"M-More... please."

"Hush, baby, you're alright."

"N-No... N-Need..."

"I know. I'm right here."

"S-San-ah!" Wooyoung cried out and arched off the bed as San pressed his lips to the younger's neck and continued to stroke both of their red lengths with his hand.

They were both exhausted. Wooyoung could barely open his eyes or lift even his arm off the bed, but he'd woken San up in the middle of the night whimpering quietly and rutting against his leg.

It worried San a little bit, but he didn't want to bother either one of their Alphas after what they'd just done...

Plus... He needed it too.

San had been feeling the heat coming in for a few hours now. His time was next, and it honestly terrified him.

Yet after seeing how happy Wooyoung had looked... He couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like too.

But that would stop him from enjoying a little time with his Wooyoung, too. There was something inside him that was telling him this was right.

Maybe something new, or maybe something brought on from nights of stealing moments like this in the dorms.

He leaned over Wooyoung to gaze at the younger Omega, getting close enough that their lips brushed but they never actually kissed. Both were needy enough that it was satisfying to simply be breathing each other's air.

Plus, the intoxicating scents of lilacs and cherry blossoms swirling around them added to the beauty of the moment.

They were lost in their own secret garden, enjoying the touch of each other's sweat-slicked skin and desperate desires.

"San-ah... Sannie..." Wooyoung panted against his mouth, eyes rolling back and a delightful purr vibrating in his chest.

As soon as he heard it, San felt himself purring too. It was an odd sensation still, but it settled him in a way that left him feeling content.

They nuzzled into each other's necks for a few seconds before they both spilled onto their stomachs with trembling whimpers.

San smiled when he saw how Wooyoung instantly relaxed into the mattress, his purr getting a little louder.

He must be getting better because there was no sign of him needing more like earlier. That thought alone allowed San to cuddle up next to him and pull Wooyoung close so they could both fall back asleep.

When a gentle hand shook his shoulder, San jolted and his eyes flew open. Light brightened the room, giving away he'd been asleep for some time now and he looked up to see Yeosang leaning over him.

"Sorry to wake you, but I just wanted to check and see how you're doing." The older said softly.

Concern swam in Yeosang's eyes and San was quick to sit up and hug him around his waist. "Mmmmmfine, Sangie." He mumbled into the Beta's chest.

He loved the deep chuckle he got in return and nuzzled his head back and forth. "Good, I'm glad to hear it, although you do feel warm."

San just nodded and hugged Yeosang tighter.

"Do you feel up to coming down for breakfast? Wooyoung is down there already."

Hearing that made San let go and spin around to confirm that Wooyoung really was gone. His jaw dropped a little when he took in the empty bed.

He hadn't even felt Wooyoung get up...

Yeosang seemed to sense his stress and pet the back of his head. "He said he didn't want to wake you when you didn't respond to him when he first woke up."

"Is he alright?" San crawled out of bed and dove for the closet to pull out what appeared to be one of Mingi's sweatshirts and Wooyoung's shorts. "He should have-"

"He's fine, Sannie. Please take a deep breath." Yeosang came over to him and helped steady him as he struggled pulling on the shorts and almost fell over. "He looks so much better today so I think his heat has passed."

San looked up at his friend and felt his shoulders sag in relief. "Good, that's good."

"You, on the other hand- "

"I know. But it's not here yet." San cut him off with a wave of his hand.

Despite Yeosang's protests, San hurried out of the room and ran downstairs.

All the anxiety in his chest evaporated as soon as he saw Wooyoung sitting on the living room floor, blanket wrapped around his shoulders, leaning over the coffee table and a big bowl of venison and rice.

Mingi and Jongho were seated on either side of him, both watching him closely as if he could fall apart or vanish at any moment.

"Sannie!" Wooyoung cheered as soon as he saw the older Omega.

Everyone in the room turned to look at him and San felt himself shrinking a little under their gaze. But that was immediately broken when Seonghwa came over to cup his cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, Hyung." San said softly, ignoring the disbelief he saw flash across Seonghwa's eyes.

"Well, come eat. We have a lot to talk about this morning."

"Yes we do." Hongjoong confirmed, walking out with a bowl of food in his hand that he set down on the coffee table and motioned for San to sit.

He obeyed without question, urged on by the rumble in his stomach and the delicious smell of meat.

The rest of his pack gathered around, Yunho taking a seat next to Mingi, and Yeosang sitting next to Seonghwa on the other couch. Jongho and Hongjoong went to stand at the front of the room, as was becoming the usual habit for them.

Their captain took a deep breath, glanced at Jongho once, then faced the room again. "With the new knowledge of what is happening to us, I think we need to be a lot more cautious with how we handle things going forward. I spent much of last night talking to Yeosang about what he knows and his thoughts. This isn't going to be easy... so I will ask right now. Who wants to forfeit?"

A heavy, thick silence fell over the pack as they all exchanged a mixture of worried, frightened, and slightly confused glances.

Seeing this, Hongjoong continued speaking, "Things could only get more dangerous for us the longer we stay. But we have also put a lot of our time into this competition as well. Either way, if we leave, there has to be something that will cancel the effects of whatever they gave us."

"What do you want to do, Hyung?" Yunho asked, leaning forward just a little.

"Honestly... I don't know." Hongjoong looked down at the floor and sighed. "There's a very large part of me that wants to see this through. To find out why they did this to all of us so we can expose them. But I know that's also risky and there's no guarantee we will find anything."

"Plus, if we stay and win, then there's the prize at the end." Jongho added. "Our reputation could already be tarnished, so that could really help us."

A few nods followed his words, then Wooyoung spoke up. "Can we have some time to think about it?"

Hongjoong's face twisted into a grimace, giving away that he didn't like that idea, but Jongho placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes. It's a big decision." The Alpha said. "We will make a final decision tomorrow night."

His statement, his command, was clear. No one dared argue with their Head Alpha, like his words held some kind of hidden power.

"So what's the plan for today then?" Seonghwa asked after another moment of silence.

"I think it would be a good idea to head to the market." Wooyoung chirped. He bounced in place and his eyes were full of renewed energy.

Jongho immediately stepped forward and shook his head. "Not you. Or San-hyung."

"What?!" Wooyoung spun around to face him straight on. "No! I won't be forced to stay here just because- "

"Hyung." Jongho's voice dropped, and his face set into a hard glare. "It's for your own protection. After what happened at the wrestling match and going over the rules, we can't risk you or San-hyung being taken from us."

"But- "

"But nothing, Wooyoung." Hongjoong stepped in. "We need to be careful going forward. So we decided that there will always be an Alpha with you and you both will stay close to home unless we all go out together."

Wooyoung looked like he was about to shove away from the table and storm off, so San quickly reached under it to take his hand.

The younger Omega looked at him with anger swirling in his eyes, but stayed where he was.

Jongho watched him for several seconds, then tried to relax his stance. "My idea for today was that I would go to the market with Hongjoong-hyung, Seonghwa-hyung, and Yeosang-hyung. The rest of you can go to the pond to do some fishing. Does that sound fair to you?"

Wooyoung scowled at his bowl. "I guess."

"We will still get to help." San whispered to him. When he locked eyes with his love, he tried to express that this would only be temporary and that it was for their own protection.

The urge to argue was still clear in Wooyoung's face, but he stayed quiet and decided to stuff with face with food so he didn't have to say anything else.

With that issue out of the way, the rest of them agreed with Jongho's plan and the next hour or so was spent getting ready.

They said goodbye to the group going to the courtyard and urged them to be careful, then Mingi clipped the leash onto Wooyoung's collar while Yunho took San's, and the four of them went out the back door with their makeshift fishing poles, bait, and a few baskets.

San loved the feeling of the cool breeze on his face. The sounds of the leaves rustling and the crunches on their feet as they walked just added to the joy he felt with getting outside.

And he was happy to see that Wooyoung was enjoying it too. Even though he tried to hide it, there was a smile teasing the corners of his luscious lips the entre time.

Things were calm and relaxed as they continued forward.

Until a branch snapped somewhere to the left and all four of them froze.

Mingi moved himself in front of everyone, forcing Wooyoung to follow close behind him, but Yunho did his best to stand in front of the younger too.

"Who's there?" Mingi called, eyes narrowed while scanning the trees.

The odd scent of fresh leather reached San's nose when the wind shifted, combined with... He tilted his head and inhaled slowly. Vanilla... Cherry... Fig...

His instincts told him that four people were near them, and once glace and Mingi said he sensed it too.

"It's just us."

All four of them let out a soft groan when they recognized Chan's cocky voice right before the Alpha appeared from behind a clump of trees.

"What are you doing here? This is our territory." Mingi growled.

Chan arched an eyebrow and stopped in place. Felix peeked around his shoulder at the same time Seungmin and Changbin flanked their Alpha.

"I'm sorry, we didn't realize- "

"Cut the bullshit, Chan." Yunho snapped. "You know very well this is our territory. It's marked by the path."

Chan chuckled and rolled his head to the side to look at Changbin. "Always so feisty. Where's your 'fake leader'?"

San felt Wooyoung tense next to him, anger boiling within, and he quickly grabbed the younger's hand. "Don't." He hissed from the corner of his mouth.

"Don't push your luck." Mingi growled.

"Chan..." Seungmin whispered, placing a hand on his Alpha's arm. "Remember what we talked about."

They watched as Chan turned to look at his packmate, then sighed and relaxed a little. "Fine. We know it's your territory. We came to see you, actually."

San's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he knew the others reacted similarly by the way their scents spiked.

"Why." Mingi said, a hint of warning still in his voice.

"Because..." Chan sucked on his teeth, then sighed again. "We don't know what's happening to us and we don't trust the Androids to ask. After having a meeting last night, Seungmin and Minho felt it was best to make contact since we are... familiar with each other. Maybe we can help each other out."

Next to him, Seungmin nodded in confirmation and offered a kind smile. "Have things been happening to you, too?"

San blinked a few times and swayed when a sudden wave of dizziness flowed over him. He felt Wooyoung's grip on his hand tighten and he tried to squeeze back in return, but he couldn't seem to focus enough on what was happening.

"Shit..." He breathed.

It was time.

Something in his gut told him that it was his turn now and he tried to not panic.

"Mingi, you need to get him back now." Wooyoung said.

"Fuck, already?"

"So things have happened to you too!"

"Not now!"

Arms lifted San off the ground and the sudden movement made his head feel incredibly heavy. He let out a groan and clutched at where his stomach was burning.

"Please, let us-"

"Go, I'll go back with Wooyoung."

"Hurry!"

San was flying. Or was he falling?

He couldn't really tell.

All he knew was that the familiar scent of cinnamon was surrounding him, and he leaned into it, seeking its comfort, its reassurance, its pleasure.

"Madame, we may have something happening." A man says into a microphone, his hand pressed against the button.

Only a minute passes before the door slides open and they hear the familiar click of her heels against the hard floor. "What is it?" She asks, voice ringing with excitement.

"Two of the packs are confronting each other." He points at the screens, and they watch as two packs face off, one Alpha in each.

She is surprised to see that both Omegas in 'her pack' are together and only protected by one Alpha. She will have to go back and review the footage from their house to see why that decision was made.

The room watches as the packs talk. Things seemed tense.

"Has there been an issue between these two already?" She asks, noting the way the Alphas glare at each other.

"Not here. Their rivalry comes from before The Games." A woman says, her fingers flying over her keyboard to pull up some files.

Madame Curator moves to lean over her and nods as she starts to remember. "That's right. They are both groups submitted to us by my contact at MNET."

"Yes, Madame." The woman clicks on another file and pulls up all the pictures and information provided to them by the company.

"Madame." Another man says. His anxious tone makes her stand up and turn to him immediately.

"What is it?"

"We have incoming." He points to the monitor in front of him showing a radar.

They can clearly see the eight heat signatures from the two packs already there.

But coming from the north was a group of six more...

"Who is it?" Madame Curator asks, a chill running down her spine.

Some of the screens change to focus on the group, and another one pulls up information on the pack.

"Tressor. They are a dance crew known for taking members in from around the world."

"And they have really given in and are exploring the rules of the game."

"Excellent." Madame Curator hums with delight. Her red lips curl in a wicked grin and she places a hand on her hips. "Let's see what happens, shall we?"

And as they drew closer, everyone in the room watches as one of the Alphas exchanges leashes with his Beta and picks an Omega up and starts running back toward their cabin.

Leaving the other six behind... none of which had any clue that another pack is headed straight for them.