Twilight ||| Oneus

~~13~~

On the trip back home, Youngjo thought a lot about how he was supposed to handle all of the day's crazy events. All of a sudden, his small, reliable, and peaceful pack had turned into a handful in less than twenty-four hours.

Thankfully, he had Hwanwoong by his side. There was no way he could keep his composure without him.

There were multiple issues he would need to properly address, and the first was about the strange omega that had saved Keonhee in the marketplace earlier.

He had fainted after rescuing their packmate, but the reason for that was uncertain. Even Keonhee, who is pretty well equipped to be a future healer, seemed to be baffled by the event. The omega had an indecipherable smell to him. Youngjo could tell that his natural omega scent was apple, but there was something else altering it. It made him wrinkle his nose a bit.

While the poor omega was unconscious, Youngjo wanted to be able to help him, at least until he healed enough and could go back to his own pack family. That's just the kind of wolf Youngjo was, which is why he currently carried the odd omega on his back while Hwanwoong made sure to hold his hand. He didn't want his alpha to smell entirely like another omega. Hwanwoong would surely scent him good tonight, not that he's complaining.

The timing of it all wasn't the most ideal because their pack had another new wolf to worry about... one that was now permanent.

With a clenched jaw, Youngjo shook his head in frustration, which Hwanwoong seemed to immediately notice. His mate squeezed his hand tighter as they walked.

You know, Hwanwoong spoke privately through their link, you don't have to address it right away. If you need to take some time to process beforehand, that's alright. I know how you can be, and he's probably already suffering enough with the guilt from his own actions... It might be better to give it some time before you give him a full lecture.

The leader slightly smiled down at his Luna, knowing he was right. Somehow Hwanwoong knew exactly what Youngjo needed to hear without him even having to ask. Youngjo doesn't think he could confront Leedo right now even if he wanted to without things turning ugly.

Before too long, the packmates and their unconscious plus one arrived at their camp.

In hearing their arrival, Leedo peeked his head outside of his hut. He looked exhausted, but no one said anything to him as they tried to get settled for the night.

Youngjo followed Keonhee into his hut with the marketplace omega. They carefully moved the petite wolf off of his back to lay him on furs. They watched the boy for a moment, noticing how beads of sweat formed on his forehead and he was breathing rather quickly. Keonhee checked his pulse, "His heart rate is high." He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "He doesn't have a fever, but I'll try to keep my eye on him overnight."

Youngjo nodded, "Hwanwoong is grabbing some extra furs for you to use tonight."

"Thank you." Keonhee raised the corner of his lips into a small smile as he lit some herbs inside the hut. "These should help keep the energy calm in here. I'm not sure what's going on with him, but his body seems to be under a lot of stress."

"Do you need anything else before I go?" Youngjo asked.

"No, but thank you, to you and Hwanwoong both... for everything today." Keonhee suddenly wore a sad expression, and Youngjo could only hope that the beta didn't think that he was a burden in any sense.

"Of course! That's what packmates do for one another. When one of us is lost or hurting, the others should be right there to help."

On his way back to his and Hwanwoong's hut, Youngjo thought over his last words to Keonhee. He thought about how he should hold himself accountable to his own words. There was a certain alpha in their pack that could really use some help right now, but for some reason Youngjo just couldn't bring himself to be there for him.