“Mandrake does not scream when you pull it out of the ground, Taemin.”

“Yeah, Taeyeon. I know that. But that hasn’t stopped JungAh from telling everyone that it does. Everyone. Including Jongin even after knowing that he’s some sort of conspiracy theorist. That brilliant move ended up with him ranting and raving about us being creatures from other planets.”

“That’s your best friend. I have no idea why you’re acting surprised that he’s harking in public about being from another world. This isn’t the first time.”

“Correction. That’s your future mate who thinks he’s an alien.”

Taeyeon laughed. “Uh, no. My future mate is Kibum and he is an well adjusted wolf. Thanks.”

“Incredible. Complete unmitigated disinterest in reality! Do you realize you're going to have to fight Jonghyun to get anywhere near mating with Kibum? I’m talking–paws up, rumble to the death–fight for him. You’re a mage and I don’t care how much greenrot or edelweiss you throw at him, he’s going to smack your head off your shoulders and then laugh about it.” Taemin paused his rant to pluck the petals of peony off a bush, pocketing them for later. “You should just mate with Jongin.”

“You should just mate with Jongin,” Taeyeon parroted, rolling her eyes. “You say that as if Jongin hasn't been sniffing up that Oracle’s for the last few years . Plus he’s your best friend. So, one, no, and two, you two resemble each other if you tilt your head and squinch and that’s gross, so sorry, no again.”

Taemin groaned and she ignored it. “What I do plan on doing, oh sweet brother of mine, is drawing up a diversion spell for Jonghyun and crafting a love potion for Kibum once we get back. If all goes according to plan, guess what? I win!”

“First, love potions exploit feelings they don’t create them and –“

“Taemin. Mighty Jesu on high, pull the stick out of your and shut up.”

“Well excuse me for trying to save you some time–do you feel that?”

Taeyeon paused and looked back at her brother. Taemin was staring down the path that led back to Prae. She moved to his side so she could stare down the same path.

Taemin was a spiritualist mage. Taeyeon was a physicalist mage. Taemin was more perceptive, more sensitive energies and feelings, while Taeyeon needed to touch, smell and feel. However, they could share those powers if they were close to one another.

Her eyes snapped wide open the moment she was abreast of him. Impossible.

“How far are we from Prae?” Taeyeon looked over to Taemin.

“Does it matter?”

No. It doesn’t, she thought right before she took off after her brother.


As Beta wolves of Durkhai, their natural prowess should render the two twins powerful and capable enough to handle a lot of situations. However, one of the strengths of Durkhai was their leadership capabilities and those capabilities included qualities such as decision making and intuition, so running headfirst into the source of the buzzing in their heads wasn’t the brightest plan. Instead, they headed for the tent just south of it with the Celtic flame knot banner flapping in the air.

Taemin reached the tent first and rushed through the opening.

“Bad news, Jonghyun! Bad bad news! We’ve got to!–Oh.”

Jonghyun and Kibum weren’t a secret. Years of friendship and playing grab- all over Prae was evidence enough to know what the two thought about each other.

However, Taemin had no desire, none, not even a little bit, of actually seeing it. He figured it would only be minutes, seconds maybe, before his eyes melted out of his sockets. The fact that the last image he would see before his head exploded was his brother’s best friend with his pants down around his ankles made him really really…sad.

And just think of what Taeyeon would do if she–

“Get off of him you filthy ing wolf!”

–saw it.

Taemin felt the air crackle and something rush past him and before anyone could blink, Jonghyun was flying across the room and crashing into a table. When Taemin looked up from the heap-of-Jonghyun on the floor, Taeyeon was wrapped around Kibum’s torso…in Jonghyun’s bed.

Kibum blinked, feeling against his back instead of a hard sculpted chest. He looked over his shoulder. “Lee Taeyeon?” Kibum groaned as her hands tightened around him. “Get off of me right now, young lady.”

“Oh, no, no, nooo my little cherub! Don’t say that! I just wanted to make sure that awful man wasn’t hurting you.” Taeyeon raised her hand and wiped off a line of sweat from Kibum’s forehead with the billowing sleeve of her dress. “He didn’t right? He didn’t put those stubby little hands near you, did he?”

Jonghyun finally pulled himself from the broken pieces of the table to look up. When he did, he rolled his eyes. “Oh, it's this crazy again.”

Taeyeon’s head whipped towards the Dinfire Alpha, snarling. “You wanna say that to my face, mutt?”

Jonghyun threw his hands up. “No, seriously. Do we have to do this every time? Will this stop when I claim him? Will that make you act with some civility, you wild banshee?”

Taeyeon’s face drained of color. She turned back to Kibum, incredulous. “You’re really going to let him defile this sweet beautiful body like that?” She grabbed his cheeks between her hands. “You deserve so much more, baby! The world! I can give you the world if you just let me–“

“Get your grubby spooky voodoohoodoo hands off my mate, you she-devil!”

Taemin contemplated taking a seat and enjoying the show because let’s face it, Jonghyun and Taeyeon were natural enemies and nothing was more entertaining than watching that in action but the tingling in the back of his head was growing stronger.

“Uh, yeah. I’d hate to break up this little Cleo, Julius and Antony thing you three have going on right now but Jinki has lost control of Onew and–“

Kibum and Jonghyun froze. “What…what did you just say?” Jonghyun asked, panic slowly starting to color his features.

“Onew’s free.”

“,” Jonghyun cursed. He jumped up and began to pull his shirt back over his head. “That’s what I felt earlier. I thought it was,” he shot Kibum a glance, “something else.”

“You felt something?” Taemin asked.

“Dinfire Alphas; we can feel surges of energy. Look, I don’t have time to explain. We have to get to Jinki’s tent. Minho’s in there. Taemin. Taeyeon. Can you handle this?”

The twins nodded and they were off again, making their way north across the short stretch of land between the two tents. They rounded the corner and were just barely able to miss Jongin and Yixing bodies being blown back from the tent and through the air.

Jonghyun raced over to his Beta and picked him up. “What’s in the hell is happening?”

“I don’t…” Yixing’s words caught in his throat as he bent over to catch his breath. “There was a roar from inside so me and Jongin ran in. It was crazy! The Prime’s eyes shifted gold and his fangs were elongated and pressed to Minho’s throat. The Beta was struggling to free himself so we moved forward to help him. The moment we got too close, the Prime went into some crazy protective mode and the next thing we know some…force was pushing us out.”

“He’s an alien!” Jongin called out from his spot still on the ground.

Yixing stopped, looked up to his Alpha and began to laugh. “It was actually the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I knew he was strong but I didn’t know he was–“ Jonghyun’s glare cut him short. “But, you know, of course, we’ve got to get in there and stop him.”

Jonghyun and turned to the twins. “Can you break this?”

The twins said nothing as they stood on opposite sides of the tent and closed their eyes.

Onew liked this human.

Immensely.

He was gentle, liked to listen to others talk, thought before he spoke. It was all unnecessary bull, that gooey mushy that made everything stick together but that’s what humans did..

Even Jinki was neck deep in unnecessary worthless bull. Soft-hearted idiot.

Human beings were complex and hard to understand. They were driven by things like emotion, by wants instead of needs. It drove him crazy.

But not him. Things like tact and consideration were lost on him. He only needed to do two things. He needed to hunt and he needed to protect. Minho denying him that made him angry.

Minho was his mate. His to defend. His to protect.

His.

His.

His.

And not because of some prophecy. Not because they saw a moon that just so happened to be red and an old wolf thought he could predict prophecies. No. It was because Minho was his. Onew knew that, always knew that. He’d accepted it years ago when his human shared food with him at one of those stupid meetings. There was something about Minho’s smell. Onew liked it. Onew wanted to claim it.

Onew would claim him.

“Stop running away from me and come here!” Onew roared.

He reached for Minho again, who was now dodging him like an oil slicked otter, his claw flying through the air tearing through another section of the tent. The irises of Onew’s golden eyes dilated. At some point, he’d overturned the long wooden table over the firepit and the orange light of the roaring flame wasn’t easy on his eyes. He turned away from the light and focused on his mate.

Minho was shaking. Not because he was scared. Oh, no. Onew would be able to smell fear on him. He was angry. Onew grinned. He liked Minho when he was angry.

“Get a hold of yourself you stupid idiot! You’re acting like a madman!”

“Me?” Onew growled. “Stop denying me! You’re mine,” he ground out.

“Not yet, I am! And at this rate I won’t be!”

Onew ignored that. Obviously Minho was still delusional.

“This could be fun, Minho,” Onew purred. “Let your wolf out and let’s play!” Onew crouched low, ready to pounce again when whispered words hummed in the back of his head. He shook his head once but the words only got louder. His lips curled back over his teeth and he began to growl.

The barrier dissipated. Onew took one final savoring look at Minho in the flesh before he pivoted on heels and raced out of the tent. Dust settled around his feet as he ground to a half in the center of the clearing, his eyes sweeping back and forth, looking for his target.

There you are.

The twins.

“Missed me?” he spat out nastily as he dug his feet into the soil.

Onew targeted Taeyeon first because she could take him out the fastest. He lunged forward but before he could get to her, she screamed.

His movements turned to sludge as if his feet were stones tethering him to the ground. He tried moving but his body felt empty, like all of his energy was draining out at the seams.

“Stop–right–now,” Onew ground out, his vision spotting.

He took a swipe at a doubled vision of Taemin, but he couldn’t get to him. Both twins lowered to the ground until they were kneeling. Burrowing their hands into the grass and the earth, they began to chant again. The ground falling away to reveal a double spiral indentation that stretched from their hands to encircle Onew.

The spiral out, cords of strange patterns and words traveling towards him.

“Stop…please.”

Onew slipped into the darkness.


Minho stared out of the tent at Jinki prostrated on the ground with a unwavering glare. His chest was falling and rising with each haggard breath he took and he waited for the shock to settle and his breathing to return to normal.

When it did, Minho took a closer look, searching for signs of danger–that he would blink and whoever Jinki had become would return. But no…nothing. He felt his feet moving without his permission, stuttering into the clearing and to Jinki’s side. Something in the back of his mind–irrationality–was screaming.

What’s wrong with him?
                      (Get up)
Is he okay? Will he be okay?
                      (Get up!)
What did they do to him?
                      (GET UP!)

There was an instinct running through him, like Jinki was the center of gravity. He reached out, fingers extended, to push the hair that’d fallen across Jinki’s sweaty brow. Before his fingers could, someone grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t.”

The grip around his wrist was firm but unkind. The moment Minho looked up, the man let go and took a step back. Minho stared at someone who looked at him with soft eyes that penetrated and assessed instantly. The man was reading him and Minho tried to not let the uneasiness he felt show on his face.

“Please don’t touch him yet,” he said softly. “Not until Onew is truly subdued.”

Minho frowned and suddenly it made sense. Still he asked. “Who is Onew?”

The younger man pressed his lips together as if he knew Minho knew the answer. Minho did. He just didn’t want to admit it. “Jinki’s wolf.”

Minho’s jaw clenched.

“We can continue this conversation inside.” Jonghyun looked behind him at the other Prae villagers venturing out of their houses, eyes wide and inquisitive. “Let’s get him out of here.”

Minho watched as the wolves rushed around the unconscious Alpha and hustled him back into their tent. The only bed that Jinki hadn’t overturned was Minho’s. As they laid Jinki down, Minho took another hard look at the shifter who looked like Jinki and smelled like Jinki but obviously wasn’t acting like Jinki.

Onew. Minho tested the name on his lips and scowled. Jinki’s wolf had a winning ing personality.

Every shifter had a wolf inside of them, and every wolf have a human shifter who shared their soul. They were one. It was another side of them, an inner dwelling, a opposing force that balanced them out.

Minho had one, too. His wolf’s name was...

Minho blinked. He couldn't remember his wolf’s name.

Not that he was surprised. Minho hadn’t been in touch with his for years. Couldn’t hear his voice, couldn't remember his face or couldn't remember how he smelled. He’d pushed him so far from the surface he wasn't sure he could find him anymore. And it was there, as he watched the AlphaPrime, that sudden jealousy seized Minho. He was jealous of Jinki’s connection with Onew–even if the wolf was a sociopath.

Minho gnashed his teeth. His wolf wasn't important. He’d gotten this far without him, so what was the use of missing something he hadn't seen in years? Decades? His anger returned. None of that mattered. None of this mattered. He just wanted things to go back to the way there were before. His eyes fluttered to Jonghyun, to Yixing and Jongin, then to the two strangers. He wondered how many people in this room were going to try and stop him from doing just that.

He didn't have to contemplate long.

The moment Jinki was settled under the covers with the young man watching over him, the young woman from before marched up to him. Her features were soft–puffy baby cheeks, even full lips and long eyelashes. Minho looked again and realized she was identical to the young man at Jinki’s side. Brow. Nose. Lips. Cheeks.

There was a hard poke and he looked down to see a slim digit digging into his chest. “What did you do?” she grounded out.

Minho mouth fell open. What did I do? What did I do?! If anybody did anything, it was him! He attacked me!

She was angry–very angry. Her forehead was creased, her eyes were flashing and it looked like she wanted to break him over her knee. He began to take a step back from her but didn’t. He was–technically–the ruling–currently conscious– Alpha in this tent, so instead of cowering, he stood to his full height and returned her glare.

“What makes you think I did something to him?” His question was more of an accusation than an inquiry, his voice teetering on fevered incredulity.

The smaller shifter didn’t back down. “Look at him! He never loses control of Onew! Ever! And the one time he does, it’s around you?” She pressed closer. “Whatever you did made him lose control without us around!”

“Please,” Minho replied, aggravated. He smacked her finger away and plopped down on a chair. “That sounds like a personal problem and considering Jinki and his wolf–“

“His name is Onew,” she growled.

“Onew,” he repeated sardonically, “have never been in this mating situation before, I suggest you think a little more objectionably. And another thing, who the hell are you?”

“A wolf that doesn’t mind her manners, that’s who!” Jonghyun yelled from across the tent.

The woman visibly ignored Jonghyun with a roll of her eyes. “I’m his younger sister. So you can understand my concern that my brother almost killed you! Now tell me why!”

The male by Jinki’s bed pinched the bridge of his nose before he reached out and placed a pleading hand on her arm. She sighed like retreating was the most painful thing she’d ever done in her life and stomped off.

“You’ll have to excuse her behavior,” he said. “She’s been a little…emotional today.” He stood and approached Minho with his head held high, but compared to the young woman; it came off as a sign of respect and not contempt. “I’m Taemin of Durkhai. That’s my twin sister, Taeyeon. We’re Jinki’s younger siblings. We were headed back to Durkhai to prepare our respects to you for the Mate Bond but we…sensed, for a lack of a better word, Onew’s emergence.”

“They are mages, Minho,” Kibum said. He was busy picking up around the tent but paused when his hands landed on one of The Sacraments. He held it up and tried to shake the dirt from it. “Do you know how long it’ll take to clean this?” he muttered under his breath.

“So you felt something,” Minho continued. “How did you know what it was? The firespit over there said he “never” loses control.”

Taemin huffed. “Not exactly ‘never’ but it’s been a very long time. It only happens when he feels challenged.”
“He’s been the Alpha of Durkhai for decades. The way you wolves fight for authority, I hardly think a day goes by where he doesn’t feel challenged. ”

“He said Onew felt challenged, not Jinki, ” Taeyeon added sharply. It seemed her antagonistic behavior had turned to Jonghyun but she still had half an ear to tell him off.

Taemin nodded in agreement with his sister. “Jinki is pragmatic. Focused. Jovial at times. A traditionalist but loves new things. Hard-nosed yet easy to smile. In control. You see…this doesn’t happen to Jinki. He’s learned to control it. Onew is driven off pure emotion and desire, so he can’t let him lose. He would only lose to him if someone caused it…”

Minho opened his mouth to defend himself but then he closed it. He didn’t need to explain himself. And he wouldn’t be blamed for Jinki losing control of that animal.

Minho noticed Taemin ‘reading’ him again, his eyes narrowing as he looked him up and down. “Is it possible that we could step outside for a moment?”

“Why do we need to–“

Taemin looked at him meaningfully. “Trust me; you’ll want to do this.”

Minho’s brow furrowed but he nodded slowly.

Taemin turned to Jonghyun for a moment and a look was shared between them before Jonghyun snapped into action.

“Yixing. You know the Alpha of Mott Argan, correct?” The tips of the lanky wolf’s ears turned red but he nodded. “Good, go find Yifan and tell them that tonight’s meeting for the transfer to the Fortress tomorrow is still in effect, however our AlphaPrime and AlphaBeta will not be in attendance. If they have any questions, tell them to hold their piss until tonight. Jongin, stay here and keep guard. I’ll send Krystal over. ” He started, then stopped. “And no alien talk!”

He turned to Kibum and pulled a broken piece of table from his hands. “I need you back in my tent so get some of the Omega pups to clean this up. Have them separate the beds.” He paused and inhaled for strength. “Taeyeon make sure–“

“You’re seriously not about to tell me what to do with my own brother are you? I know what I’m doing, dogbreath.” Her eyes jutted from Jonghyun to Kibum and back before her shoulders slumped and she sighed. ”Just…go. I’ve got it.”

With that settled, Kibum and Jonghyun filed out first, followed by Minho and Taemin. Minho made to follow after Jonghyun but Taemin stopped him. “We go this way.”

Minho let the smaller man walk a few paces in front of him, finally able to catch his scent in the draft. A Beta. Younger than him but not by much. He had shoulder length auburn hair, broad, spindly shoulders and legs that looked like sticks. He was taking slow deliberate steps, his hands tucked behind his back, his head looking up at the clouds in thoughts.

They edged up to the river that ran along the lengthy path from Prae to the nearest hamlet settlement called Lark’s Nest. The Larks dealt heavily in water sterilization so there was a rudimentary aqueduct system running fresh water down its length back towards the reserves in Prae. It was here, over the wooden pipes and trickling water that Taemin paused.

Taemin plodded towards the river bank and began to search for something in the tall grass that lined it. Eventually, he tore up a purplish root from the damp soil and knocked the dirt off of it before he stood and held his prize up.

“This is called vachelli,” he stated as he nodded towards the root. “No one really pays attention to it even though it grows all over the place. But if you combine it with a few other ingredients, it becomes quite useful. Especially when the bark of a Lunest tree is involved.”

Minho paused briefly, the name Lunest echoing in his memory. “I’ve heard of it before.”

“I’m sure,” Taemin replied with a raised brow before dropping the root back to the bank. “You seemed surprised when Kibum mentioned that my sister and I were mages.”

Minho nodded. “Most mages come from Toleran not Durkhai–“

“My mother is Toleran.”

Minho tilted his head in surprise. “Your mother was a Toleran tribute?”

Taemin chuckled and looked back over at the river. “Not quite. As you know not all Toleran are gifted with the ability to wield magic, and if they are, they are heavily prized by Toleran and Prae folk alike. Such was the case with my mother, Iseul. Because the magic was so inherent and powerful within her, her children inherited the trait.”

Minho head spun to face Taemin. “So you're telling me Jinki is a mage too?”

“Oh,” Taemin’s eyes widen and his mouth formed an O. “You aren't familiar with Toleran ways so you wouldn't know. You will be though once you are mated so don’t worry. Jinki doesn't weld magic. Magi Omegas can only bear twins.”

Minho’s eyes shifted back and forth as he processed that information. The realization stole his breath. “Jinki isn't your brother.”

“By blood? No,” Taemin said simply. "But he is my brother."

Minho frowned, waiting for Taemin to continue. He didn’t. He squatted down to shift through the greenery again. “Taemin.”

He looked up. “Oh, right. We found him. Well, we didn't find him, we weren't born yet but my mother did on her trek from Toleran to Durkhai. She used to tell us that she felt something special in him, strength and compassion, that he encompassed all of the traits a leader of Durkhai would need. Yoon, our father, agreed and decided that they would adopt him. Tae and I came later, many many years later.”

Minho scratched the back of his neck. “Taemin. I’m not going to be Jinki’s mate.”

Taemin plunked a few pieces of grass and let them flutter in the wind. He made a humming noise in the back of this throat. “Something in my spirit knew all along this proclamation was coming. It would be the only reason Jinki would lose control of his wolf.”

“I’m…I’m not the right person to be AlphaBeta of Prae. I can’t tell you why but I’m not.”

Taemin looked at him for a long moment. “Is it because you’re an Omega?”

Minho blinked slowly, his brain trying to process what Taemin just said.

Taemin, on the other hand, found it hilarious and laughed as he took a seat on the edge of the bank. “Taeyeon is a “feely” mage; she deals in the physical realm. Back in our village she is used as a spotter of sorts. She can smell the very essence of a person from across a room, or a tent…or a clearing in the middle of a village. Me, I can sense their essence. It ends up with us arguing often, what you can touch versus what you can feel kind of thing but when she accused you of doing something, she was referring to this–your real status.”

Taemin leaned back. “Onew knows too. No amount of scent altering or hormone blocking can fool a wolf that strong. So imagine how infuriated he is that someone he considers his mate is denying him and that that person is an Omega. You are the reason, Minho. You challenged his wolf.”

“Does Jinki know?”

Taemin shook his head. “Doubt it. Onew would only tell him if he felt he couldn’t, for lack of a better word, “tame” you into accepting him. When he feels that control slipping, he’ll be back. So for now, play nice.”

“But I don’t want–“

“This isn’t about you anymore, Minho,” Taemin snapped, his composure fizzling away. Do you know what was in you and Jinki’s bowls the night of the Blood Moon? Does Cordia’s Blood Flower sound familiar? A lot of people think it’s some old wives tale about bees but the truth is when we are all born, a vial of our blood is taken and stored at the Temple. That vial Joonmyun poured into your bowl? Along with sedatives, it also contained one single drop of your mate's blood. That blood is used to create a bond far deeper than a normal mating.”

“What exactly are you saying?”

“That,” and Taemin stood and faced Minho. “His blood is your blood. Your blood is his. His life is yours and yours belongs to him.”

Minho frowned. “That’s…that’s not what they told us.”

“Why would they need to? Most people would jump at the chance! It wouldn't matter to them. But for you? If you do not mate with Jinki and Jinki does not mate with you, you will both die. You two are one. It doesn't matter to me that you are lying through your teeth about who you are. The only concern of mine is my brother. No one forced you to partake–you did it on your own volition and I will not see him die because you made a foolish decision. “

“But it’s a mistake! Why can't anyone understand that? I walked onto the festival grounds absolutely sure I would not be selected. It was impossible! And here I am listening to baby stories about a man I was never supposed to get close to!”

“You ever consider,” Taemin said softly, “that when our Gods make a mistake, it is no mistake?”

Minho’s fist balled up at his side. He was tired of sitting out in the middle of nowhere being lectured by a man he'd just met. He turned back towards the road and began the march back to Prae.

“Minho,” Taemin called out to his back. “You’re so used to running from what has been given to you, who you are. Stop. You were chosen. Accept it.”

Minho kept walking.

Accept it. Yeah, because it was just that easy.