Danger. A Closed Forest | Stray Kids

32. HARD TIME

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/~*~\\ HARD TIME //~*~\

Chan got up on trembling legs and brushed the snow off his white fur, which was mingling with the cold fluff. Night travel was not very pleasant in minus twenty degrees frosts and heavy snowfall. Already three mornings in a row, Chan was opening his eyes with the first rays of the sun, trying its strength against persistent heavy clouds. There was no time to waste. With each passing day, his pack was starving more and more, and it was going to be even harder with a new member on the way. Bang himself would most likely never come back there, but he was able to sacrifice his life for the general good.

He galloped through the drifts, sometimes having to jump and poke his mouth like a fox in a hunt, then he would come out and wade until he stepped into the shallower snow and ran on. He did not think the journey would take so long. In normal weather and no obstacles, he would have made it in two days, but in the middle of winter he was not sure if he could get there in four. He was exhausted, and one hare he had hunted before he decided to rest did not fill his stomach enough to give him enough strength to continue his journey, yet he did not stop. Too much responsibility was on his shoulders for him to give up now.

He knew he had left his omega somewhere in the far back, sadness pinching his neck over their bond. He had a strange feeling that he was missing something very important, and uncertainty was creeping into his mind, planting a grain of regret. He wanted to turn back. Turn around and hug Hwanwoong so that neither of them would feel the sorrow of the other.

Sudden pain shot through his front right paw, and he landed his mouth in the light snow. He lifted the limb, from which a red liquid oozed enormously on the white ground, and a piece of glass stuck in the pillow. After a moment of surprise, he reached out with his teeth and with a slight squeal disposed of the fragment. What was the glass doing in the middle of the forest? He shook his head from side to side, trying to focus on his target, then continued on his way, a little slower and more carefully as the paw was causing him excruciating pain.

Behind him, red rose petals were forming on the white quilt covering the ground.

.

.

.

- Changbin, Bam? - Minho gave them a look of hope as the alphas returned from their hunt. These few days weren't easy. They managed to find some edible roots when Hwanwoong and Yugyeom went for a little walk with Bam and Hyunjin. Hwanwoong was always stressed out and had nowhere to go. His scar was still there, and it was causing no pain, which was perhaps the only good thing that calmed his nerves a bit. He asked Minho not to tell anyone about his little secret, which beta also promised, keeping an eye on him twenty-four hours a day.

- Nothing - Changbin sank onto the couch next to Jeongin, Felix's head on the latter's lap, and pressed his cheek against his shoulder. Hyunjin pushed himself between the back of the couch and Felix's back and put an arm around his waist. All four found comfort in their warmth. After these words, there was an unpleasant silence. Minho watched Hwanwoong's forehead form concerned wrinkles, and his hand grasped the corner of the cabinet as his legs shuddered uneasily. Lee in a split second was behind him and held his biceps to stabilize his balance.

- It's okay, I felt a bit dizzy, nothing more - Yeo whispered, turning and patting his cheek gently in a graceful gesture. Meanwhile, Bam disappeared into Yugyeom's room.

Ever since he found out that Chan had gone to find help, he blamed himself for it, and his condition worsened. He was weak ever since he was a pup. When he was born, his father said to abandon him somewhere in the woods because he would not survive the night. However, his mother insisted on waiting a few days. The small omega gained strength to stay in the pack, but all diseases attacked him much more often than the other wolves. His body was susceptible to all germs and viruses that existed, and the additional mental damage he had acquired through all the violence and rape that had befallen him weakened him even more. Bam was the first to take care of him. The moment he saw him, he swore he would not let anyone touch his mate.

Now Kim Yugyeom was lying in his room drenched in cold sweat. His brown wisps sticking to his forehead and his breathing shallow and restless. The hands rested protectively on his stomach. Morning sickness, headaches, and muscle aches had sucked all his vitality out of him, and the pack worried if he would last another night. Bam always wept in secret as Yugyeom fell into a restless sleep. He cried, fearing for his life and with regret that it was all his fault. Kim's body was unable to cope with the little creature that was developing within him. Each hunted prey went to Yugyeom first. They hoped it would strengthen him enough to carry on with the pregnancy. Hwanwoong kept coming to change cold compresses on his forehead and check if he was getting better.

He was not.

- Don't strain yourself - Minho whispered and sat the older one on the couch next to Changbin. Five days. In five days, everything had got tangled up and had pushed their nerves to the limit.

- Minho, what if Chan doesn't come back? - Felix asked, his voice above a whisper, trembling slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, Minho noticed Hwanwoong tense up in place and instinctively put a hand on his stomach. His wolf subconsciously wanted to protect the pup.

- He'll be back. You'll see, he will succeed, and he will come back with good news - Lee smiled to mask his anxiety, which Changbin was probably the only one who did not buy, drilling his cold gaze into him. - It'll be okay, we can make it.

- Hwanwoong, are you okay? - Jeongin's dismayed voice drew their attention to the elder omega. Changbin immediately turned towards him and grasped his arm with horror painted on his face.

- Ch-Chan - Hwanwoong gasped, clutching his neck, a painful grimace disfiguring his face. Breath stuck in his lungs, and meek grunts and groans escaped from between his lips.