A/N: By the way, for those of you wondering, I did manage to finish my survey. I presented today so thanks to everyone who helped me out!

          Kim Mingyu stared blankly at the other person in front of him. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening, and the words being exchanged made no sense. Mingyu blinked, ears twitching, trying to catch the many voices speaking over each other, but he couldn’t seem to concentrate on any one sound. Clutching the edge of his shirt, Mingyu swallowed and felt tears begin to form. He couldn’t cry, not now, now when there were so many Elders around. He’d be regarded as weak, not fit for the Pack. He had to keep himself together. Sniffing quietly, Mingyu took a deep breath of air and managed to dispel his tears.

          “Gyu, Gyu are you okay?” a soft voice asked him. Mingyu whirled around in relief as he saw his older sister, Minyoung, staring at him. She was a couple metres away – as Mingyu was surrounded by adults – but she still provided him with immense support.

          “I, I think,” Mingyu whispered back, voice hoarse with disuse. He had managed to calm himself down considerably, no longer whimpering or crying, but his voice was still raw and shaky. Focusing back on the adults, Mingyu looked up at the people he had called his parents. His father, standing upright, with his mother in his arms. People had always said that Mingyu would grow up to look like his parents, he was already much, much taller than the other werewolves his age – and his father was one of the tallest werewolves in the pack. His crooked smile, sparkling eyes, and darker skin tone however, was attributed to his mother. In any case, it was easy to tell that they were family. Right now however, Mingyu felt like the people that had given birth to him and raised him, were strangers.

          “S-say that again?” Mingyu’s mother whispered voice even shakier and rougher than Mingyu’s. She was clutching onto her husband as if he was her lifeline, her knuckles turning white from the pressure she was applying.

          “Your son,” one of the Elders began again, and Mingyu made sure to listen carefully this time. “Must be removed from the Pack – or else we will personally take care of him.” Removed? Mingyu’s eyes widened, he would be kicked out? But why? That didn’t make sense? The Pack wasn’t overpopulated or in any kind of danger, there was no need to eliminate werewolves because of lack of supplies or things like that. In fact, more werewolves were needed, seeing as their Pack was actually decreasing in size, rather than increasing. Besides, Mingyu was strong.

          Werewolves coveted the strong, any sign of weakness was looked down upon, and those that had superior strength were admired. And Mingyu was a prime example of this ideology. He was tall, strong, and fast – even faster than some werewolves who were older than him. Mingyu was the definition of an Adonis, despite his young age. He was attractive, with a lean frame, dark brown eyes, and plump, pink lips. Even his wolf form was handsome, with sharp grey eyes and midnight blue fur. Honestly, Mingyu’s should’ve been the last person they decided to kick out, leading to the confusion Mingyu and his mother were feeling.

          “W-why? Why?” Mingyu’s mother began to screech, clawing widely at the Elders in front of her. She would’ve full out attacked them, had Mingyu’s father not held her back with his strong arms.

          “Calm down,” he ordered, strong, deep voice immediately calming his wife down. Mingyu’s mother took in deep breaths, still clutching onto his father’s arm, and glared at the Elders with an extremely hostile stare. “Would you mind telling us why Mingyu has to be… relocated?”

          “He is a danger to us all,” the Elders replied cryptically, but Mingyu knew. He saw it, in their eyes, that they were afraid of him. He had noticed them looking at him with a mixture of fear and jealousy before, but he merely dismissed it. The Elders of the Pack were supposed to be all knowing, they were wise, strong, and intelligent. They were supposed to make the right decisions, not allowing their own goals and emotions sway their opinion, but with every government system, corruption was apparent.

          “He must go, now,” another Elder stressed, eyes widening in a slightly crazed manner.

          “Yes, yes,” the other Elders joined in, almost chanting. “Leave. Leave. LEAVE.” With wide eyes, Mingyu took a couple steps back as the Elders in front of him turned into their wolf forms. The young boy looked around the room, searching for his sister and parents, but found that he was alone. Alone in a room with no way out. Alone with a room full of dangerous werewolves. “Leave!”

          Opening his eyes, Mingyu panting heavily, staring up at the wooden ceiling of his new home. Closing his eyes again, Mingyu placed a hand over his eyes to dispel the last remains of his nightmare. As his heartbeat slowed and his breathing became regulated, Mingyu opened his eyes again to see the soft sunlight streaming through his closed blinds. The place he had managed to rent was definitely not in the best condition. There always seemed to be a cold draft – even in the summer, and the windows sometimes leaked when it was raining heavily, but Mingyu liked it. It wasn’t perfect, it could use some work, but it was fixable – much like Mingyu himself.

          “Gosh, I thought I was over that,” Mingyu mumbled to himself, sitting up. Raising his long limbs over his head, Mingyu stretched, yawning slightly, before rubbing his eyes again. As he shook the last tendrils of sleep off of himself, Mingyu stood up and walked over to the washroom to freshen up. It had been months since his last reoccurring nightmare, and Mingyu had thought that he had grew out of the dream, but apparently it had found him once again. In any case, Mingyu knew the dream wasn’t real. It was a version of twisted reality, putting together his worst fears and mixing it together with what really happened – it was as if the world was punishing him for being an Alpha.

          Not like Mingyu really knew what being an Alpha meant. Like his dream depicted, he had been kicked out of his Pack at an early age. The Elders had been jealous of his power, even as a child they could sense that he was extremely strong, maybe even more than they were, so as to not have their place in the Pack usurped by Mingyu, they kicked him out. They claimed that he was reckless, that he was more of a danger to the well-being of the Pack then an asset, and somehow (Mingyu thinks it’s because pretty much everyone other than his family was scared of his power) the majority of the Pack agreed. So young Mingyu, being a youth, had to say goodbye to his family and friends and was forced to leave his Pack with the promise that he’d never return.

          Sighing, Mingyu quickly changed before leaving his apartment and making his way down to the restaurant underneath. The building was something alike to a hotel, with a main diner below and rooms to be rented above. Mingyu was one of the more permanent tenants however, so the minute he sat down at a free table, the owners of the building had already made his usual breakfast.

          “You’re up early,” the daughter of the hotel owner, a young adult by the name of Choi Eunjung, greeted, placing Mingyu’s breakfast in front of him. She grinned as Mingyu grumbled, seeing as Mingyu had never been a morning person, while she wiped down the other half of the table.

          “I had a nightmare again,” Mingyu confessed. He and Eunjung were close enough for them to rant to each other about certain things. Of course, Eunjung’s parents didn’t like this, considering the fact that one, Mingyu was a werewolf and an Alpha at that, and two, Eunjung was engaged. Mingyu didn’t really care though, he left the Pack at an early age so he never really understood the whole stigmatism behind being an Alpha and he suspected Eunjung had a slight crush on him anyways so it’s not like she was about to stop either.

          “About leaving?” Eunjung asked to confirm. Mingyu didn’t have many dreams, and when he did, they were only really about two things. One was obviously his nightmare about his past, and the other, well, that one was a lot more confusing. The second reoccurring dream that Mingyu had dealt with his future. He was some place warm, a clearing of some sort? There was a soft scent in the air, of other werewolves he had come to realize, and in front of him stood a grave. It wasn’t his, nor was it any of his family member’s, the werewolf scent in the area was unfamiliar – he would’ve identified it if it belonged to his Pack. There was a yellow ribbon tied to the grave, but the name etched into the stone was always unreadable. And always, always standing beside Mingyu but just out of reach was another male werewolf. This one was shorter than him – as most people are – but for some reason, maybe it was the way he presented himself, Mingyu knew that he was older. The dream always ended after Mingyu made these observations, although, recently, Mingyu noticed that the older werewolf was trying to say something.

          “Yeah,” Mingyu affirmed. “Shouldn’t you be working?” Mingyu gestured at the other customers while beginning to eat his meal. Eunjung shrugged, sighing slightly before gathering her towel and going back to work. Smirking at Eunjung’s reluctance, Mingyu quickly finished his meal before bringing it to the front desk and paying. Bidding goodbye to Eunjung’s mother, Mingyu left the building and set out on his daily walk.

          Mingyu didn’t have a job, of course, he was looking, but for now he didn’t feel the need to work. His family was definitely well off, and when he was forced to leave the Pack, his father had given him the savings that Mingyu was supposed to inherit when he was of age. Investing it smartly (Mingyu’s mother had been in charge of most of the Pack’s money and had taught Mingyu how to manage his funds), Mingyu still had enough to last him even after so many years. As such, Mingyu was in no need of money, meaning that he often spent his time strolling around the large capital, ducking into random stores that piqued his interest and generally just learning about the world.

          It was late in the afternoon when Mingyu decided to explore a part of the city that he’d never been before. Making sure to buy a snack from a street cart, Mingyu munched on the pastry before setting forth. Wiping his hands on his pants (Mingyu went through his hormonal teenage years without a mother telling him how to be hygienic so he was lacking a bit in that aspect); Mingyu lost himself in the world of new scents. Mingyu wasn’t sure if it was exclusively an Alpha thing – or if all werewolves experienced the world this way – but whenever Mingyu went somewhere knew, he was hit with a wall of scents. Good, bad, fragrant, and stale, all different types of scents revealed themselves to Mingyu and, as such, Mingyu could easily navigate the place – even if it was his first time there – because the scents basically unfolded into a map in his mind’s eye. The scents also told a kind of story, he could tell what kind of being had been where, sometimes Mingyu was even able to pick up on their feelings, what they had been doing (to an extent) and who was involved with them based on the other scents that were mixed in with their own.

          Which is why, as Mingyu continued walking through the many streets, a certain smell made him stop and investigate. It smelled slightly bitter, not entirely unpleasant, but enough to send shivers and bad feelings down Mingyu’s spine. It was accompanied by a much sweeter, more pleasant smell, and another, darker, muskier one. Werewolves. That much, Mingyu could tell. Curious, Mingyu turned into the smaller alleyway and followed the scent, making sure his steps were soft as to not give away his position. He wasn’t really sure what he was going to find at the end of the alleyway and he had learned long ago that not everything that occurred in the capitol was entirely legal.

          The alleyway split off into two paths, one turning right, probably curving back to the main street, and the other opening into a small clearing. Mingyu ducked, hidden behind a stack of crates, and peeked over the edge to observe. There were about a dozen werewolves in the clearing; one of them was clearly in charge, an Alpha if Mingyu’s nose was to be trusted. The other werewolves were circled around the Alpha, their scent strong but slightly subdued. Mingyu cocked his head in confusion, he could smell each werewolf’s individual scents (they were Betas, he could tell now) but there was also a soft, underlying scent of the Alpha on them. Mingyu had never encountered anything like this before (or he wasn’t strong enough to take notice of it until now) and was highly confused.

          “Just give up already,” the Alpha sneered, causing Mingyu to direct his attention to the last remaining Beta. This one was free of the Alpha’s scent, his own, sweet scent drifting through the clearing. The Beta looked more annoyed then scared, but Mingyu could smell the subtle scent of fear mingled into his aroma.

          “You really think you’re fast enough to catch me?” the Beta challenged, stepping forwards and growling at one of the other Betas who had come a little too close.

          “Listen,” the Alpha drawled in a bored manner, “you’re surrounded. There’s no way out other than the path you ran from and that’s fully covered. It’s only an amount of time before my Betas tire you out so I can claim you too.”

          Claim? Mingyu narrowed his eyes, regarding the Alpha with a more suspicious look. Now he understood why the Betas smelt of him, he had claimed them, against their will it looked seeing as he was about to claim this other Beta. Once an Alpha claimed a Beta or an Omega, they were bound by a supernatural force. They could exchange thoughts with little to no effort, shared feelings, and, for Alphas, grew stronger depending on how many Betas or Omegas they had claimed; which was probably why this Alpha was trying to get yet another Beta on his side.

          “So? I’m getting bored, it’s time for my nap,” the Alpha yawned lazily. “Get him.” With a forced snarl, the gang of Betas spring forward to attack. The solo Beta crouched down, before springing up and flipping over the Betas, causing many of them to hit the wall or each other due to their momentum. Regaining his balance, the Beta managed to subdue two of the Alpha’s lackeys before the rest of the gang regrouped and charged at him again. Breathing heavily, the Beta’s eyes widened as the Alpha’s group smartened up and spread out to surround him from all sides. They formed a circle around the loner and began to charge. Seeing as the Beta had no escape route, he tried to kick the weakest Beta as to force his way out but to no avail. Just as the other Betas managed to grab on to him and restrict his movement, Mingyu stood up.

          “Stop,” Mingyu commanded, narrowing his gaze. The Betas slowed down their actions looking from Mingyu (who had suddenly appeared from nowhere in their eyes) to their Alpha with obvious confusion. “Did you hear me? Let him go.”

          With a groan of pain and confusion, the Betas immediately dropped the lone Beta and stared at Mingyu with wide eyes. The other Alpha, seeing that his lackeys had defied his order, furrowed his eyebrows and took a more guarded stance.

          “Back away from him,” Mingyu continued, growling lowly at a Beta who was a bit slower at fulfilling his command. Soon enough, Mingyu had ordered all of the other Betas far enough away for him to walk towards the lone werewolf and stand by his side. The older man on the ground was still breathing deeply, which was a slightly concerning to Mingyu seeing as the other Betas hadn’t touched him. There shouldn’t have been any injuries inflicted upon the werewolf but Mingyu wasn’t sure what had happened before he arrived so he just hoped the loner wasn’t too injured.

          “What the hell?” the Alpha spluttered, growling at Mingyu. “Who the hell do you think you are? What are you guys waiting for? Get him!” the Alpha ordered, pointing a finger at Mingyu. His Betas inched forwards, stumbling over their feet as if they were drunk, but immediately shrunk back, ears folding down onto their heads, when Mingyu glared at them. “What the ?” the Alpha said in confusion. He had claimed those Betas – whether willingly or not – and they were supposed to listen to him. That’s how Alpha-Beta relationships worked! Nothing like this had ever happened before. “You imbeciles stop standing around and get him.”

          “Leave,” Mingyu said calmly, a stark contrast against the other Alpha’s agitated behaviour. “Go away and don’t bother him again.” The Betas blinked, before nodding quickly and racing away, totally ignoring their Alpha’s cries. “And you,” Mingyu his heel and glared at the Alpha. “Same to you, don’t ever claim an unwilling Beta again.”

          “D-don’t think you’ve won!” the Alpha gulped, a weighted, inexplicable feeling settling into his gut. A shiver went down his spine and he broke out into a cold sweat, he wanted to stay, to taunt the mystery werewolf, to teach him a lesson, but he couldn’t. The longer he stood there, the longer he defied orders, the more sick and light headed he became. It got to the point where he couldn’t even speak anymore and ended up following his instinct. The Alpha ran past Mingyu and the other werewolf and back onto the streets with his ears folded down and his tail between his legs.

          “Are you okay?” Mingyu asked, tilting his head in concern when the other Alpha’s scent faded. “You look kind of...”

          “Messed up? Like ?” the other werewolf coughed, ears flicking in annoyance.

          “I guess you could say it like that,” Mingyu shrugged. “But yeah, you look like you’re in bad shape.”

          “Whatever, I’m fine,” the other werewolf got up, brushing the dirt off of his pants and fixing his shirt, doing generally whatever he could to avoid looking Mingyu in the eyes.

          “Well then, my name’s Kim Mingyu-”

          “Look,” the werewolf finally looked up at Mingyu and revealed that the paler werewolf was a bit shorter than him. “I’m not here to make friends. I’m thankful that you saved me and whatever but that’s it; don’t talk to me again okay?”

          “Uhm, okay...?” Mingyu raised an eyebrow, slightly put off at the elder’s brash behaviour.

          “Jeon Wonwoo,” the werewolf rolled his eyes. “That’s it; I’m only telling you that so you can avoid me okay? Next time I see you I’m ignoring you, I don’t care if you saved me – I could’ve gotten away by myself.”

          “B-but why?” Mingyu spluttered, confusion exponentially increasing each second.

          “I don’t like Alphas,” Wonwoo said simply before running off. Mingyu stared at the whimsical werewolf with wide eyes before allowing himself a small smirk.

          “Jeon Wonwoo huh?” Mingyu grinned, sniffing the air gently. He had Wonwoo’s scent now – not like the other werewolf knew though – and he would be able to find him anytime he wanted (perks of being an Alpha) so he let Wonwoo go. For now. Next time though, Mingyu smiled widely, revealing his protruding canine teeth, next time Mingyu would make sure Wonwoo stayed with him long enough to tell him more than just his name.

~ ♦ ~

I haven’t updated in so long omg but as you can see, my laptop is fixed! *does the woo thing from JK news* I’ll be able to write again~ Although exams come in approximately a week so yeah, I’ll be dead for that. *sulks* But I’ll try to write as much as possible. It helps that I really love this AU and writing for it is a breeze because fantasy is my favourite~

Anyways, Mingyu’s a werewolf too (surprise surprise, Meanie must always be together). I wanted to play around with Alpha-Omega relationships too so that’s why Meanie are both werewolves (even though technically Wonwoo’s a Beta). Don’t worry, those of you who cry over the lack of Meanie in this chapter lol, I have a couple other chapters planned dedicated to fixing their relationship (or lack of one).

I also based werewolf culture on Spartan Warrior culture /slapped/ That’s what I get for liking history lol. Also, in case anyone was wondering, most of Mingyu’s words are italicized because that’s when he’s using his Alpha powers. *magic hand gestures* “But the other Alpha’s words aren’t italicized!” you say? Well then, isn’t that interesting... Maybe the other Alpha is weak... Or Mingyu is just really strong? I dunno. =3

Once again, thanks for reading and I do not own anything in this story other than the idea and plot, any similarities to other works of fiction are purely coincidental or have been used as sources of inspiration. Please do not repost this anywhere without my permission; plagiarism isn’t nice!

Hope you’re smiling!

~ alateni

PS: Thanks to Cocoa10345, Nikka___, delusion_rider, animemanga15, randomeee, Ginny0, Tat-chan, blurrrrmode, and cminka for upvoting!!