Irene woke up and just lay there listening to the sounds of those around her. Someone mumbled fretfully in their sleep, the words unintelligible and petering off into nothing. It was over a week now that she had been abducted and brought to the breeding house. Irene had waited calmly for days, because she knew her brother wouldn't sit still until he took her out of this hole. She had the guards talking about her, and a compatible Alpha that wanted to breed her. At first she was scared, since this was the first time she had become defenseless, her magic sealed by a mage cuff, and her shifter side unable to come out due to the metal around her ankle. But after listening some more, Irene was put at ease. The Alpha's description matched Seulgi's and instantly Irene knew her brother was onto something. According to the guards, today was the day, Seulgi was supposed to come. Letting out a sigh, she waited until the others started getting up before she moved. There were a handful of sympathetic glances aimed her way. “You’ll be okay,” someone told him. “Just don’t fight it.” Irene wouldn’t need to fight anything, Seulgi would be here soon and take her away. She got up with the others when they were called to breakfast but only got as far as the door before she was stopped. “Not you. Stay there.” she was shoved against the wall and stood there silently while the others filed out. The next part wasn’t going to be pleasant. Someone had explained it to her. They’d inject her with something, it would sting but that wasn’t the worst part. The guy had called it a fast-acting artificial heat trigger, that would quickly send her body into a biological heat, enabling a pregnancy despite the fact that there wasn’t a bond. She just hoped, Seulgi and the others were bringing something to counteract it, to stave off the worst of the effects and, within a few days, she’d be back to normal. Probably. She'd been through a heat before, several times. She never see the need to restrict that part of herself like her brother had done. It had never been easy and Irene had suffered through it alone, locked in a room, her brother bringing her food, cold drinks, and cool compresses. It had always been uncomfortable in a major way but she’d survived them. Just like she would get through this. Two new guards arrived to collect her.“You’re not going to give us any trouble, are you? Irene meekly shook her head. “she’s a docile one. A little prone to wandering.” A hand settled on her shoulder, urging her out the door. “Oh, don’t worry. There’s nowhere to run where we’re going.” She shuddered at that. A meek, scared omega would shudder, wouldn’t she? She wasn’t really scared. Deep down, she knew Seulgi was there, somewhere close by. There was nothing to be scared of. Yet terror crept up on her as the guards guided her down the stairs to a floor she hadn’t been on before. A door closed somewhere nearby, and she jumped. The guard holding her arm laughed. “They’re always so nervous their first time. You’d think they’d never seen an alpha before.” “Well, maybe not up close and personal,” the other guard replied. Irene was pushed inside a room, empty except for a plain bed in the center. There were no windows, the walls were painted grey to match the carpet. “They should really think about redecorating,” the guard commented. "Doesn’t exactly scream candlelit romance.” His colleague just grunted. He’d probably heard the same joke a dozen times before. There was the sound of wheels on the linoleum floor before one of the medics came inside pushing a trolley. Irene remembered the man that examined her when she arrived. “And how are we today?” he asked, his voice dripping with condescension. “Quiet and a little nervy,” the guard answered for her. “First-time jitters and all that.” The man lifted a needle-topped syringe from a chrome dish on the trolley, tapping it twice. “Oh, not to worry. We’ll soon have you feeling much more agreeable. Hold her.” The guard was suddenly standing in front of her, two heavy hands pressing down on her shoulders, pinning her in place. There was a cool sensation on her neck and a brief scent of alcohol. “Deep breath now,” the man said.“Little pinch.” Pain laced through her neck as the needle sank deep under her skin. She hissed under her breath, but didn't do more than that. “Almost there,” the medic said, then the needle withdrew. “All done.” There was a clang as the syringe was tossed back into the dish.“Get her sitting down,” the medic said to the guard. “That’s it,” the guard said, leading her across the room, “nice and easy. You’ll need a little rest after that.” The short distance to the bed should have been easy to travel but instead, each step was harder, her vision swimming as a burning sensation spread from her neck across her body. “Here we go,” the guard said, pushing her down onto the bed. Irene meant to sit but ended up lying on her back, staring in confusion at the ceiling. “I said sitting,” the man snapped.The guard grumbled but didn’t say anything, tugging on Irene's arms until she was upright. She whined as the world spun around. “Shhh,” the medic soothed. “Almost finished and then you can have a break.”He reached over and Irene didn’t understand what was happening as something cool settled around her neck, shutting with a firm click. She reached a hand up, fingers brushing against leather that was welded to metal. “What?” she managed to ask. “Just a collar, to protect your neck. Sometimes clients get a little overexcited and bite down. Most of the time it heals, but sometimes it sticks. This way, they can’t do any lasting harm.” “Oh.” she tugged at it, not liking the way it clung to her skin. “Let go,” the guard said sharply, yanking her fingers away. “Leave her be,” the beta said. "She can’t get it off. It’s best to give her some space to adjust while the meds take effect.” "But she's a mage." The man waved a hand, gestured at the single cuff on her hand. "She can't to anything with that on her." The trolley’s wheels sounded even squeakier as the medic departed, the guards following him. The door shut heavily, a lock clicking into place. Irene let herself tip backward, hitting the mattress with a bounce. She giggled, wondering what they’d say if she decided to jump on the bed. She glanced down at her foot, at the metal cuff on her ankle, and made a face. They seemed to like wrapping her in metal. If they kept going, she’d be more robot than shifter. But they couldn’t keep going, because Seulgi and Sehun would be here. Any minute now, they would walk through the door and they’d be breaking out of there. Footsteps. She could hear footsteps. The racing of her heart kicked up a notch, her body thrumming around her, heat flushing her skin, pooling inside her. It was different from before. Fast and hard. It hurt, made her body ache in ways she didn’t like. But she could bear it for now. Help was coming.

The door opened, the scent of an alpha in rut enveloping her. She breathed it in, relaxing against the bed until her brain caught up with her body, and she lifted her head. An alpha stood in the doorway, his scent compatible and heavy with rut. But it wasn’t what it was that had Irene panicking. It was who it wasn’t. The Alpha wasn’t a lady, but a man. He wasn't Seulgi. Her body felt heavy and slow but her mind was alert, fear heightening her senses. this whole thing, why didn't her grandfather ever trained her for such situations? Upon all the trainings she had, she had to be in a situation she hadn't been trained for. She sat up, eying the alpha as he stepped inside and the door shut behind him, locking again. The alpha was big: broad shoulders, bulging muscles, and reeking of rut. He scented the air, his eyes fixed on Irene, whick only made her feel disgusted. She wasn't into men. “No.” The word was out before she could think it through. “You’re not her, my Alpha.” The alpha approached the bed, shedding his shirt as he walked. “Forget about her. I’m everything you need.” Irene wriggled away as the alpha reached for her, his scent overwhelming everything. For a moment, she thought of how scared Sehun must have been when he was in similar situation and her heart ached for him, even though it turned out to be Kai with him that night. “No, I don’t…” A surge of heat ran through her body and it was so hard to think, to breathe. She didn’t want this. Where was Seulgi? Kris, her brother or anyone please. “Shh, babe. I know you’re feeling what I’m feeling. Rut in my veins, heat in yours. I’ll make it good.” He reached for Irene, grabbing hold of her and tugging her across the bed.  But she tried to scramble backward, the alpha grabbed her legs to hold her in place. She flipped onto her stomach, kicking out at the alpha while he tried to crawl across the bed. Even if she was drugged, and without magic or the ability to shift, she wouldn't go down without a fight. The alpha grabbed the back of her blouse, tugging hard enough to tear the fabric.In panic, Irene turned over and lashed out, swinging her arm at the alpha and catching him across the chin. That only seemed to make things worse, the alpha’s grin twisting to a frown of annoyance as he growled loudly.“Stop fighting me. This is happening, whether you want it or not.” “No!” She redoubled her efforts to escape. "Seulgi!" she shouted for her mate. The alpha grabbed her with both hands and tossed her across the room, Irene's body slamming onto the ground with a grunt. “she’s not coming,” the alpha growled, stalking across the room toward her. “There’s just me. I’m everything you need.” "No." Irene could feel it, through her muddled headedness, Seulgi was in the building. Their bond told her that much. She tried to sit up but the heat surging through her made her head spin, and she groaned, falling back to the floor. The alpha took advantage of her disorientation, flipping her onto her stomach and pinning her to the floor, one hand on her neck pressing over the collar. But suddenly he was gone and Irene could breathe again. She lifted her head, her eyes blurry with tears, hearing the growl of another alpha as a familiar scent washed over her. Seulgi was finally here. *** Seulgi was trembling slightly, her hands clenched as she jumped out of the car.They had brought a dozen of capable people– the best fighters, Kai, Yoongi and Jennie were amongst them. She glanced at Sehun that was in the process of subduing the guards, while Jimin helped before he sneaked into the building. They were doing things quietly, in order not to alert the other staffs. At the side, Namjoon and his team were on standby, waiting for the hooligans to infiltrate the building and bring out the Omegas. With one glance at Sehun, she ran inside, following behind Jimin.
She knew where to find Irene, Hoseok had given her the structure of the building. She didn't need to fight any of the guards patrolling, because Jimin and had already taken care of them– Seulgi must admit, the guy was good and swift–all the Omegas in hooligans were. All she needed to do was find the way and get to her mate. Jimin's followed Seulgi out into the hallway. “Hey, you can’t be in here,” a voice called, a beta human heading toward them. Jimin nodded to her, and she walked away down the corridor, hearing the man try to shout, the sound muffled as Jimin tackled him, silence following. She found the stairs exactly where Hoseok's map said they would be and jogged upward. Pausing at the top, she listened to two set of footsteps nearby.“Give them an hour,” a voice was saying. “Then check on them. If all is well, give them a second hour just to be sure. Then get the alpha out and lock the door. No other alphas in that room until the omega’s heat ends.” The reply was grumbled. “I know the drill, doc. Done it a hundred times before.” “Yet still mistakes are made.” Their voices and footsteps faded away, and Seulgi moved in the direction they’d come from, their words lighting a fire under her. If they were talking about Irene, she needed to hurry. When she got close to her destination, she could hear Irene's voice, the sound muffled but unmistakable. She raced around the corner, slamming to a stop when she found a guard right outside the door, staring back at her in surprise. She jumped forward, taking advantage of the guard’s momentary distraction to knock him unconscious. Irene's scent was everywhere outside the room, heavy with heat but tinged with distress. Her lioness roasted in her head, and she turned to the door and forced it open. The omega was on the ground, pinned to the floor by an alpha whose scarred neck marked him as a fighter. The alpha didn’t turn, didn’t acknowledge her, but Seulgi saw red. She was across the room a moment later, shoving the alpha away from Irene and slamming him into the wall. The alpha’s scent was strange. He was clearly in rut but the smell was tinged with chemicals. Seulgi turned to Irene, the cheetah struggling to get her hands under her. Seulgi went to take a step toward her but she was tackled from behind, the alpha slamming her to the floor.The scent of Irene's heat was distracting her, screaming compatible-omega and omega-in-distress simultaneously, causing her to put a lot amount of effort to keep her sanity. She blocked a blow to her face but not the kick to the ribs, that left her struggling to draw breath. The alpha leaped off her, and Seulgi turned to see him grab Irene by the collar around her neck and drag her to the other side of the room, shoving her into a corner and standing guard in front of her. "She’s mine,” the alpha growled when Seulgi got to her feet. “Get out.” Irene tried to escape, crawling past the alpha’s legs, but he caught hold of the collar again and shoved the frightened omega backward. Irene was really weak, it seemed whatever drug she was injected with wasn't just for the heat but also to weaken her as well. "She's not yours,” Seulgi said, struggling to keep her head clear. “And she wasn’t this house’s omega to pass around. I’m here to take her home.” But the alpha was beyond rationalizing, b with animal instinct and territoriality. A bison shifter, Seulgi noted.“Mine!” he growled, yanking again at the collar around Irene's neck. The omega’s hands scrabbled at it, trying to get free. “Get out!” “Not gonna happen,” Seulgi told him. “I’m not leaving without her. She's my mate.” The alpha let go of Irene abruptly and charged, grabbing Seulgi around her midsection and forcing her backward. The two of them slammed into a wall, and then they were fighting, scrapping, each struggling to get what blows they could in. Seulgi knew within seconds she was in trouble. This wasn’t just any alpha. He was a trained fighter, and whatever they’d given him to drive him into rut had only emphasized his aggressive instincts. A blow to the head sent her reeling, and she collapsed to the ground, groaning as she struggled to stay conscious. The alpha aimed a kick to her abdomen then stalked away back to Irene. The omega was huddled against the wall, shaking, the collar hanging off her neck. Seulgi forced herself back to her feet.“Hey, where the hell do you think you’re going?” she shouted at the alpha, pulling his attention away from Irene. The alpha turned back to her, drawing himself up to his full height. Seulgi knew it was going to be difficult to win this fight. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t get Irene to safety. She slapped her chest with her hand. “Right here, big guy, come and get me. That omega’s mine, and I’m going to take her from you.” Her words were enough to incense the alpha, the fighter running at her again. At the last second, she ducked and rolled to the side, racing across the room to grab Irene and shove her toward the door. Before they reached it, the alpha took them both to the ground. Seulgi fell on top of Irene, the omega letting out a hoarse cry. Irene's scent surrounded her, sending her head spinning once more, her instincts warring with one another. She had to keep Irene safe. Had to protect her from the monster at her back. The monster intent on claiming her mate. ", is anyone out there?" She yelled. Where the are the others? She continued to fend off a volley of punches. The alpha didn’t let up, shoving her further and further into the room, until Seulgi was backed into a corner and was just doing what she could to limit the damage being done. The seconds and minutes crawled by as she tried to keep conscious, knowing if she was out, the alpha’s attention would return to Irene Her head snapped back with a particularly vicious blow, her vision wavering. And then the alpha went rigid, his eyes going wide. He reached a hand back to his neck, pulling someth