When he had finished telling his story, Mingi wanted nothing more than to run away and hide.

He didn't know if he could handle everyone's pity... or the questions...

If he was being honest, he didn't even know if he wanted to reopen the pack link. Then he wouldn't have to feel their pity or concern either.

Even being in Seonghwa's arms... it hurt so damn much.

"So... What now?" San asked after everyone had calmed down a bit.

Hongjoong gave a long sigh, and Mingi could picture him running his hand through his hair. "I'm not sure. I think we should take tonight to rest and then we can see what tomorrow brings."

A few murmurs of agreement followed, then Avayla said, "We don't have a lot of room here, but we can try to set up the living room for everyone."

"That would be great, thank you." Hongjoong said. "Is there anywhere we can get some food?"

"We will get some." Siyeon offered, her voice soft and hesitant. "If that's alright with you?"

There was silence for a few seconds and Mingi felt Seonghwa tense next to him.

"Yes, please." Hongjoong finally said, a hint of thanks in his tone. "Will you need help?"

"No." Siyeon said quickly. "No, we want to do this for you. Please. It's the least we can do."

"We will go with them," the one named Sungjae said next, at least that's who Mingi thought was speaking since he had no idea what he looked like. "Eunkwang will want an update too."

The sound of the front door opening and closing came next, followed by the sound of something big moving and the sound of claws clacking against the floor.

"Alright. Does anyone else have anything they want to say?" Hongjoong asked.

"How can you be so calm around them?" Seonghwa growled. He moved a little bit away, putting a slight gap between himself and Mingi, though he was still holding onto Mingi's arms.

"Mama." Avayla snapped with a bit of a bite to her tone.

"This is all their fault! All of it! We wouldn't be there if it wasn't for them!"

Tension started to grow within the room. It made the hair on the back of Mingi's neck stand on edge.

"And they have since proven themselves to me. I've spent a lot of time with them, Mama, and I trust them." Avayla's voice was strong and confident. An alpha's voice in every way. "They were only following orders, and while it may have been misguided, they have been nothing but good to us since we arrived."

"She's right." Serena's soft voice cut in before Seonghwa could respond. "I was awful to them at first, and I wouldn't let them get close to me, but they really took care of us. Especially Maria and Kendra. Not everyone in the pack was as accepting, but Siyeon and the Elite... they were betrayed and hurt by Nova just like us, and in ways we will never understand as well."

"And they protected me..." Mingi added in a whisper. He had no idea who he was looking at, but he tried to face the direction he remembered most of the voices coming from. "When... When I escaped and they found out what N... what happened... they hid me and protected me."

A gentle touch on his shoulder made him jump, but he instantly recognized it. And he leaned into it, surprising both himself and his mate at the same time.

He didn't know what Theo was saying to the others... but he did know that he felt a little more at ease with the beta by his side.

Mingi turned his head toward Theo, hoping to show some kind of gratitude.

He received one, gentle squeeze in return.

A long, defeated sigh came from Seonghwa. "Fine."

"I know emotions are out of sorts at the moment," Hongjoong's voice was low, as if he was trying to be as soft and gentle as possible. "Rest. Enjoy our reunion. There's only so much we can do right now."

Something changed after their alpha said that. Something... broke.

Mingi could hear the others shuffling around, whispering to each other.

The others... his family... his pack...

Mingi swallowed ad bowed his head.

He didn't fit with them anymore...

Theo squeezed his shoulder again and kept the pressure up when the alpha didn't acknowledge it.

But he still couldn't find it in himself to say anything... Not when he felt like he didn't belong.

Suddenly, he was being pulled by both Seonghwa and Theo. They must have had a private conversation, because Seonghwa didn't say anything, but he pulled Mingi with determination.

Maybe this was it... maybe this was where he'd be kicked out of the pack...

A door opened in front of them, then his toe caught on the slight edge bordering it on the floor.

He fell into Seonghwa's arms right as the door closed.

Then his heart stopped when Seonghwa's lips met his.

.

.

.

.

It was the only thing he could think of to do.

During the entire talk, Seonghwa could feel his mate retreating deeper and deeper into himself...

And hearing his story... It killed Seonghwa in so many ways...

But he refused to lose his alpha.

So he filled his kiss with as much longing and passion and love as he could.

Yet... Mingi didn't return it like he normally would.

Seonghwa reminded himself that he needed to have patience. And understanding. There was a lot of healing that needed to happen for his alpha.

"Mingi?" He whispered, moving a hand to brush through his alpha's matted hair. "What is it, my love?"

As much as he didn't want to admit it, looking at Mingi was so hard...

His eyes were so distant, so out of focus... and they never looked directly at anything. But most of all, they were devoid of any kind of life of feeling.

When Mingi didn't answer him, Seonghwa frowned and shifted even closer, so their bodies touched. "Mingi, please talk to me. We are alone now. I've missed you so much."

Tears began to form after touching on his feelings for the first time. He'd been working so hard to stay calm or focus more on his anger that he hadn't been able to process any other emotions.

"I've m-missed y-you..." He said again, wishing Mingi would say something or hug him or just do anything. "I-I h-held onto our link, knowing y-you w-were out there... I never gave up."

Mingi turned his head to the side and Seonghwa's heart broke.

"Why?" The omega asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

He watched Mingi's face twist in pain, like even thinking about speaking was to painful for him.

"Min... Please... It's just me. Talk to me." He begged. "Alpha!!"

At that, Mingi slipped from Seonghwa's grasp and fell to his knees. An ugly sob tore from his throat at the same time.

Seonghwa instantly fell with him, throwing his arms around his mate and pulling him close. "Shhhh, it's alright. You're safe now." He said through his own tears.

But he didn't know if he was saying it more for Mingi, or himself.

Mingi's fingers dug into his back. Hard enough that it hurt and made him wince.

"I-I'm not w-worthy anym-more." The alpha sobbed. His voice was hoarse. Ragged.

Broken.

Just like the man behind it.

Seonghwa shook his head, trying so hard to fight his own cries of anguish. "N-No, my love, that's not true!"

Mingi tried to pull away, but Seonghwa wouldn't let him. "H-How can I be when I-I'm this?!"

Seonghwa knew he was going to get answers now. He hugged his mate tighter and prepared himself for the worst.

"I-I'm w-worthless! I-I can't do a-anything for m-myself now!" Mingi took a raspy breath, then started to cough from how hard he was crying. "I-I'm n-not an a-a-alpha anymore... H-How can I b-be when I c-can't protect you? When..." He started to sob even harder, "When I c-can't s-see your f-face ever again?"

They were both crying uncontrollably now. The pain of what was taken from them had become to overwhelming, too hard to hold back.

"That d-doesn't matter." Seonghwa said, forcing the words out in his attempt to be strong. "You are still my alpha, and nothing will ever change that."

He pulled back just enough so he could cup Mingi's tear stained cheek, gently pushing against it so Mingi had to look at him.

"After everything we've been through, you should know that none of that matters to me. All I want is you. My mate."

Mingi sucked in a breath and his eyes flicked in Seonghwa's direction. They were pointed more toward his forehead, but it was enough.

"You've always come for me." The omega continued. "And I will always stay by your side. No matter what." His hand began to tremble against Mingi's cheek. "I-I love you, Mingi."

Then they were kissing.

Seonghwa couldn't tell who initiated it, but he didn't care.

The kiss was hesitant, like Mingi wasn't sure what to do. But after a moment, he got into it more and tried to pull Seonghwa closer. It was wet, tasting of salt and fear... but it was still home.

"Precious." Mingi whispered against his lips. "Hwa."

"I'm here. I'm here." Seonghwa murmured back. "You're safe now. She can't hurt you anymore. I'll take care of you."

Mingi sobbed again, so much that he had to pull away from the kiss.

His omega was quick to pull Mingi into his neck. "You're alright."

"B-But I can't-"

"No. No buts, no excuses. There's only what we do going forward." Seonghwa closed his eyes, forcing more tears down his cheeks. "And I'm going to take care of you, just like I always do."

.

.

.

.

Mingi didn't know how to respond, so he let himself succumb to his tears once again.

How could he explain that he felt broken? Useless?

Yet... he also felt complete now that he was back in Seonghwa's arms.

A soft knock drew their attention, followed by the wonderful smell of vanilla.

"Come in." Seonghwa said, then shifted to the side, pulling Mingi with him to allow their alpha into the room.

"Are you alright?" Hongjoong asked softly.

That seemed like such an unfair question, and one Mingi was tired of trying to find an answer for.

But his silence must have been enough because Hongjoong squeezed his shoulder. "It's going to take time, but I want you to know that none of us think any less of you."

Mingi whimpered and bowed his head as his emotion started to build again.

"Come back to us. Please." Hongjoong said, his voice even softer.

He removed his hand from Mingi's shoulder, and the younger alpha had a feeling he was being asked to officially rejoin the pack. With a hesitant motion, he extended his trembling arm in the direction of Hongjoong's voice.

The pack flowed over him the second Hongjoong grabbed his arm.

He could feel the minds of his pack welcoming him home, cradling him in their warm embrace.

It brought a new wave of tears to the alpha nod he fell limp not both Seonghwa's and Hongjoong's embraces.

Only a few seconds passed before the door opened and Wooyoung was joining them, followed quickly by Yunho, Yeosang, Jongho, and San.

They surrounded Mingi, all making sure to touch him, so they had some form of connection.

As much as he wanted to, Mingi couldn't stop crying. If anything, it only made him cry harder.

His family... They were here... and they poured every ounce of love they had into the pack link, including the kids in the other room.

It was healing in so many ways.

"We will never give up on you, Mingi." Jongho whispered.

"Just like you've never given up on us." Yeosang added.

Wooyoung's sweet voice came next, reminding Mingi of how much he'd missed he younger omega. "We know it'll take time. We've all been there. But you can lean on us as much as you need to."

"Always." Yunho said as his hand moved to grasp the back of Mingi's head.

"We love you, Mingi." San finished. "No matter what."

As Mingi lost himself even more to the spiral of hurt and pain, he felt himself being swept away by the love and care coming from his pack.

They lifted him back up, their words stitching together the gashes Nova had torn in his body and soul.

Even the kids added their thoughts, Gunner and Avayla reminded him of how much they loved him and what an amazing father he'd been to them.

And then, a small tug touched the corner of his mind. One that Mingi felt himself wanting to get lost in.

One thing he'd misses almost as much as his mate.

Theo's calm aura soothed Mingi's weary mind, surrounding him and giving him that little extra comfort he hadn't realized he needed.

You are strong. You are brave. You are a fighter. I will be by your side. I will be your eyes.