Alphabet

Reunion

As I finished scaling Jeong Guk's hill, I held my breath. I couldn't smell or see him yet, but I knew he was close. The jolt of energy that I felt as I grew closer to my destination slowly developed into a thrumming deep in my bones. His presence somehow resonated inside of me. I felt weak in the knees at the first hint of his scent, having forgotten that my two favorite fragrances were passion flower and bitter orange. It made all of me eager to lay eyes on the alpha who was meant for us. Even my alpha was excited about the reunion. He somewhat gave up his resistance when he realized that Jeong Guk was our fated. He still wasn't happy about being stuck with the constant reminder that he's not as perfect of an alpha as our future mate, but there was an underlying sense of understanding that he belonged to us—that he was almost an extension of us. My omega was thrilled to be in the company of his alpha. He thrashed about excitedly as we walked. All of the chaos from my wolves perfectly mirrored what I was feeling inside. There were no simple words for the combination of thoughts and feelings that surged through me as I came to the clearing and was met with a dark stare. I froze for a moment, unable to move under the weight of my own emotions. Jeong Guk stilled too, his expression unreadable.

I snapped out of my daze because my omega could no longer wait to be closer to his alpha. My movements forward seemed to wake my fated up. He called out to me, telling me to stay where I was, with a look of panic on his face.

"Fuck that!" I shouted as I kept walking. "You have a lot of explaining to do and I'm sure as hell not going to yell at you from across the hill. I'm going to yell at you to your damn face! Why the fuck do you think—"

When I got about 15 paces away from Jeong Guk, I was met with a whirlwind of sensations that felt like running into a wall. An overwhelming pain brought me to my knees and surrounded me. I curled in on myself, having never felt anything quite this intense and inexplicable. Happiness, excitement, love, fear, anger, panic, and anxiety prevented me from moving and made me cry out. I couldn't think or speak. I could only hold myself tightly and pray for it to stop. As suddenly as they came, the emotions were gone.

"Just lay there for a few minutes, Ji Min. It's going to normalize. I'm sorry about that. You didn't give me time to get myself under control before you got too close."

I decided to heed his advice and used the time to regain my composure. After I was finally able to breathe and focus again, I contemplated his words. Did he have something to do with whatever the hell that was? I sat upright after a while and looked at him. I wanted to get closer, my omega trying to pull me forward, but my logical mind told me that I needed to stay. I don't want to feel that again. I watched my fated as he studied me, looking for further signs of discomfort. He smelled upset and worried.

"What was that?" I managed to squeak out after a while. If his hearing wasn't as good as I know it is, he might not have caught it.

"When you recognize your fated, you can feel their emotions the way mates can. The only difference is that mates can feel it anywhere and we can only feel it within a certain distance. I was going to try to calm myself and warn you beforehand, but you didn't give me the chance. I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out like that."

It took me a few moments to be able to fully process what he said. It didn't make sense but it explained so much. How else would he have instantly known what's wrong with me at any time? If it was because he could feel my emotions, does that mean he's known for longer than just a couple of months? I reminded myself that I didn't have to be curious anymore because he's finally in front of me. I am going to get my answers.

"How long have you known?" He looked away from me, worry apparent on his face. He fidgeted with a rock in his hands. I could tell he was avoiding the question. "Just tell me how long, Jeong Guk. You owe me that much, don't you?"