Want (I'll give you all the love I want in return)

Chapter 2 - Blue & Grey

Jimin is a bird in a golden cage. He knows that he's kept like a pretty bird. A rare bird. He's a male omega. Male omegas are rare and usually quite handsome, but Jimin's beauty is breathtaking. One more reason he's locked away from the public eye. Who his parents are is another reason.

But more about that later. Right now, Jimin's only concern is who is tearing down his cage and the whole universe around it - and how to survive. Whoever is assaulting them: it's clear they made it inside the palace walls in large numbers. Screams of pain and desperation ring through the night, getting closer and closer until Jimin can hear swords clink, blood-curling shouts of victory and low groans of the wounded.

Then the sounds don't come closer, but rather move away. Jimin knows what that means: they are going for the king's palace. His half-brother has been on the throne for only a little over a year. And given how fast the sounds of fighting move, his chances of surviving the night don't seem high.

"Silla." Hoseok bolts through the door with a breathless shout: "It's Silla attacking us. They are more than our palace army. Someone even saw the crown prince head the troops."

Jimin contemplates the fear and panic in his friend's eyes. Strangely, he feels calm. He can't outrun his fate, so he just places his trust in his fate to survive the night - unlike the unfortunate king.

"Quick. Jimin, we have to leave. All the omegas are evacuating. They're trying to get to the temple by the sea."

It feels like it's someone else who nods when Jimin nods. His legs don't feel like his own when he starts running, Hoseok just a step behind him. When they reach the main house it's pure chaos, as every single one of the palace concubines living there is trying to save her own hide first.

It's a bad sign that there are only the usual four guards on duty, no re-enforcement in sight. Two will lead the courtesans, the other two will watch their backs. The large group of omegas moves quick, but not silent enough. Skirts rustle, a woman shrieks when she stumbles and twists her ankle and a young girl can't stop crying and sniffling.

They pass a narrow corridor between the wall of their compound and the wall of the gardens when they hear heavy boots in front of them. Adrenaline curses through Jimin's veins when the guard shouts:

"Turn! Back!"

Suddenly, his calm is gone and reality hits. The fear starts seeping into his system when he realizes they just dug their own grave: the omegas in the front start pushing to the back, but the ones in the back still struggle forward, because the enemy is behind them as well. They are trapped between the high walls.

There is no mercy when bodies bump into other bodies, hands grab to pull away, feet step on feet - or the bodies that fell to the ground. As he tries to help an older omega up, her sharp elbow hits Jimin's jaw, making him stumble against the wall. Hoseok is by his side in a heartbeat:

"You OK?"

Jimin nods, but his movements freeze because the troops move in from the front and back, crowding the omegas together like a herd of sheep. One of the guards is next to Jimin. The next second he's on the ground with a slit throat. His blood colors Jimin's cream-colored silk shoes a deep crimson.

Hoseok's face loses all color as his eyes stay trained on the dying guard, but Jimin's eyes are caught by a figure approaching them. He is small in stature, probably not much taller than Jimin himself, but commands attention immediately. The alpha oozes authority. Ferocity that inspires immediate submission.

But it's not only that: the alpha's long hair is white despite his young age. It shines eerily bright in the moonlight and can only mean one thing: it's Silla's crown prince. The fabled, white haired Min Yoongi.