The halls of the school were unsurprisingly quieter than usual, seeing as many of the students were still on their hunting trip. It was still, somehow, crowded with people, just not as crowded (if that makes sense). For Youngjae, the less people, the better, because he really wasn't in the mood to see other packs hanging out with each other while his own was away; it reminded him of how lonely he was when he was an omega without a pack to call home.

Besides his best friends, he missed his mate, Mark. He missed every single aspect of him from his child-like smile to his tantalizing touch, and , he especially missed his intoxicating scent, a scent Youngjae was constantly doused in. In fact, the sweatshirt that he was currently wearing as he lazily maneuvered through the hallway belonged to Mark, and he had worn it for the sole purpose of being able to breathe in the still fresh scent of his lover.

Throughout the day, Youngjae found himself sighing every now and then. He couldn't help but still feel disappointed for getting sick the day before the trip, but at least the loneliness he had felt earlier in the day was slowly subsiding. After all, the hunting trip should be over soon anyway, and then he could cuddle with Mark all he wanted.

Seven long hours of education later and Youngjae now only had one class left before he could go back to his dorm room. He had just eaten a filling lunch and was walking across the campus to his class. Because most the others that were in his classes went away for the trip, the areas where he had lessons were usually nearly empty, so he was a little startled when he saw a group other students crowded together in the hallway. By the looks of it, they were a pack. Really though, Youngjae did give a about them. He was worn out and just wanted to get this class over with.

"Why hello there," a low voice said as Youngjae passed by the group of boys. He rolled his eyes and muttered an "excuse me," before he tried to walk past them, but someone blocked his path.

"Hey, I was talking to you, you know."

The brunette looked up and found himself staring at a boy he recognized as the new kid at school, who had quickly risen to have quite a bit of power and had made a pack of his own. He was smirking down at Youngjae and shamelessly eyeing him from the head to toe, causing shivers of disgust to run through his body.

"Choi Youngjae," he said, his mouth dangerously close to his ear. "I've had my eyes set on you since the moment I saw you and now, here you are."

A cold, slender finger trailed up Youngjae's arm, and that was his cue to slap the other male away from him. The hit caused the boy's subordinates to growl and take their positions in case  he suddenly decided to attack their leader, which is exactly what Youngjae wanted to do at that very moment. However, Youngjae believed that he should avoid violence as much as possible.

"Look, I have a class to get to, so if you could please let me pass--"

"No can do, darling. I've been waiting months to get my hands on a fine piece of like you, and I'm not about to let you get away from me." The guy started to advance towards Youngjae, and he began to step backwards with every step the latter took forward. This continued, with the snickering of the boys around them, until Youngjae's back hit the door of the men's bathroom.

"Oops. Looks like there's nowhere else for you to run," his voice, now a sickening sound to Youngjae's ears, sounded much too close for his liking.

"Help! Somebody--! Mmmffp!"

"Shh, we can't have the whole school walking in on us, now can we?" The boy, whose name Youngjae still didn't even know, had his large hand pressed against his mouth, muffling any and all sound that tried to escape his mouth. The unnamed boy's grip was firm against Youngjae's much smaller form, and all he could do was thrash around in his hold.

"This would be much easier if you could cooperate with me." His thrashing continued, the boy also struggling to keep him still. This continued for a solid minute, until the boy got fed up and had his beta help hold him down.

"Ohhoho. What do we have here?"

Youngjae's eyes widened and his body froze when he felt those disgustingly cold and rough fingers trace his collarbone and then the area above it. He knew right away exactly what the male was talking about. He had found the mark Mark had given him, a special mark that only mates gave to each other, and he hated the way this stranger was tracing his unwanted hands all over it.

"I didn't know you had a mate already," he paused, his fingers brushing over the bite mark on the smooth skin.

"Judging by how he still hasn't saved you, he's probably not even here right now, which is too bad for him, because I plan on making you mine."

Youngjae's blood ran cold at the male's words. He knew that even if a werewolf was marked by their mate and had already sealed the bond, others could potentially steal someone's other half by biting over that given mark and quickly sealing that bond, and everyone knows that the only way to seal a bond is to literally mate.

Youngjae was scared. His eyes were tightly shut and his whole body was shaking where he stood. He didn't want this stranger to mark him. He didn't want to get . He didn't want to be bounded to anyone who wasn't Mark.

He could feel a warm breath inching closer to his neck, and he did the only thing he could do in that situation; he began to cry. He couldn't move, nor could he scream for help. There was nothing he could do but let the warm droplets of salty water flow from his closed eyes.

Seconds passed, then a minute. Not that he wanted to be bitten, hell no, but he opened his eyes to see if maybe the gods have shown him some mercy and a teacher had shown up. But instead, he was met with a more joyful sight.

Lying on the ground all around them were the boy's subordinates, all of them having been beaten to a pulp. Standing over them were the people Youngjae had been dying to see for the last few days, all of them looking angry as . He didn't know how he hadn't heard the sounds of fighting, but he didn't care.

"I believe this is ual assault. I'm going to have to report you to the administrator," Jaebum's harsh tone in voice caused the male to flinch, but he stood his ground.

"ual assault? Nonsense. My boyfriend and I were just playing around-- Ugh!"

The boy's body went flying to the other side of the hall with a single punch to the jaw. Youngjae could've sworn that he managed to hear bone cracking, but honestly, the deserved it. Right now, all he could focus on was the captivating male standing in front of him in a protective manner.

" off, douchebag. Didn't your mom teach not to touch other people's mates?" Oh god, just hearing his deep voice was enough for Youngjae's heartbeat to quicken. He watched, enthralled as Mark strode up to the boy and lifted him by the collar of his shirt.

"If I ever see you near my mate again, I will not hesitate to give you a slow, painful death. Understood?!"

The boy nodded his head rapidly and scurried away when Mark had harshly dropped his injured body on the floor. Then, after sighing and running a hand through his hair, he turned back to his lover, who was getting comforted by Jinyoung and the two youngest members of their pack.

"Are you sure you're okay, hyung?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Thank you for worrying."

"Youngjae," Mark called out to him. He got an immediate response and was soon being glomped by a giggling boy, making him question if he was really a college student.

"Are you okay?" Mark worriedly asked, his warm hands wiping away the remaining tears from his face.

"He didn't touch you, did he?"

When Youngjae stayed silent, he was pulled in for a tight hug. The reason for his silence was because he felt dirtied by how another person had so easily touched him and was moments away from marking him. He didn't even want to think about what would've happened if they hadn't arrived on time.

"Your mark," Youngjae started off slow, his voice only slightly muffled by Mark's shoulder. "He touched the mark you gave me and said he was going to claim me as his..."

"I was so scared."

Mark hugged the boy tighter and kept apologizing to Youngjae, all while peppering his cute little face with kisses .

"Mark, you can take Youngjae back to his room. I'll have a talk with the administrator and tell him what happened." Jaebum and the others had rounded up the remains of the mystery boy's pack and were probably going to use them as witnesses. Soon, they left, leaving the two mates hugging in the middle of the hallway, breathing in the other's scent.

"Is that my sweatshirt?" Mark asked as they were walking hand in hand back to their shared dorm room. 

"Yup," Youngjae replied giddily. "I wore it, because it smells just like you."

His reply was too cute for Mark, and he ended up squishing the boy's cheeks together and cooing at how adorable Youngjae looked while he tried to get him to stop. The light teasing then turned into a game of the pursuer and the pursued, each one laughing as they ran and ran. The game only ended when they reached the door to their room, and despite all the running they had just done, they didn't seem all that out of breath.

While still standing in the hallway, Mark began to his shirt, his toned body becoming visible for Youngjae's eyes to explore.

"As much as I love looking at your body, why are you stripping out in the open?" The younger's cheeks were warm, his eyes averted to the floor. Even if he had seen Mark's bare skin countless of times already, it still made his heart beat quicken and made him all in all flustered.

"Because," Mark pushed open the door and pulled Youngjae in behind him. Once the door was completely shut, he pinned the other boy to the wall.

"Someone almost stole you away from me, meaning they obviously didn't smell my scent on you." His eyes wandered over Youngjae's clothed body, his lip stuck between his teeth.

"I'm gonna have to mark my territory again, you know." His voice became lower than it already was, and Youngjae could feel his lips ghosting over his ear. Then, he moved so that their lips were barely touching and his lust-filled eyes locked with Youngjae's.

"I have to let everyone know that you're mine."