The True Alpha: Bad Blood //jjk

24: Pages

Minki was laying awake in bed. With his eyes closed shut, patiently he waited for sleep to come and take over. In that state, it was hard to notice the passage of time or to be aware of the hours that flew by. Time didn't exist, only Minki's breathing did. And it was calm, a calm peaceful breathing that left his lips. All his focus was on that simple human movement; the lungs fill with air, you expel the air, and so on it continues in a tamed cycle. He used his breathing as a distraction from his own troubled thoughts. The days had gone by uneventful and rather.... suspiciously tranquil. Minki wakes up, reports to Aaisha – Taehyung's reliable source – any movement or decision made by Ulric, once he's done, he comes back to his cabin, prepares for the day and starts doing his tasks which include just one. He gathers with his group in the woods, same place at the same time, they wonder around, chop some trees and then bring them back to their designated place – that gigantic bonfire. Nothing else was required of them.

Ulric barely got out of his cabin. The first time he did, was that morning. Minki saw his figure slipping out of the pack territory as he made his way back to his cabin. Hesitantly his feet tapped on the floor as he debated with himself what should he do. Should he follow him or was that too big of a risk? The fear won him over and he walked back to his cabin, pretending he hadn't seen Ulric at all. Minki hadn't seen the Alpha for the rest of the day, so he never really figured out where he had gone to. Regret was pilling up on his stomach, for he wondered if the Alpha had gone to do something horrible. What if something extremely important had happened and Minki wasn't there to stop it or to report to Jungkook about it? Still, the memories of the time he found Ulric devouring some men, in that hidden corner of the woods, had tainted Minki with such a terrifying fear, every step he took was filled with reluctance. The boy wasn't brave enough to follow his duty foolishly.

Minki had been focusing all his energies on one thing, instead – Jungkook and Ulric's relationship. It was rather odd just how similar the two were becoming in his eyes, it almost horrified him. The image of them standing face to face when Jungkook was hunted down by him, the poisonous and vile words they stabbed one another with. It became clear to the boy, and to everybody else, just how deep the hatred for one another was. He thought a lot about Jungkook and he wondered how the Alpha had reacted to their confrontation. Had he lost his temper? Was he preparing some attack of sorts? And, most importantly, what exactly had happened between them that had sparked such violence for the other? Why do they have similar scars and who did them?

There were so many questions and still, people were magically drawn towards Jungkook. Minki was aware and knew, detailly, where all meetings took place. People gathered in hidden parts of the woods, sometimes at homes, other times they shared letters with information. All around the pack, this happened, right under Ulric's nose. Minki's careful and observant eye easily caught sight of it all. Everywhere he looked at, he could spot someone talking about him. With eagerness and hurriedness, people orchestrated the perfect plan to leave the pack, as soon as possible. They begged for directions towards Jungkook's pack. Few were those who were brave enough to let them know. Ulric had 'hunting dogs'... or at least that's how Minki liked to call them. They were an anonymous group of wolves, under Ulric's private command, whose job was to hunt all those who left the pack. It was already common for Minki to see bodies arriving at the pack, by now. Some unlucky ones, never had to chance to leave at all. A whisper was all it took and, in a flash, those vile wolves would show up at their homes. They'd ripped them all to shreds, without ever giving them a chance to explain, to say if it was true or not the suspicion that was being thrown at them. Without ever sharing one last glance or breath, families were killed in their beds. Despite this all, many were the ones who desperately tried to meet the wolf they all believed to be a God; unbeatable, untouchable, unwavering, a safe harbour for them all, the True Alpha was their way out of the miserable life they lived under Ulric's grasp.