Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Alright, class. That will be it for today." The dance teacher clapped his hands twice as he ended the class, smiling as he watched his students groaned in exhaustion. "And I'm sure I already informed you yesterday but I'm going to tell you once again that there will be no class for the next two weeks, yeah?" His voice echoed through the room along with the responses from his students. 

As they scattered around and out of the room, Nicholas sighed and walked to the only bench located at the back of the room. It was a packed and heavy day for him that he couldn't help but just let his body fell lifeless on top of the bench. "Ah! I'm so tired!" He grumbled. He was stressed enough with the class and having to choreograph a dance for an idol group. Plus his heat is coming in a week. He wouldn't even be surprised if his heat came early because this week really pulled everything out of him. 

He took his time to calm his heart and regain his breath. His preheat will most likely start tomorrow but all the ache and pain always had to come early. He couldn’t just cancel his class on his students. As he felt the ache on his head slowly dissipated, he forced his body to sit up and started packing his things into his bag. Picking it up, he switched off everything in the room and walked out straight to his friend, Jake's room. Nicholas was pretty sure that his boyfriend, Heeseung will be there with him. 

The three of them worked under the same company. While Nicholas did a dance class and choreograph for a living, the two boyfriends made songs for a living. They were a pretty famous and sought out composer. Nicholas joined in and composed songs when he had time for it.

"Jake! Are you in there?" Nicholas didn't hear any response but he did hear some clattering and the sound of the door being unlocked. When the door opened and revealed a peek of a disheveled Heeseung, Nicholas rolled his eyes. These two had been at it, it seemed. "Nicholas! When did you arrive?" The taller asked as he opened the door wider and invited the blonde inside, he sounded excited and just as nervous. 

Nicholas squinted his eyes playfully at the taller, "I just arrived. What are you guys even doi-?" The blonde's words got stuck on his throat and frown decorated his pretty face as he saw an unfamiliar presence who is most likely an alpha. He looked around and there was no sign of Jake. This is suspicious. Jake and Heeseung was a couple and they were known for it thanks for the fact that both of them are omegas. 

They never mentioned meeting any other guy before much less an alpha since it was very hard to find one nowadays. He was aware that the alpha population had been slowly spiking up again but most of them were held captive for slavery. It is almost impossible to meet one that was out and about now. Given the situation, he didn't mean to accuse Heeseung of anything but Jake was Nicholas' priority right now. He needed to protect his best friend. 

"Heeseung hyung. What-? Did you just cheat on Jake?" He turned around to face the older head on, frown never leave his face. Heeseung looked confused for a moment before it clicked in and he laughed out loud. He bent forward and clutched his knees as his voice echoed through the hall, considering that he hadn't yet closed the door to the studio. Nicholas somehow hated how the alpha looked like he was totally enjoying the situation. "What? Nicho!" His voice shook in disbelief and he continued to laugh until Nicholas saw Jake by the door. 

"Yow! Nicholas! What happened?" It seemed like Jake noticed the frown on his face. He was quick to put his things aside and ran straight to his best friend, hand wrapped gently around his shoulder. The Aussie turned his head towards his lover in confusion. "Hyung? What's wrong with you?" He tilted his head in confusion when all of a sudden he gasped, hand covering his mouth. "Did you just get caught by Nicholas when I clearly told you to lock the door if you're going to make out with each other?" Heeseung hit his lover on the shoulder while grumbling 'I did lock the door!' 

That made Nicholas more confused. What the heck is going on? Did they broke up already? Why didn’t he know about it? Wait. That didn’t happen. Because it was impossible. If they did broke up, then Jake would’ve called him and spent overnight at his place. Clearly, that didn’t happen. Yet? He watched Heeseung walked and straddled the alpha, giggling still. He couldn’t even blink, afraid that if he did he would miss another thing that was happening between his friends.

"Nicho. You are a very kind kid. And very innocent too." Heeseung praised the blonde after he had calmed down from a very funny situation. ‘Is that an insult? But hyung looks sincere.’ The blonde thought. Jake closed the door to the studio and walked over to Nicholas, pulling him and helped him settle down on a chair. He didn't quite understand the situation just yet but he knew that it will affect Nicholas greatly. It's much better if they didn't have to rush to catch Nicholas lifeless body if he happened to pass out. 

Jake then walked over towards the two cuddling men and gave both of them a peck on the lips. Nicholas didn't even move nor reacted because this time he didn't feel as shocked as earlier (that was a lie), though he could still feel the way his heart was about to lipped out of his body when Jake did what he did. Even if the world was to swallow him whole, he would not be surprised anymore. 

"As for your question earlier, Nicho.. No, I did not cheat on Jake. I would never do that ever. If I did, he would kill me first. But thanks for caring about him. I appreciate it despite having to be accused of cheating." 

Jake's eyes widened. He did not expect that. "You thought that hyung was cheating on me?" Nicholas' gaze met Jake's as he nodded. "Well, can you blame me for that? Even though it's not weird for you to lock your studio, it's very weird for Heeseung hyung to lock the door and doing god-knows-what in your studio with another man. You guys didn't tell me anything this time so you can't blame me, you jerk!" The blonde sulked, arms crossed and head turned away from the couple. 

Jake and Heeseung giggled and Nicholas swore that he could hear the alpha chuckled. "Okay, okay. We're at fault here. We're sorry, yeah?" Heeseung apologised first but the blonde still didn't acknowledge it and even went as far as closing his eyes tight. Jake found it amusing. Nicholas never accepted the fact that he's cute but everything that he did just screamed so. It stood out the most in moments like this. Jake walked and placed himself beside Nicholas, hugging him tightly. "Come on, Nicho. We're really sorry. Please don't be mad at us, our cool Nicholas." 

It took a second for Nicholas to open his eyes and steal a glance at his friends. "Fine. Just don't do this anymore. I almost had a heart attack, you know?" He turned his body to face Jake and directly complained, lips forming a pout and eyes teary. "Yeah, yeah. We won't do that again. Then, let me introduce you to him." Jake pointed at the alpha. Nicholas eyed the alpha up and down, giving him a good scan. The alpha looked very smug for some reason. "This is actually one of our Alpha, Sunghoon. Sunghoon, this is my best friend Nicholas."

The alpha raised his hand coolly to great the omega, raising his eyebrows and everything. Nicholas just nodded his head once in response. He didn't know what to feel about this guy but he's okay as long as both of his friends are fine. One thing was clear though, Nicholas hated that smug look on his face but he had other things at his attention to care about that now. The way he turned his head back to Jake was comical. "One of your alpha?" Nicholas can't help but land a hit on his friend's arm at the feeling of betrayal and disbelief. Jake groaned in pain but the smile on his face definitely said otherwise. 

"It's only been a week since we last met because you decided to ‘suddenly’ have the week off. But now you're going to tell me that you have, not just one but a few alphas?" He quoted the word with his fingers. Nicholas glared at his best friend. Jake grabbed his friend's hands and intertwined them for comfort. "Well, we never expect to have more than one alphas but they seem to come in a package so we got extra four alphas than what we had planned." Nicholas was still trying to let everything sink in. 

"Where.. like, did you meet them? I'm sure that it's hard to even find one on the street right now. And don't tell me all those bullshits about fate."

Nicholas just watched as the lovers laughed. Their voices filled up the crowded room. "Didn't I tell you to go out and enjoy, Nicho? You're always stuck in your dance room or your house. Now you're missing out on the most precious information." The blonde brows met as he rolled his eyes, annoyed of his friends' nonstop nagging. "That still doesn't answer my question, hyung." He replied, nonchalant. 

Heeseung raised both his hands in mock surrender but that still seemed to satisfy Nicholas anyway. He gestured for his lover to explain instead. "Umm.. How do I start this?" Jake seemed to ponder where to start the explanation. In the end, he decided to begin with some facts. "You know that alpha these days was taken and forced into slavery, right?" Nicholas can be oblivious to anything that doesn't concern his work so Jake needed to make sure that the blonde was aware of that fact. 

When the boy nodded, Jake continued. "They used to only sell these Alphas at an auction. Meaning that you have to bid some high amount for you to get alphas that you like." The blonde hummed. “I’m aware of that. I’ve heard it somewhere before.” Nicholas witnessed the moment Jake nodded, eyes soften as his gaze landed on the only alpha in the room. "Things changed and they started opening up store for us to buy alphas but.." Jake hesitated, his eyes stuck on the floor. Nicholas felt his heart beat faster as he was getting impatient. Still, he gave his best friend the time he needed.

"Ikue." Nicholas head almost snapped. That was the first time the alpha spoke during their 30 minutes meeting. To Nicholas' surprise, Sunghoon had a rather gentle voice. At least when he spoke to Jake. The omega looked up, as if he was afraid. Of what, Nicholas didn't know. "I'm alright. I'm better now thanks to both of you. You can tell your friend." Sunghoon smiled. Even though it didn't reach his eyes, Nicholas somehow knew that it was sincere. 

Jake took a big gulp like it pained him. "They told us that.. the reason that they opened up stores was because some alphas started becoming useless and less attractive. Their demand plummeted quite greatly and it affected the auction." The omega stopped for a moment to catch his breath. "They were abused both in the auction and stores but being sold in auction was much more terrifying. Rich men or women buy you for a hefty price so you have to be more than just useful. Some alphas just get wild to free themselves. Some even went feral. Some hide their potentials. That's what happened with our alphas."

"We picked Jungwon first. He is a brave alpha but he is still just a kid. He was calm and cute so both of us decided that he is the one for us. We didn’t think that we could handle anymore than that. He didn't say anything but he seemed sad. We didn't ask nor do anything because we thought that maybe he was just anxious and scared to move in with strangers. Then, the next day. We got a call from the store manager. Her voice was frantic. She asked us nicely but we could hear it in her voice that she was begging us to come and take another alpha home."

Heeseung chuckled as the memories flashed across his mind. "That was Jay. He loves Jungwon to no end. He is protective over him and he was afraid that Jungwon might be in the hands of a bad guy. So we took him home." The room was silent for a quick minute before Jake burst out laughing. "Don't just end it like that, hyung. What a cliffhanger." Heeseung grinned before burying his face in the crook of the alpha's neck, shutting his eyes. Sunghoon wrapped his arms around the older, pulling him closer. 

"Anyways. They didn't get to go home until they brought the rest of us too. We were all very close, not like Jay and Jungwon but we're practically family. Jay insisted that it's either they bring the rest of us with them or return Jungwon to him. That brat was demanding as hell. I had to scold him when we got home that day." 

Jake nodded. "That pretty much sums up everything." Nicholas didn't expect that Sunghoon would be telling the story too. It worked for him either way so he didn't really mind. There was just one more thing that he was curious about but he was afraid that he might dig too much into their relationship so he refrained from doing so. Yet Jake was his friend for years already. If he could not figure Nicholas out, then nobody else could. 

"I know you're curious about something else." That took Nicholas off guard that he didn't get the neutralised his expression. "You can just ask, Nicho. We don't mind." The blonde bit his lips, hesitated. "Then, what's your reason? I mean, what brought you and hyung to go to the store? What makes you want to have alphas?" Nicholas stole a glance at Sunghoon, making sure that he wasn’t offended by his curiosity. Fortunately, the alpha looked calm. Jake smiled at him like a proud dad. 

"We used to have the same mindset, don't we? You, me and hyung. We thought that we'll be fine without Alphas." Nicholas nodded. That was the truth. He still feels like it now. His heat was painful. Sometimes it became unbearable but he survived anyway. His life was good too. He can support it without help from others. So, he always doubted that he would ever needed to be with alpha. The three of them shared this view especially Heeseung and Nicholas but now, it seems like things have changed. 

"After getting together with hyung, we realised so many things. There are times that I couldn't help hyung no matter what. And likewise. That was when we realised. No matter what, we couldn't deny our feelings and needs. It’s really the worst to see your loved one in pain and not being able to help. The fact that we're omegas and need the warmth and protection of an alpha never change. Heat was painful for us. I never thought that there would come a day where heat feels like heaven and comfort. Yet it came for me. I get to feel that. Warmth. Comfort. Love." 

Jake smiled and it was painfully warm for Nicholas. It was like he was encouraging him to find himself an alpha that could offer him something much more better than the present. "I know it's hard to believe. There's just too much information for you to sink in your mind right now. So, take your time. I'm not forcing you or anything but do give yourself a chance." Nicholas just nodded. He knew that his best friend wanted the best for him and he meant good. 

"Your heat is coming soon, right?" Nicholas hummed his answer. "Then, just go home and rest for now. You can think about this, if you want to, after your heat ends. But if you don’t want to, then that’s fine too. Put yourself first before anything else, yeah?"

Put myself first, huh? Yeah. That was probably the best way to do this. He just had to go home and rest. Then prepare for his heat and not think about anything. Nothing. 

As if that was just so easy to do.

Chapter Text

Contrary to his own beliefs, Nicholas couldn't stop thinking about what Jake said to him. Even when he wanted so bad to. Really?

He decided to just let it go as Jake and Heeseung patted him on the shoulders while heading out of the company. He won't think about alphas. He won't consider to have them in his life. He just won't do anything. Yet everything started to go haywire the moment Sunghoon handed him a patch of scent blocker and muttered 'Be careful.' while ruffling his already messy hair, making him blush from embarrassment. ‘Who the hell does he think he is, acting all cool like that?’ He had grumbled under his breath as he walked away from the lovers.

Hence why his ride home was just full of him thinking about alphas as if they never existed before. His mind and thoughts was full of 'what ifs'. What if what Jake had told him was really true? What if he gave it a chance? What do alphas look like? What do they smell like? How do they act around omega? Are they really warm? Are they safe? Nicholas could just not stop with the questions that unfortunately was left unanswered because who in the world can answer him. Not his omega of course!

His night routine was messed up as well as his sleep schedule. They even decided to disturb him in his sleep. That was why, the very next day Nicholas decided to go out for a 'walk' around the city and checked out stores just 'for fun'. 

He wanted to dress up and looked his best in case he found an alpha that he liked- Scratch that, omega. He was just only going for a walk in a cold winter day on the weekend. No matter what his ego (his omega actually) said, he needed to prioritise his health and put on something warm and comfy. He put on his favourite hoodie along with his thickest pants. He layered them with a long padded jacket. He protected his head from cold with beanie and wrapped a scarf around his neck. He also put on the thickest pair of socks that he owned. Considering the weather, he couldn't risk putting on any jewellery. 

The fact that he was in preheat didn't stop Nicholas from going out. He just felt like he would go crazy if he waited until his heat had gone. Thus why he put on the scent blocker patch that Sunghoon gave him yesterday. He even packed another two patches in case the one he had on didn't work anymore. He walked around the house and checked everything that he should bring with him. After putting on his sling bag, he took his keys and locked the door. 

With a last determined sigh, he walked out of his apartment building and straight to the bus stop. The bus ride to the town was comfortable for the omega. It was a weekend but since it's still so early there was almost nobody on the streets. Nicholas sat by the window, humming new viral songs that Jake and Heeseung composed while basking in the early sunshine, enjoying the view. Seeing the glimpse of the town, Nicholas stood up and pressed the button as he walked to the front, ready to hop off the bus. 

As soon as his covered feet reached the city's ground, he released a breath of determination and started his journey. ’I won’t lie anymore. I’m here for alphas.’ First, he would have to start his day with breakfast or he will have to face his own moody self and not being able to bring home anything today. It's been a while since he last went to the town and it was all thanks to his friends that decided to drag his ass out of the house that day. If his memories were spot on, then the town had definitely changed a lot. He couldn't even remember the direction of the cafe that he last visited. 

So, Nicholas just decided to let his feet take him to wherever until he could find a decent place for breakfast. When an appetising scent hit his nose, it was as if he just got teleported there because when he realised it, he was already in front of the cafe and eyes on the menu. He ordered a breakfast set that served sandwiches coupled with a cup of hot tea. It was really the perfect meal for a cold day like this. If he decided to add a slice of strawberry cake in his order then no one has to know. 

He decided to really take his time with the meal since it was still 10 before 9. He observed as the street was starting to slowly filled up with people, be it shop owners, workers or customers. Watching people from the third person's point of view really made him wondering and curious. What type of life do they live in? What kind of day are they expecting? What kind of hardship did they went through? Nicholas just can't help but think of so many questions. 

As 40 minutes passed by in a blink, Nicholas finally started his real adventure for the day. Looking around from one store to another, Nicholas finally found one of the store that Jake mentioned the day before. It had 'Lucky W.O.L.F' written on its signboard. That was.. honestly such a lame name but whatever makes the store owner happy he guess. He walked in and was greeted with a beta clerk that politely smiled at him as he welcomed his current customer, and only one as of the moment. 

"Welcome, sir. I'm Kevin. What can I help you with today?" Nicholas returned the smile out of politeness. Then, he looked around but saw no sign of alphas nor smell of them. His gaze returned to the clerk as he asked, "Do you.. like, sell alphas?" He hesitated. His face twitched in an awkward manner. If he were to enter the wrong store, that would be totally embarrassing. God forbid. So, imagine if he not only entered the wrong store but the clerk was someone who's probably judged him for wanting to buy an alpha (though he had no reason to). He would make sure to never return there.

Luckily, the clerk, Kevin nodded his head. "Yes, sir. We do sell alphas. Would you like to buy one? Do you have any preference that you would like to let me know before buying them?" Nicholas wondered for about a minute before he shook his head. Honestly, he didn't really know what alphas were like. He didn't even know if he ever needed them. So, how can he have any preference now? Kevin, however, did not judge him for it. Instead, he smiled and gestured for the omega to follow him. "It's okay. Please follow me, sir."

They walked through a large door and what's behind them shocked Nicholas so much that he almost gasped loudly. Luckily, his hands reacted faster and covered his mouth. Behind the doors were a bunch of cages where in each of them prisoned at least three alphas inside. They all looked malnourished and very messy. Strangely, there was no hint of scent or whatever. It was almost similar to what a hospital would smell like. "You can take a look at them from here. The board by each cages contains their information but I will still go and fetch a catalogue for you. You can take your time, sir. Please excuse me for a moment."

Then, the clerk was gone. He looked around, terrified. Most of them were just lying down almost lifelessly on the floor. They had chained collars wrapped around their necks. Nicholas could feel how suffocating that must be for them. He walked and observed the alphas in each cage. They didn't even bother to look at him nor entertain him. It was until he reached the last cage, where the alphas inside was gathered into one corner and one of them standing (sitting) guard in front of the others. These alphas didn’t look as lifeless as the other. ‘Thank god.’

However, a sudden shiver ran down his spine he when his eyes made contact with the biggest alpha. If looks could kill, then Nicholas would have been dead by now because that one wolf literally glared at him like he wanted to devour him whole. Nicholas moved his gaze towards the board by the cage. There were four alphas inside. Yuma, born in 2004. Jo, born in 2004. Taki, born in 2005. And lastly Yudai, born in 1997. The last one, Yudai was the exact same wolf that was glaring dagger at him. It seemed like he was much older than he looked like. Just as he was reading more about them, the clerk came back. 

"Oh, sir. Are you interested in one of them?" Kevin asked as he handed Nicholas the catalogue. He turned to face the clerk fully, letting his back faced the four wolves. "Are they close with each other?" It seemed like it but Nicholas didn't want to make a baseless assumption. He'd rather hear the truth from the clerk. Kevin scrunched his face as he was thinking, "I'm quite new here so I'm not that sure but the other workers said that they are."

Kevin excused himself to open the catalogue in Nicholas' hands. Then, he showed pages of more detailed information about the four alphas. "As you can see here, they came here at the same time. They might have known each other before they came here." Nicholas read through the pages to understand them better. "They are our store’s most favoured alphas but also the most returned. It was said whenever you tried to buy one of them, it always ended up with the customer returning them back to us."

"I'll just have to follow my senior's instructions and advise you not to buy them if you don't think that you can handle them. Honestly, our past customers always asked for compensation more than they deserve but we can't do anything. Our hands are tied." Nicholas nodded as the explanation properly went through his head and stored in his brain. "I understand." He replied. Kevin looked fed up even though he wasn’t the owner. Nicholas pitied the boy as well as the store owner so he took his time to think this through.

Yet these four were the only wolves that looked less malnourished compared to the other wolves anyway. So it's not like Nicholas could go to the other cages and picked from them.  If he had to be honest, Yudai and Jo were more of his type but the other two were also cute. He had to minus Yudai and Jo from the options because both of them were too big for him right now. If they decided to attack him and ran away, then Nicholas obviously couldn't protect himself. Plus with the way Yudai glared at him and Jo's frown being directed at both him and the store clerk. He wouldn’t even be able to create conversation this way.

The safest option was either Yuma or Taki. He stole another glance at them to observe the two younger guys. Taki's eyes were filled with doubt and fear towards Nicholas but Yuma's were filled with curiosity. He could see his eyes sparkling. He didn't know if that was good or not but Yuma was the only safe option that he could bet on. "I guess.. I would like to take Yuma with me." Then, he heard growling. Just as he was about to search for the source of the sound, someone just latched onto the steel grill. 

Thanks to his already tense body, his instinct reacted almost immediately. It really saved him from Yudai's claws that wanted to reach out to him from between the steel bars. His back hit the wall, breath heavy as his palm immediately protected his covered scent glands. "Shit!" He heard that from Kevin, who stormed out in a hurry and came back with something that looked like a taser. "Yudai, back off! I don't want to hurt you but I have to if you decided to injure our customer." The threat didn't really seem to work out but with Jo, Taki and Yuma's hands around him, Yudai backed off. 

Taki and Jo pulled the oldest into a hug, hiding his face away from the outside world. Surprisingly, Yuma walked as close as he could towards Nicholas. When he gestured for the omega to come closer, Nicholas was hesitant but he did stepped forward with the help of Kevin's assurance, saying that Yuma won't ever attack anybody. Even though the beta’s grip on the taser didn’t loosen, Nicholas decided not to comment on it. With a heart that almost leaped out of his chest, the omega stared at Yuma anxiously. 

Then, Yuma whispered softly. As if one pitch higher would bring the world to an end. "If you want to take me.. or Taki if you've changed your mind, then I would like to advise you to take either Jo or Yudai along. But given the situation, it would be better to take Jo rather than Yudai." Nicholas searched through the alpha's eyes, in case he decided to play a prank on him and attack him later in the day. Yet there was nothing but sincerity in Yuma's eyes. 

"Why?" His voice sounded tiny. Yuma grinned. "You won't be able to bring any of us home then." Nicholas understood that perfectly. If he chose Jo or Yudai, then it's fine with just them alone but that didn't apply for Yuma and Taki. That was what he managed to interpret based on their reactions. "Would Jo attack me too?" Yuma smiled even wider, showing a glimpse of his snaggletooth. It was the most adorable thing that Nicholas ever witnessed in his life but he won’t be fooled… just yet. "He won't but in case that he did, I will scold him for you. I promise." It was hard to believe that but he didn't exactly have any choice here. 

Plus, it's not like he was lacking in terms of wealth either. He could easily bought all four of them but he still liked to keep his head intact to his body. Nicholas turned towards Kevin, eyes shaking in nervousness. "I'll take Yuma and Jo then. For now." Kevin smiled and nodded before asking for Nicholas to follow him out to their office to sign some documents and made payments. Usually, he would left the customer to talk with the alphas while he prepared the documents but he knew that the omega needed the space. "That was actually the best decision you could make." 

Kevin obliviously just strengthened Yuma's words. "Jo, unlike Yudai, never attacked anybody just because he wanted to. If he finds you worthy of his claws then he will but other than that you don't have to worry. Yuma was harmless. He was always curious about everything. Judging by how he acted, it seems like he likes you quite a bit. Well, actually more than just a bit." Nicholas frowned. How did he even know that when he said that he was quite new here? "What do you mean?"

"That tips Yuma gave you was a privilege he gave to only certain people. He loves it when someone that doesn't know their place gets beaten by Yudai. Yet he saved you and pitched in a piece of advice." The omega remained silent then. He didn't know what to say or how to react or how to feel. Everything just felt tense. He just watched as Kevin prepared the documents and he signed it when it was completed. They walked out of the office to the front desk to make payment. 

As everything got settled, Nicholas waited as Kevin fetched the alphas and brought out some necessities for both of his new alphas. The omega gasped as Yuma and Jo walked out with the collars still latched around their necks. "Wait. Do they still have to put those on?" He asked Kevin in frantic, pointing his finger to his own neck. "Oh! This is up to you, sir. They are yours now. Most customers like it when the alphas had them on." Kevin handed him the keys. 

As the keys were placed on the top of his palm, his hands shook. "Do you.. do you want to take that off?" As his voice trembled, Nicholas still mustered the courage to look at the alphas in the eyes. Jo stayed silent, his eyes were very hard to read but Yuma smiled, his eyes were gentle for Nicholas. "We would like to.. umm.. what should we call you?" Ah, dang it! He forgot to introduce himself. "Most people call me Nicholas. My friends call me Nicho. You can call me either. I don't mind." 

"Then, Nicholas-kun. Would you be able to take it off our necks?" Nicholas gulped at the question. He wanted to do it but seeing the old leather wrapped around their necks just made him anxious for some reason. Perhaps, he was scared of witnessing what's happening under those collars. Would there be scars? Perhaps fresh wounds? It wasn’t like he would be disgusted by it. The guilt of it. That was what. He looked up when Yuma grabbed his hands. "It's okay. There's nothing for you to be scared of." It did help making him less anxious but either way he still took a big gulp. Seeing the situation, the clerk excused himself to provide them with privacy. 

Yuma grabbed Jo by his arms to gently turned him so that his back was facing both him and Nicholas. "You have to bend down a little, Jo." The omega just watched as Jo followed Yuma's instructions without any complaints. Yuma went behind Nicholas as his hands wrapped around Nicholas' wrist and gently guided it towards Jo's neck. "Put the key in the hole and twist it once to the right." Nicholas did as instructed. Thanks to Yuma, he managed to do as told. 

He watched as the collar fell off Jo's neck to the ground. He had expected the skin underneath to be wounded or scarred but all he saw was a clean uncut skin. He released a sigh of relief. 

"It's my turn now." Yuma took Jo's spot while the latter moved to the side, watching the omega closely. Compared to earlier, Nicholas was much calmer. His hands still trembled but he managed to unlock the collar off Yuma's neck and saw the same condition as Jo's. Yuma picked both his and Jo's collars off the floor, handing them to Nicholas who looked at the items in disgust. "Why are you handing them to me?" His eyes met Yuma's who chuckled. 

"Well, you're our owner now. You have to decide what you want to do with these things." The alpha explained. Owner, huh? That just sounded wrong for him. He didn't like that. "Please, don't say it like that. I didn't buy you to become your owner or anything." He turned around to face the door. Jo still watched him in silence and Yuma just seemed like he knew Nicholas inside out. "Let's just throw the collars away." He sighed as he walked closer to the door to see the weather outside. The snow was falling heavily now. 

He turned back to look at what Yuma and Jo were wearing. Yuma was walking towards the store's garbage bin to throw away the collars. Just as he expected, they were only wearing a piece of thin clothing that fortunately covered even their wrists and ankles. "Should we go and buy some clothes first? It's snowing heavier than earlier. Your clothes are too thin for the uncomfortable weather." 

"We wouldn't mind, Nicholas-kun but I don't think the other stores clerk would agree. You see, we haven't showered for days. Just look at our appearance. I don't think they'll let us touch even the floor of their store." Nicholas frowned as Yuma's words sinked in. That might be a problem but Nicholas was great at fashion and he believed that he could sized them up without having to measure them. Oh, wait! That store! "It's okay. We don't need to worry about that."

He took off his scarfs and went over to Yuma to wrap it up around him but the latter stopped him before he could even do anything. "Wait. What are you doing?" Nicholas frowned. This was not something weird to do. It's cold outside and these guys clothes were too thin. He just wanted to add a layer so that they can be warmer. "It's cold outside. You can't go out like this." The omega responded as he snatched his beanie off his head and handed it to Jo who was forced to take it. "You put this on too." Perhaps, they were just not used to this.

Both his scarf and his beanie were very thick. So, they can provide an extra comfort for the two alphas in a way. Just as he was about to continue to wrap the scarf around Yuma, his vision was blinded as Jo put the beanie back on him. "You're in preheat, omega." That was… the first. Jo's voice was so deep that it made shivers run down his spine. And the way he called him omega just might make him lose his mind. "We have better perseverance for situations like this more than you. We're not that crazy to let omega in preheat get cold just because the temperature dropped slightly." Yuma continued. 

If they knew that he was in preheat, then it must be because his scent was leaking out even through the patch of the scent blocker. He bit his lips as Jo fixed the beanie and returned his vision back to him. The other alpha took the scarf from his hands and wrapped it tightly around the omega's neck. "If you're that worried then let's just go to the store. Just do whatever you want but never let these two things off your body as long as we're outside." Nicholas nodded. 

These two just might be the death of him.

Chapter Text

It was a very cold morning, he had guessed that winter must have come now. The season changed yet he was still trapped within the walls and cages. Yudai looked around and he felt like something was squishing his heart. The scenery as well as the atmosphere were just too heavy to witness it before his very own eyes. In every other cages that were similar to the one he got locked in, laid a lot of other alphas. Their meals weren't touched and they barely moved. They looked like they had given up life, just like him. 

At least, unlike them, Yudai had another reason to keep on living. His meal was touched and he knew warmth. Thanks to his fate. In the same cage as his were three pups that he met years ago. 

Yudai was supposed to be sold at an auction but before anyone could sell him, he pretended to have a cardiac arrest, making the auction owner to throw him away to a store that sell useless alphas. On his way towards the store, in a lorry that transported a lot of other alphas like him, he was thinking of an escape plan. Yet his thoughts were interrupted with a distressed sound of a pup. He extended his hearing and tried to smell for him. He didn't know why he did that but his protective instincts just kicked in. 

He wanted to protect the pup. Mainly because it reminded him of his past where no one could and would protect him. He was determined to protect this pup so that he would experience less stress and trauma than what Yudai had gone through. He let his feet get dragged by his nose and ears as the sound just seemed to slow down, like the pup was suppressing the sound. However, fate had helped him and brought him to a corner where a three pups were cuddling together. 

Two of them seemed to try to protect the one in the middle. They looked like they were ready to attack Yudai if he was to do something stupid. Slowly, he released a calming pheromone and he only directed it towards the three pups. He was grateful as it seemed to affect them, especially the one in the middle. He got on his knees carefully, eyes never moving away from them. "Hi. I'm Yudai." He approached them slowly, not wanting to trigger them. He waited for them to relax. Then, "I'm Taki." said the one in the middle. 

The tallest of the pups seemed to scold him for giving away his name just like that, making the smaller whined. He was right of course but Yudai wanted them to know that they were safe with him. "Hey, hey. It's okay. Don't scold him. I'm not someone bad, you know?" He softened his gaze, hoping that it didn't look pitiful. "I'm Yuma and that's Jo. He doesn't talk much. How old are you, Yudai?" Yudai smiled. Pleased that his efforts at least bear some fruits. The pup just talked in one go, trying to appear a bit nonchalant. Adorable. "I don't exactly remember the year we're in now but I was born in 1997." 

Yuma's and Taki's mouth were gapped open. Nonchalance disappeared in an instant. "Wow. You're much older than us." Taki commented. Yudai tilted his head. He didn't exactly know what year they were born in so he couldn't do the math. "Me and Jo were born in 2004 and Taki's a year younger." Yuma exclaimed excitedly. Yudai's eyes widened in shock. He did expect for them to be quite younger than him but not this much. "Wow. I'm old, huh?" That made the pups giggled. "You're not old, Yudai. We're just younger."

That was how they got close. Since then, Yudai had vowed to protect the younger with all his life. His escape plan was called off as he stayed to protect the pups. For years, there were lots of omegas and betas that tried to buy them. ‘One.’ ‘Two.’ or ‘All four.’ For the reason that they were the prettiest one in the store. Yet each time, they managed to get return back to the store. Jo was just as strong and meticulous like Yudai, so when there were buyers that wanted to buy him, Yudai let them because he trusted the younger. At the end of the day, Jo was the only one that managed to make buyers asked the store for compensation. 

Yet he never let any buyers even found the pleasure to choose either Yuma or Taki, alone. Not anymore after the first few ones where they returned with body full of bruises. 

He was just laying down and resting, with the pups on top of him when he heard the sound of the bell. A buyer's here. Someone's here yet again in this cold weather. They must be desperate then. The bell however didn't just alerted him but every alphas as well as his pups. The other alphas didn't even bother to move, they just laid down on the cold floor like a lifeless body. Yudai and the pups were quick to sit down. He pushed them into a corner as he settled down in front of them in an attempt to block the buyer's view away from his pup. 

It took a moment longer than usual for the door to open and reveal the potential buyer. He scrunched his nose as the omega's sweet scent filled up the room in an instant. So he tried to use his scent to charm them, huh? He admitted that he was affected by it slightly but Yudai managed to survive years of this not for nothing. He won't lose this battle. He hardened his posture and expression. He could see the way the omega flinched when he looked at him and Yudai was proud of that. Still, his efforts to cover the pups was fruitless when he saw the omega's eyes moved to his back and away to the information board by their cage. Yuma and Taki probably tried to sneak a glance.

He saw as Kevin returned with the book that contained their specific information. He couldn't really hear them from this distance but he was sure that the omega was interested in them. He just hoped that it was none of his pups. The omega can pick him but not them. He won't let it be. He will be back here in no time anyway. Then, he heard the omega. "..Yuma." He just kind of lose his cool as his instincts just went for it and tried to attack the omega. He was good though with the way he managed to dodge Yudai's long hand and protected his scent glands. Still, the omega seemed to hurt his back on the wall. He heard Kevin's voice but he just couldn't really comprehend what the beta was saying as he was too focused on attacking. 

He felt his pup's hands around him and he could smell them. That somehow pulled him back to reality. He wasn't that satisfied when Jo and Taki pulled him far away to the back because they left Yuma in the front alone. He had growled but Taki calmed him down. "It's fine, Nii-chan. Yuma said that this omega was different. I don't understand it that much but I trust him. So please calm down." Yudai frowned. Yuma had crazy instincts. Like he could smell and differentiate who's good and who's bad. Yudai was still restless but he let Yuma did whatever. He believed him. 

"I'll take Yuma and Jo. For now." He heard the omega said. Then, both Kevin and the omega were gone. Yuma was back by his side. "Won't it be dangerous, Yuma?" Yudai asked. His voice became hoarse, chest moving up and down as he was breathing really heavily. Yuma smiled warmly and shook his head. Yudai could tell that he was confident with his decision. "What made you think that he was different?" Taki asked. He had felt very itchy to ask the older about that. Yuma hummed as he thought about it. What made the omega different or special? 

"Well.. I'm not that sure yet but it's obvious that this is his first time. He looked awkward. I could smell his fear when he looked at the other alphas beside us. Smell the way his scent lightened and became sweeter when he had his eyes on us." Yuma's eyes glistened in excitement. It's been forever since he was locked in here. He saw lots of things and smelled lots of scent but he never saw nor smell this type of thing. The omega was just different. He could feel it. Like he was sincere. Like this wasn’t for his pleasure and entertainment. His instincts were screaming for him to take the omega. 

"What if it was a trap? He released his scent after all. " Jo asked. Yuma grinned and shook his head. No. "It's not a trap, Jo. Kevin told me once that it's mandatory for people to wear a scent blocker patch now. Kevin wear one. For people that have allergies, there's one in the form of a pill. You have no choice but to cover your scent." Yudai listened well to it too. Yuma was talkative. He loved to talk. He used that to find information like he couldn't live without it. 

"There are two reasons why a blocker couldn't cover your scent anymore. First is because the effect of the blocker wears out. It's still too early for it to wear out. Second,.." Yuma's thumb pointed out to his back, towards the direction of the omega out the door. "..omega in preheat. This is only for the ones that have a very active scent glands. Not all omegas are like this." It's funny how in a moment they suddenly attended a lecture on omega by Yuma. Taki tilted his head in confusion. "But how do you know that he is in preheat? He could actually really not wearing scent blocker, you know?" 

Yuma grinned widely like it could tore off his mouth. "Well, his behaviour. The way his eyes widened and how his body was restless. The way he occasionally touched his scent glands through the scarf. He was worried if his scent leak through it and how it would bother us if it did." Yudai was speechless. Yuma was indeed scary. How can he read a person like an open book like that? Was he always this attentive before? 

"Anyways, everything is fine. I'm pretty sure that he will be back to take both of you too if things are good with us." Yudai chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair. He was worried. "How can you be so confident, pup?" Well, Yudai was not confident if it wasn’t obvious. He almost attacked the omega after all. Yuma giggled and slammed his body against Yudai, wrapping the older in a very tight hug. "How can I not when he likes you, Yudai?" The oldest body was frozen in place. His hands that rubbed Yuma's back stopped it action. "What do you mean by that?" Yuma pulled away. 

"It's obvious, isn't it? He likes you, and Jo I bet, but you're so aggressive with him. That is the only reason he’s not taking you home today." He stood up as he heard the door open once again and Kevin walked in. "He was also about to choose Taki along with me but you looked too scared, pup." Taki pouted as Yuma called him pup. He was not that much older than him. "Anyways, I'm sure that we'll be back here. Not to return but to take you along with us. Until then, Yudai. Taki." He waved the two goodbye as he pulled Jo along with him. 

Kevin opened the cage and helped them unchained their collars from the metal chain. "I'm pretty sure your new owner wouldn't like this collar around you but it's better for us to be careful. Let him decide what to do with it since he was the one who bought you anyway." Kevin was a very careful person. He wasn't a bad guy but he was not that kind to help them either. He was there to work and he did what he was required to do. Still, sometimes he indulged Yuma with conversation and answered all his questions. That pretty much sums up the kind of person Kevin was. 

Yuma nodded while Jo stood still. It was entertaining to watch the way the omega was utterly disgusted and terrified by the image of the collar around their necks. That made Yuma much more happier. Nicholas was the omega's name. It was beautiful just like him. It fits him perfectly. He had helped and guided the omega's shaking hands to unlock Jo's collar and he managed to unlock Yuma's by himself. Yuma was also very satisfied when the omega had asked him to just throw the collars away. How cute he looked when he felt slightly pissed at being called ‘owner’. He watched as Jo's eyes softened but he was still wary. That was just Jo obviously. 

His wolf had howled in excitement inside him as he noticed the patch of fresh scent blocker on the omega's neck as he tried to wrap his scarf around Yuma's neck. See. He was right, wasn’t he? The alpha noticed how Jo's eyes widened in realisation of Yuma's words that somehow became the truth and not just some baseless assumption. However, both him and his wolf did not like the fact that the omega was trying to covered them from the cold. He was happy that Nicholas was worried about their wellbeing. What he was not happy with was the fact that the omega was placing risk on himself. 

Yuma can’t help but giggled as Nicholas almost threw his beanie towards Jo, asking for him to put it on. Still, Yuma managed to stop his hands from putting the scarf on him. Yuma was in shock when Jo decided to put the beanie back on the omega's head, intentionally covering his eyes to make him stop whatever he was doing. "You're in preheat, omega." Yuma was shocked once again. Since when did Jo have this wild yet soft side in him? He grinned when he saw the omega's body shivered. Damn, Jo. 

"We have better perseverance for situations like this more than you. We're not that crazy to let omega in preheat get cold just because the temperature dropped slightly." Yuma continued. He wanted to comfort the omega. Told him that they were fine and he should prioritise himself in this situation. However, he couldn't do much. Jo was no different. They had no experience facing and handling omegas. Not one this soft and kind anyway. Yuma almost lost his mind after not knowing what to do. 

Luckily, Jo was quick to act again. He fixed the omega's beanie, making sure that it will covered most of his skin but not enough to cover his vision. Yuma witnessed the omega's embarrassment clouding himself, making him bit his lips and his scent turned sour. Jo had snapped his head to look at Yuma, confused and worried if he had done something wrong. Yuma just shook his head and smiled softly, assuring the alpha that it had nothing to do with him and that he did great. Yuma took back the scarf from Nicholas's hands and wrapped it back around the omega's neck. 

He was pretty sure that Nicholas was worried about his scent leaking out from the patch. He wanted to assure the omega, saying that his scent didn't bother them at all but it's not like he could bring up the topic now. He watched as the omega started to get anxious. Not when Nicholas was this anxious. So, he just say whatever that came to his mind. "If you're that worried then let's just go to the store. Just do whatever you want but never let these two things off your body as long as we're outside."

The omega nodded and he was starting to calm down. That's a progress at least.

Chapter Text

Walking out the store, Nicholas had expected for Yuma to at least be by his side, walked closer to him and maybe tried to intertwined their hands together. Yet contrary to that, he had both Yuma and Jo by his side with their hands intertwined to his left's and right's. He had hoped his gloves would provided them with some type of warmth like their body did with him. Somehow, it made the omega felt giddy inside. He wanted to giggle but he held himself back.

They had walked around the city for almost 10 minutes now. He felt bad for the two alphas since he was the one who insisted on buying them clothes in the first place. There was this clothing store that Nicholas really liked since the clothes were always on trend and the store clerks as well as the owner were just so nice. What important was that… it would be the safest place for his alphas. His alphas. He loved that for sure. If it was before, then they would have arrived at the store in five minutes but since the landscape of the town had changed quite a bit, Nicholas had a hard time looking for it, having to rely on map provided and even had to go as far as ask a few strangers for directions. 

“Oh! That’s it!” The omega's face brightened up as he caught a glimpse of the store from a distance. He was so excited to be back, he didn't realised that he was jumping, pulling the alphas and running to the store in a haste. He was on cloud nine for sure. He was taken out of his happy bubble when his shoe was stuck at a slight gap on the ground, making him tumbled forward. He was fortunate enough to have his hands intertwined with Jo's and Yuma's or he would have fallen down face first on the ground, though he got into such awkward position. 

"Careful." Jo reminded him. He nodded and apologised as they continued walking towards the store. "Hello. Welcome to Destiny." They heard someone said as the three of them entered the store. Nicholas smiled as his eyes met the store owner's rather shocked ones. "Oh my god! Is that you, Nicho-chan? Oh my god. It's been a while." The omega bowed as she got closer and wrapped him around with a tight embrace. She pulled away and cradled his face, as if scanning for something. 

"You look good. That's fortunate. I was worried since you haven't come back for a while." She complained. It was actually for a long while but she didn’t want to make the younger omega felt bad. Nicholas giggled, putting his hands over the older's on his face. "I'm sorry, auntie. I have been busy. I actually came to the town on impulse. I thought that since I'm here anyways, why don't I visit you." The owner smiled sweetly, like a mother looking at her favourite child. Nicholas had been the sweetest customer she ever had. Who wouldn’t love him? "And who are these two young men that we have here?" The older teased, tickling the omega’s chin. 

Nicholas giggled. He was feeling deep and pure happiness. He pulled Yuma and Jo forward, proudly introducing them to the older. "These two are my alphas. This is Yuma and this is Jo." The two alphas bowed as they were being introduced. Nicholas didn’t say more than necessary. He didn’t want to make the alphas uncomfortable and he believed the owner understood. "Oh my. My child has gotten so big now, yeah? Even got himself two handsome alphas." The owner teased, making Nicholas whined. "Auntie.. Don't tease me." The oldest giggled and ruffled the boy's hair. "By the way, I want to find something for them. You still provide deliveries, right?" The older nodded.

He hummed as the older pulled him deeper inside the store. "First, I would like something for the weather. Then, something comfy to wear at home and something casual and also formal to wear outside the house." The owner nodded as Nicholas told her everything that he needed for his alphas. She took him to the winter section first. "We have new designs that just came in a few days ago. You can check them out. Feel free to try them out. I don’t mind." The omega smiled gratefully. This was truly the most perfect place for his alphas. He never regretted coming here and get to know the owner.

"Pyjamas and casual shirts are all on that side. Clothing for special occasions, you can check them out on the section across from that one. I have to standby at the counter. So, if you need anything please just call for me." Nicholas nodded. The store was quite big so it would take some time to pick what’s best for Yuma and Jo. As the owner walked away, he looked around looking for the alphas but turned out they didn't follow him inside. These stubborn alphas. He returned to the entrance and found them on the exact same spot. He had to forcefully pull them inside. "What are you doing here and not going in? I said to not worry, didn’t I? Why don’t you trust me?" Nicholas had to nag the two alphas.

He dragged them towards the winter sections, nagging nonstop. Jo and Yuma had to stop the omega, as soon as they reached the destination, and made him turned around and looked at them. “Nicho, I need you to breathe for me.” Yuma gently tried to handle the omega. Still, Nicholas continued to sulk and turned only his head to the side. “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m older than you, you know?” That was so… childish. Yet to Nicholas it wasn’t. Jo and Yuma’s face twitched, they almost laughed. Jo had to curl his lips inward, nose flared in effort to hold back his laugh.

”Really, Nicholas-kun? We didn’t know. By how much exactly? Perhaps… two days?” Yuma teased and that really managed to pull Nicholas’ attention back to him. “You! Not two days! It’s two years!” Jo and Yuma brows raised. It was hard to believe but judging by the way the omega looked, it was obviously none other than the truth. Jo hand reached out and softly trailed the older’s forehead, in an attempt to erase the frown. Nicholas was flabbergasted. Of course he didn’t expect that. Not even Yuma expected that. “Okay. We’re sorry.” His soft gaze fell on Nicholas’ beautiful orbs. “We trust you, Nicholas-kun. Only you for now.” 

And of course Nicholas understood. They trusted him but not others. They wanted to be on guard in case others decided to hurt them. He felt bad now. He didn’t really mean to nag them. He was just hurt that they didn’t trust him. They were so kind. Yet here he was, selfish. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that.” He pouted, eyes leaving Jo’s and to the ground. “I’m an idiot.” This time, Yuma reached out and cradled the omega’s face. “Don’t say that. You’re not an idiot. You feel what you feel. Thanks for being honest. We’re sorry for not thinking about your feelings too.” Nicholas shook his head. He was okay. He felt okay. The alphas were really good at handling the situation. Handling him.

"By the way, is there anything that you specifically like or want?" He looked at the alphas. Yuma shook his head while Jo gave no response. ‘This brat.’ Yuma cursed in his head. This was no time to be nonchalant when he had acted out of his way earlier. "Anything's fine, Nicholas-kun. Would you mind if I ask you to choose for us?" Yuma's voice was gentle. He wasn't demanding, he was asking. The omega shook his head. Of course he wouldn't mind. In fact, he would be more than happy to help. This is healing for him.

So, Nicholas walked to every inch of the store and touched every single clothes that he found nice and thought would be good for the alphas. Yuma and Jo followed closely behind, watching as the omega did his best to find them something to wear. He would once in a while held some clothes up in front of the alphas, wondering if the outfit would look good on them or not. It was cute. The omega was. His expression, gestures and words. Yuma felt… happy. He looked at Jo and the taller looked smitten. As they completed their selection from the winter section, they made their ways through the other sections. 

The pile of clothes was increasing that the alphas had to stop the omega from choosing. "Nicholas-kun. Let's stop here. These are more than enough for us." Yuma reminded. The omega had to let go of the hoodie he was holding and turned around to face the alphas. He looked at the counter and only saw four basketfuls of clothes. “You think so?” The omega’s voice was tiny. He didn’t think that it was too much yet he still was embarrassed for getting too carried away. Yuma nodded. His gaze landed on Jo, who looked at him with a blank face (he was admiring). Yuma had to elbowed the taller on his arm, asking him to give the omega some type of response. 

Jo pulled himself out of the trance and he stepped closer, hand went to rest on the omega's waist. "It's more than enough." Nicholas smiled and immediately walked towards the counter to pay for everything. "Auntie, please do a quick scan for these first." He brought two long jackets, two scarves as well as beanies. The store owner smiled and did as she was told. After she was done, Nicholas took them and handed the clothes to the alphas. "Here. Wear this first." He helped both Yuma and Jo to put everything on, letting the older lady to do her work in peace. He took a step back to judge his masterpiece and he was very satisfied. Both of them looked adorable being wrapped around with thick clothes. 

When he turned back to the counter, the owner was almost done so he waited, hands resting on the counter as his eyes traveled around the store. “By the way, auntie. Why are you alone today?” He had noticed that there wasn’t anybody else except the four of them. “Since it’s winter, we don’t really have that much customers coming in. So I asked them to just take the week off. I actually didn’t expect to entertain any customers today but then you walked in.” He placed each of the clothes neatly in four different boxes. “I was just starting to get bored. Thank you for coming today, Nicho-chan.” The older smiled as she put the last clothes in the box.

Nicholas heart swelled. The old lady was so precious. “Auntie… You’re going to make me cry.” The owner giggled and ruffled his hair. "Please don't forget to include the delivery fees to. I'll pay by card." The owner nodded and handed him the card machine, as well as a piece of paper for him to write down his address. “I’ve contacted the delivery man and since the snow was quite heavy now, you’d probably receive the package by evening.” Nicholas nodded and bowed gratefully. "Thank you, auntie. I’ll swing by again when I’m free." The older smiled as she waved at the three pups.

When they stepped out of the store, Nicholas sighed. Satisfied and exhausted. The alphas had their hands intertwined with his again. "Are you hungry yet? Do you want to eat dinner here or should we order in?" Jo noticed as the omega's breath became heavier. It was a clear sign that he was exhausted, especially since he was in preheat but the omega still never failed to put both him and Yuma first. "Let's just order in." Jo suggested and Nicholas couldn't be more grateful for the answer. He was tired and he wanted to go home as fast as he could but what if the alphas had wanted to dine outside. He would feel bad if he just made decision without thinking about them first. 

Yuma on the other hand, applauded Jo's attentiveness towards the omega. He had worried slightly about how Jo would react towards the omega. He was worried if the taller wouldn't be able to open his heart to the blonde beauty. Yet it seemed that he was worried for nothing. "Let's just take a taxi home. I don't have any energy left to walk to the bus stop." The alphas just agreed since they never really got to explore the town even after a few attempts of being brought out by past buyers. The only glimpse they managed to catch of the city was the view of the street their store was in.

Luckily, the city had a path that allowed only taxi to go through. They managed to caught one thanks to Yuma who saw one coming their way, on its way to drop another passenger. They squeezed in the backseat, letting Nicholas settled in between while having two alphas on both his sides to lean on. The omega gave the driver his address, telling the alphas to remember it too to avoid themselves from getting lost. 

The ride home wasn't exactly long but it wasn't a short one either. Nicholas managed to fall asleep on the way that his head was moving from side to side. Jo took the initiative and pulled the omega's head and let it rest on his shoulder. He would have let Yuma do it if he wanted to but Yuma was quite short for Nicholas comfort so he made that decision for the omega's sake. "Will our lives really change after this?" Jo wanted to ask this to Yuma since earlier but he couldn't. 

He admitted that he was wary of the omega no matter how confident Yuma was. Yuma was always right but he could be wrong sometimes. They could never know. Fate loved to mess with miserable people, right? That was why he had his guard up for a moment until he realised just how sincere and selfless the omega was. The way he felt bad that his scent was leaking though he did not say it. The way the omega put him and Yuma first. The way he worry about them. Jo was happy and he had hoped that this wasn't temporary. That they could be permanent. No matter how many alphas Nicholas wanted to have in the future, he just hoped that they could stay. 

"I'm not sure but I'm confident in Nicholas-kun. You see how he is. I want to believe him just as much as I want to protect him. And I believe that you feel the same way." Yuma replied but he didn't spare a glance at the other alpha. He let his gaze fell out of the window and enjoy the scenery. He was true. In fact, Jo already felt more than that. "For now, let's just pray but never forget to live in the present. We are worried about Yudai and Taki but I didn't want to put a pressure on him." Jo nodded. He was scared that during their time away, both Yudai and Taki would have been taken away but he believed in Yudai. He won't let it happen. 

Nicholas woke up just as the driver was about to pull up and parked to the side of the road. He handed the him cash and told the driver to keep the change. Nicholas earned quite a lot by being a choreographer. He even opened a dance class and made songs occasionally. He had a lot under his name that was why it wasn't weird for the omega to live in a fancy penthouse. When they entered Nicholas home, Yuma and Jo were shocked. That was an understatement. Was this really a house? Because it looked quite different than the one the alphas had been to before.

"You live here? Alone?" Yuma asked, he couldn't really covered the surprise in his voice. Nicholas nodded, blush crept up from shyness. Jo wasn’t much better than Yuma. “What is this place called? Why is it different from the one we’ve been to?” The alpha’s voice was so quiet but it still couldn’t covered up the shock he let through. “It’s a penthouse. The salary I earned from my job was good. Plus, the inheritance from my late parents.” Both of the alphas could only nodded as they followed Nicholas deeper into the house. They were totally speechless.

“Well… anyways, this is yours too now. So… I just want to say,” Nicholas looked so cute all shy like that, it pained both the alphas physically. The omega bit his lip as he looked at his alphas through his lashes. “Welcome home, alpha.” There was nothing more that the alphas wanted to do than to kiss the omega so hard. Not yet. So all they could do was just softly smile and Yuma initiated a hug, by pulling the omega by the waist slowly towards him. He was grateful when the omega’s face lightened up as his hands raised up and wrapped shyly around him. Jo, not wanting to be left out, wrapped his arms around Yuma from behind Nicholas. 

"Honestly, it gets too lonely sometimes that I decided to live at my studio, my workplace. This house was empty so I tried to make it look lively. Everything in here is based on my preferences." Nicholas confessed. “And I find it a bit boring and lifeless. Like, it’s obvious that I am the only one living here.” He deadpanned. The penthouse really screamed Nicholas. Just like how he looked, the place was really clean and it felt warm. The smell was nice too. Just like the omega. “I just want to say thank you.” Nicholas was glad that they were hugging right now. He was so embarrassed. 

Yuma and Jo’s arms tightened, in a comforting way. “My decision was sudden as I’m risking my preheat for this. I didn’t really expect to have any alpha in my arms today but I had hoped for it.” Nicholas eyes widened when he smelled that. His face unconsciously moved to the side, to Yuma’s neck, really close to his scent glands. So, this is what Yuma smelled like. Grapefruit with a light hint of tea. Is it jasmine? He was not sure. The smell is warm and sweet. It seemed like Yuma was pleased by what Nicholas said. He whined, a little bit annoyed at himself for getting easily distracted. He can’t be blamed though. 

Then, another one hit his nose as well as his stomach. A freshly cooked rice and a light hint of something salty. Is it soup? Whatever. It smelled heavenly and it’s making the omega hungry. Jo, smelled just like how he expected. Both of them did. Like home. “Are you happy?” The omega knew the answer but it was much better to hear it himself. He felt the way Jo’s face moved closer to the side of his face. Of course the omega would blush. Who wouldn’t? As his face grew pink steadily, the alpha made sure that their cheeks collided. “We’re more than happy, Nicholas-kun.” 

“Thank you, Yuma. For agreeing with my request. To come home with me.” Nicholas said that from his heart. It was the truth. If it wasn’t for Yuma, then he would come home today empty handed, obviously disappointed. “And for suggesting Jo to come home with us.” Jo was his type. A hundred percent. Positive. Even though he liked Yudai more, call it a love at the first sight or whatever, Jo was the very definition of a man that he wished for. There was no lie in that. ”And thank you, Jo. For agreeing with Yuma and coming with me.” He heard the tallest hummed. 

He had expected for his day to turned out worst but now, he couldn’t be more grateful. 

Chapter Text

Nicholas ran to the door when he heard the bell rang. The three of them had been in the kitchen, the omega had just checked for their newly cooked rice while the two alphas were taking out plates and utensils to place them on the table, preparing what can be prepared. They had enjoyed their warm bath earlier and even ordered foods for dinner after that since they all were famished. 

After the hug and confession, Nicholas had insisted that all of them needed to have a hot bath immediately. The omega had to relieve the cramp that was slowly starting to bring him discomfort. He was sure the alphas needed it more than him though, considering the state of the store they were in and the harsh weather earlier. "Auntie said your clothes will arrive in the evening, right? You can just put on my clothes first."

Nicholas took out clothes of his size and passed them to Yuma since they are of the same size. Then he took out his baggy clothes and passed them to Jo. The alpha was tall and the weather is cold. He can't just simply let the taller wore something of his size, that most likely will look like a cropped top, and let him be uncomfortable in his home. "I've got plenty of room that you can choose to have. You can share too if you want." The blonde explained, looking at the alphas who looked like obedient kids with clothes in hands. 

"Can we share with you instead?" Yuma asked, quite hesitantly. He knew for a fact that there were differences between alphas and omega, biologically. He was told before that there was a line that he shouldn't cross with an omega since they tended to be more sensitive and territorial over something they deemed theirs, especially their space. Nicholas tilted his head, hadn't really expected such requests from the alphas. His smile was gentle as he watched Yuma's first expression that screamed anxious. The alphas had been nothing but confident earlier. 

"In terms of sleeping, of course, you can. I don't mind. Still, you both will need space to store your clothes in and in case you need some time alone, you'll have your own space." He turned around to close his closet. It was a big closet but Nicholas' love for fashion was huge that his collections can't help but filled up the space. "I don't use this room that much, except for my heat and for bath. I sleep on the large bed on the second floor." He pointed his fingers out the door, towards the direction of the only stairs of the house, located in the living room. 

The space on the second floor was wide but it wasn't big enough to build more room since it was just a big blank space connected to the living room. 

At first, Nicholas didn't really know what to do with such a wide space so he figured putting a large mattress or bed there and turned it into a master bedroom was a good idea. He'd call them a pack room sometimes, out of the need in his heart. The bed was so huge that it could fit ten to fifteen people on it. He hadn't really thought much when he started planning to have a gigantic bed on the second floor. He didn't know the large empty space by his sides will make him feel lonelier than ever. It was a pack room with a pack bed but he was all alone. His life had nothing even close to a pack. He never really tried dating either. 

He guessed, no matter how much he tried to deny it, he still couldn't hide the fact that his omega needed a pack. A life partners, they said. 

"I built my nest on both beds so I can just go to any of them when I feel like it." He showed them the nest in his room. It was a well structured and neat one. It looked absolutely comfortable and beautiful that the alphas couldn't help but praise the omega. "You built such beautiful nest." Jo complimented. "Yeah. Beautiful just like you." Of course Yuma couldn't miss that chance to flirt with Nicholas. The blonde's face turned red as he thanked them both while pulling both alphas out of his room. 

"Just choose the bedroom that's closest to mine." The omega insisted, pushing them towards it. Jo and Yuma obeyed. Honestly, it felt a little bit weird seeing how these two alphas had just met and known Nicholas for less than a day but the omega already had them in the palm of his hand. They really be doing everything that Nicholas asked them to do without complaining. Yuma and Jo giggled as they were being dragged into a new room. 

"I think... we'll just share the room. Both of us don't really have anything to store in here other than the clothes you bought for us." Yuma said. It was the truth and that truth pained Nicholas even though it wasn't his. He was aware that they were being robbed of their lives but to think that they had nothing that they could call theirs was beyond belief. The clothes they wore, those lame rubber shoes and the collars that Nicholas decided to throw away. They were all belong to the store. 

The omega whined as he pulled both alphas into a tight hug. "Don't say anything like that. You'll have lots of things you could call yours in the future. And I may have bought your clothes but what's yours is yours. It doesn't matter who bought it. This is your home now too. It won't change. Ever." Honestly, Yuma and Jo had hoped for forever with Nicholas but they still weren't sure of how the omega would think about it. Yet it seemed like they were worried for nothing. 

Jo had nuzzled his nose into the omega's head, sniffing his strawberry scented hair while Yuma had his nose buried on Nicholas' sexy shoulder. The perk of being shorter, they said. "Let's order dinner after the bath. We can snuggle and watch movies after that." Nicholas suggested. "Movies?" Yuma's voice tickled him, making him squirm and giggle. Nicholas hummed his answer. "We... never have that privilege." Jo continued Yuma's sentence. 

Nicholas pulled away, taking their hands in his and locking his eyes with theirs. "You're free now. You have privileges beyond the movies. So, if you want to do something or go somewhere. Please tell me. We can do anything that you want." Jo and Yuma had a shitty ass grin plastered on their faces. The omega was really cute. "Yeah, sure. But let's put your upcoming heat first. We don't want you getting sick, do we?" Jo had his finger flicked the omega's cheek softly, making it bounce a bit. 

Nicholas whined and playfully swatted the taller's hand away from his cheek. "Now that we're talking about heats, what do you want to do, Nicho?" Yuma's question made the blonde confused so he hummed in question, tilting his head to the side. "What Yuma meant was, would you prefer to go through your heat alone? Or.." Jo pulled Yuma closer by his shoulder as he pointed his finger, referring to themselves. "Now that you have us... perhaps you would like to spend it with us?" 

Well, obviously that was a fantastic idea. He would love to spend his heat with his alphas but the fact that they just met today made the omega think twice. Jake and Heeseung had told him about how all of the alphas were bought to be used for omegas and betas pleasure, be it sexual or something beyond that. Judging by what happened at the store, and what Kevin had told him, it was only natural for Nicholas to put the alphas' comfort before his. He didn't want to trigger their trauma nor did he want to be the reason for a new tragedy. 

And of course he didn't want to have to return them back to the store now that they were finally so comfortable with each other. 

Before Nicholas could respond, Yuma raised his hand before speaking, like a polite kid in class. "I know you are worried about us but you don't have to." The alpha ensured though that didn't work out really well when the 'but' came out as fast as lightning from the omega's plump lips. "We promise you, Nicho. You don't have to worry." It was Jo's words this time. Yuma looked at the alpha proudly just in time for Jo to return his gaze and smiled softly. "We won't offer this if we find you dangerous." Simple words, deeper meaning. 

The alphas found that Nicholas was safe to be with. Scent glands were the greatest treasure for every wolf, since it was the place they will be marked by their partner for life. One other precious treasure for wolves were their virginity. Their sexual activities were supposed to be reserved only for their life partners. Yet, as the world grows out into another era, these two things were taken lightly. Especially regarding one's virginity. If the alphas wanted to help Nicholas with his heat, it was either they were doing it out of their duty after being bought or... 

They were in love with Nicholas. And they wanted Nicholas as their life partner. 

"A-are you doing this because I bought you?" Nicholas was unsure. He was scared. No, terrified. He had hoped that it was out of love because he loved them. Yet how can someone fell in love with not only one but two individuals, within a span of 24 hours? I don't know either. Ask Nicholas. 

The alphas couldn't help but chuckle. Yuma walked closer as he went eye to eye with his omega. They were so close that if Nicholas flinched, their lips would met. "What do you think, Nicholas-kun? Do we look like someone who would sacrifice something this precious out of our duty?" Yuma's voice lowered down a few notes, making the omega shivered and butterflies were dancing in his stomach. "Or out of love?" 

He was so out of his guard that his breath hitched, head inched closer to the shorter alpha. They almost kissed but his instincts were holding him back because he still hadn't asked for permission to kiss, plus they were still not that close to kiss each other without one, making him stumbled backwards. Nicholas' hands flew in the air, trying to grab for anything before his butt landed on the ground. Luckily, he had alphas now. Both were having their hands on him for the nth time that day. 

He didn't know when Jo had the time to run behind his back but he was so glad that the taller did it. They had laughed their lungs out, especially at the comments and mimics that Yuma made of his actions and expressions. "Stop it!" Nicholas had whined so hard it sounded just like a kid's. The laughter eventually died down and Nicholas had another stare down with Yuma. "Do-do you really?" Yuma was a tease. So of course he would have to live up to his name. The alpha pouted, making his eyes look as innocent as possible and tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Jo laughed. Nicholas was really fun to tease. The reaction he gave was always priceless. Jo wasn't someone who enjoyed teasing and bothering others but maybe he could make an exception for Nicholas. Even if he didn't do it, Yuma was always there to do it on his behalf. Nicholas knew Jo wasn't going to help him. So far, when Yuma teased him, Jo always seemed to only watch and laughed. It seemed like he teamed up with Yuma though he didn't do anything except for laughing. 

Nicholas bit his lips. Let's be cool, Nicholas. You're a cool man. "Do you love me!?" He had accidentally shouted out of nervousness but the line was still delivered so he just won't care. Jo's eyes widen as his lips parted though the grin didn't disappear. He wasn't expecting such question at all. He had thought that the omega would asked something that was quite similar to what Yuma had said earlier and not something this... bold. 

Jo looked at Yuma and his expression was priceless. It was some weird expression, like mocking but he was actually impressed. "Wow. I didn't know that you had it in you, Nicho. Such bold question by a bold beauty. I like that." The response was... really Yuma. He had loved the question so much that his scent unconsciously sweetened and filled up the whole room at a fast rate. "Yuma. Calm down. You're stinking the air right now." The shorter had glared at Jo for saying that. This long-legged wolf. 

Yuma sticked his tongue out childishly. "Whatever, Jo. You're just jealous." Jo shook his head in disbelief. Right now, he wasn't expecting any of them to be the most matured one in the relationship, except for himself. As a matter of fact. 

Nicholas had been waiting, while the two flirted right in front of his very being. He was getting really impatient he had to grab Yuma by his shoulders and shook the alpha's body with all his might. "Come on! Answer me!" Jo had to grab the shorter's wrist to stop him before Yuma started getting dizzy. Well, the world knew Yuma actually enjoyed that but let's just pretend we didn't. Instead of answering properly, Yuma did it his way. 

He leaned in and pecked the older on both sides of his cheek. Then he moved up to his nose, eyelids and forehead. He had tried his best to control himself when he went to kiss the omega right beneath his ear. It took him all of his might to not went for lower and bit the omega's scent glands. When he pulled away, Nicholas had turned into tomato. A ripe tomato. Yuma turned soft as he gently cradled Nicholas's face. "I am aware of the fact that we just met today. But no words could describe my feelings for you."

"You're our saviour, Nicho. Thank you for that. But I have like you even before you decided to buy us. Buy me. I don't know exactly what this feeling is called. But if me wanting to protect you is love, if my wolf wanting to claim you is love and if what I feel for Jo, Yudai and Taki is love. Then, I love you, Nicho." 

Nicholas searched Yuma's eyes for any trickery or uncertainty but there weren't any. There was this softness and glow in his eyes when he looked at him, making Nicholas heart churned. His eyes were getting teary. He fought so hard to not let it fall from his eyes. 

"I love you too, Nicho. From the bottom of my heart. I don't care about who you wanted to have in the future. If you want to have Yudai and Taki, I don’t mind if it’s them. But in the case that you want to have any other alphas. I don't care about all that. I just hope that I could stay and still love you until forever." 

That was what made the tears finally fall. Both of them were so precious and innocent in love. "Don't say that!" They had, once again, engulfed themselves into a breathtaking hug after Nicholas broke down into rivers of tears. "Don't just go ahead and sacrifice yourself for me! I don't deserve that! But!" He turned around just to hit Jo on his chest. "How dare you to assume that I will fall out of love with you! Such brazen and ridiculous assumptions!" 

Jo's gaze was soft. He let the older hit him and let everything went out of his chest. "So... does it mean that you love us too?" Nicholas abruptly stopped, turning around to face Yuma to hide his face in the shorter's neck. "Of course I love you, you idiots!" Nicholas pulled away from Yuma, sniffing. 

The blonde giggled out of nowhere, pulling a concerned look out of the two alphas. "I'm so silly for acting like this. Laughing then crying and laughing again. Are we perhaps what people would call, idiots in love?" That made Jo and Yuma cackled. They indeed are idiots in love. That title suit them a lot. Nicholas pulled the alphas to sit on the bed along with him. "Come on. Let's not let this bother us anymore. Let's proceed with our plan. I'm really hungry now." Nicholas pouted. Jo smiled softly and Yuma grinned before stealing another peck on the older's cheek. "Okay! Let's go!" Yuma ran off to the bathroom right after yelling 'I love you, Nicho.' The blonde went red for the nth time. Jo clicked his tongue and he shook his head in disbelief at Yuma's actions. 

He angled down his head to look at blushing Nicholas. "You okay?" The omega nodded. He looked up and met Jo's beautiful orbs, waiting and expecting. Yet Jo seemed clueless as he tilted his head as he raised his brows. "You... won't do it too?" Jo can't help the smile that slowly creeped up on his face. The omega looked so pretty like that. So don't blame the taller when he had wrapped his arms around the omega's waist, pulling him closer before letting his lips collided with his cheek. If he had secretly and softly sucked it, then no one had to know. 

"Go ahead and take a bath. I'm pretty sure that you need more time than us, yeah?" Nicholas nodded as he confirmed Jo's words. The taller was a gentleman so he just had to send the omega back to his room. And he just had to land a final peck on the omega's forehead before leaving to his and Yuma's room. 

And that led us back to the present, where Nicholas had opened the door, expecting their food delivery. Only to be surprised with both the food and boxes of the alphas clothes. "Oh my god! Wait a moment, please." The omega took the food first before paying the delivery guy, tipping him with almost a two days wage. "Oh! The clothes are here too!" Yuma was suddenly all over his back and hands on his waist, before taking the food in his hands as he called for Jo to help bring the boxes in.

Nicholas chuckled. Yumawas clingy and bold. He had noticed it since at the store. And he had become beyond clingy after their talk in the bedroom. 

He signed the paper for the clothes delivery and thanked the man just on time when Jo arrived and helped him with the boxes. "Do you need more help?" The delivery man had asked out of courtesy and partly because it was his job to do so in the first place but Jo refused, saying that they had enough 'manpower' in the house. Of course that made Nicholas laughed out loud. He had to thank the man again for his kind offer and bid him goodbye.

Jo was strong enough to lift two and Nicholas was just as capable but his preheat had limited every single ability that he had so he could only help with one. Yuma returned and helped with the remaining one. Nicholas had said that he would help them unpacked tomorrow so they just left the boxes in the alphas’ room. 

Their dinner was warm and chatty. They talked more than they could earlier. Instead of emotional conversation, it was led into a talk so that they could get to know each other better. Surprisingly, both the alphas and the omega had so much in common. Jo had said that both Yuma and Nicholas had the same clingy level and both of them really resembled cats. Jo confessed that he loved basketball and had tried to sneak off to play before which resulted in punishment for the taller yet he seemed to have no regrets. So, Nicholas had offered to play with him later since he also enjoyed playing basketball. 

For cuddles and movies sessions, Nicholas had brought out snacks and drinks for them to enjoy during it. He had picked a light comedy movie since he didn’t think that any of them could handle any more emotional moments as of now. He had snuggled between the two alphas with him laying in Jo’s arms on his chest and Yuma doing the exact same thing to him. It was somehow looked like a fallen domino. That moment, everything seemed and felt right to Nicholas. They were right where they belong to be. In each other’s arms. 

Right in the middle of the movie, there was a kiss scene that took all of them off guard. Yet none act like anything happened and they just continued watching. Perhaps, none of them were really affected by it. Well, how wrong was it for us to assume that. A few minutes later, Yuma had himself free from Nicholas’ embrace. He had put himself in a position to directly face the omega with one leg folded on the couch and the other settled on the floor. “Nicho. I want to try that with you.” 

To say that the omega was confused was an understatement. The current scene was showing a date scene between characters so the omega nodded. “A date? Sure, we can schedule that.” But Yuma shook his head hard. “No. I mean, I would love that too but right now, it’s not that.” Nicholas waited patiently for the alpha to finish his sentence. If he was this nervous then it must be something special. “Kiss. Let’s kiss. Here.” Yuma put his finger on the omega’s lips. He was taken off guard for countless times today but who was Nicholas to complain for such request so he nodded again. 

Yuma immediately went for it. He kissed him gently at first, not wanting to scare the omega. Nicholas was inexperienced, judging by his skill but Yuma was not. He had Yudai and Jo to kiss, sometimes Taki too. The younger led Nicholas slowly, hands cradled the omega’s face to guide him. When he felt that the latter had gotten used to it, Yuma went for a deeper access. It really was the definition of eating someone out. Jo had to hiss as an audience. Yuma was never this… hungry. To the point that he had to pull the omega by the waist to sit on his lap. 

“Open your mouth, Nicho. Let me in.” The older obeyed, mouth opened wide as he felt the younger’s tongue dived inside, meeting that of his own. They fought for dominance yet clearly Yuma won. After a hot minute, they pulled away from each other, catching their breath. 

“Then, can I have my moment too?” Jo had asked flirtatiously, to which Nicholas agreed. He climbed out of Yuma’s lap to hop right into Jo’s. Similar to how Yuma started, Jo’s kiss was gentle. The difference was Jo remained gentle to the very end. He had kissed carefully like he was scared that it would hurt Nicholas. His hands rested on the omega’s waist, letting him took control and kissed him like how he wanted to. The omega was still a bit awkward but Jo didn’t mind because he had all the time in this world. 

Nicholas’s breath didn’t agree. They had to pull apart to stay alive. “That was fun. I never kiss anyone before.” Yuma chuckled, pulling the omega to his original position so that he can be in his. “I thought so. You were so awkward but in a good way. It feels good to lead you.” Nicholas tickled the alpha playfully for teasing him. This brat. “Have you guys ever kiss anyone before?” He was actually quite hesitant to ask but what can go wrong from doing so? 

“Yeah, we have. And still do, I guess.” Jo admitted. Nicholas felt his heart burned for a moment before he realised it. “Wait. Don’t tell me.” He felt Yuma’s head moved on his chest. “Didn’t I tell you that I love them earlier? I love you the same. So, if I could kiss you then of course I could kiss them too.” Nicholas had his mouth wide open. He didn’t even think of that. “Wow.” The alphas laughed. Nicholas was a bit slow but that was fine. He looked adorable like that. “Let’s just continue to watch the movie.” 

A few minutes before the movie ended, the omega’s eyes were getting heavy and he could feel that but refused to admit it since he thought the alphas were still enjoying the movie. Jo had took the initiative to look at Nicholas and Yuma when he felt that the omega was completely relaxed in his arms. Yuma already had his eyes closed while Nicholas was fighting it. “Hey. Sleepy?” The blonde tilted his head upward towards the alpha and he nodded. “Then, let’s sleep. Yuma was long gone.”

Nicholas agreed as he shook Yuma’s body gently, waking him up. “Yuma. Let’s go upstair and sleep on the bed.” The alpha groaned as he stretched his body before abruptly sat up. Nicholas giggled at the silly action, pulling himself up to sit too. He grabbed the remote and turned off the tv. The walk to the bed had never felt longer than this. It was as if they were crossing an endless desert with unknown destination. Haha. Sike. Just kidding. But he really felt tired and his body got all heavy. 

“Just climb in.” He had noticed the alphas’ hesitation due to his nest being not only on the bed but covered every inch of it. “I’m not really territorial over this nest so you don’t need permission to come in, unlike the one in my room. This is like a nest for my pack. Though I don’t have it before, I do now.” The nest up here looked a little bit distorted but it wasn’t any less beautiful. Maybe since the one who made it was Nicholas, the nest still looked pretty organised despite being messy. 

Both of them climbed up the bed and settled on both sides of Nicholas. The omega had chose Yuma’s chest to be his pillow for the night so Jo had to become the big spoon and snuggle from behind. “Today was the most beautiful day I ever had in my life. Thank you Yuma. Thank you Jo. I love you both. Good night.” Naturally, he had to be rewarded with a kiss on his head so they did just that. “We love you too, Nicho. Good night.”

It was a good night indeed. 

Chapter Text

"Yudai." The alpha looked to the side to face the only pup left with him. It was only a few hours ago, when Jo and Yuma were bought and taken away from them. From their little yet safest circle and company. Taki looked sad. Well, actually he looked worse than that but let's just not address that, shall we? The store was annoyingly quiet. Yuma and Taki conversed a lot with each other. They usually love whispering so it was not any much noisier than now before but with Yuma and Jo gone, the silence was deafening and it felt empty. 

Their hearts felt empty. The space felt to wide for their liking  

"What's wrong, Taki?" The boy sighed, like he wished that any worries and whatever his heart was feeling right now would disappear by doing so. Yudai understood, because he felt the same way. He chose not to say nor admit whatever he was feeling right now since he was the oldest and he needed to be in control of everything. He didn’t want to put his pup in any more pressure than he was feeling right now. 

“Will they really come back?” Yudai expected that to come. He knew, sooner or later that Taki will ask him questions that even he didn’t knew the answer to. He just didn’t expect it to be this soon. Just a few hours after his two pups were gone. Yet he couldn’t blame Taki because he too, felt that the few hours was so long that it was choking him. 

“Jo and Yuma, will they come back? T-the omega. Will he come and take us with him too in the future?” 

Yudai stretched his arms open, inviting the pup to his warm embrace, which the latter gladly accepted. He pulled the boy closer, comforting but also finding comfort for himself by doing so. Yudai was scared. The omega looked decent compared to their past buyers. He didn’t look at them weirdly like most would do. Still, he couldn’t be so sure. Yuma was confident and he seemed to like the omega a little bit much. If he was good to his pups, then Yudai would be happy but what if… 

What if…

“I… I don’t know, Taki.” Yudai’s mind was suddenly flooded by his actions earlier in the day. He had acted so rashly in order to protect Yuma. The omega might be terrified of him now. That was what worrying him. What if the omega decided not to come back because of him? If the omega was good, then he would like Taki to be with them too. He didn’t really care about himself. He can survive just fine. That’s what he thought. He could beg. He could pray. He just wanted his pups to be safe. 

Yudai could and would sacrifice himself, if it meant that the pups will be safe, happy and healthy. He would even offer his soul to the devil if they can give the world to his pups in return. 

“Yuma seemed really confident earlier. Like he was sure that they will be coming back to take us with them.” Taki started to ramble so Yudai listened. The younger could be insecure from time to time, so he worried a lot. “But what if, the omega don’t like me? Yuma said he likes you but what if he doesn’t actually like me?” Frown started to decorate the younger’s face, which didn’t look really suiting to his youthful and baby features. 

“He might came back for you but what if he, he… won’t take me with you?” He had looked up to face the older, eyes teary but he refused to cry. “Taki. You’re getting too over your head.” Yudai smiled as he looked at the pup lovingly, fingers went up to pinch the younger’s nose softly. “Yuma said that he was actually going to take you, didn’t he? If you didn’t look at him like he was gonna kill you that is.” Yudai teased which earned him a whine from Taki. The tears were immediately gone and Yudai was glad. 

He knew why Taki did that and he got it. He really got it. Years of experience in the store, as well as the auction, they never got any good buyers before so of course the younger would be terrified. Well, there were no such things as good buyers. None that Yudai knew until… maybe the omega earlier. 

If he were to be in Taki’s place, he would do just the same. 

“Relax. I was only teasing you.” Taki calmed down as he rested his weight fully on Yudai. He pulled the older’s hands so that they will wrap around him properly. “You said Yuma was confident, right? How did you know that?” Yudai could see (Well, everybody could see) the confidence in Yuma’s words, his actions and everything but Taki had always been the one who understood Yuma better than anyone else. His opinion and thoughts were important in this type of situation. 

The younger hummed before he shrugged, shoulders going up before going limp in the older’s embrace. 

“This is just what I saw. I could see that Yuma like the omega. It was only brief before he hide it back but his scent was out and it sweetened more than we ever smelled. His eyes were, I don’t know, like… they were glistening. You know that type of stare when we came across an ice cream truck once. His lips went like this.” He turned around to show Yudai his impressions of Yuma to which the older laughed at, corner lips curled like he was holding it back. The impression was spot on. He could see Yuma in Taki. 

When the laughter died down, it was silent again. Just for a moment though. Taki was still a kid through and through so he talked a lot and ask questions a lot. At least when he was with them. 

“But honestly, the omega is so pretty. Though he looked a bit scary at first.” Taki commented. 

It was the truth indeed. Even a blind person could see just how beautiful the omega was. No words could properly described his beauty and no description could ever do him any justice. That’s how beautiful the omega was. Not to mention his sweet scent. God!

Yudai could definitely die for that. 

“Yeah. He is.” Taki couldn’t help the smile creeping up his face. Caught him. He saw the moment Yudai’s guard faltered for a quick moment when he saw and smelled the omega, though he was fast to cover his track to protect them. He knew how the omega made Yudai felt so he wanted to test it out. He was glad that his back was facing Yudai instead or he would have been interrogated and scolded by the older, he really couldn’t stay nonchalant. 

“So… what now?” Taki still couldn’t stop his worrying. Even if the omega decided that he was going to come back and take them too, it would take days or weeks. Days for him to get himself suited and comfortable with the twin alphas, plus his upcoming heat. “I guess… we just need to wait. It would be fine for the upcoming week, I guess. The weather seemed pretty cold for any omegas and betas to stroll around randomly. We could rest.” Taki nodded. They could rest for awhile. 

“Talking about that… how long do omega’s heat last?” Yudai shrugged. It would be good if Yuma was here since he always seemed to have all the answers to their random questions. Yet he was not here. No one could answer the questions now. “A normal cycle would take about 3 to 4 days normally.” Their heads snapped in unison, towards the door of their cage. 

Kevin. He was here? Since when?

It seemed like he knew what they were thinking. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I just happened to walk in and heard your question. Guess I should answer that for you since Yuma isn’t here anymore.” Yudai frowned but nodded. Kevin was on the neutral side. He was just doing his job, which included advertising and selling them but he was not cruel like the people at auction event. He actually treated them like human instead of products. 

And Yuma actually looked for him for questions he had in mind. Also every time that he was curious about the current news, Kevin was the one he seek out. 

“Omega usually took two weeks off to prepare for their heat. One week for preheat and another one for the real deal.” Kevin continued, seeing that none of the alphas would attack him any time soon. Taki’s eyes were wide open. He was so focused on the new lecture. “They should stay still during preheat because of mainly two reasons. One is a more painful heat symptoms. Cramp, sore, headaches. It amplifies when omegas do more than just relaxing during preheat.” 

And that made the alphas worried. If what Yuma had said was true, then the omega was risking his heat for a simple matter. If that ain’t crazy, then they didn’t know what is. 

“Second, it could trigger an early heat wave. The omegas tend to be more needy and the heat lasted much longer than usual. Maybe around 5 to 7 days. It is in fact more tiring.” Yudai bit his lips. His mind was full of worries for his pups… and the omega. “So, the omega earlier… is he really in preheat?” Kevin nodded. He didn’t expect for Taki to ask the question but looking back, it would be impossible for Yudai to be the one asking questions. Usually, it’s Yuma but the boy won’t be here anymore. 

Kevin studied the alpha’s reaction to that. Taki was frowning, lips parted. Absolutely adorable. His eyes were travelling everywhere like he didn’t know what to do with the new information. On the other hand, Yudai. He looked calm but his eyes were quivering. He was worried and Kevin saw that. So, he decided to drop another info. Kevin wasn’t evil, y’all. “If you’re worried about the omega. Then, don’t worry. That isn’t a problem that no alphas can fix. He is in good hands.”

He shrugged. That was a fact. Omega’s heat came so that an alpha can ease it. Heat was only good if there’s alpha present. “But if you’re worried about Yuma and Jo, you shouldn’t. They are grown ups, they know what they could and couldn’t do. Yuma knows more things than you, thanks to his curiosity. They’ll survive. Plus, the omega couldn’t take two alphas down when he is in preheat. That’s impossible.” 

Kevin got up from his kneeling position in front of the cage, turning around towards the entrance. “I knew that your past buyers were terrible. But nice people still exist. And most of them don’t know of places like this one. If they know, they are always unprepared.” 

He shrugged. “Lack of information, they said.”

“So unprepared. Just like the omega that took your pup.”