Chapter Text
Hyunjin woke up on a random Monday morning feeling a little strange.
His alarm was high pitched and louder than normal, so he immediately blindly searched for his phone to turn the annoying thing off. Even so, the alarm still echoed through his ears and made them ring painfully. He lay still until the feeling subsided and then rolled around to stretch.
The familiar laundry scent of his sheets had been imbued with a new smell that he couldn’t quite place his fingers on, but it wasn’t a bad one. Just faint enough to make him tilt his head curiously and continue with his day.
His nose was stuffy and his head spun when he swung his legs over the side of the bed to stand, but he resolutely ignored that because they had a dress rehearsal today and a concert the next. He couldn’t afford to not be in anything but his tip top shape.
Hyunjin ran fingers through his hair and decided that he felt bad enough to keep his sleep clothes on for breakfast and slip his cold feet into slippers to shuffle to the kitchen. Felix was already sitting at the table, finishing his semi edible breakfast. There was another plate across from him reserved for Hyunjin, since he was always the latest to wake up. The others must have been already taking their showers.
“G’mornin’” Hyunjin mustered as he sat down, his voice slightly hoarse from misuse. Felix smiled at him, looking far too happy for how early in the morning it was. His dorm mates consisted of Jisung and Felix- the pack omegas- and Seungmin, their only beta.
And then, of course, there was Hyunjin- the only one in their pack who had yet to present. Did he have some salty feelings about it- yes, of course he did, especially when their youngest pack member presented a month ago as a baby alpha. Even so, the others reassured him that they would love him no matter what he was when he presented- even if he never presented at all.
It was unheard of, to not present, but he sometimes got anxious that their wolves would get tired of having an unpresented mate in the pack. He wasn’t a pup, afterall.
“Hey, are you feeling okay?” Felix inquired, head tilted in confusion, “you’ve hardly touched any of your food.”
Hyunjin’s stomach rumbled, but it wasn’t because he was hungry. It protested even the smell of the breakfast, and he forced himself to swallow down saliva so that he wouldn’t throw up. “I’m fine,” he shrugged, and as Jisung passed by- looking equally as asleep as Hyunjin- Hyunjin held out his plate as a wordless offering.
Jisung stared at the plate with wide eyes, and then back to Hyunjin. “Really? Are you sure?”
“Mhm. I’m not very hungry this morning, Sungie. You can have the rest.”
Jisung now looked significantly more awake as he took the plate, set it down on the table, and began to wolf it down eagerly.
Jisung could only be rivaled by Chan and Changbin when it came to his ravenous appetite. It was almost sickening to watch him dig in, so Hyunjin had to quickly look away before the smell of food got to him.
Felix leaned across the wooden table to brush Hyunjin’s hair back and feel his forehead. He hummed in a contemplating way before moving his hands to cup Hyunjin’s cheeks. “You feel a little warm,” he announced with a frown, “are you sure you’re up for dress rehearsals today?”
What other choice did he have?
Hyunjin bit back the snappy response, because he knew that Felix was only concerned about him. He circled his hands around Felix’s wrists to squeeze them reassuringly. “I’m just a little overheated from spending all night under my blankets, that’s all. I’m okay.”
Felix narrowed his eyes, like he didn’t quite believe him (because he could always see through Hyunjin’s lies- like when he said he was fine after an interviewer asked him a personal question about his lacking sub gender.) but luckily he dropped the subject.
“If you say so. Here,” the omega riffled through the fridge and then passed a cold water bottle to Hyunjin. “Be sure to drink this before we leave. I want you to stay hydrated.”
“Okay, thank you, Lixie.” Hyunjin uncapped the bottle and took a tentative few sips in case his stomach decided to revolt- but luckily, it didn’t. Felix nodded in approval before returning to his task of doing the dishes.
Felix was the perfect example of an omega- he fiercely doted on them and was protective of their younger pack members. He gave the best cuddles when they needed comfort and he always knew what to say. Hyunjin loved him.
He knew that Felix couldn’t wait for them to finally place claim bites on one another’s necks to make their pack official, but that probably wouldn’t happen until they grew older and stopped performing. It was hard to hide mating bites from the media or while on stage, and it would be even harder to hide the shift in their group's dynamics.
One day, when they became a proper pack, they’d settle down and maybe even have pups of their own. For now- they’d enjoy their youth.
After finishing his water under Felix’s watchful eye, Hyunjin stumbled back to the bathroom that Seungmin emerged from- showered and fresh- to down some pain medication from their medical cabinet. He was starting to break a sweat, and he could tell that it wasn’t from the lingering steam in the room. His stomach was starting to ache. Hyunjin was starting to regret even eating a single bite of the food.
As Hyunjin bent over the sink to gargle water and rid his mouth of any lingering toothpaste, he felt arms wrap around him from behind. Jisung’s nose twitched and he leaned forward to bury his nose into Hyunjin’s collar. “Mmm. You smell good today. Did you put in a new perfume?”
“No,” Hyunjin simply tilted his head sideways to allow the omega more room to scent him. Jisung was always so touchy and he loved to scent them- and it wasn’t like Hyunjin’s underdeveloped nose could smell much anyways. He would simply have to take Jisung’s word for it.
When Jisung started to nip at his skin, Hyunjin gently elbowed him back before he could leave any visible marks. “We have a show today,” he reminded him, and Jisung whined and tried to dive back in like a man on a mission. Luckily- Seungmin chose that time to enter and promptly grabbed the back of his neck.
Jisung struggled in his hold for a moment, but then hung limp once he realized that he had been scuffed. “What’s gotten into you today?” Hyunjin asked as he patted Jisung’s cheek as the other blinked rapidly to regain his computer.
“I dunno,” his eyes fluttered, nostrils flaring. “You just smell different today.”
Hyunjin tilted his head and self consciously covered his scant glands in either side of his neck. “Different…?” He asked with a small voice.
“Not bad!” Jisung scrambled to blurt out when he realized that Hyunjin was sensitive about the subject, “just… sweeter? I guess?”
Hyunjin frowned and shuffled his slippered feet over the tile of the bathroom. Maybe he really was coming down with a sickness.
He questioningly turned to Seungmin, but the beta only shrugged helplessly. “I can’t smell anymore than you can.” Seungmin’s sense of smell wasn’t on par with the others, and Hyunjin sometimes wondered if he himself had presented as a beta and simply missed it.
“Guys!” Felix shouted from his place near the front door across the apartment. “The cars are waiting for us out front! Are you ready?”
Well, shit. Hyunjin took a glance at himself in the mirror and yeah- he still looked like a dead man walking. Hopefully the makeup artist and hairstylist would be able to fix him up.
He ran a hand through his black hair, eventuated with red highlights, before following the others out the door. He didn’t bother much to change out of his hoodie and sweatpants, since he would be wearing a stage outfit anyway.
They made their way to the elevators as a group, and Hyunjin could only assume that the other four of their group already made it to their cars because they were nowhere to be found on the way down. They were usually quicker at getting on their feet in the mornings anyway.
They were lucky that fans hadn’t found their new apartment building so far, because there was no off to bombard them as they exited out of the elevators and into the private parking garage. There were two rows in the slick black company car, so Hyunjin crawled to the very back and immediately leaned his face against the cold window.
The car shook as the others clambered inside, fastening their seatbelts, and Hyunjin closed his eyes to block out the growing thrum of a headache. He needed to get some rest before their exhausting day.
First, they would need to be fitted in their stage outfits, and then their makeup artist would try new looks on them. After- cane mic check and then dress rehearsal. This was one of those rare days where they didn’t actually have an audience during their dress rehearsal, which brought little relief to Hyunjin.
If he could live through this, and then the concert tomorrow, he was home free for the next week with a light schedule of only interviews and one variety show that he and Bang Chan were invited to.
The others in the car all talked in low tones, both because they all were tired and needed a break, and to not wake Hyunjin from his light sleep.
“…Change the choreography here for your back…”
“…or….we could…”
“That’s…good idea… ask Minho.”
These days before a concert we’re always the longest most existing ones. Oftentimes, Hyunjin got jittery and anxious through it all despite Jisung’s advice of breathing tips and tricks.
The company car suddenly hit a bump in the road, and Hyunjin made a startled noise as his cheek painfully hit the window. He scrunched his eyebrows in silent complaint as he tried to get comfortable once again against the glass, but the car only hit another bumpy street and then halted once they reached traffic.
“Here,” Felix gently pulled Hyunjin closer to him with one hand on his head, letting him rest on his shoulder. Hyunjin unconsciously shuffled closer to soak up his warmth and let his scent of a bakery lull him back to sleep.
It was a stronger smell than normal, but Hyunjin was too tired to linger on exactly why that was. Maybe Felix’s heat was approaching, Hyunjin hadn’t checked their shared calendar that kept track of their cycles in a while.
When Hyunjin dreamed, it was hazy and full of obscure figures. One thing that lingered in the back of his mind was the piercing blue eyes of a snowy white wolf that seemed to follow him wherever he went.
When Hyunjin woke up, it was with a startled gasp as Felix shook his shoulder. “Mmm?” He croaked and curled in on himself, since the pain in his stomach increased tenfold ever since he drifted off to sleep. The car was stopped and the front doors were open- outside, Hyunjin could hear the screaming of the crowd. They had arrived.
Felix looked down at him with concern knitting his eyebrows together, his hand still cupping Hyunjin’s neck. “You still feel warm, Hyunjin-ah…”
“Mhm,” Hyunjin agreed sluggishly. His head was stuffy and his belly ached even worse from before, but he sat up anyway and blinked himself awake as he brushed Felix off. He would be fine. “Just a little hay fever.”
“Hay fever that affects your stomach?” Felix asked with a pointed eyebrow, gesturing to where Hyunjin had his arms wrapped around himself.
“I’m okay,” he repeated like a mantra, and no matter how much he repeated it- both he and Felix knew that it wasn’t true. Though, it wasn’t like Hyunjin could just take a sick day. Felix knew this, too, because he didn’t protest further and helped Hyunjin step out of the car.
It was a relatively dreary day with rain drops falling lightly from the grey clouds, so Hyunjin pulled his hood up as he stumbled out of the car. The second company car in front of them was being unloaded by the second half of their group.
They were shepherded by security alongside the back entrance of the large stadium that they would perform at. There were already fans starting to swarm them the moment that they all started to walk as a unit. Their piercing shouts hurt his ears and the flashing cameras sent stabs of pain from his eyelids all the way to his fingertips.
“Hyunjin-ah!” One particularly loud fan squealed, loud and shrill, and while Hyunjin wouldn’t normally find the person and shoot them a small smile- he couldn’t muster the energy to look up from his shoes. One step after another. Left foot, right foot.
When a car horn from the street honked, Hyunjin couldn’t help but whimper and cover his ears, stumbling over his own feet to try and steady himself.
“Hyunjin?” He could hear the concern radiating off of their pack alphas voice- but Hyunjin couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth and reply because his tongue felt heavy, like it was surrounded by cotton. He couldn’t talk, even if he wanted to.
Another fan- maybe even the same one from before, shouted “Hyunjin-ah!” Once again, Hyunjin couldn’t hold back the flinch, shaking with the overstimulation of it all. Everything was too loud and too bright and the smells around him were too harsh- even his comfortable hoodie felt itchy against his skin.
“Come here- let’s get you inside,” Chan pulled Hyunjin close to his side, and his familiar pine scent with an undercut of mint instantly calmed Hyunjin down as he supported him and helped him along. Another body settled in on Hyunjin’s other side- Changbin, judging by his clinginess and the rest of the pack formed an outer circle around them to shield him until they reached the doorway.
It was a narrow entrance that led straight to stairs, so they had to squeeze through in pairs. Stairs were a bit hard for Hyunjin’s clumsy feet to navigate- especially when he couldn’t even feel his toes- but Chan kept a strong grip on him and they moved slowly at the back of the group.
Even when they reached a larger hallway, Chan continued to help guide him as they followed a worker with a clipboard and a headset on. She must have introduced herself at some point, but Hyunjin missed it.
The worker led them to their lounge room, and Hyunjun kept his eyes on the floor and his own feet, forcing his legs to move one after another. He was sure that if he didn’t, he would have tripped and fell on his face by now.
Chan’s arm remained fastened around him like a seatbelt that had been buckled too tight, and Hyunjin hardly even recognized when they entered a room with their own privacy until the two alphas helped settle him down onto the couch- Chan with a hand looped on his waist and Changbin with a strong grasp on his elbow.
“Hyunjinnie- hey,” Chan readjusted himself so that he was crouching down in front of Hyunjin, carving out a space for him between his long legs. “Baby, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Hyunjin couldn’t stand to look at Chan’s big worried eyes, so he avoided eye contact and looked down at his own shaking hands.
“Hyunjin?” He asked again, this time impossibly gentle. As an answer, Hyunjun shook his head and bit his bottom lip, willing the tears away. What a bad package he was- making their leader worry. Why was he so sensitive today?
A keening sound bubbled past Hyunjin’s lips, no matter how hard he tried to stop it, and Changbin rubbed his back between the shoulder blades, trying to release soothing pheromones. Chan cupped Hyunjin’s face much like Felix did earlier to check his temperature, and caressed his cheekbones.
“Hey Jinnie. I need you to breathe with me. Can you do that?” He asked calmingly, and Hyunjin didn’t even realize that he hadn’t been breathing properly until Chan mentioned it. He nodded, trying his best to take shaky breaths as his ears rang, and his head buzzed, and his vision blurred, and-
Chan took Hyunjin’s hand and placed it on his chest as he took deep exaggerated breaths in and out. For a long moment, Hyunjin struggled to follow along, but eventually, he got the hang of it.
Once he did, his body felt like a wet noodle and he leaned to the side against Changbin with an exhausted sigh as Chan continued to massage his cold hands in his own warm ones.
The alpha made a sympathetic noise as he let Hyunjin lounge on him. Hyunjin could always trust Changbin to hand out free cuddles- even if there were no cuddles quite like the ones from his Chan Hyung. When Changbin held him, he felt secure and warm- when Chan held him, he felt like glass ready to fracture, and when he whispered “shatter” it was okay to fall apart as he hid from the world in his hyungs arms.
“Here, drink water.” Minho passed him a water bottle from the mini fridge situated in the corner of the room. He was a little more demanding than Felix from earlier- but Hyunjin knew that it was only out of worry. It was how he showed that he cared.
Hyunjin struggled to uncap the bottle with shaky fingers, and Chan eventually had mercy on him as he reached up to uncap it for him. “What caused your attack?” He asked as Hyunjin took a swig of the water.
“I… I got overwhelmed,” Hyunjin answered once he finally regained his composure.
In the background, the others began to do their stretches to prepare their bodies- done having separate conversations while others remained focused with their headphones on. Hyunjin wished to join them- but he hadn’t yet regained his legs from under him enough to just get up and pretend like nothing happened.
Now that the adrenaline was no longer thrumming through his veins, he felt spent and his previous symptoms that he experienced earlier in the morning were catching up to him- this time, doubled.
They remained silent for a few more moments as Hyunjin finished off his water bottle like a parched man in the desert. He didn’t miss the way that Chan’s eyes lingered on his lips when they wrapped around the bottle opening, but his head hurt too much to ponder over why.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night. That must have been why.” It was a lie- Hyunjin slept like a rock as he always did- but he didn’t want to cause anymore unnecessary worry.
“If that’s the case, then lay on the couch and get some sleep. The rest of us will get fitted and styled first . You’ll go last.” Chan said, but Hyunjin knew that it was an order, so he didn’t even bother to argue that he was okay.
“Okay, Chan Hyung.”
They needed to get their stage outfits adjusted, their hair styled, and then their makeup done. It would take at least a few hours, so Hyunjin curled up under the offered jackets of Chan and Changbin.
But something didn’t feel right as he shuffled around to try and get comfortable on the cloth couch. Something was missing. Hyunjin whined a little to himself, and he instinctively reached out to grab the cloth that he desired with half lidded eyes. When he tugged on the sleeve of the jacket, Jisung looked down.
“Oh, you want this?” He asked, a bit perplexed because it wasn’t characteristic of Hyunjin to be a clothes stealer. That was more of a Felix trait. Hyunjin nodded into his cushion (Changbin’s jacket) suddenly feeling a bit vulnerable. Luckily, Jisung seemed to understand because he easily slipped off the hoodie, “here you go, Jinnie. Yah- so needy today,” he joked fondly.
The comment went right over Hyunjin’s head because the moment that the prize was in his possession, he immediately shoved his face into it. Jisung wiggled his eyebrows conspiringly, “should I go steal the others' jackets too?”
Hyunjin gave him a thumbs up from under his new blanket, and soon enough, everyone in the room forked over their hoodies and jackets. Thankfully it was winter outside. Now, he had the perfect blend around him and he could sleep easy.
His breathing evened out quicker than ever.
Hyunjin, for the next couple of hours, faded in and out of sleep.
He woke up with their backstage crew knocking loudly at the door to flutter around the room and set up.
He woke up to Changbin caressing his hair and saying- “look at how sleepy and cute our Hyunjin-ah is!” Hyunjun would have whined at him and maybe even gave him the finger if the talker camera wasn’t currently recording him, so instead he smiled sleepily and then buried his face back into the hoodie.
The third time he woke up was when Minho nudged him awake to drink some more water and chew on some sweet fruit.
The fourth time, he sneezed when he felt the texture of fabric brush against his nose.
The final time was when a worried looking Jeongin gently shoved him awake. Apparently, he’d been trying to wake him up for a while because he breathed out a small “finally.” Hyunjin blinked the stars from his vision so that he could clearly see the youngest alpha.
“G’mornin.”
“The hair and makeup noonas managed to work on you while you were asleep,” Jeongin informed- that explained why Hyunjin’s face felt cakey with makeup. “Now you have to get fit for your state outfit.”
As Hyunjin blearily looked across the room, he could see that the others all looked dressed and ready to go. They must have waited for the last possible moment to drag him from his sleep. Drool gathered along his bottom lip, and Hyunjin wiped it with the back of his wrist as he sat up on the couch.
He hoped that it didn’t mess up his makeup.
Hyunjin forced his body to stand up and ignored the vertigo as he shuffled over to the curtains that sectioned off the room to form a makeshift changing area. It wasn’t like they needed one anyway, with how close they all were- but there was a matter of privacy if a crew member decided to come in unannounced. It had happened before.
He felt like he was underwater and that time flowed like molasses as Hyunjin’s stylist took his updated measurements and passed along different clothes for him to try on. Finally- they decided on leather pants, a tight fitted red and black racer shirt to match his hair, with gloves and boots.
Hyunjin would have enjoyed the look even more and maybe even taken a few selfies for stay if he didn’t feel so miserable. By now- he was one hundred percent sure that he had at the very least a low grade fever.
He just needed to make it through the rest of the day, and then the concert tomorrow- and he would be fine. He could lounge around and relax for as long as he wanted and maybe Felix would even make him a batch of brownies.
By the time Hyunjin exited the curtain, another twenty minutes had passed and he could feel the energy in the room slowly ramping up. Despite it being just a dress rehearsal with no audience aside from the camera crew- they got just as hyped as if it was a real performance.
‘Practice like you perform’ Chan had told them, and they all took it to heart.
Jisung let out a low whistle as he turned to take in Hyunjin’s look. “Wow, you look so good that I could just eat you up.”
‘Like you tried to do this morning?’ Hyunjin wanted to say- but then was distracted by a hot scent, so spicy that his nose twitched. He could feel a heavy gaze on him.
Hyunjin squirmed as he looked around, and as soon as he met eyes with Chan, the alpha immediately clamped a hand over the lower half of his face. “I need to use the bathroom,” he choked out, and then quickly exited the room as if fire was licking at his heels.
They all blinked in surprise, glancing at one another questioning. Seungmin looked at Hyunjin, and then back to the door that Chan had just left from. “Interesting…”
Hyunjin didn’t have the brain capacity to ask what the even meant. He swayed on his feet a little, and Minho led him back to sit down on the couch. He closed his eyes once again, more exhausted than he’d ever felt in his entire life, and allowed Felix to feed him small finger foods until their state time closed in.
Minho let stretches and Hyunjin tried his best to follow along, but when he bent down to touch his toes, his stomach churned uncomfortably. “I need to take a walk for some fresh air,” he mumbled lightly, straightening himself.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Changbin immediately offered, perking up from his butterfly position. Hyunjin would have to interrupt his butterfly.
“No… I think I need some guns for myself,” he answered, feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything. For some reason, he could feel, hear, see, and smell every little thing. His skin buzzed.
Hyunjin used the wall to support himself as he shuffled down the empty hallway. All of the other staff must have been getting the stage ready and perfect. When he neared the restroom- that was when he spotted Chan on his way back, exiting the men’s room.
Hyunjin noticed that something was… off about him.
He was sweating more than normal, and his hair- long and white colored with red tips- was ruffled. Not in the stylish way that it had been beforehand. He panted raggedly, so loud that it echoed throughout the empty hallway.
“Chan Hyung?” Hyunjin asked tentatively, “are you… are you okay?” He hoped that he didn’t get him sick, too.
Suddenly, a powerful smell hit him- so heavy that Hyunjin doubled over and covered his nose. Since when could he smell so well?
“Hyun…Jin…” a low rumble left the alphas chest, and when Hyunjin looked up from his bent over position- he could see that Chan’s eyes were blown wide. His irises were hardly visible, small rings around the blackness of his pupils.
The hairs on the back of Hyunjin’s neck stood up, but he couldn’t bring himself to move, not when Chan had a gleam of desperation in his eyes. Like he needed Hyunjin, and if he didn’t touch him at that very moment, then he would die.
The alpha stumbled forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Hyunjin’s waist, burying his face into his neck to nuzzle against and scent very adamantly.
“Channie Hyung, what’s wrong?” Hyunjin held his hyung tightly by the shoulders to steady him as his hands tightened even further, his thumb and pointer fingers nearly touching around the circumference of him.
Chan made a noise from the back of his throat like a pained whimper, and Hyunjin could feel the heat radiating off of his face from where it was hidden in his neck. “Channie Hyung, are you okay? You feel a bit hot. Are you feverish?” Were they both sick?
“Mm, you smell so good,” one of Chan's large hands traveled up between his shoulder blades and the other snuck down down down to cup his ass cheek and squeeze.
Hyunjin couldn’t help the surprised squeal that left his mouth, which only seemed to urge Chan even more.
“Mmm,” He let out an audible moan and Hyunjin could feel the alphas sharp teeth scraping across his scent gland. Hyunjin’s knees felt weak as Chan leaned his weight toward, forcing them against a wall.
Even with his movements, Hyunjin could sense the pain that he was in. He wouldn’t be acting this way if he wasn’t hurting. Unsure of what else to do, he ran a soothing hand through Chan’s ruffled hair and gently kissed his forehead. “Shhh. It’s okay, Hyungie, I promise. I’m here.”
Chan had made out on that couch and bed and even in the studio on many occasions (even if the two of them had never taken it any further- at least, not yet.) but he had never seen Chan like this before…
Rut?! He realized, right when he felt Chan’s hardness run against his thigh as he licked at Hyunjin’s neck to lavish it like he was a full course meal.
This had to be his rut.
Hyunjin generally had never seen any of the alphas in their pack during their rut- since they all lived separately. He stayed away while Felix and Jisung would help them. He knew that realistically he could have gone with him, but he felt unneeded during those times, as the only unpresented one in their pack.
During the week that one of the alphas was in rut, they would stay at the alphas dorm and Hyunjin would lock himself away in his room and paint to pretend that he wasn’t emotional about it as he drowned his sorrows away.
And now, he had an armful of their pack alpha mid rut.
A wave of heat and arousal rushed over Hyunjin, but he pushed that aside because Chan was shaking apart in his arms. He could feel the alphas drool collecting at his collarbone. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m going to figure this out,” he said, even if he had no idea what he was doing.
Hyunjin tried to keep his thoughts straight. But it was impossible when Chan pressed even further against him and squeezed his hips.
It was instinctive for him to bare his neck to Chan, so he did. “Alpha,” he panted lowly under his breath and leaned his head back against the wall when Chan nipped at a particularly sensitive area of his swollen and teased scent gland.
In the distance- just around the corner of the hallways- he could hear “stray kids dress rehearsal in five minutes! Be ready!”
Shit.
They certainly wouldn’t be ready anytime soon. The crew would start to come down the hallway at any time and a surge of protectiveness washed over Hyunjin because no one besides his pack should get to see his hyung like this.
He could drag Chan back to the restroom… Hyunjin's muddled thoughts and attempts were thwarted when Chan interlocked their hands and pressed them on either side of Hyunjin’s head, moving even further down his neck.
The deep rumbling sound that Chan made from his chest continued, so disarming and relaxing that it made Hyunjin fall into a dreamlike state.
Distantly, he knew that he couldn’t afford this. He couldn’t afford to get scent drunk like this because then he wouldn’t even be able to form a coherent sentence for the rest of the day let alone perform.
Yet- Hyunjin couldn’t stop Chan. He didn’t want to stop Chan. He wanted to pull the alpha even closer until they merged as one.
Hyunjin had only been scent drunk once before, when he had a panic attack and the alphas had to help bring him down by relaxing him- but this was a thousand times better because Chan’s hands were wandering and roaming to grope desperately at whatever he could and Hyunjin couldn’t help but eagerly press himself into his contact.
And just when the situation couldn’t possibly get any worse-
“Hyunjin-ah? Chan Hyung?” He heard a familiar voice call down the hallway. His sensitive ears could hear footsteps approach, turn the corner, and then stop dead in their tracks.
“Uhh- guys?” Jisung sounded choked off, once he noticed the two of them. “We can’t be doing this right now! Our stage is in just a few minutes-“
When Jisung took a step closer to them, Hyunjin couldn’t help it. Like rolling thunder, he immediately growled and flashed his sharp canines- his growl, for some reason, didn’t sound nearly as puny as it usually did in comparison to the others.
He snapped at Jisung with his teeth when he tried to reach out, nearly missing his fingertips, “holy shit!” Jisung stumbled away, his scent spiking into panic.
Hyunjin pulled Chan impossibly close to him.
No one could touch him.
Chan was his.
His alpha.
No one could see him but Hyunjin.
Somehow, a new smell bloomed in the room, wafting heavily down the halls and through the entire building like a thick fog. It smelled like a flower shop. Like fresh acrylic paints on a canvas.
Hyunjin distantly wondered who such a scent was coming from, but was too focused on keeping his arms wrapped around Chan’s neck as he glared over his shoulder at the intruder to care. His brain was foggy and he could feel sweat drip down his neck.
A very small part of his brain told him- ‘It’s just Jisung.’ But the much larger, animalistic part screamed ‘mine.’
“Uhh… guys?!” Jisung called out, voice tipped up an octave with panic. “We have a situation!”
“What kind of situation?” Someone asked, and Hyunjin whimpered when he could hear more footsteps and smell even more overwhelming scents cloud his head.
“The bad kind!”
“You’re going to have to be more specific-“ Minho stopped right by Jisung, inhaling sharply. “Oh.”
“Chan’s in rut and Hyunjins took him hostage!”
Just then, Felix pushed past Jisung to sniff at the air. He looked panicked, but a proud frazzled little smile also broke across his face like the sunshine on a cloudy day. “That smell… Hyunjin’s presenting!”
It was only too late did he realize that Chan hadn’t been growling. Hyunjin had been purring the entire time.