He was beautiful. Anyone with eyes could tell that, and this wolf didn’t need his overpowered senses to tell him this. Of course, his eyesight had nothing to do with the scent of the young man he was eyeing. The canine man would open his mouth briefly at times, letting the scent of his pretty prey wash over the glands on his soft pallet. It was a beautiful scent, it had the clean feeling of mint but a soft, lavender touch to it; sweet and crisp. 

It had only been a month since the bachelor wolf had left the pack of his mother. He had been unwilling to challenge the old alpha, therefore opting to take the route so many young wolves who did not simply inherit their thrones from their daddies did. As a lone wolf, he had formed a small bachelor crew with two other boys, former members of different packs. Kris, as he liked to be called, was on a special mission with this little party. In fact, they were all on a very similar mission together. Loners who were looking for mates to start a pack with were rarely thought of as a threat to already established clans.

“You look like you want to eat him,” both boys in the crew were shorter than Kris himself, but the taller of them was the owner of this voice.

“You know we don’t eat humans, Chanyeol,” the shorter rolled his eyes, already catching on to why the leader of their band was so interested in the stranger.

“Shut up, Xiumin,” even in his human form, the boy was capable of a growl.

Kris ignored their bickering, completely focused on the boy across the room. He was handsome, incredibly so. The big wolf had an undeniable urge to trace his fingertips gently along the dark circles under his eyes, to kiss the tip of the well-shaped nose and eventually land his lips on the target’s own mouth. He looked so soft, but Kris knew the stranger was strong, for a human. Power radiated from his every movement, a toned build evident.

He’d make a wonderful wolf.

The obvious alpha of the bachelor pack raised his hand. This was enough to shut them up. A wolf’s mate was not a destined thing. While it was true wolves were monogamous, they often did not choose a mate solely because of affection for each other. It was a carefully thought out strategy. Who could support you the best? Who would yield the best pups? Of course, the human mixed with the wolf did not think solely on these things, but they had a great deal to do with the initial attraction.

“How do I woo a human?” Kris had been born a wolf. Xiumin had been changed about a year before he broke with his sire’s pack. Chanyeol had only been a wolf for about three months. Both were more familiar with humans than the alpha himself.

Chanyeol, the loudmouth he was, shrugged as he answered the question. “Depends on the human, they all like different styles,”

“Go up there and introduce yourself!” Xiumin flapped his hands at Kris excitedly. Never had the tall man taken such interest in someone. Who cared if he was human, it wasn’t as if he could never be a wolf.

“What do I say? ‘Hi, my name is Kris and I’m a werewolf and I want you as my mate’?” he scoffed, “He’d run screaming,”

“No, no, no! Just say your name! You have to subtlety let him know you’re interested in him. Offer to buy him his drink or something!” Xiumin pushed the bigger kid out of the booth they were sitting at, in the direction of the target at the café counter.

Kris stumbled as he was pushed, shooting a glare back at the pair of bachelors, who simply winked and gave a thumbs up. He had never felt so nervous as he did in this moment. He swallowed uncertainly as he approached the man at the counter, in the middle of ordering his coffee.

“That’ll be 4.52, sir,” the girl at the register had that crisp voice all cashiers seemed to have. As the targeted boy began to reach in his pocket for his wallet, Kris took his opportunity.

“I’ll pay for it,” He sauntered up to the counter with as much confidence as he could, fake, already pulling a bill out of his pocket. The bachelor crew had been doing odd jobs as long as they had been hanging around humans. Buying human food made it easier to blend in for the time being.

The handsome man was a little surprised, but he mumbled his thanks to the stranger who just purchased his drink for him.

“My name’s Kris,” the wolf stuck out his hand, a little awkwardly.

“Tao,” the hand was clasped with a little smile.

“Would you like to sit with me?” Kris was a little shy to say this, and it showed. Tao, however, found it endearing.

“Sure. Thanks for buying my drink, by the way. You didn’t have to,”

Kris lead the boy to a booth on the opposite side of the café from his bachelor buddies, not wanting them to screw this up for him. “You can pay me back.. with your number, maybe,” Damn, that was lame. Even Kris knew pickup lines never worked.

But Tao surprised him. “Give me your phone,” he reached out his hand with a smile.

Kris dumbly handed over his cell phone, staring in wonder as the other man typed his number in. He didn’t expect it to actually work.

“But we just met,” the wolf blurted it out.

“So? Life’s short, and you’re handsome,” Tao’s smile was wickedly sweet as he handed the phone back.

Kris couldn’t stop the blush from invading his face. This kid was really the one. The one he wanted by his side, leading a pack with him. His subtle playfulness and bright demeanor just drew the wolf right in.

He could hear Xiumin and Chanyeol’s obvious laughter from the other side of the café, dramatically covering their giggles with their hands and bouncing in their seats like toddlers. The big wolf took note to beat both of them later, in a totally friendly way of course.

Things went fairly smoothly with the human. He was friendly, which was a good thing for the sputtering and nervous Kris. They made small talk for about an hour, both of them eventually getting more involved in conversations that ranged from the type of detergent they use to their favorite childhood cartoons. Kris was careful to keep his wolf identity a secret for now, still not trusting the younger man to run away screaming.

They spent a pleasant afternoon together, finally saying good bye and parting ways. Tao gave Kris a wink and told him to use that number he put in his phone, that he’d like to see him again. Kris became a stuttering mess again, earning a giggle from the other boy.

Weeks went on. Kris became more confident in his ability to woo humans. At first, Kris would make Xiumin and Chanyeol come with him, to send him little advice. Even if they just whispered, the wolf’s sharp hearing could pick up the meaning of the words. Eventually, Kris realized that he was doing fine on his own, and the two were more of an annoyance than anything. But the pair had come to love teasing Kris on his dates, and it got to the point where Kris would hide their wallets and take his boyfriend to the movies, just to get away from the meddlesome pair.

Tao and Kris met up frantically at first, but settled into a pattern. On Wednesdays they’d get lunch together. Saturday was date night, and they’d go to a movie or museum or even just on a walk. Lately they had been simply cuddling up on Tao’s couch.

On one of these Saturdays, Kris finally decided to tell his boyfriend that he was not human, and that he’d like to take Tao as his mate and make him the same monster he was. It sounded better in Kris’ head.

“Tao? Baby?” The younger boy was snuggling into Kris’s chest as the elder spoke.

“Hmm?” Tao purred up against Kris.

“What if..” He swallowed nervously.

“What’s on your mind, hon?”

“What if I wasn’t who you think I am?” Kris was feeling jittery. “What if I wasn’t what you think I am?”

Tao poked his nose jokingly. “You’re a vampire, aren’t you? I knew it,”

The wolf let out a nervous laugh. Vampires didn’t even exist. “No no no, not a vampire,” he took a deep breath. “Would you still love me, though? If I wasn’t human?”

“Of course. I don’t care what you are, who you were in the past. The present, us, right now. That’s all that matters to me,”

“What if I wanted to make you what I am?”

“Depends on why you’d want me to change for you,”

“So we could be mates for life. So I can share my world with you,”

The younger boy smiled and pecked the nose he had recently poked. “Then I’d be more than happy if I changed,” He didn’t realize Kris was being serious, but his responses were honest.

The wolf pulled away from the cuddling embrace, his hands wrapped around Tao’s forearms as he stared intently into the boy’s eyes. “I have something to show you. I need you to trust me, and please don’t be afraid,”

The human was confused, but he trusted Kris immensely. He nodded mutely as Kris released him and got up off the couch, sighing nervously and crouching down.

What Tao saw next stunned him. His beautiful boyfriend was suddenly very ugly. His mouth and nose grew away from his face, his fingers growing shorter and hair rippling out from all places on his body. The human could see bone and tendons shifting and changing shape under skin that was rapidly being covered by cream and gold fur. The only thing that remained the same was Kris’ tender brown eyes.

Within three seconds, where a boy had been crouching was the most majestic wolf Tao had ever seen. It was a little scary, suddenly discovering your boyfriend was a werewolf, but the worried brown eyes spoke more than human words ever could. Kris wanted to share his life with him, Tao was suddenly aware of this. He was so touched by this realization that he slid off the couch, kneeling in front of the worried looking canine. The boy ran his fingers through the creamy fur. It was a thick pelt, not exactly soft but much fluffier than any dog Tao had ever pet before. He pressed his face into the fur, smelling crisp forest breezes and that wonderful nearly floral scent Kris seemed to always carry on him. The wolf smelled the same as the human Tao had come to love.

Before the younger had realized it, the beast was becoming human again. Tao felt his face pressed against flesh, rather than fur, and pulled away in surprise. Kris was completely , and giving the boy a worried smile.

“I was serious, you know. I want to take you as my mate. I’d need to make you into what I am before it can be official,” the wolf-man’s words were soft.

Tao pressed his lips to Kris’ own, smiling as he broke the kiss. “I always thought proposals were supposed to have a ring,” He took the taller man’s hand and curled his thumb and forefinger into a circle shape, slipping his ring finger in the loop he had created. “This is me saying yes,” Tao laughed at Kris’ confused expression.

With a rather wolfish grin, —no pun intended— the tall man pulled the silly younger into a sloppy kiss, letting the wolf in him his nose and face like he had desired so many times before. Tao laughed at this, and while it was unconventional, he found himself enjoying it. Seeing Kris let his guard down for once made the kid love the wolf even more.

“Babe, babe,” Tao was smiling as he pushed the eager wolf away. “You said you wanted to make me a.. wolf. How..?”

Kris gave the boy a comforting smile, sensing the nervousness of his mate. “It’s not hard, you don’t have to do anything,” He went on to explain the process.

Because of the hunted past of a werewolf, the process itself could be gruesome if done inconsiderately. All it took was a bit at the throat of the future wolf. The skin must be broken while the biter was human, and by the time fangs are removed he should be in his furred form. By changing with the bite, the original wolf will throw his victim into a similar change. By the time teeth are removed, there will be two wolves instead of one. Most of the time the new wolf would immediately become human again after the bite is over.

Explaining it, Kris realized how awful it sounded. But Tao didn’t appear to be as horrified as he expected.

“Well, you survived it, didn’t you?” Tao replied easily after Kris voiced his confusion over the reaction.

“Uh.. my parents are actually werewolves. But Xiumin and Chanyeol, they’re wolves too. They’d both been turned later in life,”

Tao was a little worried now, but he trusted Kris. “I can handle it, just.. be considerate, okay? I don’t want you to ruin my good looks,” he ended with a light heated joke.

With a nervous chuckle, Kris took Tao’s hand. “We should go into the forest, it’s easier away from people,”

“Kris,” Tao tugged the elder back with a small laugh. “You can’t go outside, you’re still ,”

After borrowing pants that were only a bit too short and an old t-shirt, the wolf hastily lead his mate-to-be out of the city, into the woods.

“You’re sure you’re okay with this?” The wolf looked over the human carefully for any signs of hesitation. “If you agree to this you’re giving up your human life. We can try to pass as humans but the wolf never leaves,”

“As corny as it sounds, I want you to be my life,” Tao’s grin held no current regrets.

Kris nuzzled into Tao’s neck. Both had removed their clothing, not wanting to destroy the fabric in the transformation. It wasn’t awkward for Kris, he and his packmates had often walked around in the . But Tao was a blushing mess as the large man speckled his neck with kisses.

“You ready?” the wolf mumbled into the boy’s neck.

“As I’ll ever be,”

Tao couldn’t stop the gasp as he felt Kris’s teeth against his skin. At first, the wolf was just grabbing the skin, not even putting enough pressure between his jaws to leave marks on the skin. The human swallowed and waited for the sharp canines break his flesh.

The wolf chomped down quickly. The human couldn’t stop his shriek. Within moments, there was no longer a man biting into his partner’s neck but two feral canines. The gorgeous golden animal was unlatching his jaws from the dark gray creature below him.

 As soon as the pressure had been removed from his neck, Tao was human again. But the world immediately looked different. His head was spinning. Scents and sounds he had been incapable of noticing before filled his senses. Overstimulated as he was, he completely forgot about the bleeding mark on his neck before blacking out. Kris had expected this. He was human again shortly, kissing and up the blood around mark he had left on his mate. When the bleeding slowed and eventually stopped, the only conscious male dressed the two of them back in the clothes they had left in folded piles on the ground, cuddling up against his sleeping mate.

When Tao woke up, he realized Kris had fallen asleep draped over his chest. Sitting up slowly in an effort not to wake up the sleeping figure, he was suddenly aware of how great Kris had really smelled. He buried his nose in the older wolf’s golden locks, inhaling deeply with a happy sigh. No regrets remained with the boy, he was happy to have made this choice.

Kris stirred softly as rolled over, smiling up at Tao. “How’re you feeling, baby?” he sat up and pressed his lips to the new wolf’s. The younger boy growled happily, already unknowingly making wolfish sounds in his human form.

“I’m kinda hungry,” Tao admitted with a sheepish laugh. Chucking, Kris sprung up from his position.

“Try and transform, I’m gonna teach you how to hunt,”