This was the ultimate adrenaline rush.

Running through the woods with the stars above was definitely a thrill for any average werewolf. That was the time they were one with the forest, truly at home. It was only natural for that to be where a wolf sought solace.

But this. This right here was its own kind of high. With the rumble of the engine vibrating the whole car, Kris felt in complete control. Pushing his foot down on the gas pedal, he revved his motor threateningly, letting his opponent know who the winner would be at the end of this mile.

The flag girl stood safely off to the side, the white polyester cloth held up high for both drivers to see. At the race handler’s signal, she threw the flag in the air and they took off.

Kris nearly cursed to see his opponent had half a car length’s jump on him. Shifting gears, he pushed the pedal down even farther, the engine roaring and straining in protest. But Kris knew his car inside and out. He knew what it could take, having torn the engine apart before rebuilding it to the perfection it was today. And his baby never let him down as he watched the nose of his car inch up to be head to head with his opponent.

Flipping up a hidden switch, Kris pressed that fun little red button, giving him just the boost he needed. The car shot forward thanks to that punch of NOS, propelling him past the other driver and crossing the makeshift finish line.

Victory was his. Little yelps and laughs of celebration escaped his lips as he grinned from ear to ear. As he circled around back to the main area, he parked his car along the rows of other souped-up vehicles. Getting out of the car, he rounded to the front and leaned back against the hood to wait for his payment.

Jimmy, a short bald man and Kris’ fellow Chinese man, came up to him with too much energy. Kris held out his hand for Jimmy to take, pulling him into that classic brother half-hug.

“What’s up, man?” Kris smirked, knowing exactly why Jimmy had come over to him.

“I gotta say, you can race like no one else I’ve ever seen before,” Jimmy praised.

Kris laughed. Little did any of these people know that what made him so good was his werewolf reflexes. His timing was better as well as his ability to process a situation and make a quick decision. Very handy when the race usually only lasts ten seconds or so.

“Just lucky, I guess,” he shrugged.

Jimmy scoffed. “Yeah, right.” He held up a thick roll of cash. “Your take in the winnings, Racer King.”

“Thank you,” Kris grinned, pocketing the money.

“Still not going to count it?” Jimmy sighed.

“Told you,” Kris said as he headed back for the driver’s door, “I don’t do it for the money. It’s just a nice bonus.”

“I’m going to start taking a bigger cut, then,” Jimmy warned.

Kris shook his head. “No, you won’t.”

Even seated inside the car, Kris heard Jimmy mumble playfully, “Punk.”

Taking off down the road, the smile on Kris’ face began to fade.

Illegal street racing wasn’t exactly the safest hobby or activity to partake in, no matter how good and isolated the location was. Years ago, he’d dabbled into it. Until Jiyoon scolded him and made him quit.

Now, almost as soon as he’d settled back down in this town, he’d scoured all over the place to track down the races.

Was he being slightly self-destructive? Not completely. He was safe in how he raced, careful until the finish line.

Was he just running away without going anywhere? Plausible.

The drum-heavy music that blared from his phone mercifully pulled him out of his thoughts. Pressing the phone button on his dash, he answered the call through the Bluetooth set up.

“Yes, Tao?”

“Kris-ge,” the younger wolf whined. “Are you almost home? Sehun and Chanyeol are threatening to leave without you.”

Kris shook his head, exasperated. Twelve was just too many members for a pack. “If they do, they’re on bathroom duty for two weeks.”

Tao repeated Kris’ threat to the others which lead to several unintelligible cries of protest in the background.

“I’m almost there,” Kris groaned. “Hold on for five more minutes. Think you guys can sit still long enough?”

“Sure,” Tao replied. “I can, at least.” There was a pause and Kris almost hung up the call when Tao added, “Hey, Kris? Where you have been going lately? Between you and Junmyeon, I’m getting worried.”

“I’ve just been out running a few errands,” Kris lied, if a little guiltily. He knew if he told the others that he’d been out racing, they’d want to come along to watch. Considering the fact that drag racing in the streets was highly illegal, there was always the chance of the cops coming out and breaking it up and topping it off with a few arrests. Kris didn’t mind if he spent the night in jail, but if the others got locked up with him, Junmyeon would have a fit. Better to keep his brothers out of it. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I’m pulling up into the driveway now.”

“Okay.” Tao hung up without saying goodbye.

Pulling up around back, Kris turned off the engine and sat in his car. Without any prompting the boys ran out the door and huddled around the car’s left side. It was hard, but he resisted rolling his eyes as he got out of the car.

“Let’s go.” He tried his best to not sound as irritated and annoyed as he felt, but considering the questionable glance that Chanyeol gave him, he must have failed. At least tonight, Yixing and Minseok were going with them. That meant they’d be getting back earlier from the run since they had class in the morning and would be more adamant about getting some sleep.

They all headed for the forest, stripping themselves of their clothes to be picked up on the way back.

**

“Are you serious?” Ji Yeon gasped.

By pure luck, after Huan had dropped you off fairly early for class, Ji Yeon had found you just sitting at one of the stone tables in the courtyard as you waited for it to be an appropriate time to head to class. The two of you were quick to exchange numbers and then you told her about your ordeal on the way home the previous night.

“I knew yesterday was just going way too well for me,” you laughed, shaking your head.

“Where did you take your car?” Ji Yeon asked.

You frowned as you thought to remember. “Um, it was called Lang Auto Shop?”

Ji Yeon’s eyes lit up. “Really? I know the guy that owns that place! You, ma’am, are in very good hands. He’s a magician when it comes to cars. And, he won’t overcharge you. That is the real magic.”

You couldn’t help but giggle. The picture forming in your head was of a kind old man with a too-long beard that felt like everyone’s grandfather.

All too soon, it was time for both of you to get to class. Luck seemed to be on your side as your lecture halls were right next to each other, giving you a little more time to talk before you had to separate. Unfortunately, your schedules didn’t match up for the rest of the day, but Ji Yeon promised to text you to set a time for lunch tomorrow.

The rest of your school day was spent with your mind pacing back and forth. You wanted to focus on the lectures and PowerPoints that occupied your class time, but you were worried about your car. Two different people had sworn up and down that the owner of the body shop was a fair mechanic, but there was only so much they could do if your engine needed a part that cost more than a grand. The move had put a dent into your savings as well as Huan’s and the last thing you needed was a hefty mechanical bill.

Finally, the time for Huan to come pick you up from the university and take you to the shop had come. You had to miss out on your last class of the day to make it before the shop closed, but you figured one missed session early in the semester wouldn’t hurt you.

Hopping into the passenger’s seat of his well washed black Mercedes, you leaned over the middle console and gave your fiancé an appreciative kiss before greeting him. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he purred back, stealing another kiss. “How was your day?”

You shrugged. “Fine. It’d be better if I wasn’t panicking over my car, but, you know, life.”

Huan just laughed at you. “Yeah, life does that.” As you put your seat belt on, he turned to the GPS, “Okay, what was the name of the shop?”

“Lang Auto Shop.”

Just like you, Huan seemed to find the name strange, but interesting.

It only took about fifteen or twenty minutes to get to the shop from the school. Huan parked right outside the garage doors and both of you got out to find an employee.

“Can I help you?” One of the mechanics approached you, wiping his hands on an already dirty rag. The patch on his coveralls said “Brian”. He certainly looked like a Brian with his blonde hair and cheerful grin.

“Yeah, my fiancé’s car broke down last night and she had it towed here,” Huan explained. “She left the spare keys with a note about what happened and so we were just seeing if there was any update on that or if you were able to even get to it.”

Brian nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Silver four-door, right?”

“That’s the one.”

“It was actually a simple fix,” Brian said to your relief. “Two of the wires under the hood had been rubbing together and the heat had melted the rubber coating on the outside and shorted the fuse box. We were able to replace the box and wrapped up the expose parts of the wire. I think it ended up being about a hundred dollars or so. We’ve got the invoice in the office.”

Brian motioned for you to follow him, but while Huan did so, still talking to him about the wires and what had gone on with your car, another mechanic in the shop had caught your eye. Bent over and inspecting the engine of a nice mustang was someone that you never expected to see again in your lifetime.

“Kris?”

At the sound of his name, Kris turned and met your eyes. When he did, his jaw went slack and his hand that was keeping him balanced above the engine slipped, causing his head to hit the lifted hood.

You snickered, not quite able to believe this situation in the slightest.

Rubbing the top of his head, he stuttered, “(y-y/n)? W-what are you doing here?”

Over your shoulder, you pointed with your thumb as your good-as-new car parked just outside. “My car broke down last night and we brought it here. This is just insane. Is this where you guys moved to?”

Eyes still wide open in shock, Kris gave you a shaky nod. “Yeah. Yeah, this is where we moved to.”

Something… strange was happening inside you. While Kris had always been slightly taller than you, now he just seemed like a giant, much taller and toned than you had ever imagined him to be. Not that you imagined what adult Kris would look like. Much.

As his brown eyes stared down at you in amazement, your heart started speeding up on its own. You scolded it for getting so worked up over nothing. Of course, Kris did seem to turn into a very handsome man, but that was to be expected. He was a cute kid so why shouldn’t he be an attractive adult? The ring on your left hand was suddenly much heavier.

“Hey, honey.” Huan came over and joined you, planting a kiss on your cheek. Affection like that was nothing new from him, but now you felt uncomfortable at his public display. Sensing some of the tension between you and Kris, he asked, “Do you two know each other?”

“Yeah,” you admitted quickly. “Huan, this is Kris, an old friend of mine. Kris, this is my fiancé, Huan.”

Huan, ever the pleasant and outgoing type, held his hand out. “It’s nice to meet you.”

On the other end, you could see the strain it took for Kris to return the gesture. “Pleasure to meet you, too.”

“Wait,” Huan grinned down at you. “Is this the Kris that you used to talk about all the time?”

Your own eyes went wide with panic. “N-not all the time.”

Kris laughed. “I’m a pretty impressionable guy, so I’m not surprised.”

That made you roll your eyes. Some things never change.

Huan didn’t seem to like the direction the conversation was going, so he looped an arm around your lower back. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Kris, but we should probably get going.”

“Yeah,” you agreed halfheartedly. Seeing Kris again so randomly was making your mind fuzzy. You needed to get out of here, but you didn’t want to leave.

“It was nice to meet you, Huan,” Kris said sincerely. Looking back to you, he gave a soft smile, “It was really good to see you again, (y/n).”

It was impossible not return it. “You, too, Kris.”

Your footsteps were heavy as you walked away from the shop. What strange coincidence was this?

Driving home in your newly fixed car, you were too preoccupied and lazy to cook anything for dinner so you picked up some take out instead, getting both of your usual orders.

At the table, Huan talked about his day like normal, but you found yourself only replying with “hms” and “huhs”. Kris’ face kept floating along in your mind. What had he been up to all these years? Did he go to the same school that you went to now? Did he work at the shop or own it? How were his parents, who always treated you like one of their own?

The muscles in the corner of your mouth pulled up at that last question, remembering the fond memories of playing at Kris’ house and being a bit spoiled by Mrs. Wu. Having no daughter of her own, she kind of doted on you, much to Kris’ irritation.

“What’s the smile for?” Huan asked.

You blinked, looking up from your food. “What?”

“You’re grinning,” he pointed at you with his fork. “What were you thinking about?”

“Just… fond memories,” you shrugged. “Kris’ parents were always really nice to me. I was just thinking about them.”

Huan nodded, looking a little relieved. “Oh, okay.”

He dropped the subject, much to your own relief.

Later that night, after the two of you had crawled into bed and said good night, you found yourself just lying there, staring at the wall and unable to fall asleep. Huan had no trouble drifting off, snoring loudly behind you with one arm draped over your waist, lazily holding you close.

Careful not wake him up, you slowly got out of bed, letting his arm slide off of you. Walking into the closet, you closed the door before turning on the light.

While most of your belongings were unpacked and put away, there was one box that you hadn’t quite gotten to yet. Most of the objects inside were things you didn’t really touch or hadn’t thought about in a long time so there wasn’t any hurry. Pulling the box down from the high shelf, you quietly set it on the floor and opened it up.

A lot of the knick-knacks were from your childhood; first day photos, crappy art projects, a yearbook here and there. Underneath all of that, though, was a very special shoe box. You’d put it away a long time ago, sometime before your sophomore year of college as your teen years were put behind you and real adulthood was coming along.

The contents inside were your most precious items. Items that reminded you of your best friend before he abruptly moved away without a single word of goodbye. It hurt to think about still, how you cried for a week straight while your mother held you and rocked you to sleep. All you wanted was your best friend back, but you didn’t know where he’d gone.

And now he’d magically appeared in front of you. What a jerk.

One by one, you pulled the items out, smiling as you did so. There were a few pictures of you and Kris from your zoo trips and birthday parties. Random rocks you’d found that you once thought were cool and even a red leaf that you’d laminated because you thought it was pretty and you didn’t want to lose it occupied space in the box. But the one thing that you were actually looking for was buried all the way down at the bottom.

Trying not to break the somewhat tangled chain, you pulled out the necklace and held it up.

On your thirteenth birthday, your mother surprised you by having the dumb moonstone that you’d always carried around in your pocket turned into a necklace that you could wear. The rock had always served its purpose, the one Kris had disposed upon it all those years ago. With it in sight, you really couldn’t think of anything else but him.

Sitting there on the floor of your closet in the middle of the night, you fiddled with the necklace, turning the stone in your hand over and over again. Was it a work of fate that he magically appeared in your life again? Or was it just a stunning coincidence?

Either way, you had an inkling feeling that your life was about to get a little complicated.

**

It was supposed to be a normal day at work. Kris was simply supposed to go in, work on the cars for the day and then go home to have dinner with the boys and maybe get some work done on his own baby.

The silver car that was parked out in front of the shop when he arrived in the morning didn’t seem like anything extraordinary. By lunchtime, he was able to get to the car, finding the problem right away thanks to his good eyes and the note left by the owner. He’d smiled when he read the name, thinking immediately of his childhood friend.

Never, ever in a million years would he ever expected that the same person who left the car and note would really be his old childhood friend – you. And not only that, but the biggest surprise was yet to come.

You were his mate.

The clenching feeling in Kris’ chest was almost overwhelming the second his eyes settled on you. Of course, he recognized you right away. You’d hardly changed at all, even though more than fifteen years had passed.

It was incredible. Something like this was rare, having known his mate since he was young. It seemed impossible that the one destined for him would be you.

And of course, being the smooth operator he was, he’d managed to slip and hurt himself on the car he was working on.

Then things just got worse.

A man came up to you and kissed you on the cheek. Reflexively, Kris’ muscles tightened on the wrench he gripped in his hand. The wolf inside growled at him to do something, to get that man away from his mate. But that was your fiancé. He couldn’t exactly just shove the guy off of you and steal you away.

Driving home that night, Kris felt like there was a war going on inside him. He’d held onto the memory of Jiyoon for so long, he didn’t know it would be this intense like to have those feelings washed away.

Kris had never wanted to find his mate. To him, no one could compare to Jiyoon. But… you felt like a mercy from Fate. The only person who could out shine Jiyoon would be the first girl he’d ever had a crush on.

But you had a fiancé. You’d already promised to spend your life with someone else. What was Kris to do about that?

Maybe this was for the better. If you were with Kris… something bad could happen to you. He couldn’t let you end up like Jiyoon. He didn’t want the same thing again. So, maybe this was meant to be. Kris had found his mate, but you could be happy with someone else. And… maybe you two could just be friends in this lifetime. The wolf didn’t like that idea.

A ferocious war indeed.

With heavy footsteps, Kris walked up to the farmhouse and stepped inside to the kitchen, expecting Kyungsoo to be slaving away at the stove on dinner. However, the house was quiet and no one seemed to be around.

“Hello?” Kris called out.

“No one’s home.” Junmyeon stepped into the kitchen. He was dressed down in sweats and a tank top, the complete opposite of his usual professor get up. In fact, he looked like . “They all went out for pizza a few hours ago. Chanyeol said he would text you.”

Frowning, Kris pulled out his phone. Sure enough, there was the text on his screen. He never heard the notification, probably because he was too lost in his thoughts. It was miracle he even made it home without an incident. He shrugged it off, not too put out by it. There was plenty of food in the fridge that he could eat and by now they’d be done and on their way home. Instead, he turned back to Junmyeon.

“What’s going on with you?”

Junmyeon sighed heavily, shuffling over to the breakfast booth. He sat down with a thump and rested his face in his hands.

Kris sat down across from him. “Junmyeon?”

He looked up and stared at Kris. “You don’t look much better.”

“Yeah,” Kris scoffed. “I just got the surprise of my life today.”

Junmyeon raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? I bet I can beat it with what happened to me last week.”

Sitting back, Kris smirked. “Really? Fine. We’ll say it at the same time and see who wins.”

Junmyeon actually laughed. “Alright. Deal.”

Kris held a hand up along with three fingers that went down with the numbers. “Three. Two. One.”

“I found my mate.” “I found my mate.”

The alpha wolves stared at each other in shock.

“Well,” Junmyeon swallowed, “this is quite the development.”

“Yeah,” Kris nod. “You got that right.”

Thunderous footsteps shook the house and the rest of the pack came tumbling into the kitchen from the front of the house. They were wrestling around and joking with each other, but when they noticed the two alphas sitting in the booth, the chatter stopped.

“Anything you guys want to share?” Minseok asked.

Kris looked at Junmyeon and waved his hand out. “You first.”

Junmyeon dropped his head down to the table and groaned. For Junmyeon to be this conflicted about finding his mate, the situation had to be either highly comical or deep trouble. Kris was curious to find out which one it was.