“Do you realize how worried we’ve been?”

“You didn’t answer any of our texts or phone calls.”

“It was dark out and you weren’t home.”

“Why didn’t you just tell us where you were?”

“Oh, my god, enough!” You jumped up off the couch, fists clenched at your sides. “You guys are not my parents. I can go out if I want to.”

“Okay, that’s true,” Gemma huffed as she crossed her arms. “But still. This was completely out of character for you. Can you blame us for being worried?”

You looked at both of your best friends. Their worry was understandable, but this was just too much. “I’m fine. Next time, I’ll send you guys a text that I’ll be out late. Just lay off, please.”

“Where did you go?” Cam asked.

Chewing on your bottom lip, you tried to come up with a good lie. The library was out as you were sure they probably checked there. Saying you went to the woods to find your professor or a pack of wolves that may also be human would bring up way too many questions. And Professor Kim trusted you. He didn’t freak out when he saw you. He didn’t try to bargain with you or threaten you. He’d simply accepted that you knew now. So you refused to betray that trust.

“I found a random coffee I’d never been, too,” you shrugged. “My phone was still on silent from class and in the bottom of my bag. I was reading so I wasn’t paying attention to the time. I’m sorry.”

Gemma clicked her tongue. “Alright. As long as you weren’t out gallivanting in a dangerous place.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Really? You think I’d do something crazy like that?”

“She’s got a point,” Cam chuckled.

“Exactly.” You yawned. “Now that the interrogation is over, can I go to bed? I have class tomorrow morning.”

Gemma waved you off. “Yeah, sure. Sorry about the third degree.”

“You tend to panic,” you laughed. “I think I’m used to it by now.”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Cam said before disappearing into her room.

You rolled your eyes, also ducking out of the room before Gemma started arguing about how she never panicked as if that would change the fact that she very much did.

Very much to your own surprise, you managed to get a good night’s rest. You still groaned when your alarm went off and lied there in the dark for a few minutes, letting yourself wake up a bit. But you’d slept through the night, passing out nearly the second you head hit the pillow.

But you had class with Professor Kim today. How were you going to get through class without constantly picturing your teacher covered in hair and sporting long fangs?

You got dressed and put your things together for class. Cam was up already, sitting on the couch with her laptop balancing on her knees. She only gave you a small wave before you ducked out of the apartment and headed for the university.

Like the previous class period, you sat up front, taking some other poor student’s seat. Professor Kim wasn’t surprised this time seeing you closer to where he was. In fact, he even smiled at you a little bit. Yes, definitely a strange reaction from a werewolf who had just been exposed. But, then again, you didn’t exactly behave like someone who’s world was completely its head.

Well, actually, was your world that drastically changed?

So you knew your professor could shift into a dog. Big deal. That didn’t mean that your life changed. You just had to make sure you didn’t accidentally tell anybody. You could do that.

Concentrating in class was a little easier, although every few minutes your mind decided to remind you of the fact that you had now seen your teacher . Bad, brain, bad.

Before Professor Kim had dismissed you all, he informed the class that the papers had been graded and were available for pick up. A mass flood of students pooled around his desk as he searched the giant pile in front of him and gave them to the correct student.

You waited for about ninety-percent of the students to clear out before you got up from your seat and approached the desk.

Professor Kim was still smiling at you when you walked up. He held out your paper for you, “Good job, (y/n).”

“Thank you,” you whispered, clearing your throat. Without even looking at the grade, you took the paper and left.

Once a good distance away, you sat down on a bench and looked over the paper since you had a good half hour before your next class. You pouted.

An eighty-nine.

From Professor Kim’s congratulating remark, you thought you had done much better. Way for him to get your hopes up. Just barely not an A. Jerk.

The little notes dotted around the pages were helpful, praising you in some areas while raising important questions on your thoughts in others. Fine. You couldn’t be mad about that. You’d just have to do better next time.

Before you could shove the paper away in your bag, you noticed an additional note in the bottom right hand corner of the third page written in black ink rather than the red everywhere else. It was tiny and barely noticeable. You had to squint a little bit, even with your glasses. It was a small set of directions, giving you the name of a road, telling you when to turn off to another as well as a date and time. Tomorrow at ten in the morning.

Sitting back on the bench, you laughed to yourself a little bit. Professor Kim was telling you to meet him somewhere - out of town by the looks of the directions - but for what?

Then you got excited. Did he want to talk to about last night?

Maybe you’d get to learn more about his… condition. You could ask questions, maybe even see his transformation. And you didn’t even have to push or suggest the meet up yourself. Since when was luck on your side?

**

You shouldn’t be this excited jumping in the car to drive to the middle of the woods to meet your werewolf professor. No, you didn’t think he was going to kill you or make you disappear, but it still didn’t seem like a good idea on paper.

As far as Cam and Gemma were concerned, you were going to be spending the day in that same little coffee shop that you couldn’t remember the name of doing homework. That should give you a good enough alibi for a few hours, at least.

The night before, you looked up the vague location following a satellite view of the road, but as far as the world was concerned, there was nothing but woods out there. It would take you at least an hour to get to the meet up point, so you woke up unnaturally early for a Saturday, making sure you had a filling breakfast before getting dressed. You took extra care in your outfit to the point where you were even judging yourself. After losing count of the amount of times you’d changed or discarded what you were trying on, you settled for comfort. The t-shirt you had on was simple with a little pocket on the left side of your chest and the skinny jeans were practically brand new.

You kicked yourself as you grabbed your purse and headed out the door. Putting this much thought into what you were going to wear was absolutely ridiculous. It didn’t matter what clothes you had on. You were simply meeting your professor hopefully for a deeper explanation of his little secret.

The car ride didn’t do anything to calm your nerves.

As you sped down the country road that was flanked by miles of trees on either side, your heart stayed up there on the bpm scale. Every nerve was on edge and you could feel the nausea building in your stomach. When you to the road that the directions told you to, you leaned forward in the seat as if that would help improve your vision or calm your system.

Finally, after another ten minutes of driving down that way, the trees broke and you gasped. A giant farmhouse came into view, sitting in the middle of clearing with a detached garage almost as large. One of the taller boys that you recognized sporting silver hair from the group of Professor Kim’s “cousins” (you highly doubted that they were all actually related), was leaning against the white railing of the porch with his forearms. As you put the car in park a few feet away from the steps, the boy waved and walked into the house. Were you supposed to follow him?

Getting out of the car, you took a deep breath and started towards the steps. The front porch door opened up again. Smiling down at you was Professor Kim. The grin that decorated his lips was different that the ones that he’d given you in the past. They were usually more reserved, like he was holding back or unsure about something. Now… now he was practically beaming. He wasn’t wearing his glasses that he typically had on in class, but he still looked just as adorable with crescent moon eyes. You could feel your cheeks getting warm. Great. You were blushing just because he was smiling at you.

“Hi, (y/n).”

**

Junmyeon was trying to remain stoic and calm. As the clock hanging in the kitchen ticked closer to ten, he could feel himself getting antsy. Would you actually show up? Did his little note come across as too creepy? What if you got the wrong idea?

Burying his face in his hands, Junmyeon let out a long and hefty sigh. His right leg bounced uncontrollably, the only outlet for all his pent up energy.

“Morning, hyung!” Chanyeol’s deep, cheerful greeting made the alpha jump in surprise. The giant just laughed.

“Good morning, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon grumbled.

Chanyeol titled his head, a jug of milk hanging in his hand as he stared at Junmyeon with the fridge wide open. “What’s wrong?”

“Technically, nothing’s wrong,” he answered honestly. “It’s just….”

“Are you worried your mate might tell someone about seeing you in the woods?”

Junmyeon smiled to himself.

He couldn’t believe his luck that Thursday night. Yes, you had accidentally seen him shift from wolf to human. Well, actually, from the way you spoke, you’d intentionally sought him out. Not only did he not have to figure out a way to tell you the truth about what he was, but you weren’t scared of him. There was no screaming or running or rushed explanations.

Yes, very lucky indeed, especially compared to some of his brothers.

“No,” he finally answered. “I’m not worried about that at all.”

“Then why so tense?” Chanyeol slid into the booth across from him.

Junmyeon cleared his throat. “She’s coming over today. Maybe.”

That nearly made Chanyeol choke on the milking he was currently chugging. “How did you manage that?”

“Uh, well,” Junmyeon cringed. This was not going to sound as innocent as it did in his head. “I wrote a little note on her paper. How to get here and what time to come.”

And there was the explosion.

Chanyeol was laughing so hard he was pounding his palm against the table, rattling the now half-empty glass. It felt like a good five minutes before he was able to catch his breath. Wiping tears away from his eyes, Chanyeol took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“So, you wrote her a note?”

Junmyeon frowned. “I couldn’t exactly pull her to the side after class and say ‘hey, this is my address, come over Saturday morning so I can explain the details of me being a werewolf and how you’re my mate’? Not exactly the best thing to say when other students are around.”

“Good point.” Chanyeol glanced over at the clock. “What time is she supposed to be coming over?”

“Ten,” Junmyeon replied. “I don’t know if she’ll actually show, though.”

“So, why don’t you go outside and wait for her?”

“I don’t want to weird her out.”

Jumping up from the booth, Chanyeol headed for the entrance that led to the rest of the house.

“Where are you going?” Junmyeon asked.

“Going to watch for her,” Chanyeol explained. “Since you’re too chicken.”

“Chanyeol, no-”

Too late. Chanyeol was already out of the kitchen and on his way to the front porch. To be honest, Junmyeon was a little relieved. He still wasn’t sure exactly if you’d show up, but it made him feel better to not be the one sitting on the porch waiting for you to pull up in your car. It would take a lot of self control for him not to ambush you as soon as you got out of your vehicle.

Fifteen minutes later, Chanyeol came back into the kitchen, a huge grin on his face. No explanation needed, Junmyeon jumped up and ran to the living room. Just before he opened the front door, he took a deep breath.

Don’t look too eager. Don’t look to eager.

Turning the handle, he stepped out just in time for you to exit your car. He couldn’t hold back the smile that stretched across his face. You came. You really came.

“Hi, (y/n).”

You fixed your glasses in an oh-too-adorable fashion. It was obvious that you were just as nervous as he felt. The wolf in him growled, urging him to move closer to you.

“Hi, Professor Kim.” You gave him a little wave.

“Please,” Junmyeon tried not to trip as he quickly went down the porch steps, “call me Junmyeon. At least here.”

“That’s,” you frowned, pulling your eyebrows together, “weird.”

The smile slipped from Junmyeon’s face. No, no, no, that wasn’t good. He needed to make you comfortable around him.

Noticing the dimming of his face, you stuttered, “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that! Thank you! For, um, giving me permission to, uh-”

Junmyeon waved his hands in front of him. “No, it’s okay! I just… don’t want to be formal. Not here, in my home. Come on.”

He grabbed your hand and pulled you back up the porch and into the house. He kept going until he made it into the kitchen. Then, by your shocked face, he let go of your hand. Oops. Too much contact too fast.

Clearing his throat, Junmyeon motioned for you to sit down at the breakfast booth before walking over to the coffee machine. “How do you like your coffee?”

“Oh, no, I’m good,” you said as you slid into the booth. “Thanks.”

Junmyeon frowned. “Do you want anything to drink?”

You shook your head. “No, that’s okay.”

“Oh, okay.” Junmyeon turned the coffee maker off before joining you on the other side of the booth.

After a minute or so of an awkward silence, you settled your hands into your lap. “Why did you invite me here?”

Junmyeon shrugged. “I thought you might have some questions after Thursday.” Chuckling a little, he ran a hand through his hair. “You know, about… me and what I am.”

The corners of your lips twitched. “Really?” Junmyeon nodded. “Okay. Um, wow. I don’t really know where to start.”

“Let me help.” Junmyeon scooted forward in his seat, settling his arms on the table, close to you but still giving you your space. “Yes, we’re born this way. No, you can’t become one by being bitten.”

You laughed. “Yeah, that is a good place to beginning.” You, too, shuffled a little closer, leaning in towards him. “But what about-” You stopped. “Nevermind.”

“No, what is it?” Junmyeon urged.

“Well…,” you clicked your tongue. “Do you turn into an actual wolf or is it more of the creepy hybrid type?”

Junmyeon couldn’t help the boisterous laughter. He’d never been asked what kind of werewolf he was. That wasn’t the type of question he’d been expecting.

“We turn into wolves,” he replied, getting control of himself. “Four paws and a tail. We’re just a little bigger than your average wolf.”

An eager shine glinted in your eye. “Can I see you as a wolf?”

Clumsy, quick steps tripped down the stairs. Junmyeon turned around in his seat in time to see a girl come to a stop at the bottom of the stairs where they spilled into the kitchen. Her hair was matted and messy. Make up was smudged under her eyes and she clung to her purse like it was a shield as she stared wide-eyed in horror at being caught. Kris came down after her.

“Uh, hey, Junmyeon,” Kris waved awkwardly. Placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder, he guided her out of the kitchen quickly.

“Who was that?” you asked.

Turning back around, Junmyeon chuckle lightly to himself. Kris had let him know last night that he would have a guest over. He hadn’t asked for the details, but it seemed one of them had had a rough night and hadn’t expected to wake up here. Junmyeon wished Kris luck with that one.

“That, uh, that was Kris. He’s one of the leaders of the pack.”

Your eyes widened. “One of them?”

Junmyeon nodded slowly. “Yes…. I’m the other one.”

“Like an alpha?” you grinned.

“Yes,” he laughed. “I’m an alpha.”

“Wow,” you blinked, obviously impressed. “That’s cool.”

That just made him laugh even more. “I think that’s the first time I’ve been associated with the word ‘cool’.”

You chewed on your bottom lip, ignoring his self-deprecating joke. “So… who was the girl?”

Junmyeon stopped smiling. “It’s… complicated.”

“Complicated how?” you inquired.

More footsteps - slower and heavier and a larger number of them - were headed for the steps. It seemed more of his pack was finally getting up for the day. He really didn’t want to be hovered over or let them eavesdrop while he eases his mate into his world.

“I’ll explain in a bit.” Junmyeon stood up, grabbing your hand again just to get you to your feet before letting it go again. “Let’s go for a walk.”

You lit up. “So I can see the wolf?”

Junmyeon smiled. “Yeah. I’ll let you see the wolf. Come on.”

Heading out the back door, Junmyeon heard his pack members arrive in the kitchen, loud and happy for just waking up. Escaped just in time.

The two of you headed for the woods, Junmyeon keeping you close beside him. He’d only scratched the surface in telling you about himself. Now is when the scary part came to life.