Tao stared after you as you ran out of the courtyard. His wolf growled and barked at him to follow you, to beg you to reconsider, but he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t force you to change your mind. Your loyalty to your friend – your selfish, childish best friend – was too strong. His despair started turning into anger. And that wild emotion was directed at a single person.

He didn’t know her schedule like he knew yours, but he did know what she smelled like, especially after their earlier confrontation, and with his focused so tuned in, finding that familiar scent was like figuring out simple addition problems.

Kendall was sitting at one of the long study tables in the library. She flipped through a textbook silently while the final member of the trio – Wyatt – whispered harshly beside her.

“Stop ignoring me, Kendall. You know I’m right.”

“I don’t care. What she did was wrong and you know it.”

“She handled it wrong. But getting feelings for the guy doesn’t fall under that same category.”

“I highly agree.” Tao sat down in the empty seat across from Kendall, his eyes conveying the chaotic fire roaring inside. Gone were the tears and the sorrow. Now he was just down right pissed.

Kendall’s eyes widened in surprise only for second before her face fell back into a stone cold indifference. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in the chair. “What do you want, Tao?”

He scowled at her. “To know why the hell you feel so damn entitled to dictate other people’s relationships.”

“I don’t feel entitled to anything,” she spat back. “But best friends don’t go behind each other’s backs and date ex’s.”

That just made him roll his eyes with a scoff. “We’re hardly ex’s. We went on one mediocre date. I explained to you that I simply didn’t feel anything for you.”

“Also that you saw (y/n) and… how did you put it?” She clicked her tongue mockingly. “Something just clicked? Like the heavens split open and the choir began sing?”

No, it’s wasn’t quite that mystical, but the universe did align itself into perfect sync. The way it all happened was hard to describe to other wolves who knew to expect it. Explaining it to a measly human who would never understand was just wasted effort. “Sometimes you just know,” was his basic summary.

Kendall scoffed. “You just knew? You didn’t even know her. And (y/n) doesn’t exactly fit the description of girls you’ve been with in the past. She’s not your type at all.”

“Having a type and refusing to look beyond it will just end with you alone,” Tao countered. “So, yes, I found someone different and fell completely in love with her. And she was falling for me, too. Was seeing your friend happy really that bad?”

“With you? With the guy that I had stupidly fallen for myself despite knowing the you were? Yes.”

Tao was disgusted. This ice princess that he’d once found cute and alluring was causing him to burn.  “I may have been an in the past, but I wasn’t like that with (y/n). You, though? You’re the real , Kendall. Because you took your best friend’s happiness. You made her cry. You broke her heart. And for what? Revenge? So no one could ‘have me’?” Kendall opened to retaliate, but Tao wouldn’t have any of it. “No. Don’t even bother. I don’t care what your reasoning was. If you actually cared about your best friend, you would have let her be happy. Be mad that she didn’t tell you. Fine. But making her end it with me was crossing a line.” He stood up from the table, determined. “I’m not giving up on her.”

As he was walking away, Tao heard Wyatt whisper, “I told you. The look in (y/n)’s eyes when she talked about him outshined yours by miles. Now you’ve got him on the war path. All I can say is good luck.”

The scraping of a chair against the old wood floor told Tao that Wyatt, too, was walking out on his friend. Tao smirked. She did this to herself.

But the smugness melted away the second he was outside again. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t go banging on your door, begging you to let him in. First, he would give Kendall a chance to fix her mess. That could be the simple solution to all of this. He also wanted to give you space, let your overwhelmed emotions work themselves out before he tried to reason with you.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to concentrate in class, Tao decided to just head back home. He’d be scolded by Evie if she was around for skipping class, but he’d take it. Even though she wasn’t the oldest mate, she had a tendency to mother everyone like she was. Guess it came with the territory of having a baby.

Tao drove slower than normal, taking his time and stretching out the trip to the farmhouse, adding about fifteen minutes or so onto the average time it took to get home. When he walked in through the door, Evie was sitting on the couch, scribbling furiously on a notepad while Mei occupied herself on the floor with a miniature piano. Rather than getting lectured like he expected, Evie looked up at him with relief.

“Oh, thank god,” she cried out, exasperated. Jumping up to her feet, she scooped her purse up from the floor by her feet and hurried up to Tao. “Please tell me you’re staying around for a good while. I need to run to the store for supplies and the last time I took Mei, she had a complete breakdown and that is not stress I need right now and-”

“I’ll watch Mei.” The desperateness was practically beaming out of Evie’s eyes like Superman’s heat vision. As much as they all loved Mei, she was still a baby and she wasn’t giggles and cute smiles twenty-four-seven. But he was alright with being the babysitter for the day. Tao needed the distraction.

Evie planted a kiss on Tao’s cheek. “Thank you.” She headed for the door and left without further instructions.

With a heavy sigh, Tao laid down on the floor on his stomach. “What are you playing there, Mei-Mei?”

She ignored her uncle, too focused using her whole hand to press down on the keys and make some sort of random melody.. It was, however, a little pleasing to the ear considering it was composed by a nine-month-old. Looked like Mei might have some natural talent. Funny, considering neither of her parents could play the piano to save their lives. So where did this genius come from?

“Mei-Mei, can I play something for you?”

To his amazement, Mei looked up at him with wide, curious eyes. She had her dad’s eyes that just made Tao laugh. Pushing himself up to a sitting position, he moved Mei into his lap. At first she let out small protesting whines, but when he placed the small keyboard in both of their laps, she calmed down and watched as his own fingers danced across the instrument. Occasionally, she’d try to replicate the notes that sang from the cheap speaker of the toy, but for most of the time she sat there and listened to the song that Tao had played for you that night at the playground. So much for a distraction.

Tao was left alone with Mei for several hours, playing the part of the good uncle. He fed her around noon and even did the dirty work of changing the soiled diapers. A lot of the other guys ran from the room as soon as that signaling smell was noticeable.

Only a handful of times did he slip up and think about what it would be like with you and him as parents of your own children. It was a melancholy feeling, one that he hoped would someday no longer have the sadness attached to it.

Evie finally came back to the house while Mei was down for her afternoon nap. She apologized profusely about the length of time that she was away, but Tao waved it off. Time with his niece was… well, not exactly what he needed, but it certainly did help.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Evie offered as the two of them put away the groceries in the kitchen.

Tao shrugged. “I don’t think there’s much to talk about. Everything was going great and then it went to .”

Evie closed the cabinet that contained the canned goods, folding her arms over her chest leaning against the counter. “Kris said you’d spent the weekend with your mate. Did something happen?”

Tao kept his focus on placing the boxes of macaroni and rice in their proper places. “Her best friend made her break up with me.”

“Wait. Why?”

Releasing a sigh, Tao looked over at her. “Because I went out on one stupid date with her and I guess she had feelings for me that ran a little deep and now she’s on some stupid rampage of ‘if she can’t have me than neither can (y/n)’. I can’t figure out if going on that date was the worst mistake of my life or if I still wouldn’t have met (y/n) yet if I hadn’t gone out that night.”

“That is… one complicated situation,” Evie said sympathetically. “One with, unfortunately, no quick solution. Friendships are sticky. But from what Kris has told me, she’s a fighter. I mean, she fought against her feelings for you for a good while. Trust me, once you give into those feelings for your wolf, they’re nearly impossible to ignore. She’ll come back to you. Just give her some time.”

Tao could only nod back in reply. He didn’t want to give it time. He knew he had to, but he wanted you back in his arms now.

Evie patted his shoulder before moving over to the oven. “Why don’t you help me get started on dinner? I’m thinking soup might be easiest.”

Rolling his eyes, Tao turned around and began taking down the necessary pots from the cabinets. Of course, on the day he decides to take the day off from school for his emotional wellbeing, he’s put to work.

**

You didn’t move from the couch the entire day. While the TV played whatever was just on, you lied there on your side, face pressed against the throw pillow. You were sure there’d be a pattern imprinted into your skin when you finally got up, but you didn’t care. What was the point?

God, you hated yourself. You could hardly believe that you’d broken Tao so much that tears rolled down his cheeks. Sure, you’d seen him cry just a few days before, but this time it was your fault. Part of you – a huge majority of you, actually – was hoping he’d show up at your door. What could you do when he was on your doorstep, begging for you to change your mind besides take him back?

But that doorbell never rang and you never heard a knock or footsteps echoing down from your roof. So you were alone in that big house, needing someone to talk to, to help you understand why you were thrown into this predicament and why you were forced to choose between your best friend and Tao.

Suddenly, the front door clicked like the turning of the lock and swung open.

“Mom?” You sat up off the couch, watching in disbelief as your parents struggled to get inside with their luggage.

“Hi, sweetie,” she smiled at you. Your father gave you a mumbled greeting before going upstairs. His face was a concerning shade of green, but that was an afterthought as you jumped up off the couch and ran to your mother.

“What are you doing back so early?”

Your mother sighed and looked up at the stairs before turning back to you. “Your father got sick so we came home early. He’s going to lie down for a little bit.” Her maternal instincts kicking in, she narrowed her eyes as she studied your face. Were your eyes still red and puffy after all these hours? “Honey, is something wrong?”

Once more becoming a blubbering mess, you threw yourself in her embrace, unable to answer her verbally. For a minute or two, she just held you, patting your head and letting you cry it out without bombarding you with questions that you couldn’t reply to. When your tears started to dry out again, she led you into the kitchen. After sitting you down at the island, she immediately got to work heating up a kettle of water and searching the cabinets for the best tea to make for this situation.

Only when she had a cup steaming in front of you did she finally sit down across from you, mom mode on high. “Now, tell me what happened.”

You took a deep breath and cleared your throat. “Do you remember the guy I told you about?”

“The playboy?” she clarified with a playfully crooked smile. You couldn’t believe you managed something resembling a short laugh at that.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Although, he’s not like that. Not at all. He’s sweet and compassionate and he listens to me-” You needed to be careful in this conversation. If you continued talking about how amazing Tao was, you’d make yourself cry all over again. “I just really fell for him.”

A knowing grin crept across your mother’s face. “I had a feeling you might. But what happened?”

You took a sip of your tea, still hot and burning against your tongue, but your throat welcomed the warm liquid. “Well, he kind of went out on a date with Kendall. Before we ever met!” Your mother had opened comment, so you rushed to save Tao’s reputation in her eyes. “They never went out again after that, so I figured it didn’t matter. But….”

“But Kendall still had feelings for him,” your mother finished for you.

You nodded again. “And I didn’t tell her about me and Tao because I wanted to know if it would even go anywhere first, but she saw us together over the weekend.” No need to explain exactly where she saw you. No matter how distraught you were in the moment, your parents wouldn’t appreciate you having someone over and spending the night without their knowledge. “She was upset – like really upset. I didn’t know how much she liked him before, she never told me. And so, she… kind of made me break up with him….”

A flash of anger ignited in your mother’s eyes. “She made you break up with him?”

“She didn’t out right say ‘break up with him’,” you clarified. Admittedly, you were a little worried at your mother’s reaction. She’d disliked one of your friends in the past and… well, it wasn’t pretty, to say the least. “But when I said that I would, she just nodded and walked away.”

“Why did you ever say that you would say that you would break up with him if you didn’t want to?”

“I don’t know,” you whined with a shrug. “Kendall was crying and freaking out and I just panicked. But,” sighing, you picked at the chipping paint on the old mug, “I was kind of hoping she’d say I didn’t have to.”

“Honey, look at me.”

You did, surprised at how your mother’s expression had softened.

She reached out to you, cupping your chin with her delicate fingers before dropping them back down on the counter. “I know you might think I hadn’t noticed, but I could tell something was going on with that boy after you told me about him. You were happier. Now, I will never say you need another person to make you happy, but there was a spring in your step and you smiled without even thinking about it. And if Kendall was really your friend, then she’d understand. She’d respect where both your and Tao’s feelings really lie. I know there’s the girl code, but it’s a two way street. If she really cared about you, then she’d let you be happy. So let yourself be happy, sweetheart. If she can’t understand that her jealousy shouldn’t come before your happiness, then she’s not a friend worth having. No matter how long that friendship has lasted until now.”

Her words hit you harder than you’d expected. You were wrestling with yourself once again. Kendall was the one who’d always stood by you, was always your best friend. But your mother was right. Including the times she didn’t know about, you’d constantly put Kendall before your own wishes. You always conceded to her, gave in to what she wanted. And you knew. You knew that you wouldn’t be able to just forget about Tao. You needed to know how far the two of you could go, if you could make it the rest of your lives. So Kendall would just have to live with your decision. If this was the end of your friendship, then it was the end. At least Tao took your feelings into consideration. And you couldn’t live with this gigantic “What If” hanging over your head forever.

Hopping off the bar stool, you rounded the island and threw your arms around your mother’s neck. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” she chuckled. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Yes. This was what she was here for. And the universe seemed to be on your side, bringing her home just when you needed her the most. Maybe this was a sign that you and Tao were meant to be after all.

**

Tao was in a daze when he woke up Tuesday morning. He could hardly believe what had happened the night before. He was simply helping Evie get started on dinner one second and then the next Lanie was running into the kitchen, saying that Junmyeon had captured the hunter. Both of them rushed to turn off the burners and followed Lanie out to the garage. Sure enough, a vaguely familiar-looking woman was tied to a chair, just waking up from unconsciousness.

To hone in his own anger towards the hunter, Tao stayed quiet and near the back of the crowd. When Baekhyun recognized the woman as Hae In’s cousin, Tao’s anger flared up even more. That just engorged the betrayal. Minseok wasn’t around – probably resting since he still wore out easily – and that might have been a good thing.

Luhan showed up soon after that and things just went from bad to worse. Tao was stunned in a statue-like shock when it was revealed that the hunter was Luhan’s mate… and he knew about her the whole time.

When they eventually got Kris to calm down and shift back into his human form, they all headed inside – minus the newly revealed couple – and, well, no one really knew what to feel. Anger, hurt, shock, and confusion were just a few of the emotions brewing in the air.

Some of the mates finished up dinner, but no one was really hungry, which was a first. They were all forced to eat while trying to wrestle with the fact that Luhan had essentially lied to all of them for weeks. Even though he refused to acknowledge it, Tao could understand, on a minute scale, at least. Wolves were quick to hatred when it came to hunters and for good reason. It wasn’t like the hunters gave the wolves a chance to show they were harmless on the first meeting. But the one in the garage? She seemed to really care for Luhan, enough to betray her family. And so Tao couldn’t hate her.

He could, however, be extremely pissed off at the mates who decided to drug the whole pack in order to let the hunter escape.

Still groggy and tired after waking up from the forced sleep that after Junmyeon told Luhan that the pack wouldn’t be going after his runaway mate, Tao dragged himself towards the stairs to go collapse on his bed and slip into dreamland once again. But a new conversation was starting up, catching his attention.  

“What if she doesn’t succeed in deleting the files?” Kimberly asked. Jongin shushed her in a way that was probably supposed to be comforting, but she swatted his hand away.

“We’ll have to be ready for a fight,” Kris answered bluntly.

Lanie smirked cockily. “Sweet.”

“No,” Chanyeol bellowed out, making several of the other mates jump. “Whatever happens, you’re staying out of it.”

“Since when do you order me around?” Lanie crossed her arms defiantly. She stared Chanyeol down with her usual tough look. On an average day, it made the tall wolf back down and give in to her, but not this time.

“You’re not fighting against hunters where you could be killed.”

“We’re not useless, you know.” Of course Hae In would be right there with Lanie in wanted to get in on the battle.

Ji Yeon, ever the rational one, stepped in. “I think they’re right, guys. I hardly doubt we’re equipped to handle trained killers.”

“Not to mention, I have heard of instances where they’ve used the mates as bait for the wolves,” Yixing added in. “We won’t let that happen to any of you.”

Bait?

Tao swallowed, images of you tied up with a gun to your head or beaten or tied up flashed in his mind. No. He couldn’t let that happen to you. They couldn’t find out about you to use you against him.

Conflict arose in him. He wanted you back and he wanted you with him, but if Luhan’s mate failed and the hunters sent someone else to scope them out before attacking, they could find out about you, find out that you’re a mate. Maybe you breaking up with him today was the universe’s perfect timing. That could keep you safe. He needed to keep you safe. So, for now, until this crisis was over, he’d have to live without you.

Making it up the rest of the way to the second floor, Tao shut himself in his room.

Now it was six in the morning. He felt like death incarnate, but he couldn’t go back to sleep. Sehun was snoring away on the other side of the room, cuddling his body pillow close to his chest. Tao snorted at the sight before dragging his feet to the bathroom down the hall. Since the house was still asleep, Tao took his time in the shower, waking himself up with the cool water that bounced off his skin in little droplets. Back in the room, he closed the door to the walk-in closet before turning on the light and getting dressed for the day. It didn’t matter that his first class wasn’t for several more hours, he headed out anyway, unable to stay still.

With nothing else to do, he sat at one of the stone tables in the courtyard. He stared off at nothing, just letting all the confusing thoughts bounce around in his head. He still missed you.

To give himself a little piece of you again, he took out his phone and stared at the picture he’d snuck of you back at the knickknack shop where you’d found that silly hat. Maybe he should go back and buy it for you. It’d be a nice present once he was able to be with you again. He still liked the matching jacket idea, but the smile on your face when you put on the hat was like staring at the full moon for him and he wanted to see it again.

“Tao?”

His heart leapt in his throat. Was he hearing things now?

Looking around, he’d somehow missed all the students arriving on campus to begin the school day. Behind him, you stood in the grass, fidgeting with the straps of your bag. Tao slowly rose to his feet.

“Yes, (y/n)?”

You scratched your arms nervously. “Um… about what I said yesterday-”

“You were right.”

You weren’t expected that. Wide, confused eyes stared up him and he just wanted to pull you in close to his chest, kiss the top of your head and drag you away from here. He wanted you to say that you wanted to be with him and let it all go. But he forced him to stay planted, to stay firm in his decision. If he survived this latest trial, he’d make up it up to you for the rest of your lives.

“I-I don’t understand?”

“You were right to break up with me,” Tao clarified, the lie feeling like acid on his tongue. No. It was wrong. Oh, so utterly wrong.

You shook your head feverishly. “No, I wasn’t, Tao. I shouldn’t have let Kendall dictate my life. I’m sorry. Please, let me fix my mistake.”

God, this hurt more than when he got hurt fighting against the hybrid pack. Even if it was fake and temporary, it didn’t ease the pain at all. How many of his brothers could say that they were the ones rejecting their mate? He needed to get out of here. Fast. “It wasn’t a mistake. And you were right the first time. I’m not good. I’m not good for you. So… just move on.”

Still not believing him, you reached out and took ahold of his jacket sleeve. Pleading, you whispered, “Okay. You’ve had your payback now. So, please, Tao. Please, don’t do this. Let me fix this.”

For a few seconds, he just stared at the place where your fingers clung to him. His body was screaming him to reach out and slip his fingers through yours, but instead, he pushed on your hand, making you let go. You were going to hate him. Once he finally told you the truth, you were going to scream, punch, and kick at him. And he hoped that you would. Because he deserved it after saying one little word that would shatter your heart.

“No.”

He walked away in the same way you left him the day before. Except he had no ill thoughts towards you as you ran away with tears in your eyes. You, though, were probably wishing you’d never met him.

Why was he such a coward? There had to be a better option than this, right? He could find another way to protect you and besides, there was a chance the hunters wouldn’t really come here, wasn’t there?

Before he could make his feet turn around, however, his phone rang. It was Kris.

“Hello?”

“Tao? We’ve got an issue.”

The blonde wolf rolled his eyes. It seemed like their lives were just one issue after another. “What’s it this time?”

“Luhan’s gone. He went after his mate.”

Tao froze. No. No, no, no, no. Damn it!

“I’m headed back right now.”

Hanging on the alpha, he ran towards his car. Luhan was an idiot. But Tao was about to be an idiot right back. He was going to follow the damn fool, whether Junmyeon approved it or not. The only thing that would stop him would be if Kris imposed his authority over him. Even then, Tao might have to fight. Then, when he came back, he’d be begging on his knees for your forgiveness.