Seonghwa felt like his entire world had stopped, both when he watched Wooyoung drop through the hole beneath him, and then a second time when the platform collapsed on top of him and Jongho

By then, his mother had managed to drag him away from the wreckage and now he was struggling to regain control of himself.

San had run to the destroyed platform, so he knew the others had help.

He screamed when his mother fisted his hair and started to pull. "Stop fighting me! There's no way that weakling survived that fall, come with me now!" She snapped. Her voice shook and she kept glancing at where Mingi was fighting with her mate.

Seonghwa could see she was scared.

He roared and clawed at her arm, not afraid of drawing blood in his attempt to loosen her grip on him.

The ground shook next to them and his mother cried out in pain.

Mingi had managed to throw Seonghwa's father across the courtyard and into one of the side buildings. It collapsed on top of him, but Seonghwa knew it wasn't enough to stop his father. He was too powerful.

"M-Mingi!" He shouted.

The alpha turned his direction and straightened up when he saw what was happening to Seonghwa.

"B-Be ready! AAH!" Seonghwa cried out again when his mother yanked on his hair.

"Sh-Sh-Shut up!"

But the omega had had enough. He drew on all his inner strength, and the small bit of Wooyoung he could still feel in their bond, and shifted. It was painful because he was weak from refusing to eat, but it needed to be done.

Seonghwa immediately turned on his mother. He snarled and as soon as he saw she was going to try and shift too, swiped at her.

She was small for a beta, so the impact sent her flying into a building on the other side of the courtyard.

Seonghwa paused when she didn't get up...

But then a small cry of pain drew his attention and he raced over to the platform.

San had Jongho's head in his lap and was staring at Wooyoung with wide, panicked eyes.

The omega was on his hands and knees holding his round stomach. He looked so thin...

Seonghwa started to walk forward, but was distracted by a cry of pain. His head snapped around and he saw Mingi pinned underneath his father once more. Both alphas had foam coming form their mouth as they both fought for the upper hand.

Mingi was losing.

Once more, Seonghwa forced himself to move away from his mate and toward the man who started this all.

His father was distracted with Mingi, so Seonghwa was able to lower his head and ram into the alpha's side. They both went rolling away, but Seonghwa was quick to get back on his feet. He hurried over to one of his alphas and nuzzled his neck.

Mingi's eyes fluttered and his breathing was labored, but he managed to stand up again.

They turned toward their enemy and were ready to defend themselves again, but a new surprise entered the fight.

Hongjoong came flying down one of the side streets with two other alphas behind him. All three of them flew threw the air and used their strength to knock the large alpha in front of them to the ground.

Seonghwa's father quickly retaliated and rolled over, smashing Hongjoong beneath him. The other two attackers managed to get out of the way, but Hongjoong was left laying on the ground.

Mingi snapped at the sight. He ran over to the destroyed platform and grabbed a large piece of splintered wood.

One look from him had Seonghwa scrambling forward to drag Hongjoong away while Mingi spun in a circle. He released the wood and the momentum sent it rocketing forward.

Right into the side of Seonghwa's father.

The alpha howled in pain and fell onto his side from the force of the impact. Seonghwa couldn't help but flinch. Labored breathing came from the wolf and with every exhale a low, wheezing whine came from him.

His father was finished. By the sounds of it, Mingi had punctured his lung.

Seonghwa took a moment to look at the man who raised him. Guilt and sorrow started to well up inside him, so he forced himself to turn away, especially when he realized that it was mostly because he had killed his own mother.

In his attempt to fight through the guilt, Seonghwa looked down to check on Hongjoong.

The smaller alpha was taking deep breath and working on sitting up again. Mingi ran over and shifted. "Hongjoong, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be with the others."

Hongjoong just whined and shoved his head into Mingi's chest.

Seonghwa watched for a few seconds and then turned around to run to his mate, shifting partway through so he could kneel next to Wooyoung.

His heart dropped when he saw Wooyoung laying on his side, eyes closed, and hands placed over his stomach. San was next to him whispering something to him while still keeping a hand on Jongho's chest.

"W-Woo." Seonghwa choked on his words as he fell to his knees. A rush of emotion slammed into him the second he was able to finally touch his mate again.

Wooyoung's eyes cracked open and he let out a painful sob while reaching for the older omega. They held hands and Seonghwa bent over him, placing several kisses on his cheek. "Hwa..."

"I'm here baby, I'm here. What's wrong? What can I get you?"

"I think he's just malnourished." San said, drawing Seonghwa's attention. His voice was pained and he cringed at the word but kept running a hand through Wooyoung's hair. "The baby... it needs nutrients... We need to get something in him or he could lose it."

Panic started to rise in Seonghwa. He knew the alpha spoke true and it terrified him. He didn't know what to do... There would be food in the cellars of the palace, but leaving Wooyoung again was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Where are the kitchens?"

Seonghwa's head snapped up to see what must have been one of the alphas helping Hongjoong out crouching in front of him. "The b-back of the main hall and t-to the right." He managed to say.

The alpha nodded and ran into the palace with the other one right behind him.

"Is he ok?" Seonghwa asked, looking at Jongho.

San whimpered and bowed his head. "I think so... I c-can feel him, b-but he took the brunt of the platf-form."

"He's strong. He wouldn't leave you." Seonghwa said, trying to reassure San as best he could.

Wooyoung started to move under him and Seonghwa helped guide him so that he was sitting up and leaning back into Seonghwa's chest.

The older omega immediately bowed his head and nuzzled the mark he had left on his mate's neck. Both omegas started to cry at the rush of relief that flooded them. Seonghwa could feel his wolf struggling with multiple emotions... anger, worry, fear, joy, pain... they were all there and fighting to be the forefront of his thoughts.

So he tried to focus on the fact that he was with Wooyoung again. They were both safe.

"Is everyone ok?" Mingi asked softly, coming to join them.

Both Seonghwa and San nodded, then asked, "Are you?"

He smiled at both of them and nodded as well. "I will be." Then he rubbed the back of his head and looked nervously at Seonghwa. "Um... He's... He's still alive."

Seonghwa paused and looked to the side. "End it."

Mingi nodded and walked away slowly. Seonghwa appreciated that he didn't question him or anything. He felt Wooyoung trying to squeeze his arm in comfort, but it was so weak that Seonghwa just kissed the top of his head and rocked him back and forth gently.

He knew Wooyoung could feel the guilt within him for killing his own mother and telling Mingi to kill his father. There was no way he was going to be able to stop that. Sure they did awful things in the end there, but they were still his parents...

Tears started to roll down his cheeks and his shoulder shook. Wooyoung tried to move to give him a hug, but Seonghwa wouldn't let him. He just buried his nose in Wooyoung's neck to breath in his strawberry scent. It helped relax him a little.

A gentle hand settled on his knee and Seonghwa instantly knew it was San. He wanted to tell the alpha thank you but he suddenly didn't have the strength to lift his head.

He had killed his mother... It had been so easy... One moment he was trying to get away from her and the next...

Seonghwa did his best to keep his emotions under control, especially when the two alphas returned with food and water. Everyone made sure that Wooyoung got it first.

The small omega tried to guzzle the water down in large gulps so someone had to stop him to keep him from getting sick. When he had managed to eat a little bread, food was handed out to anyone else who needed it.

The two strange alphas stepped to the side to talk with Mingi so they could plan their next steps. With how weak Wooyoung was and Jongho still unconscious, traveling was going to be hard.

Seonghwa cleared his throat a couple of times and finally lifted his head up enough to get Mingi's attention.

"Easy, I'm right here." The alpha said, rushing over to place a hand on the back of Seonghwa's head.

"Th-They have horses... and carts... north of the palace." Seonghwa said.

"Perfect. Oh that's exactly what we needed. Thank you." Mingi rubbed his head for a moment and Seonghwa couldn't help but lean into the touch. Then he and the two alphas set off at a brisk jog to find what they needed while Hongjoong came to sit with them and keep watch.

You're going to be ok, my love. I'm going to take care of you and make sure you're healthy again, I promise. Seonghwa pushed through his pain to touch Wooyoung through their link. He was flooded with relief coming from his mate at his words.

Love... you... Wooyoung managed to say back.

Seonghwa whimpered and wanted to hug Wooyoung tighter, but he was afraid of hurting the younger with how frail he was.

I love you too. Seonghwa nuzzled Wooyoung's mark once more and looked up just in time to see Mingi cautiously leading four horses that had been hooked up to a wagon. Behind him was the other two alphas leading two more wagons. Seonghwa was confused for a moment, but he knew to trust Mingi.

"Hongjoong, help me get these guys loaded and then we will go pick up the others."

They loaded Jongho up first after lining the back of the wagon with a few spare blankets they had found. San sat with his head in his lap and rubbed his head gently.

Next was Wooyoung. Mingi and Hongjoong took most of his weight and did their best to lift him into the back while Seonghwa supported his back. Wooyoung's discomfort came through with every whine and broken whimper, but they finally manage to get him into the back where he could once more lean back into Seonghwa's chest.

Mingi and Hongjoong sat in the front seat. "Are you guys ready?"

"Yes." San answered for all of them. "Let's go home."

***
Written by flamewhipper