Chapter Text

Ten

Ten heard about the Alphas' arrival before he saw them. Everyone had been whispering about the arrival of the handsome men, and clamoring to get a look at them. 

Ten wasn’t too concerned about it. 

The lead alpha was in town to pick up his omega, and that wouldn’t be Ten. 

The alpha had been in talks with Ten’s family for a very specific omega.

Ten’s older brother Kun. 

The alpha was some high-up CEO that made a killing, and Ten’s family were the lucky ones in this town. 

They were by no means well off, or even comfortable, but they’d had enough money to take in a waif, like Ten, so he was grateful. 

Ten had been lucky, so lucky to be picked up off of the street, and Kun deserved to have this alpha. 

He was nice, smart, and wasted in the town as is. 

Ten doubted he’d find a mate anyway, so he was content with staying in town. He’d take care of their aging parents and when they passed on, he’d tend to the house until he passed. 

He wasn’t looking for anything else in life, it just wouldn’t happen for him. 

“Ten honey,” His mama called and he folded his sketchbook up, jamming it into his back pocket. He left his room heading into the living room where Kun was standing on a crate, his mom poking pins into his pants. 

He was dressed elaborately, ornately and Ten was taken aback by it. 

Kun wasn’t homely by any stretch of the imagination, but he was a plain dresser. 

He had to be in his profession, one of the best doctors in the town. 

So to see him painted and pinned, all put together was insane to say the very least. 

“Well get a look at you,” Ten teased and Kun narrowed his lined eyes at Ten. 

“Is that my eyeliner?” He asked and Kun tried to kick him, being accosted by their mother for moving. 

“Ten, honey, I need you to run into town for me,” She said and  Ten looked down at his watch. 

“My shift starts in twenty minutes,” He complained and she gave him a dead stare. 

“Then you’d better hurry back. We need a bolt of satin,” She said and Ten sighed. 

“Okay,” He said and she patted her pocket. 

“I’ll go get the money,” She said, leaving the room. 

She would never tell Ten where the money was hidden.

She raised him, but she’d never truly trust him. 

“I’m sorry Ten, I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t needed,” Kun apologized and Ten gave him a wry smile. 

“Anything to make my shining ge even more pretty,” He said and Kun shook his head. 

“I’m nervous, I don’t even want to do this, what will happen to the practice once I leave?” Kun asked before shaking his head. 

He knew as well as Ten did that he had no choice. 

This money would help the family out, they were already poor enough.

They needed this to go well. 

“I’m just getting cold feet, everything will be fine,” Kun said and their mother walked back into the room, holding the bills in her hand. 

“Hurry so you won’t be late to work,” She commanded and he nodded, taking the money and bolting out of the door. 

He brought back the fabric before high tailing it to his job. 

“Ten you’re late,” Taeyong said as he swept the front entrance and Ten rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah Yeah, I know,” He said pulling an apron from the rack and slipping it over his head. 

“Did you hear about the alphas?” Sicheng asked as he used the chip rack to extend into releve. 

He should be off dancing somewhere, not tending shop, but alas that was life.

“What do I care about some alphas?” Ten asked as he grabbed a bag of chips. 

He popped them open and Taeyong glared at him. 

“Take it out of my check,” He said and Taeyong rolled his eyes. 

“If I took every bag out of your check you’d still owe me money, eat at home,” He said, no heat behind his words. 

Taeyong was nice enough to look the other way, and he knew that Ten wouldn’t eat it here if he could afford to eat at home. 

“So we’re not going to talk about the alphas in town?” Sicheng asked and Taeyong gave a soft sigh.

“What’s to talk about, some rich guys are coming to pick up Kun. The town always gets so excited, for nothing,” Taeyong said, his voice quiet. 

He tugged at the black collar around his neck, a nervous habit that he’d had for a while. 

“I think it’s kind of cool,” Sicheng said dejectedly. 

The excitement was always good, and no one had come to the town to pick up an omega quite like the alphas clan that was coming today. 

At least, that was what his mother had said. 

“Tell us about them Ten ge,” Sicheng wheedled and Ten sighed. 

He didn’t know everything. 

Just that a handsome, rich alpha named Johnny who controlled their city was coming in search of a new mate, and they’d offered to pay a healthy sum of money for him.

“Well, I heard that the alpha suitor is rich and handsome. From the chatter around town, he’s bringing his clan with him, but other than that, I really don’t know,” Ten said with a shrug.
“Look how cute this shop is, can we go in, please hyung,” They heard a soft voice say and they all straightened up, moving away from where they had been just gossiping to somewhere where they could look productive. 

Ten peeked out from behind his rack to see four people enter the store. 

There was a tall omega, a white collar around his neck. 

Even though he was tall, he still seemed demure and quiet as he marveled at the store items. 

Behind him stood a slightly shorter omega, who was still taller than Ten himself. He wore a purple collar, a sign that he was mated. 

Behind him stood a young alpha, who looked like he’d probably just come of age.

Behind him was a man who was taller even than Lucas. 

He had dark, artfully swept hair and dark eyes. 

He had a serious look on his face as he looked around.

“Hello?” the young omega asked and the omega behind him sighed. 

“It’s just a store Zeus, I don’t understand your infatuation,” He said, looking around dismissively. 

That made Ten angry. 

How dare they talk about their store that way?

Okay, the store didn’t belong to him, per se, but to his friends, the Huang family, Lucas, and Renjun’s parents. 

So it was insulting, to say the least. 

He thought of them like they were his brothers. 

“It’s cute,” He said before turning and bumping into Lucas who had come from the back carrying a box. 

The omega fell onto his butt and Lucas dropped the box. 

“Welcome to the store- Hey, are you okay?” He asked in his loud voice and the omega looked up at him, his face dusting in red. 

“I uh-” He started, and Lucas reached out, lifting him up and Ten watched in abject horror and a little bit of secondhand mortification as Lucas pulled the omega into his chest and cheerfully smacked the nonexistent dirt off of his bottom.

“Yah, what do you think you’re doing?” The young alpha snarled, grabbing the young omegas arm and tugging causing him to wince. 

“Jeno, I'm fine really,” The omega said softly, even though it sounded like he was speaking through the pain.

“Hey, you’re hurting him, calm down,” Lucas said back, his voice so loud, yet his arm still on the omegas arm, but much gentler.

Lucas rarely knew how loud he was talking, and it often got him into a lot of trouble. 

“Who are you to tell me what to do?” The alpha said, pushing Lucas and causing him to let the omega go. Before Lucas could get back at the Alpha, little Renjun pushed his way into the alpha’s face, like the crazy kid he was. 

“Hey asshole, leave my brother alone. Who do you think you are?” He asked and the Alpha snarled down at Renjun.

“Has no one ever told you to stay out of Alpha business? Someone should put you in your place,” He snarled. 

“Yeah, and who’s gonna do that?” The omega asked, a frown on his face. 

“Me,” The alpha said, pushing out a thick alpha scent. 

Ten covered his nose, stepping out from behind the display. 

The omegas in the store were stiff, unsure of what to do.

“Jeno,” The alpha who was undoubtedly the head alpha by the way he just had to look at the alpha for him to back off. 

That had to be the alpha coming for Kun. 

He wasn’t from around here, and the aura that he had was too powerful for it to be a coincidence.  

The younger alpha deferred to him, glancing back at Renjun one more time with a cocky look before stepping back to stand next to the omega with the purple collar. 

The alpha cast his eyes around the shop before meeting Ten’s. 

Ten felt like his breath left him as the alpha looked him up and down. 

“What’s your name?” Johnny asked and Ten bit his lip.

“Ten Qian,” He said and he tilted his head. 

“Qian,” He said with a hum before the door opened. 

“Hyung,” Another alpha said and Johnny looked back to see who it was. 

“We’ve got to go,” He said and Johnny nodded.

The clan left the door, Johnny wrapping his arm around the omega with the purple collar’s waist before sparing Ten one final glance before leaving. 

“What the heck was that?” Sicheng asked and Ten turned his head to look at the omega.

“I have no idea,” Ten said, his mind still on the Lead alpha. 

“That little alpha’s got some nerve, coming into my store, spreading all of that gross alpha smell. I should have punched him right in the scent gland,” Renjun said and Taeyong shook his head.

“You really shouldn’t talk to Alphas that way Renjun-ah, you could get hurt,” He advised. 

“No offense ge, but he shouldn’t talk to me that way, he could get hurt,” Renjun said fearlessly and Lucas laughed, clapping the young omega on the back.

“And you, patting an omega’s butt, what are you trying to do pervert?” Renjun asked and Lucas blushed. 

“I’m not a pervert, I was just being friendly,” Lucas argued loudly. 

He was known for being friendly. He never met anyone who wasn't his friend, and if he didn’t know you, he would get to know you. He was a bit slow on social cues though and sometimes didn't realize that his actions were inappropriate. 

He was also fiercely protective with a hero complex too.

"That was a bit too friendly," Ten said and the conversation about the pack was dropped in favor of work as someone else entered the store.

Sicheng

Sicheng pushed the trash out into the alleyway, his headphones tucked into his ears. This was normally Ten’s job, but he was claiming that it would help Sicheng if he did it instead.
Ten was good at shoveling work off onto other people. 

Sicheng always fell for it too. 

He couldn’t help it, not really, he wanted to help. 

He also really liked taking out the garbage. 

There was something about it.

Maybe because it was a job that no one else liked to do, or because it gave him a chance to get out of the shop for extended times. 

Sicheng worked long hours at a time, living in the apartments attached to the shop. 

Well, it was generous to call it an apartment, he and his mother shared a one-bedroom that was attached to the shop. The Huang family owned the building, so most of the money Sicheng made went back to the Huangs. The rest, well he was saving up.

He wanted to get out of the town, go to a fancy dance school.

He knew that he should be focused on getting mated, on making sure his mother and him were well, but before their alpha died, Sicheng had dreams, and those dreams meant something to him.

It was the only thing that kept him going.

He would prove himself worth something. 

He tossed the bag into the dumpster, turning up his music before going to his cart, moving to gather the rest of the trash. 

He let himself get carried away in the music, letting his steps become light and airy before executing dance moves he often only got to do in his head. He liked to imagine himself on stage, long robes swaying around him as he danced. He twirled, his leg high before nearly falling out of it as he realized that he had an audience.

An alpha leaned against the wall, his eyes obviously following Sicheng. The alpha had shoulder-length blonde hair tied back neatly in a ponytail. 

He had exotic features and his face was the type that seemed scary until he smiled. 

How did Sicheng not smell him in the alley?

Sicheng should have known better than to let himself get trapped by an alpha by himself. 

Alphas had been known to take advantage, and Sicheng knew better. 

The alpha had a phone in his hand recording the boy and it made embarrassment flash up in him.

He'd been caught.

“What are you doing?” Sicheng asked, ripping out his headphones and the alpha pushed off of the wall. 

“Don’t stop on my behalf,” He said and Sicheng backed up, bumping into the dumpster behind him. 

He didn’t think the alpha would cause him harm but he knew what his mother often said to him.

Nǐ bù zhīdào biérén de yìtú

You never knew other's intentions.

It was the truth, you never knew what an alpha was capable of. 

“What are you doing?” Sicheng asked again and the alpha shook his head. 

“I was looking for something,” He started before stepping closer still to the omega. “Are you a dancer?” He asked and Sicheng looked down. 

How could he answer that question?

“I’m- no, but I wanna be,” He paused. 

“I’m gonna be,” He said before biting his lip, he kind of felt foolish, and didn’t know why he was telling the alpha this. 

It was none of his business, so why was he telling him that?

“What’s your name?” The man asked.

Sicheng told the Alpha his name and watched as the man repeated it like he was tasting it on his tongue, testing how it felt in his mouth. 

Something about the way he said it sent a shiver down his spine. 

He tried to hide it, but he could tell from the spark in the alpha’s eyes that the alpha saw it. 

“What’s your name?” Sicheng asked, forgetting himself. 

He shouldn’t have done that, showing interest in an alpha was not something an omega did. If the alpha didn’t tell him his name, then Sicheng wasn’t supposed to know. 

“Nakamoto Yuta,” the alpha said smoothly, stepping up to Sicheng, and grabbing his hand. 

His sultry marjoram scent flooded the air and Sicheng held his breath, knowing that his own sweet scent began to perfume the air. 

“Yuta?”  Sicheng asked and the scent intensified. 

He put his hand on his chest to steady him. 

“Sicheng?” He heard Taeyong call and he turned to look back. 

He couldn’t be caught talking to an alpha from out of town. 

“Coming ge,” He called before stepping away from the alpha and heading back into the shop, hoping the alpha’s scent didn’t stick to him.

Taeyong 

Taeyong tried to shake the weird feeling he had as he gathered his items. He knew it was just the alphas arrival that had him riled up.

He couldn’t get the visitors from earlier out of his head. 

It was nothing, it really wasn’t, so why was it making him feel so weird?

“Sicheng,” He called and the omega continued to stare off into space.

“Sicheng,” He called again and he snapped out of it. 

He had been doing that for a while, zoning out and being unfocused. 

Normally he had his heads in the clouds, but it was different. 

He went out to take the trash out and came back smelling weird, like an alpha that he’d never smelled  around here before. 

He insisted nothing happened, but it still worried Taeyong. 

“Close up early tonight and get some rest okay?” He said and Sicheng nodded distractedly. 

Taeyong spared one final glance to the omega before making his way out of the door. 

He pulled his phone out, calling his brother as he often did when he had to walk home. 

He got home much too late to take public transit and he never truly felt comfortable getting in cars with anyone. 

Maybe it was because the last time he got into a car, he got brought to this place. 

He wasn’t like Sicheng or the Huang family. 

He wasn’t born in this place, nor raised with their sensibilities. 

He was from where the Alpha’s were from, he and his little brother. 

Taeyong’s family had fallen into debt, and so instead of getting married to a well off family in his hometown, his omegawealth was used to pay off their debt.

An omega for the forgiveness of the debt.

Only Taeyong wasn’t the omega that he wanted. 

They wanted his little brother, who wasn’t of age yet. Donghyuck wasn’t yet out of elementary school and the alpha was trying to barter for him. 

In the end, the man refused to take Taeyong without taking Donghyuck too, and Taeyong spent most of the mating trying to keep the man away from his little brother.

“You’re not even listening to me,” Donghyuck complained and Taeyong froze, a thick cinnamon scent drifting into his nose. 

It was spicy and so out of place on the road that it made the metaphorical hackles stand on Taeyong’s neck.

“Someone’s following me,” Taeyong said softly and he could hear Donghyuck still as well as if that would somehow help him. 

“Someone, what someone?” He asked and Taeyong readjusted the collar around his neck nervously. 

“An alpha, not from here, Cinnamon scent,” Taeyong murmured before shaking his hair out as obviously as possible as he stared into a shop window.

It helped to make it seem like Taeyong hadn’t caught on, and instead had stopped to fix his appearance. 

It also helped him get a glance at the alpha. 

“Almost six foot, black hair, cut short, big face, dimples,” He explained to Donghyuck before beginning to walk again, slightly faster.

“I’m gonna take the long way home, hopefully, lose him,” Taeyong said quietly. 

“Don’t go through the alley, he’ll try to corner you off, I’ll meet you at the overpass,” Donghyuck said, and he could hear the omega getting shoes on. 

“Stay where you are. There are a lot of Alphas out tonight, Sicheng came back in smelling like one. I don’t want you to get hurt,” Taeyong said and Donghyuck scoffed. 

“What about you? You’re being followed,” He said and Taeyong stretched, baring his neck.

“Once he sees my collar he’ll leave me alone, yours is still white,” He said and Donghyuck mumbled under his breath that collar color doesn’t matter to bad scary alphas. 

Taeyong knew that better than anyone. 

“Hey,” He heard and he took a deep breath. 

“Uh- omega?” The alpha called, his voice smooth but youngish and Taeyong turned to see the alpha. 

“I’m sorry, I just, I’m not from around here, and I’m kind of lo- wait,” He started, his head tilted. 

“I’ve seen you before,” He said and Taeyong tried to contain the eye roll.

“Sorry, I’m busy, I can’t help you,” He said and the alpha stepped closer. 

“You work at the store don’t you?” He asked and Taeyong nodded sharply.

“What’s your name?” He asked and Taeyong sighed.

“Lee Taeyong,” He answered carefully. 

“Lee? You’re not from here are you?” He asked and Taeyong deferred to him. 

“This is where my alpha lived, I really must be going,” He said, stepping off of the sidewalk. 

“Lived, where is your alpha now?” He asked as if he didn’t see the black collar, as if he didn’t know that his alpha left him.

“He’s dead now, I’ve got to go,” Taeyong said, taking another step away. 

“So you’re not spoken for?” The alpha asked and Taeyong frowned. 

He wasn’t sure how to answer that. 

“I’m not whole, I’ve been used,” He explained and the alpha shook his head. 

“That’s none of my business, and you’re not quite spent,” The alpha said and Taeyong couldn’t help but be intrigued by that. 

What alpha didn’t think whether an omega had been used was his business?

“My alpha has already slept with me,” Taeyong said slowly, just to make sure that the alpha understood. 

“I don’t care about that, are you looking for an alpha, or are you still mourning, if so, I’ll respect that, if not, I’d like to let you know I’m interested,” He explained carefully and Taeyong frowned. 

“You’re young, find someone better,” Taeyong called uncertainly. He wasn’t mourning that man but what kind of alpha would want someone like him?

What kind of alpha would respect Taeyong’s decisions?

“That’s not a no,” The alpha said, smiling and exposing his dimples even better. They were deep and gave his serious face some levity.

“It’s not a no,” Taeyong said before looking down the street where a taxi was coming. 

“I’ve really got to go,” Taeyong said before crossing the street right before the Taxi could hit him.

He cut down an alley and made his way across the block to get home.

Renjun

Renjun flopped over in bed, trying to find a way to get comfortable. He groaned, trying to punch the pillow in submission, partly to relieve his frustration, and partly in a bid to get comfortable. 

He didn’t think this was him going into heat, although his omega had warned him that the days leading up to it, he’d find it hard to sleep. 

He really was hoping that wasn’t the case, he didn’t want to be going into heat. 

Renjun sat up, contemplating throwing his shirt off and going to get a glass of water to cleanse his palette. 

That alpha’s stink was still in his nose so thick he could taste it, even hours later. 

There was something about the way the woody scent clung to him, like burning wood. 

No matter how hard he’d washed, he felt like he was still smelling it. 

He’d scrubbed for a while when he left the shop, changing his clothes before his parents could get a smell of him before throwing them in the washer and hopping into the shower, but the scent still lingered. 

It affected the way his food tasted as if whatever he tried to eat had been rubbed across the alpha’s abs before he ate it. 

As if that stupid alpha even had abs. 

He was obviously overcompensating for something. 

He hated alphas like him, alphas who thought their main goal in life was to impose their will over omegas as if they were better. 

They asserted that all alphas were that way, but that wasn’t the case. 

Lucas was nothing like that. 

Lucas was kind, well-meaning. 

He also never thought an omega was below him. 

He was a good alpha, and that Jeno guy was not. 

Renjun tore off his shirt, flopping back down again, wondering why he was even thinking about that alpha. 

He should be focused on trying to sleep. 

He was opening the store early tomorrow morning as his parents would be leaving to visit their grandma.

His phone buzzed beside his head and he rolled over, wondering who was in the group chat and whether Ten was going to try and call out again. 

He frowned when he realized that it wasn’t in the group chat. 

It was Sicheng. 

He and Sicheng did talk a lot actually, he was one of the youngest omega besides him and Donghyuck. But it was weird for him to text him out of the group chat this late. 

What was going on?

He picked up the phone opening it and looking at the text. 

Sicheng: There’s an alpha at my house  

Renjun sat up, calling Sicheng. 

He waited for the omega to pick up before his call went to voicemail. 

What do you mean there’s an alpha at your house?

Pick up the damn phone

I’m going to wake up Lucas, we’re going to come over

Sicheng: No, don’t. I’m safe, can’t talk right now

Sicheng: He’s asking my mother for my hand

Sicheng: He wants to mate with me

Well, do you want to mate with him?

That matters you know

You don’t have to just because he wants to.

Sicheng:...

Sicheng: I kind of do

Sicheng: I think I do

Sicheng: He’s nice and handsome,

Sicheng: He thinks I could be a dancer

Sicheng: He said when I come he’ll enroll me in dance classes

Sicheng: he’s not taking me tonight. He has to go home tonight, so he’s coming back later to give my parents the money and to start the whole process

Sicheng: He says he wants to do it right

Sicheng: We kissed

Sicheng: a lot 

Sicheng: I said yes

Sicheng: I don’t want to tell Taeyong ge yet

Sicheng: I feel like he’s going to yell at me

Renjun read over the texts, astonished. 

That quick?

What could he even say to the omega?

It wasn’t like he thought he should get mated. 

But just because Renjun didn’t want to get mated didn’t mean that he should be mean to Sicheng for wanting that. 

Congrats ge, I’m really happy for you

I hope he makes you happy

Sicheng: me too, he’s leaving, I’m going to walk him out

Renjun put his phone down, flopping down on the bed. 

If he were in the living room, he’d be able to hear the omega heading down to the front of the building. 

They lived right over the shop. 

That scent began to fill his nostrils as he closed his eyes and he got this overwhelming sense of dread. 

He was still thinking about that Alpha, the way he’d gotten into Renjun’s face. 

The way that his scent enveloped him, demanded that he submit to the alpha.

It made him all of a sudden uneasy in his room. 

He felt like someone was watching him, eyes tracking over his bare chest. 

He sprung up, grabbing his pillow and hugging it to his chest. He opened his door, running to Lucas’ room.

“Nightmare?” He asked and Renjun frowned, squeezing the pillow tight. 

“No, I thought you were having a nightmare, I’m just trying to take care of you,” Renjun said, throwing his pillow on the bed and climbing in next to his older brother. 

“Right, thank you for being so considerate, front or back?” He asked and Renjun smacked his shoulder. 

“Front,” He said with a pout before pulling the blanket over him, the alpha draping himself across Renjun’s back. 

Renjun contemplated telling Lucas how weird he’d felt, as if the Alpha were right outside of his window, but then Lucas would run outside to check, and if it wasn’t then it would give the alpha fodder to tease him. 

If there was one, well then Lucas would fight them, and it would be a problem. 

Not that Lucas couldn't beat someone, but he wouldn’t want him to. 

They would accuse him of being feral.

He couldn’t lose his brother. 

“Do you remember that omega?” Lucas said quietly, which was a feat because Lucas could rarely be quiet. 

“The one from the store?” He asked and Lucas nodded. 

“He was cute,” Lucas said. 

Renjun knew that Lucas often didn’t show interest in omegas. 

He didn’t have time for that, he was working at the store and making sure everything stayed together. 

“Yeah, he was tall too,” Renjun said and Lucas nodded before running his hands through his hair. 

“But it doesn’t matter, it’s not like I could afford to court him,” He said softly before pressing his head into Renjun’s head. 

“You can use my dowry to pay for an omega,” Renjun suggested and lucas laughed. 

“How are you going to give me money that’s never coming?” Lucas asked and Renjun slapped his side. 

He couldn’t help but feel bad for the alpha. 

But that was the circumstance.

Ten

"Go put on your collars, they're very affluent," Ten's mother yelled through the house and Ten searched the drawer for his. They never had to wear their collars here, unless it was a special occasion. 

Where the alpha was from,omegas wore a collar from the day they were born until the day they died. 

Ten finally found his white collar, snapping it on even though he wasn’t supposed to join in the dinner. 

His parents told him to come in, greet the alpha and then make himself scarce. 

He had thought about going to Taeyong’s house, but the omega would probably be too tired to entertain, and definitely too wary of the alphas roaming town to let him come over. 

Instead, he’d just go upstairs and draw.

“They’re pulling in, come on!” His mother called and Ten came into the living room to see his mother fussing over Kun’s shirt. 

It was loose and satiny, showing off his collarbones and his long neck. His hair was pushed into his eyes, making him look more demure. His eyes were lined and his cheeks blushed. 

They were definitely trying to get him an alpha. 

Ten was wearing all black, his work uniform buttoned up to his neck. 

Not like he ever wore the uniform to work, but it was the nicest thing he owned. 

“Okay, they’re walking up. Please be on your best behavior,” their mother said, looking pointedly at Ten. 

Ten nodded and his mother squeaked. 

“They’re here. Come on,” She said, pushing them all together. 

Kun stepped forward, taking a deep breath before opening the door. 

Ten watched as the alpha and his mate stood in the door. 

His omega stood slightly behind him, his head down in a show of submission. 

“Welcome alpha,” Kun said, deferring to the alpha and Johnny nodded, his eyes sweeping across the omega before looking around the room with disinterest. 

“Okay, well, I’m going to retire, enjoy dinner,” Ten said after meeting eyes with the alpha. 

“What do you mean?” Johnny asked and Ten tried not to giggle at the way the man’s voice was slightly too light for his body. 

It was cute almost. 

“I’m going to my room,” Ten said softly and Johnny shook his head. 

“Why would you do that, we’re having dinner,” The alpha said and Ten looked at his mother, unsure of what to do. 

“I’ve got something-” He started and his mother looked between him and Johnny. 

“Ten, you can’t leave, you should stay for dinner,” She encouraged through her teeth and Ten nodded. 

“You’re right, I don’t know what I was thinking,” He said and she turned to look at Kun.

Kun nodded. 

“Can I show you to the dining room,” He said and Ten sighed, watching as they left and his mother stayed with him. 

“Where do you know him from?” She asked and he shook his head. 

“I don’t know him, not really. He showed up at the store, and then asked what my last name was,” He said and she glared at him. 

“I promise,” He swore and she sighed. 

“Just- don’t talk to that alpha anymore, and don’t ruin this for your brother,” she threatened before stalking into the dining room. 

Ten sighed before following after her. 

Kun was sitting on the right side of the alpha, Johnny’s omega sitting on the left side. 

Johnny was sitting at the head of the table, their alpha sitting opposite of him. 

Ten sat down next to Kun and his mother sat down next to Johnny’s omega. 

“Kun,” His mother said and Kun nodded, beginning to spoon food onto Johnny’s plate. 

Ten watched, his hands tapping nervously under the table. 

“So, what do you do in your spare time?” Johnny asked and Kun cleared his throat. 

“I’m uh- I’m a doctor at the local hospital. I actually work with kids. I practice magic tricks on the side, the kids like it,” Kun said and Ten snorted. 

“You’re the only one who likes your lame magic tricks,” Ten joked and their mother kicked him under the table. 

She gave him a glare and Ten looked down at his plate, trying to control himself. 

“What do you do, besides work at the store?” Johnny asked and Ten looked up when he realized that the alpha was talking about him. 

“He mostly just works, but Kun also cooks on the side, he’s a very good omega,” His mother said to divert him and Johnny held his hand up.

“I asked him,” Johnny said and Ten looked up between his mother and Johnny, unsure of what to do.

“Well?” He asked and Ten took a deep breath. 

“It’s like my mother says, I uh mostly work,” Ten said, hoping to avoid his mother’s ire. 

“And what else do you do? You had a rolled up book in your pocket in the store,” Johnny pointed out and Ten flushed. 

“You noticed that? I’m actually an artist,” Ten said and his mother cleared her throat.

“Yes, Ten does doodle on napkins and such, nothing too serious, I wouldn’t call him an artist,” His mother said before attempting to turn the conversation back to Kun. 

The dinner went along like that, Ten trying futilely not to talk about himself and his mother trying her best to sell Kun to Johnny. 

Kun and the other omega didn’t say anything at all, which struck Ten as strange, but then again, what say did any omega have in their own mating?
“Thank you for the warm welcome Mr. and Mrs. Qian. It's best if we finally get down to business, don’t you agree? I’m here to get an omega,”  Johnny said, putting down his wine glass and his parents nodded, straightening up. 

“Yes, we are willing to release him to you tonight,” His father stated and Ten shrunk back.

He wasn’t sure if he could take the thought of losing Kun so fast, but it wasn’t what mattered. 

The alpha was what mattered. 

What Johnny said goes. 

“He’s never even been kissed, so you don’t have to worry about impurity,” His mother chimed in.

“And he’s willing to quit his little job at the doctor’s office,” His father said and Johnny shook his head. 

“I don’t want Kun, I want Ten,” The alpha said and his parents looked over at Ten. 

“What? Me?” Ten asked, his stomach dropping into his toes as he looked at the alpha. 

“No, absolutely not. You were supposed to have Kun,” His mother said and Johnny shook his head. 

“No offense to Kun, he seems lovely, but I don’t want him. I want Ten,” Johnny said and Ten looked over at Kun, trying to decode the look on his face. 

“Me?” Ten asked again and Johnny nodded. 

“We have a contract, you came under the explicit expectation that you would take Kun, not this kid,” His alpha said and Ten looked at his alpha. 

“This kid? I’m your son,” Ten said and his mother shushed him. 

“Alpha, be reasonable, the price has already been set for Kun, you’ve seen his records,"

“I’ll pay more,” Johnny said as if it were no problem.

“You’re supposed to take Kun,” His father said and Johnny shook his head. 

“I’ll pay double, I don’t care,” He said and Ten watched his Mother’s face redden. 

“He’s dirty, impure, you don’t want him,” His mother blurted out. 

“I’m what?” Ten said, turning on his parents. 

“Yeah, he sold his body on the streets when he was a kid, that’s how we found him,” His father said. 

“That’s not true, Why would my collar be white if that were true?” Ten argued and his mother sneered at him. 

“He sold his body and he’s a liar. We were being generous when we allowed him to have a white collar, because he didn’t have one when we got him. But you should know what kind of dirt he is. He’s not worthy of an alpha like you, he can’t even admit it. Unlike Kun, who is smart, and kind. He’ll make a good omega and breed you alpha sons, unlike that Wàiguó jìnǚ” The omega hissed and Ten’s jaw dropped. 

“Foreign whore? I’m your son,” Ten said more emphatically and his father waved his hands. 

“Let’s all calm down, I’m sorry that we got your hopes up, but maybe we can still make a deal. We’ll let you take Ten with you along with Kun. You can mate our son and keep Ten as a side whore, if you so choose,” The alpha said and Ten felt tears come to his eyes. 

A whore?

“I’ve heard enough. I don’t want Kun, I want Ten. My omega keeps me more than satisfied and I don’t require side whores. I want another mate, and I have chosen Ten as such,” Johnny said and the alpha shook his head. 

“No, you cannot have Ten, not without Kun,” He said firmly and Johnny laughed in his face. 

“You are in no condition to tell me what I can and can’t do. If you want this money, I’ll take Ten,” Johnny said and the omega snarled at Johnny.

“Fine, we don’t want your money. Take the whore, We don't need money so much that we would take money from such an alpha like you,” The omega said. 

“What about you? What do you say?” Johnny asked and Ten looked at the family. 

It wasn’t like he had a choice.
They had made it clear they didn’t want him.

Ten stepped towards Johnny, submitting to Johnny.

He wouldn’t stay here.

“Get out, get out!” The omega said and Ten looked Kun in the eye. 

Kun looked away from Ten, turning away as Ten was pushed out of the house.

Chapter Text

Ten 

Ten looked at himself in the mirror. 

He was dressed for their mating ceremony, white robes that Johnny would remove, and his white-collar to match that Johnny would eventually switch to purple. 

He’d never imagined that he would look this way, that he would be in this position. He figured that he would watch Kun go through this, and he’d clap and cry in the front row as his brother made his way towards a better life. 

Not be called a common whore and thrown out of his fami- that family’s house like he meant nothing. Like he was nothing but trash. 

He wouldn’t let himself cry over it anymore. 

He’d done all of his crying with Johnny when he was released to him. Doyoung, the other omega sat on his other side, petting him silently while Johnny told him not to worry about those people anymore, that they would be his new family. 

Ten appreciated the sentiment, but he’d been with the family for nearly twenty years, how else was he supposed to feel?
He hadn’t gotten any messages from his old friends, but he wasn’t sure what he expected. 

They probably shut off his phone service as soon as he was pushed over the threshold, and no doubt they’d been told not to contact him.

He just didn’t think it’d feel so bad. 

“Are you ready?” Ten heard and he turned to see the other omega, Doyoung standing in the doorway. 

“Almost- I just-” Ten started and Doyoung walked over to him, picking up the hair pick and sliding it through his dark tresses. 

“You know, I’ve been thinking about what your family said,” Doyoung said softly, fluffing his hair just right. 

“It wouldn’t be fair for my alpha to get someone who has already been used,” Doyoung said and Ten tried to stifle an eye roll. 

“You were at the exam as well, I’m still pure,” He said and Doyoung came to stand in front of him, his thumb coming to rest on the corner of Ten’s mouth.

“You and I know that there are more ways to pleasure an alpha than just your pussy, ways that wouldn't show on an exam, right street rat,” He said, wiping spare lipstick away and Ten pushed the taller omega away. 

“Don’t call me that. And I don’t know anything about that. I’ve never even been alone with an alpha. I hadn’t even planned on getting mated,” He said and Doyoung tilted his head. 

“What kind of omega doesn’t want to get mated?” He asked.

“Believe it or not, some omegas don’t spend their whole life wishing to get under an Alpha, some of us actually have hopes and dreams,” He said and Doyoung giggled. 

“Hopes and dreams, I used to say things like that. Don’t worry, he’ll break you of that soon,” He said before turning right before the door opened. 

“The procession is about to start Doie hyung,” Jeno called, holding Lami to his chest and he watched as the omega softened for the young alpha. 

“I’m coming,” He said before turning towards Ten. 

“Welcome to the family Ten,” He said softly, somewhat sincere and Ten ducked his head. 

“Thank you hyung,” He whispered, watching as Doyoung slipped out of the room.

Ten turned from the door, looking at himself in the mirror. 

The music outside of the room was coming to a crescendo, and that was his cue to come out. 

He took a deep breath, his hands pressing over his robes before turning back towards the door. 

His heart thudded in his chest and he closed his eyes, gripping the doorknob tightly in his hands and as the music hit its peak, he turned the doorknob.

The door opened. 

Ten felt almost dizzy as the night came to an end. 

He’d met and talked to nearly everyone there, many people complimenting him on his beauty, on his body, saying that he’d make a wonderful omega for Johnny. He didn’t truly know those people, and he knew that they didn’t know him at all, but he still took the compliments, and with each compliment, he felt his worries lighten. He had no one from his town there, no one from his past, and maybe that was okay. 

Maybe he’d make a new future. 

Johnny’s hand was burning on the small of his back, and he kept leaning down to kiss over the temporary bite on his neck that sent shocks up his spine. It was a promise of what was to come tonight in their marital bed. He’d swapped the white collar for the purple one, and now all that was left would be to consummate the mating. 

He felt drunk almost, even though he’d not had that much to drink.

Maybe it was the proximity of so many alphas, maybe it was the fact that he was wanted, desired beyond any measure. 

He just couldn’t wait to be picked up and carried away.

“Come on, let’s go,” Johnny whispered in his ear and Doyoung pulled away from them, giving Johnny a deep kiss on the mouth before kissing Ten’s cheek. 

This would be their greeting from now on. 

“I hope you two have a successful mating night, I hope you are blessed with an alpha,” Doyoung said with a sweeping bow before leaving. 

Ten could barely bow back to him. 

“You look tired,” Johnny commented as he led the omega out of the ballroom and Ten leaned on the alpha for support. 

He felt weak like he was in preheat almost, but he knew it wasn’t time for that yet. 

Then again, a lot of omegas seemed to go into heat on their wedding night. 

“It was overwhelming,” Ten confessed and Johnny laughed slightly, showing off his smile. 

The alpha really did have a beautiful, albeit dorky smile. 

He told him as much which caused Johnny to chuckle as they made it to their wedding suite.

“Dorky, nice, come on Love, I’ve been waiting to undress you since I first laid eyes on you,” The alpha said predatorily and Ten leaned against the doorjamb.

“Why wait anymore?” He asked and Johnny’s grin widened as he pushed open the door behind Ten.

Ten awoke to an empty bed and he stretched himself out, seeking the alpha out subconsciously.

His body was sore from last night as if he’d been stretched too thin, pulled in too many different directions. 

It reminded him of what it was like when his heat ended. 

He could feel the mating bite still throbbing with every pulse of his heart and he dragged his fingers over it to confirm that it was real. 

This had really happened. 

He got out of bed, pulling a robe on, the need to be near his alpha overwhelming and annoying before stopping when he realized that his alpha was just outside of his door, with another alpha. 

He pressed his ear to the door. 

“The whole town is going crazy. They won’t let me mate Sicheng anymore. They say our alphas can’t be trusted, that we’re liars. They’re saying that instead of taking the omega you were supposed to, you were caught fucking Ten, that that’s the only reason you have him,” Yuta hissed and Ten let out an exhale.

Johnny opened the door and Ten looked up at the alpha.

“They can’t do that to me, they won’t get away with it,” Ten said before looking at Yuta. 

“What kind of alpha asks for permission? If you want him, go get him.”

Sicheng

Sicheng sighed, reaching up to a high shelf to put up a pack of drinks. He bit into a candy bar wistfully as he thought about his alpha again.

He hadn’t heard anything from his alpha since the day they met-

Well, not his alpha, at least not yet, not technically. 

He was supposed to be his alpha, but this morning his mother had told him that Sicheng wouldn’t be getting mated to Yuta.  

Sicheng had never really argued with his mother before, but this morning they had, going at it for the thirty minutes it took for Sicheng to get ready for work. 

He felt bad about it, he really did, but-

Yuta and him clicked, and Yuta was going to help Sicheng’s dreams come true, not make him work seventeen hours a day in a convenience store for pennies. 

It wasn’t fair. 

He heard a bell ding and he sighed. 

“I’ll be with you in just a minute,” Sicheng called, putting the drinks away still. 

He heard the customer retreat to the drink cooler, opening the door and he decided to continue his chores. 

He was probably going to close up after the customer left, too sad to continue to work. 

Besides, no one ever really came in after two in the morning, so, he would be fine, it wasn’t like they were missing out on any money. 

“Let me know if you’re ready to check out,” He said before turning when he realized that no one was in the store. 

“Probably some punk kid stealing drinks,” Sicheng complained to himself as he went to the cooler, doing a quick inventory. 

Sure enough, there was a soda missing. 

At least it wasn’t alcohol. 

The Huangs probably wouldn’t even notice.

People liked to steal on his watch. 

Taeyong was way too observant to be stolen from, being wary of any and everybody, and Ten never got to run the store by himself, on account of the rumors that his parents had spread so the Huangs would never allow it. 

Now, Sicheng was taking up his and Ten’s old shifts, and it would only get worst now that his family wasn’t accepting Yuta’s money, and wasn’t allowing him to go with the alpha. 

Sicheng should have persuaded the alpha to take him that night as Ten had been. 

He didn’t know what to believe, he’d heard Donghyuck and Renjun whispering about the gossip. 

Donghyuck thought Ten did it, Renjun didn’t believe it, and Taeyong-

Well, Taeyong was being very tight-lipped about it, saying that it was none of their business, and they had work to do. 

He didn’t think that Ten would steal an alpha from his brother, even Sicheng knew that that Alpha was supposed to be for Kun.

But, when it felt right, it felt right, but he couldn’t imagine that Ten would be in such a compromising situation. 

Just the thought of an alpha and omega doing that made his cheeks redden. 

He knew realistically he and Yuta would have eventually done that, but- it’s not- well he just couldn’t picture it. 

Sicheng bent over the counter, using the wall behind him to stretch his arabesque before straightening up and looking at the clock. 

It was almost two.

No one would notice if he closed up a couple of minutes early. 

He took off his apron, hanging it behind the counter before grabbing the keys.
He flipped the lights off and switched the sign to closed before locking the door. 

He slipped the keys in the lockbox next to the door before turning to walk towards his house. 

He thought about the fight he had with his mother before shaking his head. 

He would rather not get back into that. 

He turned to the left instead, deciding he’d circle the block first before he went home. 

He turned into the alley where the trashcans were before stopping when he saw a figure standing against the wall, a bottle held to his lips.

Sicheng took a step back before tilting his head. 

He knew that silhouette, that spicy marjoram scent. 

“Yuta ge?” He asked and the alpha stepped forward. 

“I knew I would find you among the trash, my little trash prince,” Yuta said and Sicheng flushed. 

“You know, you should pay more attention to the store,” He said, tossing the bottled soda at Sicheng who caught it. he took a sip of the drink for no reason other than to have his lips touch something that Yuta’s had. 

“That was you?” He asked, and the alpha opened his arms. 

Sicheng ran to him and the alpha picked him up, twirling him in a circle. 

He put the omega down and Sicheng was once again face to face with the alpha. 

He was taller than the alpha, but that didn’t seem to phase him in the least bit, an almost dopey grin on his face. 

“God I’ve missed you,” He said, gripping Sicheng’s face between his hands and pulling him in for a kiss.

Sicheng tripped backward and the alpha got even closer, his grip still tight. 

“Wait-” Sicheng said, pulling away finally even though his knees were weak. 

“Wait what? Why wait?” He asked and Sicheng took a step backward. 

“Because,” Sicheng said, trying to remember why he wasn’t supposed to be kissing this alpha. 

“Because what?” He asked, taking another step forward. 

“We- my mom said we weren’t getting mated, I can’t kiss you,” Sicheng argued and Yuta shook his head. 

“She’s wrong,” He said and Sicheng took another step back. 

His mother wasn’t wrong, right? 

He wasn’t supposed to mate the alpha.

“No one is allowed to mate with your town anymore, Because Johnny broke his mating contract, You alphas are liars,” Sicheng said and Yuta took another step forward. 

“Everyone in your town is a bunch of liars. Johnny mated the Qian’s son, he came for one of their sons, offered to pay and they said no,” Yuta said taking another step forward. 

“But I’m not supposed to mate with you anymore,” Sicheng said and Yuta took another step forward. 

He felt confused and tired, then again, it was two in the morning.

Sicheng stepped backward, hitting the wall behind him. 

He couldn’t go anywhere. 

“You’re mine,” Yuta said and Sicheng shook his head. 

“I can’t,” He said emphatically. 

He wanted to, he really did. But his mother had already said it wasn’t allowed.

“You will. You’re coming with me,” Yuta said, his voice smooth and Sicheng felt this strange melting feeling come over his body like when he’d skipped too many meals and all of the world would go dark. 

“What’s going on?” Sicheng asked and Yuta stroked his face. 

“When’s the last time you ate?” Yuta asked, caringly and Sicheng couldn’t think about anything other than the alpha in front of him. 

“I don’t- I don’t know,” He said Yuta smiled. 

“Don’t worry, Alpha will make sure you get ho-” 

The world dropped from under him.

Taeyong

Taeyong walked around the house, biting his thumb as he checked the doors. 

He didn’t know why, but he felt uneasy. 

“Yah,” He called when he heard movement down the hall. 

“Yes?” Donghyuck said, walking into the living room where Taeyong was standing. 

“Where are you going?” He asked and Donghyuck laughed. 

“Nowhere, just getting comfortable,” Donghyuck said, trying to sound innocent and Taeyong glared at him. 

“With jeans on?” 

“They’re comfortable-” He started before sighing. 

“Renjun called, We were going to have a sleepover,” Donghyuck said and Taeyong shook his head. 

“Not tonight,” He said softly and Donghyuck groaned, putting his backpack down even as he protested. 

“But Hyung, we already made the plan,” He complained and Taeyong shook his head. 

He knew that he was being strict on the omega, but something didn’t feel right. 

He’d been wary of letting Donghyuck go out after a certain time ever since Ten was taken, but something in his gut just told him to be careful. 

“If you want to hang out, call him over tomorrow morning,” He said and Donghyuck mumbled under his breath about the omega having to work before going to his room. 

He could hear Donghyuck on the phone, complaining to Renjun about being on some kind of lame curfew for not washing the dishes and Taeyong frowned softly. 

Donghyuck had always been like that, telling little white lies as if it were nothing. It came a little too naturally to the boy, and it worried Taeyong. 

He wondered why he did it, and often asked the boy what he was hiding when he caught him in the white lies. 

Donghyuck just told him that he was being his paranoid self. 

He had to admit though his paranoia came in handy.

The young omega had been lying for Taeyong for a while, and any instance in which Donghyuck was barred from doing things that normal omegas his age could do because of him or their alpha, he would tell little white lies to cover it. 

He’d been lying for Taeyong for a while. 

He opened the door to see Donghyuck getting into his pajamas as he complained to Renjun about the unfairness of it all.

“Yes, Hyung?” He asked and Taeyong shook his head, fighting the urge to lock Donghyuck’s door like he used to before their alpha died. 

“Just came to tell you good night, don’t stay up all night,” He said and Donghyuck playfully rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah Yeah hyung,” He said with a grin and Taeyong closed the door, worrying at his collar once before turning off the lights and getting ready for bed. 

Taeyong opened his eyes quickly, his heart racing in his chest. 

Somebody was in the house. 

It wasn’t Donghyuck because he could always tell when Donghyuck was moving around, something about his walk was sneaky, but with the sound of comfort, he knew the house layout. 

This was someone who was just using their sense of smell to get around. 

An alpha who’d tried to mask their scent. 

Taeyong grabbed the bat that he kept beside the bed before slipping out of bed. 

He tried to figure out if he should bring attention to himself, or if he should move silently through the house. 

He was good at being quiet. 

His alpha had made sure of it. 

He didn’t have a chance to make a decision as his bedroom door slammed open.

“Jeez Mark, you don’t have to be so-” He heard before he was face to face with two alphas. 

“Found him,” Mark said and Taeyong crouched down beside his bed, holding the bat close to himself. 

His eyes met with the alpha that he met on the street. 

“Found you,” He breathed and Taeyong took a deep breath, trying to calm his breath. 

He couldn’t show the alpha he was scared of him, but he couldn’t challenge him. 

“What are you doing in my house?” Taeyong asked and the alpha gave him a charming grin. 

“I came to get an answer,” The alpha said and Taeyong gave him a weird look. 

“I don’t even know your name,” Taeyong pointed out. 

“Dude, you didn’t tell him your name? That’s kind of pathetic,” Mark said and the Alpha pushed him. 

“Jaehyun,” The alpha said, squatting down in front of him and sticking his hand out. 

“Taeyong,” Taeyong said curtly, unsure of whether he should introduce himself or not. 

“Your answer?” He asked and Taeyong raised an eyebrow. 

“You broke into my house, I don’t think that I really have a choice do I?” He asked and Jaehyun rubbed the back of his neck with a laugh. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, although I meant it when I said I’d respect your decision,” He said softly and Taeyong raised an eyebrow. 

“So I tell you no, and you just leave? So I can tell the whole town what you did after I have your name, what you smell like, and where you came from? That wouldn’t fare well for either of us. Either the town comes looking for you, or you come looking for me, or you take me with you and hurt me anyway for saying no because you brought Mark with you. Rejecting an alpha is one thing, but doing it in front of another alpha is humiliation. It’s a death sentence,” Taeyong pointed out and Mark laughed. 

“He’s pretty smart,” The young alpha said and Jaehyun glared at him. 

“Okay, so you got me, I guess you don’t really have a choice then, so what do you say?” He asked and Taeyong stared at him.

This wouldn’t be the first mating he’d been forced into, and at least this alpha was younger.

“Fine, I guess it’s a reluctant yes,” Taeyong said and Jaehyun smiled. 

“A reluctant yes is still a yes,” He said and Mark froze, his head tilting to the right slightly.

Taeyong’s heart dropped into his stomach as he heard what he dreaded the most.

Donghyuck was walking towards his room. 

He was outside of the door. 

“Is there someone else here?” The young alpha asked and Taeyong surged forward. 

“No, you can’t have him, no,” Taeyong said, raising the bat up in a threatening manner. 

He didn’t care. 

He would rather die than let them touch a single hair on Donghyuck’s head. 

“Hey, calm down,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong swung, missing Mark by a hair as the alpha ducked out of the way. 

The door opened and Donghyuck was there, a pan in his hands like a weapon. 

“Hyung?” Donghyuck asked before swinging hard, connecting with the alpha’s shoulder.

“Shit,” Mark said before ducking the next hit, wrapping his arms around Donghyuck’s waist and hoisting him up. 

“No, you can’t take him, stop it, stop!” Taeyong yelled and Jaehyun growled. 

“Stop,” He alpha commanded and Taeyong felt that familiar feeling of a yoke around his neck as he dropped down to his knees. Donghyuck went limp as well. 

“Please please,” Taeyong begged, his head down in deference.

“It’s like you said sweetheart, we really don’t have a choice, he’s seen our faces,” Jaehyun said as he lifted Taeyong’s chin softly. 

Taeyong felt a tear slide down his face. 

“No, please no,” He pled and Jaehyun gave him a placating smile. 

“Say yes, it’ll all be easier if you said yes,” He commanded and Taeyong felt the yoke tighten unbearable with each second he refused. 

“Yes,” He said reluctantly and the smile widened on Jaehyun’s face as he hoisted the omega over his shoulder.

Renjun

Renjun dropped down on his bed, pulling his laptop onto his bed as he talked on the phone with Donghyuck.

 Can an alpha trigger your first heat?

Renjun typed in absently, his fingers tapping against the keys lightly.

"It sucks that Taeyong won't let you come over, " Renjun said and Donghyuck sighed.

"He's lame like that," Donghyuck through the phone with a whine.

"He said we can hang out tomorrow morning though, I'll come to the shop," Donghyuck said enthusiastically and Renjun scrunched up his nose as he hit enter.

"I don't need you to be a nuisance at the store," he said distracted and Donghyuck huffed.  

"What's on your mind, your heart wasn't in that one, " Donghyuck pointed out and Renjun sighed. 

"I just- I wonder if I'm going into my heat soon," Renjun said, worrying his bottom lip in between his teeth. 

Neither he nor Donghyuck had gone through a heat before. They were both newly of age, Renjun coming of age in March and Donghyuck just last month.

"It’s because of that hot alpha, isn't it? You're still sniffing after him?" Donghyuck teased and Renjun scoffed, regretting telling Donghyuck about the fact that he couldn’t get the Alpha’s scent out of his nose. 

"It has nothing to do with Jeno,"  Renjun rebutted

"You still remember his name," Donghyuck said like it was a scandal.

Sure Renjun remembered his name. He remembered the names of anyone who scorned him. 

It wasn't because he liked the alpha, but the exact opposite, because he despised him, and he always would.

"Of course I remember that bastard’s name. But it has nothing to do with him. I've just been restless lately, my mom said that's one of the signs of going into preheat," he said softly.

Renjun didn’t want to go into preheat while his mother was gone. 

It wasn’t as if he didn’t think that Lucas could take care of him, the alpha was attentive and a really great ge, but Lucas would never understand what it was like going into heat. 

He couldn’t help Renjun prepare for it like his mother could. 

“Well, if you go through heat, I’ll come over and take care of you,” Donghyuck teased. 

“I’d rather die, I would rather have a seizure and die before I let you come over,” Renjun said and he could hear Donghyuck whining about it over the phone. 

There was a knock on the door and Renjun pressed the phone into his shoulder to give them a sense of privacy. 

“I’m going to go unpack some of the inventory and take the trash down for the night,” Lucas said and Renjun nodded. 

“You get to bed soon, you know you have to work early in the morning,” He said and Renjun stuck his tongue out at his brother. 

“Yeah yeah, don’t get distracted, and don’t throw away the keys, again,” Renjun said and Lucas stuck his tongue out at Renjun childishly. 

“Shut up,” He said before closing the door behind him. 

“Go to bed Renjun,” He called and Renjun called him a crude name as the front door closed. 

“I’ve got to go to bed,” Renjun said, returning to his phone call with Donghyuck.

“Me too before Taeyong sticks his head in here for the third time, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, ugly,” Donghyuck said affectionately and Renjun laughed. 

“You too fatty,” He said before hanging up. 

Renjun looked down at his search, his eyes skimming the search results. 

He clicked on one website before quickly clicking out of it, his face red. 

That Alpha didn’t influence anything about him. 

Renjun rolled around in bed, sweat drenching his body. He was far too hot, and the pit of his stomach felt like it was on fire, a livewire coursing through him. He was gripping the sheets under him, trying to claw his way through the heat.

"Shh, you're okay baby, alpha's here," A deep voice growled, slipping into the bed behind him.

"Jeno Alpha, please, I need-" Renjun choked out desperately and the alpha's fingers trailed up his leg, leaving goosebumps in its wake.  

"Alphas going to take care of you, " He promised, slipping his hands into Renjun's underwear, his fingers rubbing between his slick folds before plunging deeper into the omega.

Renjun submitted to the alpha, his head falling back on the sweat-soaked pillow. 

"Good omega," the alpha teased and Renjun groaned.

“Feels so good, alpha,” Renjun whimpered. 

"Breed me alpha, please," he begged and there was another scent in the room, driving Renjun further over the edge, his alphas scent mixing with it tantalizingly. 

Overwhelmingly…

Renjun opened his eyes slowly, trying to bring himself back to consciousness before hearing a laugh. 

His eyes shot open wide, suddenly awake. 

“You didn’t tell me he was this cute,” An alpha standing next to Jeno said.

His voice was deeper than Jeno’s but Jeno’s was smoother. 

Their scents were the ones from his dream, intertwining in a way that if Renjun hadn’t met Jeno before, he wouldn’t know who was who. 

He’d known alphas to hang out a lot, but he’d never smelled alphas who were clearly not related smell so much like each other,

“Jaemin-ah, look. He’s so wet, he’s soaked through his panties,” Jeno said, sliding his forefinger down Renjun’s pubic mound and Renjun clamped his knees shut, pulling down his shirt to hide his briefs. 

“Dreaming about alpha huh?” Jeno said with a smirk as he kneeled next to the bed and Renjun climbed up the bed to get away from him, his face flaming. 

“You’re not my alpha, you’d never be my alpha, asshole,” Renjun shot back.

“Listen to him, he’s so cute,” Jaemin said and Jeno grit his teeth. 

“You should learn how to speak to alphas baby, it’ll save you life, now, get out of bed,” He said, grabbing Renjun’s arm and pulling him up. 

Renjun stumbled, righting himself against the side of the bed. 

“Why don’t you have him kneel for us Jeno-yah, he’d look so pretty on his knees,” Jaemin said and Jeno flashed a predatory grin at him.

“Kneel,” He said and Renjun snarled. 

“Fuck you,” He hissed. 

“Kneel bitch,” Jeno said more forcefully, commanding him. Renjun dropped down to his knees hard, his bare knees hitting the wooden floor.

Renjun felt laid bare underneath the alphas’ stares. 

“So pretty,” Jaemin said and Jeno tilted his chin with his finger. 

“And he’s all mine,” Jeno said softly. 

“Don’t be so selfish Jeno, we could share him,” Jaemin said and Renjun hocked a loogie, spitting on Jaemin's feet. 

Jeno growled at him, gripping his hair tightly and Renjun whimpered. 

“You’re gonna learn some manners bitch, or I’ll put your mouth to better use,” He said, pressing Renjun’s face into his crotch and rubbing it back and forth. 

Renjun pushed himself away, landing on his back as the Alpha let him go. 

“Get away from me,” Renjun bit out, his heart pounding in his chest. 

“Jeno, I’m getting bored, can we end this already?” Jaemin asked and Jeno nodded. 

“Come on, Renjun, You’re coming with us,” He said and Renjun shook his head, crawling away from them. 

He got up, running out of the room. 

“Help me! Help! Lucas!” He called and Jeno laughed. 

“There’s no use calling your brother honey, he’s occupied, now stop this,” Jeno called after him.

“Stay away from me! Help!” He yelled and Jaemin caught up to him, lifting him up and hoisting him over his shoulder. 

“Stop! Help stop! Lucas please! Help!” Renjun yelled louder, his throat shredding from the screams, his nose burning with the mixing of Ginger and Bergamot. 

He clawed at Jaemin’s back, lashing out at Jeno and scratching across the bridge of his nose. 

“Son of a bitch,” Jeno said and something hit the back of Renjun’s head, the world darkening.

Jungwoo

Jungwoo took a deep breath, his hair flopping into his face. 

It had begun to rain, and Jungwoo took that to his advantage, losing his jacket along the way before making his way up to the shop.

He was wearing a deep V white shirt that had become translucent in the rain.

"Help!" Jungwoo called out and he heard a trash can being knocked over.

"Hello?" He asked and he watched as the alpha emerged from the alley. 

His hair was down over his forehead, and sleeves were rolled up onto his shoulders. 

He was loud in the quiet night. 

“Alpha,” Jungwoo whispered, stepping backward, and the alpha’s face shuttered slightly, his head tilting as he looked at the boy. He looked like he was trying to figure out where the omega was from, and why his face was so familiar. 

Jungwoo wouldn’t be lying if he said that he’d been thinking of that alpha ever since he lifted him off of the ground. 

He didn’t know his name, but he hoped he could mate him.

He was supposed to be a distraction for the alphas, but he didn’t deny that most of the reason he decided to come with them was to see the alpha again.

He’d expected the alpha to be in the store, but Yuta had already come by for his omega, so he knew he wasn’t there. 

He’d caught his scent in the rain, so he knew he was outside. 

He’d planned to scream help and run into the store, looking for shelter from a phantom alpha smell, but this was just as well.

“You’re not from around here,” He said and Jungwoo bit his lip, looking down. 

“I’m not,” He whispered quietly and the alpha looked around 

“Are the alphas here?” He asked and Jungwoo shook his head. 

“No,” He said before looking up at the alpha wistfully. 

“I just- I came here to- what’s your name, alpha?” He asked and the Alpha gave him a gentle smile. 

“Lucas, what’s your name?” He asked and Jungwoo deferred to him. 

“Jungwoo,” He said softly and Lucas rushed forward like a friendly puppy.

“Wait, you’re all wet, come here,” He said, grabbing Jungwoo’s hand and pulling him into the shop. 

It was dark, the floodlights in the corner the only thing keeping them out of pitch blackness.

Jungwoo stopped in front of the counter, leaning back on it as he watched Lucas walk around the shop.

He shivered a little, the aircon from the shop chilling him and the Alpha came back with a hand towel. 

“Sorry, we don’t have anything bigger,” The alpha said, pressing the towel into Jungwoo’s hair. 

He ruffled Jungwoo’s hair giving him a goofy smile. 

The smile began to fade as his eyes tracked a bead of rain down his neck. Jungwoo tilted his neck, submitting slightly and Lucas sucked in a deep breath.

He could smell the alpha’s rich earthy scent, and it made a pit form in his stomach. 

“You poor thing, you’re soaked,” He said, his eyes drifting down the solid column of Jungwoo’s neck. 

Jungwoo watched with a slight smirk. 

“In more ways than one,” Jungwoo said with a blush and Lucas looked up at him, his eyes charged. 

“I should get you a shirt,” Lucas said and Jungwoo shivered. 

“Don’t go,” Jungwoo whispered and Lucas stopped moving. 

"You're right. You're probably freezing, I’ll keep you warm," Lucas said, slipping Jungwoo's shirt off and wrapping his arms around the omega. Jungwoo gripped the front of his shirt, pulling him closer, pressing his lips into Lucas's.  Lucas gripped his hips in a bruising hold before lifting him onto the counter. 

Jungwoo curled his fingers around Lucas's ears, stroking the scent gland behind them, perfuming the air around them.

His hand trailed down Lucas's chest, landing on his belt buckle, undoing it and guiding Lucas between his parted legs.

Lucas broke from the kiss, a rough growl bubbling in his chest as he pressed his face in Jungwoo's neck.

"We can't do this," Lucas hissed and Jungwoo recoiled.

"You don't want me?" He asked and Lucas looked up, capturing his face in his hands. 

“No, I want you, I want you so bad, But I can’t- I can’t afford you,” Lucas said, stepping away from Jungwoo and he whined, feeling abandoned.

“I don’t care,” Jungwoo said and Lucas smiled sadly. 

“That’s not how this works. All I have is this shop. You would come here to what? Work those pretty little hands to bones. I couldn’t do that to you,” Lucas said and Jungwoo shook his head. 

“Then you come with me, tonight, right now,” He said excitedly and Lucas frowned. 

“Even then, I have nothing to offer you, we only have the shop.”

“You have a little omega brother, don’t you?” He asked and Lucas nodded. 

“But he’s not being mated now.”

“My family will accept another omega, and then you can come with me, My brother can come to get him,” He said and Lucas shook his head. 

“I can’t-”

“You’d be there. Isn’t that better than him getting mated off to some distant city where God knows what could happen to him? Don’t you want to mate me?” He asked and Lucas nodded. 

“I do,” Lucas said and Jungwoo smiled. 

“We can be together, you’ll be my alpha,” Jungwoo said and Lucas looked upstairs before nodding.

“Okay, okay, I’ll be your alpha,” He said, burying his neck in Jungwoo’s neck again and Jungwoo wrapped his arms around Lucas’ shoulders. 

“We’ve got to go now then,” He said and Lucas looked up at the ceiling.
No doubt that was where his brother was, upstairs sleeping. 

“But Renjun’s-” He started and Jungwoo shook his head. 

“I’ll have my brother come back for him later, we need to tell him, don’t we?” He said and Lucas nodded, reaching behind the counter and grabbing a jacket. 

He pulled it around Jungwoo’s shoulders and Jungwoo breathed in the alpha’s scent.

“Come on,” he said, helping Jungwoo down off of the counter and leading him out of the shop. 

Now it was up to Jeno to grab his omega.

Chapter Text

Ten

Ten awoke to a cold bed, and he rolled over on his stomach, taking up more space.

It seemed like the alpha was never here when Ten woke up. 

He’d only been mated for a week now and he felt like he should have woken up to the alpha once. 

But it wasn’t as if Ten could complain. 

He knew Johnny still had a job, regardless of being newly mated. 

He had a business to run and money to make to support them. 

He’d not really explored the house that much, spending too much time in Johnny’s room-- Johnny and his room-- he had to get used to saying their room. 

When he wasn’t laying in bed, trying to quench the needy feeling in his stomach, he was drawing. 

He’d never been able to lay around before, always having to cook or clean, or head to the store to work a long shift. 

It was nice to have time to just rest. 

He didn’t ever get that back before. 

He got out of bed finally, wrapping his robe tight around his body.

Doyoung had been bringing him meals, which was nice, and leaving him to be in the room. 

He was grateful for it.

The mating was new, and even though he knew that he would eventually have to get used to his alpha’s strong coffee scent intertwined with the pretty cherry blossom scent, right now he wasn’t ready to get used to it. 

The separation anxiety was starting to wane, which meant he would be able to return to normal life, which meant not spending hours rolling around in the alpha’s clothing and sheets, trying to soak up any ounce of his scent. 

Hopefully, that meant he could explore his new home and his new town. 

Ten hopped out of the shower, toweling through his hair before changing into more appropriate attire. 

He opened the door, stepping into the living area of their new house. 

Doyoung was kneeling down at the table, picking up plates from breakfast. 

“Put on your collar,” Doyoung said without looking up at him and Ten pressed his hand into his neck realizing that he wasn’t wearing his collar. 

Ten went back to the bathroom, grabbing the purple collar and snapping it back in place. 

He stared at himself, admiring the purple collar and the deep purple mating mark.

He really didn’t expect to be here. 

He made his way back to the living space, leaning against the walls. 

“Don’t let alpha catch you walking around without it,” Doyoung said, and Ten’s hand ghosted back to the choker. 

“How did you know I wasn’t wearing my collar?” Ten asked and Doyoung shook his head as he picked up the bowl full of dirty dishes. 

“None of the omegas wear their collars where you’re from. I’m glad Taeyong at least knew better,” He said dismissively and Ten frowned. 

“Hey, just because we don’t value ourselves based on if an alpha has put their dick into us, doesn’t mean there is something wrong with us,” Ten said and Doyoung shook his head. 

“You’re not a part of ‘us’ anymore. That town turned their back on you. Besides, they’ll have to get used to wearing their collars now as well,” Doyoung said and Ten followed Doyoung to the sink as Doyoung pulled rubber gloves on before starting to rinse the dishes. 

“Have they returned?” Ten asked and Doyoung put the dishes in the dishwasher, starting it with a hum before turning to look at him. 

“They got a lot of omegas last night,” Doyoung said and Ten felt a strange feeling bloom in his chest. 

It wasn’t fear, nor was it a heavy feeling. 

It was righteous whatever it was. 

“They even managed to bring an alpha,” He said and Ten smiled. 

“That’s Lucas, so they have Renjun, and Sicheng, what about Taeyong ge?” He asked and Doyoung nodded. 

“Of course we got Taeyong hyung back. He should have never been turned over to that disgusting town at all,” He said, his face in a sneer and Ten let the insult roll off of his back. 

That wasn’t his hometown anymore, and he’d seen the way Taeyong was before his alpha passed away. 

“Did they get my brother? Kun ge?” Ten asked hopefully. 

He wanted his brother to come too. It was selfish, it really was.

“No, his family was nowhere to be found, convenient isn’t it, as if they knew the alphas were coming, I wonder how they found out,” He said and Ten frowned. 

“You think I told them that the alphas were coming?” Ten asked and Doyoung shrugged. 

“You still refer to him as your brother,” He said as if that said anything and Ten shook his head. 

He didn’t know Ten yet. 

He didn’t understand that He’d been with them so long, that no matter what happened between his parents and him, he’d always love Kun. 

Then again, it wasn’t like Kun had stopped his parents from talking to him that way. 

“It doesn’t matter, at least we got some omegas. When can I go see them?” He asked and Doyoung shook his head. 

“They’re under quarantine for now, then they’ll go into exams before they can get mated. They have to make sure they’re actually pure status before they mate them, you understand that, with the rumors that go around about that town’s omegas,” Doyoung said, giving him a look before taking off his gloves. 

“Doyoung, Lami’s awake,” another omega said, and Taeil, Lami’s milkmaid greeted ten. 

“You’re finally out of your room?” Taeil said with a gentle smile and Ten nodded. 

“You’re skinny, we’ll have to fatten you up, and your hands are so rough, have you been scrubbing bricks?” Taeil asked and Ten looked down at his dry cuticles. 

“I’m supposed to check in on the younger omegas so I’ll have to leave a little early,” Taeil said and Doyoung nodded, taking the little girl from his hands and cooing at her. 

“No problem,” He said before turning his back and leaning into Ten's side. from "don't get too close to Taeil, he's weird, ” Doyoung whispered as if Taeil wasn’t right in front of him. 

Taeil didn’t seem to hear them or maybe didn’t care.

“Come on Lami, are you hungry?” Doyoung asked, bouncing her as they made their way into the kitchen. 

“Don’t pay too much attention to Doyoung, he’s kind of mean, it runs in the family,” He said and Ten thought back to the way Jeno had acted in the shop.

“He’s also the very jealous type,” He said and Ten could see that.

But they were both mated to Johnny, so they’d have to learn how to share. 

Sicheng

Sicheng sat up, rubbing his drowsy eyes. 

His limbs were really heavy, and his head felt cloudy.

He’d passed out from lack of food before, but he’d never woken up so disoriented, this confused. 

He felt like he’d slept for days even though that couldn’t have been the case, his mouth dry and cottony. 

He tried to stretch, but his muscles felt like they were bunched like he’d spent eight hours working on a new skill without stretching. 

But he would always stretch, so that didn’t make any sense at all. 

He was not wearing his work uniform, which was a black pair of pants and a black t-shirt with the store’s logo on his chest. He was the only person at the store who actually wore it.  Instead, he had on white silk pajama pants and a silk white button-up to match. 

He never had anything so nice in his life, something wasn’t adding up.

He frowned as he tried to remember what happened last night. 

He shut his eyes tight.

He remembered being at the store that night, stocking drinks, before deciding to go home early and he remembered going on a walk before going home because he didn’t want to face his mother before turning down the alley and-

Marjoram filled his nose and his heart began to beat quickly in his chest. 

He brought his hand up to his neck, feeling something around it. 

A collar. 

He was wearing a collar. 

Where was he?

“Sicheng-ah,” He heard a familiar voice coo sweetly and Sicheng backed up as the door opened and the Alpha that he’d met earlier walked into the room. 

“What’s going on? Where am I?” Sicheng asked, the Marjoram scent burning his nose, overwhelming him. 

He wondered if this was how Renjun had felt because of that Alpha from the store. He had complained about the way the alpha’s scent had clung to his skin, had filled his nose for days after they met him. 

If this is what he felt, Sicheng felt bad for letting Donghyuck tease him about liking the alpha. 

This wasn’t pleasant at all.

“You’re finally awake, we were worried for a while,” Yuta said, sitting on the bed and running his hands through his hair. 

The hands felt like they were burning his skin.

“What’s going on?” He asked and Yuta smiled at him. 

“We’re going to get mated, well, after your exam of course, but yeah, you’ll finally be mine,” He said with a smile, scooting closer to Sicheng and Sicheng tried to give himself a little distance. 

He was overheating, his breath getting caught in his throat as Yuta’s scent clung to his nose. His voice was grating, too loud in the silence and his body felt like it had been dragged against the pavement. 

The silk felt like sandpaper against his skin, every movement like glass shards against his sensitive skin.

“Where am I?” He asked again, trying to put space between them.

“You’re in my city, of course,” He answered with that same smile, invading his space even further. 

Sicheng tried to move back, but Yuta was quicker.

The alpha pressed his lips into Sichengs, pushing him backwards onto the bed and crawling over him as he kissed him. 

Everywhere that the alpha’s body touched was on fire, like pins and needles. 

His lips tried to keep up with the alphas but he couldn’t quite get into the rhythm of it, couldn’t quite get his muscles to work correctly.

He remembered the first night that they kissed, how happy and giddy his stomach felt. How could the alpha’s kisses felt so right back then but now, now it felt so wrong. He’d taken his breath away last time but now.

He couldn’t breathe.

He felt dizzy and disoriented.

He was going to pass out. 

His body was shutting down for some reason. 

Each breath the alpha took was like a bomb going off in his ears. 

He tried to press his hands over his ears, to muffle the sound, but it still seemed like it was right in his ear. 

“Stop,” He mumbled, trying to get some space from him. 

His teeth felt like there was electricity running through them. 

There was static in his brain, a high pitched whine cutting through his ears. 

“Stop,” Sicheng said again, his voice seemingly too loud and too quiet in the room. 

“Stop!” Sicheng screamed, trying to push the alpha away. 

He was still screaming before suddenly his voice cut off, his lungs floundering as he gulped for air.

“Sicheng-ah? Sicheng?” Yuta asked, finally giving him space but Sicheng couldn’t answer, his eyes sliding to the side as tears slipped out of the corner of his eye. 

“Taeil hyung!”

An omega ran into the room, a bright flowery scent cutting through the spicy marjoram.

“What did you do?” Taeil asked, pushing the alpha out of the way and leaning into the omega’s face. 

He had a gentle placating smile on his face, his dark hair pushed off of his forehead.

It was fuzzy on the side as if he shaved that part of his head. 

If Sicheng wasn’t feeling so strung apart, he would want to touch it just to see what it felt like.

“We were just kissing and he started to freak out,” Yuta said, floundering. 

“Sicheng?” Taeil asked and a bright light was flashed into his face. 

He wanted to flinch back from it, to close his eyes but he couldn’t. 

He could only push out those little puffs of air. 

There was a hand on his forehead that he barely felt. 

“He’s got a fever,” Taeil said softly.

“Sicheng-ah? Can you sit up?” He asked. 

“Can’t.”

“Why not?” Taeil asked.

“Hurts.”

Taeil turned to look at the alpha. 

“He’s in scent overload. This is why we quarantined them, so that this wouldn’t happen,” Taeil yelled at him and Sicheng wanted to tell him not to yell, that it hurt his body too much, but he couldn’t. 

“He’s my omega, I should comfort him,” Yuta said as if it were obvious, his scent becoming inflamed. 

“Sicheng- ah, alpha’s here,” Yuta said, his hands cupping Sicheng’s neck and he felt like he had been burned.

Sicheng started to hyperventilate again. 

“Don’t touch him!” Taeil yelled at him, slapping the alpha’s hands away. 

“He’s overwhelmed,” He said before pausing. 

“Oh, poor baby, it’s okay,” Taeil said and Sicheng took a deep breath, the blossom scent filling his nose, giving him a well-deserved respite from the other strange scents filling his nose before his eyes rolled back in his head.

Taeyong

Taeyong stopped pacing as he heard footsteps approaching the room. 

He wasn’t stupid, he understood that he was in quarantine.

He remembered when he was first mated off, he was put into quarantine. 

That was the one good thing that the alpha had done.

He was too cheap to afford separate quarantine settings, so Donghyuck and him had been quarantined together. 

He’d heard that omegas rarely needed to be quarantined more than once and he remembered when Ten had come home to the Qian household, he hadn’t needed to be quarantined at all. 

Perhaps it was because he was so young. 

The door opened and Taeyong backed away from the door, watching as the alpha that had taken him walked in. 

He still looked charming, and Taeyong tried not to fall for it. 

Just because he said yes didn’t mean he was okay with what happened. 

He knew that as an omega, especially an omega of his status, he rarely had a choice in what was done to him, but if anything befell Donghyuck-

He’d never forgive this man. 

“Hey, how are you?” Jaehyun asked softly and Taeyong snarled at him. 

“Where’s my brother?” He asked and Jaehyun looked taken aback and a little intrigued with his attitude. 

“He’s in quarantine, both of you are. Omegas can become overwhelmed when faced with new surroundings,” He said as if he were reading out of a textbook on omega behavior. 

“This is my hometown, I’m not going to be overwhelmed, and I was already quarantined with my brother. Now, where is he?” He asked and Jaehyun sat on the bed next to Taeyong. 

When they first arrived, they were pushed in opposite directions, Jaehyun dragging him there to sleep, and Mark carting Donghyuck off the opposite direction.

When he’d last seen him, Donghyuck was still frozen, not exactly overwhelmed, but scared. 

Taeyong wanted to break free from the alpha in that moment and snatch Donghyuck out of the other’s hands. 

He promised he wouldn’t let anything happen to his brother, and look at where they were now. 

“He’s being looked after. He was exhibiting symptoms of shock, we just wanted to make sure he is okay,” Jaehyun said placatingly and Taeyong turned an icy glare on him. 

“Because he was snatched out of bed in the middle of the night, he needs to be here with me, not some alpha,” He said and Jaehyun shook his head. 

“We have an omega looking after him, Taeil hyung, he’s in good hands. You know, you’d be able to go see him if you weren’t in quarantine,” He said and Taeyong stood up. 

“Then let’s go,” He said and Jaehyun leaned back on his palms on the bed. 

“The only problem about that is, once you’re out of quarantine, you’re supposed to go into an exam, and then we get mated,” He said and Taeyong turned to look at him, cocking his head at him. 

“Are you telling me that the only way I will get to see my brother, is if I’m mated to you?” Taeyong asked and Jaehyun nodded.

Taeyong walked up to the alpha, straddling him and baring his neck. 

“Why wait then, I’ll let you claim me now,” He said and the alpha under him gulped. 

Taeyong had expected that the alpha had never been with an omega before, considering he chose someone like Taeyong rather than any of the nondisgraced omegas in their town, but he didn’t expect for his ears to warm up so cutely, nor for those dimples to pop out so cherry red. 

“As-uh- as appealing as that sounds, and trust me it’s really appealing,” He started.

Aw he’s shy, Taeyong couldn’t help but think.

To be so handsome, he hadn’t expected him to be so withdrawn.

“I want to do this the right way. I want to make sure that you’re-” He began and Taeyong tilted his head.

“Pure? I already told you that I’m not, my alpha had sex with me,” Taeyong pointed out. 

“ Ex alpha . And not pure, I want to make sure you’re not damaged, that that alpha didn’t- he didn’t hurt you. I also wanted to get your bite removed, so everyone knows you belong to me and only me,” He said with conviction. 

Taeyong had always entertained the thought of getting his bite removed. 

He’d thought about it as he sat outside Donghyuck’s door, blood running down his legs after his alpha decided to take his aggression out on him. 

He thought about it idly while in the grocery store, watching kids his age play around the candy machines while he tried to come up with a dinner recipe that wouldn’t get him choked out. 

He thought about after they cremated his alpha, when the ashes were scattered and he returned back to their cramped two-bedroom apartment, a new collar, a black one replacing the royal purple he used to wear. 

He thought about it a lot. 

But thoughts weren’t actions and they hadn’t been able to afford such a costly procedure, so he left it out of his head. 

“That’s expensive,” Taeyong pointed out and Jaehyun shrugged. 

“You’ve really been living in that dump for too long if a bite removal is too expensive for you,” He said and Taeyong wanted to defend the old town.

Even if he hated the reason he came to the town, he loved the friends he made in it, Huang’s convenience store, and the peace of the streets at night. 

“Okay alpha, I’ll get the bite removed, and then I’ll get to see Donghyuck?” He asked and Jaehyun smiled up at him.

“Of course, whatever you want.”

Taeyong straddled the chair, his head pressed into the vinyl below him. 

He could feel the bright lights on his back, and the gloved hand rubbing antiseptic gel over his scarred bite. 

It was nastier than the average bite, his alpha- ex alpha reopening it every so often when he lost control. 

He'd gone straight from the exam to this, so his lower body was still sore. 

It had reminded him of his first time going through such an invasive exam, an alpha doctor staring down at him while he was in stirrups, forcing him wide open while the alpha categorized every intimate detail of his sex, to make sure he was still pure. 

He’d been young then, almost donghyuck’s age. He’d been sixteen, nowhere near of age. 

The machine began to move back and forth on Taeyong’s bite and Taeyong bit down on his bottom lip to stop from screaming out. 

It was physical pain. 

He was used to that by now.

Renjun

Renjun opened his eyes, rubbing his head as he sat up. 

His head was aching and he was disorientated. 

He looked down his body to see that he was no longer wearing what he’d worn to bed, but instead a pair of feminine underwear and a shirt that smelled suspiciously like those alphas. 

He had his white collar on, the one he only wore during family gatherings and special occasions. 

He could smell his family’s scents mixing on it, the tell of being in storage rather than being worn.

He pressed the shirt to his nose before pulling it away, gagging at the strong scent. He pulled the shirt off, trying to get the offending scent away from him before pulling his knees to his chest. 

He wondered how he got into such a state of undress. 

The thought that those assholes could have touched him while he was knocked out scared him.

It made him feel icky. 

Renjun took a deep breath, those Alpha’s scents still burning his nose before wondering what happened to Lucas and why didn’t he come to Renjun’s aid.

The alpha was only supposed to be taking out the trash, he would have heard him-

What if he didn’t know?

Lucas was probably at the store right now berating himself, searching the neighborhood for him, wondering where he could have gone.

He bit his lip, trying to hold back the tears at that thought. 

He hated worrying his family. 

His parents weren’t even in town-

Lucas would have to call his parents. 

Renjun could imagine the call, Lucas’s voice shaking, his head low as he confessed that he failed in protecting him.

Tears brimmed in Renjun’s eyes and he wiped them away with the back of his hand. 

He startled as the door slid open and the two alphas leaned in the doorway. 

“Already naked for your alphas huh? A little eager aren’t you?” Jeno asked, looking Renjun up and down salaciously and Renjun tried to cover himself. 

“What did you do to me?” He bit out and Jeno shook his head. 

“Nothing yet. Don’t worry, your chastity is still intact,” He answered. 

“Yet? You’re not touching me you filthy fucking mutt,” Renjun forced out, anger rising in him and Jeno growled, lunging for Renjun.

Jaemin caught him before he could get to Renjun, curling his arms around the alpha’s body gently as he stroked the nape of his neck. 

“Calm down, you don’t want to hurt him,” Jaemin cooed before looking at the omega.

“You’re really going to have to get over that attitude. I won’t always be here to stop him,” Jaemin said and Jeno took a shuddering breath, burying his face in the other Alpha’s neck as he calmed himself down. 

Renjun furrowed his eyebrows, watching the both of them curiously.

Alphas weren’t normally this close. 

“It’s fine, once we’re mated you will not behave this way,” Jeno said slowly as if still calming himself and Renjun scoffed. 

“I’m not mating with either one of you, I would rather die,” Renjun said and Jeno made a face as if he were trying to control himself. 

He stepped up to the bed, putting his finger under Renjun’s chin and lifting it up up up until it made the young omega submit to him. 

He flushed, a natural reflex to the movement. 

“You should really reconsider that omega. What’s going to happen to your brother if you don’t get mated?” Jeno asked and Renjun frowned, not understanding what Lucas had anything to do with him getting mated but knowing he didn’t like the implication.

“Stop touching me,” Renjun hissed and Jeno’s soft finger turned into a clawed hand as he gripped the underside of Renjun’s chin. 

He could feel himself becoming wet. 

He knew that it was normal, that submitting to an alpha did that, but it did little to stop the embarrassment from flooding through him.

“You’re so lucky you’re still under quarantine, or I would really take my time to break you. But don’t worry, after the mating, I’ll take all the time I need to break you,” Jeno said and Renjun tried to fight the shiver that went down his spine. 

The alpha’s eyes flitted down to his lips and he watched as Jaemin scented the air before putting his hand on Jeno’s shoulder. 

“He’s not out of the clear yet, we don’t want to overwhelm him,” Jaemin said and Jeno let go, stepping away from the omega. 

Renjun gulped a deep breath as Jeno’s scent stopped clouding him so much. 

He didn’t want to get the Alpha’s funk stuck in his nose again. 

He shook his head slightly, trying to get his bearing about him. 

He didn’t know why his body was reacting in such a way to the alpha. 

“When’s your heat?” Jeno asked and Renjun frowned at him, shaking his head. 

“I don’t owe you an answer, asshole” Renjun said and Jaemin cooed. 

“He’s not telling us something Jeno-yah,” Jaemin said, his voice singsongy, and something about the taunt made Renjun want to tell him, just to keep them from insinuating anything ridiculous.

“I haven’t had my first heat yet,” Renjun said reluctantly. 

“Good, alphas will help through your first heat,” Jeno said and Renjun recoiled. 

“No the fuck you will not,” He said and Jeno leaned back into his space, that stink filling his nose once more.

“Believe me now, by the end of this, you’re going to beg me for my knot, you’re going to beg your alphas to help you through your heat,” He said and Jaemin grabbed the alpha’s arm, pulling him away.

Renjun felt lightheaded, the stink borderline painful in his nose. 

“Calm down, You’re going to overload him,” Jaemin said before pulling Jeno out of the room. 

Renjun collapsed back on the bed, his chest heaving as he tried to clear that scent out of his nose and stop his brain from spinning so fast. 

What the hell was he going to do now?

Donghyuck

Donghyuck’s eyes fluttered open and he sucked in a deep breath, trying to identify just exactly where he was.

He remembered waking up in the middle of the night to a loud bang. Then muffled talking and laughter. 

Taeyong never had anyone over, not at night. 

No one could risk the scandal to be found leaving a disgraced omega’s home after being there overnight and he knew all of the other omegas’ scents, so he knew that it wasn’t Sicheng ge.
Besides, the only person who had ever really come to visit Taeyong and stayed overnight was Ten and Omegas didn’t do that . 

So that meant Taeyong didn’t have a secret paramour. 

There was an intruder in their apartment. 

Donghyuck hadn’t even thought about staying in his room. 

If his hyung needed him, he would help him. 

He wouldn’t watch his hyung get hurt again. 

He’d grabbed a frying pan before creeping into his brother's room to see two Alphas. Donghyuck swung the pan, hitting the alpha, before he could even stop himself.

Then that alpha picked him up and he froze and-

It hit him suddenly that he was back in his and Taeyong’s hometown. 

He didn’t know what about the air here, the alphas here that smelled so familiar, but he knew this scent. 

Even though he’d lived in the house that Taeyong’s alpha bought for seven years, for some reason he’d never be able to forget the scent of his hometown. 

He inhaled deeper, resigning himself to being back home before realizing that he wasn’t home. Not truly. 

His Eomma and Appa’s scents didn’t permeate the room, nor did he smell Taeyong hyung. 

But he wasn’t alone. 

There was another person in the room with him, on the bed with him. 

The room was perfumed with an earthy scent, rosewood. 

An alpha. 

He sat up, eyeing the boy who was slumped over onto himself on the bottom of the bed. 

Donghyuck got out of the bed, going to the door and twisting the handle carefully. 

When that didn’t work he pulled on it, but it still didn’t budge. 

He frowned, realizing that it locked from the outside. 

Of course it did. Donghyuck bent down, looking through the hole in the lock before standing up and leaning his back against the door.  

His eyes drifted to the alpha that was dozing on the bed.

He wasn’t wearing a shirt, a bandage wrapped around his shoulder and across his chest. 

His dark hair flopped into his eyes, and his cheekbones were high, but soft in his sleep. 

He looked young, maybe Donghyuck’s age?

He remembered the alpha who was carrying Taeyong calling out a name.

Mark maybe?

Donghyuck looked him over, spotting a bulge in his pocket that looked suspiciously like keys. 

Donghyuck could take them out of the alpha’s pocket and then find his brother. 

He wasn’t sure what the alphas wanted, but he was not going to stay around to find out.

He crept towards the bed, holding his breath as he made his way to the alpha. 

He didn’t want the alpha to feel his breath on his face. 

He leaned forward, his left hand creeping into the alpha’s pocket as his right hovered over the alpha’s shoulder. 

The Alpha breathed deep in his sleep and Donghyuck froze.

He didn’t move again so Donghyuck moved forward with his plan, wrapping his finger around the key. 

A hand flashed up, grabbing his wrist as he was tumbled onto the bed, the alpha now hovering over him. 

“What the hell were you doing?” The alpha growled at him and Donghyuck took a deep breath.

“What did it look like, handsome,” Donghyuck said, raising his eyebrow and the alpha above him flushed, looking like he was debating smacking the omega under him. 

“It looked like you were trying to steal my keys,” He suggested and Donghyuck shook his head. 

“I would never,” He said and The alpha glared at him, a growl rising in his throat. 

Donghyuck deferred to the alpha automatically and the alpha climbed off of him, letting go of his wrist. 

Donghyuck hated that it was so ingrained in him to defer to an alpha any time he raised his voice. 

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Donghyuck said and Mark raised his eyebrow, pointing to the small bathroom in the right-hand corner of the room.

Right, well,” He started and Mark shook his head. 

“Were you looking for your brother?” He asked and Donghyuck sighed. 

“Where is he anyway? Why are we here?” He asked and Mark raised his eyebrows. 

“Your brother is a lot smarter than you are. We’re here because your brother is going to be mated to Jaehyun hyung,” He said and Donghyuck shook his head. 

“My brother was already mated, he has a black collar,” Donghyuck said and Mark shook his head. 

“It doesn’t matter, Jaehyun wants him,” He said with a shrug and Donghyuck raised an eyebrow. 

“What about you? Why were you there?” He asked and Mark shook his head. 

“Jaehyun needed back up,” He said and Mark looked Donghyuck up and down. 

“Although,” The alpha said and Donghyuck’s cheeks pinked at his glance. 

“How old are you?” He asked.

“Of age,” Donghyuck answered and Mark raised his eyebrow. 

“Have you had your first heat yet?” He asked and Donghyuck nodded. 

“Of course I have,” He lied. 

Mark snorted. 

“No, you haven’t. When did you come of age?” He asked and Donghyuck sighed. 

“Last month,” He said and Mark nodded. 

“You’ll be due in the next coming months,” He said before getting off of the bed. 

“To spend your first heat with your alpha is supposedly really precious, they say you bond for life,” Mark said and Donghyuck snorted. 

Taeyong spent his first heat with his alpha and it had been nothing but pain since. 

“When will I get to see my brother?” Donghyuck asked and Mark shrugged.

“Whenever the omegas get out of quarantine I guess,” Mark supplied and Donghyuck frowned. 

Omegas?

Chapter Text

Ten

Ten sat with Lami, coloring with her as Doyoung puttered around the kitchen. 

He’d asked the omega if he wanted help as he’d been sitting on the couch drawing while Doyoung cooked with Lami on his hip. 

Doyoung had told him that he didn’t want him to help so Ten just sat there, feeling useless. Eventually, Lami began to squirm from being so close to the burners so Doyoung put her down and Ten decided to entertain her in the only way he knew of. 

He let her color. 

He felt bad for not helping Doyoung cook, but Doyoung didn’t want his help, so what else was he supposed to do but sit here and play with Lami?

Ten heard the door code beep and he looked up to see Johnny standing there, already loosening his tie.
“Daddy!” Lami called, pushing away the coloring sheet and getting up from the floor. 

She ran to the alpha, and he caught her in his arms, lifting her in his arms and pressing a kiss to both of her cheeks.

She giggled before pressing her face into his scent gland and huffing happily. 

Ten stared at the sight, his heart melting at the sight. 

“Sungkyungie-ah,” He cooed to the girl who giggled once more. 

“Jagiya, you’re home,” Doyoung chirped from the kitchen and Johnny tilted his head when he heard Doyoung’s voice. 

“Cherry Blossom, what are you doing in the kitchen?” Johnny asked and Doyoung stepped out of the kitchen, wiping his hands off. 

“I was just finishing dinner,” He said Johnny raised an eyebrow, the room becoming filled with tension. 

“You’re not finished making dinner?” He asked and Doyoung nodded. 

“I am finished.”

“Just now? It’s late, I’m normally home by now. Are you telling me you didn’t have dinner finished by the time I would have been home?” He asked, letting Lami down. 

She ran back to the couch, sitting on the floor beside Ten. 

She had gone back to her coloring but Ten couldn’t quite get back into it, looking between the two of them. 

“Taeil had to leave early to take care of the new omegas so I had to focus on Lami,” He excused weakly. 

“I didn’t ask what Taeil was doing, I asked if you didn’t have dinner ready,” Johnny growled out and Doyoung dropped to his knees, bowing at the alpha’s feet. 

“I’m sorry alpha, I will do better.”

Doyoung’s voice was barely above a whimper and Ten felt the need to bow at Johnny's feet as well, even though he hadn't done anything wrong. 

“Get up,” Johnny said and Doyong got up robotically. 

“Do better next time,” Johnny said, raking his hands through Doyoung’s hair.

He kissed the omega softly before pulling away, looking over at Ten. 

“Honey, come here,” Johnny said and Ten got off of the ground, crossing the living room to the Alpha. 

Johnny wrapped his arms around Ten’s waist and kissed him deeply, making his heart swoop in his stomach. 

Johnny let Ten go, who looked down with a flush.

Jaehyun and Yuta walked in after Johnny and Doyoung deferred to the alphas, stepping aside. 

“You cooked, Doie hyung?” Jaehyun asked, ruffling Doyoung’s hair and Ten followed Doyoung’s lead, deferring to the alphas as well. 

“Will Mark be joining us, alpha?” Doyoung asked and Jaehyun shook his head. 

“He’s watching after his omega,” Jaehyun said. 

“His omega?” Ten asked and Yuta nodded. 

“While getting Taeyong, Mark found himself an omega,” He said and Ten frowned. 

That had to be Donghyuck. 

“Where’s Taeyong?” Ten asked and Jaehyun looked down at the Omega strangely. 

“He’s recovering at home, he had his previous bite removed,” Jaehyun said reverently and Yuta shook his head. 

“I don’t see why you would pick a used omega,” He said and Jaehyun glared at Yuta. 

“Because he’s my mate, you guys remember how Taeyong used to be, I’ve always wanted him,” Jaehyun said as Doyoung led him to the dining room. 

Jeno emerged from his room, coming to sit in the dining room. 

“Ah, Jeno! How is your omega?” Johnny asked and Jeno ducked his head.
“He’s still in quarantine,” Jeno said and Yuta hummed. 

“So is my Sichengie, Taeil hyung has been looking after him,” Yuta said and Jaehyun hummed. 

“You gotta watch him around your omega,” Jaehyun said and Johnny shushed him. 

“Well, I’m just glad that you’ve got an omega Jeno. you know we were worried about you and Jaemin, you guys were always a little too close ,” Jaehyun insinuated and Ten watched as Doyoung gripped the fork tight in his hand. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ten asked and all of the Alphas sans Jeno turned to look at him. 

He felt like he’d done something wrong as everyone looked at him.

“Alphas shouldn’t sleep with alphas, it’s disgusting, to submit yourself to another alpha, like an omega. It just doesn’t make sense,” Jaehyun said and Jeno stood up sharply.

“I’m going to check on Renjun,” Jeno said, his head down before booking it out of the room.

Ten looked down at his plate, trying to piece it all together. 

Johnny cleared his throat and the table went back to regular conversation. 

Ten followed Doyoung around helplessly, watching as the omega cleaned off the table. 

Johnny had gone to put Lami in bed, leaving the omegas to clean up from dinner.

Doyoung turned on him, pinching him in the side and Ten winced, trying to pull away. 

Doyoung followed Ten around, not letting him leave. 

“You need to stop,” Doyoung hissed and Ten squirmed. 

“What are you talking about? Let me go,” Ten said and Doyoung released him. 

“You’ve got to stop asking questions and inserting yourself in Alpha conversations," Doyoung said.

“What?”

“You’re going to get yourself hurt, You keep inserting yourself, stepping out of your place. I know the way the omegas in your city are, but you can’t do this here. You will get us hurt, Learn your place,” He said and Ten nodded. 

“What was that earlier, with dinner?” He asked and Doyoung shook his head. 

“Johnny makes the money, the least we can do is do our omega duties, cook, clean, take care of the house,” He said and Ten frowned. 

“We’re rich, why don’t we just get help?” He asked and Doyoung threw a rag at him. 

“Johnny doesn’t want us to forget our place, An omega that doesn't serve his alpha is no omega at all,” He said softly, turning away. 

“You just have to watch yourself, you can’t keep acting out of place, okay?” Doyoung said and Ten nodded, grabbing the rag and wiping off the table. 

Sicheng

Sicheng sat up in bed, taking a sip out of the cup that Taeil ge was holding out for him.

His head was starting to clear up, even though he still felt shaky. 

He didn’t know how long he’d been here and he wasn’t sure what he would do next. 

He was thankful that the other omega was there to take care of him because he felt like he would die if he were stuck with that alpha. 

He shouldn’t refer to him as that alpha . He wanted Yuta to be his alpha. 

Or at least he had. 

Until he got here. 

Now every time he got a whiff of his scent, he felt like his body was trying to effectively turn itself inside out.

But Taeil’s scent was acting like a purifier, cutting through the alpha’s pungent scent and giving him some respite from the spicy marjoram. 

“Sicheng- ah, let me take your temperature,” Taeil cooed, holding his chin and putting the thermometer in his mouth. 

Sicheng crossed his eyes, looking down at the reading as the numbers slowly climbed before stopping. 

“Ah, you’re still a little warm, but you’re doing a lot better,” He said, his voice gentle and his fingers even gentler as he removed the thermometer. 

“Yuta will be glad to hear that,” He said and Sicheng hummed, kicking his legs over the side of the bed. 

That was the most that he’d done since he’d been here. 

Putting his feet onto the ground, not standing because he was still too weak, but just to test it, flexing his toes. 

He wanted to dance. 

“Yuta says you are a dancer?” He asked and Sicheng nodded. 

“Yuta alpha said when we were mated he’d enroll me into classes,” Sicheng said and Taeil smiled softly at him. 

“Well, we’ll have to get your all better so you can get mated, and he’ll enroll you in those classes,” Taeil said with a smile and Sicheng nodded, rubbing his hands through his hair. 

He wanted to get mated.

He just had to get over the sickness that was making him turn away from his alpha. 

“Did you do those stretches that I told you to do last night?” Taeil asked and Sicheng nodded. 

“I don’t understand why I’m stretching,” Sicheng said and Taeil helped him off of the bed. 

“Because your muscles are weak from being overwhelmed. Besides, the more you move, the more you sweat. The more you sweat, the more your scent will regulate itself, and the stronger your muscles will be,” He said and Sicheng nodded, standing up.

Sicheng began to stretch, his body protesting weakly. 

It shouldn’t be that hard, he was a dancer. 

But he was weak and the more he stretched, the more he sweated. 

It also made the scents around him stronger. 

Yuta had been leaving his scent in the room to get him acclimated to their environment.

He didn’t deny that having the scent around was starting to help him get used to the alphas scent. 

Slowly at least.

“Distract me?” Sicheng asked and Taeil sat on the floor in front of him.

“What do you want me to say?” He asked and Sicheng shrugged. 

Taeil and Sicheng had talked a lot, as well as Yuta and he knew that once he got out of quarantine, when he got out of quarantine, if he got out of quarantine , he and Yuta would be mated. 

He wanted to get mated to Yuta.

“I dunno, do you think we’ll dance at the mating ceremony?” Sicheng asked, bending to touch his toes and Taeil shrugged, holding Sicheng’s ankles.

“Yuta loves dancing and he loves you, of course, there’ll be dancing,” Taeil assured him and Sicheng tried to imagine what that day would be like. 

He had dreamed of getting mated ever since he met the alpha that night in the streets, and now it would happen. 

If he didn’t completely freak out.

“What about you? What about your mating? Tell me all about it. What did you wear? Did you dance?” He asked and Taeil shook his head, touching his black collar.

It was the same as Taeyong ge’s.

“I’ve never been mated before. I’m not really…” Taeil trailed off and Sicheng sunk down onto the floor in front of Taeil. 

“You’re not really what?” He asked and Taeil gave him a soft smile. 

“You’re supposed to be stretching,” He said and Sicheng shook his head. 

“Not until you tell me ge,” He nudged and Taeil looked up into Sicheng’s eyes.

“I-”

“Hey, what’s going on?” Yuta asked as he opened the door and Sicheng looked up, his hand coming up to his nose to mask the smell of the alpha’s scent. 

“I was helping him stretch. His fever has gone down a lot, soon he’ll be ready to leave,” He said and Sicheng frowned. 

“Leave? I just got here,” He said and Yuta gave him a smile, stepping between him and Taeil. 

“You’re going to come home with me, prince. You didn’t think you were going to stay here in this little room, did you?” He asked and Sicheng shrugged. 

He’d never had anything better than one room. 

He told Yuta that and the alpha squatted down, cupping Sicheng’s chin. 

Sicheng crossed his eyes, looking down at the alpha’s hand.

“As to be expected of my trash prince. I told you before, you’ll never have to live like that again,” He said, pressing his lips into Sicheng’s, and Sicheng shut his eyes tight. He kissed the alpha back as best as he could, even if it were uncertain and Yuta leaned forward, a growl pushing out of his throat and into Sicheng’s open mouth. Sicheng’s eyes watered, wetting his lash line as Yuta’s tight grip burned through his waist, the oversensitivity beginning to build back up. 

“He’s not ready yet alpha,” Taeil said from behind them and Yuta turned to look at Taeil before dropping his hand. 

He moved from between the two omegas.

“Right,” He said and Sicheng reached for Taeil, hoping to find something to mask the scent. 

He curled up beside Taeil, pushing his face into his scent gland unconsciously. 

He’d grown up without an alpha in the house, and he only ever had one alpha friend. 

He craved the comfort of an omega. 

He watched Yuta’s jaw tighten and he tried to shake the feeling that he’d done something terribly wrong. 

“I’m sorry I forgot myself Sicheng. I only want you to be better so we can get mated, it’s what we both want,” He said, gesturing towards Taeil, who nodded once. 

“Right, we both want that. And when you get better, we can see the other omega’s matings. Like Taeyong’s,” Taeil said and Sicheng nodded slowly.

Taeyong was here?

Why was Taeyong here?

“Hey, don’t worry about anything, okay? Just think about what dance classes you’ll take after our mating,” He said and Sicheng nodded. 

Yuta was right, he had to focus more on getting better, so that they could get mated. 

Taeyong

Taeyong let the alpha lead him out of the car and up to the house.

It was different than the place where he’d been kept since he got there.

It wasn’t some sprawling mansion, but instead a nice townhome. It was much nicer than the homes that he lived in with his old alpha. 

Of course, it was similar to the home he grew up in. 

The alpha scooped him up in his arms and Taeyong wrapped his arms around the alphas neck to stabilize himself.

“What are you doing?” Taeyong asked and Jaehyun gave him a lopsided grin, his dimples blooming beautifully.

“I’m carrying you over the threshold,” he said shyly and Taeyong shook his head softly.
“I’m no blushing virgin omega,” Taeyong pointed out softly. 

They didn’t have a large mating ceremony as his status pretty much kept him from being able to. Instead, they’d gone the legal route, just in front of an officiant.

He had wanted Donghyuck to be there, but he knew that his brother wouldn’t be able to see him until he got mated, and he knew the way alphas thought. 

There was no doubt in Taeyong’s mind that Jaehyun would bar his little brother from being there.

He would probably assume that if Taeyong saw Donghyuck before he was officially bitten, the omega would grab his brother and hightail it out of there. 

Taeyong understood.

“You’re my omega, you don’t know how long I’ve dreamed about carrying you over the threshold,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong sighed. 

His former alpha never carried him over the threshold. 

Instead, the man opened the door and Taeyong held his brother tight to him as he walked in, unsure of everything. 

He’d taken Donghyuck to his room before going to the alpha’s bed and presenting himself as he was told to.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” He asked and Taeyong shook his head. 

“Just wondering when you were going to show me around,” Taeyong said with a smile and Jaehyun nodded, 

“Right, come on,” He said, carrying Taeyong through the house. 

“This is the nursery,” Jaehyun said, pointing to a room already painted a pale yellow. 

The smell of fresh paint still lingered in the air. 

Taeyong stared at it wistfully before looking up at Jaehyun. 

“Isn’t it the omega’s job to put together a nursery? I didn’t even see a nesting area,” He said and Jaehyun nodded. 

“Yes well, I know that it’s up to you to design, but I got a little ahead of myself,” Jaehyun said softly before closing the door. 

Taeyong was kind of impressed that his alpha was still holding him in his arms. 

“And here is our bedroom,” He said softly, dropping Taeyong onto his feet softly. 

“Where’s Donghyuck’s room?” Taeyong asked, turning to look at the alpha. 

“What are you talking about?” He asked and he looked at Jaehyun as if he were mad. 

“Where is my brother’s room?” He asked and Jaehyun laughed. 

“Yongie, he’s of age now. He can’t stay in a house with me like that. People would talk, would think I was sleeping with him as well,” He said and Taeyong tilted his head.

“You don’t want to sleep with him?” He asked and Jaehyun’s face creased in disgust. 

“No, why would I want to take your brother as my omega as well? I want you,” he said as if Taeyong were crazy for even suggesting it. 

He hadn’t expected that.

“Where will he go then?” He asked and Jaehyun rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Mark Seo is thinking about proposing a mating with him. Until then, he’ll stay with Taeil hyung,” The alpha said and Taeyong let out a breath.

“Mark Seo? That’s Johnny’s little brother, right?” He asked and Jaehyun nodded. 

“Yeah, Hyung’s well off, and Mark has already moved out of his parent's home. He doesn’t want to move Donghyuck in until they’re mated. Donghyuck will be in good hands. You’re both in good hands,” He said and Taeyong tried to read the alpha. 

Was he annoyed at Taeyong’s questions?
“Are you going to show me to the bed?” Taeyong asked and Jaehyun flushed. 

“Right,” He said, opening the door and Taeyong bowed at the alpha, excusing himself for a while to get ‘better prepared’.

Taeyong got on his knees on the bed before prostrating himself, his arms stretched out in front of him to grab the headboard. 

“I’m ready Alpha,” He whispered. 

Jaehyun had been sitting in the corner, on his phone while Taeyong got ready. 

He heard the alpha gasp before the clatter of a phone falling to the ground. 

He could smell the shift in the air, the alpha’s scent getting thicker, hanging heavy in the room. 

The alpha mumbled something too low for Taeyong to hear, his hands rubbing down the omega’s slender thigh, tracing over scars that Taeyong had barely even remembered were there. 

“Turn over,” He said and Taeyong frowned. 

“I’m presenting for you alpha,” Taeyong said, his voice tiny and Jaehyun huffed out a breath before gently rolling Taeyong over. 

“We haven’t even kissed yet, I don’t want to take you from behind like some faceless hole. When I enter you, I want to be looking at your beautiful face,” He whispered, his fingers tracing down his neck softly. 

“When I make you cum I want you to look me in the eyes. I want you to see the alpha that made you feel so good,” He said sultrily, his mouth centimeters from Taeyong’s.

Taeyong had never cum from sex before. 

His alpha hadn’t prioritized it, and during his heat, his alpha would knot him enough that his body felt as if it was satiated. 

But the thought, the promise of having such a connection was incredible. 

It couldn’t be true. 

“I’ve never...” Taeyong breathed out and Jaehyun gave him a soft grin. 

“I told you you weren’t completely spent yet,” He said, kissing his face gently before diving down and pressing his lips into Taeyong’s. 

Taeyong knew how to lay still and take it. 

He knew how to moan and groan and shimmy to make his alpha cum. 

He didn’t know how to reciprocate, to give as good as he was getting. 

So as the alpha coaxed his mouth open with his, as he pressed his fingers into Taeyong, not to test if he were tight, but to make him wetter, to pleasure him, he was at a loss. 

Jaehyun kept breathing words of encouragement to him, kept telling him how beautiful he was, how amazing he felt, how much he wanted him, Taeyong didn’t know how to take it. 

He felt like a pitiful virgin, like a disobedient omega who couldn’t do anything right, who couldn’t pleasure his alpha.

Jaehyun had to hold him down, his hands on his shoulders, keeping him on the bed as the alpha worked between his legs. 

His hand slid up his shoulder, landing on the base of his throat, cutting off his oxygen in a way that almost felt like being alpha commanded.

He felt bad wrong. 

He felt so fucking good.

His toes curled and his head shot back, baring his neck automatically to his alpha even as he begged for the alpha’s forgiveness. 

He wasn’t supposed to cum first, or at all. 

He was supposed to make sure his alpha felt good, not the other way around. 

“Hey, it’s okay, I wanted that to happen,” Jaehyun said, removing his hand from Taeyong’s neck, and Taeyong felt a strange sense of disappointment.

“But you haven’t-” Taeyong said and Jaehyun smiled. 

“We have time,” He said and Taeyong pulled Jaehyun down onto him, ignoring this strange feeling of oversensitivity. 

He had to redeem himself. 

“When can I see Donghyuck?” Taeyong asked from the bed, watching as the alpha moved around the room.

“We can go tomorrow morning if you’d like,” He said and Taeyong frowned, sitting up. 

“Why not tonight?” He asked and Jaehyun sat on the bed next to Taeyong, his hands rubbing over Taeyong’s face reverently. 

He’d kept repeating that Taeyong was amazing after he knotted, and Taeyong tried not to feel uneasy at the praise. 

“We’re having dinner with Johnny hyung. Mark will be there, so you can give him permission to mate your brother,” He said and Taeyong bit his tongue.

Permission for an alpha was laughable. 

Especially for a Seo. 

“Yes Alpha,” Taeyong said, getting up and deferring to the alpha before going to get dressed. 

Taeyong stood in the door of the alphas home, a step behind Jaehyun as he was supposed to be. 

The door opened and they were welcomed into the home by Doyoung, the head alpha. Ten was holding a little girl in his arms, but he was standing next to Doyoung.

Taeyong deferred to Johnny and Doyoung gave him a terse look over. 

“Welcome back Taeyong hyung,” He said and Ten gave him a bright smile. 

Taeyong wanted to return it. 

But he didn’t. 

Ten’s smile dimmed. 

“Ah, Taeyong-ah, long time no see,” Johnny said and Taeyong gave a slight nod. 

“You know Taeyong?” Ten asked and He watched as Doyoung pinched him in the side. 

Taeyong looked back at his alpha for permission to speak before looking over at Ten. 

“I grew up here. Johnny alpha and I were born the same year, we were the same year in school as well,” Taeyong said, his eyes trailing back to the alpha in front of him. 

He tried to recognize the young alpha he knew, tall even then, with long hair and a goofy smile. 

They were supposed to get mated, Johnny’s family suggesting it. 

Of course, that hadn’t happened. 

The Johnny he had known would have never taken advantage of an omega though.

This alpha however-

He couldn’t expect too much from alphas.

He knew that the rumors around town were false. 

Ten wouldn’t have slept with Johnny, not so fast and not voluntarily. 

But if an alpha wanted you, there was little an omega could do to stop them. 

He hadn’t said anything to the other omegas, but he knew that the sex wouldn’t have been consensual. 

The TV clicked on and Taeyong returned back to Jaehyun’s side, lest he get angry for his omega paying attention to other alphas. 

“We just want our omegas back, unharmed. They have not paid their omegawealth, and they have not talked to these families. You are taking away livelihoods. This will leave a stain on the family and on the omegas,” An alpha said and Taeyong frowned.

“Several families are pleading tonight for the return of the omegas, still pure, or a payment. However, some parents are refusing payment,” The newscaster said and it cut to an alpha. 

It was Mr. Huang, Renjun’s father. 

“We just want our son back. He’s newly of age. He’s not ready to get mated. We hadn’t even discussed mating with him. Those alphas- they took all of my store staff, and my only alpha son is gone too. I just- When will it be enough?” He asked. 

“Now they want our money,” Johnny said, turning off the television and Mark turned to look at the alpha. 

“I was watching that,” He said before standing to acknowledge the visitors. 

He remembered Mark, remembered that Donghyuck had taken a swing at the alpha. 

At least the alpha was Donghyuck’s age.

Hopefully, the alpha wouldn’t punish the omega for his earlier insolence. 

He hoped to God Donghyuck had learned his lessons well.

Renjun

Renjun took a deep breath, waking from his sleep.

Those two scents were present, as always in the room.

Jeno had taken to leaving his scent in the room, even when he wasn’t there. 

He sat up, looking over at the Alphas in the room. 

Jaemin was sitting on the bottom of the bed, Jeno laying in the alpha's lap. 

He was sleeping, his face smoothed out from the anger of before. 

Renjun hated to admit that he actually looked nice while he was sleeping. 

He looked like the type of Alpha Renjun had often dreamed about. 

“He’ll kill me if he knows I let you see him like this,” Jaemin said softly and Renjun held his breath, not realizing that the Alpha had even noticed him waking. 

“Let me see him how? Like not an absolute dickhole?” Renjun said defensively, and Jaemin chuckled softly. 

“You haven’t given that up yet?” Jaemin asked and Renjun frowned. 

“Given up what?” He asked and Jaemin raised an eyebrow, still stroking over the alpha’s hair. 

“You’re still rebelling? Don’t you think it’d be better for you if you actually went along with it?” Jaemin asked and Renjun scoffed. 

“Go along with what? Being kidnapped by two asshole alphas? I’ll never submit to either of you, not like this,” He said and Jaemin tilted his head. 

“So there are conditions?” Jaemin asked and Renjun shook his head. 

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that-” Renjun started before faltering, too frustrated to get his words together. 

Jeno made him angry without question. 

But Jaemin- Jaemin frustrated him to no end.

He wasn’t angry like Jeno, but more like he knew things that Renjun didn’t know, and it was so annoying. 

He just wished that the alphas would be straight with him. 

“What did you mean?” Jaemin asked and Renjun pulled at the shirt he was wearing. 

Back at home he always wore clothes, so to be in this state of undress was hard to get used to. 

However, no matter how many times Renjun asked the alphas or the omega that came to check on him, he never got more clothes. 

“That I’m not going to mate with you two,” Renjun spat out and Jaemin shook his head. 

“Since when does an omega have a say in who they mate with?” He asked and Renjun scoffed. 

“I would rather die than be forced into a mating,” Renjun said and Jaemin shook his head. 

“You’ve got to stop saying things like that. Death is much worse than being taken care of by two caring alphas,” Jaemin said and Renjun shook his head. 

How could the alphas say that they cared about him? 

They didn’t care about him.

“I would think that your alpha brother would have taught you how to talk to an alpha,” Jaemin said and Renjun narrowed his eyes at the alpha. 

“Lucas was- is an amazing alpha. He’s much better than you will ever be,” He said and Jaemin tilted his head. 

“Where do you think your brother is?” He asked and Renjun tried to bite back tears. 

He had been thinking of it, dreaming about that night nearly constantly since he first got here. 

Lucas wouldn’t have just let him get taken. 

He had to have been hurt, or worse.

“Lucas wouldn’t have left me to get hurt, You had to have done something to him,” He said and Jaemin shook his head. 

“You think you know so much about alphas, but you have so much to learn,” He said and Renjun frowned at him. 

He didn’t have anything to learn about alphas, especially not about alphas like him and Jeno. 

He didn’t need to learn more about them, because he knew everything that he needed to know. 

They were egotistical, sadistic predators who took advantage of omegas less fortunate than them because they had the money to avoid repercussions. 

Renjun would never let them get away with it.

“If we were truly as bad as you love to paint us in your own head omega, wouldn’t we have hurt you already?” He asked and Renjun snarled at him. 

“You kidnapped me, that’s hurt enough,” He hissed and Jaemin grabbed his chin. 

“Jeno’s right about you,” Jaemin said and Renjun frowned. 

“Have you ever been kissed before?” He asked and Renjun tried to shake off the alphas grip.

“Get off of me,” He said and Jaemin laughed. 

“So you haven’t been kissed, you haven’t been through a heat, yet you’re sure you know everything,” Jaemin said with a smirk. So far Jeno had been the handsier of the two,  while Jaemin had kept his touches slightly more gentle. 

But the way his face was being gripped was sending a shiver down his spine. 

There was a threat of violence behind it, something primal made him want to submit to the alpha, to convince him that Renjun wasn’t a threat. 

“Think about it logically Renjun. What alphas would put up with such lip huh? You hit an alpha, you made him bleed and Jeno didn’t hurt you like he could have. You’re pretty, but you’re more trouble than you’re worth. Jeno could have had you already, could have split you on his knot a long time ago and left you in that alley in a dumpster, but please tell me how bad we are,” He Jaemin said and Renjun’s voice died in his throat. 

“That shut you up,” Jaemin said with a smile. 

A tear slid down Renjun’s face, slipping over Jaemin’s knuckles.

“What about you?” Renjun whispered and Jaemin raised his eyebrow. 

“What do you mean?” he asked and Renjun looked up at the alpha. 

“You said Jeno could have done all that stuff to me but didn’t. You never said you wouldn’t,” Renjun said and the smile on Jaemin’s lips bordered predatorily.

“If you’re worried about what I could do to you, you should be worried about what Jeno will do,” He said and Renjun shook his head. 

“I don’t understand, you just told me-” He started and Jaemin pressed his finger into Renjun’s lips, silencing him. 

“Just because Jeno didn’t doesn’t mean Jeno won’t. He wants you to submit to him, but you can only tell an omega to present so many times before you make them present,” He said, his face still close to Renjun’s. 

A breath shuddered out of Renjun’s chest at the implication and he heard Jeno stir.

He felt like he was holding his breath, waiting for the alphas to do something, for Jeno to rise and his anger to replace the sultry scent of Jaemin.

“Injunnie,” He heard Jeno murmur before he felt a hand on his thigh.

“Nana, why does he smell so good?” Jeno asked, his voice husky from sleep.

Jeno pressed his face into Renjun’s thigh, nosing around trying to find the source in his sleep dazed haze before his face pressed into the center of his underwear.

His hand traveled up his side, digging into the meat of his waist as he inhaled deeper, his nose dragging over the crotch in his underwear.

A growl was bubbling out of Jeno’s throat and Renjun tried to close his legs from the intrusion.

Jaemin was still holding his chin in his hands and Renjun fell back on his elbows trying to get away from them.

Jaemin’s eyes were cloudy and his fingers were like mini brands on his skin. 

Jeno was still vibrating with a growl and Renjun’s heart was pounding as if it were going to explode in his chest. 

Jaemin had started to growl as well, his scent heavy in the room.

Jaemin pressed his lips into Renjun’s cheeks, missing his lips narily and the door opened. 

“Yah! Get out,” Taeil, the omega that had been looking after him, said as he walked into the room. 

He began to smack the alphas with the broom that he was holding. 

The alphas growled at him and the omega just raised an eyebrow, even as they towered over him. 

“Get out before I get Johnny,” He leveraged and the alphas slinked out, their knees shaky as they walked.

“Oh honey, are you okay? I told them not to come while he was like that,” Taeil said softly, running his hands through Renjun’s hair. 

“Like how?” Renjun asked and Taeil shook his head. 

“Jeno’s been in a pre-rut and with the way those two are… they should know better, now they’re both going into Rut. I’m surprised it didn’t send you into preheat,” He said and Renjun shook his head. 

“Alphas can’t send omegas into preheat, right?” He asked and Taeil nodded. 

“Unfortunately, if you’re close enough to an alpha, it can trigger your heat or rut,” He said, feeling Renjun’s forehead. 

“Hopefully your body can hold off until after the mating, we wouldn’t want any accidents,” Taeil said and Renjun shuddered.

He didn’t want to mate those alphas at all.

Why would they come here when they were in pre-rut?

Had that been what they were doing?

Not quarantining him, but trying to force him into a heat by coming around him while they were both in pre-rut

Why would two alphas be going through rut at the same time?

Wait-

 Jungwoo

Jungwoo laid across the bed, his eyes on the alpha in front of him. 

“Come to bed,” Jungwoo said softly and Lucas turned to look at him, leaning against the dresser bureau behind him. 

He looked tall and lean, his face twisted in a faraway expression. 

Jungwoo wondered what was going on in his mind. 

He’d been faraway a lot since he’d been with him.

“I will,” Lucas said and Jungwoo sighed. 

“What are you thinking about?” He asked and Lucas shook his head. 

“Nothing, I’m just-” He ran his hands through his hair. 

“You’re worried huh?” Jungwoo asked, sitting up in the bed. 

“Yeah, how’d you know?” He asked and Jungwoo shrugged. 

Though they hadn’t known each other for too long, the omega felt like he had a direct line to the alpha. He could understand him without the alpha even saying anything to him. 

He just knew him, and it was nice. 

The alphas in his town weren’t as easy to read. 

Maybe it came from the fact that Lucas wasn’t from here, he wasn’t like the other alphas. 

His life was simpler. 

He was simpler. 

He didn’t hide behind glares and alpha commands but was all smiles. 

He never told Jungwoo to stop or to shut up. 

They felt more like equals and because of that Jungwoo honestly couldn’t wait to get mated to the alpha. 

As it was, he couldn’t get mated to Lucas, not yet. 

Even with the offering of Renjun, it wasn’t quite enough. 

He anticipated that his parents wouldn’t allow it until Jeno was actually mated to Renjun, or Lucas could prove himself worthy of the omega and their family. 

They would take care of that in the morning. 

“I just know you,” he said with a shrug and Lucas smiled softly at him. 

“We are soulmates,” Lucas said softly and Jungwoo nodded. 

“We are, that’s how I know something’s bothering you,” He pointed out, and Lucas bit the inside of his lip. 

“I’m worried about Renjun. Why haven’t I seen him?” He asked and Jungwoo tried to beckon him to the bed.

“Don’t worry about him, love. I told you, He’s in good hands, Taeil takes good care of the omegas. It’s not safe for him to be out in the open just yet,” He said and Lucas nodded. 

“I know, I just- Renjun was born the year after me. I’ve never really been without him. I just worry. What if he’s scared. Renjun likes to pretend he’s so strong, but he’s not you know? He’s been acting weird lately and I don’t know what’s wrong with him. I just feel like I’m-” Lucas started. 

“Not doing enough to protect him?” Jungwoo asked and Lucas nodded. 

“It’s like you’re in my mind,” Lucas said with a grin and Jungwoo tapped his lips.

Lucas leaned down, giving him a kiss, his hand trailing up to his neck before coming to the clasp on the back of his collar. 

“How many times do I have to tell you,” Lucas said against his lips and Jungwoo felt the collar fall away. 

Jungwoo caught it, cradling it in his hands. 

Lucas certainly wasn’t like the other alphas. 

Jungwoo couldn’t take his collar off as a child, and if his alpha had ever caught him without it-

Well, it wasn’t pretty. 

He learned early on what would happen if he didn’t wear his collar. 

“I know, I know, when I’m home I don’t have to wear my collar,” He said and the alpha kissed him again. 

“If it were up to me, you would never have to wear it,” He said and Jungwoo nodded. 

If he lived in their town he wouldn’t have to wear it. 

“But it’s not,” He said simply before pulling on the alphas shoulders, tipping him into the bed. 

That was one thing that Jungwoo liked about his uncomfortable height. 

He was taller than most omegas, although Doyoung was also tall too so he guessed it ran in the family. 

Jungwoo liked that he wasn’t completely overpowered by his alpha, that he was close to his height. 

Lucas fell on top of Jungwoo, kissing the omega like an eager puppy and Jungwoo let it happen. 

He pressed the alpha’s hand up the shirt he was wearing and he felt Lucas caress his soft supple skin underneath. 

Jungwoo exhaled into his mouth and Lucas pulled away, pressing his nose into Jungwoo’s scent gland. 

“We’re not mated yet,” Lucas reminded him and Jungwoo shrugged, biting his lip. 

“We’re going to get mated soon enough, besides, does it really matter?” Jungwoo asked and Lucas’s big hands fluttered against his thigh, so high that it took his breath away.

“Of course it matters, if you change your mind, I don’t want to disgrace you,” Lucas said and Jungwoo lifted the alpha’s head. 

“I’ll never change my mind about you, We’re soulmates, remember,” He said and Lucas smiled, kissing him and letting his hands wander.

Lucas kissed the back of Jungwoo’s hand as they rode the elevator up. 

“If all goes well, we’ll be able to mate quicker,” Jungwoo said softly and Lucas sighed. 

“No pressure,” Lucas said and Jungwoo swung their hands between them, pulling it to his face and kissing it just as delicately as he’d done Jungwoo’s. 

“No pressure,” He said before the door opened and Jungwoo let the alpha walk in front of him. 

They met Johnny in his office and Jungwoo hung back, letting the door close in front of them. 

He knew it wasn’t his space. 

Johnny was a traditional alpha, he would never allow Jungwoo to be in the room. 

He watched as Jeno walked by and he grabbed the alpha, pulling him to him. 

“Why do you smell like Lucas?” He asked and Jungwoo blushed. 

“Why do you smell like Jaemin,” He countered and Jeno growled at him. 

“Did you go through rut recently?” He asked, sniffing around the alpha and Jeno nodded stiffly. 

“You spent it with Jaemin?” He asked and Jeno looked away.

Jungwoo cleared his throat.

“When will your apartment be ready, Lucas is getting anxious about his brother,” Jungwoo said, changing the subject. 

“He’s still recovering. He’s not exactly overwhelmed, but he’s been bouncing on the border of it. Taeil thinks he’s going to go into heat first. He thinks it’s best if he goes into heat there, instead of after he’s mated,” 

“An omega’s first heat is brutal. Maybe he’s right,” Jungwoo said and Jeno shook his head. 

“No matter where he has it, I’m helping him through,” Jeno said and Jungwoo raised his eyebrow. 

“Before you’re mated?” He asked and Jeno raised his eyebrow. 

“Jeno,” They turned to see Johnny peeking his head out of the door. 

“Coming hyung,” He said before looking at Jungwoo. 

“Keep an eye out for him,” Jungwoo said softly and Jeno nodded before heading into Johnny’s room.

Chapter Text

Ten

Ten listened as Doyoung turned off the bathroom faucet. 

Johnny was putting Lami to sleep and from the sound of Johnny’s and Lami’s chatter growing quiet, he could bet he’d be walking out of the room any minute now. 

Ten didn’t want to toot his horn, but he’d grown accustomed to the family very quickly. 

It ran as if Ten had been here all this time, instead of being newly mated in. 

He picked the last of Lami’s things up, placing it in the toy chest in the corner before turning off the light. 

Johnny had spent the night in Ten and his bed last night, so he would be going to Doyoung’s room tonight. 

Ten would use the time to draw. 

It was nice if not a little mundane. 

He felt a little cooped up, as Doyoung and he really only stayed home.

But it was way better than having to go to the store, face impatient strangers and rude regulars asking for the same thing fifty times a day. 

He’d never had so much unfettered time to just do what he wanted to do. 

He had never been so lucky.

It used to be that finding the time to do art was hard, with him leaning against the back shelf to do a quick sketch of a quirky character, or kneeled down underneath the counter to put the finishing touches on a portrait. 

And Johnny had been an absolute angel, replacing all of his used and broken art supplies with brand new ones. 

Johnny said he deserved the best.

Ten was really starting to think so. 

“Honey,” He heard Johnny call and Ten perked up in his bed, wondering what the alpha could be calling him for.

He didn’t know why Johnny called him by his scent, but it was nice.

He got out of bed, padding to the hallway.

The bathroom door was cracked, and he could hear the water lapping at the sides of the tub, so there was no doubt that that was where Johnny was. 

He opened the bathroom door to see Johnny’s strong back. He was sitting in the tub, Doyoung kneeling beside it, running a cloth over Johnny’s arms. 

It was something that Doyoung did every night. 

Ten hadn’t ever joined in, it was clear it was something for Doyoung and Johnny only. 

Besides, as much as he loved his alpha, he could never see himself as the type to bathe another grown man. 

“Yes alpha?” Ten asked and Doyoung looked up at Ten, his eyes gesturing to the floor. 

Ten got the hint and closed the door behind him, kneeling on the floor next to the bathroom. 

A pleased smile spread across Johnny’s face as a wet hand reached out, petting through Ten’s hair affectionately.

“I missed you, both of you,” Johnny said before shifting around. 

Doyoung tsked about water splashing on the floor and Johnny only laughed lightly. 

He stopped laughing, his head tilting slightly.

“You know,” He began, folding his arms on the edge of the tub. 

He rested his chin on his arms, staring up at the omegas. 

“You’re both really pretty,” Johnny said and Ten felt his cheeks pink.
“Whatever you want, it’s a no, Johnny hyung,” Doyoung teased. 

Ten raised an eyebrow. 

He’d never seen Doyoung joke with Johnny. 

“I don’t want anything, I’m just saying,” Johnny said playfully, tilting his head the other way. 

“Scoot a little closer,” Johnny said and Ten did as he said, getting closer to Doyoung. 

“You two look good together,” Johnny said with a smirk, raising one eyebrow. 

“You’re disgusting,” Doyoung said, slapping his arm with the rag playfully.

“I didn’t say anything,” Johnny said, that predatory grin on his face that made Ten’s knees weak. 

He liked seeing this, seeing the two be playful. 

He wanted to join in too.

“Yeah Doie hyung, he was just complimenting us. We’re very pretty,” Ten goaded wiggling his hips and Johnny smiled softly.

“Yeah Doie, ” Johnny teased before licking his lips.

“Lean your head on his shoulder Ten,” He said and Ten did, baring his neck slightly.

“Look at you two. I’m the luckiest alpha in the world, and you’re all mine,” Johnny said and Doyoung bit his lip. 

“I want to take pictures of you two,” Johnny said and Doyoung shook his head. 

“You’re being ridiculous,” Doyoung said softly and Johnny shook his head. 

“Let the whole world see you like I see you, like works of art,” Johnny said and Doyoung wrung out the cloth. 

“You’re being way too charming, are you about to break my heart again?” Doyoung asked and Johnny shook his head, cupping Doyoung’s chin in a way that was almost too intimate for Ten to be viewing.
“I’ll never break your heart Cherry blossom,” Johnny said seriously and Doyoung huffed. 

They shared in the silence for a while, the only noise being the lapping of the bathwater on the sides of the tub before Johnny whined cutely.

“I’m horny,” Johnny announced loudly and Doyoung laughed, slapping his broad chest.

“Well, the tub is too small, so we wouldn’t be able to get in together,” Ten pointed out and Johnny groaned exaggeratedly before lifting up onto his knees, leaning his upper body out of the tub.
“Who made that decision, they were stupid, we’ll buy a new one tomorrow,” Johnny huffed, trying to kiss Doyoung and Ten at the same time. 

 “Stop, you’re going to get me wet,” Doyoung said and Johnny smirked. 

“That’s kind of the point,” He said before pressing his lips into Doyoung’s. 

He pulled away, kissing Ten next. 

Ten closed his eyes, raking his hands through the alphas hair. 

He felt as Doyoung pulled Johnny’s jaw away.
“Come on, let’s go to bed,” Doyoung said sultrily and Johnny pulled away. 

“Both of you, I want both of you,” Johnny growled and Ten looked over at Doyoung. 

The omegas face was creased in anger. 

They’d been swapping off for a week now, one night Johnny would sleep with Ten, the next with Doyoung. 

“But- but tonight’s my night,” Doyoung protested and Johnny kissed Doyoung on the cheek. 

“I want both of you in your room,” Johnny said, less of a suggestion before getting out of the bath. 

Doyoung deferred to Johnny, grabbing the alphas towel and wrapping it around his waist. 

Johnny walked out of the bathroom and Ten stood rooted to the spot. 

“You heard him, he wants both of us,” Doyoung said, his voice hard and Ten nodded, following after him. 

Johnny rolled off of Ten, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Doyoung was lying on the other side of Johnny, stiff.

Ten could feel that the vibes were off, but he was too wrapped in Johnny’s scent to really do anything about it. 

“I can’t wait until you’re carrying my alpha,” Johnny said, rubbing Ten’s tummy softly and Ten bared his neck to the alpha again.

“You’re going to look so good swollen with my pups. Such a good omega, giving me an alpha baby,” He growled out blissfully, and Ten felt the bed shift.

“Cherry blossom, where are you going?” Johnny asked, rolling over to see the other omega standing over the bed, naked and clearly angry.

“We can’t lay in filth for too long, I’m going to clean up,” He said and Johnny sat up, pulling Doyoung back into the bed by his neck. 

“Come on, we’ll clean up in the morning,” He said, wrapping his arms around both omegas. 

He pulled them into his side and Ten wrapped his legs around the alpha. 

Doyoung did the same, kicking Ten’s legs off of the alpha, replacing it with his own.

Sicheng

Sicheng smiled as the blossom scent drifted under the door before the door opened. 

“Taeil ge!’ Sicheng said excitedly as the omega opened the door. 

“Say it like we practiced,” He said, a smile on his face and Sicheng nodded. 

“Right, Taeil Hyung,” He greeted and the smile on the other omegas face widened. 

“Excellent, how are you feeling?” The omega asked and Sicheng smiled up at the omega. 

“A lot better,” He admitted and Taeil ge sat down on the bed in front of him gently.

He lifted Sicheng’s chin and flashed a flashlight in his eyes. 

“You’re doing a lot better, you know what that means right?” Taeil asked and the omega nodded. 

He would be able to leave soon. 

He would get to be with the alpha now. 

He’d get to take dance classes soon, be in actual productions. 

He’d dance again.

“I’ll get to kiss Yuta ge soon,” He said softly and he nodded.

“And do all the other things that you do with alphas,” Taeil teased and Sicheng shook his head.

“I don’t know about all that,” Sicheng said, his hands pressing into his face where he had began to flush. 

He understood that he and Yuta would have to do that soon.

He knew that that was expected of an alpha and omega, but he really didn’t know what that really meant. 

He didn’t really know what that would even include. 

“What do you mean you don’t know about all of that?” He asked and Sicheng shrugged one shoulder. 

“I don’t know,” He whispered trying to figure out what he meant. 

“Is it because you’re afraid of being overwhelmed again?” He asked and Sicheng bit his lip. 

He wasn’t sure how to say it, but he knew it wasn’t the overwhelmed thing. 

Although kissing Yuta had been great, heady, before he moved here, but what if mating with the alpha would be closer to being overwhelmed than that floating sensation that he’d had when they first kissed?

He’d liked it a lot back then, but now?

“No, I just- before Yuta ge I’d never even been kissed before,” Sicheng said and Taeil ge laughed. 

“Before omegas are mated, most haven’t been kissed before, if their families raise them right,” He said and Sicheng shook his head. 

“Not where I’m from. Dating’s allowed most times. How else would you know you liked someone? Although I never did it. I never knew any alphas other than Lucas, and he was just- no,” Sicheng said before looking at Taeil ge.

Had Taeil ge ever been kissed before?

He did have a black collar, but he said he’d never been mated. 

How could he have a black collar without being mated? 

“I just never thought about all the other stuff you know?” He said and Taeil nodded. 

“What about when you kissed him?” Taeil ge asked and Sicheng’s face grew hot again. 

“It was nice, really nice, and it made me feel dizzy and like my heart was going to jump out of my throat. But the thought of laying under him, him taking me,” He started with a shudder and Taeil ge shook his head. 

“You shouldn’t think about it as taking. If he loves you, he’ll never take from you. He’ll only give,” Taeil said and Sicheng shook his head. 

“Taeyong ge says that alphas only take, they don’t know anything else,” Sicheng said before pouncing on the shorter omega, just wanting to get closer to him.

“What about omegas? Do omegas take?” Sicheng asked the elder and he watched a blush rise on his cheeks. 

Taeil stammered for a while before they fell into silence. 

Sicheng felt his heartbeat everywhere, from his head down to his feet.

He didn’t know what he wanted, what this feeling was, but he wondered if Taeil ge could feel his heartbeat as well.

Maybe Taeil’s heart was pounding the same way.

“You won’t have to worry about taking, Yuta is very kind, you know that,” Taeil ge finally settled on and Sicheng laid his head on his shoulder, his nose pressing into the omega’s scent gland. His blossom scent was strong there, a beautiful airy perfume that made his head spin a little.

He wanted to keep inhaling. 

“It’s okay though, when we get out of here, you’ll look after me,” He said and Taeil ge frowned. 

“What are you talking about?” Taeil asked and Sicheng looked up at him. 

“When Yuta ge- hyung and I get mated, you’ll come with us, won’t you? We’ll live together?” Sicheng asked and Taeil ge shook his head. 

“No- Sicheng, you’re going to belong to Yuta, you won’t have me,” He said and Sicheng leaned up, putting his hands on Taeil’s shoulders. 

“If I can’t have you, I don’t want that alpha. I won’t mate him if I can’t be with you,” Sicheng said and Taeil looked away. 

“You don’t know what you’re saying Sicheng, you shouldn’t-” He started and Sicheng tipped Taeil’s head over to look at him 

“I shouldn’t what?” He asked and the door opened. 

“What are you doing?” Sicheng heard and he looked back to see the alpha standing in the door.

“I-” Taeil started and Sicheng rolled off of him. 

“We’re nesting,” Sicheng lied quickly and Yuta raised an eyebrow. 

“It’s an omega thing, you wouldn’t understand,” He said softly, sitting up and Yuta closed the door behind. 

“Oh, well, I didn’t mean to interrupt. How are you doing?” He asked and Sicheng smiled up at the alpha. 

“Better, Taeil hyung says I’ll be able to leave,” He said and Yuta raised an eyebrow. 

“Hyung?” He asked before shaking his head. 

“That’s great, that’s really great,” He said, crawling onto the bed and pressing his lips into Sicheng’s hungrily, possessively. 

“I’ll just go,” Taeil said softly and Sicheng shook his head, reaching out and grabbing Taeil’s collar. 

“No- just stay a while,” He said desperately. 

“What?” Both the alpha and the omega said at the same time and Sicheng cleared his throat. 

“His scent keeps me from being overwhelmed, I just- I need him to stay,” Sicheng said before leaning up, kissing the alpha to persuade him to stay. 

His hands reached out, searching for something before landing on Taeil’s. 

He grabbed the other omega’s hand, squeezing it tight. 

Taeil squeezed back.

Taeyong

Taeyong took a deep breath before stepping out of the house. 

He hadn’t been out of the house without Jaehyun yet. But, the alpha had gone to work, and Taeyong couldn’t stay cooped up all day. 

He had to be a good omega, and that meant he had to start doing his omega duties. 

He couldn’t do that without groceries.

He walked into the grocery store, his list tucked into fists. His head was down, not wanting to meet anyone’s eyes as he grabbed a shopping basket. 

He could hear people whispering around him and he tried to block it out.

When he first moved in with his old alpha, it had been the same. 

He’d been new to Weishen and young, and some of the older aunties had whispered about him. 

They had been more concerned, whispering about what kind of alpha would take such a young omega. 

“How can he wear a purple collar?” He heard and Taeyong stilled in the aisle, his hands on a bag of rice. 

He reached up, pulling on his new collar. 

“Honestly, who does he think he is?” Someone else chattered. 

“Jaehyun had all of those prospects and he chose an impure whore,” Someone said and Taeyong put the rice back. 

“To think, all the alphas abandoned good omegas for Weishen trash,” Someone spat out and He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. 

He’d been talked about all his life, no matter where he was. 

It wouldn’t bother him. 

He picked up the rice and put it in his basket before crossing it off his list. 

He needed cauliflower. 

“Donghyuck, go get some cauli-” He started before letting out a sharp breath when he realized that he was by himself. 

He never went shopping by himself, he never did much without his younger brother. 

But now he was mated, without Donghyuck. 

“Yongie,” He heard and he turned to see his alpha behind him. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked and Jaehyun gave him a soft smile. 

“I was on lunch break, thought we could go shopping together,” He said and Taeyong frowned. 

He hadn’t told Jaehyun that he was here.

Yes, he told the alpha that he was going shopping today, he no longer had his own money. 

But he hadn’t told him when he was going and where he was going.

“But this is an omegas job,” He said softly, his head bowed and Jaehyun shook his head. 

“We both need to eat and I missed you,” He said simply before taking the list and beginning to find things on it. 

Taeyong sat down beside his alpha, his head kept down and his hands in his lap. 

When Taeyong got back to their home, Jaehyun had gone back to work. He’d told him not to cook, because they were going over to his parent's homes to have dinner. 

He’d gotten dressed up for it, trying to make a good impression as he was unable to meet them before they'd gotten mated.

“Are you not going to eat?” Jaehyun’s omega mother asked and Jaehyun leaned into Taeyong’s side. 

“Go ahead and eat,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong picked up his chopsticks, stirring his food. 

Jaehyun’s alpha mother laughed. 

“He’s obedient, that’s good,” His alpha mother said and Jaehyun nodded, a big grin on his face. 

"Yeah, he's really great," Jaehyun said reverently.

“He’s a little skinny though, how will he bear children when he’s so skinny?” the omega asked and Jaehyun shushed her.

“Eomma,” Jaehyun complained with a chuckle and Taeyong blushed. 

His weight had often been one of the reasons he and his old alpha fought because Taeyong couldn’t give him what he wanted.

No one wanted to fuck a pile of bones. 

Especially when there was a nice, ‘thick’ body in the room over.

“I’m just saying, his looks are nice, but what matters is what he can give you.”

She turned to look at Taeyong.

“You’re mated now, there’s no use in trying to stay pretty; although you’ve been mated before, you should already know that,” His omega mother said and Taeyong grit his teeth. 

He did know that his looks didn’t matter anymore, even if he still had them. 

He was someone that Jaehyun could strut around if he wanted to, he could show him off and make him the trophy omega that someone of his status deserved. 

But it wasn’t who he was anymore. 

He was tainted. 

She was right, he should be bearing children for the alpha.

“Eomma, he’s fine, and trust me. Taeyong is going to give me children,” Jaehyun said with a reassuring smile, his big hand squeezing Taeyong’s thigh. 

“Yes, but skinny omegas only give omegas. You need to fatten him up,” The omega advised and Jaehyun rolled his eyes playfully. 

“Yeah yeah, but fat omegas give birth to fat alphas like Jaehyun was,” His alpha mother said with a grin, and her omega swatted at her. 

“I’d rather have a healthy alpha child than an omega runt,” She teased. 

“Jin Kyung-ah, the omega’s fine. Think of his other choices, Lee Minhyuk? That Naeun girl?” The alpha began. 

“She had a little meat on her bones at least,” The omega stated and Jaehyun shook his head. 

“Naeun is a good dongsaeng, but that’s it. She’s way too young, I think an older omega is better don’t you,” He said, gripping Taeyong’s hand. 

Taeyong looked up at the alpha, trying to muster up more than a shy smile and his omega mother dropped it, changing the conversation to Jaehyun’s job. 

“What do you want?” Taeyong asked, as he began to get into bed and the Alpha looked up. 

He’d overheard the alpha talking to his parents when he was getting ready to go. 

Jaehyun had thought that he was made to get rid of his children, because they were omegas, and that was why Taeyong had gone so long without children.

“Huh?” He asked, confused as he put away the last of his work. 

Taeyong climbed in the alphas lap, trailing his hands over the younger man’s shoulders. 

“What do you want?” Taeyong asked again and Jaehyun let his fingers linger over Taeyong’s. 

“I mean, you on top isn’t half bad,” he said and Taeyong shook his head. 

“Not sex, for a pup. What do you expect of me?” He asked and Jaehyun sat up, running his hands down Taeyong’s sides. 

“What are you talking about?” He asked.

“Your eomma-” 

Taeyong took a deep breath. 

“You deserve a lot, Alpha. I know you’re curious about why I don’t have children,” Taeyong said and Jaehyun shook his head. 

“Your past is not my concern, all that matters is that you’re mine,” He said and Taeyong hugged, raising his eyebrow defiantly. 

“Don’t you want to know why I’m so skinny? What my alpha did to me?” He asked and Jaehyun gripped his wrist tight. 

“No, I’m your alpha, no one else. Just me,” He hissed out and Taeyong felt himself deflate. 

“I’ve never missed my heat before,” Taeyong said and Jaehyun looked at him as if he did not understand.

“You went away long before you came of age,” He tried to excuse it away and Taeyong pressed his hand to his stomach. 

“I’ve never conceived a child,” Taeyong admitted softly. 

His old alpha wasn’t overly concerned with children in the first place, he never cared for heirs. 

He thought he’d have plenty of time to make them. 

No, all he cared about was that he had someone little and doll-like in his bed. 

“None of that matters. What matters is that we’re together, and you have a real alpha, not that sorry Weishen excuse for one, you’ll breed for me, you’re perfect for me,” He whispered, flipping them over so that he was on top. 

“Besides, omega, alpha, boy, girl, whatever. I don’t care what our pups are as long as they’re healthy,” He said before kissing Taeyong deeply.

Taeyong really wanted to believe that the alpha meant that. 

But how could Taeyong be perfect for Jaehyun, when he’d always been so imperfect?

How could Jaehyun really believe all that. 

He had no idea who Taeyong was, or what he had done.

Renjun

Renjun tossed and turned again, punching his pillow to get comfortable. 

He had an uncertain heat in his stomach and he tried hard not to read too much into it.

He wasn't going through heat, but he felt an uncomfortable fluttering in his heart and between his thighs. 

When he closed his eyes he thought of the way Jeno's nose had pressed so intimately between his legs, how warm his breath had felt against his underwear. He thought about how tight Jaemin had held him, the promise of violence, but also the promise of something else, something more dangerous. 

He squeezed his legs together as he felt that annoying telltale sign of arousal begin to moisten his underwear.

It was an automatic response. 

It wasn't like he was interested in those barbaric assholes.

He was being betrayed by his own chemistry. 

Really, that’s all it was.

He couldn't help that their scents made his stomach swoop deliciously, the way that they held complete power over him floored him or that their hands were the perfect size to press between his-

The door opened and Renjun sat up, tugging at his shirt to hide his shame. 

“You smell pleasant for once,” Jeno said and Renjun’s cheeks pinked. 

He hated that his scent gave him away so easily. 

“You still smell like shit, so it’s no different than the day I met you,” He shot back and Jeno rolled his eyes, sitting on the end of the bed.

He seemed to be angry, but Renjun didn’t really care. 

“Is it day or night?” Renjun asked. 

They didn’t let him out of the room, and with no windows, Renjun had lost most of his bearings. 

He was a prisoner, not a quarantiner. 

 He didn’t care what they said.

“It’s night,” Jeno said and Renjun crossed his arms. 

“What time?” He asked and Jeno looked down at his watch. 

“After midnight,” He said and Renjun frowned. 

Jeno and Jaemin rarely came at night.

Taeil did a really good job of getting rid of the alphas, and the implications of an alpha staying the night with an unmated omega was horror inducing enough. 

Jaemin and Jeno also didn’t come without each other as well. 

“What are you doing here so late?” Renjun asked and Jeno tried to put on a braggadocious smile. 

“I obviously missed your smiling face, if you ever did smile,” He said, trailing off at the end of the sentence. 

“Well, it’s hard to smile when you’ve been held against your will by two monsters,” He said and Jeno sighed. 

“I really am not in the mood for your dramatics tonight,” The alpha said and Renjun sighed, tapping his fingers against his thighs absently. 

“How was your rut?” He asked and Jeno’s turned to look at him. 

“What?” He asked and Renjun smirked. 

“Your rut, did you and Jaemin have fun?” He asked and he watched the alpha's face darken as he got out of the bed. 

Renjun was going to show him just how wrong they were about him.

“What?” He asked again and Renjun smirked. 

“Which one of you took it? I bet it was you, did you like his knot?” He asked and Jeno’s eyes blazed, his chest heaving as his scent exploded in the room.

“Watch what you’re saying,” Jeno said and Renjun mustered up all the anger he had in him. 

He had a lot to be angry about, his brother, him being taken the way he was, the way that he lost Ten, the fact that they expected him to just bow, the way his parents would never know what happened to him or Lucas. 

“What, was I not supposed to know that you and that alpha are sleeping together? That you’re only using me as a status symbol, a fucking baby machine? Was I not supposed to know that you two are fucking queer ?”

Truthfully, Renjun didn’t have a problem with the thought of two alphas or two omegas together. 

He wouldn’t lie, he also thought if maybe it were different, if the alphas hadn’t taken him from his home the way they did Renjun would find it arousing to say the least.

But he didn’t want to be a status symbol, a cover for these two assholes.

Jeno’s hand flashed out, grabbing Renjun’s face. 

“I’m not a fucking queer,” Jeno said and Renjun glared at him.

“You’re taking it up the ass, letting another alpha breed you like an omega, should I call you an omega then?” He said and Jeno banged his head off of the headboard behind his head. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, shut up, shut the fuck up!” Jeno alpha commanded him, his voice growing panicked. 

Renjun’s mouth chomped closed without his consent, a burst of blood filling his mouth as he bit down on his tongue. 

“You don’t know anything about me or Jaemin, so you can’t say shit!” He said and Renjun tried to fight against the hold the alpha had. 

“I know that you two are fucking, and you want me in the middle of it for looks,” He said and Jeno released his face, crawling over Renjun.

“You think you know so much huh? You think I am using you for a baby? I don’t even fucking want kids. Me and Jaemin don’t want kids. We want you, for whatever reason. You think you know me, you think you know a lot but you don’t know shit. But I know you Huang Renjun. I know all about you. You’re a prude omega bitch, hiding behind this ‘brave’ personality. You want everyone to think you’re so tough, but in all reality you want an alpha to break you . You’ve been treated like an alpha all your life and all you dream of is someone putting you back in your place, of treating you like the omega you are,” Jeno growled.

“Fuck you, you’re wrong,” Renjun said, although he was faltering at the alpha’s words. 

He was wrong.

Right?

“You want an alpha to dominate you, to press you into the bed and take you ,” Jeno said before pressing closer to Renjun. 

He smashed his face into Renjun’s, coaxing his mouth open as he kissed him passionately. 

It was animalistic, angry and mean, but also tender and Renjun felt himself being swept into the tides, his hands scrambling for purchase against the alpha’s strong arms and back before digging in, trying to get away even as his heart screamed for more, trying to prove to him that he wasn’t right. 

“Submit,” he growled and Renjun’s bones turned into jelly, his arms sinking to the bed beside him.

“ Good omega ,” He whispered and Renjun tried to fight that swirling feeling in his brain that was making him lose himself to the alpha. 

He didn’t want this.

Did he?

 He felt overheated and confused. 

He was wrong. 

Jeno had to be wrong. 

“If I were as queer as you say I am injunnie,” He began with a smirk, pulling away to unbutton the top of his shirt.

“I wouldn’t be hard for you,” He began and Renjun’s eyes trailed down before snapping up, a blush on his face. 

“And if you didn’t want me to break you so badly, you wouldn’t be so wet for your alpha,” He said and Renjun shook his head. 

“You’re not-” He protested weakly and Jeno gripped the nape of his neck, shutting him up quickly, his other hand trailing down the flat plane of Renjun’s pelvis, his fingers dipping into the top of his underwear.

Renjun sucked in a breath.

“Beg your alpha for it,” Jeno said and Renjun shook his head. 

“Fuck you,” He hissed out.

“I said beg,” He growled, the alpha command distorting his voice.

“Please alpha,” Renjun whimpered out as Jeno’s fingers slid between his folds, not breeching him, but pushing dangerously close. 

“Please don’t, alpha please don’t,” Renjun plead, tears trailing down his cheeks as he cried.

A dam broke in Renjun’s chest, sobs wracking him.

Maybe Jeno was wrong.

Maybe he was right. 

But that didn’t matter. 

Renjun didn’t want it like this, he didn’t want the alpha to-

Jeno pulled his hand out of Renjun’s underwear before pulling away from him entirely. 

Renjun was lying on the bed, his shirt rucked up his stomach and his underwear dangerously low on his hips.

He wasn’t closing himself off though, his body laying there in the position that Jeno had manhandled it into.

He was still sobbing though, the sound wracking through his chest. 

“Injunnie I didn’t me-, I’m so-” The alpha began but Renjun could barely hear him over his uncontrollable sobs.

“I won’t do it like this, I’m not giving you what you want until you can tell me you want it. I’m not going to force you to present until you want me to, it’s no fun with an omega who won’t admit what he wants,” Jeno spat out before leaving the room with a slam of the door. 

Renjun curled up on the bed, trying to quiet his cries. 

He was scared. 

He couldn’t keep talking to the alphas that way.

He couldn’t keep resisting.

Taeil

Taeil opened the front door of his apartment, kicking his shoes off of his feet. 

He could hear the television in the living room playing some music show.

The air was fragrant, like someone had made something to eat. 

It was off putting for a second, and made him yearn for something he would never have. 

“Taeil hyung, is that you?” He heard and he closed the door behind him, stepping into the living room. 

He had a small apartment, not exactly what people expected of omega of his age. 

His parents had bought the apartment for him to get him out of the house.

Donghyuck was sitting on the couch, his feet crossed as he cradled a bowl of food in his lap. 

He really did appreciate having someone to come home to. 

“Who else could it be hyuck?” He asked, dropping his keys on the table before flopping down next to Donghyuck. 

“An alpha suitor,” Donghyuck said and Taeil snorted. 

“Yeah right.”

He had never really found himself into alphas in the first place. 

He had been precocious as a child, and really only got along well with omegas. 

It wasn’t until he got older that he really found out what that meant. 

“It’s probably because you smell like Sicheng ge,” He said and Taeil tried to hide his blush. 

He didn’t really understand what was going on with Sicheng. 

He was a sweet omega, with airy dreams and a sparkling smile. 

His delicate lychee scent just did something to him. 

Not to mention his blind trust and somewhat naive view of things. 

It was endearing and scary for him. 

He had been like that when he was younger, of course he had been younger than Sicheng when he learned his lesson.

You grew up quick in Neocity when you were an omega, especially if you were a weird omega. 

Sicheng got lucky though. 

As much as he hated to admit it, and he really did hate to admit it. 

Yuta was a good alpha. 

He wasn’t overly aggressive, and didn’t care about degrading others, about being the top alpha. 

Johnny never really had many alphas around him like that. 

It would threaten his own position at any rate. 

“He’s getting ready to leave soon. He’s grown dependent on me though. He’s worried that he’ll become overwhelmed again without me being there,” Taeil said, his thought going back to that day.

He tried not to think of the implications, of what Sicheng could have meant by it, but that didn’t stop him from wanting, from hoping--

No. 

Sicheng belonged to Yuta, as much as he abhorred the word, that was the world in which they lived.

Omegas were alphas property, whether they wanted a say in it or not. 

“It’s because you’re a calming presence,” Donghyuck said as he watched the television. 

“Well it’s a good thing I am,” He said and donghyuck paused looking over at him. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked before pouting. 

He really liked Donghyuck. 

He remembered the boy from before they left. 

He’d been really young, maybe 11, if that old 

He had been a loud, playful boy with ruddy chubby cheeks. 

He had always been underfoot when he was even younger, playing with the younger kids, like Mark and Yeri. 

This omega was different. 

He was loud, but mostly he was calculating. 

He was a liar.

Taeil hadn’t lived with the boy more than a week to see that. 

He had slimmed down as well, and he no longer had the sweet aura that he had when he was a kid. 

He was a sweet kid though, taeil had also witnessed that. 

It wasn’t like he was evil.

He just wanted to feel needed and he was hiding something, no doubt about Weishen. 

“You’re not exactly calming all the time Donghyuck,” He said and the omega stuck his tongue out at him before putting his bowl on the table, without a coaster. 

He was not surprised by it. 

He had confessed that Taeyong was a neat freak, so no doubt he wanted to break loose from it. 

Donghyuck wasn’t dirty though, he was actually quite neat. 

“Do you think Mark will hate that?” Donghyuck asked and Taeil looked over at him. 

The omega was looking down at his food, pushing through it absently. 

Taeil knew that he should placate the boy, but honestly, he didn’t know. 

If Taeil were an alpha, he’d find Donghyuck’s quirks charming. 

But alphas rarely wanted someone they couldn’t control and they tried so damn hard to control every aspect of an omega until they were demure and weak. 

“He shouldn’t,” Taeil said and Donghyuck looked at him as if he knew what Taeil had been thinking. 

“Tell me about Mark Seo, what does he like?” He said and Taeil shrugged. 

“You don’t remember him from childhood?” He asked and Donghyuck’s eyes widened. 

“Childhood? Mark wasn’t a Seo back then, he was a Lee,” Donghyuck said and Taeil nodded. 

“He had his omegas last name then,” He said before shrugging. 

“He’s a lot more serious now, or at least he pretends to be. I’m not even sure if he wanted to get mated before you. He lives in Johnny’s shadows, though not as much as Jaehyun does,” He said and looked at Donghyuck. 

“I’m sure you’ll be okay, you’ve seen Mark, he can’t hurt a fly,” He reassured Donghyuck who gave him a faux smile. 

There was a knock on the door and Taeil looked up from where he’d fallen asleep on the couch. 

Donghyuck had been laying in his lap, sound asleep. 

“Whatzit?” Donghyuck asked and Taeil shrugged. 

“Someone’s at the door, I’m going to go check,” He said, slipping Donghyuck off of his lap. 

Taeil made it halfway to the door before Donghyuck was fully awake, pulling on his arm. 

“No, you can’t, they’re going to hurt you,” Donghyuck said, trying to pull him away. 

“It’s-” Taeil scented the air. 

“It’s Yuta, what the hell does Yuta want this late, do you think it’s Sicheng, do you think he’s sick?” He said and the knock persisted. 

“Wait, I’ll be behind the door in case anything happens,” Donghyuck said, grabbing a frying pan on their way to the door. 

“He’s nice,”

“He’s an alpha,” Donghyuck countered. 

“He’s going to smell you,” Taeil pointed out. 

“Then he’ll be less likely to try anything funny,” Donghyuck pointed out before getting behind the door. 

Taeil shook his head before opening the door, wrapping his shirt around him tight. 

“Is Sicheng alright?” Taeil asked and Yuta’s expression became unreadable before he shook his head. 

“He’s fine, I actually came to talk to you, could I come in?” He asked and Taeil looked behind the door at Donghyuck who was still brandishing the frying pan. 

“It’s improper for an alpha to be alone with an omega,” He said and Yuta nodded. 

“Yeah, but you’re you , and there’s another omega here,” He pointed out and Taeil nodded, understanding exactly what he meant by that. 

“Fine, come in, Donghyuck go to the room,” He said and Donghyuck nodded, taking the frying pan with him. 

“Don’t eavesdrop!” He called out to the omega who knocked his head against the door, obviously caught. 

“What’s going on?” He asked and Yuta tilted his head. 

“You and Donghyuck are sharing a room?” He asked and Taeil shrugged. 

“I don’t have an alpha to buy me a three-bedroom apartment,” He pointed out and Yuta nodded. 

“Why are you here if Sicheng is fine,” He asked and Yuta nodded, rubbing his hands through his long hair. 

“Right, uh, this is really hard to admit, but I can’t do it,” Yuta said and Taeil frowned. 

“Do what?” He asked. 

“I can’t get Sicheng to come home with me. We’re to be mated next week. But he won’t- He won’t agree to move in with me. Can you just- can you just come live with us, just for a little while? I’m still really worried about him, and I don’t know if he’ll be able to adjust without you ,” Yuta explained and Taeil was frozen. 

“But Donghyuck is here with me,” He explained and Yuta shrugged. 

“Can’t you just- leave the kid here, he’s of age right, he can live on his own, and you and Sicheng can come back during the day when I’m at work to check on him, Please Taeil hyung. This is really hard for me to do, I don’t like groveling, I just want him to be happy,” Yuta said and Taeil sighed. 

He wasn’t sure if the alpha knew what he was asking. 

He shouldn’t even consider it. 

“Okay, I’ll stay until I’m not needed anymore,” He said and Yuta gave him a relieved smile.

Taeil didn’t feel relieved. 

Chapter Text

Ten

Ten sat on the bed next to Doyoung, his robe hanging halfway off of his shoulder. 

“Could you moisturize my back for me, hyung,” Ten asked and Doyoung nodded softly, picking up the jar and opening it. 

He rubbed the cream on his shoulders, pushing his robe down his shoulders, making his way over his shoulders. 

“Your skin is so soft,” Doyoung said, pressing his nose into Ten’s scent gland as he finished pushing the robe off. Ten was left bare, his skin shiny with the moisturizer as Doyoung rubbed over his shoulders and down his chest. 

“Your hands feel so nice,” Ten groaned before turning around to face Doyoung. 

“We shouldn’t,” Ten said and Doyoung leaned back. 

“We shouldn’t, but I want to,” He said, pulling Ten in to kiss him. 

Ten kissed him back, giggling as Doyoung fell back onto his back.

He leaned up to remove the omega’s robe before leaning back down, his fingers roaming over his ribcage. 

Doyoung slotted his hips with Ten’s, and Ten threw his head back, letting out a loud moan. 

“Shh, you’re going to get us caught,” Doyoung said and the door opened. 

“What are you two doing?” Johnny asked as he walked in, undoing his tie. 

“Oh, alpha, it’s not how it looks,” Doyoung said, sitting up. 

“It looks like you two were fucking,” Johnny suggested and Johnny grabbed them by the collar. 

“Kneel,” He commanded and they both got on their knees. 

“Alphas going to give you what you need, so you don’t have to try to get it from another omega,” He said before pulling his dress shirt off.

Their hands trailed down his chest appreciatively. 

“Wow alpha, why would we ever want each other when we could have you,” Doyoung said and Johnny smirked down at them as he unbuckled his belt. 

Ten rolled over in bed, watching as Johnny turned off the camcorder that he’d set up.

“Were we good?” Ten asked and Johnny smiled softly at him, crawling over at him. 

Doyoung had gone to shower, but even as gross as Ten felt, he didn’t feel like getting out of bed. 

“So good,” He said with a smile before kissing Ten. 

“If I hadn’t knotted already,” Johnny lamented and Ten pushed Johnny’s chest softly.
“Go bother your other mate,” Ten complained and Johnny flopped on him. 

“Don’t wanna, want you,” Johnny said, nuzzling into his scent gland.

Ten had witnessed Johnny’s softness so often with Doyoung, it was nice to share in it with just him as well. 

“We’ve got to do this again,” Johnny said, rolling off of Ten and folding his arms behind his head. 

Ten rolled into the space Johnny left, pressing his head into the alphas bicep. 

Johnny had wanted the omegas to film something like that, and it honestly didn’t matter if they had wanted to or not. 

Ten didn’t mind, not really. He just wanted to make the Alpha happy, and if this video thing made Johnny happy, he didn’t mind. 

Even if it was a little weird that he wanted Ten and Doyoung to act as if they were going to be intimate. 

Doyoung came back, running a towel through his hair before laying down in bed next to Johnny, claiming his other arm. 

“I don’t know how you guys can just lay in your filth,” Doyoung complained under his breath as he got comfortable.

Johnny had drifted off to sleep just that fast, while Ten and Doyoung laid awake. 

“He’s happy,” Ten said, tracing a pattern on Johnny’s chest absentmindedly. 

“Of course he is, he got every alpha’s wet dream, two omegas fucking but then being completely overwhelmed by an alpha that they want him instead,” Doyoung pointed out and Ten shrugged. 

“It’s not like we actually like each other like that,” Ten pointed out and Doyoung rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, but that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things did it? He thinks it's so hot but what about those people who really think that way? Really feel that way? People who are really queer,” Doyoung started and Ten peeked over Johnny’s chest at Doyoung. 

“Like Jeno?” He asked and Doyoung narrowed his eyes at him. 

“What did you say?” 

“Jeno, he likes Alphas right? That’s what the other alphas said,” He said and Doyoung clenched his jaw.

“Jeno- Jeno’s not queer ,” He said through his teeth. 

“Is there really anything wrong with-”

“Yes, there’s a lot wrong with being like that. You don’t understand, in Neocity, it’s not that simple. Alphas can be killed for being like that. It’s hot when omegas fuck, but living as that way will get them hurt. He’s not queer, so don’t go around telling people that,” Doyoung said and Ten shook his head. “Fine, I’ll drop it,” Ten said before closing his eyes, trying to fall asleep. 

Ten awoke to the sound of a camera clicking and he opened his eyes to see Johnny standing over them, a fancy camera in their face. 

The alpha was wearing low-slung pajama pants and his hair fell into his eyes, soft. 

Even though he slept with the alpha, he never got to see him look like this, soft, not put together.

It was heartwarming, it felt like the alpha had somehow let his guard down. 

He sat up softly, realizing that sometime in the night he and Doyoung had become intertwined with each other. 

“I like it when you guys get along,” Johnny said with a smile before taking another picture. 

“I’m sure you do perv,” Ten shot back with a lazy grin and Johnny shook his head. 

“No, I’m serious. It just- when you guys get along, it makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing, I like seeing my omegas get along,” He said leaning forward and kissing Ten softly. 

“I’ve got to get ready for work,” He said and Ten looked back at Doyoung who was still sleeping. 

“I’ll help you get ready,” Ten said, getting out of bed and leaving Doyoung lying there. 

Ten was drawing with Lami watching as the girl tried her best to imitate what Ten had been drawing. 

“Alright, now since we did a circle on this side, should we do one on thi-”

Doyoung raised his voice in the living room and Ten stilled. 

The omega never raised his voice at Johnny. 

A loud smack resounded through the house and Ten got up. 

“You finish drawing okay?” Ten said to Lami before walking into the living room to see Johnny standing over Doyoung. 

He was holding the omega down by his scruff, pushing his nose into the carpet like he was a naughty dog who had peed on the carpet. 

“What are you doing, hey, stop,” Ten said, pushing at Johnny’s broad chest. 

“Get off of him,” Ten said, and Johnny finally let Doyoung go, looking in Ten’s eyes. 

His eyes hardened slightly as they moved back to Doyoung.

“Don’t ever raise your voice at me again,” Johnny said, authority in his voice before slamming out of the front door. 

Doyoung was laying on the floor still. 

Ten moved over to him, lifting his head to survey the damage. 

“Are you okay? What was that all about?” Ten asked and Doyoung's hand flashed out, slapping Ten hard. 

Ten held onto his face, letting Doyoung’s go. 

“What was that for?” He asked, hurt. 

He wasn’t the one who smushed Doyoung’s face into the ground. 

“Never do that again,” Doyoung growled out. 

He looked intimidating even as his face was starting to swell and was red from his tears. 

“I was just trying to help-”

“Next time don’t! Don’t ever interfere between me and my alpha,” Doyoung hissed and Ten clenched his jaw. 

Doyoung got off of the ground going to his room and slamming the door. 

Sicheng

“How do I look?” Sicheng asked fluffing his robes in the mirror. 

“Very pretty,” Taeil said, motioning for Sicheng to lean down so that he could fix something in his hair. 

Sicheng obliged, ducking down far enough for the shorter omega to reach his ears. 

He placed an earring in his ear, bringing his hands up to feel the plaits on the side of his head before stepping away. 

“There, you look perfect,” He said before Sicheng shook his head. 

“I don’t think I can do this,” Sicheng whispered, his voice so soft that he was surprised the other omega could hear it.

His stomach was in knots.

“You can, and you will. You get to mate with the alpha of your dreams. This will be a good thing, I promise. Besides, I’ll still be there,” Taeil said, coming up behind him and squeezing his biceps.

Sicheng gave him a soft smile through the mirror. 

Taeil returned it before taking a step away from the omega. 

“Come on, the music is starting,” Taeil said before opening the door for Sicheng. 

He understood that this day was coming. 

This was what he had dreamed about for so long before he came to this place. 

When he first met Yuta alpha he had dreamed about this mating, he expected to be wooed, and be swept across a dance floor, the alpha having eyes for only him. 

In his dreams, it had been so romantic, and when he thought he’d lost it, it had hurt him. 

Now, it had come, and he was shaking. 

Everything was approaching so fast and he didn’t know what he was doing. 

The music was swelling and he watched as everyone watched him come down the walkway. 

He took his spot in front of the room, his eyes tracking across the crowd. 

There were a lot of faces that he didn’t recognize, no doubt people from Yuta’s family. 

He’d yet to meet anyone because he’d been in quarantine for so long. 

Then there were people there that he’d recognized, people from Weishen. 

Ten was sitting in the front row, next to Alpha Johnny and another omega. 

Taeyong was also there, sitting to the right of another alpha.

This alpha he didn’t know, but from the color of Taeyong’s collar, he could guess that this was his new mate. 

He wished his own omega mother could be here.

Sicheng brought his hand up to fiddle with his own white collar that would soon be white no more. 

His eyes caught Taeil ge’s, who had made his way to the front. 

He gave him a soft smile, motioning for Sicheng to put his hand down and Sicheng did with a small nod to himself. 

He had no reason to be afraid. 

It would all be okay. 

The music began to fade out and another tune, one more regal, filled the room. 

The doors opened and Sicheng’s eyes moved from Taeil ge’s to Yuta’s. 

The alpha was walking with a purpose, a big dopey smile on his face as he looked at Sicheng. 

He looked like he couldn’t wait to get to the omega, couldn’t wait to claim him and Sicheng felt that rollercoaster fire back up in his tummy. 

Yuta finally made it up to him and Sicheng bowed to him before deferring to the alpha, which was the custom. 

Yuta had told him all that he needed to know about the ceremony and what to expect. 

All he had to do was vow to obey the alpha in all things and bare his neck for Yuta to do the claiming bite. 

Then it would be official and he would be mated to the alpha of his dreams. 

“Sicheng-ah,” Yuta said and Sicheng focused on what the alpha had been saying. 

“Huh?” He asked and he could hear a familiar giggle from the crowd. 

That was Ten ge.

Did he say something wrong?

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” Sicheng asked and Yuta grabbed his hands, rubbing over his knuckles soothingly. 

“Don’t be nervous, I’m right here,” He whispered and Sicheng nodded, looking over at the officiant. 

“Do you promise to obey your alpha in all things? Do you acknowledge that all that you are belongs to your alpha now?” The officiant asked and Sicheng nodded. 

“Yes, of course, all things,” Sicheng said and he could hear another giggle in the crowd. 

Was he being embarrassing to his alpha?

People had always accused him of being a space case. 

He couldn’t believe that he was doing it in his mating. 

He looked over at Taeil, feeling lost and Taeil gave him a smile and a thumbs up. 

He finally looked over at Yuta, his own face melting into a smile when he caught the adoring smile the alpha had been giving him. 

He could do this.

Sicheng giggled into the alphas shoulder, feeling woozy from all of the dancing. 

“We should get home,” Yuta whispered into his ear and Sicheng shook his head, pulling away to look down at his alpha.

“No, wanna keep dancing, wanna dance forever,” He said, spinning them around once more. 

“You don’t have to worry about not dancing now. You’ll dance every day for the rest of your life, as long as you’re with me, you’ll always be dancing,” the alpha said picking him up off of his feet and spinning him. 

Sicheng threw his head back with laughter before stumbling, his feet tripping over themselves, which was so unlike him. 

He must really be dizzy. 

“Come on, let’s get home, we’ve got things to consummate,” Yuta said cheekily and Sicheng stumbled away slightly. 

“What about Taeil hyung?” He asked and Yuta frowned. 

“What are you talking about?”

“We can’t leave without him,” Sicheng said and Yuta nodded. 

‘He’ll come along afterward. Don’t you want to be alone with me?” Yuta asked and Sicheng bit his lip. 

He wanted Taeil to be there. 

“I want hyung to come with us, you said that he would come with us,” He said and Yuta nodded. 

“Yes love, but not- not while we… you know. It wouldn’t be proper,” He tried to explain and Sicheng tried to find the omega in the crowd. 

“Taeil hyung, we’re going home,” He shouted and he watched as several of the omegas in the crowd all collectively winced. 

He turned to look at his alpha. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Sicheng asked and Yuta took a deep breath. 

“You’ve- it’s best if we just leave now Sicheng-ah. By the time you get showered, he’ll be there, I promise,” Yuta guaranteed and Sicheng nodded, trying to shake everyone’s stares. 

Yuta leaned over him, his mouth moving over his and Sicheng tried to find the balance between losing himself to the alpha and paying attention to where Taeil was in the house. 

His body was very warm like he was going through heat, and his instincts were telling him to let the alpha mate with him, but his stomach was churning uncomfortably like he was going to be overwhelmed again. 

“Please Alpha,” Sicheng begged, trying to articulate that he needed something. 

He needed air, or a break or that blossom scent to purify the room just a little so he could think through it all. 

“I’m going to take care of you, don’t worry,” Yuta said and Sicheng closed his eyes as the alpha penetrated him, unable to get out exactly what he needed. 

Sicheng got out of bed, the omega helping him up before taking him to the bath. 

“How are you feeling love?” Taeil asked and Sicheng blushed at the pet name before looking down. 

The water was cascading over his shoulders, his hair sticking to the side of his head. 

In all actuality, he probably looked like a drowned cat. 

His fingers kept glazing over the tender skin on his shoulder. 

He was officially mated. 

“Sore and disoriented. I felt like I was in heat, but I shouldn’t have been,” He said and Taeil shrugged, putting out towels for him. 

Taeil wasn’t supposed to be here right now. 

He’d been working as a milkmaid for Johnny alpha’s child, but somewhere along the way, he had become someone who waited on Sicheng all day. 

He didn’t complain, he liked having the omega around. 

“It’s the mating bite. When you’re bit by your alpha, it sends our body into heat,” Taeil explained and Sicheng nodded. 

“I feel empty too,” He explained and Taeil nodded. 

“Yeah, that’s the separation anxiety, you don’t want to be without your alpha. It’ll wear off in a couple of days.”

Sicheng bit his lip, looking through the curtain at the omega who was currently putting his things away for him. 

“I feel like that when you’re not here too. I don’t want to do that again with alpha unless you’re there,” Sicheng whispered. 

“Don’t- that’s not appropriate Sicheng-ah. I know that you were raised with only omegas, but you shouldn’t, you shouldn’t say things like that, it can be misconstrued, besides-” 

Sicheng pulled the curtain open. 

“I don’t care. I don’t want to do it again without you,” He said and Taeil’s face turned red. 

“Sicheng, please,” Taeil whispered and Sicheng leaned forward, pressing his lips into Taeil’s.

Taeyong

Taeyong placed the plate down next to Jaehyun before coming to kneel beside the alpha. 

The alpha was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table as he leaned against the couch. 

He wasn’t wearing a shirt, seeing as he’d gotten out of bed, made coffee, and sat down in front of the television. Jaehyun had tried to help Taeyong in the kitchen, even though the omega protested it, telling him that he was supposed to do it.  Jaehyun told Taeyong that he liked the idea of them working together, but that was all too egalitarian for Taeyong and he didn't want to tempt fate any more than he already had. It was enough that he had been a previously disgraced omega that was now sporting a purple collar, he didn't want to push it any further.

"This is a lot, cereal would have been fine," Jaehyun said incredulously and Taeyong pulled at his collar nervously.

"Hey, thank you," Jaehyun said, pulling Taeyong down so that the omega was seated in his lap.

Taeyong shook his head and Jaehyun tightened his arm around Taeyongs waist before opening his mouth.

"Feed me please," the alpha said and Taeyong obliged him.

He knew that the alpha was only asking because he thought that Taeyong wanted him to take charge. 

Taeyong let him believe it because it made him feel like an alpha he guessed.

Taeyong put the food down once the alpha was finished, wiping his face softly. Jaehyun forced Taeyong to feed himself as well between Jaehyun's bites to make him as strong as possible. 

Skinny omegas only made omegas.

"I've got something for you," Jaehyun said sweetly, a deep grin on his face.

"I don't need anything alpha, you give me enough," Taeyong said softly and Jaehyun shook his head, nuzzling his nose with Taeyong's.

“Nonsense, besides, it’s not a physical gift, it’s something else,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong’s eyes widened when he realized what he meant. 

‘Donghyuck?” Taeyong asked and Jaehyun nodded. 

“Thank you,” Taeyong said over and over again, pressing kisses into Jaehyun’s face. 

Jaehyun caught Taeyong’s lips in his, pressing the omega back onto the table behind him, food dishes clattering to the floor. 

Taeyong stopped pacing as he smelt the familiar scent begin to perfume the air. 

He threw open the door and Donghyuck came barreling in, disregarding all rules and law to run into Taeyong’s arms. The omega caught him, hugging him close to his chest. 

Taeyong was clawing at the boy, trying to get him even closer as he huffed in his scent. 

Taeyong pulled back to look at Donghyuck. He inspected the boy, making sure that he didn’t have a scratch on him before pulling down his hoodie hood to make sure Donghyuck still had his collar on, and that it was still white. 

“You shouldn’t run away from your alpha like that,” Taeyong admonished him halfheartedly, still looking over his face and taking in every detail. 

Donghyuck’s face was a little sharper, his waist a little slimmer than it had been since he’d last seen him. 

It wasn’t anywhere near time for Donghyuck to have his heat, but he still seemed more mature than when he left. 

“I know hyung,” He said before turning and deferring to Mark. 

Mark raised an eyebrow, looking shocked at the show before shaking his head and walking into the house. 

Donghyuck sat next to Taeyong quietly, staring at his shoes, and Taeyong couldn’t help but hold the omegas hand in his. 

Jaehyun had unintentionally pushed back his original meeting with Donghyuck so this was the first time that he’d seen his brother since he’d been dragged away from the omega. 

“Should we go somewhere, like on a walk or something?” Mark suggested and Taeyong looked up at Jaehyun, trying to tell him just how much he didn’t want to do that without having to contradict Mark out loud. 

“No, I’ve got an idea, why don’t you go and show him around the house for a while?” Jaehyun suggested and Taeyong nodded, deferring to his alpha before getting off the couch. 

“Come on, I’ll give you the tour,” He said before leading Donghyuck back into the house. 

“Wow, this looks nice,” Donghyuck said as Taeyong led him down the hallway. 

Jaehyun had personal touches on the wall, pictures from when he was younger, his parents and grandparents. 

“He says that he wants to get some pictures of us too,” Taeyong said and Donghyuck nodded, opening and closing closet doors. 

“Mark’s apartment is a lot nicer than this, but this feels more like a home, and less like an alpha’s den,” Donghyuck said and Taeyong turned to look at him. 

“You’ve been to Mark’s apartment?” Taeyong asked and Donghyuck stilled. 

“No,” Donghyuck said and Taeyong turned him around.

“When you were in his apartment, were you alone with him?” He asked and Donghyuck rolled his eyes. 

“Taeil hyung was there, most times,” He said and Taeyong raised his eyebrow at the boy. 

“Were you there alone with him at night?” He asked and Donghyuck shook his head. 

“How many times?” He asked.

“Nothing like that happened. I promise Hyung. Nothing. I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t do that,” Donghyuck said, finally telling the truth. 

“You can’t stay the night at Alpha’s places. You know better than that. People could talk and you’d be the one disgraced. Not him,” Taeyong said and Donghyuck shook his head. 

“Mark isn’t like that.”

“He’s an alpha isn’t he.” 

Donghyuck sighed. 

“But not like that Hyung. We’re just hanging out to see if we’re compatible as mates, that's all,” He said softly, twiddling with his fingers. 

“So have you decided if you’re compatible as mates?” He asked and Donghyuck shrugged. 

“I think we are. He seems to like me and I think I could like him. We’ve talked about getting mated, but we haven’t talked about getting mated.”

“I never wanted this for you. I didn’t want you to get mated young to some alpha that doesn’t have your best interest at heart,” Taeyong confessed and Donghyuck closed his eyes.

“It’s not like we had a choice. At least Mark is trying to get to know me, at least he’s taking it slow. We both know it could be a lot worse,” Donghyuck said softly. 

‘Yongie,” Jaehyun called from the living room and the conversation was dropped as Taeyong went to obey his alpha. 

Taeyong rolled over, his hand reaching out for the other presence in the bed. 

His fingers touched nothing but cold sheets and he stopped, sitting up as he realized that he was all alone in bed. 

He got out of bed, a familiar scent filling the room. 

Sunflower. 

That was Donghyuck’s scent. 

Taeyong left the room, heading down the hallway.

The home was dark and Taeyong was too frantic to turn them on, instead moving by nose.

He had to save his brother.

“Stop! Don’t-,” Taeyong cried and Jaehyun grabbed the running omega, holding him in his arms. 

“Hey, calm down, what’s going on,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong flailed in his arms, punching the alpha’s chest. 

“Get off of me, where is he, where’s Donghyuck,” He asked and Jaehyun grabbed the Omegas arms and squeezed him tight as if he was trying to keep him together. 

“What did you do to my brother,” Taeyong asked and Jaehyun smoothed his hands over Taeyong’s face. 

“Donghyuck went home remember, it’s just us baby, it’s just us,” Jaehyun soothed and Taeyong took a deep breath, calming himself down as he realized that the scent he’d been smelling was stale. 

It was leftover from Donghyuck touching everything. 

He wasn’t here. 

He wasn’t here. 

“Come on, let’s go back to bed,” Jaehyun said, leading Taeyong back to bed. 

He laid the omega on the bed and Taeyong tried to shake off the fear that was quickly bleeding into embarrassment. 

He hadn’t wanted Jaehyun to see him like that. 

To know that he worried about his alpha coming into his younger brother’s room and hurting him. 

“What happened to that Weishen alpha?” Jaehyun asked softly and Taeyong shook his head. 

“He died.” 

That was all he could say. 

“What did you do to him?” Jaehyun asked and Taeyong buried his face in the pillow. 

That was a secret that only he and Donghyuck shared. 

He’d never tell.

Renjun

Renjun pulled at his collar as he walked around the room, his fingers slipping up to the nape of his neck and pulling at the hair there. 

He was feeling claustrophobic and had been having a hard time sleeping. 

Restless was how he was feeling.

He’d been in this room for who knows how long.

There was a familiar scent wafting under the door and Renjun stilled, his heart leaping in his chest. 

He hadn’t seen anyone besides Taeil in the last two weeks he’d estimate. 

Had it been longer than two weeks?

He couldn’t even be sure. 

It was hard to differentiate the time in here, and now that the alphas weren’t coming, Renjun felt like he was starting to get more and more scent starved. 

He didn’t want to admit it, but he was missing other scents, like the one that was currently seeping under the door. 

That was probably the alphas' intentions, to starve him out. 

A swirling mix of bergamot and Ginger were beginning to fill the room and Renjun hungrily gulped it up. 

The door opened and Renjun closed his eyes as the scent hit him. 

His knees were weak, knocking against each other as he struggled not to collapse on the spot. 

“You look desperate,” Jaemin said and Renjun opened his eyes when he realized that the scent he had been smelling was just one of the Alphas. 

He tried to stop the whine coming out of his throat. 

“You smell desperate too,” Jaemin said indifferently and Renjun clenched his jaw, trying to keep himself grounded. 

He was trying hard not to talk back, trying hard not to make it any worse. 

He was working on submitting. 

They’d given him a lot of time to think about it.

Of course, his thoughts had been jumbled, and he had been having a hard time focusing on anything but the lack of scents in the room. 

It was like after that night with Jeno, the scents had been wiped away. 

There was nothing but his own scent, and Taeil’s. 

His scent had been steady thickening, and he was feeling more and more restless, more and more needy. 

He was definitely gearing up for preheat if he wasn’t already in preheat. 

He didn’t want to think about what would happen when he went into heat.

“Where is Jeno?” He asked before wincing when he realized that he didn’t call that alpha alpha. 

“I meant, Jeno Alpha,” He corrected and Jaemin smirked up at him. 

“Alpha? Are you finally learning your lesson?” He asked, and Renjun bit the inside of his cheek to stave down the comment that he really wanted to say. 

“Where’s Jeno alpha?” He asked again and Jaemin shrugged. 

“He’s busy,” Jaemin said and Renjun frowned.

 It’s been two weeks since he smelled the alpha or any other smell, but he knew that the scent that intertwined itself with Jaemin wasn’t stale. 

Jeno had been with him, which meant that the Alpha was avoiding him. 

“ Busy? ” Renjun repeated his tone and Jaemin let his eyes slide over the omega before looking away almost bored. 

“Yeah, busy,” Jaemin said and Renjun frowned. 

“What about you?” He asked and Jaemin laughed. 

“You missed us, little omega? You missed your alphas?” He asked and Renjun clenched his teeth. 

He knew what he had to say. 

He wanted to get out of here. 

He wanted them to stop hurting him. 

“Say it,” Jaemin said and Renjun clenched his fist. 

“I missed my alphas,” Renjun said and Jaemin licked his lips. 

“Give alpha a kiss,” He said and Renjun resisted. 

“Give alpha a kiss,” Jaemin repeated and Renjun resisted again. 

“Give. Alpha. A. Kiss.” 

Jaemin’s voice reverberated around the room, the alpha voice dropping in octaves and Renjun’s legs went weak.

He felt mortified as he slick began to moisten his underwear. 

He’d been sensitive lately. 

Jaemin grabbed his jaw but Renjun didn’t have to wait for him to push up his head, submitting to the alpha before surging forward, connecting their lips. 

Jaemin let out a pleased growl, his hand reaching out and grabbing Renjun at the nape of his neck. 

He felt like he had when he first met Jeno, the heavy alpha scent nearly overwhelming him. 

He fell back onto the bed, Jaemin leaning over him.

“You did this with Jeno, right, how are you going to take it with two alphas? Are you even good enough for two alphas? Are you good enough for one?” He hissed against his lips and Renjun needed air. 

Jaemin pulled away.

“Wait until Jeno sees you like this. Finally learning your lesson,” He said and Renjun tasted blood as he finally bit through his cheek. 

“I want to leave, please,” Renjun said and Jaemin smiled. 

“Soon enough omega,” He said before backing off.

“But not yet,” He said before leaving the room, leaving Renjun alone again. 

“Taeil ge?” Renjun said softly and Taeil’s cheeks flushed before he shook his head. 

“Yes?” He asked, petting his hands through Renjun’s hair. 

“How long do omegas go through preheat?” He asked.

“Why? What’s wrong?” He asked and Renjun shook his head. 

His head had been hazy lately. 

He’d gone another two weeks without seeing anyone but Taeil.

 Taeil hadn’t been coming as frequently as he’d usually come, being obviously preoccupied at home. 

He smelled like Sicheng which was a welcomed scent but not enough to stop him from being so scent-starved. 

It had to be preheat. 

“Nothing, just wondering,” He said and Taeil shrugged. 

“I don’t know. I’ve heard of people going in a couple of days to their heat, maybe a week or so, but being away from scents can prolong it,” Taeil explained and Renjun sighed. 

If he knew, why wouldn’t he help him? 

Why wouldn’t he bring him the alpha’s scent so that he could just go into heat already and get it over with? 

He needed a clear mind because he couldn’t keep going like this. 

“Hopefully I’ll be mated soon enough, so I can get out of here before my heat,” Renjun said and Taeil shook his head softly.

“I hope for your sake your heat comes before your mating,” He said before clearing his throat and changing the subject.

The scents were back and they woke Renjun out of his sleep.

He’d been hot all day and his stomach was starting to cramp up.

He didn’t like the implications of what that meant. 

He had wanted to go through heat after mating, or at least to go through it alone.

The door opened and Jeno and Jaemin shuffled in together.

Renjun scrambled out of bed, nearly throwing himself in Jeno’s arms as he tried to inhale more of his scent. 

“Kneel,” Jaemin said and he dropped to his knees mindlessly. 

“Good omega,” He said with a smirk,

Renjun whimpered at the sentiment. 

“You’re learning your lesson well,” He said and Renjun nodded, wishing that the alphas would do something besides stand there and stare at him. 

He was starting to soak his underwear and the haze that he’d been in was even heavier, fogging up his mind until he couldn’t stop thinking of one thing and one thing only. 

He was in heat and he needed something .

“Tell me what you want omega,” He said and Renjun looked down at the floor. 

“Nope, look at me when I talk to you.”

Renjun didn’t want to look up at him, because looking up meant submitting to the alpha in front of him and submitting meant that he’d get wetter, and his body would get warmer, and he already felt like he was going to die if he looked up at them. 

Their scents were also strong, and it made him want to submit to them. 

He wondered if his scent was enough to send them into Rampage. 

“I said look up bitch,” Jeno said gripping him by the nape of his neck and pulling his head back.

He gasped, the pain radiating through his skull even as arousal sat low in his belly. 

He didn’t want this. 

But his heat did.

He had to admit it now, he was going through heat whether he liked it or not. 

“You haven’t learned your lesson yet,” Jeno growled out and Jaemin leaned over his shoulder. 

“It’s a shame, he smells so good, I wanted to have some fun,” Jaemin sighed.

Jeno turned his head, kissing up the column of Jaemin’s neck before letting go of Renjun completely.

“We can still have fun,” Jeno said with a grin.

Jeno gripped the back of Jaemin’s neck in a similar manner as he had Renjun’s, intertwining their bodies. 

Renjun watched wordlessly as the Alpha’s got more handsy with each other.

This wasn’t a show, this wasn’t some performative act and Renjun tried to shake the twisting of his guts. 

He knew they were like that.

But it was different seeing it.

“Please alpha, I’m sorry, just-” Renjun choked out and Jeno pulled away from Jaemin to look at him. 

“What was that?” He asked and Renjun submitted to Jeno.

“Please help me, it burns,” Renjun whimpered.

“Why should we, I thought you said we weren’t your alphas?” Jeno said and Renjun gulped, the fire racing through him. 

“I was wrong. I need you. I need my alphas ,” He bit out and Jeno smiled. 

“That’s what I’ve been waiting for Injunnie.”

Doyoung

Doyoung pushed the shopping cart down the aisle, smoothing Lami’s hair down as Ten skipped next to them. 

“Taeil said that he walked in the next morning to the three of them,” Ten said and Doyoung hummed, moving to cross something off of the list. 

“Yes, well, it’s about time,” Doyoung said and Ten stopped the cart.

“Your brother and his friend mated a young omega during his first heat,” Ten said bluntly and Doyoung looked over at Ten. 

It was hard to talk about what was going on with his brother and Jaemin. Ten didn’t understand what the expectations in Neocity were nor did he understand what it was like growing up with an Alpha. Especially an Alpha like Jeno. He didn’t understand the relationship between Jeno and Jaemin, but at least there was an omega there to legitimize it. 

Besides, Jeno wouldn’t have mated the omega unless he had feelings for him, and considering how much he risked for Jaemin, the alpha had to have liked the omega for him to even consider mating him.

Jeno and Jaemin had always been close. They’d been born four months apart and had the same Milkmaid. Because of that, they were supposed to be like brothers. 

They grew up side by side, and by the time they were beginning to mature, they were already attached at the hip.

Doyoung had wished he’d been the one to find them like that, not their alpha, but he’d already been moved out.

The man had hurt Jeno so bad after that and then kicked him out onto the curb.

He’d come to their door, his face swollen, his arm lying at an odd angle. 

And crying. 

Doyoung had never seen his little brother cry like that before.

It was the first time that Doyoung had ever asked Johnny of anything.

No, not asked. 

Begged. 

Doyoung had gotten on his knees and begged the alpha to allow his brother to stay with them.

“I’m happy he claimed an omega. I wish he hadn’t done it before the mating ceremony, but at least it was an omega, now, can you please grab some flour?” Doyoung asked and Ten nodded, going down the aisle to grab it. 

Ten bent down and Doyoung watched where Ten’s shirt rode up. 

He looked a little heavier than he had when he came here. 

Ten skipped back to the cart and Doyoung shook his head.

“You’re pregnant,” Doyoung said as he pushed the cart farther down the aisle, stopping at the spices.

 “What?” Ten sputtered and Doyoung shrugged. 

“You’re pregnant,” He repeated, mulling over the spices. 

“I’m pregnant?” He asked. 

“Or you're just getting fat,” Doyoung said with a shrug, and Ten smacked the other omega’s shoulders. 

“I’m not fat,” Ten complained and Doyoung shrugged. 

“Then you’re pregnant,” He said before smoothing his hand over Lami’s hair again. The girl was watching videos on a tablet while they shopped. She was wearing a mask over her face to shield her from the scents. 

Doyoung was always wary about her catching some stray alpha’s scent and being overwhelmed. 

Or worse still, some alpha catching her scent. 

“Then I can’t wait to tell alpha,” Ten said and Doyoung shook his head. 

“Don’t tell him,” Doyoung said seriously and Ten laughed. 

“He’ll figure it out when I deliver,” He said and Doyoung shook his head. 

“I’m serious, don’t,” Doyoung said and Ten frowned. 

“Why not?” 

Doyoung looked around the store before finally letting his eyes fall on Ten.

“Don’t tell him until you’re farther along until you know it’s an alpha for sure,” Doyoung said and Ten shrugged. 

“What does it matter if it’s an alpha or not?” Ten asked and Doyoung clenched his jaw. 

“I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I’ve been in this situation before and you haven’t, so for once I need you to trust me Ten. Do not tell him,” Doyoung said and Ten nodded, finally realizing the seriousness of it. 

“Now come on, let’s go get you a pregnancy test,” Doyoung said, turning the cart on a new aisle. 

Doyoung sat on his knees outside of the bathtub, running the cloth over Johnny’s broad back. Johnny had made good on his promise and gotten a new bathtub, so it was big enough for all of them, but sometimes Doyoung just wanted things to be like before. 

He’d bribed Ten off with chocolate to give him some alone time with Johnny and the omega obliged. 

He liked Ten, even if the omega was rough around the edges and caused a lot of trouble, but Doyoung really just wanted his alpha. 

Hell, he would even venture to say he needed him. 

“What’s on your mind Cherry blossom? You’ve been quiet tonight,” Johnny asked, turning to face Doyoung and Doyoung squeezed out the cloth to have something to do with his hands before sitting it on the side of the tub. 

“I want something. I know that I have no right to ask for this, but I really want to,” Doyoung started and Johnny frowned. 

“You can have whatever you want Doyoung, you know that,” He said, reaching up and cupping Doyoung’s cheek. 

He melted into it, nuzzling his palm before letting Johnny’s hand slide down and land on his mating bite. 

He didn’t make it a habit to look his alpha in the eye, there was too much of a risk of it being perceived as a challenge, but he knew if he didn’t, Johnny would never see how serious he was.

“You are mine,” Doyoung spoke softly, his hand cupping Johnny’s cheek warmly. 

“You are mine,” Johnny repeated back and it almost felt like old days. 

It was something they had done their entire mating since Doyoung was eighteen. Even with the circumstances of their mating, he’d fallen for Johnny quickly and deeply. 

He used to be Johnny’s world.

But Doyoung wasn’t stupid.

He knew that there was one thing preventing it from being like that again.

Ten. 

“I want you tonight,” Doyoung said and Johnny chuckled. 

‘You always have me Doyoung,” He explained and Doyoung shook his head.

“Just you hyung. Please. I know that I shouldn’t deny you any pleasure you choose to have, but tonight can I be enough for you?” Doyoung asked and Johnny kissed him tenderly.

“You’re always enough for me Cherry Blossom,” He whispered.

Doyoung wished that were true.

Johnny dropped the omega down on the bed softly, his lips caressing down his chest and even lower as he disrobed him. 

“Alpha,” Doyoung panted out as Johnny pulled his underwear down, biting down on the bare meat of his thigh. 

“Poor omega, have you been feeling neglected? Alpha didn’t mean for you to feel like that,” Johnny whispered and Doyoung shook his head.

“Not Omega, just-”

“Cherry blossom, you don’t have to worry,” Johnny said sincerely and Doyoung melted into the bed. 

Johnny knew him so well. 

Johnny licked into him and Doyoung’s hands scrambled for purchase before finding Johnny’s hand. 

He didn’t do this sort of thing that often anymore. 

Johnny used to love doing it when they first mated, something about his scent and the taste of his slick doing wonders for him. 

But then they had Lami, and Doyoung couldn’t give Johnny what he wanted anymore, and he still enjoyed sleeping with the alpha, and vice versa, but it wasn’t as intimate anymore. 

It’s hard to be intimate when you have a threesome every night.

Doyoung shook his head, he didn’t want to think about Ten right now.

Johnny was speaking as he ate him out, mumbling how good Doyoung tasted, and how much he loved him, and Doyoung tried to let it feel real, tried not to let reality seep into it. 

He could almost believe that this was his reality, that he was the only omega in Johnny’s life. 

Doyoung felt his knees begin to knock together, the pleasure exploding through his body and Johnny smirked pulling away from him and looking down at Doyoung. 

He was laying across the bed, his chest heaving from exertion and lust. 

He could feel the sweat glistening on his skin, sliding down the dips of his collarbones and Johnny’s eyes followed the sweat before looking back at his face. 

“Look at you, laid out so pretty for me to take, Doyoungie,” Johnny said softly. 

“Then take me,” He whispered and Johnny smirked down at him, pressing himself into the omega. 

Doyoung clawed at his back, trying to keep Johnny in him, trying to keep Johnny close to him as they found the rhythm that they’d had before the thought of a second mating, or Ten, or Doyoung’s own inadequacies.

He loved the man more than life itself and Ten was pregnant, and he was going to lose the alpha and Johnny had already broken his heart so many times and all Doyoung wanted was for Johnny to stay, for Johnny to be his and belong to him as much as he belonged to Johnny. 

“Breed me,” Doyoung breathed out and Johnny pushed in deeper. 

“What was that?” He asked. 

“Breed me alpha,” He begged. 

“I can’t Cherry Blossom. You only bear omegas,” He reminded him softly and Doyoung shook his head, his hands scrambling up to find purchase on Johnny’s face. 

“Please Alpha, I promise, I’ll give you an alpha this time,” He said and Johnny shook his head.

He wrapped his legs around Johnny’s waist boldly, desperation setting in as Johnny began to lose his rhythm. 

“I promise, I can do it. Please we’ll have an alpha and we won’t have to get rid of any more babies, I promise I’ll bear you an alpha, just please,” Doyoung begged and Johnny bowed over him, his knot beginning to swell as he started to climax.

He pulled out of Doyoung at the last second, squeezing the last bit of his knot out over Doyoung before flopping down next to Doyoung.

Doyoung threw the alpha’s arm over his shoulders in a semblance of comfort as he curled up into the Alpha.

He buried his face into the pillow, trying to hide his tears. 

Doyoung opened his eyes to Johnny standing over him, a glass of water in his hands and a somewhat hard look on his face. 

“Hey,” Johnny said and Doyoung sat up. 

“Hey,” He said softly. 

“I brought you a pill,” Johnny said and Doyoung frowned. 

“A pill?” He asked before stopping. 

“Right, a pill , thank you for caring so much about my health alpha,” Doyoung said and Johnny smiled softly at him. 

“Hurry up and take it, I want to finish moving everything in for Ten's room,” Johnny said before kissing his head and leaving the room.

Doyoung looked down at the pill with a sigh. 

Things would never go back to the way they were before.

Chapter Text

Ten

Doyoung picked Lami up, smoothing down a fly away as Ten began to put up her hair baubles. 

“I’ll be back soon,” Doyoung said and Ten nodded. 

“I know,” Ten said and Doyoung nodded. 

“Johnny will be back around three, I should be home before then,” Doyoung said and Ten nodded. 

“I already prepared dinner, so don’t worry about it,” Doyoung said and Ten nodded. 

“I know. You’re leaving me home, not Lami, you know,” Ten said and Doyoung rolled his eyes. 

“Well, I don’t want to come home to a burned down home or an unhappy alpha, both of those things are bound to happen if you were to get into that kitchen,” Doyoung said and Ten stuck his tongue out at Doyoung before hopping onto the couch. 

“Why are you going over there anyway?” Ten asked. 

Doyoung was going over to Jeno and Jaemin’s house.

“Because Jeno wants the house to be cleaned up before his omega comes home,” He said and Ten frowned. 

He didn’t understand what would take Renjun so long to get home. 

They hadn’t had a mating ceremony yet but he had also already claimed and mated him, so he didn’t see why he wouldn’t already come home. 

“I guess that makes sense, it’s not like a house will be clean with two alphas,” ten said offhandedly and Doyoung tensed before shaking his head. 

“I’ll be back soon,” Doyoung said before leaning down and kissing ten on the cheek before leaving. 

Ten continued to sketch in his notebook, debating whether or not he wanted to go lay in bed and wait for the alpha to get home. 

He’d had a lot on his mind since that day in the grocery store.

He was happy about the prospect of being pregnant but ultimately was too afraid to take the test.

What if he wasn’t pregnant?

He wanted to be. 

It surprised him to think about it. 

He hadn’t wanted this life, or rather, he never expected to want this life. 

He didn’t think he’d ever have it, but now that he did.

He wanted it so bad. 

The praises that Johnny had lavished on him that first night, and every other night they’d spent together since they were mated stuck with Ten, and he hoped that he would be bringing an alpha into the world for Johnny. 

Ten turned on the spigot of the shower, letting the room fill with steam as he tried not to eye the test that was lying on the counter. 

Doyoung had bought it for him when they went grocery shopping, and he was finally going to take the test. 

But he needed to kill ten minutes while the test worked, and the easiest way would be through a shower. 

He stepped into the stream, letting himself think of something other than the test. 

He hummed under his breath, a song from his childhood coming out. 

He tried not to think of that place as home. 

He’d been here in Neocity, mated happily for almost four months. 

But sometimes when he was all alone, he thought of Weishen, of the omega and alpha who raised him, of the omega brother that he used to whisper his hopes and dreams to and he’d get sad. 

But it wasn’t something that could be helped. 

All omegas who became mated would leave home one day and join a new pack, and the way that he was thrown out of his pack only cemented that to him. 

He didn’t need to be sad when he thought of them. 

He had a new family now, and soon enough he’d have someone who shared blood with him.

He’d build a better family than what he was given. 

The timer rang through the bathroom, quickly cutting off his thoughts and he got out of the shower, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around his body. 

Ten looked down at the test, a smile slowly spreading across his face. 

He was pregnant!

He knew that he shouldn’t tell Johnny, because Doyoung told him not to tell him yet. 

But he heard the door slam and he was too giddy to stop himself. 

“Alpha,” Ten called and he heard Johnny slam something down. 

“Alpha?” Ten questioned, opening the door to their room. 

All three of them were now using one room instead of having to divide the nights between him and Doyoung. 

Johnny took his shirt off, throwing it against the wall.

“Are you okay?” He asked and Johnny clenched his jaw. 

“Where’s Doyoung and Sungkyung?” He asked, his voice sharp. 

“They’re at Jeno’s helping him out, alpha,” He said and Johnny growled. 

“Are you okay?” He asked and Johnny closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. 

“I’m fine, I just need-" He scented the air. 

“Why do you smell so happy?” Johnny asked and Ten smiled going into the room and grabbing the test. 

“I’m pregnant,” He said and Johnny stared at him, the anger melting from his face. 

“You’re what?” He asked. 

“I’m pregnant, I’m having your alpha,” Ten said excitedly and Johnny rushed him, picking him up and forcing him against the wall.
He stuck his nose against Ten’s scent gland, breathing deeply as he held onto Ten’s hips in a bruising grip. 

“I’m going into rut and I want to fuck you so bad,” Johnny growled and Ten nodded, wrapping his legs around the alpha’s hips. 

“Fuck me,” Ten whispered and Johnny tossed him on the bed, trying to be gentle with him even though he looked like he wanted nothing more than to eat Ten up. 

Doyoung opened the door and Ten looked up from where his legs were over Johnny’s shoulders. 

“Alpha, you’re in rut,” Doyoung said before cursing under his breath. 

“I can’t believe I forgot, alpha, let me help you,” Doyoung said and Johnny growled. 

“Don’t want you,” He said, not looking back at Doyoung or stopping his thrusts into Ten. 

“Hyung,” Doyoung said affronted before looking over at the bedside table where Ten’s pregnancy test was. 

“You told alpha you’re pregnant,” Doyoung breathed. 

“I’ve already put Lami in her room, and her room is already scent proofed, I’ll come help,” Doyoung said, taking off his shirt.

“I said I don’t want you. I want Ten. Get out now,” Johnny commanded and Doyoung submitted to the alpha before leaving the room.

Ten watched him go before letting his attention get taken by the alpha above him. 

Sicheng

Taeil opened the door and Sicheng stepped through.

"Wait," Sicheng said, stopping and turning to look at the alpha standing in the door.

Yuta had taken the omegas over to Taeil's old house to check on Donghyuck before dropping them back home.

He was about to go out with Johnny, leaving them home for the day.

"I love you," Sicheng said brightly, kissing the alpha sweetly.

He pulled away before grabbing Taeil's hand.

"Come on, let's go to the studio," he said, skipping off. The alpha left the house as the two omegas made it to what had been affectionately labeled 'the studio'.

It was facing the east of the apartment. It had been an office space from what Sicheng could tell. The room had a wall of windows on one side. Yuta had put up mirrors and a portable bar. It was better than the dance studio in Weishen.

"Are you going to work on what your teacher taught you last week?" Taeil asked, flopping down in the corner to watch.

Yuta had hired a private dance teacher for Sicheng to come once a week and teach him the basics.

The alpha often sat in on the sessions, watching enthusiastically while he danced. When the alpha first did it, Sicheng had assumed that he didn't want Sicheng alone with some stranger, but it seemed that he just enjoyed watching him dance.

It was nice. 

Taeil often tried to make himself sparse during those times, but he’d come to watch Sicheng when he practiced alone. 

He often kept him company, a book in his hand that he’d pretend to read while he secretly watched him. 

Sicheng didn’t know why, but he liked when Taeil ge pretended not to watch him. 

He liked having to work for the omega’s attention. 

Don’t get him wrong, he liked the way that Yuta watched him. 

It made butterflies erupt in his stomach at the pure adoration from the alpha. 

But he got the same feeling when he had to work for Taeil ge’s attention. 

He wasn’t as naive as he once had been and he and Taeil weren’t as innocent either. 

Sicheng liked the omega. 

He liked the omega in the same way that he liked the alpha. 

They’d kissed more than enough for Sicheng to know that. 

Sicheng fell out of the pirouette and Taeil clapped, raising an eyebrow. 

“You’re not focusing,” Taeil quipped and Sicheng blushed. 

“Hyung, the one time you pay attention to me, it’s when I mess up, that’s not fair,” Sicheng complained and Taeil shrugged. 

“Maybe you should be thinking more about your technique, What were you thinking about?” Taeil teased and Sicheng tilted his head, appraising the omega in the corner. 

“You, and your lips, and your pretty blossom scent,” Sicheng said softly, his voice a deep grumble in his chest. 

It felt like he were growling like he was an alpha.

But that wasn’t what they were, or what this was about.

“Maybe I should go somewhere else if I’m distracting you,” Taeil said, closing his book and Sicheng smiled, getting the reaction he was looking for. 

“No, don’t go,” He begged and Taeil reached out, threading his hands in Sicheng’s hair as he invaded the omega’s space. 

He kissed over Sicheng’s face and down his neck. 

He stopped at the claiming mark, completely avoiding it.

Taeil never pressed his lips there, no matter how much Sicheng wanted him to. 

“Sicheng-ah, can I taste you?” Taeil asked quietly and Sicheng nodded hurriedly, slipping out of his pants. 

Taeil switched spots with him, Sicheng’s back against the wall as Taeil laid on the ground, hitching Sichengs leg over his shoulder.

Yuta rarely did this with him. 

When Yuta did, it never felt the way Taeil did. 

Yuta was gentle, as if he were afraid he would hurt him, licking into him with a careful tongue. It felt like he was being worshipped when he was with Yuta, and that was amazing. 

The alpha always did his best to be gentle and coddle him outside of actual intercourse.

As gentle as Yuta tried to be, penetration was still a place where Sicheng had trouble enjoying. 

He wasn’t sure if it was because Yuta would lose his head and it would always end up hurting more than he thought it should, but it was frightening and overwhelming. 

That was probably why he made up for it during foreplay, when his touch was light and adoring. He did it like he had never thought of doing it to an omega before him.

But Taeil-

Taeil did this like he had something to prove. 

Taeil was gifted and never failed to send sparks popping up his back. 

Maybe it was because he was an omega, and he knew how omegas worked, but with him, it just felt, he couldn’t put into words how it felt.

“Hyung-” Sicheng breathed, his delicate sighs filling the room, and Taeil grabbed a handful of his toned thighs, pulling him closer to him, pressing in further. 

“Ge ge-” Sicheng threw his head back, submitting to the omega as his back arched and his body trembled. 

Yuta alpha could make him do that too. 

Just not as fast as Taeil hyung could.

Taeil continued to lick into him until he was overstimulated before surging forward, letting the omega taste himself on his tongue. 

“Come here,” He said, pushing at Taeil’s baggy shorts. 

Taeil slipped them off, seating himself into Sicheng’s lap.

Sicheng loved the way the omega fit in his lap, that there didn’t seem to be a fight for power, it was just the two of them, together. 

Simple. 

He pushed aside Taeil’s underwear as the omega kissed him, letting his fingers run over his slick folds before plunging in, Taeil keening high in his throat. 

His voice was melodic.

“Good?” Sicheng asked and Taeil nodded. 

Sicheng was still trying to learn an omegas body the way that Taeil knew it. 

He moved his fingers back and forth, keeping up the rhythm with his own rolling hips as he pleasured the pretty omega over him. 

Taeil was really pretty, even if he didn’t look quite as delicate as the other omegas around him. 

His face wasn’t as petite as Sicheng’s, and there was a mysterious chunk missing out of his cheek that he often wondered about, but it didn’t make him any less pretty. 

“Feels so good Sicheng-ah, you’re doing so well, I love you,” Taeil breathed out. 

“I love you too,” Sicheng hurried out, his breath coming out as wet pants against the omegas collarbone. 

He had the urge to bite the omega.

He wasn’t an alpha. 

Neither one of them were, and they never pretended to be, but the only connection he had that felt like this was from Yuta and Yuta had bitten him to show the world that he belonged to the alpha, and even though he and Taeil ge had never been about possession, he still wanted everyone to see.

He tested the waters, his teeth grazing the omega’s collarbones and Taeil’s hips stopped rolling.

“Good or bad?” Sicheng asked and Taeil closed his eyes. 

“Bad, don’t- please don’t bite me,” He whispered and Sicheng nodded, kissing over the spot apologetically. 

Taeil moved his hips again, building back up his rhythm and Sicheng sought out his own friction, wanting to come undone with the omega. 

“I’m gonna-” Taeil said and Sicheng moved his fingers faster, his mouth searching out Taeil’s.

He felt as Taeil began to hit his peak, his hips speeding up.

“Sicheng-ah my love, Johnny was in Rut so I came ba-” Sicheng’s eyes shot up quickly meeting Yuta’s own surprised ones at the door. 

“Alpha I-” Sicheng started, unsure what to say.

They’d been caught.

Taeyong

Taeyong walked into the house ahead of the alpha, Jaehyun locking the door behind him as he began to discard his outerwear. 

“Thank you for today, I had fun alpha,” Taeyong said, deferring to the alpha in front of him. 

Jaehyun contemplated Taeyong as he leaned against the door. 

“You don’t have to thank me for allowing you to hang out with your brother,” he said and Taeyong ducked his head. 

“I know,” Taeyong said and Jaehyun pushed off of the door, pressing a kiss to Taeyong’s forehead. 

“I had fun too, I have fun when I’m with you,” Jaehyun said, wrapping his arms around Taeyong’s waist and leaning his chin on the short omega’s head. 

Taeyong curled into the alpha’s body, letting himself have this moment before pulling away. 

“We both should shower, we’re covered in foreign scents and I don’t want that in our bed,” Taeyong said and Jaehyun nodded, waddling forward as he led them to the bathroom, still not letting him go. 

“We should shower together,” Jaehyun suggested and Taeyong smiled into the alpha's chest. 

“I’m not so sure we’re going to focus on showering,” He said and Jaehyun shrugged, a goofy grin on his face, highlighting his deep dimples and Taeyong had to look away. 

He hated to admit it, but he was starting to get comfortable with the alpha. 

It was a different feeling than when he first got mated with the Weishen alpha. 

He wasn’t ever really comfortable with the man, but he got used to him. 

With Jaehyun, he never felt like he was getting used to him. 

He felt like he was getting to know him, that he was getting comfortable with the man. 

It was a nice feeling, but it scared the hell out of him. 

He knew that getting comfortable meant letting his guard down and there were things that he would never be able to tell the alpha, for fear of what it would mean. 

Jaehyun turned on the water spigot, beginning to fill their bathtub with water.

“Pink or blue?” Jaehyun asked and he pointed at the pink container. 

“Excellent choice,” He said, pouring the scent clarifying bath foam into the water. 

The water frothed with the bubbles, steam filling the room, and Jaehyun began to disrobe lazily.

Taeyong did the same, of course not with as much lackadaisical freedom as the alpha. 

No matter how great Jaehyun was making him feel, or how the alpha worshipped his body, he’d never grow completely comfortable in the scars that he carried. 

Jaehyun appraised his body with no shame this time, eyeing him with the typical lust he’d come to expect from the alpha, but also a fondness that Taeyong didn’t want to get used to. 

“What?” Taeyong asked and Jaehyun shook his head. 

“Nothing, it’s just- you look good is all. You look healthy,” He said with a smile and Taeyong shook his head. 

The bathtub filled, Jaehyun slipped into the bathtub, beckoning Taeyong to join him. Taeyong got in as well, sitting between the alpha’s legs. 

Jaehyun began to soap his back carefully, his hand coming up to their mating bite. 

He washed over it reverently and Taeyong let his eyes drift closed for a second.

“You know, Donghyuck acts differently around you,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong froze. 

“What?” Taeyong asked through his teeth. 

“I don’t- it’s nothing bad. I just mean. He’s a little more reserved around you. Like he’s scared or hiding something,” He said and Taeyong clenched his fists on his thin thighs. 

“How would you know?” He asked and Jaehyun turned Taeyong’s face to make the omega look at him. 

“Hey, I don’t mean anything by it. It’s just an observation. Mark’s been asking me to chaperone when Donghyuck steps by the office for lunch. He’s doing right by Donghyuck, just like I”m trying to do right by you,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong pulled his head away, before deferring. 

Even if he were worried about Donghyuck, he shouldn’t talk to an alpha that way, he knew the repercussion firsthand. 

“I didn’t mean to accuse you of not taking care of me Alpha, you do a wonderful job of taking care of me,” Taeyong said, his voice low and soft, obviously sublimating himself to the alpha. 

“I’m sorry Yongie. I just- I don’t want you to think of me like that Weishen alpha. I know that it’s been on your mind. I was out of line for asking you like that,” Jaehyun began and Taeyong turned in his lap, rising on his knees to look the alpha in the face. 

He didn’t want this conversation to go on longer, so he used what he knew best to distract him. 

“I know that alpha, I appreciate you and everything you’ve done for me. Won’t you let me show you just how much I appreciate you?” He asked before leaning forward, pressing kisses into jaehyun’s waiting mouth until the alpha was thoroughly distracted. 

Taeyong didn’t want him thinking of that nasty business. 

Taeyong sat in front of the television, his feet folded up under him. He had a small tub of ice cream in his lap, spooning it happily into his mouth. 

Jaehyun was laying on the couch next to him, his head laying on Taeyong’s other knee as they watched the television together. 

It was domestic and cute. 

“What’s the weather supposed to be tomorrow?” Jaehyun asked tiredly and Taeyong picked up the remote, turning the channel to the news channel. 

“Several families have been getting white collars in the mail. All they asked was for their omegas back. It shouldn’t have come to this. The omegas that were taken weren’t ready for mating, they were children. We can’t let these alphas get away with this,” Kun said from the television and Taeyong picked up the remote, unsure of whether he should continue to watch it or turn away.

He knew that Donghyuck still had his white collar, For now, and even then, it wasn’t like they had anywhere to send Donghyuck’s white collar. 

Taeyong’s family had been so disgraced that they’d left the town after He and Donghyuck were sold off. 

But he hadn’t seen Renjun since they’d gotten here and he’d been at Sicheng’s mating ceremony so there was no doubt his collar had already been sent back home.

“Honestly, they should be thanking Ten,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong frowned. 

“What?” He asked and Jaehyun rolled over onto his back to look up at him. 

“Had he not suggested that we go get the omegas ourselves, we’d never had gotten mated. They are only complaining because they want the money now, but their pride is too full to accept it,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong took that in. 

Ten had condemned his brother, and Renjun, and Sicheng, and all those other innocent omegas to this?

To being mated without consent. 

Just because Taeyong had gotten lucky didn’t mean that others would share his same fate. 

He hated Ten for this.

Renjun

Renjun sprung out of bed as he heard footsteps in the hall. 

He hadn’t seen Taeil since he went into heat. 

He’d been visited by some omega that he didn’t know instead. 

He hadn’t seen anyone else though.

Including his alphas. 

The footsteps stopped outside of the door and he held his breath, hoping that the door would open soon and he’d be faced with Jeno and Jaemin. 

The door opened and Renjun’s knees nearly gave way at the flood of alpha pheromones as the two stood there. 

“Injunnie,” Jeno intoned, and just the way the alpha said his name made his knees weak.

"come here," Jaemin said and Renjun moved in front of the alphas, dropping onto his knees.

"Well look at that, I'll be damned," Jeno said softly, carding his hands through his hair.

Renjun tipped his neck, submitting to the alpha automatically. He was craving the alphas touch, their scent.

"We didn't even have to tell him to kneel," Jaemin said with a smile.

It overrides every need in him for pride or dignity.

He just didn't want them to leave him alone anymore.

"I learned my lessons alpha, I promise,” Renjun begged from the floor and Jeno gripped the hair at the nape of his neck tight. 

It was already sore from the times Renjun himself had laid in the bed, his own hands tangled in his hair as he tried to find some semblance of comfort. 

‘Look at you baby, you’re such a wreck,” Jeno said softly and Renjun whimpered at that. 

He was a wreck as much as he didn’t want to admit it. 

The last week without the alphas had been hell, the mating bites connecting them irrevocably. 

It made the isolation worse, the solitude unbearable. 

“Look at your arms,” Jaemin said and Renjun tried to resist the instinct that told him to hide his arms from the alphas. 

He’d carved them up with his own fingers trying to distract himself from the aching in his chest. 

He remembered these symptoms. 

When he was in school, they had sex ed. All the omegas were put into one room and had to go through an embarrassing presentation where they were taught about preheats, and heats, and purity. 

They were told after they were claimed they would go through a period of time where they would crave their alphas. 

Separation anxiety. 

He hadn’t thought it was real. 

He and Donghyuck had sat at the back of the class, making fun of the idea that they would break down over an alpha. 

Now he understood. 

He didn’t know how he’d survived without Jeno’s touch, without his scent. 

He didn’t know how he survived without either of them.

“I didn’t mean- I just-” Renjun began and Jaemin shushed him, stroking down the side of his hair. 

“I’m so sorry I left you like this Injun-ah, Alpha won’t do it again. Are you ready to go?” He asked and Renjun frowned. 

“Go? Go where?” He asked and Jeno gave him a gentle smile.

He let go of his hair, soothing over the sore spot before tracing his hand over the mating bite. 

“Home,” He said softly.

Renjun stepped into the apartment, his hand pulling at his collar anxiously. 

He had a purple collar now, but they wouldn’t be having a huge mating ceremony. 

They had been mated quickly where they were holding Renjun in quarantine to preserve Renjun’s reputation before bringing him ‘home’.

Renjun had questions that he wanted to ask, but he wasn’t sure if he could.

The apartment was nice even if there seemed to be only one bedroom. Renjun slipped out of his shoes, walking deeper into the room before stopping himself, afraid to make a false move. 

He was a mated omega, he had to follow his alphas' rules. 

He just didn’t want to be hurt like that anymore. 

Renjun opened the room door to see a large bed.

He couldn’t deny that it looked softer than his bed from home, and especially from where he was quarantined.

He flopped down on it, moving his arms and legs in the mockery of a snow angel and giggling to himself.

It felt too nice. 

It reminded him of when he would do the same with his parents' bed.

He stopped when he heard laughter. 

“Is it too luxurious?” Jaemin teased and Renjun sat up, embarrassed at the alphas standing there watching him. 

“Sorry, I- I’m sorry,” Renjun said, dropping onto the floor next to the bed. 

His chest hurt as he thought about what he was missing. 

Home. 

He hadn’t had the capacity to think of anything but Jeno and Jaemin for the past week but now that the fog began to disperse, he was attacked with a different hurt. 

His collar was no longer white. 

He never wanted a mating like this. 

He never really wanted to be mated.

He’d never have the mating ceremony that his mother had often talked about him having and that he’d just as often scoff and fake gag at. 

“Get up,” Jeno said and Renjun stood quickly, afraid to anger the alphas. 

He didn’t want them to leave him. 

But a tinier part of him was afraid of what they could do to punish him if they were willing to leave him like that. 

“You’ve gotten skinny,” Jeno said, his eyes on Renjun.

“I’m sorry.”

“You need to eat,” Jeno said and Renjun dipped his head slightly. 

“I know.” 

“We should eat,” Jaemin said as if he were hinting at something. 

“Okay, if you two want to stay in here, it’s fine. I can make dinner,” Renjun said and Jeno looked at Jaemin. 

“He’s going to make dinner, how nice,” Jaemin teased and Jeno nodded, waving Renjun away. 

Renjun made his way to the kitchen, opening and closing the cabinets as he tried to figure out what he would make. 

He didn’t cook at home. He’d never been interested in cooking and his omega mother never forced him to. 

He was good in school, and his mother had pushed school first. 

She’d always said he had time to learn how to ‘please an alpha’ but he wouldn’t have time to go to school once he were mated. 

He had never thought his mother would be wrong. 

Renjun found a bag of rice, pouring it into a pot, and adding water before putting it on the stove. He went to the fridge, getting the meat out. 

He was honestly surprised how stocked the kitchen was. 

Renjun turned quickly, seeing smoke rising from the pot that he put on. 

“What are you doing?” Jeno asked and Renjun turned to the alpha holding the pot full of his indiscretions.

“Oh-. I’m sorry Alphas. I don’t- I don’t really know how to cook,” Renjun said defeated, putting the pot on an eye that wasn’t on and Jeno laughed. 

“Jaemin cooks. He can teach you if he wants,” He said and Renjun bit his lip.

“Come on, let Jaemin in the Kitchen,” Jeno said and he nodded, following the alphas around the kitchen. He watched them together as Jaemin began to get food together, wondering just how he would fit in.

Taeil

“Get dressed,” Yuta said, his voice clipped and Taeil handed Sicheng his pants. 

The omega put his clothes on and Taeil took a deep breath, his heart beating quickly in his chest. 

He knew what he was to do even before doing it. 

He didn’t know how it all ended up like this. 

“Yuta ge, I-” Sicheng started and Yuta let out an exhale.

“Clean up and meet me in the living room,” Yuta spoke gravely before turning his back on them and walking out of the studio. 

“What are we going to do?” Sicheng asked and Taeil shook his head. 

“What can we do, really? We’re caught.”

“It won’t be so bad, we’ll figure something out,” Sicheng said and Taeil shook his head. 

“He’s an alpha, of course, it’ll be bad. Whatever happens, just- I love you, okay?” Taeil said seriously and Sicheng squeezed his hand. 

“I love you too, come on, let’s get presentable,” He said leading Taeil to the bathroom.

Once freshened up, the two omegas made their way to the living room. 

Yuta was sitting on the couch, a glass full of amber liquid in it.

He wasn’t drinking it, just swirling it around mindlessly, as if he were contemplating something. 

That scared Taeil.

Alcohol and Alphas did not mix.

He knew that first hand.

“It’s not what it looked like,” Sicheng started and Yuta scoffed. 

“Really, because it looked like you two were fucking,” Yuta said, putting down the cup.

“Alpha, please,” Taeil said, pushing himself in front of Sicheng before kneeling in between the alpha’s legs.

He knew what alphas were capable of. 

Sicheng did not. 

“What?” Yuta said, perplexed. 

“Don’t- Don’t blame Sicheng for any of this. It’s my fault. Really. I tricked him into it. You know my reputation. Just don’t punish him, don’t-” Taeil began.

“Hyung, what are you talking about? You didn’t trick me into anything, don’t listen to him ge,” Sicheng said and Taeil deferred to the alpha in front of him.

“Don’t interfere Sicheng-ah, please,” Taeil grit out.

“What are you saying Taeil hyung?” Yuta spoke and the use of an honorific was shocking.

Why would he use it?

What was he going to do?

Taeil lifted his face so that he could look Yuta in the eyes. 

The alpha’s eyes were red and it made Taeil wonder if he’d been drinking already.

An even stranger thought crossed his mind.

Had the alpha been crying?

There was no way that could be the case. 

Alphas didn’t cry. Especially not over unfaithful omegas. 

“I’m saying that it is my fault alone, don’t hurt him,” Taeil said.

“How did it happen, how did it start?” He asked and Taeil paused. 

How could he explain how it started?

He himself didn’t know how it started. 

He’d been taking care of the overwhelmed omega and somewhere along the line, he fell for him. Sicheng had needed him, and Taeil let himself fit that fantasy, let himself fall deeper. 

“I kissed him. I started it,” Sicheng said and Taeil shook his head as Yuta’s eyes went back to Sicheng. 

He wouldn’t let SIcheng take the fall for this. 

“No, listen to me, don’t listen to him, alpha. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know me like you do Yuta. You know my reputation, you know what I’m capable of,” Taeil said and Sicheng made a wounded noise behind them.

“What reputation? What do you mean?” Sicheng asked.
“Please Sicheng,” Taeil whispered and Yuta clenched his jaw. 

“Yes, I know your reputation.”

“But Sicheng doesn’t- so he didn’t know any better. I promise alpha, I promise he didn’t know any better,” Taeil muttered. 

“But you did,” Yuta said simply and Taeil closed his eyes, tears slipping down his face. 

He knew what was coming. 

“I found you Taeil. When those alphas- it was me and Johnny who carried you home to safety. It was me who convinced Johnny to let you join his pack, no strings attached.”

“I know alpha, I know.”

“I know you Taeil. You didn’t submit to them then. Even when they bit you again and again- So why are you submitting to me now?”

“Because I know what you should do, what you have in your rights to do. But I don’t want you to do that to him. Please. Just- let me be enough. Don’t hurt him,” He said and Yuta lifted Taeil’s chin. 

“Do you love him?” He asked and Taeil gave a sharp nod, not bringing himself to open his eyes.

“Do you love him?” He repeated and Taeil opened his eyes, looking back at the other omega.

“Yes, Yes I do. I love him, alpha. I don’t know what’s happening but I never wanted-” Sicheng began to sob and Yuta dropped Taeil’s chin.

“You love me right?” Yuta asked, his voice breaking and Taeil felt a body drop down to the floor beside him. 

He turned his head to see Sicheng kneeling beside him, his hands on the alpha's face. 

“Yes. I love you. I love you so much,” Sicheng said gently and Yuta hugged Sicheng close to him, burying his face in the omega’s shoulders and inhaling his lychee scent. 

Yuta held him tight and for a moment Taeil felt the fear fight it's way back up.

He couldn’t help to think that the alpha was saying goodbye.

“How long have you known me Taeil?” Yuta said softly and Taeil swallowed.

“Since I was thirteen,” Taeil said. 

“Have I once entertained hurting an omega?” He asked.

Taeil paused. 

“Have I?” He asked again.

“No, you haven’t,” He said and Yuta loosened his grip on Sicheng. 

“Then why are you afraid right now? Why would I hurt Sicheng or you for that matter,” He asked and Taeil cleared his throat. 

“Because you’re an alpha, and we are omegas who have been sleeping together, and that makes us queer,” Taeil answered truthfully. 

“You’ve always been queer Taeil. I don’t care about that. I never have.” Yuta said before caressing Sicheng’s cheeks softly. 

“Does he make you happy, Sicheng-ah?” Yuta asked softly and Sicheng chanced a look back at him. 

“Yes, he does, but so do you, ge. You make me so happy,” He said and Yuta nodded. 

“Do you want to stay mated with me? If you don’t, I’ll understand,” He said and Sicheng nodded. 

“Of course I want to stay mated to you. You’re my alpha. I love you too ge, please don’t misunderstand,” He said and Yuta gave him a small smile. 

“Of course I understand. I just wanted to make sure,” He said before looking over at Taeil. 

“I’ll have to mate you then," Yuta said and Taeil assented with a sharp nod of his head. 

What choice would he have?

At least he'd be able to keep Sicheng

Chapter Text

Ten 

Ten smiled as he hung off of Johnny's arm. Doyoung was on Johnny's left, head omega side. That was how they normally stood even though it had taken Ten awhile to figure it out. Doyoung was holding Lami on his hip, the little girl dozing on his shoulder. 

He couldn’t keep his hand off of the slight swell of his belly. 

He wasn’t showing, not yet anyway, but he knew that he was carrying life. 

They would be going to the doctor soon enough to confirm what Ten already knew. 

He would be having an alpha for his alpha. 

He couldn’t wait for the confirmation. 

They were at a company function, a gala celebrating a new partnership or something.
Ten wished he’d been paying more attention when the Alpha had told them what they were doing, but truthfully, he wasn’t as interested in Johnny’s job as he should have been. 

Maybe it was because Johnny never really talked about his job in more than a passing ‘work was hard today’ so he never really felt it was his place to ask. 

From what he gleaned from Doyoung, it was a family company that had been passed down to Johnny, and Johnny had been running for the last three years but had worked there since they were mated. 

“Wow, look at that,’ An alpha said and Johnny tugged the omegas close to his side, his hand on Ten’s hip.

“Yeah, my pretty omegas,” Johnny said and Ten leaned his head on Johnny’s shoulder. 

“You truly have the most beautiful omegas, you’ve lucked out, where did you find this one again?” The alpha asked and Johnny rubbed his hip slowly.

His alpha was dressed in black, the suit emphasizing his shoulders and overall alpha ness. 

The family matched, Doyoung and Ten wearing matching salmon suits and Lami a puffy dress in the same color. 

“In Weishen, you’d be surprised what gems are hidden in that trash heap,” He said and Ten gave a gentle laugh.

“Do you think we could talk about that proposition from earlier?” The alpha asked and Johnny gave him a brisk nod.

“I’m going to go talk to him about some business, I’ll be right back. Mix and mingle, okay?” Johnny said, kissing Doyoung on the forehead first before giving Lami one and then Ten. 

“Yes alpha,” He said and Johnny rubbed Ten's temple with his thumb for a second longer before leaving. 

Ten rocked back and forth on his toes, trying to decide what he would do. 

Doyoung walked away and Ten followed, for lack of anything to do. 

“Where are you going?” Ten asked and Doyoung pointed to the bar. 

“I’m thirsty and Lami’s getting heavy,” Doyoung said before settling down on the barstool, using it to resituate Lami on his lap.

“You want a drink?” He asked and Ten cradled his stomach. 

“Oh right,” Doyoung said before ordering his own drink and chocolate milk for Lami. 

Ten got a soda, leaning against the bar next to Doyoung. 

“You don’t have anyone to go talk to, I’m sure there are some Weishen omegas around here,” He pointed out and Ten frowned at Doyoung. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked and Doyoung shook his head. 

“Nothing, Nothing is wrong at all,” Doyoung said and Ten laid his head on the omegas shoulder. 

"Something's wrong," Ten said softly. 

“I’m just tired, This is exciting for you because it’s your first one. Trust me, after your fourth appearance you’ll be bored of being dragged around as a trophy before Johnny is pulled away for most of the night to discuss work even though he promised that he wouldn’t do work today,” Doyoung said, stirring his drink.

Ten shrugged, happily looking over the crowd of people. 

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of this, it's so glamorous," Ten said, his voice in awe.

“Is that- It that Taeil hyung?” Ten pointed out and Doyoung perked up. 

“He never comes to these things,” He said and Ten raised an eyebrow. 

He was hanging off of Yuta’s arm on his right, while Sicheng was on his left. 

“You know he quit abruptly last week,” Ten said and Doyoung nodded, leaning forward. 

“I mean, he’d already taken an extended leave of absence to take care of the omegas, but they are all out of quarantine now,” He said before his eyes widened. 

“He’s wearing a purple collar and he has a mating mark. Well, I’ll be damned, Taeil got himself an alpha,” Doyoung said.

“Good for him,” Ten said and Doyoung scoffed. 

“It makes sense, mated omegas don’t work in Neocity. Although, I guess this all makes sense. Yuta had always been nice to Taeil. Way nicer than he deserves,” Doyoung said and Ten shook his head. 

“No, Taeil’s nice. He was super nice to me, and he took care of the omegas,” Ten pointed out and Doyoung laughed. 

“Yeah, but he likes omegas. That’s why it’s weird to see him being so- subservient to an alpha,” He said before bergamot and a sweet apricot scent filled the air. 

He obviously knew that scent as Renjun.

“Lami-yah,” Jeno said, picking up the omega and cuddling her.

He’d always been cuddly with the little girl.

Renjun stood behind him quietly, his head held down.

“Renjunnie, You’re mated now, look at you,” Ten said, and Renjun looked over at Jeno before looking at Ten slowly. 

“Yes, I am,” He said quietly and Ten tried to hide his concern. 

“Never thought I’d see the day. Has Lucas seen you yet?” He asked and Renjun looked over at Jeno before looking at Ten again. 

“Lucas?” He asked and Ten nodded.

“He came to Neocity with you guys. He’s getting mated to Jeno’s brother, Jungwoo. Remember the tall one from the store?” He said and Renjun gave Jeno a weird look before looking over at Ten, schooling his features.

“Right,” Renjun said, his voice bland and quiet.

“So, what do you think?” Jeno asked and Doyoung looked over the omega. 

“He’s a pretty omega. You did well No-yah,” Doyoung said, ruffling his hair.

“So where’s Jaemin?” Ten asked and Jeno stiffened. 

“It’s spouse only, he may be mated to Renjun, but Renjun’s not the one who works for the company. Jeno does. And Jaemin isn’t mated to Jeno, right Jeno,” Doyoung said briskly and Jeno swallowed. 

“Right Jeno?” He asked again and Jeno closed his eyes. 

“Right hyung,” He said before clearing his throat and putting Lami down. 

“Hey, I see Mark Seo, let’s go introduce you,” He said, putting his hands on Renjun’s hip tightly and pulling him along. 

“Why are you so mean to him?” Ten asked, watching them go and Doyoung shook his head. 

“I’m not being mean to him, I just don’t want him or other people to be confused,” Doyoung said and Ten shrugged. 

“I know what Jaehyun and the others say, but they seem to be nice for each other, better than him and Renj-” He started before stopping at the severe look Doyoung was giving him. 

He didn’t want to fight. 

“Hey, Taeyong’s here,” He said and Doyoung nodded. 

“Yeah, of course, he is, and his little brother is here too, with Mark. Even though they aren’t officially mated yet. I don’t see it being too far off now,” Doyoung said and Ten nodded, watching as the omega stood next to Mark, laughing about something with Renjun. 

“Taeyong hyung!” He called out and Taeyong turned to look at Ten. 

Ten watched the smile slide off his face before the omega began to stalk toward him. 

“You told them to come get us, you told them to take the omegas from their homes, how dare you,” Taeyong spat at him, and Ten frowned. 

“I don’t understand why you’re mad. Look at you, you have an alpha. It’s better than what you had before,” Ten said. 

“You fucking mutt. I didn’t need a mate, I didn’t want a mate. You let my brother, and Renjun get taken for what?” He asked and Ten shook his head. 

“At least they have alphas. Would you rather be back in Weishen and be a poor disgraced omega?” Ten asked and Taeyong struck Ten across the face. 

“Yah, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Johnny said, pushing through the crowd and grabbing Taeyong. 

“Hey, don’t touch him,” Jaehyun said, gripping Johnny’s hand and pulling it away from Taeyong’s wrist. 

“Your omega had the audacity to put his hands on my omega. Do something about it, or I will,” Johnny growled and all of the omegas in the room froze. 

“Taeyong, what's going on, what happened,” Jaehyun asked softly and Johnny shook his head. 

“That’s not enough. Punish him Jung. Beat him. He can’t put his hands on my omega and think it’s okay,” Johnny said and Jaehyun looked between Johnny and Taeyong. 

“Come on, we’re going home,” Jaehyun said, grabbing Taeyong’s wrist and pulling him out of the hall. 

“Hey, are you okay, did he hurt you?” Johnny asked and Ten shook his head. 

He wasn’t hurt, not really. 

He was just confused. 

He really didn’t understand why Taeyong was upset. 

Things were much better now than it was in Weishen. They weren’t starving anymore. They weren’t sleep deprived as they stood at the counter, praying that some hungry soul, or depraved alpha with nothing to lose, didn’t come into the store. 

They were lucky now.
They didn’t have to want for anything. 

They were lucky, so why was he so mad?

“Doyoung, take Ten to the bathroom to get cleaned up please?” Johnny asked and Doyoung dipped his chin before kissing Johnny on the cheek.

He grabbed Ten’s hand and led him to the bathroom.

“Wow, maybe these events aren't so boring after all,” Doyoung said and Ten stuck his tongue out with a pout. Lami laughed at him, poking his cheek.

Ten let himself become distracted, finding delight in the child. 

Taeyong had been wrong.

Ten knew they were better off, that was all that mattered. 

Sicheng

Sicheng stepped out of the bathroom, steam billowing out. He’d just gotten out of the shower and was wearing his pajamas. 

Taeil was sitting on the bed, his head in his hands. 

“Where’s alpha?” He asked and Taeil looked up at him. 

“He’s in the living room,” Taeil said softly and Sicheng nodded, climbing onto the bed with Taeil. 

“I had a lot of fun tonight. It was nice to go out with you and alpha,” Sicheng said and Taeil shrugged. 

“Everyone was staring,” Taeil said and Sicheng shrugged. 

“It’s because we’re so pretty,” He said, leaning his head on Taeil’s shoulder and Taeil flinched. 

“Oh, does the bond hurt?” Sicheng asked, getting out of the bed and getting the cream that Yuta had brought home earlier that day. 

Taeil’s mating bond was having a harder time healing than Sicheng’s had. 

He always thought mating bonds healed within a day, but not Taeil’s. 

Sicheng brought the cream to Taeil, squeezing a little out on her finger before pressing it into the wound. 

Taeil clenched his jaw as Sicheng touched it.

“Sorry, I know it hurts,” Sicheng said, nuzzling his nose against the side of Taeil’s face.

Sicheng tipped Taeil’s head towards him and pressed his lips into the omegas. 

Taeil kissed him back modestly, tepid. 

Ever since Yuta claimed him, Taeil hadn’t been as affectionate as he had been before Yuta found them. 

He was reserved, which baffled him. 

Yuta knew now, they were free to be open about everything. 

So to see him clam up was disheartening, to say the least.

“Hyung, what’s the matter?” Sicheng asked, kissing him softly and Taeil pulled away. 

“Shouldn’t we invite Alpha to bed?” Taeil said and Sicheng sighed, screwing his face up. 

“Yeah, I guess it’s time for bed, we have had an eventful night,” Sicheng said and Taeil shook his head, kissing him more passionately than he had since they had been caught.

Sicheng nearly fell off of the bed with the intensity of it before pulling away, a little dazed. 

“Right, I'll uh- I’ll go get alpha,” Sicheng said and Taeil shook his head. 

“Call him in,” He said shyly. 

“Okay,” He said unsure. 

“Alpha! Come to bed,” Sicheng called and Taeil pressed another kiss to his mouth, nearly knocking him off his axis. 

Sicheng climbed onto his lap, straddling the omega.

The door opened, the Marjoram scent beginning to flood the room and Taeil flinched but continued on, pressing a kiss into Sicheng’s jaw.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you’d be- I can wait on the couch,” Yuta said and Sicheng looked over at him. 

He was trying to shield his eyes, which was kind of cute. 

“No, stay,” Taeil said, beginning to unbutton Sicheng’s sleep shirt. 

“Taeil, you want me to stay?” He asked and Taeil nodded. 

“Why wouldn’t we want our alpha with us?” He asked and Yuta sat on the chair opposite the bed.

"Oh- okay," he said and Taeil returned to him, his lips moving over Sicheng’s. Sicheng could get lost like this, his two favorite scents intertwined. The only thing that would make it better would be if Yuta touched him. If only he could get the alpha-

"Closer," Taeil panted out as if he were reading Sicheng’s mind.

"What?" Yuta asked and Taeil cleared his throat.

"Alpha come closer, please," Taeil moaned, and Yuta got on the bed cautiously. 

"What-" he asked and Sicheng pulled back to look at both of them. 

Taeil leaned forward, pressing his lips into Yuta's.

Sicheng slipped out of Taeil’s lap, using the space to watch the two. 

Taeil was obviously trying to be demure, his hands touching Yuta’s shoulder lightly. 

Yuta was dominating the kiss, but there was a softness to it that he hadn’t expected. 

“We should-” Taeil said and Yuta pushed forward, knocking Taeil on his back. 

He untied Taeil’s sleep shorts, pulling them down his legs.

Sicheng followed the action, pressing his lips into Taeil’s cheek before going to his ear.

“My heats coming soon, then we can sync up and I can spend my heat with both of you, making me feel so good. Just like Alphas making you feel, how you always make me feel,” Sicheng said before watching Yuta push into the omega.

Sicheng winced in sympathy as the alpha began to thrust into him with abandon, murmuring something that he couldn’t hear.

Taeil tipped Sicheng’s head towards him, his fingers intertwining with his hair as he kissed him. 

“Hyung, you’re shaking. Stop,” Sicheng said, noticing that the other omegas fingers were fumbling.

“I’m fine, really,” He said and Sicheng shook his head. 

“You’re scared, why are you scared?” 

“I’m not, I like this, this is fine , Keep going, kn-knot me,” Taeil said, linking his legs around Yuta’s waist. 

“No, stop, Yuta stop,” Sicheng said, pushing the alpha's shoulders and Yuta pulled out, rolling off of Taeil, whose shaking couldn't be contained anymore. 

He was shaking apart, falling to pieces and Sicheng didn’t know what to do. 

“Taeil, fuck Taeil, why did you make me do that,” Yuta hissed, running his hands through his long hair before hugging Taeil close to him. 

Sicheng laid on the other side of him, wrapping his arms delicately around the other’s waist. 

“What- what happened, what’s going on. Why do I feel like you two know more than I do? What are you keeping from me?” Sicheng asked, pouting and Yuta sighed.

“When we were younger, Taeil got really close to this other omega. They were really close, almost as close as you two. The omega had other brothers. Alphas. They caught wind of the ‘nature’ of their relationship and they-” Yuta began and Taeil whimpered, hiding his head in Yuta’s shoulder. 

“They tricked me. I thought I was meeting- but I wasn’t,” Taeil began, his voice giving out. 

“They jumped out and held him down. Decided that they should perform corrective intimacy. It was in their right. It’s what Taeil thought I would do to you when I found it. It’s what he was trying to make me do just now. The men- that’s what they were because they were all of age, and Taeil was just thirteen- hurt him over and over again, and bit him, and left him to bleed. I found him but- it was a little too late,” Yuta said and Sicheng frowned. 

“What do you mean too late?”

“I nearly bled out and I needed reconstruction, but there were some things they couldn’t reconstruct. I can’t have a heat. I can’t have kids,” Taeil said hollowly.

“I’m sorry hyung, we don’t care that you can’t have kids,” He said and Taeil laughed. 

“That’s the least of my problems. I’m a mated omega who doesn’t want to be mated. I don’t want to fuck Yuta, I can’t fuck Yuta,” He said and Yuta sighed.

“That’s why your bite isn’t healing? You’re rejecting my bite,” Yuta said and Taeil sat up, burying his head in his hands. 

“Well, what did you expect, it isn’t the first time I’ve rejected you,” Taeil said bitterly and Sicheng looked between the two.

There was so much between them that he never knew.

Taeyong

Taeyong sat still in the car, his hands folded in his lap. 

There was an almost tangible tension in between him and the alpha. 

The car was filled with Jaehyun’s spiced cinnamon scent scorching. 

It was different than the warm smell of his arousal, which was something Taeyong had become very familiar with. 

This scent however was suffocating, almost as suffocating as the silence that he’d endured since he got into the car.

Jaehyun hadn’t said anything to him since he pulled Taeyong out of Johnny’s grip.

He knew that he had been wrong, and he’d said some things that he regretted in the heat of the moment. 

He’d just been so mad.

He’d seen Renjun and he barely recognized the omega. 

He’d been quiet at the start of the night, looking up at that alpha Jeno before he spoke.

That wasn’t the Renjun that he knew. 

The Renjun he knew was outspoken and a smart ass, and would give Donghyuck a run for his money when it came to his wit and sneakiness. 

That meek creature wasn’t Renjun at all. 

He knew that in the grand scheme of things, he’d actually really gotten lucky. 

Jaehyun treated him well, he never raised his voice at him, never hit him. The alpha was soft with him and did his best to make Taeyong feel needed and welcomed. 

Taeyong conversely had been doing his best to make sure the alpha was happy, but he felt like he was failing. 

Maybe that was why he raced across the ballroom to Ten so recklessly.

Things had been too good, and he knew that when things got like this when they became too good to believe, the other shoe would drop and Taeyong would find himself cleaning up his bruises and cuts alone while he prayed that he’d remembered to lock Donghyuck’s door. 

He’d had too much anger pent up, and it all came out. 

Maybe it was a good thing. 

He’d finally get to see Jaehyun lose his shit, the alpha would finally punish him like he was supposed to and they could end this charade they had going on.

The fairytale would be over and he’d finally know exactly who this alpha was that he mated. 

Jaehyun finally stopped the car in front of their shared home and Taeyong kept his hands folded, his eyes staring through the windshield in front of him. 

He was still mad, mad that Ten had sold them all upriver, mad that Donghyuck had been taken in the middle of the night, no matter how nice Mark Seo was, he was still related to that Douche of an alpha and they had to have learned the same things if they were raised in the same house.

He was mad at Jaehyun because he didn’t know where they stood and the alpha wouldn’t just fucking say something . 

He was mad at himself too, for losing it and embarrassing himself and Jaehyun in front of all of those people. 

He knew the town already talked about him, and the thought that he’d given them more fodder for their gossip in the grocery lines was stomach-turning. 

“Let’s go get ready for bed,” Jaehyun said, getting out of the car and going to the front door. 

Taeyong followed after him, his arms still folded across his chest, albeit, a bit childishly. 

He went to the bedroom, taking off of the dress clothes that he’d been wearing angrily. Jaehyun was in the corner, disrobing as well. He untied his tie and threw it into the clothes hamper angrily before working on the buttons until his shirt was just hanging off of his shoulders open. 

By then Taeyong had managed to strip entirely, poking his head through a big t-shirt. 

“Can we please get this over with, say something,” Taeyong said and Jaehyun huffed, shrugging the shirt off. 

“What do you want me to say?” Jaehyun asked, turning his back on Taeyong as he hung up the dress shirt he’d been wearing. 

“Say that I was wrong, yell at me, call me a disgrace, put me in my place,” Taeyong said and Jaehyun turned to look at him.

Taeyong drew his arms tight, readying himself for the first blow. 

“You want what?” Jaehyun asked before shaking his head. 

“Assert your dominance, tell me I was wrong, hit me,” Taeyong said slowly. 

“Why the hell would I do that? Why would I hit you?” He asked and Taeyong looked at this spineless alpha. 

“What kind of alpha won’t discipline their omega? Do you want me to walk all over you? Do something about it, or you’re nothing more than an omega,” Taeyong said. 

He knew at this point he was provoking the alpha, asking for more than he could probably handle. 

His old alpha was smaller than Jaehyun and managed to do damage, he couldn’t imagine what Jaehyun was about to do to him. 

“I’m not going to hit you, why would I?” He asked and Taeyong let out a sharp breath. 

He’d forgotten that there were other ways to punish an omega than hitting him. 

Jaehyun could pin him down and force himself into him.

Was that what he was going to do?

“Because I humiliated you in front of all those people. I yelled that I didn’t want to be mated with you. I disgraced your name, so why won’t you do something about it. I’m tired of living in uncertainty, just do it and get it over with,” Taeyong said and Jaehyun shook his head, opening his drawer. He pulled out a pair of pajama pants, pulling them up his legs before going to his side of the bed. 

“You’re right Taeyong. I was humiliated. I was humiliated that I stood there and Let Johnny put his hands on you and did nothing. That I didn’t rip his throat out for even thinking about touching you. I made myself look weak in front of him but it had nothing to do with you,” He said, and Taeyong went to stand in front of Jaehyun, pushing at his shoulders. 

“Stop that! This isn’t about you! This is about me. I’m not a good enough omega. I’m the one who slapped Ten, I’m the one who disgraced you in public, I’m the one who isn’t even good enough to have your pups. I can’t do anything right! Fucking punish me!” Taeyong said and Jaehyun grabbed his wrists, turning them around and tossing Taeyong onto the bed.

Taeyong’s heart stuttered in his chest as he let out a whine at the show of violence. 

“Is this what you want? Huh? Is this what you think you deserve?” He asked, still holding Taeyong down by his wrists. 

“Yes,” Taeyong’s voice broke.

Taeyong began to curl into himself as he began to sob.

“Yongie-” Jaehyun began, his grip on Taeyong loosening as he dropped down on the bed next to him. 

The alpha gathered him in his arms, cradling him close to him. 

“You’re enough. I promise you’re enough. You don’t deserve that. I don’t care what Johnny says, what any of those alphas say. I’ll never hurt you, ever,” Jaehyun said, stroking his cheek and Taeyong buried his head in Jaehyun’s chest, trying to find refuge in the man’s scent that had lost its edge and smelled more like home.

“What did you mean about not being good enough to have my pups?” Jaehyun asked after a moment of silence and Taeyong tensed. 

“Does it have to do with my parents? Because you’ve already put a lot of meat on your bones, you don’t have to worry about that,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong shook his head. 

“Is it that alpha from Weishen?” He asked cautiously. 

Jaehyun had learned not to ask questions about Taeyong’s old alpha. They rarely got answered, and they only served to make Taeyong clam up and become secretive. 

“I didn’t know what he was doing at first. When I first got there he’d given me shots. I didn’t know what they were for, just knew I had to take them. It wasn’t until I turned twenty-one that I realized what they were for. I had wondered why my heats weren’t coming, why I wasn’t growing,” Taeyong said and Jaehyun shook his head. 

“I don’t-” He began before stopping.

“He put you on puberty blockers?” He asked and Taeyong nodded. 

“He wanted me to stay small forever until he realized that I wouldn’t gain weight either. He didn’t want me small and bony. He preferred healthier omegas,” Taeyong divulged begrudgingly before clearing his throat. 

“I’m afraid that they messed me up for life. I’m twenty-three now, I had time before- why didn’t I get pregnant?” He asked and Jaehyun shushed him. 

“Don’t think things like that anymore, it’s fine Yongie. We’ll have pups, I promise, so don’t worry your pretty little head about that.” He said, kissing all over Taeyong’s before stopping. 

Jaehyun lifted Taeyong’s chin to stare deeply into his eyes. 

“I’m glad you trusted me with your secret. I know it's what you’ve been hiding from me.”

Taeyong just buried his head in Jaehyun’s chest. 

This wasn’t even close to being Taeyong’s biggest secret.

That secret would go with him to the grave.

Renjun

Renjun grabbed another drink from a waiter as he walked by and Jeno snatched it out of his hand.

“You’re done,” The alpha intoned quietly and Renjun rolled his eyes. 

“I’m thirsty,” Renjun bit back. 

“You can get something to drink at home,” Jeno said, his voice almost a growl. 

“I’m not ready to go home; I’m having fun talking,” Renjun said, and Jeno wrapped his hand around Renjun’s bicep, pulling the small omega into his side roughly. 

“We’re going home,” Jeno growled and Renjun bared his neck with a whine before shaking away from the alpha. 

“Where are you going?” Jeno called after Renjun and the omega grit his teeth. 

“Home, like you said, alpha,” Renjun said with a slight bow before tripping over his feet and walking out of the venue. 

Jeno caught Renjun’s arm and Renjun shook him off again, stumbling over his heels as he got into the car. 

He took his heels off, throwing them into the floorboard as Jeno got into the car beside him. 

They arrived home and Renjun got out of the car, heading into their apartment building, Jeno following him up. 

Renjun was upset. 

He’d been doing all of this, being with the alphas for fear that something had happened to Lucas.

But to know that the alphas had lied to him, he couldn’t-

He was so fed up and kind of really drunk, and he just wanted to lay down, away from both of the alphas, and think things through. 

He knew that there was nothing he could do about the situation. 

He could entertain the thought of dissolving the mating, but he knew that no matter what he did, there was no way he’d get out of his mating. 

He would have to get over it, but tonight, he didn’t want to get over it. 

He wanted to be angry, and then tomorrow morning maybe he’d wake up and remember his place, and go back to being the perfect omega.

But right now, he didn’t want to do that. 

He wanted to be mad. 

“You left your shoes in the car,” Jeno said and Renjun went into the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing a water bottle. 

“Did you hear me?” Jeno asked and Renjun deferred automatically. 

“Yes, I heard you,” He said before slamming the refrigerator door and taking a swig of the water before shrugging his jacket off in the hallway. 

“You guys are home early. These things don’t normally end for a while, how was it?” Jaemin asked from the couch where he was watching television. 

“Fine, really fucking great,” Renjun called from the bathroom where he was brushing his teeth. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Jaemin asked. 

“He’s a mean drunk,” Jeno grit out and Renjun wiped his mouth angrily, pushing out of the bathroom in the oversized t-shirt that he’d been wearing to bed. 

It smelled like the alphas. 

He didn’t want to be wearing it, but nothing he owned didn’t smell like the alphas. 

“I’m not drunk, I’m just angry,” Renjun hissed at him and Jeno rolled his eyes. 

“You’re drunk, I’m not going to argue with you,” He said and Renjun marched into the kitchen. 

“It’s kind of cute when he’s angry,” Jaemin said and Renjun snarled. 

“I’m angry for a reason,” Renjun said and Jaemin leaned his head over the back of the couch. 

“Did Jeno spend all of his time holding Lami instead of dancing with you?” He asked cutely and Renjun slammed his water down on the counter, the water dribbling over his fist. 

“Did you know that Lucas is mating Jeno’s brother?” Renjun asked and Jaemin looked over at Jeno. 

“Yeah, we all knew that Junnie,” Jaemin said slowly and Renjun whipped his water bottle across the kitchen. 

“No, we didn’t. I thought he was hurt, that’s the only reason- that’s the only reason I mated with you two,” Renjun said and Jeno scoffed. 

“You mated with us because you wanted to. Because you wanted us to knot you. ” Jeno said and Renjun huffed. 

“When were you going to tell me that Lucas was in Neocity, playing house with your brother, or did you not have the knot to tell me. You waited until I was submissive for me to find out, so I wouldn’t go running and leave you,” He spat out and Jeno shook his head. 

“Go to bed Renjun, before you say something you’ll regret in the morning,” Jeno said and Renjun laughed sardonically. 

“You’re the only thing I regret, my loving alpha, my queer fucking alpha, taking it just as well as I do,” Renjun spat, pushing Jeno hard and the alpha slid across the floor before he was up quickly.

He pushed Renjun back and Renjun slid into the refrigerator, hitting it hard. 

Jeno reeled his fist back, punching Renjun in the face and the omega screamed, trying to shield his face.

Jeno struck him again and Jaemin grabbed Jeno’s arms, pulling him away from the omega. 

“Go cool off you brute,” He said and Jeno growled. 

“Think about it! We didn’t take you from shit! Lucas sold you to us.”

“You’re lying,” Renjun bit out. 

“Why hasn’t he come to get you if we were lying? He’s known where you’ve been Renjun. He doesn’t fucking care. Lucas didn’t save you because he doesn’t want to save you! No one will save you!’ Jeno yelled, getting closer to Renjun and a loud growl ripped its way out of Jaemin.

“Go now,” Jaemin commanded and Jeno submitted to Jaemin before slamming out of the apartment. 

“Oh, poor omega,” Jaemin tsked, bending down to look at Renjun. 

“Look what he did to your face,” Jaemin said, tipping Renjun’s head up to inspect his wound. 

“Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!” Renjun shrieked and Jaemin lifted him up despite his objections, taking him to the bathroom. 

He rinsed the blood off of Renjun’s face, peeling back his lips to check his mouth for wounds. 

“We’ll get you some braces, don’t worry,” Jaemin said as he began to sterilize the wound.

He stripped the omega, placing him on the toilet as he began to run Renjun a bath. 

Once the water was run, he helped him into the tub, beginning to soap him down. Renjun’s head lulled against Jaemin’s shoulder.

“He didn’t mean it,” Jaemin cooed and Renjun closed his eyes that were starting to swell. 

“He’s an idiot sometimes, but he loves you, loves us. He just doesn’t think it through sometimes,” Jaemin said and Renjun shook his head. 

He was starting to sober up, the adrenaline helping to push the alcohol out of his system.

All he was left with was an empty tiredness in his stomach and a strange resignation.

Maybe Jeno was right. 

Lucas didn’t save him. 

Maybe there was nothing to save him from. 

He was mated now and there was nothing he could do about it anywhere.

Jaemin picked Renjun up, drying him off before taking him to their bedroom. 

He got him dressed before laying in bed next to Renjun, tucking Renjun into his side and scenting the omega.

“Injunnie, I’m so sorry,” Jeno whispered as he crawled into the bed and Renjun looked up to see the alpha. 

“I fucking lost it, I’m so sorry, please forgive me, baby,” He whispered, kissing up Renjun’s leg.

“You-” Renjun whimpered and Jeno pulled down the omegas underwear, laying his body over Renjun’s. 

“I know, I’m so sorry,” Jeno whispered, kissing down his neck.

He pushed into Renjun and Renjun scratched down his back. 

“I’m sorry alpha,” Renjun whispered and Jeno kissed his lips to stop him from speaking.

Renjun sat down on the stairs outside their apartment. 

He was tired of staring at the four walls of their apartment and wanted to go out. 

But he couldn’t go out without his alphas permission and Jaemin was the one who bought the groceries, so he couldn’t go without him. 

“Hey,” Renjun heard and he looked up to see someone standing in the hallway. 

“Sorry, if I’m in your way,” He said, stepping aside and the omega shook his head. 

The omega looked to be his age, but he was wearing a white collar. 

“You’re not," He said and Renjun cleared his throat.

“Was that you last night?” He asked and Renjun bristled.

“It was a misunderstanding,” Renjun began to leave. 

“I’m from Weishen,” The boy blurted out. 

“I’m from Weishen too,” Renjun said and the boy nodded. 

“I know. You’re Huang Renjun. I remember your parents' store,” He said before holding his hand out to the omega. 

“Liu Yangyang,” he pointed out and Renjun cleared his throat. 

“Are you happy here?” Renjun asked and Yangyang looked back at the apartment he had come from. 

“Are you?”

Jungwoo

Jungwoo laid his head down on his pillow, watching as his alpha disrobed at the drawer at the foot of the bed. 

“I’m sorry you missed your brother,” Jungwoo said and Lucas shrugged, climbing onto the bed next to him. 

“Well, someone was distracting me,” Lucas said, running his fingers along Jungwoo’s collar. Jungwoo unclasped it, putting it in the nightstand. 

He’d been with Lucas for four months and sometimes he forgot that he didn’t have to wear his collar when he was at home. 

Lucas had been adamant about that and it was refreshing, to say the least. 

It was still hard for Jungwoo to do though, as twenty years of training didn’t fall away so easily. 

“I didn’t mean to distract you. I just can’t control myself around my alpha,” Jungwoo teased as Lucas leaned over the omega. He pressed his lips into the omegas neck and Jungwoo preened under the attention. 

Jungwoo couldn’t help but think about how lucky he was. 

He knew the prospects that he had around town. 

They weren’t very good. 

He could have mated with Jaehyun, and there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with Jaehyun. 

It was just- he never treated him like anything other than Doyong’s little brother. 

His family had floated that he get mated with Jaemin, but he was way too young for him and then well, it was just a no.

There was Mark Seo, who was way too short for him and also Johnny’s brother. 

He shouldn’t feel like that- but he knew what kind of alpha Johnny was. 

He knew what kind of alpha Neocity bred. 

They could be stuck in certain ways. 

Jungwoo intertwined his legs with Lucas’ rolling them over until he was on top. 

Lucas scooted up the bed, letting his head flop onto the pillow.

He always stared up at him with awe. 

“Say it again?” Lucas asked and Jungwoo leaned down, kissing the alphas cheeks softly. 

“My alpha,” He said sweetly and Lucas kissed him. 

“My omega,” He said disrobing him.

Jungwoo sat up from where he was straddling the alpha.

Lucas was running his hands over his hips and waist reverently. 

“If we were in Weishen, would I be working in the shop?” Jungwoo asked and Lucas gripped Jungwoo’s hips again. 

“This again?” Lucas asked and Jungwoo stopped his ministrations, raising his eyebrow.

“Yes,” Lucas conceded and Jungwoo sighed, moving his hips again. 

“Is that what you want? To be working in the shop with me?” Lucas asked and Jungwoo smiled to himself. 

He wanted that, craved the simplicity that the Weishen omegas seemed to have. 

He couldn’t get the day that they met out of his head. 

The way all of the omegas were working in the store, talking and laughing as they worked. 

They seemed so free. 

He wanted to feel that.

“I can imagine you standing behind the counter, smiling as you scan items,” Lucas said, digging his heels into the bed as he thrust up into him. 

Lucas had told Jungwoo that in weishen they sent the little kids on errands by themself and Jungwoo could imagine greeting them, helping them pick out items to bring home to their family. Sending them off with a pat on the head and a lollipop.

“What else?” Jungwoo panted and Lucas chuckled, his hands finding Jungwoo’s flat stomach and rubbing it gently. 

“I can imagine you stocking shelves, a uniform stretched around your pregnant belly,” Lucas said and Jungwoo pressed his lips into Lucas’ hungrily. 

“Buy me a store,” Jungwoo moaned out, swirling his hips as he leaned up. 

“I want to work in a store with you,” He said and Lucas laughed. 

Omegas weren’t supposed to work in Neocity. At least not mated omegas. He was never supposed to work, his family was wealthy and he’d been raised to mate young. 

But he wanted that, he wanted to be a Weishen omega, he wanted to be free. 

“Buy me a store, please alpha,” Jungwoo begged and Lucas nodded. 

“I will- Just- do that again, I’m gonna-” Lucas said and Jungwoo swirled his hips again, feeling as Lucas knot expanded, linking them together.

He kissed over his face and Jungwoo smiled.

“I’ll buy you Huang convenience store if I have to,” Lucas panted out and Jungwoo cuddled into the alpha’s chest. 

“Maybe tomorrow we can go visit Renjun and Jeno?” He asked and Lucas nodded, pushing Jungwoo’s hair out of the omegas face and kissing him on the forehead. 

“That’s a great idea woo,” Lucas said and Jungwoo smiled. 

“Thanks, I do my best thinking while riding you,” Jungwoo said and Lucas laughed. 

Jungwoo knocked on the door, rocking back and forth on his heels. 

He’d gone alone, Lucas having to work early that morning. 

Jungwoo wasn’t shocked, he was one of the younger associates of course he’d get the shitty shifts. 

The door opened and Jungwoo smiled as Jaemin opened the door 

“Hey, Zeus!” Jaemin greeted him with a goofy smile and Jaemin returned it. 

He liked Jaemin. 

The alpha had always been nice to him and had always been nice to Jeno. 

He knew his brother. 

Jeno needed someone to be nice to him so that he’d be nice to himself every once in a while. 

“What brings you here?” Jaemin asked and Jungwoo leaned in the door. 

“I come bearing gifts. I wanted to talk to Renjun. Lucas was upset he missed him. He wanted to come, but you know, he had to work,” He said and Jaemin opened the door, letting Jungwoo in. 

“Renjun!” Jungwoo called and Renjun walked into the living room, his head down. 

“Oh, Jungwoo hyung, I wasn’t expecting you. I-is Lucas here?” He asked and Jungwoo shook his head.

“Johnny and Jaehyun didn’t feel like coming in today, so he was called in,” He said before gasping as the younger omega looked up at him. 

His eye was bruised and his lip swollen. Jungwoo grabbed his hand, dragging him to the back bedroom. 

“Oh my- what happened?” Jungwoo asked and Renjun shook his head, turning away from him. 

“It’s not that bad,” Renjun said and Jungwoo shook his head. 

“Which one-” 

“Jeno, okay. But it’s not- it’s not so bad. I mouthed off to him, and I pushed him first and it’s. Jungwoo please just-” Renjun plead and Jungwoo nodded.

“I brought some treats, I wanted to apologize for keeping Lucas from the party last night. He says that he’ll buy me a store,” Jungwoo boasted and Renjun laughed. 

“Why would you want a store?” He asked and Jungwoo shrugged. 

“To work in. It’ll be really cute,” He explained, and Renjun nodded. 

“Well I worked in a store, it’s not cute,” Renjun joked and Jungwoo shrugged, going on to tell Renjun about his uniform ideas. 

He knew that he would just have to drop it. 

He’d had that same outrage the first time Johnny had hit Doyoung.

He’d seen his own alpha do it to his omega when they were children.

Jungwoo was lucky that he didn’t mate a Neocity alpha.

“I know that I shouldn’t say anything, but I should warn you, in case we see him soon, but Renjun has a black eye and a busted lip,” Jungwoo said and Lucas nodded, coming to lay on the bed next to Jungwoo. 

“Yeah, Jeno told me,” Lucas said and Jungwoo nodded. 

“Right- well, I just, I know how mad you probably were at him. I’m not taking up for my brother at all, It’s just-” Jungwoo said and Lucas shook his head. 

“We talked about it already. Renjun’s always been fiery. I understand. Besides, who am I to tell an alpha how to discipline his omega?” Lucas asked and Jungwoo sat up, looking over at the alpha. 

“You’d never- You’d never hit me, right?” Jungwoo asked and Lucas sat up kissing him on the cheek. 

“You’d never give me a reason to,” Lucas said before turning off the light and laying back down. 

Chapter Text

Ten

“I swear when I get back to work, I’m going to fire him,” Johnny complained angrily and Ten soothed him as they got into bed. 

Johnny had already put Lami to bed, doing his best to conceal the anger from earlier. 

He had gone through the party with a jovial expression on his face, laughing and charming the guests like the professional he was. 

Ten had thought that he’d gotten over it. 

Doyoung had taken him to the bathroom later that night before they left and when Ten had remarked that he was surprised that Johnny seemed over it Doyoung had told him that he wasn’t. That Johnny was just acting, and a convincing actor he was. 

But, when they got home, ten could more easily see through the cracks. 

He could see the tenseness in his jaw as he read Lami to sleep.

"Don't do that," Ten said and Doyoung sighed, climbing into the bed next to them.

"You've said it yourself, alpha. Jaehyun does all of the grunt work and deals with interns. If you fire him, you'll have to deal with that. Jeno can’t handle that stuff. and Mark will annoy you all day," Doyoung said as he began to situate himself and Johnny made an almost petulant noise in the back of his throat.

“But he let his omega hit a pregnant omega. Do you know what kind of alpha doesn’t discipline their omega? A weak one! He’s so pussywhipped by that omega that he won’t do what he’s supposed to,” Johnny started and Ten shushed him. 

“He doesn’t know I’m pregnant. No one does. Besides, me and Taeyong do this all the time. We fight, we make up,” He said before kissing Johnny softly. 

“But thank you alpha for taking my safety into your hands, you’re so strong,” Ten said softly, kissing Johnny sweetly and Johnny leaned back onto the bed, wrapping his arms around Ten’s waist gently. 

Ten couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face at the thought that he was able to calm down his alpha so easily. 

He was able to placate the alpha. 

He really was so good for the alpha. 

“Does it hurt a lot?” Johnny asked pulling back and stroking his cheek carefully. 

Ten knew that Johnny wanted him to agree with him, give into it so that the alpha would feel better. 

“Yes alpha,” Ten said sweetly, really amping up the pity and weakness in his voice.

“Doyoung,” Johnny said and Ten frowned as he looked over at the other omega who looked more than fatigued.

"Yes alpha?’ He asked, more tired than he probably should have let show. 

“Don’t you think you should console our Ten?” Johnny asked and Doyoung closed his eyes with a sigh before pressing up the bed, getting into Ten’s face. 

He smoothed his hand over the omega’s cheek before kissing the reddened skin softly. 

“Better?” Doyoung asked and Johnny tsked. 

“'M sure you can do better than that Doie, I think he needs more consoling,” Johnny said and Doyoung leaned forward, pressing his lips to ten’s. 

Ten kissed the omega, used to this kind of thing already. 

He knew where Johnny was going with this. 

He didn’t say he was surprised the alpha would want them like this. 

They had been too close to other alphas and omegas, their scents mixing with everyone else, and Johnny would be possessive about their scents. 

Besides, who wouldn’t want their omegas after watching them get all pretty.

Doyoung began to disrobe himself until he was naked before pulling away from Ten’s mouth. 

“Now Ten,” Johnny said from behind Doyoung.

Doyoung slipped his hands underneath ten’s shirt, kissing his neck softly. 

He slipped his shirt over his head, before looking back over his shoulder at Johnny. 

Johnny nodded his head and Ten unfolded his legs as Doyoung pulled down his underwear. 

Doyoung wiggled his hips as he leaned forward, kissing Ten’s pubic bone before spreading his lips with his thumb and licking into him. Ten shuddered, his eyes on Johnny as the omega ate him out. 

His mouth was utilitarian, his tongue moving methodically in a way that he knew would get Ten off quickly. 

Ten did his part, overperforming the pleasure in the way that Johnny normally liked. 

But something was off. 

The alpha’s face was stormy. 

“Does he taste good?” Johnny asked and Doyoung pulled away from Ten. 

“Yes alpha,” Doyoung said and Johnny nodded. 

“Yeah, that’s why you’re wet, right?” Johnny asked and Ten frowned, unsure what he was talking about. 

“I’m- wet because of you, alpha. Because you’re watching us,” Doyoung said softly and Johnny grabbed Doyoung by the hair on the side of his head, pulling him back so that his back was arched in a no doubt painful way. 

Johnny growled as the omega winced. 

“Licking Ten’s pretty pussy made you wet, didn’t it omega, being so close to a real omega, someone who can give me an alpha got to you, didn’t it. You’re queer like your brother, aren’t you,” Johnny said. 

“N-no,” He whimpered and Johnny gripped him harder. 

“Tell me the truth omega. You’re a queer,” He growled and Doyoung shook his head, trying his hardest to getaway. 

Johnny pushed him away from him so that the omega fell face forward, ass up in the air. 

“Don’t worry,” He said untying his pajama pants. 

“Alpha will fix you,” He said, pushing into Doyoung roughly.

Doyoung let out a yelp as Johnny thrust into him harshly.

Doyoung was whimpering, his arms no longer holding him up.

Johnny slapped Doyoung’s thigh harshly. 

“Don’t get lazy. You were enjoying yourself, finish eating Ten’s pretty pussy,” Johnny growled and Ten bit his lip, unsure of what to do. 

What was he supposed to do?

He got the feeling that he was missing something, and he didn’t want to tell the alpha that he didn’t really want to do this anymore. 

He was too worried about Doyoung. 

But he also didn’t want to not do it, he didn’t want Doyoung to get into more trouble. 

“Come on Doie,” Ten encouraged shakily, running his hands through the omegas hair.

Doyoung ducked his head down, continuing his ministrations and Ten closed his eyes, trying to let himself get lost in the feeling.

Ten shuddered as he came pulling Doyoung’s head away. 

Johnny turned Doyoung over so that the omega could submit to him before fucking him with abandon, not caring that the omega had tears in his eyes before his back bowed and he was knotting Doyoung. 

"Thank you alpha,” Doyoung hiccuped out and Johnny pulled out of the omega once his knot went down, rolling over and falling asleep. 

Ten watched as Doyoung got out of bed, limping to the bathroom silently as he cleaned himself up. 

He got back into bed as if nothing happened, turning his back to Ten and falling asleep. 

Ten sat at the head of the bed, trying to figure out what just happened before finally deciding to go to sleep. 

Ten squished into the bathroom with Doyoung who looked up at him, his face almost dull as he washed his face. 

“What are you doing?” Doyoung asked and Ten looked back at the door before looking at the omega again. 

“Why- Why did you let Johnny do that to you last night?” Ten asked, his voice shaky. 

“What fuck me? He’s my alpha, what else is he supposed to do?” He asked and Ten shook his head. 

“No- he pulled your hair- he called you queer .”

“What am I supposed to do? Tell him no? It doesn't matter to me, I’m not queer. Besides, I know Johnny. You do not. He needed to get his anger out, feel like he was in charge, that he wasn’t weak,” Doyoung said and Ten shook his head. 

“He’s an alpha, they take when they feel threatened. He felt the need to protect you, this was the best way for him to do it,” Doyoung said rigidly. 

“I’m sorry Doyoung,” Ten said and Doyoung shook his head. 

“We’re just doing our jobs, this is who we are now. We belong to him. He can do whatever he wants to us. We’re his,” Doyoung said before pushing out of the bathroom and leaving Ten standing there. 

They belonged to Johnny.

The alpha just wanted to protect ten. 

He was lucky.

Johnny was right, a strong alpha corrects his omegas and makes sure that they were okay.

Johnny was just being strong.

Sicheng

The house had been strange since the revelation of what had happened to Taeil. Taeil and Yuta seemed to be tiptoeing around the conversation, not wanting to really talk about why it was taking so long for Taeil’s bite to heal or about what had happened between them that night of the function. 

Sicheng had wanted to bring it up before, but every time he did, they dodged him.

“How are you doing hyung?” Sicheng said, coming to sit next to Taeil as the omega folded clothes.

“I’m fine Sicheng-ah,” Taeil said, giving him a cramped smile. 

“Are you sure?” He asked leaning his head on Taeil’s shoulder and Taeil nodded.

“I’m fine,” He repeated, giving him that same smile. 

“No you’re not, you’ve been ignoring me,” Sicheng complained and Taeil turned to look at him, putting the clothes down to turn and look at him. 

“Alright, you have my attention, what can I do for you, love?” He asked, leaning in and kissing Sicheng on the corner of his lips. 

Taeil had been doing better about not being as frigid towards Sicheng. 

Sicheng knew that it was hard for Taeil.

Especially now that Yuta knew. 

Taeil had shown apprehension for alphas before, and sicheng could assume that he thought the alpha was going to attack at any moment, that even if he knew, seeing it was different. 

Sicheng didn’t think that way about Yuta.

Yuta had been nice about the two of them, gave them space whenever they wanted to be intimate. 

Sicheng knew it was silly, but he wished that the two of them could get over it. 

He wanted to lay in bed with the both of them, wanted to smell all of their scents mixing, and for them to just be a family. 

He knew it wasn’t like he could force Taeil to have sex with Yuta, he would never do that. 

He understood that he didn’t like alphas like that or Yuta like that. 

He didn’t even want them to have sex. More so he just wanted them to be close.

But it was a wish, and he doubted he’d ever see it come true.

“Let’s talk about you and Yuta,” He said and Taeil sighed. 

“I should really finish these clothes,” Taeil said, getting up to fold the clothes again and Sicheng grabbed his wrist, pulling him back down on the bed. 

“Please hyung. I just- I want to know. How can we live like this as a family if we don’t behave like one? I don’t want us to have secrets,” He said and Tael sighed with a shake of his head. 

“What do you want to know?” He asked and Sicheng bit his lip, unsure where to start. 

“How- when did he propose a mating with you?” He asked.

“When he came of age, literally the day he came of age. I’d been kicked out of my parents' house already, which they did the minute I was of age, so he came to my house and proposed the mating. Obviously, I turned him down,” He said and Sicheng thought back to the way Yuta had come to his house, had offered to mate with him. 

It was such a whirlwind, he hadn’t been able to say no. 

He didn’t see how Taeil said no.

“Why did you turn him down?” He asked and Taeil shook his head lightly. 

“How could I make Yuta be in a loveless mating with me? I would never give him children, I would never be able to fall in love with him. I love Yuta for who he is, but I’ll never be in love with him because of who I am. I didn’t want to tie him down like that,” Taeil said softly. 

“And now?”

“Now, now I don’t have a choice. At least you’re here to give him the love that I can’t,” He said and Sicheng kissed Taeil on the cheek. 

“And I’m here for you too, Hyung, I love you, and fortunately I can give you the love that you want,” He said cheekily before pressing his lips into Taeil’s. 

“I really need to fold these clothes Cheng-ah,” He protested but didn’t move away. 

“Do it later, Do me now,” Sicheng said and Taeil barked out a laugh before pouncing onto Sicheng. 

Sicheng sauntered into the kitchen, hopping onto the counter where Yuta was stirring something at the stove. 

“Smells good,” He said, leaning his head on the Alpha’s shoulder, inhaling the spicy marjoram scent of the alpha. 

“Me or the food?” He asked and Sicheng kissed the Alpha’s scent gland. 

“Both,” He said and Yuta reached up, pinching the omegas cheek. 

“You smell happy, you and Taeil have fun?” He asked and Sicheng nodded. 

“We talked about you, about how you showed up at his house proposing a mating, you have an M.O,” He said and Yuta shrugged. 

“It got me you,” He said under his breath and Sicheng could give him that. 

“You’ve known him for a long time. Not a lot of alphas take rejection that well,” He said and Yuta shrugged again. 

“Taeil’s different, and I like to think so am I,” Yuta said and Sicheng nodded. 

Not many alphas from what Taeil had told him would let the two of them stay together, would let Taeil say no to a mating. 

“What was he like as a kid?” He asked and Yuta turned, leaning against the stove. 

“He was sweet and cute. He’s always been really good at being cute. I don’t know. He’s a real person. He’s gone through a lot, but he still smiles, he cares for everyone, and he calls me out on my bullshit when I start to act too much like Johnny,” He said and Sicheng sighed. 

“You really loved him, huh?” He said and Yuta boxed the omega in on the counter. 

“Don’t think you’re a replacement for him. I loved him, but it’s different. I am in love with you Sicheng-ah. Don’t misunderstand,” Yuta said and Sicheng kissed him on the lips. 

Yuta cupped his neck gently, pouring his love into the kiss and Sicheng leaned back, his legs widening as Yuta fit between them.

“Did you and Taeil have sex earlier?” Yuta asked and Sicheng nodded, tilting his head back in submission. 

“Do you want to with me now?” He asked and Sicheng grabbed the alpha’s hair, pulling him towards him.

“Hell yes,” Sicheng said, slipping the alpha's hands into the back of his pants, lifting Sicheng slightly off of the counter to get him closer. 

“Your phone, alpha your phones ringing,” Sicheng said and Yuta growled. 

“Let it go to voicemail,” He hissed, pulling him closer. 

“It might be important, and if it’s not, you can hang up,” He said and Yuta groaned, answering his phone.

Sicheng’s eyes opened as he realized that Yuta had stopped moving his hips. 

“What’s wrong?” Sicheng asked, beginning to sit up and he hung up. 

“That was Taeil’s parents,” He said gravely.

Taeyong

Taeyong fretted over his hair in the mirror, tugging at the strands that refused to lie flat. 

"Hey, you look great, " Jaehyun said, pressing a kiss to Taeyong's forehead. 

The cinnamon scent enveloped him, calling his nerves a bit. Jaehyun's parents would be coming over, and Taeyong had been feeling oddly nervous about it. It wasn't as if he hadn't already met the alpha omega pair, and for the most part, the two seemed to accept their mating with much more grace than the rest of the town had, especially since his ordeal at the company function.

He'd been ostracized a bit, everyone looking at him as if he were some kind of feral bitch. He'd heard whispers about it, how Taeyong had gotten so lucky with Jaehyun, only to confess he didn't want to be mated to him.  The rumors didn't stop there, of course, now people were talking bad about Jaehyun, about how he was still mated with Taeyong. They were blaming Jaehyun for his indiscretion. 

No one understood though. They didn’t go through the hell Taeyong went through at the hands of his old alpha. They didn't know what he went through, not like Ten did. He loved Jaehyun, he wanted to stay mated with the alpha, but he also knew that his choice had been impacted and maybe if the stakes hadn't been what they were, he might not have said yes so quickly. 

But those kinds of thoughts didn’t matter anymore. 

“You too,” Taeyong said, taking another deep breath of the cinnamon scent again to center himself. 

Jaehyun scented the air before squeezing Taeyong’s shoulders. 

“They’re coming up the drive now,” He said and Taeyong took another deep breath. 

He really didn’t feel like he was getting enough air. 

He pasted a smile on his face opening the door 

He could do this.

"Alpha-nim, omega-nim," Taeyong said with a deep bow and they waved him away.

"You're mated with our Jaehyunnie, please, call us eomma," The alpha said and Taeying ducked his head. 

"Look at you. Our Hyunnie has fattened you up!"The alpha teased, pinching his cheeks.

"Unfortunately it's not in the right way," the other omega said and Taeyong's cheeks flamed. 

He ducked his head.

"Jin kyung," the alpha admonished and Taeyong gave them a bright smile.

"The dining room is this way, " he said with a sweep of his arm, trying his best to let the comment roll off his back.

Taeyong took a deep breath, trying to squash the roiling in his stomach. 

He was familiar with feeling sickly. 

He’d always been severely underweight, and the hunger pangs had left aches in his joints that he’d never really get rid of. 

That was the price of poverty.

“Are you okay?” Jaehyun asked, placing his hand on Taeyong’s and Taeyong stared down at it for a second too long before looking up at the alpha. 

“Huh?” He asked and Jaehyun gave him a concerned look. 

“You’re not eating,” Jaehyun pointed out and Taeyong looked down at his hand that was shaking as it held his chopsticks. 

“I’m fine, alpha,” He said, giving him a smile. 

Jaehyun seemed to see through the false smile. 

“My stomach is uneasy,” Taeyong amended Jaehyun’s hand drifted down to Taeyong’s stomach, resting their softly, and Taeyong chanced a look over at Jaehyun’s parents, whose eyes were also on Jaehyun’s hand. 

“Do you want me to get you some medicine?” He asked and Taeyong shook his head. 

“No, it’s fine,” Taeyong said, giving him a tight-lipped smile. 

He pushed his food around his plate trying to find a way to stomach the food so he could ease the worry on Jaehyun’s face. 

“Taeyong honey, you don’t have to stay if you’re not feeling well,” Jaehyun’s alpha mother said and Taeyong shook his head. 

“I’m having fun, I’ll refresh your drink?” Taeyong asked, standing up even though he was still dizzy from shaking his head. 

He picked up the cups, taking them into the kitchen before refilling them. 

The spots in his vision were getting bigger and Taeyong bit down the nausea. 

He was going to pass out. 

He’d passed out plenty of times when he younger, sometimes from exhaustion, sometimes from hunger. 

He’d forgone lots of meals for Donghyuck. 

He could avoid this, he just needed to make it to the dining room and sit down. 

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs before picking up the cups. 

He took a step, the hallway seeming to elongate.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he felt as the wall hit his shoulders. 

“Yongie?” Jaehyun called and he blacked out. 

He opened his eyes to see the alpha sitting next to him.

“Where are your parents?” 

“They’re getting ready to go home,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong began to sit up. 

“I’m sorry I ruined dinner,” He said and Jaehyun shook his head. 

“You didn’t- Taeyong why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling okay?” Jaehyun said and Taeyong shrugged. 

“It’s not a big deal-”

“Not a big deal, Taeyong you-- please lay back you--passed out,” Jaehyun said pushing him back onto the bed and Taeyong slapped his hands away.

“I’m fine. It’s not the first time. I just need to eat more,” He said and Jaehyun shook his head. 

“You’ve been eating, a lot Taeyong. You’re not starving anymore, which means that it’s something else. We’re going to the doctor, tomorrow,” The alpha said and Taeyong didn’t even try to protest. 

What else could be wrong?

Renjun

Renjun stood quietly next to Jungwoo as the elder omega looked through a rack of clothes.

He was trying his best to get into the activity, but his mind was preoccupied with so many other things. 

He really liked hanging out with Jungwoo, it made the days so much less lonely. 

That and talking to the Weishen omega down the hall. 

“What about this one?” Jungwoo asked, holding up the shirt and Renjun shook his head slightly trying to clear it. 

“I like it. It’s blue,” Renjun said and Jungwoo tilted his head, looking at Renjun seriously before putting the shirt back on the rack. 

“What’s the matter? Are you okay?” He asked, his eyes scanning over Renjun’s body non too subtly and Renjun clenched his jaw before releasing it slowly.

Jungwoo was looking for bruises. 

After Jeno hit him, Jungwoo had begun to hang around with him, keep him out of the house.

Part of it was probably him trying to teach Renjun how to be a better omega, which was why they were shopping for pretty clothes as Jungwoo put it. 

Part of it was to keep him happy.

It wasn’t like Renjun could go anywhere anyway. 

If it were true, if Lucas sold him to them--

He had nowhere to go. 

“I’m fine, just thinking too much,” He said and Jungwoo nodded, parting the clothes rack and patting the bar that braced the middle of the rack. 

“Sit down and tell me all about it,” He said and Renjun climbed into the rack, sitting on the bar, feeling foolish as he folded himself behind the clothes. 

Jungwoo sat next to him, his body hunched over even more before letting the clothes close around them so that they were in near darkness. 

“It’s easier to be honest when you can’t see the other person,” He said and Renjun nodded. 

He could understand that sentiment. 

“So, spill, what’s on your mind,” He said and Renjun scoffed. 

“Where do I start?” He asked sarcastically and Jungwoo’s hand fell to his thigh, comforting. 

“Where you can,” He said and Renjun sighed.

“Did Lucas really sell me to them?” He asked and Jungwoo stilled.

“It’s- the words are-- That’s a really harsh way to put it. Lucas didn’t want to leave you in Weishen. He was afraid of who would claim you when he wasn’t there. So I proposed that we bring you too. He knew that my parents wouldn’t accept him without an omegawealth, but Jeno needed an omega and my parents would accept another omega,” Jungwoo said and Renjun nodded softly.

A nice way to say he was sold to Jeno and Jaemin. 

“Does he know? What Jeno did to me?” He asked and Jungwoo didn’t answer.

He sensed that he wouldn’t get an answer to that question, so he let it go. 

Truthfully, It would be worst to know.

“Why is he so-” Renjun stopped. 

That was still Jungwoo’s brother after all. 

“What was he like as a child?” He asked and Jungwoo leaned back against the bar, his head tipped up. 

Renjun couldn’t see his face very well, even though his eyes were adjusting to the dark, but he could have sworn Jungwoo was smiling. 

“He was quiet, funny in a weird way. He was a sweet kid. And fiercely protective. He’s known Jaemin since birth, and he would stand up to any and everybody for him For any of us. He was Doyoung’s baby. Doyoung is the oldest of us and when he wasn’t following after Jaemin, he was following Doyoung.” He said and Renjun nodded, he’s seen them interact.

“You know what’s funny. Jaemin was supposed to be my alpha. That’s why I wasn’t mated yet,” Jungwoo said.

He couldn’t imagine that. 

“How- but he and Jeno,” He pointed out and Jungwoo hummed. 

“Yeah. The Kim omegas have the worst luck with alphas. Or I guess the best. It depends on who you ask. Doyoung wasn’t originally supposed to be mated to Johnny. He was promised to Johnny when he was fifteen after Taeyong had been taken. Up until then, He was supposed to get mated to Taeyong. And Jaemin was supposed to be my alpha. But he’s my brothers,” Jungwoo said softly. 

“Did it hurt? Having your alpha taken from you like that?”

“Jaemin was never my alpha. Even as a kid I knew that.”

“That must get awkward at family dinners huh?” He asked and Jungwoo tilted his head towards him. 

“You- He didn’t tell you?” He asked and Renjun shook his head. 

“Tell me what?” He asked and Jungwoo sighed. 

“When he hit you- what happened that day?”

“I found out about Lucas and I- I said something about him taking it as well as I do from Jaemin. I don’t even know,” He said softly. 

He didn’t like talking about that day.

He knew what they had been capable of, but he never- he’d never been hit like that before.

“Oh god, he should have told you.” Jungwoo paused. 

“I remember the day I found out that I wouldn’t be mating Jaemin. I didn’t really want to mate with him. He wasn’t my type, and he was like my brother's best friend. Besides, they’d always been close, and I know what it’s like you know, everyone does it, we’re young, and you just want to try things, and it doesn’t count you know, when you're an omega, because it’s not like you know- but he’d always been so close to Jaemin. I wasn’t feeling good. I was in preheat, I went in early, I got it when I was sixteen instead of after I came of age. My appa picked me up early. We came home and we smelled Jaemin. 

He said that maybe Jaemin had caught a whiff of me the day before and was reacting to it. He was going to tell him to go home, because it was inappropriate for him to be in the house while I was like that, you know since we were betrothed,” Jungwoo took a deep breath. 

“I was clinging to my alpha, so I went with him. Besides, I kind of wanted to see if Jaemin would really react to my scent. I was silly back then. He opened the door and Jeno was- Jeno was on his knees in front of Jaemin, submitting to him. Blowing him. My appa told Jaemin to leave and once he was gone- he just- he lost it. He locked me in my room. And he- My parents spanked s, me a lot because I could never remember to put on my collar. But that wasn’t- My dad was going to kill him. It’s funny, Jeno had never even been in a fight before. But that day- If my eomma hadn’t come home, I’m sure he would have killed him. I watched Jeno leave the house through my window. His arms was broken, I was surprised he even dragged himself out of there. He was crying and screaming. Sometimes I still hear it. It was- he just kept screaming that he was sorry,” Jungwoo stopped.

“I don’t want- I don’t want to talk about this anymore if that’s okay? Just- I know he can be- he doesn’t mean it. He’s just he’s going through a lot. He’s scared. He just needs someone to be kind to him,” Jungwoo said and Renjun tried to reconcile the Jeno he’d told him about, to the one who had been standing over him in that kitchen. Who’d held him down when he was in preheat. Who’d left him alone to suffer.

But the way he was with Lami, and the way he was when it was just him and Jaemin. The man who had cried when he apologized, who’d kissed him softly. The smile he’d give Renjun when he first woke up, the way he’d flop onto Renjun’s stomach and go boneless as Renjun pet through his hair. 

Maybe he was right. 

It wasn’t like he could go anywhere anyway. 

Renjun rolled over as he felt a disturbance on the bed. 

“Jeno?” He asked, realizing that it was coming from his side of the bed. 

“I’m sorry,” He heard the alpha whimper, his bergamot scent souring and Renjun placed his hand on his arm, the alpha jolting awake. 

“Hey, hey you’re okay,” Renjun soothed and Jeno looked at him with wide wild eyes before they began to drown in tears.

“It’s okay, I’m here alpha, it’s okay,” Renjun said, pressing the alpha to his chest and Jeno clung to him, his hands fisted into the omega’s shirt. He sobbed into Renjun’s shirt and Renjun held him tight.

Donghyuck

Donghyuck giggled as Mark growled playfully, pushing him back against the arm of the couch. He was at Mark’s apartment, staying the night. 

Once Taeil got mated to Yuta--- which he hadn't really seen coming--- Donghyuck had Taeil’s whole place to himself. 

He wasn’t used to being alone. 

He’d never really been on his own before, and walking around naked really got old when you realized there was no point to it. 

So he stayed at Mark’s every so often.

Not enough so that people would get the wrong idea, but just enough so that he wouldn’t be lonely.

He never told Taeyong that he’d stayed at Mark’s, even though Taeyong saw through him. 

The lights were down low and the movie that they were watching had ended a while ago. 

Instead, Donghyuck was leaning against an armrest, Mark’s body on top of him. 

Mark’s lips nipped at his, pressing bruising kisses into his mouth.

This kind of thing was not quite brand new to them.

They usually spent their time laying together, not quite scenting because scenting was like sex, something reserved for mated pairs, but doing something as close as possible. 

The sunflower of his scent went well with Mark’s rosewood, and he liked when it perfumed the small alpha den. 

A den that was slowly starting to be filled with Donghyuck’s notions that he had begun to leave here.

Donghyuck’s fingers trailed down Mark’s side and the alpha growled, the sound seeming to vibrate through Donghyuck’s body. He began to get wet, slick making the space between his thighs moist.

Mark breathed in Donghyuck’s scent, his grip getting tighter on Donghyuck’s waist as he pressed his hips down and

Oh. 

Mark was hard and heavy between his thighs, his hips pressing into Donghyuck’s. 

One of Mark’s hands trailed up to his face, cradling Donghyuck’s face gently, as he moved his mouth against his. 

They had kissed before, but they’d never-

They’d never gone this far.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to stop, a fresh heat bubbling in his tummy. It swooped and soared with every press of Mark’s hips and for the first time in a long time, Donghyuck wanted to follow that feeling. 

He used to make jokes about it, but unlike the other omegas in Weishen, he wasn’t curious about sex. 

Given Taeyong and his alpha, it made sense. 

“You smell so good,” Mark moaned, his mouth trailing down over his throat, his teeth scraping where the claiming bite would go.

Pleasure tingled down to Donghyuck’s toes as he pressed Mark closer to him. 

There were so many new feelings and Donghyuck briefly wondered if this was what Heat was like. 

“Alpha,” Donghyuck moaned, his voice melodic and Mark surged forward, his mouth reconnecting with Donghyuck’s in a bruising kiss. 

His hips were moving steadily now in a strong approximation of what it would be like if he were actually sinking into Donghyuck, his hardness pressing into Donghyuck's hipbone. 

Donghyuck’s hand trailed from Mark’s side down down down until it pressed against where Mark was hard in his shorts.

It was feverish, and hard and somehow nothing like how he’d imagined it’d feel in his hand.

He wrapped his hand around it, curiosity taking hold as he gave it a single stroke. 

Mark’s hips stuttered as his head dropped between his shoulders, letting out a pitiful whine. 

His release soaked through his clothes, coating Donghyuck’s fingers in stickiness.

He throbbed between his legs, more slick being produced as Mark gripped Donghyuck’s hand, tightening his fist around Mark’s hardness and- oh. That was Mark’s knot forming.

Mark was knotting Donghyuck’s hand, instructing him to stroke to prolong it.

It was interesting and the thought that kissing Donghyuck had gotten Mark so far as to knot definitely made Donghyuck feel sexy.

Mark’s hand finally let Donghyuck’s go, his hand slipping down the flat plain of Donghyuck’s stomach before slipping into Donghyuck’s underwear, his finger splitting Donghyuck. 

“Stop, Stop, I think we should stop,” Donghyuck panted out, his voice nearly hysterical and Mark withdrew his fingers, collapsing back onto the couch.

He ran his hand through his hair sheepishly before realizing where his hands had been.

“You’re right we need to slow down. Are you okay?” Mark asked and Donghyuck nodded frantically.

“Just dandy,” He said and Mark nodded softly, his hand soft on Donghyuck’s thigh. 

“We should get cleaned up,” Mark said, looking down at his dirty shorts.

“I’ll go get you some clothes,” Mark said before waddling out of the room to grab clean clothes. 

Donghyuck changed, unable to continue wearing what he was for obvious reasons before roaming back to the living room, a bowl of fruit in his lap for something to do.

Mark came back, dropping onto the couch, his hair wet from the shower.

He laid his head in Donghyuck’s lap, taking the bowl of fruit from him and Donghyuck tried to give Mark a soft smile. 

“Sorry I knotted in my shorts and uh- went too far. I should have asked before I did that,” Mark said, being purposely vague to mask his embarrassment. 

“It’s fine. It was nice, even if you were pretty quick,” Donghyuck teased and Mark stuck his tongue out at him before sighing, feeding Donghyuck a piece of fruit. 

“It’s been nice, hanging out with you, and getting to know you,” Mark said and Donghyuck nodded. 

“You too, even if you kidnapped me,” Donghyuck said and Mark shook his head. 

“I didn’t kidnap you, I liberated you. Besides, you dislocated my shoulder with a frying pan,” He pointed out and Donghyuck laughed. 

“Someone had to.”

“Why aren’t we mated?” Mark asked, sitting up and Donghyuck rolled his eyes. 

“You haven’t proposed a mating,” Donghyuck said coyly and Mark slid off of the couch, getting on his knee in front of him. 

“No, don’t- don’t do that,” Donghyuck said, his voice trembling and Mark frowned.

“Why not?” Mark asked, sitting on the couch next to Donghyuck.

“Don’t you think Renjun was acting weird at the function, he was like a brainless slave,” Donghyuck said, changing the subject. 

“Hey, look at me,” Mark said, tipping Donghyuck's face towards him. 

“If that’s why you’re afraid to mate me because you think you’ll be turned into that don’t worry. I’m not like Jeno. I don’t need an omega to prove that I’m an alpha. I don’t want some mindless slave. I just want to be mated to you,” Mark said seriously.

“Well, maybe I haven’t made up my mind about you. Maybe I’m not ready to be mated,” Donghyuck said and Mark scoffed. 

“You’re lying,” 

“What, no I’m not,” He said and Mark nodded.

“You are. When you tell the truth, you write on your thigh with your finger. What is it Donghyuck, what is it really?” 

Did Mark truly know him like that?

Had he really been paying so much attention to him?

“I don’t want to take the exam okay,” 

“I heard it doesn’t hurt so bad. I heard it’s embarrassing, but it’s only five minutes,” Mark said and Donghyuck shook his head. 

“I don’t- I don’t care if it hurts. I just- I don’t want to be disgraced,” He whispered and he watched Mark’s eye drift down to his moving hand. 

“Hey- what do you mean? Why would you be disgraced? Because of what we just did?” He asked and Donghyuck shook his head.

“No- It’s something no one knows about me- not even Taeyong hyung,” He whispered. 

He hated thinking back to that day. 

It was right before the end. 

Taeyong and the alpha had gotten into a fight, he didn’t even know what it was about-- Donghyuck had taken to ignoring their fights until it ended up with Taeyong being knocked out, as he was now. 

He’d gone to lay down, but they couldn’t leave the house dirty while he was sleeping, so Donghyuck had to take care of dinner. 

He’d been washing dishes, wanting to do a good job so maybe the alpha would be happy when Taeyong woke up.

“Hyuckie,” The alpha said, pressing himself close to Donghyuck as he dropped a dish in the sink. 

“You forgot some dishes,” He said before pressing himself even closer, his legs being forced slightly more apart.

“You’re so good, you know that/ You’re growing up so well, blossoming like the sunflower you smell like,” He said and Donghyuck swallowed.

“Thank you alpha, I should finish these dishes,” He whispered and the alpha nodded.

“I’m not going to stop you,” He said, his hand landing on his hips. 

“Look at you, you’re so supple, those are childbearing hips,” The alpha said, slipping his hands into the front of his pants and breaching him.

Donghyuck choked on a gasp, his hand gripping the frying pan that he’d been washing.

The alpha was rubbing his fingers back and forth, pushing himself closer to the omega and Donghyuck dropped his head, letting out a whimper. 

He felt like he was going to cry. 

“Alpha?” he heard and the alpha pulled away as Donghyuck dropped the frying pan.

Taeyong walked into the Kitchen and the alpha popped his fingers into his mouth sucking on it. 

“It was delicious Donghyuck,” He said with a smirk and Donghyuck couldn’t look up as the alpha smacked Taeyong on the head for being lazy before leaving the room.

“Everything okay?” Taeyong asked and Donghyuck nodded. 

“I’m tired, I’m just going to bed,” He said, rushing past Taeyong and going to his bed, between his legs throbbing painfully.

“What- that won’t show up on the exam, and even if it did. You didn’t want that. That’s not fair to you Donghyuck. I don’t- I don’t care that that happened, I will never let anyone disgrace you,” Mark said emphatically and Donghyuck surged forward, hugging Mark and finally crying about it. 

Chapter Text

Ten

“Honey.” a soft voice said, pulling him out of his sleep.

Ten opened his eyes to see Johnny hovering over him. 

He had a gentle smile on his face and Ten returned the gesture, sitting up slightly. 

Ten hadn’t even realized that he’d had the bed to himself but from how cold it was, it was apparent that they had gotten up long before he had. 

“Good morning,” Johnny said and Ten squinted up at him. 

“Good morning, what’s going on?” He asked and Johnny shook his head, kissing him sweetly on the forehead.

“Your appointment is today, remember? Get out of bed soon, okay? Doyoung made breakfast,” He said, kissing Ten on the lips, and Ten exhaled into the kiss as Johnny pulled away, leaning his forehead on the omega's. 

“I can’t wait for them to tell us you’re having my alpha child,” Johnny said excitedly before pulling away. 

“Breakfast is ready,” Doyoung said from the door and Ten gave the omega a smile. 

Doyoung tried to return it.

Johnny finally left the room, kissing Doyoung on the forehead as he did and Ten sat up fully, looking at the omega. 

He wasn’t sure what, but he felt like he should say something to Doyoung, express that he was nervous about today, happy that it came, ask for advice.

Instead, he just looked at the omega, hoping he’d say something instead.

“Breakfast is ready,” Doyoung repeated and Ten nodded.

“Thank you doie,” Ten said, smiling at the omega.

“I hope you’re having an alpha,” Doyoung said, his voice quiet in the room before disappearing from the doorway. 

Ten pushed his feet over the side of the bed, cradling his belly gently. 

He was excited to know what he was having, excited to finally know.

Well, he already knew. 

He was having Johnny’s alpha child, he felt it, 

He just couldn’t wait to confirm it. 

Once it was confirmed, everything would be better. 

Doyoung would stop giving him those looks, and they could all rejoice together that they would be having a new alpha addition to their family.

Things would be fine.

He couldn’t wait to get the results. 

Ten went to the bathroom, freshening up before joining the family in the living room.

Johnny’s hand was warm on Ten’s hip as he helped the omega out of the car. Ten leaned into the alpha’s side, excited to get the results. 

Doyoung had been quiet for most of the morning, dismissing himself from the breakfast table to get Lami ready for the trip, leaving the alpha and omega alone.

Ten had thought to ask Johnny about it, but he couldn’t get the way Johnny had hurt Doyoung out of his head when Taeyong had slapped him. 

He decided it was best to just keep it to himself, so he did. 

Johnny had been having a hard time keeping his hands off of Ten all morning and Ten had to remind him more than once that they had an appointment and it probably wouldn’t be smart to get all worked up beforehand. 

“Shall we go in?” Doyoung asked, standing on Johnny’s left, Lami on his hip and Johnny hugged Ten a bit tighter to him. 

“Yes, let’s go,” Johnny said before leading them into the clinic. 

Ten had been there before, getting his regular check-ups there for the last month and a half. 

The staff were friendly and it was a nice facility, much nicer than the one from Weishen. 

Not that he’d gone there for anything other than waiting with Kun while Kun had his exam to prove his purity.

Ten bit his lip as he thought of the omega.

He wondered idly what Kun would say about his pregnancy, whether he’d want Ten to have an alpha or omega. 

If things were different, would Kun be the one having Johnny’s alpha right now? 

He shook his head to clear his thoughts before looking around.

They were sitting in a private waiting room, Doyoung holding Sungkyung on his lap as the little girl played on her tablet. 

She had on her pink face mask that covered most of her face and her headphones to block out noise. 

Ten couldn’t help but wonder if he would be as protective of his little alpha as Doyoung was of Lami.

“Seo family?” The receptionist called and Ten followed them back to an examination room.

Ten changed into the medical gown before sitting on the table, willing his nerves away. 

No matter what, he would be getting good news. 

“Enough of the suspense, I’m sure that you all want to know the primary sex of the child,” The doctor said and Johnny nodded. 

He was staring eagerly at the ultrasound screen and Ten could imagine that Johnny had done the same during Doyoung’s pregnancy with Lami. 

“Congratulations, it’s an alpha,” the doctor said and a proud smile stretched across Johnny’s face.

“Fuck, I knew it, I knew it . God, I love you so much, Giving me an alpha. You’re so fucking perfect,” Johnny said, pressing kisses into Ten’s lips almost hysterically before staring back at the ultrasound screen in awe, trying to spot just how they could tell it was an alpha. 

“What’s the secondary gender?” Ten asked and the doctor nodded. 

“It’s harder to determine at this stage, but I believe that you’ll be having a little boy,” The doctor said and Doyoung kissed him on the cheek softly. 

“Congratulations Ten,” He whispered and Ten looked down at his stomach.

He was having Johnny’s little alpha.

Ten stood on the right of Johnny, his clothes replaced, all ready to go home.

Now that he knew he couldn’t wait to get the nursery all ready, making it the perfect den for his little alpha. 

“Wait, Doyoung switch spots with Ten,” Johnny said and Ten looked up at the alpha. 

“What?”

“Switch spots with him,” Johnny said, exasperatedly. 

“But I’m- I’m the head omega, this is where I- Oh. right. Right,” Doyoung said, cutting himself off as he deferred to the alpha.

He moved to Johnny’s right and Ten moved to his left.

He was head omega now.

Sicheng

Sicheng followed the alpha out of the bank, watching as his face seemed to be grim, contemplative. For a second, it was the type of alpha face he'd expected to see from the alpha, something dangerous, scary almost.

Yuta could sometimes have a stern face when he didn’t smile, but Sicheng hadn't really seen it because the alpha always smiled at him.

"Are-can I ask if you're okay alpha?" He asked, some archaic fear in him telling him to mind his place.

"What? Yeah, you can always ask me how I feel Sicheng.  I'm not going to get mad at you for caring about me," he said and Sicheng nodded.

"Are you, you know, okay?" He asked and that look was back on Yuta's face, the sour expression that made him wonder what it would feel like if he turned that intense glare on him.

"I'm fine. I'm a little upset, but it's not at you," Yuta explained.

They got into the car and Sicheng leaned against the door, looking over at the alpha.

"Why did we go to the bank?" Sicheng asked and Yuta took a deep breath.

"Taeil's parents heard about the mating. So I sent them the omegawealth they would be rightfully entitled to," he said and Sicheng nodded.

Sicheng didn't have an omegawealth to give, he was taken from his home.

None of the omegas from Weishen omegawealth's were paid.

His poor mom.

"I paid your omegawealth as well," he said and sicheng frowned.

"I thought that Neocity alphas weren't paying the omegawealth because of Ten,” Sicheng said and Yuta scoffed.

"That’s what Johnny said, but I met your mother. I was fully intending on mating with you before all that. Remember, I told you that I was going to do this right, do right by you. How could I leave your omega mother destitute? What kind of alpha would I be?" He asked and Sicheng bit his lip.

The thought, the thought of the alpha still doing what was right made him want to ask for things, things he'd never thought about, that he really wasn’t even sure he wanted to make the alpha happy. To do right by Yuta.

But overall it made him wonder if Yuta would give him one thing he wanted.

He'd happily trade the things that he'd never thought about for one wish.

He wanted his mother in Neocity so bad.

“Shall we go home? You have dance in thirty minutes,” Yuta said and Sicheng nodded, looking back out the window.

He’d find a way to ask Yuta for what he wanted. 

“Taeilie hyung,” Sicheng said cutely skipping into the living room.

Yuta had been upstairs and no one was really paying attention to him and that couldn’t do.  He paused as he watched the omega read through something, his face stormy. 

Taeil didn’t ever give him that face.

Sicheng was spoiled in that regard because his lovers generally only showered him in affection and love. 

He rarely got to see a bad side of them. 

“Is everything okay?” Sicheng asked and Taeil huffed out a breath before sighing. 

“Where’s Yuta?” He gritted out between his teeth.

“He’s upstairs in the bath, why?” Sicheng asked and Taeil pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“That bastard, that absolute bastard,” Taeil cursed under his breath and Sicheng froze. 

He was used to the omega not being exactly deferential to the alpha, but to outright curse him?

Taeil never did that, especially not so seriously.

“I don’t understand, what’s wrong? What did he do?”

“A thousand dollars is missing out of our account,” Taeil said and Sicheng shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. 

As if he didn’t know what that money was for. 

“I don’t really look at the accounts,” Sicheng said and Taeil sighed with a shake of his head. 

“Yuta!” He called and Yuta came running downstairs, a towel wrapped around his waist. 

“We’re missing a thousand dollars out of our account,” Taeil said and Yuta raised his eyebrow. 

“You shouldn’t be looking at our account, that’s an alpha’s business,” Yuta said and Taeil scoffed. 

“Don’t start that alpha bullshit Yuta, you sound like Johnny. My omegawealth was a thousand dollars Yuta,” Taeil said and Yuta shrugged stubbornly.

“Did you pay my parents my omegawealth?” Taeil asked and Yuta just stared at him belligerently.

“Did you pay my parents my omegawealth?” Taeil repeated, his words choppy.

“Alpha paid my omegawealth too. He wanted to do good by us,” Sicheng said and Taeil turned on Sicheng, his eyes widening as if he was realizing something.

“Sicheng did you know?”

Taeil’s voice sounded hysterical, high, and reedy.

This felt bigger than money being missing.

Sicheng stared down at the smaller omega with wide eyes. 

“You two talked to my parents? Why would you do that? They cut me off, they don’t- they don’t deserve to-” Taeil stammered and Yuta deflated, wrapping his arms around Taeil’s shoulders. 

“I know. I didn’t want to. They called and I answered before realizing who it was. I just wanted to do right by you. You’ve already had so much happen, I just- I wanted to redeem you, get them to leave you alone,” He said and Taeil rolled his eyes. 

“Well, that’s wonderful, because now they want us to come over to dinner,” Taeil said, that tenseness back in his voice, and Sicheng looked down at the letter that was in his hand. 

“We don’t have to go, I-” Yuta said and Taeil shook his head. 

“I want to go,” Taeil said and Yuta shook his head, holding Taeil’s face gently.

“You don’t owe them anything. You don’t have to go. I paid for it, that’s it, that’s the end of it.”

“No, it’s not. It’s not the end until they see who I am. I want them to see me now,” Taeil said and Yuta nodded. 

“Okay, we’ll go, all of us will go,” Yuta said, looking back at Sicheng. 

“Right, we’ll go,” Sicheng affirmed, hugging Taeil too.

He’d do whatever he could to make Taeil happy and never look at him with that betrayed look again.

Taeyong

Taeyong sat up in bed, watching as the alpha slept peacefully next to him. 

Jaehyun had held him close through the night as he had every night and Taeyong tried his best to sleep. 

Sleep wasn’t coming easily to him, his eyes unable to close. 

He was worried about what the results would be. 

What if something were really wrong with him?

 He was used to feeling sick, to passing out because he hadn’t eaten. 

He remembers the winter after he’d been disgraced. 

He had been so weak, so hungry that some nights he’d gone to bed afraid that he would never wake up. 

What if those early issues were coming back to haunt him?

Would he never be happy? 

Jaehyun had put up with so much from Taeyong. 

Taeyong had been scrawny, disgraced, disrespectful. 

Not good enough. 

Now he was sick?

Jaehyun would never keep him. 

He hated being mated to that Weishen alpha. 

But Jaehyun-

They’d come into this with so many adversities, but Taeyong- Taeyong wasn’t afraid to say that he loved the alpha. 

He truly loved Jaehyun. 

So to think that he could be losing him, that he could be hurting the alpha and it was all because of his past. 

“Yongie?” Jaehyun murmured, inhaling in his scent and pressing a kiss into his thigh.

“Hey,” Taeyong said, carding his fingers through Jaehyun’s hair. 

A pleasant cinnamon scent wafted through the room and Taeyong leaned forward, kissing the back of the alphas leg. 

“Don’t go yet,” Jaehyun whispered and Taeyong unraveled from the alpha. 

“I’ve got to get ready for my appointment. I’ve got to make breakfast, and get everything together,” Taeyong said and Jaehyun pillowed his head on his arms, pouting up at Taeyong.

“We’ll get breakfast on the way, I’ll clean up later,” Jaehyun said and Taeyong felt his heart melt. 

“I can’t alpha,” He said and Jaehyun reached up, holding Taeyong’s hand. 

“Everything’s going to be okay Yongie,” Jaehyun spoke sincerely and Taeyong tried to return the smile, hoping that it rang true. 

“I know,” Taeyong conceded before kissing Jaehyun on the forehead again. 

“I’m going to go shower,” He said before leaving. 

Taeyong swung his legs back and forth as he sat on the examination table. He was waiting for a doctor to come in so that they could begin the tests. 

He’d receded into himself a bit on the way, unable to speak. 

He’d been biting his fingernails so bad that Jaehyun had to alpha command him to stop. 

Now he was tugging on his collar.

“Sweetie, stop, it’s fine,” Jaehyun said, gripping his hands, and Taeyong deferred to the alpha pulling his hands away from the collar.