Waiting for the dust to settle was pure agony. It was just determined to keep hanging in the air, mixing with the lingering smoke so that breathing became incredibly hard.

The one small blessing was that the fire wasn't a danger anymore...

But they'd both heard the rocks falling.

They knew what that meant.

San trembled in Seonghwa's arms. One of them needed to go investigate, but he was too scared to be parted from the older and...

He was feeling too weak to really move.

During all the chaos, he'd nearly blacked out because of a sudden pain in his chest, one that made him call out for Wooyoung repeatedly.

The rejection of his fellow Omega not coming back hurt more than he'd like to admit because he knew that it wasn't Wooyoung's fault.

But the fact that they had been separated felt... horrible.

San's stomach churned and he hand this awful weight dragging him to the ground.

"I think it's done..." Seonghwa rasped, his voice rough from inhaling all the smoke. "A-Are you okay?" He was still hovered over San, keeping both of them in as tight of a ball as possible.

The Omega can't bring himself to answer. He was too afraid that if he opened his mouth, something other than words would come out.

"I'm going to see if I can find the fire and get it started again so we have some light."

"N-No..." San whined, too afraid to be separated from the Beta.

"I'll be right back, Sannie. It's going to be okay."

The younger whined again when Seonghwa pulled away from him, groaning a little from being stiff. There were a few seconds of silence, then Seonghwa gasped. "Oh!"

"What?" San called out. "Hyung??"

"Sannie, trust your wolf, let it come forward." Seonghwa urged, his voice a little closer now.

Just as San was about to question him again, he looked up.

Right into a pair of glowing blue eyes.

San's first instinct was to recoil. That wasn't normal. But he could feel his wolf responding and suddenly the cave started to glow with a gold outline.

It was his turn to gasp now and his gaze flicked to Seonghwa's without a second of hesitation.

The Beta's eyes were still blue, but San could see him almost perfectly.

"This is a fun discovery." Seonghwa flashed a lopsided smile at his attempt to lighten the mood.

San had to agree, and he probably would have, if he wasn't already struggling to sit up.

Seonghwa noticed this and crawled back over to him. "San-ah, what's wrong? You look terrible, are you hurt?"

The Omega whimpered and sank back to the cave floor. Thankfully the cool rock felt good against his skin and he was able to take a few normal breaths.

"Are you in heat again?" Seonghwa asked nervously. He brushed a few strands of hair from San's face, blue eyes never leaving San's face.

"N-No..." San grimaced and closed his eyes, which admittedly helped ease the pounding in his head just a touch. "This f-feels different..."

"Different how?"

"It's like... m-my chest is empty but is h-heavy at the same time... I- I- I-" Tears started to roll down his cheeks and he slid a hand forward in search of comfort.

Seonghwa's long fingers intertwined with his and squeezed. "I need to go investigate the entrance. I'll be right back, okay?"

"N-No..." San said again. "Don't l-leave me too." He added with a pitiful whine.

An arm wrapped around his shoulders and then Seonghwa's forehead was pressed against the side of his head. "I'm not leaving you, San. But I need to see if we can get out so we can get you some help."

There was a firmness to his voice that managed to soothe San somehow. Or maybe it was just the trust he had in his hyung... Either way, he gave a small whine but nodded.

Seonghwa kissed his cheek, then San listened as the Beta stood and walked away.

The weight on his chest started to grow.

What was happening to him??

It felt like the world was collapsing beneath him or vibrating or maybe just spinning?

Then another feeling started to enter the mix and it didn't help at all...

Anger and fear.

Alpha. Alpha comes. Need Alpha. Need partner.

The last thought had San howling in pain, in anguish.

"San?" Seonghwa called from somewhere to his right.

He wanted to answer... He did...

But it was the wrong voice.

"They did what?!" Madame Curator shrieks as she slams a clipboard down on the table.

The man who'd come to report to her flinches and takes a deep breath. "They made it out of The Maze first, but we aren't exactly sure how. Shortly after the rockslide, the Alphas seemed to go into some sort of frenzy."

"Show me."

She follows the man back to the main room, where he says, "Replay the footage."

Once the desired tape starts playing, Madame Curator keeps her eyes glued to the screen.

What she sees just confirms how special this pack is, especially the members from Ateez and BTS.

She watches as the Alphas all perk up and start looking around with heated intensity. They speak with the pack a little bit, then they start running.

Another screen flicks to an arial view of The Maze where they watch the pack take turn after turn without any hesitation.

It's like they know exactly the path out, after struggling for hours to even make it to where they had been.

Madame Curator's mouth slowly opens in amazement. "It's their instincts. It has to be."

"That's what we were thinking." One woman in the room says. "It's a theory at least. All four Alpha's demeanors changed the second they sensed their mates were in trouble. We matched the time to when we started the fire."

"Incredible... What I wouldn't give to study their brains."

Silence falls over the room as they continue to watch the group of men weave their way through the log walls as if they had a rope guiding them.

And they don't stop when they find the exit in record time.

Madame Curator sucks on her teeth and purses her lips. "When The Maze is over, I want to start Phase 3."

As soon as they got to the tree line beyond The Maze, the pack started to spread apart.

Without any Omegas to keep track of, they could afford to let the faster runners get further ahead.

Yunho was one of them, his long legs and determination propelling him forward.

He could sense others next to him, Hoseok being one, along with Chan and...

The Beta huffed and forced himself to go faster. If there was one thing he did know, it was that the Alphas sensed something was happening, and after everything he'd witnessed, he was not about to doubt their instincts.

And for all four of them to start panicking... something had to be horribly wrong.

Yunho vaulted over a fallen log and landed a bit harder than he intended which caused him to stumble forward.

But he didn't fall...

Not when a familiar hand gripped his elbow to help steady him.

"Are you okay?" Mingi asked between pants.

Yunho answered him by grinding his teeth and ripping his arm away so he could start running again.

He knew he was still being petty, but he wasn't ready to talk to the Alpha. Not yet...

So he ran.

Ran toward the part of their pack that was in trouble.

Ran away from the problems he wasn't willing to face.

In a matter of minutes, he crossed the border to their territory and he could instantly tell someone was there.

His wolf urged him to be cautious, which caused Yunho to slow down just a touch the closer he got to their cabin.

It wasn't needed though.

When he rounded the corner, he could hear coughing and strained voices. All of them familiar.

Especially the high-pitched sound mixed between a scream and a cry.

Yunho sped up again and called, "What happened?! Are you alright?!"

Everyone gathered out front turned to look at them and Youngjo was the first to step forward. "You made it out?" He gazed over Yunho's shoulder and his shoulders sagged in relief as soon as Keonhee and Seoho came into view.

Hwanwoong also stepped forward. He looked so small and scared, but Yunho noticed that his eyes strayed to right over his shoulder.

Calm.

Yunho's upper lip twitched and he stepped aside to allow the packs to reunite.

Felix gave a strangled cry and barreled past everyone else, throwing himself straight into Chan's arms. Even Hongjoong was there to greet him and make sure he was okay.

It was a touching sight, one that had Yunho feeling a little better and allowed him to blatantly ignore the reunion also happening next to him.

Then another cry drew all their attention and Yunho turned to see Jungkook struggling with keeping Wooyoung in his arms.

Jongho instantly snarled in warning and charged forward, which in turn caused Yoongi to step between them and growl deeply in his chest.

"Let him go!" Jongho demanded.

"I can't." Yoongi snapped, widening his stance to prepare for a fight.

"Why not?" Namjoon asked, taking his turn to step in-between the conflict and hold his hands up. "What the hell happened, Hyung?"

Yoongi's eyes flashed red for a second and he refused to look away from Jongho.

He didn't get a chance to answer, though, because Yeosang's terrified voice cut through the tension. "Where is Seonghwa and San??"

That broke Jongho's concentration and he spun around while giving a strangled, panicked cry.

Which was only echoed by a gut-wrenching cry from Wooyoung, right before he fell limp in Jungkook's arms.

Everyone in Ateez tried to run forward, but Yoongi snarled at them again and kept himself between them and his mate.

"All of you calm down now!" Namjoon roared. There was enough power resonating in his rumbling voice that all Omegas who were able to fell to one knee, the Betas bowed their heads, and the Alphas tensed but only lowered their eyes.

Namjoon gave them all a second, turning in a slow circle to look at every single member of the pack.

All twenty-seven of them.

"Thank you. Now, I want Yoongi to tell me exactly what happened."

Yunho glanced at Jongho, who looked like he was struggling to keep himself under control. A mixture of anger and fear swirled in his eyes, even as they targeted the oldest Alpha once more.

"We were in the cave, safe and waiting for you to come back when a fire started outside." Several members gasped but Yoongi held up a hand to silence them. "I don't know how. But it spread fast and threatened to block off the entrance of the cave. The smoke was awful, choking and blinding us. So we worked on getting out of there. But... before Seonghwa and San could make it, a rockslide happened and sealed off the entrance."

"No!!" Yeosang and Hongjoong screamed at the same time.

"I wanted to go back, but the fire was too big and too dangerous... And when Wooyoung started to freak out, if that's even what we can call it, I knew I had to get him back here. He blacked out once when we were leaving and he woke up only a few minutes before you arrived." Now Yoongi sounded scared. He turned around to look at his mate as he spoke. "I don't know why, but the only way we could get him away was if Jungkook carried him."

"We have to go back." Mingi said, leaving Hwanwoong's side to stand in front of the others. "We can't leave them trapped in there!"

Namjoon nodded. "No, we can't, but we need to be careful, especially if the fire is still going." He turned to Jongho before speaking again. "Anyone who can, come with us and we will see what we can do. But just like before, some need to stay behind with-"

"I want to help." Felix said, pulling his face away from Chan's neck. "Please. The more of us that can go, the better."

Several other pack members nodded.

"I can't leave him." Yoongi said softly. "And I don't know how he will react if we go back there. I... I don't understand what's wrong..."

Namjoon reached over to gently grab the older Alpha's shoulder. "Stay. We can handle this. Whoever wants to stay can help you."

In a flurry of motion and other brief hugs of reunion as the pack fully mingled as one again, Yoongi, Jimin, and Wooyoung ended up being the only ones to stay behind.

Yunho and Seokjin stayed for a few extra minutes to help them get secured in Wooyoung's room.

They followed Jimin's directions on how to build a nest and brought up some of the backpacks that had been saved that still had supplies in them.

"Don't worry, you know I'll protect him." Yoongi said when he noticed Yunho lingering near Wooyoung.

The Omega was still unconscious, and he looked so, so pale...

"I know." Yunho said, though his voice caught in his throat. "I just don't understand..." He reached forward to brush some hair from Wooyoung's forehead, then gasped when he felt how hot the younger was.

"Me neither. We've never seen anything like this." Jimin's voice was strained as well. He moved to sit on the side of the bed, never taking his eyes from the younger Omega. "No the entire time we've been here. I know he's been through one heat already, so unless they changed the serum it's not that. Plus this doesn't fully match heat symptoms."

"Can you feel anything?" Seokjin asked, looking at Yoongi.

The Alpha's forehead furrowed and his lips turned down. "He's in pain. But you're right, it doesn't feel like it could be anything related to a heat. It's... It's almost like... He's being torn apart? I don't know..." Yoongi flinched and turned his head away while giving a small whine.

Seokjin was quick to comfort him, pulling the Alpha into a hug even when Yoongi made a disgruntled sound.

"Maybe we should stay..." Yunho said, feeling uneasy at leaving them behind.

Yoongi stepped away from Seokjin and huffed at him, then looked at Yunho. "I promise we will be okay. I have my watch programmed to the perimeter sensors and I'm going to barricade the door once you leave. With it just being the three of us, if someone decides to come snoop, maybe they will simply pass us by."

Yunho wasn't fully convinced, but his wolf tried to reassure him, to tell him to trust the Alpha.

So he and Seokjin gave one more goodbye before they ran from the cabin.

He had to restrain himself a bit so that he didn't leave the older Beta behind, which was frustrating, but...

They both soon realized that they weren't going to get far anyway.

The rest of their pack appeared just a few minutes later, all huddled together and talking.

Because behind them, the fire was still roaring and cracking like a raging inferno.