Chapter Text
Winter came approaching much faster than normal.
And it was hitting harder than normal.
That or Jungkook had finally lost all sense of time when each day was spent worrying over the same things.
Which way should I go?
Where can I find shelter?
What can I find my pups to eat today?
Jungkook was growing exhausted. His legs shook when he rolled over to check on his pups in the morning, and now they were getting so big it was difficult to carry them around and keep pace.
All he was looking for was shelter and food; for the past two years it was what he wanted most, but like many things in life, that was too much to ask of the world.
On top of two rambunctious, fast growing pups, he was starving. He couldn’t remember the last time it was that he ate until his stomach was full. All meals he managed to catch were squirrels or chipmunks - things big enough for the pups to eat, but none would be leftover for him.
Jungkook always pretended he wasn’t suffering when one of the pups looked up at him with big, round eyes and asked, “Mama hungy?” because these were his children and they deserved to have full stomachs so they could grow big and strong.
But during times like these he was reminded that he should have eaten some more because his vision was slowly blurring with each step.
The storm began when he and the pups were downstream getting a drink, but as soon as Jungkook felt the chilly breeze through his grey coat the wolf had barked at the children that they had to leave and soon.
After nearly an hour of searching for shelter, Jungkook spotted a cave sitting about halfway up a mountain. It seemed like a good place to hide out until the storm passed.
“Mama! Where Min go?”
Jungkook huffed, the pup between his teeth kept squirming and making things harder than needed as he carefully watched his steps as he climbed through the snow.
He was beginning to figure this was a blizzard with all of the wind picking up the snow and only white could be seen for a good mile.
The omega felt his eyes widen in realization and quickly picked up the pace to jump over a few rocks and run up into the cave.
Jungkook didn’t have time to look around, he just plopped the small, white colored pup onto the ground and nosed at his cheek, “Stay. I’m going to get your brother.”
Kihyun had the prettiest blue eyes Jungkook had ever seen and he chirped a happy noise and rolled onto his back tiredly, “I wanna p’ay with Min before bed, mama.”
Jungkook managed a soft snicker and swatted a paw at his bottom before turning to run out of the cave.
The hardest part about having two pups was traveling.
Both of the boys weren’t big enough to be trusted to walk along cliff edges nor jump over high rocks. Just yesterday Kihyun got stuck on the other side of a log because he couldn’t jump over.
They were only babies. Still much too little to be out here with nobody but Jungkook.
Jungkook internally seethed at the thought, but another part of him was glad they were out here all alone - he'd rather have them with him than stuck back in his previous pack. He didn’t want his children to be treated as he had been.
The omega sniffed his way back although it was difficult to with all the snow building on the surface of rocks, it was slippery so he had to dig his claws and hope he didn’t slip off.
He knew right where he left the other pup though, they had a routine when climbing upwards - Jungkook took one up first while the other waited and then came back quickly for the other. It was the only real choice he had and had been much easier to do when the pups were newborns and weren’t so curious.
“Taemin!” He barked out as he climbed onto the ledge he'd left the pup on. It was halfway up the side of the mountain - still a good six feet off the ground - but Jungkook had been as quick as he could to come back for his baby.
“Mama!”
Jungkook’s ear twitched at the yell back, he'd strictly pressed the pup into a crevice and told him to wait out of the cold until he came back, but the call back sounded a bit away.
“Pup…” He sighed and shook off his coat as he stepped over a pile of snow to walk around the corner of the ledge.
The pup would surely get a scolding once he plucked him up by his reddish coat, Taemin knew better than to move around when he told him to stay.
Jungkook was able to hear the pups soft chuffing as he walked along a narrow pathway on the side of the rocky mountain. It put him on alert instantly.
The pups only released these soft, excited noises if they were playing, but certainly Taemin was not playing up on top of a cliff…
Jungkook pressed his ears back and managed to safely and quickly squeeze through a crevice, creeping closer to his pup’s chirping only to be met with a heavy hit of snowy wind that made him shut his eyes for a moment.
“Mama…” He heard Taemin giggling in his head now that he was close, “Look at my fwiend! He said-“
Jungkook's eyes shot open instantly, forgetting about the pain the rough snow was causing him as he put his tail and ears up, baring his teeth and taking a big jump closer to the pup.
There was a gigantic alpha wolf standing above the pup.
The wolf must be twice his size and his coat was thick and solid black, the only color to him at all was a bit of white to the tips of his ears.
Jungkook felt his heart pound. There was no way this wolf was going to lose should he have to properly fight for Taemin back.
The little pup squealed happily, rolling on his back and swatting the air under the alpha’s chest. Jungkook recognized his sons playing, but he couldn’t picture such a menacing, strange wolf wanting to play with a puppy - he couldn’t picture much good coming from this stranger at all.
“Taemin!” Jungkook barked, shifting to stand as big as he could, “Get over here right now!”
“Mama!” Taemin screeched, pressing his chest onto the snowy ground and giving sad eyes , “Mama… was playin’...”
Jungkook saw the alpha shift to take a step closer and all the instincts in the omega screamed he's going to grab Taemin seeing as the puppy was trying to find his footing on the icy rocks to come over to him.
The omega began to growl loudly, he jumped forward to snap his teeth at the black furred wolf, “Mine! Mine!” He growled, eyes filled with fury.
Then, a deep rumble of a voice filled his head, “I have a shelter, omega - the pup won’t survive-“
“Mama!”
Jungkook felt many different kinds of panic in his life before, but nothing could ever come close to seeing his pup so close to the side of a cliff, his little back paws sitting in a heavy mound of snow that was beginning to build up on the edge.
It felt like everything was falling apart when he saw Taemin jerk in fear as the frozen rock beneath him began to crackle. “Mama!” The pup was overwhelmed with fear and tried to move away from the edge, but pups weren’t exactly known for coordination or balance - especially not on snowy ground.
One back paw slipped out from under him, then the next, and Jungkook sprang into action to try and grab the pup before his worst fears came to life.
The cliff began to crackle louder at the added weight of him, the giant alpha, and the pup, yet the snow continued to drag the rocky edge down, forcing pieces of rock from the side of the mountain to break off until there was a loud, heartbreaking whimper from Taemin.
Then, the edge of the cliff gave way.
There was a split second where the large, alpha wolf just looked at Jungkook before both Jungkook and the black coated wolf lunged out to grab the puppy - but by then, it was too late.
Jungkook tried to grab his child but was hit back against the rocks of the mountain by the alpha’s hind paw so hard he had to whimper in pain and take a deep breath.
And when he looked, they were both gone. Neither of them were on the edge, neither of them were dangling from the rocks - Jungkook was struck with fear and took off jumping over rocks to go down.
“Taemin! Taemin!” Jungkook wailed, feeling that familiar burn behind his eyes that let him know should he be in human form he would be blinded with tears.
“Pup… pup… mama is here…” Jungkook cried, whimpers falling from his throat as he shivered and pushed through the elements.
For a moment, Jungkook paused because he was terrified at what he’d see down at the bottom of the mountain. This was his baby, his pup. He'd raised him all on his own out here in the huge forest…
Jungkook didn’t know what to do with himself if something happened to Taemin or Kihyun… his children were really all he had.
As soon as he managed to make it down to the bottom of the mountain the omega began to hear this high pitched scream, a shriek he’d only ever heard from the pups once when Kihyun had gotten stung by a bee and scared the life out of everyone with his swollen paw.
It meant Taemin was very scared.
“Sh, I got you. I got you, pup. Sh, sh- oh, by the moon…”
Jungkook heard a series of curses fly through the air and sprinted through the snow towards them, his paws frozen and his body shook, but he wasn't going anywhere without his pup.
“Taemin!” He yelled through the frosted air, panting from exhaustion as he stumbled closer. The snowy wind was becoming so strong that he could only see a few feet in front of himself.
“Over here!” Jungkook heard that same, deep tone, only it did not resonate in his mind the way wolves spoke to each other.
The alpha had shifted - what a dangerous thing to do when it was freezing cold out.
Jungkook found the pair in snow that came as high as the alpha’s calves, about as tall as Jungkook’s chest in wolf form.
“Here, here…” The alpha panted and set the screaming puppy onto an area of soft, untouched snow, reaching to hold his side and groan in pain.
The omega eyed the alpha wearily, taking a few steps closer before he noticed the huge, wolf shaped spot in the snow - it certainly must have softened the alpha’s fall, but not by a long shot when he’d just fallen a good six feet or more straight to the hard rocky bed of the mountain.
The alpha was hurt because of him.
Jungkook should have just watched his pup better, he should have tried to figure out a different way to take both of them up the mountain at the same time.
Taemin almost died because of his own incompetence, he would have died should this stranger not have jumped for him. A pup would never survive a fall like this alone.
Jungkook likely wouldn’t have either.
This alpha did, but not without side effects seeing as he was holding his entire right side of his body and cursing the entire moon's existence.
“M-Mama!” Taemin wailed, hanging from Jungkook’s jaw once the omega grabbed him by his scruff, the pup was so frightened that he didn’t do much but dangle his legs and cry.
“You have a home?” Jungkook asked, nodding his head up towards the mountain, “Can you make it? I’ll put him up there and come back for you.”
The alpha shook his head, gritting his teeth as he trudged through the snow, “I can make it.”
Jungkook felt guilt flood his veins as he saw the odd color beginning to spread across the alpha’s side when he walked past them.
“I have to make it.” The alpha said under his breath as Jungkook walked slowly behind him, “You look like you're about to fly away in this wind, omega. You need to eat something.”
Jungkook pressed his ears down on his head and picked up the pace. He supposed that was a fair observation, because he certainly felt like he’d fly away too.
***
When they arrived back at the cave, Jungkook was more apologetic because he hadn’t realized someone had lived inside of it when he’d dropped Kihyun off inside, but it was glaringly obvious once he’d had time to look around.
There were weaved mats on the floor and piles and piles of pelts and cloth to use at bedding. There were the necessities that all people should have - wooden bowls, knives, and items to start a fire.
The grey walls of the cave had cloth coverings hanging down like decoration and in the indents of the rocks laid unlit torches just waiting to be used.
It was so lived in, but Jungkook hadn’t noticed this prior due to his own hurry to place the pups someplace out of the elements.
He could have been killed having invaded someone’s territory like this.
Jungkook sighed because this could have been such a dangerous experience had this alpha been aggressive, but he hadn’t seen any aggression from him truthfully.
All the alpha had been doing ever since he’d claimed a spot on a mat was nursing his ribcage.
This was a large alpha, even in human form he could easily tower him, so Jungkook was watching him carefully.
“What’s your name?” The alpha abruptly asked from the opposite side of the cave.
“Mama…” Kihyun giggled and slumped tiredly over his brothers back, both of the pups were exhausted, but Taemin had screamed himself right to bed the second Jungkook placed him on a fur.
Jungkook had it in himself to snort as he nosed the pup down for a nap, licking over his fur until the baby simply huffed and laid still.
“Jungkook.” The omega answered, using his teeth to tug the covers all around the pair before turning to look at the alpha carefully, “Thank you for grabbing my pup, I’m very grateful.”
“It was what any alpha would do.” The other brushed off, groaning as he shifted to put his arm beneath his head. “My name is Taehyung. What are you three doing running around in the cold? Surely your mate is looking for you.”
Jungkook nearly scoffed, but held it in to stand up and drag his paws over to sniff at him, keeping his eyes alert when he stepped into the others' space, because he didn’t know if Taehyung would snap at him.
“I have no mate.” The omega replied, taking a step closer so his muzzle rested a few inches away in order to properly smell him.
“What?” Taehyung frowned, making no fast movements so as not to scare the omega, “But your children.”
“They are mine… and mine only, it’s just us.” Jungkook flicked his ear and sat back on his hind legs to look at the alpha with a bit of warning in his eyes.
Taehyung smelled like the sap that was on trees in the area, it was a very sweet scent, but somehow unfitting for an alpha of his size.
Through all the snow Jungkook hadn’t been able to catch his scent nor look at him clearly, but now that he was so close he could firmly conclude the alpha was rather… attractive.
Jungkook always found himself attracted to alpha’s with long locks like Taehyung, and the fact that the alpha had scars along his body from head to toe didn't deter him at all - Jungkook considered them good signs, signs of his strength - the only thing he had never seen before were those eyes.
Taehyung had a pair of deep brown eyes, just like himself, but in the corner of his right eye there was this light blue, crescent shape. It wasn’t the deep, bright blue Kihyun had, but a bright, jarring color.
It looked… pretty.
“Well, you don’t need to feel bad, I’m sure you would have jumped for your pup too.”
Jungkook still felt guilty, and he would for a while, because this was his fault and now he owed a lot to this alpha.
“Thank you,” He said once more, pressing his nose against Taehyung's bruising side only for the alpha to flinch and Jungkook to step back with wide, frightened eyes.
“I’m sorry..” Jungkook said quickly, whimpering with guilt as he turned to swiftly grab from the pile of furs and drag one over for the alpha, “You should rest, your side is turning purple.”
“I think I’ve broken a few ribs.” Taehyung hummed, seemingly not caring much about his state seeing as he shrugged it off. “Tuck those pups tightly, omega, it’s going to be a cold night.”
It’d been so long since Jungkook interacted with an alpha that he didn’t know how to respond for a moment, he just shifted back and forth on his paws before finally, at the concerned look Taehyung sent him, he turned to walk over to his pups across the room.
“Do you think the storm will calm down by tomorrow?” Jungkook asked, laying on top of the two pups to keep them warm, but ensuring their noses stuck out of his fur so they’d sleep comfortably.
Pups always seemed to like to sleep in piles anyway, they didn’t sleep through a whole night unless Jungkook laid on top of them.
“Truthfully…” Jungkook lifted his head to watch the alpha shift to lay on his back and look up at the top of the cave, “I don’t believe so… but I guess we will have to see.”
“We’ll just have to see.” Jungkook agreed before laying his jaw on Taemin’s head and watching the alpha across the cave.
Jungkook had a feeling it was going to be a long winter.
***
It must have been early morning by the time he woke next, because it was still dim inside the cave, but slightly more bright. The wind was still whizzing past the entrance and it felt much colder inside here than it had when he’d gone to bed.
But Jungkook wasn’t awakened by the storm, he was awake due to the alpha’s low groaning as he stood up from his woven mat and stretched.
Perhaps last night he’d not been able to see properly, because he’d only mused Taehyung was an attractive alpha, but he hadn’t been able to see that he was a very fit alpha too.
His body was perfectly defined with muscles from his legs to his shoulders, he was what many would call an “alpha male,” usually said alphas were leaders of their packs, but it didn’t seem Taehyung had… well, anyone at all.
Jungkook pretended to be asleep in order to appreciate the sight of a well built, nude, alpha for a moment; it had truly been so long since he’d seen anyone that he felt it was a moment to appreciate.
That was until Taehyung turned and showed the side of his body that was so bruised it was nearly black and the alpha grabbed a wool clothing item from a pile in the corner to place on his shoulders - it was large and fell all the way down to his knees - before starting towards the cave entrance.
Jungkook instantly jumped to his paws. “Where are you going?”
“I was wondering when you’d speak up, your breathing changes when you’re awake, Jungkook, did you know that?”
Taehyung's tone was entertained, he gave him a lopsided grin and chuckled before leaning against the wall and discreetly cupping his injured side. “Yesterday, when I found your pup all alone, it was because I was dragging my kill up the mountain - it’s a moose, it would last us a good few days, I need to get it before this storm gets worse or a mountain lion finds it.”
Jungkook noticed his use of us and grew more relieved by the second, the alpha would feed them - he would shelter them…
The omega could have begun to profusely thank Taehyung, because it had been so long since he’d gotten anything as big as a moose or even a deer… the last time was probably a year prior when he’d found one dead due to starvation all on its own accord.
Jungkook knew he had gotten lucky that time.
“I’ll come, you can’t carry it back alone with your side. Do you happen to have other clothing?”
Taehyung hummed and came over to his pile of furs to dig through the cloth items - Jungkook wondered if the alpha had made all of these by himself… in his old pack it wasn’t customary for alpha’s to create their own clothing, they only brought the kills for the pelts.
“This should be warm enough.” The alpha stated, brushing off a coat made of bearskin, “It’s too small for me, you can have it to yourself.”
Jungkook gasped and backed off the sleeping pups to shift, finding his muscles aching. It’d been a while since he felt safe enough to use this form, so he wasn’t surprised when he saw his skin was covered in bruises.
Traveling so often was a long, hard journey, and Jungkook often fell victim to dizzy spells due to malnourishment and tried to hide his sickness from the pups, but in this form… it was all too clear.
Jungkook knew Taehyung was staring at him, he could feel the alpha’s eyes lingering on his skin, but the omega couldn’t help looking down at himself to try and recall if he had been this thin the last time he’d seen himself.
His hipbones were jutting out much too far, and from what he could see his legs looked like nothing but mere sticks, Jungkook wanted to find a body of water in order to look at his face because when he placed a hand on his cheek it felt sunken and hollow.
Jungkook snapped out of it when he heard the alpha click his tongue and took that as him taking too long, so he quickly accepted the bear skinned coat and found it was much warmer than expected and fell past his knees.
“I know it is not my place,” Taehyung murmured, “But you must have been giving all your meals to the pups to be this thin. It is a mother’s instinct, I understand, but do know that if you kept on this path… that you could become sick and those pups are too young to be alone. You must take care of both yourself and your children for them to be safe. I apologize if that was out of line, but… it’s been a long time since I’ve seen an omega, and I wish you were in a better state.”
“I know…” Jungkook whispered, shifting uncomfortably and motioning towards the exit, “Let’s be quick, Kihyun can be grumpy in the morning.”
“The white coated one?”
Jungkook hummed in confirmation and crossed his arms as he stumbled behind the alpha, his skin instantly met with an icy breeze and he began to shake despite only being a few feet away from the cave.
“How old are they, if you don’t mind me asking..” Taehyung continued, climbing over a jagged piece of the mountain, “We should be quick… I didn’t realize it was so horrible out.” He added, offering Jungkook a hand.
The omega looked off the side of the mountain only to see the surrounding forest below was absolutely covered in a dense white layer of snow and there was so much being swept up by the wind that it looked like fog was coating the ground.
He quickly accepted Taehyung's hand, feeling the alpha’s calloused palms for a few seconds as he struggled to climb over. “They’re nearly two.”
He didn’t recall the mountain being this hard to climb yesterday, but this was a completely different experience, it was less wind but more snow pulled up, and it felt twice as cold.
This was going to be one extreme winter.
“Omega,” Taehyung chuckled and grabbed his waist, carefully lifting him over onto the other side, “You should have stayed in the cave, you're freezing out here. You’re all skin and bones, you can’t possibly protect yourself from the cold.”
Jungkook’s teeth chattered as he grabbed his coat to hold it shut, giving a shake of his head as his cheeks started to become blotchy from the icy air. “I-I’m helping.”
Taehyung looked at him for a second before the alpha nodded and motioned to the chunk of mountain sticking out, “Sit here, I’m climbing up to push the moose down to this level, just don't let it fall off.”
Jungkook had a thought to argue considering he knew this was Taehyung’s way of saying he was useless, but he was absolutely starving and wouldn’t risk arguing and the alpha becoming upset and deciding he didn’t deserve to eat his kill.
So the omega slumped onto the rock and silently agreed, balling up on the rock as he watched Taehyung grab his injured side and begin to find his footing to climb up the mountain a bit.
Taehyung must be in a lot of pain; Jungkook couldn’t help wondering if he was making things harder or easier on the alpha.
Either way, Taehyung seemed plenty competent without his help because less than five minutes later there was a moose rolling off of the ledge above and smacking into the snow, it’s carcass was frozen solid still which was good, they could start a fire to cook it.
“Alpha,” Jungkook mumbled, removing his red tipped fingers from beneath his armpits to reach out for the moose and try yanking it, “This can feed us for a good week or two, if we eat lightly.”
“I hope when you say us, that includes yourself. There’s enough for everyone.”
Jungkook pressed his lips together and gave a soft nod as he grabbed onto the moose’s antlers, “Let’s get it back to the pups.”
The alpha barely rumbled with a response, but Jungkook saw that he was walking in short steps, presumably due to his side, but Jungkook knew it was rude to comment on something like it and risk Taehyung’s pride being wounded.
Alpha’s were such sensitive creatures.
At his own thought, Jungkook laughed under his breath and lifted the head of the animal to yank it's frozen body through the snow, it barely moved until Taehyung was grabbing it's corpse by its front legs.
“Something funny?”
“Oh…oh-“ Jungkook flustered and shook his head, “Just excited to get this back is all.”
Taehyung simply nodded and began to drag the moose quicker, much faster than Jungkook had been - truthfully the omega was sure he wasn’t being much help at all, but Taehyung didn’t say that.
Instead, the two of them just continued to drag it back to the cave, a difficult journey considering the thick layer of snow, but it would be worth it.
As soon as they were within eyesight of the cave Jungkook clicked his tongue at the tiny outline of a pup sticking his nose out of the cave.
“Kihyun!” Jungkook growled, rushing over to snag the pup, “What are you doing? It’s freezing out.”
“M-Mama!” The pup shrieked and whimpered as he pawed at Jungkook, “Mommy, you gone! Scawy…”
The omega sighed and shushed him, scratching at his soft fur, “Sh, I know, baby. I know, I’m sorry I scared you, pup.”
Jungkook was so distracted by the cold and his pup that he wandered back into the cave to pace and try to get the pup to settle down, but Kihyun was always a sensitive pup and cried like no other as he walked from one side of the cave to the other, briefly sparing a glance at Taemin where he could only see a single paw sticking out from the furs.
The other pup must have had such a scare yesterday that he was knocked right out.
“I know, hush. Sh, there’s no reason to cry, Ki.” Jungkook soothed, nuzzling into the pups neck.
He was so focused on his son that Jungkook had forgotten about the food until he heard the loud sound of dragging on the rocky floor of the cave and spun around with a guilty look on his face.
“I’m so-“
“No worries.” Taehyung cut him off to grab his side and lean against the wall of the cave for a moment, “Take care of your pup, it’s no big deal.”
Jungkook pressed his lips together guiltily and bent down to set Kihyun onto a pile of raw pelts, giving his head a kiss, “Mommy went with this alpha to find food, are you hungry, Ki Ki?”
The pup's white ears perked up in an instant, he whimpered and lifted a paw to smack the air at Jungkook as he rolled onto his side to reveal his soft underbelly.
“Tsk, I know, sweetheart.” Jungkook crooned, rubbing a hand over his belly, “I know there’s not much for you to do here, but I need you to be a good boy while mommy gets some food cooked, hm?”
“... kay, mommy.”
Jungkook smiled fondly and pressed a kiss onto the pink pads of his front paw and stood up.
He caught Taehyung staring and felt a rush of intimidation flood through him when the alpha didn’t bother to pretend he hadn’t been; Taehyung just stared right back at him, tilting his head to the side and sitting back onto his woven mat against the wall with a hand gripping his side.
The omega cleared his throat, “Do you have a skinning knife?”
“I can do it in a moment.”
“You killed it,” Jungkook argued softly, pushing his long locks out of his face, “I can cut it up and cook enough for today if you let me.”
Taehyung looked at him for a moment longer before turning to reach beneath his mat to pull out a knife so sharp it gleamed, “I’ll start the fire then.”
Jungkook felt his shoulders raise with unease - this alpha had slept with a knife so close to him all night?
He didn’t say how badly his skin crawled, and instead hesitantly approached to accept the wood handled knife with both hands and a nod of his head, practically running to the other side of the room to sit down in the corner with the frozen moose.
“Your pups don’t eat raw food?”
Jungkook’s eyes widened a bit as he began to find a good place to begin on the animal which was difficult considering it was frozen solid.
He looked from Taehyung and followed the alpha’s eyes to Kihyun who had taken it upon himself to sniff around the cave.
“They do.” Jungkook mumbled, “But Taemin was born with a defect in his palate, it’s still healing, but he finds it easier to eat cooked food, and considering this is frozen solid it’s better to cook it for them. I can leave some uncooked if you’d like-“
“It’s no bother, omega.” Taehyung said quickly, looking away from the pup to come towards the middle of the cave where remnants still remained from a previous fire. “I hope you aren’t uncomfortable with all my questions, it’s been a while since I’ve seen pups.”
“Oh.” Jungkook pressed his lips together and shook his head as he pressed the knife into the gut of the moose, the animal was so cold, blood trickled incredibly slowly from it. “I don’t mind, I know pups are scarce these days.”
“This one has a soft palate?” The alpha asked, nodding his head towards the paw of the reddish pup that stuck out.
“Yes, alpha.”
“And he survived this long?” Taehyung hummed, brows furrowed in thought as he began tearing cloth to lay in the fire ring. “How?”
“It was not without struggles.” Jungkook replied, focused on his task, “When he was smaller he used to choke on milk. Everyday I fed him I had to stay up to feed him very small amounts, he used to cry because he was hungry and couldn’t eat quickly like Kihyun. Sometimes he still chokes when eating too fast, it is a struggle, but… he’s my pup and I refuse to give up on him.”
“I suppose that is a good reason not to have a mate, hm?”
Jungkook frowned and placed a chunk of meat beside him before sending Taehyung a confused look. “Sorry?”
“Because most alphas would have had you leave the pup behind.” Taehyung muttered as he began trying for a fire with dried moss resting in the ring of rocks and sticks to rub together. “Many think defective pups are not worth the time.”
Jungkook felt his stomach burn with a need to be defensive, but he had nothing to say; Taehyung was right, pups with defects weren’t worth the time an alpha was supposed to put into protecting them.
Even more so when it was a condition such as Taemin’s. The pup would have died of malnutrition - he could have - but Jungkook stayed awake for weeks after his birth to make sure the pup did not pass away while he was sleeping. He stayed up to give him a few drinks every few hours until the pup was round in the belly and finding his footing to crawl around just like his brother.
“I think this is enough for today.” Jungkook muttered, grabbing the pieces of meat he’d cut just as he saw the spark of fire brighten up the cave.
“Mommy! Look! I’m hidin’”
Jungkook laughed because he’d been wondering when the pup would make himself known again, but when his eyes found the tiny pup it was Kihyun peering out from Taehyung’s furs, only his face and paws seen as he rested on the mat.
“Ki.” Jungkook quickly set the knife and meat down by the fire before rushing over, “That is not yours. Come out from there.”
The omega felt uncomfortable getting too close, so he sat on his knees and pointed at the pup from a foot away, but Kihyun burst into a handful of whimpers and turned to hide himself under the covers.
Now only his fluff of a tail peeked out as he gave Jungkook a view of his bottom. “I stay! Warm!”
“Kihyun!” Jungkook growled, “You b-“
“Actually.”
Jungkook stiffened up as he felt a hand press to his shoulder, jerking to look up at the alpha with eyes filled with pleads - don’t be mad at him, he’s just a pup…
Taehyung didn’t seem mad, he actually had a slight quirk to his lips, “I was just about to rest a while, but the pup can stay and lay with me if you’d like. He’s probably overwhelmed, my scent likely appeals to them.”
“I…” Jungkook looked down at his bloodied hands, “I can’t ask that of you.”
“Nonsense, you should cook something.” Taehyung argued, “Go on, I can hear your stomach from here.”
The omega pressed his lips together and brought his coat over himself tighter before hesitantly reaching over to pat a hand on the pup's bottom, “You be good to the alpha, Kihyun.”
Then, he turned to move to the fire, clearing his throat at the feeling of eyes boring into his profile. Jungkook didn’t know if it was discomfort causing the burn in the pit of his stomach or not, he just knew it made his skin feel on pins and needles.
“I have cooking gear in the corner,” Taehyung yawned as he sat on his mat just beside the bundle of items concealing the pup.
“You have tools?” Jungkook gasped, grasping a heavy metal pot from the cave floor, “You’ve traded with humans? You've gotten close?” He asked with disbelief lacing his voice.
“I’ll tell you about it sometime,” The alpha chuckled before he sighed and began to coo at the bundle of blankets, “Come here, pup, I promise I am much warmer than those furs.”
Jungkook twisted his lips to suppress the urge to tell Kihyun to come back to him, because he was so used to it, but he didn’t want to offend the alpha.
Thus far Taehyung hadn’t done anything but save his pups life, provide them shelter, and give them food, so he had no reason to be fearful of him, but it was scary - he hadn’t seen an alpha in a long time and the pups had never seen and alpha in their entire lives.
The more Jungkook kept thinking about what he recalled of alpha’s the scarier Taehyung seemed, and the thought kept occurring to him that there had to be something wrong with this alpha for him to be all alone out here.
There just had to be. But Taehyung probably thought the same of him, so Jungkook did not bring it up for fear of having to explain himself also.
“There you are, hello. You have the prettiest eyes, don’t you?”
Jungkook swallowed hard and placed the meat into the pot to lay beside the hot fire and cook, but he could help watching them.
Kihyun was always a curious pup, but he was also a fearful one, so seeing someone else lift the pup up and hold him in the air to look at him without the pup screaming his head off was odd for Jungkook.
The pup’s white tail was going as fast as possible as Taehyung looked him over, pawing onto the alpha’s wrist in an excited manner as he giggled, “I gotted fwom mama!”
Jungkook managed a laugh and covered his cheeks with his coat because Kihyun was incredibly silly, he had brown eyes and the pup had blue, but then again it wasn’t like Kihyun had any idea where he’d truly gotten them.
Jungkook preferred to keep it that way.
“Ah, yes.” The alpha mused, a smile spreading on his face that made deep dimples set into his cheeks, “You and your mother both have pretty eyes. I see the resemblance, cub.”
Jungkook felt his ears light up and shook his head, sitting cross legged and pretending he wasn’t paying attention suddenly, instead turning to his left when he heard shuffling.
“Good morning, baby.” Jungkook murmured, reaching over to pet through the covers, “Taehyung found us food, are you hungry?”
Taemin’s round, chocolate eyes peered out of the blanket with a big yawn, shaking his body from the covers only to try to retreat back when he met the cold air.
Jungkook tsked and gently removed him to quickly bring his tired body to lay in his lap, wrapping him up in the bottom of his coat. “Sleepy pup. How do you feel today?”
He was met with a soft whine and big eyes peering up at him and the omega tsked and wiped his thumb over his sleepy eyes. “I know, pup. You had such a scare yesterday, but it’s okay.”
“Do you want me to take him so you can cook?” Taehyung rumbled abruptly from across the cave.
Jungkook jolted and turned to look at him, finding the alpha laying down with Kihyun spread across his chest.
“You're injured, you shouldn’t lay like that.” Jungkook worried, “You should lay on your side.”
“You fuss very often,” The alpha snickered before he sighed, “Can I see the other pup too? I’ll be gentle.”
Jungkook hadn’t expected such a blunt question, but it was laced with a bit of excitement and weariness, as if Jungkook would tell him no.
The omega knew he should tell him no. These were his pups and this alpha could harm them as easily as he had held Kihyun moments ago in a single, large palm.
Jungkook knew how alpha’s were - he thought he did at least - yet Taehyung was making it hard for him to distrust him.
“Taemin is grumpy in the mornings,” Jungkook whispered, bringing the pup into the crook of his neck to press a light kiss to his soft ear, “Minnie, you can go see your friend if you’d like.”
“No bad?” The pup asked tiredly.
Jungkook’s eyes flickered over to Taehyung as he placed the pup to his paws and gave his bottom a pat, “No. I don’t think the alpha is bad. At least not yet.”
It was less of a threat and more as a protective warning, but the alpha would understand what he meant.
Taehyung managed to hold his gaze for a moment longer, not replying, but if he felt defensive it didn’t show.
Instead, the alpha just leaned over to tap his fingers on the rocks to urge the pup over, “Good morning, sunshine. Did you sleep well?”
***
The past few days Jungkook felt like he hadn’t eaten this much in his entire life. After the first meal his stomach began to hurt, but Taehyung kept giving him more.
Jungkook felt more exhausted than he had in a long time just from eating - normally he was fatigued quickly, but now he’d finish his last bite and nearly instantly pass out beside the fire.
This morning there was a lot of noise going on compared to the past two mornings which were just a whirl of wind, today it was loud rumbles from the sky, it made him instantly open his eyes to look for the pups.
What he’d found was a very naked, human formed Kihyun clinging and laughing into Taehyung’s neck while the alpha had Taemin on his back, still in his wolf form, with two fingers holding his jaw open to look at his mouth.
Jungkook felt warmed.
Taehyung was checking his soft palate, Jungkook knew so the second the alpha shushed the pups tired whining to gently run the tip of his finger over the roof of his mouth.
“Alpha!” Kihyun giggled and shoved his face into Taehyung’s cheek needily, “Wan ‘tention too!”
The alpha snorted and placed Taemin down with a pet, “You want me to check your mouth too? Come here you little squirrel.”
“No! Me only! Ki Ki no!” Taemin shrieked and raced over to climb all over his brother once Taehyung pulled him into his lap, stomping on Kihyun's stomach, “Me me me!”
Jungkook would normally be on Kihyun in an instant for shifting when it was so cold out, but sometimes the pup couldn’t control it, and Taehyung would be warm enough to hold the toddler over for now.
“There’s enough attention to go around..” Taehyung chuckled and separated the two by placing Taemin onto his chest and hugging Kihyun’s back, “Your mother is sleeping, sh.. we should calm down, pups.”
“Mama seepy… mama seepy lots.” Taemin pawed at Taehyung's collarbones, kneading away.
“Yeah?” The alpha asked quietly, “He has to take care of you two a lot so I’m sure he doesn’t mind being a bit sleepy.”
“Nope!” Kihyun argued, placing his pouting face onto Taehyung’s chest and curling up into a ball, “Mommy hungy lots, seepy lots.”
Taehyung hummed in acknowledgment and rubbed the boy’s back, while Jungkook felt his heart tense up. The pups were much more observant than he gave them credit for.
Jungkook decided that was enough of faking sleep and yawned loud, shifting onto his elbows to stretch.
“Mommy!”
He laughed and heard the padding of Taemin’s paws as he toddled his way across the cave, racing to jump at Jungkook’s cheek and lick him.
“Hi, baby. Hi..” The omega laughed and dropped back onto his own mat to bring the pup closer and accept his kisses. “I see at least one of you isn’t freezing their bottom off, hm?”
“Mama….” Kihyun whined, “ ‘ts not cold.”
“It was my fault.” Taehyung interrupted before Jungkook could say anything, “He was awake when I got up, so I asked if he wanted to play and he took that as a chance to shift I guess. Don’t worry, I’ve been making sure he wasn’t too cold.”
Jungkook shifted to sit up and pull Taemin into his lap with a slight twist to his lips, “It’s okay. Do you have any clothes for them to wear? I should clean them up.”
“Oh, of course.” Taehyung murmured, “I’ll boil some snow so you can clean them up, help yourself to the pile of clothes in the corner.”
“I pick! Mama! Ki pick!” Kihyun ordered the second Jungkook made a move for clothing, scattering from Taehyung to run his naked bottom over.
Jungkook hissed and curled around his back to wrap him up in his coat with him, “You're going to freeze, don’t run off like that.”
“Speaking of freezing.”
Jungkook stiffened when he felt the warmth of the alpha at his back as Taehyung shifted to walk past, “I noticed the snow is piling up, we’re going to be snowed in soon.” Taehyung added.
“Oh dear,” The omega huffed and shifted to place Taemin - who was still in pup form - onto the clothing pile. “Min, pick something so mommy can bathe you.”
Jungkook sat back on his knees to let the pups pick, turning to see Taehyung scooping snow out of the entryway of the cave into a pot.
Taehyung didn’t seem bothered at all by helping, but Jungkook couldn’t help feeling guilty as he drummed his hands on his knees.
“How’s your side?” Jungkook asked under his breath.
The alpha looked confused for a moment before he laughed and set the pot beside the fire, “Oh, that? I barely even feel it. It’s nonexistent.”
“You had broken bones.” Jungkook argued, “What were you before this? A chief? All the scars… the lack of care for your wounds…”
Taehyung sat back on his palms, his long fur coat falling over his hip and sprawling open to reveal the front of his chest down to his hips.
Previously, Jungkook had thought nothing of his body other than pure interest in an alpha in general, but there was this shiver that ran through his body as his eyes drifted over the edge of his coat where he could see a layer of dark hair beginning below his abdomen.
Jungkook immediately looked away; he shouldn’t be having these inappropriate thoughts, much less when he had a job to do that was caring for the pups.
“I was a protector.”
“A what?” Jungkook asked, frowning as he grabbed Taemin by his scruff and gently rubbed his belly. “Minnie, please shift for mommy to give you a bath.”
“Cold!” The pup argued, shaking a shirt in his teeth that he must have liked.
Jungkook sighed and went to place him down when he heard a chuckle from Taehyung. The alpha snickered and clicked his tongue, “I can wash the troublemaking pup, I am much warmer that you, no offense.”
“Taemin, do you want the alpha to bathe you? Will you shift then?”
The red colored pup pressed his ears down on his head and gave pouting eyes as he nodded, “I’m good boy, mama.”
“You are a good boy.” Jungkook smiled fondly and pressed a kiss onto his head before shifting onto his knees to shuffle close to the fire.
He placed the pup down so he could shift as he liked before snagging a random cloth from the pile and pulling the pot off the fire. “Kihyunie, did you find clothes?”
Pups in human form seemed no different, Jungkook still heard the pitter patter of the bottom of his feet before he was being attacked at the back, “Mommy, I find dis!”
Jungkook hummed and jerked back so as not to be hit in the face with the wooden sculpture of a wolf, he raised a brow and took it to look at.
“A protector,” Taehyung muttered abruptly, soaking a rag in warm water, “Is basically a guard for the pack, we used to get gifts such as those from our people each time we took down something that could harm them - whether it be a bear or a person. He can play with it.”
Jungkook bit his lip in thought - so Taehyung did have a pack at one point - but he felt out of line to speak up.
“Okay, pup,” Jungkook muttered, tugging the pup down so Kihyun’s back would stay warm facing the fire, “Be easy with Taehyung’s things.”
“I p’ay nice!” Kihyun squealed, a rectangular grin on his face as he shoved his long hair from his eyes, “Mama, I good boy too.”
Jungkook snickered and restrained an argument he had on his mind because his son certainly wasn’t always a good boy, in fact he was much more curious than Taemin and found himself in all kinds of trouble.
Last spring Kihyun stuck a paw into a hole in the dirt and the next second Jungkook had the puppy running after him with a snake on his tail. He was a bit of a troublesome pup, but Jungkook always chalked that down to himself only being one parent and unable to keep an eye on both pups at one time.
“Look at you, you have your mothers eyes also. You two are very beautiful pups.”
Jungkook glanced at Taemin - in this form he looked much smaller than Kihyun despite them only being a few minutes apart in birth.
Truthfully, out of the two of them Jungkook knew Kihyun looked more like him than Taemin; Taemin had these round, expressive eyes and a wider nose than himself, but he was still the most adorable pup even if he wasn’t quite as talkative as his brother.
“Stay still.” Jungkook mumbled, swiping the cloth over Kihyun’s nose and of course the pup disliked that so he whined and tossed his face the other way, leading the omega to laugh and catch his cheek to hold him still. “Do you need mommy to bite you up, pup? Hm? You're going to get a stuffy nose if you don’t let me clean you up.”
Kihyun began to giggle, reaching over to pull himself onto Jungkook's thigh, before baring his teeth playfully - well, his lack of teeth considering they were all teeny tiny and he was missing a bunch still.
“Very scary.” Jungkook laughed, pressing a kiss to his head and scrubbing his chest, “My babies are going to be so scary.”
“The scariest.” Taehyung snorted, “These puppy eyes are frightening.”
“Ah, Taemin is the best at puppy eyes.” The omega grinned as he forced the sculpture from Kihyun’s hand to clean his nails. “Don't fall for them too much.”
“I think it’s too late - isn't that right, sweetheart?”
Jungkook grinned wide and turned to look at Taemin only to see the pup looking downcast down at his little toes as Taehyung ran the cloth behind his ears.
“Min?” Jungkook worried, “Are you okay, baby?”
Almost instantly the alpha bathing the baby stopped to duck his head and check the pup. Taehyung clicked his tongue and reached over for the pup’s chosen top, “I think he feels sick.” He said with a tone of panic as he slipped the top over his hair.
“Mommy…” The younger pup’s head raised and his face was a blotchy red and his nose was running. “My tum is ow.”
“Oh sweetheart.” Jungkook sighed, shifting Kihyun to stand up and urging him towards Taehyung as the omega burst to his feet, “Come here, baby.” He muttered.
The pup whimpered as Jungkook smoothed the long top down to the baby’s ankles, laying his other hand on the pup’s forehead only to find it burning up. “It’s okay, baby, you just have a fever. You’ll be okay.”
“Fever?” Taehyung's eyes were blown huge as he scooped a now dressed Kihyun up and onto his side, “I'll go get tea leaves. It will calm the inflammation.”
“Taemin gets sick every winter, it’s likely just from being in the snow,” Jungkook sighed, “There’s no need, he’ll get over it in a day or two. You won’t make it down to the forest in this weather anyway. It is only a cold. Right, baby?”
Taemin didn’t reply although Jungkook hadn’t expected him to when he was half asleep from the rubbing of his back.
“Min ow ‘gain?”
“Your brother is sick. Does this happen often?” The alpha fussed, moving to his area of the room to lay Kihyun down on it, “Jungkook, does this happen often?”
“Well no.” Jungkook frowned at the frantic attitude the other showed, gently bouncing the pup in his arms, “It is a seasonal sickness, sometimes I come down with it also, I’m telling you that it was just from the cold, alpha.”
Taehyung didn’t seem like he’d heard a single word Jungkook said, the alpha walked right over and took the pup right from his arms, leaving the omega to stare after him in shock as Taehyung hushed the pup and laid him down onto his mat beside his brother.
“You’ll be okay, little one. I’ll keep you warm, okay?”
Jungkook crossed his arms with confusion painting his face as he watched Taehyung hover over the pups and pull his furs over them.
The alpha used the pads of his fingers to brush the pup's runny nose and gently smooth the hair from Taemin’s forehead and felt as if he was the one invading something.
“Mama!” Kihyun jerked to sit up, holding his new toy up high, “Mama, lookie, I -“
“Sh, it’s nap time, cub. Aren't you sleepy?”
Jungkook felt his bars begin to place themselves up as he watched Taehyung urge Kihyun to lay back down. This was his pup - he couldn’t just allow an alpha to come in and claim his pups like this.
“He’s not tired.” Jungkook hissed with defense lacing his tone, “He wants to play.”
“He could be sick also, he should sleep,” Taehyung argued, back towards him as he fixed the pups in the covers.
Jungkook clenched his jaw and decided he didn’t care who this alpha thought he was, he stormed over with his teeth bared planning to snag Kihyun up when Taehyung turned to him with a loud growl of warning and the omega felt his legs shake with fear.
It had been a long, long time since Jungkook was compelled by an alpha to do anything, so he felt his heart began to race quickly and the need to apologize rushed up his throat.
But Taehyung had just claimed the pups as his territory and that was not going to happen on Jungkook’s watch.
“Mommy!” Kihyun burst into a flurry of frightened tears as Jungkook took a breath and sat on the cold floor of the cave. The pup scattered from the furs and crawled out, “Mommy!”
Jungkook sighed in relief and accepted the weeping pup into his arms, “Sh, it’s okay. It’s okay. You're not used to loud noises.”
Only when Taemin began to bubble with tired whimpers did it seem Taehyung realized what happened and he bowed his head guiltily and laid a hand over his eyes, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it’s not my place.”
“It’s not.” Jungkook hissed, scratching down his son's spine, “They're mine.”
Taehyung didn’t reply to that, he just hung his head and wrung his hands together, visually distraught, before he shifted to stand up very slowly, “I'll just… be on the other side.”
Jungkook swallowed hard as he made sure the alpha walked away before he carried Kihyun over to the alpha’s spot and took it - sitting down with the pup in his lap and reaching over to pet Taemin’s brow to calm the exhausted pup down.
After a moment he heard the sound of claws tapping into the cave floor and looked up to find Taehyung shoving himself into a corner, heavy head hung and large ears pressed onto his head as he took a spot all alone across the cave, eyes in their direction.
The omega instantly shot his eyes away when they locked with Taehyung’s in favor of shushing Kihyun and calming him down, but Jungkook knew what was happening in order for Taehyung to act out like that.
Taehyung used to have a pup.
***
Snow built up outside the cave entrance the next two days just like the alpha suspected it would.
Taehyung had hung a cloth over the entrance in hopes it would protect them from the wind the moment he heard Kihyun began to feel a bit warm, but other than that he and Jungkook didn’t speak a word.
The alpha sulked around in his wolf most of the time with the exception of when he had to cook them something or boil warm water for the pups to drink, other than that it was pretty awkward.
Kihyun wasn't afraid of Taehyung, Jungkook hadn’t expected him to be, the pup had just never been exposed to such aggression and never learned how to interpret it, but just because his pup forgave the alpha didn’t mean Jungkook did.
He'd never given Taehyung the impression it was okay of him to try to claim the pups, in fact he was very obvious about them being just his.
Jungkook knew he shouldn’t hold a grudge when it was a moment of weakness on Taehyung’s part, but he was because the alpha knew if it came down to it he could easily win between himself and the omega.
It was such an unfair fight - Taehyung knew he didn’t have an alpha to defend his place as the pup’s mother, yet Taehyung had still tried to growl him into submission.
“How is their breathing?”
Jungkook gulped, he was in the middle of washing himself clean with a damp rag and thought the alpha was asleep, but apparently that was wishful thinking.
“Kihyun is congested, but Taemin sounds better. They just need to stay hydrated.” Jungkook said plainly, not sparing a glance at the wolf behind him as he scrubbed his ankles with a cloth.
He heard the tapping of Taehyung's claws behind him and couldn’t help the way his shoulders stiffened up.
“I am sorry for growling at you.”
“Yeah, well,” Jungkook twisted his lips, “You did. You should have more self control than that. I’m much smaller than you. This is not a power play - these are my pups.”
Taehyung was silent for a moment, “I know. I’m very sorry. I care about pups is all, I don’t harbor any bad feelings towards you; you are just a mother trying to watch your pups.”
“It is hard to do so when someone challenges me for them.”
“I wasn't… I just wanted you to let them sleep, I wouldn’t challenge you, Jungkook. I swear.”
Jungkook laughed dryly and set his cloth down to turn and look at him, unsurprised to find the wolf right at his back sitting on his hind legs and still standing much taller than him.
“You’ve done absolutely nothing to show that you wouldn’t, how can I trust you not to?” Jungkook demanded, holding his knees to his chest.
The wolf flicked his ear before he lowered his head and said, “Because I used to have a pup too, I know how it feels.”
Jungkook had already figured as much, he’d come to that conclusion instantly, but hearing Taehyung say it with so much pain in his voice… It made the omega sigh and take in a breath, running a hand through his damp hair.
“I figured.” He replied under his breath, rubbing his eye before looking back at Taehyung, eyes catching the whitish blue in one of his eyes, “How long ago?”
“Years.” Taehyung laid down on his chest, front paws stretched out and only a foot in front of Jungkook’s feet, “I adopted her once her parents passed, but she was still mine.”
“Did she…” Jungkook pressed his lips together and couldn’t continue, unable to find it in himself to picture a pup passing away, he couldn’t find it in himself to verbalize it. “Sickness?” He asked instead.
Taehyung rumbled with a confirmation, releasing a loud chuff before rolling over onto his side and facing towards the pups rather than Jungkook. “Humans called it pneumonia, whatever that is, I just knew she was in pain. She was three. Barely older than your boys. I used to hope she would be an alpha, like me.”
Jungkook felt his eyes fill up tears and grabbed the bridge of his nose as he sniffed back tears. It was difficult to hear this as a mother, and it made him feel horrible about his own attitude considering Taehyung was very helpful with the pups up until recently.
He'd thrown himself off of a cliff for a strangers pup after all.
Jungkook could see how Taehyung would be a good parent from only being around him a week.
“What was her name?” Jungkook sniffled into his palm and covered his mouth to stifle noises.
“Mina.”
“That’s a beautiful name.” The omega whispered, giving a small nod of his head before shaking himself off and taking a deep breath. “I’m sure she was very beautiful.”
“She was.” Taehyung rumbled, shifting onto his paws with a glance towards the pups, “I didn’t tell you this as an excuse, truly, I didn’t -“
“You can see the pups, Taehyung,” Jungkook laughed wetly, sniffling and shifting onto his knees planning to continue his bath, “You can see them.”
Jungkook didn’t know if it was guilt or not that was allowing the alpha to see the children, but he knew he couldn’t imagine how Taehyung must feel. If he lost his pups he’d have nothing.
“Thank you.”
Jungkook nodded stiffly and turned his back to him once more, dipping his cloth into his pot of water when he became confused not hearing the tapping of the alpha’s claws on the ground.
Jungkook turned to check on him when he was greeted with warm breath hitting his cheek and a humongous face in front of his own.
The omega managed a squeak of surprise and jerked back.
“And Jungkook?”
“... yes?”
“I was not claiming the pups.” Taehyung sounded amused before abruptly there was a rough, warm tongue licking across his cheek, “You also missed a spot, pretty omega.” He added before turning to trot to the sleeping pair.
Jungkook felt a blush flood his cheeks and sat still with hands holding his cloth to take a deep breath and calm down.
Taehyung hadn’t tried to claim the pups - he was trying to claim him.