A/N: Happy Birthday, Chloie. ^^

Sungmin was worrying him.

Even if he didn't show it, Kyuhyun was worried.

Before the incident, Sungmin was strong despite submissive in front of him. His omega exuded confidence dealing with other wolves, including alphas. But now, his omega had turned fully into a submissive and weak omega afraid of everyone.

He noticed his omega's uneasiness even from a distance, distinctly feeling the change in his omega's aura. It worried him, because Sungmin was talking to Jongwoon, whom his omega seemed comfortable with before the kidnapping incident. As he approached, he caught sight of his omega digging nails into hands again, a habit he found out from last night was an attempt to stop any hallucinations or when his omega was anxious. It was a habit he knew the consequences too well of.

"Today's meeting may drag. Do you want some company? You can join Ryeowook and Minho in the library," Jongwoon had asked.

His omega hesitated, obviously unwilling to do as suggested, but from his omega's aura, he could predict his omega's submissive acceptance though it wasn't even an order.

"He's staying here," he had interjected, not planning to let his omega out of his sight even if his omega had wanted to. "Hyung, can you set up the projector for me please?" He made up an excuse to send Jongwoon away, and the alpha sensibly left them.

Taking the seat beside his omega, he tried to calm his omega by distracting him with History. It worked to some extent, and he ignored the teasing glances from his companions, making Dongwoon accompany his omega to the washroom.

He had stolen glances at his omega after his omega returned and even when the meeting had officially started, distracted until half an hour into the meeting. His omega had seemed fine, thus he fell engrossed in work as usual, attention fully occupied by the preparation for the debate. It was one of the last few meetings before the most important debate for his team so far.

Despite the importance, the traces of regret still seeped in when his omega had dropped the textbook, anxiously escaping from the room. He should have spared his omega some attention no matter what, and the guilt all but amplified when he found his omega in the washroom... hurting himself.

An incredulous wave of anger washed over him at the sight, prompting him to grab his omega's wrist, yanking it away from the wounded stomach before his omega could do more damage.

The hysterical fear in his omega's eyes stunned him for a moment, before he reacted to stop his omega from running away again. "Sungmin!" He caught his omega's arm, throwing his omega around, "Lee Sungmin! Stop!"

Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around his omega, pressing his omega's head down to where his heart was beating furiously, hoping to anchor his omega. "Sungmin, calm down! You're safe." He felt his omega's struggles dying down. "You're safe, I'm here." Soft gasps escaped his omega, gradually turning into louder sobs. "It's not there. Everything's just hallucinations."

"Mas-" The urge to kill whoever caused his omega such heart-wrenching cries returned, but his omega’s need for him kept him rooted to the spot holding his omega.

"Shhh," he shushed his omega's cries, instructing as gently as he could, "Retract your claws, Sungmin."

His omega obeyed, pulling away while stuttering between his crying, "I-I saw h-him..."

He was wondering if the 'him' in his omega's words referred to the obnoxious beta that touched his omega, when his omega dropped to the ground abruptly, thumps sounding as the knees knocked against the ground. "I'm s-sorry, Master!" He looked down at his own shirt where his omega's hands were hovering over. "I-I didn't m-mean-"

"No, you didn't hurt me," he pulled his omega up forcefully, frowning as he revealed the wounds on his omega's stomach. "Let's go back to the room and get these cleaned."

Sungmin believed in soulmates.

There was a weirdly pleasant feeling arising from the familiarity of the conversation when his omega’s first question was whether he believed in the soulmate theory. Unlike the previous time Doojoon had asked him, he didn’t feel the resentment brewing because of the statement his mother had once made. Instead, he was intrigued by his omega’s opinion on it.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, adding on to sustain the discussion, “So what if a pair of wolves are soulmates? And so what if they aren’t? What does it mean to have a soulmate?”

“It means they are made for each other,” his omega replied without needing to pause to think.

“And what does it mean to be made for each other?”

The follow-up question proved to be harder to answer for his omega. “To be made for each other means… having a partner who knows what you’re thinking without saying anything…” His omega’s brows knitted in concentration, “… able to love and support each other for life?”

“You can do that without being soulmates too,” he instinctively pointed out. His omega’s answer reminded him of Doojoon’s definition of soulmates – ‘He completes you and you complete him’. His best friend seemed to strongly regard his mate as a soulmate, but the soulmate theory had mostly been proven to apply to alpha-omega pairs only. If so, it naturally ruled out the possibility of Doojoon and Yoseob being soulmates, yet, they meant like soulmates to each other.

“Can you?” His omega’s delayed question brought the smile back on his face.

“You seem like a strong believer in soulmates, Sungmin,” He tried to prompt, curious as to whether his omega would admit to believing in the theory and that they were soulmates.

However, his omega gave an ambiguous answer, “Maybe…”

He dismissed the topic, directing the discussion towards a more structured one that would aid their assignment report. They stayed on topic only for a minute before his omega admitted that he felt vulnerable because of the bond.

Disappointment strangely overtook him when his omega answered in a submissive and resigned tone, “I’m an omega.”

He had thought that he liked his omega being obedient and submissive, but after the kidnapping incident, he realized the entirely submissive Sungmin wasn’t what he wanted in the end. After all, he had claimed Sungmin because he admired the courage and fight in the omega, and those traits had seemed to disappear over the time living with him. Yet, over this same period, he had only grown fonder of his omega because of the bond – and it was making him confused and emotionally vulnerable as well.

“Just because you can’t change it, doesn’t mean you have to try to change it,” Kyuhyun had muttered, more to himself than to his omega.

His omega, oblivious to what he was thinking and referring to, gave a satisfying reply. “But it doesn’t mean I have to accept it.”

He had unknowingly grinned, pushing his omega’s temple playfully. “A leopard never changes his spots hur,” he teased, secretly glad that those traits of the original Sungmin he adored and admired were still in the omega somewhere. Realizing that he had acknowledged his liking for certain faces of his omega, he mused, “You don’t have to be afraid just because your feelings are easily affected by the bond. You don’t have to fight it.”

He didn’t have to fight his dominant nature on his own because his omega was there to save him. He didn’t have to fight those induced feelings of affection for his omega just because he wasn’t sure if they were true.

Perhaps, that was what Doojoon meant by learning to love his omega.

“Do I look like I’m fighting it?” His omega asked innocently, breaking his train of thoughts again.

“Not really,” he replied honestly, “But only you know the truth.”

Perhaps, if his omega didn’t fight those feelings too, they could become truly supportive mates.

And perhaps then, they would be soulmates.

Because soulmates don’t exist simply because nature dictates their existence; they exist because the two mates recognize each other as soulmates – just like Doojoon and Yoseob.

Sungmin was recovering.

It wasn’t just from the effects of the bond. His omega was recovering from the gloominess and the fear of him. Hyukjae’s affirmation of Sungmin returning to who he originally was made his efforts worthwhile. As he gave in more to the desire to indulge in his omega, he made many new, random observations, which he found himself wondering if they were glimpses into who Lee Sungmin truly was.

He found himself liking the true smiles his omega had, the carefree excitement, the shy blushes, the endearing actions, the things that seemed to make Sungmin, Sungmin. Maybe what Doojoon meant wasn’t just giving into the bond, but learning to love his omega for who he was.

He didn’t know if he was entirely doing it right, but he enjoyed the change. He enjoyed both the little chatters and deep conversations they shared, their warmth mixing on the same bed they shared, the bottomless exchange of gazes they shared.

Despite his alpha pride, Kyuhyun had became more loving than ever, even after his omega seemed to have recovered from the effects of the charm. If anyone had asked about his new affection initially, he easily attributed to the need to care for his omega because of the charm, including moving his omega to the room they now shared. They all started with logical reasons, but the longer time passed, the more Kyuhyun tried to make the effort to help his omega be himself, the clearer his personal desires surfaced in front of his own eyes.

It might have been the greedy side of his alpha nature in doing, he had once thought. But it was a fact that he had enjoyed it, and his alpha side was becoming more possessive than ever over his omega.

Thus, the urge to kill when he saw the pair of alpha and beta pinning on his omega.

He dashed past the crowd separating him from his omega, harshly pulling Sungmin towards him. Anger blinding him, he had yanked his omega by the metal collar, showing off his ownership as he ran his fingers down the collar and evidently sniffed at the bowed head.

If it weren’t for the whimper his omega had released, he would have gone after the pair of cowards that had tried to go after his omega. The anger was instead directed towards Sungmin, who didn’t listen to his orders and strayed away from the booth.

His dominant side had wanted to mark his omega right there for display and to punish his omega, but he pulled back the insane impulses, dragging his omega to the car and back home.

By the time his omega was safely in the room and he had calmed down after spilling the entire incident to Doojoon and Yoseob, the guilt from being so harsh on his omega started to crash on him. He made the beta save the leftover food for his omega, ignoring the teasing that he got. The couple knowingly retreated to their room after dinner, but it still took Kyuhyun an hour and a half to organize his thoughts and plan his apology.

After heating up the food, he finally made his way up the stairs to his room, internally cursing himself when he realized how late it was. His omega must have been starving, and he could feel the submissive aura radiating from his omega the moment he entered the room. His omega was apologetic.

He had slowly approached his omega, awkwardly starting on his planned apology after the silence hung for too long. “Did you win the prize in the end?” He held out his hand. “Show me.”

His omega silently responded, pulling a figurine out from underneath the pillow and placing it on his palm.

“Taekwondo?” He murmured, raising it to perceive it more clearly.

“It’s for you, Master…” A smile slipped onto his face at the realization of what the figurine represented. His omega wanted them to have couple figurines representing each other. The soft apology however, erased his smile. “I’m sorry, Master.”

“You have to be more alert and careful in the future, understand?”

“Yes, Master…”

Kyuhyun placed the gift on the bedside table, shifting closer to his omega. His omega tensed up when he had placed his hand on his omega’s head, but he persisted according to plan, sliding his fingers down to the fierce bruise forming on his omega’s neck. He lightly the area, reckoning that this was the best timing for his apology.

‘I’m sorry for being too harsh.’ He had planned the words, but they never came out. Struggling for a few silent seconds, he eventually gave up, dropping his hand from his omega’s neck.

“Go finish the soup on the kitchen table and come back to bed. Doojoon and Yoseob may already be asleep, be quiet.”

“Yes, Master,” his omega answered obediently, moving towards the door.

There was one last chance for his apology, but he still found himself unable to do it. “Don’t take too long…”

“Yes, Master.” He heard the soft click of the door closing, turning to see his omega already gone.

Kyuhyun let out an annoyed huff at himself, punching his pillow. He had always managed to admit his mistakes and apologize to his friends, so why was it so hard when it came to his omega? Was it because his dominant alpha side was too prideful to say sorry to his omega?

Throwing himself down on the bed, he reached out for the figurine on the table, holding it up against the light. “I’m sorry, Sungmin,” he said aloud to the figurine, before grabbing his hair in frustration for being the coward he was.

He decided to plan something to make up to his omega instead.

Sungmin suffered during his childhood.

While waiting for his omega to return from dinner, he had called up Hyukjae, determined to gather his omega's friends at the orphanage together to cheer his omega up. Following a courtesy call to inform the director of their visit tomorrow, his omega returned, and he felt relieved yet guilty when his omega didn't protest but relaxed in his arms as usual in bed.

The arrangement was a good call, bringing a bright smile to his omega's face after breakfast. They drove to the orphanage thereafter, meeting the other companions directly at the destination. He couldn't hide his own smile when his omega had refused to let go of the director, the warm hug reminding him of his own father before things changed. The thought that at least his omega grew up under the director's love induced an unexpected appreciation that his omega's childhood wasn't like his.

But he realised he had made the conclusion too early after the private discussion with the director, in which his speculations that something bad had happened to his omega and friends were confirmed.

His omega had been kidnapped before, silver charm and all. And if it wasn't for the director's mention that the perpetrator was reported dead after being left injured in the rather deserted forest, he would have lost control and hunted down the bastard.

Though he had appeared calm as the director expressed confidence in him protecting his omega, he was internally struggling against his dominant alpha nature. He had gone straight for his omega once he stepped out of the office, the arrival of Hyukjae a convenient excuse, almost breaking into a run as he searched for the garden his omega had promised to wait at.

When those carefree giggles had reached his ears, the tension and anger slipped away immediately. He had rushed forward, feeling the urge to have his omega safe in his arms, only for the plans to be averted by the spraying hose.

His omega had panicked, the tumbling whirlpool of vulnerability, anxiety and fear in those round eyes sweeping away the anger and urge, leaving traces of bitterness and heartache in him. Was this the look on his omega's face when he was scared and desperate for help? It was worse; the hysterical behavior of his omega deeply etched in his mind crawled to surface.

Wiping his face carelessly, he reached out for his omega, momentarily distracted when the instinctive flinch of his omega hammered against his chest. Again, he tried, gently brushing aside his omega's fallen fringe and caressing the soft skin.

"Your hair's getting long. We should get it cut," he muttered aimlessly, wondering how much more his omega had suffered in childhood that he didn't know of. "Sungmin," he called, lifting his omega's face. The beautiful pair of eyes holding so much innocence and kindness locked him in, drowning him in the thought of how precious his omega was for staying this pure, kind, and brave after going through so much.

For the first time, he felt the instinct to kiss his omega not because of lust, but affection, because of the bond or not he didn't care. He just wanted to tell his omega that he would keep him safe from now on, that he wouldn't let him go through such pain again. And if he was that incapable to protect his omega from getting hurt again, at least he would be there to hold his omega, to apologise for his uselessness, to kiss the fears away, to tell him that...

I'll be here for you. I'm here for you.

Junhyung's tease and his omega's adorable blush changed the mood so rapidly that amusement took over him, a smile widening on his face. "Are you done with watering?" He placed a hand on his omega's back protectively. "Shall we go play basketball with the kids?"

Despite the teasing from the usual trio, he had enjoyed the rest of the day with his omega and friends, including the excited hug he had gotten from his omega.

Nothing was more important than his omega's smile right then.

Sungmin rejected his claim.

He thought everything was going well, but he should have caught the signs the night before. His omega had been unusually quiet after showering, as compared to the happy vibes from the day out with his friends, but he thought his omega was just tired. They had a long day, stretching the visit beyond dinner that he had organised with delivery for the entire orphanage. By the time they had gotten home, Kyuhyun was exhausted, and he was falling asleep on his book in bed as he waited for his omega to finish washing up.

He had ran his fingers fondly through his omega's strands as usual, realising that his omega's neck was bare as his hands came into contact with warm skin instead of the cold metal. He wondered if that was what his omega was worried about and thus quiet – getting chided for taking his collar off. With the thought of assuring his omega, he told his omega to put on the collar only tomorrow morning, suggesting that it was alright to sleep the night without it. And with that, he drifted into a much-needed slumber after nights of watching over his omega, falling asleep for the first time in a long while before the warmth in his arms. That was the first mistake.

When his omega's mood didn't seem to recover in the morning, he was worried that his omega was unwell. He had checked his omega's temperature, but his omega seemed eager for personal space – he made the second mistake granting that to his omega, hoping that his omega would feel better by himself.

It didn't appear so when his omega finally turned up at the dining room, seconds before he was going to send Yoseob up to check on him. There was something very wrong about his omega's aura – the amount of defiance in it was even more disastrous than the first day he had claimed his omega.

His omega ignored Yoseob, going straight up to him and handing him the omega collar. "What's wrong?" He turned the lightweight in his hands, checking the clasp. "Is the clasp spoilt?"

"No." The snap in his omega's tone was unexpected. "I don't want to wear it... Master..." And so was the reluctance in addressing him.

"Why not?" He tried to conceal the crack of annoyance in his dominant nature with what he hoped was a genuinely confused expression. "You have to wear it out. You know the rules, Sungmin."

"I know," his omega snapped forcefully. "I'll wear another, but not this one. I don't want this collar."

The snap of plates in his dominant nature created a sudden flare so strong he had almost lost control right there. How could his omega reject the collar he gifted? Another? Was his omega hoping to wear another collar gifted by another wolf?

He cut off the attempted interruption by Yoseob, gripping his fists so tight his skin was starting to break. "Why?" He had questioned, hoping to understand his omega's reasons before losing control and launching into action. "I gave it to you," he stressed, "You should wear it.”

“I don’t want to wear this,” his omega hissed, causing him to dig his nails deeper into his palms.

“You will wear your collar—”

“It’s not mine!” His omega shouted at him, gaze strengthening to a glare more hostile than he had ever received from his omega.

The initial surprise from his omega’s sudden defiance was quickly taken over by the anger of his dominant nature, jolting him up from his seat. The sound of his chair falling over provided a momentary distraction, allowing him to force himself back into calmness again, giving yet another shot at resolving the situation reasonably and calmly. “I gave it to you, Sungmin,” he proclaimed, “That makes it yours.” His omega’s indignant attitude elicited a harsher tone. “Wear it. Or you can forget about going to school today.”

“I don’t want to wear it!”

He had never been as shocked by his omega’s behavior when the omega collar was snatched from his hand and sent harshly towards the floor. The collar spinning into fixation conversely fueled the avidity of the boiling magma pushing through the crack in the fault lines, the rising to surface happening so fast he could no longer suppress it – it erupted out of control.

His dominant nature took over, eager to force his omega back into submission and into accepting his claim. The prideful alpha nature wouldn’t—couldn’t acknowledge that his omega had gone to the extent of rejecting his collar with action, to treat what signified his claim on him with such disrespect, to throw away his claim.

He was vaguely aware of the other couple calling out to him, and his omega crying and struggling under his merciless dragging. But that was what his dominant nature wanted – to inflict pain, to make his omega cry and acknowledge his mistakes and beg for forgiveness. His dominant nature, with its pride hurt, wanted his omega to acknowledge his claim without even a suggestion of defiance.

Instinctively, he pulled his omega towards that one room he had refrained from stepping in since he moved into this new house. Once, when he had been punished in the old, original room after his mother had left them for months, he had made up his mind to use the room properly for its purpose when he had claimed an omega. He was bitter at that time, suffering by himself and under the tough training of his father. Eventually, the thought dissolved, erased by the possibility of having an understanding mate like Ryeowook, and even after he had claimed Sungmin, he had never planned to use it.

But the bitterness had risen to surface again. He was angry, hurt, and the illogical thought that his omega would abandon him like his mother did to his father if he wasn’t strict on discipline flooded his mind.

Kyuhyun picked up the collar, stomping back to the ancestral room as he deftly avoided the arms of Doojoon trying to hold him back. Flicking on the light switch, he threw the collar at his omega, engaging his cold tone for discipline. “Stay in here until you decide to wear your collar.”

Locking the door, he ignored his omega’s stubborn counterattacks, picking up his bag left on the sofa.

“Kyuhyun—”

“School. We’re going to be late.”

“But Kyu!” He shot a glare at Yoseob who yelled, but the beta was quickly held back by the other alpha.

“He will be fine in there,” Doojoon said, pushing their backpacks into Yoseob’s arms.

Disregarding the couple’s following exchanges, he reached out for the car key on the television console, only to find his action impeded by Doojoon’s hold. The alpha flipped his right hand over, revealing the palm bloody from the wounds he had unknowingly inflicted upon himself. Doojoon grabbed his left hand, uncovering the equally bloodstained palm as well.

“I-I’ll get the first aid kit!” Yoseob dropped the backpacks anxiously.

“There’s no need to.” Kyuhyun withdrew his hands, ignoring the sting as he picked up his car key. “It isn’t the first time.”

His dominant nature had always protested with claws when he tried to suppress it.

Sungmin was stubborn.

His aura and emotions were unstable the entire day – everyone, except his companions, Ryeowook and Leeteuk, avoided him. The omegas bowed their heads from afar and walked another path, the betas kept their distance, and even the alphas, including the annoying ones, zipped their mouths.

He was stressing everyone around him, he knew, but he couldn’t keep his dominant nature under control for long. Every time he managed to calm down, the thought that his omega had taken the first step in rejecting his claim drove him crazy. There were a few times he almost took off to his omega, his dominant nature impatient to see his defiant omega submitting to him. Aside from the fact that he needed the time to calm down, conversely, the other reason that kept him from going was his dominant nature wanting his omega to suffer longer.  

Kyuhyun didn’t know how he passed the hours, but he was raging again on the speeding car ride home. Slamming the door shut after parking his car in the garage, he used his teeth and fingers, undoing and discarding the slightly stained bandages Kikwang had forced on him. He strode to the main door, leaving Yoseob to pick them up from the ground behind him.

“Kyuhyun,” Doojoon tried to stand in his path, but he steered clear of the alpha, fishing for the particular set of keys in his bag as he entered the house. “You need to calm down first, Kyuhyun.”

He didn’t reply, throwing the bag onto the sofa after locating what he needed, and then stalking towards the room he had locked his omega in.  

The sight of his omega kneeling in front of the altar stunned him at first, the familiarity of the scene hitting him so hard he was almost thrown back into his memories. What diverted him was the flicker of anxiety and submissiveness in his omega’s aura, followed by the crux of the problem – his omega’s neck was still bare of the collar.

“Kyuhyun, you have to—”

“I need some time alone with him,” he said without looking at his companions, shutting the door in their faces.

Spinning up the course of action in his mind, he approached