Brethren

3

Leeteuk gathered everyone together and sat them together in the middle of their encampment. There was a large grassy patch they they would laze about on when it was sunny, and this was where they were sitting now.

Well, most of them were sitting. Donghae was lying down with his head in Siwon's lap, and Siwon's hands in his hair. Ryeowook was lying down on his stomach with his feet kicked up in the air. Behind him was Yesung, a hand resting on his back and rubbing it slowly. The other alphas were sat a fair distance away, looking over at the two omegas. Kyuhyun was distanced from them though, sat closer to the three betas, Leeteuk, Hyukjae and Sungmin.

Ryeowook was watching Kyuhyun closely, memorising every detail. He was so pretty, he never wanted to stop looking at him.

Yesung's hand moved again and he looked away. He liked Yesung, he wanted to be Yesung's mate, but he couldn't help thinking about Kyuhyun sometimes. It was just innocent, right?

"Alright, everyone." Heechul said, letting go of Leeteuk's hand so he could stand up and address the small crowd. "This is Kyuhyun. He's a lone alpha that we found on our territory. He's not a threat to us, and we've decided to let him rest here with us. Please show him the best of our pack, everyone." He said with a nod, before sitting down again, Leeteuk moulding into his side soon after.

Kyuhyun looked around at everyone, trying to judge who would be safe to talk to and who wouldn't. The betas seemed safe, by sticking close to the alpha's husband he could possibly get some favour with him. Not too close though, he wouldn't want to spark off his jealousy. The omegas, despite seeming incredibly close to specific people, weren't mated, there were no marks and their scent was clean and fresh. Then he had a plan.

He needed a place to stay, and they needed a mate. In the short time he had here, he'd charm one of them, and then they couldn't kick him out. The only mated pair had no pups either, they would be desperately trying to find someone to carry on the pack name. He could do just that.

"Hello everyone, and thank you for letting me stay here. It means a lot to me, and I will try and help out here as much as I can." Kyuhyun said, bowing his head at them all, at the left side of the crowd, then the right.

The crowd murmured some greetings, the younger members more upbeat than the older ones. Donghae singled himself by saying "Hi Kyuhyun!" rather loudly, and Siwon's arm visibly tightened around him. Kyuhyun laughed softly at that and then sat back in the grass.

"Alright" Heechul said, standing up again "Shindong, Siwon and I are going out hunting. We'll be back my the evening." He said, stretching and gesturing to the two alphas before walking off to his hut.

Donghae whined and sat up, kissing Siwon's cheek softly "I'll see you later, ok? Bring us back something good!"

Siwon ruffled Donghae's hair and walked off, following Heechul.

——

Yesung always got lumped with the duff jobs. The omegas, to keep themselves useful and busy when they weren't rearing, was by gathering. They, along with one alpha, would go out and collect berries, nuts, fruit, anything they could find to prevent their meals being just meat. They had a few trees and bushes that they'd planted to grow food (And to camouflage the encampment) but they were still young and wouldn't bear much. In a couple of years they'd be flourishing, and these walls wouldn't be so long.

But, whilst the omegas still had to travel a fair distance away, they had to be accompanied, and who else should get that job but Yesung.

Very few wolves ever attacked another pack. It was suicide really, the moment omegas were harmed every single alpha would go mad. And with five alphas in the pack, it wasn't worth it. So the weakest alpha was always sent with them. It made Yesung feel horrible, that ever since Siwon had joined he'd never been on a hunt. He'd been replaced. He certainly wasn't a good enough mate for Ryeowook, but Ryeowook seemed set on him.

"Hey, Yesung, can I eat this?" Ryeowook asked, holding up a handful of white berries he'd found. This snapped Yesung out of his trance and he looked down at the eager omega.

"No, it's best not to. The white ones tend to be poisonous, so let's not risk it." Yesung said, picking up Ryeowook's hand to peer closely at the berries.

"Aww..." Ryeowook said, and tilted his hand so the berries fell to the forest floor.

"It's ok, we can find some other ones. The red and black ones tend to be safe, ok?" Yesung said, and Ryeowook smiled, then tilted his head.

"Are you feeling alright, Yesung? You don't seem... the same." Ryeowook said.

Yesung flicked his eyes away to look at Donghae, to check he way ok and not running off deeper into the forest.

"Don't climb that tree! Stay on the ground!" He called out before turning back to Ryeowook "I'm fine, sweetheart, please don't worry"

"No you're not. You're upset." Ryeowook said softly, looking up at Yesung and resting a hand on his face, cupping his cheek "Please. What's wrong? Even if it's something small."

Yesung sighed "I'm not not a good alpha, babe. You know it too. I can't hunt, I can't fight, I might not be able to give us pups. There's a reason this argument hasn't been settled."

Ryeowook shut his eyes for a moment, thinking, before he opened them and kissed Yesung quickly "Hunter or not, protector or not, Father or not, there's no one I'd rather have for a mate."

Kyuhyun flickered in the back of both of their minds.

"Are you sure you wouldn't have another alpha? Someone who can hunt and provide for you, keep you safe, start a family with you?" Yesung asked, holding Ryeowook's hands in his.

Ryeowook shook his head quickly. "No, of course not! Do you think I'd want to spend my whole life with someone I didn't love?"

He was just like the princesses in the fairytales he'd had read to him when he was young. He'd do anything for love, even if it ruined his life-

"That's not something we can hope for, Ryeowook. We need to keep this pack alive, and we need pups for that" Yesung said with a dejected sigh. Ryeowook would never listen to him. And sure enough-

"No one's ever proven you can't have them. What's stopped you?" Ryeowook asked, crossing his arms confidently.

Yesung stayed quiet, and Ryeowook grinned. "Knew it."

Yesung rolled his eyes "Be careful with your attitude. The other alphas aren't as tolerant as me."

Ryeowook opened his mouth, but was cut off by a howl in the distance.

"Leader's back. Let's go." Yesung said, taking the small bag of berries that they  had collected and began to run back to the camp.