Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Third Person POV

They own everything they are everything. Nothing in this city happens without the Bang pack knowing about it. In a city filled with crime those at the top have to be the most ruthless. Chan has never had a problem with this he grew up in the city and is well aware of its criminal inner workings.

Raised by two gangsters Chan always knew his future would also belong to a gang. He just had no idea at the time that gang would be his own. However when he presented as an alpha and found out he was in love with his two best friends who were also alphas.

Chan had no choice but to defect from the gang he grew up in. They were ultra traditionalist and would never allow an alpha in their ranks to be mated to another of the same sub-gender. He could form a pack with them but he could never mate them.

Chan’s alpha simply couldn’t give up the two people he knew were meant to be his because the geriatric leaders of his home gang still bought into that stupid tradition that Alphas were only meant to mate with omegas.

So Chan left and with him came Changbin and Jisung. It was difficult at first leaving a gang is almost impossible and if you do manage to do it you basically have a permanent mark on your back for as long as you live… Or for as long as that other gang exists.

Being 16 years old and constantly in fear for you life, not even being able to get a steady job because there is the chance the gang will find out about it and come for you. For a period of time they were just moving from one abandoned building to the next. Never staying in the same place twice and never staying for longer than a month in one location.

The only jobs they could pick up were bottom of the barrel. Typical jobs designated for lackys and low level street gangs. This carried on till they had accumulated enough to begin operating their own small lab and distributing their own supply.

Thankfully during their time on the run one of the buildings they stayed in was an old abandoned science university. Jisung, having nothing else to do in between jobs, took up reading science books. And Chan and Changbin knew Jisung was an ace able to pick up and master almost anything. But neither would expect just how flawlessly Jisung took to chemistry.

Jisung hadn’t just modified the recipes for their drugs. He found a completely different way of making them. A method that guaranteed a higher concentration of the drugs that led to a strong high that required significantly less product. It was perfect considering they couldn’t afford to get their hands on much of the ingredients necessary seeing as other bigger gangs already had their own monopolies on the manufacturing of those ingredients.

Thanks to Jisung they didn’t have to worry about this. With just half the ingredients they could still produce a full batch of product they could then sell. Soon enough word spread the consumers and distributors no longer wanted the other gangs' stuff when Jisung product was the only one being specifically requested. It was the only one they wanted once you had it; the weaker and deluded shit that others gangs were producing just wasn’t hitting anymore. They had created the perfect highly addictive product. The best part Jisung was the only chemist around that knew how to do it.

The books that had taught him everything he knew were old and abandon.Books from a time when governments were a thing and people weren’t simply run by violence. Before all hell broke loose and the world turned into the shit show they all now know. Simply put Jisung was the only one with the knowledge of how to actually probably make these drugs.

All the cooks from those other gangs were just working, on he said. Recipes passed down through time by people who lived or knew someone that lived during the time when the world was still properly functioning and people were able to get higher educations in fields other than crime and anarchy.

The thing is he said and word of mouth tends to get contorted and confused. Soon enough no one actually remembered how the real stuff was made; they had just concocted their own version that gave them the best results. Of course those results would be nothing compared to the real legitimate thing.

And that's what Chan and his pack had. Eventually they had enough money to hire their own muscle and underlings. And thus the Strays mafia was born. The first thing Chan did was finally take out his old gang, the one that had been following and trying to kill him and his mates. They had always managed to escape but there had been many close calls and Chan would never forgive those that have done harm to his mates.

Never would forget the cruel words and treatment of those within the gang after they found out about the three alphas' relationship.

It was after having successfully taken down their old gang that they unexpectedly found that their little pack was actually still able to grow beyond just the three of them.

It was a few days after Chan had killed his old leader and was just working to take control of all their suppliers and territory. He had gone to one of the many warehouses of the gang when he found two young alphas being held captive within one of those warehouses.

He was accompanied by Changbin and the two instantly knew the moment they laid eyes on the other two alphas.

It was that same all consuming feeling. One that only up to that point they had only experience with each other.

The need to have and own and mate.

The two young alphas.

Seungmin and Jeongin

Had been held prisoner and tortured because they too had committed the crime of being in a gang that didn’t recognize that two alphas could be bonded and mated just the same as an alpha and omega.

And while the two alphas hadn’t even mated with each other at the time and thus hadn’t broken any rules that would constitute such an extreme reaction. It seems that following the leaving of Chan and his mates the gang had grown paranoid and any alphas suspected of being together were instantly taken prisoner and killed.

Chan could only be thankful Seungmin and Jeongin had managed to remain hidden for as long as they did. Only being discovered the day before Chan and his gang attacked his home gang. The boys had been beaten and hurt but they were alive.

Chan ensured that all those responsible for his mate's pain suffered the same pain tenfold. Jeongin, having grown up in a similar environment to Chan, easily took to his new leadership position within the Strays gang as the new head of recruitment.

Seungmin hadn’t grown up in the city and frankly he wasn’t cut out for the gorry side of things. However they soon learned that Seungmin was far more useful to them in their headquarters labs than on the streets.

Seungmin, much like Jisung, took to the science just as easily. Seungmin had been the only person Jisung had allowed access to the old books they had acquired. Not only was the young alpha adapt at chemistry he had taken up engineering as well. Before long Seungmin was inventing and creating new weapons and equipment for them.

Not only machines that helped them fight but also ones that helped them produce and industrialize their drugs. Up till then it was only Jisung and a handful of trusted cooks that were allowed to cook up their drugs. But with Seungmin inventions they were able to alleviate some of that pressure on the human staff and Jisung to produce all the products on their own.

It wasn’t easy keeping up with demand especially the more people that became hooked on Jisung drugs, the less the few cooks they had could keep up. The more gangs and competition they took out and they became the only organization people could turn to for there fix the more need they had for there product to be produced however with such a valuable resource they couldn't allow for it to fall into the hands of anyone else.

Thankfully Seungmin and his inventions came just in time for the Strays gang's expansion. They no longer had to worry about people stealing their recipe. Seungmins machines did all the work. Human staff was only needed for monitoring and the occasional quality control.
It also allowed for Jisung to work on other stuff. He enjoyed creating new products not only ones that could get people high but ones that could help people as well. With the fall of governments most healthcare institutions crumbled. Medicine had become a luxury that not even the wealthiest could sometimes find or afford.

It had taken more time seeing as Jisung didn’t have much knowledge as far as medicine or how illness and how they worked and how you would go about treating them.

It was during his search for more knowledge that he found his next mate.

Minho

Minho, much like Seungmin, came from a small town. So small in fact word never got around that this town possessed one of the only doctors within the country. Minho came from the Lee family. The Lee family were the most well respected doctors back when the world still had them.

Minho explained to them that when his great great great great grandparents had seen the rise in fascism and the subsequent chaos that came from it. They had begun storing and hiding their medical journals and books. The more society developed into anarchy they had decided to run away to one of their homes in the rural countryside. To avoid being targeted by those fascist factions that sought to eliminate knowledge and the people that possessed it.

As time went on and doctors became a rarity the dangers of people knowing the kinda of knowledge his family possessed became worse. People would kidnap and kill if it meant having the resource to someone with medical knowledge. And though they tried to help people where they could they could never let anyone know the full truth of just who they were and what they possessed.

Minho was regarded as a witch and an herbalist by the people of the town. Just a friendly alpha you could go to if you had a headache or had accidentally hurt yourself while out on the fields. Jisung had only stumbled upon someone from Minho town that had recently moved to the city.

While talking to the young beta Jisung had noticed the other boy drinking a white substance from a bottle. Thinking it was some new product being pushed in their territory he had asked the boy what it was.

That’s when he explained it was just some herbs mixed together that the alpha from his hometown had given him for his stomach pains.

Jisung knew enough about medicine to know whatever the alpha was making wasn’t just coming from simple herbs. So he had traveled to the town to talk to this mystery witch alpha himself.

Jisung not only found what he was looking for someone that knew medicine and the human body but he also found his 5th mate. Minho wasn’t as eager to join them in the city, still not wanting to give up his quiet life in the countryside.

He had met all his mates, each of them making the journey to him one at a time to ensure no one would notice and follow them else they risk putting Minho's life in danger. That and it's not like all 5 of them could leave the business without anyone there to run it.

Once fully mated and speaking to Chan there head alpha. They decided Minho could stay in his home till he was ready, not wanting to pressure the sheltered boy out of his comfort zone too quickly. At the time Chan was working on some expansions as well and things back in Seoul were more dangerous so he was perfectly content with keeping his most vulnerable mate far away from it all.

Jisung decided to also stay behind with Minho after all thanks to Seungmin and his machines he wasn’t needed at the labs as frequently anymore.

Minho taught him everything he knew, showing Jisung the old journals and medical books that his family had protected and passed down for generations. It was during this time they grew closer.

Jisung knew all of them were his mates and he loved them all but something about Minho spoke to him. Like two souls tied together destined to find each other in every timeline and universe. With Minho he found a part of himself he didn’t even know was missing till he found it.

However even then that didn’t stop the yearning and call they both had for the rest of their packs and mates. So after a few months Minho had finally accepted he was ready to leave granted that Chan gave him a whole room for his three cats.

Chan gladly relented not only a room but the whole house knowing just how much the three cats meant to his mate. He would happily give them all the toys and treats they could want if it meant keeping Minho happy. Because so long as the three little cats were happy so was the alpha.

Their next mate they didn’t find. Instead he found them.

Hyunjin a boy who in a world of chaos had managed to avoid it all and keep doing the things he loved.

Hyunjin was an artist. One of the only people who could paint you portrait or a beautiful picture for you to look at. One of the only people that took the time to master the art of sculpting and chisling.

He was able to make a living off his work. Thankfully those with wealth and prominence were quite arrogant and enjoyed having portraits painted of them like those they saw in pictures of old kings and queens.

It was during one of these jobs that he first heard the names of one of his mates. And Hyunjin, ever a romantic soul, had instantly known he was meant to be with them. He didn’t realize Changbin came with his own set of mates but upon seeing them all he knew he also belonged with them.

Minho still doesn’t fully believe the story that Hyunjin really knew just from hearing Changbin name but then again he is a man of science and he loves nothing more then clashing with his hopelessly in love and naive mate. Hyunjin doesn’t run on facts or logic he just simply knows and while Minho likes to tease him. He loves him all the more because Hyunjin, the opposite of him, adds so much to his life and gives him a perspective that while not scientifically based, is still all the more just as valid and true.

And thus the Bang pack became 7. All of them alphas but not loving each other any less because of it.

Ruts were more difficult for them no matter the fact they are mated it's still difficult for any alpha to let themselves submit to another. That and alpha bodies are simply not made for taking knots. With all 7 of them together their pack completed as far as they knew their cycles became more aggressive and lasted longer.

As their bond grew so did the need for something else.

Something that they couldn’t quite satisfy.

The Bang pack was only alphas but with each passing day it became apparent there was a need for an equalizer, a need for something soft and sweet that would finally sedate their needs to completely dominate a need for someone who they could provide for without being growled at because the others alpha preserved it as an offense that another alpha was trying to feed him.

And so they set their sights on finding an omega compatible with them and capable of handling all 7 of them because while they knew they needed an omega there alphas would still not let them lay with anyone if at least 3 of there alpha mates weren’t also present.

This caused a bit of a logistical problem because while there were omegas around willing to sleep with one of the leaders of the Strays gang and member of the Bang pack. Very few omegas were willing or capable of being with 3 of them, never mind the whole pack whenever one of them went into rut and required all of their mates.

The truth was most omegas were sheltered and fragile. There weren't as many omegas as there were alphas so the ones that were around were treated with care and protection. Omegas didn’t need to go out and work and get their hands dirty; that wasn’t the job of something so precious and important. That was the job for the alphas and betas, who were better built for those sorts of things, they were also larger in numbers, and were disposable. That is how society worked now and so none of the omega they found were able to assist the Bang pack for long.

After only one or two encounters they would go to Hyunjin, the alpha who they preserved to be the most safe and gentle. Hyunjin was a romantic, and while the omegas they bedded weren't his mate, he still treated them with the same love and cherished them with affection for whatever period of time they would have them for. Because of this, the omegas tended to fall deeply in love with the romantic artist.

But without fail after one or two encounters with three or more of them together they would come to Hyunjin crying confession to him they simply couldn’t do it anymore that they were sorry but 7 alphas was simply too much for them. Many of them were scared of upsetting the powerful alphas that made up the Bang pack and would come crying and shaking but still to them whatever consequences came from rejecting to help the Bang pack further was better then continuing to help alleviate the alphas during their ruts.

Hyunjin knew it was a scary and difficult thing for the poor omegas to make so he would always reassure them and comfort them. Promising he would protect them and that no harm would come from his pack or their gang for their decision to stop helping them.

One after another they all left. It became difficult as time went on there alphas began rejecting some of the omega they would find. As if they had grown tired of sleeping and knotting someone they knew wasn’t their mate.

But even if they wanted to no omega stayed around long enough for them to mate them properly. Nevermind the fact that the Bang pack was a soul bonded one meaning if they wanted to mark someone it would have to be someone also soul bonded to the rest of them as well or else the mark would never take.

To mark and omega who isn’t soul bonded to you and your other mates would be to put them through great pain, and from what Minho told them about the process, it could even pose a risk to their lives.

Omegas are especially sensitive to bonding marks, and if that bond is rejected or doesn’t take due to them not being soul bonded to the alpha ore it to them, then there is a high chance their omega dies alphas that gav from the rejection of the alphas and the pack. That would eventually lead to the person dying as well, since without that vital second half of your being, most people cannot continue living. And the few that have live beyond there secondary half dying are always left like an empty shell unable to function properly without around the clock assistance and care.

Neither Chan nor his pack would ever do that to anyone else. They may be criminals and murderers but the people they deal with and hurt are just the same as them. Omegas are innocents, their hands are clean of the wrongdoings of this city. None of them could stand to wash their hands in the blood of an innocent.

So it’s with this that Jisung and Minho set out to do what they do best. Find a cure to their packs ' ever-growing and should things continue escalating, a detrimental problem.

It’s in one of Minho grandmother's old journals that they find a clue to what could be the cure to their problems.

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Minho POV

Minho looked up, startled from where he was focusing, reading one of the many journals his family had left behind. The loud sound of Jisung's frustrated sigh and then subsequent throwing of his own medical book he was just reading.

“There is nothing in any of these books, no medicine or anything to help alphas become more docile and willing to their alpha mates and their advances. All of them just call for a compatible omegas pheromones to help calm the alphas down. But that doesn’t work for us anymore!”Jisung yells out the last part in frustration

It is true while it might have helped in the beginning to have the pheromones of an omega around. They’re alphas had clearly grown a tolerance to it because the last couple of times they had tried it hadn’t worked.

The only explanation that Minho could find for this is that because they are bonded to so many people unlike the two alpha pairings that are commonly detailed in the textbook even back then there wasn’t much research involving a large pack of only alphas so the textbooks had only lead to dead ends as far as there situations goes. Unlike a monogamous alpha pairing, their own alphas are much quicker to recognize the omega's scent and pheromones don’t belong to one of their bonded mates. Given they have each bonded to 6 other people it makes sense by now their alphas have become quite proficient at telling who is their mate and who isn’t.

And because they would never risk marking an omega for fear that without that soul link their alphas would simply reject the mark leading to extreme pain or and even death for the omega involved they had decided they would find some other solution then resort to that.

“Here come grab one of these journals. They are from my super great grandmother's own experience dealing with bonded packs and alpha pairings. We might have better luck finding something in these since it comes from her own personal experience in the medical practice she ran. More likely that she ran into a pack or person like us than those medical books having taken the time to research such an uncommon soul bond like ours” Minho super great grandparents as he had taken to calling them since it was much more simple then saying great multiple times whenever talking about them.

Seems they had taken to doing their own research on the different types of soul bonds and mated pairings and how it could affect a person's physical and mental health. They most likely were preparing to release this to the public one day, but they never got to, given the complete fall of society. It is quite extensive research that Minho has only just started on after going through all the medical books and finding nothing.

They had to go back to his old house for some of them because Minho had left some behind during his move. Thankfully his home and origins remained a complete mystery to anyone that knew of them so the material wasn’t at risk but still this time around Minho made sure to take everything pertaining to his family's research.

He hopes one day he can open up a school and pass down his family's knowledge down to more people, hopefully restore some of the healthcare system that is now practically non existent. However as it stands there alphas grow more aggressive each day and it's becoming harder to control themselves. Minho doesn’t think that would make for a very good learning environment nor does he think he could do it without starting a fight with one of his would be students.

Jisung walks over grabbing off the large stack of journals.

“You think super great grandma Lee knew she would be the last lifeline to her great super grandson decades later?”Jisung asks

“I’m sure she knew she would be a lifeline to someone maybe she didn’t know it would be her descendants directly but I know she did this because she wanted to help people then. She wasn’t able to but she kept them safe so one day they could help someone” Minho agree in reverence for his grandmother

He wishes he would have gotten to meet her but they were many generations apart. Unless she discovered a cure for aging which honestly with how knowledgeable the woman was given a few more generations she might have just done it. Discovered immortality if anyone could do it it would be Lee Dori.

Perhaps some of her spirit had ended up in his cat which he named after her. Not for any reason other than him and his lack of creativity.

‘That's alright creativity is a Hyunjin thing anyways’ Minho thinks to himself

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It’s another couple hours later Minho is startled once more this time by Jisung excited squeal.

“Hyung holy shit I think I found something that could actually help us” Jisung runs over pointing at something within the journal.

Minho grabs the journal looking down at the section Jisung was pointing at excessively as if Minho would somehow miss it if he doesn’t continue to excitedly point at it.

‘Secondary Gender transition’ the large letter at the top read

“For an alpha research shows that through a process referred to colloquially as bitching some alphas with the right medication and treatment are able to transition from an alpha into an omega”Minho reads outloud

The journal goes onto detail his grandmothers own research and experience with an alpha who came to her experiencing issues with his secondary gender.

Mostly stemming from the alpha issues with his alpha following his presentation. He had grown up being treated as an omega and had always expected to present as an omega however having presented as an alpha he was experiencing frequent depressive episodes along with increased issues with his ruts.

At the time there was little research on it but his grandmother had recommended that course of treatment to the other alpha given the severity of his reaction and the risk to his health from the presentation not being what he had already seen himself as. He saw himself as an omega to be treated otherwise was only hurting him further.

She goes on to detail the different medications she prescribed the alpha and the form of treatment.

There was some trial and error, but they eventually found a formula that finally worked. The various medications she used weren’t ones they had, but Minho thinks most of them won’t be difficult for them to recreate, thanks to the detailed medicine books she kept along with the journals.

“Look by the end of it he was even able to be marked and mated by his alpha mate,” Jisung says excitedly

Minho nods looking over everything again he could feel that spark of hope that they may have finally found the solution to their problems

“Yeah now we just gotta figure out which one of those knot heads we would be able to convince to let us bitch them”Minho says contemplating how to go about explaining it to his mates

The journal states the alpha has to at least already have some predisposition to submission to make the process easier. Given any alphas instincts would naturally want to fight against the treatment and medicine used to transition the person.

“Isn’t it obvious? There is only one person who would be compatible with the medicine and treatment” Jisung states looking at Minho like he should already know the person they have to propose this to

When it takes longer then he would like Jisung sighs in frustration and points to the large canvas painting of his home village on the wall. It had been a gift to him from Hyunjin after he finally made the move to the city to be with the rest of the pack.

The boy having painted him a beautiful scene of the sun rising in his home town he told him it was for him to look at when missing his old home.Hyunjin wanted to bring a piece of his old home into his new home. It was a very thoughtful gift, but so were most things Hyunjin did. And that's when it finally clicked what Jisung was trying to say.

“Hyunjin”Minho says his name like a prayer and in this moment it is because Hyunjin and his sweet soul might finally be the rescue they all need.

Chapter Text

Hyunjin POV / Third Person POV

Hyunjin unlike most of the children within Seoul actually was lucky enough to grow up with at least one of his parents actively present within his life. His mother, a beta whom he has always thought was far too gentle and beautiful for his alpha father. Had given up everything the moment she became pregnant with Hyunjin.

She had always wanted to be a mother and though they tried for years they were unable to conceive. Perhaps that had something to do with the fact his father wasn’t at all interested in having children. The man was perfectly content with just the two of them. A child would just be an extra mouth to care for and feed. And in modern day Seoul that was quite difficult for anyone. Nevermind two adults that don’t participate in gang activity.

These days there is no government. The very concept is only known to most people from word of mouth passed through generations and only confirmed by the few history books that survived the purge. The closest thing they have to a governing body in their world are the gangs.

They were the only institute that remained after all the governments either took each other out through war and in fighting or were taken down by the fascist within the country that thought the world would be better without any oversight.

Governments while useful they had grown weak through their dividing of power. As the centralized government grew weaker those who sought to destroy it completely grew stronger. Till eventually they achieved there goal of completely eliminating it. When the government fell so did most institutes like healthcare and the military. Without someone to pay and oversee them the military divided itself into factions eventually each of them taking control of different parts of the country.

These factions of the military became their own form of gangs. And while at first they claim to be better and more moral than the gangs that already populated the earth. And people with their preconceived trust of the military had fallen for it. For a moment some countries were ruled by a Factionlist Stratocracy.

However eventually to no surprise to anyone who had actual knowledge of the war crimes certain militaries would commit in the name of justice and freedom. The people learned that those military factions were just as bad or in some instances worse then the gangs already existing.

Another uprising later and the only ones left with some form of institution were the gangs of the world. But unlike the military government before them they had learned there lesson. You can only oppress people for so long before they turn against you. You can only wield so much control. So taking the lesson they had established a much more lacks system. Not everyone was required to participate or be part of an organization.You didn’t need to answer to whatever gang controlled the area you lived in.You were welcome to live however you want so long as you didn’t interfere with the gangs business. Of course those that were under the gang had a much better quality of life then those who weren’t.

Well as good as life could get these days anyways.

Despite this Hyunjin parents had chosen to not affiliate themselves with the gang that ran there side of the city. Instead his father found work as a shipment transporter with a small company that wasn’t affiliated with a gang. He would transport goods around the country to different groups and factions that were able to pay for the services.

It wasn’t the most lucrative but it fed them most days. His mother would often accompany him on these trips and help him but once she became pregnant she decided to stay home. After all the time it took her to fall pregnant she wouldn’t risk doing anything that would put her at risk of losing her baby.

His father wasn’t happy but his heart softened when Hyunjin was born, those parental instincts finally making themselves known. So while his father was often off on a job his mother was always present in his life.

Hyunjin couldn’t be more thankful because his mother who had a love for art had finally been able to explore it now that she had more free time. She was the one that installed that love of art within him.

She had taught him to read and write and all the other things children would need. And though his education was not as intensive as Minho who had a treasure cove of knowledge and educational literature at his disposal. Hyunjin still received an education which was rare for children who weren’t affiliated with a gang. Since most gangs were the only ones that provided education for its members and there children.

As he grew and there needs become more, Hyunjin wanting to help alleviate some of his parents' stress had began working on projects for anyone who would pay him. That's how he had started his own business. Thanks to his dads connections he was able to get his hands on art supplies that most common people couldn’t.

Hyunjin still remembers the look on his mother's face when he had handed her a wad of cash to help with that month's rent to the gang that owned their apartment. He had only been 14 at the time.

From there they had both taken to commissioning and selling their art wherever and whenever they could. His Father had actually looked proud of him for once he wasn’t an extra mouth to feed but someone who could actually contribute.

Hyunjin hadn’t stopped working since then. Not even when his mother had been killed during a shooting that occured just outside the farmers market where she had taken to set up her own little stall to sell the piece they had created in the week.

Hyunjin was supposed to accompany her that day but a client had commissioned him at the last minute and he was pulled away from accompanying her.

He thinks of that day and that time of his life often. Wonders if he is a bad son for not taking the time to grieve the lost life of his mother.

As a child he had read it once, the proper process that people once practiced following the death of a loved one. Hyunjin just couldn’t follow it he had been too focused on making enough money to give his mother a proper grave. He wonders in hindsight if those things were more important than taking the time to honor his mothers memory.

Wishes he could have done more but all things are clearer in hindsight. At the time it felt like his world was falling apart and Hyunjin's fractured mind could only focus on ensuring his mother would have a resting place worthy of her beautiful soul.

It wasn’t all bad, he thinks because Hyunjin is still able to go visit his mothers grave on her birthday and anniversary of her death. That’s more than most people who have lost a loved one can say. Most people these days are cremated or buried in a mass grave. Like what happened to his father.

To this day Hyunjin isn't certain if his father was cremated or buried in a mass grave. Following his mothers death the man ran away from everything leaving Hyunjin and their home behind his grief having consumed him and he wasn’t even able to step foot in their home or look at Hyunjin whom he said was the spitting image of his mother.

Hyunjin only knew of his passing when some of his colleagues had been kind enough to drop by and check in on him following the car accident. Imagine their surprise when they learned that the car accident and his fathers demise were complete news to him. By the time he learned of it his fathers body had already been given to the mortuary of the gang as is customary after 5 days of no family member coming by to claim them.

The gangs were the only group of people who knew and had the means to dispose of a dead body. And because they dealt with the dead they didn’t have particularly good bookkeeping or records of the bodies they processed.

Hyunjin was 17 at the time he became an orphan.

He still considers himself fortunate. In a world of uncertainties Hyunjin had the privilege of growing up in a loving stable home.

He is even more fortunate that at 22 he heard one of his clients utter the name of one of his mates. And he was able to find the 6 men who now have filled his life with love and joy once more.

He loves his mates and while he never expected to find them nevermind find them as the leaders of one of the biggest gangs in Seoul. It was just further proof to him that the universe was still looking out for him. That there was a cosmic force out there ensuring Hyunjin found his way.

It hasn’t been the smoothest process after all Hyunjin managed most of his life to avoid the gangs that ran the city. He had no experience with all that came with being part of an organized crime institute.

Thankfully neither Chan or any of his mates expected for him to participate within the organization. He was the only one out of them that was completely separated from that side of his mates life.

Because while Minho also wasn’t as involved he still had chosen to take on the position of doctor and go to physician of those within their organization that were valuable enough to receive treatment when injured on the field. Minho might not have taken the oath his family members did long ago but he still abided by the rule. If he could save someone with his knowledge then he would.

So while Hyunjin and Minho weren’t full members out of the two of them Hyunjin was the only one that had no involvement in the Stray mafia. Instead he continued working like he had before. This time not for survival but just because art was the only thing he has ever known and truly loved before his mates.

The only difference now being the safety procedures his mates had put in place to ensure his safety while working. Because even if Hyunjin wasn’t involved within the gang and knew nothing of its going ons. He still had a target on his back as the mate of the 5 other men that ran the Strays.

For example when a self portrait was commissioned. The person making the request had to go through an extensive background check to make sure they had no ulterior intentions while requesting Hyunjins time. For the appointment they had to come to his studio that was heavily guarded and protected.

Thankfully Hyunjin was able to convince them to forgo the background and questioning process for the other types of work that he offered. Still anyone that wanted to meet with him had to come to his office and be checked for weapons and only allowed to speak to him once they had been cleared off anything that might cause harm to the young man.

It was quite tedious but thankfully it hadn’t discouraged anyone from commissioning his work. If anything the fact he was now mated to the infamous gang only made him that much more coveted as an artist.

That is where he finds himself on that fateful day that changed everything not only for him but his whole pack.

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His hand glides across the canvas as it has thousands of times before. The smudge of paint on his right hand visual proof of the time he has spent on this particular piece. The couple who had commissioned the portrait wanted it to be as detailed as possible and Hyunjin has always aimed to please. Especially when it comes to his art.

He hears a frantic knock that sounds like someone is playing some rhythm on his door.

This particular habit he knows belongs to one of two of his mates.

‘Changbin or Jisung’

“Come in”Hyunjin calls to the door not looking back to confirm which of the two alphas it is. The scent will tell him that a lot faster than his eyes could. Hyunjin has trained himself to smell and recognize his mates scents from across a busy room.

The scent of Mandarins hit him but unexpectedly is also the scent of Rain

“Hello Minho hyung and Jisung, what do I owe this surprise visit to?”Hyunjin asks

“We found something in Minho hyung grandmothers journals. Something that might help fix our problem and we wanted to talk to you about it before presenting it to the pack”Jisung informs him

Hyunjin finds it a little strange they’d want to talk to him first. If anything, usually this would go to Chan as their pack leader. Even if he finds it odd he is sure the two have a good reason and either way he is never opposed to helping his mates out whenever they need him.

If the two mad doctors came to him he can only assume the solution has something to do with him or at the very least something Hyunjin can help them with.

“What's up?” Hyunjin puts down his brush and turns around giving his full attention to his two alpha mates

The look on Minho and Jisung face doesn’t give him much as far as reassurance. Both of his mates look conflicted and dare he say a little concerned.

“Please know we only are presenting this to you because it is the only solution we have found to our problem and despite the situation we don’t want you to feel guilty if you decide it’s not something you want to do” Minho explains first and foremost wanting his mate to know there is no obligation for him to agree. Even if he is the best candidate for the bitching process.

They will find another solution or another candidate if Hyunjin decides this is too much for him.

“Your worrying me Hyung just tell me what’s up” Hyunjin says concerned now laced in his voice as well

“We read in the books a process called bitching. Were through some medical and habitual implementation an alpha can transition to an omega.” Jisung finally gets out

Hyunjin's brain can’t quite comprehend what they are saying. He is stunned because he had no idea this was a possibility.

But he does know that if what they are saying is true then that could be the answer to all of their problems for sure.

An omega is what they need it’s what the pack needs and what better way to get an omega then turning one of there already existing alpha mates into the omega they need.

“How?” Hyunjin asks stunned

Minho nods walking closer to the painter “ It requires some medication and supplements to be taken by the alpha and for their treatment and position in the pack to also shift to one more traditionally omegan. Over time their alpha is weakened and eventually transitions to an omega with the help of the medicine blocking the alpha pheromones and with the supplements mimic omega hormones eventually the body starts producing omega pheromones itself” Minho explains further

Hyunjin takes a moment to process the information. It makes sense but also doesn’t because Hyunjin knowledge of secondary genders is limited to the little educated he received.

His mother tried her best to inform him but the remaining information and knowledge of secondary genders and where they come from are very limited and conflicting.

Needless to say she had no knowledge of pheromones and how they work or why the body produces them beyond the knowledge that they can affect others around them.

He had no idea something so essential could be blocked.

“Do we have this medicine?”Hyunjin asks the next logical question his brain produces after taking some time to disgust the information

“We don’t but Minho grandmother left a detailed list of all the medications and what they are composed off so we are confident we can make them” Jisung speaks up this time

So if they are certain they can make the medicine. The only thing remaining is the person who will undergo the process.

It’s clicks for him why they came to him first and why they felt the need to give him a warning before presenting their idea.

“So all you now need is an alpha willing to go through the process” Hyunjin thinks out loud

Jisung nods

“The ideal alpha is one who isn’t overall aggressive or territorial. An alpha that demonstrates more omegan behavior” Jisung adds on further explaining the criteria

“An alpha that doesn’t demonstrate the typical alpha behavior” Minho continues

“We need an alpha like you, Hyunjinnie” Jisung finishes saying what they all already know and are thinking

Hyunjin understands right away. He is the only one who stands a chance of taking to the bitching. And he is almost certain he is on a short list of his pack that would be willing to be bitched.

He is the only viable candidate. Because Hyunjin might be an alpha but he has never really taken to the role like the rest of his mates have. Compared to them Hyunjin is closer to a beta than an alpha.

And maybe he should take more time to think about it but he doesn’t feel like he is making the wrong decision when he answers “I wanna do it”

“Hyunjin are you sure you should” Minho goes to say what Hyunjin was already expecting so Hyunjin brings his hand up to stop him

“I know Hyung but I’ve never felt super connected to my alpha like the rest of you. I know I’m the best option because I don't feel any discomfort at the idea of being bitched. I know this is what the pack needs and I’m okay with going through with this not just for us but maybe this will finally bring me some closure and understanding of why I’ve never felt like a true alpha” Hyunjin explains honestly

“You have always been perfect in our eyes it doesn’t matter that your not a typical alpha.”Jisung walks over embracing Hyunjin in a side huge

Hyunjin rest his head on Jisung shoulder breathing in the mandarins scent from the boy's neck. Feels his body relax into his mates hold only further proving he is perfect for the process.

“I know and I love you all for accepting me as I am but this might be my chance to finally understand my secondary gender identity” Hyunjin confess into Jisung skin

“We will always accept and love you omega alpha or anything else” Minho joins them wrapping his arms around both of his mates

Hyunjin smiles, his scent turning sweeter as he is surrounded by the presence and loving scent of his two mates.

He knows he has made the right decision not just for his pack but surprisingly for himself as well. Because something feels lighter within himself at the prospect of being bitched about his position within the pack shifting. Of having that weight of expectation that he has felt since the moment he presented as an alpha finally being lifted.

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While the list of medication his grandmother had tried was vast. Minho and Jisung decide to start with the one they can more easily produce.

If these don’t work they’ll have to move on to the more difficult medications to produce but thankfully the list is extensive enough for them to trail various combinations till they get their desired outcome.

They present to the rest of the pack the plan once they have the first patch of medication and supplements ready for Hyunjin to take.

Chans first order is to make sure Hyunjin is truly okay with this. The leader being overall cautious with his mates health ensuring Hyunjin isn’t doing something for the sake of others as the boy has a tendency to over look his own feelings for others at times especially his mates.

Hyunjin assures him just as he had Minho and Jisung before that he understands and is certain of his decision.

With that out of the way the three go on to explain besides the medicine and supplements what other changes the pack needs to implement to ensure the bitching is done correctly.

Seungmin laughs and exclaims how those changes shouldn’t be difficult given Hyunjin is already treated more like an omega than an alpha.

The rest of the pack agreeing upon further consideration. Because although they haven’t been doing it on purpose like they will be now going forward. They still have subconsciously been treating Hyunjin differently to the rest of their alpha mates.

“How long does it take?”Changbin asks face slightly red and voice lower and more raspy

Minho smirks

“Why Binnie eager to stick your knot in our omega?” Minho asks teasingly

Changbin bites his lip perhaps in an attempt to hold back whatever sounds those words may have produced.

The same can’t be said for Jeongin the younger of there pack groaning audibly at the statement

“Look at you also so desperate for Hyunjin to bend over and present for you.”Minho continues feels as the air gets charged with something more lustful and he is more than happy to feed into it

“To answer your question. We don’t know how long it’ll take but the faster we start the sooner we can get results”Jisung finally speaks up to answer

His answer doesn’t deter the current atmosphere if anything it only adds to it. Because what better time to start than the present when all of them are already riled up thinking of Hyunjin, their prettiest mate presented and wet begging for their knots.

Hyunjin who already looks to be high off the pheromones being produced by the other alphas in the room. His own being muted compared to the others in the room. Like his body is already adjusting itself and submitting to the others alphas.

“Minho get the medicine for our pretty omega. I think it’s time his pack shows him where he truly belongs”Chan voice is commanding and deep

Hyunjin whines because he loves hearing that all encompassing leader tone from his pack alpha. Loves how it makes him feel small and powerless. Chan doesn’t use it often with them and most often it’s used when regarding there underlyings within the organization. The pack alpha being respectful of his mates and their own position as alphas.

Hyunjin is glad he will finally be at the receiving end of such a tone. Loves the loss of control and autonomy. Like he doesn’t need to think or do anything just be a good boy and let his alpha do all the thinking for him.

Minho quickly walks out of the room toward his lab where he and Jisung stored the medicine they have already created.

“Above all the most important part is that the alpha is exposed to as much alpha cum from another alpha as possible. So that his body understands he is a weaker alpha easily taken and dominated by others” Jisung explains walking behind Hyunjin wrapping his arms around the man’s lethal body and bringing his hands up to fondle Hyunjin chest

“So we have to show Hyunjinnie that he was never meant to be an alpha that he is better suited for the position of a submissive and loving omega”Seungmin gets up walking closer to the pair eyes zeroed in on Hyunjin neck that is now titled to the side in a show of submission

“All while ensuring he takes each of our knots till his bursting with alpha cum” Changbin sounds breathless and Hyunjin looks over to find the alpha palming his erection

“Can you do that for us baby, be a good omega for your pack and take your alphas knot?” Chan ask lovingly from the couch

“Yes alpha”

Chapter Text

Third Person POV

Hyunjin is no stranger to this feeling, Being under one of his mates is a feeling he is use to and enjoys. Much more than any of his other alpha mates probably know.

Or perhaps they know how much he enjoys it because that is the very reason he is here now. Minho had come back with the first dose of his medication and had Hyunjin swallow it all before they alpha’s were crushing into him in a despreate heat to be the first to get to knot and cum inside there pack omega.

Even if they had only just started the process Hyunjin already had taken to referring to himself as the pack omega. Has already began changing his mentality and self image to fit that of an omega.

Minho had let him read his grandmother’s journals and he learn of the experience of the omega before him that had undergone this very process. He knew the changes didn’t only have to be with the pack but also internally Hyunjin had to start accepting his new place in the pack.

He no longer was an alpha, he no longer had to be commanding and leading. He didn’t need to project his scent into each room he walked into to try and stake his claim and position as an alpha.

He could drop all those pretenses society expected from him as an alpha. He could finally take the much calmer and peaceful role of a pamper pack omega.

Hyunjin thinks he rather enjoys the change to his statues and place in the pack. After all what wrong can he find in being doted on and treated extra soft by his pack going forward.

He knows that isn’t the experience of every omega, especially not in the world they live in today. And being an omega in today’s society comes with its own set of limitations and challenges. But most of those are associated with unmated omegas.

Hyunjin has the privilege of already having a pack of strong alphas to take care of him and keep him safe from everything this cruel world has to offer.

He should consider himself lucky that his journey to becoming an omega came only after his pack did.

Hyunjin is brought to the present as Chan presses another finger inside him.

After much back and forth and squabbling Chan as there pack alpha had finally made the executive decision he would be the first to get to knot there pack omega.

“As the pack alpha its naturally my responsibility to go first” Chan said diplomatically

“Yeah real original Chan deciding you get first dips on our omega” Seungmin shakes his head disappointed at his leaders lack of creativity when coming up with an excuse as to why he should go first

Because that is all this is at the end of the day. They know Chan doesn’t actually ever enforce the rankings within the pack, at least behind closed doors and in private Chan is a docile and very laid back pack alpha.

Nothing like the scary overpowering dominating alpha he presents himself to be in front of their subordinates and rivals. But all of that is necessary for appearance when you are the ruling mafia in Korea.

Even with the shitty unoriginal excuse Chan still got to go first and as such had taken it upon himself to be the one to prepare Hyunjin's hole for his first cock.

His first knot. The first of many because Minho had told him the boy was to always be full with one of the alphas' cums.

Thankfully they were a pack with plenty of alphas more than capable of keeping their mate full of their seed at all hours of the day.

Chan adds another finger and now finally allows himself to rub against where he knows Hyunjin's prostate lays swollen and begging for some attention.

“Hyung” Hyunjin moans at finally feeling his alphas long fingers press into that sensitive bud

Hyunjin knows Chan was avoiding it. The older man preferring to tease and edge Hyunjin on till he is certain the boy will be undone with just the slightest of touches.

Chan leans down, attaching his lips to the mating bite on Hyunjin's pretty neck. Licking a strip of the sweaty skin to taste Hyunjin potent aroused scent straight from the source.

Hyunjin leans his head to the side exposing more of his neck for his alpha to lick and scent. He knows his scent isn’t quite as strong as the rest of his packs scent.

He knows his scent of magnolia is much more docile compared to the rest of the alphas. In general his scent isn’t one typically associated with alphas. Most people mistake him for a beta upon first impressions.

His alpha has also never been particularly aggressive or imposing. Another reason Hyunjin is so used to feeling fingers inside of him playing with the sensitive bud within.

“Alpha please I’m ready please need your cock” Hyunjin begs because he can’t take Chan's teasing any longer he needs the man’s thick length inside of him.

Chan cock is quite impressive both in length and girth making it perfect to hit and fuck against each of Hyunjins sweet spots.

That and Chan has made it his personal mission to find what position makes his mates fall apart the fastest. Has become an expert at just what to do with his large cock to make them sing in pleasure and bliss.

Hyunjin needs that right now and he can’t tell if it’s from the teasing or the medicine in his system making him extra needy but he thinks he might implode if he isn’t fucked full of his alphas cock.

Chan takes his fingers out and before Hyunjin can mourn the emptiness he feels Chan’s hard cock pressing inside of him. Chan bottoms out in one hard thrust because he knows Hyunjin enjoys the slight stretch and pain that comes from it.

He allows his mate's body a moment to relax and yield itself over to the cock spreading its walls.

It isn’t long before Hyunjin is begging for him to move. And just as expected Chan takes him apart like he was teaching a masterclass on how to fuck your pack omega stupid.

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2 Months into Hyunjin’s Bitching
Results: No effect to the medication as of yet

Hyunjin looks in the mirror as he prepares for the day. It has been two months since they began the bitching process and thus far the changes haven’t been very big.

His scent has turned just the slightest bit sweeter and his alpha no longer protests when Hyunjin is knotted multiple times during the day. But other than that there has been no changes.

Last month they had changed the medication. The first medication they tried only having worked to make Hyunjin more sensitive but not much else.

So Minho and Jisung decided to move down the list to the next medication.

This one hasn’t done much either but they like to give each round of medications a period of time to yield some results before moving on to the next one.

Beside the medication that he now takes daily. Hyunjin's daily routine has also changed quite drastically since the bitching began.

Hyunjin often wakes up to one or more of his mates scenting him before they leave for their daily posts. All of them scent him before leaving their pack nest but Hyunjin usually sleeps through it except for the final round of scenting his body naturally sensing the departure of his final alpha mate.

Another thing that has changed is that Hyunjin is constantly ready. He walks around with a plug in his ass that keeps him constantly open and ready for any of his mates.

His alphas have now taken to finding him through out the day and bending him over the nearest surface for a thorough fucking and knotting.

They then plug him up keeping him full of there cum till the next one comes and removes the plug. Even then whatever leaks out of Hyunjin’s holes is usually fucked back into him by the next alpha.

It took some getting used to the constant feeling of being open and stuffed full of alpha cum. Of knowing that any moment one of his alphas could walk into the room and render him useless for the next hour as they fuck him senseless.

His work has suffered quite a bit because of this and Hyunjin has stopped taking on as many projects as he used to before all this began. He also no longer sees clients personally.

Even if he knows his alphas wouldn’t do anything if Hyunjin was meeting with a client he knows any person with a working nose would be able to pick up the smell of sex and alpha aroused that has permanently itched itself into Hyunjin’s skin as of the last two months since the bitching began.

Well that and because Hyunjin must secretly admit he enjoys always being available for whenever one of his mates wants him. And taking the time to talk to clients would only keep him from getting fucked and knotted.

And Hyunjin isn’t ashamed to admit he has become addicted to the feeling and now craves it whenever he has gone to long without it.

Hyunjin thankfully never has to wait to long like himself his alphas seem equally obsessed with stuffing Hyunjin full of their knots.

Along with those physical changes to there routine Hyunjin has also noticed an environmental change to their dynamic. Hyunjin wouldn’t say he was ever really treated like an alpha within the pack but nevertheless the change is still noticeable to him.

He is no longer expected to get food for himself. One of his alphas making sure to bring him his meals and watch over him as he eats. One of them always coming in to remind him to drink water and take a break in between his work.

Every night before bed they will take turns pampering showering Hyunjin until all tension is released from his body and he is nothing but a content plaintent puddle of happiness.

His scent becoming especially sweet during those moment of gentle attention from all his pack alphas. They he is usually carried to bed where Minho or Jisung will give him his nightly medicine before one of them fucks him full till he is falling asleep on there knot.

Only for the routine to begin all over again the next day. If this is what it’s like to be an omega Hyunjin thinks he was always meant to be an omega.

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5 Months Into Hyunjins Bitching
Results: Minimal slight change in the alpha’s scent

“It isn’t working Hyung, It’s been 5 months and still no changes” Jisung is sitting in Minho office the two of them looking over the progress notes they have carefully been noting with each new round of medication they try on Hyunjin.

They have gone through most of the list of the medications they can easily make and get the ingredients for. If these continue to fail they’ll soon have to move onto the more difficult list they had made at the beginning of this process.

“His scent has only changed slightly, but he isn’t producing omega pheromnes and his body hasn’t even developed slick or the glands necessary to produce it no matter how much we try to stimulate it.”Jisung reads over the rather disappointing notes

“We know it’s a process of trail and error, Even in my grandma’s journal it took a few rounds and trails with various medications before they achieved the bitching. We just must have not tried the right medication to produce those results in Hyunjins body” Minho explains he is also getting disappointed with the lack of results but he doesn’t let it show.

Bitching isn’t a sure science and even back then it was an experimental process that took a lot of patience to work. While it is true that they are quickly approaching the end of there list of medication they can make. Minho won’t lose hope not while they still have a whole list of medications they can try.

Hyunjin through it all has been a saint. Never complaining or arguing whenever Minho and Jisung bring him an new nasty concoction for him to drink.

He never lets there lack of progress get them down or become frustrated with the tasking burden placed on his body with the constant change of medications.

Through it all Minho and Jisung have made sure to go about it safely the change between medications to ensure they don’t hurt Hyunjin. But even with all these precaution Minho knows each Medication comes with it’s own set of side effects and Hyunjin has had to deal with it all on his own.

They are always there to take care of him but none of them can comprehend just what Hyunjin could be feeling. Minho is sure this many months in the medications and it’s side effects must be more taxing on Hyunjins body.

Yet the boy never complains or objects when they start a new set of trails. Simply nodding and doing as his alphas ask.

Minho would like to credit this docilty to the medication finally working but he knows deep down that is just Hyunjin being the calm and docile alpha he has always been.

By now they should have yielded better and more tangtable results from the whole process but the changes in Hyunjin have been only slight. They are doing everything right so the pair conclude that the only issue must be the medication they are using.

Thus they decide to move onto the final medication on there list before they have to move onto the other list.

The two hadn’t taken the time to look through the small details of his grandmothers journal. The two hadn’t yet notice the glaring detail that could very well be the reason all there efforts have yielded no results.

Instead they stick to the list of medications and ingredients moving onto the next one. Hoping this one might be the one to bitch Hyunjin.

That this may finally be the one to break the alpha within him that this would finally be the concoction to give way to there pack omega finally becoming fully relized.

Minho is in his office grinding a mortal with some herbs for Hyunjin’s next dose. His hand already hurting from the amount of times he has had to do this in the past 6 months.

Still he refuses to use one of Seungmins machines for this, the consistency of the medicine coming out much better when Minho does the grinding by hand. Unlike the drugs they produce for the public this is something going directly inside of one of his mates.

And perhaps Minho is a control freak but he doesn’t trust those machines with anything that involves his mates.

Even if he knows Seungmin is a genius and all of his machines are made perfectly and work wonderfully when it comes to producing there other medicines and drugs. Minho would still prefer to do this part by hand.

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6 Months Into Hyunjin’s bitching
Results: No Change from the previous month

The door to his office is opened and the scent of fresh mandarins burst into the room. Jisung scent doesn’t ever leave the space with how often he is in here with Minho but even with the boys scent hanging in the air Minho can still point it out when he comes in.

Well that and only Jisung would be brave enough to burst into his office so rudely, The others know better than to do something like that. They might all be alpha’s but even they had there own hierarchy that they followed. Even if there pack alpha wasn’t super strict on upholding it Minho certainly was.

He would never let any of his other younger mates get away with the same level of rudeness and disrespect he lets Jisung get away with.

Seungmin is right when he says that Minho is too soft when it comes to Jisung.

Then again Seungmin might just be mad that he always gets the strictest version of Minho. He can’t help it Seungmin just brings it out of him with his disobedience and mischievous ways. As far as Jisung Minho knows Changbin is more than capable of discipline him should the boy ever get out of line.

“Ugh there no point Hyung nothing is working. We have tried all of the medicines and Hyunjin scent has only slightly changed and that’s about it, He isn’t even producing pheromones never mind slick. There is no point in making another dose it isn’t going to do anything”Jisung exclaims in disappointment sitting down in one of the desk chairs.

The conversation mirror the one they had the previous month. A Minho can’t help the sense of Deja vu that comes over him

Minho hums, He understands his mates frustrations the bitching hasn’t yielded the most encouraging results.

Results are highly lacking matter of fact. They had tried the final medication and that had done nothing the results remaining much the same from month five.

But that isn’t to say all hope is lost there is still some Medications they haven’t tried yet. Having first gone through the medicines they could easily produce and find the ingredients too with that list now fully worked through they have no other choice.

“We haven’t gone through all the medicines we can try. There still is the other list we haven’t yet tackled” Minho reminds the young alpha

Jisung looks through the piles of paper on Minho desk till he finds the one he is looking for, the list of medicine they deemed harder to option due to one or more ingredients not being easily accessible to them.

“You mean this one?”Jisung holds up the list

“Hmm, why don’t you look through it and see what we are missing” Minho tells him

Jisung looks down looking through the list for which of these would be the next best option for them.

A few of them call for multiple ingredients they are currently missing and Jisung easily dismisses them for there next trail.

He finds one that they have most of the ingredients for only missing one of the 12 ingredients the medication calls for.

“Hmm this one we have everything expect for this one”Jisung points down to the ingredient but upon relizing Minho isn’t looking over at the paper “Elderflower” He instead says outloud

“Elderflower? I’ve never heard of it, What country or region is it native to?” Minho asks

“How should I know I’ve never heard of it before!”Jisung exclaims

Minho turns around then a pointed look on his face

“Then grab one of the botanic books and figure it out” Minho tones is control and scary calm

Jisung nods obedentitly walking over to the bookshelf on the wall that hold all the botanic books. Easily finding the one on flowers.

It only takes him a few minutes to find the page on the Elderflower.

“Elderflower is a blah blah blah, It grows from a blah blah blah”Jisung skims through the passage uninterested in the flower beyond where they can find it “ The elderflower is native to the country of Scotland!”Jisung voice getting higher as he finally reads where the flower is from

“Scotland! That’s on the other side of the world, It’ll take us months to get there” Jisung whines and drops his head in defeat on the book below him

Scotland is a long ways away from Seoul especially now that most travel is through boats and the few planes in operation aren’t made for long scale travel. Jisung and Minho would also have to make the trip there themselves because neither of them could trust someone else to find the flower and take the proper steps to preserve it on it’s way back so that it might be viable for them to use. With the distance the flower would have to travel there is no way it would last long enough to be usable if not properly taken care of and that within itself would yield its own problems and challenges.

It would be much more effective for the two to travel there themselves and make the medicine there and bring it back already prepared. It was much easier to preserve a tonic than it was to preserve a whole flower through that long journey.

And even if they found someone who they could count on to bring it back in one piece and viable,it’s not like Jisung would trust anyone with that sorta of information. They would only start asking question about how Jisung and Minho have this knowledge that was meant to have been lost.

Should word get out of the type of knowledge Minho and Jisung have at there disposal it would only put a bigger target on there back. They would have every group after them for the very books that currently lays under Jisung’s head.

Most gangs within Korea know not to mess with the Strays Gang, Because at the end of the day whatever reward may come from taking some of there territory wouldn’t be worth the man power and toll it would take on them to even make those sort of moves.

So a certain level of peace has fallen over the country, most gangs staying to there territory and letting the others operate without conflict. However if the gangs were to find out they could gain something as valuable as the books that hold the knowledge for various medications and drugs.

Well then the reward would be worth the cost. There is reason Jisung has kept this information to close to his chest. He knows it’s value and just what the people in this deprived city would be willing to do to get it.

“Give me the book let me see” Minho walks over taking the book from under Jisung’s head.

Upon the removal of the book Jisung head plops down onto the desk below and the boy makes a small sound of pain.

“Elderflower native to the country of Scotland, During the 18th Century British Colonials brought with them the flower to the Island of New Zealand were it soon became a widely popular flower due to it’s strong pleasant scent that could calm aggressive alpha’s.”Minho continues reading outloud

Jisung head pops up from the desk in his peaked interest.

“New Zealand?"Jisung asks

“Yeah New Zealand that isn’t to far from here, It would only take us about 3 weeks to get there, Much better than the 5 months it would take to make it to Scotland.”Minho confirms the information going over the logistics in his head.

They could take a plane to Jeju island and from there make there way down to New Zealand. They might have to stop in Australia but most of the gangs there are pretty none confrontational and so long as he and Jisung travel under the radar they should be fine.

It wouldn’t be the first time Minho has had to operate and move in the shadows.

“I’ve always wanted to visit New Zealand I heard it’s one of the only countries not rules by ganges or the military, Just small communites of peaceful people, it always sounded so nice”Jisung mentions the previous information he has on the island

“Will we should let Chan know to get a boat ready for us, We are going to New Zealand" Minho smiles down at his mate

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Across the Sea On the Peaceful Island of New Zealand

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Felix POV / Third Person POV

Felix finally gets to a moment of rest, He has been tending to the sheeps this morning. And while it is one of his favorite tasks because he loves the company of the fluffy creatures. It is still a tasking indever to take them up the hill to the fields where the roam and feed.

He sits down by a tree over looking the valley where his flock is currently eating away at the plentiful green grass.

The sounds of the waves hitting the land just over the valley can be heard clearly even if Felix can’t see the edge of the water over the hills.

His grandmother use to say to him “No matter where you go Felix, You will always hear the sound of the sea, And know that when I am no longer here it is because I have gone back to the ocean to join the rest of our family. So don’t be sad my dear boy you’re family will always be with you so long as the waves roar”

His grandmother was right of course, Felix never feels sad or alone not even now when he is the last of his families left.

In his small village everyone is family and they all take care of each other. So even if Felix is alone he still has his friends and neighbors there with him. And because it is only him they built him a little cabin right next to the beach so each night Felix could be lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.

Felix is an orphan but he is never alone and he is forever grateful for the words of his grandmother that bring him comfort and solace each morning when he wakes and hears the greetings of his family that have return to the sea and each night the lullaby they sing him to keep him company while he sleeps.

Felix feels a tickle on his arm and looks down finding the white delicate leaf of the elderflower brushing against him.

The elderflower has always been his favorite the scent always having such a pleasant effect on him. His grandmother use to also crush it up and take the juice from the flower to make some tea or add it to there lemonade for a refreshing floral burst during the hot summer days.

He decides to pluck a few of them and stach them away in his bag for later. It’s been a while since he took the time to make some of his grandmothers Elderflower tea and he is feeling a little nostalgic today and decides he’ll make some once he gets back to his cabin.

Of course that won’t be till he is finished with all of his tasks for the day. There village is like a family and it runs on each person doing there part to keep things running smoothly.

There village council assign task for each group to complete. They work on a rotating system so as to no burden one group with the more difficult task. Unless you are an elderly or someone who can’t do certain task. The rest of the village will participate in the chore rotation.

Even those who are limited in what they can do help out in whatever way they can, Weather that be doing the dishes after breakfest or helping set up the tables for there nightly dinner service.

The village shares in all there food and supplies and each night they all gather around to have dinner together as a family.

No one goes hungry here and no one goes lonely because we all have each other.

Felix has heard stories of how the rest of the world lives after the fall of society. Many countries run by gangs and authoritarian factions that don’t care for anyone that isn’t of use to them. His family was originally from Australia and last he heard they were one of the countries run by various gangs. He couldn’t be more grateful his ancestors had chosen to run to New Zealand for sanctuary.

Perhaps they too knew that when the world went to hell this small peaceful island would remain as one of the final bastions of peace and community.

This was his home and this was his family.

He was getting to the age were he should be looking for a mate to settle down and start on the new generation. But Felix must confess none of the omegas of his pack call his attention nevermind his alphas.

His parents were fated mates and he remembers asking them each night to recount the story of how they meet each other. Perhaps it was this deep rooted desire to find his fated mate that has kept him from looking to the other omegas of his pack.

Maybe he should give up on the idea of finded his soulmate, After all the chances they are anywhere near him are very small considering how few villages and tribe currently reside near them and in the island as a whole.

And Felix doesn’t think he would ever be brave enough to venture outside of his little corner of the world. Even if the thought of finding his soulmate brings a great longing to his heart.

It has been a while since he traveled to the nearby villages, perhaps he should make the journey there is sure to be some omegas there that he hasn’t met yet perhaps one of them is his mate just waiting for Felix to finally find them.

He might as well give it a shoot as unlikely as it is Felix is a hopeless romantic and yearns to find his fated mate.

He should give it up but he won’t because if nothing else Felix is determined to never lose hope. And he knows wherever the ocean is his family will always be watching over him.

Chapter Text

Third Person POV

Minho and Jisung decide before coming to Chan with the next steps in their plan they should probably have more of said plan prepared to present to the head alpha than simply the destination of their travels and the reason for the sudden expedition.

This will be the first time either of them will have left the country and traveled so far from their pack and home for so long. Of course, there had been the period where Minho and Jisung lived together back in Minho's home village, but that wasn’t very far from Seoul compared to New Zealand.

That and this will be the first time two of their pack members will be outside of Chan and the Stray Mafia's territory of control. And while Chan and his power could certainly reach as far as New Zealand, his influence wouldn’t be as great in those territories.

Jisung, knows as the leading force in Korea Chan, has many connections all around the globe with other familiar organizations, but nevertheless, he knows Chan is likely to pose some objections at the prospect of letting two of his mates so far out of his range of protection.

“We have to remember Chan is only 4 months away from his rut, and his instincts are always on high alert a few months before his rut starts,” Minho reminds them

The pair is sitting in Minho's office, working out the logistics and details of their plan. While usually an alpha mates rut being 4 months away wouldn’t affect them because of their particular predicament, these sorts of things have to be taken into consideration.

Because most of their ruts go mostly unsatisfied without the presence of an omega, the built-up hormones in their system are never properly released, and thus making the next rut that much more difficult.

This also means that months in advance, some of their alphas start to experience pre-rut symptoms even if said rut is still months away from actually hitting them. This is especially bad with Chan, as their pack alpha his alpha is more intense than the others, and his instinct to protect and keep his pack close is even worse than the others.

It has only gotten worse over the years, with the more unsatisfied ruts that pass by them, and Chan’s alpha isn’t able to properly let go of his instinct. Before, when they were able to request some help from a willing omega, it wasn’t quite as bad, but even then, the alphas weren’t properly satisfied; there alpha’s still not satisfied spending their ruts with an omega that isn’t their mate.

Even if one of their alpha mates was always present, it was still not enough. Even back then, they all knew what they really needed was an omega mate.

Minho regrets letting it get this bad. He should have seen the signs and begun looking for a cure long ago when Chan’s instincts were still manageable. These days, the alpha’s protectiveness was on a whole other level, and Minho wasn’t sure how the man would take it, having two of his mates leave for an extended period of time to a different country that Chan didn’t have as much power in.

“He won’t let us go on our own; his alpha instinct won’t allow it. Will need to bring some men with us, and whatever ship we use has to be safe by Chan’s standards, which is easier said than done.” Jisung further adds

“Do you know any ship crews that Chan is familiar with and would be comfortable letting us travel with?” Minho asks, knowing Jisung has been around longer than him and knows more of Chan’s connection than he does

Jisung's face lights up

“There is one, an old friend of ours joined their crew a few years back when they were docked in the Han River,” Jisung says with a smile. “Have you ever heard of the Halazia Pirates?”

“Your friend joined the fucking pirate kings crew?” Minho exclaims sometimes he found it hard to believe this was his real life.

How did a doctor from a small town end up mated to a whole gang who happen to be close friends with the pirate king.

‘Feel like something straight out of those romance books Hyunjin loves to read’

Pirates aren’t common in his town no source of water nearby and all there is no need to worry about them.

But even being from a small town far away from the nearest body of water Minho was well aware of the Halazia pirates. While the land was controlled by many factions, the world's oceans were only controlled by one group. The Halazia pirates and their captain, the King of the pirates, Kim Hongjoong.

“Oh, he didn’t only join them, he is mated to the Pirate King and the rest of his pack, and similar to us, they are a soul-bonded pack, so it shouldn’t be difficult to have Kim Hongjoong agree to give us passage. The man is absolutely whipped for Wooyoung, the omega has that whole pack wrapped around his little finger, and Wooyoung would do anything that Changbin asks. He owes him his life. Changbin had defended him from a pack of rutting alphas when Wooyoung had presented at 14. Jisung explains their connection to the Halazia pirates

“Holy shit, how come you never told me Changbin had saved the Pirate King’s omega mate?” Minho thinks that was a pretty big piece of lore of his mate's life that he should have been privy to long ago

“Would you punish me if I told you it’s because you never asked?”Jisung asks sheepishly

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Hyunjin’s POV

Hyunjin finds himself unable to concentrate on his current project. It wasn’t a commissioned piece; it was one he was just working on for his own collection.

The piece was a self-portrait, at least that is what it was meant to be. Hyunjin doesn’t think the current picture staring back at him looks like him at all, or perhaps the sad, dark painting is exactly what he looks like, and he has yet to accept it.

Hyunjin is disappointed that it has been 6 months since they began the bitching process, and the results have been lackluster to say the least. Hyunjin wasn’t disappointed with his mates, he knows deep down that the problem isn’t them.

It is him.

He is disappointed in himself for his inability to finally cave and give in to the process. He can feel his alpha has weakened throughout the process, but the damn thing still refuses to go any further in the transition process.

His alpha no longer protests and fights against the changes; it has become docile and willing in every way, but even still, it has not changed. His sub-gender remains much the same. His lack of pheromones and slick proves that his alpha hasn’t yet budged despite their best attempts.

By now, they should have seen better results from the process; at the very least, Hyunjin should be able to identify the change in his sub-gender, a change from alpha to something else. But each month has only proven a disappointment, with only minimal changes to Hyunjin and his sub-gender.

His alpha has changed, but it is still very much an alpha. Hyunjin can’t help but feel he is failing. His pack knows that he is their last hope. Chan is approaching rut, and his ever-increasing symptoms being proof of how desperately they need an omega in their pack.

Hyunjin was sure he could be the omega that they needed, but with each passing month and the lack of change, he wonders if he is really capable of being what they need him to be.
Hyunjin isn’t so much disappointed in his lack of progress because he wants to be an omega. While he has enjoyed the treatment from his pack and the change in their dynamic, he has never had an issue with his sub-gender and was fine being an alpha, even if he never presented himself as a stereotypical alpha.

Hyunjin was content with being different. He might not be an alpha like what society expected, but his pack has always accepted him for who he is, and Hyunjin has always been comfortable in his identity.

He agreed to the bitching because he knew out of all of them, he had the best chance of being bitched, but now he wonders if he was overzealous in his ability to be what the pack needed.

Clearly, his alpha was more stubborn and headstrong than even Hyunjin himself knew.

He has read the books and the journals that the two alphas were using as a reference for the bitching process, and wonders if he was as good of a candidate as he originally thought. For one, he never grew up thinking he was an omega and hasn’t experienced any secondary gender dysphoria like the alpha in the journals had.

Maybe that is what he was missing, maybe the pack's dynamic changing and Hyunjin's place within the pack changing isn’t enough, maybe Hyunjin himself has to change the way he sees himself, or maybe it’s already too late and all this is for nothing because Hyunjin has lived his whole life content with himself and what he was.

He never thought his ability to accept himself and others fully for all of their quirks and oddities would one day come back to bite him in the ass.

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Third Person POV

Chan was on edge, but that wasn’t uncommon; he seemed to be on edge more often than not these days. His rut is approaching, and his instincts are acting up as a consequence of it

It has become especially bad in the last year, and Chan's pre-rut symptoms have only arrived earlier and earlier with each passing unsatisfied rut. He hopes this next rut will finally be the one to break the endless cycle, but thus far, the process hasn’t yielded great results.

He was currently in a meeting with some of his higher-ups, Chan's control had expanded as of the last couple of months with the fall of the Razor Mafia as thus Chan and his responsibility had increased tenfold, and he has been in constant meetings with his various enforcers and territory Dukes figuring out how to go about controlling and establishing themselves in this new area.

Chan didn’t like hearing the dangers and conflicts they had been running into in the process, and he especially didn’t like that one of his dukes had requested assistance from Changbin to come help him take control of the region that previously belonged to the Razors and was proving difficult to transition.

The people of the city having grown used to the other Mafia that previously controlled them and were not at all welcoming to the Strays’ sudden takeover. It’s not like they had much choice; surrounded by already established factions, the city had no choice but to be annexed by one of the nearby gangs.

They couldn’t possibly dream of forming their own gang and fighting the rest of them for control over the city. It just wasn’t possible, not unless you had something special like Chan and his pack had.

Jisung and his abilities to create a better product were the only reason the Strays gang had been able to leave themselves up enough to even have a chance against the more established organizations that were in Seoul. Since then, Chan had expanded to all of Korea, and now, with the Razors gone, his scope of power was reaching mainland Asia.

He has no doubt his current problems are partially to do with some of those other factions stirring up trouble in their anger at Chan’s ever-increasing power. The Strays haven’t been around long, but their accelerated rise to power rubbed some of the old heads within their line of business the wrong way.

And Chan knows he has more enemies than even he is aware of. Knows there are those out there who smile and pretend to be complacent to his face but are plotting his downfall behind his back.

Chan’s ever-growing power as of the last couple of months would only further infuriate them and their superiority complex. Their belief that they are entitled to what he has purely because they have been around longer.

Chan thinks if in the time they have had, they haven’t been able to accomplish what he could in 8 years, then surely they just weren’t capable enough. They have no one to blame for their lack of progress then themselves.

But of course, Mafia leaders aren’t exactly known for their agreeability and ability to accept when they are at fault.

The door to their meeting room burst open, and all the heads within the room snapped up in attention, some, including Changbin and Jeongin, reaching for their guns, ready to defend their pack mates from the sudden intruder

“Hyung, Me Minho hyung, and I are leaving for New Zealand, and we need you to send a message to Kim Hongjoong and his crew to provide us passage there,” Jisung exclaims loudly into the room

Minho followed behind him, looking around at the room filled with various mafia members.

‘This isn’t good, Jisung just barged in rudely into an important meeting’

This is only proven worse by the exclamations from the men in the room at the show of disrespect by Jisung barging into their meeting and making demands of their leader.

In Jisung's defense, he had completely forgotten Chan was in a meeting today and thus didn’t think his show of disrespect with be badly received, after all Chan has never cared about these sorts of things. And while the man may pretend to be annoyed by the casual way Jisung always treated him, despite his position and seniority, he would never actually do anything.

However, in front of all his higher-ups Chan has no choice

Jisung seems to realize this soon after Chan does because he opens his mouth to go and apologize, but before he can, Chan is already issuing his damage control order

“Changbin, it seems Jisung has forgotten his manners. Take him back into my office and make sure he remembers how to properly speak to his alpha and leader.” Chan's domineering voice booms through the now silent space

Jisung whinces hates when Chan uses that tone because it makes him want to tuck tail and run away, and that would only make this situation worse.

Changbin sighs exasperated and gets up, walking over to Jisung and grabbing him by the arm

Jisung goes to protest, but is stopped by Changbin

“Don’t! Jisung, take your punishment and don’t make this worse for Chan.” Changbin whispers firmly into Jisung's ear

It doesn’t matter that Jisung is an alpha and thus has more freedom to act brashly within their organization; even as an alpha, Jisung can’t act this publicly rudely towards their leader and expect Chan to let him get away with it.

They all have a reputation to keep, Chan especially, and though Jisung mourns the hit this public display and punishment will have on his own reputation, he knows it's necessary for the overall respect their pack and gang have among their underlings. Because while Jisung's reputation is mostly his own, he knows Chan’s reputation also represents that of the Stray’s Mafia.

Chan doesn’t have the luxury of taking any hits to his personal image, and he can’t allow for any rumors to surface that Chan is a weak pack alpha who allows his mates to disrespect him.

Changbin walks them to Chan’s office, which is only a door away from the conference room they are currently within.

He leaves the door to Chan’s office open, allowing everyone within the meeting room to hear Jisung's cries as he takes his punishment over Changbin’s lap.

No matter how humiliating it is, he can’t do anything else but take it,

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Jisung presents himself to the board room after his punishment to tearfully and sincerely apologize to his leader and pack alpha for his earlier disrespect.

“Good, I expect this won’t happen again, Jisung,” Chan says with a pointed tone

“It won’t, Sir. I’m sorry,” Jisung bows his head in submission to Chan’s authority

“Alright, that’ll be all for today. You are dismissed.” Chan looks around to the rest of the room, dismissing them now that he has taken care to establish himself as their leader, who won’t tolerate any form of disrespect.

Jisung only got a mild punishment because he was Chan’s mate, but the message was clear to the rest of the room: Should you do something like that, your punishment will be death, you won’t get any mercy.

All the men filed out quickly and with their heads bowed in submission out of the room.

Jeongin gets up, closing the door behind the last of their men

When it’s finally only their pack, Chan gets up quickly, embracing Jisung within his arms

“I’m sorry, Sungie, I know you hate being publicly punished. Are you okay?”Chan frets over the boy doing a complete 360 from his previous demeanor

Jisung sniffles but nods nevertheless

“I am i’m sorry I had to make you punish me. I should have been more careful.” Jisung embraces his alpha and reassures him, knowing Chan’s instincts are likely going crazy right about now, thinking he had hurt his mate.

“You're an idiot, Sungie. You knew he had a meeting today with the Dukes and Enforcers,” Changbin says from his place by Chan’s office door

Jisung turns around, sticking his tongue out at Changbin childishly

“I was too busy thinking about how to get this pack the omega we desperately need to care about random territory control meetings,” Jisung exclaims

“Careful, or he might be tempted to spank you again,” Jeongin laughs from the other end of the room
“Watch it, brat Jisung is still your hyung,” Minho reminds the younger alpha

“He makes it hard to remember that sometimes,” Jeongin shrugs

“I’ll be happy to remind you,” Minho says with a smirk

“Enough, Minho, stop teasing the baby. Now Jisung, what is this about leaving” Chans alpha internally brisaling just at the mention of his mates being away from him.

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Chan isn’t happy, and it takes nearly a week of pleading and negotiation from Jisung and Minho, and then eventually Hyunjin, to finally convince the alpha to allow the other two to venture out in search of their needed ingredient.

He only agrees with the condition that Jisung and Minho take a squad of their best fighters and guards with them for protection, along with a written assurance from Kim Hongjoong to watch and provide protection to his mates for their voyage from Jeju to New Zealand.

Chan also asks Hongjoong to send a reconnaissance team out to Australia to monitor the situation there and give them an up-to-date report on the climate of the gangs currently in control of the country, and if should worst comes to pass, how easily Chan could take them on and defeat them.

Thankfully, one of Hongjoong's fleets was close by and able to get the information back to them quickly. The conclusion is that Australia was mostly stable the Ganges in power much the same as they had been the last time Chan had checked in on the area.

Chan had a vested interest in the area after all, Australia was where his family originally hailed from back when people freely moved and traveled between countries. Back when one didn’t need to check the structure of power within a given place before planning their trip.

Chan isn’t sure if any of that would have made him less anxious doesn’t think the existence of governments and law and order would have made him any less hesitant to allow his mates out of his sight.

Nevertheless, all of his conditions had been met, and with Hongjoong's reassurance, Chan had no choice but to allow the two alphas to venture away from him on their journey.

“Hyung, it’s fine, we are taking a plane to Jeju, and there we will meet Hongjoong and his crew, we won’t be in any danger with the Halazia pirates provided us protection, that and the cool new weapons Seungmin gave us,” Jisung reassures his pack alpha

“Or that eight highly trained killers you are sending with us,” Minho adds on further

“Eight? Maybe we should send two more with you,” Chan suddenly exclaims, doing anything he can to try and keep the two with him longer

“No”

“Channie”

“Hyung no”

“I am not going through your ridiculous checklist of requirements to find two more guards.”

“There isn’t enough room on the plane.”

The various voices of their pack exclaim in protest

Chan sighs in defeat, knowing his strategy has been dwarfed, and there is no more delaying

“Come on, hyung, I promise to write often and keep you updated. Hongjoongs men are all around and will help to keep us in contact. We will be back before your pre-rut really hits.” Jisung reassured the man one last time before separating himself from the man's tight embrace

“Fine, be safe, and if I don’t hear from you at least once a week, I’m heading down there myself and invading Australia.”Chan's tone tells them that he isn’t exaggerating; the man will go to war with every gang in Australia if he has to.

“Reclaiming the homeland, how very patriotic of you, Chan.” Seungmin laughs

Chan would do it not because of some deep-rooted patriarchal cares for his ancestral home but because he would do anything to ensure his mate's safety, even if that means going to war with a whole continent. And though Seungmin and the rest of the pack poke fun at him, he knows they would do the same if it came down to it.

As a matter of fact, Seungmin would be the first person this century to craft weapons of mass destruction if they needed them to take on the whole world for the sake of their pack.

Seungmin would make sure they had the power to do it.

They would all do it, no questions asked; they would bring the whole world to their knees if any of them were in danger.

They had brought the masses of Korea to their knees for far less.

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“I got word that two of Bang’s mates are making their way to us as we speak.”

“How generous of Bang Chan to offer up his mates for us. Finally, we'll show people that our gang isn’t to be messed with. Once we have Chan’s mates, no one will dare challenge us.”

“Shall I prepare our men to take them once they make landfall in Sydney?”

“Yes, by month’s end, everyone will know the Scorpion gang's name.”

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Across the Sea, On the Peaceful Island of New Zealand

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Felix POV

It had taken some time and preparation, but Felix had finally found a kind merchant willing to take him from Castlepoint to Auckland.

In exchange, Felix just had to work for the man for the 2 months he would spend within the city. Then he would provide Felix and, hopefully, his mate, passage back home.

“2 months that should be more than enough time to find my mate,” Felix says to himself, hopefully

“Wait for me a little longer, my mate, I promise, as your alpha, I will find you,” Felix promised to the sea, hoping it would carry his message to his other half

Felix doesn’t know it, but at the same time, he made that promise to the sea. Two alphas across the sea were boarding the infamous Aurora ship, making their way to him.

The sea had indeed carried his message, but the receiver was not at all who Felix expected. And very soon, he would regret his decision to venture out of his village because this would be the first of many events that would lead to Felix's ultimate demise.

He didn’t know it as he boarded the wagon of the friendly merchant, but he was walking his way straight into the arms of his captors. And as he waved goodbye to the people of his village, he had no way of knowing that this was the last time he would see their kind smiling faces.

Soon, the only thing he would know is the masked faces of 7 alphas that would never let him go, no matter how hard Felix tried or pleaded. He would never be free of them; he would never be free again.

In search of his mate and love, Felix will only find pain and hurt. He will, for the first time, see the evils of the world outside of his village. All at the hands of seven masked alphas that he had never before known.

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Chapter Text

Third Person POV

The ship is just as grand as Jisung last remembered it being. Hongjoong and his pack certainly spare no expense when it comes to their ship. The large vessel, sporting multiple floors and easily accommodating its large crew, and the infamous 8-member pack that runs it.

“Welcome aboard the Aurora, Minho and Jisung. I am pleased to offer you both and your men safe passage through the seas.”Hongjoong's voice booms through the space, announcing them as honored guests of the pirate king

Informing everyone within the ship that they are to be respected and treated in accordance with respect, as is customary for any guests of the pirate king. To do otherwise would be an offense to the captain of the ship, and any pirate with half a brain cell knows what offending the captain of a ship would mean for them.

And Hongjoong has certainly developed a feared reputation for anyone who dares disrespect him on his ship.

“Yes, captain,” The crew loudly says in unison, confirming the orders of their leader.

“Now take your positions, we are setting sail towards Australia,” Hongjoong's orders booms out, and those around them move swiftly to follow.

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Jisung is lucky that Minho's books include a cure for sea sickness; otherwise, he would find his meals going overboard the first couple of days they are out at sea.

The constant swaying and unsteady ground are not doing anything to help keep their meals down, especially for Minho, who has never before been on a ship, especially one this big for this long traveling into such turbulent waters.
Wooyoung seems to find the whole thing quite funny, laughing as he takes notes to later share with Changbin back in Korea about his two mates. Wooyoung is just lucky that Minho isn’t comfortable enough with him yet to threaten to take him over his knee for his disrespect.

Thought that isn’t to say he hasn’t gotten close with the pack, in fact, he has found a mutual understanding and camaraderie with the pack omega Seonghwa.

Although they do not share the same sub-gender, Minho shares many of the same qualities as Seonghwa, and the two have become close friends in their time aboard the Aurora.

Yunho has also taken a liking to Minho and his extensive knowledge of medicine. Yunho, at the beginning, had to take on the role of patching up his mates and crew when they got injured. Now they had more people to tend to those sorts of things, but at first, Yunho was the closest thing the Aurora had to a doctor.

Jisung was happy to spend his time aboard the ship catching up with Wooyoung and San, whom he had gotten close to the last time they had seen each other. As well as Yeosang, who, although quiet and reserved, was easy to talk to.

Plus Jisung had learned early on that the three were kinda of a package deal, and where you could find Wooyoung, you could also find San and Yeosang.

Similar to how Mingi was always looking for Yunho during his free time, and how Seonghwa spent most of his time within the captain's office with Hongjoong and Jongho.

While they all loved each other equally, Jisung could see that just like his pack, this one had certain stronger connections with some within their pack.

They certainly had a lot in common, and perhaps it's why the voyage seemed so easy and carefree for the two Stray pack members, because even far from home and their pack, they could still find remnants and comfort within Hongjoong's pack.

When he isn’t hanging out with the trio, Jisung spends his time cataloging the other medications within the book and the ingredients they require. He figures he might as well make good use of his free time and start compiling a list, should they need it in the future.

He hopes it won’t come to that, that this time might actually be the time it works, and they won’t have to journey on another long voyage for some obscure ingredient. Jisung doesn’t know how many times he could leave his pack in search of some semblance of hope that would ultimately disappoint them.

He also doesn’t know how many more times Chan will let them leave, especially with how limited the time frame is between his next rut. And even after it’s not like Chan’s instincts will be at all calmed after this next rut.
It will only get worse the longer they go without an omega’s help, and Jisung doesn’t want to know what will become of his pack if they continue down this route.

An unstable pack is an unsafe pack, especially in their position. Jisung knows they are safe now, but he isn’t naive enough to think danger isn’t lurking around every corner, and if the sharks smell weakness from within, they most certainly will not hesitate to attack.

Such is life for those at the top. It might feel safe to those at the bottom but anyone up there knows that their position is the most dangerous of them all. With all eyes on you, one wrong move could spell the end of your dynasty of power.

And Jisung knows that to stay alive, his pack has to stay in power, So he will do everything he can to keep them together and keep the cracks from showing to anyone looking at them from down below,

He will keep them safe at the top of the chain of power, and he doesn’t care how many times he has to leave his pack behind and travel through the vast unknown. He knows any discomfort that may come from this is nothing compared to what would happen to them if they were to fall.

No, as long as he is alive, Jisung won’t let their empire crumble, and just like how he built it with just a few old books, he will keep it alive just the same.

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They make landfall in Sydney at night and thus have to wait till morning to begin getting the supplies they need to restock before heading out the rest of the short way towards Auckland

Minho and Jisung lay together in their own private cabin, each of them engrossed within their own activity, unable to sleep much due to the excitement of almost being in New Zealand and close to the end of this whole journey.

They still have the journey back to Jeju and then Seoul but that at least then they well be carrying back with them the source of all this trouble,

They will have with them the final ingredient they need to start the new round of medication, bringing them one step closer to having an omega in their pack.

Minho is reading through his grandmother's accounts once more, looking for any detail they may have missed that could help them along in the process.

The alpha needs to be predisposed towards omega-like qualities and not have a strong sense of rightness with their own sub-gender, or at the very least be a more submissive alpha with not overtly strong instincts.

Hyunjin fits that description almost perfectly.

The process of trying different medications along with environmental changes to the alpha’s life and constant knotting and intake of alpha cum are necessary to help push along the process.

They have that covered and then some, with 6 alpha mates, Hyunjin has had no issue fulfilling that particular part of the bitching process.

“Once the procuder was complete, the newly turned omega was able to be marked and mated by his alpha mate, the one who had helped him during the process.” Minho takes a pause on that line

‘The newly turned omega was able to be marked and mated’

‘So then does that mean that he was unmated when they began the process of bitching?’

They had been following his grandmother's medical notes perfectly, the only difference between the two being that Hyunjin was already mated.

‘Could that be why it hasn’t been working? Because Hyunjin Alpha has already been marked and claimed into a pack?’

It’s the only thing that makes sense, given that they have done everything else exactly the same, but haven’t yet yielded any of the same results as the journals detail should have happened by now.

“Jisung, come here, I need you to read something I just noticed,” Minho calls over his mate, wanting to fill him in on his findings.

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“Hyung, if we are right, then everything we are doing is for nothing.” Jisung shakes his head, a far-off look in his eye

“Our only hope is that we have another mate out there that we haven’t yet found,” Jisung adds on

‘And what are the chances of that’ goes unsaid but they both understand the gravity of the situation, If the only way to truly go through the bitching process is to have the alpha be unmated then they were doomed to fail from the start because the Stray’s pack found each other long before they knew what it meant to have only alphas within a bonded pack.

Long before they knew just how unmanageable life could be without the presence of an omega, and with your alpha refusing any assistance from anyone who isn’t soul-bonded to them.

A pack of seven soul-bonded individuals is already rare enough these days, but a pack of eight is even that much more absurd.

“If an alpha is mated and marked, then his sub-gender has already accepted its position and place within a pack. The mark is physical proof that his mates have accepted him for what he is. It would make it that much harder to transition them into another sub-gender because now you aren’t trying to bitch one alpha, you are also having to go against a soul-bond mating mark. We have no evidence to even prove if that would be possible. We have no way of knowing what sorta of damage that would do to Hyunjin's soul-bond with the rest of the pack.” Minho thinks out loud

“Hyunjin was marked into the pack as an alpha, and even if we are able to force his alpha to submit and change into an omega, we don’t know what that will do to his soul-bond, what kinda pain it would cause if the bond were to reject him changing from alpha to an omega,” Jisung shakes his head wanting to shake away the images of Hyunjin in pain because of him

“That’s maybe why his alpha has been so persistent and resistant to the changes, it knows something we don’t, if the process actually goes through the bond could be broken.” Minho doesn’t want it to be true, but the longer they think about it, the worse the situation becomes.

“Fuck, hyung, what are we going to do? We can’t continue and risk hurting the pack's bond with Hyunjin.” Jisung hates how small and hopeless he feels in this moment

He could use the protective embrace of his pack alpha right about now, Chan’s presence the only thing that can hold him together at a time like this, when everything feels hopeless.

Minho gets up, embracing him in a tight hug, sensing Jisung's need for tactical comfort in this moment.

“Shush, it’s okay,” Minho whispers into his ear, “We are gonna figure this out, I promise.” Minho hopes his words don’t come out as hollow and hopeless as he currently feels.

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It’s the next day, and Minho and Jisung are walking around the market, accompanied by some of their men, along with Yunho and Yeosang.

They are casually browsing some of the merchant tables near the harbor while the rest of the crew are off gathering the supplies they need for the remainder of their voyage.

They had decided to finish their mission already being this close; it would be useless to turn back now empty-handed.

They won’t continue the bitching process until they have spoken to the rest of the pack and Hyunjin about the risk they could potentially be taking by continuing. Once informed, they will allow Hyunjin to make a decision on what he wants to do going forward.

If he decides to continue with the process despite the risk, then they would still need the elderflower.

So they will continue on getting what they need, and if Hyunjin decides not to continue it, then either way the flower is still useful to have in their medicine cabinet.

Jisung is casually talking to Yeosang when he spots a merchant stand nearby selling books.

It is very rare to see books out in the open like this and casually being sold, as most people don’t often go out of their way to sell the few books they may have, and it’s not like most people can pay the price that a good book will cost you these days.

But Jisung knows that Hyunjin loves a good romance novel, and with the guilt currently eating him alive after yesterday's revelations, he is eager to make it up to his mate in any way he can for having potentially put him in danger.

“Yeosangie come with me. I wanna check out the books over there.” Jisung tugs at Yeosang's arm, pulling him in the direction of the stall

Yeosang goes along easily with the other boy, both forgetting to tell their respective mates of their departure.

In Yeosang's defense, his mates are well accustomed to his habit of forgetting to speak up for himself or announce his intentions.

Thankfully, the position of the pirate king's mate offers plenty of protection to Yeosang.

Especially in coastal cities where Hongjoong's influence and power are that much more well-known and felt by the people living there.

The local ganges know not to go starting anything trouble with someone as powerful and influential as Hongjoong.

However, not everyone has gotten the message, it seems, because it's not long after they make it to the merchant's stall that Jisugn and Yeosang are being blinded and knocked out by some unknown entity.

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“Jisung, are you okay? Talk to me?” Yeosang's frantic voice breaks through the haze and darkness still surrounding him.

“Fuck what the hell, what is? I can’t see anything, Yeosang,” Jisung calls out blindly and confused

“I'm right here, I can’t see anything either; they have my face covered with something.” Yeosang informs him

“Fuck” Jisung groans both exhausted and annoyed

The fear having worn off from his initial awakening to the situation

Being kidnapped isn’t new to Jisung but it’s the first time it happens where he knows he won’t be able to cruise by this blame-free

“Oh, I’m so fucked. The one thing Chan told me was not to get myself into trouble while I was away from the pack. When he and Changbin find out about this, I won’t be able to sit for a month, ”Jisung cries out
Jisung might be able to convince Minho to keep this particular instance between them, but that still leaves Wooyoung and his big chattering mouth.

And Jisung has no doubt that Wooyoung's loyalty lies firmly within Changbin's corner.

“You think you got it bad when my pack omega finds out I ran off without telling anyone again, and got myself taken. He’ll lock me away in the nest whenever we port anywhere from now on,” Yeosang laments his soon-to-be-taken freedom.

“At least you’ll be able to lie down in your nest. I won’t even be able to do that once Changbin gets his hands on my poor ass.” Jisung shivers at the mere thought

“Shut up, you two, or I’ll knock you out again.” The gruff voice of a man sounds from somewhere in the room

Jisung looks to the left, where the voice seems to come from, but isn’t able to pick out any sort of form behind the dark hood covering his face.

“Ay, so you're the idiots that kidnapped us, you must really hate living,” Yeosang's voice says from beside him

“Shut up, omega. Now that we have one of Chan’s alpha mates and omega mates in our possession, he will have no choice but to give us whatever we want. With the Strays gang's weapons at our disposal, we will have this city in our control in no time.” The man explains self-assuredly

Jisung shakes his head, “Is that what you think? Fucking amateurs, you should ensure you have good intel before picking a fight with another gang.”

“What are you talking about? Our intel was perfect. They said two of Chan’s mates would be coming to Sydney in three weeks, and here you are in our possession three weeks later.

“Is that what you think? Well, hate to break it to you, dumbass, but you clearly didn’t do your research before taking on my pack's gang, because if you did, you would know the Strays pack doesn’t have any omegas.”

“And if you had half a brain, you would know that the omega you just kidnapped is the pirate king's omega, and even with how stupid you are, I’m sure you are well aware, as a gang in Sydney, just how temperamental Kim Hongjoong can be when it comes to any threat against his mates.” Jisung hammers in the metaphorical and literal nail on the coffin

“What, n,o that can’t be righ,t ugh” The man stutters in confusion and clear fear

Loud footsteps approach them, and suddenly, the hood is being removed from their heads, exposing them to the shabby warehouse they are being kept in.

“Fuck boss, he is telling the truth, I recognize that omega, that’s one of Kim Hongjoong's omegas. I've seen him around the harbor before.” The man from earlier says all confidence and bravado are gone from his voice at their certain impending doom.

Before they are able to even process the royal fuck up, they have found themselves within the doors to the warehouse are being broken down, and they are soon surrounded by Hongjoong and his men, along with the men Jisung and Minho had brought with them.

The small gang was easily outnumbered, and Jisung knows this isn’t even all of the men Hongjoong has at his disposal.

The pirate king looks positively frightening, but that’s nothing compared to the scary waves of anger felt through the room coming from the pack omega standing next to him.

“So who would like to join the afterlife first?” Seonghwa asks angrily

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They make it to Auckland a few days later than expected because Seonghwa wanted to be thorough with his execution of the organization that dared kidnap one of his omegas, and Yeosang, just as predicted, was confined to his pack nest for the remainder of their voyage.

Seonghwa not letting the boy out even for a moment. Not even Wooyoung was spared from the pack's omegas' raging protective instinct; the other omega was also confined to the nest.

In Seonghwa’s words, “I’m not taking any risk with my babys”

It took a lot of coaxing from the rest of the Kim pack to finally allow the omegas out for a few hours to get some sunlight, but now that they have reached port, the two omegas have been confined back into their nest, with the pack omega not letting them out for as long as they are in New Zealand.

Wooyoung making some very colorful threats to what he would have Changbin do to him once he gets back to Seoul as punishment for getting him locked away.

Wooyoung only lamented that he couldn’t do it himself because Seonghwa wouldn’t leave him alone long enough for him to dispose of Jisung’s body.

Minho reassuring Wooyoung that Jisung would be taken care of once they got back to their pack house.

Jisung doesn’t look forward to what awaits him in the near future, but for now, however, their mission to find the elderflower has begun.

Minho and Jisung walk around the market looking for someone selling herbs or flowers,

“You know, while here we should also be on the lookout for that potential eight,” Jisung comments offhandedly

Minho chuckles and shakes his head

“Yeah, what are the chances we find our eighth mystery mate in New Zealand?” Minho says dismissively

“We found you in a small town in the middle of Korea, you never know,” Jisung points out

A strong breeze runs through the harbor, and with it comes the various scents nearby, but that isn’t what stands out to the two alphas; rather, it’s the distinct soft floral scent that the wind carries with it.

It’s smells of a sweet flower that neither have ever smelled before, but brings with it a feeling that the two mates are all too familiar with because they have felt it many times before.
“No fucking way,” Minho exclaims as the realization dawns upon him of just what that scent means for them

“Hyung, oh my god, it’s them the.. Our mate” Jisung exclaims, looking around for the source of the scent, “Hyung, come on, we have to go find them.” Jisung says, hurriedly pulling Minho down the path where the scent came from

The further down the walk, the more that feeling of something clicking into place increases, the more that feeling of rightness consumes them,

And as if their body is hypertuned and defined to find that missing piece as they turn a corner, their eyes instantly find the source of that scent.

A pretty boy with light blond hair and a cute white apron wrapped around a small waist. A smile across his face so bright that Minho thinks it would rival the sun itself, with pretty freckles littering his face, drawing attention to the delicate features of his nose and plump lips.

“An omega?”Jisung's voice is filled with hope, seeing the pretty boy

A breeze passes through again, this much closer, it’s easier for them to pick up on the boy's scent that much better.

But the scent of sweet flowers, although enticing and beautiful, Minho can clearly distinguish the scent of alpha behind it, no matter how unusual it is for an alpha to have a scent that sweet, much like Hyunjin's scent these days.

That while mild is still very clearly alpha, this mystery boy is much the same.

“No, an alpha,” Jisung seems to piece together as well

Minho swallows back the urge to go and claim their mate because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and this boy might finally be what they need. This might be the final chance they have to finally get their much-needed omega mate.

“Not for long,” Minho states

Jisung looks up at him, confusion written on his face

“He is our bonded mate, Jisung, but we still haven’t marked him into the pack. He isn’t claimed as an alpha yet. This is exactly what we needed. He is perfect, he fits I mean, look at him, we even thought he was an omega. He is an alpha now, but we can change that.” Minho explains to his mate

Realization dawns on Jisung, and he looks back at the boy whose back is now turned to them as he tends to the stall behind him.

The boy clearly has not having picked up on their scent, and given that the rest of his mates are miles away in Korea, it would stand to reason that he doesn’t recognize the feeling of his alpha calling out to his mates, like how Jisung and Minho can clearly distinguish the feeling.

“But hyung, how are we supposed to get him back to the pack? If we get too close to him or touch him, he will surely realize what we are to him, and if the soul bond starts to set in, who is to say that we won’t just end up back in the same position?” Jisung asks

While the medical books only show that the alpha can’t be marked by his mate, they have no way of knowing if a soul bond could cause the same effect. After all, soul bond mates have an instant connection similar to that of an actual mating mark.

They can’t know for sure, and thus, Minho can only come up with one solution

“Well, have to bitch him without him knowing we are his mates,” Minho says out loud

“How?”Jisung looks to his alpha mate in question

“I’m not sure, but if we are gonna bring him back, without him knowing who we are, we are gonna need some high-level tech,” Minho brain working a mile a minute trying to find a solution, and while all the answers aren’t clear, one thing is

“We are gonna need Seungmin.”

Chapter Text

Third Person POV

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My Dearest Pack

Jisung and I write to you now with an urgent message and request.
And before you freak out, Chan, we are okay and safe! This is not a situation that requires you to bend heaven and earth to save us. We are safe; however, we are still in need of something important.

While here, you will be pleased to learn that we have found a new addition to our bond. Our eighth mate has been hiding from us this whole time in New Zealand.

His name is Lee Felix, and from what our men have gathered, he is a sweet and joyful boy from a small village in the countryside of New Zealand. We, of course, wish to bring him back with us to join our pack. However, due to some new information we have found, we will not be able to bring him back with a traditional route.

I cannot possibly explain the full situation through this letter now, but I promise to do so once we are reunited. Please trust that Jisung and I do everything we do for the good of the pack. Trust our judgment in this and that we are taking the only route we know how in order to have Felix join our pack.

We need Seungmin to join us here in New Zealand.

I know it will not be simple for you to part with another one of your mates, and I know I ask a lot of you, Alpha, to do so now as we approach your cycle, but I implore you to heed my request for the sake of bringing our newest mate home to you and the others. I believe your instincts will be calmed greatly with the completion of our bond.

I didn’t realize it before, but there was a space there before that has now been filled when we saw Felix. We are certain he is our missing piece, and with him, our soul bond will be truly whole and complete.

Hongjoong has sent word to one of his fleets to prepare a ship for Seungmin's voyage to us.

I promise to make it back to you as soon as is possible. This time, with all of us together united truly and completely, and our bond expanding and settling into place with our newest mate.

For Seungmin, while I cannot know for certain tell you what you will need. I ask that you bring any tools or materials that you regularly use for your inventions. Anything that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get here in New Zealand or the nearby island of Australia. I know this is vague, so I ask that you use your best judgment in bringing what you think you’ll need.
We will explain more once you have joined us here.

Yours forever and always
Minho & Jisung

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“Hyung, do you not think you sound a bit too formal and weird? I mean, that isn’t how you usually talk,” Jisung quips while reading over the letter Minho had written to be sent off to their pack back home.

“I’ve never written a letter, and every letter in my journals writes and sounds just like this.”Minho shrugs

“My letter don’t sound like this, though?”Jisung has been writing to his pack as much as possible while on their voyage. But those are only single pages, assuring them they are okay, along with whatever random thought Jisung feels like writing down to send to them.

“Well, we don’t know how they would write a letter, but this is what I have seen, so I assume this is how letters were written before.” Minho finishes sealing off the letter in an envelope, signing Chan's name on the envelope to ensure it gets to him.

Minho doesn’t much care how strange the language of the letter may come off, so long as Chan understands and hopefully does as he asks. While he is sure his pack alpha will understand, there is no telling how long it will take Seungmin and the others to calm his instincts enough for him to agree to let Seungmin go.

For the sake of time, Minho hopes it isn’t too long.

Minho takes the letter up to the deck, handing it to one of Hongjoong's men whose job it is to deliver messages to the next shipping point, where the letter will make its way through Hongjoong's system of communication much faster than any person could, reaching Seoul in a week's time.

They have been keeping a close eye on Felix through their men and know that the boy isn’t set to leave for another 2 months. It should give them enough time for Seungmin to join them and come up with a solution on how to bring Felix back with them before the boy leaves.

Minho would like to take him while he is here in the city, rather than having to follow and figure out a plan of capture back in Felix's home village, where many might object and fight them on their attempt to take the young, sweet alpha.

Felix, unsurprising to Minho and Jisung, who have learned as much as they can about him, have gathered that the boy is well-loved by everyone he meets and the members of his home village.

And while they would still be able to take him easily with just their men, or if need be, Hongjoongs men, Minho would still like to avoid any confrontation with Felix's village. They will already be putting the boy through enough as is with their current plan; there is no reason for them to further that by causing trouble in his village.

No, Minho wants to make this as simple and painless for his mate as possible, even if everything they will have to do is bound to be anything but painless for Felix.

They promise not to hurt him physically; however, the same can certainly not be said for his mental well-being. Minho Alpha cries at just the thought of the mental anguish they will have to put their mate through.

‘It’s all for the pack, and Felix will understand one day that they had to do it this way. His mate will understand.’

Minho hopes…

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From: Chan
To: Minho and Jisung

I understand and I trust you, always my heart.

While it aches me to be so far from you in this moment, I know through our bond what you say is true, and I feel sincerely your request and how much Seungmin is needed with you there. I have sent him off to join you. By the time you receive this letter, he will be a week into his voyage.

All of us here eagerly await your return and the welcome of our newest mate.

Lee Felix is a beautiful name, and without meeting him, my alpha is already certain of his place with us. Hyunjin feels much the same after hearing Felix's name, and he cannot contain his excitement and eagerness to meet our new mate.

Changbin and Jeongin’s Alphas haven’t had the same reaction as ours to our new mate's name, but they know through us that the bond has expanded, and they are certain that Felix is the piece to fill this new expanse.

Bring them all back to me, safe Min

Your loving and ever-worrying Alpha
Bang Chan

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It takes Seungmin only a week and a half after Chan’s letter to join them in New Zealand. The voyage had gone by that much faster without them having to stop in Australia for a resupply, and with the boat they used being smaller and much faster than the larger-than-life boat Hongjoong and his pack call home.

Jisung doesn’t even realize how much he had missed his younger mate till he sets his eyes back on him for the first time in more than a month.

His eyes filling with tears unbeknownst to him, and much to the amusement of both Minho and Seungmin

He lets them tease him only because he knows the two are just as emotional at being reunited with each other.

Seungmin and Minho have their own special bond. And though they fight and bicker, Jisung knows they need that which comes from a deep-rooted need for each other that neither knows how to fully act on.

Jisung has read in one of Hyunjin's books about a personality type known as a tsundere. Something that fits both of his mates perfectly and inevitably, as Hyunjin’s book dictates, putting two tsundere personalities together in a couple tends to make it harder for one of them to finally fold and confess just how much they want and need the other.

It’s only because of this that Jisung doesn’t fight back against their teasing, and totally not because he knows in a battle of wits and quips, he would be completely outmatched by Minho and Seungmin.

“So what is this urgent thing you needed me for?”Seungmin asks once they are all together in their rooms within the house Hongjoong has acquired for them, given their extended stay on the island.

The pirate captain was wise in knowing his guest would be more comfortable within a house rather than his ship. No matter how big the Aurora is, every pack needs there own space.

That and they have already spent more than enough time living on the ship, and with still more to come when they return, Hongjoong figured a change in scenery would be appreciated by the Stray pack members.

It was greatly especially so in these moments, as the pack is able to converse openly within the living room of the house rather than their quarters within the Aurora ship.

Minho decides to start from the beginning of how they came to be in this situation.

From the discovery of the information they had previously missed, and then to them finding Felix and knowing this was their one opportunity to do things exactly how the book had depicted the previous example of bitching.

They explain how their soul bond makes the situation tricker.

They know Felix cannot touch them or smell their scent; and thus far they have avoided being close enough for either to happen, but if they plan to bring him back, they need to find a way to still be around the boy without triggering the soul bond.

They brief him on everything they know about Felix thus far. How he is an orphan from a small town with no living family, and of course, without any mates.

Sadly, Minho laments how this makes the situation easier

“No family means there won’t be anyone to look for him when we take him, no one to come after us,” Minho explains sadly

“What about his village? They seem rather fond of him from what you tell me. Will they not come looking for him?”Seungmin asks that while his mate might not have any living family, it seems that, thus far, his village has certainly served as his surrogate family.

“We plan to pay off the merchant that Felix came into town with. Have him inform his village that Felix found his mate here in the city and has decided to stay with them,” Jisung easily answers the two of them, having already come up with a plan for this

“Not that anyone in his little village could find him or come looking for him even if they knew what truly happened to him, But you are right, they have been his family this whole time and Felix seems to be very close to them thus I would rather avoid causing them any distress, Because while Felix won’t know for now in the future once he knows the truth im sure he will be comforted by the fact that we gave his village closure.” Minho reaches over, taking a sip of the tea he had prepared earlier, needing to soothe his nerves

“At least that’s what you hope will happen?”Seungmin points out what they are all thinking but are to afraid to say
That, after all of this, Felix might still hate them for what they are going to do.

Seungmin himself can’t help how uncomfortable his alpha is at the thought of having such a large hand in causing his mate any future distress.

They had taken a detour before coming home to show him Felix as he worked peacefully at his stall.

They had kept their distance, ensuring the boy wouldn’t be able to see them or pick up their scent, but all Seungmin needed was to take one look at the boy to know that he was his mate.

And like every time before when he has found one of his mates, Seungmin's alpha and instinct are that much stronger and intensified. Thus, naturally, he feels that much more reservation at having to essentially kidnap his mate without him knowing that they are mates.

“We have no choice, Minnie. If we could do this the right, you know we would. But we need an omega and this is the only way. Felix will understand one day” Jisung pleads with his mates he knows how Seungmin feels but he needs him to know they have no other way

And if their plan is to succeed, they need Seungmin and his brilliant mind fully in agreement with them.

They can’t afford for the boy genius to have any doubts and then let that subconsciousness bleed into his creations.

Because whatever Seungmin creates needs to be perfect and exactly what they need.

Seungmin sighs

“I know it just feels unfair to Felix that he has to go through all of this because biology fucked us so royally when assigning the sub-genders to our pack.” Seungmin exasperates

Minho nods

“We know Felix is getting the short end of the stick on this one, but we promise to make it up to him tenfold once the dust has settled and our pack has the omega we so desperately need,” Minho reassures

Minho will make it all right and promise to give the boy heaven and earth once he and his recipes have fixed what biology fucked up.

“Well then I guess I should get to designing a solution to our problems. Hopefully, once I have a concrete design, it won’t take me that long to put it together.”Seungmin chooses to trust the process and that in the end, Felix will understand why things have to be this way
And most importantly, that Felix eventually won’t hold it against him for the part he is going to play in all of this.

The part that his designs and creations will have in keeping him in a sensory-deprived bubble for as long as it takes for the bitching to take effect.

He and his alpha can only hope the boy doesn’t hate them by the end of this.

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To prevent Felix from discovering the truth, they must identify all the ways in which a soul bonds can set in.

Because ultimately that is what they need to avoid; while Felix is an alpha, his soul cannot bond to theirs.

Touching your mate and smelling their scent are two obvious ones they are already aware of, so Seungmin starts off designing a solution to this problem first and foremost. He decides the best way to tackle both of these problems is by making the solution one simple thing.

He comes up with a full-body suit that covers their skin, preventing any skin contact. He makes the material out of durable fabric that he personally designs so that it also doubles with its ability to prevent their scents from getting out.

The suit has to come up all the way to their necks in order to block the scent glands there, so Seungmin makes sure to make the suits comfortable to account for the amount of time they will have to wear them for.

But upon putting them on, they find their scent completely hiding behind the suit. As part of his test Seungmin has them wear the suits for a whole day to test its comfort and wearability.

The results are mixed because while the suit itself is comfortable and can be easily worn for many hours, they found that after wearing it for a long period of time, upon taking it off, their scent glands are tender and slightly irritated from the constant pressure on them and the blockage of their scents.

Minho and Jisung develop a cream to help with this, but they still decide that they won’t wear the suits for more than 18 hours at a time so as to allow their glands time to release the built-up scent and for the medication to soothe the slight irritation.

Seungmin knows they will need to be able to keep Felix within a space that no scent can penetrate if there are to be moments when they won’t be wearing their suits, that and after taking off the suits, their scent are that much stronger and potent.

Thus, Seungmin sets out to design a room capable of blocking out all scents. It’s easier now that he has already created a material that can block scents; he just needs to find a way to incorporate this into the space they will have Felix reside within for the time being.

“What about on the ship? It would take us too long to remodel one of Hongjoong's rooms to be scent-proof proof” Jisung suddenly asked as he watches Seungmin design the room they will have to build back within their pack house.

Seungmin knows they can’t wear the suits for the whole three weeks they will be on the ship, and they can’t very well build a room within Hongjoong's ship in time to get back before Chan’s rut.

“I can’t build a whole room in time, but I can build somewhere for Felix to sleep while we aren’t wearing our suits.” Seungmin says thinking out a solution

“So essentially a cage,” Minho loves saying the quiet part out loud, and Seungmin can’t help but wince at hearing the words spoken, even if that is basically what he said as well.

“You could look at it as an enclosed and protected crib that you're making for our mate,” Jisung tries to make him feel better, sensing Seungming's discomfort
“A Crib like for a baby?” Minho laughs at Jisung's explanation

“Yeah, a crib for our baby mate,” Jisung affirms with a smile

“Right, a crib for our baby, yeah,” Seungmin has no choice but to allow those words to soothe his nerves

With that, he designs a more travel-friendly version of his room design. One that they could easily construct and put into one of the rooms within the ship.

Seungmin fabric and design being the only viable solutions to conceal their scents from their mate.

Because, while Minho had found a medication within his grandmother's journals that could suppress a person’s scent. He also found in his research that the medication came with a long list of side effects. Most worrisome of all was the side effect that could cause the complete loss of a person's scent.

And in rare cases, it could cause a condition known as scent sickness, where a person's scent is suppressed for so long that the glands start to rot from within with the amount of pheromones trapped within, and if left untreated, could lead to a nasty infection that would ultimately kill the person.

Minho won’t risk his pack by making them take the medication, and thankfully, he doesn’t have to, thanks to Seungmin's inventions. Without the boy genius, Minho is certain their plan would have fallen apart before they could even set it into motion.

Felix would have discovered what they are to him long before Minho could even give him the first dose of the medication to bitch him.

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The next thing they have to account for in this whole process is something as small and simple as their name.

Because, like they have learned from Hyunjin in the past, something as simple as your mate's name can have the soul bond setting in.

Even there pack alpha had experienced something similar just from reading Felix's name in Minho's letter. Thus, they couldn’t allow Felix to hear their real name.

Minho and Seungmin easily come up with aliases to use while they are around Felix, Jisung however, is much more indecisive about his.

“This is the first name my mate will know me by, hyung. I can’t just pick it randomly, I have to think about what the name will say about me to Felix,” Jisung explains

It takes the boy a full week to come up with his name.

“J.One” Jisung announces to them proudly

“That sucks, that’s what took you a week to come up with” Seungmin swallows his drink and bursts out laughing when he finally hears the name Jisung comes up with

They are having dinner together at the end of the day when Jisung finally announces his long-awaited name. Jisung should just be grateful Seungmin didn’t spit out his drink on him in reaction to the terrible name.

Jisung pouts and looks over to Minho in hopes that he will support his chosen name. He finds no such support in Minho, who is holding his laughter back in similar amusement to Seungmin

“Whatever, you guys don’t get it, Changbin and Chan hyung will, though,” Jisung grumbles, annoyed that no one recognizes his genius alias for what it is.

Brilliant, creative, and above all badass

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Their instinct won’t allow anyone else around Felix once they have him within their reach, so they’ll have to take shifts keeping an eye on the boy, allowing each other time to take off the suits and give their scent glands a break from the contrictive material.

This whole thing might have been made easier if they could just let their men and Hongjoongs pack take care of getting Felix and bringing him back, but none of them could imagine leaving Felix for the time span it would take them to make the journey back to Seoul.

With their bond so fresh and recently formed, their alpha's instincts are intensified and more on edge than usual. Minho also supectives the fact that they have been around Felix for so long, but the boy has yet to acknowledge and reciprocate their bond is likely causing their alphas more stress.

This would be their first soul bond that wasn’t instantly acknowledged by both parties. There alpha’s must be concerned why this mate bond has been so different from the 6 that came before.

Minho can fill it, in the way, with each passing day, he has to increase his secret visits to his little hiding spot to get a look at his mate.

They decide to go to Hongjoong and his pack and ask if there is any other way they have discovered their soul bond has been triggered.

Jongho shyly mentions that he knew Hongjoong was his soul mate with just one look into his eyes when they first met.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, we can’t even show him our face,” Seungmin exasperatedly says already annoyed, but nevertheless, his mind is already working up a design to stop Felix from seeing their faces or making eye contact with them.

“I’m not saying that’s the case every time I mean, look at Mingi, he didn’t know we were mates for the longest time till Yunho finally kissed him. You could be lucky and Felix could be equally as clueless as Mingi” Jongho teases, pointing to Mingi

“Hey! Jongho, you!”Mingi stands up in objection to the younger alpha’s statement

Mingi makes like he is going to walk over and do something, but all it takes is one eyebrow raise from the dangerously calm and strong maknae for Mingi to sit back down in defeat because, despite his height advantage, he knows he is beat if it comes down to him against the younger.

“Hyung he is threatening me with violence right after he made fun of me,” Mingi whines to his pack omega

“I didn’t even say anything” Jongho laughs

“Aish baby, I’m sorry, but he is right, you were a bit slow on the uptake.”Seonghwa agrees with Jongho not being much help or aid to Mingi’s cause

“Hyung,” Mingi whines further at having his pack omega join in on the teasing.

“Alright, so he can’t see your face or eyes, he can’t touch or smell you. And he can’t know your real names. Are we missing anything else?”Hongjoong asks, interrupting Mingi’s whining and getting his pack back on track to the subject at hand.

“You can’t kiss him,” Mingi pouts and adds quietly and dejectedly

Wooyoung laughs, walking over to cover his mate in kisses

“That’s right, princess.” Wooyoung giggles in between kisses

“No, nothing else I can think of, and we have a pretty good pool of examples for soul bonds with all of us here, so that should be everything you need to avoid triggering the bond.” Yunho looks around and nods as if confirming his statement and the credibility of the people within the room when it comes to knowing how a soul bond works.

“Well then, that settles it, Seungmin. What do you need to get started on building your designs?” Hongjoong asks, looking over at the mind behind everything they will need to pull this off.

They have a little over 3 weeks to get all their preparations ready if they are to make it back with some time to spare before Chan’s rut.

Seungmin thankfully has always been good at working under pressure.

Chapter Text

Third Person POV

Following the meeting with the others, Seungmin gets to work designing the final piece of his suit. Thankfully, adding a mask, or rather a helmet, isn’t too difficult. Realistically, Seungmin could have just designed some eye coverage for them. Some glasses or visors, but he concludes that the most comfortable and easily attachable solution was just to add on an extra piece to the already existing suit.

The material is thankfully very breathable by design and can be worn comfortably for long periods of time. This was important if it was going to be covering their face. Seungmin wouldn’t want to limit his mates by making something impractical. Especially for his mates back home, the more hands-on ones like Jeongin and Changbin.

If they are going to wear this as often as possible, they need it to be comfortable and flexible for their daily tasks.

The next thing he needs is something to cover their eyes without limiting their visibility. Thankfully, this was rather easy to come up seeing as Seungmin had already read of such a glass material before.

One that allows a person to look perfectly one way but only reflects the other party's view right back at them. Meaning they will be able to perfectly see Felix, but the boy will only see his own reflection where their eyes would be. Effectively preventing him from being able to make eye contact with them.

Once all of his designs are complete, the first thing Seungmin sets out to do is send his plans for the room they will be keeping Felix within their pack house back to his mates in Korea so they can begin the preparations and building of the room. Seungmin sends that first as soon as possible, asking Hongjoong's men to be quick in their delivery.

He doesn’t know exactly how long it will take them to effectively complete the blueprints he had sent back, but he would rather give them as long as possible. He wouldn’t want to keep Felix in the same confinement he is going to be traveling in.

But if necessary, Seungmin might have no choice. He knows the construction of the room will be the most time-consuming, but it will not be the most personally tiresome for him, unlike the suits he will have to build.

Thankfully, he plans to enlist the help of the rest of his pack and Hongjoong's pack. Anything he can do to get everything finished in time for them to return.

Seungmin was smart enough to keep in mind all the tools and material he brought with him and those that he has access to while here. And worked his designs around this knowledge so there isn’t any trouble for him and Hongjoongs men to find the resources he needs to begin working.
All the better because once he can put everything together himself comfortably, he can show the others how to do it as well.

Seungmin hopes that with their help, the process will be sped up and will thereby lift some of the pressure off his shoulders. As much as he thrives under pressure, it doesn’t do very well for his peace of mind.

And that is already pretty shaky considering everything ahead of them.

The guilt he knows might eat away at him until he feels he can make amends with his new mate. But Seungmin can’t very well focus on that or allow it to consume him, not when all of his brain power is needed to complete at least 4 suits.

Seungmin needs at least four for the four alpha’s back home.

He thinks it best to send them some suits as soon as possible so that they can start wearing them around the space Felix will be staying in for at least a few days before they arrive, Along with this he with Seonghwa’s help sends instructions on how to properly deep clean and air the space so that all scents are evicted from the area along with the new suits to insure new scents can’t make there way into the space again.

They need to keep the area in which Felix will be staying and the section of the house where they will be bringing him in completely scent-free. Seungmin, despite how strong Chan and Changbin are, doesn’t think either of them would like to carry the large enclosure he is building for Felix through their house. So cleaning any area that the boy may pass through is easier and less tiring for all of them.

Seungmin is able to finish the 4 suits rather quickly after the first one and has them shipped off to his pack with another set of instructions on how to put them on and how long they can wear them for before they need to take them off and apply the special cream Minho has included in the package to their scent glands.

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While Seungmin got the hang of his new inventions and worked on their creation, Minho and Jisung set out to decide which medication they would first like to try on their newest mate.

“We could always try the same prescriptions we did with Hyunjin; those seem to have somewhat of an effect on him. It might be that much better with Felix,” Jisung suggests

“We can, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find the other ingredients here, they are rather common. We should still get some elderflower just in case,” Minho affirms

The two set out to the other side of the market on a day they know Felix is working, so as not to accidentally run into the boy while out shopping for their ingredients.

Thankfully, Felix, unlike his other more wandering mates, doesn’t have a tendency to run off, especially not while he is working. Even still, just in case Minho sends some of their guards to keep an eye on the boy and ensure he doesn’t make his way towards them while they are out.

The part of the market they are shopping in is less frequented, seeing as there is not a lot of need or want for these particular herbs in this part of the world. After all, why would anyone want to pay for elderflower when it's so easily found in most nearby valleys growing freely.

That and in general there aren’t a lot of herbalists or apothecaries within the area, certainly no doctors.

Minho is glad it makes getting what he needs that much easier without any worry of competition or it being overly expensive. Not that they couldn’t afford it, even if it was Chan, had certainly made sure to send them off with a small fortune to ensure that part.

Still, despite their privileged position, Minho can’t give up his haggling and bargaining ways of the past when he didn’t have nearly as many resources as he does today.

As they walk through the market, a distinct scent hits both of them at the same time. Minho and Jisung look around frantically for the source of that scent, which they know to be Felix.

Afraid that he had somehow gotten away from their guards and had made his way over to them without them noticing till just now.

Luckily, they don’t find Felix; what they do find is the elusive Elderflower that had brought them here in the first place.

“Holy shit, I was scared we had been caught,” Jisung sighs in relief.

Minho walks over, grabbing some of the flowers and smelling them, confirming that the unknown scent that they had come to associate with their mate was, in fact, the scent of the elderflower.

No wonder they didn’t recognize it the first time they smelled Felix

“This is his scent, or at least a big part of his scent,” Minho says

“He has probably grown up around it in his village but even then it doesn’t explain how its clung to him even now after some time has passed” Jisung adds confused
They decide to ask the shop clerk inside why the scent of the elderflower would be so entangled with another person.

“Well, that’s pretty common among those in the country; they use a lot of elderflower in their medicine and food. It tends to cling to folks after a while,” The lady who runs the shop explains

“That makes sense, he grew up in a small village out in the country, they probably have elderflower growing everywhere there.” Jisung looks down at the bag carrying all the various hers they had bought from the old woman after thanking her for her helpful information

“Yeah, his probably been using elderflower and eating it for most of his life, most likely from before he even presented.”Minho doesn’t want to get his hopes up, but he can’t help but think perhaps some of the work has already been done from the years of elderflower exposure Felix has unknowingly been consuming.

“When we first met him, we thought he was an omega from his scent. What if all this time, the elderflower has slowly been working to change his sub-gender? Even if it couldn’t fully do it without the other steps in the process, it still did a lot, I mean, hell, we haven’t even started, and his progress is already better than Hyunjins was,” Jisung says excitedly

“If that's true, then we can’t start him on the same round of medications as Hyunjin. We should give him the one that includes elderflower. It’s what his been taking and what his body is used to, therefore he is less likely to reject it. The effects are sure to be better if we keep to what has been working for him so far” Minho concludes

“If it's something familiar, he body is more likely to give into the medication. One issue we had with Hyunjin is that his body rejected some of the medications, mostly because we had no baseline on what Hyunjin's body would accept. With Felix we have a perfect baseline and proof his body takes to the elderflower positively,” Jisung explains further

The two are in agreement that they will use the medication that includes the elderflower first and foremost. It has worked thus far, and Felix hasn’t even been taking it properly.

Not to mention, with the amount of stress his body will be under for the foreseeable future, the introduction of new medications might affect his system more severely than it did Hyunjin.

No, for now, the safest option for them is to keep Felix on something familiar that they know won’t cause any additional stress to his system.

They get back home and fill Seungmin in on what they found.

Seungmin's work workstation being located right next to where Minho and Jisung have set up their tools and herbs.

“You're right, his body is going to be under a lot of stress, and now there is a chance he will try to fight up, especially in the beginning. We don’t want him getting hurt,” Seungmin says pensively

“What do you suggest we do?” Jisung asks

“Got any recipes in there for something to help calm him down or maybe put him to sleep?”Seungmin suggests looking over at Minho

“No, but thankfully I remember a few prescriptions that should do the trick” Minho nods, walking over and grabbing his notebook and pen to write down what he remembers

Thankfully, he has a pretty good recollection of these things and is able to remember everything they need. He can’t recall what side effects these medications have exactly, so they will have to keep a close eye on Felix the first couple of times they give him the medication, just in case it's something adverse.

Minho and Jisung develop to different medications. One that calms Felix down and another that is borders a tranquilizer.

One works as a psychoactive drug, mostly relaxing the brain and nerve system to help reduce stress and anxiety. This one can be used more often and should help keep him calm during the journey and for the first part of his transition.

The other is much stronger and instead of only focusing on the nervous system,it works on both the nervous system and the muscular system.

Relaxing his body as well as his mind. This is the one Minho isn’t completely certain about: what the side effects may be.

He knows it isn’t anything permanent; he has a good memory of all the medications in his grandmother's list that are to be avoided due to the permanent side effects they may have on a person.

So he is certain this one won’t cause any long-term issues with his mate, but nevertheless, he will have to keep an eye on him whenever he uses the tranquilizer on the boy.

This will most likely be the one they end up using on the day they take Felix. They don’t know how much the boy will try to fight or struggle, and they want to get him on the ship as soon as possible so the full-body calming medication will be best.

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“Once we have him along with the medication, we should start his consumption of our cum” Minho states

Almost as soon as Minho is done talking, the room's atmosphere changes, the two alpha unable to stop their bodies' natural reaction to such a statement.

Their alphas are excited at the prospect of finally having their mate close and having Felix's wonderfully plush lips wrapped around their cocks, drinking their cum as his scent slowly sweetens into that of an omega.

They aren’t close to their rut, but damn if they don’t feel like they are in this moment. They haven’t had much time for those activities since they arrived in New Zealand, far too busy with preparing everything for Felix.

So it only makes sense that the two would react so strongly to Minho's words and the subsequent imagery that comes along with them.

Minho's body reacting in turn to his mate's clear arousal and the lust suddenly penetrating the air.

“Whoa, are we interrupting something? smells like you guys are about to fuck each other stupid.” Wooyoung's voice cuts through the tension behind him, following his other three mates

“Wooyoung, why would you? Ugh” Yunho sighs in exasperation at his mate's tactlessness

“What, it’s true you smell it too” Wooyoung objects

“Yes, but why would you come in if you thought they were doing something?”Jongho points out

“What can I say, I was curious to see what they look like, I mean, you can’t blame me, they are hot, don’t you wanna see what they look like fucking?”Wooyoung asks his mates

“You're unbelievable 7 mate, and he is still whoring for more.”Mingi shakes his head

“Hey, you knew what I was when you mated me, you can’t shame me for that now,” Wooyoung points out accusingly at the others

“His right, you did sign up for that.” Jisung nods in agreement

Wooyoung winks at him in what Seungmin assumes is his Wooyoung way of saying thank you for backing me up
“So what was going on? Why do you all smell so horny?”Wooyoung asks again

“Nothing, we were just talking about the bitching process and got a little ahead of ourselves.” Minho sighs, but explains nonetheless

“You’ve told us some of what the bitching process is, but you’ve never really explained it. So how exactly does it work?”Yunho asks, ever curious to learn more from the doctor

Minho and Jisung begin explaining everything they know about the process of changing a person's sub-gender.

The environmental changes, as well as the addition of medications and supplements to a person's daily life. They explain how all of these things together have been shown to yield results in changing a person's sub-gender in this case from Alpha to Omega

“So then, instead of being fed alpha cum, if it’s an omega constantly cumming and making other alphas eat his release, submit to him, could they then change from an Omega to an Alpha?” Yunho asks

“Theoretically, yes, well, along with the right medications, in theory, you should be able to do the opposite of bitching.” Minho answers

While they hadn’t done any research for a process in the opposite direction, an Omega wanting to turn into an alpha. It should work much the same with the right conditions that an Omega would take to turning into an Alpha.

“That’s pretty cool. What do you say, Mingi, wanna help me become an alpha?”Wooyoung drapes himself over his mate

“As if you're too much of a bottom to ever become an alpha Wooyoungie just accepted you were born to be an omega.” Mingi shakes his head at his mate's silly statement

Wooyoung can’t argue because he knows what his mate says is true.

Plus, he enjoys getting knotted far too much to ever give it up.

“There is one important step of the bitching process that you haven’t mentioned.”Seungmin's voice suddenly cuts through

Jisung sighs loudly, knowing exactly what his mate is talking about

“What part is that?”Yunho ask

“One we enjoyed doing with Hyunjin a great deal, but are still unsure how to navigate with Felix,” Jisung says solemnly

“A crucial step, along with the consumption of another alpha's cum is the regular and frequent knotting that must be done to the alpha that is being bitched.”Minho finally explains

The words hang in the air for a moment as the pirates let sink in what that means

“Oh shit,” Mingi finally cuts off the silence. The room is tense now with the weight of what exactly this means for the Stray pack and the alpha that will be going through all of this literally blind

“Yeah, with Hyunjin, that part was easy. For an alpha, he has always enjoyed a dick in his ass more than most, maybe only rivaled by Jisung and Minho when Chan gets a little mean and rough with him. Seungmin laughs, attempting to lighten the mood

“Is there something you’d like to say to us, Seungmin?”Minho asks the inventor

“No, nothing, just interesting that two of the bottom bitches in our pack are always so close, makes you wonder if their special soul bond is due to their mutual enjoyment of taking dick up there ass.”Seungmin quips and shrugs his shoulders

“I’ll have you know my soul mate, and I bond over much more than just our shared love for bottoming.” Jisung bites back

Seungmin laughs, happy to have gotten the reaction he wanted from his two mates

“You two like it, but that still leaves the question of whether Felix will like it, especially when it's being done by seven masked men he has never met before? You can enjoy bottoming, but the fact that he doesn’t know you adds another layer of difficulty.” Jongho finally speaks up

Wooyoung smacked him on the shoulder for bringing the topic back up when the other pack clearly had wanted to change the topic.

“It’s alright, he is right.” Minho shakes off Wooyoung's annoyance with his mate's lack of tact

Jongho's question is the very same one they had been asking themselves since they came up with the plan to bitch Felix without his knowledge.

“In all honesty, we don’t know,” Minho answers honestly

Minho knows that the three of them are by far the most knowledgeable members of their pack.

At least when it comes to matters of science and engineering.

That is to say, all three are completely out of their depth when it comes to matters such as this one. Finding a tactful solution to a morally grey situation.

Thankfully, they don’t have to worry about this because what they lack in this area is made up in full by their pack alpha, who thrives in this aspect.

Chan didn’t become the strongest and most feared man in all of Korea and Japan thanks to Jisung's product alone. Far from it, Jisung's product simply gave them and in, but everyone knows a good product means nothing without the right person pushing it.

Jisung and his inventions opened the doors, but it was Chan’s ability to lead and sheer cunningness that built their powerful kingdom. Chan and his ability to read people perfectly and control them, or rather make them willingly surrender over there power to him.

He is a true pack alpha, the kind that comes once in a lifetime, a true born leader.

It’s with this that they decide to leave that particular problem at hand to be solved by their pack alpha. Chan will know how best to proceed in this situation, and ultimately, that sort of decision shouldn’t lie in their hands.

They tell the others as much

“I agree that it is a problem for Chan Hyung to solve, but for now, Jisung. What herbs do you need help grinding up into a paste? I’m real good at grinding, you know.” Wooyoung winks and says flirtatiously

Yunho and Jongho set out to help Seungmin assemble the crib, as they have decided to refer to it for Felix. Seeing as Seungmin needs their help holding up the heavy steel walls while he welds them together.

Mingi is joining Wooyoung in helping the two doctors finish the rest of the medicines they will need.

The atmosphere releasing into something light with both packs now happily working together. And talking cheerfully among themselves as they do so.

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Back in Korea

The 4 remaining pack members work diligently, organizing everything they need per Seungmin's instructions for the new room.

They found a room previously used for storage and cleared it out. It’s the room farthest from their pack nest, because while Chan and his alpha can tolerate most of their shared spaces being washed of his pack's scents so close to his rut.

He cannot fathom his pack nest being devoid and clean off all the intermingling sweet scents of each of his mates. Especially when that is the only space that still holds the scent of his three absent mates.

Chan’s instincts have been especially intense in recent weeks, Perhaps from the absence of three of his mates or perhaps with the knowledge that he, in fact, has a fourth mate out there he has yet to meet.

The thought that one of his mates is out there right now, unprotected and most importantly unmarked.

Has had Chan in a rather short mood, His alpha most more aggressive than usual, to the point where there subordinates have started to steer clear of the other man for fear they might incur his wrath.

Even the slightest perceived disrespect could land them in trouble with the alpha.

His pack has been feeling this as well, though differently from how their subordinates have been feeling it.

Because instead of being short-tempered and quick to anger like he is while at work, within his pack house, Chan is the polar opposite.

His mates can tell he is stressed and on edge, the alpha often times scenting them whenever he sees them and dragging all of them to the pack nest so he can keep an eye on all of them at once.

Chan has also taken to feeding all of them himself and, embarrassingly enough, sometimes from his own hand. Constantly fussing over his mates and needing to know their whereabouts at all times, indeed, it is nothing like what their underlings are currently experiencing. But such is the duality of their pack alpha.

The rest of the pack doesn’t mind the extra attention from their alpha, even if it becomes tiresome at times when they aren’t allowed to leave the nest till the pack alpha has deemed them properly scented.

Truly, all their instinct are somewhat thrown off with the absence of three of their mates and the news that they had another mate out there all along.

That they might have gone their whole lives without knowing of Felix's existence had it not been for them going to New Zealand in search of a rare flower.

Alas, they are thankful despite the situation because without it, they might have gone their whole life missing a piece of themselves.

So they smile and bear with their pack alphas' increased instincts, knowing that soon enough everything and everyone will be together.

“We are working hard to get everything ready for when they come back. I can’t wait to meet our new mate,” Hyunjin whispers excitedly into Chan’s chest as he cuddles up with the alpha in their pack nest.

All of them can’t help but agree

Chapter Text

Felix POV / Third Person POV

Felix only has a week to prepare for his journey to Auckland. He will be there a total of 2 months and thus needs to pack for his extended stay as well.

Keeping in mind that he is going to the city in search of a mate, he takes care to choose pieces of clothing he knows look good on him.

Felix has always had a rather delicate figure; his clothes reflect and accentuate that quite well.

They always have those things together, combined to the point that most in his village were convinced he would present as an omega.

Besides his voice, which is much deeper than anyone else around him, and it has been that way since before he presented, Felix has never had any outwardly alpha traits. Quite the opposite is true, and thus most rightly figured he would present as an omega.

Along with his general appearance and personality, Felix also gave them more time to speculate and wonder what he would be.

His presentation took longer than most of the other teens in his village. The average age of presentation is 12 to 16; however, Felix didn’t present until a few days after his 18th birthday. Quite a late presentation by all accounts, in fact, he was the last to present in his class.

Those years, while everyone was presented and Felix had still shown no signs of joining them. Allowed them plenty of time to watch him and form their own opinions on what they thought he would finally present as.

When the day finally came, Felix had thankfully been at home. No eyes to judge the unexpected turn

No one to see that even he had been disappointed with the outcomes.

He remembers that day he came back after his first ever rut. Suddenly, the alphas that used to give him so much attention were no longer interested in talking to him. The omegas who used to share all their secrets and feelings with him were no longer as keen to do so.

Felix understood he was an alpha now his omega classmates wouldn’t feel the same talking to him.

Felix was understanding, even if it hurt his feelings a bit to no longer be welcomed in the same spaces he previously had been allowed full access to.

The lack of alpha attention hadn’t been anything to cry over. Felix was rather glad to no longer be annoyed and bothered by those persistent alphas within his class. Most of them just started treating him like he didn’t exist.

Felix couldn’t have cared less, they weren’t the kind of people he would have wanted to spend time with. Still, those alphas that ignored him were much better than the other group of alphas that completely changed after his presentation.

Not many, but a few of the alphas that had previously expressed interest in him after his presentation had taken to picking on Felix.

In their eyes, Felix had done damage to their egos and alphaness. Because how dare he have made them flirt with him when he was going to present as an alpha.

How dare he present himself in a way that was tantalizing to those alpha’s interests.

It was utterly ridiculous. Felix had no say in what he presented as, nor did he ever go out of his way to get those alpha’s attention. He had just been wearing and doing what felt right and natural to him. But none of those facts mattered to those fools; they had found an unpresented alpha attractive, and that simple wasn’t acceptable in their narrow view of life.

They needed someone to blame for this because obviously they couldn’t be the problem. And thus Felix took the punishment for their own insecurities and bigotry

Felix had never cared for a person's sub-gender. He didn’t think it mattered much what one presented as, after all, two alphas could mark each other and form a mating claim just the same as an alpha and an omega could.

If biology allowed them the liberty to choose, then why should society be any different?

His village is kind, but there are still those within it who carry the mindsets that alphas should only mate with omegas.

That alphas should never find or desire another person of their own sub-gender. He knows most of the alphas that started to pick on him were only doing so because that is what they had been taught to do by their families.

None of them ever taking the time to look past the point of view of their families. None of them taking the time to question if what they had been taught was truly correct.

Felix is thankful his family never carried such beliefs, and his grandmother always taught him not to just go with what everyone is saying but to question himself about what he felt was right and wrong.

His grandmother was a free spirit and never let the majority's opinion guide her way of life. She taught Felix to do the same, even if it meant they didn’t agree on things.

Thankfully, they usually always agreed with each other.

Not that it would have made them care for each other any less if they did.

She had been the one to assure him it didn’t matter what he presented as, that should never dictate what you wear or what you act like.

It was this welcoming space that allowed Felix to find his own style and personality throughout his teenage years.

It was this very mentality that allowed him to continue being himself even after he had presented as an alpha.

He knows the clothes he wears aren’t typically associated with an alpha, but it has always been what makes him feel the most comfortable and confident. He knows some with that narrow mindset might view him badly because of it, but just like his grandmother, he won’t let anyone else's opinion run his life or his choices.

He hopes that when he gets to Auckland, he will find a mate who will see things as he does. Even if they don’t, Felix won’t stop caring for them because of it. But he certainly won’t change himself to accommodate them.

He has trust that the person he is meant for will love and accept him despite these things. After all, if their souls are to be bonded together, there must be some commonality between them.

“Well, I guess I have no choice but to go out there and find out,” Felix shrugs as he zips up the last bag with his belongings.

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Felix arrived in Auckland 5 days after having left his village. The journey was taking longer due to the amount of merchandise Mr Harrison was taking with him.

The older man was a traveling merchant who went around the island gathering various things to bring up to the city to sell.

With each stop in each village, he has to find transportation for himself and his various objects to the next stop. Thankfully, Felix village was his final stop before he would return to the city to sell everything he had gathered.

He had occurred more so than usual this time around and thus was thankful to have Felix help with maintaining his stand in the city.

The first week was mostly them setting up the stand and organizing everything Mr Harrison had gathered, and thus Felix had a lot of free time once he finished his daily task.

This gave him plenty of time to explore the city in search of his mate.

Sadly, that first week came and went, and Felix had no luck finding what he was looking for. The usually cheery and happy boy couldn’t help but feel down with each passing day that he didn’t find even a hint of attraction or interest in any of the omegas in the city.

None of them calling to him or his alpha.

It was one of those nights he had been out at a pub near the harbor that was always packed with various people. From those who lived on the island to those who were just stopping by. He thought such a place would be perfect for what he was looking for, or rather, for the person he was looking for.

Alas, he had no luck, and seeing as he had work the next day, he decided he should head back to his room before it got too late, and he just became even more disheartened.

Still, upon stepping out into the cool, free air blowing in from the harbor nearby, he found a lightness coming over him.

That weight and dreariness that had been pulling him down for the past week suddenly lifted and blowing away with the ocean breeze.

He can’t say what it was that night that changed him, but it certainly didn’t end there. Because the next day, Felix only felt that feeling intensely.

It was something he couldn’t quite describe, even less understand, but things didn’t feel quite as depressing and dreadful as they had before.

Felix no longer felt that it had been a mistake to come out into the city or that he was hopelessly wasting his time chasing the ghost of a mate that didn’t exist.

He hadn’t found his mate, but that didn’t feel wrong anymore.

Everything felt okay, like Felix was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Mr Harrison had even commented on it a few days after about how glad he was to see Felix smiling again.

The older man didn’t think that the gloom and doom Felix had previously been wearing looked very good on the bright sunshine boy.

Mr Harrison hadn’t known him for long, but he was certain someone like Felix was always meant to light up any room with his smile, not fade into the shadows of misery.

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Felix had been feeling good, even if the search for his mate still wasn’t yielding any results, and in all honesty, Felix wasn’t trying nearly as hard these days as he was during that first week.

He no longer felt it necessary to go out into places of gathering in hopes of finding his mate. Or walking around town aimlessly in search of a scent or an imaginary pull towards someone.

He knows that is what he came here for, but unlike before, it no longer feels like a priority for him. Before, it felt like there was a space within him that he was desperate to find someone to fill.

Now everything feels like it is in its place, and that hole that used to be there no longer feels as empty or daunting as it used to.

Perhaps it's the fresh air or the proximity to the ocean. After all, the closer Felix is to the ocean, the closer he is to his family.

Maybe it's the kind customers and various people he has met while working in the market.

He can’t know for sure what caused this change, but he is thankful nonetheless.

He is glad that for the first time in a long time, he doesn’t feel his soul yearning and calling out for something or someone.

For once, that ache is no longer there. He hopes it won’t return any time soon because now that Felix knows what it's like to live without it, he can’t imagine going back.

That feeling had been with him ever since he presented, and he was starting to believe it would always be there. Just another one of those things that made Felix different

No alpha he had ever spoken to about this feeling could understand or relate. What Felix thought was just something that happened to all alphas after they presented turned out to be a quirk that only he possessed.

It certainly wasn’t nice learning that his life as a newly presented individual was destined to be harder than those around him. But then again, life hadn’t been all that kind to Felix since his grandmother died.

This was just another thing that he had been burdened with. That is what he thought and had come to accept.

Needless to say, he is happy to know that feeling wasn’t forever. That all it would take was a trip to the city for him to find whatever it was that his soul was yearning and searching for.

“Did you hear they say the famous pirate king has decided to stay here a little longer?” One of the villagers near where Felix is working comments

“Yeah, I heard he is traveling with some important pack from Korea.” Another adds

“My cousin tells me they are part of some big gang over in Asia.” A woman next to them chimes in

“Well, I just hope they don’t cause any trouble,” Says another man right after

“Yeah, or that this mystery pack that they brought with them isn’t planning some expansion into our island. We don’t need some mob from Korea changing our way of life.” The man from earlier adds

His comment is met with the agreeing words of the other people who had gathered around him.

All the while not knowing that the very reason for the pirate king and his guests' extended stay was standing just a few steps away from them.

They didn’t know that in three weeks' time, the young alpha would disappear along with that large, daunting ship.

They would have their peace restored all at the expense of the young alpha they had grown to like in his time working there alongside them.

Sadly, none of them would protest or fight when the time came because to them, Felix's life was worth the trade-off for their returned peace.

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Felix starts his day off earlier than usual. Today is the last day Mr Harrison had reserved in the market.

A good number of items had been sold enough for Mr Harrison to consider this endeavor a success. Thus, there wasn’t any sense of urgency, but Felix still had to get down to the market earlier than usual. He needed to open up the stand as soon as possible so he could begin the process of packing up the remaining items and bringing them back to Mr Harrison's house.

He wasn’t sure when they were set to leave originally, but he thought it would be the day after he they closed the market. But he hadn’t seen Mr Harrison in two days and thus wasn’t able to ask the older man if he had found them transportation back, or exactly how long they would hang around the city after his business had been completed.

Felix was used to running the stand all by himself, so the absence of Mr. Harrison wasn’t too worrisome; still, he thought he would see more of the older man now that they were approaching the end of their time in Auckland.

On the other hand, it could be that the older man is busy because he is setting up everything they will need for their departure from the city and the journey back. Felix doesn’t know how much further Mr Harrison plans to travel this time around. He hadn’t spoken to the man about his plans afterward. He assumes he will go back to doing what he did before traveling around to the villages he knows he can get goods to later sell in the city.

Or perhaps after the successful market he had this time around, Mr Harrison will decide to take a little vacation for himself.

He won’t know until he sees him, so in the meantime, he works as normal and carries on doing what he had already been instructed to do.

The day goes by easily enough, and Felix ends up selling a few more things before he closes up. Thankfully, he sold some of the bigger items and thus won’t have to take the time to pack them back up.

He closes up the tent at 3 PM and gets started on counting the leftover inventory and the profits of the day before he can move on to getting everything he will need to pack the remaining items.

Thankfully, Mr Harrison's house, where he keeps everything, isn’t too far away, so Felix won’t have to make any long trips in between.

He has yet to see the other man; he can’t say he isn’t starting to get a little anxious with the merchant's lack of appearance.

He thought by now he would have seen him or at least gotten some update on what the other man was doing.

Maybe some of his anxiety is due to the various pirates he has seen hanging around near his stand throughout the day.

It’s easy to tell the pirate apart from the other people. Felix had grown used to their occasional appearance.

Still, this is the first time so many of them have hung around this part of the market for such an extended period of time.

He doesn’t know much about these pirates, but he knows the gist of what they do.

The most worrying habit of their occupation is their tendency to steal. Whether that be goods or money.

Both things that Felix currently has. He can’t help but wonder if they had been waiting for the last day of the market to make their move and take all the money he had stored from the 2-month-long market from him.

This is only made more likely given the fact that he is the only one here today.

Felix finished taking inventory of everything around 5 and took a look outside of the tent to see if the pirates had moved on or were still in the same place they were before.

Worrisome enough, he finds the same pirate still there in the same place, along with a few more joining them.

“Damn,” Felix curses to himself

How is he meant to leave the tent to go get the bags and boxes from Mr Harrison's house?

The little lock they put over the tent at night surely won’t be enough to stop this many pirates from getting in.

He could leave and risk them taking something while he is gone, or he could try carrying as many important things with him back to the house and hope they don’t attack him on his way there.

The other option is to wait and hope Mr Harrison comes back.

Felix isn’t sure what to do, never having been in a situation such as this one. And with the time, most of the nearby merchants have already left for the day, and it’s not like Felix knows any of them well enough to ask for their help.

Felix has no choice not wanting to lose any merchandise or be assaulted by the pirates he decides to stay and wait for Mr Harrison.

“It’s the last day of the market, he will surely come at some point to check everything has been packed up,” Felix hopes he understands why he wasn’t able to pack everything up in time, given the circumstances

Time passes, the sun sets, and the market grows empty, but still the pirates remain. Felix checks every 20 minutes, each time hoping they would have left, and each time he is disappointed.

If anything, it feels like there are more of them. The last couple of times he has checked, they had been talking amongst themselves, with each passing moment their conversations growing more intense, at least that’s what it looks like to Felix.

He swears he saw one of them point towards him while talking the last time he checked.

They might have grown tired of waiting for him to leave and are now planning to attack. That would explain the sudden increase in pirates and the intense conversation happening amongst them.

Felix doesn’t know how much longer he has before they finally decide to attack. He doesn’t even know he would be able to fend them off now if they decide to do so.

Numbers are on their side, and even if that wasn’t the case, Felix isn’t much of a fighter; he doubts he could even take one of them out.

Still, he can’t leave himself completely defenseless, so he grabs the heaviest object he didn’t manage to sell in today's market.

To think he was so eager to sell that large metal shovel today, not wanting to have to pack it and carry it back to Mr Harrison's house. How useful that clunky thing would be at this moment.

Instead, he has to make due with the small metal pan. Which happens to be the heaviest thing he can swing around as a weapon at present.

The tent entrance suddenly moves, and Felix gets up quickly, prepared to fight.

The flap pulls back, and just as Felix goes to swing down on the intruder

“Felix?”Mr Harrison's voice calls out

Felix drops the pan down his arms, giving out in sheer relief, hearing the older man's voice

“Mr Harrison,” Felix cries out in relief

Mr Harrison walks through into the tent, looking nervously around at everything

“What are you doing, boy? Nothing is packed up. You were supposed to have this all cleared up by now,”

Felix is taken aback by the older man's tone of voice. Mr Harrison has always been a calm and even tone spoke man. This is the first time Felix has heard him sound genuinely angered.

Certainly, the first time he has heard this tone directed towards him.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t. There was a pirate and I,” Felix tries to explain himself, splurting out an explanation, but unable to finish his sentence, the anxiety of the situation, and now the sudden shift in Mr Harrison's attitude towards him, leaving him unable to formulate a full sentence
This only seems to annoy Mr Harrison more

“I don’t care for your excuse. You weren’t meant to get this done now, I’ll have to pay a fee for going past my schedule tim.e” Mr Harrison sighs out in exasperation, shaking his head all the while Felix's face turns down in shame and guilt

Maybe he should have just braved the journey to Mr Harrison's house with the items. At least then he would have cleared out the stand, and the older man wouldn’t be charged a fee.

Just as Felix is going to offer to have the fee come out of his pay

“Well, don’t just stand there, go out and get the stuff so we can start packing this up,” Mr Harrison's angry voice booms out

Felix ups back scared and startled, never having been yelled at like that by anyone in his life.

“Yes, I understand uhm” Felix blabbers, grabbing his bag with the keys for the house and walking towards the tents exist.

“I’m sorry,” Felix thinks he hears Mr Harrison whisper under his breath as he walks by

Felix's frazzled mind doesn’t have time to process what the older man could be apologizing to him for.

He doesn’t even look around for the pirates to see if they are still there, far too anxious to do as asked and placate the older man whom he had considered a friend up to this point.

He mindlessly walks in the direction of Mr Harrison's house.

He remains lost within his own head so much so that he doesn’t notice the two masked men come out of the shadows in front of him.

He doesn’t register that he is being ambushed until he feels someone wrap their arms around him from behind.

Before he can react, the two men in front of him come closer, one of them holding a needle with some strange liquid inside

“Wha-” Is all Felix is able to ask before one of the men is grabbing his arm as the other moves in with the needle towards his arm

He processes what they are trying to do, but by then it's too late, the prick of the needle going into his skin coming before he could try to fight back or move away.

“Why, what?” Are the only words Felix is able to get out before the world goes dark.

Chapter Text

Felix POV / Third Person POV

He loses complete consciousness for an unknown amount of time. He doesn’t dream; he doesn’t think. It's as if he were completely turned off from the world.

As if in one moment he was in that alley asking the masked men what they were doing, and the next he was grogily attempting to wake up, unable to fully open his eyes but having regained some of his senses.

He could feel he was lying down on something soft and plush. His disoriented mind assumes he must be on a cloud-like surface. Perhaps they had killed him with whatever they gave him, and now Felix was regaining consciousness in the afterlife.

He hears what sounds like a large metal door opening, and something tells him there is a person there, but he can’t smell anything, and his eyes have yet to cooperate with him and open, so he isn't able to confirm.

Not that he is certain he could even lift his head from the soft pillow it is currently lying on.

Felix must have made a noise, or his scent shifted, indicating he was somewhat awake

“Hyung, the medication is wearing off. Get me the next dose,” A man's voice calls out by Felix's feet, where he assumes the opening of the cage is

Felix wants to protest or at least say anything to show his discontent with the situation and with them further pumping him with whatever it was they were giving him.

However, just like the rest of his body, his mouth isn’t cooperating.

The only thing he manages to get out is a sad, broken moan

“I know, sweetheart, but we aren’t far enough from the island yet, and we wouldn’t want you attempting anything risky,” The voice from earlier says in what Felix thinks is meant to be a comforting tone, but the words make it fall completely flat

“Not that he could even if he wanted to.” Another man's voice comments from outside the cage somewhere to his left, but Felix can’t turn to see who it could be or how far they are from him.

Is this the hyung the one by his feet was talking to earlier?

“Alright, move out of the way, let me get in so I can give him the medicine.” A new firmer voice joins the mix

And Felix just knows without asking or seeing that this is the hyung in the situation. That this is who the one that open the cage was talking to.

Meaning that the one who spoke just now outside his cage is a completely different capture.

Making the total people who have taken him and drugged him three.

Three men, for that matter.

Three men whose voices he has never heard, and given that they were wearing masks when they attacked him, he also doesn’t have any clue what they look like. And with his eyes not cooperating, he isn’t able to check if that is still true.

The cage is clearly spacious enough because Felix feels the presence of someone else's body next to his.

He makes one more attempt to speak his objections, but again it just comes out as a sad, broken moan.

The man seems to understand what he is trying to say, however

“I know, angel, you don’t like what alpha is doing to you, but it's just for a little while longer, I promise,” He says right after

Alpha?

Is the man an alpha?

How had Felix not noticed that?

Now that he is thinking about it, he hasn’t caught the scent of any of the men. He hasn’t caught the scent of anything besides himself thus far.

Why can’t he smell anything but himself?

Is it due to whatever they are giving him?

Felix doesn’t feel the prickle in his arm this time, the only indication that they have drugged him again being his thoughts getting hazier, unable to finish a full thought before the world goes silent and dark once again.

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Felix consciousness goes through waves, Moments were he can hear something but not make out exactly what is being said. Moments were he can move his finger just the slightest bit before his body is shutting down again exhausted just from that small form of movement.

Moments he can flutter his eyes open just the slightest bit before he is instantly closing them because even the small light coming from the top of the cage is to much for his sensitive eyes.

He finally surfaces from it all disoriented and unable to tell how long he had been floating and sinking in the vast nothingness that came from whatever it was they were giving him.

He tries not to make any noise or any indication that he is awake or has gained back some sense of reality. Afraid if he tips them off of his current condition they will just dose him up with more drugs and he will be once more stuck in the endless nothingness.

Felix doesn’t like the complete loss of consciousness and awareness.

The truth of the mater is that he is in an unfamiliar place surrounded by unknown men one of whom is an alpha.

An alpha who has a proclivity to drug Felix

And two others that seem to be completely on board with whatever it is the mystery alpha is doing to him. One of them even reporting back to the alpha to let him know Felix had woken up the last time and to drug him again.

Felix doesn’t want a repeat of that situation and this decides to make as little noise and give as few signs as possible to the fact of his regaining of his senses.

Felix tries to open his eyes hoping this time around they will cooperate with him.

He feels them move just the tiniest bit, he has to stop himself from making a sound of happiness because even just that slight move was a huge improvement to what he could accomplish the last time he was consciousness.

But again he doesn’t want to alert anyone of the fact that he is awake so he keeps his excitement from showing.

It feels like forever until Felix is finally able to fully open his eyes.

The light above the cage proving uncomfortable but unlike when he was floating in the river of nothingness the last time he was somehow able to open his eyes this time he is able to adjust them to the light and not give into the instinct to close them right after opening them.

He takes a moment to take in the scene above him. A glass panel seems to be the serving as the roof of the cage he is in. Small lights decorating the edge of the glass panel illuminating the space around him.

Felix with some difficulty is able to turn his head to look around some.

The walls of the cage are padded with soft pink cushioned material.

That is true for both sides of the cage and most likely from what he can feel below him that is also the material he is currently lying on.

It was rather soft and comfortable Felix remembers that much from the first time he awake to find himself within the unknown space. Now he can confirm the material looks just as nice as it feels.

He wants to lift his head up to look towards where he knows the entrance of the cage is but is afraid he won’t muster enough strength to fully lift his head up and will just end up thudding it back down against the bedding.

And while he is certain it wouldn’t hurt at all given the cushiony material it would certainly make enough noise to alert his captures of his consciousness.

He would like to avoid that for as long as possible at least until he can get a better handle on the situation and where he is.

The biggest question being who he is with and why have they have done this to him specifically. But Felix doesn’t think his brain is back to full funcation as of right now and doubts he will be able to come up with anything at the moment.

Hell he isn’t even sure he will be able to come up with a logical explanation once he is fully consciousness and his thoughts process is no longer headered by the remaining drugs in his system.

He tries to sort his thoughts all into a somewhat coherent timeline.
One: Two random men approached him and drugged him and he remembers another holding him from behind

That adds up perfectly with the various voices he has heard so far.

Thus far he has been able to make out a total of three captures one of them being an alpha and the other two sub-genders still unknown to him.

Two: He woke up in a padded albeit comfortable cage and when they saw he was awake they drugged him again.

They claim it was because they hadn’t gotten far enough away from the Island and they didn’t want him attempting anything risky.

Wait…

They were moving away from the Island?

Thats what he heard the one that open the cage say.

Does that mean he is on a boat currently moving away from New Zealand?

Felix was officially awake enough to start panicking upon coming across this relization.

His scent turning sour and distressed unable to control it now that his emotions are so heighten and unable to remember that he was trying to keep his current state hidden from his captures.

Where were they going?

Why are this three men taking him away from the only home he has ever known?

For what? What possible use could they have of him.

Felix has never been outside of New Zealand has rarely even left his town. He is of no use to anyone.

He doesn’t have any particular set of skills or grand knowledge that anyone could have use of.

He isn’t particularly strong or physical.

He isn’t anything special.

So what possible reason could they have to kidnap him and take him away from his home?

He can’t think of anything that would be of any value to anyone. Nothing that would warrant this much of an effort on anyones behalf.

There were pirates surrounding the shop right before he was taken.

Could these three men be one of those pirates.

All of the pirates he saw around him weren’t wearing any mask to conceal themselves like the three who had taken him had. But perhaps they were a different kind of pirate.

One that need to maintain a certain level of anonymity.

Felix tries to think back to everything he knows about pirates to see if this helps clue him in at all into the reason these three might have taken him.

Pirates sail around the seas stopping in various places to steal and take anything and everything they could want.

Pirates fight amongst each other for the right to certain goods or territory.

Pirates fight and kill sometimes cause they want something sometimes cause they just want to kill.

Pirates are not good people.

And while he didn’t know them to kidnap people it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that they would.

There moral compass is clearly lacking and if they have no trouble stealing goods from people and or killing another for the right to take something then why would they have any issue with kidnapping someone if they wanted to.

And why kidnap Felix?

Because with all that fighting and killing they are constantly in need of more people to fill the positions left behind by the dead.

They constantly need a new wave of people coming in and Felix doubts many people from his home island would be willing to join them.

So they had to resort to kidnapping people.

That makes sense at least to some degree.

However there is a big fact hole in this explanation

Because Felix is almost certain that men kidnapped to be used as cannon fodder on a pirate ship dont all get a nice plush pink and white cage to be kepted in.

A cage yes but nothing this nice or luxurious.

This doesn’t feel like a place you’d keep a slave more like the gilded cage you’d keep a prized and treasured pet within.

A pet…

Is that what Felix is meant to be?

Some sort of human pet for this pirates? Something to keep them entertain while out on long voyages at sea?

He doesn’t have time to continue with this train of thought because suddenly he hears the sound of that metal cage door opening once more.

“You’re finally awake, I se,e” One of the men says

No use and trying to pretend he is asleep, they surely know by now, so Felix attempts to lift his head in hopes of catching a glimpse of the men who had taken him.

It takes a lot of effort, much more than usua,l but Felix is finally able to lift his head enough to look over his chest towards the other end of the cage.

What he finds is the same masked man staring back at him as the one who took him, however many nights ago.

He would think it was the drugs messing with his brain and his ability to make out shapes and faces if it weren’t for how he can clearly see his reflection and his own face where the man's eyes should be.

The man reaches over, laying a gentle hand on Felix's calf.

His leg flinches away, a mixture of fear and instinct causing the subconscious movement.

“Shush, it’s okay, we aren’t going to hurt you.” The man tries to reassure gently

Felix wants so badly to counter and say they already have that their words mean nothing after what they have already done to him.

But he doesn’t think he could form a full sentence at the moment. Whether that be from the fear or the drugs still coursing through his system.

The man gives him a minutes, allowing Felix to get used to his hand on him. Before he speaks up again

“You probably can’t move right now, the medication we gave you takes away most of your motor skills. It left your system enough for you to wake up, but it will still be some time before you are able to move freely again,” The man explains, his hand moving up and down on Felix's leg in what would otherwise be a soothing motion, were it not for the disturbing words coming out of his mouth

“It’s been a while since you’ve been out, though, and you probably need to use the bathroom. It’ll also help clear out the medicine from your system faster,” He continues

Felix can’t feel much below his chest and thus can’t really feel if what the man is saying is true.

He can’t feel his legs, never mind his bladder.

He shakes his head for no other reason than to be contrarian against the mans words.

Truth be told he doesn’t know if he needs to go relieve himself the likelihood he does are high if the mans words are to be believe.

But Felix would rather wait until he know for certain rather than trusting the man who kidnapped and drugged him.

“Move out the way Ji”Another man says but stops himself before he can finish his sentence

“Ugh move out the way J.One” The man finally says a moment after

“Of course Mr Know” The man whos name seems to be J.One says to the other in amusment

J.One and Mr Know

Or maybe just Know

Odd name but they are pirates Felix figures they don’t go by there given name rather some alias

That or they come from a really weird country were they give each other silly names like J.One and Mr Know

Felix lifts his head again having dropped it earlier unknowingly while lost in thought.
Likely, his neck is not currently strong enough to hold up his head for long periods of time.

Mr Know takes the place previously occupied by J.One

And Felix finds there isn’t much of a difference between them. Especially because both of them are fully covered, still with those suits and masks preventing Felix from seeing any recognizable feature.

Mr Know seems to be slightly bigger than J.One, but if Felix were to guess, they are probably around the same height. Mr Know just has bigger shoulders and chest.

While J.One has a leaner and more slim figure similar to Felix own.

He thinks standing side by side they would be around the same height with Mr Know probably appearing the slightest bit bigger than J.One and Felix due to his sturdier build.

“Come on angel, Alphas just gonna take you to the bathroom real quick, even if you don’t do anything its better this way, We wouldn’t want you having an accident and getting your pretty bed dirty” Mr Know explains sweetly

Making his way inside of the cage to effortlessly lift Felix up into his arms bridal style and crawling on his knees back out of the cage.

Felix thinks its an impressive show of strength when Mr Know so easily gets up from his knees despite the added weight of Felix's body in his arms.

Felix looks around and confirms they are most definitely on a ship, the window at the far end of the room giving way to the large expanse of ocean just outside.

Now, outside of his cage, he can feel the rocking and movement of the ship on the waves.

How he hadn’t noticed it before is a mystery to him, but the constant movement where before there was stillness is very obvious now.

Mr Know seems to be experienced in walking and carrying someone in such conditions because he doesn’t falter or miss a single step while carrying Felix over to another door that opens into a bathroom.

A bathroom that is surprisingly spacious, given that it is on a ship.

But then again so was the room he was just in and even the cage was quite spacious able to accommodate two people if they were cuddle up together inside.

The room is clearly large if it's able to house the cage and everything else that is likely to be inside of a ship cabin.

Again, Felix thinks back to his previous thoughts. That this isn’t at all the kind of accommodations that would be given to just any random person on a pirate ship.

Mr Know and J.One are clearly important people high up on the food chain, how else would they receive such luxurious and spacious rooms within the ship?

Perhaps they are the captains of this ship

Felix's thoughts are interrupted by hands reaching around his waist and pulling down his pants and underwear

“Nauh,” Felix tries to object as best he can, his tongue not fully cooperating

“Shush, it's okay, angel, we just need to lower your clothes so you can go. It’s not like you can use the bathroom with your pants on,” Mr Know explains

J.One steps back once he has finished lowering Felix's clothes

Felix wants to hide, wants to bring down his hands and cover his nudity, but his arms won't work

He is thankful when he is lowered onto the toilet, at least then his most intimate parts are covered by the toilet seat and his thighs.

Felix can’t stop his face from going red because as soon as he is seated on the toilet, he hears the sound of his bladder emptying down into the bowl below.

He didn’t know he needed to go and certainly had no way of controlling his own release, but his body seemed to know what he needed, and once it was sat on the toilet, it instantly knew what to do.

Mr Know and J.One, thankfully, upon sensing his embarrassment, turned their backs to him, allowing him some semblance of privacy.

Even if it is only performative.

It seems like it goes on forever, and Felix can conclude that he has been out long enough that had they not brought him in here when they did, he no doubt would have pissed himself eventually.

Just how powerless have they rendered him that he can’t control or even feel something as basic as his bladder being full?
Felix hates it, hates what they have done to him, and thought he never thought he would this is the first time he has come close to feeling what hatred is for another person.

Felix has never been a hateful person. Even to those who have wronged him in the past. That was just simply the way his grandmother had raised him.

But he doubts even his grandmother's endless patience and grace would extend to a situation such as this one.

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Felix doesn’t like being so dependent on them, but for the first couple of hours after regaining consciousness, he has no other choice.

After the bathroom, he thought they would put him back in his cage and lock him away once more, but they didn’t

Instead, they laid him down on a hammock hanging off to one corner of the cabin, facing towards the window.

J.One sits down in a nearby chair, silently watching Felix

Felix, for his part, decides to stare out into the endless ocean beyond the window, afraid that if he looks around the room too much, they’ll think he is planning something and stuff him back within his cage.

At least out here, he can keep an eye on what they are doing

“I’m gonna go prepare something light for him to eat. His stomach won’t be able to handle much after the medication, but he still needs to eat,” Mr Know speaks up, likely to J.One

Being he is the only other person in the room right now, and Felix doubts Mr Know was speaking to him about himself in the third person

Unless they don’t view him like a human anymore rather as an object, and thus don’t care how they speak about Felix while he is in the room.

That certainly wouldn’t be hard to believe; it's easier to kidnap and drug someone when you don’t view them as a real person, but rather as an object.

Or what is becoming more likely with each passing moment he spends with them.

As a pet

If they believe Felix is just some pet for their amusement, they would have no problem doing whatever they want with him.

Because pets don’t have autonomy, they are at the will and whim of their masters.

And certainly in this moment, Mr Know and J.One feels very much like Felix masters

Masters of where he can sleep

Masters of when he can go to the bathroom to relieve himself

Master of when he can eat

And Master's of where he can be and where he will go.

Nothing is his choice anymore; everything is in the hands of these two strange masked men.

The door to the cabin opens, and Felix, despite his earlier thoughts of not wanting to look suspicious, turns his head, wanting to catch a glimpse of the outside world beyond the two men's cabin.

The cabin opens, and a breeze comes through carrying the scent of the world outside.

That is when it finally hits Felix.

That he hasn’t smelt a single scent since waking up in this room besides his own.

That, despite it occupying three people at the present time and four previously, none of those scents can be noted within the room.

He can’t smell J. One or Mr Knows scents can’t even tell what sub-gender they are

They hide their faces and their skins and won’t even allow him the courtesy of their scent, so he might finally know what the two men are.

He knows the lack of scent isn’t a side effect of the medication because he could clearly make out the scents of an alpha and omega just now when the door opened.

Meaning that some way somehow, Mr Know and J.One and the third mystery capture who Felix has yet to see or learn the name of, have somehow managed to conceal their scents from him this whole time.

The how is a mystery, and once more so is the why

infuriatingly, so Felix can still not find an explanation for all of this

Each time he thinks he has something, another thing comes that throws him for a loop once again.

He sees no other way to get some answers but to ask the very person doing it. And though it didn’t work very well last time, Felix still tries again, because left without a choice, you do what you can, even if the result might be the same.

“Why?” Felix asks once more, hoping this time the results will be different, that an answer will come because at this point in time, he has nothing else but that which is so often the last resort for a desperate man.

Hope.

Chapter Text

Felix POV/ Third Person POV

Hope is the last resort of the desperate man, and yet so often fleeting.

Felix can feel it slowly leaving his body when his captor finally answers his question

“I know it's difficult to understand right now, Felix, but I promise everything we do is for your own good.” J.One answers him after a brief pause

Felix doesn’t believe him, can’t believe him, because to have belief in someone's words, you first have to know that person.

He knows nothing about J.One

Doesn’t know his name, doesn’t know what he looks like, hell, he doesn’t even know what the man smells like.

If a person hides themselves so completely from you, how are you ever expected to know them?

How are you ever able to trust them?

Trust is built and gained.

Thus far, these men have done nothing to earn Felix's trust.

“I’m supposed to believe you kidnapped me and drugged me all for my own good?”Felix asks incredulously, not believing that J.One is so delusional that he would ask such a thing

J.One whinces and shakes his head

“I know it's ridiculous to ask that of you, but one day it will all make sense, and I hope when that day comes you’ll forgive me.” J.One adds in at the end solemnly

Forgive him?

A ridiculous notion indeed.

Why would J.One care for Felix's forgiveness?

If the pirates truly only see him as a pet, why would they care how he feels about them?

Pets' feelings aren’t really taken into account when their masters decide to do something.

‘Another hole in my pet theory then,’ Felix thinks to himself.

To a certain extent, they must see him as a person if they are asking for him to forgive them.

Furthermore, they believe their reasons are good enough that when the day comes, and everything magically makes sense, Felix will be capable of forgiving them then.

Or at least they hope that's the case, so maybe they aren’t all that confident in their reasoning.

Or perhaps they know what they are doing isn’t something that can easily be forgiven.

He can’t say why, but he has this sense of doom that has suddenly overcome him. Because J.One words ask for forgiveness, but Felix thinks it's for more than what has already happened.

No, the tone in which the man said it suggests there is more they have yet to do to him.

Like an alarm going off in his head that there is more to come. That this isn’t the full extent of what they will put him through. The most basic human instincts that warns you of danger ahead and to turn before it is too late.

Felix hasn’t felt this primal fear in a long time. Yet he recognizes the feeling just the same.

Nothing makes sense, and Felix thinks his question only left him with more questions. That he was better off not asking anything because J.One words had only made him more anxious about what the future holds.

Hope is certainly fleeting, and Felix can feel it slipping through his fingers dangerously fast.

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Mr Know eventually returns carrying a small tray with some food.

Felix is only allowed a moment to study the scents outside of the room before the door is closing and shutting them in the scentless space.
He can smell his own scent, of course, but that is of no help in this situation.

He knows what his scent smells like, and currently, it isn’t that pleasant given the circumstances he finds himself in.

He can hardly stand to be in a room with only his own wilting scent. He would like the scents of the other occupants if only to help distract him from his own misery. But he was still put off by the last time he tried talking to them.

And that only ended with him having more questions. So would it truly be any different this time around?

Felix doesn’t want to find out only because he doesn’t think he can take any more questions being added to the list at this moment.

“Where is Sky?” J.One asks Mr Know

“He doesn’t feel like joining us at the moment, says he’ll come down later,” Mr Know answers

The two men stared at each other as if communicating telepathically.

They seem to come to some understanding because J.One nods, and the telepathic conversation suddenly ends

Mr Know walks over, setting the tray with food down on a table near where Felix is lying in the hammock.

He has regained some of his senses, the medication working its way out of his system. The process clearly having speed up in the last hour or so that Mr Know was gone.

Perhaps they were correct, and going to the bathroom helped his system work out the medication faster.

“I got you something light, since your stomach is probably sensitive after the last couple of days,” Mr Know informs him

Last couple of days?

How long had he been out?

To him, it felt like only a day, maybe a day and a half, but clearly it had been more than that.

“How long was I drugged?”Felix asks because he needs to know how long he was vulnerable and helpless in the face of this strange man
“We gave you another two doses while you were out. It has been 4 days since we left New Zealand.”J.One answers

Felix looks around at them, bewildered

They had drugged him 4 times and had kept him asleep for four days?

How was he still alive? If he hasn’t eaten or drunk any water for four days? How can he possibly still be alive?

“I could have died?” Felix finally says

Two growls come at the same time from the two men in the room

“We would never let anything happen to you. Don’t ever speak of you dying again.” That is the angriest Felix has ever heard J.One’s voice

“We kept you fed and hydrated with an IV. We knew you’d be out for a while, so we prepared to keep you healthy even while you were unconscious,” Mr Know explains much more calmly but still with an edge similar to J.One’s

Felix doesn’t have the faintest idea what Mr Know is talking about. He has never heard of something that can keep a person fed and hydrated while unconscious. But then again, he also hasn’t heard of a drug that can knock someone out for a whole day and make them lose all sense and mobility.

Clearly, the two are much more knowledgeable in this field. Felix can’t help but wonder how many times they have done this before.

Because this level of preparedness can surely only come from a person with experience in the matter.

“However, you are awake now, and we should start preparing your stomach to hold and process food again.” Mr Know grabs a small plate holding some sort of porridge and brings it over to Felix

Felix shakes his head. He refuses to eat anything they give him

‘What if it's just more drugs to knock him out again?’

He can’t risk losing consciousness for another 4 days. He can’t risk being vulnerable and helpless in front of these two men again.

“What is it you aren’t hungry?”Mr Know asks upon seeing Felix's refusal to eat
“No, but you can’t expect me to eat anything you give me,” Felix thinks this should be obvious

“It doesn’t have any medicine in it, it’s just regular rice porridge,” Mr Know explains

Felix refuses to just take their word for it and thus just shakes his head once more in denial.

“Felix, please, you have to eat something.”J.One pleads with him

Felix doesn’t care how much they plead or how many times they ask; he won’t eat anything they give him.

J.One and Mr Know share another long look with each other, once more communicating with each other silently, leaving Felix in the dark about what new evil thing they could be planning to do to him next.

Mr Know nods and looks back over at Felix

“Felix, if you don’t eat, you’ll leave me no choice but to hook you back up to the IV,” Mr Know threatens

Felix doesn’t know what an IV is; thus, that threat runs completely empty. But knowing the two men, it must be something bad if they think its usage is enough of a threat to make him cooperate.

Felix brain runs through the two options presented to him unable to decide which of the two options presented is better.

In truth, neither of them are good.

Which is exactly why Felix can’t seem to choose.

However, his silence is taken as answer enough because Mr Know sighs

“J.One grab the IV bag.” Mr Know sets down the bowl and walks over to another cabinet, grabbing something from inside.

J.One opens a large dresser and grabbing a clear bag holding some sort of milky white substance inside a long clear tub connecting to the bag

Are they going to force that down his throat or something?

Felix is suddenly panicking

He looks over at Mr Know, who, from the cabinet, pulls out a large needle with another tub attached to it.

This needle is different from the one he saw before, but his experience and his body's reaction are the same.

He knows whenever they stick his body with something, the result is never good. And Felix would rather not find out what this particular needle will do to him

“No wait, stop, I’ll eat, please, no more stabbing.” Felix pleads quickly, trying to stop them before they get any closer with their weird devices

Mr Know sighs, “We aren’t going to stab you, Felix, but if you refuse to eat, we will just have to inject the food into you.”

“I'll eat, please, just don’t,” Felix reiterates again

“Alright, thank you. We don’t want to do this to you, Felix, but we aren’t going to let you hurt yourself either,” Mr Know explains, thankfully putting the weird needle back down

Felix highly doubts the authenticity and sincerity of Mr Knows' words

But at the moment, he is left with no other option but to trust that what the man says is true.

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Felix eats as much as he can, which isn’t a lot, barely getting through half of the bowl of rice porridge before his stomach starts protesting

They are right in saying that he needed to eat because he feels much better afterwards. Or well as good as he can feel given the circumstances.

Thankfully, he doesn’t feel any of the signs he has started to associate with whatever drug they were giving him before. The food was just that food

And if they think that will earn them some semblance of trust from Felix, they are highly mistaken because when they offer him a cup of water, he still refuses all the same.

“Felix, would you prefer we inject fluids into you instead?”Mr Know asks, or rather threatens him again, with the IV bag

Felix angrily sips down some of the water, all while glaring at the two men in the room with him.

“That’s what I thought, pup.”

Felix bristles at being referred to as a pup. He is a fully grown alpha male, not some small misbehaving pup being scolded by his mother

Oh how he wishes his body would cooperate with him more so he could show Mr Know just how wrong he is

Felix is no pup, and while he isn’t much of a fighter either, he can certainly land a few good hits, at least enough to hurt.

Enough to hurt Mr Know as much as the other man has been hurting him this whole time. With his demeaning words and actions.

Enough to prove the other man's words at least partially wrong.

Alas, his body won’t cooperate, and Felix thinks any form of retaliation would only have Mr Knows' threats coming to fruition

And at the moment, Felix would like to avoid any needle or drug being forced into him, the likely outcome of any retaliation he may attempt.

Unless they have some other form of punishment and control that they have yet to debut.

Felix certainly hopes that isn’t the case…

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He will soon learn there is more than just needles and drugs in his two captors' arsenal of punishment.
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Felix falls asleep not long after finishing his food. He fights against sleep as much as he can, but even the small activities and tribulations of the last couple of hours prove to be too much for his already weakened body.

He knows it's just regular exhaustion and not another drug-induced slumber because rather than losing consciousness all at once and suddenly like he had before.

This time, it is a slow battle to keep himself awake, and eventually, the failure when tiredness wins out.

Another clue that is that this time around, he dreams. His sleep isn’t consumed by the darkness and nothingness the drugs bring.

Instead, they are filled with dreams of a time Felix didn’t even know was fleeting.

Dreams of him sat on the porch of his small house, enjoying a morning tea and the peaceful sounds of the waves breaking against the beach in front of his house.

Those peaceful moments, he should have appreciated and valued more, but he didn’t because he foolishly believed that they would be forever.

He didn't know that they had an expiration date. That eventually his dreams would be the only place he would be able to see his home and find that all-consuming peace again.

His dreams are the only place he can now find peace, but even that is temporary, because each time his dreams end with three masked men walking out of the sea, and no matter how much Felix runs, they always capture him in the end.

And each time he awakes to find that the nightmare is more than just a bad dream.

It’s now his reality.

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It’s another 5 days until Felix learns another hard lesson while held captive by the three men.

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The day starts off as any other, Felix waking up abruptly from his dreams. Disoriented and scared, he looks around to find himself in the familiar pink cage.

He doesn’t always fall asleep inside of the cage, but he does always wake up in it. Clearly, Mr Know is moving him into it at some point while he sleeps.

He knows it's Mr. Know and not J.One, because on the second day of him being there, or at least of him being conscious while there. J.One attempted to bring him out of the cage, similar to how Mr Know had done on the previous day.

However the other man clearly doesn’t possess his partner's strength because he failed almost instantly and hasn’t been allowed to attempt picking Felix up since then. Much to his annoyance, and Mr Knows' amusement.

He also knows it’s not the mysterious third capture that he has yet to meet.

Sky

This is what Felix assumes is his alias; at least that is what the other two have been referring to him by.

Each day, one of them goes to get his food, and the other stays to watch him.

The one that comes back is always asked the same question by the one that stayed

“Sky?”

And usually they are met with a similar response.

“He doesn’t want to come over right now.”
“He is working on something.”

“He says he's helping Hongjoong repair something on the ship.”

“He says he isn’t ready yet.”

That last one always makes Felix wonder the most

What exactly is this Sky person avoiding, and what does it have to do with him coming into the room?

Felix doesn’t know, and he doesn’t anticipate the answer. So he hopes to remain curious to this for as long as he can.

It has been 5 days now since he woke up, and no matter how many times he has woken up safe and annoyingly comfortable inside of the padded cage, it still doesn’t curb the panic he feels each time he wakes up from his dreams turned nightmares inside of the damned thing.

He wishes he didn’t wake up so abruptly and so loudly because each time it alerts his captors to his state, and it isn’t long before they are opening the cage to greet him.

Always with that sickenly sweet and loving voice like Felix, is something small and precious to them.

He won’t admit the few times the calming, soothing voice of his captors has actually worked to calm him down.

Felix simply shucks it up to his still sleep-aided mind, being more susceptible to their manipulation.

Today, he wakes up; however, and the door to his cage isn’t instantly opening to one of his captor's masked faces and soothing words.

‘Huh, that’s weird? Where are they?’ Felix wonders to himself

He tries to listen for any noise outside of his cage, but like before, he finds that while the door is closed, no sound can make its way through the thick metal walls surrounding him.

Felix has been devoid of most of his senses since being captured, and he can admit it's starting to annoying him a great deal.

He can admit that the loose of his senses is slowly starting to drive him insane.

Even more so now, when he is once more devoid of another one of his senses. One that up to this point he has had

He is devoid of touch and smell and even sight, but thus far, he has been allowed to hear.

However, the longer he remains in this cage, the worse the sensory deprivation becomes. And Felix starts to grow anxious with each passing moment, that one of his captors doesn’t come to let him out.

Don’t come to open the doors and allow him to finally hear there calming voice

Had they forgotten about him?

Or

What if they got bored with him and just left him in here to die?

They said they wouldn’t hurt him, and they got angry when Felix mentioned dying, but maybe that had changed, and now they just wanted him gone.

Felix can’t stop the panic from overtaking him

He has never been a particularly anxious person, and he has never cared about being alone for long periods of time.

But then again, he has never found himself trapped inside a large metal, padded pink cage in the middle of the ocean on his way to who knows where.

And the only two men he has had any contact with and can let him out are nowhere to be seen.

Felix starts kicking at the cage. Hitting the walls and yelling at the top of his lungs because he needs to get out.

He needs to be let out.

And a small part of himself that he won’t acknowledge needs to see the two men whose presence he has grown used to

Whose calm and soothing words he has, unbeknownst to him, come to rely on to calm him after he awakens from his nightmares.

The two masked faces his brain has started to find some sick comfort within for lack of anything else…

That’s what he tells himself when faced with his own weird feelings towards the two men.

Deprived of even those small comforts and trapped within a sensory-deprived cage, Felix's body goes into fight or flight

And unable to run, he does the only thing he can: fight.

Even if it's likely a losing battle against the strong metal cage.

Felix's panic-filled brain doesn’t register the cage door opening or the strong arms wrapping around his body.

He continues to struggle and fight against the retrained body firmly stuck in fight mode.

He feels his hands collide against someone's chest and arms, and eventually a masked plastic face.

Hears them trying to talk to him, reason with him to calm down, but nothing can get through Felix's mind, unable to bring him out of the panic state he found himself in while trapped in the cage.

Desperate to calm the man in his arms down, to bring the boy back to his senses, Minho does the only thing he knows will work on even the worst panic attacks.

He just hopes his theory is correct, or else anything he does will prove obsolete

“Omega, that’s enough, stop fighting your alphas, we are trying to help you.” Minho pours every ounce of his alpha dominance as he can into the commanding voice

He has only briefly read about alpha voice and the effect it can have on omegas. He has never used it before, but he hopes it will at least be enough to break through Felix's panic attack

It takes a moment for the words to register in Felix's mind it takes another for him to even comprehend what is being said. But once he does, it’s like a switch is flipped and he is going lax in Mr Knows' arms

Body instantly giving in to the alpha's command, his head tilting to the side, showing his neck in an act of submission.

The two sigh out in relief

Mr Know walks over to the bed, lying down with Felix still in his arms.

He holds him, allowing Felix time to calm himself and slowly regain awareness of the situation before proceeding with anything else.

They had only left for a moment. Felix wasn’t meant to have awakened up for another hour or two, and thus, they thought it was safe to leave and give themselves a reprieve from the suits and the room.

It was Yeosang and Wooyoung who had come to get them upon hearing the loud sounds of Felix banging the metal walls of his crib.

The two men had to rush to put their suits back on and come stop the boy before he could hurt himself further.

Looking down, they find his arms red and heavily bruised from the time spent hitting the metal walls.

There is even a spot of blood on his hands, a small wound having opened up where he no doubt scratched himself in his fit of panic.

Minho knew that the medication could make the boy more sensitive. Behavioral changes were one of the first signs that the medication was taking effect.

It had only been a week and a half, but Felix's body and mind were reacting much faster to the bitching than Hyunjin ever did.

It was great progress, but now they had to consider that Felix's body would become more dependent on them and their presence.

That the sudden dependency, combined with the sensory deprivation, would leave the boy more vulnerable and fragile.

At this stage in the bitching the omega should be constantly knotted by their alpha, not only because of the need for a knot in order to be bitched, but also because their bodies will crave the intimacy and reassurance that comes with constant and frequent matings.

Their bodies, as they change, will naturally need the presence of their alpha. Scenting and constant physical affection are also other ways to achieve this.

They haven’t been able to do any of these things given their predicament, so of course, the boy's mind would spiral and panic so easily when he awoke to find his alphas weren’t there.

Minho knew that due to their circumstances, this bitching wouldn’t be like anything they read, but it was only now that he was comforted with just how dangerous it could be for his mate if he doesn’t start planning and preparing for all the variations that are sure to come with this new way of doing things.

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They seem to take a step back after that. In the days following, Felix goes back to being difficult and refusing to cooperate with them.

Similarly to how he was the first day he was woke up, except this time, he can actually put up a fight, seeing as he has regained most of his mobility.

With the medication is completely out of his system by now.

First comes the bathroom tantrum

Felix needs to bathe, but refuses to do so

“Lixie, you need to bathe. It's been two days.”J.One tries to reason with the boy

“No, I don’t want to leave me alone,” Felix huffs angrily

“Just leave again, why don’t you? It seemed rather easy for you before.”Felix has been consistently throwing it back in their faces for their mistake from a few days ago

And while in the beginning it gained him a way out and sympathy from the two men. It has now begun to lose its effectiveness.

The two no longer ridden with guilt like they were those first couple of days.

Now, simply at the end of their patience with the stubborn boy.

“Omega, you will get in that bathroom and bathe, or I will take you over my knee and spank that attitude out of you,” Mr Know's angry voice commands through the room

He doesn’t use his alpha voice, Felix knows, because his body isn’t instantly jumping to obey like it had the first time Mr Know used the voice on him, but nevertheless, he could feel himself wanting to give in.

He is nothing if not stubborn, though he has learned in recent days

“I’m not an omega, stop calling me that!”Felix protests loudly

They have been referring to him as an omega in passing the last couple of days, since the incident where Mr Know called him an omega for the first time

Felix, each time, would remind him he is an alpha, but clearly, the two didn’t care, continuing to call him an omega.

His alpha bristles inside each time

“I don’t know what poor omega you wanted to kidnap, but you got it wrong, dumbass, cause I'm an alpha,” Felix shouts angrily, picking up the nearest pillow and throwing it at Mr Knows' stupidly masked face that Felix wishes he could see not because he wants to see the alpha but because he would like to hit him square in his stupid handsome face.

Felix begrudgingly admits that, despite having never seen him, he is certain Mr Know is handsome, and that only makes him angrier

To the point, Felix is seething with anger. He doesn’t know if it's his alpha making him so angry because Mr Know referred to him as an omega or if his own words had made him angry.

Because, against his better judgment, thinking about Mr Know and J.One with some omega filled him with uncomfortable and bursting rage.

Mr Know moves quickly, capturing Felix in his strong hold and forcefully bending him over the nearby bed.

“You wanna act like a brat, then I’ll gladly show you what I do to brats,” Mr Know whispers scarily calm into Felix's ear

Felix feels a shiver run through his body at the alpha's words

The IV and needles are far from the only punishment Mr. Know has up his sleeve.

And Felix will soon learn that this punishment is much more humiliating and painful to him than any drug could ever be.

Because while the drug nearly knocked him out, this next punishment kept him completely conscious, allowing him to witness everything.

Including the way his own scent betrays him and sweetens with arousal.