Roulette ♧ 엑소

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$ t h r e e $

As soon as they had arrived at the Jackals' home, Baekhyun had ignored everyone and went straight to his bedroom upstairs. He knew Miran would be there waiting for him, and he needed to talk to her. He needed to make sure that she would be ready in the case of his downfall. They would have to leave the Pack. He barged in to find their bags packed by the door, just as he had asked. About a half hour earlier, Chanyeol had given his alpha female the news, and she had protested about it.

But Chanyeol let her know that he was only following orders in informing her, and that she needed to talk to Baekhyun to convince him that leaving the Pack was crazy. She looked up from her hands in worry and rose from where she sat on the bed.

"Light," She began, taking a few steps towards him. He shut the door behind himself as he entered the room. "What is this about leaving the Pack if Suho defeats you tonight? Fire said you wanted me to pack our things. What's going on? I don't want to leave our family." There weren't many possessions that they had left. When they were taken from their home in the woods, they had been unable to take anything with them. The few possessions they had now were purchased after they moved in with their allies the Jackals.

He cut the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Miran, I don't want to fight with you. I didn't want to fight with Suho hyung either. But no one in the Pack respects me." He said with a sad sigh. "I have to be a jerk to get them all to follow my orders. If he beats me, he'll just push me aside again, and I don't want that."

Miran's words became gentle, her hands rubbing up and down his back in an attempt to comfort him. "You don't really care about being the alpha, do you?" She asked him.

"Of course I care." He replied to her, "That position is finally mine, as it should have been."

"But, I mean," She clarified, rewording herself. In the short time that they had been together, she knew him well enough to see it. had Junmyeon offered it to him when he stepped down, Baekhyun might have even declined the offer. But since he had pushed Baekhyun aside, he now wanted it. He wanted the others to accept that he was rightfully where he needed to be. "That wasn't what you wanted from the start, was it? The only reason why you wanted to take it from Soo was because Suho gave it to him instead of you. You didn't want to be the alpha before, and then suddenly you did. It doesn't make sense."

He pulled away from her and grabbed her by the hand, leading her to their bed and sitting down. Without even thinking, she made herself comfortable on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder while his arms immediately wrapped around her body. There was a long silence between them, but though he said nothing, she knew that she was right.

All he wanted was to be reassured that he mattered in the Pack.

"Light, you don't have to fight him." She said after a while, her face nuzzling into his neck. "Just talk things out, and you can come to an agreement."

He gave a shake of his head. "This is how the Pack works, babe. I have to fight him. And he'll probably win, so we'll have nothing left. We'll have to leave the Pack."

Miran sensed it. Baekhyun didn't want to leave the Pack. But he genuinely felt unappreciated, and she also knew that it wasn't how the others felt. They were a family, they loved each other, and they loved Baekhyun. Baekhyun just needed to hear it. The two remained in each other's arms for what felt like hours. 

With the big fight approaching, Miran went to find Junmyeon. She wanted to talk to him.

-

Mariel and Jongdae laid side by side in each other's arms under the covers. Her head rested on his chest, and his fingers traced absent minded little shapes across the skin of her arm. There was about an hour before the big fight, and Junmyeon had explained to Jongdae that he didn't have to be there if he didn't want to. He could stay inside the house and rest, but Jongdae had never seen an alpha battle before. When he was in the Pack, no one had challenged Junmyeon and Yifan. Then when he joined the Coven, no one ever challenged his duizhang. He was the undisputed leader always.

On one side, he was curious to see how it would take place. But he also wanted to be there for the losing side. He was sure that it would be difficult to lose in front of the family, and they would need comfort.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his cellphone ring in the pocket of his jeans. He pulled away from Mariel momentarily to reach for it, wincing as he felt a sharp pain in his torso. The pain medications were beginning to wear off and he would need to take more soon. Mariel frowned when she saw the pain he was in. 

Jongdae grabbed the phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID.

Terada Mitsuki, the name showed up on his screen.

He sat up in bed, and hit the answer button on his phone, bringing it to his ear. Mariel watched him with curiosity from under the covers. "Hello Mitsuki noona." He greeted her with respect. He thought that she had earned it when she saved his life and promised to save the others as well.

When he asked her why she did it, she said that it was for Yifan, and for her husband Shin. She said that she knew once he could see past her brother's influence, he would understand that what he was doing was wrong.

From the other line, she asked him, "How's everything going in Korea, Jongdae?"

"Fine." He replied with a nod of his head. "I was able to rescue my Mariel, and contact some former brothers of mine. They promised to take care of her until I return. I'll be leaving for Japan in the morning."

"Good." She said, a smile evident in her tone. "I'll call you as soon as Wonho and my brother leave the house. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

She told him she would give him more details in the morning, and then the two said goodbye. Jongdae set his phone on the night stand and returned to Mariel's side, laying down beside her. She quickly snuggled up to him, kissing him on the lips sweetly. "I still want to go with you to Japan." She informed him with determination, her brown eyes looking up at him to gauge his reaction. Though she didn't have to look at him to know how he would reply.

But he shook his head. "I won't let that happen, baby. You're staying here in Korea where I know you'll be safe."

"Why?" She whined, jutting out her bottom lip.

He chuckled, kissing her lips playfully before replying. His words and expression had quickly turned serious. "I wouldn't be able to live if something happened to you. You are the love of my life."

"I promise I won't be a burden." She said to him, pleading. 

Jongdae gave another shake of his head. "Its not that I think you'll be a burden. I just don't want you to get hurt."

Mariel sulked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine. I'll wait for you here. But you'd better not leave me here waiting on you for months like you did last time."

"I promise." He kissed the tip of her nose, making her crack a small smile. He grabbed his phone off the night stand again and looked at the time. "We should get up and get dressed already." He informed her, sitting up in bed once again. "Its almost time and I want to be there for my brothers. I know the one who loses will need some consolation, and I have a feeling its going to be Light." 

-

third update for this story, and next one is the big fight. 

also, i have a question for you all. would you like me to post the rest of the q&a posts in here? or in lotto? they belong in lotto technically, but i don't want you all to go through the trouble of having to flip back and forth between books.

so i want to let you all decide. where would you rather have me post them? in this one, or in lotto?

thank you all loads for reading and supporting me. it means the entire world. have a wonderful week!

-clary