The day of the ceremony came all too quickly for Sehun. He didn’t feel prepared at all. The moment Baekhyun had shaken him awake, he knew what the day was going to bring, in fact he probably knew before even opening his eyes. Baekhyun had brought special paints with him to decorate themselves for the ceremony. The ceremonial colors were red and white, and then you also painted with a color based on your status. There was a lot of ritual behind every ceremony, and watching the proceedings take place always comforted Sehun. The rituals had rhythm and consistency.

            “Red for the blood of enemies, the blood of birth, and the rising of the sun each day.” Baekhyun said in accordance with the ritual. He took some of the red paint and smeared two even lines down Sehun’s right arm, and then made the same pattern on Sehun’s left arm. They were only wearing their undergarments, which consisted of a thin fitting top with no sleeves that tucked into some pants that were more like tights and reached only to the knee. As Omegas, their arms and necks were to remain uncovered and painted as to draw attention to the beauty of those features.

            “Red for the blood of enemies, the blood of birth, and the rising of the sun each day.” Sehun repeated back to Baekhyun, taking the red paint from him. Sehun carefully gave Baekhyun his proper arm markings with a serious concentrated expression on his face. When he had finished his art, his eyes met Baekhyun’s and they smiled at each other before bursting into a short laughter. Baekhyun composed himself first.

            “Be respectful, pup.” He teased. Baekhyun put away the red paint and got out the white paint.

            “White for the clean beauty of snow, the free spirit of the clouds, and the hopefulness of the moon.” Baekhyun said, gathering the proper amount of paint with his fingers. He made careful yet whimsical spirals across the top of Sehun’s collarbone. Sehun took the paint from him and returned the words and design.

            “White for the clean beauty of snow, the free spirit of the clouds, and the hopefulness of the moon.”

            Since both Sehun and Baekhyun are Omegas, they get the color purple. Purple has historically been a difficult color to find, and Omegas are also quite rare. They traded purple streaks on their left cheeks with the words:

            “Purple for the Omega, deserving of care, and for rarity.”

            Baekhyun, since he was becoming an adoptive parent got the color that parents get during their child’s naming ceremony, orange. It was a mix of the two colors red and white showing the softness and firmness needed in raising a child.

            “Orange, for hope you are both as firm as the red and soft as the white.” Sehun said calmly, almost meditating in the calm of this small pre-ceremony ritual. The familiarity wrapped around him like a blanket. Baekhyun smiled as his other cheek was painted.

            “Yellow for youthfulness, and for energy of the sun.” It was Baekhyun’s turn to paint Sehun’s right cheek with a streak. They quietly put away the paints and admired their handiwork on the other person.

            “Ready to go for a run?” Baekhyun asked with a steady voice. He knew Sehun would be nervous about having to shift into his wolf form, but Sehun had promised Baekhyun they could go for a run together today. Sehun nodded hesitantly. They walked swiftly towards the edge of the trees, and Baekhyun motioned for Sehun to change first.

            “I forgot to tell you…” Sehun trailed off, looking up at the trees for a moment and wringing his hands before continuing, “His name is Shixun.”

            In a blink, a confused wolf was looking Baekhyun in the eye. Baekhyun smiled and patted his nose happily.

            “Shixun! We meet again! I told you we would. I’d like you to meet Boxian. Let’s have a nice run.”

            The now two wolves circled each other for a moment, gathering all the smells and sights of the other. Recognizing the bond between their humans, the wolves took off running into the woods. It felt like they were just puppies again, twisting around trees competitively as though racing through an obstacle course. Shixun tired out quickly, which Boxian expected. They took a rest in a clearing in the forest, and just as Baekhyun had planned, the wolves snuggled close together for a nap. Baekhyun knew that Sehun would need plenty of rest before the ceremony, and this way none of Sehun’s paint would get messed up.

            After a long nap, the sun was getting low in the sky, and the wolves woke up. Shixun got up with a whine, knowing he was about to have to switch back to his human self. Boxian nosed up his side until he reached his face. With a big over his snout and then around his ears, Shixun felt coddled enough to allow himself to transform. Almost simultaneously, the two wolves became human.

            “Thank you Sehun, I appreciate you letting me see your wolf side.” Baekhyun rubbed his head affectionately, messing up his hair. Sehun quickly fixed it with a mock-annoyed expression.

            “It’s okay. For some reason I didn’t feel as tired transforming as I usually do.”

            “That’s probably because the more often you do it the more used to it your body will get.” Baekhyun suggested. Sehun just shrugged.

            “Time to get back for the party.”

            It was all festivities when they arrived. The sun had already set during their walk back to camp. Baekhyun kept the pace slow and comfortable, allowing breaks whenever he or Sehun felt like it. The crowd cheered at their arrival, and the singers began their howl-like songs. Their ceremonial attire was thrown upon them. A new bonfire had been made and near it were two chairs made out of nice leather. Sehun believed they were usually for the Alpha and his mate, and was nervous to sit in that seat. His body was rigid as he approached the seat.

            “I wonder if the new people are here yet.” Baekhyun whispered to Sehun as they began to take their seats. Sehun looked around at the crowd for a moment, but didn’t see any unfamiliar faces.

            “I don’t see anyone I don’t really recog-“

            Suddenly there was a flash in the crowd that caught Sehun’s eyes. It was like the glare of the sun off of sitting water. He saw the flash for a second and then it disappeared.

            “Don’t see anyone you don’t know? Me neither, not yet.” Baekhyun responded, ignoring Sehun’s weirdness. Sehun’s eyes were frantically scanning the crowd for that flash again. What if it had been a photograph? People weren’t supposed to know about them. People really didn’t know about them so he doubted that it could have been a photographer of some sort. But if it wasn’t a photograph then what was it?

            “Hey, did you see something flash a second ago?” Sehun asked Baekhyun, eyes still running over faces in the crowd.

            “Flash? Like lightning? Or like a photo? I didn’t see anything. It could have been a glint off the fire you know.” Baekhyun seemed jittery, probably nervous and excited from all the festivites. Sehun sighed, trying to relax himself.

            “So what do we have to do for this thing? Do we have to do vows or something?” Sehun asked with a bitter tone. He really did not want to have to do much, just seeing this crowd made him feel ten times more tired.

            “Nothing like that. The Alpha will probably say some nice things, and then we start off the dancing. After that we’re allowed to basically do whatever we want. In fact we could even leave after that if you want.” Baekhyun offered. Sehun nodded, not in agreement to the leaving, but to show that he had registered Baekhyun’s words.

            Suddenly Sehun saw it again, the flash. This time it stayed around longer. Eyes. It was a flashing of eyes. These were not eyes that Sehun recognized. Sehun felt paralyzed, his mind running quickly. His body knew exactly what was happening, but his mind refused to believe. These eyes quickly looked away, and Sehun lost the face in the crowd once again.

            “Baekhyun… I saw someone.” Sehun whipped his head to the side to look at Baekhyun. Baekhyun looked completely confused, he was looking into a distant part of the crowd, studying it intently. He was so focused that he did not respond to Sehun’s comment.

            “Baekhyun. Baekhyun! I saw someone, I think it was an Alpha, he’s not one of ours.” Sehun spoke quickly, his heart racing.

            “I-I think I saw someone new too.” An uncharacteristic pause. “A Beta.” While Sehun had sounded frantic and afraid, Baekhyun seemed intrigued and contemplative about this weird event.

            “I think he was looking at me... His eyes changed… That doesn’t always mean something, right?” Sehun felt like crying, he was staring desperately at Baekhyun, who was still looking confusedly into the distant crowd.

            “BAEKHYUN!” Sehun yelled, his heart pounding loudly. Baekhyun finally turned towards Sehun.

            “Sorry Sehun.”

            The Alpha began to speak but Sehun could not hear any of the words. He was too busy thinking. Sorry? For what? Was Baekhyun sorry he had not been responding well? Sehun knew that wasn’t it. Sorry that Sehun was uncomfortable? Now Sehun was stretching. He knew the answer, he knew what the sorry was for, and he just wanted someone to tell him he was wrong.

The person whose eyes he saw was his destined mate.

That thought made him want to pass out on the spot. His mind filled with thoughts of running. He could blend in with the humans well; he could even have a desk job. He would miss the woods though, and running in them. It would be worth it though. He wouldn’t have to disappoint this mate that was here now, or bother his pack ever again. Sehun was going to run.

Just as he had this thought, he felt Baekhyun touch his arm. Sehun wanted to melt into the touch. With this comfort though, he immediately felt a wave of guilt pass over him, making him naseous. He had just planned to leave his favorite person, his soon to be guardian. He could not run away. Baekhyun had touched him because apparently the Alpha had finished speaking and it was time for them to get up and start the dancing.

“Stop stressing so much Sehun. Focus on me for a little bit, let’s dance.” Baekhyun gave one of his classic wide smiles. Sehun took a deep breath and followed Baekhyun to the middle of the dancing circle. He kept his head down, and only placed his feet exactly where Baekhyun’s feet had just left. Baekhyun grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before the drums began. Sehun closed his eyes and started to do what he had been taught since a young age.

Everyone knew how to do the ceremonial dances, and they happened at every possible ritual. It involved mostly steps from side to side, but people with better rhythm and dance skills made up more complicated patterns. Sehun was not one of the basic dancers, but he was certainly not the top dancer. He began to find the beat, and started to lose himself in the music. He and Baekhyun would face each other and do complicated stepping moves. Occasionally when the drum was hit in a certain way, they would turn around, and dance back to back. Sehun’s favorite part came towards the end of the song. Facing each other, Sehun and Baekhyun would hook their ankles together and jump up and down, almost like a secret handshake. To make it fun, each time they jumped they would switch the ankle that was hooked.

When the music finished, both the boys were out of breath and were laughing. Baekhyun patted Sehun on the back and gave a beaming smile.

“Good job, pup.”

Sehun smiled up at his new parental figure and motioned towards their chairs so they could sit down. Sehun was exhausted. He was excited, but completely tired out. Baekhyun nodded in agreement, and made to help Sehun to get back to their chairs. Someone came out of the mass of now-dancing people though, and stopped them from moving forward. Sehun first saw his sandals, and a chill went through his body. His heart and stomach were uneasy. His eyes slowly made their way up, but he was too scared to make eye contact, he stared intensely at the brown of the guy’s tunic.

“We would like to sit down, and you’re in our way. Can we help you?” Baekhyun sassed, putting a protective hand on Sehun's back.

“I’m terribly sorry. I would like to look at your pup for a second though.” His voice was deep as the deepest rivers, and flowed just as smoothly. Sehun thought he was going pass out, he could have sworn there was black edging into his vision. Sehun raised his head for a moment, moving from his slightly bent forward position. He looked at the man’s face. He had smooth features, his lips thick and slightly dry. He had dirt on his face, but it did not hide the beautiful tanned tone of his skin. Sehun, in a streak of bravery, raised his eyes to make eye contact. His eyes were a deep brown that matched the deep voice, and the moment their eyes met, the stranger’s eyes flashed like they had before.

“Mate.” The stranger, half whispered, half growled. It wasn’t intimidating, it just made Sehun that much dizzier. He grabbed onto Baekhyun beside him.

“Oh no no no no no no no.” Sehun chanted, black finally coming in the corners of his vision.

“I have to sit. Baekhyun. I need to- I needa- can I- youa-canyuzhel-“ Sehun began stuttering, his breath still not caught from dancing. As the black took over, he could hear Baekhyun yelling. It was distant though, as though heard from a mile away. The eyes though, they were right in front of him, and there was an echoing whisper throughout his head.

“Mate.”