Aurora ||| Ateez

28

"Damn it!"

As soon as Soyeon's fist makes contact with the tree, Mingi sighs as he rubs his temples, sensing an approaching headache. It's been three days since Wooyoung and Seonghwa have been taken, and they've gotten nowhere as to how they're going to rescue them. Mingi and Soyeon have taken to going to surrounding packs that Mingi is in good graces with to ask for help, but everytime they've seen Soyeon, they refuse. No matter if Mingi tries to explain what happened, and that they're all willing to work together, the head alpha will slam a door in their face and tell the cat to get off their territory.

Soyeon is getting more and more angry, as well as Mingi. Even with adding Soyeon's pride to Mingi's, they still don't have enough power to go up against a pack like Blue Star, and two of Mingi's pack members are forced to stay behind, as well as three of Soyeon's to watch after the children. Luck isn't on their side.

"If no one will help us I'll march up to Blue Star on my own! I don't know what they're doing to her, why do they even need lions in the first place?! None of this makes sense and I'm at my limit!" Another punch to the same tree and Soyeon yelps as her knuckles split open, holding her fist to her chest as she mumbles curses under her breath.

"Getting angry and losing our temper isn't going to help either, as much as I don't want to we have to stay calm."

"I can't stay calm when my newborn daughter is crying for her mother! I can feel the strain on our bond, I don't know what they're doing to her and it's going to drive me nuts!" The lioness wipes at her eyes with her non-injured hand, sitting down on the forest floor as she lets her emotions take over. "I'm lost, Mingi. No one wants to help us. I can't survive without her.."

The alphas sighs, and sits down beside the lioness as more tears start to fall from her eyes. "There is...one more option. But it's not a good one."

At the alphas words, Soyeon immediately sits up. "What is it? Mingi we have to try. We're out of options."

With a heavy sigh, he speaks. "We have to ask my old pack members for help."

•••

"No! Mingi are you insane? Are you asking to get us all killed?! Zander would have our heads along with our son!"

"Yeosang, we're out of options. You and Yunho have to stay behind, along with three of Soyeon's pride to take care of the kids, right now we only have about ten people, against an entire kingdom! We have no choice."

The look of fear im Yeosang's eyes was enough to make Mingi want to take back every word he's said, but he can't. With Archer too young to be away from Yeosang and Yunho having to stay behind due to his pregnancy, they only have four alphas to go fight for Wooyoung and Seonghwa. Including Soyeon herself, about six of her pride members are coming, with the rest staying at the pack house with Yeosang and Yunho due to either pregnancy or having to staying with their cubs. With their combined power, they still lack the means to even get into Blue Star, let alone locate Seonghwa and Wooyoung. They can't afford to wait either, for the longer they sit and waste time, the higher the chance of Seonghwa being married off and forced to take the throne..And Wooyoung being put to death.

"Mingi..You know I love them, they're our pack..but we'll be of no use to them if we're dead! How are you even going to convince them to help us?"

"I'm going to ask Daehyun. He's the only one in Enbarr we can trust. Not everyone there is awful, and maybe with helping us they can finally find a way to overthrow Zander and stop the omega abuse. We have to at least try, Yeosang."

As much as Yeosang wants to continue to disagree and argue with his mate, he knows they can't waste anymore time. Seonghwa and Wooyoung are in danger, along with their unborn child in the hands of Blue Star. "Fine..You can go. But if you get caught and they kill you I'll find a way to bring you back and kill you myself."

Mingi laughs at his omega's statement, and brings him in for a tight hug, for they have no idea if Mingi's plan will even work. The chances of Daehyun still being the gate guard is low, but the chances of Zander finding out their plan and killing his entire pack is higher.

But it's a risk he has to take to save his pack mates, and it seems as though they don't have much time left.

•••

"Jongho, please come back to bed.."

The younger alpha can hear his mate talking to him, but he doesn't move as he continues to sit on the back porch of the pack house, staring at the full moon with a feeling of grief and lost. He's been sitting here for about an hour, no jacket nor shoes, just shaking in the cold as he falls deeper into a hole of self loathing.

He can hear San sigh behind him, and soon there's a warmth surrounding him, and he realizes it's a blanket from their bed, and he turns his head once San sits beside him. "You're an idiot, you can't save them if you get sick from sitting out here all night." Jongho smirks are his mates remark, and he closes his eyes as he leans into the older alphas neck to scent him, that smoky fire immediately filling his head and chasing away his fear.

"I'm not just worried about Wooyoung, but Seonghwa too. I can't even imagine what they're making him do.."

San shoved his nose into Jongho's hair, a wave of nutmeg crawling into his nose as he sighs. "I'm scared too. We don't know anything, but what I do know is that Seonghwa would never let them kill him..so for now, he's somewhat safe. The only thing we can do is pray it's the same for the pup." San can feel something tug at his heart when Jongho tenses next to him.

Ever since Wooyoung first confirmed he was pregnant, Jongho had been nothing but a doting and caring father to be. He's always make sure Wooyoung was comfortable and happy, and he'd speak to the growing bump everyday, and even with his new time spent with Wooyoung, he always made sure San knew just how much he loved him, that he was still his mate no matter what, and he'd dot on his mate as possible. But seeing Jongho look so defeated, it breaks San's heart, and his wolf for the first time since their time together, cries at the feeling of its mate, and wants nothing more then to stop what's causing him so much trouble.

"Let's go back to bed, you can't get them back if you're exhausted and sick." Jongho agrees, and the two alphas make their way to their shared room hand in hand. And as they finally settle in for the night, and San crawls into the arms of his alpha, he gets a bad feeling.

As if something is going to happen that's out of their control, and it won't be good.

***
Written by sueoku