“I simply bring greetings,” Junngmo said. “My uncle says hello…with a red smile.”

The anger that welled up in Jinki was so furious in strength that it shocked him. Jinki shook Minho’s hand free and reached for the blade he’d tried to ignore earlier in the name of peace. His speed surprised his mate, hearing him gasp as Jinki stood and brought the knife to Jungmo’s neck. 

He felt Onew creeping up his neck, his breath hot and foul as he whispered things, screamed them–kill him, kill him now!– and Jinki would be more than happy to honor it. The feral, instinctive need to protect burned through him but once again it was Minho’s calm reassuring hand on his arm that kept him from offering the man the threat he’d offered his mate.

As Jinki moved into his attack, everyone at the table stood, each of the other Alphas reaching for their own weapons. Chanyeol charged for his former Alpha leader, situating himself at Minho’s side. Jonghyun pulled his shortsword from the sheath, the sound ringing through the air before he hopped onto the surface of the table and pointed it at Jungmo. “You must have a death wish.” 

Jungmo glanced up at Jonghyun and rolled his eyes. Slowly his focus shifted back to Jinki, chuckling at the sharp blade pressed against his throat.

“I’ve eaten your food; I’ve entertained your guest. Are you going to kill me in front of all of them? That’s disgraceful, youngling.”

Jinki felt Onew’s growl deepen, felt it rumbling in his chest, felt him baring his teeth and rearing his head back for an attack. The only thing keeping Onew in check was Jinki’s staunch sensibility.

Behind Jungmo, Jinki could see the Fortress guards running into position, surrounding Jungmo in a semi-circle, and cutting off his access to an exit. Jinki hummed in satisfaction. They moved quickly and they were precise.

“Who said anything about killing you?” Jinki said, lowly.

Jinki pulled the knife from Jungmo’s neck, tossed it in the air and slammed it into the table, the sharp edge pinning the man’s sleeve to the black tablecloth and the hard wood under it. 

“GUARDS! Take this man away.”

The Captain of the Guard, a young man by the name of Kyung and a cousin by law, was the first to come. With his sword drawn, he approached the table and pointed the shiny silver weapon at Jungmo. 

“Rook takes knight. If you will, sir?” Kyung said as he nodded towards the door with his head. 

Jungmo looked around and chuckled.

“Put those silly things away. I have no intentions of fighting.” When they didn’t, Jungmo sighed. “I fully understand. It seems I’ve insulted your great leader and his…bedmate…”

Kibum jumped up from his seat, furious. “He is the Alpha Beta of Prae and you will address him as such!” 

Jungmo took a moment to look at Kibum dryly before he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Fine. I submit to whatever incarceration you deem fit. Take me away!” he finished loudly. He attempted to wave his arm to lead the way but he pulled up short when the sleeve caught under Jinki’s blade didn’t budge. He looked up at Jinki and Jinki saw the laughter in his eyes. “Be kind, my lord. My sleeve, please?”  

Jinki wanted nothing more than to kill him with his bare hands. Instead he yanked Jungmo’s arm, causing his sleeve to rip to the shoulder. 

Jungmo frowned. “That fabric was expensive.”

“You’ll live,” Jinki growled. “Get him out of my sight.” He turned to the guest in The Great Hall. “Everyone. Out!” he bellowed before reaching for Minho, who was nervously finishing his drink, and escorting him from the room. 

Wu Yifan scoffed from his seat. “Well, so much for the festivities.”

The guards on post shuffled to open the heavy doors that lead out as the two men marched through the opening and they were quick to shut them in their wake.

As soon as the doors closed behind them, Jinki felt his control snap. He pushed Minho against the wall, as gently as he could and began roving his body for injuries. He knew it was ridiculous, he knew it was the most ridiculous thing ever because he was there. He knew no harm had come to Minho but the very words out of Jungmo’s mouth jarred him so terribly that every harmful scenario flashed in front of his eyes like a living a nightmare.

The scarlet edge of a knife, the slash of red across Minho’s throat, the heat seeping from his body as the life left his eyes. 

Jinki shuddered and pulled Minho into him, holding him so tight he felt himself shaking.

Breathe, Jinki. Down, Onew.

The sudden movement caused the air to shift and a whiff of Minho’s scent flowed in the current. Jinki inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with his mate’s unique scent. 

It was always an enigma to him; how he smelled like no other wolf he’d ever been around. He couldn’t even compare it to anything, it was an autonomous entity. It smelled like everything and nothing at all. The moment the scent permeated his senses, Jinki felt the anger dissipate and a calm wash over him. 

Another vision popped in his head, of Minho happy and safe, warm in his arms, his lips against his neck, his hands on him, his body hot against his. He then envisioned the two of them standing before the world, enamored and in love, ruling together. 

His vision cleared and it was then he realized he was practically pawing at Minho like some kind of wild beast and he instantly took a step back. He felt Minho’s arms drop from his back, afterthought as Jinki rushed to apologize.

“I’m…I don’t know what got into me. I’m sorry.”

He looked up and didn’t see any horror on Minho’s face from their proximity. Slowly, Minho put his hand on Jinki’s shoulder. 

“It’s okay,” he said soothingly, “it’s okay. Do you feel better now?”

Jinki nodded but he didn’t want to talk about his feelings. He didn’t want to talk about how Onew’s presence was more forthcoming and stronger. How, for a fleeting moment before, he’d thought about briefly calling the Twins to help him reign in Onew’s fury but he thought better. At some point, he was going to have to learn to control his emotions. He was everyone’s leader now. He had to be the epitome of discipline. He had to, at the very least, appear to be in control, in front of his mate more than anyone else. The last thing he could afford to let Minho see was him losing control again. 

Jinki cleared his throat and straightened to his full height and Minho reacted in a peculiar way, as if he were upset that Jinki held back from be on his feelings again.  He watched the taller man reconcile it quickly and shake off what just happened between them. 

“Who was that man?” Jinki asked finally. 

Minho stiffened, his eyes darting to the door before coming back to Jinki. 

Jinki caught it and magnified its meaning. “He might not have come alone,” he contemplated out loud. “Wait here for a moment.”

Jinki strode back to the door. He knocked once and moments later the doors flew open. He stepped inside and watched as The Great Hall emptied. He spotted the other Alphas of Prae talking amongst themselves. He approached the table, half scaring Jonghyun as if he’d appeared magically.

“Jesu, Jinki, you scared me!”

Jinki ignored him with a roll of his eyes. He turned to the Prelate, who was sitting down, looking forlorn as the guest made their way towards the exits. Jinki winced internally. He’d ruined Kibum’s feast but it was unavoidable.  

“Kibum, please attend our guest. Let them know that another feast will take place soon and they are all welcome to rejoin us. You’re in control of that.” 

Kibum nodded, stood, and moved towards the long line of guest exiting the room. 
“Taeyeon, Taemin” he said as he turned to his siblings. “Go to the holding cells. Magically seal the doors. Only Kyung is allowed to have entrance in and out for now. I want no one else to know that we have someone down there.” 

He turned back towards the door and began to walk away. “Jonghyun, Yifan, Nic, to me.”  

Jinki led them down the walkway, out The Great Hall and across the courtyard. They ended up just inside of the Magnus Pavilion and away from the eyes and ears of everyone at the feast. Jinki pulled to an abrupt stop and spun on Minho. 

“Explain,” he said calmly.

Jinki saw the color drain from Minho’s face, but the one thing he’s learned about Minho was his recovery time was amazing. His ability to hide his emotions was quick as lightening and slick as oil. Reading him was next to impossible, so moments later, he watched as Minho composed himself and sat taller in the face of the question.

“They are from a clan just east of Wheph. Well, I should say they were.”

“Were?” Nic parroted.

“Yes. From what I know they are all but dead. They are a clan of mercenaries. They are animals. They have no honor. Our best bet is to kill Jungmo and save ourselves the hassle, or better yet let me do it,” Minho said.

“Absolutely not,” Jinki admonished. 

Minho’s brow rose. “The man just threatened to kill me. I have a right–“

Jinki crossed his arms across his chest. “Stay away from him. End of discussion.” 
Please stay away from him.

Jinki saw the stubborn set of Minho’s shoulders, the hard look in his eyes, his jaw clenching and Jinki groaned internally. Two steps forward, one step back.  But for ’s sake, he was doing it because it made sense! He pushed Minho’s unhappy disposition to the side. He’d deal with that later. Instead he looked at Yifan.

“Have Kyung detain the dancers that were with Jungmo. Send one of them to the holding blocks. Have him pick the dancer who seems most eager to get him. Send the rest to the Moon Mosque behind the Wall of Divine Light. Those ladies won’t take any of their . I plan on interrogating them in the morning.”

“You? Personally?” Jonghyun asked, his chin drawing in towards his chest. 

“Who else?” Jinki replied with an arched brown.

Jonghyun scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know. Maybe someone who isn’t going to scare them half to death because their mate was threatened?” Jonghyun looked at Nic. “Tiffany is pleasant.”

Nichkhun exhaled. “Whew. I thought you were going to suggest Victoria. She’d be worse than Jinki here. That woman has a temper the gods have never witnessed.”

“Fine but I want a full debrief of what she finds in the morning. Please have it all prepared and you have my thanks, Nichkhun. Jonghyun,” Jinki said as he turned to his best friend. “Please go cheer up your mate. I’m sure I pissed him off by kicking everyone out. Last thing I need is for Kibum to find another way to make my life hell.” His gaze finally landed on Minho. “You, follow me.”

Without another word, Jinki walked back out of the Magnus Pavilion, down the long set of steps and across the courtyard, Minho on his heels. By the time he’d reached his location he was looking up at the massive building left of the path through The Fortress.

The Dongbang Library.

The Dongbang Library had its uses, most particularly research. Annually, scholars from the five clans would make their journeys here, seeking out the knowledge from the thousands and thousands of books held inside the Library. It’s said that every single document important to Prae was held in these walls. Considering its size, there was a lot of knowledge. 

As they approached the main doors, a eunuch came skittering out as two pages dressed in all red opened the doors. Gikwang; the High Eunuch. Of course it wasn’t a decision Jinki had a hand in, much to his chagrin. He didn’t know much about the eunuch but he knew enough. Gikwang was meddlesome, nosey, took his position much too seriously and was a gods-awful brown noser. Fortunately for him, Gikwang was much more acquainted with Jonghyun. They’d gotten in a pretty laughable argument during the summits on Salt Kys Mountains about height.

Gikwang quickly jogged down the steps and slid to a smooth stop in front of them, adjusting the deep red hat on his head by tugging the long piece of fabric at the back. Jinki resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He found his frustration mounting at having to deal with someone such as the High Eunuch at a time like this. 

“My lord, what–what brings you here at such an hour? I don’t have any sort of paperwork requesting access,” Gikwang said, his face lined with worry. 

“Get out of my way,” Jinki growled. 

“But–“ 


“OUT OF MY WAY!” 

Gikwang squeaked and hurried to the side and off the path. He picked up the skirts of his long robe and scrambled to the other side, taking three steps for every one of Jinki’s. 

“I hope you don’t think I’m questioning your authority, my lord, but I have to explain this to–“

Jinki rounded on him. “Who, High Eunuch? Who, other than me, do you have to explain anything to?”

Gikwang shrunk a little. “N–no one sir.”

“Good. Make sure no one approaches the Orb of Heavenly Light Corridor.”

Gikwang pulled up short. “The–the Orb of Heavenly Light Corridor? Then you mean to use the Beam Room? My lord!” he said, shocked. “That is the war council room!”

Jinki ignored him and continued to head deep into the Library. They passed the shelves and shelves of books, scrolls, and scripts with only Minho paying them any real attention. They approached the Orb of Heavenly Light Corridor and Jinki spun on Giwkang.

“You’ll remember my words, won’t you High Eunuch?” Jinki said as he bent forward, his face looming in front of Gikwang’s. “Have a great night.”

The High Eunuch opened his mouth to say something, but Jinki stepped back and closed the doors in his face. “Aggravating, vexatious little imp,” Jinki muttered. 
Jinki continued walking but suddenly took a hard left. They walked through not one, not two, but three archways. Minho, who was one step behind him, spoke up for the first time since Magnus Pavilion. “

The Orb of Heavenly Light Corridor is that way, Jinki.” 

“I know that,” he replied quietly. 

They continued on their way until they reached a long stoned wall at the opposite end of the Orb of Heavenly Light Corridor. Jinki stared at the wall in contemplation for a moment, silent as memories fluttered across the back of his mind. 

“When I was a child, my mother and I were allowed to come to the Dongbang Library to deposit the important papers she’d carried with her from Toleran. We were escorted by the previous Alpha of Durkhai. His name was Xiah. For so many years after my mother left, he was like a surrogate father to me. But before that, he was no more than my leader. For reasons unknown to me at the time, he brought us to this very spot and showed us something very important. Now, today, I understand.” 

Jinki walked up to the stoned wall and found a hitch in the grouting. He withdrew his knife, the same one that had been pressed up against Jungmo’s neck, and with the sheath, pressed against the sooty black grout until it gave way. There was a loud thunking sound. He took a step back as a section of the wall began to swing towards them. 

When it was completely open, it revealed another long hallway, dark except for the torches that were lit against the walls. Only a few knew about it, mostly the eunuchs as they sometimes used the room to count taxes and to decide the list of Toleran tributes to offer to the council at Salt Kys. 

Jinki looked down the hall before he entered into the darkness, his strides confident and strong. He almost turned around to find Minho but he heard the echo of his boots behind him and pressed forward.  They eventually came to another stop, a door made of thick impenetrable metal. 

Jinki withdrew a key. “I’ve had this key since the day I became Alpha of Durkhai. It was another present from Xiah. He gave me so much. He gave and gave and gave and I never got the chance to repay him.”

“You cared a lot about him,” Minho stated. 

Jinki felt him hovering close in the dim hall and shuddered. Every day that passed, he was having a harder time controlling his body’s responses to Minho. Now, paired with the softness of his voice as he asked about the only man that ever truly cared about Jinki, he decided he needed to control the feelings in his chest as well.

“Many have heard of my father, Yoon. Probably the stories of my mother breaking her bond with him in the most illegal of ways, how years later he was exiled from the clan when he began a small revolt after Xiah refused to help him track her down. My father was a piece of . Xiah…he…he’s the reason I’m as strong as I am today.”

Wanting to change the subject, Jinki slid the key into the lock and turned it. Once unlocked, the door led to an large mostly empty room, the only light coming from the torches in the hallway. Without being asked, Minho grabbed a torch and located the fireplace. Within minutes a fire was blazing, lighting the whole room up. In the center of the room were a table and a set of chairs. Jinki offered one to Minho.

Silence stretched across the room, neither of them saying anything as they sat across from each other. Jinki cleared his throat before he finalized the decision he made as they walked over here. He grabbed the key back out of his pocket and slid it across the table, the noise as the metal slid across the mottled wood loud in the silence of the room. 

“This room is your sanctuary. I know it’s plain and it smells a bit, but only a small number of people know about this room and they are sworn under the pain of death to keep it a secret. If ever anything happens to me, if we are separated and you feel your life is in danger, come here. It will protect you in case that I can’t.”

Minho looked at him, the fire reflecting in his eyes before they shifted to key. “I know this is about Jungmo. Look, I’ve been dealing with them for most of my adult life. They are only acting this way because they can. It’s nothing but talk. Forget what I said before. Forget the interrogations, forget the holding cell. Just…get them out of here.”

“He said …your uncle sent him?”

Minho huffed. “For years my uncle held a Mandate of Zion over our heads, a loan my father’s father’s father acquired from them. It gave them a power over us that you wouldn’t believe. However years ago I settled our debt with them. I am no longer the Alpha of Wheph and for that they have no justifiable discord with me or my clan. They are doing this just to annoy me. Nothing more than that.”

Jinki wanted to believe him. He couldn’t afford to.

“Okay,” Jinki said as he nodded his head. He picked the key up and put it in Minho’s hand. “Still, this changes nothing. This room is yours. It is your safe place. You don’t like roses, so I offer you security.”

A corner of Minho’s lips curled up into a half smile. “Thank you but I’m not helpless you know. I was once the Alpha of an entire village. I am able to take care of myself. 10 Gold Lycans I could fare better than you in battle with my bow and a few arrows.”
Jinki laughed. “I’ve always wanted to learn that, you know. Yoon would never let me touch it and Xiah didn’t know.”

Minho shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “I could teach you. If you’re going to huff and puff and blow all the houses down with your insatiable need to protect, then the least I could do is help you.”

Jinki stopped laughing. “Help me?” He scoffed. “Trust me, with or without your little bow and arrow, I can do a good enough job of protecting okay?”

Minho crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you sure? So far you’ve almost eaten me alive and allowed a man to threaten my life. I say you need more help than anymore.”

Jinki sputtered in the darkness. “Okay, let’s get one thing straight. I apologized for the whole Onew thing, you just happened to be sleep when I did it, however it did happen. Likewise, you have not yet taken any responsibility for Onew’s emergence. None! Considering you’re supposed to be the paradigm of wisdom and reasonability, I am stupefied that you would continue to bring that up after all of this time!–”

“It just happened yesterday,” Minho drawled.

“–AND, pray tell, how was I to have known that he was going to threaten your life? Do you want me to feed into my baser instinct and hide you away from all dangers? Lock you up and throw away the key so you can hate me until the moon is no more? If–if I would have known he was dangerous I would…have…” Jinki paused and squinted to make sure he was seeing correctly. He was. 

“Wait. Are you, are you laughing at me?”

The smile that Minho was fighting back broke the surface across his face and he threw his head back in laughter. “Mighty Jesu, that was the most entertaining thing I’ve seen since this whole ordeal started. You are adorable when you are indignant.”

Jinki pouted. “Give me my key back,” he said in a sulking tone. 

“No.”

Jinki pulled a face before lunged for the key to snatch it out of Minho’s hand, but Minho was quicker and pulled away at the last minute. 

“Why should I give back a gift? Are you that upset?”

“No! But I’m going to lock you up in here and throw away the key anyways!” Jinki stood up and when Minho noticed him advanced around the table, he stood as well, maneuvering around his seat and walking backwards away from him. 

“Aww! The wittle puppy is upset,” Minho said as he hid the key in a pocket.

Jinki growled. “I’m going to show you upset.” He lunged again, this time barely managing to snag Minho’s shirt. He yanked hard, and because Minho was attempting to round the corner of the table, he was off balance and fell back, knocking into Jinki and throwing them both to the ground.

Jinki took advantage of Minho’s shock and began patting him down, searching him over for the key. Minho recovered in record time and began to twist around until he was facing Jinki, trying to get the upper hand.

Not a chance, Jinki thought, his competitive edge kicking in. He grabbed both of Minho’s arms and rolled hard to his right, bringing the taller wolf under him.

Using one arm to hold him down, which wasn’t too hard with how hard Minho was laughing, he yanked the long silk ribbon off the end of his braid and used it to wrap it around Minho’s wrist. 

Minho gasped. “You’re a cheater!” 

“No, I’m a good tactician,” Jinki said as he looped the fabric around Minho’s wrist one last time before throwing his arms above his head.  

“Call it what you want, you dirty cheater!” Minho said, his laughter causing tears to leak out of the side of his eyes. Jinki joined in with the laughter, completely taken by Minho’s behavior.

A day ago Minho couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him and now he was laughing as if they’d known each other most of their lives. And that was as true as the sky was blue. They’d known each other for years. But it didn’t change the truth that although Jinki, or better yet, Onew, noticed Minho in a very specific way, Minho hadn’t likewise. So the real truth of it was, Minho had only known Jinki for a few days. But here he was laughing as he tried to free his hands from the stronger wolf. 

There was also a look in Minho’s eyes. Dangerous, hazy and full of mirth. Soft around the edges where they used to be hard and full of censure. Before he always looked like he was wary and apprehensive around Jinki. Now he looked like…

“Minho…are you okay?”

Minho giggled and eased his hands out of Jinki’s grip. “Of course I am. Are you trying to use one of your sneaky attacks on me again?” He brought his hands up, looped them around Jinki’s neck and with a firm yank, pulled Jinki down on top of him, their chest flush and their lips just shy of kissing.


It was silent for a long moment. Jinki looked down into Minho’s eyes and saw them watching him back. Had something changed? Had the few seconds they shared a heartbeat shifted things?

“You know, Jinki. I think I’ve always been attracted to you, even if it was in the smallest of ways. You remember the year I was raised to Alpha? You and Yifan and Jonghyun came to offer me your gifts. It was a few weeks after my sister and father had died. I was so young and you were so manly looking. I was amazed. You were wearing all black and my heart was so heavy but then you smiled at me and I felt better. I remember thinking that wolf would make someone a fine mate, a fine, handsome mate indeed.”

“I am your mate now. I don’t understand why you’re fighting me so hard. We could be happy.”

“I had my reasons.” Minho words slurred at the end and his eyes jutted down to Jinki’s lips. ”Had,” he whispered. 

Jinki took a harder look at Minho and found an answer to Minho’s behavior in his unfocused, dilated pupils. “Uh, Minho, I think you’re…drunk or someth–“

Jinki shut up when he felt Minho’s top lip graze his, so soft that he almost missed the sensation. What he did feel was Onew sit up at attention…which generally meant he was about to feel something else sit up.

Minho took advantage of Jinki’s wayward thoughts to push up, fully connecting their lips and Jinki blinked down at Minho, not moving, not reacting. Minho frowned and pulled back, pouting. “That’s not the reaction I was looking for.”

“Well, color me surprised that you’re looking for a reaction at all. Last time I touched you, you refused me and I ended up scaring you half to death.” 

“Well, color me surprised that you aren’t ripping my clothes off since I’m not refusing you. That’s all that’s left your lips since we were selected.”

Onew howled in excitement at Minho’s willingness but Jinki all but deflated. “That’s not true,” he said, disappointed.

“It’s very true. What was it? What was it that you’d said? Ah. I feel it down in my soul and in my loins. Just a whiff of you and my twitches.”

Jinki bristled. “You want me to deny I want you? Well, I’m not because I do. I want you so very desperately, Minho.”

Minho unhooked his hands from around Jinki’s neck. “You wouldn’t if you knew the truth.”

Jinki patience was stretching his limits. “Not this again! Why do you have to make everything so hard? This is the simplest thing on Earth. I am yours and you are mine. There is nothing complicated about it. Only death will change that.”

Minho looked at him for a long empty moment before he sighed. “Get off of me.”

Jinki frowned. “And what if I don’t want to?”

Minho laughed weakly as his eyes fluttered shut. “You’re going to turn into Onew again? Is that how you control people? Is that how you plan on controlling me?”

Snap. Jinki heard the thin line of his patience snap into pieces. ”You are so goddamned difficult,” Jinki growled. Without saying another word, he yanked the ribbon from Minho’s wrist, stood up and helped his mate to his feet. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” He turned away from Minho, the wolf in him refusing to acknowledge how much Minho’s words hurt him on his face. 

Maybe this is why their union was prophesized. That the gods had to force them together because it was going to be hard as hell. Maybe they weren’t supposed to have the relationship that other mates had. Maybe their union was strictly for the betterment of Prae. That they would have to spend their lives together walking on eggshells and loathing each other’s presence. 

Maybe he would never experience what bonded love felt like. 

He marched to the door, waiting for Minho so he could lock it and forget this ever happened. He waited and waited, wondering what was taking so long before he turned around.

“Will you come on and lock the door–“

He felt his heart thud once painfully in his chest as he looked at Minho’s body sprawled across the floor. 

Panicked and terrified, Jinki crossed the room and fell on his knees as he hovered over Minho’s unconscious body. 

“Minho?”

He shook him once. 

“Minho!” 



“What did you see?” 

Jungmo left his question ambiguous. If Sulli did her job, she would know.

“To Minho’s right,” Sulli began, her eyes falling shut as she began to recall the names of the people at the table, “the mageis, the Prelate–what a ridiculous position to have by the way–then the Dinfire Alpha and the Alpha Prime. To his left, the Sonant, Nimble Victoria, the Morocco Song Alpha, the Mott Argan Alpha and the Dinfire’s First,” Sulli said from her seat on the floor of her cell. 

“Good.”

“The left side of the Great Hall were the dignitaries from the clans. The only one we need to be worried about is Amber from Lark’s Nest but she’s a pacifist. She’ll only get involved in anything if she has to. The Captain of the Guard can be a nuisance. Literally. I had to deal with his advances at least three times.”

“Was he successful?" Jungmo asked with a smirk.”

Sulli rolled her eyes. “Were you successful?” 

Jungmo hummed his answer. He stood in the center of his cell, his hands behind his back and his gaze centered on the door that lead into the holding block. He could smell the magic sealing the door shut. He scoffed. It wasn’t like he was going to try and escape. He was here for a very specific reason. They would let them go eventually. In the sleeves of his black shirt, his fingers grazed over the small empty container concealed within the fabric. 

“Distraction is beautiful,” he simply said. He thought of the definitive moment when he was able to distract Minho and his mate long enough to slip the liquid into the Beta’s drink. 

“Does that stuff really work?”

“Yes. In the most powerful of ways. It’ll slowly begin to strip Minho of his ability to mask his scent.”

“Just like that?” Sulli said, skeptical.

“Not just like that. He has that stupid apothecarist at his side and now he’s in the company of two mages. Kibum will up his medication and the mageis will find a way to hide his scent. And it will work but only for a short while. If my timing is correct, it’s going to be an eventful Mating Moon.”

He turned to Sulli who was busy scratching words into the dirt floor of her cell. 

“I don’t see why we have to do all of this,” she said as she dragged her finger through the dirt. “It’s not like he’s the Alpha of Wheph anymore. If anything, his coming into this position is exactly what we wanted. Now we can put who we want as Alpha since Minho has no heir.”

Jungmo chuckled. “His father attacked his own blood with full knowledge that we were only doing our duty. The son pays for the sins of the father, whether he’s Alpha or not.”

Sulli scoffed. “You’ve been hanging around Toggo for much too long. This is a waste of time. He even paid Wheph’s debt back to us”

Jungmo could partially agree with her if that was all there was to it. “Minho is a small fish, my dear Sulli. Sunku had desired to make Wheph clean. Toggo desires to make all of Prae clean. He wants the seat he plans to claim as pure as the moon. To do that you must remove to replace. You have to create a war. One from outside and one from within.”

Jungmo’s gaze returned to the door. “All will be revealed and all will be destroyed.”



Yoon glanced at Toggo from the lip of Durkhai with extreme apprehension.

“If your plan doesn’t work and I die, I’m going to haunt you for the rest of your dogged life.” 

Toggo rolled his eyes heavenward and tugged on his goatee. “When have you known a plan of mine to fail?”

Yoon opened his mouth but Toggo held a hand up.

“Don’t answer that question.” Toggo dismounted his horse and moved to stand beside Yoon. 

They were standing just outside the northern gate that led into Durkhai. The gate was bordered by the small infirmus settlement. Yoon scrunched his nose at his surroundings. 

He was never fond of the infirmus settlement. It was where they sent wolves too weak to survive Durkhai traditionalist living, however it looked better than he’d ever seen it. The people habituating it looked healthy, even the older wolves, fat and plump from regular feedings. Jinki’s doing most likely. Disgusting. In Yoon’s day, you fought to survive, you earned your keep and handouts were for the weak. He added this to the long list of issues he had with a man he no longer considered family.

Toggo interrupted Yoon’s assessment of the infirmus settlement by jabbing him with an elbow. 

“Here comes Jaekyung.”

Yoon groaned as a tall fox shifter made his way towards them. He hated Jaekyung. The man had a thousand faces and could not be trusted as far as he could be thrown. His allegiance changed with the exchange of money and Jaekyung’s pockets clinked with the coins of many. 

“Yoon! It’s been far too long!” Jaekyung held open his arms as if he were aiming to hug Yoon, but Yoon stopped him with a raised hand to his chest. 

“I die entering this city and I’ll make sure your entrails are dragged from one side of this land to the other.”

Jaekyung smirked. “You haven’t changed. Good you’ll need that…tenacity if you want your son as Alpha.”

The word caused Yoon to pull up short. His son. One half of the reason he was going along with this idiotic plan. 

Thunder was the result of a wayward mating session with a Durkhai Omega during one of his drunken episodes and was conceived shortly before his mating with Iseul. At a year younger than Jinki, Iseul refused to welcome the bastard wolf into her house but offered to let him live with a friend in Wheph where he could enter an apprenticeship. An alemaker. Yoon had sneered at it the suggestion. That was no profession for a pup of his. But he accepted it because he’d wanted Iseul to be happy. Plus, Wheph was only a two day walk from Durkhai. 

Years later, he received a letter from the alemaker’s daughter, claiming she had no real way of getting in touch with Yoon since her father had died but was writing to relay the message that Thunder had abandoned living with her at the alehouse and had taken to the woods.

Angered, Yoon made the three day journey to find his son and after a week of looking, he finally located him living in the woods between Wheph and The Blue Crescent lands. As they traveled back to Wheph, with Yoon giving his son a piece of his mind the entire way, they were attacked by bandits. He was separated from his son and was pushed back into the woods while Thunder fought them off along the edge of a ravine. As Yoon finally fought his way back, he was greeted with the sight of what he presumed was the body of his son falling down a fog filled chasm. 

Jungmo had confidently corrected his assumptions, going as far as to tell him that Thunder lived by finding his way onto Blue Crescent lands. The penalty for trespassing as such was death, but Thunder was a smart boy and convinced one of the guards to allow him to talk with Toggo.  And it worked. Their numbers were low due to a recent attack and Toggo was eager for recruits. Jungmo claims that it wasn’t until recently that they discovered who Thunder’s sire was. 

Yoon shook his head. He didn’t care that The Blue Crescents were using his son as a pawn in their ridiculous plan. The very fact that they’d kept him alive all these years was all he cared about. By the end of today, he’d have his son by his side and soon he’d have Iseul back. It was all the motivation he needed. 


“How is this supposed to work?” he asked as Jaekyung and Toggo began to speak quietly amongst themselves. He didn’t like that. He regretted having to leave Ma’ab and Ruqayyah at the inn they were staying it. He wanted someone he could trust at his side.

“The Alpha Prime and The Alpha Beta have officially taken their places at The Fortress, which gives their clans with now vacant seats the opportunity to begin their selection process,” Jaekyung explained. “If the other Alphas decide to join Jinki’s pack, then the opportunity will eventually fall to them to choose their new leaders as well. We find this as an absolute possibility with the five Alphas being as close as they are.” Jaekyung turned them away from the northern gate and began to lead them around the width of it.

“But withstanding that, Durkhai is first. The first meeting is set to begin tonight, hour of the dog. It’s then where they will begin the name pitching ceremony.”

“I know all of this already,” Yoon said, yawning.

Ah, yes, you are familiar with our…your customs, however Toggo is not. Thank you, “ Jaekyung said over his shoulder as they approached a door, “With our pitching ceremony, all eligible shifters’ names are thrown into a crimson basket. Rank and standing and status are taken into consideration and in the end we are left with a pool of names. Like a tournament, shifter after shifter will be eliminated until we have a Silver Champion. If there is a standing Alpha, the Silver Champion has to fight the Alpha for his position. If no standing Alpha, then our Silver champion is elevated to Golden Champion and is given the title of Alpha.”

Toggo grimaced. “That is ridiculous.” 

Jaekyung nodded. “I find myself agreeing with you, but you don’t beat tradition. It beats you.” Jaekyung knocked on the door they were now standing in front of. Shortly afterwards, a guard opened the door and Jaeykyung slid him a few coins before walking deeper into the room. 

“When it’s time we’ll hide you amongst the general populace in the main hall. When we pitch Thunder’s name, since his name is unfamiliar, they will call forth a family member to prove his eligibility. There are no laws in a pitching ceremony except for one. False eligibility. However you do have a claim, don’t you Yoon?”

Yoon agreed with a grunt. He took a moment to look around, his first time entering Durkhai in years, and although it left a bitter taste in his mouth, home was home and it was a sight for sore eyes.

He wondered what he could expect this time around.