San and Wooyoung waited in front of the store, staring at the place where Mingi and Seonghwa had run into the trees. It wasn't like the eldest to run away like that, and while they wanted to go over him, they both knew Mingi needed a chance to talk to him.
"Do you think he's ok?" Wooyoung asked, glancing up at San.
The alpha smiled at him and kissed his forehead. "I don't think any of us can really saw we are ok right now, but I'm sure he will be." He turned when the front door opened and ground his teeth together as Lizbeth walked out.
He didn't fully trust her. Especially not after what she had said to Wooyoung about a cure. It was cruel of her to give him potentially false hope like that. Wooyoung was already perfect. It didn't matter that he couldn't have pups.
"I didn't mean to upset your friend. I am sorry." She said. Her voice sounded sincere at least and she was fiddling with her fingers. "I didn't realize that my reading was going to affect all of you so much." Her eyes fell to the omega's before she looked at the ground.
"We've been through a lot." San said, pulling his omega closer to him. "Especially recently. So tensions are a little high right now."
"I didn't know..." Lizbeth bit her lip. "But..." She looked at Wooyoung again. "I'd like to hear about it, if you would be willing to tell me?"
"Why?" San asked before Wooyoung could say anything.
"Because, I... I sense that something is going to happen that involves your pack. And I'd like to try and help, or at least guide you, if I can." She lifted her head up, resuming her alpha stature, as she turned to San.
He bristled under the challenge and his lip curled a little.
"Ok." Wooyoung said.
San looked at him. What?
I can't explain it, Sannie, but... I feel connected to her somehow.
Is it just because of what she said about you two being the same? He wolf churned as he forced his anger down.
No. I think it's the pack thing... Some bond between the two packs. I'm pretty sure Yunho would say the same thing if he were here. Wooyoung glanced up at him and gave him a small smile.
San sighed and kissed his forehead again, squeezing the back of his head with his hand. He could feel the connection Wooyoung was talking about through their bond, he just didn't want to admit it.
When they turned back to Lizbeth, she was smiling softly. They followed her back into the pub they had met her at and San sent out a message through the link letting the others know what was going on.
Be careful. We will stop by in a bit. Hongjoong said. He was the only one to respond.
Lizbeth ordered them a few different appetizers for them to pick at while the talked. She waited for them to get settled before she turned to Wooyoung. "I got a little bit of what your story is, most of it was guessing based on my knowledge of Primera, but I'd like for you to tell me." Her voice was soft and gentle, but it still made San bristle at the fact that she seemed to only have eyes for his omega.
Wooyoung took San's hand and squeezed it. He stared at his mate, feeling his features soften as Wooyoung stared at Lizbeth with a determined face and his wolf swelled with pride.
"As I'm sure you know, I was raised with the idea that omegas were worshipped because they could carry on the bloodline for the pack. School always went over how we were the oldest pack and that was something to be proud of. Now that I think about it, it was pretty messed up..." Wooyoung gave a sad smile and looked down at the table. "We were trained, prepped, and taught that all we were good for was bringing pups into the world."
He squeezed San's hand again and the alpha knew it was a warning for what came next.
"I met Chan when we were teenagers. There was definitely a connection there and we started to get to know each other and spent a lot of time together. He was probably one of the nicest alphas there. He wasn't stuck up or pompous. He was just... Chan. Loving, sweet, protective. Everything an omega dreamed of." Wooyoung's voice caught in his throat and San fought back his jealousy to wrap his arm around his omega to comfort him.
Lizbeth looked slightly confused as she looked between the couple. "Chan? But aren't you?"
"I guess you can't sense everything, can you?" San said, trying to keep the harsh tone out of his voice. "I'm not Wooyoung's first mate."
The other alpha's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't really blame here. From what he had learned being with the pack, Wooyoung's mating history was very uncommon.
"Chan was my first. We mated on my eighteenth birthday. I was so happy to get to be chosen by him and at the time, I thought everything was going to be perfect. But... Then I had a hard time getting pregnant. When it had been a year, the elders starting interfering. They would make potions for me to take, making my heat stronger, and sometimes making it happen more often."
Both alphas flinched when he said that.
"But my mate was so supportive through it all, putting up with my mood swings and excessive neediness. My depression... He as there through it all. Until the war came."
"War?" Lizbeth interrupted.
"You, you didn't hear?" San asked, looking shocked. Even he had heard of it when he was on his own.
"We don't get much news out this way. Packs haven't been a thing out here in a long time. It's all settlements and lone wolves."
"Did we really get that far away?"
Lizbeth nodded. "Now what war?"
"Some of the stronger packs banned together, feeling that they were superior and that they should be in charge. They have called themselves the Alpha Pack." Wooyoung said, cringing at the name.
Lizbeth snorted. "Original."
The other two laughed before Wooyoung continued. "Well when they made their intentions known, all of the other packs joined up to fight them."
"So the two packs that were lost..."
"Hongjoong and Yeosang's pack, and Seonghwa's family, were destroyed. Alpha pack was too strong, they had too many powerful alphas." Wooyoung looked down again. "Jongho's pack abandoned him because he was wounded. And Mingi's pack thought he was dead, although I guess he could turn his link off. Which makes sense because his father is... He's the head alpha of Alpha pack."
Lizbeth sighed and nodded her head. "I thought that might be the case. Which supports the hunted theory I had." She muttered something else to herself that the other two couldn't catch. "And you two?"
"I've been alone since I was born. I have no idea who my family is, nor do I care." San said, picking at the basket of fries in front of him. Wooyoung leaned into his shoulder and he felt himself relax a little. "I found my real family so that's all that matters." He finished, resting his head on top of Wooyoung's.
"My pack went to join the war. Chan went, of course. All the alphas did besides the elders. They retreated when defeat was certain. I stayed locked in my house the entire time so the other omegas and betas didn't... They enjoyed telling me how worthless and broken I am. I was a disgrace." Wooyoung's lower lip trembled but he took a deep, ragged breath to calm himself.
Lizbeth started to speak, but the omega cut her off. "When the pack returned without Chan, they made it clear I wasn't welcome anymore. I could still feel my bond with Chan, and... I don't know what ended up happening to him now that I think about it. But my pack made a potion that burned our mating mark away." Lizbeth gasped. "One last punishment for broken omega before they chased me away."
"As I said before, they didn't deserve you. So that's when you found San?"
The couple laughed and glanced at each other. "No. Not exactly. I met Jongho and Yunho first. They helped nurse me back to health and let me join their pack. Yunho has always been like a brother to me, so he can be a little protective. And that's why he left our pack. He didn't agree with what they did, and I refused to leave because of Chan."
"I came across them at some point and was drawn to Wooyoung's scent immediately." San blushed as Wooyoung chuckled. "But Jongho is protective and ended up mating with him while I was hunting with Yunho."
"What?" Lizbeth gasped, looking between them. "You... You..."
"Yeah. San is my third mate. And Jongho was mated to both me and Yunho at the same time. I don't really know how to explain how it happened... But Jongho had made me feel so safe after what my pack did to me. He had intended on just claiming me, incase San had bad intentions, but my wolf urged me to claim him too." Wooyoung glanced up at Lizbeth, biting his lip.
She looked stunned.
"So how did you and San..."
"To make a long story short, we were ambushed by Alpha Pack and separated. I ended up having my heat without Jongho..."
San pressed a kiss to the side of Wooyoung's head, leaving his lips there for a long moment. He didn't like remembering how hard that had been on him.
"So you lost two mates, and still survived?" Lizbeth asked, shaking her head.
"That's not common... Is it...?"
"No. But I think that goes to show just how strong you really are young one." Lizbeth studied him for a long moment.
The doors opened behind them and the rest of their pack came in. Lizbeth stood. "Thank you for telling me your story Wooyoung. Take good care of that bracelet I gave you, with it, remember that you are never alone. And San, make sure you take care of him." With that, she left.
San pursed his lips as he watched her go. "I don't get her." He muttered.
"Me neither." Wooyoung looked down at the bracelet on his wrist. His fingers brushed across it before he tucked it under his sleeve.
"What's going on? What did she want?" Hongjoong asked as they all sat down together. San glanced at Seonghwa and noticed his eyes were red and puffy, but he was tucked safely into Mingi's arms.
"She wanted to find out more about Wooyoung's past."
Jongho bristled and looked back at the door while Yunho moved to sit next to the omega. "Are you ok?"
"Yes." Wooyoung leaned into the beta's arms and hugged him back. "You feel it too, right? With Lizbeth?"
Yunho nodded and glanced up at San. The alpha placed a comforting hand on Wooyoung's back. "I don't think she means us any harm." He said, turning to the rest of his pack. "If Wooyoung trusts her, so do I. She may leave a bad taste in my mouth with her riddles... But I do think she means well."
Jongho sighed and nodded, taking a seat at the table next to his mate.
"Well." Mingi cleared his throat. "I have something I need to say." He still had his arm wrapped protectively around Seonghwa. "Um... I know this isn't ideal timing. But..."
Yeosang sat up straighter and covered his mouth. "You're pregnant!" He leaned forward and took Seonghwa's hand. The older nodded and smiled, placing his free hand on his stomach. "Oh! Oh!" Yeosang bounced in his seat then hugged his friend.
The rest of the pack shared in their joy for several minutes.
But it didn't last. Mingi cleared his throat one more time and all eyes fell to him. "While I am overjoyed, there is something we all need to be prepared for if we are going to stay together."
"What are you talking about?" Hongjoong said, a hard tone coming to his voice.
"My father won't stop until I'm dead, or his. Carrying on the bloodline is very important to him. I have a feeling either something happened, or he is old enough, that he can no longer father pups. That's why I think he is so obsessed with getting to me." He wrapped both arms around Seonghwa protectively. "So when he finds out I have fathered pups of my own... I fear for what that means for Seonghwa."
"We will protect you both." Hongjoong said and Yeosang nodded quickly next to him.
"We all need to protect each other. I think that's one of the things Lizbeth wanted us to get out of her reading." San said, sitting up a little taller. "She hadn't heard about the war, so I think we are safe out here for the time being, but that doesn't mean it's going to last. We should take this time to rest and heal before we decide our next move. Who knows, maybe we can stay ahead of them and truly disappear."
Jongho nodded and looked at him with pride. You've come a long way, San. I'm happy to see you stepping up more. Thank you for always having our back.
Thank you for accepting me. I will always protect my family. They locked eyes for a moment and nodded.
"I agree. I'll pay for another night here, and then we can decide if we want to keep moving. We will have to find a place to settle eventually though. Seonghwa is only going to be able to travel for so long." Hongjoong looked at the omega and smiled. "If our pack is going to grow, then we must make sure we have a good home for the baby, or babies! I guess we won't know for a while." He laughed as he looped his arm around Yeosang.
"We will need to find a midwife too." The beta added, still beaming at Seonghwa. "I helped deliver babies with our old pack, but I don't know all the ins and outs of it."
"Oh I hope it's a girl!" Yunho said, clapping his hands a little.
"I do too." Mingi smiled, nuzzling Seonghwa's mark.
San smiled at the couple and brought Wooyoung closer to him, moving to kiss his mark too. He could feel the mixed feelings coming off his omega and wanted to do his best to comfort him. Wooyoung was so happy for Seonghwa, but San could sense that the baby talk was hard on him, especially after recounting everything for Lizbeth.
So he brought his lips to Wooyoung's ear and whispered, "You're perfect. No matter what happens. Cure or no cure. You will always be perfect in my eyes. I love you."
His omega turned in his seat to wrap both arms around San's waist. He could feel tears dripping down onto his shirt, but he could sense happiness coming from his mate. San smiled into the top of his head.
"I love you too, Sannie." Wooyoung whispered into his shoulder.