"They're decent guys…" 

"Besides, they're retired now, they've pretty mellow lifestyles."

Seungyoon stared blankly at his cousin, tuning out the near overwhelming feeling of abandonment coursing through him. 

"Please don't look at me like that." Jiho sighed and hugged Seungyoon. 

"You can't stay in the facility forever and I… I can't take care of you in the way you need." 

Seungyoon swallowed. "Y-you're… sending me away." His insides hurt.

"No! It's not that.” Jiho squeezed him. It hurt. It always hurts. But he never told Jiho because he might not hug him anymore. He stuck his nose in his cousin’s shoulder, inhaling the comforting smell of alpha. Family. 

“Listen…” Jiho took him by the shoulders and drew him away. “Trust me on this okay?” 

Seungyoon pursed his lips. 

“They’re good guys. They’ll take care of you. One day… you might even come to love them.” Jiho’s big hands cupped Seungyoon’s face. 

“Trust me, okay?” 

Seungyoon wasn’t convinced, but he nodded. 

*

“No. Absolutely not.” 

Jiho was certifiably insane if he thought Mino and the others would agree to this. 

“You’re asking me— us—, to take in the son of the man we hate above all else—“ Mino breathed through his nose to calm himself. “As our omega?” 

“Mino, listen—“ 

“No. You’re insane to even suggest this.” Mino banged his hand on Jiho’s desk. “What makes you think Seunghoon is even going to consider this? He’d rip your throat out.” 

Jiho actually chuckled, the deranged er. “That’s why I told you first.” 

“No.” Mino shook his head. “We already did our duty. We do not owe anyone anything. Not even you.” 

Jiho stood up, his bearing suddenly apparent. “Then you leave me no choice.” 

Mino felt the back of his neck prickle. No way. 

“I, Alpha Lieutenant Commander Woo Jiho, am hereby ordering the arrest of Alpha Major Lee Seunghoon, Alpha Captain Kim Jinwoo and Alpha Captain Song Mino—“ 

Mino felt the power of Jiho’s alpha overrule his own. Something he did not submit to, but because of the way the military trained them, he was forced to his hands and knees in a posture of subservience. Hatred ignited in him. 

“— on the charges of insubordination, willful endangerment of a government protected civilian and posing a risk to public safety.” 

Jiho went on one knee in front of him. Mino couldn’t even raise his face to the man he once considered his friend. 

“Mino. Trust me, you don’t want to go this route.” 

*

Everything came to him through a tunnel. At least that’s what it sounded like. He was so anxious and frankly scared that he took his anti anxiety pill just so he wouldn’t pass out before he met with the alpha who was supposed to pick him up. 

The alpha’s scent made him gasp. He smelled like roses… coffee and books. No, wood. Pine. He never imagined that combination could smell so warm. 

“You must be Seungyoon.” His voice was deep but soft spoken. 

He stared at the alpha’s shoes, not wanting to overstep on the first meeting. From his understanding, his new alphas were of high military ranking. Besides, alphas didn’t like it when omegas were too disrespectful. 

“You may look at me.” 

Was that an order or a choice? He couldn’t tell. So he slowly looked up, cautiously peering through his thick bangs. 

The alpha was beautiful. 

More beautiful than any omega Seungyoon has ever seen. 

He could also smell another alpha on him. So this wasn’t the pack alpha. 

Seungyoon relaxed a little. Good. He wasn’t ready to meet the pack alpha yet. He didn’t know if the limits of his medication could withstand that. 

The alpha stretched out his hand, smiling in a non threatening manner.  

“My name is Kim Jinwoo. It’s nice to meet you.” 

*

The scents of three obviously powerful alphas assaulted his senses. It was like being hit in the nose, his eyes actually watered and the potent smell made him lightheaded that he had to hold on to the wall for support. 

“Hey…” Jinwoo held on to his arm. 

His fingers hurt. Seungyoon fought the urge to flinch. 

“You okay?” 

Seungyoon nodded. “Sorry. New smells…” He whispered. 

“Oh… maybe we should’ve turned the air purifier on. I should’ve thought of that.” Jinwoo said. “Let’s have you situated first then I’ll do my best to deodorize the common places.” 

Why would an alpha do all that for him? Then he remembered how Jiho cared for him. But that was different? Jiho was family. Your father was family too… 

He shook his head. “You don’t have to. I’ll get used to it.” He didn’t want to be a bother. He didn’t want to give them a reason to get rid of him. 

“It’s no big deal. I turn it on when Mino paints, the smell of it hurts my nose too.” Jinwoo said, carrying Seungyoon’s bags up the stairs. 

Mino. The other alpha’s name. He committed that to his hazy memory and trudged on. 

So many stairs. 

He was very tired, but he forced himself to follow Jinwoo. He has always been weak, even for an omega. 

“It’s been a long day, so we’ll save the introductions and house tour tomorrow, okay?” 

They arrived on the third floor.

Three flights of stairs. 

Who needed that many stairs? 

He was exhausted and winded by the time they reached what looked like a spacious bedroom. 

“This will be your room. I hope it’s okay.” 

Okay? It was perfect. 

Simple, spacious, had enough lights and its own bathroom. 

The bed however, had just one pillow. Luckily, he brought his own from the facility. One that he asked Jiho for on his birthday. 

He would have wanted more, but he didn’t know how Jinwoo would react to that, so he kept it to himself. 

“Are you hungry?” Jinwoo asked. Seungyoon shook his head. “You’re probably tired. You can rest for now and I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.” 

Jinwoo showed him where everything was, including the intercom that had numbers to each of the alphas’ rooms. Not that he was ever going to use it. Then he left Seungyoon alone to get settled. 

Which was just Seungyoon changing into his sleeping shirt and shorts, burrowing under the unscented blankets, clutching his pillow and falling straight to sleep. 

*

Seungyoon woke up with his head pounding in his skull. His mouth felt dry and gross. And he was hungry. The clock on the wall told him it was eleven at night. 

His stomach grumbled. He didn’t eat anything all day and the last time he ate was dinner at the facility with Jiho. 

Maybe he should wait until morning for breakfast. 

But he was also thirsty. He could at least go down for some water right?

He opened his door and smelled food. He looked down and saw a covered tray set on the side table by his room, with a little handwritten card that said “Welcome Seungyoon”. 

There were two triangles of ham and cheese sandwich, some cut up fruit, a box of banana milk and a glass of water. There was no way he could finish all of it, but he did his best. He wasn’t a very good eater. 

In the end he ate half a triangle, all of the fruit and drank the banana milk. 

He made his way to the first floor, carefully balancing the tray on one hand and holding on to the banister for support. The house was large but he instinctively found the kitchen from the lingering smell of cooked food. 

The smell of alpha wasn’t as thick as when he arrived. He could hear the quiet hum of the air purifier that was filtering the air effectively. 

So far, he has only met Jinwoo, but the care and thoughtfulness the alpha has shown him, gave him the tiniest bit of hope that maybe… just— maybe, life will be better for him. Maybe Jiho was right. 

Seungyoon was washing his dishes, when he heard a door click shut, and felt a presence behind him. He spun around, his heart racing faster than his brain can recover. 

Tall, imposing and threatening. 

The scent, angry and hostile. 

It was then Seungyoon realized he was face to face with the pack alpha. 

And he wasn’t pleased.