Work Text:
Jake knelt down in front of Niki in the backstage, scanning his face slowly and calmly. Niki returns the gaze to his head omega with curiosity, almost puppy-like.
Enhypen ended another concert successfully some minutes before. Another to add to the list that grew fastly. In the beginning it was so hard. Everything was hard. They had to prepare themselves to exhaustion; they danced and sang for entire days without rest properly. They sweat, bleed out, and laugh together, until they reach their goal. Satisfaction flowing in their minds and bodies with the result right in front of their eyes. A lot of fans scream their names, loving them deeply without even knowing them as a person, just as an artist. Everything becomes easier. The concerts increased over the years. From Seoul to the USA. They traveled around the world in a few days getting all jet lagged, but they didn't stop. Left the country that saw them born and being everything in the search of success even more. To make their fans happy. To leave a mark everywhere they go.
Niki loved those moments. He loved being on the stage, with the blinding lights and fans screaming his name like a song. It makes him feel different. Wonderful. Strong. Powerful. It continues surprising him with the immeasurable love of his fans, the admiration they show to him; even when he doesn't feel like he deserved it at all. Don't get him wrong, he doesn't underestimate himself, but receiving that kind of unconditional love was overwhelming almost every time. Being the center of the universe of a lot of fans that admire him from afar was amazing. An experience out of the world. Nothing ever prepared him for that feeling.
In i-Land he never thought he was even going to debut.
He felt satisfied almost every second of the concert. He sang, danced and had fun with his friends as usual. Love his work was a blessing. Niki joked with the fans until the end. Some mistakes happened as usual; weak audio, wrong translation of their words that ended up confusing the fans and that stuff. Nothing they can't manage, of course.
Until that moment.
Niki felt the world spinning fastly.
Niki jumped while singing one of their songs, forgetting the slippery floor and his shoes. One of his sides ended up hitting the stage fiercely. Nothing too serious, it was more shameful than painful, but that small detail doesn't matter to his main alpha and omega: Heeseung and Jake. They continued giving worried looks like he was a pup that needed being taken care of.
Maybe he was.
Niki avoided their gazes, too embarrassed by the way his hyungs continued to treat him. Ashamed of still needing the attention of the pair of boys that weren't his parents but act like they were. Heeseung and Jake weren't even a couple, goddam.
It was normal that Heeseung and Jake treated the maknae line like their little puppies; each one in their own way, but especially Niki.
Jungwon sent him a look that he didn't know how to define or classify, but it sure wasn't very kind.
As soon as the curtains closed, Jake ran to Niki with concern even though he didn't need to. The pain in his side had almost completely disappeared by that time, but it didn't stop Jake from approaching him and scenting him with his omega scent to calm and comfort him now that no one was looking.
Jake spent the entire mid and end of the concert worried about his pack's pup for a long time, without showing it.
The fans were not clear and didn't know the positions of the group beyond who was the leader, Jungwon: Jake who was the main omega and Heeseung the main alpha of the pack was still a secret. It was private and personal information, although there were slight suspicions here and there. Some of them were right, but fans never gonna know it. They don't have to.
If Jake ran to Niki, his omega would have forced him to scent him in front of all the fans like a worried mother. He would have dragged him to a makeshift nest in the dressing room and made sure he didn't get out again to avoid hurting himself again.
No fucking way.
Jake wasn’t an animal. His second gender caused him to behave like one on certain days every four months but he still had control of his actions and thoughts almost all the time.
He wasn't going to act like an omega mother in front of her fans. Simply no.
Jake was still dealing daily with the stereotypes placed on society's omegas that made him feel uncomfortable and out of place. Often feeling like he didn't fit the expectations. He didn't consider himself cute, adorable or anything like that.
It was quite the opposite. Which is the reason that his family and fans around the world were surprised when Jake introduced himself as an omega after his presentation.
Jake was overwhelmed for at least the first half of the first year. Not only were the aromas and closeness of the members overwhelming for his already sensitive sense of smell and his constant need for physical contact, he also began to feel pressure from fans' expectations now that they knew Jake was an omega. What if they wanted him to be cute all the time? Jake had never been good at aegyo. The first time he tried, he was bullied and to date it was his most embarrassing clip.
Luckily, fans weren't expecting anything from Jake. They didn't burden him with why he would never behave cutely. Jake became completely accustomed to what being an omega entailed over the next few months. To his role within the pack, with Heeseung and Jay being the alphas of the pack before the group's formation, he was the only omega. For now. /p>
Sunghoon presented himself as an alpha some days after Jake in his eighteen birthday. Sunoo as an omega months later, then Jungwon also as an omega leader and Niki two years later as the youngest alpha in the pack. The pack was finally complete. Then Jake became the oldest omega in the pack. It wasn't his duty, but his omega thanked him when he accepted the role of main omega of the pack that was offered by the members. They say he already act like their mom all the time, so there wouldn't be too many changes. Heeseung had already become the main alpha.
They weren't a couple, they weren't the parents of the pack, but sometimes, they really act like that.
Each one on their own took care of the pack as best they could. Heeseung and Jake always remained professional, even when there were no cameras rolling.
Jake might act like a mother, but that didn't mean Heeseung was the father. They weren't even a couple. And never gonna be.
As the main omega it was his duty to take care of the pack's pups, even if there were none anymore. Niki was an alpha, but even so, Jake still cared about him like he was his real mother and birthed him. Jake kept his expression calm throughout the concert, joking with the fans and continuing to sing, giving it his all until the concert was over and he couldn't pretend anymore. It was ridiculous, if he thought about it with a cool head. He felt very worried about a foolish fall, especially considering that both Niki and Jay were alphas and didn't feel pain the way an omega could. They were more resistant, had stronger bodies and were less sensitive to pain.
Right, Jay.
Jake was instantly even more ashamed of himself at the direction of his thoughts. The way he focused so hard on his pup that literally forgot about Jay. And even more, he didn't think about alphas just for the sake of it, he still felt ashamed when thinking about the biological differences of their organisms. The functions of their bodies. His omega instantly sang alpha in his head. It was bad.
He lived with four alphas every day and had to stop thinking of them as his second gender, for the better of the pack. Beyond that, they were his friends and members of Enhypen; his group, his family. And he always gonna love them for that, as friend, and nothing more.
He couldn't blame his omega for that, for his messy thoughts, although many of his actions were instinctive, others were rational. Jake had to learn to subdue his instincts after the presentation. There were more important things than sniffing out the pack's alphas all day. He couldn't curl up in a nest when his muscles ached after a long day of training and stayed there with his favorite member (probably Niki) until the world ended. No.
He wasn’t allowed to look at his pack members as anything more than that, members and friends. He listened to his omega as the voice spoke to him inside his head, but he didn't let the animal part of him take control of his decisions or actions.
Not anymore.
The fear he felt, he realized, was generated by both parts. His omega yelled at him to run and help his injured pup (which really wasn't his pup, if he thought about it. And wasn't even hurted, by the way), worried about Niki's pain as if it were his own.
Typical behavior for an omega, especially a main omega like Jake.
His brain, the rational part of his body assured him that there was nothing to worry about. It had been a bad fall, yes, but Niki had gotten up so quickly that it was as if it hadn't happened in the first place. Jay never hit the floor.
Niki laughed after getting up, still on stage. He looked at the worried faces of some fans and others who were trying hard to hide their laughter. The most embarrassing thing of all was that he not only fell in front of them, but almost dragged Jay to the floor with him. Niki destroyed his jacket in an instant -it wasn't of good quality or Niki was very strong, who knows?- and hurt his neck even though it wasn't on purpose.
Jay picked him up immediately and cared very little about the state of his clothing or the pain from the friction Niki caused him. He made sure Niki was okay and continued singing his parts.
Niki feels his cheeks flush violently the more he thinks about it. He's no longer a pup, no matter how much his hyungs insist on treating him like one, but sometimes he still behaves like one. Now he's an alpha, although he's not sure if he's an alpha at all.
Niki has never been with an omega. Not like that.
Being the youngest alpha of the pack means that he is relegated to the back of the pack. He is behind of Sunghoon, Jay and Heeseung. Perhaps that has never been that important. There have never been situations that imply a hierarchy to respect, their pack is not like that.
Niki watches Jay silently, he's sitting in a black leather chair across from Niki, staring at his phone nonchalantly. Jungwon approaches him and examines his neck with a cautious look.
It means problems.
"You could have seriously hurt him, Niki-ah!" He complained quietly but firmly, using his authority not only as the leader of the group, but also as an older member of the pack than Niki. It's one spot above him, due to its slightly earlier introduction, but still, it's something.
Niki has to submit almost instantly. Even if Jungwon doesn't want to force him, and it rarely happens. Even if Jungwon is an omega and Niki is an alpha, Niki has to listen to him.
Niki hides his head on his own shoulder, totally embarrassed. Jungwon doesn't look at him again, still so mad. He focuses on the neck of his boyfriend and courting partner, his alpha.
Niki hears movement but he's not really sure what's going on, because he's busy looking at Jungwon who doesn't give in or apologize: "It was an accident, Jungwon-ah," Jake replies, looking at his leader, calm but firm. An implicit warning in his words.
Don't mess with the pup. Don't blame him. It was an accident.
Niki is serious, but he also feels funny watching Jake although he doesn't show it. The way his head omega defends him like he's really his puppy is embarrassing, but adorable (you'll never hear him say it out loud because he'll admit that he likes it when Jake gets so protective of him). And he's grateful for it in moments like this, where his mind fails him and the words just don't come out of his mouth, even though he wants to say something.
He is not a puppy, he repeats, he does not need his mother (who is not even his mother) to defend him.
He's an alpha.
Still, Jake doesn't budge and Niki doesn't interrupt.
The two omegas stare at each other silently through the space between them. They're not going to fight, no. Not physically, at least. That has never happened, nor will it happen. They respect each other above any problem that could happen suddenly. Jake and Jungwon are intelligent omegas, due to their positions within the pack. Even so, sometimes there are some conflicts that are resolved quickly.
Jake is trying to get Jungwon to push back the anger directed at Niki. He's not willing to budge on that.
Not with his pup.
Jungwon continues to stare at him, clearly at odds with his head omega. Although in the same way, he submits to Jake a second later. The hierarchy of the pack ends up affecting him as well as Niki.
Jake presenting himself before Jungwon and Niki makes him superior to them. Even if it has nothing to do with physical abilities and has to see everything with birthdays and years of birth.
He's more dominant, even if Jungwon is the leader and Niki is an alpha. He has no choice but to submissively look away. Jungwon looks at Jay who is still sitting on the couch deliberately ignoring the scene in front of him. Sunghoon and Heeseung watch the scene in silence. Not willing to intervene unless necessary. Unless they require physical force, brute force, which needless to say will not be necessary.
There have been rare moments where Jake has to assert his dominance over the remaining members of the pack. Correcting the puppies' behavior is the job of the main omega, Jake. He doesn't like to use his range, but sometimes it's necessary. Except for Heeseung, everyone is at a lower rank than him, so they must submit and listen.
Jungwon is level-headed, always, which is why he's the leader of the group in the first place. He never bothers with Niki, since he has a soft spot for him. It doesn't matter that he's no longer a puppy, nor that he's much taller than him. The maternal instinct of the omegas of the pack pushes them to give in and infatuate Niki more often than they should.
Probably the reason he's acting reticent is because it's Jay. Jay is everything to Jungwon. Even before they became court partners, he was already his favorite hyung. They had been attached at the hip since i-Land and that closeness only increased until they realized that their feelings were more than platonic.
Now he is simply Jungwon's favorite person.
His alpha. His mate. And if Niki accidentally hurts Jay, Jungwon will defend him without needing to say it. Jay can defend himself. He is an alpha, in every sense of the word. The second of the pack, actually. Jay's personality is usually very relaxed. He doesn't get angry with anyone, especially Niki. And at that very moment he is not angry, not even in the slightest.
Niki can't say for sure, but he thinks Jungwon's attitude is because defending his partner is something purely instinctive. Jungwon wouldn't win a physical fight against Niki, but he still tries because it's about Jay.
Jungwon gently rubs Jay's neck, purposely brushing his scent glands with his fingertips to calm him (or himself). The room begins to smell of alpha so strongly that it makes Niki's nose wrinkle.
Jay is pleased with the attention he receives from his cutting partner. Niki looks away from the scene, because it's so intimate without them actually doing anything intimate. They aren't kissing or making out, but it's worse somehow.
Pack members often smell each other out to satisfy their needs, at least those who can still do so. Not Jake or Sunoo. It is loving, comforting and pleasant, but it is also a sign of possessiveness. Especially with a courting partner, in front of the other members of the pack.
You can tell that by the way Niki almost knocked Jay down on stage, his neck turned red and although he didn't admit it or get angry at Niki, it sure hurt him. Jungwon, who knows everything about Jay, seemed to guess it immediately.
It's kind of adorable the way they seem so connected.
Niki himself hurts the side where he received the hit, but there is no courting partner rubbing his neck. There's not a courting partner at all.
"It's all his pants' fault, no offense" Sunoo says a while later. He's taking off his suit and putting on a comfortable sweatshirt and pants after hours in tight clothes that are too cute and classy but uncomfortable, especially where they stick too close to his sensitive skin.
Sunoo sighs loudly, rejoicing within his own clothes, with his own smell, as if he were within the comfort of his nest in the room. Niki is embarrassed by his words.
He already knows it, in fact. It's not the first time it has happened. Niki has fallen on stage plenty of times. And a million more times while recording EN-O'Clock.
Some time ago, in Jakarta, he hit the floor hard while doing a spontaneous break dance that he hadn't had time to practice to show off in front of his hyungs; which earned him a bruise on the shoulder blades and pain in his neck that did not disappear easily. In addition to endless scolding from his hyungs. They were worried because Niki was constantly getting hurt, because of her carefree way of being.
When he fell earlier in the day, he got up as if nothing had happened and continued forward, trying to ignore the humiliation he suffered, but he was already expecting a conversation like that.
"What are you talking about?" Jake asks. He is also putting on comfortable clothes of his choice for when they have to leave the facilities of the venue where they gave the concert.
Sunoo shrugs, answering easily: "He wears them so long and baggy that he tends to step on them constantly."
Jake ponders his response for a few minutes. He nods silently, but doesn't look convinced. Niki knows that Jake is willing to fight tooth and claw to prove that it wasn't Niki's fault, but rather an accidental fall. It's not necessary, because everyone already knows it.
No one is really being rude to him, but Jake tends to take things differently when it comes to Niki. Niki can admit some of his guilt, although he won't say it out loud. It's true that he wears pants so baggy that he can't even see his shoes most of the time. They tend to easily get into the space between the floor surface and his shoes, inevitably causing him to slip. He knows it and Jake probably knows it too, but he doesn't say anything.
It's simply, it's his style, which he is not willing to forget. In the long run it will have consequences, but in the meantime, it will remain cool.
Jake remains silent, looking at Sunoo and Jungwon reluctantly, while he finishes changing his clothes, wearing dark pants and a light sweatshirt that is clearly not his. It's from Sunghoon.
Jake tends to wear his best friend's clothes more often than his own. Some fans even say that Sunghoon packed for both of them while Jake had nothing in his bags. Maybe they were right. Especially since the breakup.
As if he needs the scent of an alpha to remember that he is still loved even without a courting partner. As Jake slowly approaches, Niki can smell the two of them on the fabric.
It's comforting. Jake is naturally beautiful, without any effort. Jake effortlessly lifts Niki's shirt, embarrassing him who gasps in surprise. Jake doesn't seem embarrassed about it, nor does he apologize for his actions. He just examines Niki's side with his eyes and then, to Niki's dismay, with his fingertips.
At first, his touch is light as a feather. Jake's fingertips are really soft, maybe because of his omega build. He felt them before; curled up in Jake's lap, purring while he caresses Jake's scalp and shoulder blades, making Niki return the gesture. When Niki holds his hand to cross the street like a puppy or when he is hugging him against his smaller body just because he wants to.
He doesn't know why, but it's different now.
Niki feels heat on his cheeks and entire body. Jake presses the skin firmly under his fingers, satisfied when he doesn't feel any broken or chipped bones, even though he's not a doctor and can't say with any real certainty. It may seem exaggerated, but Jake is usually this protective of his pack members.
Especially with Niki.
He considers him his pup, even before he introduced himself as an omega. Because he's known Niki since i-Land when he was a real puppy; helpless and quiet, perfect to take under his wing. Jake still sees the puppy in Niki, even when Niki is half a head taller and more than half his body mass twice as tall.
Jake looks at him with curiosity and also affection evident in his bright eyes. He finally pulls out, leaving Niki with a slight tingle where he touched it.
"Everything okay, Niki-ah?" asks Heeseung, who had remained silent until now. He's sitting next to Sunghoon, the two of them resting their sore long limbs after intense dancing for hours.
Niki wonders what exactly Heeseung means when he catches his own scent, floating so freely in the small space that it's starting to get embarrassing. It smells good; to happy, satisfied alpha and something more. He's not quite sure what. And he doesn't want to find out either.
"Everything's fine, hyung," he assures, more to reassure the alpha than because he really is. It doesn't feel good at all. He begins to sweat even with the suit hugging his skin uncomfortably.
Jake returns just a few moments later, giving Heeseung a strange look over his shoulder who is already narrowing his eyes at him. Like asking him: 'what?'.
Who knows what it means, what conversation they are having telepathically. Niki can't watch them together for so long, it's like watching his parents fight and make up. It 's embarrassing.
Jake lifts Niki's shirt again and spreads a slimy substance on his sore skin. Niki shivers, because of the cold. But also because he suddenly feels a lot more things.
Unpleasant things, but also pleasant.
Heeseung quickly changes his clothes. Jungwon and Jay stand side by side for a few minutes before announcing that they are leaving first to their hotel room before everyone else. Sunoo and Sunghoon also leave with them silently. They say goodbye, making sure that any conflict has been resolved. Jungwon is clearly calmer now that he was able to take care of Jay and realized that he is really okay. He rubs the alpha's scalp with his neck, rubbing his scent over it - which Niki is very grateful for, the scent of omega settling into his system.
Omega, he thinks.
Jake is distracted on the phone waiting for Niki and Heeseung who are his partners for the van that day, looking at fans' tweets about the most recent concert. He ends up laughing at the videos in which Niki is caught falling, feeling guilty. He mainly makes fun of Jay's jacket.
Niki changes her clothes a few minutes later. A feeling of sadness suddenly overcomes him. It always feels like that when he finishes a concert. Leaving behind the fans, their excited screams, the vibration of their affection on their skin, their happy faces. It all feels like a dream when it's over. Too fast, too far.
As they leave the dressing room toward the last van, Niki sticks to Jake's side like gum to the sole of a shoe. It may be because the city's climate is really cold, although his alpha physiology allows him to regulate temperature easily.
Jake smells comforting, like omega, like home, he's warm and loving. The fans who are still waiting scream and capture images of them with blinding flashes. Jake carries Niki to the back seat of the truck. Heeseung sits in the middle seat, playing on his cell phone as always. Niki sticks closer to the omega's side. He sticks his head into the space between his neck and shoulder, almost vibrating with the satisfaction he feels as his aroma invades his own lungs. Jake pats him on the back gently, lovingly teasing Niki. He's being a little clingy, a total puppy, which is very unusual. It's beyond adorable to have a six-foot alpha behaving like a baby in his grasp.
Heeseung watches them from the middle seat. He doesn't say anything, his scent doesn't show whatever he's thinking or feeling, but his gaze is intense and heavy on them. Heeseung, being the eldest alpha of the pack, has much more experience in blocking his scent at almost any time without having to use the scent patches unlike the others.
He frequently exasperates Nik even though he loves his hyung more than anything.
It's hard to understand the feelings of someone so closed off. Heeseung also does not usually cuddle with members much unless necessary. He sleeps with the alphas of the pack more than the omegas. The only omega he sleeps with is Jungwon that already has his courting mate, so it's not even necessary. Either way, the way he behaves is a little disconcerting. Heeseung is very affectionate, but he sets his limits. More than the other members of the pack.
Of course, all members of the pack have strict boundaries and rules that they themselves imposed. They are respected and followed.
Jungwon is the pack's favorite omega. He also has a courtmate, Jay, who is a territorial alpha but is also not inhuman and selfish, he knows the needs of the pack very well, especially that of the alphas since he is one. Jungwon is his partner and therefore helps him through his ruts.
There is no mark on his neck, nor a ring on his finger. But soon there will be. Someday there will be.
The contract specified at the beginning of their formation as a group and pack that neither member could claim the other or any person in general. Even less their own members. To avoid disputes or problems. Court mates were another topic of discussion.
At first, none of the members seemed very interested in the topic, perhaps even a little embarrassed at having to discuss it with company staff. Then they thought and reasoned that, sooner or later, they would have to form their own families, their own packs. Enhypen wouldn't be everything forever. The company allowed members to get together as long as the omegas (Sunoo, Jungwon, and Jake) were not claimed and the alphas (Niki, Jay, Sunghoon, and Heeseung) won't claim anyone.
What the representatives said was one thing, the decisions they themselves made were another.
So, the group focused on their career. The concerts, the albums and mini albums they had to record. They had fun and for a few moments it was easy to forget how tense the situation once was. Like now.
Jake immerses himself in the thick silence around him like someone who knows the storm is coming.
He doesn't say anything, nor is it necessary. He just delights in Niki's strong, alpha scent next to him (almost on top of him) and listens to his calm breathing. His own omega will calm down immediately with the company and touch of an alpha.
The van stopped in the hotel's underground parking lot. Heeseung got out first, waiting for them on the side of the van. His slender, tense body made way for them as Niki made an embarrassing sound. Purely instinctive. Almost a moan, of pain or pleasure, who knows. It was clear that he didn't want to let go of Jake, not even when it was necessary, not even when it only had to be a short distance.
Heeseung already knew what was happening from the start. He shut his mouth tighter, refusing to say anything in the presence of the staff. Niki resisted letting go of Jake, clinging tighter to his side.
Heeseung took charge of the situation quickly, grabbing Niki from behind the uncomfortable leather jacket he liked to wear and practically dragging him out of the truck. Niki growled softly, willing to fight for a second as he was pulled away from his omega , before his own alpha recognized his alpha.
Heeseung.
That by taking him behind the neck, although by his clothes, he was subject to the hierarchy of the pack. Niki didn't say anything either. His eyes say anything without any word. Shiny and watery as if they contained the entire universe within them, also red as if he were about to cry. He wanted to. Although he didn't even know why.
Jake looked confused and worried about Niki and Heeseung's attitude who looked... upset and fierce. Jake didn't understand why, but he didn't let himself be dismissed easily.
For a time, his role in the pack was relegated not only to the background, but even lower. Inside his mind, there were more important things.
Enhypen, as a group, as a band, as artists. Then there was their complicated and stormy love relationship and finally; his role as main omega. He corrected the members in their behaviors. He also acted as a mediator when there were fights or conflicts, but nothing more. Now he regrets each and every one of his decisions.
When the title was imposed on him it was overwhelming, but he assured that he would take it seriously.
For a while he tried to do it, until his personal problems got the better or worse of him. Everything. It was difficult for him to keep up with the world that was moving too fast and not stopping. He was there at every moment. He lived with his members every day by order of the company and maybe for the best of his omega. He breathed in its comforting aroma but didn't allow himself to enjoy it. He watched them grow and yet sometimes he felt like he had missed every moment.
He watched with bright cheeks as Heeseung, his main alpha, subdued Niki who was also a lower-ranking alpha. He was surprised by the clear display of authority, also the submission in a non-sexual way. He had never witnessed it. At least not so clearly and intensely. It was... Strange. Kinda exciting? Such a weird thing to think.
The three members of the pack and a member of the company entered the elevator for security. Niki held Jake's smaller hand in his as if he was afraid the omega would run away.
He did it once. With Sunghoon.
Poor Sunghoon.
That was before they put limits on the pack. He was afraid, he was too young at that time. And he had always been full of feelings, feelings that were and would be unpleasant for everyone. It had nothing to do with being an omega and everything to do with being himself. He was very emotional, not the type of friend who loves hugs and quality time, no. He felt a ravenous hunger within him that was only fueled when he presented as omega. Desire. Need. Love and affection, like the song.
It was all he could ask for. And everything he never got, at least not in the way he needed it. The packs worked perfectly because they were a group that supported each other and their needs, but Jake never wanted to ask them for something that was not theirs to give.
Then he run away.
Because it was easier, although it wasn't at all.
A part of him always stayed, the other stayed too far away from everyone, until now. Jake was tired of running away.
"Please, hyung. Don't leave me" Niki asked softly.
Maybe he was talking to Jake, maybe to Heeseung, they didn't know. No one said anything, they just squeezed into the small shiny mirrored space of the elevator and deliberately spread their scents, trying to calm the puppy.
Jake could notice the intense look Heeseung sent him over Niki's lanky body. He ignored it. He didn't know how to feel about it. It was a short trip to the floor of the room for one. As usual, since there were seven of them, four rooms were divided with two members each and the lucky member received a room alone. No one had decided anything yet, at least not verbally. Being left behind, Jay and Jungwon had most likely already snagged a room. Just like Sunoo and Sunghoon, who were probably already sleeping peacefully in another shared room.
Which left the three of them.
Niki, Jake and Heeseung.
None of that mattered when Niki complained loudly again.
"It hurts a lot," he cried intensely. Heeseung held him tighter and moved forward with quick steps when the elevator stopped at the floor the employee informed them was the lone room. Jake grew flustered when Heeseung didn't say anything again, just snatched the employee's two keys: the one for the lone room and the shared one, and growled at him to leave them alone. Jake prayed to the Gods above, that a scandal about Heeseung mistreating employees wouldn't come to light. Not that he did, that attitude was very untypical of him. Now however, it was different.
Niki pulled Jake by the arm with them taking leaps and bounds for his shorter omega legs. He refused to stay behind even though he had not been invited. Heeseung opened the door to the room; the three of them entered and he closed it behind them. The whole world fell silent as Niki cried again.
He lay down on the bed, pulling Jake with him without any question. Jake didn't even think about anything as he snuggled up next to the youngest member without taking off his shoes first. Niki purred fastly and buried his head in his hyung's neck, taking his scent into his lungs like an addicted man. Needy.
How long has it been since they snuggled properly? Since i-Land?
"Hyung what-?" Jake began quietly so as not to alert Niki who seemed to have finally found peace. The youngest one looked really adorable, with his eyes closed and his eyelashes resting on the curve of his blushing cheek. His alpha scent intensified as he was in the room, as if he were trying to perfume any corner of the sterile room.
He couldn't continue, but Heeseung interpreted his silence perfectly.
"Have you ever seen an alpha act like that? Why do you look so surprised?" Heeseung asked, looking at Jake intensely, his curiosity evident and undoubtedly annoying.
Jake blushed slightly. "No" he accepted, embarrassed. "What 's going on?"
Heeseung didn't respond for a few seconds, watching his face intently, evaluating his body language for a lie that wasn't there. Jake didn't know many things about alphas despite his experience. Despite his many court mates. He had never told anyone out loud. No one knew except himself.
Heeseung did not hide the astonishment he felt at Jake's confirmation, his doe eyes wide open. "How do you not know? Was it a lie about your court mate?”
Jake flinched as if his favorite hyung (and the only one really, but still his favorite) had stabbed him in the back with a knife. Everything was very recent. The wound was still as open as the first day. There wasn't even a scar yet.
"It was all very real, hyung. What are you implying?" he asked with disbelief and annoyance seeping into his voice. He tried to remain calm, for Niki's sake. He didn't want his scent to start to rot when it was supposed to be sweet. "You saw it. You saw how hurt I was. I still am. Why would I lie?" Heeseung had the nerve to look ashamed. He lowered his head slightly.
It wasn't an act of submission, but it felt like one. As if Heeseung doesn't know how to calm him down.
His positions within the pack would never allow him to submit to Jake, an omega. His main omega.
No doubt Heeseung fought against his instincts. It didn't even last more than a second. Something bothersome fluttered inside Jake's gut. "I'm sorry, Jake-ah" he whispered.
Jake didn't say anything, but he felt the anger slowly disappear under his skin, stabilizing his racing heartbeat. Niki, who seemed to have noticed the way the atmosphere became tense between his head members, quickly raised his head inside his hiding comfy place. "Please don't leave me hyung," Niki asked. Jake had to stop looking at Heeseung to notice the younger alpha looking at him.
His words hurt him to the bottom of his soul. "Of course not, Niki-ah. I want to help," Jake assured. He caressed the boy's forehead with the tips of his fine fingers, where small salty drops of sweat formed even though the temperature was normal and pleasant.
Niki looked at him surprised, his slanted eyes bright with tears. "Hyung-"
"Jake-" Heeseung interrupted. His gaze was hard and left no doubt as to what he meant.
Are you sure?
Jake didn't say anything, there was no need. He just nodded silently, towards the two alphas he had probably failed the most in the pack.
It was time to do things right.
Niki smiled faintly, burying his head in the space between Jake's shoulder and neck. Jake sighed contentedly as the pup nuzzled the tip of his cold nose against his scent gland. "Hyung, don't go," he asked again. Jake was quick to deny again. He had already assured her that he would not leave. Niki didn't trust him?
"I'm not leaving, Niki-yah," Heeseung responded, reassuring the puppy. He always knew what to say, when to say it and how to say it.
Without saying anything else, Heeseung approached the two members of his pack on the bed. He settled into the leftover space behind Niki. He hugged Niki from behind with his arm, and it turned out to be so long that the tips of his fingers brushed Jake's shoulder blades.
Jake trembled silently.
The most innocent touch he had ever received and yet his heart skipped a beat and then another. His omega scent dispersed throughout the room without the scent patches. Heeseung and Jake looked at each other over Niki's head. Jake's eyes narrowed, like he was really tired.
Has he ever felt so satisfied? Never.
Niki was really cramped inside the older ones, there was barely enough space for him to breathe or move comfortably but he didn't care at all. On the other hand, it helped him feel whole for the first time that night. He never knew that he needed his head omega and his head alpha like that. Being together. Taking care of him.
The dissatisfied and itchy feeling he felt under his skin faded away. He nuzzled Jake, letting him know how happy he was with his presence. For feeling him like that for the first time. His rightful place was still his and always would be.
Niki also moved one of his hands caressing the thigh of his main alpha behind his own body. It was an innocent touch of recognition and gratitude and nothing else. He wanted Jake to stay, to help him like he had suggested he wanted to do, but he wanted his alpha to take care of him. To take care of both of them. Have Niki ever seen Heeseung really taking care of his main omega? He doubts. Since Jake got his courting mate, the head alpha wouldn't approach him as with the others members. It won't be right.
It was really cute. And a little bit sexy if he admits to himself (he never ever would do it).
Tiredness and comfort ended up defeating them all, dragging them to the most pleasant and warm sleep they had ever experienced
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Good things don't last forever, obviously.
Niki woke up a few hours later feeling hotter than usual. He was sweating large drops that ran from his forehead to his bare chest. He took off his shirt while complaining about the heat.
Jake was instantly worried about his younger member. He didn't know if it was normal for Niki to get that hot, if it could be a fever or something worse. Heeseung could tell his concern just by looking at him for a second.
How could he be so insightful? He dragged Jake out of the room, but not before assuring the sentimental pup that he wasn't going to take Jake forever, he would only need him for a few seconds. Niki agreed and left Jake with Heeseung, agreeing to take a refreshing bath while Jake and Heeseung collected the members' belongings for their makeshift nest. He trusted his main alpha to take care of his omega while he took a shower.
Niki wasn't totally convinced, though, the hotel room was still as sterile as at the beginning even if he perfumed it before going to sleep. It wasn't enough, but it would have to be. There weren't any other options.
"How come you have no idea what's going on in there, Jake-ah?" Heeseung asked after locking the door from the outside.
"No... I don't know" he responded, crossing his arms. "What do you want me to say?" Heeseung stared at him for what seemed like hours, which actually lasted only a few seconds. Jake fidgeted, refusing to slink away to avoid the alpha's attention.
Why was it so intense?
Has he ever felt like this in front of Heeseung?
That nervous?
So... Him?
So omega?
Since when were Heeseung's eyes so intense?
Since when has his voice become so deep?
Why was he so... Alpha?
Oh my god.
Jake turned around, running away from his own thoughts and Heeseung. He couldn't stand it. He really couldn't. Being around his main alpha was clearly driving him crazy. Jake had never thought of Enhypen members as alphas and omegas; they were his friends, his members.
Maybe if he allowed himself to be honest with himself, there was a time where he really thought of Heeseung as more than just an Enhypen member. Something more than the center of the group and the oldest member of the pack. During i-Land he thought of him as an alpha, even if he himself had not yet presented himself as an omega.
Maybe his body recognized it ahead of time, got excited, and Jake ended up hurt in one way or another. No one found out, except perhaps his mother who already sensed his youngest son's feelings after having seen the program and knew her son like the back of her hand. It was amazing that no one else had noticed, it was a relief, too. Jake was able to get over the little grief over something that didn't even exist more easily.
"I want you to tell me how come you don't know what an alpha looks like in pre-heat. That's what I want you to tell me" Heeseung broke the silence. He stopped Jake from his silent escape with his hand on his wrist. Jake shivered again, shaking so hard that Heeseung probably noticed it. And now he was so ashamed of himself.
Fucking treacherous body he had.
Anyone could tell that Jake was a virginal and innocent young omega by the way he flinched from a hand around his wrist, which had no intention other than to stop him for an awkward conversation. He had to escape, he had to run away from Heeseung and his way of treating him, his way of being. Jake didn't want to go back. He was just getting over the breakup of a real relationship, with someone who had loved him back at least for a while. Heeseung never existed. At least, nothing ever existed between them.
And how could it be that it hurt more? How could it be that it occupied his mind so often?
"I want you to answer me, Jake. I want you to stop hiding. Stop hurting yourself and us in the process" Heeseung requested in a softer voice.
What did he mean by hiding? What does he know?
Jake shook his head. He refused to cry in front of Heeseung and refused to show him that part of himself that still hurt.
The truth did nothing but hurt people, but so did lies.
How much time did Jake spend lying? He never really said the truth, nor even to himself.
Jake tried to break free from Heeseung's grip, before remembering that he was an alpha, the main alpha, and he was much stronger than him.
Fuck.
Why couldn't he think of him as Heeseung again? Why couldn't he stop thinking of him as an alpha? His alpha. But also the alpha of everyone in the pack. Not his.
"Let me go," Jake begged, his voice breaking. The barriers he spent years building were beginning to crack under the firm grip of an alpha who was the reason he built them in the first place.
"Jake..."
Jake felt it, the moment he exploded. Like in the movies, when you see your whole life flash before your eyes and you can't stop it. You only can see and try to hope for the better.
He didn't have time to react before the words escaped from his mouth uncontrollably. "What do you want me to answer? Are you dying for me to tell you that no alpha has ever let me be present in their moments of vulnerability? That I've only been a hole to fill, but not someone to be with unless they take off my clothes? Is that what you wanted to hear? Well there you have it! Laugh now that you know it, because you're right. Not only did I hurt you and everyone, but I also hurt myself and it didn't even work. I'm back at the beginning" he confessed as tears flowed freely over his face forming a stream on the neck of his sweatshirt.
He punched Heeseung in the chest with his free hand. Not enough to hurt him, enough to let him go hide somewhere safe where his gaze and firm grip weren't.
"You're not that, Jake. I promise you," he assured, grabbing the younger boy's face between his large alpha hands. He rubbed the scent glands behind his ears, forcing him to look into his eyes.
"It's all your damn fault! Let me go!" Jake yelled. He hit Heeseung again, this time harder. Shame and anger hit him hard, with the strength of a hurricane.
Heeseung stepped back, as if it physically hurt him not only from the blow and his words, but also from seeing him destroyed.
"Jake, calm down. Puppy, listen to me, please" he held his face again, forcing his strength on Jake's who, being upset, seemed to have no control. "Come with me. I don't want you to get upset like this, do you hear me? I know it's my fault, it is" he paused. Jake then shook his head, embarrassed that Heeseung had paid attention to his words and believed them. Was it too late to take his words back? "We'll talk when you calm down."
Without another word he pulled Jake with him to the spare shared room. It had two single beds and an uncomforting neutral smell. He pushed Jake onto the bed hard. "I can't stay here, I have to help Niki”
Heeseung interrupted his escape again by placing a hand on his chest. "No way. You're going to rest just like he will until his rut starts. If I decide you're recovered by then, I'll let you help him, if that's not the case, you'll stay here and rest until you're okay. You can help him another time, Niki won't hold it against you. He loves you"
"You don't understand! I want to help Niki," Jake assured, tears streaming down his face easily again. "I want to do something for the pack."
Heeseung looked so exasperated that he would probably tear out his hair one by one, yet he spoke calmly to the omega freaking out: "The one who doesn't understand is you, Jake! Stop doing things for the good of the pack. The most important thing is you.”
Jake just shook his head.
Of course the important thing was not him.
When Heeseung unknowingly broke his heart, all he could think about was healing, feeling good again and that's how it ended, though.
He couldn't keep thinking about himself, he needed to focus on what was important.
Niki. Heeseung. The other members of the pack.
His body slumped quickly, exhausted without an ounce of energy on Heeseung's broad chest. He was ashamed again and wanted to escape. His omega instead enjoyed when the alpha's smell was more intense there, feeling his body firm and warm under the layers of clothing that separated them. An embarrassing moan of pure satisfaction escaped his mouth before he could shut up. Heeseung didn't pull away or scoff, he held Jake tighter to his chest and caressed the back of his neck, his shoulder blades, and the small of his back with soft, loving fingers.
Goosebumps broke out on Jake's skin in an instant. He was so tired that he barely refused when Heeseung pushed him back against one of the single beds. His omega instantly prepared himself for the loneliness and the cold, the guilt and regret that he would begin to feel when Heeseung was gone, when he left him because he couldn't stand being in the presence of a problematic, emotional omega like him anymore. His omega begged him to stop the alpha, to take him to bed with him, even if it was just to sleep together and nothing more, but Jake had control of his mouth for once that day. He closed his mouth firmly.
Watched Heeseung's back as he walked away with a lump clinging to his throat. He let him go, he didn't stop him.
The tears returned, his most faithful companions, the ones that had never left him alone. He cried silently, the last thing he wanted was to attract Heeseung's attention.
"Why are you crying again, pup? How can a little body like yours hold so many tears? Is that possible?" Heeseung asked, surprising him. He returned. His words were not meant to be hurtful, just contemplative. Jake didn't say anything as Heeseung laid down next to him. He was able to say many things: next to it there was an unoccupied bed, the single bed was too small for both of them, and Niki? Could Heeseung forget everything that Jake said to him? "Turn off that pretty little brain of yours for a while," Heeseung said a while later. Jake didn't understand it, how he knew it perfectly.
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
Jake woke up a few hours later. He didn't know exactly how many hours he slept since being emotionally overwhelmed and worried about Niki he couldn't concentrate on anything in particular, much less a watch.
Thanks to God, Heeseung was a very responsible main alpha and had done everything right. Heeseung wasn't in the room when he woke up, something he didn't pay much attention to. It was a relief. Jake wouldn't have to talk about what happened or what would happen next.
Without the pressure of intense eyes on him, Jake focused on getting ready like he had done plenty of times before. He showered in the bathroom of the shared room with hot water so that his sore muscles could completely relax; he had forgotten the grueling hours they spent on stage, dancing, singing and having fun with each other but with tense muscles he finally remembered. He rubbed the skin of his body until it was red from the temperature of the water and the pressure of his hands. He thoroughly cleaned every corner of his body. He even had time to shave where the hairs had started to grow a few days ago. Since the breakup with his court mate, Jake only found it necessary to shave the stubble that was growing every day. Nothing else. Either way, no one would see past that.
But this time it was different.
He admitted to himself that he was nervous. Too much really. The pressure on his chest, churning unpleasantly. Jake refused to let the uncertainty and confusion bring him down. He would help Niki, not only because that's what was expected of him, but because that's what he wanted to do. For years he ignored his omega's demands, some incoherent and stupid and others more sensible, all equally. He couldn't do it anymore. His omega demanded that he help Niki and he would do it. Jake wrapped himself in a towel, calmly wiping away the drops of water as he decided what to wear. It didn't really matter too much, it wouldn't even be long before he took them off. He wore a white t-shirt and a gray tracksuit that he felt comfortable in and was easy to take off.
Jake didn't move. For some strange reason, his feet remained firm on the soft carpet beneath his feet. His gaze fixed on the bedroom door, waiting.
What? Who? Heeseung.
Jake didn't want to talk to him, he really didn't. But he was about to spend several days with Niki, without seeing his members on the days of rest they were granted at the end of the concert. It felt like he had to give him some explanation to his main alpha, even if he didn't owe it to him. Heeseung was nothing more than his main alpha. Friend, hyung and groupmate, too. Someone Jake really admired. No longer his confidant. No longer the person he liked.
No. Really, not anymore.
Jake got over those feelings a long time ago.
Years. Too many.
Just because he was now single, without a court mate, didn't mean he needed another. Jake was bored, nothing else. It didn't mean that he needed to relive old feelings that of course didn't even exist anymore. Jake was unaccustomed to being single and his omega began to worry about what would happen during his heat. He needed an alpha.
Jake was startled the moment the bedroom door clicked open from the outside. Heeseung appeared, calm and collected. His gaze met Jake's and the realization was evident.
"How do you feel?" the alpha asked in a calm voice.
Heeseung took off his shoes to leave them next to the door. He walked in his socks towards the occupied bed where Jake was sitting with his hands in his lap.
"I'm fine," Heeseung nodded, not looking convinced. Jake refused to look at his face any longer. He avoided his alpha gaze no matter what. "Can I go with Niki now?" Heeseung frowned, confused and perhaps annoyed.
"Why are you asking my permission?" Jake blushed at himself. He had no idea where those words came from. He shrugged, not wanting to give it any importance.
"You're the main alpha," he murmured. “You are my alpha”
Heeseung blinked, his bright eyes catching Jake's attention. “Am I?”
Instantly, the explanation tasted bad in Jake’s mouth. So what if Heeseung was the main alpha? It doesn't make his alpha in that way. Heeseung wasn't also Niki's alpha. But Jake was used to explaining, to asking permission. Doing the things he wanted, if he wanted, without asking permission was inconceivable. He was constantly afraid of ruining things. To continue ruining them even more.
"I know what I said yesterday, but I want you to know that I do it because I care about you" Heeseung explained in a soft voice, Jake looked up instantly. "And for Niki, of course. Now that you've put the idea in his head, he keeps repeating it. I just want you to know that you don't have to, okay?”
Jake nodded silently. "But I want to."
Heeseung sighed heavily. The silence in the room was heavy with words he wanted to say or didn't really want to but should say.
"Come on, I'll take you with him." Jake instantly relaxed with the confirmation that his hyung would not continue the fight, argument or whatever had taken place the day before. Jake wished he was more intelligent and assertive. Any other omega leader would have simply said what he had to say to make the strange tension between them dissipate. He should have said that, he never wanted to blame his main alpha and that he wasn't angry with the alpha because he hadn't even given him any reason to do so.
Jake was just very angry with himself, with his inability to make good decisions. He didn't say anything else. He followed Heeseung silently, admiring from behind the length of his back and how long his legs seemed as he strode down the hallway. Niki's room was on the same floor as the shared room, it only took a few seconds of awkward silence for them to arrive. Jake felt very nervous, too much. Then he thought about the boy behind that door, whom he met when he was just a little puppy. Who he loved and who he trusted with his life. He would never hurt him, never demand anything in return. And he knew he could back out, it was as easy as saying no.
He didn't do it.
Instead he nodded at Heeseung who was already looking at him silently. Heeseung didn't say anything, whether he was happy, angry, agreed or disagreed with his decisions; he had the notion to make it obvious. He placed the digital key on the reader and the door opened with a small click. Jake started to move towards the door. Heeseung stepped aside, but didn't leave. Before entering the room, Heeseung spoke although his voice trembled slightly: "I'll come in a few hours to check on you, okay? I'm going to close the door from the outside for safety and I'll tell the others to come visit you too.”
Jake nodded again. It felt like it was a damn goodbye. He felt nostalgic as he looked at the alpha who looked at him and didn't say anything to him. Anything Jake needed to hear.
"I'm not done with you, pup" was the last thing he said. Jake didn't ask what he meant, he already knew.
He finally entered Niki's room, noticing the dark curtains that covered the windows where the sun shone brightly. His nose smelled alpha now, dominant, intense and intoxicating. Inside his chest, the omega reacted instantly. His steps were hesitant, shaking slightly as he looked at Niki's naked body inside a makeshift nest. The boy’s cheeks were flushed from the heat, beads of sweat ran down his forehead as well as his chest. Jake couldn't help but appreciate the view.
Jake had never thought of Niki that way before. As an alpha. But now that he was in front of him, there was no doubt about his second gender. Niki woke up calmly when he smelled the calming and slightly excited pheromones that Jake began to release. He opened his eyes, blinking in the darkness, trying to reach Jake silently.
"Omega" he growled softly. His deep voice caused a purely omega noise from deep in his chest. He couldn't be ashamed.
"Alpha" responded satisfactorily.
Niki's big, warm hand reached for Jake's wrist making him jump, his thumb caressing the scent gland on the omega wrist and Jake shivered at how good it felt, how right it was. Jake had never been able to smell Niki well before and vice versa. He had never been able to appreciate the different tints in his aroma, spicy and earthy, intense and intoxicating. It wasn't strictly forbidden by his courtmate, but Jake knew that no alpha liked their omega smelling like other alphas. Jake was a good omega to his alpha during their time together. He thought about his needs. He did his best to please him, which in the end led to nothing but regrets. But he didn't feel remorse for his ex, for his packmates. Like Niki, who he deprived of his smell and touch since he presented as an alpha a year ago.
Niki smelled good. It's all Jake could think. He inhaled harder, determined to keep Niki's scent inside his lungs forever. It was the first time he could smell Niki like that. He didn't smell like a puppy anymore, he smelled like an alpha. Niki was an alfa.
His omega reveled in the tender contact. He took off his clothes silently, without Niki having to say anything, without Niki having to ask him anything. Jake just wanted to please him, being a good omega. The door closed behind him with a click that echoed in the silence of the room with the intensity of an atomic bomb. It meant something, more than it should, but Jake didn't think about anything or anyone else as he watched the alpha in front of him. ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Jake walked into the hotel restaurant with Niki following a few steps behind him. The two of them dressed properly, knowing that wherever they went there must be a fan watching and cameras recording closely. Jake felt uncomfortable where the clothes rubbed against his skin; on his neck, his wrists, the back of his thighs, after entire days of being as God brought him into the world. He found the boys with the gaze and headed more quickly in their direction.
Fortunately, the restaurant was almost empty, except for a few people eating far enough away to be out of the way. There were no cameras in sight. Jake relaxed instantly.
"Here come the lovebirds!" laughed Sunghoon, casually flipping through the menu while showing them his sharp fangs that were only shown on occasions like this; when making fun of one of his classmates.
Jake was completely embarrassed. Niki just huffed, dragging Jake's chair so he could sit down.
Jake paid no attention to the gesture, took the menu and began ordering enough food to feed an entire country. No one could blame him, after spending entire days sweating and exercising his body without eating more than the occasional snack they had in the room. Niki's alpha felt threatened and became possessive at the thought of any of the group members barging into the room, specifically the alphas. Even Jay, who already had a courting mate. Which resulted in both Jake and Niki being unable to eat anything but candy and vitamins that Sunoo brought them before Niki noticed and became even more upset. Jake was not bothered at all, because it was his puppy and he understood that it was the first time he had gone into a rut with Jake. The first time an alpha of the pack went into heat with Jake, making him feel more than jealous. Niki was really afraid that Jake would be taken away from him.
Jake was literally starving.
Niki gives him some snacks before breakfast.
"Have you started courting?" Jungwon asked, looking at them with half-closed eyes and a smile that was somewhere between laughing and nervous.
Jake looked up, wondering which member was courting whom when he noticed everyone staring at them. Him and Niki. "Us?" Jake asked incredulously, pointing between them.
Jungwon didn't say anything, but nodded.
"No, of course not," Jake replied. Everyone visibly relaxed at the statement, which was strange. But Jake was starving, so nothing really mattered to him more than the food.
"Why do you think that?" Sunoo asked while looking at his phone.
"Well, let's just say that Niki has been waiting for this for a long time," Sunghoon said more seriously. Niki moaned out of pure embarrassment, his face turning a deep pink.
"It's not like it was a secret, Niki-ah," Jay laughed more relaxed.
"I just broke up with my courting mate" Jake said harshly, killing the good mood.
"So?" Jay questioned curiously.
"Well... Obviously I'm not going out with anyone for a while." Jake looked at the hands in his lap that kept moving nervously. Why did he feel so nervous? Did his members think he was that easy? "And of course, I wouldn't date any of you, idiots.”
The last part was a joking attempt to lighten the mood, which didn't work at all.
Niki asked with a pout, "Why, hyung?"
Nobody laughed or moved.
"Well..."
Jay crossed his arms. "Watch your words, Jake."
“Jay” his main alpha warned.
Then Jake remembered that Jay and Jungwon were court mates, from the same group, co-workers. He couldn't just say, 'because it's unprofessional, because we're friends, because we're like brothers' without screwing up and offending them in the process. Even he himself felt hypocritical when thinking those words. He wasn't against that kind of unions, in fact, he was once very interested, but now it was just different. It didn't seem right anymore.
Niki was Niki.
Niki was an alpha, but not his alpha.
He didn't know what to say.
"Leave him alone. It's only ten in the morning, for God's sake. This is no time for serious conversations!" Sunoo complained, leaving the phone aside, probably chatting with his cutting partner.
"I'm just saying that it's nothing out of this world. It's not a sin, it's not illegal, it's not immoral," Jay assured, looking a little annoyed, although Jake hadn't said anything, Jay knew him better than anyone, less than Sunghoon but almost the same.
"I know," Jake stated nervously. "I just don't know when the limits we established were erased”.
Heeseung frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?”
Jake felt even more nervous as he felt the attention of Heeseung and all the members at the table attentive to what he was going to say next. He had spent days sheltered in Niki's room, safe from Heeseung. Jake blinked once, twice while moving in his seat, remembering terrible moments, of course he no longer wanted to remember but they were burned into his memory.
The day that with a calm voice, without incriminations to confirm or deny that he knew anything, Heeseung broke Jake's heart.
"If I remember correctly, Heeseung-hyung and Jay were the first to propose setting boundaries when we debuted. No relationships between group members to avoid jealousy, misunderstandings, pack breakups, and so on. We could help each other during heats and ruts, but no more than that. We also set other boundaries; who washes the dishes and who cooks, whose turn it is to clean the common areas once a week. All boundaries remain intact, except for the groupmates' court which only changed once that Jay and Jungwon started to court ".
Nobody said anything again. Jay and Heeseung seemed thoughtful, probably remembering the exact moment when, being the eldest of the pack and the only ones who had presented as alphas up at the time of their debut, they decided to set limits with the pups.
Heats and ruts were complicated and very vulnerable processes. Within the packs there were always more complications: love triangles, unrequited love, jealousy, court mates, breakups and a long etcetera. Setting boundaries early on, especially in packs where most members where pups could be risky, but also smart move. No one has problems with the limits and follows it, anyone but Jake, and that was still a secret.
Jake couldn't judge them any longer for setting boundaries, he respected the alphas for that. Other packs break up before they could even set up. He simply didn't understand why so much curiosity about his preferences, so much insistence on having that conversation. Since when did it matter? He couldn't remember ever having had a similar conversation before.
"Was it because of that?" Heeseung broke the silence. He looked across the distance at Jake.
"That 's why what? I don't understand, hyung"
“Is that why you started dating other alphas, Jaeyun?” The alpha clarified the question. His brow wasn't frowning, his smell was under control with the scent-suppressing patches everyone used, so Jake didn't really know what to think. His tone means something different. Dangerous. Careful.
Jake swallowed the lump in his throat hard. The truth is that there was nothing intimate about the conversation, it was a casual conversation between good friends. A question with a closed answer: yes or no. Friends were always asking about exes and breakups and all that stuff. It was even funny once you got over it. But Jake couldn't help but feel embarrassed and humiliated. He wished Heeseung had kept the conversation private, although he doubted he'd ever given the alpha a chance to ask him in the first place. Since the beginning of Niki's heat, a few days and hours passed in which the discussion they had had after Jake wanted to help Niki couldn't continue. Maybe Heeseung couldn't stand the uncertainty anymore, who knows.
What did he care about?
"Hyung..." Sunoo muttered, trying to dissuade Heeseung, trying to get him to take it back and say, 'you know what? It doesn't really matter, don't worry Jaeyun.'
Thanks to God and his parents for creating him with so much love.
Heeseung was never this harsh with his tone of voice.
Never.
And then there was that name.
His damn name. His own name.
Jaeyun.
It had been so long that he hadn't heard anyone but his parents say it over the phone. The members used to call him Jake. Not Jaeyun.
His damn name coming out of the alpha's lips almost takes an omega moan from him. What a shame.
"No. It wasn't because of that" he lied.
Jake ended the conversation. He refused to look at his main alpha even across the distance. He doesn’t feel just humiliated, but also annoyed by his words.
"Then why?"
Jake almost loses his temper and explodes in the middle of breakfast time. Lately Heeseung had the ability to make him explode almost instantly. Jake had been repressing his feelings for years and maybe that was why he had them on the surface every time Heeseung asked as if it were nothing. And it was everything.
"I didn't want you all to feel the responsibility of helping me with my heats. I have... Special needs" he said with the last ounce of sanity he had left. Jake looked at the napkin in his lap as if it were the most interesting thing he had ever seen.
"Special needs? That doesn't sound right" Jay commented while laughing. Then he fell silent. "What do you mean, Jake?"
Jake rubbed his temples with his hands. He was already feeling an intense migraine and was waiting for his damn food that was nowhere to be found. "No, quite the opposite. My omega is defective, as far as I know, and it's ridiculous. I need to be kissed, loved, and that kind of thing. I can't have casual sex," he said with flushed cheeks.
A second passed without anyone saying anything.
Then two.
"Your omega is not defective, hyung. You just have preferences and that's it. There's nothing wrong with it" Sunoo said with a reassuring smile. He squeezed their hands together across the table.
Jake felt like vomiting.
He nodded towards Sunoo, grateful that at least one of them was trying to make him feel good. "I need some dick like any omega" he said more as a joke than anything else. The words came out of his mouth confusingly.
Actually, Jake didn't mean to say it like that, so rude and explicit. Jake wasn't a prude, not by a long shot, but he didn't want to be rude to the members either.
Niki rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Hyung, we're all guys."
"Everyone here has one. Is that really a problem?," Jungwon responded simply.
Jake growled, knowing that none of them understood what he meant.
Sunghoon grimaced in discomfort. "That sounds like you're courting Niki."
Jake deliberately ignored Sunghoon for his peace of mind. And everyone else too. He looked around to see where the hell the waiters were and why they weren't bringing anything to the table to distract them from the awkward conversations.
"Did you start dating other alphas because you didn't want us to help you during your heats?" Heeseung asked offended. His annoyance was evident, even without being able to smell his scent.
"I need to be loved! Don't you understand?" Jake became desperate, wanting them to understand his decisions. His leg began to bounce insistently under the table.
"We love you, Jake! I love you!" Heeseung shouted, drawing the attention of the few people in the restaurant. He didn't even blink or apologize, he just looked at Jake intensely. Jungwon and Jay shared a silent look.
"Not that way, hyung. I need to be wanted, loved and fucked at the same time, like a couple. Love couple. It's not the same" Jake thanked the Korean language, the moment they started arguing. It was evident that the people having breakfast, far from them, were foreigners (or rather, they were) and did not understand a word they were saying, which was an advantage.
"Enough. Let's leave this conversation for later," Jungwon ordered, silencing the responses of Heeseung and Jake who were very upset. Jake felt his blood pounding inside his veins. He was so upset that his cheeks and ears were hot.
No one seemed shocked by Jake's words. If anything, it just made them think. Neither of the boys said anything, which only made Jake feel worse. They didn't agree with him. They didn't understand it. Jake always knew he had made the right decision. He had physical and emotional needs that he was not going to force his pack mates to satisfy. He needed to be loved, like a partner, like an omega, not like a friend. He already knew that the boys loved him, but it wasn't the same. He needed to be fucked, not out of commitment or so that he could get out of heat without pain, but because they wanted to, because they needed him. And he was sure that within the pack there was no one who liked it that way, he was sure. Very sure. Jake couldn't stand having one thing and not having the other. He couldn't. It had to be the complete package.
Jake could only imagine the alternative; go into heat surrounded by his mates and beg pathetically for his main alpha's dick. The one who suggested setting the limit: no courtmates within the pack. They were clearly not on the same page. It would have been so humiliating that his dignity and pride would have been destroyed into microparticles impossible to put back together. Therefore, as soon as his heats began to get difficult, when his hand was not enough, when his omega begged for a knot; had to find a definitive solution.
He got an alpha. An alpha who did want him.
He was sure that he still liked girls, that his thing with Heeseung had been a mistake by his omega, who knew that Heeseung was an alpha and mistook him for his alpha. It wouldn't happen again.
His first court mate was very good to him. An older woman alpha. She gave him everything he needed for at least a year and a half of their relationship before it inevitably had to end between the group's hectic schedules and time spent out of the country. He felt satisfied while his needs getting done: he felt loved and he was also fucked not out of obligation, but out of pleasure.
And when he returned home after spending time with his alpha, he felt like he had lifted a weight off the shoulders of all the members. They wouldn't have to help Jake sexually while he got clingy and asked for kisses and hugs and sweet words they didn't want to say.
It was a win-win.
Jake couldn't even stand being in the same house as Heeseung while he was in heat. He was beginning to become delirious, to beg for things that would not happen. Being with an alpha, spending his heat accompanied at home by his true alpha was the right thing to do.
Was Jake really that selfish? He just wanted to do the right thing for everyone.
They ate breakfast in silence, a tense and uncomfortable silence that everyone refused to break. Jake was about to burst into tears when his feast appeared in front of him and suddenly, the emptiness in his stomach was all he could think about.
Jungwon and Jay went up to their shared room to rest for a while after breakfast. Sunoo went for a walk around the city accompanied by a staff member. Sunghoon went to the gym with Niki who was still feeling the hormones from his rut.
Jake walked forward into the room so he wouldn't have to face his roommate before remembering that he didn't have the key, Heeseung did. A few minutes later, the alpha appeared down the hallway walking casually which only made Jake angrier. He walked to the door and opened it, letting Jake enter first. Not even the kind gesture could calm the flame of fury inside the omega. Jake started grabbing the bag he was carrying his belongings in before remembering that Heeseung had the copy of Niki's room key as well.
"Can I have the key to Niki's room?" Jake asked with his jaw clenched, his back to the alpha. He had to use all his strength to make the words come out normal from his mouth.
"What do you want it for? Are you in pre-heat?" he asked in a soft voice. Heeseung approached and sniffed him shamelessly for any hint of excitement. Jake shrugged without meeting his eyes.
"I want to stay with him some days"
"You want to be with him," he parroted. His expression gave nothing away, Jake was starting to get impatient.
Jake nodded. Then he looked at him again, realizing that Heeseung was misunderstanding his words.
"Not like that, God. Why are you so obsessed with me getting another court mate?"
Heeseung thought that Jake wanted to be with him, like alpha and omega. Like courtmates sharing a room, which was far from reality. Heeseung looked at him intensely.
"I'm not done with you, Jake." Jake trembled in his place hard.
"Then shoot me"
Heeseung hesitated for a few seconds doing nothing but looking at him. More than looking at it, it felt like a scan. His eyes roamed all over Jake's face, his hands, and his body, as if he were trying to read his emotions with his body language. "Do you want to go out with Niki?" was what he asked.
Jake resisted the urge to cry or laugh or punch the wall, all at the same time. His emotions were a mess. And Heeseung did nothing but make him desperate.
"¡No!" said.
Heeseung didn't believe it, clearly. He didn't nod or deny, his scent still hidden by the patches of smell that Jake was beginning to detest.
"Then why did you sleep with him?" Jake frowned at the harshness of the alpha words. Because he wanted to, he thought. Heeseung interrupted his thoughts: "You said that you need to be fucked by someone who loves you, someone you love. You also said that the love we give you is different. I ask you again, do you want to be with Niki? Do you love him that way? As an alpha?”
"I guess I don't need that anymore, I don't know. I said it without thinking. When I presented was when I thought about it the most; about making love. I didn't want to fuck with just anyone. I didn't want to be a burden on anyone, or for them- and you- to feel obligated to, I don't know, fuck me even if you didn't want to just because we're pack mates. But after being with Niki... I don't know, I think I could do it."
Heeseung looked clueless just like Jake felt after all his talk that meant nothing. Why wasn't his damn mouth working right?
"Having casual sex, I mean. It was fun," Jake assured with a chuckle. He remembered the way it felt to be with Niki, safe, comfortable and free. Niki as an alpha makes his omega feel appreciated again. Maybe because in one way or another Jake loved him, but maybe he could try having casual sex. He just needed to feel wanted and of course, needed some dick.
"So now you're going to have casual sex? With who?" the head alpha questioned, crossing his arms.
"I guess so," Jake said more calmly. "That way I can help everyone. And it's not like I'm having a bad time either," he shrugged, downplaying it.
Heeseung looked at him in disbelief, as if he had grown a second head. "Help who, Jaeyun?"
"Niki and Sunghoon. You too, hyung, if you let me" the last part came out as a secret, low, just for him to hear. Jake didn't want to say it, he didn't want to expose that vulnerable part of himself to Heeseung to break his heart again. But he wanted to. If Heeseung called him for help, Jake would go regardless of his heart being at stake again. Heeseung shook his head, making Jake's heart drop inside his chest. Heeseung turned around as if he was upset, or was he laughing? Jake could only watch the alpha with his heart rate racing waiting for his response.
"My God, what am I going to do with you?" He asked quietly as he rubbed his temples with a big hand. A small smile appeared on his lips, making Jake relax almost instantly. “How can you be so good?”
The thought of his main alpha rejecting his help would completely destroy him, but now that Heeseung showed him the slightest sign of acceptance his omega classified it as an achievement the size of a Nobel Prize.
Jake felt normal again. The unbridled anger completely disappeared from his system. The discussion in the breakfast was completely forgotten now that Jake can see his main alpha smile. Maybe all Heeseung and Jake needed was to smooth things over with a fuck between friends. All Jake needed to feel good after a breakup was to offer casual sex to his packmates. Especially Heeseung. Jake's feelings weren't going to be rekindled after that, right? There was nothing to fear. He had already had sex with Niki and as good as it had been he hadn't started any kind of romantic feelings towards Niki. It would be the same with Heeseung.
"Use me," he whispered.
Heeseung looked at him again, pupils dilated and all. There was a small breeze in which Jake swore he could smell Heeseung's alpha scent even with the patches on.
Heeseung hesitated for a second, taking a step towards Jake making him shiver with nothing more than a look. The intensity of his gaze and his scent made Jake tremble in anticipation. Heeseung looked at him like he was one step away from destroying him, breaking him down and Jake would just let him do it.
Heeseung blinked several times, coming back to reality.
His eyes cleared, he took a step back, and Jake was able to breathe again with difficulty. Neither of them said anything. It was no longer necessary.
Jake just hoped he hadn't screwed up the situation forever
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
Two weeks passed in which the group traveled from one city to another on the American continent to give concerts one after another. Jake felt tired to the bones. He could barely stay awake at night after hours and hours of singing and dancing with all the energy in his little body. The only thing that helped him recharge his batteries were the small moments he spent with the VIP fans where he felt normal for a few moments during the day. Like he was his friend. The fans found him really funny, making him take adorable photos with them and asking his opinions about whether cereal was; breakfast or dinner, but for Jake it was dessert.
The topic of Jake's court mates took a backseat for a few days. Nobody mentioned anything again.
All that mattered was doing their job well and they did it.
Jake was grateful for the days off they were given between concerts. Sometimes it was just a few hours, sometimes it was a couple of days to go as a tourist in a foreign city, but whatever the case, Jake made sure to take advantage of it.
At the new destination, Jake and Sunghoon shared a room as always. They got along very well. Sunghoon was organized and very clean. Jake was a mess most of the days, but he tended to fall asleep early like a grandpa, so sharing with him was like having the room to yourself.
Jake and Sunghoon got into the van with Sunoo and Niki in the front after finishing another concert. Sunghoon got close enough to his body so that there was not even an inch of distance between them, as customary. The warmth of the alpha's skin through the layers of clothing was comforting his omega.
"Can I?" Sunghoon whispered close to Jake's ear. He probably didn't want the younger ones to hear him, but still, the closeness sent a shiver through Jake's entire body. He nodded silently, not understanding what he meant and not caring at all.
Sunghoon's aroma was strong, exquisite, and it filled his lungs comfortingly. The alpha delved between the space of Jake's shoulder and neck where his omega scent was most intense thanks to his scent glands. After a previous day of wearing the patches to avoid complications, they always took them off when they returned to the hotel and it was like smelling each other for the first time. Sunghoon gave an appreciative growl as the tip of his nose ran over the sensitive skin of the omega's neck. Jake closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasant contact.
Jake and Sunghoon had indeed sniffed each other out over the years. Not as much as they would like out of respect for Jake's courting partners, but still, more so than with the other members of the pack. Sometimes Jake would lie down next to him and ask him to hug him and Sunghoon would follow his orders.
They had become close in i-Land, so close that many people (including some members of the group) believed that there was more than a friendship between them. Which wasn't true because Jake liked Heeseung, although no one knew it and it gave rise to assumptions. When Jake presented as an omega and Sunghoon as an alpha, everyone said that they were a fated couple.
Nothing changed between them, not even in the slightest.
The members continued to have their doubts, some looking uneasy during the first few days fearful that a claim would arise just days after the debut with both being unstable and guided by their newly discovered instincts.
Jay and Heeseung decided to set boundaries in the pack and everyone relaxed even though Jake and Sunghoon hadn't even thought about courting. Sunghoon offered to help Jake during his heats and Jake almost accepted, but then he didn't.
Now his reasons were clear. His omega, his mind and his body only wanted Heeseung. His alpha. Any other alpha was fine, but not quite. Jake didn't dare to use Sunghoon to forget Heeseung. The rest is history.
Sunghoon doesn't shake or speak during the ride back to the hotel. He remains firmly silent, allowing Jake to hear and feel his racing heartbeat where their skin meets. Niki gives them an appraising look from the front seat, Sunoo looks at the phone with all his attention and has headphones on, so he doesn't pay attention to them.
Niki doesn't say anything, but Jake senses what he'll say once they're alone. Still, Jake doesn't let Sunghoon leave his side. He keeps him at her side, reveling in his alpha scent and how right it feels to be with him like this. Niki types furiously on the phone with a frown on his face. Jake wants to ask what's wrong or if he's okay, but he can't find the strength to do so. His brain is scrambled, he's only allowed to think about the scent of the alpha next to him.
The van finally parks in the hotel's underground parking lot. It is completely abandoned after eleven at night. Jake feels tired, exhausted, but at the same time he feels a renewed energy coursing through his veins. Sunghoon doesn't leave his side as he gets out of the truck.
Sunoo takes off his headphones, out of courtesy more than anything else. Without the phone in his face, he seems to be noticing Sunghoon's strange behavior. "Are you okay, Sunghoon-hyung?" he asks worriedly.
Sunghoon doesn't respond, just makes an affirmative noise in his throat and remains in his hiding place in Jake's body.
Jake's cheeks flush red as he notices the look Niki and Sunoo share with each other. Silent, perhaps judicious. They don't say anything, it's not necessary either. Niki doesn't look happy. Keep paying attention to the phone as if it held the conspiratorial secrets of the universe. The staff member (a beta) who boarded the elevator with them for safety quickly disappears when he feels Sunghoon's intense gaze on him. He disappears with a quick apology.
Sunghoon and Jake head to their shared room, saying goodbye to the younger ones who look confused. Jake enters first taking off his shoes. His body feels heavy and has mild pain in some parts. He doesn't even ask as he approaches the bag where Sunghoon keeps his belongings. He searches with agile hands until he finds something that satisfies his omega; a sweatshirt that Sunghoon had already worn and hadn't washed yet. The alpha's scent was intense on the garment and Jake inhaled sharply before putting it on. His omega relaxed, the pain in his body (because of separation) and all his worries quickly disappearing. Sunghoon looked at him lovingly, like he always did when Jake wore his clothes and they were too big for him.
Sunghoon took off his shoes and walked towards his bag as well, taking out some belongings carelessly and throwing them on the bed. He then walked over to Jake's bag and looked for the clothes his alpha wanted and brought them along with his own. In a matter of seconds he put together a fairly simple but functional makeshift nest.
Jake heard knocking on the bedroom door, without thinking he opened the door and found his main alpha right there. "Hyung! Come in, come in" Jake greeted effusively, stepping aside for Heeseung to enter the room.
Heeseung ruffled Jake's hair like he was a puppy, which only embarrassed him. "Everything okay, Hoon-ah?" Heeseung asked.
Sunghoon noded in silent.
"I think you're in pre-rut"
Sunghoon laughed. "Really? Well, that explains a lot lf things"
Heeseung watch them both.
"What things, Hoon-ah?"
Sunghoon's cheeks flushed violently while looking at Jake. Its enough answer.
"Does your alpha want Jake?" Heeseung asked. His jaw twitched a little which Jake probably imagined, there was no reason why Heeseung should be upset about it. Right?
"Yeah, I guess so. Now that he doesn't have a court partner it's like I've completely forgotten about Jungwon" Sunghoon laughed again. Jake knew in advance that Jungwon was the omega who helped them when their ruts got complicated, even when he already had a court partner. Sunoo and Jake were with alphas who did not belong to the pack, so their relationship was more strained and it was unlikely that they would be allowed to participate or help during the heat of another of the alphas and they did not want to help some specific alphas of the pack for selfish reasons.
Jay was anything but selfish and Jungwon wanted to help his hyungs, so it was the most viable (and only) option. But now, with Jake being single again for the first time since they met each other there were most options.
"I see," Heeseung whispered. He turned to look at Jake, his expression blank.
"I was hoping I could help Sunghoon," Jake said quietly. His gaze fell to his feet, not sure why he couldn't look his main alpha in the eyes. Heeseung was silent for a few seconds making Jake nervous waiting for a response.
"Do you want Jake to help you, Sunghoon-ah?" the alpha questioned the other alpha.
"Of course. I would really like to" he responded quickly. His enthusiasm was clear as water, Jake just smiled big and Heeseung nodded without saying anything.
Jake lay down on the empty bed, next to the one Sunghoon was using to set up the nest. Heeseung sat on the edge of the omega's bed, caressing his jean-clad thigh nonchalantly with the palm of his hand.
Heeseung looked at him like he wanted to say something, but he stayed silent.
"Are you using protection, Jake-yah?" he asked.
Jake's cheeks flushed red. "Of course, hyung. Don't worry, I have everything under control. We have everything under control"
Heeseung didn't seem relieved with his answer at all, his face was still expressionless, his countenance serene and calm, but somehow, Jake caught on to something else; something the alpha wasn't saying. Jake couldn't push him.
"Hyung, will you stay with me for a while?" Sunghoon asked, lying down inside the nest. Heeseung left Jake alone in the empty bed.
"Sure. As long as Jake can rest until your rut starts."
The three of them nodded, letting Jake rest before everything started. His eyelids were heavy, Jake blinked several times to avoid sleep, carefully observing the two alphas inside the nest a few meters away. He was impressed by the way Heeseung acted, so dominant in a carefree way. It was not a performance, nor a show to look better. That's how he was, his natural way of being. Sunghoon looked small next to him even though he was taller, even adorable being still an alpha. Heeseung kept an arm around his shoulders and an intense gaze that reminded him why he was the main alpha in the first place. His pheromones flew away in the room, making Sunghoon purr while hugging one of his alpha sides. Scenes like that made something unpleasant stir inside Jake.
Alpha, was all he could think.
Alpha.
Alpha.
He fell asleep in seconds. ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
At least a day later (Jake wasn't keeping track of the days and there was no clock in sight to confirm) their minds finally cleared. The itching on their bodies subsided for a few minutes after a maddening orgasm.
Jake trembled beneath Sunghoon, making a purely omega ecstatic sound as the bedroom door opened. It would have been terrifying if Jake didn't quickly catch the scent of his main alpha even with his mind a little scrambled. He relaxed. Sunghoon came out of him, giving him a kiss on the lips before Heeseung walked further into the room with a cart full of food. Jake's lips were swollen to the touch, aching from being abused countless times by Sunghoon's sharp fangs, but he didn't complain; he'd probably had the best sex of his life and they weren't even halfway through the alpha's heat yet.
"Hyung," Jake greeted, it also sounded like an omega whine, so Heeseung gave him his full attention. He approached in leaps and bounds, stroking his sweaty hair with loving hands.
Jake had the shame to cover his sweaty, fluid-filled private parts with an almost transparent sheet that hid nothing. There was also the fact that Heeseung had a supernatural sense of smell and could smell everything. His slick and Sunghoon's semen mixed in the depths of his body. In his damn hole.
What a shame.
Heeseung caressed his cheek gently and Jake almost started crying. He wanted his main alpha to tell him what a good omega he was being.
Heeseung sat next to him, with some distance so that Sunghoon and his alpha wouldn't be upset by an alpha near their omega. He could be enjoying breakfast peacefully, but you never knew how he might react. Heeseung said nothing as he lifted Jake's arms, admiring his reddened elbows with a raised eyebrow. Those parts of his body were naturally pink, but that red? Means something different.
"You should be careful, Sunghoon-ah," Heeseung murmured. He rummaged through his pockets for a few seconds, then smeared a cold, slimy substance on Jake's elbows. He lifted the sheet, careful not to expose Jake's private parts, smearing the substance on his also bruised knees.
"Uh?" Sunghoon looked at his alpha in confusion without understanding what he meant. "Sorry, hyung. It's just... Tell him, Jake.”
Jake blushed violently, swallowing hard. "We have not changed positions since yesterday" Heeseung frowned, confused and probably annoyed. He didn't stop caressing Jake's skin even though it was already covered to prevent him from getting injured.
"Why? It's not healthy for your body to maintain the same position for several days in a row."
Sunghoon paid special attention to the banquet, feasting on the food his hyung brought them.
"My omega doesn't allow it" Jake shrugged, brushing it off, but his face looked sad.
"Did the same thing happen with Riki?" his head alpha asked quietly, probably so Sunghoon wouldn't hear although it was highly unlikely that he wouldn't.
Jake didn't answer anything, just nodded his head silently. Sunghoon fixed his gaze on his main alpha at the mention of another alpha. An alpha who knotted and bred Jake just a few weeks ago.
"And your court mates?" Jake nodded again.
Heeseung didn't say anything, but he was thinking. Probably too much, too deep.
"Actually, I meant this," he broke the silence again, pointing to Jake's hickey-ridden neck. There was a small circle, just above his scent gland, that was the only unmarked, reddened spot. Heeseung's scent dispersed throughout the room as if he had no control over it for the first time in his life. Angry and disgusted. Sunghoon looked at Jake's neck with a completely different expression, his eyes shining with satisfaction. He gave a low warning growl as the pheromones of their main alpha increased. He could stand Heeseung glaring at Jake a little, after all he was his alpha too. It was his duty and responsibility to take care of him, both Sunghoon and Niki, but he couldn't let his alpha try to touch Jake's neck or tell him what to do.
Jake's neck looked so pretty, flushed with the marks of his love and desire. Just no.
Heeseung backed away calmly now that he backed up his scent just a little bit, not submissively, quite the opposite. Heeseung was the main alpha and therefore more intelligent. There was no reason to start a fight.
Heeseung was the one who brought the alphas of the pack into line when they were violent. So he knew very well how to make Sunghoon relax and give up fighting. Furthermore, Sunghoon was vulnerable going through his heat. Heeseung would never start a fight with him in that state. During the days following their presentations; Sunghoon and Niki were nothing more than instincts. They picked a fight with the main alpha one then another time, because their alphas demanded it of them and they only calmed down until Heeseung imposed his hierarchy.
It was also good that Jake got a courting partner outside of the pack. The fights had decreased significantly after that, neither Niki nor Sunghoon seeing it necessary to fight Heeseung for the attention of an omega who was already being courted by someone that they didn’t know.
Sunoo was still a puppy and then he was out of limits. So everything that was happening at that moment disconcerted Jake to the point of making him afraid. The last thing he wanted was for Sunghoon and Heeseung to fight because of him.
"We're being careful, hyung. Don't worry. We have it under control" Sunghoon said, a little calmer when he realized that Heeseung was looking at him and not at Jake or his neck. Heeseung nodded his head once, but his scent didn't change or improve. Jake resisted the urge to hold his nose, it would be rude to do so.
"I don't want anything bad to happen, just that," Heeseung assured. His gaze stopped again at the omega's neck, at his swollen and battered lips. Jake felt like crying again. Although he didn't know why.
Sunghoon responded. "Sure," his tone was calm, calm, and slightly sarcastic. Nor did he agree with the comments that his main alpha made.
Heeseung looked at Sunghoon as if he were getting more and more enraged. He stood up without saying anything and opened the door forcefully, his scent intensified and there was no doubt that he was really upset.
"I'll come see you later" Jake watched Heeseung disappear.
He didn't come later. His main alpha was so mad that sent Jay in his place. It didn't matter, not really.
But everything felt complicated. Too much.
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
Sunghoon's heat ended successfully. Jake stayed by his side through the difficult days, three at least. Heeseung didn't reappear after their strange encounter, which was also very awkward. Sunghoon didn't mention anything about it, nor did Jake. They continued having sex until the alpha's itching and pain disappeared. Jake never felt better.
Jake was still worried about his main alpha. Of course, the situation kept getting worse every day. It was all Jake's fault. Since their first fight, they still hadn't talked properly about anything; they just kept ignoring him.
He probably felt left out. Jake had already helped two of the alphas with their heat, except for Heeseung. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe he was upset about it and had taken his anger out on Sunghoon, who wasn't guilty of anything.
The group spent the entire morning practicing for a concert they would perform that evening. Everything was going according to plan, and they were excited to be back on stage, even though they were tired to the bone.
Jake watched his main alpha closely for the entire day. He couldn't make a move; they were surrounded by staff and fans pointing cameras directly in their faces. Making a move now would be signing his own sentence; announcing his feelings to the world.
The concert ended successfully a few hours later. Jungwon and Jay hurried into a van, followed by Niki, who fortunately hadn't suffered any other falls during the world tour.
Heeseung, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Jake left in the next van.
The alphas sat in the front seats, so Jake relaxed while the youngest omega sat next to him.
Sunoo's leg moved insistently, his gaze fixed on his cell phone screen.
"How's everything going with your court partner, Sunoo-yah?" he asked quietly. He was genuinely interested. He didn't want the alphas to hear about it, but the truth was, he hadn't had time to talk to the omega alone.
Sunoo blinked several times, perhaps surprised by the question. Jake had felt the same way while he was still being courted; no one asked anything, all the guys avoided talking about it, and it only made him feel worse. As if he had two lives that shouldn't be mixed.
"It sucks," he muttered softly. Then he rubbed the corners of his eyes with his thumbs, as if wiping away the tears that threatened to escape. "I don't know how you keep it for so long, hyung."
Jake's chest tightened painfully. His youngest omega was being hurt, and he couldn't allow it.
"Keep what?" Heeseung asked from the front seat. Sunoo and Jake kept their conversation quiet, but that didn't prevent the senior alpha from hearing perfectly.
"Nothing," Sunoo shrugged. Jake hugged him against his side, not wanting him to shut down about it.
"Sunoo"
"My court mate is too jealous. I can't stand it anymore!" Sunoo wept weakly on Jake's shoulder. He caught Sunghoon's attention as well, and perhaps the driver's, who fortunately was American and didn't understand his language.
Once again, language had saved them from a scandal.
None of that mattered as he watched the sun of the pack cry.
"Jealous?" Heeseung questioned.
He didn't need to repeat it again; Jake already knew what he meant because he'd experienced it firsthand.
The sick jealousy because Jake was surrounded by alphas other than him, part of a pack that actively needed him, that wanted to sniff him and hug him, something his court partner wouldn't allow it. His alpha was going crazy as the days passed without any control, and the distance was too much to bear. Jake's alpha never trusted him; he suspected the hidden intentions of all the alphas in the pack. He said he slept with them behind his back, especially with his main alpha. When the final straw broke, the alpha gave him his blessings, saying he could finally be with the alpha he was meant to be with since the beginning.
Heeseung.
Jake admitted that at one point he thought about his main alpha while with his court partner, and it was horrible, but it was only a minor indiscretion that never happened again. As the days and months passed, Jake was able to work through his feelings with the help of his court partner. And some part of him would always be grateful.
"I don't think I can take it much longer," Sunoo admitted.
Sunoo had been in a relationship with his court partner for two years. It hadn't progressed much further due to the restrictions they had as idols. Sunoo, like Jake, spent his heats at home and in the company of his court partner, away from his pack.
The pack seemed increasingly fractured.
Jake wondered if Sunoo's decision was influenced by his own choices. He feared the answer.
"You don't have to put up with it, Sunoo-ah. You have us; your alphas," he replied, pointing at Sunghoon and himself.
Jake swallowed hard. Sunoo nodded, still crying as he looked at Sunghoon strangely. Jake couldn't understand what that meant.
Sunghoon nodded slowly. He was Sunoo’s alpha too.
Sunoo rolled his eyes and bridled as he looked at Sunghoon again. "Jake-hyung was right, hyung. It's easy for you alphas to set boundaries around court partners. You don't feel what we omegas feel."
Heeseung looked terribly confused by his words, but Jake already understood what Sunoo was trying to tell them.
"We can't have court mates within the pack, and you don't support us dating alphas who are part of the pack either. What should we do then, hyung? Suffer eternally?"
"Of course not, Sunoo. What I'm trying to say is that you have us, unconditionally. As your main alpha, it's my duty to take care of you; in every way. I won't support you having a violent, jealous court mate who won't let you be part of the pack. And I won't let you suffer during your heats either. That's what the pack is for, Sunoo. To support each other."
Jake resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his hyung. It would be rude to do so, but he didn't understand anything. Not a single word.
"Jake-hyung was right, you don't understand anything! I don't want to have sex with all of you out of obligation. I can't. And I can't just not have sex at all. Do you understand?" Sunoo cried harder, probably from the stress the conversation was causing him.
"So it's easier to just walk away? I can't understand both of you," Sunghoon fumed, stepping out of the van with long strides.
Sunoo leaned even closer to Jake, burying his head in Jake's neck and letting the head omega hug him by the shoulders and point him in the right direction.
"I don't understand you either!" Jake yelled, losing his temper. Sunghoon was his best friend, but he was never ever going to see Sunghoon talking in a bad mood to his sunshine.
No fucking way.
He couldn't stand the alphas being rude and hurting Sunoo in front of him.
Jake and Sunoo rode the elevator together, refusing to share another space with the stubborn alphas. Everything was easy for them, too easy. Just fuck and keep going, right?
Jake belatedly remembered that he had planned to talk to his head alpha before they had a fight in the van.
"You have to make a decision, okay? I know it's hard, but you can't keep suffering, Sunoo-ah," Jake said affectionately. He stroked the younger omega's cropped dark hair as he cried more quietly.
"Hyung, I can't do this."
"Why? What's the problem?"
Sunoo burrowed deeper into the blankets, covering himself up to his head. "I like Sunghoon-hyung," he admitted quietly, like a secret.
Jake said nothing, thinking about his words.
"Is that why you won't let them help you?" he asked. Sunoo nodded, and it was hard to tell because he was still hidden under the blankets. "Fuck, Sunoo. We're more alike than I thought," he laughed briefly, without any humor.
Sunoo pulled the blanket down until Jake could see his red, swollen eyes.
"What do you mean, hyung?"
Jake hesitated for a brief second, but he figured it would feel good to tell someone his secret. And even better if it was someone going through the same thing.
"When I presented, I liked Heeseung hyung," he confessed. Sunoo's eyes widened. Jake didn't say ‘I still liked him’ yet, because it wasn't true. It wasn't. It really wasn't. "I felt like I was going to go crazy if he ever thought of helping me with my heats"
Sunoo laughed. "I understand that."
Jake felt sorry for Sunoo. The situation they were both experiencing was complete shit.
"I don't think the stupid rule they set is still in effect, Sunoo-ah."
Sunoo nodded, looking away as his eyes filled with tears again. "But that doesn't mean Sunghoon-hyung and I are going to be together, hyung."
Jake didn't let Sunoo's negativity get to him. "There's a chance."
Sunoo laughed, but there was no amusement. "He slept with you two weeks ago, hyung."
"So?" he asked. "He might still want to sleep with you secretly and had no choice. You still have a court partner, Sunoo."
Sunoo didn't say anything for a few moments.
"I just don't want him to sleep with me because there are no other options, hyung. I want him to love me, the way I love him. Like an omega, you know?"
Jake nodded silently, caressing one of the younger omega's knees over the thick blankets.
"But you'll never know if you don't try."
"I'll die if I try, hyung."
Jake lightly punched him on the knee as a scolding. "You're not going to die. I'll be by your side."
Sunoo remained silent. He looked at Jake so lovingly that he almost cried, but he stood his ground because he needed to make the younger omega understand. Sunoo needed to clear his mind, make good decisions, and take risks instead of continuing to wonder what would happen if.
"Okay? Will you try?" Jake asked. Sunoo laughed again, this time nervously, and nodded silently.
After leaving Sunoo in his room, Jake went in search of his main alpha. As usual, Heeseung won the single room and was probably spending his free time in front of the computer playing some random game.
Jake quickly remembered the room number and knocked loudly on the door. His legs were shaking, as were his hands, but he refused to run away and hide. If he wanted Sunoo to take his advice and follow it, he had to lead by example.
Heeseung appeared on the other side of the door, dressed in a loose sweatshirt and sweatpants. Casual and comfortable. Jake's heart skipped a beat.
"Jake-ah," he gasped in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Jake waggled his eyebrows. "Can I come in, hyung?"
Heeseung stared at his face for a few seconds that felt like hours, finally stepping away from the door, letting him in.
The room was large and spacious, with a king-size bed nestled in the middle. The blackout curtains gave it a comforting, dark feeling that the other rooms didn't have. As he guessed, Heeseung's laptop was on, some game he didn't recognize paused.
He slowly inched toward the edge of the bed. Heeseung nodded, giving him permission to sit, and Jake resisted the urge to sniff the mattress to smell his alpha scent mixed with the sweat on his skin more intensely. Members used to tell him he was a pup; he couldn't risk confirming it. A real, true pup.
"Did something happen?"
Heeseung sat across from him in a fairly comfortable chair in front of the computer at a small table that served as a desk.
"Sunoo-ah is going through a rough time."
Heeseung nodded silently, knowing what he meant. He'd witnessed it before. The outburst, the tension, the vulnerability. It was clear Sunoo wasn't at his best.
"I'm sorry I said it was all your fault, hyung. And I know Sunoo is sorry too, it's just all very confusing," he explained quickly.
Heeseung said nothing, giving him space to explain himself calmly. After weeks of needing to explain herself, to fix things between them, he finally had the chance to do so.
"When you suggested there were no court mates within the pack... You hurt me, and you hurt Sunoo-ah, too." Heeseung nodded, remaining silent as he waited for him to finish. "I'm not trying to blame you for anything, or Jay either. But like Sunoo said, for us omegas, heats are more complicated. For a while, fingers are enough, you know. But then, your body craves emotional connection, craves to be bred, a knot. We need an alpha. Not one who fucks us so we don't have pain or who claims to do it because it's his responsibility, like you said before. Not like this," he sighed wearily. "That's why Sunoo and I got courting partners who weren't part of the pack. Among other things, of course."
"What other things, pup?" Heeseung asked.
Jake resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, his word-vomiting was completely ignored by his alpha, but he also understood that he was curious about it, and Jake was trying to be honest.
"I don't know if I'm wrong to tell you, probably I am, but I want to be honest with you. I can't keep lying and hiding things." Heeseung nodded with a loving smile. His hand calmly stroked one of Jake's knees. "When you said the alphas in the pack could take care of us however we wanted, we both reacted very intensely, didn't we?" The alpha nodded. "You know how when an alpha is in heat and an omega he likes goes into heat at the same time, reacting to his pheromones and causing his heat to come on unusually early? And vice versa?"
Heeseung nodded. Jake swallowed a few times, considering his next words.
"Jake, babe, I'm trying to be patient, but I don't understand what you're getting at."
"Answer the question, hyung."
"Yeah, of course I know. Anyone with any sex education would know that," he shrugged. Then he fell silent again.
Jake took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself.
"That's exactly what Sunoo and I wanted to avoid. Among other things, of course."
Jake stared at the floor as if it were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen, patiently waiting for Heeseung to understand.
"You wanted to court an alpha of the pack?" he asked. Jake nodded, not looking back. "Then Jay and I set boundaries, leaving you with no options." Jake nodded again. "Didn't you want anyone in the pack to help you during your heat wave because you had feelings for the pack's alpha and didn't want us to find out while we were helping you?" Jake nodded again.
Heeseung remained silent, probably processing all the new information Jake had confided to him.
"Sunghoon, right?" he asked, his jaw clenched. His expression didn't change; he looked as calm as ever. "Was Sunghoon the alpha you wanted to court?"
Jake didn't respond; he didn't have time before Heeseung continued speaking in a low voice.
"You were honest with me. I'll be honest with you, okay? I'll be honest with you. I'm not as good as you think I am, Jake-ah. I'm selfish."
Jake quickly shook his head. He walked over to the alpha, who was still sitting in the chair. He caressed his face with both hands: "You could never be selfish, hyung. I've been the selfish one this whole time."
"The whole boundary thing was because... Jake, I'm truly sorry. I realize now how selfish I've been and how much I've made you suffer."
Heeseung's eyes shone with unshed tears. Jake tightened his grip on the alpha's face.
"Hyung, don't apologize."
"You see, when we were in i-Land, I knew you liked Sunghoon, and he liked you. And I... I don't know. I couldn't stand the thought of you being with him. I don't know what came over me. I know I was selfish, and I can't undo what I did or how I reacted, but believe me, you don't need to keep courting alphas outside the pack. You can be with Sunghoon, even though you don't even need my permission to do so. I mean, you're an independent, intelligent, and wonderful omega. You can do whatever you want—”
"Why?" Jake asked. His brow furrowed as he interrupted the alpha.
"Why?"
Jake looked at him intensely. "You couldn't stand the thought of me being with him? Why?"
Heeseung walked away, standing up from his chair. "There's no need to say it now, Jake-ah. What matters is that you can be with Sunghoon, and I won't come between you two anymore."
"Stop saying that! Answer what I'm asking you," Jake yelled sulkily. Heeseung nodded once.
It was wonderful that Heeseung wasn't offended by Jake and his attitude when he got angry and spoke badly of him (a lot lately). Any alpha would have put him in his place.
"Because I like you! I mean—"
Heeseung didn't have time to correct himself. He was probably going to say I liked you, past tense, but it didn't matter anymore. Not to Jake.
His omega practically ordered him to go there and kiss him. His alpha.
Jake crossed the space between them in less than a second, desperate and hungry for touch as if he would die without it. He cupped Heeseung's face in his hands, rose on his tiptoes to kiss him comfortably, and brought their lips together.
An omega moan left his lips (or was it his throat?). He wasn't sure.
The touch was light, experimental. Melted with desire accumulated over the years. Heeseung only received what Jake gave him. His hands fell uncomfortably at his sides, trembling without even moving or reciprocating. Jake didn't want to force the situation; he was happier than ever feeling his soft lips against his. He already knew Heeseung had perfect lips, soft, glowing skin, but touching him like this was different. It felt better, right.
Heeseung finally moved his lips, breaking out of the trance he'd put himself in. He kissed Jake for the first time.
His omega couldn't stop squealing with excitement; his alpha was finally kissing him.
His alpha liked him.
He had always liked him.
Fuck.
"You don't have to be in heat for me to fuck you, hyung. I think about it all the time. I want you inside me all the time"
Heeseung moaned loudly at the force of his words.
Jake meant exactly what he meant.
He tilted his head to the side, desperate to feel him faster and faster, closer, stronger. His scent quickly spiraled out of control, flooding every inch of a room that wasn't his with omega pheromones. He was aroused, and if they kept this up, he'd start to get wet, and the alpha would smell him without hesitation. He couldn't stop.
Jake grew tired of the position (since when had Heeseung been so tall?) and instead pulled the alpha with him. He took a step back until the feeling of the bed behind his knees startled him. He lay on his back, hoping the alpha would follow him, but he refused. Jake didn't have enough strength to drag Heeseung with him if he resisted.
"Alpha," he moaned softly. Not exactly to tempt him, but in recognition.
Heeseung's eyes darkened in an instant. His pupils dilated, and his scent dispersed along with his own into the particles of the air.
Jake got wet; he couldn't help it.
Heeseung wasn't refusing, no. He was just looking over his body, appreciating every inch of his face, the pink parts of his body: his knees and elbows, his battered lips, his messy hair. Jake timidly pulled up his sweatshirt so the alpha could have a wider view of his body.
His flat stomach, which could carry his pups if he wanted to.
"Omega", Heeseung growled.
Jake couldn't help it; a tear ran down his cheek. Hot and salty until it disappeared. His eyes were shining with pure emotion.
"What's wrong, pup?" the alpha asked worriedly. He lay down beside him to gently stroke his wet cheek.
"I love you so much it hurts, alpha. I need you," he gasped as if he'd run a marathon. In any other situation, with any other person, it would have been terribly embarrassing to speak like this, to express his vulnerability, but this was Heeseung, and he wanted him to see everything about him. His vulnerability, his need, his darkest desires.
Everything.
Heeseung was almost on top of him, though not in the way Jake wanted. His touch wasn't sexual at all, just a loving touch on the cheek to stop him from crying and a warm body at his side. Nothing more.
Jake needed him. In every way.
He felt like he was going to die if he didn't get what he wanted.
And what he wanted was his body, his mind, his soul.
"Yes?" he questioned, his eyes bright and dark. Jake nodded. "Where do you want me most? Where does my omega need me?" Jake moaned so loudly it was embarrassing. His hole tightened around nothingness, waiting and yearning to be filled by his alpha. His only alpha.
"Everywhere, hyung."
Heeseung nodded. A wicked smile appeared on the softest, most perfect lips ever. He felt addicted as he hung on every word, addicted to the way he spoke and breathed.
"Take it easy," his hyung urged.
Jake nodded, willing to listen for at least two seconds before Heeseung kissed him again. This time, the touch of their lips wasn't innocent. It couldn't be considered a kiss as such. Jake opened his mouth at the slightest touch of the alpha's tongue, begging him to enter its warmth. It had more teeth, tongue, and saliva.
Jake wanted to be good, especially for Heeseung.
Saliva was dripping from his mouth. It was literally there for him, for his body, for how much he wanted him.
He thought of his big alpha dick, his knot, and how it would feel inside him, and he melted beneath Heeseung.
He got wet so fast it was embarrassing, but it was only arousing. The sensation of the liquid leaving his hole sent tingles through his body, the scent of his fluids spreading through the air along with his alpha hormones. Fuck me, alpha. Use me, he begged in silent cries.
"Pup..." Heeseung murmured in his ear.
Jake couldn't help it; he trapped him with his legs and arms, desperate for him not to leave. His warm, big, strong body was all he needed. He could cum like that if Heeseung asked him to, he just had to ask him.
"You're so turned on," he whispered with a hint of teasing. He bit his earlobe, causing a gasp to leave his body. When had he become so loud?
The tone of his voice and his light touch on his body did wonders for Jake's body. He felt like he was in heat, as if it were the first time an alpha had touched him. That's how needy he was.
"Is that bad, alpha?" His voice took on a tone of concern. All he wanted was to be good for his alpha.
Some alphas just didn't like sex this wet and messy.
Heeseung didn't respond. He kissed him again, harder, this time pressing hip to hip against his omega. His erection was huge (Jake confirmed this with a quick glance) and hard against Jake's firm lower stomach. Jake raised one of his knees, shamelessly rubbing the erection. Heeseung let out an alpha growl that made every hair on his body stand up and made him produce more slick.
Heeseung didn't repeat "Take it easy," perhaps knowing Jake couldn't take it easy. At least not when it came to his alpha, whom he'd desired for years and years.
"I want to make you feel good, alpha," he moaned when Heeseung left his lips and focused on that part of his neck that drove him wild.
He practically screamed like a lunatic when the light, burning touch of Heeseung's fangs grazed his scent gland in his neck. Claim me, he thought. Make me yours forever.
Heeseung hesitated; his instincts were probably telling him to claim the omega, but his brain (which was still functioning, thankfully) won’t let him do it. Either way, neck mark or not, the omega was already his. Always have been.
"I'm going to fill you with my pups, omega. You're going to take it all."
Jake nodded quickly. His words, his movements, his mere existence were enough to keep him on the edge. He needed him more than the oxygen in his lungs. He wanted to have his pups, to carry them proudly inside his small body.
Heeseung pulled Jake's sweatshirt up. "Take this off."
The omega obeyed, moving away from his alpha just the tiniest bit so he could undress. He didn't need to ask him to take off the rest; he took the initiative.
His cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink as the underwear stuck to his skin, front and back. Heeseung said nothing; his eyes spoke volumes. He scanned every inch of Jake's bare skin with an appreciative gaze.
From his pretty face, his swollen, battered lips, to the thick thighs that would fit perfectly, anchored around his hips as he fucked him into the mattress.
Jake climbed back onto the bed, embarrassment washing over him as he buried his face in the mattress and showed his pink, needy slickery hole to the alpha. He was tempting him, testing his endurance. "Take it easy," he thought.
"That's nice. So pretty," he said softly.
His face was so close to his body that when he spoke, he blew directly into his needy hole. Jake moaned and clenched his hands in the sheets, waiting for the alpha's next move.
He was startled when he felt something wet run down his butt, simply enjoying the taste of his salty skin. One of his alpha's large hands stroked his smaller cock, giving it a small experimental tug that made Jake roll his eyes in pleasure.
Heeseung was right, he had to take it slow. He didn't want what was just beginning to end too quickly because of his obvious need.
He forced himself to breathe deeper, to establish a steady rhythm of inhalations and exhalations that would allow him to regulate his racing heartbeat. It wasn't easy, especially when the thick, wet muscle licked his slick, tasting his flavor.
The alpha groaned, his hands holding him by the sides, spreading his ass open so he could taste him more easily.
"Fuck, my omega is so sweet," Heeseung murmured against his skin.
His omega cried out in happiness, so good.
He wanted to be sweet, good, perfect for his alpha. Even though he wasn't really doing anything, except not dying in the moment. He wanted to make him feel good, but with his tongue teasing his entrance, all he could think about was that he needed to last.
He could cum over and over again without any difficulty, but he wanted to show the alpha his stamina.
The tongue dragged from his balls and the base of his cock to his hole, without getting in. Jake didn't need anything, nothing more. He'd been eaten out before, countless times, but with Heeseung it was different. Alphas loved the smell and taste of their slick, and Heeseung was no exception. He vibrated and purred as he savored him.
He ate him like he was starving. A small alpha moan (or rather, a growl) came from deep in his chest every time his bodily fluids swelled and dripped down the backs of his thighs.
"Alpha, alpha," Jake crooned softly. Heeseung looked up at him from his position between his legs, that teasing tongue peeking out. He looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, his mouth shiny and glistening with his bodily fluids. "Let me suck your dick, hyung."
Jake was more than happy to continue the contact, but he craved it, needed to feel it in his mouth. It was well known he had an oral fixation; his mouth was greedy and he craved something big.
Heeseung looked at him, probably thinking about his proposal, although it wasn't worth overthinking. He nodded once, getting off the bed while removing his clothes with nimble fingers.
Jake bit his lip, eating the exposed golden skin with his gaze. Heeseung was more lean than muscular, but even so, his alpha status made him stronger, thicker, and taller than Jake, which only excited him.
Heeseung exposed his alpha cock, thick and perfect. Jake couldn't help himself; he salivated imagining the taste of his cum in his mouth.
Heeseung didn't hesitate; he climbed onto the bed and on top of Jake, who had turned face up. He kissed him on the lips again, softer than usual, lovingly. Jake concentrated on his lips, on the taste of his own slick on the alpha's tongue. One of his hands stroked the alpha's dick, moving it up and down to experiment and discover what he liked. It was more complicated than with his own because of the size.
Jake watched Heeseung's face as he circled the glans with the palm of his hand. The friction was probably more painful than pleasurable, but Heeseung didn't complain. He let Jake stroke him slowly, then faster. Their lips met again and again, making Jake's head spin.
Heeseung stopped the movement of his hand. He lightly slapped Jake's thigh, urging him to stand. Jake almost dropped to his knees between his legs before being stopped.
"I want to keep eating you," he stated. He licked his lips, unconsciously making the movement. He didn't mean to be tempting, but he was.
"I don't know if I can last like that, alpha."
Jake wasn't sure he could hold out if he kept eating him out like he had been. And he wanted to focus on pleasuring his alpha.
"Let yourself go, pup. You're doing great for your alpha," he reassured.
"Yes?" he asked, his eyes shining.
"Come here."
Heeseung lay back on the bed, letting Jake's smaller body hover over his. Jake was tempted to sit on his cock and just fuck himself to the pain. To open himself up for him while he cries. But he couldn't. He wanted to enjoy every second of the pleasure Heeseung could give him. Still, it didn't stop him from sitting on the alpha's lap and bucking his hips against his a few times. His big alpha cock rubbing against his ass made his mind race with the possibilities; he could almost feel him inside him. Heeseung's gaze darkened even further, as if he felt it too. One of his hands quickly stroked one of Jake's nipples, making him cry out.
"Come on. Don't keep me waiting."
Jake followed his orders. He nodded nervously, turning around. His ass was right in front of the alpha's face, and he wasted no time licking it, collecting the fluids that accumulated in a matter of seconds.
He should have been embarrassed by how quickly he got wet, but it only proved how right it all was. His omega, his body was preparing to receive his alpha.
Jake swallowed hard a few times. He stroked Heeseung's cock and immersed himself in the taste of his precum, reveling in the flavor in a matter of seconds. He couldn't take it easy. On his tongue, the weight of his cock was perfect. Heeseung was perfect. Big enough to restrict air intake and make his mouth stretch. He almost came to feel him like that.
It took all his willpower to keep going and not melt on top of Heeseung at the touch of his tongue deep inside him.
He flattened his tongue, allowing his alpha's cock to take up even more space inside his body. He didn't have a gag reflex; he'd had too much practice by then.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Heeseung moaned loudly.
Jake smiled for barely a second, satisfied with having made his always collected, serious and careful alpha swear. The smile didn't last long when Heeseung's tongue stopped teasing him and delved into his tight hole. He moaned loudly, his eyes rolling with pure pleasure.
He took his alpha's cock back in his hands, licking the glans, practically milking his cock, wanting to taste his cum in his mouth. Of course, Heeseung didn't come that quickly.
Jake breathed calmly, taking a moment to simply breathe. His head spun, and his heartbeat was so strong that his entire body trembled with his heartbeat; he was running out of air.
Heeseung endured the warmth of his mouth, demonstrating his dominance and stamina. He patiently let his omega get used to his size and taste. He thrust deep into Jake's throat, causing him to gag slightly at the position. Jake felt it everywhere. He'd sucked cock countless times, really. None like this. None tasted so good, none filled him until he couldn't breathe, and he just wanted to keep eating him.
He wanted to make him cum by having him like this, on his face, on his tongue. Then his omega protested the idea. Why waste the opportunity? Why waste his alpha's pups? Although if you thought about it, he wouldn't waste them because he'd definitely swallow.
"Baby, baby," the alpha moaned again. Jake shuddered more than possible, his whole body reacting effusively to the pet name. "Stop, stop."
Jake did as his alpha ordered, stopping. It wasn't easy. He was about to make him cum, and now the opportunity had quickly slipped away, but Heeseung was the one that talked.
"You did so well, baby. You're perfect," Heeseung assured, looking breathless. His mouth still glistened with the remnants of bodily fluids.
Jake ignored him. He flashed his tongue to the alpha, empty, where his cum might have been if he had let him continue.
Heeseung laughed breathlessly.
"I need you, hyung."
Heeseung quickly got up. Jake lay down in his spot without needing to be told. "Give me a second, baby. I don't want to cum as soon as I put it in."
Jake thought about how exciting it was that his alpha wanted him that badly. If he entered his heat now, he would be so overwhelmed that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from cumming. The thought sent butterflies through his stomach.
Heeseung kissed him lovingly on the lips. His eyes were still dark, and his cock between his legs was so hard it probably hurt. He paid no attention to anything except the omega lying on his bed.
Jake opened his legs, inviting his alpha into his space. Heeseung patiently caressed his thighs, his fingertips tracing unrecognizable patterns on his skin. It was the only time Jake hadn't prepared himself before having sex. In his times with alphas, he'd always had the opportunity to shave his entire body and apply lotions to his skin that helped him feel softer. Not this time. In the morning, he'd showered thoroughly before rushing to rehearsal, so that when he had to return at night, he could quickly masturbate in the shower without having to wait too long.
Heeseung wasn't upset or disgusted; he caressed his body as if it were the most precious and beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He took his time, even though they had both been close to cumming. Jake waited patiently; he knew he would be rewarded later.
The alpha opened one of the drawers next to the bed. Jake watched the alpha as he smeared two fingers with lubricant, warming the cold substance with his body temperature.
"We don't need that, hyung," Jake assured, his cheeks flushed.
Heeseung looked at him with a mocking smile. "Uh, no?" Jake shook his head. "Why, omega?"
Jake hesitated, the words stuck in his throat, refusing to come out. "I'm so wet right now. For you"
Heeseung probably noticed his embarrassment; the mocking smile disappeared, giving way to a much softer expression.
"I know, baby. You're that good for me" he replied. His low, caring voice stirred a deep, unpleasant feeling in his chest. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't hurt me. I can handle this. I can handle you"
Heeseung's expression changed again. His eyes lit up. "Of course you can handle it, but let me take care of you, okay?"
Jake nodded. He tried to calm down as the alpha draped each of his legs over his broad shoulders. Jake couldn't be embarrassed, no more.
The alpha groaned softly at the sight of his tight and wet hole nestled so close to his cock. If he reached out, he could get it in all at once. Jake resisted. His alpha wanted to take care of him, so he'd let him.
A finger patiently brushed against his entrance. Heeseung's dark eyes never left his face, eager to discover his facial expressions as he touched him where he liked it. Eager to find every spot that drove him wild. Jake swallowed hard as the first finger entered his warmth.
"Fuck, you're so tight," Heeseung said appreciatively. More to himself than to Jake.
He moved his finger deftly, searching inside him for the exact location of the peak of pleasure inside his body. The second finger entered with the same subtlety and delicacy. Jake barely felt it.
The alpha stretched his fingers, opened and closed them like scissors, penetrating his hole with his fingertips. It barely grazed his prostate, causing a heart-wrenching omega moan to escape his throat.
Jake, embarrassed, covered his face with one of his hands, feeling a bit of drool leak from the corner of his mouth.
What a mess he was.
"Keep going, baby," Heeseung urged. Jake was still embarrassed, but his body and mind yielded to his alpha's demands like nothing had happened. "You're doing so well. Do you like your alpha's fingers?"
Jake nodded quickly. He pressed his fingers inside him, wordlessly demonstrating how much he liked it. Heeseung laughed lightly, his eyes shining with love and something more. He kissed the inside of his knees where his mouth reached. Jake was sensitive wherever he touched him.
The fingers inside him moved faster, his prostate destroyed in a matter of seconds. Jake wanted to look at Heeseung's face, but it was impossible. He closed his eyes to concentrate on the sensations.
"I'm ready, alpha. I'm ready for you," Jake assured, his voice cracking.
"One more, baby. One more."
Jake couldn't help but moan out loud. He didn't need another finger; he needed his alpha, and he needed him now. Still, he nodded. Heeseung withdrew his fingers from inside him, all at once. He poured more lube over all three fingers and thrust them in with a single stroke. Jake gasped for air, moaning in pure pleasure as he felt his hole stretch and try to adjust to the size.
"You're doing so well, love. You're so good to me," Heeseung said against his lips. He folded Jake in half, climbing over his body to kiss him and nibble at his lips.
"Alpha, alpha. I need you now. I can't wait any longer," Jake begged. A few treacherous tears escaped before he could stop them. Heeseung kissed him again, the alpha's fingers moving faster one last time before they withdrew completely. Jake wept at the loss.
"I need you too, omega."
Jake opened his eyes, needing to convey how much he loved and needed him. Heeseung entered his body in one fell swoop. Jake wept at how good it felt. The fullness of being filled, after years of feeling nothing but empty.
"Fuck, fuck. So tight. You're perfect for me," Heeseung whispered, his face buried in Jake's neck.
Jake believed he could die like this and be happy. His dick was so big he could feel his body adjusting, letting him in because that's how it was always meant to be. His alpha was home.
"Hyung..." he moaned softly.
Heeseung thrust his hips back, drawing a moan from both of them. Jake was so tight around him that every movement filled them with pure pleasure. More, more, more, he chanted in his mind. More.
His alpha's hips rocked back and forth with renewed strength and energy. His hole tried to adjust to the size, the shape, the strength, and Jake couldn't stop crying because he loved it. He loved being stretched like this. His small cock wept with happiness against his belly, making everything even more messy. Jake tightened his grip on Heeseung's hips with his legs, refusing to separate even for a second longer than he should. He felt like he would die if he stopped feeling him.
"I love you," he confessed through his tears. "I love you, alpha."
Heeseung moaned in his ear, silencing everything around him for a few seconds. "I love you too, omega.”
His hips found a delicious rhythm. Each movement brought Jake closer to the abyss. He could feel his body, his legs, his eyelids, and his arms trembling as they clung to Heeseung. He desperately needed to claw his alpha's back, needing to mark his body the way Heeseung had marked his own; with nothing but pleasure as the alpha continued to fuck him and use his body.
Heeseung reveled in the image Jake presented. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, his head fell back on the pillow, his neck submissively exposed to his alpha's marking, his lips opening and closing with the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard.
Heeseung placed his hands under Jake's hips, holding him against his body more closely. Jake lost all strength and control of his own body; he couldn't hold Heeseung any longer because he wouldn't stop trembling. He dropped his legs and arms around him, enjoying the show of strength his alpha was giving him.
"Say my name, Jake," Heeseung demanded. He kissed his wet cheeks, licked his nipples with his hard tongue, making him whimper even louder.
"Heeseung," he gasped.
The hip thrusts intensified. The sloshing, the sound of his alpha's hips against the back of his thighs made him moan and groan.
"Who's fucking you right now?"
"Heeseung... My alpha. Mine."
Heeseung laughed slightly, Jake was right.
"No one else can see you like this, omega. You're mine to possess, mine to fuck, mine to love. Do you understand?" he asked, cupping Jake's face under his jaw with his large hand.
"Yours, alpha. Only yours," he accepted without resistance.
Heeseung fucked him again, harder. He paid special attention to his erogenous zones, his neck, and his swollen lips.
"Do you want my pups, omega? Do you want me to fill that little body of yours?"
Jake cried out, his hole clenching around his alpha's cock.
"Please, alpha, please."
"Please what?" he asked, needing the right words.
"I need... I want your pups inside me, alpha. I want to be your omega forever. I want to be the mother of your pups," he admitted. His cheeks grew hotter, and his small dick continued to leak semen.
"You're already the mother of my pups, Jake. But I can't stop imagining your little body with one of our pups inside you right now." Heeseung tightened his grip on his omega's smaller body.
Jake knew he meant the other boys. On countless occasions, he'd been referred to as the pack mom, not so much because of his second gender, but because he truly behaved like one. Heeseung was the father, Jake the mother.
"Alpha, I can't take it anymore. I'm—I'm going to cum," he cried, his voice ragged and hoarse.
"Cum for me, pup. You've been so good to your alpha, you deserve it."
Jake needed nothing more than her permission to cum with an exaggerated cry of pure pleasure against his own abdomen. He trembled, and his eyes filled with more tears as he felt his alpha forcefully penetrate his body.
"You're milking me completely, Jakey," the alpha moaned, kissing his lips. "Let me—can I make a knot in you?" he asked, his voice tight. Jake knew he was close.
"Give me your knot, alpha," he ordered in his omega voice. He barely had time to caress one of Heeseung's nipples before his body shuddered from being completely filled. His alpha's hot semen spurted into his hole while forming the knot. Jake moaned contentedly when Heeseung lowered himself on top of him. His weight was comforting.
Heeseung kissed his chest, lips, and neck lovingly, brushing the messy strands away from his face. "I love you," he repeated, though it wasn't necessary, but Jake appreciated it. ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
The next morning they had a free day. Just one before next concert and location. The entire group gathered at their hotel restaurant for breakfast together again, resting and spending some time together wuthout cameras.
"Fuck!" Jungwon shouted. He laughed raucously, his gaze unashamedly scanning Jake's bruised neck. Sunghoon and Niki whistled to mock him.
"Jesus, that's so possessive," Sunoo laughed too.
Jake was embarrassed, hiding his face in the scarf he'd worn to (unsuccessfully) hide his hickeys. Heeseung looked proud and nothing more than that. He doesn't apologize.
"Did you want to eat the whole little man, hyung?" Jay asked, laughing. Apparently, he'd completely forgotten the countless times Jungwon had appeared looking like Jake, if not worse.
"Shut up," Jake growled in a good mood.
"Since it's our custom to ruin breakfasts with awkward conversations, I'll take the liberty of ruining it myself," Heeseung announced. Everyone shifted in their seats, waiting for what he would say. Except for Jake, who already knew exactly what it was all about. "Remember the boundaries Jay and I set when we first debuted?" He didn't wait for confirmation and continued. "I don't think you need to follow them. I mean Jake-ah and Sunoo-ah, who were the only ones who obeyed their main alpha."
The last part was meant to be a joke, but it didn't work. Everyone stayed too still, too quiet.
Sunoo broke the silence. "What do you mean, hyung?"
Heeseung looked at him with a small smile, pleased that he was asking and curious. "I mean, you can date whoever you want within the pack. You don't need to keep courting other alphas."
Sunoo remained silent. Then he looked at Jake suspiciously. Jake just winked silently, making Sunoo blush violently.
Sunoo looked at Sunghoon, and Sunghoon looked back. Their looks betrayed nothing, neither did their expressions nor their scent, covered by the scent patches, but hope blossomed in Jake's chest.
He winked at Heeseung across the distance. Jungwon, Jay, and Niki looked terribly confused.