Chapter Text
You were sobbing and whimpering in Jinchul’s arms in your living room. You felt sick to your stomach, and your floral scent was rotting. You never thought that Sung would do this to you—not the one you had gotten to know as a kind alpha who had made so many promises to you. You gasped, trying to breathe at the very thought of how betrayed you felt. “Jinchul, why did he do that? Why would she do that?” Broken sobs once more clawed their way out of you.
“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I don't know why they would do that either.” Jinchul didn’t know what to say. From what you had been telling him, and from what he had seen of Sung throughout the years, he didn’t seem like the type, nor did Cha seem like the type to do any of this to you. Jinchul knew of the arrangement you had with Sung; you hadn't hidden anything from your best friend when you met an alpha you thought you wanted to form a mating bond with, and then Sung and Cha were captured on camera together. Sung also confirmed it when you had confronted him. So, watching you fall apart because of the two of them made fear and rage build up in him, which had his own petrichor scent rotting too. He didn’t know what he could do to help you. You were spiraling so badly that he was worried that you’d end up dropping. “I’m here. I’m right here for you,” he crooned to you, desperate to make you feel better. He rumbled in hopes that it would also help you. Your cries slowed down, but you were still sniffling. At least it seemed that when he did that, sometimes it helped you.
The sound of your phone ringing interrupted the two of you. Jinchul reached over and grabbed it off the coffee table after a bit of a struggle, seeing your grandfather calling. Jinchul answered the phone. He put it on speaker. “Sir, hello, is everything okay?”
“How is she?” your grandfather asked, worry clear in his voice.
“Not so good still,” Jinchul murmured, making sure he was supporting you well. You were curled on his lap, exhausted. You were so tired, and yet you couldn’t sleep. Your omega was raging in you about Sung and Cha, practically swearing vengeance. You just let her hiss and snarl. Frankly, if you weren’t so exhausted, you’d be doing the same. You just let Jinchul handle the conversation, but you were listening.
“Unfortunately, I need both of you to come into the office–” Gunhee was interrupted by Jinchul, who saw you shake your head.
“Sir, with all due respect, she’s not in the best place to go outside.” Jinchul couldn’t help the sharp tone in his voice, even against his beloved boss. You were his pup, his little one, and you were in no condition to leave your home right now. He had failed to protect you from Sung, and now here you were, suffering.
Gunhee sighed through the phone. “I understand, but—Hey! What are you—” he was cut off again as someone snatched the phone away from him, and a male voice spoke.
“Honey girl, get over here now. We came to Korea from America just for you, as we had stalked you and found out what had happened. So perk up, my cute little omega, we’re all here.”
“Stalked?!” your grandfather could be heard yelling angrily in the background.
You didn’t think you'd ever moved so fast in your life as you snatched the phone out of Jinchul’s hand. He steadied you in shock that suddenly you were animated, but he let you do what you wanted. This was the best reaction that you had had in a week and a half since you found out about Sung and Cha, where the media was blaring that they had secretly been going on dates and were praising them for it. But there were only two people who called you that in your life, and it was your old male best friend and his girlfriend, your old female best friend, who were them. “Sean?!” you keened, almost ready to start sobbing again, but this time in relief. You could hear a cacophony of voices in the background when you answered.
“There’s my omega. So get over here. Chris is ready to tear through Korea to get to you, and we’re trying to avoid a raging special authority national hunter—you know how he gets. He’s worse by the way, just warning you. And so am I! Jordan is freaking out because Chris is seething. Jordan misses you, too, by the way, and my Julia’s ready to burst into tears since she knows you’re suffering and wants to comfort you,” Sean said cheerfully as if he didn’t just say Christopher was ready to fuck up Korea for you and that Jordan and Julia were freaking out, too. Oh, and your grandfather was freaking out as well, knowing that people were stalking you.
“Alpha!” you mewled, voice mixing with your omega. You actually did start sobbing when you heard Christopher Reed’s voice coming through the phone. You rubbed at your eyes furiously as tears escaped you.
“Get over here now, omega. I’ve made sure you’re safe now to come back to me, where I can take care of you, so we’re able to be here. I’m sorry we took so long to come get you.” The familiar voice of your alpha came through the phone. It had changed some from the last time you saw him nearly ten years ago, but it was familiar all the same.
“Okay. I’m coming. Tell my grandpa that Jinchul and I are coming. We’ll be there soon. Please don’t leave,” you managed to gasp out. You needed him not to leave. A feeling of hope was enveloping you. You didn’t care that it had been years. You just wanted your first alpha, whom you had been ripped away from. Your omega was now swearing up and down that he’d take care of you like he promised you, yours and his parents. You could figure everything out later. Fuck Sung, who had hurt you. You wanted your Christopher Reed back.
“I’m never leaving you again, pretty girl,” Christopher promised you.
Relief shot through you at the familiar nicknames that both Sean and Christopher used for you. You never thought they would come back for you after four years had passed, but now they were here, and you and your omega just wanted them. “I’mma hang up now, I’ll see you soon,” you told him tearily.
“I’ll see you soon.”
With that, you hung up. You turned to Jinchul, a wildness to you. You shook him. “Need to go to the office. Also, I need to look pretty. Help me? I also need a red dress. I’m going to shower really quickly.”
Jinchul nodded, watching as you scampered into your room and followed behind you. He was absolutely bewildered at what had just happened. And who the hell was claiming you as their omega? Also, who the hell was calling you a pretty girl and promising that they wouldn’t leave you again? A pang of possessiveness shot through him. Yet, he was relieved that whoever those two were who talked to you seemed to have gotten you moving in a way that you hadn’t since before the news broke out. Hell, before the fourth Jeju Raid, if he was being honest. He picked out a mid-thigh red dress of yours, shorts to make sure no one looked up your dress so he and your grandfather wouldn’t need to commit murder, and jewelry to your taste. He spent enough time with you to know what you liked and what would look good on you, for all that he didn’t have any romantic inclination toward you. He laid it out on your nest and sat down on your computer chair, waiting.
You came out in a robe, already wearing your undergarments, and grabbed the red dress and shorts to dress in the bathroom. It only took a minute more, then you came out wearing your dress and started putting on your jewelry while trying to brush your hair. “I need to finish getting ready.” There was franticness to you, so Jinchul just helped you out and waited patiently for you to explain. It didn’t take you long to get ready, thanks to Jinchul, as he took over brushing and putting up your hair. You looked in the vanity mirror. “How do I look?” You looked at Jinchul hopefully. You thought you looked fine for having just been crying, but you wanted a second opinion. You decided to forsake wearing makeup right now. You knew you’d just cry again, and you didn’t want to face them with ruined makeup.
“You look good for getting ready in a hurry. Pretty as always. Shall we get going then, and you can tell me about everything?” Jinchul asked. He was always good at being your hype man when it came to complimenting you.
You nodded furiously. “Let’s go! Let’s go! I can’t leave my alpha waiting for so long!” Jinchul looked at you in shock. Your alpha?! “Jinchul, hurry up,” you whined, tugging at him.
“Sorry, yeah, let’s go.” He grabbed the keys, and the two of you headed off to the Hunter’s Association. You started telling him about your time in America, and that you actually knew Christopher Reed. You soon arrived, and you and your omega were nearly buzzing in excitement. Your omega was chirping—no longer hissing and snarling. She knew they were about to be reunited with the alpha who actually would take care of the two of you. You almost fell out of the car when you unbuckled yourself and opened the door. “Seriously, don’t injure yourself.” Jinchul was exasperated, but happy that you were so excited. He’d take that after watching you spiral for a week and a half.
You waved him off. “I can heal myself, it’s okay!” you chirped out. Jinchul almost fell out of the car himself when he heard you chirp. You hadn’t done that since you had a go at Sung after the media caught him and Cha before locking yourself away. “Hurry, Jinchul! I promised my alpha I’d be here soon!”
“Okay, okay. I’m hurrying.” Jinchul locked the car, and the two of you headed towards your grandfather’s office.
You were met with Choi and Baek, who had gotten wind that Christopher Reed was in Korea. Both looked alarmed at seeing the exhaustion on your face that you couldn’t hide, even if you looked excited at the same time.
No one had seen you in nearly two weeks, with sporadic appearances from Jinchul as well, and you canceled going on all raids with the White Tiger’s guild. Baek was worried about you, especially since you didn’t take Min’s death well after the fourth Jeju Raid. You hadn’t been answering anyone; they all assumed Jinchul was with you most of the time since they rarely saw him, too, in the past two weeks. At least Gunhee reassured Baek that you were still alive, at least. Baek asked you, “Are you alright? What happened? Where have you been?” He could easily see how your eyes were still a bit puffy from crying.
“Sung cheated on me with Cha, as you’ve seen the media gushing about them, and I’ve been having an awful time dealing with it. He even confirmed it, that piece of shit. But fuck the both of them. I hope they rot,” you said bitterly, but then perked up as you sniffed the air; you smelt the mix of everyone’s scents the closer you got to your grandfather’s office. Christopher’s sandalwood, Jordan’s rum spice, Julia’s rosemary, and even Sean’s bergamot scent, even if he didn’t like letting it out for people to smell.
“What?!” Choi and Baek couldn’t help but shout. They exchanged looks of disbelief. That was what caused you to disappear for nearly two weeks?
“The cheater promised her that they’d try for a relationship after his sister got into college. You saw how familiar they were together before and after he came out as an S-rank. You know what it means, especially you, Baek-ssi. The homewrecker has been going after him secretly, and they were going on dates for at least a few weeks before it all came out,” Jinchul said. He sneered as he mentioned the two alphas. He’d make sure to get vengeance for you one way or the other, and he was petty enough to insult them.
Baek nearly turned on Choi at that moment, furious that it was his vice-guild master who apparently was a homewrecker with Choi still in shock at what Cha did, especially with Sung having confirmed it with you, but the four of you arrived in front of your grandfather’s office, and you hurriedly opened the door.
You stared at your old unofficial pack in disbelief, as they stared back at you, smiling in relief as you hadn’t dropped, even if you looked so exhausted. They had been so scared that you were going to drop, so they all rushed to make sure it was safe to get you and to get to Korea to come for you. They had planned for the end of the year, but they knew that they had to come to get you now before your mental health got worse. Your eyes landed on Christopher Reed, who had stood up to face the door as soon as you opened it. “Alpha!” you trilled, wanting his attention. In that moment, you ignored everyone else as you launched yourself right at Christopher, who already had his arms out to catch you, to the shock of nearly all the Korean hunters.
“Hello, pretty omega. I’m back.” Christopher held you as tightly as he could without hurting you. He scented you right in front of everyone, rumbling, trying to calm you down. When Sean and Julia frantically called him a week and a half ago about how Sung had cheated on you, he knew he needed to come get you because all of them were worried you’d suffer an omega drop, and they all hoped that with Christopher being there, it would’ve helped you so you wouldn’t have to suffer. He was always going to fight Sung for you, but it seemed that asshole fucked it up before that could happen. Once the two of you mated, Sung would be a long-forgotten memory whom you could cast off. They all knew that you’d never forgive Sung and his sidepiece for what they put you through, so none of the Reed pack were worried that you'd feel regret for choosing them in the end. They were it for you and vice versa.
In any case, the American pack spent a week making sure everything would be okay for you to move in, including making sure there would be no interference from the American government. The American government, along with the Koreans, could go fuck themselves if they tried to separate you from them. You were Christopher's from the beginning, and he was going to claim you as his mate like you should’ve been all those years ago before the gates opened.
“Alpha,” you wailed out, clinging to him. You let his sandalwood scent envelop you. Christopher also ignored everyone to comfort you.
“Alpha's here, pretty omega, Alpha's here,” Christopher crooned to you. He then slowly led you to the chair he was previously sitting on, which had a good view of everyone, and sat back down while pulling you down so you could sit on his lap. He nuzzled your neck scent gland, glad that your dress showed it off for him. He slathered you in his scent, inhaling and licking at your scent gland to get your scent all over him. “Sean, Julia, Jordan, deal with all the questions,” he ordered the three betas. “You can say hello to her after I get her to calm down.”
You curled up on his lap as everyone stared at both of you in varying degrees of shock. Sean reached out a hand, but you slapped it away and glared. “Want alpha now. You later, you bitch,” you hissed. Christopher gave a low rumbling laugh. It didn’t even occur to your mind that you were all speaking in Korean, too high-strung still. Some tears fell from your eyes, and Christopher merely licked them up, still rumbling. You then shoved your face into his chest, purring, rubbing your face against him much like a cat, or kitten, as the pack would describe you. He held you close to him, slowly rocking you back and forth, rumbling for you.
Jinchul and Gunhee stared at you, dumbfounded. This was like a complete one-eighty from you the past week and a half. Baek and Choi couldn’t even believe what they were seeing as well. Sung cheated on you with Cha, and now you were in Christopher Reed’s arms, of all the hunters in the world, having all but thrown yourself at him. What the fuck was going on? Baek and Choi even pinched each other and stared wide-eyed when they realized that they weren’t hallucinating.
“Well, we can tell she’s already feeling a little bit better.” Jordan and Julia laughed, mostly in relief. Sean pouted. He wanted to scent his little omega. The betas were glad that just by having them near you, it was slowly making you feel better. Christopher, glaring at the three, had them snickering, but the betas turned to everyone else.
Everyone introduced themselves to each other, so now that everyone could put faces to names, Sean sighed dramatically. “Alright, we’ll finally answer your questions, Chairman Go.”
“How do you know my granddaughter?” Gunhee demanded to know. He didn’t fail to notice that they conveniently had you sitting with Christopher as far from Baek, Choi, and Jinchul as possible. He saw the way Christopher stared at the three alphas, and it was making Baek and Choi uncomfortable. Jinchul just looked done, but still, vigilant as ever on making sure that you were alright. His chief inspector and assistant never faltered when it came to you. Gunhee appreciated how much like Jaejoong Jinchul was. It relieved him that you had someone looking after you so well since you came back to Korea after your parents passed.
“We knew her in America. Sean and I were her best friends during those three years she was there,” Julia answered first. “We went to the same school—the five of us. We’re basically an unofficial pack, isn’t that right, sweet girl?” You chirped at that, already calmer than earlier, and Christopher kissed along your hairline, making you sigh happily. Gunhee’s jaw dropped, and he looked at Jinchul, who nodded solemnly.
Jordan then said, “She and Chris dated for nearly the whole time she was there. After her parents died, she had to come to Korea, and we lost contact because after Chris became a national hunter, we didn’t want anyone targeting her when she was safe here in Korea more than if she had remained in America.”
You had always wondered why everyone stopped talking to you, but that made sense. Christopher valued your safety above everything, and even if you and he had to suffer for a good while, you should’ve known your alpha would be back. If you were killed for being Christopher Reed’s mate so they could replace you with someone else, you knew your American pack would completely lose it. At least with you being protected in Korea, it gave them time to make sure that it had a very minimal chance of happening, and they could feel better that they had a better chance of protecting you once you move to America. You were ready to leave after Sung’s and Cha’s stunt.
“We always were going to come back for her, but we needed to make sure it’d be safe for her to come to America. Also, she did mention that she wanted to spend time with you and Jaejoong, and then we lost contact with her,” Sean added. He saw how exhausted you were, and he was completely ready to fuck shit up for you. Sung and Cha were going to pay, and it’d be great. He and Julia exchanged looks, both completely on the same wavelength.
“Lost contact when you said you stalked her.” Gunhee was angry at that. Even if they were your old friends, who were they to stalk you? Jinchul, Baek, and Choi looked at each other before looking back at your American pack, not knowing how to take that sentence. The two Korean S-rank hunters looked at them all incredulously. It was something when the two couldn’t help but be in agreement with each other. That was typically bad news.
Sean held a hand to his chest as if his heart was hurting, before Julia slapped him upside the head. “Okay, fine. Sheesh. I’ll stop being dramatic for now.” Sean pouted. “Anyway, omega over there knows what I’m like, and I roped my lovely mate into helping me.” He was proud of his ability to stalk you, much to the horror of your grandfather, Baek, and Choi.
Jinchul practically stalked you by having eyes all over Korea to watch over you, so he couldn’t really blame the Americans. He just didn’t like how much they were claiming you were theirs.
You peeked at your grandfather. “Don’t worry, grandpa. Sean’s harmless as long as you’re not a threat to me or the rest of the pack.” Gunhee pursed his lips, which had you smiling fondly. It reminded you of how your mother would look at Christopher before she gave up after a year and accepted him. You knew she liked him in the end, as he lived up to his promise of taking care of you, and it had made you very happy back then and even now.
Sean corrected you, proudly, “If you and my Julia are in danger, I’ll do everything to make whoever hurt you pay. You can count on me, honey girl.” Christopher and Jordan were on their own. They could take care of themselves anyway.
“Wow, thanks, you brat,” Jordan said, reaching over to slap him across the head.
“Not my fault you’re not my cute omega or my lovely mate.” Sean slapped him back.
“It’s completely your fault,” you, Julia, and Jordan said in unison.
“Come on! Captain, back me up here!” Sean whined.
“As long as my omega is safe, I couldn’t give a shit about mostly everything else,” Christopher replied boredly. You nudged him under his chin, and he rumbled again. You chirped, which was still sort of freaking out your grandfather and best friend. Hell, it was freaking out Baek and Choi, too.
“But Chairman Go, you don’t need to worry about her since these three are crazy about making sure she’d stay safe. They’d literally sacrifice themselves and each other as long as our omega over there stays safe,” Jordan said.
“Why didn’t we know about all of you?” Baek cut in to ask. He was feeling protective of you. He was horrified that he didn’t know about Sung and Cha. His Miseon and Jiyeon were going to be up in arms about this, along with his whole guild. They all cared about you since you were friends with the three of them. He promised Min to take care of you and Jiyeon if something happened to him, and he would honor his best friend like they tried to honor Eunseok’s wish to watch out for each other. Of course, he just liked you too, from years of working alongside you. If Min had been unavailable to help in higher-ranking gates, or if Min couldn’t be there to help with injuries for his White Tigers, you showed up for them all. His mate and Min’s widow also loved you—the little sister of the White Tiger’s guild.
“Yeah, omega, why didn’t they know about us?” Sean teased you.
“Julia!” you whined. You were radiating smugness at that point, knowing exactly what was going to happen. Christopher and Jordan snorted. The four Korean natives were surprised at how you all were acting, especially you. That’s honestly the most childish they, except for Jinchul, had ever seen you. Jinchul spoiled you way too much for him not to have seen you act like that before.
Everyone watched as Julia advanced on Sean, who rapidly paled, holding his hands up in surrender. “Wait, my lovely Julie, the love of my life, the moon to my sun. YEOWCH!” Julia slapped Sean harder this time around. She knew she wasn’t really hurting him, and the rest of the pack knew it, too. But it was the symbolic meaning of the fact that those two crazies would actually go against each other if that was what you wanted. It was always just Julia doing it to Sean, though.
Sean was the one who’d sacrifice himself to save you and Julia, with Julia following if it meant protecting you. But in the end, if they were forced into it, they would sacrifice each other. Sean had crocodile tears running down his face. He regretted nothing.
“You guys are as funny as ever,” you said fondly. “To answer your question, sunbae, I didn’t like talking about them at all. It was too painful, especially back then.” You gently pushed at Christopher, signaling that you wanted up, although you made sure to give a lick on his neck scent gland to make him feel better, letting you go. You didn’t want him launching himself at anyone because they got too close to you when you were still panicking a bit, and he seemed to know it. Christopher heaved a sigh before he let you get up from his lap. Once you stood up, Julia and Sean were all over you, scenting you, and you just let them. Jordan awkwardly drew the three of you into a hug that you all somehow made work with Jordan scenting you a bit as well, so now you were doused in the entire pack’s scent. Everyone else stared in disbelief, especially that you were welcoming it. You fell right back into where you were when you left them as naturally as breathing. You hadn’t been watching them, unlike the other four who had been stalking you this whole time.
Christopher snarled, but let it happen. “Why you spoil these idiots, I’ll never understand,” he grumbled. He leaned back in his chair as his betas reunited with his omega. Your grandfather cleared his throat, wanting attention to ask more questions, rather tired of watching the Americans essentially fool around. He cleared his throat a second time. Christopher rolled his eyes. “Idiots, one, two, three, let my omega go so they can keep asking questions,” he barked at them. With a groan, the betas let go of you, and you just went back to Christopher’s lap, much to his satisfaction.
“What do you want with my granddaughter?” Gunhee asked all four Americans.
“I’m taking her back with me to America,” Christopher said, staring your grandfather in the eye. The Korean natives froze.
“What do you mean you’re taking her back to America?” Jinchul asked sharply before any of the Koreans could. There was no way he would let you go off with people you hadn’t seen for years, and he knew the other three felt the same. Even if Christopher Reed was one of the five national hunters, they wouldn’t just hand you over.
“Exactly what I said, but we’ll stay to help her move,” Christopher told him. “You can say your goodbyes to her then. It’ll take two weeks at least.”
“Alpha, alpha,” you suddenly chirped, tugging at his arms. You made sure to make your smile extra cute, and you pawed at his chest for a moment. You still remembered how to try to manipulate your way into getting what you wanted from your alpha, even if you had to be careful not to go too far or else you’d have to start doing favors for him. Christopher merely raised a brow, wanting to know what you wanted. “Come meet my best friend here, Jinchul. He’s like Sean and Julia.”
The three betas choked. Those were some fighting words coming from you. They didn’t think of Jinchul that way when they stalked him, too, to see if he was safe around you, and they didn’t get those vibes at all, but with how he was reacting to everything, maybe you had a point. Christopher’s gaze snapped to the blonde alpha that you were pointing to. “He’s good. You’ll like him.” You pawed at his chest again, nearly kneading it, and he let you.
“I already have three idiots.” Christopher deadpanned at you, knowing what you wanted. He leered at Baek and Choi in particular as he felt they were the threats in the room. Your grandfather wasn’t going to do anything as long as you stayed by them; the same with that best friend of yours. He wasn’t happy to see so many alphas near you. He tightened his hold on you more securely.
“He’s my best friend.” You pouted back. You wanted Christopher to think of actually taking Jinchul with you all if everyone was amenable to it. Your only real obstacle was going to be the two alphas, three, including your grandfather. Jaejoong would hopefully back you up. The betas would easily go along with what you wanted, even if Sean threw a tantrum because he wanted your attention and wouldn’t want to share it with one more person. Although Sean had never been able to tell you no unless he actually couldn’t make it happen. You suddenly lowered your head to rub the top of it under Christopher’s chin, and then let out a chirp. Christopher sighed. The three betas snickered, knowing their pack alpha had just given in to their pack omega’s wants.
“So, omega, we’re staying at your house, right?” Jordan asked. Christopher didn’t bother making plans to stay at a hotel. He always planned to stay with you for a while, and he didn’t care about how others felt about it. If any of the betas needed to go home, well, he’d pay for their flight at least.
“You’d think you’d be the one to ask,” you heard Julia say to Sean, who nodded.
“I know. So bold of you, Jordan,” Sean replied. Both of them had matching grins directed at the older beta.
“I hate the both of you so, so much,” Jordan told the terrible duo, who giggled like the maniacs they were. You snickered. You always did love watching Jordan get teased by the terrible duo, which only encouraged them more to Jordan’s suffering. He endured it, though, because it made you happy. Jordan sent you a fond look, and you smiled widely back at him.
“Sure. Chris can stay with me in my nest, and there’s a pullout sofa couch that the three of you could squeeze on. If not, I have some futons you could use to sleep on my floor.” You shrugged, pulling at Christopher, wanting him to get up to shake Jinchul’s hand at least. Gunhee, Jinchul, Baek, and Choi's jaws dropped. All the Korean S-rank hunters, your grandfather, and Jinchul knew you had never let any non-family members into your nest. You had never brought Sung into your nest in the three years you had been chasing him. An omega, who was single, inviting a person they were interested in into their nest meant they wanted to become mates with said person. You also didn’t bring anyone but Jinchul to the house, period, even if they all knew where you lived.
Christopher rumbled happily at your words. He was so happy that you’d allow him to stay in your nest and what that meant to an omega. He nudged you and kissed you on the cheek, and you kicked your feet out in happiness. He then helped you up before having you sit back down and standing by himself.
The betas looked at each other and shrugged. “Good enough.”
“Sleepover at Omega’s!” Sean and Julia cheered.
In an instant, Christopher crossed the room to stand in front of Jinchul. The Koreans froze, but the American pack watched in amusement. The Americans knew that Christopher wouldn’t actually do anything to Jinchul, not with how much you clearly adored your Korean best friend. So, even they were curious as to what was going to happen as you were covertly asking Christopher to consider taking Jinchul back with you all.
Jinchul, despite being somewhat cowed by the fact that an actual national hunter was standing in front of him, stared back at him. He then took a deep breath and stood up straighter, gazing back unflinchingly. Jinchul wouldn’t let himself be intimidated, not with you on the line. Christopher liked this one already, and he hated alphas. It was a wonder that you managed to find yourself another crazy, an alpha one at that, who had zero romantic feelings towards you.
Christopher asked him, “What’s your opinion on Sung and Cha?” He watched as Jinchul grimaced, but it was his eyes that Christopher was staring at. It made him smirk. You were right, he was like Julia and Sean in one person. How interesting.
Choi, himself, grimaced at hearing the question, and Baek and Gunhee were looking upset again at the reminder of Sung and Cha.
“I won’t let them get away with it,” Jinchul replied firmly. “She’s mine and has been mine since a few months after she came back to Korea from America nearly ten years ago. You take her, and you take me too.” Jinchul didn’t care. He wasn’t about to leave you with a bunch of unknown people, regardless of how familiar you were acting with them.
“Jinchul!” Gunhee rubbed his face, frustrated. This whole day was going to shit because of these Americans. He sighed. He hoped that Jinchul would be his successor for the Hunter’s Association, but Jinchul’s allegiance had always revolved around you, especially after the first year the two of you spent together as partners within his association. At least someone he trusted would be around you to help you. Jinchul shrugged.
“Verdict, captain?” Jordan asked. The pack was curious as to how Christopher would react to your Korean best friend.
“I hate alphas, but we’ll take him.” Christopher turned on his heel to get back to you. “She was right.” He didn’t like that another person was trying to claim you when they all knew you were his, but like with Sean, he’d be able to deal with this one, too.
“See, I knew you’d like him!” you chirped at him, snuggling back into him once you were back on his lap. “Sean, you ho, stop being jealous, or I’ll get Julia to whack you again.” You could sense Sean’s hackles being raised at the fact that Jinchul was accepted.
“Just say the word, omega, and I’ll reel him back for a while. But you know it’s funnier when I let him loose, though,” Julia admitted to you. You merely waved your hand, indicating that it was okay.
“Hey!” Sean whined again. Sean had nothing against your best friend or Christopher, but he just wanted you for himself for a little while. You were his best friend before any of them knew you, except for your grandfather in the room. “Out of everyone in this room, I was your first friend! Me! I just want alone time with you.” He would’ve thrown himself at you, but Christopher would force him into his torturous training punishment, and he didn’t want that at the moment. His pack alpha was already leering at him now, too. Hopefully, with you back by your alpha’s side, the punishments would be less vicious. Christopher had been a mess since you were forced away from his side, and then unable to get to you without putting your life in danger, and the fact that he wanted to earn enough so the two of you could live without worrying about finances. Sean stomped his foot in annoyance. He bared his teeth at Jinchul, who dared to send him a smug smirk. That bitch. But Sean had to admit, Jinchul would fit right in, which was rather comforting to your old best friend.
“If you could all wait outside so I can speak to my three S-rank and my assistant. There are places for you to sit in the waiting room,” your grandfather said. He wanted the opinion of Baek and Choi, along with making sure you and Jinchul were alright. You looked ready to dive headfirst into the situation, especially with what happened to you recently. Jinchul would follow you to the ends of the earth, so where you go, he would eventually follow, and Gunhee knew it.
“No, no, no, no! Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!” You clutched onto Christopher tighter and quickly moved to straddle him and buried your face into his chest, shaking. Your breathing got labored as fear radiated off you from your scent. Your omega wasn’t helping since she started panicking. Christopher immediately shifted you to make you more comfortable and started making shushing noises while pumping out his own scent. Everyone looked at you in alarm.
“What’s going on?” Gunhee demanded. What was your reaction? The fear in your scent was starting to upset all the alphas in the room, wanting to comfort you.
The two of you ignored him. “I’ll just be right outside. I’ll never let them take you from me again, never. I’m stronger now. I can take care of you now. I won’t let them ever separate from us again,” Christopher growled, his voice mixed with his alpha. He nosed the top of your head before scenting you with his neck scent gland. “I told you that I’m here, and I won’t leave you ever again. You trust me, don’t you?” You nodded against him as tears threatened to trail down your face in another bout of hysteria. “Words, omega.”
You took a shuddering breath. Against his chest, you mumbled, “I trust you.”
“There’s my pretty girl,” Christopher said. “You need to be strong and deal with your side of things before you can come home with me, and I’ll wait as long as you need me to, right by your side.” Everyone else be damned. The only way you two would be separated now is if the world were ending, and you asked him to help the world deal with it.
“Okay,” you sulked, pulling back away from him. He helped you wipe away the tears that did manage to escape you.
“Don’t worry, honey girl, we’ll be right outside. I’ll kidnap you if I have to. You’re coming home with us regardless if they like it or not,” Sean said blasé, as if he didn’t just threaten to commit a crime in front of everyone in the room.
Jordan facepalmed, staring up at the ceiling as if it held all the answers. Julia merely shook her head, sighing. The two of you were still ignoring everyone. And the Koreans all gawked at Sean in disbelief.
Christopher helped you off his lap and then stood up, so both of you were standing. He then grabbed your chin gently, making you look up at him. You happily stared up at him, taking in his handsome features, before your eyes widened a bit, then closed as he suddenly kissed you for the first time in ten years. You could hear sputtering in the background, but you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him back. He finally pulled away, but not without licking your lips. You were blushing and turning shy, and he enjoyed the sight of it.
“I’ll be right outside, pretty omega, so take comfort in that, alright?” You nodded, both of you pleased that he kissed you. “Come on then, idiots, let’s go wait outside,” Christopher ordered them. You held your blushing cheeks, trying to calm yourself down, and he smirked at you before the American pack left, and you turned to face your grandfather, best friend, and your two other friends.