"Sannie, you need to eat something. Please." Seonghwa's voice seemed distant... hazy... out of focus...

Or maybe that was just where San's mind was at. He couldn't find it in himself to concentrate on anything since coming out of his heat.

Everything felt so... wrong now, even though there was a very big part of him that felt... complete? Whole? United?

He couldn't decide. All he knew was that he didn't hate whatever changes were happening with his body.

But none of felt right without Wooyoung at his side.

Everyone said that no one was to blame for it... but San couldn't help but think that he was partially at fault because he'd been the reason Mingi had to leave.

Maybe if they'd stayed then his Wooyoung would still be there...

San whimpered at the thought and curled into a tighter ball where he was laying beneath the blankets.

"I know it's hard." Seonghwa placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "But you know he'd want you to take care of yourself."

At least Seonghwa didn't say his name... even though he knew the older was right.

"Please, Sannie. With Hongjoong gone..." Seonghwa's voice caught in his throat for a second, "We need to stick together."

It took another couple of minutes, but the Omega eventually poked his head out and looked up at his hyung. "What are we going to do?" He asked, voice so soft he barely heard it himself.

Seonghwa's eyes were sad, filled with the pain and emptiness surrounding their pack. "I don't know. But why don't you come downstairs and we can figure it out. I know Jongho would like it if we could all be together."

At the mention of his Alpha, San pushed himself up and let Seonghwa help him out of bed when something in him urged him to go check on the younger.

It caused him to walk a lot faster than he expected, hurrying down the stairs and immediately going to Jongho's side when the Alpha opened his arms up.

They embraced in a tight hug that was usually uncommon for them. Jongho used to pull away most of the time, cringing and complaining whenever he or... would give him any kind of affection.

But this time... this time Jongho hugged him back just as tight as San hugged him. He brought a hand up to cup the back of San's head and turned his head just enough to nuzzle against San's neck.

The action made the Omega melt a little and he let out a soft, content hum.

It was like Jongho knew exactly what San needed to feel better.

So San returned the action, brushing his nose and lips against the spot where Jongho's charcoal scent was the strongest.

"How are you?" The younger whispered.

"Scared." San admitted, shivering a little in Jongho's hold even when the Alpha tightened his grip to try and soothe him more.

"Me too."

A soft hand on San's side had him lifting his head just enough to look at Yeosang, and soon all six of them were gathered in a tight, incomplete circle.

"What do you want to do?" Mingi asked after a few minutes. This caused everyone to take a step back so they could see each other again, but San stayed planted firmly at Jongho's side.

Their Head Alpha took another moment to think, fear and worry racing across his expression every few seconds. When he finally spoke, it was slow and calculated, like he wasn't sure of his own answer. "I think we need to try and stick with our original plan. As much as we can, at least."

"I agree." Yeosang's voice caught in his throat and he tried to clear it for a second. "I know... I know we all want to go look for... but if the other pack follows the rules, I'm guessing we will receive a request for gold at some point."

"But do you really think they will follow the rules after what they did to us?" Yunho snapped, a dark look entering his eyes. "They attacked us."

Yeosang flinched at his harsh tone and wrapped his arms around himself. "There's nothing that says they can't do that... And no one was seriously injured. I'd like to believe the Androids would have intervened like they did at the wresting match..."

No responded. That silent hope must have been within all of them, still putting their faith in the games and the rules behind what had put them here.

San, however, wasn't so convinced. He could feel it, deep in his gut, when he thought about it.

They had already been lied to, manipulated, tortured... all for what? A television show? Was there even a show?

His eyes fell to the ground and he tried to contain the rush of emotions threatening to break free.

The person who always kept him grounded wasn't there anymore... and San was worried he would turn into a loose cannon if things got too hard.

Jongho's hand slid down his arm and laced their fingers together when their hands met, halting all of San's negative thoughts.

He looked up at the Alpha with slight surprise, especially when he felt a sudden urge to cling to him, breathe him in, feel him.

But there were other, more important things that needed to happen, which Jongho pointed out by continuing to speak. "We should go to the square tomorrow; see what options we have to earn more gold."

Yunho nodded. "Maybe there's another training we can participate in or another event coming up."

"Which you will not be participating in." Mingi said immediately.

"Like hell I'm not!"

Mingi stood up a little straighter, an unexpected dominance flowing from him. "I will not let you injure yourself further, Yunho. You need to heal."

"He's right." Seonghwa cut in quickly before Yunho could try to argue. "You won't be any help to us if you get worse." He held up a hand to silence another one of Yunho's outbursts. "But!" He gave the younger a stern look, then spoke a little softer, "But let's see what options are available for us and then go from there."

It was clear that Yunho didn't like the idea, a scowl twisting his face and he looked off to the side.

Mingi sighed a little and went to stand next to him. Slowly, he wrapped an arm around Yunho's waist and leaned over to brush his nose along the shell of his ear.

No one called out the intimate action, though San felt a bit of jealousy swell within him and he had to look away.

Now that it had been decided what their next steps were, no one seemed to know what to do with themselves.

Seonghwa wandered into the kitchen so he could make dinner with Yeosang following close behind.

Mingi took Yunho upstairs, a protective arm wrapped around his waist to help support him.

And now San and Jongho just looked at each other with sad expressions.

"Are you alright?" Jongho asked, reaching up to push some of San's hair out of his face.

"No." The Omega answered honestly. He leaned into Jongho, pressing his forehead against his Alpha's shoulder.

Jongho just nodded and pulled him into a tight hug. "We are going to get him back. I promise."

For some reason, San knew he could believe the younger. The side of him that had emerged during his heat preened at the promise of being taken care of by his Alpha.

When everyone returned, and just as they were sitting down to eat, a knock on the front door stopped everything. Each pound drove a stake of fear into their group and seemed to echo through the entire house.

Jongho and Mingi stood at the same time, both tense and prepared for anything, while the rest of the pack followed behind.

San could already tell it wasn't good. He didn't recognize any of their scents, which told him they weren't from Stray Kids.

But he didn't expect to see a group of four looking at his Alphas like they were beneath them.

"Are you the Head Alpha of Ateez?" One asked with a snide, condescending voice, looking at Mingi.

"I am." Jongho snapped. "What do you want."

The stranger's eyes widened a little and he almost looked impressed. Then he spoke again, just as venomous as before. "I have a message for you from the Head Alpha of Tressor." He held out a rolled piece of paper.

Jongho hesitated for a moment, a low growl vibrating his chest, then he slowly took it. He has to restrain himself when the man smirks before turning around and leaving with the others.

There was no way he could take them... not with the state the pack was in at the moment.

When they were out of sight, he stepped back into the house and faced the others.

"Well? Open it!" Yeosang said, wringing his wrists nervously.

Jongho took a deep breath to try and calm himself down, but it was pointless... Especially when he unrolled the paper.

I, Nikolai, Head Alpha of Pack Tressor, send this message in regard to an Omega we have in our possession. He has been claimed for Tressor, but his original tag shows he once belonged to your pack.

If you would like to reclaim him, we will happily relinquish our claim on him for the price of 3,000 gold.

Until we receive this payment in full, your Omega will remain with our pack and be counted toward our points.

"3,000 gold?!" Yunho gasped, then turned around to kick a chair. "Who the fuck do they think they are?? How can they demand such a ridiculous price?!"

"Yunho, please calm do-" Seonghwa started to say, but Yunho stormed passed him to kick the chair again. It flew into the wall and two of the legs started to splinter.

"Do not tell me to calm down!!"

Mingi stepped closer to him and grabbed his wrist. "Yunho."

The Beta looked at him with wide eyes and looked like he wanted to say something, but he just bowed his head, jaw clenched in anger.

San slowly lowered himself onto the couch.

Three... thousand...

The number bounced around in his head over and over, each contact driving a nail into his skull and bringing on an intense headache.

From what he could remember, they barely had a few hundred gold...

Joining the headache, his chest started to constrict and he started to breathe faster. He thought he felt pain somewhere on his body, but all ability to process his senses was starting to fade.

"Sannie."

What were they going to do?

Why did Hongjoong have to leave them now?

"Sannie."

Something was touching him. Maybe?

Nothing mattered...

"San."

His eyes suddenly snapped to the person kneeling in front of him and working to gently pull his hands away from his knees where he'd been digging his nails in.

Jongho's eyes were a dull shade of red as he studied San's face.

That's when the Omega realized just how hard he was breathing, on the brink of hyperventilating.

"We are going to figure this out. We aren't giving up." Jongho said.

How was he remaining so calm right now?

Even with what his Alpha said, San could feel tears coming to his eyes. "H-H-How?" He whimpers.

"By working together." Jongho answered softly. "By working as a team."

San sucked in a breath and did his best to believe what Jongho was saying. He really did. But doubt was a powerful enemy, and the Omega could feel it corrupting his heart...

They stuck to the plan, though, and the next day all six of them made their way to the courtyard. It was slow moving because of Yunho, but no one felt the desire to separate now. Especially because they all felt the need to guard San every hour of the day.

It was a bit suffocating, but San was grateful at the same time. His nerves were at an all-time high and every single sound made him flinch or jump.

And maybe it was just his nerves, but the forest seemed... off. There was too much noise, branches snapping and leaves rustling, but... they didn't see hardly anyone on the path either.

Yet there were certainly plenty of people in the square milling around and purchasing things.

Jongho had brought their gold with them, but he was hesitant to spend any of it since they needed such a large sum to get Wooyoung back.

"Keep an eye out for Chan or anyone from his pack." Jongho said softly and San didn't miss the way Seonghwa started looking around instantly.

He also hadn't missed hearing the older crying last night at the same time San had been up crying...

"Did you see they posted about having a pack meeting?" A female Alpha said as she walked by and Jongho stopped his pack so they could listen.

"Pack meeting?" The Beta next to her asked.

"It's the first time we've had a Head Pack, I'm assuming Tressor wants to gather us all so they can learn about us."

Both Jongho and Mingi started growling at the mention of that pack's name, which Yunho and Yeosang were quick to silence.

San just looked down and frowned. He'd forgotten that Tressor had also been named the Head Pack... What did that mean for the rest of them...?

The pair moved on and Jongho exhaled sharply. "Bastards!"

"Jongho." Seonghwa hissed. "Please. We need to keep control of ourselves and lay low."

The younger turned to him with a slight snarl, but instantly stopped. "Sorry, Hyung. I just..."

"I know." Seonghwa grabbed his shoulder and squeezed.

They made their way to the bulletin board where there was an announcement pinned right in the center. Tressor wanted to have a meeting with all the pack's Head Alphas and one other representative in three days' time to establish how things were going to work moving forward.

Next, they looked for anything else that could be of use.

By some miracle, there was a hunting competition happening the following day. Points would be awarded depending on how many animals were brought in and ranked by the type. Packs were allowed to keep their kills when judging was done, and to prepare for the vent, classes were being offered today in trapping, skinning, and breaking down animals. Gold and points would be awarded for everything, though it didn't say how much.

"Well, I guess we know what we are doing today." Yunho said, narrowing his eyes.

No one else said anything, the gravity of their situation still weighing on them heavily. They had to do well tomorrow, otherwise...

San closed his eyes and fought to keep control of himself.

"So do we."

The pack of six turned around to see Chan and Minho standing a few feet away.

Seonghwa tensed and took a step forward, but Chan held up a hand and gave him an understanding smile. "He's fine, just sleeping back in the cabin."

"He is." Minho confirmed quickly when both Jongho and Mingi tensed. "I promise. The others are there too."

"We actually went by your place first." Chan said, rubbing the side of his neck.

San watched the movement, his eyes flicking to a new mark on the Alpha's neck that wasn't there the last time they saw him.

Chan's fingers grazed over it gently and he visibly shuddered before he spoke again. "Did you get one too?" He asked, holding up a rolled piece of paper.

"From Tressor?" Jongho asked, his voice deep and threatening.

When the older nodded, the two packs moved a short distance away from the courtyard before Chan continued. "They want two thousand gold in exchange for Felix. I'm assuming they want the same for Wooyoung?"

"What?!" Yunho snapped. "Only two thousand? Who do those fuckers think they are?!"

When Chan looked confused, Yeosang said, "They asked us for three..."

"Fuck." Chan and Minho said at the same time.

"I don't understand how they can expect us to come up with that much money!" Mingi punched his own hand and started to pace.

"Well, the good and the bad news is that they didn't give us any kind of timeline." Chan started pacing with him. "So we will be able to get five thousand gold eventually. We just need to figure out the best way to do that."

"Wait, five thousand?" San said, his voice as small as he was feeling.

Chan stopped to look at him. "Of course. We have an alliance now, remember?"

Everyone exchanged looks, as if that was the last thing they expected the Alpha to say.

But he was right.

And Chan confirmed it by turning to Jongho and holding out a hand for the younger to take, though they ended up clasping each other's forearms instead, as he said, "We will get both of our Omegas back. Together."