There were multiple things going through his head when he took the drink. But he acted like a man and drank the brandy in one shot just like they told him to.

“You handle your liquor well Luhan.”

A clap on the back and some chuckles from the older men.

“Thank you sir.” Luhan put the glass down and smiled.

Another clap on the back.

“Very good. Back to the game!” Assemblyman Ahn was amicable when he wanted to be.

Luhan had arrived at the greens earlier than the Assemblyman and the rest of the golf party. He was dressed smartly, in an olive and dark brown argyle, with khaki pants and no socks topping off his rich boy ensemble. He was dressed the part, he just had to act the part.

Luhan thought he was doing pretty well. He showed the respect that was due to the much older men that came to play the game alongside Sohee’s Father. He seldom spoke, but when he did he tried to prove he knew a lot about golf and business – well, as much as someone his age with his background should know. Judging by the responses he was getting everyone was pretty impressed.

As the golf party reached the 12^th hole of the course Luhan checked his watch. Hopefully Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were having as smooth of a day as he was. By Luhan’s reckoning they would have another two hours or so to get into the penthouse and out – seeing as the maid should be done with work by this time.

“Mr. Ahn tells me you are the only son of Sun Capital.” One of the men, Mr. Lee something (Luhan couldn’t remember his full name), asked him.

“Yes, sir.” Luhan nodded. He knew it was this fact that had gotten him invited in the first place – if Sohee had brought home the son of the farmer he wouldn’t be offered an invitation to golf. The only son of a successful asset management firm was a prize – because Sun Capital was a very wealthy firm.

“You seem like a bright young man.” Mr. Lee continued, “Do you play mahjong, Luhan?”

Luhan had in the past, but he was far from skilled at the game. But they didn’t need to know that. “Yes, I enjoy it.”

“Ahhh. Are you a member of Club M?” Mr. Lee asked before making a comment on Assemblyman Ahn’s latest golf .

“No, sir.”

“Well, consider yourself a guest. If you are free on Sunday you should come play with us. It is refreshing to have younger people around, especially someone as well-mannered and competitive as yourself.”

“Thank you sir, I would be excited to come play.”

Mr. Lee nodded and smiled, patting Luhan on the back, “Good, good. Your shot Luhan.”

Luhan gripped the golf club and approached the tee. It felt like he was getting somewhere. If he went to Club M he would be in the heart of the people who were the most suspect when it came to the government’s involvement in the hybrid “problem”. Maybe everything was worth it after all. Now he had to just pray that Chanyeol and Kyungsoo found something worthwhile as well.

***

Chanyeol was an idiot. Which is why he let Kyungsoo kick the crap out of him- he deserved it. Which is why he spent about an hour on his knees begging Minseok to forgive him. Minseok had every reason to be mad, and Chanyeol expected it. But he had apparently discounted his pack leader’s hormonally driven mood swings of late when he thought about his punishment- which made the scolding he received for revealing his hybrid nature a thousand times worse. There was yelling, some tears, and a few words that ripped his soul in two.

Finally Minseok had relented, telling Chanyeol he would forgive him if he did something useful – sooner rather than later- to help them in their quest for hybrid rights. Which is why he found himself with Kyungsoo scoping out the Ahn penthouse.

Luhan had assured them that the family would be out of the house for a period of at least two hours that morning. Sohee’s Mom was on a weekend trip to Hong Kong while Luhan was with Assemblyman Ahn at the moment. Sohee had dance practice that morning, which meant she would be gone as well. The maid usually finished up early on Saturday, and the security guards would be with the Assemblyman.

Kyungsoo was the natural person to break into the penthouse, he had made breaking and entering a specialty of his when the Cloud Mountain Pack had lived on the streets. Chanyeol was not lacking in the department either, having done his fair share of burglaries in order to find food, money or both. Minseok had lectured both on the need to not be caught on camera, which is why they had to cut the power to the penthouse prior to gaining entry.

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo would work together to reach the electrical box. They just needed to wait a little bit, the maid had left only a few minutes ago.

“If you f*** this up you know Minseok hyung is going to kill you.” Kyungsoo said matter-of-factly, focused on the candy bar he was eating.

“Thanks for reminding me.” Chanyeol stared up and down the street, checking the side mirrors and rearview mirror. It was a good thing they had a van (courtesy of Luhan), it made sitting and waiting that much easier.

“No problem” Kyungsoo answered flippantly, finishing up his candy bar.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes but his head was turned so Kyungsoo didn’t notice the rebuke. Chanyeol knew the plan, heck he had memorized it well. He was sorry, very sorry, for his stupid mistakes that had effected his entire pack. He wouldn’t mess this up.

Another few minutes and Chanyeol and Kyungsoo gave each other a reassuring looks before leaving the van. They had to do well. The plan was to enter through a utility door, posing as utility workers. If everything was in order, as Luhan told them it would be, they would be able to get past any security or other workers. Apparently manufacturing a work order for their services was fairly easy given Luhan’s resources.

Kyungsoo opened the back of the van and pulled out a tool box, Chanyeol grabbed a clipboard. They walked with the utmost confidence to the utility door, near the back of the imposing building. Chanyeol had to block the camera from capturing Kyungsoo’s lock picking so his position was extremely important.

Standing where Tao had told him, he read his clipboard while talking to Kyungsoo. His words were not important, they were an on camera diversion to not raise any suspicions. Apparently the omega had not lost his touch as he managed to open the door within a minute. Chanyeol turned, following him into the apartment complex.

The 32^nd floor was their destination. They had to take the service elevator. Thankfully the hallways that played host to housekeeping, building maintenance, and security were empty. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol reached the elevator without any issue.

Once they were on the 32^nd floor Kyungsoo worked quickly, cutting the power to the CCTV and the upper third of the building.

After the lights flickered off Chanyeol grabbed Kyungsoo’s arm, hurrying him along to the stairs. They didn’t speak as they climbed flight after flight to penthouse. Luhan had warned them about the tight security here – with the power off the door would be on lockdown. They had to pry it open.

Chanyeol managed to jimmy the door open without making a lot of noise, revealing a small hallway that fronted the penthouse. Kyungsoo did the rest – the backup power for the penthouse’s security system was still on. The omega approached the door, passing a key card in front of it. As expected a click was heard as the door unlocked, he thanked the heavens they had the funds nowadays to purchase something as useful as this. Kyungsoo gave Chanyeol a nod as they entered the penthouse.

It was grand, that was for sure. Kyungsoo realized that this politician had to be on the slightly crooked side to live in a place as luxurious as this, especially given the fact his family background did not add up to a wealthy lifestyle.

Quickly dismissing questions of wealth, the pair of hybrids had a job to do. The best case was that they were able to find something related to the hybrid purge in Assemblyman Ahn’s home office. Pessimistically the man was far more intelligent and would have nothing to incriminate him at his place of residence. But they still had to try.

Luhan had mentioned that Ahn’s study was in the eastern part of the penthouse, which is what the two made a path for. As they neared a double door, which according to Luhan was where they could find the office, they heard a loud noise behind them.

Chanyeol grabbed Kyungsoo by the arm at the noise, looking around wildly he pulled the smaller man into a room and shut the door.  The two listened as they heard the front door of the penthouse open, too afraid to breathe.

***

“Who are they?” Minseok asked, stuffing his mouth with another lettuce wrap.

“Who?” Sung Woo asked, half ignoring his son as he fed another bite of a wrap to Victoria.

“The ones that were with you when you took Sehun and Tao.” Minseok said like it was nothing. Yesterday Tao and Sehun had reported that the wolf involved in the subway attack was affiliated with the same men that had helped Sung Woo kidnap them. This news had not really come as a surprise given the fact Sung Woo and Assemblyman Ahn were as good as partners in crime.

Still, Minseok had to try. With Luhan out playing golf with the enemy and the Chanyeol and Kyungsoo doing a little breaking and entering, Minseok felt like he needed to do something as well. So he had asked his father to lunch.

“Those guys?” Sung Woo looked a little surprised, “Why?”

“I thought maybe you hired them. I…um..Luhan and I were wondering if they were for hire, hypothetically I mean.”

“Why would you need to hire them?” Sung Woo raised an eyebrow at his son’s question.

“Well, with the recent attack I am getting a little nervous. What if we are attacked by humans or something?” Minseok asked, trying to play the worried card. It seemed to work.

“You won’t need to hire them, but yeah, they are pretty much mercenaries. If you need them let me know, I will contact them.” Sung Woo answered firmly.

“Thanks” Minseok didn’t know how else to respond without raising suspicions.

“By the way, where is Luhan? Is he not taking good care of my son?” Sung Woo asked, noting that once again he was seeing his son alone.

Minseok wanted to yell, scream at these words. While Luhan loved him, loved their pups, his own father was willing to sacrifice his grandchildren. And he had the nerve to comment that Luhan was neglecting him- it pissed him off.

“I am sure he is just busy.” Victoria flashed a smile. She had made sure that once Sung Woo mentioned seeing Minseok for lunch she was tagging along. It was much easier for her to play the charming one, because as unfortunate as it was, she probably had Sung Woo’s trust more than his own son did.

“Yeah, he is at dance practice.” Minseok smiled. It was fake as fake could be because in all reality he was a little torn inside that yet again Luhan was tending to something Sohee related. Yet he couldn’t hate him for it because all of it was for them- for both packs, including the unborn pups. He had to be the better person here.

 “Tell him I want to see him soon, he is neglecting my son.” Sung Woo took another big bite of wrap, chewing loudly.

“I will tell him.” Minseok answered, staring into his bowl of rice. He would tell him, at least in order to voice his frustration at his Father’s words – hopefully after he came home with good news. And then there was Chanyeol and Kyungsoo…he dearly hoped they were okay too.

***

Chanyeol stiffened. Someone was most certainly walking around the penthouse, making as much noise as they pleased.

“WTF! Why are the lights like this?” It was Sohee, with all of her frivioloity, making a heck of a lot of noise.

An upbeat pop song rang out.

“Hello?”

Kyungsoo and Chanyeol listened. She must have received a phone call. They were not sure what room they were in at the moment, hopefully it was not somewhere that Sohee was thinking of entering. To be sure Chanyeol held the doorknob tightly.

“Yeah, so um….I didn’t, but I am going to today.”

They listened to the one sided conversation, unable to ignore it given their current circumstance.

“I know – right! But seriously, I don’t know how he is going to take it.”

Sohee was getting closer, her voice was louder.

“I mean he is like BFFs with Dad now, but still….”

“Yeah, he should be cool with it. I mean, how many other people are asked to be the face of a campaign?! It is so good papa thinks he is worth it!”

There was some inaudible squealing that Kyungsoo thought sounded like a dying pig, then Sohee continued.

“He is sooooo husband material! Seriously, you can be my bridesmaid! Like I was thinking...”

And she dawdled on and on and on. Kyungsoo felt Chanyeol’s hand on his shoulder, give a reassuring squeeze. If they made it out alive from listening to Sohee talk on the phone it would be a miracle – because it felt like their brains cells were slowly dying from just listening to the girl.

***

Luhan found Minseok asleep, buried in blankets as he napped on their bed. It was a beautiful sight to see after such a tense morning.

Luhan had arrived home a few minutes ago. Suho had assured him that Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were fine – they had shot him a text as they left the penthouse, letting his mind go into an easy state. That is until he saw his mate, the person carrying his children, look so damn good. Then his mind wasn’t easy, it was busy.

He crawled into bed slowly, trying not to wake Minseok. At this point he wanted to do things with his mate that were not related to sleep, but he knew Minseok needed rest so he cuddled up to his mate instead. Minseok made a small noise and moved back, fitting himself into Luhan’s arms.

“How did it go?’ Minseok asked groggily.

“I got an invitation to Club M.” Luhan whispered, planting a kiss on his mate’s cheek.

“Hmmm. That is good.” Minseok muttered, cuddling into Luhan.

“Yeah.” Luhan gripped Minseok tighter, relishing the contact.

“Wait -Are Chanyeol and Kyungsoo home?!” Minseok shot up, leaving Luhan to fall a bit against the bed as his hold was broken.” I shouldn’t have fallen asleep!”

“Suho said they are on their way back.” Luhan giggled at his mate’s tired and excited expression, it was adorable. “So, how was lunch?”

Minseok took a deep breath, it was a good think Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were safe. He really would never have imagined falling asleep while his pack members were doing something so dangerous- but he sat on the bed after he got home and was asleep almost instantly.

“He said he could call them if we needed them – in other words I don’t need to know.” Minseok answered, smoothing a hand through his messy hair recalling how his Father had shut down any questions about the rogue wolves.

Luhan sat up next to him, “Sounds about right” He put his arm on the small of Minseok’s back, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. You?” Minseok asked.

“Sure, if you will go on a date with me tonight that is?” Luhan smiled that eye crinkling smile.

“Tonight?” Minseok questioned. With everything that was going on he didn’t expect the two of them to go on a date for a while. After all they were all busy with current events.

“Yeah. I think we can spare a couple of hours.” Luhan moved his other hand to take Minseok’s hand, gripping it lightly he continued, “Minseok, will you spend the night with me?”

“You are so greasy.” Minseok snatched his hand away and laughed, “Yes Luhan, I will go on a date with you. As long as EVERYTHING is okay.”

A loud knock sounded on the door, like Minseok had beckoned it with is words, “Kyungsoo and Chanyeol are back.”

It was Suho. Minseok and Luhan were quick to drop their flirtations and make their way to the study, where the two men waited for them.

When they entered the room it was evident that things did not go smoothly.

“How do you put up with that girl?!” Chanyeol asked, standing up to approach Luhan in a pleading manner.

“Right?” Minseok muttered under his breath.

“What happened?” Luhan asked, alarmed at the sight of the two.

“We spent an hour listening to her talk on the phone! I thought she was supposed to be at dance practice!” Chanyeol asked, near mock tears.

“She was...” Luhan sat down, thinking “Did she skip it?”

“According to her phone call she got cramps and left. “ Kyungsoo looked from Minseok to Luhan and back to Minseok, “And I hope you know she is going to ask lover boy here to be the face of her Father’s campaign.”

“What?!” Luhan and Minseok asked simultaneously.

“Yeah – she said it during her call. Luhan hyung, looks like they want you as a spokesperson you lucky dog you. Sounds like Dad is going to be asking you to be the young face for the next Presidential campaign” Chanyeol grinned, but quickly changed his expression to a frown when Minseok shot him a death look.

“Oh chri-“Luhan shut his eyes tightly and shook his head. Sohee would be the death of him -that is if Minseok didn’t kill him first, “Did you find anything out besides a modeling offer?”

Luhan had an inkling that Assemblyman Ahn would probably be running for president in the next year – heck, the rumor was everywhere. But still, choosing him as the youth representative of the campaign was nothing he had considered.

“Well, he isn’t an idiot.” Kyungsoo said, pulling his phone from his pocket, “But he isn’t a genius either. There was a safe but the only thing in it was money and a few keys. I found this in his desk drawer.”

Kyungsoo turned his phone to Luhan and Minseok to show several documents he had taken pictures of.

“If I read this correctly it identifies a likely location for a hybrid experimentation lab.”

Minseok snatched the phone from Kyungsoo’s hand. The location of a lab would be extremely helpful in their fight for hybrid rights. Swiping through the documents he noticed the recurring mention of a site somewhere north of Seoul.

“It doesn’t say it directly, but the language suggests it.” Kyungsoo explained.

The words had a lot to do with issues, with security threats, with Assemblyman Ahn and his expertise. If this wasn’t about hybrids it was still important – maybe his involvement in a camp for humans would be just as beneficial in winning this war.

“Good job guys.” Luhan, looking over Minseok’s should, paid the two a compliment.

“Thanks hyung.” Chanyeol smiled brightly. He hoped this was at least a start towards redeeming himself for his past mistakes.

***

Minseok could, on some level, understand Sohee. After all it was understandable that she was obsessed with Luhan. While Minseok spent more than a little time hating his mate in the beginning, as his opinion towards the man warmed he had to fully admit he knew how to charm someone. It was just his personality- the way he could switch between an endearing, almost childlike, personality and then back to a strong and determined individual could thaw the coldest of hearts. And then there was the fact he was hot, that helped too. No wonder the girl was obsessed with him.

“You think I am handsome, don’t you?” Luhan grinned at Minseok. They were seated in the town car, making their way towards the location of their date. Minseok had no idea where they were going – Luhan had promised that he would plan it all after all.  After putting on a nice button down shirt and slacks, making sure his hair was just the right mixture of mussy and styled, Minseok had followed his mate to the waiting car – ready for wherever it would take them.

“No.” Minseok turned his head to look out the window.

“Pshhh.” Luhan couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face. Finally he was taking Minseok on a date. A date that he deserved. Happiness was not a strong enough descriptor to explain what Luhan was feeling at the moment.

“Close your eyes.” Luhan nudged Minseok.

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

Minseok obliged, closing his eyes and covering them with his hands. The car ride went on for a few more minutes with Luhan placing a hand on Minseok’s thigh in a rather flirtatious manner.

“Sorry, just a little bit more” Luhan explained, “I want you to be surprised.”

Finally Minseok felt the car come to a stop.

“Can I look?”

“No, just hold my hand.” Luhan placed a sleep mask over Minseok’s eyes before taking his hand (making Minseok wonder why he had to close his eyes to begin with, but he just gripped the hand in front of him tightly and followed along).

“Watch your step.” Luhan guided him up a few steps. Minseok took a deep breath, trying to sightlessly identify where they were, but nothing.

Luhan was leading him up another set of stairs, which made thing familiar. Minseok didn’t ask, but he had a sudden feeling he knew exactly where he was. And then he felt Luhan let go of his hand and step behind him. With his hands on Minseok’s waist, Luhan urged him forward. Then he heard it, the faint tinkling of music. Soft but so pretty.

“Take off your blindfold” Luhan whispered, his breath ghosting against Minseok’s neck.

Minseok lifted off the blindfold to reveal a room – a room that was painted in blue, with murals on each wall – of mountains, of a forest, of the sea, of the night sky. A room that had olive green accents, had two cribs decorated in pale green. A changing table, a toy box, two mobiles with animals playing soft music as they spun around.

“Do you like it?” Luhan whispered, his hands tightening around Minseok.

Minseok wasn’t sure what to say. Of course he liked it. He realized he was home – Luhan’s date had taken him back where they had started, but it had revealed something he did not know existed. When did Luhan have time to set up the nursery?

“Everyone is gone – sent them to the hotel. So it is just us here” Luhan kissed Minseok’s neck, still waiting for a response from his mate.

“I love you.” Minseok answered not trusting himself to turn around. If he did so Luhan would see the tears.

“Dinner is ready downstairs if you want to love me over food.” Luhan laughed as he planted another kiss on his mate’s neck.

“Really?” Minseok smiled, a few more tears falling. A few months back he could not even imagine this scene – how he stood staring at a nursery for his pups. For their pups. For their family. It was too much.

“Don’t cry.” Luhan had sensed it. He released Minseok so he could turn him around to face him, “You know I am always going to take care of us, right.”

Minseok sniffled, “So will I.”

“Then we should be all set.” Luhan smiled, tears in his eyes as well. The emotional connection he felt with Minseok always seemed to trump any kind of friendship, any kind of sense of family, any sense of belonging, he had ever felt in his life. There was something there he could not describe in words. When they said they would take care of each other they meant it – even if they had not known each other for years their trust was already complete. Brushing a tear from Minseok’s cheek he took his hand in his and led him to the dining room.

The dining table was beautifully set, a flower arrangement bursting with spring colors in the middle of the heavy wood table.

“I will be your waiter tonight, my dear.” Luhan did a mock bow as Minseok took a seat, “So bear with me.”

“If I have to” Minseok grinned, eager to watch Lu-waiter in action.

Luhan scrambled to the kitchen, silently praising So Ra for helping him set everything up. The main course should be in the oven on low heat – ready to serve. Of course there was the first course, which was also prepared and ready to be served.

Minseok waited patiently for Luhan to return, still not finished with his overwhelming feelings concerning Luhan setting up the nursery. It was actually a pretty brave act from his mate given the fact that Minseok could fully admit that he was not the easiest person to please. So seeing such a beautiful room prepared for the pups was touching. By Luhan no less. By his Luhan.

Minseok played with the napkin in front of him as he thought back to everything that had happened lately. To how bad things had been – but how good they had been at times too. He was so deep in thought that he jumped when his cell phone rang.

He noticed it was Chanyeol’s number. Luhan was still busy in the kitchen so he answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hyung! Hyung!” Chanyeol sounded out of breath, “Hyung there was another attack...” panting, gulping, as Chanyeol caught his breath, “It was at the hotel.”

Minseok felt his blood run cold. Ice cold. An attack at the Eastern Dawn’s hotel?

Minseok didn’t have time to respond to Chanyeol before he heard Luhan yelling- likely getting the same type of call.

“What…what happened?” Minseok asked quickly.

“I don’t know, there was just a commotion in the lobby. Hyung….god, there was blood everywhere. Another hybrid attacked people. Hyung…”

The door to the kitchen opened slowly, revealing Luhan with his phone to his ear. His face was pale, he looked sick. Minseok stared back at him, his own phone to his ear, certain he did not look any better.

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a/n- a bit of a longer update for y’all. Hope you enjoyed it, as always drop me a comment with things you want to see, things you love, or things you want to punch in the face. I am on tumblr as well, so feel free to drop me a message if you are having extreme Xiuhan feels or just want to chat. Thanks for reading!