Old Way ||| Ateez

30

Seonghwa sighed heavily and ran his hands through his already disheveled hair. His right leg bounced rapidly.

If things were bad before, they were so much worse now.

His pack was in shambles...

Eight of them were still missing.

They were in a strange place and didn't know who they could trust.

Wooseok had just shattered any kind of self control Jongho had, so now they had an unhinged alpha on their hands.

And he was starting to worry about the other three omegas in his pack...

He glanced over at where Wooyoung was sitting on the other end of the couch. The younger looked incredibly pale and was completely ignoring his son, who was gently shaking his arm.

Just as Seonghwa was about to go ask, Yeosang walked in the front door with Gunner, Rhodey, Stephan, and the twins.

"What happened?" Gunner asked, hurrying over to kneel in front of his mother. "What's wrong with Uncle Jongho?"

Yeosang came and sat next to them, his honey scent sour with distress. "Wooseok told him a Seer claims they are Soulmates."

A stifling silence filled the cabin.

They all knew the importance of that term, how much it could change everything.

"Is it true?" Stephan stepped forward. Every muscle in his body was tense, showing that his inner alpha was struggling with how much dominance was coming from the larger bedroom.

Everyone turned to look at Wooyoung and Chan, the only two who had witnessed what had been said.

Wooyoung lost even more color and started to tremble a little bit, but he showed no signs of having heard what Stephan had asked.

Instead, Chan sat up a little straighter and spoke. "Wooseok seemed to believe it. I didn't sense any lies when he spoke."

"How dare he do this. How dare he!" Seonghwa slammed his fist into his thigh. "Especially with knowing all we've been through."

"Easy, Hwa." Yeosang said softly. "We don't need anyone else to loose control."

"What do you think is going on with him?" Gunner glanced at the bedroom door, bristling a little.

Yeosang pursed his lips and exhaled sharply through his nose. "I think it's a combination of several things. The shock from what that bastard said would have triggered his wolf in many ways. It's hard to say whether or not it recognized the word or if it felt anything, but it would want to be ready to protect him. And then throw in the array of emotions that I'm sure started flowing from Yunho would send it on a frenzy. Plus, Jongho's never truly been the same after being forced into submission by the Colonel's grandson."

"You're right." Seonghwa agreed, eyes falling to the floor in defeat. "He wouldn't be able regain control as easily as before."

"Is Uncle Yunho alright?" Lizbeth asked from where both she and Lorelai were tucked into Stephan's sides, almost like they needed him to help stand up. "That had to have been hard for him to hear too..."

Seonghwa bit his lip, then reached out to his pack mate. Yunho? Are you alright?

Anger bristled through the link, causing everyone except for Stephan and the twins to flinch at the same time and hiss.

Yunho, please, can you answer me? Are you alright?

I'm fine. The beta answered softly after a minute. Even through the link his voice trembled a little. I... I don't know what to do.