Chapter Text
Winter is the most unforgiving season in the Black District. The temperatures like to hover to just above freezing, and it made it nearly impossible to stay warm. Nearly.
The Black District - Yoongi's district. Technically, it was Namjoon's district, as he was the Head Alpha and Yoongi's superior, but still. Namjoon might do his best and try to make sure all of his packmates have enough food and warmth, his fellow alphas and the one beta of his pack in top form to defend the two omegas that were present, but it still didn't stop rival packs from sniffing around their borders, as they had been for the last three years. Of course, they weren't the only pack in the Black District - there were many others - but they were the smallest, and that piqued the interest of more than one greedy alpha.
It was the most north of the districts, spreading out a good twenty miles on each side from the center. It laid over the city lines that humans liked to pretend were actually relevant. Despite being partially frozen for the most of the year, the Black District was by far the most beautiful. Though the packs from the Sand District liked to claim that their beaches were the most breathtaking, and it was true their sand was so white it was as if you were walking on snow, but nothing beat crystal clear rivers and foamy waterfalls and pines that never lost their needles even when they're weighed down with pounds of frost. It was beautiful in the most severe of ways.
Yoongi's response to being kicked awake is an automatic growl ripping from his throat, and he squints into the dim sunrise to see Hoseok looking down at him with anxiety. The beta hunkers down a bit at his growl, but when Yoongi breathes in, he can smell it. It's something different, something that's not supposed to be here, not on their turf. It's a wolf, he knows, but he can't tell if it's an alpha or beta or even an omega.
"Go with Taehyung; the scent's throwing everyone off and Namjoon wants to know what it is."
"What, are you throwing around orders now, Hoseok?" Yoongi teased lightly, but he stretched anyway, grateful for the fur blanket that he wrapped around him the night before as the fire in front of him had long since gone out. Why hasn't Namjoon started up another?
He cracked a smile, but still looked unnerved. "No, it's what the alpha said to tell you. Seokjin's cuts were starting to bleed again so he took him down to the river to wash. He should be back in a moment, and then you can leave."
At the reminder of Seokjin's injuries, he nodded once. The omega had been attacked by a neighboring beta for sport, and Namjoon hadn't retaliated. He had come from a large pack, one that Namjoon knew his own wouldn't be able to stand against, but it still made Yoongi's blood boil. Seokjin had been picking flowers. He wasn't anywhere near the boundary line. If anything, Namjoon should have spoken up about the beta being out of his territory.
But he had remained silent, and Yoongi still held that against him.
Taehyung, the third alpha of the group, was pacing around the edge of the woods, thick jackets layered over his frame. He seemed nervous, but then again, they all were. Yoongi went inside their den - a warm cave on the side of a cliff that divided into multiple sections - and grabbed up some clothes. He would be needing some more soon; the last time he had gone into the nearest human city to get more had been a little over a year ago, and they were starting to rip and tear. It was like he lived with wild animals. Yoongi resisted the urge to laugh at his own joke
He joined Taehyung by the woods, keeping his eyes on Hoseok and Jimin. Jimin, the other omega, was still curled up in the den, undoubtedly dreaming contentedly. Hoseok was sitting at the mouth of the cave, not wearing anywhere near enough layers for the weather; his long-sleeved flannel wouldn't hold against the snow that looked like it was going to fall any minute.
There was a rustle in the brush behind them, Namjoon pulling aside branches to allow Seokjin a clear path to step through. Yoongi nodded in greeting to the alpha, reaching forward to help Seokjin. He gave him a soft smile, relaxing now that he had more than one alpha around him. He was still hunched over a bit, but the smell of antiseptic and bandages stung at Yoongi's nose, so he knew he was being taken care of. The deep scratches down the top of his shoulder blades had been quite nasty, but they weren't fatal.
"How are you doing?" Yoongi asked him, looping an arm around his shoulders gently to aid him in sitting near the fire pit. Upon seeing them, Hoseok acted and began gathering wood. Within seconds, it was radiating warmth.
"I'm alright, thank you," he said earnestly. "I still hurt, of course, but I'm not dying."
You could be, Yoongi thought angrily, but he pushed it down.
"Yoongi-hyung? Are you ready?" The other alpha called from the woods. He was nearly dancing on his feet.
He pulled himself away from the omega, following Taehyung into the underbrush.
They followed the scent for a few miles east, carefully making their way in their human forms. They pondered shifting, but when they decided to change back, it would surely be uncomfortable shoving clothes back on in the freezing weather. Besides, their body temperature was higher than humans, so while they were cold, they weren't uncomfortable.
"Do you think it's a scout from another pack?" Taehyung asked, lifting his nose and taking it in. "I can't tell what they are or where they're from."
Yoongi inhaled as well, the cold air burning his nose. "I can't either."
They found him curled into a ball near a place the elk liked to gather, shivering and clinging to the torn clothes that hung on his malnourished frame. His hair was matted with dirt and blood, nails caked with the stuff. He couldn't be older than eighteen, and he looked shaken.
"Taehyung," Yoongi muttered, his eyes settling on the boy. He heard him whimper at being found, struggling to raise himself up, but his legs were collapsing underneath him and he was forced to a pathetic crawl away from the alphas. "Oh, shit."
"Hey, hey, hey," Taehyung called softly, following after him at a pace he hoped wasn't intimidating. "We're not gonna hurt you."
The boy corned himself against a tree, shaking and whining. His teeth had elongated, and his lips were rearing up as if he was going to attack; Yoongi doubted he would. He was just a scared pup.
Yoongi slowly lowered himself to his knees beside the boy, reaching out and touching his shoulder. He seemed to relax immediately, calming down, but he could still hear the pines in the back of his throat. The boy was ice-cold and his breath was coming out in shallow puffs of smoke.
Taehyung held the boy's face in his hands, tilting it from side-to-side to examine him. His eyes had fluttered closed and the alpha patted his cheeks to keep him to stay awake.
"Hey, don't go to sleep on us, okay? We're gonna take you back to our pack. You're okay now." Taehyung tried to smile at him, but it looked fake. He pulled off one of his many coats, throwing it over the boy as Yoongi lifted him up in his arms bridal style; he was worrisomely light, making Yoongi's gut twist.
They made their way back steadily, taking it slow so that Yoongi didn't drop the fragile wolf.
"I guess his age explains why we couldn't figure out what he was," Taehyung called, clearing a few branches to make Yoongi's trek easier. "He can't be eighteen yet; he hasn't presented."
"That's what I was thinking," he agreed, casting a look down at the boy in his arms. "And I don't think he's a scout either. Probably a runaway. He can't have been treated well."
The pup pressed his face further into Yoongi's shoulder, his pale skin reflecting light as if he were made of ice. The alpha swallowed, taking in how pretty he was, even while he was covered in gore and mud. There was no telling how long he had been out there, because Yoongi could feel his ribs, probably even count them, as he lifted him into his hold.
When they cleared the line of the forest, Namjoon was up instantly. Taehyung explained as quickly as he could, Seokjin gathering water to boil and wash the boy as soon as he saw him. Hoseok scolded him for it, doing it himself. Jimin had awakened since they left and was gazing at the pup over Namjoon's shoulder.
"What are we gonna do with him?" Taehyung asked, standing at the mouth of the cave with Namjoon and Yoongi while Jimin, Hoseok, and Seokjin fussed over the almost-unconscious boy. They had moved him inside the den to where it was warmer and stripped him of his clothes, washing him carefully. He groaned into the warmth, and Yoongi was right, he could count the ribs, even from this distance. Seokjin had the boy's head in his lap, murmuring sweet things to him and trying to coax him to drink water, which he did.
"I don't know," Namjoon admitted, gnawing on his bottom lip. "Nurse him back to health is all we can do right now. Then when he's a bit more stable, we'll ask him stuff. We'll decide then."
He slept for a long time. It was well over twenty-four hours, but that had given Namjoon and Taehyung enough time to go hunting and bring down two large elk to eat. Yoongi was on edge the whole time they were gone, worried that one of the neighboring packs would attack them in his alpha's absence, or even worse, that the pup's condition would worsen. He was relieved when it didn't, watching him stay curled into Jimin's side as he slept, seeming to stay hooked to one omega or the other. Even in his sleep, he seemed to tense at the presence of the alphas, and with Hoseok it could go either way, but he was always attached to either Seokjin or Jimin.
"Do you think it's because he misses his mom?" Hoseok had asked one time after the boy had seemed to go into a fitful dream when he entered the den.
"Maybe," Yoongi had answered, but he felt like the truth was more sinister.
When the boy woke up, Taehyung had been watching him, and he rushed out to get the others. The pieces of elk they had been cooking lay forgotten as they all piled into the cave to see the boy swimming in clothes all too big for him - courtesy of Jimin - and blinking sleepily.
Cute, Yoongi thought.
Namjoon stepped forward, making himself known as the pack leader in case the boy was too delirious to remember him from the first time.
"Hi," he said, smiling gently. "I'm Namjoon. Do you remember being brought here?"
He swallowed, slowly nodding. His black hair shook with the movement, looking like silk.
He seemed tense even with Namjoon's gentle approach, so Jimin took control, reaching out and taking hold of his hand.
"My name's Jimin. Remember me?"
This time, he looked the speaker in the face. "My clothes smell like you. Are they yours?" His voice was rusty, sounding a bit rough from not being used in a while, but he was speaking and that in itself was something to be happy about.
"Yeah, were they warm enough for you?"
He nodded bashfully, his round cheeks dusting over with color. "Thank you, Jimin-hyung."
At the term of familiarity, the room let out a visible exhale. Seokjin took this as a good sign.
"Are you hungry?" He asked, leaning down and smiling. As if on cue, the boy's stomach growled.
The alphas chuckled, but Hoseok was already coming back into the den with a piece of wrapped meat, freshly cooked. Yoongi watched with wide eyes as the pup's eyes dilated, and he almost snatched the elk from the beta. Holding the package in his hands, he swallowed and looked back at Hoseok with something that looked like guilt in his doe eyes.
"I-I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to snatch it from you."
"It's okay," Hoseok laughed, looking as if he wanted to reach out and ruffle the boy's hair, but thought better of it. "Eat up."
They left him with Jimin and Seokjin to eat, both of the omegas refusing to leave his side. They ate their meal outdoors before packaging up the rest and storing it in scraped-up snow for holding. Yoongi then dismissed himself to get a bath, taking off towards a stream with a change of clothes.
When he came back, hair still dripping, no one was sitting around the fire outside, and he found them around the one inside the den instead. The pup seemed to have just woken up again, being held up mainly by Seokjin's shoulder. When Yoongi walked in, his eyes rooted themselves in the ground. Namjoon seemed to just be talking to him, asking him if he slept well and if he gotten enough to eat.
"You're awfully skinny," he commented. "You must not eat very often."
"My... My pack wasn't..." He cleared his throat, shaking his head.
"We'll start with something easier then, alright? What's your name?"
"Jeongguk," he muttered, licking his lips. Jimin carded his hands through the younger boy's hair comfortingly.
"How old are you, Jeongguk?"
"I turned sixteen a few months ago," he admitted. "I know I'm too young to be out on my own, but if you don't want me, please don't send me back." He looked up and met Namjoon's eyes, pleading. "I'm not strong, and I'm not a fighter, but I can pull my own weight, I swear I can. Please, Namjoon-ssi, don't make me go back."
Tears had started to well in his eyes, and Seokjin pulled him closer and, in turn, pulled Jimin closer.
"Where did you come from?" The alpha pressed delicately.
"The Hinges," he told him.
The area that ran along the bottom of the mountains, the Hinges, was a quite the hike from where the were now. The Black District only claimed the uppermost part of the mountain - how far had Jeongguk come? There was another district between the two, and although it was possible that Jeongguk had been smart enough to travel the unmarked land reserved especially for traveling, it was unlikely. It was amazing the other district hadn't noticed him - but maybe they had vacated the area.
"Why did you come so far?" Taehyung asked, but if interaction with a different alpha threw him off, Jeongguk didn't show it.
"My pack, it's one of the larger ones, our - my - alpha isn't the kindest. He likes pups, likes to assert his dominance in the most heinous ways, and he does it while we're still young so that we don't question him." His voice was small, but it didn't shake. "One of my cousins tried to run, a few months ago. She was caught by our scouts, and they killed her. I wasn't going to let them catch me."
"Jeongguk," Namjoon said slowly, casting a shy glance towards the young boy. "They probably already know you're here. Your hormones were out of control when Yoongi and Taehyung found you. If wolves unfamiliar with your scent could smell you a mile off..."
He started shaking, and Yoongi felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
"Why does that matter? He's a pup, Namjoon. He's already made it this far, and if they come looking, tell them that we'll take him off their hands." Hoseok's voice sounded reasonable, but he knew that wouldn't work. Resisting to give a wolf back to their Head Alpha was something that could easily cause a war to break out.
"I won't turn you away," the alpha said, shaking his head, "but I want you to think about what you're doing. You've defied your alpha, and that's no small thing."
"I know," Jeongguk's eyes looked like they would fill with tears.
They all knew what could happen if Jeongguk was taken back to his pack. Defying a Head Alpha justified death, even though most leaders would never harm those he looked after. Yoongi didn't think that the alpha he had run from was quite as forgiving. In moments like this, he was almost grateful that Namjoon was a pushover.
"You can sleep with Jimin and Seokjin in the omega den, if you would like. I'm never too far away, and if you need me, come get me." Namjoon's words were gentle and they visibly soothed Jeongguk. Namjoon touched his thigh, squeezing reassuringly, and smiled. Then he turned and left the den, the moonlight glinting off of his platinum hair.
Taehyun moved towards him slowly, leaning down. Jeongguk's eyes following him warily, cautious.
"I know you don't seem so keen towards alphas, but we'd never hurt you. We're the ones that found you, you know. I'm Taehyung, and there, that's Yoongi." Taehyung nodded his head towards him, but Yoongi's face didn't change. It stayed expressionless. It was started to irritate him how everyone was treating Jeongguk like he was incapable of communicating normally, like he was so fragile that speaking at a regular pace would break him.
"I know," Jeongguk nodded. He leaned up, wrapping his arms around Taehyung's neck and pressing his face into his shoulder. "Thank you."
Yoongi felt his irritation slip away, melting into something like want, as he watched the interaction, Taehyung's hands creeping to hug the pup back.
"Not a problem. Besides, we needed younger wolves here. Seokjin drags everyone down with his ornery omega habits." The rectangle-shaped smile pulled at his lips while Seokjin made to swat at him, but he was too quick, and dodged out of sight. Hoseok followed.
Then it was just the omegas, the boy, and Yoongi. He shuffled on his feet, feeling awkward as Jeongguk stared at him. He wondered if he was going to give him a hug, too, but then pushed the thought aside, deciding he didn't need thanks for doing his job as an alpha. His gaze shifted to land on Jeongguk, taking in the sight of pure innocence, and then stormed out of the den.
Tch.
It took two weeks for Jeongguk to gain enough weight to look healthy, and Yoongi would never admit it, but he was relieved. He had started to become more comfortable around the other alphas, seeming to develop a particular liking for Taehyung, but whenever Yoongi spoke to him or got even close to him, he would tense, all the walls coming back up. Yoongi told himself that it was a good thing the boy wasn't fond of him, that he didn't need to be bothered by a pup, but when he watched Jeongguk lean his head on Hoseok's shoulder as he cooked meat and talked to him with ease, he knew he was lying.
"Yoongi," Namjoon spoke up one evening. "We need to get Jeongguk some clothes."
He looked at his alpha, unsure why he was telling him this. They all needed clothes, but they had yet to decide on a day to go into the human cities and get them. After all, they didn't exactly use money the same way humans did - they didn't use money at all. They usually took down a huge elk or two and brought it to the butcher, Yoongi's favorite human, and used that money to get what clothes and supplies couldn't be found in nature. He made a note to remind whoever went to get Seokjin scar cream; he knew the omega hated the lines that were slowly turning from angry pink to a dark tan.
"Who's going to town, then?" He asked evenly, watching the said omega sitting near a flower patch with Jeongguk between his legs, braiding flowers into his dark hair. Yoongi most definitely didn't think the purple blooms - that, for some reason, grew only in the Black District - made Jeongguk look pretty. Definitely.
"You," Namjoon said simply. "I'm sending you and Hoseok hunting tonight for a few hours to get some game, and in the morning, you'll take it to the town and get the stuff we need. Along with Jeongguk, of course."
Yoongi's head snapped toward the alpha. "Why does he have to come with me? I can handle it myself."
Namjoon gave him a stern look, and Yoongi wanted to object, but he submitted. "We don't know what sizes he wears. You've seen him; he could use Seokjin's shirts as blankets."
It was true. Even when Jeongguk wore Taehyung's clothing - not something Yoongi liked to think about - they hung off of him. He was just so small.
"He's a pup, Yoongi, let him go with you. I doubt he's even been in a human city before."
Namjoon's words sounded far off because he was watching Jeongguk again. He had traded places with the omega, Seokjin having to tilt his head down a bit so that Jeongguk could reach up enough to put flowers in his hair. Seokjin must have said something funny, because Jeongguk's lips turned upwards into a smile before he leaned his head back and laughed, the sound barely reaching Yoongi's ears.
"Okay," he yielded, ripping his eyes down to his hands, clasped around his knees. "But don't expect for me to spoil him."
The look he aimed at Namjoon was meant to be severe, but the alpha was shaking his head, holding back a smile.
Yoongi got to his feet, calling for Hoseok, and the beta came bounding out of the woods in his wolf form.
Yoongi began pulling off his clothes, leaving them in a neat pile by the fire so they were warm when he got back, and shifted, nipping at Hoseok's heels in jest before leaping into the forest.
Hoseok was fast, his wolf body lithe and quick, but Yoongi, as an alpha, was larger and more powerful, easily outrunning the beta. He was glad his pack was settled in a land that was covered in ice, because his white coat would have been traitorous in any other habitat. Hoseok was pitch black, and he could lower himself in a bed of pine needles if he wanted something bad enough, but he was usually quick enough to get what he wanted. For instance, they hadn't been tracking long before the beta took down a nice-sized elk, holding its neck between his jaws as he looked at Yoongi proudly. The alpha congratulated him by licking at his face, Hoseok wagging his tail.
They drug it back to the pack, Jeongguk rubbing at Hoseok's ears and telling him what a good kill it was, but Yoongi and Hoseok alike knew that it would take something more than one elk to get enough money to buy clothes with.
Back in the woods, Yoongi caught the scent of something big. It resembled wolf, but smelt too much like elk at the same time. With Hoseok trailing behind him, he tracked it, realizing at the last second what it was.
Bear.
The animal reared up on its back legs to make it seem more intimidating, but it didn't deter the wolves. It seemed to have been taking a fox carcass back to its den, but Yoongi knew the pack could eat that for dinner. He lunged, going for the jugular while Hoseok bit down on the bear's leg. Yoongi heard a satisfying snap, and the bear wuffed, the loudness of the sound making him flatten his ears in distaste. It fell backwards, attempting to get up, but Yoongi tore at its throat, flesh ripping underneath his sharp canines and the metallic taste of blood flowing into his mouth. He stayed like that until the animal stopped struggling, body heat leaving it at an alarming rate.
Hoseok offered to help him drag it back, but he shook his head, determined to do it himself. They hadn't hunted a bear in a while, and besides, he needed Hoseok to take the fox.
Namjoon was very pleased when he saw Yoongi pulling a bear, Seokjin and Jimin rushing forward and shifting, licking at his ears and smelling at the corpse in excitement. He had expected for Jeongguk to do something, but he didn't, only watching as he changed back into his human form, sliding on his pants and sitting beside the fire. He grabbed warm water and a rag, scrubbing drying blood off of his torso and face, his nose wrinkling at the burst of hormones the giddy omegas produced.
Someone took the rag from his hands, and he looked up to see Jeongguk sit beside him, wiping the blood from the alpha's body himself. Yoongi didn't object, settling into the boy's warm touches. He watched as Namjoon skinned the bear with his knife, taking the pelt and setting it aside; Yoongi could have it made into a thermal blanket when he went to town. He wondered if Jeongguk would like to have it, and cast a look at him, the pup's eyes furrowed in concentration. He looked up, feeling the alpha's eyes on him, and immediately looked back down.
"Where are your parents?" Yoongi asked suddenly, Jeongguk's hands coming up to his face to wash the sides of his mouth.
"Dead."
The word seemed too heavy, too serious, to be the reality of someone so young. Yoongi's heart twisted.
"Where are yours?" He responded, gaze meeting Yoongi's for a second.
"My father's the alpha of another pack, an older pack, in the Mahogany Coast. My mother died a few years back."
"I'm sorry," he said, and he sounded sincere. Yoongi waved it off, feeling that he should be the one that was sorry.
The other packmates started towards them then, and Yoongi grabbed up a shirt, pulling it over his head.
They settled around the fire, content with the fox that had been brought back. Namjoon told Yoongi that he had the pieces of bear and elk that could be sold buried in snow for the time being, but in the morning he would wrap them in plastic so they wouldn't smell and put them in bags that wouldn't be difficult to carry. It was a little bit of a walk to the nearest civilization, five miles, and they would be traveling in their wolf form, so the bags were designed to be strapped over their chests. Yoongi knew he would be carrying more than Jeongguk; he didn't mind.
Jimin kept them entertained by talking about the beta his mom left him in the care of when he was a pup, about how odd she was and how she was determined that Jimin was going to be an alpha. He'd grown up in one of the districts caught in eternal summer, with Namjoon, and broke away when his alpha had, settling where they thought no one else would.
Namjoon smiled at the memories of his childhood, licking at Jeongguk's face while they were both wolves. The pup didn't object, his head laying on his paws as he was starting to doze off. He was smaller than all of them in his wolf form, but next to Namjoon, it was even more obvious. Namjoon's wolf was blond, and he kept pushing his nose into the black one beside him, and though Hoseok's wolf was black, Jeongguk's color was different from his altogether. The black colors were mixed with deep reds and browns, and when light struck him, blues made themselves known. He was as pretty as a wolf as he was as a human.
The next morning, Yoongi and Jeongguk set out while it was still dark. Like he had assumed, Yoongi was carrying most of the meat, and Jeongguk mainly carried their clothes. Even so, he took it slow, the pup's eyes still thick with sleep and his steps sluggish. When they could see the outline of the city, they shifted, and Yoongi pointedly looked away from Jeogguk's slender waist, the curve of his thighs, and focused on bundling up. He could smell the butcher's from here, making his mouth water, but he made sure that Jeongguk was covered enough, eventually taking the scarf from around his neck to give it to the boy.
They hauled the meat almost a mile, Jeongguk visibly weakening, but when they stepped into the butcher shop, he inhaled deeply.
"Wow," he breathed. "It smells heavenly in here."
"You couldn't smell it from outside?" Yoongi asked.
"No, not really." The boy shook his head and seemed embarrassed, but then Yoongi realized why. He hadn't presented yet, so his senses were still weaker than those of other wolves. Even omegas had sharper senses than he did right now.
The plastic curtain moved aside, revealing a man that grinned upon seeing Yoongi.
"Yoongi! What have you brought for me this time?" His eyes settled on Jeongguk. "And who's this?"
"Jeongguk, this is Seuson. Seuson, this is Jeongguk. My friends and I are looking after him." Yoongi clapped the pup on the shoulder, and he smiled slowly.
"Hi," he said quietly.
"Hello, Jeongguk, I'm pleased to meet you! All of those friends of Yoongi's are lovely boys, and I'm sure you're no exception. What can I do for you?" He clapped his hands together, seeming eager. Jeongguk liked this man.
"I've got a good bit of bear here and some elk. Think you can do something with it? Take it off our hands?" Yoongi asked, gesturing to the packages.
"Bear? Oh, people absolutely eat up bear - no pun intended. I'm willing to pay a pretty penny for it, and I know you like the sound of that. Plus, you know I'd never say no to some good elk."
They traded, making Yoongi's pockets considerably heavier. Jeongguk didn't seem to understand why humans liked money so much, and by the way he gawked at the bills, Yoongi wondered if he'd ever seen any before now. Before he forgot, he lifted up the bear pelt.
"Do you think you could make something from this? Maybe a blanket?"
Seuson took the pelt from his hands, running his fingers through the rich coat. "Of course. Something to keep you warm, eh?"
Yoongi had a knowing smile, thinking of Jeongguk wrapped in the material, sleeping. "Along those lines."
"How long are you going to be in town today?" Seuson asked.
"Few hours, I suppose. Just getting supplies and all that. Harsh winter in the mountains."
The older man laughed, nodding. "Come back when you're done; I should have it ready then."
They first stopped off at a pharmacy, buying pain pills, bandages, and basic first aid. Yoongi nabbed some scar cream as well before they left, and steered Jeongguk away from the colorful multivitamins. They may be helpful to humans, but wolves needed different nutrients, and taking certain things meant for humans could be disastrous. As a lingering thought, he grabbed a couple of bottles of sleeping pills, knowing that the omegas found that sleep was sometimes hard to come by when going through heat.
The sun was in the middle of the sky when they started looking for clothes, and people were buzzing about. Yoongi could catch the scent of the occasional wolf, but most of the population was human, so he didn't let it worry him too much. His main concern right now was to get Jeongguk clothes that he could fit and be comfortable in. He allowed the pup to look around while he shopped for the others, already having their sizes and personal tastes memorized. Jimin liked cotton, but wouldn't say no to silk even though it tore quite easily. Hoseok hated anything with polka dots unless it was underwear.
When he was finished looking for the others and himself, he found Jeongguk turning in front of a mirror, wearing a new shirt and pair of jeans. A shop attendant, an older woman, was talking to him and pointing to different parts of his body.
"It looks nice," Yoongi said, and he wasn't lying. The fabric fit as though it had been tailored for him, even if it was only a simple tee shirt. The jeans made his legs look sinful, and Yoongi had to remind himself that this was a pup, a boy.
Jeongguk met Yoongi's eyes in the mirror, and he blushed, looking down at his feet. "Can I get them?"
"Sure," he nodded, rethinking what he had said when he told Namjoon that he wasn't going to spoil him. He wanted to buy him everything he seemed interested in, even if it broke his wallet.
"They're on sale," the lady told them, looking at Yoongi. "'Tis the season and all that."
He wasn't even concerned with the price, but he made sure Jeongguk got enough clothes. He tested out different sizes and didn't have any shame in trying on different things for Yoongi. In hindsight, Yoongi probably shouldn't have bought him as many things as he did, but when he looked good in everything, it was hard to say no.
Around mid-afternoon, they stopped at a bar to eat. While Yoongi was twenty-one and passed for it, Jeongguk certainly was not. They didn't sit at the bar though, choosing a booth in the corner instead, so none of the workers said anything.
Their waiter was nice, but being in a restaurant was something new to Jeongguk, and Yoongi wanted him to experience everything he could while they were here; they didn't come into the city often. He helped the pup decide what he wanted to order, which unsurprisingly was a plate of mainly rare meat, but when he ordered by himself, he smiled proudly. Their conversation was slow, consisting of a lot of nothing, but that didn't seem to bother either of them. Yoongi always liked to people-watch, and Jeongguk was too busy taking everything in to be upset about it.
Afterwards, with their stomachs full, he decided to let Jeongguk take the reigns. They had more time to kill, so why not?
"Where would you like to go, kid?" He asked, looking at Jeongguk through his fringe.
"What's that?" The boy pointed across the street to a library, windows overflowing with books.
"A library; people go in there to read books."
"I've never had a book before. I mean, there were books in my old pack, but I've never had one of my own."
"Would you like to get one?" He watched the boy's eyes widen, shaking his head furiously.
"I can't ask for you to get me one - they're really expensive, aren't they? But... Can we go in and look at them?"
Yoongi nodded, letting him lead the way.
Yoongi had never been a reader, but he could see from the way Jeongguk handled the books as if they were glass that the boy most definitely was. The library was vast, with shelf after shelf overflowing with books, and it was almost silent. Yoongi could hear a clock ticking from somewhere in the back room and the librarian's heartbeat. Yoongi guessed that it must be around Christmas, because while other places had put up tinsel and jingle bells, the library had a large Christmas tree, two stories high, in the very center of the building. It looked like it had been plucked from their forest and lined with lights and ornaments.
Jeongguk looked up from his book long enough to try and see the topper - Yoongi thinks it was a star, but he couldn't be sure.
"Hyung," he said, keeping his voice low. "Why are there decorations everywhere? It's not time for a holiday, is it?"
"For the humans, it is."
"What does the tree have to do with it?"
"It's called a Christmas tree, and on December twenty-fifth, they celebrate Christmas. You put presents underneath the tree and on Christmas morning, everyone unwraps what gifts are for them."
His nose wrinkled up, looking at Yoongi as if he wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. "Humans are weird."
Yoongi outright laughed at this, and the sound made Jeongguk's cheeks turn pink. He shuffled a heavy volume in his hands, looking at Yoongi awkwardly.
"What'cha got there?" He asked, and Jeongguk held it out to show him. It was a book on astronomy, and the cover was decorated in constellations. "Do you want it?"
"I..." He swallowed, and the alpha knew that he did, but he was too humble to outright ask for it.
"Let me buy it for you."
The pup looked torn between his head and his heart, giving Yoongi a pleading look.
"I want to buy it for you. I needed something to get you for Christmas, anyway."
He bought the book, knowing full well that wolves didn't celebrate Christmas, but when it came to Jeongguk, he'd make an exception. Besides, it was worth seeing the boy's pleased flush as he handed it to him, his very first book. Yoongi had to scold him as they walked towards the butcher's because he was trying to read as they walked, and he didn't want him falling and hurting himself. Yoongi didn't know if he should give the boy the blanket after buying the book for him, but, oh, fuck it, the boy needed indulgence.
Seuson was happy to see them, politely inquiring on what they had bought and praising Jeongguk on his choice in jackets. He brought out the blanket, all smooth on the side where the skin had been, floating like liquid beneath his fingers.
"I didn't do it," the butcher admitted, "but one of my friends is a trapper and likes furs. He did it in exchange for some of the meat - said he'd never seen a pelt in such good condition."
"He must not come across many good hunters, then," Yoongi chuckled, the younger boy behind him stifling a laugh. "I appreciate it, Seuson-hyung, really."
"Not a problem at all! I suppose I'll see you in a few months?"
"If you're lucky," he quipped back as they walked through the door, the blanket folded up neatly in the bag with their new clothes.
They reached the edge of the woods quickly enough, and night was just starting to fall. Yoongi made sure that their clothes were secure before he shifted, going slowly as he had that morning so he didn't exhaust the younger wolf behind him. When they were within a mile of the pack, though, Yoongi knew something was off. The smell in the air was different, and it set his hair on end.
He walked in a way that kept Jeongguk shielded behind him, his senses shifting into high alert. He thought about biting off their bags, but he was already stepping into the clearing, and if anyone that wasn't supposed to be there was present, they would be aware of them. The pup hunkered close to the ground, almost whining.
Yoongi wondered why he was so scared. Why was the scent affecting him so much? It was familiar, but -
The image of Jeongguk shivering in his ripped closed, blood on his face, flashed into his mind.
Oh. It was the scent of his old pack - of his old alpha.
As they approached the den, the scent grew stronger, but Namjoon met them at the entrance. He was bruised, his lip bleeding, but the scariest thing about him was his face. His face held something that Yoongi hadn't seen in a long time: hopelessness. His voice was empty as he spoke.
"They took Jimin."
Somewhere in the distance, he heard a howl from a wolf that wasn't in his pack; from the way Jeongguk keened at the sound, he had a pretty good idea where they were from. It didn't help that the howl was a shout of victory.
Facilis descensus Averno.
The descent to Hell is easy.