Chapter Text
“Wake the fuck up!”
Cold water hit Jungkook like a slap to the face.
He had no time to experience the typical grogginess of waking up in the morning, instead going straight into full alertness. Eyes blown wide, he hunkered down on himself, coughing and forcing himself to hack out the water. He attempted to make himself smaller, and tried backing into the corner, but to no avail.
Like always.
His wrists were yanked away from his face, and he was forced to stand by the alpha who had thrown water at him. A small whimper involuntarily made its way out of Jungkook’s mouth, and he was promptly given a blow to the chest.
“Shut your little mouth, whore,” the alpha spat out, tightening his grip on the boy’s wrists and hip. “The Head Alpha isn’t in a good mood today, so you best be on your best behavior, ‘less you want to be beaten again.”
He pulled Jungkook out of the dirty dwelling, not caring that the young wolf was barely walking on shaking legs.
Jungkook wanted to cry.
He wasn’t ready to go back again so soon.
He wasn’t sure if he could handle it, his entire body still sore and covered in bruises from yesterday’s endeavors. The alpha held him in a bruising grip, and Jungkook wouldn’t be surprised if he had a few more bruises by the time they reached the Head Alpha’s home.
Shivers wracked his entire body, and Jungkook kept in his whimpers. But he was sore and so so cold. It was early in the morning, the dim light casting a grey cast over the land. It allowed him to see that barely anyone was out, except for the ones tending to the crops out in the fields.
Autumn was almost upon them, cold, sharp winds slicing through the trees, making the leaves and his teeth chatter. The ground wasn’t much better on his bare feet, sapping away at any of the warmth Jungkook might have had before. His tattered blouse did little to protect him against the frigid air, and he wondered if maybe he could ask for a new one.
The thought made him want to laugh. Almost.
By the time they made it to their destination, the alpha was basically dragging him into the threshold, Jungkook limping. When he was thrown to the ground, he fought to remain still, not wanting to be stricken. He heard the alpha walk away, wood creaking, likely to get the Head.
Once Jungkook deemed him far away enough, he took in sharp, shuddering breaths, trying to calm his nerves. But as soon as a singular tear managed to escape, the flood gates opened.
Tears streamed down his face, and no matter how many times he wiped at his eyes, there always seemed to be more. Jungkook’s body was shaking, though he wasn’t sure from what. It might have been from the crying. Maybe it was from the cold, the pain, or maybe from the fear.
Or, perhaps it was a mixture of everything.
Despite his crying, he kept silent. Being anything other than silent would only end with him having to endure something more deserving of his tears.
He had been enduring this for so long, yet his traitorous body couldn’t seem to learn.
His tears eventually stopped, thankfully, but he was left weakened, shivers enveloping his body. He stiffened, however, when he heard footsteps and familiar voices. The wolf had returned with the Head Alpha.
And by the moon, was the Head furious.
“Into the bathing room, now,” he growled out, frustration veiled thinly.
When Jungkook struggled to get up from the floor, the Head Alpha pulled him up by the boy’s hair and brought him close to his face. Warm and rancid breath hit Jungkook’s tear and dirt covered face, only adding to his discomfort.
The alpha's eyes were blazing a deeply saturated red, and that was when Jungkook realized that today would not be a good day.
“Did you not. Understand. My request?” the alpha hissed between clenched teeth, pulling the younger’s head backwards. Jungkook could only nod his head, throat tight. The alpha pulled his hair tighter and slapped him across the face, and Jungkook fought to not whimper. The skin of his tender cheek was stinging, but Jungkook knew it would not leave a bruise.
He hasn’t been hit hard enough, and the alpha liked to keep Jungkook’s face free of scars and bruises, after all.
“Answer me. Correctly.”
“U-understood, Alpha.”
“Good. Now do as I said,” the Head Alpha muttered, releasing Jungkook, who fell to the ground in a heap. Jungkook quickly scrambled to his feet, albeit shakily, and was about to head off down to the bathing room when the old man grabbed him again.
His eyes looked Jungkook up and down with a burning stare.
Jungkook felt like throwing up.
“I’ll be back later. Don’t leave the room until then.” Then, almost like a switch had been flipped, the Head Alpha smiled. However, his smile did not match the look in his eyes, which were still an angry red and laced with something all too familiar to Jungkook. “Understood?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
***
Jungkook set the tray with the empty bowl and chopsticks on the floor just outside the bedroom door, having just finished the food he was given. The betas would come and take the plates away eventually.
He closed the door behind him and walked to the large bed at the center of the room, sitting at the edge of it and looked around the room.
The Head Alpha’s house was very nice, albeit small. Their pack in general was small, but that did not stop the Alpha from having a luxurious home. A wooden structure with multiple rooms and proper insulation, it was much grander than any other dwelling in the village. The comparison between the Head Alpha’s home and Jungkook’s was laughable.
Jungkook lived in the slums of the village, if it could even be called a part of the village. In reality, his floor was but the humble earth, with four crumbling walls barely standing, and a torn fur acting as a supposed door.
At least his roof didn’t leak when it rained.
He picked at his fingers, which were no longer covered in dirt and blood. In fact, he was completely free of any grime on his body. Though, it was to be expected. Jungkook had gone to the bathing room as instructed, where two female betas had been waiting for him. They pulled him into a tub full of water, where they scrubbed and scrubbed until the water was full of substances Jungkook rather not name.
The first few times Jungkook had ever gone through the now familiar routine, he had cried and begged the betas to help him, but he’d been answered with silence and more pampering. At first, Jungkook had chalked it off as the betas being too afraid to go against the Head Alpha’s orders, fearful of being reprimanded.
After all, wouldn’t that be the appropriate response?
But soon enough, Jungkook realized that that was not the case. The hands that bathed and robed him were not those of comfort, but those of envious ones. Their eyes were filled with hate, and for what, Jungkook did not know.
Eventually, he stopped trying to talk to them.
The betas had taken a long time covering his body in something similar to a paint, a type of makeup, to cover the blues and purples blooming across his skin. So much work to cover these marks, but Jungkook knew that by tomorrow, the makeup would have by then faded away to reveal new marks.
He sighed, playing with his hair and gown. His hair reached just under the tip of his nose, curling as it dried. His lips were painted as well, a blazing scarlet, Jungkook had come to learn, after dabbing at his lips with his fingertips, the vivid color staining his skin.
The robes were delicate and intricately embroidered with flowers, a large ribbon tied around his small waist. They were flowing, and oh so comfortable. Nothing compared to his usual attire.
He would have loved the pampering and dressing up, if not for what it entailed.
Jungkook sighed again, and appreciated the time he had before the Head Alpha would return. One never knew when the alpha would come, as Jungkook had come to learn over the course of many years.
Sometimes, he would return within the hour after leaving. Other times, he returned when the sun was beginning to set. Jungkook was happiest with whatever amount of free time he had before the alpha’s return. Though, every time he came back, it all ended in the same way.
But today was different. It was already dark outside when the alpha returned, slamming the front door closed upon entering.
The older man was in an even worse mood than when he had left that morning.
Jungkook didn’t know what to think as he quickly came to the floor on his knees next to the bed, head bowed down to the ground to not further aggravate the alpha.
Angry talking could be heard from the alpha as he came closer to the bedroom. Then, the door was flung open, and in came the raging beast. His muttering was only slightly discernible, and the few words that Jungkook managed to catch made no apparent or obvious sense.
“Bastards… one day’s time… hide him… fucking Kim’s…”
He was breathing hard when he finally seemed to remember that he wasn’t alone in the room. His eyes flitted to Jungkook’s bent figure, and, without even a word, gripped Jungkook’s arm and pulled him up from the ground.
Jungkook hadn’t been expecting the alpha to grab him so suddenly, and couldn’t control the gasp of pain that escaped him, immediately wanting to sob when he realized he had messed up.
The alpha liked him quiet.
Things always got worse if he made a noise out of turn.
And… he was right.
Jungkook was thrown to the bed, Head Alpha undressing in mere seconds. Jungkook felt knots in his stomach, and a loud pounding noise as the… the beast mounted him.
A large hand quickly wrapped around his neck, the other going down to undo the ribbon at Jungkook’s waist. The only thing that Jungkook could do was chokingly gasp and writhe beneath him.
His movements only further angered the alpha.
“If you weren’t so damn difficult every time, it wouldn’t have to hurt every time,” he growled, further pressing his fingers into his neck. “I just want you to be an easy fuck that doesn’t make a fucking sound. Is that so hard to understand?!”
With that, he released his vice-like grip on Jungkook’s neck. Tears sprung in his eyes as he coughed and wheezed, trying to gain his breath back. For a moment, for just a pathetic moment, he felt relieved in that instance to breath. But it was fleeting moment, cut short when the alpha finally managed to untie Jungkook’s robes.
And.
This was it.
What it all came down to.
Please. I can’t go on like this anymore. I-I, I can’t.
Jungkook cried.
And he cried the entire time.