𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐆𝐀 || 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐍

Soonyoung

I'm lucky son of a bitch. And Daniel is a certifiable idiot.

As we speed towards Jihoon, guided by the thread tugging persistently at the front of my skull, Junhui and I realise where we're heading.

His dad's burned-down warehouse. Seriously?

Surely, he's not that stupid?

Daniel's family had a shipping business that failed a few years back, and the building mysteriously caught fire soon after. It's no secret in Windsly that it was an insurance job, but there was never enough evidence to prove it.

Daniel has even hosted a few parties out there over the last couple of years. Why? Because it's a great spot to drink illegally and not get caught.

Honestly, Daniel, you didn't think that this would be the first fucking place I'd check?

The location is so obvious that I almost wonder if we're being misled. But I can feel Jihoon's presence growing stronger by the second as we drive down the abandoned roads leading to the industrial estate.

When it became apparent where we were heading, I quickly updated Seungcheol. Now, his Porsche impressively skids into our rearview mirror, driven by Jeonghan, who must have torn up half the roads in Windsly to catch up with us so fast.

As we speed towards our destination, I see the blue flashes of emergency vehicles on the hills behind us, racing our way.

Hold on, baby, I'm almost there.

Junhui takes us around a sharp bend at breakneck speed, just as the terror in Jihoon spikes beyond anything I've ever felt before. Icy tendrils spread through my chest as fear clutches my heart like a vice. I groan, dropping forward in my seat and trying to hold it together.

"We've got to get there, man. Something's really, really wrong." Suddenly, my leg shoots out, jolted by a stabbing pain in my thigh. Despair threatens to consume me, and I can't tell if it's mine or Jihoon's.

Oh god, I can't take this. I let out a blood-curdling scream, thrashing in my seat as my mind is flooded with images of my precious mate, my love, my soul, writhing in terror just moments away from me.

"Soonyoung, Soonyoung! We're here," Junhui shouts urgently, breaking through my frantic cries.

The car has barely come to a stop when I fly out of the door and barrel through the unlocked entrance to the warehouse. The second my eyes adjust to the dim light, a strangled gasp rips from my throat.

My Jihoon's unconscious, bound, and broken in the corner of the room. My heart tears itself from my chest as I race over to him to cover his body with mine.

I take in the blood crusting around his wrists and the vivid, purple bruise marring half of his beautiful face. With a shaking finger, I trace the tracks his tears have left down his dirty cheeks as my own start to fall.

I can't hold my devastated beast back any longer and he breaks free, roaring in agony at the sight of my omega before me.

The red mist descends, and I let it happen. Every rational thought I have is obliterated as the man makes way for the animal within.

◆◆◆

Jihoon

I come to slowly, a pulsing throb in my head warning me against opening my eyes. My body is sore, and my skin burns like I've fallen asleep in the blazing summer sun.

I'm not alone. I can hear movement around me, a low growl resonating incessantly through the air as another voice shouts in the distance.

"No! Only omegas can go inside," is that Jeonghan? "I don't care who you are. Unless you want your throat ripped out, you have to send in an omega counterpart."