Chapter Text
It was a bright summer day.
The summer had just arrived and Jimin could not be happier. Summer meant that the entire pack was preoccupied with their daily tasks and more chance of him getting nursery duty. He loved spending time with the pups and sitting under the shade watching them play catch. He would then read them books and put the little ones to sleep. But he would have to wait another two more sunrises for that day to come.
His new routine demanded him to help the kitchens and in the gardens now that he had turned twenty-two. His days of helping in the nursery was reduced to three. The only bright side of the whole arrangement was on the days he was gardening, Taehyung was with him.
It would seem like today was not one of those days. Taehyung was urgently called to help the Head Omega and henceforth Jimin was left to entertain himself.
The day was nearing its end and crickets hopped all around him. The western winds, as hot and humid as they were, brought with them a swarm of dragonflies. They danced all around him as he watered the plants, sometimes finding resting spots on his crown.
His duties were nearly done and he was looking forward to joining Taehyung and his family for dinner. Taehyung was younger than him by two moons yet he had presented before him. The omega gleefully doused Jimin in his lemony scent since then and Jimin felt like he was carrying spring along with him wherever he went. They were close since the day they were born. Jimin’s mother and Taehyung’s mother were close and desperately wanted their children to have the same kind of friendship. Even after his parent’s passing, Jimin’s relationship with his best friend’s family remained the same.
Aunt Taehi had kindly offered him to join them to celebrate Taehyung’s sister’s birthday, and he gracefully accepted. He preferred the days he spent with his friend that at the common dormitory with everyone else.
He was thinking of gifting her a pair of earrings. Jimin had saved his earnings for the past few months to get her one of those droopy earrings. All that was left was the flower crown. But that would have to wait until he was done for the day.
The afternoon sun was unrelenting. Covered in sweat, Jimin wondered who despised him so much that they gave him garden work on a bright summer day. His own body was so heated and he could not wait for the day to be over so that he could take a swim. It was the thought of floating in the cold water that helped him to get through days like these.
He heard it before he saw it. The pained cry of a fawn not too far from where he was. Perhaps it was instinct that he ran towards the source of the sound. Dropping his basket at once, Jimin rushed towards the heart of the forest where he believed the fawn was.
It was strictly forbidden to capture young animals. If one was accidentally caught in the traps they had set, Jimin must save it.
Jimin ran into the heart of the forest, uncaring of foliage and the animals that lurked within. All he could think of was the young deer and how worried its mother must be.
However what awaited him was more heinous than he could have imagined. There were three wolves – rogues by the look of it – cornering a little fawn. Shocked, he crouched behind an old oaken tree, tucked behind a thick line of bushes with his heart hammering in his chest. He must inform the Head Alpha. He must inform him of the intruders.
The wolves were unlike any he had seen. Rugged and cruel were they to the eyes. Pitious creatures of bones and loose skin which spoke of the starvation in thIt must be the prejudice all pack wolves fostered for the ones without; but right then, Jimin did not want to know the truth of them.
He must have physically flinched when one of them sunk its teeth into the fawn’s neck; for now the wolves were alert, with their snouts in the air seeing out the scent of the intruder. Jimin was relieved for a moment. He was yet to present and had no scent of his own. He smelled of nothing, blending in one with nature.
Which was why it perplexed him when the footsteps approached his hiding place.
The heat was unbearable and his clothes stuck to him like second skin. The fear held him captive, paralysing his mind. Jimin could think of no way he could escape. Any attempt to flee would be suicidal on his part; there was no escaping. The forest as much as he knew it was full of perils and hidden traps. He would be lucky to not get caught in one of their own traps. In any case, he was not going to outrun three grown wolves – alphas at that.
As he waited there, palms clutching his chest, his heart rammed against his chest. Everything was too much. The humidity, the uncomfortable feel of his clothes, the dirt all over his skin and the impending notion of death or something graver.
His helplessness manifested into short shaky breaths and hurried tears. He quickly pressed hand over his mouth to muffle the panic that was making itself known.
Every crunch of twig or dried leaf sent him into alertness. It seemed to be coming closer and closer.
“Is prolly nothin’ you cunts,” a menacing voice leered from afar. His words were slurred, likely from eating flesh by which Jimin identified him as the wolf that dove into the fawn’s neck. “Have it before they find y’all, eh? ”
“Can you stop fucking eating for a second,” another one dismissed the first speaker. “For every pound you inhale, I will eat your limbs” It was a woman and her voice was further away from where Jimin was hiding.
“Please,” the other alpha scoffed. “Eat if you want, woman. No one is fucking saving you little treats.”
“Stupid cunts,” the alpha who was quiet all this while decided to speak up. “Just eat quickly and we leave. Is it clear? Now stop making a fucking ruckus. Y’all gonna bring the entire village upon us.”
He heard retrieving food steps and sounds of struggle, probably as the wolves tried to stake their claim in the catch. He was in the clear, for now, at the very least. He must wait it out, and find the most opportune moment to find the Head Alpha.
The sun was now hanging low in the horizon. Slowly but surely, golden sunlight filtered through the canopy. It hit him right in the eyes, momentarily blinding him.
He took a deep breath before peeping through the bushes, just making sure that he was alright.
However, the sight before him made him stumble backwards.
Wild green eyes stared back at him triumphantly. Like Jimin had just walked into their trap.
“Hey kitty,” the man’s gaze was vicious and when he smiled at him, his yellow teeth and bloody tongue made Jimin scream. He brought his hand over his chest in order to calm his pacing heart. Sweat broke all over Jimin just by the sheer intensity of the moment. “Guess who we have here, Nara! A pretty spy.”
He tried to stumble back when the man wrapped his bony fingers around his ankle and dragged him towards the clearing.
“Let me go!! Please,” he sobbed, paralysed by fear. “I won’t tell anyone! Please!”
“Shut that bitch up, will you,” the woman, Nara, leered at him, wiping the blood off her lips. He had never seen anyone consume raw meat in their human form. It was a taboo even for rogues. But the ones in front them seemed to have an appetite for it. The other man with them – the one Jimin now discovered was blind in one eye – continued feasting on the dead corpse, tearing the fawn apart limb by limb.
Jimin could hear his heart beat a little bit quicker,and his eyes were getting warm. Sweat now dripped into his eyes and his eyes stung. His clothes stuck to his skin and so did his hair. Overwhelmed and sensitive, Jimin could not contain his broken sobs.
He screamed on top of his lungs as the alpha tore through his robes, ripping the fine fabric apart. “No! No! No! Please,” he managed through choked cries. “What-”
His cries were cut short as the man shoved the torn off fabric into his mouth. With teary eyes, he watched as the alpha bound his hands behind his back and then left him there on the ground to join his companions.
“There you go…. Happy?” The man asked Nara who just threw a bone at him. Jimin watched as he tore off a limb from the fawn and dug into it with his canines. Blood gushed out from his mouth like drool, yet the man was uncaring of the coppery taste. The scent of the rusty blood made Jimin lightheaded and nauseous.
He lay there weeping, lamenting his fate. He should have never rushed here without help. He must have called one of the guards, or perhaps just any other alpha who could have defended him.
“Fucking hurry, Wooshik” she urged them. “The little bitch screamed loud enough to bring the entire pack here. We must flee! Hurry.”
“What about him then?” The one-eyed alpha asked.
“Finish him off, of course,” Nara said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, as if Jimin was not here, witnessing them condemn him to death.
Jimin struggled to sit upright, however he could not find the right balance. When he shifted, the tear in his robes exposed his milky skin to his captors who eyed him just the way they were watching the fawn before. With hunger and something even more degenerate.
“No fucking way, Nara,” Wooshik protested. “Look at him. No way we are letting go of the price.”
“Are you stupid, Woo,” Nara barked at him. “We cannot afford to carry him around. We must leave!”
“Nah! Y’all can leave. But I am having him,” Wooshik declared.
He abandoned the food and approached him and Jimin went still. He screamed into the fabric as the man jerked him upright, pulling at his arm. His grip was bruising and his long nails dug into Jimin’s soft skin.
He flinched away from the man as far as he could, wanting nothing more than to escape from his grasp. His sobs became infinite as the man evaded his space and ran his nose up the column of his neck, right over his scent gland. Jimin thrashed in his hold as the man inhaled deep.
“Woah, cherries?” The man asked, amazed, as if he could not believe his senses. “Just how rare you are? ”
Jimin brows furrowed, trying to make sense of what the man was saying. He did not have a scent of his own and Taehyung was the only one who scented him. And he smelled of citrus.
“Tell me, kitty,” Wooshik grinned at him. The man leaned in next to the shell of his ear, suffocating him with his scent of lemongrass. “Did you really want to be ruined so badly that you came hurrying for us in pre-heat?”
Pre-heat?
Jimin’s eyes widened as everything made sense to him suddenly; the uncharacteristic warmth under his skin, the perpetual sweating, the irritable disposition.
Now it all came to him. And the vulnerability of his circumstances were revealed to him. He was presenting and here he was – a captive to the rogues.
“Look at his face!” Nara now approached him. “He did not know! He is fucking presenting, you dumb fuck.”
He tried hard to contain himself and not succumb to fear. His eyes hurt from the crying and his entire body started to heat up from the added tensity.
However, it seemed like his captives were not fond this discovery. “Fucking hell we must leave at once!” Wooshik spoke, rising from next to him. “His scent is going to draw someone and it won’t end well for us. Seojun? Leave the fucking deer and get up! We are leaving.”
It was then that Jimin lost himself. Panic seized him and his world no longer made sense to him. He was tied up and abandoned in the forest, far away from his home. He was presenting in unfamiliar territory with no one to help him. It would only be time before someone even more destitute found him in his state.
His head hung down in defeat. He was slowly slipping and he would not have been conscious to witness what happened, if it had taken place any second later.
He barely saw it at all considering how fast it all was.
A colossal black wolf emerged from the bushes, going right for the throat of the one-eyed rogue. The first thing he – and the other two rouges – even witnessed was the sound of bones being crushed. With his grip on the man’s neck, the mighty wolf threw him against the rocks and watched as life left his eyes.
Jimin would recognise the black wolf anywhere. Jeon Jeongguk, the Head Alpha of the Jeon Pack to which Jimin belonged, and a dear friend to his late father.
Two more wolves made themselves known, from behind Jimin. He suddenly was shoved to the ground as Wooshik and Nara fled into the cover of the trees, shifting on the way as he hurried into the heart of the forest.
Jimin watched two grey wolves trail after them.
Relief took over him as he laid there, eyes up at the sky. Yet his moment of gratitude was short-lived. He rolled over, trying to lay on his stomach as pain shot in his abdomen. It was when the scent of cherries seemed to seep from every pore in his body that he finally grasped the gravity of it all.
“Hey! Hey!” Jimin heard a deep voice call to him.
Strong arms took him in its embrace and Jimin watched as the man brought him in his lap. He stared at him in awe as the alpha softly gripped his cheeks with one hand as he removed the fabric from his mouth.
“Jimin?”
“Head Alpha?” His voice came out frail and scratchy.
“Oh! Jimin, I am so glad we arrived here on time,” the Head Alpha said with visible relief. “The pack was hunting and we heard a scream.” The alpha explained, sensing his confusion. He untied his hands and covered him with his cloak.
“Are you okay, Jimin-ah? Did they- They did not hurt you, did they?”
He shook his head.
“Good. Good,” the Head Alpha said. Despite it, he still checked Jimin for any visible injuries and it was only after satisfying himself that Jimin was indeed alright that he appeared to be less aghast.
Something deep inside him stirred.
He was so handsome, his Head Alpha. And he was worried about Jimin.
‘So strikingly gorgeous,’ a voice whispered to him deep inside. And even before he could find out where it came from, his mind agreed to the truth of it.
Despite his age and marital status, the Head Alpha was indeed pleasing to the eye and beloved to all. His raven dark hair had a few streaks of silver with age. It was wildly tousled from the brawl. It shielded him from the intensity of the gaze of the alpha as it fell over his eyes, for his irises were darker than a void. He was rippling with muscles that flexed as he manhandled Jimin on his lap. ‘So strong!’ the voice inside him said.
Jimin gasped as the alpha pushed back his hair and pressed a palm against his forehead. “It's not fever,” the Head Alpha muttered to himself. “Let’s get you to the pack.”
The alpha shifted, helping him get up. However, pain shot through Jimin’s body and his heat made itself more and more evident. Jeongguk released calming pheromones in order to calm Jimin’s distressed self. And in return, something deep within him reciprocated. The scent of ripened cherries were all around them, clinging onto them both.
Jeongguk's brows were furrowed. His mind appeared to be contemplating something. Cautiously, he gathered Jimin in his arms and asked him again if he was alright. All Jimin had with him to give him was a nod.
Yet Jimin did not care about the pain anymore. He was over the moon to be in the safe arms of the alpha. The alpha who had just saved him from the vile creatures. His head felt heavy and it despite his struggles dropped onto the chest of the alpha. He wanted to apologise, he wanted to say that he was really sorry but something in him urged him to just press closer. And so he did.
“Jimin. Fuck!” He could hear the alpha calling to him. “Are you with me? Jimin?”
“Alpha?” The voice that came out was not his. It was sweeter and all the more darker. Like it was enticing something, or someone.
He shifted in the alpha’s lap to adjust himself as pain disarmed his senses. Sniffling, he sought after the comfort of sandalwood that wrapped around him.
It was then the Alpha’s eyes widened at the revelation.
“Jimin,” the Head Alpha sounded alarmed. “Are you presenting?”
He nodded despite his hazy mindspace, not wanting to ignore the alpha.
“Fuck!”
Jimin heard him curse. It was probably the first time the man had ever done so. Jimin recollected from his own father’s accounts that Jeongguk was probably the most honourable man he met and had he had a sister, he would have wed him to Jeongguk. For a man so revered to come undone, even a little in his presence, seemed to please Jimin.
“Jimin, we will get you to the infirmary,” Jeongguk assured him. “Please hold on. Yoongi! Yoongi!”
The alpha screamed for his second-in-command and the wolf was over there at once. Jimin pressed himself into Jeongguk as another alpha appeared in front of him. He wanted no one save for the man in front of him.
“Go ahead and ask Hoseok to prepare a heat room for a presenting omega. Mingyu shall be enough to deal with that rogue.” And the grey wolf did the same, racing towards their pack settlement.
Jimin let himself be carried by the alpha towards their lands, leaving behind the unpleasantness in the woods. He was safe and sound thanks to the pack alpha, who came to his rescue when he needed it. He was comforted and looked after.
What more could an omega want!
‘He saved us.’ It was the wolf inside him that was speaking to him, he realised. His omega had finally revealed itself to him. They were one and the same. And they both were thrilled to be comforted by their alpha.
Jimin looked up at the alpha and found him staring back at him with a conflicted expression. His eyes were dilated ad his grip on Jimin was possessive. The omega did not stop himself from smoothening out the lines in the alpha’s face with his hands, which only seemed to sadden the alpha even more. He wanted to ask him why he was upset and what troubled him. And how he could easen his worry.
Jeongguk seemed to have sensed his turmoil, for he said,“Sleep, omega. You shan’t worry about anything from now.”
In his arms, Jimin’s heart swelled. His omega surfaced at the call of the alpha and it softly lulled Jimin to the haze of sleep. Something deep inside him filled with warmth as the alpha carried them towards a building Jimin was familiar with. The scent of sandalwood was everywhere and Jimin wanted nothing more than to be covered with it.
He did not know when he researched the infirmary and when the alpha left him. Yet Jimin spent his heat with the ghost of Jeongguk and his presence. He pulled at the strings of his robes that pressed against his hot sensitive skin. He spent his days in the chamber, having lost the count of how many times he came. His hands were either buried in his heat or wrapped around his length as his omega led him to believe it was all his alpha. As he laid there gushing with slick and soiling himself over and over, with reddened cheeks and teary eyes, all he could think of was his alpha.
Jimin himself yearned for his champion who saved him. He spent his first heat in yearning, determined to make the alpha his.
The wolf inside him yearned for him. It did not take kindly for being separated from its alpha. It yearned for his touch and his claim and his mark. Every time his eyes fluttered close in the throes of pleasure, those dark eyes looked back at him.
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Two weeks passed without him knowing.
This summer was at its peak. The sun was highest in the sky and the intensity of the heat forced the pack alpha to abandon his duties temporarily and return to the comforts of his office in the Town Hall.
It would not be long before the fall was upon them. As the Pack Alpha Jeongguk had a mountain of responsibilities that he had to fulfill during this time of the year so that by the time winter was upon them, the pack could rest easy.
Thankfully, the crops were growing healthy and their yields were surplus. If things were to continue as it was, they could expect a comfortable winter.
And there he sat in his seat, with his heart content with his work, waiting for the heat to subside so that he could help out Kim Namjoon in the granary. But that would have to wait until the deal with the southern pack was settled. Therefore, he sat there reading the trade agreement to be signed with the Chois when Aera walked in, bringing with her the scent of rotten Jasmin.
Aera was one of the prettiest women Jeongguk had ever laid eyes on when they had first met. A southern beauty in her own right, yet the passage of time had taken a toll on her. Four stillbirths and three miscarriages later, her body had given up on her. However, she still carried herself with the grace of a wife of someone significant. Her head was held high and her posture straight. She donned the finest silks and the most bejewelled ornaments.
“Aera,” he greeted her solemnly, gesturing to her to take the seat in front of him.
“My love,” she called to him and it took everything in him to not outwardly be repulsed.
Their marital relation was ideal from the very beginning. The heirs of two prestigious packs in the land. Having an arranged marriage had initially set back their relationship. However, over time, Jeongguk grew to like her with all his heart. She was beautiful and loyal; that was all he could ask for.
Yet recently their relationship had begun to be strained. After their nearly fourteen years of marriage, they were childless. Jeongguk had always wanted a few of his own children; to look upto him and carry his legacy like he did with his father’s. For that reason alone his alpha never recognised her as his omega. He had initially desired to give her his bite the day their son was born as was the custom. However, that day never arrived. That was one of the few reasons their relationship started to whither.
But then again, he was not heartless to disappoint a woman he wed for something so trivial. No. Their reasons ran deep. Despite being the eldest child of Kang Saeron, she had no interest in pack politics nor leading the pack, resulting in Jeongguk bearing the entire mantle of responsibilities that came with being the pack leader. Aera was meek and bashful. For this very reason she struggled to make true friends in the pack which made her lonely in her community life.
Jeongguk was too intense for her fragile self, as she had confessed to him multiple times. He was too assertive and too determined, which was desirable in a pack alpha but not in Aera’s husband. She never helped him through his ruts for the same reason, except when her baby fever drove her to the point of madness.
Yet in their long fourteen years of marriage, Aera was the only omega he desired.
“What brings you here, Aera?”
“Where were you?”
Her tone was neither accusatory nor ireful. A cloak of indifference masked her demeanour. However, Jeongguk had long learnt each and every thought inside her little head.
“It is a busy summer,” he remarked, continuing to read through the manuscript in front of him.
“Of course. However that does not suffice as enough justification to the healers as to why the pack alpha cannot accompany his mate even during… times like these.”
“Can we not discuss this later?”
“No, we cannot!” She cried on top of her lungs, her hands clutching the pendant on her neck. “You… you are never there! How could you leave me alone! After all this while!”
“Well, you should have thought of this before the little stunt you pulled, Aera,” he tried so hard to not scream at her face. One would think that after all those failed pregnancies, she would have learnt a lesson. However, Aera still seemed to cling onto the naivety of it all. Jeongguk supposed that he must not be too harsh on her; she was an omega after all. Yet, her recent antics vexed him all the same. He needed time to make peace with it.
“It was our baby, Alpha,” her facade cracked as she clutched her robes. “O-Our child. H-How could y-you not be there?”
It would be a lie to say that he did not expect her to cry today. Every omega would after losing their child in their womb. Yet there was something so unnerving about Aera crumbling before him, mourning for their child. A child that never existed even. A child he never dared to claim as his.
It was never supposed to happen after all the tragedies they have gone through. It was a miscalculation from his part really; he underestimated how badly Aera wanted a child. So when she slipped him a ‘special tea’ while he was in pre-rut, it never struck him as unusual. He probably thought it was her attempt to ease his alpha.
That was the first time in years he had come inside her, knotted her even. All while his alpha was too feral to even recognise he had not mated the omega in front of them. However, the consequence of that fatal night was just another false hope. Aera was happy to have his seed inside her, yet he could not see past the violation. That was why even when she suddenly bled out of the blue and lost their child again, he found himself unable to empathise.
At that a little bit of his heart broke too. There were times when he had to be indifferent and apathetic to her struggles, or rather, their shared misery. However, Jeongguk was no cruel man. He had vowed to be with her in her sorrows the day he married her. So he reached out and slowly took her hands in his and spoke to her softly: “You know it is not your fault. I could never blame you for any of it, Aera. Perhaps it is me who is at fault. But it is not for us to find out-”
“But-”
“Shh,” he shut her with a soft squeeze to her palms. “No ‘buts’. I need you to not be so consumed by this, Aera. Look at the things you end up doing. I need time.”
At that the omega appeared to be offended. “And I need you! You have to be there for me!”
Jeongguk sighed. “I shall return tonight.”
She gasped, taken by surprise. “That is all I want, alpha.”
“But I shall not join you in our chambers,” he declared. “Have Seokjin prepare my accommodation in another room.”
His wife appeared to be displeased with the notion, yet did not share her reservations. It had been a week since he had been sleeping in his office, he supposed returning to a warm bed by the fire would do him good.
“Anything to have you back in our home, my alpha,” Aera offered him a soft smile and a kiss to the cheek. Jeongguk gripped the armrests. He liked her. He truly did. That was the reason why he could not pinpoint where it all went wrong; the passage of time has distorted some of his memories. However, he remained duty bound to entertain his wife and her antics, so he assumed for an omega grieving her lost child, this was all he could do.
He must have been lost to his thoughts for by the time he noticed, the knocks at his door sounded more urgent. “Come in!”
The door opened and stepped in, the boy, Jimin.
Jeongguk eyed the omega in front of him and memories of the past week flashed through his mind. Jeongguk would never forget the way the young boy in his fragile state had looked up to him. He was so glad he was there that day, to save his dear friend’s son.
It was so easy to confirm that all the rumors were true.
Sungmin’s son had indeed grown up and was presented to be the prettiest omega on the land. With the way even Aera was eyeing him with something akin to envy and fascination, Jimin was beautiful beyond comparison.
The hymns about Park Jimin’s beauty were familiar to all in the pack. The boy was everything an ideal omega should be. He was petite and lean, to the point that people still mistook him to be in his mid teen years. He had a face even dollies would be jealous of; so cherubic and otherworldly. His eyes were siren-like, often hidden behind his dark fringe. His nose was a cute button, and his cheeks were apple. However, what Jeongguk noticed the most about him was his lips – his plump and pillowy lips that would ignite the soul of anyone with eyes. The spray of freckles underneath his luscious lashes and his slightly crooked tooth gave him the illusion of mortal imperfections. With his porcelain white skin and dark hair, Jimin was a feast to the eyes.
And it had also come to his notice that Jimin was changing. The omega had softened up a little in figure, his hips now curvaceous and his chest had softened out. The pretty boy had foregone his usual garb of loose fitting garments to more figure hugging and revealing fabrics. Jeongguk was not the only one who noticed, the entire pack was talking about how Sunngmin’s son was a statue carved out of finest marble that came to life.
To make matters worse, the hot summer had Jimin wearing the most ethereal of fabrics. It must be the latest craze amongst the unmated omegas; for Jeongguk had seen some variant of the same dress in every other freshly turned omega. However, for some reason, none struck him like he did.
Perhaps the way Jimin’s neckline was somehow lower, or the way the soft chiffon fabric seemed to slip off his smooth shoulder. There was just something about Jimin that was enthralling.
Every alpha’s fantasy.
He was so gorgeous that Jeongguk almost forgot this was his deceased best friend’s son. Aware of his wife’s cold stare, he pushed the sinful fantasies and the recollection of their previous encounter aside and welcomed him. “Jimin, my child,” he greeted him, “Please take a seat.”
The boy looked at him with wide dreamy eyes that seemed to lure him in. As if still in a world of his own, Jimin removed his flimsy robe that omegas wore when they were outside and hung it on his cloak stand. Underneath he was wearing soft coral robes of cotton with a chiffon veil secured by a rose flower brooch. Atop his soft curls was a flower crown, with striking red and pink blossoms. It did wonders for his snowy complexion, Jeongguk was curious if the boy knew.
When Jimin took a seat across from him, right next to his wife, something unknown and uncomfortable stirred inside him.
“Head Alpha,” Jimin greeted him in return, bowing his head; yet his gaze was fixed on Jeongguk, through underneath his lashes.
“What brings you here, Jimin? I hope you are doing well.” He tried not to explicitly refer to their encounter, not wanting to make it awkward for the omega nor wanting to worry his wife any further.
“I am well, Head Alpha,” Jimin said warmly. “Thank you for asking. I am well thanks to you.” He appeared to be unsure and shy as he said it. Perhaps the presence of his wife unnerved him. Jimin was yet to greet Aera, which he must for she was the Head Omega. From what he could tell, the disrespect did pique Aera and her gaze remained unwelcome.
“What is the purpose of your visit, Jimin?” Aera asked unkindly.
Jimin on the other hand seemed to be oblivious to her hostility. He leaned forward in his seat and looked Jeongguk directly in the eye. “I came here to thank you, of course. I don’t want to think about what would have happened had it not been for you.”
“No need to thank me, Jimin,” he assured the boy. “I was only doing my duty.”
“So dutiful you are,” Jimin said, almost sultrily. “And gallant and strong, alpha.”
“How dare you!” Aera gasped at that; and even Jeongguk’s eyes widened at the boldness of the little omega. No unmated omega ever addressed an alpha, a married one at that, with their title. It was inappropriate and frowned upon. Jeongguk had excused it then, attributing it to the shock of the incident and the haze of his presenting.
Yet Jimin did not seem to shy away from the words he spoke. If anything, there was only a challenge in his eyes, daring Jeongguk to reprimand him. He simply shook his head asking Aera to calm down and rapped his fingers against the wooden table in an attempt to see where the omega was going with this.
His lack of reaction perhaps only encouraged the younger, for he continued: “I came to thank you, and let you know that I have presented. I was going into heat that day,.. And I did not know it then. Thank you for saving me.”
It was customary for parents to introduce their children to the Head Alpha and seek his blessings once they presented. However, Jimin’s parents were long gone. Jeongguk regretted not having checked upon his dear friend’s son after that day. He should have gone to him and offered his blessings.
“Saving you from what?” Aera asked the omega. There was displeasure in her eyes. The object of which, Jeongguk did not know.
“Oh, from the clutches of heinous rouges, Head Omega,” Jimin said with a softest tone, as if it had happened to someone else and he was narrating it. “They were cruel creatures. Had it not been for the Head Alpha, my fate would have been so different.”
“It would not have been drastically different if I had been alone, I am afraid,” Jeongguk said, looking the boy up and down. He was aware his words were vulgar and of poor taste. His own wife's scandalous face told him of the same. She looked concerned even for the poor omega next to her, not wanting the young boy to be the object of his perversion.
However, something told Jeongguk that Jimin was beyond these cruel slights. The glint in his eyes told him the same.
He was proven right when Jimin burst into laughter at that. Like windchimes, his merry laughter would convince anyone that Jeongguk had sung his praises and not just admitted to probably taking advantage of the omega. But he laughed; head tossed back and rosy cheeked. Tears welled up in the eyes of the cherub and he clutched his stomach as he tried to contain himself.
“It only makes me even more grateful, Head Alpha,” Jimin said through his joy. “Or must I confess, I'm a little disappointed to find out about your chivalry.”
Aera suddenly got up, the screech of her chair breaking the icy tension in the room. “I shall see you at home, once you are done playing your little games,” she stormed away from the room, head still high, leaving both Jeongguk and the young omega unsettled.
Jimin was the one who recovered at first. “She must be very upset,” the omega said sympathetically. “My poor heart grieves for her. It must be so hard. To have your dreams turn to dust in front of you. I am sorry for you too, Head Alpha.”
“It is not new now, is it?” He chuckled humorlessly.
“Still,” Jimin seemed conflicted.
“It makes me happy to see you grow into the person that you are, Jimin and I am sure Sungmin and Minhee would be proud,” he said earnestly, wanting to change the topic. “You shall always have my blessings.”
Jimin smiled at that. “I am grateful.”
“If I may ask, what happened that day?”
The boy closed his eyes for a second, as if bracing himself. And then he spoke: “I was at the garden at the outskirts of the pack that day. I remember it being very hot. I did not think I was going into heat because the weather itself was unforgiving. Then there was a cry of a wounded animal. I did not think in the heat of the moment. That was my mistake. When I reached there, there were three rouges feasting on a fawn… in their human form, Head Alpha.”
Jeongguk nodded in understanding, urging him to continue.
“They were unlike any wolves I have seen,” Jimin said, a frown settling on his features. “It must have been my scent. One of them found me. I was not aware I had a scent then. They ate the poor deer as I laid there. I think one of them was interested in me until another alpha pointed out that I was presenting, which would be troubling for them.”
“An omega’s first heat is crucial,” Jeongguk agreed. “You could even go feral if subject to stress. Which was why I was concerned. I am sorry I was not there for you, Jimin.”
“Oh, Head Alpha,” Jimin protested at once. “It is truly not your fault that I wandered into the forest at an unfortunate time.”
Jeongguk smiled at that; a smile that did not reach his eyes. “I meant for not being there for you after your parents’ demise, child. Sungmin was so dear to me and so was Minhee. I must have been there to guide you.”
“I do not hold it against you, Head Alpha,” Jimin faintly smiled. “And you have all the time in the world to make up for it.”
Jeongguk sensed that there was something deeper to what the omega meant. Yet, he must remember who Jimin was and what Sungmin’s son meant to him.
“I suppose it is time you get a cabin of your own,” Jeongguk stood up from his chair to search for a registry on the shelf behind him. “You are truly an omega now, Jimin. It is not fit for you to share the communal halls now that you will be having your heats often.” His fingers graze through the spines of the registers, until he finds the one on housing. He flipped through the pages to arrive at the entries he was looking for. “There are a few cabins in the southern side of the pack. I shall see that one of them is furnished for your stay. Would that be alright with you?”
“Head Alpha, if I may suggest, I would like a cabin closest to your residence.” Jeongguk raised a brow at this. “It would be nice to have you nearby. In case of emergencies.”
“I understand. I shall make arrangements at once.”
“Thank you, Head Alpha.”
For the first time since his arrival, Jimin truly bloomed. The scent of ripened cherries enveloped him. Despite himself, Jeongguk took a deep inhale and breathed out through his mouth. The young omega looked at him mirthfully, something dark swirling in his eyes. He slowly rose to his feet and approached Jeongguk where he was standing. The little omega raised himself on tiptoes and pressed his lips softly against Jeongguk’s cheek.
“I am glad it was you who found me,” Jimin mumbled against his ears. And he was gone as soon as he was close.