Happy new year!!!

Sorry for the waiting!

I hope you enjoy it...

This is not beta-ed yet....so please have that in mind^^

Lots of love!!!

Chapter 4

After the initial shock of someone screaming in his face, Kyungsoo's brain began to spin and work again. His eyebrows rose, his forehead wrinkled and his lips formed a round and perfect “o”.

Kai saw the expression of surprise, disbelief and suspicion begin to form on Kyungsoo's face. Attentive to any change that may indicate the imminent arrival of a faint or worse, he fixed his eyes on Kyungsoo’s with the firm intention to catch him if he fell.

Kyungsoo wasn’t a person prone to fainting – What had happened before was an exception, Kyungsoo reassured himself - but he was terribly tempted to scream like a madman. His brain, however, decided to opt for disbelief, which took shape with a snort.

"You’re not human?" Kyungsoo said with mock seriousness.

"No, yes, well... not quite" Kai replied, taking a reluctant step back to clear a bit the haze of his head, but without letting Kyungsoo's shoulders go.

"Okay. So what are you? " Kyungsoo, who prided himself on being a sensible person, resented being taken for a fool. “Aliens? And you came from the stars?” The phrase I'm a Wolf crossed his mind " Hold on ... wolf ... are you saying that you are ... werewolves?” This was getting better and better ...

Kai - no matter how much it hurt - understood his mate attitude. Of course he knew that the idea was hard to believe, but a part of him, the part that still believed in the stories his mother had told him as a child, had wanted to believe that the love of his life would open his arms at the moment he explained everything, including about being a Wolf.

Kai inhaled sharply and answered with a nod.

Kyungsoo also nodded. Repeatedly. Realizing what he was saying.

Gently, without losing his calm appearance, he raised both hands to grab Kai's forearms causing Kai to let go.

"Ok," Kyungsoo said, nodding again and swallowing hard. "OK," he repeated again taking a step back.

This man is crazy, Kyungsoo thought.

Kai relaxed a bit, encouraged by the maturity with which Kyungsoo was taking the news.

"Suho and Sehun are also Wolfs. They are members of the pack, they are like my family."

Pack ... family ... This seemed more and more like gangland...

"Our lineage is old, and our family has always lived in peace with the community and the full humans. In fact, we live our lives like you and like any other person. The only thing that makes us different is that we have ... special abilities. "

“Special abilities?” asked Kyungsoo almost sure he didn’t want to know them.

Kai, pointed to the sofa, making a gesture so Kyungsoo, still restless and surprised, could sit down so he could finish explaining everything to him.

Kyungsoo, still looking at Kai suspiciously, sat on the edge of the couch keeping his back straight and his hands tightly clasped to his knees, with the firm resolve to run if the situation got worse.

Kai's soft smile made him nervous.

 He was still very handsome.

And totally nuts.

Kyungsoo had always been a person who tried to live without prejudice, he also knew that there were many mental illnesses that could cause illusions and beliefs beyond imagination, but having to face a person with such delirium had his legs shaking.

"High sense of smell, acute hearing... We also have more strength, more speed and we heal sooner than humans ... but we also work, go to school, pay taxes, etc. We are a discrete community, of course, the government knows about our existence but we still keep the secret. The Wolf community - that's what they call us - is made up of packs, of families. I am the Alpha of this pack, Suho and Sehun are betas.” Kai continued.

"Eh ... .Great" Kyungsoo said thoughtfully, trying to figure out how to get out of the house without being followed. "I hope that after telling me this you don’t have to kill me hehe," he said jokingly – which, by the way, was not funny at all.

"Kill y ... what? No! Kyungsoo, you're safe here, we've already told you, I just want you to be part of this family too,” he said jovially and slightly exasperated.

It was true that words had never been Kai's strongest point, and he regretted them just after finishing saying them as soon as he noticed the trace of unease emanating from Kyungsoo at those words that were meant to be reassuring.

Kyungsoo's breathing picked up slightly. The idea of being abducted by a bunch of crazy people made him extremely nervous.

The soft footsteps that sounded at the entrance of the living room made Kyungsoo wince.

“Sorry, we tried to enter as loudly as possible...We tried not to overhear the conversation but...you know” Suho said apologetically pointing at his ear.

He and Sehun approached the couple and taking a pair of chairs they sat near them. Suho looked at Kai as if asking for permission and after the nod of the latter, Suho talked.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but is the truth. The fact we’re unknown doesn’t mean we do not exist. Werewolves exist and we… Wolfs…are living proof of that. ” Suho continued with a gentle tone as Sehun nodded approvingly.

“You can’t truly believ…I mean, Werewolves? Really?” said Kyungsoo appealing to reason. “But…that’s impossible…so what? You grow hair with the full moon, have claws and fangs and you’re killed by silver bullets?” he asked, making a pleading gesture, trying to inject some common sense into the conversation.

“Well hyung…silver bullets kill anyone, you see?”

Kai looked at Sehun with a frown. Convincing Kyungsoo was difficult enough as it was without Sehun’s help.

“No,” said Suho “the ability to change left us generations ago. There are a few Alphas that can still transform at the peak of the full moon, but they are rare and the change only stays for a few minutes.”

“The danger that triggers the change no longer exists, now we live in cities and there aren’t predators big enough so these defences have been disappearing with the passage of time. We only have the stronger senses now.” finished Kai.

Kyungsoo couldn’t stop staring incredulously at the trio in front of him. A delirium so well-armed and apparently shared by Sehun and the seemingly sensible Suho was really really disturbing.

After excusing himself to go to the bathroom and following the direction Sehun was pointing at, he closed the door (and locked it) and sat on the toilet rubbing his eyes tiredly, trying to think how to get out of a house where the people inside were trying to fool him into a weird group or where they believed everything it was said that night, which was even worse.

Meanwhile, Kai was pacing up and down the living room. Everything was going wrong. Every time he tried to take a step forward Kyungsoo fidgeted and became defensive. Ok, the man had had a rough night, but there was no way to make him understand they- he- only wanted the best for him.

“I think this would need more time,” Sehun said, breaking the silence.

“I agree,” Suho said with a nod. “Kai…Kai! I think it’d be best if we take him home for now …”

“No” growled Kai, stubborn. “I told you before, Suho, I need him, AND this is the best place…”

“But it is not HIS home,” said Suho back. “The night has been hard enough for the kid and he is anxious, he must be feeling insecure and he doesn’t know us…we need to give him space, to let him be within his comfort zone so he can think through what we said tonight. I know it will be a hell for you, Kai, but… he is a fully human and we’ve never had a full one so close to our affairs before.”

“We know Tao,” Sehun said, smiling slightly.

“You know Tao was different, he was already aware of the Wolf community even though he knew no one personally,” Suho replied.

“Yeah” chuckled Sehun through his teeth, “and he started drooling over Kris at first sight.”

Suho smiled kindly remembering how obvious and rather cute was that couple before turning to look at Kai, who had positioned himself by the window and was looking outside with a fierce but pensive look. He approached him and put a gentle hand on Kai’s shoulder.

“I think it would be best to act with caution, we don’t know how Kyungsoo will react when he finishes taking in the situation. And the last thing you want is him running away from you” at that Kai frowned deeper “Let him go home, sleep in his own bed and tomorrow will be another day.”

Sighing deeply and with a knot in the pit of his stomach just thinking about parting ways with his newly found mate, Kai nodded gloomily.

When Kyungsoo finally got out of the bathroom, he found Kai waiting for him at the hall, playing with some keys.

“You had a rough night so I guess you’ll be tired,” Kai said, clenching his jaw, clasping his teeth together so the words his heart was yelling didn’t escape, “I’ll take you home.”

Kyungsoo nodded feeling grateful, but still…

“Are Sehun or Suho coming as well?” he asked hopefully, he didn’t want to go alone with Kai.

Kai stared at Kyungsoo thoroughly, took a deep breath and nodded. “If you want to.”

On the way home, Kyungsoo noticed the strong grip Kai used on the steering wheel and the looks Sehun was giving him, the youngest seemed worried about something. Sitting at the back of the car - a white, familiar and perfectly recognizable SUV- Kyungsoo was looking through the window monitoring that they were, indeed, heading home.

What he didn’t notice- but Sehun was guessing -was how difficult the journey was for Kai. His first instinct was to take Kyungsoo to his house, as that was the end of all hunting. But no, Kai shook his head, squeezing the steering wheel saying to himself over and over again that he needed to be considerate, that he is human, Kai, give him time. Slowly, Kai. His inner wolf, on the other side, was growling and ripping apart his chest yearning to go out and meet his soulmate.

Sehun - witnessing the ordeal and sensing with pity the pure emotions emanating from his alpha- looked away feeling sad knowing he couldn’t do anything to improve the situation.

Even harder than the first part of their trip, it was to take the road back. After seeing the neighbourhood where Kyungsoo lived, a labyrinth of narrow streets, steep slopes and a hundred thousand dark places to hide, Kai grumbled and bit his cheeks with each step he took. After stopping several times the impulse to take Kyungsoo by the neck and drag him back to the car, Kyungsoo stopped in front of a tiny two-storey building where there was an outdoor corridor with two doors on each floor.

"Thanks for bringing me home," Kyungsoo said to both of them, but looking only at Sehun.

Kai growled and frowned. He stopped when Kyungsoo flinched and looked around trying to find the focus of the sound, purposely avoiding Kai's gaze.

Sehun coughed, somewhat uncomfortable and after a few words of farewell and good wishes, he turned to go down the steep hill that would take them back to the car as soon as Kyungsoo went to the front door.

Kai, on the other hand, was firmly anchored to the ground. His legs were slightly open, arms crossed and eyebrows almost together watching like a hawk every step of his mate, without losing any detail until the door on the right on the second floor closed with a screech that would probably be heard from their own house.

“I do not like this. Not at all,” Kai said, the words coming out of his mouth in a mixture of moan and grunt.

Kai, looked around, looking for possible threats in the small convenience store on the corner and thinking how comfortable it would be to spend the night on the little wooden bench outside the shop when Sehun began to push his arm, telling him the danger was over and reminding him that guy was off the picture so come on, let’s get some sleep too.

 Kai could have sworn he had also heard him say something like "alphas" in a very low and very exasperated tone. Thinking about his sanity and the physical health of his beta, he decided that he must have imagined it.

Kyungsoo stood a few minutes leaning on the door, just breathing. It was a very confusing night. First, the encounter with Ji Guk, which was difficult enough, the sensation of fear sent shivers through his spine again as an aftermath of the confrontation. And then, the kidnapping thing (he was kidnapped, no matter what Kai might say) and the discovery that the most handsome guy in the club, their VIP God, his crush was completely.out.of.his.mind.

The jump he made when the knock on the door assaulted his hears was historic. With a hand on his chest, Kyungsoo spied through the peephole expecting a murderer with an axe at the very least…or Kai, instead what he saw was a Byun Baekhyun in pj’s and a disgusting black eye.

He opened the door quickly tripping over his own feet.

“ What happened? Who did tha-?”  Kyungsoo asked hastily, brushing softly under his eye… realizing it was only eyeliner. He sighed with relief.

“ What happened to me? What happened to you? I just heard the door… are you ok? You can’t  disappear on me like this, I was worried sick!!” said Baekhyun with a strangled voice.

They enter the house, Baekhyun tailing Kyungsoo as he put a kettle on the stove to make a well deserve tea.

“Jongdae went to look for you because you were taking so long and he found that relative of yours in the alley, he's badly injured Kyungsoo, and you were gone! I thought they took you…” Baekhyun said rather agitated.

“Wait…who? My relative? What are you talking about?” asked Kyungsoo confused.

“Well…I don’t know, do I? That man asked me where you were and he said it was your relative… a distant uncle or something? He’s in the hospital, maybe you should-”

“He is not relative of mine,” said Kyungsoo with a deep voice. “He was Han Ji Guk”

Baekhyun stood motionless for a few seconds. Not really registering that piece of news. It was really interesting to see his reaction, his mouth went wide open and his eyes round as plates.

His friendship with Baekhyun was a long one. He was a childhood friend, but Baekhyun’s father had to travel a lot because of work so they finally moved in their last year of primary school. They met again by chance in a café in front of the study center where Kyungsoo was taking his classes. As sometimes happens when people part ways being really good friends, time seemed not have passed. Knowing Kyungsoo since such young age and now being neighbours as well (because it’s cheaper and that’s final Soo) Baekhyun knew nearly everything about Kyungsoo’s life, even the encounter with Han Ji Guk, so his reaction was almost expected.

After convincing Baekhyun to sit down at the little kitchen table, Kyungsoo explained everything to him. Baekhyun was a good listener, he usually interrupted a lot, but today – maybe because he was scared for his friend- he was the perfect audience.

“But…this is good, right?” asked Baekhyun after Kyungsoo had finished his tea and his story. “I mean, the bad guy has been punished and your crush- I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about that- saved the day. What’s the problem?”

“Really, Baekhyun? The part where I said they believed themselves as werewolves don’t bother you? At all? ”

“Oh, yeah… ” Muttered Baekhyun rubbing his eyes and making the black eye even more pronounced. “The thing is…it kinda rings a bell somehow…”

“Nevermind that, that wasn’t the real problem though,” sighed Kyungsoo, serious again. “You didn’t see him when he was hitting him. I mean, it was…I was really scared. ”

“But that’s perfectly normal Kyungsoo, that guy beat you up really badly, it’s comprehensible that seeing him again-” said Baekyun in an attempt to comfort his friend.

“Not him. Kai. At that moment I was afraid of… Kai” whispered Kyungsoo “If he is this violent and can do that so effortlessly and with such force…I…”

 Remembering how his heart had reacted with Kai even after seeing that made him shiver.

Baekhyun extended his arm to reach Kyungsoo’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly. They stayed like that for a few moments, just thinking about the things that had happened that loooong night.

“You need to rest Soo. Bed, now. Chop chop”

 Kyungsoo smiled after hearing the name Baekhyun had used when little. After getting in bed, Baekhyun sat beside him and took his hand.

“Just one thing,” said Baekhyun “if what I understood about your story is right, Kai went to the alley because of you, so I think he was there to protect, not to harm. Keep that in mind Soo-ah. Not all the fighting in the world is terrible. Some of them are worthy. Sometimes, people find something worth fighting for.”

And with those words he got up and murmuring I’ll close the door, he left.

Kyungsoo thought about what he said, he considered his friend’s words had a point and his mind did tell him Kai might have beat that excuse of a human because of him, because Han Ji Guk had seemed a threat to another human being but his heart was saying a different tale. That reaction was really disproportionate considering they barely know each other. He understood that some people may throw a punch trying to stop someone, but that had been simply too much. Beside his behaviour in that alley, Kai hadn’t seemed prone to have rage explosion, he had seemed a bit grumpy but a bit shy if that made any sense. Apart from his delirium of being a mythological creature, he was…normal. What was in his mind? Why the scene he saw in that alley put him so violent? Why would happen if was Kyungsoo the one who displease him? Would he attack him in the same way?

Setting those disturbing questions aside Kyungsoo thought that at least one thing was sure. He wanted to stop working at the club. Those kinds of encounters won’t be the last ones if he kept working on night shifts. He will need another job…and made it work with his studies… In any case, he was sure Kai will not be a part of his life anymore. Just the memory of a really weird night.

How wrong he was.

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As always thank you for reading!

Thank you for those who take the time to comment !! 

I first made (in my mind)  this story more straightforward...but the slow burn is stronger than me...I can't help it!! Sorry...

Be happy!!