Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jungkook is a good omega. 

He’s obedient, of course, and quiet. His dam raised him to wait at the den entrance for his future Alpha to come home, to wash the pelts once a week, to sweep the floors and clean the fur and bones from the far corners of their den. He can weave baskets and carve tools, too. He’d carved utensils for his whole family growing up, and others in his pack paid him to whittle tools from wood.

And of course, after his first heat, his dam teaches him how to service his future Alpha. How to tilt his head and arch his spine, how to push his scent out and pull his Alpha to his nest. These things are easy for an omega, and Jungkook learns them quickly.

His future Alpha is a good one too, Jungkook knows, even if he isn’t one Jungkook would have picked for himself. 

It’s not that he doesn’t like Manshik. His sire would have never selected an abusive mate for the only omega among his offspring. But Manshik is much older than Jungkook, and he’s a little messy and gruff, and is far from the most handsome alpha in his pack. In fact, Jungkook’s Alpha is the eldest child of his sire’s oldest friend, which Jungkook thinks is the main reason Manshik was selected for him. 

None of these things are intolerable for Jungkook. He can overlook any of the man’s flaws, forget his silly dreams of falling in love. He will hold his tongue.

However… Manshik wants to leave the pack to begin his own. 

Jungkook doesn’t like the idea of not living near his family, or of leaving everything his pack has built behind. Doesn’t necessarily want the responsibilities of a Head Omega. But Manshik wants to live closer to the mountains, and Jungkook doesn’t know how he’s going to handle the cold, having grown up in a cool valley all his life. 

But Jungkook is a good omega. 

When he’s mated to Manshik, he spreads his legs without complaint and takes his Alpha’s knot. When Manshik gives his claiming bite, Jungkook thanks him like he’s supposed to. And the next day when his new Alpha tells him to pack his things, even though there are tears in his eyes, Jungkook obediently puts his few belongings in a rucksack that his sire gifts to him. 

Saying goodbye to his family is the hardest thing that Jungkook has ever had to do. His dam cries and holds him, and his alpha and beta siblings bring their own mates and pups to wish him farewell. His sire only puts a hand on Jungkook’s head and tells him to make them proud. 

And then before Jungkook knows it, he’s alone with his Alpha as he and Manshik hike through the woods, leaving everything they knew behind them. 

It’s quiet. 

Jungkook isn’t quite friends with his Alpha yet, doesn’t know what to say to fill the silence. He’d only met Manshik once before they’d mated, and the only thing that Jungkook learned about his future Alpha was that he had no omega siblings, and he liked to hunt. Jungkook had heard before that Manshik is quite a skilled hunter - he takes solace in the fact that while everything he’s known is changing, at least he won’t go hungry. 

He hasn’t spent much time in the woods (omegas were rarely allowed away from the Pack den), so Jungkook excitedly takes his chance to look around as they walk.

The forest is full of green and adorned with moss and flowers that he’d only dreamed of before. Beams of light filter brightly from the topmost canopy - Jungkook can hear the birdsong so clearly here, the animals’ tweets sweet like music as they flitter over his head. He wonders if they live in this part of the forest, or if they too are traveling to somewhere new. Still, despite the beauty of the woods Jungkook sticks closely by Manshik, having heard plenty from his dam about the dangerous predators and rogues who lurk about. 

As night falls his mate selects an outcropping of rock for them to put their backs to. Manshik tells Jungkook to set up camp while he hunts, dropping his own roll of pelts at Jungkook’s feet. 

So Jungkook does. 

He clears a spot on the forest floor, brushing away stones and twigs. Next he rolls out their pelts and collects kindling from nearby, then starts to build a small fire pit. Manshik returns an hour later gripping two dead rabbits by the ears as Jungkook finishes laying out his carved knives next to the fire.

His mate wordlessly dresses the rabbits and passes the pelts to Jungkook as he himself affixes the meat above the fire. 

“We’ll need to clean and keep the pelts,” Manshik says suddenly, his gruff voice thoughtful, “The winters where we’re going will be much colder, so we’ll need to stockpile for us and the pups.” 

Pups , Jungkook thinks, blushing in equal parts excitement and nervousness. He won’t know if Manshik’s seed took after their mating for a while, but he hopes it has. His dam said an omega’s most important duty is to bear their Alpha’s pups, the more the better. He hopes he’ll be able to have at least as many as his own dam, though the thought of raising children in an unfamiliar territory makes a heavy stone of anxiety settle suddenly in his stomach. 

“W-where are we going?” Jungkook asks timidly, only remembering to add on a quiet Alpha at the last moment. 

Manshik looks at him flatly and Jungkook ducks his head, knowing it’s not an omega's place to question their Alpha. But his mate sighs quietly and answers. 

“To the north,” the man says, “where my great grand-sire’s pack once lived. It will take some time to get there, so tell me if your feet become tired and need a break.” 

Jungkook nods repeatedly before he takes the cooked rabbit Manshik gives him - the bigger of the two, how thoughtful of his alpha - and tears into it. He’s hungry after a day of walking, perhaps more than he’s ever walked in a day before. His feet already ache fiercely, but he doesn’t want to admit it so early into the trip. He doesn’t want to be a burden on his mate. 

After they eat, Manshik pushes Jungkook onto his front on top of the pelts, grips his waist, and mounts him from behind. 

“Beautiful omega,” his mate groans as he thrusts into Jungkook’s heat, “so wet, so warm.” He grips the omega’s hair in a tight fist and pulls his head to the side until his throat is bared. “So tight.” 

Jungkook can only moan shakily as his body is rocked by Manshik’s rhythm, and the warm weight of the alpha suddenly settles over his back as he buries his nose into Jungkook’s neck. 

“And you’re all mine.” His mate growls as he thrusts harder, knot beginning to swell already. “I’ll put a pup in you soon.” 

A couple of minutes later Manshik comes, locking them together. Jungkook sighs and sags to the ground as his mate releases his hair to sit up and stretch. In this moment the omega wants nothing more than to reach between the folds between his legs to achieve his own end, but Jungkook’s dam had taught him well that times like these were not intended for an omega's pleasure. Instead he tucks his head into his arms and sighs wearily as his belly swells with his mate’s seed.

Eventually Manshik finishes his stretches and maneuvers Jungkook so that the omega's back is pressed to the alpha’s chest. Manshik wraps his arms around Jungkook’s waist and pulls him close. Jungkook falls asleep amongst the pelts like that, warm in his alpha’s embrace, but he wakes up chilly to find Manshik already gone for the morning hunt. 

The following two weeks are much the same - a day of walking, setting up the camp at dusk, taking his alpha’s knot, then waking up cold. The days seem to drag on, most of them spent wrapped in silence. 

During the third week, Jungkook wakes up and finds he can no longer walk. 

His feet are swollen, the bottoms of them covered in angry cuts and blisters. When he tries to rise from the pelts, he cannot, and falls back to the ground with a cry. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Manshik growls in frustration as he inspects the omega’s feet after his hunt, “These must have been bothering you for days. I could have slowed our pace - now we must stay here until we can move again.” 

“I’m sorry Alpha,” Jungkook says meekly, barely more than a whisper. Manshik doesn’t say anything else, just straightens up and prowls into the woods. 

Jungkook, feeling ashamed, wets a rag from his canteen and begins to clean the bottoms of his feet. It stings, and tears drip from his eyes when he washes the blisters that have burst, but he thinks the pain must surely be the Moon’s punishment for inconveniencing his Alpha.

Pack Wolves are simple people rooted in tradition, he remembers. Unlike humans they have no money, clothes, or houses. They live off the land and listen to the Moon’s guidance, and as a result lead lives untroubled by material possessions and greed. Jungkook’s dam told him that the Moon is a strict goddess who will punish those who stray from her light, especially disobedient omegas. He should have heeded her better. 

Jungkook spends the morning brooding and reflecting on his misdeeds, and around midday Manshik returns - still looking unhappy. 

“I have found a temporary shelter,” the alpha says, “come, I will carry you.”

Jungkook nods and obediently climbs onto Manshik’s back. “Alpha, my bag, the pelts—,” he mumbles when his mate begins to leave the small circle of their camp with none of their supplies. 

“Leave them for now,” Manshik scolds, “I cannot possibly carry you and everything else.” 

The omega ducks his head and doesn’t say another word for their entire journey. 

A couple of hours later they arrive at the mouth of a small cave on a steep, rocky hillside, concealed somewhat by shrubs and foliage - Jungkook hadn’t seen it until he was practically inside of it. At the very top of the steep hill rests a line of trees slanted at an angle over the edge, as if the forest itself was spilling down the side. The trees help shade the entrance of the cave, helping to obscure it. In front of it spreads a small clearing, a sliver of grass separating the cave and the woods.

It’s a good place to stop. Safe.

“Rest here for now.” Manshik says and squats down to let Jungkook off his back, “I will go get our things.” 

“Yes Alpha.” Jungkook replies as he climbs off, “It is a good den.” 

“It’s not a den.” The alpha snaps testily, straightening as the omega slides from him. “Wait here. I will go get our things.” 

Before Jungkook can react, the man has risen to his feet and marched back into the woods. The omega watches him disappear into the brush feeling all at once relieved to no longer be the focus of his alpha’s ire, but anxious to be on his own once more. 

He gets to work immediately, crawling on his hands and knees into the cave to see how he can make it more comfortable for them during their stay. 

The space is somewhat short and narrow - Jungkook doesn’t think he’d be able to stand his full height if he could - but it goes deep into the hillside, nearly three body-length’s worth. The cave seems to be a hollow space amongst the roots of the tree on the hillside, many of the limbs crawling over the ceilings, walls, and floors. Even after he clears the leaves and pebbles from the den ( not a den , he firmly reminds himself), there are still lots of roots twisting along the floor. He tries to rip them up but they won’t budge, so they’ll just have to be careful not to trip over any. 

Of course, he is dutifully waiting at the entrance of the cave when Manshik returns hours later, burdened with both Jungkook’s belongings and his own, along with the roll of pelts.

“Thank you, Alpha.” Jungkook says sincerely as he takes both packs and follows his mate instead, walking on his knees to spare his feet. 

Manshik must bow his head to stand in the cave, something he doesn’t look happy about. He throws the pelts to the ground at the very back of the cave and kneels to quickly unroll them across the hard dirt. 

“Come, sit.” He calls without raising his head, “I will clean your feet.” 

Jungkook doesn’t mention that he’d already cleaned his wounds, just crawls over and takes his place atop the pelts. It’s not the most comfortable spot, Jungkook can feel at least one root poking into his backside even through their many furs, but the last thing he should do in this moment is criticize his Alpha’s choice of placement. Instead he wordlessly holds out a foot, which Manshik takes and begins to wipe. 

Manshik doesn’t touch him that night, after they’ve finished eating their evening meal. The alpha only scents him, checks his feet once more, then silently lies next to him on the furs and falls asleep. 

Jungkook tells himself that Manshik is being considerate of his injuries, that the alpha needed to rest after all the walking and baggage-carrying. Still, a small voice in the back of his mind tells him that his mate is angry with him. He tries not to think about it as he curls into a ball and misses the warmth of his Alpha’s arms. 

The next morning, Jungkook wakes to Manshik inspecting his feet. 

The alpha doesn’t seem pleased by what he sees.

He silently lowers Jungkook’s feet back to the pelt and crawls toward the entrance of the den with a resigned sigh. 

“Is there anything I can help with today, Alpha?” Jungkook mumbles sleepily, rubbing his eyes. 

“No,” Manshik calls, “stay hidden and tend to your wounds. I’ll be back soon.” 

Jungkook nods even though the alpha can’t see it, and decides to burrow beneath a few pelts to mask his scent. He stays silent and alert, listening for any animals or other passer-bys outside their cave. But not even a bird disturbs their not-den, and before long the omega’s eyes begin to feel heavy as Jungkook becomes sleepy from a lack of stimulation. He pinches himself to keep from dozing. 

Jungkook’s dam had told him there would be a chance that his Alpha wouldn’t want him to leave their den, that he might spend his days minding pups, organizing the den - and just maybe, leading other omegas and taking care of the pack as Head Omega. It sounded exciting at the time, but now Jungkook wonders whether he will spend most of his life laying around. It doesn’t sound very exciting. 

About midday Manshik returns carrying a sizeable buck over his shoulder. He leaves it on the ground outside and builds a small fire at the mouth of the cave. Jungkook joins him eventually, his boredom outweighing his shyness. While the alpha cooks some of the deer meat and pounds more of it with a rock to make jerky, Jungkook breaks up the antlers and begins whittling the pieces into a set of knives. 

Manshik extinguishes the fire before night falls, explaining that he doesn’t want to give away their position. Jungkook is happy to have such a smart alpha - even if the root-covered walls of the cave seem to twist and close in on him in the dark. 

His mate doesn’t touch him that night either. Jungkook hadn’t realized just how little Manshik touches him day-to-day until their nightly joinings came to a stop, and the thought makes him feel lonely. 

The omega spends another evening curled alone amongst the furs, and decides that the next day, he’s going to be the best omega he can be. 

Jungkook barely sleeps that night so that he’s awake bright and early to straighten the den before Manshik rises. He’d been saving some dried berries for a snack while traveling - these he places in a bowl and sets next to the furs. He even takes a rag and tries to scrub some of the buck’s dried blood that had trailed into the cave. 

When Manshik rises with the sun, Jungkook is already busy washing his feet so that the alpha doesn’t have to. His mate blinks at him in surprise and takes in the freshly cleaned space - Jungkook preens when his alpha seems pleased and beckons the omega over to their furs. 

Jungkook quickly crawls to Manshik’s side and tilts his head for the alpha to scent him. Manshik rubs his palm over the omega’s neck and nape, leaving his scent there to cover Jungkook’s own, before reaching down to grasp one of his feet and check it.

“Your wounds are healing well,” the alpha observes, “we should be able to resume our journey in a couple of days.” 

Jungkook perks up at the note of optimism in his mate’s voice. “I’m looking forward to it!” He chirps happily, ecstatic that Manshik hasn’t fallen into a grim mood once more this morning. 

The alpha hums as he finishes checking Jungkook’s feet and then washes them once more for good measure. Then the man stands and begins to gather supplies in a cloth. In goes his waterskin, of course, and several strips of cooked meat. Next is the bone dagger Jungkook had carved him as a mating gift, and a handful of medicinal herbs that can be used for small injuries when chewed. Finally, he packs a ball of twine and some nails. 

It’s more than Manshik usually packs, and the omega watches his Alpha curiously as he bundles the edges of the cloth together into a fist and holds the now-full satchel out to Jungkook. 

“Today I will go a little further, to scout the path ahead and make sure it’s safe,” Manshik explains, “We’ll be entering the mountains soon. I may not return until tomorrow - I trust that you can take care of yourself while I am gone.” 

‘ He trusts me! ’ Jungkook thinks with suppressed glee - if he had been in his lupine form, his tail would be wagging. 

“Of course, Alpha.” he replies sincerely. There is plenty of deer meat left, enough to last another day at least, and Manshik had said the stream is nearby if he needs to refill his canteen. He’d have to crawl there to stay off his feet, but he doesn’t think Manshik will be gone long enough for things to come to that. 

The alpha takes a step back towards the entrance of the cave, breathes deeply, and his human form melts away. 

Where Manshik had been before now stands a large wolf, gray as stone with Manshik sharp brown eyes. Its shoulders rise to Jungkook’s waist, its paws larger than his own hands. The sharp teeth match its size, glinting in the dim of the cave when the wolf yaps softly at him. 

Jungkook immediately knows what Manshik wants from him. “Yes, Alpha.” he says and kneels at the wolf’s feet, gripping the bundled cloth handed to him earlier. He reaches through the wolf’s front legs and up and around its shoulder, maneuvers the cloth to pull the two ends together, and ties them at the back of Manshik’s furry neck. Finally, he shifts the bundle, sliding it around onto his mate’s shoulder, so that the bulging bulk of the satchel’s contents wouldn’t drag along the ground. 

Manshik stands and roughly nuzzles into Jungkook’s neck and shoulder - the wolf-way of scenting - before turning and trotting into the forest. 

Jungkook sits there for a time, just peering into the greenery of the woods. He watches leaves sway in the breeze, hears the creaking of branches and birdsong, before eventually sighing and returning to curl up under the pelts. 

Manshik doesn’t return that day. 

Jungkook isn’t too concerned, his mate had most likely decided to make camp rather than travel in darkness and would return tomorrow. He’s careful to extinguish the fire before dark like Manshik had taught him, and he chews some jerky quietly as he watches the near-black forest with wariness. He doesn’t sleep well that night. 

The next morning, Jungkook wakes to the sound of movement and snuffling outside the cave. He quickly rises from his furs and shuffles to the mouth, peeking between the leaves of the thick shrubs that conceal most of the entrance. He wonders if there’s an animal outside, or if Manshik has returned. 

He sees neither. His heart stops when he sees another wolf - fur a sandy brown and a stature smaller than his own - sniffing curiously at the treeline across from the cave, tail raised straight up in interest. 

A quick, panicked scent of the air tells Jungkook that this new wolf is an omega like him. The stranger doesn’t seem hostile, like it hasn’t noticed his presence; in fact, its ears are perked, and its tail vibrates with suppressed excitement. Jungkook relaxes slightly, and wonders what a lone omega is doing out here, acting so unbothered. Omegas in Jungkook’s former pack rarely shifted into their wolf forms, doing so only in the most dire and panicked of circumstances, or to ease their pregnancies. But the omega before him was in neither condition, completely relaxed as it buried its nose into the grass.

The small wolf sniffs around for a few more moments, when it lifts its head and looks into the forest away from Jungkook - and gives a small whuff. Jungkook stiffens as two more wolves emerge from the underbrush several moments later, both quite larger than the omega and bearing scars. Were they rogues?

One is a beta, tall and lanky and dark black, who lopes out of the surrounding shrubs with an easy grace and greets the omega with a playful nip. The other wolf, fur a dark russet, emerges more warily, its ears perked as it scans the clearing. Its eyes pass over Jungkook’s hiding place, and when Jungkook gives a tiny, fearful gasp, he catches this new wolf’s scent - alpha. 

As quietly as he can Jungkook scrambles deeper into the cave and pulls a pelt from the top of their fur pile, wrapping it tightly around himself to mask his scent. It’s been nearly a day since Manshik scented him last, and no doubt his own omega scent had begun to permeate throughout the cave once more. With wide eyes Jungkook observes the trio of wolves explore around the treeline, sniffing curiously with wagging tails. Did they smell Manshik, he wondered, or maybe the deer his Alpha had brought days ago? Surely they couldn’t scent Jungkook on the bushes there, it’d been days since he’d left his cave and touched the grass and leaves outside. 

He holds his breath as he watches the three wolves occasionally stop to sniff intensely at a spot, but feels a jolt of surprise when the omega suddenly abandons its sniffing to leap on the beta and play. It’s strange to watch them rough-house, and Jungkook can scarcely believe his eyes when the Alpha immediately joins in, likewise jumping on the beta’s back and tugging mischievously at the omega’s ear. He’s never seen an alpha behave that way with wolves that weren’t other alphas, never seen a beta tolerate the insubordination of an omega. 

After watching them play for a handful of moments, he remembers the reality of his situation and his anxiety begins to return in force. 

What is he supposed to do?  

For some seconds he can do nothing but sit there as he trembles and panics, half-expecting the playing trio of wolves to suddenly turn around and ambush him. If they don’t already know he’s here, they will soon. He wants to flee, to escape into the woods in the opposite direction and pray that he finds his Alpha before those other wolves do. Or before those other wolves find him . Despite his tender feet and everything he’s been taught about staying in the safe confines of his den, he wants to push through the leaves of the cave’s protective bushes and dash for the nearby forest line. 

But over the screaming of his instincts to flee and his heartbeat in his ears, he hears the low voice of his mate in his mind. 

Stay here, his Alpha had said, and I trust that you can take care of yourself while I am gone.

Jungkook’s eyes burn as his mind rebels and yells at him to RUN, but his Alpha’s words hold him in place, somehow. 

‘What kind of omega would you be,’ says a new voice in his mind, one that sounds like his dam’s, ‘if you abandoned your duties - your den - at the first sign of trouble?’

He can’t leave. Oh how he wants to, with every fiber of his being. But he can’t. 

Not without Manshik. 

The wolves outside continue to play as Jungkook watches helplessly. The omega is eventually wrestled aside by the alpha, but the lithe wolf nips at the feet of both the alpha and the beta as it gives a playful whine. The lanky black beta tries to scramble away from the omega’s pointy teeth, releasing its own indignant yap, only to trip over its own long black legs and roll across the thin clearing. It careens into the bushes hiding Jungkook’s cave with a crash. 

Before Jungkook can stop himself, he yelps in surprise and flinches backwards against the back wall, realizing as he slaps his hand over his mouth too late that he’s given himself away. 

As he strains to listen for the reaction of the trio outside, only silence meets his ears now. 

Moon help me, he thinks, watching the entrance fearfully. He cannot see outside the cave from where he’s crouched against the back wall, but he imagines the three wolves outside, watching his hiding place with caution and interest, wondering who they’d found. 

A lone omega is a prize for any pack his dam had told him, one that few would pass up on. The wolves outside could probably smell him now that they were closer, the scent of his fear filling the cave. They knew what he was, and that the alpha scent nearby was stale and old. They could take him, he knew, and he’d never see his Alpha again. Or they could drag him from his hiding place and do any number of unspeakable things to him, then leave him for dead on the forest floor. 

Jungkook knows well that alphas, especially, could be cruel to lone omegas. 

(He can’t feel the crushing weight on his chest anymore, he can’t, he can’t.) 

“Go away!” he calls desperately and lies, “My pack will arrive any minute now! Run now if you want to live!” 

He’s met with silence once more, and after a few seconds of no movement beyond the cave entrance, his curiosity and fear finally get the better of him.

Jungkook gently crawls towards the den entrance, reaching out to grasp one of the antler-knives he’d left discarded by his bedside. He’s not sure when or if one of the strangers will suddenly push into his cave, but he will not be caught unready again. He nears the entrance, and through the leaves he sees the three wolves standing at alert at the tree line, having backed away slightly from the cave. But their ears are still perked and trained on Jungkook’s hiding place, so he knows he has not completely fooled them yet. 

The russet wolf’s fur stands on end, and there’s a challenging glint in its eye. The beta and omega, however, stare with surprise and curiosity. None of the trio make any move towards or away from the cave, and Jungkook bites his lip in frustration. 

“I mean it!” he snaps again, “You’d better leave!” 

The beta’s ear twitches towards the forest, but otherwise there’s no movement. 

“Please,” Jungkook whimpers finally, “We’re just passing through. We’ll be gone soon.”

This is what gets a reaction: the omega of the trio looks to the others, its head nearly swiveling as it fixes its alpha in particular with a hard stare. The russet alpha’s hackles are lowered, but he still watches Jungkook’s cave with wariness. The beta looks relaxed, but regards the bushes with a cocked head and curious gaze. 

The omega gives a small whuff, and to Jungkook’s shock, the alpha takes a step backwards into the woods. The wolf continues, taking steps back into the underbrush as the other two keep their eyes trained on Jungkook’s cave. When the alpha is nearly gone, the omega and the beta likewise withdraw, jut as slowly. 

After a few heartbeats, there’s no sign that the trio of wolves had ever been in the clearing. 

Though Jungkook strains his senses, he can’t tell which way the wolves depart, or if they even do. For all he knows they’re standing hidden behind the treeline, watching for him to run so that they can chase and catch him. Or maybe they’re waiting for his Alpha to return so that they can ambush and kill him - then they’ll do whatever they please with Jungkook. 

In any case, Jungkook knows he’s in trouble. He cannot leave, and he has no way of warning Manshik of the danger. He has only a few knives to protect himself, and he can barely walk as it is. He is alone out here, at the mercy of three strangers.

His breaths escape in quick gasps and he crouches down, trying to ground himself. 

Moon help me, he thinks again, and with all his being he wishes he had never left his Pack. He misses his dam, wishes his sire and siblings were here with him. He digs his fingers into the cool soil and breathes, in through his nose and out through his mouth. He reminds himself that he will never see his pack again. In, out. He is Manshik’s mate, he will be the Head Omega of Manshik’s Pack. In, out. He would have a den one day, and pups, and a purpose. 

(If that all didn’t get snatched away by the wolves outside.) 

In, out. 

Sluggishly his thoughts return to a semblance of order, and Jungkook wheezes out a long breath when the vice-grip around his chest loosens. 

He isn’t powerless, he tells himself. He can get through this. He is a good omega. 

‘So,’ he thinks, eyes sliding to the assortment of his and Manshik’s possessions scattered throughout the cave, ‘what would a good omega do?’

Chapter Text

What Jungkook decides to do is this: when the sun begins to dip below the tree line and casts the sliver of his clearing into dappled shadow, he slides from the cave and climbs up the steep hillside as quickly as he can. 

It’s difficult - the hillside, like the cave, is riddled with roots and clumps of dry dirt. He slips several times on the rough terrain, practically having to shimmy straight up the steep face. But after several minutes Jungkook has reached the lip of the edge and heaves himself over the side, panting hard. 

He only allows himself a moment to catch his breath before he climbs onto the nearest tree, the one directly over his cave. The tree hangs nearly parallel with the ground several body-lengths below, its leaves and branches pulled down by gravity to help obscure Jungkook’s cave. He grips the trunk of it with his knees as he inches towards the branches, not stopping to look around until he’s hidden amongst the bulk of the leaves, finally sliding down between some twisting branches to further obscure himself from view. 

He can’t see well from this hiding place, only able to see glimpses of the clearing and an unobstructed view of the cave entrance below. If anyone goes into his den - not a den - then he’ll know. 

He just hopes it’s Manshik that finds him first. 

The tangled tree limbs he’s perched himself on aren’t very thick, and he wraps his arms around other branches nearby to take some of his weight off of them. Jungkook knows he’s not a very skinny omega, it’s a fact that his siblings had teased Jungkook relentlessly about before his first heat. He’s bulky, strong, and heavy; qualities that were said would never serve him in life. Now he wonders if they’ll be the qualities that end his life, if the branches under his feet snap and send him plummeting to the earth. 

He holds onto the branches for dear life and strains his ears, for what feels like hours. 

Night falls. 

The three strangers do not return, and neither does Manshik.

The sounds of the woods at night are enough to keep Jungkook alert and awake long after the adrenaline in his veins wears off. It’s dark, and at first Jungkook thinks there is a new moon tonight. But upon closer inspection, he sees that the sky is actually full of dark clouds, blocking even the stars. When the sound of distant rumbling reaches his ears, his heart sinks with the realization that it’s about to be a very long night. 

It begins to rain an hour later, and a sudden flash of nearby lightning makes him yelp. The thunder shakes him to his bones, but he can do nothing but whimper as the coming storm begins in earnest. 

Over the next few hours, Jungkook’s world narrows to the branches beneath his feet and within his arms. 

Once, when he and his siblings had been impossibly young, he had wanted to play with his alpha brothers while they roughhoused in the river near his old Pack. The way they tumbled and jumped on each other in the water seemed fun, and Jungkook had wanted to be included. His dam had forbidden him, saying omegas had no need to do such things. But his sire had relented, for once allowing Jungkook to join in. 

His brothers had been brutal. 

They’d spun him, splashed him, dunked him, and thrown him. He’d had water up his nose and in his mouth, and he hadn’t escaped the deluge without a fair bit of mud in his eyes and hair. 

He’d cried, he remembered, and gone running to his dam, and his dam told him that that’d served him right for sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. 

Jungkook feels as he did then, completely waterlogged and physically exhausted. He shivers and coughs as he’s pounded by sheets of rain, and prays no lightning finds him. It seems to go on for hours and hours, so long that Jungkook wonders whether his strength will fail before the storm’s.

Just when he thinks the long night may never end, the storm finally breaks just before dawn. 

Jungkook peeks at the sky and sees the Moon between the withering clouds, fading with the distant coming sun. He wonders if his goddess had taken pity on him and spared him - as it is, his arms and legs are shaking with exhaustion, pins and dots of pain shooting up his fingers. 

He’s not sure if anyone had slipped past him in the storm and sought shelter in the cave, but he doubts even the strangers could have found it again in that storm. The rain will have washed away what remains of his and Manshik’s scent too he realizes, and he’s somewhat hopeful that the trio of wolves will not be able to track his mate. 

He will return to the cave, he thinks, and move some of their belongings out of it. If this is the territory of another pack, they may know about the hiding place even without scent trails that lead to it. The last thing he wants is to lose precious items he and Manshik will need to complete their journey. He’ll need to bundle some of their trinkets and supplies and hide them nearby. Nodding to himself, Jungkook decides this is the next best course of action.

The moment he loosens his arms’ grip on the branches, his numb legs - unable to support his weight - slide out from under him.

He gasps in shock; his hands instinctively fly out and catch the branch he’d been sitting upon as it flies past, just barely grasping it in time. 

But it only stops him momentarily. 

Pain shoots through his fingers when they try to bear his full weight, and the wood of the branch is slick with moisture, and he has only enough time to cry out before the branch slips away and he’s falling, falling, falling— 

Jungkook jerks awake with wet grass under his cheek, drawing in a quick breath. 

There’s no time to think or speak. He only gets a quick glimpse of the cave and clearing in front of his eyes, before his world explodes into pain. 

He cries out and instinctively curls around where most of the agony seems to center - his right leg - but as his body moves, the whole right side of his torso throbs with hurt. He can’t tell if anything is broken, everything aches too much to differentiate the little hurts from the big ones. What he can tell is that he’s face down on the ground, shivering, and covered in mud, and he groans in misery. 

He can move his neck at least - the omega looks around quickly to get his bearings, to make sure he’s not about to get pounced. The sun has cleared the horizon by now. No one stands over him, and he can smell no one’s scent on the wind either. 

Jungkook tries to move his arms then, and blessedly both of them respond. He pulls them under himself and tries to rise - his spine tenderly bends and something in his sternum grinds, but he grits his teeth as he sits up and draws in a deep breath. There’s an ache in his chest, but no painful pinching and stabbing, and he exhales in relief that his ribs aren’t broken.  

He bites his lip to stop himself from making more noise as he strains to look over his shoulder at his knee.

It’s twisted, that much is obvious. He’s not sure how long he was unconscious after his fall, but it was long enough for the joint to swell and grow to an angry red. He gently hovers his hand over it - it feels hot. 

He can’t walk on it, he’s certain. 

He sobs before he can stop it, the pain and the feeling of being overwhelmed simply too much to bear. As soon as one fat tear rolls down his face, it’s as though a dam breaks, and before he knows it he’s hiccuping into his hands as everything he’s endured the past month rushes back to him. 

Mating Manshik, saying goodbye to his family, leaving his pack, and hiking out here - these were all decisions that he had no control over, and now he feels completely helpless as he alone faces the consequences. His whole life he’s been made to be ready for all of this, but he’s not ready at all. 

He’s at the mercy of the world, and the world is not kind. It’s unfair. It’s unfair!

He beats the ground with his fists, silently cries, rips up grass with his fingers, and bites his lip until it bleeds. It’s truly a tantrum, more emotion than Jungkook has ever allowed himself to show before. His dam would be disgusted, no doubt his sire would roll his eyes. It’s an embarrassment, really, and Jungkook’s only consolation is that the Moon can’t punish him more than she already has. 

When he runs out of steam, he lies on the ground for several long moments, staring at the forest sprawling before his eyes. 

I trust that you can take care of yourself while I am gone, Manshik’s voice repeats in his mind. 

What a joke. 

But despite his frustration, he can’t convince himself to give up.

So, he thinks. Firstly, he can’t do anything face-down on the forest floor. He decides to try and turn onto his back, so that he can get a better look at his leg.

It’s easier said than done: when Jungkook starts to flip himself to the left, a painful throb shoots up his leg. He hisses, clenching his teeth, and turns the other way instead so that his right hip is the fulcrum and his injured leg doesn’t need to leave the ground. This is much easier, and Jungkook quickly flips onto his back and sits up. 

He hisses at the sight of his knee, nearly twice the size of the left one and an angry red. The kneecap doesn’t seem to be in the right position, but Jungkook can’t even bring himself to touch it to try and move it back into place. No bones have broken or pierced his skin - a blessing - but in his current situation, as exposed as he is, even a twisted knee can be a mortal wound.

He whimpers again and looks around, suddenly feeling cold in contrast to the heat of his injury. He shivers, igniting the aches around his body, and gives one final, half-hearted prayer that Manshik will suddenly appear. 

He doesn’t. 

So Jungkook does something he’s never had to do. 

He takes a deep breath, and reaches deep inside himself for a primal feeling at his core. It’s a wild sensation, unrefined and untamed. It’s unfamiliar - he hasn’t tried to shift into his wolf form since he was a pup. But he’s going to die in this forest otherwise, and he needs more legs if he’s going to move. 

It’s painful. Nevermind that Jungkook hasn’t done this in years and his muscles and bones are unused to the stretch and shrink, but he nearly blacks out from the agony of his right leg shifting into a form it’s not supposed to be in. He’d heard from his sire that shifting with these kinds of injuries isn’t wise, but Jungkook doesn’t have much choice now. He thinks he screams when it happens, but that quickly becomes a yelp as he finally settles into his wolf form. 

He pants and blinks as he takes in the forest with his new senses, stares down at chocolate-furred paws where they brace against the grass. 

His muscles must be bruised, they twinge unpleasantly from his shift, but the pain becomes background noise in his mind with the emergence of new sights and scents. He’d forgotten that he can hear and smell much better in this form. Wonders how hard he could bite now.

Jungkook unsteadily wobbles to his feet, trying to balance on three legs instead of four. He keeps his injured back leg tucked against his belly as best he can in its injured state, though it throbs fiercely when he moves or jostles it. His shoulder aches fiercely too, but it’s a nearly mute pain beneath the agony of his knee.

Slowly he limps towards the cave, having to half-jump every other step. No doubt Jungkook looks like a newborn pup learning to walk again with his unpracticed stumbling and still-tender feet, especially when the ground becomes slightly sloped at the entrance of the den. He’s quietly thankful Manshik can’t see him appear so undignified as he clambers up - he’s far-removed from the image of a graceful omega right now.

He feels dizzy suddenly when he tops the small rise, and though the cave is only a few more steps away, he possesses no more strength and falls forward into it. 

The omega yelps as he hits the ground and tumbles, his leg and shoulder being jostled painfully. But when he comes to a stop, he can’t even gather the strength to pull himself to his feet. He’s shivering harder now, not really able to stop himself, and his damp fur only makes things worse in the cool shade of the cave.

He’s tired. So tired. 

From where he lies he can’t see anything, and he’s too exhausted to do anything but look around and make sure there are truly no intruders in his den. 

There are none. He sleeps.

When Jungkook wakes next, the sky is orange and the air feels much warmer. 

He still shivers even though he doesn't feel cold, but his body aches much less as he tries to move his limbs. His back leg doesn't bend anymore - it feels almost numb now, but stiff - and Jungkook wonders for a moment what had disturbed his sleep. 

Then there’s a rumbling sound, and he jumps before he realizes it’s his own stomach that had woken him. In his human form he’d be red with embarrassment at the revelation, but his hunger is sharper in his wolf shape, and he immediately scents the air for anything he can eat.

He knows there’s jerky at the back of the cave, though it seems impossibly far right now. Instead Jungkook smells something sweet nearby, something that would usually entice him, but now it makes his stomach turn. Berries, he knows, that he had set out for his mate two days ago. His wolf sneers at the fruit and turns away, looking for anything else in the dim space. But he knows there’s nothing within reach, and he resigns himself to standing again if he wants anything within the cave.

He sighs and slowly rises to his feet, taking tentative and slow steps forward towards the pelts. It takes many long minutes for him to traverse the three body-lengths to the back of the den, the various roots along the ground making the journey unnecessarily treacherous, and he gratefully collapses onto his thin pile of pelts in exhaustion when he arrives at the destination. He can’t help the small grunt of pain when he falls atop his leg however, but it’s becoming easier and easier to put that ache at the back of his mind.

It smells like Manshik in the furs, and Jungkook allows himself some time to close his eyes and imagine that nothing is wrong, that his mate is nearby and that they will be departing for the mountains soon.

What is life like in the mountains he wonders? He almost longs for it, now. 

After, Jungkook quickly finds the strips of jerky he’d set among the roots near the pelts for midnight snacks, and snaps them up between his teeth. The first strip of meat goes quickly, and the second and third nearly disappear in the blink of an eye. 

His stomach still growls fiercely, his appetite only whet by the bites of meat. The deer is gone by now, and he thinks back to other places he might have hidden jerky- but comes up short. His Alpha had taken the rest. 

Sighing, Jungkook resigns himself to hunger and shakes as his stomach continues to groan and protest. He can’t stop shivering it seems, and suddenly he wonders if he should build a fire. The idea makes more sense to him the more he thinks about it, and though his body doesn’t feel cold, he feels drawn and tired. Before he’s even decided to, his body is up and walking again towards the den entrance.

Shifting back into his human form is miserable. 

It’s a small blessing that the agony of his injured leg drowns out all other sensations in his body, but ultimately the change leaves him weakly gasping and sweating in the dirt. When Jungkook dares a glance at his knee, it looks even more mangled than before, and he quickly looks away before he can make himself sick over the damage that he’s caused. 

Building the fire gives him something else to think about at least. 

It’s small - there’s not much kindling within reach - but he lies down and wraps his body around the edge of it in a desperate attempt to finally stop shaking. Now, Jungkook also sniffs and coughs in addition to his trembling, and a small part of him wants to cry again at how awful he feels. He wraps his arms around himself and sighs unhappily. 

But the fire is warm, and finally Jungkook feels some comfort for the first time in a long time. He stares idly into the crackling flames and tries to think about nothing, only letting the nearly-too-hot heat of it melt away all of his aches. 

It works for a while, and Jungkook nearly dozes - but then he reminds himself that he’s still in unfamiliar territory, and those strangers could show up at any time. 

After that he is much more awake and pinches himself when he feels his eyelids grow heavy. He cannot afford to lose sight of his life and future - he doesn’t want to die in the cave, or on the forest floor somewhere outside. He wants to be at Manshik’s side, secure with his mate and the knowledge that everything is as it should be. 

But, where is his Alpha?

The strange wolves haven’t immediately returned to claim him, so they probably haven’t found and done anything to Manshik. Maybe the alpha had found them and was leading them away? Or maybe the wolves were part of a bigger pack and had plenty of omegas already, and they had no need of one that had already been mated. But then what was taking Manshik so long? 

These thoughts circle his mind over and over. However, after some time he notices that the more he thinks, the further away his thoughts seem. 

They drift, out and out, and Jungkook doesn’t care enough to call them back. The walls of the cave move and dance in the flickering firelight - he sees that night has fallen, but he’s too weak to extinguish the fire. 

He coughs again, loudly, and the movement makes his shoulder twinge. The world spins. 

Then, faintly, he thinks about his dam. He wonders what the omega is doing right now. In the evenings the man liked to organize their family’s food for the next day, and then inspect their den top-to-bottom for rodents and bugs. His sire hated bugs, and Jungkook would usually help his dam go through their pelts to make sure none had burrowed there during the day. 

Jungkook wonders if his Pack misses him, wonders if his parents are still proud of him. He hopes so. He’s done the best he can. 

Then, he’s asleep. 

The next morning, Jungkook wakes - or at least he thinks he does. 

He’s not sure if he’s dreaming. The world is bright. Everything seems to move and sway, and when Jungkook tries to roll over, something makes contact with his spine. 

He freezes on instinct, then sluggishly reaches behind him to see what it is when it doesn’t move. He has some difficulty moving his arm with accuracy, but by feel it’s soft and fluffy and his hand can wrap around it nearly in its entirety - it’s small. 

He lifts it and brings it before his eyes, peeling them open to see what has intruded into his den. 

But– that can’t be right. 

He blinks, not quite registering what he’s seeing. Maybe he’s dreaming after all. 

In his hand he grasps a dead rabbit, cleanly - and freshly - killed. 

It’s still warm. 

Chapter Text

Jungkook isn’t sure what to think.

The dead rabbit in his hand is limp, still warm, and cleanly killed.

But Manshik’s scent isn’t on it - no alpha’s is. Instead, when he brings it closer to his face and inhales deeply, he smells the light scent of the omega he’d seen the other day. That too is fresh, no more than a few hours old.

Had the omega been in his cave?

He raises his nose to the air, and though his sense of smell is much weaker in his human form, he doesn’t detect any trace of the strangers in his den. The fire has been long-extinguished, so the smoke-scent isn’t strong. He can’t see anything obvious that’s been taken either - so the other omega had just brought him food?

Jungkook is confused, but he doesn’t question it for long. Nothing is noticeably wrong with the rabbit, and though his stomach turns at the thought of food, he knows he needs to eat something to keep up his strength. Now he feels warm and drawn, and his head and throat feel like they’re full of cotton.

He puts the rabbit down and reaches for his waterskin, mouth suddenly unbearably dry. He misses on his first attempt, his arm going wide. But he grabs it on the second try and uncorks it, shakily bringing it to his lips. Only a trickle of water falls on his tongue. Even when he shakes it, Jungkook is only able to produce a few more drops.

The omega groans weakly and tosses the container, then slumps back down to the ground in misery once more.

He drifts for a couple minutes, staring at the cave wall, before he remembers the rabbit is there. His eyes drift to it, and his stomach gives a half-hearted grumble.

Jungkook rips into the rabbit with his teeth, barely thinking about it. He chews thoughtlessly, not even minding the mess the blood makes on his face and the cave floor - it wets his mouth at least, though quickly becomes sticky. He has no strength to cook and spice the meat, and has no care for the pelt. The shredded thing he likewise throws away when he is sated, and lays down once more.

He needs more water, and he knows the creek lies beyond the forest line. What was an easy distance before now seems impossible, and he knows he’ll need to shift again to reach it, even if it further twists his leg.

The omega goes back to staring at the cave wall, delaying what he knows to be inevitable - an instinctual avoidance of the agony he knows is waiting for him. Another hour passes like that, before he shakes himself again. He must act now, while the rabbit has invigorated him. Some strength has returned to his body, and he reluctantly uses that to change forms once more.

Jungkook blacks out this time, when he feels the change begin. He’s thankful he’s spared the pain.

He awakes on the cave floor some time later, now lupine and covered in fur, a receding ache in his body. Everything seems to spin, and Jungkook stumbles when he climbs to his feet.

A sharp yelp escapes him when his injured leg scrapes along the ground at the action, and it feels like knives in every joint. He catches himself just in time, thankfully, and doesn’t fall to the ground, but the omega can’t suppress his whines as he gets his legs back under him and limps back out of the cave.

Each step is agonizing, and he nearly forgets to take his wasterskin with him. He grabs it with his mouth, which makes it harder to breathe - but that is the price he pays for his ability to walk. He sinks into a haze of instinct, following his nose to the creek he smells nearby.

Ironically, the danger the strange wolves might pose is a distant thought at the back of his mind now, survival the only thing of concern to him. He is only reminded of them when he reaches the treeline and he smells the scent of the omega faintly gathered there, as if it’d lingered a while.

Here, the scent of the beta appears too.

Jungkook pauses for a moment, perplexed. Why had the beta gone no closer to his cave?

In Jungkook’s old Pack, betas were extremely territorial and aggressive towards omegas. And indeed, he had been bullied most by his beta siblings, who had often tried to take his food and the treats their sire brought back for him. The alphas in the Pack usually treated omegas preciously, protectively. But the betas…

Once, Jungkook’s sire had returned from a hunting trip with a boar for his mate and pups, including an additional squirrel for a weak Jungkook, who was due for his first heat that week. The omega foolishly hadn’t eaten it that moment due to his turning stomach, and a short time later, his beta brother pinned him down in his pelts while his younger beta sister ate the squirrel in front of him. His sire and dam were not there to observe the incident, but Jungkook’s dam did not seem particularly surprised when he heard about it.

‘Remember, Jungkook, that betas can bear pups too, but not as successfully.’ his dam had said, ‘We are their competition, but the alphas like us better. Remember: alphas are strong, omegas are obedient, and betas are jealous.’

But the strange beta hadn’t shoved its way into the clearing or cave where Jungkook was clearly intruding, had stayed so far away that Jungkook hadn’t even been able to detect its presence.

The thought unnerves Jungkook enough that he resumes his unsteady walking. He can’t think of a reason why the beta had left him be, why the strange omega had made its way, alone, into his den - to leave food. Everything is so out of sync with what Jungkook knows of the world, and coupled with Manshik’s mysterious absence, the omega feels not a little disquieted.

After a handful of minutes, Jungkook hears the creek, and he limps toward the sound of trickling water until it’s in sight. It’s surrounded by roots and lush clover; the creek itself is only as wide as his legs are long and is so shallow and clear that he can see the bottom even from this distance. It’s enticing.

He wants to stop moving so badly, every step now seeming to sap away a little bit of the strength he had accumulated from his earlier meal. At least his injured leg is numb once more, and he’s no longer shivering. He’s warm, actually, and it’s the idea of cool water that motivates him enough to take the final steps to the edge of the creek.

He slumps to the ground there, not caring about the roots or stones underneath him, and he drops the waterskin nearby. The clover is lush and soft under his paws and it cushions his body - the first comfort he’s had in days - as he shoves his snout into the stream to take greedy gulps of water.

The water is clean and cold, fresh from the mountain. It hits his stomach like a physical punch.

It takes a conscious effort from Jungkook not to gag - he knows vomiting will only dehydrate him even more. He winces and groans and rolls to the side so that his hindquarters and legs land in the creek, letting the weak current wash over his muddy and achy body. Slowly the nausea ebbs over long minutes as he pants, but a feeling of weakness remains.

The omega cranes his neck and takes a few more mouthfuls of water, smaller this time, before resting again. He closes his eyes.

Here, Jungkook can hear the birds singing. When his eyes are closed, the world no longer spins, and he can imagine that he’s back within the safe borders of his old Pack. He imagines that Manshik is nearby (though the omega can’t smell his Alpha anywhere anymore), and even strangely wishes against all plausible reality that his sire would appear.

The sounds of the forest fall away slowly from Jungkook, only the babbling of the creek filling his ears, and he dreams.

He dreams of falling beneath a river surface.

A heavy rock on his chest.

Jeering faces above him as he struggles.

Water filling his lungs.

A nearby snap of a twig sends Jungkook hurtling into wakefulness. He gasps, flinching automatically as his eyes fly open. It’s dark now - the Moon and stars hide from him - but he’s able to make out three figures standing over him: two on two legs, and one on four.

He yelps in fear and presses himself to the ground, realizing belatedly that no sound had come out of him. His throat feels like sand and gravel, his voice practically nonexistent. And his body barely moves, he finds, slow and sluggish.

The omega from before is closest to him, sandy brown and small and sniffing curiously at his fur. Beyond the omega stands two betas in their human forms - one carries the same scent as the black-furred beta he’d seen before, but one is completely new to him.

“Be still,” the familiar beta says, pitch low, “We won’t harm you.”

Jungkook squints, trying to make out his face and expression, but it’s too dark for him to see.

The second beta looks to the sandy-brown omega. In the darkness, Jungkook can only see that he’s a man, tall and broad. He holds some cloth and two large poles, which he uses to nudge the wolf.

“Jimin.” he says in an insistent voice, and one of the omega’s ears flicks towards him in acknowledgment.

The omega, presumably Jimin, steps back and in the span of a heartbeat has fluidly shifted from wolf to human. If Jungkook weren’t so terrified he’d admire the graceful effortlessness of it, but instead he can only try to shrink in on himself and whimper in a last-ditch plea for mercy as the three strangers now loom over him.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Jimin says soothingly in a surprisingly high-pitched voice - like he’s talking to a pup - and crouches in front of Jungkook. He rifles through a pouch that he has tied around his neck, that Jungkook hadn’t noticed before.

“We truly won’t harm you.” The familiar beta echoes, but Jungkook refuses to take his eyes from the stranger closest to him.

There’s a scratching sound as Jimin swipes something pinched between his fingers along his palm, and suddenly there’s fire in his hand. It’s just a small flame held between his thumb and forefinger, but he picks up something thick and long from the ground and brings the flame to it.

The thing - a torch - ignites abruptly, and Jungkook blinks away spots as the immediate area is suddenly illuminated.

“Just a moment.”

The firelight drifts away from Jungkook’s face, and when his vision clears, the omega is finally able to get a look at the strangers standing over him.

He is stunned all over again at their beauty, unexpected: Jimin’s slim face and plush lips (the broad beta’s lips are equally plump), while the other beta’s features are sharp and handsome. Jungkook looks between the three of them in equal parts anxiety and uncertainty, as all three of them seem to closely inspect the omega’s leg - which quickly warms as the torch is held close to it.

Jungkook hadn’t realized he was shivering.

“It looks twisted, maybe broken.” The broad beta remarks, to which Jimin hums in agreement. “And he has a fever, I can smell it. We’ll bring him back with us.”

Moon help me, Jungkook thinks as he tries to struggle away. They’re going to take me.

A steady hand rests on his stomach and gently pets down his flank as the betas move towards him. Jungkook freezes as his eyes find Jimin’s. The strange omega’s gaze is steady, expression almost pitying, as he regards him.

“Please hold still,” Jimin pleads, “We’re trying to help you.”

The broad beta places the poles on the ground nearby, then lays the cloth between them. The four corners of the cloth are split, and the two betas quickly tie each side of the cloth to the poles to make a sling. This they slide to Jungkook’s back, then move around to either side of him as if preparing to scoop him up.

Despite what Jimin had said, Jungkook resists when they lift him and place him onto the sling. He has no guarantee whether they’re telling the truth that they mean no harm, and even if they are, he can’t afford to leave this place. If he had enough energy, he would change back to his human form and plead with them to leave him, to not take him away from where his Alpha can find him. But as it is he can only whimper as the two betas take a pole in each hand, lift, and slot the poles on their shoulders so that when they stand up straight Jungkook is brought up with the sling and suspended.

“Rest now,” Jimin says, and reaches through a gap in the sling to stroke Jungkook’s face. His omegan scent swells and seems to wrap itself around Jungkook, and Jungkook feels his eyelids drop as Jimin’s pheromones forcefully relax him. “The walk is long, and you are not well. Sleep, and when you wake, things will be better.”

Jungkook has no reason to believe him. Has no reason to believe that these three strangers mean what they say, and that he won’t wake up in hell, or that he’ll wake up at all.

But he’s tired. So, so tired.

For some reason, when he hears the soft reassurance in Jimin’s voice, some part of Jungkook believes him unquestioningly. Maybe he just wants to.

Silently his eyes close the rest of the way as his final reserves of strength are exhausted, and Jimin’s light scent carries him down into unconsciousness.

He sleeps, and this time he dreams of nothing.

~

When Jungkook stirs, he’s warm.

That’s the first piece of information that he gathers, followed by the softness of pelts over and beneath him, and the four-legged form of his body. He inhales lightly and notes that the pelts are clean and freshly scrubbed, carrying no odors on them (though he himself still reeks of mud and sweat).

But someone’s nearby scent - scents - tickle his nose, and he cracks open an eye to take in his surroundings.

He’s not outdoors, but rather concealed away in some kind of enclosure with cloth walls. The cloth itself is thin and fine, enough so that Jungkook can see soft light filtering through and hear quiet birdsong some distance away. There are no other obvious noises, aside from the hissing sound of leaves sliding against each other in the wind outside.

It’s almost peaceful.

No one stands over Jungkook this time, something that equally relieves and worries the omega. In fact, no one is in the tent with him - though old, indistinguishable scents tell him that that hasn’t always been the case. There’s no sign of the sling, or the betas, or any other wolf. He closes his eye again, sighing softly, and pushes out his hearing.

He picks out two pairs of feet moving through grass, two pairs of lungs breathing. The sounds slowly grow closer over several minutes, until Jungkook realizes that they are headed straight towards him and he shakes himself from his sleepy haze.

The omega has about half a minute to panic.

When he tries to move his body, he’s met with the same weakness that had plagued him earlier, and he can barely muster a wiggle as he tries to free his legs from the pelts. In his struggle he can feel that under the furs there’s something wrapped around his injured leg, preventing him from bending or jostling it. It feels hard and stiff, and he gives up trying to slide it off after a few attempts.

He’s managed to curl himself into a half-crouch and backed himself into a corner when a lone figure walks into his tent.

It’s Jimin, carrying a large woven basket against his chest.

The stranger seems even more lovely in the daylight, appearing every inch the perfect omega in size, beauty, and complexion. His dark hair is smooth and wispy, frame petite. And yet, despite his slim figure, solid muscles ripple underneath the skin of his arms and chest as he places the basket down, and he appears startled and concerned when he lays eyes on Jungkook hunched against the tent wall.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Jimin says lightly, “But please, don’t move. You’re hurt - you should really be lying down.”

While he speaks, Jimin slowly approaches Jungkook, holding his palms out and open in an appeasing gesture. His expression is pleading, one of concern.

But Jungkook is not so easily fooled.

A loyal omega will do anything for their Alpha. And he knows this omega has an Alpha with him, somewhere - Jungkook had seen it with his own eyes.

A low growl rumbles in his chest when Jimin gets too close, causing the strange omega to stop short. Jungkook hadn’t growled since he was a pup, having been disciplined against shows of aggression. Jimin likewise looks a little surprised, quickly glancing to the entrance where he had come from, but after a moment he looks again to Jungkook and his eyebrows furrow in determination. He speaks again.

“Look here, I have brought supplies to brush out your fur and clean your wounds,” Jimin snaps, pointing to the basket at his feet. “And after, you will have water, and some food. We are not your enemies.”

Jimin’s bluntness is so surprising that Jungkook reconsiders.

He detects no lie in the omega’s voice, no deception on his angelic face. Jungkook glances at his neck, where he sees no mating bite.

He looks to the basket, craning his head so he can peer inside at his current distance. Jungkook sees a comb, a waterskin, and piles of folded cloth. When he takes a deep inhale, he picks up the bitter scent of herbs and medicinals, the sweet scent of poppy.

All evidence points to Jimin being truthful.

But Jungkook has always had a good nose. There’s something else there, on the basket. He has to take a step closer to Jimin to catch it, but he does. A scent lingers, fresh though sparse - he can tell someone had tried to scrub it away.

Alpha.

His back hits the tent wall again as he presses away from Jimin. Jungkook looks at the omega with wide eyes, unable to hide the strange betrayal he feels. The rumble-growl continues in his chest.

A look of surprise and guilt flashes across Jimin’s face, before he schools his expression into something more neutral.

Jungkook begins to feel something coil in his gut.

“I meant what I said,” Jimin says, “We are not your enemies. Please, let me take care of you.”

He holds out a hand and takes a step towards Jungkook.

Three things happen in quick succession:

One: A vicious snarl that Jungkook didn’t even know he was capable of rips out of his throat, he bares his teeth, and snaps at Jimin’s hand.

Two: Jimin’s eyes widen and he pulls his hand back at lightning speed, missing Jungkook’s teeth by a hair’s width - no doubt he feels Jungkook’s hot breath on his fingers.

Three: A deep snarl to rival Jungkook’s own erupts outside the entrance, and a second human figure shoves into the tent.

This one is tall, much taller than Jimin, with a broad and muscular frame. His hands are big, jaw strong as he likewise bares his teeth at Jungkook, and he firmly places himself between the wolf and the other omega. This second figure pushes his scent out too, trying to subdue Jungkook’s own.

It’s unfamiliar and oppressive, the scent, and strong enough that it makes Jungkook react before he’s even registered what it is.

Alpha, his mind screams after he’s pressed himself to the back of the tent again, whimpering as he tries to make himself as small as possible, alpha, alpha, alpha.

And it sinks in, then, somewhere in his understanding, a fact that he hadn’t even wanted to entertain before:

He may never see Manshik again.

__

Chapter Text

Jungkook isn’t sure what to do after the angry alpha pushes his way into the tent - he’s positive that this will end badly, knowing from experience that agitated alphas never lead to anything good.

He’s ready to fight, to bite, to claw his way out. He will try to escape, even if it costs him his life. 

But, astonishingly, Jimin spins around to face the taller man and snaps his teeth. 

“I’m fine, Namjoon!” the omega grits out, actually shoving his way back in between the two and pushing the alpha insistently towards the tent entrance, “Go, before this gets any worse.” 

The alpha - Namjoon - clearly doesn’t want to leave, however. He fixes Jungkook with a hard look - not so much a glare, but a disapproving stare accompanied with a wide stance, ready to intercept anything that comes his way. 

But he makes no further movement towards Jungkook. 

Instead the alpha flexes his hands, relaxing his fingers out of fists, and hides his teeth. Jimin still seems unhappy, though the omega has his back turned to Jungkook. He pushes more against Namjoon’s chest with small hands. 

Jungkook, for his part, does not relax or lower his guard. This alpha’s behavior is strange, yes, but everything about Jungkook’s current situation is strange. He can only rely on what he knows, which is that he’s outnumbered, weakened, separated from his Alpha, and at an unknown location. In other words, the absolute worst situation for any omega to find themselves in. 

Insanely, a quiet growl begins to rumble in Jungkook’s chest again. He can hardly believe himself, daring to challenge an alpha in their own territory. But if the alpha is going to do anything he wants to Jungkook anyways, then the omega has nothing to lose. 

Jimin looks over his shoulder at Jungkook, before he spins back to the alpha, looking thunderous. 

“Out!” the omega snaps, “I mean it, Joon! Now is not the time!” 

Namjoon’s steely gaze slides from Jungkook to Jimin, and as it does, a transformation seems to occur. The alpha’s shoulders loosen, his stance softens, and his eyes lose their hard edge when he looks to the smaller figure standing right in front of him. 

“Jimin, I don’t think–” 

Jungkook can scarcely believe his eyes when, in a flash, Jimin jumps forward and nips Namjoon on the shoulder. 

“Out, I said!” the omega orders again, this time brooking no room for argument, and Namjoon is so startled by the nip that this time he goes when Jimin shoves him. 

Both of them leave the tent for a moment. There’s a tiny scuffle that lasts only a moment, the sound of skin brushing against skin, and Jungkook hears Namjoon exhale hard outside and pause before muttering “Just keep me updated, okay?” 

Then the alpha…retreats from the tent, walking away with no further argument.

Jungkook blinks owlishly at Jimin when the omega re-emerges into the tent, still looking irritated but smoothing his expression back into one of calm. 

Jimin shows no signs of injury, no indication that the alpha had done anything to him when the two were alone outside. Instead, he looks as angelic as ever, with hardly a hair out of place. Had Namjoon truly just let the omega order him? Bite him? With no words in response, no correction? Furthermore, was the alpha not going to do anything about Jungkook nearly injuring his omega? Maybe not now, he thinks. Later.

Jimin sighs heavily, sagging a bit, before he squares his shoulders and fixes Jungkook with a determined look. 

“Okay,” he says, “Let’s try that again. I need to clean you and your wounds a bit, alright?” 

Jungkook doesn’t growl this time, but he still looks at the other omega distrustfully and presses back against the tent wall. Jimin’s mouth presses into a thin line.

“Look,” he continues, suddenly dropping into a crouch so that he can peer evenly into Jungkook’s eyes, “I’m sorry that all of this is happening to you. I don’t know your name, or where you came from. But I know what you must be thinking, and you’re not wrong to be suspicious. So let’s take things one step at a time, okay?”

Jimin reaches behind him and opens the tent flap wide, so that Jungkook can see that no one is standing outside the entrance. 

“See? Namjoon is gone. And no one else is outside. You’ve seen two of the alphas, right?” 

Jungkook cocks his head. Jimin is right, the russet alpha he’d first spotted with the omega and the black-furred beta in the woods carried a different scent from Namjoon. The russet alpha had a spicier scent, while Namjoon’s was closer to something like tree bark. 

Jimin continues, “I won’t withhold anything else from you, and I’m sorry for trying to earlier. There are three alphas with me in total, and two betas - Taehyung and Jin. None of them will come into this tent without my permission. You’ve seen that I can handle anyone who does.” The corner of his mouth quirks upwards as he says this. 

Jungkook considers. The alpha had obeyed Jimin, who stood up to his large counterpart - he’d never seen anything like that. His eyes flick down to the basket. 

The other omega likewise glances at the basket and quickly grabs it, before spilling its contents on the ground between him and Jungkook. 

“Some water in a skin and a comb,” Jimin says, pointing to each item as he says it. “Some clean rags, for your fur. It needs to be cleaned of dirt. These are some herbs for poultices, and a mortar and pestle to grind them. Some poppy seed paste to help with your pain. Namjoon and Jin - a beta - made it, so you may smell their scents on that jar.” 

With that, the omega stops speaking and waits. Jungkook processes everything he says as he inspects the items on the ground before him, and he can see that nothing else is concealed in the basket. 

He fixes Jimin with a measuring look. 

His dam would say, fight until your last breath . 

But, there’s something about the omega…

Hesitantly, Jungkook lowers himself back to the pelts, turning sideways so that his back is not to Jimin. The omega smiles sweetly, giving Jungkook a few moments to adjust himself. He tries to kick off the pelts still covering his lower half, but whatever is wrapped around his injured leg is bulky and hard to maneuver. 

Jimin slowly reaches out and helps remove the top pelts, finally revealing what’s concealed beneath: his leg has been cocooned in a contraption of cloth, sticks, and hemp rope, keeping it firmly straight and secured. Jungkook can’t see much of what his leg looks like beneath the brace, but even his hip feels swollen and uncomfortable - his knee is a deep, formless ache that warns of further pain should he dare move it. 

“It was just a temporary measure to keep you from trying to bend it while you slept.” Jimin explains while Jungkook sniffs at it. “We can remove it later. May I?” 

The angelic-looking omega slides closer to Jungkook, grasping the comb and the waterskin as he does. Slowly, as Jungkook warily watches, Jimin takes the fine-toothed comb, leans forward, and gently runs the comb through the dark-brown fur of Jungkook’s tail. 

“See?” He says, “Nothing to be scared of.” 

Jungkook doesn’t move as Jimin comes even closer, running the comb over his rump and lower back. The omega isn’t trying to clean his coat yet, just letting the wooden teeth of the comb scrape over the fur so that Jungkook can grow used to the sensation. His touch is gentle, careful, and the wolf allows the ministrations to continue despite his nervousness.

A minute or so later, when Jungkook hasn’t snapped at Jimin again and Jimin has likewise grown more confident in Jungkook’s tolerance, the human omega uncorks the waterskin with his teeth and pours some of liquid inside over the comb, wetting it. He then reaches out and begins to actually clean out the wolf’s fur, the water immediately loosening the clumps of dirt clinging to it. He cleans the dirt from the comb with the rags - which quickly grow filthy - and repeats the action.

The process isn’t completely painless - over time Jimin becomes confident and more firm, and Jungkook becomes aware of tiny cuts and scrapes that cover his body when they occasionally get tugged on, causing him to yelp or whimper. Jimin winces every time it happens, a guilty look flashing across his face. The omega’s guilt reassures Jungkook that Jimin isn’t doing it on purpose, so he tries to remain as motionless as he can. 

It still takes Jimin a long hour to comb over everything, excluding the one leg, and Jungkook is sure that if he were in his human form, he’d be in tears by now. 

“That’s about as much as I can do without washing you, which would involve moving you again. But the big clumps are gone at least, right?” Jimin leans back and throws the dirty rags over his shoulder, then grabs the mortar and pestle. With little preamble he tosses the weed-looking herbs into the mortar, then immediately begins to grind them.

Both omegas grimace at the sudden bitter smell that immediately fills the tent, Jungkook even going so far as to bury his nose beneath the closest pelt. 

Jimin laughs at the reaction. “At least you don’t need to eat them.” After a few minutes of grinding, he exhales and puts the mortar on the ground, then shakes out his hands. The omega smiles sheepishly at Jungkook as he starts to massage his wrists, his eyes turning into crescents. “I’m not usually the one who does this, but I think that should be enough. I’m going to put this on your cuts, okay? It might sting a bit.”

It does sting, more than a bit - but Jungkook is no stranger to having herbs applied to wounds, clumsy omega that he is. Jimin goes back to the spots that had caused most of Jungkook’s discomfort during the combing, and applies the green-gray paste he had made with the pestle. Jungkook is able to restrain his noises this time, but he still twitches involuntarily more than once. 

And then, they’re done. 

The human omega gives a heavy sigh when he’s finished, falling back on his rump and wiping his fingers clean of plant juices on the ground. Jimin then cleans up the items lying around, stands (taking the basket with him), and brushes away the dirt on his palms. Without a word he turns on his heel and leaves the tent - Jungkook starts at his sudden departure. But the omega is back just as quickly as he left, having exchanged the basket in his hands for a bowl of water and a skinned, roasted squirrel.

“Here, you’ve earned these.” Jimin says chipperly, placing both objects on the ground next to Jungkook’s pelts. “You’re still running a bit of a fever, so you should eat and drink a bit and rest again. Do you want some of the poppy paste?” Without waiting, the omega opens the small clay jar still by the pelts and scoops a bit of the black-colored goo out on his finger, holding it out to Jungkook. 

Jungkook looks between the omega’s face and finger, face no doubt betraying his own confusion and bashfulness. Why was Jimin being so friendly with him? Surely all of the kindness the omega had shown him couldn’t have been acting. 

Warily he stretches his neck out and sniffs the substance on Jimin’s proffered digit. It smells strongly of poppy and something else sweet - so he gives a tentative lick. 

The poppy paste itself is nutty and strong, causing his nose to wrinkle, but then a second flavor registers that causes his ears to perk up in surprise. 

Sugar! 

He excitedly leans forward and begins to lick the rest off in earnest, mentally bewildered by the appearance of the rare delicacy. Would the surprises today never end?

Jimin giggles. “Sugar is added to our medicine to help it go down - we are very spoiled.” 

Jungkook ponders the statement. Do the Pack Wolves here truly have enough sugar and medicine to share with everyone, including a strange intruder like him? Did they make it themselves, or maybe steal it from others? What other things did they have lying around that would surprise him?

Jimin feeds him some more of the paste before closing the jar and standing once more. 

“I’ll leave you alone now,” the pretty omega says, backing away towards the tent entrance. “The poppy should help you sleep, but try to eat and drink a bit before you do. You need your strength - I’ll be back in a few hours to check on you.” Jimin gives him one last reassuring smile before he leaves the tent. 

Jungkook immediately dives for the water, his throat feeling extra dry. But he’s only been left a few mouthfuls of it in the small bowl - not enough to trigger his sensitive stomach again. He huffs in disappointment and picks up the squirrel, placing it protectively between his front paws. 

He takes a moment to scent the air again, just for good measure. There’s still a lingering odor of poppy and herb, the floral scent of Jimin lays over the small tent like a blanket, but he can’t pick out anyone else’s scent nearby. He can’t hear anyone else outside the tent either. 

With that he starts to eat the squirrel, only finishing half of it before an irresistible sleepiness brought on by the poppy begins to make his eyelids droop. He hides the rest of his meal when he can resist the pull of sleep no longer, and lays his head down on the pelts (positioned so that his back is not to the entrance). 

He has only enough time to wonder what Manshik is doing at that moment before his eyes shut, and he thinks no more.

When Jungkook next awakes, it’s to the sound of quiet shuffling noises around the tent. 

He immediately raises his head, ears up and alert even though his eyes are still bleary with sleep. The light outside the tent is now gone, the space inside now illuminated by a large candle near the pelts. By sight and scent Jungkook quickly identifies Jimin, the omega crawling around on the ground and inspecting where the cloth walls of the tent are tied together. 

Jimin doesn’t immediately realize that the wolf is awake, so Jungkook takes a moment to watch the omega as his vision clears. 

He notes Jimin’s usual beauty and stature, but upon closer inspection he sees more details on his skin - a sparse smattering of freckles, light scars on his arms and chest, small bruises on his legs, neck, and shoulders… but still no sign of a mating bite anywhere on his body. 

It perplexes Jungkook. Are Jimin and the other wolves he’s with truly part of a Pack?  

Furthermore, in the quiet of the tent Jungkook quickly becomes aware of another person breathing outside the entrance. He can’t quite identify them, and becomes unnerved as a result. 

The small omega finally notices that Jungkook is awake after a handful of minutes and faces him, kneeling. “Good evening!” Jimin chirps, smiling brightly (was he really that happy to see Jungkook, or was he just trying to put him at ease?). “It’s great that you’re awake - I’m here to check your wounds.”

Jungkook doesn’t react to the words, looking uncertainly between Jimin and the entrance. The unknown person outside makes no movements, like they’re just standing and listening to the two omegas. Was Namjoon there again? 

Jimin notices Jungkook’s wariness. He doesn’t seem guilty this time, only nods his head in acknowledgment of the other omega’s nerves. “Taehyung - one of the betas - is outside,” he says as if he were describing the weather, “But he won’t come in without permission. What do you say? I’ll make sure he gives us plenty of space.” 

Jungkook considers. The tent isn’t very big (only about twice as long as Jungkook’s human form is tall, though it’s wide and high) - so even if this Taehyung were to sit at the furthest end of the tent, he would still be relatively nearby. 

But, he would be in sight. Somehow the idea of a beta out in the dark, close but hiding where Jungkook can’t see him, seems worse.

He hesitantly bows his head. 

“Great!” Jimin grins, before calling over his shoulder, “Taehyungie, come join us!” 

A few seconds later, a tall human figure pushes their way into the tent. His skin is tan, his hair a deep and silky black, and Jungkook immediately recognizes the black-furred wolf he’d seen in the clearing earlier by scent alone.

Like Jimin, the beta’s appearance is enhanced in the better lighting. 

In Jungkook’s old Pack, alphas preferred betas that were smaller and omega-like, while the omegas who were matched with betas voiced liking ones who were tall and strong like alphas. Taehyung appears to be somewhere in between: tall and slender, not overly muscular, but his large, scarred hands and sharp eyes suggest a mysterious kind of danger in him. His face, however, is one that any Pack wolf would swoon over.

Taehyung doesn’t take any further steps into the tent. He glances at Jungkook, before finding the human omega who sits next to the wolf on the ground with his gaze. “Shall I sit right here by the exit?” 

“I think that would be perfect, Taetae.” Jimin replies cheerfully. 

With little flair Taehyung plops himself on the ground right where he stood, saying nothing else while he peers around the tent with curiosity. He looks at Jungkook too of course, but pays the omega no more attention than he does the pelts or the fabric of the walls. 

Jungkook relaxes slightly.

“So about those wounds…” Jimin says coyly, sliding closer. When Jungkook does nothing to warn the other omega away from him, Jimin closes the distance between them and runs his fingers gently over the wolf’s fur. “Thank you. You won’t need more medicine today, but I need to check whether your cuts are healing well.”

He begins to do so without any fuss, just gently parts Jungkook’s fur to inspect one of the wounds he had treated that day. The omega squints at it, sticking his face close and looking at it from multiple different angles. He must judge that particular cut to be fine, as he starts to shuffle fur to the side to search for the next one. 

So it goes for several minutes, accompanied by an awkward silence. Jungkook doesn’t take his eyes off of Taehyung, who traces a lazy pattern on the flattened grass beneath him while he watches his omega counterpart work. Jimin is too focused to say anything. 

“I know what you said about talking,” Taehyung says after some time (Jimin glances sharply over his shoulder for a moment), “But I wanted to ask you, Jimin, if you reset the traps by the river earlier today?” 

Jimin stiffens for a moment, eyes distant, before sighing and bowing his head. “I forgot,” he mutters, not looking at his Pack member. “Sorry, Taehyungie.” 

Jungkook watches the beta for any signs of anger or irritation over the omega’s apparent mistake (though he hides his surprise that Jimin is allowed anywhere near traps), but unexpectedly Taehyung just shrugs. “I’ll skip checking those tomorrow then.” he replies, simply.

“Don’t forget that Jin also put some nets down.” The omega adds, not looking at the beta, “Those will need to be emptied.” 

Taehyung makes a face. “I hate catching fish.” 

“Jin caught them for you.” Jimin teases, grin splitting his focused features. “Your job is to take them out of the nets.” 

“They stink so much!” The beta continues grumpily, seeming to not have heard the omega, “And they’re slippery!” 

“They’ll be a lot less slippery if you take them and the net out of the water first.” 

“But the net will be slimy!” 

Jungkook witnesses the conversation, looking at each speaker as they speak in kind. While their tone takes on one of bickering, the two Pack wolves themselves seem relaxed and unbothered. Taehyung doesn’t move from his spot on the ground, and Jimin continues to file through Jungkook’s fur. It’s confusing.

Jimin calls over his shoulder with a sly smirk: “Then perhaps you’d like to join our hunting party again, instead of handling the traps and nets?”

(‘ An omega in a hunting party!’ Jungkook thinks in disbelief.)

“I don’t want to get lost again,” Taehyung pouts, “Can’t I help pack up here?”

“You’ll have to ask Hoseok, you know how particular he is. Besides, our packing is on hold, remember?” 

It’s at this point that the beta’s eyes drift to Jungkook, briefly meeting his gaze before quickly looking away. 

“Right.” Taehyung replies, and doesn’t say anything else. 

Jimin gets back to his inspection, while the beta continues to trace patterns on the ground. Jungkook watches Taehyung, less frightened now but still wary on principle. 

The beta is different from any other he’d met before, not that Jungkook had met many aside from his siblings. Alpha friends of his sire often visited his pack-family’s den for meals when he was young, but his dam forbade betas or unmated omegas anywhere near Jungkook and the alpha and beta pups. 

‘Why tempt instinct? ’ His dam had said. Jungkook can’t say he’s sad about his dam’s decision, if other betas were anything like the ones in his pack-family.

But maybe it might have been nice to have an omega friend. 

Jimin exhales harshly through his nose suddenly, rocking back onto his heels and wiping his hands off on the grass. The omega looks a little frustrated, eyebrows furrowed in uncertainty. 

“I think your cuts are fine,” he mutters, “At least, they don’t look any worse than they did this morning? None of them are red or leaking anything, which is what we need to look out for.”

Taehyung snorts. “You sound so certain.”

“Hey!” Jimin pouts, sitting so that his back is to the tent wall and Jungkook and Taehyung are on either side of him. He crosses his legs. “You know I’m not usually the one who deals with this stuff.”

“Usually you’re the one getting their wounds checked.” The beta agrees, then looks to Jungkook. “Usually Namjoon treats our injuries, but he wanted to give you space. Our poor Alpha has been worried sick over you, wondering if Jimin might’ve missed something.” 

“Tae!” Jimin scolds, frowning. But the beta just raises his eyebrow, and the omega’s eyes narrow. The beta dips his head towards Jungkook in a silent gesture. It’s as though they’re having a private conversation with no words. 

Jimin looks at the wolf once more. “If you consent,” he begins, “Namjoon would like to come in and look at your leg tomorrow morning.” Jungkook’s ears immediately pin back against his head, but that doesn’t deter the other omega, who presses on. “That’s the one wound of yours I can’t do anything for. And I don’t know much about injuries and how to treat them, but that leg of yours looked bad.”

Taehyung silently nods in agreement, looking at Jungkook’s braced leg in concern. 

Jungkook doesn’t move, not sure how to respond. Jimin is pushing out his calming pheromones again and Jungkook can’t find it in himself to panic, but a heavy stone of anxiety drops in his stomach. 

He doesn’t want the alpha near him. Of course he doesn’t. 

But is Namjoon truly a healer? An alpha? The one who had snarled at him earlier?

Our poor Alpha has been worried sick over you.

What does that mean?

Jimin must be able to smell Jungkook’s fear bubbling and rising. “Taehyung, why don’t you give us some more space?” He says calmly. 

Without protest or farewell the beta immediately rises and slips out of the tent, and a weight Jungkook hadn’t realized was on his chest suddenly lifts. His body relaxes when he hadn’t realized how tense he’d been before, and he can breathe again as weariness catches up with him.

“Better?” Jimin asks, and Jungkook blinks in response. “Good. Let’s talk about this, okay? Namjoon is the only one who can help that leg. I didn’t see it very well last night in the darkness, but I thought it looked twisted. Badly. If you ever want to walk on two legs again, it needs fixing.”

Jungkook whines, staring up at Jimin with wide, pleading eyes. Of course he wants his injury to be treated, but surely the omega can understand why letting the alpha near him again would invite more trouble. 

“Namjoon is a good alpha,” Jimin insists, “he won’t harm you, and he’ll leave if I ask him too - you saw that.”

Jungkook did see that. But he also saw Namjoon’s bared teeth, his menacing eyes, his fury that Jungkook had threatened his omega. Namjoon is still an alpha, one who probably doesn’t have a very high opinion of Jungkook, and the omega knows better than to let an alpha with a grudge anywhere near him - a mistake that one doesn’t make twice. 

Jimin doesn’t seem very pleased by the wolf’s continued hesitancy, mouth pressing into a firm line as he stands. “I’ll give you the night to consider it.” The omega says. “Think on what I said. You need help.” 

He leaves the tent, and as before returns a moment later with two small bowls full of water and some berries. He places them by Jungkook, then takes a step back and seems to regard the wolf at his feet for a moment. The human omega looks worried, and maybe a little sad. 

Then, without another word, Jimin exits the tent and leaves.

Though the space is empty except for Jungkook now, the walls of the tent still seem narrow to him, maybe even narrower than before. 

He looks at his bound leg where it rests atop the pelts, and curses at himself. Wonders if he should try to escape in the night, but quickly throws that idea away when he feels how weak he still is. Besides, someone might be watching for that, and then he’d be in even more trouble. 

The omega sighs deeply, and rests his head on his paws as his mind begins to race. 

What will the future hold for him when the sun rises? 

Chapter Text

The night is long. 

Jungkook had spent so long sleeping that day that he isn’t very tired after the others leave his tent. His sickness saps his usual strength of course, but he feels unusually awake as the Moon hangs high in the sky. 

He spends a long time thinking about Namjoon, and Jimin, and Taehyung. And then he thinks about the rest of the pack that must be nearby somewhere, and wonders what their plans are for him. Had Jungkook and Manshik trespassed in their territory? Did they think of him as an intruder? They didn’t treat him like one, really, but they didn’t treat each other how they were supposed to either. 

He thinks about the poppy paste with sugar, of Taehyung sitting across the tent, of Jimin baring his teeth at his Pack Alpha. He thinks of Taehyung and Jimin bickering with no heat, of the omega and beta playing in the grass the first time he had seen them.

All-in-all , he decides as he finally begins to doze hours after the moon had risen, he’s found his way into the grips of a very strange Pack. 

He dreams, vaguely, of warmth and the sound of running water - but the next thing he knows, someone is once again pushing their way into the tent. 

Jungkook startles, leaping from his half-asleep stupor into a half-crouch once more. He has his back pressed to the tent in a moment, even before his eyes have focused, and it takes several long moments for him to blink the sand from his eyes and see Jimin standing in the doorway of his shelter, still maintaining a safe distance. 

“Good morning!” Jimin calls, smiling and giving no hint that Jungkook’s stance has made him wary despite the space between them. 

The omega holds only a small bowl in his hands, and Jungkook wonders what it contains - he gives a tentative sniff, and his mouth almost immediately begins to water when he smells freshly roasted meat. 

“We’ll see if your stomach can handle any meat.” Jimin comments as he notices Jungkook’s eyes fixed on the bowl, and Jungkook is about to slowly approach the omega when Namjoon steps back through the entrance. 

The alpha gives Jungkook - now frozen - a friendly smile. “Good morning.” he greets. “How are you feeling today?” 

There’s an awkward pause, where neither of them speak and Jungkook can only stare between them expectantly as they likewise watch him. We will see now what their true intentions with me are , he thinks. But both seem a little reluctant to approach him. 

“I thought,” Jimin finally says, holding out the bowl enticingly, “That you might like some breakfast while Namjoon checks your leg.” 

“If you consent.” The alpha adds quickly, and Jimin gives a small smile. 

So they’re trying to bribe me with food , Jungkook guesses, so that I’ll let them close. But Jungkook is hungrier than he was yesterday now that the medicine has caused some of his strength to return. His nausea is nearly gone, and his head is clearer than it’s been in days. The alpha looks somewhat unsure, far less threatening than he had the previous morning. He thinks. 

Despite his dam’s warning voice in his head, what it really all comes down to is: Does he trust Jimin? Jungkook may not be the brightest, but he can tell that the omega had gone to great lengths the last couple of days to make him feel less afraid and more comfortable. That counted for something - it had to, or else Jungkook truly could trust nothing and nobody, not even the caring instinct of his own kind.

He looks into the eyes of Jimin, trying to measure the omega once more, but as before his caretaker’s gaze holds nothing but concern and reassurance. 

Ever so slowly, Jungkook bows his head in acquiescence. 

Jimin beams. 

Namjoon doesn’t immediately move when the omega approaches Jungkook, holding the bowl of meat out in his hand. At one point Jungkook’s stomach even gives a weak gurgle in anticipation as Jimin crouches in front of him with the meat. Jimin chuckles lightly.

“That’s a good sign, if your appetite is coming back,” the omega says and finally puts the bowl down, between Jungkook’s front paws. Jungkook begins to nearly inhale it. “Remember to eat slow, you don't want to upset your stomach.” 

Jungkook is careful not to choke, but so absorbed is he in his food that he doesn’t immediately notice that Jimin has moved until the omega begins to pluck at the bindings around his injured leg. He watches from the corner of his eye as the other omega reaches into the leather pouch around his neck and pulls out something small and shiny - it looks like a blade of some sort, but is so small that Jimin can barely grip it between three of his fingers. 

Jimin brings the blade to the hemp rope around Jungkook’s leg brace and slices through it quickly and efficiently - the rope immediately goes slack and unspools from where it had been around Jungkook’s leg. Jungkook whines low in his throat before he even realizes he’s doing it, the lack of pressure around his leg immediately causing his wounds to throb. 

Namjoon walks within an arm’s length of Jungkook, then crouches and crawls the rest of the way until he sits near injured omega. The alpha positions himself on the other side of Jimin so that he isn’t in Jungkook’s direct line of sight, and Jungkook holds his breath as the man reaches out without hesitation and slowly begins to move the cloth away from the injured limb. 

Jungkook doesn’t want to take his eyes off of Namjoon for a single moment, but when he sees both the alpha and Jimin wincing at the sight of his leg, his curiosity overrides his caution. 

Even in wolf form, his leg looks terrible. 

The limb juts out from his hip at an odd angle, and the knee is nowhere near where it should be. The whole leg is monstrously swollen, the ankle especially so. Jungkook feels sick just looking at it - it’s beyond twisted. 

Once, when Jungkook was barely older than a pup, his sire had returned home stinking of fear and blood not his own. A member of their hunting party had become entangled in a human’s barbed snare, his sire said, and the wolf had tried to twist free instead of waiting for others to help him. When that didn’t work, the wolf had tried to shift back into its human form, and the limb had enlarged while the snare hadn’t - the alpha ended up with a crushed and nearly-severed leg. In the end, though, the hunting party had had to amputate it anyway to free him from the trap. 

That story, told in his sire’s exhausted and haunted tone, echoes at the back of Jungkook’s mind as he looks at his leg, unable to imagine any way that it could be saved. The urge to cry is nearly overwhelming when he imagines himself trying to live the rest of his life in such a state. 

“Well, it’s not good.” Namjoon begins in his rumbling voice, his eyes flicking here-and-there as he takes in the wounds. “It’s harder to tell when you’re shifted, but it looks like your kneecap moved, and I would guess that this leg is broken in at least two places.” The alpha reaches out to tenderly hold his hand over the leg, not touching but only just. Jungkook gives nothing but a high whine in protest. 

“Is it infected?” Jimin asks, watching Namjoon’s hand with worry. 

“I can’t really tell, with all the mud and fur.” The alpha replies, “I’m worried about this ankle, but you said the fever is receding - I’m hopeful.” 

Neither of their expressions change from one of concern though, and Jungkook feels his anxiety increase. 

Perhaps it’s his fear over his own wellbeing that compels him to be still when Namjoon gently rests his hand on Jungkook’s foot and slides his fingers over the swollen ankle with the lightest of touches. Then the alpha’s fingers travel further up Jungkook’s leg, tracing invisible lines as they feel for (what Jungkook assumes are) imperfections beneath the skin. Namjoon pauses around Jungkook’s knee and he presses in only the barest amount, though the pressure is still enough to make Jungkook give a pained and startled yelp. 

“Sorry.” Namjoon offers immediately, withdrawing his hand and looking thoughtful. He stares at the wall behind Jungkook for some moments, then gives the lupine omega a regretful look. “From what I can tell, your leg is fixable. But…” 

“But?” Jimin prompts, leaning towards the alpha. 

“I don’t know how much I can help when you’re…” Namjoon gestures to all of Jungkook. “Like this. All wolfy. I only know how to set human bones.” 

Jungkook’s ears immediately pin back to his head. The idea of shifting back into his human form seems not only painful, but wrong. Wouldn’t that further twist and break his leg? He stares at the alpha with wide and fearful eyes, once again wondering if the man truly had good intentions at heart. 

“I know,” Namjoon agrees, observing Jungkook’s anxiety, “I won’t lie, it’s going to hurt. But if you ever want to walk on two legs again, we need to do something - and soon.”

Jimin puts a hand on Namjoon’s shoulder and stares at Jungkook entreatingly. “This alpha is the best chance you have at returning back to your normal self. You could travel days and not find a better healer than him - trust him. Please.” 

The earnestness in Jimin’s voice and the omega’s wide eyes are compelling, as usual. But the thought of shifting one more time, possibly damaging his body forever, fills him with dread. He doesn’t think he can force himself to do so, even for this pretty and kind person. What if he never walked again, like Namjoon said? What if he lost his leg entirely? 

“Of course, we’re not going to force you to do anything.” Namjoon says, lifting a hand to squeeze Jimin’s own. His gaze meets Jungkook’s and doesn’t waver. “But I want to help you, if you’d let me. No one here wants to see you sick and in pain - we want to see you walk out of here on your own two feet.”

Namjoon is certainly not like any alpha Jungkook has ever met, he thinks. 

But he still doesn’t trust him. Jungkook keeps his ears flattened, feeling unsure about the reassurances of these two relative strangers. 

“I won’t pretend to know what you’re going through,” the alpha says after a few heartbeats of no reaction from the wolf, “but I know it’s not an easy thing to rely on strangers. I’ll give you some time to think about it, but the latest we can wait is nightfall. I could already feel your wounds healing in place. If we’re going to make any corrections, we can’t wait any longer.” 

With those ominous words, Namjoon begins to withdraw from the tent, shuffling on his knees until he reaches the tent entrance. When he stands, Jungkook is reminded again of just how tall the alpha is - like Manshik, the man’s head scrapes along the top of the tent and he has to bow it slightly. 

Namjoon turns to the two omegas before exiting, giving the injured wolf one more worried glance. “Tonight,” he says, “I’ll come back tonight, and I need your decision then. Like I said, I can’t make you do anything. But if you decide not to trust us, you may be stuck on three legs for the rest of your life.”

And then, without another word, the alpha leaves. 

Jimin has some more medicine for Jungkook, both the gross-smelling paste for his cuts and the sweet poppy paste for his pain. And he definitely has more pain - without the brace securing or compressing his leg, his mangled limb throbs and twinges with every tiny movement. The human omega leaves him to his thoughts, then, and Jungkook finds himself once again alone in the confines of the tent. 

He tries to rest for a couple of hours, but every time he closes his eyes, he sees his sire covered in blood and stinking of another wolf’s fear. 

After a while he feels claustrophobic. 

Jungkook struggles to stand, but the poppy takes the edge off his aches as he manages to somehow get his three working feet under himself. It takes a monumental amount of effort but he takes a step, then another. Days of little-to-no movement have rendered his muscles stiff and tired, and he waddles more than walks to the entrance of the tent. Thankfully he doesn't stumble.

Cautiously, he brings his nose to the gap between tent flaps and scents the air, trying to catch any hint that someone is standing on the other side. But he smells nothing, and he hears nothing, so he ever-so-slowly peeks outside. 

A large field sprawls before him, full of short grass but almost no trees - save for a few large oaks, of which Jungkook is under the largest. The field (more of a large clearing, really) is so large that despite being surrounded by forest on all sides, it would take anyone approaching several minutes of walking to reach the center. Some distance away is a handful of more tents, much larger than Jungkook’s and surrounded by various everyday supplies. The cluster of tents is close enough to see but not to smell. When Jungkook doesn’t spot anyone nearby, he takes a few laborious steps outside of his temporary residence and then lays down once more. 

The grass is not nearly as soft as the pelts, but Jungkook finds that he quite enjoys the gentle wind and shade of the oak. It’s a sunny autumn day, and the sun slowly rises in the sky. When he closes his eyes, the bloody memory of his sire is drowned out by the soft rustling of leaves and grass, and he finds that he can breathe much easier. 

Jungkook lays like that for a while and watches the clearing through half-lidded eyes. He lingers on the cusp of sleep and does nothing but observe the clouds and try to forget about the hardships of the past days. For a few minutes he does, and he doesn’t even have to pretend to be somewhere else. 

A light scent tickles his nose after a while and a few minutes later, several people emerge from the woods on the far edge of the field. Jungkook counts three figures in the distance - they’re too far for the omega to see their faces, but they appear to walk strangely. It takes a few seconds for him to see that the group labors under the bulk of two large boars, which they slowly drag towards the clearing’s center. Jungkook thinks he sees Jimin among the group, knowing that the other omega is much smaller than the other wolves of his Pack.

Again Jungkook finds himself amazed that Jimin is allowed outside the safety of the Pack camp, and he wonders where the wolf had learned to hunt - especially considering his petite stature. He watches the trio progress towards the center tents, confirming that Jimin is indeed among them - but he doesn’t recognize the other two people with him. One is a around the same height as Jimin, but the other stranger stands half a head taller than the shorter pair. Jimin and the small man drag one boar, while the taller hunter has the other over his shoulder. 

When the hunting party is within a certain distance of their grouping of tents, Jimin gives a shout, and within seconds two more people emerge from a tent and come into view. These two Jungkook does know: Namjoon and Taehyung. The beta and alpha scramble to help their returning packmates, converging on the trio to help relieve their burdens. Finally, a sixth person leaves a separate tent and belatedly makes their way to the rest of the pack, sluggish as if they’d just woken up. Jungkook tries to get a good look at the new arrival, but he doesn’t get a chance before they’re engulfed in the mass of people around the two dead boars. 

The group splits into teams of three, each team taking a boar between them, and together all of them haul the catch to the center of their camp. Jungkook is impressed at the size of their kill - Manshik would be too - with the size of the pigs, surely even just one of them would feed the pack of six for days. 

Don’t forget that you’ve given them another mouth to feed with nothing to show for it, he harshly reminds himself, remembering his dam’s words: An idle omega will be made useful. 

He wonders when this pack will make him start earning his keep. 

Jungkook sees Jimin spot him from across the space that separates their tents. The small omega straightens and raises an arm, waving at Jungkook. A few of his pack members turn to look at the wolf as well, curious about where Jimin is directing his attention. 

Though Jungkook isn’t even close enough to hear whether the group is talking about him, he suddenly feels self-conscious. He stands with some effort and hobbles back inside his tent, feeling many pairs of eyes on his back the whole way. 

No one follows him.

When Jimin and Namjoon return that evening, Jungkook has made his decision. 

The Pack hosting him clearly don't want to hurt him, and whatever their intentions are with him after, they at least want him in one piece for it. That’s enough for Jungkook - for now, their goals overlapped. He needs their help to get out of here.

Jimin has more poppy in a bowl and a pile of clean rags under one arm. Namjoon holds a wooden box of some kind, so large he has to grip it with both hands. The alpha puts the box down with a heavy thunk, and Jungkook can hear glass rattle within. Then he swiftly kneels and looks the wolf in the eye, shoulders squared. 

“So, what will it be?” Namjoon asks, his voice not giving any hint of what he wanted Jungkook to do one way or the other. Jimin, however, watches his fellow omega with a pleading look in his eyes. 

Jungkook unhappily gestures to his leg, giving permission and beckoning close at the same time. 

Jimin sags a little in relief, while the alpha smiles and moves not towards the injured leg, but to his box. “We’ll give you something for the pain,” Namjoon says as he opens the container. 

Jimin steps close and kneels where Namjoon was before, holding the bowl of poppy out to Jungkook and placing his rags on the ground. Jungkook eats the medicine without complaint, knowing that he’ll be thankful for it in the coming hours. He licks the bowl clean before the other omega puts it away, and Namjoon reappears with several things in hand. 

The alpha presents Jungkook with two pellets that look like seeds, except they’re bright yellow. Jungkook isn’t quite sure what he’s supposed to do with them, he peers between the pellets and Namjoon’s face inquisitively. 

“Eat them,” the man prompts, “it’s medicine.” 

Jungkook had never seen medicine that looked like this, but he isn’t about to question Namjoon’s medical knowledge at this point. He licks the pellets out of the alpha’s hand - for a moment all he can smell is the woodsy scent of Namjoon - and has to immediately force himself to not spit them out because of their bitter taste. He must make a face because the alpha gives him an apologetic smile and quickly presents a cup of water, which Jungkook also empties. 

Last, Namjoon holds up a thick strip of leather, flat but tied back over onto itself to thicken it even more. 

“For between your teeth,” the alpha explains when Jungkook once again looks at him with confusion, “Bite down on it when you shift.”

Jungkook swallows heavily, knowing he has arrived at a pivotal moment. When he shifts, he’ll be vulnerable and at the mercy of these strangers. His dam would say it’s madness to do what Jungkook is about to do, but more than anything, Jungkook just wants to live. 

He opens his mouth, and the alpha places the strip of leather on his tongue. 

He looks between Namjoon and Jimin, analyzing their faces one last time. The tall Alpha seems carefully indifferent, but his scent is mellow and calm. Jimin is already pumping out pheromones to mollify him, eyes full of too many emotions to name. 

“It’s going to be okay.” Jimin says, so Jungkook shifts. 

He black out immediately. 

Chapter Text

Jungkook doesn’t wake up so much as his senses sluggishly return to him one by one over several hours. 

First he feels the soft furs under him, then tastes the dryness of his mouth. He hears the wind shuffle blades of grass outside and soft breathing nearby. He scents the air almost instinctively and senses the presence of someone barely-familiar close to him. His eyes take a long time to pry open - his eyelids feel so heavy, like they’re made of dense stone. 

It’s light outside once more, Jungkook having apparently slept (or been unconscious) through the night. He can’t tell if it’s morning or afternoon, but he can see in his blurry peripheral vision someone large relaxing at the propped-open tent entrance. 

Jungkook is in his human form once more. 

He lies on his back in the pelts, comfortable. He’s supposed to feel colder without his fur, but he’s quite warm - a thick pelt lies atop him, pulled up to his chest. He can’t feel his injured (repaired?) leg and he doesn’t try to move it. His fever must have returned after his shift, because his skin feels tight, his face hot. He sighs and tries to swallow, but his mouth is so dry. His throat feels sticky and he coughs, trying to clear it. 

“Here,” says a light voice, and after some shuffling something hard and cool presses against his bottom lip. A hand slides under his head and cradles it, then lifts it when Jungkook can’t find the strength to. Cool water trickles into his mouth, which he drinks greedily. “Slowly, don’t push yourself.”

With some effort Jungkook swallows everything he’s given. He closes his eyes while he drinks, not able to gather enough energy to open them for very long. “Thank you.” he whispers quietly when the person - who he identifies as a beta by scent (but not Taehyung) - draws away. 

“You are very welcome,” the beta replies in an amused tone, right as Jungkook’s mind supplies that Jimin had said the second beta in their pack is named Jin. “How polite you are.”

Jin doesn’t do anything else to Jungkook. Instead, the omega hears Jin shuffle towards the entrance and depart from the tent, leaving Jungkook alone inside his shelter. He coughs quietly again, trying to clear the last of the stickiness from his throat. The water had been a huge relief, but he still feels like every ounce of strength had been sapped from his body. Jungkook keeps his eyes closed and rests, feeling himself start to drift into sleep once more. 

Suddenly, multiple people are pushing into his tent. Jungkook manages to crack an eye open and breath deeply to inspect the newcomers. 

Jin leads the way, the beta’s broad shoulders initially hiding Jimin’s smaller frame directly behind him. Finally, Namjoon trails in at the end of the arriving party, once again carrying his large wooden box. The alpha drops the box on the ground in the same place as before as Jimin kneels by Jungkook’s head and Jin stays near the tent entrance. 

“If I’m no longer needed, I’ll get out of your way.” the beta calls, giving Jungkook a friendly wink before he abruptly ducks out of the tent. 

Jungkook groggily tries to raise a hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes, and nearly misses his eyes entirely as his knuckles grind against his eyebrow. His arm flops tiredly back onto the pelts and he sighs, struggling to keep his eyes open long enough to look between the two remaining figures in his tent. 

“Did you sleep well?” Jimin asks as he kneels by Jungkook’s head, and Jungkook is finally able to watch the other omega as he slides into view. Jimin looks as concerned as he did prior to his shift, and he dabs a moist rag across Jungkook’s forehead. 

Jungkook hums low in his throat in affirmation, a quiet “Mmmm” escaping his lips. The rag is cool and it feels amazing on his head - his eyes flutter closed as Jimin wipes over his cheeks too. He feels Namjoon lift the thick pelt off his body, and the sudden cool air across his hot skin is a brief comfort.

“It’s a relief in some ways that you passed out.” Namjoon comments as the alpha presumably observes the state of Jungkook’s leg. “You didn’t have to be awake when I made corrections. That’s probably for the best.” 

Jimin puts the damp cloth to the side and gently lifts Jungkook’s head, then scoots forward so that he can rest the wounded omega’s head on his thighs. Without a word Jimin begins to card his fingers through Jungkook’s hair - which he notes has been washed and combed. The repetitive motion is relaxing, so much so that Jungkook barely feels a small prick of pain around his knee. 

“I’m going to give you some more medicine,” Namjoon comments from somewhere that sounds far away, “For your pain, and some antibiotics too.” There’s a second tiny prick of pain in a different area around his knee. “If you tried to swallow any pills right now, you’d probably vomit.”

Within seconds, as if Namjoon’s words had triggered a spell, a wave of numbness begins to spread from his knee and smother the twinges of discomfort in his limb. Jungkook tries to open his eyes to see what the alpha had done, and he blearily watches the pack leader packing away a small tube-shaped object back into his box. Jungkook isn’t sure what ‘antibiotics’ or ‘pills’ are, but he assumes that they’re another kind of medicine.

“Rest for a while longer.” Namjoon’s voice croons as the edges of Jungkook’s vision begin to become fuzzy and black. His eyelids feel impossibly heavier, not helped by the quiet tune carrying from Jimin’s throat. “Your leg is still quite swollen - it’s braced again for now, so that you won’t move it accidentally.” 

“Rest,” Jimin echoes the alpha’s word, stroking his fingers down the bridge of Jungkook’s nose in a comforting motion. “The hard part is over.” 

Then the omega is humming quietly again, a sweet and low tune, and Jungkook is asleep again before the alpha covers his body with the pelt once more. 

Jungkook is awake again a few hours later when Namjoon, alone, steps into the tent. It takes the omega a moment to realize that Jimin isn’t behind him, or Jin, or anyone else. 

His heart begins to beat faster. 

Jungkook weakly sits up and pulls the pelt against his chest, as if one measly fur could keep the alpha away if he really wanted at Jungkook. He watches Namjoon like a hawk as the man nods in greeting at him, then kneels at the wooden chest that had remained in the omega’s tent since it was last brought in. He carries a small, wrapped bundle under one arm. 

“Seems like the antibiotics are working well.” Namjoon comments idly, not looking at Jungkook as he opens the chest. “I’ll need to administer them twice a day for a few days.” 

It’s like the alpha is speaking a different language. Jungkook feels a little disquieted that he can’t understand what Namjoon is trying to say, and he doesn’t have Jimin in the tent with him to explain or play down the Pack Alpha’s intensity. Namjoon’s eyes are as sharp as ever, though the man’s woodsy scent is even and calm.

Namjoon pauses over the chest for a moment, staring at the tent wall, then snatches the bundle from under his arm and faces Jungkook. “You should probably eat something before I give you any more medicine. You’ve had barely anything to eat or drink the past several days, which probably hasn’t been helping your recovery. My apologies for that, but I wasn’t sure what your body could handle.” 

As he speaks, the alpha places the small bundle on the ground and begins to unwrap it. Inside is a small feast: baked potatoes, a peeled apple, and a roasted squirrel. 

At the sight of the mouth-watering food, Jungkook’s stomach gives a mortifyingly loud grumble, and he looks away in embarrassment as he quickly takes the offered bundle of food and cradles it protectively in his lap. He needs no prompting to begin nibbling on the squirrel, but he still watches Namjoon warily as the alpha goes back the the chest, opens it, and begins to rummage through it. 

Namjoon takes out the tube-shaped object again - Jungkook can see it a bit better now, and it looks like there’s some kind of needle on the end of it (though not made of bone as the omega is used to) - before he turns his attention to Jungkook’s leg. 

The alpha glances at Jungkook as he begins to approach - the omega is far from trusting of Namjoon, but as the man’s calm scent wraps around him, he can’t find it in himself to feel afraid like he was before. He watches Namjoon reach for the pelt covering his leg, and move it aside. A familiar looking brace once again conceals the majority of his leg; the bundle of sticks, cloth, and rope revealing a few stretches of the skin beneath. Jungkook can see through a gap in the cloth that the skin around his knee is a deep purple, and he wonders how far up his leg the bruise goes. 

Namjoon sucks his teeth as he inspects different points around the damaged knee, moving the cloth gingerly to reveal more of the wound. His touch is feather-light. 

“Where did you learn how to heal?” Jungkook asks before he really realizes he’s said anything. His thoughts seem sluggish and foggy. 

Namjoon’s eyes shoot to his own, showing a hint of surprise that Jungkook had spoken to him. The alpha quickly accepts Jungkook’s question, and returns his attention back to his inspection. 

“It’s a long story,” Namjoon says in a thoughtful tone, “but I lived with humans for a short while, and learned many things from them.” 

Jungkook nearly drops his squirrel in shock. Humans?!

“Is that where you got the sugar?!” He blurts out, recklessly. 

Namjoon exhales in amusement, perhaps caught off guard by the omega’s question. “No,” he says, “but we sometimes encounter traveling humans, and trade with them for things we need.” 

Jungkook is quiet at that, feeling a strange mix of amazement and horror at the idea of encountering humans. His old pack would have never done or allowed such a thing, knowing well that humans are dangerous, greedy, faithless beings who take pleasure in killing Pack wolves.

But if Namjoon is to be believed, there are humans out there who trade with Pack, and allow them to live amongst them. The Alpha must have encountered many humans to amass such a rare collection of items. 

Namjoon suddenly brandishes the tube-needle in his hand, using the other hand to gently steady Jungkook’s knee. 

The omega watches in interest, even more curious now that he knows the item is a human artifact. “Is that the any-bee-tonics ?” he asks. Though he knows he’s not supposed to be so inquisitive, it’s like the questions can’t stop pouring out of him, his foggy mind leaving him unable to censor himself. 

Namjoon laughs. “Antibiotics,” he corrects with a grin, “It helps your body fight sickness. It’s medicine.” 

It must be very precious, for Jungkook has never seen or heard of anything like it. To think they would use it for an outsider like him… “And the tube?” he asks, rather than analyze the sudden tight feeling in his chest. 

“A syringe.” The alpha replies patiently, “It helps the medicine get into your body quicker.” 

As if to demonstrate, Namjoon slowly pushes the needle of the tube - the syringe - into the skin of his knee. Jungkook jumps minutely at the tiny pin-prick of pain, but Namjoon’s stabilizing hand on the brace keeps the injured area still. Jungkook watches the alpha quickly push on the other end of the syringe with his thumb, and then two heartbeats later, withdraws the tool away from Jungkook entirely. 

“All done.” Namjoon says lightly, shooting the omega a reassuring smile as he walks on his knees back to his box and returns the syringe inside. 

“Th–thank you.” Jungkook nearly bites his tongue when he thanks the man, ducking his head at how wrong it feels to show appreciation to an alpha not of his pack. But somehow, he thinks it would feel more wrong not to say anything.

Once again Namjoon looks surprised, but not displeased, and his smile grows even wider. “Happy to help,” he replies, “Jin did say you were very polite.” 

A hot blush erupts on Jungkook’s face, and he resists the urge to duck his head even lower so that he can keep an eye on the alpha as the man closes the box and heads towards the entrance of the tent. 

He nearly startles in surprise when Namjoon moves away from him. The alpha is going to just… leave him? Without reminding him of his place, or demanding something in return for the valuable medicine he used? Not even admonishing him for how he treated Jimin earlier? 

He calls out when Namjoon has one foot out of the tent. “Wait.” 

The alpha pauses, looking at Jungkook inquisitively over his shoulder. His eyes hold no malice. 

“What…” the omega stutters out, “what does your pack want from me?” 

Namjoon smiles again. “Truly, we want nothing more than to see you happy and healthy again.” 

And then he leaves.

By the time the sun begins to set, Jungkook concludes that he’s going a little stir-crazy after so many days stuck inside the tent. With nothing but the same four walls, Namjoon’s wooden chest, and his frantic thoughts to keep him company, he finds himself missing fresh air and the sight of green. Namjoon’s last words to him have somehow weakened the suspicious voice at the back of the omega’s mind, too, and the idea of possibly encountering the other members of the pack doesn’t seem quite as scary as it once did. 

Also, by his calculations, he’s been without his own Alpha for over a week. He needs to ask these wolves if they’ve seen Manshik. And after, depending on their answer, either beg for his release or for their help to find his mate.

There’s just one problem. 

His leg, while much less swollen than before he received the antibiotics, is still secured tightly in its brace. This greatly hinders his ability to walk while in his human form, and it takes a while to resign himself to the fact that he’s going to have to ask for help. 

When Jimin enters the tent that evening with his dinner, Jungkook is both hesitant and entreating. Before the smaller omega can hand him his food, he quietly asks, “If it wouldn’t be any trouble, may I, um, eat with the pack?”

Jimin looks at him, stunned, his mouth slightly parted in surprise. 

“Of–of course!” the omega stammers, “Uh, let me just–” he looks at the bowl of food in his hand, glances around like he’s unsure of where to put it. 

Jungkook doesn’t get the chance to voice that he’ll need help to make it to their fire before Jimin quickly jogs out of the tent, and Jungkook frets for several minutes that the small omega somehow expected him to follow. But then he hears the sound of multiple pairs of feet approaching his shelter, and he smells the betas arriving with Jimin before he sees them. 

Jin and Taehyung are quite tall for betas, Jungkook thinks, as both of them must bow their heads to step fully inside the tent. Including them and both omegas, the enclosed space feels quite claustrophobic with the new arrivals. 

“Is it alright if these two help carry you out?” Jimin asks hopefully, his eyes pleading as if he’s not sure Jungkook will accept. He’s still holding the bowl of food. 

“Because Jimin is too tiny.” Taehyung offers by way of explanation, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. 

Jimin shoots Taehyung a petulant look, but Jungkook is already nodding his head in acquiescence. He’s ready to get out of this tent, and neither beta has given him a bad feeling. Taehyung smells like pine needles, a deep and musky scent. Jin’s, however, reminds him of sun-warmed stone, earthy and inviting. Both scents feel nostalgic in a way, reminding him of the forest in his old river valley. 

“Alright then, I’ll take the right side.” Jin says chipperly and maneuvers himself into the small gap between Jungkook’s pelts and the tent wall. 

Jungkook remembers Jin’s gentle touch when giving him water earlier, as the beta crouches at his side and reaches for his arm. He doesn’t resist as Jin softly grasps his wrist and guides his arm to rest across the beta’s wide shoulders. He lifts his other arm by himself and Taehyung wordlessly ducks under it and presses to Jungkook’s other side.

Together, the two betas slowly lift the omega enough so that he can get his good leg under him. It momentarily feels strange to be standing so tall again, but Jungkook quickly reminds himself that he needs to be focusing on balancing. The brace makes standing on one leg awkward. 

More than walk, Jungkook hops out of his tent with the physical support of the two betas. Jimin hovers worriedly, pulling the tent flap aside when Jin’s far shoulder momentarily gets caught on it, and he pumps out powerful calming pheromones that make Jungkook’s head swim. 

“Calm down Jimin,” Jin chuckles when he notices, though his tone holds a hint of disapproval, “You’re going to make him pass out again at this rate.” 

“Sorry,” the small omega says absentmindedly, “Does your leg hurt, er…?” 

Jungkook doesn’t think before his name slips through his lips. “Jungkook,” he murmurs, blinking hard to clear his head. “My name is Jungkook. And yes, a little.” 

Jimin frowns, his scent spiking with concern, but Taehyung hums in interest. 

“Well, it’s nice to officially meet you, Jungkook.” the beta says. 

The group slowly makes their way to the center of the clearing towards the cluster of tents he’d spied earlier, sheltered under a couple of oak trees and bordering a rock-lined fire pit at the heart of the camp. The sun has already begun to set and a fire’s been lit - Jungkook can make out three more human-esque figures silhouetted against the glowing embers.

It takes several long minutes for Jungkook to hop to the camp with the help of the betas, but they eventually arrive, and Jungkook must do his best to not immediately shrink away at the powerful scents of the three alphas waiting for them there. He recognizes Namjoon, of course, and is familiar with the smell of a second, muscular alpha sitting near the pack leader. This is the russet-furred wolf, Jungkook realizes, and he slowly bows his head to all three in greeting. Namjoon nods back, but the other two alphas eye him curiously instead of immediately responding. 

“Yoongi,” Jin says casually, “would you get something for Jungkook to sit on?” 

Immediately, the smallest of the three alphas, a sharp-eyed man with a smoky scent (who Jungkook presumes is Yoongi), rises from the ground and rounds the corner of the nearest tent. The second unknown alpha jumps up a few heartbeats later, and jogs into a different tent, one of three around the fire pit. Shuffling sounds come from both directions - in a few moments, Yoongi returns while rolling a short log in front of him, and the other alpha steps back into view with an armful of pelts. 

“Ah, good thinking Hoseok.” Jin murmurs fondly, nodding in thanks to the muscular alpha as Yoongi and (apparently) Hoseok combine their findings - Yoongi rolls the log to Jungkook’s feet, and Hoseok gingerly lays the pelts on top of it. 

Together, Jin and Taehyung slowly maneuver Jungkook so that he stands in front of the log, before the betas help him shakily sit on top of the pelts. It’s not as comfortable as sitting on the soft grass would be, but his leg stretches out towards the campfire in front of him, and for once the twinges of pain stop bothering him. 

“Welcome, Jungkook.” Namjoon says, appearing as though he’s testing the feeling of the new name on his tongue. The rest of the pack echoes the greeting as all of the members who had helped Jungkook take their seats, and Jimin set’s Jungkook’s bowl of food into the omega’s lap. “Glad to see you’re doing a bit better.” 

Jungkook shyly bows his head in gratitude, feeling self-conscious with so many eyes watching him. “Thank you for your care.” 

Jimin weaves around his other pack members before slumping on the ground next to Hoseok and stretching across his lap playfully. The alpha doesn’t blink at the contact, just casually rests his arms around Jimin’s torso, as if he’s used to the omega doing such things. 

“There’s nothing to thank,” Jin replies, smiling warmly. “We’re just glad that your condition has improved.”

Jungkook bites the corner of his lip, not detecting anything but sincerity in the beta’s tone. “I’ve eaten your food,” he mumbles, “and used your medicine. And I tried to bite your pack’s omega. I should apologize, if anything.” 

Jimin exhales loudly through his nose and waves his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about that,” he pouts, “Plus, that was pretty much my fault anyways.” 

Jungkook covertly glances at the faces of the alphas around Jimin, to see if any of them look at odds with the omega’s statement. Yoongi is closely minding several hunks of skewered meat roasting over the fire, while Namjoon looks to Jimin with amused exasperation. Hoseok, however, watches Jungkook curiously, as if the new arrival is a puzzle he’s trying to solve. 

Jungkook looks away quickly, heat rising up his neck as he suddenly wonders if it’s the spice-scented alpha - not Namjoon - he should have worried about all along. Nervously, he lifts the piece of roasted meat in his own bowl up to his lips and nibbles on it as he lowers his gaze to the fire. 

How should he go about asking the pack about Manshik? They probably know Jungkook didn’t come to their woods alone, and they didn’t seem like the kind of people who would have attacked his mate unprovoked. But what if Manshik had defended himself, and they had tried to chase his Alpha off? What if - Jungkook can barely stomach the thought - what if Manshik had sensed he was outnumbered in the pack’s territory, and had decided that rescuing an injured Jungkook was more trouble than he was worth? 

These thoughts buzz around Jungkook’s mind as Yoongi withdraws the meat skewers from the fire, declaring them done, and then passes them around the group. For a few minutes, the pack noisily hands each other the skewers and playfully banter over who’s earned the biggest piece of meat that day. Taehyung exclaims that he deserves it after handling the slimy fishing nets all week, and the others tease him in a way that suggests the beta had complained about the nets for many days before. 

The familiarity and good natured-ness they treat each other with is strange to Jungkook, but it doesn’t leave him feeling afraid and confused like he thought it would. 

Just because it’s different , he thinks, doesn’t mean it’s bad.

“So,” Jin says conversationally after the pack has settled in with their food, “Not to put you on the spot, Jungkook, but how did you end up in our neck of the woods? We’re glad to have you with us, but we rarely get any Pack wolves in this area.” 

Jungkook knows better than to think the inquiry is completely innocent - Namjoon tries and fails to not appear too interested in the question, while Jimin unabashedly stares at Jungkook from across the fire. He knows that they all want to know what he’s doing here, and how a mated omega ended up on the brink of death in their territory. 

“I came here with my mate,” Jungkook says quietly, “We’re from a river valley to the south. I… Well, my feet got injured during our hike, and we stopped here to rest.” How small a thing his blistered feet seemed now, but Jungkook still feels deep shame for it, knowing that it was him and his carelessness that caused all of this mess. 

“It sounds like a long journey,” Namjoon prompts, “Though it was a wise decision to rest your injury.” 

Jungkook shakes his head. “My Alpha wanted to get to the mountains before it gets too cold,” he explains, “We truly didn’t mean to linger in your territory, it was my fault. I’m sorry.” 

Hoseok suddenly interjects, his voice disapproving. “The pass up to the mountains is treacherous,” he says, frowning. “It’s dangerous for anyone not familiar with it, let alone someone injured. Why did your mate want to take you there?”

“His great grand-sire’s pack is from the mountains,” Jungkook nearly whispers, “He wanted us to start our own pack there.” 

Hoseok doesn’t look much happier at this revelation, but Jimin quickly cuts in with his own comment. 

“I smelled an alpha, the first day we found you,” the omega says with interest, “That’s how we found the place that - I presume - you were hiding, though I didn’t catch your scent there at the time. But… I haven’t scented the same alpha in the days since, after that big storm came through. Was that your mate? What happened to him?” 

Jungkook shrinks into himself a bit, not immediately answering the question. So they didn’t know what had happened to Manshik either, which left Jungkook with even more unknowns and questions of his own about where his mate could have gone. Had Manshik gotten lost? Or injured? Again, the dreadful thought rises to the surface of his mind: had Manshik, perhaps, abandoned him? 

The thought causes Jungkook’s heart to squeeze painfully, and he forces himself to blink away some tears. 

“I don’t know.” He finally replies, after several moments of composing himself. “He left one day to scout ahead and he– he never came back. I don’t know where he is.” 

“Jungkook,” Jin says softly, moving a bit closer to the omega and resting his hand on the log next to Jungkook’s thigh, “You were very injured and sick that day we came to help you. Did he…” the beta’s eyes flick to Jungkook’s injuries apprehensively, “Did your mate do this to you?”

“No!” Jungkook quickly bites out, covering his eyes with his hand as embarrassment and shame well up again in his chest. “No, Manshik is a good Alpha. I was scared, and– and stupid. I was afraid of you all, and I injured myself in the storm. And I just kept making it worse.”

Jin’s hand is suddenly on his knee, his scent spiking with worry, but Jungkook flinches away from the touch without really knowing why. Jin’s hand is gone a second later, the beta murmuring a quiet, “Sorry.”

“You didn’t know us,” Jimin presses, and Jungkook lowers his hand to see that the other omega is watching him intensely. “Being cautious of strangers isn’t stupid.” 

Jungkook shakes his head again. “My leg was injured after the storm,” he explains, brushing his hair away from his face, “And I didn’t know what to do, and I couldn’t move, so I shifted… I shifted again and again and again.”

Namjoon winces at the description, but it’s Taehyung who speaks up next. 

“Well, I guess that’s how your leg became so twisted,” the beta hums, not looking at Jungkook. “But all things considered, I don’t know if I would’ve done anything different in your situation.” 

Why are these wolves trying to be so nice to him, Jungkook wonders. Not a single reprimand, or hint of incredulousness at his actions. He doesn’t know what to say, so he nibbles on his meal again as the pack murmurs amongst themselves and eats. 

“Namjoon,” a new voice pipes up, Yoongi speaking for the first time in the discussion after several minutes, “We should send out a search party to look for his mate. He could’ve gotten injured in the storm as well.” 

The Pack Alpha hums in agreement, and Jimin immediately perks up at the suggestion. 

“Hoseok and I can go out first thing tomorrow to look around,” the omega volunteers. 

Namjoon seems to consider the idea, before nodding in agreement and glancing at Taehyung. “You can join them too if you want, Tae,” the large alpha says, “But there won’t be any time for playing around. It’s been a while since the storm - if Jungkook’s mate is out there, he’s going to need help.”

Taehyung nods solemnly, squaring his shoulders at the seriousness of the responsibility. “No playing around,” the beta echoes. 

Jungkook feels grateful. He feels grateful and scared and disbelieving, and so many other different emotions that he can’t put a name to. He can’t understand why this pack has decided to help him, but he feels a swell of relief that they’re going to look for his mate. Don’t trust them , the voice that sounds like his dam’s hisses in his mind - but Jungkook ignores it, because for the first time in a long time, he thinks the Moon might be taking some mercy on him. They’re going to look for his mate. 

But he still feels afraid at the possibilities that he could face tomorrow: what if they find Manshik and bring his mate here, and his Alpha is disappointed in him? What if they find Manshik dead, or gravely injured? 

Or what if - and Jungkook thinks this could be the most unbearable result - what if they don’t find Manshik at all? 

Chapter Text

Everything burns. 

It’s not Jungkook’s first heat, certainly - but his first in the company of an alpha, his intended mate. The alpha’s name is Manshik, Jungkook’s sire had told him - though he’d met his intended Alpha a couple of days ago when the alpha had brought him the traditional mating gift as required. 

Manshik had presented him with a necklace made of smooth, polished bone; the materials for which had been collected from Manshik’s recent kills on hunts, according to his sire. His dam had gushed over the alpha’s hunting prowess, and insisted to Jungkook that his sire had secured a wonderful mate for the omega pup. 

None of that matters now, though, as Manshik is alone with Jungkook in the pack’s heat den to officially mate him and fulfill the other purpose that Jungkook needs him for - for the omega, his world has narrowed to the empty, burning feeling inside of him and the scent that wraps around him and makes his head swim: alpha, alpha, alpha . 

His dam had helped him through his previous heats, the fellow omega’s soothing pheromones dampening the full effects and leaving Jungkook only with an irritating itch under his skin and a weakness leaving him barely able to move. Being in the presence of an alpha during heat is completely different, though, as Jungkook is quickly discovering. The alpha’s scent calls to something primal in him, and instead of calming him, it’s like air to a fire - the inferno under his skin drives all thoughts from his mind and he can only writhe and whine and beg for a knot. 

“Alpha,” he calls out, and suddenly Manshik’s teeth are on his neck, and the feral creature in him howls in want. 

Manshik fills him, and thrusts into him again and again until the blistering blaze in the omega’s ribcage simmers to a burn, and Jungkook’s never experienced anything like it but in the moment he thinks it’s all he’s ever wanted, even as his own sweat drips down his face and stings his eyes.

“Please, please,” he moans into the ground beneath his cheek, though he doesn’t know exactly what he’s asking for - the knot, the bite, pups - all of it, he wants all of it. 

Manshik knows. The alpha shakily breathes against Jungkook’s nape as he moves, but soon enough his sharp canines find the junction between the omega’s neck and shoulder - where no doubt he feels Jungkook’s thundering pulse - and bites down until teeth meet flesh. Jungkook groans - it’s not a pleasant feeling, not even close, but taking the bite is what he wants and is what’s expected of him, so he clenches his teeth through the pain as Manshik continues to push into him over and over again and blood runs down his shoulder. 

The alpha - his Alpha, now - runs his hands down Jungkook’s flanks, and the omega nearly jumps at how cold the touch suddenly feels.

“A-Alpha,” Jungkook stutters out, perturbed by the cold but not finding it entirely unpleasant against his hot skin. 

Manshik’s voice suddenly groans from behind him. “Good omega,” he bites out, “My omega.”

Jungkook nearly yelps as his mate’s hands wrap around to grasp at his chest, and this time his touch is much colder than before. It’s like ice against his skin, and Jungkook tries to squirm away from the uncomfortable sensation. 

The air around the omega seems to warp strangely, then, in a way that makes reality not feel real, and Jungkook tries to blink it away even as Manshik continues to touch him, leaving frigid trails with his fingers all over the omega’s body. The heat seems to slowly evaporate from Jungkook, warmth fleeing from his skin as gooseflesh takes its place, and he’s about to call for Manshik to stop when the alpha kisses the new wound on his neck. 

Manshik’s lips are so cold that they hurt , blistering like fire but worse, like a brand, and Jungkook does cry out then as he launches himself away from his mate’s touch. 

His Alpha tries to grab at him, of course he does. But Jungkook has always been strong for an omega, and he slips through his mate’s fingers easily, separating himself from the alpha as he scrambles from under the larger figure and away from Manshik’s touch. 

“Omega–” snarls Manshik, clearly unhappy that his newly minted mate is squirming out of his grasp. But something feels wrong to Jungkook, and as he turns to look at his mate, he sees– 

The alpha, muscle and sinew and power , hands like dark shards, doesn’t have a face–

Jungkook can’t breathe, suddenly, and there’s an all-too-familiar crushing weight on his chest as he blinks and then he’s surrounded by angry alphas again, and he’s plunging below the surface of the river–

He screams and chokes on water and– 

Bolts awake–

Jungkook barely has a second before he leans to the side of his pelts and vomits in the grass. Barely conscious, the omega can do nothing but let the fear shake his bones as the horror of his dream rips through him as he hyperventilates. 

Bile stings his throat and nose as a choked whine escapes him, and he heaves a few more times between sobs before his stomach stops clenching. He blinks through the tears that have gathered in his eyes and he sees, not the heat den of his old pack, but the familiar four walls of Namjoon’s pack’s tent that had become his shelter in recent days. Manshik is nowhere to be found. 

Strangely, the sight calms him, and his galloping heart slows until it no longer feels as if it will burst out of his chest. He cries, still feeling the vestiges of terror like icy claws around his lungs, and it’s all he can do to turn away from the mess he’d made next to his pelts and curl up as best as he can against the tent wall. 

He remembers his actual mating with Manshik had been a blur of heat and want, nothing nightmarish having occurred like in his dream. Manshik had mated him, claimed him - and after his heat - had left with Jungkook towards the mountains, where his fate had changed forever. Jungkook tries to soothe himself with the knowledge that it was all just a dream, but it takes a long time before he stops jumping at random noises outside of his tent.

After several hours, sleep finally reclaims him, and this time his dreams remain blessedly empty. 

It’s late when Jungkook wakes again - he’s not sure how he can tell, maybe the general warmth of the air around him or the position of the light coming through his tent flap. He supposes it’s not a bad thing he’d taken a few extra hours after his rough night, but it makes it harder for him to blink the sleep out of his eyes. 

The vomit next to his pelts has been cleaned, he belatedly realizes, and in its place someone has left a damp cloth and a cup of water. 

He gently sits up on his pelts, his braced leg and pelvis feeling somewhat sore after he’d slept in an awkward position all night, and reaches out for the cup. He feels quite dehydrated, and as he gulps down the refreshing water, he wonders if Jimin will come by soon to bring him breakfast. 

But then he remembers - Jimin, Hoseok, and Taehyung are probably not in the camp right now, having said the night before that they were going out to look for Manshik at sunrise. They’ve probably been searching for several hours by this point, and it hits Jungkook like a bolt of lightning that they could return with his mate literally any minute. 

A small gasp escapes him involuntarily, suddenly feeling distressed. 

He should be happy to be reunited with his Alpha, but he thinks on all the ways he’d failed since Manshik had left him alone: he’d left their den, he’d injured himself even more, he’d allowed himself to be taken away by strange wolves from a strange pack. And even though he’d been lucky that the pack had been kind to him so far, surely his mate would feel obligated to repay them for the burden Jungkook had imposed upon them. 

Jungkook wants to see his Alpha again – he does – but somehow he doesn’t think Manshik will be very happy when he sees the omega again. 

( The blank face, the stone on his chest, the river— )

He scrubs at his face with both hands, then exhales hard and squares his shoulders. 

I’m a good omega , he tells himself firmly, and I have a good Alpha . When Manshik returns, he’ll prove again that he isn’t more trouble than he’s worth, and he’ll make sure to tell his mate how excited he is to start a new pack in the mountains. That’s surely what his mate will want to hear, and hopefully a great number of platitudes from Jungkook will quell any doubts about the omega that Manshik may have in his mind.

He jumps when someone calls outside, “Hello! May I come in?”

Jungkook briefly admonishes himself for being so in his head that he didn’t hear someone approach, but he quickly recognizes that the voice belongs to Jin, and he sags a bit in relief. 

“Full disclosure,” Jin calls again from outside, “I have your breakfast, and Namjoon will be along shortly with your medicine.”

“That’s alright,” Jungkook answers meekly, “you can come in.” 

The beta strolls in without any further prompting, holding two skewered roasted squirrels in one hand. Jungkook can’t help his stomach’s pathetic gurgle at the sight of them, feeling even more empty than usual after the happenings of the night before. He blushes, and Jin smiles with a hint of amusement. 

“Lots of squirrels about these days,” the beta says, handing the food to Jungkook without fanfare, “They’ve been foraging for the winter - the snow should start in another moon cycle or so, though Yoongi thinks it’ll be maybe sooner. The squirrels seem to agree with him.”

Something about Jin and his casual chatter is disarming, and Jungkook can’t find it in himself to be tense around the beta. He takes a bite of his meal, as Jin looks around the omega’s tent curiously. 

“Kind of cramped in here,” Jin comments, continuing to carry the conversation entirely by himself. “Our other tents are much bigger. To be honest, it’s been a while since we used this one. We usually keep it as a spare in case any of the alphas get into a fight and need some space for a night or two.”

Jungkook’s curiosity gets the better of him, again. “Does your pack usually live in tents?” He asks between bites, “Even in the winter?” 

The beta shakes his head slightly by way of answering. “For the colder and rainier seasons, we tend to migrate to a cavern to the south. It keeps us dry and mostly warm, though the bats drive Hoseok and Tae nuts. Their yelling always makes me yearn for spring to come.” 

Jungkook snorts an aborted laugh before he can stop himself; the image of Taehyung and the stoic alpha from the night before screaming while being besieged by swooping bats is an amusing one. But then, the omega remembers that Jimin had said something before about their packing being on hold, and Jin’s comments about the coming cold – Jungkook nearly gasps when his mind connects the dots in a flash of clarity–

The pack was putting their plans on hold, for him . They were supposed to be traveling to the cavern that Jin mentioned soon, but they couldn’t, because of Jungkook’s injury.

Jin frowns when Jungkook’s scent spikes with his sudden rush of shame and anger at himself, as it sinks in for him just how deeply he’s inconvenienced an entire pack of wolves. The omega ducks his head, suddenly unable to look his visitor in the eye, and he almost starts to cry at how useless he suddenly feels. The beta, looking confused, reaches out a placating hand and appears as though he’s about to say something.

This, unfortunately, is when Namjoon arrives to give him his medicine. 

The alpha steps into the tent and abruptly stops, eyes widening a bit at the undoubtedly confusing scene before him. He looks between the distressed beta and the teary-eyed omega for a few moments, before his gaze settles on Jin with a questioning look that seems to say what did you do? Jin just shrugs, before backing away slightly to give Namjoon access to the wooden chest.

“I’m sorry,” Jungkook blurts out, scrubbing at his tears, “I’m such a burden. I’m so sorry.” 

Namjoon looks at Jungkook blankly for a moment, bewildered, before he moves towards his box. 

“Jimin is clumsy,” the alpha says suddenly as he opens the chest lid, “Last summer he fell off a log he was sitting on and cracked his head on a stone by the fire pit. He had a concussion and couldn’t hunt for a week.”

“I remember that,” Jin adds, smiling at the memory, “He fell off because he was laughing too hard at my joke. We nearly had to tie him up to get him to rest.” 

Namjoon nods, and continues to speak as he looks through his supplies. “Yoongi gets sick a lot,” he says, “and many years ago, he dislocated his arm so badly he had to wear a sling for two months. He couldn’t hunt, so he helped us cook the food, and discovered he had an affinity for it. Now he does it because he likes to.” 

Jungkook frowns, trying to gauge the alpha’s true intention with the various stories. 

Jin smiles widely and points at himself. “I’m bad at hunting,” he says, “Completely terrible at it. Couldn’t catch a three-legged deer to save my life.” 

“But you’re good at fishing,” Namjoon interrupts, pulling the syringe and a glass vial from the box, “and making traps.” Jin sticks his tongue out playfully at Namjoon, before the pack alpha looks back to the omega. “All of this to say, we all have moments where we must rely on others. Everyone gets hurt sometimes, or needs to rest. And we as a pack adapted during those times, we always have.” 

Jungkook’s shoulders slump a bit as he takes in the words of the two pack members. The words themselves are reassuring, but it feels a little strange to receive so much understanding and acceptance from these relative strangers. He’d rarely received such kindness even from his own former pack, making it difficult for him to understand the motivations for it now. 

We want nothing more than to see you happy and healthy again , Namjoon had said two days ago. Could that really have been the truth? They hadn’t asked for anything from him yet, and the more he thinks on it – they’d gone out of their way to make him comfortable. 

Jungkook is quiet even as Jin continues to chatter about various anecdotes of his pack members, and Namjoon goes through the routine of administering the medicine to Jungkook’s injured knee. Even when the alpha claims that his injury is already beginning to look much better (in what Jungkook thinks must be an attempt to cheer him up with how much Namjoon pumps out a happy scent - which Jungkook refuses to admit makes him smile a bit), the omega doesn’t offer much more. 

Something about them and their pack just makes him feel so lonely .

But then Jin remarks that they’ll give Jungkook his space until the search party returns, and the two wolves begin to leave the omega’s tent - and something aches in Jungkook’s chest at the thought of spending more time by himself. 

“Wait,” he whispers, as he reaches out and touches Jin’s wrist, not quite brave enough to grab it. “Wait, I…” 

The beta turns to Jungkook, looking curious but subtly pleased as he allows the contact between them. “What can I do for you, sweet Jungkook?” 

Jungkook blinks, and the open desire to please on Jin’s face manages to break down the last barrier of doubt in the omega’s mind. 

“Would you move my tent?” He murmurs, casting a hesitant look at the pack alpha. “I– don’t want to be so far away from the camp anymore.” I don’t want to be by myself anymore , he doesn’t say. 

The image of Manshik’s faceless visage lingers at the back of Jungkook’s mind.  

Namjoon and Yoongi have just finished moving Jungkook’s tent near the others when the search party returns. Morning is long past, and the warmth of the afternoon is beginning to fade into the coolness of twilight when three figures emerge from the forest line. 

Jungkook is sitting with Jin by the fire, listening to the beta talk about his fishing stories (Jin is quite good at filling the silence, which Jungkook is thankful for) when he spots them. Something in the omega’s scent must change when he does, because Jin’s words suddenly taper off and he twists to see where Jungkook is looking. 

“Oh, they’re back.” The beta remarks casually, not commenting on the absence of Jungkook’s mate. 

Jungkook can only swallow thickly and nod in response, and the pair silently watches the search party draw closer to the circle of tents. 

When they’re close enough, Jungkook analyzes their faces for any clues. They all look tired - Jimin looks disappointed, Hoseok looks weary, and Taehyung’s face is characteristically blank - but there’s a tightness around his eyes. 

As they enter the camp, Namjoon and Yoongi meet them and scent them in greeting. Taehyung allows Yoongi and the pack leader to swipe their hands across his nape, then the beta wordlessly ducks his head and vanishes inside the closest tent. Jimin, meanwhile, tucks himself against Yoongi’s front and nuzzles into his neck. Yoongi reaches up to ruffle the omega’s hair, meanwhile Namjoon lightly grabs Hoseok’s elbow and leads him away from the group, clearly wanting to speak to him privately. 

Jungkook is too shy (and afraid) to speak up and ask them what they’d discovered, if anything, so he just watches on quietly as Yoongi leads Jimin into another tent to “let him rest for a few minutes” and suddenly the campfire is even less populated than it was a few minutes prior. 

“I guess they didn’t find him.” Jungkook murmurs quietly, half to himself, and Jin hums in response before resting his elbow on the log next to Jungkook’s thigh. 

“Hard to say,” the beta replies eventually, his voice low, “They could’ve found some clues about where he went. I’m sure Hoseok will tell us more once he’s filled Namjoon in.” Jin’s scent is carefully even, not projecting anything of what the beta might be thinking. It’s a level of consideration that Jungkook is appreciative of, considering that he can do little to control his own anxiety and scent at the moment. 

They sit together quietly for a minute, lost in their own thoughts as they watch the fire crackle a few paces away. 

“I grew up in a pack of betas,” Jin suddenly says, tapping his fingers against the log. “It just so happened that omegas and alphas were rarely born to us. The last omega was my grand-dam, she was sweet and kind and we cherished her until she passed, just like every omega born to our pack. Alphas, though,” the beta tilts his head a bit, as if remembering, “were not welcome to stay with us. They were considered too aggressive, too violent - once they presented, they were given a satchel of supplies and sent on their way.” 

Jungkook turns to look at Jin, eyebrows rising a bit in surprise at the sudden disclosure about the broad beta’s former pack. 

“I presented late,” Jin continues, “But before I did, everyone thought I would be an alpha. As a pup, I was taller than my siblings, stronger, more competitive. So much so that the pack leader didn’t wait for me to present before I was handed my own satchel.” 

Jin’s lips purse a bit, and he doesn’t say anything else for several long moments. Jungkook returns to looking at the fire, digesting the beta’s story. It makes him sad to think that a Pack wolf as kind as Jin was turned away as a pup - he can’t picture his own former pack doing such a thing. It would be too cruel. 

“I think,” Jin says finally, “freedom from expectations is the better way.”

Jungkook bites his lip, plucking at the cloth of his brace nervously. “Two of my siblings were betas,” he murmurs, “They were much, much meaner than my alpha siblings.”

The corner of Jin’s mouth twitches upward, and his eyes flick to the omega. 

“But you’re not.” Jungkook quickly adds, “Mean, I mean. You’re the nicest beta I’ve ever met.” 

Jin’s small smirk spreads into a grin, the warmth of it loosening some of the anxiety in Jungkook’s chest. 

“Thank you, Jungkook.” The beta says sincerely, and Jungkook can only nod dumbly back. 

Just then, Namjoon and Hoseok return and make a beeline towards where the other two wolves rest by the fire. The pack alpha’s face has a hardness to it that Jungkook has never seen before, which makes the omega immediately sit up straighter and draw his hands close to his chest. As Namjoon kneels next to his side, opposite from Jin, Jungkook does his best not to start shaking at the serious look in the alpha’s eyes. Distantly he feels Jin’s knuckles come to rest against the side of his brace, a show of support. 

“Hoseok and the others combed the woods between the camp and where you were found,” Namjoon begins, “And didn’t find anything recent.” 

“So we decided to search between the cave you were taking shelter in and the mountains.” Hoseok continues, his face equally stoic, “Since your mate said he was going to scout ahead in that direction. We didn’t find any recent scents, but Jimin found a foot path where someone may have traveled within the last week or so. We followed it the best we could, for as long as we could. It was difficult, with the destruction left by the storm.” 

The two alphas look at each other then, both suddenly appearing strangely wary. There’s a pause, one that’s too long, and Jungkook almost wants to sob with how desperate he suddenly feels. 

“Tell me.” He chokes out, his voice sounding more strangled than it ever has before. “Please.” 

Namjoon is the one who finally breaks the silence, and the alpha can’t seem to look Jungkook in the eye as he says “The trail was lost headed into the mountains, and it didn’t circle back.” 

Jungkook does sob then, feeling like a line of tension inside of himself that’s been taught for days and days suddenly snaps; and when it does, it’s like it takes all of his physical strength along with it. He sways so dangerously on the log that all three wolves around him jump to catch him in case he falls, but he doesn’t even feel their supporting touches as he buries his face in his hands and makes a sound between a whine and a scream. 

“He left me,” the omega wails, “He left me! He left me!”

It had been a fear on his mind in recent days, but almost hadn’t even felt like a true possibility. Surely Jungkook had done everything expected of him? He’d made some mistakes, but hadn’t he been the best omega he could possibly be to make up for them? 

Jungkook thinks he can hear Jin saying more words to him, can smell both alphas trying to muster a calming scent, but all of it pales to the roar of shame and betrayal that rages inside his mind. He’d failed as a mate, and more so, he can never return to his former pack with such a mark of humiliation besmirching his reputation. He is alone now, completely and utterly, with nothing to show for his life except for the undeniable fact that he is unloved and undeserving of being loved, and even his best efforts couldn’t change it. 

The Moon truly is an unforgiving goddess, he thinks. 

Jungkook doesn’t know how long he sobs, doesn’t notice when he’s picked up in somebody’s arms and carried to his nearby tent. He’s settled onto his pelts, and he does his best to curl into a ball and try to catch his breath as his body is wracked with unrelenting sadness. At some point he’s left alone, and the air cools as the sun sets. 

After some time, between wheezing gasps, he hears the brush of skin against cloth as someone enters his tent. He catches the scent of Jimin between lungfuls of air, and almost instinctively he turns towards the other omega as Jimin slides underneath the pelts next to him. Jungkook buries his face into Jimin’s shoulder and tucks up against his side, and Jimin gently begins to hum and card his fingers through Jungkook’s hair as he shivers. 

They stay like that for a long time, and while Jimin does his best to comfort Jungkook with a quiet tune; Jungkook just cries and cries and cries. 

Chapter Text

Jungkook doesn’t leave his tent for three days. 

It’s not that he’s afraid of the pack, not anymore, but he can’t just find it in himself to face them. He feels shame, grief, embarrassment - there’s a whirling tempest of emotion in his heart that saps his strength and appetite, leaving him feeling like a shell of himself. He just can’t believe the life he’d envisioned for himself was gone now, that the cautionary tale omegas were told as pups had actually happened to him.

Manshik had left him behind. Despite everything Jungkook had done. Or was it because of what Jungkook had done? 

These three sentences seem to repeat themselves over and over inside his mind for hours, until - perhaps blasphemously - he starts feeling anger towards Manshik. 

Truthfully, he’d only known his Alpha for a few short months, but Jungkook trusted him. And Jungkook had been his mate, claimed in the eyes of the Moon - not a trinket that could be disposed of as the alpha pleased. For half a day Jungkook lets himself wallow in his anger, before he’s hit with a sudden wave of shame - these forbidden thoughts are why the Moon had punished him in the first place. His Alpha had known something was wrong with him, too. 

The second half of his day is spent silently begging in his heart for his goddess, Manshik - anyone, really - to give him a second chance. He would get it right this time. He would be absolutely perfect. 

Though Jimin still brings him his meals, as a whole the pack gives him his privacy in his grief. Still, despite Jungkook hiding away in his tent, he finds that with his quarters now near the pack’s camp he can now hear the other wolves much more clearly as they do their day-to-day tasks. His gloomy thoughts are often interrupted by the sound of chatter, the crackle of fire, the chops of wood. 

He learns that the pack eats their meals together, and that they like to playfully bicker and prod each other. Jimin is teased often by Taehyung, Yoongi, and Hoseok - but never in a malicious way, and the short omega can give as good as he gets. Jin likes to laugh, and his laughter causes his other packmates to join in. Hoseok, who Jungkook had thought of as stoic, is actually quite silly around Taehyung and Jimin, and Jungkook can often hear the alpha give his packmates loud and exaggerated kisses. Namjoon, though the pack leader, never raises his voice or snaps at any of his companions. Yoongi is a little quieter than the rest, but he becomes just as boisterous as the others over meals.

The second day, Jungkook gathers that Yoongi and Jin do most of the cooking. The two of them - along with Namjoon - prefer to stay closer to camp, while the other three wolves often leave to patrol or hunt. The youngest wolves, Jimin and Taehyung, are especially energetic and often play in both their human and wolf shapes - much to the exasperation of Jin, who often shouts ‘ yah! ’ as they tumble around the campsite.

Jungkook learns that the pack members don’t always sleep in the same tents - they may choose to bunk with someone different each night. Despite the pack having three alphas, and Jimin being attractive and unmated, there are no fights over who gets to spend the night with the omega. In fact, Jimin is free to choose his own sleeping quarters; on the second night he doesn’t sleep with any alphas at all, instead choosing to spend the night with the two betas. Shockingly, the three alphas decide to pile together into their own tent, and Jungkook is surprised the next morning that he hadn’t been woken by arguments or angry snarling. 

On the third day, Jungkook is starting to feel a little tired of himself. He’s weary of his racing thoughts, of feeling depressed and angry and empty, and of only having himself for company. Even though Manshik had rarely spoken to him, at least he’d been there - the alpha’s presence providing silent reassurance that Jungkook wasn’t alone. 

Now, not only is Jungkook physically alone, but hearing the pack interact with each other throughout the day makes him feel isolated in a way he can’t explain. 

He’s almost grateful when Namjoon comes into the tent with his midday meal and takes a seat, rather than just leave the bowl of food at his bedside and leave. The alpha hands him his food without ceremony, and Jungkook quietly takes it while nodding in thanks. 

“How are you holding up?” the Pack Alpha asks, casually crossing his legs and leaning back with both palms on the ground behind him. 

Jungkook just shrugs, picking at the meat and roasted chestnuts in his bowl. He’s only had a few mouthfuls of the meals he’s received the past few days, not having the appetite to eat much else. But it feels wrong not to eat anything when the pack alpha is watching him, so he self-consciously pops a chestnut in his mouth and chews it for far longer than actually required. 

Namjoon doesn’t press him for an answer, just looks around the tent before clearing his throat. 

“So,” the alpha says, “winter is approaching fast, and after the temperature drops, it won’t really be safe to stay here. Our tents aren’t sturdy enough to hold up to snow or frigid wind, so while it’s really been no trouble to prolong our stay here to let you recover, it’s about that time that we really need to make our winter migration.” 

Jungkook stops chewing abruptly, and stares at Namjoon with wide eyes. 

Is… is the pack about to kick him out? Now that he’s no longer on death’s door and they’ve helped him recover some of his mobility, are they about to leave him for their winter shelter? There’s a sharp, stabbing feeling in his chest. He doesn’t know if he can handle such a blow right now. 

Namjoon suddenly sits up straighter, sensing the omega’s distress immediately. “No, wait,” he says, holding his hands out placatingly, “We want to bring you with us, if that’s alright with you. You’re still recovering, obviously, so we’re brainstorming ideas about how to get you there–”

“You want me to come?” Jungkook blurts out, not even daring to hope he’d heard Namjoon right. 

Namjoon stares at him for a couple of moments, silent, before giving a definitive nod.  

Jungkook’s jaw snaps shut. Well. That wasn’t the outcome he’d been expecting. 

The Pack Alpha continues in earnest. “I wanted to tell you myself, so that you didn’t think it was Jimin pressuring all of us into inviting you. None of us think you’re a bother - honestly, we’d be happy to bring you along. It’s just the logistics that are a bit tricky. But Yoongi has an idea that we think will work, so we’re probably going to go…with…that...”

Namjoon’s voice slowly tapers off as Jungkook feels tears welling up in his eyes. 

“Thank you,” he tries to say, but the words stick in his throat so he tries again. “Thank you– so much. I didn’t… I don’t know how…” 

Unsure of what to say, Jungkook scrubs his eyes. When he looks to the pack leader again, the man is just watching him with a small smile. 

“When do you – we – leave?” he asks, glancing away. 

Namjoon’s smile grows into a full grin. “Soon,” the alpha says. “Very soon.”

The next day, the pack’s packing goes into full swing. From inside the tent Jungkook can hear the clatter of wood, the quiet tinkling of glass and metal, and the scraping of unknown objects against the cold ground. Feeling much more optimistic than he had in previous days, he finally motivates himself to emerge from his self-imposed vigil. 

All he has to do is call out when he hears someone passing by his tent (nearly jumping out of his skin when it’s Yoongi who pokes his head inside to ask what he needs) in order to arrange for two of his hosts to help him out of his shelter. Jin and Hoseok are the ones who end up assisting him, and he thanks them quietly after they set him down on his log by the campfire. 

Before the two of them can leave to resume their morning tasks, Jungkook speaks up to get their attention. 

“Is there anything I can help with?” Spills out of his mouth before he lets himself think too hard about it, trying to convey his earnest desire to help in his gaze. He’s a little surprised at himself that his earlier warniess of Hoseok is all but gone now - but he hadn’t seen or heard anything in recent days to suggest the alpha was a violent person.

Jin and Hoseok look at each other, both appearing a little surprised, before each of them grows thoughtful in turn. Jin purses his lips, the beta looking like he’s considering options - Jungkook’s mobility is quite restricted, after all. Hoseok scratches at the back of his head, staring at the distant forest edge, before he suddenly perks up. 

“Do you know how to weave rope?” The alpha asks. 

Jungkook shakes his head, so Hoseok tells him to wait a moment while he and Jin go fetch some materials. About five minutes later, the two of them return with massive armfuls of long grass and set each of their piles down near the omega, away from the fire.

“I’ll show you how it’s done,” Hoseok hums, abruptly sitting on the ground by Jungkook’s log. “It’s easier than you think.” 

Jungkook looks at Jin, wondering if the beta will also weave rope with them. Jin just smiles apologetically and says, “Sorry, I have to go check the fishing nets. But Hoseok is a good teacher, I promise!” 

And Jin isn’t wrong - Hoseok instructs him how to bundle the long strands of grass, how to twist and weave the ends of them together to hold tight. He teaches Jungkook that the rope’s width is it’s strength, shows him how to lengthen his rope by braiding more grass in and adding even more strands in to thicken it. In about an hour Jungkook is able to make his own rope that can hold its shape, which Hoseok looks over and inspects patiently. In another half hour, his rope no longer snaps when the alpha yanks it between two fists. 

“I think you’ve got it.” The alpha hums, handing Jungkook back his piece of rope. “Keep making it just like that. We’re going to need more this year - a lot more.”

“Thank you for teaching me.” Jungkook says shyly, bowing his head in thanks. “I’ll do my best to pull my weight.” 

The corner of Hoseok’s mouth turns upwards, and his arm begins to reach for the top of the omega’s head before it flinches and is suddenly drawn back to the alpha’s side. 

Not mentioning the aborted movement, Hoseok just replies simply, “It’s no trouble - your help is very appreciated. Just ask anyone you see if you need more grass.” 

Jungkook nods and immediately gets to work, reaching behind him for another handful of grass to continue his task. He gets started on a new piece of rope, but the Hoseok doesn’t leave him immediately - instead, the alpha watches him for a few moments, as if he wants to say something more. Eventually, he does. 

“Has anyone told you what the plan is to get you to the cavern?” 

Jungkook just shakes his head, already focused on twisting the strands of rope between his fingers. He’d assumed Namjoon would tell him at one point or another. 

“We’re going to travel in two groups,” Hoseok tells him instead. “The first will go about a week before the next - it’s about a two-day journey to our destination. Yoongi, Taehyung, and Jimin will travel ahead to carry as many supplies as they can and mark the path. They’ll prepare the cavern as much as they can for our arrival, too - if they find anything dangerous or suspicious, they’ll return and tell us about it.” 

Jungkook swallows nervously, feeling concern for Jimin. The small omega was going to make such a dangerous journey with only two packmates to protect him? But then again, he’d traveled for much longer just weeks before with only his Alpha (rather, his former Alpha) to watch over him. 

Hoseok continues, “If we don’t hear anything from them, the rest of us will make the journey after the first snowfall. We’re building something like a sled now, where we’ll put you and any remaining supplies. Jin and I will pull the sled, while Namjoon keeps an eye on you and monitors for any trouble. If the snow thins out too much, well, then we’ll just have to carry you I suppose.” 

A mortified blush erupts on Jungkook’s face, feeling an echo of the shame he’d felt when Manshik had been forced to carry him because of his injuries. He looks away from Hoseok and bites his lip. “I deeply apologize if I become a burden…” 

“Why?” The alpha asks, looking a little displeased. “You’re injured, of course you’re not a burden. We’ll help you.” 

A different kind of blush takes over then, and Jungkook can only bow his head again as Hoseok leaves him to his work. 

Not a burden , the man’s words repeat in his head, over and over even hours later. Not a burden . 

Jungkook can’t do anything about the little smile stuck on his face for the rest of the day. 

The temperature drops sharply over the next few days, and though Jungkook finds himself shivering in the crisp air, he still dutifully sits by the fire and weaves many lengths of rope.

He hadn’t spent much time outside during winter in his previous pack, for a number of reasons. Not only was it generally not permitted by his dam, but the omegas in his pack didn’t shift without good reason. Without the fur of our wolf forms , his dam had told him, we have no protection against the elements. 

In that, at least, his dam had been entirely correct. 

Jungkook holds his feet close to the fire at all times (which the pack, blessedly, keeps burning strong for him), but he finds he also has to take many breaks from his weaving to hold his numb fingers close to the flames. He knows the cold isn’t all in his head, either - he spots all of Namjoon’s pack occasionally trotting around camp in their wolf forms, needing their own respites from the rapidly turning weather. Jungkook can’t help but feel a little envious of them as his teeth start to chatter. 

At one point Yoongi joins him, sitting across the fire pit with a pile of pelts in his lap. Jungkook tries not to watch the alpha curiously as he brandishes a bone needle and twine and begins to sew the pelts together. 

For a full day Yoongi sits there, likewise stealing a few glances at Jungkook while he works. Neither of them talk, only peek at each other across camp every now and then. The alpha only takes breaks to cook the meat that Hoseok and Jimin bring him - some of which he gives to Jungkook, most of which he personally delivers to the other pack members wherever they may be in camp.

At the end of the day, though, Yoongi finally stands and reveals his creation: a large garment made of an assortment of pelts, all sewn tightly together. He abruptly walks to Jungkook and drops the garment in his lap.

“Wear this.” Yoongi says, “ It’ll keep your body warm since you can’t shift. I’ll try to make wrappings for your feet soon, but just keep your toes close to the fire for now.” 

Jungkook looks between the pelts and the alpha, stunned. Yoongi had made this… for him? 

When Jungkook doesn’t immediately move - too unsure how he’s even supposed to put on the sewed-together pile of furs - Yoongi picks up the garment and turns it quickly in his hands, searching for something. In no time at all the short alpha finds a gap in the pelts and lifts them over Jungkook’s head, before lowering the garment so that the gap allows his head through, sliding past his brow and chin. The pelts come to settle on Jungkook’s shoulders, and the omega feels an immediate difference in temperature. The quasi-clothing traps his body heat in, keeping him warm just like his own fur would do in his wolf form. 

Yoongi also reaches for Jungkook’s waist, finding another hole in the pelts there - then another - which he gently pulls Jungkook’s hands through. With this, Jungkook should still be able to make rope, but he could pull his hands inside the furs if needed to protect them from the winds. 

Jungkook looks at the alpha in wonder. “Thank you,” he breathes, not quite sure the words are enough to convey his appreciation for the man’s thoughtfulness. 

“You’re welcome.” Yoongi shrugs, “I could tell you weren’t faring well. But I get it - I’ve lived in snow-lands my entire life, and I’m still never used to the cold.” 

Jungkook runs his hands over the furs, appreciating their softness. “It’s– for me?” 

The alpha nods. “Not like you can shift right now, with that leg of yours. Just let me know if you need anything else.” 

Yoongi reaches out to adjust the garment suddenly, centering it over the broad omega’s shoulders before running his hands over them to smooth out the wrinkles. The alpha, looking satisfied, nods and quickly strokes his hand over the back of Jungkook’s neck absentmindedly, his own fingers a little cold. 

By the time Jungkook realizes Yoongi had just scent-marked him, the alpha is already disappearing into a nearby tent. Jungkook can only stare after him, palm rising to caress where the other man had. 

The skin where Yoongi had touched still tingles.  

That night the chill really sets in, and it’s all Jungkook can do to bury himself beneath his bedding. 

Even with the garment Yoongi had made for him, the cold air slices through his tent, and he understands with clarity why the pack preferred to seek out more solid shelter in the winter. Jungkook shivers harshly, drawing the furs tightly around himself to preserve any heat he can. Part of him wishes he would have requested his pelts be moved next to the fire, but then he’d have had to take the brunt of the howling wind, and he isn’t sure which scenario would be worse. 

As it stands, though, his teeth chatter loudly - so loudly that he fears the members of Namjoon’s pack are able to hear him over the din outside.  

He self-consciously pulls his hands close to his chest and tries to curl into a ball, doing his best to preserve what little body heat he has. No doubt his lips and toes are blue, as his braced leg makes it nearly impossible to bring his limbs in close to get warmer. 

Jungkook is resigning himself to the fact that he’ll have to endure these conditions until sunrise, when he hears a noise outside his tent. 

Silently, a giant wolfy head slides through the flaps of his shelter. It’s so dark that it takes several seconds for Jungkook to recognize the sandy-colored fur of Jimin, and by then the fellow omega has quietly padded into the tent. Right behind Jimin, the tall, black figure of Taehyung follows - the beta looking a little bleary-eyed and sleepy. 

The two massive wolves make Jungkook’s tent appear quite small, and he wonders what they’ve come here to do as they noiselessly approach him in his pelts. 

Jimin uses his snout to nose his way under Jungkook’s pelts, before collapsing with a satisfied groan against Jungkook’s chest - nearly smothering the human-form omega with his fluffy fur. Taehyung, meanwhile, steps over Jungkook to place himself opposite Jimin. He lowers his body slowly atop the pile of pelts, positioning himself between Jungkook's back and the outer tent wall. 

Jungkook looks between the two wolves, bewildered. Taehyung has his nose buried in the pelts, looking as though he’s already falling back asleep. Jimin meanwhile does his best to worm a little closer to the human omega, pressing his face against Jungkook’s chest and sighing contentedly. Hesitantly, Jungkook lays his arm over Jimin to pull him closer - he can’t deny that the two furry bodies on either side of him offer addictive warmth, and he’s too cold to worry about propriety or underlying motivations. 

Jimin responds with a small groan, and he throws one of his back legs over Jungkook’s braced one. With this, the two omegas are nearly pressed together completely, front to front. 

The effect is almost immediate - Jungkook’s teeth stop chattering, and his shivering ceases completely as the warmth from the two wolves begins to penetrate his bedding. He buries himself in Jimin’s fur almost instinctively, as the other omega’s floral scent and the sound of his and Taehyung’s breathing wraps around and lulls him. 

Finally, no longer feeling the biting cold, Jungkook is able to fall asleep. He dreams about flower fields and pine forests.