Chapter 18

Chen rocked back on his heels, pouting as he waited for the queue to go down. His parents couldn’t afford to send him too much by way of a monthly allowance but he was pretty sure what he had could stretch to a bubble tea now and then. If the group of kids at the counter could make a decision that is. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Oh, come on,” the person behind him grumbled. Chen glanced over his shoulder and gave him a smile.

“If the guy serving moves any slower he’ll start going backwards,” the boy said and Chen laughed.

The boy was tall, though not as tall as Kris, and he looked quite young. They must have been about the same age. “Do I know you?” he asked Chen whose eyes went wide for a second. He shook his head. He couldn’t remember seeing this boy anywhere before, although there was something sort of familiar about him.

He leant in closer, lowering his voice although no one was listening. “But you are a wolf, right?”

“Oh.” Chen looked away nervously to see if anyone had overheard. Some people got nervous around wolves which was why he had grabbed a coat form home to cover his school uniform before coming out so he couldn’t be identified.

The boy gave him a subtle sniff and smiled. “It’s ok, me too.”

“Really? You can smell it?” he asked a little sceptically.

“Well, sure, when you’re in heat.”

Chen spun to face him properly, an embarrassed blush rushing up his neck and heating his cheek within seconds. He couldn’t be. He had only been in heat a few days ago. Then again he hadn’t been able to recognise it then either.

“You haven’t been in heat much, huh?”

He shook his head, thankful that the other boy didn’t seem to be laughing at him.

“It’s ok, it’s just starting. You’ll probably be able to get home in time.”

Chen nodded and took a careful, and hopefully subtle, step away from the other wolf. The group at the front of the queue finally left. Now there was only one customer between him and his bubble tea.

“You go to that wolf school, right?”

He nodded. “How did you know? Do you go there?”

The wolf cleared his throat and looked away. “No. Just a guess. What’s your name anyway?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s Chen.”

They bowed to each other even though they had already been talking for some minutes.

“Chen? Isn’t that Chinese?”

“Yeah, well my real name is Jongdae but the rest of my pack is Chinese so they gave me a Chinese name. Well, they’re not really my pack yet but…”

“They must want you if they gave you a name to help you fit in with them.”

Chen ducked his head and laughed shyly. He thought of Kris, suddenly really wanting to be with him instead of this increasingly good looking stranger who was probably only talking to him because of his heat.

“I’m Jiho,” the boy said and then reached out to tap his arm and nod towards the counter. Relieved, Chen hurried forward and made his order. He tapped the countertop with his fingers as he waited for his bubble tea but was glad to find that Jiho stayed quiet. When he was finally handed his drink he turned to boy to Jiho again and said, “It was nice to meet you.”

“You too,” said the boy. “Now get home and let you pack take care of you.” He threw Chen a wink that made his stomach flip and his cheeks turn pink again. Jiho grinned widely and turned back to the poor boy serving who was swallowing hard now that he knew he was alone with a wolf.

Across the street, frowning and watching with folded arms, was Tao. He had happened to see Chen by accident as he passed by and wouldn’t have stopped had he not seen who he was talking about. Even with his hair dyed a new shade of silvery-white he recognised Zico, leader of the Block B pack, straight away.

He doubted that Chen and the other wolf new each other form school even if they were in the same year group. Chen had missed a lot of classes the year before and not even attended for that long so maybe he didn’t recognise him. Tao thought a lot of things about the wolf trying to join his pack but he couldn’t imagine him having anything to do with the Block B pack.

Still, there he was talking with him. Laughing. Smiling. It was strange. And Zico looked so friendly too. He bit his lip as he watched them interact, wondering what they were talking about. Probably not about how Zico had been expelled last year for shifting at school and almost killing another student if the rumours were to be believed. He must have done something pretty bad to have been separated from his pack like that. They had been nothing but trouble without him there.

As soon as Chen turned towards the door Tao turned around pretending to look at the display in the shop window behind him. He glanced once over his shoulder to see Chen hurrying back towards the dorms. At least he wasn’t going anywhere with Zico. Tao sighed. He really should warn him to stay away from Zico, even if he wasn’t sure he liked him very much.

Taehyung saw Hoseok watching a TV show alone and immediately took the opportunity to snuggle up beside him. Hoseok kept his eyes on the screen and didn’t even glance at the puppy eyes the younger wolf aimed at him.

Taehyung linked his arm through his elder’s and leant his head on his shoulder comfortably. He felt the other boy sigh a little but ignored it. Maybe he was just getting comfortable.

“What you watching?” he asked after a couple of minutes.

“Shh,” Hoseok said. Taehyung pouted.

Another minute or so passed and he shifted, pressing himself closer again. He loved cuddling with his hyung. Especially after a long day at school where he had been kept in at lunch for forgetting his homework. Which he really had just forgotten. It was on his bedside table right now.

He started tracing little patterns on Hoseok’s leg until the other boy shifted and quietly told him to stop it. Taehyung did as he was told… for about three seconds. Then he decided to press a little kiss to Hoseok’s shoulder. Then another. And then nuzzle him playfully.

Hoseok growled and shrugged him away roughly. “Are you in heat or something? What’s wrong with you?”

Taehyung’s mouth fell open. His hyung knew he hadn’t started his heat periods yet and preferred that his pack didn’t talk about it. He wasn’t embarrassed exactly but he did feel a little left out since everyone else, even Jungkook, had had theirs for quite a while. It felt like he was missing out on something.

“Sorry, hyung,” he said quietly

“I’m trying to watch this, ok? Go bug someone else.”

Taehyung blinked quickly and tried to stand up so fast that he almost tripped. He didn’t trust himself to speak so he just left, grabbing his jacket from the back of the couch. He had just wanted to spend some time with Hoseok, why couldn’t he understand that? Did he think he felt that way about everyone? That he was just playing around? He shook his head and hurried for the door.

“Where are you going?” Jimin asked as Taehyung almost bumped into him.

“For a walk.”

“But it’s raining.”

The only answer was Taehyung shutting the door behind himself.

Suho stretched out on the couch comfortably. He and Xiumin hadn’t told Kai about Taemin yet. They figured the weekend might be a better time. They had until next week anyway and the less time he had to worry about it the better.

His phone rang just as he found a TV show he wanted to watch and he groaned as he reached ver to pick it up. It was Chanyeol.

“Hey, Channie,” he said. “What’s up?”

“Have you seen Chen?”

Suho muted the TV. He could tell when his usually happy pack member was worried. “No, not since school. Why?”

“Well, he went out for bubble tea ages ago and he hasn’t come back. We’ve called him a couple of times but he’s not answering.”

The alpha sat up. His palms were already turning clammy. “Maybe he’s just with Kris and forgot to tell you where he was going.”

“No,” Chanyeol answered, “we called already. Kris hasn’t heard from him either and it’s raining out now. Shouldn’t he be home by now?”

“Ok, don’t panic,” said Suho even as his heart started to beat too fast. “I’ll be over in a minute, ok? Don’t worry, we’ll find him.”

“Be quick.”

Chanyeol hung up and Suho quickly called Chen’s phone. It rang and rang but no one answered. He had never known Chen not to pick up before. He glanced out the window at the pounding rain. Why would he be out in that? He knew the answer. The only reason he would still be outside and not answering his phone was if something had happened to him. Something bad.