Shoving his keys to the side, Tao ran his fingers through his hair and let out a relieved sigh – he was really glad to be home. Making sure to the lock his front door tight, he moved into the living room and took a seat on the couch. It was good to finally relax after a horrible day at the work. So many files. He didn’t want to see a photocopier ever again – or for at least a couple of weeks. Thankfully, it was his week off.

This meant – in Zitao’s terms – lying around his house, ordering takeout and watching sappy movies on the television. That was the perfect holiday in his mind, and as he kicked off his shoes, he let out a content sigh and closed his eyes.

May as well start the holiday off right away. The boy relaxed his entire body until he was in a fit position to fall asleep instantly. His whole body was tired and exhausted, and he definitely needed an early night so that his first day of the holiday was not a day of shuffling feet across the floor because he couldn’t be bothered even lifting a foot.

Sleep meat rested Tao, which was always a good thing. And besides, there was no demons like an alarm clock to bother him the next morning.

There was a couple of knocks on the door.

His eyes flew open in rage at the sound. Surely, Zitao didn’t just hear that. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was minutes past midnight, which meant it was way too late and early for this type of shenanigan. He closed his eyes again, and waited patiently. Maybe it was just a fragment of his imagination.

But then there was another two knocks aimed at his door.

Standing up instantly in a rage, he moved to the door and looked through the eye door. It was two boys, boys he had never met before he was sure of it. Zitao bit his lip and sighed.

Opening the door, he carefully opened it just enough so that they could only see his face.

“Who are you?” he asked, eyes lining up suspiciously.

Both of the boys glanced at each other in confusion. Then they stared back at the man who was staying silent until he got an answer that satisfied him. It seemed to be the older one (at least in Tao’s perspective) that spoke first.

“You don’t know?” he asked, as if Tao was supposed to know who the strangers were. Tilting his head, the older bit his lip when he saw Tao’s own confused expression on his facial features. “You… really don’t know why we’re here?” he repeated, and Zitao sighed.

“Look, I don’t have time for this.” Quickly shutting the door and locking it again, he turned away from the door and shook his head.

Weird people in the world these days.

Moving into his bedroom finally, he dove into the covers and smiled as the warmth encased his body. Finally, he was able to get a lot of rest. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his covers around his own body and let his mouth part a little so he could breathe easier.

…

“I don’t think we should’ve come in.”

“He wasn’t going to let us walk through the front door, was he?”

“I know but this is trespassing.”

“All for a good reason.”

“But—.”

“Shh! He’s waking up.”

The boy in the bed groaned as his peace was disturbed. By what? He wasn’t quite sure, but at least it was the morning. Looking to the window, he saw the sun shining through it, making him smile at the fact that he actually didn’t need to get out of bed at the moment for work. Smiling gratefully, he stretched out his arms and sat up, ruffling his hair.

When he looked around, the smile was slowly wiped off of his face. The two boys from last night were now staring at him with small smiles on their faces as if it would make the situation better.

But Tao’s expression grew worse as he realised what was going on.

Rolling out of bed – on the other side – he stood up and pointed an accusing finger at the two trespassers, raising his voice loudly in anger and rather, fear.

“Who the are you?!” he shouted, and the older took the lead again.

“Right, my name is Jongdae, this is Sehun.” The boy pointed to the other who had multi-coloured hair, the younger waving slightly. “Um, I can see that you really don’t know who we are, so we came to enlighten you on the situation.” Jongdae explained, and Tao stared at them with wild eyes. Looking between them, he just waited.

Impatiently waited for an explanation.

“We’ve come to join your pack.”

Now that was one of the things that Zitao thought he’d never hear in his entirely life. Not only did the situation just get worse, it was the fact that Tao actually knew what the other had meant, when in normal cases, anyone else would think that these boys were crazy and insane.

His face paled when he repeated the sentence in his head.

“…There is nothing for you here…” Zitao whispered, glaring at them. The two boys shared the same confused expression.

This time, it was Sehun who spoke.

“But, you’re an alpha. That means you have to have a pack right? I mean, you’re born with the need to lead. That’s why we’re here, so we can follow you.” Sehun said, Jongdae nodding along with what the younger boy was saying, both of them waiting to hear the other’s response.

Because after all, they both knew that Zitao was indeed an Alpha and they had been looking for an alpha to follow. And as far as they knew, Tao was available.

Zitao shook his head.

“No. I’m not an alpha anymore. There’s nothing for you here.” He whispered, moving over to his closet to get changed. He didn’t like being so… bare to the other two who he didn’t even know.

Pulling on a pair of jeans over his boxers, he shoved on a band t-shirt and turned to the other two.

They were still staring at him.

“Please leave.”

Jongdae sighed before he moved to the alpha and gazed into his eyes. Both of them felt the pull, the pull between fellow wolves, but Tao tried hard to ignore it. He had been able to avoid all confrontation for five years now, why did it have to catch up with him now. Besides, he wasn’t an alpha anymore, it may run in his blood now, but the power was simply gone.

“Look, I turned away from that path five years ago. Please go.” Tao said, his eyes trying to look fierce. Jongdae bit his lip before he turned back to look at Sehun who just shrugged his shoulders. But both of them stayed where they were. It made the eldest very annoyed. “You better leave. I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“Is that an order alpha?” Jongdae asked, and Tao released a low growl.

Sehun suddenly moved towards Jongdae, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the entrance. The older simply sighed and followed the younger out the apartment before the situation got worse.

When they were gone, Zitao let out a sigh of relief. This was not the time that he wanted his old life to come back to him.

Not now. Not after everything he gave up just to be here.

…

Zitao moved over to Yifan’s bedroom, knocking on his door and biting his lip nervously. He could hear the other move to the door, and it just made him start to tremble a little. This was a very important conversation that he was about to have.

He had joined this pack a year ago – just when he was sixteen. Everything looks cool when you’re that age.

So naturally, he was ecstatic when he was approached by a tall handsome man named Wu Yifan, who told him he was in fact a wolf and had a considerable amount of power that was just waiting to break through. Then afterwards, they had found out that Tao was actually an alpha wolf as well – the same as Kris – and it made them the perfect leaders for a pack of wolves that was going to be the strongest in South Korea. Kris told him that he had secretly known how much power Tao had possessed, and he wanted them to rule their species.

That whole year was a blessing – and a curse.

Which was why Zitao was now standing outside of Yifan’s door, hands clenched into fists as he waited for the door to open.

When it did, Yifan smiled at the seventeen year old standing there, but he stopped.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately pulling the younger boy into the room before shutting the door. Zitao didn’t answer, and it just increased the worried atmosphere. “Tao, please tell me.”

Both of them moved towards the bed and they sat on the edge of it. The younger sighed.

“Yifan, we need to talk.”

The older frowned. That never sounded good, not in any context. It wasn’t like they were in a relationship – it was strictly for a leadership that they were so close together – but Yifan still cared for the boy deeply, even if he didn’t show it, and even if it had only been for a year that he had known the boy.

“Talk about?” Yifan asked. He couldn’t guess what the other could want to say.

“About my position in this pack.” The boy explained, looking up at the blonde who just looked even more confused. “And I don’t mean about being the alpha… or maybe I do, but… I can’t do it anymore.”

The other alpha frowned.

“What do you mean?” he asked, and Tao rubbed his hands together nervously.

“I want out.”

“What?”

“I can’t do this anymore Yifan.” Tao whispered, it was hurting him to say this, but he knew he had to. “This whole… wolf thing. I can’t deal with it anymore. I… I want to see my family Yifan, I want a normal life.” The boy was letting out all of his feelings right now, because they had been kept up inside of him so long.

The other alpha was slowly getting angry – Tao could feel it. He had always had a link with Yifan’s feelings.

Yifan took a deep breath before he stared up at Tao.

“Are you being serious right now?” he asked, and Tao only nodded. “…I can’t believe this…” Yifan whispered, clenching his hands into fists, thinking about all the possibilities of a wondrous clan falling to pieces because of Zitao.

Both of them sat in silence.

Until Zitao finally stood up and turned to the older who was now fiercely glaring at the floor.

“I’m sorry Yifan.” He whispered before he moved to the door. “But please, don’t look for me; just… leave me out of all of this. I know it’s selfish, but this is what I want.”

The blonde didn’t move his gaze.

That’s when Tao left, and left everything behind him. Or so he thought.

…

It was a couple of days after the incident with the two boys, and Tao had forgotten all about it. Sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn between his legs, he was currently laughing away at the show on the television. It was as close to a social life that he was ever going to get. Sure, he had a lot of friends, but work had taken over his entire life, and the only way he wanted to spend the holidays was by himself with brilliant TV dramas.

Work, work was exhausting at times, but at the age of twenty-two he had a pretty perfect job. He worked in a magazine as an assistant editor, and it was a lot of work.

But he loved it. It was the exact type of job that he had wanted all his life and especially after the incident five years ago, he was lucky to get it.

Shoving a piece of popcorn in his mouth, he chuckled at some sassy line on the TV.

“We don’t mean to keep barging in like this.”

Tao instantly jumped at the sound of a random voice in his apartment, turning around and gaping at the sight of the two boys standing in the middle of the room with smiles on their faces – albeit guilty ones.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” He asked, pointing an accusing finger at them both.

Sehun and Jongdae turned to each other but sighed.

It was the oldest one that moved closer, placing a hand on the back of the couch as he was deciding what to say to the eldest who looked like he was about to go crazy at their appearance. Although he couldn’t really blame him. his lips, he gazed into Tao’s eyes, and once again felt that pull. He couldn’t leave here without Zitao’s partnership.

“Zitao, look, this is my younger brother.” Jongdae pointed to Sehun who just stayed silent. “He found out he was a wolf one month ago, and you know as well as I do how hard that was. Sehun is only seventeen. I’ve been a wolf longer, but I kept it a secret.”

Zitao just listened in silence. Something about his story sounded so familiar, just like his own back story.

“But when I found out he was one too, I knew that we had do something.” Jongdae said, taking a deep breath. He glanced around back at his younger brother and just watched him for a while.

He turned back to Zitao and bit his lip.

“You know as well as I do that wolves can’t form or work properly without a pack.”

Tao folded his arms across his chest. Yifan had told him this when he first started out.

They were animals and creatures of sociability. They needed to be around others of their kind to strive in life; it was just the way it worked. If the wolf didn’t linger around others, their powers weakened, and they couldn’t properly work and transform.

“I have looked everywhere to find an alpha, but every pack will not accept us. They don’t need any unexperienced wolves like us.” The boy explained, clenching his fists together.

The youngest moved over to his brother and simply stood beside him. A smile was still on his lips.

Jongdae leaned on the couch more.

“Please, Tao, you’re the only alpha I’ve found that I think would take us in. I mean, you don’t even have a pack, and we need this.”

There was silence caving around the room. Zitao just stared at the two boys and racked through the thoughts in his head. Everything was just getting messed up. As soon as he had gotten the life he wanted, his past all came back. But the look on these two boy’s expressions was just, conflicting somehow and Tao didn’t know if he could turn them away.

Tapping his fingers on his arms, the oldest took a deep breath and thought clearly.

This decision could possibly change his entire life again. And he didn’t know whether he could deal with that. But maybe he couldn’t only think about himself.

Not this time.

“Fine.”

Jongdae and Sehun gaped at the other’s response. Both of them turned to each other before looking back at the alpha wolf.

No. Their alpha wolf.

…

Zitao was running through the woods, hard on the other two’s trail, his mind blowing with absolute rage. The tree branches were hitting his face, but he tried not to mind it, because there was something else on his mind at the moment. When he got to an open field, he saw Jongdae and Sehun on the grass rolling around in a fit of giggles.

“Jongdae! Sehun!” he shouted angrily.

Running over to the two wolves, he stood beside them with his arms folded across his chest and a stern expression placed on his face. Sehun stopped giggling and simply sat up with a smile. His brother, however, continued to laugh as he stared up at his alpha.

The alpha was getting really annoyed with their behaviour, and it had only been five months since they were under his wing.

“You should listen to my orders.” He said, with a ferocious tone, and Jongdae gasped.

“Or what?” Jongdae said, wriggling his eyebrows. His little brother just continued to smile at the other’s clear disobedience. “What will you do alpha? Huh?” The boy was clearly trying to make Zitao pissed.

The alpha suddenly moved forward and grabbed a hold of Jongdae’s shirt, pulling him up.

Their faces were close together, and Tao’s expression was not to be taken lightly. In fact, this was the angriest Jongdae and Sehun had ever seen him – which was definitely saying something. They had to admit that yes, they always tried to be a little rebellious – but it was only because they were teenagers.

“I swear, if you keep this up, I will kick you out of this pack.” Tao’s voice was low and deep and held a particular tone of leadership.

It made Jongdae shiver a little at how big the feeling was – the feeling of fear.

Just as Tao let the younger wolf go, there was an eerie silence filling the forest. As if something was nearing them and Zitao felt it very clearly. It was strong force, and as soon as the scent reached his nose, he recognised what it was.

There was another pack of wolves focusing in on their position.

“Get behind me.” Zitao ordered, and magically, both Jongdae and Sehun done as they were told right away.

As soon as they were behind him, Zitao instantly transformed into a wolf – something he had gotten used to again - to try and look as menacing and powerful as he possibly could. His fur was a rare silver colour, and it was marked with black and white stripes around his body. The silence continued until there was a total of five large wolves in front of them, around five metres away, all looking sinister as they growled loudly.

But Zitao wasn’t that phased, there was no reason to have a fight – no law was broken and no harm had been done. If anything, he knew that no wolf pack would start a fight for no reason.

Growling a little himself, he glanced at his wolves behind him to see them standing tall.

Suddenly, the wolf in front transformed back into a human, his eyes glancing straight at Zitao. Tao’s heartbeat began moving faster, and he felt his entire body heat up just at the sight of the other’s human form. All of a sudden, the rest of the other’s pack switched back to human.

Jongdae glared at them all before he moved closer to his younger brother.

“Why don’t you switch to human?” One of the wolves said, and Jongdae and Sehun turned to their alpha to see what he’d do. The giant wolf glanced back at the two brothers before facing them and transforming.

This way, he was staring at the boy’s when he was human.

Jongdae could see the worried and surprised expression on his alpha’s face.

“Are you alright?”

Tao could only nod, the thought of Jongdae and Sehun running through his mind. They were his responsibility, and he had to protect them.

It meant nothing that he recognised every single wolf that was currently staring at him. It meant nothing that they were definitely going to recognise him. All that mattered was Jongdae and Sehun and their safety. Turning around, he awaited the surprised gasps that came instantly.

“Zitao?” It was the leader that had spoken, the one at the front, the blonde. The one that Tao knew very well. “Is that you?” Well it had been five years, and Zitao had grown up. But Yifan had hardly changed.

Both Zitao and Yifan moved closer to each other until they met halfway.

All they did was stare at each other. Zitao knew how hard it must be for the other, to see him doing exactly what he left all those years again.

“Yifan…” he whispered.

The blonde stared at him in disbelief before he regained his composure and looked over at Jongdae and Sehun. He squinted his eyes and let out a deep sigh before he spoke to the boy who he never thought he’d see again.

“Are they your pack?” he wondered, and Zitao took a big deep breath.

“Yes.” Tao replied instantly. Both of them knew that they wanted to say so much more to each other, but there was no time for that. “Why have you come here?”

Yifan glanced back at his own pack who were staring at Tao in disbelief.

“We were simply hunting. But now that I see who you are, I’m thinking that you should come back with us for a while.” The wolf explained, and Zitao bit his lip at the request. He himself turned back to his own two pack members, before replying with a word that was the complete opposite of what he was actually prepared to say to him.

“Okay.”

…

When they moved into the house where Yifan and his pack stayed most of the time, Tao couldn’t believe how much it hadn’t changed, and how much he had actually missed the place.

Both him and the two brothers followed Yifan into the living room where the rest of his pack were situated.

Turning back to Jongdae and Sehun, he leaned in and whispered.

“Take a seat, but watch carefully.” The other two nodded at their alphas instructions before they took a seat on the couch, beside one of the other wolves. But they weren’t going to start making conversations with these people, not at least until Zitao told them that it was safe. Although they knew that Zitao definitely knew the alpha of this pack, but they didn’t say anything.

Zitao took a seat on the opposite couch where the rest of the pack were sitting.

One of them turned to him and gave him a big smile. Tao smiled back – actually glad to see him – before he spoke.

“Lu Han, how are you?” he asked, tilting his head a little.

“I’m fine! I can’t believe it’s you.” Lu Han whispered, smiling at his other pack members before turning to Tao. “And you’re an alpha with your own pack! What a little pack it is though…” he said whilst looking over at the two brothers who were currently whispering in each other’s ears.

Zitao looked over at them and smiled. At least they were following his orders when it meant the most.

“I know… it just happened suddenly, but I couldn’t leave them to die on their own.”

And that was certainly the truth. As soon as the word ‘fine’ escaped his lips and he agreed to actually beginning his own pack with the two boys in his stead, there was a feeling in his heart that made him feel warm when he thought about it. The fact that both Jongdae and Sehun had a place in the world now, he was happy enough to be their protector.

Lu Han watched as Tao smiled as he looked over at the two boys. But an eerie silence filled the room as his own alpha entered, eyes not leaving Tao’s own.

“Zitao. Can I speak to you alone?” Yifan asked softly. Zitao gulped a little, trying to ignore that everyone else in the room just went completely silent, but he nodded his head and stood up immediately.

He moved over to the blonde and simply followed him into a room that he remembered so well.

The room that he told Yifan he was leaving.

Once they were both inside, Tao took a deep breath.

“Look, Yifan—.” He was interrupted.

“It’s Kris now.” The other alpha cut in as he took a seat on the edge of the bed, and Zitao was suddenly looking very confused at the sudden interruption. He looked to the blonde whose expression was pretty serious.

“Kris?” he whispered, and the other nodded. “Okay, Kris, I don’t honestly see why I’m here just now.” Tao explained honestly.

He moved over to stand in front of Yifan, who was just staring. It was getting uncomfortable.

“Well?” he whispered.

Kris took a deep breath before he stood up and moved even closer to Tao. There was silence between them and the older suddenly put his hands on the younger’s shoulders, gazing into his eyes. And then he finally spoke.

“Never, did I think I’d ever get to talk to you again.” Kris whispered, his thumbs softly rubbing the other’s shoulders. “After all this time, I never thought that I’d find you so easily.” Yifan continued. “Especially not in a field – and with young wolves following you.” His voice was so close to cracking, and even the other could tell that the other was dying to say something but wasn’t saying it.

Zitao squinted his eyes a little before he sighed.

“That… doesn’t tell me why I’m here.” He said, trying to ignore how close the blonde was at this moment. Kris his lips as he tried to sort out his thoughts.

“You’re here, because we have unfinished business.”

“What unfinished business?” Tao asked, and the other alpha took a deep breath before he leaned his face in even closer, making the younger flinch a little at how close they were.

“When you left, I was devastated.”

Zitao’s eyes widened at that statement. Why was the other devastated at his leaving? Was it because he no longer had the great power to take over other territory? He didn’t know how it could be anything else other than the loss of power intake.

Kris let his head fall to his chest for a couple of seconds before he looked back up.

All he had to remember was that he was an alpha – the strongest kind of wolf and he couldn’t freeze up at something like this.

Calming himself down, he suddenly moved his hands from Tao’s shoulders to his jaw.

“Zitao, why do you think I brought you into this pack?” he wondered, and the other shrugged before he replied.

“As you said, because I was an alpha. That way, if there were two alphas leading a pack then they’d have great power and they’d generally be able to take over any territory they’d want.” Zitao explained it in a monotone voice, as if it was rehearsed in his head.

The blonde shook his head almost instantly.

“No, that’s not right.”

Tao looked generally confused. He was sure that was the reason. Kris himself had told him that reason when he had first made the transition when he was sixteen years old.

However, the feeling of Yifan’s hands on his face made him think that there was something he was clearly missing here.

Looking into the blonde’s eyes, he took a deep breath.

“Then… why did you take me in?” he wondered. Kris’s expression stayed stern until he finally replied. And it was nothing that Zitao was expecting to come out of his mouth – not in a million years. God knows what he was going to do now that Yifan had said it.

“Because you’re my mate.”

The young boy’s eyes widened and his mouth fell slightly agape. His mind couldn’t understand what the other had just said.

Pushing the other away, he stumbled backwards.

“W-What?” He asked, and the other took a deep breath.

“I love you Zitao. I’ve loved you since I met you all those years ago. But, you were still so young, and you were so excited. I needed to wait to tell you.” Kris explained, moving closer.

Zitao took steps backwards with every step the other took forward.

“But when you told me you were leaving, I was heartbroken. Ask Lu Han – I couldn’t do anything. He had to take over being alpha until I had regained my strength.”

All the words that were moving out of his lips scared Zitao. They really scared him.

“And when I finally did, I never thought I’d see you again. But here you are. You’re here now, and I’m not going to let you leave.” The older alpha said in a tone that made Tao know he wasn’t lying.

The younger blinked furiously before he felt his back hit a wall. Nothing made sense at the moment, not about Kris’s love or anything.

Feeling the other press up against him was exhilarating, and he swore the room got so much hotter. The atmosphere was almost suffocating, and he could practically feel the lust and yearning fall off of the alpha’s body. All for him. It was all directed at him, yet Zitao just didn’t know if he could believe it. After all these years, the other didn’t once try to look for him.

Putting his hands on the other’s chest, Tao spoke quietly.

“Why didn’t you try to find me?” he asked, his eyes nearly watering with raw emotion at the thought.

“Because I wanted you to have that normal life that you yearned for.” Yifan explained and confessed as he moved his hands to the younger’s waist. “With me lingering around, it wouldn’t have given you much space and time to do that, now would it?”

Zitao bit his lip as he just listened to the other’s voice ring through his ears. The older alpha moved closer before taking a chance.

Pushing his lips ever so softly against Tao’s, Yifan kept his eyes open.

He wanted to see what Tao thought. And god, he hoped it was good.

Tao could feel the other’s passion through the very soft kiss, and he couldn’t resist closing his eyes at the wondrous feeling running through his body at the other’s touches. Kris closed his eyes too before moving his lips even more against the other’s extremely tasty and brilliant ones. Kissing him felt even better than he thought it was going to, and he didn’t want the moment to end – especially when he felt the boy kissing him back with the same amount of passion.

Moving away, he kept his hands on the other’s waist and he let their noses brush against each other’s. Their breaths comingled and the younger alpha spoke first.

“You just made my life worse, you know that?” Zitao whispered, his body shaking a little.

Kris looked insulted and worried.

“What do you mean?”

“How… How am I supposed to leave now?” Zitao asked, looking down at his feet as he thought about it. Kris – one of the strongest wolves – recruited him because he was his mate. And he vaguely remembered Kris saying he loved him.

That was just super crazy.

But Kris could only smile at the other’s sentence. Because he knew what that had meant.

“Does that mean you’re staying?” he asked, raising his eyebrow. The alpha looked super joyed at this, and Tao bit his lip before he thought back to Jongdae and Sehun.

This did mean they gained even more family. And it was probably the best for them too.

“I guess so.”

Just as Kris was about to move in and kiss the other once again, Zitao pushed him away and quickly made his escape from the wall. Moving to the wall, he turned to the otherwise stunned alpha before he shook his head and sighed. He had to think this all through.

One at a time.

“Look, I may be staying but that doesn’t mean you get to… you know…” The boy’s face began flushing red as he thought about it again.

Kris chuckled before he shrugged.

“Fair enough.”

Zitao nodded before he turned to the door and opened it. Time to go check in on the kids and see how well they were getting along with their new family – and of course tell them that they were their new family.

When both he and Kris got to the living room, the younger chuckled at the scene.

Currently, Jongdae was between Kai and Xiumin who were all going through their phones and laughing at whatever was on the small screens.

He had a feeling that Jongdae wasn’t going to have a hard time here.

Now that he had thought of Jongdae’s little brother, he looked over to where Sehun was considering he wasn’t with Jongdae. He found him on the other couch, beside Lu Han who was currently fraternising over Sehun’s appearance. Lu Han was so loud they could hear all the compliments escaping his mouth, but what was really amusing was the fact that Sehun was blushing horrendously.

When he felt arms move around his waist, he sighed and looked behind and saw Kris’s head move to lay on his shoulder.

“Well… at least they’ll be happy here.” Tao whispered, looking back at the two wolves under his care. The older chuckled and smiled at the other’s decision, because generally, he couldn’t be happier at the moment.

“Will you be happy here?” Yifan asked, and the black haired boy bit his lip before he turned to look at Kris again.

“I think so.”

Fin.