Everyone in the room froze at once, all conversations silencing.

The sound of the door unlatching was loud even over the packs mindless chatter and laughter, but only because it was so unexpected.

The silver-haired Omega has remained cooped up in the bedroom for several weeks now, and no matter how much more comfortable he was becoming around Yeosang, and even Seonghwa, the young wolf still seemed uninterested toward the idea of coming out whenever the two mentioned it. All of their consistent comforting and coaxing seemed useless.

But apparently that wasn't the case because in this moment, Wooyoung was opening the door willingly and freely by his own choice.

Yeosang immediately shot up from his seat, a little too quickly albeit, causing the pregnant male to get a little dizzy. But he wanted to be sure that he was the first one to welcome the timid wolf. It was also to ensure that the others wouldn't overwhelm him... especially a certain Alpha in particular.

After catching his balance, the expecting Omega took one glance at San and practically rolled his eyes at the sight. The Alpha looked like his complete existence was about to walk out of that bedroom door at this moment. In his eyes, he looked like he was mentally preparing to pour his entire heart and soul out, but the words were caught in his throat. If he were to open his mouth, he'd probably spew out a mouthful on jumbled, crazy nonsense or a total word vomit.

And Yeosang was not about to have that. The last thing he needed was a feral, love sick Alpha scaring away poor Wooyoung.

He's seen the Omega only once, and the boy wasn't even conscious for goodness sake!

He glared at San, motioning for him to stay in his seat, mouthing a clear, "You stay there!"

Even if San were to give him his suffering, puppy dog eyes, which of course he tried, Yeosang would not relent. Alpha hormones are something that Yeosang will never fully understand.

Wooyoung nervously peeked his head around the door, only pushing it open a little bit at a time. Anxiety was painted across his features, and in the moment, he was most likely thinking that this might have been a bad idea. As soon as he caught sight of Yeosang though, he was instantly relieved by a small amount. Yeosang could tell because his floral scent became minutely sweeter.

"Is everything okay?" Yeosang was sure to ask, creasing his eyebrows in concern.

The younger wolf nodded once slowly, but he looked like he was contemplating what to say. "I-I'm hungry." He stuttered out after a moment.

"Ah," Realization hit Yeosang. He was just hungry. Maybe Wooyoung wasn't actually ready to leave the protection of his bedroom after all, and Yeosang would never push him. "Would you like me to bring you a plate to the room?" He looked over his shoulder towards the dining room where the others were silently eating, not to interrupt or to scare Wooyoung.

Wooyoung wrung his hands together and picked at the tip of his fingernails, notably another nervous habit he's picked up. Again, the frail Omega looked to be deciding something over in his mind, awkwardly glancing around his surroundings. He finally took a deep breath before asking, "Actually, w-would it be alright if I ate dinner out h-here?"

The older Omega had to contain everything within him that wanted to leap for joy and wrap his arms snuggly around the other. They've never hugged before, and right now would not be the best time to do so. He also tried to keep his facial expressions under control because his excitement made him want to grin from ear to ear, which could potentially alarm Wooyoung too.

Instead, Yeosang smiled only slightly, calmly. "Of course you can. The rest of us are all out here at the moment, is that okay? Or do you want to eat with just me and Seonghwa hyung?"

"N-no. It's okay, but can I sit over here?" He points over toward the couch in the living room

Yeosang hums and nods. "That should be fine. Would you like me to sit with you?"

"Yes, please." His hands were shaking. This was obviously a big step for him. It was taking a lot of bravery. But everyday he's becoming more and more trusting of Yeosang.

"Okay, take a seat, and I'll prepare a portion for you!" Yeosang beamed and led the younger over to the couch.

When he returned to the dining table, everyone except Seonghwa looked at him with curious glances, wondering what they were supposed to do in this situation. Should they stay quiet while they finish eating, or should they carry on normally? They didn't want to do anything that could trigger the Omega.

San looked over at Wooyoung longingly, probably wanting to approach the male more than anything, but he was containing himself fairly well.

"Is he doing alright?" San hesitantly asked, only glancing at Yeosang for a moment before turning his attention straight on Wooyoung again.

"He's understandably uncomfortable, but he's okay. You need to stop staring though because he's already terrified of Alphas, and he'll think you're scrutinizing him!" At that, San looked down at his plate, poking at the vegetables with his fork like a toddler in trouble. He poked the inside of cheek with his tongue and pouted. His behavior was quite amusing to witness.

"I would never scrutinize him." San's eyebrows furrowed, his tone turning serious.

But Yeosang could only laugh. "Well, I know that, but he wouldn't."

When Yeosang returned to the other Omega with his food, he noticed that Wooyoung looked a little unsettled, like something else was making him uncomfortable. Wooyoung scrunched his nose, and grimaced, which made the older realize what the problem was.

"Ah, sorry." Yeosang carefully set down the full porcelain plate on the coffee table. "I should have mentioned that the couch is where one of our Alphas sleeps. It probably smells strongly of him."

Wooyoung only nodded, whispering, "it's okay," but it was so faint it was hard to hear.

"Is it really? We can move if you'd like."

The silver-haired wolf shook his head. "This is fine. I-it's not a bad scent... it's just..." He didn't have to finish the sentence for Yeosang to understand.

The scent was from an Alpha. Yeosang doesn't know what all had happened to Wooyoung, but from how careful and antsy he is, he can imagine that it's put a bad name on all Alphas for him. It makes Yeosang feel the need to mention, "San is a good Alpha. I can assure that." He's not trying to be a wingman of sorts by putting in a good word for San. He's just being honest.

Wooyoung recognizes the name. From what Yeosang has told him, San is the wolf that brought him here after he had collapsed. Wooyoung blushes at the thought, probably remembering that he had been naked. But that shows a lot of self restraint for an Alpha.

Maybe not all Alphas were despicable.

The rest of dinner went on quietly and smoothly. The rest of the pack continued with their dinner and clean up routines naturally, chatting away, teasing one another, and giggling, but attempting to not be too rowdy.

Immediately after finishing his food, Wooyoung crept back into his room, but this was a huge step for him. Yeosang understood. It was progress, so things could only get better from here.

—————

Seonghwa will be forever grateful to have Yeosang at home.

The hardworking Omega has adopted many of the household responsibilities that were typically things that Seonghwa did, such as the daily cooking and cleaning, even the laundry.

Of course Seonghwa helped where he could, but lately he's not been as capable.

He's not sure what the cause is, but for the past week, Seonghwa has been oddly fatigued. He's been achy and has been getting headaches more often too. He had never been a nap taker before, but recently he has to have at least one or two naps a day, or his body ultimately shuts down.

Seonghwa was a scientist, not a doctor, so he's completely clueless based off of his current symptoms.

The whole thing was bizarre, which is why he's so thankful for Yeosang. On top of the household chores, Yeosang has been busy independently taking care of Wooyoung once again, only because of Seonghwa's recent health. Yeosang has been more than willing to step up wherever there's been a need without any complaints. It was a full workload, but he's taken it all on like a champ. He was a valuable team player.

Hongjoong was also grateful toward his little brother's noticeable efforts, but his main point of concern was focused on Seonghwa. Something was not right, but they couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Seonghwa slowly peeked his eyes open, the soft creek of the bedroom door waking him up from another short nap. He widely yawns, before his lips form into a loving grin at the sight of his mate.

"Hi, love." Hongjoong whispered before sitting on the edge of the bed next to his Beta. "How are you feeling?" He caressed Seonghwa's face, rubbing his thumb gently back and forth across the apple of his cheek, rosey colored from sleep.

"Mmh, tired," Seonghwa admitted, letting out a soft giggle. He couldn't help his giggle because it was just so ridiculous. He had only been awake for a couple hours earlier in the morning before needing to go right back to bed. It was frustrating more than anything, but laughing it off helped him cope.

Hongjoong tugged his lips to the side, something he did when he was worried. He couldn't easily laugh alongside Seonghwa. He believed that something must be truly wrong.

He reached out his hand, which Seongwha immediately accepted, squeezing it tightly. "We could always take you into town, just to see a doctor?" Hongjoong suggested.

"You know that's not a good idea," Seonghwa mumbled. It would be too dangerous. There's a really good chance that someone would recognize them and turn them in. For Seonghwa, a doctor's visit was not worth the risk.

"Well, I don't know what else to do!" Hongjoong growled in irritation. "I hate watching you suffer every day. Your body is in pain, and you can't stay awake for more than a few hours. It's not normal Seonghwa, and you know it! Stop being so stubborn!"

Seonghwa huffed, furrowing his brows. "Well, I'm not risking Yeosang and Wooyoung being taken and the rest of us being imprisoned, maybe even worse."

"Then what do you suggest?" Hongjoong was only acting like this because he's scared, and Seonghwa knew it. "What if it gets worse?"

They both sat in silence, thinking of what the best course of action to take was, but both minds came up almost completely blank.

"Tell you what," Seonghwa spoke up. "If I'm still feeling rough after a couple of more days, maybe we can talk to Yunho and see what he thinks." The Beta had worked in a lab more recently and had surely gained a bit of medical experience, or at least Seonghwa hoped. They didn't really have many options at this point.

Hongjoong didn't look fully convinced, but he bit his tongue, choosing to trust his mate. "Okay, love."

~~~~~~~~~~

Sooo, this was definitely a bit rushed because I wanted to get this out to guys. It's more of a filler chapter than anything, but I still hope you enjoyed!

Guys! I had such an amazing week! I got to meet two of my closest friends, JinJin0309 and flamewhipper in person for the first time. We were blessed to be able to spend almost six days together, and I couldn't be more grateful for the time we were able to share with one another.

If my updates are slower than normal, it's because I'm playing a little bit of catch up. I hope you understand!

-Sydney <3