Yifan, from Baekhyun could see, was an imposing man and he was Chanyeol’s brother, which was saying a lot. The man was tall, taller than Chanyeol even if by a few inches, with defined angles, a rigid mouth and bushy eyebrows that made his expression heavier and serious.

Next to the male was standing a smaller male, an omega, with soft features, a round face, pouty pink lips and dark penetrating eyes that contrasted immensely with his white skin. He was much smaller than Yifan but both of them had lithe bodies and defined; Baekhyun could understand why the alpha had picked this omega: while the male look sweet and harmless, there was something in his gaze that told Baekhyun that the male could take care of himself perfectly.

The couple’s presence demanded attention and the whole group turned silence. Yifan’s gaze swept through all of them slowly, stopping in front of each and every single one of them trying to access the situation. Junmyeon, the omega, was standing beside his mate, also looking at the situation with an almost regal aura about him; Baekhyun wasn’t sure if the male was doing on purpose, trying to intimidate everyone, or was natural.

“Would someone care to explain to me what’s going on?” asked Yifan, his deep voice resounding loudly, especially in the silence.

“Alpha Yifan!” hurried Soo Man to speak, his voice going a few octaves higher with the giddiness he was feeling to expose the situation in a way that would benefit him over Jungsu. “I am very glad that you arrived. Something of the upmost importance has happened in your absence and I, as the rest of the Council members, am very glad that you are here to help us see this matter though and guide us with your wisdom.”

The words must’ve been too much, even for the couple because Yifan’s eyebrows shot up in his forehead, clearly surprised at the words while Junmyeon, calmer and visibly more composed, even though both males looked an utterly mess after spending so much time away, walking through the woods for so long, performing their rituals and giving thanks to the Mother Nature.

“You never cared much for my mate’s opinion.” Declared the smaller male in a soft voice with higher tone than Yifan’s but pleasant to the ears, holding a tad of dryness.

“Dear Junmyeon.” Greeted Sooyoun “We always have your Alpha’s opinions in consideration; he is our leader, we always listen to him. It is those, who are beneath him, that we tend to ignore.”

Sehun was flabbergasted at the utter lack of respect against the Alpha’s mate; Sooyoun had basically admitted that Junmyeon, not being the leader of their pack, was utterly ignored when it came to give his opinions to the Council.

The jab had been subtly given but perceptibly, making Soo Man mutter something in her direction angrily, while Yifan’s expression closed. Junmyeon kept his calm and composed demeanor, clearly not fazed about her opinions, while Sehun glanced over at Baekhyun in astonishment, meeting the dark eyes who had a glimmer of incredulity in them. Even Chanyeol looked taken aback.

“I guess that must be the reason why our Alpha also chooses to ignore some opinions too; but mind you, it is not because they are from… what did you call it? Beneath the, I guess? But rather because they superfluous and, well, truly idiotic really.”

Sehun had the urge to giggle nervously at the answer provided by Junmyeon. He didn’t dare to laugh due to their, his, Baekhyun’s and Chanyeol, situation but it gave him an immense pleasure to watch how Sooyoun’s cheeks turned slightly red, whether from embarrassment or anger he couldn’t tell, and her fists balled up by her side.

Yifan gave a little smile in Junmyeon’s direction, pride making his chest puff a little, before turning to the other people and asking.

“What is this matter of extreme importance that you were talking about? If it is as important as you say I don’t what you to hold to them any longer. The security and well-being of my people are important to me.”

“Yes, yes.” Hurried Soo Man to say, preventing the things from escalating between Sooyoun and Junmyeon, knowing that any wrong word directed to the Alpha Leader’s mate could end up in an angry Alpha which, in this case scenario, was not good: if they wanted their Alpha to side with them, they should appease them both. “There was an incident that should be reported to you: we managed to catch two dangerous beasts in our territory.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Two berserkers: two dangerous creatures that can compromise the integrity and security of our village. The Council took this matters into their own hands and we encased the beast and performed and inquisition as to try and locate the position of the Oracle that, no doubt, they are protecting. The Guardians, however, seemed to try and undermine our decision by siding with the creature instead of putting them down or interrogating like we were trying to, Alpha.”

Yifan’s gaze turned to the two unknown men standing behind the Guardians, who stared back at him, accessing them for quite a while before, without turning around, questioning Soo Man.

“I see two strange men, who didn’t deny your accusations, which is an indicator that the truth is being told. However, my question is: why is Sehun amongst them?”

“We believe that young beta Oh Sehun has been fraternizing with the enemy, therefore we took him in, arresting him with the other two creatures, interrogating him in hopes of finding more about the interactions he had with them, along with the secrets he might’ve told them.” Explained Soo Man with Youngwoon behind him looking particularly proud of feat, glancing at them with a smug look.

“Interrogated him?” asked Junmyeon raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow at the Council members in front of him. “It’s seems to me that he was beaten up and down within an inch of his body. All of them for the matter.”

“It is within the rights of the Council to give proper punishments and act in cases of potential hazards to the community without the need of consulting with the Alpha Leader.”

“Not necessarily true…” replied Junmyeon coolly.

“It is written on the laws of this community.”

“The law was changed ever since that violent assault that the Council ensued over Sehun.” announced Yifan. “My mate and I discussed the matter over and we believed that things were handled very violently.”

The look on the Council members was absolutely priceless; they were gazing upon Yifan and Junmyeon with a look of incredulity painted on their faces that slowly turned into confusion.

“Do you mind explaining that up? That is not even possible…” replied Sooyoun loudly, her shock making her voice rise up in pitch.

“Meaning that since we left that laws change up a little meaning that every possible concerns for the security and well-being of the village must be discussed solely with me, the Alpha Leader, with my mate or with the Leader of the Guardians.”

“Excuse me? That cannot be done lightly.” Argued Sooyoun, gesturing wildly, completely losing the composure that was so typical of her.

“It cannot.” Agreed Yifan with a nod. “However, reading all the books that establish our pack’s laws, our duties and rights, I discovered that the founding wolves of this village state clearly that a previous installed law can be changed by the Alpha Leader if, and only if, he managed to get the consent and agreement in paper of ten members of the Council, five members of the Guardians and, at least, one representative wolf from all the ranks existent of the pack: an alpha, a beta and an omega.”

“Of course that the law can be vetoed by the villagers, being said villagers members of the Council or not; however, once the law is released, they have two weeks to discuss it publicly, in the presence of the Alpha Leader, and veto it. As you can clearly realize it, the two week period veto period has passed, which means the law has now come to force and everyone should abide for it.” Explained Junmyeon with a sweet smile on his face that completely contrasted the mischievous gleam on the man’s eyes; it truly showed why Junmyeon was the perfect match to Yifan.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol always heard tales of a sweet Junmyeon, and they didn’t doubt for a second that it was true, but they also gathered that Junmyeon was only sweet to those who deserved the kindness; otherwise, the male seemed to be just as tough as anyone else. He was an omega but surely not in the traditional sense.

The members of the Council present in front of Yifan all looked at each other, absolutely speechless at what Yifan and Junmyeon just explained to them but the reactions of Sooyoun, Soo Man and Youngwoon were probably the best, if Sehun was allowed to say so, his hazy mind finding a little bit of trouble working at the moment. Soo Man was staring at their Leader with his eyes wide, his posture rigid and hands tightly gripping at each other, no doubt trying to finding something to say, Youngwoon’s face was colored red, almost going on purple, clearly angry with his fists menacingly closed at his sides, mouth opening and closing, mumbling half coherent sentences under his breathe. Sooyoun body lurched forward as the words were spoken, why? No one had a remote idea, since it was a very bad thing if she decided to attack their Leader.

“I would like to see proof of that.” Managed to spit Soo Man.

“Surely, I expected as much. I have all the pleasure of inviting you to my quarters to show you the documents, along with the members of the Council who approved of this decision of mine and the law that followed my decision.”

Soo Man gave him a rigid nod, body still taunt with the sudden opposition to his limited power and with the sudden change of the game, placing him in a very bad position.

“I would also like that someone explained to me as to why the books regarding the rights and duties of this pack along with some older laws were hidden away from the public eye, amongst other ones. They are a part of our history and I fail to see why they were placed in boxed locked down on the Council’s quarters domains.”

“I think, though, that matter could be attended posteriorly. There are more important issued at the moment Yifan.” Said Junmyeon gently, grabbing the arm of his mate who relaxed against the touch.

Seeing as Yifan nodded to him, Junmyeon gave him a quick smile before parting from the male and walking in the berserkers and Sehun’s direction. The Guardians members stepped aside, allowing the omega to come close to them.

Chanyeol growled a little, which made Yifan turn in his direction, but Junmyeon didn’t bat an eye, looking over them and accessing their current state, making the tallest berserker effectively shut up when he saw that the man represented no threat.

Baekhyun only eyed him cautiously as the male approached Sehun, cooing a little at the young beta, seeing how hurt he was.

“My Sehunnie is very hurt.” He spoke sadly, placing a hand on the other’s bruised face very gently, before turning to Yifan. “They need medical attention.”

Yifan nodded at his mate’s words, completely trusting the other.

“Jungsu, see that these three wolves receive proper medical attention…”

“That’s preposterous.” Roared Sooyoun. “They are berserkers!”

The way that Sooyoun said the word made Sehun think that it was some kind of curse that poisoned you and killed you, something vile and mean, and yet, he knew perfectly well that applied to them, it was nothing of the sorts. However, that didn’t make his stomach stop churning at the cruel treatment.

“Which doesn’t mean we should stop treating them as human beings!” snapped Junmyeon staring at her in a way that made her turn her face away.

“But history says…”

“History says a lot of things which doesn’t necessarily mean everything is true.” Cut Yifan with a hard voice. “Jungsu, did any of the wolves showed hostile behavior?”

“I’ve heard that a wolf was murdered when they escaped the cells they had been locked in.”

“See?” asked Sooyoun victoriously.

“They were hurting my mate.”

Baekhyun’s voice cut everything like a knife and everyone turned to look at the male. Sehun was staring at him with wide blown eyes while Chanyeol was staring at him with his eyebrow raised.

“I would like you to clarify that.” asked Yifan approaching him.

“They were hurting Sehun.” Replied Baekhyun. “They had been torturing him day in and day out and when he announced that it was time for him to ‘play’ with Sehun and kept bashing him I lost my demeanor and attacked.”

Yifan stared at him trying to find if the man was stating the truth while Sooyoun and Youngwoon were yelling something that they didn’t bother to listen. When he seemed to find what he wanted, he turned into Sehun.

“Do you confirm this?”

“Yes.” Replied Sehun faintly. “Yes, I do. I swear it on my blood and on my family’s honor Yifan.

Yifan nodded.

“Jungsu.” He called to the Leader of the Guardians. “Pleasure see that they received the medical attention that Junmyeon requested for.”

“Yes, my Alpha.” Replied the man with a nod before turning to them and asking to his men to help the trio.

There was a certain apprehension in Yifan’s eyes as he made the request and Baekhyun decided to be polite; Yifan had shown them respect, therefore he should repay in the same manner.

“If you’d like, you could use wolfsbane laced handcuffs to keep us more vulnerable.”

Yifan was surprised at the suggestion, although he disguised it pretty quickly. Junmyeon only shot him an amused glance, eyes switching between the two of them.

“I don’t think that will be necessary. As Junmyeon said, we are all human beings here and therefore everyone will be treated with respect.”

Yifan ignored the yells behind him watching as Jungsu escorted the trio to the medical hut. He didn’t say anything even when the comments became more harsh and borderline rude. When they were out of side, Yifan turned to them, shutting them up with the intensity of his dark gaze.

“Let’s go to my quarters. There is much to be explained.”

On the medical building Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Chanyeol were treated by a group of young women. Chanyeol had looked a bit skeptical when he saw them, thinking they were far too young to take care of them but Jungsu swore that the women: Dahyun, Jeongyeon, who Baekhyun remembered helping at some point, and Jisoo, were some of the best healers they had. Chanyeol settled down onto his bed after that, trusting Jungsu’s words, making Baekhyun and Sehun lay down on their as well.

The girls worked fast but neatly, attending to each one with the upmost care and professionalism; they clearly knew what they were doing and they were good at it too. If any of them looked remotely bothered by offering medical assistance of two berserkers, Chanyeol had no doubt that the word had spread after such a public encounter with the Council, they surely didn’t show it and Jeongyeon was even brave enough to pick Baekhyun’s hand and personally thanking him for saving her, offering him a genuine and grateful smile.

They didn’t really talk to each other as they were receiving treatment, answering the questions of the healers instead, while they checked on them, medicated them and clucked their tongues when they found a particularly tricky injury or one that looked painful.

It was no surprise to anyone when Baekhyun closed his eyes, whether he passed out or simply fell asleep no one could tell, not even Jeongyeon who was treating him.

“I am not really sure.” She answered when a frantic Chanyeol asked if everything was okay with his brother and if he has passed out. “But my guess would be yes. His body exhorted himself pretty harshly, almost behind the point of his capabilities. I assure you that he is okay, putting aside the evident injuries he possesses, but I can’t tell if he passed out or feel asleep: probably something in between both of those. It’s not a bad thing though: he really needs the rest. Luckily enough, he drank all the concoctions I’ve prepared before doing so. Now, he just needs some time to rest and allow his own body to rest.”

Chanyeol nodded with his head before bending his elbow a little, allowing Dahyun to bandage his wrist tightly, securing a wound that he had on the said place. After she bandaged the place, he closed his eyes as well, presumably to sleep, as the healers left the room, leaving Sehun alone with his own thoughts.

It was almost a dangerous thing those thoughts; so many questions that he felt like his brain was about to explode, a headache coming his way to add on to the general pain he felt all over his body already.

Baekhyun had declared, in front of Yifan no less, that Sehun was his mate. It came out as shocking to him, while they did share a evident attraction, which was made clear from the little touches they shared, along with the kiss earlier on the day, he wasn’t aware of how deep Baekhyun’s feelings ran. He was beginning to explore his own feelings!

Chanyeol said that berserker wolves only thought of one person as their mate and if Baekhyun thought of him in that way, it meant that he would forever see Sehun in that light.

It wasn’t as if the thought scared him: it didn’t, he had grown up surrounded by wolves who found their mates all the time and his parents were a good example of how mated life worked, but he wondered time and time again when did it happen? When had Baekhyun known? Was it the same for berserkers? And this on top of everything else going around only made him more exhausted.

“You are thinking so loud that it almost pains me.”

Sehun didn’t mean to startle so much at Chanyeol’s voice but, with all the thoughts on his head, it had caught him unprepared and he jumped slightly in surprise at hearing the deep voice.

He turned to his right, staring into Chanyeol’s tired eyes, as the wolf blinked slowly at him, face devoid of any particular kind of emotion, which turned into an amused one once he saw Sehun’s frightened reaction.

“Did I scare you?” he asked with humor in voice, eyes crinkling slight and the corner of his mouth lifted up in an almost smile. “Sorry, I wasn’t meaning to.”

“It’s not really your fault; I was just lost in thought.”

“I could see it; I could almost hear the cogs on your head going on. Shouldn’t you be sleeping? Or resting? Healing, in general?” He asked with some concern: Sehun was a beta wolf who didn’t possess enhanced powers and took a pretty nasty beating earlier on.

“I should… I just can’t.” explained Sehun.

“Have you even tried to close your eyes?”

“Not really, I… There is just too much going on at the moment. I feel like the situation we are in at the moment is not really favorable, despite what Yifan and Seungwan said and there the things that Baekhyun said as well… I feel tired but my brain is working so fast that is giving me whiplash instead of putting me to sleep.”

“Understandable.” Replied Chanyeol. “Care to share your thoughts?”

“I have so many questions.” Confessed Sehun in a quiet voice. “This whole situation… nothing of the sort has ever happened to me, the most grueling thing I had to bear all my life was strict pack rules, my parents’ death and Jongdae’s parents being abusive towards him. However, lately everything was turned upside down: the Council strange attitude, which is now half explained thanks to our findings on their underground lab of chimeras, the stupid war with the magical community and us, the relationship between people I know and that I am meeting that it is twisting and turning into something unexpected and Seungwan’s predictions…I feel like I am losing my mind. Is this even normal? I feel like…well, honestly, I am not sure as what to feel.”

“If it helps appease you a little there are somethings, if not the majority of them, that are halfway solved. For example, the magical community attack was properly countered and they backed out with more casualties to them than to your pack; the Council situation is trickier, we still need to expose the fraud that they are and understand what exactly they want with the lab. About Seungwan, well, she is different but she has proven to be an ally, therefore I am not worried about her; in time, she’ll explain and we’ll understand her better. I believe that our friends and loved ones are safe from all that is happening, thankfully, which makes me feel that much reassured about the outcome of everything. Lastly, and to top everyone, your Alpha Leader, his mate and Jungsu seem to be willing to give us a chance to prove ourselves, Baekhyun and I, as normal wolves, which is something that I hope it will be extendable to Jongin. It really takes a weight of my shoulder to be given this opportunity. It makes me feel like there is a small chance to be accepted into something and not being looked upon, seen as an outcast. I am generally a pessimist, I don’t like to believe or hope for something, but this? This gives me that feeling and I desperately want it. I want to fit in, live a normal life and be considered as the normal wolf that I am; the same I want for my brothers.” Explained Chanyeol, moving a little to the side to better face Sehun, wincing a little when that pulled sore muscles. “That’s all I ever wanted really, to tell the truth. You know, I used to be mad because when I was younger, up to recently actually, because I had it while I was younger and then I didn’t anymore. I got angry at Baekhyun because he made us move a lot of time, running away from the world. The more we run, the bitter I got because I wanted normal and that was anything but. Jongdae made me realize that it was all out of love and that I had been directing my anger wrongly. Everything he did to us, for us, was to love us, protect us and assure that our basic needs were seen. I see it now and I regret being like I was to him. I know he blames himself a lot, even if he doesn’t voice it. I am just glad that we were able to be on proper terms again.”

Sehun stared at Chanyeol, letting the words sink into him and processing them. He understood basically everything that he was told to, especially the first part; however, it was a complete mystery to why Chanyeol suddenly turned his speech into Baekhyun.

The older man seemed to realize the beta’s internal conflict and offered him a little sleepy smile on his face, dark eyes beginning to fall shut under the effect of exhaustion, sleepiness and probably some of the medicine that the healer administrated on him making him do so.

“You know, he really likes you.”

Sehun was startled at the sentence and his eyes wandered, without his permission, to Baekhyun’s sleeping form. Like this, the male looked very young and strangely vulnerable, innocent even. He looked worry free and Sehun’s heart squeezed itself inside of his chest, filled with affection. He really liked Baekhyun; the man was quite, introverted, not very good with emotions and terrible at socialization, but he was also very protective, mature, caring and he was sweet. Baekhyun wasn’t the kind of man who spoke much: he would rather show how he felt through actions, even if he had problems with knowing how exactly he felt sometimes.

“It is not easy for us to express our emotions, you know, but Baekhyun really does care for you. I know that, for you, finding a mate is an option, you chose the one you like the most and, only if you desire it, you mate. With us is not the same, I know that and you know that, which probably intimidates you a lot. It’s not something to take lightly and it is a big commitment. He doesn’t want to force to anything and I can tell that he feels bad about revealing it but he knew that it would make a great impact with Yifan.”

“He didn’t want to tell me?” asked Sehun feeling a little hurt.

“He didn’t.” nodded Chanyeol. “Although not for the reasons you might be thinking about. Baekhyun knew that you were his mate on the same day he found that Yixing was on our village. He smelled you and he knew that you were it, that you were his mate. He knew and both Jongin and I insisted that he’d tell you, but he was adamant about it: he didn’t want you to know.”

“Why?” asked Sehun in a small voice.

“First of all, the implication of it: he knew that you were aware it was a commitment for life and didn’t want you to feel any obligations to it: he didn’t want to you to stay with him because of pity. He wanted you to choose for yourself, even though he couldn’t.” explained Chanyeol. “Secondly, we are berserkers; things are favorable to us at the moment but at the time things were too uncertain: we weren’t sure if we had to run again, we weren’t sure if people would be willing to be on our side… He didn’t want you to give you that kind of life. He also feared that, if for some reason you would accept him, would end up being heartbroken: if we had to run, he would never allow you to have the kind of life that we’ve been leading for so long. It’s not his decision to take, I told him that time and time again, but he was unyielding. It’s a really hard life, danger at every corner, without shelter and without food…it’s gruesome and he would never submit you to that, even if you ended up hating him. He would rather keep you safe and in good hands, hating his guts, than living this kind of life. That is my brother to you.”

“So, he never really planned on telling me and only did because Yifan might show some lenience?” Sehun asked feeling a little dizzy at the revelation and somewhat angry and disappointed.

“I know it’s difficult but try to see things his way: Baekhyun wants this but he is so scared of putting you in dangerous situation. He talked about this you to me know. He is utterly terrified and it just sad.”

“Sad?”

“It’s sad that, for once, he gets the opportunity of being remotely happy and he still opts for thinking about everyone else’s happiness and safety before his own. For once, I would like my brother to be himself and to be happy. To be free!”

Chanyeol was getting sleepier by the minute and his voice was already dropping and he was mumbling the words, eloquence and diction absolutely gone. Before he fell asleep, he asked one more thing of Sehun, just one more.

“Please, just really think about it and ponder over it. He really likes you and you make him happy. I am not saying that you should mate him, I am not saying that take everything in stride because I am asking. I am just asking you to try and see things from his point of view and to at least continue to be his friend.”

And with that Chanyeol was out like a light, allowing the sleep to regenerate his body and his mind.

Sehun was left awake pondering over the words he had just heard. It was a lot to take in and, while Chanyeol had eased his mind about some topics, Baekhyun was still swimming around in his mind, especially after everything that had been revealed.

He looked over to the man in question, staring at the sleeping berserker for a long time while thoughts ran past his mind and he tried to make heads and tails about what he now knew and what he wanted to do. It wasn’t an easy task, there was a lot to process and he wouldn’t be taking any decision lightly.

In the end, Sehun fell asleep looking into the man he grew to care about, mind blanking out and allowing him to finally rest.

He would make a decision but, for now, that could wait another day.

A/N: Hello everyone, how have all of you been doing? I bet you did expect to see an update so soon, now did you? Well, I have more time now which allows me to work a little faster than usual (yay for vacations!). Let's recap shall we? Yifan is back and both he and Junmyeon, being the open minded people that they are, decided that neither Baekhyun, Sehun nor Chanyeol was at fault for what happened, opting for blaming the Council for making a decision that wasn't theirs to make in the first place. That didn't really please the Council, especially not after the announcement that their powers would be dissolved since Yifan, lowkey, thinks that they are too meddlesome. Junmyeon and Sooyoun have some bad blood, although Junmyeon is far more savage and classy than she is (which is the reason that Yifan likes him so much!). The trio is escorted to the medical center were they are treated (FINALLY! Poor babies!) and Chanyeol has a honest conversation with Sehun, trying to make him understand Baekhyun's point of view, mainly for hiding such a secrete, aka seeing Sehun as his mate, for the beta. He understands but doesn't take an active position about it (that comes later!) and the end, for now.
How did you feel about this chapter? Did you expect things to go like this? Was anything that happened surprising to you? What do you think is happening next? Please, tell me everything about it via comment or message, of any kind. If you like the story please subscribe and upvote: it makes me really happy!
More importantly, as usual, I hope that every single one of you is safe and healthy, that you are loved, that you are loving yourself and loving others and, very important, that you ARE HAPPY!
Have an amazing weekend and a fantastic week and hope for a new chapter soon!
Lots of love,
<3