Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

FERAL

“Mino dropped out.”

It was the second time Jisung mentioned it since barging into the pack house. He was repeating himself, perhaps hoping Donghyuck’s response would change.

It didn’t.

Apparently, they would be short an alpha tonight. 

Donghyuck continued shoving his dinner into his mouth, aware of the small voice in his head that began to whisper, what if? But he didn’t listen to it. He shouldn’t. There was a reason he swore these things off for good, and he had nothing against Jisung, but the kid had a tendency of making a big deal out of nothing. Surely, they’d find someone else, another alpha that was more in touch—less at war—with their base instincts than Donghyuck.

Downing a large gulp of his now lukewarm water, Donghyuck looked at Jisung and shrugged. “I’m not doing it.”

His second refusal hit harder than the first. It made the air quality inside the house change, the ventilation worse. Across the dining room, Jisung’s mouth twitched. It took Donghyuck extra effort to get through his bite of food this time around, the chew too dry, less spit in his mouth to ease the swallow. But Donghyuck held firm. 

He wouldn’t do it.

The meat scratched the inner walls of his throat on the way down. The bite was too big. Donghyuck held back his grimace, not wanting Jisung to see that his pestering was beginning to get to him. Pretending to be immersed in his bowl of stewed meat and jasmine rice, he missed the way Jisung fumed. But he could hear him barrel closer to where Donghyuck sat, past the archway connecting the living room to the dining area and right into Donghyuck’s space.

In an instant, his beta scent stretched across the cluttered room. His scent was elastic and muggy, an argumentative citrus that reshaped itself into something surprisingly sharp.

Donghyuck clenched his fist. This was Donghyuck’s pack house. It wasn’t right for Jisung to pierce through it with his pheromones. Jisung knew this. But he didn’t care; he didn’t try to reign in his outburst. 

“We have thirty fucking minutes, Hyuck.” 

Well, this was a first. 

Jisung never lost his cool. 

This time, Donghyuck’s jaw stilled, officially too pissed off to keep pretending his dinner was getting all his attention. Jisung didn’t raise his voice, but his lower lip trembled with frustration. “What, you want me on my knees, begging you? You say you’re not like other alphas but what the fuck type of power trip is this?”

Donghyuck shot up from his chair, breathing heavily. “You know I don’t do this shit anymore.”

“This isn’t about you!” His face was an inch from Donghyuck’s now. “Sion is out of town. Eunsook is on that damn soul searching roadtrip. There are no other unmated alphas left for me to ask.” The words were rushed, hissed out of his mouth. He said them not to make Donghyuck aware of what was going on, but to remind him of it.

There was an alpha shortage. Not by a lot, not yet. But it was becoming a problem. As much as Donghyuck rejected the rituals put in place by the older generations of elders, he couldn’t deny science. Omegas needed alphas during their cycle. It was pure cruelty not to help, especially if they were out of options.

For a moment, Donghyuck didn't speak. Jisung was a beta. His dominance wasn’t high. But he was angry. And his pheromones turned to daggers in the empty inches between their chests. Donghyuck had had his hackles raised since Jisung barged into the pack house with that odd, constipated frown etched onto his face. But Donghyuck had control. He hadn’t shown how aggravated he’d been before. 

Now, though.

“Back off. Now.” It wasn’t a growl, Donghyuck wasn’t the type, but his flat tone didn’t leave room for negotiation. Cedar and oak, slightly burning. Donghyuck’s scent rolled off his damp skin in solid layers, menacing and unyielding, a wolf guarding its territory.

Jisung turned his head slightly, unable to inhale it head on. But he didn’t step back. “Come to the woods with me. Please.”

It had been a while since Donghyuck felt his resolve break. A perk of being an older, unmated alpha: people tended to leave him alone. He forgot what it was like to be challenged. To yield to someone else. But Donghyuck claimed to never lose his cool anymore, to never use his excessive dominance to subdue others. He reigned in his scent. Inhaled.

Exhaled. 

He slipped into his hiking shoes on the way out.

The drive to the forest clearing took ten minutes.

It took one minute for Donghyuck to start sweating.

“Nervous?”

Donghyuck scoffed. “No.”

He was nervous.

But his nerves were nuanced. He didn’t doubt his ability to perform well in the Chase. He was fast. Strong and agile. And he was yet to meet an alpha with greater dominance than him. He’ll get the omega he wanted. Donghyuck was sure of it—not because he’s cocky, but because it always turned out that way. Twice a year, every year. Back when he would participate regularly, the outcome was always what he chose it to be.

It was the heat that followed that made his knees bounce, palms get damp. Part of his responsibility within the pack was to offer his help to omegas in the area with their heats. Whining, soft, and tantalizingly helpless. When he first presented over a decade ago, he’d made himself available like he was raised to do.

The omegas need you, Donghyuck. This is how you hold your weight in the pack. This is how we survive.

And then, the rumors started.

The rumors, not entirely unfounded, used to follow after him like a hulking shadow. They used to creep in, ensnare him. Make him question who he was and what he stood for.

Donghyuck stopped participating in the Chase three years ago.

He still heard echoes of the stories every now and then, phantom whispers about his aggression, retellings of the impassioned reviews left by the omegas he’d slept with. But none of that really bothered him anymore. He knew what he was. What his limitations were, his strengths. And the newer packs that settled in their area were only getting wisps of the past, mediated by time and people that were surely exaggerating. It wasn’t easy to believe the reclusive alpha they knew could be as belligerent as the rumors suggested. Donghyuck kept to himself for a reason.

Outside on the vast clearing, several packs gathered at the edge of the tree line. 

Above, a waxing gibbous moon ogled at the bustling crowd—six unmated omegas, six unmated alphas, and dozens of spectators making their guesses on how the Chase would unfold. They treated it like a sporting event, an oversized family gathering with food and drinks and children running after the pet wolves and stray rabbits. There was a veneer of good cheer and camaraderie between the packs. But beneath it, they gambled away the fate of their omegas. They made predictions, cruel jokes, petty jabs. Some omegas took longer than others to find a mate.

The Choi Little Toe girl, do you think she’ll find a match for once? 

If Baek Frown keeps pushing away his suitors, he’ll be mateless his whole life.

I’m just surprised the Trouble Huang kid showed after so many years.

Kid? He’s grown now, ain’t he?

Donghyuck didn’t know who these omegas were. He knew the names in passing, they were familiar in their small, incestuous communities. The family names sometimes repeated, so they’d attach little epithets. Like Sleepyhead Lee (he’d overslept and missed his first day of school). Or Park the Biter (she defended her pack betas from attack by chewing at the fingers of a rival pack leader). But Donghyuck had stopped keeping tabs the moment he renounced his involvement in the intra-pack Chase. The names didn't mean much to him, and he tried his best to tune it all out.

Stepping into the fold after his well-gossiped hiatus, he was subjected to a long string of double takes, loud whispering, and from the children—finger pointing. Who’s that? Older women eyed him from the sole of his sneakers to the strands of his dirty blonde hair. The betas gave him a wide berth, not wanting to get near the blanket of cedar creating a murky cloud around him. The alphas looked. Openly. Head on. Even the mated ones.

“Where the fuck is Mino, anyway?”

Jisung, focused on surveying the crowd, muttered under his breath: “He has the flu.”

“Omega slick is the best natural remedy for that shit. That’s no excuse.”

At that, Jisung tore his gaze away from an alpha woman using a double barrel grill just to make a face of displeasure at Donghyuck. “He’s, like, in the hospital.”

“Whatever.”

Donghyuck didn’t want to be here. He was calling in a favor. He would allow himself the shitty, slimy alpha joke, just this once because he deserved it. Being around so many people—knowing what’s about to happen—set him on edge. It was a performance, and as one of the six alphas on the metaphorical stage, he felt too visible. Much more visible than he’d like.

“Well, well, well. Look who the cat dragged in.”

The new voice was none other than Mark, or Lee the Philosopher. He didn’t give Donghyuck time to answer. Before he could finish processing Mark’s arrival, he got pulled into one of his signature one-armed hugs. “Welcome back, man!” Mark wasn’t pack, but he was close to pack. He mated one of the pack omegas. Chenle wasn’t with him, but he was nearby. He had to be. Mark never went anywhere without him.

Donghyuck’s greeting was a small nod. Fuck it, he was really nervous. And there was no nuance to it now. It was pure, unadulterated, stomach-churning, throw up behind a tree when no one was looking nervous. Chases were unpredictable. His alpha will take over. Donghyuck hadn’t let that happen in years.

“You’re going to be fine,” Mark said, knowingly.

All Donghyuck could think to do was shrug. He rolled his ankle, testing the sturdiness of his hiking shoes on the uneven ground. “Sure. I’m more worried for the omega.”

It was not what Mark expected him to say. He quirked his chin, pensive. Or maybe it was what he expected from him. Mark stared at him, through him. “Omegas are stronger than you think.” 

The words came out even, every syllable filling the air with equal weight. In the ensuing silence, the sentence landed heavy, weighed by an almost foreboding edge.

Omegas were stronger than he thinks?

He could scoff.

Donghyuck looked back at him, wondering what elusive secrets Mark was now privy to as a mated alpha. Secrets Dongyuck might never fully know. The thought left him with an odd sensation in his chest, a pocket of emptiness. But the feeling went away as soon as it came.

A bell rang.

The back door to the hosting pack house swung open and, at once, the oxygen in the clearing became sweet. For a moment, Donghyuck’s vision blurred. The air almost went liquid, dripping with preheat pheromones, going thick with moisture the way it happens before a rainstorm. Hands balled into fists, Donghyuck stood straight, acclimating to the assault on his senses. 

The unmated omegas marched to the front of the clearing and distantly, Donghyuck felt hands at his elbows, at his back, pushing him forward. Go. Go stand by the starting line. Do you see it? Donghyuck, go!

Donghyuck went.

But it was bad.

His vision went dark on the sides. His heart rate accelerated to a familiar, dangerous rate, a heady pressure just under the lowest layers of his skin. The omega scents were loud. Gnawing at him. They were different from each other. Some light, springy, and atmospheric. Others, more low to the ground, floral and dense. And one was even lower than that, weighed by honey, by something strangely earthy and sullied. It wasn’t an omega smell, was it?

It was odd.

Donghyuck flared his nostrils, narrowed his eyes to decrease his sensory input. 

It was compelling.

The strange scent was coming from one of the omegas at the starting line, to his left. It was a strong smell. Like damp soil. Or sappy syrup. Strange as it was, adrenaline began to course through his veins. He could feel his calves flexing. Based on his body’s reaction alone, it was undoubtedly an omega scent. 

The alpha scents also registered. Fiery, ozonic, temperamental. He could smell one of them already growing a knot. Donghyuck gritted his teeth. This needed to be over fast. 

“One minute!”

It’ll go like this.

A beta woman, like a master of ceremonies, will pull the shotgun. At the piercing sound, the omegas begin their Run, shooting into the forest and masking their scents as they pleased. The shotgun will then go off a second time, for the alphas behind them.

Some omegas leave false trails, scurry under fallen tree trunks, and try to prolong the thrill of being hunted for as long as they can. Others barely hide, hoping to be discovered quickly, painlessly, succumbing to the whims of the alpha who heroically—attractively, savagely—catch them as prey. 

Donghyuck didn’t hear the sound of the first gun. 

It wasn’t important. He registered the movement of the omega on the left edge of the starting line. Male, dark hair. Petite. That dirty scent came from him. Unlike the others, he didn’t rush forward at a sprint. He jogged towards the imposing sea of dark wood and, just before disappearing into the forest’s shadows, he turned around. He looked behind him, at the alpha line. Donghyuck was able to see his face then. He had a curious, shrewd gaze and a long nose. Lips that curved up at the corners even with his mouth not moving. 

The omega stared analytically, thoughtfully. He started on one end, scraping his gaze along each alpha like a hungry coyote. Donghyuck wasn’t breathing by the time his turn came. On him, the omega’s eyes lingered. At first, Donghyuck thought it was in his head, that the adrenaline coursing through the circuits of his body made time stretch too thin. But then the omega’s face changed. It was subtle, a blink of an expression. A challenging quirk of his chin that could almost be confused for a smile. They kept their eyes locked for three solid, timeless seconds—and then the omega turned around to face the trees again, narrow back facing Donghyuck once more, and he shot forward.

The only thing Donghyuck remembered about that second gun shot was the silence. The chatter from the crowd, the hissing from the grills, the music from the old boombox, the heavy footfalls of the alphas at his side—it was all gone. His brain tuned it out, deemed it unimportant. Donghyuck ran after the strange scent, not thinking of anything but stuffing his nose into it. So when a six foot five alpha came barreling his way, knocking into the soft bits of his side head first, Donghyuck hit the ground like a rag doll. There was blood in his mouth. He landed on his nose. Donghyuck yelled.

Unfortunately for the giant alpha who’d hit him, Donghyuck could fight. Back on his feet, his punch landed without a sound, or maybe Donghyuck’s ears didn’t find the smack of his knuckles hitting the other’s stomach important. All he registered was his own breathing and—the sound of the omega’s soil scent catching on the fallen leaves.

He wasn’t far. 

The scent was fresh. It vibrated in the air like music from metal wind chimes. The pheromones took up space, made Dongyuck want to pause and think. It wasn’t an easy thing to ingest. There were layers in it, confusing and murky.

As he jogged further into the woods, leaving the stupidly tall alpha behind, he briefly considered changing targets, going after one of the floral omegas, with their easy pheromones.

For a short moment, he pivoted, imagining the ease of a quick heat. He sort of knew the other omegas, could recognize at least two of their faces from neighboring packs. He made a sharp right, wiping the drying blood from the top of his upper lip as he sniffed at the air. But then a twig snapped; it wasn’t far by the way its whisper carried clearly in the wind. Was it his omega?

Donghyuck found himself changing course once more, walking toward it. This was how the Chases went. Of course there’d be multiple scents to choose from. He shouldn’t get in his head, shouldn’t overthink things. His alpha clearly liked this scent over the others. He’d find him, capture him, act all bashful and polite once he was thanked for offering to help, and they’d fuck the heat away. Most people found mates this way. Donghyuck, thankfully, never did.

But then, there was a noise. Several noises. From the corner of his eye, two alphas emerged: one, a kid with a ridiculous haircut and the other, the guy he’d punched in the stomach. They were both going towards the broken twig.

The broken twig was his omega making a sound, hiking through brush and hiding from them. Possessiveness erupted in his chest like hellfire. Immediately, Donghyuck sprinted after them.

The alphas were both larger than him. Both reeked of dominant, persistent, territorial incense. It was gross. And stupid. Donghyuck hated this part. Hated how easy it was for him to rush at them, to elbow the one with the corny coiffed hair hard enough to have him falling to his knees and groaning in pain.

The omega’s scent hit him the same exact moment that the tall alpha’s fist made contact with his cheek.

“Fuck!” Donghyuck spit out, swinging back at full force without bothering to aim well. The omega was near. Was here. He could smell him. The high-density scent. Like natural human musk but sweeter. Dirty, with grounded maple. It was the only omega scent in this part of the forest.

And then it dawned on him, the three alphas were going after the same omega.

Well, fuck.

The alpha Donghyuck elbowed earlier, the kid, was back on his feet. Worse still, he was stalking towards the omega. Calling out to him. Donghyuck didn’t catch it, didn’t hear the words coming out of the alpha’s spit-drenched mouth. But he could see his bravado, the arrogant angle of his back and neck as he bounded forward. It was ridiculous. He was talking to the omega with extra pomp, trying to win him over.

The omega’s face was visible, illuminated by the nearly full moon. The wild and curious look from before was gone, plump mouth pursed in a straight line. Donghyuck tuned out the alpha’s voice, focused only on the omega’s expression, on the harsh, emotive slant of his eyebrow peeking through his messy bangs. The omega scoffed. And then, the alpha recoiled. Bent over.

The omega had punched him. 

Donghyuck couldn’t help it, he cackled. The sound broke through the tree canopy, made the terrified woodland animals, previously frozen, stir with excitement. Several sleeping robins lifted into the air in search of a quieter corner of the woods.

In front of him, the rejected alpha cowered near the ground, cradling his face in his hands as if fearing his nose would fall off and disintegrate into the forest floor. Humiliation wafted from his pores in pungent waves. And Donghyuck must admit, witnessing an omega punch an alpha during a Chase was high on his list of Crazy Things He’d Seen Firsthand. 

But this was only the first of many strange things to occur that night.

The remaining alpha—the tall one—sniffed the air. The violence excited him, that much was clear. He began shuffling left and right, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He was deciding whether to charge forward and try his luck at wooing the omega, or to fight Donghyuck.

Donghyuck made the decision for him. He shoved him, moving him further away from the omega. “Find someone else.”

“You fucking kidding?” He grunted, shoving Donghyuck back. His voice was gruff, a little slurred with pheromone drunkenness. “He’s begging to be put in his place. I want it.”

It. The omega man he was chasing wasn’t a he to him but an it.

Fucking knothead. Who the fuck talked like that? Donghyuck wasn’t the type to settle things with bloody violence. Even with an omega’s preheat fucking with all the chemicals in his head. His tactic was always stealth and efficiency; being the metaphorically bigger alpha by getting what he wanted through other means (usually, speed and often, pheromone subjugation). 

Something was different now, though. 

His hands were in fists, urging to make contact, to break bones. Not good. He wasn’t thinking clearly. It didn’t matter. The omega was watching, on high alert. But he didn’t smell afraid. Good. Donghyuck shoved the alpha again. “It’s over. Find someone else.”

But it didn’t get through to him.

The alpha lunged at Donghyuck, claws out. It was barbaric, untrained. Donghyuck, reflexes impressively fast, ducked. But then, pain shot up his leg, from below his knee. The guy had stomped on his foot, hard. Doubled-over, another blow came. A kick this time. In the shin. A pathetic sound fell from Donghyuck’s mouth, a sound he’d never heard himself make. Another hit, this one to Donghyuck’s temple. Eyes closed, he couldn’t tell which way was up, where the alpha was. His scent was ferocious, an aggressive stench that made Donghyuck see red. He was close but he wasn’t hitting him anymore. Donghyuck was on the ground. He heard retreating footsteps.

Blinking his eyes open, Donghyuck found the alpha a few paces out. The omega's hand was in his. 

No.

This couldn’t be over. Donghyuck always got the omega he wanted. But fuck was he out of practice. He dug a knee into dirt, hoisted himself up, and took a step forward, ignoring the throbbing in his leg. In front of him, the omega stared up at the hulking alpha. The alpha said something to him, his back to Donghyuck, Donghyuck couldn’t tell what it was. A wind blew through their patch of forest, rustling leaves and carrying Donghyuck’s rugged cedar towards them. The omega raised his chin, nose flaring, and yanked his hand out of the alpha’s hold. But the man didn’t like that. He grabbed it again, rough and demanding. 

What the fuck was his problem?

But also, why didn’t the omega want him? The man was evidently stronger than Donghyuck. He was a better fighter. And he clearly desired the omega. That was the point of a Chase—for an omega to see the physical prowess of the alphas and let the outcome of the run determine the capture. 

By the looks of it, the omega wasn’t convinced. His expression soured, turning into something beautifully sharp. The alpha flinched and then, shocked by the apparent refusal and full of indignation, he took a forceful step closer. He grabbed the smaller man’s arms.

Watching this with fury making his heart pound painfully fast, Donghyuck ran closer, completely unfazed by his own broken nose, wounded foot, bruising shin. He was going to knock out the alpha. Hurt him so bad he’ll end up in a hospital bed, a staple gun keeping his head from splitting open. Tonight, he would make an exception to his no-bloody-violence rule.

But just as he approached them, the second strange event of the night occurred.

The omega, roaring out a sound suspiciously close to a war cry, kneed the cocky alpha in the groin, raised both his own hands clasped in a fist and fiercely knocked him over the head.

The man fell to the ground. 

Donghyuck, not fully grasping what he just witnessed, but understanding enough to realize he was watching something truly magnificent unfold, gasped. The omega before him—with his eyes flashing and mouth in a snarl—was ruthless. Fearless. And possibly even, deranged. Surely, he planned to beat Donghyuck’s ass next. 

The prospect didn’t terrify him. 

Instead, excitement thrummed like a heavy bass through his veins.

Adrenaline, dizzying and blaring.

The omega took a tentative step over the alpha’s body. He didn’t spare a second glance at his crumpled form. Instead, he looked straight at Donghyuck. 

Like the first time they made eye contact, time slowed. The birds, rodents, the worms in the ground, they all went still. And then—it snapped.

In an instant, the omega charged at him, a wild look of glee on his face as he leapt into the air and tackled Donghyuck to the ground. Donghyuck went down at once, a rag doll again. But this time, his ears worked. He could hear everything. The man above him, pinning him to the soil and grass, was panting, heavy breaths pushing past his lips in short puffs of laughter. The man was giggling, his heartbeat loud, loud, between the trees. The flush of his face was a shiny pink spreading over his cheeks and nose like the shine of a neon light in an abandoned street. He was glowing. “What’s your name?” 

His voice was deep and rooted.

Something jittered and stirred within Donghyuck at the sound of his voice. “Lee Donghyuck.”

The omega raised a hand. Gently, he brought his damp and smooth palm to Donghyuck’s face. His sweat smelled sun-drenched and Donghyuck found himself leaning into the cradle shape his hand made. The warmth of it mixed with all the other tactile sensations on his body. The ache of his nose, the drying blood on his lip, the bruising on his toes, and now, the imposing maple warmth of this strange omega trapping him against the earth.

“Donghyuck. Spend my heat with me,” the omega said, less a question and more an announcement.

“What?”

This wasn’t going as planned. Not that Donghyuck had a plan. But, for starters, omegas didn’t ask the alpha to partner with them. They, well, they submitted to whichever alpha reached them first. It’s how fate supposedly worked, the underlying principle of the ritual was the assumption that the alpha was the one to select, pursue, and capture.

Donghyuck was the one who should be propositioning him. 

The omega did not like to watch him hesitate.

“Fine. I’ll find someone else.” He swiveled his head around, searching the forest. “I believe there were at least three of you fighting for me.”

“No!” Donghyuck grabbed at him and, he couldn’t help it, he rolled them over, pinning the omega to the ground.

Another laugh tinkled out of the petite man, the sweet, confusing sound nothing like the shrill defensive cry from before.

“You fight well, you know,” he said, looking up at him. “Good at taking hits. I’m Renjun. Huang Renjun.”

Donghyuck stared at the bit of tongue he could see from inside his dark mouth as he spoke the very first consonant of his name. 

Renjun.

Huang Renjun.

Had Donghyuck heard the name before? Did he have an epithet pinned to his name like a thumb tack to a corkboard?

Finding out wasn’t really important to him, not yet anyway. Instead of asking, Donghyuck sunk lower, tentatively bringing his pelvis to Renjun’s thigh. It was very likely Renjun would hate that, would grab Donghyuck’s arm and twist it at a painful angle to let him know not to instigate anything again. 

But Renjun didn’t scratch, didn’t punch. He let him close the gap between their bodies, almost pliant. And when the omega hand that loosely gripped Donghyuck’s arm slid to the back of his neck, goosebumps erupted along every point his fingertips trailed past. Renjun’s heat was waiting just beneath the humid layer of his clothes. It was dribbling out of his pores, evaporating into the air, and coating the snot and blood in Donghyuck’s nose. 

This wasn’t a regular Chase at all. 

“Take me to your nest, Renjun.”

And what did that make of the heat?

How would that go?

He had a feeling—like dread, like hope—that it would be unlike any heat he’d helped with before.

Gingerly, Donghyuck let himself be pulled out of the forest. 

Renjun led the way home.

Donghyuck chewed on the inside of his cheek, deliberating on how to answer the question lingering in the air inside Renjun’s bedroom.

Renjun had a motorcycle. He rode them out of the clearing and straight to his pitch black packhouse. All his packmates had left for the weekend, leaving Renjun the house to himself for the duration of his heat. Donghyuck hadn’t gotten a chance to see anything illuminated by the single lit lamp in the foyer, but by the creaking sounds of their footsteps as they passed through the hallway, Donghyuck could tell the house was old. 

Renjun’s bedroom was dark. Even after he’d carefully lit two candles on either side of his bed. Donghyuck stared at the flickering flame as he pressed the words onto the roof of his mouth before letting a fe of them out. “Not sure why I stopped. Didn’t feel like it.”

“Not into running after whiny omegas and fucking your knot into the juiciest one for two days straight? Are you gay?”

Donghyuck, embarrassingly, choked on his spit. Fuck you. He wanted to say. But Renjun hadn’t punched him yet, and he wanted to keep it that way. Instead of cursing, Donghyuck sank to the floor in front of him. “May I?” He had the shoelaces of Renjun’s boots in his hand.

Silently, Renjun nodded.

Donghyuck untied the double-knots slowly. The truth was, he had a problem. He could feel his alpha gnawing at him. Was actively fighting the urge to tear Renjun’s clothes off and bend him over. Renjun had a beautiful face. Nose long and lips in a thick pout. He’d look great with his face smushed against the wood of his bedroom walls, getting railed until his knees gave out. Until he cried. Donghyuck wasn’t gay. He was sick. Sick for omega slick.

“Your scent smells like dirt. Like sweet soil. And syrup. And sweat.” 

I want to shove my tongue in your ass.

“Yours smells like wood on fire,” Renjun said. “Like destruction.”

Renjun stared down at him, challenging him to see the look in his eyes. But Donghyuck couldn’t read him. He wasn’t like any omega he’d ever taken to bed. So he looked at everything else. At the poorly lit geometric pattern on the rug beneath them, the pink of Renjun’s toe joints, the grass stains on Renjun’s jeans.

Slowly he stood, he motioned to Renjun’s nest. “Where are your other pillows? Extra blankets? Your nest is practically empty.”

“I was going to skip this heat. Last minute, doc said I can’t skip so many in a row. Didn’t have time to make a nest.” He said it plainly, answering the question but not giving any of his emotions away. Donghyuck wanted to dive into it, into his closet, into his dirty hamper, to dig up the dirt scent like a dog who’d found the perfect place to bury his things. “Why aren’t you looking at me?”

Donghyuck should have taken an edible.

Or drank.

He was too sober. Too aware of the tremble by his wrist, at his fingertips. The urge was getting stronger, to bite, to suck, to lick and fuck. If he pushed Renjun onto the bed, would Renjun hit him? Would Donghyuck like it? 

“Feral Donghyuck. That’s what the omegas used to call me.”

For a moment, an awkward silence created a thick, paralyzing cloud around their bodies, immobilizing them.

And then, it cleared. Renjun’s hands moved.

He was taking his own clothes off. Unperturbed. Nonreactive. Almost as if he hadn’t heard Donghyuck at all. First his belt, his pants. Then his flannel shirt, his flimsy undershirt. Finally, his briefs. Too much spit sat on Donghyuck’s tongue. 

“Feral Donghyuck, I have news. They still call you that.”

And then, he was on him, mouth to Donghyuck’s, licking into the drool and blood and sweat of Donghyuck’s face. A groan scratched up Donghyuck’s throat, needy and rugged. Renjun kissed like it was some sort of exercise. There was finesse to it. A lot of lips. Some teeth. He used his hands, and only after several minutes did he press the entire front of his body against the alpha’s. 

Immediately, it was too much. 

“Wait. Renjun. I’m…how do you want this? I…” Donghyuck’s dick throbbed, pressing angrily into the fabric of his too-tight pants. He could flip Renjun over. Could fuck him right there. His hands ached to do it.

But Renjun wanted control. Donghyuck could tell. He’d want Donghyuck to behave. To take things slow and—

Renjun turned around, spinning in a half circle and pressing his slicked ass to Donghyuck’s bulge. “Like this.” And then, coyly, he added: “If you remember how.”

Oh.

Donghyuck grunted. Right.

Right.

Renjun was in heat.

A record was set, surely. Donghyuck’s dick was in him in three seconds, four tops, inundated by the tight warmth of Renjun’s hole. The moment he sunk in all the way, Renjun mewled. “Don’t move. Wait—”

But Donghyuck couldn’t wait. He pulled out and thrusted in again. And again. Renjun cried out, overwhelmed and split open. “Fuck. Wait…” In the flurry of slapping sounds and Donghyuck’s guttural moaning, he couldn’t bring himself to acknowledge the stain of anguish in Renjun’s scent. 

It enveloped Donghyuck like a vicious vine around the entire length of his body. Deep earth and tree sap. For a moment, Donghyuck was back in the woods, running through trees, sniffing the wind, and punching knotheads. 

Renjun’s loud moan brought him out of his stupor. Donghyuck’s eyes blinked open. They had moved. Renjun was bracing himself over the chipped chair at his desk, fingernails scratching at the wood. “D-dong…”

He sounded out of breath. Shocked. Struck.

A giant whiff of omega cum hit Donghyuck and took his breath away. Renjun had come untouched, slumped forward and gasping for air. The moment he realized Donghyuck’s knot wouldn’t grow yet he slipped off and turned to face him. He was shorter than Donghyuck, smaller at the shoulders, at the waist. He was petite and dainty in every way, especially now with that wet, nervous look in his eye. 

And then it hit him—Donghyuck hadn’t stopped. Renjun had asked him to wait. To give him time to adjust. And Donghyuck had just…kept going.

Feral Donghyuck.

Renjun grabbed his cock. It was still hard. “Listen to me. I…”

Donghyuck swallowed. If Renjun moved a single finger, Donghyuck would come again. Renjun is about to tell him off, tell him to act right. And all Donghyuck can focus on is the small hand on his cock.

Except, Renjun doesn't tell him off.

As self-possessed and indignant as Renjun had seemed the whole night, he was for once, at a loss for words.

And so, instead of talking, Renjun stroked him. Just once, as he gathered his thoughts. When he opened his mouth, he asked Donghyuck a question he simply wasn’t prepared to answer. 

“Can you fuck me like that for two days straight?”

TROUBLE

Renjun always enjoyed his heats.

But he hated them. 

If a pill that could end his heats existed, that could wipe his body’s ability to have a mating cycle, he’d down a full bottle in one go. 

But a miracle pill like that didn’t exist. So Renjun endured his heats as they came, suppressed as they were, determined to make it as good as it was humiliating. 

Renjun always enjoyed his heats.

Because he liked to have sex.

But he hated the way it made him act. Needy, desperate, perpetually hungry. He was already feeling the way it tugged at his insides before the Chase even began. Inside the host house, arms bracing the bathroom sink as he threw up his dinner. It got worse when he caught a whiff of pre-Chase alpha adrenaline the moment he took his first step out onto the clearing. The threat of a knot, the tangy pheromone-filled sweat, it all made his heart race. But Renjun was good at performing. He knew how to slow his gait convincingly, how to keep his eyes from flitting back and forth like a lost rabbit. He dressed himself in calmness, focused on keeping his slick from staining his underwear too soon.

Renjun was ready to see Lee Donghyuck at the alpha line because he’d heard the whispers. 

Feral Donghyuck is here, did you see him?

But, Renjun wasn’t ready to smell Lee Donghyuck’s scent.

Oddly, the scent sparkled. It flickered in the air, not because it was indecisive or faint. But because it was alive. Like a fire. 

Renjun’s stomach churned. It’s not that he believed the rumors. He didn’t care for them, didn’t find himself fantasizing about alphas to that extent, especially ones he’d never met. If an alpha like that existed, one who was notoriously rough and overly-dominant during sex, Renjun wouldn’t want him anyway. That’s what Renjun had thought.

At the starting line, he looked at Donghyuck. His blonde hair was cut at an ordinary length and his eyes were dark and narrowed, surprisingly lucid. He looked bored. Relatively tame. Confusingly, Renjun’s heart skipped.

His woody scent was sharper than the others, more clear to him. Renjun had done enough Chases to know what that meant. Tonight, he would find out if the rumors were true. Locking eyes with Donghyuck, he smiled.

“Can you fuck me like that for two days straight?”

Dick cradled in Renjun’s hand, Donghyuck jerked forward. Renjun liked this part, liked seeing how responsive an alpha could be to an omega’s touch. But then Donghyuck surprised him. He pushed away from Renjun.

“I…” He blinked furiously. “I’m sorry. Shoulda stopped.”

Renjun gaped. “Did you hear me?” Was Donghyuck stupid? “I liked it.” To illustrate, Renjun reached for the hem of Donghyuck’s shirt, began pulling it off of him. But Donghyuck didn’t let him get far. He grabbed at his wrists and pried his fingers off him.

“Don’t touch me.”

“You asshole. You’re in my nest. I’ll touch you wherever the fuck I want.”

At that, Donghyuck’s eyes went dark. His scent flickered drastically, zapping the air and making Renjun’s breath catch in his throat. “Renjun.” It wasn’t the alpha growl Renjun expected, though. His voice came out thin and pleading. Like he needed help.

Was Donghyuck fucking okay?

Tentatively, Renjun put a hand on his chest, over his shirt. He wasn’t used to thinking during a heat. He wasn’t even sure this qualified as thinking. He looked at Donghyuck’s confusingly distressed face and watched the way Donghyuck’s pupils shook. “You’re mine,” Renjun told him. He didn’t know where these words came from. Renjun never said shit like this, not to alphas, not to anyone. But he needed Donghyuck to loosen up, and to fuck him. And within the four walls of his nest, Renjun somewhat believed it. Donghyuck, for these next couple of days, was his. Weren’t those the rules of the Chase? Wasn’t that what Renjun was promised? “I want it.” He let his hand creep up Donghyuck’s front, fingers gently digging into the dip of his neck. Donghyuck didn’t push him away. Good. Renjun inhaled a larger breath, feeling more bold. He leaned in to bring his mouth to Donghyuck’s jaw. “Feral Donghyuck,” he whispered. 

Donghyuck’s hand, still wrapped around his wrists, tightened.

For a second, Renjun thought he might get hit.

Instead, Donghyuck surged forward and kissed him. Their mouths came together opened. It was sloppy. Renjun could feel his own scent spike, could feel it trying to wrap around alpha pheromones, to seep into Donghyuck’s skin, and make a home there. A guttural sound fell from Donghyuck’s mouth directly onto Renjun’s tongue. It was warm, animalistic. Renjun moaned.

“On the bed. Hands and knees. Go.”

Renjun found himself scrambling to obey, pushing his pillows aside and arching his back. It was surprisingly thrilling, embarrassingly exciting to be spoken to like that, with no affect and no false pretenses. Donghyuck dragged him into position. These weren’t the same gentle hands that had gingerly taken the extra riding helmet from Renjun’s grip, that had nudged Renjun’s bedroom door open, that had quietly removed his boots just minutes prior. Donghyuck’s nails dug into the flesh of his hips as he began pistoning into him. There was no acclimating to the warmth of Renjun’s ass or coaxing him with stupid words of praise like alphas tended to do.

Donghyuck was just taking it.

“Fuck,” Renjun gasped out. He was going to come again. “Like that. L-like that.”

Behind him, there was only the sound of their wet skin slapping together. Incessant and fast, too quick to be considered a percussion beat, too erratic to establish a rhythm. Renjun got lost in it, in the way his orgasm was building with each stretch of his walls. 

“Yes, yes. Yes…” Renjun slurred.

Donghyuck, however, was silent. 

Renjun came a second time like that, on all fours like a helpless pup. He collapsed, face smushing into his pillow as he tried catching his breath. But it was hard, his lungs never really filled with enough air. Donghyuck’s knot was growing and with it, his scent thickened. Renjun whined. Donghyuck snaked an arm around his waist and began jerking him off. Immediately, it was too much. They were spooning, and Renjun, the little spoon, was surrounded by everything—the enticing burn of Donghyuck’s pheromones, the aching swell of his knot filling him up, the far too-sweet pleasure of his dick being stroked. It hurt. But it felt amazing. Renjun cried out, the sound small and garbled, and Donghyuck hummed right by his ear, approving. He liked the pathetic sound Renjun made. It clearly pleased him, which made a weird, fluttering feeling tickle Renjun’s chest.

It took a while for the knot to go down.

Donghyuck continued to be silent.

When Renjun slipped off, Donghyuck flopped to his back. He was taking small breaths, as if trying to limit the amount of omega in his windpipe. By the looks of it, it wasn’t working. And Renjun didn’t really feel like helping. He straddled him.

“What’s wrong with you?” Renjun asked.

“Kinda want to break you in half.”

Renjun’s dick twitched. “You’re all talk.”

Donghyuck stretched his arms at his sides, palms down, dug his fingers into the sheets. Gingerly, he lifted his hips, jostling their bodies so Renjun’s ass slid directly over the bump of his dick. He wouldn’t look at Renjun’s face.

It was fascinating. 

Slowly, Renjun rocked his hips and grinded against him. On instinct, Donghyuck released the sheets and grabbed his thighs. His fingers were spread wide, almost reaching the entire width of his leg. His grip was tight and bruising. Renjun’s breath hitched. Donghyuck acted like he forgot how to do this. Or like he knew how, and wanted to forget. 

“How long has it been?” Renjun ventured. 

“Not long. I’m not…abstinent.”

“With an omega.”

This time, Donghyuck didn’t answer right away. Renjun stopped grinding, too focused on watching Donghyuck decide whether he would answer honestly or not. “Three years.”

Slick began pooling at his rim. It made some of Donghyuck’s old cum dribble out of his hole. Three years was crazy. A little pathetic. How could an alpha go that long without touching an omega? Maybe Donghyuck was gay. Renjun was about to say something—something mean and biting because he could feel his lips curling into a smile—when Donghyuck suddenly sat up. He still gripped Renjun, bruising hands pressing up his lower back. For a second, Renjun thought he might try fucking him again. But then, his hands were gone.

Donghyuck took a moment to finally rip off his clothes. 

Renjun stared, never one to hide his interest. The alpha wasn’t hairy. He had some hair at his armpits and below his navel, and peach fuzz everywhere. Like the hair on his head, it was an ashy blonde, darker by his crotch. He wasn’t hard anymore but his dick was still glistening with Renjun’s slick. Renjun wished it was hard, so he could put it in him again. 

“You’re a strange omega,” Donghyuck observed. He grabbed Renjun’s ankles, dragging him to sit on the bed and open his legs. Renjun had no idea what he was about to do. He could feel his own heartbeat in his throat, beating at his temples. “You smell like you’re underground. This nest feels like I’m miles below sea level.” Donghyuck settled between his legs, on his stomach. “Sweet, like grass is sweet. Like tree bark is sweet.” He licked his lips and when Renjun realized what was about to happen, his stomach clenched with excitement. “I’ll eat you dry…”

Do it. Renjun wanted to say the two words out loud, to demand it. But Donghyuck’s tongue lapped at his twitching hole at that precise moment. And the words died in his mouth. Donghyuck didn’t hold back. Immediately, he was in there. Tongue, lips, nose, fingers. The more he licked, the more slick Renjun’s body produced. It was like being milked. He was gushing, writhing, making whimpering sounds he hadn’t heard himself make in years. Like this, pleasure built up inside of him like a flowing river gathering at a dam. It was mounting and mounting—so precarious, so sensational—and then, when it collapsed, Renjun came apart, underwater. Despite that, Donghyuck didn’t stop, he didn’t care to. He was hungry, too starved to consider stopping. To remember that Renjun, after cumming, would be an oversensitive mess. “D-donghyuck…”

The alpha moaned between his thighs. He said something in a low voice but Renjun’s ears weren’t working. None of his body was. He was jelly. His brain was complete mush. His omega was finally, after a day of pent up energy, blissed out. He felt Donghyuck’s face by his cheek, the burning cedar warming his neck and shoulders as he kissed a path down his side. Sleep. Renjun, sleep.

Everything went dark.

Morning was a blur. 

Donghyuck didn’t like to talk.

His pupils were always dilated the way an alpha’s eyes got during rut. He made Renjun breakfast but then stepped out through the back patio and left Renjun to eat alone. When he came back inside and saw him washing his dishes, he crowded into Renjun and fucked him against the fridge.

He was a brute, and it wasn’t until getting a third knot that Renjun decided on how to feel about it. “Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

“Walled up.”

“I’m not walled up.”

They were back in Renjun’s nest. On his back, Renjun could see the pretty swell of his stomach from all the cum inside him. Renjun’s heat-addled mind worked slower than his normal mind. He couldn’t think of a rebuttal, so all he said was: “You are.”

Donghyuck was beside him, radiating heat as if fighting a fever. He propped his head up on his hand, staring back at him. “All my cards are on the table. I chased you. I captured you. I want you.”

“I let you capture me,” Renjun corrected. “You want me, sure. But you act like it’s a curse.”

Donghyuck looked away. “Who cares what I act like.”

Renjun looked away too. He stared instead at the drawn curtains by his window. The afternoon was passing quickly, making the light in his room feel dull. This was the first time he met an alpha that hated heats as much as he did. Renjun couldn’t help it, he was intrigued. 

In the silence, Donghyuck’s scent dipped, it still sparkled, still flickered and spat like a brazen fire, but there was something else to it now. That, or maybe Renjun was growing more sensitive to his pheromones. He turned on his side to face him. The musk of his scent had lower notes, ones that Donghyuck kept close—maybe on purpose, maybe without realizing. Renjun took a subtle breath through his mouth, letting the air sit on his tongue to better taste it.

There were violet notes in there. It was surprisingly botanical.

Slowly, Renjun inched closer, approaching Donghyuck’s scent gland. When the alpha realized what he was doing he leaned back, away from him. But Renjun, taking a page from Donghyuck’s book, disregarded his cue to stop. 

He leaned forward again, grazing his nose along Donghyuck’s glistening neck. The sweat there smelled like sex and knot and cum. Donghyuck had nowhere left to move. Renjun’s arm reached around him, bracing himself against the mattress as he slowly descended on his scent gland. He only wanted to understand it, the layers. Donghyuck went still, allowing it. Renjun licked. Without a doubt, it was the best alpha scent he’d ever tasted. It made Renjun’s stomach churn, excited and curious and weirdly unafraid. 

He knew what the implications of this were, of what it meant to be drawn to a scent so voraciously. But before Renjun could fall into panic or acceptance, before he could push him away or bring him closer, into his mouth and down his throat again—Donghyuck let out a mewl. The sound was sweet and not alpha-like at all. He was turned on. Overwhelmed. Maybe anxious. Renjun scented him, on instinct. He dropped the dewy sugar of his own maple scent on his neck and watched the way Donghyuck went pliant. It all happened in a matter of seconds. Donghyuck, self-conscious about his reaction, began to say something. “You…” But Renjun didn’t want to talk. Donghyuck smelled like destruction. His musk made Renjun think of things like endings and final outcomes. Like the life he knew was about to end. 

Renjun rose from the cedar of Donghyuck’s neck and before he could think it through, he crashed their mouths together. They made out for a long time. Donghyuck didn’t try for a conversation again, but it felt like he was saying something anyway. Renjun lost his breath. Donghyuck gave him his. 

Eventually, Donghyuck’s hands got harsh and heavy again, touching Renjun everywhere and pressing him down. It made Renjun horny once more, not that it ever fully went away during a heat, but it returned in the form of new slick gathering at his inner thighs, wetting Donghyuck’s leg. 

They tried missionary this time. 

Renjun kept his eyes open, wanting to watch Donghyuck above him. Donghyuck’s eyes were mostly closed. He was zoned out as he fucked into him, not really in his head, just feeling it, jaw slack. He was blindly chasing his own release, so singularly hungry for the suction warmth of Renjun's ass even now after so many rounds. After a few minutes, his hips fell out of rhythm, more erratic and desperate, and Renjun knew what that meant. He was going to come. 

The feeling was infectious. It was in his nature to want to come with him, but instead of succumbing to the drag of it, Renjun steeled himself, tried his best to stay lucid, to observe Donghyuck’s orgasm. 

Above him, Donghyuck’s eyes fluttered open, combing his gaze down Renjun’s body, as if wanting to memorize every inch of the pale omega beneath him. He did it without realizing Renjun was watching him. Donghyuck marveled at his own cock disappearing into Renjun, transfixed like a kid with a sensory toy, and came. Renjun saw it all. Donghyuck was obsessed with Renjun’s body, with looking, with touching, with tasting. 

Yeah, Donghyuck wasn't gay.

Renjun was able to come again after that discovery, mostly dry, not thinking much, but newly convinced there was something uniquely enticing about the apparent simplicity of a feral alpha.

“You don’t participate in Chases because you’re scared of heats,” Renjun said the following evening, words matter of fact. 

Donghyuck was drying his hair with a small towel, fresh out of a shower. “And you, what’s your excuse? You clearly love them. Yet you’re on suppressants.” 

“I don’t love heats.” 

“Coulda fooled me.” 

“I prefer sex with omegas.” 

Donghyuck gaped, genuinely shocked. “This is fucked.” 

Renjun laughed. “It’s fine.” It was more than fine. Donghyuck knew how to fuck. Possibly fucked him better than anyone, of any rank, ever had. But Renjun wouldn’t tell him that, not yet anyway. 

“What’s your nickname?” Donghyuck asked, after a long pause. 

It didn’t cross Renjun’s mind at all to lie. “Trouble. Trouble Huang.”

“Why?” 

Renjun chuckled. He motioned to the bruises on Donghyuck’s neck and arms and hips. They were shaped like Renjun’s mouth. “Can you guess?” 

On the living room couch, Renjun offered to give Donghyuck a blow job. He presented it as a thank you. A farewell gift. 

But the truth was Renjun wanted Donghyuck’s scent to stick to the living room after he left. He wanted his pack members to catch a whiff of it when they returned. It’s a good scent, Renjun. Tell me about him.

Renjun braced himself on top of Donghyuck, nibbling at his ear as he stroked him. He made it slow, not going all the way too fast. He stopped at times to kiss him, to tug at his hair. When Donghyuck’s load finally shot out, he flipped them over, slumped all his deceivingly sturdy alpha weight on top of him, smothering him against the couch cushions. Oddly, Renjun didn’t mind being partially asphyxiated. He laid there, limp. He felt calm, his heartbeat was steady. The worst part of the heat was over. 

Donghyuck would be leaving soon. 

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Donghyuck said suddenly. 

Renjun blinked, not expecting the question. “No?” 

“Tell me the truth.” 

“Donghyuck…” 

What was this about? The violent Chase? The ruthless heat? Donghyuck seemed nervous again.

“Renjun, answer.” 

“No? I mean, no. No, Donghyuck.” 

Donghyuck stared at him, searched Renjun’s eyes, then raked his gaze down the length of his body, searching for some type of mark or tell. He found none. “Good.” 

Why? Renjun wanted to ask. But he knew Donghyuck wouldn’t divulge anything. I’m not walled up, he’d said. But he was. And he was laying there, stuck in his head, in his memories, worrying about nothing. “I’m stronger than you think,” Renjun declared. 

The words made Donghyuck jerk back. His face changed, stunned. But he didn’t say anything, not at first. Renjun breathed slowly, not knowing at all how to predict what he'd do next. Eventually, Donghyuck’s shoulders relaxed. “Yeah, I noticed. Was kind of looking forward to you kicking my ass.” 

“I love kickboxing,” Renjun said. Donghyuck’s scent settled. But there was still something there, it made Donghyuck’s eyes sad on the outer corners.

“I can tell.” 

“I’m not going to tell anyone about you, Feral Donghyuck. So stop looking all depressed.” 

“I’m not depressed.” 

“Good. I put my number in your phone. Call me when you’re home tonight.” 

“Are you kicking me out?” 

Renjun laughed. “Yes.” 

Donghyuck, for the first time since stepping into Renjun’s pack house, smiled. It was a small flicker, but it lit up his face entirely, made his handsomeness soften. “Gonna have to crawl back up.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“To the surface of the earth, where everyone lives.” 

Renjun chuckled, no one had ever described his scent the way Donghyuck did. Was it really so strong? “You’ll miss me.” 

Donghyuck didn’t respond, which Renjun expected. He’ll crack him, he’ll break the walls down, surely. The prospect, unexpectedly, excited him.

At the door, Donghyuck surprised him with a kiss to his neck, by his gland. It was a quick thing, almost like it was a last minute decision, if a decision at all. The kiss was brief, but long enough for Donghyuck to drop his scent there, near Renjun’s gland. It was a claim. When he broke away, Donghyuck’s entire face was red. Renjun liked that, he liked that Donghyuck recognized he took it too far. Enough to be embarrassed by it. Thankfully, Renjun liked him. He forgave him. He didn’t punch him like he would any other alpha.

BENIGN

Jungwoo was in the kitchen when Donghyuck barreled back into their pack house.

Most of the pack was out, at school or work or running errands. Jungwoo had an odd schedule as a freelancer, but his beta nature was adaptable and resilient. At least, that was what others would say. Jungwoo the Benign. Always stable, always firm. He didn’t feel that way today, though.

Exhaustion weighed his shoulders down as he stood in the kitchen, cutting vegetables and humming along to a meandering shoegaze playlist coming from his phone speaker. He stopped humming upon catching a whiff of Donghyuck. 

A fire ablaze, a floral underbrush. His packmate’s pheromones were going haywire.

Jungwoo stiffened. Turned around to look at him with surprise in his eyes. “Holy shit. A heat?”

Donghyuck grabbed a stool at the island and sat on it. His eyes were wild, bright in a way Jungwoo hadn’t seen them in months, maybe years. “I think I’ve just met my mate.”

The knife in Jungwoo’s hand stilled. Nobody would believe him. Johnny would need to smell Donghyuck’s lovesick scent firsthand to confirm it. Jungwoo himself would’ve been doubtful too, but Donghyuck had that look on his face, like he had food poisoning, like he was at war with himself, like his life was actively coming undone. It was the only expression he’d expect from Donghyuck after finally falling for an omega. Panic. And underneath that, excitement. After several seconds, Jungwoo resumed his vegetable cutting, pace measured as he collected himself. Their current pack dynamics were wearing on him. They kept losing their mated couples, and there weren't enough alphas. But if Donghyuck were to find a mate, things could start to look up for Jungwoo. “Who?”

“Huang Renjun.”

From the acidic pit of his stomach, a boisterous laugh burst from his mouth. He couldn’t help it. Of course. Of course, it’d be Huang Renjun. The omega from the pack two towns over with a penchant for chaos. He’d heard the rumors. Renjun was rowdy at times, hermetic at others. He was unpredictable. Defiant. Overly social. But on his own terms. He avoided the rituals nearly as much as Donghyuck did.

Smiling, Jungwoo turned to Donghyuck. “He’s trouble.”

Donghyuck sighed. There were cuts on his face, some bruising around his nose. He was smiling, too. “I know.”