Chapter Text
Sometimes, fate could be incredibly cruel: that’s what Olive had come to learn. A traditional, high class family of purebred alphas and 18 years of hell had taught her that.
The only omega on her family tree— ever— and her parents made sure she knew it.
Years of relentless torture, exposure, and conditioning had taught her the ways of life: you speak when you’re spoken to; the only purpose of an omega was to please an alpha, and, eventually, be mated by one.
Time and time again, she’d seen betas and “traitor” omegas exiled for going against her father’s strict rules. In his mind, an alpha was never at fault; so, for all of her life, all Olive had known was that she was nothing if she wasn’t of service to an alpha.
And tomorrow, finally, she would be of service.
For the last 18 years, she’d dreaded this day. Tomorrow would mark the 19th year that the cruelness of society had reared its ugly head at her.
Everything was going to end— every shred of freedom she ever felt like she had, ripped from her hands.
As the daughter of the pack alpha, there were certain expectations on Olive’s shoulders— the largest one? Her betrothal to another alpha, who’d command her life from there on out.
God, she had never wanted something less.
But what could she do? She didn’t have free access to her own home, rather, her bedroom door locked from the outside.
She was so mad at the world, but she was, moreso, terrified.
She knew all her life that the first chance she had to run, she’d take it.
But what a coincidence that it presented itself on the eve of her 19th birthday, the day before the end of her life as she knew it.
Her brother had unlocked her room around dinner time that night as he did every other day. She supposed she could give her family the credit of at least giving her dinner each day— but breakfast and lunch? Those were essentially unnatural to her. The portions of dinner she did receive were sparse, but at least it was food, right?
It was her father’s belief that an omega should be small in stature and submissive in nature, so that’s how she’d always been.
Later, when she retreated to her room following the meal (which, really, was hardly a meal), her brother wasn’t with her like he usually was. At first, she didn’t think much of that: it was a nice break from his agitating voice and his overly inflated ego.
But then, something dawned on her when she closed the door and didn’t immediately hear the harsh turn of a key.
Was that it? One momentary lapse in judgement from her brother; one moment without surveillance, and she could just run? She’d mapped her escape for years, she knew exactly how she’d do it— nobody would catch her. But was the world out there any better?
She’d never left her pack before, so what if this was as good as it got?
If she thought that way, she’d never be free.
And suddenly, she was running: hiding behind corners, tiptoeing across hallways, and always checking over her shoulder.
It took Olive 37 seconds to make it out the front door. Was it always that easy? She couldn’t think for much longer, because the second her feet touched the grass, she tore off running.
Leaves and twigs scratched at her feet, but she didn’t care. Her hands flew into the air, and her nightgown waved behind her.
Gods, she was finally fucking free.
Yes, she was free, but she had nowhere to go. Nothing but the clothes on her back and absolutely no idea how the world worked.
And, oh my god, there were two piercing, golden eyes glowing in the bush in front of her, looking at her.
If she were anybody else, a scream would’ve torn through her throat. If she were anybody else, she’d fight back, she’d try to save her life.
But she was used to this: cruel alphas wanting their way, and her being forced to submit to them. All Olive could bring herself to do was walk herself backward toward a tree as she cried– something to steady herself, at least.
The wolf was coming toward her, closer by the second. His eyes were ferocious and his breath was… hot, to say the least.
His jaw opened as he finally came to stand in front of her. Olive's eyes scrunched closed, and she lowered herself into a crouch on the ground, further guarding herself.
Now, she was face to face with this alpha, just waiting for him to seal her fate.
But no bite ever came, no scratch on her cheek, not even the touch of a paw. There was no life changing altercation— just silence.
And then, rustles, growling, and fighting.
Confused, she opened her tear-glued eyes.
In front of her now was a large, grey wolf, much larger than the one who’d approached her before. He tore at the black wolf below him, relentlessly growling and biting at him until he retreated to where he’d come from with a limp.
All the while, Olive sat on the ground heavily disturbed, her hands still trembling in the air before her where they’d moved as she revealed the fight between the wolves to herself. Her knees were still flush against her chest.
The grey wolf slowly shifted back to his human presentation, and she quickly became aware that the appearance of her face at present was less than flattering.
As she righted herself, his hand presented itself in front of her, and she looked up to meet dark, yet sparkling eyes.
“Are you alright?” He asked, pulling her up and immediately bringing his hand to wipe a stray tear from her cheek. To this, she flinched, but quickly settled. It was funny, really: he’d just torn that alpha to shreds, and now, he was concerned about her well-being?
“I should be asking you that question,” she laughed softly as she reached to drag her hands over her face.
She didn’t have much time to look at him, or even thank him for his help, because just then, someone shouted from the woods around them.
“Chan!!”
Olive flinched again, and the alpha pulled her behind him. Typically , she’d be scared or uncomfortable in this situation, but something about him, specifically, drew her in.
A man around his height emerged from the trees with another, taller man in tow.
3RD POV.
In all honesty, Chan had no idea how he’d gotten into this scenario.
He’d been out on a nightly patrol of his pack’s grounds with his second, Minho, and the pack’s doctor, Hyunjin, when all of the sudden he heard faint whimpering, and the smell of a distressed omega filled his nose.
Before he could process anything at all, or tell his pack mates where he was going, he was springing into action.
So, he guessed, that's how he’d gotten here: with a distressed, but safe omega hiding behind him, and his packmates in front of him sharing looks of confusion and concern. And he didn’t regret a thing.
From where his packmates stood, he was sure that they could not see the girl hiding behind their pack alpha.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Minho shouted, his arm a barrier between his beta and alpha.
“We were scared, Channie,” Hyunjin whined. At the broken look on his beta’s face, Chan nearly collapsed. The last thing he ever wanted was for his pack to worry over him— that was his job.
“I’m fine, I just,” he paused, trying to phrase his words adequately. He didn’t want to expose the omega to a situation that could leave her unsettled and uncomfortable, but he knew he had to tell his pack, and he knew them well enough to know that they’d never do anything to hurt an innocent human being. “Someone needed some help,” he concluded, stepping to the side just enough so his packmates could see the girl, while still keeping her sheltered behind him.
The sight that met Minho and Hyunjin was… heartbreaking to say the least.
A girl, probably freshly legal, stood battered, bruised, and shaken, in nothing but a nightgown that left little to the imagination. Suddenly, it made all the sense in the world why their alpha had run off so fast— it was in his nature.
“Hyung? Who is this?” Hyunjin asked, rushing forward to examine her for any injuries.
The girl flinched momentarily, but quickly settled, sensing that the beta was not a threat to her.
Before Chan could answer, she spoke, “I’m Olive.”
“Hi, Olive,” Hyunjin said, looking down at her with a soothing smile, “I’m Hyunjin, or Jinnie. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m okay,” Olive said, “he helped me,” she raised her hand in a loose gesture toward Chan, and he took that as his chance to provide some context.
“There was an alpha,” he added, and that seemed to be enough to clue his pack in on the situation.
“I’ll call Changbin and ask him to send everyone to their rooms,” Minho said, turning away from the conversation to make the call in question.
All the while Hyunjin was soothing Olive, brushing hair out of her face and making cheeky, teasing remarks to cheer her up. It seemed to work, as soon, Chan became entranced by the small smile that crossed her lips.
“What did he mean,” she asked, leaving the question hanging for either of them to answer, “about sending people to their rooms?”
“Well, we’d like you to come to our pack house for the night, just to make sure you’re safe. We can decide where to go from there in the morning,” Chan said, moving to stand with the duo so he could address the girl directly.
Olive had to admit, the idea of a bed to sleep in with doors that locked for her rather than against her sounded quite enticing. But she didn’t know these men, and she’d already taken enough of their kindness.
“Oh, I really couldn’t ask you to do that-” Olive started.
“Too late,” Minho interjected, approaching the group whilst shoving his phone into his front pocket. “I already made the call, so you’re stuck with us for the night.”
Suddenly, Hyunjin’s arm was lacing through hers, and with a wink her way, he cheered,
“Come on, Livie!”
So off they went.