When Luhan came to, he felt cornered. Three wolves - familiar and not, their mere presence making him feel threatened - were standing above him, their eyes - two pairs of striking ebony and one of sweet, coffee brown - boring into his own. He let out a low whine, searching for his mate in panic: Sehun was there, he knew it, but he wasn't close enough. Once the small omega finally found him standing in the entrance of the cave, he felt the sheer need to run to his mate.

"You are no brother of mine," was what escaped him after his somewhat hazy mind finally recalled just what had made him pass out so abruptly."I have no family." He slowly stood up, even if all he wished was to be reunited with those that have once abandoned him.

They have changed: although maybe, it was just cloudy memory making tricks on him. His mother, the one who had nursed him for a short while before deeming him unworthy of his attention, had grown thinner. His fur was a little dull, dust clinging to it like a second coat. His gaze was now set on the ground, ears pressed against his head to show his sorrow.

His father was different, too, but not quite in looks. It was his presence that had changed: he had never spared a glance at Luhan - he was a runt, after all, an omega with a slight chance of surviving - and now, there he was, his eyes set on his son intently. There was a certain, odd kind of fondness lingering in them.

Luhan looked away, never even bothering to look at his brother. He had made his decision already: he wasn't going to mingle with his family. Part of him was sure that he should have: after all, he had always somewhat wished to reunite with those whose forms he could barely recall, whose faces slowly seemed to fade out of his memories.

"Lu, I don't know who they are, but you should give them a chance," Sehun's voice was warning as he walked to his mate slowly, soothingly rubbing his nose into the omega's soft fur."Darling, you need to hear them out. Just look at them..." the great leader of the pack was almost pleading albeit he already knew his beautiful omega's answer. He knew very well the other was acting so out of character: normally, his sweet little Luhan would have sat down on his bum and allowed the newcomers to explain their story to him, let it be sad or not. However, with the mating season in its peak, his behavior was understandable in spite of being somewhat shocking.

Omegas in heat tended to only allow their mates and fellow omegas close to them. If they were close with their entire pack, then maybe, they didn't act very defensive around them, but they weren't too cuddly with them, most of the time. Actually, this was the very first time Luhan showed a sign of being distant from anyone since heat had struck him - maybe the need to be claimed have disappeared from his system, but his body was still getting ready to bear pups - so maybe he was just being a bit over-sensitive...Or Sehun was over-thinking it.

If there was something in the world that he would never understand, then it was the way omegas functioned. They could go hormonal little beasts to sweet,  charming creatures and back in a span of a few moments. Even out of heat, it was terrifying. But not, with Luhan, it seemed even worse.

The petite wolf stomped to the entrance, not even glancing back at his mate."I..I'll take a walk. I need to think." And with that, he ran off as fast and as far as his short legs and the ache still lingering in his entire being could take him.

"Let him run for a while, the forest's spirits will calm him." Baekhyun spoke up softly, his pups gathered around and on him in a confused heap of shiny fur."I'm sure it's just his heat speaking. He has been fairly normal today, but he had been claimed not long ago so.."

"Claimed?" Kris snarled up without thinking, glaring daggers at Sehun who had slowly laid down, knowing that he could do nothing at that moment. His mate had to deal with problems like this on his own, even though that made the alpha's heart clench painfully."Which of you had been stupid enough to put their claim on an underage pup?"his glare was freezing and his voice: low and dark despite his not quite refined words. He was trembling from fury, blonde fur suddenly seeming a darker shade.

And yet, Sehun feared not as he took a step closer to the elder, respect missing from his entire stance completely."Had I not put a claim on him, then he would be capable of running off now. Just like that. Because of you." He didn't like to talk like that about his mate, but quickly, his sane thoughts were wiped away by the rage that had been evoked by Kris's words."You know, as he is my mate, I can do anything. I had been thinking of letting him be the pup he is. But as my pack is quite small, I had unfortunately been unable to find him a mother yet. You know, I wouldn't need to do this if his real family had been by his side. But I suppose him being an omega had been a problem to you."

"You..." Kris growled lowly, baring his teeth."You know nothing, mutt. Be glad that I'm incapable of separating him from you know." he said nothing else: he couldn't find words to counter the other's as, as painful as that was, Sehun had been right.

"Kris, please.." Junmyeon pleaded weakly as his eyes wandered to his seething mate."Not now. You two can discuss this when he is back... I'm sure he will be. He is our baby, after all."

"I just don't get it.." Tao whispered out of the blue."Why would he run? Why can't he sit down and talk with us? He is my baby brother, after all..."

******

Luhan had calmed down not hours he had left, his troubled heart finally winning over his wary mind. He knew that now or later, he had to go back to his family. He had to talk to them... And maybe, maybe be with them once more.

Because even if he wanted to convince himself, the omega didn't hate his parents. Not after seeing his mother's desperate gaze: he wanted to comfort him, and say 'I'm here' because being abandoned by the ones you love the most hurt, and Luhan knew it. He also wanted to go up to his father and bask in his attention, maybe even make him proud.

The omega shook his head a little as he turned back, looking up at the sky.At least they came all the way here..for me." he thought, knowing very well that he couldn't run away from his problems. He wasn't sure if he was capable of facing his past so suddenly, but he did know that running off into the unknown wasn't going to solve anything.

Occupied by his thoughts, he failed to hear the heavy sound of boots crushing soft grass. The only thing that made him tense up was the loud, familiar bang, similar to that of the fireworks he would eagerly watch in the cold season, believing that they would make his wishes come true. But this time, what had pierced the air hadn't been a harmless creation of humans: it had been something else; something worse.

A bullet.

*****

Luhan tensed up, eyes widening as he heard the sound repeat itself, again and again. At first, the noise dulled his other senses, not allowing his brain to sense the pain. But moments after, as an eerie silence descended upon the forest, he felt it.

Pain.

It erupted in his side and seemed to pierce through his lungs, making him jolt up before crashing into the ground, legs trembling in an attempt to run. Thick, crimson liquid painted the grass around him rapidly as it grew harder and harder for the small omega to hold his head up.

A very familiar cheer of humans was heard by his still flickering ears, and something along the lines of what a pretty prey we got. His eyes still open, Luhan felt his body struggle to turn back into his human form. For what, he didn't know. He had no control over it anymore.

It was terrifying.

He felt pain like no other and yet, he couldn't even try making it stop. He was paralyzed, panting heavily as he heard the footsteps coming closer. He knew that he wasn't a wolf anymore: he had managed to shift but it had taken its toll on him more than he had thought it would: his entire chest seemed to be on flame. His right calf was aching as well although he couldn't remember when or how he had hurt it. Had it been a bullet, too?

He just didn't know: his brain was lulled into a state of unconscious where he could only sense the agony that clung to his body like a child to its mother.

Luhan wished that death who seemed to linger in the air would rob him of his misery and claim him with its merciless kiss. He cared not about never waking up again, and he couldn't even think of fighting for the mate he loved so much.

He was just a viewer of his own pain, writhing in utter agony.

Shouts snapped him out of his thoughts momentarily, jumbled words like what, it's a kid? and I totally shot a wolf, not some guy! Luhan whimpered, tensing up when cold hands turned him to his side.

", he's bleeding bad!" one of the unfamiliar voices he had heard before cursed not long before rough hands were pushed on the omega's chest, tearing a wild cry from his parched lips."Call an ambulance, if he dies we are dead, too!"

"You would now!" Another voice shouted but from its rushed but formal whispers - on the phone, probably - Luhan assumed that in the end, he had called for help.

"Kid, you gotta stay awake," the first person said lowly, his voice barely getting through the haze that was thicker and thicker, clouding the wounded wolf's mind."We made a big mistake, and if you die, we are going to be in deep . So even if it hurts, you have to pull through this."

Luhan just whimpered weakly, a half-hearted but very animalistic growl escaping his gaping lips when something was suddenly - and not quite tenderly - was tied around his leg. He felt some water being poured over his lips, coaxing them to part slightly: he hadn't noticed before, but he felt like he hadn't drank anything in a long, long time. He gulped the chilly liquid down gratefully, eyes slowly fluttering open.

"Good. Help will be here in a moment, so stay still and don't let go, alright?" The boy's vision was blurry but he could make out a male lean above him with a frown seemingly permanently etched into his forehead."You'll be fine soon, your wounds are deep but I'm sure you'll heal soon. Why would you be here out alone, anyway?" and he was rambling like that, his deep but worried voice slowly lulling Luhan into the awaiting arms of the darkness that had been threatening to engulf him for quite some time by then.

He didn't know if he would wake up ever again, but at that moment, he didn't care.

*****

Sehun knew that something was wrong when Luhan didn't return after nightfall. He had decided to give his mate time to cool down, but he didn't expect the omega to be gone for such a long time. He had thought of going after the sorrowful wolf but had been told to stay put by his packmates.

"He really needs to think everything through," Baekhyun had reasoned."He's just a pup, Sehun. Don't expect him to think rationally."

"He's a pup in heat, that's even worse." It was Junmyeon that spoke up after that softly, eyes on the ground."I... I regret what we had done to him before, but I do know that I can't expect him to run to us happily."

The alpha shook his head a little, eyes set on the moon."Just when are you coming back?" he asked, howling lowly for his mate. He received no answer, just as he had expected.

"Sehun, go to sleep.." Baekhyun trotted to the silver-white wolf and tried to drag him inside the den."The pups are sleeping already, but if you keep on being so noisy, they will be up in no time. Luhan will be back by the time you wake up, I'm sure of that. He may be young, but he had survived more or less on his own for a long time. One night in the forest won't harm him."

As much as the alpha wanted to believe the omega, he couldn't help the growing worry that threatened to make his heart burst. Somehow, he felt like something was very wrong: but he had no idea what it was. Part of him told him to trust his mate, but another part of him urged him to leave.

Without thinking, he looked at Baekhyun and shook his head a little."No, I'm going. I... I need to find him." he said lowly before disappearing into the night.

*****

The alpha had been running for hours when he suddenly stopped, his nose twitching. The overwhelming scent of blood filled his senses. At first, he thought that it belonged to one of his preys from the day before, but as he got closer to it, he realised just how wrong he had been. Tuffs of soft orange fur lay in a heap, covered in crimson, metallic blood. Just a few feet away from them, lay a necklace.

Luhan's.

At first, the alpha felt numb. His brain tried hard to proceed the scene: Luhan had been greatly wounded, but he wasn't there...and he had seemingly lost his necklace.

"Luhan?" The alpha howled in fear, his voice higher than usual, laced with worry and dread."Luhan!" he tried to call for his mate once more, legs shivering.

His sweet omega was gone. The blood that marred the ground was too much. It had dried, meaning that the small omega had been wounded quite some time ago..

And Sehun hadn't noticed it.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter