"Don't let anyone come in," Estan told his mate as he followed Jae into the prince's room.

Yejin nodded in acknowledgement as he stood watch by the door. The alpha looked back and forth from the theta to the delta standing beside him and knit his brows. Ehhh. I'll ask about it later. Yejin thought to himself as he spotted the healing marks on the two's necks.

"So, what happened?" Yejin inquired of the delta. "Jae was holding Syri pretty close, so I didn't see what was going on. Is Syri's wound bleeding again?"

Haikon and Xander looked at each other before Xander answered in an unsure tone, "We're not too sure. When we got there, the omega had already been marked."

Yejin's eyes widened. "He marked Syri?! That bastard!"

The theta and delta nodded their heads slightly in agreement. They all wished to send the alpha to a special kind of hell. "Well, since Jae is safe and Syri is getting checked on, we will take our leave," Xander said to Yejin as he took Haikon's hand. "Keep us updated?" The delta asked of the alpha as he began leading the theta down the corridor. "We have some things to discuss," Xander said bashfully in apology for leaving suddenly.

Haikon quickly bowed his head in goodbye as he was dragged off by the delta. Yejin shook his head and let out a light chuckle. "Something definitely happened between those two. It's about time." The alpha found himself smiling as he watched the delta drag the theta down the hallway with a wide smile on his face.

"Well, good news is that the wound in his side is gone," Estan said as he looked at the sleeping zeta. "Bad news is that the alpha didn't even set the mark. Bastard."

"What does that mean? What will happen if the mark isn't set?" Jae inquired of the gamma.

"It won't heal properly."

Jae's heart sank. Not this again.

"But...it may take your set," Estan revealed. Jae immediately brought his gaze to the gamma.

"What do you mean?"

"The alpha did not mark him on his scent gland, so, technically, his scent hasn't been imprinted on Syri permanently. Which means-"

"The mark isn't permanent."

"Correct. This also means it may accept a set from a wolf who is not its owner, especially if the wolf is stronger than the original marker."

"If it accepts my set, will it heal?"

"Yes. It will still be the alpha's mark, but it will heal due to your set. However, I am not a hundred percent certain that it will work. No one has done this before. It is just speculation as of now."

"It's worth a shot. I will ask Syri when he wakes up."

"Okay. Good luck."

Jae nodded in response, his eyes turning back to the sleeping male.

"I've cleaned the mark and stopped the bleeding as much as possible, but it won't heal properly without a set. I hope it works," Estan said as he began gathering his supplies and returning them to his medic kit.

"I hope so, too." Jae let out a breath as he sat on the edge of the bed and pressed his hand to Syri's forehead to feel the zeta's temperature.

Despair filled Syri the moment he opened his eyes. The dull pain of the mark immediately reminding the zeta of the events that happened the night before. Tears threatened to fall freely before a strong arm turned the zeta over in the bed and pulled him to a broad body. Syri clutched onto Jae as the true blood pet his head in soothing strokes. The true blood released calming pheromones and made sure all Syri could smell was his scent.

Jae held Syri until the zeta was calm enough to sit up. The prince nudged Syri into a sitting position and had the two males face each other.

"You trust me, right?" Jae asked after a moment.

Syri looked deep into the true blood's eyes and nodded his head. 

"Would you be opposed if I set the mark?" Jae asked cautiously. Even though it was clear that Syri did not want the alpha's mark, he was not completely certain that the zeta's wolf instincts would allow a mark to be set by a wolf other than the mark's owner.

Syri released a short breath before quickly shaking his head. 

Jae nodded in acknowledgment. "Okay." With Syri's consent, Jae cupped the zeta's neck in one hand while using the other to tilt Syri's neck to expose the mark. Syri remained still as the true blood leaned down. Jae crinkled his nose at the smell of the alpha oozing out of the mark, and he fought the urge to pull away at the scent of a marked wolf. Syri let out a soft gasp as Jae began to carefully lick the mark. He was trying his best to set it. Jae did not know if the mark would accept a setting from a wolf that was not its owner, but he had to try.

"Jae-" Syri said between breaths. He wanted to say that the mark already felt better, but he could not seem to form the words.

"Hold still. This is going to hurt," Jae warned as he turned his neck and began rubbing his scent gland over the zeta's fresh mark.

Syri bit his tongue as pain throbbed from the friction, but he already felt better as the true blood's scent began to cover the reek of the alpha. Once Jae was done scenting the mark, he licked the wound again hoping it would aid in the healing process. By the time Jae pulled away, Syri felt intoxicated. He loved the feeling of being engulfed by the true blood's scent. He loved his touch. He needed his touch. Nothing felt better. His aching heart slowly began to meld back together. Jae's scent covered the smell of the alpha, protecting Syri from being forced to constantly think about the wolf that hurt him.

"Jae?" Syri pleaded up at the prince with glazed eyes. He was still high from the pleasure caused by Jae scenting the mark. The true blood could read the zeta's gaze. He wanted more. He needed the feeling of protection and warmth. Jae instantly knew what Syri needed. One could call it a dominant wolf's intuition, but the prince knew what the zeta wanted.

"Will you let me scent you...fully?" Jae wanted Syri's consent as the process of scenting one fully was very intimate and was usually done between mates.

Syri nodded, afraid to feel lost and cold when Jae's scent faded. If Jae scented him fully, the scent would last for at least a month.

Jae stood from the bed in response to the zeta giving his consent and went over to the door. Syri watched as Jae locked the door before returning back to the bed. The true blood sat in front of the zeta, and they locked eyes for a moment before Jae pulled Syri into his lap. The zeta's heart pounded as he straddled the true blood. Syri looked up at the prince with glazed eyes as Jae pulled the zeta's shirt over his head.

Once Syri's shirt was off, Jae turned the zeta's neck to the side, hiding the mark and exposing the scent gland. Syri closed his eyes as Jae began rubbing his scent gland over Syri's while releasing his scent throughout the room.

Jae fought his arousal with Syri's quiet gasps of pleasure as he scented the zeta. Once Jae's scent was thoroughly kneaded into Syri's gland, the true blood pulled away from the dazed zeta. If Jae hadn't been holding Syri, he would have melted to the floor.

"Are you ready?" Jae asked.

"Yes," Syri answered between breaths. The zeta's lids were low as he gazed at the true blood with glazed eyes.

Now that the gland was prepped, it was time for the final stage. Jae would have to scent Syri's body. Jae gently laid Syri onto the bed, his brown eyes gazing up at the true blood as Jae hovered above him. Jae licked the mark one more time before he began scenting the zeta. By this time, Hyuk was very much aroused, but Jae fought to keep him under control.

Now is not the time, Hyuk. Syri does not need that. Control yourself. Jae growled at his wolf as he scented the zeta.

Syri was incredibly dazed when Jae finished the scenting, so the true blood gently put the zeta's shirt back on and pulled the blankets over both of them. The zeta rolled into Jae as the prince wrapped the small male in his arms. Syri went to sleep feeling warm and protected. Jae's scent was all over him, and his strong arms were shielding him from the world.

"Syri...Syri," Jae's gentle voice called the zeta back into the prince's arms. Syri opened his eyes to see Jae gazing down at him softly. The mark on his neck was sore, but it no longer throbbed with pain. The zeta felt warm and safe. He was wrapped in the prince's comforting scent and was lying on a warm bed. This was the best morning he had ever had. "Why don't you eat something, hm?" Jae suggested softly.

Syri nodded, and Jae helped him sit up. The true blood fluffed the pillows and set them behind Syri so the zeta could rest against them. Syri's eyes widened at the smell of fresh food floating throughout the room. The zeta's cheeks blushed in embarrassment as his stomach growled loudly at the aroma of hot food. Jae smiled at the boy before grabbing a tray of food from the cart and setting it in the zeta's lap.

"Is this all for me?" Syri asked as he hungrily looked at the delicious spread of bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, and fruit cup.

"Mm hmm," Jae responded as he brought his tray into the bed with him. The true blood watched as the zeta took a bite from one of the sausages. Syri's eyes lit up as he tasted the hot meat.

"I've never had sausage before. This is amazing!" The zeta smiled as he finished his first bite and giggled with excitement as he went to try the bacon.

Jae smiled softly at the zeta. He was relieved to see Syri so happy, but, at the same time, his heart sank at the realization that Syri was denied happiness throughout much of his life. "What do you want to drink? We have orange juice, apple juice, cranberry juice, lychee juice, banana milk, strawberry milk, pineapple milk, mango milk, chocolate milk, regular milk, coffee, tea, and water."

The zeta set down his fork and looked up at the prince in awe. "How did you memorize all that?"

Jae let out a light laugh. "I was asked this every morning growing up."

"Ahh!" Syri smiled. Jae's heart felt light as he gazed at the zeta's happy expression. It felt good to see him smile and hear him laugh. Seeing Syri happy strengthened the true blood's resolve to keep the zeta safe and sound. He wanted Syri to be able to laugh and smile to his heart's content.

"Ummm..." Syri turned his head up as he thought through the choices. "I'll have strawberry milk!"

"Good choice," Jae smiled at the cute zeta.

"What do you usually get?" Syri inquired of the true blood as Jae ordered their drinks through the pack link.

"Me? I usually get banana milk. Sometimes I get coffee, but that's only when I'm swamped with duties and don't get a lot of sleep."

"So, which is it today?"

"Mmm. Banana milk."

Syri nodded his head in approval. "It's my first time having flavored milk, so I will have to try banana milk next time."

"Sounds like a plan. Is there anything else you want to eat?"

Syri looked down at his plate and shook his head. "This is already more than enough."

"Okay," Jae responded before taking a bite of eggs.

The true blood's eyes turned into two, small crescent moons as he smiled and watched the zeta happily enjoy his breakfast. If Jae had one wish, it would be to see Syri smile forever and be free, free from the pain, free from the dominance of that alpha, free to be himself, and free to laugh whenever he wanted. However, throughout the two's happy morning, the thought of the alpha roaming around free scheming god-knows-what was ever present in the back of the prince's mind. He would give Syri a perfect day before setting off on the hunt.