CHAPTER 3 - Dots of Blue

Jiaheng was amused at the thought of his scent being green tea, but at the same time he didn’t feel surprised at all. Not that in that moment he was thinking about his own scent -- he was too focused on the male in front of him to think about anything else. He laughed at those words anyway as he and the stranger finally got in front of each other. While smiling dumbly the other man took his hand. Jiaheng felt himself trembling at the touch, and he suddenly wasn’t just standing there anymore.

He found himself hugging that person, and he felt his heart beating even faster when the stranger hugged him back; he inhaled the scent and unconsciously smiled when he felt himself calming down. It was like he had found his peace again, and he didn’t care anymore about anything. They stayed like that for a long minute, and Jiaheng finally took a step back only when he was sure he wasn’t going to faint from happiness.

“T-thank you… for helping me back then.” He whispered smiling shyly again. “If it wasn’t for you.. I...” The other shook his head, while patting Jiaheng’s arm. “I’m glad to see you’re fine, but what happened to the kid that was with you? Is he okay?” He felt so comfortable that Jiaheng didn’t even try to take away his arms from the man’s body; it was like they had met long ago and they actually knew each other. What surprised him even more was that the other werewolf seemed to think the same.

“Zitao is perfectly fine...” He answered quickly. “And I want to apologize... I wanted to look for you all the time but in the end I never did anything about it! I wanted to thank you...” The stranger laughed again and swiftly slipped away from Jiaheng’s arms to walk towards the small creek and wash his hands and face. “There is no need to apologize!” He chuckled as he also drank a bit of water. “I wanted to get away from my place for a long time and I found the perfect opportunity only now. And you… Well, how should I call you, Mr. Green tea?”

Jiaheng blushed slightly and sat next to him, making sure he could properly look at the other. “I’m Jiaheng.” He mumbled. “Do I really smell like green tea?” The stranger then began to clean his shirt. He smiled happily even when he couldn’t completely wipe away the red dots. “Yes, and I like it a lot.” He admitted, making the taller man blush even harder. “My name is Jiashuai. I actually don’t live very far from here, but… let’s just say the people I lived with aren’t exactly nice to me.”

“Your pack… did they hurt you?” He asked slowly. Jiashuai shrugged and he stood up again, sighing tiredly. “It doesn’t really matter anyway. The only thing I wanted to do was to make sure you were okay; I’ll leave in a few minutes, though, I can’t stay away for long...” Jiaheng took his wrist to stop Jiashuai as the other werewolf started to walk away. “N-no! Don’t go.” He exclaimed with wide eyes. “You’re in my territory! You’re safe here.” Jiashuai looked at him, amazed, and took his hand again.

“Your territory?” Jiaheng nodded and stared at him; he had only just met Jiashuai, he couldn’t let him go again and lose him forever. He didn’t let him go, even when the smaller werewolf looked at their hands with a sad smile, and he definitely didn’t when Jiashuai tightened his hold on him. “But… I might get you in trouble...” Jiaheng sighed and glanced at his body: Jiashuai was slim and he really looked like he needed to sleep a lot. He could see faint scars on his neck and arms. He could also see the fear behind the apparently determined red eyes, not to mention the thought of letting him get hurt strangely angered him.

“What happened to you?” He whispered as he moved away a few strands of hair from Jiashuai’s eyes. “You’ve been here for less than ten minutes and your pack clearly doesn’t make you happy. Just stay here, with me.” He mumbled feeling bolder and bolder as he kept talking. He was going to anything to keep him next to him, and he didn’t to give up. “My pack may be small and young, but it’s enough to keep you safe. You can stay with us… Please.”

After a few seconds of silence, Jiashuai smiled and looked up, right in his eyes. Jiaheng felt his heart fluttering, and he was surprised to find himself thinking of kissing the other; he blamed it on the sweet scent he had missed for the past weeks and on the fact that those dark red eyes seemed to ask him to actually do it. “You really want me to stay with you, huh?” The smaller werewolf said with a chuckle. Jiaheng widened his eyes and he started blabbering some sort of excuses, but he was immediately stopped by the other werewolf’s laughter. “I’ll come with you, and I don’t really care if this is unusual or awkward or whatever, I know I really like you a lot and this is all that matters to me now.”

Jiaheng blushed again and grinned again; he laughed happily and tugged Jiashuai away from there. They walked back home together hand in hand laughing at each others jokes. The two of them still had silly smiles on their faces and by the time they reached the cottage their cheeks were red from laughing. Zitao was playing by himself in the garden and as soon as he saw his father he ran towards them leaving behind his toys and plushies. “Daddy!”

The child jumped into his father’s arms screaming in glee and Jiaheng spinned him around; as soon as he stopped, the young father kissed his cheeks and turned towards Jiashuai, who was watching them with a sweet smile on his lips. “The nice man!” Zitao exclaimed as he pointed him with his small finger. Jiashuai ruffled his hair and the child started whining cutely, making the two werewolves chuckling in amusement.

“Hello, Zitao. I’m going to live with you, aren’t you happy?” Zitao widened his eyes and started nodding. “I’m very happy! Will you cure daddy if he gets sick again?” Jiaheng felt a pang of guilt in his heart; after he had fainted and out for three days, Zitao was always worried that his father was going to be that sick again and took care of him as much as possible with the help of Han and Minseok.

"Of course." Jiashuai reassured him. "You don't need to worry. I'm here so he won't be sick or lonely anymore." Zitao pecked the other werewolf’s cheek and muttered a small and shy ‘thank you’. Jiaheng chuckled and they walked together inside the cottage; he put the child on the ground. Zitao immediately jumped excitedly towards the kitchen, screaming again as he called for Han. “I’m surprised that he’s your kid, he’s way too loud. Maybe he’ll be as tall and cool as you, maybe even cooler.”

Jiaheng blushed once again and rubbed his neck in embarrassment; Jiashuai was bold and wasn’t scared to say what’s on his mind, while he was reserved and constantly afraid to do the wrong thing. “I hope you’re going to like Han and Minseok. They really… helped me a lot.” He said instead. Jiashuai didn’t answer him as they arrived in the kitchen; Jiaheng truly wanted to explain what happened to him during those months, but he knew that it wasn’t the right time yet.

Zitao was pouting again and he was jumping in anger. “I don’t want that! It’s ugly! It smells!!” Han groaned and glanced up from the stoves only to groan even louder when his eyes met Jiaheng. “Not you! I need Minseok! You’re just going to agree with your child!” The young father frowned and whined, folding his arms as soon as he looked what was on the stoves. “Of course, I hate broccoli. We hate broccoli, and you know that.” Han snorted at him but gasped when he saw Jiashuai right next to him.

“What. Who is this, why are you bringing people inside without telling me anything?” Jiaheng bit back a smile and softly patted the other’s back, who simply grinned. “This is Jiashuai, he saved me back when we first met. If it wasn’t for him i would’ve...” Han interrupted him to shake hands with the newcomer, but he looked troubled and worried. “Yes, nice to meet you. I’m Han… But Jiaheng, why did you bring him here?”

Jiaheng glanced at Zitao, who was now watching at them with curious eyes, and hushed him away. “Why don’t you go to call Minseok?” The child nodded happily and trotted away; as soon as Zitao disappeared from his sight, the young alpha turned towards Han with a frown. “He’s here to stay.” He said immediately, with a tone of voice that made clear he didn’t want to hear anything else.

Han sighed and shook his head. “How can I feel safe when the person in front of me has blood on his shirt?” Jiashuai looked at his shirt and covered with his hand a couple of red stains that he didn’t wipe away properly. “I’d prefer if we talk about this after a nice, warm meal.” He answered slowly. Jiaheng glanced and they simultaneously took a deep breath; he knew why Han was acting like that, and he couldn’t blame him, but however as an alpha he also knew when something was wrong. He just couldn’t leave Jiashuai just like that.

“Trust me on this one.” He told Han, putting a hand on the other’s shoulder. The werewolf visibly relaxed and nodded without another word. Jiaheng took the other werewolf away from the kitchen to bring him to his bedroom; after he closed the door, he started searching in his closet and drawers for something warm to wear. “I’ll give you a new hoodie, your shirt is soaked and dirty.”

He turned around only to find Jiashuai playing with the hem of his shirt. “Ah, yes, thank you.” He muttered, looking shyly at the ground. “For everything.” Jiashuai started ing his shirt, making the young alpha look away in embarrassment; however, Jiaheng did see the bite marks scattered on the frail body and it made him fill up with rage. “I trust you.” He mumbled after Jiashuai took the hoodie from his hands. “You saved my life, I’ll save yours… definitely”

“How are you so sure that I need to be saved?” Jiaheng looked up only to see the other werewolf patting the fabric to flatten it. The alpha reached for the hood to straighten it up and he answered avoiding the man’s widened eyes. “A man came to look for me with blood on his shirt, bite marks on his skin and avoids telling me how his old pack acts around him… It’s natural that I feel suspicious.”

Jiashuai chuckled and rested his head on Jiaheng’s shoulder. “Of course, as expected from a good alpha.” He replied as he hugged the taller male. “A good, shy alpha. Why are you so nervous now? When I first saw you, you were .” Jiaheng whined loudly and covered his now dark red face with his hand; he turned around, but Jiashuai didn’t let him go and chuckled harder.

“I’m glad it’s you… That day my whole pack smelled your scent and wanted to end your life. I met you before others and saved you before they could find you.” The young father glanced behind him with a surprised look; back when he was in his old pack, he had faced horrible consequences for not following orders. He had gone back home beaten more than once, with his whole body aching, just because he didn’t want to hurt someone else.

“It was dangerous, but your scent was calling me. As soon as I saw you were sleeping peacefully, I returned to my pack and told them you were dead... Joonmyeon was furious, he wanted to be the one to find you...” Jiaheng tensed and faced the other werewolf; he knew that name, he knew that person, and he couldn’t understand how that could’ve happened. “I am not letting you go. You’ll stay here with me.” He whispered with shaky but firm voice.

Jiashuai pulled the other even closer before closed his eyes. The young alpha finally returned the hug and stared blankly at the wall with wide eyes. Joonmyeon was a young werewolf born and grown in his old pack; he wasn’t a big threat and Jiaheng remembered him as a man without much confidence that always followed orders and happily trailed behind the strongest alphas of the pack.

Sometimes Joonmyeon would cover for him, but he was way too devoted to the pack and it was easy to see through his lies but Jiaheng never blamed him anyway. Not that he couldn’t get in an argument with him, since Joonmyeon and him were bound to see each other a lot. The day when he lost his family was the same day when Joonmyeon told him not to go to his fiancée’s house and to run away. He never thought about it, but now he knew that something was wrong.

After an awkward, long lunch, Zitao went to take a nap and the small group sat in the living room to talk properly about Jiashuai and what was going to happen to the pack. “It’s understandable that you want to make sure he’s a good person, Han.” The alpha said to his temporary beta. “However, I discovered that he’s from a pack with an alpha that happens to be an acquaintance of mine.”

Han and Minseok, at that point, stared at him with a worried look in their eyes. Jiaheng glanced nervously at them and gulped before talking again. “This person… I can’t trust him. Not only was he my ex-fiancée’s brother… he also knew what happened to my sons even before I could see them lying in a pool of blood.” The other three werewolves gasped at his words, but the alpha kept explaining, looking emotionless.

“He was a good person, but he grew up in the wrong pack with the wrong people. He won’t understand that he’s not acting like he should; for now I’d just prefer to make sure Jiashuai is fine, I don’t want to meet Joonmyeon and if we’re going to, I want to avoid any sort of fighting. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Han finally nodded and shifted his focus onto the new werewolf. "What happened to you? And most importantly... if you were the one who saved Jiaheng, how did you do it?"

Actually the young alpha wasn't thinking of how he was cured, he simply didn't care; he was alive and it was the most important thing for him and Zitao. The pomegranate scent was enough to calm him down, and he was starting to feel better after he met Jiashuai again. "Even if I was born as a werewolf, my DNA has something from humans... Probably one of my ancestors wasn't a pureblood werewolf. Because of that, my blood is different from yours." He showed everyone his hand, which have a red wound.

"While if you get bitten your healing process gets slower and it's usually very fast, my body doesn't work like that. If I get bitten, the saliva in a wolf's teeth doesn't hurt me and my natural healing process isn't affected." Jiashuai closed his hand and stared at it for a few seconds before talking again. "However, my DNA gave me a slow healing process, and even a scrap might be dangerous for me."

Jiaheng scooted closer to him. "What about the bite marks you have?" He asked with a worried frown. The other wolf shrugged with a sad smile. "That's the bad part. As my whole body acts differently, my blood and my saliva act in another way and affect a wolf's body the opposite as yours." Minseok shook his head in disbelief and looked at him with wide eyes. "It cures...?"

Jiashuai nodded and sighed. "Well... yes and no. To completely cure someone I would have to use a lot of my blood, but this is how I saved Jiaheng. My pack used to make me bring small bottles with my blood, usually less than one is enough to close the wounds and it helps to accelerate the healing process..." After he finished explaining, the room was filled with silence. Jiaheng the younger's hand and stared at his wound without saying a thing. "Now I understand." Han muttered. "They were using you as a sort of a medicine and they bit you whenever they needed to."

"You can't go back, they'll hurt you again. I really don't know why Joonmyeon would do that..." Jiaheng muttered with a troubled look; he glanced up, towards his pack mates, and waited for their words. "I think we should let him in our pack, if he isn't already bound to his old one, then your friend won't have any reason to attack us." Han mumbled. The alpha nodded and looked at Jiashuai, who was now smiling happily. "I'm not bound to them, but don't worry: they won't attack. They are still too weak."

Jiaheng patted his back and stood up, followed by the others. The newcomer shook hands with the members already in the pack, but unable to hide his excitement, he also hugged them tightly as he thanked them. The young father grinned as well and took his hand. "Come, I'll show you the house." They walked together around the cottage, but soon Jiaheng decided it was better to bring him to the bedrooms and let him have a nice, long nap.

“I’m not that tired, I don’t need to go to sleep…” Jiashuai muttered, eyes drooping lower and lower by the minute; but the alpha didn’t listen to him and tugged him towards one of the empty bedrooms. “No, wait! Why can’t I stay in your room?” Jiaheng stared at him with wide eyes and blushed; he laughed nervously and rubbed his neck. “My room? Why? We barely know each other…” The young wolf grinned and tugged him towards his bedroom; Jiaheng didn’t expect him to do so, but he found himself not caring that much. “Because I saved you without knowing who you were and you saved me without knowing who I am.”

As soon as they entered the room, Jiashuai closed the door and he threw himself on the bed. “So comfy!” He exclaimed with a wide smile. He laid there and went under the blanked after kicking off the slippers Jiaheng gave him; he grabbed the pillow and inhaled the scent, sighing happily, and he then glanced at the alpha who was standing there with wide eyes. “Come here, you look like you need a good sleep, too.”

However, the young father shook his head and took a step back. “N-no, I shouldn’t…” He stuttered with an embarrassed smile. Jiashuai didn’t look like he wanted to give up and he patted the place right next where he was lying. “At least stay here until I fall sleep!” He whined with a pout. Jiaheng relaxed visibly at the other’s childish behavior and he chuckled, sitting next to him; he was actually tempted by that request, but he thought that it was better not to sleep next to the younger werewolf, even if his body and his mind were fascinated and attracted to Jiashuai.

“Okay, fine, I’ll stay here for a while.” He said with an amused chuckle; the other werewolf grabbed his hands and smiled back. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself while I try to sleep?” He mumbled as he closed his eyes. Jiaheng hummed and started caressing Jiashuai’s hands with his thumbs, looking at him with a softer smile. “My story is quite depressing, I don’t think you’ll like it…” He whispered; Jiashuai shrugged slightly and sighed, waiting for him.

Jiaheng decided it was better to explain everything instead of leaving out small details. He started talking about how he and his family arrived in his old pack, how he met his ex-fiancée, how Zitao was born. “I was eight when mom and I arrived in my old pack. My father had run away and we needed protection, and the first pack we met was that one. It wasn’t that bad, my mother was a nice person and everyone loved her.” He said immediately, with a bitter smile on his lips. “But it didn’t last long… the omega of the pack killed the alpha and became our boss. He was cruel, the only thing he wanted was power, but mom and I couldn’t run away from there.”

Jiashuai didn’t look like he was going to fall asleep anytime soon, since he had opened his eyes again. Jiaheng tried to glance away from his as he continued talking. “As soon as I got old enough to be considered by the rest of the pack, I started having more responsibilities. I had to be careful not to get my mother hurt by other alphas, and I was bullied for a long time before I got strong enough to protect my family and me. When I was eighteen I met Ruifang, my ex-fiancée.”

At that point it was pretty clear that Jiashuai didn’t want to sleep anymore, but the young alpha didn’t stop talking because of that; instead he was ready to tell him everything about his old life in the pack. “She was fierce and she knew what she wanted, and I fell for her in a matter of seconds. However, I didn’t stand out; she didn’t notice me, and even if she did, she didn’t let it show. The first time we talked was around three years ago when I was 21, during a full moon, when the pack used to have huge parties. We got drunk and we woke up in the same bed together… . The same day she discovered she was pregnant.”

The young werewolf chuckled at the clichéd story, but stopped when he heard Jiaheng’s next words. “She wasn’t happy. At all. She cried, she screamed, she punched me. She didn’t like me and she didn’t want to be pregnant. So of course I told her the only right thing I could say… that I was going to be by her side whatever she was going to do with the pups that were going to grow in her.” Jiashuai hummed as he curled his fingers around the other’s hands. “That was responsible of you.” He mumbled with a small grin on his lips.

The young alpha shrugged. “I was actually glad when after a week she told me she wanted to keep the pups. So I promised her I was going to be next to her all the time and that I was going to be a good father… but she didn’t look happy. She was glad I wanted to help, but at the same time, she didn’t want me to be the father of her children. At the time I really didn’t mind.” He stopped to take a deep breath and he tilted his head, thinking of something.

“When she went into labor… obviously she was in her wolf form. She had to stay as a wolf for a long time to allow the pups to grow perfectly; I built a nice, comfortable den for her and the pups, but when she went into labor I was terrified. Zitao was the last of five pups… when he was born, it was right after midnight. He was the only one to have born the May. He was the weakest, we thought he wasn’t going to survive for long, yet he revealed to be the most active; as soon as he learnt to walk, he started jumping around.”

The father smiled softly at the memory, but soon the warm light in his eyes was replaced by a cold one. “I’ve always tried to be there for my family, even if Ruifang didn’t love me and she didn’t let me live in her house with the pups. I was there when they started to walk, when they learnt how to change in their human shape, when they talked for the first time. But one day I woke up… I woke up in my bed because of loud knocks on my door and I found that letter…”

Jiashuai looked at him, focused on his words and on his expression. Jiaheng was frowning, visibly angry and sad. “She wrote me a letter, saying that she was running away with her true love… and that she was leaving the children behind. She told me that I should have left the pack without them, because during fights children were only dead weights…” Jiaheng shook his head as the first tears of frustration fell on his cheeks. “I didn’t even finish to read that thing! I ran to her house only to find Joonmyeon, who told me it was better if I didn’t go inside. One of his family even tried to stop me.”

The younger werewolf sat up and cupped Jiaheng’s face to dry his wet cheeks; he caressed his hair, but the alpha was too focused on his memories to stop talking. “Of course I went inside her house! As soon as I stepped in the hall, I wanted to throw up… there were bloodstains everywhere. I ran to the childern’s bedroom only to find them dead, and their bodies were thrown carelessly in every corner. W-who could have done such cruel thing? I was already crying on the floor, with my dead children in front of me, then I realized that Zitao wasn’t there.”

Jiaheng was shaking so hard that Jiashuai had to hug him tightly to make sure he wasn’t going to do something stupid; he let the alpha’s head rest on his chest, right over his heart, and he slowly lied again on the bed. “When I went back in the hallway I was s-screaming for his name.” Jiaheng sobbed over him, clutching on the other’s shirt and wetting it with his tears. “I found him in the closet, under my cloak. I-I took him and ran away, without stopping once.”

While he was crying, Jiashuai kept kissing the latter head, caressing his hair and back as he tried to soothe him. “What kind of father lets his children die? I should have died instead of them! I’m ashamed to be the kind of person who can’t even protect his family…!” He wailed, voice muffled by Jiashuai’s clothes. The younger wolf bowed towards him and rested their foreheads together, to look at the alpha in his watery eyes. “You are a wonderful father, and I’m sure you’re a perfect alpha for this pack. The only ones at fault here are those who killed your children… and Ruifang, who preferred to run away from her responsibilities instead of talking with you.”

He then took the blanket and put it over them, making sure that Jiaheng’s head wasn’t completely under it. “You’ll be fine from now on. I’m here for you, we are here for you. I know you felt sick in the past weeks, because I felt the same… and I felt empty. But now we’re together, we will be there for each other and we’ll be better. I’ll be there whenever you’ll want to cry.” Jiaheng nodded stiffly and hugged him tightly; he hid his face between Jiashuai’s neck and shoulder and he sniffled a few more times before closing his eyes and inhale the younger male’s scent.

The alpha felt immediately better. The calming sound of Jiashuai’s heartbeat helped him, as well as his sweet scent; the soothing caresses on his neck relaxed him and soon he was falling asleep in the younger’s arms, with no more tears in his eyes. He felt at peace once again and for the first time in weeks, his sleep was dreamless and calming.

When he woke up again it was because of a small whine coming from Jiashuai. He opened his eyes and he realized he was biting softly on the younger werewolf’s shoulder; he froze, embarrassed of his action, and he shifted slightly to lie properly next to him. Jiashuai turned around in his sleep and hugged Jiaheng again, curling against him and resting his head on the alpha’s chest with a satisfied smile. The young father patted awkwardly his back and relaxed again only when he realized that Jiashuai wasn’t going to wake up in that right moment; he kissed the other’s head and closed his eyes again, ready to fall back to sleep, only to open them when he heard the bedroom door being opened.

Zitao trotted inside with a sleepy look and his new favorite plush in his arms – a small, soft, leopard that he called gege. He climbed on the bed and he went under the blanket, to reappear next to his dad’s body. “Daddy, will you make me… pancakes…” He mumbled before tugging at his shirt; the child started nibbling Jiaheng’s shoulder and started sleeping, without hearing his father’s answer. Jiaheng smiled softly and pecked his cheek, closing his eyes again and falling asleep as well.

***

That afternoon Jiaheng woke up with a groan – Han and Minseok decided it was a nice idea to wake him by lying over him, but everything ended in a sleepy laugh that also woke Zitao and Jiashuai; the alpha thought that if that was going to be his life from that moment, he was more than happy. Maybe at first everything went bad, but not anymore… things were finally better for him and his small family, for his pack. That night he and Jiashuai stayed awake to talk.

After a warm dinner, they couldn’t help but talk to each other; curled against each other, they kept whispering in the middle of the night until sleep took over them and Jiaheng lost himself in Jiashuai’s eyes, as red as blood but not frightening like anyone else would have thought. Their murmurs got lost in the dark, the alpha’s lips moved so close to the other werewolf’s cheek as he talked that it felt like he was leaving small pecks and when they were about to fall asleep they weren’t even whispering anymore, they were only pressing their lips to the other’s cheeks. They closed their eyes while clinging onto each other, in a tight hug that finally made them feel safe and peaceful.

Jiaheng didn’t even know how he exactly had lived during the past month without Jiashuai, and he discovered pretty quickly that everything was better after he had arrived in his life. The following full moon the pack reunited to make their ritual and Jiashuai officially begun living with them; Han, Minseok and Zitao adapted pretty quickly to their new routines, and they were glad they didn’t need to worry anymore. Their alpha was finally okay, Jiaheng didn’t have nightmares and he was visibly more healthy than ever.

The alpha and Jiashuai’s relationship kept going on with a calm pace. Jiaheng was shy, yet he was conscious that there was something between him and the younger werewolf, that’s why he didn’t run away when their hugs lasted for too long and that was the reason why he wasn’t complaining when Jiashuai asked to sleep in the same bed as him. The other, though, was anything but shy.

Jiashuai liked to sneak behind the alpha to hug him and then give him a peck, he like to take his hand, grab his arm and whisper to him a bit too closely, he loved to cuddle with him. The first times he did that, Jiaheng was flustered and he wasn’t sure of how he was supposed to react; however, in a matter of days, he learnt that Jiashuai like to get a kiss in return, that he had to bow a little to be closer to him when he whispered and that the young werewolf liked to feel his hands caressing his neck and his lower back.

Some weeks later, in a warm day of spring, Jiashuai and Jiaheng went near the border of the territory, right where they had met, to spend the day together in privacy. Their pants were folded at the ankles and their feet were in the cold water; the alpha had his arm around the other's shoulders and they were talking about Jiashuai's old pack. "Since it's a small pack they didn't bother to come here to find me... but I guess I hurted Baekhyun's pride pretty hard, back then." He was explaining with a satisfied grin. "I took him by surprise and attacked him. When I was running away he couldn't even stand, he could only watch me."

"Aren't you a good boy." Jiaheng said with an amused smirk. Jiashuai laughed at him and stopped walking, in the middle of the river. "I'm a good man." He replied as he put his arms around the tall alpha's waist. "A good man who had a terrible life. I don't like hurting people, but for once I did it for myself... now I'll protect the pack with you." Jiaheng hugged him back and stared at him in awe. Jiashuai wasn't physically strong, but during the time he lived there he got better.

His figure wasn't frail anymore and what surprised the alpha was that his eyes got even more vibrant and lively than ever. "Do you like to stay here that much? We're not that special anyway..." The younger smiled softly and pecked his cheek. "This is much more than I could ask for. I'm so glad that it's you and not someone else..." Jiaheng gulped as he felt his heart fluttering; Jiashuai told him those things plenty of times, yet it felt like it was the first he heard them. Every time he couldn't help but fall even harder for the younger, however he kept trying to stop himself because he didn't know how to control himself if he did.

He was afraid. It felt wrong to fall for someone that quickly, but it felt right when he was in Jiashuai's arms. Nobody told him what he had to do, no one said it was fine to feel like that and he was embarrassed to ask Han or Minseok for help over that. Jiashuai came in his life just like that and the young alpha was afraid of doing something wrong again. "Is it okay?" He mumbled next to the younger werewolf's ear. "Is it okay to feel like this? Sometimes I feel a bit scared because everything is going too fast..."

“It’s completely fine. We can take it slow, as slow as you want.” He answered him with a soft smile. Jiaheng pecked him on the cheek and rested his forehead on Jiashuai’s one; were they really going too fast? He took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of pomegranate and closed his eyes. Despite his fear, he couldn’t help but feel that he needed more from Jiashuai. He tightened his hold on the younger werewolf and opened his eyes again.

“They… are blue.” Jiashuai whispered, fascinated with the sudden change of color of the alpha’s irises. Jiaheng only hummed and gulped again, feeling as nervous as ever: he wanted to do something but he wasn’t confident and he hesitated a few times before talking. "I want to... try." He said with wavering voice. "Yes. I want to try to go on together." He repeated trying to sound stronger. Jiashuai nodded silently and waited for him to go on; Jiaheng, instead of talking, just took a deep breath and finally kissed him on his lips.

It was like something inside of the alpha had exploded. The only thing he could sense was Jiashuai, the rest had disappeared, covered by the strong scent of pomegranate... some how now he could also taste. Jiaheng's soul was trembling in ecstasy, yet he needed more, and for the first time he could understand how a real alpha could feel. His instinct, his most wild nature was telling him to go on as he truly wanted and to have more than a simple kiss.

Soon a soft peck transformed into something more passionate and desperate, that Jiashuai didn't wait to return. Tugging his hair and biting his lips, the younger werewolf guided him on the grass, where they fell without leaving each other lips. Jiaheng didn't know he had wanted the other so much and with such strong need, yet he was glad that he could clearly see Jiashuai feeling the same. The smaller werewolf kissed and his lips, scraped his back and neck with urgent need, but Jiaheng had to back from him for a moment to understand what exactly was happening.

The more they kissed and the more he felt that he had to bite him. They both took deep breath as they looked at each other; the alpha could only stare at Jiashuai's red lips and rosy cheeks and his half-lidded eyes clouded with lust. The younger, on the other hand, was waiting for Jiaheng to snap like that; it was something that they both needed, and the more they waited the more they were going to hurt each other, even if they were taking things slow to avoid that.

“It’s fine.” He whispered cupping Jiaheng’s cheeks. “It’s fine if we do this right now. We’re going to be okay anyway, but I know you also want to do this.” The alpha was about to answer when he smelled something he wasn’t expecting: two faint scents and a much stronger one that he didn’t recognize. “Someone is coming here!” He exclaimed as he stood up, helping the other to do the same. Jiashuai gasped as he too smelled them, but with wide eyes he grabbed Jiaheng’s arms and tugged him towards himself.

“I know those scents! They… one of them is rather strong. What if he’s here for me?” He whimpered. The young alpha growled as he turned towards the woods, where the scents were coming from. “No, he’s not. The other two are clearly pups.” Jiashuai hummed in realization and he glanced too across the small river. “I recognize them too. I don’t think they want to attack, but...”

Jiaheng turned towards the young werewolf and kissed him again, this time much more softly. “Go back to the cottage and tell the others to be ready either for a fight or to run away. I want to deal with him by myself.” Jiashuai hesitated for a few seconds before nodding and smiling. “I know you’re stronger than him, but please… make sure to come home without a scratch.” He told him before kissing him. “Come back to me, because we need each other to keep living.” They kissed one last time before Jiashuai turned and ran away, back to the cottage.

As he stared at his back, the young alpha finally understood why he had never felt lonely or sick after Jiashuai had arrived: he truly needed him to keep living. After he saved his life, the werewolf took a special place in his heart that was irreplaceable. He was sick for all that time because the younger wasn’t next to him, he felt lonely because Jiashuai was far away from him. Of course it didn’t help that he already felt bad about his lost family, but he knew that Jiashuai was the main reason behind his sickness.

He then remembered something that Han told him after the young werewolf started living with them: your mate will be the only reason why you’re breathing. He smiled and turned around, just in time to see two small pups jumping excitedly in the water; he lowered himself and opened his arms, calling them, and the two ran in his embrace after a moment of hesitance. Jiaheng petted them, seeing they were younger than Zitao, and he was glad to see that the pups calmed down quickly thanks to his caresses. He looked up as a tall man arrived in front of him and the two of them stared at each other in silence while the pups whined happily.

Jiaheng only said five words, his eyes as blue as ever. “Go away from my territory.”

A/N:
Another super long chapter for you guys <3 Hope you like it, please leave a small comment for me. ;w;
Thanks a lot to my wonderful beta and of course to my readers <3

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY WU YIFAN <3