Brethren

1

"We can't just leave him here, Heechul!" Leeteuk nudged the injured body with his muzzle

"Well what are we going to do with him? We have enough alphas in this godforsaken pack, any more and we'll fall apart!" Heechul snapped, making Leeteuk flinch, but he didn't stand down.

"He's hurt, he's dying!" Leeteuk pleaded "Once I heal him I can kick him out, but I can't just watch him die!"

Heechul sighed and pawed at the ground impatiently, gripping the other wolf's scruff and lifting him onto his back, legs dangling limply "Fine. But he's leaving as soon as he can."

Leeteuk nodded and started to walk.

——

When the mated pair returned, it was with great relief of the rest of the pack. The two wolves lumbered into the small campground and then shifted back into their human forms, Leeteuk quickly carrying the injured wolf in his arms. He was heavy, but Leeteuk could just about waddle to the small hut where he kept all his medical equipment.

"Who's that?" Ryeowook asked quietly, nudging Donghae awake. They shared a hut together, as the only two omegas of the group. They were enjoying their last few nights together, as Donghae would be mated to Siwon soon, and Ryeowook would now have to live on his own, since there were still arguments going on over who would mate him.

"I dunno-" Donghae replied, rubbing his eyes and sitting up, peering out the window. "I don't recognise him," He added, then sniffed the air "Why are they bringing another Alpha?"

"Who knows?" Ryeowook shrugged "It'll just cause more fighting, most likely."

"I'm sure it'll all work out in the end, you know. You like Yesung and he likes you, I'm sure it'll all work out in the end" Donghae offered with a smile, pulling Ryeowook away from the window to sit down with him in their little bed of furs.

"But... they don't want him to make me because of... you know." Ryeowook frowned. Yesung had been raised as an omega, since the rest of his litter were. He presented very late into his teenage years, and only had two years to learn to be an alpha before he was forced out due to overpopulation. He had very little hunting or protection instinct, and some of the betas could beat him when they were playfighting.

"Something will work out well, alright?" Donghae said, hugging Ryeowook tightly "Besides, Yesung won't leave if you don't mate him. You'll still be able to stay with him."

Ryeowook just nodded and peered out of the window again.

——

Sungmin groaned and raised his head from his arms. Someone was clattering around in the medical hut, and that meant he'd have to go help. Heechul and Leeteuk were the only ones out that day, so he assumed it'd be Heechul trying to brush off an injury and Leeteuk fussing over him.

Sungmin got up and padded across the grass to the medical hut, poking his head round the corner. A wolf was curled up on the camp bed in there, shivering and with a badly bleeding wound. He couldn't recognise who it was, but they were a young Alpha.

"Sungmin, can you help me with the wound? I need you to wash it whilst I get this ready" Leeteuk asked, gesturing to the bandages he was preparing with a healing cream, bought from one of their rare trips into the city. They didn't go a lot, but when they were human they could trade a lot of their hunt for money, and that money for whatever they needed.

Sungmin nodded and picked up a clean cloth and the heated water from the small fire outside. Dunking the cloth in the water, he began to clean away the blood and dirt in the bite, and then using the cloth to apply pressure as he tried to stop the bleeding.

"Who even is this, anyway? I swear only you and Heechul went out." Sungmin said, rinsing the cloth before pressing it down again. Leeteuk switched places with him and lay gauze over his leg before bandaging it quickly.

"We found him- well, Heechul found him on our land and bit him. He didn't seem to want to fight back, he just passed out when Heechul bit him. I think he's sick, or at least malnourished. Poor thing" Leeteuk said softly, tying the bandages tight "I'll look after him here. Can you get Hyukjae, please?" Sungmin nodded and left the small hut, taking a breath of fresh air before running to the beta hut.
————

The alphas got their own huts. They used to share, but after Siwon joined their pack, all the testosterone had meant that infighting was common, and the alphas all had a few scars from it. Now, they lived in individual huts that they would share with a mate- if they ever got one. There were only two omegas in the pack, and the brooding instinct in them told them that a beta would never be enough. Heechul and Leeteuk were happy, but neither of them had ever wanted kids. The pack were enough for them. Everyone else did, though. Siwon had laid claim to Donghae after a long fight between the Alphas, and no one wanted to do that again for Ryeowook, although that was what it looked like it would come to.

Shindong had long since given up on being a mate. He hated the fighting between them all, and he'd let someone else take Ryeowook if it meant they'd all shut up about it. He wanted them all to be diplomatic, but none of them would listen to anyone else. He tried to be a mediator, but no one would listen to him. Heechul couldn't help, he was too enamoured with his mate to do anything. The betas and omegas wouldn't be listened to, so they didn't even try.

He sighed and pulled himself up from his bed. Someday, he promised himself, he'd join another pack. He just had to find one first.