The kill was shared equally among all of them, and they all ate well into the evening. Momo only ate when Sana physically placed her share right under her nose, yet she still refused to look at anyone of them afterwards. She remained laying on her stomach with her head on her paws, and the only thing they really saw of her was her back, along with an occasional swing of her tail. Jungyeon had gone out to look for anything that could be used to dress Sana’s wounds. Jihyo told her to hurry since it was getting dark quicker than ever before, and Sana also assured her that her injuries weren’t severe, but Jungyeon—being the thoughtful and considerate soul that she was—only nodded quietly before heading out anyway.

Jihyo noticed that Sana’s friendliness was on a level that matched Nayeon’s perfectly. It was no wonder that they got along nicely, though a lot of it had to do with Sana’s admiration for the older which only boosted Nayeon’s self-esteem to a scary extent. Sana laughed frequently, never stayed in one spot for more than a few minutes, and vibrated with a powerful energy that Jihyo could only guess was exclusive to an omega. Nayeon seemed to bask in it all because Sana would respond to her every word with either the attentiveness in her eyes or a short giggle. Jihyo—though most of the things they talked about were foreign to her—did her best to smile here and there, mostly at the two wolves who were having a grand time across from her.

Jungyeon returned just as the stars came up, some lichen in her jaw as she jogged back to them. Jihyo couldn’t suppress an impressed chuckle when Sana spun around to show Jungyeon the bloody claw marks.

“Just how did you even…” The tawny alpha watched her in awe because they were practically in the middle of nowhere.

“They were on some fallen branches nearby.” Jungyeon answered her matter-of-factly. “They’re usneas and they grow all year round.”

Jihyo and Nayeon nodded, more to each other than to Jungyeon. When Sana was all taken care of, she resumed her conversation with Nayeon while the other two lounged around them. At some point, both of their voices lowered to a whisper.

“And did your alphas know?” Nayeon asked solemnly.

Sana nodded, a vivid bitterness in her tone. “Of course, though I doubt they cared.”

“Interesting. They were so kind to me, I thought everything was well.”

“Things were well for those that they favored.” The excitement in Sana’s eyes was now replaced with a growing fire.

“I’m guessing you weren’t one of those wolves?” Jungyeon joined in.

“No, I was somewhere in the middle. Though I never opposed them, I never had much respect for them. They only listened to certain wolves and loved to seek for opposers to punish. They were paranoid, which I never understood why.”

“Were there any real threats to be concerned about?” Nayeon asked.

“No, not that I ever knew of. Even if there was, I doubt anyone would dare to riot against their tyranny. But what they deemed ‘threats’ were absolutely ridiculous.” The omega stopped for a moment, glancing behind her before turning back. “Momo was one of them.”

Jihyo perked her head up at this, intrigued as Sana nodded to her reaction. The omega continued. “Many of their pups were weak, most didn’t survive and if they did, none of them turned out to be an alpha like their parents. Momo was the only alpha in our pack aside from them, but she was young so they didn’t try to kick her out.”

“Yet, she was still a threat.” Jungyeon concluded.

“Exactly. They never treated Momo like an alpha ever since she was born. Everyone else was discouraged to do so too. Her parents never objected, because it was either that or they would kill her. She ate last, blamed for random things, and was attacked or trampled for the oddest reasons. Us omegas seemed to have a better life than hers.”

For the first time in a while, a slow breeze swept past them, whirling up a few snowflakes with it. Sana watched icy twinkles of each flake being tossed into the air, studying it with such intensity that it startled the other wolves when she suddenly started talking again.

“So, she grew up that way. She didn’t talk and didn’t fend for herself either. Whenever they came to snatch at , she would run away or hide so they wouldn’t get to her. When she was cornered, she would simply accept it and let them come for her. I thought she was really brave. Real brave…” Sana’s eyes softened with a warmth that contrasted the freezing temperature of the night. “She didn’t eat for a time, because no one would leave anything left for her when she came. I started to eat last so I could bring her a little something more than just bones. She had this little cavern lodged within a small cliff she would climb to avoid everyone. I would stay there with her and informed her about things so she wouldn’t feel completely clueless. They kicked her out the minute she was old enough, and I left with her. I couldn’t allo—”

Sana was interrupted with a strange noise behind them. It sounded like a squirrel being crushed but when they all turned around, the sound reappeared with a sneezing Momo as its source. When the alpha stilled, a cheeky smirk flashed across Sana’s face. The omega lifted herself up and went over to Momo.

“You should have told me sooner that you were cold~” Sana teased before tackling Momo with her weight.

“Sana!” The alpha growled but didn’t do anything when Sana bit her ear playfully.

The two rolled around in the snow, Momo trying to pry Sana off while the omega kept assaulting her with light nips around the neck. Then, the bluescale alpha gave in and stopped struggling. Sana giggled, her tail wagging delightfully as Momo rolled her eyes.

~~~***~~~

Jungyeon told herself to ignore it, but she couldn’t seem to stop her muscles from tensing up every time Nayeon brushed herself against them. The sun had come up a few hours ago, but its rays were dimmed due to a cluster of gray clouds floating above. Jihyo woke up before her and was eating snow out of boredom while stretching. Sana and Momo were still asleep, cuddled around each other with their chests rising and falling almost in perfect sync. Nayeon had been glued to Jungyeon’s side since she woke up, nestling herself in the warmth of the younger’s thick fur. Jungyeon could only be glad that she wasn’t assaulted by Nayeon’s stray limbs this time.

“Jungyeon…” She felt the older stir.

Nayeon’s voice wasn’t loud, but it certainly broke the quiet atmosphere around them. Jungyeon didn’t know how to react. She simply stared at the older, watching her lips as they curled up into a smile. It was adorable and as much as Jungyeon wanted to, she couldn’t peel her eyes off Nayeon. That smile alone did something to her, or rather reminded her of the many others. She wasn’t stupid, but anyone with a brain would’ve probably noticed the same because of how obvious Nayeon was. Jungyeon saw and felt it all—Nayeon’s side glances when she wasn’t looking, the way Nayeon’s face lit up whenever she addresses her, and how quickly Nayeon got flustered whenever she accolades her. She missed none of it, yet had been more attentive than she would have liked about it. And as much as she loved to uphold her impassive front, she couldn’t help but think about it. A part of her mind accepted it as admiration, while another wished it was something else. She didn’t know which side to trust, let alone what to do about it. She never knew any other wolf outside her small family pack and never registered feelings well to begin with. She was also aware that the two of them were very different—one being better at dealing with social issues than the other. So to prevent herself from misunderstanding Nayeon’s intentions, Jungyeon decided to discard any assumptions until further notice. Not that she doesn’t like Nayeon’s focus on her, because she does, secretly almost. But she remained hesitant, afraid that any rash decisions she makes would ruin everything they had now. Their relationship was sacred to her—truly—because she wanted Nayeon to stay for a while. It didn’t matter how long, just long enough so that Jungyeon could still wake up like this, hear Nayeon’s stories about the things she was never able to see herself, all while witnessing the older’s wide gummy smile when she compliments her knowledge.

Nayeon muttered her name three more times, making the grin on Jihyo’s face wider with each. Jungyeon remained as still as a stone until Nayeon tucked back into her fur.

“She’s having a good dream, isn’t she? I wonder why.” Jihyo smirked, and Jungyeon shot her a glare.

It was the first time she teased someone other than Nayeon, and the tawny alpha was clearly very amused by it. Pretty soon, Sana and Momo were awake. The omega wagged her tail lazily to greet them, while Momo kept her steely stare. Nayeon, on the other hand, was still in a deep slumber. Jihyo said something about Nayeon’s exhaustion after talking the most last night, but ended up nudging her awake anyway. She wasn’t very successful at first, so Jungyeon offered to help by detaching herself from the older, cutting off her source of warmth. Nayeon groaned and cupped her muzzle between her paws.

“We’ll leave if you don’t wake up.” Jihyo threatened.

“You wouldn’t dare.” Nayeon growled but jumped up in a panic when she heard Jihyo walk away. The sandy beige beta shook herself, a grumpy expression on her face.

“Come on now, I have a pack to lead.” Jihyo mimicked her wink, and Nayeon grimaced.

~~~***~~~

Sana was a master flatterer. Every time Nayeon managed to pinpoint a certain landscape, she bounced curiously forward with clear enthusiasm. The omega’s brown eyes would sparkle—bright, vibrant, and dazzling. Sana had a confidence that was nearly elusive to the common omega, a drastic contrast from her alpha companion. But it only made their interactions even more interesting, because Momo never returned nor denied Sana’s dashing smile. She accepted it like an everyday incident, occasionally scowling whenever Sana got a little too excited and nudged her until her shoulders were sore. Momo didn’t glare at Jihyo, Nayeon, and Jungyeon anymore, but she kept her distance while staying close to Sana. She only really respond to the omega, often with a nod or a hum but then again, the other three couldn’t even muster enough courage to even look at her. And ever since their aggressive meeting, Jungyeon’s cautiousness kept her close to Jihyo’s heels, placing a gap between the two alphas. Not that they had any intentions of ever doing that again—Jihyo being too respectful, and Momo not being able to forgive herself if she ever upset Sana—but just in case.

They plowed on across the empty tundra for five days, stopping once a while to dig around or to rest. The mountains were closer in sight, but that seemed to be their only source of hope. Around them, there were no signs of the living or dead. The only thing they ate was snow, usually out of bitterness to fill the vacant pits of their stomachs. Momo was a little more relaxed now, probably too hungry to care about anything else.

On the sixth day, everything was absolutely dreadful. It was windy, incredibly windy as if it wasn’t already ridiculously cold. The wolves barely had enough sleep the night before. Sana and Momo huddled so close together that if it weren’t for their different fur palettes, they could have been easily mistaken for one wolf. Nayeon was clever enough to squeeze herself in between Jihyo and Jungyeon—both of them equally clueless as to how she managed to pull it off while asleep. She also ended up kicking them both fairly. And to make everything worse, their oldest had countless rounds of nightmares where she yelped so loudly it stung Jihyo and Jungyeon’s eardrums. They would have complained if they weren’t scared for their lives first. Nayeon’s cries were sharp, agonizing, and raspy, almost like someone had strangled her by the throat. The eerie silence of their wintry landscape made it even worse. All the lights from the stars and moon were shut out by a heavy blanket of gloomy clouds. It was too uncomfortably dark to not expect impending danger.

Sana talked less in the morning, and their steps all seemed to slow steadily with the little energy they carried left. They stopped quicker than usual with Nayeon complaining about an ache in her healing leg. Yet even without an injury, everyone else felt the same ache. The pain only seemed to disappear when Jungyeon came back from her usual scouting session, eyes bright and tongue dangling.

“Bison.” She said eagerly, and Jihyo glanced at her suspiciously.

“I haven’t seen a blade of grass in days.” The tawny alpha went back to her paws, yet the light in Jungyeon’s eyes still lingered.

“I picked up tracks. Fresh, a few minutes at most. They’re heading towards the mountains too.” The beta informed excitedly.

Nayeon looked at her, thought about it for a moment, then got on her feet. “They could be a herd from the valley.”

Jihyo’s eyes darted between the two betas and while a part of her didn’t want to waste more energy than they had, she couldn’t risk not trusting Jungyeon’s experienced nose. The tawny alpha got up, shook herself, and nodded. She walked forward but halted when she saw that Nayeon was going with them also.

“I’ll be fine.” Nayeon assured her. “A little exercise won’t hurt.”

“I think we had too much exercise already.” Jungyeon eyed her leg uneasily. Jihyo nodded.

“I won’t run too much. I’ll just tag along and help whenever I can.”

“Alright, be careful. You’re our North Star.” Jihyo reminded, almost mockingly but Nayeon let it slide. They walked a few feet ahead before realizing that neither Sana nor Momo was tagging along. “You’re not coming?”

Sana shook her head.

“Why not?” Jungyeon asked.

“I-I don’t do well hunting. It’s best if I watch. I’ll just wait for you guys.” She looked nervous, and they saw her usual confidence vanish. She nearly looked terrified.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help.” Momo stepped up next to them.

There were exchanged glances from Nayeon, Jungyeon, and Jihyo that showed they felt the same thing. Not only was this the first time Momo spoke to them, it was also the closest she had ever stood next to them. Sana had a half surprised, half uncertain look on her face. Hunger really changed some wolves.

Despite not participating in the hunt, Jihyo insisted that Sana follow them until they finished tracking the bison. A sudden wave of energy seemed to crash against them all, and they all felt light-footed even if the hunt hadn’t started. Jungyeon led them with her nose until a herd of fifteen bison emerged in the distance. Then, the front position was offered to Jihyo who took them a little closer. Momo was in her own world. Unlike Jungyeon and Nayeon who kept their eyes on Jihyo, Momo looked straight ahead. Her ears were alert and pointed straight forward on her head, her eyes seemed to have run through every single bison with just a quick glance, and she stood tall as if wanting them to notice her presence. The other three didn’t mind it until they saw that the bluescale alpha was closing in on the herd with confident strides. Though a little taken back and worried, they didn’t interfere.

Momo targeted a bison and went right for it, snarled rather loudly as she nipped at its heels. It was startled along with the three wolves watching behind her. Momo let it run, then she repeated the same sharp bark and charged for a different bison. At the fifth charge, the bison were stomping in frustration. Jihyo began to realize that Momo was trying to herd them in order to seek out the weaklings. Jungyeon noticed also—the amazement clearly visible in her eyes. It didn’t take long before the three of them joined Momo. Sometimes, they had to retreat a few paces when one of the big bulky males tried to headbutt them. Yet, they remained relentless and determined, collecting themselves for another charge whenever they were sent back. Soon enough, the bison were fed up with the aimless attacks at their rear and began fleeing.

Nayeon jogged behind while the other sprinted ahead to follow the herd. Momo kept to her own lane and speed, not too fast to bypass Jihyo but not too slow to be with Nayeon. They drew closer by the seconds, desperation fueling their every leap. All of a sudden, Momo snarled fiercely again. Jungyeon and Jihyo weren’t thrown off course by it, but were certainly confused. They were even more baffled when Momo raced ahead, so rapidly they barely saw it happen. For the short flash of time that Jihyo saw her, Momo’s eyes were glowing, and it didn’t seem like she even blinked due to her immense concentration. Her leg muscles were sure something, because they were so enlarged and tensed Jihyo thought they might pop. Momo dove for a young bison that the other three hadn't even seen. She made one jump to lock her jaw around one of its back legs, yanking at the limb so intensely and viciously that the huge animal slipped a little. It certainly slowed things down which made it easier for Jihyo and Jungyeon to close in for the kill.

Nayeon rejoined them shortly after the bison was down, howling cheerfully to Sana who bounced happily towards their direction. The meat they had all so desperately wanted was right in front of them, yet it remained untouched. An awkward and anxious silence spanned between Jihyo and Momo, but none of them looked at each other directly. It was only right that Momo take the first bite since she did the majority of the work, and the hunt probably would have dragged on much longer had it not been for her decisiveness.

Finally, Jihyo cleared . “You should eat first, Momo.”

The amount of strength it took her to utter those words was evident in her voice. The bluescale alpha lifted her eyes to look at her. Jihyo had no idea what exactly, but there was something so chilling about staring directly into Momo’s sky blue orbs.

“You first.” The bluescale alpha shook her head.

Two simple words yet they were said with such sincerity, it was odd for any of them to believe they came out of Momo’s mouth. Not that she ever did anything that wasn’t genuine, but just because she was so aloof they never knew what to think of her. Sana always assured them that she wasn’t a bad wolf, which they believed just never saw it so clearly before now. Jihyo, out of all, seemed to be the most affected by the words. She was embarrassed but couldn’t refuse to drag herself next to the kill, because Momo was watching her keenly with an invisible emanation of respect. She urged herself to take an extremely thin slice of the meat, swallowed it hardly under the fixed glances around her. On the corner of her eyes, Sana wore the biggest and fondest smile she’d ever seen on a wolf.

There was more than enough meat, so they took their time eating, well sated mentally and physically. Despite the dead carcass, they were still able to pick up a scent that sent all their heads upwards. On a gentle slope a few feet away, a frail thin wolf stood inspecting them. It was much smaller than all of them and appeared to also be much younger—one and a half years old to be exact. The juvenile’s ears twitched above her gray eyes, and there was an overall tenacity about her whole posture. Her tail was between her legs, yet one of her front paws was frozen in a midlift. Her ribcage was so clearly shown they nearly bulged out of her hickory fur coat. It was very obvious what she wanted from them. And by now, Jihyo could easily predict what would happen next.

Hospitality was becoming the foundation of their pack again, which was certainly rare, but the wolves were definitely rarer.

AN: One in a million huh
Btw I toggle between Jeongyeon and Jungyeon and usually go for the latter bc its quicker, so sorry if that ever bothered u
This chapter has a lot of uwu moments but reading all these comments still gives me the biggest uwu <3