Archive of Our Own

“Hyung, be careful,” Seungkwan scolded, though it had been Seokmin who winced. “You're tying him too tightly.”

Soonyoung huffed, fingers still twisted in the silky crimson ribbon. “Sorry, Minnie, hyung didn't mean-”

“It's okay.” Seokmin spoke up, though he couldn't lift his gaze from his bound hands or the layers of sheer gauze on his lap beneath them. “It's the whole point, isn't it? That I'm a prize, handed over?”

Seungkwan let out a sound of hurt, his light citrus scent growing tart. “It isn't fair, Seokminnie, just because you're an alpha, anyone with sense knows you wouldn't challenge Soonyoung-hyung for the throne.”

Soonyoung sighed, his own spicy cinnamon scent washing over Seokmin as his fingers gentled. “No, it's not okay, and no it isn't fair. Appearances have to be kept, my scent on the bindings, but being frustrated about giving up my brother doesn't mean I should hurt you, Seokminnie. And as for the prize thing… it'll be okay. Jihoon will treat you like the most precious alpha in his little harem or so help me I will let our Kwanie lead the armies against him.”

All three of them let out a soft laugh, Soonyoung and Seungkwan crowding around Seokmin, warming his bare skin, leaving hints of their scents alongside his.

“I will, though. If they do anything to hurt you, I don't care what the advisors say. If they want to stop me I'll just- I'll just take over the kingdom myself!”

Seokmin finally smiled, looking up at his younger brother, bringing up his bound hands to squish his cheeks. “Thank you.”

“It's time for the collar and muzzle.” A stern voice called from the room's door, and Seokmin couldn't hold back his shudder. The advisors really were keeping up appearances, playing up the strength of his physique and the idea he needed to be kept muzzled when meeting an omega for the first time. Beside him, Soonyoung gave his hand another squeeze.

“It'll be ok. Hyung promises.”

/ / /

By the time he was brought to the throne room, Seokmin could feel his wrists were chaffed and bloody, though it had been through no fault of his brother. Soonyoung had tried, but the icon cuffs he was put in bit through the delicate ribbon to bite his skin every time his escort yanked on the chain. The pain, at least, distracted him from the growing discomfort and fear from his muzzle, a nearly solid leather contraption that made it hard to breathe.

The steps were practiced: follow his escort until they reached the stairs leading to Jihoon's throne; kneel without caring if it was carpet, wood, or stone; and keep his eyes lowered unless Jihoon ordered otherwise. Jihoon was not his husband, not his mate. He was there as the latest offering to Jihoon's harem, as a token of peace between their countries.

Seokmin clenched his fists in the trailing ends of the silk ribbons, reminding himself of the lemon and cinnamon there to mix with his own rich star anise and rum, his brothers who were why he agreed to this at all. Peace was hard won between their kingdoms, they were probably lucky Jihoon was willing to accept another alpha for his harem as tribute.

Above him, words were being spoken, but Seokmin could hardly hear them, only bringing his focus to task when heavy steps marched down the stairs, and a voice far more gentle than he could expect from a warrior king spoke to him.

“So you are my new alpha?” He tutted, soft hands unbuckling the muzzle and letting it fall to the floor before they gripped his chin, guiding his face up until he was looking into deep, dark eyes. “Aren't you a pretty thing.”

There was something possessive in Jihoon's tone, something possessive that had Seokmin pulling in a deep breath, desperate for a hint of Jihoon's scent- but there was nothing. Nothing to show that he had any interest in this pretty thing for all his hands touched him without a hint of hesitation.

“Give me your hands.”

Seokmin obeyed the order without question, wincing at the pull of the heavy iron cuffs against his tender skin. Something flared in Jihoon's eyes, dark and dangerous, for just long enough Seokmin thought he saw a bared fang.

“Your tribute is accepted. Jun, take him to the rooms and make sure he is tended to.”

“Yes, my lord.” A man stepped forward at Jihoon's words, taking the key and chains from Seokmin's escort- and unlocking them there in the throne room, leaving them clattering to the floor while he helped Seokmin to his feet. “This way,” he said, leading Seokmin out without a backwards glance at the diplomatic escort left behind.

The doors behind them snapped shut before he stopped, pulling Seokmin to the side. “Let me see your wrists, he will want the ribbon gone, too.”

Seokmin did as he was told, raising his hands and letting Jun untie them, though his eyes lingered on the now blood-stained red silk. “Could I–” he bit back the words, bowing his head. He was not a mate, not a spouse. He was not in a position to make requests.

“Could you…?” Jun prompted, his voice soft as they stood there, his hands still gently holding Seokmin's.

“My brothers scented the ribbon. I- it is the only thing of home I was allowed to bring.”

“That-” Jun frowned at the bloody ribbon. “Then it is yours.” Gently, he laid the ribbon in Seokmin's palm. “When Seungcheol shows you your room, there will be a place to keep it. To keep the scent until you get a better keepsake from them.”

“My- my room?”

Jun gave a small nod. “Come on, Seungcheol is waiting to greet you with the others. And he will be upset that we've dallied when you need tending.”

Seokmin nodded as well, twisting up his ribbon as he followed after Jun. It didn't take them long before they reached a sturdy door with a guard posted outside. An alpha guard, Seokmin realised with a start, the scent unmistakable for all it was entirely unexpected. The only alphas allowed in Jihoon's palace were supposed to be–

“Seungcheol.” Jun greeted with a bow, and Seokmin hastily followed. He remembered the name, both as the one Jun had been taking him to and from before, his briefing about the head alpha of Jihoon's harem. And here he was, standing in the hall.

“The new pup?” Seungcheol asked, taking Seokmin's hands in his with a frown. “They bloodied him?!”

The anger in his tone made Seokmin flinch, but it was the look on his face that caught his attention. It was almost a perfect recreation of that brief glimmer he had seen on Jihoon before he was escorted out of the throne room.

“Come on, come on, I'll have Minghao take care of these once we get you in your room. And then, you have to meet the pack,” Seungcheol said, his voice still sharp with the anger that had so recently flared alongside his salty ocean scent.

“Pack?” Seokmin couldn't help but ask as he was led through the door, Jun stepping in behind them and turning a key to lock what was clearly an entire wing of the palace. It was all happening so quickly- or, no. He had expected things to happen quickly, but the whispers of what Jihoon did with his harem of alphas, none of them prepared Seokmin for the idea of a pack. A pack bond couldn't be forced, whether a bite was given or not.

“Pack.”

That one word was all the reply Seokmin was given, like it was self-explanatory what Seungcheol meant. All Seokmin could do was sigh and follow along.

/ / /

Seokmin had been living in Jihoon's palace for a week, and he still hadn't seen his mate since that first day and the humiliation ritual that had been his presentation to the young king. His time had instead been spent with the pack of alphas that surrounded him. Seungcheol was the most senior alpha. He had grown up with Jihoon and had been the first to enter the fold. Jun and Minhao had joined together, tributes from one of the first countries Jihoon had bested when they tried to overthrow a boy-turned-king forced to take the throne too young. Jeonghan and Joshua, they hadn't been tributes at all, willing volunteers for the harem. And the last to join before Seokmin was Mingyu, another tribute, and clearly the pampered favorite of the three oldest alphas.

He was beginning to understand what Seungcheol meant by pack, when Mingyu was feeding Seungcheol bites of meat he had cooked and Joshua slid so naturally into his lap. They didn't act like alphas fighting for dominance and a higher position with their mate. They acted- they acted like the ones they had mated were each other. Casually affectionate and sometimes even more brazen than just cuddling and sharing food.

It had been Minghao that Seokmin had seen, with a new alpha he hadn't met yet, bent over a desk as Minghao rocked his hips and whispered praises Seokmin could only half hear. He hadn't meant to intrude, had only been searching for a book to read, and the sight caught him off guard. Jeonghan had been two steps behind, curling around Seokmin's shoulders to see why their new pup had frozen in a doorway.

“Ah, you haven't met Vernonie yet, have you?” Jeonghan hummed, a light chuckle at the edge of his voice. “He's been in rut, needy. Most of it was spent with Jihoon, but he really prefers having a knot when he can.”

“And that's- allowed?” Seokmin kept his voice hushed, staring at the pair still fucking, straining to hear every whimper and growl and wet smacking of hips.

“It's encouraged.” Seokmin could feel Jeonghan's smile against his skin, a softness in it that felt so out of place with the plans the advisors had made for him.

He remembered the small chest of accouterments they had prepared. The things he hadn't been wearing only because his brothers had managed to find the threats that worked- and conceded to the manacles around his wrists. The main feature had been a cock cage, small enough to hurt when Seokmin was wearing it. Something “traditional” because his knots would belong to his omega, now. Watching “Vernonie” crying out in pleasure, the grind of Minghao's hips telling of how they were probably connected by knot right now, Seokmin realized that chest of carefully customized torture impliments had never made it to his room.

Seemingly sensing the same thing, Jeonghan pulled away, tugging Seokmin back the way they had come. “Come on. If Vernonie is back, Jihoonie will be at supper tonight. Want to get dolled up for your first proper meeting?”

Seokmin thought back to the first meeting, to Jihoon's dark eyes and that flash of something when he saw Seokmin was hurt. And he thought back even farther to Wonwoo and Chan, fussing over their outfits at just the prospect of Seokmin inviting his brothers to come along. There was no need to impress Jihoon, he'd been accepted as tribute, but Seokmin found himself nodding anyway. “It's just, I don't really have many choices of what to wear.”

Jeonghan's grin practically gleamed. “Don't you worry, hyung has just the thing.”

An hour later and it was just about time for the pack dinner. Where Seokmin would meet Jihoon again. Jeonghan hadn't been lying about being able to doll him up. A pair of fitted leather pants that bulged around his cock, a blue silk shirt with just enough buttons to be decent- though it was thin enough his nipples were still painfully obvious. After that came the jewelry, a choker decorated with pearls, cascades of silver chain dangling from his ears, and a delicate cuff on one side “to add interest”. Seokmin stared at his reflection for a long moment, eyes wide, barely recognizing himself. It was far more daring a look than he had ever worn at home. He looked pretty. A far cry from the oiled up alpha that had been brought in on his knees only a week before.

“Come on,” Jeonghan said, tugging Seokmin out of the chair. “Time to meet our omega.”

The large table in the dining room was already nearly full by the time they arrived. The only spots left were a pair directly to the right of Jihoon, who was the first to spot them, taking his time to look Seokmin up and down.

“Jeonghan, next to Mingyu, please. I want Seokmin next to me.”

Seokmin swallowed roughly at the order. It shouldn't have been a surprise, the newest alpha being brought over so Jihoon could get a proper look at him. Still, he couldn't help the way his eyes darted to Jun and Seungcheol, only moving when they both gave him an encouraging nod. After that first day, they had made themselves easily accessible, always there to help Seokmin adjust to so many people -to a pack. He didn't know any of them, not really, but they still eased the tension under his skin.

“Come on, sit,” Jihoon said, huffing when Seokmin wasn't walking fast enough for his liking. “I won't bite.”

Beside him, Jeonghan chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss to Seokmin's cheek before they both sat. “No, that's saved for your rut, and only if you beg real pretty.”

All around the table came laughter at that, even from Jihoon next to him. “Exactly, exactly. I don't bite at the dinner table, even if you beg as pretty as you look tonight. Jeonghan did a wonder on you, didn't he?”

On Jihoon's other side, Minghao leaned forward so Seokmin could see him nod. “It fits you, the flowy layers.”

“He's almost good enough to eat,” Jun chimed in, and everyone was laughing, even Seokmin, for all his cheeks were burning with embarrassment.

“Jihoonie has to have the first bite, though,” Jeonghan said with a dramatic sigh. “And he just said he won't at the dinner table.”

There was another round of laughter before everyone began to eat. Little pockets of conversation were popping up around the table, but where he would have been eagerly joining in on any other night, any interjections stayed lodged in his throat. He was seated next to Jihoon- no, Jihoon had told him to sit here. Which meant the one Seokmin should be talking to was the one making him so nervous he wasn't sure he knew any words.

“Tsk. You're hardly eating.” Jihoon's voice startled Seokmin from where he was picking at his food. “Try this.”

Seokmin's mouth fell open at the command, his eyes wide as Jihoon placed a piece of sauced meat on his tongue. It felt out of place, the king here, feeding him, the one who should have been lowest in the harem. It also felt… strange. Like Jihoon was going through the motions of omega feeds alpha but he wasn't using his scent to sway Seokmin or encourage his obedience. It was… strange.

Seokmin chewed the bite and let Jihoon feed him more, after, while his mind chewed on the contradiction that seemed to be Jihoon. Jihoon was acting a lot like Seokmin's omega brothers. Feeding him, and fussing over him while they waited between courses. Jihoon's relief had seemed palpable when he took Seokmin's wrist in his hand and found the scabs already mostly healed. But where Seungkwan's distress was sharp and bitter and Soonyoung's pleasure in taking care of his younger brothers was always warm and spicy, Jihoon didn't have any of that. Even when dinner was winding down and Jihoon was watching Seokmin lick cream from a spoon with obvious interest, there was no spike in scent to let Seokmin know it had worked.

Of course, for all Seokmin had been distracted, he had done more than eat during the dinner. Jihoon was good at asking questions, soft things like what he liked to do, what he liked to eat. And if Seokmin found himself on the edge of something cavernous, thinking about his brothers and his own friends determined to court them, Jihoon was always attentive to it, bringing Seokmin's attention back to the food or asking how he liked his room and the library and had Mingyu shown him the kitchen?

The things not being said loomed around them, but by the time dinner was over and Jihoon had walked Seokmin to his bedroom door, they felt less like boulders poised to fall and more like the shadows spreading from distant trees at sunset.

“Thank you for humoring me at dinner. I enjoyed your company,” Jihoon said with a small bow of his head.

“Did I have a choice?” Seokmin asked before he could stop the words from leaving his lips. It was uncalled for, when they should both know the answer, but something about his week spent here among a pack of alphas and no sign of his omega coming to mate him had made him bold.

Jihoon didn’t answer right away, a frown between his brows as he looked Seokmin over. “You… I suppose you haven’t had the choice yet. But we will talk about that tomorrow, what expectations there may be for you.”

“I know what’s expected of me–” Seokmin tried to protest, only to be cut off by Jihoon’s soft fingers pressed to his lips.

“I remember how you arrived in my court. I know what gifts were sent instead of any of your belongings. I know what you think will be expected of you. But that is a conversation for tomorrow. Goodnight, Seokmin-ah.” Jihoon bowed his head again, turning away before Seokmin could get his wits about him enough to give a proper reply instead of thinking about how soft Jihoon’s fingers were against his lips. How just a few short months ago he would have been chasing the taste of that soft skin when presented with half the opportunity.

“Goodnight, Jihoon-hyung.” Seokmin said just before Jihoon turned the corner at the far end of the hall. He didn’t yell it, just let the words hang softly in the air where Jihoon might not even hear them. Intimate, gentle, and nothing like the reverent way the advisors had told him he needed to speak to his mate. But while Seokmin wasn’t sure, yet, of what his place was in this pack of a harem, he was at least sure that Jihoon didn’t want that sort of formality between any of the alphas and himself, Seokmin included.

/ / /

Seungcheol and Jihoon were already in the library when Seokmin made his way there after breakfast. Jihoon was sitting at the same desk Minghao had bent Hansol over the day before, and Seokmin could smell his own scent spiking at the memory. His warm, woody brandy scent entered the room before he did, though only Seungcheol seemed to react, his own sea-scent rising in answer.

“Seokmin-ah, please, have a seat,” Seungcheol said, patting the couch next to him as Seokmin walked over.

It was another statement spoken in soft words, that this harem was nothing like Seokmin might expect. The one that should be head alpha and at Jihoon's side was pointedly waiting for the new alpha instead, clearly there to comfort and support during the heavy conversation they were due to have.

Being there for comfort also said they expected this conversation to be rough, though Seokmin didn't know how it could be as bad as his parents and the advisors telling him he would be traded to Jihoon as a token of peace between their kingdoms. No one had offered him comfort, then, his brothers locked out of the room until the advisors were sure Seokmin wouldn't cause any problems. This conversation, in this strange harem-pack where Jihoon hadn't even bit Seokmin yet, couldn't possibly hold a candle to the roughness he had already gone through.

Unless, a traitorous voice whispered in his mind, they are getting ready to kick you out,diplomatic incident be damned.

Seokmin shook his head, shoving the thought far away as he settled onto the seat next to Seungcheol instead of at the far end of the couch. Beside him, Seungcheol nearly preened, and Jihoon smiled at them both from the other side of the desk.

“Seokmin-ah.” Jihoon began, his smile slowly fading as he spoke. “I am sorry for the delay to this conversation. Usually, we make new acquisitions aware of the situation in their first day, but with Hansol's rut… I was otherwise occupied. And Seungcheol and I agreed that we should only have this conversation together, for reasons that will soon become clear.

“You came here to be part of my harem. Gifted to me. I am not ignorant of the assumptions made, that I own you and your cock. That we are… mates.”

Jihoon paused, and the silence stretched as he met Seokmin's eye, as if expecting there to be a question, an objection, something. Seokmin didn't have any questions yet, just a simmering something under his skin chafing at the idea of being gifted to such a pretty omega and then being told he wouldn't be allowed to fuck him.

With a sigh, Jihoon continued. “No one in the harem is my mate. Several are mated, yes, but I have no interest in forcing anything. Those claimed by me have a pack claim. I am the pack omega. And in my pack, if you wish to become mates with the other alphas, you are more than welcome to, on one condition.

“You spend your ruts with me.”

Seokmin could feel Seungcheol tense beside him, anticipation of- something. An argument? A rejection? But Seokmin had no thoughts of rejecting Jihoon's plans, of turning down this pretty omega he couldn't smell. He also had no plans of mating any of the alphas, who were all pretty and handsome and not half as mouth watering as pretty unmarked Jihoon.

“My knot is yours,” he said instead of any of that, watching a hint of something burning flash through Jihoon's eyes even as Seungcheol barked out a laugh beside him.

“You understand.”

Seokmin gave a small nod, “I understand that but… mating. If it wasn't forced?”

Beside him, Seokmin could smell a sharp spike in Seungcheol’s sea breeze of a scent, approval and horniness laced underneath.

Jihoon, too, seemed to need a moment to calm his breathing, like the scent of need ought to be dripping from him. “We can speak of that after your first rut here. Which should be soon, correct?”

Seokmin nodded. “I was put on suppressants when the treaty was penned. The dosing stopped the day I was presented. According to the doctors, my cycle should correct itself in seven to ten days. Or, any day now.”

“Mm.” Jihoon hummed in acknowledgement, giving Seungcheol a small nod. “We should move you to my nesting room. The first rut is mine alone, we don't want the others deciding to taste first.”

There was another sharp burst of sweetness from Seokmin, the scents of fruit overtaking the scent of wood to show his approval of Jihoon's possessiveness. This time, it was clear Jihoon had been able to smell that, his eyes dark with his own sudden onslaught of desire.

“I will come to you when we can confirm things are underway. Normally, I would stay with you until your cycle began, but I think even my restraint isn't good enough for that.”

/ / /

The nesting room was nothing like what Seokmin expected, or maybe everything he had come to expect from his few interactions with Jihoon. The bed was big, covered with blankets and pillows somehow softer and more luxurious than even Soonyoung and Seungkwan's had been. They were also, every last one, completely unscented. The only hints of scent came from the little couch and table in the boudoir, where Seungcheol had stopped when showing Seokmin in.

Only mates scent a nest, the thought flitted through Seokmin's mind in a soft whisper. It wasn't strictly true, of course, but that was when a mated pair brought their packs scents into the nest. Of course, usually, a nest would be full of the omega's scent, but this one was just as blank a slate as Jihoon himself, not even bearing the bodily scents of sex or sweat.

“You won't come in?” He called over his shoulder, his fingers itching to bury themselves in every inch of soft cloth until his brandy scent was all Jihoon could smell for weeks.

“Not until your rut is over.” Seungcheol said, not for the first time, leaning against the doorway as he watched Seokmin drift closer to the nest. “The first is always Jihoon's alone.”

Seokmin hummed in acknowledgement, wondering at it, why that rule might be put into place. An omega had nothing to fear from sharing an alpha partner in rut. Seokmin's own past trysts had often included joining another's rut to help protect their omega partner from trying to do too much. But Jihoon insisted, even with his position as king, that the first rut be his alone.

“And I’m allowed into his nest without him?” Seokmin asked, turning so he could see Seungcheol answer the question.

“For your rut, It’s your nest, too,” came the answer, just as baffling as every other answer Seokmin had gotten since joining the harem. Your nest, too. As if Seokmin would know what to do with it. As if–

Seokmin nodded, looking again around the sterile room that would be home to his rut. He did know what he wanted to do with it, this scentless nest. He wanted to drench it with his scent, to make the blankets a mess of scent and sweat and cum. It was the beginnings of his rut, he knew, that made him want to mark and claim, though there was something else there, too, something that still rankled at the idea JIhoon wouldn’t claim him.

“Are you going to watch me?” He asked as he began to undo the buttons of his shirt. “I don’t plan on sitting in… my nest in anything more than my skin.”

To Seokmin’s delight, Seungcheol’s cheeks flushed at the implication of nudity, his eyes already pointedly looking away. “Then I will just– the door has to stay open, so I can tell when your rut starts, but. You can have privacy.” Seungcheol gave one last nod almost in Seokmin’s direction before he was gone to the far end of the boudoir.

Something in Seokmin relaxed at that, something he wasn’t quite ready to look at head on. It was enough that Seungcheol’s ocean of a scent was now a distant breeze from shore. There would be no other scent marring the nest he prepared for Jihoon.

His clothing quickly became a messy pile on the floor, cast to the wayside before he climbed into the nest to make himself at home. There was a new buzzing under his skin, now, a sense of urgency, that he needed to fix the scentless mess before his mate came and found it all sterile and wanting. He didn’t fight the instinct, letting it lead him instead.

Slowly, the nest began to change. It was no longer a mess of soft, sterile-clean blankets arranged neatly like someone was looking through a book of perfect omega nests. Piece by piece, he picked up each pillow and sheet and blanket, making sure his scent soaked into them as best he could, pushing out the scent of heavy desire to make things as clear as possible for Jihoon that Seokmin had no intentions of letting himself go unmated. He couldn’t explain exactly what was driving him, why he needed to be Jihoon’s mate, but somewhere between the first gentle touch to his chin and a dinner full of carefully interested conversation, Seokmin knew he would settle for nothing less than something clear and binding. He would be Jihoon’s and, hopefully, Jihoon would be his as well.

Just letting the thought come to the forefront had his scent bursting with a fresh wave of rich sweetness, the arousal thick enough he could practically taste it. Hurriedly, he grabbed another soft cushion, rutting his slowly hardening cock against it before dragging it all the way up his body. The scent of brandy and sweat and cock was heady and perfect, pulling a pleased rumble from his chest. This one needed to be at the head of the bed, somewhere Jihoon could bury his face in it, until Jihoon smelled like Seokmin’s desire, too.

If Jihoon lacked a scent, Seokmin would just have to give him a piece of his own.

/ / /

“You can leave us now.” Jihoon’s voice stirred Seokmin from his restless sleep. “I know how to handle an alpha in rut. I’ve dealt with how many years of yours now?”

Seokmin was growling before he fully registered the conversation, blinking his eyes open as his hips instinctively thrust against the soft blankets beneath him. He was hard, so hard, dripping with the need to breed his soon-to-be mate. Rut, his mind supplied, though it didn’t feel like any rut he had had before. His thoughts moved sluggishly as he looked toward the door where he could still only hear Jihoon and hadn’t seen him yet. Where Jihoon was speaking with an alpha that wasn’t him.

“He’s not like any of us have been, Jihoon. Whatever cocktail they put in him to put off his ruts–”

“I will deal with.” Jihoon’s voice was stern.

“And if you can’t?”

Jihoon snarled, and Seokmin wished he could see his face. It sounded beautiful, fierce and possessive, and brought the fire under his skin closer to the surface. He needed him. Needed Jihoon’s hands on his skin, needed Jihoon to show just how well he could deal with Seokmin’s rut and his knot.

Seokmin couldn’t hear any further words, though he wasn’t sure if there had been no further argument, or if the pounding of his arousal had muted any sounds that weren’t his Jihoon cooing at him from the edge of the nest.

His Jihoon. Cooing at him.

Seokmin blinked his eyes open again, not sure when he closed them. Jihoon was there, just outside the nest, his face soft with something that made Seokmin want to preen even as his hips thrust down with the need to give Jihoon his knot.

“Aren’t you a needy little thing,” Jihoon hummed, his eyes dark with a desire Seokmin was sure he could almost taste. “Seungcheol was right about your rut being different. Gods above and below, you smell divine.”

Seokmin tried to form words, to ask Jihoon to just come closer, to touch him already, but all that fell from his lips was a needy, keening whine as he turned, letting Jihoon see how his cock was hard and red and dripping –just for him–.

“Needy little alpha,” Jihoon murmured, though Seokmin wasn’t sure he was speaking to him. His eyes were on the hard line of Seokmin’s cock as he finally climbed into the nest, drawing closer until he was able to push Seokmin onto his back. “Shh, shh, your omega is here to take care of you.”

Seokmin settled under the soft touch, feeling Jihoon’s soft fingers like a balm to his burning skin. There was still something missing, though, as Jihoon leaned down to press a kiss over Seokmin’s heart. Jihoon’s scent. That was what was missing, and something in Seokmin chafed at that. Jihoon was clearly aroused, his cock hard, his slick dripping down his legs where Seokmin could see it on his thighs. And yet, there was still just the barest hint of sweetness at the tip of Seokmin’s tongue.

He whined again, reaching for Jihoon’s hand, tugging it closer until he could press an open mouthed kiss to his wrist. Jihoon’s breath stuttered, but that sweetness still didn’t bloom on Seokmin’s tongue. There was a displeased rumble as he tugged on Jihoon again, his eyes drawn to the slick on those plush thighs. “Need,” he growled, the one word all he could manage as he hoped Jihoon would understand.

“Fuck,” the word was all the response he got from Jihoon before he was moving, settling his hips across Seokmin’s shoulders like that one word had instead been dozens. “I have what you need, my pretty little alpha. Here.”

With that, Jihoon let his hips settle, his cunt just where Seokmin wanted it–directly over his lips.

Seokmin rushed to taste it, his tongue eager as it lapped at tender folds, chasing the taste of the slick dripping from it. His hands gripped at Jihoon’s thighs, holding himself in place while he chased after the hints of something beyond sex in the taste of him.

“Fuck,” Jihoon said again, his hands falling to tangle themselves in Seokmin’s har, pressing him closer just as a burst of sweetness bloomed on his tongue.

Honey. Seokmin hummed in pleasure as he finally had an answer to what the sweetness he had almost-scented on Jihoon before was. Honey and licorice, though the richness of the scent only lasted for a moment before growing muted once more. He chased after it even so, his tongue moving with the rocking of Jihoon’s hips, teasing the hard nub of his clit before the angle shifted and Seokmin found it all too easy to thrust his tongue into Jihoon’s tight, slick channel.

Jihoon’s fingers tightened in his hair, and Seokmin found himself blinking his eyes open again –when had they closed– to look up into his face. Jihoon was flushed, from his cheeks to the tips of his ears, his eyes wide, pupils blown as he stared down at Seokmin in something almost like wonder.

“What was–?” Jihoon’s voice was a breathy gasp as he pulled Seokmin away from his dripping cunt. “That wasn’t you. I can smell you, that was–”

“Please,” Seokmin whined, “let me taste you again. JIhoon-ah, Jihoonie, omega.”

He tried to pout up at Jihoon, to meet his eyes as he begged for another taste, but in front of him slick was dripping down pale thighs and Jihoon’s cock was red and twitching with desire. Seokmin wasn’t sure what he wanted to taste more between the two, just that he wanted his mouth on Jihoon anywhere he would let him until all Seokmin could taste would be honey and licorice and sex.

Jihoon cursed again, though Seokmin couldn’t make out the words as he was guided forward, until his lips were parted by Jihoon’s dripping cock. He barely had time to register the salty-bitter taste of him before Jihoon was thrusting into his mouth, chasing his own pleasure in a way that had Seokmin letting his eyes fall almost closed as he was used.

“You really just take it all, don’t you?” Jihoon asked as he shoved Seokmin’s mouth down to base, forcing him to choke around Jihoon’s cock in his throat. “A perfect alpha, letting me use him.”

Seokmin rumbled in pleasure at the praise, pushing himself impossibly closer, desperate to have Jihoon as deep as he could. It wasn’t enough, choking on his cock. He needed- he needed something more. Something to bring back the taste of licorice and honey on his tongue. He needed to be buried as deep in Jihoon as Jihoon was buried in him.

That thought coalesced in his mind, driving him forward with purpose as Jihoon continued the slow grind of fucking his mouth until he couldn’t breathe. Buried in him. Seokmin could be buried in him. Not his cock, no, using his cock would mean losing the heavy weight of Jihoon’s cock on his tongue, but his fingers… It was easy to let one hand release Jihoon’s thigh. With Jihoon’s hands tangled in his hair, holding him on his cock, Seokmin didn’t need both hands to hold himself in place. Instead, he could let his long fingers slide through dripping slick until they found Jihoon’s cunt.

At the first tease of his fingers through Jihoon’s cunt, Jihoon was already crying out, bucking his hips hard enough to bring tears to Seokmin’s eyes as he choked on his thick cock.

When Seokmin’s fingers pressed further, two easily slipping up and in, Jihoon keened, a needy whine in his throat. Seokmin chased that sound, doing his best to push a punishing rhythm as he fucked into Jihoon’s cunt and fucked his own throat with Jihoon’s cock. He could barely think of anything else, just the burning need to make Jihoon cum just like this, tight cunt clenching on Seokmin’s fingers. There, on the edges of his senses, a sweetness was building again. Honey and licorice that came in pulses that matched the throbbing of Jihoon’s cock on his tongue, the clenching of his cunt around Seokmin’s long fingers.

“That’s it, that’s it,” Jihoon panted, shuddering when Seokmin shifted his hand so his thumb was pressed to his clit. “I’m going to cum, fuck, Seokminnie, make me cum, just like that, just like–”

His words cut off with a sharp gasp, his hips rocking with enough force Seokmin was sure the back of his throat would be bruised for days. That didn’t matter, though, it couldn’t matter when it was pared with the gush of slick around his fingers and the feeling of Jihoon’s cock pulsing as he came down Seokmin’s throat, forcing him to swallow every drop.

They stayed just like that for a long moment, Jihoon’s softening cock in Seokmin’s throat, Seokmin’s fingers buried in his cunt, keeping him full as the fluttering aftershocks of orgasm washed through him and the scent of honey and licorice properly bloomed around them. He practically fell once he was able to pull away, leaving Seokmin cold and empty with the lack of him.

Jihoon was still panting when Seokmin managed to turn and look at him, sprawled out in the nest, legs spread wide. His cheeks were flushed, sweat on his brow, and as Seokmin took a deep breath, he realized something else. The honey and licorice in the air around them, it didn’t smell sated. It smelt needy, aching and wanting. It made his mouth water as he crawled across the bed, letting himself take his place between Jihoon’s thighs.

Jihoon’s hips canted upwards, his cunt still dripping even while his cock lay soft across his stomach. With a start, Seokmin realized he recognized the extra layer to Jihoon’s scent. An omega in heat.

“Oh Jihoon-ah. Can you smell that? Do you know what that is?” he asked, his voice a soft rumble as he let himself lean down, pressing a kiss to the corner of Jihoon’s parted lips.

“I don’t– it’s not you.”

“No,” Seokmin said, letting his hard cock grind against Jihoon’s dripping cunt. “That’s you. My pretty omega. And it’s begging me to knot you.”

There was a bloom of pleasure in Jihoon’s scent at the words. “My scent? Omega?”

Seokmin let himself take Jihoon’s lips in a proper kiss, soft and sweet, a tease to them both even as he felt Jihoon’s cunt throbbing with need. “My omega has the prettiest scent.”

“Ah-!” Jihoon’s hips bucked at the words, a sharp, sudden movement that had Seokmin’s cock slipping from its place grinding against Jihoon’s cunt to press inside, just a little.

“You like that? Being mine?” Seokmin asked, chest heaving with each breath as he tried to steady his instincts, to only let his cock make the shallowest thrusts into Jihoon’s tight cunt.

“I like…” Jihoon’s voice trailed off as he tried to move, to force Seokmin’s cock further into himself. “I like being omega. Finally–!”

His words cut off his a shout as Seokmin couldn’t hold back anymore, burying his cock in Jihoon’s cunt, a growl in his throat. “Finally? As if you weren’t omega before.”

His thrusts weren’t kind as he pressed even closer to Jihoon, his teeth nipping along the length of his neck. “I laid eyes on you and knew you were the prettiest omega I’ve ever met.”

Jihoon let out a noise of confusion, even as his hands clung to Seokmin’s back, holding him there, pressed on top of him. “I– I never– before–”

Seokmin let himself bite down low on his throat, sucking a bruise into pale skin as he ground his hips, chasing his own orgasm, finally giving into the need in his blood.

“Thought you needed an alphas knot, didn’t you?” He asked, letting his knot press against the edges of Jihoon’s cunt, letting Jihoon feel how on edge Seokmin was for him. “Thought all it took was an alphas cum, in your cunt, down your throat, hm?”

Seokmin’s knot finally popped in as he let his teeth scrape over Jihoon’s scent gland, now flooding the room with the richness of licorice laced with sweet honey. “Fuck. I’m going to breed you full, round with my pup.”

“Ah, Seokminie–” Jihoon could barely choke out his name as they both came, Jihoon’s cunt milking Seokmin’s cock for every drop of seed.The aftershocks rocked through them both as Seokmin tugged them onto their sides, holding Jihoon close, kissing everywhere he could reach on his face as their scents mellowed out from desperate need to something soft and satiated.

They both drifted off to sleep, though Seokmin only realized they had when he slowly woke up to the feeling of Jihoon trying to quietly fuck himself on Seokmin’s hard-again cock. “Needy omega,” he murmured, pressing kisses along Jihoon’s jaw until he met his lips. “Getting what you need from your alpha’s cock?”

Jihoon gasped into his mouth, shuddering through a small orgasm as his hips moved faster. “My alpha? Are you mine, Seokminie?”

Seokmin growled again, pulling away from the kiss so he could direct Jihoon’s lips away from his mouth and to the unmarred skin of his mating gland instead. “Yours. Please Jihoonie. Mark me. I’ll give you everything you need if you just–”

There was the feeling of teeth against his skin, and then, abruptly, clamping down, flooding Seokmin with a mix of pain at the bite and pleasure at the knowledge he had done it. He had Jihoon’s mark, now. He was claimed. That bite was all it took for his knot to swell, too, flooding Jihoon’s cunt with a new wave of seed, locking them together again.

This time, their scents didn’t mellow into a soft drowsy haze. This time, as their scents quieted, Seokmin could practically feel Jihoon’s hyper awareness in front of him.

“Well?” Seokmin asked, looking down to meet Jihoon’s gaze, only giving a slight shudder of pleasure at the sight of blood on his lips and fangs. “You have questions.”

He said it almost offhandedly, but once the words were said, he knew they were true. He could almost taste the questions behind his own teeth, though he wasn’t quite sure what they were. All he could tell was that Jihoon wanted to ask something, that he was litting there, licking his bloody lips, trying to find what order the words should go in.

“You… you knew, before this. I wasn’t born an omega.”

It wasn’t a question, not really, and Seokmin couldn’t help the small rumbling growl of distaste at the statement. “I knew you weren’t born with heats. You were omega long before I laid eyes on you, omega king.”

Jihoon blinked at him, his breath caught in his throat for a moment. “And you knew what I had tried, to fix things. What hadn’t worked.”

There still wasn’t a question in the actual words, but Seokmin could feel the shape of the questions beneath it. How did he know what Jihoon had tried, why did none of it work, while Seokmin was able to coax Jihoon into scent and heat both.

“If an alpha drinks his omega’s slick all day, will he become an omega himself?” He asked instead of answering the question properly. “If he sucks his alpha mate’s cock and drinks his cum, will a cunt open up between his legs?”

“Ah.”

Seokmin could tell what Jihoon was thinking at that, the obvious nature of a pack of alphas who had mated each other right outside these doors. It was half the answer, really, letting Jihoon know how Seokmin knew what he had done hadn’t worked.

“All these alphas, sharing every one of their ruts with you. Did they ever bother to chase your scent, to make you feel good?” This time, Seokmin punctuated his words with teasing touches, one hand teasing at Jihoon’s soft nipple while the other slid down his body, avoiding his cock to tease at his clit.

“They just let you use their knots and make them leave, didn’t they?” he answered his own question while Jihoon shuddered through another light orgasm on his cock. “Shifting someone into heats or ruts or the lack thereof is an artform.”

Jihoon laughed, soft and breathless, and Seokmin had to turn his face to stifle the sensitive groan at the way Jihoon’s cunt clenched around his sensitive cock. “And how do you know, how did you..?”

Seokmin hummed, pulling Jihoon close enough to kiss before he gave his quiet confession. “I once had heats, too.”

/ / /

“You didn’t mark me back,” Jihoon said, the words like an accusation in his mouth as he and Seokmin wiped each other down with warm, damp cloths. It had been a long rut cycle for Seokmin, a full seven days of desire and instinct pushing his body beyond the normal limits.

He couldn’t help but laugh at Jihoon’s complaint, pressing a soft kiss to his tender scent gland just to get a direct whiff of frustration that colored it. “You didn’t ask me to mark you. It’s not like the mating bond is any less in place, since you bloodied your teeth on me.”

Jihoon growled, and Seokmin didn’t need to see his face to know he was glaring. “Mark me, Seokmin. Now.”

Seokmin obeyed the order, pushing down the rush of arousal the order had sent through his body. They had spent a week fucking each other, his cock and holes were fucked raw and he was sure Jihoon’s were too. And now, their scent glands were equally sore, marred and bloody with the fresh imprint of teeth that would scar into a lasting mark on each other.

They didn’t speak much after that, continuing to clean each other and dress until they both looked tired, but not sticky with the aftermath of a shared heat and rut.

“Seungcheol’s going to bring up the marks.” Jihoon sighed as they finally moved towards the door, almost ready to see the outside world once more.

Seokmin just gave a noncommittal hum, wrapping his arms around Jihoon in a hug from behind, making sure his clean body was still fully drenched in Seokmin’s scent. “If he’s surprised by them, your pack’s head alpha is more dense than I thought.”

“They were supposed to be something that waited until there was no rut to cloud your judgement.”

Seokmin snorted, pressing a soft kiss to Jihoon’s neck. “I would have cried.”

That pulled a laugh from Jihoon’s lips as well as he patted Seokmin’s hand, making no move to remove his alpha limpet before heading out the door. “Ah yes, and he should clearly have known the whole time that you are just a needy little brat of an alpha, and claiming you mid-rut was my only option.”

Seokmin looked up with a grin, directly into the pouting face of Seungcheol who had clearly heard everything they had just said. “Exactly!”