RA | YG [✔]

14.

It was in actual fact over three weeks before they traveled. Junghwa was cautious and even if she hadn't been, Yeonjun didn't even let him out of bed for a week, by which time Beomgyu was fully rested and very bored. He behaved himself though. Every time he even dreamed of doing anything more than going to the bathroom, Yeonjun would fix him with this look, and Beomgyu would just melt and agree instantly to whatever his Alpha wanted. Between Yeonjun and Jeongin, if he so much as breathed hard, all hell would break loose.

Henry, much to Beomgyu's embarrassment, was being tasked by going through the old scrolls to see how much he could find about the male omegas and pregnancy. Or, more specifically, just how they were supposed to give birth. Even though Yeonjun had saved Beomgyu's life by stopping the bleeding, they didn't know where the blood had originally come from, so the birth was still speculation. Technology, including any form of modern medicine, had been outlawed and buried by the ruling council for hundreds of years. Henry had found scrolls detailing weapons that fired missiles that had been banned since they were one of the easiest ways for a human to overpower a wolf. Anything that gave the humans an advantage over a physically stronger wolf had been buried, and eventually forgotten. The problem also was that because each territory was so insular, Yeonjun had no idea what they would be walking into. Niandes, where the capital city Neira was located, could easily have "guns", as the fancy weapons were apparently called, and Henry was trying to get as much information from his contact, a historian like himself who lived in the capital, and they had been able to work out a message system using birds. Henry's friend had told them that there were reports of rioting and unrest near the capital. He had also detailed the trouble Niandes was facing. Apparently, Alpha Sihyuk was old and no one had seen him in months. It was his beta commander who was running things, a cruel wolf who despised humans and made Jaekyung look like everyone's favorite uncle. There were even rumors that a group of militia-type humans were grouping together. If Yeonjun didn't do something quickly, a lot of people were going to get killed.

The last report had come over a week ago before Henry had found the scroll containing the history of the human weapons, and there had been nothing since. Heavy snow now covered the ground near the pack house and Henry's contact had also told them that the capital had the first snowfall yesterday, and if they were going to make the journey they needed to start soon or the weather would make it impossible.

Minji would often come lay on the bed with Beomgyu, and they would read together. She'd found out by accident that Beomgyu could barely read and taken it upon herself to teach him. Everyone was indulgent of them spending as much time together as possible because Minji knew every day when the baby was happy—as she put it—and Beomgyu knew Yeonjun needed the reassurance.

Two days ago, everything had suddenly started going wrong when Namjoon had broken his leg, which meant that neither he nor Junghwa could travel with them. Namjoon was supervising the packing of some supplies and a horse had spooked. A human boy had got his foot caught and Namjoon had managed to calm the animals to stop them from bolting and dragging the boy. Unfortunately, the cart had tipped and Namjoon had got a spoke through his leg as it splintered, and he'd broken a bone. There was no way he could travel, and there was no way Yeonjun could delay things much longer. He had even tried to heal him, but it hadn't worked. It seemed that Yeonjun would only ever be able to heal Beomgyu.

Henry had managed to get permission from the lead Alpha of Perse, which they had to pass through to get to Neira; if Yeonjun had marched into another territory without notice, people might have gotten killed before he had a chance to explain who he was. Added to that was the likelihood that Beomgyu could deliver the baby in four weeks, and it was going to take at least ten days to get to Neira. When Junghwa had told them it was likely Beomgyu would follow wolf gestation rules rather than human rules, Yeonjun had insisted at first he wasn't traveling until after the pup was born, but then the weather was going to be a problem. Beomgyu was glad it was cooler, as the journey would be unpleasant if too hot, but the weather was the other reason Hyunjin had cautioned Yeonjun that he had to leave soon. In another moon cycle, snow would cover most of the northern territories, and while they were traveling south, Neira wasn't far south enough to be unaffected.