Hongjoong woke up feeling restless.

He turned over in bed a couple of times, then a few times more before he sighed and sat up.

There was this... itch beneath his skin that he couldn't get rid of.

Mate upset.

The Beta sighed and ground his teeth together. "Yes, thank you for stating the obvious." He grumbled to himself.

Mate!

Hongjoong glanced at Seonghwa's bed and frowned a little when he saw it was empty, but then he figured the older was probably downstairs fixing breakfast.

As if the thought summoned it, he smelled meat being fried and his stomach instantly grumbled.

His assumption had been correct and Seonghwa was in the kitchen standing in front of the stove. It didn't look like anyone else was up yet, so he stepped up right next to Seonghwa and brushed his arm.

"Hey." Seonghwa turned his head slightly and offered a small smile.

"Hey." Hongjoong said back, then turned around to lean against the counter. "How are you doing?"

"Okay."

Hongjoong hummed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah... we are going to fix this though."

"I know." Seonghwa murmured while flipping some of the meat. "I just... I'm having a hard time letting go."

The younger Beta frowned a little and tried to move a little closer. "I understand, but..."

"I need to, I know. But what if I don't want to?"

The question weighed heavily on Hongjoong's shoulders for a moment as he pondered it. He knew he needed to choose his words carefully, both for Seonghwa and for himself. "I know it's hard, but I think that if you don't, it's only going to make things harder for you, Hwa. Maybe something great could come from this new life once we get used to it. Maybe..." He lifted a hand to softly brush his fingers across Seonghwa's neck.

It made the older gasp a little and close his eyes. His lips parted and Hongjoong couldn't help but smile when he saw the goosebumps slowly littering Seonghwa's neck.

Mate.

Hongjoong clenched his jaw and scolded his wolf for interrupting the moment. Even if he and Chan had agreed that their mating was purely contractual, there was still a very big part of him that was connected with the Alpha now, and he knew he couldn't ignore it for long.

Still, he lowered his hand and settled for simply watching Seonghwa finish cooking breakfast for everyone.

The rest of their pack appeared within the next ten minutes, and they all ate in silence while simply savoring the fact that they could be together.

But San...

San didn't look well. He had bags under his eyes and his skin was pale. The only thing that seemed to be helping him was staying glued to Jongho's side.

The Alpha was acting very unlike himself too. He fussed over San, making sure he had food and was eating, filling his water, scenting him often.

It gave Hongjoong an idea, though he wasn't sure if he should express it now or wait until Wooyoung returned.

He still pulled out the rules of the game and scanned through them, wanting to make sure his theory would be correct.

There... one of the first rules of the game.

Mated Omegas will give teams extra points.

He sighed a little and tucked the rules away. Maybe he'd approach Jongho when he was alone and mention it. He could see that San was a little more attached to Jongho than Mingi, so... maybe Jongho could mate with San and Mingi could mate with Wooyoung when he got back? Or... maybe Seonghwa or Yeosang? It didn't have to mean anything, just something to help them earn more points to continue going up in the ranks.

What a strange thing to be thinking about... Hongjoong huffed a little and shook his head. Yet it felt so right.Like he was taking care of his members again, his family, his pack.

"So." Yunho broke through the silence when all of them had finished eating. "What's the plan?"

Everyone sat up a little straighter and exchanged serious yet blank looks.

"I want to find their territory." Jongho said, capturing all of their attention quickly. "Find it and scope out what we are working with. Then maybe we can, I don't know, break in once night comes? Sneak in when they leave to do an event?"

"Let's figure that part out once we know a bit more." Mingi ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Even with Stray Kids, we still don't match their numbers, so we need to be careful."

"Right." Jongho nodded. "So let's-"

A sudden knock at the door interrupted him and while everyone simply turned to look in that direction, Hongjoong jumped up and walked around them quickly to reach it.

Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.

He opened the door without hesitation and Chan instantly pulled him into a hug. His nose pressed against the mark he left and a tiny, distressed whimper escaped him.

Hongjoong made sure to scent him back, willing to do anything to ease the pain his Alpha was feeling.

"Sorry for interrupting." Minho said from where he stood with the rest of their pack at the bottom of the stairs. "But he said he needed to see you."

"It's alright." Hongjoong reassured, running a hand up and down Chan's spine. "Come in, we were just discussing what our next steps are going to be."

They started to slowly shuffle back into the house, Chan still holding him tightly.

But they didn't get far.

Not when they heard a sudden rustling somewhere in the forest.

Hongjoong's senses went haywire, only calming down a little when he realized he'd alerted Mingi and Jongho, because the two of them pushed him and Chan out of the way so they could stand in front of everyone.

Chan looked a little offended, but he quickly retreated to protect their backs, moving Hongjoong behind him with the rest of his own pack.

"What is it?" Mingi asked, his head whipping back and forth as he surveyed the area.

All three Alphas were hunched over slightly, arms lifted away from their sides and fingers slightly curled, almost as if they were claws. They were ready to strike, ready to protect.

The rustling turned into more of a crashing sound. Whatever it was obviously wasn't concerned with being quiet...

Hongjoong was just about to say they should go inside to protect themselves when Jeongin let out a distressed cry and started to try and get passed Hyunjin and Seungmin.

Then... Chan made a horrible, devastated almost howling sound before he vaulted over the side of the deck.

Just in time to open his arms for Felix to run into.

They fell to the ground because of how fast the Omega had been running, but Chan was quick to make sure he took the brunt of the impact.

Felix sobbed openly into the Alpha's neck, clinging to him and trembling violently while making tiny, distressed whimpers and whines.

As the rest of the Stray Kids pack moved to surround their Omega, all of Ateez looked into the trees, waiting...

Jongho stepped forward and leaned over the railing as if it gave him a better view or could allow him to see deeper into the trees.

And San held his hands to his chest as he made an... odd sound. It was close to a chirp maybe? Some kind of sound he was making in the back of his throat that Hongjoong couldn't place.

But he knew what it was for...

He was calling out to Wooyoung...

Minutes ticked by, marked by the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

And still Wooyoung didn't appear...

Mate...

Hongjoong tore his eyes away from the trees to look down at where Chan and Felix were still embracing, whispering quietly to each other while the rest of their pack surrounded them so they could be as close as possible.

He could feel how uncomfortable his wolf was with the Omega being so close to his Alpha, but Hongjoong was quick to tell it off and force it aside.

It needed to learn that just because Chan was his mate, that didn't mean he and Chan had to be together. Hongjoong refused to fall into that trap.

"Where is he?" Jongho's voice made everyone freeze because of the power behind it.

He had turned to face the other pack, eyes red with rage. His entire body vibrated, like it was taking all of his strength to not do anything.

Felix pulled away from Chan just far enough to give Jongho a look of pure agony. It took him a few seconds, but he managed to say, "I don't know..."

Jongho roared and moved to jump over the railing, but Chan acted faster, pushing off the ground and pushing Felix behind him before he roared right back at Jongho.

And he was louder.

The younger Alpha became enraged, eyes glowing even brighter, while Mingi jumped to his defense, moving to stand right next to him.

Before anything else could happen, Hongjoong darted down the stairs to stand in front of his Alpha, blocking Chan from his own pack and acting as a buffer. "Stop!!" He yelled, holding his arms out straight toward both Chan's and Jongho's chest. "This isn't going to help anything!" Then he looked at Jongho. "Let him talk."

A grateful wave of emotion flowed through his link with Chan and while Hongjoong wanted to turn and react to it, he kept his eyes locked on Jongho.

He knew he was crossing the line, talking to his Head Alpha like that, but he didn't know what else to do...

And surprisingly, Jongho's eyes slowly started to return to normal, though the red didn't fully go away.

"I-I'm sorry..." Felix said with a sob. "It... It all happened so fast."

Something about how distressed he was must have touched both Jongho and Mingi, because both Alphas relaxed enough that Hongjoong felt comfortable to turn around so he could study Felix as he spoke.

"What happened, Jagiya?" Chan asked, shifting to also face Felix.

The younger looked up at him with tears in his eyes and shook his head a little. "I... I don't... We were on our way back yesterday and..." His voice trembled and he had to cling to Chan for support. "Suddenly the pack started freaking out, and, and, and... the Alpha leading me dropped my leash to go help maybe? I don't know what was h-happening. I thought I saw s-someone run out of the trees to attack one of the other Alphas but... I... I panicked... I-I-I tried to look f-for him, b-but there was so much going on that I knew I h-had to take my chance..." Felix could barely get the last words out.

Even Hongjoong could feel the guilt coming from the Omega. It slammed into him so hard that he nearly fell to his knees.

No one spoke...

Hongjoong could also feel the mixed emotions coming from his pack, the rage, the fear, the pain, the guilt...

None of them knew how to react to Felix's news, but it was clear that they couldn't be upset with him...

They could feel that leaving Wooyoung behind had traumatized him.

"I-I'm sorry!" The Omega sobbed, sliding to the ground and folding over to press his forehead into the dirt. "I'm s-so sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Jagiya, please, calm down." Chan dropped down next to him and hugged his back, though his eyes drifted up to look at Hongjoong first, then Jongho. "We don't blame you."

"How did you find us?" Changbin asked softly.

"H-Hyung's scent..." Felix slowly rose until he could sit back on his ankles, wiping his eyes at the same time. "I... I ran for a long time yesterday, but my hands were t-tied, so... I..." He held ups arms to reveal that the sleeves on the skimpy shirt he was still wearing were in shreds and scratches littered his skin.

Chan immediately cried out and grabbed his wrists to examine them while Felix kept talking.

"I found a boulder with a sharp edge... by the time I'd freed myself, it was dark... so I hid there when I noticed there was a little bit of cover..."

"You... spent the night alone?" Seonghwa asked softly.

When Felix nodded a couple of times, Chan, Changbin, and Hyunjin all surrounded him in a hug, with the rest of their pack hugging them.

"Joong..."

Hongjoong turned around when Seonghwa whispered to him and his eyes instantly zeroed in on where San was curled up on the deck with Jongho and Mingi both leaning over him.

"Fuck..." He whispered, then fisted his own hair with both hands.

"Jagiya, do you think you could lead us back there?" Chan asked after a moment. "Or give us directions at least?"

"I think so." The younger whispered.

Then Chan surprised everyone by speaking a little firmer. "Then once we get it, I say we go get Wooyoung back. We can figure out how to keep our Omegas here safe and hidden, then all of us can go teach those Tressor bastards a lesson."

Pride for his Alpha surged from Hongjoong and he was met with a grateful look from Chan.

"There's only twelve of us though, if the rest of us go." Jisung said. "And let's face it Chan, not all of us are cut out for..." He shrank back a little and looked at the ground.

"But we have to try." Yeosang's voice broke a little when he spoke. "Please. Twelve is better than three, or six, or... Please..."

Mingi was the next to speak, his voice deeper than ever. "We will do more than try. We will make them pay."

"Things are about to get interesting." Madame Curator hums with a smile.

"Are you sure you don't want us to send the Androids to stop this?"

"No." She snaps at the man who asked. "I need them searching for the escapees. They must be somewhere around that area!"

Anger started to twist her stomach and she orders someone to pull up the footage again.

There was no mistaking it. Pack One had someone managed to get the jump on Tressor and free all their Omegas. It was interesting to watch how easily Tressor was overwhelmed when they were taken by surprise.

"That's what they get for being cocky." She mutters to herself.

Her foot starts to tap impatiently as the tape continues to flash scenes showing the members of Pack One that had attacked disappearing into the forest.

Some cameras had managed to capture them following some of the Omegas, almost as if they were escorting them home.

But of course, the one she wanted to know the outcome of the most had just... vanished!

Madame Curator rewinds the tape again and again, watching the exact point where her Omega was dragged away, the only one to be taken by Pack One, and disappear behind a cluster of trees.

"Madame?" A girl's timid voice comes from behind her and Madame Curator spins around with a slight growl.

"What?!"

The girl is young, barely twenty years old, and she flinches back from the harsh tone. But then she makes an admirable effort to stand a little straighter and clear her voice. "I-If I may? I had an idea when it comes to Pack One."

Madame Curator narrows her eyes and debates biting the girls head off by telling her to mind her own business, but... there's something, a determined spark, in her eyes that has Madame Curator nodding her head once.

"What if we let them join the games?"

Silence falls over the room, except for the gentle hum of the generators used to keep all the computers and screens running all hours of the day.

The girl inhales again and tilts her head back a little, even as her hands tremble at her sides. "It would be an interesting twist, and we'd get to collect even more data. We know how they've taken to The Change; we've been studying them for months now. But we don't know how they will react with other packs."

Madame Curator opens her mouth, her instinct coming forward to scold the girl for such a ridiculous idea.

But...

It's not.

There was actually potential behind the idea.

Murmurs started to rumble through the room, but Madame Curator did not bother paying attention. Instead, her mind races with all the possibilities.

Pack One adapted beautifully to The Change. Better than she could have ever hoped for. And the remaining packs in The Game had all taken to the Change well, though at varying levels. Some, like Tressor, had leaned into the more animalistic instincts as shown by their violent tendencies and thirst for power. Others had shied away from it, deciding to stick to themselves and stay away from all other packs. Some tried to deny it, acting like nothing had happened.

Her pack was the closest one to adapting similarly to Pack One.

And now...

One of them had been taken by that very pack...

"Fine." She says, staring down at the girl. "But they do not have a cabin and they will have to start from scratch. No gold, no points, nothing. Once they have fully integrated, we will have their identifiers delivered as well as a rule book, then they can start earning gold and points. And you," she jabs a finger at the girl, "are now in charge of collecting any and all data. Got it?"

"Yes, Madame." The girl bows her head. "Thank you, Madame."

"Call the Androids off and have them start monitoring to make sure any fighting doesn't get out of hand." A snap of Madame Curator's fingers has everyone in the room scrambling to follow her orders.

Her gaze returns to the screen where her pack and their allied pack are plotting for a pointless mission.

Oh, the irony.

They had no idea they were about to waste precious time when they could be continuing to climb in the ranks or earn more gold.

Her bright red lips curl up in a wicked smile.

"Come on, my pets, show me what you can do."