The morning passes excruciatingly slow. Donghae’s already on edge due to the information about Sulli, and his mate’s distress, so seeing Siwon caring tenderly for Zhou Mi leaves a bitter taste in Donghae’s mouth.

He’s not used to feeling so protective of the feline shifter, and Donghae realizes that it’s partly due to Kyuhyun’s influence, and partly due to the fact that Zhou Mi is Pack, and Siwon for the most part, is just a mere human.

“Something’s not right about him.” BoA’s been moody and sullen since Donghae arrived at the station.

“Does he smell upset or worried to either of you?” Donghae questions out loud, not realizing that both his Alpha and Beta have started being suspicious of Siwon.

“He smells determined.” Jungsuk answers. “I’ve been watching him with Zhou Mi, and while he’s had the scent of worry for our little feline, the scents don’t waiver. That’s the part that worries me.”

“Do you…?” Donghae has to swallow down a tendril of worry. “Do you think he’s got something to do with the whole mess with Sulli?”

Jungsuk looks down at his pack member with care. “Honestly? Yeah. My gut, and my wolf tells me that something just isn’t right about Siwon. I know we did a very thorough background check on him, and Zhou Mi promised he’d give up any important information about Siwon to us if he got a hold of it, but…” Jungsuk sighs. “I think Siwon’s been hiding something from everyone.” Jungsuk refuses to admit that Zhou Mi’s been so preoccupied with Siwon that the shifter hasn’t been communicating very well with the rest of the Pack.

Donghae goes through giving the cops what information he thinks is safe to give about Sulli, considering their short marriage. He doesn’t give a truly specific time frame, because…well who would believe he’d been in Joseon up until 2 years ago?

Thankfully the cops don’t ask for dates, and Donghae’s left by himself, the silence is almost overwhelming and he can feel Kyuhyun’s stirring at home. His mates’ feelings are still muffled, meaning he’s shut himself down partially from the Pack bonds and their mate bond. It hurts a little, knowing that his mate is shutting people out, but in the 2 years they’ve been mated, Donghae knows that the former Alpha sometimes needs to shut out the world for a little bit.

“Donghae, could you take Zhou Mi home?” Siwon’s approaching him now, Jungsuk and BoA are nowhere in sight, probably with the other male. “I wouldn’t hesitate to do so myself, but the kidnapper has been in contact with me and the cops don’t want anything happening prematurely.”

Donghae has no idea what Siwon’s babbling about. It’s too bad that Seungri’s off on a Pack assignment, he’s got the best nose out of all the Pack, but there is just something about Siwon’s scent that throws Donghae off. “Sure. Um, I hope you don’t find this rude or offensive, but what kind of cologne do you wear?”

The question works perfectly. All the years Donghae spent learning and training to take over his father’s place in politics pays off as Siwon spouts of some ridiculously expensive brand of cologne that is imported from China. They are walking towards where Zhou Mi is, the tall model curled up on a set of chairs, his head down, when Siwon turns to him. “Why do you ask?”

Donghae smiles. “Oh, was just curious since I’m looking for a birthday present for my…boyfriend, and I thought the warm scent you had around you was nice.”

Siwon doesn’t even catch the slight pause where Donghae had almost slipped and said mate, he’s too busy telling Donghae where he can go to try out samples in Gangnam District. The man hadn’t even reacted at all to the fact that Donghae admitted to being gay in a police station. Either the man has a magical spell on him, something they’d learned back when Seungri had told them about the shock of Victoria being a feline shifter instead of a wolf because of some magical spell that’d been performed on her right after she’d shifted as a child, or he’s a really good actor at hiding his emotions.

Suddenly, it all makes sense. Donghae realizes at the last second that Zhou Mi’s caught on to the sudden spike in his excitement, though he’s not going to like what Donghae’s going to say later.

The cops have told Donghae they will call if they need more information, as well as to Zhou Mi, so they’re free to leave. Donghae learns that Jungsuk and BoA have left earlier, but he’s already communicating with Sara, BoA’s wolf, mentally through Bada.

Siwon gives Zhou Mi a hug and a kiss on the cheek, promising that he’ll be safe later, and that he’ll text Zhou Mi when he can. The later just nods his head, uncharacteristically quiet. It’s a bit unnerving that in a police station of all places, Siwon’s choosing to display skinship with Zhou Mi, and Donghae notices when he discretely looks around the station that no one is paying attention to them, not even the cops who are involved in the kidnapping case, even though they are standing outside the door to the office where they’d taken down his information about Sulli.

Donghae thinks this drive to Zhou Mi’s house will be the first he’ll have with Zhou Mi not chatty, singing or laughing the entire way as Siwon tells him to take care of Zhou MI. With a nod and a smile, Donghae drives away.

Zhou Mi, feeling safe and comfortable, ends up falling asleep in the car, curled up with his face towards Donghae. ‘Poor feline.’ Bada murmurs in agreement with his human. ‘I don’t think he’s getting a whole lot of sleep either.’

Donghae sees the dark circles under his hyung’s eyes. Concerned for him, Donghae realizes that felines have a much harder time of mating than the canines do. It makes Donghae feel much more appreciative that he and Kyuhyun are very compatible both as mates and as people.

He’s not sure what would have happened had he not been changed, other than the whole being sorta dead for a hundred years or so. Bada snuffs at the thought, nuzzling affectionately inside his head.

**

When Zhou Mi wakes up, he realizes they are at the old Pack house they’d first stayed in when the group had arrived in the modern world. He’s been transferred from the car to a bed, one that smells faintly of lavender and chamomile. Ha Rae still lived in the old house, claiming that it kept good memories of her family going so she wouldn’t feel so lonely.

The familiarity of the old Pack house, the land that it sits on, even the scents of the flowers relaxes Zhou Mi completely. It’s like a fog has lifted from his head and Zhou Mi realizes with a start as he’s stretching that his emotions aren’t as high strung as they’d been earlier with Siwon.

“Oh, look who’s awake.” The familiar face that pops into the room breaks out into a wide grin. “Come on sleepy head. I’ve got some food waiting for you in the kitchen.”

Zhou Mi can’t help the smile that breaks out on his face as he follows Henry Lau out into the kitchen, his bare feet padding softly on the hardwood floors. The feeling of contentment is slowly working its way through his body, and even Niqui is responding to the contentment, sunning himself on rocks in the sanctuary that he and Zhou Mi have built for the cheetah to relax in when he’s not needed.

“Are you on break from school?” Zhou Mi asks a little bit later, slowing down on devouring the delicious food that Ha Rae had made earlier. Henry’s not allowed to cook in Ha Rae’s kitchen even though it’s really Kyuhyun’s fault for the small stove fire a couple years ago when they were learning how to operate the gas stove.

Kyuhyun’s the worst at cooking in general while the Pack doctor, Ryeowook, is just as bad at cooking traditional Korean food as much as Kyuhyun is. Henry just smiles as he’s pouring Zhou Mi another glass of water. “I’m on a leave of absence right now.” He tells the shifter. “I…um…I got caught with one of the teacher’s assistants in a not so innocent position.” He admits.

Zhou Mi laughs. “So basically you two got caught having in one of the classrooms?” He corrects. Henry may just be a human, and has Friend of the Pack status much like Amber does, but Henry’s worse than the most promiscuous shifter in the Pack.

Henry’s cheeks flush bright red. “Yeah.” He mumbles sheepishly. “But it’s totally not my fault. I wanted to go back to the dorms, but he couldn’t wait.”

Zhou Mi almost chokes on the sip of water. Coughing, he swallows. “You mean there’s someone out there who’s more impatient than you?”

Henry’s grinning sheepishly at Zhou Mi when Ha Rae and Amber walk into the house. Zhou Mi’s a little disappointed that Donghae’s not with them, and he misses the look that Henry gives the shifter as Zhou Mi dips his head towards the women as they walk into the kitchen.

“Oh you’re up Mi.” Ha Rae gives him a smile. “Donghae went to pick Kyuhyun and a few others up. We’re having a little pow wow about how to rescue Yesung.”

Zhou Mi sits up straight at the news. “Do we have a location?”

Ha Rae nodded. “I was over in Chungcheon Province with a potential business contract when I felt his Pack bonds get stronger. I told Jungsuk and BoA while you were on your way here, Mi.”

Zhou Mi raised an eyebrow. So things had been happening while he was….preoccupied. “Is Ryeowook coming?” He asked suddenly.

“No, but we could probably page him. What’s up?” Ha Rae asked, immediately going into noona mode.

“I’m not sure, and I think Ryeowook may have the answer for me, or, at least a direction I could use to start on.” Zhou Mi admitted. “I’ve felt clearer headed since being here, and I’m not even thinking about .”

The others raised their eyebrows. They’ve all known, Henry included, that Zhou Mi’s admitted he thinks Siwon’s his mate. “What do you mean? Haven’t you bonded with Siwon?” Amber asks, eyes shining with confusion.

“No. Feline shifters tend to take their mates slowly. It’s something to do with our insatiable need to make sure our mates are 100% comfortable with being mated for life.” Zhou Mi says, frowning. He sighs. “I can’t explain this very well considering I don’t even know….” Zhou Mi trails off, his frustration at trying to explain things to 2 humans and one canine showing.

The others stay silent allowing Zhou Mi to collect his thoughts before he starts again. “I don’t feel like anything is different from before I met Siwon.” Zhou Mi admits after analyzing his body with Niqui.

The cheetah’s been content since he’s woken up, which is something he’s not had in over a month. Zhou Mi had been used to his feline being chatty long enough that the absence of it has startled the shifter. “Even my feline is quiet, which he’s not been since a month ago.”

The others take in this information quietly. They know they are getting rare insight into how a feline operates since Zhou Mi, Yujin and Seungri are still the only feline shifters in the Pack.

Ha Rae’s been secretly contacting the few other Packs to gain a feeling about what they knew about feline shifters. Unfortunately for her, most of the other Packs had no information whatsoever, and the few Packs that knew things wanted something in exchange for the information.

Negotiations with other Packs is something left to the Alpha or Beta, so she had to pass what little information she had on to Jungsuk and BoA, praying the mated leaders of the Pack could extract more information out of them than she’d gotten.

“I’ll give Wookie a call.” Ha Rae says in the silence after Zhou Mi’s confession about his feline. Even she knows that Niqui’s behavior is unusual for a shifter.

“Have you two even had ?” Amber asks suddenly, eyes alight with curiosity. She’s barely got the question finished when Henry smacks her on the arm. “Hey, it’s a perfectly legit question.” She grumbles at Henry, pushing at him.

“No.” Zhou Mi’s honest.

“Kissed?” Amber’s smacking Henry’s arm before the male has a chance to protest more about her questioning.

“Only recently.” Zhou Mi’s face heats up a little remembering the make out session that could have turned into more had they not gotten called about Min Yeon.

“Do you think maybe he’s not really your mate but related to someone who is?” The question throws Zhou Mi off.

Ha Rae walks back into the kitchen at that moment, her face showing no emotion. “Ryeowook will be here in a half hour.”

Zhou Mi looks at Amber, mouth snapping shut at the innocent question she’d posed. He mulls it over while Henry starts berating Amber for asking such personal questions to Zhou Mi.

The cousins stop bickering when they hear the familiar voices of Donghae and Kyuhyun discussing some event that had happened on the latest historical drama that Kyuhyun was obsessed with as they walked into the house.

A/N: I apologize for the long wait and the fact this is only one chapter when I've been working on 3 more chapters to give everyone an apology for taking so long on the editing!

I would have had this chapter up on the 15th, but as it turns out, my pharmacology homework took the entire week as it was a 40 question quiz for the start of the semester, and the subject is not easy in the slightest. This weeks' homework turned out to be much smaller (16 questions instead of 40), and so I finished in a lot less time than I'd expected. Last week was just such a tornado of activity with getting clinical schedules and figuring out homework deadlines, and organizing my study space that by the time I realized I'd not only forgotten to upload a chapter here, but I hadn't even worked on any writing (editing or otherwise) for over a week. 

With that in mind, I am going to make good on my promise to get more chapters up this week, as it's a short week for me, only class tomorrow and clincal computer orientation on Wed, leaving my Thursday and Friday open so expect to see at least 1 or 2 more chapters up by the end of the week.

And thank you to my subscribers!! I'm very happy you all are still with me and I hope you will continue to stay with me as the story progresses.