Alphas did not get nervous. At least, that was what Nichkhun kept telling himself. Because, if alphas did not get nervous, that meant he would be perfectly fine meeting Taecyeon’s pack. Well, former pack, he supposed. Or was it other pack? He was not entirely certain how the etiquette on that worked, since he had never been told what happened to a wolf when they joined their mate’s pack. (It had not been considered “necessary for his education” since he was going to take over the pack and wouldn’t need to know about such things.)

Where was he?

Oh yes, Taecyeon. A tiny smile turned Nichkhun’s lips as he thought of his handsome mate: tall, brunette, powerfully built - a beta through and through. His father had not been exactly impressed that his heir had taken a beta for a mate - it was considered taboo - but Nichkhun was adamant. Taecyeon was everything he could ever possibly want in a mate - kind, loving, loyal - and had that something special, a boundless sort of innocent joy, that had won over the alpha’s heart. It was, to say the least, a very unexpected pairing. And it was all made even stranger by the fact that Taecyeon came from the forest pack while Nichkhun was heir to the city wolves. They came from completely different worlds; by all rights, they never should have even met. But, fate was funny: It did not respect “should have”s and other petty social customs. Fate had decided that Nichkhun, that cool city prince, needed someone who could melt his icy heart, and that wolf had been sweet, sweet Taecyeon.

The only problem with the whole thing was that now Nichkhun had to leave the comfort of his penthouse apartment, get into the car, drive into the middle of nowhere, and meet the in-laws, as it were. Taecyeon’s pack. He shuddered at the thought. Nichkhun loved, adored, even worshipped Taecyeon, but his handsome mate came from forest - a place of such wildness and backwards thinking that they willingly chose to live in the mud and cold and discomfort. There was no way his pack could be made up of thinking, intelligent beings; Taecyeon had to be an anomaly.

(If he told Taecyeon why he was so nervous about meeting his former pack, though, Nichkhun knew what would happen. Taecyeon’s big brown eyes would turn sad and stern - a painful combination that ultimately spelled out disappointment. And then, worst of all, his mate would not talk to him. For days. Taecyeon being silent was like the sun deciding it was tired of shining and just hiding behind the clouds - sulking until the earth offered a shamefaced apology. So, really, it was better to let Taecyeon assume he was nervous because he was meeting the most important people in Taecyeon’s life and needed to make a good impression on them.

… Oh.

Now he had another reason to be nervous in addition to his original reason. Great.)

His thoughts had distracted him just long enough that Taecyeon had apparently finished packing, loaded the car, and even directed Nichkhun to the passenger’s seat. He was even buckled in. The alpha blinked in surprise. When had his powers of observation gotten so poor? He was going to blame Taecyeon: Clearly his mate was simply so enthralling that he did not notice anything beyond the brilliance of the beta’s smile. Yes, that sounded reasonable.

As the car started towards the outskirts of town, Nichkhun slouched a little in his seat - kicking the toe of his shoe against the wheel well. “I don’t think they’re going to like me,” he muttered after a moment.

Taecyeon raised an eyebrow at him, though his eyes never left the road (“I’m too young and y to die yet!” he’d claim.) “Why do you say that?”

“City wolves and forest wolves have a bad track record,” Nichkhun reminded his mate. “Remember?”

The brunette winced. “I remember. Your dad tried to murder me when we first met.”

Nichkhun’s features darkened at the memory. His father had claimed he had mistaken Taecyeon for an intruder, but everyone involved knew better. The old wolf had realized his son was “cavorting with the enemy” on a regular basis and had sought to eliminate the threat to the status quo. He had wanted Nichkhun to mate with a powerful ally rather than some forest bumpkin. What the old wolf had not counted on was Nichkhun disobeying orders and fighting back. In fact, by all rights, Nichkhun was the acting leader of the pack - he had defeated his father in the battle for Taecyeon’s life - but that was something the younger alpha chose not to act on...yet. One day, when he was ready, he would take his rightful place as leader of the pack, with his handsome forest bumpkin at his side.

“Don’t worry,” Taecyeon said suddenly, trying to shake off the gloom. “Minjun may be fierce, but he won’t try to kill you. Unless you offend him.” Then the beta turned his head just enough to flash Nichkhun an encouraging smile before returning his whole attention back to the road.

Offending Minjun was actually what concerned Nichkhun the most. You see, the biggest difference between the city wolves and the forest wolves was not their location. If it were only that, they would at least have a common language - some way to communicate that was fair and even. But, instead, the biggest disparity between them was that the city wolves almost never took their canine forms while the forest wolves rarely took their human forms. So, even though they were ultimately - at heart - the same creatures, they functioned in completely different ways. Taecyeon had been doing his best to help Nichkhun become comfortable in his canine form, but it was as though he were trying to learn an entirely different language on the fly. He had learned about sniffing and growling and posture and lip curling. Taecyeon had even given him a lesson on how to hold his tail! There was so much to remember that Nichkhun was absolutely certain he was going to make an absolute mess of everything and then Minjun really would kill him and then there would be war between the packs and then they would all be dead. Clearly, going to meet Taecyeon’s pack was the worst possible idea on the face of the planet.

By the time they arrived at the “last homely house,” as Taecyeon jokingly called it, Nichkhun was a nervous mess. His palms were sweaty, his stomach felt the need to empty itself on his shoes, and his vision was just a touch blurry. Scenting his distress, Taecyeon leaned over to press a soft kiss against the curve of Nichkhun’s cheek. “It’s going to be perfectly fine,” he murmured, tipping his head to nuzzle behind his mate’s ear. “You’re my mate, which means you’re pack to them. They’ll take good care of you.”

“And if they don’t?” Nichkhun asked weakly.

“Then we can go back home and hide in bed for a week,” Taecyeon promised. “Well, except when we escape to the hot tub or snuggle in front of the fireplace.” A wide grin turned his lips. “Because I really, really like the fireplace.”

That got Nichkhun to laugh a little. “Alright, alright. Let’s go before I change my mind.”

With a whoop of joy, Taecyeon slid out of the car and came around to get Nichkhun’s door. He then stole a proper kiss - one that left the alpha weak in the knees - before strapping on their single bag. Once the car was safely locked, Taecyeon stepped off the road and onto the soft loam of the forest floor. “Come on, Khun. I want you to meet the rest of our family.”

Nickhun heaved a sigh before shifting into his canine form. At least he could say that part came easier to him now; it used to take him several minutes to shift, and now he could do it almost immediately. And Taec claimed he was a gorgeous wolf: powerfully built but lean with thick brown fur that faded to a near perfect white on his extremities. Looking between their wolves, though, you would never guess that Nichkhun was the alpha. Beside him, Taecyeon’s pitch black wolf loomed like a benevolent shadow - an affectionate wall of muscle. Taecyeon had once explained that it was likely due to the fact that, in the forest, your wolf had to be strong if you were going to survive while in the city you needed an entirely different set of skills. It made Nichkhun wonder what his wolf would be like if he had been raised in the forest instead of the city: Would he really have been bigger?

When they finally came upon the forest pack, Nichkhun literally stopped short at the sight of them. Only three of the wolves had come to meet them - Minjun, alpha; WooYoung, omega; and Chansung, beta - so as to not overwhelm them right away. Nichkhun suddenly felt very small when he realized that he was, quite literally, the same size as their omega - their omega. Minjun, a beautiful wolf with thick cinnamon fur flecked with gold, was nearly three times his size. In the back corner of his mind, Nichkhun realized how very easily he could die during this meeting; his body would never be found.

His fur bristled as he gazed at the three wolves standing at the opposite side of the clearing, and his head slowly lowered - just enough to show respect to the wolf whose territory he was entering. At his side, Taecyeon gave his tail a little wag in greeting before he leaned over to nose along the fine shape of Nichkhun’s neck, encouraging him to move a little closer. Slowly, Nichkhun took a step forward - left paw, then right. He stopped, scenting the air to parse out the information his olfactory senses were bringing him. Taecyeon yipped softly but remained just a step behind, more than content to wait for Nichkhun to continue his approach. Across the clearing, Minjun stood with his head held high: ears swiveling about on the top of his head like they were trying to pick up a satellite signal. He too scented the approaching wolves, though he was not nearly so emphatic about it as Nichkhun. If anything, he was pleased to note that Taecyeon’s scent was much the same, though it lacked the wooden notes that came from being in the forest. Minjun took a few, slow steps forward, which caused Nichkhun to freeze, lip curling a little. The cinnamon wolf’s ears slicked back against his head, and his lip moved in an answering curl. Nichkhun huffed and at last took another step closer, nearly closing the distance between them.

Minjun’s tail began to cautiously wave behind him as he moved close enough to properly scent Nichkhun. The smaller alpha was still bristled and stiff as he returned the favor, but soon his ears slowly came up. By the time they drew back, something of a canine smile teased at the edges of Minjun’s lips.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly fine.. Right up until the moment where WooYoung decided he had to let the “city interloper” know his place. Puffed up and eyes narrowed, the white omega stepped into the gap Minjun had left and tried to assert dominance over the unfamiliar alpha - pushing into his space. Without even thinking, Nichkhun grabbed him by the back of his neck and gave a little shake, just enough to tell him that, no, WooYoung was not going to be dominant. Almost immediately, the omega dropped to the dirt, stomach facing the sky, and tucked his ears in close to his skull. He whimpered. So maybe showing the city wolf who was boss was a stupid idea.

Minjun growled a soft warning, which made Nichkhun drop his head a little. It had not been his place to punish WooYoung, sure, but showing he was an alpha - even if he was small - had been important. And, judging by the look in the other alpha’s eyes… Minjun agreed. Nichkhun blinked at the keen intelligence he saw in those warm brown eyes. This wolf was no bumpkin, even if he did choose the forest over the city. Suddenly, the forest alpha shifted into his human form, a wide grin on his lips. “You must be Nichkhun. I’m Minjun.”

After glancing at Taecyeon for confirmation, the city wolf shifted and found himself standing eye-to-eye with Minjun. Well, at least there was that. “It’s a pleasure.” The pair bowed slightly, just enough to acknowledge one another, before standing straight once more. “Taecyeon has told me all about you. He’s spoken of little else but our coming to visit.”

At his side, Taecyeon shifted and moved to slip his hand into Nichkhun’s grip. “Babe, you don’t need to be so formal. Jun isn’t that fancy,” he said, a laugh hiding in his voice.

Nichkhun blinked up at his mate. “What do you mean?”

“You were using the ambassador voice,” Taecyeon said, grinning. “And I mean, it’s y, but I don’t think you have to be that stiff here. They’re family, not the enemy.”

“Oh.” Nichkhun ducked his head a little, this time to hide the flush on his cheeks. “Uh, sorry. Taec is still teaching me how to loosen up, I guess.”

Minjun laughed, the sound bright and piercing. “It’s not a problem, Nichkhun. We’re just glad you came! Not many city wolves come out this far from the concrete.”

Chansung, who had shifted to his human form as well, came loping over to lurk at Minjun’s side. “Hey, Taec! Long time no see, man!” The two betas clasped hands and fell into a hug, patting each other firmly on the back. “Your city alpha been taking good care of you?”

“The best,” Taecyeon said firmly.

“Awesome,” Chansung said with a laugh. “Means we won’t have to kill him.”

At their feet, WooYoung finally shifted and sat up on his elbows. “Minjun, were you just going to leave me down here to rot?”

“You kind of deserved it,” the alpha drawled. “Just because you and Taecyeon were childhood best friends forever doesn’t mean you should insult our guest. He is higher rank than you.” Minjun raised a pointed eyebrow at WooYoung, who looked away with a huff. “Come here, you.” Reaching down, Minjun pulled WooYoung to his feet and began to beat the dirt from his clothes with a practiced hand.

Once Minjun had finished, Taecyeon wrapped his arms around WooYoung in a tight hug. “My little Woo-ki-kins,” he cooed, “how I’ve missed you! Did you miss me.”

“No, you loser. Let go.” But there was a smile hiding on WooYoung’s lips as he tried to bury his face in Taecyeon’s broad shoulder. Nichkhun chuckled a little, which drew Minjun’s attention to him.

“You know, Nichkhun,” the other alpha drawled. “I think I like you. You clearly make Taecyeon happy.”

Nichkhun tipped his head to a curious degree, eyes narrowing a little in confusion. “Thank you?” he hazarded. Was this his mate’s pack offering their genuine approval?

“Know what I think it means we should do?” Minjun continued, a wicked glint in his eyes. Slowly, Nichkhun shook his head. “Next time we’re going to have to come visit you. In the city. We can bring the whole pack. Would you like that, Chansung?”

The beta perked up at the news, flailing his arms happily as he danced in place. “Woo! We’re going to go to the big city to visit Taec! That’s going to be awesome! You gonna teach me how to drive Nichkhun? If Taec can drive, I know I can do it too - and I’ll be way better!”

“Going to the city? I’d like that,” WooYoung added in, speaking over Chansung’s continued rambling. “Taec, you could take me shopping. You said it was amazing - better than our market. And if your mate is the alpha, you probably get amazing discounts. Oh, and we can go to that restaurant you wrote me about, too!”

All of the color slowly began to drain from Nichkhun’s face as Taecyeon began to excitedly plan his pack’s visit to the city. Just what had he gotten himself into? But then Taecyeon glanced over, eyes shining with happiness, and Nichkhun knew he would do anything to please his mate, even if it meant hosting a hoard of forest wolves and watching them burn through his bank account. Anything was worth the look of effervescence on his mate's face. Anything.

Well, except let WooYoung boss him around. That was still a no.