Wooyoung felt his heart racing as he watched Mingi run off with San limp in his arms.

Fear for his friend, his soulmate, coursed through him with such searing pain, he felt like he might not be able to stay standing himself.

He started to move in the same direction, but a tug on his neck kept him in place and he gave a small, disgruntled yelp.

When he turned to yell at Yunho, he saw the older facing Chan and staring at him with dark eyes.

"Please, we just want to talk. I swear." Seungmin said, tugging on Chan's arm to bring his attention back to the present.

The Alpha's nostrils flared, and he looked like some part of him wanted to run after Mingi...

Which explained why Yunho was tense and ready to spring into action.

"Chan!" Changbin snapped, then flinched when Chan's head whipped around to stare at him. "We need you here with us." He said a little softer.

"And we need to go." Yunho growled. A simple flick of his hand was enough to tell Wooyoung to start backing up.

Now that he'd gone through his heat, Wooyoung's senses were... insane, yet incredible at the same time.

He could zero his focus in on any one of the men around him and pick out their scent, even going as far as being able to sense their feelings through it.

Yunho's honey scent was soured, pungent almost... like it had been tainted in some way because of how tense and unsettled he was.

And with Stray Kids... Chan smelled like burned leather, also unpleasant but not quite to Yunho's level. He was trying to reign himself in and keep control despite the stress showing in his stance.

Changbin's was the hardest for Wooyoung to pick out, but it was there. Figs. Slightly sweet and swirling with his care and concern for Chan.

Seungmin's cherry scent was much stronger, though it was very sour, matching the panic written all over his face.

Then there was Felix, who was still hiding behind Chan and gripping the back of his shirt now. Vanilla, tainted and pungent rolled away from him.

As soon as Wooyoung identified it, an involuntary noise came from the back of his throat. A whine, or a worried call to his fellow Omega.

Felix's eyes found him, and they both seemed to have a silent conversation, afraid of what was happening in their packs.

But Wooyoung's fear was more than that. He longed to leave and go find San, to comfort him and be there for him like San had been there...

Yunho took another step back, which Wooyoung moved in sync with.

"Please." Chan's voice cracked when he spoke seconds later. His eyes were a little unfocused, but... Wooyoung could tell he was calming down by the way his scent turned into a more pleasant one... Like the leather used to bind a book.

Even Yunho hesitated. "You really don't know?"

"We have theories, but nothing any of us want to accept." Seungmin supplied. He glanced back at Felix and pressed his lips together until they formed a thin line. "But things... have not been okay..."

Wooyoung and Felix locked eyes again, then a blush coated both their cheeks.

He knew exactly what had happened.

But they never got the chance to address it.

Everything happened so fast...

The wind shifted and Wooyoung, Chan, and Felix all looked in the same direction. At the same exact time, a group of four men and two women stepped out of the trees.

Yunho was quick to step in front of Wooyoung, holding both of his arms out a little bit to act as a shield.

Chan also moved to defend Felix, with Seungmin and Changbin flanking him on either side, though Seungmin had paled considerably...

"Can we help you?" Yunho asked in English, raising his voice but throwing some force behind it too. "You are trespassing in my territory."

Wooyoung leaned over just slightly to peek around the older's shoulder. Three of the men were Alphas, the other three had a necklace around their necks.

"Your territory?" The biggest man raised an eyebrow as a cocky smile crossed his face. "This can't be yourterritory. You're not an Alpha. And you," He looked at Chan, "Are not from this territory either." A darkness entered his tone and his shoulders squared in a very dominant manner.

"I may not be, but these are my fr... my allies, and I will not let you do anything to harm them." Chan's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward slightly, preparing himself to react if needed. He also carefully slipped Felix's leash into Seungmin's hand.

The new Alpha laughed and rolled his head to the side to flash a mocking look at his pack. "Oh, we are soscared." The others laughed while he started cracking his knuckles. "Here's how this is going to work. If you make this easy, no one will get hurt today. We will leave this territory and go on our merry way. All we want... is your Omegas."

Both Yunho and Chan practically roared their displeasure back at the intruding pack, a primal signal to let them know that they were not welcome here anymore.

Wooyoung flinched at the sudden dominant pressure, but he also started doing the math in his head... Three Alphas and three Betas versus only one Alpha, three Betas, and two Omegas.

He and Felix probably wouldn't be able to do much, so really it was six against four.

"Wooyoung, I want you to run." Yunho said over his shoulder. "Run as fast as you can back to the cabin. You'll be safe there."

At first, Wooyoung wanted to agree, but his concern for his friend won over and he shook his head. "No, I won't leave you."

"Don't do this right now." Yunho hissed. "They are here for you."

"Then run with me!" The younger pleaded, fear causing his eyes to water and his heart to race. "There's enough distance, we can go together!"

Next to them, Chan seemed to be having a similar conversation with Seungmin and Felix, who was looking at his Alpha like Chan had just crushed his soul.

He could take Felix with him... beg Mingi to protect him too, and Jongho when they got home.

His heart clenched at the thought of the younger Alpha, and he desperately wished Jongho was there with them.

At least Mingi had left with San...

While they debated, the other pack started to fan out. They were wasting too much time.

"Yun..." Wooyoung grabbed the back of his shirt, but his eyes drifted to the iron-tight grip the Beta had on his leash.

The second he let that go... Wooyoung was free game according to the rules.

"It's pretty simple." The other Alpha said, taking a large step forward. "You are outnumbered, and outranked. And too far away from your pack house to get there before we reach you." He said as if he could tell what they were planning.

Wooyoung blanched. He studied the three Betas opposing them and noticed how lean they were, even the women.

They were built for speed.

And he was merely an idol... Sure, he'd done well in competitions against other idols, but could he really risk going against someone he didn't know?

A branch snapped somewhere to the right, drawing his attention, distracting Yunho and the four members from Stray Kids as well.

That's when the other pack rushed forward, catching all six of them off guard.

Chan, Changbin, and Yunho all surged together, trying to form a protective wall in front of the other three.

But to do that, Yunho had dropped Wooyoung's leash. He also ordered him to run, but the words barely registered in Wooyoung's mind.

He was frozen in place longer than he should have been, and unfortunately his first instinct was to run toward Yunho to try and help him out.

Because of that, he got to watch every agonizing second of one of the Alphas slamming into his friend and forcing him to the forest floor.

"YUNHO!!!" Wooyoung yelled right as a fist slammed into Yunho's jaw.

Next to them, Chan was grappling the Alpha that had been taunting them and Changbin was doing his best to fend off the third Alpha.

Wooyoung started to move forward again as Yunho kicked his attacker off. His jaw and cheek were already bruising, but that didn't seem to slow him down.

When he managed to stand, he realized he was taller than the Alpha and did his best to use his height to tower over him and appear as intimidating as possible before the two of them started exchanging blows.

It was terrifying for Wooyoung to watch.

As a team, they'd always joked that Yunho had a 'secret dark side' that liked to come out when he was angry for losing a game or if something happened that upset him...

But he never thought he'd have to see Yunho actually partake in violence.

The Beta drew his fist back and swung at the other man as hard as he could. The Alpha dodged enough that it missed his head, but the way Yunho had angled the attack made it so his fist still slammed into the man's shoulder.

A sickening pop followed the contact and the man cried out in pain.

This allowed Yunho to rush him, ducking down to drive into him and throw his arms around the man and tackle him to the ground.

Another cry of pain drew Wooyoung's attention and he looked to see Chan taking a knee to the face.

This pack was strong...

Even as Yunho managed to land a few more punches, the Alpha beneath him was stronger, and he was able to turn the tides by rocketing his fist into Yunho's ribs, then rolled on top of the Beta in one fluid motion.

As soon as Wooyoung saw both hands clamp down around Yunho's throat, he screamed and ran forward.

His limbs felt heavy, like he was trying to run through water, because all he could focus on was the way Yunho's eye bulged and he frantically scratched at the hands cutting off his airway.

Why were they so far away??

And yet at no time at all, Wooyoung barreled into the Alpha's side and they both rolled away.

Wooyoung tried to keep his wits about him, scrambling back onto his feet to run to his friend. "Yunho!! Yunho!!" He sobbed when he heard the older choking violently in his desperate attempts to fill his air with lungs.

But he never got any closer.

A sudden, harsh yank on his leash had his collar tightening around his neck and jerked him back hard enough that he fell back to the ground.

"You little bitch!" The Alpha was on top of him within seconds.

"NO! Not yet!"

The Alpha's eyes flicked in the direction of who Wooyoung was quickly assuming might be the Head Alpha, and that was enough of a distraction that Wooyoung clenched both his hands together and brought them down as hard as he could into the man's crotch.

He screamed in pain, grabbing himself and rolling to the side, which allowed Wooyoung to scurry from under him and crawl over to Yunho.

"Yunho!! Are you alright??" Wooyoung whimpered, fighting his own tears when he saw the handprints marking his friend's neck.

The older still seemed dazed, but he managed to focus on Wooyoung long enough to let out a raspy, "R-Run..."

Wooyoung started to shake his head, then he heard a startled cry from behind him.

He straightened up and whipped his head around, quickly taking in the fighting still happening behind him.

Chan and Changbin were still grappling with the same Alphas, no one seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

But Seungmin was on the ground, blood gushing from his nose.

And Felix was being led away by one of the female Betas, his leash had been used to tie his arms behind his back, keeping his head pulled back in an awkward position.

Wooyoung had completely forgotten they were there too.

That realization came seconds too late.

Two sets of hands grabbed his arms and started dragging him away from Yunho. "NO!! Let me go!!" He flailed his legs, trying to break free.

"Get him restrained!" The woman hissed, obviously struggling with how hard Wooyoung was fighting.

"I will, make sure that one is down."

Wooyoung's panic grew when both arms were yanked behind his back while he watched the woman run over to Yunho and slam her heel into his face as hard as she could.

"NOOO!!" Wooyoung screamed so loud he could feel the strain on his throat.

Then his head was pulled back when his collar tightened, and his leashed was lashed around his wrists several times.

"Shut. Up." The Beta growled in his ears. "Before I make you." He accented his threat by tugging on the leash again, causing Wooyoung to start choking from the pressure on his neck.

He couldn't stop the sobs, though, as he saw Yunho's head roll slowly in their direction and one hand struggle to lift even a few centimeters off the ground... His mouth moved, but whatever he was trying to say wasn't loud enough for Wooyoung to hear over the roar that came from next to them.

"You've lost. Your Omegas are in our possession now." The Alpha fighting Chan took a step back. "Rules are rules."

Chan looked like he wanted to keep fighting, but one step forward had him collapsing onto his knee and clutching his side.

Changbin didn't look to be in much better shape, but he was still standing at least.

"You can try to buy them back from us, but I doubt you can afford it." A triumphant laugh came from all three Alphas as they drew close together and backed away slowly.

Wooyoung continued to try and fight, but without the use of his hands, he only caused more damage to himself because of his damn collar.

Pure terror started to take root within him when he realized that they had no idea who this pack was. And the rest of his pack had no clue what was happening right now...

"Let's go." The Head Alpha sneered one more time, then showed just how confident he was by turning his back to Chan and the others.

His dark gaze fell on Wooyoung for a few seconds before he stalked past to lead the way.

But then the Alpha he'd punched in the dick locked eyes with him and came striding over. He grabbed Wooyoung jaw in a punishing grip and leaned close to hiss, "You're going to pay for that."

When he let go, he shoved Wooyoung's face away with enough force that he slipped from the Beta's grip and fell to the ground with a whimper of pain.

With the help of the Beta, he was lifted off the ground and led further and further away from Yunho...

Further away from his pack.

Further away from San...

He did his best not to cry as he was taken deeper into the forest, entering a completely unfamiliar territory.

Maybe it was just his fear, but it seemed... darker here. A chill shot down his spin and he shivered while he tried to look for any kind of landmarks or signs that would help him find his way back home.

Felix was a few meters ahead of him, the female Beta that took him on one side and the third Alpha on his other.

If this pack was rounding up Omegas... they may already have more. Which meant they could also become the Head Pack if Wooyoung was remembering the rules correctly.

Whoever came up with this game needed to burn in hell.

All he could hope for now was that nothing bad would happen going forward. These were people too; they were just trying to play the game. They were just trying to win.

But one thing was for sure...

Once he got back home, Wooyoung was going to beg the others to forfeit.

"So. It's happened." Madame Curator hums, watching one of 'her Omegas' being led away from his territory. "Has Tressor taken any other Omegas?"

One of the men in front of her quickly pulls up the pack details and scans through the report created by the team monitoring them. "Yes... It looks like they took two others yesterday. With those two and the three Omegas already in their pack, that puts Tressor on top with the most Omegas in the game. And these two new ones will just solidify their lead."

"They have already been notified that they are Head Pack." A woman says with a frown. "Why would they do this if they are already in the lead?"

Madame Curator taps her chin a couple of times. "How have they been taking The Change?"

The man scrolls through the report a little more. "It looks like they are doing very well, one of the top receptors. Their vitals look incredible. The biggest note is that their aggression levels seem higher than the average pack and they started disturbing and messing with other packs almost right away."

"Interesting. Keep an eye on them. I want to know what they do. And start setting up a new platform to store any... extra footage... we may get."

"Yes, Madame." Several people say at the same time.

Just as she turns to leave, the door to the room slides open and an older man runs in, eyes wide with panic. "Madame, quick, we have a situation."

"What is it?" She asks, hurrying after him, her heels clacking aggressively against the hard floor.

The man takes her to a room she hasn't visited in a long time... Not since she decided to enact The Games. Her chest tightens a little as she steps inside.

Only one other man was in the room, and he was standing up, staring at the screen with wide eyes.

She follows is gaze right as he whispers, "They've escaped."