Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Alpha
A sub-gender. Ability to impregnate other omegas and female betas. Ability to command another sub-gender. Goes through ruts for their cycles. Forms a knot at the base of their cock, it locks inside the walls of an omega or beta's vagina to ensure a stronger chance of reproduction. Position in the pack to provide and protect.

Omega
A sub-gender. Ability to bear children by alphas, male betas, and rarely male omegas. Goes through heats and produces slick. Has a uterus and a vagina that can withstand an alpha's knot. Position in the pack to love and comfort, bear children.

Beta
A sub-gender. Males have the ability to impregnate other omegas and betas, while females betas can bear children by alphas, betas, and rarely male omegas. Goes through fax heats and ruts and can produce slick and form knots depending on their gender. Females have a uterus and a vagina that can withstand an alpha's knot. Their pheromones are weaker compared to the other sub-genders along with their fertility. Position in the pack to mediate, and advise the alphas and omegas.

Pack
A group of people formed by a bond, essentially a second family. The bond is caused by the bite of the Pack Alpha. The mark can be placed anywhere on the body and anyone who receives the bite is linked with others in a pack bond. They can emotionally communicate with each other through this bond.

Positions: -
Pack Alpha
Leader of the pack, makes official pack decisions.

Head Alpha
An alpha in leadership, takes care of the pack in abstinence of the Pack Alpha.

Luna
Mate of the Pack Alpha, tends to the care of all packmates.
An omega who is the sole leader of a pack.

Head Omega
An omega in direct charge and care of all the members of the pack. Gives guidance to the Pack Alpha based on the conditions of the packmates.

Pack Beta
A beta in leadership, keeps the pack settled and mediated, and assists the Head Alpha when the Pack Alpha is away.

Symbols: -
Mating Bite
A mark that symbolizes that a person has a pack and/or mate.

Jewelry
In larger pack the alphas would court the omegas with a claiming necklace which was used to draw attention to the pack mark/mating bite.

Presenting
A stage in a person's life where their sub-genders are properly developed (essentially like a second puberty). Omegas tend to present earlier than other sub-genders, from ages 14-17. Alphas tend to present around 17-20. Due to their extra reproductive systems, betas tend to present a little later, around 19-23.

Heats
A cycle of time where an omega or female beta is at its highest hormonal cycle and fertility rate. Their bodies produce heavy aphrodisiac-like pheromones along with slick to lure in a mate with the intention of making a baby. Their sub-genders take complete control over their body causing them to be extremely vulnerable but they are still aware of what is happening around them. They range from 3 to 7 days.

Nests
A comfort space created in a bed or a safe and sheltered area by omegas and betas wolves. They're made in many different shapes and forms.

Ruts
A cycle of time where an alpha or beta is at their highest hormonal cycle and fertility rate. Their pheromones and commands are stronger and harder to resist during this time. Their sex drive is high and they form knots more frequently. Alphas have a harder time staying lucid compared to other sub-genders during their cycles because it is the only time their alphas allow them to rest and be vulnerable. They range from 2 to 6 days.

Dens
The living space of an alpha or beta wolves.
An area created in a bed or a safe space by an alpha or beta with the intention or purpose of an omega or beta creating a nest for them (a courting ritual).

Scent glands
An area of skin that produces pheromones in the form of an extremely thin oil-like bodily liquid. can attract a potential mate and express feelings. Appears as regular skin and is approximately 3 inches long. Can become raised or swollen when actively stimulated, irritated by constant concealment, or negative emotions. Scent gland locations: left and right side of the neck, cheeks, inner wrists, hips, and lower inner thighs.

Slick
A bodily fluid produced by omegas and betas. Has the ability to attract other sub-genders and is created when aroused.

Sub Drop
An action triggered by an emotional reaction that forces their sub-genders into control to protect themselves. Can be dangerous if triggered by negative emotions or a traumatic event. The person becomes semi-unresponsive, almost as if they're in a wakened comatose state.

Feral
A person is feral when a traumatic event takes place that juts their instincts into overdrive causing their sub-gender to completely take control of their body, sheltering themselves and lashing out using violence.

Commands
An authoritative tone of voice used by alphas that orders and controls other sub-genders to their will.

Posturing
When a person, typically an alpha, asserts their dominance by letting out overwhelming waves of pheromones.

Imprinting
A bond created between two people due to a deep connection in their relationship or a semi-traumatic event. These bonds can be romantic, parental, or familial. In most cases, it happens between 2 non-blood-related people.
Bond types: familial, romantic/mating, platonic, and parental.

Chapter Text

* Meaning: “Pure Blossom”
* So (소 / 素): pure, simple
* Hwa (화 / 華): flower, blossom
* Vibe: Graceful and intelligent — ideal for a refined, agile.

Kyung Sohwa was a breath of fresh air and breath taking all at once. Sohwa’s scent as complex and changeable as she is—wild, clever, and laced with danger disguised as allure. Her scent doesn't just drift into the air—it slinks, curls, and clings. It’s the olfactory equivalent of a teasing smirk followed by a disappearing silhouette in the moonlight.

Her scent was based with Warm white musk with a faint trace of wild fig—earthy and sweet, like sun-warmed skin and late-summer air. A hint of green tea—clean, clever, sharp—echoing her agile, watchful mind. Soft cedarwood, grounding and faintly smoky, giving her scent a confident, rooted undertone, like something old and cunning hiding behind playfulness.

Her more potent scent consisted of neroli blossom and pear skin—bright, flirty, and slightly tangy, with a green freshness that mirrors her light-footed mischief and sharp instincts. Sweet osmanthus—a rare flower with notes of apricot and leather—delicately animalic and fruity, giving her scent a barely perceptible hint of ferality beneath the sweetness. When she’s playful or teasing, a faint note of crushed mint sparks to the surface—clean and sharp, a sensory wink.

Kyung Sohwa’s face was sharp with elegant features, slightly elongated cheekbones and a narrow jawline. Her nose is petite, and she has slightly upturned, expressive eyes—often golden or hazel, resembling a ferret’s curious gaze, Her Skin milky mooth which made her body glitter in the night, Hair thick, Ivory, silky, hair that cascades down her back, often with light brown streaks.

Sohwa’s pregnancy and ex mate not only add to her development as a person but her scent changed to Sweet almond milk and rice flower—soft, nurturing, maternal; the scent equivalent of warm skin and protective arms. The wild fig from before ripens into dried fig and chestnut, evoking harvest warmth and stability. Tonka bean emerges, rich and slightly smoky, wrapping everything in a warm, familiar sweetness—like a den lined in fur and dried leaves.

As her emotions deepen and shift—ranging from fierce protectiveness to moments of vulnerability—so does her scent’s heart.

Stewed plum and chamomile—the fruity notes mellow into a soft, almost jammy warmth, with calming herbal tones that help self-soothe and comfort those near. A trace of milkweed blossom—rare and ethereal—suggesting both fertility and fragility, almost floral but ghostly light. Her once-bright neroli shifts into white magnolia, soft and expansive, the kind of scent that makes a room feel instantly gentler.

As her pregnancy progressed she lost herself when her mate disappeared right before her beautiful little Kyung Minari entered the world.

Chapter Text

The bell above the door chimed softly as a breeze filtered into the small, sun-dappled daycare nestled on the edge of a quiet Seoul neighborhood. A painted wooden sign above the door read "Sunflower Sprouts – A Home for Little Blossoms." Inside, the room hummed with warmth, pastel walls covered in children’s drawings, the scent of jasmine tea lingering in the air.

Kyung-Sohwa knelt by a playmat in the corner, helping a toddler piece together a puzzle of forest animals. Her long ivory hair was pulled into a messy bun, and a faded apron—splotched with finger paint and snack crumbs—hung loosely around her waist. There were deep crescents beneath her eyes, but they softened every time she smiled. And she smiled often. "That’s the hedgehog, Youngho," she said gently, tapping the wooden piece in the boy's hand. He beamed up at her, proudly placing it in its spot. From the corner of the room, a soft voice called, “Eomma!”

Sohwa turned instinctively. A little girl with hair as dark and glossy as the night sea bounded into her arms, mismatched socks peeking out from under her leggings. Her name was Minari, and she was Sohwa’s world. “I drew you a flower,” Minari declared, holding up a crumpled piece of paper that had somehow survived the depths of her tiny backpack. It was a lopsided sunflower, bright and beaming, its petals reaching past the edges of the page.

Sohwa’s chest ached, the kind of ache that felt too full—of love, of fatigue, of memories she didn’t always have time to revisit. “It's beautiful,” she whispered, kissing the top of her daughter’s head. “Just like you.”

There was no Alpha waiting for her at home. There hadn’t been since Minari was born. And while whispers followed her—about her being an unbonded omega, about the way she never tried to remate—Sohwa let them pass like wind through trees. Her focus was here: raising her daughter, and nurturing the dozen children who came through the doors of Sunflower Sprouts each morning.

She had built this sanctuary with her own hands. Brick by brick. Year by year. Not for glory or for anyone's approval, but for the quiet stability of knowing she was enough. But as the seasons shifted, and a new faces appeared at the daycare’s gate—strangers with questions and a scent she couldn’t get out her head—Sohwa would come to learn that some roots, no matter how deeply buried, always find their way to the light

Chapter Text

It was a Tuesday morning when everything changed. Sohwa had just arrived at the daycare with a sleeping Minari. Sohwa settled Minari in the toddler room, then she began to setup.

The daycare was just beginning to settle—juice boxes opened, a tower of blocks toppling over with delighted squeals—when Kyung-Sohwa left her coworker and stepped outside to gather the last of the morning supplies from her small garden shed.

She didn’t notice the black SUV at first, not until the engine clicked off and the front doors opened in unison. Sohwa froze, keys clenched in her hand, as three small pups tumbled out—wide-eyed, nervous, and clinging to each other like they'd been dropped from the sky. Behind them stepped two tall alphas in dark clothing, one of them clearly trying to coax the children forward, while the other scanned the quiet street like a bodyguard in a crime drama. Sohwa’s scent sharpened with instinct, Protective, Untrusting, Curious. They were a striking group. Too clean. Too careful. Definitely not from around her part of town.

Before she could speak, one of the pups—a boy with tangled curls and tear-streaked cheeks—ran toward her. “Is this Sunflower House?” he asked, voice wobbling. Sohwa dropped to her knees. “It is. I’m Kyung-Sohwa. Are you lost, sweetheart?” The boy nodded and pointed back. “They said you help kids who don’t have anywhere else.” “They” stepped forward then, the pair of alphas walking in sync like they were trained for it. One wore a tired expression, as if he hadn’t slept in days. The other’s gaze was harder to read—cool, professional, but his scent betrayed something else. Worry. Guilt. Maybe fear.

“We’re from Bahng Pack,” the first alpha said, giving a respectful nod. “I’m Chan, This is Minho. And those three are—” he hesitated “—ours. For now.”

The smallest pup, a girl with braids and a stuffed rabbit clutched tight to her chest, peeked from behind her two brothers. Sohwa’s chest squeezed again. Not from ache this time—but from knowing. She’d seen this look before. Children pulled from chaos. Left between decisions that adults couldn’t—or wouldn’t—make in time.

“We’d like to register them here,” Minho added, voice smooth but deliberate. “We’ll handle the fees. We just… need them to be safe for a while.”
Sohwa rose slowly, brushing her palms on her apron. “And you couldn’t find anywhere else between Seoul and here?”

Chan’s mouth twitched with a humorless smile. “Not any place that still welcomes unbonded omegas. Or non-traditional packs.” Something behind those words stirred a flicker of recognition in her gut.

The world didn’t often make space for those who didn’t follow the mold. A single omega with no bonded Alpha was already strange. A pack of eight—six alphas, two omegas—sharing children? Nearly unheard of.
And yet.

Sohwa looked down at the pups. Three pairs of eyes stared up at her. She felt her mind race to Minari and what she would want for her and said “We don’t turn anyone away here,” she said, voice steady. “But this isn’t a boarding school. I expect involvement. Care. Stability.” Chan nodded. “We’ll be here. Every day, if you need.”

Minho’s gaze lingered a second longer on her face, his nostrils flaring subtly, catching her scent. His expression shifted—just a flicker. Recognition? Surprise? And maybe—beneath it all—interest.
Sohwa didn’t flinch, though something electric passed between them. She straightened her shoulders.

“Then welcome to Sunflower House, Please head inside, I’ll be inside in a second.”
As the children disappeared inside, already beginning to laugh, Sohwa turned back toward the shed—and caught Minho watching her.
He didn’t look away.

This, she thought, was going to be complicated.