During this time of the year, Yifan gets nervous; he feels the pressure of his parents and of his people.

Mating season is around the corner and the smell of the community changes. The omegas, and anyone in heat, can be smelled even from afar. And that is a lot because in mating season, everyone is in heat. Well, save for the children.

That alone is uncomfortable. For the past few years, Yifan had gone to the city to... satisfy his needs as a human. Those humans were not his mates, they were... well, street workers. The point is that he had fallen victim to a very unfortunate but familiar case that sometimes happens to werewolves; his human fell in love before his wolf was of age. So, his human refuses to give his heart just to anybody else. His wolf disagrees, along with his parents and his counselors. An alfa who already took charge must extend his lineage as fast as he can, but Yifan has been taking his sweet time. If he doesn't do anything fast, he will have to give his power to the next in line, Luhan, his older brother whose human refused from the beginning to take the alfa position and begs him, every year, to just take somebody.

"Why do you do this? You know she won't come back..."

He is right, she won't comeback and if you think about it, she kind of betrayed him too. But still, he can't bring himself to just mate with anybody else.

"Are you hiding?"

"Eh? No... I'm thinking."

"While hiding..." Yifan smiled.

"Were you sent to look for me?"

"No, other people were... but I knew where you were." Joonmyeon is his best friend... well, a good friend. He is an omega and has a brother who is Yifan's brother in law, so they are kind of family too.

"I hate this season."

"At one point you are gonna have to let it go and... mate." He sounds sweet but the concept is still annoying.

"What about you?" He wants to turn the tables, but even he, himself, knows that his question was a low blow.

"What about me? Well, for me, this is a formality. I just have to go and sit there and wait until it's over. You know nobody will choose me." Maybe.

The thing is, when Joonmyeon and Suho, his twin brother, were young, they were attacked by a wildcat. Joonmyeon tried to face the animal and almost died. The wildcat was too big for a small werewolf, it ripped one side of his face and pretty much all of his back. He didn't die but the animal left scars. So now, one side of his pretty omega face was just messed up skin, a deformed lip and a droopy eye, while the other side was intact. It's not that werewolves are superficial, but it's just that beauty meant health and for an alfa, power. Alfas were supposed to have the most beautiful mates... and well, he wasn't.

He has a great position in the pack, he is a mentor and a teacher. He is also, like now, Yifan's counselor.

"You never know, maybe this time... someone will. Maybe, a handsome beta doctor?" Joonmyeon blushed.

Yes, he knew that no wolf would choose such a mate, but he could dream, right? The handsome beta doctor was the pack's healer, Yixing; gentle, polite and his personal doctor. They are friends and when Joonmyeon thinks of mate, the doctor's face is the first picture that comes to his mind. He will never tell, because he has so much pride, but he has been prying for this season. He's even sewn his own gown with pretty stones and an embrodery that he thought might take away the attention from his ugly face. So yeah, he was kind of excited for this season, but he won't admit that either.

"There's Jongin or Sehun, you can take either of them. They are young and beautiful, either one can give you beautiful babies. There's also Naum, if you'd rather a girl, she is their age, right? A fine age."

The thought of taking someone, one of those omegas, is scary to Yifan, a little disgusting even. But Joonmyeon was right, they were fine... they were right.

-------------------

"This is really pretty, hyung", Kyungsoo smiles at Joonmyeon. They decided that they were going to prepare for the ceremony in Joonmyeon's tent.

"Thanks..." he said shyly.

"I think... I think the doctor would like it too." Kyungsoo carefully said.

"It's... not for him. It's for everyone... it's... I saw this pattern in a magazine and I wanted to try..."

Kyungsoo just smiled at his hyung's cuteness. They work together at the school. For Kyungsoo, it's only his second mating season. He knows that it is Joonmyeon's fifth and he really wishes that Doctor Zhang would see that he can be happy with his hyung, that looks don't matter when you have a heart like his.

"Let me do your hair."

"Okay... but remember to let some strands down here so I can put them on my face." The younger rolled his eyes.

"I know. I will put flowers there."

"Hello!"

"Come in!"

"Hi! Oh, look at you two. I'm sure you are going to find your soulmates today." Taeyeon was always positive and she has her reasons. She mated at a somewhat old age but she is happy now and has kids and all of that which Joonmyeon thinks could only be a dream for him.

She is here to paint both omegas' feet and hands, she will paint Kyungsoo's face as well.

It's all part of the ritual, you are supposed to look your best, everybody prepares.

--------------

The pack is big, but they don't live in one community, this was a law that Yifan's father imposed a long time ago. It assured the survival in the territory, prevented invasions and power fights within one large community. It was better for their human sides.

The eldest went to live up in the mountains, that was the part where Yifan's father still ruled. The other community was lead by Yifan, another part belongs to Yifan's twin Jiaheng, whose mate is Suho. They live kind of far, so they weren't coming for the ceremony.

Joonmyeon really wanted to see his brother and his babies, but well, better luck next time.

---------------

Chanyeol was always in charge of the drum group, he was playing while smilling at his mate and their children, who were jumping at the beat.

Sitting in the high rock was Yifan with his counselors, Jinki and Baekhyun. Baekhyun was paying attention to his mate, Taeyeon, as she took a place carefully with their baby in her arms.

Jinki was boring Yifan with pieces of advice about how to get a mate, who should be the alfa's mate and ten million things more that he's already said in the last week.

The ritual, from a human point of view is kind of... humiliating. The omegas sat in front of the rock, somewhere in front, at the feet of the rock, was the one who'd choose a mate. Once they got their turn, the powerful ones would just stand up and take one omega, the end. Sometimes, if there were two mates who both want the same omega, they would fight until Yifan decides who wins (ages ago they would have to fight to death, but not in Yifan's pack) and gets the omega. The omegas never have a say in this.

Yifan looked at Joonmyeon and Kyungsoo when they were taking their places. There are flowers adorning Joonmyeon's long yellow hair and Kyungsoo looked beautiful too. In all honesty, Yifan should choose Kyungsoo, he was close in age, he had a place in the pack's heart, he was smart... anyway.

Liyin sat beside them and started to talk to them. Yifan always wondered why on earth nobody ever chose her, she was pretty perfect. He then felt a hand on his shoulder.

"We should start." The soft but firm voice of his older brother brought him back to reallity. He nodded and then greeted Minseok, Luhan's mate and their eldest, Hanseok, the little alfa.

He signalled for Chanyeol to start the drums to open the ceremony.

Then he sighed.