cassiopeia ꒱ markhyuck

twelve

Mark came by Donghyuck's bedroom the morning after the incident, to check on him as well as to fill him in on what the guards had gathered from their investigation in the gardens. The first thing the king had done was put his hand on Donghyuck's shoulder and ask him if he had any pain show up, or if he was still troubled mentally. Donghyuck had blushed up to his ears and Renjun had done a poor job of concealing his giggles behind the palm of his hand.

Once he confirmed that Donghyuck wasn't in pain, and that he had recovered a lot mentally after a good night's rest, Mark then moved on to relaying what the guards had uncovered.

"Whoever it was that shot the arrow... they must have left as soon as they saw it didn't hit you, because they slipped away before the guards closed off the area. They only left two things behind... a second arrow, that I'm sure they planned to use on me if you had been successfully killed with the first one, and a bandanna with the symbol of the Red Moon embroidered into it."

Donghyuck shivered, hugging his arms around his chest and looking up at Mark. "So it was the alpha gang? They tried to kill me because I'm an omega?"

"That appears to be the case," Mark sighed, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. "We don't know how they even found out about you, we tried to keep your existence as confidential as possible for this very reason. There are rumors circulating of a mole in the palace."

"A mole? You mean a spy?" Donghyuck cried, eyes widening in alarm, "you think someone in the palace is working with the Red Moon?"

"We don't know anything for sure. But it would explain how they knew to target you, and how they knew you were in the garden at that specific time," Mark sighed heavily. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked like he had barely slept the night before. Donghyuck wondered if he had stayed up late into the night in order to talk with the guards and help with the investigation.

"I can't imagine who would possibly do such a thing. Especially knowing what trouble the former king had with trying to stop the omega's extinction, and seeing how that negatively impacted the kingdom," Renjun murmured. Mark looked his way, and for a split second Donghyuck was worried that the king might punish Renjun for speaking out of turn, but then Mark was nodding along agreeably.

"My thoughts exactly. It's hard for me to imagine anyone in my staff betraying me in such a way... especially since I've known most of them since I was very young."

"Well first, I think you can rule out all the betas," Donghyuck piped up, "I can't imagine why a beta would willingly help a gang that's aiming for total alpha supremacy, because with the omegas gone that just leaves betas at the bottom of the food chain. If there's a spy, it has to be an alpha."

Mark turned to him and gave him a small smile. "You're probably right, Donghyuck. For now, don't interact with any alphas that aren't in John's arsenal. I'll reorganize your guards so that they only include John and his direct subordinates, because those are the only soldiers I can completely trust."

Donghyuck nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. "Okay."

"I'll work tirelessly to make sure I find whoever is behind this. I don't want you to worry yourself over these matters... I promise you I'll take care of it."

Mark's gaze was burning with sincerity and determination as he stared down at Donghyuck. The brunette felt heat crawl up the back of his neck in response.

"I, um... I'll guess I'll leave it to you, then."

Mark nodded again, hesitating for a second like he had more to say. Donghyuck just stared at him expectantly, shifting in anticipation. After a long moment, Mark finally inhaled a deep breath and looked away.