My Way ||| Ateez

10

"I'm tired of just roaming around! If you are going to force me to stay with you, I want to know that I can at least sleep in a warm bed at night." Seonghwa said as Mingi started yet another fire for them to sleep by.

The alpha said nothing. He just poked the fire while his forehead creased. He knew the omega was right. They could only do this for so long, but with the war, territories were nonexistent so everyone was treading on nails as their species tried to figure out how put themselves back together.

"Did you hear me?" Seonghwa said, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat down on a log.

"Yes."

"Yes? That's all I get? You force me on some wild adventure and..."

"Shut up." Mingi snarled, his eyes flashing red.

Seonghwa's mouth snapped shut, but he continued to glare at the alpha.

"I get it, ok?" Mingi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Trust me, this isn't exactly how I envisioned things going."

"Oh, and how did you envision it? That I would come with you willingly and without complaint after you forced me? And that we would find a cozy little cottage and live happily ever after?"

Mingi flinched at his words but held his tongue. When the fire was where he wanted it to be he left the small clearing to find them something to eat. "Stay here." He ordered, not looking back.

As he walked, he shoved his hands in his pockets and muttered to himself under his breath. This really wasn't how he wanted things to be. He had hoped they would have found a place to call home by now, even if it was just a small territory.

He was pathetic...

He was supposed to be some strong alpha who could make others bend to his will, but he couldn't even find a place for him and the omega that had captured his interest to settle down.

How was he supposed to make Seonghwa trust him when he couldn't even prove he could protect him? That was his role as an alpha... and he was failing.

Mingi kicked a stone across the forest floor, not really caring where he was going. The back of his mind could sense that Seonghwa was still fuming back at the camp, but he hadn't left, so there was that.

He tried to use his senses to search for some kind of prey he could kill, but his heart just wasn't in it.

But then he did sense something. His head snapped to the side and he saw a wolf watching him. His red eyes glowed in the moonlight.

Ming felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he turned to face the other alpha. "Can I help you?" He snarled, pulling his hands out of his pocket.

The alpha stepped back into the shadows and Mingi could feel him shifting. Then he stepped into the light, a small smile on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." His voice was light and happy.

"You didn't. Now what do you want?" Mingi said, his voice getting deeper.

The alpha didn't flinch at his show of dominance. Instead, he just tilted his head and smiled. "You look lost."

"Excuse me?"

"I have a house not too far from here, would you like to join me and my beta for dinner?"

Mingi stared at the alpha, dumbfounded. Who did he think he was?

The alpha laughed. "It's not that hard of a decision. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help whoever I can. These are hard times. I'm Hongjoong."