two ;

It was one of those rare winter days when Donghae managed to gather enough will power to actually stand on his two feet like a proper human. Disoriented and stumbling as he rose up to firmly prop himself up on his legs, the boy warily looked around him with slight dizziness. His bare feet deeply buried in mud and snow generously covering the ground of the wood, the teenager violently shuddered upon feeling a strong, chilly wind hit and blow at his body. Snarling unhappily, Donghae brought his arms around his self, still lost between a glaze of lupine and human thoughts. Letting out what could have been an unnatural blending between a grumble and a growl, he forced himself to move forward, fighting against himself to stay as he was. His whole body still horribly ached, his muscles hurtfully tearing up in all directions after his sudden transformation, bones sore and screaming in pain after they had abruptly snapped in the right places.

Releasing another grunt, Donghae took quick and urgent steps forward as he let his eyes adjusting back to his human brain, distinguishing more colors than his lupine self could have; different shades of red and green formed in his mind as brown slowly came to life in his pupils. He imperceptibly gulped, feeling more dizziness take over his head as he forced himself to take in all the secondary consequences of his transformation. His dark orbs, still of the same deep ocean blue, prudently swept over the apparent empty woods as he automatically headed toward the Alpha’s house, fighting back the slight nausea he could feel rising up in his heart and at the bottom of his throat. His mind was still confused and clouded with thousands of thoughts stumbling one upon another, making an eminent headache thump in his temples. Donghae briefly fluttered his eyes close, letting out a quiet whimper as he fastened his pace, shivering with each step he was taking through the cold wood.

Swiftly avoiding trees and animals, the walk back to the house seemed to be endless. Coldness seemed to rise up to a higher piercing pitch with every second that went-by, affecting him so much that the violent shudders running through him were at the very edge of turning into convulsion. Gritting his teeth together, Donghae narrowed his eyes, urgently looking for the familiar shape of the house before the cold could trap him back to his wolf form. His sharp pupils quickly found the target of his thoughts, at a mere dozen of meters from where he was. The blue-eyed boy released a quiet sound of relief, tightening his hold around himself as he almost run to the house.

Soon enough, Donghae was stumbling inside, greatly welcoming the intense warmth that immediately enveloped him as soon as he reached the door knob and stepped inside. A last shiver ran through his whole body as a grunt escaped his thin lips, fluttering his eyes closed. From where he was standing at the main entrance of the vast house, well-hidden in the deepness of the wood, safe haven for all of his mates, he could hear fire soar in the fireplace of the drawing-room at his right while chatters of younger wolves were coming from upstairs.

Slowly, Donghae opened his eyes again, carefully relaxing his body as he let his arms fall down to his sides. He blindly reached for a plaid hanging at the wall and tightly wrapped himself in it, huffing with satisfaction before he silently walked off to the drawing-room. A kid was laying on the couch, soundly sleeping snuggled into cushions and duvets, only a part of his face visible. Donghae was quick to recognize him as one of the newest puppy that had came along with the last winter, like a wicked kind of present for Christmas – a feast they couldn’t always enjoy. Sehun – it was his name, if he wasn’t mistaken – had appeared at Leeteuk’s doorstep with two other kids a year ago, shivering and famished.

Pushing his thoughts aside, Donghae decided to leave Sehun alone despite his equal envy to take a long nap in front of the fireplace. Scrunching his nose up, the older twirled around on the root of his heals and headed toward the stairs, not wasting a second to climb them up. Following his sharp sense of hearing, he directly walked to the farthest room of the long corridor, walking in without bothering to knock at the door; two boys were lazing around, sprawled on the wide bed, also tightly covered into thick clothes and blankets. The raven-haired one was laying on his stomach, lifting his head up from the book he was reading while the younger one was on his back, twisting his head back to look up at Donghae. Immediately, the latter’s face beamed and he straightened up, a wide smile plastered on his face as the other gave him a small grin. He only grimaced, closing the door with a kick of the foot before he opened the nearest cupboard and grabbed on the first outfit he found.

“Hyung!” Henry exclaimed with excitation. Donghae quickly glanced back at him, long enough to see him happily bounce on the mattress of the bed, earning a dark glare from the third boy. “Hyung, you’re already back?”

Donghae shrugged as he put pants on. “Not for too long, I guess,” He mumbled and wearily stared out at the window. “It’s hella cold lately.”

“It’s winter,” Kibum stated with a helpless shrug before swatting the back of Henry’s head with his book. “Stop jumping on the bed!”

“But Donghae hyung is back!” The other retorted, childishly sticking his tongue out at him. “Amber said you wouldn’t come back and I told her you would. And I was right, right? Means I win fifty bucks.”

The interested man sighed out and let himself fall on the bed next to his two friends. “Yeah, maybe.” He paused, letting Henry freely hug his side. “How are things going here? Jungsoo hyung?”

Narrowing his eyes at Donghae, Kibum huffed as he closed his book with a snap and put it aside. “You should call him Leeteuk, he’s the Alpha of the pack after all. And he’s out.”

Not replying immediately, the blue-eyed boy let the words sunk in – Leeteuk was already in the woods. “Isn’t he in earlier than last year, though? It’s only end of November. Last year he was out at the start of December.”

“You can talk, you’re the one disappearing as soon as October ends,” Henry mumbled with a pout.

“My case’s different,” Donghae retorted, pinching his chubby cheek and earning a whine. “I’m better at coming back.”

Kibum could only shrug, worriedly chewing on his lower lip. “I don’t know. This year’s winter is going to be hard on all of us, I think. Even Sehun feels it and you know he’s the youngest.”

Donghae nodded – of course he understood; the youngest puppies were always supposed to have the most willpower to choose whether they wanted be wolf or human. A comfortable silence fell between the three friends until Henry's light snoring resonated. Donghae rolled his eyes at him but didn’t dare to wake him up, comfortably resting on pillows instead.

He didn’t know how long he had until he would have to go back in the woods – weeks, days, maybe only hours. Spending this precious time with sleeping suddenly appeared to be a good idea as he let his eyelids heavily fall, and seconds later he was fast asleep.

=

Waking up at the most ungodly hours of the day was the main inconvenient of university, Hyukjae thought with a groan. Yawning, he glared at the still dark sky through the window, grunting under his breath as he forced himself to get up. As he shuffled to the bathroom, he felt all his limbs ache horribly as if someone had been madly pulling at them throughout the whole night. Grumbling some more, he massaged his sore neck and hissed as his bare feet stepped on the cold tiled floor of the bathroom.

Hyukjae had been continuously irritated over the past few days; on top of being harassed with countless hours of lectures and tons of homework, the student was on the verge of falling sick. His throat hurt, his forehead was warmer than usual and he was constantly sneezing. This had been mainly caused because of his stubbornness to stay out on the deck every night despite the freezing coldness and the snow, desperately waiting for his wolf.

It was already end of November and the winter had surrounded Korea without a single doubt, yet Hyukjae still didn’t have the chance to catch even a glimpse of the furry animal. He was annoyed, mainly because he felt frustrated to wait night after night for basically nothing, but also because a part of him was scared that his wolf wouldn’t come anymore. Hyukjae had always assumed until now that the wolf only coming for winters was simply because those kind of animals lived based on some sort of cycles and that it was somehow easier to hibernate in the woods of this town compared to other ones. However, his theory stayed unconfirmed because those wolves surely weren’t hibernating at all and it was also merely stupid to think that.

It was rare that the animal wouldn’t appear at least once on the courtyard so late in the month. The snow was already covering the streets of the town like a thick coat of white and cold powder. It was an everyday battle for Hyukjae to dare walking out of the house. Winter without his wolf wasn’t even as close as funny and thrilling.

Sniffing, the student stared at himself in the mirror, grimacing upon noticing the dark bags covering the skin under his tired eyes. He sighed out, half-heartedly blaming it on the wolf before he lazily began washing up. When he was done, a short glance to his watch indicated him he would be just on time for university if he hurried up a little. Still feeling moody, Hyukjae grumbled under his breath and reluctantly went out of the house without bothering locking the doors since his mother was still asleep in her room and headed to the bus stop. The snow was nicely crunching under the heels of his shoes as he walked, leaving perfect footprint behind him. As he shoved his hands to the bottom of his warm pockets and sighed in relief, he turned to look at the woods he could distinguish behind his house at the end of the street. Narrowing his eyes in annoyance, he stared at the trees. He saw the bus slowing down in front of him from the corner of his eyes. He was about to turn around in defeat when a long howl suddenly rose up from the woods. Startled, Hyukjae whipped around to stare at the trees with wide, fascinated eyes as the familiar sound of an animalistic snarl resonated once again. As a long shiver ran down his spine, the student felt genuine excitation and relief bubble up in the bottom of his stomach. Maybe tonight, despite the past weeks without a single hint of the wolf coming to his backyard, maybe Hyukjae would finally see him.

A sudden honk pulled Hyukjae out of his thoughts, making him twirled around in confusion. The driver of the bus frowned at him, throwing him an annoyed and expectant look, waiting for him to get on the vehicle. The younger boy gave him a sheepish grin, hurriedly getting on with a last, longing glance to the woods.

Hyukjae decided that the day might be better than he had first thought.

Luck was still on his side when the bus dropped him off at the entrance of the university; instead of being just in time for his first lecture like he had first expected, the student still had around ten minutes to get to the auditorium. With a light smile on his face, he softly hummed under his breath as he walked in the buildings of the university, sighing in relief when warmth quickly enveloped him. After greeting some students he shared other lectures with and grabbing a cup of fuming hot chocolate at the cafeteria, Hyukjae eventually decided to head to his first lecture. As he took a small sip of his hot drink, he lazily walked in the lecture hall, his eyes sweeping over the numerous rows of students until he spotted a familiar face at the back of the room. His best friend Kyuhyun was already seated, half hidden by another student sitting in front of him. When Hyukjae eventually reached him, the other teenager was resting his face on the wooden surface of the desk.

“Tired?” Hyukjae snickered as he took his stuffs out.

Kyuhyun tiredly opened an eye, grimacing as he recognized him before immediately closing his eyes once again. “Shut up,” he grumbled. “I played all night long yesterday and now I feel like .”

“You should go and order a coffee at the cafeteria, no?” Hyukjae shrugged as he turned his laptop on. “So you can wake up a little.”

“Are you kidding me?” Kyuhyun retorted as he straightened up with a groan. “I hate coffee as much as you do. This thing is simply disgusting.”

“Right,” the other nodded in agreement. “Too bitter.”

A short silence fell between them, the two boys too tired to start any kind of conversation. It wasn’t until the auditorium was almost full and that the lecturer came in that Kyuhyun spoke up again.

“I heard people say that there’s going to be a new transfer student today,” he said, ignoring the lecture. “I have no idea what the that guy had in mind when he decided to come to this middle-of-nowhere town, though. Complete idiot, if you ask me.”

Hyukjae absentmindedly hummed in response as he took quick notes of the lesson. “How many of them? They might be nice, you never know.”

“Only one if Jinki isn’t wrong. They can be nice and everything, but they’re still crazy. Who the hell in the world wants to come here, huh?” Kyuhyun grumbled as he sniffed contemptuously.

“You’re being harsh again,” Hyukjae rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “It’s not that bad out there.”

The other boy shrugged, not fully convinced as he zoned out, looking absolutely bored. The lecture went on and seemed to drag on forever, the time going by so slowly Hyukjae wondered if the wall-clocks weren’t broken. The student idly took notes of the lesson, half-listening to whatever the lecture said to the large crowd of students and half-thinking back of what Kyuhyun had said.

It was easy to understand his best friend’s scorn toward their small town; it wasn’t near a big city or famous for any kind of touristic attraction, meaning most people living there were usually poor and old. All the teenagers still living there, including Hyukjae and Kyuhyun, dreamed of moving out as soon as possible, preferably to a big city like Seoul. They were all hoping for a new start, somewhere they could have chances of finding a good and well-paid job – because that was all they were looking for; a stable and comfortable life. Therefore, knowing that someone of their age had the bad luck – or the stupidity – of coming here was surprising. Hyukjae was only mildly curious about the new transfer student. He truthfully had other things to think about – like his homework and a reluctant wolf who wouldn’t come to him anymore despite the freezing cold temperature the weather was hitting lately.

It was with great relief that Hyukjae welcomed the break the lecturer decided to grant them after two long hours of boring lesson. Next to him, Kyuhyun finally woke up from his nap, looking disoriented to find himself in the middle of an auditorium. Chatters and laughter rose up from various places of the lecture hall as the two best friends stretched their back with long groans.

“Anything interesting during those two hours?” Kyuhyun asked. When Hyukjae shook his head no, he sighed and glanced at the other students with a pouty expression.

When Hyukjae opened his mouth to ask if he didn’t want to get up and fetch something to eat at the cafeteria, Kyuhyun raised a curious eyebrow at someone settling down at a few rows in front of them. “It’s him, no?” He asked. “The transfer student.”

Curious whispers and giggles coming from their other classmates answered his question as multiples pairs of eyes settled to stare at the boy. He was tall and handsome, wearing a huge and bright smile while talking with wide hand gestures at the person sitting next to him.

“He’s okay,” his best friend stated. “His hair color is boring, though.”

Hyukaje turned around, raising a disbelieving eyebrow at Kyuhyun as he snickered. “What were you expecting? Some flashy blonde like one of those idols? And he has the exact same color as us.”

“Yeah but I’m a genius so it balances things out,” the other shrugged with a sly smirk.

“Modesty must have something to do with it, too,” Hyukjae rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “You’re a brat.”

=

Donghae idly stared out at the window, comfortably snuggled into warm blankets. Settled in the bottom of the couch in the living-room, the blue-eyed boy absentmindedly listened to the fire cracking in the hearth while gazing at the snowflakes slowly falling on the cold ground outside, something usual at this time of the year.

As he stared at the familiar shadows of the wood protectively encircling the house, memories of his lupine form came to his mind. They were faint and blurry, only pictures that mostly didn’t make any sense. Donghae randomly recalled images and smells and sounds, without any specific order and meaning to them. They were confused and stumbling one upon another, making it too difficult for him to sort them out properly. However, despite their incoherence, the boy came to realize that one memory of them was particularly recurrent compared to others. It was the blurry recollection of a manly figure, one that Donghae easily recognized as the boy. Fluttering his eyes close, the awkward memory coming from his lupine form slowly build up to his mind until it almost felt as if he was reliving each moment he met him. He could remember his sweet scent that would tease his nostrils, making him year for more of the intoxicating fragrance.

Donghae still secretly went to the house to meet the boy every night, careful not to be caught by any of his pack-mates – or his Alpha. But after being able to smell so strongly and so much of the kid after coming so close to him the last time, he didn’t want to keep staying behind the edge of the wood anymore. The temptation was too strong for him to resist. Therefore, he decided to come later than he used to in the past, waiting for the student to be asleep before approaching him. He was now used to come and lay down so close