As soon as Jongin screamed Jongdae’s name, Chanyeol was the first to bolt out the door, his heart thundering in his chest when, only seconds later, a scream from the floor beneath them was heard, with Baekhyun soon after, followed by Kyungsoo.

He flew across the hall and down the stairs to come to the horrifying sight of Jongdae, on the floor, struggling against someone, tears escaping from his eyes as he seemed to be losing the battle, the blade inching slower and slower.

Chanyeol almost let out a choked scream as Jongdae’s hands, which were holding onto the figure’s arms, lost their strength and the dagger flew down, almost hitting his neck if not for the fact that the smaller male turned his head to the side ridiculously fast, yelping at the nick of the blade on the flesh beneath his ear.

For a moment, just a moment, their eyes locked and Jongdae, tear running silently down his face, mingling with his hair, looked desperately at him, mouth opening to say something when he whimpered at the hand pushing his face violently on the floor.

Chanyeol didn’t know if it was Jongdae’s desperate face, the fact that the smaller was what he would call, begrudgingly, a friend, or the fact that he was really small and defenseless compared to the wolf on top of him, but he lost all reason and with a snarl, a very loud snarl, he launched himself at whoever was on top of Jongdae, with a clear intent of destroying.

Jongdae let out a huge gasp of air falling from his lips as the weight of the other wolf was out of his. His hand was throbbing a little and the shock was really making it difficult for him to move but he completely sagged against Kyungsoo’s familiar arms when the priest enveloped him tightly, clearly relieved that he was okay.

He looked to the side and saw Chanyeol, choking the heck out the unknown wolf, teeth showing and sinking his fingers so tightly that Jongdae really thought that anymore pressure applied to the assailant’s neck would snap the spine and separate the head from the rest of the body.

Baekhyun, arrived at his brother’s side in a second, trying to separate the both of wolves: the plan was to discover who was behind him and see who was trying to murder Kyungsoo, as in showing his face, and not exactly kill him.

It was a real struggle, Chanyeol was absolutely fixed on killing the other and it took quite a while for Baekhyun to be able to pull Chanyeol of the other wolf.

“Calm down! We are trying to find who may want to hurt Kyungsoo, not trying to damage him enough so that he can answer our questions.” he ordered his brother in a calm and low tone of voice, remembering the other what was the objective of what they were doing.

Chanyeol debated himself a little when Baekhyun held him. In a way, as Jongdae noticed, it was a little disconcerting that, while Chanyeol tried to disentangle himself from Baekhyun, Baekhyun’s strength was superior to the younger male and Chanyeol was already big as bear, looking massive and strong as hell; to know Baekhyun was stronger than him was saying something, and Baekhyun didn’t even looked the part, so that only show how deceiving looks could be.

Curiously enough, what actually made him snap out of his fury was a whimper that Jongdae let out when Kyungsoo grabbed his hands, trying to pull him up into a standing position.

The taller man immediately stopped, making Baekhyun let him go, and approached the smaller beta, with hesitant steps, as an overgrown toddler trying to approach someone he had just met. The tall wolf bent down next to Jongdae.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He asked a bit gruffly, although his eyes were concerned and soft.

Jongdae couldn’t really process the question, the shock of the sudden attack and his nearly death experience made him mute; he really tended to black out and his soul left his body in moments like this, turning him into a turnip really.

“I think he is fine.” Replied Kyungsoo in his friend’s turn. “I think that he hurt his wrist though.”

“Did you Jongdae?”

“It hurts a little.” He mumbled finally, the attention of both men being able to break him of the state he was in.

Inadvertently, Chanyeol picked up Jongdae up, gently cradling the beta to his chest, stating, in a no nonsense voice, that he was going to take Jongdae to the bedroom to take a look at his wrist, making Baekhyun raise his eyebrows in his brother’s direction, surprised at the change of attitude.

Kyungsoo approached Baekhyun after Chanyeol began moving.

“Whoever that was is gone!” said the priest, looking over at Baekhyun with serious eyes.

“It was. As soon as Chanyeol let him go, he ran through the door.”

It had been true; whoever tried to hurt Kyungsoo or Jongdae, Baekhyun was a little confused at the moment and so was Kyungsoo, after all Jongin’s vision had led them to other conclusions and none of them had foreseen this ending, had slipped away from the moment that Baekhyun had pulled Chanyeol out of him, not letting his brother maim that person.

“We didn’t see who it was…”

“I know, Baekhyun, but it’s preferable that Jongdae is alright. Obviously, solving this would be the ideal: knowing who was behind this, their intention and who is behind all this. In conclusion, we know nothing, but that doesn’t mean that we wound figure it out.” Replied Kyungsoo soothingly, using a hand to pat Baekhyun’s back.

“It is still a little disappointing; it was intention all alone and he couldn’t find it for you or for Jongdae. I am really confused to who was the target of this. I apologize for not being able to be more helpful.” Apologized Baekhyun in a low tone of voice, wishing that things could’ve been done and happened in a different kind of way.

“Don’t apologize. You helped with Jongdae and he is now safe and sound thanks to you and Chanyeol.”

“You should close the doors, so that we don’t have any more surprises tonight, and then we should check on Jongdae and Jongin as well.”

“We don’t usually close the temple doors.” Told him Kyungsoo, a little apprehensively.

Baekhyun looked over at him an idea coming over at him just by the spoken words.

“Close it!” he said with a nod and an assertive tone.

Kyungsoo, understanding the other must’ve had some kind of plan or idea, regarding his request, actually went to close the doors, closing it and locking it with the keys around his neck that weren’t usually used; he only ever used it when violent storms occurred.

“What’s the plan?” asked Kyungsoo coming to stand next to Baekhyun, as the both of them made the way back to the his room.

“I asked you to close the doors precisely to let people see it. When they see it, they will question it and when they question about it, you’ll tell everyone that Jongdae was attacked at the temple, inside, while praying for Sehun’s health. When people hear about this, security will be reinforced around you and Jongdae, so you’ll both be protected, as the whole village, I’ll assume. Aside from protection for you both, and Sehun, of course, this could be a way for someone to reveal something more about this situation.”

“How?” enquired Kyungsoo, not understanding the last sentence nor the logic of it. “I understand the protection part but how can it lead us to learn more?”

“Because you will state that you were alone, in your room, feeling a little sick, when you heard Jongdae scream. As you approached the altar, you see someone trying to hurt Jongdae with a knife and that, when that person saw you, it ran away.”

“What is the purpose of lying?”

“Aside from us and that other wolf, no one knows what actually happened in here and if someone contradicts your version, then it must be someone who either knows something about it or someone who did this.”

“Oh!” was the sound that left Kyungsoo’s lips. “That’s actually a pretty good strategy. No one will know the truth and if someone ever says it wasn’t like that, they know.”

“Exactly! You just need to be very precise and tell everyone that Jongdae hurt himself. When someone that you know comes tomorrow and knocks at the temple’s doors, yelling for you, just look feeble and week, scared over your own shadow to give the impression you were too scared to leave the temple and ask for help. That way no one can say anything about you not calling for help; it will be credible!”

“Okay!” nodded Kyungsoo. “Okay! Let’s talk to the others than and see how are Jongdae and Jongin.”

“We really should; Jongin’s vision was extremely violent and I really hope that he is feeling okay and the same for Jongdae.” Replied Baekhyun, letting a hand, a rather slender hand Kyungsoo noticed, ran through his golden locks, disarraying his already mussed hair. “These have been some rough weeks; especially for you!”

“No rougher than what you’ve or your brothers have been through, if you allow me the comment.”

Baekhyun looked over to Kyungsoo, not seeming a little bit bothered by the comment although Kyungsoo slightly suspected that the other male wasn’t too inclined to speak about it, after all it still was, probably, a sensitive topic to him.

“It isn’t as if I don’t think what I went through or that what I’ve experienced is sadder than other people; I don’t try to compare these sorts of situations.” Replied Baekhyun, at last, with a slight shrug of his shoulder. “I do try to stay positive and hold on to what I still have, the good things in my life, which are my brothers. Living in the past, prolonging the pain will only keep you suffering and that way I can’t keep focused on what I have to do which is protecting them. However, comparing experiences, as I was saying, is useless and unhuman; who are we to measure each other’s pain and declaring that you have it worse or better than someone? We have what we have and that’s it.”

“It’s an interesting and wise perspective.”

For the first time Kyungsoo had known Baekhyun, the golden haired male gave a small smile.

“I try to keep things interesting; got to have something working for me, as my social skills are poor as it is: long time living in the wilderness and the half with only two people as company or a relatively calm group of nymphs and banshees…”

That was humor and Kyungsoo found himself chuckling along.

“Well, let us talk about our qualities later on; let us check on the boys first.”

With a slight nod, Baekhyun followed Kyungsoo to the room; they hadn’t much time until dawn, and everything needed to be cleared out and everyone had to be take care of before they could move.

As soon as both Kyungsoo and Baekhyun reentered the room, they were faced with a scene that was certainly unexpected: Jongin was lying on Kyungsoo’s bed, very pale and sweating bullets, probably still suffering the aftershocks of such a sudden vision, still trembling slightly, Jongdae was sitting near Jongin’s stomach, also pale and slightly shaking, holding tightly to his wrist while Chanyeol, big and sturdy Chanyeol, was hovering uncertainly in front of the two of them, divided in rubbing his brother’s shoulders comfortingly, guiding him out of the symptoms that came after a vision, and cleaning Jongdae’s neck, which had trickles of blood running down it, although it was in small quantities, not enough to be concerning, instead looking like those superficial cuts that annoyingly bled a lot.

Baekhyun was certainly taken aback to see his brother looking so concerned over someone that wasn’t Jongin, especially taking into consideration that was the exactly same person which whom he butted heads more than once.

Jongin looked over at them as soon as they got inside the room, his eyes, although tired and pained, crinkled in a smile, seeing that they were perfectly fine, which led them to assume that Chanyeol had burst inside the room without even considering to update the Oracle.

Kyungsoo, as he seemed the most rational out of them at the moment, excluding Baekhyun himself, approached the Oracle wolf and, in a soft voice, began to explaining what had just happened to the wolf who listened carefully and attentively.

Chanyeol, noting that his brother was being taken care of by Kyungsoo, whom he considered trustworthy due to his obvious gentleness and pure mind, perks of being a priest, focused solely on Jongdae who was shaken but growing slightly uneasy at the amount of attention that was been given to him by the taller male.

“Does it hurt?” asked the taller man gruffly, pointing to Jongdae’s wrist.

Jongdae didn’t answer, opting for looking out at the wolf in front of him with distrusting eyes, his voice seemingly lost, either at the sudden attention or back when he was attack by whomever and almost lost his life.

“Does it hurt or not?” asked Chanyeol again, a little impatient and somewhat concerned, using  a hand to capture the other’s wrist, making Jongdae let out a hiss through his teeth that has Chanyeol retrieving his hand like it had been set on fire.

“It does hurt!” croaked Jongdae slightly, brows furrowing in distaste at the mangled sound of his voice that he assumed was a consequence of having his throat almost crushed by the wolf who had tried to hurt him.

“I’m sorry!” apologized the taller man. “You weren’t exactly saying anything; you weren’t answering!”

“Don’t forget that force was applied to his throat, Chanyeol!” said Baekhyun coming near them and inspecting Jongdae’s throat carefully, nose twisting in distaste at the sight of very faint dark coloration that the skin was rapidly obtaining. “Your throat is bruised and, due to the force that was used, my guess is that it is going to be sore on the next few days and that you should rest your vocal chords as much as you can so that the zone can recover from the swelling and your voice returns to normal. Honeyed drinks are the best, not very cold and not very hot either.”

While Baekhyun wasn’t any doctor, he knew the fair basics about wounds and some other sicknesses, not widely but enough to diagnose this in the appropriate way, albeit he did tell Jongdae to seek a healer afterwards, who could, maybe, have good medicine that would help him faster.

“Your wrist does not appear to be broken.” The wolf mused out loud, looking over at the mentioned zone. “Just swollen and bruised! What do you say Chanyeol?”

The taller wolf, very gently, took the wrist in his hand, slightly marveled at how little the hand and wrist were, when compared to his own, and how the beta had such a petite figure.

“I don’t think it is broken.” Replied the man after inspecting thoroughly the area. “Severely sprained. You need to ice it and keep minimal movements when it comes to it.”

The last part of the sentence had been directed to Jongdae whose eyebrows rose in his forehead, almost comically high, at the comment, more so when Chanyeol lightly massaged the area with his thumbs, before returning the hand to Jongdae’s lap, eyeing the smaller male straight in the eye, as a visual validation that Jongdae had heard what he had said, his diagnose, on his wrist, and a possible confirmation of Jongdae’s part on the treatment that he deemed appropriate to his injury.

“How are you Jongin?” asked Baekhyun out loud, making Chanyeol focusing a little on his younger brother and allowing Jongdae to have some space to breathe, it was obvious that the other male was feeling a little skittish and Chanyeol’s pressuring him wasn’t helping; it was actually freaking out the man more than anything, if Baekhyun was reading correctly.

“I am quite alright!” replied the man with a weak smile. “It hit me quite forcefully this time but everything was so fast that my body’s reacting in a different way I guess…”

“Oh?” was the little noise that Kyungsoo made, eyebrows flying upwards. “Is that strange?”

“Not strange but certainly different: I have never had such quick vision. I usually pass out and throw up even but it hasn’t been the case. I just feel very nauseated and faint, as if my body is still halfway from all those symptoms.”

“Speaking of that, I thought it was supposed to be Kyungsoo who they were after!”

“I never said it was Kyungsoo, just that I’ve heard a sound that Kyungsoo does, admittedly, have in his name but I wasn’t sure if it was him, the only real lead I had was the bracelet.”

“My bracelet!” exclaimed Kyungsoo all of a sudden, reminding himself of his prized possession.

“I have it.” Stated Jongdae sounding really exhausted, squirming a little when Chanyeol’s attention was drawn back to him and the man began to clean the area were the unknown wolf had cut Jongdae.

Using his good hand, Jongdae pulled the bracelet out of the pocket of his robe and handed it to Kyungsoo who was extremely relieved and put it on without second thoughts, rubbing the pending fondly. Jongdae knew that Kyungsoo was thinking about the same man who had given him the bracelet.

“I know it’s important to you, so I kept hold of it!” replied Jongdae softly, earning him a grateful glance and a heartfelt ‘thank you’ in return.

“So, it was supposed to be Kyungsoo…” began Chanyeol uncertainly “but something changed it?”

“I suppose! The vision I had today was far different from the vision that I had previously but this time, it was clearly Jongdae’s face and he was struggling against someone with a knife. It was brief, as if it just a flash of image just exploded before my eyes, inside my mind, and I just knew…” explained Jongin, using a hand to rub at his temples were a headache was forming.

“So what changed things?”

“The bracelet!” exclaimed Jongdae all of a sudden, looking far more alive than he was seconds ago, moving so quickly that Chanyeol pressed too hard on his small wound, making the man hiss.

“The bracelet?” asked Kyungsoo confused, looking at the aforementioned object, while Jongin and Baekhyun turned to look over the beta with enquiring but frowning faces.

“Yes! If you all remember, Jongin mentioned that, on his vision, Kyungsoo had the bracelet; I was able to identify him over the said bracelet, but tonight, when everything was supposed to happen, Kyungsoo didn’t, in fact, have the bracelet: it was downstairs on the altar and I was the one who picked it up.”

Everyone’s face changed has the words of Jongdae and his observation was assimilated.

“That’s right!” mumbled Jongin. “I did saw the bracelet and tonight Kyungsoo didn’t have it!”

“I left it downstairs when I went to pick some food this afternoon, I had half a mind to picked it up before you came inside but I forgot, plus since it was already night I didn’t dare to leave the room alone.”

“That must’ve been the trigger to change the vision!” nodded Baekhyun, agreeing whole heartedly with the theory. “However, why did it go for Jongdae? His eyes flashed and he certainly didn’t show the colors of an omega but ones of a beta; my question: is why did it keep going for Jongdae even if it was not the correct target? We all know that priests are always omegas, be it on your pack, my pack, all the packs; he knew it wasn’t Kyungsoo!”

Baekhyun’s words made them look over at Jongdae who shrunk back a little at the gazes on him. Seeing the scared look on Jongdae’s face, Jongin rushed to appease his mind.

“Let us not draw more conclusions from this than it is supposed too; my guess is that it probably notice his mistake and intended to not leave witnesses, it would probably go for Kyungsoo next but you appeared and it got away.”

“I think he knew me!” piped Jongdae making, once again, everyone’s eyes turn to him. “Whoever attacked me, I think he knew me!”

“Why do you say that?” asked Kyungsoo kneeling in front of his friend and grabbing one hand, rubbing the skin there, trying to provide some comfort.

“His eyes…They seemed so familiar, as if I had seen them before, somewhere. It looked at me and there was just something…” revealed Jongdae. “I think I know who it is and he knew who I was!”

“Do you think you’d been able to identify them if it was the case?” asked Baekhyun.

“I don’t know. Maybe! It was dark and it might have been just a trick of my mind. But I can definitely try!” replied the beta with a shrug of his shoulders, trying to suppress a shiver that went through his spine as he remembered the pair of dark eyes that stared at him minutes ago, while their owner tried to finish his life.

“That’s all we ask. Don’t stress yourself over it but be aware and any suspicion you have, please inform us.” Soothed Baekhyun.

“What are we going to do now? And you? What are you going to do?” asked Jongdae, looking over at the trio in front of him.

“I think it’s safe to assume that, the next few days, security will tighten around here.” Stated Baekhyun briefly explaining the next course of action to both his brothers and Jongdae: the one that he had just discussed with Kyungsoo. “That means we will have limited contacted, if any, in the following days. I think you should now focus on getting better and see that Sehun recovers fast enough; also, try and be together as much as possible. In the meanwhile, we are going to try and go to the northern part of your village, using the advantage that we have: our enhanced senses, and try to see what is being hidden there. We’ll find a way to contact you once we are done with it and if you need to talk to us soon, you know where to find us.”

“How are you going get out of here?” asked Kyungsoo in an extremely low voice to Baekhyun.

“The same way we came. We needed Jongdae to actually find the temple, the way back can be easily found. We’ll use our senses to check for any wolves that can cross our way. On that note we easily get out of here, although I am sure that Jongin being semi ill could be a problem but, in reality, we have faced far worse things than this.”

“I wish I could help you…” mumbled Kyungsoo with sincerity, wishing that he could do something to help the males escape.

“I know but you can’t; after all, the killer might be around, or waiting for another opportunity, although it doesn’t seem like an option since Chanyeol took care of him. And Jongdae is hurt and should rest. It was a bad experience for him altogether.”

Kyungsoo nodded at the other’s words, both fixing their eyes in the scene before them: Jongin and Jongdae, like any normal wolf, sensing that there were someone who wasn’t feeling well: each other, they had scooted over and curled to each other. Wolves were tactile creatures and, even though they didn’t belong to the same pack, there was a sense of friendship, in the primal meaning, bonding the two of them, making them act like this.

Chanyeol was hovering above them, still looking concerned at the both males on top of the bed, his eyes switching from one to another in a rapid succession and Baekhyun fought a grin at the side, a theory forming in his head when he thought about what he was seeing.

“We need to go now.” Stated Baekhyun, after a few moments of silence. “It’s nearing dawn and we need to get out of here before there is too much light for us to be identified.”

“Okay.” Replied Kyungsoo.

There was a moment where everyone scurried to hurry up and get all the necessary things they needed to get away, Chanyeol had to uncurl Jongin from Jongdae and were a little saddened when Jongdae, who basically had fallen asleep thanks to Jongin’s warmth, whined at the back of his throat, pawing at the bed linen in search of the source of heat that left.

“Is he going to be alright?” asked Jongin, pointing with his chin to the male on the bed.

“Jongdae is going to be just fine; some rest and the general knowledge of more security will help him. I just can’t wait for either Minseok and the other alphas to return or Kris and Junmyeon to come back from their trip… we need them here. We need some kind of leadership that isn’t the Council.”

Baekhyun put a hand on top of Kyungsoo’s shoulder, trying to give the man some strength. From what he understood, there was a lot going on in this pack, which was ruled by someone fair but fighting against the power of a Council that was almost rotten to the core. The troubles kept popping out as secrets began to be unraveled and it seemed that some wolves, which he knew by the names of Sehun, Kyungsoo and Jongdae, kept paying for mistakes that were not theirs and for trying to bring some justice into the world they lived on.

“You are not alone; we are going to help you. Remember that! Even if things take a turn for the worst we are here for you, you can come to us!”

Kyungsoo nodded gratefully and the trio, without making a single noise, got out of the temple by climbing down the window they had entered. Kyungsoo stood there watching them leave, mixing themselves with the darkness and making themselves invisible.

He took a last look out of the window, not seeing them anymore, and them turning to Jongdae who was now deep asleep on his bed, his hurt hand curling itself near his chest, protectively.

“I might be saying this a lot lately, but help us all! Or else we are all dead!”

Getting back to their little cave on the outskirts of Jongdae’s village wasn’t a difficult task; even when Jongin was stumbling across the way like an elephant, too nauseated and dizzy to properly function.

As soon as they arrived to the safety of their little alcove, Jongin immediately laid down on the soft robe that Kyungsoo allowed them to bring with them, trying to rest a little, since he was still feeling worse for wear.

To give his brother a little privacy Baekhyun and Chanyeol stepped outside, looking over at the sky and at the pretty colors that came with sunrise. Chanyeol sat near to Baekhyun which was an unusual act all by itself; Chanyeol wasn’t really close to himself, at least nowadays, or since he hit puberty. There was a calm atmosphere and, for once, Baekhyun feel light and kind of happy that his brother had interacted, albeit silently, with him, not running away and isolating himself or Baekhyun.

“Do you really think that they are going to be fine?” asked Chanyeol after a while, looking at the sky, instead of his brother.

It was not very common for Chanyeol, who acted all strong and stoic all the time, to ask for assurance, to admit that, for whatever reason, although Baekhyun had an inkling about hose, he wasn’t sure of what was coming next or even doubt something. For him to actively pursue Baekhyun was something amazing on its own.

“I think they are going to be fine. They have their bounds and their friendship working in their favor. They care immensely for each other and that is the reason why they will be able to surpass all the present problems and the ones they have yet to face. They will be okay.”

“It’s just that…” Chanyeol was fumbling with the words and Baekhyun had to look over at his brother a little surprised at how flustered the other was.

“I get it!” replied the older, knowing fully well what Chanyeol was referring to.

“No!” denied Chanyeol, looking over at his brother, in the eye, without aggression, for what it seemed like years, in Baekhyun’s perspective “You don’t!”

“I do Chanyeol!” insisted Baekhyun in a calm voice. “I know that I am nowhere near of being a person that you like or you even admire, but I do know you and I do pay attention to you and what you do or say, contrary to popular belief. I know!”

“You don…”

“Jongdae’s your mate!” declared Baekhyun calmly to a surprised Chanyeol.

“How did you know?” asked Chanyeol in a strangled voice.

“How did you?” asked Baekhyun back.

“The smell!” replied the taller promptly. “I’ve caught the smell once, when I found him and Sehun for the first time and rescue them from the gorgon thing but the smell was so faint, hidden by the alcohol and the herbs from the festival they had that I paid no attention to it. It is hard to get some other scent when he is constantly surrounded by other wolves, their scents mix and it becomes hard to identify the person’s real smell, even with our superior senses. I kept getting whiffs of it but I never linked one thing to another. Today, when he was attacked and he was scared, his scent became much more powerful and it overpowered all the smells at the temple. That’s when I realized it and that was when I knew it.”

It wasn’t common knowledge but every wolf had liberty to choose the wolf they desire to mate with; they chose the wolf with the smell that appealed the most to him and whose personality matched with his own and they courted it until the affections were either accepted or denied; Berserkers were a totally different case, due to their enhanced sense of smell, they grew fond over a particular scent and that scent; the scent of their mates and, while common wolves could search another mate if denied, Berserkers didn’t: once they found the ‘it’ scent for them, it was the only person they would ever look at in their entire lives, the only person, beside the oracle, who they served. For Berserkers, a mate was for life.

“So Jongdae is IT for you!” stated Baekhyun softly, not really knowing what to say; he wasn’t great at social skills, much less romance.

“He is! And I’ve treated him badly, over and over again because I chose to ignore the obvious.”

“It’s not an irreversible situation: Jongdae is a good person and a rational one, you just need to show him a better side of your side instead of your fighting side. Court him like you would in a normal situation and I believe you’d be fine.”

“Do you?”

“I do! However, I suggest you to talk to Jongin when he wakes up, he’s far better with social skills than I am.”

Chanyeol hummed in reply, looking a little awkward and very troubled. Baekhyun knew the thought that were plaguing his brother’s mind.

“Chanyeol.” He called making the taller look at him. “Stop thinking whatever you are thinking. Stop imagining all the negative things that happened between you and Jongdae and stop thinking that he will never accept you. Focus on showing you what you are, how perfect you are for him.”

“He’ll never believe that I like him; how can I suddenly change the image he has of me? How can I explain that he is attractive to me and this is an affection based only on our genetic code?”

One thing that wolves pondered, or at least, some of them did, was the fact that mating was something that came with their DNA’s, as a wolf, you were meant to have a match, a wolf out there perfect for you; which affected some relationships when wolves began to enquire themselves if the attraction they felt was really affection or simply a need that their DNA demanded them to fulfill.

“You were somewhat attracted to him before this started. It was obvious or do you really want me to talk about all the between the both of you; try to fool whoever you want but that was you pulling pigtails, it wasn’t because you disliked him.”

Baekhyun knew he was right from the moment that Chanyeol turned his head and the tips of his ears turned slightly pink.

“He will like you; you just need to let him see you, all of you. How could he not?” asked Baekhyun with a small smile towards his brother.

He stood up, intending to give the younger male some space to think and to check Jongin up, possibly to get some rest as well.

“Get some rest soon Chanyeol. You need it!” he told his brother before turning away and walking to the entrance of their cave.

“Thank you!”

At Chanyeol’s voice, Baekhyun stopped and turned to the other wolf. It had been the first time that Chanyeol ever thanked him over something ever since their parents died. Words failing him, Baekhyun nodded in the other’s direction before continuing his way.”

“Baekhyun?”

The older wolf stopped once again, not turning, just waiting.

“I’m sorry!”

Baekhyun knew that the apology was more than it let on, that it was an apology meant for more than the last few hours, that it was an apology for all those years when Chanyeol hadn’t uttered them.

It didn’t, even for a second, mend their relationship but it was a bridge that had been constructed and Baekhyun had all the intent on exploring it.

He didn’t say anything but he knew that Chanyeol had understood, by his relaxing stance, that he had been forgive n long time ago, that Baekhyun was never angry at him because Chanyeol was his brother and Baekhyun loved him unconditionally.

Baekhyun smiled as he checked on Jongin, a gentle, beautiful smile playing on his lips: it was a new beginning for them, a good one at that.

A/N: Everything's good when it ends great, isn't it? Well, first of all, I wish that every single one of you is okay and enjoying your day. Second, here it is another chapter for you to enjoy; it's fluffy and has all the good vibes pouring from it: a positive chapter! I hope that you have liked it and, if so, please, let me know in a comment below or via message, I promise to answer you, since I am quite sociable and love to talk to people!! If you really like the story so far, please, do subscribe or upvote it, it makes me really happy when you do it!
Lastly, no less important though, I wish you all an amazing week, filled with joy and low levels of stress! Be healthy and safe, love people around you and allow people to love you as well, and be HAPPY!
Lots of love to you all!
<3