The meeting had ended, so the part that Ten feared for finally came.

Instantly, his father yanked him by his ear and dragged him out the town hall, waiting till they reached outside to throw Ten on the ground. 

Ten was now yelling in pain, clutching his right wrist that he unfortunately landed on when he fell. That wasn’t going to heal anytime soon, he just knew it.

“You have FIVE seconds to tell me WHAT THE is going on!!” he yelled at Ten, who was struggling to get up. “WHO THE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?”

Slowly, Ten managed to get off the ground, holding his limp wrist with his other hand, only for his father to swing at his face, causing him to fall again. 

His face was burning, there was dirt in his eyes blurring his vision. And Ten fell down on the injured wrist again, hurting it even more. 

Ten couldn’t stop the tears falling down his face. He knew what he had been doing, when Johnny agreed to help him out, but it still hurt him. 

He was an omega. His fate was always going to be determined, and for him trying to change it, successfully or not, he was going to pay for it. 

“I-“ Ten squinted his eyes shut. The sun was giving him a headache, it didn’t help that he couldn’t see that well. “I didn’t want to be with him-“

“THIS ISN’T ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT!” 

Out the town hall door came bursting Johnny, who took one look at the situation before pushing Ten’s father. “GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

“YOU!!” 

He swung for Johnny, aiming to hit him but missed, the alpha quickly dashing to where Ten was lying to pick him up. 

By now, a lot of people in the town hall were pouring out, staring at the commotion in front of them. And yet, as they often did, nobody dared to intervene, too busy chattering quietly among themselves what the incident was all about. 

Gossip. And no intervention. That’s all there was to it in this ing village. Everyone was too busy talking and spreading rumors, hurtful comments to one another, and just obeyed. Nobody wondered to ask if what they were doing was wrong. 

Johnny and Ten didn’t say one word to each other as Johnny got Ten on his feet before the two of them made a run for it. 

***

They kept running but couldn’t find Baekhyun. 

“Where do you think he is, Chen Le?” Jimin asked as they stopped slowly, struggling to catch their breaths. Baekhyun hadn’t been at the meeting, and they were scared of not reaching him in time before the officials could come to break the news at the omega who had been missing from the meeting.

Chen Le collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily as he fanned his face. “I don’t know,” he said in between breaths. “I know he was with Chanyeol.”

Jisung put down Yoongi momentarily (he had carried the other alpha the entire time they were running), the latter immediately collapsing on the ground. “Does he have a favorite place that you know of? Like somewhere to hide?”

“I don’t know, he likes to spend a lot of time in his room but we already checked his place,” Jimin explained, kneeling down next to Yoongi. “Yoongi, you need to drink water-“ 

“NOOOOOOOOOO-“

“Is he always this dramatic?” Jisung asked Chen Le. 

Chen Le shrugged. “I don’t know, he’s either sleeping or threatening someone.”

“Oh, that’s just wonderful,” Jisung muttered under his breath, looking around the forest until he saw some people running in the distance- oh no. “Uh… Chen Le.”

“Hmmh?” Chen Le looked at Jisung when he noticed the alpha was concentrated on something else. “What’s wrong?”

Jisung had his eyes raised in fear, glancing at Chen Le before looking over again. “Hyunsuk and his men had weapons with them.”

***

“I told you to cover for me!!” Zitao was yelling at Luhan. 

“Can you PLEASE get out of my room?!” Luhan yelled back at him, grabbing a book off his nightstand before throwing it at the door. He missed Zitao on purpose, only planning on scaring him, but his brother didn’t even flinch. “I don’t got time for this-“

“MA IS TRYING TO GROUND ME, YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TIME FOR IT!”

Minghao was standing in the hallway, staring at the two having their meltdowns. Long ago, he had learned that the quieter he remained during moments like this, the more the brothers would incriminate themselves.

“Oh my ing god, there’s only SO MUCH I CAN DO WHEN YOU AREN’T IN YOUR ING BED!” Luhan yelled, getting up from his bed. “I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO OUT LAST NIGHT!”

“YOU KNOW I HAVE TO, SEHUN IS GOING TO BE GONE FOR A WEEK!” 

The two continued yelling at each other when Yifan and Junmyeon appeared next to Minghao. “What are they yelling about?”

“Zitao is having a rebellious phase,” Minghao said with a bored expression. Zitao had been acting like this for the past year or so, and it has long ago become his go-to explanation. “I expected it more from Luhan-“

“YOU CAN GO ONE FULL WEEK WITHOUT ING HIM, YOU ING -“

“I TOLD YOU I AM NOT AT THAT LEVEL YET-“

“Do me a favor and get Junhui for me,” Minghao said to Yifan. “I don’t know where he is.”

Yifan glanced at Junmyeon, who shrugged his shoulders in response. “Okay, I’ll be back,” he said quietly, walking down the hallway.

Minghao pointed at Zitao. “He is the most explosive out of them two but ends up throwing himself under the bus,” he explained to Junmyeon, the two siblings still arguing as if they didn’t exist. “Luhan rarely does, but when he does it’s usually something big-“

“YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I’VE BEEN COVERING YOU THIS ENTIRE MONTH?!” Luhan yelled back. At this point, he got off his bed, grabbing another book to throw at Zitao, actually aiming correctly this time.

 “NOT MY FAULT YOU’RE TOO MUCH OF A TO SNEAK OUT WITH MINSEOK-“

“I like to go to bed at a decent time, mind you!” 

“Okay, I heard everything I need,” Minghao said, startling the two of them who had forgotten he was there. “You’re both grounded, end of the discussion-“

“BOTH?!” Luhan yelled back at Minghao. “I didn’t do jack !”

“‘How many times I’ve been covering you?’” Minghao repeated. “Really. You’ve been lying to my face this entire time-“

“You’re LOOKING at how he reacts everytime something doesn’t go his ing way!”

“So if Zitao asked you to kill someone and gave you attitude you would do it?!”

Luhan shrugged. “Depends on what the guy did-“

“Wait, hasn’t dad killed somebody?” Zitao asked.

Minghao glared at the two of them, not saying another word, and once they realized Minghao wasn’t going to lift the punishment, they started yelling at each other again. 

“THIS IS ALL YOUR ING FAULT-“

“NO IT IS NOT, IF YOU WOULD HAVE COVERED ME YESTERDAY NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE EVER HAPPENED-“

Cursing under his breath, Minghao grabbed Zitao’s arm and pulled him out of the room, the latter going from arguing with his brother to protesting his mother.

Minghao ignored all his cries until they got to Zitao’s room, where he pushed Zitao into before shutting the door, Zitao’s arguing now being muffled. “STAY THERE!"

Luhan, however, had now gotten out of his room and into the hallway, arguing with his mother. “You’re REALLY going to ground me when I didn’t do anything?!”

“What if something happened to your brother, Luhan, do you understand that?” Minghao shooed Luhan back into his room, who only groaned in reply. “I can’t believe you guys.”

Both in their respective rooms, Minghao at last sighed, staring at Junmyeon in the middle of the hallway before realizing holy , Junmyeon just saw his family arguing. “They’ll be fine,” he said, reassuring the omega. “Come on, let me make you breakfast.”

***

Woojin stepped into the center of the base, surprised to see Felix sitting there quietly, picking seeds out of a pomegranate. “Where is everyone?”

Felix shrugged, not stopping in what he was doing. He was putting the seeds in a bowl, hoping to be done before Changbin and the rest of them get back. “They’re taking the Scoups man and his friends back to the Kingdom of Kaeleous.”

With each word that came out of Felix’s mouth, Woojin’s eyes raised up higher. “They’re taking WHO to WHAT?!

Felix sighed. “MINHOOOOOOOOO!”

“I- who left and who’s here?!” Woojin stammered, looking around. “I- MINHO!”

Minho, who appeared carrying a kettle of tea in his hands, glared at Woojin. “ you, man,” he muttered under his breath before turning his back on them. 

“WHAT DID I DO?!?” Woojin yelled back at him, heading his way towards Minho. “MINHO!”

“I already told you, they are with the Scoups man.” Felix stopped momentarily, having squirted pomegranate juice in his eye. “Ah, dammit-“

“The guy from the village me and Chan escaped years ago? Seriously? I don’t have time for your games-“

“Okay, well, you would have met him and his omega if you haven’t gone SULKING in the ing caves, you !” 

Once Woojin reached Minho, he yanked his arm back, causing the other alpha to almost drop the kettle in his hands. “I was not sulking goddammit, and I’m going to repeat myself, who’s GONE?”

Minho gave him a dirty glare, shaking Woojin’s hand off him. “If you make me drop this I’m going to shove it down your throat-“

“Changbin, Chan, Hyunjin and Seungmin are gone,” Felix explained, standing up from where he was sitting. “They went with the scoups man, his omega and their friend, to the Kingdom of Kaleous.”

“Jisung is throwing up and he REALLY needs this tea, god DAMMIT!” 

Minho started walking back to the main sleeping cabin, ignoring Woojin who was walking with him. “This is ridiculous, you know how long that trip is going to take? Chan should have said something to me-“

“Well, then why don’t you talk to him. Jesus ing Christ- JEONGIN!”

Out of the distance, they saw a squinty-eye Jeongin, who looked like he just woke up. That was a bad sign; Minho had finally gotten him to go to sleep not even fifteen minutes ago. 

“Jisung is-“ Jeongin yawned, not even commenting on Woojin’s presence. “-is asking for you-“

“I know, I’m trying to give him this goddamn tea but SOMEBODY-“ he gave Woojin a deadly glare. “-is preventing me from DOING that.”

At last, Minho walked away, and Woojin didn’t follow him; instead, it was Jeongin, who was quietly informing Minho about Jisung’s condition. 

Felix frowned, turning back to the table where he had been picking the pomegranate seeds. “I feel uneasy staying here.”
 

“Grab your and let’s go.” Woojin grabbed two his daggers that were on the table in front of Felix and put his foot up, retying his shoe laces. “Tell Minho we have half an hour-”

“Chan told us to stay here,” Felix argued. “And Jisung is sick-”

“You know damn well that boy wants to fight-”

“But Chan-”

“I’ll talk to him, Felix.” Woojin stepped away from the table and put his hands over his mouth to yell. “MINHO! I NEED YOU GUYS TO GET READY-”

“NO!” Felix yelled, wrapping the seeds tightly before putting them in a pouch. “I’m not going.”

“Come on, Felix,” Woojin said. “We don’t know anything about the scoups man-”

“You can’t just hide in the caves everytime you fight with Chan,” Felix continued. “He asked me a favor first and I’m going to listen to him.”

“I never hide, you know damn well.”

Felix raised an eye. “So you don’t care about how you hurt his feelings?”

“I didn’t mean it that way- actually, give me a second, JEONGIN!!” Woojin ran over to where the others had gone, hoping Jeongin had the key to the lockbox. “JEONGIN!!”

***

Yuta and Takuya were hidden under Si Cheng’s bed, both with their hands pressed against their mouths as they struggled to both eavesdrop and stay quiet. 

Two of the main alpha men were standing in Si Cheng’s room, he omega sitting calmly at the men as they explained to him what was expected of him.

“You just got to do your omega duties,” one of them said. Yuta was really glad that he couldn’t see their faces, because knowing him, he was going to get really angry. 

Takuya must of already assumed the expression on Yuta’s face despite not seeing his face, because Yuta felt a firm grip on his arm. 

Si Cheng, meanwhile, stared at the two men, a bored expression on his face. “No.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t want to marry him.” Si Cheng crossed his arms across his chest. “I don’t care.”

“You have no idea, what you are talking about, young lad.”

“I am not speaking Chinese so I know you heard me,” Si Cheng said, and Yuta was honestly surprised at how sarcastic Si Cheng was sounding right now. He didn’t take the omega the type to defy so- so opened. “I don’t know the alpha so I don’t want to be with him."

“It’s not your decision,” one of the men said. “You know in the village the birthrates-”

“ them kids,” Si Cheng said, and Yuta had to force himself to bite his own arm. He was about to start laughing. “We can all die for all I care-”

“An omega like you should not be using that language!”

“I. DON’T. CARE!! MY MOTHER AND I HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING TO THIS VILLAGE SO I REFUSE TO BE PUNISHED!!” 

“Why you little-”

The conversation was cut off, but the next thing they knew, the weight on the bed had shifted, and now they could hear Si Cheng’s muffled screaming. 

Yuta’s eyes widened, his imagination going crazy on all the different ways they could be hurting him. He made eye contact with Takuya, who once he realized what was going on in Yuta’s head, started rapidly shaking his head, but the damage was done. 

Yuta made an effort to roll out from under the bed, ignored Takuya pulling his leg back, getting up from the floor before the two men could process his existence. 

They were both pining Si Cheng to the bed, and the sigh was enough to make Yuta boil in anger that before he knew it, was roundhouse kicking one of the men in the face. 

***

“Meiyou, you know you shouldn’t be doing that,” Xiaojun said to his younger sister. “Get down from there-”

She bluntly ignored him, climbing up higher until she could reach the high window to look outside. “I’m not listening to you, Dejun,” she said. “I want to see.”

Xiaojun rolled his eyes, not moving from his spot on his bed, where he was curled up against the edge. 

There was another royal event tonight, where the Xiao noble family had been invited, as always. In the China Kingdom, the second-in-line, Prince Xu Minghao, was due for a visit, bringing alongside his two young sons, Luhan and Zitao. 

Xiaojun’s parents were going, but him and his sister were instructed to stay in their house, with all the maids and guards to keep an eye out on them, especially for Xiaojun. Many suitors were coming day and night for the omega, and they didn’t want him to run off and get knocked up like a certain… someone in the royal family. 

Xiaojun was really young when it happened, having no memory of it, but apparently the kingdom was in an uproar when Prince Minghao had conceived while still unmarried, especially while on his usual visits in the Kingdom of Kaeleous. Thank the heavens above his older brother had done the right thing and married a nice little omega, and had a child with her. 

His parents are trying to marry him off. They want grandchildren, a guarantee that the Xiao noble family will be carried on. And Xiaojun didn’t want to do it. 

Though, Xiaojun thought Minghao was lucky. He grew up with a friend, the now-missing Prince Yoon Jeonghan. And he had falling in love with a nice alpha. Xiaojun himself wasn’t going to get that chance. 

“Meiyou.” Xiaojun said softly. “I didn’t let you come into my room to climb the window. Get down from there-”

“But it’s no fairrrrrrrr,” she slurred. “I want to go outside!”

“Ma wants you to stay indoors,” XIaojun repeated once again. “Please just obey her-”

“Obey, obey, obey.” Meiyou landed on the ground, staring at her brother. “Dejun. You’re not going to leave me, right?” 

Xiaojun shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said honestly. “I believe they want me to stay here once I get married off-”

“But then you are just going to focus on pleasing your alpha,” she said. “You’re going to forget about me.”

“Nah.” XIaojun waved her off. “Between you and me, I don’t even think I want an alpha.”

Meiyou’s eyes widened. “Really?!?”

Xiaojun laughed. “Yep. I’ll run away before they force me to marry one.”
 

***

What a horrible time for his memory to come back. 

Xiaojun was alone, in Kun’s house, serving food on plates for Taeyong’s children, when he felt the memory slowly play out in his head. 

He stared at the floor beneath him, unaware that he had dropped a plate, replaying the conversation over and over in his head. 

“Sir? Hello?” Jungshin stood right in front of the farthest piece of the broken plate, refusing to step any further. His eomma had taught them to be careful when dealing with broken glass and ceramics, which he always listened to. “Are you okay?”

Xiaojun nodded, stepping over the broken plate to go grab the broom. “Yeah, I- I am now, I think,” he said slowly. “I wasn’t before, but I am now.”