Wonderland // ATEEZ

6

Seonghwa, Jongho, and Yeosang all ran straight to the spot that they had agreed to before they even started the mission. While in their wolf forms, they darted through the thick forest, zig-zagging through all of the tall trees that were merely obstacles right now.

Jongho remembered where he and Hongjoong had buried their spare bag of clothes earlier this evening, so once they ran past that spot, he quickly uncovered some of the brush and snatched the pack in his mouth, without letting him fall behind the other two.

They ran for what seemed like hours, but that wasn't really the case. The trio had only been sprinting for about twenty minutes, but their anxiety was exhausting them. They were all worried for their leader that they were forced to leave behind in the fight.

Seonghwa was reasonably the most uneasy. All the Beta wanted was to be in his Alpha's arms, but for now, he knew that all they could do was wait for Hongjoong to return to them.

Once they reached the cave Hongjoong had marked earlier in the day, the two Betas and the Omega were able to finally and hopefully get some rest. They all transformed and quickly put on some clothes from the pack, and settled into the cave.

They didn't have many belongings with them, but they would have to make do with the couple of blankets and a lantern.

They watched as many of the Omegas that were rescued ran past. There was a few who stopped in front of the cave, peeking inside to see the group who had just helped free them, but they would all ultimately choose to continue on their own, too timid to stick around.

All of their lives, they had been a part of a world where no one could be trusted. Alphas were dangerous because they would abuse innocent Omegas, only seeing them as toys or something to breed, while Betas saw them as science experiments. Omegas were meant to be all alone or else they were just objects. There was no one for them in this world.

That's what they believed.

Yeosang couldn't help but let out a choked sob at the thought. The Omega had been trapped at that laboratory for over six months, and he had never once doubted that his brother was looking for him. He knew there was someone that had always saw him as more, but he knew most of his fellow Omegas couldn't say the same for themselves. It broke his heart.

Jongho reached over and placed a comforting hand on his knee, but didn't saying anything. He doesn't know the right words to say.

The oldest sat off to the side by himself. The others would never say anything, but anxiety was radiating off of Seonghwa in waves. Jongho and Yeosang could sense it. They knew that the older Beta was just worried about his mate, and nothing they could say would ease it.

"For now, let's just try to get some rest. That's all we can really do for now while we wait." Jongho suggested. Seonhwa flinched, but he eventually nodded in agreement.

The three huddled together and let themselves drift off to sleep after such an eventful evening.

—————

Seonghwa stirred awake to the sound of something outside the cave. The other two woke to the sound of Seonghwa shifting.

"Seonghwa, w-what is it?" Yeosang asked with a trembling voice.

Instinctively, the oldest grew protective of his unofficial pack. He gestured for the others to stay back as he inched his way toward the entrance of the cave.

He heard what sounded like footsteps approaching. The Beta sniffed the air and instantly all of his built up anxiety disappeared as a strong cinnamon smell flooded the air around him.