“You know you aren’t trying to even hide your annoyance.”

 

Sanghyuk shot Jiyong a confused look as he and Sungjae glanced at him from the corner of their eyes. Jiyong finally let his gaze land on Sanghyuk with a slightly irritated look on his own face.

 

Sanghyuk grumbled. “You aren’t trying to hide your irritation.”

 

Jiyong huffed. “Because you are annoyed yet you won’t tell us why you are. Sungjae knows but he won’t say anything without your permission.” He flicked his tail towards Joshua and Luhan. “And they are passed out so they can’t say anything.”

 

The Alpha’s face twisted slightly before sighing. “It’s just what the Evening Pack wanted.”

 

“Did they want Taekwoon?”

 

Sanghyuk pursed his lips which was enough of an answer for Jiyong who huffed out a soft laugh. He didn’t want Jiyong getting the wrong idea, however, so he had to say something.

 

“It’s more complicated than you think.”

 

Sungjae shot Sanghyuk a look. “Then tell them. Cause I’d like to know as well.”

 

Sanghyuk stared at his bloody paw and narrowed his eyes. “Look…Taekwoon is…”

 

Sungjae opened his mouth but Sanghyuk snarled at him. Sungjae’s fur bristled up, staring at him in shocked before laying his fur flat again. He knew that saying anything would be pointless considering that Sanghyuk very clearly didn’t want the reveal that Taekwoon could have possibly been an Alpha in his old pack – just in case they were lying.

 

“What?” Wonshik asked, sensing Sungjae’s want to speak. “What was Sungjae going to say?”

 

“Something important and Sanghyuk doesn’t want me to say it.” Sungjae sniffed.

 

Sanghyuk grumbled. “I want clarification before I want anyone to share it willingly with the pack, especially if Taekwoon himself doesn’t want it revealed.”

 

Sungjae raised an eyebrow at his best friend. “Have your parents told you that you are very focused on Taekwoon. More so than I think anyone was expecting, even if you found him.”

 

“I can second that.” Xiumin piped up as he adjusted Joshua who was snuffling slightly. “Very Taekwoon focused indeed.”

 

Sanghyuk felt embarrassed as he twitched his tail. “Sorry.”

 

“Nah.” Jiyong snickered as he smirked at the younger. “We think it’s cute.”

 

Sungjae scoffed. “Well you do. I find it’s ridiculous.”

 

“How?” Wonshik asked.

 

“Because Sanghyuk is so Taekwoon focused even though he doesn’t know the wolf.” He raised an eyebrow at Sanghyuk. “You act as though he is trustworthy.”

 

Sanghyuk opened his mouth to argue but snapped in shut in annoyance. Should he tell them about them being Fated Mates or should he keep it a secret a little longer?

 

“I have to agree to a point.” Jaehwan agreed. “But Taekwoon is absolutely shy and nervous. I doubt he’s a danger.”

 

Sanghyuk whispered. “I know he isn’t a danger.”

 

“How do you know that?” Sungjae pressed and Sanghyuk couldn’t help his sudden outburst.

 

“Because he’s my Fated Mate!”

 

All of his wolves froze in their place and turned to stare at Sanghyuk with a range of expressions; shock, amazement, confusion and stunned.

 

“What?” Jiyong asked, stupefied, making Sanghyuk tense in unease before looking away out of embarrassment. He didn’t mean to say that. That would lead to more questions he didn’t want to answer.

 

“Nothing. Forget it.” Like they would just brush off a revelation like that as if it was nothing. Fated Mates are a big deal, especially if they find each other.

 

“That isn’t nothing!” Sungjae hissed as Sanghyuk continued walking, jogging up to catch up to him. “You can’t just drop that on us and act as though we should just forget it.”

 

Sanghyuk growled lowly. “Taekwoon doesn’t know and I don’t want him to know just yet.”

 

Jaehwan pushed forward, mindful of Luhan who was past out on his back. “Alpha.”

 

“What, Jaehwan?”

 

“Fated Mates…I heard my mum telling my brothers and I that Fated Mates basically offer protection to each other. Like, if one is a loner and their Fated Mate finds them then they are protected by the new pack.” Jaehwan explained. “Wouldn’t Taekwoon be safe?”

 

“Maybe…” Sanghyuk muttered, unsure if Jaehwan was right.

 

Jiyong sighed. “That all depends. It means that they can’t be attacked on the territory but that doesn’t mean that they are automatically kept from their old pack.”

 

Xiumin frowned and scratched at the ground lightly. “But, if you and Taekwoon are Fated Mates, then he is our Alpha as well. We protect our Alphas, after all.”

 

“Yeah.” Sungjae nodded. “They attacked Joshua and Luhan because they want him and we don’t want any of our wolves being given over to wolves that are like that.”

 

Sanghyuk smiled weakly and noticed that Wonshik was silent, watching him closely. As if he was trying to read Sanghyuk even more than he already could. He felt nervous about what his Beta was thinking.

 

“Wonshik?” He addressed the wolf who startled at it. “What’s on your mind?”

 

Wonshik opened his mouth and then shut it. Looking forward as he tried to figure out how to word his thoughts. Sanghyuk had a sneaky suspicion that it was about Taekwoon, as this entire conversation was about him.

 

“I just…How do you know that Taekwoon can be trusted?”

 

Sanghyuk was startled and frowned to himself. “I…I don’t really know. It’s like I know full well that he can be trusted and the claims about him are false.” He flicked his ear. “Why?”

 

Wonshik grumbled. “It’s because Taekwoon doesn’t really like us.”

 

“He does though!” Jaehwan cut in. “Taekwoon is calming down and accepting us slowly. He was seriously wounded when he was first found and his old pack mustn’t have been the best which is why he is so reluctant to become close to us.”

 

“He doesn’t like me.”

 

“You probably intimidate him.” Jiyong laughed. “He doesn’t appear to like me either.”

 

Sungjae flicked his tail and brushed against Sanghyuk’s side. “Who really cares about all that? We can focus on that later, but Sanghyuk has a mate!”

 

“He isn’t my mate.” Sanghyuk said, though his blush betrayed him.

 

“Well, you’re Fated Mates right? That means you are two are mates. Probably even more so than Xiumin and Junmyeon.” Sungjae grinned at the said wolf who looked irritated.

 

“Except we are actually mates.” Xiumin snapped.

 

“But you two aren’t Fated Mates.”

 

“Sungjae.” Sanghyuk said and Sungjae perked up as he turned to face him again.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Stop.”

 

“You’re no fun, Hyuk.” Sungjae wailed and Sanghyuk rolled his eyes at his exaggeration. It wasn’t really bothering him since Sungjae was always like this.

 

Jiyong, however, decided to continue teasing Sanghyuk as Sungjae pouted to himself. “Well, I actually do believe you. Considering I have noticed you being against having a mate or even looking for one.”

 

“I just thought that perhaps I was Aromantic, not that I had a Fated Mate.” Sanghyuk said, knowing that the previous thought was a possible choice.

 

“That may have been the case, but you kept acting as though you wanted a mate but you just couldn’t find the right one.” Jiyong explained. “It’s difficult to really explain it. But usually you can tell if someone is Aromantic or Aual, especially if they are Alphas.”

 

Sanghyuk sighed. “I guess…”

 

Jaehwan squealed loudly, making Wonshik wince away from him. “That’s so cute!”

 

“Jaehwan. Really? In my ear?” Wonshik asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

 

Jaehwan stuck his tongue out at Wonshik. “You don’t really care.”

 

“How is it cute?” Sanghyuk asked.

 

“Well,” Jaehwan started, drawing out the word. “It’s cute because you were waiting for Taekwoon to come around. Like, you knew he was there, you were just hoping to find him. How is that not cute?”

 

“It is pretty cute.” Xiumin agreed.

 

Sanghyuk groaned. He was getting ganged up on by his pack mates. He loved them but he wished he never told them so he could be saved from this misery.

 

“Are you going to tell him?” Wonshik asked, the tone shifting from playful to serious.

 

Sanghyuk looked at Wonshik. “About what?”

 

“About everything. The Evening Pack wanting him to be handed over to them, you two being Fated Mates.” Wonshik said casually.

 

The Alpha knew he was going to tell Taekwoon. He had to tell him both of those things after all, but when would the appropriate time be to tell him about their connection that neither had any control over?

 

“I know I have to tell him about the Evening Pack immediately, pretty much.” Sanghyuk said.

 

“But what about being Fated Mates?” Wonshik pushed, tail twitching as he kept his gaze focused on his Alpha. “Isn’t that important to tell him immediately?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“So?”

 

“I can’t tell him yet. Not until he feels comfortable.” Sanghyuk said, making up his mind. “I know he still feels hesitant around the pack, and I don’t want to make him even more uncomfortable. What if he believes I only want him to stay because we are Fated Mates? What if he think I only care about him because of that?”

 

Xiumin nodded. “That’s fair.”

 

Wonshik was about to say something but Sanghyuk cut him off. “The two is right ahead. We should get Luhan and Joshua to Chonghui now.”

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Sanghyuk rubbed his arm, ignoring the blood that had stained his wrist as he stood inside the room where Luhan and Joshua were being treated. Chonghui was stressed as she studied their wounds to evaluate how bad they really were.

 

Her fur looked frazzled after screeching when she noticed the state they had returned in, especially Sanghyuk’s ripped wrist. It didn’t hurt any more and he had convinced her enough to treat Joshua and Luhan first.

 

It wasn’t that bad and he could deal with it.

 

But he couldn’t deal with it if his own pack mates died because he was treated first.

 

Jaehwan and Xiumin had entered the hospital to lay Joshua and Luhan down before both agreed to leave and go to Moon Shadows Light in order to inform Theo and Nyla what had happened to them. Wonshik had told Sanghyuk that he’ll tell his parents what happened while Sanghyuk got his wrist checked up on.

 

Sanghyuk sighed heavily as he saw Sungjae stretched out beside him. “My body is going to be aching for days.”

 

“At least your body isn’t badly injured.” Sanghyuk said in response as he lowered his right hand, frowning at the blood.

 

“Yeah, well I don’t have a broken wrist.” Sungjae said. “You should really get that wrapped up, ya know.”

 

Sanghyuk huffed, keeping his gaze firmly locked on Luhan and Joshua. Chonghui stood up, waving Daesung aside and he nodded, leaving the room swiftly. Sanghyuk flicked an ear in confusion but he figured Chonghui was going to speak to him.

 

The eldest healer turned to face the young Alpha. “They are fine. After a good rest they should be on the road to recovery.” She sighed. “Sadly, they did lose quite a bit of blood because most of their wounds are small and scattered all over their body.”

 

“At least they are safe.” Sanghyuk murmured.

 

That was all that matters to him right now.

 

“Yes.” Chonghui nodded before looking irritated. “You have to get that wrist wrapped. I’ll tend to Sungjae’s wounds here.”

 

“I know.” Sanghyuk mumbled.

 

“Then why are you still sitting around here instead of getting it checked out?” Chonghui demanded.

 

“I wanted to make sure Joshua and Luhan were alright.” Sanghyuk admitted tiredly.

 

Chonghui sighed and smiled weakly at him. “They are fine. You don’t have to worry about them.”

 

Sanghyuk nodded and stood up, noticing how sore his legs were. Sitting down for almost an hour couldn’t have been helpful at all, especially as he felt his muscles cramp up. He stretched his arms up above his head as his tail flicked.

 

He shook his head before leaving the room. He wondered who he should go a visit. Perhaps Hyeyeon.

 

Daesung would probably chew his ear off for not getting his wrist treated sooner while Hyeyeon would quietly do her job.

 

Suddenly he perked up as he heard footsteps running towards him. Spinning around he saw Taekwoon step into the hallway, looking confused and shaken. Aqua eyes wide in shock.

 

“Taekwoon.” Sanghyuk breathed out, allowing his body to relax as the other wolf slowly approached him.

 

“Holland and I heard your father’s howl.” Taekwoon said as he seemed hesitant to come any closer but he still did. Apparently knowing that Sanghyuk wasn’t going to stop him from coming closer.

 

Which he wasn’t.

 

“I forgot he howled earlier.” Sanghyuk chuckled, raising his wrist to rub the back of his neck. How does one forget that? Probably because he was so focused on his pack instead.

 

Taekwoon’s gaze landed on his wrist and he yelped. “What happened?!”

 

Sanghyuk paused and lowered his hand, startling slightly when Taekwoon took his hand carefully to look at the damage. He looked worried and Sanghyuk saw tears beginning to collect in his eyes, much to his horror.

 

“It’s fine.”

 

“No it’s not!” Taekwoon cried, snapping his head up to look at him directly.

 

Taekwoon suddenly looked surprised and ducked his head out of embarrassment. “I mean…It looks really bad.”

 

Sanghyuk chuckled softly “cute” before speaking once again. “I am going to Hyeyeon to get it wrapped up.”

 

“What happened?” He whispered, Taekwoon slowly traced around the wound, being extremely careful to not irritate it further.

 

“Got into a fight with a group of wolves that didn’t want to back down.” Sanghyuk said. “But, I’ve had worse wounds.”

 

“You’ve had worse?”

 

“I’m an Alpha. Kind of in our job description.” Sanghyuk shrugged. His wrist would be really uncomfortable for about two months but he has had worse. It’s not like this is going to kill him.

 

Taekwoon flinched away at that before whispering. “I guess, that doesn’t mean I like it.”

 

“Careful there, I would assume that you care.”

 

“Of course I care about you.”

 

Sanghyuk smiled sweetly at him and Taekwoon noticed, causing his cheeks to deepen into a blush. He chuckled at the action when Taekwoon turned away, tail curling into himself out of shyness.

 

“Who was it with?” Taekwoon asked instead, pushing through his embarrassment. “I doubt it was with any of your pack mates.”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

“Well, your pack doesn’t seem like the one for inter clan fighting.”

 

Sanghyuk leaned towards him. “Oh really? You haven’t met any of our sister packs. And we have ten of them.”

 

Taekwoon flushed slightly. “Well…” Sanghyuk hummed quietly and Taekwoon met his gaze though his cheeks were bright red. “Your wrist doesn’t smell like Moon Shadows.”

 

Oh.

 

Sanghyuk blinked and watched as Taekwoon ran his finger lightly across the wound, trying not the flinch away but still did so. Taekwoon looked up at him and dropped his hand but held onto his fingers. The touch was reassuring.

 

“Sanghyuk?”

 

The Alpha sighed. “It was one of our neighbours. The Evening Pack. They live near the mountains to the north east of our territory. Well they live beyond them.”

 

“Are they dangerous?”

 

“Not typically. They don’t really like us all too much but that isn’t our problem anymore.” Sanghyuk waved his free hand, not really caring much about getting attacked. It wasn’t the worst thing they’d done to them.

 

“But they hurt you!”

 

“And? We aren’t on good terms with them. Fighting between packs in expected in that regard.”

 

Taekwoon shook his head and frowned at Sanghyuk. Ears laying back. “There’s something you aren’t telling me.”

 

How did Taekwoon know-?

 

Oh yeah, it must be a Fated Mates thing.

 

Sanghyuk chuckled. “I don’t…I guess I should tell you what happened.”

 

Taekwoon paused, ears now perked up and flicking in interest and curiosity. He looked so damn cute that Sanghyuk almost held his face and coo at him.

 

“Taekwoon…Your wolf. It is a female, right?” He needed to clarify this first and foremost before they carried on with the conversation.

 

He looked surprised but Sanghyuk squeezed his fingers slightly. Taekwoon looked around, fur beginning to puff up in nervousness.

 

“Taekwoon.” Sanghyuk raised his left hand to hold his face gently. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise. It’s so we can help keep you safe.”

 

Taekwoon gulped and lowered his gaze before nodding weakly.

 

Now, normally Sanghyuk would want a verbal response but he knew he wasn’t going to. Taekwoon’s scent confirmed it. Admittance that he didn’t want, Taekwoon was obviously nervous about it being used against him.

 

Sanghyuk sighed and tugged Taekwoon along behind him into a small side room so they wouldn’t be interrupted. “Hey, don’t be scared.” He turned around to face him.

 

“You won’t do anything to me?” Taekwoon asked meekly.

 

A shake of his head made Taekwoon relax slightly.

 

“Of course not. However, I needed to know so you can understand what I am going to tell you.” Sanghyuk’s tone spoke volumes at how important what he was going to say actually is. “It is about the Evening Pack.”

 

Taekwoon met his gaze and then the beautiful aqua orbs darkened in understanding. “It’s my old pack isn’t it?”

 

Sanghyuk nodded. “Yes.” He felt Taekwoon’s fingers tighten around his own. “They have joined the Evening Pack and managed to persuade them to try and take you from us.”

 

The other wolf stiffened.

 

“I was the reason this happened?” He sounded so small and guilty, and Sanghyuk’s heart ached for him.

 

He shook his head. “No, no. Taekwoon you aren’t at all.”

 

“But,” Taekwoon snapped his head up. “They attacked your pack because they were trying to get to me.”

 

Sanghyuk felt a rumble through his body, fingers tightening when he felt Taekwoon trying to pull away. “Taekwoon.” He fell silent and stopped tugging instantly. “You are not the one to blame here. We aren’t a pack that fights so they would be able to enter our territory and come here as long as they don’t fight.

 

“And you know what they did?”

 

Taekwoon shook his head.

 

“They attacked two of our pack mates because they wanted to. Because they wanted to prove a point.” Sanghyuk almost snarled at that. “They may have had the inclination to come here because of you but I’m going to be honest with you. You are just an excuse for them.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Let’s just say that our packs have a bad history and they hate us in general.” Sanghyuk explained softly.

 

Taekwoon still looked hesitant. “So, it isn’t my fault?”

 

“No.” Sanghyuk held his face and smiled warmly at him. “Not at all.”

 

He looked relieved and relaxed, leaning into Sanghyuk’s hand. A blissful smile adorning his face. Sanghyuk smiled back at him, despite the heat in his cheeks.

 

“Sanghyuk!”

 

The annoyed snap of Hyeyeon broke through the peace as she opened the door. Her ears and tail puffed up in irritation, flicking from side to side.

 

However, she noticed the position Sanghyuk and Taekwoon were in and sighed heavily as her entire demeanour settled down.

 

She ran a hand through her hair. “Sanghyuk, look, Alpha. You need to have that wrist wrapped up and probably set so it can heal. Otherwise it will not heal properly.”

 

Taekwoon hissed, startled. “I thought you said it was fine.”

 

“I mean, it doesn’t hurt.” Sanghyuk tried to explain.

 

Hyeyeon muttered. “Yeah, yeah. Taekwoon remember that because he is gonna cry and whine when I put ointments on it.”

 

Sanghyuk pursed his lips as Taekwoon giggled softly at her words.

 

Great, getting ganged up on.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Ouch!”

 

“Oh stop it. It’s nothing.”

 

“You aren’t the one that is getting treated this way!”

 

“It’s just Betadine, you wuss.”

 

Hyeyeon flicked her ear as she wrapped up Sanghyuk’s wrist, ignoring the pout on his face. Taekwoon chuckled as he sat slightly behind Sanghyuk.

 

“Look, it would be a lot worse if you had come straight away.” Hyeyeon muttered. “Even though you really should’ve anyway.”

 

“More of the reason to stay away.”

 

Hyeyeon growled at him and Sanghyuk slunk against Taekwoon, curling his tail around his legs. Taekwoon just stared at him in confusion.

 

“Why?”

 

The youngest healer sat up fully. “An Alpha would be stupid to not listen to their healers, or Thetas as we like to be called.” She smirked. “We are the reason why packs can even survive because without us everyone would die from infections.”

 

Taekwoon blinked. “Oh.”

 

Hyeyeon smiled. “I can understand you may not know that your boyfriend can’t tell you everything straight away after all.”

 

Sanghyuk screeched slightly and could feel his body heat up at her comment. He could also feel Taekwoon stiffen up behind him but he wasn’t surprised in the slightest. If he reacted to Hyeyeon comment then he was positive that Taekwoon would as well.

 

“He’s not-“

 

Her smirk made Sanghyuk fall silent. It would be pointless to try and persuade her otherwise.

 

“Anyway,” Hyeyeon carried on, not caring about their embarrassment. “Thankfully, your wrist is fine. You can still use it but be mindful of what you are doing, just in case you irritate it and re-open the wound which is entirely possible.”

 

“He can re-open it?” Taekwoon asked, surprised.

 

Hyeyeon nodded. “Yep. Which is why I’m putting you in charge of monitoring him to make sure he doesn’t do that. Because I know him and he’ll be careless if left unsupervised.”

 

“No I won’t.” Sanghyuk muttered.

 

She rolled her eyes. “Just, Taekwoon, make sure he does be careful with his wrist. I can’t do much else as it is his dominant hand. He just needs to take it easy.”

 

“Okay.” Taekwoon said.

 

Sanghyuk sighed to himself, tail flicking slightly but felt Taekwoon’s rest against his back in silent reassurance. Well, hopefully it won’t be too bad.

 

“I hate having to take things easy.”

 

“Well, you are going to have to get used to it.” Hyeyeon sniffed as she stood up and stretched. “Otherwise you’re gonna be in here again and your wrist will be worse because of it.”

 

Sanghyuk huffed and Taekwoon chuckled softly.

 

“It can’t be that bad though.”

 

“Could be worse.” Sanghyuk muttered, agreeing.

 

The door pushed open, the creak catching all of their attention, pulling them away to stare at the door. Haebin poked her head into the room, her eyes landing on them.

 

“Hey, Hyuk. You alright?” Haebin asked. “Wonshik said your wrist was pretty banged up.”

 

Hyeyeon began cleaning up her supplies. “It’s fine. He’d just have to be careful to not strain it.”

 

Haebin smiled. “That’s great news! Mum and dad were worried.”

 

“Where are they?” Sanghyuk asked as he stood up, noting his legs slightly shook as the events of the day and the adrenaline finally fully left his body. He was surprised his parents had come by the visit him themselves.

 

“Getting Kangmin, Harper and Felix. The three of them are out of the town, playing together.” Haebin explained and stepped aside as Hyeyeon walked past her.

 

“They aren’t in town?” Taekwoon asked.

 

Haebin shook her head. “No. We don’t keep the pups in town, they’d tear the town down if they were forced to remain in town.” She looked at the window, and Sanghyuk followed her gaze to see the slightest glimmer of dark clouds on the horizon. “But, after what happened today they should be kept in town for the next day at least.”

 

Taekwoon nodded and rested his head slightly against Sanghyuk’s shoulder. Sanghyuk sniffed slightly before sighing as he allowed Taekwoon to rest against him. His tail curled around him, the black fur a stark contrast to Taekwoon’s white tail.

 

Haebin blinked before smirking. “Oh? Is there something going on here?”

 

Sanghyuk hissed as Taekwoon squeaked and turned away in embarrassment. “No!”

 

Her eyes glinted playfully and Sanghyuk rolled his eyes at her. Even though she knew that Sanghyuk and Taekwoon were Fated Mates, clearly that didn’t stop her from wanting to be a little to her brother.

 

Such as teasing him and Taekwoon as her new favourite past time.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Kangmin let out a yelp as he slipped on the grass and fell onto the ground, Harper falling on top of him with a loud laugh. The youngest Alpha bared his teeth playfully at them but Harper did not care as they knew he wouldn’t do anything to them.

 

Felix cackled from where he stood, clutching his sides. “Oh my! Harper you actually managed to take him by surprise!”

 

“Only because you two tag teamed me.” Kangmin protested.

 

Harper smirked. “Right. Totally has nothing to do with your lack of ability to handle yourself.”

 

Kangmin scowled slightly before shoving Harper off of him, hearing their laughter ring loudly in the air around them. “You two .”

 

“No we don’t.” Harper teased, clambering to their feet and grinning broadly at him.

 

Felix let out a bark of laughter as he ran up to Kangmin. “Yeah! Come on, Min. You have to trust us when we say that one of us here is the weakest.”

 

Kangmin scoffed while Harper just gaped at Felix. “Lix. I never thought you were going to admit your weakness.”

 

Felix screeched as he leaped forward to tackle Harper while Kangmin burst out laughing in response. Of course Harper would take Felix’s words and twist them to be used against him. It was their talent after all.

 

“Kangmin! You can’t possibly side with them, right?” Felix motioned towards Harper who had managed to pin him to the ground. That wasn’t surprising though. They were quite strong after all.

 

Kangmin hummed before shrugging. “I dunno. They do have a point.” He smirked when Felix let out a wail of betrayal.

 

Harper stuck their tongue out at Felix who hissed at him. Kangmin just laughed at their antics. It was a welcoming relief from any school work and some duties he had to do around town.

 

He opened his mouth the say something when he heard the familiar call of his mother.

 

“Kangmin!”

 

He turned his head around to see his mother walking towards them. Even though she wasn’t a born Alpha he noticed how his best friends stiffened and immediately scrambled to their feet in response.

 

Kangmin blinked, unsure, before meeting his mother halfway. “Mum? What is it?”

 

She sighed. “Well, something happened so we have to make sure everyone is in town.”

 

“What happened?” Kangmin asked as Felix and Harper joined him. Their ears twitching as they sensed and caught onto Kangmin’s worry and panic.

 

What could’ve possibly happened to make sure that everyone was in town and accounted for?

 

A part of him didn’t really want to know.

 

“I’ll tell you when we get back home, but for now we just have to go.” His mother said simply as she turned around to lead them back to town.

 

Harper frowned slightly as the three children followed close behind. “Man, our play time was cut short.”

 

“Something happened, Harp.” Felix argued.

 

Yeah, but what? Kangmin thought as he listened to Felix and Harper talk to each other, noticing the tenseness in his mother’s body.