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Hoseok breathed deeply, trying to stay focused and poised despite the heady scent of all the other alphas around him. There were around a dozen of them, all naked or nearly so, lined up at the edge of the village waiting for the start of the Mating Run. the omegas had gotten a head start about twenty minutes ago, so all of them would need to be fast and sharp and determined if they wanted to catch up.
He spared a brief glance for those around him. They, like him, had their eyes glued on the treeline, and were occasionally scenting the air, sometimes jumping up and down or stretching their arms and legs to stay ready. Nobody knew exactly when the chief would put out the signal for the run to begin. Then, Hoseok’s eyes caught on someone else’s - his friend Seokjin. The alpha was apparently also checking out the competition, the same as Hoseok was. Hoseok couldn’t help but smile and give a quick thumb’s up to Seokjin. Seokjin didn’t smile back but he did wink.
Hoseok hoped Seokjin would have a good time in today’s run as well. He was broad and strong and a very thoughtful and considerate friend - a great alpha, in summary. Whoever he chose and captured as his omega would be well-provided for and cherished, he was sure.
Suddenly, the great drum in the main clearing behind them boomed three times in succession, and all around Hoseok the taut bodies of the assembled alphas sprang into action. As did Hoseok himself right along with them - he had taken the first giant stride forward before he had even consciously registered hearing the signal. He had already calculated the places where some of the omegas were mostly likely to go in this part of the woods. Hoseok had walked through this part of their pack’s territory countless times, in every direction, and he knew every grove and stream and knoll.
Hoseok grinned to himself, exulting in the feeling of his strong legs propelling him swiftly into the woods, as a dozen others around him did the same thing, limbs flashing in the dappled sunlight. Even though he wasn’t the longest-limbed in the pack, he was one of the strongest, fittest, and most focused, so soon he was at the front of the group. As he swerved around trees and bushes and lept over rocks, and the other alphas around him did the same and chose their own paths, the crowd thinned out until within a few minutes, Hoseok was running through the woods alone.
He only slowed down slightly at that point, dropping into an easy loping pace, head up and smelling the air every few moments. He could definitely smell the traces of a few omegas ahead of him, and would need to decide soon which exact scent to track.
Deep into the woods, Hoseok finally paused, just outside a grove of pines he had passed by several times before during hunting or foraging expeditions. He closed his eyes and listened. He could hear the distant sounds of running off to his right and left, greenery being disturbed. Some distant shouting far, far to one side - perhaps someone had already been caught.
But it occurred to him that it was slightly too quiet in his immediate surroundings. Hoseok opened his eyes and turned around. He didn’t see anything, didn’t hear any motion nearby. Still, he felt like he was being watched.
There was no reason why that should be - everyone out in the woods today was either an omega running from the alphas, or an alpha in pursuit of the omegas. Nobody should be chasing Hoseok. Well, he supposed that it was possible that another alpha was following him at a distance, and if Hoseok should be successful in getting an armful of omega, then his mysterious shadow would emerge and challenge him. He’d heard of such things being done in other packs, but he knew the omegas in his pack had said they disliked such tactics and would reject any alpha who did so, so it seemed unlikely.
Hoseok shrugged to himself and kept running. As he went, trying to remain aware of the scents ahead of him and the sounds off to the sides, he kept getting distracted by possible noises behind him. Was he imagining it, or was that the sound of a stick breaking? When he paused and turned around again, wasn’t that sapling a dozen yards back moving more than could be accounted by for Hoseok having brushed past it? And he still definitely felt like he was being watched.
He got more and more on edge the further he went, his attention split between tracking the omegas ahead of him, and whatever could be happening behind him.
Finally, Hoseok came to a stream. He paused there again - at least two or three omegas had crossed here, and he’d need to be very careful to be able to pick up their traces when he got to the other side. He crouched down, spotting a few partial footprints in the soft, moist dirt in the line right before the ground turned into the rocky stream bed, and tried to pick out the distinct scents of the omegas.
It was then, when his focus was fully on the chase in front of him, that he was tackled to the ground.
Hoseok squawked in surprise and outrage as a large body - definitely an alpha - grabbed his shoulders from behind and drove him face-first into the stream bank. Hoseok put his hands out in front of himself to stop his face from getting smashed into the ground. The alpha continued forward, quickly pressing his entire body to Hoseok’s back, his feet hooking against Hoseok’s ankles to push his legs apart, and his large, strong hands grabbing onto Hoseok’s wrists. Hoseok gasped as the alpha got him completely pinned, his hips flush with the swell of Hoseok’s ass, and his breath hot in Hoseok’s ear as Hoseok’s hands were pushed further out and Hoseok was forced into nearly a starfish pose underneath the larger man.
It was then that Hoseok’s brain finally processed the scent of the alpha who had tackled him.
“Seokjin?” Hoseok asked in confusion, struggling against his friend’s hands and trying to turn his head to look.
He must have gotten confused by a scent trace, and when he spotted Hoseok’s back, assumed he was an omega. Hoseok was lithe and slender, and especially crouched down as he was, he could certainly imagine how Seokjin would have thought he had caught up to an omega at this moment. Hoseok suppressed a giggle. He supposed he should find it insulting or aggravating, but he actually didn’t mind - it was Seokjin! His good friend! They’d play-fought many times before.
And anyway, Hoseok was already so keyed-up from the anticipation of the mating run, that, honestly, it was a bit thrilling to be pinned for a moment - to have so much sudden skin contact, to feel a warm, sweaty body pressed close. If Hoseok let himself think about it, about the beating of his heart and the feeling of Seokjin’s muscles flexing against his back and his upper arms, of Seokjin panting deliciously in his ear, his cock might start filling out a little.
Not like that hadn’t happened during their playfights too, once or twice. No shame in it, all part of being an alpha, of learning the limits and pleasures of your own body. It was a natural reaction to closeness, to the interplay of bodies, of building mutual trust, even if the goal was to hone your instincts and your coordination.
“Hello, Hoseok,” Seokjin murmured into his ear.
“What are you doing?” Hoseok asked, wiggling his arms and trying to break out of Seokin’s grasp, struggling to keep his voice serious even as that giggle threatened to bubble out of him.
“What does it feel like I’m doing?” Seokjin replied teasingly, his breath hot against Hoseok’s neck.
Hoseok didn’t have very much leverage, but he wasn’t trying all that hard to break free. He wasn’t particularly worried. Then, something occurred to him.
“Hold on, were you the one stalking me?” he asked suspiciously.
His head was turned far enough to the side that he could see Seokjin’s grin.
“Yes,” he confirmed proudly, “you didn’t really try very hard to evade me, now did you?”
Hoseok scoffed and swiftly engaged his abs, pushing up his back with his elbows and knees in one sudden jerk, flinging Seokjin off of his back. As the taller alpha fell to the side, Hoseok was able to twist his wrists and pull them out of Seokjin’s hands. He rolled away and pulled himself into a crouch, to find Seokjin had already gathered himself up into a crouch of his own, and was watching him with bright, expectant eyes.
Hoseok had seen that expression on his face before. When they had sat across from each other at nightly fires, and Hoseok had taken his turn to lead the tribe in a song. When they had been assigned watch duty together over the giant fish-smoking fire and Seokjin had starting coming up with names for each of the individual fish that had been hung on the racks to cure, and Hoseok laughed so hard he couldn’t catch his breath. When Hoseok had successfully hunted a deer by himself and brought it back to be butchered.
A look you gave your best friend because you admired him, and liked spending time with him. Right?
What had Hoseok’s face looked like then, he wondered. When Seokjin made sure to save him a bowl of stew, and a place on the best bench, when Hoseok came back late from a foraging party. When Seokjin insisted on fixing Hoseok’s roof first when the big winter storm collapsed both of their huts and Hoseok admired how strong and quick his hands were, re-tying the thatching. When Seokjin bought them matching linen tunics from the trader who passed through last spring, saying he knew what color would look best on Hoseok.
Hoseok’s breath caught in his throat, still not quite able to formulate the idea of what came beyond “best friends.”
“Why me?” he asked, his eyes searching Seokjin’s face.
“Tell me,” Seokjin said archly, his face lapsing into a more serious cast but his eyes still warm, “who were you chasing? Specifically?”
Hoseok pressed his lips together in thought.
“Not any omega in particular,” he finally replied. “Just…seeing whichever one I caught up to.”
Seokjin smiled again and shook his head.
“Well, I was running after one person in particular,” he stated.
Then he pounced on Hoseok again. At least Hoseok was facing him this time so he could react. He jumped away so that he ended up getting tackled onto the soft grass further up the shore rather than into the mud right by the water. They wrestled back and forth there, evenly matched: Hoseok slightly shorter but with a bit more wiry strength. Neither could quite get the upper hand on the other, as they got sweatier and more worn out. Seokjin would pin down Hoseok’s legs, but Hoseok would twist free. Hoseok would pull Seokjin down and try to pull his arms back, but Seokjin would roll them over and try to get Hoseok in a headlock.
It was unbelievably exciting - Hoseok loved every moment of it. The thrill of all of Seokjin’s muscles on display, his smooth skin under Hoseok’s hands as they grappled, and the answering sparkle in Seokjin’s eyes that told him he was enjoying it just as much. A huge patch of the grass by the stream was flattened out now, as they growled and grunted and leapt at each other, sometimes locked together and sometimes separated again and circling, before jumping back in and resuming their grappling.
Finally, Hoseok couldn’t take it any more. His heart was pounding in his chest and his blood was pumping and he’d never felt so keyed up in his life. He wanted to grab, and howl, and rut, and bite. Hoseok had heard other alphas talk about what it had been like when they claimed their mates, at how their primal instincts took over, how it was more satisfying when their targeted omega made it difficult for them to win. He had never quite understood it then - but he did now. Seokjin was strong and magnificent and lithe and Hoseok needed him to be his mate. So he let his mind be taken over by possessiveness and lust, clutched at Seokjin with his arms and legs, and forced him to roll from his side onto his stomach.
Hoseok was fully hard then, pressed against the back of Seokjin’s thigh. Seokjin’s struggling against Hoseok’s attempt to pin him only served to stimulate him, a teasing of how good it would feel if Hoseok got the better of him and really rutted against him in earnest. Hoseok moved where his hands were gripping on Seokjin’s upper arms, forcing him more firmly face-down. He felt a surge of joyous triumph when he realized he’d finally got the best of the other alpha.
“You’re mine,” he growled into Seokjin’s ear.
Seokjin let out a sudden shaky exhale, and then Hoseok felt an almost overpowering surge of arousal when Seokjin suddenly went limp and pliant underneath him and tilted his head to the side. Now, the swell of his ass was pressing up against Hoseok’s cock, and the perfect arch of his neck was on display right under Hoseok’s mouth.
He nipped it, right under the reddened shell of Seokjin’s ear. Seokjin flinched at the sudden pain but didn’t attempt to struggle free. Hoseok kissed the spot he had nipped, first a peck, then he leaned down and kissed it again and again, opening his lips and running his tongue on Seokjin’s neck, barely conscious of the way his hips were moving against Seokjin more and more urgently. He let go of Seokjin with one arm so he could reach down and quickly rip off their loin cloths, Seokjin reaching down as well to help. Then, his mouth still on Seokjin’s neck and his cock pressed to the welcoming cleft of his ass, he reached down and around and ran his hand across and down Seokjin’s taut belly.
Seokjin moaned when Hoseok got his hand around his cock, gripping at the base and gently massaging where his knot hadn’t inflated yet. He felt a surge of pride and lust when he felt how hard Seokjin was in his hand - hot and dripping with precum.
“Mine,” Hoseok growled again, and Seokjin nodded mutely and bucked his hips slightly into Hoseok’s hand.
“Yes,” Seokjin whispered. “M’yours, want you.”
Hoseok growled possessively and tipped them over to their sides then, clutching Seokjin to his chest with his left hand and stroking his shaft with his right. His own erection was firmly lodged between Seokjin’s legs, smearing precum on his inner thighs. He felt a little desperate to finish, and almost more so for Seokjin to finish too, for them to complete the bond they both wanted.
Suddenly, Hoseok decided he wanted more. He wanted to be even closer. So before he could second-guess himself, he flipped them around again so they were facing, and then yanked Seokjin up into a sitting position. He was pleased at the sight of Seokjin’s flushed face and the desperate desire he could see on it that matched his own, as he tugged Seokjin to sit in his lap.
Eager and focused on pleasure, their lips crashed together as Hoseok pulled their bodies close, Seokjin’s legs draped over his and his feet thrown onto the grass behind Hoseok’s back. Their groins touched, Seokjin’s shaft hot against his own. Hoseok kept kissing Seokjin and Seokjin put his hands around Hoseok’s shoulders even as Hoseok reached down and grabbed both of their shafts together with his hand.
They moaned into each other’s mouths, unable to continue kissing as they were equally overwhelmed by the feeling of Hoseok working them both over. Seokjin reached his hand down and put it over Hoseok’s, and they worked together, precum dripping down and getting spread by their quick strokes.
Seokjin came first, a hot burst against Hoseok’s knuckles. Hoseok squeezed his eyes closed, right on the edge, desperate to join him. Seokjin leaned in then, clutching Hoseok with his free arm, and put his mouth on Hoseok’s neck. Hoseok felt the scrape of his teeth, and then jolted as Seokjin bit down and pierced the skin right at the base of his neck. Hoseok cried out and came immediately, spurting over their hands as the pain and pleasure jolted through him equally. In the haze, he could only think of one thing: how much he wanted to bite back.
Seokjin had already pulled away and tilted his head again so that Hoseok could do so. Hoseok leaned in eagerly and nosed along Seokjin’s neck, still trembling with his orgasm and reveling in Seokjin’s own sated scent. Then he bit down hard, exulting in the quick metallic taste as he broke Seokjin’s skin. Seokjin jerked against him, and shivered as Hoseok immediately kissed soothingly across the bite.
Then, it was done. Seokjin carefully took his hand off their softening cocks, and Hoseok unwound his after, both of them breathing heavily, limbs aching and worn out, the taste of each other’s blood in their mouths.
Seokjin fell sideways heavily and gracelessly, pulling his legs off of Hoseok and lying flat on the matted-down grass next to him. Hoseok let himself slump backwards, and lay down on his back and stared up at the tree canopy, lined up so his shoulder was touching Seokjin’s. They were both panting and exhausted and limp with their post-orgasm glow and filthy with dirt and cum and sweat, and as Hoseok turned his head to look at Seokjin, he thought that perhaps he’d never been happier in his life. Seokjin smiled at him, that familiar brilliant smile, and Hoseok grinned back.
“At least you tackled me next to running water,” Hoseok said with a chuckle. “We can wash up right here!”
Seokjin sighed happily in agreement. They still lay there for a moment longer though, catching their breath. Finally Seokjin groaned and pulled himself up, then stood up and pulled Hoseok to his feet as well. They both winced as all the bruises and scrapes from the fight they had been ignoring started to make themselves known. The endorphins had to fade at some point, after all. Hoseok did make a point of inspecting the bite he’d put on Seokjin, and then let Seokjin do the same.
“I think we did pretty well,” Seokjin said proudly, running careful fingers over his own neck as he kept his eyes on the mark on Hoseok’s, “we make a good pair!”
Hoseok laughed and had to agree.
“I’ll help you wash off,” Seokjin said, taking his hand and leading him into the water.
And so he did, and Hoseok washed Seokjin’s hair too, as they sat kneeling at the deepest part of the stream. Hoseok leaned down and washed off his arms, and his face. As soon as he rubbed the water out of his eyes, Seokjin was there, leaning in for a soft kiss. Hoseok helped wash off Seokjin’s back, tickling him slightly and getting him to laugh his so-familiar squeaky laugh. That got him a smack on the arm and another kiss. Seokjin washed Hoseok’s back and only retaliated a little bit, digging his fingers into Hoseok armpit and making him shriek. But he did also pluck a handful of grass from the edge of the bank, and use it to gently clean the bite on Hoseok’s neck, and Hoseok returned the favor, soothing the stinging with more kisses.
Finally, they’d done the most they could, and got back out of the stream.
“Well,” Seokjin said speculatively, even as his eyes trailed appreciatively over Hoseok’s dripping-wet body, “shall we head home?”
Hoseok felt a little burst of nervousness. It certainly wasn’t completely unheard of for two alphas to mate - but it wasn’t common either. The thought that their chief or their packmates would disapprove stung a bit.
“Yes, let’s,” Hoseok said, taking a moment to once more admire the bite he’d put on Seokjin’s neck.
They self-consciously wound their discarded loincloths back on and started walking. They stayed quiet on their slow way back, both of them a little tired and achy. It gave Hoseok a little thrill each time he glanced over at his friend - no, his mate! - and saw his own bitemark there, proof of his triumph. And he was just as thrilled to have everyone in the pack see the bite that Seokjin had left on him, to show off that he was loved and cherished too.
As they got closer to the village, and his nerves increased, Hoseok could smell that Seokjin was nervous too. He vowed to himself that, no matter what, he’d stick with his new mate. They’d leave the village if he had to. Hoseok reached out for Seokjin’s hand, who eagerly grabbed it, so that they were hand-in-hand as they stepped out of the forest and back into the view of their waiting neighbors.
It was traditional to cheer and clap for each newly mated couple that came back from the Mating Run. At first, here was a very brief hush when the crowd spotted the two of them, and Hoseok saw some of his friends craning and tilting their heads, looking at his and Seokjins’ necks and realizing what it meant. But nonetheless, after that split-second hesitation, they all burst into cheers just like they did for everyone else. Hoseok turned and caught Seokjin’s eyes, and they smiled at each other.
Two of the older mated omegas who were waiting at the edge of the village threw them some long tunics, which they hastily donned so they wouldn’t have to walk through the crowd practically naked. Their necks - adorned with their sizeable, aggressive bites - were, of course, still visible to everyone, as well as a good number of the developing bruises that littered their arms and legs.
As everyone continued to cheer, they walked past the outer gardens and the huts and the crowd and made their way to the central fire where the chief was waiting to give his recognition. Hoseok spotted Namjoon sitting in Jimin’s lap off to one side, with a tidy, decisive bite newly decorating Namjoon’s neck. Well, good for them!
Then, they had reached the fire. The chief was there, sitting on his bench, opposite from them so that he appeared to be wreathed in smoke.
“Hoseok, Seokjin, please come closer,” he called out, his voice loud but his tone giving no clue to his inner thoughts.
The chatter of the crowd died down and most of them turned to watch. Hoseok could only hope that they were all about to witness a happy moment, not a humiliating one. The chief’s face and voice were both carefully blank so far. Still, he and Seokjin had to present themselves to him - that was the tradition.
Hoseok lined himself up in front of the old alpha, with Seokjin standing tall right next to him, their shoulders touching. They both stared at him, just the slightest edge of a challenge. The chief stared right back. The crowd grew even more silent.
“You know,” the chief finally remarked, “you really didn’t need to participate in the Mating Run for all this.”
As he spoke he gestured broadly towards them, and let the barest quirk of a smile onto his face. Hoseok could see Seokjin grin out of the corner of his eye.
“I know,” Seokjin replied smoothly, “but it was much more fun this way.”
Then he pulled Hoseok’s hand up to his face and softly kissed the back of it, still looking at the chief. The chief was instantly charmed, and barked in laughter and slapped his leg.
“Alright, alright!” he said more jovially than before. “Now sit down and have something to eat. You look like you didn’t make it easy for each other, that’s for sure!”
“Thank you,” they chimed together.
The chief stood up.
“Hoseok and Seokjin!” the chief called out joyously in announcement.
The pack all gave them the traditional howl in response. As the noise of their combined voices peaked, Hoseok turned and looked at Seokjin again, before they stepped away from the fire to sit together and share their first meal as mates. Seokjin was smiling, and Hoseok felt his own face stretched into an irrepressible grin in return. He would never have imagined that this was what would happen when he woke up this morning, but it just felt right. He loved the warmth in Seokjin’s eyes and smile, the pride he felt at the slight swelling on Seokjin’s cheek from where Hoseok had hit him and the other bruises that were starting to bloom on his arms and legs and unseen under his tunic, and the memory of how it had felt to put that provocatively fresh red bite mark on Seokjin’s neck himself. He could see Seokjin’s eyes roaming over his neck and body and assumed his thoughts were going in the same general direction.
How wonderful, Hoseok thought, to have such a good, strong, healthy mate - one who could put up a fight but still be sweet and kind, one who had been by his side already and who he already looked forward to seeing every day.
“Come on then,” Hoseok said, finally tugging Seokjin towards where some of the other couples were already being given piles of steaming-hot flatbread and bowls of stew. “I’m hungry.”
Seokjin insisted on leaning in for one more kiss before he let himself be pulled in that direction. Then they sat next to Jimin and Namjoon, and ate stew and flatbread, and accepted the congratulation and well-wishes of their packmates.