The girls became your evening companions. The boys didn’t go out running every night, but Hae In declared since they got you most of the day, then it was the mates’ turn. The non-mated wolves tended to whine since technically most of them were at school all day with only one or two of them actually being with you at the farm house. It didn’t work. While you got along fairly well with the boys - even having fun most of the time - you certainly appreciated having extra estrogen around, so you were more than happy to skip off with the girls. They were quick to accept you and made you feel welcomed among their secret group. Ji Yeon’s big sister personality was an extra comfort.

Though your routine had been completely upended, you quickly settled into a new one.

Every morning you woke up to the smell of breakfast being prepared by Kyungsoo. Sometimes the smell was accompanied by a few of the boys knocking on your door as now they weren’t allowed to eat until you’d been served first. All of them had hefty appetites and on the first morning you hadn’t made it in time to get yourself a plate. You tried to convince Kyungsoo that it was fine and you could just make yourself some toast, but he was having none of it and made you your own separate breakfast that turned out to be more luxurious than the first round. The boys had never looked so much like kicked puppies.

Dragging yourself out of bed, you’d let Sehun or Chanyeol, who were usually the leaders, guide you down to the kitchen. At first it was embarrassing, your hair still messy and wild from tossing and turning in a strange bed. You weren’t even allowed to change. Junmyeon nearly had a heart attack when you came down in your oversized band t-shirt that covered your sleeping shorts, making it look like you didn’t have anything on underneath. You’d taken it upon yourself to slightly tuck in the front as you headed down the stairs to show that you were indeed wearing pants, for his sake.

Jongdae being present for breakfast was always a gamble. If he hadn’t ran out the door before the sun had risen, he sat with you at the counter. In the beginning, he wouldn’t speak to you, rarely even looking at you. It was an awkward situation with Jongdae feeling like a wall separating you from the other inhabitants. The chatter and laughter coming from the booth and dining table made you wish that you were sitting over there instead, but you knew that would lead to an ugly argument between the boys. 

However, after about a week or so, Jongdae started putting in an effort. He’d ask you if you’d slept well and if you were able to keep on top of your classes. The first few times shocked you, but over time you came to expect it as well as look forward to it.

“Did you understand yesterday’s lesson?” he asked right as you had taken a large bite of egg.

Swallowing, you slowly shook your head. “No.”

Jongdae smirked, but it quickly faded back to his neutral expression. “Thought so. I’ll be back early tonight, so I’ll help you with it.”

Did he just….

“Thanks,” you whispered in shock.

He gave you a nod before standing up. “See you tonight.”

Dropping off his plate in the sink, he scooped up his bag and went out the door. Several jaws were hanging open at the booth.

“I didn’t just hallucinate, did I?” Baekhyun asked.

Minseok shook his head. “Nope. I think it’s safe to say we’ve got progress.”

Cheeks burning, you tried block out their comments. Where they saw progress, you still saw a large wall that was as strong as the day you met him. Progress would be when he smiled at you, laughed with you. When he treated you like how Minseok treated Ji Yeon or how Yixing was soft with Ming or how playful Baekhyun and Hae In were. That’s what you wanted. Not a science tutor.

Pursing your lips, you hopped down from the counter, not saying anything to the boys as you washed both your dish and Jongdae’s before disappearing back upstairs. You put on a pair of jeans and a hoodie, getting dressed for the day. After brushing your teeth and making your hair a little more presentable, you grabbed your backpack and headed back downstairs.

It was too windy outside to sit on the porch, so you opted for the currently deserted booth instead, with most of the boys having headed out to class by now. At least two of them were staying behind though, running the perimeter in wolf form and making sure that no witches were trying to sneak onto the property. You weren’t sure who the watch dogs were for today, but you were grateful.

Setting up shop, you your laptop and opened up your Ancient Chinese Dynasties textbook to get started on your latest lesson.

Junmyeon had worked his magic, making up some story about how you were having to spend most of your time taking care of a great aunt whose health was failing and only had you in the area to take care of her, so your professors were emailing you notes and slideshows of the lessons along with any quizzes or tests you might have missed. You followed everything according to the syllabus, checking off the assignments as you completed them.

While you tried to keep your focus on the text in front of you, your mind decided to follow the Jongdae path instead. Even though his gesture this morning could be considered nice, it still felt… forced. Over the past few weeks, Jongdae had continued to be hot and cold with you. Any small action made towards you was made reluctantly, hesitantly, you could feel it. Part of you wondered if Junmyeon made him interact with you now. You certainly wouldn’t have put it past him.

You were so focused on your homework that you hadn’t realized the time passing by. Junmyeon came home around two.

“Working hard?” he laughed as he slid into the seat across from you.

Stretching, you nodded. “I think it’s time for a break. My brain’s fried for the day.”

Junmyeon laughed again. “I don’t miss those days.”

You narrowed your eyes at him as you stood up. “Especially since they weren’t that long ago. Overachiever.”

He opened his mouth to retort when the smart watch on his wrist went off. When he read the alert, he frowned. “Stay in the house until Jongdae gets home. I have to go.”

“But–”

He was gone before you could ask for details. Pouting because you were alone again, you shuffled over to the fridge to find something to eat. Leftovers didn’t exist in this house so you had no choice but to make something.

With a sandwich and chips on a plate, you exited the kitchen in favor of the living room. The boys tended to get yelled at if they ate in there but you figured as the only female inhabitant, you could get away with it. Besides, you weren’t as messy as they were. 

While they often spent the night to the point where they might as well have lived in the farm house, the other mates still preferred to keep their own living quarters, for reasons which you didn’t know since they just laughed about it whenever you asked and said that maybe someday you’d find out. Maybe you didn’t really want to know.

Jongdae came home after a few more hours of drama-watching. At first he didn’t say anything to you, not even a general greeting or grunt, heading straight up to his room. Just when you thought he’d forgotten about his promise to help you, he came back down, textbook and notebook in hand.

“Do you want to start now or do you want to finish the episode?”

He was giving you a choice. A chance to opt out. Sighing, you turned off the TV. “I’ll just want to watch the next one. Let’s get this torture over with.”

The two of you went back to the breakfast booth. You had to turn your laptop back on while Jongdae flipped open his textbook and laid out his notes. Including the added benefit of the lesson’s slideshow, you found it a bit easier to understand this time around, having been completely lost the day before when you tried to tackle it on your own. Your tutor was surprisingly patient with you even as you stopped every five seconds to ask a question. Where science was certainly not your strong suit, Jongdae seemed to understand it well enough to explain it to you.

“You’re smarter than you think you are,” he suddenly commented when you were done with the lesson.

Clearing your throat, you started packing up your things, trying to remain somewhat calm. “Oh… um…okay.”

You weren’t sure what to say. Thanks? The comment came from nowhere and seemed genuine and that threw you off guard.

A rumbling vibrated through the house followed by a pack of wolves. Sometimes you missed the time in your life when that was only an expression. The peanut gallery was whispering among themselves as they came deeper into the kitchen, joining the two of you. Chanyeol started to sit down next to you until Jongdae threw him a glare. The giant opted instead to remain standing next to the table as it was deemed the safer option even though there was plenty of room for several of them to take a seat.

You were on the verge of completely losing it. What gave him the right to be so damn possessive all the time? You couldn’t even have an in-depth conversation or laugh at something one of the other boys said without a certain wolf getting set off. Was it too much to ask for him to pick a side of the fence? Either he wanted to be with you or he didn’t. You were losing your mind going around in circles like this!

Letting out a hefty sigh, you grabbed your backpack and stood up.

“I’ll have dinner ready soon,” Kyungsoo mentioned as he started unloading the fridge. The hopefulness in his voice nearly broke your resolve.

You shook your head. “I’m not hungry. I think I’ll just bunker down in my room for the evening.”

Sneaking a peak at Jongdae, you secretly hoped that he would say something, try to convince you stay and eat with them. But no. He leaned back in his seat, crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. You gave up, practically running up the stairs to get away.

**

If having to be in the same living quarters as Jongdae was bad, then this was much, much worse. You thought you’d be used to it by now, an hour or so of silence, only the radio breaking it up as Jongdae drove you to your job. Honestly, you had half a mind to quit in order to avoid these rides. He never let anyone else take you. You’d talked to your boss and now only worked two or three times a week rather than the five to six you’d done in the past. That only added up to being between four to six hours alone in a car with Jongdae, but even that was too much and taking its toll on you. To take some of the anxiety out of it, you tried to imagine him as your bodyguard, a secret agent that was sworn to protect you, but that just made you depressed. Babysitter was the more correct term, but much less romantic.

Your shifts were simultaneously easy and hard. Jongdae would take his usual spot in the far corner, textbooks cracked open along with his notebook and a fresh cup of coffee to make his long stay unquestionable. He always got your favorite, the one you had made for him the day of the bonfire. When you’d asked Minseok about Jongdae’s taste in coffee, he seemed confused. Jongdae apparently didn’t care for the drink too much. And yet, every shift, he had at least three, always the same, always your concoction.

Today, you decided that you would ignore Jongdae, act like he wasn’t there, like how he treated you most of the time. If you stayed at the counter, he was barely inside your peripheral, nearly invisible. When it was busy, it was easy to forget that he was even there, keeping your concentration on the customers in front of you and their ridiculously complex orders. However, when lulls in people to serve hit, your eyes would wander to the wolf in the corner. He was never looking at you when you snuck a peek, but you knew at least part of his attention was on you, making sure you weren’t suddenly kidnapped in the middle of a camera-filled café.

After five hours of being on your feet, the end was near and you couldn’t wait to get back to the house. You were hungry for some of the leftovers you’d been able to save thanks to Kyungsoo that was decorated with a semi-threatening note stuck to the top. It’d been a battle to store that food for yourself and you wanted to revel in your victory.

“Hey, (y/n)?”

Mia, a fellow college student and coworker that you got along with, stepped up to you, a stuffed black trash bag in each hand.

“Yeah?” you replied, suppressing the groan you wanted to let out so badly. She was one of your favorite coworkers, always willing to share the load. That’s how you knew whatever she was about to ask, you would have to go along with.

“I know you’re about to clock out, but can you take these out back real quick?” she asked. “Young Ji took her break late and I can’t leave the counter unmanned.”

You sighed. She was right. And it wasn’t too difficult a task. Nodding, you took the bags to from her, looking over at Jongdae. He was still immersed in his homework, but you figured he’d heard the conversation, knowing you’d be running out to alley and then be right back. Shrugging, you pushed the back door open with your shoulder, dragging the obnoxiously heavy bags of soaked coffee grains and paper cups out to the dumpster that was right next to the exit.

It took a few tries, but you were able to get the trash into the dumpster without spilling anything on you. After wiping your hands on your apron, you turned to head back inside and gasped.

Eun Na was leaning against the opposite wall of the door, arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

“Well, there you are, (y/n),” she teased in a sing-song way. “Long time, no see.”

“Stay away from me, Eun Na.” You tried to seem like anything resembling fierce, but that was quickly erased when you took a step back, running into the grime-covered brick behind you.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” she pouted. This was not the Eun Na you used to call your friend. Her mannerisms were predatory, but not like the boys. Hers was  feline-like, slinky and coy. Quiet, unassuming until she was ready to strike. The air around her was cocky and smug. You knew the best plan of action was to run back inside to Jongdae but for some stupid reason you stayed put.

She threw her hands up like a faux surrender. “Look. I’m sorry about the bonfire. I got a little ahead of myself. It won’t happen again. I promise. But,” the smirk was gone, replaced with a pleading look that you didn’t buy, “we need your help, (y/n).”

You were unconvinced. In fact, you were a little insulted. “A little ahead of yourself? Are you serious? You’d been planning to kill me for months! If you think I would even help you with your history paper, you’re insane!”

“(y/n),” she whined, trying to bring back the guilt trip she had used on you all the time. “You don’t understand. They aren’t pets that wag their tails and your face. They’re dangerous and shouldn’t even exist. We’re just trying to right the wrongs of our ancestors. Bring balance back to nature. Don’t you want to help right the world?”

“They’ve done nothing to me to make me feel like I’m in danger.”

Eun Na sighed. Her eyes drifted to your neck that was left open for the world to see with your hair pulled out of the way. Suddenly, you felt very exposed and vulnerable, but you couldn’t understand why.

A very dangerous gleam shined in her eyes. “I see you’re still unmarked. Unclaimed. Are you sure you want to stay with them? You still have a choice, (y/n). Just come with me. I can even take away the connection between you and Jongdae. Make it so you don’t feel pain when you’re near him but unable to touch him. You can’t tell me that you actually want to be mated to a wolf? You always preferred to make your own choices, (y/n). I can give that back to you. While there’s still time. He doesn’t want you anyway. Why torture yourself like this?”

This whole conversation you’d been sure on where you stood. Eun Na had tried to kill you and so she was the one you needed to stay away from. Then she threw that wrench into the mix. Your mind actually started to wander off from that safe path. 

She was right. Jongdae didn’t want you. He’d made that abundantly clear. Could she really severe the connection between the two of you? You weren’t too trusting at the moment. You knew that you needed to stay alert and not let your guard down around her anymore, but her offer was enough to make you hesitate, if only for a second.

Eun Na reached out her hand to you, taking a few steps in your direction. You didn’t flinch, keeping your eyes on her hand. Your heart was yelling at you, screaming not to take it, but your brain, the part that remembered Jongdae sitting on that coffee table declaring he never wanted to be tied to you, was considering the option.

The back door to the coffee shop flew open and Jongdae jumped in between you and your former best friend. His back was pressed up against you, each of his arms caging you to the wall and trapping you in as he bent forward in a protective stance. A low, continuous growl vibrated in his chest, sending shivers down through your own body. You couldn’t see his face, but you were sure his teeth were bared at the witch.

“Get away from her,” he hissed.

Eun Na scoffed. “So protective. Finally giving in?”

“Get out of here before I rip your throat out,” he warned.

“Oh, I’m so scared,” she laughed. “You wouldn’t want to go and break the treaty, now would you?”

“You broke it first!” Jongdae snapped.

Eun Na raised an eyebrow. “Did I?”

“You attacked a mate.”

The ends of her lips curled up mockingly. “I believe the stipulation of ‘claimed’ is in the treaty. Something you have continuously failed to do. Until then, she’s not really yours, is she?” She looked over his shoulder at you. “My offer still stands, (y/n). If you change your mind.”

A cloud of purple smoke grew at Eun Na’s feet, circling around her until her whole body was consumed. When it dissipated, she was gone as well.

Jongdae grabbed your wrist, pulling you back into the shop. “Come on.”