fic for everyone, come morning light (2/2)

[atmest]

Part 1

Luhan came to while feeling the cooling wetness of a soaked cloth on his tummy, his limbs aching horribly as he tried to sit up, ultimately failing at the task when he only trembled and fell back down. He managed to open his eyes to spot Sehun sitting over him, eyes cold as ever and a frown on his face as he washed Luhan's sweaty skin with the cloth. Or perhaps he was trying to cool off Luhan's fever, because he was feeling slightly heated. Either way, he was in his own little hut, the familiar scent both calming and pacifying.

"I've failed you," Sehun said, voice almost inaudible. Luhan shook his head instantly.

"You haven't. I...it was my fault. I should never have wandered off on my own," he said quickly, reflecting on his actions. "What was I thinking? I hardly know the area. I definitely don't know anything about the surrounding tribes, and I--"

"I'm your alpha," Sehun cut him off with, stilling his working hand to catch Luhan's eye in a sincere exchange. "I'm supposed to keep you safe no matter what. I felt your fear when you were scared, and your pain when that monster sunk his teeth into you. I should have been more attentive. It's just..." Luhan looked at his mate in concern, watching him struggle to formulate words or process a difficult thought. "I know you're scared of me. I can tell because your stance and eyes change when I approach, and I don't want you to feel like I'm a threat."

"But I thought you hated me," Luhan said, the words choked up in his throat and tears building in his eyes. "I was so sure you only accepted me as a pity gift from my clan. A mercy treaty."

"No," Sehun just said, looking Luhan straight in the eyes. "No, I did not."

Silence followed, and Luhan took the time to glance over his mate's spent body. Someone seemed to have patched his wound back up, thank god, but his eyes had dark circles under them and he looked so tired, like he'd spent all day there with Luhan's limp body with no sleep or food.

"Where's the alpha? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Sehun's hand seemed to come to life again, and within only minutes of talking with his mate, Luhan could feel the aching in his body subside, but it was replaced with an itching over his skin and what felt like a burning right under it. His eyes watered and he wondered if the bite had been infected, because he definitely didn't feel okay.

"No. And you don't want to know."

Luhan didn't press any further, because Sehun seemed to tense up even more after only a few seconds, and he spent the time staring at the ceiling, just happy that Sehun was finally with him. He couldn't believe it had taken him almost being killed for Sehun to touch him willingly. Talk to him. Care for him. Maybe it was Luhan's fault for believing all the hearsays about the leader. About his bloodlust and power and hunger for destruction. The Sehun sitting above him now wasn't like that. He did seem a bit distracted, however, and Luhan reached for his hand, but Sehun yanked it away quickly, as if his touch burned.

"Sehun? What's wrong?" He asked, feeling a slight sting in his heart at the quick, effortless rejection.

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Of course."

His mate closed his eyes and took a deep breath, nails almost clawing at the floor as he leaned back. He looked tortured, and Luhan wanted to reach out and embrace him to dispel whatever was troubling him.

"Your heat...I can smell it coming. I've been going crazy the past hour because the scent makes my blood boil in a delicious but also excruciatingly painful way. The smell of your skin, Luhan, it's… I can smell your flesh getting more and more sensitive. I can smell your breasts becoming tender. And right now… Right now I can hardly keep myself from giving in to my primal instinct of mounting you, and fucking you hard against the floor while I knot you until you scream my name. Your heat isn't even fully in motion, and yet you make me crave like I've never craved before. My mouth is salivating."

Oh. So that was what was going on.

Luhan lay completely still, trying to make the smells he was apparently emitting stay away from his mate. He didn't even know if he was ready. He'd never been through a heat before, so he didn't know what it was like. And he didn't know what breeding was like either. He knew that sooner or later he'd find out, but what if he was bad at it? What if Sehun tried to mount him but then lost interest? What if Luhan's body didn't take the sperm properly and Luhan couldn't bear cubs? What if Sehun lost control in his trance and hurt him? He hated himself for thinking something like that, but he remembered back in his own pack when Kris had gone crazy with lust and hurt his mate Kai while mounting him for the first time. The boy had been torn and bruised and almost bloodied, and Kris hadn't been able to look at him for the next few weeks, too ridden with guilt and shame, even though Kai had earnestly insisted he was alright.

But Luhan knew it was all instincts. Nothing the alphas could control. When they got a whiff of the strong pheromones it set something off in their bodies, in their brains, if he remembered correctly from his father having 'The Talk' with him when he was little, and so he couldn't understand how Sehun still hadn't charged at him. He had to be strong-willed, at the very least.

Luhan felt a cold hand splay on his stomach and he flinched, glancing down at Sehun, who was just staring at his belly button, eyes half-lidded and pupils blown. Luhan felt himself shiver at the touch, and it stirred a heat and pressure in his nether region, which began to make him restless.

Sehun leaned his head down on Luhan's stomach, both of his hands touching the long stretch of his skin, squeezing ever so slightly. His nose was buried in him, and he was breathing deeply, panting against him.

"If I were to… If I--... Would you..."

Luhan could feel the need to be mounted then, as Sehun's hot breath tickled over him. He wanted it so bad. He was shaking and his hole was already leaking clear fluid and he prayed he’d be fed to calm the ache inside of him that was brewing. It didn't, however, lessen his fear of it all.

Sehun seemed to notice, and pulled away slowly, face looking pained. "No… Not yet. You're not ready. The heat hasn't even started. Kyungsoo!" Luhan flinched as he called the other alpha's name, feeling hypersensitive. He couldn't bear the loud sound. "And if what that scumbag said was true… I can't take any chances. I won't have any other thirsty alpha from another pack smelling you. I have to set up defences or something. I have to… have to..."

Sehun swallowed loudly, hunching forward. Luhan felt saddened, paining his mate like this. He didn't want to be a burden. He wished he could just turn the whole thing off so that he didn't have to drive anyone crazy, including himself.

Kyungsoo walked into the hut with urgency, but then stopped in his tracks once he seemed to realize the situation, his stance changing from alarmed to relaxed and mellow.

"Go get Hyosung," Sehun said, panting on the floor. His voice was hoarse. "Now."

Kyungsoo didn't move or speak. Luhan saw him sneak a glance, and felt bare and vulnerable under his gaze for the first time. There seemed to be an internal struggle in him, and Luhan felt like crying, because he didn't want Kyungsoo thinking about him like that. He didn't want anyone but Sehun thinking about him like that, but if an alpha smelled him, their brains were re-wired to want, want, want--

"Look at Luhan for one more second and I swear to god I will rip your head off your fucking body," Sehun seethed, getting up and standing in front of Luhan to shield him. His big stature was dangerous looking and defensive, and Luhan whimpered at the thought of that same man thrusting inside of him, grunting, biting-- "Go. Get. Hyosung."

Kyungsoo walked out reluctantly, and it was only when he was gone that Luhan remembered they didn't have many omegas in the pack, which was why everyone seemed so unprepared.

A woman came running in a little while later - Luhan couldn't tell how long it had been; he was feeling too unwell - and she sat down by his side, feeling his forehead and checking his pulse.

"It's only going to get worse… Shall I get the girls and have them help him through the night? I can fetch someone to take you back to your hut too.”

"No," Sehun simply said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm not letting him out of my sight. He goes to my hut."

"A-are you sure?" Hyosung asked, and everything about her seemed to indicate it was a horrible idea. "You heard me when I said it's only going to get worse, right?"

"Yes."

*

Luhan didn't understand how Sehun could torture himself like that. He was lying in Sehun's bed, a cold cloth on his forehead and his hands tied to the headboard so that he couldn't touch himself and make everything worse. Sehun had taken to pacing around the hut, and Luhan could practically see his blood boil and his self-restraint get explicitly exercised. He knew he was stinking up the place too with his strong scent, and if by now he wasn't in actual, full-blown heat, Luhan didn't know what to do with himself.

"S-Sehun, please," he started, breathing laboured and skin aching. "Sehun… I need… I-I need..."

"Luhan, stop talking."

It was a direct order, but Luhan couldn't help himself. His hole was clenching and he was dying for something to happen. He'd never imagined anything could make him so desperate to be mated, but he needed it so bad - it was like every single cell in his body was screaming for it.

"I need you… I-I need you to fill me, to make the burning go away… please-- ah… please..."

"Stop talking like that." Sehun snapped, turning around to face him. Luhan would have flinched and shut up had he not been so insanely turned on, Sehun’s guttural voice making his cock jump.

"But I promise I'm ready..." Luhan whined, by now feeling so aroused he could hardly think. "Take me, take me, take me-- oh god..." He pulled at his restraints, his wrists hurting almost as much as his erection, and made a couple of futile whining noises in the hopes of getting Sehun's attention.

It wasn't long before he felt a hand on his knee, and he jerked at the contact, moaning and feeling more clear liquid oozing out of his hole in the most obscene way. He'd probably bitten his bottom lip raw by now, but what else could he do? He was so restless and hopelessly turned on, and when Sehun's skin met with his he felt electrified, every cell in him singing and begging for more touch, please.

"Jesus, you should see yourself," Sehun just said, and it sounded like it was supposed to be said with a chuckle, as a joking remark, but when Luhan looked up he only saw hooded, dark eyes and the face of a man who was at his last stretch of tolerance. Sehun released a deep groan and inhaled sharply, his fingers digging and almost piercing into Luhan's sensitive skin.

The next thing Luhan knew one of his thighs was being pinned down to the mattress so violently he yelped, looking wildly up at Sehun, who seemed to be gone from general awareness. All that was left was a panting, grunting, wolf-like human, and Luhan knew he was beyond the point of return now.

Sehun lay down over his body and pulled at his hair to bare his neck while snarling animalistically into it. Luhan would have been scared had he not reminded himself that Sehun was a pack leader as well as a good hunter and all kinds of other things that differentiated him from the reckless, violently unstable, young alphas who could tear an omega’s body apart during sex from pure overzealousness.

"Luhan," Sehun growled into his skin, and said omega almost came just from that, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as Sehun sank his sharp teeth into his flesh, immediately making him limp and docile, his body ready to be mounted once again, like that time he'd been marked when he first got there.

It was almost a scary feeling, because he wouldn't have been able to put up a fight if he wanted to, not that he did, but the sedative alpha bites were one of the reasons why so many omegas were taken against their will.

He just looked up at Sehun with wet, pleading eyes, whimpering like a little pup, which he hadn't done for many years. Sehun acknowledged it by leaning down to kiss him, his mouth hot and his tongue eager. He let Sehun lick every inch of the inside of his mouth, feeling almost drunk at the thought of the fact that he'd get to feel a cock inside of him soon, and Sehun's one at that.

"Oh, baby," Sehun breathed as he touched his nipples, toying obsessively with them and leaning down to suck on one. Luhan gasped, his teat as swollen as Sehun had told him they would get. Sehun's tongue was horribly sinful, and he made the most indecent sounds while going at it. "You're so pretty for me. So ready for me… So sensitive..."

Luhan could only nod weakly in agreement, relaxing his legs more in the hope that Sehun could settle between them soon.

He got his wish.

The naked skin of Sehun's lower body brushed against his, and he moaned, arching off the mattress. "Please, release me..." he breathed, gesturing up to his bound hands, and Sehun granted his wish again, yanking the bindings off in one violent pull. But as soon as the rope was gone his hands were pinned to the mattress by his mate, making him unable to move as Sehun feasted on his neck, licking and sucking over his bite marks.

He didn't know if communication with Sehun was even possible at that point because it seemed like instinct had taken over, and all Sehun wanted at that moment was to fuck and knot him until he carried children.

Fingers suddenly slipped into his wet hole, and Luhan gasped, not used to feeling anything down there. It was painful when the third one worked its way in, and Luhan tried to relax, focusing on Sehun nipping at his lobe and breathing heavily into his ear.

He regretted looking down the instant he did, because when he saw his mate's big cock, half of him was overcome with lust and the other half was scared silly, images of it being inside him and tearing him apart flooding his mind. He whimpered some more, clenching around Sehun's fingers, so much so that his mate chuckled, pulling them out slowly.

"Don't worry, my love. I'll be in you soon," he said, but Luhan barely heard it, feeling like he'd been driven crazy with need. Sehun fed him a sole finger to quieten his whines, and soon after that, the blunt tip of his cock was aligned with Luhan's weeping entrance, nudging erotically at the muscle.

Sehun made the most guttural, inhumane sound as he pushed into him, and Luhan bit down on Sehun's finger, his mind going blank as he was split open. The feeling was painful, but Sehun filling him was almost so satisfying he didn't pick up on it. He felt so complete, like he'd finally fulfilled his purpose. Sehun held him tight as he sunk in, kissing him all over as they bathed in the feverish, intense, and sacred act.

Sehun moved as soon as he was fully seated inside, his claws growing out as he grabbed Luhan's hips, keeping him completely still while the primal instincts took over again, and he moved in a machine-like manner, spearing into Luhan's slick hole. The rub was a mixture of stinging and satisfaction, and Luhan let his mouth hang open as Sehun worked, consummating their love and bond with the most intimate act of their kind.

"You're so tight," Sehun said into his ear, and Luhan was certain it was only a statement of fact, but he melted at the words, feeling closer and closer to his peak. "My little Luhan," he cooed. "You feel so good around my cock. I can't wait for you to bear my children."

Luhan gripped Sehun's shoulders hard, crying out as Sehun propelled into him, his body so big and sturdy that Luhan didn't even have to move a single muscle for anything to happen. He just lay there and took it, accepting Sehun's cock into him while it prodded his insides pleasurably, scratching white behind his eyelids and making him salivate. Sehun was his entire world in that moment, his oxygen and life-force and higher ruler, and all he wanted to do was stare up at him, happy to know Sehun was getting what he'd asked for from the get-go.

He lay there sedated for a little while, trying to breathe as Sehun's eager member fucked him open, Sehun alternating between thrusting hard and fast and going more languidly to lean down and kiss him at the same time.

Luhan didn't come to his senses until he screamed when Sehun tried to shove his knot in, the bulbous thing much, much larger than Luhan had ever imagined. He hadn't even noticed that it had grown and had been bumping against his opening for the past couple of minutes, his mind still cloudy from the bite at his neck.

"W-wait--" he whimpered, muscles clenching in fear.

Sehun stuck three fingers into his mouth and rocked the bulb against his hole, getting it closer and closer to penetrating each time. Luhan could do nothing much but gurgle and moan around Sehun’s fingers, the stretch painful but masochistically pleasurable at the same time. It was okay; this was nature. He was made for this. He needed to be knotted to be impregnated.

"Don't worry, my little love," Sehun whispered, stroking his face reassuringly. Luhan could tell he was desperate to knot him, but wanted to make sure he didn't hurt Luhan in the process, even though his conscience should be long gone due to the animal instincts taking its place. "Just let it in and relax. Relax your muscles for me. That's it. Let us become one."

Luhan groaned and cried, tears leaking out of his eyes while he choked on his own spit, feeling Sehun's thick knot lodging inside of him. It hurt so bad, but Sehun reached down to pump his softened member and play with his nipples while whispering into his ear, and Luhan relaxed as he felt Sehun's warm breath fanning over his skin.

He felt the heavy flow of Sehun's semen filling him up, and groaned at the odd sensation of taking so much liquid in while being plugged up at the same time. Sehun kept licking his cheek and grunting, his hands stroking Luhan's hips and stomach possessively. It was when Luhan clenched down on Sehun's big knot for the first time that he felt a wave of pleasure course through him, the feeling mutual as Sehun groaned when he did so.

"Naughty boy," Sehun muttered against his lips, pinching Luhan's sore nipples. Luhan cried out, tears still blinding him as the heat in his belly became too much to bear.

Luhan came at the feeling of being filled with Sehun's knot and semen, his insides so hot and stretched he didn't even know if he was conscious anymore. Sehun held him while he came, still filling Luhan with his sperm, and they stayed like that for a long while, Luhan whimpering when he became hypersensitive and feeling almost numb from Sehun's different sizes stretching him all evening long.

Luhan had thought that would be it, but once the first round was over, Sehun seemed no less satiated, and went at it all again, as if he was in an endless need to have Luhan's body. It worked in Luhan's favour, however, because his horrible heat kept returning after every round of intense knotting, and the only thing soothing Luhan through it by the sixth round was the knowledge that soon he'd be carrying Sehun's children, his whole body sore but satisfied with that thought.

"They'll be the most beautiful children in the world, Luhan," Sehun said, licking incessant, wet stripes up his stomach, as if it was already round with life. "I couldn't have asked for anyone better."

Luhan smiled and reached down to run a hand through his mate's short hair. He felt safer and more loved than he ever had in his life, and it was an amazing feeling. He was spoiled with kisses and licks as Sehun's cock finally had a hard time getting up, red and sore from all the friction, and Luhan didn't even want to think about what his hole looked like.

"Can I do it one more time?" Sehun asked, nudging his nose pleadingly against Luhan's sweaty neck, and Luhan couldn't help but smile, reaching his arms around him and holding him close.

"You can do whatever you want. I'm yours, remember?"

"I know that," Sehun said with a smile, kissing the smaller male chastely. "But it doesn't hurt to ask for permission. I wouldn't knot you again if you were too sore to take it."

"I can take it," Luhan insisted. He knew Sehun needed to have children, and he knew that it had to be during this heat cycle, because he needed to begin raising successors.

"Really I just want to be inside you again," Sehun whispered in his ear, biting it playfully while he did, and oh no, Luhan was getting hard again, his tired and pinkened member twitching as he moaned at Sehun's words alone. "I want to milk you until you're completely dry; the only thing left in you being my sperm in your ass and belly. I want us to be stuck together again, my cock unable to leave your body because it's locked in. I want you to feel like you're missing something when my knot isn't inside of you, filling you up."

They went at it two more times and, by the time they finished, the sun was up and the hut smelled of nothing but sex and come and sweat, all the other alphas in the camp having had to clear away at least a kilometer in case the tempting scent drove them insane.

*

Luhan knew he was pregnant when his breasts started feeling tender two days later, staying in Sehun's bed for most of the time. Sehun came in to check on him often and feed him, picking apart bits of meat and using his fingers to push them into Luhan's mouth, as if he were incapable of eating.

"Sehun, you know I can--"

"I know, I know...I just feel like doing it. I can't have you stressed out or exhausting yourself."

Luhan chuckled, smiling as he reached a hand up to touch his mate's face. Sehun turned and kissed his palm, then placed a steady hand over Luhan's belly, locking eyes with him.

"They're going to be so beautiful."

Luhan nodded, placing his hand over Sehun's. He felt so fulfilled with something growing in his belly, a sort of odd feeling he couldn't really explain. He no longer had anxiety, or felt a sense of not being good enough. He could almost feel his father's pride radiating from his old settlement area. And his mother… oh, she'd kiss him on the cheek and pat his stomach lovingly, telling him how good he was. But then Luhan realized he could also kind of picture Xiumin's disappointment, and his smile dropped. Even though he knew he'd never see any of them again, the thought of Xiumin pining and hurting because of him was horrible.

"Something wrong, little Lu?" Sehun asked, still stroking Luhan's flat belly like it was the most interesting thing in the world. There wasn't even a bump yet, and his mate was obsessed with it.

Luhan shook his head, smiling weakly. He'd been puking all day and his mood felt flat, flatter now that new thoughts had come to sprout. "Just tired."

*

Luhan spent most of his time laying in Sehun's abnormally comfortable bed (he was the only one who had a proper one in the pack), and he saw more of Sehun now than he had ever before. He seemed to have straightened up his act, because he was hardly ever not there, even when he was supposed to be out hunting or dealing with familial or clan matters.

He sat next to Luhan in the bed, guarding him from any possible dangers that might be near, and was more talkative than ever. He told Luhan about his parents and the history of their pack, as well as some silly anecdotes and some things that he enjoyed, such as fishing and trekking up the mountains. But most of all, Sehun was obsessed with Luhan's wellbeing and how they were supposed to take care of their little cubs, listing off important points that their healer had remarked once, as well as all the old wives’ tales he knew, and Luhan listened while smiling, knowing that his children would be born into a world of utmost love and care.

Now that he was mated and bred, Kyungsoo was allowed to come by and chat with him when Sehun was gone, and Luhan always enjoyed their little conversations. Kyungsoo didn't put up barriers because Luhan was pregnant or act like he was stepping on thin ice, but he rather told ghost stories and of all the crazy daily happenings out at camp, like how one alpha had gotten their arm ripped off by Sehun because he'd said something about Luhan's smell making him horny. (Luhan didn't know how true that was; it could easily be Kyungsoo exaggerating for comedic purposes, but he didn't doubt that Sehun actually might...)

*

When the pups were due, Luhan saw Sehun more unsettled than he'd ever seen him, and saved the image in the recesses of his mind as he clenched and tried to relax at the same time, hoping to cope with the unbearable pain somehow.

Sehun was kneeling next to him, his face pale as he watched Luhan be sliced open to be able to birth all the healthy little ones inside of him. There were three in total, and they made the cutest noises once they came out into the world. Sehun never let go of him, though. His hand was squeezed tight around Luhan's, and it stayed there, all he ever did to take his eyes off the whole ordeal being to run a stressed hand through his hair.

"Just try to relax, baby," Sehun mumbled in Luhan's direction, and Luhan chuckled, because he was the one who should be telling Sehun that, considering how freaked he was. For someone who murdered so many on a daily basis, Sehun sure seemed squeamish.

"Would you like to hold one?" Their healer asked, carrying a lone pup in his arms. Luhan had gotten one to hold to his chest only minutes before, and Sehun just stared at the little thing, looking hesitant.

"What if I break it?" He asked, voice full of sincerity, and Luhan giggled, reaching out to grab Sehun's hand and squeeze it.

"Your son wants to be held by his father."

Sehun nodded, though he looked uncharacteristically pale. He opened his arms nonetheless and accepted the little thing into it. The baby had a small nose just like Luhan, and lips just like his own.

"Look how underdeveloped their little ears and tails are," Sehun said with a smile, enthusiasm brimming in him, and Luhan beamed in acknowledgement, holding up the little girl in his arms. There was an alpha boy, a beta boy, and a beta girl, and they were all beautiful. Luhan thanked the heavens that he hadn't birthed any omegas, because he knew all too well the struggles and consequences of that type of existence. Sehun was probably ecstatic that he’d have an alpha to train up and ready for his own abdication later on in life.

Luhan lay next to Sehun for hours on end those first few days, admiring the new life they’d just been blessed with. Warm little bundles were shared between their arms, snoozing softly and sleeping soundly as if they hadn’t come into the world kicking and screaming a little while before.

But the bliss had to end at some point, of course. Soon Sehun was called on to join the hunting excursions again, as well as parole the territory for trespassers. Luhan missed him while he was gone, especially when his little ones suddenly started crying with no sign of stopping (Luhan suspected they could somehow feel their father’s presence was no longer there), and he tried futilely to imitate his mate’s safe presence with big bundles of sheep skins, though it wasn’t the same.

Luckily, Luhan wasn’t completely alone, because Kyungsoo came by a couple times a day with some healing ointments for his belly and food for it to match, making Luhan smile. He even let Kyungsoo hold his cubs sometimes, and Kyungsoo seemed oddly happy about it. Perhaps it was knowing that Sehun probably wouldn’t be too happy about it, but knowing Luhan trusting him enough to let him share that joy anyways.

Of course, Kyungsoo had to leave when it was time for Luhan to feed his pups milk. His breasts had started lactating five months into the pregnancy, and so they were swollen and slightly bigger than normal, and he had to learn how to guide his children's mouths to his nipples so that they would latch onto them. Sometimes they would suck but nothing would come out, and Luhan would be left with sore nubs and a dull, constant pain, while other times it was easier, and he got over the soreness at the comforting thought that his children were being fed.

The alpha boy was particularly difficult to deal with, as he often times refused to drink anything and just cried stubbornly. Luhan sighed, because he could already tell that one took after their clan's leader, and knew he'd probably have to struggle with keeping him in line. The only thing that comforted him was that at least he was quieter in his arms than he was in Sehun’s. Perhaps it was because his natural instincts picked up on a second alpha scent and it made him angry. Luhan could already picture his two alphas going at each other in the future, both too strong-willed and stubborn to back down. That was the nature of being an alpha, after all.

*

Luhan was able to leave Sehun’s hut only after he’d healed up moderately well, which had taken at least a month’s time, and Sehun only let him leave for small things, mostly to get to the pond to wash himself, but also to step his small feet through fresh grass and feel the cooling breeze. They usually left their children in the care of two experienced omega females while they were off doing their separate things. Luhan typically went to pick berries or bathe, and Sehun went to do his normal, leader routines.

Luhan got back to the hut first that day, carrying an entire basket of berries and some fresh, spring potatoes that he'd found on his way, and he was getting so excited for when his children could finally have a go at solids. He'd make them the best porridges and marmalade, and then Luhan's sore breasts would finally catch a break too.

He walked into the stuffy hut with his head in the clouds, which he shouldn't have done, because he hadn't picked up on the strong smell of an alpha presence inside. Luhan froze when he saw the bed, because at the foot of that bed the two omegas they'd put in charge of their young ones were lying there unmoving, bleeding.

He gasped, dropping his basket of food and slapping a hand over his mouth. The place was reeking of a familiar alpha smell, one he'd been around a lot and had gotten accustomed to so much that he almost barely picked it up.

A figure stood at the far end of the room in a dark, little corner, and Luhan could tell the figure was holding his children, because their piercing crying was coming from that area. He froze, his parental instincts telling him not to move in case his rashness would make the intruder harm them. As his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, he picked up on long claws resting by their little throats, and that was when he knew he had to tread carefully.

"Hello, Luhan," the familiar voice said, and Luhan couldn't help but tremble, feeling uncertainty grip at him while the voice induced violent nausea. "I'm glad to see you're doing well."

"Xiumin," Luhan forced out, feeling his eyes water. "W-what are you doing?"

"I've come to dispose of your unwanted children and bring you back to our pack, of course," the alpha said, playing with the position of his claws relative to the cubs’ throats. Luhan could only stare in horror. "It's only right, and you know it too. You never asked for this."

"No!" Luhan screeched, eyes desperately holding the ones of his children. They'd stopped crying, oh they were too sweet. Now it was Luhan's turn to cry, walking slightly closer, as if Xiumin's sanity would return if he neared him. "I don't want this at all!"

"That monster made them with you, Luhan!" His best friend insisted, as if Luhan was the crazy one. He was yelling at him so loudly he was almost spitting, his eyes wild. "They look like him!"

Luhan sunk to the ground, terrified for his babies. He did it half in despair and half to beg for their lives, knowing Xiumin could end them any time he wanted to, his long, dangerous claws grazing at their soft skin. He crawled forward slightly, head bowed in defeat. He should have turned to that position in the first place, that was how an omega was supposed to formally greet someone of a higher rank, but he'd thought him and Xiumin were past that. That they were friends.

"He's not a monster, you have it all wrong," Luhan tried, voice as shaky as his hands. "They're my children, Xiumin, please--"

He heard one of his babies crying out, and lifted his head up in shock, finding Xiumin's claw sunk into the beta boy's tiny arm. It was bleeding, and Luhan cried when the colour caught his eye, tears streaming down his face with little whimpers forcing their way out alongside it.

"Xiumin, please… do what you will with me, but don't harm them. T-They're only cubs..."

He crawled forwards to where Xiumin was standing, doing it slowly so as not to arouse anger or more irrational harm. He bowed down to him, his head so low he wasn't sure if it could go any lower. Xiumin said nothing, but Luhan licked desperately at Xiumin's feet, trying to please him, trying to show utmost submission.

"Oh please," Xiumin finally said, voice slightly calmer. His claws had retreated slightly from the cubs, and Luhan felt small sense of relief. "You know how much you hated being promised to him. I saw it in your eyes every day. You were chained down and robbed of your youth, and those methods of peace are so archaic they stink of corpses."

"You're right, Xiumin," Luhan agreed, speaking slowly. "That may be so, but I've grown to love Sehun a lot, and--"

“Shut up! I know they’ve indoctrinated you!” Xiumin yelled, and Luhan cowered. “They’ve shoved these mediocre thoughts into your little brain, and now you even believe them.”

Luhan said nothing, but listened to his beta boy cry into the silence of the room. Xiumin was breathing hard, and the noise alone was making him sick.

"Kill me," he offered, baring his neck for a blow. Xiumin froze, staring down at him in disbelief.

"What? I'd never kill you."

"If you're going to kill my children, at least do me the decency of killing me first. You think I want to live without them?"

Xiumin scoffed. "This isn't even about the children, Luhan," he said, laying the cubs back down on the bed none too carefully.

"What is it about, then?" Luhan challenged, feeling angry that his best friend would ever drag his children into anything. His ex-best friend. He wanted nothing to do with him now, not even to look him in the eyes.

Luhan regretted asking, because a second later he felt a warm pair of lips smash against his own, and he only squeaked in response, his whole body paralyzed with the action. He felt gentle fingers come up to stroke under his chin, as if they were having a loving little embrace, and Luhan pulled away in disgust, disbelieving.

"Don't mock me!" He shouted, shoving at Xiumin's built body. "I may be an omega, but that gives you no right to take advantage of me!"

Pride looking hurt, Xiumin tried to lean forward and kiss him again, even pick him up, but Luhan screamed, "No!" And proceeded to try and scratch him with his own claws, though they were little and not too sharp. Xiumin dodged him easily, and moved to pounce forwards on him, but he stopped midway, and Luhan could smell why.

He was there. He had come.

It happened so fast that Luhan almost didn't register what was going on. Xiumin was moving towards him one second, tunnel vision and goal evident, and the next he was shoved against the wall of the hut, loud growls and banging heard as two alpha males started wrangling on the floor.

Luhan sat in silence, hearing Xiumin yelp twice, which signalled he'd been struck heavily somewhere and was probably bleeding. Sehun's eyes were ablaze with fury, and he knew he wouldn't back down until Xiumin was a cold, lifeless corpse. Surprisingly, Xiumin got the upper hand at one point, and Luhan had to watch while he slashed his mates handsome face straight across, as if payback for what had first happened to him in the hut when he'd tried to defend Luhan's honour.

Luhan bit his bottom lip, seeing in slow motion the shift of Sehun on top of Xiumin, both of his hands closing around his neck. Xiumin was snarling, but his eyes were wide and searching for Luhan, and said boy had to look away to stop the guilty feeling from brewing in his stomach.

"I'll kill you slow," Sehun spat, tightening his hold and adding in sarcastically, "Any last words?"

Luhan had never watched Sehun kill anybody. The thought of it was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, but seeing his former best friend be the first victim of the act made him tremble. Xiumin was looking at him, like he always did, and Luhan crumbled.

"S-Sehun, please… Out of respect for everything he's ever done for me, please spare him."

"Spare him?" Sehun asked, confused.

"He's not okay in the head. My disappearance from the pack must have messed him up. I don't know...all I do know is that I don't want to fall asleep every night with the image of my mate choking out the boy who helped me grow up."

Sehun’s chokehold lessened, and Xiumin gulped down desperate breaths as his air flow was no longer restricted. Sehun got off Xiumin’s body, but kept his eyes trained to him, and all Xiumin did was curl up and twitch on the floor, making all sorts of odd noises. Sehun exchanged a glance with him, and Luhan averted his gaze, not sure if what he’d done was right or wrong or somewhere in between. All he knew was that he wanted to tend to his child and mate's wounds before he did anything else, and began to search the room for some gauze.

“Be gone,” Sehun hissed at Xiumin, who scrambled to his feet with beady eyes holding Sehun’s, creeping towards the other side of the room.

Luhan only barely saw it, the act of Xiumin napping up one of his cubs as he made for the entrance, and he screamed, feeling helpless and angry as Xiumin's figure disappeared outside and he was left crying on the floor. He looked to his side to check for Sehun, but Sehun wasn't there either, so he must have run out to go after him.

Luhan quickly crawled over to his two children on the bed, leaning over them protectively and hugging their little bodies to his bigger one. They were crying, and Luhan cooed them, kissing their little ears and breathing in their scents. His heart was hurting. He couldn't stop crying and his heart was hurting because his little beta girl was gone, and all he could do to help was cradle his beta boy's wounded arm and lick at it, feeling like a failure.

"I've let you down, I'm sorry," Luhan mumbled between them, breath hitching. "I'm the worst… The absolute worst..."

Where the rest of the clan members were when a stranger had infiltrated their defences that night, Luhan didn't know, but nobody came to help and nobody lit the lanterns, meaning Luhan ended up protectively lying over his cubs while two omega bodies lay bleeding down by the foot of his bed in darkness, minutes or hours passing slowly and painfully. He wanted to follow Sehun, wanted to rip Xiumin apart and snatch his child right back from him, but he couldn't leave his other ones alone, and he couldn't bring them with him. Luhan put all his faith into Sehun, and he'd never regret it, but Xiumin was tricky and smart, and if he made it back to the territory and therefore protection of his own clan, Sehun would be in trouble.

Luhan reluctantly crawled up into bed and collapsed down on it, weeping to himself as he lamented his little girl. His cries were loud and woeful, and he cried for Sehun too, because he had no way of knowing if he was okay or not. What if Xiumin had an attack party ready for him, and he was only luring Sehun out with the baby to get him vulnerable? What if Xiumin managed to dispose of the baby and Sehun refused to return home because of guilt and shame for what had happened?

Luhan's little cubs stopped crying in the middle of the night, though Luhan was still processing sniffles and hics, eyes feeling sore from all the tears. He wanted Sehun there. He wanted Kyungsoo there. He wanted anybody there. Just not him alone with his own thoughts because they pulled him into a drowsy sleep with looming nightmares, and the loneliness around him was so plentiful he felt like he'd never come back again.

*

Luhan woke up slowly by feeling something small stroking his arm, and he shivered, recognizing the touch. It was the same little hand that always grabbed at his hair and poked at his chest to signalize hunger. He thought he must be dreaming, that it was nature's cruel idea to make him dream of her so soon, but Luhan's eyes shot open when he realized he could smell blood, and he came face to face with Sehun, who was tentatively holding his little girl right up to him, her hands reaching out for him and brushing by his arm. His eyes widened, filling with tears of relief, and Sehun laid her slowly into his open arms, Luhan curling desperately around her and kissing her head. She was in one piece, she was beautiful, and she wasn't even crying, her mouth instead making little bubbles and her hand reaching out for Luhan's chin.

He looked up from her as he noticed Sehun was silent, and saw all the blood on him that he'd missed on both his face and hands. In his mouth.

"...Sehun?"

"Don't worry; I killed an animal on the way back to feed her. I don't have your naturally produced food, sadly."

"Where's Xiumin?" Luhan asked, refusing to smell the blood Sehun was covered with. He didn’t even really want to know, but he couldn’t think of what else to say.

Sehun just shrugged, cracking his neck. "Slipped away?"

Luhan just nodded, accepting that. "He didn't hurt you first, did he?"

Sehun shook his head, and then looked tentatively back up at Luhan. Luhan let out of sob of relief, throwing himself into Sehun's arms and kissing his cheek, ignoring the blood that by now probably tinted his lips red.

"Thank you," he whispered, clinging onto Sehun and trying to steady his breathing. Sehun smiled weakly at him and wrapped his arms around his waist, laying the both of them down on the bed with their little girl and two boys between them.

"You don't have to be scared anymore," Sehun told him just before he drifted off, stroking his hair.

*

It took a while for Luhan to want to leave Sehun’s hut again. So long, in fact, that he only made it out when one day his little alpha boy ran in and yanked at his hand to get him to come out and look at all the pretty daffodils. The sun was shining bright, and Luhan had to squint his tired eyes at the painful but beautiful display, drawing fresh air into his lungs for the first time in a long while.

“Here, go give this to your Papa. He’s been sad lately, it should cheer him right up,” Luhan heard his mate’s familiar voice say, and looked over to see Sehun handing a flower to their beta boy, who ran up excitedly to him and offered it as a small gift.

Luhan smiled weakly, taking the flower and kissing the boy on his nose. “Thank you, darling.”

The boy giggled, patting Luhan’s knee comfortingly before he ran off to join his brother and sister where they were playing catch with two alphas, one of them being Kyungsoo, who smiled at Luhan as he stood there, observing everything around him. The whole pack seemed to be aware that he’d come out now, and they kept their voices down a little, but didn’t stop what they were doing.

Luhan felt a comforting arm around his shoulder, and looked up to come face to face with Sehun, who gave him one of their routine ‘good morning’ kisses.

“You look beautiful today. Thank you for coming out.”

Luhan blushed, nodding in acknowledgement. He leaned his head on Sehun’s sturdy shoulder, watching his children smile and play gleefully. He remembered why he liked coming outside again, even if all the sounds made him flinch. He wasn’t all good yet, but he was getting there.

“Look at them; they’re doing so well,” Sehun said, pointing at their children and squeezing Luhan’s shoulders. “They’ve done nothing but run around and play all summer. Also annoy the living hell out of Chanyeol.”

Sehun chuckled, and Luhan felt a small laugh bubble up in his throat too. Sehun was so good to him. He’d told him every day what the kids had been up to if he took them out, and spent hours describing the changing seasons to him, every new leaf and spritz of green.

“We’re a family now,” Luhan said, feeling an odd sense of belonging and identity that he hadn’t had before. It was uplifting, that he was needed again.

“Yes, we are, and stronger than ever before,” Sehun agreed, kissing Luhan’s temple. He laced their fingers together, making sure Luhan heard him loud and clear when he said, “It can only go up from here.”