If it wasn’t already clear that something was majorly up with Luhan, then the omega’s latest behaviour would have been a drastic cause for concern with his alpha Xiumin but instead it just gave him more of a validation for what was going on with his blond haired baby which in one way was a good thing to know but in another was so downright terrifying that he honestly didn’t know how to cope.

It had all started when Luhan started hoarding blankets.

Not that this was a particularly unusual thing to do, Luhan always had a thing for soft things and blankets were a special favourite thing because despite the fact that he had a full coat of glistening white fur there was nothing he liked more than curling up under a ton of blankets which usually had Xiumin literally having to dig through them all to find him for cute kisses and cuddles that were always way too hot but if there was one thing that Xiumin couldn’t resist it was his omega being cute and fluffy in his blankets.

But considering that the number of blankets that Luhan was gathering virtually meant that no one else in the house had any and he was still seeking out more, Xiumin had long began to put two and two together and figured that this was going to probably be one of the hardest times for them all. It was especially going to be hard for him because he didn’t quite know what he was going to do about the cubs.

Suho, in one of his brief minor spells away from his ever present watch over Lay, had already confronted him about it and he agreed that it was the same sort of feelings that went through his heart whenever he looked upon Tao and Kai. He loved them unconditionally because they were cubs who had been through the worst possible start in life but there was a part of him that wanted to get rid of them too. The alpha in his mind was dissatisfied about his mate having potentially another cub with someone else but it wasn’t fair to hold it against the cub who had only committed the crime of being born.

Xiumin had sworn not to kill any of Luhan’s cubs because he knew that it would devastate the mind of his precious omega but he didn’t honestly know if he would be able to become a protective and loving father to them. He was only mildly jealous of Kris and Chanyeol because whilst there was still a high possibility of the omega baring cubs that were not the alphas, they already had a son who was clearly there’s and nothing could change that fact. It was a situation that he really didn’t want to face in the slightest but with each new blanket that Luhan took to add to the mound as the omega tried to build a safe cave to give birth in, Xiumin’s heart grew heavy with fear and worry.

Though one day whilst he was out shopping, his eyes fell on a baby blanket that was bright blue and had a sort of owl design on it at one end that made it so that the blanket could be turned into a toy. He had watched an expectant mother play with the blanket before her friends called her away and unable to explain himself, the wolf moved quickly and added it to the weekly shopping basket.

Chen had laughed when he found it and called him a big soppy love sick daddy but it was all in good fun and Xiumin knew that the other would have been worse if he knew for certain that Baekhyun was pregnant. Though with the way he already spoiled the three cubs they had it was nothing hard to guess that he had no problems with any of them.

When he had given the blanket come Owl plushi to Luhan, the omega had stared at it in complete wonder for the longest time before suddenly breaking into tears and throwing himself at his mate with a renewed vigour and intimacy that had been lacking purely due to the side effects of the sedative which had been used way too much on the young omega to make him compliant. “Xiumin!” he cried, the first time he had actually used his mates name in the last two months since they had been rescued, “My Xiumin.”

For the first time the alpha broke, unable to hide his uttermost joy at hearing those words and he point blank broke down and wept like a cub. It was so much of a surprise that even the cubs, well Sehun who was getting a bit more adventurous and kept on turning up all around the house, came to check on what the noise was because no one had ever heard Xiumin cry. Even on the long, dark lonely nights when they had had no idea where their mates had gone, Xiumin had not shed a tear.

The next day Luhan was a little more jittery once again but seemed far happier to have the alpha in sight or at least calling distance and slowly the pair edged back together. Occasionally Luhan would freak out and back away but then end up in tears and would want to hold onto Xiumin’s foot or hand and at night he would curl up against the others back through the blankets and the alpha accepted that. Ren said that Luhan was making good progress and hopefully with the arrival of his cubs the side effects would disappear further because he would have something to seriously focus on and protect.

Xiumin was still terrified for the day that the cubs arrived because he simply didn’t know what he would do.

On the day it happened though, not even Luhan was prepared for it and the omega had been hoarding blankets for the better part of three months.

They were all down in the living room, minus Suho and Lay, watching television for the first time and it was some ditzy kid’s television show about a dog that the cubs seemed to be completely fascinated with. All three had quite literally abandoned their toys to just sit and stare, watching the animated characters with a keen interest and it was completely cute as in their wolfish ways they started to intimidate the calls that they heard on the screen.

Xiumin was barely paying attention to what was going on however, because Luhan had gifted him the most rewarding and surprising treat of the entire day. The blond was sitting in his lap, lying back and actually allowing the alpha to hug him from behind and all of Xiumin’s senses and emotions were in a state of high bliss. Normally when Luhan could be persuaded out of his blanket fort on the bed he would be either looking for more blankets or sticking firmly to the omegas though occasionally breaking off to give Xiumin a very quick hug or on rare occasions a kiss before flitting off once again. Sometimes he would come and eat meals with them too and always sat shyly next to his alpha with soft smiles, shy glances and touches as if to say, ‘I’m here, but give me time’.

So today when he had come down and without any warning just sat on Xiumin’s lap to cuddle into him, the alpha had gone from pure terror to absolute bliss because he did not want this moment to end. It had been too long and he really wanted nothing more than to bundle the precious omega up to let him know that he was truly loved and would be forever more.

It was probably this happy buzzy feeling that dulled his senses just a little too long but Xiumin felt his nose twitch as a sudden stench assaulted it and his first instinct was to look towards the cubs to make sure they hadn’t had an accident or something. All three were perfectly fine and were still engrossed in their show so the smell wasn’t coming from them.

Then the alpha registered that there was a warm dampness on his leg and he turned to look down before hurriedly choking down a yell of pure fear that ran through him. There was a huge wet patch on his short covered legs and it was a mixture of clear fluid and blood.

“Chanyeol,” Xiumin said, breaking through the quiet of the afternoon and startling virtually everyone, “Call the doctor.”

“What?” Chanyeol said, turning to look at the other, “Wh...”

The syllables died on his throat as Xiumin hoisted Luhan up into his arms, jolting the half asleep omega in the process and the evidence of what was going on was immediately clear to see. He nodded quickly and nudged Chen, “Cubs to Baekhyun, now. Kris go tell Suho what’s going on and I’ll get the doctor. You know what to do right?”

Xiumin didn’t respond, instead hurrying straight up the stairs and back to the blanket fort where Luhan looked at him with wide eyes, almost as if he had no idea as to what was going on in the slightest. Gently the alpha set his mate down into the blankets and started to slowly tug off his already soaking with sweat shirt with as much softness as he could muster even though he was shaking in terror, “It’s okay, baby, it’s going to be okay.”

Luhan’s senses finally caught up with him and he let out a whimpered yell as he dug his fingers into the other’s arms, a look of fear crossing his face, “Xiumin?”

“I know, I know Xiao Lu,” Xiumin said softly, pressing a kiss to the trembling lips, “You’re going to be safe, you’re going to be fine. We can get through this.”

Suddenly the omega’s hands were on his face and even though he looked completely terrified and close to breaking down, the words that left Luhan’s lips were perfectly articulated and precise, “Min…please, promise me one thing. Just one.”

“Anything,” Xiumin breathed out, mesmerised by the others’ eyes which were glistening with a thousand different emotions.

“Don’t kill them,” Luhan said softly, almost as if he were forbidden to even think of it, “Please, Xiumin, don’t kill my babies.”

The request was so simple and heart breaking that for a moment the alpha was sure that he hadn’t heard it in the slightest and then anger flared through him before that too completely slammed down to an odd sort of relief. Suddenly he knew that this was no about him or his mixed up feelings towards what had happened to Luhan. This was about him accepting that his mate was going to have cubs and he had to step up to the mark and be the father that they would all need. Cubs were innocent, they didn’t need to be brandished for a sin that they had not committed and all thoughts of doing any killing were shoved straight out of his mind by his omega’s request.

“I won’t,” Xiumin said, replying back in the same whisper, “We’re in this together and I’ll raise them as mine.”

For the first time in what felt like forever, the beautiful sunshine filled smile with the matching crescent moon eye smile crossed Luhan’s face as tears trickled down his face as he leaned across to press a kiss to his mate’s lips, silently repeating the words ‘Thank You’ over and over again.

Eventually Xiumin was led away from the room, though not that long after Luhan had changed into his wolf form but his mate lingered by the door not wanting to hear the pain that the other was going through but knowing that only omegas could be present during this time. Alphas that did stray in, even to help their mates, tended to get bitten on the nose and that was only if they were extremely lucky.

Minutes turned into hours and the others would come to check on Xiumin but no one entered the bedroom or came out of it. The waiting was almost killing everyone and Xiumin was sure that he would go insane if he had to wait any more but then the door opened with a click and the doctor signalled for him to come inside.

Slowly Xiumin pulled himself upright and his first instinct was to head for the blanket fort but Ren carefully took hold of his arm and pulled him towards a basket, “We thought it would be easier if you…”

Whatever the younger wolf said, Xiumin did not hear as his senses zoomed in on the basket which contained four little pups who broke his heart. They were all malformed in some way or other, having not been allowed to grow and develop properly and they were all so small. Tears welled in his eyes as he reached out to brush his hands along their sticky fur, already knowing that all four were long gone and feeling completely devastated because he knew that Luhan would not be able to cope with this in the slightest.

“Oh my babies, I’m so sorry,” he said in a mere whisper, hoping not to disturb his precious omega, “So sorry.”

Ren placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and squeezed tightly.

Though Xiumin found himself suddenly jolting in surprise when he felt movement beneath his fingers. Looking closer he realised that his fingers had slipped in-between two of the cubs and there was just the tiniest bit of movement there. Instincts snapping immediately into action, Xiumin moved to grab at whatever was moving and lifted it up, pulling an almost incomprehensibly tiny cub out from between its two siblings who was most definitely squirming around in his hold.

Xiumin wasted no time, grabbing the first blanket that came to hand, only later realising that it was the owl one which he had purchased, and placed the tiny cub inside. He was practically swallowed up by the blue fuzz but the alpha barely noticed as his main concern right now was to protect the baby and get him to its mother. Handing the blanket to Ren, Xiumin changed into his wolf form before taking the full bundle back into his mouth and headed straight into the fort.

Luhan was whimpering in his wolf form, already fearing the worst but when his eyes landed on the small bundle in Xiumin’s mouth, instincts kicked in and he quickly helped his mate to get the tiny cub out of his blanket enough so that he could start feeding. Neither parent spoke, knowing that the next few hours were make or break for the youngster and one wrong step could spell disaster for the young cub.

Ren took his leave and made sure to close the door, shaking his head towards the nervous onlookers. “One but I don’t know if he’ll make the night. They’re looking after him though.”

It wasn’t until the next evening that anyone emerged from the room and it was a very exhausted looking Xiumin who was carrying the basket with one of the many blankets covering the contents. Chanyeol looked up from his post and blinked, “Oh don’t tell me.”

“We have a cub,” Xiumin smiled so brightly though he still had tears in his eyes as he looked down to the basket, “One beautifully little cub. His brothers and sister were protecting him because he is so little but he’s feeding fine and should grow strong.”

Awkwardly Chanyeol gave Xiumin a hug and patted his back harshly, “Well done.”

“Thank you,” Xiumin smiled, looking down at the basket, “I’m going to put these guys in the little garden at the back with the others. The one that the omegas set up but they don’t think we know about yet. I think it’s fitting.”

“Very” Chanyeol said with a soft smile towards the other, “Do you want a hand?”

“No, this is my job,” Xiumin said, “Go and tell the others that they have Kyungsoo to welcome to the family if Luhan ever stops fussing over him of course.” 

authors babbling: yeah this chapter struck me as being one that should have all sorts of feels and hopefully it does. Not too much with the cubs but they'll be wanting to play with their newest addition soon. Also in case some people haven't read back, I changed the doctors name in previous chapters to make this fit after I realised that I had made a silly mistake. Anyways hope that you enjoyed and see you on the next update