“Minho, I will bite you if you do not sit still. And not the fun way.”

Jinki was not pleased with Minho. The alpha would not settle down long enough to allow the beta time to properly mend the severed flesh of his right shoulder. Minho wasn’t exactly chipper either, though. He had been happily sleeping with Kibum and Jonghyun secured protectively in his arms—Taemin had placed his omega in Minho’s hands to protect since he was sent on an early morning hunt—when he was rudely jolted awake by a pair of fighting alphas landing on top of him and the omegas. He, though having no connection to the brawl whatsoever, was pulled into the fray and came out of it with a ed up shoulder and an atrocious mood.

“Minho, I am serious. I will rip this arm off myself if you cannot calm down.”

Calm down? But the wolf was so close to bursting from his cage that Minho could hardly talk anymore. He had done nothing but snarl and spit all morning.

“Please stay still, pet.”

Behind Minho, Kibum kneaded gentle fingers into the alpha’s neck and whispered soothing nothings to him in hopes of calming him down. But Minho couldn’t. His attackers were about twenty feet away from him, smirking at him and irritating the alpha with their self-satisfied grins. Minho’s growls increased in volume and ferocity, just as Jinki’s patience wore ever thinner.

“Kibum, I will feed him to the imps. I swear, I will do it.”

“Sod off, you loon. He’s been ornery since yesterday evening. I will take care of it when he earns the right to mate with me.”

Kibum stepped in front of Minho, blocking his view of those bastard alphas and tilting his chin up so he was focused solely on Kibum.

“Is my poor pet cranky this morning?” Kibum cooed. He smoothed the creases between Minho’s eyes with a thumb and swiped his tongue once across the apple of Minho’s cheek to distract him from his anger. With Kibum’s attention zeroed in on Minho, the snappy alpha felt some of the rigidity in his body leave. It was hard to stay mad when his omega was bringing so much succor to him.

“I suppose I should be happy that his brain is righting itself,” Jinki grumbled, pushing a needle into Minho’s skin to continue his sewing. “It would have been a right shame had he and his wolf stayed separate as they were, but that doesn’t make him any less vexatious at this moment in time.”

“Separate? What do you mean they were… He was going feral, and you didn’t think it important to tell anyone?!”

His mate was not happy. Minho could feel the distress gushing from every orifice of Kibum’s body and he did not like it. Minho wanted to comfort Kibum, make his troubles go away, but his ability to comprehend words was becoming more and more impaired by the second. He didn’t know what was upsetting Kibum and could feel his discontentment coming back full force as a result. Minho whimpered and nuzzled his nose into Kibum’s belly to offer some comfort to the omega.

“Oh, calm down,” Jinki grouched, pulling forcefully on the stitching and making Minho wince in discomfort. “If I had believed him to be dangerous I would have made his disconnection with the wolf known. I think something odd happened to him when he shifted to his human form, so odd that it managed to create a temporary rift between him and the beast. It is in the process of fixing itself as we speak, so there is no need to worry.”

“You are certain? What if your screwy head is wrong?”

“Just because you have never seen an imp does not make me screwy for having so.”

“You are right, my friend. You are not screwy for seeing something I have not. You are screwy for having seen something considered by all to be a myth used to scare pups into obedience.”

“You better watch your jars, omega. I know for a fact that you own none that are blue, so they will smash them if I ask.

“What is the name of the moon is wrong with you?”

“Sweet omega, my issue is that I have transcended past you lot of morons for I see when others choose to ignore. Now get this oaf away from me before I see him into the next life.”

Minho did not know what Jinki spoke of, but his funny red eyes looked murderous when they glinted as they were then. Minho growled at Jinki when the man cut the stitching from his needle with a hooked claw, but the alpha wrapped his arms around Kibum’s middle and made no move to overtly threaten the pissy beta. He was, even with the beast blood pumping strongly through his veins, afraid of what the batty man was capable of.

“Come,” Kibum beckoned with a sugary smile that pulled on Minho like a leash. “I’m not quite ready to lose you to this lunatic.”

Minho trailed behind Kibum happily with small little chuffs, letting himself be tugged around in any which direction Kibum wanted to go. He only broke awake from the omega for a couple of seconds to swipe his wicked claws at the bastards who had woken him as he past them, rumbling his content when they scrambled to get away. He would take much pleasure from kicking their asses later in the fights.

“Kibum, I do believe that great horn may have kicked Minho in the head. It seems a bit loose on his shoulders.”

Minho saw Taemin and yipped, launching at the other alpha and effectively bowling him over. Taemin yelped in surprise as they rolled around on the ground, clawing at Minho’s torso in an attempt to push the bigger alpha off of him. Minho slammed Taemin’s shoulders into the dirt in retaliation, growling in the shocked boy’s face and then flouncing off of him in an ungraceful ball of long limbs.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Taemin screeched at Minho, but the alpha couldn’t understand him. Minho just blinked owlishly at Taemin before batting at him with one of his hands. Why did the little alpha look so angry?

“Taemin, I think he’s trying to play with you,” Kibum laughed.

Minho pawed at Taemin’s knee and then bounced back fast in preparation for a knock over the head. Taemin made no move to indulge the other alpha, so Minho whined loudly and hit his playmate’s knee again. Minho looked all sorts of pitiful and pathetic, but the part of his brain that knew shame was out on break until further notice.

Taemin raised a judgmental eyebrow at Minho, but was ultimately unable to resist the temptation of play fighting with a pack mate. With a good natured snarl bubbling between his lips, Taemin surged forward and latched his claws into Minho’s shirt to pull the alpha head-over-heels in a somersault. There was a lot of kicking, and scratching, and biting, both alphas trying their damndest to dominate over the other, but it was Taemin who eventually cried out in victory with his teeth clamped just hard enough into Minho’s jugular to encourage the alpha to go limp. Minho was panting beneath Taemin, riled up and happy and… what was going on with his ?

Something was wiggling sporadically beneath him, prompting the alpha to investigate further. He twisted to look and found something black and fluffy thumping wildly and this was new and strange and he had to catch it.

Minho barked at the furry creature, scrabbling hands quickly latching on and pulling as hard as they could. The alpha yowled when the tugging aggravated his own behind. What was this amazingly furry creature and why was it attacking his ? Minho needed some answers, Goddammit!

“Oh, Minho, don’t pull on it!”

Kibum swatted Minho’s hands away, smoothing his fingers over the fuzzy beast and soothing its pain.

“Well, isn’t that odd,” Taemin observed, watching Minho take his tail from Kibum delicately so he could pet his own fur. “I’ve never seen a full grown wolf get stuck in a partial shift before.”

“Should we find Jinki? This can’t be a good thing,” Kibum warily reached out to trail his fingertips along Minho’s right ear which was gradually becoming more furry and triangular. “He should have grown out of shifting issues long ago.”

“My, the idiocy I’m forced to subject myself to. If I’m not careful I may catch whatever strain of stupidity they run on.”

Minho let go of his tail and fell onto his back to look up at Jinki, who had approached him from behind. The beta looked almost flustered with his hair in wild disarray and his almond eyes wide and focused on Minho’s twitching ears.

“If you’re so smart, I’ve Transcended You Lot, then fix my alpha,” Kibum snipped.

“I’ve already told you that nothing is wrong with Minho,” Jinki waved passively, crouching down to look close into Minho’s shifting lenses. “Pup’s grow out of shifting problems after the first couple of changes. Since Minho is having these problems now then there is only one logical conclusion.”

When Jinki gave no indication of finishing his thought, Taemin jumped in with an,” I think you may need to spell it out for us, my friend.

“Flaming , it’s like you’ve no brain at all!” Jinki scoffed. “Minho is going through the first shifts of his life! We never did see him in his human form until recently and he has a mild disconnect with his wolf. Just like a child!”

“That’s impossible,” Kibum laughed shortly. “Uttlerly ridiculous.”

“Do you have a better explanation, oh wise one?” Jinki sassed with a violent twitch of his left eye. His red orbs were positively glowing in irritation.

“No, but that can’t be it. We aren’t born as the wolf—he must have changed at least once before we found him.”

Shaking his head at the dearly misinformed omega, Jinki scratched behind Minho’s ear and cooed when the alpha’s tail started thumping against the ground sporadically.

“Actually, it is entirely possible that he be born as the wolf. It doesn’t happen often, but some wolves get… stuck in one of their forms. If they get stuck, their children will be born as they are. The issue of one of your skins disappearing isn’t something that’s passed down through blood, so why, exactly, it took him so long to find his human half I can’t say, but the fact remains that this is his first time as a human.”

“How would you even know that such a thing is possible?” Kibum asked, ever the skeptic.

“Largely common sense,” Jinki shrugged. “But there’s a strangeness in his being that the imps can feel and they suggested that his human self may have been lost to him until recently.”

“You mean the voices in your head?”

“Jars, omega. Keep them close.”

Kibum looked ready to retaliate, but Taemin scoffed disdainfully and squeezed the back of Kibum’s neck to calm him down.

“This battle will never be won. That he believes is the only thing keeping him from floating away, so best let him do it.”

“Hopeless,” Jinki growled, turning back to Minho. “I take all the resentment back. Stay this way; you can’t talk back like this.”

“Get away,” Kibum shooed, wiggling between Minho and Jinki and tugging the alpha into his lap to secure against his body. “You’ll not hamper his recovery.”

Jinki rolled his eyes, but wandered away rather wistfully with no further argument.

“Do not let yourself be infected with his insanity,” Kibum frowned, twirling some of Minho’s hair delicately around his claws. Minho didn’t know what Kibum was saying, but he liked Kibum’s voice so he gave him a dumb smile anyway. It seemed enough to sate Kibum anyhow.

Laughing softly to himself, Taemin tapped Kibum’s shoulder and gestured toward a worn path leading into the forest with a of his head. “Come. It is time to finish this game.”

```````

Minho had hardly a clue what was happening around him. While his mind was wondering somewhere in the cosmos, he was being dragged down a narrow path barely wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side, lined on either side with a wall of pine trees. Alphas were all around him, not dissimilar to the march of the penguins, with the few available omegas somewhere in the mix. Kibum had Minho’s arm wrapped up tightly in his hands, his nervous tension palpable. Taemin was walking in front of them with Jonghyun, muscles taught even though the omega was trying his best to placate his alpha. Minho, all the while, was distracted by the sight of ten or so of those pretty little coin sized birds with the sharp beaks tearing apart a small mammal in the air. It was grotesquely fascinating.

“Minho,” Kibum snapped his fingers in front of the alpha’s eyes to garner his attention. “I need you to be down here with me and not out there in the sky with Jinki. This will have all been for nothing if your go and get yourself maimed because you were too preoccupied watching the wildlife.”

Somewhere in Minho’s mind the idea that he ought to try and recompose himself flitted briefly from circuit to circuit, but was abruptly disrupted before the thought could come to fruition. Whatever this was—whatever his brain was doing—was necessary. This out there that Kibum spoke of was where Minho had been all along. The new spacey disposition Minho had adopted was the byproduct of his full self, man and wolf as one, finally making its way to the reality it belonged in. So, instead of shaking away his daze and reassuring Kibum that they would both be okay, Minho grinned tranquilly at the omega and tapped his nose with a gentle claw tip.

“Aye, this is going to be one big disaster isn’t it?”

“Hush, brother,” Jonghyun said softly over his shoulder. “Speaking ill will not give Minho courage. Wish him well and hope for the best.”

“What are you talking about?” Kibum sassed back. “Look at him! He isn’t even paying attention. I could get Jinki to curse him and he would be none the wiser. I’m sure whatever demented courage he possesses that allows him to ride great horns into boulders is just fine.”

Jonghyun turned to look at Minho who was feeling the ends of his sharpening teeth with the pad of his thumb. When he noticed Jonghyun’s inquisitive eyes, Minho gave him a wave and a beaming, toothy grin.

“You’re probably right,” Jonghyun mutter, facing back front. “He seems off. Is something the matter?”

“Jinki says he’s fine, but Jinki is clearly a liar.”

“Kibum, be quiet,” Taemin gritted out, shoulders tightening up another notch or two.

“I will most certainly not. You are not my alpha, you—”

“Muzzle it! We’ve made it.”

Kibum’s mouth screwed shut and he pressed into Minho’s side anxiously. Taking note of the scent of fresh laid tar, Minho finally focused forward and anchored Kibum to his side reflexively. The passageway of trees had opened up, a large water-bogged clearing with overgrown grass and bright orange water-nesting insects coming into view. It appeared to be the beginnings of marsh lands, and, in a stupor or not, the feeling of squishy mud beneath Minho’s feet was uncomfortable and shudder worthy.

“We’re lucky the floods have died down,” Taemin mused. “I was told the last fight held was in water clear up to the knees.”

Not that Minho was listening, but, regardless, that wouldn’t have seemed a boon to him had he heard. Any sparing ground that was drier, even by fractions, would be much preferred to sinking further and further into the planet with every other step.

“Alright, line up!” the Alpha’s booming voice rang out through the clearing, echoes bouncing off the surrounding trees.

The ten eligible alphas were quick in their scrambling to obey their leader. Even Minho, who heard the command loud and clear through the haze. Everyone who came as a spectator went over a ways to a fallen, rotting tree and made themselves comfortable on top of it.

“You’ve all been sorted into five pairs,” his voice boomed, filling the otherwise silent marsh. “The winner of each fight will go on until we have a victor and a runner up. Then we’ll have secondary matches to determine third and fourth place. The winners will then be allowed to choose an omega in the order of first to fourth place tomorrow when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky.”

Minho could almost taste the tension swallowing them all whole. Fighting. Yes, he remembered that. He needed to fight to secure the safety of Kibum. Did he know how to fight? There were memories of brawls in the past, but they were fading in and out. If he could just grab on to one…

“Remember,” the Alpha started in his loud voice again, this time talking to not only the alphas but the people who came to watch as well. “You are not to kill under any circumstances. Should you fail to comply you will meet the same fate as the one you mauled. This is a competition. Keep it friendly.”

“Taesung! Minho! You’re over there. Wait till your referee comes to start.”

Minho didn’t get a chance to hear who Taemin was fighting; the smaller alpha had ushered Minho in the direction of his match, and a good chunk of their audience had rushed over to encircle Minho and this Taesung.

Minho had never met Taesung. In fact, until now, he didn’t even remember seeing him other than very briefly by the purple river. But, now that he was getting a good look at his adversary, Minho felt the first inklings of fear since waking up after killing the great horn. Taesung was huge, menacing, and had murder in his molten lava eyes. And here Minho was, mind muddled and no control over his body.

“Are the champions ready?” Minho heard through the haze and the fright. Taesung snarled in response, muscles bulging and expanding in the grotesque act of morphing. The skin of his face pulled tight as it stretched over an ever distending skull, teeth growing sharp and eyes glowing the most deadly shade of melting red. His legs stretched and cracked, bending and breaking into different angles, and muddy brown fur sprouted in heaps over his body. In the place where a man once stood was a beast, sights on Minho and ready to strike. In times like this, instincts got basic. Flight. Flight!

Taesung charged, claws glinting, and Minho ran. He just barely managed to avoid the razors aimed to shred his flesh. But running was for naught as he was surrounding by jeering pack mates who caught him around the middle and tossed him back into the ring. Of course they wouldn’t let him out. They probably found it more amusing him to watch him fall and flounder in the mud.

Flight!

Breathing hard, Minho slipped around on the soupy ground. His mind was going absolutely haywire, nerve ends firing but just not connecting. He couldn’t do this. He needed to run. He needed to get out.

Flight!

Minho let out a blood curdling screech when he was lifted from the ground by the hair of his head. He has hefted high into the air then slammed back into the ground with enough force to knock an air he had clean out his lungs. He was pretty sure he felt a rib bone break.

Flight!

Minho was lifted again, but this time by the neck. Minho choked and clawed at Taesung’s wrist desperately. Why was he even here? What was the point of getting his kicked by a werewolf?

“Minho, what the are you doing?!”

What? Who was that? Minho could hardly hear them over the sound his blood rushing through his ears. He tried to look, to see, but his vision was blurring. Didn’t he do this before? He was getting a serious sense of déjà vu. But last time there was a reason to charging into death. What was it?

“I swear, if you don’t get the up and fight like you mean it I will murder you! Are you even listening to me, you blasted brute?!”

…Who was he calling a brute? Who even was that? Straining to see, Minho made out tawny hair and violet eyes that looked way more dangerous than the wolf currently squeezing the life from his body. Ki..bum? Why was he yelling? Where did he learn that expletive?

“I refuse to live the rest of my life at the mercy of these heathens! You said you’d fight for me. Keep your promise, you cretin!”

Oh. Minho remembered now. It all came rushing back, even the times as the wolf he scarcely recalled experiencing. This pain, this suffering, it was all for Kibum. His love. His mate. He couldn’t run. He swore he would protect Kibum at all costs the day he met him at the stream. If he gave up now he’d be sentencing Kibum to a life of devastation.

…Fight.

Minho’s body locked up and he heard a single heartbeat reverberate strongly in his eardrums.

Fight.

Another heartbeat. Another memory, this one of a sweet omega who took pity on a love sick fool and allowed the big black beast to come close and rest that big head in his lap. It was only for a minute, but Minho had been absolutely high afterwards.

Fight!

Ba-dump. Heart racing. Ba-dump. Blood pumping. Ba-dump. Man and wolf finally… synchronizing.

FIGHT!

A howl of pain ripped through the air, this time Taesung’s, Claws no shorter than six inches long had nearly severed his hand, causing the man to drop Minho and stumble backwards. Minho couldn’t hear anything at all anymore, not the cheering of the crowd nor Kibum’s demands. No, nothing was audible over the sound of his bones snapping and his teeth gnashing. His body writhed and broke, and it was misery, but the strength that followed was immeasurable. He could do this. He could win. If it was the last thing he did, Minho would save Kibum. The crowd let out caterwauls of their own, scrambling to get away when the enormous black colossus rose from the ground. Snarling and spitting, Minho towered over Taesung in the great form of the wolf and let the mightiest roar tear from his vocal cords. They want to fight? Fine. Minho would render anyone who threatened his mate limb from limb.

Snatching up Taesung between his dagger-like claws, Minho slammed the brown wolf into the earth again and again like a lifeless rag doll. He threw the other alpha with all the strength he had, effectively wiping out the portion of the crowd Taesung was thrown into like a set of bowling pins. Taesun stumbled to his feet, tried to recover, but Minho was already on him. He dug his claws into Taesung much the same way the pack had done to him upon his arrival. He knew no mercy and reveled in the blood pouring from Taesung’s body like small, crimson waterfalls. The muddy wolf crumpled before him, and Minho nearly howled in triumph. He raised his claws high, ready to finish the bastard off, when he was blocked by a pretty omega who was apparently fixing to get slaughtered.

“Minho, you won! You have to stop!”

Minho’s body remained taut for all of a second before the pleas from those violet eyes made it to his very core and he found himself falling on his haunches in submission. In this position Kibum was almost tall enough to look Minho directly in the eye.

“There’s a good boy,” Kibum cooed soothingly, running his long fingers through the fur on Minho’s cheeks. “It is alright now. You did so well, my pup.”

Minho huffed—he wouldn’t call almost dying doing well—but took the praise anyway and curled his large body around Kibum to hold him close. He was almost able to completely envelop Kibum this way. Maybe if he held the omega just right he could hide him away from this wretched world completely. The green skies didn’t deserve too look upon him if it was willing to subjugate him to a life of anguish.

“Turn back,” Kibum whispered to him softly. “You’ll gain more control over your body with each shift. Soon it will be like breathing air.”

Minho knew how to shift now. The knowledge at present was awkward, underused, but he could manage. Taking a deep breath, Minho closed his eyes tight and pictured the form he wanted in his head. He though hard, and it knew it was paying off at the sounding crack of bone.

“That’s it, just like that,” Kibum soothed, holding Minho tight through it all.

Minho nearly collapsed when the shift was complete, breathing hard into Kibum’s neck and using the smaller man to keep himself up.

“God, the ing hurt,” Minho hissed. “Is it always like that?”

“The pain will lessen with time, dear one,” Kibum chuckled. “You’re body just isn’t used to the change yet.”

“Man, I despise this place,” Minho finally stood on his own. “But I think that’s okay.”

“Truly?” Kibum cocked a brow.

Scoffing, Minho grabbed by the back of the head and placed a rather aggressive kiss on his lips. There was a lot of sharp teeth in it, but Kibum didn’t seem to mind if that moan was anything to go by.”

“Love, I’ve been through a lot of up to this point,” Minho said into Kibum’s mouth. “This entire fiasco is beyond my comprehension. However, what I do finally understand is the gravity in which I feel for you. You’ve charmed me on a level I can only describe as completely stupid, so I don’t need to understand the idiocy of this pack. If it’s for you, I’ll face all of it. So, yeah, it’s fine. You make it better. Jesus Christ, I really hate myself for saying something so revolting.”

Kibum was blushing, and Minho was entirely pleased by the fact. If he has to be embarrassed then it was only fair that Kibum was as well. He was the whole reason Minho was in this mess in the first place.

“What does that word mean?” Kibum asked softly.

“What word?”

“Love.”

“Oh. Well,” Minho scratched the back of his head, not sure how to explain. “I suppose it means…I hold you in the highest regard. My attachment to you is… very intense.”

“I see,” Kibum averted his eyes, the red on his cheeks getting deeper. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Minho shrugged. “This love may get me killed, but, hey, the wolf and I are one in the same now. Can’t fight it anymore.”

“And what does that mean for me, exactly?” Kibum grinned devilishly, like he knew what Minho’s was going to say and couldn’t wait to abuse the power.

“I’m at your disposal, sweetheart,” Minho flashed a wicked smile that was all sharp canine. “Who do you want me to beat the out of next?”

~~~

To say Minho demolished the competition would be an understatement. He positively obliterated them. There were two other wolves he had to take on after Taesung. The second wolf, named Woobin, didn’t even try, forfeiting immediately. The third, Jongsoo, had more spirit, and was definitely harder to beat than Taesung, but Minho managed regardless. And, with that third victory, Minho secured his place as the biggest, baddest wolf in the pack. He’d won—Kibum was undisputedly his and tomorrow when the sun was at its highest point he had the liberty to whisk him away and lay his claim on him. The battles weren’t all smooth sailing, though.

Taemin had lost his fight in the second round to Jongsoo. Kibum had assured him that there wasn’t anything to worry about yet. Minho would get first pick, and Jongsoo—who had already made his intentions of mating with a female omega named Luna known—would get second pick. But the place of third and fourth were to be determined by a secondary fight between the remaining three alphas who had made it to the second round. Taemin only had to win one fight to guarantee himself an omega—two fights to one hundred percent secure Jonghyuun.

“Do not worry,” Kibum had nipped at Minho’s shoulder to comfort him. “Taemin is stronger than both of them. Everything will be fine.”

And Minho thought it was fine, at first. Everything should have been fine. But then suddenly it wasn’t.

Minho was now amongst the crowd of unruly werewolves that came to see the show. Taemin was fighting with all his might against a blue-grey wolf who was, of all ing people, Jongsuk. The wolf who’d ually harassed Minho like it was socially acceptable (it kind of was, but that was beside the point). And Minho was thoroughly enjoying watching Taemin kick his . It was all playing out the way they wanted it to.

Taemin had thrown his combatant to the other side of the manmade wrestling ring, the force of his toss actually causing him to stumble back a few feet right in front of the wolves on his side. What happened next was quick, but Minho saw it. The sun caught off a pair of claws trying to hide amongst the mash up of bodies. The glint that drew Minho’s eye was a bad omen he couldn’t possibly circumvent from his place in the crowd, and he watched in what seemed to be slow motion as long claws buried themselves as deep as they could possibly go into the right side of Taemin’s hips. Taemin’s beast howled in agony as he crashed hard into the wet ground, grabbing at his hip and trying his best to get back up to his feet. He couldn’t.

Jongsuk was fast to exploit Taemin’s weakness, wasting no time in bowling the injured alpha over and digging his claws in wherever he could. He punched and trashed and throttled, and with every blow landed Minho heard a resounding crack of something in Taemin breaking. Blood and spit flew in all directions and Minho was certain Taemin would have been killed if not for the Alpha himself pulling the rampaging Jongsuk off of beaten boy.

Minho felt a body collapse into his and barely managed to catch a hyperventilating Jonghyun before he fell first onto the ground.

“He lost,” Jonghyun croaked. “How… he wasn’t supposed to… he lost!”

Kibum was shocked still, mouth handing agape and eyes fogged over like his mind had dissociated from his body.

“… He didn’t lose,” Minho said slowly, the snarl in his chest building in volume and ferocity. “He was sabotaged!”

The screaming crowd fell silent at the accusation because, of course, they all heard it. But there was no surprise in their faces, nor disdain. They knew. They all did. It was not the accusation they were upset with, but rather the idea that they had been caught.

“I saw nothing,” the referee shrugged. “Unless I see it, it didn’t happen.”

“Who cares if you saw it?” Minho seethed, setting Jonghyun carefully on the ground and stalking up to an unamused ref. “I saw it! Someone in the crowd stabbed him in the side!”

“If the referee did not see it then it did not happen,” the Alpha between them, glaring Minho down like you would a kid throwing a tantrum. “Those are the rules. Otherwise anyone could claim sabotage if the results don’t play out in their favor.”

“Favor?!” Minho exclaimed in disbelief. “I won. I get first pick. How could anything be any less in my favor than it already is? I have nothing to gain from lying.”

“Be that as it may,” the alpha sighed in annoyance with no intention of backing down. “You and Taemin share affections for one another that make you unreliable. This fight is not one you can win, boy. Stand down.”

“You can’t just—!”

Soft hands wrapped around Minho’s wrist and gave a little tug.

“It is okay, Minho,” Jonghyun shook his head, reticent and resigned. “Let us take Taemin home.”

“But—”

“It is done,” Jonghyun asserted, pulling Minho over to Taemin. “We will take him home now. There isn’t nothing to fight for anymore.”

Minho didn’t know what to say, so he did what he was told and delicately folded Taemin up bridal style in his arms. Kibum had regained some of his self by then, and rushed over to assist Jonghyun, who looked two steps away from keeling over. The walk back was silent and dreadful. Nothing could be said to make it better and no one cared enough to fix the wrong done to Taemin. The only thing left to be done was tend to Taemin and hope against hope that it had all been a dream.

~~~

Minho had never seen a person look as empty as Jonghyun did in that moment. His vibrant eyes had taken on a dull, glassy sheen and stared blankly at the wooden wall across from him. His chest rose and fell, but Minho could see that all the life in Jonghyun’s body had been out, leaving him with starch white cheeks and a small, crumpled form. It was like Minho was watching the man deteriorate before his very eyes.

“Taemin, we have to do something!”

Kibum was frantic, pacing back and forth, and breathing as if he were deranged.

Taemin could hardly muster the strength to look up at Kibum, clearly suffering greatly from his wounds. Every breath he took was a sickening, painful gasp that hurt his ribcage and made it feel as if the bones were breaking off to pierce his lungs.

“T-There’s… nothing I can do… anymore,” Taemin wheezed. “I… l-lost. He can… never be mine now. I cannot… protect him.”

Kibum looked ready to tear hair out.

“But they’ll torture him when they find out! They’ll break him down until there’s nothing left and then use him for their sick pleasure for the rest of his life!”

“I know that, Kibum!” Taemin snapped, whining in agony and immediately regretting his outburst. “I know,” he said again softly with a little cough. “But no matter h-how badly I wish it was so, I cannot turn back time and make this right. I’m s-sorry. So very…sorry.”

“There has to be a way—!”

“Kibum,” Jonghyun cut in with a quiet, monotonous voice. “There is nothing to be done. We were fools that must now face judgement for our actions. Do not concern yourself for me. You cannot help me.”

Kibum wouldn’t accept that. Minho could see it in the desperate fire of his violet orbs. Gears were turning in Kibum’s head, trying as hard as they could to conjure up a way to save Jonghyun.

“Uh, maybe it’s none of my business,” Minho said cautiously, not wanting to upset anyone any more than they already were. “But may I ask what you two did that was so bad?”

Kibum’s hysterical pacing came to screeching halt. The omega blinked slowly at his alpha, like he had forgotten Minho was even there.

“…You.”

“Me?”

Kibum approached Minho with a heartbreakingly distraught look on his face. Placing a hand on either side of Minho’s face, Kibum pulled Minho down a couple of inches so that their foreheads were touching.

“Yes, you, pup,” Kibum smiled sadly, circling his thumbs over the apex of Minho’s cheekbones. “You can fix this.”

Minho didn’t understand, but Jonghyun was gasping and hopping to his feet before he could try to figure it out.

“No!” Jonghyun shouts. “Kibum, you can’t!”

“Minho,” Kibum ignored Jonghyun, “My sweet little alpha. I know you fought so hard for me, but there are others who need you more.”

…What?

“I know this will be hard, for both you and I, but… when the time comes, you must pick Jonghyun as your mate, Minho.

Minho gaped at Kibum, fish-mouthing around words that wouldn’t come to him. Kibum couldn’t mean this, not after all the turmoil Minho had gone through to come out on top in this stupid game of blood and brawn.

“No,” Minho hissed, snaking his arms around Kibum’s waist to lock the omega against him. “I remember everything now! The only reason I stayed in these woods all this time was for you. The only reason I participated in your barbaric mating rite was to save you. Hell, I crossed over dimensions to get here. ing dimensions! How, after all that, can you ask me to leave you in the hands of those God forsaken heathens?!

This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t fair. Fate couldn’t do this to him after the Hell it had already put him through.

“Minho, I don’t know what you’re talking about and I know this isn’t what you had wanted, but…do this for me. I beg of you.”

“B-But…”

“This is the only way we can save him! You don’t understand—he’ll have a fate worse than death if they find out. I cannot let that happen to him!”

“But… but what about you?”

“I’m a strong omega, jah-ki-yah. I will be fine.”

“I can’t.”

“You must.”

“Believe it or not, I don’t have to do jack ,” Minho spat bitterly. “You can’t make me.”

“My pup, you told me I could be in charge,” Kibum said sharply, like he was unamused with Minho’s disobedience. The audacity almost made Minho snort. “So yield to me this one last time. When you are presented with the omegas… pick Jonghyun as your mate.”

“But why. There had better be a damned good reason or I won’t do it. I refuse.”

“Minho,” Kibum sighed, his voice dropping several decibels so that only those close could hear the terrible words that were uttered from his rosy lips. “Jonghyun is pregnant.”

A/N: Been a hot minute, hasn't it?