Gunner cracked his neck and let out a deep sigh.

This was it. This was the day he was finally going to beat Riley.

The two alphas grinned at each other and bent their knees in preparation to charge at each other. It was something their fathers had them do often. Pretending to fight was one of the best days to prepare themselves for a real fight.

However, Riley always seemed to best Gunner, and it was really starting to piss him off. He wanted to be a strong alpha like his father and Avayla.

"Ready?" Riley asked, cocking his eyebrow the same way that Hongjoong did.

"You bet." Gunner smirked.

The two of them ran at each other and collided in. The momentum sent both of them scrambling backward, but Gunner was quick to spring to his feet. He dove for his friend and pinned Riley to the ground using all his weight.

Just as he was about to win, a loud, "Gunner!" came from the pack porch.

Riley snorted and pushed the younger alpha off him and they both stood and brushed themselves off while Seonghwa walked over to them "Mama I was just about t—" Gunner started to win, but his mother crossed his arms.

"I saw what you were doing. I thought I asked you to look after the little ones while the rest of us went hunting."

"Don't worry Uncle Hwa." Riley cut in quickly when Gunner was about to protest and probably make things worse. "They are just back in the playhouse. We've been listening."

Seonghwa sighed and jerked his head. "Please be over there. They are still very young. We will be back in a bit. Lizbeth and Lorelai are inside and Avayla is running the perimeter with Theo, so they should be back shortly."

"Yes, Mama." Gunner looks down at the ground and turned around to march over to the clearing where he knew his sister, Maria, Rhodey, and Chan would be. He could sense his mother reaching for him, but he wasn't going to acknowledge it.

Riley said something to Seonghwa before running after Gunner. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Stop being such a suck up. Aren't you tired of babysitting?"

"It's part of our job as older siblings. And alphas." Riley said. It was the perfect response for the perfect head alpha in the making. It made Gunner sigh heavily, but at the same time he couldn't be made at Riley.

When they got to the clearing, he immediately sensed Trinity and hurried forward to check on his little sister.

But there was something wrong...

Riley must have sensed it too because in a matter of seconds, the pair of them were running forward as fast as they could.

Voices came through the trees that weren't familiar. "What's the matter, Runt?"

"You're so puny, who would ever want a weakling like you?"

"Leave us alone!" Maria shouted. Her voice cracked though.

It was then that Gunner heard the worst sound imaginable. Trinity was crying.

"Back off!" Rhodey chimed in.

Riley and Gunner ran faster and once they entered the clearing, they saw three teenage alphas surrounding the four youngest members of their pack. One had already grabbed Chan and was holding his arms behind his back.

Rhodey and Maria were standing in front of Trinity, who had her face hiding behind her hands.

Gunner snapped.

Without even thinking, he ran forward and tackled one of the alphas to the ground, not caring that he was a whole head taller than him. "You leave my sister alone!" He roared while punching the boy's face.

The girls screamed and started to back away while Chan tried to pull himself free.

Dad! Riley called out through the pack link. He was always able to keep a level head, something Gunner still had yet to master. Dad! We need you!

We are coming. Hongjoong's voice said.

Gunner barely heard any of it. He swung at the alpha below him again and felt his knuckles slam against cheek bones.

"You little shit!" The alpha not holding Chan said. He ran forward to help his friend, but Riley jumped in between them and snarled.

"Get off our territory!" The power behind his voice was something he could have only inherited from Hongjoong, for even though they were younger than the intruders, he was still able to make them flinch.

That was all the distraction Chan needed to pull himself free. He yelled while running forward and barreled into the alpha in front of Riley.

"Chan, no!"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Gunner roared, still punching the alpha beneath him. When he noticed that the boy was unconscious, he pushed himself up and started running for the third one.

He was stopped by Riley looping an arm around his waist. "Gunner, stop! This isn't helping!"

"I want to rip their throats out for picking on Trinnie!" Gunner tried to pull away, but in his frenzy, he wasn't able to win against Riley's strength.

Before things got worse, a low rumble came from behind him.

The teenage alphas paled and froze.

"Mama!" Trinity called out. The sound of her voice snapped Gunner out of his anger and he turned to see Seonghwa holding Trinity in his arms. Maria was next to her rubbing the back of her head. Chan had also run to the rest of their pack and was standing in front of Wooyoung while Rhodey was holding hands with Yeosang.

"I suggest you get your friend and leave." Hongjoong walked forward slowly. "And don't even think about coming back here again. Got it?" His eyes flashed red and he snarled.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes, Sir!" The boys stumbled forward and dragged their unconscious friend behind them while fleeing from the territory.

Hongjoong huffed and turned around. "What happened?" He asked, looking around with a bewildered expression.

Gunner immediately let his head drop as disappointment with himself took over. "It was my fault..." He mumbled. Riley tightened his grip on Gunner's stomach and started to speak, but Gunner cut him off. "Mama asked me to watch them, but I was too far away... I'm sorry..."

"You're lucky nothing worse happened to them." Hongjoong's voice was stern and demanding. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir." Gunner couldn't bring himself to look up from the ground, especially when he felt tears coming to his eyes. The thought of anything happening to Trinity...

Suddenly, Hongjoong was kneeling in front of him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Your sister and the others are still very young." His voice had a completely different tone. It was gentle and kind, but still firm enough to convey the urgency of the situation. "I know it's not always easy, but you and Riley are old enough now that it's time for you to take on some more responsibility."

All Gunner could do was nod. After a few minutes, Riley left him, only for him to feel the strong arms of his father bringing him into a hug. He whimpered while trying to apologize, but Mingi just shushed him and cupped the back of his head. "It's ok. Everyone is ok now, but you just need to think about these things bud."

A tiny hand tugged at his shirt and Gunner felt Trinity trying to worm her way in for a hug too. The young alpha immediately turned to hold her. She nuzzled her nose against his chest and fisted his shirt. "I'm ok Gunnie. You protected me."

Gunner could still feel his father rubbing the back of his head, and soon it was joined by his mother's comforting touch as he nodded. "And I always will, Trinnie. I promise."

~~~

Seonghwa hummed happily to himself while milling around the kitchen. It was a nice, lazy day for the pack, but he had always had a hard time staying still for too long, so he was trying to find something to do.

Or clean.

Just something to help his restlessness.

His searching didn't last long, however, because a pair of arms came up from behind him and pulled him back into Mingi's sturdy chest. "Precious, what are you doing?"

"Nothing." Seonghwa hummed while rubbing Mingi's arms.

"We are supposed to be watching a movie. Stop obsessing over cleaning."

"I am not!" Seonghwa said with a pout. His alpha chuckled and just started to drag him from the kitchen.

"Sure you aren't."

Seonghwa scrunched his nose and was trying to come up with some witty response when the front door opened.

His son walked in and stepped aside to let his mate, Trenton, follow. The omega allowed Gunner to take his jacket and beamed when Gunner pulled him in for a hug.

"Hello boys, where have you been?" Mingi asked.

Gunner froze and turned slowly. "Nowhere special. Just a run." He cleared his throat and grabbed Trenton's hand, making the red-head blush and move closer to his alpha.

Seonghwa arched an eyebrow. "Gunner."

"Mama." Gunner mimicked his tone and started to walk down the hall to his room.

"Hi Mom, Dad." Trenton said softly and gave a little wave, but he never quite made eye contact.

Seonghwa pursed his lips and studied both boys carefully. His first assumption was that Trenton was pregnant and they were trying to hide it for whatever reason, but the boy's chocolate scent wasn't any stronger than normal.

If anything, Gunner's mint scent that he had inherited from Mingi was the one giving him away.

Seonghwa tilted his head and took in Gunner's appearance. He noticed that Gunner was wearing a beanie, which was uncommon.

And then he saw it.

"Gunner! What is that!"

The young alpha shrank into his own shoulders and turned around. Trenton immediately hid behind him. "Nothing! What are you talking about?"

"Nothing? Nothing! I don't think so!" Seonghwa marched forward and ripped the beanie off his son's head to reveal he had dyed his hair neon blue. "What did you DO!"

Gunner growled at him and snatched his hat back. "I just wanted to try something new! It's not a big deal!"

"Big deal? Your hair is blue!" Seonghwa practically screeched. His anger grew when Mingi started to laugh behind him.

"So? I like it." Gunner ran his fingers through it, making it messier than it already was. "And so does Tren."

The shy omega peeked around Gunner's shoulder and nodded several times but never made a sound.

Seonghwa felt his anger eb a little bit when he saw how scared Trenton was, but he still couldn't believe Gunner had done this.

"Plus, I'm old enough to make my own decisions Mama. I don't need your permission anymore." Gunner crossed his arms and locked his jaw.

Mingi had once said that when the two of them had a glaring contest it was hard to tell that Gunner actually looked more like Mingi. The face he made was an exact replica of Seonghwa, which was perfect because of how stubborn they both were.

"Gunnie! You're home!" Trinity yelled, breaking the ice even more. She ran forward, arms stretched out wide, and jumped up for her brother to catch her.

"Oh man," Gunner grunted, "You're getting big Trinnie." He said while rubbing their noses together.

The little girl just giggled and waved at Trenton, who stepped out from behind Gunner to wave back. Then she looked up and gasped. "You have blue hair!"

"I do, do you like it?" Gunner asked, now completely ignoring Seonghwa.

Seonghwa watched as Trinity contemplated the question for a few minutes. She tilted her head back and forth several times and tapped her chin. That action all but obliterated his anger.

That is until she turned around and looked straight at Seonghwa and said, "I want blue hair too!!"