Hongjoong hissed as he rolled onto his side. Then he breathed in and cringed.

The room reeked of sex, which made sense since he'd been in there with Chan for several hours now, but it still wasn't pleasant.

His Alpha dozed next to him. Soft snores were muffled by the way his face was pressed into his pillow and even in his sleep he looked exhausted...

And poor Felix was even worse.

Hongjoong had practically bolted the second he felt panic shoot through his link with Chan. When he arrived at Stray Kids' cabin, Minho had opened the door before he'd even reached the deck, calling out that their Alpha was upstairs and they were struggling getting Felix away from him.

He'd already been knotted several times and while Chan had wanted to keep going, the Omega had passed out.

The rest of the pack had been trying to get Felix out of the room, offering themselves instead to help Chan through his rut, but all he'd wanted was his Omega...

But once Hongjoong walked into the room, his Alpha zeroed in on him and pinned him to the wall.

Everyone worked to quickly get Felix out and secured in another room to rest while Hongjoong gave himself over to his Alpha.

"Chan?" His voice cracked and he winced, thoughts quickly going to how much he'd been crying out...

He'd never be able to look at the other members of Stray Kids again without feeling extremely embarrassed.

"Chan, are you alright?"

His Alpha shifted in place slightly, then resumed snoring.

Hongjoong sighed and tried to get comfortable. This was the longest break they'd had, so hopefully Chan's rut was over.

A soft knock on the door drew his attention and Hongjoong pushed himself so he could lay on his other side while pulling a blanket up.

"Come in." He said as loud as he could.

Changbin poked his head in a second later and glanced nervously at the bed. "Hey. It's been quiet for a while, so we wanted to check in and see how you're doing."

"I've been better." Hongjoong grumbled, making the other Beta chuckle.

"Is it over?"

Hongjoong scrunched his nose and sighed. "I hope so because fuck I'm sore."

Again Changbin chuckled and he asked, "Can I bring you anything?"

"Water? And something to eat if you have it?"

With a nod, Changbin closed the door and returned about fifteen minutes later with two glasses of water and a plate of fruit. "It's not much." He said softly. "But it's what we have. Felix has already eaten so this is for you both."

Hongjoong shook his head. "What about you guys?"

"We are talking about going out. A couple of us at least. Do you think someone in your pack could go hunting with us? I don't think the market is until tomorrow."

"Yeah, stop by there and see who is available." Hongjoong groaned as he slowly pushed himself to sit up. "Fuck..."

Changbin reached out to help him, adverting his gaze when the blanket slipped a little, and piled a couple of pillows up for Hongjoong to lean against.

"Thanks." The older Beta rasped.

"I'll let you know what we decide before we leave." Changbin offered.

He's dismissed with a small nod and Hongjoong picked up a small bundle of grapes to pick at.

Hunger gnawed at his stomach, but at the same time it was like he had to force himself to eat each one.

If this was what his life was going to turn into...

With another sigh, Hongjoong settled into the pillows and tried not to think about the unknown future in front of them.

His head rolled to the side to glance at his Alpha once more.

Even in his sleep Chan looked exhausted. He had bags under his eyes and Hongjoong could watch his eyeballs rolling back and forth beneath his fluttering lids.

When he started to feel a little bit of distress, Hongjoong shifted closer and tucked himself under Chan's arm.

That seemed to instantly calm the Alpha and he readjusted so his head was resting on Hongjoong's chest.

"You know, our fans would be outraged if they saw us like this." Hongjoong hummed, absentmindedly running his fingers through his Alpha's hair. "Never mind what we just did, I more mean seeing us showing any kind of skinship. Period. It's no secret our two groups don't get along."

Not surprisingly, he didn't receive any response, but he was okay with that.

For now he was content taking care of his Alpha and making sure he would be alright.

He couldn't even imagine what Chan must be feeling right now. And he'd never be able to, not fully. Sure, he could get an understanding from the link, but he'd never truly know since Betas didn't have heats or ruts.

Which seemed unfair.

As his thoughts continued to wander, Hongjoong made sure to eat a little more so he could regain his strength.

Chan finally started to show signs of waking up about an hour later, which started with tilting his head back to brush his nose against his mating mark.

The Beta shuddered in response. "Chan-ah?"

"Mmmm." Chan groaned.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a bullet train."

Hongjoong snorted and stroked the back of his head. "I bet. You went at it nonstop for a long time."

Chan's forehead scrunched a little before he opened his eyes. "Are you okay?"

The genuine concern in his raspy voice warmed Hongjoong's heart and he made sure to give a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm alright. Sore. But I'm glad to see you are starting to wake up."

A rumble from Chan's stomach came next and they both huffed a soft laugh before Hongjoong pulled the plate of fruit over. "Here, this is for you. I had my portion already."

The promise of food makes Chan sit up much faster than the Beta expected and he watched with an amused smile as Chan demolishes every last piece in record time.

It made sense though. He had to be famished after how hard his rut had hit him.

Once he was finished, Chan obsessively checks over Hongjoong to make sure he's really okay before darting across the hall to see Felix.

Hongjoong dressed slowly, more because his body ached and not because he wanted to. But he pushes through it so he can get back to his pack.

The walk back takes way too long, and by the time he gets to the cabin, he's barely able to stand up straight.

But that's not what caused him to stop as soon as he stepped inside.

It was the empty cabin...

"Guys?" He called out.

Silence.

Hongjoong inhaled slowly, trying to pick up any of their scents, any sign at all that someone was close by.

But everything he picked up was... stale. Or faded maybe. He was still learning his senses, but he could tell that much at least.

"Okay... don't panic." He breathed, shuffling toward the couch so he could lay down again. "They probably went out to get food..."

That seemed like to most reasonable explanation and it was enough to tame a portion of his anxiety.

So he chose simply to wait...

Wait and see who came home first.

.

.

.

.

Protect. Stop. Keep safe.

Jongho snarled at his own wolf's desires as he ran after Wooyoung.

He was such a fool...

How could he drop a bomb like that in the way he did?! He was supposed to do it delicately, not just spit it out!

But he'd panicked when he could tell Wooyoung was starting to get upset and he'd basically just vomited up the words.

"Hyung! Stop! Please!" The Alpha called out desperately.

He could barely see Wooyoung as the older darted between the trees in front of him.

Why did he have to be so damn fast?

Hurry. Save. Protect.

"Let's spread out." San panted from next to him, looking just as panicked as Jongho felt.

"Stay in sight though." Jongho said, not looking away until he got a nod from his mate.

The two of them broke apart slightly so they'd be able to cut Wooyoung off if he veered in either direction, which Jongho secretly prayed he would so they could catch up with him.

He had to fix this... He had to.

A few seconds later, his watch beeped, letting him know that someone had crossed the border into their territory.

Or out of it.

They'd run so far that now they were in a dangerous area, either unknown or an enemy.

Which just sent Jongho's instincts into overdrive and he put on an extra burst of speed.

It was like his energy had been renewed as adrenaline coursed through his veins.

He was getting faster, more agile, able to clear fallen logs easier, place his feet on the ground better.

As he let his mind feed into his fear, his wolf, Jongho felt... free.

He surged forward and finally started to gain on the Omega fleeing from him.

Stride after stride, he closed in on Wooyoung, who continued to ignore his shouts to stop, until he could loop an arm around Wooyoung's waist.

The attempt to get him to stop sent both of them falling to the ground with a cry of surprise.

With his heightened instincts, Jongho was able to absorb most of the fall and roll them so he was on top of Wooyoung, pinning him to the ground.

"Get off of me!" Wooyoung tried to throw Jongho to the side, but all he accomplished was an almost pathetic little twitch because of how hard Jongho was pressing into him.

"No!" Jongho growled. "Do you have any idea how reckless you just were? You could have been hurt, Hyung! You could have been-"

Wooyoung closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. His jaw was locked, giving away his anger, but a tear was also forced out and pooled on the side of his nose.

Jongho relaxed his grip a little. "I'm sorry..." He breathed, not sure what else to say at that point.

The loud crunching of leaves gave away that San was approaching and Wooyoung's face twisted in pain. "P-Please get off."

"Only if you promise not to run again." Jongho's eyes flicked back and forth as he studied each little change that happened to Wooyoung's face.

It relaxed a little, losing some of the worried and angry lines. He also tilted it just a bit so he could bare more of his neck to the Alpha, showing complete submission.

This action was just what Jongho needed to move away, removing himself from Wooyoung and sitting next to him.

San knelt on his other side and reached out to wipe the tears from Wooyoung's face. "Young-ah, I... I know this is confusing, but what about this place isn't? We have all changed in ways we could never have predicted and now we have to work together to get out of this."

Jongho looked at his mate as his chest tightened. Everything San said was right, and he could feel it.

When Wooyoung shifted in place a little, Jongho's gaze returned to the older and he noticed that Wooyoung was crying again.

"I-I don't know wh-what to do..." The Omega whispered. "I d-don't know what t-to feel..."

"That's okay." San stressed. "We can figure this out together, and that's what's most important."

As much as he didn't want to, Jongho sat back at let San be the one to comfort Wooyoung.

The older Omega leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek, to whisper in his ear, to caress his side.

Jongho curled his hands into fists and closed his eyes.

He had to learn to work through the pain. He thought he had, but ever since the change happened and his instincts started going haywire, it was getting harder and harder to control his emotions.

For so long he'd been happy watching over Wooyoung from the sidelines, making him laugh, providing comfort when needed, always making sure he was taken care of...

He was such a fool.

Jongho's wolf stirred angrily, scolding him for thinking badly about himself.

That made the Alpha crinkle his nose before sighing softly.

Then... a soft touch drew his attention.

Jongho opened his eyes to see Wooyoung sitting up. Even with another man's arm wrapped around him for support, even with his eyes all red and puffy, even with the wounded and confused look in his eyes...

He still looked so beautiful.

"Hyung, I-" He started, but he was cut off when Wooyoung held up a hand.

"I'm sorry I panicked. That was... unreasonable of me." Wooyoung said. "I just... I'm confused."

"I am too." Jongho lowered his gaze. "Confused and so incredibly sorry..."

San sighed and rolled his eyes. "Please stop apologizing, Jongho-yah. There was never going to be an easy way for any of this. Not being here."

"No..." Wooyoung's forehead creased with worry and he leaned further into San. "I want to go home."

A jolt of deep concern flowed through his link with San and Jongho felt himself on the verge of panicking too.

But neither one of them got to act on it...

Not when a new voice entered the mix.

"Poor little Omega. I don't think you'll be going home any time soon."