BUSAN PACK || JIKOOK. ✅

3

Jungkook pov

The ceremony took days to set up, and, as my father's son, I felt compelled to help with all the details.

I'd been doing this since I was a kid capable of doing no more than carrying things back and forth and usually dropping them.

But back then I wasn't under any pressure.

Nobody expected me to accept a mate and start a new life as alpha of this pack.

Back then it had just been one more fun pack activity.

Every ceremony had food lots of food usually, but I had no skill in the cooking department.

I'd figured that out long ago.

But with so many guests coming for this most important ceremony, there were endless administrative tasks.

Who had room to put up a guest or two?

Did they have all the supplies they needed? Just preparing the clearing took days for a small crew.

Wolves had no need for chairs in fact, they would have just been in the way but we didn't want anyone sitting on a fire ant hill.

Or cutting a paw on a sharp rock, so the area where we would gather as well as the trails we followed after were all carefully groomed.

Not something we did for everyday get-togethers or minor rituals...

but this one was special.

And it came only once a year, but this one was special.

As I supervised the crew raking away pointy stones and scanning for thorns, I wondered what would happen tonight.

Clearly, I had no mate in sight, and none was likely to just wander in before the moon rose.

The afternoon waned, and as the sun dipped in the sky, I grew more and more antsy.

Every bit of duty insisted I attend the ceremony, but my wolf was uneasy, pacing inside me, chuffing and grumbling.

He didn't want to go, wanted me to shift and run far and fast. I forced him down, and returned home to shower and groom myself.

Even though I'd be in wolf form later, would be racing through the forest and no amount of aftershave would matter, it was important to enter the ceremony clean mentally and physically.

The shower spray and soap handled the physical end, but, unlike in previous years, I was unable to still my mind and get my thoughts in place.

I dried off and dressed in clean, pressed jeans and a tangerine Indian cotton shirt.

We weren't formal, and while we usually managed to undress before shifting, sometimes things were moving fast, and I'd ruined a few items of clothing.

I did like this shirt, so I would do my best not to shred it.

I slipped my feet into sandals, ran a comb through my hair, and started down the path toward the ceremonial grounds.

The moon would be up in an hour or so, and I wanted to make sure every thing was in place.

Chatter came from the picnic area just downslope, and I paused, planning to chat with those who had prepared what looked to be the grandest feast we'd ever had.

Savory aromas twined through the forest, promising delicious offerings.

The omegas and women arranging the bowls and platters were quite excited and speculating about who might be my mate.

I waited just out of sight, listening to their gossip and growing more uneasy by the moment.

The other pack visiting us would be expecting to see us in the first stages of transitioning power.

To me.

But unless a miracle occurred, they'd be seeing it transition to Jiwoo. And while I'd never been power hungry, I knew my father would be humiliated.

Not that he'd show it because dear alpha Dad would wrap his dignity around him like a mighty cloak.

But how could I do that to him?

He deserved a better son than the one he had. I found myself taking one step after another away from where the pack finished preparations.

My wolf grew antsier by the moment, not wanting to be here.

He'd always thrived on gatherings, loving the runs with all the other wolves, but not today.

Today, he wanted out and away.

Far away.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was in my car, driving I had no idea where.

Away. I needed those miles between what was about to happen and me.

While I'd never had the urge to rule, I had been schooled in my responsibilities and had, until tonight, never failed to carry them out except in the most minor of ways, like being a klutzy little kid who wanted to help.

But on this most important night, I was going to let down my entire pack and especially my father.

How could I live with that?

My Jeep ate up the miles, and although I had a vague idea of just driving on forever, instead I parked outside the human bar at the edge of town and trudged inside.

I got a beer and a shot and found a table at the back where I could drown my sorrows in peace.

The place wasn't crowded, but a few dozen townsfolk were at the bar and the tables.

A game of pool going on in the separate area through an arched opening held the attention of a half dozen guys who jostled one another and made jokes about the guy who was about to break.

Sunk in misery, I watched the humans go about their ritual for the evening.

They all looked so relaxed, enjoying their beers and one another's company.

Nobody expected them to pick a stranger, mate with them, and take over a pack.

For the first time in my life, I envied them.

"Beer?" The server, a woman a little past her prime, wearing extra makeup that only served to clump in the lines and creases of her face, stood in front of me, holding a tray.

"Have I seen you here before?"

"No," I replied. "Nice place."

She snorted. "No it's not. Good place to drown your sorrows, though."

Funny, I'd just been thinking that.

"We don't get a lot of strangers, and nobody wants any trouble."

"Neither do I," I assured her. "I have enough of my own."

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