ㅤhongjoong grew up in a very nice village. they were very 𝗮ccepting, well of most things. basically you could do something different from the norm and they wouldn’t judge you. well almost. the only thing they didn’t approve of is same sex relationships which eight year old hongjoong called bullshit.

hongjoong has always had an attraction to males and he didn’t have a problem with it. what if his mate was the same sex? would he have to push them away? hell, he wouldn’t do that! his parents and his village can suck a dick. if he wants to have a relationship with a boy he’ll have a relationship with a boy and no one’s gonna stop him!

the only thing hongjoong’s parents were proud of is that he presented as an alpha.

a knock soon interrupted his thoughts.

“hongjoong, can we enter?” hongjoong gave a small hum that was loud enough to alert his parents. they walked in and sat on his bed.

“how would you feel about being head of the pack?” his mother asked excitedly. head of the pack...? that would be a great responsibility and a great amount of power. he even gets to stay in his village. get to see the familiar faces and rule over the pack. he loves his pack, well it’s a love–hate relationship really. he took a breath before answering,

“fuck no.”

“kim hongjoong! watch your mouth young man!!” said boy just shrugged and continued to play with some toys he had when he was younger.

“why don’t you want to be pack leader? it’ll bring a good reputation for our family. you’re a pretty dominant alpha, even if you are eight. the other alphas at school submit to you hongjoong.” his father got out.

of course, they want the reputation. he mentally rolled his eyes.

“okay, and?”

“and what?” his mother questioned.

“this isn’t convincing me to be pack leader. so what if the other alphas at school submit to me, i don’t care about that.”

“but hongjoong, you can lead this pack to greatness. you’ll be an amazing leader.” his mother stated with a big smile.

“but then i wouldn’t have time to find my mate.”

“who cares about a mate, you can marry a female omega here and rule together.” his father said.

“no.”

“no?”

“i want to find my mate. i’m not marrying some random female omega from here because i didn’t get to find my mate. i want my mate, whether they may be an, omega, beta, alpha or of they’re female or male.”

“your mate better be an omega.” his father spat quietly even though hongjoong heard him.

“why.” hongjoong said even though he already knew that answer to that. he just wanted his parents to say it to his face.

“you need to be able to carry our bloodline. if your mate is an omega she can produce some pups for you.”

“what if i want my mate to be a boy.”

“no. a girl hongjoong.” his mother stated.

“you can’t control who my mate is! they’ve already been picked for me!!” hongjoong yelled out and immediately ran out of the house and didn’t stop even when he heard his parents call for him. though he felt tired soon so he sat down next to a tree in the woods.

—–—

hongjoong was now sixteen. his parents were still the same. forcing him to date a female omega. they would set him up and every time he would decline the girl they would scoff and cuss him out. hongjoong was loyal to his mate even if he didn’t know them yet and everyone in the village knew this by now. he always wondered how they would be. short? tall? omega? beta? alpha? it didn’t matter to him, he just knew he’d love them regardless.

one day his parents were giving him an extra tough time so he went to the only place he felt understood him, the woods. he sat down near the same tree he always did when he went there. though this time something was different about the forest. a few more steps and he would leave his village’s territory and he wasn’t going to chance getting hurt. sure he might be the the strongest alpha among his classmates but he wasn’t about to intentionally get hurt by stepping out of the boundary.

though before he could turn away his nose twitched a bit. a sweet aroma was pulling him and his inner wolf was yelling at him,

mate!

mate!

mate!

the sweet smell of cherry blossoms allured him and although he wanted to go he still didn’t want to risk it. what if this was a dream and he’s only imagining this? but the smell was so good that he wanted to run further into the woods to get a nice whiff of the smell. though before his inner wolf could fully rise to the surface he pushed it down and decided to get back home.

he walked back and every now and then he’d look back into the forest but he snapped out of it and quickly made it home. the next day hongjoong returned only to not smell the sweet scent anymore. he sighed as he knew it was probably a piece of his imagination. he’s been thinking of his mate for too long that his mind had started playing tricks on him.

one particular day though their village got new comers. hongjoong payed no mind to the family that happened to be moving in next door. his parents invited them for dinner though so he had to be on his best behavior, as told. when the family arrived hongjoong noticed that they had two daughters. ugh.

as the adults were talking suddenly his mother threw in that he hasn’t found his mate yet.

“oh! what a coincidence, our daughters haven’t either.” the lady said.

“one is a beta and the other is an omega, correct?” his mother asked.

“yes!” the lady exclaimed with a happy nod. hongjoong didn’t like her daughters. they were eyeing him from across the table and it made him uncomfortable. as his mom was talking to their mom and his dad was talking to their dad he took this as a chance to send them a harsh glare. instead of scaring them like anyone else would be they bit their lips as if surpressing a noise. he gagged which made the attention shift onto him.

“you alright hongjoong?” his father asked and hongjoong just nodded. they went back to talking though his mother sent him to the living room with the two girls. they sat on either side of him and were grabbing onto his arms so he abruptly stood up and sat on the other couch and told them to stay put there. they listened surprisingly.

“you’re cute hongjoong.” one of the girls said. her name was something along the lines of haemin, the other girl was jiho or something.

“and you’re unmated too. whoever your mate is they should get themselves checked, who wouldn’t want you.” hongjoong felt himself get upset over this. he didn’t like it when people talked bad about his mate even if he didn’t know his mate yet.

“listen here, no one and i mean no one will talk bad about my mate you hear me? i may not know them personally because i haven’t found them but i know what their scent is like and you don’t have it. so read my expression and fuck off because i treasure my mate more than anything.” jiho nodded rapidly though haemin decided to be a dumb bitch and stand up to hongjoong.

“listen here, babe. we can still hook up, maybe i can have your pups, i mean, what if your mate isn’t even an omega? at least your bloodline will continue.”

“what part of no don’t you understand bitch. i don’t want you and i’ll never want you. who knows how many people you spread your legs for so i’ll pass. plus your scent is revolting, i got a whiff of my mates scent which is of cherry blossoms unlike your nasty one. so again, kindly fuck off.” haemin scoffed while jiho kept her head down. jiho could see why his parents want him to be pack alpha, he indeed was very dominant than any other alpha she’s seen so far.

when their neighbors finally left hongjoong headed to his room without a word to his parents. hongjoong decided to run away into the woods. if his parents kept setting him up with someone he doesn’t want then he’ll set them up with a not so great reputation. running away from your pack wasn’t a good sign, immediately after crossing past the territory you’re considered an outcast. once you’ve passed the territory you can’t come step foot inside. and hongjoong was willing to take that chance.

he took a breath before passing the invisible line that divided his pack’s territory and the unmarked land. he didn’t shift into his wolf right away because he had to carry some things but from here hongjoong’s adventure starts.