"Young-ah, are you sure?" Yeosang stepped around Seonghwa to look at his best friend. "That's a big decision... I can do it."

He felt several pairs of eyes on him, but the one that made him shrink back was the inquisitive glance coming from Hongjoong.

"Why do you keep volunteering yourself?" The older Beta asked.

It took all of his inner strength for Yeosang to not look at Seonghwa before he answered. "I'm just trying to do what's best for the pack..."

"You're what's best for the pack, Sangie." Wooyoung said with a small smile. He leaned over to kiss San on the cheek before untangling himself and walking over to Yeosang to take his hand. "You've helped us with understanding this place more than anyone else. I promise, I'm fine with doing this."

Yeosang studied the younger for a few seconds, then let Wooyoung pull him into a hug. "I just don't want you to get hurt." He whispered, just loud enough for only Wooyoung to hear.

"I won't be. If they had wanted to hurt me, they would have a long time ago."

"I don't mean them..."

Wooyoung turned his head just slightly but didn't withdraw. "San-ah and I talked about it. He thinks it would be a good idea too." He murmured back. "He doesn't want to risk upsetting them... Not that I think it would, but he just wants to be cautious."

Yeosang had to admit that San's thought process made sense. With how this place worked, they couldn't be too careful. If Wooyoung was the one Namjoon wanted, then there was always the slight possibility that Wooyoung denying could upset him and his pack, despite what they'd said. And if that happened, then it could cause their potential alliance to crumble. And if that happened... then they would be losing a powerful ally that could really help them.

"I promise, everything is going to be fine." Wooyoung continued whispering, neither one of them caring that the whole room was staring at them. "San knows it's what's best for us, and... he's as okay with it as he can be."

"And what about you?"

Wooyoung was silent for a few seconds, then he pulled back to look Yeosang directly in the eyes.

And what he saw was something that made his heart clench, even as Wooyoung said, "I will be fine, Yeosangie."

The reassurance didn't reach his eyes.

Even if this decision seemed to be what was best for the pack... Wooyoung was hurting.

Yeosang was at a loss for words as his best friend walked around him to go stand in front of the other pack.

Namjoon had a soft, understanding look on his face while Jimin immediately ran over to him and hugged him.

"Now that that's settled." The Alpha sighed a little and turned to Jongho. "We will take care of protecting Jimin and Jungkook as well. What will our next steps be?"

Jongho licked his lips and glanced around the room. "I suppose... We keep playing the game like normal. Tomorrow we can go to the courtyard and see if any new announcements have been posted. Maybe a new event will happen, it's probably about time."

"We also need to be prepared for Tressor to try and retaliate." Yunho said. "I doubt they are very happy right now."

Wooyoung flinched and Jimin was quick to quietly reassure him. Seeing it made Yeosang frown and he shifted in place a little.

"No, probably not, but what... there's fifteen of us? Twenty-three with Stray Kids added in? How close does that put us to their pack size?" Yoongi asked.

"We don't know for sure, but we know that it's big. And if they start making their own alliances then we are in trouble." Jongho started pacing along the far end of the room. "I think that maybe we should think about reaching out to Oneus, if they are even still here. I haven't seen them for a few days..."

"I agree." Hongjoong frowned. "I can't believe I didn't even think about that..."

"We've been a bit preoccupied, Hyung."

Hongjoong gave Jongho a grateful half smile. "I suppose that leaves figuring out sleeping arrangements. I know it's late..." He looked around the room and at all the people.

"I think I saw an empty cabin on our way here." Hoseok said from where he was slouching against the wall. "Maybe we can go check that out tomorrow? As kind as you are to offer for us to stay here, this place is awfully small for all of us to be comfortable..."

A few members of BTS nodded in agreement and Namjoon said, "Yes let's worry about that tomorrow. For now, we are used to sleeping in a cave, so the living room will be just fine."

At that, the two packs did what they could to get comfortable for dinner, which was ate in relative silence, then separated to turn in for the night.

.

.

.

.

Hongjoong was the last upstairs, so he was able to see that Mingi guided San toward his and Wooyoung's room, allowing the two Omegas to duck inside together while he and Jongho shared a room for the night.

Although he had a feeling either Mingi or Yunho would sneak into the other's room at some point.

He followed Seonghwa into their room and sighed happily when the older Beta pulled him into a hug.

Suddenly he was saying, "Chan mated with Felix."

Seonghwa pulled back to look at him, his lips turned slightly downward. "Are you okay?"

"I think so? Honestly, I think I'm more surprised that I am so okay with in, with the connection we have now, I would have expected to be jealous. But no, if anything, I'm really happy for them."

"Their reunion was pretty touching." Seonghwa said as he went to change.

Hongjoong nodded, even though the older wasn't looking, then he fidgeted in place a little. "Hey... Hwa?"

"Mmm?"

"What... What do you think about what Namjoon-hyung said? A-About their pack's relationship?"

Seonghwa turned around slowly, confusion evident in his eyes. "What about it?"

"I..." Hongjoong huffed and ran a hand through his hair. "Is that..." The words that were floating around in his mind refused to come out and he was starting to feel flustered.

Then...

His head tilted back and Seonghwa's soft lips pressed against his.

Hongjoong instantly melted and grabbed the older's waist with both hands, needing something to ground himself.

They stood there for several minutes. Just kissing. Feeling the other's lips on their own. Reveling in the intimate connection.

"You're cute when you're flustered." Seonghwa murmured against his lips a few seconds later.

The younger blushed, even as he went back in for another kiss, though that one didn't last as long.

Seonghwa broke it fully and gave a small sigh. "I just don't know if I see us having that kind of relationship between all of us. Do you?"

"I can, if everyone accepts it." Hongjoong's mind drifts to the look he'd seen on Yeosang's face. "It sounds like the Alpha's ruts happening is what forged that bond, so maybe the same will happen with us? I don't know. I just hate seeing everyone so upset..."

"Which is why you are our captain." Seonghwa hummed softly. "There's a lot for us to be upset about, we just need to be patient with everyone."

Hongjoong nodded and let Seonghwa pull him into bed, where the older curled up to lay on his chest while wrapping an arm around his waist.

In the morning, BTS left to go and try to find the cabin after breakfast, saying they'd be back in a few hours so they could all go to the courtyard together.

It gave the rest of them a bit of a free morning, so Hongjoong used it to look for Yeosang.

He found the Beta behind their home checking on some of the hides they'd set out to dry with the hopes of using the leather for... something. They weren't quite sure what the hell to do with them honestly.

"Yeosang?" He called softly, not wanting to startle the younger.

But Yeosang jumped anyway and spun around to look at him. "Oh, Hyung..." He exhaled sharply and placed a hand over his chest. "Sorry, you scared me."

"No, no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Can we talk for a moment?"

The younger gave him a concerned look as he slowly nodded. "What's going on?"

Hongjoong sat down and patted the ground to tell Yeosang to do the same. "That's actually what I wanted to ask you." He waited for Yeosang to get comfortable before looking directly at him. "Do you have feelings for Seonghwa?"

Yeosang's eyes shot open and he immediately started spluttering. "I- What? No! That's- No! There's no way- I don't- How ridicu-"

"Sangie." Hongjoong said gently, making the younger stop.

Then, he slowly bowed his head so he didn't have to look at Hongjoong anymore. "How... did you find out...?"

"I saw the way you were looking at him yesterday."

Yeosang flinched and turned his head away. "I'm sorry, Hyung... I've been trying to move on..."

"Is that why you keep volunteering to be part of the mating used to form alliances?" Hongjoong's heart hurt when he saw the smallest of nods come from the younger. "Why haven't you told him?"

Yeosang started to rip dead grass from the ground. "Because he looks at you the same way you look at him... And I s-saw you two together..."

Oh...

"Sangie... I-"

"It's okay, Hyung... I waited too long. I promise I won't get in the way..."

"That's not what I want." Hongjoong leaned over to place a hand on Yeosang's leg. "I've been thinking that... maybe you should tell him."

The younger's head shot up and he looked mortified. "B-But why?! You two-"

"Call it a gut instinct, but Namjoon honestly gave me the idea. With how our instincts are changing, I think..." Hongjoong sighed. "Well, I don't really know what I think right now. But... If Chan could mate with Felix and still run to greet me and if Seonghwa can accept then I'm mated, then why wouldn't Seonghwa be able to do something similar with you?" He paused for just a second. "Did that make any sense?"

Tears had started to gently roll down Yeosang's cheeks. Even so, the Beta gave a watery chuckle and wiped them away using his sleeves. "Not really, but you tend to not make sense and make perfect sense at the same time, Hyung."

"What can I say, it's a blessing and a curse." Hongjoong shrugged, but smiled when he felt how much more at ease Yeosang was. "Just think about it, okay?"

"I will. Thank you." Yeosang actually gave him a genuine smile, so Hongjoong took that as his sign to leave the younger alone to process.

He returned inside feeling very satisfied, only to look at the front door when his heart started racing.

Mate!

The Beta jogged past the rest of his pack to open the front door right as Chan led his pack out of the trees.

He smiled and waved in greeting, then kissed Felix's cheek before hustling forward to meet Hongjoong, pulling him into his familiar embrace and scenting him quickly. "Hi."

"Hi." Hongjoong chuckled and stepped back. "What brings you here?"

Chan flashed a crooked smile. "A few reasons actually. One, to see you..." A slight tinge of pink dusted his cheeks. "And to see what our next plan is. And these guys," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "Don't believe who came with you yesterday."

Hongjoong laughed and shook his head. "Well, they aren't here right now. They went to see if they could find an empty cabin to stay in, but they are supposed to be back in a few hours so we can go to the courtyard."

"Alright, we will go with you then." Chan said, turning to his pack. "Mind if we stay here for a bit?"

"Not at all. We were just relaxing a bit."

"Man, I almost forgot what it's like to relax." Chan laughed as he motioned for the others to proceed.

Changbin nodded at them as he kept a tight grip on Felix's leash, and Seungmin was glued to Jeongin's side right up until they entered the cabin.

But Chan and Hongjoong stayed outside after Chan had gently grabbed Hongjoong's forearm to stop him from leaving.

"How are you?" The Alpha asked, looking Hongjoong over with quick darts of his eyes.

Alpha.

Hongjoong could feel his wolf preening under the attention as he said, "I'm doing fine, Chan-ah. Are you okay?"

"Mmm. I just feel... unsettled."

Now that Chan said that, Hongjoong could sense the unease building within his Alpha. "What's wrong?"

The older tilted his head to the side and the two of them started walking slowly in a wide circle around the cabin. "I think it kind of started when you advised us to not leave. It just really sank in that we are in danger here. All I want to do is make sure my pack stays safe. Especially after what happened to Felix... Did... Wooyoung tell you what happened?"

Hongjoong focused on the ground and where he was placing his feet. "I have a feeling we only got part of the story." He answered honestly. "But I didn't want to push and force him to tell us. He can do that when he's ready."

"I'm the only one who knows then... Joong-ah, they did awful things to Wooyoung and Felix... But mostly to Wooyoung because he tried to escape with Felix and fought to protect him. For that... I can never repay him..." Chan's voice broke a little as he spoke.

And Hongjoong's heart broke at the same time...

Hearing that, it didn't surprise him that Wooyoung would do something like that... Acting with his kind heart without thinking of the consequences...

He sighed, long and low, then said, "So what do you want to do?"

Chan twisted his lips to the side. "Honestly? I don't really know. I guess keep going one step at a time. And make sure we stick together..."

"I agree."

The couple continued their walk in silence for a few minutes, then Chan spoke up again. "I'm sorry for always being such a dick to you, you know... before."

Hongjoong looked at his Alpha in surprise, not expecting Chan to ever say anything.

"To be honest, I think a lot of it came from jealousy.

"Jealousy? Of me?!" Hongjoong shook his head and kind of huffed a laugh. "Don't be ridiculous."

"No I mean it." Chan gently grabbed his arm again so they stopped walking. "Watching your performances on stage..." He exhales with a smile twisting his lips. "Hongjoong-ah, you were born to be on stage."

The younger's face turned bright red and he cleared his throat a couple of times. "S-So are you! I m-mean, look at all the amazing songs you've written with Changbin and Jisung! They are incredible!"

"You've created some amazing songs too, Joong. Don't discredit yourself." Chan's face softened and he let his hand drift down so their fingers brushed together for just a second before they both shoved their hands in their pockets at the same time.

They locked eyes for just a second, then turned to keep walking, slightly fueling the embarrassment and giddiness both of them were feeling now.

And because of that, neither one really needed to say anything else. They could feel the other's gratitude and humbleness flowing between them.

When they reached the front of the cabin, Chan was about to open the door when Namjoon and the rest of his pack came out of the trees looking very satisfied.

"Did you find one?" Hongjoong asked, walking to lean over the railing.

"Yes!" Seokjin said. "And it's only about ten minutes from here, so whoever had the territory next to you much have forfeited the game."

"It's a good size for us too." Namjoon said. "So we will move in there after we go to the courtyard. Are we ready for that?"

Hongjoong looked at Chan, who shrugged. "Let me go check with Jongho. I'm thinking only a small group of us should go, that way we don't attract too much attention to ourselves."

Namjoon nodded in agreement. "We'll follow your lead."

Jongho came out a few minutes later, and all three packs talked about who should stay and who should go.

In the end, Jongho, Namjoon, and Chan would go seeing as they were the Head Alphas. Hongjoong, Hoseok, and Changbin would go as well, keeping them in a small group while leaving plenty of pack members behind to protect the Omegas, who would all stay within Ateez's cabin for safekeeping.

Once that was settled, the group of six said their goodbyes, then left to go find whatever new challenges may be waiting for them...