You braced yourself for the fallout, the yelling, for everything that you deserved. Any harsh word that came your way, you would take it. You’d let him get it out, anything he needed to say, you would let him.

But that’s not what came.

Instead, what you received was a pair of arms pulling you into Kris’ chest. He didn’t say anything, just held you as if you would disappear were he to let you go. How could he just take you in like this?

Wrapping your arms around his waist, you buried your face in his shoulder. All the pent up emotion that you’d been holding back for the last couple of weeks flowed out through the tears that now soaked Kris’ shirt. Sobs plagued your throat and your knees were shaking.

You were the one killing him and yet he was comforting you, shushing you in your ear as he rubbed your back. “Home” had never been so tangible than in this moment. That empty feeling that kept you awake at night was now filled, and yet guilt was drowning it out. As your tears began to fade out, Kris pulled back, taking your hand in his. There was nothing but love shining through his eyes. You didn’t understand how he could still look at you like that.  

“Come on,” he tugged you down the steps with no resistance and you allowed him to lead you to the detached garage. You were grateful for the privacy. As calm as the beginning of this reunion was, you were still preparing yourself for the lash out to come.

Quietly shutting the side door, he turned back to you. Once you were sat down on a stool, he leaned up against the familiar white car you hadn’t seen for so long.

“Kris, I-”

“Have you-”

Both you closed your mouths when you heard the other speak. For a moment, you each waited for the other to start up again, but neither of you did. You felt that - since he had something he wanted to say - Kris should be allowed to begin, so you stayed silent, your heart pounding in your ears with anxious anticipation.

Exhaling a lung full of air, Kris ran a hand through his hair. “How did you get here?”

You shrugged. “I just remembered… from last time. I went in reverse.”

He nodded. Actually, it was more of a front to back bob then an up and down nod. “And… what are you doing here?”

“I-” You swallowed thickly. “I needed to see you.”

The slight upturn in the corner of his mouth had your heart flutter and you straightened up just a little bit.

“Why did you need to see me?” he whispered, looking at you with a quizzical look.

Not bothering to express it in words, you jumped up to wrap your arms around his waist once more, burying your face in his chest. A pair of lips gently pressed against the top of your head. That gave you enough courage to let out those two little words you’d been biting on for so long.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Kris murmured, squeezing you closer to him. “Don’t ever be sorry.”

You shook your head. “I pushed you away.”

“For a good reason,” Kris argued. Tilting your chin up, he had you look up at him. “Can I explain everything now?”

You nodded and he slowly untangled you from him, holding on to your hands. His smile was hesitant and unsure, crooked from not being brave enough to really shine in the moment.

“I know you think that what you feel for me was forced,” he started, “but I swear to you that it’s real. What I feel for you is real. I love you. And I know that’s me - not the mate bond. Because I’ve loved you since we were kids.”

While nothing but truth rang in his eyes, you couldn’t help but scoff. “You were always teasing me.”

“And doing things for you,” he whined. “I always gave in to you, no matter how ridiculous. Even playing house.”

Memories of Kris giving you the last bite of ice cream cake, handing over his jacket when you were cold, and, of course, playing house in your parents’ living room danced through your mind. Every once in a while, you’d see a strange sparkle in his eye when his gaze was directed at you, but your still developing mind could never decipher what that glimmer was.

But Kris had said that he’d been a wolf his whole life.

“So,” you squeezed his hand to ground yourself in the reality that you were in, “even as kids, the whole ‘mate bond’ thing was there?”

Kris shook his head ardently. “No. No, it doesn’t manifest itself until after the first shift and that doesn’t happen until about puberty. I was thirteen when I changed into a wolf for the first time. So, back then, it was purely us.”

That, right there, was exactly what you needed to hear. Because back when you were kids, you looked at him as if he out shined the stars in the sky. When he disappeared, it haunted you for years, always lingering and never letting you go. Now that you had most of the answers, you not only accepted your fate of being tied to Kris - you were relishing in it. Who else could say that their childhood best friend turned out to be their soulmate?

“I believe you,” you smiled shyly up at him. “And even if it was present back then, I can’t say that I care too much anymore.” The upturn of your mouth faded. “I could never let you die.”

“Die?” Kris tilted his head. “What do you mean? Who told you that?”

You chewed on the inside of your cheek. “Ji Yeon did. She explained to me what happens when a mate rejects their wolf.”

Kris cringed. “You never should have found out about that. It never would have happened.”

“Why do you say that?” you snapped.

Eyes glimmering down at you, he ran the back of his knuckles down your cheek. “I knew you’d come back to me.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes half heartedly. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” he teased. Like an exclamation point to emphasis it, he kissed your nose, making you giggle.

However, as happy as you were, there was still one mystery to you that needed to be solved.

“Will you tell me who Jiyoon was now?” you asked softly.

Instead of answering, Kris closed his eyes, breathing out through his nose as he leaned his forehead against yours.

You reached up to his face and traced his hairline with your fingers. “Kris, what happened to her?”

The way Kris muttered her name and woke in such a frightening way still haunted you. He pulled you in so closely to him after he’d realized he was awake that you knew something terrible was refusing to let him go.

Kris took your own face in his hands, caressing your cheek once with his fingertips, then twice, before sighing, “Several years back, I made a terrible mistake. Many, actually. I thought I was invincible. And I’d push all thoughts of you away.”

You shook your head. “I don’t-”

“I fell for a girl named Jiyoon,” he said quickly, as if he needed to get it out now or else he’d never be able to. “I always knew that my mate would come along, but I didn’t care. Even with you in the back of my mind, I still held her close.”

“I don’t blame you,” you said honestly. How could you judge when you were engaged just a few weeks ago?

“I loved her.” Kris’ eyes drifted from your face to the floor, staring at nothing as the memories played back in his mind. “Not like how I love you, but I did. And-” he closed his eyes, swallowing back what you suspected were tears. “And I got her killed.”

Your hands jumped up to Kris’ that were still cradling your face, your fingers wrapping around his wrists. “Kris, what are you talking about?”

When he opened his eyes again, little tears on the verge of falling were resting in the corners. His hands drifted down from your face to your upper arms. “I got into a fight with another pack. An extremely powerful pack. They were hitting on Jiyoon while she was working. It was this run down place with terrible food. But it was her job. I was there that night, watching them say disgusting things to her. So I threw the first punch. We got into a fight after she was fired. She screamed at me, said that she wanted to break up and that she never should have gotten involved with a wolf in the first place.”

“She knew?” Jealousy stabbed at you. Did he trust her with his secret where he never trusted you?

“Yes,” Kris nodded. “She was Junmyeon’s cousin. She grew up knowing about wolves.”

Oh. That eased the jealousy a tiny bit. “What happened after the fight?”

“I ran,” he admitted. “I could feel myself getting angry and knew I was going to shift any second, so I ran away. We were still in town, so when I calmed down enough, I bought some beer and went to our lake, our secret hide away. Drank myself into a stupor. When I woke up, it was the next day and I went home, hoping that I could get Jiyoon to change her mind. But…,” he paused, breathing in deeply to keep himself level, “but I was too late. I don’t know what she was doing in the woods - Junmyeon thinks she was trying to find me - but the pack from before came across her. Those sick bastards-”

Letting you go, Kris turned swiftly and slammed his fist down on on the metal work bench. You flinched instinctively at the sudden outburst. Kris’ shoulders heaved up and down shakily as he gripped the bench hard enough to create little indentions in the side.

“They killed her,” he whispered. “Tore her up and left her to bleed out. And it was all my fault. If I hadn’t confronted the pack, if I hadn’t gotten into a fight, then Jiyoon never would have gotten fired and we never would have gotten into an argument. I would have been there to protect her instead of drunk on a beach.”

You ran to him, sticking yourself to his back. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Slowly, he turned back around, shifting in your arms and whispering into your hair. “I can’t lose you like that, like her. That’s what I was dreaming about that night at your place. You in her place. If that ever were to happen, it would kill me.”

“It won’t happen,” you promised. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Whether surged by your declaration or by the emotions building up inside, Kris yanked you up and set you down on the bench before crashing his lips into yours. Acting on their own, your legs locked around Kris’ waist, giving him no choice but to carry on. You leaned back until your shoulders hit a tool box, bringing Kris with you as your fists clenched his shirt.

A couple of fingers found their way under the hem of your shirt, resting on your hip just above the waistband of your jeans. Kris nipped at your bottom lip, a rumbling growl vibrating his chest. One of your hands s up to his neck, running your fingers through his hair. You bit back, feeling Kris smile against your lips.

It was getting heated in that cool garage when suddenly the side door clicked open. Kris growled with a snarled lip as he whipped his head to find the intruder. A boy that you’d never seen before poked his head in shyly.

“Um, Kris,” he gulped. “I’m really sorry, but Junmyeon needs to talk to all of us. Didn’t say why.”

Relaxing his face, Kris sighed, “Thanks, Jongin. We’ll be right there.”

Nodding, the boy quickly shut the door and disappeared.

Kris traced the skin under your eye with his thumb. “Come on. If Junmyeon’s called a meeting then it’s probably serious.”

You cringed at the thought of having to go back into that house.

“What’s wrong?” Kris asked.

“I, um, don’t think some of your… brothers like me.” That was probably an understatement. You’d initially been thrown off by how welcoming Luhan was, but you still believed that you deserved the rougher treatment. And one was certainly ready to give it to you. 

Kris frowned. “What do you mean?” Leveling with you, he pulled his eyebrows together, searching for any avoidance in your eyes. “(y/n), you ran out of that house fairly quickly. By the surprise on your face, I don’t think it was because you knew I was outside. What happened? Did someone say something to you?”

You swallowed, feeling like a tattle tale if you spoke up.

Narrowing his eyes, Kris placed a hand on either side of you, trapping you in. “(y/n)….”

There was no way out. You were pretty sure that Kris would just stay there in that position, even risk missing the meeting, until you finally gave him what he wanted.

You sighed, mumbling, “Tao didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

The muscles in Kris’ face and jaw visibly tightened. “What did he say?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

A growl rumbled in his throat.

“Okay, okay.” You knew he would never hurt you, but you didn’t think Tao would be afforded the same luxury. “He… he said that you deserved a better mate.”

The ear shattering roar that erupted from Kris shook you to the core. Storming out of the garage, Kris had that look in his eye that told you he was on a mission and the end result would not be pretty.

“No, wait!” You jumped off of the bench, following him outside. You barely reached him before he’d hit the porch. Pulling on his arm, you begged for him to stop. “Don’t do something you’d regret!”

Kris you, gripping your shoulders. “Don’t ever think that way about yourself. And Tao should never let those words leave his mouth. He needs to know that is unacceptable.”

“He’s just… protective of you.”

Rolling his eyes, a smile tugged at his lips. Good. He was calming down.

“It’s because I’m his alpha,” Kris grumbled. “It’s his instinct.”

Your eyes widened. “His alpha? Do you mean-”

“Shh.” Kris smirked a smile full of cockiness. “Later. We should get to this meeting before Junmyeon has a cow.”

“But-”

He shut you up with a kiss. “Later. I promise.”

You had no choice but wait, letting him lead you into the house where a living room full of wolves and mates were already gathered. This couldn’t be good.