Chapter Text
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Mother Nature and Ten… they had a special relationship.
See, growing up, Ten had loved nothing more than to see the seasons transition, the crops grow and the new life being born in the forest.
As the son of the pack leader, he had gotten away with a lot more than his sister and all the other puppies, his father always arguing how “boys will be boys” and that he needed to become one with the territory, so he’d be a good leader one day, too.
And Ten did that. At ten, he was already able to track most prey with as much ease as the puppies five or more years older than him. He would find new paths down which he and he best friend could sneak deeper into the forest, but he never once got lost, always able to track his own scent back to the camp.
Ten felt at home between the trees, loved the thrill of running over soft ground and roots until his muscles burnt from exhaustion.
At the same time, he never slacked off in the lessons the older wolves gave the puppies, explaining the things that humans had invented. Ten soaked it all up, like a patch of dry moss that suddenly got rain.
He was his father’s pride and joy and he knew exactly how his life would go when he was only 14:
He’d present Alpha because all the sons of his family had been Alphas for generations and generations. It was clear that so would he be. Then, he’d find his mate at the yearly meeting of packs, that took place far North from where his pack reigned over a huge territory of land. Finally, once his father was old enough to step down, he’d triumph over the other contenders in the challenges that would be given to them by the elders and become the new pack leader.
Even now, people treated him like the role was his already. He was faster, smarter, yet more understanding of the pack’s problems than all the other boys around his age.
Where they were still stuck with trying to figure out their bodies and often relied on blunt aggression, Ten was able to think rationally, not as much blinded by instincts.
The only thing that annoyed him to no end was his height. Or lack thereof. He was shorter than almost all the other boys and whenever they searched for something to taunt him over, it’d be that he was shorter than some of the girls.
But Ten wouldn’t be Ten if he’d just let that hold him back or take the disrespect. He figured out how his shorter, yet broad and strong, statue could benefit him in combat and started challenging every person that made a rude remark, putting them into place.
So, when they got old enough to present and the others started worrying, wondering what they’d end up being, which fate Mother Nature had in mind for them, Ten was completely unbothered. There was never a single doubt in his head, that he’d be an Alpha and nothing else.
Looking back, that had been the first mistake.
He woke up one night in late spring after his 18th birthday feeling hot and like there was an inch under his skin that tickled over his whole body.
Ten shifted, feeling his whole body ache, his dick hard between his legs and… slick. Slick between his cheeks.
He froze.
No.
This couldn’t be right. Male Alphas didn’t get slick. Neither did male Betas. Only male Omegas had this ability.
Omega.
Ten squeezed his eyes shut and tried to fall back asleep. This had to be a dream. A nightmare. He was not supposed to be an Omega. Omegas they… sewed, they tended to the fields, searched the woods for edibles. And most importantly, they had puppies.
No hunting.
No fighting.
No opinion.
No power.
And never, ever the leader of anything.
That’s just how it was, how nature had intended for it to be, so his father had always taught him and his sister.
But sleep wouldn’t come. Instead, he felt his body burn up, skin thrum in need, his dick aching, and more slick oozing from him, starting to trickle down his ass.
Ten hadn’t cried since he had been a little puppy. But in the secrecy of his hut, he couldn’t hold his tears back.
He ignored the ache, the need to touch. He didn’t want anything to do with this body of his that had betrayed him by becoming useless for everything but having puppies. He knew how to make a girl feel good. He knew how to make an Omega boy feel good. He had done it before. There wasn’t anything to it, just preparation, so he’d learn.
But he was not going to give himself that satisfaction. He didn’t want it.
It only took until morning, when his mother found and saw him bundled up in blankets that were too hot but would keep eyes off his body.
A few hours later, the whole pack knew that the leader’s son had gone into heat. It took about as long until some of the boys that he had grown up with, and that either hadn’t been to a pack meet yet or hadn’t found their mates there yet, came knocking on his door, to offer to help him out.
Ten easily threw them out, even with his body weakened.
He cried most of the time. His pride was broken, there was no reason to not try and soothe the ache in his chest, the feeling of utter betrayal by his own biology.
Not once did he reach under the blankets where his body was aching in need.
He was disgusted by it, by himself, for ending up the weakest of the weak.
After it finally broke on the fifth day, his father came to visit him.
“Ten, your mother said you weren’t eating.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t believe that. Eat! You used lots of energy.”
He didn’t meet the Alpha’s eyes, but he took the offered dried meat and wordlessly bit into it. His father sighed. The door of the hut was open, as were the windows, to air out the overly sweet stench of Omega.
“Ten, I know you’re disappointed. To be frank, so am I.” Ten bit down harder. Of course, he was a disappointment. Only an Omega, that’d leave the pack the moment they’d find their mate, to live with their mate’s pack. Not a strong and capable leader.
“But you’re still my little puppy and I want you happy, okay?”
Ten didn’t reply. His father sighed again, even deeper this time.
“I talked to the Omegas and they’ll show you how to do their work. They were very understanding about the fact that you don’t know anything yet but need to learn before next spring, when the next meet of the packs will be. Don’t worry, you’re smart. Omega tasks are easy, you’ll pick them up quickly, I’m sure.”
Ten nodded, because what other choice did he have? The tracking, the lurking, the precise bite through soft throats to kill quickly, the strength and muscle he had built up – none of that would he need anymore.
Contrary to what the Alphas (and Ten, until now) thought, Omega tasks weren’t actually easy.
The precision that you needed for sewing and stitching was lacking from Ten’s fingers, used to handling big carcasses that could be taken apart with big knives. Gently holding puppies and appreciating their ugly works of art confused Ten to no end and more often than not, they ended up crying and running to the other Omegas, who threw him angry glares. Cooking what the Alphas and Betas prepared for them to make into delicious meals left Ten puzzled over what he was doing and he ended up over-seasoning and over-frying.
Laundry, Ten wasn’t bad at. You needed strength to slap the bigger pieces of clothing on the stones and it felt good when his body ached at the end. He wasn’t as strong as he used to be, but that was to be expected. He was only an Omega, after all, right? And he had tended the fields before, so he knew what he was doing there. For telling apart edibles you’d have to use your nose, similar to how you’d track.
Too bad that the elder Omegas didn’t allow him to do a lot of those tasks that he was good at.
Because he’d have to be helpful in the pack he’d go to. They might be small and rely on the Omegas being capable of everything. Or more traditional than them.
The idea of having an Alpha command him around made Ten sick to the stomach. He had tried; to be docile, obedient, and sweet. But he couldn’t stop the snarky comments from slipping. When he was with Alphas and Betas, they’d tell him off, but he’d do it again at the next given chance. It wasn’t even on purpose. It just seemed like there was something wrong with him because he didn’t like to softly giggle and turn down his eyes.
Before his next heat, the pack healer made him a potion from ginger, carrot seeds, and Embelia that tasted disgusting. Ten made sure to remember the recipe, just in case his new pack wouldn’t have it, because it would keep him from getting pregnant.
He allowed one of the Betas to fuck him through it from the second day on because the ache was too bad and his own hand just wasn’t enough. But he kicked him out the second the burning need subsidised and left him with a clear head.
The taunting comments, over what a good bitch he was under that bad attitude, that he got when the pack met at the fire made him come to the decision to never do that again. No matter how painful it was.
When the days became shorter and winter started falling over the pack, the Omegas moved inside. Everything, save for the cooking, was done inside. Ten felt like he was caged, energy buzzing under his skin and making him almost go crazy whenever someone pulled him back into a warm hut.
Eventually, it got too much. He felt like he was on the brink of insanity.
One night, he just ignored the rules that told Omegas to stay at the clearing and forbade roaming the woods without a mate. He stripped the clothing that everyone wanted him to wear all the times like his body was something to hide away and be ashamed of. The only reason to be ashamed to him was, over how skinny and bony he had become.
He shifted and ran through the forests until his muscles were burning from strain. It was well worth it. The next day, he felt somewhat back to normal, so he did it again and again until he got caught.
His father turned his head away as the second struck him for breaking the rules.
But the next night, he was back outside because he couldn’t stay indoors. Being holed up and hidden away into the shadows went against everything he had grown up to enjoy. And he found out that his body wasn’t weak. At least not naturally, only weakened because he had not used the muscles in so long.
He was soon back to the form he had been at before presenting, so the argument that Omegas weren’t made to do any of this was wrong.
Ten easily hunted down smaller prey, his bite just as deadly as that of an Alpha or Beta would be.
His small remarks turned into picking fights with the others whenever they made hurtful comments over Omegas or judged on another Omega’s body like they were a deer walking past. Like prey, up to be taken.
Where he had gotten put into his place by the others his age before, now, often his father’s second in command had to step in because Ten just didn’t back down.
Disobedient, they said.
Troublesome, they said.
Disgraceful, they said.
Ten endured whatever punishment he was given and went back to do exactly what had gotten him into trouble again the next day.
They didn’t manage to break his pride. Not again. Not after he had found again it in the strong muscle that once more lines his arms, torso, and legs and the skill that was still there, bringing him utter joy and satisfaction when put to use in hunting down his food.
When winter slowly came to an end, the talk about the pack meeting became the number one topic among the youth. Meeting your mate meant that you’d leave, for the Omegas, and that you’d get some pretty, obedient thing to your side that’d do what you told them, for the Alphas and Betas.
Those who had been there before shared their experiences, but Ten could smell the bullshit from fifty miles away as they overexaggerated without shame.
Ten… didn’t look forward to the meeting.
Since Mother Nature had been so cruel to make him an Omega but didn’t make the others see that Omegas could be equal to Betas and Alphas, he’d have to leave with his mate, aka his new owner taking over from his father. Finding his mate, that was the whole reason for the pack meeting.
He hated how lowly Omegas stood in his pack, how they were treated like something less. But he knew, that his father was still cutting him some slack and how it was far worse in some other packs. After all, the Omegas in their pack had come from somewhere and had their stories to tell.
Whenever Ten got punished for something, they were quick to remind him to be grateful he was seldom struck while they used to be disciplined for every minor mistake, not just the big ones that Ten kept repeating.
So, while the idea that somewhere out there, there was an Alpha or Beta that was meant for him, they’d get mated, and be together until death, Ten wasn’t dumb enough to think that that person wouldn’t follow whatever traditions and rules they had grown up with in their pack. Even if there was fate that meant for them to complement each other perfectly, destining them to fall in love, they’d still see Ten as their possession or maybe even worse, depending on how conservative the pack might be.
So, the most reasonable reaction in his mind was to… just not get a mate. Stay here, with his pack.
“I’ll no let them mate me.” Ten announced to his father when the man kept bringing the topic back up and how important it was to him that Ten would represent the pack well and be a good Omega. Good as in: obedient and docile.
He knew his father was desperate because he was unable to tame Ten. He just didn’t understand Ten didn’t need to be tamed. So, he didn’t feel sympathy when the man was unwilling to see that Ten wasn’t some fragile doll, that needed a strong person to guard him.
“Ten, please don’t be so difficult. They’re meant to be with you, they’ll take good care of you.”
“No. I don’t need anyone to do that. I can take care of myself.”
“If you’re unwilling they might try to force you, it’s easier to let nature take her course. You’re meant to be, just accept it.”
“They can try. Is there a punishment for killing your mate during the pack meet?”
A hand came down on his cheek.
“You will hold your tongue young man. I’ve been patient with you, trying to understand because it was my mistake to raise you against your nature. But I will not tolerate this talking.”
So, he was dragged along to the meeting of the packs, several days away from his pack’s territory. It was held in neutral grounds, so no one could have an advantage over the other.
It didn’t matter to Ten. No amount of nagging from his mum would change his mind to fight tooth and nail for his freedom.
The clearing they waited on was buzzing, different scents mixing to a point that it was just one, unidentifiable one. Anxiety and nervousness laid in the air and it made Ten’s want to throw up. The others from his pack were no better than the people from the other packs, tapping their fingers and wiggling in their places.
Ten was quiet, relaxed even. He had to conserve energy before the Omegas would be sent into the woods first once the moon rose, so they could scatter, maybe hide, and find a good place where they’d wait for their mates to get fucked.
He’d run as far as possible without getting too exhausted, so he could still fight. That way, the chances of even being found would slim down. Sure, that hardly ever happened because a wolf would be able to pick up their mate’s scent anywhere. But it was worth a shot in his opinion. And then, he’d just wait and see.
Just to make sure, Ten had asked the healer to make him some potion, though she had had these incredibly sad eyes when handing it to him. He hadn’t asked because he was sure it was because most members considered having puppies the biggest blessing in an Omega’s life.
No, thanks.
It smelled extremely strong, but Ten was used to the taste now and downed it without blinking an eye. The second in command gave him a hard look, probably thinking the same thing: that it was silly for Ten to not want puppies as soon as possible. There wasn’t even much reason to worry outside of heat. But still. It made Ten feel better about going into the whole thing.
A few packs came by to have a little chat and Ten absentmindedly listened. He felt tired by the time the sun set. He blamed the long travel and wished he had taken the time to nap and restore his energy.
When the moon slowly showed its full face, the second in command’s mate herded them to the treeline, where they’d be allowed to start soon. Ten’s body felt like lead, limbs not properly wanting to work. At the same time, he was starting to feel unreasonably hot.
A horn was blown, signalling for the Omegas to start and Ten gave his all. He pushed himself off the ground, immediately melting into his wolf form. But where his steps should have been effortless and easy, bouncing off the forest floor and pushing him ahead at lightning speed because he had been resting the better part of the day, he struggled to pick up pace.
He ignored it and forced his body to go to its limit. He was soon alone, the woods big and vast, making it easy for the Omegas to find privacy.
Ten wasn’t sure how long it had been and how much time he had left, but exhaustion let him come to a stop and he huffed, trying to catch his breath in desperate drags of air.
He let his pelt melt back into skin because he usually fought better like this. Just as a preparation. Holding a wolf down and mount them was easier, he had heard. A human could kick backwards.
His skin was hot, painfully so, and his head spun. Suddenly lust hit him like a brick wall. Like someone had just switched on his heat, skipping over any pre-heat to warm him, going right to where Ten was beside himself in need.
Ten gasped. He felt his hole slick up and his dick harden against his tummy.
What the fuck?
He wasn’t due for heat!
But there was no reasoning with his body in heat. Especially not with a heat this strong, his dick screaming to be touched, hole fluttering around nothing. Ten couldn’t hold a whine as he rolled over the ground, trying to find a cool, comfortable spot.
Thankfully, he had taken that potion earlier. With how much ginger there had been in there, he was sure to be safe from… ginger, yes, it had been extremely heavy on that. Suspiciously so, the scent masking anything else in there.
Ten couldn’t hold back a scream of frustration.
Those bastards! Like this, there was no way to fight off any Alpha or Beta, especially not when they were meant to be his mate. Even without the scent around, the idea of them knotting him made him shake in anticipation, his body going slack.
That had been what the healer hadn’t told him, why the second in command hadn’t tried to stop him. Ten felt blind rage course through him, wanted to go back and rip his throat out.
But before he could even try to force his heavy and weak body back up, he smelled Alpha. Not his mate, but another one, that just had the normal stench of “dominance” to him.
A wolf broke through the treeline, clearly interested in the Omega in heat. Ten bared his teeth at him and mustered a growl. Luckily, it was enough. The Alpha seemed to snap out of it.
Mating a wolf you weren’t meant to be with was unforgivable. There were brutal punishments, such as banning the whole pack from the meeting, which would ultimately doom them because, without fresh blood, they’d soon be set to just die out.
The Alpha seemed to remember that, too, and toddled off with his tail between his legs.
When he left, the scent of Alpha lingered and Ten had to hook his hands into the bushes he was lying in front of to stop himself from touching his aching lower half.
In this situation, he’d just have whoever was his mate claim him and kill them later. If they even were here. Maybe, he was lucky and his mate was younger than him, thus not yet presented and not here.
He felt more slick run down the soft skin on the insides of his thighs and whined under his breath, clutching around the stems of the bush tighter.
Yes, that seemed like a good plan. Get rid of the pain first, handle consequences later. And then, he’d get that asshole of a second his father kept around. For how many times that man had struck Ten, he’d deserve it all too well.
This was just the icing on the cake.
“Hey!”
Ten had been so busy digging his nails into the bark of the bush and planning bloody murder, he hadn’t noticed someone new approaching.
A young man looked down at him with wide eyes. He was… pretty. But with the sharpest jaw that Ten had probably ever seen, a stark contrast to the soft features.
And that scent! Ten heard himself whimper and threw his head back in silent submission as it washed over him.
It was ridiculous. He didn’t submit to random pretty boys waltzing past, but he wasn’t in control of his actions. His body was just doing what it deemed appropriate, what would most likely get him knotted and sate this burning arousal that was driving him to insanity.
The Alpha carefully unhooked Ten’s hands from the bush. He hadn’t even noticed that the skin had broken under the hard branches, but the Alpha had immediately seen it. He didn’t even have the mind to feel pain other than the ache from his lower body.
He rolled and tried to get the Alpha between his legs, but he just ended up on his tummy, ass raised a little in a wordless plea.
Luckily, he was understood. The Alpha ran his hand over his back carefully until he reached the wetness. Ten cried in relief when he pushed two fingers inside and started to thrust them, his body opening easily under them.
The scent made his head swim and his arousal was so strong, he could feel his thighs trembling from only being fingered a little.
“Moon, how long have you been in heat? How did I not smell you earlier?” the Alphas gritted out, and his voice was deeper than his pretty face would suggest. “Is this okay?” he was clearly straining to hold back, probably just as eager to knot Ten right this second as Ten was for him to do it. But he still made sure to stretch him first.
“Fuck me.” Ten managed to spit out. The Alpha stretched his fingers apart and Ten couldn’t hold a sob. Why was he so nice?
“Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll make you feel better. Tell me your name, please?”
Ten pushed his hips down, so the fingers reached deeper. “Ten.”
“Ten? Okay, it’s really nice to finally meet you, though I would have hoped we could talk a bit first… but I’m Taeyong.”
Ten’s last interest right now was talking, but he liked the fact that this Alpha actually wanted to and bothered with introductions instead of just fucking first and asking questions later, if at all.
Wait, no, he wasn’t supposed to like his Alpha.
The Alpha pulled his fingers out and Ten felt hands on his hips, hiking them up a bit. In this position, his body went slack on instinct so he could be knotted him without any resistance. So far gone into his heat, he didn’t have any brain capacity to fight this. He just let all strength leave his body while the Alpha pressed against him and pushed in.
He allowed him to adjust for a moment and Ten felt his heart swell a little over how considerate he was, but he told it to shuck up. He wasn’t going to allow any positive feelings born from carnal lust.
“Move!” he grunted and the Alpha moaned behind him but did as asked.
Ten felt his body drag against the ground below as he thrust in at a steady pace that was just fast enough to feel good without being overwhelming.
He could hardly even feel the slide, the intensity of the heat clouding all his senses, but he knew this felt good. He was close to his orgasm within a few moments, much too winded to last.
He came, much too quickly, but there was no use in trying to control any of his actions, not in this state. He clenched down hard and his body shook, vision going white, but he wasn’t satisfied, his body still aching for a knot.
The Alpha thankfully seemed to know and didn’t slow down but kept pushing into him, over and over, until Ten came for a second time.
He was already so worn out, he was just panting for air, letting himself be moved over the ground in time with the thrusts while his dick twitched and spilt over the ground below. He clenched down weakly, oversensitivity hardly noticeable from the rush his heat had him in, but slowly starting to make it feel uncomfortable. He felt the base of the Alpha’s dick swell and catch on his rim - finally.
It quickly became too big to pull out and the Alpha ground into him as deeply as he could, chasing his own orgasm.
He growled and leaned over Ten’s back as he came with a stutter of his hips. He felt the bite on his neck, but his body was numb from heat. He didn’t feel anything else, barely noticing the Alpha licking it clean before pulling back.
He felt himself carefully be turned to the side, where he laid and waited for the knot to go down.
Slowly, the haze around Ten started to pass and the heat cooled off his body, the burning need satisfied, and artificial heat broken.
“Hey, are you okay?” the deep voice asked from behind him, and a hand gently carded through his hair.
“Yeah.” Ten lied. He wasn’t okay. He was burning in anger with the arrogant Alphas who thought they could force him into a role they saw fit.
“You don’t feel as hot anymore. Was this your last day of heat? How did you even get this far from the clearing?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“It’s not over?” The Alpha’s hand came to his forehead and he pressed with just enough care to make Ten’s heart flutter a little. He internally screamed at the dumb organ. It was just instincts, Ten had to ignore them because if he thought this Alpha was great, he’d just end up getting hurt when he inevitably ended up being not.
“It wasn’t a heat. Mine isn’t due. My pack slipped me something, so I wouldn’t struggle.”
The Alpha took a harsh breath.
“Oh fuck, you didn’t… I oh my moon, I’m so sorry, Ten, I didn’t…”
Ten tried to look over his shoulder, to see if the reaction was genuine. But the Alpha looked actually horrified. Which was… weird. Because he knew for sure that it wasn’t very seldom that the Omega didn’t want to get knotted and was just held down and claimed without their consent.
“Don’t worry, it’s fine. I decided I’ll just break your neck later or something.”
“What?” Taeyong looked pale now.
“I won’t bow down to any Alpha who thinks they’re better than me and can own me, just so you know. If you don’t give me reason, I won’t, but if you think you can control my life, I’ll make sure it’s the last thing you try.”
“I… I don’t plan to own you? Uh, does your pack do that? I’ve heard of that before. I swear, we don’t have any of that stuff. I just want to – uh – become a good couple?”
Ten narrowed his eyes, trying to see if he was honest. His face was unguarded and there seemed to be genuine fear, something he hadn’t seen in any Alpha or Beta’s eyes since presenting because they didn’t take Omegas seriously.
Still, Ten wasn’t born yesterday. He could be a good liar. He wasn’t going to set himself up for heartbreak.
“As I said, just give me a reason.”
Taeyong seemed relieved enough and smiled. It was a pretty smile. Stop! Why did Ten’s traitorous brain supply that unbidden thought?
“Then I’ll just don’t give you one. So, since we got that out of the way, what do you enjoy most? What did you do in your old pack?”
Ten almost groaned at the memory and turned back so his neck stopped straining. The bite on the side started throbbing uncomfortably, too.
Taeyong had said he wouldn’t give him a reason… so why not push for the boundaries right away?
“I had to do all the Omega shit. And I hate it. I like hunting best.”
“Great. Hunting is fun. I do kind of everything? Since, well, maybe now’s a good time to mention that, I’m leader of the sub-pack I’m part of. So, I have to make sure I’m informed about everything. If you like hunting best, do you want to join the hunting party? We have a lot of wolves and to ensure everyone is taken care of well, we have these sub-packs. Mine is pretty new and most members are quite young, so I’m sure Yuta would appreciate more help.”
Pack leader.
Ten felt a little sick.
Taeyong seemed to misunderstand the quiet and kept rambling. “I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s fine, you don’t have to start helping right away, anyway. You can just tag along with me and get to know everyone. Or if you don’t want that, you can explore on your own, really, it’s all up to you. I really want you to feel at home. I… I’ve been pretty excited over finding you, so I want to do my all to make sure you’re safe and comfortable.”
“I can ensure my own safety.” Ten shortly answered. Not seeing Taeyong’s face fall at his cold façade made this easier and the Alpha was quiet after that, even pulling his fingers from Ten’s hair. He sort of missed the touch but pushed the feeling down.
The Omega silently inspected his hands. The palms and insides of his fingers were cut, blood-smeared, but nothing too dramatic.
They waited in silence until the Alpha’s knot had finally gone down and he was able to pull out. Ten turned over in the blink of an eye and pinned Taeyong to the ground before he could even try to get up. The Alpha blinked up at him in clear surprise, eyes wide.
“I get to bite you back.” Ten reminded him, but he also wanted to make sure Taeyong knew he was capable of pulling through with his threat. The Alpha nodded and cocked his head to the side to give him access. Ten leaned down and felt his fangs drop on instinct. He didn’t bite too high, not bothering to leave a mark of ownership.
Taeyong stiffened when he sunk his teeth into the flesh and Ten made sure to pull back quickly and cleaned the wound thoroughly. He didn’t like him, but he hadn’t really don’t much yet, so there was no reason to hurt or a wish an infection upon him.
He got off the Alpha, seeing a small puddle of a mix of cum and slick he had left where he had sat. The same stuff was running down the inside of his leg now. It felt gross.
“Let’s go back. I still have business with my second in command. My former second in command.” Ten grumbled.
“Was he the one to slip you the potion?” Taeyong got up and shook himself.
“Yeah.”
The Alpha’s eyes got dark. “Well, then I have business with him, too.”
“You will stay out of that. I told you, I can ensure my own safety.” Ten snarled.
Taeyong frowned, but he didn’t insist.
Ten was surprised how far he had come. It wasn’t the extreme exhaustion from earlier, but genuine tiredness that made it seem to take forever to get back to the clearing. Taeyong had tried to push ahead once, but Ten had snapped his jaws at the Alpha and he had actually stayed back.
He knew Taeyong was probably just flattering him, trying to please him. Happy wife, happy life, the Alphas and Betas back home had joked.
Finding his old pack was easy. The scent of excitement and fear had been blown away from the clearing and some groups seemed to have already left despite the hour not being too late yet.
Ten fumed in anger as he ran the last metres before smoothly shifting to human form and walking the last steps.
The second in command had spotted him and let his eyes scan over Ten, taking in the bite on his neck and the scratches all over his chest from where he had been dragged over the ground while Taeyong had taken him. Together with the dirt on his lower half, it was quite clear what had happened.
“Who made the healer spike my potion?” Ten growled and stepped right up to the bigger, older Alpha without fear. “Was that your idea? You’ve always had those fucked up ideas about Alpha dominance. It’s disgusting.”
“Ten, hold your tongue. It wasn’t me who came up with that, but my leader, your poor father, who worried himself sick over his son and the mistakes he did while bringing you up.”
Ten felt his blood run cold at the thought that his own father had been the one to put him into that position. He also knew there was no reason to actually harm the second when it hadn’t been him. His father was out of reach for him.
His anger still burnt hot. He wanted to scream and run all the way back South, find his father and tear out his throat for humiliating and de-humanising him like that, basically whoring him out for some questionable traditions.
“Extend my greetings to that asshole, then.” Ten barked and brought a punch down on the Alpha’s face. A cracking sound echoed and Ten stepped back in satisfaction. He felt Taeyong step next to him immediately, a hand hover over his arm, but not daring to touch, while the Alpha recovered.
The second in command glared Ten down, who held his chin high.
“I don’t condone hitting Omegas, so I will let it slip.” Ten snorted at the blatant lie to make himself look better and the man fixed Taeyong in his glare next. “Watch out, he’s a bit of a wild one. But a real Alpha likes a challenge, right? I’m sure you can tame him.”
Ten was about to lunge at the man again, if he could get away with it once, he could get away with it twice, after all, but Taeyong grabbed him and held him back.
“How about we find my pack now, Ten?”
He decided it wasn’t worth the trouble and pulled away from Taeyong’s hold with a huff before turning on his heel and stomping away from his old pack.
Taeyong’s delegation was a very tall Alpha named Johnny, who was without a claim mark. Then there was a Beta named Taeil, who was his second in command, which made Ten almost question if he had understood correctly. Betas were higher in status than Omegas, but Alphas usually didn’t let them get this much power. Even more confusing was Taeil’s mate: an Alpha named Yuta with a bright smile, that tried to hug Ten before he snapped his teeth at him and the man quickly backed off.
A Beta… and an Alpha? Male?
Maybe this pack was actually not like his? Ten banished the thought immediately before he could grow hopeful. No, he’d better keep being suspicious.
“Where’s Doyoung?” Taeyong asked while Ten made sure to glare Yuta down some more.
“Not here.” Johnny teased.
“And he hasn’t shown up yet?”
“Nope. But it’s not that late yet, they might still be at it. You know how Doyoung is, he probably went through 100 questions with the poor Omega first.” Ten eyed Johnny to see if he was serious. Taeyong had said something about talking first, too. So far, no talking had taken place, not really… but Ten would prefer to not find out too soon that his mate was an awful person. Not after learning what his father was willing to do to him.
There were only so many bad news he could take in one day.
“In that case, we’ll wait,” Taeyong announced and flopped down on the blanket, where he started re-dressing himself. Ten just stood there awkwardly and ignored the questioning stare the Alpha threw him. The stuttering and awkwardness from earlier were gone with his pack members and Ten saw, what people had often told him he’d be. Before he had become a disappointment, of course: a kind leader.
The pack fell into easy chatter over something some of the puppies had apparently done, about how to make the trip back as easy and quick as possible.
Ten ignored the silent invitation to sit with Taeyong and he also ignored the worried glances that they all kept throwing him and just stood there to wait.
He’d prefer a bath or just a bit of leaning up, but he couldn’t allow himself any weakness. He was stubborn enough to ignore how gross his body felt from all the fluids dried on his skin and how his palms stung and the bite on his neck pulsed.
Yuta had already dozed off with his head on Taeil’s lap when a couple came over from one of the remaining other packs on the clearing. The taller of the two had a protective arm around the smaller one and Ten wasn’t surprised to find out the taller was a Beta and the shorter the Omega.
The rest of the pack scrambled up to greet them and the Beta introduced his new mate with a bright smile. “Guys, this is Kun. Kun, these are Johnny, Taeil, Yuta, Taeyong and…” the Beta’s voice faltered and Ten glared back at him.
“This is Ten. Ten, these are Doyoung and Kun.” Taeyong was quick to jump in.
“Ten? Like the number?”
“Yes, or you can call me Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul instead if you prefer that.” Ten hissed.
“Oh, uh, okay, I was just making sure.” The Beta backed away just as quickly as Yuta, which reassured Ten.
“So, Kun, how are you feeling, think we can get some walking done today?” Taeyong inquired.
“Yeah, sure.” Kun nodded with a soft smile. He seemed like a typical Omega. Ten liked Omegas, he definitely did, as long as they weren’t trying to make him like them. They were sweethearts and he’d do everything in his power to protect them.
Taeyong threw Ten a questioning glance “Are you okay, Ten?”
“Yes.” Ten gave back, though his body was sore and tired. A bit of walking wasn’t going to kill him.
They ended up not getting very far and camped between two borders. Not because of Ten, but because Doyoung insisted that Kun was tired and Yuta was quick to announce his own tiredness.
Taeyong tried to pull Ten closer when they nestled into the soft ground to sleep, but he slapped the Alpha’s hand away and he didn’t try again.
Kun and Doyoung were cuddly and lovey-dovey in the morning and Ten felt a bit bad for the Omega, but it was his decision. If he was happy with some Beta flying circles around him – so be it. Ten was just hungry and that left him even more grumpy than only the aching muscles from the walking, annoying not-heat and consequent knotting yesterday already had him. Plus the skin around the quickly healing bite was tight and itchy, while his hands were doing anything but healing.
“Johnny, come on, we have to get something to eat.” Taeil poked the Alpha. Ten moped and stared at his still sleeping mate. Seemed like Taeyong was a late riser.
“No, go on your own, I’m tired.”
“We have too many mouths to feed for us two to get something, you lazy ass,” Yuta complained.
Ten stood up. “I can go.”
He expected to be told no, like usually, but Johnny beamed. “See? There you have your third man, perfect!” and with that, he shifted back to his big, dark wolf and curled into himself.
Yuta gave him a quick once over, before nodding “If you feel up to it, the help would be greatly appreciated.”
Ten hadn’t taken down deer in a long time. It made no sense to do that alone, even though he could, when no one would eat it. You shouldn’t take more from nature than you needed.
So when he jumped off the forest ground and onto the running animal’s back to take it down with a bite through the neck, feeling it give out under him, it felt like stretching a muscle he hadn’t used in years.
“He’s great! He’s better than Taeil. And I love Taeil.” Yuta announced when they had dragged back the game to the make-shift camp, where a slightly worried Taeyong was waiting.
Ten shook out his fur and tried not to let the compliment get to him too much. But it felt so good, to get acknowledged for something he took pride in.
He yawned to set his jaw, before shifting back to human form. Taeyong seemed like an excited bunny now and jumped around his neck.
“That’s so great, see, my mate is so skilled.”
Ten froze for a second. So skilled… he was boasting with his skills in front of another Alpha? Confusion mixed into the pride over getting complimented and he forgot to push the Alpha away for a few seconds, before he remembered that he was not going to fall for Taeyong’s charms only to have him show his true colours later and hurt him.
But it was very easy to like him. Taeyong smelt absolutely fantastic. His scent was like everything Ten loved, and like nothing he could compare it to at the same time.
He was a good leader during the whole trip and respected by the others. Only when he tried to talk to Ten, he became a little insecure about his words, his voice softer. During the whole three days he never forced himself onto him, he let Ten do whatever he pleased and he didn’t put him in his place. He didn’t even get angry whenever Ten snarled at him, though he was actually undeserving.
But Ten always expected the change of heart to come. That he’d start to order him around. He couldn’t allow himself to show weakness when he wasn’t sure how evenly matched they were. Taeyong was a bit skinnier than him, but he had an edge height-wise and his shoulders were broad. He must have been able to hold his ground against Johnny, who was bulky in both forms, so it’d be stupid to underestimate Taeyong, the leader of a sub-pack.
With Johnny, it was easier to open up a little. Because Johnny didn’t hold any power from some bond over Ten. He was very generous in praising his hunting skills when he went along after enough nagging from Yuta.
Taeil was difficult to read for Ten, and Doyoung was preoccupied with showing off to his new mate. Which meant Kun was too busy being impressed by his new mate for Ten to get to know him during their rests.
And then there was Yuta, who kept asking dumb questions.
“Like, I don’t get why the number? Are you the tenths puppy?”
“No.” Ten put a piece of tender meat to the side to eat later. They’d probably reach the camp in the evening, Taeyong had estimated, and Ten couldn’t wait. The cuts on his hands had gotten a lot worse because of the running that made them open up and get bigger, and he needed a healer to look them over because there was some inflammation going on.
Not that he had told anyone, of course.
“So, why?” Yuta leaned forward and plucked the best piece from Ten and that was the final straw for the Omega.
With a growl, he was off the ground and ripped what was his from Yuta. It was pure disrespect and he probably wouldn’t have done that were he a Beta or Alpha, known for their territorial instincts.
Yuta was surprised by the attack and toppled over easily from where Ten pushed against his chest. But he recovered and rose to the challenge a moment later and Ten felt a knee in his stomach. Their positions shifted with Ten now on the ground, the Alpha over him. Yuta seemed to have him overpowered for a moment, but Ten managed to turn the fight around and with a loud growl, he pinned the Alpha down for good. He struggled a second and then… bared his throat in submission.
Ten almost didn’t believe his eyes. He had won fair and square and the Alpha actually acknowledged it and gave in? No one had stepped in, how they’d have done in his old pack?
Ten got off with a huff and Yuta waited a second before sitting back up, too.
“Sorry, that was rude. Good fight, though. I forgot you weren’t Taeil for a moment.” The Alpha sheepishly apologised and Ten felt his jaw drop. His eyes darted around. Taeyong had a close eye on them, but Taeil and Johnny had already lost interest and were talking about some project with a school in their territory.
“Uh, okay. Don’t do it again.”
“Yeah, I got that.”
Taeyong was smiling when Ten accidentally met his eyes again.
He wished his heart wouldn’t pick up its pace at that.
He wished Taeyong was just how he had expected him to and easy to despise.
The camp of the pack was big, about as big as that of his own pack, but Ten had already expected that. It was interesting, that they had decided to split into sub-packs while his didn’t. But with how the pack members had treated each other on the trip, Ten thought there were quite a few differences between their packs. It might work… to just live here and try to fly under the radar.
The news that their leader had found his mate seemed to be taken with great enthusiasm, but Ten didn’t bother to try and portrait the perfect harmony, that Kun and Doyoung were supplying, while people were introduced and congratulated them.
He had a new strategy in mind: to test the limits as far as possible because Taeyong had to snap out of his understanding and friendly façade at some point, and then Ten would know he had been right all along to not trust the Alpha.
Surprisingly, he just went to sleep after wishing Ten a good night with a smile.
That was fine with Ten, he was tired and just passed out, as far away from Taeyong as he could get.
His mate insisted on showing him around the next morning. Since that’d only benefit him, Ten didn’t turn it down and instead silently followed and committed everything to memory. When Taeyong finally returned to his leader tasks and left Ten alone, which he had to insist on, he found the healer to finally look at his hands.
The wolf of the pack was from a different sub-pack, a very friendly, middle-aged man, who carefully cleaned Ten’s hands and assured him that, yes, he absolutely let the Omegas decide when they were ready for puppies. Ten should just come to pick up his potion when he felt his pre-heat. He gave him a jar of salve to put on the cuts at home and Ten left with a slightly better mood.
He spent the rest of the afternoon just strolling the border of the woods, not going very far, just enough to get a feeling for the vegetation here, the atmosphere. It was a bit different but familiar enough. A forest would always be a forest, after all, and Ten was thankful for the safe feeling he got between the trees.
He returned for dinner. He didn’t want to push his luck too far, not yet.
Apparently, Doyoung was the one responsible for cooking because he enjoyed it. Kun had all too happily joined his mate and Ten was just happy no one had asked him yet.
Taeyong wasn’t there but in a meeting with the other pack leaders, Johnny explained even though Ten hadn’t asked. He just nodded silently as he ate the stew that was served.
When he returned to the hut they now shared, Taeyong was home already, going through a stack of papers. Ten’s old pack had rarely seen paper, the next city far away. Here, the buzzing capital of the humans was close, so there were more human things found.
“Did you have a good day?” Taeyong looked up and asked happily.
“Yes.” Ten buried his hands in his pockets and stood there awkwardly. The Alpha quickly got off the ground and came up to him.
“I, uh. I got you don’t really like me. Which is very unfortunate because I already like you quite a lot. But I hope to make you see that I’m deserving of your trust. And I hope you can make yourself at home here. Uh. Yeah.”
“Okay.” Ten glanced at the Alpha and… wouldn’t it just be the easiest to believe him? To give in?
A voice in Ten’s head reminded him that there was still no proof he actually stood by his word and that it’d be foolish to be blinded by the scent and the puppy eyes. But really, what Alpha made puppy eyes? He had to be a special one…
“So, you wanna fuck?” Ten asked and watched the Alpha flush. You had to be a good liar to fake that, the half of his brain that was in favour of his mate pointed out. Or embarrassed that Ten had seen through him, the other argued.
“Er, what?” Taeyong squeaked.
“You don’t have to hold back. I know Alphas mainly want mates for that. I don’t mind.”
Taeyong seemed to be speechless. So, Ten stepped into his personal space and let his hand land on his chest and then drop lower.
“No.” Taeyong jumped away and Ten stopped, hand hovering in the air. His smile was gone now and Ten wondered if this had done it, if he had ticked Taeyong off, because the Alpha looked angry now.
“I didn’t want a mate to have sex daily. I wanted someone to… talk to. Who understands. Someone to open up about things that the pack shouldn’t know or wouldn’t understand. Someone that I can trust fully and who trusts me fully, I mean… that’s what the bond is for?”
Ten glared at Taeyong. “You don’t have to lie to me. I know you Alphas don’t care about Omegas’ opinions. And, sorry, but I’m not going to be nice and quiet and listen to you as you retell your exhausting day. I don’t care, so don’t bore me with that.”
“That is not… of course I’d care about your opinion. I listened to Hansol when he was still here and I’ll listen to all the other Omegas and remember to consider their opinions. Why are you so set on that I’m this bad person when you don’t even know me yet and don’t want to give me a chance to show that I just want to be a good mate? That I genuinely want to lead a pack where everyone is equal?”
Taeyong’s voice became louder and louder with every word until he was shouting. Ten jerked away, not able to help his natural instincts from coming through, expecting there to be danger when the Alpha snapped.
“Oh my moon, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have raised my voice!” Taeyong immediately recoiled. But Ten just turned on the spot and dashed out the door.
He stripped his shirt in his run but since he heard Taeyong behind him he didn’t wait to get rid of his pants, letting himself shift into wolf form, the fabric ripping away, and he bolted into the strange forest.
Finding his way was easy for Ten. He sidestepped trees and hopped over bushes like he had grown up in these woods. His paws hurt, but he still heard Taeyong behind him, so he couldn’t stop.
It took some time for the Alpha to finally give up, but eventually, the footfall was gone and Ten let himself fall into a slower jog. The forest around him became quiet, save for the sounds of the night.
He ended up falling asleep on a rock by the river that cut through the territory and woke to chirping birds and a few rays of the sun that managed to break through the leaves over his head.
Ten got up and shook his fur out before he stretched his legs. The muscle was tight but rested.
Unfortunately his trail from yesterday was gone, so he couldn’t follow it back to where he had come from. He wasn’t a helpless puppy. He’d just follow the stream down, which was where it must lead to the camp until he could pick up another track.
Back to the Alpha.
Ten wanted to feel angry and disgusted, but the other side of his brain was stronger today.
He wondered if he had been too harsh last night.
But he had been scared and hadn’t been able to understand what Taeyong was trying to tell him.
He wanted a pack where everyone was equal. Was that really a thing? Wasn’t Ten being the awful person here, for sticking to the believes his pack had raised him in?
Had he been an Alpha, how he had expected to be, wouldn’t he have treated an Omega the same way that he despised getting treated now?
So, now he just expected every Alpha to be like he would have been, though these Alphas here clearly had been raised very differently and had shown during the last days that he wouldn’t be pressed into an ideal he should fulfil?
He had always known there were packs worse than his own, even more traditional and conservative.
That there might be ones better than his, more progressive and liberal was something he hadn’t even considered so far.
Ten halted in his tracks.
He couldn’t just go back. Not after having been this shortsighted and ignorant. Aber having been so insensitive and unfairly mean to his mate.
He let his fur melt into skin and sat down on the riverside to stare into the water. Fish were swimming in it, barely visible in the darkness of the depth.
Because if they’d just be equals, then… the idea of having a mate was sort of nice. Ten had never really thought about it like how Taeyong had described it, as having a partner to fully trust. Someone who would try to incorporate his opinions in their decision that… that would be nice.
Ten splashed in the river a little and saw the fish dart away, but spring was too cold for water-games, so he pulled his hand back up. As he straightened, he picked up the scent of Alpha. Not the wonderful type that clung to Taeyong, but someone else.
Maybe they were angry. Maybe Ten would be punished. For the first time in his life, he’d accept that.
But it was the big, black form of Johnny, that broke through the trees and Ten just froze where he stood.
The Alpha shifted and took the last few steps slowly like he was scared he’d run off. Maybe not a misplaced worry.
“Ten! Hey! Are you okay? Taeyong literally chased the whole sub-pack into the woods to find you, because he, and I quote ‘messed up terribly and is a terrible person’. He’s scared you got hurt.”
“I told him, I can ensure my own safety.” Ten mumbled stubbornly.
“He’s still going to worry. Nature can be very brutal.”
“I know. I… I also messed up. I think I messed up more. That’s why I didn’t come back. I don’t know what to tell him. Can’t you tell him you didn’t find me?”
Johnny smiled. “No, I can’t, because he’s my leader and I respect him. So I wouldn’t lie to him, especially not over you missing. He’s… Ten, I know this isn’t my business, but he was dejected when he didn’t find you yet last year.
“We knew they were going to divide us off into this sub-pack since we were puppies. It’s been handled like this forever here. Taeyong has always been very compassionate, so he thought: what better way to care for his pack than to become their leader? He’s spent all his youth training for this position. No one wanted it as bad as him.
“Many of the older wolves doubted him because even though we try to treat everyone the same – it’s still normally Alphas, who lead. And Taeyong was small and pretty, so they thought he wasn’t made for the job. And he proved them wrong. The first thing he wanted to ensure in this sub-pack was, that everyone could choose freely what to do, no stereotypes holding their development back.
“But no matter how great a leader he is, heavy lies the crown. He usually only listens to our worries and doesn’t open up about his own. But we all know how badly he wanted to have that special person, that he could open up to rely on and that he, in turn, could treat just a bit better than the rest of the pack.
“So, please, I will vouch with my life, that he’s a good person, the best Alpha in this pack, so try and give him a chance? Fate doesn’t just match two people up. There’s a reason behind this!”
Ten slowly nodded.
Maybe the reason was, that it would appear they were both raised with the same goal in mind? Just under different approaches.
“Thank you. And if he treats you badly, which I don’t believe he will, you have every right to hate him. But please don’t do it by default.”
Ten nodded again. “I understood that by myself already…”
Johnny grinned and straightened up “That’s good to hear. Now, how about we go home before Taeyong flips completely?”
Ten got up and shifted back to wolf form.
Johnny followed his own track back to the camp, but they didn’t even get near there before another wolf cut off their path.
The smell was unmistakable: Taeyong!
Ten ducked his head, tail pulling between his legs in a silent apology. A moment later, he saw legs, someone crouching down in front of him, hands hovering over his body, never touching.
“Oh my sun, Ten! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
Ten shifted, holding his head down. He never lowered his head. But he was genuinely sorry and Taeyong had him wrapped in a hug a moment later “I’m so sorry, it was wrong to push you like that when I know you come from a bad place.”
“No, I’m sorry, I just – uh – assumed.”
“But you made those based off your bad experiences and I didn’t remember that.”
“Well, I tried to get a rise out of you and make you snap at me to prove my own dumb point.”
“I didn’t insist to calmly talk to you, but let you get under my skin when it was just you trying to protect yourself.”
“I was so set that my mate wouldn’t be able to look past their upbringing, while I wasn’t able to do the same.”
“I…” Taeyong’s mouth was open, as he looked for more mistakes, but seemingly came up empty.
“I win.” Ten mumbled.
“What? No! I’ll find more. I… I raised my voice when I knew it’d trigger fear in you.”
“You already said that.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes. Yesterday, when I didn’t listen to you and just ran away, like a puppy.”
Taeyong shut his mouth. “I hate losing.”
“So do I.”
Taeyong blinked. “Oh, then you win, of course.” He beamed like it was his biggest joy to suddenly agree on his own loss.
“Whatever.”
“So, let’s start fresh?”
“Yeah.”
“Great. I’m Taeyong, leader of the youngest sub-pack of Kangta’s pack.” Taeyong was still beaming and Ten shoved him weakly.
“You’re a dork. Where did Johnny go?”
“Hm? Uh… I don’t know?” Taeyong looked around with big, confused eyes… that really were pretty cute…
“So, I can actually join the hunters, right?”
“Yes, totally! Whatever you want!”
“You know, my father was pack leader. I was expected to follow him. Until I went into heat, of course. But… I think I would have been an unfair leader. Thinking Omegas were just meant to raise pups. You’re doing pretty well, from what I can tell.”
Taeyong stared at him in pure wonder before he started to giggle, like a small girl.
“Thank you, I, uh, so that’s probably fate, right? Maybe you can teach me some good tricks? Or become my advisor?”
That took Ten by surprise. The idea of voicing thoughts of such importance and being listened to had disappeared from his mind some time ago.
“I guess.”
Taeyong leaned forward, like he was about to kiss him, but quickly pulled himself back before he could. Ten immediately had his hand in his hair and pulled him forward again to press their lips together.
“Did Taeyong break?” Yuta squinted at the still giggling Alpha, that filled two bowls with meat before snuggling against Ten, whom he gave one of them.
“Did Ten break, is the question here.” Doyoung had his eyes narrowed in a similar fashion.
“Wanna eat dirt?” Ten snarled at the Beta, whose eyes widened before he muttered a “guess not” under his breath.