Nine

Astir was unlike any other town or city. They had some characteristics as any other. For example, not everyone was related, a lot of people move to Astir when looking for some place peaceful to live or to raise their kids, the education system in Astir was wonderful and also creationism was never and has never been a thing here. All creature, of different sizes were welcome as long as they treat everyone with respect.

Astirians had a saying. Treat us the same way you want to be treated.

But Astir was also different for all sixty thousand of them were in the same pack and led by one leader, one Alpha who had had the utmost respect for. Erik Tomlinson. No town or city had an Alpha like Erik, no town or city had an Alpha like Eric who had the temper of a Marvel Super Hero but they stand with him for various reasons. His respect for all gender, be it Alpha, Beta or Omega. His respect for other creatures, his belief of being ready for anything, bullying was a no-no, the city was also safe and so on.

That's why when word of Erik's sickness spread round, they didn't even need to all meet in person. The plan was not to visit yip! and to drive Cobie away.

--

Se Ju stared at his Alpha as he was on the bed. They had managed to take Erik to the clinic built by the side of the house. After vomiting about a pint of blood, Erik had passed out. It had been the scariest five seconds of Se Ju's heart before he listened carefully. His Alpha's heart was still beating, albeit faint.

Spread out on the floor on the far side of the room were books. He has run tests on Erik but none could pinpoint the cause of the pain and vomiting, so he had to research. He's sitting cross legged on the floor, he had gotten tired of the chair a few hours ago. He's pulled from his reading when the door to the room was pushed open and the sweet scent of berries come flooding through the door as Randall walks in. He's pale, his normally rosy cheeks that made Se Ju's heart beat like crazy, was just white. His normally combed hair looked like he had ran his hands through his hair a few times and it made Han Se Ju stand.

"Is- is he going to be alright?" Randall asked, his voice shaking.

Se Ju wraps his arms around Randall and pressed a kiss to the man's cheeks. "He's going to be fine. Don't worry your pretty little head."

Randall fights the urge to stay in Se Ju's arms and move back. He knows the man was just trying to comfort to comfort him but he just couldn't. He's scared about would happen to Erik, taking care of Kai and he was also scared of Se Ju's advances.

"I'm anything but little, Se Ju. I am 215 pounds of soft not so little tissues. I can't want you, you shouldn't want me. So let's just focus on Alpha Erik. I'll focus on my Kai and you find someone else." Randall says, making sure to look into Se Ju's eyes as he spoke. He doesn't wait for Se Ju's reply and instead just made his way to the door. "I'll be back soon with dinner. I'm really sorry, Se Ju."

Se Ju watched Randall walk away. He didn't know what to say to make the man see how gorgeous he is to him. He didn't know the right words to say to convince Randall that he wants him and little Kai to be a part of him, a part of his family. Instead of focusing on his pain, he pushes it back and little and focuses on Erik. His heart beat was steady, his breathing was good and he was still asleep thanks to the iv connected to his hand.

He goes back to researching and has been sitting on the floor for an hour when Gabriel walks in. His eyes were red, his hair ruffled, his make-up smeared. He kneels by the side of the bed, because any small movement caused Erik pain. He couldn't even touch his brother.

"Has he gotten better?"

Gabriel had been forced out of the room, an hour ago by Michel who had forced him to have some soup. He had struggled but the Beta had thrown Gabriel over his shoulder and marched out with the struggling man.

"A little bit." Se Ju replied. "He'll wake up in a few hours. I just need him to be still and to also rest. The bouts of pain would have been too much for his mental health." Se Ju informs Gabriel who just nods. His eyes never leaving Erik.

He looks away from Gabriel and flips through one of the many textbooks on the floor. Vomiting blood along with bouts of pain when touched. He searched through the books and read through the paragraphs but nothing could be found. He was at wits ends. He grabs his phone and walks out of the room, a little at ease because Gabriel was there and Erik wasn't alone. He types in the first number that pops into his head and hit call.

The call is picked after three rings.

"Kim Sae Hee malhagi." (Kim Sae Hee speaking)

"Joh-eun nal. Igeos-eun Han Se Ju. Jal Jinaess-eoyo?" (Good day. This is Han Se Ju speaking. How are you.

"Why don't you speak in english, you know I don't mind." The woman laughed. Han Se Ju frowns at that. The woman always reprimanded him for speaking more English and less Korean. At any other time, he'd let himself think about why she was this way but this was a critical time and he had a lot of people watching his every step since the life of their Alpha was in his hands.

"My apologies, ma'am." Se Ju replies.

"Why do you sound like this? Did something happen?"  Sae Hee asks.

"I have a patient who experiences bouts of pain when touched as well as vomiting. All his organs are fine, no brain damage or broken bones. He has no illness, nothing hereditary in his family line."

"Omo..." she exclaims. "What specie?"

"Werewolf."

The line goes quiet for a while before Sae Hee speaks again. "Have you tested for wolfsbane and mistletoe?"

"He's clean."

"Where is he now? Is he awake?" she asks with something akin to wonder in her tone. Doctor Kim Sae Hee had been his mentor when he was in school. She had pulled him under her wing during his residency, especially as he was the youngest in the group of interns. This kind of ailment has been heard off and isn't even in the books, so Se Ju understands her reaction.

"I had to put him to sleep, he kept moving."

"Alright then. Grab your laptop, we're going to have a teleconference." She says and doesn't wait for Se Ju's reply before ending the call. Se Ju walks to his room to grab his laptop. His room was in the east wing of the house, overlooking the forest. His room was three doors away from Randall's and he fights the urge to walk into the other man's room even though he knows the man wasn't even on this wing. Randall was in the kitchen, he could smell the delicious scent of whatever he was cooking.

He checks his watch for the time and winces when he sees its 6:40 pm. He could hear the sound of children talking and Randall moving about in the kitchen. He walks to the kitchen before he could stop himself. He needed comfort too and he wanted it from one person. The one person who doesn't want to give him. Han Se Ju is frightened. If things go wrong and he losses Erik, the wrath of the pack would fall on him, he's sure of this and it scares the hell out of him.

He finds Randall adding more spice to the food boiling in the pot. He wasn't alone in the kitchen but Se Ju only had eyes for one person. He makes a beeline for Randall. The other man jumped when he notices Se Ju standing there.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Erik?" Randall asked, his brow creased.

"How come no one came to console me? I made sure everyone was fine when they asked questions about Erik, I eased their worries but no one even bothered to ask how I was coping with seeing the Alpha I looked up to vomiting blood and screaming in pain. No one bothered to ask how I was coping with the pressure of making sure Erik lived because you and I both know if something goes wrong, I will be the one to face the wrath of the pack. I w-" Se Ju stops. He takes a deep breath and stared at Randall's face. The man's eyes had gone wide and his lips were parted.

Se Ju doesn't wait for Randall's response. He walks as fast as he could towards the clinic and shuts the door quietly behind him. Gabriel had fallen asleep on knees with his head on the bed. So Se Ju takes a seat on the floor and plugged in his earphones so as not to disturb the brothers.

On the screen was Dr. Kim Sae Hee and three other doctors who introduced themselves as Dr, Rosario from England, Dr. Yukihra from Tokyo and Dr. Singh from Mumbai.

"Good evening, doctors." He greets them. He doesn't even care what time it's where ever in the world they are, it's evening here, so they'll just have to make do.  He gets a collective greeting and soon they dive into discussing Se Ju's patient. He doesn't tell them his patient was his pack's Alpha, he just leaves it anonymous for the safety of Astir. If word gets round that the Alpha was down, enemies would start trooping in.

"What is the gender of the werewolf?" Dr. Singh asks, his accent thick.

"An Alpha." Se Ju replies, keeping his gaze on the computer. He has the urge to look up and check on Erik and Gabriel but he could hear their heart beat even through the ear phones and he know they are okay.

"Dr. Kim tells us your patient was alright before he started experiencing the bouts of pain. Have you run blood test on your patient, Dr. Han?"

"Like I have informed Dr. Kim, my patient is clean."

"MRI scans shows what, Dr. Han?"

Se Ju wants to scream and maybe throttle the three doctors he doesn't know from Adam. He instead takes a deep breath and fights the urge to roll his eyes as he speaks.  "No abnormality."

"Was he exposed to anything? Maybe he got infe-"

Se Ju couldn't take it anymore. It felt like he was repeating himself. He shut the laptop close and was a blink away from throwing the computer against the wall. He's, however, stopped by the door being pushed open. Michel walks in and he doesn't look better than he had been this afternoon. He was still pale with freight.

"Any changes yet?"

Se Ju shakes his head. "I'm going to get a new IV bag, this is almost done."

"How long has Gabriel been asleep?"

Se Ju stands and makes his way to one of the cupboards lining the wall. He pulls out a new bag of nutrients and makes his way back to the stand. "For a few hours."

"It's time for dinner and I need him to eat." Michel says and Se Ju nods. He watched as Michel picks Gabriel up, bridal style and walk out of the room with Gabriel clinging onto the other man. Se Ju watched them go. He knows what Michel feels for Gabriel, heck, the entire pack knows what the Beta feels but Se Ju doesn't understand Gabriel. Why doesn't he want the Beta?

He quickly changes the iv bag and goes back to his books to continue his research. His dinner was brought to him by Amir, one of the many kids in the pack house, instead of Randall. It made Se Ju sad.

Day Two

Se Ju is freaking out.

Erik had woken up briefly and for that brief moment he had screamed in pain. He has enough morphine bumping through his body now to lessen the pain but it wasn't enough. Kim Sae Hee had called again to tell Se Ju they were still researching.

It seemed like time slowed down and he couldn't help but feel useless.

But never one to give up hope, he continued to research. Tons of books were around him, each opened to a page he thinks might be of help, his laptop was not far away and was open to scholar Google.

He's pulled out of his thoughts by the light knocks on the door, just as he's wondering who it might be, the door was pushed open and little Kai walked in. He was the last child in the pack house but there were pregnant Omegas, Humans and Fae who will give birth in a few days and months. So he's holding on to the title little for the time being. Kai perks up as he watched the boy walk towards him. Five year old Kai, looked just like Randall. They had the same hair, nose, eyes and lips and Se Ju could swear up and down, he had Randall's laugh.

"Nae aleumdaum adeul." He greets the little boy who runs straight into his now open arms.

Kai wraps his arms around Se Ju's neck and presses his nose into Se Ju's jumper covered chest. "Miss you."

"Miss you too, my beautiful child."

"How come I not see you?" Kai asks as he pulls back. He cups Se Ju's cheeks with his small chubby hands and stared straight into his eyes.

"I had to take care of Uncle Erik. He's sleeping." Se Ju responds. Leaning forward to press a kiss to Kai's nose.

The little boy giggles and kisses Se Ju's nose too. he moves closer and cuddles the older man. Times like this are one of Se Ju's favourite. Moments like this when he can pretend to be Kai's father and Randall's husband. But like all dreams, he has to wake up sometimes.

"Take care of him, kay?"

"I promise, adeul." The doctor promise, pressing a kiss to Kai's hair. "Have you eaten?"

"Daddy gave me oats." Kai tells him, scrunching his nose in disgust. It was so adorable it made Se Ju coo. They stay like that, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. After a while they fall into silence, Kai stays still as Se Ju continues going through the books around him. Kai began to play with Se Ju's hair and the man let him. He chuckles as Kai twisted his hair with his tiny hands.

"Why don't you go and get some hair clips to hold it in place?" Se Ju offers when Kai began to pout about the hair not staying in the position he wanted it to.

"Okie!" the little boy cheers and runs towards the door. Se Ju watched the little boy, ready to jump if he sees Kai even tilt a little towards the floor. Once the boy leaves, Se Ju's eyes flick to the bed and he watched the steady rise and fall of Erik's heart for one, two, three minutes before going back to the books.

It dawns on him halfway through The Miracle That Is Were-Genes by Farah Fitzgerald PH.D. Maybe the answer wasn't in any of these books.

Since everything moves around in circle, maybe the answer isn't within any twenty or twenty first century works. What if it lies in past books? Books like the old ones in Erik's office which has been the office of various Alphas before him. The probability for the answer being in one of those books was high.

He stands up with excitement and calls out for Gabriel through the pack link. Asking him to please stay with his brother while he get some more books. He takes the steps two at a time and runs down the hallway until he was standing in front of the huge doors. Without hesitating, he pushes the door open and walked in. He looks around the room, his legs leading him to the first cabinet he could find and he begins to search. In less than ten minutes, he has papers all around him.

He must have made quite the ruckus because Michel comes into the room. He stares at the mess then at Se Ju.

"You know how dungarees, vintage shirts and washed mom jeans are the new things?" Se Ju asks As if expecting Michel to understand. The Beta stares at the Pack doctor like he has grown an extra head instead. "Those things were popular in the past. What if the answers we need are in one of the books kept by Alphas of the old? Astir's past Alphas."

Michel's eyes widened at that. He didn't need more explanation and just heads to the nearest cabinet and pulls out book after book.

"The key words are vomiting and bouts of pain. If you find one, read it aloud."

Together they flip through book after book, read through paper after paper until there was nothing left. However, Se Ju's hope didn't diminish. He knows the answer was in this room, he could feel it in his bones.

"Is this all?"

Michel looks around and scratches the side of his neck. "I think so."

Se Ju gets up and walks to the large mahogany table. He pulls open drawer after drawer until he gets to the last one. Inside he finds a book as well as some other documents. When he flips it open, his eyes widened at the date. 1689, Astir. Alpha Camila.

"I think I've found something." He calls out to Michel, who jumps onto his feet.

Helios has been in pain for a two days now. After being rejected by Beta Joshua Vela, he had crumpled onto the floor in pain. It had taken time for the pain to manifest in Joshua but when it did, it was full blown. Both Joshua and Helios experienced bouts of pain, any time something comes in contact with their skin they end up screaming, they both have vomited large amounts of blood. In the early hours of this morning hallucinations began to take place for Helios and I know Joshua is next.  The effect of a mate rejection is intense and things aren't looking bright for the two of them right.

Se Ju still at that. Two things caught his eyes.

The first being the word mate.

The second being the word rejection. 

"Do you know what Erik went over to Cobie's place to do or say?" Se Ju asks the Beta who was now standing in front of him.

"He had been going crazy for a while now, so I told him to go and see him, to talk to him. Why? What did Cobie do? What did you find out?"

The doctor couldn't respond, instead he glances down at the journal and continued reading.

The pain is felt by the two as the link between them s stretched to full capacity, however, it would continue to stretch, for no mate can be cut off permanently. Bouts of pain can also be experienced as well as hallucination and insatiable hunger. The worst case scenarios are the loss of mind and death.

If Erik had been vomiting and feeling this amount of pain, that means there's a high possibility that Cobie was gong though the same thing. Gabriel has been in the pack house for days now and from what Se Ju had gathered from the gossip around the pack house, Cobie is always alone. This means there's a ninety percent chance there's a blue eyed man throwing up blood with no strength to walk towards the door or call someone, since he knows no one in town, who needs help. Any help he can get.

"Did Cobie call Gabriel yesterday?" He asks Michel who nods in response.

"In the middle if the night but Gabriel ignored it."

Se Ju's eyes widens. "We need to get to Cobie NOW!" He screams, dropping the book to the floor. Michel follows Se Ju's frantic footsteps.

"Why should I go to the man who is causing my Alpha this much pain?!"

"BECAUSE HE'S GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING ERIK IS!" Se Ju screams, just as he descends the stairs. He doesn't wait for Michel reply and runs towards the door. Immediately his feet touched the grass outside, he shift. His paws hit the ground heavily as he ran towards the town. Blood rushed to his ears as he runs through the town. He's scared of what he might find.

He reaches Cobie's house in due time and shifts. Him being naked doesn't faze him. Instead he tries the door but it was locked. He balls his fist and smashed the glass with it. Erik was able to survive because he was a creature with healing abilities but Cobie, as far as anyone knows, is human. Dear Selene in heaven, Se Ju prays as he runs up the stairs, following the faint heartbeat he was hearing. He burst into the house and the sight before him made him stop in his tracks.

Lying down on the floor, nose caked with dried blood, trails of dried blood on his cheeks and around his mouth was Cobie. One eye was pitch black and the other red, there was a pool of blood around his head but the icing on the cake was when his heart beats, one, two, three times...

and stops.