As soon as you got back to the rest of the pack, everyone else turned to you. 

"Where were you?" Kris asked to which you could only reply meekly,

"Exploring. ."

   He softened, remembering your never-ending curiosity as a child, and sighed it off,

"Very well then, just make sure to tell someone next time," he turned to the boy(s) beside you, making sure they got the message as well. Exo stood shocked. The unmerciful, killing-machine, ever-strong alpha, Kris, letting you off just like that? They had always thought you were special, but this just proved it.  

    Even the kind and gentle Baekhyun couldn't get away with something like that-and he got an earful of the alpha's lectures after getting caught being out late with you. Of course he thought about mentioning the last part, but he wanted to live beyond his early adult life so he kept quiet. 

    To break the tension, the growl of a hungry stomach broke through and sent everyone into good-natured laughter. 

"I guess it's about time we had lunch," Suho mused. 

    Your mind froze upon hearing his words. Ever since you had decided to stay with these wolves err boys(which was maybe 12 hours ago), you had many pros and cons weighed. One of the cons you had considered greatly, was food. They were carnivores by nature, so of course they didn't have to worry about the whole 'raw meat' thing. Unlike them, you got queasy just from the sight of uncooked, bloody flesh. 

    As if reading your troubled thoughts, Suho smiled and assured you,

"Don't worry ~~~, we'll have something for you to eat as well."

    You nodded back weakly, hoping that that 'something' wouldn't be something that'd stare at you your entire meal. Kris spoke up getting everyone's attention again,

"Ok Exo, get into your groups to help make lunch. ~~~ , you can follow anyone you want-just don't go wandering. The rest of you, get to work!" 

    He turned to you as he dismissed the others. 

"We break into hunting, gathering, and prepping groups when we have work to do. Who are you going to join,~~~?"

"Yeah ~~~, who're you gonna choose?" Sehun chimed in from beside you. Some of Exo hadn't left yet, and waited for your response.

"U-uh," You stuttered.

 

Choose:

-Hunters

-Gatherers 

-Prep group

-Nobody

 

 

-Hunters

 

"The hunting group," you decided.

    Kris frowned slightly saying,

"Normally outsiders or those who don't possess either Alpha or Beta rank aren't allowed to go on the hunt,"

"In other words, we don't want to endanger you over a simple matter such as this. But that shouldn't be a problem, seeing as our strongest will be with you at all times," Suho hinted, smiling at his brother eerily. Kris gulped. You didn't really get the whole alpha and beta thing, but assumed they'd explain it to you later.

"Aww com'on Kris, let ~~~ come if she wants to! Suho has a point~!" Sehun said pleadingly. Seeing the pup's persistence for you to come, made you ponder, 'Surely someone as child-like as him wouldn't..'

"Fine." The alpha growled, reluctantly agreeing. "Let's go now. The others are already out," 

"Yippee!" Sehun sang, pulling you along with him. 

"You're part of the hunting group?" You asked, his words confirming the exact opposite of your thoughts.

"Yeah, both Tao and I are," he said gloomily. Realizing you had hurt his pride, you quickly covered up saying,

"Makes sense, you two are always full of energy,"

    Taking the bait, Sehun cheered up immediately hearing your compliment(?).

   Reaching the boundary of the boys' den, Sehun did that thing that made your heart leap out of your chest, and transformed again. This time into a smaller, tannish-light brown wolf. 

"Just follow me, and keep up," Was all he said before taking off.

    You had to sprint after him, feeling lucky you had left your hood back at the den, seeing as it would only get in the way. He was like a rocket set at full speed, but by somehow you managed to keep up with the pup. . After minutes of racing you two met up with six others. Seeing them in their other form, sent you back to square one when it came to remembering names. You had no idea who was who, but knew at least Tao was somewhere in the mix of fur. There was a growl or two-something you later learned to be a hunting signal-and suddenly every wolf split up into a smaller team running off in a different direction. Looking around, you panicked slightly noticing that Sehun was also gone. Great, you were all alone in the forest again. While walking around, you grumbled lightly under your breath,

"Puppy left me where I started..."

    Soft whimpering got your attention. You turned towards the noise, only to find its source right next to you. A black and white, husky-like wolf sat beside you.Its head was cocked to the side, and adorably large aqua eyes staring back at you, you couldn't help but squeal a little at the cute thing. It gave you an amused look, but smiled nonetheless.

    As you continued fawn over the cute animal, you didn't even notice him pounce into the bushes then come out minutes later, dragging a deer between its jaws. You jumped as you watched the dog easily carry the limp animal, its eyes asking ' I'm so cute, aren't I?' 

    You shuddered a little, but followed him as he walked away. Every once and a while he'd look over his shoulder to make sure you were with him, *cough cough*unlike Sehun. 

    When you got back to the den everybody else was bustling about. Some were feeding a small fire, while others helped skin another animal(you couldn't identify the mystery meat) that the hunting team must've also caught.

"Wow, you got that all by yourself?! You're so awesome Luhan! Kai and D.O only caught a rabbit!" Sehun gushed excitedly. 

"That was because D.O scared away all the good game!"

"Like hell it was my fault! You little brat-"

You stopped in your tracks.

    Luhan?! The innocent, doe-eyed, sweetheart of a boy just took down an adult deer on his own?! Staring back at the dog that had now transformed, he held the large animal in one hand with ease. Luhan tossed the carcass over to Tao, who barely caught it even with the help of Sehun. 

"How come Luhan didn't have another one of you around to help hunt? And why was he with me?-Not that I minded" You asked, adding the last part not wanting to sound rude.

"If you haven't figured it out, Hun, Luhan's our strongest fighter. So it's only natural he doesn't need a hunting partner, and is trusted watch over you," Xuimin said, from his spot cutting up meat. You nodded, surprised by his nickname for you. 'Hun?' You giggled mentally. Suddenly becoming shy, you turned to Luhan saying,

"Thank you for taking care of me.."

"Of course, what kind of man would I be if I left a lady all alone,"

    He gave you a charming smile, wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes. This was truly one of those cases where looks were deceiving, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all you had to admit, you did feel really safe around the adorable, doe-eyed boy. 

 

-Gatherers 

 

    "I'd like to be with the gatherers," you said truthfully. You weren't one for blood and guts, and didn't trust yourself with any fire or knives involved with prep.

    Kris nodded accepting your answer while towing an upset Sehun to hunt.

"Go with Chen and Lay then," he ordered then left.

    You looked around for the quiet pair until you spotted them further out from the boundaries of the den. Walking over, you were able to identify Lay first, and then infer the charcoal blue-orbed wolf beside him as Chen. The boy waved as you made your way, and the other just nodded its large dog head in acknowledgment. Inspecting their work closer, you found out they were picking small berries that speckled the bushes surrounding them. 

"Hi, ~~~," Lay greeted shyly, a light blush tinting his pale cheeks. You giggled smiling,

"Hey Lay, Chen," 

    The wolf perked up, then quickly looked back down as if embarrassed. 

"You can call me Yixing," The boy said timidly.

"Ok, Yixing! Can I join you? I feel bad for not helping and being the whole reason for all the extra work on the meal," You said then turned glum.

"Of course! It's ok, ~~~! We usually eat like this anyway," Lay insisted, trying to make you feel better. His kind and sweet words touched you, and instantly you brightened up. 

"Really? Even if you're.." You trailed off.

"Yeah, lot's of us don't like the taste of raw meat. We'll just eat like that if we don't have time or supplies. Some of us like Baekhyun, Tao, and Chanyeol can't stand it-but along with D.O, they're our pickiest eaters anyway," Lay explained laughing softly.

"Oh, I see," you chortled at thought of the grown Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and D.O all being childish when it came to eating.

    Crouching between the two brothers, you daintily picked some of the fruits and set them onto a cloth Lay had out to hold them. 

"Thanks! I'm glad I decided join you guys!" You beamed, earning startled and flustered looks from the two.

"E-eh? You chose to be with us, omegas?!" The boy said surprised yet happy nonetheless.

"Yeah, I didn't really know who'd be here, but I thought it might be more quiet peaceful than hunting." You said thoughtfully. Seeing their slightly disappointed faces, you added quickly and honestly, "But I'm happy to get to know you two better,"

    They relaxed and Chen spoke up jokingly,

"Well it's definitely quieter and more peaceful, seeing as we don't have the pups here," 

    The three of you laughed, and then became still. All of you worked for minutes in a comfortable silenced bliss, simply enjoying each others' company. Lay suddenly got up, Chen following in suit and you too. 

"This should be enough for a meal," the boy said lifting the now bulging bag of berries.

"That sure is a lot," you remarked, taking notice of the second bag carried by Chen. 

"It'll be seconds before they're gone, so I'd take some while you can," the dog said nonchalantly. You nodded in understanding, as Lay pipped up,

"But don't worry, ~~~! I'll save some for you!" 

    The smile that crept onto your face, sent a blush to his as you said,

"Thanks, La—Yixing. Oh, and Chen too! I had a lot of fun with both of you now," 

    Cue flushed faces from the two boys, and rambled out "You're welcome"s. 

    When you arrived back at the den, everyone was busy at work (except for the pups who were playing around and surprise tackling unsuspecting hunters who also just got back). Most greeted you and their brothers before going back to their job. 

"Dammit, Sehun! Get off of me!"      

You could hear D.O growl, while others just laughed at the beta's misery. Following Lay and Chen still, you watched them set down your hard work onto a flat boulder near the prep team. Xuimin turned to your group praising,

"Good job ~~~, Lay, and Chen,"

    You grinned accepting the compliment saying,

"Thanks, but it was mostly them,"

    The boys looked like they wanted to object, but you gave them a mocking glare and they smiled in return.

 

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    Thanks for waiting a little again! I wasn't originally planning to make this and the next a choice chapter, but it was a spur of the moment thing that I fell in love with. From looking back at the previous chapter, I realized that Kai's part was a lot shorter than the pup's . I'm really sorry about that to all the Kai-lovers, so I tried to make these more even. The last results will be posted next. The person/people who voted for this story would be even more awesome of they could message me so I could thank them personally;) Thanks for all who read, subscribe, vote, and comment!!

 

~Toasty