if his heart was pumping extra hard to saturate the air inside the tent with his sweet scent as fast as possible.

It’s not a bad thing. Namjoon was in heaven all the time he spent with his nose buried in Seokjin’s neck, but the scent makes him want things he’s not sure he can ask for.

Namjoon clears his throat and follows Seokjin’s example, popping a couple of nuts into his mouth. They’re sitting face to face on the furs he uses as bedding, there’s a leather mat separating them from the wet forest ground and a small candle providing enough light to see what they’re eating. The rain hits the tent over their heads with increasing strength, filling the silence between them rather ominously.

Seokjin takes a sip from the canteen they’re sharing and puts it down carefully.

“Your head will explode if you keep thinking so hard.”

Namjoon groans and covers his face with his hands. “I’m sorry. I’m trying really hard to go with the flow but I just… I’m sorry.”

Seokjin laughs. “Don’t apologize. I’m not the smoothest either.”

Namjoon takes a deep breath and lowers his hands. He finds Seokjin’s eyes already fixed on him. That beautiful amber shade contains nothing but the same glaze of vulnerability that’s about to shatter his heart.   

“We should talk about this…?” he starts, not quite sure how to continue.

“What is there to talk about?” Seokjin sighs. “We're attracted to each other. It happens.”

Seokjin shrugs, but he seems to be waiting for something, some kind of confirmation. Namjoon nods and lets his gaze fall onto his squeezing hands.

“It usually doesn't happen to me, though.”

Seokjin breathes out a laugh. “Me neither.”

“I don't know what I'm supposed to do,” he confesses, looking at Seokjin’s eyes again.

Seokjin bites his lip and raises his eyes to the leather above their heads. One heartbeat, then two, three and four pass before Seokjin looks at him again.

“I guess it all comes down to what you want to do,” Seokjin mutters.

Namjoon’s heart is hammering in his chest, as if it was desperately reaching for Seokjin. Only sense is holding him down.

“Can I…?” He lets out a bitter chuckle. His heart breaking by the circumstances. “Can I want anything?”

Seokjin groans. “Namjoon-ah…” His face screws up with endeared annoyance. “We’re not in one of your stupid stone towns.” 

Namjoon opens his mouth to argue but Seokjin shuts him up with a stern look.

“Out here in the real world, if you want something no one but yourself can stop you from getting it.” Seokjin puts their bowls with food aside and scoots closer. He takes one of his hands, and with his eyes fixed on it, he continues, “If what you want is me, then you can come forth and take me.”

I just said that.

Seokjin resists the urge to hide himself and scream the nerves out of his system. He’s making a big move. He’s making the move. If Namjoon rejects him now, he won’t be able to get over it, he’d have to leave.

It doesn’t seem like he’d have to leave, though. His words rendered Namjoon speechless, but he’s looking at him with eyes so dark, his scent too has thickened, wrapping tightly around Seokjin so he can’t escape.

Not that he wants to.

Namjoon reaches for him slowly and Seokjin holds his breath. His hand cups his jaw, and his thumb traces his bottom lip so carefully, as if he feared Seokjin might break. I won’t , he wants to tell him, but his voice is long gone.

If I can’t speak, I might show him. 

Seokjin covers Namjoon’s hand with his and turns his head to press a kiss to the alpha’s palm. Namjoon takes a deep breath and moves forward, the tip of his nose touching Seokjin’s. He closes his eyes, his lips already tingling, Namjoon’s breath is mingling with his.

But the kiss never comes.

Namjoon nuzzles his way to Seokjin’s neck and scents him to his heart’s content. 

Oh, this is good too. Shivers run down his back at the feeling of the alpha rubbing his scent on him, laying an unquestionable claim. This time is deliberate, it’s not the circumstances, it’s not accidental. 

Seokjin gasps when Namjoon wraps his arms around his waist and lays him down onto the furs. He burrows close to Seokjin, his face always buried in his neck. Their legs tangle, Namjoon’s thick thigh slots between his as they find a comfortable position and Seokjin’s heart skips several beats. Namjoon doesn’t press against him, but the warm presence of his thigh so close to where he needs him still makes Seokjin throb with want. Namjoon’s hands slip under his clothes and pull him closer into his embrace.

Only once they’re settled, Namjoon presses a kiss under his jaw.

“Sleep with me from now on,” Namjoon slurs against his neck, mouthing at it and nuzzling him some more.

Seokjin breathes out a laugh. That’s it?  It doesn’t bother him as much as it makes his heart melt.

“Alright,” he whispers, letting himself go in his alpha’s embrace.

The sickly sweet smell of slick is all Namjoon can smell when he wakes up.

Seokjin is still asleep in his arms, his breathing rhythmic and soft. At some point during the night, Namjoon rolled half on top of him, and now his hard cock is pressing against Seokjin’s hip.

The urge to rut against him is so strong that Namjoon can’t breath. He could also wake Seokjin up and ask him for permission to bury deep into his wet cunt and fuck him slowly until they’re both trembling with pleasure.

He’d let him. Namjoon knows Seokjin was a bit disappointed when he only scented him last night. He meant it when he said he was Namjoon’s to take.

And Namjoon, well… 

I must be an idiot. 

His heart breaks into a race, he swallows back a sigh. Seokjin looks so beautiful, with his cheeks flushed pink and his lips pouted. He’s beautiful, and kind and brave, and for some strange reason he likes Namjoon. He trusts him enough to sleep by his side and give himself to him.

And Namjoon… Fuck, Namjoon wants to keep him by his side forever.

Holding back a frustrated grunt, Namjoon disentangles himself from Seokjin’s body and crawls out of his tent.

The sky is clear and bright blue, the sun sneaking through the foliage and sparkling in the drops of rain hanging everywhere.

Namjoon takes a deep breath of fresh air and stretches his arms above his head with a raspy groan. He looks down at his body and feels his cheeks warming at the visible tent on the front of his pants. 

He’d never hear the end of this if the guys saw him like this, so he searches for the crossbow and heads into the woods for some breakfast and some peace of mind.  

When he returns with two rabbits hanging from his shoulder, the camp is half packed and the guys are sitting around the fire waiting for something to boil.

“Nice!” Jimin jumps onto his feet when he sees him and skips towards him. “You’ve always been my favorite hyung, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Namjoon chuckles, handing him the rabbits to skin them.

His eyes find Seokjin, curled by the fire in wolf form. His eyes are closed and his energy subdued. Namjoon wonders if he’s mad that he left in the morning without saying anything.

“What got into you?” Yoongi asks, receiving the crossbow Namjoon practically stole from his tent.

“He obviously wants to show his omega he can provide,” Hoseok says with a devilish grin before Namjoon can even form a thought.

Maybe he’s right, but he’d never admit it out loud. He just shrugs, and Hoseok’s loud cackles are what finally wake Seokjin up.

Seokjin blinks a couple of times, and when his eyes set on Namjoon, he lets out a weak howl. He stands up and sits by his side, resting his head on Namjoon’s lap. 

Alright , not mad then.

“Hi,” Namjoon mutters, scratching behind Seokjin’s ears. He smiles when Seokjin hums and turns his head to direct the scratches down to his neck. “I’m sorry I left so early.”

Seokjin makes a whiny sound and bites his hand playfully. Namjoon chuckles and scratches under Seokjin’s jaw.

“Come on, shift back,” he says, but Seokjin huffs and settles on Namjoon’s lap like he belongs there.

He looks up and finds Hoseok and Yoongi smiling at him, not teasingly just happy for the scene unfolding in front of them. Namjoon smiles too and keeps petting Seokjin tenderly while the breakfast is cooked.

Seokjin refuses to turn when the food is ready, and only accepts pieces of rabbit from Namjoon’s hand. His heart is melting the whole time, and he wonders how is he supposed to let him go now.

Seokjin stays the whole day on four legs out of spite.

Well, not really. Seokjin is mad but he knows he has no good reason to be mad, so he takes the ability to speak away from himself  before he can say something stupid.  

In the light of morning, he discovered he was pretty fucking disappointed. Frustrated and let down. His ruined pants are proof of it.

They find a pond of fresh water a little before dusk and decide to set their camp there. Seokjin fetches his bag from the pile the alphas made after unloading the horses and gets dressed with his spare set of clothes. While everyone is busy, Seokjin hurries and washes his pants.

It would be mortifying if someone asked why he is washing only his pants so he washes the jeogori too. 

Stupid Namjoon , this is all his fault.

Once he’s done, he offers to help with dinner. Yoongi looks at him for a couple excruciatingly long seconds and then, without saying a word, hands him a bunch of vegetables to peel and cut. After a while, an easy conversation blooms between them about recipes and stuff they would like to eat.

Namjoon hesitates before sitting next to him when dinner is ready.

“Is there…? Um, are we… alright?”

Seokjin narrows his eyes, tempted to huff a yes and cross his arms like a spoiled child. His wolf is unable to hold grudges, he does just what he feels, but human Seokjin is not that indulgent, and Namjoon has noticed it.

“We’re fine,” he says in the end and manages to smile a little.

Jimin distributes bowls with rabbit stew and sighs quite loudly when he sits. “No hand feeding this time?”

“Can’t make it a habit,” Seokjin says with a sad shrug.

“Why not?” Hoseok jumps in. “I’m sure Namjoonie doesn’t mind.”

Namjoon freezes with the spoon halfway to his mouth. He looks at Hoseok and then at Seokjin.

“I don’t mind,” he says with round, scared eyes.

Seokjin huffs and shakes his head. His wolf always betrays him and gets extra clingy around Namjoon. He wonders if Namjoon really doesn’t mind or if he just puts up with him.

They eat in companionable silence, only sharing praises for the food or little comments here and there. Once they finish, those who didn’t cook clean and they’re soon back around the fire because there’s an important topic to discuss.

“Don’t be so dramatic, hyung.” Jimin giggles at Hoseok’s stiff posture.

“It’s very important,” Hoseok insists. “We lost our lookout to the bed of our charismatic leader.”

Seokjin and Namjoon roll their eyes while the others make grieving expressions.

“Let’s go back to our watch system,” Namjoon says, bringing his fist forward. “Winner gets the last watch.”

There are some groans, but in the end all the fists are put forward, including Seokjin’s.

“Hyung, you’re a guest, you don’t have to watch,” Hoseok says, shaking his hand.

“Oh, I thought I was already part of this clan by… travel association. ” He steals a glance at a smiling Namjoon, and then pouts at Hoseok, who makes a k sound and puts his hands over his chest.

“Can’t argue with that.”

Jimin giggles. “You’re good, hyung.”

“Alright.” Yoongi calls the first round and wins.

There’s complaints, but Yoongi simply just smirks and says goodnight. After a couple more rounds the watch order settles as follows: Jimin, Namjoon, Seokjin, and then Hoseok.    

“Stay warm, Jiminie!”

“Rest well!”

They wave, and in Hoseok’s case, blow kisses at a whining Jimin and go each to their tents. That’s how Seokjin finds himself alone with Namjoon in his tent again. 

He sits on a corner of the furs and hugs his knees close to his chest. Namjoon takes a deep breath and scoots to his side.

“Hyung–” he starts, but Seokjin shakes his head.

“Don’t call me hyung,” he snaps, suddenly very affected. “I don’t want to be your brother.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean–”

Seokjin sighs and covers his face for a moment. “Me neither,” he mutters and finally turns to Namjoon. “Sorry, I’m not feeling so good.”

Namjoon’s worried frown turns into a guilty expression. “It’s my fault, isn’t it?”

Seokjin sees his honest concern, and a rush of endearment nudges pettiness aside. He groans and throws his arms around Namjoon’s neck, pushing him down with the impulse. A breathless sound escapes Namjoon’s lips when his back hits the furs, but it quickly turns into giggles when Seokjin begins to nuzzle his neck. He’s ticklish, good to know.

“It’s our own fault when the wishes we don’t voice are not granted,” he whispers into Namjoon’s neck, shifting until they’re in a comfortable position snuggled into each other’s arms.

Namjoon covers his eyes with his hand and sighs. “I know what you’re talking about, and it’s not like you have to voice it. I know what you want.”

Seokjin lets out his heartbreak in a chuckle. “So you just don’t want me back.”

Namjoon shakes his head. “It’s not that,” he says in an earnest voice, grabbing his face and looking into his eyes. “It’s just that…” Namjoon closes his eyes and frowns.

“Tell me,” Seokjin breathes out leaning closer and pressing his forehead to Namjoon’s.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” Namjoon says after a while. “You’ll give me everything and I can’t give anything back to you. I don’t even own myself.”

Seokjin’s vision blurs with tears. If he wasn’t half in love with Namjoon already, he would be right now. If only his honor didn’t get in the way of what could probably be a love for the ages.     

Seokjin sits up and wipes his tears.

“Jin…” Namjoon sits up too, his hand touches his shoulder carefully.

Seokjin hums. “Oh, I like that one.”

“I just want you to know that I really like you, more than that even. And I’ve never felt like this before. You’re everything I can think of, and I know it’s selfish, but I want your affection,” Namjoon touches Sokjin’s temple with his forehead, “I hate myself for it, but I don’t want to give up these feelings for you.”

Seokjin leans against him and swallows back a sob. It’s just his luck falling for the most romantic and stupid alpha on the planet. He breathes in some courage and smiles.

“I want you to know that I stayed with you, that I’m wearing your scent and I’m putting myself in your hands knowing full well that this trip is all we have.” New tears fall down his cheeks and Seokjin gives up stopping them. 

“You deserve more, deserve better.” Namjoon’s voice is tight, as if he too had tears stuck in his throat.

“Maybe,” Seokjin rolls his eyes, “I still want it all. With you. I want to live with you , even if it’s just for a few weeks.”

Namjoon moves so they can be face to face and dries his tears with his thumbs. “I want that too,” he breathes out, and without letting go of his face, he leans forward and presses a chaste kiss to his lips.

Seokjin gasps and covers Namjoon’s hands with his. “I didn’t want our first kiss to taste like snot.”

Namjoon lets out a breathy chuckle and kisses him again, and again, and again, just tiny kisses that replace the tears with sweetness. It’s only when Seokjin whines that Namjoon’s lips start capturing his with tender nips. It blooms sweeter from then on. They take their time to learn the shape of the other’s lips, adjusting to a rhythm that makes Seokjin’s heart melt. 

Namjoon’s lips are plush and warm, meeting him halfway with growing hunger. Seokjin catches Namjoon’s bottom lip between his teeth and pulls softly. He wants more of him, he wants it all. 

Namjoon smiles, as if he knew, as if he was finally willing to give him everything he wants. He turns Seokjin’s head to the side a little and traces his bottom lip with his tongue. Seokjin’s tongue comes out to find him, eager to taste him as well. The wet slide of their tongues has heat simmering under his skin in no time. With a hand buried in the locks at the back of Namjoon’s head, Seokjin lowers himself back onto the furs, pulling Namjoon with him. 

Namjoon smiles again, his eyes lazy and fixed on his mouth while he shifts into a comfortable position. He ends up propped on one elbow and cupping Seokjin’s face with his other hand. With a pleased hum, Namjoon starts a trace of kisses from his neck and back to his lips, licking into his mouth as if he was trying to claim him so no other alpha can ever kiss Seokjin again. He sure as hell will never want another one to do it.

Namjoon breaks the kiss and holds himself up to look at him. A smug smile takes over his face, and Seokjin can only guess the state of his own face. His cheeks must be flushed, his eyes hazy with want, his lips shiny and swollen. He holds his alpha’s gaze with pride. This is for him, because of him.   

“I’m still not taking you tonight,” Namjoon says, his dark gaze falling to his heaving chest and down the rest of his body confirms the promise in his words. “Not with Jimin right outside.”

Seokjin smiles and nods. “It’s alright. This is enough,” he mutters, and pulling Namjoon back onto his lips, he adds, “for now.”

It becomes their bedtime routine.

In the following days, they say goodnight and get into the tent to kiss each other breathless. It tends to escalate pretty quickly, with hands under clothes and some grinding that only leaves them hot and bothered. Now it’s Seokjin who stops them with a mischievous smile, as if he knew that Namjoon regrets his entire life and can only think of taking the gorgeous omega in his bed.

Anyways, it’s a burden he can carry happily. 

Despite the push and pull making them a little desperate, they keep it in the tent. If the guys notice that something changed between them, no one comments on it. Well, except for Jimin, who he sometimes catches staring at him with a silly smile on his face, or Hoseok, who throws winks at him for no reason.

The lake comes into sight by the end of their second week of detour with a majestic landscape: the mirror-like water filling the space between the mountains till the eyes can see.

“Chungju town is a day away once we reach the shore,” Hoseok explains, showing Seokjin the map and pointing in the direction the town is.

The stretch they have left is mostly a slope down towards the lake. It’ll be quick, but they prefer to do it with daylight to spare, so they set camp one last time in the woods.

“There’s a boar around,” Seokjin says, pointing at the tree where Namjoon is tying the horses, there are marks like the ones boars make with their canines.

Namjoon hums. “Would you like ribs for dinner?”

Seokjin’s only answer is an excited smile that makes Namjoon’s heart flip inside his chest.

He grabs Seokjin by the waist and brings him close to his body. After planting a loud kiss on his neck, Namjoon releases him.

“I’ll hunt it for you,” he says with all the bravado of an alpha in love.

Seokjin laughs. “Alright. I’ll still want you if you can’t, though.”

Namjoon narrows his eyes, his pride bruised.

“I once killed a bear by myself, you know?”  

“Oh, I’ve heard it was a young one.”

“It wasn’t that young.”

Seokjin slaps his chest and laughs, loud and squeaky. 

It’s funny how even reasonable alphas like Namjoon can’t resist a challenge.

He gathers his small pack, and soon they’re scouting the area in search of the boar. Seokjin offers his help, but he ends up following the alphas around, watching them hunt in effective synchrony. After all, this is what they do for a living.

The poor boar had no chance once they finally got a fresh trace. It was a four man job, though: Jimin and Hoseok closed the flanks, Yoongi slowed it down with a precise shot, and Namjoon gave the final blow, tackling the animal to the ground and piercing its heart with a knife. 

There’s a moment of silence. Every good hunter knows to be humble and grateful after a kill. Seokjin is glad but not really surprised that the guys, even growing in their stone city, have the same respect the children of the forest have.

“We’re not at all rusty,” Hoseok says with a chuckle once the moment passes.

“You did a very good job,” Seokjin agrees, clapping his hands without making sound and bowing to the hunters.

His eyes find Namjoon’s and his heart skips a couple beats. Namjoon is looking at him with dark eyes, as if Seokjin was his next prey. 

Seokjin approaches the alpha with careful steps. He’s crouching by the boar, probably still high on adrenaline, and pumping pheromones as if there was a chance of Seokjin not being absolutely enamored. Namjoon clears his throat when he’s finally at reach and stands up, offering the knife he just used with the handle upfront.

Seokjin looks down and smiles. It’s an old custom that even in the wild is lost. When an alpha brings fresh game as a courting gift, if the omega wishes to accept it, it’s their job to butcher it. When wolves were just wolves, a mated couple was a team, equals fighting for their survival and their offspring. 

If he didn’t already know that Namjoon was his dream mate, well…

Seokjin takes the knife, and the guys who he’d already forgotten were still there burst in cheers.

Namjoon smiles and pulls him closer to press a kiss to his temple.

“You know how to do it, right?”

“I’ve done it a few times, but…” He looks around, to his pack. “Would you help me?”

“Let’s get this over with,” Hoseok says with a clap, and in no time the boar becomes edible pieces of meat.

It’s lively around the fire that night. Hoseok pulls out the last of his soju stash  and they end up singing old festival songs while Hoseok and Jimin dance with precarious balance. 

When the mood turns mellow and they’re mostly watching the embers rise into the night sky, Seokjin gives in to the wish he’s been harboring the whole night and snuggles into Namjoon’s side, throwing his legs over his lap.

Namjoon smiles and hugs him closer, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.   

“I don’t want to leave these woods,” he mutters, and Seokjin’s heart aches.

“You already know who’s the only person who can keep you from what you want,” Seokjin says, touching Namjoon’s arm, tracing the scabs he still has from when Seokjin bit him.

“It’s more complicated than that,” Namjoon sighs, and maybe it’s the alcohol in his bloodstream, but Seokjin’s patience runs out all at once.

He sits up and fixes Namjoon with a frown. “Why?” he asks, and the others turn to him, their attention spiked at his sudden outburst. “It’s taking your life away. Why can’t you just leave that fucking city?”

Namjoon takes a deep breath and lets the air come out slowly.

“Leave Seoul, start a pack of our own and live in the wild?” Hoseok says with a dreamy grin on his face. “That’s what I’ve been telling them forever.”

A tense silence falls around the fire. Seokjin looks from one alpha to the next; they all seem watchful of Namjoon’s reaction.

“You don’t really mean it,” Namjoon says, and there’s sadness in his scent.

Hoseok huffs. “You always say that, and I always reply, I really fucking mean it.”

“Hyung…” Jimin moves, as if he wanted to step between Hoseok and Namjoon before things escalate.

“You guys are my family, the only one I’ve ever known,” Namjoon says, and his earnestness shows his vulnerability, his honesty. “We are a pack, and I must stay by your side till my last day. That’s how I see things.”

Hoseok groans. “That’s how I see it too. And so does Yoongi-hyung and Jiminie, right?”

He turns to the guys and they nod. Jimin is squeezing his hands and Yoongi is biting his lips, both seem really invested in the conversation. Namjoon nods too, sadness still lingers in the air around him.

“What’s the matter?” Seokjin asks, touching Namjoon’s hand.

“You are my family,” Namjoon starts, looking at the guys. “That’s the truth for me, but you have families of your own… Are you willing to leave them behind?”

“In a heartbeat,” Hoseok says and lets out a nervous laugh. “I mean, my mother is safe and happy. She has a place in that town. My sister is mated to a good man, and even without him, she’s a respected healer. She has her place too. My place is with you guys, wherever that is, and we all know there’s no future for us in Seoul.”

A shy smile curls Namjoon’s lips. He looks down, but there’s hope sparkling in his scent.

“If I have to choose between my father and you, well…” Jimin chuckles. “He made that choice for me ages ago.”

“Yeah,” Yoongi agrees. “And you must not forget that Yoonji has always been Hoseok’s biggest supporter whenever the topic of living in the wild comes up. She would have her shit packed in the blink of an eye.”

Jimin giggles. “She would.”

“I guess it all comes down to Taehyung…” Yoongi says. “I think you’d like him,” he says smiling at Seokjin. “I’m sure you’d be his hero,” he chuckles, and Seokjin is already dying to meet the omega that can make Yoongi smile so tenderly. 

“But? You think he wouldn’t come?”

“He would want to,” Yoongi starts and his smile dies down before continuing, “He’s grown pampered. He doesn’t know hunger or cold. Would it really be the best for him to take him away from that safety?”

“His parents literally insist on calling him Taehee,” Jimin says with exasperation in his arched eyebrows. “Of course he’d be better anywhere else!”

Yoongi pinches the bridge of his nose and nods. “I know. Still–”

“ Still, ” Seokjin interrupts him. “That’s for him to decide, Yoongi-yah,” he lets out an exasperated sigh. “Trust your omega a little.”

“I get a chill every time I hear Yoongi- yah, ” Jimin whispers not at all discreetly.

“What if…” Seokjin stands up, taking a couple of steps back so he can look at all the alphas at once. “I mean, you have to go back now and finish whatever mission you were assigned–”

“Oh, shit,” Hoseok chuckles. “I almost forgot we were out for a reason.”

“Anyways,” Seokjin clears his throat, “What if you go back, pick your omegas and we come back here. We could be settled before winter… easily. ”

Yoongi laughs. “It’s funny how we found him on the road, but he’s the one taking us away.”

The alphas laugh, and Seokjin smiles at the buzzing energy popping in the air around the fire.

“We could do it,” Namjoon says, and they can’t sleep that night talking excitedly about a future that they’re now waiting to claim.  

Chapter Text

Seokjin’s instincts blow a cold warning at the back of his neck. 

Seokjin drops the stick he was turning into an arrow but keeps the knife in his hand. It’s probably nothing, the guard would have sent a signal if there was danger approaching, but then again, wolves are the most savage when spring is around the corner.

He leaves his hut with quiet steps and shivers in the cold before dawn. The wind still carries too much winter, and something else: Five or maybe six unknown alpha scents. They feel blaring in the comfort of their pack grounds, where everyone knows everyone.

Seokjin tracks the strangers’ scents towards the square. There are other pack members that have come to watch the strangers walking in tight formation towards the center of their territory.

“What’s going on?” an auntie asks him. 

“Who are they?”

Others approach him too when they see him, but he has no answer.

His guess was right: Six alphas stand in front of his sire’s hut. Three of them seem young, dressed in simple clothes and carrying axes. They stand behind the other three: a youngling, probably expecting to present next season; an older alpha, bordering the limit of his prime, and a much older one, older than Seokjin’s father even.

“That’s the head alpha of the eastern border pack, Park Hangyeol,” an uncle says, “Those are his sons.”

A few heads turn to him, and dread begins to weigh on his heart. There’s only one reason for a party of uninvited alphas to come into another alpha’s territory so boldly.

Seokjin’s sire comes out of his hut and after only one glance at the visitors, he beckons them inside. Park Hangyeol and his sons follow the head alpha inside, while the guards stay outside, and the square falls into a tense silence.

The sun climbs its way to its zenith as practically the whole pack awaits outside their head alpha’s hut. Seokjin is at the very front, preparing a thousand arguments in his head, his bottom lip bitten raw.

He can hear the people speculating: Park Hanseol is old, but he’s the next in line to become head alpha. I’ve heard he already has a mate, but the border packs take concubines all the time. Park Hanbin is not a bad match either, a bit green but... Our Seokjinie will play him like a lute.  

Seokjin wants to throw up. He feared this moment his whole life, and yet it managed to punch him in the guts like an unexpected tragedy. 

The air is filled with the excitement of the eve before a moon festival. This kind of event is something to be celebrated. Seokjin knows people talked behind his back, everyone feared that no one would ever ask for the hand of such an unorthodox omega. But here they are, and he knows that more than one auntie must be relieved. His sire surely is.

The whole pack is behind him, but Seokjin could not feel more alone.

He now understands why his sire insisted so much on Jungkook making the week-long trip to trade with the river pack. Maybe the guests were not so uninvited. 

The door opens and the head alphas come out first. His sire looks resigned, Park Hangyeol looks overly pleased with himself.

“Sire, can we talk?” Seokjin says before anyone can speak.

“No, we cannot,” his sire says, turning to the other man to flash an apologetic smile.

“Father–”

“It’s settled, Seokjin,” his father grunts. He fails to meet his eyes when he adds, “Go get your things, you’re leaving before sundown.”

There are cheers. Seokjin tries and fails to not take it personally.

He throws the knife still in his hands to the ground and the whole square falls quiet.

“ Sire –”

His doomed attempt to stand up for himself is drowned by Park Hangyeol’s laughter.

“That’s exactly the kind of omega I need.”

“And we can build a big common room with a lake view, a pavilion to enjoy rainy days–”

Hoseok laughs at Yoongi’s excited diatribe. It’s been going on for a while. “Hyung, do you even know how to build a simple hut?”

“Fuck, it can’t be that hard,” Yoongi says with a shrug. “It doesn’t have to be pretty. At least not at the beginning.”

Jimin turns to the group behind Yoongi and quite audibly whispers, “Do you remember that shabby shed we found in the woods?” 

Yoongi turns around and tries to grab him, but Jimin jumps out of his reach with a giggle.

“It was shabby, yes,” Seokjin starts, and the alphas turn to him immediately. “But if I recall correctly, it kept us dry and the girls covered, didn’t it?” 

There’s a hum of agreement.

“I agree with Yoongi,” Seokjin continues, “it won’t be pretty at the beginning, but it’ll be ours, and that’s more than enough.”

Hoseok squeals, a hand over his mouth and his eyes squeezed tight. “That sounds so beautiful, hyung. As expected of our future head omega.”

Seokjin laughs, throwing a half-hearted slap in Hoseok’s direction. “Shut up.”

His eyes find Namjoon’s face, and his heart swells. Namjoon is looking at him with a warm, dimpled smile. 

The walls of Chungju are visible on the horizon, but small houses and crop fields are already coming up at both sides of the road they joined again early in the morning.

The closer they get to the walled city the more colorful the road gets. For a stone city, Chungju has quite a vibrant energy. There are lanterns and paper flags hanging over their heads, dancing cheerfully in the afternoon breeze. A little before reaching the gates, they meet the flock of people hanging them from posts a couple alphas are installing on the side of the road.

“You’re here for the festival, aren’t you?” The person in charge of checking their passes smiles brightly at them when they approach to register. “You came right on time. A few days earlier is the best, next week there won’t be accomodations available.” 

They just smile at the man, who keeps chattering about the activities of the following days. It seems like Chungju celebrates a festival for every mid-season moon, and people from all around the area come to the city. 

“Welcome to Chungju! Enjoy the festivities!”

They bow at the man when he gives them their passes back and enter the lively city.

“A festival, uh?”

“Joon-ah…” Hoseok starts, his eyes sparkling with the question that’s obviously coming.

“We’re just passing through,” Namjoon says, a smile teasing his lips.

“A couple days won’t hurt,” Seokjin says, joining Hoseok and Jimin, already blocking Namjoon’s path and making puppy eyes.

“I thought you didn’t like to stay in stone cities,” Namjoon says, arching an eyebrow at him.

“But it’s a festival …” Seokjin conjures his best pout and bats his eyelashes at Namjoon.

Namjoon sighs and turns to Yoongi, who’s watching the whole scene from the side.

“What do you say? We’d still be in Seoul within the next moon…”

Yoongi looks at Namjoon and then at the rest of them, his expression unreadable. “Didn’t listen to the guy back there?” Everyone holds their breath. Yoongi nods at the road ahead. “Let’s find an accomodation before everything is booked–”

Hoseok and Jimin jump on Yoongi and wrap him in an excited hug. Seokjin can’t help but laugh at the effort Yoongi puts on the irritated expression that does little to hide the smile on his face.

“Alright then…” Namjoon clears his throat, and after flashing him a little smile, he sneaks an arm around his waist. 

“Let’s go,” he says, and together they resume the walk into the city.

“I never thought we would actually do it,” Hoseok sighs as he pours a little more water over the hot stones of the sauna. “Our own pack. Who would’ve thought?”

“It’s all thanks to Seokjinnie-hyung,” Jimin says, a soft smile on his face. “I can’t believe it’s been only a moon since we met him.” 

It’s just the four of them in the small room. The bath house has separate sections for alphas and omegas, so they agreed to meet back in the inn where they’ll be staying.

“It feels longer,” Yoongi mutters from under the towel on his face.

“It feels like a lifetime ago,” Namjoon agrees. “We were different people when we left Seoul.”

“But we’ve changed for the best, right?” Jimin says, looking between Namjoon and Hoseok. “I think we have.”

“Yeah,” Hoseok agrees. “Just look at us: We saw the world beyond Seoul’s walls, we finally decided to get the reins of our lives, Joonie got himself a mate…”

Namjoon sighs at the sly smiles the others throw at him. “We’re not… mates. We haven’t–”

“Not yet,” Hoseok interrupts him before he can even finish.

“Not yet?” Yoongi sits up and frowns at him, the towel falling to his lap. “You’ve been sleeping together every night.”

“Yeah, but…” Namjoon looks down, not willing to tell his friends that he doesn’t have the guts to close the deal. “We haven’t… you know.”

“Why not?”

Heat suddenly flares from his neck up and he knows it’s not the sauna. “I just– I don’t think it’s fair.”

“Fair?”

“Is it because Jinnie-hyung is unattempted?” Jimin tilts his head and coos, “Joonie-hyung is being a gentleman.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s being an idiot,” Hoseok says, and Yoongi laughs with him.

“If it’s because of our vows–”

“It’s not!” Namjoon groans at the others’ unconvinced looks. “It kind of is.”

Yoongi lets out an exasperated huff. “Claim that omega and stop denying yourself the happiness you deserve, Joon-ah.”

“Yeah, Jin-hyung also deserves some… happiness ,” Hoseok snickers when Namjoon glares at him.

“Besides,” Yoongi starts, looking at him with caution, “your rut is around the corner. I doubt we’ll make it to Seoul before it hits.”

Namjoon sighs. “I know.”

“I’m sure Jin-hyung would be more than glad to help you through it.”

“I can’t just–”

“The hell you can’t!” Yoongi throws the small towel in his hands at him. “That’s the whole point of having a mate!”

“Or maybe Namjoonie is too shy to lose his rut virginity,” Hoseok says, mischief glinting in his eyes.

“Hyung?!”

“Aish, don’t look at me like that, Jimin-ah!” He throws the towel at Jimin, but then his surprise raises a terrible suspicion. “Wait… You’ve spent your rut with someone too?”

“Well…” Jimin fiddles with the towel for a moment before throwing it back at Namjoon. “The girls from The Rose were always after you! How come you haven’t?”

“Our Namjoonie is indeed a gentleman,” Hoseok provides. “He said no even though they offered to make him for free.”

Hoseok and Yoongi snicker at Namjoon’s exasperated sigh.

“I just think it should be something special. You’re very vulnerable and sharing that with just anyone…”

“That’s alright, Joon-ah,” Yoongi says, reaching forward to pat Namjoon’s knee. “We’re just joking.”

“Yeah,” Jimin agrees, his smile too wide to be innocent. “But Jin-hyung is pretty special, isn’t he?”

Hoseok hums, catching Jimin’s intention in the air. “That’s right… I mean, a white wolf from the mountains. You don’t see that every day.”

“And from the wild no less,” Yoongi agrees.

“Fierce and strong,”  Jimin sighs, “could definitely beat our asses any day.”

“But still prettier than any spring flower,” Hoseok adds.

“And that irresistible attitude–” Namjoon smacks his own mouth shut. 

The others laugh, and he smiles along. He let himself get carried away by the sudden list of Seokjin’s attributes.

“It’s not like you have to convince me that he’s my dream omega,” he says with a chuckle. “I like him quite a lot.”

“Yeah, we’ve noticed,” Yoongi teases, but his smile is warm, just like Hoseok’s and Jimin’s. 

Chungju’s mid-spring moon festival is in five days, and with all the preparations, there’s a lot of work to be done, and lots of people willing to hire a couple helping hands. That’s how they end up working different jobs during the days leading to the festival.

“We need to save all the coin we can get,” Namjoon said on their first night in the modest room they’re sharing. “If we want to leave Seoul with our heads held high, we need some coin.”

Once they claim a territory and start their own settlement, they will have to buy tools to build a home for the winter and food they won’t be able to grow in time. The guys have the coin they were given at the beginning of their trip, but Namjoon says they can’t start a new life with the help of their former master. 

So, in order to raise money, Yoongi and Hoseok join the party of hunters that leave before sunrise and return after noon with meat for the festivities; Jimin gets hired by the group in charge of cutting the thousands of paper flags and decorations that are still being hung all over the city; and Seokjin and Namjoon find jobs in shops as errand boys. 

Chungju turns out to be very big when they’re all busy. Even Namjoon and Seokjin barely see each other despite working in shops across the street. They’re the whole day going up and down delivering boxes of baked goods or whatnot.

It’s tiring, but entertaining. After a long day of hard work, they get together to eat in one of the many restaurants in the street they’re staying at. The food is cheap but tasty and the service is quite kind. The stone is not at all cold in this city.

“Twenty silver coins for a rabbit, can you believe it?” One of Yoongi’s cheeks is round with food, but he keeps talking very enthusiastically. “In Seoul I would have to bring twenty and a half to get that much! This city is fucking amazing.”

“Are you reconsidering living in the wild?” Seokjin asks with an arched eyebrow.

“No, I’m just saying it’s great that this city is conveniently close to the territory we will claim,” Yoongi answers, putting more rice in his mouth and finally chewing it all.

Seokjin can’t argue against that. He knows what it is to live with no one but your pack to get you through a rough patch. Stone cities might be detrimental for the wild lifestyle, but they sure are convenient for survival. 

If they’re starting a pack that will have at least one pup before the winter begins, the safety net of a town nearby comes really handy.

“Imagine what they would pay for a whole fucking boar,” Hoseok says with a chuckle.

Jimin groans. “That’s not fair, I’m given five silver coins for half a day, I could catch five rabbits in that time.”

“You decided to sleep in on the day we went job hunting, it’s not our fault they don’t accept more people,” Yoongi says, pointing at Jimin with his chopsticks. 

“I heard the fishermen pay well for a day of work,” Seokjin comments. “We still have two days before the festival.”

“All the alphas in my dam’s family were fishermen, I guess I should give it a try,” Jimin says with a pensive frown.

“Only two more days,” Namjoon groans, stretching his arms over his head. “Thank the gods, my back is about to break.”

Seokjin breathes out a laugh and kneads the thick muscle of Namjoon’s shoulder. “They take advantage of you because you’re visibly strong.”

Namjoon hums, rubbing his other shoulder. “Who would have thought rice cakes could be so heavy.”

Seokjin coos. “I can give you a massage when we go back to–”

“No, no, no,” Hoseok says, slapping his hand off Namjoon. “No massages in our shared room.”

“You should have taken a room for yourselves if you wanted to give each other massages ,” Yoongi jumps in with mischief in his eyes as he pulls Namjoon away from Seokjin.

“But everything is packed now!” he whines.

“Too bad,” Jimin giggles. “You should have thought it better.” 

The alphas laugh at his pained groan, and dinner continues without any more talk about massages, but when they go to bed, Seokjin is still thinking about the warmth of Namjoon’s skin under his palms.

He’s not ashamed to admit that he misses the nights he spent in Namjoon’s tent. He really wants to enjoy the festival, but he also can’t wait to be back on the road to have Namjoon all for himself again.

As the sounds of the alphas’ breathing slow down, Seokjin blinks at the ceiling and lets out a longing sigh, his head full of less than pure thoughts. It’s hard to be so close to Namjoon and not be allowed to touch him. 

Seokjin turns to his side, his heart immediately clutched by the sight of his alpha. Namjoon is sleeping on the mattress next to his, his brow slightly tensed, as if his dreams were not being gentle with him. Seokjin feels tempted to reach out and ease the line between his eyebrows, pulling him out of his nightmare that way. 

He’s just discovering this side of himself. He never was the nurturing type, but Namjoon fills his heart with so much warmth that he wants to hold him and protect him even from the pain his own mind causes him. 

His hand is halfway to Namjoon’s face when the alpha stirs. Seokjin gasps when their eyes meet.

It’s a tiny exchange, but they come to an agreement in that small moment.

Making as little noise as they can, they get up and come out of the room. This inn is not like the one they stayed at in Sinsang-ri. There are no wide hallways and spacious corridors. The two-story building they chose this time is quite cramped actually. All the rooms are taken and the mix of scents makes the air in the narrow hallways stuffy. 

They go down stairs and out to the street. Outside the inn there is a group of alphas talking around a bottle of soju, so they walk a couple blocks until they find a little square built around a well.

The city is not completely asleep, the murmur of activity swirls in the air, but the square they found is quiet and empty, lighted by the moonlight and some lamps outside a closed establishment.

They sit on a stone bench side to side but at an arm length of distance. After an awkward glance, they scoot closer until their shoulders touch. Seokjin smiles to himself, Namjoon’s scent is thickening, a telltale sign that he’s blushing bright red.

They only exist next to each other for a few heartbeats. His mind is blank of any word to say, the moonlit silence of the square feels too sacred to break it with mundane conversation. Besides, the warmth that Namjoon’s body irradiates only brings memories of that same body really close to him.

“Were you serious about that massage?” Namjoon asks, his face slightly turning to him but not finding his eyes. The shadow of a dimple is showing on his cheek.

Seokjin laughs. “My intentions were not pure, though. Hoseok saw right through me.”

“Oh,” Namjoon chuckles.

“But I’ll rub your sore back if you want,” Seokjin says, and not waiting for an answer, he jumps onto his feet, walks around the bench and puts his hands on Namjoon’s shoulders.

“Thanks,” Namjoon whispers and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees so Seokjin can rub up and down his spine and make circles with his thumbs to dig into the pain. “I think youth is leaving me already.”

“This is what you get for being so tall,” Seokjin mutters, paying attention to the small of Namjoon’s back.

“You’re tall too.”

“And older than you, that’s why I say it,” Seokjin says, his hands sliding all the way up to his neck. 

Namjoon sighs, his head hanging loose between his shoulders. “That feels good,” he mutters.

Seokjin smiles, kneading all over his alpha’s back until he’s loose and relaxed. He finishes with a kiss to the top of his head.

“Do you want me to do you?” Namjoon asks, looking at him upside down.

Seokjin smiles and leans down to press a kiss to the tip of Namjoon’s nose. “I would like something else.” 

He walks around the bench again and stands in front of Namjoon, who looks up to him and reaches for his waist, a hopeful smile on his lips. Seokjin steps into the space between his spread legs, and planting his hands on Namjoon’s shoulders, he rests first one and then the other knee on the bench at each side of Namjoon’s thighs, straddling him.

“I’ve missed you,” he says, scooting closer and burying his face in Namjoon’s neck.

Namjoon hums. “Me too.” 

He lets Seokjin scent him to his heart’s content, his hands sliding up and down his back, and when Seokjin’s lips are tracing the line of his jaw, he turns his face to nuzzle Seokjin’s cheek. Seokjin pulls back just enough so he can kiss Namjoon on the lips.

They kiss under the crescent moon, in the stillness of the empty square, slowly and intently, relearning the shape of the other’s mouth. His heart feels like it could explode anytime, so full and desperate. With a whimper trapped at the back of his throat, he wraps his arms around Namjoon’s shoulders and holds him close, his heart reaching for Namjoon’s.

Namjoon growls, his hands tightening around him, as if his heart felt the same desperation. Seokjin feels the buzz of arousal under his skin as Namjoon grabs handfuls of his ass and pulls him as close as possible. He grinds against Namjoon’s hardening cock, and fuck , how does he wish there were no clothes between them.

Namjoon traces his neck with his lips, littering nips and sucks all over the sensitive skin. He leaves a particularly hard bite where a mating mark should go, and Seokjin can stop a moan from escaping his lips. 

He pushes Namjoon back and stands up on wobbly legs. The tilt of Namjoon’s head is confused, but Seokjin doesn’t say a word. He just catches his breath for a moment before dropping onto his knees. Namjoon gasps, his scent, thick with lust, is the biggest encouragement.

Seokjin reaches for the waist of Namjoon’s pants, his eyes fixed on Namjoon’s and his bottom lip caught between his teeth.

“Jin…?”

“Let me do this for you,” he mutters, untying the belt that keeps Namjoon’s pants firm around his waist. “I really wanna do this for you.”

Namjoon visibly gulps and nods, his eyes wide, as if Seokjin was an apparition. He can’t help but chuckle.

Pulling Namjoon’s jeogori up, he presses a kiss to Namjoon’s tightening stomach and gestures for the alpha to keep his clothes up. Once the jeogori is secured in Namjoon’s grasp, Seokjin unties his pants and pulls them down enough to let Namjoon’s cock spring free. 

Seokjin wets his lip and only observes for a moment. He already knew Namjoon’s cock was big; he has felt it pressed against him a handful of times. Besides, Namjoon is a big alpha with long limbs, it makes sense that–

“Don’t just look at it,” Namjoon says with a nervous little laugh.

“Sorry,” Seokjin giggles and leans forward to press a chaste kiss to Namjoon’s lips before wrapping a hand around his cock. “I was just wondering who I might have saved in my previous life–”

Namjoon nips at his bottom lip to shut him up, and Seokjin giggles some more, but when Namjoon lets out a short puff of air and his eyes close for a moment longer than normal, Seokjin gets serious. 

He has touched a few cocks in his life, but this one is different. This one matters. It’s not like he doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he really wants to do it right. Maybe that’s why his grip is feather-light, his strokes hesitant, his heart is hammering in his chest, pending on Namjoon’s every reaction. 

“I swear I’m not teasing, it’s just–”

“Seokjin...” Namjoon cups his face in his palms and only looks at him. Seokjin doesn’t want to let it get to his head, but maybe the light behind Namjoon’s eyes is adoration.

He nods and kisses Namjoon one more time. His lips are the balm he needs to ease his nerves and focus. 

After a last taste of Namjoon’s plush lips, Seokjin pulls back and leans down. Before he can lose courage, he presses his lips to the tip of Namjoon’s cock and opens his mouth to take the head inside. It’s only a test, but his eyes close involuntarily and he hums at the taste. 

It’s Namjoon’s rich scent melting on his tongue, and Seokjin is reminded of that delicacy brought from a far land, sweet and slightly bitter, a dark taste that melted on his fingers and mouth. He swirls his tongue around to get as much as possible and sucks lightly. Namjoon gasps, his hand buried in Seokjin’s hair.

“Seokjin…”

He pulls off with a wet sound and looks at Namjoon. “Tell me if I do something wrong, yeah?”

Namjoon grunts. “You could never do anything wrong.”

Seokjin chuckles. “That’s your cock talking.”

He leans down again, and this time, he tries to get as much as he can into his mouth. It’s not an easy task, but he’s persistent. He bobs his head up and down, taking a little bit more every time. Namjoon’s breathing is soon ragged, and by the time Seokjin’s nose touches his navel, he seems to be fighting to not buck his hips up and fuck Seokjin’s mouth even deeper. His thighs flex under his touch, and a curse comes out in a low moan when Seokjin’s throat closes around the head of his cock.   

Seokjin pulls out to catch his breath, his hand now easily sliding up and down Namjoon’s length. Namjoon’s dazed eyes fix on his mouth, and Seokjin bites his bottom lip just for show. Namjoon growls and pulls him closer, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth and biting it himself.

He has to push Namjoon back to dive onto his cock again. It’s sloppy this time. Namjoon is close, and Seokjin is chasing after his release with all he’s got, he wants to earn that orgasm properly. He sucks on the head and jerks the rest, until Namjoon is squirming and fisting a hand on his hair.

Namjoon comes with a breathless moan, spilling into Seokjin’s mouth, and Seokjin milks every last drop of his release, swallowing it down as if he was starving. 

“Hurts,” Namjoon whimpers when it becomes too much, so Seokjin pulls off and puts Namjoon’s spent cock back into his pants, closing the belt around his waist while Namjoon comes down from the high.

“Jin, that was…” His words trail off, his head probably still foggy. He takes a deep breath and tries again, “That was–”

“Hopefully not too bad,” Seokjin chuckles, wiping his chin with the back of his hand.

“Are you kidding?” Namjoon grabs his jaw and pulls him closer, capturing his lips in a slow kiss. “Now’s your turn,” he mutters against his lips.

“It’s alright, I–”

Namjoon growls, his eyes dark, more wolf than man at the moment. A shudder runs down his body, but he still manages to smile.

“Well, if you insist…”

Growl still rumbling in his chest, Namjoon pulls him up and turns him around, just to pull him down again onto his lap. He spreads Seokjin’s legs with his own, one hand sneaking into his pants and the other sliding under his shirt to grab one of his breasts.

Seokjin gasps and arches his back, his head falling onto Namjoon’s shoulder, as two of Namjoon’s fingers slip between his wet folds.

“We’re out in the open,” he says, and if his mind wasn’t melting by the shocks of pleasure caused by Namjoon’s fingers tweaking his nipple, he’d laugh at the irony of that comment. 

He didn’t give a shit about exposure when he was gagging on Namjoon’s cock, and Namjoon at least has the consideration to keep him all covered.

“Let them know how good I make you feel then,” Namjoon mutters against his temple as the tip of one of his fingers breaches Seokjin’s entrance.

Seokjin prepares for the intrusion; Namjoon’s fingers are long, but he keeps playing with only the tip, barely diving in, testing the slide with infuriating patience.

“Yah, Namjoon-ah…” Seokjin breathes out, covering the hand squeezing his breast and moving his hips to get more of Namjoon’s finger inside. “Don’t tease.”

“Yes, hyung-nim ,” Namjoon says and chuckles, pinching his nipple before moving that hand into his pants too.

Seokjin bites his lip to keep the sounds inside. Namjoon gets his fingers coated with slick and starts rubbing his clit in tandem with the two fingers prodding his cunt, catching on the entrance until they bury inside slowly but as deep as they go. 

Seokjin squirms in Namjoon’s embrace when the fingers start fucking in and out, his hands feeling his own breasts just to stop himself from clawing at Namjoon’s forearms. A moan escapes his lips when Namjoon speeds up the rhythm, his cunt squeezing Namjoon’s fingers, trying to keep them inside.

“Why didn’t I do this before?” Namjoon hums, his lips moving against the shell of his ear, raising goosebumps all over his body.

“Y-you’re an idiot–” He whimpers when Namjoon pulls his fingers out and lets him clench against nothing. “C-could’ve had me ages ago.”   

“Let’s mate on the last moon of summer,” Namjoon whispers, nuzzling behind his ear. “That’s the tradition, isn’t it?”

Seokjin nods. First moon of spring for arranged matings, last of summer for proper courtings. It’s sweet, but he wants to weep at the long wait.

“D-does that mean y-you’re gonna court me?” Namjoon hasn’t stopped rubbing tight circles on his clit, his thoughts are mostly melted, his words lazy.

“Was the boar not enough?”

Seokjin whines. Namjoon’s fingers are sliding in and out of his cunt again. “I want t-the silly gifts t-too… Flowers and… cheesy jewelry.”

Namjoon chuckles. “Alright.”

He gets serious after that, his fingers moving with a single purpose. Seokjin comes with a whimpered moan, trembling on Namjoon’s lap while he fucks every beat of pleasure out of him. 

In the aftermath, he could swear his heart echoes in the silence of the square. Namjoon lets him close his legs and catch his breath on his lap. He pulls his drenched fingers out of his pants and brings the two that were inside Seokjin to his mouth.

“I’ll eat you out next time,” he says, his tone casual as if they were arranging a visit to the horses.

Seokjin snorts. “You know there’s something else I want,” he says, circling his hips against Namjoon’s crotch. He’s half hard again. 

“Let’s go back to bed before we give an even bigger show,” he grunts and stands up, pulling Seokjin up with him.

Seokjin giggles, his thoughts too scattered to insist on the matter any further. Linking their arms, they start the walk back to the inn.

“Just the tip won’t hurt, Namjoon-ah, come on…”

Namjoon needs a moment to gather himself and not just come at Seokjin’s breathless request. 

After their little escapade to the square, they wanted to repeat it the following night, but they were so tired that they passed out once they laid their heads on the pillow. Tonight, however, they found the perfect excuse to sneak into a private place. 

A brush to the horses turned into “ a kiss before going to bed, Joonie, come on. I couldn’t kiss you goodnight yesterday ”, which turned into a heated make-out session, which led to Seokjin sitting on a stack of hay bundles in an empty stall of the stables, legs wrapped around Namjoon’s waist while they grind against each other.  

Namjoon went a little farther than the night on the square and opened Seokjin’s jeogori to grab a mouthful of his breasts. His hands are busy holding Seokjin’s ass tight to keep him snug against his cock, his hard-on perfectly aligned with Seokjin’s cunt as he rubs against  Seokjin with short thrusts.

“Fuck, I’m so close…” Seokjin moans, his fists closing around Namjoon’s hair, keeping him close as he sucks on his breasts. He tries to keep the attention balanced between Seokjin’s two nipples, the soft skin around them covered in little bruises.

He’s close too, his hips moving at an almost desperate pace. His thoughts are scrambled, his mind’s only focus is pleasure, his own and the one he knows he’s giving to his omega. His omega. Why hasn’t he put a claim on his omega yet?

With a growl rumbling in his chest, Namjoon leaves a trail of bites up to Seokjin’s neck, still immaculate, waiting for his mark. His orgasm is approaching and he can’t let it go to waste. He already scents Seokjin at every chance he gets, but that’s not enough. He needs Seokjin to smell like him from the inside. He knows Seokjin will carry his scent with pride, he’s been begging for it, his omega.

“ Namjoon… ” The plea falls so softly out of Seokjin’s lips, what kind of alpha lets his omega beg for him like that?

It’s inconceivable. 

He starts pulling down the annoying piece of clothing that blocks his way to the tight heat of Seokjin’s cunt, ready to bury deep inside and paint Seokjin with his scent, but then a loud banging sounds at the entrance of the stables.

“Go mate somewhere else!” grumbles an angry voice, but Namjoon barely registers the words.

Seokjin’s scared gasp, however, turns lust into aggression, as the stench of another alpha reaches his senses. He turns to the man with a snarl, eyes narrowed, his instincts beyond control. 

If he dares to lay a single glance on his omega –

“We’re leaving right away, sir.” Seokjin says with an airy voice, grabbing Namjoon’s face and turning it to him. “Get a grip on yourself, Joon-ah,” he mutters, his amber eyes filled with worry.

He snaps out of it when Seokjin’s distressed scent reaches him. He shakes his head and steps back so Seokjin can jump down the hay and cover his body. He tries to get his racing heart back into a normal pace with long breaths while Seokjin fixes his clothes for him.

He moves only when Seokjin takes his hand and pulls him out of the stall. 

“We’re very sorry,” Seokjin says, bowing when they walk in front of the owner of the stables, who’s holding the door open and frowning at them.

Namjoon has half the mind to give the man a court nod.

“I don’t know what got into me,” he says when they’re a few blocks away. 

It’s the night before the festival, so this part of the city is already resting to prepare for the busy day that’s coming. Namjoon is grateful, because less people will see how flustered he is. Gods , he still can’t believe his own behavior. 

Seokjin giggles. “For a hot moment I thought you were going to rip that poor man’s head off.”

Namjoon huffs. “I wanted too, what the fuck?”

“If anything, it’s quite flattering to know you want me that much,” Seokjin says with a chuckle. “Another sign that we should close the deal soon, or you’ll go feral on someone one of these days.”

Namjoon gasps and stops in the middle of the street while his mind spins at the possibility.  

Seokjin turns around with a surprised arch on his eyebrows. He’s so beautifully disheveled that Namjoon only wants to drag him into his arms again. His eyes are glossy and his lips swollen and inviting. He seems fucked out even though they didn’t manage to get that far.

I was going to , Namjoon realizes. He was going to let his instincts grab the reins, he was going to take Seokjin right there and then. As if he needed any more reasons to deem that a bad idea.

“I’ll be more careful from now on,” Seokjin says, a gentle smile on his lips. “I forget that you’re as new to these feelings as I am.”

Namjoon opens his mouth to say that he is not the one who needs to be careful, that Namjoon needs to get his shit together and be the alpha Seokjin needs, but Seokjin leans into his space and calms his mind with a kiss.

“I’m still the hyung in this relationship, let me take care of you, yeah?” Seokjin’s eyes are warm, his lips soft when they press against Namjoon’s again.

He knows Seokjin means well. Love is blooming between them, so he understands the wish to protect. He too wants to take care of Seokjin, not worry him like he just did.

“Let it go,” Seokjin chuckles. “Nothing terrible happened… Well, apart from that guy seeing my tits–”

Namjoon grunts. Annoyance bubbles up his chest again until Seokjin slaps his arm and laughs. 

“You’re such an alpha,” he says and nods at him. “Better stop growling and fix your dick before it pokes out.”

He gasps and looks down, but there’s nothing to cover. His erection flagged once he realized he was growling at a stranger. With Seokjin giggling next to him, Namjoon fixes his pants so there’s not a bulge on the front and starts walking again. 

“Your face…” Seokjin grabs his arms and leans on his shoulder. “You’re so cute.” 

Seokjin is still giggling when they make it to the inn. Right when they’re going to open the door, someone opens it from the inside and they bump into Hoseok.

“I won’t ask if you don’t,” he says with an easy grin.

“Sounds fair.” Seokjin nods at Hoseok, who leaves with a wave. 

They climb the stairs to their room, where they’re received by a snoring Jimin and a knowing smirk from Yoongi.

Five hundred and eighty-four silver coins. 

That’s what they managed to gather during the five days they stayed in Chungju. Yoongi finishes counting a few hours before the festival finally starts.  

“That’s more than enough to get us ready for winter,” Namjoon says, “Now we can return this and leave with our pride.” He shakes the bag of what they still have left of the Mayor’s coin and throws it into his open bag.

They’re leaving tomorrow at dawn, so they have their stuff already packed. They paid the inn in advance and tomorrow, someone other than Namjoon will go to pay for the stables and pick the girls.

“Good thing we stayed for the festival, don’t you think?” Hoseok wiggles his eyebrows as he straightens his new shirt.

They decided to keep half of what they did today for themselves. After all, a festival is a good occasion to idly blow some coin.

“Best part is that next season they have another one, so we can bring Yoonji-noona and Taehyungie,” Jimin says, smiling at his wiggling toes. 

He bought a pair of shoes, arguing that he needed something “ lighter than that pair of bricks we call boots, hyung, this is torture once summer starts. ” Actually, all of them have a pair of new shoes, similar to the sandals Seokjin wears. 

“Just keep my sister away from the soju testing stands,” Yoongi chuckles, “she’s too self indulgent.”

“There’s a soju testing stand?” Jimin asks, and Yoongi rolls his eyes. “Also, noona has better alcohol tolerance than all of us.”

“Precisely,” Yoongi says, throwing a look at him, as if saying can you believe this kid?

Namjoon smiles, safely storing the coin in their bags. 

“So…” Seokjin stretches on his mattress and turns on his side, propped on an elbow. “Apart from the soju stand, what are we doing tonight? What do you do at a stone city festival?”

He’d been napping since they came back to the room. Today, he and Seokjin finished working later than the rest, but when they returned to the room, it was empty. The guys had gone shopping, so the two of them went to the baths and caught up on some sleep. When the guys returned, Namjoon helped Yoongi count the coin they had earned, but Seokjin kept on falling in and out of sleep.

“Well, you go through the stands,” Jimin starts, counting with his fingers, “play games, eat all the free food you can, dance a little if you’re drunk enough–”

“And fuck in the dark corners if you find someone willing to,” Hoseok adds in a whisper and laughs when Yoongi throws a dirty sock at him. “Did I lie?”

“It’s not so different from the wild then,” Seokjin says, sitting up. He yawns and rubs his shoulder, pushing the neck of his shirt aside, and inadvertently revealing a dark bruise on his collarbone.

A wave of arousal flips his stomach at the memory of giving Seokjin that bruise last night. Namjoon looks away and finds Yoongi’s eyes glinting with amusement.

“Let’s do just that then,” Yoongi says. “Except the last part. I mean, you can do it if you want, but I’ll come back here after I see our head couple dance.”

Namjoon smiles until the meaning of the words goes through his head.

“Wait, you mean us?” He waves a hand between him and Seokjin.

“I can’t dance for shit,” Seokjin says with a chuckle. “But I’ll do it if Namjoon asks me.”

Namjoon shoots a betrayed glare at Seokjin, who only laughs some more. The others laugh too.

“Alright, it’s settled then,” Hoseok says, and with a clap of his hands, everyone starts getting ready to go out.

The celebrations start in front of the Mayor’s building.

It’s funny how stone cities are just a reinterpretation of wild packs. Seokjin remembers his sire gathering the whole pack in front of his hut to pronounce a few words before the feast of the first moon of spring or other similar occasion. Chungju’s Mayor is not different, just that his hut is a three-story stone building on the lake shore, and the pack gathered in the square in front of it must consist of over a couple thousand members.

After the words—that the whole city cheers for—the Mayor lights a fire pit in the center of the square and the music starts.

They stay to watch the performances prepared by the pups of Chungju’s school, then a group of quite flexible omegas, and a company of traveling dancers. They hear there’s a play to be performed later, but Jimin starts whining that he’s hungry, so they go over to the stands.

It’s tradition, the guys explain to him, that every stand has at least one free snack. Most of the city’s shop owners have a stand selling their products, and next to it, a table with the rice cakes and sweets Seokjin and Namjoon have been delivering for the past five days. But the stands of the restaurant owners are the best by far. They try all kinds of food walking down the street without spending a single coin.

“What is that?”

They stop in front of a man with only a strange machine by stand. His foot is pushing a pedal to make it turn while he holds a stick inside the machine. The sweet scent of melting sugar spirals around him.

“This, my beautiful sir,” the man says, pulling the stick out of the machine with a cloud-like substance on it, “is sugar cotton.” 

The seller smiles at the surprised expressions of the group.

“Only two bronze coins for beautiful omegas like you, sir.”

Seokjin snorts, rolling his eyes at the seller’s gallantry, but taking his hand to the pouch full of coins in his pocket.

“Wait, how much is it for the rest of us?” Yoongi asks, after Jimin tugged at his sleeve.

“Five,” the seller says, his eyes never leaving Seokjin’s face.

“Five?!”

“But, hyung…” Jimin whines. “I really wanna try it.”

“I’ll give you a silver for five,” Namjoon says, coin in hand, his brow slightly furrowed. His scent is doing that funny thing alphas do when they want to appear bigger than they are.

“Deal,” the seller says, turning his gallant smile at Namjoon.

They leave the seller with an ear to ear smile and a little crowd of people wanting to buy his product after they saw the five of them leaving with their sugar cotton.

“You were robbed, you know?” Yoongi says after they finish the candy.

A silver coin is equal to fifteen bronze, so it wasn’t that bad of a deal. And price aside, it was a quite pleasant treat. They were all surprised when the cotton melted on their tongues.

“That guy thrives on alphas puffing out their chests for their darlings,” Hoseok snickers.

“I wasn’t puffing out anything,” Namjoon grunts, wiping melted sugar from his cheek.

“Don’t be ungrateful, it was nice,” Jimin says, licking his fingers clean. “Strange but… nice.”

“Alright, yes, it was something,” Yoongi agrees. “Thank you for the treat, Namjoonie.”

Namjoon rolls his eyes. A drop of red colored sugar near his right dimple still catches the light of the lanterns above their heads.

“Don’t let them bother you,” Seokjin whispers, hugging Namjoon’s arm and pulling him a bit down, so only he can hear the next part: “I kinda dig when you act all alpha to impress me.”

Namjoon looks at him with surprise in his eyes. “I didn’t–”

Seokjin kisses the melted sugar off his face and giggles at Namjoon’s even more shocked expression.

“You’re cute.”

“You two are actually gross.” Hoseok appears on his other side and turns him towards a new street, full of game stands. “Cute are those dolls.”

One of the first stands challenges the customers to shoot at an apple with a longbow for wooden toys. And so on, all the stands have treats for the customers who are successful in their games, most of them toys or handmade accessories.

“What do you say if we collect some toys for our niece or nephew on the way?”

Yoongi blushes and mutters that it’s not necessary, but everyone is on board with the idea. 

Seokjin tries the longbow and makes it on his third try. The owner challenges him to drink three small cups of soju and try again. Seokjin hits the apple twice in a row. 

Yoongi tries the longbow too and makes it on the first try. He didn’t lie when he said he knew how to use a traditional bow. He wins several wooden figures.

Jimin is a hit with the dalgona. After he manages to cut all the easy figures, the stand owner challenges him with a dragon figure, and they all cheer for their youngest until the last bit is cut. He gets a basket of tangerines for it.  

Hoseok gives everything a try but he has the most fun when he or the others fail. Still, he adds a few knitted dolls to the pile in the stand where they have to throw light wooden rings to stack them on bottles.

Namjoon is quite clumsy in everything that requires precision. He frowns in concentration and tries his best, but things don’t go as he expects. In fact, more often than not something ends up broken in his hands. Seokjin kisses his cheek every time his lips pout with disappointment.

“We’ll find the game for you, Namjoonie,” Seokjin says, dragging him away from the ball throwing stand before the owner can glare at them to death. Namjoon missed the target for just a little and hit a clay bottle the owner had hidden in the back.

They’re watching Hoseok and Yoongi bet on a roulette type of thing, when they hear a ring and cheers in the distance.

“Let’s see what that is about,” Jimin says, dragging Namjoon and Seokjin with him, while the other two rub their hands so the roulette falls on the spot where they put their coins.

They easily find the stand by the crowd gathered around it. The challenge is to hit a bell stuck on a tall post with a ball that goes up after hitting the base with a hammer. The hammer is inconveniently big and, judging by the way the young alpha challenging drags it, quite heavy. 

“That seems like something I could do,” Namjoon says.

The young alpha manages to lift the hammer and lets it fall on the base, but the ball barely reaches the middle of the post.

“I don’t know, it seems like it’s rigged,” Jimin hums, narrowing his eyes at the device.

“Do we have new challengers?” The stand owner walks towards them and beckons them to approach. “Only two coins the try! You can win one of our pretty accessories for your ladies.”

“Alpha pride truly moves the world,” Seokjin chuckles, looking at his companions, expecting to see them grinning, but the two alphas are seriously considering the offer. Seokjin rolls his eyes. “Oh, come on!”

“Hyung, we did hear the bell ring before,” Jimin argues. “Besides, I think that last guy was just a weakling.”

“Go and try then,” Seokjin says, throwing exasperated hands up. 

Jimin doesn’t waste any more time and puts the two coins on the owner’s awaiting hand. The crowd cheers when Jimin walks towards the device. He turns his head to one side and then the next to make the bones of his neck crack and grabs the hammer. He needs his two hands to lift it, but he seems more at ease than the previous guy when he swings it in the air and hits the base.

The ball, however, only lifts up to three quarters of the post.

The crowd voices their disappointment and Jimin doubles in half with a loud cackle.

“Seems like I’m a weakling too,” he says when he returns to their side, and Seokjin pats his back when he rests his forehead on his shoulder and pretends to cry.

“Don’t worry, Jiminie. It’s probably rigged,” Seokjin says, smiling at the younger alpha.

“Better luck next time,” the owner says, handing Jimin a crown made with tiny wildflowers.

Jimin giggles, “Thanks.” He bows at the owner and offers Seokjin the crown, throwing Namjoon a mischievous glance.

Seokjin leans down so Jimin can put the crown on his head and turns to Namjoon, surely he won’t mind if he receives a gift from Jimin, his baby brother. But Namjoon is already halfway to the hammer.

“Oh, for fuck’ sake!”

“Our next challenger looks like he has a fair chance to ring the bell,” the owner says, inviting the people to cheer for Namjoon. The crowd certainly does, especially the omegas.

Heat flares in Seokjin’s cheeks at the sight of Namjoon standing there, tall and proud, with a serious look on his face, his sharp eyes determined. He’s so handsome; his dark hair thrown back, and wide, strong shoulders relaxed. He’d be jealous of the person that could call such an alpha theirs.

With a pleased smile curling his lips, he shouts, “Break that bell, Joonie-yah!”

“Yeah, you can do it, Joonie-hyung!” Jimin cheers. 

Namjoon grabs the hammer with a focused frown on his face. He tests the weight in his hands and nods. Taking a deep breath, he turns to them and winks at him before swinging the hammer. It falls onto the base with a loud bang and the ball goes all the way up until it hits the bell. 

The crowd explodes in cheers, Jimin shouts something like “that’s my hyung!” and Seokjin claps along with the crowd, heart swelling with pride. 

A group of young omegas swoon over Namjoon when he turns around with a dimpled smile on his face after receiving the silk pouch with his prize, and Seokjin can’t help but raise his chin petulantly.

But it’s not like he has to state his claim. Namjoon walks straight to him and gives him the silk pouch with a wholesome smile on his face.

Seokjin feels his cheeks warm up. The crowd is watching while he empties the pouch onto his palm and a pretty jade ring falls onto it. 

“Is that cheesy enough?” 

Seokjin chuckles and nods.

“Can I?” Namjoon asks, reaching for the ring.

“Aish, right in front of everyone? Namjoon-ah…” Seokjin groans but lets Namjoon put the ring on his finger.

The crowd claps, the girls from before whine their disappointment, stealing longing glances at them. Namjoon pulls him close and plants a kiss on his forehead.

“Let’s go.”

They walk around for a while looking for the other two, but when they can’t find them, they go back to the main square. There, Yoongi and Hoseok are eating fish cake on one of the hundreds of flat benches around the fire pit.

“How did the bets go?” Namjoon asks.

“Ah,” Yoongi sighs and gives Jimin what he was eating. “We lost three and won two, so not too bad.”

“Just not good,” Hoseok laughs. “How about you?”

Before he can even open his mouth, Jimin jumps in, “Namjoonie-hyung gave Jinnie-hyung a proper courting gift,” he says, pointing at the ring in Seokjin’s finger. 

Seokjin lifts his hand and shows the ring off with a pleased smile. Namjoon can’t help but blush.

Yoongi nods his approval, looking from the ring to Namjoon. “Well done, Joon-ah.”

“That’s the way to go, my friend,” Hoseok says, clapping his back.

“Where did you get those?” Namjoon asks, shifting the attention to the food before they notice how flustered he is.

In the end, he and Seokjin venture into the maze of food stands to get something for themselves. Somehow the crowd seems to have grown since the sunset. Midnight approaches, and Chungju is more alive than ever.  

“This is a lot more people than the woods have ever gathered,” Seokjin comments, taking his hand so they don’t get separated.

Namjoon doesn’t hold back a silly smile as he intertwines their fingers. “If you don’t like this, you’ll hate Seoul’s festivals.”

Seokjin chuckles. “Good thing we won’t stay there then.”

Namjoon’s smile falters. Building a home together, making a life somewhere other than Seoul still feels like a dream. It’s not that he’s pessimistic, it’s just that that happiness still feels a breath out of his reach. 

“Hey.” Seokjin, maybe noticing the waver in his heart, nudges him with his hip. “I’ve been meaning to ask you…” There’s a smirk on his face when Namjoon looks at him. “Did you really fuck around in the dark corners of Seoul?” 

He chokes on air at the suddenness of the question, and Seokjin laughs his ass off.

“It might shock you,” Namjoon starts when Seokjin sobers up, a dignified arch on his eyebrows, “but Yoongi and I were pretty popular back in the day.”

Seokjin snorts. “ Back in the day ? You sound like an old man.”

“I guess that was our real youth.” Namjoon sighs. “Before entering the Mayor’s guard, we were carefree and a bit reckless even.”

“Stealing omegas’ hearts left and right?”

Namjoon shrugs, playing a bit of arrogance to see how Seokjin would react. Seokjin gasps and slaps his arm. 

“Well, I can’t say it surprises me,” he says, “You’re hot as fuck.”

Namjoon barks a laugh at Seokjin shamelessly checking him out. 

“Oh, but you don’t know what my special charm was.” Namjoon throws an expectant glance at Seokjin, giving him the chance to make a guess.

“The dimples?” Seokjin pokes his cheek.

“That’s still my biggest charm,” Namjoon says, throwing Seokjin a clumsy wink. 

Seokjin slaps his shoulder lightly, giggling. “Tell me your special charm!”

Namjoon smiles at the memory. “There was a rumor that I came from the wild. The girls went crazy at that for some reason.”

“What?!”

Namjoon laughs at Seokjin’s shocked expression.

“Well, it wasn’t entirely fake,” he says with a shrug. “I mean, my mother, and I guess my father too, were from a pack outside the city, although not far enough to be considered… the wild.”

Seokjin hums, looking at him up and down with a considering frown. “Still… You kinda have the height and the build.”

“Some even said my father had to be from the northern mountains. Something about the eyes–”

Seokjin gasps, his mouth opens to answer something, but he just looks away, his ears dusting pink. “I must say… It never crossed my mind. I’m seeing you in a different light now.”

Namjoon laughs. “I’ve no idea, though. I only know my mother was not from the city.”

“The day you finally deign to turn for me, we’ll find out.”

“Really?”

Seokjin grunts. “Let’s not talk about this anymore, or I’ll drag you to a dark corner right now.”

Namjoon laughs. The tasty smell of fried chicken leads them to a crowded stand. Seokjin has never eaten fried chicken, so they decide to wait.

“Why was Yoongi popular, though?” Seokjin chuckles. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s handsome enough, but he’s not exactly a charmer.”

Namjoon laughs. “Back then he was. He capitalized his cuteness with the noonas,” he says, remembering how easy the gummy smile came to Yoongi’s face when he was twenty. “Besides, I don’t know if you’ve heard this, but hyung is the son of a very prominent man in Seoul.”

“Oh? I thought he was clanless too.” 

“I mean, the guy has never admitted anything, but he doesn’t have to. Yoongi-hyung and his sister look more like him than his actual legitimate children. Everyone thought that after proving himself a capable alpha, the head of the Min clan would give Yoongi his name, but it never happened.”

“Shit…”

“Yeah, though hyung would rather die a nameless bastard than take the Min name. He says so every chance he gets.”

“I respect that,” Seokjin says, nodding. A line of people leave with their chicken so they move forward a couple of steps. “What about the other two? Did they have a promiscuous youth too?”

Namjoon gasps. “I wasn’t promiscuous!”

“Not what I asked,” Seokjin says, the glint in his eyes makes it obvious that he got the reaction he wanted. 

Namjoon sighs, a smile tugging at his lips. He doesn’t mind being played by Seokjin. “Well, Hoseok is still quite prom– I mean, popular .” 

Seokjin chuckles. “Yeah, I can see my baby brother falling for him in a heartbeat.”

“Oh?” 

The shadow that crosses Seokjin’s eyes every time he mentions his younger brother is there again. Namjoon leans closer to him, even though he knows he can’t shield Seokjin from the sadness that comes from within. Seokjin rests part of his weight on Namjoon’s shoulder, acknowledging the support offered. 

Seokjin chuckles and shakes his head. “What about Jiminie? I’m sure he capitalizes his cuteness too.”

Namjoon looks at him and arches an eyebrow. Seokjin pokes his side and snickers.

After batting Seokjin’s finger away from his ribs, Namjoon answers, “He definitely could, but he has always been on Yoonji-noona’s tight leash, not that he minds though–”

 “Wait…” Seokjin turns to face him and fixes him with an incredulous look. “Yoonji? As in…”

“Oh, yeah.” Namjoon laughs. “We were going to let you see it for yourself. Hobi and I actually bet on how long you would take to figure it out, but now you can be in on the joke that is Jimin believing no one notices his massive crush.”

“But he said–” Seokjin seems to be reorganizing the world around the information he just learned. “Wait, does that mean– She… also…?”

Namjoon chuckles. “She’s too proud to admit anything, but Jimin hung the stars in her sky.”

Seokjin covers his mouth with his hand and squeals. “That’s lovely.”

Namjoon hums and smiles at Seokjin, who starts contemplating all the possibilities out loud. It’s a small detail, but Namjoon can’t help but feel Seokjin closer thanks to it, like making him part of their pack through a little bit of their shared history. 

Two batches later they can finally walk away with two buckets of juicy fried chicken, one for them and the other for the guys. Seokjin loves it so much that he puts raising chickens as a top priority for their pack endeavor. When he tells Namjoon, he accepts with an endeared smile. 

When they return to the bench, the guys are halfway through their second bottle of soju. 

“I told you! I should have gotten beer!” Jimin says when they put the fried chicken in the middle of the circle. “Fried chicken and beer are a must.”

“The night is still young,” Seokjin says, fixing Jimin with what he hopes is an eloquent look.

Jimin jumps to his feet and stands really straight. “As you command, my head omega, sir!”

Before he can even react, Jimin is running away to get them beer. The guys laugh at his dumbfounded face.

Between the chicken and the drinks, midnight comes without them even noticing. A bell is rung and the square falls silent. A group of priestesses make some sort of ritual near the fire pit, then, like a wave coming from the lake, people stand up and bow.

They don’t know the meaning of the ritual but bow with the rest of the crowd. After the solemn moment passes, fireworks explode over the lake, raising the volume of the festivities once again.

The crowd starts to move, the stands make the last call before closing. Seokjin looks around, the families with pups and the elders are leaving. Just like in the wild, the late night celebrations belong to the unmated members of the packs. In this case, it seems like most of the citizens of Chungju under forty are staying in the square and joining the dance around the fire pit.  

“I’m not leaving this square until you dance!” Yoongi hits the bench with an empty bottle of soju and beckons Namjoon to proceed.

“Prepare to sleep here then,” Namjoon says, gulping down the last of his beer.

“ Hyung , you can’t do that!” Jimin whines and proceeds to yank Namjoon’s sleeve, throwing him out of balance.

Seokjin only smiles. He must admit that the idea of swaying in Namjoon’s arms under the moonlight is a very tempting prospect, but he’s never had the coordination in his limbs to do such a thing. Maybe he’ll be spared the embarrassment: Namjoon is an immovable rock surrounded by his friends poking and yanking at him.  

“It’s just a dance, Joon-ah, come on!”

“When was the last time you danced?”

“No one cares if you do it right or wrong.”

“Everyone’s too drunk to care anyway.”

The guys keep cornering Namjoon with arguments until he escapes from their grasp and hisses, “Alright, just shut up already.”

Namjoon clears his throat and stands in front of him. “I wish I could have asked you properly instead of being coerced by these assholes…” he throws a glare at the other three and turns to him with a hand held up between them. “Would you dance with me?”

Seokjin takes a deep breath, just for show. “Romance is in the air,” he says and takes Namjoon’s hand.

The guys erupt in cheers and whistles behind them.

“I’m sorry,” Namjoon mutters, as they walk towards the fire pit. There are several couples and groups dancing to the lively music a band is playing nearby.

Seokjin laughs and swings their joined hands. “I was hoping you would save us the pain, but they are persistent.”

Namjoon grunts. “We can always… you know, run away.”

Seokjin shakes his head, his heart beating faster now that they’re surrounded by dancing couples. “They would just drag us back here.”

“You can’t choose family,” Namjoon sighs, but his smile only speaks of warmth. He stands in front of him and straightens his back, offering his hands to join the rhythmic dance. 

Ignoring his flaming cheeks, Seokjin takes his hands. “I should warn you, though... This is going to be really embarrassing. I might step on you.”

“I might step on you too. Please, do not have expectations.”

They laugh.

“Less talking, more dancing!” 

Seokjin turns around to see Hoseok and the other two waving from the sidelines.

“I’ll beat their asses tomorrow,” Namjoon says, waving back.

Seokjin giggles. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Alright.”

They literally start with the wrong foot, but before they can bump into someone or topple over each other, the music changes to something slow and romantic.

“Oh.” 

Seokjin’s heart skips a beat when Namjoon grabs his waist and pulls him close mid spin, swaying to the rhythm with his cheek pressed to Seokjin’s.

“This is more like it,” Namjoon says, his deep voice soft like a caress against his ear.

Seokjin holds on to the alpha’s shoulders and takes in his enticing scent. It’s as if everyone else vanished from the square, and only they exist in a bubble of golden mist. He lets Namjoon lead the dance, swaying and making him spin from time to time, always pulling him back into the safety of his arms, the warmth of his body. It’s soft and tender, but despite their mellow dancing, Seokjin’s heart is racing, heat sizzling under his skin.

“Namjoon…”

Namjoon hums in question. Seokjin is not sure what he wants to say, but he needs to voice all the feelings bubbling inside his chest somehow. He opens his mouth but only a shaky breath comes out. He wants to scream, maybe slap his cheeks to focus, but his feet move faster than his thoughts. He steps on Namjoon, and in the hurry of moving away he knees him somewhere near his crotch. Namjoon huffs and doubles down.

“Moon gracious! I’m so sorry–”

Seokjin covers his mouth with his hands, but Namjoon pulls them down and chuckles. With a mischievous look in his eyes, he grabs one of his hands more firmly and pulls him deeper into the crowd. 

They reach the fire pit and walk beyond, going out of the dance floor from the opposite side they entered.  

“Where are we going?” Seokjin asks when Namjoon keeps walking away from the lights of the festival.

Namjoon turns around, a lopsided smile on his face. “To a dark corner, perhaps.”

Seokjin chuckles. “Alright.”

The farther they go, the less people they encounter in the streets. The promenade alongside the lake shore, however, is discreetly full of couples sitting on the benches, covered by the shadows, facing away from the path. The subtle sounds of the lake are only accompanied by whispers, and coquettish giggles here and there.

“I’m hoping…” Namjoon starts, heading to a pier leading to a gazebo above the lake. “Oh, yes.”

Halfway there it’s evident that it’s empty. Lighted only by the moonlight, the gazebo has the prettiest view to the lake, and the intricate design of the roof is not too far in beauty. The railing connecting the six posts is covered by ivy falling onto the lake; a single bench sits in the middle.

“How come there’s no one here?” 

Seokjin carefully steps onto the deck, as if he was entering a sacred place. There’s an energy in the air and it’s not exactly peaceful. He can’t help but imagine the jitter of a heart moments before starting a voyage, some sort of unresolved tension that takes a warmer tone when Namjoon steps behind him, caging him between his body and the railing.

“I heard stories,” he says, resting his chin on Seokjin’s shoulder. “An alpha and an omega who took their mating vows here, in hushed voices and with only the full moon as witness. She belonged to a rich family, and he had only the dirt under his nails. When the sunlight came, the omega’s father caught them right at the end of the pier and killed the alpha.”

“What?!” He tries to turn around but Namjoon presses him closer to the railing and laughs.

“That’s just one of the stories.” Namjoon presses a kiss to his neck and steps aside, resting on the railing so they can face each other. “There’s another one that starts pretty much the same, but the alpha was actually a sailor, who had to sail off the next dawn. He died in the sea and she eternally waited for him in this gazebo, bla, bla… There are others where the guy was actually a dick and only took advantage of the girl, you know the drill. The omega suffers in every version.”  

Seokjin snorts. “Your point?”

“There’s a place like this in every town, and it’s always cursed to save naive omegas from being defiled on festival nights. Not that they won’t be defiled behind the bushes nearby, but…”

Seokjin laughs. “Why must the omega be defiled ?”

Namjoon arches an eyebrow, an amused smile curling his lips.

He rolls his eyes. “Alright, I know what you mean. It’s the best spot to fuck, so it’s easier to throw a curse at it than guard it every night.”

“Correct,” Namjoon says with a satisfied nod.

Seokjin steps in front of him and props on the railing, this time he’s the one caging Namjoon against his body. He leans close, his lips a breath away from Namjoon’s.

“Are you going to defile me here?”

Namjoon laughs, looking down shyly and shaking his head.

Seokjin huffs, pulling back and crossing his arms. “That’s so disappointing!”

Namjoon grabs his waist and pulls him against him. He leans in for a kiss, but Seokjin moves his face away, stubborn. Namjoon breathes out a laugh and takes his chin between his thumb and index to make him look at him.

“Did you already forget what happened in the stables?”

“Precisely!” Seokjin whines. “You owe me.”

“A public defilement?” Namjoon chuckles. 

“Yes,” he mutters and smiles before planting a loud kiss on Namjoon’s lips.

Namjoon fails to meet his eyes when he pulls back. Seokjin tilts his head and frowns.

“What is it?”

“I wouldn’t– I mean…” He takes a deep breath and lets it out hurriedly. “If you and I… What I’m trying to say is… would I be… defiling you if we…?”

Seokjin watches in astonishment as Namjoon’s cheeks redden and his scent sours with embarrassment. He can’t finish the sentence, but Seokjin understands where he’s going with it.

“Is that a serious question?” Seokjin huffs, incredulous. “Namjoon?” He takes his hands and squeezes them so maybe Namjoon would look him in the eyes. “Is that why you don’t want to have sex with me? Do you think you’re going to ruin me or something?”

Namjoon breathes out a laugh, but he’s not very convincing. “Maybe.” He shrugs one shoulder, a gesture that could have been to rest importance to the matter in any other situation, but now Seokjin sees it is to rest importance to himself. “I know it’s stupid–”

Seokjin squeezes his hands to stop him. “It’s not, Namjoon.” He brings the alpha’s hands to his lips and kisses them. “Why would you ruin me?”

Namjoon’s smile is sad, his eyes somewhere on the ground behind him. “Who am I to take you?”

Seokjin sighs. “Nothing more or less than the alpha I chose.”

Namjoon sighs, as if that wasn’t enough, and Seokjin’s heart breaks a little.

He’s been selfish. Ever since he met Namjoon, he’s been selfishly pushing and scratching the walls of the prison Namjoon had built around himself. He convinced himself that he’s meant to free him, and he still believes so. But all this time Namjoon has been in a conflict between his own selfish desires and what he thinks he’s allowed to want. Seokjin knows the city and its ridiculous stratification has scarred Namjoon’s perception of himself. He would call it selflessness, but that tight grip on his ambition is rooted in a wound that Seokjin doesn’t completely understand. 

“This pain of yours...” He touches Namjoon’s face, looking into eyes that are glinting with something vulnerable and raw. “I hope I can help you heal that someday.”

“You do that every day, little by little,” Namjoon mutters and closes his eyes for a moment. A tiny smile brightens his face when he opens his eyes again. “Thanks,” he breathes out, and Seokjin can’t stand the distance anymore. 

He wraps his arms around him and hugs him tight. “I forget, the stone is heavy around you. I keep waiting for you to brush it off like dust. I’m sorry.”

Namjoon shakes his head. “I just want to be the alpha you deserve.”

Seokjin squeezes Namjoon’s shoulders. “You are .” 

“If we were in Seoul, my hand would be cut just for doing this,” Namjoon says, tangling his fingers in the strands of hair curling around his neck. “My head would roll if I dared to go further.”

“Good thing we’re not in Seoul then.” Seokjin pulls back and frowns, he doesn’t like the sadness in Namjoon’s scent. 

“Would you have given me the time of day if we were both in your pack, in the wild?”

A drop of ice falls onto his heart, and Seokjin lets it out in a bitter laugh. “That’s not fair.” He steps out of Namjoon’s embrace and grips the railing, his eyes on the lake, prickling with sudden tears. “I wasn’t allowed to choose then.”

Out of the corner of a clouding eye, he sees Namjoon turn to him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to–” 

“Be an asshole?” Seokjin grunts. “We were having such a nice moment.”

“I’m sorry,” Namjoon places a hesitant hand on his shoulder and rubs down his back when Seokjin doesn’t shrug it off. “I just can’t help but feel like I’m scamming you.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes. “Are you?”

“Well, you’re the son of a head alpha, and I’m–”

“And you only have the dirt under your nails?” He huffs an irritated laugh “Come on, Namjoon! My father won’t come to kill you in the morning. If anything, he would kill me for bringing dishonor to his name in front of the whole of his ancestor’s forest!”

“I–”

“You know what my options were?” 

Now he’s mad, and maybe he’s pouring it all over Namjoon unfairly, but he poked that beast. He looks apologetic, but now an ugly mix of feelings is pushing inside Seokjin’s chest and he won’t let them rot inside. 

“After betraying my pack and running away like a coward–” He lifts a finger so Namjoon can’t interrupt him like he intended. “That’s what they’re surely saying over there. There’s no mercy from an omega in the position I was in. I had two options: I could have humiliated myself, gone back with my literal tail between my legs and agreed to be the fucktoy of a selfish and disgusting old man. Or I could have escaped. That’s where you guys came up. I could have ignored you and run off by myself until I bumped into another group of wolves that wouldn’t have been as kind as you. I’d be the bitch of some lousy pack or worse.”

“Seokjin–”

“I’m not finished,” he growls. “If I was lucky, I could have settled near a town. I would have been exiled from my home and my family, but I would’ve been free. I could’ve made a life for myself. I wasn’t helpless, Namjoon. I wasn’t forced to make the choices I made. I took your hand and I chose to stay with you. And I think that’s the best that could have come out of the terrible situation I went through. Why do you shit on it? Why do you shit on yourself when I think the Moon blessed me by putting you in my path?”

He covers the sob that escapes the tightens in his chest with a trembling hand. He’s not used to being so candid with his feelings and his words, but he needs Namjoon to understand that his insecurity is making him sound cruel. 

Namjoon wraps him in his arms and squeezes him as more sobs rack his body.

“I didn’t see it that way, Jin, I’m so sorry,” he says, his lips moving against his cheek. “I didn’t mean to be inconsiderate.”

“A-alphas have o-one job,” he stutters through the tears, “It’s one of the v-very first things I t-told you!”

“Not let our omegas down,” Namjoon sighs. “I know. I fucked up.”

“Damn right you did,” he grumbles, sniffling and wiping his face clean.

Namjoon groans and buries his face in his neck. “I can’t promise I won’t do it again, but I’ll try my fucking best, Jin. I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that you don’t deserve me or that I deserve better then,” Seokjin says and lets the remnants of anguish in a long breath, slumping into Namjoon’s embrace. “You make me so happy, but it’s like that doesn’t mean anything to you.”

Namjoon squeezes him tighter for a moment. “It means the world. I still think you deserve the best– But…” he adds when Seokjin is going to start arguing again. “I want to be the one who gives it to you.” 

Seokjin hums. “Much better.”

Namjoon sighs a relieved breath and starts nuzzling under his jaw, peppering little kisses down his throat until Seokjin lets out a reluctant giggle. “Let me make it up to you,” he mutters.

Seokjin grunts. “Not in the mood anymore.”

Namjoon whines and moves them so he’s resting on the railing and Seokjin is leaning on him. “Are you sure?” He rubs the tip of their noses together and chases after his eluding eyes. “Not even for a kiss?”

Seokjin grunts again, his resolve crumbling into a cloud of butterflies trapped in his stomach. He frowns at Namjoon, but all his pose is ruined when his eyes fall to his lips.

“Maybe…” Seokjin relaxes against Namjoon and turns a dignified pout away from him. “I’ll allow an apology kiss.”

Namjoon breathes out a laugh and takes advantage of his exposed neck to press a kiss under his ear.

“Meeting you is the best thing that has ever happened to me, you know?”

Seokjin hums. “You don’t act like it.”

“I’m an idiot,” Namjoon mutters, dragging his lips down the line of his jaw. 

When he inches closer to his mouth, Seokjin takes a deep breath and voices the last weight trapped in his chest: “I have… very strong feelings for you.”

He winces. It’s not the best way to put it. He’s in love with Namjoon, but he doesn’t want to make his confession shallow by rushing it.

Namjoon is smiling when he opens his eyes. “I have very strong feelings for you too.” He cups his face in his hands and brings him closer, touching his lips in a feather-like kiss. “So many feelings, Jin, you have no idea–” 

“Take me before we arrive at Seoul,” he whispers, his eyes closed, not wanting to see Namjoon’s rejection if it comes again.

“At this point it would be symbolic, wouldn't it?”

He opens his eyes and holds his chin up with feigned arrogance. “You must claim your freedom, Namjoon. I’m your freedom.”

Namjoon chuckles, but the light behind his eyes shows he’s enticed by the proposition.

Seokjin sighs and fails to hold Namjoon’s gaze any longer. “I’m also afraid that you might be tempted to delay things once you’re all back to the lives you know.”

Namjoon shakes his head. “That won’t happen.”

Seokjin arches an eyebrow, expectant. Namjoon rolls his eyes.

“If sex is the vow you want…” He sighs. “Why does no one let me be spontaneous?”

Seokjin giggles. “I guess it won’t be tonight though…”

Namjoon hums. “I don’t think I’ll let you go so easily when I finally take that pretty cunt of yours.” Seokjin gasps and his stomach flips at the words. He hides his face in the crook of Namjoon’s neck, and Namjoon continues as if he was commenting on the weather. “Considering that we’re leaving early in the morning, no, I don’t think now is the most convenient timing.”

“Alright.” Heat radiates from his entire face. He should fear the day Namjoon finally breaks out of his stone leash. He’s quite bold when he wants to.

“I still wanna make it up for those tears though.”

“Alright,” he mumbles against the skin of Namjoon’s neck. His scent is melting every thought that is not Namjoon’s taste on his tongue. 

Namjoon cards his fingers through his hair, gently pulling at the longer strands at the back of his neck to make him raise his head. Namjoon captures his lips in a mellow kiss as soon as he does. Seokjin lets himself go in the feeling of Namjoon’s lips moving against his, the taste of his tongue, warmth spreading all over his body, reaching his shaken heart and covering it in a soothing balm.

His hands move slowly from Namjoon’s shoulders to his chest, down his ribs, his waist, to finally slip under his shirt. Namjoon raises his arms when he pulls the piece of clothing up and off of him. 

“If anyone interrupts us this time, mine won’t be the only tits on display.”

Namjoon snorts. He only smiles while Seokjin spreads his fingers over his bulky pectorals, flicking his nipples with his thumb. Seokjin can’t fight the urge to bite him, so he presses a kiss right under his collarbone before he grazes the soft skin with his teeth, sucking a mark like the many Namjoon scattered on him the night before. 

He’s swirling his tongue around a perky nipple when Namjoon’s patience runs out. He surges forward and grabs his face to kiss the living daylights out of him.

He loves pushing Namjoon to this state. It’s been the same between them since they began exploring their desire for the other: At first, Namjoon is polite in his attentions, shy even, but eventually, he reaches a point in which he forgets to—or maybe he can’t—mask his hunger anymore. That’s when he starts taking, and Seokjin melts in his arms. 

Without detaching his lips from Seokjin’s skin, Namjoon pushes him back, until his calves meet the edge of the bench. He loses his balance, but Namjoon grabs his hips and helps him sit down while he kneels between his spread legs.

“A man of his word,” Seokjin mutters, as Namjoon nuzzles under his jaw, his hands squeezing his thighs, rubbing up and down as his thumbs get dangerously close to where Seokjin needs him the most.  

I’ll eat you out next time. The words have been haunting him since they were uttered. Namjoon’s intentions now are clear.

“Can I…?” Namjoon’s fingers hook on the waist of his pants, his nuzzling moving down over his breasts. 

“What do you want?” Seokjin asks, already a bit breathless. His fingers bury in Namjoon’s soft hair, as he mouths on a clothed nipple.

“I wanna taste you,” Namjon says, whispering the next words against his ear, “Wanna eat your cunt till you’re trembling under my tongue.”

Seokjin gasps, his walls clenching around nothing at the vision. “Fuck, yes, I want that too.”

Namjoon lets out a dark chuckle and makes quick work of untying his pants and sliding them off his legs. Seokjin spreads his legs shamelessly, offering his alpha the best view of what is his to take. 

“I knew it was pretty,” Namjoon says, hungry gaze fixed on the pink folds revealed. “All of you is so fucking gorgeous.”

Seokjin can’t see it, but slick has been oozing out of him since Namjoon started kissing him, and he can only imagine how glossy it makes him look. Namjoon’s fingers slide through the pale hairs on his mound, and down to the cleft of his cunt to get the pad of his thumb wet before going back to his clit. He rubs tight circles over it until Seokjin’s breathing starts coming out stuttered. 

Namjoon leans in and presses a chaste kiss on his lips. “Lie down, would you?”

Seokjin nods and lets the alpha lay him on his back. He leans over him for a moment, kissing him once, twice, his eyes tracing his face as if he wanted to grasp every bit of this moment. Namjoon kisses his mouth one last time before setting out on a trail of nuzzling and nipping down the column of his throat, his collarbones, his breasts. He lifts his shirt to kiss down his stomach, graze the sensitive skin under his belly button with his teeth.  

He makes a detour over his thighs, wrapping his arms under them to keep his legs spread. He bites the soft flesh of his inner thighs, inching every bit closer towards his center. 

Seokjin’s heart is beating halfway out of his chest when Namjoon finally puts his mouth on his cunt. He gasps, his legs trying to close on reflex, but Namjoon presses a bunch of tiny kisses around, like soothing a scared child.

He pats Namjoon’s head; a little “ it’s alright, go on. ” And does Namjoon get the message. 

He drags his tongue right from his entrance to his clit and lets out a pleased hum. Seokjin has to cover his mouth to muffle down the whimpers that come out of him when Namjoon dives back down. He laps over his cunt as if his slick was the most delicious nectar and he couldn’t get enough. He sucks on his lips and flicks his tongue over his clit, making Seokjin arch his back and hold his head close, as if he feared Namjoon might disappear any moment and take away the tingling pleasure buzzing through his veins.    

“You’ve done this before,” he breathes out. It’s a statement, not a question. The swirls of Namjoon’s tongue, the way he purses his lips and sucks on his clit are deliberate. He’s sloppy, but that’s on purpose.

“You’ve had this done to you before,” Namjoon replies, coming up to catch his breath as two of his fingers find their way into his cunt and slide slowly in and out. 

Seokjin hums and nods, even though every memory of another alpha is falling apart now.

“Can’t say it pleases me,” Namjoon mutters, biting on his thigh.

Seokjin squeaks at the sudden pain and giggles. “Your alpha is showing.”

Namjoon growls, surging forward to nip at his neck. “You’re mine now.”

Namjoon has never been the religious type, but he’s open to believe that he’s been blessed by the Moon.

How else could a clanless bastard like him have won over the heart and trust of such a wonderful omega like Seokjin?

He owes an offering for every gasp, every tremor, every sweet moan that comes through Seokjin’s gorgeous lips. Or maybe this is his way to give back for such a kind gift, making his omega shake with pleasure is his offering to the deity that crossed their paths.

Seokjin came once already. Namjoon wanted to rip another one out of him right after the first, but he couldn’t resist. He stopped and watched how Seokjin squirmed on the bench, his bottom lip captured between his teeth, and his brow furrowed in the sweetest of tribulations. It’s an image he’ll treasure for the rest of his life.

He didn’t let Seokjin catch his breath, though. He dived in again with renewed devotion.

He could eat Seokjin’s cunt for days. A spell has been casted upon him and now he can’t get enough of the soft flesh molding against his lips, his sweet taste on his tongue, the adorable desperation in Seokjin’s hands and legs trying to keep him close.

Every lick pushes his reason to the back of his mind further, and every squeeze of Seokjin’s cunt around his fingers pulls something wild out. He’s more beast than man when Seokjin screams and his body twitches as he comes under his tongue, the little bud of his clit pulsing in the prison of his lips, his cunt holding him inside, begging for something else, something more.

His omega. He can’t leave his omega unsatisfied, he must give him everything he needs, everything he has.

With a growl rumbling in his chest, Namjoon crawls onto the bench, his cock aching to bury deep inside the wet heat of Seokjin’s cunt. He finds Seokjin’s bewitching eyes, his lips curling in a soft smile, as if he knew he has him wrapped around his little finger; he knows he can trust Namjoon.

He’s leaning down to take his sweet mouth in a kiss when his instincts prickle the back of his neck. He lifts his eyes and there’s a wolf at the threshold of the gazebo, baring his teeth at him.

A burst of rage coming from his very core takes over him.

He jumps forward, and at some point in the air, his body shifts so he can land on four legs.

Part of him hears Seokjin screaming at him, but his mind has a single focus and that is destroying the alpha who’s threatening him and his mate. He stalks the wolf out of the pier, their growls echoing in the night like thunder before a storm.

“Namjoon, stop!”

He huffs at Seokjin to stay back, and the wolf snaps his jaws at him. Namjoon growls back at him, sizing his opponent and deeming him inferior. Still, his omega needs contention.

Throwing his head back, Namjoon howls for his pack. He knows they’ll hear his call. The other wolf uses that momentary distraction to attack.

“No!” 

He’s never fought as a wolf before, but somehow his body knows what to do. The other wolf, he must be young, he’s more drive than focus, but he knows what he’s doing too. None of them manages to land a good bite or a precise scratch, but they keep the other on his toes, charging again and again.

“Stop it!”

Steps run towards them but Namjoon recognizes the scents of his pack.

“What’s going on?”

“Who’s that?”

Another growl joins the night. Hoseok, he can tell without looking.

“No! You’re gonna hurt each other!” Seokjin sounds so distressed that part of his human consciousness starts tugging at him, but the other wolf doesn’t stop coming for his throat. “Stop them!” 

Namjoon barks at them to get off, but Hoseok pushes between him and the other wolf. Seokjin’s arms wrap around him and pull him back. In the time that it takes him to roll back onto his feet, Yoongi and Jimin already managed to contain the other wolf.

“Don’t hurt him!”

The sting of pain he feels as he watches Seokjin run to the other wolf and push the others away from him pulls him back into his human form. “What…?”

Seokjin hugs the young man against his chest. He turned too, after falling unconscious under the pressure of Yoongi’s arms around his neck.

Seokjin looks at him with his eyes full of tears. “This is Jungkook, my baby brother.” 

Chapter Text

“This is a lovely family reunion, hyung, but we gotta get out of here now. ”

In the aftermath of the incident, there’s white noise in his ears, his mind blank. Seokjin barely hears Hoseok’s desperately whispered words.

Jungkook is here. 

Jungkook is in his arms again. The familiar scent of his baby brother is right against his nose as he nuzzles the top of his head. Jungkook–

“Go get your pants, Joon-ah.” Yoongi’s sharp command snaps his attention back to the present. “This must be his stuff,” Yoongi says, and through the tears in his eyes, Seokjin sees him pick something up from the ground near the pier. “ A flock of guards is about to fall over us any minute now. We should split, blend in with the crowd and get out.”

Guards?

Sense makes way through the fog of joy and finishes bursting his bubble.

Chungju is a carefree city, but they’re still pretty much a stone city. Wolves inside the walls are strictly prohibited, and every couple hiding in the shadows of the promenade saw or at least heard the two wolves fighting. Not to mention the howl.

Namjoon’s howl.

Seokjin looks up just as Namjoon stops a few steps away from him, shirt haphazardly thrown over his shoulders and hair a mess.

Namjoon turned. He shifted for the very first time. Seokjin blinks at him, as if waiting for confirmation that it wasn’t a dream.

The memory isn’t tinted very positively, but the sight was unforgettable. Namjoon’s wolf was jet black, and he might as well have mountain blood, because he was huge. Seokjin feels like he’s seeing him for the first time, scenting him for the first time. Namjoon broke off the stone prison and now his earthy scent is for once fresh and uncorrupted, just pure alpha in his prime, and the energy he’s exuding… Seokjin feels like he’s falling for him all over again. 

The urge to look down and bare his neck is hard to fight. He’s never been one to be naturally submissive, but Namjoon’s scent right now is calling for him, reaching out. There’s a claim that couldn’t be laid in the air between them, and Seokjin feels the urgency of it.

“I, um…” Namjoon clears his throat and looks at his feet. His voice is still low and raspy when he starts again, “I can carry him. We really need to go, Jin.”

Seokjin opens his mouth, not really sure of what will come out, but before he can utter anything, Jungkook stirs in his arms.

“Hyung…” His eyes flutter open and blink up at him a couple times with confusion. “What happened?” 

“Hi,” he mutters, a tentative smile curling his lips, but then reality catches up with his brother.

Jungkook scrambles onto his feet and stands between him and the others. He’s swaying, not quite steady on his feet yet, but still looks around fiercely, challenging the four alphas that are now taking on a cautious stance. The low rumble of a growl fills the air when Jungkook sets his eyes on Namjoon. 

“Stay away from my brother,” he grunts, and the effect of his words is immediate. 

The scents around them turn sour, the spring breeze suddenly cold and sharp. None of the alphas seems too comfortable with his leader being challenged. Namjoon just looks away, his jaw clenching in a monumental effort to stay composed. 

Seokjin stands up and gets between them before they start fighting again. Namjoon is trying hard, but he’s not going to make it. The full moon only adds fuel to the fire already burning inside an alpha who just shifted for the first time.

“That’s enough, Jungkook,” Seokjin hisses and grabs Jungkook’s arms, turning him away from Namjoon. “Stop it.”

“Hyung, I–!”

“Whatever it is, hold it till we’re out of this city,” Seokjin says and reaches to his side. “And get dressed, for fuck’s sake.”   

“But hyung–!”

“ Now .” 

Jungkook huffs but lowers his head and nods. Yoongi hands him Jungkook’s clothes and a small bag, and after passing them to his brother, Seokjin turns to Namjoon. 

“See you out there?” he mutters, a hesitant hand rising between them. Namjoon grabs it and brings it to his own face, pressing a kiss on his palm.

“Be careful–”

“Hyung!” Jungkook pulls his hand away from Namjoon’s hold. 

Namjoon growls, but before it can escalate, Hoseok grabs Namjoon’s side and drags him away. “Let’s go get the bags, yeah?” Hoseok says, shooting a glance at the group. “Let’s meet again at the west gates.” 

Seokjin nods, knowing well what should be their next steps.

“We’ll get the girls,” Jimin says and leaves with Yoongi.

“Hyung, what’s going on?” Jungkook asks when it’s just the two of them, his head tilted with confusion.

Seokjin sighs. “Come on,” he says, grabbing his brother’s hand and starting the walk towards the gates. “We have a lot to get through.”  

And so, as they cross Chungju in the middle of the night, Seokjin tells his brother everything that has happened to him since the last time they saw each other. Jungkook has a confused frown on his face all the way until they’re at the gates.

“But stone wolves, hyung? Really?”

Seokjin nudges him with his shoulder. “These are not half as bad as everyone says they are.”

“Still…”

“Passes,” a gruff voice startles them. Two guards, who don’t seem very pleased to be on duty during a festival night, are coming out of the small station by the gates. “An identity check is required to open the gates at this time.”

Shit, his pass is in his bag. Seokjin tries to think of a good excuse before the guards get suspicious, but Jungkook takes a pass out of his bag.

“We’re just passing through,” he says, as one of the guards reads through his identification paper. 

It’s not really surprising, Jungkook has always been very quick to adapt, but it’s still baffling to see him take charge like that. The image of an unpresented Jungkook hiding behind him in social events is still fresh in Seokjin’s mind. 

“You’re quite far from home,” the guard says when he hands Jungkook his pass back.

Jungkook just hums and packs his pass back in his bag. Seokjin doesn’t even have time to give an excuse, the gates open and they find themselves walking onto the West Road. Patronizing alpha behavior worked in his favor this time, so he won’t say anything.

The gates close behind them and they walk in silence for a few moments before Jungkook turns to him with a frown on his face.

“So you’re starting a pack with those guys? What does that even mean?”

Seokjin chuckles at Jungkook’s put out expression. “Exactly that, Jungkookie. I’ll mate Namjoon, and we’ll start a pack in these lands. A day away from this city actually, near the lake.”

Jungkook opens his mouth to argue, closes it, frowns deeper and then huffs. 

“I don’t understand. They told me a group of stone wolves had kidnapped you from your mating ceremony… Is that not them?”

Seokjin frowns for a moment until his head wraps around the meaning of Jungkook’s statement. He can’t help but laugh out loud.

“Is that what they told everyone?” He laughs some more at the absurdity of the situation. 

“Come on, hyung, what is it?”

Seokjin wipes the few tears that came to his eyes and takes a deep sobering breath. “I ran away from my mating ceremony, Jungkookie,” he says, shards of the anguish that seized his chest that night echo inside him. “Sire sold me out and I thought that was it. My whole life was leading to that event, and who was I to go against it? To go against Sire, our pack, tradition…”

“Hyung–”

“I know. I was in that alpha’s bed a few hours before dawn, and I realized I couldn’t do it. My skin crawled at the mere thought.” He shakes his head, bile rising up his throat even now. “I deserved better, I’d earned better, so I ran, and they chased me. I got shot, but I wasn’t going back. I met the guys on the road when I was hurt and tired, and they helped me escape Park Hangyeol’s guard. We’ve been traveling together ever since, but it’s never been against my will.”

Jungkook only frowns as he absorbs the information. He looks around, as if the world was reshaping around him. “And you’re going to mate? Hyung, really?” He groans, shakes his head and rubs his eyes. 

Seokjin giggles at Jungkook’s fed up expression. “Yeah, what about it?”

“Why?” 

“For the only reason people should mate,” he says with a chuckle. “I fell in love.”

Jungkook groans. “Alright.” 

Seokjin laughs. “What?”

“Nothing, just…” Jungkook shakes his head. “Well, that explains why you looked so… willing. Before, I mean. There, when I… Ugh, you know.”

“Before…?” As in when he popped out of nowhere right before Namjoon could– Seokjin gasps and punches Jungkook’s arm. “You never saw that!”

“Yeah, I wish.” Jungkook scrunches his eyes and makes a grimace.

Seokjin whimpers and covers his blushing face. An image of Namjoon half naked on top of him and ready to take him flashes in his mind and makes his heart skip a beat. Such a good memory, and now it’s tarnished by the knowledge that his brother saw him like that.

He groans and lets his hands fall. He’s ready to see disgust, but instead there’s a toothy grin on Jungkook’s face that makes him forget any embarrassment. 

“That alpha has you by the neck, hyung. If the guys back home could see you now…”

Seokjin smiles, oblivious of the teasing. His Jungkookie is here.

“You came all the way here for me?”

Jungkook arches his eyebrows at the sudden change of topic. He shrugs, trying to downplay his actions, but he can’t hide the faint blush taking over his cheeks. “I mean, you would do the same for me–”

Seokjin wraps his arms around Jungkook and squeezes him tightly until he starts whining.

“Get off me! You reek of that alpha!”

“Stay with me,” Seokjin says when he lets go. 

“What?” Jungkook escapes from his reach and wipes his clothes as the annoying brat he is.

“Come with me, Jungkookie.” 

Jungkook frowns. “You mean come with you and those guys?” 

Seokjin nods. “They’re quite nice, you’ll like them when you get to know them.”

Jungkook hums, not quite convinced. “Would they agree, though? Would they accept me?”

Seokjin scoffs. “If they don’t, I’ll make them.” 

Jungkook laughs. “Hyung…”

Seokjin links his arm with Jungkook’s and together they start walking again. “Seriously, though. I thought I’d never see you again, and now you’re here? I won’t let you go anywhere.”

Jungkook hums, leaning against him in acknowledgment. 

“And I mean it, they’re great. They won’t have any objection. They know how much I’ve missed you, and you’d be a great addition to our pack.”

“If you say so.” He can hear the eyeroll in Jungkook’s voice. 

“I think you would only have to apologize to Namjoon–”

“What?!” Jungkook scoffs. “I’m sure a bruise is forming somewhere in my ribs!”

“Jungkook-ah…”

“Alright, I know,” Jungkook grunts, and after a moment of consideration, he sighs. “It’s not like I have something to go back to. Sire will be happy to get rid of me. I should send word to my dam, though.”

“You’re such a good son,” Seokjin giggles, nuzzling Jungkook’s shoulder. “And you can always visit. It’s not like you were banished like me.”

“You weren’t banished either.”

“Sire sold to a crappy old man. I’m never going back.”

Jungkook sighs. “I’ll stay with you then.”

He stops and turns Jungkook towards him. “Really?”

Jungkook nods. “My place is with you, hyung.”

Seokjin lets out a cheerful giggle and hugs Jungkook again. This time Jungkook lets him hug him to his heart’s content. 

“Where’s your new pack anyway?” he asks when they resume their walk.

“Oh…” 

Seokjin turns around and looks down the empty road. Unlike the Eastern gate, the Western gate doesn’t have much around. The road is not adorned for the festival on this side, and the few houses that can be seen are far into the crop fields, dark and quiet at this time of the night. 

They haven’t walked that far, the gates are still visible, but there’s no sign of the guys yet.

“I really hope they didn’t get in trouble for the fight. It would be unfortunate if Namjoon got arrested the one time he actually broke a rule.”

“What do you mean?”

“He never turned before tonight.” Seokjin hides a squeal behind his palm. Just the memory of Namjoon’s wolf makes his stomach flip. If it wasn’t for the circumstances… He turns to Jungkook and slaps his arm.

“What?!”

“I was waiting to see him shift since the moment I met him,” he whines and slaps Jungkook’s arm again. “I wasn’t supposed to be crying for you afterwards.”

Jungkook chuckles, but there’s surprise in his eyes when they fix on Seokjin’s. “You really like that guy.”

It’s not a question but a realization, and Seokjin guesses his surprise is not out of place. This would be the first time Seokjin shows real interest in an alpha.

“I do,” Seokjin says and lets out a long, enamored sigh. “He’s the one.”

“He must be quite exceptional then,” Jungkook says, arching a skeptical eyebrow.  

“He is,” Seokjin says with a little smile curling his lips. “You’ll see.”

His blood is boiling.

Namjoon has never felt like this before, and he’d be lying if he said it doesn’t scare him. He’s on edge, holding with all his might to his scrambled reason, to this form. A sort of angry energy is rushing through his bloodstream, pushing him in all directions and rendering him motionless at the same time. Even putting one foot in front of the other is hard when everything is so loud around him: the fading sounds of the festival, the horses’ steps on the cobbled street, their heartbeat— since when can I hear that? His own clothes feel constricting around his body, the flesh on his bones, every one of his senses is screaming at him.

He stops and takes a deep breath. Bad idea . He chokes and heaves.

The scents… Fuck, the scents are the worst of all. There are too many, all around him, sticking to him. Even the familiar scents of his pack are irking his nerves. He feels cornered and–

A snap of fingers startles him. Yoongi suddenly appears in front of him, and it takes every bit of control he has left to not snarl at his hyung. “Joon-ah, get a grip already, we need to get out of here. Jin-hyung must be waiting outside.”

The sole mention of his omega pushes him closer to the edge, and he quits breathing altogether to stop himself from shifting again. His mind is all over the place, senses overwhelmed, body strung out on restless energy, but underneath it all, there’s anguish filling his chest at the absence of his omega.

“Why don’t you go ahead and find him, hyung?” Jimin says, pulling Yoongi away from Namjoon’s space. His gentle voice feels like a light in the dark, he stays at a safe distance and doesn’t look at him directly. “Leave Sweetie with us, and go find Jinnie-hyung.”

Jimin knows, a quiet voice in his head provides amidst the chaos. He knows what Namjoon is going through, he’s been there, and he found a way out of it.

Releasing the death grip he had on Sweetie’s reins, Namjoon rubs his face and takes a deep breath through his mouth. “Alright.” His voice is barely a grunt, he clears his throat and nods at his friends without making eye contact. “See you out there.”

Finding Seokjin, that’s something he can easily focus on, he’s eager to do it. Seokjin will know what to do, his mere presence will calm him down. As he turns the corner, Namjoon catches a trace of Seokjin’s scent and follows it blindly, mind and soul focused at last. 

His steps grow urgent. The scent is still fresh in the air, which means Seokjin went down this street not long ago. With every second Seokjin is not with him, his mind clouds a little more, and the little sense he still has left tells him that he should be out of the city before he loses it.

Namjoon turns another corner, but Seokjin is still far. Seokjin. He needs to find him, hold him, scent him. It’s crazy, but his whole sanity depends on it right now. Seokjin might be the only one who can control the wild part of him unleashed with the shifting. 

Gods, he shifted.

He thought he didn’t have it in him, but he got so mad at the sight and scent of another alpha when Seokjin was laying vulnerable beneath him. He saw red, instinct took over. 

Fortunately, there were no bloody consequences. It would have been catastrophic if he had hurt Seokjin’s dear baby brother. And yet, he can’t deny that even now, the scent of the young alpha still annoys him. 

It’s irrational, he knows it’s just Seokjin’s brother, but it’s still an alpha’s scent soiling Seokjin’s, wrapping around it, and keeping him away from Namjoon. 

Idiot , he always rolled his eyes at the alphas who couldn’t control his possessive instincts. He really hopes he can act civil when he finds them. Rationally speaking, he has absolutely nothing against the guy, but the wolf in him might disagree, especially if he stands between him and Seokjin.

The gates come in sight, and the alluring trail of his omega becomes clearer.

His omega . He can’t help but think of Seokjin that way. He wonders if he would receive a swat if he ever said that aloud. Probably. Followed by a blush and a sweet rush of Seokjin’s addictive scent. It’d be worth the hit–

“Hey, you!”

Namjoon tenses on instinct, ready to jump at the two guards he didn’t see at the side of the gates. Fighting the guards would be a terrible idea. The worst. Fighting is not the way to get rid of them. They’re not a threat, they’re not– 

He shakes his head and takes a deep breath, holding Seokjin’s scent in his lungs, as if it could keep him grounded

“Hello,” he says, his voice too low. He clears his throat and tries again, “I-I didn’t see you there.” 

“Let us see your pass,” one of the guards says, eyeing Namjoon with suspicion.

“Sure.” His hand goes to the inside pocket of his jacket… that he’s not wearing. His jacket, along with his pass and all his stuff is hanging from Sweetie’s saddle. He chuckles. “Well, I don’t have it.”

The guards share a look and approach Namjoon, one from each side. “I’m afraid we can’t let you go without a pass.”

“No, it’s not that I don’t have one.” Namjoon raises his hands and looks away, because the sight of the two alphas closing in on him is unsettling. “It’s just, um… I don’t have it here . On me, now .”

“Yeah, we can discuss that at the Captain’s office.”

One tries to catch his arm, but Namjoon avoids his hand and steps back. “Is that really necessary?”

“Resisting would only make it worse,” the guard says, taking his hand to his sheathed blade. “Proceed, kid.”

The youngest guard approaches him, and the rumble of a growl starts low in Namjoon’s chest. With a grunt of his own, the guard jumps at him and tries to pull him down, but Namjoon shakes him off roughly, sending the guard to the ground. 

Namjoon closes his fists when the other guard pulls out his blade. Claws break his own skin; he’s hanging on the last straw.

“It’s really not necessary,” Namjoon begs, voice barely over a gruff, but then the sound of hoofs against cobblestone fills the sharp silence of the night. 

Pepper comes between the guard and Namjoon with an agitated Hoseok on her back.

“Gentlemen, please. There’s no need to be so rough, he’s not some wildling going about,” Hoseok says and chuckles, as if the concept was absurd. “Here.”

Hoseok hands them Namjoon’s pass, and the guards frown at the piece of paper, glancing between it and Namjoon several times. As the others join them, they’re asked for their passes as well. 

“Seoul guards?” One of them looks at them up and down, not quite convinced. “What are you doing here?” 

“We’re on official business for the Mayor,” Yoongi says with his no-fuckery-allowed voice. 

“ Official ? Not in Chungju, your passes don’t say so.”

“There’s no fault in a little detour,” Hoseok says with an amicable smile. “It’s been a long trip, we needed a couple of days to unwind before going back home, you know how it is.”

“Alright,” the guard grumbles and hands the passes back to Hoseok. “Witnesses saw a black wolf fighting some other wolf near the City Hall, did you see anything?”

There’s a heartbeat of silence.

Yoongi clears his throat. “We would be the first to intervene if we saw something like that. The law is strict in Seoul, you know?”

“Here too! That is not allowed in here either.” 

Yoongi huffs. “Well, if our Mayor heard about what goes down in Chungju…”

Namjoon has to hold back an incredulous laugh at Yoongi’s audacity.

“W-we obey the Capital’s law!” the youngest guard sputters, looking at his partner for support. “This is uncommon!”

“Alright, leave already,” the other guard says, nodding at the younger guard to open the gates. “Be careful out there and stick to your business.”

“Always,” Hoseok says and bows at the guards with a courteous smile that vanishes as soon as the gates close behind them. “What would you do without us, uh?”

Namjoon smiles at Hoseok’s narrowed gaze and touches his friend’s thigh with a fist as a shy thank you .

“That was stupidly close,” Yoongi grunts. “We can’t burn bridges with this city, Joon-ah.”

“I’m sorry,” Namjoon sighs.

“Nothing happened, hyung, it’s alright,” Jimin says with an empathetic smile.

No, but it almost did. There’s drops of blood in his hands that prove it. His finger nails are back to normal, but the punctures the claws made on his palm are still there. 

“I can’t stand it,” Namjoon mutters through gritted teeth, rubbing his palms on his pants with a bit more force than necessary. “It’s clawing from the inside and driving me mad.”

Being outside the stone walls of the city relieved some of the pressure, but the itch under his skin is still there and he doesn’t know how to make it stop.

“Poor Namjoonie,” Hoseok coos with a soft laugh and jumps down his horse to capture Namjoon in a side hug and pat his shoulder. “You’ve been dodging this shit your whole life. Welcome back to adolescence.”

“How do you do it?” Namjoon whines, pushing a snickering Hoseok away and looking at his friends. Talking helps him stay focused on something other than the wild energy buzzing in his bones. “I mean, Jin I get it, he’s used to it, but you… You’ve been quite bold about shifting all of a sudden, doing as if it was nothing.”

“That’s because it ain’t that big of a deal–” Yoongi is cut by a sharp look from Jimin. “To me, at least.”

“Yeah, same here. I’ve never repressed my wolf,” Hoseok says with a shrug. “It’s there, and if it wants to come out, I let it. So, I guess it’s never been a struggle.”

“Yeah,” Yoongi agrees. “Like, I’ve never really fought against it.”

Namjoon sighs, his eyes falling on Jimin.

“Don’t look at me, hyung,” Jimin says, shoulders low and a sad smile on his lips. “I barely control it.”

“I feel you now,” Namjoon says.

“I think you should just fight fire with fire,” Yoongi suggests. “Fuck it, just turn.”

“Hyung!” Jimin scolds him. 

“What? It’s true,” Yoongi grumbles. “Let go. It won’t get worse than it already did. Do it on your terms and get it under rein before we reach Seoul.”

Namjoon groans. Yoongi is right, he can get in serious trouble if he happens to shift in Seoul. 

“What if I can’t turn back?”

Hoseok snorts. “You will. You already did it once, remember?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how I did it…”

“Just do it!” Yoongi laughs. “Don’t overthink it, that’s the key of it.”

Namjoon sighs. Yoongi nailed it, that’s precisely the hardest part. “You’ll stop me before I do something stupid, right?”

“Don’t we always do that?”

Namjoon nods. He turns to the road ahead and his stomach churns. “Shit, I’m scared.”

“Be self indulgent for once in your fucking life, Joon-ah,” Yoongi says with an endeared kind of exasperation. “Focus on something nice and let yourself go. Jin-hyung, for example. Where is he?”

He perks up at that. Right before the guards stopped him, he was following Seokjin’s trail. It hangs over the road like bright festival lanterns. He must have kept walking, there’s a patch of woods ahead, he can’t be too far.

“Go get him,” Yoongi whispers near his ear, and Namjoon uses the spark of anger that the invasion to his space brings to let go of the strong grip he had on his control.

It’s odd. 

It’s like going against everything his gut screams at him not to do, convinced that he’s hanging off a death cliff, but then when he lets go, he discovers that the ground was just a breath under his feet. It’s a relief too, instant peace for his senses. When he falls onto his front paws, his mind is light as a feather.

He tries to take a step but his legs get tangled in his clothes. He lets out a whimper and tries to slip out of the clothes to no avail.

“Cute,” Hoseok giggles and crouches down to help him.

When he’s free at last, Namjoon gives Hoseok a grateful huff and skips around his little pack, checking on all of them with a touch of his nose on their hands.

“He has no right to be this huge,” Yoongi says with a chuckle.

“He kinda reminds me of fourteen year old Joonie-hyung,” Jimin giggles. “Limbs too long.”

Namjoon lets out an offended bark and gives his back to his laughing pack. Lowering his snout to the ground, he finds Seokjin’s trace again and every other thought leaves his mind.

“Go get your omega, Namjoonie,” Hoseok says with a mischievous grin. “We’ll set up a camp in the woods.”

Hoseok’s words are stored somewhere in his mind, but once he finds the trace of Seokjin’s scent, his entire focus turns into that. With a last grunt to his packmates, he heads into the chase of his mate.   

“I mean, it’s not like it’s better or worse, it’s just different,” Jungkook says, doodling figures on the dirt with a stick.

They’re sitting on a clearing near the road, out of sight but close enough to hear when someone comes over. The conversation inevitably strayed toward their newfound life among stone wolves, and of course Jungkook is reluctant to admit the many advantages of towns.

“Jeon Jungkook, be honest,” Seokjin says with a chuckle.

“What?” Jungkook looks up at him with arched eyebrows. “Did you drop your roots so easily?”

“But the food alone it’s so much tastier!” Seokjin moans, and then laughs when the stick comes flying his way. “What can I say? I’m easily swayed by my stomach.”

“There is tasty food in our forest,” Jungkook mumbles through pouty lips.

“I mean, yes, it’s not like it’s unseen in the woods, but some stuff we can only get once in a blue moon if a traveling vendor happens to cross the pack grounds. The city has everything, all the time, right at hand.”

Jungkook hums. “Alright, I have to give you that, having everything at hand it’s… nice .”

“Just nice?!”

Jungkook lets out a laugh, but his grin freezes and he turns around, his gaze fixed in the darkness.

“What is it?” Seokjin squints his eyes, trying to see what Jungkook is seeing, but then he hears it: something dashing through the low vegetation, feet—or paws—hitting the ground heavily.

Jungkook stands up just as a black form pops out of the darkness like an extension of the shadows. A low growl rises from the wolf that goes straight to Jungkook and pushes him to the ground.

It’s Namjoon. Seokjin stands up, ready to jump between them to stop another fight, but it’s not necessary: Namjoon is just holding Jungkook down, his growl is barely a hum, a question; and Jungkook… He just stays there. 

Everything, from the tense lines of his body to his scent scream that he wants to push back, but he doesn’t. For an alpha, allowing another alpha so close is a sign of submission, and Seokjin will take it as the commitment it is. Jungkook really meant it when he said he wants to stay by his side.

Jungkook huffs when Namjoon grazes his clothed shoulder in a playful bite, and despite his deep frown and flustered scent, he doesn’t fight and just keeps his eyes low. 

“I’m allowing this just because my brother seems to like you a lot,” Jungkook grumbles.

Namjoon grunts his approval and steps away from Jungkook with a wagging tail and a happy bark. 

“Yeah, don’t let it go to your head,” Jungkook says, sitting up and fixing his clothes. “We still need to talk.”

Namjoon huffs in acknowledgment, but his attention shifts entirely towards Seokjin.

“What took you so long?” he asks, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking Namjoon in the eyes rather challengingly. 

A low rumble starts in Namjoon’s chest, but it’s more a purr than a growl. He closes into Seokjin’s space with slow, deliberate steps, and as much as he wants to act proudly, he can’t resist. He crouches down to be leveled with Namjoon’s gaze, as dark as his charcoal coat, glinting under the moonlight, so beautiful and elegant, rousing sparks of anticipation in Seokjin’s stomach. 

“I thought you had given me up already,” he mutters, his eyes low over his shoulder as Namjoon walks around him, closing in.

The purr turns sharp, Namjoon’s scent growing displeased. Seokjin chuckles, playing with the ring Namjoon gave him.

“The guys are coming?”

Namjoon’s only answer is a spike in his tone. He comes into Seokjin’s sight again and waits for his next move, his dark gaze fixed on him.

“Keep this safe for me, Jungkookie, will you?” 

He turns to his brother and throws him the ring. Jungkook catches it with surprise in his round eyes, but looks away when Seokjin stands up and begins to untie his shirt and pants.

“Seriously? Are you leaving me here?” 

He doesn’t pay attention to the rest of his brother’s whining. He shrugs off his clothes and shifts as he turns around to storm out of the clearing next.

With a cheerful howl rising towards the moon, Seokjin pours his soul into the run. His heart feels complete for the first time in so long, love turning into the energy pumping through his body. 

He’s fast, it’s always been his greatest advantage over the forest wolves, but he’s not sure if he has any advantage now. Namjoon is keeping up just fine. He doesn’t dare to look back, but he knows Namjoon is close, his hunger precedes him. Seokjin can’t help but feel like prey, desperately running for his life, only that in this case the prospect of getting caught is as exciting as winning the race. 

This Namjoon is right out of his wildest fantasies. There’s no mask of politeness or honor in this form: he wants Seokjin and he won’t stop until he catches him. 

Let’s see if you can.

He takes a sharp turn and makes good use of a fallen tree to get rid of his tail. Lust aside, he has to put up at least some fight, he has some pride to uphold. The rustle of a body skidding over the forest ground pushes a gleeful bark out of his chest.

Seokjin starts running without the pressure of the alpha at his heels. He never feels more alive than when running under the moonlight: not a care in the world, just the wind on his face and his body ablaze with energy. Sharing a moment like this with his alpha is something he had given up already. But then he met Namjoon, and a dream bloomed in his heart. Now he knows that everything was leading to this moment. 

When the ground begins to slope, Seokjin slows down. The scents tell him the lake is close. Open space with lots of moonlight sounds good right now, so he heads there. He can hear Namjoon somewhere around, but he doesn’t speed up his steps. 

His paws touch the softer grounds near the shore and a little marveled huff passes through his lips. The lake snakes through the feet of the mountains as far as his eyes can see, the sky full of stars and moonlight keeping it all together.

There weren’t any places like this in his old forest. The little streams and springs that were there were only enough to allow a comfortable living for all the packs, but this sort of lavish gift from nature was unseen.

So impressed he was by the sight of the vast lake, that he only hears the rumbling growl instants before Namjoon jumps on him. He tries to run but it’s useless, unable to withstand the weight of the bigger wolf falling onto him, Seokjin trips on his own feet with a whimper, and the force of the crash sends them both rolling onto the sand. When inertia releases them, Namjoon scrambles onto his feet with a huff and starts nuzzling all over his body in search of injuries. Seokjin just lets him, the mild pain produced by the crash is forgotten in favor of his alpha’s attention. 

Once Namjoon is sure that Seokjin is unharmed, he grooms him to his heart’s content, while Seokjin tries to bite his ears, as a playful excuse of putting up a fight. When Namjoon starts insisting on nipping at his neck, Seokjin rolls over and shifts with a giggle halfway out of his chest.

“Stop! It tickles!” he squeaks, dodging the cold nose trying to run over his skin. “Ouch!” Pain shoots up the side of his butt when he sits and he makes a show of rubbing the spot. “Look what you’ve done, that’ll be bruising in a while.” 

Namjoon lets out a whimper and approaches him hesitantly. Seokjin leans back on his hands  and watches him enter his space with a smile teasing at the corners of his lips. With a low sound, similar to a yawn, Namjoon tries to fit his head under Seokjin’s jaw. He giggles as he throws his head back to accommodate him, but Namjoon is too big to snuggle against him like he wants.

“You’re like a pup who refuses to accept he’s grown.” He chuckles, Namjoon’s fur tickles him everywhere when he wraps his arms around him and hugs him tightly. Bringing a hand up to bury it in the thick fur of Namjoon’s neck, he mutters, “Turn. We can’t cuddle like this.”

Namjoon pulls back, and Seokjin can see the struggle behind his eyes. He huffs, his body tense, a quivering whine fills the quiet space between them.

“You can do it, come on,” Seokjin whispers, his fingers scratching up to Namjoon’s ears. He brings their foreheads together and smiles. “How else would you kiss me?”

Namjoon escapes his hold and moves around restlessly, letting out little huffing sounds. 

“Focus, Namjoonie,” Seokjin says, moving onto his knees. “Come here.” 

Namjoon sits in front of him, shifting his weight from one foot to another. Seokjin leans onto his hands, almost mimicking Namjoon’s posture. “Talk to me, think of words. I can’t wait to hear how it’s been for you…”

Namjoon huffs and shakes his head. Panting, he leans down, as if he was preparing to jump, but instead of taking the leap, he shifts back into a man, fur dissolving into soft skin.

“ Fucking stressful ,” Namjoon breathes out, his voice rough.

Seokjin giggles, surging forward to kiss his cheek. “It gets easier.”

“Does it?” Namjoon chases after him and buries his face in the crook of Seokjin’s neck as he wanted before. Namjoon breathes him in deeply, as if he needed him to stay grounded, and on the breath out, he scoops him up and drops onto his back.

Seokjin lets out something that’s half a huff, half a chuckle and makes himself comfortable on top of Namjoon, still caught in his hold. In the end, it’s his face pressed against Namjoon’s neck, a hand at the back of his head encourages him to stay there.

“I’m sure it wasn’t just stressful,” he whispers, drawing soft patterns in Namjoon’s shoulder with his finger.

“I’m not sure yet,” Namjoon mutters against his hair. “My mind is crumbling.”

“It’ll settle,” he whispers, hands soothingly feeling Namjoon’s skin. “You just need to find your center.”

“It’s you,” Namjoon says, his hold tightening. “It all leads to you.” 

Seokjin rises on his hands to look into Namjoon’s eyes, his lips pressed to hold back a pleased smile. “Shitty idea, if you ask me. As you have been able to confirm tonight, there’s nothing more unsettling for an alpha than his omega.”

Namjoon’s pupils visibly dilate, his scent thickening with something rich. Seokjin lets out a short giggle. This Namjoon is exhilarating: all pretenses are gone, he’s not holding anything back, looking at him with pure, unfiltered want.

“Is that so? You’re mine…?” His tone hesitates at the end, tilting up in question. 

Yes , he wants to shout, without a shadow of a doubt, yes. His heart swells at the yearning shining in Namjoon’s eyes, he knows that longing and he wants to reassure him that there’s nothing to fear, he’s here and he’s here to stay, but then again… He can’t miss such a good opportunity.

He sits up, pushing Namjoon’s chest for impulse when he tries to hold him down. Shifting the soft smile on his lips for a pout, he straddles Namjoon’s waist and crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m your omega,” he says, “but only in heart. Look,” he shows his neck, fingers tracing the spot where the mating bite is supposed to go, “My neck is spotless, my scent still pure…”  

Namjoon sits up too and presses a kiss to his neck. “On the last full moon of summer–”

Seokjin huffs. “That’s months away!”

Namjoon bites him in reprimand and fixes him with a stern look. “We already talked about this. You deserve a proper mating ceremony, with all the members of our pack, in our lands.” He grabs Seokjin’s jaw when he barely opens his mouth to protest, his thumbs pressing on his plush bottom lip. “I won’t be careless with that, your neck will stay spotless until the last moon of summer.”

Seokjin blinks, his heart full of hope that there is more to Namjoon’s statement, and it must show somehow, because Namjoon smirks, a wicked dimple popping in his cheek.

“Just your neck, of course.”

Only then, Seokjin melts in his hold. A silly smile curls his lips as his chest fills with sugar cotton, and he nods, that’s all he wanted to hear. 

It’s not just a passing whim, he wants Namjoon, but he also needs Namjoon to step up with him, claim each other and  themselves, for themselves, together. He nailed it in the pier, it’s more than just sex, it’s a first step into a new life. In a way, they have both lived in the same state of self-denial, keeping themselves away from life for the sake of others, to fit in the plan of others, and abide by their decisions. In a way, Seokjin knows they were destined to meet.

And if destiny is not real, then finding each other is a striking coincidence blessed by the Moon, because they were exactly what the other needed.

Namjoon kisses him like he would any other time: shy at first, lips touching him with reverence, as if he couldn’t believe he’s real, relishing the fact that he actually is, there in his arms, just for him. His hands, gently cupping Seokjn’s face, tilt it to the side to deepen the kiss and taste him.

Seokjin wraps his arms around Namjoon’s neck and gives as good as he gets, delicacy crumbling by the hands of lust. Namjoon’s lips are addicting, plush and hungry, sliding against his with slow intent. 

Heat is pooling at the pit of his stomach, and soon it will begin to drip out of him, but he’s caught in the spell of Namjoon’s lips, too busy reveling in his taste to care about anything else. That is until Namjoon’s hands fall to his waist and pull him closer, trapping his plumping cock between their bodies.  

“Are we really doing it?” Seokjin sighs when Namjoon’s lips migrate to his neck. “I swear, if you leave me hanging again…”

Namjoon hums, nibbling his collarbone, hands on the upper side of his thighs, thumbs digging on his hips. “I don’t think I can stop,” Namjoon mutters, nuzzling a path down to his breast. “Unless you ask me, of course,” he adds, looking up at him with candid eyes.

Seokjin snorts. “Not planning to.”

Namjoon hums his approval, his eyes closing as his lips wrap around a hard nipple. Seokjin gasps, tightening his legs at each side of Namjoon’s hips, as if that could bring them closer. The wet suction of Namjoon’s mouth around his nipple sends sparks of pleasure all over his body, but it’s not enough.

“Namjoon…”

Namjoon claws at his hips for a moment before detaching his mouth from his breast. He presses a kiss to the center of his chest, his neck, the underside of his jaw, the corner of his lips. With a deep breath,  Namjoon lies down, his hands returning to Seokjin’s thighs. 

“Go at your own pace, love,” he says, looking at him with half lidded eyes, the tease of a smirk softly dipping his cheek.

Seokjin’s heart skips a beat and his stomach flips, shyness suddenly creeping over him. “I thought you–”

He runs out of breath mid phrase, his eyes fall to his hands on Namjoon’s waist, but that only flusters him more. The tip of Namjoon’s cock is dripping over his belly, the rest of him nestled between his folds, getting soaked as they breathe under the moonlight.

His hips move on their own accord, pulling a gasp out of them both. Seokjin groans and escapes from Namjoon’s gaze.

“Why do you do this to me? You know I haven’t– I thought you would do it.”

Namjoon chuckles, there’s a sort of pleased surprise in his smile. “I will, don’t worry,” he says, but his voice has a mischievous edge. “I just want to see you, um… What did you call it? Claim your own freedom?”

Seokjin groans. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” Namjoon lets out a soft laugh and rubs soothing circles on his thighs. “You have strong feelings for me.”

“Shut up,” Seokjin grumbles, pinching Namjoon’s sides. 

Namjoon flinches, a wide smile scrunching his face. It gives Seokjin the courage to take a deep breath and rise on his knees. One of his hands wraps around Namjoon’s cock, spreading his own slick all over the length; his other hand covers a side of his face, as if he could hide the blush heating up his cheeks like that. 

“Don’t say a word,” he mutters, knowing full well his pride will never recover from this.

He feels Namjoon’s silent giggles in the slight shake of his body, so he tightens his grip in retaliation. Namjoon hisses, his hips bucking up, chasing for more, and Seokjin obliges. Giving Namjoon pleasure is addicting, it soothes him in a way he desperately needs right now.

“Alright…” Seokjin mutters, trying to get his mind on track. He’s been shamelessly asking Namjoon for this, and now that it’s happening, he’s overthinking his every move. He’s sure it wouldn’t be this pressuring if he had done it ten years ago, but the topic has formed a real weight on his heart that’s taking him out of the moment.

“Hey,” Namjoon’s velvety voice is a light in the darkness. Seokjin finds his eyes and takes his hand when he gently requests it. “Stay with me, yeah? This only works if we stay on the same page.”

“I know, it’s just…” He lets out a nervous chuckle. “This is long overdue, you know? It had grown roots in my head.”

“No need to rip them off. We can go as slow as you need.”

Seokjin hums. “Maybe ripping them off all at once is exactly what I need.”  

“You’d hurt yourself.”

Seokjin breathes out a laugh. “Don’t you get tired of being so sound?”

Namjoon sighs. “Sometimes.”

With a rush of love flooding his heart, Seokjin leans down and kisses him. “Very, very, very strong feelings, I swear.”

Namjoon smiles, all broad and dimpled. He slaps his butt and gently pushes him up. “Come on, get on with it. If you leave me hanging…”

Seokjin laughs and pinches his nipple. “Stop using my own words against me!”

“Seokjin…”

“Alright.” He nods and lets go of Namjoon’s hand after giving it a tight squeeze.

He rises to his knees again and pumps Namjoon’s cock back to full hardness. When Namjoon’s squeeze on his thighs get sharper, Seokjin guides the tip to his entrance and presses down ever so slightly. 

It’s not like he’s never had anything up there. Heats give courage to an omega, and Seokjin has spent countless heats alone, but this is different. It’s not only warm flesh and soft skin, it’s also Namjoon. The alpha he wants as his mate. Taking him this way seals the deal. 

Taking a deep breath, Seokjin spreads his legs wider and presses down a little more until the head pops inside. He gasps and rises again in reflex. It’s a lot, not only Namjoon’s cock is stupidly thick, his gaze on him is suffocating in the best way.

“Y-you said I could take my time.”

Namjoon smiles, his tongue peeking between his teeth. “All the time you want, love.”

Seokjin groans. “My heart really does a thing inside my chest when you call me that.”

Namjoon’s wicked smile also does things to his heart. He reaches between their bodies and grabs his own cock, rubbing it through his folds and over his clit a few times, sending a bolt of pleasure up his spine.

“Alright, I hear you.” Seokjin slaps his hand away and positions him again.

This time when the girth spreading him open takes his breath away, he doesn’t stop. He slides all the way down, slowly but without pause, grinding his hips to adjust. There’s no space left, Namjoon took it all, and Seokjin can’t imagine how a knot would fit inside, but that’s trouble for another night.

“Everything alright?” Namjoon asks, his eyes impossibly tender.

Seokjin nods because he doesn’t trust his voice right now. With a shaky breath puffing out of his lips, Seokjin rises up, and gods, it’s as if it never ends. He doesn’t let it get fully out before dropping down again. A moan gets pushed out of him, and Namjoon’s grip on his thighs tightens. 

“That’s it, love. Just like that…”

Seokjin repeats the motion, one time, two times, he loses count, it gets easier the more he does it, it grows desperate. When his heart feels like it’s going to escape his chest, he leans down and kisses Namjoon until the heat grows again, and again, and again.

“Fuck, you feel so good.” Namjoon’s voice has gotten impossibly low, his hungry gaze traveling from his face to the place they’re joined in a slow caress. “So good, Jin, don’t stop–”  

Namjoon meets him halfway, and Seokjin clenches around his cock with a breathless moan that gets echoed by Namjoon. His pace turns frenzied after that, mindlessly chasing after the pleasure growing inside him. His clit gets hardly any stimulation but it feels ready to explode nonetheless. It’s so frustrating, Seokjin whines.

“Like this,” Namjoon breathes out, noticing his struggle. He grabs his hips and guides them not up and down but back and forth, and fuck , that’s it.

With his hands firmly planted on Namjoon’s shoulders, Seokjin rubs against Namjoon, his cock barely dragging in and out, but filling him so well until he’s trembling with pleasure, hunching over himself, a cry trapped in his chest.

“That’s it,” Namjoon mutters, “Ride me through it, come on, take it all…”

A moan escapes his lips at the soft spoken instruction. He arches his back and throws his head back trying to find the rhythm again, but the aftershocks of his orgasm put him off the task.

“Can’t…” he whines, growing upset as the tension seizes him again.

“Want me to take over?” Namjoon sits up, and the change of angle pushes a moan out of him.

Seokjin nods, his hands brushing Namjoon’s short hair back, his gaze falling to his parted lips. Namjoon kisses him, and he’s so lost in the taste of his lips that he only knows he’s on his back when the air gets knocked out of him. Namjoon gives him a moment to catch his breath and kisses him again. Seokjin’s hands search over his skin, looking for a good place to hold on to, as Namjoon grabs the back of his knees, spreads his legs wide and pushes them towards his chest so he has room to–

“ Oh… ” A long moan is pushed out of his chest, and he arches his back when Namjoon slides all the way inside again and starts fucking him at a quick pace from the get go.  

Seokjin plants a hand on the ground over his head or he’ll be dragged away by Namjoon’s powerful thrusts. Namjoon also sets a steady hand on the ground, more for impulse than stability. Seokjin grips his upper arm, enjoying the way the muscles flex under his palm.

“So good, Jin. You take me so good,” Namjoon grunts, his brow furrowing, as if his entire soul was focused on burying as deep as possible into Seokjin. 

“Don’t stop… I’m… so close.” It’s hard to articulate his thoughts, it’s hard to keep his eyes open, but whenever he manages to blink up, he finds Namjoon’s dark eyes fixed on him, and if ever there was a doubt, Seokjin can clear them all out with the love that shines in those charcoal eyes. 

Namjoon’s thrusts turn messy, his chin touches his chest and his bottom lip gets caught between his teeth. As he slows down, Seokjin notices… 

“ Namjoon .” He gasps when the swelling lump at the base of Namjoon’s cock is forced into him and then pulled out. “You’re gonna knot.”

“ Fuck ,” Namjoon moan, freezing right before pushing the knot back inside. “I didn’t know– I can’t–” 

He grinds the still slight knot against Seokjin’s entrance, the rest of him being squeezed by Seokjin’s walls, missing the rhythm already.

“What are you doing?” Seokjin rises onto his elbows and frowns at Namjoon. “Get it inside before it’s too late.”

“Yeah?” 

Seokjin snorts. His round eyes remind him of a lost puppy. “Let me do it,” he says, gesturing with his head so they switch positions.

Namjoon obeys, he pulls out carefully and lies on his back, and Seokjin wastes no time, straddling him and sitting on his cock again at once. Now, the knot requires some grinding and more than a couple of deep breaths to accommodate. He’d be lying if he said the stretch doesn’t hurt, and once it’s inside, it only grows bigger. For a few panicked moments, Seokjin fears it will be too much, but then something just clicks, and Seokjin comes harder than he ever has in his life. 

“Seokjin…” 

Namjoon’s grip on his hips gets almost bruisingly tight. He arches his back and gasps, bucking his hips up, pushing as deep as physically possible. Seokjin can feel him pulsing inside, in synchrony with the clenching of his walls, and eventually, a flood of warmth begins to fill every little space left, until Seokjin feels like he’s going to burst. A little bump swells right beneath his belly button, and a new shudder of pleasure racks his body.

When the racking wave passes over them, their eyes meet and the moment stills into something mellow. Namjoon takes his hands, and they breathe together, as their hearts fall into place now joined as one.

“I-I’m sorry,” Namjoon mutters, breathing out the tension. Little tremors still course through his body from time to time, but he’s on the way down already. “I didn’t know this would happen.”

Seokjin takes a deep breath that only makes him conscious of how full he is. Still, he coughs out a laugh and flicks Namjoon’s stomach. “What do you mean? This is great, I’m tackling down all my pending experiences in one night.”

Namjoon smiles something lazy and sated. “Well, it was a first for me too.”

“What part?” Seokjin chuckles. “Knotting spontaneously?”

“Knotting someone.”

His eyebrows arch in surprise. “Seriously?”

Namjoon shrugs. “Felt too intimate to do it with just anyone.”

A smug grin grows little by little on Seokjin’s face. “It pleases me a ridiculous amount, I have to be honest.”

“That’s alright,” Namjoon sighs, pulling him down to rest on his chest. “You wanted me to take you? Well, you’ve taken a part of me too. That’s fair.” 

Seokjin hums, finding a comfortable spot where the bump in his underbelly doesn’t get pressed.

“I love you,” he whispers against Namjoon’s skin, and he feels how Namjoon freezes for a second before his heart breaks on a race under his cheek.

“The feelings have grown quite strong then.” Namjoon chuckles when Seokjin pinches his side. “I love you too,” he says, voice sure and steady. “In case it wasn’t obvious.”

“It was, shut up,” he mumbles, and Namjoon giggles.

“Fuck…”

Namjoon manages to catch Seokjin before he falls face-first onto the sand. He wraps his arms tightly around Seokjin, holding onto him back to chest, as wave after wave of searing pleasure render his body as boneless as Seokjin’s. 

The sun is peeking over the mountains, a light mist covers the lake and its surroundings, but the cold hour before dawn did nothing to tamper their frenzy. Namjoon was mostly playing when he told Seokjin that they would need time when they had sex for the first time because he wouldn’t let him go so easily. He didn’t mean to go into rut and keep him stuck on his knot.

Or at least he thinks he’s in rut. He keeps popping knot after knot, and his stamina has yet to find its limit. That’s not normal, no matter how much pent up lust he was harboring for Seokjin.

“Too tight,” Seokjin mutters, tapping the forearms around his waist.

“Shit, sorry.” 

Namjoon releases him right away, his hands lingering, however, on the soft skin of Seokjin’s waist. With a long, sated sigh, Seokjin stretches and leans forward, first on his hands and then down onto the cradle of his folded arms. His lower half remains on Namjoon’s lap; the knot will have them joined for a few more minutes.

“You alright?”

Seokjin hums. “You should have told me your rut was about to hit, though,” he says, his words a little slurred with sleep. “Not that I would have done anything different, just to know what I was getting into, you know?”

Namjoon groans. “I’m sorry–”

Seokjin chuckles. “Stop apologizing! It’s not like I’m not absolutely enjoying every moment.”

“But you’re right, I should have told you,” Namjoon insists, and Seokjin’s only answer is an exasperated sigh. “Though, I didn’t know this was going to happen. Actually, I’m not entirely sure if that’s what’s happening.”  

“Oh, yeah, because it’s normal to pop a knot in every fuck.” Seokjin laughs. 

“No, I mean–” His knot twitches, proving him wrong before he even speaks. “It doesn’t feel like a rut,” he says, stubborn.

Seokjin cranes his neck to fix him with a skeptical look. “You kinda smell like alpha in rut. I should have noticed earlier, I just wasn’t used to your new scent, I guess.”

“New scent?” 

“Without the stone, I mean,” Seokjin says with a gesture of his hand, as if it was obvious.

He takes his nose to his shoulder and tries to catch some of his scent. People can’t really smell themselves. Since their scent is always around them, their senses mute it so it doesn’t get in the way. The only time someone can smell themself is when there’s a drastic change in their scents, like when they’re sick or in their cycle. His scent has only grown stronger, spiced like when he’s in rut.

“Maybe it’s too subtle for you to catch it. It’s not like it’s different, just cleaner somehow.”

“My scent was dirty?”

Seokjin sighs, turning his head so his face is hidden in his arms. “You’re in rut now, that’s the important part.”

Namjoon takes a deep breath and slides his hands down the long expanse of Seokjin’s back, digging his thumbs in the muscle to ease some of the tension that most likely has built there after so much physical strain . Seokjin manifests his approval with a sleepy hum.

After the first knot went down, Namjoon was still hard, the rut taking over and setting his body ablaze. He stayed buried deep inside Seokjin and fucked him all over again. When that second knot went down, Seokjin blacked out for a few minutes, but when he woke up, he rolled onto his stomach and let Namjoon fuck him again. Halfway through it, Seokjin woke up properly and rose onto his hands and knees to participate more actively in the round.

“But I’m not sick,” he says. Endless horniness aside, he feels good, relieved, so light he could float over the ground, actually. That is definitely a first when it comes to his ruts. “I’m not feverish or have an upset stomach. I barely have any muscle ache.”

“And why would you have all that?” Seokjin chuckles. “You’re not supposed to be sick for your cycle, that must be just another weight of the stone.”

“Fucking seriously?” Namjoon huffs. “Now that’s something that would have made me turn much sooner.”

Seokjin laughs. He rises on his hands and arches his back with a groan. “I think it’s going down.”

“Oh…” Namjoon flinches as Seokjin’s movement tugs on his knot. He’s right though, the knot is already shrinking and getting terribly sensitive. 

Grabbing Seokjin’s hips, Namjoon pulls out carefully. As the thick of his knot slides out of the warm sheath of Seokjin’s cunt, a flare of heat begs him to just thrust back inside, but he knows where that would end, so he pulls out all the way before he can get too into it.

Seokjin lets out a soft sigh and takes a hand to his lower belly. He saw it before, the little swell there that proves Namjoon filled him to the brim. It ignites something in him, something primal that puffs his chest with pride and fulfillment at the sight of cum trickling down Seokjin’s gaping cunt.

He has to look away, his cock twitches in interest, but if Seokjin’s knees are as chafed as his, he can’t take another round. That same primal part that’s dying to breed his omega also puts his well being on top of everything else. 

“Fuck, I miss you already,” Seokjin purrs, sitting on his ankles and pressing his thighs together. He’s looking over his shoulder with half lidded eyes, a soft smile on his lips, and gods , Namjoon might burn up on the spot. 

Everything Seokjin does is so seductive. Namjoon wants to sweep him off his feet and fuck him all over again, again and again until the sun goes down, or maybe forever. 

Forever sounds enough.

“I’m right here,” he mutters, defeated but hopeful.

Seokjin breathes out a laugh. “I know. Forget it.” 

An honest whimper of sorrow makes it all the way to the back of his throat, but Namjoon ends up sighing, resigned. “Alright.”

Seokjin coos as he turns around, and cups his face in his palms before pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “Just for now, Joonie.”

He nods again, returning the kiss until Seokjin pushes him back with an exasperated smile.

“Maybe it’s the rut,” Seokjin says as he gets up on wobbly legs. 

“Mmh?” Namjoon looks up at him and loses interest in any conversation they might be starting. 

Seokjin looks ethereal with the sunlight cutting the perfect lines of his body, exuberant with his skin glowing with drying sweat, blushed cheeks and plump lips telling of what they’ve been doing. Such a strong and beautiful omega, and Namjoon has the honor to call him his.

Seokjin, who sets his soul ablaze. Seokjin, who gave him a future to look forward to.

Namjoon reaches for him and presses his forehead to Seokjin’s belly. It’s certainly the rut making a fool of him, but he can’t help but think that he’ll put a pup in there someday.

“Stop it!” Seokjin pushes him away with a giggle. 

Namjoon falls onto the sand and smiles, his mind foggy with love and the need to feel Seokjin’s skin, hold him close to his heart, fuck him full of–

“Hey!” Seokjin snaps his fingers and Namjoon blinks at him. 

Scrambling onto his feet, he clears his throat and covers his stubborn erection. “Y-you were saying?”

“Maybe it’s because of the rut that you can’t find your center,” Seokjin says, his eyes full of mirth fixed on Namjoon’s face. “Maybe that’s why you lost control and turned in the first place.”

“Oh…” He approaches Seokjin on hesitant feet, and only when they’re a step away from each other, does Namjoon raise his eyes to him. “So it’s not because you’re driving me wild?”

Seokjin snorts. “That has to be the corniest thing ever said by anyone in the world.”

With a chuckle, he grabs Seokjin by the waist and pulls him against his body, his soft skin the only solace to the fire burning underneath his skin. He presses a kiss to Seokjin’s cheek and nuzzles under his jaw. His scent, although still the same in essence, has a new coat, an underlying note that claims him as Namjoon’s.

A buzz starts in his veins along with a rumble in his chest.

Seokjin breathes out a laugh and pushes him back a little. “Knothead, just like the rest of them.”

Namjoon shrugs. “What can I do? It must be the rut.”

“Yeah, sure.” Seokjin rolls his eyes and jabs at his ribs. “Come on, let’s move.”

Namjoon huffs and dodges the next jab, releasing Seokjin in the process. “Wait, where are we going?”

Seokjin turns around, slowly walking away from him, towards the woods. “I’m going back to the camp. I’m starving and too tired to hunt.” 

Namjoon runs after him and blocks his way. “I can hunt for you.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes, but a sweet smile betrays him. “Of course, and I guess you’re ready for your next wild milestone too: eating a rodent raw.”

With a grimace scrunching his face, Namjoon moves aside and walks along Seokjin. 

Seokjin laughs. “Yeah, I thought so. Yoongi’s porridge beats that anyday,” he says, and after stealing a quick peck from his lips, he turns, the pristine white wolf getting lost between the trees uphill.

“Wait!”

Namjoon takes a deep breath and tries to remember what he did the last couple times. Seokjin has been in the center of it both times, maybe it’s the rut like he said, but in lack of a better method, he’ll have to once again, reach for that urgency, that sort of anguish scratching at the inside of his chest. 

His omega , he wants to go with him, be by his side. Seokjin.

As he puffs the air out, his body deflates, tension turning into taut muscle, his mind clears and settles on a single focus. With a long howl of yearning, his wolf heads into the forest, tracking Seokjin’s scent. 

It’s easy. The air is painted with traces of his mate, as if clouds of a newfound color marked the way. He finds Seokjin playing in a pond, splashing water all around, and a pinch of discontent tugs at his stomach. His seed is being washed away by the water, but he has to be content with the claim lingering deep within.

Seokjin barks at him, inviting him in, and suddenly, the gaze of his omega takes every concern away. He jumps into the pond with him and they play around, chasing each other and trying to sink the other’s head in the water. Namjoon wins, and Seokjin uses the momentary distraction of victory to slip away from his hold and dash off and out of his sight in a heartbeat.

Namjoon chases after him, but Seokjin is waiting for him with a mischievous tilt in his head. They trot the rest of the way to the camp side by side, the morning sun drying their fur. When the scents of their pack are already hanging in the air, a jarring screech startles them mid step.

The sound cuts abruptly and is replaced by dry coughing. They share a confused look, but then another screech, higher than the first, breaks the harmony of the forest.

“Alright, alright, you win, fuck!” 

That’s Jimin . 

Just as the thought takes form in his head, a tickle runs over his skin and he finds himself on his human hands and knees.

“That’s Jimin,” he says, and turns to see Seokjin changing forms too.

“Yeah, and the source of that abominable sound was Jungkook,” Seokjin says with a chuckle.  

They find their clothes hanging at the edge of the clearing with a note in very messy handwriting: “ we don’t want to see bare butts around the camp ”.

“And that’s Yoongi-hyung,” Namjoon says before they start getting dressed.

When they enter the circle of the camp, Jungkook is attempting to sing something in that ear shattering high tone, Jimin is doubled down giggling by his side. The other two are asleep, Hoseok’s back resting against the pile of their bags and Yoongi’s head on his lap. Soju bottles are littered all over the ground, empty as the day they were made.

“Now you know who not to let in charge of the pups,” Seokjin mutters, nodding at the sleeping pair.

“Hyungies!” Jimin stands up and almost falls as his body sways for balance. “I thought you’d never come back!” He throws at them and for a few moments they’re holding Jimin’s entire weight. “Jungkookie and I were having a contest.”

“Who can make the other’s ears bleed first?” Seokjin suggests, as Jimin struggles to wrap an arm around his shoulders. He doesn’t seem capable of standing straight.

“Something like that,” Jimin says with a bubbly giggle, giving up Seokjin’s shoulders and grabbing his waist instead.

Namjoon is about to grumble something dumb like take your dirty paws off my omega , but then Jungkook hiccups and turns to them.

“This is n-not over, hyung,” Jungkook slurs, trying and failing to stand up. “I’m still… I can– I…” He runs out of energy mid phrase and falls to the side, shifting as he touches the ground, dead to the world. 

“Maybe in a couple summers, pup,” Jimin says with a proud smirk. 

“Who passes out last?” Namjoon asks, recognizing the scene.

“Still invictus,” Jimin says, pointing at himself and dissolving into giggles.

“Please, don’t dare my brother to do things,” Seokjin sighs, taking Jimin to the pile of other drunkards. “He can’t help himself.”

“He’s cute,” Jimin says, snuggling into Yoongi’s bent legs. “Can we keep him?”

“Sure, now get some rest.”

As Seokjin makes sure Jimin drinks some water, Namjoon serves two portions of leftover fried rice and waits for Seokjin to sit by his side to start eating.

“It seems like Jungkookie fit right in,” Seokjin comments, smiling at his food.

Namjoon hums. “He’s staying then?” 

Seokjin freezes with a spoonful of rice midway to his mouth. “I hope so…” He looks at him as if he’s expecting Namjoon to argue.

“I’ll try not to beat his ass again then,” he jokes. Mostly jokes.

Seokjin laughs and shakes his head. “Please, don’t.” He eats half of his rice before he speaks again. “Seriously though… Would you let him stay?”

Namjoon chuckles, but then he realizes Seokjin is seriously asking him. He puts his empty bowl aside and turns to Seokjin. “Who am I to send your brother away?”

“Well…” Seokjin shrugs, his eyes on the ground between them. “You’re the head alpha of this pack.”

“ Well , then that makes you head omega,” Namjoon says, poking Seokjin’s thigh. “You have just as much of a say on this matter as I do.”

Seokjin snorts. “That’s…” He turns to Namjoon with arched eyebrows. “Wait, you really mean that?”

“Of course! If we’re starting a pack together, we have to do it right, don’t you think?” Namjoon smiles. “If we’re mates, we’re equals. There’s no other way.”

He offers Seokjin his hand, and Seokjin takes his right away. 

“What did I ever do to give you the impression I’d suddenly turn into a tyrant?”

Seokjin shakes his head, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, a wicked glint in his eyes.

“I suddenly lost all my appetite for food,” Seokjin says, leaving his bowl on the ground and climbing onto Namjoon’s lap.

He breathes out a laugh when Seokjin goes straight for his neck, but then a gasp is pulled out of his chest when Seokjin sucks a mark under his ear. 

“Woah, easy–” His breathing stutters as Seokjin keeps kissing his neck, the fire he had managed to tame, roaring back to life, but– “Wait, stop.”

He pushes Seokjin back as gently as he can, but Seokjin grabs him and uses his weight to fall back, pulling Namjoon on top of him. Trying to ignore the flare of arousal in Seokjin’s scent when he presses him onto the ground to push himself up, Namjoon takes a deep breath and fixes Seokjin with a stern look.

“Jin… Fuck .” He takes his hands off Seokjin but he’s not strong enough to draw back and walk away. Seokjin’s amber eyes are nothing but bewitching, inviting him to dive right back into the pleasure of his body. Unable to resist, he leans down and nuzzles under Seokjin’s jaw. “I can’t do it with them sleeping right there.”  

“They won’t wake up,” Seokjin purrs, his fingers scratching his scalp softly, pulling him closer. He wraps his leg around Namjoon’s waist, pushing his hips down with his feet.

Namjoon groans, it’s so tempting. He can almost feel the wet heat of Seokjin’s cunt welcoming him, blooming for him, giving in with tender ease. A rush of anticipation courses through his veins, but–  “No, the scents linger, they’d know.”

A spoiled so what shines in Seokjin’s eyes, but he sighs and rolls his eyes instead of voicing it.

“Let’s go somewhere else then,” Seokjin says, letting go of him and pushing up so he’s sitting and Namjoon kneeling. He grabs his face and kisses him, his tongue enticing, promising, but Namjoon is already feeling the weight of being the head of their pack on his shoulders.

With a pained growl, he pulls back and stands up, his back turned to Seokjin so there’s no wavering in his decision. “I can’t leave these four here passed out drunk and helpless.”

Seokjin whines, but when he stands up and walks to him, there’s a pleased smile on his lips.

“Are you sure?” There’s mischief in his eyes before he takes off his shirt. 

Namjoon catches only a glimpse of his perfect tits before he looks away and pretends to cry. “ Please… ” he moans, and Seokjin giggles. 

“You’re a good pack alpha already,” Seokjin mutters and presses a kiss to his cheek before shifting forms.

Namjoon takes a deep breath and watches Seokjin curl around his brother, pristine white stark against Jungkook’s dun coat. 

“Good night, love.”

Seokjin lets out a quiet woof and makes himself comfortable to sleep. 

Lovely , he thinks, his heart full of love, and not only for Seokjin. There’s a sort of peace he rarely feels at the sight of his whole pack sleeping together. Well, almost his whole pack. There are two members still missing. 

And while they reach for them, his one job is to keep the rest safe. That’s the best he can do right now.

It’s not like he can sleep anyway. Either because of the rut or the shifting, his body is still buzzing with restless energy. So he busies himself with tidying up the camp. Once that’s done, he checks on the horses. They have food and water, so he brushes them and talks to them a little so they’re calm and relaxed. The sun is over his head when he goes back to the circle of the camp, loosens his clothes and sits on the ground.

He realized something when he shifted on the way back from the lake: His previous shifting had been stressful because the situations leading to them had been stressful too. When he shifted with Seokjin before, his mind was in balance. That’s what he needs right now. 

The world is incredibly clear from the eyes of a wolf. Namjoon finally understands.

Taking a deep breath, he lets go of everything polluting that peace. He closes his eyes and reaches not for anguish but for love.

And it works.

It’s such a relief, his priorities are for once indisputable. He steps off the clothes he doesn’t need anymore and makes the same round he did as a man: The girls, safe. His packmates, safe. His omega, safe. He stays watchful to keep it that way, as that’s the only thing that matters.

The camp comes back to life in the late afternoon. 

Seokjin wakes up to the sound of playful grunts, alpha scents bubbly with happiness. He raises his head to see Hoseok on his back, letting Namjoon lick his muzzle. When they notice he’s awake, the two alphas skip toward him and fight for his attention, but the fuzz wakes Jungkook up and then there’s a third alpha in the pile. 

Seokjin looks for his clothes and turns while the boys keep play-fighting, an endeared smile never leaving his face. “You’re adorable.”

The wolves bark at him and jump onto the remaining members of the pack. Yoongi wakes up with a grumbled curse.

“If a tongue touches me, I’ll fucking end you all,” Yoongi grunts, scrambling to his feet before the wolves can reach him. “Ugh…”

As Yoongi grimaces, Seokjin laughs: Jimin was only half awake when the wolves fell onto him, so he can’t do anything to stop them from nipping and licking all over him. He doesn’t seem to mind much though, and actually falls asleep again when the guys leave him alone to terrorize Yoongi.

After turning back into men, Hoseok and Jungkook are just as hungover as Yoongi, so the camp moves slowly. While Yoongi puts together a soup, Hoseok teaches Jungkook how to set up the tents, and Jimin is just a lump on the ground, so Seokjin picks up the buckets to go for water for them and the horses.

Namjoon follows after him, and maybe they take a little longer to go back due to a detour for a quick fuck with Seokjin bent over a fallen tree while Namjoon pounds into him hard and fast. Namjoon’s rut is still not entirely over, so Seokjin takes yet another knot, and when Namjoon starts apologizing, Seokjin pinches his side and tells him that he owes him for all the years they didn’t know each other.

When they return to the camp it’s already dark, so they eat the soup and ignore the teasing looks thrown their way. Seokjin insists on everyone having a full night of sleep before resuming their journey, that he can watch over the camp, but the idiots claim that they could not live with their conscience if they left their only omega alone in these lands. In the end, Namjoon and Jimin are sent to bed and the rest agree to watch, and so they do, but mostly they just nap in turns.

The new day starts slowly. They break camp half asleep and skip breakfast to take advantage of the empty road. The guys say that the closer they get to Seoul, the busier the road will be, and that means they will have to go back to the uniform and act accordingly. 

The sun is high in the sky and they’ve crossed a couple of merchant carts already when conversation begins to bloom in the group. Though the only conversation Seokjin has been able to focus on is the one going on between Namjoon and Jungkook at the head of the group, too far for him to hear.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” 

“They probably started talking about you, but now I’m not so sure,” Hoseok answers him, looking at the pair on the front with curiosity.

He’s right. Their postures and attitudes were serious at the beginning, but now they seem more at ease with each other, laughing from time to time even.

“Well, at least they’re not fighting,” Seokjin says, watching Namjoon explain something with big gestures of his hands.

“He said you asked him to come with us,” Hoseok casually comments, almost convincing Seokjin that he doesn’t care about it.

“I hope I didn’t overstep…”

“Oh, no, hyung, of course not,” Hoseok promptly assures him. “He’s your brother, and a good kid.”

Seokjin hums. Jungkook is lowering his face with a shy smile on his lips, shaking his head at something Namjoon is saying. “He better not crush on my man, though.”

Hoseok laughs. “Has that ever happened?”

“No,” he chuckles. “But he’s prone to go around crushing on people who won’t give him the time of day.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep him entertained–” Hoseok cackles when Seokjin turns to him with a gasp. “I don’t mean it like that! I just–” Hoseok laughs some more at Seokjin outraged sputtering.

“That my baby brother you’re talking about!”

“I know, I know!” Hoseok laughs some more before explaining, “I’m trying to say that I know he’s kin of mine, you know? And I’m willing to take him under my wing when…” Hoseok shrugs. “You know, I can take him with me to hunt .”

“No, I don’t know,” Seokjin says with a frown. “What do you mean exactly?”

Hoseok smiles, but it’s Jimin who answers for him, “He means he’ll drag him around when he goes off to find himself a guy to play with. I’d be careful, hyung, he’ll turn your sweet Jungkookie into a heartbreaker.”

Hoseok laughs. “Aish, Jimin-ah! Hyung will think the worst.”

“You are a bit of a slut, hyung,” Jimin says, “With all due respect, Hyung should know.” 

Seokjin rolls his eyes at the two of them. “Jungkook ain’t as sweet as he seems, though.” He turns to Hoseok and fixes him with a narrowed look. “As long as it’s not his heart that ends up broken, you can take him under your wing or whatever.”

“Alright,” Hoseok says with a wicked smile curling his lips. 

By the end of the day, they reach a small town called Songsam. They buy some provisions, but in order to save coin, they decide to camp outside town.

“At this pace, we should reach Icheon tomorrow,” Hoseok informs after dinner that evening. He turns the map so everyone can see. “Yongin the next day, and before the sundown of the third day, we should be seeing the walls of the great Seoul. I can’t say I’m thrilled.”

“No one’s thrilled,” Jimin huffs.

“We do what we’re supposed to do and get the hell out of there as soon as possible,” Yoongi says, biting the side of his thumb, already raw. 

That habit of his is growing more frequent with each step they take closer to Seoul, and Namjoon is aware that if the last couple days had never happened, he’d be as stressed as Yoongi. Now, he’s more willing to see the bright side.

“Everything will work out alright, there’s no point in worrying before we even try anything,” Namjoon says, pouring himself and Yoongi a cup of soju.

Yoongi snorts. “Who are you?”

“I’m just saying we have enough time to think of a good plan,” he says, and everyone agrees with murmured words.

When the air around the circle turns too pensive and the lonely bottle of soju they got in town was empty (“Only one this time, hyung,” Jimin said while shopping. “The situation got out of hand last time.”) Namjoon decides it’s a good chance to go to sleep early and start the new day early as well; no one opposes.

“Who’s gonna take the first watch?” Jimin asks, rubbing his eyes.

“Hyung,” Jungkook calls and it’s funny how everyone turns to him. There was no need for an official announcement, everyone had already accepted Jungkook into their little pack. He smiles and clarifies, “Namjoon-hyung, I can watch the whole night if you want. It’s easier in wolf form.”

Namjoon’s eyes go from Jungkook to Seokjin and then to the others.

“He’s gonna be fine,” Seokjin says just as Yoongi offers, “Wake me up if you get tired.”

“Alright, good night then.”

“We’ll have to set up a system eventually,” Hoseok comments and everyone agrees, but they go to their tents quickly, as if Jungkook could change his mind. 

Namjoon waits for Seokjin, who’s talking with Jungkook. The only thing Namjoon manages to hear is Jungkook’s mischievous whisper of “ My ears are sharp, hyung, keep that in mind .” The subsequent cry of pain after Seokjin twists one of his nipples is perfectly clear for everyone in a mile radius.

“What was that about?”

“He’s a brat,” Seokjin says as they settle inside Namjoon’s tent. “Don’t let his bright eyes fool you.”

“He’s funny,” Namjoon comments, grabbing Seokjin’s waist as soon as he lies down beside him. Seokjin lets him move him until they’re spooning.

“Let’s see what you say when he starts riling you u-up,” Seokjin says, his breath stuttering at the end when Namjoon starts nipping the lobe of his ear. 

“Enough about your brother,” he mutters, his lips dragging down to the crook of Seokjin’s neck, his hand wandering off until he can fill it with a supple breast.

“Namjoon…” Seokjin arches his back, his ass pressing against Namjoon’s hardening cock.

There’s a speck of rut still itching inside him, which is odd. He was used to getting bedridden by his rut, feverish and achy, and yet hard as a rock for an entire, miserable day. Just that, the next day he felt as bad as if he was hungover. Now there was no pain or sickness, just insatiable lust, and even that passed over him like a gentle wave. Something to be enjoyed rather than suffered. But like a wave, it built up slowly while they were in Chungju, broke by the lake, and now is drawing back until the next season.

“If you can keep quiet, we can get away with it,” Namjoon mutters against Seokjin’s skin, his hand sneaking under the waist of his pants. But before he can slide his fingers between the wet folds of Seokjin’s cunt, Seokjin whines and squirms away from his hold.

“Not possible,” Seokjin whispers, kneeling by the furs with a conflicted look in his eyes. “Only way to keep me quiet…”

And instead of finishing his sentence, Seokjin proceeds to crawl over his legs, tug his pants down, and stuff his mouth full of Namjoon’s cock. One thing leads to another and it’s safe to say that they don’t keep very quiet. They have to endure dirty looks from Jungkook the next day, but it’s totally worth it.

They spend most of the trip to Icheon discussing their options to break Taehyung and Yoonji out of Seoul. 

“It’s not like the Kim house is a fortress,” Yoongi says when they stop for a quick snack at a road establishment a little after noon. “I mean, Tae sneaked out all the time.”

“He certainly did,” Hoseok mutters behind a hand that does nothing to hide his comment. Yoongi only shoots him a glare.

“The problem is not getting them out,” Namjoon says over Hoseok’s and Jimin’s snickering. “We have to make sure we’re not traceable .”

“Yeah,” Yoongi agrees. “They might not care that we leave, or even Yoonji, but the moment Kim Taehyung disappears…”

“We could wait for a rainy day…?” Seokjin suggests, looking up at the not so clear sky, and he might be onto something, the weather is quite unstable in this region during spring.

“The Han river is right there though, isn’t it?” Jungkook says, but no one pays much attention to him when Jimin lets out an exaggerated sob after Yoongi mentioned that they’ll have to leave the girls behind.

“We could keep Pepps,” Hoseok suggests. “She’s the fastest. You could take Tae and get a head start with Pepper. We’d meet somewhere afterwards.”

“Won’t Tae be, like, noticeably pregnant by now? Can he ride like that?” Jimin ponders.

Seokjin hums. “I wouldn’t risk it.”

“Not to mention that Pepper has never liked me,” Yoongi sighs.

“I think the fastest and safest way to get as far as possible is as wolves–” Seokjin suggests, but Namjoon and the others start shaking their heads right away. “Why not?”

“It’s too dangerous,” Namjoon says and grabs Seokjin’s hand. “Actually, Jin, Jungkook,” he turns to the young wolf to make sure he’s listening, “Once we pass Yongin, you can’t shift anymore. There are lookouts all over the road, and they’ll shoot first and ask questions later.” 

“So tonight is our last chance to go for a run?” Jungkook asks, looking around the circle.

“A run?”

Namjoon is even more clueless after Seokjin breathes out a soft laugh.

“Of course! A run. Aren’t we a pack? What kind of pack doesn’t go for runs together?”

“He means as wolves,” Seokjin clarifies when confusion still painted their faces.

“Oh…”

Several heartbeats of consideration pass before Jimin breaks the silence with a groan.

“But I can’t…”

“I wanted to see Jimin-hyung’s wolf the most!” Jungkook whines, but Seokjin grabs him before he can say anything else.

“Is it possible, though?” Seokjin asks, pointing at the map on Hoseok’s bag. “Are there woods near Icheon?”

The road ahead is mostly surrounded by small towns and crop fields. Woods have disappeared in favor of crops that allow the small towns around the cities to have something to trade with. That’s why Seoul can rest assured. Through the years, the big city has made sure to preserve their own woods to use as hunting grounds, but they’re heavily guarded so outsiders can’t steal their game. They would know, they’re put on rotation for those guards from time to time.

Hoseok checks the map. “There are some hills a couple miles east from Icheon. That would still be safe.”

“Alright then,” Namjoon says, shooting a little smile at Jungkook and ignoring Jimin’s complaints. “We’ll do it tonight.”

When the walls of Icheon come into sight, they take a local road that goes east. They pay a farmer to take in the girls for the night, and as the sun begins to bury into the horizon they head to the hills, crossing rice fields and small farms. 

A buzz of anticipation swirls around the group when nature takes over the fields. Stepping into the cover of trees feels like a breath of truly fresh air. The road to Icheon, despite not being as busy as the many arteries coming out of Seoul, did remind them of their hometown. This run is for sure the last chance of freedom they’ll have in a while, and Namjoon is surprised to discover that he needs it.

“I feel like you’re pushing me into something I’m not comfortable with, and that’s very not cool,” Jimin says, his tone defeated. He’s closing the group, reluctancy polluting his scent quite loudly.

“Jimin-ah, you have to get over this fear of yours,” Seokjin argues, taking Jimin’s hand and pulling him forward when the younger one refuses to advance on his own. “What better than doing it with your hyungies? Come on.” 

“But, hyung, I can’t…” Jimin groans, half-heartedly trying to get free from Seokjin’s hold. “I’ve never done it because I want to–”

“That’s enough, Jimin-ah,” Yoongi says, rolling his eyes at Jimin’s long whine. “Jin-hyung is right. It’s about time you learn.”

“You can’t claim territory as a man, Jimin-ah,” Hoseok adds. “Better learn sooner rather than later.”

Jimin opens his mouth to protest again, but Seokjin leans down and whispers something in his ear that changes his attitude in an instant. Seokjin straightens and raises a wicked eyebrow at Jimin.

Jimin huffs. “Alright. But you’ll have to tell me what to do.”

Seokjin giggles. “No problem. You guys turn first,” he says, gesturing at them.

Jungkook doesn’t need to be told twice, and neither does Hoseok. As Yoongi paces around—that’s how he gets in the mood, he says—Namjoon collects the already discarded clothes and leaves them under a bush, in the unlikely case someone happened to walk by. He takes off his own shirt and watches Seokjin grab Jimin’s face and press their foreheads together. He’s whispering something, but Namjoon can’t hear; Jimin’s eyes are closed, his brow furrowed.

Something wet touching his fingers brings his attention down: Yoongi’s gray wolf is licking his fingers.

“Gross,” he chuckles and scratches behind Yoongi’s ears despite the snaps Yoongi directs at his hand.

“Go,” Seokjin tells him, loosening the ties of his clothes. “Jiminie will follow his head alpha, right?”

Jimin nods, a serious expression on his face.

“Come on,” Seokjin says, and presses a kiss to his cheek before shrugging off his clothes and turning; his pristine white wolf joining the rest.

“You can do it, Jiminie,” Namjoon says. “We got you.”

After a deep breath, Namjoon shifts on the exhale. The process gets easier the more he does it, it’s natural, just another vital function, like breathing or stretching. The shift from the human to the animal mind is still striking though; the world expanding and shrinking at the same time. The multitude of thoughts battling for his attention fall into a single current inside his head, while the reach of his senses widens, making him feel bigger than he actually is.

He acknowledges his packmates, scents his mate, and turns to Jimin, letting out an expectant grunt.

“I know, I know, I just…” Jimin takes a deep breath and puts his joined palms over his nose. “Just give me a moment.”

A moment passes and then a few more. The pack begins to get restless, and so does Jimin.

“Maybe if you bark at me I–”

Namjoon cuts his words with a huff and throws a strict look at Jimin. They won’t be aggressive towards one of his youngest members just because he has an unhealthy relationship with the other half of his soul.

He turns around and heads towards the deep of the forest. The rest follow him.

“Wait!”

Jimin’s anguish hurts. Namjoon feels tempted to just shift again and comfort him, but the guys were right when they said he needs to learn. They need this tonight.

“I just need a moment, wait!” Jimin growls, and judging by the sound—Namjoon won’t look back or he’ll cave—he hits the ground with his fist. “I can do it!”

Seokjin lets out a low howl, moved by Jimin’s struggle too. The scents of the rest are screaming for him to cave, but he knows that if he did now, Jimin would only feel worse.

“Hyung!”

Namjoon barks at the others to catch their attention and starts trotting, halfheartedly at first, his paws unsure, but as his heart begins to truly pump energy through his body, he starts gaining speed. Seokjin is at his right, Yoongi at his left, a little behind; Jungkook and Hoseok close the group. 

Jimin is left behind.

It hurts like an open wound, but it needs to be done. As the ground tilts upwards, Namjoon climbs onto a boulder and howls into the night, calling for his missing pack mate.

There’s only silence. 

He tries again, wondering if he made a mistake. His heart beats in fear a couple times, but then Jimin answers, not too far behind, his voice pure and cheerful. 

The whole pack cheers up when Jimin’s auburn wolf pops out of the trees and joins them. They fall onto him to show him their love and pride, and Jimin ends up on his back and with his tongue lolling out of the edge of a wide grin. 

As soon as every pack member is properly scented and ready, Namjoon calls them to order, and that’s when the run really starts. Though having a starting point is all the structure it has. They simply just run through the forest without real direction or objective, because the point of it is enjoying the wind in their faces, the scent of life in the woods, each other’s company.

The darkest moment of the night finds them lazing around in a clearing, basking in the moonlight. His head is resting on top of Seokjin’s as they lie side by side, watching Jimin and Jungkook play-fight, while Hoseok and Yoongi follow the tracks of different animals that have walked through the clearing.

Seokjin yawns and rolls over, shifting mid-stretch. Namjoon huffs his surprise, but at Seokjin’s sleepy smile, he just sighs and covers soft skin with his thick fur. 

“That’s nice,” he mutters, his voice slightly hoarse..

A pleased hum rumbles in his chest when Seokjin’s fingers spread over his ribs and neck, scratching softly, rubbing Namjoon’s neck with his whole face.

Namjoon is just so full of love. A small whimper escapes his throat as he feels the need to be as close to Seokjin as possible. He tries to link their necks, but he only manages to make Seokjin  giggle.

“Dawn is close,” Seokjin says, scratching up to the back of his ears. “We should go back.” 

He groans. But I want to stay here forever , he thinks and the pull of shifting tingles inside his bones.

Seokjin chuckles. “Hold it,” he mutters, grabbing him firmly and pushing him onto his back.

Before Namjoon can bristle, Seokjin shifts and gives a playful lick to his muzzle. He steps away from him and calls the pack’s attention. A short howl meaning let’s get going, and the alphas groan in protest, but in the end, everyone follows their head omega back to lower lands.

There’s a puzzled look on the farmer’s face when they pick up the horses at the break of dawn. His suspicions are absolutely true, but Namjoon simply gives him a couple more coins and bows at him.

They take the inner road that leads to Seoul from the south instead of the east and let the horses walk at a slow pace. Namjoon passes the reins to Seokjin and enjoys the peaceful rocking, with his arms around Seokjin’s waist and his cheek on his shoulder, laughing from time to time at Hoseok’s attempt to teach Jungkook how to ride. Pepper is not quite into it but tolerates the young alpha, probably because Hoseok is a giggling mess in front of her.

Around noon, they stop and set up camp under a thicket of young trees. The road ahead is mostly abandoned fields and pasture lands, so they won’t get more cover than this. Despite not being as exhausted as they would be if they had spent the whole night up in human form, it would be prudent to be as alert as possible on the road ahead. They’d be entering Seoul’s grounds anytime now.

Namjoon lets Seokjin drag him into bed and snuggles really close to him, burying his nose in his neck and drifting off with his sweet scent flooding his senses. In his bliss, he chooses to ignore the fact that this might be his last chance to be this close to his omega, at least in a while.

If he has learned something in this journey, that is to let go of the uncertain future and enjoy the present.

Seokjin wakes up to a myriad of pleasant sensations: Namjoon’s warmth against his body, he’s still asleep on his chest; the smell of roasted fish, the guys must have gone fishing to some nearby stream, Jimin’s voice, enthusiastically retelling some story, his giggles have always brought a smile to Sokjin’s lips. He opens his eyes and the golden light of sunset casts hazy shadows on the side of the tent, the new foliage dancing in the early evening breeze.

“Go tell the guys it’s enough, we don’t have that much space to carry it,” Yoongi says, and Jimin’s footsteps walking away follow. 

Seokjin stretches his body. Last night's run was a blessing, not only for their bond as a pack but also for each of their souls. They haven’t spelled it out, but the days ahead will be tough for the guys, and Seokjin wants to be of as much help as possible. 

He turns on his side and smiles when Namjoon groans at the loss of his pillow. His hands touch him blindly, as if he was checking Seokjin is still there. When he’s certain, he pulls him closer.

“Wake up, sleepy head…”

Namjoon groans some more, searching his neck with his face until he can nuzzle under his jaw. Seokjin breathes out a laugh and throws his head back, so Namjoon can scent him to his heart's content. He soon is being pushed onto his back, Namjoon’s hands sliding up from his waist to the side of his breasts, the nuzzling turning into kissing, that pleasant haze after waking up melting into lust.

It doesn’t go any further, though. 

Something in the air outside the tent shifts, sharpens, his instincts blow cold at the back of their necks. Yoongi moves, a muttered curse is what they hear before they hear. 

A rumbling sound. It starts small but grows quickly, until they can tell it’s made by hooves hitting the ground, approaching at all speed.

“Joon-ah, I think you should come,” Yoongi says.

Namjoon lets out a shaky breath and gets up. “Stay inside,” he mutters before going out of the tent.

Seokjin sits up and tries to hear the alphas' hushed discussion, but they’re too far from the tent. He only catches a couple of words, and they’re enough to have his heart hammering in his chest. He’s tempted to pop his head out and see , but he has to trust the guys to handle this. After all, this is their territory.

The group of riders stop and only a few approach the camp.

“You’re early,” a male voice says, an alpha, probably older than all of them but not by much. “I thought you wouldn’t be back until summer.”

“We’re diligent, sir,” Namjoon says, and Seokjin can’t help the sting of annoyance at his submissive tone.

They’re servants, he said. Seokjin understood and accepted it as a concept, but facing it is different. They’re lowborn servants, and here that means they have to bow their heads.

“So where is it?” The man jumps off his horse, his feet hitting the ground heavily. He clears his throat and sniffs. “Where’s my omega?”

Seokjin stops breathing. 

Did he hear correctly? His omega? What does he mean?

“We expected to have an audience with your father first–” Namjoon starts, his voice tight, but he gets interrupted by a short cackle. 

“There’s no need to be so formal, Namjoon-ah,” the man says, and his addressing of Namjoon’s name could not be more condescending. Seokjin would be baring his teeth already. “Is she in one of the tents? She smells good…”

Seokjin covers his neck, as if that could prevent that alpha from taking in his scent. He still doesn’t understand what he means, but a terrible idea is forming in his head.

“I really hoped we could have this conversation in private…” Namjoon says, and in the silence that follows, Seokjin imagines he’s acknowledging the troop of riders waiting. “I’m afraid the deal in Daegu didn’t go as you expected.”

The man huffs a laugh, and Seokjin can feel everyone tensing up outside. That man clearly has more rank than everyone out there, but that reaction speaks of someone unpredictable, someone with power, someone that’s feared. 

“My father made a deal with Daegu’s Mayor years ago,” he says, as he was spelling out a given truth to a child. “His daughter turned eighteen this past winter, she is meant to be mine this summer.”

Oh.

The ground gives beneath him and Seokjin falls into darkness. 

Why did he never ask? The purpose of the guy’s travel was always a mystery that caught his curiosity, but never enough to ask. There was always something else, something more interesting, Namjoon. It didn’t matter anyway.

He always knew they had failed their mission and felt sorry for them. Now, after discovering they were meant to rip an omega from their world to bring them into the claws of a lousy alpha, he’s glad they failed.

It bothers him. He can’t help but feel hurt. It doesn’t change anything in the great scheme of things, but he wonders what he would have thought if he had known from the start.

 A poisonous voice in his head even wonders if… No.

“Daegu’s Mayor did not acknowledge the deal,” Namjoon says, and the tense silence that follows his words is broken by a trinket falling noisily to the ground—being kicked to the ground probably.

“What do you mean? There is an omega in this camp.”

Seokjin catches the distress in Namjoon’s scent and hears him making up excuses, but his attention is seized by the stomping approaching. A rough hand opens the lid of the tent and a pair of sharp eyes fix on him for a startled heartbeat before the guy announces: “I found the omega.”

Two more come and pull him out of the tent. The instinct to fight is hard to ignore, but Seokjin knows better by now.

“Oh well, hello there…”

He can finally see the whole scene: half a dozen of riders on their horses wait at a close distance, another half dozen of  soldiers on foot have the camp surrounded, the leader stands in the middle, an alpha of more attitude than height or build. Namjoon and Yoongi stand in front of him, and they might as well be in chains for how helpless they look. It’s humiliating, even though he’s the one being dragged by strangers’ hands at the moment, his pride hurts worse for the alphas of his pack.  

Jungkook, Hoseok and Jimin are nowhere to be seen, and he wonders if the stream was really that far or if they’re hiding and watching from the sidelines. Either way, he hopes they stay out of this mess.

“You sure are diligent,” the man in charge says, looking at Seokjin up and down approvingly. “Brought me quite the replacement.”

Seokjin shoots a glare at Namjoon, his faith pending on a thin thread. He’s shaking his head, his whole body on the edge of desperation.

“No, sir. He’s not–” Namjoon chokes on his words and the man arches an eyebrow at him.

“He’s not for me?” He approaches Seokjin and inspects him more closely. “Who else would he be for then, uh? You ?”

A growl rumbles in Namjoon’s chest when the man leans towards Seokjin and takes a whiff of his scent. He snaps his fingers and a couple of soldiers rush toward Namjoon and Yoongi with clear intentions of seizing them. They resist, Namjoon’s eyes fixed on him, desperately trying to reach him, but then the man straightens with an exasperated huff.

“Archers!”he calls, and from the group of riders, a few advance with their crossbows at the ready. 

Namjoon and Yoongi quit the fight and they’re pushed to the ground, their hands bound behind their backs.

“Did that bastard dare to lay a finger on you, dear?”

Seokjin feels bile rising up his throat at the finger placing under his chin and pushing it up. He moves his head away from the touch and growls. 

The man laughs. “Where did you find this feisty omega? They don’t make them like this in Seoul.”

“Don’t touch him!” Namjoon grunts from the ground.

The man only makes a gesture with his hand, and the soldier holding Namjoon hits him.

Seokjin gasps, the hands around his wrists and upper arms tighten, but he still pulls against them.

“You’re from Daegu?” the man asks, taking in every detail of his body. “Too big to be from the city, though… The wild? The mountains?” He looks around, as if waiting for his men to answer. “White hair is from the mountains, right? East? West?” He laughs. “Who fucking cares. I like him.”

“As soon as these men release me, I’ll claw your throat open,” Seokjin says, his voice low with contained anger.

The man laughs again. “I love a little bit of risk,” he whispers, leaning closer, and Seokjin has to face away to avoid breathing his air. He turns around and claps a couple of times. “Alright, everyone, let’s go–”

Seokjin huffs a bitter laugh. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

The man tilts his head, a condescending frown on his face. “Archers?”

The archers aim their crossbows, but not at him, at Namjoon and Yoongi. 

“No!”

“No?” The man smiles, and Seokjin’s hands itch to smack him. “I think we’re not communicating. Do you even know who I am?”

Seokjin spits at his feet. “It doesn’t mean anything to me.”

The man chuckles. “See, that’s the problem. I think it does.” He takes a knife out of a sheath in his belt and crouches between Namjoon and Yoongi. He touches each of their heads with the knife and sniffs. “I can kill them both, and I would be only applying our city’s law. I can charge them with treason and rape. I think there’s a clan mark on your shoulder, am I wrong? That means you’re not just a road bitch. They can lose an eye just for looking at you too long, and this one had the audacity of taking you, as if he was worthy of claiming anything for himself.”

The edge of the blade presses on Namjoon’s cheek until blood drips down. Seokjin pulls against his captors again, tears clouding his eyes. 

“Stop.”

“Come with me without a fight, and they can spend just a couple nights in the cage and then walk free. No hurt feelings. We all get what we want.”

His soul dies a little at the mere words, because he knows he’ll give in. It’s scary and humbling, and it makes his chest hurt. He didn’t expect to discover the lengths he’s willing to go to keep Namjoon safe like this. The extent of his love thrown at his face like a slap. 

Namjoon’s life is worth Seokjin’s pride a thousand times.

“Seokjin, don’t,” Namjoon grunts, but his heart is already settled.

“How will I know that you’ll keep your word?”

“No, Seokjin!”

Not sparing a glance at his alpha is so hard Seokjin is sure his heart will tear.

“My dear Seokjinie ,” the man says, sickly sweet poison in his voice. “The Moon is my witness: Be mine and he can keep his life.”

“And Yoongi?”

“Hyung, don’t!”

“Yeah, him too.”

Seokjin nods and breathes out all his fight. As he’s dragged away, Namjoon’s and Yoongi’s protests are taken away by the wind. He surrenders his pain too, as he’d rather not feel anything from now on.

Chapter Text

“Welcome home, bastards. ”

Namjoon hits the dirty ground of the cage and doesn’t have the heart to get up.  Yoongi is thrown inside next, but he scrambles to his feet and growls at the officers closing the door.

“You’ll fucking pay for this!” Yoongi yells, but the officers are already walking away. “Fuck!”

He smashes the door of the cage with his fists, and the wooden construction creaks but remains unmoved.

“I’m so sorry, hyung.”

“Don’t fucking start,” Yoongi grumbles. “This ain’t on you.”

Namjoon sighs and pushes himself off the ground. His whole body aches. Choi Jongdeok, the Mayor’s eldest son, ordered his officers to beat them up before locking them in the cages, and they had no mercy. The officers that protect the Mayor’s family are clan alphas without prospects, second sons and their children, and they have a searing hate for the clanless alphas who, like Namjoon and his pack, get to be only a step beneath them through their own merits. They never let a chance to put them in their place go to waste.

And yet, the physical pain still doesn’t even come close to equating the open gash in his chest. 

An alpha’s only job is to not let their omegas down, and he couldn’t have failed Seokjin worse. But it’s not only Seokjin he failed.

Tears prickle his eyes, the uncomfortable heat of shame suffocates his face. He feels incapable of getting up and facing Yoongi. He failed him too, and the guys. He tore their dream apart and threw it into the mud.  

“Namjoon,” Yoongi calls, and a few moments later, he crouches in front of him. “Hey, look at me.”

Namjoon shakes his head.

Yoongi huffs. “Don’t make me do it, come on.”

Those words make Namjoon raise his head. “Do what?” His voice is but a broken whisper that makes him feel pathetic, but that’s appropriate, he thinks.

“Be the positive one, come on.” Yoongi rolls his eyes and takes a deep breath before pressing his lips together, which makes his cheeks bunch up a little. “We’ll figure it out, alright? I still don’t know how, but we’ll get over this.”

Namjoon breathes out a laugh. The uncharacteristic words are too much paired up with that weird smile. “Who are you?”

“Look, I won’t sit on my ass in a cage and give up. I can’t do that to Tae, or Yoonji, or Jin-hyung.”

Namjoon closes his eyes for a moment and a few tears escape. “I wish I was as strong as you,” he says as he opens his eyes and wipes his cheeks. It hurts, so he just lets the tears join the mess of mud and blood already on his face. 

“Aish…” Yoongi pats his shoulder awkwardly and looks away when he continues, “Isn’t that the point of a pack? We can share the load.”

“And the beatings,” he says when Yoongi winces while sitting down.

“Yeah, that too.” Yoongi chuckles and winces some more. “I guess we can lick our wounds until breathing stops hurting, but I’m not staying in this fucking cage while Jongdeok does whatever he wants.”

Namjoon drops on his ass and brushes his hair back. Raising his arms also hurts, but he welcomes the distraction.

“I wouldn’t worry,” Yoongi says. “Jin-hyung is tough as fuck.”

“I know he is, but…” Namjoon sighs. “He gave himself away for us.”

“He’s smart, Namjoon. He must have noticed that Jongdeok is not someone you can play with. He bought us some time.”

“Even if that’s true,” Namjoon says and for a moment the knot in his throat is so tight he can’t breathe. “I can’t believe he had to put himself in that position because of me.”

“Because of us .”

Namjoon shrugs, either way it’s awful. “It’s unforgivable.”

“You can earn his forgiveness later,” Yoongi says. “We’re alive thanks to him, we can’t let him down anymore.”

Namjoon nods. There’s no point in arguing now. 

“Besides,” Yoongi adds, “Hoseok, Jiminie and Jungkook are probably coming up with a plan as we speak. This is far from over.”

He’s about to comment on the fact that just because they weren’t thrown into a cage with them doesn’t mean that they weren’t captured or worse, but then a rustle of clothes is heard somewhere to their right.

“Y-Yoongi? Is that you?” 

Up until then Namjoon thought the cages were all empty. The prison is an octagon built around a courtyard, with two buildings on opposite sides, one for the guards and one for utilities and storage. The cages are on the remaining six sides, three cages per side, one next to the other. Usually the ones closer to the entrance get the most traffic, with drunkards, shifters, and other minor transgressors who only spend a night locked up. They’re in the middle, where people who are waiting for a trial are kept. No trial ends in further imprisonment, though. In Seoul, serious crimes are only committed once.

“Please don’t be here…” 

The voice sounds so weak that at first he can’t recognize it, but the black hair and pale face of the omega looking at them through the bars are unmistakable. They stand up and rush to her.

“Yoonji, what are you doing here?”

The twins join their fingers through the narrow space between the bars, and the little hope building inside his chest falls apart when Yoonji starts crying. She is as much his big sister as Yoongi is his brother, and one constant throughout their life is that they could count on her to be strong. This has to be the second time he sees her cry since they left childhood, and it’s so striking that Namjoon feels his eyes well up with tears too.

“I’m sorry,” she says, between hiccuped sobs. “I did everything I could, I’m so sorry.”

Yoonji is—or was —Taehyung’s handmaid. She’s the reason why the clan omega and her brother met in the first place and circumstance turned her into the unwilling sponsor of their relationship. She didn’t miss an opportunity to complain about it, but she also said on many occasions that she would die if anything happened to any of them, so she had no choice but to make sure it remained a secret. When Tae got pregnant, she first kicked Yoongi’s ass, and then assured him that she would keep them all safe: Tae, the pup, and Yoongi. 

Namjoon wonders what brought her here, but there’s no need to be a genius to guess.

“Tae’s parents found out he’s pregnant,” Yoonji confirms. “He refused to tell them who the father was, and they beat everyone to force him, but he didn’t cave. They know I know and that’s why they haven’t killed me, but–” her words are cut by a sob. “I’m sorry, brother.”

Yoongi shakes his head. “Are you hurt?”

Yoonji shrugs. She looks terrible, the shadow of bruises at different stages of healing mar her face and there’s a cut in her bottom lip that seems recent. 

“What about Tae? When did this happen?”

“Last moon? I don’t know how long it’s been, and I haven’t seen Tae ever since,” Yoonji says. “They won’t do anything to him, though. You know how much he’s worth to them.”

“And… the pup?”

Yoonji stays quiet for a moment too long. Yoongi sighs, his head hitting the bars. “Tae will protect them with his life, I know that.”

“Protect them ?”

Yoonji sighs. “When everything blew out, they brought a healer to check on Tae, and he said he’s probably having twins.”

“Fuck,” Yoongi mutters, but a little smile curls his lips. He turns to Namjoon, who pats his shoulder. “Double the motivation then.”

“Motivation?” 

“We’re getting out of here, sis.”

“We’re getting decapitated at sunrise, what the hell are you talking about?”

Namjoon can’t help a chuckle at her exasperated tone.

“Fuck, Joonie, why were you dragged into this mess?”

“Oh, we’re not here because of Tae,” Namjoon says, touching Yoonji’s fingers when they reach for him.

“What?”

“Different mess,” Yoongi says with a chuckle. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Yoonji sighs, dropping to the ground. “What did you do now? And where the fuck is Jimin?” 

“Please open the door, master. We need to finish our job.”

Seokjin watches the bathroom doors rattling with the desperate knocks of the servants. The two girls drew him a bath as they were ordered by Jongdeok when they arrived and obliged when Seokjin asked them to wait outside while he undressed. As soon as the doors were closed, Seokjin pushed a heavy cabinet in front of them and used a pole to lock the door handles from the inside.  

Truthfully speaking, he has nothing against the two girls. More than anything else, their servile attitude just adds to the outrage the entire situation ignites. He needed a break. 

Seokjin closes his eyes, but the sound of footsteps approaching puts him on alert again. 

“What is going on here?” 

The male voice receives nothing but silence as an answer. 

At least it’s not Jongdeok, he thinks. Choi Jongdeok is the name of his captor. He said this house was his, and Seokjin has never seen one, but he’s sure this is what stone wolves call a palace. The house is actually many opulent buildings within the same walls, placed on a side of a small hill, and with lush gardens all around.

Seokjin feels robbed, and not only because he was taken away from his pack by a capricious alpha. That’s the main issue and after a whole day, he still can’t believe it’s happening, so he’s been focusing on the small transgressions: being appointed servants whose first command is to clean him and doll him up; watching a couple of omegas so convinced that they’re lesser beings that they can’t even look him in the eyes; being locked up in a sumptuous room soaked on artificial scents; being robbed of the experience of walking into the capital for the first time.

He would’ve denied it if any of the guys would have asked, but he was looking forward to seeing Seoul. He had heard so much about it, good and bad, he wanted to see it for himself. But that too was robbed by Jongdeok.

After the disaster in the camp, Seokjin was so dazed that he felt nothing when he went through the huge gates of the stone capital, the walls thicker than three old trees standing together. The beautiful buildings and houses, the streets swarmed with people and activity, the bright lights, all became nothing but a blur in the corner of his eyes, as he tried to ignore the arm around his waist and the heat of the stranger’s mounting behind him. The majesty of the Han river went unnoticed as he tried to keep the bile from rising up his throat.

He lost Namjoon’s and Yoongi’s scents after crossing the river, and soon the gates of the palace were closing behind Choi Jongdeok’s horse and his closest circle. The hush of an asleep household hung behind the walls, but for Seokjin, it lacked the peace of one. The stone was piling heavy on top of him, and with every gate closed behind his back, he felt his chances of escaping getting slimmer. 

Seokjin hears the stuttered explanations of the maids muffled by the door. A tired sigh from the man when the situation is laid out in front of him.

“Go get my son,” he says, and heavy footsteps walk away from the scene. A moment passes and then, “You can go rest, girls. That’ll be all for tonight,” he says, and now the delicate feet of the maids leave. 

Judging by the authority in his voice, Seokjin would say that the man outside is the head of the household, the Mayor of Seoul. Seokjin is not sure if his presence should calm him or upset him even further.

The Mayor clears his throat, and Seokjin hears him take a step closer to the door.

“I’m sure there’s been a misunderstanding here. Could you please come out so we can untangle this mess?”

No , his instincts tell him right away, but Seokjin doubts. Out there his instincts would never betray him, here it’s a different story. The guys taught him that in this city the cold and the cunning rule, and his instincts are not attuned to that way of thinking.

Can he trust the man outside? Hell, no. But what if he’s reasonable? Seokjin might have a chance.

He stands up and walks towards the door on hesitant feet.

“Please, I mean no harm,” the man says, and Seokjin almost believes him. “I just want to understand what’s going on.”

Taking a deep breath, Seokjin pushes the cabinet away from the door. His hand is on the pole crossing the handles when the sounds of a group approaching rumble in the hallway.

“Father, shouldn’t you be in bed?”

That’s Jongdeok and his entourage. It seems like he goes nowhere alone. Seokjin keeps the pole firmly in place.

“What’s this I’m hearing about an omega you brought into the palace? I told you your escapades were over, your betrothed is on her way–”

“About that, father…” Jongdeok starts, and Seokjin hates the grin he can hear in his voice. “That’s him.”

Choi father growls, and his confusion has a bitter scent. “Open these doors.”

Seokjin gasps and jumps back right on time. The doors are brutally kicked open, and Jongdeok’s soldiers along with those who must guard the Mayor flood into the bathroom.

The Mayor is just an older version of his son: narrow frame, unimpressive height, his graying hair and the self-assurance of power give him the solemn air Jongdeok lacks. 

Seokjin stands straight so at least he can have the upperhand there, but he’d be lying if he said he doesn’t feel intimidated by the half dozen heavily armed alphas around him.

“This is not Seungmin’s daughter,” the Mayor says dryly.

“No, but he’s much better,” Jongdeok says. “This is the omega Namjoon brought for me.”

Seokjin purses his lips to hold back a snarl. He’s trying hard to keep his faith in Namjoon intact, they were ambushed by a capricious man, this was not planned, this never crossed Namjoon’s mind, this is just an unfortunate situation. This was never meant to happen. Still, hearing those words hurts, and Seokjin can’t help it.

“Namjoon is back? He hasn’t reported to me, I told him–”

“Father, forget about him and properly greet your future son-in-law,” Jongdeok says. “Seokjin, come here.” 

The Mayor frowns, he turns to Seokjin, who doesn’t move an inch. “Who is this?”

“I told you, Father. My future mate–”

“Who are you?” the Mayor asks directly at him, finally looking at him closely.

All eyes turn to him, and Seokjin feels like crumbling, but he takes a deep breath and keeps his chin up.

“My name is Jeon Seokjin,” he says, deciding to speak the truth. “I’m from the East Wildlands, son of the head of the Jeon Clan and a daughter of the East Mountains.”

Judging by their impressed expressions, he chose the right words. No one would care about his name or ascendance in the forest. Although old clans are well known and respected, every wolf forges their own name, and power lies on the strength of their pack. Stone wolves are different, a good name can grant you respect, and in this case, hopefully , a chance. 

“I think I understand even less now,” the Mayor says with a chuckle. He looks between his son and Seokjin. “Namjoon’s orders were clear: He would bring the heir of Daegu to honor the pact her father and I made long ago. Why is there a prince from the wild in my house?”

Prince? Seokjin has to swallow the snort, but he’s glad to see that Jongdeok is troubled by his father’s take on the matter. Unfortunately, he recovers quickly. 

“Yeah, well, your dear Seungmin decided to ignore the pact and sent Namjoon back empty handed, but you know that bastard has always been a bit of an overachiever, so…” Jongdeok laughs, and Seokjin wants to punch his teeth off. “He brought me a bride from the wild.”

The Mayor lets out an exasperated sigh, as if he too couldn’t stand his son’s antics. “Where is he anyway? I want to hear his explanation.”

Seokjin wonders if this is the right moment to appeal to the Mayor’s mercy. He could tell him the truth and explain the misunderstanding, or his son’s scheme, but then again, wouldn’t the truth get Namjoon in trouble? He can’t tell how this man would take the news that his servant not only went against his vows, but was also willing to abandon his post to become a man of his own.

The moment passes when Jongdeok opens his mouth. “Namjoon is in a cage, where he belongs. He and that Min bastard who’s always been too arrogant for his own good.” When his father turns an outraged frown at him, Jongdeok adds, “And before you say anything. My sentence is rightful, Namjoon raped this omega and resisted his arrest.”

“He didn’t rape me,” Seokjin hisses, his fist closing to stop the shaking of his hands. “We had a… relationship,” he says when the Mayor turns to him. 

“Sadly, our Namjoonie doesn’t have the right to have a relationship with a clan omega, which you are, and transgressing that rule is heavily penalized in our city,” Jongdeok says, as if he was explaining life to a small child. “Correct me if I’m wrong, father, but if the head of the clan is not present to demand justice, the city council must take on that role. And as part of the city council, I demand justice and reparation for the mistreatment this good omega has suffered at the hands of our servant.”

Seokjin huffs a humorless laugh. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Before Jongdeok can start wheezing his bullshit again, the Mayor raises his hand for silence. He takes a couple steps back and stares at them, as if the distance could widen his perspective of the situation. 

“Seokjin-ssi, right?” Seokjin nods. “Did you leave your pack on your own accord?”

Yes , it comes to his lips naturally, but then Jungkook’s words stop him. That’s not what the forest believes. “Well, I–”

“My real question here is if there was any violation to the treaty, you know, the one that keeps the peace between the wild and the towns. If I went to your father, would he tell me that he allowed his son to leave his home with a lowborn alpha?”

Seokjin lowers his head and he can only breathe through the wrath buzzing in his body. 

“No,” he breathes out. Anyone in the forest would say Park Hangyeol got his bride stolen by a group of stone wolves. “But I–”

“Look, Seokjin-ssi, I don’t care what my servants do when I’m not watching, and I certainly don’t judge your decisions, but I can’t afford conflict with the wild packs,” the Mayor says, and although he’s trying to be understanding, Seokjin can only hear ice dripping from his voice. He turns to his son and continues, “I suppose the reparation you propose is mating him into the ruling clan of Seoul, isn’t it?”

“And monetary compensation for his father maybe?”

The Mayor hums. “Sounds fair. Will you stop giving me trouble if I allow this?” 

“You wanted me to settle down, didn’t you?”

The Mayor rolls his eyes. “Alright.”

“What?” Seokjin looks between the two alphas in disbelief, he’s not sure if he understands the agreement. “What about Namjoon?”

“His head will roll–”

“No,” the Mayor says, and his tone doesn’t allow reply. “He’s too good of an asset. He’ll be released once the mating ceremony is completed.”

“Mating ceremony? With who?!”

Jongdeok smiles viciously and points at himself. He turns to the Mayor to argue, but he’s unapproachable.

“It’s the best for everyone, Seokjin-ssi,” the Mayor says. “Namjoon should have kept you a road affair.” He turns to his son then and adds, “On your best behavior, you hear me?”

Jongdeok bows at his father, and the Mayor beckons everyone out. In a matter of moments, the room empties of alphas, and Seokjin is left there in the bathroom speechless. 

This can’t be happening again. They haven’t even changed seasons, how is it possible?

Namjoon should have kept you a road affair . 

It hurt. It hurts because it makes sense with Namjoon’s reticence at the beginning. Was it rooted in this possible outcome? Did it ever cross his mind? 

He shakes his head. Either way, it doesn’t matter now.

Seokjin walks out of the bathroom, and although he knows it’s useless, he goes from one end of the building to the next just to find the doors he knew would be locked. The windows open to the lavish gardens outside and there’s not one corner that doesn’t have a guard nearby.

There are different types of guards, though. There are the guards who go by pairs and dress in simple black clothes, much like the ones he saw in the guy’s bags. They carry discreet weapons and use their hair short. They also seem to take orders from the others . 

The others, like the ones that follow Jongdeok and the Mayor around, are dressed in different colors, finer fabrics. The top knot in their heads is covered by a hat with a string of jade beads hanging from one side to the other, the sheath of their blades are also adorned with jewels, and they walk with the arrogance of men who have never had to fend for themselves.   

Seokjin sighs and closes the window. Ignoring the bed draped in silks, he takes a corner of the bedroom to sit down, his legs hugged close to his chest. 

During the excruciating night he spent in Park Hangyeol’s chambers, he kept thinking that it was impossible to feel lonelier. Well, it wasn’t. He wishes he was granted the comfort of tears to drain all the bitterness pressing his chest from the inside, but he’s stunned, void of energy even to vent.  

He closes his eyes, hoping the new day will clear his heart.

“Yoongi-hyung, Joonie-hyung, is that you?”

Whatever dream he was having vanishes into a frown, and Namjoon wakes up with a grunt. The familiar voice brings him back to easier times, when his only problems were being woken up earlier by a certain guard trainee.

Yoongi elbows him lightly, making him blink his eyes open. 

“Hey,” Yoongi says awkwardly.

“Yeonjun,” Namjoon greets the younger guard, who smiles as if he was surprised Namjoon remembered his name. His usual patrol partner, Soobin, is standing behind him. His sad demeanor is more fitting for the situation.

They stand up so they can at least pretend they have some dignity left.

“Hyung, we heard rumors…” Yeonjun’s expression falls as he looks around the cage. “We couldn’t believe it, so we came after our shift to see it for ourselves. What happened? I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding…”

Namjoon sighs. “It is and it isn’t. We’re in Choi Jongdeok’s hands.”

“Shit,” Yeonjun mutters.

“That’s pretty much it,” Yoongi agrees with a bitter laugh.

“We heard something about an omega. The officers were saying you had…” Soobin trails off, avoiding Namjoon’s eyes. 

“That’s not–” Namjoon shakes his head. “It’s not like that.”

“That’s what I keep telling everyone,” Yeonjun says, a candid light in his eyes. “Namjoonie-hyung is the best of us, he would never do something dishonorable.”

Namjoon huffs an embarrassed puff of air. “Lower your expectations, Yeonjun-ah, I’m not–”

Yoongi elbows him. “Where are they keeping the omega?”

“Well, they sent more units than usual to the building they’ve been preparing for Commander Jongdeok’s mate,” Soobin says hesitantly.

Namjoon’s soul chills.

“That miserable fuck…” Yoongi huffs a bitter laugh. “I mean, why have him once, if he can keep him for good?” 

“Did you see him?” Namjoon asks, not even approaching Yoongi’s words. “The omega?”

“I think so?” Yeonjun looks at Soobin for confirmation. “There was a ruckus with the maids late at night. Mayor-nim went with his guards, then Jongdeok arrived too, and they all left after a while. We saw someone opening all the windows moments later.”

“Yeah, someone with white hair,” Soobin adds.

“Jin-hyung.”

Namjoon rubs his eyes and takes a deep breath. The beating they got last night is nothing compared to what Seokjin must be going through. 

“Is that your omega?” Yoonji asks from the cage next door. 

They told her a brief version of everything that happened during their journey, about the plans of leaving, and their truncated freedom. If Yoonji was resigned to losing her head when they arrived, now she is falling for the trick of hope.

“Joonie-hyung’s omega?” Yeonjun asks, his eyes round with surprise.

Namjoon shakes his head, waking up from the dream that was his life the last few weeks. He’s not worthy of keeping that claim if he can’t even keep Seokjin away from harm. He was never worthy of laying even a finger on him, and if Jin hates him now, he deserves it wholly.

Yoongi pinches his bruised ribs, stopping his spiral down to self pity. 

“Ouch! What the fuck?”

“Send him a message,” Yoongi grumbles and approaches the young guards. “You guys are assigned the gardens again tonight?”

“Well, not us but Taehyun is…” Soobin says, looking from Yoongi to Namjoon.

“Send hyung a message, Namjoon-ah!”

“I must be the last person he wants to hear from–”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Yoongi deadpans. “And don’t insult Jin-hyung’s intelligence like that. We all know this is not your fault.”  

Namjoon scoffs, ready to argue, but Yoongi’s frown doesn’t allow reply. “Well, let me pull my brush, paper and ink out of my ass then–”

Yoonji snorts. “You’re so literal.”

“We can get you something to write–” Yeonjun starts, but he’s interrupted by the jarring sound of the heavy front doors being opened.

Soobin and Yeonjun straighten their posture, and inside the cages they tense.

A pair of guards in black drag an unconscious man into one of the first cages. Once they’re done, they cross the courtyard towards them. 

“If you’re not supposed to be here, you’re shit at pretending the contrary,” one of the guards says with a laugh. Namjoon doesn’t remember his name, but his partner is a good friend.

“Shit, we thought it was a lie,” Mingi says, looking at him up and down. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Long story,” Namjoon says with a sigh.

“Everyone was saying that you were back and in the cages, and fuck, we said no way, but then Yunho-hyung heard some idiots from the Lee Clan bragging about beating the shit out of the Mayor’s favorite bastard …” Mingi scoffs. “Who else could that be?” 

Namjoon rolls his eyes. It’s not the first time he has heard that title. The clan officers have always been envious of the trust the Mayor put on Namjoon, a trust he won with hard work and level-headedness. Two things most clan alphas are unfamiliar with.

“Do you have any paper?” Yoongi asks the newcomers.

“Oh.” Mingi searches his pockets until he finds a sort of notepad and a charcoal pencil. “Here.”

While the others keep talking, Namjoon moves to the back of the cage and begins by writing Seokjin’s name, then his hand hesitates. There’s so much he wants to tell him, but a note is not the right place for half of it. There’s so much he wants, but he’s unsure if he still has the right to want them. 

After a few failed starts, he takes a leap of faith and writes the only message he needs to convey: I won’t let you down again.

His new day at Seoul starts with the anxious scent of the maids.

They arrive early with breakfast and clothes for him, both ridiculously sumptuous. Their first startle of the day is finding Seokjin not in the bed with the thick mattress and fine wool covers but in the corner he took the previous night.

“Good morning,” he says, walking towards the tray they brought and left on a tiny table at the center of the room.

The only thing he recognizes in the assortment of treats is the rice, so he plops down and takes it. The patter of little feet soon follows him and the maids kneel in front of him, their eyes expectant.

“Um, do you want something?” Seokjin gestures towards the tray, and one of the girls gasps while the other shakes her head.

“Master–”

“No, stop right there,” Seokjin says, holding a hand up. “It’s not gonna work if you call me that. Just Seokjin is fine.”

The maids share a confused look, and the one who seems to be the older fixes him with a stern look.

“Seokjin-ssi,” she starts. “Master Jongdeok-nim wants you to take a bath no later than this morning.”

“What are your names?” Seokjin asks, completely ignoring Master Jongdeok-nim’s wishes .

They hesitate for a moment but then the younger one speaks up. “I’m Daeun and this is Seoyoon-euni.”

“Nice to meet you,” Seokjin says, bowing his head at them. “I’m sorry about last night, I was… not feeling very well.”

The girls only blink at him, as if they were not used to hearing apologies. 

“Is it true that you were kidnapped?”

“Daeun!”

“It’s alright,” he says, as the younger maid cowers. “Jongdeok and his men ambushed my pack when we were a few miles away from the gates.”

“Jongdeok-nim?” Daeun tilts her head, confused. “Everyone is saying that that guard Namjoon took you away from your pack…”

Seokjin puts the bowl of rice down and looks away so his glare doesn’t fall on the young maid.

“Namjoon would never do something like that,” Seoyoon says sharply, surprising Seokjin with her conviction.

“You know him?”

The cautious maid takes her time before nodding. “We sort of grew up together in–”

“In The Rose,” Seokjin finishes her sentence.

“Yes.”

Along with the rest of the kids without a clan or a family.

“Of course he didn’t kidnap me,” Seokjin says, glad to find someone on their side. “We were traveling together.”

“More than just traveling, though,” Seoyoon says, looking at him up and down, and maybe Seokjin has to correct himself. Seoyoon might be on Namjoon’s side, but not necessarily on his. 

“Well, it doesn’t matter now. It seems like I’m mating this Jongdeok prick.” 

Leaving the gasping maids, Seokjin stands up and touches the clothes brought to him. The fabric feels like water sliding through his fingers, the pale purple color and the embroidery is beautiful, and the form is neither here nor there in gender, so at least he’s being respected with that. These are clothes worthy of a prince, but he’d never choose any of this luxury over the ground of wild land under his feet and only his own fur to cover him. 

Locking his heart at the back of his chest, Seokjin picks one of the outfits. He better saves his energy for when the real fight starts.

“I’ll take the bath, but don’t put anything scented in the water,” he says. “My new betrothed will have to bear with the claim on me for as long as it lasts.”

After the bath, he’s informed that he’s allowed to walk in the gardens, so he does, subtly scouting the perimeter in search of a weakness. But even if there was a weakness, everywhere he looks there are guards, black or otherwise.

A little after noon, the maids bring another full tray of food, and this time, Seokjin asks Daeun to tell him what the other dishes are. He convinces her to eat with him, and they keep a light conversation throughout the afternoon, always under the suspicious look of Seoyoon.

As sunset approaches with no sight of Jongdeok or the Mayor, Seokjin begins to breathe with more ease. He’s been waiting for Jongdeok to come and try something, but he guesses his compensation proposal threw a blanket of ceremony onto their arrangement, which means he can’t have a taste before making it official. 

That buys him some time, but that time won’t be eternal.

When night falls and the servants begin to light lanterns all over the garden, Seokjin goes to the bedroom and sends the maids off to whatever they do after their master is done for the day. After improvising a lock for the door, Seokjin undresses and turns, curling in the corner he took the previous night.

His wolf doesn’t feel safe, but he closes his eyes and dozes off easily, getting the rest he needs after a day of distress. 

It doesn’t last for long, though. Not long after he fell asleep, he’s being roused awake by voices outside the window.

“We’re gonna get in trouble for this,” a young man angrily mutters. “I was supposed to patrol with Taehyun, why are you here?”

“Shut up and watch around, Gyu. Namjoonie-hyung is counting on us.” 

That catches his attention. He stands up and sticks his nose out of the window at the same time a boy tries to look inside.

The boy startles and falls back onto his ass. Seokjin shifts and grabs a sort of robe left over the bed. When he finishes tying the lace around his waist, the boy clears his throat and knocks on the wall. 

He’s turned, his back towards Seokjin, and the first thing he notices is his black clothes. He must be a clanless guard like Namjoon.

“Hello?”

The boy turns around and bows at him a couple of times.

“Hi, my name’s Yeonjun,” he says, shyly looking him in the eyes before adding, “Namjoon-hyung sent you a message.”

Seokjin’s heart skips a beat, and he takes the boy’s hands.

“Is he alright? Where is he? Is Yoongi with him?”

The boy seems flustered by Seokjin’s sudden closeness, so Seokjin takes a step back but keeps his eager eyes on the boy’s face.

“I’m sorry. How are they?”

Yeonjun clears his throat. “Well, they’re in the cages and the officers gave them a beating,” he says with a shrug, as if it wasn’t that big of a deal. “I mean, they’ve been better, but they’re more worried about you than themselves right now.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes and lets out a huff. “They should know by now that I can take care of myself.”

“Jongdeok-nim is…” Yeonjun looks around the dark gardens. For once it’s only them, and Seokjin wonders if these boys had something to do with it. “Well, he’s not a nice guy.”

Seokjin chuckles. “Yeah, I figured that much, but I’ll be careful if that’s what you mean. The message?”

“Oh.” Yeonjun takes a piece of paper out of his pocket and hands it to him.

Seokjin grips the paper as if he could touch Namjoon through it. “Whatever this paper says, if you can speak to him again, tell him that I still choose him, so he better not give up on me.” 

Yeonjun nods, a shy smile on his lips. “I’ll tell him.”

“Thank you,” Seokjin says, and the boys bow to him and walk away. 

Taking a deep breath, Seokjin opens the note. A giggle is his first reaction towards the short message, but then tears cloud his vision and he goes back to his corner of the room with his heart clutched by the tight grip of yearning.

Under a few crossed out lines, Namjoon wrote only a few simple words, but Seokjin reads them as the vow they are.

Until the last moon of summer.

Three days into their imprisonment, Namjoon is taken away in the middle of the night.

He knows the procedure, so he doesn’t play much into it when the officers try to scare him. They don’t hit him this time, so he must have been summoned by the Mayor. Namjoon was wondering when that would happen, and if that could be a chance.

Yeonjun delivered Seokjin’s answer and rekindled the spark of life he had lost after the disaster in the camp. It’s like his soul had slipped out of his body at some point after hitting the mud, and only Seokjin’s reassurance had slapped it back into him, invigorated.  

The Mayor holds him in high esteem, or at least he considers him less dispensable than the rest, so he could use that in their favor, but then again, the best case scenario is all of them leaving, and Choi Kyungjae won’t appreciate losing a pair of good servants.

He could at least intercede for Seokjin, but he’s trying to keep his expectatives low. According to his fellow guards in black who have come to show support, rumor has it that Choi Jongdeok got himself a bride from the wild, and once rumors reach the common people in Seoul, they’re practically a reality.  

The officers throw a few buckets of cold water at him and give him the linen clothes lower servants use. Namjoon ignores their mocking smirks and puts on the dry clothes. He’s then taken out of the octagon, his hands tied with a long rope that is connected to the saddle of one of the officers. They head to the Mayor’s palace like that, and Namjoon has to work hard to keep a blank face and not give them the satisfaction of getting to him.

He used to think he didn’t care about pride. It was ridiculous in his position, but now he realizes that in the course of two moons he forgot how to bow his head to those who don’t deserve his respect. The wolf inside him clutches on his bones to come out, and Namjoon tries to ease it with the memories of the run.

He won’t let the stone crush his soul again. Seokjin said they had to claim their freedom, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep that claim, but he won’t bow his head anymore.

When they arrive at the Mayor’s palace, his pride takes another blow. The inner courtyard is full of guards in black; the day shift is taking over the night shift, and their looks are harder to take than any humiliation the officers can throw at him. There’s a bit of everything in their eyes: pity, anger, sympathy, questioning. Namjoon wonders how he would feel if the roles were reversed.

It’s odd for one of them to be in this position, but whenever someone steps out of line, they’re punished without mercy.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake…”

Namjoon raises his head at the muttered curse. The Mayor is striding his way, unsheathing his blade. Namjoon tenses, but Choi Kyungjae simply cuts the ropes binding his hands.

“Come with me,” he grumbles, and promptly turns around and climbs the stairs back to his office.

Namjoon only manages to cast a glance at the buildings behind the Mayor’s offices. Seokjin must be there somewhere, so close and yet unreachable.

“What the hell were you thinking, Namjoon-ah?” the Mayor says when Namjoon enters his office. “Sit down.”

Namjoon sits on the cushion in front of the elevated platform where the Mayor has his desk and seat that pretty much looks like a throne.

“You can’t just take an omega from the wild and bring him to the city, no matter how willing they might be,” the Mayor says, and it sounds like being scolded for failing a shot or something meaningless like that. 

This Mayor has always treated his guards as his children, which includes the same amount of closeness and condescendence. Namjoon appreciated it once, but now it’s only getting on his nerves.

“He was being treated poorly,” Namjoon says, dejected. He doesn’t expect him to understand. “We were just trying to help.”

“Oh, I see. How helpful of you to knot him too, so kind.”

Namjoon looks at the Mayor in the eyes and refuses to apologize for it. “There’s love between us. He chose me.”

The Mayor rolls his eyes and sighs. “And how did you expect that to work out, uh? You would have kept him here hiding somewhere, lived a parallel life as a commoner or what?”

Namjoon looks away, pondering if telling the truth was convenient or not. In the end, Choi Kyungjae sees through him.

“Or you were going to desert.” It’s not even a question. “I respect your courage, but why did you come back then? Why not hide like that kid Jimin and Hoseok?” The Mayor chuckles when Namjoon steals a surprised glance at him. “We’ll find them. It’s just a matter of time.” 

“Sir,” Namjoon starts, not sure where to aim. “Seokjin–”

“Jeon Seokjin will mate my son to avoid conflict with the wild, end of the story.”

“ Sir. ” Namjoon has to grit his teeth to hold back a snarl. “I know for sure that you’re doing this against his will.”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t matter,” the Mayor says, and Namjoon can see he’s uncomfortable with his words. “Jongdeok accused you of kidnapping and defiling him and already sent word to his clan–”

“What?” Namjoon doesn’t even think about the false accusations to his name. “Sir, you just created a conflict with the wild by sending that message.” 

“What do you mean?”

“Seokjin had been given to a pack alpha, but he ran away before the mating ceremony. We found him on neutral territory, hurt and exhausted, and we helped him without knowing the whole story,” Namjoon says. “What do you think that pack alpha will do when he learns his bride’s been taken by a stone prince?”

“A what?”

Namjoon shakes his head. “It’s just how you’re called in the wild.”

The Mayor sighs and stands up. “ Stone wolves , I’ve heard it.” He walks towards the window and lets his gaze wander over his domain. “Well, the ax has already fallen. If they come at us, we’ll have to deal with it.”

Namjoon growls his frustration and stands up. “Sir, you’re in time to stop that messenger and do the right thing. Let Seokjin go. Punish me if that’s what it takes, but–”

“He’d kill you, you know? Jongdeok would ask for your head. The council would back him up. I could not protect you,” the Mayor said, one of his eyebrows slightly arched in defiance.

Namjoon straightens up and steels his expression. “If that’s the price for Seokjin’s freedom, I’ll pay it.”

The Mayor groans. “Don’t be ridiculous, boy. It’s just an omega,” he says, turning a condescending frown at Namjoon. “I don’t blame you, I mean,  he’s gorgeous and probably the best cunt you’ve ever had or will have, but there’s plenty of bitches out there. There’s no need to die for one.”

Namjoon has to close his fists tightly to stop himself from clutching the neck of the man in front of him. The growl rumbling in his chest is out of his control.

“Stop before I think you’re challenging me,” the Mayor says with a chuckle. “Come on, you’ve always been the smart one.”

Breathing out some of the anger, Namjoon walks away from a man he used to respect. “Did you bring me here for something in particular?” he asks, his voice rough.

“Oh, yeah,” Kyungjae returns to his seat and flips through a stack of papers on the table. “Did you even make it to Daegu? How true is that about Seungmin not honoring our agreement?”    

Namjoon takes several calming breaths before attempting an answer. 

“He said he’d honor your agreement if you honored tradition,” he says, remembering the outrage of the Mayor of Daegu when he heard the request from four clanless alphas. “He said he’d only give his beloved daughter’s hand if you and Jongdeok went to ask for it yourselves.”

“Well, now that’s a mess,” Kyungjae says with a chuckle. “Why didn’t you come to me first?”

“I told Jongdeok I was supposed to report to you, but–”

“Wait a damn minute. I know my son is a prick, but Commander Jongdeok-nim is the proper way to address him if you’re beyond calling him hyung.”

Namjoon stops breathing or else he’d growl again. “Do my words change anything?”

“I’m afraid not,” Kyungjae says, rubbing his temples. “Jongdeok is hellbent to mate that omega.” 

“Well, he can try.”

“What was that?”

Namjoon bows his head stiffly. “If that’s all, can I go back to my cage now?”

Kyungjae sighs. “Tell me you’ll give up on that omega and you don’t have to go back to a cage. I’ll let you and Yoongi go. Fuck, I’ll send you all north to hunt or whatever, Hoseok and the other kid included, but just let this one go.”

Give up Seokjin and their freedom, remain servants to die little by little under the crush of the stone. Last moon he might have considered it, now his stomach churns at the mere thought.

“I’ll never give him up,” he says, and his eyes find the Mayor’s, an open challenge. “I’d die first.”

Kyungjae lets out a disappointed sigh. “Officers,” he calls, and the pair that brought him comes into the office. “Take him back.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Namjoon-ah! You should’ve just lied!”

Namjoon growls and hits the cage with both his fists. If Yoongi doesn’t step the fuck down he’s going to maul his ass. “I couldn’t .”

“Leave him alone, Yoonie. You would’ve done the same shit,” Yoonji says with a chuckle. She’s resting against the shared bars of their cages. “Actually, I think Namjoonie did the right thing. And I’ll make sure Seokjin knows what you did when we meet and become best friends.”

The outrage escapes out of him in a laugh. “You’re awfully hopeful today.”

“We were talking,” Yoongi says. “We kinda came up with some ideas.”

“Alright…” Namjoon turns to them and sits down, mirroring Yoongi’s cross-legged position. “I’m listening.”

“Well, it would have been easier if we were on our way up north–”

“And you’re delusional if you think Jongdeok wouldn’t have sent his men to put an arrow in our heads as soon as we put a foot out of Seoul.”

“Aish, whatever,” Yoongi grumbles. 

“So?”

“We’ll do it the hard way. As usual.” 

“We’ll put yellow carnations all over the main hall since it’s Jongdeokie’s birth flower. I’ll send word to the villages to be at the ready, there’s so much to prepare.”

Seokjin yawns as the woman skips to the food, and the musicians, and the entertainers, and what-the-fuck-not for the ceremony.

In the week and a half he has already spent in the Mayor’s palace, he learned that the Mayor’s family is currently quite small. His mate and the dam of his four children died a few years after he became the Mayor of Seoul ten years ago. Jongdeok is his eldest, but the only one who still lives under his roof. His three daughters are all already mated into the big clans of the city. When he finished mourning the death of his mate, Kyungjae took a concubine, another widow who had buried her own children. 

As the omega of the family, Hyorin has appointed herself as the person in charge of preparing the mating ceremony for her stepson. She’s quite enthusiastic about it and for some reason, she expects Seokjin to be as excited as she is, so she makes him participate in her every decision.

“As for the gown, the Choi clan has some relics from the old days… beautiful . Every omega joining the Choi clan has worn them,” Hyorin says, and her dreamy smile tenses a little when her eyes fall on him. “I’m afraid there’s not much we can do with your hair, though.”

Seokjin snorts. “I’ve heard that one before.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m a bit tired,” he says, standing up from the silk cushion he was occupying in Hyorin’s private chambers. “Tomorrow will be a busy day.”   

“Of course, sweetie. Sleep well,” Hyorin says and waves him goodnight.

Despite her frivolous joy for the impending event, Hyorin has been kind, maybe a bit overly sweet, but she’s not ill-intended. Seokjin bows his head to her and exits the room. His maids—he already gave up and acknowledges them as such—are waiting for him outside and walk a couple steps behind him as they head towards his building.

Feeling suddenly breathless, Seokjin stops. “Is there a place where we can look outside?” he asks, and Daeun points towards a gazebo placed on a small boulder by the edge of a pond. The soft slope of the gardens aid the elevation of the gazebo, so it can stand over the roofs of the front buildings.

When they get there, Seokjin asks them to leave him alone, so they stay in the gardens nearby while Seokjin climbs the stairs to the gazebo. He barely manages to keep his tears at bay until he’s in the partial privacy of the open construction.

The mating ceremony will take place before the next moon to avoid any risks. As he was informed, Jongdeok’s ruts usually take place by the last moon of the season, “ and we don’t want that to spoil what should be a beautiful ceremony ”. He almost threw up when he heard it. His own heat usually comes after the last moon too, but he kept that to himself. 

It didn’t hit him until then, that if he doesn’t do anything, that ceremony will take place whether he agrees or not. He can’t wait for Namjoon to put together the plan he’s probably plotting, he can’t expect Jungkook to come and take him away, if he doesn’t want to be bounded for life to an alpha he can’t even stand to look at, he will have to break out of this place by himself.

He already tried once. A week after he arrived, the healer who checked on him every day announced that his scent was finally clean of every trace of an alpha’s claim, hence they could start the preparations for the ceremony. “Send word to Jongdeok-nim,” someone said, and Seokjin lost all control and shifted. He made it two walls out before a whole unit of soldiers fell over him and seized his every limb. A pair of officers has never been too far from him since then.  

There are less than two weeks until the next moon, so there’s time but it’s running out quickly. They’re planning a feast to introduce Seokjin as Jongdeok’s bride to the other founding clans of Seoul. Everyone’s been trying to drill into him that that’s the most coveted position for an omega right now. As the first born son of his father, Jongdeok will become the head of his clan eventually, therefore he’d be electable to become Mayor someday. Moon gracious. Seokjin enjoys upsetting people by giving the most lukewarm reactions to everything related to his mating and Jongdeok. 

Jongdeok . He’s seen his new betrothed three times since that night in the bathroom, when they’re engagement was made. He came with flowers the first time and the glare Seokjin sent his way was enough to make him leave moments later. The second time was to introduce him to Hyorin and he had to suffer through an entire morning with the two of them. And the third time… The memories of the third time still bring a pleased smile to Seokjin’s lips.

He sneaked into his chambers the night after Seokjin was ruled clean of Namjoon’s claim with clear intention of soiling him with his own. What he didn’t anticipate was that Seokjin slept in wolf form most nights. He ran away after the first bite, now he’s reminded to stay away every time he sits down.

After a deep breath, he wipes his face clean of tears. He doesn’t allow himself to dwell too much into self-pity. There will be time to cry when he’s free and a couple hundred miles away from Seoul.

The moon is slowly filling up. Seokjin fixes his eyes in her pale curve and begs her for strength. Just as he finishes his prayer, a lonely howl rises into the night.

“Jungkookie,” he mutters, pouting at Seoul’s landscape. 

He’s been calling every night since they were separated, and it breaks Seokjin’s heart that he hasn’t been able to answer. No one knows of Jungkook, and it won’t be him who alerts them of his presence. Still, it’s comforting to know that he’s still out there somewhere, that he, and probably Hoseok and Jimin too, managed to stay out of this prison.

Seokjin goes to sleep with a heavy heart, clutching Namjoon’s note close to his chest. He tries not to think about Namjoon much or else he’ll break, but that note with his handwriting is always on him, the words circling his mind as a mantra to keep his spirit up.

Until the last moon of summer.

“Seokjin-ssi, it’s time.”

Daeun’s voice is soft, just as her knocking on the door. Seokjin has been holed up in the room since he woke up, fearing the moment the maids came for him.

It’s not a big deal , he tries to convince himself. It’s just a social event that will have him in the center of attention the entire night.

Alright, it is awful, but it’s not nearly as bad as a mating ceremony would be. True, he doesn’t plan to stay for that, but he’s not as scared about the people he’ll meet as he is uncomfortable with the prospect of being stuck by Jongdeok’s side the whole time.

Seokjin opens the door and follows the girls as they head to the bathroom. They let him bathe by himself, and return when Seokjin is dressed in the underwear provided. They make quick work of dressing him in an elegant looking kind of dress. It’s not exactly a dress, but it leans towards feminine attire more than neutral. Seokjin lets it be, he also lets the maids apply perfumes and makeup on his face. After all, this is all an act, wearing a mask and a costume seems fitting.

“You look beautiful, Seokjin-ssi,” Daeun sighs when they finish, and Seokjin only looks at her, an attempt of a smile tensing his lips.

The dress is dark blue with silver details; the contrast with his white hair and powdered-pale face must be striking. He has never liked to stand out, but as his sire always teased, he was cursed with a beautiful face. For once, he wants to use it as a means of empowerment, make an impression on the people of Seoul, so when he slips from between their fingers, they realize he was unattainable all along.  

Seokjin stands up on his whole height and walks out of the bathroom with the maids in tow. The officers waiting outside the building don’t bother to mask their reaction. Unlike the rest of the time, Seokjin now looks like the clan omegas they’re used to seeing. 

Better, he hopes, a rare beauty they could only dream of. 

The sun is already low in the sky when Seokjin enters the hall where the feast will take place. So far just the Mayor, Hyorin and an army of servants are in the room; Jongdeok is not in sight, thankfully.

“Moon gracious, Seokjin-ssi, you look absolutely stunning,” Hyorin says, taking his hands and squeezing them lightly.

“Worth dying for, for sure,” the Mayor mutters, but before Seokjin can ask, Jongdeok enters the room with his usual entourage.

“Is this my bride?” he says with a smug grin, and Seokjin has to pull his hands out of Hyorin’s hold or he might hurt her with the claws spurting on his fingers.

He takes a deep breath to calm his bristling wolf and faces away from his betrothed. Unfortunately, a guard comes asking for the Mayor and a couple of servants need Hyorin to give them some final instructions on the service, so he’s left alone with Jongdeok. Or as alone as they can be in a room buzzing with people working.

“You know, seeing you tonight makes me reconsider the sentence I gave to Namjoon,” Jongdeok says, approaching him from the back. Seokjin stays still, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. “I can’t blame that bastard for shooting his shot if this is what he saw.” 

“Quite the contrary,” Seokjin answers, against his best judgment. “Namjoon took a bite before bringing my wolf down when we first met. It takes a real alpha to do that.”

Jongdeok chuckles. “And an even better alpha to fuck that nasty habit out of you. I’ll turn you into my lap bitch in no time, you’ll see.”

Seokjin smiles something menacing, turning towards Jongdeok and making evident their height difference. “I’ll bite your dick off before you can even try.”

He walks away after that, and part of him is tempted to stay just to carry out that threat. A bigger, more cautious part of him is scared shitless because he knows Jongdeok would do anything to make him pay for his boldness.

Before he can step outside for some fresh air, Hyorin drags him back to their seats, because the guests are arriving.

Their table is located on a small platform at the back of the hall: The Mayor and Hyorin will sit at the center, and Seokjin and Jongdeok at each of their sides, alpha to omega and vice versa, so at least, he’ll spend the night with two people between him and Jongdeok.

The representatives of each clan and their families are supposed to come to them and introduce themselves to later take their place in the tables arranged around the room. With a last rush of movement, the hall clears of servants, only those in charge of receiving and assisting the guests stay.

There’s an old man announcing the guests at the entrance, but Seokjin pays little mind as the clans of Seoul begin to parade in front of him. He casts uninterested glances at them when they come in front of him and only blinks at their praises to his beauty. Lee, Bae, Kang, Cho, Yun; Seokjin sits a little straighter when the Min patriarch bows in front of the Mayor. He certainly shares blood with his alleged bastard, because it’s like looking at an older, sharper featured version of Yoongi. Another branch of the Choi clan comes next; Im something who claims to have mountain blood too; Jang, who is the only clan lead by an omega, an old lady that seems tougher than most of the alphas in the room. The last to arrive are the Kims, whose head is considerably younger than the rest. He comes with his mate, a beautiful omega with sandy hair and dark skin, and his three children, a young omega and two unpresented teenagers.

Apart from their light hair there’s nothing to set the Kim children apart from the dozens of well dressed stone wolves he’s seen tonight, but something in the dejected expression of the omega catches his attention.

Seokjin can’t help but feel like looking into a mirror. They are physically here, but their soul is somewhere far away.

“My firstborn, Taehee, and the twins, Taewon and Taeil,” the Kim patriarch says, and Seokjin’s heart skips a beat.

Kim Taehee rings too many bells. Their time in front of him is coming to an end, but Seokjin tries to extract as much information from the omega’s appearance as he can. They must be around Jungkook’s age, their hair is carefully styled to hide the undercut that’s evident if you’re looking for it, and something else that someone worked really hard to conceal is the small bump in the omega’s middle, being discreetly cradled behind the wide sleeves of their dress.

Taehyung doesn’t spare him a glance, but Seokjin doesn’t take his eyes off him for the rest of the night.   

The feast is celebrated with polite enthusiasm, but Seokjin can’t wait for the meal to be over. He was told that there would be a space for socialization and that he was expected to socialize , preferably hanging of Jongdeok’s arm. Seokjin had planned to feel conveniently sick by the end of the feast to be able to escape before the socialization part, but now he’s waiting impatiently to have a chance to approach Taehyung.

He doesn’t want to take a line from Jongdeok’s book, but he can’t blame Yoongi for risking it all to be with Taehyung. As miserable as he looks right now, his beauty is undeniable, and he can only imagine the fire of an omega growing up in an environment like this. Seokjin wishes he could have seen him when his big hazel eyes were full of life; he hopes he gets to see it someday.

The servants change the dishes of food for bottles of liquor and the musicians begin to play, signaling the end of the feast. Many stand up for a dance, but the majority form groups and the volume of the conversation rises, blending with the music. Seokjin sees an opportunity when some older men approach the Mayor to talk about business, and Jongdeok is trapped in Hyorin’s claws, who’s talking with other middle aged omegas about the ceremony.

He stands up and walks towards the toilet first. In the crowd of guests there are many officers so there’s no one specifically appointed to him, he uses that small freedom to wander out of the hall and find an entrance closer to where Taehyung is sitting.

Seokjin makes it to the hallway where the servants come and go with trays and bottles of liquor. Trying not to bring attention to himself—which is almost impossible with his attire and height—he follows a burly servant carrying a barrel of something to the table next to the Kim’s. 

In the clan table, Taehyung has been left alone. Seokjin sits next to the wistful omega in a move that he hopes was smooth.

He feels Taehyung’s confused gaze on him, but he’s not sure how to approach him. Seokjin buys himself some time by pouring a cup of liquor while he comes up with the right words.

“Can I help you?” Taehyung’s timbre is lower than he expected; the surprise makes him blurt the first thing that comes to his head.

“You’re Taehyung, aren’t you?”

Taehyung frowns. “No one here calls me that.”

Seokjin smiles. “I know from a good source that that’s the name you chose for yourself.” 

Taehyung’s frown only deepens, he looks around as if checking there’s no one at hearing range. Apart from a group of young alphas boisterously drinking like there’s no tomorrow in the next table, they’re safe.

“Are you friends with Yoonji-noona?”

Seokjin shakes his head. “No, but I’m quite fond of her brother and his friends.”

Taehyung’s eyes widen and he turns his whole body towards Seokjin. “They’re back? Where’s Yoongi?”

Seokjin sighs. “I don’t think we have time to go over the details, but I’m aware of the situation…” His eyes trail down to Taehyung’s middle. “I need you to tell me,” Seokjin makes a pause to look around just like Taehyung did earlier. “If you had a chance to leave this place and start anew, would you take it?”

“Yes,” Taehyung says immediately, as if the word came straight from his heart. A spark of life flickers in his eyes and he scoots closer to Seokjin. “Wait, what do you mean?”

Seokjin smiles and takes one of Taehyung’s hands. “When the time comes you need to be ready.”

He catches sight of Hyorin looking for him so he stands up, but Taehyung grabs his hand.

“Wait, what’s going on?”

“We’re getting out of here the night of the ceremony,” he says, drawing a plan in his mind as he speaks. “When I come for you, be ready.”

Before Hyorin can get any closer, he walks away and finds the woman midway. 

“Well, were you making friends?” Hyorin asks, trying to look behind him at the table he just left. “I’ve heard that the Kim child and you might have some things in common.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Seokjin says, hoping Hyorin is referring to their gender identity and not something else. For all he knows, Yoongi’s and Taehyung’s relationship is still a well kept secret. “It saddens me that he’s not as accepted as I am, though.”

Hyorin quirks her eyebrows as if to say tell me about it. “I’ve heard old man Kim was a nightmare, the father of the current head, I mean. Sometimes parents can’t break the chain.” Hyorin sighs and takes his arm. “Come on, there’s some people I want you to meet.”

He’s dragged around the hall by Hyorin the rest of the night, but he makes a mental reminder to find a way to send a message to Taehyung soon. 

“I’m going crazy in this cage.”

Pacing in the small space he’s sharing with Yoongi doesn’t provide any relief. If anything, it pushes him even closer to the edge.

Seoul is lighting up with the news: After so long, the Mayor’s heir is mating before the next full moon. That is roughly a week from now and they’re as locked up as the day they arrived.

“It’s not like I enjoy it,” Yoongi says, lying flat on the ground at the opposite side Namjoon is standing on. The urge to rip each other’s throats off is growing the longer they stay together. Brotherly love can’t beat their instincts for much longer. “But we need to be alive to attempt any plan.”

Namjoon growls, facing away from Yoongi. He knows he’s right, but he’s not interested in common sense right now. He takes a deep breath and rests his forehead on the wooden bars of the cage.

“How long has it been anyway?”

“I don’t know,” Yoongi slurs. “Like twenty five winters.”

Yoonji snorts. “You’re so fucking dramatic.”

“You could be sharing that cage with a dozen of omegas and would only feel cozy, you don’t get it,” Namjoon argues, and he has to admit that he sounds a bit whiny. “This is maddening and it’s only one. And one I mostly like.”

Yoongi grunts. “We should be thankful Hobi and Jimin were at the river.”

Namjoon groans and hits his head on the bars softly. “They better be well hidden. Jungkook is not being exactly discreet.” 

The nightly call of Jungkook’s wolf is both reassuring and a source of stress. They’ve heard nothing about the three remaining members of their pack, but knowing Jungkook is still out there somewhere eases their worry.

“Hobi knows all the secret passages in and out of this fucking city. They’re fine.”

“They better be,” Yoonji mutters.

“It might come as a shock to you, sis,” Yoongi drawls, “But Jiminie is not a pup anymore. He can take care of himself.”

“I know,” Yoonji mumbles. “I’m just saying that I hope they’re alright.”

Yoongi hums a condescending sure .

Silence falls over the cage again, but that only makes him more aware of the buzzing agitation under his skin.

He can’t even focus. Time is running out and they haven’t come up with a solution to their biggest problem: the cage. Sneaking into the palace is not too hard, not when you know the place upside down and have contributed to make it safer. But getting out of these damn cages… They’re unbreakable, or at least, it’s impossible to attempt anything without drawing attention, and discretion is key for any of their plans to work.

“What are the odds–?”

“Close to none,” Yoongi drawls before he can even finish the sentence, and rage bubbles up his throat in a growl. Yoongi growls too, getting up at last. “Just stop thinking for a damn minute, stop everything, stop !”

And Namjoon does. 

It happens before he can even realize it’s happening; he turns inside the cage, and the irritation he was feeling boils into something violent.

“Holy shit!” Yoonji’s scent of distress doesn’t deter him one bit, he stalks Yoongi into a corner of the cage, focused on getting a piece of him.

His growl rumbles in the octagon, and some newcomer prisoners whistle.

“Turn back, Namjoon, turn back now.” Yoongi’s composed tone angers him even further, he bares his fangs, but Yoongi stays unimpressed. “I won’t fight– Fuck, alright!” Yoongi grumbles when the growl only gets louder. He crouches down and keeps his head low. “ Happy ?”

It works like a miracle. Aggression evaporates and leaves behind only recognition. He nuzzles Yoongi’s neck and hair, and his heart beats with comfort.

“Lick me and I bite back, I swear…” 

Namjoon just lets out a happy bark and trots around the cage, he tries to stick his muzzle between the bars to get closer to Yoonji, but he only manages to lick the fingers she offers. 

“Joonie really turned wild out there,” she mutters, smiling as she scratches above his nose.

“Wolf Namjoon reminds me of ten year old Namjoon, what a pain in the ass,” Yoongi sighs and then snorts, “Your clothes stayed exactly where they were– Alright!”

Yoongi raises his arms in front of his neck when Namjoon jumps at him. He manages to lick his ear, but then the doors of the utility building are kicked open and the octagon freezes.

“Food is here!” 

The guy who brings them their daily meal sounds particularly cheerful today. Namjoon shifts and drops onto his ass by Yoongi’s side.

“Sorry about that,” he mutters, but Yoongi dismisses his apology with a gesture of his hand. He seems more interested in the food. 

“Today’s menu includes roasted deer, rabbit stew with potatoes, freshly cropped vegetables and rice wine aged in oak barrels to gulp it down,” the guy sing-songs, a slight lisp in his words, and his voice sounds somehow familiar. 

He starts from the opposite side, so he can’t see him well.

“It helped, I think,” he says, brushing his hair back. “Turning, I feel slightly better, you should try.”

Yoongi hums and stands up to get a better look on the guy. Namjoon’s curiosity is piqued.

“Is it a new guy?”

“It’s a sneaky little shit, that’s what he is,” Yoongi says with a chuckle.

The guy is coming to their side now, and since they’re the only prisoners on this side, he’s coming straight to them. Namjoon stands up to see him better because his figure also feels familiar. Only when he steps under the roof of the gallery does Namjoon recognize him.

“How are my stone hyungs doing on this fine morning?” 

Jungkook stands in front of their cage with a smug grin on his face.

“What are you doing here?”

Jungkook just shrugs. His hair is covered with a cloth and he looks a little bit too bulky in commoner clothes, but he wouldn’t doubt for a second that he was born and raised in Seoul. 

“It’s really good to see you, kid,” Yoongi says, receiving the two bowls of rice porridge Jungkook hands him.

“You too,” Jungkook says, his smile shrinking. “I wish it was in better circumstances…”

“Is this some sort of plan?”

Jungkook’s expression tenses. He glances at Yoonji’s cage, as if he didn’t want to overshare in front of strangers, but then he really sees the occupant of the cage.

“Hyung…?”

“Oh, yeah, this is my twin sister,” Yoongi says with a chuckle. “Yoonji, Jungkookie. Jungkookie, Yoonji.”

Of course they had already told Yoonji all about Seokjin’s brother. “Hi,” she says, waving at the young alpha.

“Nice to meet you,” Jungkook says with a quick bow and hands Yoonji her bowl of food. “This is part of a plan, yes. We already figured out how to break you out, but we’re still working on my hyung and Taehyung.”

“We might have an idea for that,” Namjoon says, smiling at Jungkook.

Things are finally falling into place. Everything is in the air, but a speck of optimism blooms in his chest, and he wants to hold on to that.

“How are the guys? I guess they know they’re being hunted, right?”

“Oh, yeah, they’re fine,” Jungkook says, nodding. “They’ve been sending me places to prepare everything, but they stay out of sight. I went to Taehyung’s house yesterday. I couldn’t approach but I saw him… Well, I think it was him.”

“Ridiculously pretty, light brown hair, always slouching,” Yoonji suggests, and Jungkook chuckles.

“Yeah, it was him,” he says. “He seemed fine. I mean, he seemed sad, but healthy. Very pregnant, wasn’t that supposed to be a secret?”

“If it weren’t for the bars, I’d hug you,” Yoongi says, a warm smile on his face.

“Hug me when you’re out,” Jungkook chuckles. “I gotta go now, but we’re talking.”

Jungkook turns around to leave, but Yoonji calls him, “Wait…”

She loses courage when Jungkook turns around, and Namjoon can’t help but join in the snickering with Yoongi.

“Oh, just do it, Yoonji-yah,” Yoongi says.

Taking a deep breath, Yoonji comes closer to the bars. “Just… Could you tell Jimin, um, just tell him- Tell him to be careful, yeah?”

“Sure,” Jungkook says, confused at Yoonji’s flushed face.

As Jungkook finally walks away, Yoonji moves as far as she can from them. “Don’t say a fucking word.” 

“Can it be done or can it not?”

Seokjin rests his hands on his thighs and leans slightly forward. Hyorin shifts nervously. 

A table full of sweets and pastries lies between them, separating their two opposite worlds. Hyorin is perfectly kneeled, her dress spread around her in a neat circle; Seokjin is crossed legged, pants and jeogori allowing comfortable movements. 

“It’s not up to me, dear. I would have to ask Jae and call a committee to have the approval of the heads, and of course send a request to the Kims–”

“I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me,” Seokjin says, playing a bit more hurt than he actually feels. “And now you’re not going to honor the old tradition of my homeland?”

He came up with the ancestral tradition of having a bridesmaid for the ceremony who should stay by his side until his anointed husband-alpha came to take him, and of course he wants to give that honor to Kim Taehyung, who struck him as such a gracious omega at the presentation feast. 

Innocent smile, eyelash flutter.

Hyorin bought the whole tradition thing, but she’s questioning his choice for the honored omega.

“Seokjin-ssi…”

“Talk to whoever you need to talk to, but promise me you’ll try,” Seokjin says, softening his stance and expression.

“I’ll do what I can,” Hyorin says. “As of right now, I can tell you that the Kims answered and they were pleased by your invitation. Kim Taehee will come to visit you tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Seokjin says, bowing as low as the table allows.

Everyone in the Mayor’s house was surprised by his sudden interest in Taehyung, but they took it as a sign that he was accepting his destiny and was trying to make friends in the capital, so when he asked if Taehyung could visit him, the Mayor himself made the arrangements.

Seokjin tosses and turns that whole night, his body buzzing with energy. A run would soothe his soul, but he knows that he would try to escape as soon as he shifted right now, and he can’t risk his meeting with Taehyung. Exhaustion beats him as the sky begins to clear, and after what feels like only a blink, he is woken up by the maids.

Seokjin goes through their morning routine listlessly at first, but gaining energy little by little as noon approaches. He spends the rest of the morning in a restless stupor, his mind is working fast but his body remains still. The snap of fingers he was needing comes in the form of a servant announcing Taehyung’s arrival.

The greetings are awkward. Taehyung comes with two unfriendly looking maids, who don’t seem to have any intention to leave their master unsupervised. 

“I’m so glad you were able to come,” Seokjin says as they start a slow walk through the gardens. Taehyung seems troubled, but he follows his lead, exchanging pleasantries like the ladies do here. Shooting Daeun a sharp look, Seokjin sighs, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a cup of tea outside?” 

They had made plans in advance, so as Seoyoon drags one of Taehyung’s maids away to help her with the food, Daeun distracts the other while Seokjin grabs Taehyung’s hand and runs away with him to the gazebo by the pond.

“Seokjin-ssi…?” Taehyung looks at him with a baffled expression as Seokjin pulls him to the ground and presses a finger to his lips.

Sat on the floor of the gazebo, they are completely invisible to anyone walking by.

“I’m sorry,” Seokjin says with a chuckle, breathing more comfortably when it’s evident that no one followed them. “I wanted to speak to you alone.”

Taehyung takes a deep breath and relaxes his posture. “Yeah, I was hoping we could do that. I haven’t been able to sleep since the feast.”

“Again, I’m sorry,” Seokjin groans, covering his face. “It wasn’t the time and definitely wasn’t the place.”

“I have to admit that I didn’t pay much attention to…” Taehyung chuckles. “Well, to you. That feast, I didn’t care about it. I wasn’t supposed to be there, but my parents dragged me along at the last minute, and then you dropped all of that on me. I didn’t understand a thing.”

“I guess you know all the details by now, don’t you?” Seokjin sighs. “I’ve noticed Seoul loves their gossip.”

“Please, people live for it,” Taehyung says, rolling his eyes. “How much is true, though?” 

Taehyung’s eyes take in every last detail of him, his head tilted. It’s obvious that he’s buzzing with curiosity. 

Seokjin smiles. “Well, ask away.”

“You’re from the wild.”

“True.” 

“You’re mating Choi Jongdeok to avoid a diplomatic conflict.”

“Well, that’s their story. Jongdeok is determined to have me under any premise.” 

“So they’re keeping you here against your will then?”

“Awfully true.”

Taehyung’s scent spikes with distress, and Seokjin dismisses the whole topic with a gesture of his hand and an easy smile. “Ask me what you really want to know.”

Taehyung hesitates, but only for a moment. “How do you know Yoongi?”

Seokjin laughs. “We met on the road, very far from here. He almost stepped on me with his horse when I was blacked out in the woods of neutral territory,” Seokjin recounts, remembering the scared faces of the two stone wolves that had wandered off the road. “I was in a rough spot, and the guys helped me, they let me travel with them, and it was just convenient at first but then I…” He smiles at his lap. “Well, I caught feelings for Namjoon. You know him, right?”

Taehyung nods, he’s smiling too. 

“A month into our trip I had already convinced them to ditch Seoul and start a pack in the wild.” Seokjin huffs a laugh. “I mean, we’re in a rough spot again but that’s still the plan. We were coming to Seoul to get you and Yoonji, that’s when Jongdeok caught us.”

“I knew the guys were going to get him a bride in Daegu…”

“Yeah, and he thought that was me. Even after Namjoon explained, he didn’t stand down, so he accused the guys of treason and… Well, here we are.”

“Wait, treason?!”

“They’re in the cages, Yoongi and Namjoon.” Seokjin winces. “But don’t worry too much,” he says when Taehyung turns scared eyes at him. “They’re tough guys, they’ll figure it out, that’s why we must too.”

A worried frown tenses Taehyung’s brow, but after a while he nods.

“Is your answer still yes?”

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “To start a pack in the wild where I can mate the alpha I love and my pups can grow with his father?” He huffs. “Is the sky blue?”

Seokjin laughs, and Taehyung smiles a boxy grin.

“How far ahead are you?” Seokjin asks, nodding at his belly.

Taehyung’s hand goes immediately to his bump. “Four moons with the one that’s coming, but there’s two of them so it shows as if I was six.” 

Seokjin hums. “Have they given you any trouble?”

“I mean, apart from the wrath of my parents…” Taehyung chuckles. “No, I used to get sick in the mornings, but Yoonji-noona gave me a tea that made me feel better.”

Seokjin frowns. He never got to learn the relationship between them, just that Yoonji was in a position where she could take care of Taehyung. “She was your maid.”

Taehyung nods. “And now she’s in prison because of me. My parents won’t rest until they know who…” he gestures at his belly and his shoulders sag. “They’re hurting her to make me talk. It’s been awful.” 

“It’ll be over soon,” Seokjin promises, taking one of Taehyung’s hands and giving it a light squeeze. “But it won’t be easy.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Taehyung says, returning the squeeze. “You just tell me, Seokjin-ssi.”

“Oh, you can call me hyung.”

Taehyung nods, a shy smile curling his lips. “Tell me more about the wild then… hyung.”

They spend the rest of the afternoon talking about everything and nothing. Seokjin can’t help but see a younger version of himself figuring things out and he’s grateful that their paths crossed. When the sky begins to turn golden, they make it back to Seokjin’s building, and pay little mind to the seething maids waiting outside. 

“Come again if they let you,” Seokjin says, squeezing Taehyung’s hand softly.

Taehyung pulls him into a hug and nods.

“See you soon, hyung.”

Five days before the full moon and they only need to polish some details.

“You need to consider that every officer is gonna be in that palace. The guys in the guard won’t stop us, but them…”

Jungkook’s appearance brought their focus back. Now that they have a way to get out of the cages without making a scene, they need to figure out the best way to sneak into the Mayor’s palace without being detected.

“Yeah, but three quarters of the officers are gonna be drunk out of their asses. They might leave a few on duty, but there’s six of us and only a couple of them at a time,” Yoonji says, quite on board with an offensive approach. 

“Five at most, noona,” Namjoon reminds her, and she narrows her eyes at him.

“I’m going,” she says, tone dangerously low.

“I wouldn’t dare to stop you,” Namjoon says with a chuckle, his hands held up. “But someone would have to stay in the transport Jungkook said they’re securing.”

“Oh, right.” Yoonji’s fight deflates. “He said it’s a two person job, though.”

“So, assuming Jungkook stays back, it’ll be us three, and I vote for Hoseok,” Yoongi says, gauging their reaction. “He’s a ghost in the night, if we want to go unseen.”

“But Jimin is a better fighter, and I think we’ll have to bleed our way out,” Namjoon ponders out loud.

“Then I vote for Hobi too,” Yoonji says and laughs when Namjoon rolls his eyes.

Any other intervention is cut by a loud banging on the front doors.

“Alright, bastards, foreheads to the back of your cages and eyes low. If anyone dares to turn around, I'll take your eyeballs out with a pair of chopsticks.”

“Classy,” Yoongi mutters as they move to the back of the cage.

“What’s going on?” Yoonji asks, doing as the newcomer commanded as well.

“I don’t know, but that sounded like one of the Kang brothers, and they don’t fuck around,” Namjoon warns.

The sounds of a small entourage echo in the darkening octagon. This is uncommon, visits are not allowed. The only people with access to the cages are the guy who feeds them, the guards in shift, and the officer in charge. 

The footsteps approach their side and stop near their cage. 

“Is this the maid?” Kang asks. A pause, and then, “Turn around, omega.”

Something cold drips down their necks as they feel Yoonji’s distress. Namjoon steps closer to Yoongi in case he’s planning to do something stupid.

“You two over there, don’t move!” There’s a rattle in their cage’s front and they can’t help but startle.

They hear Yoonji move and then gasp.

“Is there a chance we can speak privately?”

Namjoon grabs Yoongi’s wrists at the soft spoken words. He only had a few chances to meet him, but Taehyung’s velvety voice is unmistakable. Yoongi is as still as a rock.

“Your father explicitly told us not to get you out of our sight,” Kang says dryly. 

“This is completely open, I wouldn’t be out of your sight,” Taehyung replies. “Just wait over there. She’s been my maid since before I presented. I need to say goodbye properly, and I don’t want you breathing over my neck.”

Kang seems to muse it for a moment. “We’ll be right over there. You bastards better not move,” he says, hitting their cage once more.

As the soldiers walk away, they hear the rustle of Yoonji’s clothes moving closer to the front.

“Why would you come to say goodbye?” Yoonji asks, her voice dripping with fear.

“I’m so sorry, noona. How have you been?”

“ Taehyung. ”

Taehyung sighs. “Well, the heir’s betrothed chose me as his bridesmaid.” 

The heir’s betrothed? Does he mean Seokjin?

“What?”

“I’ll accompany him during the ceremony, and he promised…” Taehyung makes a pause. “He promised he would get me a mate. I’m supposed to meet him… the night of the ceremony.”

Namjoon smiles. If he thought he loved Seokjin before, well. It doesn’t come as a surprise but this sneaky move is better than a thousand courting gifts.

“Oh, and since my… situation is looking up,” Taehyung continues, “I asked Father to release you. He'll make a decision tomorrow, but I’m hoping he'll let you go. Thank you for all your service, noona.”

“Holy shit,” Yoonji mutters when Tae and the entourage are gone. “That omega of yours doesn't waste his time, Joonie.”

“I love him so fucking much.”

The Kim patriarch comes the next morning and tries to shame Yoonji for her poor service and treacherous ways. Yoonji takes it with her head low, nodding when it's proper and even sniffing a couple of times.

In the end, he says he'll release Yoonji but she has to leave Seoul before the next moon, and if she's seen around his house, he'll ask for her head. He storms out of the octagon, sure of his pride and convinced that he destroyed a life.

“See you around, suckers,” Yoonji whispers at them, sticking her tongue out when the guards come to let her out of the cage before sundown.

They can only see her go with the relief of having one person less to worry about.

The time before the last moon of spring felt like a lifetime when the ceremony was first scheduled, now the moon is three quarters full and the palace is a swarm of servants making preparations here and there.

The day before the ceremony Seokjin is in a mild panic. He requested a visit to the cages, arguing that after everything that happened, he needed to say goodbye to Namjoon to start his new life as the heir’s mate. It worked for Taehyung, after all. 

Not for him though.

They either saw right through him, or didn’t care about closure and shit. He was denied, and an extra couple of guards was appointed to his gardens.

His only comfort in all of this is Taehyung. 

As the ancestral tradition that Seokjin definitely did not make up on the spot dictates, the bridesmaid must accompany the bride in the days prior to the ceremony, so Taehyung has been living with him for the past couple days.

“I’m sure they got the message,” Tae says. It’s been a recurring topic, whether Namjoon and Yoongi got the not so hidden message in Taehyung’s farewell.

Yeonjun was the one who told them that Taehyung’s former maid was locked up right next to her brother and Namjoon. So they put together a little plan and it seems like it was executed perfectly.

“I don’t know, they’re a bit stupid sometimes,” he says, pacing across the room tirelessly.

“In any case, hyung…” Taehyung starts with some hesitation. He’s sitting cross-legged on the bed, his rounded belly in the cradle of his arms. He’s infinitely more comfortable than the first time he came to the palace. Dresses were not allowed in the building anymore, and Seokjin hasn’t seen him wear shoes once since he arrived. “You said we don’t need them to make our plan work.”

Seokjin hums. “It wouldn’t hurt to meet them halfway, though.” 

A knock on the door finally halts his pacing. Taehyung throws a robe over his comfy clothes and nods at him to let the maids in.

“Lady Hyorin’s maids are here to prepare you,” Daeun announces, and something heavy and uncomfortably hot sets on his stomach.

“See you on the other side,” Taehyung says, with a hesitant wave of his hand.

Seokjin only gulps and casts a distressed glance at him before following the small battalion of maids waiting for him outside the room.

It’s an awful deja vu. Seokjin watches, as if he was outside his body, as the maids clean him, roughly at first, attempting to peel the very first layer of skin and then soaking him in different bathtubs filled with scented water of this and that. After what feels like a lifetime, they towel his skin dry and cover him in oils and makeup. He doesn’t have the energy to object, he’d rather save it for later. When the time of dressing him comes up, he sees the maiden murmuring between each other while Seokjin stands in the middle of the room naked.

It’s not cold like the last time. Summer is taking over spring with a humid heat that feels tenfold worse in the bathroom saturated with artificial scents. A maid leaves the room and comes back moments later with Hyorin.

“I told you to use the ivory one,” Hyorin says, picking out clothes from a trunk in the corner.

“Lady Hyorin, that one is for–”

“Did I ask?” Hyorin doesn’t raise her voice, but her sudden coldness has the same effect. “Just put the ivory one on him, moon gracious.”

As the maids do as told, Hyorin smiles at him with something that could be pride.

“You look beautiful, darling,” she says, flattening the fur around the neck of the cloak. 

Unlike the one he wore in the forest, this one is mostly fur. And not rabbit fur, the soft part around the neck can’t be anything else but fox tails; the rest is too big to be a fox, but Seokjin doesn’t want to think about the alternative.

“You’re going to be the perfect bride for our Jongdeokie,” Hyorin says, and bile begins to tease the back of Seokjin’s throat.

Taehyung joins him as soon as he walks out of Hyorin’s bathroom. He’s dressed in elegant clothes, with makeup on his face. He seems uncomfortable, but his arm is firm when Seokjin takes it. As they are escorted towards the main building, doubt takes over his heart mercilessly.

It won’t work. I’ll be trapped here forever. Jongdeok will take me. I’ll never see Namjoon again.

He draws in a shaky breath and his knees buckle. The entourage trips around him at his sudden stop. The air is not making it to his lungs, his heart is beating faster than the wings of a hummingbird. He feels dizzy as two firm hands pull him up and practically drag him forward.

“No…” His voice is barely above a whisper, but even if someone had managed to hear him, no one is about to do anything for him.

Not these people. Not his pack. He’s all alone—

Just as tears begin to cloud his vision, a howl rises into the darkening sky. A call to gather. 

Namjoon.

Three different voices answer, and the stone wolves around him tense.

The tears fall down Seokjin’s face, but they don’t carry the scent of defeat. His soul shrugs off the claws of fear, and he recovers his footing. Seokjin tugs his arms free of the grip of the soldiers, and with a deep breath, he walks into the second attempt to mate him with an alpha that’s not worthy of him.

“Are you insane?!” Yoongi huffs, tugging him into an alley from the scruff of his neck. “Way to start a discreet operation, fuck!”

Namjoon snaps at Yoongi’s hand still on him and growls, but Yoongi just throws his clothes at his face. 

Before rage can bubble up his head, Namjoon turns and puts on the clothes. Jungkook put the key of their cage inside the porridge of the day. They waited until it was dark to open the cage and go out through the backdoor left conveniently unlocked by Yunho and Mingi. 

As soon as Namjoon set foot outside and saw the almost full moon, he couldn’t contain himself. Jungkook’s, Hoseok’s and Jimin’s answers were unexpected, but welcome nonetheless.

“Well, let’s hope they send a unit to hunt down the wolves so there’ll be less officers in the palace.”

“Yeah, as if we couldn’t be captured before we even make it somewhere,” Yoongi grumbles, looking out of the alley, expecting a flock of officers as they speak. 

“Let’s just stay positive–”

Yoongi growls at him, but Namjoon only smiles. “It was a calculated risk, come on.”

They’re supposed to meet whoever is coming with them under one of the bridges. Specifically, the one where the sewers coming from the palace meet the river.

I won’t be pretty, but it should work. The idea is to get in there undetected, and hopefully, go out the same way.

The path down to the river is relatively easy. They know this city like the palm of their hands, especially the crevices and alleys that go under notice of the law. They bump into a few people who stare at them a second longer than necessary, but they’re confident that they’re just looking after their own business.

Unlike the hostility they encountered when they were wearing black, they only face interest or suspicion now.

The real challenge comes with the streets running along the river. There are always guards around these areas, especially in the bridges, but they take the chance given by the fishermen preparing for the journey to the sea. They sail at night so they can receive the early customers with fresh products.

They blend in with a group crossing the bridge and then walking down to the docks, and their hearts almost slip out of their chests when they see a pair of guards under the bridge, but then relief floods instead when they recognize Hoseok and Jimin in their old clothes.

“Hyungs!” Jimin is about to run to them but Hoseok grabs him from the back of his shirt.

“Hey.” Namjoon gives them a little shoulder squeeze when they’re close and under the cover of the bridge. He’s just so, so, so relieved to see them well.

Hoseok goes for a hug anyway and grimaces after stepping back. “Fuck, you won’t have to worry about the sewers because you already stink.” 

“It’s good to see you too,” Yoongi chuckles, trying to grab Hoseok again. He gives up when Hoseok puts Jimin between them. “Anyways, how did you convince Yoonji to stay back?” 

“Jimin did the puppy eyes,” Hoseok says, shaking the younger one a little.

They laugh at Jimin’s sputtering “I did not!”

“No, he didn’t,” Hoseok says, clearing his throat as if he was getting serious. “He actually grabbed noona’s face and told her…” He reenacts his words with Namjoon, leaning closer with a dramatic expression in his face. “‘ I’ll bring your family back to you safely ,’ he said, and then he ki–”

“Hyung! I didn’t say that!” He pulls Hoseok away from Namjoon and turns guilty eyes to Yoongi when Hoseok adds, “He did kiss her though.” 

Yoongi’s face is blank, but mirth shines through his eyes.

“Hyung, maybe this is not the right moment…” Jimin steals a glance at Namjoon and then bows at Yoongi, his upper body parallel to the ground. “I love Yoonji-noona. I want her to be my mate.”

Yoongi snorts. “I’ll pretend to be shocked,” he says and pulls Jimin up. “We shared our mother’s womb, Jimin-ah. You think we have any secrets?”

“I–”

“Don’t sweat it,” Yoongi says, patting Jimin’s shoulder. “I can’t think of a better alpha for her. Or a better omega for you, Jiminie.”

Jimin’s eyes shine with unshed tears, and he seems to be looking for the right words to say, but Hoseok elbows him out of it.

“This is lovely, but we are in the middle of something very important…”

“Right.” Jimin rubs his eyes and shrugs off a small leather backpack. “Jungkook lent us this.”

Jungkook’s bag is made so it’s easily carryable in any form. They need to turn to fit in the pipes, but they better return to their two feet once they’re inside.

“Only pants,” Hoseok says. “That kid Yeonjun said he’d try to leave something for us on the other side, but we can’t count on it with all the ruckus in the palace.”

“At this point Yeonjun has an honorary place in our pack,” Namjoon says, moved by the gesture of the young guard. All of their fellow clanless guards that have approached him have tried to help them somehow. Namjoon is grateful and he wishes he can return the hand someday.

The four of them quickly take off their clothes and fold the pants so the bag doesn’t bulge much.  

“Alright, straight inside, we search for Jongdeok’s building.”

They share a determined look and take a deep breath before shifting and slipping into the narrow pipe leading to the heart of the Mayor’s palace.

The ceremony is slightly different from the one Seokjin had already gone through.

This time he’s standing face to face with his betrothed the whole time the elder says the words and blessings. They make him answer a couple times: Do you take this alpha as your only mate until death do you part? Sure . Do you promise to be faithful and obedient? Of course . Will you fulfill your duty as an omega and bear children that will make your clan prosper? Absolutely .

He even smiles when the hall bursts into cheers, and if anyone sees the mockery in his eyes, well so be it.  

He’s trapped in a predicament when Jongdeok grabs him and scents him avidly in front of everyone. Seokjin has to hold his breath and scrunch his face, turned as far away as possible from Jongdeok’s neck. He has to endure his hands feeling up his body over the cloak, and his body pressing against his, because this is what stone tradition dictates.

Everyone cheers when Seokjin is released and Jongdeok raises triumphal arms in the air, his smug smile taking in the hall full of people.

Taehyung takes his arm to guide him out, and Seokjin is grateful because his legs feel like jelly as they walk towards the building where he’s supposed to wait for his new mate. They’re escorted only by a pair of officers, part of Jongdeok’s usual entourage. They’re heading to his private chambers, actually.

“Can you give me a moment?” He says, detaching from Taehyung right on time to not throw up all over him. 

“You’re tough, hyung,” Taehyung says when the doors of Jongdeok’s place are closed behind them. “I wouldn’t have had the stomach to stand through all that bullshit.”

“That’s all it is,” Seokjin grumbles. “What kind of vow is done under a roof, hiding from the Moon, covered in fake scents and trapped by the stone.”

He downs a cup of liquor to help him settle his stomach. The lounge area was waiting for them with a small version of the feast that will be served to the guests. “We’re not savages,” Hyorin had the audacity to say when she announced that, unlike the forest tradition, he didn’t have to wait in Jongdeok’s bed, and could have “a little party” with his bridesmaid.

“Did you hear the howl?” Taehyung asks, shedding off the vaporous dress he wore for the ceremony, and plopping down in the comfy clothes Seokjin gave him.

Seokjin whimpers and drops onto the cushion covered floor by Taehyung’s side. “It was Namjoon.”

“How can you tell?” Taehyung chuckles, popping a strawberry into his mouth.

“You just can,” Seokjin says, reaching for Taehyung’s hand. “You’ll learn.”

Taehyung takes his hand, and they stay like that as the night proceeds. They eat some and drink some; Seokjin feels tempted to drink more, but it wouldn’t be wise. The pair of officers outside the building change for a new pair, whose scents carry the tanginess of alcohol. Good.

When the party in the building below gets louder, they exchange a look and get ready.

Their plan is simple, cheap even. Seokjin never feels proud of using his face to get something, but the two of them are certainly too pretty to let that asset go to waste. 

There are several bottles of soju on the table prepared for them. The first step of their plan is pouring a few bottles somewhere inconspicuous. They wet their hands with soju and touch around their neck and face. As they do that, they begin to raise the volume of a silly conversation, boisterous laughter out of nowhere.

The second step is easy. Taehyung pours the vial of sleeping draught into the remaining bottle of soju and shakes it a little so the two liquids mix. That was a stroke of genius from Taehyung. Seokjin wanted to fight, but Taehyung suggested a more discreet escape. He talked to his clan healer about troubles to fall asleep, and the man gave him the draught. Only a few drops are enough, but they’re not taking any chances.  

The third step is downright hard. 

“You do it,” Taehyung says, and the giggle that follows is so natural, that Seokjin can’t help but join in. It adds to the whole act anyway.

“I’m the bride! You do it,” he says, his voice loud so it carries outside.

“Hyung…” Taehyung whines and grimaces afterward. “I’m too shy.”

Seokjin laughs and stands up, wishing he had drank more. He walks towards the door, and takes a deep breath before ruffling his hair and biting his bottom lip to plump it up. He opens the door and looks around, as if he couldn’t see the two alphas right down the steps.

“Oh, hi guys!” He smiles at them; it’s not hard when their faces are so funny. Their eyes are about to fall from their sockets, their scents interested in an instant. “Tae and I were getting lonely in there. We were wondering if you guys would have a few drinks with us.”

If the cloak falls down his shoulder a little, it’s only a coincidence.

The officers exchange a look and let their dicks decide for them: They follow after him and make themselves comfortable around the table.

Taehyung pours them a cup each and steals shy glances through his eyelashes. 

“There’s no need for you to be out there alone.” Seokjin sighs as he lies on the cushions again, his two shoulders exposed now. “You know, in the wild, omegas don’t have to wait this much. Alphas don’t waste their time drinking.”

It’s a blatant lie. Alphas in the wild get the drunkest for their mating ceremonies, but that’s neither here nor there.

“But you sound like you were having a good time,” one of the officers comments, and his eyes stray to Taehyung’s partial nakedness. He took off his pants, the loose jeogori covering only a third of his thighs.

“But there’s only so much two omegas can do,” Seokjin says, turning a pout to Taehyung, who covers a giggle with his hand just perfectly to give the right idea. 

The officers drink the first cup and Taehyung is quick to serve them a second.

“I’ve heard that in the wild,” one of the alphas stars, he drags his eyes down the line of Seokjin’s body rather shamelessly. “I’ve heard omegas are prepared for their mate.”

“Prepared?” Seokjin tilts his head. “Prepared how?”

“Oh, you know…” He looks at his partner and then back at Seokjin, a smirk on his face.

Yes, Seokjin knows, and he’s grateful that those savage practices were left in the past long ago.

“I don’t think Jongdeok would appreciate that, though,” he says, pouting, his arms crossed right under his breasts. “He waited a long time to have me unclaimed.”

“Well, there’s no need to lay a claim. We can keep it a secret,” the alpha says, downing a third cup of soju.

He throws a worried glance at Taehyung. They didn’t consider the draught might take a while to work. 

Running out of ideas, Seokjin bites his lip and stands up, pretending to be unsure on his feet. He offers his hand to Taehyung, and when he’s standing too, he pulls him against him and grabs his waist. 

“We’ll think about it over there, alright?”

Right before closing the doors of the bedroom, they see the men downing yet another cup.

“Fuck.”

“It must be soft,” Taehyung whispers, biting the nail of his thumb. “The healer knows I’m pregnant.”

“We put the whole vial in it,” Seokjin grumbles, brushing his hair back.

“Maybe it’ll just take longer-”

“The fuck are you two doing here?” 

The new voice startles them. Seokjin’s soul freezes inside him.

“It’s Jongdeok,” Taehyung mutters, his eyes rounded with fear. “What do we do?”

Seokjin shakes his head. “Just go out. I’ll take care of him.”

“Hyung–”

“I’ll be fine, just… Be careful with the other two.”

Taehyung hugs him, and as they turn to the doors, these are opened violently.

“Where’s my mate–? Oh?” 

Jongdeok looks at Taehyung up and down, a flash of interest crossing his eyes.

“What took you so long?” Seokjin snaps, capturing Jongdeok’s attention and pushing Taehyung towards the door.

Taehyung’s bow is ignored by Jongdeok, and once he’s out of the room, Seokjin can start worrying about the problem right in front of him.

“Were you waiting for me, Seokjinie?” For each step Jongdeok stumbles towards him, Seokjin takes a step back. He’s drunk, enough to make him stagger but not enough to make him lose focus.

“Well, I’m stuck with you now, aren’t I?” He turns around, desperately searching the room for something to use. Big mistake.

Jongdeok grabs him from behind, his arms iron tight around him. He hums right against his ear, and the disgust bubbling up his throat gives him the strength to fight.

Bending forward, he lets Jongdeok’s weight act against him. Seokjin twists his body so Jongdeok’s back hits the ground, and it works, but his arms are still tight around him.

“Let go of me,” Seokjin growls, twisting in Jongdeok’s hold with all his strength but getting nowhere.

“I don’t want to,” Jongdeok slurs with a chuckle, one of his arms stays firm crushing his arm against his ribs while his other hand slips under the cloak and roams over Seokjin’s skin.

Seokjin screams the rage out of his chest and manages to turn around. The sudden movement makes Jongdeok release him, and Seokjin doesn’t even make a conscious decision; he shifts and twirls until he’s free from the alphas weight.

For a moment they’re face to face, a smirk against Seokjin’s snarl.

To hell with it . Seokjin pounces and time slows down when his fangs break the skin of Jongdeok’s shoulder. Jongdeok screams, as blood floods into Seokjin’s mouth. He’s pushed back, a dangerous growl rises from Jongdeok, but Seokjin charges again, his much bigger head hitting under Jongdeok’s chin, disorienting him enough to have a clean path to his neck–

No. 

Seokjin turns in a flash of anguish and grabs the first thing at hand—a vase full of yellow carnations—and smashes it on Jongdeok’s head. 

The dull sound of a body hitting the wooden floor makes him draw the first real breath in what feels like forever.

Murder was never in their plans. Seokjin doesn’t dare to approach him to search for his pulse, but he should be fine. Two bleeding wounds and a contusion never killed anyone.

He doesn’t waste any more time watching Jongdeok’s knocked out face. On quick feet, he leaves the room and walks down the small hallway towards the lounge. Taehyung is not there, so he goes out.

“Taehyung!” 

Fear starts seizing his body as there’s no sight of Taehyung or the officers, but then a tight “ Hyung ” sets him back into motion. All kinds of horrible scenarios cross his mind, but when he turns the corner of the building, he finds Taehyung dragging a sleeping officer next to the other one.

“They face-planted from one moment to the next, hyung–” Taehyung’s smile turns into alarm in a heartbeat when he raises his eyes. “Hyung, are you alright?”  

Oh. He must be covered in blood from the chin down. He wipes his face and nods, beckoning Taehyung over.

“Let’s go.”

“Wait…” Taehyung picks something from the floor and hands him one. It’s some sort of long robe, the ones the officers wear on top. Taehyung is already wearing one, dark red and long below his knees. 

Seokjin shrugs off the heavy cloak and puts on the blue robe, tying it around his waist. He takes Taehyung’s hand, and together they move through the shadows on cautious feet. They make it to the main garden without seeing any guard. The next wall will take them to the hall where the party is still going strong, then the gates are a courtyard away, but Seokjin’s mind is blank.

They didn’t plan much after getting rid of the guards. Go out, that was the only directive.