(Paris is wonderful! I love it here! So much to say...and since people have been asking, I'm just letting anyone know that no, my mother and I were not there for the attack at Notre Dame. We're all good, have been avoiding the crowds since we got here.)

Please- Enjoy! Your comments are so very motivational, I love it so much! Being here in France is very inspirational, I have so many story ideas I'm going to explode.

Have a wonderful day all you lovely beans!

BlahRikeau

"I'll explain while we get you dressed. We're going to make you look ing amazing."

The curse word sends a sharp ache of displeasure into Baekhyun’s chest—which Chanyeol notably senses and the Alpha glowers at the pretty Omega.

Luhan glances between the two mates and then hastily bows to Chanyeol, his voice now laced with that familiar Omega regret and softness. “I apologize, Alpha. I don’t mean to be so indecent in the presence of you and your mate.” He then turns to Baekhyun. “You don’t like swearing?”

He feels like a deer caught in the headlights. “Uhm…I…I don’t know…”

“You don’t like it. Sorry about that.”

Baekhyun shrugs and bows his head again. He’s never heard a submissive curse so openly like that, though his traditional upbringing and lack of social genes might make up for his inexperience in modern Omega culture.

Luhan bows again to Chanyeol—though he may be spirited, he is clearly prone to traditional dominant-submissive values—and asks, “Do I have your permission, Alpha, to take your mate to the dressing room to be fitted?”

Chanyeol’s hand finds its way onto Baekhyun’s hip and the Omega’s cheeks flush a fervent red. “I’ll be coming with you.”

Behind them, a voice interrupts. “No you won’t!” Another man appears in the doorway and it takes Baekhyun a moment to register that he’s a dominant—he’s beautiful like Luhan, but in a huskier, broader way. He’s slim and tall and has that same look of Luhan’s of elegant perfection.

Baekhyun ducks behind Chanyeol’s back when the stranger’s scent hits his nose, the sourness combating with the sweetness of his own Alpha’s, and then everything seems to come together to make more sense when Luhan happily skips over to the man at the threshold, wraps his arms around his waist, and kisses his chin with a bright, “Sehunnie!”

“The , Chanyeol?” this Sehunnie person grunts, absently petting his Omega’s back. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Never keep your stylist waiting!”

“I’m busy,” the Alpha responds, and an energetic spark clashes between the two dominants. Baekhyun’s hypersensitive body feels it in his bones.

Although the apprehension in the room is that of excitement, the tension and noise battering between everyone, the smell of sweat and cologne, combined with Baekhyun’s current adrenaline and confusion and overwhelming emotion, is too much and causes his panicked instincts to click. There’s too much anticipation, too much energy. It’s just too much.

He dazedly shrinks away from Chanyeol’s back and slinks to the ground, unfurling like a warming blossom in the summer on the floor, his head falling to the side and hands laid beside his head. He doesn’t go as far to arch his back or spread his legs, but the position he drops into is the quintessential submissive pose, the one that Omegas have occupied in stressful situations since the beginning of time. To some it may look dangerously anxious, inciting confrontation. But all Omegas have been in this position at least once in their life, and inside it relaxes Baekhyun’s tension. He feels as if he can breathe. From his position on the floor Baekhyun can see the heels and soles of everyone’s shoes, can smell the salty dirtiness on the linoleum, can escape the heated tension that werewolves are bound to accumulate.

He hardly notices how the room drops into an eerie, dead silence, only the faint wisp of the tail end of a gasp echoing suddenly through the quiet. Staring.

Chanyeol is the first to move, swooping down into a crouch and burying his head into Baekhyun’s shoulder, as if his wolf is ready to break out any moment and declare its aroused pandemonium. “Baekhyun!” the Alpha gasps.

And then there are werewolves at his side and the room has erupted into gossipy, nervous mumbles.

“What happened?”

“Is he okay?”

“Who’s that?”

“What’s going on?”

“Are you alright?” Luhan hisses, shock evident in his features as Chanyeol hauls Baekhyun into his arms, cradling him on the floor. Off to the side Baekhyun hears someone mutter,

“Now that’s an Omega’s rightful place. He knows what he’s doing.”

He isn’t sure if he’s supposed to feel scandalized or triumphant.

But Baekhyun’s senses quickly come back to and he recognizes Luhan’s and Sehun’s faces around him as well as many others above him, and his shyness returns as he curls up next to his Alpha.

Wholly submitting like that isn’t common, at least not in a workplace. It’s an ordinary thing to see in desperate or dangerous situations when an Omega’s promising bodily peace and tranquility, when an Omega’s natural ability to soothe and caress is needed to tame a storm, but it isn’t so normal in an everyday setting and he knows this. He just can’t help himself.

“Baekhyun, everything’s okay,” Chanyeol says. The Alpha jerks his head and then Sehun disappears, skirting out of the room. “No one is angry. No one is upset. You don’t have to do that. It’s alright.”

“Respectfully, Alpha,” Luhan starts. “I think he’s overwhelmed. Taking a mate is very exhilarating, and this celebrity business is even more so.”

From below Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol’s brows furrow, worry written all over his face and his apprehension growing. He suddenly realizes that as the submissive it’s his duty to personally relax his Alpha—Chanyeol wouldn’t mind, would he?

Baekhyun feels himself shivering as he stretches up and places a little kiss on the underside of Chanyeol’s chin—a sensitive spot for Alphas, according to his high school anatomy teacher. Chanyeol’s attention is on him in an instant.

“A-Alpha,” Baekhyun stutters. “I-I have a…a condition…” He goes on to mumble something about his abnormal instincts but Chanyeol doesn’t seem to sort out his mixed, muffled words, and his eyes take on a regretful tint.

“You have what?”

The Omega glances at Luhan, his eyes begging for help, and the stylist catches the hint and leans forward with his ear. Baekhyun whispers his issue into the other’s lobe and leaves it up to him to translate.

Luhan’s eyes widen in surprise. “Oh, boy. Okay, I’ll tell him.” He turns to the Alpha. “Excuse me, Alpha Chanyeol, but have you ever heard of Hyperfertilis Omegagenisis?”

Chanyeol looks even more confused now. “No?”

“Okay, have you ever heard of a Primitive Omega?”

Chanyeol quickly nods, and then as if he finally realizes the full grasp of the situation, he turns back to Baekhyun with the cutest expression of gleeful comprehension the Omega has ever seen on an Alpha. “Are you really?” Baekhyun nods.

Luhan asks, “Do you know what that means, then?”

Off to the side someone else pipes, “It means you’re a lucky bastard, Chanyeol.” It’s probably the same person that made the earlier comment. Despite the concern that’s easily decipherable in Luhan’s tone, the smile that sneaks its way onto Chanyeol’s lips is also unmistakable.

Luhan ignores him. “It means—”

It’s at this point that Sehun sticks his head into the dressing room once again, his voice laced with impatience. “How about this? Chanyeol comes with me and I get him ready and tell him all about Primitive Omegas. Kill two birds with one stone, right? Come on, your manager—what’s his name? Junmyeon?—is going to have my head if you’re late. Remember the MAMA’s last year?”

Luhan sighs. “I’ll go ask him about your wardrobe. Take your time.” Then he was gone to occupy his mate.

A sigh works its way up from his lungs and Baekhyun relaxes back into Chanyeol’s hold—he realizes then that Chanyeol has been staring down at him with wide, curious, enamored eyes, as if observing his every move. Those who had been leering around them depart and allow the two space to stand, the Alpha lifting Baekhyun’s weight as if it is nothing.

“Can I get you anything, my love?” Chanyeol mumbles. “Water? Something to eat? What can I do for you?”

“N-No, thank you Alpha.” He bows. “I…I think I should be a-asking you that,” he says timidly.

The Alpha shakes his head and Baekhyun’s neck fondly. “Not right now. I just need to you to relax. Will you do that for me?”

“Y-Yes Alpha.”

Something about Baekhyun’s response seems to catch Chanyeol off-guard and he winces slightly—the Omega thinks it might be the way he addresses him as “Alpha”. It feels natural; it’s the respectful way to address an Alpha, right? Are the rules different for mates?

Luhan and Sehun reenter the room a moment later, and with an affectionate farewell and a quick kiss on Baekhyun’s claim mark Chanyeol is led away, his gaze desperately trying to remain on the Omega as if he’s just so enraptured it’s impossible to look away.

And as Luhan whisks Baekhyun away in the other direction the latter does note that his stunt had worked: the entire room of idols, their friends and stylists as well, had quieted into a lulled sort of excitement. A calm had settled over them—Baekhyun wasn’t sure if it was because they didn’t want to set him off again or if their instincts naturally relaxed in the presence of a submissive creature. It was hard to tell these days.

The two Omegas jot off towards a massive wardrobe closet, lined with all sorts of costumes, getups, suits and the like, and as Baekhyun stands awkwardly to the side watching as Luhan disappears between the racks he calls out,

“I—uh—um—is there any chance you could—er—we could—um—cover up my c-claim mark?”

He hears the other’s voice call back, “Why would you do that?”

Baekhyun isn’t sure why, really. The question catches him off-guard; he isn’t ashamed of his being claimed by an idol, he isn’t afraid of it or anything. In fact werewolf Omegas, even in ancient times, usually love proudly displaying their unity with a dominant. Having a mate is a step up the social status ladder.

Luhan ends up answering his own question with another question. “Is it because you’re afraid what the fans will think?”

The fans?

“No one has probably discussed this with you yet,” Luhan goes on, emerging from the aisles with hangers heavy laden with clothes. He holds the first up to Baekhyun’s shoulders as he says, “Let me tell you. You are mates with the one werewolf in the country that was previously untouchable—literally the most unlikely-to-be-mated bachelor idol. And yet…” He shrugs for effect and adjusts some accessories on the suit. “You have to compete with millions of other lovers for his undivided attention.”

He holds another outfit up to Baekhyun’s chest and goes on. “Chanyeol has many, many fans that all very passionately support and love him. He’s a lovable guy—I mean nothing by that—” he quickly amends, as if he thinks Baekhyun will tackle him for finding his Alpha a good person. “—What I’m trying to say is that SM advertises not just him, but his image. The picture of the ideal Alpha mate. There are many young men and women out there that would die to be mated to him.”

He looks Baekhyun in the eye and says, “People are going to hate you. They just will. It doesn’t matter if you do everything right, if you portray the perfect image to the public. There will be fans that will hate you for—quote—taking their man.”

Baekhyun’s stomach falls. He’s thought about this before, about what sort of reaction the fans will have to him, and he figured that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. He’ll just sit in the background and the world can keep turning, the fans can keep fangirling or fanboying, without his regard.

But they’ll…hate him?

His terror must show on his face, he realizes, because Luhan continues with an amused smile, “I’m just trying to make sure that you won’t be surprised when everyone is suddenly all up in your business: asking all about your life, asking all about Chanyeol, invading your privacy. Not everyone will, of course. Some people will fall head over heels for you. But just know that fans create an emotional attachment to idols—they really do. Try not to think of them as adversaries, but more as people you can relate to. You’re already emotionally invested in Chanyeol and it’s only been, what? Ten minutes? Not even? You’re mates. It makes sense. But your love for Chanyeol is shared with millions of other people—don’t ignore them. They won’t go away.”

Baekhyun wants to tell Luhan to stop talking, to stop dropping pebbles of worry and insecurity in his gut. But somewhere in his rational side he knows this is valuable information and advice, and he has a feeling that this is going to be a reoccurring concept in his life whether he likes it or not, no matter how many scoops of Nutella he eats to comfort himself.

“As for showing your claim mark tonight, it’s up to you. Honestly you’re damned if you do or if you don’t.” Luhan realizes his mistake and quickly apologizes for swearing, then says with a sympathetic smile, “If you don’t, some people will come up with rumors that you’re a fake and it’s just a publicity stunt, and if you do they’ll think you’re rubbing it in their face. You could maybe cover it up halfway, but…I don’t know how we’d do that…”

“What if the fabric was sheer?” Baekhyun whispers. “Then I’d be covering it but modestly.”

The other Omega stares at him for a moment and he wonders if he’s said something wrong, but just then Luhan’s face lights up. “You’re brilliant! I’ve got just the thing! Start stripping honey!”

After Luhan insists that no one will notice that Baekhyun is wearing a girl’s shirt he stands in front of a full-length mirror, his eyes wide with wonder and startle. He’s convinced Luhan must be a genius because he’s never looked this…fine before.

“It’s a little feminine,” he muses, glancing in the mirror to his side where Luhan stands admiring his work. “I am still a…a guy. Why not just wear a suit? I—Not that I don’t like it! I love it, I do.”

Luhan grins proudly and flirtatiously puts his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “We’re Omegas. We can dress up a little, you know? Yeah, we’re men. But we have permission to embrace elegance and daintiness. It’s one of the best things about being an Omega.”

It’s a sheer black turtleneck that solves their problem about the claim mark: it hugs his throat and allows the bite to be seen, but only if one looks at it. The sleeves are less than skin-tight, though. They billow and flower out around his arms and then are cinched at his wrists, flattering his rather un-masculine limbs that can be seen through the fabric. Luhan has paired it with a waistcoat, of all things: it’s small and black and slimming, and beneath its collar the stylist hung a short gold necklace, with little gold chains dangling down like shimmering rivulets. The rest is simple: dress shoes and slim-fit dress pants that make Baekhyun self-conscious about his thighs.

“So…do you like it?” Luhan asks eagerly, obviously fed off of compliments. With a face as pretty as his, Baekhyun thinks, how could Luhan not grow accustomed to praise?

“I—I love it,” Baekhyuns replies in earnest. “Y-You’re good.”

“Okay okay, but we’ve got to go now. Makeup, hair! Sehun texted me: Chanyeol is waiting for you in the dressing room.” He starts off towards the door, then suddenly stops and turns around. “By the way, what’s your name?”

“B-Baekhyun.”

“Well Baekhyun it’s certainly a pleasure to meet you. Now let’s go.”

Park Chanyeol still looks amazing. As Baekhyun sits in front of a mirror, illuminated by glowing, golden light bulbs along the length of the rim, with Luhan behind him running his fingers through his scalp, he can’t help but sneak timid looks in the mirror at his mate. The Alpha is resting his arms on the back of a chair that’s facing backwards, straddling the seat, his face just inches behind Baekhyun’s ear. The Omega is sure he’d be staring full on if Chanyeol wasn’t already burning holes into his reflection.

Whatever Sehun had told him about Primitive Omegas must have mellowed the Alpha out, because there’s a new kind of understanding in his eyes.

“I swear, everyone’s eyes and cameras are going to be turned to you,” Luhan says as he goes to work on the other’s short locks. Internally Baekhyun thinks that maybe Luhan is saying that overzealously, that he’s just trying to make up for what he said earlier. Not that it’s helping—it sounds even more stressful. “I’ll make sure you look fantastic though.”

“You’re doing a good job,” Baekhyun whispers under his breath, aware that Luhan had already gone to town on the eyeliner and contour, as well as lining his lips with pink, his eyelids with color, and his brows with black. He also distinctly remembers how the stylist Omega had puffed a bunch of gold glitter across his eyes and nearly blinded him—but now, looking in the mirror at his shimmering face, he guesses he sees the appeal.

Baekhyun had messed around with makeup a little bit when he was much younger—most Omegas do—but now that he is older, his face an artistic feat that has been painted by a professional, he can see that all it is is an enhancement of what’s there already. He feels Chanyeol’s hand slide over his from around the chair and the Alpha says,

“You look fantastic anyway.”

“Have you ever watched the Seoul Music Awards on T.V. or anything?” asks the stylist Omega. Baekhyun shakes his head. Luhan glances at Chanyeol in the mirror. “Perhaps it should be explained to him.”

Chanyeol’s gaze slides back onto Baekhyun and the Omega can practically see the wheels turning in his head as he scoots his chair closer. Their fingers intertwine simultaneously—perhaps it’s already becoming natural, or maybe Baekhyun is just looking for the comfort Chanyeol is so willing to give.

“They record and stream the whole thing live, so they’ll be filming as soon as we step out of the car.”

Baekhyun feels the muscles in his neck tense. “Okay…”

Luhan adds, “When a solo artist arrives at the venue, it’s traditional that he or she also brings their mate—if they have one.”

In the mirror Chanyeol looks as if he’s deciding whether or not to put his head onto the Omega’s shoulder. “I’ll you down the carpet and up the stairs.”

“The advice I can give you for then is to just strut your stuff. Back straight. Don’t bow your head. You don’t have to worry though, you have great posture. Don’t stress.”

“We’ll go onto the platform for photos,” Chanyeol says as he leans his head against Baekhyun’s shoulder. “You’ll be by my side. We’ll look forward, turn to one side, turn to the other, and then the MCs will come out and ask some questions.”

“They’ll probably ask about you,” Luhan assists, combing up the other’s bangs.

“They’ll ask about you and they’ll ask about my music, and then we’re done and we go find our seats. It goes quick—it only takes three or four minutes.”

“Is…is that all?” Baekhyun asks, voice mousy.

“Sort of,” Luhan says before Chanyeol cuts him off with,

“No, not really. Fans will probably be filming us from afar—or not afar, maybe close—and sometimes a cameraman will swing by to focus on our reactions of a particular performance.” He looks up and then glances at the bite mark under his chin, eyeing it through the fabric with those sort of puppy-dog eyes that has Baekhyun thinking that he probably wishes he could it. “It sounds like a lot, but I’ll be there for you. Just be yourself and relax.”

“H-How should I address the…the fans?”

Luhan and Chanyeol exchange a weird look in the mirror. The Alpha looks wary.

“Well…yeah. Just be yourself. Do what feels natural.”

His answer doesn’t supply Baekhyun with much.

Luhan scuffs up Baekhyun’s hair a little bit and as he sprays something over the other’s head he says, “Remember, his fans are comrades, not competitors.”

Chanyeol scowls dubiously. “Well…”

“Comrades sounds good,” Baekhyun blurts, thinking that he can’t take another discussion on this topic.

A moment later Luhan takes a graceful step back and gestures animatedly at the Omega in front of him. “Voila! Omega extraordinaire! Modest, humble but absolutely—”

Chanyeol obviously isn’t listening to Luhan. It only takes a second for him hop off of his chair and sweep his Omega up onto his feet, pressing himself to Baekhyun’s back and wrapping his arms around his stomach, swaying slightly as they admire their shared reflection in the mirror. The move steals the breath right out of the Omega’s chest and he stands there for a moment, barely recognizing himself, realizing that he can’t breathe.

And then he dips his toe into the waters of their relationship that is to come: he carefully turns his head to the side, and the Alpha lowers his head and kisses the bite mark through the sheer black silk.

“You have broad shoulders,” Chanyeol mumbles as if just realizing it. “Sort of.”

“Y-Yeah.”

The moment is disturbed as a voice shouts at them from the hall: “You couples are depressing me! I’ll be single forever at this rate!”

It doesn’t even matter who it is that said it because it puts a beaming smile on Chanyeol’s face any way, and Baekhyun can’t help but simper back.

“Baekhyun?”

“Y-Yes, Alpha?”

“What does your wolf form look like?”

“My…my wolf?”

Chanyeol nods and Baekhyun can feel the Alpha turning the smaller around in his arms, turning their faces toward each other, but the Omega is still having trouble looking his mate in the eyes. So he drops his gaze when his Alpha fondles a stray curl of hair brushing against Baekhyun’s cheek.

“Your wolf is as much a part of you as…well as you are. Your wolf is your other half.” Baekhyun is still having trouble breathing. God, just being in Chanyeol’s presence is exhilarating. It simply cannot be this beautiful, this good…this scary. The Omega has just reached up and begun playing with one of the gold buttons adorning Chanyeol’s fancy coat when the taller says, “Baekhyun, please look at me.”

Snap. The Omega looks up and catches the sweet, chocolaty adoration swirling in Chanyeol’s eyes. The Alpha smiles. “I’d like to get to know all of you eventually.”

“O-Of course.”

Then suddenly there’s another person, a Beta man bursting into the conversation.

“Park Chanyeol! If you don’t get your whipped puppy down to the parking garage right now you and Mister Baekhyun will be off schedule!” Junmyeon says as he sails into the room, his Beta energy exploding with angry pheromones. “I will not have a repeat of the MAMAs. Please, go!”

Chanyeol doesn’t even seem to take offense to the Beta’s loud tone. The Alpha and Omega’s hands slip together and Chanyeol tosses Baekhyun a cheeky smile before whisking him out of the room, Junmyeon in tow.

The feeling of be ushered into a florescent-lit garage, getting into an unfamiliar, black, tinted-windowed, fancy car with a chauffeur in a suit to drive them downtown feels almost a bit like being kidnapped, or what Baekhyun imagines it would feel like. He is just as nervous as he would be if he had been taken somewhere against his will, fidgeting in the backseat of the luxury Mercedes. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything so nice as the interior of the car, and for a moment, sitting there beside Chanyeol who holds his hand as if it’s the most precious thing in the world, maybe he allows himself to feel beautiful, important just this once: he looks nice, he’s in a fancy car, and with his Alpha mate. Just for that moment he allows everything to be perfect.

Unfortunately he still feels the shamefully incessant need to pat his pockets in search of his heat suppression pills until he realizes his pajamas are still with Luhan. He knows a single pill will hold him over plenty and that whatever is in them kills his heat almost instantly, but it’s still a nervous habit.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asks, leaning forward to observe the Omega’s anxious face with furrowed brows. They’re nearing the venue now and Baekhyun is still painfully aware of Chanyeol’s presence: it’s odd. He knows he may as well be sitting here with a stranger, this beautiful man whose aura is so powerfully Alpha that it’s nearly suffocating. Knowing that there will never be a day in his life forthcoming or forever that he will never think of, see, or touch Park Chanyeol is a weird and brand new feeling that still ties a knot in his gut. “Are you panicking?”

The Omega looks down at his hands pressed between his knees. “Yes, Alpha.”

“You can call me by my name, Baekhyun. It’s alright.”

He nods. “Yes, I know. I’m sorry. I just…I feel like I’m just trying to convince myself that this is all real.”

Baekhyun feels that gentle, calloused touch beneath his chin this time, and the pressure of Chanyeol’s hand forces him to turn his head and meet eyes with his mate. The Alpha is smiling. “Fun fact: I am too.”

“It feels too good,” Baekhyun whispers (rather daringly if you’d ask him).

Suddenly the driver—an aging and kindly Omega man—speaks up. “Mister Park, we’ve been given the green light to drive up and unload. Are you and your mate ready?”

Chanyeol turns to Baekhyun and the latter nods only because there isn’t much he can do anyway, and then with the stadium rising in front of them, a massive crowd coming into view, the muted voices of the MCs in their microphones humming past the exterior of the vehicle, Baekhyun instinctively takes Chanyeol’s hand.

Oh my god, he thinks, his heart in his throat, as the Mercedes comes to a stop right at the head of a sprawling crimson walkway, crowds on either side, cameras flashing as the previous idol group ahead of them strides away and out of the cold January weather. Baekhyun’s mouth goes dry.

Submit, submit, submit, screams his mind.

“Ch-Chanyeol, I-I can’t d-do th-this,” he mewls desperately, his heart racing.

The Alpha squeezes his hand back and when he speaks next, it’s as if his voice has changed. Darkened, taken on that dominant quality to it that Baekhyun can only imagine is his Alpha voice. He doesn’t say it in a reprimanding tone, rather a nurturing one, but the Omega smells the dominant pheromones that fill the air between them and the vibrations of Chanyeol’s voice thrum all the way from his cranium to his tailbone.

“Baekhyun. Relax.”

The word has the Omega’s body reactively turning to a ball of mush, and then just at that moment he hears the announcement of their arrival—

“In the drive now is Park Chanyeol—!”

A valet opens Chanyeol’s door from the outside. The thunderous cheer of the fans detonates and the volume hits Baekhyun’s ears. The blue lights of flashing cameras erupts as Chanyeol steps out of the Mercedes, though all Baekhyun can see is his back. Chanyeol seems to wave for a moment, and then the Alpha ducks back down, leaning towards the car, his hand outstretched.

Baekhyun’s lip quivers and he silently mouths a teary, “Is it okay?”

Chanyeol is grinning, his smile warm and welcoming and beckoning Baekhyun’s howling wolf forward. He nods encouragingly and mouths back. “It’s okay!”

His wolf can’t take the few feet of distance between them. Baekhyun scoots across the back seat and takes Chanyeol’s hand. He hears the MCs’ excited,

“Wait! Who is this…?”

Here goes nothing.

As soon as Baekhyun’s feet touch ground the clamor and fanfare explodes fourfold.

Baekhyun’s knees are quaking like jelly and for a second he doesn’t think he can stand, blinded by the sudden discharge of flashes. But then Chanyeol pulls him up and hooks their elbows together for escorting, and Baekhyun takes the opportunity to clench onto the Alpha’s arm, his grip suddenly like steel.

Chanyeol leans down and amongst the screams he asks, “Can you walk?”

He then lowers his ear for the response and Baekhyun meekly cries, “Y-Yes.”

The MCs blabber in shock.

“It looks like Park Chanyeol has brought someone along!”

“I don’t know who that is. Do you think—”

“I think maybe that’s the Omega from the news! I think that’s Alpha Chanyeol’s new mate, am I right?”

“Oh, wow! Everyone, it seems Park Chanyeol has arrived with a—a mate!”

“You’re okay,” Chanyeol mutters as he encourages the Omega to step forward. “I’ve got you.”

And suddenly there they are, walking down the red-roped-in aisle, and there’s no turning back. Baekhyun barely remembers what Luhan had told him: keep your back straight, head up.

The temptation to shy away from all those round lenses and prying eyes is massive, but Baekhyun gains surety in the strength of Chanyeol’s arm around his. The cheers—or maybe they’re just screams of shock—ring in the Omega’s sensitive lobes, racking his brain as if demanding attention. So many smells. So many Omegas, Betas, Alphas looking on. So much tension in one area, so much energy.

Baekhyun’s inner wolf is begging to lie down and his steps stutter for a moment, but Chanyeol continues to murmur comforting words in his ear and languidly keeps them moving. Why does the carpet have to be so long? It feels like crossing a hundred miles.

Baekhyun almost forgets about the camera that’s following ahead of them, recording their walk to the platform. When he glances up at his Alpha Baekhyun notices the beaming, welcoming smile on his face, how he waves to the crowd, his shoulders pushed back and proud. The smile seems genuine, and his graciousness looks natural on him, but already is seems like a different Chanyeol. Like another extension of himself, the man he presents himself as and not the one he lives as.

Not that Baekhyun can complain. This Chanyeol is dazzling.

He wonders for a moment if he should smile and wave too—they should have gone over the finer details earlier. Is it appropriate for him? Would the fans accept his greeting? Or should he not? Would he seem rude?

He doesn’t have much time to think about it: they’re nearing the platform. As Chanyeol lowers his waving arm, grinning with utter confidence and pride, he glances back down at the smaller, making sure he’s okay.

The smile flows easily onto Baekhyun’s lips then and he beams up at his mate, and then quickly turns his head away just as he realizes he’s going to burst out into giggles. What even is this?

A cheeky smile makes its way onto Chanyeol’s face just as the front of the crowd comes into view and so does the platform and the hosts, who are still going off:

“Look how beautiful they are! Oh, how exciting!”

Chanyeol helps him up the steps and leads the two of them to the center of the podium, a wall of endorsed ads behind them, and suddenly the smile on Baekhyun’s face slips away, his confidence drained. He feels so exposed up here! So visible!

He tries to sneak behind Chanyeol’s back but the Alpha already knows what he’s doing and hooks an arm around his waist, pulling him forward and to his side. His lips brush Baekhyun’s ear as he leans down and says,

“It’s okay, let them see you. You’re beautiful.”

“I’m scared.”

“Breathe. Just be yourself.”

Now Baekhyun looks out into the crowd—for a moment he’s blinded, but when he looks over the heads of the dozen reporters and photographers up front the true faces of the rest of the miniature audience comes clear.

They’re all watching, all cheering.

Although he does see some aggravated faces and suddenly not all the cheering sounds positive and congratulatory. He squirms in Chanyeol’s arm, wanting to hide behind his back.

Off to the side, the MCs speak.

“Welcome, welcome! Now, don’t be too quick to get away!” (Baekhyun assumes this is directed at him. He stills.) “First, pictures. Look forward—”

Chanyeol hugs the Omega to his waist. “Smile, love.”

“And to the right—”

He shifts their bodies to face the right side.

“And to the left…”

And the other way.

January 6, 2015 PupPop.com 11:20 pm

Hot Now: Park Chanyeol's New Mate: Best Dressed at 2015 Seoul Music Awards? article and poll by blah rikeau

Suddenly the two glittering hosts are striding out onto the platform—Baekhyun does recognize them, a man and a woman, one who is notably a well-known comedian that his mother used to watch and the Omega lady Baekhyun thinks he's seen on television. She smiles sweetly and comes to stand by his side, so close that he can smell her perfume and sweat.

With Chanyeol suddenly distracted Baekhyun slips a little behind him.

“Well, Chanyeol!” the man says with that loud, friendly voice of his that makes them sound like life-long brothers. “You have a lot of fans here tonight—” Massive cheering. “—Please greet them!”

He’s handed a microphone and the Omega backs away from it, regarding it like some dangerous weapon.

But the Alpha speaks comfortably and enthusiastically into the head. “Hello, dear fans, reporters, guests! I am P.C.Y., Chanyeol!” He smiles and bows. The crowd cheers.

“You two look great!” the hostess adds. You two. Her eyes linger on Baekhyun, glimmering with curiosity.

It seems they’re going to come back to him though, because the male host approaches Chanyeol first. “So it seems you’ve had an extremely successful year musically! Why do you think you’ve been so popular?”

Chanyeol nods and takes the question easily. “My latest release, the new album, has a new and fresh vibe to it. It’s funky, but it’s hip-hop. I think the style and tone is something that many people can listen to and enjoy. And of course my fans have been so loyal and supportive, they really are amazing!”

Cheers.

“Any plans you can share with us for the new year?”

“A new comeback!” Everyone laughs. And then, much to Baekhyun’s dismay, Chanyeol turns to the Omega, his expression softening. He says with a loving smile, “Of course, I have something else in mind too.”

Now the crowd is goes insane.

The female Omega beside Baekhyun coos and with one glance at her he can tell she’s loving every second of Baekhyun being there: he also spots her eyeing his turtleneck, and he doesn’t think she’s admiring the silk.

The male host inches closer to them, trying to look around Chanyeol at the smaller. “Hello there! You look a bit nervous!”

He’s going to die. With a little gasp Baekhyun slips out of Chanyeol’s arm and hides behind him, fists bundled up in the Alpha’s coat, lip gnawed between his teeth. He presses his cheek into Chanyeol’s back and can feel the taller's muscles contorting beneath the fabric. He feels the tips of his ears burning.

The Omega hostess laughs. “Aw! So cute!”

More aggravated cheering.

“Is this your mate, Chanyeol?” she asks eagerly. For a second it seems like the entire lot full of people goes silent, holding their breaths anticipating the answer. The eerie gasp of heated anxiety drifts above their heads, just a moment away from either joy or dismay.

Chanyeol nods. “Yes, he is my ma—”

The last part of his sentence is swallowed whole by the roar of the crowd. The Omega squeezes his eyes shut, feeling smaller by the second and yet so transparent. Though Baekhyun’s doesn’t think he can hear him, he whines into the Alpha’s back and bundles up the fabric of his suit. “Ch-Chanyeol…”

Then amidst the flashing lights of the photographers going haywire, Chanyeol wraps Baekhyun in his arm and gives a brief message to the fans that no one hears over the din of overzealous voices, and then the MCs direct them off the platform and towards the doors of the venue. It takes all of Baekhyun’s willpower not to collapse right there, his inner Omega panicking and threatening to rip out of him and defy his human body, ready to take him back to his wolf state.

Now if they haven't made front-page news already, that certainly would.