𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫 || 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐖𝐨𝐧

End

Mingyu wanted to pick Wonwoo up and carry him to the car, but he had to let Wonwoo walk out of Larson with his head held high. The omega seemed completely taken aback by the crowds of people at the fences, carrying posters, shouting slogans, and singing.

“They’re here for me?”

“Josh has quite the following. He’s been speaking about your case to them, about the fates of the other omegas on your team. With his help, we were able to draw attention to Doyoung’s disappearance. That led to people coming forward with evidence, and then today, the police were finally able to act on it.”

“I can’t believe it.” Wonwoo stared through the fence, and then gave the crowd a wave.

“Believe it,” Minghao said. “It’s over, and you’re coming home.”

“I can’t wait. I feel like I’ve been here forever.”

As they walked, Wonwoo pushed a hand against his back.

“What’s wrong?” Mingyu asked.

“Those seats are horribly uncomfortable,” Wonwoo joked. “I’m not sure my back will ever recover.”

“Here, let me.”

He nudged Wonwoo’s hand away and replaced it with his own, rubbing firm circles across his lower back, kneading the muscles gently. Wonwoo gave a low groan and almost sagged against him before remembering himself. “That’s really good. You should think about a career as a masseuse. You’d make a ton of money.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Mingyu told him as they finally reached the car. He helped Wonwoo into the backseat, climbing in next to him.

It hadn’t quite sunk in yet that it was all over. They’d had no idea that the timing of Sungwoon and the others’ arrests would be so fortuitous. They’d been hoping the public outcry combined with their petitions would be enough to have Wonwoo released early on compassionate grounds. But this had exceeded all their expectations. And now he was finally taking his omega home.

Seungcheol drove, with Minghao in the passenger’s seat.

“There’s something I have to say,” Wonwoo piped up suddenly. “About what you did back there.”

“We did what anyone would have done for their pack,” Seungcheol said.

“That’s just it. You declared yourselves a pack publicly. That… that’s a big deal. A risky thing to do.”

“It was going to happen sometime. We’ve known that since we met Soonyoung’s pack,” Minghao said. “We just brought the timetable forward, that’s all.”

“Here.” Mingyu handed Wonwoo a bottle of juice. “Drink this. You need to eat something too. We have a long drive ahead of us.”

Wonwoo made a face, his hand going to his back again. “I was afraid you were going to say that. What I wouldn’t give for a hot water bottle right now.”

Mingyu felt a twinge of worry at Wonwoo’s words. There was something off about the omega. Something not quite right, though he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“When you’ve had a snack, you can lay across the seat, and I’ll work my magic on your back again.”

“An offer I can’t refuse.” Wonwoo’s smile was beautiful to behold, free of the lines of worry that had dogged him since his arrest.

Mingyu coaxed him through eating half a sandwich and drinking most of the juice, and then Wonwoo stretched out across the back seat, his head in Mingyu’s lap. He squirmed around, struggling to get comfortable. Mingyu rested his hand on Wonwoo’s lower back and started to massage the muscles gently. After a moment, Wonwoo gave a long sigh of relief and relaxed. Within minutes, he was asleep.