thesockmonster (ao3)
Jongin, leader of his pack and protector of his territory in the city, finds himself with a human bodyguard when a bounty is put on his head.
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Moonlight glints off the waves lapping against the shore of the lone stretch of beach. No one comes down here; it's not safe to follow the wooded path and climb down the steep slope that leads to this unknown location. It's kept hidden from the world, a small piece of heaven to be kept a treasured secret save for one individual.
Jongin's eyes are on the moon as he stands at the water's edge, the waves rushing over his feet and gently splashing around his ankles. Droplets of water fall from his hair and down his bare chest, catching the soft light of the night. He's finished with his swim, but he doesn't want to leave. Not yet.
Jongin's not supposed to be out here alone. There's a bounty on his head, a threat on his life that should have kept him locked inside his home, protected by his most trusted friends. But Jongin is an Alpha, the head of his pack, and if the humans think they can cow him with their petty assassination attempts, they have another thing coming.
Jongin lets out a sigh, knowing his absence would have been discovered by now. His pack will be worried, but not enough to do anything rash. They'll keep to the house unless given explicit orders by Jongin's Beta, Chanyeol; and Chanyeol knows Jongin better than anyone. He knows Jongin just needs to escape.
The world Jongin lives in is a dark, dirty place. His father started something too large for Jongin to escape. The human politicians call them them the monster mafia. They use the name as a scare tactic to keep their constituents in line, to keep them obedient and out of their way as they dare to wage a war in the streets.
The humans are the real monsters. They'll do anything to line their own pockets while convincing the rest of the citizens that they're doing them a favor, that protecting them from the real evil. People are wary of werewolves; they know they're out there, but nothing more than what the government wants them to know. When Jongin's kind were outed to the world only a mere decade ago, they were met with ignorance and fear, and those with power sought to gaslight that terror into something much worse - a way to keep their power.
Jongin's father wasn't a good man. He bit back at the humans the best way he knew how - using their fear to stake a claim. With a sizeable pack at his command, he was able to overrun and take control of the dirtiest, most run-down parts of the city with ease. Jongin had only been a boy then, but he's a man now, and the Alpha, having taken his father's place after his death less than a year ago.
That's why the politicians are choosing to strike now. They assume he's weak. They think Jongin will loosen the tight grip his pack holds over their territory. They couldn't be more wrong. Under his father, the slums had been rebuilt and upgraded. And boosted by a little protection money paid by the small businesses in the area, things are even booming. Their monster mafia has done more for the wretched and the poor than any human government ever would.
Jongin isn't about to let it go. As far as he's concerned, the people here are his people. They're under his protection. He won't let them down. He won't let his pack down.
Jongin grabs his clothes off a large rock and slips them back on. He takes one last lingering look at his little hideaway, knowing it will be a long time before he's afforded an opportunity to visit again.
The night serves as his cover, and he slips through the shadows unseen. The trees provide him a safe path all the way to the city's edge where the shadows grow shorter under the light of the street lamps. He skirts the buildings, keeps to the alleys, and hops the fences with ease all the way back to his home.
