Chapter Text
halting his pacing and shaking off the concern that had just been running through his mind a mile a minute, jaewan abruptly turned his head in giin’s direction and took in the frantic expression on his colleague’s face.
“wait. repeat that for me, lieutenant general?”
giin hunches over with his hands on his knees, chest heaving after booking it all the way to the main palace from the military’s living quarters across the complex. as he righted himself, the sheep-hybrid took a loud inhale in an attempt to steady his breathing while simultaneously trying to reiterate everything he had hurriedly let out in one breath to the head butler as quickly as possible, just as a pair of fluffy ears popped out on either side of his head.
“the general has just gone into rut even though he wasn’t expected to for another two months and all the rut rooms are currently occupied and when i went to check on him because i smelled his distress from my room even i could tell his scent was growing stronger by the second despite my beta status and then he started growling and his growling got louder by the second too and to my knowledge he has never been particularly aggressive during his ruts so this is quite unusual so i grabbed his keys and locked him in his room as fast as i could and as i left i heard him rumbling about lemons for some reason and if he isn’t moved to another available rut room in any of the other outbuilding quarters this very instant i think he might–”
“stop,” the other beta snapped, jolting in shock as he raised a hand to cut giin off. “did you just say lemons?”
“yes, lemons, i’m not sure why that’s important but–” another hand comes up to cut the lieutenant general off once again.
“no, this is extremely relevant,” jaewan declared, his tone taking a grave turn.
a spark of irritation flared up in giin’s heart. how in the world is jihoon mumbling about a damn fruit more urgent than the fact that he’s probably going to turn his room upside down before breaking down the door within the next hour or so, and not only that, his thickening scent could potentially set off the defensive instincts of every other alpha in the military. unexpected ruts were uncommon and infinitely more unstable than routine ruts; jihoon was likely already sweating through his nightclothes and clawing at the wallpaper surrounding him.
“i can see you cursing me out with your eyes, lieutenant kim,” jaewan deadpanned, interrupting giin’s thoughts. “unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on who you ask, i’m afraid i know exactly why general jeong’s rut has come out of nowhere.”
with a deep sigh, the butler broke into a dash towards the grand staircase leading to the upper levels of the palace.
dear god, jaewan was definitely going to end up bald by the time he reached his forties. these things could really stand to not happen out of nowhere and stress the living shit out of him, but at least there was an explanation for the ongoing circumstances now thanks to the news giin brought him.
“wha–hey! where are you going?” giin shouted across the foyer.
“go back, gather a few other beta or human officers and remain on standby outside the general’s room! i will be there in a hummingbird’s heartbeat!” jaewan yelled over his shoulder, all while running up two stairs at a time.
⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅
skidding to a stop in front of the lone door down a long carpeted hallway in the blue wing of the uppermost level, the head butler squeezed his eyes shut and took a moment to gather himself–not unlike the lieutenant general just a few minutes earlier. the candlelit lamps bathing the hall with a warm glow flickered as a cool breeze blew in from an open window along the outer wall, passing over jaewan's breathless form. time was of the essence. getting here slowly had not even crossed his mind.
it didn’t take a genius to figure out what on earth was going on at the moment. an alpha and an omega in the same palace complex slipping into their cycles at the same time, and the aforementioned alpha is able to identify his omega’s scent despite not being in the direct vicinity? jaewan was fully capable of putting two and two together to recognize the bigger picture.
“your majesty, it’s jaewan,” the wolf hybrid called out as gently as possible, lightly knocking on the gilded door. he couldn’t help but be grateful for the fact that the smell of burnt flowers emitting from the room was duller than if he had been any other subgender.
on the other side of the door, there lay an omega in an immense amount of pain, sprawled out across a large four-poster bed. sweat began to bead in the space between lee sanghyeok’s furrowed brows, dampening the pillow beneath his head as he shoved his face into it, barely managing to suppress a distressed moan. two human maids sat at sanghyeok’s bedside, taking turns refilling a large bowl with cold water and wetting small towels to delicately wipe his overheating body and cool him down. they could only look on with concern in their eyes as the omega king writhed in growing restlessness.
for a few brief seconds, jaewan heard nothing. then, a short gasp, and a weak voice drifted softly into his sharp wolf ears standing at attention.
“what is it, jaewan?” the voice called out.
although the king’s voice was no louder than that of a mouse, the butler could not bring himself to open the door and step past the threshold of the royal bedchamber to try and hear better; he simply refused to intrude on the monarch in his state of vulnerability.
“the lieutenant general has informed me that the general of the army has gone into a sudden rut, completely off his regular rhythm. apparently general jeong is also rapidly becoming significantly more aggressive than is typical for him,” jaewan replied gravely.
at his butler’s words, another wave of heat washed over sanghyeok at the thought of the general of the army–jeong jihoon, suffering, just like him. the oh-so gentle and handsome man he had developed an affection for over the past few months since he began serving as general; the man who diligently spent his days training the royal officers and liaising with the advisors about neighbouring kingdoms.
sanghyeok let out a whimper as he pictured those slanted eyes that always glimmered with alertness and intelligence, the round cheeks that contrasted exquisitely with the sharpness of his gaze, the full head of wavy black hair that curled like the soft branches of willow trees around the base of his neck every few weeks…a faint smile graced the king’s face when he remembered the curve of those lips that would bled a deeper red at times if jihoon had been biting and picking at them. how…human of him. how adorable.
oh, he had just spoken to the sweet alpha a few hours earlier….
⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅
“good afternoon, your majesty,” greeted jihoon, kneeling on one knee at the base of the steps in front of the king seated on his throne. “the weaponry workshop’s head woodworker has completed your new bow and a full quiver of custom arrows.”
“ah yes, thank you very much. with that, i have a request to make of you, general.”
jihoon straightened from his bow and nodded, “of course. and what would that be?”
“i would like for you to personally train me in the wielding of the bow and arrow–i have been told you are an excellent archer. i am only practiced in swordsmanship and wish to learn a new skillset that can further prepare me for future battles,” sanghyeok hesitated for a moment, then continued. “however, i do not want to take too much time away from the performance of your regular duties. would i be imposing?”
dark pupils disappeared behind lovely crescents as their owner beamed, “it would be my honour. i could never deny a request from you, your majesty,” jihoon assured, and tilted his head up to lock eyes with the older. “may i come forth?”
sanghyeok felt his face grow warm at a number of things–namely the general’s heartwarming honesty, his smile, and the sudden request to move closer. “you m-may, general jeong,” the monarch stammered. he could only pray that he wasn’t flushing too visibly; what would the general think if he noticed?
jihoon smoothly ascended the stairs, the clacking of the iron heel-plate affixed to his ammunition boots hitting the marble steps echoing all around the throne room. stopping at a respectable distance from where sanghyeok was seated, he bent his head once again and held out a beautifully-crafted bow of lacquered yew and a matching quiver of arrows in front of a blushing sanghyeok.
“my king.”
the monarch nodded and rose to accept his bow and arrows. as his fingers curled around the smooth wooden limbs, their hands narrowly brushed against each other’s and sanghyeok flinched as a violent shiver streaked up his spine and his heart felt like it was burning all of a sudden, demanding to barrel straight out of his chest in an instant.
panicked and confused, sanghyeok wondered if jihoon had caught on to his unusual demeanor. what was that just now? he was sure he hadn’t flinched too hard, but not much escaped the perceptive general. sanghyeok was aware that he was fond of jihoon, but the lurching of his heart and violent shiver up his spine was a scary physical reaction to a simple grazing of fingers. was he coming down with something? why was he beginning to feel hot all over?
briefly skimming his hands over the weapon to inspect the craftsmanship, the king propped the bow and arrow up against the throne behind him with a shaky but satisfied nod, then turned back to face jihoon with his best attempt at concealing the tremor in his voice.
“y-you have my gratitude, general jeong,” sanghyeok managed. at that, jihoon raised his head with a hand across his chest to lock his eyes back on the nervous man in front of him.
never before had there been a reason for sanghyeok and jihoon to be in such close proximity to each other, but now they were face to face for the first time ever, mere inches separating their bodies.
oh , the king realized, taking the rare opportunity presented to him to memorize as much of the general’s handsome face. he has stars all over his face, not just in his eyes.
before sanghyeok could further indulge in his staring, jihoon quickly took a few brusk steps back and bowed one last time.
“if you’ll excuse me, my king. i must return to my duties at once,” he announced stiffly.
“of c-course, general. you may leave.”
sanghyeok longingly observed jihoon’s back move farther and farther away from him then out of his sight, and let out a mournful sigh.
judging by the general’s hasty exit, he must have been uncomfortable with sanghyeok’s yearning gaze and flustered blush. what a shameful display. had his scent flared up? perhaps he'll never turn that twinkling smile towards him again.
little did the omega know, the alpha hadn’t noticed a single bit of the irregularity in his behaviour. he was too busy wondering why a violent shiver had streaked up his spine and his heart had suddenly felt like it was burning, demanding to barrel straight out of his chest when he and the king made contact.
stepping out of the throne room, the general hurriedly unfastened the buttons below the high neck of his uniform tunic with one hand to cool down his rapidly warming body, while clutching his chest with the other, trying to calm his racing heart.
despite the ceaseless chaos in his mind, the corners of jihoon’s mouth couldn’t help but curl up ever so slightly. his majesty’s eyes were so bewitching; he could stare into them forever if ever he was allowed.
⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅
the butler’s voice shook sanghyeok out of his stupor, “your majesty, i believe the general is your fated mate. both your heat and his rut being unusually excruciating also makes me think this is the case. he was apparently also smelling lemons as he sunk deeper into rut. i believe only the two of you can soothe each other’s pain.”
w-what?
that sounded too good to be true. the general was…the general. he probably had a lover waiting for him back home–someone more radiant, someone younger than his own thirty years, someone that wasn’t sanghyeok. fated mates? was the universe that kind?
or on second thought, was this even a good thing? jihoon wouldn’t want to be bound to a person he didn’t love. the universe was cruel after all. it wanted to bind the alpha to him against his will.
“how c-can you be so sure it’s him? it could just be a coincidence,” the king remarked sadly, voice growing weaker with every word.
“sanghyeok-ah,” jaewan started, dropping any semblance of formality to speak as the king's childhood friend out of urgency, “need i remind you that you are the only person, let alone omega, with a citrus scent in the entire palace compound?”
silence.
and then another breathy gasp.
sanghyeok shut his eyes tight upon processing his butler’s words. jihoon…dear jihoon. oh, this couldn’t be happening. the man he loved was being bound to him not of his own free will, but because of fate. fate…what a hideous thing. perhaps he should reject the bond, for the alpha’s sake.
just as sanghyeok resolved to free jihoon from his own instincts, a particularly agonizing wave of pain penetrated his abdomen, forcing a piercing scream out of the omega.
“your majesty?!” the butler exclaimed, fretfully reaching for the door handle.
“bring him, jaewan! just bring him!” sanghyeok wailed in resignation, frantically waving an arm to signal for the maids to leave the room.
he couldn’t take it anymore.
⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅
“calm down, jihoon! we’re almost there!” giin gritted out through clenched teeth, readjusting his grip on the general’s right arm. the human officer on the left struggled against jihoon’s rut-amplified strength. four other officers surrounded jihoon and the two holding onto him in case he managed to free himself of his restraints. it was unlikely that he’d bite a beta or a non-hybrid but they had a gag around his head just to be safe.
“whe– th– fuh ah y– ta–ing me? whu– ih tha– smur– co–ing fo– a– wha– i– i– ge–ing shong–guh?!” jihoon tried to yell through the towel stuffed in his mouth. the citrus scent he’d been smelling since his rut started was growing more and more distinct, his mouth watering non-stop in response, drool seeping into the gag. breathing harshly, the scent only imbedded itself deeper into jihoon’s lungs as they ascended the palace staircase.
“butler lee, his skin feels like it’s on fire! he must be on the verge of slipping!”
“we’re almost there, general. hold on for just a little longer, please,” jaewan affirmed, leading the group towards a door at the end of a long hallway.
stopping in front of the door, he quickly instructed the officers, “untie him, remove the gag, and push him into the room as fast as you can.”
just as confused as jihoon himself was, the officers nevertheless rushed to do as the butler instructed, removing the restraints and shoving their general into the room in front of them.
“congratulations, general jeong. i wish you both a happy coupling,” jaewan quipped before shutting the door in a disoriented jihoon’s face.
the butler let out a sigh of relief, finally, he thought to himself. i’ll be free of their unbearable pining. thank fuck.