After Hongjoong's question, everyone else in the room started throwing out their own questions and objections.

They all trusted their captain, of course, but Stray Kids didn't, and they all rounded on their own Alpha, demanding explanations.

He silenced them all quickly by raising his hand, then asked for some privacy to talk with his pack.

Hongjoong nodded once, then motioned for his own pack to follow him outside.

Once they were there, Yeosang turned to him and said, "What on earth are you thinking, Hyung? How can you offer us up like this??"

"Without even consulting us!" Seonghwa added.

"I'm sorry, but in the moment, my gut told me it was the right thing to do." Hongjoong held up his hands. "And in my defense, I didn't know," he started waving a hand in Yeosang's direction, twirling it in loose circles, "about all that."

No one seemed to like that answer because they all clenched their jaws.

"You realize what you have done to us, right?" Seonghwa asked, his voice deep and wounded. "You've basically sold one of us to him."

Hurt flashed through Hongjoong's eyes. "No, that's... If we ally with them, we can be stronger... That's all I..."

Jongho growled to cut him off, squaring his shoulders and standing up straighter. Even though he wasn't that much taller than Hongjoong, his intimidating aura made it seem like he towered over the Beta. "You should have talked to us about this Hyung. If we are a pack, we are going to need to work together, talk together, trust each other. Now Chan is going to take control! And I personally don't know if I can let him do that."

Yeosang wrapped his arms around his stomach, as if trying to hold himself together, and nodded. "He's right, Hyung. I know you're used to making decisions for the group when it came to music or what shows we'd perform on or when in meetings with the higher-ups, but things are different now. And..." He paused, then glanced at Jongho, "Jongho is our Head Alpha here. You should have at least consulted him."

Everyone watched as Hongjoong flinched and stumbled back like he'd been slapped. Betrayal twisted all his features. "I... I see..."

"Hyung, you know we don't mean it like that." Mingi said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We all need to figure out how we fit into these new roles."

Hongjoong's eyes fell to the ground, and he nodded. "I know. I'm sorry." He whispered.

Yeosang felt his heart constrict at the rawness of the older Beta's voice, but before he could say anything, the back door opened and Minho poked his head out. "Guys? Yunho's awake."

Mingi was the first to dash inside, pushing Minho out of the way with a quick apology, to hurry to his best friend.

Everyone else followed after him and Yeosang was happy to see Chan and the rest of his pack had moved off to the side to give them room.

"Yunnie?" Mingi was kneeling in front of him, one hand on his knee and one hand reaching up to stroke his cheek.

The older groaned and blinked his eyes a couple of times. "What... happened?" He rasped.

"What do you remember?" Mingi asked softly.

They gave Yunho a few minutes to think, during which Yeosang positioned himself so he could study Chan.

The Alpha looked so tired, and he was still holding his side... His rib would take some time to heal. But he also was looking at each of his pack members, giving them reassuring looks.

It appeared they were taking the potential merging of their packs a lot better than his own was...

A wail from elsewhere in the house drew their attention and both Mingi and Jongho tensed at the same time.

San.

In all of the confusion, Yeosang had forgotten that San was upstairs.

He hurried to Jongho and grabbed his arm. "Go to him. He needs you now. We will take care of Yunho and things down here."

The younger frowned even as his eyes dilated with the obvious sign of his desire and instincts taking over. "But-"

"Go." Yeosang insisted. "Help him through this and we will update you when you get back."

Even though it looked like he still wanted to argue, Jongho thankfully backed away and retreated up the stairs, moving faster the closer he got.

Yeosang's shoulders sank in relief and he let his attention stray to where Mingi and Yunho were talking about what had happened, with Changbin stepping forward to fill in a few gaps.

Unsurprisingly, Yunho started to panic the second he fully understood that Wooyoung had been taken.

His eyes grew wide, and he tried to stand, but Mingi was quick to keep him in place. "Don't." The Alpha said, using his new strength to contain his friend. "We can't do anything right now, you especially because you're still injured."

"No! We have to save him! We have to-"

"Yunho!" Mingi roared and the Beta instantly froze. He instantly looked guilty and was quick to lift a hand to Yunho's cheek. "I'm sorry, but it's... it's done... we can't change it. But we can come together to get both of our Omegas back."

The older stared at him for a long moment, then stayed quiet when Mingi answered his unspoken thought by explaining Hongjoong's idea to ally with Stray Kids.

"So... One of us... Will..." Yunho paled as the words sank in.

And no one felt the need to confirm when they all knew it was true.

"What's the update?" Madame Curator snaps the second she walks into the small monitoring room.

Her nerves were at an all-time high and she was this close to going on a full rampage.

Once she figures out who let Pack One escape, she's going to have their head.

The only thing that makes her feel a little better is the fear she sees in the team's eyes. They know not to mess with her right now.

"They are discussing still." One man says, motioning to the screens with a trembling hand.

Madame Curator focuses on the multiple pictures and crosses her arms over her stomach, her toes tapping impatiently on the hard floor.

Both packs are indeed gathered in Ateez's living room, all of them looking upset and battered.

With one jerk of her head, a woman flips a switch, and the audio starts playing in the room.

She sucks on her lower lip, a loud squeak sounding a couple of times, as she listens to the two packs explain the details and how things will work moving forward.

Her eyes flick to three other screens showing the Head Alpha in a bedroom with the second Omega. He had the Omega pinned to the bed and was fucking into him at a rapid pace with his nose buried in the Omega's neck.

Maybe the first mark would be happening soon. So far, no pack has given into that instinct yet, but Ateez was taking to the change naturally, so her hopes for them are very high.

Then the Alpha of Stray Kids regains everyone's attention, including hers, but calling for silence.

"Here we go. Give us the first one." She whispers to herself.

No other pack has discussed becoming allies yet, either so this moment would be huge, confirming some of their theories and hopes for The Change.

"Come on. Come on, come on, come on."

"Who do you think he will pick?" Someone whispers.

An answer comes just as soft, like they are afraid of being punished. "I bet it'll be one of the Betas. I don't see them giving up their other Omega, not after what happened.

Murmurs of agreement follow, and Madame Curator finds herself agreeing.

But how would the others take it?

What changes would happen?

She is dying to know and leans a little closer to the screen so she can take in every detail.

"Alright." Chan said.

Just the one word was enough to such all the air out of the room and completely magnetic, drawing every single pair of eyes to him.

He commanded attention, worthy of any leader.

Just like Hongjoong.

It made perfect sense why he was the leader of Stray Kids, and the Head Alpha of their pack.

He sat up as straight as he could, hissing a little at the strain on his side and scrunching his face.

Jisung frowned and leaned forward to support him, but Chan stopped him with a raise of his hand. "I'm alright."

His pack shifted in place, not believing him at all but respecting him enough to not fight him.

"I know this isn't what either of our packs want given our... history. But I think that Hongjoong is right. With both Felix and Wooyoung being taken, the game is changing. We would be much safer if we combined our forces into one large pack. And if it really does pool our points, then maybe we can come out of this all together."

"Except that would be an advantage for you guys." Yunho said with a scowl. "We are ahead of you point wise. And you're saying you get to call the shots?? How is that fair to us?"

"Yunho." Hongjoong snapped, adopting his 'captain tone' as they called it whenever he was upset or frustrated.

The Betas stared at each other, Yunho's jaw locking with frustration, but he gave in a few seconds later when Chan started talking again.

"Because I am the only Alpha in my pack. And I could tell Jongho had no interest what-so-ever in partaking in a mating bond." Chan's eyes moved to Mingi, who immediately lowered his gaze and took a miniscule step closer to Yunho. "If I form this bond, it takes away my possibility of forming any alliances with other packs unless I offer up someone from my family. And I will only do that in the direst of situations. I would never put them through something that I'm not willing to do myself."

Yeosang had to admit, Chan was an excellent speaker. And every word was backed by the love he had for the others.

His eyes drifted to his own captain, and he noticed that Hongjoong's worry line was forming between his eyes. He was stressing... Or maybe Chan's words had struck a chord?

This was turning into such a mess...

"Hyung," he whispered, leaning over to whisper in his ear. "Are you sure you want to do this? There's too much that could go wrong."

"It's too late now." Hongjoong looked at him and gave a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about this first, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Despite the way his gut twisted, Yeosang nodded once and stepped back.

Then he found himself seeking out the one person he knew could comfort him the most right now.

Only for his heart to sink a little when he saw that Seonghwa was watching Hongjoong intently, his own emotions clear in his eyes.

Yeosang swallowed down his pain, shoving it deep, deep inside his heart, and faced Chan. "I'll do it." He said, forcing the words through the thickness in his throat.

His pack turned on him with cries of surprise.

"No!"

"Sangie, we can't let you do that!"

"What are you saying?"

The Beta blocked all of it out.

This was for the best...

He couldn't let Yunho do it because he and Mingi were so close.

And he couldn't let Seonghwa or Hongjoong do it because...

Because...

He just couldn't.

So, he was the only logical choice.

Chan tilted his head back and to the side a little, appraising Yeosang with a knowledgeable eye, while his pack stayed silent beside him.

Though it looked link Minho had a few things he wanted to say judging by the way he was scowling a little bit.

"You'd really hand yourself over?" The Alpha asked and Yeosang felt himself bristle a little at the almost mocking tone. "Make that sacrifice for your pack?"

"Yes." Yeosang answered through gritted teeth. "Of course I am."

Chan smiled, looking mildly impressed. "You're very brave, and while I commend what you want to do, I've already made my choice. It's not you."

"What?!" Several others said at the same time and Chan held up a hand to silence them.

"Hongjoong asked me who I wanted to choose. He gave me permission, and I'm going to take it."

"Now you are just taking advantage of us." Hongjoong snapped. He took two steps forward and balled his fists at his side. "How can you call yourself an honorable person acting like this?"

Chan's eyes darkened. "How can you call yourself an honorable leader when you can't bring yourself to make the same sacrifice as one of your members? No wonder you are a Beta."

Hongjoong stumbled back as if he'd been slapped. The words cut right through him, and he looked destroyed.

A growl came from behind them and Mingi stood up. He looked ready to charge, which caused all of Stray Kids to form around their Alpha, ready to protect him.

"Don't." Yunho begged. "It'll only make things worse..."

"How can you be okay with him speaking to Hongjoong-hyung that way??" Mingi asked, rounding on the older.

"I'm not!" Yunho bit back, "but I'm done fighting! This isn't going to help us get Wooyoung and Felix back!"

At the mention of his name, Chan let out a small whine and his hard features broke for just a second before he spoke again. "He's right. I won't fight anymore either."

"Then just fucking tell us who you want to- to- to mate with!" Mingi growled, clearly uncomfortable with the term.

Chan's eyes darkened once more. "Fine. Maybe your captain will be able to redeem himself somehow."

His eyes flicked to Hongjoong's, and his lips twisted up in a wicked smile.

Hongjoong shrank into himself, still wounded by his words earlier.

They all were...

Which is why Chan's next statement was the last thing they ever expected to hear.

"Because you're the one I'm picking."