Chapter Text
“Give me a few days of peace in your arms-I need it terribly.I’m ragged,worn,exhausted.after that I can face the world.”
-Henry Miller,A Literate Passion: Letters of Anaïs Nin Henry Miller, 1932-1953.
Winter is approaching and the soil has been tarnished.
Yoongi walks through the forest clearing, among other six more omega's, basket plopped in one side of the hip to put as many mushrooms or berries they can find in the scarce dirt.
His linen pants under the furs get stuck on a branch and he squirms until the fabric is set free, yoongi looks around hoping no one saw him almost carelessly rip the clothes away, and then continues looking through the wilderness.
Mushrooms, berries, herbs, anything. Everyone is forced to contribute in a way.
Being the son of the pack alpha has never really given yoongi any privileges, on the contrary, he's expected to participate in almost every activity In existence.
foraging, kitchen duties, mending clothes, aiding around the healer's hut, taking care of the pups inside their den, washing clothes by the river bank, and even hunting sometimes, if needed.
Yoongi would easily choose the task of mending clothes inside communal housing over foraging right now, at least he’d be in front of the warm fireplace, and if he were to finish early he could take his leave to go and see the hunter’s arrival after sunset. he didn't get much of a selection in choosing the day's activity, even worse under his mother's intent glare.
The hunters left about a week ago in search of fertile territory to hunt on and no word was heard of them until the day before, yoongi is excited to hear the news, maybe then they’ll stop rummaging through bushes day and night.
No harvest means no animals and no animals means no hunt. the pack needs sustaining. Someone pats him into his lower back and he turns, startled by the sudden touch. thyme fills his nose and he relaxes.
“What are you doing all up in the clouds?”seokjin exclaims cheerfully.” these won't be picking themselves up,” he says while gesturing down into the dirt path.
yoongi huffs out while rolling his eyes, hicks the basket further into his waist, and accelerates his pace.
“Ah! Wait for me.”seokjin trots to match his pace.” they're coming back today! Did you hear?” he asks.
“I'm sure everyone has heard at this point,” he responds. words travel fast in small villages, after all.
“So you know taehyung is coming back with them, right?”seokjin continues eagerly.
Yoongi stops in his tracks and seokjin almost bumps into his shoulder, he makes a small questioning sound but when he sees yoongi’s bewilder expression his face splits into a teasing grin.“No one told you? how did no one tell you!”
Yoongi can feel his face growing hot, he turns back down and resumes his path through the scarce foliage.” I'm glad no one did because I got to see your flustered face.”seokjin voice says from behind his back.“Oh! childhood sweethearts, he’s probably coming back just to claim you up.”seokjin sighs out in a show of fake annoyance.
“Shut up,”yoongi mumbles with red cheeks, he looks around to make sure no one overheard the statement but one of the older omegas who was picking on a bush close by sends him an understanding look when they meet eyes. yoongi shrinks back in embarrassment.
Yoongi’s small crush has been a teasing topic around the whole pack, everyone knows yoongi has fancied taehyung for an eternity, even taehyung himself. they grew up glued to the hip. mainly because their families have always been very friendly with each other, so when taehyung was born some years after yoongi it seemed apparent they would be playmates, it was only after they presented that yoongi started to feel self-conscious of his place as an omega, his place at taehyung’s side.
It was pretty obvious, or so they tell him.
everyone could see yoongi’s infatuation. the only issue was taehyung young age at the time, yoongi being three years his senior, he was seemingly oblivious to yoongi’s affection, taehyung didn't really care much for romance, and so they always behaved like a normal pair of pups, if you could ignore yoongi’s lovesick eyes.
by the time he’d grown more into his furs, taehyung had to leave to a far-off, bigger village to study and learn the ways of one of the healers there. it's not so common to have an alpha healer, but taehyung had always been excellent at handling the apothecary. even at a young age.
There was never much room for talk about the courtship between the two families because it felt like a given that they’d mate once they’d come off age. three years since they’d last seen each other, yoongi knew he’d come back one day but didn't expect it to be like this, unannounced.
He looks up at the sky, there must be about two hours left before sunset starts. yoongi lowers his basket to the floor and gets ready to abandon his duties but seokjin’s voice stops him.
“you know that If pack alpha min catches you slacking we're both dead right?”
Yoongi shifts impatiently in place while looking down the path they’re walking on, going down the trail would normally be a fifteen minute walk but if he shifts he can make it to his hut in half the time. Seokjin must notice his absent gaze because he sighs again.
“You owe me half your share of tonight’s meal, they're making a special feast for taehyung’s return.” he tilts his head back and crosses his arms.
yoongi rapidly nods his head. “You know what to do.” he half whispers before he breaks into a run. he thinks he hears faint giggling around him but he doesn't have spare time to turn and glare at the omegas in the perimeter.
He runs until he finds a big tree where to remove all of his clothes which he does hurriedly, stopping only when he shudders at an especially ice-cold breeze that creeps up his back, when he's done, yoongi folds them up to lay them down, breaths deep, and submits to the shifting feeling of cracking bones. he's not so accustomed to shifting out of the blue, now in his true form,yoongi shakes his fur a bit trying to settle in, and quickly picks his clothes up from the dirt with his snout.
The way down the trail becomes a blur while he passes dead bushes and leaps over big rocks. once he gets to the village’s border he bumps his tail into a basket set down by an elderly omega sunbathing by the trail, the basket goes tumbling down, its contents sprawled all over the floor.
the omega exclaims in surprise and yoongi lets out an apologetic yelp but thinks better than to stop and waste more of his scarce time. The elder woman only laughs it off after noticing the white wolf, sending playful words of warning towards his vanishing form.
He needs to go around the main square where everyone tends to hang around, even during plain daylight, one of the pups playing around could see him running around and snitch on him with either of his parents. once he finally sees his hut he realizes he will need to enter through the back door, yoongi doesn't know what his mother is doing right now, being a pack alpha is always a complicated matter after all. he prays that she’s gone, busy with the council.
His mother's absence doesn’t eliminate the possibility of yoongi’s father being inside their den though. He thinks of this way too late because he’s flushed to the back door, one ear straight up in the air just about ready to slide the door open when he hears the distinctive light steeps belonging to his father inside the hut.
Yoongi internally groans, and it comes out as a grunt, he startles, he’d hope the clothes he was holding would work as a muzzle but forgot he’d hidden them in a bush before rounding the hut, he covers his snout with one paw but it’s too late, yoongi can hear steps approaching the entry.
“Honey, what are you doing?” his father calls. Yoongi lets out a whine and he frowns, quickly ushering him inside.
𓇗
“I just think it's inconsiderate for you to leave your duties like that,” his father says as he brushes yoongi’s hair back, a strand of hair get stuck into the wooden comb and his father pulls to set it free making yoongi grimace in discomfort.
“I'm sorry.”yoongi yelps out when his father pulls two strands of hair together brusquely, it's a bit difficult to braid one's hair with gloves on.
“Your mother had just left when I found you, I'm surprised she didn't smell you going on and about.” he continues, dipping his finger a bit in a blend of berries to mash it around some more, he hands the container to yoongi who rubs the paste over his cheeks and lips. yoongi’s glad his mother did not catch his frantic state, he doesn't know know how he would’ve explained the issue without sounding insane, at least his father gets it, as all omega's do.
His wolf is restless, he wants to look suitable, he needs to.
Yoongi feels his upper arm being pinched through the fabric and he flinches, looking up to see his father figure hovering over his.
”your scent is turning all sour for no reason, are you not happy to see taehyung after so long?”yoongi’s father says calmly as he walks further into another room.
“Of course, I am, just a bit nervous,”yoongi complains and grumbles under his breath while rubbing his arm.
“Come here,” he calls from the other room, and yoongi rises from his seat on the floor to follow the voice.
When yoongi steps into the room he gets a bunch of light blue fabric shoved into his arms, he looks down at it in astonishment and almost cries at the comforting Jazmin and orange blossom scent filling his senses and lingering all over the clothing.
“You should wear something nice, ”his father gushes excitedly.” it's been so long since he's seen you, he’ll go crazy when he sees how pretty you've gotten.”
“I don't-” he responds nervously, he feels like he needs to give the lovely clothing back but his instincts cling to the fabric, making yoongi hug it against his chest.” I can't wear this, it's too much.”
His father gives him a knowing look and seems ready to insist but someone knocks on the main door of the hut, they both turn their heads at the sound, not having detected any smells nearby.his father goes to open the door while yoongi stays in the room. he hears very little, some mumbling and low hums.
The fabric on his hands feels warm and he looks down at it, following the sewing lines with his finger. when his father enters the room again looking a bit paler, he paused before speaking.“dear, it seems like your mother needs me at the council building.” he says a bit hurriedly.
“Should I leave with you?”yoongi asks him, a bit uneasy by the sudden change in mood.
“No, it's alright.” he caresses one strand of yoongi’s small braid that has come undone and puts it back in place without touching his ear.” your mother still thinks you're out in the woods, you should get changed, ”his father looks down at yoongi hands still holding into the blue shifts with clenched eyebrows.” perhaps it's not the best time to wear this one, yet.”
“Oh.”yoongi exhales, he lowers the folded clothes alongside his eyes.
“I must leave now.” his father reminds him. he must be able to feel his disappointment from the change in scent across the room because he frowns and lightly wipes his nose.
“Yes, the moon be with you.”
𓇗
Yoongi has just finished changing into a long-sleeved shirt and skirt when someone knocks on the door. once he opens he's hit with an overwhelming smell of bitter lemon thyme.
“What's wrong?” he inquiries after noticing seokjin’s worried frown.
“We need to get to the council's cabin, hurry.” he pulls on the skirt,yoongi barely gets to grab a long coat to protect himself from the weather before he's being dragged out of the hut by the arm in urgency. They break into a trot immediately after seokjin drops yoongi’s arm.
Once they near the council’s cabin they're met with a small crowd of people surrounding his mother now standing in an elevated piece of wood. the whole council stands behind her, including yoongi’s father. they stop short of the event to analyze the situation although seokjin looks a bit conflicted by the scene.
“What's happening?”yoongi whispers close into seokjin’s ear, it's not like speaking loudly it's prohibited at these types of places but more people keep arriving, all curious looking and it makes him a bit nervous. jisoo catches their eyes among the crowd and they wave at each other from afar before she continues chatting with Eunji.
“The hunters came back a bit earlier than expected, something important must have been found because your mother immediately called for a pack meeting.”seokjin answers hurriedly like he knows he's about to witness the consequence of this statement.
it's hard to tell at first because of all the smells mixing in the air but as soon as the smoky smell of sage hits his nose,yoongi sprints towards the crowd, ignoring seokjin’s hushed warning.
he makes way between the bodies flushed together, getting cursed at one or two times from some of the older omega's, stopping his search only after finding a head of sandy hair among the lot.his joy is momentarily dimmed down by his mother's voice.
“First of all, I wish to welcome our valuable hunters back into the pack’s ground,” she says, gesturing down with her padded gloves into the first line of wolves standing in front of the stand. there's some mild hooting from the crowd but it quietens back down quickly, his mother's expression remains neutral. “the feast it's to be postponed until further notice, the council must discuss the news brought to us.” she announces and pauses her speech to seize everyone in the crowd, the faint mumbling of discontent over the discarded banquet dies down.
“We ask for one alpha of each household to attend the gathering, the rest of you shall be dismissed from your duties for the moment, The moon be with you all.” she declares with finality before turning and lowering herself from the wooden stand to enter the cottage.
The reaction is immediate, the crowd explodes with commotion, yoongi gets dragged along a lot of wolves leaving the plaza towards their huts, he tries breaking away from the flow, remembering taehyung is somewhere in the crowd but when he tries locating his head like before, he’s unable to find it, he's been long since gone, not even a trace of his scent in the spot.
𓇗
They sit in a huge circle, surrounding a big fire keeping them warm now that the temperature has dropped lower. yoongi is not supposed to be here at all, his father is not even present at the moment but he needed to see taehyung, needs to.
He's actually outside the cottage, peeking between a small slit on the window, he hasn't been able to hear a lot about the purpose of the meeting because he's been focusing on finding taehyung’s figure between all the bodies scattered around. the slight light from the bonfire is the only thing aiding his case and the people inside the cottage all blur together into moving shadows.
“Are we just abandoning everything we own?”One alpha asks, placing one hand into the wooden floor,demanding“Bongseon! You can't possibly mean for us to leave so suddenly.”
“What about the pups? Surely, they can't survive such a harsh trip!” another exclaims.
”pack alpha min, my little choonhee is only three.”
Yoongi concentrates on the voices once his mother breaks the heated argument stirring up in the room.
“It is the only way, if we wait, the winter will only become harder, ”bongseon speaks with an authoritative tone.” it would only be dangerous for them to travel among the heavy snow.”
“The Jung pack territory is much larger, we’ll be all able to subsist, ”a voice fills the silence and yoongi immediately moves his gaze in their direction, as everyone in the room does.” believe me, something like this happened about three years ago in the park’s territories and they were forced to leave as well,”taehyung tells them at large, body language filled with confidence as he gestures with his hands.
He can't see much but he's sure taehyung hasn't changed much aside from a little grown spurt, he's still the lanky kid yoongi knows, even if he speaks with such solemnity. a sudden memory of them both playing and rolling around in the snow as pups before getting chased around by his father to get inside the warmth of the huts emerges inside his head and his chest is filled with fondness.
“But-”
“There’s also the fact that we might starve to death.” this stops the alpha from continuing and the room falls back into an uneasy stillness. yoongi feels his own body tensing up uncomfortably, he knew the food was scarce at this point but he would never imagine they reached a point where someone could die out of hunger.
“I know this is all very sudden for all of you, but it is an urgent matter, the future of the pack lies on us departing from this place as soon as possible,” his mother says.” we are to leave as soon as possible before any snowstorm gets us by surprise.”
Yoongi feels his body numbing up, he slides down until his body hits the ground, back against the cottage, now only hearing the faint mumbling of preparations needed for their parting.
𓇗
“Taehyung!”
Taehyung’s back locks down as if he’d been struck by a splash of freezing creek water and yoongi’s shy smile wavers until it fades completely after taehyung nervously darts away acting as if he didn't hear yoongi’s voice calling for him.
They watch as taehyung sprints a bit forward until he reaches the hunter’s group which is leading their pace, they greet him with a pat to the back and he joins them in their idle chatter.
“Well, that didn't go as expected,”seokjin says while covering his nose trying to avoid the sour tangerine smell now seeping out and hovering over them like a vicious cloud.
Some of the villagers who pass along either make a face at them or put on a little distance before hurrying forward. yoongi sinks deeper into his misery.
“If he’d seen me when I looked a bit more presentable the day they arrived I'm sure we’d be walking together right now.” he fumbles with his heavy leather boots, the mud sticking to the soles weights them down and makes it hard to lift his feet off the ground.“I'm sure this attire is not the most appealing,” he grumbles out while gesturing down on the bulky random pelts covering most of his body.
“He didn't even look our way.” seokjin deadpans, struggling to lift his boots from a particularly wet spot on the floor.
“That’s what I'm trying to say!” he exclaims exasperated.
“I think you're being ridiculous.”
Yoongi huffs out in discontent and hitches the leather straps on his shoulders a little bit higher, the weight on his back making the walk even more uncomfortable.
He can't complain though.
It's difficult having to pack your whole life away in a couple pieces of cloth and hope for the best, everyone around him must be thinking the same because they all had to hang several bags across their bodies, even pups. they waddle along their parents covered on furs, trying to keep the cold out.
It's still pretty early but once the darkness comes near they’ll have to stop and put up tents for the night, they can't risk traveling through the night with small children. even more with the temperatures dropping dangerously as the hours pass, yoongi might be a mountain wolf but he would never hope to stay the night out in the open, not in winter.
At least it hasn’t snowed in yet.
Once it does, the mountains will be completely covered in white, hiding anything in sight. he’s heard the Meadow packs tend to be less snowy, he’s looking forward to that.
The weather could be bearable if he’d shift into his true form, initially, before the journey even started, there was some talk about doing the trip in wolf form. the idea was quickly discarded though, as they needed a more efficient way to carry all their belongings, as of right now, yoongi’s probably wearing about five layers of clothing under his pelts.
Yoongi’s still a bit unsure about his role when they reach the campsite, it’s like everyone knows what to do, most alphas set right on building the tens, the omegas starts unpacking the leftovers from the feast left for the trip and they begin building a fire at the center of the area.
Yoongi and seokjin hover awkwardly over the omega in charge of dividing the food into small portions until she hands them small pieces of bark which work as dishes to start giving away. the ‘meal’ consists of some pieces of roasted rabbit meat and scarce berries they found before starting the journey on the side.
He makes sure to do multiple rounds around the camp to hand around the goods, at first, he was expecting on being the first to bring taehyung a meal and seize the opportunity to maybe talk a bit since they hadn't had the chance but after spending a longer time than expected looking for him, the alpha nowhere on sight, yoongi starts to lose hope.
He's about to give up when he recognizes one alpha from the hunting group who taehyung tended to play with often as kids, seated in front of the fire, he hurries to his side, plopping down into the ground beside him.
“Do you know where taehyung is? I can't find him.” he quietly asks. Soobin startles like he wasn't expecting to be spoken to and only shakes his head as an answer, with something akin to pity.
having walked enough for the day, Yoongi brings his legs up to hug them, feeling defeated, and sighs in disappointment. then, he hears shuffling. he glances up, noticing a young alpha seated to his right for the first time.
“Haven't you talked to taehyung yet?”jisun asks him, shifting closer so he doesn't have to raise his voice over the chatter around them.
“We haven't had the chance,” yoongi responds while lowering the bark piece stacked with food he intended on giving taehyung once he’d found him.“I didn't want to bother him while everyone was so busy getting ready to leave so I assumed we would have time to talk once the trip started.”
Jisun hums in understanding, he's always been a kind kid, he's talked to yoongi a couple of times before because his sister, Eunji, tends to gravitate inside the little trio seokjin,jisoo and yoongi have formed throughout the years. he seems to notice the abandoned meal yoongi holds with the clear intention of not eating because he keeps staring down at his hands.
“I'm sure he must be having some quality time with his parents, it's been years since they’ve had the opportunity to be all together like this.”yoongi continues, he’s rarely the type to go around spilling all his thoughts to anyone willing to listen but the fatigue from walking all day must be getting to him.
“It's been years since you’ve seen each other, too. if it was me I would be all over you the moment I arrived.”jisun tells him, and yoongi only responds with a shy smile.
“Kyungsoo!” they both hear and turn their heads following the sound.
Yoongi stands up slowly.” you can have this.” he tells jisun and offers the piece of bark with food, placing it down between them both into the floor.
“But-”jisun starts questioningly but yoongi has already walked away towards where he heard his father’s name being called.
𓇗
the next days are not much different from the ones before, they walk and walk, when the sun falls, they choose a spot to camp on and start on the dinner for the evening, the food is limited now but there's nothing they can do before they reach the Kim’s territory.
He never gets a chance to speak to taehyung, he doesn't even get to see him, barely catching glimpses of his sandy color hair before he dissipates between other wolves in the bunch walking through the woods. yoongi didn't let this lower his spirits, it's not such time for worries.
Some days ago, Yoongi was snapped out of his thoughts when someone lifted one of the straps from his shoulders, he looked up to meet jisung’s eyes. they stared at each other’s awkwardly for about a minute before he fully grabbed both of the bags, removing the weight from yoongi’s clutch.
Yoongi let out a questioning hum but jisun only gave him a small grin and left with the bags to join his group of fellow alphas. he followed him with his gaze still feeling a bit lost but when the group of alphas turned to look at him he redirected his gaze, looking for seokjin through the crowd.
He was convinced they were making fun of him, or it was an extravagant show of dominance, some alphas love doing stuff like that just because. Even though jisun never came across as the type.
He recognized the distinctive thyme and hurried his pace until he reached him, panting slightly from running covered completely from head to toe, he was sweating like crazy. Seokjin turned to look at him with amusement, when yoongi straightened his back he noticed jisoo walking alongside him, the smell of parsley catching up with him.
“Hi,” he said quietly, they seemed to immediately notice yoongi’s lack of baggage because they stared at him with interest.” do you guys need help with those?” he told them a bit sheepishly while pointing at their bags.
“Ah, now that your mention it, my shoulder is killing me.” seokjin faked a pained moan, and jisoo let out a cheeky giggle.
Yoongi accepted one big bag from seokjin and a small one from jisoo and they went on their way.
After that first time, jisun makes it a habit to always steal yoongi’s bags off him, if he tries to help people around him, someone from their group of young alphas comes their way and removes the weight from his hands. yoongi’s reached the point where he chooses to ignore the reasoning behind this, it's kind of embarrassing for him that they’d think he's so weak he can't Withstand a couple of days traveling with cargo. when he tells seokjin this he only rolls his eyes back and continues chattering about jisoo’s latest gossip.
They’ve reached a point where the frigid cold and scarceness of the mountains are no longer present. they walk through the dense wilderness as if winter had yet not reached this part of the land.
One morning,yoongi separates himself from the small group to wash in a small stream of fresh water they found the night before, he startles when the noise of rattling leaves is heard and tries to cover himself with his pelts, when he turns around he’s eye to eye with a deer.
It's a female and full of spotted white fur, it's been a while since yoongi had seen such a gorgeous deer. or any deer at all.
The deer watches him for some time, unblinking.it lowers its head in a bow and yoongi flinches back a bit surprised. the sound of more wolves coming nearer hoping to wash is heard and then, only then, it hops away elegantly.
Yoongi stares after it in wonder.
𓇗
Entering the Jung pack is an experience, the welcoming is grand.
It doesn't look organized whatsoever. it's probably not even intentional, because when they reach the two huge trees marking the entrance to the territory there are just mobs of people all going through their days, going through some type of activity.
Yoongi has never seen such a big group of people all crammed together, to be honest, it's kind of terrifying. He feels countless eyes directed at him, it sure breaks the monotony.
The min pack wolves must look different to them. even though they've reached the point where the temperatures are high they're all still covered from head to toe, carrying different kinds of clothes on their bodies. he can hear the people from the compound mumbling between themselves and pointing at their heavy coats and pelts, which must look strange for this type of weather.
Yoongi is starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by all the unknown scents lingering in the air, it's probably because of the type of weather, too. he swears everything smells ten times stronger than usual. They're passing a big group of alphas who look like were play-fighting under the sun, they're all shirtless, chest covered in sweat, and wearing only short linen pants yoongi has rarely seen be worn on his people, the mountain air is way too cold for them even on summer.
He can feel them eyeing the group of omegas yoongi is walking along with, they're even releasing pheromones that smell strongly of attraction. yoongi initially thinks they must be focusing on seokjin for them to be showing such aggressive interest-his friends has always been popular, after all-but when he lifts his eyes from the ground he discovers multiple faces directed at him.
He lets out a small gasp in surprise and for some reason, this seems to appeal even more to the strange alphas because he catches the exact moment their eyes widen, pupils growing black. a wolf staring at prey.
Yoongi refuses to be a quarry, he sinks his face further into the furs and flushes himself closer against seokjin’s larger body to try and hide from the predatory stares. he covers his nose with a bit of fabric trying to shield himself from the turmoil of scents, more aggressive than when they first arrived.
Seokjin is putting on a show, swaying his eyelashes in a flirty way at every alpha he rests his eyes on.
Before they fully pass by the group of alphas, yoongi catches a pleasant calm scent, that, unlike the others, does not offer any type of clear interest. he peeks his head from its hiding place to get another whiff out of it, trying to decipher the smell.
He lays his eyes in one alpha at the back of the crowd, he's in similar attire as the rest, except his right arm and part of his chest are covered in strange ornaments. yoongi has never seen something like it. he stares at the black covering his body until he gravitates towards his face and discovers the alpha frowning down at him with something like discontent.
Yoongi just stares at him a bit bewildered by the sudden show of displeasure. he then realizes that holding a piece of fabric to his nose and staring around their almost naked bodies is probably a very rude thing to do, so he lowers the cloth down and averts his gaze, focusing back on the trail.
He's glad neither of his parents are near to observe the bizarre show of alphas swarming around the pack’s omegas.
An older alpha from the min clan strides until she walks along with the omega group and the attention from the young crowd decreases. she ushers them to hurry, they're expected to reach the village’s core before the sun goes down.
The village is humongous in size, and yoongi rarely if not ever sees any small hut like the one he once lived in, there’s obviously enough space for them and so, only big cabins fill the place. he wonders if they have one cabin per household, for yoongi it would seem an exaggeration but then again, his pack was not that vast for such commodities.
Yoongi looks back at the group of wolves walking behind them, like always, trying to find taehyung through the lot. he’s spent so long in this territory, longer than any of them. yoongi is sure he must be busy aiding the pack to relocate and helping his mother speak with the jung’s people.
Once they reach the appointed meeting spot there's not much to do, some people from the Jung pack linger around to stare at them, probably trying to understand the meaning behind their arrival. yoongi and the group of omegas decide to settle under the shade of a big tree attempting to lessen the heat from the strange climate, but most of the pack sits down right on the grass floor under the sun to wait on instructions from the pack alpha.
Yoongi’s parents and the council must be at whatever place they handle stuff around here, settling the matters with the pack alpha from the territory. he didn't get to listen a lot about the matter, his mother rarely ever lets him into pack talk.
the sun has just begun to set when his father appears, rounding one big cabin and coming their way; he’s unaccompanied.
“Kyungsoo! What did bongseon end up agreeing to?” Joo Hyun, one of the older omegas greets his father, relieved that they don't have to keep waiting under the watchful eyes of the locals, even though the number has decreased in size there are still some people sniffing around. mainly alphas.
It's been one or two times that some of the older omegas have had to growl in warning to stop alphas from coming closer. not in the mood for unwanted attention.
“They're still talking over an alliance but you don't have to worry about that, ”he lowers his voice down into a whisper to say something into Joo Hyun's ear and she nods with a serious expression.”yoongi.” his father calls and gestures him to walk alongside him.
Yoongi hurries to catch his father's quick pace, he looks back, a bit hesitant to be separated from his group but Joo Hyun has already started to lead the small pack away and into one of the cabins nearby.
They walk fast, with urgency almost. they must be gaining a lot of attention by walking through the pack's ground still dressed in the traditional min clothing because he can feel more stares. his father places a hold over the back of his neck, shielding the scent gland there and making yoongi flinch. even though he's wearing several layers of clothing a bit of his anxious smell must have seeped out a bit.
They reach a huge cottage and his father hurries to enter, yoongi gapes around in amazement at the large building. someone greets them at the entrance, yoongi can hear the faint voices coming from down the hall, his father lowers yoongi’s pelt hood from his head before the omega opens the door for both of them and they step into a big room.
there must be at least twenty people seated forming a familiar kind of circle yoongi has seen being used countless times at the council’s cottage back home. he immediately notices the division of packs, the min pack being at the right side of the room.his mother sitting in the middle of the long line. Multiple heads turn their way at the interruption, some of them look stunned, mouths open mid-speech.
A hush falls over the space, kyungsoo places a hand over yoongi’s lower back and hurries him inside until they lower themselves into the floor, behind his mother's back.
Yoongi feels an intense urge of lowering his eyes down into the floor, he starts breathing through his mouth because the room recks of alpha, unsettling yoongi’s omega. the delicate smell of jasmine coming from his father is the only thing helping him calm down at the moment.
Among all, he detects taehyung’s sage and eucalyptus distinct scent, yoongi’s head immediately shoots up and he looks through the line corresponding to the min pack but he's unable to find taehyung’s form.
A glimpse of red catches his attention, one of the alphas sitting nearer head alpha Jung whispers against his ear, his hair pushed back in a tight ponytail. he knew the park clan was well known for its red wolves but it's the first time yoongi has ever caught a glimpse of any of them.
Someone clears their throat, breaking the silence and yoongi lowers his head once again. there's a bit of whispering on the jung’s side and it makes the tension grow inside the room.
An alpha exits the room and his hurried steps hitting the wooden floor from outside the room are the only things that are heard.
“Your choice.” his mother breaks the heavy silence sounding discontent and yoongi can feel all the Jung people focusing on them again.
The jung’s head alpha grimaces and does not respond, this seems to thicken the discomfort on the air because some of the people from the min pack scoff like they're incredulous over the situation. yoongi can feel his own scent starting to smell like distress.
the thought of worsening the situation with the strong smell of omega in distress makes him sniff at the sour tangerine in annoyance. His father immediately picks up the smell and throws him a glare that seems to exclaim for him to behave,yoongi wants to throw a glare of his own back, for being brought into a room full of alphas.
The door is thrown wide open and an omega sprints inside the room, followed by a new alpha and the one that left earlier. now apparent that he left the reunion to retrieve the people now entering the room.
Both the alpha and omega take a seat behind the head alpha, mirroring yoongi, and his father. He momentarily meets eyes with the alpha who looks at him with surprise and interest but yoongi hurries to lower them down and away.
“My heir, Kim namjoon.” head alpha Jung announces while gesturing to his right. “my omega son, Jung hoseok.” he adds while pointing to the left, yoongi follows the gesture with his eyes and catches the omega smiling ear to ear in a show of cheerfulness before he remembers he’s supposed to be bowing in greeting as the entirety of his pack present is doing now, he bows his head in a hurry.
When everyone on his pack straightens their backs after the five seconds of courtesy that must be shown in a formal greeting he meets eyes with the jung’s omega who seems even more joyful than one minute ago, how is that even possible, yoongi has no idea.
“My mate, lee kyungsoo.” his mother resumes the introductions similarly as the jung’s head alpha.” my omega son, min yoongi.” she ends with a brusque gesture of her head in his general direction and yoongi can't help the downward pull of his lips.
It's evident Kim namjoon and Jung hoseok find this display entertaining because he watches their eyes widen with amusement.
The Jung pack bows in acknowledgment. this time the silence that settles over the room lacks any hostility, instead, it is full of expectation.
“Your pack permanently residing into the compound it's still open to deliberation for our council, of course, you are free to stay at our lodging and to help yourselves to our hunts,” the head alpha declares openly. never turning away from his mother's gaze.” for the time being.” he adds at last.
“You want to give it time, huh?” his mother snaps in an irritated tone. the air turns tense again.“Bongseon.” his father hisses quietly and yoongi glances at both of them feeling a little lost.
“Alpha min,” someone says and the whole room turns their attention in the direction of the voice. yoongi almost lets out a surprised gasp at taehyung, who sits along with the Jung pack, at the end of the line. He is shocked by taehyung’s tanned face and arms, he never actually had the chance to see him face to face and with the heavy pelts, which he is not wearing currently, he wasn't able to get a glimpse of any bits of skin before now.
Yoongi stares openly, not unlike everyone in the room. yoongi can understand the change in his physical appearance now that he’s experienced the weather himself, he can feel himself blushing slightly when his eyes linger a bit too long on taehyung’s naked arms.
the lack of proper honorific one should use towards a pack alpha does not pass unperceived and Yoongi’s mother throws taehyung an unpleasant glare, he shrinks further into his seat looking very uncomfortable.
“If-if I may speak?” he stammers a bit and turns to look at head alpha Jung for permission. which yoongi admittedly finds odd, after the head alpha nods, he scrambles to speak.” the territory right now is packed with wolves, not only belonging to the park pack but the jeon pack as well. I do understand how you could feel your position as head alpha being threatened, but all the other pack alphas have had to...settle down.”
His mother looks like she wants to rip his head off of his body. Yoongi’s throat sinks into his stomach.