Despite what his personality implied, Victor was an efficient, deadly, and serious man. On the surface, anyone who encountered the Prime Alpha would think that he wasn’t, as the man was frequently found making jokes and lightheartedly bouncing around any space he found himself in.

When he spoke he came off as witty and care-free, always smiling and laughing with his pack like they didn’t have a care in the world. While the pack leader was away on business at the hospital, they'd been playing video games and having a afternoon drinks in the conference room. They were celebrating another successful acquisition and toasting to their increased power when Victor received a phone call from Kai  and swiftly exited the room to take the call, putting everyone temporarily on edge.

When the man came back into the room, every single Alpha present stilled. Victor was pulsating with intense pheromones; Irritation, fear, anxiety, and stress rolled off of him in waves, causing all of the previous tension to show on the collective groups' faces.

Victor slowly walked to the center of the room before clearing his throat and letting out a deadly calm voice. “I’m going to have to ask everyone who isn’t a member of the board to leave the room, now.”

The board was comprised of the four Prime Alpha’s that Malakai trusted the most. Victor, Assail, Keisyn, and Asza. The four of them had been friends since childhood, had built this pack together, and would conquer the world together. They were also the most powerful and loyal Primes in the pack.

Victor knew that he couldn’t entrust this information to anyone else and stayed silent and still while the lower level Alphas and Betas exited the room nervously. They would have their fair share of questions as to what was going on, but with Kai in such a volatile and delicate state he wasn’t willing to risk word getting out about his situation.

This whole ordeal was much more serious than Maynard knew, and the fate of their entire pack would hinge on how well things went between Kai and his Omega. Victor shuddered at the thought that Kai would bond with a difficult dormant Omega. Of course Kai wouldn't go with a nice docile Omega that wouldn't cause any trouble, the leader would be bored as hell with that kind of mating despite how much easier on everyone it'd be.

“Alright guys, our Leader has found his true mate.” A pregnant pause, “And he will be staying away from said mate while he goes through his first heat.”

“Why the fuck?” Asza spat before being immediately interrupted by Keisyn.

“Boss really isn’t going to mark them straight away?” He seemed confused and a little angry at the situation. “That puts us in a scary spot.”

“Too vulnerable, we could all go down” Assail muttered quietly while keeping his eyes pointed at the floor. Victor took a deep breath and explained the Azaki situation as best he could before sending the board off on their assigned tasks.

Malakai’s pack showed up much more quickly than he’d expected. Maynard wondered what the civilians were thinking right now; The hospital had been completely coated in elite tier Alpha and Omega pheromones. They were so intense that they made people faint all over the building from the pressure and then they were directly followed by the intensity of a bond between Primes forming. The smell lingered in the air even after the bond, still so thick that even some beta could feel it.

Then, once the chaos of all that seemed to die down, a pack descended on the building with deadly efficiency. There were the four Primes known as ‘The Board’ and countless Beta with them as they entered the hospital and spread out, leaving one armed Beta at every entrance and exit of the hospital while making their way toward the ward where Kai had been placed.

Like a well oiled machine of crazy bullshit.

Maynard sighed and checked his pager, Azaki had been placed in a scent blocked, steel reinforced room for his heat (that was well underway) and Kai was in another scent blocked room being pumped full of suppressants and tranquilizers to keep him as calm as possible.

The Doctor knew that The Board was aware of where Malakai was and decided he’d be most useful downstairs with Azaki. While the Omega would be in a daze for the next few hours at least, Maynard knew that soon he’d have a few moments of clarity and would appreciate a familiar face when he came to.

He was almost to the room that Azaki was being kept in when Maynard's blood turned to ice and he had to stop in his tracks. Assail was standing outside of the scent blocked room with five armed betas at his back. What the fuck was this about? The Doctor tensed, allowing his protect instincts to flare up all the while keeping his voice calm.

“Hello Assail.” The Beta was unable to keep the tremble out of his voice despite his best efforts to exude authority. This was his hospital and he convinced himself that he wouldn't be intimidated, but, as much as he liked to pretend that he wasn’t affected by Alpha bullshit, being faced with such an intense and stressed Alpha was grating on his nerves.

“Maynard.” The Prime nodded his head slightly and shifted his eyes toward the door of the room Azaki was being kept in. If Assail wanted to bust into that room, Maynard would be powerless to stop him. The thought made him shiver. His eyes scanned the hallway as subtly as he could to think of what weapons he could use if need be.

“Can I help you with something?”

The Prime must have sensed Maynard's discomfort because he relaxed his stance, (his Beta following his example) and cracked a small grin at him. “You’re concerned for the safety of Kai’s mate?”

“Of course I am.” The Doctor tensed.

“Good.” Assail spoke plainly while motioning toward his Betas. The men took position in front of Azaki’s door holding their weapons in full view. Maynard flinched at the action.

“What are you doing?” Maynard bit fiercely, taking a protective and instinctual step toward the door. He didn’t understand what was happening right now with Assail, but he knew that he didn’t like it one bit.

“What stupid question are you asking?” Assail frowned and raised an eyebrow at Maynard, keeping his voice deadly calm. Maynard recoiled a bit at the tone.

“I’m asking you what you think you’re doing with my patient!” Maynard barked.

“I am protecting him.” Assail said plainly. When Maynard seemed to still be confused at his intentions he sighed and continued. “Are you an idiot? You know we’re at war, right?”

“What does that have to do wi-” Maynard was cut off by the calm toned Prime.

“You’re a doctor, think about it for a second.” Assail pinched the bridge of his nose and leveled a calm gaze on him. “What happens to a Prime when they find their Omega?”

“Medically?” He questioned.

“Um, kind of?” Assail tilted his head to the side and Maynard almost smiled despite the seriousness of the situation. Assail was always the cutest of Malakai’s friends when they were kids and he was finally seeing the hints of that little boy pouring through his tough facade. “What I mean is, his Omega is going to keep him calm, keep his pheromones in check, keep him in control. No more uncontrollable ruts, no more hormone fueled rages, no more distractions from his goal. This Omega is going to make Malakai the best possible version of himself. He is our packs greatest asset and yet also our greatest weakness.”

The Prime paused and Maynard felt the weight of the situation slowly start sinking in. “...How bad is the war?”

Assail’s gaze turned cold as ice, “Bad enough that I brought five armed guards to his mate’s door despite also having guards at every entrance.”

“Oh,” Maynard let the new information sink in and he started to nod along. Of course Azaki would end up being in huge danger. At Kai’s side he’d be invaluable and would assist the Alpha with his rise to the top, but, if something happened to Azaki it would leave Kai broken and his pack would fall into disarray.

Azaki had become the most important member of Malakai’s pack in the blink of an eye.