She threw the back of her arm up, blocking his swinging arm by hitting him directly in his inner elbow with her outer pointed one. It had its desired effect as his arm stopped, and snapped back painfully. She immediately spun around, front facing him, as her other arm shot up, hand poised flat, decking him in the throat and using her spinning momentum to slam him down onto his back.

The pain in his arm faded as the lack of air flew from his chest and out of his mouth. He wheezed painfully, head throbbing suddenly as he tried to regain his breath. A weight settled on his abdomen, making it significantly harder to calm his racing heart and wavering breath. Ji'Heiv was settling her hands on his chest as she leaned over him, watching his gasping with a smirk on her face.

"I hope you don't think I'm delicate," she began. "You wont come close to even trying to get on my level with that kind of thinking. Yes, I'm your mate. Get over it."
Jongdae eyes had opened mid statement, watching as she got off of him and beckoned him to try again. Slowly, he rolled over onto his front, sitting up onto his knees before rising to his feet.

Everything hurt. That wasn't the first time he found himself on his back that morning. And every time it seemed he had an opening, she was quicker than he was, stopping any attack he could think of.

Taking one deep breath, he stared across to her calm exterior. There was a soft gleam of sweat on her lightly tanned skin, showcasing her muscles as the threat they were. His own muscles were quivering with exertion, not expecting that she would be so harsh with him. She was his mate, and he didn't want to hurt her, but that didn't seem to be logic she was going with when it came to him. She didn't give the slightest care that he was her mate.

Blood rushed to his head, making him dizzy. He blinked his eyes multiple times to get them to focus as he swallowed through the pain in his aching throat. Ji'Heiv made it easy, approaching him first with the usual jabs to his already sensitive stomach. He blocked them easily, trying and failing to get his own jabs in.
He kept repeating to himself to try something different. To fight. If he was facing anyone else, he'd give it his all, anything to not lose.

But he didn't mind losing to her.

Yet, she wanted him to mind.

So he dropped low, right under her already low flying fist that was aimed for his kidney, and snatched at her left leg. She was still fast, jumping up and kicking out at his shoulder. He managed to catch her foot, eyes widening at the fact that he blocked the blow. Twisting, he turned her around though she only used the momentum to spin her other foot right across his face, knocking him onto his side while she fell gracefully onto her front.

"That was new," she panted, pushing herself up off the ground with her hands.

His reponse was a groan into the cold, snow covered grass, face numb from the resounding smack her foot landed onto him.

"You want to try again?" she said, tone teasing as she squatted down, running her hands through the snow.

"No," he muttered. His hands gripped at the snow, forcing himself back to his feet.

"Yes you do," she smiled, almost lovingly, at his pained expression.

Silently, he turned to her, his face completely pale except for the length-wise red spot blooming on his face.

"Don't we have other important things to do? Decidedly more fun things?" he whined, causing Ji'Heiv to laugh at him.

"I won't let you dominate me in our quarters if you can't dominate here, right now."

"I don't dominate even then," he whined louder. "How in the world do you expect me to do so now? I've had my life handed to me by you multiple times already. I'm cold, I'm hurt, and I'm tired."

"I didn't know I mated a crying pup," she eyed him hard. "What's more, if our own pups were in danger, would this be your excuse for not saving them?"
That escalated fast.

"Are you really implying that I would let our pups be injured or worse because I'm tired? We don't even have pups yet, we're not even working on that, no, we are out here killing me for the fun of it!"

"I want you to be ready for anything. And I'm not going to wait for it," she walked closer to him, getting in his face, silently proud that he didn't divert his eyes from hers.

Breathing deeply to calm his nerves, he realized that being stubborn with her wasn't an option. She wanted improvement, and he understood that, but now wasn't the time.

"We'll start over tomorrow. I'll work harder to not let you down, but right now, I need to rest. We need to rest. As in, together. In our quarters, under the furs, where it's warm."

"Are you taking charge right now?" she questioned, eyes squinting and face stoic.

His eyes left her then, his right hand dragging down his face, "I, I'm not trying to be demanding-,"

"But you are being demanding," she sighed. "Look, I understand. You need rest, fine, let's rest."

She didn't wait for a response. Instead, she walk away from him as he scrambled painfully to follow, head hung low. He shouldn't have said what he said, how he said it. It was that simple. Since it happened already and he couldn't take it back, he wasn't sure how she would deal with him. There was no way she would let it slide off her back. She liked his defiant side, but she didn't like being told what to do. He shouldn't have included her in his statement. If he was going to be demanding, he should have just said he was going to rest and let her either let him go, or command him to stay.

By saying 'we', he inadvertently looped her into something he shouldn't have.

"Stop brooding," she snappily said, shooting him a look over her shoulder before turning around again.

He wished it were that easy, but he shouldn't have spoken up that way. So he continued to trail behind, head hung low with every step. It wasn't until Biga appeared, that he looked up, confirming that it was indeed Biga that had stopped them.

"You look upset," Biga murmured, eyes darting to Jongdae before falling back onto Ji'Heiv.

"It's nothing a little rest can't fix, Biga," she spoke confidently.

"Well," the bigger man responded. "You two should get to it, right?"

The suggestion was there with the wiggle in his eyebrows and the tilting smirk adorning his face. Ji'Heiv only waved him off with her own small smile, shaking her head before she remembered Jongdae behind her and stopped smiling all together. The Beta Leader was quick to notice, feeling worse because of his previous words.

"Head Alpha, I'm sorry," he started, to which she only interrupted him.

"Save it for when we have privacy."

He was thankful she didn't snap at him, instead continuing the walk towards their sleeping quarters. There were a few wolves out and about that early, while the rest of the village wouldn't show its face until the sun was highest in the sky. Jongdae was usually amongst the second crowd, coming out when it was warmest since he didn't have any work that needed to be done during winter. There weren't any fruit or berries to gather, or houses to repair that he hadn't fixed before it got too cold, so waking up so early just to go and get punched around in freezing temperatures was torture to him.

He hadn't even been mated to Ji'Heiv for five good suns before she started suggesting they stop their early morning mating and start going out to train. He'd thought she would want to be pregnant as soon as possible, and with the way she would wake him out of his sleep some mornings with hot kisses, he definitely didn't think he was wrong to assume such a thing.

Quietly, he stepped through the threshold, shutting the door behind him while Ji'Heiv wrapped herself in a fur near the burning fire. He could already feel her eyes upon him before he even turned around to confirm.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked, snuggling deeper for warmth.

His feet were frozen, quite literally, as he paused at the door to gather his words, "I shouldn't tell you what to do. I'm already overstepping my bounds so soon and I shouldn't be. I should remember my place."

"You already know that, Jongdae. I already know that. You're not perfect, and you actually get a thrill out of being rebellious, so I'm not expecting you to 'Yes, Head Alpha' me every time I tell you to do something."

She was surprising him again. For sure he was expecting to be chewed out, but here she was saying that she understood and allowing him to work on himself.

"I want you to know something, Jongdae. It's very important, so listen closely and don't you ever forget this. If you do, I won't be as mild and I will never forgive you," he nodded his head at her ominous words, showing rapt attention. "Producing pups is my main goal, but I won't be able to protect them at all times by myself. If it's the last thing I do, I am going to train you to be faster than you already are, stronger than you already are, and smarter than you already are. I want you to be on the level with Biga, Lau, and Hiru. I want you to earn your place above them, because right now the only importance you carry is going to sleep under the same furs as me. So tomorrow, we will try again. And the day after that, and the day after that until we are snowed in. You're a fast study, so I'm not expecting you to take forever to get in your head that you can try to hit me. I won't get angry."

His response was small, a quick shake of his bowed head at her words. He didn't want to let Ji'Heiv down. What she had told him was said in pure earnest. She wasn't lying to him, trying to intimidate him, or anything of the like. Accepting that she wanted him to be worthy, was possibly the easiest thing he had to do. There was something akin to pride building in his chest, knocking his doubt out and making him feel at ease. He wouldn't fight her on her ambitions because she was right.

He'd do what he needed to, to not let her down.

"Come," she waved him over. "You said you were cold, yet you're so far away from the warmth."

His feet carried him closer to the fire, settling on the left side of Ji'Heiv. She opened her furs, inviting him to enter her space, get closer to her and her warmth. The thought crossed his mind that he shouldn't enter, before he pushed that to the back of his mind. She was inviting him. She honestly exposed her thoughts to him, they weren't full of emotion, but they were true. Believable.

So he came closer, stooping low into a sitting position with his knees drawn up to his chest. Ji'Heiv threw her fur over his shoulder, reaching around him to pull the cover across his front. He shivered at the surrounding warmth, borrowing into her side. It seemed that as soon as he settled, sleep wasn't far behind him. With the fire on his right side, and the warmth of Ji'Heiv on his left side, drowsiness was inevitable.

Ji'Heiv herself, drew closer under his shoulder, laying her head against his arm after he had successfully went to sleep. She watched his head dropping, lips pouted and eyes closed. She couldn't fall asleep balled up the way he was, but she could watch him while he did it.

Tomorrow would be a new day. She wasn't giving up on making him into the type of Beta his potential dictated. This was her private promise to him.

It was the same promise she made to herself so many senescence ago. She was to be someone great, someone strong and powerful. A natural born leader. She knew it in her muscles, her joints, her organs, and sun by sun she trained until everyone else came to know it too. Her father and mother encouraged her, as leaders of their own pack, she was already the heir to take over when the time came. Yet, she was still only female.

 It was perfectly fine to lead the pack as a female Head Alpha, but everyone always expected her to do so with an Alpha male as her mate. It was pretentious that they naturally expected that. So when different males began to challenge her for her position, she stood her ground, showing that she could lead not only as a female, but as a single one. One not needing the direction of male to balance her out physically to the public's eye.

If she had gone down that path, no matter where she went, people would automatically assume that her mate, being male, was the Head Alpha. They would assume this even before trusting their noses to the scent that was in the air, clearly pointing to Ji'Heiv as the most dominant.

So she worked harder to establish herself as someone needing the male influence, without having to be trapped by it. She did this by appointing Biga as her second. He was the one who was always a step behind her no matter where she went. His presence allowed her to be the dominate one still, and appease those who were used to seeing a male in charge. He made a show in making sure people knew he did not act on his on accord, but on those of his Head Alpha. His actions only garnered her more respect. Before she knew it, Lau was agreeing to do the same thing for her, and then Hiru, who took a little longer to come around. Once he did, he proved his loyalty over and over again.

Having three dominating males in her companionship made her unapproachable. It rectified her standing before the masses of her pack and those nearby. Before her 20th senescence, she was already making moves to take over the nearest pack. Disposing of a Head Alpha who thought cruelty was the key to a successful rule, she made herself Head Alpha to a pack who readily accepted her. Her campaign started there, going East until she had all packs in that direction under her control. It took her three senescence's to do so, with the constant reminder from Biga that as her title grew, so would the need to produce an heir.

So there she was, resting against the wall of her very own quarters, with her mate's warmth seeping through her tunic and into her skin. Jongdae wasn't what she pictured when she started entertaining the idea of mating. In truth, she never imagined anyone, not physically at least. But she knew what she needed personality-wise, to feel content with mating a stranger. Jongdae had it and more, though repressed from years of oppression. But still, what he had, caused him to lack other traits she needed her mate to also harbor. He was bold, but it was to a fault sometimes, yet without that oppression she felt he would have been intolerable. Through it, he learned to listen and obey those who commanded it, balancing out his past need to be the one in command.

She looked over to him then, noticing how steeply his head had drooped, chin meeting chest. Softly, she ran her fingers through his hair, whispering for him to wake up and move to the furs. He did so with delirious eyes finding hers and holding the contact. She immediately thought then that when she was to have pups, they all had his sincere eyes. They were beautiful windows that showcased his soul, even when they were lazily hazed with tiredness.

She cupped his face in both hands, a rare smile making its way to her lips, "Go to lay on the furs, my mate. " The urge to coo at him as if he were a pup was strong, but she fought it, instead placing a kiss onto the very corner of his lips. "Come, lay down."

He follow after her quickly, stumbling around the furs that was wrapped around them. She lifted his tunic from his frame once she was fully standing, exposing his flesh completely, before doing the same to her own tunic. He had already crawled onto the chilly furs, lying flat on his stomach with his arms crossed under his head.

She examined his flesh, noting the even tone of his legs that were covered by moderate hair that tapered off towards his upper thighs, the firm roundness of his with skin as smooth as if he was just born into the world, and then his back. The skin there was scattered with nicks and cuts that adorned the flesh and the scars on his sides that spoke of his aggressive activities before he accepted his role as a docile Omega.

She had the same scars on her body. The only difference was that hers were on her front because she was able to face her attackers head on. Never was she attacked from behind and beaten the way Jongdae's scars easily pointed out to her that he was.

She stooped to pick up the discarded fur left by the fire, draping it over her shoulders before lying next to a completely unconscious Jongdae and allowing the covers to flow over him.

Her mate was so strong, but she would help him get stronger. She had promised it.

~~~

He had woken later than he expected, the sun already low in the sky. Waking up early in the morning to fight when it was freezing outside, apparently tired him out more than he thought. He looked to his right, noticing empty furs, and the general scent of the space letting  him know he was alone. Stiffly, he moved onto his knees, stretching out his sore frame. It was hard moving after lying asleep for so long in one position, his back ached, and his limbs felt tight. Not to mention, his throat screamed at him from the slightest inflection he made.

Eventually, he made his way over to the chest filled with his old and new tunics, dressing in an old one to go out into the cold air and quickly grab a bite to eat. Most, if not all of the village would probably be retiring to their own sleeping spaces at that time. Once the sun started to set in winter, which was significantly faster than any other season, most wolves would seek out the warmth of their private fires. He hoped his body clock wouldn't reset with this new schedule he didn't want to have in the first place.

It seemed as soon as he slipped outside, the wind had a vengeance against him, slapping and whipping all across his sensitive flesh. He quickly made his way to the storage and slipped inside. There were a few others present there, packing some of the dried meat into their carriers to bring back to their own quarters for their families. Hiru was standing nearby the containers, watching over the food, but letting the members take as much as they deemed appropriate for themselves. Ji'Heiv was completely against rationing, and though Hiru would have preferred to tell them how much to take, the Head Alpha had already made known that she would prefer to extend some trust to her pack mates first.

He grabbed at the frozen, tasteless meat, wanting to bring it back with him to season with his own storage of spices. Nodding his head to Hiru, he left, hoping to make his trek back to his quarters as short as possible with the freezing weather. Upon entering his home, he noticed that Ji'Heiv was still not present. As he stoked the fire back to life, he wondered where she could be at such a time with the weather as it was.

Methodically, he prepared the meat, thawing it over the fire while he sorted his spices. Eventually, the meat began to cook, sizzling in the flames. Jongdae brought out his wooden  slab, spreading out the churned leaves and salts onto it before lifting out the meat and laying it on the slab to soak up the seasoning.

The cold air that entered the room, startled him as he turned to see a shivering Ji'Heiv enter their warmed quarters. She quietly moved around the space, stripping off her tunic and wrapping her body in the fur that was folded in the corner of the room. The small amount of hair on her head was wet with melting snowflakes and her feet were an angry red.

"You should come by the fire," he found himself speaking to her. Her eyes briefly met his before they looked away.

"I don't want to disturb you. You're obviously up to one of your hobbies," she smiled slightly, plopping down closer to the fire but not close enough. She made herself comfortable, folding her legs to encompass warmth, sniffing the air as the scent the spices Jongdae was using filled the space, "That does smell good."

Jongdae finished seasoning the meat, lying it back near the fire to finish cooking, before turning his full attention to his mate who was casually running her hand through her wet hair, "Would you want to taste it?"

"If you're offering," she answered coyly. His hobbies always had something to do with food. She suspected that had something to do with when he was named Omega and he was made to eat last. With the original number of pack members, she was sure that he barely had food left to eat by the time he was allowed. And now he jars fruit, berries, twigs, leaves, and things she had never even paid attention to before.

"Can you come closer to the fire?" he waved his hand. "I don't want you to get sick."

"Sick?" she laughed. "Do you really think that can happen?"

Jongdae didn't bother answering, getting up to retrieve a thicker blanket of fur. Quickly, he moved closer to Ji'Heiv, draping the fur over her head and around her frame. Once both sides covered her, he pulled, dragging her closer to the fire before settling down in front of her, "Yes, I do think it can happen. Even to the great Ji'Heiv."

The dorky smile on his face ignited a tapered version on her own. It was weird, but she could almost describe the feeling in her chest as a silly one. So she kept her eyes fixed firmly on his as an answer, nodding her head appreciatively though she believed his gesture to be an unneeded one.

"You kept me warm earlier. I figure I could do the same for you, right?"

She didn't say anything in return, only allowing him to get closer to her, allowing his body heat to seep into her skin and mix with her own. She had to admit, she felt much better surrounded with warmth. She reflected back on that morning, when Jongdae knew what he wanted but contradicted himself.

"It's nice to know you're making sure decisions now," she teased, poking him in his cheek. "Though, watching you tremble is entertaining."

Jongdae scoffed, before quickly turning sheepish and lowering his head, "I'm still sorry about this morning."

"I get it, you were tired," she shrugged. "You slept this whole day away. It'll be time to sleep soon again and you're only just waking up."

He rose to get closer to the fire, turning over the cooking meat so that the heat of the flame could reach the other side. He didn't actually have a reply that wouldn't have sounded like a complaint. His mind was exhausted after the beating he took earlier that morning. His body felt broken in spots, and his throat was tender to the touch, whether the touch was happening inside or outside of his body. He tried to find it in himself to care that he had just woken up, that he  had "wasted" the day, but he couldn't. He felt like he owed it to Ji'Hiev to suffer, sadly enough. He had to improve, so suffer he would.

He looked over to his mate, who was resting her head on her upturned knees. She believed in him, she believed that he would become a person she and their future family could rely on. He didn't know what made her so sure of their future, or of him. Maybe she had a canny ability to recognize the potential in others that wasn't otherwise realized, or maybe she just chose to put faith in the fact that anyone could become what they needed to in order to survive. He wasn't sure which thought made him feel better to consider. Perhaps it was neither.

"Let's go hunting tomorrow morning," her voice startled him, drawing him from his thoughts. "Before training we can try to catch something small."

"I haven't been allowed to hunt in a long time," he was quick to answer. "And I still don't think I would be able to catch anything in this weather, but whatever you catch I can season it well."

She gave him a small, tired smile. Of course he wouldn't be excited at  the prospect of trying something like hunting with her. She already knew he was exceptional at hunting and fighting, she was just better. She had to be.

"Let's not act modest," she said with finality. "Besides, you never know when knowing how to provide food for yourself in any weather, other than grass and sticks, would  become beneficial."

He didn't give her direct eye contact, instead he kept his face straight towards the meat he was searing, only shifting his eyes in her direction for split seconds before commanding them away. There was a reason "grass and sticks" was a commodity he had taken to, especially in winter.

"Yes Head Alpha," he mumbled quietly. Ji'Heiv looked at him seriously then, noting something about his tone that she didn't like. He didn't acknowledge her further, focusing fully on his cooked meat as he moved it away from the fire to allow it to cool down.

She continued to watch him, and his small movements. For someone so bold and reckless, he was awfully cautious all the time. She didn't understand how someone could be both. It seemed his subconscious controlled him. His innate desire to be a leader, to be in charge, showed itself in moments that could get him killed. Yet, the instinct of self-preservation controlled him in moments that he should otherwise feel free in. She just couldn't easily understand the person that she single handedly made the closest person to her. She couldn't catch his scent in normal situations, which made him dangerous. She couldn't read his body language if she wasn't staring him directly in the eyes, which made him a mystery.  And worse, he wasn't her equal, so he'd never act in a truly comfortable fashion around her.

"Would you like some?"

She noticed the piece of meat Jongdae held out in front of her. It honestly looked delicious, and she could almost guarantee, without tasting it first, that it was delicious.

Not wasting more time, she quickly moved onto her knees before enclosing the meat and the tip of his fingers between her lips. As usual, she looked to his eyes for a reaction, and surely the dilating of his pupils gave her exactly what she was expecting to see.

There wasn't a reason for ually teasing him, not a good one anyway. She just enjoyed it, even if it proved torturous to him. In those moments, she could better gauge his scent. Though intermingled with arousal, the pure smell of him always stood out.

"It's delicious," she commended. "You have a real talent with these things."

She watched as his eyes darted away from hers and he cleared his throat. He seemed awkward for a small while before he recovered enough to reply with a simple, "Thank you." 

Her eyes continued to follow his movements as he fed himself strips of meat. She could tell that he knew she was staring at him, just by the way he was chewing. It was as if he was trying not to move as much as he needed to digest his food. Eventually, he finished, the juice of the meat from his fingers while he started to clean his section. Ji'Heiv took that as her cue to lie down and try to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day.

~~~

The ground was covered with snow the further from the village they got. The underground furnaces kept the snow melted near the walkways and around the homes that were built, so it was easy to forget that winter could be a savage season.

His paws had to get used to the biting ice as he treaded through the crunchy snow. He was following in Ji'Heiv's smaller steps, hoping to learn something new about hunting. It was his first time venturing out to prey with the Head Alpha and he wanted to do a good job, but he kept getting the feeling that he would fail the task the same way he couldn't even come close to dominating Ji'Heiv in combat. It was winter, and hunting around Ederra in winter was one of the hardest things to do even for a seasoned hunting.

Her fur was proving distracting to him, with its healthy brown glow. The sun was shining directly through the partings in the trees and illuminating her coat as she trekked further from their village.

They didn't make a habit of turning into their wolf forms unless it was to defend themselves from danger that could come in many different forms. So, seeing her that way was new to him, exciting in a way that was different from even seeing her bare before him.

They couldn't share words in their wolf form, so he had to pay attention to all of her gestures to know exactly what she wanted of him. Ji'Heiv made sure to brief him on what they were hunting for before they even left their sleeping quarters. She wanted them to start small, a Hare amongst the snow maybe, or even a Squirrel that was still running around. What she didn't know, and what Jongdae wasn't going to tell her so soon, was that the small prey near the Ederra Village, got wise a long time ago. It would be a miracle if they saw any action. But it was still fun watching Ji'Heiv stalk around, looking mightier than any predator had the right to look.

A loud huff left the Alpha's snout after searching longer than necessary for anything that wasn't moving because of the cold wind.

Jongdae panted heartedly, laughing at his Head Alpha as she started to walk back in the direction of Ederra. It really wasn't funny, but he could see the humor in it at that moment.

As soon as they cleared the trees, Hiru greeted them with furs to cover themselves. The brief sight of Ji'Heiv bare before another male sent a spike of possessiveness shooting through him. He sat there, staring at Hiru instead of transitioning, until Ji'Heiv command of "Change," caused him to snap out of it.

The cold was striking as it landed upon his back, causing him to clench every muscle in his body. As he stayed stooped low, awaiting the fur to placed over his back, he thought back to that feeling running through him. He did not, by any accounts or means, own Ji'Heiv. He didn't even have the right to think such thoughts. Hiru has been around Ji'Heiv far longer than he has, Hiru has seen her more than he has, he has known her longer, and yet Hiru was not her mate.

"You plan on standing and facing me anytime soon?" her voice was stone as she pulled the fur tighter around her slight frame.

He stood up quietly, nodding his head at Hiru, who backed up a step, to acknowledge his presence. Once his eyes fell on Ji'Heiv he got the distinct feeling that he was in trouble for something. He certainly didn't know why he would be, but hearing Hiru began to snicker couldn't be a good sign.

"Oh come on, Alpha's Mate," Hiru addressed Jongdae. "We both smelled it, and I think we both know who that was directed at. I mean no harm."
Jongdae was increasingly more confused the longer they stood there, "I'm not following your meaning?"

"I'll deal with this Hiru," she turned her back to Jongdae, shoulders stiff. "Thank you for meeting us here."

The stouter man nodded, turning and walking quickly away from the two. Jongdae noted the scent wafting off of Ji'Heiv and became even more confused as he took a step backwards. It was a threat, he could cipher that one quickly, but the other scent he was catching in between were troubling at best. There was an underlying embarrassment mixed with a tinge of arousal that he just couldn't understand.

"You must be unaware," Ji'Heiv started after staring at him stare at nothing for a moment. "You completely surrounded this area with a territorial scent, as if you were marking a tree."

His eyes widened at her words, a tree?

"I am no tree, I am your mate. And you do not own me, not today and not tomorrow. You understand that?"

His throat worked to swallow down his fear before he answered with a small, "yes, Head Alpha."

"You didn't even realize you were doing it, did you?"

"I, no. No I'm, I-," he tried to gather his words as her dominate scent kept surrounding him. "I still don't think I know what you are talking about."

"Earlier," she sighed. "After we cleared the trees, for some reason Hiru and I could smell you clearly. And what did we smell? You branding me. Even after mating with you I could only manage to smell like you for a day at best," she began to pace. "But now, all of a sudden, you have the ability to release that possessive scent so strongly? If you were touching me in that moment, I would have smelled like you for a week and that's putting it lightly."

It finally hit him, that the moment Hiru was able to look at Ji'Heiv bareness must have translated to his pores, "Are you saying that you smelled me from where you were standing?"

"Why do you sound excited?" she huffed. "I probably smell like you just by proxy."

Jongdae's lips twitched into a very pleased smile. Maybe he should have been embarrassed, but he couldn't find it in himself to become so, couldn't even pretend like he was.

"You're ridiculous," Ji'Heiv mumbled, though a small smile was playing on her own lips. She started to walk away, leaving Jongdae to his own devices.

He wanted to find Yixing and tell him about what just happened. The medic had tried many different ways to get him to release his scent, yet, nothing worked.

His feet started directing him in that way as he buried his head down into his chest and pulled the fur up around his ears. As he made it to the center of the village, it got significantly warmer, and the ground was much easier to stand with his bare feet.

It was amazing how much had changed in Ederra since Ji'Heiv took over. It just seemed like a home now, though that could be because he was actually allowed to stay within the village instead of on the edge where it was cold and lonely.

Upon entering Yixing's quarters, he immediately noted the lack of Yixing, but the presence of Jongin and Sehun.

"Alpha's mate," the older greeted him cheekily. Sehun only stared on for a second before greeting Jongdae.

"I haven't seen you in a while," he murmured.

"Neither I you," Jongdae smiled. "How have you been? Settling well for winter?"

"Settled," came his stiff reply.

"You smell like her, just like the Head Alpha," Jongin laughed. "What is it like? Are you her whipping boy? Or her toy?"

Jongdae wanted to groan in displeasure. He should have known that he would face some torment at Jongin's presence. The young Beta simply did not hold his tongue and made a habit of asking the most inappropriate questions in completely inappropriate ways. He bit his tongue so he wouldn't reply hastily and say something he would regret, instead, turning away from the Beta, he asked after Yixing.

"He just stepped out," Sehun answered. "He should be back shortly."

"Are you really not going to answer?" Jongin pestered with a pout.

"I'll wait for him outside," he stated quickly, making a straight line for the exit.

Some things didn't change, even if the position of a pack member held within a pack did. Maybe he should have put Jongin in his proper place, but oddly enough, he felt like if he had it would have turned into another problem. The last thing he wanted was people believing that his new position was somehow making him think more of himself than was necessary. He didn't want a fight, especially not one dealing with that as the reason. It was shocking enough that Sehun didn't come to his defense. The boy that vowed to always be by his side was not present inside of the medical quarters.

Waiting a while longer, he decided to leave, he'd tell Yixing at a later date. If he told him now, the medic would easily detect his dejection and ask him probing questions he wasn't in the mood to answer.

His mind wandered off to his old quarters as he walked aimlessly. Though he didn't like the loneliness, there was a certain peace that came with not having to deal with everyone and their degreeing levels of animosity. He had a routine that only involved him. True, he craved to be around the pack, he was no lone wolf. But at least as a singular individual, he found ways to make himself happy without wondering when the next person will come along and tear at it.

There would be times when negative feelings would be inevitable. He had them on his own without the help of anyone else. He had overcame so much, but there was even more to come that he had to find new ways to deal with.

His feet started to feel disconnected from his body. They had taken him to the edge of the village, to his sanctuary, his old home.
Just a few more steps and he found himself inside the small space, surrounded by emptiness and familiarity he didn't know he had missed.

So he sat in the middle of his hut looking at every nook and cranny of space once occupied, asking himself to be stronger, hoping that he would become stronger and stronger still.

A/N: *looks around nervously* I know I completely disappeared like the jerk I am. I'm so sorry to everyone who has waited!!! I have plenty of excuses, but I won't give any other than being extremely busy. This story doesn't have long before it's completed, it is quite a simple plot really, so no need to drag it out. I just gave you the one and only filler chapter that is terribly long and spotted with only a few key or important moments relating to the plot. They are tiny and easy to miss.

Please do leave me with my greedy comments, I can never get enough of something that is proven to be good for your health lol