Chapter 7;

Pretty soon, baekhyun was fit as a fiddle. His wounds had healed and his arm worked just fine, all thanks to Yixing. The other wolves had taken care of Baekhyun as well and he didn’t know how he would ever be able to repay the debt.

Almost as soon as his last bandage was removed, luhan announced that his initiation ceremony would be held very soon. The pup was curious as to this new pack’s customs. In his previous pack, a new wolf could become part of the pack only through birth or marriage. The new wolf was to make offerings to the moon god, in the form of a freshly hunted animal, the bigger the better. The new wolf also had to observe a fast for the entire day, before the initiation and was served a simple meal of porridge and chicken soup, as the rest of the pack members enjoyed a lavish feast prepared on the day. For new babies, the mothers would observe the fast and offer the prayers, with the baby in their lap.

In Chanyeol’s pack, things were a little different. Baekhyun was to be bathed in rose water prepared by the other wolves, and after the sun set, he had to circle a huge bonfire thrice and throw handfuls of rice into it. The Alpha would then tie a bracelet on his hand, signifying his affinity to the pack. This was to be followed by a party, where all sorts of delicacies would be prepared. And in this one, baekhyun could eat as much as he wanted.

The first initiation of his life, baekhyun did not remember, as he had only been a baby back then. The second ceremony however, he greatly enjoyed. All the activities were fun, and were designed to make the newcomer feel welcomed. The only glitch was the part where the alpha was to tie the bracelet. Baekhyun had expected a harsh or quick action from the alpha, but chanyeol was surprisingly gentle, as he tied the bracelet around baekhyun’s wrist. His fingers lingering for a moment or two on the soft skin.

The party was great fun too. There was a variety of food, from clams, to lobsters, to chicken burritos, and so much dessert, that baekhyun’s stomach was full with eating just the tiramisu pudding and the cheesecake. It was with such gusto that the day ended and everyone retired to their rooms.

Baekhyun chose to stay out in the veranda after everyone had left. The days activities should have tired him out but instead everything had been so overwhelming an exciting for him, that the thought of taking rest didn’t cross his mind. He just wanted to sit and quietly soak up all the happiness that had been given to him by this family of his.

A few months back, the thought of running away from his previous pack had frightened him to his core, but he had still gone ahead and done that. Unaware of his fate, he had sprinted through the northern woods in the middle of the night, trying to get away as far as possible.Back then, he had not thought that he would have survived for very long. By the time Jongdae and Sehun had found him by the river, he had travelled a very long distance. Wounded and tired from everything that had happened, he had been waiting for death to come. He had been in no condition to hunt for food, and the lack of anything to eat would have killed him soon enough, if the two wolves hadn’t found him.

He was glad that he had agreed to come with the two. Had it not been for them, someone would have attacked him and he would have been a meal to them. Fate had indeed been kind to him and this pack had accepted him as part of their family.

He was mulling over such thoughts when he head someone clear their throat for catching his attention. Turning around, he saw the Alpha standing by the door. The pup was pleasantly surprised to see the tall male. They rarely spoke to each other,and even though the alpha was around more often now, he was usually working in his room. Being alone with him like this, made the smaller wolf feel strange in a pleasant way. It wasn’t something he could quite understand though and as they gazed at each other for a moment, the alpha broke the silence.

“ Mind if a sit here?” his asked in his deep voice. Baekhyun had always thought that the Alpha had a really nice voice. It had a sense of authority with a gentle undertone.

“Of course, alpha.” bowing his head to the older wolf, he scatched the back of his head. “ I couldn’t sleep, so I was looking at the fairy lights and the lanterns they put up.”

Chanyeol sauntered over to one of the chairs and sat down on the one right next to baekhyun. The boy still continued to bow his head to the taller male, everytime he greeted him. The other pack members never did that because all of them had grown up together, and no one followed such formal courtesies in the house. He had always wanted to tell the pup that needn’t do that, but he just never came around to doing that.

Baekhyun stiffened up as the other male sat next to him. The two of them usually never sat next to each other, the only time that had happened was during the movie, a few weeks ago. He wondered what Chanyeol was up to, and tried to concentrate on the lights he had just mentioned.

The alpha and the omega sat in uncomfortable silence for a while, trying to focus their attention on other things. And after a while, Chanyeol turned to baekhyun.

“ So, Baekhyun.. how was today?” this was the alpha’s attempt at making a conversation and it was coming off as utterly awkward.

The pup blinked up at the taller wolf. This was indeed a day of many firsts. First, the alpha’s gentle behaviour and now his attempt at talking to him. “ It was awesome! The ceremonies, the decorations, and oh! The food! I loved it all.” Baekhyun couldn’t help gushing about everything.

This drew a small chuckle from Chanyeol. The ceremony had indeed been great. It had been years since it had been performed. The last one any of them had been part of, being when sehun had turned 13. Their pack held an initiation ceremony whenever any member turned 13, and back then, their parents had arranged for everything. This was the first time that they had performed one without the elders. Sure, they had called up the elders and pestered them repeatedly in order to get the details of everything correctly.  Even kyungsoo, who was still at his grandmother’s house, had been called up, since the boy was the best cook in the family and he could provide the others with some delicious recipes.

Seeing the glint in the smallers’ voice, chanyeol knew that he was truly delighted. The boys’ entry into the household had brought more life to their already lively and noisy pack. Everyone seemed to want to do something or the other for the little wolf. Teaching him new things, feeding him constantly, showing him new things. The boy seemed happy too. Eagerly trying to absorb whatever was being taught or shown to him. He had become adjusted to everything very soon and more so after his wounds had heeled. Previously having been confined to limp around the household, one could now see him hopping around the house or running about in the yards.

Chanyeol had noticed it all. As much as everyone believed that he couldn’t be bothered any less about the pup, chanyeol had quietly observed the boy. Although he seemed to be working most of the time in the office room on the the top floor of the house, the others didn’t realize that one of the windows provided an excellent view of the backyard. That had been his spot of choice during his free time. From there he could see the boy, who apparently loved to spend his time outdoors under the sun.

“ I’ve wanted to say this for a very long while. I wanted to thank you for letting me stay here, and for including me into your pack. Most packs wouldn’t trust an absolute stranger. Had it been not for you and the others, I wouldn’t have survived for long.” The boy’s soft voice brought him out of his thoughts. Baekhyun was looking at him earnestly, gratefulness written all over his face, but before chanyeol could say something, the boy spoke again.

“ I know, you don’t like me too much, and probably don’t want me here. But I promise to you that I’ll try to be useful member to the pack, and I won’t be a burden to anyone.” The pup looked so nervous that it took chanyeol a while to fully realize what the had just said. And then it dawned on him. His behaviour ever since Baekhyun had entered the pack, had been so horrible. No wonder the boy thought that was a cold hearted fellow, who wanted him gone. When in reality, he had wanted the boy to stay, since the day he had seen him sleeping on the bed. The day Sehun and Jongdae had brought him home.  The boy had intrigued him then, and made him feel queasy, and while all of it had been strange to him, he had only wanted to be in his presence for longer. Something that he couldn’t understand very well.

But now, he knew how the other had perceived his behaviour. And with the determination to dispel the misunderstanding, he reached for the boys’ hand. Taking it between his much larger hand, he gently squeezed it and looked at the boy sincerely.

 “ I know I haven’t been the most welcoming person here. But I never meant for you to feel that way. I was a little out of my head and I didn’t know how to behave around someone knew, but all that is alright now. The initiation ceremony marks your inclusion into this pack, and you must know that now, you’re part of it forever, or for at least till the time you want to be part of it.  You have all the rights as any other member and you need not feel like an outsider anymore. I apologize for making you feel that way, it was not my intention.”

The little wolf took in the words of the alpha and then a smile lit up his face. He nodded his head in understanding and squeezed the hand back. And like a domino effect, Chanyeol too smiled warmly at him.  In a matter of minutes, the relationship between the two had changed. the others’ presence felt familiar and the awkwardness and tension that had built up between them from the start, started to dissipate.

The two sat talking for hours that night. The conversation started awkwardly at first, but as the night progressed, both of them learned things about each other. Talking about likes and dislikes, hobbies, and other things. The only topic that remained untouched was Baekhyun’s past and why he had left his previous pack.

wooohoo! New year surprise!!

I know I promised to upload a chapter much much earlier, and I can't give you any excuses. I just couldn't bring myself to type anything... you guys can throw bricks at me. I'm so so sorry for such a late update. 

But this new year's resolution would be faster updates!

Also, I couldn't make chanyeol this cold and obnoxious guy anymore. So i finally turned him into a better man. Kyungsoo will make an appearance in the chapter after the next one.

A huge thank you to everyone who subscribed to my story or to took the time to read it and drop in a comment. love you all!

And wish you all a very happy New year!!