Namjoon was tugging Jungkook quickly, their fingers intertwined until he felt the omega falling behind and eventually collapsing to his knees.
"What's wrong baby? Come here, let me carry you."
There really wasn't time to consider how everyone was doing. They needed to get out of there and fast. They could spend time figuring out what was next when they were home, safe in their compound.
Yoongi drove home like a demon while everyone else was silent except Jungkook who was openly weeping in Namjoon's arms, the alpha gently trying to comfort him by rocking back and forth and offering sweet words of assurance. "Alpha's got you pup, it's going to be ok."
Everyone knew it wasn't going to be ok. What just happened was bad, really bad. The supreme pack was required to submit to the elder council. There were almost no limits on how the elder council could enforce that authority. While they may have bought time it wouldn't be much.
Ensuring the property was secured behind the van, Namjoon ushered everyone out of the vehicle and into the living room. "We need a plan right now. This is a pack decision. Let's consider every option."
"We could get back in the car right now and leave, buy ourselves time." Jin was the first to throw out a suggestion.
"And then what? Live on the run while chaos reigns since there would be no supreme pack? That doesn't seem like it would really work." Jimin liked the idea of simply disappearing and living their own life but the moon goddess herself had planned something different for them.
"We could just refuse to give them our omega. Try to talk some sense to them. Clearly they haven't thought through the impact on either Jungkook or the rest of our pack." Yoongi was eyeing the omega who was still shaking, now in Taehyung's arms. He wasn't sure how the pack would live without their final mate or how their mate would fare either.
"I think they've already indicated they aren't open to discussing this. It really makes no sense why they are doing this. We need to be together. Could we have a member of the council come to us? Why do they need our omega to live with them? He can be educated during the day and stay home." Hobi was still stunned from what happened earlier but didn't have very high hopes.
Namjoon's phone rang and he stepped out to answer it. When he returned he looked grim. "They have Jin and my parents. It sounds like they are on their way to collect the rest of our families now. The elder council said that we either return Jungkook to them or they will throw our parents into prison until we relent."
"They can't do that!" Jimin shouted. "That's not right, our families have nothing to do with this!"
"I know Chim but you know the rules. The elder council has always been authorized to take extreme measures to reign in the supreme pack if they need to since we have extraordinary powers. It is theoretically within their rights." Namjoon tried to reason with Jimin. The last thing he wanted was to be caught in the middle of a fight between the elders and his pack.
"Do they have...have my parents...t-too?" The omega squeaked out, the first words they had heard from him since they left the council room.
"They don't pup, but if I'm honest I expect it won't be long until they do." Namjoon sighed. They had promised to protect their omega but he had never even begun to imagine something like this happening. It was almost unthinkable.
Jungkook began to shake in agony again, once again burying his face in Taehyung's shoulder while the alpha attempted to comfort him.
"I hate to say it but I think the best thing we can do is negotiate to get the most favorable terms possible if we let them keep our omega for a bit. They really have the upper hand and I worry we're just making it worse. As long as our pup is protected we will do what we need to, right?" Yoongi didn't see many other options. The elder council really could make their lives very difficult and there was little they could do about it.
"I'm afraid I agree," Namjoon sadly echoed Yoongi's sentiments. "We may just need to concede a bit of ground here."
"Pup," Namjoon began to gently rub Jungkook's back, "can you look at me for a minute?"
It took quite a bit of Taehyung's encouragement before the boy was willing to look at Namjoon.
"I think it might be best if you stay with the council for a bit. Trust me, none of us want that but it might be best if we agree. At least if we cooperate we might still be able to see you regularly. What do you think?"
"But...I don't...I don't want to go." Jungkook whispered, breaking all of their hearts as they took in his sad expression. "I want to stay here. With my alphas. Can't you fix it?"
Namjoon felt crushed under the weight of being the head alpha. There was nothing he wanted more than to say yes but he knew he couldn't. It was only a matter of time before Jungkook would be forced to go to the elder council. Just moments ago Taehyung acknowledged that he himself had foreseen it. Sending the omega now would both get him back sooner and give them the most room to negotiate regular visits in exchange.
"I want that more than anything pup but you may not understand how much leverage the elder council has over us. It's not quite so easy to disobey a direct command." Namjoon was trying to reason with the omega but he knew it wouldn't be that easy. A newly mated omega needed to be with their pack more than anything. Sending him away would be heart wrenching for the alphas but likely soul crushing for the omega. Even though it wasn't their fault they could only hope the omega would some day forgive them for being unable to protect him.
"Is this...is this why you told me those stories? Is this why...Namjoon alpha you said you needed a pack that willingly followed you? And Hobi alpha talked about needing to learn? Or Jin alpha told me about his uncle? Is this why? So I would say yes?" Jungkooks had tears streaming down his face, crushed under the disappointment that his alphas didn't seem to care enough to keep him close. Being so freshly mated, he felt like the flicker of trust he had in his alphas that had been slowly growing brighter was being extinguished in just a moment.
"Of course not sweet prince." Namjoon nearly fell to his knees in front of the omega reaching to hold his hands while Taehyung awkwardly continued to try to comfort Jungkook who was still tucked into his lap. "Trust your alpha, we never knew this would happen. Everything here is just so...unprecedented."
Namjoon quieted for a moment. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I can't protect you better. But I really think this is the best option. I know it is asking a lot but can you trust me? In exchange I'll try to do the best I can to make sure we see you as often as we can. I know this is painful but please know this is also awful for each of your alphas. It's so hard to imagine being away from you."
Jungkook had no response but to allow himself to fall into Namjoon's arms, wanting nothing more than to be held tight by the alpha and never let go. The alpha offered him words of reassurance and a firm hold, hoping to assure the omega that he would hold him together no matter what came next. "You can do it my sweet, brave, capable omega. I promise, we wouldn't even consider it if I didn't trust that you would be ok my perfect prince."
Jungkook slowly nodded. In reality he knew he had very little choice in the matter. He was just an omega. If the supreme pack alphas and the elder council both agreed he should go what could he possibly do? There really was no option.
Namjoon shifted Jungkook to return him to Taehyung's lap. "I need to go for just a minute but I promise I'll be right back. I need to talk to the elder council about the plan."
The head alpha slipped out of the room leaving the rest of the pack to surround their omega with comforting caresses, soft kisses on the head and soothing words. Knowing they would soon be parted from their precious omega they all desperately wanted to scent the boy, reaffirming his place as a member of their pack. But still they held back, knowing he still might not be comfortable with the action. Instead Taehyung invited the omega to scent him, encouraging him to find solace in that closeness.
"The council is giving us 24 hours," Namjoon reported when he returned to the room. "Then we can stay with Kookie for one hour to help him get settled. After that we'll need to leave because they want to begin his training right away tomorrow."
"Can we visit every day?" Hobi asked, hopeful that the elder council would be accommodating to their need to still bond as a pack.
"Not really," Namjoon scratched the back of his neck in frustration. "They said once a week, and only three of us at a time."
This caused an uproar among the alphas. That meant some of them would have three weeks between visits. Even three days felt insurmountable. They knew their omega would be upset being away from them but for the alphas this would be torture."
"Let's just get our pup settled in and we'll see if we can convince them to let us visit more often. We'll figure something out, I'm sure of it."