A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile! I kind of got distracted with other things like playing Borderlands 2 and watching Super Junior's One Fine Day when it gets subbed on YT. I also got ered into a role playing dice game called Dungeons and Dragons with some of my convention friends, which takes a lot out of me. College also started back up on the 12th but we barely went over any of the material before class ended and this week we get a break because of Martin Luther King Jr Day.  Anyway, hope you enjoy the new chapter and while I can't promise that the next chapter will be up soon, it will be up before the end of the month. Let me know what you think!

Time seems to fly by while Jessa is contacting her clan, making plans with Leeteuk, Yunho and her clan leader on how they are going to keep her safe. Before they know it, Suga and Rap Monster are released from the Hunter’s Association custody. Yunho and his second in command, Shim Changmin, come out to the Pack house and talk individually with Jessa, Kyuhyun, Taehyung and Jungkook.

Fall starts turning soft and cooler, signaling that winter is approaching and Jessa does some sort of ritual that she explains later helps welcome the changing of the seasons and gives thanks to the leaving season to the wolves. Surprisingly the forest becomes more densely packed with animals that the Pack hunts after the ritual, so their dinners become more meat heavy in order to bulk up. Most of the Pack knows without Leeteuk having to say it, that they’ll eventually end up fighting the Black Hunters at some point while Jessa is staying with them.

Patrols around the territory increased the moment the two Black Hunters were released from the Association’s hold, and several times Kangin and Siwon have sniffed out the Black Hunters stalking around the edges of the territory.

One month has gone by since the incident with the Black Hunters and the second full moon is upon them since Jessa’s begun living at the Pack house. With no major happenings between the Black Hunters and the Pack so far, the wolves go on their usual full-moon hunt, the last one having been canceled due to safety concerns, and Ryeowook promises that Jessa will be safe in the Pack house with the pups and wave off the rest of the Pack so they can let out some of the pent up aggression and steam that has been building. It wasn’t so bad the first month, but now Siwon and Kyuhyun have been unusually snappish at each other, though in general the young Beta’s been snappish at everyone lately except for Jessa and Ryeowook. Leeteuk has tried to approach the young Beta several times when he snaps at one of the other Pack mates, intending to find out if Kyuhyun’s wolf has formally declared Jessa as his mate or not, but each time Leeteuk approaches his young Beta, Kyuhyun disappears up into his room with the excuse of blowing off his frustrations with some StarCraft.

Omegas were exempt from Pack hunts due to their ability to procreate, and Ryeowook had to explain to Jessa that he doesn’t feel the pull of the full moon like the other ones do when the Pack had left for their hunt. Underage pups are also exempt due to their inability to control their emotions while dealing with tracking prey and the effects of the full moon on their wolf forms.

Taehyung and Jungkook are uncharacteristically quiet once the older wolves leave, and Ryeowook is busy in the kitchen preparing for whatever animal the Pack will bring in. Jimin is up in his room, sleeping due to a strong cold that he caught, the virus proving much stronger than Donghae had anticipated.

Kangin and Siwon have been systematically tracking some of the larger animals in the forest for the hunt while Leeteuk is busy overseeing preparations for the winter season. They’ve had to make extra accommodations for Jessa since the Black Hunters refuse to give up on their target, and Leeteuk’s gotten some news that the bounty for her capture has increased and more Black Hunters are starting to move in on South Korean soil in an effort to find her.

“Yah hurry up you two!” Ryeowook is back in his usual mood of bossing around the pups as they scramble to put together a quick meal for Jessa. After she’d learned about their after Hunt dinner practices, she’d mentioned this month she’d rather skip seeing them devouring the raw meat of the kill and would turn in early.

Jessa’s sitting in the study, staring forlornly outside. The full moon and the recent changing of the seasons is making her restless and itchy. Druidic customs never foretold her before she became apprenticed that becoming closer to the true nature of the world also made her feel like an involuntary some times. She’s not told Leeteuk or Yunho about the more….animalistic nature that druids harbor during the seasonal changes, and she’s trying hard to ignore the ache deep inside her core to do one of two things: go outside and bask in the moonlight with abandon, or doing things with any of the werewolves currently in the house that involve no clothes.

Sighing she pulls her knees up to her chest and lays her chin on them, closing her eyes as she feels the pull grow stronger the closer it gets to midnight, the zenith of the moon cycle. Deciding that trying to ignore the pull is only going to make it worse, Jessa decides that a bit of meditation is in order. She’s just getting into the second mantra of her meditation when she’s knocked out of her position as a loud knock sounds on the front door.

The sounds from the kitchen immediately stop, and she can hear someone creeping towards the study. “Shh.” Taehyung mouths at her, one finger to his lips. Going over to the desk, he pulls out a pen and paper. ‘There’s a weird smelling wolf outside.’ He writes, showing her the text. ‘Ryeowook-hyung told me to come protect you while he and Jungkook answer the door. It could be a trap set up by the Black Hunters.’

Signaling for the pen and paper, she pauses a moment, hearing the locks on the door unbolt. They’ve got an outside screen door that had been locked when the rest of the Pack left for the hunt, so she’s fairly certain that they are just opening the door to ask the strange wolf what he or she wants. ‘What does he mean by protecting me?’ She writes, knowing that since it’s another wolf, if he or she scents her unique smell in the house, it could become a problem.

‘Um…’ Taehyung replies. ‘You may not like it but he suggested we snuggle to mix my scent with yours temporarily.’ Taehyung blushes suddenly, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish look on his face.

The way her body reacts to his mere mention of snuggling has her mentally cursing herself for it. ‘He’s like 16 years younger than you are! Snap out of it!’ Jessa nods, cringing internally at the reaction. The only two who knew her true age were Leeteuk and Kangin, the former for purely statistical reasons, and the second because he’s Leeteuk’s second in command. The rationale is that since she’s not planning on staying in the Pack house permanently, the other members don’t need to know that she’s actually older than Leeteuk by a couple of years.

Taehyung clears his throat, and sits down next to her, the blush on his face deepening. With the way Jessa’s sitting on the couch, it’s easy for him to lean into her and put an arm around her shoulder but at the same time he wants to run and hide in his room. He’s never been this close to a female since his parent pack was around, and the feeling of her warmth and the faint scent of her strawberry body lotion is almost foreign to him. He hesitantly lays his arm around her shoulder and almost shudders at the way she leans into his body heat.

“Sorry, Kyuhyun tells me that I gravitate toward the higher body temperature you wolves have naturally.” Jessa whispers, her eyes closed as she is wrestling with her inner self to not out rightly attack the poor pup. The last thing she wants to do is traumatize him by practically him in his own home.

“It’s ok. It feels kind of nice.” Taehyung whispers. He’s not even bothered by her mention of Kyuhyun. The rest of the Pack have noticed that the temperamental beta has suddenly become a lot more amiable towards their guest and will go out of his way to ensure that Jessa is safe and has anything she wants. Whispered talk between Donghae and Eunhyuk have that they think either Kyuhyun has found his mate, or that he’s finally having his first post-shift romance. Either way, it’s oddly unsettling when the crankiest of their betas doesn’t even get mad or snarl at anyone for interrupting his video game time.

The two are both nervous and unsure of what is happening outside of the study, and Taehyung’s sensitive ears only catch murmurings of a conversation going on.

Jessa feels the pull inside her to go wild simmer down a little at the contact with the young wolf. She makes a mental note to write down the change in her druidic nature when she gets a chance. She thinks it means she’s finally maturing as a druid.

Suddenly noise from the front of the house startle the two, causing Taehyung to growl a little at the noise and turn his head to look through the study into the foyer. “HYUNG!” He nearly shouts in surprise, practically jumping from the couch, leaping over the furniture like its air and tackling a tall lanky boy with fading bruises to the floor, laughter bubbling up out of his chest. “Oh my god Jin-hyung! I thought you were dead!”

“YAH! Get off me you heavy mutt!” The boy wrestles with Taehyung, giving up after a few minutes to laugh and hug the younger boy back.

Jessa turns, staring at the newcomer, noticing the bruising and what looks to be like fading marks on his wrists. The boy is skinnier than either Taehyung or Jungkook. Ryeowook and Jungkook come back into the house, the later collapsing next to the two boys on the floor.

“He’s apparently their lost pack member.” Ryeowook tells Jessa in a soft voice, trying not to disturb their reunion. “Has been searching for them for nearly 6 months now apparently.”

Jessa nods. “He looks like he’s been abused.” She murmurs softly back.

Ryeowook nods. “Leeteuk hyung says we should be cautious around him until the Pack gets back in a little bit. They caught a big deer near the river.” Ryeowook sighs. “I don’t want to be suspicious and all that, especially considering how Tae reacted to the sight of the boy, but we have to consider the possibility that he’s being used by the Black Hunters.”

She nods, looking up at Ryeowook. “I figured we’d suspect as much. Do you want me to come into the kitchen with you?”

Ryeowook spares a glance at the three pups on the floor. “That’s probably a good idea. I can keep a watch on dinner. Maybe I’ll actually teach you something useful tonight!” He lightens up the mood with some good natured teasing.

Jessa blushes. “It was one time!” She says, embarrassed as they walk into the kitchen, letting the boys have some privacy while Ryeowook continues to work on dinner.

“By the time you leave here, I’ll have taught you everything you need to know in how to cook properly for yourself.” Ryeowook responds primly, a glint in his eye that makes Jessa shudder. Ever since she’d burnt some grilled cheese sandwiches in the kitchen a week after she’d been staying there, Ryeowook would take at least one moment a day to and remind her of the fiasco.

They get involved in making a new batch of dinner for Jessa, the first batch was ruined when the strange wolf had knocked on the door. The rest of the dinner fixings for the Pack were cooking nicely and Ryeowook took satisfaction in the fact that he didn’t have to throw out a whole lot of food that they’d spent time and money growing in the garden out back in the green house of the actual property. Jessa didn’t want to admit it, but she was slowly growing more comfortable with her surroundings, something her clan leader had warned her against.

The 3 boys in the foyer are nearly forgotten until Jungkook pops his head into the kitchen. “Ryeowook-hyung, can we feed Jin-hyung?”

Ryeowook frowns and shakes his head. “You should know that it’s Pack protocol that we don’t feed non-Pack wolves unless the Alpha’s here.” He reprimanded the younger wolf. “The Pack will be here soon, so be prepared. Alpha’s not exactly happy we let him in the house.”

Jungkook frowns. “But hyung…” He half whines. “He’s nothing but skin and bones.” He complains. “I don’t think his last pack fed him too much.”

Ryeowook shakes his head, shooing the pup back into the foyer. “No is no.” He reaffirms. “Once Alpha decides what will happen with him, then we might be able to feed him.”

Jessa watches the exchange warily. It’s the first time she’s seen Pack protocol override feeding a shifter from Ryeowook, and that means the situation is serious.

Meanwhile, the Pack has just hit the perimeter of the actual property of the house, and Kyuhyun skids to a stop upon smelling the strange wolf on their territory. He knows that the others can smell the stranger as well, Kangin’s growling a little and Siwon’s tensing up as the Pack stops, caution overriding their senses. ‘Kangin, Siwon, with me. Kyuhyun, you stay and protect the others.’ Leeteuk orders through their Pack bonds.

‘Yes Alpha.’ They chorus in unison, exchanging glances with each other. Eunhyuk, Donghae and Jongwoon are the ones carrying the large doe they’d managed to take down in their Hunt, and Kyuhyun gestures to Hoseok with his muzzle to go to the other side of the group while he flanks the side he’s on. Leeteuk, Siwon and Kangin take off at full speed.

Kyuhyun’s itching to speed off to see if Jessa is ok. He’s gotten closer to the druid over time, and he’s starting to notice that his wolf is more and more enthralled with the human the longer they are around each other.

Leeteuk’s already informed him that if Jessa’s his mate, he’ll start feeling the urge to keep Jessa from any other male interaction, even if it’s any other member of the Pack, even Ryeowook, whom they all know is such a stereotypical omega that unless threatened directly, couldn’t hurt a fly.

If Jessa’s his mate, he’ll be the first of his Pack to find one. Even poor Ryeowook hasn’t found his mate even with all the suitors they had in their parental Packs before the omega had come of age. It’s rare that any werewolf presents before they come of age, but from what they understood, a true omega will present him or herself long before they turn 20 according to the medical texts that Donghae had read, and Ryeowook had fit nearly every sign of being an omega from the time he was 5.

Kyuhyun decides that concentrating on protecting their kill is more important at the moment than worrying about Jessa and if she’s ok or not. He’s sure that they’ll find out when they get back to the house unless Leeteuk orders them away. As they move closer, Kyuhyun keeps both his eyes and ears open for any possible signs of an ambush. For all he knows the stranger could be the bait for a trap from the Black Hunters.

‘All clear.’ Leeteuk tells him through the bond just as the Pack enters the front yard of the house.

They shift, one by one, bones cracking and popping into place as they go from wolf form to human form. Once clothed, Kyuhyun nods at the others and ascends the stairs. The normal protocol is obviously changed because of the strange wolf. He leaves the others to bring their kill into the kitchen for Ryeowook to start working on making it into a feast for their dinner.

The stench of the strange wolf in the house only permeates the foyer and the study, where Leeteuk, Taehyung, and Jungkook are sitting. Another sniff also tells him that Jessa and Ryeowook are in the kitchen, and that the strange wolf and Jessa have not crossed paths. It eases the tension inside his chest that he didn’t know he had until that moment.

Kyuhyun detours to the kitchen where Ryeowook is busy explaining the basics of a soup base to Jessa, who’s got some grime from helping the omega cook on her face. Kyuhyun resists the sudden inexplicable urge to go clean the smudge off of her cheek. ‘.’ Kyuhyun balls a fist, fighting the urge just as Ryeowook realizes that he’s in the room.

“Oh you’re back!” Ryeowook grins, wiping his hands on a towel.

“Jongwoon, Donghae and Eunhyuk have the kill and are bringing it up to the back door.” Kyuhyun tells him, concentrating on breathing evenly. The urge is still there, but fading the more he concentrates on other things.

“Oh good!” Ryeowook claps, a grin lighting up his face. “I guess that ends the cooking lesson.” He turns to Jessa, who’s taking the apron off and wiping her hands on a towel.

She makes a face, knowing what was coming since it had been explained earlier. “I guess I will take my leave then.” She says, bowing slightly to Ryeowook. “Thanks for the lesson.” She tells Ryeowook.

“Before you leave, can you take this upstairs to Jimin?” Donghae’s voice echoes in the wide hallway that leads to the back door of the kitchen. He’s wiped the blood off his hands from the deer, which is in the butchering room in the back, mixing what looks like a packet of cold medicine into some warmed liquid from the stove. Ryeowook always kept a kettle on the stove warmed with water in case people wanted hot tea or hot chocolate from the cupboard.

“Sure.” Jessa agrees, taking the tray that Donghae holds out to her.

“Make sure he drinks all of it.” Donghae adds. “He may be a bit stubborn to wake up though. The medicine I gave him this morning was pretty strong.”

“I’ll go with you.” Kyuhyun blurts out before he realizes what he just said. “I mean, since Jimin is hard to wake up, it might be good for 2 people to wake him.”

Jessa nods, a ghost of a smile gracing her face, a sight that Kyuhyun doesn’t fail to miss, his heart suddenly picking up in speed.

The two leave the kitchen and Ryeowook and Donghae exchange glances. They’ve never seen Kyuhyun so adamant to help out anyone before. “His behavior is getting really peculiar.” Donghae hums as he follows Ryeowook back to the butcher room where Eunhyuk has already stripped the deer carcass of its hide. “Excellent job Hyuk.” Donghae praises the gamma. “I swear you get better and better every time with skinning a kill.”

Eunhyuk blushes a little at the praise. He’s not good at much outside of his ability to teach wolves but skinning was one of his favorite things to do outside of teaching. This deer’s hide will be cured, salted and softened until it’s suitable for a rug that he’s planning on giving to a girl in another pack that he’s trying to woo. Leeteuk had already approved the gift, as anything made from the kill of a hunt must have prior approval.

“I hope the girl you are wooing likes it.” Ryeowook says before they get to work cutting and carving the deer into suitable pieces of meat for both their dinner and for storage in the walk in freezer that’s in the room.