After a cold shower that was equal parts freezing and refreshing, Victoria stood in her closet deciding what to wear. She wanted to wear something comfy and not at all revealing, but also something that didn’t make her feel even hotter than she already did. Deciding on a t-shirt that looked more like a dress on her and sweatpants, she deemed she was not at all y and made her exit. 

The walk to the house wasn’t a long one, maybe five minutes at most, and Victoria found herself fanning her hand in front of her face most the way there. After Baekhyun left, Victoria wondered if everyone in the pack went into heat on the new moon, and judging by the lack of people walking around, she decided they did. It was such a weird thing to think about… a bunch of people you’ve met all doing the nasty on the same night? She wrote it off as a ‘normal werewolf thing,’ and didn’t put any more thought into it. The mental images would haunt her if she did.

Victoria didn’t even have time to knock before the door opened and Baekhyun pulled her inside. She gave him a weird look as he walked past her to the kitchen, grabbing his sleeve. “How did you-”

She was surprised he wiggled out her grasp. “Can smell you like a hundred miles away right now,” he stated, walking into the kitchen. Victoria gave him an odd look as he walked off, hopping up the steps two at a time as he did. She was beginning to really think he was lying about the whole ‘not affecting him’ thing. 

In the kitchen, Julia was actually fixing the plates at the counter which surprised her, and Tanner was right next to her bringing them all to the table. The rest of the family wasn’t anywhere to be found, which had Victoria looking around confused. Tanner noticed her first. 

“Oh, Victoria! Have a seat, dinner’s almost done.”

“Right..” she mumbled, walking over to the table slowly. “Uh.. where is everyone? And why are we doing dinner like this?”

Julia giggled from the stove top, handing a plate over to her husband. “They’re all packing right now, and.. This just speeds things up a bit.” 

Nodding slowly, Victoria sat down where she always did as Julia and Tanner came around to the table. “Packing for what..?” she asked, worried everyone was going on some kind of trip. Was she not invited? How long would they be gone? The hell was she supposed to do until they came back? Questions began racing through her head, but Julia silenced them quickly. 

“Just for the night,” she said. “Tanner and I get one night to ourselves, you see, and-”

“Heat, yep, gotcha,” Victoria cut her off, not wanting to hear anything else about their plans for the night. She recalled Julia saying about ‘taking care of it on the first night,’ and she guessed that was what this was. Sounded like a full night for the pack house. 

Julia and Tanner didn’t wait for the rest of them to start eating, so Victoria didn’t either. The lack of breakfast and lunch was really punching a whole in her stomach by now as it was. One by one all of the kids came down the steps, dropping off a little bag of clothes for their sleepout at the pack house. Victoria found it amusing, watching each and every one of them go through the same motion: down the steps, around the island, drop bags off on the living room couch, and then finally coming to sit at the table and eat. 

Amber was last, coming down with two bags full of stuff. Victoria looked at her like she was crazy as she flopped down in the chair. “What’s all that for?” 

“Night and morning skin routine,” Amber stated, quickly beginning to dig in. 

That’s why she smells weird, she heard a voice float through her head, and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. She shot a look at Baekhyun over the table where he was grinning at his own little joke. 

She doesn’t smell weird, you’re just weird, she tried to respond. She didn’t think it went through at first, until he looked up at her and gave her a little nod. Victoria felt she was getting a small handle on the mindlink, at least with him. It felt better to practice over something like that then to have a whole conversation anyway. 

 

By the time everyone had finished eating, Julia and Tanner had already wished them good night and went upstairs. Victoria doubted they were already up to anything, she was sure they were just excited to have the house to themselves. The siblings all waited for each other to finish, and Victoria waited with them, listening to Andrew as he told everyone what room they were staying in. 

“Chan and I are in Mclaren’s old room, the one on the second floor? He’s already left for uni, so he won’t be home for a while. And Amber, you’re with your friends right?” he got a thumbs up from her since she had noodles hanging from . “And Baek, I figured you’d sleep with Vic or on Kris’s floor, your pick.”

“Wow thanks,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, stealing a meatball from Victoria’s plate. She didn’t care, she wasn’t a big fan of meatballs anyway. “I’ll figure something out.”

Victoria chose not to say anything. On one hand she felt bad that he was going to sleep on Kris’s floor, but on the other hand it wasn’t a good idea to have him in her room either. She had slept in a bed with him once, but that was different. Things have changed since then. Not to mention she would feel like a jerk making him sleep on the floor. She opened to say something and a meatball was put in instead. Shocked, she looked over at Chanyeol who just shrugged and nodded at Baekhyun who was already shaking his head. Well. That must have been settled then.

“Okay, yeah, but first, who’s coming to the bar with me?” Amber asked, looking around the table. Andrew was quick to get up and put his plate away, avoiding her, and the twins just shook their head at her. “What? You guys are lame. Everyone else’s shackin’ up, us lonely singles can have fun too.”

“You had to say it like that?” Baekhyun laughed at her, followed his brother to the sink. 

“Um, I wasn’t talking to you, senior buzzkill. You’re not invited to singles night,” Amber frowned. Everyone was pretty much finished eating, so they all talked as they cleaned up and grabbed their bags. “V, you’re still invited, but I am not gonna be responsible for what happens to you.”

Victoria laughed, shaking her head. “Thanks, but I’m good. I was going to just boil myself alive, I think.” That was how you killed a fever right? You burned it out? Vic was sure it wouldn’t work, but cold didn’t either. 

“Great, his buzzkillness rubbed off on you,” Amber sighed. “I just wanted one cool sibling to get drunk with and all of you are boring.”

“What I don’t count?” Chanyeol asked, pulling his and one of Amber’s bags over his shoulder. 

Amber quickly shook her head. “No, you don’t. You were coming no matter what. I wanted a second cool sibling.” Turning back to Victoria, Amber’s eyes lit up blue as she began batting them at her. “Come have some drinks with us, please?”

“How are you going to give me literal puppy eyes and expect me to say no?” Victoria laughed, pushing Amber away from her. She supposed one or two drinks wouldn’t be so bad, it was better than tossing and turning in your bed for hours. She was not expecting sleep to come easy.

Amber began cheering, dancing her way out the house with her brothers following behind her. Victoria felt Baekhyun nudge her shoulder as they walked. “Really think that’s a good idea?”

“No, but it’s better than nothing.”

 

Even though the night out was just down stairs, Amber insisted Victoria dress in something other than sweats and t-shirts. The argument lasted about five minutes before Victoria announced the winning compromise of legging and tank top. Amber really pushed for that crop-top, but Victoria was stern. From there, the argument changed to make-up, which Victoria refused as they were literally going right down stairs. Another battle won by Victoria who simply closed the door to her room in Amber’s face. 

It didn’t take her long to change, and even though the new material was more breathable, her skin still felt hot to the touch. She wasn’t surprised the twins were both sitting around the bar when she came in, Andrew was more of a surprise. The room wasn’t full by any means, but there were a large number of people there. It was easy to point out who was mated to whom. Many of the couples stand close enough together Victoria was sure they would merge into one person altogether. Other people sat around various tables, or stood around the long bar talking to one another. Victoria could feel eyes following her as she walked towards the boys and avoided returning the looks.

Chanyeol was behind the bar along with two other people she didn’t know, talking to his brothers in front of them. As she walked up, Victoria stood behind the boys, one of her hands subconsciously resting on Baekhyun’s shoulder as she joined their conversation. Baekhyun instantly noticed when Victoria touched him, his attention going from Andrew to her in a second. He noted Victoria seemed oblivious to it, smiling at Andrew as he spoke. Her touch sent the familiar shiver across his skin, something that was both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. He could feel the heat radiating off of her, but the scent was what truly sent his wolf into a frenzy. 

“-and I just thought he was a total idiot by that point,” Andrew spoke in a low tone. He was leaning on the bar with a glass in his hand, laughing with his brothers. “It’s like, this kid doesn’t know the first half about being a beta! He wants to be king some day? What a joke.”

“I feel bad for Matthias though, man. Like he’s got two sons, one of them found his mate who’s in line for alpha, the others an idiot. If Noah doesn’t get it together, I think he’s gonna get over shadowed,” Chanyeol whispered back, already pulling down another glass and filling it for Vic. “Vodka sprite?” he asked, and she nodded. 

Next to her, Baekhyun stood up, sliding over a seat and nodding to the one he was in. “Oh, I’m okay,” she said. She didn’t want to make him move, and didn’t mind standing either.

“V, sit,” Andrew said more sternly. Surprised, she took the seat, looking over the three of them. 

“What did-”

“There’s unmated males in here and all of them can smell you’re in heat,” Chanyeol mumbled to her. Suddenly grinning again, he slid her the cup. “So, just sit right here, next to your mate, and it’s all good.” 

Victoria nodded slowly, not liking the idea that random guys she didn’t know could just smell she was in heat. Didn’t Julia say it was a mate thing? Why could other people smell it? What did it smell like? That one she might just ask Baekhyun… 

“Scoot, loser,” Amber walked up behind them, pushing Andrew lightly. Rolling his eyes, the brother did as he was told. 

As she began placing an order to Chanyeol, Victoria felt Baekhyun pushing her hair over her shoulder, exposing the mark he placed there. Victoria tried to hide the chill that went up her spine as he did and took advantage of the siblings distraction. “What’s it smell like?” she whispered to him quickly. Baekhyun gave her an odd look, and Vic rolled her eyes. “The heat thing, what’s it smell like?” she hissed again.

“Oh,” he mumbled, leaning back some. Baekhyun seemed to think about it for a second, biting this inside of his cheek. “It’s like.. I can’t really place it. It’s kind of sweet? Or maybe flowery? It’s hard to really describe. It’s not a smell you’d mistake for something else, but it doesn’t really smell like something specific.”

“But like…” she started, sighing and taking a sip of her drink a second later. It was really strong, but not intolerable. Looking over her shoulder to the siblings, Chanyeol was leaning on the bar, laughing at Amber who looked like they said something mean to her, and Andrew was downing whatever he had been drinking. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes. Does it smell bad?

Opening one of her eyes, she peeked at him to find Baekhyun chuckling and shaking his head. “No, no it doesn’t. It’s very appealing, but it’s not like your scent. I find your natural scent appealing, it’s a mate thing, but everyone finds the smell of someone in heat appealing.” Pulling his phone from his pocket, he looked at the time before setting it on the bar. “Give it a little more time, you’ll start to smell the same kind of thing from me. I don’t know if it’s exactly the same, but close as you’re gonna get.”

Nodding at this, Victoria was kind of happy he would start doing the same thing. She wasn’t alone in this thing for once, he was going to have to suffer with her. She knew Julia was technically suffering with her too, but Julia got the ‘fun’ part too. Victoria didn’t get the fun part without being stuck to Baekhyun for all eternity. Which is a lot of commitment. 

“Hey, V, you’re gonna dance with me if I can get the band going right?” Amber asked, tugging on Victoria’s arm.

She didn’t even get to process the question before all three of the brother’s spoke up for her. “No.”

“Oh, why not?” Amber whined.

“Go dance with one of your little friends,” Andrew stated, waving her off. “Vic can party with you when it’s not a new moon, okay?” Amber pouted at this, but Victoria could easily tell no one argued with the oldest sibling. 

Still, Amber took her drink and left in a little huff, leaving Victoria with the boys again. Andrew immediately slid over to her again. Now extra curious with the two’s suddenly protective nature, Victoria made a face at them. “Okay, what’s up with you two?” she asked, looking over them all.

“Again, a heat thing,” Baekhyun spoke up, slowly sipping his drink. 

Victoria in a sharp breath, her arms coming around herself. “Wait you can smell it too?”

The three of them laughed lightly, Andrew shaking his head. “Not like you think. Yes, we can smell it, but it doesn’t have the same affect on us.” Victoria stared at him, waiting for him to continue, and after a sip he did. “You’re mated to our brother, right? Direct family. So just like with our mom, and when Amber gets there, and with Susan, we all get this way around you.”

“Like a weird ‘you’re our women’ thing?” She asked, making a face at them. That was not appealing at all, at least not to her, but looking around the room at the amount of people, specifically men, she wasn’t looking to complain. Even with Baekhyun next to her, she could see other men looking her way, pointing at her, commenting, and she wasn’t the only one. Other couples she could see were getting similar treatment, eyes following the females even when she didn’t bat one at them. Her eyes landed on two girls, one on the others lap speaking quietly. A man approached them, and in an instant both females growled at him; the man quickly backed away. 

“Uh, something like that,” Chanyeol shook his head. “More like a protect the pack thing. Families are all little packs in a big pack, so the direct family is more protective over their family. And before you ask, yes, unmated males are extra attracted to you right now, and even though we smell the same scent, no, we are not. But speak of the devil, and he shall come. What ya want, Carmen?”

Looking over her shoulder as the broad man walked up with his hands raised. “Whaaat? I didn’t even do anything yet,” he smiled big, standing between Andrew and Victoria. A sudden lurch and a squeak had Victoria’s chair moving much closer to Baekhyun’s, Victoria gripping the chair from the force. Carmen waved him off. “Oh relax. You made your point, off limits.” Holding his fingers up in the ‘ok’ sign, he leaned against the bar. “Scotch on the rocks.”

Victoria could still see a large bruise slowly yellowing out around his eye. She found it strange, Baekhyun’s wounds from the fight were long gone and forgotten about, but here he was, still slowly recovering. “You like my shiner?” he winked at Victoria. Feeling extra brave with her beefed up protection of the night, she smiled.

“Yeah, I do. Wink at me again, and you’ll have one to match.” Hearing the chair move behind her, she reached back and put a hand on Baekhyun’s arm. 

Carmen was grinning, looking between the two of them, she could practically see the wheels turning, debating if it was worth it just to say he wasn’t scared of Baekhyun. Chanyeol slid the drink into his waiting hand, but he didn’t even glance at it. “Still feisty as ever, eh?” he laughed, but the challenge didn’t leave his face. 

Sighing, he appeared to make a choice. Carmen picked up his drink, took a long sip from it and set it back down. Victoria watched as he squared his shoulders, and she already knew what to expect from this. As he opened his mouth again, she cut him off. “Really? You are quite literally preparing yourself for him to hit you because you know he will, and you are still going to push him?”

He laughed at her again, holding his chin up. “Oh, of course I am. All in good fun, pushing his buttons’ the only way I want to spend my night.” Victoria rolled her eyes, letting go of Baekhyun and turning back to her drink. “Right then, Victoria, beauty as you are, what’s say you and I head upstairs and-” A sickening crack went through the room with a solid thud behind it as Carmen hit the floor. Two other guys came over and helped him up, Baekhyun wiping his hand on his jeans. 

Looking over at him, she could see a clear cut across his eyebrow from Baekhyun’s ring, but Carmen still grinned, reaching out and shaking Baekhyun’s hand. “Excellent shot. Hey, Channie, get his next one on me, one for the misses too.”

Chanyeol nodded, shaking his head at the scene as Baekhyun shook out his hand and sat down again. Victoria glanced at his bloodied hand as it gripped his glass and smiled. “Now your rings gotta little bit of Carmen too.”

“It’ll wash out,” he smiled back at her. 

“Why’d you hit him even when you knew he was saying it just to bug you?” she asked, her fingers tapping against her own glass. 

Baekhyun shrugged, “Cause he knew if he said it I’d hit him. He’s always been like that, saying to piss me off. Even when I was a kid.”

 

The night of drinking continued, mostly uneventful. Chanyeol and Andrew began a drinking game, betting on different words people round them would say and drinking whenever it was said. Amber, the ever persistent, tried to get Victoria to dance with her and her friends, even tried to get Baekhyun to come just so she would, but was turned down, even by Victoria. She was enjoying her bubble of safety between the three boys. They took turns telling her funny stories from when they were kids, going out of their way to embarrass one another. 

After her third drink, Victoria deemed herself ready for bed. Not because she was too drunk or anything of the like, mostly just tired. Everyday felt like a million things happened all at once, and even with the heat burning through her body, she felt drained. Chanyeol made her another ice pack with the big ice balls behind the counter, and soon enough she was curled up halfway under her blankets, ice pack on head, and fan on full blast. Sleep came easier than she expected, but she didn’t complain or question it.

In the middle of the night, Victoria jumped awake when her door creaked open. It had startled her at first, until she saw the outline of Baekhyun waddling into her room. She rubbed her eyes a few times as the door closed again followed by the click of the lock. “Baekhyun?” she mumbled, earning an eager ‘sshhhh’ in response.

“Vic’s asleep,” he slurred out, stumbling over to the side of the bed. “I’m not supposed to be here.”

“No, you’re not,” she whispered to him, stretching a bit as she sat up. “What are you doing here?”

He hummed a minute before he flopped into her bed next to her. Victoria sighed quietly and scooted over for him. “Didn’t wanna sleep on the floor. I wanted to sleep with you. So I came.”

She could practically hear him smiling to himself, and in the dim lighting she could almost see it. “Baekhyun, the heat. You’re not supposed to be in here.”

“Then don’t tell,” he giggled to himself, rolling over. She could still make out the dumb smile on his face when he looked up at her, his eyes didn’t seem focused at all. The longer she looked at him, the more sure she became that even if he wanted to do something, there was no way he could. “Just, just let me stay one night. Just one.”

Sighing mostly to herself, Victoria slid back down in the blankets. “One night. Mostly because I don’t think I can get you anywhere else.” As she got comfortable again, she heard a soft and prolonged ‘yay’ from his side. She laid on her side to face him, and she could already see he had closed his eyes, even though he wasn’t under the blankets. “You’re gonna get cold.”

“Nah, you make a room hot,” he grinned to himself. Victoria shook her head, laughing at his bad joke. 

“My god you’re drunk,” she said, which he replied to with ‘yep.’ “How many drinks did you have?”

“Uhhmm,” he mumbled. For a second Victoria thought he fell asleep before he continued, “like ten.”

Victoria laughed at that. “No way you’re like this after ten.”

“Oh, god no,” he scoffed. She felt him wiggling around a bit before she heard two things flop onto the ground. She assumed it was his shoes. “I drank those, then Chanyeol said he could drink it straight better than me, which he totally couldn’t.” he recalled, still shifted around until he laid on his side. His eyes were still closed, but now she could really smell the alcohol wafting off of him. “Your mate’s a winner baby. I win everything.” Giggling at him, Victoria could do nothing but listen to him ramble. It was hard to make out some words, but she understood most off. When she laughed, he’d laugh with her, his eyes never opening. “There’s only one thing I can’t win, and, and I think, I’m getting better at it. I think I’m getting it.”

“What can’t you win, Baek?” she laughed, pulling the blanket from under him and tossing it over his back. 

“You,” Victoria snapped to look at him, to find his eyes opened and looking directly at her. The browns and blues mixing around each other in a way she had never seen before. She felt her heart thump in her chest, her mind stopping and focusing all it’s attention on them. Like she had gotten lost in those eyes and found herself leaning closer to him, and just as quickly they shut again and he rolled away. “And sudoku. I just don’t get it man.”

Feeling like she could suddenly breath again, Victoria leaning away from him, her hand going to her chest. What the was that… she thought, staring down at the man next to her, rambling on about sudoku with his eyes closed again. Rolling away from him, Victoria tuned out his soft rambling and forced herself back to sleep. 

 

The next morning, Victoria woke to the sun breaking through her window, the memories of last night still fresh in her mind. She could already feel him curled up against her back, his arm hanging over her waist. It was comfortable, a perfect amount of not too hot and not too cold. He was making a few noises, but they were soft enough she could barely tell. Lifting his arm from her, she could still see the dried blood of Carmen on the back of his hand, and she made a face. How he could be fine with that on him, she didn’t know. 

Making her great escape to the bathroom, Victoria was perfectly hang over free, unlike someone else. She could already feel her body waking up, the heat steadily creeping back through her. Quietly cursing to herself, she knew she would begin with a long cold soak. 

 

A solid throb through his head woke Baekhyun, his hand coming up and covering his eyes from the sun. Grabbing the blanket, he pulled it up and over his head, catching a big whiff of Victoria. Eyes suddenly wide and alert, he sat up straight, his head immediately arguing with him and his stomach lurking. 

“Morning, sleepy head.” A chipper voice went through the room, and he peeked through his fingers to find Victoria, sitting at her desk looking at him. Instead of responding, he slowly laid back down, hiding himself in the blankets and pillows. “Aw, you gonna sleep all day?” He groaned a response, not really feeling up to moving around to begin with. “Well that’s just too bad,” he heard her continue. She tugged on the blanket, pulling it back from him enough to review his head. “I wanted to play with you this morning.”

His eyes peeled open, and suddenly she was standing there in a white button down that was too small for her, the button halfway undone revealing a black bra. “Uhh..” Baekhyun mumbled, sitting up more, his eyes stuck to her. “We aren’t… I-I thought…”

“We can break the rules just this once,” she told him. Bringing one of her knees up onto the bed drew his eyes lower to the tiny little skirt she wore and thigh high socks. He could just make out the straps holding them up and gulped as she began crawling towards him on the bed. 

“I-I, this is just the heat, V… we can’t-” 

He was cut off when she put a finger to his lips, shushing him. 

His eyes snapped open, quickly looking around the room. Baekhyun let out a sigh of relief when he realized Victoria was gone, his hands rubbing down his face. He mumbled curses to himself, throwing off the blankets as he sat up. He couldn’t have had luckier timing to her being gone, the looks she would have given him.. 

 

Walking back into her room quietly, Victoria was surprised to see the bed empty. She could hear the shower running in the other room and adjusted the bag over her shoulder. When she had gone to get breakfast, she was surprised to see Chanyeol in the kitchen, already holding out Baekhyun's bag to her. Apparently, he had left it on the floor in the barroom. Recalling his drunken slurs the night before, she didn’t know what else she had expected. Marching over, she rapped her knuckles against the door. “Baek, I found your bag.”

The door opened up to him with a towel around his waist. “Cool, I was not looking forward to the booty shorts idea.” he said, taking the bag from her hands. Victoria bit the inside of her cheek, avoiding looking him over until she caught something from the corner of her eye as the door closed. With a hand on the door, Baekhyun looked back at her confused as she reached out and brushed her fingers against the scar moving down his rib cage. The moment he realized what she was investigating, he took a step back. 

“What is that from?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She had seen him without his shirt before, but she had never really paid attention to the marks he had. Victoria usually tried to avoid looking at all.

Baekhyun didn’t answer her right away. Her eyes had left the mark when he stepped away, but he could see them shifting, wanting to look again. “An alpha,” he answered, setting the bag down on the counter. He dropped the towel, revealing he had still been wearing shorts and was likely just messing with her. So much for that joke. 

“You fought an alpha?” He wasn’t sure why she was whispering, maybe because she knew this was something she shouldn’t be asking. 

“Yep,” Baekhyun replied, turning and beginning to dig through his bag. He expected her to leave, close the door and let him shower, but instead she stayed. Her eyes were raking over him, something he had not been expecting at all. What was her sudden interest? He would much rather she didn’t have one. “You should know, you were there,” he sighed, dropping the things from his hands and settling on this conversation happening. 

She pieced it together faster than he expected him too. He wrote it off as finally accepting he and his wolf were the same. “The black one on the trail?”

“That would be the one,” he stated. Baekhyun knew he was being cold to her, and it really wasn’t necessary, but he didn’t want to talk about this. Not now, not when the both of them would have emotions running on high as it was. 

“I didn’t know it got you..” she mumbled. He felt her fingers brushing against his back, and knew she was looking at the other scar there. “I’m sorry..”

“No, don’t be-”

“These are all because of me?” Sighing to himself, Baekhyun let his head hang. This was the last thing he had wanted, blaming herself for him getting hurt. He blamed himself enough for the both of them getting hurt, it didn’t help when she did it too. They couldn’t both take the blame. Baekhyun opened his mouth to deny what she said, but was surprised when her arms wrapped around him instead, squeezing him against her. 

“Thank you,” she said. He looked down at her arms squeezing him, confused. Baekhyun could hardly get the girl to look at him most days, now she was hugging him? Over some old scars? “Thank you for being there,” she sniffled, and he felt his chest sink. 

“V..” Baekhyun mumbled, reaching down and unhooking her arms. He spun around, pulling her into his chest and resting his chin on her head. “I’m always gonna be there, V. You don’t have to thank me for it,” he laughed lightly. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, not now, not ever.” Pulling away from her, he brushed his hands across her cheeks. “Don’t get yourself all upset over this. This is nothing. You should’ve seen the other guy.”

Laughing half heartedly at the joke, as she did see the other guys, Victoria sniffled again, reaching up to wipe her eyes. She took a minute to calm herself down, Baekhyun rubbing the tops of her arms patiently until she finally nodded and looked up at him. She sniffled again. “You smell like liquor..” she mumbled, taking a step back from him.

He laughed lightly, nodding, and turning back to his bag. “Yeah, I bet I do.” 

Victoria left him to shower, closing the door behind her, her ring twisting around her finger as she sat in her chair again. Whenever she thought about the attacks with the rogues, she never considered Baekhyun getting hurt, aside from the time she witnessed it. Baekhyun never complained about aching or being in pain.. Even when he was attacked and clearly hurt, she didn’t hear him complain. She didn’t see much of him directly after, but she was sure he had to have complained to someone. 

She wasn’t sure exactly what to think about the scars he wore. She felt terrible for them, that he had gone to the trouble of getting hurt to save her so many times already. Was that what being a mate was? Risking your own life to save someone else’s? Victoria wasn’t sure she could do that for him. Then again, even when he seemed to hate her, Baekhyun would dive into danger to save her. Was this just a natural instinct for them? Did they get any say in it? Again, another instance she was left feeling like she had more questions than answers. 

She felt a chill down her spine, and Victoria realized as Baekhyun passed, she had been simply staring at her desk. He dropped his bag by the door before he turned back to her, seemingly unphased she was already looking at him. “Listen, uh, I’m gonna head back to the house until this blows over. I’m sure mom or someone will come check on you every once and awhile, but do me a favor and just stay in here, okay? I’m just going to be cooped up in my room too, so.. No more adventures without you, okay? Promise.”

“You want me to stay in my room? For two days?” Victoria frowned at him, crossing her arms over her chest. “That’ll be miserable.”

Baekhyun was rubbing the back of his head and nodding. “Trust me, I know, but it’ll be safer. You’re probably going to feel like absolute crap anyway.” It wasn’t reassuring, but he wasn’t trying to be. Baekhyun knew the next two days would be rough for the both of them, but being together for it could lead to mistakes. Once she threw her hands up in defeat, he nodded and took his bag again. “Good. Just let me know if something happens. Or you get bored, either works.” Hearing her light laugh, Baekhyun wrote it off as a small victory as he left back for his house.

With her main source of entertainment gone, Victoria sat back on her bed. She could already feel the heat creeping back into her skin, she imagined it would get worse the further he was. The fever made her wish for a pool again, like the one she had. The lake was a tempting idea, but it was almost an absolute someone would find her and reprimand her. She could already imagine the fight she and Baekhyun would have following that one through. Instead of risking trouble, she grabbed a book from the pile on her dresser and got as comfortable as she could.

 

The morning went on that way, reading a book until she was bored of it, scrolling through the tv, playing games on her phone. Eventually, she called on Chanyeol’s help, and the two went about a task of filling her tub with ice. It took at least an hour for them to gather enough ice cubes to fill her tub, but it was worth it for the soak she got to enjoy. The freezing water was the only thing she found so far to rival her fever, but the fever won the exchange. Her icey bath turned to cold water more quickly than she had hoped, but Victoria was still grateful for the extra wastes of time. 

She had a few small chats with Baekhyun, most of them being him checking on her. He complained at one point he wasn’t allowed an ice bath, as there was only the one bathroom he couldn’t hog for hours. Chanyeol told her during one of their trips that his brother had stood in front of the freezer with the door open for ten minutes before their mother told him it was enough. According to him, he had eventually settled on standing in front of the sink with his head under the tap until he had been kicked out of there too. Victoria didn’t know if she was pleased he was just as miserable as her, or if she felt bad for him. It was just after noon, and they both had a day and a half to go. 

Julia brought over her lunch and filled her in on even more of Baekhyun’s miseries. Aside from the freezer and sink incident, he apparently had borrowed an ice chest and filled that with ice. Julia claimed he was sitting just behind the house when she left, forcing as much of himself as he could into the ice chest while Amber sprayed him with a hose. The more stories she heard, the more Victoria was beginning to believe he had it much much worse. 

Julia also brought news on the baby. The gender was still a secret, but she had been by Yixing that morning and all looked to be going well. She claimed she was thrilled there wouldn’t be twins again, she two she had were handfuls enough. Julia still said it would be a boy, even though Tanner was putting his foot down for a girl. It was a pleasant change of pace. As much as Victoria found it amusing how much everyone wanted to tell her about Baekhyun, she was thankful someone realized there were other things she cared to know about. Julia also went on to tell her about an appointment with Yixing she had made on Victoria’s behalf. Nothing serious, she assured, just a check up. Julia was hoping he would clear her enough for runs and practice, maybe even a job. 

The thought of a job in the pack worried Victoria. She didn’t know what on earth they would assign her, and the last thing she wanted was to be stuck with Julia and Amber running deliveries. Really, she was banking on her training with Baekhyun going well, then maybe she could be a guard, or patrol, or something more interesting. Victoria wasn’t getting her hopes up for it though. 

After lunch, Victoria was left on her own again, an ice pack on her head as she sat with two fans around her. She was somewhat surprised she had come accustomed to the heat. It was uncomfortable, and in the beginning seemingly unbearable, but when she found ways to keep herself busy it wasn’t nearly as bad. What was boring her the most was being trapped in this room, looking at the same four walls. How she was supposed to do this for another whole day, she didn’t know. 

Victoria refused dinner when Julia came again, explaining she just wanted to try and sleep. The night was spent tossing and turning. The only sleep she was able to get were filled with nightmares of the cherry wolf’s jaws clasping around her. As much as she wished it was, the cold sweat wasn’t comforting. 

The morning followed a similar routine. Julia tried to have breakfast with her, but Victoria just asked to be alone as she wanted to sleep through as much of this as she could. The tossing and turning in bed only lasted a few more hours. She ate the now cold breakfast and took a long cold shower. Victoria was beginning to feel antsy by midday, bouncing around her room and looking up and trying different exercise routines on her phone. Though some winded her, she was only tired for a few minutes before she became jittery and wired again.

Huffing with her arms crossed over her chest, Victoria stood and walked over to her window, looking down at the people walking around, continuing their day. She felt like she was in some kind of isolation, which in a sense she was, and it was terribly boring. She couldn’t do this. 

Stomping into her bathroom, Victoria began getting dressed. Not in the giant shirts and bagging pants, but in her cute little shorts and a comfortable top. Nothing form fitting, as it would just stick to her, but something she wanted to wear. I’m leaving the room, she linked to Baekhyun, pulling on her socks as she sat on her bed. Even though it took a moment to understand sending the message to him, she had noticed she had been getting faster and more comfortable with the mode of communication. 

No you’re not, she heard him reply. 

Victoria expected him to say something like that, but she had already made up her mind. She began tying her shoes onto her feet, sweat already pooling on her brow since she had left her fans. I am, and you can’t stop me.

She knew the challenge would be enough for him to know she was serious, and Victoria also knew if she was leaving, he couldn’t resist following her. Vic just stay put. It’s only another day.

Ignoring him as she stuffed her phone into a little backpack she had as well as her room key, she zipped it up and was out the door. Too late, already left. She replied, taking the steps by two down to the kitchen. People were already giving her looks as she passed, most of them being men, but she ignored them. Victoria pulled her hair up into a high ponytail as she walked into the kitchen, purposefully flashing Baekhyun’s mark for them to see. Sure enough, a few who had been ogling for a bit too long turned away, no doubt unwilling to mess with an angry beta, not after witnessing him deck the pack’s Gamma a few nights before.

Where the hell are you going? He practically spit through the link, which just had Victoria giggling on the other end. In the kitchen, she stuffed bottle after bottle of water into her bag, as many as she could fit and a few ice packs too for her mystery trip. She wasn’t sure where she wanted to go yet, outside being the biggest priority. Don’t ignore me!

I don’t know where I want to go yet she answered him honestly, closing the refrigerator door with her hip as she skipped out the kitchen. She was halfway to the door when it opened in front of her, the sight making her burst out into giggles. 

Baekhyun was dripping wet and panting, his face flushed red, and he was clearly frustrated. “Go back to your room,” he growled at her. 

Even though he was not having fun with her game of leaving as she was, for once she was not nearly phased by his growl. Instead, she found that amusing too. Victoria stepped around him, purposely brushing her arm against his. “Nope,” she said in a sing-song voice, skipping out the door behind him. Just having him so close had her fever reducing, her excitement for whatever was to come doubling as it left. 

She could hear him growling as he followed behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see the redness leaving his face even though he kept a ‘safe’ distance from her. “I don’t bite, you know,” she , spinning on her heel and flashing a big smile. “Relax, Baekhyun, nothing’s happening. Nothing’s gonna happen.”

“You don’t know that,” he replied, crossing his arms. He wasn’t getting within a foot of her, which she found entirely silly. In fact, when she looked him in the face, he wouldn’t even make eye contact with her. 

Pouting herself and marching up to him, she forced his chin up to meet her gaze and was met with the familiar and captivating swirl of the brown and blue she had seen the night before. Victoria was stuck in his eyes again, her own flickering between them as she found herself stepping closer to him, her hand that had forced his chin up relaxing and resting on his chest. She felt like she couldn’t breath, think, or see anything other than the beautiful swirls dancing in his eyes.

This time the spell was broken by Baekhyun pushing her away from him and taking steps back himself. Victoria gasped for breath, her eyes jerking to look at anything but him. For a moment the two of them stood apart, regaining their breath and slowing their heart rates. Baekhyun broke the silence, “That’s what will happen. We haven’t… We aren’t… It’s not done yet, V. Please, just go stay in your room.”

Victoria shook her head, already beginning to bounce on her toes once again. “I can’t do that,” she stated, looking out at the trees. She could go to the lake for a while, she assumed. There wasn’t a way in hell a patrol wasn’t out there watching the water, not after they were attacked. It should be safe enough. “I can’t just sit in that boring room any more. I tried, Baek, I really did, but I can’t. I’ve got to do something, I just have to. I know it’s just the heat, and I’m being unreasonable, but honestly, I don’t care. Right now, I really couldn’t give less of a damn about the heat and the mating and what happens if this or that. I’ve just…” Victoria tore her eyes from the treeline back to him to find him staring back at her. She could see he understood what she meant, but he still held hesitation. “I’ve gotta run.”

His eyes lit up when she said it before he laughed and shook his head. “V.. I don’t think shifting is a good idea right now.. After this we can try again and..”

Victoria rolled her eyes before she turned and took off. She started with a jog, just stretching her legs, when a familiar scene began playing out again. A crack of bone and ripping of skin lasted barely a second before the large cherry wolf jumped clear over her head, taking off ahead of her into the trees. Her wolf howled in her chest at the sight of her mate, scratching and clawing at her skin, wanting to come out and run with him, but Victoria swallowed her down, chasing after him on her own two legs instead. Even though it wasn’t the case, it felt like it had been forever since she openly ran just for the fun of it, just to run. 

She couldn’t keep up with Baekhyun, no matter how hard she pushed her legs. He was out of her sight long before she could even break into a full sprint. Still, Victoria pushed to be faster, her legs taking her through the trees like they had a mind of their own, following what she could alone assume was Baekhyun. Her senses suddenly shifted, and she turned around just in time for him to scoop her up. Victoria gasped, hearing him laughing like he was so incredibly clever. His clothing had changed completely, his hair was sticking out in places. Forcing herself up right from the position of hanging over his shoulder, Victoria picked a leaf from his hair.

Just as she had planned, he ran the two of them to the lake, finally setting her down on the fallen log sticking halfway into the water. He was panting, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Victoria dropped down to sit on the log, already untying her shoes.

“When I said I wanted to run, I meant me doing the running,” she . Victoria didn’t mind the sudden grab as much as she figured she normally would have, today seemed to be an exception to all her normal rules. In fact, she enjoyed it, thinking it was funny. 

He laughed at her, pulling the shirt he had found over his head and stretching. “Well maybe if you weren’t so slow, I would’ve allowed it.” 

Whenever she looked at him, Victoria could feel her wolf stirring uneasily in her chest. Even avoiding his eyes, she could see the colors swirling together, dancing around each other and tempting her to get lost in them again. She turned her attention to her socks. “Why are your eyes like that?” she asked slowly, not sure if she really wanted to push the point.

“My eyes aren’t doing anything different,” Baekhyun claimed, stretching his arms over his head. “It’s part of the heat, a kind of hallucination, I guess. Your eyes look like an ocean to me. Like a mix of blue and green, have since you started heat. I thought it was just a weird side effect, but Chan said they look normal to him. Mom said dad’s eyes change when he’s in heat too.”

Nodding along as she spoke, Victoria brushed most of what he said off. Another weird wolf thing, something that made no logical sense, but for some reason was part of her life now. “They’re swirls,” she said while tucking her socks into her shoes. Taking a slow breath, she stood and began walking out to the water. Where she expected to smell salt, and maybe something a little fishy, she found it, but only under a layer of a savory scent. Something warm and welcoming, similar to the feeling of drinking a hot beverage on a cold day, something she could place anything but a feeling for. “What is that?”

“Looks like driftwood,” he answered, walking past her. His answer confused her for a second, until she noticed a log floating in the water towards the middle of the lake. 

“No, that smell. Like a.. Um..”

Baekhyun didn’t wait for her, continuing out into the water. “That’s probably me, Vic,” he answered without looking back. “I told you I’ll smell different too.” Baekhyun dove into the water after that, disappearing into the nearly black depths. 

Victoria waddling in after him, the cool lake making her skin prickle in contrast. She swam out to where she thought he disappeared too, but didn’t see him. Victoria wasn’t worried though, instead leaning back to float in the water. If he was in trouble for some reason, it would come through the bond, right? Sure enough she heard a splash that had to be him coming up again. Peeking over, she spotted him swimming across the lake towards the little dock that marked the end of her parents land. Curious, she followed him.

Baekhyun made it to the dock before her, climbing up onto it and looking around. He shook out his hair and sniffed the air for anything off. Though he hadn’t been here in a while, he knew he would be able to smell a rogue a mile away, and he didn’t smell anything. Nothing at all, which worried him. Hearing her behind him, Baekhyun helped her up onto the dock, warning her to watch out for the barnacles. 

“What are we doing over here?” Victoria whispered, looking around the woods uneasily. When she said she wanted to get out the room, she hadn’t intended on anything like this. She could still clearly see the red eyes in her head, surrounded by the fur black as night, a vivid and dangerous memory. 

“Just looking around,” he stated. Victoria could tell he wasn’t worried, even in the slightest of where they stood, what could possibly happen here. 

A pounding began going through her head, and she held it with her hand. Baekhyun began walking forward, looking around at the trees as he did. “Baek, h-hang on,” she said, the pounding in her head becoming more severe. 

Looking back to his mate, Baekhyun frowned, taking a few steps towards her when her knees gave out, crashing against the wooden dock. He mumbled a curse as he came back, dropping down next to her. “Woah, hey, what’s going on?” he asked, the worry clear in his voice.

Victoria’s mouth hung open, but she didn’t speak, she couldn’t speak. Her mind began clouding with flashes of bright lights, so vivid they seemed to appear before her eyes. She groaned in pain, clutching her head as the flashes continued, her own heart beat pounding louder and louder against her skull. The flashes of light began filling with color, pieces of a picture forming in her head like an old film roll. 

Panicking beside her, Baekhyun was calling her name, asking her to talk to him, to tell him what was wrong, but his voice was muffled by the pounding in her head. The flashing images took a horrifying twist, and before her she watched as Baekhyun walked off the dock into the trees. He was only a few steps in when there was a snap, and a spear pierced through his chest. She watched as he crumbled to the ground. 

Gasping and clutching her chest, the images vanished, and she was left looking up into his swirling eyes, but this time she was not lost in them. Victoria could read the panic on his face, could feel the hot tears rolling down her cheeks, the pounding fading into a slow soft ache at the back of her skull. Her eyes slowly turned back to the trees, a path clearly at one point was heavily traveled, now covered in fallen branches and over growing. 

“Get in the water,” Victoria’s voice came out in a cracked mess of words. Baekhyun looked at her confused, when she suddenly snapped to him, shoving him back towards the end of the dock. “GET IN THE WATER!” She shouted this time, and even confused, he didn’t argue, slipping back down. 

Shakily legs pulled her to her feet, and Victoria took slow, careful steps towards the trees. “What are you doing?!” he shouted at her, having barely propped himself up on the dock.

“Stay in the water,” she called back, but didn’t look at him. Her sole focus on the trees directly in front of them and her careful footing. As Victoria moved to take another step, she felt the tug against her shoe. Looking down, she could make out the bit of wire, barely pulled against her. 

Setting her foot slowly back down, Victoria stepped to the side, glancing back at Baekhyun watching her. “Get to the side of the dock, my side, and don’t move.” Still confused, he did as he was told, swimming around to the side, though he still looked ready to jump out the water in a second. Crouching down, Victoria took a deep breath, hopping she was wrong, and yanked the wire.

It snapped, the crack from the images sounding nearly identical, and with a swoosh of air, something flew past her, splashing down in the water. Victoria jumped up, making quick and careful steps towards the dock again, watching her feet as she did until they hit the wood. Baekhyun was already swimming out to the thing, looking it over. 

Jumping into the water, Victoria swam over to him, staring in horror at the long spear with a shining tip. The only difference she could see was the blood tip, and a skewered Baekhyun through the middle. Victoria’s blood had run cold as she looked it over, Baekhyun in turn staring at her.

“Victoria, how did you know this was there?” he asked slowly, articulating through each word as he held the end away from them.

“I-I,” she stuttered, unsure how to even begin explaining herself. Victoria didn’t know how she knew, other than having just seen it kill him. What had even happened? A headache and suddenly she knew where someone had laid a booty trap? And why did someone put one there? The metal on the end was clearly silver, as far as it was, it still made her skin crawl. “I-I saw it kill you.”