"Report."

"Things seem to be progressing well. Tressor has called for a meeting with all packs. It looks like they are planning on asserting their dominance. They appear to think they are unstoppable with the size of their pack and how many Omegas they have."

Madame Curator nods and sticks her tongue in her cheek while staring at the wall of screens in front of her showing views of every single pack still in the game. "And everyone else?"

"A few more teams have created mating bonds, so all of those have been noted and points awarded accordingly. Tressor still maintains a huge lead."

"As to be expected." She hums. "That's why they were chosen. I wanted to see what a pack that size would do once they were given a taste of power. I'm glad the serum worked successfully on them."

Silence falls on the room for a moment before another woman steps forward. "While it has, they are showing higher signs of aggression than other packs."

"Start running studies on the packs. Take note of the different ranks and how that could be affecting the current dynamic each pack has." Madame Curator says to the woman. Then she turns to another man and snaps, "Have you found them yet??"

The man flinches and attempts to hide behind a clipboard before thinking better of it. "N-No, Madame. We have our Androids looking for them, but they continue to elude us..."

Madame Curator starts grinding her teeth. "How the fuck have we lost an entire pack?! I want everyone out there looking for them now!!"

Several people hunch down over their computers, trembling a little as her rage starts to build.

And it only gets worse when an older gentleman off to the side asks, "And what do you want us to do if they find the other packs?"

"Make sure that doesn't happen." Her sweet voice is laced with venom as she looks around the room. "And if they do... then you all better hope I'm in a forgiving mood that day."

With that, she storms from the room, heels clacking violently against the hard floor, to go to the distribution room.

Inside, she's pleased to see the three workers pouring over all the tapes that had been gathered.

Currently, they were viewing one of an Alpha male mating with a Beta female, creating the marks and everything.

"Report."

No one in this room flinches at her harsh tone. They know why they are here and what's expected of them. And the fact that she pays them very well helps things.

"Memberships are skyrocketing now that we have started offering this exclusive content." One man says. "Reponses have been very positive, and donations have been coming in as well."

"Donations?" Madame Curator raises her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes, Ma'am. There have been requests, too, but I know we can't accommodate those since we are remaining hands off with the packs as much as possible."

This is true. In order to get natural, organic data, she had decided a long time ago that the packs needed to figure out everything on our own. She studies the screens in front of her and finds her eyes straying to 'her' Omega where he was curled up with the other one that had been taken.

She found it... interesting... that he had been so defiant of his new Alpha and had even tried to escape. It certainly kept things interesting for viewers, but it also gave her a good insight to the loyalties formed between packs, especially with one as bonded as his before they even took the serum.

"How are the packs doing that have had Omegas taken?" She asks, not looking away from her target.

"They are determined." A woman says. She follows Madame Curator's line of sight and nods. "Their packs have formed an official alliance and seem prepared to do anything. It sounds like they will be participating in the competition tomorrow."

"Do they stand any chance of earning enough gold?"

"It's unlikely."

The corner of Madame Curator's bright red lips curls up slightly. "Excellent."

The lessons ended up being a great choice, Yeosang thought at least.

An Android gave them instructions on how to set snares and rope traps, gave them supplies, and then monitored things when they were completed, awarding points where necessary.

Then it also provided the proper information on how to skin the animals they caught and how to break down the meat.

He found it fascinating, honestly, which surprised him. He'd never been the type to be interested in those kinds of activities before, but knowing this was necessary to keep his pack alive helped drive him forward.

Their little group of six ended up going to the lessons on their own while Chan and Minho went back to their cabin to get the others.

Yunho also took to the activity naturally, able to build traps after one or two times and his steady hand made skinning the animals look easy.

It was clear that he and Yeosang would be the front runners when it came to this, followed closely by Jongho.

San was very... squeamish... although it was hard to tell if that was really why he wasn't as into participating or if it was because his mind was on Wooyoung.

The thought of him had Yeosang pausing in the middle of skinning the rabbit in his hands.

He was never one to show his feelings to others, but he missed his best friend, so much that his chest ached. And with his knowledge of how the games were turning out... he truly feared the worst...

"Sangie?" Seonghwa's gentle voice came from next to him and the younger Beta startled a little. "Are you alright?"

"Of course, sorry, just got lost in the lesson." Yeosang said quickly. He started sliding his knife along the rabbit's body again, focusing intently on his task.

Seonghwa frowned and started twisting wire in his fingers again. "It seemed like more than that." He whispered.

Yeosang's heart clenched a little and he worked hard to keep his face neutral as he asked, "Are you alright, Hyung?"

He knew it was cheap, trying to redirect the topic away from him, but he couldn't stand lying to Seonghwa...

"I..." The older swallowed and bit his lip. "I keep hoping..."

"I'm sure he will be here soon." Yeosang said, trying to sound as reassuring as he could.

Seonghwa's soft, delicate hand reaching over to grab his forearm and squeezed a little. When Yeosang glanced up at him, the older was looking away slightly, but Yeosang could see the tears in his eyes.

If he didn't have the rabbit in his hands, he would have used one to pat Seonghwa's, but maybe it was for the best. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take the feeling of his heart crumbling away bit by bit.

To make things worse, his premonition came true a short time later.

The pack had just been awarded a decent number of points and even a bonus of one hundred gold for doing so well when the Android turned and said, "Which of course will be combined with the total of whatever the rest of your pack brings in."

Yeosang leaned over to see all of Stray Kids following after Chan, who was admittedly looking better even if he still had a slight limp.

And next to him, walking much closer than ever expected, was Hongjoong.

"Hyung!!" Mingi jumped up at the same time as Yunho and they both took a few steps forward.

Hongjoong smiled widely at them and started to move forward, but then... he hesitated and glanced up at Chan.

The Alpha placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded, then Hongjoong hurried forward to be squished between the two tallest members of their group. A rare, purely joyful laugh came from the Beta as the three of them sort of jumped in place.

Jongho approached Chan and they shook hands again. "Good to see you."

"You too. How are things going?" Chan asked, eyeing what was being worked on currently.

"Great, actually! This is super easy!" Yunho said from over Hongjoong's head. "Come on, we'll show you."

The two packs started mingling as if their years of rivalry hadn't even existed.

Jeongin and San sat together with most everyone else in a loose circle around them and Chan and Jongho keeping a tight grip on their leashes. They exchanged a knowing but sad look which was followed by Jeongin rubbing San's back and whispering something in his ear.

It was strange... watching it all happen from where Yeosang sat slightly apart. While they had always been more on the indifferent side when it came to Stray Kids and Chan was usually the aggressor, especially here, they'd never gone out of their way to interact like this.

Somehow... it was like the new bond between Chan and Hongjoong had changed something.

And the way Hongjoong stayed close to Chan's side...

Yeosang stood up and excused himself so he could try to process everything that was happening.

He hated that he had figured out what was really happening here... He hated that he'd seen all the signs, all the changes, all the clues...

And he hated that he'd been right about everything.

Even his silent guess that the mating bond would affect those who were involved.

Their instincts, their very way of living...

Nothing was ever going to be the same again.

The Beta stopped next to a tree a short distance away where he wouldn't be seen by the others. All so he could finally let his cover slip.

Let the tears fall.

He hugged his stomach and pressed his back against the tree so he could slide to the ground. No sound came, he still couldn't bring himself to fully cry, but he did allow himself to zone off a little and just feel.

What was going to happen to them when they got out of this place?

If... If they got out...

What was going to happen to them if they stayed?

What-

The sound of leaves rustling interrupted Yeosang's thoughts and he turned his head to see who was around.

But he didn't need to see who they were once they started speaking.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Seonghwa asked, his voice low and shaking a little.

"Yes, Hwa." Hongjoong answered. "I promise I'm fine. I'm... better than fine."

Seonghwa sucked in a breath and it sounded like he took a step back. "What... What does that mean?"

Yeosang chewed on the inside of his lip and slowly leaned around the tree. Luckily, his two hyungs were just a short distance away and he was able to see them while still staying hidden.

Hongjoong was holding one bicep with his other arm and pushing something around with the toe of his shoe. "I can't really explain it. But the bond... it- it opened something inside me, and I feel, I don't know, right? Settled? Safe? I- I- I can't even find the right word to describe it."

Seonghwa turned his head away and shoved his hands in his pockets. "So... you like it." He said. It wasn't a question.

"Hwa..." Hongjoong sighed. "You know that's not what I mean."

"Do I?" The older suddenly snapped. "Do I?! What I do know is that you slept with another man! And now have his- his-" He gestured frantically at Hongjoong's neck, "I don't know what to do." Seonghwa's voice broke.

And so did Yeosang's heart...

"Hwa... It doesn't mean anything like that, I swear." Hongjoong stepped closer and took one of Seonghwa's hands. "I did it to protect us." He slowly brought Seonghwa's fingers to his lips. "To protect you."

The two of them made eye contact and the seconds dragged on like hours as Yeosang watched Hongjoong go up on his toes to press a soft kiss to Seonghwa's lips.

The earth fell out from under him and Yeosang had to turn back around, pressing his back as hard as he could against the tree and bringing a hand up to cover his mouth.

He'd always known he never stood a chance...

But at least in the real world, they'd all accepted that any kind of relationship could ruin the group.

The only ones to break that rule had been San and Wooyoung, but everyone else had known from day one that there would be no stopping those two.

Their love was like a raging storm. Beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

As if matching that thought process, Yeosang started to smell rain. Fresh and so lovely, but it was tainted, almost like it was mixed with some kind of pollution.

That's when he realized it was his own scent... He was finally able to recognize scents and the first one he smelled...

Was the scent of his own agony and despair.