Minseok blinked, straining his eyes he tried to make out his surroundings. He remembered a fight and Luhan and….

He felt a weight on his leg.  He was lying down on a bed. He focused his vision and realized he was in bed – in his room at the mansion.

He propped himself up on one arm, staring at the source of the pressure on his leg. It was Luhan, fast asleep and snoring lightly. It made Minseok smile for more than one reason. Firstly it meant Luhan was alive – the fight had not killed him. Second it meant that the first person Minseok had the pleasure to talk to post-unconsciousness was the idiot that had started the whole thing.

With a jerk of Minseok’s leg Luhan bolted up, shock on his face mixed with a sleepy confusion that was more than a little attractive (even if Minseok was not in the mood to admit it).

“Yah! What were you doing back there starting a fight?!” Minseok’s voice was hoarse, his words fell out quickly but with a rough edge.

Luhan thought he was dreaming.

“Whhaaat?” He asked, not expecting a scolding the first second Minseok woke up.

“I could have handled that you idiot!” Minseok jerked his leg again, practically pushing Luhan away from him.

“You could have died!” Luhan blurted out, not ready to back down from this impromptu argument, “I was trying to save you!”

“And die in the process? Have our packs killed?” Minseok turned over dramatically, wincing in pain as the pain from his injury made itself known.

“Minseokie!” Luhan whined, “I-“

“Go! I don’t want to see you right now.”

“I was trying to protect you!” Luhan felt his anger rise. How could he be scolded so unmercifully for saving his lover’s life?!

“And I need you to protect me?” Minseok raised an eyebrow, staring Luhan down.

“You are the person that stepped into a warehouse of wolves ALONE!” Luhan shouted.

“Yeah, and I had it handled until you had to start a brawl!” Minseok threw a pillow towards Luhan, his anger getting the best of him.

Luhan caught the plush projectile, grabbing it in a death grip.

“Are you seriously yelling at me for saving you?!”

“I DON’T NEED TO BE SAVED LUHAN! GET THE OUT!”

Luhan was dejected, looking like a lost puppy as he pleaded with his eyes. It was to no avail, however, as Minseok refused to look at him. His petty anger got the better of him.

“Fine. You don’t need me. I get it. Well…you can take the mate thing and throw it out the ING window!” Luhan shouted back, storming out of the room with a door slam to announce his exit. As soon as he was in the hallway he regretted what he said.

Minseok regretted it too, because his heart felt like it had ripped in two.

A few minutes later when Luhan tried to reenter the room and apologize on his hands and knees he found the door locked. A day ago he would have pounded at the door until Minseok opened it. Today, however, he was tired. He was hurt. And he was happy that Minseok was alive. He would fix this mess one way or another, but not that second. Especially not that second. Because a limping Sehun was making his way down the hall, his face strained in pain as he limped towards his leader.

“Hyung..” Sehun whimpered, “I am sorry.”

Luhan nodded, not finding the words to express his forgiveness. He met the pup in a hug, holding his youngest pack member tightly. They all needed to heal from this and it would be foolish to not recognize it would take some time.  

***

“Nothing. We couldn’t pick up a scent and that old bastard is nowhere to be found either” Yixing reported his findings to Luhan. It had been a day since the scuffle with the other wolves. Luhan had directed Yixing along with the other alphas to partake in recon work around the scene of the scuffle. After all they had made more than one comment about Minseok being a target- he needed to know how much danger they were in. Lovers quarrel or not – harsh words or not- he couldn’t see Minseok hurt.

Luhan ran his hand through his hair in frustration. The old wolf was usually a phone call away – but with the recent turn of events it was no surprise the lone wolf was not taking his calls. And the other wolves, it would be stupid if they had remained near the scene of the crime.

“Should we leave here? Go into hiding?” Yixing asked, wide eyed and curious at how his pack leader would address the growing danger.

Luhan sighed. The last thing he wanted was to have his pack in danger. The problem was a lack of places of refuge, at least nowhere as well equipped as their current home. The security system, the resources they had in Seoul, would be forfeited if they decided to hightail it to another locale.

“We have to be on guard, we have to find them. But we are not leaving.”

Yixing nodded. He would follow his leader, even if he had a less than warm and fuzzy feeling about the situation.

“What about school? What about the café?”

“Keep running it. We will keep attending. But Minseok is not leaving this house.”

“Good luck with that” Yixing mumbled under his breath, nodding sheepishly when Luhan shot him an annoyed look.

***

Minseok placed a hand on his abdomen. So when would he be able to notice it, he wondered. When would he show? How many pups would he have…would they look like Luhan, would they look like him, or a perfect mixture of their features – both wolf and human? Would they be annoying jerks like their Father or…

“You are pregnant.” The physician had announced, his face alight with the news.

Minseok felt a bit like throwing up. He was not sure if that was the pregnancy or the news of the pregnancy that made him nauseous. After all he was not speaking to his mate at the moment, so this bit of news complicated things.

“Don’t tell Luhan.” Minseok had asked the doctor, “Let me tell him”

The physician had consented, after a quick check in with So Ra (which left Minseok a bit offended, but he quickly brushed it off). Luhan would find out about the pregnancy when he told him – and he planned to tell him as soon as the desire to punch him in the face subsided.

For now he had a pack to face, lovers quarrel or not. It had been a day since Luhan had spoken such bitter words- longer than that since his Omega status had been confirmed. He had yet to truly face his pack. To chat with them. To understand their problems, their worries, and their state of mind given recent developments.

Minseok pushed the pregnancy from his mind. He looked in the mirror. He looked tired, haggard. But alive. He tried to give himself a smile, but it was all weakness and uncertainty. With that he left his room and made his way to the home’s large eastern sitting room.

The Cloud Mountain pack was waiting for him there. The sitting room was decorated much like the rest of the home- minimalism met with bold and powerful colors gave the room an airy but grounded feeling. The four men who were waiting for Minseok in the room looked lost, looked out of sorts, looked like they needed this discussion as much as Minseok did.

 Chanyeol had a sour look on his face, his uncomfortable demeanor immediately evident. Suho was tired, he could tell right way. Tao had bandages on his forehead and arm, he was in a sad state as he hung his head low. Kyungsoo sat with his knees up, hugged to his chest. He looked like a lost puppy. This was not going to be easy.

Minseok tried to muster all the confidence he possessed as he entered the room, taking a seat in one of the mustard patterned chairs. Silence hung in the air. He shifted in his chair, wringing his hands without an idea of how to start. And then it came simply, honestly.

“I am sorry” Minseok spoke the words after what seemed like hours of silence, the pack lost in their own thoughts.

“For what?” Suho asked, his eyes alight. Minseok knew his second in command would bet the one who stood behind him, the one who would question his actions the least.

“For everything,” Minseok answered, “For being an Omega. For letting you down. For letting Tao be captured. For being injured. For ever-“

“Hyung- stop it!” Tao cried out, his emotions taking charge “It is my fault I was captured!”

“Yeah, it is his fault!” Chanyeol’s anger had boiled over and he was ready to express his frustrations “He wandered around when he knew there was danger. And what ABOUT you? You were shacked up with that blonde rich kid!”

Minseok felt the tears coming and they were more than warranted. Yet the anger came too. The anger over his own actions. Over being so foolish as to ever get involved with the Eastern Dawn Pack. His anger over the fact he had essentially abandoned his pack while he spent time with Luhan at the hotel. His anger over everything.

“Chanyeol…”Kyungsoo shot him a dirty look.

“No, he is right.” Minseok answered tearfully, “I let you guys down. Which is why I understand if you don’t want to be part of the pack anymore.”

“Hyung!” Tao and Kyungsoo answered in unison.

“No, hear me. I cannot admit that I led this pack well. We suffered, we had to live on the streets. We didn’t have enough to eat most of the time,” Minseok looked at the floor, memories flashing in his mind, “We were weak and I tried to pretend we were strong. We lost our flat. We lost our livelihood. I did shack up with the rich kid. I am an Omega, I am mated, and I let you down. Leave. I understand”

Chanyeol, who was so embroiled in his anger, felt his fire thaw with his leader’s words. Even if they were simple words of admitted failure they meant something- especially given the pack’s history. Still, this was not something to forgive easily.

“Why? Why should we follow you?” Chanyeol asked, his eyes wide.

“I..” Minseok paused, “I love you guys. I am not sure you should follow me though…but I truly love all of you.”

More silence.

“Hyung, I don’t want to leave” Suho said it first, “Omega or not I will follow you.”

“Hyuuunnngggg” Tao whined, tears flowing freely, “I can’t leave. How could I leave?”

Kyungsoo simply nodded, while Chanyeol sighed.

Chanyeol was the hold out, the impassioned one. But he even felt his resolve slipping. They had too much history…there was too much honesty in Minseok’s words.

“Leader” Chanyeol whispered, bowing his head to Minseok. It was an epiphany if you will, how he came to understand. It was the tears of the man who led them for years that pushed his mind towards that concept called loyalty. It was the tears that made him think again of why his anger existed to begin with.

Minseok lost it, practically sobbing. He loved his pack. He loved his pack more because they had decided to stay together.

a/n- Hello love hate! It be back again. Sorry for the short chapter. I am on the verge of promising this will be more than 16 chapters, largely because I cannot keep from having more complex plans on where this storyline is going (and I will fully admit it strayed from the original plan, which was a 16 chap story).

Let me know what you like about the story so far- and what you dislike. I am very curious to hear what everyone thinks about our characters. I always feel like I at writing Taohun! I can’t capture all of that sass and love, or at least it feels like I can’t!

Thanks for reading and I will try to update soon. Updates will probably be coming more infrequently than the first 10 chapters because real life has slapped me in the face, but I will try to keep this up to date at least weekly if not more!