Eight – Pack  

Chapter 1 

There was no use in fighting, in trying to pull away from the grabbing hands that were yanking him roughly to the side as he tried to walk in a straight line, but some primal instinct still made Bang Chan struggle desperately. He knew that this day would come, knew that there was no other fate for him than to be cast aside to the wild strays of District 9 because no one had ever wanted him. No one had ever laid a claim, made a move or claimed him from the day they found out what he was.  

An male omega.  

An failure, a disgrace, ugly, useless, terrible and a blight upon their world. Weak, ailing and prone to disease, illness and infection which he had the audacity to never die from.  

They drove the words into his head, beat them into his heart and sealed them into his soul with hot iron bars that marred his skin and ensured that no real alpha would go anywhere near him. They had already cast him out in their hearts and minds, he was just another piece of  useless trash that was clogging up their perfect city but they had to wait until the night was over before casting him to the strays.  

Because if they were seen to give him a chance to find a mate, then they weren’t being too harsh in their actions as clearly, an alpha would save their omega from the clutches of those wild beasts that roamed through the dark, creeping shadows of District 9, rather than feed them to those vile, hungry monsters.  

So they waited until the full moon ceremony and dressed Bang Chan up all in red, like every other unmated omega and set him free amongst the waiting packs to find his mate. Even though he knew already that there was no one who was waiting for him, no one who had their eye set on him. This was just a cruel torment, a final nail in his coffin and that once everyone else was claimed, he would be thrown into the dark unknown of District 9.  

The hours literally dragged along, the cruel looks being sent his way only fueled the panic and anxiety that was eating at his chest and making the young man just want to turn away from this debacle and take his fate. The monsters were already creeping towards the edge of the shadows, lurking just beyond and they were soon going to leap onto him, tear him apart and feast upon his entrails. He was going to become like them, a monster in the darkness with no way to ever find a way back to the light. Finding a empty bench, Chan slumped down onto it and wished that he could cry. Just in the vain hopes that someone, anyone would come and hug him, tell him that somewhere there was someone out there for him and that things were going to be okay.  

He knew that it was all lies, that there was nothing waiting for him except coldness and death which was why he couldn’t cry. He had cried all the tears that he was meant to cry and tonight he would just be at an end. Another to add to the painful and miserable strays who would never find rest.  

His nose twitched as a breeze brought the scent of chocolate hazelnut spread to him and for a few long moments, the omega calmed down and felt as though there was a chance for something to go right in his life. But a couple passing by threw a cup of whatever it was that they were drinking his way and it shattered all the illusions for the rest of the night.  

As soon as midnight struck, Chan knew that his fate had been sealed and with stiff muscles he pulled himself upright, feeling the chill through the very thin fabric of the red handbok that he wore and waited. It did not take the elders long to arrive, with their faithful lapdogs in their black uniforms and even though he knew and accepted his fate, a whimper of fear still left Chan’s throat as they grabbed hold of his arms. They were rough, forcibly dragging him along the ground even though he knew fine well that he could walk but they didn’t care.  

No one did, no one ever would and that was the hardest thing to bare.  

The town he had grown up in wasn’t particularly large, or that pretty if he was one hundred per cent honest, and decked out for the mating ritual it looked more like an place of ill-reputation with it’s gaudy looks and way too dark to be romantic red fabric thrown about in a plain and boring style. So it did not take him long to reach the edge of the town, where stood a cliff drop towards a murky black river that gurled and glugged along in a horrible style even at the height of summer. The districts were spread out around the valley, ranging in usefulness and prosperity depending on their location. However all districts had a point where it was possible to access District 9, which was a point of no return. The District that Chan lived in was number 6 and it had the cliff drop entrance, whereas in District 5 there was a old pipe system that people were thrown into.  

Chan didn’t know anything of the other districts, he had never gone to them but there were stories and tales. However the cliff drop was Chan’s biggest fear and he tried his best to struggle away from it, even though he knew his ending was coming.  

An elder stepped forward, face covered with a hideous mask and grabbed hold of Chan’s naturally curly black hair, “Any last words or pleas before you go to join the monsters?”  

There were a thousand and one things that Chan could have said, should have said, he could have pleaded for his life, begged to be let go into the wilds, promised to never return or else do anything to not have to leave this life. Whilst he hated it here and knew that he would never amount to nothing, at least he could live and have some hope left. Down there, all he would be was a monster and that scared him. But he shook his head, feeling a single tear drop escaping his eyes as they cast themselves down towards the dusty ground. Nothing he could say would change anything, his fate had been sealed for a long time before this date.  

His hair was released sharply and suddenly Chan found himself being thrown over the cliff top. For a few seconds he free falled through nothing but air and then his body slammed into the cold, hard unforgiving earth and stone of the cliff side. Immediately he was rolling, tumbling down with no way to know which way he was going, what was coming or where he would end up. He felt as though his flesh was being torn away from his bones, which cracked and broke as he tumbled down and several yells escaped his lips as momentarily he crunched or cracked into something but his momentum was too fast for him to really comprehend what was going on.  

Finally, after what felt like forever, Chan came to a harsh stop. For a few moments there was the clattering of sticks and stones which had fallen along with him and then there was nothing. Just a harrowing silence as if they world was holding it’s breath, waiting for the monsters to appear.  

Chan knew that he should be terrified, should try to remain still and silent but his body hurt too much for him to do that and a sob escaped his lips when he tried to move. Pain ran through his frame like fire, blood was in his mouth as he coughed and the tears falling from his eyes were as real and natural as they had ever been. Somehow he managed to push himself up into a sitting position, glancing around the place that would become his end and another whimper escaped him. Haunting shadows of trees twisted up into the darkened sky, bushes twitched with night time creatures and the gloopy gurgle of the lake made Chan want to throw up whatever was left in his stomach.  

He should get up and start running, for the Strays would have heard his clatter and they would be upon him soon. But a glance down towards his legs confirmed that option was already out of the frying pan. His left leg was broken, part of the bone sticking out of the skin and spilling his blood everywhere whilst his right ankle was throbbing painfully. Another wailing sob escaped from Chan, as the pain began to crash through him as more shame bubbled up in his chest. He couldn’t even get enough of a chance to try and escape, he really was useless and doomed to the fate that he had brought upon himself when he had been born.  

Then there came a crunch that was louder than the rest of the sounds in the small glade he was in and Chan raised his head, fear coming back at full force. His brown eyes picked out the larger, darker shadows that were coming closer to him, despite the tears that were rolling down his face and as he turned his head left and right, he realised that the was surrounded. He could count four in all, even though he could not see them fully he could smell their strength, speed and stamina. He had never had a chance to begin with and slowly he lowered himself back to the ground, submissive and as accepting as he could be because what other fate was their for him to accept right now.  

“Please,” he whispered into the night air, “Just make it quick.”  

Closing his eyes, Chan let out a breath and suddenly felt extremely calm. He didn’t notice the sweet smell in the air or the soft rustling of leaves as the figures approached him rapidly with concern and soft gentle hands.  

~*~ 

Seungmin opened the door, took one look at the bloodied state of the omega in Hyunjin’s arms and stepped aside, “I got the table already set up. Felix! Changbin! Towels and hot water now!”  

There was an instant rustling behind him but Seungmin barely noticed as he guided Hyunjin towards the area know thing that Jisung and Jeongin would already be on their way around to the side to get as much extra fire wood as possible. “Where did this one come from?”  

“District 6,” Minho replied, apparently watching over the passed out figure like a hawk, “They threw him down from the...”  

Catching hold of Felix, Seungmin took no time to look the freckled boy straight in the eye, “Go get the box from upstairs, and see if you can get a signal out to the others.”  

Felix opened his eyes wide, “That bad?”  

“They always check for the body afterwards,” Seungmin scowled.  

“They didn’t get for me,” Felix pointed out.  

“Because you were a child Lix,” Hyunjin said, returning from the room and catching Changbin in a hug, “This poor sap is older and that District...”  

Suddenly there was a glimmer in the younger’s eyes and he pulled away from Seungmin to rush into the room. For a second there was only a strange sense of horror at looking at the blood stained mess and Felix stepped closer to run his fingers through the others mattered hair. Changbin stepped up to him quickly, placing his hands gently on his shoulders, “Come on, Lix, we can smother him in affection afterwards....”  

“Bang Chan?” Felix suddenly stated, kneeling sharply before pressing his nose into the crook of the others neck to inhale deeply. Immediately he was hit by the scent of soft chocolate covered mint biscuits and he pulled back to stare at the boy in shock. Immediately he took in the differences from the last time that he had seen the boy, how much paler and drawn out he looked, how much thinner and mistreated he must be. Tears started to fall down his face unbidden as he gently pressed a kiss to the sleepers face, “I’m so sorry Hyung, so sorry! I promise that things will get better, please, please, just survive this. Please?”  

Changbin wrapped his arms carefully around his smaller mate, “You know him?”  

Felix nodded, “Yes, he’s Chan. The boy who took care of me when no one else would do so.”  

Nodding, Changbin pressed a kiss to the smaller omega’s ear, “Then we’ll make sure that he recovers well. Come on, we have to let Seungmin and the others work now.”  

“And you guys need to get in contact with the seven pack,” Seungmin said, “We’re going to need extra security around here.”  

Minho sighed, “We technically have enough...”  

Seungmin poked Minho in the side, “No, no, we really don’t!”  

“Please no arguing right now guys, we all have work to do,” Hyunjin called from the other room, “Every second we loose jabbering is another second that this omega doesn’t survive.”  

Jeongin appeared with a big box of medical supplies, “Ready to begin Hyung?”  

Seungmin nodded, “Right, me, Jeongin and Hyunjin only in here unless we need help. The rest of you know what to do.”  

There was a pause where the assembled alphas, betas and omegas looked at one another before nodding and moving as fast as possible to get things underway. There was enough blood on the floor to suggest that there were limited on time if they were to save Chan. Felix wiped at his eyes with the edges of his sleeves and sighed, “Please, please be okay, Chan. Please. Let me repay you for all your kindness that you showed me all those years ago.”