The Concrete Arena
The night air feels cold against Yoongi’s face as he walks with a steady but quick pace towards the abandoned construction just across the street. He is glad the rain stopped before he arrived but is still annoyed by all the puddles of dirty water he has to avoid. His desperation is only feeding his annoyance at the situation. There is just too much unknown for his peace of mind. He is at an unknown location, surrounded by unknown people that would probably end him if they knew who he was, but most importantly, the location of his youngest pack mate is still unknown. A tip by one of the group’s infiltrated members informed him of the whereabouts of his mate, who was taken almost over a week ago after a mission turned south. Now he has to go in there to find out if the information is true and he hates everything about this place already.
A fucking underground fighting arena.
On the outside, tall metal walls protect the property from curious looks. The entrance is heavily guarded by armed men and all guests are registered for weapons before entering. There are men and women from different social status, distinguishable by their top-brand attire or rugged leather and jeans. Yoongi walks ahead unfazed – he expected as much. The security guard tap his pants and even his boots, asks him to remove his leather jacket that is inspected by one guard while another taps his sides and arms. Perhaps if they checked thoroughly, they would have checked his beanie as well, uncovering his distinctive silver hair and a small earpiece tucked inside his ear – perhaps one or two small weapons as well. The guards give an approving nod and Yoongi nods in return as he heads inside.
His face remains unimpressed, hiding perfectly the shock when Yoongi sees the inside of the place. The building, that was meant to be an apartment complex, was barely finished up to the fifth floor with only the concrete columns and floors forming the space. Right in the center, a circular hole of rough broken concrete forms the fighting ring on the level below, giving the floor he was in the perfect view of the fights. From a floor above his, the top-class audience sit in fancy couches and are served expensive drinks while they enjoy the show; heavy lighting illuminates the ring for the spectators that cheer and shout at the fight currently taking place.
Two wolves are fighting viciously on the concrete arena. Claws and fangs tear skin and muscle; the force of the bodies clashing against each other send a shiver down Yoongi’s spine. One of the wolves, with silver fur and equally silver eyes, regains his footing first after the clash and begins circling around the other, a wolf with brown fur and almost twice the grey wolf’s size. Werewolves. It is stalking, eyes locked on to the brown wolf that stands slowly. His prey. The brown wolf meets his gaze and growls. It sounds intimidating but Yoongi knows that it is only for show - trying to hide his fear. The grey wolf doesn’t even flinch, continuing his stalking with a steady slow pace, lowering his ears and showing his teeth as a sign of aggression before attacking.
It is amazing how the grey wolf clearly overpowers the other despite its size, biting directly at the neck every time he attacks, even if the other manages to bite his front paw or digs its claws on the other’s side in an attempt to release itself. It won’t last long; Yoongi thinks to himself. An he isn’t wrong. The brown wolf makes a last attempt to injure his adversary, launching over him and biting over his shoulder, only for the latter to turn them around until the grey wolf is the one standing on top of the other, growling at its face in a clear show of dominance.
The brown wolf doesn’t rise anymore - its strength all but drained from him. Instead, it tilts its head to bear the neck in submission; in surrender.
Everyone holds their breath for a moment, waiting for the grey wolf’s next move. After a few seconds of silence, the screams begin again. Shouts of “finish him”, “kill him” flood the arena along with cussing at the loser. Yoongi remains silent, his gaze not leaving the scene in front of him and a feeling of dread and pure anger accelerate his breathing. They are making them fight to the death for money. The wolf form is supposed to be sacred, the closest connection a werewolf can have with the Moon Goddess; and these bastards are using them as entertainment. It’s making his blood boil.
Everyone keeps shouting at the fighters, yet the grey wolf remains still. It slowly rises his gaze and looks amongst the crowd until he stops at a spot right in front of Yoongi’s position. He looks up as well to see an old man, maybe in his sixties, with grey hair and beard neatly combed and an expensive looking black suit. The old man looks unamused, almost irritated by the actions of the grey wolf. He takes a couple of steps forward, grabbing a cigar from inside his suit and placing it in his mouth just as a stranger’s hand holds a up a lighter for him. The man looks down as he takes a deep drag of his cigar and stares at the wolf for a few more seconds before releasing the smoke he was holding and turning back around.
This most have been a clear message to the grey wolf, for it swiftly places itself over the its opponent that remains incredibly still. A low whine can be heard as the grey wolf grabs the brown’s neck and in a quick motion bites and twists with precision, killing it instantly.
The crowd becomes mad, screaming and howling cheers for the winner, throwing pieces of raw meat and sausages at it in clear mockery. Fucking assholes. Yoongi can only stare at the grey wolf as it slowly backs away from the body, its paws shanking with exhaustion. It looks back at the audience, trying to locate the old man from before but he was no longer there. It looks around at all the cheering and shouting, circling around as if parading his victory before walking over to the center of the ring. The screaming becomes deafening as the people watch amazed at the spectacle before their eyes. In an instant, the grey fur disappears, bones crack and rearrange and instead of a wolf, a young man now stands on the center of that arena. His body is well built, his muscles covered in wounds and the only clothes he wears are tight shorts of a fabric that looks like spandex that show the detailed strength of his thighs. His face is looking down, his jaw clenching in disgust at the taste and smell of blood all over his mouth. His short black hair lets show three claw-like scars that extend from his left temple to the back of his head.
The sound of a microphone turning on grabs the attention of the crowd that slowly stops the screaming to look over at the annunciator that stands proudly over the edge of the arena, with cheap sunglasses and a charismatic smile.
“Give it up for the great grey wolf! The Undefeated Ring Monster! RM!” the annunciator shouts and everyone, at least the winners of the bet, cheer with euphoria.
Meanwhile, the young man steadies his breathing and, without looking up, raises his right hand, closed in a fist, in sign of victory. The audience all but loses their shit. They don’t even notice the loser’s body being dragged away by staff, leaving only the victor standing and a trail of blood around him.
“Yes, yes,” the man continues, “that was indeed an exhilarating fight. I am sure you all enjoyed the ferocity and ruthlessness of RM.” The audience shouts and claps, throwing compliments and celebratory cheers at the young fighter. “After this fight, it would be difficult to provide a better show but rest assured, the best is yet to come! Tonight, you will witness fresh blood. And I’m not talking about open wounds and stained muzzles. Ha ha ha. No! Tonight, we present a new fighter. A young wolf so talented that he climbed his way up to the top ten fighters that are chosen for this very arena in only a couple of days.” Yoongi freezes when he hears this. A chill runs down his spine and his breathing increases. No no no. Please, no.
“Now, don’t be fooled by his appearance. He may be the youngest of our fighters so far, but his strength could rival even that of our undefeated warrior. Place your bets and secure your seats, ladies and gentleman. Give it up for the Golden Maknae!”
Yoongi is about to lose his shit. His ears no longer catch the sound of all the cheering with his beating heart all but leaping out of his chest. His eyes focus on the only entrance to the arena, where a young man walks from the shadows to stand in front of RM. His long hair is tied loosely in a half bun, wavy black strands decorating his forehead and almost covering his huge black eyes that gaze with determination at his opponent. The young man is not as tall as RM but his built is not far behind, with a wide back and chest accentuating his slim waist. He is walking barefoot, wearing only an all-black outfit consisting of a tight shirt and loose cargo pants. All he is missing are his combat boots, Yoongi thinks trying to concentrate his mind in anything else than the fact that his mate is about to fight to the death against another wolf. A violent, ruthless wolf who just killed one of his own in cold blood.
This distraction brings him back to the present, where he remembers to inform his other mates.
“Guys…” he says in a low voice, trying not to draw attention to himself, “I found him.”
“He is really there?” A voice can be heard from his earpiece. “Is he hurt? Is he safe?”
“Yes, no and no.” Yoongi gives a dry answer.
“Can you get him out?” A second voice says.
“He is – they are making him fight.” Yoongi answers with a knot forming in his throat. “I can’t get him out now. I will need to find out where they keep the fighters and go look for him after it is over.”
“Shit, Suga. You can’t be serious.” The first voice says with clear anguish. “Are you just gonna let him fight.”
“He has no option, hyung.” The second voice intervenes. “Just listen to all the noise. There must be at least a hundred people watching. If hyung tries to get JK out he will only blow his cover and get captured as well.”
Yoongi takes a deep breath. “We can only trust he can win. He is strong, and the other guy has already fought. He must be exhausted after shifting.”
“They made him fight as a wolf?” The second voice says with anger. “Those fucking bastards.”
The silence brings Yoongi’s attention back to the ring, where the two fighters start to walk circles around each other. Jungkook seems calm but his gaze shows incredible concentration. RM is still breathing heavily but his walking is steady and precise. His dragon eyes locked unto his opponent, analyzing his every move. The audience holds their breath in expectation; waiting to find out who makes the first move.
The young alpha closes the distance between each other slowly until only a few feet separates them. Jungkook raises his arms and forms his hands into fists in front of him, steadying his stance as he takes a deep breath. RM stays with his arms down, almost relaxed, but he straightens his posture until he stands proudly over Jungkook. He looks uninterested, but Yoongi can see why Jungkook hasn’t attacked yet. There are no openings in his stance, no weak points, no hesitation. One wrong move and Jungkook could be over in seconds. Remember to be patient, find an opening.
Yoongi is relieved of all the hours of training he had with his young mate, back home. Even if he hated every moment of it at the time. Jungkook is not attacking but is not giving his opponent a chance to attack either. There are no openings in his defense.
Although, that doesn’t seem to stop RM from giving the first blow. In less than a second, his tall stance shifts into a crouch as he closes those few feet between him and Jungkook, grabbing the youngest from his waist and lifting him off the ground only to throw him back down with brutal force. Jungkook lands on his back and coughs as the air leaves his lungs but he is quick to recover, shifting his lower half to wrap his legs around RM’s middle to secure him and striking down on his back with both his elbows. This appears to do the trick, for RM releases him from his lock and backs away, giving Jungkook enough time to rise to his feet again.
This time, is Jungkook who goes for RM. His quick footwork makes his opponent lose balance trying to catch up which allows him to throw a series of powerful punches all over his middle, chest and face. RM might be a vicious fighter as a wolf, but it is Jungkook who appears to have the better fighting technique in their human form. RM takes advantage of his long legs and arms to grow or reduce his distance, waiting for the right moment to grab anything he can from Jungkook to pull him close into a lock. It would take a single mistake from his opponent for RM to grab them with such strength in between his arms that it breaks their ribs and spine in a matter of seconds. Jungkook needs to stay quick on his feet and out of reach until he is ready to strike himself.
The punches go back and forth, both fighters not giving a chance to the other to give a lethal blow. The audience goes crazy at the show. They seem evenly split between the undefeated champion and the young challenger. This is the spectacle they had been waiting for.
Jungkook prepares to give a powerful punch to the face but his foot slips in a pool of blood making him lose his balance and that is all RM needs to step forward without hesitation and finally grabbing Jungkook in his hold. Both of Jungkook’s arms are trapped, the air slowly leaves his lungs as RM’s hold on him closes. He feels his muscles constricting and a scream leaves his lips when a couple of ribs break from the pressure. RM is relentless, slowly closing his hold on Jungkook without mercy, feeling the young man´s bones cracking.
The audience grew quiet when they heard Jungkook’s scream and now they are waiting for the finale. They see how RM tilts his head to place his mouth close to Jungkook’s neck and that’s when they hear a deep growl. Yoongi catches how Jungkook’s whole body trembles at the sound and his heart sinks preparing for the worst. His alpha instincts to protect are going haywire. His legs are about to give in, either by sprinting over to his mate or losing their strength, making him fall to his knees. He doesn’t know if he can keep watching.
For a moment, it feels the time has stopped and then everything plays out so quickly its possible not even half of the people watching knows what happened. Because lying on the ground, unconscious, is RM.
Taking advantage of his closeness, Jungkook made one last attempt to break free, making RM back away just enough for Jungkook to headbutt him so hard RM’s grip loosens. The youngest doesn’t miss his chance to break free and spin to gain enough force to kick RM straight in the head. Both fighters drop to the ground, the loud thud their bodies made when falling echoed through the quiet arena but only one stood back up.
Jungkook stands on shaking legs, wrapping an arm around his ribcage while the other remains hanging and bleeding. His breathing is unstable and his heart beats so fast he feels it on his throat. His vision is filling with black spots but he refuses to lose consciousness now. Instead, he steadies himself and looks around the audience whom all but lose their shit with manic excitement.
The annunciator tries to control the crowd but even he seems shaken by the result of the fight.The screams are a mixture of praises and curses for both fighters, some even directed at the staff that takes the bets trying to bargain a change. The public turns more and more agitated, people are pushing each other, some try to escape and security has to come into action. The annunciator makes a signal at that moment for both fighters to be removed from the arena, trying to prevent people from doing something stupid like approaching the fighters – an embarrassingly common occurrence at these events.
Yoongi starts moving the second Jungkook is taken back to the tunnel. It takes him time but he takes advantage of the chaotic crowd to sneak from the guards and go to the levels below through the emergency stairs. He goes down one level but notices there’s no light but the one coming from the entrance to the arena and a series of lights making their way to the stairs, so he goes down one more level. It seems all the guards took off to help control the crowd because when he arrives to the second level basement, he finds the space completely alone. Or well, not quite. In front of him is a wide corridor, formed by the stack of wooden boxes to one side and metal cages occupied by wolves and men on the other. All werewolves, Yoongi presumes.
He wants to help them, and his heart aches form them but that is not his mission tonight. Yoongi looks through every cage looking for his mate until he hears a voice. He feared the last time he would hear it would have been from that heart wrenching scream back at the arena.
“Yoongi-hyung?” Jungkook’s voice is low and cracking. The pain must be getting to him.
Yoongi follows the voice through a small corridor formed between the cages until he gives with the one holding his mate.
“Baby?” Yoongi’s voice trembles when he locks eyes with his young mate. “Shit, Jungkook. Thank the Goddess.”
They both approach the locked door to rest their foreheads against each other’s. They take a moment to breath in their scent, although it is muted by the stench of blood. Yoongi steps back and pulls from his beanie some thin metal pieces - a lock opening kit - and begins working on the lock.
“Always coming prepared, huh?” Jungkook says letting out a giggle and then a groan from straining his ribs.
“You know me, baby.” Yoongi answers with a smirk as he works the lock, opening it only a few seconds later.
He opens the door slowly, trying not to make a sound and alert possible guards that he is not sure when they are going to return. Jungkook wastes no time to walk out and clash into his mate with a hug - as strong as he could manage with one working arm – which is returned with a gentle cradle of Yoongi’s arms around him.
“Let’s get out of here before the guards return.” Says Yoongi as he takes Jungkook by the lower back, leading him to the back of the cages to surround the area and avoid the main corridor. “If the informant gave us the correct plans, there must be a second set of stairs this way.” He tries to walk as fast as he can but Jungkook stops abruptly.
“Hyung, wait.” Jungkook starts looking around then decides its better to close his eyes and take a deep inhale. As soon as his eyes open again, he turns in the opposite direction from where Yoongi was guiding them, making turns when he found other small corridors through the cages until he found the one he was looking for.
Yoongi tries to stop him at first but decides to follow Jungkook closely. He is utterly surprised to find the man who almost killed his mate sitting in front of them, with his front facing away from them. He is already awake, it seems; something that surprises Yoongi after he saw the powerful kick Jungkook gave him during the fight. The man is dressed in loose brown pants and a ragged white button shirt that lays over a strange piece of leather that covers the alpha’s neck and shoulders. A collar?
Yoongi is about to question the young alpha but he manages to speak first.
“Hyung.” Jungkook says softly, only Yoongi realizes its not meant for him. “Namjoon-hyung.”
Yoongi watches how RM raises his head and slowly turns to them. His eyes go from emotionless to surprised to almost tender in a matter of seconds, surprising the silver-haired alpha.
“Jungkookie?” Namjoon’s voice is low and smooth, reminding Yoongi of another one of his younger mates. “What are you doing outside?” His concern is clear in his voice.
“My mate is here, hyung. Told you they were looking for me.” Jungkook answers sweetly with a timid smile. “It’s time to go, hyung.”
Both Yoongi and Namjoon look at Jungkook confused but Yoongi is the one that manages to say something.
“Excuse me, what?” he says with slitted eyes.
“We made a promise, Yoongi-hyung. I cannot leave him here. They will kill him.” Jungkook looks at Yoongi with his big doe eyes, almost glowing with the tears about to overflow. “I promised.” He whispers.
Yoongi stares at the caged man and then back at his mate. His beautiful mate that knows perfectly well that his bambi eyes are his hyung’s weakness. So, he mumbles curses as he crouches in front of the lock, getting to work on it as fast as he can.
Namjoon looks confused at both of them, still not catching the situation.
“Jungkook, you have to get back in your cage. The boss will be here soon. If he doesn’t see you there, he is going to punish you.” His voice is so low it comes out as almost a whisper. For someone so large, his frightened voice makes him sound so small, Yoongi thinks. It’s almost endearing –
Yoongi shakes his thoughts away and finishes opening the lock.
“I’m not staying in a cage, hyung, and neither are you. We made a promise, remember?” Jungkook sounds more direct, this time, although still gentle. “You keep me safe here, and I get you out.”
“What?” Yoongi asks. Keep Jungkook safe? He almost got killed!
“I’ll explain everything later, when we are out of here.” Jungkook says as he quickly turns to Yoongi only to return to Namjoon, stretching his arm inside the cage for him. “Please, hyung.”
Namjoon looks at his hand, then at him, back at his cage and then back at the young alpha. He remembers the promise, but he honestly thought Jungkook’s part of the agreement would never come. It never does. Namjoon stopped dreaming with leaving this place years ago but somehow, those big eyes seem so full of hope that he feels it’s being shared with him. So, he takes a deep breath and begins to stand up. The cage is too low for him, so he is bent over as he walks out, stumbling with the entrance and almost falling down.
He straightens to his full height again and this time, when he looks down at the young alpha, his dragon eyes are no longer filled with bloodlust but with warmth and his mouth stretches into a shy smile just enough to see a glimpse of a dimple.
Jungkook wastes no time in taking hold of Namjoon’s hand in his before turning to Yoongi and giving him a quick nod. A sign that he is ready to continue. Yoongi is still confused but now is not the time to argue, so he returns the nod and starts walking again towards the exit. They walk in absolute silence, in high alert to any sound that indicates people approaching.
The stack of cages and boxes end at some point and so does the lamps lighting up the area, leaving them to walk in the pitch-black underground. Not that it matters to them for they are guided by their sense of smell and hearing. The three alphas walk towards the smell of wet concrete and the sound of passing cars. They find the secondary stairs and begin their silent climb towards the outside.
When they reach the ground level, the sound of the crowd can be heard at a distance – far enough to not be noticed. Taking advantage of the night, they continue their journey through darkness, stepping outside the abandoned building by one of its sides. They make quick pauses when they hear a guard pass through doing his rounds and move again when the guards are gone. In a matter of minutes, they are walking alongside the metal wall surrounding the property, searching for an opening to slid out.
Yoongi starts getting anxious when they cannot find a single opening on the walls to go through and it gets worse when they hear the guards start to scream and run. They are unto them. He tries to think of a way to get out but it seems Namjoon got the head start on it because in a quick motion he is crouching down in front of Jungkook, placing his hands as support for his feet. Jungkook quicky catches on to the idea and uses Namjoon’s hands to boost himself over the wall. He is agile and goes through in a graceful motion. The alpha then turns to Yoongi, doing the same motion and looking up to Yoongi with expecting eyes.
“What about you?” Yoongi says with concern. Not that he is concerned about the alpha’s wellbeing. No. He worries the fighter will go alert the guards the moment Yoongi climbs over that wall. However absurd that may sound judging by how scared the alpha was of getting out of his cage.
But Namjoon must not be thinking the same as Yoongi because he only answers with a gentle smile and a nod.
Yoongi groans but accepts the lift, and although not as graceful as Jungkook, he too crosses over the wall, landing on his feet and then his ass in a bouncing motion. In the seconds it takes him to stand up, Namjoon is already jumping over the wall, only grabbing it with one hand to help stabilize his turning motion and landing steady on his feet. Show off.
Jungkook turns to Namjoon and gives him his characteristically adorable bunny smile. Something that doesn’t make Yoongi jealous at all. It’s not like he came all the way to rescue him or anything. That thought quickly goes away when Jungkook turns to him and gives him a peck on his lips, smiling just as sweetly when he backs away from his mate.
They are preparing to make a run for it when a black van runs over and stops on their side of the road, the door opening in a swift motion to reveal a young man popping his head out and signaling with a waving hand to hurry the fuck up.
“Jin-hyung!” Jungkook says with excitement as he runs hand in hand with Namjoon towards the van. It appears as if his pain is all but forgotten, given the bouncing sprint and huge smile.
Jungkook and Namjoon climb on first, with Yoongi just behind them climbing on to the passenger’s seat up front. The door hasn’t even closed completely when the beta at the wheel gets the van in motion, driving full speed ahead. He drives in silence looking at all sides for someone following and just in case, makes a few turns every few blocks.
After a few minutes of high-speed driving, the beta slows down to incorporate to the main streets. They were on the outskirts of the city where no cars were around, but now the streets had more life in them, even if it’s the middle of the night. The van stops at their first red light and it seems everyone in the vehicle takes this time to let out the breath they had been holding.
“Do you think we are being followed?” Yoongi asks to the driver.
“Hard to tell. Doesn’t seem like it, but we’ll make a stop at one of our safe houses first just to be sure. Better ask Tae to look at the street cameras to follow us and catch anything suspicious.” The beta answers. Yoongi nods and gets to his phone to send a quick text. The beta takes couple of shallow breaths and looks back through the mirror. “It’s good to see you in one piece, baby.” He says fondly.
“Barely in one piece.” Jin answers. The omega has a deep frown on his face but all there is in his eyes is a mix of concern and relief.
“It’s good to see you too, Hobi-hyung.” Jungkook answers with a big smile. His lip is busted and there are bruises forming all over his face but he is as cute as ever in the eyes of his mates.
“And –” Hobi asks, “who is he?”
At that moment all eyes fall on Namjoon, who tried to make himself invisible somehow having Jungkook sitting on his lap in front of him, although with no success. He grabs unto Jungkook’s shirt from his back with one hand, while his eyes go everywhere except the other’s eyes. How does he even introduce himself? He is more than aware of who he is and what he just did to these people’s mate.
“This is Namjoon-hyung.” Jungkook is quick to answer for him. Everyone seems surprised at the honorific, except for Yoongi, who already had that surprise earlier. “He helped me while those people held me captive. He protected me and showed me a way I could grab attention so that perhaps you would be able to find me.” He is excited telling their mates about Namjoon’s plan and trying to make a good impression of him to his mates. “It was his idea that I joined the fights. Although we didn’t know we would end up fighting each other.”
“That he what!?” Jin’s scream erased Jungkook’s smile fairly quickly. “You are the one that made this to our Jungkook!?”
Well, there goes a good first impression.
