Duho had gone unconscious the minute he had calmed down from his very last high. He was always like that, just fainting and not minding at all that Namil would still be using him for his own final release.
Looking at the passed out small figure after he was done with his rut as well, he looked over at the tear-soaked face of Insu who was looking at him from where he was under Kangdae.
Clenching his jaw, he tore his eyes away from the wrecked sight of the omega and circled his arms around his bondmate. He had to be cleaned up and rest in a room that was not filled with so much pheromones to be able to take care of Hyo who had probably cried himself to sleep and hadn’t eaten the past four days due to both of them being absent. His child was really dependent on them, especially Duho. He refused to look back on his way out at the bed because his heart felt strange every time he saw his friend doing those things to Insu. He couldn’t wait to have the boy in his own arms.
Walking the long way to Duho’s chambers, the servants followed him in and toward the spacious bathroom where he took the unconscious boy and placed him down in the tub. He didn’t need to say a word for them to know what they needed to do. There was always one question he was asked after the other’s heat.
“Your highness, do we give him the potion?” The head of Duho’s servants asked.
Staring at the pink-haired boy, he thought about the options they had. Duho was strong enough to be pregnant again and his father had been telling him for months now that he didn’t want Hyo to be an only child.
“Yes.” He didn’t feel like having another child at the moment for some reason.
Walking out of the door, he had only taken four steps back to Insu’s — because there was no way he would leave him alone with his friend — when one of the army commanders stopped him.
“Your highness.” The man had the expression on his face he knew far too well. “The borders are at risk. Unidentified soldiers have attacked our men last night. Many died. Your father’s waiting for you to give orders.”
Namil only looked at the man for seconds. The thoughts circulating in his head in messy patterns. This meant that he had to shower at the speed of light and go to the main hall to get assigned with men and sent off to the borders to take care of the situation. But it also meant that he couldn’t go back to Insu who had been so desperate for him. He had planned to give the boy all the attention he wanted after he had taken Duho back, but now… Now he couldn’t even go there to give him a brief touch before leaving. Nodding at the commander, he made his way to his own chambers with quick steps, to shower and change into his armor. He only hoped Kangdae wouldn’t lose himself like he had the day before, where he had to stop him before he’d break the boy’s wrists or worse.
His body was sore all over, his leg not fully healed because he didn’t get a chance to rest at all and had been putting his weight on the torn flesh several ways over the past four days. Duho had asked him what happened to it once when the other two were asleep and he was caressing the smaller’s back to soothe him through his knot. He didn’t say the reason and only told him not to worry and that he was okay even though it was kind of killing him at the moment. With the vanishing rut, the exhaustion was catching up to him and the pain was starting to show itself as well. Ryung was going to nag so much when he was back, hopefully in one piece, and saw the state of his wound. Speaking of, he had to tell his servant to inform doctor to go check on Insu as soon as his heat was over.
“Your highness, I’ve prepared the tub for you.” Chiwon, the head of his servants, said as soon as the doors to his chambers were opened for him and he walked in.
The brown-haired omega rushed toward him and took off his cloak, asking if he wanted him to add anything in particular to the water.
“I’ll only take a quick shower.” He replied, feeling the beginning of a throbbing ache in his forehead and temples. “Get me some painkillers to go.” He ordered, ripping himself out of his shirt and letting it land on the marble floors on his way to the bathroom area. It somehow sucked that he only reeked of Duho and not the other omega.
With 250 men, they rode to the borders for three days straight without much rest. His horse was just as tired as him when they finally arrived. Namil could barely keep his eyes open and his leg was giving him such a hard time. It hurt, especially the times he had to force himself to walk without a limp not to raise questions and therefore various rumors later on. ‘Please let there be no real war going on over there’ Had been the only thought he had repeated in his mind on the way because he was in no condition for a hardcore battle at all. The situation didn’t even make sense, they had signed a peace contract with the neighboring kingdom, not 40 years back. His own father had signed the damn thing and now this was happening suddenly exactly when he had to be home.
When they got there, a group of around 30 men were standing at the other side of the border. Tents were erected, and they looked fancy, fancy enough to know the attack and these people were of nobles.
On their side too, a young master of one of the noble families was standing with just as many men but no tents.
Riding toward the latter, he stopped his horse in front of him and looked down at the guy bowing down and greeting him. The black-haired alpha stood straight again with a stern look on his face. Waiting for Namil to talk if he wanted, the other started to explain the situation when he got nothing from him because one, he was not a man of many words and two, he was tired, angry and if this was a stupid, petty fight between two noble families of the two kingdoms, he was going to kill them all.
“Your highness, I bought an omega from the neighboring lands on my trip there. We passed the borders and erected our tents in the woods a few miles from here. This man, the son of the one who sold me the omega, tried to steal him back in the blackness of the night, even dressing his men as if they had no identity to cover up his filthy action.” The young master hissed his words with gritted teeth, like he was speaking of the worst crisis to have ever happened.
Pulling on the reins, he turned his horse to the side and stopped when he was a step from the borderline.
“I am prince Namil. I’m sure you’ve heard of me, judging from the signature of your family.” He nodded toward the big silver patterns printed on the tents.
The man who looked quite in distress bowed at him respectfully and introduced himself as well.
“Would you tell me why you would risk bringing war upon all of us to steal back an omega that had been sold and is rightfully his?” He asked, voice hoarse and head screaming at him to just lie down and sleep. At least there wasn’t any actual fighting going on.
“It’s true that my father sold my omega to that man, but I tried everything to get him to sell him back to me, even offered him double and triple the amount of money. He refused and I had no other choice but to do this. In addition, I dressed my men in simple clothes for the sole reason of not wanting to begin a war, your highness.” The guy was tall and broad. Namil could tell he was around his age or slightly younger, but he was definitely bigger than he was.
“You killed many of this land’s soldiers. 12, if I am correct.” He replied, not caring about the boring back and forth explanation much.
“I lost men as well. 14, to be exact.” The eyes of the other never left him, talking with confidence and ready to stand up for his goal at all costs as it seemed. Sighing deeply, he looked back over the crowd behind himself and saw a very small tent he had missed the first time he’d looked behind all of the soldiers.
“Are there no other omegas in your country? Why going through so much trouble to get a sold one back? What’s so special about him?!” He asked once he looked back at the man from the neighboring house.
“I love him.” If those words hadn’t been said with such eagerness, he would’ve laughed. Instead, he stared dumbfounded for several seconds with narrowed eyes.
“That’s it?! You love him?! You love a mere omega enough to risk the lives of many people and kill dozens to have him back.” His blood had started to boil and he knew if he didn’t hold himself back, his own sword ripping through this man’s flesh would be the thing that was going to start a war.
“He’s not a mere omega for me, prince Namil. He’s the only person I’ve ever felt so dearly for. I demand to have him back as he has my mark on him already.”
The tables turned quickly. His anger toward the man died down and got replaced by rage when he turned his horse around and glared with ice-cold eyes at the young noble of his kingdom.
“You dared to buy a MARKED omega?” He shouted the word with the tone that always brought even the alphas to their knees.
“M-My prince, your h-highness, it-” The boy tried, but he was tired enough as it was.
“Shut it.” He hissed and looked at the tent a few meters away. “Give the omega back to his alpha. Now.”
Minutes passed until he saw a normal brown-haired omega being let out and set free. The boy didn’t wait for any permission and simply ran toward the alpha on the other side of the border the moment his eyes found him between all those faces. The nobleman himself had his arms wide open, waiting for him impatiently, and embraced him as tight as he could once he had him close.
“Thank you, your highness. I would’ve lost my mind without him. You gave me my life back.” The words were so… Namil didn’t know how he could explain it, they were strange. Why would an alpha be so desperate over a normal breed he could find anywhere? Even the boy’s visuals weren’t exceptional.
“Why did you waste time talking about love if you could’ve just said he’s marked and saved me the cringe?” He heard his own voice say, his mind literally coming up with all sorts of ways to torture the asshole of a noble standing behind him.
“Because he’s more than a mere bondmate to me.”
His face grimaced at the response and he turned around, not wanting to witness any more of the strange love story… Love…
“Arrest him.” He stopped his own trace of thoughts with the order before telling the commander he was in charge, and started to ride back at a fast speed. Somewhere during this drama, his heart had started aching and his stomach twirling and he didn’t feel good at all for some reason. The sound of Insu’s whimpers echoing through his mind.
Two days later he got to the capital. Abandoning his horse by the stairs of the castle, he ran all the way up to the fourth floor where their chambers were. Servants were looking at him with this look, but he didn’t wait to question it and was only stopped when Ryung stepped out of Insu’s room the moment he had turned into the hallway. Something was off and he could feel it. He could feel it in every cell in his body, and he couldn’t even feel the pain in his leg that should’ve been there after all of that running.
Ryung stood there and stared at him with this sad expression, making him stop himself from barging in, to hear what the doctor had to say. His mind was coming up with all kinds of things that Kangdae could’ve done that could’ve hurt Insu badly. Badly enough for his friend and those servants to look at him this way. He had expected many things, but he hadn’t expected what he heard a second later at all.
“Insu’s been… Insu’s been marked.”
A.N: Hi besties! Let me know in the comments what you thought of this chapter and please subscribe to me or the story! Thank you ^_^
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