Archive of Our Own

Alpha scent fills his nose and drips down his throat thick like honey. It is interesting, it feels rich and warm like most alphas, but with a sweet touch to it. Minho would even go as far as describing it as delicate. It blends perfectly to the dense forest on the outskirts of Minho’s territory and that's why it took his pack so long to catch up to him.

He's been hunting in their land for days now, judging by the carcasses the scouts spotted, entirely undetected even by their most powerful noses. But now that they know he is there and Minho is on his trail, the smell is clear as daylight.

Minho takes another deep breath. Musky, rich, tasty. Close.

Black fur makes him almost undetectable against the dark foliage. He is small for an alpha. Lean, but not to the point of looking hungry. And yet, there is something grand about him, radiating from the eyes that shine defiantly at Minho.

Adrenaline courses through Minho's veins as he leaps towards him, throwing his much heavier limbs over the alpha’s body and tackling him to the floor. A puff of his lavish scent hits Minho's nose and causes drool to pool in his mouth. There is no point fighting it, he is captured and they both know it.

The body underneath Minho changes into its human form. Coarse hair and bony limbs give way to smooth skin and plump muscles. He is as small of a man as his wolf suggested, similar to Minho in height, but skinnier, with daintier facial features that contrast gracefully with the broad, inked shoulders.

Minho follows, transforming into his human self. He watches the air catch in the stranger’s throat with the first glance at his face. They are close enough that he can see his pupils dilating from omega scent hitting his lungs. Minho's palm lies where his much larger paw had once been, over the other's chest, and he can feel the heart that races underneath the skin. 

“Jinnie, the ropes.” Minho requests, not taking his eyes away from the man under him.

Hyunjin's naked body steps around them to kneel behind the alpha. Minho flips him onto his stomach, taking way too much pleasure on admiring his pretty little round butt wiggle as his friend ties compliant wrists to his back with rope.

“Sit up.” Minho orders, and the alpha contorts until he is sitting on his heels, kneeling on spread legs.

Hyunjin wraps another piece of rope around his chest, just under the nipples. Minho gulps, starting to regret his own naked state.

No one would say anything if he became erect at the sight of an alpha, but it is an honour he is not willing to give to someone who dared to hunt in his domain. Before he has to ask, one of his boys is already placing a cloak over his shoulders.

The alpha looks up at him with immense eyes that manage to look feisty and charming at the same time. He doesn’t look hostile, whether that is true to his disposition or only due to the roundness of his features is up for debate.

Minho's eyes map his figure, from the unruly dark hair that curls on the tip of his ears and down around his jaw, the naturally pouty lips, the drawings adorning his shoulders, the unfairly tiny waist, to the massive cock hanging in between his open legs. Alphas are usually hung and this man is no exception, his size noticeable even when soft like he is at that moment. He looks at the man's face to see him smirking, cocky.

“Name?”

“Jisung.”

“From which clan?”

“None.”

Minho's eyebrows shoot up. “A lone wolf?”

“Yes.”

“Liar.” He runs a finger over the tattoo on one shoulder. “These are clan patterns.”

“I wasn't born alone, you know.”

“Hm,” he examines the drawings, nothing that he knows, definitely not allies of his. “Using my territory to hide, huh?”

“No. No one is looking for me. I was hunting to eat, didn't know I was in someone's territory.”

Minho chuckles. “Does your nose not work?” His scent extends to the edge of his domain on all sides. Even in the weakest of his days it is clear for anyone when they are stepping into his territory.

Jisung seems to ponder his words. “I had never come across an omega led pack. I didn't realize I was walking into your territory.”

“Ha! One of those then, are you?” The weirdly sympathetic way Minho viewed this alpha crumbles in a second. He wouldn't have disregarded another alpha’s territorial mark, but had no problem admitting to doing so with Minho's. How typical.

Jisung's brow furrows and his eyes look deeply hurt, his words taking a surprisingly offended tone. “Not one of those, not at all. I simply hadn't known it before today, but now I understand and will act accordingly.”

Minho doesn’t believe him. “What is your full name, Jisung?”

He hesitates.

Minho grabs his chin roughly. “Your surname, Jisung.”

“Han. Han Jisung.”

Han, so that is his clan. Minho knows nothing about them, but the name isn’t new to him. He heard it in the same context all omegas in the region do, a warning from the omegas that raised them: whatever you do, do not mate with a Han.

“He needs a bath.” Hyunjin says from the other side of the desk where they are going over lists for their next trades. “If you do not feel like decreeting an orgy holiday, that is.”

“It’s not that good.” Minho scoffs.

“Yes, it is.”

“Go fuck him then, you’re free.”

“Free, but not single.” Hyunjin looks proudly at his huge engagement ring.

He is a long-haired beauty, with full lips that even Minho wants to claim sometimes, especially when he acts out as the clever little shit of a seller that he is when they need to negotiate with someone. Such a shame that Changbin has already claimed his heart and will soon claim his neck as well.

“Well, I don’t see a mating mark and who’s gonna tell Changbin, really.” Minho ignores his friend’s disgruntled noise.

Hyunjin is right, Jisung needs a bath. He spent a lot of time in wolf form and the intense scent that comes with it remained on his human skin for the last four days. He is a worthy mate and Minho knows it. He can hunt, provide, protect. Having that trapped in a small cell in the heart of an omega-only household is as good as asking for some not-so-accidental pups.

Minho doesn’t really worry about losing control of his packmates, their bond is strong, they wouldn’t leave him and submit to just anyone. It’s the alpha he worries about, he might end up claiming one of them and Minho would have to put him down. And then the claimed omega would suffer the loss of a mating bite, a painful experience he doesn’t want to see any of his boys going through, especially not by his own hands.

“A bath is easy enough to arrange.” Hyunjin says. 

“Right. I just wish we had one of Chan's men here to help with this guy, I hate putting our people near that pheromone trap.”

“Stop acting like they are not loving it. The stairs to the dungeon are the hottest place in this house right now.”

“God, it's not like it's the first alpha they see in their lives.”

“Yeah, but Chan's boys are one thing, a wild intruder with a cute face and clan tattoos is another.”

“I've changed my mind, I will be telling Binnie about this.”

“Whenever he shows up, I guess.” Worry shows through on Hyunjin’s face.

“He is just a few days late, I’m sure something came up and he’s on his way here already. Stop worrying.”

“Right. If it was something big he would’ve sent a letter.”

Minho agrees with a nod. “Now do help me with this. I want to be done before he arrives, because we both know I won’t have your attention for as long as Changbin is around.”

“At it, love.”

The little giggles echoing in the hallway are driving Minho insane. He’s been dealing with too many numbers and all he wants is to take a nap before his brain overheats, but the walk between the office and his bedroom is riddled with whispers about the alpha, with the noise of feet slapping on the stones that lead to the communal bath and with quick shadows that try to avoid Minho as they rush back and forth in groups.

His pack is made of all young omegas, a significant part of them at the mark of twenty and some even younger. Minho is the oldest at only twenty six.

He tries to keep their natural urges well satisfied, even going as far as housing alphas from Chan's pack in their main building, on a rotation, pretty much for the whole year, so that they never have to spend a heat alone.

This deal is, of course, useful to and beloved by the alphas in their neighbouring pack, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to manage. Every six months, Chan and Minho sit down to work out their schedules. The knot supply meeting is what they call it.

This is the first time in a few years that they don’t have anyone from the other pack residing with them and, sure enough, this random alpha decides to show up. It makes sense, since he would've otherwise smelled another alpha and fucked off to hunt somewhere else, and that drives Minho up the wall with anger.

He sighs and pivots towards the bath. Whatever Jisung is up to, he better check now or regret it later.

The communal bath isn’t to Minho's taste, he prefers to clean himself in the privacy of his bedroom, but everyone else in their pack seems to love it, so it would normally have at least a couple of people making use of it at any point during the day. Except at that moment, when it is closed for Jisung's use.

As soon as he steps past the threshold, he understands the commotion. Jisung sits on the edge of the water, dick in hand, pleasuring himself under the eyes of at least ten different omegas that barely try to conceal their presence.

Minho doesn’t care about being discreet either, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. Yelps are heard, followed by the wet footsteps of boys scattering away.

Jisung heard it too. He opens his eyes to look half lidded at Minho, not slowing the speed of his hand. A smile curves the corners of his mouth until something feels particularly good and he parts his lips for a lewd moan to echo through the empty room. 

The man is a work of art. Skin a rich gold that shines impossibly bright under the sunlight seeping through the high windows. Wet hair that falls messy over his forehead and sticks to his jaw, framing those angelic features that almost don't go with how toned his body is.

Shivers go down Minho’s spine because of the shape of Jisung’s body. He is broad and muscular at the top, but with the narrowest waist he has ever seen on an alpha. The tattoos don’t help Minho's predicament either, they accentuate the already wide shoulders and make it so he can’t unglue his eyes from the strong arms.

Jisung works tirelessly, leaning back on one hand and spreading his legs, flaunting his leaking cock, which has already started to swell at the base, and never taking his eyes off Minho's face.

The steam makes the air around them hot and wet, but it also helps to dissipate the scent that is certainly emanating from both of them. Minho is grateful for it when he feels slick dripping down his crack to pool in his underwear.

He looks brazenly at the alpha, who watches Minho lock his jaw in exasperation and is immediately sent over the edge, spilling on his hand with a deep groan.

Minho has the span of Jisung's orgasm to put his own body in check, stop the small tremor on his hand and swallow the lump in his throat. “Finished?”

Jisung breathes out a tired laugh. His clean hand rests on his pecks, as if supporting his heaving chest. “I am, but I would gladly wait for you.”

The layers of fabric on Minho’s body wouldn’t have allowed an erection to show through, even if it is very much there. Jisung’s goal here is to have him give himself away by checking for it. He doesn’t.

“In your dreams.”

“The first thing you did when we met was tackle me to the floor, then lie naked over me with those thick thighs of yours. Can you judge me for dreaming?”

Minho doesn’t suppress a proud smirk. “If you have satisfied your exhibitionist urges, do get up. I’ll make sure you’re locked up in your cell for good.”

Jisung laughs, wipes his hand on a towel and then throws himself in the hot water for one last rinse. His butt is very round and Minho catches himself imagining what a mouthful of it would feel like as Jisung climbs the stairs of the bath.

He needs to get rid of this man soon, if not for his omegas then for his own sanity.

“I’m gonna need some help here.” Jisung tells him, looking at the heavy chain locked around both of his ankles.

Minho signals for one of the guards to free him.

“Wouldn’t you want to chain my wrists first?”

Minho scoffs. “I don’t need to tell you to not try anything stupid, you know I’m stronger than you. Dress yourself.”

Jisung licks his lips at that. He thanks the omega who frees him with soft words and a smile, having the young thing blush and almost trip on his way out.

The pack’s usual clothes fit him well, maybe too well, but he still ends up having to tie the pants just below his waist, giving his body a shape even more criminally attractive.

“Are alphas physically incapable of covering their arms?” Minho complains when Jisung skips the undershirt in favour of wearing only the sleeveless vest that is a bit too tight around his boobs.

Jisung makes his way towards him while lacing his top. “Are you guys religious or something?”

The question shocks Minho out of his dirty thoughts. “What? No, why?”

“You seem very opposed to your people wanting to have sex with me, I thought it could be religion.”

“Don’t want your blood muddling the next generation of my pack, that’s all.”

Jisung laughs. “You look at me like you want my blood in your next generation instead, Your Majesty. ”

Minho rolls his eyes. “There hasn’t been a king on this side of the world in ages, I’m sure you know that much.”

“How should I address you then?”

“Do not address me at all.”

Jisung pouts, but silence reigns as they walk to the dungeon.

The cell Jisung is staying in is spacious and arguably comfortable. It was built by the original lord of this manor to house four inmates, with benches that serve as beds on all four corners and an exposed toilet in the middle of the back wall. The side walls are riddled with latches to immobilize the prisoners when necessary, but the chains have been removed and are nowhere to be seen.

Minho added four real beds by the benches to provide any eventual prisoner with at least the dignity of a good night of sleep, even though he knows they could just assume wolf form and comfortably lie on the earthen floor, it just doesn’t feel right to treat people under his power like animals. He also removed all of the torture devices throughout the dungeon, leaving behind only what is part of the structure of the house itself.

“Did you call for me?” Hyunjin asks once he joins them.

Minho perks up on the chair from where he'd been closely watching Jisung. “Yes, I want you to assemble a group and go fetch a couple of alphas to take him away.”

Jisung gets up from where he’d been sitting on the floor and approaches the metal bars that separated them, looking concerned. “Jinnie, can you please tell your boss that he could just dump me outside of his territory? What the fuck have I done for him to drop me off as a prisoner to someone else?”

Hyunjin gawks at him. “Who said you can call me that?”

“Sorry, my dear, I do not know your actual name.”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes. “Hyunjin.”

“Lovely name. Please, Hyunjin?”

“I’m not your messenger.” He pauses and then looks at Minho. “He only really killed a couple of animals, can we not just let him go?”

“No.” Minho replies harshly. 

Hyunjin should know better than to suggest letting an alpha go free when the packs around them already look down on Minho’s leadership, it would be the same as asking for rogue alphas to start seeing his territory as mating ground.

“Chan can decide if he wants to release, incorporate or even kill him,” he continues. “That’s the deal we have.”

“Chan?” Jisung’s eyes widen. “Bang Chan?”

Both omegas turn to him.

“Do you know him?” Hyunjin asks.

He nods. “I was trying to get to him before I had to hunt and, well, ended up here.”

“What do you want with Chan?” Minho asks, getting up to approach him.

“Hyunjin, can you please tell your leader that-”

“You can talk to me directly, Jisung.”

“Oh,” Jisung smirks, “temporarily?”

“Jisung-”

He laughs. “I left my clan a few months ago and have been trying to get to Chan’s pack ever since, but the bitch covers his tracks very well, I was starting to think I’d be a lone wolf forever.”

“You’re friends with him?” Hyunjin asks.

“Since I was a little pup. I’m desperately looking for him or at least my friend Changbin, who should be with him-”

“You’re friends with my Binnie too?” Hyunjin smiles brightly at him.

“Will you shut up?” Minho barks at Hyunjin. Sometimes he is too gullible for being his second in command, Minho better not die before he’s old enough to understand why you shouldn’t volunteer this type of information in a conversation with a stranger, no matter how genuine they might look.

Jisung opens a gummy smile. “Yes! Chan and Bin are my boys and I really need to get to them. If you’re going to them, I can go with you. You can chain me up to a fucking log and roll me around, just take me to them.”

“I’m not letting you leave. They can come pick you up.”

“Not ready to let me go yet, are you?”

Minho ignores him and speaks to Hyunjin instead. “I will send Jooyeon solo as a messenger, so the trip is quicker and we get rid of him faster.”

“I would like to go instead. Bin was supposed to have come to see me several days ago and I would like to see him.”

“I don’t know about that. I dislike not having you around.”

“It’s just for a few days, then I’ll bring Changbin with me. I’ll be happy and he will deal with your little problem.”

Minho is unwilling, but at the end of the day, that would solve two issues at once. “Fine. You leave tomorrow morning.” He finally looks at Jisung. “Are you content with that?”

“So content, so grateful, chief. Thank you so much.” He says, lowering himself to the floor and cheerfully gesturing in gratitude, drawing chuckles from Hyunjin, much to Minho’s indignation.

“Now, Hyunjin,” Jisung adds, “I’d leave as soon as you can because, even though your boss’s slick is currently throwing me off a little, I can tell your heat is arriving soon. You might want to get there before that kicks in for real.”

Hyunjin scoffs. “My heat isn’t due for another two weeks, I’m a regular.”

The stare Minho sends Hyunjin's way is pure vexation. “Will you stop running your mouth about every single thing in your life? You don’t know this man.”

“Oh c’mon, in two weeks he’ll be gone already, I’ll survive.”

Minho lets out a dissatisfied growl and pulls Hyunjin by the arm. “We’re leaving. And you are not allowed to come to this dungeon without me.”

“Bye Hyunjin, bye chief!” Jisung yells in an amused voice as they walk away, making Minho growl once more.

Hyunjin is all giggles when they make it to the main floor, until Minho shoves him against the wall. “You get unbearable when you’re trying to hide a crush, did you know that?”

“I’m not-” Minho starts in an overly defensive tone. It’s pointless, Hyunjin knows him too well. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Can you smell it?”

“Smell what?”

“Slick. Can you really smell it like he said?”

“Oh, Minho.” Hyunjin covers his own mouth and slides down the wall laughing. “It’s that bad, huh?”

Minho leans his forehead against the wall where his friend had been moments before. “It’s bad, bad. We’ve got to send him away soon.”

“Or, hear me out, just fuck him.”

“He is my prisoner.”

“Easy to solve.”

“I’m not freeing this stranger just so I can fuck him.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

Minho pulls Hyunjin back to his feet. “Can you at least pretend you respect me as your leader sometimes?”

“I do, and I would die for you in an instant. You are still ridiculous.”

Minho laughs at that. “Get ready, you’re leaving tonight.”

In terms of population, Minho’s pack is not very large. With twenty two of them, they are much larger than the independent families that live across the river, but are the smallest of all the self-determined packs on their side of the land.

Even Chan’s pack, the second smallest, is made of over forty alphas and a handful of omegas, which, at the very least, gives them hope to increase their numbers in the future. Chan is also better at recruiting and welcoming new members, while Minho is very protective of the bond he has with his current packmates.

In reality, if it was not for the interdependent relationship between their packs, Minho wouldn’t be able to keep the entirety of the territory he claimed. He is more than capable of exerting a territorial mark and his omegas are apt to hunt and fight on their own, but the maintenance of their crops and handling of their products takes a lot more hands then they currently have.

Chan sends him men to help with the harvest and processing of the tea leaves, as well as to lessen the burden of their heats. Minho keeps dutiful watch over threats coming from inland and upkeeps the main road for both of them, while also providing the much needed dose of omega restraint that stops the alphas from becoming too unruly.

Minho really hopes that this alpha, Jisung, is close to Bang Chan in the way he says he is. That would mean there’s a chance he’ll stay around, maybe join their next harvest, become part of their usual landscape. He’s so pretty to look at and Minho finds himself easily amused by his smile and effortless chatter whenever he goes down to the cells to check if their prisoner has everything he needs and soothe his own guilty conscience.

“Did you want to see them closer?” Jisung asks when he notices Minho getting distracted by the drawings on his shoulders. Minho rolls his eyes, but walks closer nonetheless, taking in the beautiful patterns that resemble wolves and trees dissolving into smoke.

“If you let me out, I would gladly sing you to sleep every night.” He tells the empty dungeon when Minho thought he’d done a great job of hiding while soaking in Jisung’s beautiful voice.

“You have the most extraordinary scent. It is magical, I think. Breathtaking. Fits you so well.” He says in one of the instances Minho is alone with him, in visits he stopped trying to justify because he’s drawn there like a magnet every day. Minho’s heart does something funny, his stomach does it too. “Thank you,” he answers, just to see Jisung smile.

Minho makes his way down for what seems like the hundredth time since Jisung became his responsibility, but instead of worrying, he is giddy. Not that he is proud of it or that he would dare tell that to anyone, let alone Jisung, but it’s a nice, warm feeling he hadn’t felt since childhood.

As he descends the first few stone steps, his mind starts playing tricks on him, making him want Jisung so bad that his body begins preparing for him. The distinct sensation of slick wetting his undergarments makes him laugh quietly at himself, so much for his reputation of a cool and composed leader.

He takes a deep breath to calm down and his eyes immediately shoot open.

The smell of Jisung’s scent hits him like a physical force, stronger than it's ever been. Thick and potent like rut scent. He runs down the stairs, the reality of the situation clearer with each step.

He stops abruptly once at the door of the dungeon, panting more than the small distance warrants. The large room is inundated by the smell. It’s rich and salacious, and inhaling it only makes Minho more breathless.

Jisung is slumped against the wall of the cell, wearing nothing but his knee length underpants. Sweat runs down his neck and chest in constant streams. He’s flushed all over and his body radiates so much heat that there’s a noticeable change in temperature once Minho passes the threshold.

It’s like Jisung’s gaze has hands that press and pull on Minho’s skin, he can feel every inch of himself as the alpha takes it in, he can feel the weight of his eyes as they linger on his hips and crotch, unquestionably attracted to the slick hiding there.

“Jisung…” Minho whispers weakly.

Jisung’s eyes snap back to Minho’s face, his pupils blown-out with desire, but something in his expression comes across apologetically. The effort put in restraining himself is easily discernible in the furrow of his brow and grind of his teeth.

“I- I didn’t know.” Jisung tells him, his voice deep and growly. “I would’ve- told you.”

Minho wants to speak, but his head is spinning, thoughts passing through him too fast to form sentences. He knows he needs to leave, but his legs seem fixed to the floor. He never reacted this strongly to an alpha before.

Jisung is also bewildered by the intensity of the pull, Minho can tell. They stare at each other with the same level of desperation and confusion in their eyes. The silence is filled only by heavy breathing and a buzz of energy between them.

“Minho!” Sunwoo all but screams at him, his eyes huge as he shakes Minho’s arm hurriedly. He lets out a relieved sigh when Minho’s eyes focus on him. “Let’s get out of here, please.”

Minho looks back at the alpha he leaves in distress while being dragged out of the dungeon, and he can't help but shiver when the name Jisung just learned falls silently from his lips.

“Minho.”

It takes way too long for Minho’s legs to stop shaking once they reach his bedroom, and he’s thankful for the way his young friend lets soothing scent out in the environment to flush Jisung’s impression away, although Minho is certain that his smell has made a home for itself inside his brain.

“Sunwoo, I need your help to get everyone out of the house for the duration of Jisung’s rut.” Minho says once he collects himself enough for words to come out steadily.

“Of course. I’ll stay behind should you need anything, since Jinnie is not around.”

“That won’t be necessary, I can handle Jisung.”

“I’m sure you can, Min.” Sunwoo covers the chuckle that escapes his mouth with a hand. “I will keep my distance and be within earshot for safety. Hyunjin would kill me if I was to let you take a rut without support readily available.”

It’s like all of Minho’s blood shoots up to his ears. “That’s not what I mean. I will not be taking his rut.”

Sunwoo raises his eyebrow and pointedly looks at Minho's thighs. The fabric of his pants is now a darker shade of brown as a result of the slick that spilled from his body in embarrassingly large amounts.

“I want to make sure no one will fall victim to this,” he continues, choosing to acknowledge his situation instead of denying it. “His scent is too strong and I would rather keep my packmates away.”

“Min, it’s not.” He smiles softly at Minho’s confused look. “He smells good, but he is no different from any other alpha.”

He looks at Sunwoo, at his calm expression and unsoiled clothes, the picture of composure. Compared to him, Minho looks like cornered prey, sweaty, scared and hopeless.

Sunwoo is young, it’s been but a few years since his presentation, what does he know of how a mature omega’s body should respond to an alpha such as Jisung.

“This will pass, Sun. I was just caught by surprise. Please, make sure the others are settled elsewhere for the time being.”

“Everyone will be out before the sun is down, I’ll make sure of it.”

He smiles and leaves Minho alone.

It’s about halfway through the night when Minho has to admit to himself that his reaction to this alpha is, in fact, out of the ordinary.

Jisung seems to have reached the peak of his rut and there’s no stretch of concrete that can keep his scent from invading Minho’s nose and spreading to every part of his being. It hits him like a punch on the stomach, causes him to fold in half on the bed and scream.

Minho tries everything. At first, he attempts to keep his mind busy for the nights he is to spend on watch, going as far as to bring out Hyunjin’s notes on the orders they had been preparing together, but when Jisung starts howling, words and numbers lose all meaning and Minho starts to give in.

His howls go from desperately horny, in a way that has Minho pushing his face down on the pillow to present himself as if Jisung is in the room with him, to tragically lonely and pained. Minho’s heart breaks then, imagining the poor alpha, needy and alone in such a hostile place, with no one to ease the pain, no one to hold him through the night.

It’s not until Jisung starts calling his name that he loses all hope. This feels too much like a heat. Every movement of his body causes a squelch as he tries to ride his own fingers gracelessly, and every failed attempt to do so ends in a loud cry of pain. Pain from being empty, from needing to be bred by the man in his dungeon.

And then, of course, Jisung calls his name again. Cries his name. Moans his name.

Is he picturing Minho there while taking care of himself? Has he come with Minho’s name on his lips, has his knot popped to Minho’s image?

He can probably smell Minho’s scent too. He said he liked it, maybe it was even his scent that triggered Jisung’s rut. The dick twitching in Minho's hand tells him just how much he likes that idea.

Minho knows it’s a stupid decision, but there’s no one to stop him when he hooks the key to Jisung’s cell around his neck and steps out of his room. Not even bothering with a robe, he walks naked through the ghostly hallways, emptied at his own request.

Slick flows down his inner-thighs, tickling the back of his knees on the way to his heels, leaving behind a trail of his shame. He feels a growl building from his chest when the door to the stairwell is unlocked and Jisung’s scent strikes him even heavier. His body trembles, aches, burns.

The descent in the dark is agony, he’s guided only by Jisung’s anguished noises, each unsure step a howl. Minho wants to run to him, quiet his pain at once, but he needs to cling to any remnant of self-control left, he wants to look into Jisung’s eyes and be certain before they go ahead with this.

He steps into the lit prison and his alpha is kneeling on the floor, in the nude, gripping the bars of his cell. Jisung whines at the sight of him, big black eyes shining with lust and hope.

“Minho,” he growls, sliding even closer to the bars, dick standing proudly in front of him, wet and ready to take him.

Minho goes light-headed with the next gush of slick that comes out of him, with how Jisung’s gaze follows it down his body, with the way they both drool at the dense mixture of their scents. They go too well together, Minho never wants to smell anything else in his life.

He kneels in front of Jisung, strokes the white knuckles, watches his chest heave and nostrils flare as he steals as much of Minho’s scent as he can, sees his cock pulse for him, dripping copious amounts of precum.

“If we’re doing this, I need you to promise you won’t mark me.” Minho says as firmly as he can, having to fight for each word.

Jisung is looking at his lips, expression so dazed that Minho fears he might be too far gone. He blinks himself to reality, lets their eyes meet and speaks even more decisively than Minho himself.

“I will not mark you, Minho. I respect you. I swear on the Moon that I won’t mark you.”

It’s all Minho could ask for, not only because his word is all Jisung has to give as a guarantee, but also because he can’t wait one more second. His body acts on its own, his hand sneaks in between the bars and behind Jisung’s head, bringing him forward so they can crash their lips.

It’s hurried and aggressive. He bites Jisung’s lip hard enough to draw blood and feels the possessive growl that leaves the alpha resonate against his open mouth. Minho barely remembers to breathe as his tongue is sucked deep into Jisung’s mouth and he is pushed closer to the bars until their dicks rub precariously against each other.

Minho groans and chases the feeling, cursing when his pleasure is hindered by the obstacles between them. He stands up then, ignoring Jisung’s angry growls and attempts to keep him down.

“I need to get in there. Go stand by the back wall.”

Jisung shows his fangs, looking like he’s going to try and snap the metal to pounce on him instead. Animalistic eyes show no signs of coherent thought, but there must be some, because he slowly backs away, until his body is pressed against the opposite wall.

Minho’s hands shake when he removes the key from his neck and unlocks the cell.

He’s been through an alpha’s rut before, only one in his entire life. It was pathetic, he could barely enjoy it because the weak thing kept trying to mark him. Minho considered snapping his neck within the first hour. He left after one knot and thought he would never take a rut again.

And yet, here he is, locking the cell and throwing the key to the other side of the room, because he knows just from the look in Jisung’s eyes that this will be completely different.

Jisung pounces then, slamming Minho’s body on the wall with ease, pinning him by the shoulders, slightly raised from the floor. Minho’s legs flail aimlessly when Jisung nudges them open by grabbing his thigh with one hand, his other hand switching to press him to the wall by the chest until it’s hard to breathe.

Minho’s whole body stiffens when Jisung enters him, bottoming out in one swift motion. He throws his head back with a howl. The intrusion forces a gush of slick out of him, it splatters noisily on the floor and over Jisung’s thighs. He almost misses Jisung’s low chuckle in the midst of the whirlwind of sensations.

“I have triggered your heat, haven’t I?” He teases before his first thrust, which sends Minho flying upwards with the force of the impact. “I could smell you all the way from here, getting ready for my knot.”

Minho wraps his hands around Jisung’s neck and yanks on his hair. He captures Jisung’s lips again in an open-mouthed kiss, breathes his next noises into him, tastes the blood that lingers.

Jisung smiles at the cut off moans Minho lets out every time his body is shoved upwards, and Minho weakens with the sight of that smile so close, so bright. He licks Jisung’s teeth, cuts his own tongue on his fang and whines loudly when Jisung sucks it into his mouth again.

He claws Jisung’s shoulder blades, trying to free his tongue, but all it does is make him laugh. Minho boils with anger and thrashes his legs to hurt him. His hole clenches angrily around Jisung’s length and he finally lets go, forehead falling against Minho’s shoulder as he yelps like a puppy.

Minho laughs and pats his hair. “There, there. Did I hurt you, puppy?”

Jisung growls and renews his grip on Minho’s thigh until his claws are piercing the skin.

Minho whines. “You’re so vindict-”

He’s cut short when Jisung pulls out and tackles him to the floor. He is shoved face down and gurgles out a scream when Jisung pushes inside again.

The hold on his hips is bruising where Jisung hauls him to meet his thrusts, his knees sliding further apart each time they leave the floor.

Jisung’s feral sounds have such a hold on Minho that he feels frozen, unable to do anything more than accept the way his body gets flinged back and forth without any resistance. He can’t stop himself from joining Jisung’s growls when the knot starts to form and force itself in and out of him.

Minho’s scalp stings when he’s pulled up so Jisung can bury himself even deeper, his neck hurts with each forceful push of his head downwards, because Jisung has decided to slide his body down on his cock instead of thrusting up.

This feeling is new, this way in which Minho is completely letting himself go, letting himself be consumed by pleasure in the hands of someone he barely knows, but also is the way Jisung seems to know exactly what to do with his body. It’s all so much that Minho ends up letting strained tears run down his face, in spite of himself. 

Jisung brings his mouth to Minho’s ear, kisses his feverish skin with a fondness that sticks out in the midst of his assaults. “Almost over, love. Hang on for me just a little longer.”

He doesn’t want to think Jisung was sent by the Moon to patch what was missing in his life, but that’s what fills his heart the moment he tips over the edge. He cums as soon as the knot catches inside of him, feeling so full that he sobs. He throws his head back against Jisung’s shoulder, whines against the sweaty skin, engulfed by his scent.

Jisung follows him almost immediately, crying loudly right by Minho’s ear, calling his name, cursing in between growls. His arms wrap tightly around Minho’s stomach, pressing over the bulge of his knot inside him, enhancing the feeling for them both.

Minho rolls his hips to drag Jisung inside him, taking full advantage of being this full and having Jisung so pliant underneath him. His hand finds its way to the back of Jisung’s head and brings him down for a precarious kiss.

Jisung is hungry for him, licks his lips and jaw, kisses down his neck and shoulder and back up to his ear. He breathes directly over Minho’s scent gland, forcing his nose there until he’s oozing, and then he licks it clean.

Minho moans, convulses in his hold, curses repeatedly, until Jisung speaks to him again, breathy voice seeping into his brain like a lullaby. 

“This was… I’ve never… You are…”

“I know,” Minho answers weakly. “I feel it too.”

He can feel Jisung’s smile against his cheek without even opening his eyes.

“I'm gonna lay you on the floor now.”

Minho nods. Jisung’s weight on him is so comforting that he can’t even be annoyed at being squished against the floor. The cold of the pressed dirt feels nice when his body is already so hot and the alpha on top of him is somehow even hotter.

Minho is drowsy, failing to keep his eyes open. Too comfortable, too satisfied. He feels himself being carried to sleep by Jisung’s steady breath against his ear, by the heaviness of his sleeping body. He drifts off.

Minho wakes up again with Jisung pushing inside and no memory of being carried to one of the beds. He’s lying on his back, legs wide open with Jisung between them, eyes pressed shut as he slides in and out slowly, clearly struggling to control his urges.

He runs a thumb lightly over where Jisung’s teeth abuse his own bottom lip, encouraging him to release it so he can be brought down for a kiss. Jisung shifts to accommodate the position change and the new angle has Minho opening his mouth in a lazy moan.

“I’m sorry, my love,” Jisung whispers an inch from his face, “I know you need to rest, but I couldn’t hold it anymore…”

“It’s a rut, Jisung. I know what I agreed to.”

Jisung looks pleased, he hooks one hand under each of Minho’s knees and forces them to either side of his chest, once again changing the angle so that his cock reaches even deeper inside him.

Minho lets out a deep groan, shoving his head back against the pillow. “Fuck-”

Jisung smiles, licks his lips as he admires the omega underneath him. “You’re so beautiful, Minho. I wanna make you come as many times as I can, just to watch you fall apart like this. Such a pretty omega.”

Minho cries weakly at the compliment. He doesn’t usually care for others’ opinions of him, even less if they have to do with his appearance, but hearing that from Jisung means something to him. He doesn’t know what or why, but it makes his stomach erupt in butterflies and his heart want to escape his chest.

Jisung must notice the effect it has on Minho, his smile only gets wider and he keeps his eyes on Minho’s face. “I’ve never smelled anyone like you before, so elegant and powerful at the same time. Never met a man so pretty he makes me dizzy before.”

This whole thing is surprisingly tender for what Minho expected from a rut. He always thought alphas all turned into beasts, completely out of control for the duration of it, much like what he saw from Jisung last night. He never expected for Jisung to be able to talk to him like this, to look at him with eyes that are equally laced with lust and feeling, to make Minho feel this safe in his arms.

They get lost in each other, between soft gazes and gentle kisses, panting against each other’s skin, almost forgetting how deep inside Minho Jisung is, the comfortable pressure of the now stilled cock adding to Minho’s hazy state of mind.

The knot is not even out yet, they are not locked together, just choosing to prolong this moment, clinging to this unexpected intimacy that seems as surprising to Jisung as it is to Minho.

But bodies have their own demands. Jisung throbs inside of him and Minho clenches around his cock, so good that both of them cry out. Then Jisung is back to moving, his face buried on the crook of Minho’s neck, and Minho’s hands hugging his head and neck, possessively keeping him close while they chase their highs.

“You are way too sweet for an alpha.”

Jisung looks up from where he’s wiping Minho’s thighs clean with a wet cloth. “My scent you mean?”

“No, I meant that you are… endearing.”

“You find me endearing?” Jisung opens a heart-shaped smile.

“You’ve heard me.”

That makes Jisung laugh. “Care to tell me why you think that?”

“Quit fishing for compliments, Jisung.”

He laughs again, and the sound of it is so beautiful that Minho wants to keep on going, keep on making him laugh just so he can hear it again and again.

“But if…” He places a kiss on Minho's inner-thigh. “You tell me…” Another kiss farther up. “What I do…” One to his groin. “That makes you like me…” One more kiss to the underside of his half hard dick. “I’ll keep on doing it for you.”

Jisung takes him into his mouth, watching as Minho’s jaw goes slack, working slowly to bring him to full hardness, while all Minho can do is run his hands through his hair.

“It’s this… you’re attentive, caring.” Minho smiles when Jisung hums contentedly. “And you like to talk, a lot.”

There it is, that laugh again, when Jisung pops off and gets back to laying kisses all over Minho’s lower half.

“Other alphas don’t talk this much?”

“Can’t say I gave them any chance to. Usually, by the time we’re knotted, I’m already done with all of this.”

“You’re not really keen on coupling, are you?” He asks while making his way up Minho’s torso.

“If it was always like this, then I could be.”

Jisung drowns his shiny, toothy smile on Minho’s lips, delicately at first, but descending rapidly into more of a wet, thirsty clash of lips.

“Hm,” Jisung stops the kiss and gets up, looking for something, “I better give you this now, before the Moon is up and I lose myself to the rut once again.”

He picks up a yellow flask from the provisions that were left for him in the cell. Minho is surprised to see it, since he knows exactly what it is and knows it shouldn’t be there. He raises an eyebrow at Jisung.

“That one boy who was here with you yesterday came while you were asleep and left the tea here for you. Sunwoo, was it?” He pours a serving on the cap of the flask and hands it to Minho.

It’s his pack's most prized product, an abortive tea that’s hard to come by and expensive. They plant it in their fields and it makes for the bulk of their income, basically guaranteeing Minho’s claim over his domain. He drinks it all in one go, because it’s bitter when concentrated and he doesn’t want the flavour to last. For commercial use, they mix it with other herbs to make it less harsh, but Minho and his packmates are so used to having it regularly that it is just easier like this.

“Just one serving is enough?”

“Yes. I’ll have some more tomorrow.”

Jisung nods, puts the flask back in its corner.

“Now,” he smirks, “where were we?”

In the three nights he spends with Jisung, it’s hard to think about anything else. As much as Minho still refuses to call this experience a heat, he admits that lust and need have eclipsed most of his rational thought, and even in the moments of clarity when he could share words and smiles with Jisung, not once has he put enough thought on Hyunjin’s absence or the lack of words from Chan.

Sunwoo comes to him at sunrise on the third day. He unlocks the cell and gives them both clothes, completely unbothered by the state of their bodies and the mess around them.

“Min, I apologize for coming so early, but one of Chan’s men has arrived and needs to talk to you.”

Something isn’t right. “And Hyunjin?”

Sunwoo shakes his head silently. “Only Jeongin.”

Minho throws one last longing look at Jisung, now clothed and rut free.

“Sun, please see that Jisung bathes and is situated comfortably in the tower.”

Sunwoo nods and Minho walks out, back into reality.

-

“Is Hyunjin hurt?” Minho asks as he practically runs into the office where Jeongin is waiting for him.

Jeongin’s eyes widen and he takes a few seconds to find his words. Minho knows it’s due to the thick layer of alpha scent covering his bruised body, when he is known to never allow scenting or claiming of any form, even at the height of his heat fevers.

“He is not, he is safe.”

Minho lets out a relieved sigh and drops to the chair across from Jeongin. “Is he in heat?”

“He was, yes.”

“Was? Is it done already?”

Jeongin nods. “Yes, he was already in heat when I found him.”

“When you found him?” Worry strangles his voice on the way out. “Why did you take this long to come to me?”

“He is safe and not hurt, Min, I promise. I’ll tell you everything.”

Minho agrees silently. He is usually more composed than how he’s coming off at the moment, but as soon as he stepped away from the comforting cloud of Jisung’s scent, the reality of his neglect of the pack, and of Hyunjin specifically, started to eat away at him. Now, hearing that Hyunjin was found makes him want to crawl out of his skin from guilt.

“I was on my way here to fetch Hyunjin when I found him in the forest, heat stricken and running for his life from a couple of alphas.”

“In Chan’s territory?”

“Yes. Someone has been intercepting letters between our packs and I’m pretty sure that was them. We are on the hunt, but I believe they have left after I spotted them trying to get Jinnie that day.”

Minho pulls his own hair in between all of his fingers, trying to not spiral over how irresponsible it had been to send Hyunjin alone, after an alpha warned them that he smelled of heat, when he could’ve waited for Chan to send someone.

“I was coming to get Hyunjin since Bin can’t leave the manor because Chan is missing and he’s acting as our leader until he returns.”

“Chan is what?”

“Missing. Well, it’s complicated. Bin knows what’s going on and he has been reassuring us that Chan will be back, but that for now we need to manage without him and make sure that the other packs don’t learn that he’s gone. So for the last month we have been sending letters…”

“Chan has been gone for a month?!”

Jeongin is taken aback by Minho’s strong reaction and shies away in his seat. “Yeah, he has been gone for about a month.”

“It took Changbin a whole month to send someone to me?”

“Most of our people are out at Peniel’s for hunting season. The ones that aren't keep the pack running. Besides, we can’t just send anyone, alright? Bin sent several letters requesting Hyunjin to go to him. We took a while to understand that the messages were not getting to you. I was only coming because Bin’s rut came very suddenly and we needed to get Hyunjin-”

“Oh, priorities. When it comes to soothing his rut he can send someone, huh?”

“Min, we wanted to make sure you were aware of our situation before Changbin was completely useless because of the rut. It didn’t happen, though, because after I found Jinnie, I had to carry him to the manor and organize a hunt for those two alphas. It all got too complicated and I was only able to leave once Bin’s rut ended.”

“What a mess.” Minho takes his fingers to his throbbing temples. “And I’m assuming Changbin doesn’t want to send Hyunjin back until you can guarantee that the alphas are no more?”

“Obviously.”

“What do you think they were even doing in your territory?”

“Hopefully not investigating Chan’s absence, though I think this is the only explanation. You should order an inspection of your land too, just in case.”

Minho sends him a deadly glare. “I know how to run my pack, In.”

Jeongin almost folds in on himself. “What has gotten into you, Min? I know you hate your heats, but was it that bad?”

“Jeongin.” Minho reprimands, but can’t avoid the slight curving of his lips when the boy retracts even further and starts apologizing. “That reminds me, did Changbin have anything to say about the alpha that showed up here looking for him and Chan?”

“Oh, right. Well, he said that the man Hyunjin described does sound like their friend Jisung, but that he can’t confirm anything without seeing him. We can’t send a group for a prisoner right now, so he asks you to please hold on to him for the time being.”

Minho sighs loudly and runs his hands over his face in distress. “And you can’t confirm it for him?”

“I’ve never heard of the man, can’t recognize someone I’ve never seen.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, alright.”

“Ah! He actually said to tell Jisung that he and Chan will soon be brothers, and that if he is their Jisung, he’ll understand.”

“Wonderful, charades too. In case I ever forget why I don’t like doing business with alphas, remind me of this.”

“I will do no such thing.”

Minho strokes his friend’s hair, something he only does because of how much it annoys him. “If that’s all, please let’s go. I need a bath and I’m sure you’re exhausted from the trip. I’ll get a room arranged for you.”

“Need a bath indeed.”

Minho just squints at him. “You’re so fucking disrespectful. Make sure you speak to Jisung before you’re gone. I’m not Bin’s messenger boy, you are.”

“Sure thing, chief.”

“And Innie,” he takes the time to smile at the boy, “please be safe on your way back.”

He doesn’t go to Jisung for the next few days, rationalizing that there’s too much to be done and he can’t spare the few minutes that it would take to check on him all the way up in the tower. In truth, he knows it has more to do with the guilt he’s still harbouring for having enjoyed their time together as much as he did.

It’s not only Hyunjin being in danger and Minho’s lack of initiative, not even having to face Sunwoo after assuring him that he wouldn’t be taking Jisung’s rut, just to be seen hours later knotted by the man and asleep in his arms, it's Jisung’s current status in his territory that’s driving him insane.

Morally speaking, having to occasionally keep prisoners is one of the worst parts of being a pack leader for Minho. He hates the idea of a dungeon and despises the chains that were used there before. He does his best to not make it a demoralizing experience to the prisoners he is made to take in, which he knows to be a pointless effort, because when an alpha invades his territory, hunts his prey and scorns of his territorial mark, captivity and death are the only ways Minho knows to deal with it.

Now, what Minho did is unacceptable. Not only as a leader, but as a decent person. You don’t get to fuck someone and keep them in your dungeon afterwards. You don’t get to share moments like the ones he had with Jisung and continue to call this person your prisoner.

At some point, his heated mind had decided that Jisung was certainly who he said he was, that Changbin would walk into that cell and bring that man into a hug, call him a friend, tell Minho to release him and that he’d be part of their pack. He convinced himself in order to get what he wanted, and now all that’s left is the shame.

He moved Jisung to a room to appease his conscience, started treating him more like a guest (one that doesn’t get to wander freely in the gardens and can only speak when spoken to), but it feels more like the change in amenities is nothing but a reward for satiating Minho’s needs and he fears Jisung might tell him as much when they see each other next.

He takes one last breath before facing the consequences of his poor decisions and knocks on the door. Jisung’s voice comes from inside, deep in that way that makes Minho’s stomach stir in untimely excitement.

“Yes, come in.”

Jisung is sitting by the desk, his back to the door, seemingly preoccupied with the pen in his hand instead of with his visitor.

“I’m not hungry yet, but please leave it there…” He says in a sweet tone, without turning around, but his words die in a deep breath.

Minho can practically see the moment his scent hits Jisung. His body perks up and he takes another breath, alpha scent contentedly flowing from him with nothing to hide. Adorable black eyes shine up at Minho when he turns around, smile blinding as ever.

“Minho,” he says brightly, getting up and walking half of the distance between them, respectfully leaving the rest up to Minho. “I’ve missed your visits.”

Affection bubbles from within Minho’s chest, threatening to come out in the form of an apology, but he restrains his unwanted feelings and does nothing more than keeping a soft expression. “Have you settled well in this room?”

Jisung’s brightness doesn’t falter, his eyes merging into crescents above the round cheeks. “I’m very comfortable. The view is stunning, it has me feeling so inspired that I asked Sunwoo for some ink and paper. I hope that isn’t too out of line.”

Minho can’t fight a smile. “You can have all the ink and paper you need, Jisung.” He should go straight to the point, but Jisung’s captivating air lures him out of track for a moment. “What do you write?”

“Poetry.” Jisung looks shyly at the papers spread across the desk. “I was planning on giving it to you once I’m done.”

“To me?”

He nods. “It’s your land that inspired me, after all. And most of all, it’s you I’ve been thinking of while I write.”

“Jisung…” Minho’s heart struggles, strains, twists on itself.

“Too much?” His eyes droop a little, anticipating the rejection. He still walks closer, giving his next words an air of intimacy Minho isn’t really prepared for. “I’m not expecting anything in return, but I think you should know that my feelings exist.”

Minho reaches for Jisung’s cheek, relishing the way he leans into the touch. “Is this what you make of the lines I crossed?”

He nuzzles the gland on Minho’s wrist, humming low in his chest. “It’s what I make of the way you look at me, of how your scent hasn’t left me since I first laid eyes on you.”

Jisung closes the distance between them, arm wrapping around Minho’s waist. Minho lets him, breath wavering when a kiss is left below his ear.

“Can I?” Jisung whispers.

Minho’s body weakens, tingly and warm. Jisung’s scent travels through him until his mind is fuzzy. He nods, more than ready to melt into him.

Jisung takes his lips slowly and it feels like a precious memory of something Minho missed for way longer than just a few days.

Minho’s mind never quiets, always bustling with worries larger than his twentysomething years, except when Jisung invades his senses like this, claims some part of him he didn’t know was vacant.

Their foreheads rest together, eyes remaining closed as Minho searches for one thought, any thought that will convince him to detangle from this man and get back to his duties.

“I can’t release you,” is what he settles on, “I’ve had too many of my men dying to defend their honour against alphas that saw this land as their mating ground. It was the severity of my punishments that stopped it. And news spread too fast, I can’t-”

Jisung silences him with another kiss. “Protect your pack, Minho. You owe me nothing, Chan will come for me. I am no longer in a hurry.” His tone is soft, but his eyes look firmly into Minho’s, so as to not leave any doubts that he means it. “Will you come see me when you can?”

Minho can’t answer him, but he nuzzles his cheek fondly, letting the potent scent calm his heart.

Jisung smiles. “Then that’s settled, my love.”

Minho’s brain finally stops buzzing, calming from the frenzy caused by the blood on his tongue. The alpha spying on his territory now lies dead in front of him, leaving a gory trail in his wake, a result of his fierce battle against Minho’s small but capable group.

The first time Minho had to kill, he was squeamish and scared of what it would do to him, but that was so long ago that he can barely remember who he was then. Now he is a seasoned killer, his ruthlessness a source of pride for his pack and of terror to any other witnesses.

It is the third time this month that he finds invaders. The first two they captured alive, dragging them to the dungeon and killing them swiftly afterwards as a warning to their leaders, but this last one didn’t surrender.

As they inspect the dead body, it becomes clear that they knew this wolf. He was one of Soobin’s men, someone they shared meals with in the past. If even Soobin is turning against him, the scenario is worse than Minho imagined.

How far has the news of Chan’s absence travelled? And how much of the respect everyone has for Minho’s domain is based solely on his connection to the alpha? A sudden bitterness tints Minho’s throat, they should not underestimate him.

It’s like he can still taste the blood every time Jisung’s cock hits that spot inside him that makes his sight go white. Minho rides fast, repeating that feeling until his brain goes back to buzzing and his mouth falls open from the pleasure.

The alpha under him lets out groans and strained puffs of air as Minho’s powerful thighs bury him on the mattress, but he resists bravely, keeping his eyes open and fully focused on Minho, to make sure he is not missing any signs, that every need Minho might have is being fulfilled before he asks.

Jisung’s hands are on Minho’s lower belly, where he is the most stretched by the partially formed knot, feeling his insides move with every roll of his hips. Minho looks down, puts his palms over Jisung’s hands.

“Say it.”

Jisung raises his eyebrows, watching Minho with eyes that are mischievous but still careful. He bites his lips and lets his gaze follow the movement of the bulge between their hands.

“Alpha, say it.” Minho repeats more assertively than before.

Jisung smiles and Minho has to close his eyes for a second. His smile is too pretty, captivating in ways that make his head spin.

“You would look so pretty pregnant.” He answers, pressing harder under Minho’s navel, causing him to let out a high-pitched moan. “Would smell amazing. I would fuck you so many times, you would drive me so crazy.”

Minho’s next moan is more of a sob. He lowers himself over Jisung, bringing those pretty lips into a kiss. Jisung devours him, lets his hands travel to his ass to aid the movement as he starts thrusting up into him.

“Your scent… No one smells like you, Minho. No one smells better.”

Minho feels himself throb, his high so close that he can’t even continue to work for it and has to let Jisung do it for him instead.

Jisung is also moaning, his mouth right against Minho’s ear. “Feels so good when you tense like that, best fucking hole in the-”

When Minho comes, Jisung can’t even last a second longer. They both groan and cry out loud when the knot pops inside, bodies pulsing and spasming uncontrollably until every last drop is out.

Then Minho flops on top of Jisung, whose arms cradle him lovingly as he lays kisses on his hair.

“Are you going to take a nap?” Jisung asks in a whisper, already pulling a blanket to cover them.

Minho nods slowly, his ear glued to Jisung, listening to the content humming of his chest. His scent is so warm, so cozy. Even if Minho’s mind is a mess because of all the problems and all the killing, that smell can drive those thoughts away so quickly. Minho wants to dream about the late summer afternoons in the forest that Jisung’s scent promises, wants to drown in those caring arms for just a bit longer.

“Alright, baby. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

When Hyunjin finally comes back, Minho’s protective side comes out with full force. He inspects every inch of his friend like he had any reason to hide an injury from him, only satisfied after much reassurance and proof of his physical health.

“Why did you risk coming back so soon? I keep chasing alphas away every day. This is not what Changbin and I agreed on.”

“Listen, I already let Changbin have it for telling me that type of stuff. I will not spare you just because you’re my leader.” Hyunjin answers firmly, furrowing his brow in vexation. “One thing is me needing help with a surprise attack on the first night of my heat, a completely different thing is the two of you trying to stop me from doing my duties because you think I’m too weak to get back to my pack.”

Minho knows he is right. Even with Sunwoo by his side and with the pack being small, it gets a lot harder to lead without Hyunjin’s help, especially in the unrest of constant invasions like the ones they are experiencing.

“I assume you have no news from Chan?” Minho asks.

“Nothing. Their pack is a mess, worse than ours. Not everyone believes Bin when he says Chan will be back soon, but even the ones that do believe him are starting to question this whole situation.”

“Did Changbin not tell you anything? Does he actually know where Chan is?”

“Chan went back to Twilight Mountain to get his mate.”

“Oh,” Minho leans back on his chair, looking at Hyunjin across the table, trying to make sense of any of this. “Why is that such a secret?”

“I wish I knew. Binnie said that Chan has a good reason to act the way he is acting and that this was an emergency, but he can't tell me more than that.”

Minho hums in agreement.

Chan is a reliable friend. In the years they spent leading their packs side by side, Minho has never had a reason to doubt his judgement. The only subject Chan is secretive about is his mate. By the time they met, he already carried the healed mating mark on his neck, something that always intrigued Minho since he doesn't smell like a claimed alpha.

For a while, Minho thought he might be a widower, but the mark never faded and Chan never had any new partners, for cycles or otherwise. As time went by, Minho understood that he would never know that side of his friend’s life, and that is alright by him.

He assumes Changbin knows all about it though, since they are both originally from the same place, Twilight Mountain, and he can’t help but wonder just what dangers hide in that distant patch of land that would warrant Changbin keeping anything from his beloved omega.

A knock comes on the door then, bringing Minho back from his thoughts. Sunwoo comes in, his pretty face creased in worry. “Min, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Gunil is back and he needs to talk to you.”

“I’m sorry, I truly didn’t know what to do.” Gunil says with his head low when it’s just him, Minho and Hyunjin in the room, while discussing the trade he carried out just days before.

It was meant to be an easy task, just delivering the shipment of tea and spices to one of Jinhwan’s men and bringing back the payment, something Gunil is more than used to doing, but that wasn’t so simple this time around.

Hyunjin already has his eyes on the numbers in his book. “How much did they pay?”

“Less than half. Forty five percent in coin and some goods.” Gunil runs his fingers on his forehead like the worry is giving him a headache. “I told them to choose what they wanted from the shipment up to that amount, thought it was a reasonable solution, but they were getting violent. I- I just couldn’t risk our lives when it came to it. We were three, they were at least ten.”

“You did the right thing.” Minho reassures his young packmate, a hand heavy over the boy's neck gland. “Your lives are more important than a trade gone wrong.”

“Ten? All from Jinhwan?” Hyunjin asks.

“Definitely not. I knew the three that are always there when we trade, have never seen the other seven, but the smell wasn’t right.”

“None of you recognized their scents?”

Gunil just shakes his head. “It was familiar, but we couldn’t place it.”

Hyunjin hums as he seems to think it through. “And what was it that Junhoe told you when he refused to pay?”

“That we better take it because they know that our alpha isn’t around.”

“With those words?”

“Yes.”

Minho can't help the growl that rises from his chest when he hears that.

Gunil looks around shyly, but he is too curious to not ask. “Do they mean Chan?”

Minho nods, his jaw locked and his fangs itching to find the man who would say such a thing. “Chan is doing business outside of his territory and you know how the alphas from other packs are.”

“It was weird, though. Junhoe was never disrespectful towards us before.”

Because he was afraid of Chan, Minho thinks, and he is about to say so when Hyunjin gets up to dismiss Gunil. Once the two are left alone, Hyunjin speaks again.

“I know what is going through your head, but Gunil is right, Jinhwan’s men were always respectful. Whoever was accompanying them is the reason for this change.”

“Another pack? One Gunil and the others haven’t traded with?”

“Precisely. I think I should join all trades from now on, I will know whose men we’re dealing with as soon as I smell them.”

Minho hates the idea of sending his right hand to do something so trivial as local trades, but once again Hyunjin is correct. The two of them are the only ones who have experience with all of the packs, therefore the only ones who could easily recognize if a leader is sending their pack to intrude in their business.

He sighs. “I’ll get Sunwoo to reschedule the trades so that you can attend all of them.”

Minho has been trying his hardest not to go to Jisung so often, but failing miserably almost every night. It’s as if when the Moon rises, she brings Minho’s deepest cravings with her—a craving to see Jisung, to touch him, to be covered in that scent until his mind is filled with sweet forest dreams and the rumbling of his voice.

Something Sunwoo said keeps playing in Minho’s mind whenever he is weighing this predicament. He asked Minho why he treats Jisung so differently from the alphas after him, why is it that the men they capture now get slaughtered while Jisung gets to share his bed instead.

“I don’t mean to shame you, Min, I swear. I only ask because it’s what the boys have been wondering too. Maybe the feeling makes sense in your heart, but it doesn’t make sense to us.”

The fact of the matter is that Jisung could be lying, he could know of Chan and Changbin in the same way that the other packs became aware of Chan’s departure. Hell, he could very well be the one who was intercepting the letters from Changbin to them, Sunwoo told him as much.

Minho had no answer for him then and days later he still has none. His heart simply wants Jisung to be telling the truth and by now it feels like it would break into irreparable pieces if he isn’t.

His only consolation is that if Jisung is lying, if he’s really someone who Minho just failed to attach to the recent invasions, even then he couldn’t do any damage, sleeping with Minho or not.

As heavy as that is on Minho’s conscience, he never went back on his word and so Jisung remains a prisoner. He can’t gather any more information from within the tower than what Minho himself chooses to share and can’t report back to anyone. He’s made no attempt to gain knowledge from Minho or to convince him of anything other than that Chan will eventually come for him. He is not dangerous.

Jisung’s fingers play softly with Minho’s hair as they soak up the sun by the window of his tower, after yet another night together. “Hyunjin will return soon, safely.”

“I know. He’ll probably return with the full payment too, just watch. I’ve never seen anyone he can’t win over in negotiation.”

It’s only been a few days since Hyunjin left for the first trip, but Minho hasn’t been able to stop worrying since. Not that he has all that much time to sit and think about it in between the constant patrols and the management of the tasks that outnumber the amount of hands they currently have. He really only takes a few hours to comfort his packmates and then runs to Jisung to comfort himself.

Jisung laughs softly. “He didn’t seem so cunning when we met.”

“Oh, no, no. He is stupid, that’s right. He is just so annoying that people will pay him to stop insisting.”

He laughs once again, showing off that heart-shaped smile that has Minho weak in the knees. “You love him so very much.”

“I do. I’d die for him. He is still very annoying.”

Jisung cups Minho’s face for a tender kiss, still giggling as their noses brush together and they watch each other from up close. Then his expression changes and his nose twitches. Minho immediately perks up to smell whatever Jisung picked up. The metallic smell is faint, but it’s definitely approaching.

They both look out the window, scanning the open floor outside, Minho’s heart thumping on his chest as he holds Jisung’s hand in a death grip.

People start hurrying in the distance, running towards the group that’s just arriving. Minho immediately spots Jooyeon’s wolf, clearly injured, limping with a man’s body on his back. His heart almost stops when he recognizes the scent of the man he is carrying. It’s Jeongin.

Minho doesn’t remember to let go of Jisung as he rushes downstairs, or maybe he refuses to let go of him, needing a hand to hold in that moment.

They get to the group fast, terror filling his heart as he assesses the situation. There are two dead wolves, both alphas from Chan’s pack. Three of his own omegas are hurt, Jooyeon included, but they are still better than Jeongin, who is thankfully alive, but severely injured.

Minho isn’t even sure how Jeongin got the energy to turn into his human in this state, he must have done it before it was this bad, which means whoever mauled him, did so in his human form. He gets the boy in his arms and runs towards their infirmary, praying to the Moon that there’s still time to save him.

Jeongin can’t die, Minho won’t allow it. Chan and Changbin have been taking care of him since he was fourteen, just a puppy presenting alone in a forest he barely knew. Minho met him much older than that, but even then his eyes still had a child-like shine to them, a type of mischief that never went away, that never will go away.

He lays the limp body on the table and watches Gaon, the closest thing they have to a physician, run to him, ready to work on his injuries. Jisung pulls Minho to himself, to allow space for the other men who come to help stop the bleeding.

Minho isn’t given to tears, not even in situations like this, but he latches on to Jisung like a lifeline, all of the pain and uncertainty channelled in that hold on his arm, while the men in the room speak hurriedly to each other, cleaning and patching wounds, doing things he doesn’t have the knowledge to understand.

Jisung holds him tight, the protective notes on his scent flowing through Minho as he’s shoved closer to his chest. “He isn’t bleeding that much and he seems young and strong. He will survive this.”

“It’s true, Min.” Gaon says when he hears Jisung reassuring him. “It looks ugly, but the bites are not that deep. We’re not losing him today.”

Minho breathes in peace for the first time since they saw the group arriving, relaxing the hold he has of Jisung’s arm.

Jisung takes a step closer to the bed, now talking directly to Gaon. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

The omegas join them once the rush to save Jeongin’s life is over and he is stable. They are less hurt, but in a lot of pain. Both Minho and Jisung join the efforts of caring for their wounds and giving them medicine.

Jooyeon explains what happened. Jeongin and the other two came into his territory with the mission of finally retrieving Jisung, but were surprised by a large group of invaders. Up until now they have only seen one, at most two alphas scouting the land at a time, but this was a group of six by the time Jooyeon found them.

Unfortunately, the omegas had already been fighting intruders earlier and the addition of their forces to the tired and hurt group of allied alphas didn’t do much in terms of stopping their adversaries. They were able to run away after killing only one of them, but carrying the weight of two dead bodies of their own.

“Minho,” Jisung whispers to him when the place goes quiet, all of the patients sleeping due to the herbs, “let me help you fight off the alphas. I’m a fast wolf, I can do a lot for you if you let me.”

“Jisung…” He lets a sad smile shape his lips, knowing there’s only one answer he could give to that. “I have a tight bond with my pack, they have trusted me with their lives for over six years now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need to show them consistency in order to keep my leadership standing, do you understand me?”

Jisung nods.

“With all that has been happening, how could I ask them to trust you? You’re an alpha that showed up here like the ones who just killed our friends.”

Jisung opens his mouth to speak but Minho silences him with gentle fingers.

“Don’t get me wrong, please. I trust you. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I do. If I could decide based only on my feelings, it would be yes. I would choose you.”

A tiny kiss graces the tips of Minho’s fingers where they touch Jisung’s lips. Jisung holds Minho’s hand to kiss his palm too.

“You should mate me.” He says, placing a third kiss on Minho's wrist.

Minho shares another sad smile as he watches the alpha breathe in his scent. “How is that different from just letting you go? Anyone can fall in love and make rushed decisions like mating the enemy, even myself. All I would be doing is giving you even more control.”

Jisung shakes his head vehemently. “No, love. You should mark me , not the other way around. I will never bite you.”

Something like that has never occurred to Minho, because no alpha he knows would have considered it as a possibility either.

In his pack of origin, the omegas get marked, never marking their alphas back. In Chan’s pack, it’s up to the couple if the omegas will reciprocate, but they all always choose to make the bonding mutual. Minho has never heard of an alpha being the only one marked.

“It would give you a lot more control over me and it would also prove to them that I’m loyal to you. They would not doubt you then.”

Minho stands abruptly, the energy within his body simply too high for him to continue to sit down. He can’t help but pace around a little, trying to contain the unknown reaction bubbling in his chest. “Jisung, I…”

“You don’t have to tell me anything now. I know it’s a lot.”

For reasons he can’t explain, all he can think to do is pull Jisung into a messy kiss. It’s not a happy kiss or even an apologetic one, it’s confused and overwhelmed, just a way to let him know that although he doesn’t have an answer yet, he still wants him.

Jisung smiles against his lips, then shushes him warmly, pointing at the sleeping men all around them. “Will you think about it?”

Minho nods, then kisses him again. “I will.”

-

As confident as Minho is in all of his decisions, most of all this one, he can’t help the shaking on his legs as he climbs the stairs to the tower. Mating was never a dream he had for himself and the time he had to get used to the idea wasn’t long. Still, he wants it so much now that every second until he finally claims Jisung seems to drag.

He stands in front of the closed door, trying to regain control over his racing heart and get used to the tingling that spreads from his core to his limbs.

Alpha scent permeates the entire top floor of the tower, as rich and tasty as the day they met. The scent that will be forever Minho’s, that will run sweeter for him after they mate, that will one day cover their children in its protection.

Jisung’s eyes are huge as they shine under the moonlight. Even from a distance, Minho can see his chest heaving in anticipation, can see how he fidgets with his fingers and worries his bottom lip under his teeth to soothe himself.

Minho approaches slowly, brings a hand to Jisung’s hip, thumbing over the fabric to calm them both. He lays a kiss on Jisung’s shoulder and another on his jaw. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

Ah, that smile. Jisung brightens up, like all worries slip away from him at Minho’s touch, at his words. His fingers bury in the hair of Minho’s nape for him to bring them closer and kiss him deeply, so as to not leave a trace of doubt.

“I want to be yours, Minho.” He says with their lips still touching. “I am so sure about that.”

Minho can no longer hold himself back, he wraps his arms around Jisung’s waist and presses their bodies together, needing to touch more of him at once. He pulls on Jisung’s shirt until it untucks from his pants and the delicate buttons give out, exposing that beautiful chest to the light.

Jisung giggles softly at his desperation, but wastes no time before pulling Minho’s shirt over his head so their skins can touch. And it’s warm, so warm that small gasps are drawn from them when they meet again.

The grip on Minho’s hair doesn’t soften, even as Jisung’s other hand traces down his stomach and to the front of his pants. Experienced fingers undo the laces keeping it in place and then push it down his legs, all layers at once, leaving Minho to shiver.

The smell of the slick that already trails down his legs brings out a groan from deep within Jisung’s chest and there’s a clear change in him when he clashes their mouths together once more. He pulls Minho in with both hands on his ass, clawing the supple meat to rut them together.

Minho moans at the friction on his cock, wanting nothing more than to bend over and let Jisung take him with that same hunger, until he is a babbling mess, hardly capable of a mating bite. But he had already decided that this night would be special, that he would do all he could to make Jisung understand just how much this moment means to him.

Minho pushes Jisung to lie on his back on the bed so that he can kneel between his open legs. The view of Jisung’s cock slipping out and bouncing towards his belly as the pants slowly slide down makes Minho gulp and lick his lips.

He hasn’t gone down on a man in so long, since much before he became a pack leader. He doesn’t like giving up power like that, doesn’t like feeling submissive even for the few minutes that it takes.

It is different with Jisung, though. As he brings him into his mouth, it’s Jisung who is submitting to Minho, submitting to the pleasure he can provide. Jisung sounds grateful when he moans Minho’s name, desperate when he runs his nails on his scalp, helpless when he starts rolling his hips to the feeling.

Minho likes this more than he expected. Even when he means to just give Jisung pleasure, to make the night about him, Jisung still finds ways to make this better for him than he ever thought possible.

The more he indulges in it, the greedier he gets. Soon Jisung has his legs spread wide open, planting a thought deep in Minho’s head that causes a rumble to start in his chest. Minho looks up, a question in his eyes that needs no translation before it’s making Jisung moan and nod desperately.

Minho shoves one hand between his own legs, wetting his fingers in the thick layer of slick that has coated his thighs by now, then brings it up to Jisung’s ass, to run the pad of a finger over the untouched skin of his hole.

Jisung moans loudly just from the light contact.

“Have you done this before?” Minho asks, his voice soft and caring, despite the hunger that threatens to make him growl.

Jisung shakes his head violently to deny it. “Do it- do it to me, please- I want- I want it.”

Minho does growl, and then once more when Jisung groans back at him, their desire taking shapes Minho didn’t know it could. He presses in, crying out at how tight and warm Jisung’s body feels around his finger, and Jisung’s mouth falls open in a silent scream.

Minho throbs against the sheets as he imagines the same feeling of the finger gliding on the smooth walls but on his cock instead. He pumps in and out, getting lost in that sensation.

“You can- do more.” Jisung says, words cut off by his own ragged breathing.

Minho sits up, now adding a second finger, his entire body vibrating at the even tighter grip. Jisung looks at him during their exploration, letting his face show when something feels good and squeezing hard on Minho’s arm when it feels like too much.

They work up to three fingers, until Jisung’s knot starts showing on the base of his cock and he is dripping steadily over his own stomach. Then Minho looks questioningly at him again, to see not a moment of hesitation when he mouths a plea with a pleasure-drunk expression on his face.

It’s like Minho’s body is a second away from bursting into flames when he dips a hand between his thighs again and uses his slick to coat his own dick, as he lines himself up with Jisung’s entrance and lowers himself over him.

“Oh- Minho-” Jisung cries out weakly as his nails dig on Minho’s shoulder like his sanity depends on that alone.

Minho moans too, the tightness around him simply too good for real words or real thoughts to form, allowing him to do nothing more than thrust and groan like an animal as fire spreads to every inch of him.

Jisung’s knot gets bigger by the second, rubbing between their stomachs until the poor alpha is a whiny mess, drooling everywhere as he gets shoved around.

There’s no way they can keep this up for long, so Minho takes hold of Jisung’s cock and squeezes the knot as hard as he can, causing him to scream and spill on their chests in tempting, delirium-inducing strands.

Minho tips over too, cock throbbing as Jisung’s walls pulse around him, slick gushing out of him as his own body contracts while orgasming without a knot inside, the knowledge that he is the one filling Jisung up with his cum causing his eyes to roll and the most obscene noises to escape his mouth.

Then time starts going back to normal, the world builds itself back up around them. Their chests heave as their hearts slow down and the cold air blows on their sweaty skins.

Minho removes himself from inside Jisung, lying beside his spent body to better hold him. The knot is still completely extended, it will be for a while, its large size and reddened colour making for the most enticing image against Jisung's lean body, one that has Minho’s insides already begging for more.

He ignores his urges for now, bringing Jisung into an embrace, kissing his lips, his jaw, his neck, down to the scent gland by his shoulder.

Jisung shudders and moans as Minho’s fangs break his skin, burying themselves deep in his muscle. He struggles for a second against the sharp pain, but soon after, pain is replaced by a new type of mind-blowing pleasure.

Minho feels distinctly how Jisung's pleasure radiates from the bite to the rest of him, he feels Jisung's body in its entirety, as well as the emotions within him. His happiness and the way he is completely surrendered to Minho, the buzzing in his brain and the throbbing on his limbs.

It's a whole other layer of sensations added to Minho's own pleasure, separate from the lustful taste of Jisung's blood invading his mouth, from the hunger that forces Minho to gnaw even deeper on his flesh, from the orgasmic pulsing of his entire body that has him spilling over them once again.

He understands that what he feels are two pleasures at once, his and Jisung's. He is experiencing the connection of a mating bite for the first time in his life, and he knows it only gets stronger from here.

Slumber is the only thing capable of making Minho release his hold on Jisung’s gland, and hours later when he wakes up, he licks the wound clean for his mate’s sake.

“Does it hurt?”

“A little, but it also feels really good.” Jisung answers softly, barely awake himself.

Minho knows exactly what he means, he can feel it too. Not physically in his body, but somewhere within him he can feel the pounding of the mark like a new heart. He smiles, drags his fingers over the clan tattoos on Jisung’s shoulder. “You have a pack again.”

Jisung smiles back. “Good, I never liked being a lone wolf.”

“You’re the first alpha in this pack, so please behave.” Minho jokes, squinting his eyes playfully.

Jisung salutes him, making him laugh yet again. “Why am I the first alpha?”

“Ah,” Minho fixes himself on the bed, snuggling Jisung close. “It’s less interesting than it might sound. A lot of people seem to believe we have some sort of pact, that we don’t allow alphas or that we make them join Chan’s pack at the very least, but it’s not true at all.”

“I- I thought that.”

“That I was gonna make you respond to Chan if you joined?”

Jisung nods.

“Do you want to respond to him?”

“No, I want to respond to you.” He hugs Minho’s chest closer. “I like Chan, but, hm, I clearly like you even more.”

That has Minho smiling, kissing the coy smile on Jisung’s face. “Good.”

“So what happened to the alphas?”

“Well, we never had them to begin with. Every single omega I lead comes from the same pack, before it was destroyed. The pack I was born in, that we were all born in. 

Over six years ago now, that pack got into a petty fight with a neighbour because of some prey that was causing them to cross our borders regularly. But the way the pack was structured had the omegas and the alphas clashing often when we made decisions like when to fight our neighbours, and the omegas were completely against the offensive the alphas wanted to take. We knew we wouldn’t win.

So we attempted to keep the peace and it went really well. We managed the prey issue for several months, until the alphas went behind our backs and attacked our neighbours. All hell broke loose and we ended up defeated, all of our alphas killed in a matter of weeks.

They wanted to incorporate the omegas and the children into their own pack, since they took the land and our possessions as spoils. But they were not better than our own alphas, they were much worse. Omegas in their pack didn’t have the type of decision power we used to have, and as basically their prisoners, we were not looking at a very bright future there.

More than half of the omegas stayed behind, but about thirty of us decided to escape, mostly the young ones, who were the most horrified by the idea of mating those alphas. So we started walking, looking for a new, safer place to start our lives. I was the oldest one, also the first one to instigate our escape, so I naturally fell into the place of a leader and here we are.”

Jisung tightens the hold he has of Minho’s torso. “I’m sorry that you had to see them die, I’m sorry if any of them ever hurt you.”

Somewhere in the back of his throat, Minho can feel the lump that’s choking Jisung up. It’s not his own tears, but rather Jisung’s tears stuck in there, his fear that Minho might have been hurt or abused. “They didn’t, love. I was always stronger than they were.”

“And then what happened?”

“Then we got to this land. Not this exact place, but a small patch near the border of my current territory. I didn’t claim much at first, as to not provoke anyone’s anger, but even then we were attacked relentlessly. No one had ownership of this land, I was not within anyone’s territorial mark, so I stood my ground, but we lost quite a few of our members in quick succession. It was the worst time of my life, worse than battling our neighbours with the old pack.

Chan came around a couple of years later, when the attacks had already quieted down. He came to me himself, to talk face to face and try to make a deal. He had a map of this region and big ambitions. He showed me the unclaimed area and explained that it was twice as large as the territory he thought he was able to claim, so he offered me the other half.

I had nothing to lose, so we did it. We each claimed half of the land and he helped me fight the alphas who ignored my territorial mark, and then eventually the other leaders started trading with us instead of attacking, especially when we got a good hold of our tea production, which we already did back home anyways.

That brings us to where we are now. My pack hasn’t grown, not because I don’t want anyone to join, but because we’re still clearly not as respected as Chan’s pack. But we’re still doing ok, our agreement with Chan stands and now that Hyunjin and Changbin are getting together, I doubt it will fall through anytime soon.”

“That is such a beautiful story, no wonder your bond feels so tight, even to a stranger.”

Minho smiles, running his fingers through Jisung’s hair. “They are my family, and I’m happy to be adding you to it.”

Jisung gets up on his elbow, kissing Minho and chuckling against his lips. “Gonna add me to your family, Minho?”

“Wha- what?” Minho mumbles confused, his lip trapped by Jisung’s teeth.

Jisung gets Minho's hand and brings it down to his cock, repeating the question as his thumb presses under Minho’s navel. “Gonna add me to your family?”

The knot has gone down almost completely now, but Jisung is still hard, ready for a second round, which has proved to be the norm every time they sleep together.

“Ah,” Minho laughs, his cheeks heating up even if shyness feels out of place at a moment like this. “That too, yeah.”

Then in a second Jisung flips Minho away from him, his butt exposed to the room and his arms trapped between his body and the mattress. Minho’s heart pounds when he feels Jisung's weight settling on top of him.

“It’s my turn now, love.”

Getting knotted by other people never left Minho this mellow, but he is simply putty in Jisung’s hands. They giggle between kisses until Minho feels like he might suffocate from all the attention, and even then Jisung refuses to stop, showering him with compliments Minho pretends are silly, just to be given away by the flush of his ears and cheeks.

Jisung tucks his face on Minho’s shoulder from behind, as they are still knotted together, waiting for sleep to get to them.

“Will you tell me about you too?” Minho risks asking, not wanting to force Jisung into anything, but deeply curious about his mate’s past.

“I will tell you anything and everything you want to know, baby.” Jisung answers softly. “What do you want to hear?”

“About your clan.”

Jisung breathes out a warm chuckle against his ear and places a kiss there. “My clan rules over a place you might have heard of before, called Twilight Mountain.”

“Ohh,” Minho exclaims. He remembers Jisung claiming to have been friends with Chan and Changbin since they were puppies, in this case it should’ve been obvious that he was also from there.

“My family is huge and I have more siblings and cousins than you could count. One of these siblings, Felix, is the omega who left that mating mark on Chan’s neck. I’m sure you must have seen it before, right?”

Minho goes quiet for a moment. This is the first time he ever heard the name of Chan’s mate, the first time someone ever spoke about him to Minho other than Hyunjin’s claim that Chan has gone out to find him.

“Have you seen the mark?” Jisung asks again, confused by the lack of answer.

“I’ve seen it, yeah…” Minho turns his neck as well as he can to look at Jisung. “You don’t need to betray your friend to tell me what I want to hear. I trust you even if you can’t tell me anything about-”

“Minho, honey,” Jisung stops him, “I can’t betray a friend by telling my mate about a story that is my own, I’m sure Chan would agree with that.”

That makes sense, but Minho still worries. “Chan has always been so secretive about his mate.”

“For good reason, my family would pay any amount of money for information on the man who mated Felix. If he was to risk word of his whereabouts getting to them while not prepared, he would be putting his life on the line. But chances are he has Felix with him by now.”

“Changbin did say he went to find his mate.”

Jisung nods. “I’m sure they are together and I have no doubt Chan will bring him back safely.”

Minho smiles, choosing to trust Jisung's light tone. “Tell me more about your family then.”

“I'm the second of a set of twins. The other one is less than an hour older than me.”

“There's two of you out in the world?” Minho teases, getting a poke to the side as a reply. 

“In appearance only. Jiseok and I are as different as brothers can be in everything else. I call Felix my real twin, he was born just a few hours later.”

“Triplets?!” Minho exclaims, turning around and letting Jisung disengage from him fully. “Listen, if you're planning on putting three pups in me at a time, we're just gonna adopt. I'm not doing that.”

Jisung falls into laughter beside him. “No, silly. Felix is my father's son, but from a different mother. Jiseok and I are from father's first mate, Felix is from his second.”

Minho's face must give away the whole content of his thoughts, because Jisung laughs even louder and asks: “Not doing that either, right?”

Minho nods solemnly. 

“I wasn't planning to,” Jisung adds, a smile still playing on his lips. “I never wanted a mate to begin with, but that was before I smelled you.”

“Stop flirting and tell me your story.” Minho complains, but he doesn't even try to hide the satisfied humming in his chest.

“Well, basically, my mom had Jiseok, myself and later Seungmin. Felix's mom only had him. Then father's third mate had Yedam and Sebin, and his most recent mate was pregnant when I left, but I obviously haven't met the pup.

In my family, the oldest child is always the alpha, so father assumed that I was going to be an omega, same as Felix, which is why we were raised much closer together than Jiseok and I. But he was wrong and I presented as an alpha when I was fifteen. He tried to bring me closer to the alphas in the family, but he had already lost me by then.

You see, my family is very unkind to their omegas, both the ones that join by mating and the ones born within, and I had been raised too close to them to accept that.

When Lix presented, our nightmare started. He was offered as a mate to one of father's allies and I had to hide him away, which led to him living at the foot of the mountain and meeting Chan. By the time father found him, the two were already mated.

With Felix in my father's hands, all we could do was keep Chan far away from the mountain, because as long as he is alive, the mark on Felix's neck won’t fade and he will not be forced to mate again.

Their patience ran out after a few years of looking for Chan and they decided to mate Felix a second time and try to forcefully remove his mating mark later. The thing is, mating in Twilight Mountain only takes place during heats, and Seungmin is very gifted for medicine and all that stuff, so he was able to prevent Felix from having a heat for his last three cycles. Until my father grew suspicious that we were trying to delay his second mating.

I took the blame for the whole ordeal and was kicked out. After that, I knew I had the few months before my brother's next heat to find Chan and get his help to rescue him, that's why I was looking for him when we met.”

Minho stays quiet for the whole story, even if some parts of it confuse him, then sits up, looking at Jisung, stunned by all that he just said.

He kept Jisung in his dungeon when his brother was in such risk, for hunting a couple of animals of all things. Jisung always seemed so relaxed, it never occurred to him that he could be in a hurry, that he could have something that important to speak to Chan about.

“When would your brother's heat take place?” He asks, a tinge of bitter guilt in his throat.

“Hm, five months from now. It was nine months when I left the mountain, but it took me long to find this place.”

Minho lets out a breath of relief. “I'm sorry I kept you prisoner. If I had any idea, I-”

“If you hadn't kept me prisoner, I might have had my rut alone in someone else's territory and gotten killed before I could ever learn that Chan was already after Felix.” Jisung says in a loving but firm tone, then strokes Minho's cheek, smiling at him. “I'm glad it all happened the way it did.”

Minho kisses his palm. “Should you go after Chan?”

Jisung shakes his head. “If Chan left his pack and told Changbin that he would come back with my brother, it's because he is certain he can do that.”

The emotions Jisung goes through while talking about this cause the freshly open mating mark to pulse on his neck, and the same feeling spreads from Minho’s nape to the entirety of his own body. Jisung believes what he's saying with all his being and that makes Minho believe it too.

“I hope they come back soon. I would like to meet your brother.”

Jisung smiles wide at that. “I can’t wait to introduce the two of you.”

A full infirmary is a scene Minho wished had remained in his past, even if this one is a lot less chaotic and bloody than the ones he found himself in before. Because their numbers are so small, they sectioned out the building and focused on maintaining just one room, big enough for half of their population, should the Moon ever allow that type of devastation to befall them.

The injured this time around, although they make up volume, occupying beds and requiring the helpers to hurry their pace to keep up with the treatments, aren’t there for anything serious—scratches and bites that could heal on their own, but are better off cleaned and patched, small fractures and sprains that require rest but cause no further concerns.

Minho is there to check on the only one who had to fight for his own life, but now carries a reassuring smile on his face, as if a nurse wasn’t just done applying ointment directly on a wound that almost took him out.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything, but I knew exactly where it was going when you showed up wrecked and covered in alpha scent to our meeting that one time,” Jeongin teases.

Minho raises his eyebrows at him, walking closer to take a seat by his bed. “Is that your way of congratulating me?”

Jeongin smiles. “I would hug you if I could. I’ll hug you when you announce a pregnancy instead.”

“See why I never wanted to mate? I haven’t even been mated for three whole days and you’re talking to me about pups.”

“It’s not my fault. Hyunjin was just here telling everyone about how your kids are gonna be raised together, be best friends and whatnot.”

Minho rubs his eyes with a hand, already making plans to chastise his friend when they see each other. “I haven’t even convinced the pack that Jisung isn’t one of our enemies yet and Hyunjin is already out there running his mouth, what do I do with him?”

“Of course they know Jisung isn’t an enemy, which type of enemy would let you mark them?”

“They still think he might be one of the alphas invading.”

“No, they don’t.” Jeongin frowns, looking at him puzzled. “Min, we know the alphas that keep attacking us. Ask your boys, they are all our neighbours. Jisung is very clearly a foreigner.”

“I know, it’s just that Sunwoo said-”

“Sunwoo can be too zealous sometimes, stop listening to him.”

“Alright, alright.” Minho fixes himself on the chair to face Jeongin properly. “Is that why you changed into human during the fight? Because you knew the one attacking you?”

Jeongin nods sadly. “I couldn’t recognize the wolf, but it was definitely one of Jaebeom’s men. I thought I could speak to whoever it was, since, you know, I shared countless meals with all of them, but there was no stopping him.”

“Were there others? Besides Jaebeom’s men I mean.”

“Before we clashed, yes. I felt a group of eight or nine, but I couldn’t tell whose men they were from far away. When we met, there were only six wolves, all Jaebeom’s.”

“You shouldn’t make these trips in small groups anymore, it is clearly too dangerous.”

“I won’t. Peniel sent some men to help us, it will get easier now.”

Minho nods. “I’ve seen them in the group that came to collect Jisung earlier today.”

“Oh no, no honeymoon for you two?” Jeongin asks with a sassy smirk on his face.

“You know what? I’m off, I forgot how much of a brat you are.” Minho gets up from his chair, dismissing his friend with a hand.

Jeongin laughs loudly, shouting as Minho abandons him inside. “Thanks for the visit, old man.”

Hyunjin knocks on Minho’s door early in the evening, after yet another busy afternoon that was, thankfully, free of any invasions or major issues for them to solve. Minho doesn’t even raise his eyes from the paper when calling him in.

“I love when you put your eyeglasses on like it’s going to make you better at understanding math.” Hyunjin teases, taking a seat in front of Minho’s desk.

“It’s your handwriting that I don’t understand, not your math. What number even is this?” He points at a line on the page, turning it to his friend with an exasperated look.

Hyunjin squints at the paper. “It’s just a scribble, I got it wrong on the first try. The number is just underneath it.”

And how was I supposed to know that? Minho thinks, but refrains from speaking out loud. “That makes for three successful trades.”

“Mhm, as expected from me.” He shares a smug smile. “And once again, it was only the men that were supposed to be there, no strangers, nothing shady about it.”

“So, do you think Gunil was wrong? Maybe it was just Jinhwan’s men that day and they really were just trying to take advantage of him.”

“No one recognized the other men. If it was just one nose, sure, he could’ve picked up the wrong scent somehow, but three? I’m convinced someone else was there that day and they simply were aware that I was joining the trades, so they stopped showing up.”

Minho thinks on it for a brief second. “It wouldn’t have been hard for Sunwoo’s letters with the rescheduling to get intercepted. We know all the letters between us and Changbin were.”

“Sunwoo’s letters did not mention me by name though. They didn’t even mention any changes other than the date.”

“Stop beating around the bush and tell me your theory already.”

Hyunjin laughs under his breath, lowering his voice a little. “I think someone is leaking information to whatever pack is turning the others against us. This person told them to stop showing up so we don’t grow suspicious and the other packs are not so inclined to fight us on their own.”

“What if it’s just Jinhwan, though?” Minho asks, gnawing on the butt of his pen. “What if he has an agreement with another pack and the extra men were not supposed to attend the other trades to begin with?”

“It’s a possibility. I think I should stop attending and see if they come back.”

“Right, I agree. But don’t even think I’m letting you go after Jinhwan, there’s no way I’m letting you risk yourself that way.”

“Not even if Changbin sends a lot of men with me?”

“Hyunjin,” Minho scolds, “I already told you-”

“I don’t wanna go to Jinhwan, but I want everyone else to think I will.” He waits for Minho to settle back in his chair before continuing. “I want to follow the groups making the trades and see if the other men will show up when they think I’m not there.”

“You want me to tell everyone you’re going to question Jinhwan on the trade that went wrong, so that no one finds it weird that you are not around.”

Hyunjin nods.

Minho is about to speak more when he picks up the scents coming down the hallway, Hyunjin perks up and changes the subject, going back to normal volume as the group of omegas approaches the door.

“If it hurts when he knots you, Min, there’s always exercises-”

“Oh, oops,” says a flushed boy who had just crossed the threshold when he heard that. “I’m sorry, I-”

“No, no. Come in, Hyunjin is sorry.” Minho says, sending a venomous stare towards his friend.

There’s a group of seven other boys behind him and Sunwoo laughs shyly among them, holding a package in his hands. “You should’ve told me about that problem, we make creams for that, you know.” He whispers to Minho as they walk in.

“Forget about that, please.” Minho blushes, wishing Hyunjin had chosen any other lie instead.

“We have a surprise for you.” Hyunjin gets up, joining the group as Sunwoo places the package on Minho’s desk.

Minho immediately opens the gift, taking the wooden box from the bag and unlatching it. His heart  protests when he looks at the ring inside. It’s the type of ring the elders would wear in the pack they came from. Only the most respected omegas in their pack would receive them, after a certain age, when they had generations of descendants to tell their stories and pay their respects. Minho finds himself having to swallow back tears that threaten to come out.

“How did you get this made?” He asks the group.

“We didn’t. That was the only one I was able to steal before we escaped.” Hyunjin answers. “We were gonna give it to you eventually, we just didn’t know when it would be right. But we all agree that this is a good moment for you to have it.”

“I- I can’t accept this.” Minho chokes out. “I’m not even an elder, or wise, or-”

“You are the oldest of us all and you have been guiding us for a long time now. I think they would want you to have it.” Sunwoo says, followed by nodding heads and agreeable noises.

“Everyone else that’s not here agrees with that too.” Hyunjin informs him.

Minho presses his eyes under his thumbs, until the annoying tears he wants to shed hide back inside. He walks toward his boys, bringing them into a hug and kissing the head of each and every one of them. “Thank you, thank you so much.”

When Jisung’s wolf crosses into the manor, dragging the dead enemy by the nape, Minho’s whole body reacts to his presence. Something in him just wants to pounce on Jisung, get that scent all over himself, count each of his fingers to make sure he is getting back all that is his.

But Minho is too committed of a leader to surrender to that wish, so even as Jisung transforms and the glow of his tanned skin almost blinds him, even as he is made to watch Jisung’s cock standing proud, still running with the thrill of the hunt, he just blinks the urges aside, makes sure the men arriving are taken care of, pulls the dead wolf onto his back to exam him inside.

“He didn’t try to attack like the others, he separated and tried to run.” Jisung tells him as they inspect the corpse in a reserved corner of the infirmary.

Minho isn’t expecting to gather much useful information, he only wants to confirm if this is one of the wolves his pack has hunted side by side with in the past and give him the decency of having the patterns of his fur recorded in case his family inquires about him in the future. Even enemies deserve the chance to mourn their dead.

“You chased him for a really long time,” Minho says matter-of-factly, gulping at the sight of Jisung smirking at him. “Did the rest of the group smell like him?”

“No, it’s two different packs for sure. Did you know him?”

The scent is already starting to fade, dissipating fast from the cold body. Minho tries his best, and although what he picks up isn’t completely foreign, it also doesn’t ring any bells. “I’m not familiar enough to tell from a corpse.”

“I’ll bring you a live one next time. Something tells me he didn’t want to be seen by you.”

Minho is agreeing with Jisung when Gaon knocks on the frame of the open door to announce his presence.

“Min, the others have arrived with the rest of the enemies.”

They walk together to the open ward, confirming that Peniel’s men were able to kill the other three who had been spotted with the wolf Jisung took down and that the invaders belonged to Jaebeom’s pack once again.

“Is anyone badly hurt? What can I help you with?” Minho asks once he is done inspecting the dead.

“Everyone is alright, we have it under control.” Gaon’s mouth forms into a little smirk, one that he is polite enough to try and conceal. “You should go solve that, you know. We’re gonna be fine here.”

Minho follows the flick of eyebrows, his eyes landing on Jisung, who’s leaning by the entrance, looking out. He is covered by the cloak that was placed on his shoulders when he arrived, but his scent still gives away how the rush of the hunt affected him.

Now that his attention was once again brought to it, Minho heats up as he breathes in the arousal in his mate’s scent, his insides twisting at the prospect of touching him. “Are you sure?”

Gaon chuckles. “I’m sure, Min. Go and have fun, please.”

Using one’s wolf often or for long periods of time makes the scent run thick. Even as a human, it takes a lot to remove the smell from the hair, to scrub it off of the skin. It develops a particular taste too, different from what can be pulled out of glands on a regular day, different even from rut and heat scents. It’s unique, wild, overpowering.

When Jisung’s skin glides against Minho’s, it leaves behind a trace of that scent. It’s electrifying, like Jisung is engulfing his entire being, taking the space of the air in his lungs, choking him with the warmth of it.

Minho is thrown to the bed and pulled free of his pants, moaning at the pressure of Jisung’s claws on his thighs, praying that they’ll leave bruises, praying that his skin will break.

Some instinct inside him demands that he exposes himself completely, that he offers his entire body to the man on top of him. His shirt is in the way, so he tears it, his own claws digging on his chest, pulling the shirt up and leaving red scratches behind, causing his nipples to burn.

Jisung’s fingers find Minho's entrance to dive into him with a lewd sound. He is smirking again when he lowers himself over him, his other hand coming to cradle the back of his neck, to force his chin down, like he wants Minho to watch it. Then he licks the scratches on his chest, growling at the taste of the blood, soothing an enraged nipple and then leaving it to sting against the cold air.

Minho whines, thrashes around just to be shocked into stillness when Jisung shoves more of his fingers inside. He is painfully hard, so when Jisung hits a spot inside him that makes him throb and almost piss himself, pleas start falling from his lips uncontrollably.

“Please, Jisungie- I- I can’t wait anymore. Please-”

Jisung’s self-satisfied chuckle makes Minho shake from head to toe. “But baby,” he says in his lowest, gravest voice, “we have started a minute ago.”

Minho shakes his head in vehement denial. “Started so long ago. Too- too long.”

“You could feel it, couldn’t you? When I was hunting…” He takes that same nipple between his teeth, pulling on it until Minho is sobbing.

“Yeah- yes.” Minho tries to ignore the fingers curling inside him, the scent choking him every time he gulps air. “I knew when you started running after him, could feel how fucking into it you were.”

“Did you get hard?”

“So- so hard-”

“Did you touch yourself?” He bites down on the nipple, causing Minho to buck his hips and drip over his own stomach.

“Nn- no. Wanted- wanted you-”

“Wanted me to come and fuck you right after I was done killing, yeah?”

Minho nods profusely. “Please-”

“Of course, baby. Of course.”

Jisung kisses him, letting his scorching tongue enter his mouth slowly, allowing the smacking of their lips to grow loud in the room, until Minho is vibrating under him, so on edge he could cry if that would make Jisung give him what he wants.

Then the fingers are pulled out of him, the slicked hand placed on his lower back to hold him at the right angle, the other hand still on his nape to force him down on Jisung's cock, inch by inch until they are completely joined together.

Minho cries out, attempting to throw his head in a howl, but getting pushed down into a kiss instead.

“You feel so good.” Jisung whispers into his mouth. “Would do anything- to feel you around me. Anything for you-”

Jisung keeps lowering him all the way to the base and every hit of his cock that deep inside makes heat spread from Minho's stomach to his chest, drawing half breaths out of him, pitiful cries from someone who feels completely full already, when the knot hasn't even started to swell.

“Minho, you-” Jisung seems to struggle too, his eyes drawn to Minho's parted lips like a moth to a flame, face glowing with sweat that drips from his temple down to his jaw. “I love you.”

Minho can't take it. He comes with a loud cry, feeling his own cock pulse like the spurts of cum are being forced out of him, like it's fire that's consuming him from within. He feels himself throb around Jisung, screams at the way the movement inside continues past his body’s attempts to catch on a knot. 

He would beg for Jisung to stop if he could, if there was any voice left in him to ask for mercy, but all he can do is take it, flop uselessly to the mattress as Jisung uses both hands to continuously shove him down to the hilt. 

He doesn't know for how long he gets used in that way, the last thread of cohesive thought stolen when Jisung's cock begins to swell, but he is very aware of the moment the knot catches inside him, of the pressure of Jisung filling him up with both hands on his belly, of the satisfaction of hearing his desperate howl as he finishes.

Jisung’s orgasm burns through Minho’s body like it’s his own, the pulsing of the mating mark stinging on the back of his mind, sending waves of pleasure to his limbs, of a strength Minho can barely comprehend.

When Jisung slows down, Minho hooks to his shoulder to pull him closer, until his face is tucked on the crook of Jisung’s neck and he can see the pinkish skin that marks where his fangs sank. He licks it, pushing hard with his tongue so he can drown in his mate’s scent. And Jisung whimpers for him, trembles in his embrace like the pleasure is so strong that it crosses into pain.

Minho releases him, letting him fall limp over his exhausted body, smiling at the relieved sigh that comes out of the poor alpha when a hand strokes his hair.

“Your claim over me is so strong.” Jisung says against Minho’s chest, without even trying to move a muscle.

“Of course it is.”

He laughs at his assertiveness. “Did you know it was gonna be like this? That you would feel so much?”

“I… No, I did not,” Minho admits. “This is a lot more intense for me than what I imagined, but I am not surprised at what it does to you.”

Jisung just shifts to look at him, a playful smile shaping his lips as he squints. “Vain.”

“Oh come on, look at me. Of course my bite would be powerful, why would I be modest about that?” He laughs at Jisung’s expression, endeared by the way his eyes shine with pure adoration even as he attempts to make fun of him. “And you know you like it too, that your omega is strong enough to grab you by the scruff any time he wants.”

Jisung lets out a long, whiny moan that is supposed to be humorous, but feels a bit too real with how he throbs inside Minho. “Fuck, yeah, I like that.”

Minho cocks an eyebrow, a smirk spreading on his face. “You like being my bitch, don’t you?”

This time only a gasp leaves Jisung’s mouth as his hips buck up, forcing the knot deeper.

Minho’s laugh is evil as he fists the hair on the back of Jisung’s head. “Oh baby, I think I know exactly what you like.”

Jisung moans again.

Hunting with Jisung feels like a dance, total synchrony of movements rehearsed to perfection. Natural like an instinct, easy like muscle memory. Although this is only their first time doing it together and it comes about accidentally.

Jisung is on his way back from Chan’s when he spots the same group of intruders Minho is already chasing.

Minho can feel his mate running fast, pursuing someone, and he knows the wolf trying to flee from Jisung is the one they need to catch the most, so he abandons Jooyeon and the others, sprinting at full speed in the direction of his scent.

He arrives at the scene to Jisung dodging attacks as he tries to hold the wolf back without engaging in a fight. Their opponent is already injured in the back legs, something Jisung must have done to slow him down so they catch him alive.

When the brown wolf smells Minho’s scent, he turns around and tries to run in a panic, but Jisung is faster, pulling him back by the tail, until he is whining and rolling on the dirt in Minho’s direction.

With a paw pressed heavily over the writhing body, Minho understands exactly why he is panicking. He knows that scent way too well.

The wolf doesn’t give up, not until Minho and Jisung have hurt him enough for conscience to leave his half-dead body. Then Minho carries him home, the load heavier than the weight of him.

He watches Gaon work on the wounds, not a spark of recognition in his eyes. He shaves the hair that suddenly seems so familiar to Minho, patterns he’s seen daily in the first twenty years of his life, and gets on with patching him up.

It’s not until one of his boys starts cleaning a superficial wound on his hand that Minho wakes up again to the world around him, brought back by the sting of the alcohol on the recent scratch.

“It’s ok, honey.” Minho smiles at Gaon’s young apprentice, who’d been a boy of no more than eleven when they left their homeland and who’s now just on the brink of becoming a man. “This is nothing, you can save your energy, we will need it in the future.”

He looks around again, watches Jisung give instructions to Gaon, to take the wolf down to the dungeon when he’s done and to not leave his side. He sees Gaon smile and nod.

Jisung holds his shoulder in a tight grip, guiding him out of the infirmary. “They’ll take care of him, let’s go.”

A bath is drawn for him at Jisung’s request, and when it’s just the two of them, Jisung undresses him from the robes he was covered with at their arrival. He’s picked up and placed in hot water carefully, relaxing into it as Jisung joins him.

He lets himself be held and scrubbed until any trace of the enemy’s scent is gone, remaining silent until Jisung brings him to his chest, his nose to his neck gland, his hand to his heart.

“Who is he, Minho?”

“I don’t know him personally, I just know his pack.”

“And which pack is that?”

“Mine.”

Jisung looks confused at first, splashing water as he moves to face Minho, but soon the dots connect in his mind. “The one you were born in?”

Minho nods. “I understand now why the boys couldn’t recognize the scent. They were too young when we left, it’s been too long, and it has definitely changed with time. They probably have a new leader, maybe new members, new omegas that changed how they smell.”

“Would that be the alphas you said died back then?”

“I assume so, yes.”

“That was a young wolf and so was the one I killed before.” Jisung ponders from the other end of the bathtub, where he sits now, one leg on each side of Minho’s body, feet gliding gently on his thighs. “Do you think their leader, whoever he is, has a situation like yours in his hands? Younger alphas to protect, looking for a place to stay.”

“If he does, why didn’t he just come to me?”

“I don’t know, would you have let them stay if he did? A group of alphas, with a leader of their own. What would it be like, the same dynamic you had back then? Omegas versus alphas, reason versus senseless violence.”

Minho goes quiet. Those exact thoughts have been playing in his head since he recognized the scent, part of him angry that whoever is leading them wouldn’t have come to him first, wouldn’t have trusted his character to attempt a peaceful solution, but another part of him justified in his mistrust of outsiders, in his contempt for the alphas that betrayed them. His own scent runs thick as the underlying anger starts boiling to the surface.

“My point is, my love, that you are right.” Jisung continues after a while, moving a foot to Minho’s crotch. “You trusted Chan when he approached you respectfully, you traded with and befriended everyone who deferred to the claim you have over your territory, you took me in even after I misread your territorial mark but as soon as I was humbled by my error.”

Jisung keeps moving his foot over Minho’s erection as he speaks, making pleasure spark from his crotch to meet the proud rumble of his chest as he listens. “You are not unreasonable, Minho. They have no claim over this land, you do. You should be angry.”

Minho throws his head back with a moan.

This is what he can’t explain to anyone about Jisung and himself. Jisung sees him, sees his body and what it needs, sees his soul and what it craves.

“Jisung,” he calls in a throaty voice, heavy from the lust that has been building in him this whole time, “bend over the edge of the tub for me.”

A little gasp leaves Jisung's lips and his mouth falls open. Minho can smell the excitement in him as the foot retreats and he turns around, resting his stomach on the edge of the tub and kneeling to expose himself.

His tiny little hole clenches over nothing, pulling his balls tight and making his hard cock swing heavily with each anxious breath.

Minho crawls to him, just about drooling when he focuses on the ass in front of him, bringing the tip of his tongue to poke Jisung's taint and draw a whine out of him.

The way Jisung's legs spread for him, like this isn't the opposite of what is in his nature, like his only true instinct is to be Minho's no matter how it comes about, it drives Minho crazy and his cock throbs when his tongue enters Jisung's body.

Jisung is his, the only alpha he could ever want, the only one who understands what he needs and who can deliver that every single time their skins touch. His pretty little thing, for him to use, whether that means having his knot to scratch the urges that burn from inside or bending him over to satisfy the greed that takes hold of Minho's possessive brain when he looks at his Jisung.

The jabs of his tongue force little cries from Jisung, weak renditions of Minho's name, shaky love confessions from the alpha that has already given his whole being away, as Minho can very much feel through the pulsing on the nape of his neck.

Minho gets up, quickly dipping his hand into one of the bath oils beside them, then shoving two of his fingers into Jisung harshly.

“Nngh,” Jisung clenches around him desperately, clawing the edge of the tub to help himself through it. 

Minho pays him no mind, pulling his fingers out and then shoving them back in till the last knuckle, throbbing at the loud squelching he gets from each movement. 

Jisung's gasp at the third finger making it into his hole sounds more like a sob. He's already breaking a sweat, arching his back and spasming uncontrollably around Minho.

The oil feels great on Minho's aching cock when he starts to prepare himself, rubbing the reddened skin until it's slicked enough that it won't hurt his mate, no matter how hard he plans on fucking him. He lines his tip up to Jisung's hole, holding his hips with both hands, and sinks into him.

Even Minho moans at the feeling, at how tight his alpha always is for him, at the warmth that swallows his cock and then creeps to the rest of his body in a second.

Minho keeps himself buried to the hilt and shuffles until he can have one hand on Jisung's waist and another gripping his hair, pulling him up until it's hard for Jisung to even close his mouth and he has to let out the noises each of Minho's thrusts pulls from him. “Fuck, good alpha-”

Jisung whines loudly. “Fu- fuck,” he can barely utter the words, pleasure making spit pool in his mouth and drip out the corners. “Minho, Min– fuck.”

The angle allows Minho to see Jisung's eyes rolling back and the fucked out expression he's already wearing. He can't see the knot but he doesn't need to, he knows how much his mate loves being rammed like this from behind, he knows Jisung will come for him in no time. 

“Pop that knot for me,” Minho demands, voice breathy due to his own building pleasure. “We both know how much you like bitching for me, so come on my cock already.”

He knows when Jisung's knot is fully out just by the guttural noise that comes out of him, then he sees cum splattering the side of the tub, impressive amounts of it like only alphas make. 

Jisung's hole squeezes so tight and often that it is hard to believe it isn't meant to catch a knot. All that pulsing throws Minho over the edge, milking him dry until he can barely see a thing in front of his eyes. He needs to slump over Jisung and hold himself against the tub for a second so he can pull out and breathe in peace.

Jisung lets himself slide into the water, flopping on his back and looking languidly up at Minho, making sure to expose his fully extended knot, which he knows Minho enjoys seeing.

“You’re the best thing that's ever happened to me,” Jisung says in a tired voice and Minho laughs brightly. 

“And you to me, Jisungie. You to me.”

“What do you mean dead?” Minho asks angrily after Gaon delivers the news to him in the morning. “The injuries we caused were nowhere near fatal.”

“I- I know. When I left him in the cell last night, he was perfectly stable. Still asleep because of the medicine, but not in any danger.” The poor boy justifies himself as they rush down the stone steps.

“What did he die of then?” Minho crosses the now open cell gates to look at the dead body of the wolf they captured just yesterday.

“I’m guessing his heart just stopped, but- but it wasn’t my treatments that did it!”

Minho growls under his breath, annoyed with himself for losing another chance to get the information he needs. “Where’s Sunwoo? I want to know who was watching over this cell last night.”

The uneasiness that takes over Minho’s body when he learns that Sunwoo hasn’t been seen outside of his room since last night when he relieved Gunil of his watch duties in the dungeon is a feeling he can hardly describe. It’s like a hole in his chest, one that wind can pass through, leaving him cold and breathless, dizzy and empty. But when he kicks the door of Sunwoo’s room down and finds it vacant, that’s truly when his heart crumbles.

He sits on the bed, ignoring the commotion outside, trying to understand where he could’ve gone wrong, what he could’ve done that would warrant Sunwoo betraying him, choosing alphas he never had any attachment to over the pack they made together.

It’s not hard to piece out what happened now that Minho is no longer blind to the obvious. Intercepting the letters must have been so easy for him, being the one who sent them and received them on arrival. Making sure Hyunjin never met anyone at the trades should’ve been easy too, for that same reason. And of course he didn’t want Minho to trust Jisung, he’d seen how fast Jisung was when they first caught him, he knew that if he joined their forces it might end up like it did, with one of their alphas close enough to Minho’s nose that it would give the entire plot away.

What Minho still can’t see is the reason behind it. Why would Sunwoo do this?

Answers come in the form of his best friend, just a couple of days later. Hyunjin arrives in a panic, only transforming into his human once he’s already in front of Minho’s desk.

“Min, the- the alphas-” He says breathless, clearly having run the entire way there. “The alphas from our pack, they’re the ones showing up at the trade sites. And at the last one, I-”

“Jisung and I caught one of them just the other day,” Minho interrupts him. “He’s dead now, Sunwoo killed him to protect information and then ran away.”

Hyunjin sits down and continues to talk as if Minho never interrupted him. “And in the last one, I met with Sangyeon.”

-

Minho grew up with loving parents, Sunwoo did not.

Everyone knew that the only thing worse than when Sunwoo’s parents were missing was when they decided to show up. They would go away for long periods of time, leaving their kids to care for themselves at home, disregarding anything they could do to hurt themselves or anyone that could want to hurt them. Then they would show up, violent and loud, and prove to everyone that no one could hurt those children as much as they could.

Somehow, Sunwoo and his brother still survived, raised themselves with the help of neighbours and of the elders that did not approve of any of this and tried to protect them however they could.

Sangyeon, Sunwoo’s older brother, was a nightmare of a kid. He was a couple years older than Minho and wouldn’t give him peace after they presented. He wanted Minho to himself, because he was pretty and sweet to Sunwoo.

But he didn’t try to catch his attention nicely, no, he would stalk Minho around, pick fights with him, corner him in the street when he was alone. It was scary, Minho hated him.

Sangyeon was also mean to his own brother, showing him the same type of familial love he learned from their parents, always quick to scream about how it was Sunwoo’s birth that made their parents mad and how much he despised the kid for that. However, it all changed overnight, when the little one got sick.

Sunwoo was only ten years old and got struck with a fever that didn’t break naturally, didn’t break when Sangyeon tried everything he knew from the years taking care of himself, didn’t break when he carried his little brother to the elders with tears in his eyes and begging for help.

It took days and everyone thought Sunwoo was going to die, but he didn’t. His brother held his little hand until his eyes opened again, and Sunwoo himself did not let go of that hold for years after, up until the war with their neighbouring pack broke and Sangyeon had to join.

They never saw Sangyeon's body, but that was true for most of their alphas, they just had to assume he was dead like everyone else.

At fourteen, Sunwoo was yet to present, but he was old enough to understand that following Minho out of their land was a better bet than waiting for a miracle or submitting to their neighbours.

Sunwoo was smart and eager to learn from someone who cared about his well-being. Minho embraced him like his own child, something he did for all of the younger ones that followed him, teaching him all that his mere twenty years of experience had to offer. 

And now Sunwoo is gone, back to the choice he would always have made if he knew his brother was still alive somewhere.

The invasions increase both in frequency and in size after Sunwoo’s departure. The wolves also become more aggressive, no longer avoiding encounters with Minho’s pack out of fear of being recognized.

Jisung, Jeongin and Jooyeon lead the patrols between Minho’s and Chan’s territories, with a lot of successful runs because of the reinforcements Peniel sends them in batches.

Peniel’s men are hard to care for and expensive to feed, but worth every effort Minho and his pack have to make in reducing their own costs and cutting down on their luxuries. No tight bond can win against the sheer number of invaders coming to disturb their peace now.

Whenever the patrols do not succeed in chasing the invaders away, they settle camp and start preparing for more extensive attacks. That’s when the pack leaders come down to put an end to their plans. Minho, Changbin and Hyunjin ravage their settlements, slashing through every tent and mangling every wolf to send a clear message.

Now that communication is more open and secure between the two packs, and Minho has even met Changbin for the first time in months during one of their excursions through the territories, news gets to both ends a lot faster. That is how Jisung quickly consolidates his status within the pack, as wolves from both leaders confirm his existing relationship with Changbin and the amount of trust they put on each other.

That is also how Minho finally gets his hands on a letter from Chan. Well, not from Chan’s own wrist, but carrying his message.

A man called Sungjae writes to them from Twilight Mountain, his letters sent to Peniel first, with the expectation that they would be delivered safely to Changbin and Minho. The message reveals that Chan and his mate have left the mountain, travelling as humans, just the two of them, and that Felix’s current condition would not allow them to reach Chan’s land fast, but that they should arrive within forty days from the date of the letter.

“This means my brother is pregnant, doesn’t it?” Jisung asks, eyes darting across the paper.

“I’m not sure, Sungie. He was really vague.” Minho tells him, afraid of getting his hopes up on something like this.

It would make sense if the condition Sungjae refers to is pregnancy, since most illnesses wouldn’t stop someone from travelling as a wolf. Using one’s wolf is a better choice when it comes to injury or illness, their bodies are stronger that way, easier to nurture and quicker to heal. It is also more wise to stay in wolf form if the energy in one’s body is depleting, because once it reaches a critical state, they’ll be stuck in whatever form they’re currently in.

Pregnancy, on the other hand, makes using one’s wolf a highly painful experience. The elders in Minho’s pack used to say that there’s no space in a male wolf’s body for a growing human pup as a way to explain to the kids why that happens. Minho can vouch for the veracity of that phrase, he witnessed what happens to a man who turns into their wolf while pregnant, it was not pretty. He shudders at the memory.

“To me that’s very clear, why else would they travel as humans? Not only would they get here faster as wolves, but they would be better hidden and would not have to carry provisions.” Hyunjin says.

“Right?” Jisung agrees excitedly. “I’m definitely going to be an uncle.”

Hyunjin smiles and leans on his desk to chat. “Is this your first nephew?”

“My older brother has two kids. One is four, the other is two.” Jisung hops on the desk and swings his legs as he speaks. “I don’t care for my brother, but the boys are the sweetest thing…”

Minho closes his eyes and massages his temples. There’s no point telling these two to slow down and manage their expectations, it’s like watching two children feeding each other’s fantasies instead of two grown adults in the brink of a pack war.

Provided Chan faces no delays in his journey, then his arrival is just around the corner, which is wonderful since Minho is positive the invasions are building up to a major attack that should come within the week, likely on the first night of his heat. Minho would feel a lot safer if Chan is around by that point, since he has never had to lead a defense in such a state.

“I assume you know the direction they’re coming from?” Minho asks Jisung, interrupting their chatter and waiting for a confirmation. “Then I think you should get a couple of my men and go look for them.”

Hyunjin doesn’t think twice before questioning him. “Is that wise? He should be with you-”

“They don’t know what the current situation is, they might end up surprised by an enemy group. If your brother really is pregnant and cannot shift, then they better not be alone in case someone needs to help him flee fast.”

“When do I leave? If the letter is accurate, they should be near.”

Minho loves how quick Jisung is to attend to his orders, always. “Tomorrow. Let me have you for one more night at least.”

Jisung immediately hops off the desk, stepping towards Minho with a grin on his face, just to lay a fat kiss on his cheek and turn away to leave.

“I’ll get it all ready for tomorrow then.” He says already walking out, his voice getting smaller as he disappears into the hallway. “I’m taking Gunil and Jun, they’re fast, dark fur, good for stealth…”

Minho can’t help but giggle at Jisung’s behaviour, he surely has grown comfortable in the pack already.

“Min,” Hyunjin, who’d been quiet ever since he was cut off before, calls for his attention once they are totally alone. “You didn’t forget about your heat, did you?”

“Of course I did not, that’s precisely why I need him gone soon, otherwise he will refuse to leave me. He could smell your heat pretty early on, I imagine mine will be even easier.”

“But you don’t want him to?”

“Jinnie, it’s gonna be hard for me to fight in that state already, if I have to smell him nearby I’ll be useless.”

“You can’t fight heat stricken, Min. We have enough men here now, Jeongin and I can manage an invasion.”

“You’re forgetting they have Sunwoo. They know when my heat starts and they will attack that night, they’ll come for me, no matter where I hide.”

Hyunjin’s eyes go wide as he thinks it through. “Is Bin aware?”

“We talked. That’s why there’s so many men here.”

“You’re not stationing me anywhere, right? I wanna be with you, I can defend you. If Sangyeon comes for you, I can fight him.”

Minho smiles at his worried friend, letting his hand be picked up in Hyunjin's urgency to show the protective feelings that cause his eyes to water.

“Of course, love. We fight side by side, like we always did.”

Enjoyable heats are rare in Minho’s life. His cycles are mostly an inconvenience that even the Moon seemed to know he would despise, sending his first one when he was seventeen, much later than most.

It was agony from start to end. Even his mother cried with him, knowing how strong of a boy Minho was and still watching him fold in pain and burst into uncontrollable screams. They went to the elders after, to get some type of suppressant that would rid Minho of further suffering, just to be told to wait for the next one and if it turned out like that again, they would look into suppressing it. 

For months the idea terrorized him, and when the signs showed that his heat was arriving again, he felt sick to his stomach. But to his surprise, the second one was normal. He felt horny more than in pain, he nested and yearned like any omega would. And because of that, he never got his suppressants.

He met an alpha his age that was able to knot him alright for the next one, but then the silly boy decided to go knock on his parents door to ask to mate him and then cried when Minho laughed at him. He never allowed other pack alphas into his nest after that.

After a couple more inconveniently timed cycles he had to spend alone, he met an omega from another pack during the harvest festival they used to have. Minho went into heat while they shared a room and that was the first time he truly enjoyed himself. That man fucked him right and then taught him ways to replicate the feeling of a knot, so that he wouldn’t have to rely on alphas ever again.

Then the war started and his next heats were spent hidden so that no enemies could get to him. After that, he spent many years worrying about the kids he led, if they were safe while he closed himself off to endure the torment. And once he established a territory, he gave Chan’s alphas a chance, but that never paid off for him.

Currently, he is trying not to think about Jisung, about what the smell of his rut did to him that one time, about how that felt more like a proper heat than any he’s ever had, but as he runs towards the unmistakable scent of the enemy, that’s where his mind is—on Jisung’s skin, his scent, his noises, his words.

Minho’s body burns, from his snout to his tail, inside and out. His human had been sweating already when he had to shift and it was only late in the afternoon. Now, as the Moon shows her face in the quickly darkening sky, his wolf feels like it’s gonna go up in flames.

The attack comes exactly as Minho predicted, from the side of his territory that is the farthest away from Chan’s and a long way from the manor—the perfect place for them to just wait until the Moon drags him into the peak of his heat, with no place to hide. If Minho’s pack was to not react, they would take over that patch easily, overpower his territorial mark and set a dangerous precedent for whatever claim Sangyeon puts forward with the other packs, so Minho has no choice but to let himself be lured there.

With the exception of the ones who went to find Chan and Felix, the entirety of his pack follows him, flaring their powerful scents and making no attempt to conceal their noisy approach as the earth vibrates under their paws. They leave their other border under Changbin’s protection and the heart of their land attended by Peniel’s men, while Jeongin patrols the road with a horde of equally swift-footed wolves.

A familiar face provokes a wave of snarls just as they reach a small clearing at the edge of his territory. Sunwoo sits on a fallen trunk, staring at the floor in his human form. His scent is just starting to change, still heavily marked by Minho’s leadership, but now tinted with a smell that strongly resembles their pack of origin.

His brother stands beside him, looking not much different from the memory Minho carried of him—the same defiant smile, the same harsh eyes. Sangyeon wants Minho to see his face, his ghost. He flares his nostrils and narrows his eyes at Minho’s heat scent, the same way he used to do when they were teenagers, when Minho would quicken his pace to get home faster and avoid being alone with him for too long.

Behind them are the pack leaders, three of them—Jaebeom, Jinhwan, Soobin, all in human form. Minho is certain they’ll stay that way. They are there to observe, not to fight. The wolves that accompany them will certainly get involved, but their leaders won’t.

Just as Sangyeon steps forward and throws the cloak he’d been wearing to the floor to comfortably shift, Minho’s nape burns with a feeling that has nothing to do with the reality in front of him. His chest lights up with happiness and a howl fights its way out of him.

Jisung found his brother somewhere and his love spills out through the mating mark on his neck, reaching Minho’s soul like the distance between them is meaningless.

Such odd behaviour causes Sangyeon to hesitate as he shifts, wincing like he fears Minho might be insane after all. Minho uses those seconds to start running, launching himself at the wolf even before all four of Sangyeon’s paws hit the floor.

The two roll a long distance on the ground with the force of the impact. They are similar in size, similar in colour, in markings, even in smell. It would be a very balanced fight, if not for the fact that Minho is stronger, smarter, better.

That’s what no one seems to be able to accept, that Minho is simply better.

Minho fights with his size, like he always does, falling heavily over Sangyeon and forcing a puff of air to struggle out of him. He dives straight for the muzzle, clamping both pieces of his mouth shut until his teeth are digging into the skin.

Sangyeon tries to strike with his back paws, to run sharp claws on Minho’s unprotected stomach and gut him. As if Minho would allow him to, a simple kick to the side and Minho is off him, hurling Sangyeon’s body across the floor like a rag doll.

Minho has only a vague understanding of the fight around him, the sound of snarls and growls filling the air are dream-weak when compared to the sound of his own heart, of the blood pumping in his ear.

The Moon is high in the sky now and her light boils Minho’s insides, makes his eyes glossy and unreliable with the heat, makes his guts coil and sting, his legs hurt and his hair stand up. At the same time, it makes his nose so powerful that he doesn’t even need any of his other senses.

He can smell the anger and the excitement in the scents around him, can smell the fear of the ones watching and the pain of the ones already injured. He can smell his own territorial mark and how extraordinarily compelling it is. He can smell his heat and he can smell the alphas’ response to it.

He doesn’t give Sangyeon time to get up, slashing the meat of a thigh as he grabs him by the back leg and tugs, damaging him like he would prey, letting blood fill his mouth like he wants to eat him. Although Minho can’t quite hear the scream he lets out, he can smell the horror that’s settling as his enemy regrets his choices.

Sangyeon tries to wiggle out of his current situation, only to have Minho renew the grip, burying his fangs in a gnawing motion and yanking him back with a loud clack that immediately causes the leg to go limp.

Oh, that scream Minho does hear. Its sound sends a jolt of energy right through his heart, something he never felt before. Suddenly, he can see again and the throbbing on his limbs subsides, and instead of stinging and burning, his insides now feel tingly, excited. He wants to feel it again.

He pounces on Sangyeon’s throat, burying his fangs all the way to the gums, disregarding the dense fur trying to choke him out, chewing his way in when the blood makes him slide. He swings his head more on instinct than as a proper strategy, dragging the struggling body side to side slightly and listening to his enemy gurgle ever more quietly as life gives in.

Minho lets him go for a second, lets his large body hit the floor with barely any energy left inside. Then he pounces on the belly, front paws hitting the lighter fur and tainting it with red where the claws slash the skin open. He goes in with his teeth, opening the unmoving wolf and pulling whatever he can out. Again and again and again, until the energy that had stricken his heart dies down and the blood flow completely stops.

Minho sees the scene around him clearly for the first time. Most of the rest of the pack has already disengaged from their battles and now stands guarding Minho’s side of the glade, showing their fangs and daring the alphas to approach. But not far from where he stands, Sunwoo fights bravely against a much more capable and well trained Hyunjin, who is seconds away from landing his final hit.

He hears the howls, now so loud they threaten to hurt his ears, and he recognizes some of them. Jeongin is there, somewhere in the trees nearby, and he is sounding an alarm Minho knows well. Chan’s reply is also clear, as clear as his scent that’s quickly approaching.

He looks back at the pack leaders then. Jaebeom looks pale as he holds Jinhwan’s arms back while the man struggles to get out of his grip, showing his teeth with a crazed look on his face. Soobin also holds Jinhwan by the scruff, to stop him from shifting and running away, but he’s facing Minho, screaming something at him.

“You need to go! Go!” Minho hears through the buzzing in his ear. “Minho, run!”

Minho smells it at the same time that Chan’s wolf appears in his line of sight, the smell of a rut trigger. His eyes widen as Jinhwa escapes and shifts, launching his huge body in Minho’s direction, just to be hit with the blurry grey shape of Chan’s body.

Minho snaps awake and runs off.

There’s nothing guiding him but the will to be with his mate. His eyes don’t work and his nose is completely overtaken by the smells of the alphas nearby and of the blood that covers his fur. Minho isn’t even worried about putting distance between him and the other wolves, all he can do is run to where Jisung’s mating mark sends him, as it pounds in the back of his brain.

Desperate howls rip the night as Minho screams for his alpha, his legs shake and his paws start to fail, bending and flipping against branches on the forest floor, making him trip.

No amount of panting can make up for the long distance he has to cross to get to the manor, he needs to stop. But there’s no picking back up if he stops now, he’s barely holding on to his wolf as it is, the heat stricken human within begging to come out, to be allowed to sweat the heat away, to touch the parts of him that need release and that he does not share with his wolf body.

The knowledge that Jisung is running to him is a lifeline, gifted to him by the blessed mark his alpha carries. He feels Jisung desperation, his efforts to find Minho, he even feels the water from the creek touching Jisung’s paws as he shortens the path.

It all becomes so painful that Minho falls to the ground, his front paws too weak for the next leap.

His human chin meets the earth, which is soft enough to not hurt but also prickly from the pieces of wood and crunchy leaves. And the feeling of shifting out of his wolf in such a state is even worse than all he felt until now. Vague memories of the elders advising him against using his wolf so much when he’s getting close to a heat dance behind his eyelids as he screams, sobbing loudly in the emptiness of the forest. He needs Jisung to get to him, he can no longer do this alone.

Jisung’s scent is so strong now that it causes slick to gush out of Minho, making crawling around almost impossible, causing his knees to slip and scratch against every hard edge and pointy bit nature can produce. He does his best to reach the tree roots that made him trip in the first place, just to have something to brace himself against as the waves of pain ravage his body from inside out. It is so dark, he can’t see anything and all he can hear is his own suffering, his laboured breath and the miserable whines he lets out.

Then he feels two hands caging his hips, hears the familiar growl of Jisung behind him, and finally gasps for air that’s now all his mate’s scent.

“I’m here, love.” Jisung says in a strained tone as he pulls Minho’s ass closer and pushes himself inside.

Minho screams from so deep in his chest that it hurts his throat on the way out.

Jisung fucks him fast and rough, aware that Minho needs the knot to catch as soon as possible, that his pain is not going away until he is properly attached to his alpha. “I’ll make it good for you after, I promise.”

Minho loves this man so much, his chest fills with a different type of heat, one that’s born from the dedication in Jisung’s grave voice, from him worrying about Minho’s pleasure even when all he has to do is to knot him and stop the pain.

In only a few thrusts, the knot expands and catches inside Minho, forcing yet another visceral scream out of him as he releases on the ground and crushes the first few layers of the thick root under his claws.

All he can do is shake and cry as the pain slowly wanes and is replaced by the ripples of pleasure from every time he squeezes around the knot.

Jisung hugs his limp body by the waist and takes Minho with him when he flops sideways, so that he’s the one sitting on the ground, back against the tree, with Minho draped over him. He gives both of them a moment to breathe, then grips Minho’s jaw with a hand, turning his face until their eyes can meet and he can peck his lips. “Gonna make it good for you now.”

A securely attached knot doesn’t allow for all that much movement, but Jisung seems to know exactly what to do when he plants his feet on the floor and starts bucking his hips to make Minho bounce.

Minho’s possessive hold doesn’t even threaten to let the knot go, but when his entire body is jolted up and down like that, the cock inside him finds all of the hard to hit places and makes him feel so full that his sight starts spotting with pleasure.

Then Jisung’s warm hand is palming Minho’s cock, two of his fingers sliding all the way down to the sensitive skin behind his balls, pressing firmly there while he lets Minho’s excessively wet tip slide against the smooth skin of his arm.

Minho is already gurgling his moans by the time Jisung decides to tease one of his nipples as well, pinching it between his thumb and pointer until Minho is whimpering for him, cursing breathlessly as he lies on his chest.

“Feels good, baby?” Jisung whispers, kissing Minho’s ear as he nods. “Show me how good it feels. Please.” He lets that one hand slide all the way back up the underside of Minho’s cock and wrap around it, his thumb pushing into the slit that’s already pulsing out of control, a second away from shooting a second load all over them.

And with one last loud cry, Minho spills in Jisung’s hand, hot pleasure making him wriggle and writhe wildly as he clenches on the knot until his alpha is crying moans of his own, hold so strong Minho just knows it will bruise.

By the time he is finished, there’s not one ounce of energy left in his body. He is exhausted, comfortable, safe and warm in Jisung’s embrace. It’s Jisung’s heavy breathing and the contentment radiating from his mating mark that carries Minho to sleep, the world dissolving within the minute.

Complete darkness surrounds him as he gains consciousness again, a little scared as his brain tries to decipher where he is and when. Thankfully, the very first whiff of his mate’s scent brings back the memories from a few hours ago.

Minho has no idea of where he was dragged to after passing out, but he knows they’re still in the forest due to the smell, and although he cannot see in the pitch black, he feels the bare earth under his body.

Lying back down, he spreads his knees and reaches a hand between them to feel the mess that is his lower half. He wants to let Jisung sleep for longer, even though he’s hard and leaking, and starting to feel pain once again, so he wraps a hand around himself and starts slowly working.

Seconds into it, Jisung rolls on top of him, fitting himself between Minho’s legs and placing hungry kisses down his throat.

Minho brings both hands around his large shoulders, combing his fingers through the hairs on his nape. “You can sleep more-”

Jisung growls to shut him up, sucking harshly on the gland on his neck and dragging his lower body on Minho so he can feel how hard he already is.

“Ah, in that case-” Minho moans when their cocks rub together with Jisung’s next movement. “In that case, go- go ahead.”

Jisung breathes out a small laugh against Minho’s skin when he goes down to catch a nipple between his teeth, while his hand pins Minho’s knee up and makes space for him to sink into him.

Minho arches from the floor, pulling on Jisung’s hair and digging claws on the skin of his back. He is shoved up with every push, then brought closer by gentle hands that slide on the sweat covering his torso and arms. “I love you. I- love- you,” he cries with broken speech, between each hard thrust.

Jisung whines desperately, his face buried in the crook of Minho’s neck and his whole body devoted to fucking him right.

“Please, Jisung. Please,” Minho stretches his neck, exposing the scent gland completely for Jisung to take. “I want to be yours. I need to be yours.”

It smells like freshly dug soil when Jisung’s claws close around a fistful of the ground right by Minho’s face.

“Alpha…” Minho whispers when he feels the body on top of him going stiff. “Alpha, please. Alpha, plea-”

Jisung closes his teeth on Minho’s neck, blunt pressure making Minho squirm in pain and pleasure at the same time that the knot pops and Minho is sent over the edge, mouth falling open in a silent scream.

The sensations are overwhelming, coming from so many places in his body that they render him useless. Even though the back of his head sparks with all types of feeling born from Jisung’s mark, Minho knows the pressure on his neck isn’t from Jisung giving him a mark of his own.

He doesn’t complain, can’t complain when it all feels so good and intense. The only thing he does is relax in Jisung’s hold once again, letting the weight of his alpha and the bruising force of his bite lull him to sleep one more time.

When Minho wakes up again, it’s daylight and he finds himself alone inside of a hollow tree. He pokes his head out of the opening Jisung covered with branches for his comfort. His mate is outside, dressed in robes Minho knows well. He is talking to Hyunjin, getting a basket from him and thanking him profusely.

Hyunjin notices Minho as he turns away to leave and smiles, waving energetically and causing Jisung to turn around to smile at him too. For whatever reason, that makes Minho blush and hide inside again.

There are a few things inside the hollow tree that can only have come from the manor, which means that that’s not Jisung’s first delivery. Minho sees bottles of water and food, as well as the standard yellow flask with the tea he’ll need to drink soon. There are some blankets too, spread to cover the majority of the floor and make it more comfortable.

Jisung comes back inside, carrying the basket and that ridiculously pretty smile of his. “Good morning, love.”

Minho’s nose picks up the contents of the basket immediately. It smells like his pack and he knows inside there will be items for his nest, which makes his chest rumble, excited as he is to surround himself with that comfort. “Good morning,” he says, eyeing the basket like it’s irresistible.

Jisung laughs and puts it down beside him. “Such a pretty omega. Go ahead, baby.”

There’s so much to arrange, so many comfortable scents for Minho to indulge in. He goes about building his nest, fully unaware of the food Jisung is plating up until he’s back to the blankets, bringing bites of it to Minho’s lips and demanding that he eats despite his complaints.

They don’t do much during the day, mostly just cuddling in Minho’s beautifully improvised nest, as he refuses to let Jisung spend any amount of time without them touching.

This dynamic is entirely new to Minho. He felt plenty of things during his cycles, of course, but it all ranged from pure instinctual lust to absurd amounts of pain and anxiety. Heats were never so comfortable and peaceful like with Jisung.

As the Moon shows her face once more, he feels fever coming again, causing slick to run down his legs and changing Jisung’s body from a source of comfort to the object of Minho’s most lustful cravings.

His alpha has no complaints when Minho climbs on top of him and leisurely rides the night’s first wave, dragging his claws over skin and muscles, honey and ink, just for the pleasure of touching what is his.

It’s not until the dead of night and the peak of fever that Minho asks Jisung to mark him again, and this time around Jisung flips him over and mounts him from the back, while his teeth break the skin of his nape. The pleasure is so intense that Minho goes long minutes unaware that, once again, this isn’t his mate giving him what he wants.

Although Jisung’s arms are the coziest bed Minho has ever had, he can’t help the tears that escape the corner of his eyes as the afternoon sun starts going down, bathing their charming hideout in warm, golden light after yet another peaceful day.

“It is not because I lack the love to mate you, or even the desire to claim you for myself,” Jisung says, reading his mind. “I’m a Han, Minho. My rotten bite will take away your happiness first, then your independence, and then your life entirely. I can’t do that to you, because I love you. I won’t do that to you.”

The mating mark on Jisung’s neck pulses in Minho’s soul, so openly sad for causing him pain that Minho couldn’t doubt him if he wanted to. He feels Jisung’s sincerity with the same intensity he feels Jisung’s desire boil when he begs for the bite, with the same certainty of his denial.

Jisung won’t do it, he will never mark him.

“Never mate a Han,” Minho whispers weakly.

Jisung nods. “I’m sorry.”

Minho presses his face to Jisung’s chest, seeking comfort. “I’m still yours, mating mark or not.”

“I know that. And I will give you anything else, everything else you ask of me. Every night of my love, every minute of my time. Children, a family, a home. The only thing I can’t do is hurt you.”

The last night of his heat doesn’t see Minho begging to be claimed, only holding his mate close the entire time, nose pressed to the neck Jisung so willingly allowed him to mark, as he drowns in the belief that he is Jisung’s by choice as much as by destiny. With or without a mating mark.

Every pack leader in the region is in attendance that afternoon two weeks after the final invasion, and every pair of eyes looks at Minho with a mixture of fear and awe.

Accounts of his one-sided victory against Sangyeon spread far and wide, corroborating the view of those who thought Minho a dangerous alpha-hating omega leader, but also ending doubts about his ability to rule over his pack.

Following Chan’s and Peniel’s advice, Minho invited all of them to talk, regardless of their involvement with the rival pack that tried to overtake his territory. Minho is only in agreement because he did kill many of their men to defend himself, while the only member he lost was to treason and not murder.

“I have never attempted against anyone’s territory or hurt anyone’s pack members unfairly. I’ve never meddled in anyone’s business and never taken sides if not for those to whom I’m openly loyal. I have never even raised my prices, despite every corner of this land being dependent on my products that you don’t know how to cultivate or brew. I’ve never given you a reason for this.” Minho holds on to the ring on his finger as he defends himself, his tone calm and collected, strikingly different from what the rumors say about him.

“While you are not lying, we’ve only known you for a handful of years, Minho.” Jaebeom says from his seat. “I do not claim we were correct in the ways we judged you, I clearly see how we weren’t, but I ask you to take into consideration the information we had at hand.”

The same handful of years you’ve known Chan, Minho thinks, but refrains from saying it because he knows it would look petty, childish.

“If three years of my leadership isn’t enough proof of my character, what made Sangyeon worthy of your trust that quickly?”

A murmur spreads through the hall, pack leaders and members whispering to each other, though it is impossible to hear what judgment they make of that accusation.

Soobin gets up from his chair, pacing closer to the centre like Minho and Chan are doing. “It was Sunwoo,” he says calmly. “Out of all your members, he’s the one the majority of us spoke to the most over the years, so when he corroborated everything his brother accused you of, it felt natural to believe him.”

“When he corroborated everything you already believed about Minho, you mean.” Chan corrects.

“Yes, I fear that’s true.” Soobin looks at Minho when he speaks. “And I’m sorry. I no longer believe such lies.”

Minho nods, then turns silently to face Jaebeom.

Jaebeom gets up and nods back. “I no longer believe such lies.”

Once again, Minho nods, turning to the last of the involved leaders.

Jinhwan remains seated, but he nods back as well. “I no longer believe those lies.”

One last nod and Minho turns to walk back to his seat, stopping when he hears Jinhwan clear his throat.

“And Minho,” he calls and waits until Minho is looking at him again, “I’m sorry for trying to chase after you during your heat. It was disrespectful and I will control myself better in the future.”

Minho actually smiles at the honest apology. He had expected it, just not in public. When he returns to his seat and looks at his mate, Jisung has the proudest, prettiest smirk on his face, and it causes Minho’s heart to flutter, as proud of himself as Jisung is.

The rest of the meeting goes by smoothly. More distant packs offer to take in the packless alphas that arrived with Sangyeon and now have nowhere to go, as long as Minho is in agreement, which he very much is.

Minho receives payments for the few trades that went wrong during the invasions to his territory, then shakes hands with every single leader there, with a promise to keep communications open for as long as their leadership lasts.

And when they arrive back at the manor, Minho is ready to put this chapter behind and join his friends at the dining hall, as soon as he is done with the last and arguably hardest closure he needs to face.

He goes down the steps to the dungeon alone and dismisses Jooyeon from his painful duty. He unlocks the cell and sits facing Sunwoo.

Those minutes of silence are the longest Minho’s ever lived through, as he watches tears run down Sunwoo’s face while they both look for the right words to say.

“I know I was wrong,” Sunwoo says finally, “and I am truly sorry, because I know you didn’t deserve it.”

Minho simply nods, heart hurting in his chest as he listens.

“I knew as soon as I saw him that he wasn’t worth it, that I would betray you for someone who’d throw me aside as soon as he got what he wanted,” Sunwoo continues, “but I just couldn’t let go of him again. I couldn’t lose him one more time.”

“I know, Sun.” Minho’s voice is soft, because he sees nothing but the same lonely child who walked away from home with him that day over six years ago. “You would’ve stayed if you knew he was alive, you would’ve run to him six years ago, six months ago or even now if you could.” He points at the bundle under the pillow on the bed Sunwoo’s been sleeping on, which he is sure holds the fabric with which he plans to hang himself. “Waiting for Joo to fall asleep to join your brother?”

Sunwoo’s mouth falls open in silence as he looks for an answer, but then he nods. “Hyunjin couldn’t do it for me when we fought, and I know you will hurt the rest of your life when it ends up in your hands, so I’ll do it myself.”

“I’ll hurt for the rest of my life if you do it yourself too.”

“Some pains are worse than others.” He smiles. “You have your mate now, he’ll hold you through it.”

Minho smiles too. He is going to miss this child so much. “My mate says the foot of Twilight Mountain is a bustling place, that there’s so many people there that one could pick up their stuff and start a whole new life a couple of blocks away and no one would find them, that there are so many businesses that he couldn’t visit them all in over twenty four years of living there.”

Sunwoo looks at him in silence, trying to process what that means.

“The only thing is that not many people know how to read and write in the city, so it’s hard to find a good employee to hire.” Minho continues, taking an envelope out of his pocket. “So he wrote a letter to his friend Hongjoong, who’s apparently in dire need of a literate boy to help him out.” He places the letter on top of that same pillow then turns to leave. “Jisung thinks you’re a good fit.”

“Min, I-”

“Everyone’s busy, so make your decision tonight.” Minho leaves the cell gate open after he steps out. “I don’t want you to die, but when has my opinion ever stopped you before?”

Jisung is already drunk when he welcomes Minho in the dining hall, twirling him close by the arm to steal a kiss. They sit down with Felix, who Minho has met only weeks ago, but whose smile is already carving its place in his heart.

Chan joins them, dimples showing as he proudly hugs his mate from behind, resting a hand on the round bump that is his stomach. “I wanna say I can’t believe I came back home to find you mated to Jisung, but that’s only because I didn’t expect Jisung to be here to begin with.”

Minho raises an eyebrow. “Meaning that other than him getting here the rest is obvious?”

“Yeah,” Chan laughs. “I remember thinking back when we first started doing business that Jisung would roll belly up for you if you met.”

“Excuse me?” Jisung complains indignantly.

Chan shrugs. Jisung shrugs back, then scooches in his seat to snuggle to Minho’s chest, making everyone laugh.

“I always knew my brother’s mate was out there somewhere. He was always a romantic, no matter how against mating he pretended to be.” Felix says.

“Against mating? He offered me his neck within the month!” Minho teases.

Jisung gets up to complain some more. “Why is everyone attacking me-”

He is interrupted by Changbin’s loud scream behind them. Apparently, Jeongin hit him with a dart after missing the target that’s above Gunil’s head.

“Oh c’mon, it’s just a little dart!” Jeongin argues loudly, not seeing a reason for such a fuss.

“What if you’d hit my mate?” Changbin argues back.

Jeongin rolls his eyes. “If you two were kind enough to go makeout somewhere else and not right by the darts, that would not be a problem we have.”

Chans sighs at the table. “Jeongin, quit throwing darts, you are drunk, you’re gonna hurt somebody. Changbin, take your mate to one of the many rooms in this manor, no one wants to see that while they have dinner.”

Minho points at Gunil in agreement, then looks at Hyunjin with a disgusted face, laughing when his friend promptly ignores him and pulls Changbin into another kiss as they stumble out of the dining hall.

He’s still laughing when Jisung pulls him back into his embrace, now hugging Minho’s shoulder and pulling him into a kiss. He bites Jisung’s bottom lip and keeps him close with a tight grip on his shirt. “Should we go to our room too?”

“You haven’t had dinner yet.”

“I’m not that type of hungry anyways.”

Jisung’s smirk as he gets up from the seat and offers Minho a hand should be considered a crime. “Anything you ask of me, I promised.”