Chapter 43

There was a soft knock on the door of the motel room followed by Lay's tentative voice. “Xiumin? Are you okay?”

Feeling stiff and sore and weak behind the knees, Xiumin lifted himself up as much as he could. “I'm fine,” he said, having to clear his voice and say it again before Lay could hear.

“We should get moving,” said Changmin. He pushed his hair back off his damp forehead with both hands and shuffled to the edge of the bed. Luhan followed him quickly but as soon as he was up he yelped and fell back onto the bed.

Changmin turned to him and reached to catch him even as Luhan leant away. Quickly Xiumin was at his partner's side.

“What's wrong?”

“His ankle was bitten,” said Changmin who was now crouched in front of Luhan and examining his injury. “It's starting to swell.”

“I'll be fine.” Luhan shooed him away and bent over to grab his underwear. “We need to get going.”

Xiumin watched him warily as Luhan limped around collecting his clothes and quickly covering himself up. His heat had cooled now and his brain was starting to think more logically even though the rush of what had just happened hadn't left him yet. He startled as Changmin's arm twisted around his waist and eased him up. He looked at him in surprise and found his pants pushed into his hands. An embarrassed blush coloured his cheeks and he stumbled into his clothes.

Barely a word had passed through Baekhyun's lips since he left the room. He had made a small sound and gripped Chanyeol's shirt tightly in one hand as he was carried downstairs and past the wolves of Minseok's pack who Suho and Kris had gathered and were now guarding in the lobby, but other than that he had been mostly silent. He sat outside now on Chanyeol's lap.

If Chanyeol had had his way they would be safely at home but Suho had called the police as soon as Baekhyun had managed to tell them how he and Xiumin had both ended up in heat at the same time. Chanyeol's fingers had gripped him fiercely when he heard about the drugs in the water they had drank and had turned his head away.

Now he sat rocking his boyfriend on his lap gently.

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun whispered softly, surprising him. “How's Chen?”

“He's fine, baby. We found him before we came here and Kyungsoo's looking after him. Lay called Jeonghan to heal him.”

“I didn't know he was there,” Baekhyun said in a tight voice. “I wouldn't have left him if I'd known. I promise, Yeol. I wouldn't.”

“Shh, I know, baby.” He buried his face in his boyfriend's hair as the sound of sirens approached. “I know. He'll be fine and we'll be home soon, I promise. It's okay.”

Half an hour later and Baekhyun was tucked under Chanyeol's arm in the back of a police car, Kris squashed in next to him. They had all given their statements and were escaping home with the assistance of a helpful police officer while the others gave theirs.

Kris hurried up the stairs in front of Chanyeol who walked slowly with Baekhyun who still looked like he was trying to make himself as small as possible.

“Kyungsoo?” Kris stopped in surprise to see Kyungsoo in the kitchen rather than with his boyfriend. “Where's Chen?”

“He's sleeping,” Kyungsoo told him quickly. “Jeonghan came and said there's nothing seriously wrong with him. He had a little concussion but Jeonghan fixed it and said it was okay for him to sleep.”

“That's good. Is he still here? We might need him. Lay was looking exhausted from healing everyone when we left and there's still injuries left to deal with.”

“Umm, Kris?”

Kris, who had been about to go and see his boyfriend paused.

“Jeonghan left already. After he said there was nothing seriously wrong Chen kept pushing him away and saying he didn't want to be healed.”

“What? Why?”

Kyungsoo shrugged. He had tried to persuade his packmate but Chen had just become more and more upset until he let it drop.

Running a worried hand through his hair Kris went to check on his lover. He found Chen curled up in bed looking so sore and beaten that he had to swallow down his tears. Quietly, not wanting to wake him he crept across the room and crouched beside the bed.

“Kris?” Chen mumbled sleepily.

“Shh, it's okay, baby. Just rest.” He combed his fingers softly through Chen's hair and watched as his eyes fell shut again.

“Xiumin?”

“He's fine. We got him back. I'll tell you about it later.”

“I'm sorry.” Chen sniffed. “I should have protected him. I tried Kris, I...”

“Shh, shh.” Kris pressed his forehead against his partner's. “You did good, baby. You were so brave.”

Chen shook his head. “I should have stopped them taking him.”

“Don't worry about it. You did so well and it all worked out. I'm so proud of you.”

With a loud sniff Chen shook his head. “You shouldn't be,” he mumbled so quietly that Kris wasn't even sure he heard him as he turned over, wincing in pain, and lay facing the wall.

Poor puppies all over the place. :-(