The Hotel Eastern Sun was impressive. Impressive enough to further Minseok’s annoyance that Luhan had the Cloud Mountain pack move in with him and not into the hotel. It was a selfish act, really.

The Presidential suite at the hotel was on the top floor- Minseok had always thought rooms at the top floor were called penthouses, but what did he know.

“Do you like it?” Luhan asked after giving Minseok the grand tour. Luhan watched Minseok’s expressions closely, wondering if this additional show of wealth would cause a kick in the shins or worse- a verbal bout leaving him feeling like he messed up yet again.

“It is..nice” Minseok answered, walking towards the floor to ceiling windows that gave a to die for view of the city of Seoul.

“Thanks.” Luhan admired the view himself. It had been awhile since he had been here- after all it was far more profitable for guests to occupy the five thousand dollar a night suite than for the pack to crash here.

“Why don’t you work here instead of the café?” Minseok asked.

“I am not really a suit and tie kind of guy.” Luhan brushed a hand through his unruly blonde hair. “I have good people that run this.”

“You are young to have all of this” Minseok gestured with his hand, describing “all of this” with a sweep of his hand.

“I don’t deserve it.” Luhan answered. It had been a few hours since the rest of the pack had gone to their rooms, under the close supervision of So Ra. The woman was a lifesaver. She had the omegas (and Tao) in individual rooms, which were locked from the outside yet completely accessible from her own chambers. The alphas were given one large room – with the master suite cleverly reserved for the leaders. Of course Minseok didn’t know that detail yet, or he would probably be busy throwing Luhan through the window.

“Why?” Minseok asked. It was an honest question. Even after a month he knew little to nothing about Luhan’s childhood. Mostly because he told himself he could care less where the spoiled wolf came from.

“Because my father is the one who made it all. Earned the respect- I just walked into it” Luhan’s words were honest, full of sadness and longing.

“So you are a spoiled rich kid?” Minseok handled sorrow with humor, even if he half meant his words.

“Pretty much.” Luhan answered, “Well, spoiled rich wolf.”

Minseok chuckled. “How did he make so much money?”

“Honestly I am not entirely sure. But there was a large bank account and plenty of connections waiting here when So Ra brought me into Seoul. To me, my Father was a leader, an Alpha, a person of respect that led us in our forest home. We didn’t live like this… when I was growing up. When I got here I had money…I just made more of it.”

After some moments of silence the pair made their way to the suite’s balcony. The overhang offering fresh air and a closer look at the nightscape, which was dancing alive with neon lights. Luhan grabbed some brandy, handing Minseok a drink. It was quiet for some time, both men admiring the city view before them.

“I barely remember my Father.” It was spoken in almost a whisper- a small but welcome confession to cut the silence of the night.

 Minseok had no idea why he said it. This was personal- and Luhan was the last person he wanted to share personal, deep dark thoughts with. Maybe it was the brandy, the night air, or something else- but he felt like talking.

“What do you remember? What was he like?” Luhan asked. This was the first time Minseok had mentioned his past- well other than when he was yelling at Luhan for not knowing what coming from a lab felt like. Luhan knew he should tread carefully, but he also wanted to know. After reading a portion of Minseok’s profile he had burned to know more. But his desire for Minseok’s personal history was rooted in something other than simple curiosity; Luhan wanted to know how wronged Minseok had been. Luhan wanted to understand how to protect him.

“He was grey, like rain clouds. When he shifted he was huge…or at least that is what I remember.” Minseok spoke sadly. “He used to tell me that Mount Halla had been our home for centuries; that we were there to protect it.”

“You are from Jeju Island?” Luhan asked. Of course he knew that Minseok was from Mount Halla, but he couldn’t let Minseok know that he had read a good number of government documents outlining this fact.

“Yeah. Mount Halla. It is beautiful there. At least what I remember of it.”

“It is.”

Minseok felt a slight pang of jealousy nearing that Luhan visited his home territory. But then again Minseok had no means to go back, he should curb his jealousy.

“He was well respected. He wasn’t the leader…his brother was leader of the pack. But Father was still so proud…”

“What was the leader like?”

“Larger, fiercer, and far angrier than my father.” Minseok flashed back to those times- when everything- even in a pack setting - were not fully of love and sunshine. It hurt seeing his Father attacked. It hur-

“My Father used to say that little wolves who did not listen to their parents were eaten by a giant cat.” Luhan said, trying to at least lighten the mood a little. The purge had ripped everyone apart- large or small the packs had fallen. The pain was there, and the pain before the purge was present as well.

Luhan realized this. The wolf packs had always lived by a brutal code – a broken relic that was destroyed by the purge. For better or worse. Sometimes after So Ra indulged in a story of old Luhan thought it was for the better the wolves had changed – at least towards their pack members.

“Never heard that before.” Minseok cocked his head at Luhan’s story, curious.

“Yep, a giant cat would get you at night. I used to have nightmares” Luhan smiled, then downed the rest of his brandy. “I still hate cats to this day. Tricky little beasts.”

“You would.” Minseok smiled the gummy smile that took Luhan’s breath away. Minseok recalled his own pack legends “I remember a very old wolf in our pack. He told stories of wolf gods. Of how wolves used to be the kings of the land but humans came. Humans that were inferior because they lost their wolf powers.”

“Don’t tell that to a human.” Luhan smiled.

“I won’t.” Minseok nodded. After a few seconds he spoke again, his tone far more serious “Where would we be if the purge had never happened…?”

Luhan kept quiet, thinking about it. If the purge had never happened his parents would still be alive. The Eastern Dawn pack would still be flourishing – one of the largest packs in Korea and probably the most esteemed.  If the purge had never happened he would be learning how to lead from his Father. And he would not be here with Minseok-which made him feel a certain way.

Minseok broke the heavy silence first “I shouldn’t ask questions like this. The past is the past, right.”

Luhan nodded wistfully. It was, for better or for worse.

“So, are we taking bets on how annoying Suho and Jongdae’s pups will be?” Minseok shifted the conversation to something more light hearted. Plus he honestly wanted to know Luhan’s take on the situation. After all their packs were bordering on family now, whether the two leaders liked it or not.

“If we keep them away from anime…maybe bearable?”

“Ha! Yeah, I know. It will be nice though - if there are pups.”

“Yeah. They will probably be cute- until they develop Jongdae’s snarkiness that is.” Luhan smiled thinking about tiny pups in the house. It felt like a bright light among everything – a new generation of wolves that did not have to witness their pack’s slaughter via the purge.

“And Suho’s self-righteousness.” Minseok added, shivering. It was still mid-winter in Korea and the cold air got to him despite the light jacket he had thrown on.

“Time to go in, leader” Luhan grinned, “We can’t have a frozen Minseokkie”

Minseok smiled back at Luhan until he caught himself. Did Luhan just call him Minseokkie?

***

Sehun was reading a fashion magazine. Well, not just any fashion magazine. It was Vogue, thank you very much. He flipped the pages idly, hoping the heat would come and he could get it over with. By over with, he internally reminded himself he did not want to be mated. If Luhan wanted to fawn over Minseok with the stupid hair and stupid face then he would just stay single thank you very much. Even if he wanted to take Tao’s shirt off.

Sehun’s phone rang, playing the latest hit from Justin Bieber.

“Hello?”

“Sehun-ah, it’s Tao. I thought you might be bored so I called.”

“Yeah, I am kind of bored.” Sehun leaned back on his bead, crossing one leg over the other he began twirling his hair absentmindedly. “But not really. So what are you doing?”

Tao had been put into his own chambers as his status was yet to be determined. He had whined about it, but So Ra was a force to be reckoned with

“Nothing! I hate sitting alone. I am so bored Sehun-ah. You know I hate being bored!”

Sehun giggled, “Yeah, I know. So, I was reading Vogue-“

“This month’s or last?”

“This month’s, what do you take me for?!” Some days Sehun could not comprehend where Tao was coming from.

“Sorry. So what is the latest?”

“Boring. Denim suits are back apparently. Anja Rubik’s on the cover. She says zero things about Miranda Kerr in her interview so I skipped it.”

“You and Miranda. Geez, I almost think you like her.”

Sehun giggled on the phone.

“Not exactly. I mean, she is cute but I kind o-“

A few seconds passed in silence.

“Hun-ah? Hello?”

Silence. Tao checked his phone, the call had been ended. He tried calling again but there was no answer. Geez- he thought the Miranda Kerr question wasn’t that shocking.

***

Knitting was therapeutic to Kyungsoo. Even more so given his current circumstance. He balked at being locked up on a room like a criminal – all because he could maybe, potentially go into heat. Minseok and Tao had protected him just fine before. These precautions seemed too extreme- hell, a stun gun would be far better than being stuck here.

He reached the end of one chain and considered the next color he should add to the afghan. He had a lovely baby blue that would complement the blood red yarn he had knitted perfectly. He picked up the yarn and began untwining the end, then his phone rang – his ringtone “Billionaire” startled him, causing him to drop the yarn.

“Yeah?” He answered far more tersely than he had intended.

“Kyungsoo? Hi!”

Kyungsoo’s face lit up. It was Jongin-ah!

“How are you?” Kyungsoo asked, picking up the ball of yarn as he balanced the phone.

“Good. We just got done playing a video game.”

“Don’t sit too close to the television or you will strain your eyes!” Kyungsoo scolded.

“I know hyung. What are you doing?”

“Knit- I mean, I was just reading War and Peace and some Notes from Underground.”

“Again?” Jongin always felt stupid when he heard about Kyungsoo’s hobbies. Who read Russian novels for fun?

“Yeah, I can’t help it.”

“I guess not. Hyung, I was thinking- when this is all over we should really go to this neat place I found. You get to paint and glaze your own pottery. We could make a Kyungsoo and Jongin rules vase!”

Silence.

“Kyungsoo?!”

“That’s a great idea. I got to go Jongin. Have a great night.” Click.

Jongin was confused how their call ended so quickly. He went back to playing video games with Chanyeol and Yixing, but was a tad bit worried what had happened to his hyung. That was until the intercom crackled.

“Jongin, this is So Ra. Please come see me when you have a moment.”

Chanyeol and Yixing practically dropped their controllers, staring with envy at Jongin. He blushed furiously. So…what was this all about?

***

When Minseok had realized he was sharing a room with Luhan he wanted to protest. His objections were quickly shot down however.

“I hate reasoning it out, but it is true. You are safe here, you aren’t an Omega.”

Minseok nodded. It was true after all, he had not gone through a change. But he wasn’t an Alpha either, which played in the back of his mind. What if…

“If anything changes I will call So Ra.” Luhan said, trying to put Minseok’s mind at rest.

“Okay. Well, you will sleep on the floor, right?” Minseok eyed up the king size bed. He was still hesitant to sleep on it with Luhan.

“Are you afraid I like you?” Luhan teased.

It had hung over them since they became more comfortable with each other. But it was a question that was far from being answered.

“No. You shouldn’t, because I don’t’ like you.” Minseok stated. It was partially true. He still disliked what Luhan represented. The other side of Minseok’s answer, which remained unspoken, was what Luhan did to him. He struggled to keep separate the irrational, less disciplined thoughts from his more principled feelings on the other man.

“You kill me with your words” Luhan clutched his chest and fell on the bed in mock pain.

“Good” Minseok sat on the edge of the bed, taking his socks off. “If you touch me I will rip your throat out.”

“Yes sir” Luhan answered. He picked up a remote and pushed a button, all of the lights except the lamps on the side tables turned off.

“Really?!” Minseok side eyed him.

“Do you like sleeping in the light?” Luhan countered.

Minseok rolled his eyes. He laid down on the edge of the bed, resolute to be nowhere near the leader of the Eastern Dawn pack. Luhan shook his head and smiled. He laid down on his side, sleep soon overtaking him.

***

It was a low and throaty sound.

Luhan was deep in sleep, his mind wandering over his house and So Ra redecorating it in bright pink and atrocious Hello Kitty decor. He hated his dreams sometimes. The noise woke him up. He squinted, trying to find his bearings.

That is right- he was in the hotel. The side lamp was on, casting shadows on the wall. It was the noise again. And then the smell. God the smell. He needed it, wanted it.

It was a strangled sound of passion. A . And the scent – so sweet and inviting and intoxicating, god the scent…

Luhan turned over to see Minseok next to him, writhing. His face was flush, his lips moist and parted, his eyes practically glowing. He had never seen anything so beautiful in all of his life.

“Mine” He spoke it without thinking, without considering the meaning. Something he had never felt before had been awoken up deep within himself. A burning need that had to be sated. The only thing that mattered, “You are mine.” It was a promise.

a/n- I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I feel like it is in need of some conflict, which will be coming soon. Next chapter may be some poorly written knotting ..okay it WILL be some poorly written knotting . I writing but I will try my hardest (hey, you can’t have a wolf AU without it, right)? As always please leave me comments, I would really appreciate hearing what you liked in the story and what you don’t like. Cheers!