Free. For the first time in a long time he felt free as he ran through the woods with Mingi in his wolf form. He was a little rusty, but he tracked through the woods and forest floors like he has done this a hundred times. He wasn't as behind from Mingi as he ran faster, his heart beating quickly as he swats at Mingi's hind leg ultimately tripping the alpha.

Mingi growls as he crashes into the ground, reaching around to snap at Seonghwa but the wolf cackles as he pounces over the alpha and continues to run. They didn't have a set place to stop, but he could smell and hear rushing water. There has to be a waterfall nearby, so he pushes himself forward until he finally catches sight of the river right beside the waterfall.

But just as he was about to break through the trees, goal in sight, he felt teeth clamp on his tail and yelps in surprise. Mingi ended up pinning him down into the forest floor, growling in Seonghwa's ear as he bares his teeth, You could've hurt me back there you know?

Seonghwa laughs, What's wrong alpha? Don't like a little competition?

Mingi huffs, removing himself from Seonghwa as he stands over him, I get you wanted to play, but please be careful.

Seonghwa's ears flatten and he lowers his head in embarrassment as Mingi trots towards the river, looking over his shoulder his tongue flops out as he grins, By the way, I win.

Seonghwa grumbles, standing and following the alpha towards the river. The pair take a drink from the cold water, Seonghwa sitting back and resting. His heart was still beating rapidly, but could that be from the race or Mingi tackling him down? He looks to the black wolf who was now laying by the waterside, panting a little from the exhaustion. Seonghwa sits beside him, keeping a little distance from the alpha to not crowd him.

Mingi chuckles, You can sit closer to me. You know I don't bite.

Do I? How do I know you won't bite me?

Because you didn't ask, Mingi barks out a laugh before scooting closer to Seonghwa, I promised you I wouldn't hurt you, none of us will.

Seonghwa relaxes at the presence of the alpha, he knows Mingi won't hurt him and he is slowly coming used to the idea of being in a pack and not being a science experiment. The water before them was calming and shifted him into his own thoughts, and he truly felt grateful the more he thought about where he and his baby were. The only thing he would change right now if he could, if he could have Seoho with him.

What are you thinking about?

Seonghwa snaps his attention back to the alpha, who in turn was staring at him with interest in his eyes. Seonghwa sits up straighter as he looks back down at the water, How lucky I am to be here. I wish it were the same for my brother.

You have a brother?

Yes, Seonghwa whines, back at the laboratory.

Mingi grunts, What's he like?

Seonghwa lays back down, putting his head on his paws as he gets lost in thought about his brother, Like me. Although he is older than I am, and he is much more courageous. I wonder every day how it would've been if I wasn't chosen and he was... or if we were chosen together.

Chosen?

Yeah, Seonghwa sighs, it's every few months where they choose the next set of omegas to impregnate.

Wait. Time out, they choose you? As in like you're cattle being raised for slaughter?

Pretty much the same comparison, Seonghwa looks to the sky, They have your weight, your birthday, everything they could need about you or want to know about you shown on the screen facing every omega and they choose a handful of them to do the procedure on. They used to do every single omega as soon as they're old enough, but they realized that having a bunch of pregnant omegas and doing the procedure on everyone isn't ideal and more of a hassle for other departments.

So wait, you have mentioned the omegas... do they have betas and alphas there too or is it just the omegas?

They have betas and alphas too, we just never interact with one another. I have never met another alpha or beta until I was brought here.

So if you have never met another wolf sub gender... how did you get pregnant?

Seonghwa winces, standing to move away from Mingi. The other wolf stands too to follow the other but Seonghwa shifts back to his normal body, crossing his arms over his chest to hide his body before looking down at the ground. He bit his lip, tears forming in his eyes and Mingi's wolf eyes enter his view, he whimpers before sitting in front of Seonghwa. Gently, he nudges Seonghwa's hip, in return Seonghwa sobs.

"It was so traumatic Mingi," Seonghwa sobs, "I love my son, more than anything and I wouldn't trade him for the world, but how I got pregnant with him should not have happened. The whole process in general should not have happened, but how else were they going to do it..."

Mingi watches intently, What happened, Hwa?

Seonghwa sobs again, covering his eyes as he sits on the ground. The sharp sticks and rocks felt weird stabbing the flesh of the back of his thighs and butt, however he couldn't talk about this standing. Mingi must have sensed that and sits too, now eye to eye with the omega as he waits for Seonghwa to continue.

"I-I was given a pill to force start my heat," Seonghwa sniffles, hiccuping between each sob. He could feel snot and tears coating his face as he continued to cry from the painful memory. "I had started my heat a day later, and-and-" he sobs loudly, crying loudly, "They had this machine that looked like a penis, full of the semen used to inseminate me. It was supposed to represent an alphas knot."

Seonghwa couldn't control his breathing as he pants for air. Suddenly, black spots fill his vision and he was having a hard time breathing. Hands cup his face and Mingi's voice filled his ears, but his thoughts were so consumed with the memory that he couldn't focus on anything. He felt the warm skin of the alpha touching him, his wolf stirring more than it already was from being upset. Mingi had managed to pull him into his lap and was holding him close, rocking them back and forth as he coached Seonghwa to breathe normally.

"It's okay, I'm right here. You're no longer there, they're not going to hurt you or hurt Minjun, okay? You are safe, both of you are. No one is going to hurt either one of you, and if they so much as lay a finger on either one of you I'll tear them apart. I swear it, I swear to you my mate. They won't hurt you as long as I'm living."

Seonghwa buries his face in Mingi's chest as he breathed in Mingi's calming scent, allowing his pheromones to swarm his body and to calm him even more. When Seonghwa was finally calm, he closes his eyes in embarrassment and Mingi rubs his calloused hands softy up and down his back, "It's okay. You don't have to continue. Breathe."

Seonghwa shakes his head, "No, I have to tell someone. It haunts me every day Mingi. I have nightmares all the time about it."

Mingi shakes his head, "Not if it's going to cause you to have another anxiety attack. Not if it's going to make you like that again."

"I'm okay," Seonghwa whispers, pulling away to look up at the Alpha. However, he blushes when he realizes he is practically straddling Mingi, their chests pressed together and both were naked. His eyes widen and Mingi clears his throat, "Uh, sorry. I uh," he coughs, helping to remove Seonghwa from his lap which caused Seonghwa's wolf to want to reach back out to Mingi and never let go. He enjoyed the skin ship, it calmed him more than anything.

To calm his racing heart, he grabs Mingi's hand and holds it tightly while interlacing their fingers. He swallows before taking in a deep breath, "They used this machine to help with my heat. One knot however and my wolf seemed satisfied. And within a few weeks I was brought in to check and see if I was pregnant..." Seonghwa tears up again as he released a shakey breath, "As soon as I seen my son's tiny blob of a body, I knew I had to get out of there. I was willing to do anything to get him out of there and to keep him safe."

Mingi grits his teeth as he seethes, "If I ever get my hands on them-"

"Let's hope that never happens," Seonghwa laughs softly, tears falling down his face and Mingi wipes them away quickly before he can. Seonghwa blushes before sighing, "I just hope they don't do anything to my brother... I haven't seen him in over a year. I hope he's eating well, sleeping well, hasn't been chosen... because I would never want anyone to live this life ever. It's cruel and inhumane."

"I'm sorry Hwa..." Mingi shakes his head, the look of anger evident in his eyes, "No one should go through this ever. This shouldn't even be a thing... and to think you came from this-" Mingi takes a deep breath, his hands shaking from the anger growing in his body.

"I know, but I am not there anymore," Seonghwa cups Mingi's face and made the alpha turn to look at him, "You're right. We're okay. We're going to be okay."

"Well like I said, if they try to come for you I'll rip them to shreds," Mingi snorts, "You think I'll be the only one, Jongho is a terrifying hunter and Yunho will tear you to shreds with no questions asked. The other three will do everything they can to protect you, Minjun and the other children. Our hearts and love for one another as a pack is strong, and that alone makes us stronger."

Mingi brings his hand up to kiss the back of Seonghwa's hand, taking a deep breath in as he closes his eyes, "I promise, as your mate I'll protect you no matter what. And even though Minjun isn't mine... I'll protect him too."

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