"Everything seemed alright at Riverside. Their big omega/alpha mating ceremony seemed to be going on while we were there," Seonghwa's father Gyungho says to Hyejin.

Hyejin nods, "It was nice stopping by and seeing that. I enjoyed how we got to meet some of the alphas being matched up since one of them was Jinhee's son," She says, mentioning Sunghee.

"Mmm... I never liked that man much. I hope his son turned out okay having a father like that," Gyungho jokes.

"So, we're off to Nightshade now?" Hyejin looks up at her husband, "They're always so hostile," She sighs, never having liked going there as much as some of the other packs.

"Ah, yes. I heard that recently there's been fighting among some of the top alphas there for who will be the next, so I'm sure it'll be even more... unpleasant."

All of the alphas stood gathered around as they watched the two wolves sparring, taking each other on a lot more aggressively than any of the others had.

The wolf with the mix of dark and light brown fur sprung at the one with dark brown fur that almost looked auburn. He growled loudly, pouncing on top of the other wolf, tackling him to the ground. The two rolled around on the ground, neither one of them seemed to be able to get a leg up on the other. They were too well matched and they hated it.

They growled louder and showed their teeth as they continued their attacks. It almost looked as if they were about to kill each other.

"Enough," Stated the head alpha of Nightshade, Nam Daesung.

The two wolves seized once they heard their leader's voice and they backed away from one another, glaring intensely.

"If you keep fighting so recklessly, then you both would die in a real fight. In a real fight, sometimes it's not just one on one. Neither of you would've even noticed if another wolf came up and tried to ambush you. You two were so focused on beating each other," The leader explains as he shakes his head, getting up from his seat slowly.

Everyone in the room is still able to hear the quiet growls from the two alphas being scolded. They're always like this. Ever since the head alpha's age became more prominent and his health wasn't looking as good, they knew one of the alphas under his wing would have to take over. The two wolves that were at each other's necks just a second ago? They seem to want the spot the most. Jongho and Hongjoong have been fighting to show their strength for months now, their hatred toward each other evident - especially in situations such as this.

"Tsk..." the head alpha walked down to the two wolves, "Shift and go to the sauna with the others. Maybe it'll release some of that pent up anger you two always seem to have," he almost teases, his eyes squinting and a cocky smirk on his face. He knows that these are the two that want the position most, so he might as well have some fun with it.

The wolf with the mix of dark and light brown fur shifted first, standing up straight with his shoulders back, his eyebrows furrowed as he continues to glare at the other.

"Didn't you hear him, Hongjoong? Shift," Jongho taunts, his smirk never leaving his face as he makes eye contact with his rival.

The wolf with dark brownish auburn fur snarled at Jongho, his eyes fierce as he stares him down. He eventually shifts, standing just as confidently as his opponent. Hongjoong scoffs at Jongho, turning around and walking toward the sauna with the other alpha. God, he cannot stand that guy, Hongjoong thinks as he shakes his head.

Jongho chuckles to himself as Hongjoong walks off with the others, following them soon after.

Hongjoong has his eyes closed and his head back against the wall as he relaxes in the sauna. The door opens and he opens one eye to see who came in and his eyes narrow when he sees that it's Jongho. Great.

Jongho smirks and comes and sits next to Hongjoong, knowing it will annoy him, "I was going easy on you."

Hongjoong hums, keeping his eyes closed, not wanting to interact with his rival longer than he has to. The sauna is supposed to be where they can relax and de-stress from the sparring they've done all day, but Jongho always has to come and interrupt his peace of mind. He turns his nose up at him, despising his overwhelming scent of cinnamon.

"It's going to be me, you know," Jongho leans back against the wall, "And I hope everyone here knows that, you hear me?" Jongho says cooly, taking a deep breath as the heat from the sauna takes over his body, relaxing his muscles.

The other alphas all groan and roll their eyes. They're sick and tired of hearing this spiel after every spar. After a few more minutes in the sauna, the majority of the alphas get up and leave, heading back to their homes since they're finished training for the day.

That leaves Jongho and Hongjoong.

"Are you ashamed?" Jongho asks once the others are gone.

Hongjoong lifts his head and looks at Jongho, annoyance clear on his face, "Ashamed of what?"

"That Daesung is going to choose me as his successor instead of you, of course."

Hongjoong lets out a laugh, "You really think you're better than me, don't you, Jongho?"

Jongho smirks and nods self-assuredly, "I don't think. I know."

"I'm starting to believe you. You don't think," Hongjoong smiles at his own joke, "We're evenly matched and Daesung knows it. I don't care how many times you say that you were going 'easy' on me or whatever, but I know you're trying as hard as you can. You just can't win, Jongho. And that kills you, I just know it."

"You don't know anything about me, Hongjoong."

"What makes you think you could be a good leader?" Hongjoong asks, genuinely curious as to why he thinks he has a chance at becoming the head alpha over him.

Jongho watches intently as Hongjoong gets up from his seat and stretches while asking him that, "Because I know I can become the most powerful alpha Nightshade has ever seen."

"We both have the potential, Jongho, but only one of us will come out on top and I want you to know that it's going to be me," Hongjoong states, always having wanted to be the leader over Nightshade once Daesung stepped down. His mother and father always thought he would make a great leader.

Jongho stands up to square up against Hongjoong, getting quite close to him as he stares daggers into his deep brown eyes, "I don't think you heard me correctly when I said that it was going to be me," He said angrily, his wolf internally growling and making his anger become more prominent.

Jongho shoves Hongjoong, but he barely moves. Hongjoong's wolf snarls when Jongho pushes him, immediately turning on him and shoving him back, however, Jongho is just as much of a statue as Hongjoong.

"Don't fucking touch me," Jongho growls aloud, grabbing onto his arm tightly and brings him down to the floor of the sauna, but Hongjoong is quick and takes out Jongho's leg, bringing him down with him.

Hongjoong and Jongho are rolling around on the floor, their towels slipping from their lower body, "Get the fuck off of me, Jongho. I won't hesitate to shift, dammit."

"Such big talk for a weak alpha such as yourself," Jongho sneers, his wolf begging him to shift so he can tear him apart.

Meanwhile, Daesung is cleaning the sparring room up when he hears some loud noises and yelling coming from the sauna room. He opens the door and finds Hongjoong and Jongho at each other's throats on the ground, "What is going on here?" He asks in a dark voice.

Hongjoong and Jongho both still when they hear the sauna door open and look up to see their alpha Daesung. Shit. They both separate from each other, but their lingering glares don't go unnoticed by Daesung. He knows he's going to have to do something about this situation before long.

"I'm getting sick and tired of the two of you fighting so much. Neither one of you is going to become the leader if you continue to act in such a way. I won't allow Nightshade to have a leader as reckless as you two, so you better straighten up or forget about ever becoming leader. I mean it," Daesung says firmly, asserting his overbearing dominance over the two younger men.

Hongjoong and Jongho both nod in understanding, still on the floor.

"Get up. Never stay down," Daesung continues, "The Park family of Chrysalis will be arriving any time now and I won't let them look down on us for our brutality as always. You two especially better be on your best behavior."

Hongjoong and Jongho nod once again, standing up straight to face their head alpha, "Yes, sir," they both say in unison.

"Good. Now leave, get ready for tonight," Daesung says before walking out of the sauna room.

Hongjoong turns to look at Jongho when Daesung finally leaves, his eyes dark and narrow, "You got us in trouble, you dumbass. Why do you always do this?"

"It was just as much my fault as it was yours," Jongho laughs, smirking at his rival.

Hongjoong just shakes his head angrily, grabbing ahold of his towel around his waist so it doesn't fall down on his hips further and he leaves the sauna.

Jongho sits back down and revels in the relaxing heat of the sauna without Hongjoong's sickening ginger scent flooding the air for a few more minutes before eventually leaving and heading back to his home.

~

Hongjoong walks out with both of his parents, walking to the center of the Nightshade grounds to greet the Park family when they arrive. His father is asking him how sparring practice went today and Hongjoong's about to answer, but then he sees Jongho walking up with his mother. His face instantly turns darker, just seeing the man makes his entire body flare up.

"Son? How'd it go?" His father tries again, bringing Hongjoong's anger back down.

He looks over to his father, trying to forget about Jongho, "It went well, father, but Jongho and I tied again..." He explains, hating that he has to always say how he and Jongho always tie.

"You'll be able to defeat him soon, Hongjoong. Your mother and I know that you'll be the one that Daesung chooses in the end," He reassures his son, patting his shoulder proudly, "We are very proud of you."

Hongjoong smiles happily when he hears his father say that to him, it sets him at ease to know how much they believe in him. He just has to beat... him. Hongjoong thinks as he glares back over at Jongho, but his face goes back down when he sees how cheerful he looks while talking to his mother. He finds his eyes softening at the scene, but he quickly turns away when he sees the Park family entering the Nightshade grounds.

Everyone bows toward them as they enter and they do the same, Daesung going up to greet them all. Daesung and the head of the Park family, Gyungho, chat for a while and Hongjoong thinks he hears him say how he and his sons can come to watch sparring practice in the morning before they go. This must've been what Daesung meant by him and Jongho staying on their best behavior.

Hongjoong vows to try and not fight as roughly as he always does with Jongho, but he knows he might not be able to keep that promise to himself. Jongho always sets him off.

Jongho looks at his mother and smiles -- she's always been really excited whenever the Park family comes to visit. His mother and Hyejin were good friends back when they were younger and his mother's family would be at Chrysalis frequently. After father passed away a few years ago, his mother would tell him stories of her childhood. Jongho loved hearing his mother talk about it because it seemed to always brighten up her mood.

"Mom, I wonder if you and Hyejin will be able to spend some time together this time," Jongho mentions, seeing his mother's smile at seeing her old friend.

"We might be able to, but I don't know, sweetie. They're here for a reason, it's no time to play," Youngmi answers her son, bringing him close to her into an embrace, "Come on, honey. You have to wake up bright and early tomorrow for sparring, don't you?" She asks, turning to leave but her eyes catch Hyejin's and she offers her a soft smile. Hyejin sees her and gives her a small nod, but she turns her head back to her family.

Youngmi lets out a breath and rubs her son's head, "You're going to be a very powerful alpha once you finally grow up," She jokes.

"I am already a very powerful alpha, just like father was. I promise you, I'll become the leader and show you that I'm not just a child anymore," Jongho says as they walk.

"Hmm... Well, Daesung was telling me how you keep getting into fights with the Kim's son Hongjoong. That's quite childish, isn't it, Jongho?"

Jongho frowns at the mention of Hongjoong, "He's just... So infuriating, mother. I hate him, I really do. He thinks he's so much better than me when he knows I'm the one that's going to get the position."

"Ah, if you continue thinking like that and fighting as you are, I'm afraid neither of you will get chosen. Daesung doesn't want someone that fights with other members of the pack, you know... I know it's around that time for you and all, but I didn't raise you to be fighting like this, now did I?" She ruffles Jongho's hair.

"No, mother..." Jongho answers, his mother's words calming him down from being riled up thinking about Hongjoong. He knows he shouldn't continue fighting with Hongjoong like he does, but there's just something about him... He can't put his finger on it. Every time he sees the man, his heart rate increases and he can only assume it's rage.

End of Chapter Seven