Daesung’s thumb lifted to brush over the beauty mark that rested just to the side of Jiyong’s nose. The rain fell thick around them, bouncing off the leaves and hitting the forest floor with muted splatters. The dark loam was beginning to turn soft – giving beneath their weight as they shifted closer to one another. A rogue raindrop dashed itself on Jiyong’s brow and rolled until it hung on the edge of his eyelash. Jiyong blinked, sending it down the smooth surface of his cheek. Daesung’s thumb brushed across his skin again, this time sweeping the raindrop away before it could move any further. The alpha’s dark umber eyes seemed to be drinking in Jiyong’s every feature – lingering lovingly on the full bow of his mate’s lower lip before lifting his gaze to meet the omega’s. Whole galaxies seemed to reflect in the basin wolf’s eyes as he stared up at his mate, but he did not rush to press himself into every line of the alpha’s body. Jiyong was still uncertain, his heart pounding an unsteady tattoo against the bars of his ribcage. Daesung was dead: He had seen him go over the waterfall. And yet…

As though sensing his mate’s uncertainty, the alpha slid his fingertips along the surface of Jiyong’s jaw before tangling the tan digits in the soft hairs at the nape of the omega’s neck. He leaned closer, his breath bringing warmth to Jiyong’s skin as it fanned across his lips, and dug his fingernails lightly into his mate’s neck. Jiyong shuddered ever as their lips finally pressed together. The warmth of Daesung’s lips burned into Jiyong’s skin like firebrands. He had been wandering through a frozen haze since the moment the blond wolf had vanished over the edge of the waterfall, nothing registering beyond the shattered fragments of his heart digging into the soft flesh of his stomach. Not even the dropping temperatures, sinking as the sun vanished behind the distant mountains, managed to pierce the fog around his mind. But this: the welcoming warmth of Daesung’s full mouth… Jiyong could feel that. A shaky breath slid from the omega’s lungs, echoing loudly in the silence between each raindrop. Daesung’s fingers massaged lightly at his muscles, encouraging him to relax, even as his teeth sunk into Jiyong’s lower lip. A shock of awareness roared beneath the omega’s skin, making his heart stutter even faster as every molecule in his body screamed the same sentence in a single moment of perfect clarity: Daesung was alive.

Pulling back, the omega stared up at his mate with wide eyes. Tears, insistent and heavy, gathered in his eyes as he took in the beautiful lines of Daesung’s face: his arched nose, his full lips, his crescented eyes. The alpha seemed to radiate light from within, as though he were basking in incandescent joy rather than having spent three days on the run and nearly having died only that afternoon. None of it made sense, but Jiyong did not care. All that mattered, all he needed, was there in front of him. “You’re real,” he panted, hands shaking as he cradled Daesung’s face in his grip. Jiyong did not waste a breath before pressing his lips insistently, messily, against Daesung’s in a heady kiss. The omega’s dark gaze was fixed firmly on his mate’s features as he brought their mouths together again and again in a firm, nearly bruising press of lips and teeth. He eagerly drunk in Daesung’s breath, the lingering pine scent and the faint taste of berries from their lunch flooding his senses. A shudder raced down his spine as Daesung pulled him closer, their bodies seeming to meld into one as the alpha’s arm curled tightly around his waist. The basin wolf could not close his eyes – could not look away from the beautiful planes of Daesung’s face – as their lips met again and again in frantic celebration. Daesung’s arms fell to curl tightly around Jiyong’s waist, pulling him up onto the tips of his toes in order to better reach his mouth. Tipping his head, Daesung at last caught Jiyong’s mouth with his, pressing deeply past his lips until all he could taste was Jiyong. The omega’s eyes at last fluttered closed as he surrendered to the insistent press of his mate’s mouth against his own. Even the insistent drumming of the rain on the heads and the burning feeling of eyes on them failed to register as the pair lost themselves in each other. Jiyong slowly relinquished his grip on the mountain wolf’s shirt in order to trace a hand up the length of his chest. Jiyong’s palm lingered for countless seconds over the curve of Daesung’s pectoral, reveling in the pounding of the alpha’s heart beneath his hand. A breathy little laugh slipped past Jiyong’s lips at the feeling. Trailing his hand up further, the omega curled his fingers tightly around the chorded muscles of his mate’s neck. His fingernails dug lightly into the flesh, teasing a low moan from the alpha. Jiyong shuddered. He had never heard a more perfect sound in all his life. Fire and want and the need to please flooded every synapse as his mate deepened the kiss – his tongue teasing in and out of Jiyong’s mouth as though trying to somehow draw the omega completely into him. Jiyong lost all sense of where one of them began and the other ended; their bond was electrified as their kisses became more and more ardent. In every lingering touch, every brush of lips and teeth and tongue, Jiyong was assured that his Daesung was alive. When their lips parted, Daesung let his forehead rest against Jiyong’s even as a choked little laugh clouded the air between them. Removing his hand from his mate’s neck, the omega began wipe away the tears that poured freely down Daesung’s cheeks – never mind he was crying just as hard. 

Daesung managed a choked little laugh. “I was so terrified,” he mumbled, “that we wouldn’t be in time. That I wouldn’t be able to find you.” He pressed a soft kiss to Jiyong’s forehead. “Thank the Goddess you’re alright.”

Slipping his arms around his mate’s waist, Jiyong pressed close to Daesung and breathed in the fresh, clean scent on his skin. He drew in a breath to reply, but before the words could fall past his lips another voice interrupted them: A high, nasally voice that all but vibrated with energy. “Daesung!” The alpha and his mate were nearly knocked off their feet as a small, muscular body crashed into theirs. Jiyong’s eyes flew open as the new wolf, an omega by the scent of him, folded them both into a tight hug.

Rather than pull away, Daesung just laughed and freed an arm to wrap it around the shorter wolf’s shoulders. “Jimin!” Eyes folding into crescents, Daesung leaned his cheek against the little omega’s head.

“How could you just run in and be all ‘we need a rescue team now’ and then run off without even saying hello?” Jimin whined, his mouth pulling into a pretty little pout.

Before Daesung could even try to answer, another wolf – this one a Goddess Touched omega – crashed into their other side. Just like Jimin, she too wrapped her arms around Jiyong and Daesung both. “Dae,” she cried, wiggling enough to rock all four wolves. “Why didn’t you bother to tell us your mate was so pretty? Bao is going to kick you so hard when you get home; you didn’t even say hello to him or Kei.”

Daesung rolled his eyes – actually rolled his eyes – before looking down at the Goddess Touched wolf. “Hwasa, I’m sure Kei and Bao will understand. I had to make sure my new mate made it home safely.” The alpha met Jiyong’s gaze. “And I didn’t tell you he was so pretty because I don’t think there are good enough words to describe him. I’ve not got the gift of poetry.” Jiyong blushed even as Jimin and Hwasa both broke into giggles. “Jiyong, these are two of my younger siblings, Hwasa and Jimin.”

Hwasa immediately let her head rest on Jiyong’s shoulder, faintly rubbing her scent on him. “You’re a way better mate than we ever thought Dae would get,” she quipped.

“Yeah,” Jimin giggled, tightening his arm where it rested around Jiyong. “Welcome to the family!”

“Alright, alright. You two have done enough clinging. Let go,” Dae pretended to grouse. The two younger wolves detached themselves at once, bouncing back to watch the pair with bright, shiny eyes. Daesung carefully checked to make certain Jiyong was in one piece before turning to face the rest of the pack, his arm falling neatly around the omega’s waist. Another omega – who bore the same broad, tanned features as Daesung and his siblings – hesitantly stepped forward. “This is another of my siblings,” Daesung said, grinning brightly. “Jongup, this is Jiyong. My mate.”

The omegas both exchanged shy smiles before Jongup slid a little closer. “It’s nice to meet you,” he murmured, gaze falling to rest somewhere around Jiyong’s knees. He clearly took more after Daesung; Jimin and Hwasa were far louder than their elder sibling. Jiyong thought they were all precious.

“Thank you, Jongup. It’s nice to meet you, too. And you, Hwasa and Jimin. I’m – “ he ducked his head, “glad to be part of the family.”

Hwasa immediately tossed her hands up into the air, wiggling her hips happily. Jimin, meanwhile, seemed to bounce in place even as his smile turned wide and toothy. Beyond the gaggle of omegas stood the rest of the basin wolves and the rest of the rescue team. Wooyoung silently raised an eyebrow at Jiyong, a bit of a smirk on his lips, which only made Ji blush. Being caught kissing with so much enthusiasm was one of the more embarrassing things to happen to Jiyong that week, but he couldn’t find it in himself to mind too much. Daesung was his mate; mates were affectionate. It was the way of their world, especially after you thought your mate was dead and then found out they were alive. At his side, Daesung sighed. “Alright, we’re going to need to get everyone back home. Ryeowook and Junsu are preparing the medical ward, so that should be our first stop.”