"Baekhyun maybe you should go lay down for a bit," Luhan's voice was calming as he approached the fellow vampire currently trying to catch his breath against the counter in the kitchen, his brows furrowed and he looked a little more pale than usual. "you don't look too good."

"I do feel a little cold," Baekhyun admitted, his eyes closing for a brief minute to dull the oncoming headache. "do you think I'm developing a fever?"

"You could be." Luhan nodded his head, gently placing the stack of paper plates down on the counter next to his friend. He wiped his hand in a napkin before brushing his friend's hair to the side so that his forehead was bare, Baekhyun let out a hum of content when the warm palm pressed against his eyebrow. "Oh goodness you definitely are! Chanyeol!"

The Alpha who had been helping Sehun hang decorations in the living room jumped at the shrill call of his name, his body jolting in surprise almost knocking Sehun off the small ladder they had set up to reach the ceiling. "What the hell Luhan, he was holding me up I could have fallen!" Sehun scolded his crush, sending him a quick glare before his brows softened at the sight of Baekhyun's flushed face. "Woah is he alright?"

"Sweetheart," Chanyeol gasped, within the blink of an eye he was standing directly in front of his mate, eyes wide with concern. "I can feel the heat radiating from your body from here. Kyungsoo's spell really must have put a damper on your system huh?"

"Vampire bodies still run like they did when we were human as long as we have a healthy consumption of blood which is how Baekhyun's able to develop a temperature just like any normal human being, however vampire fevers are a little bit different than human's." Luhan explained to the two curious wolves who were both staring at him in confusion.

"Different how?" Sehun wondered, his eyes narrowing as his gaze followed Luhan on his way towards the fridge. The elder vampire was humming a soft melody to himself, the origins unknown to the werewolves but Baekhyun was able to identify it as one of the pieces they listened to in their music class a little while ago. "He's not going to go blood crazy again is he?"

"No," Luhan shook his head after he produced a bottle of ice cold water from the fridge, his lips pursed together as his eyes fell on the ceiling. "at least I don't think so. Usually whenever I got a fever I realised that it was related to something particular, I could have been really hungry or severely thirsty or in the extreme cases really -"

"I'm sorry, what?!" Baekhyun shrieked, his once semi-closed eyes widening as he stared at his best friend with a dropped jaw.

"Vampires usually only get fevers when they haven't drunk blood in awhile, haven't eaten anything solid or haven't taken time to watch their water intake. In other cases -more extreme cases- it's because they're well... backed up?"

"Why does that sound like a question?" Sehun asked, turning to look up at his Alpha who appeared frozen at the words Luhan had just spoken. A moment of silence passed over the four supernatural creatures, Baekhyun's gaze remained locked on Luhan who was shuffling around on the spot in clear distress, Chanyeol couldn't take his eyes away from Baekhyun and Sehun was just gazing around at the three of them waiting for one of them to at least explain what Luhan was getting at. It took a further minute for him to realise. "Oh backed up!" he gushed, clicking his fingers when he finally understood. "You mean to say that he hasn't jerked off or masterbated right?"

"Well I didn't want to say it in so many words," Luhan hissed out through his clenched teeth, he was definitely going to hit Sehun over the head later for his immature address of the situation. "but yes that is exactly what I meant!"

"What can I do to get better?" Baekhyun's voice was no more than a whisper but thanks to their supernatural hearing they were able to process it clearly. His question was so obviously aimed at Luhan but it turned out to be Sehun answering with a wide grin on his lips.

"Well one would guess that you've already had your fair share of blood, you've been eating some of the cookies we set out for the party so you're not lacking any human food and I've watched you chug a glass of water at breakfast this morning. I guess the only thing you can do to feel better is !"

As if reading Luhan's mind, Chanyeol's palm delivered a loud slap against his best friend's head sending Sehun backwards with whimpers pouring from his mouth. "Wasn't there an easier way of saying that without being so lewd?"

"Oh I apologise for being an adult!" he huffed, gently massaging the general spot in his hair where Chanyeol's hand had hit into. "But honestly, that stinks Baekhyun. Getting a fever just because you haven't jerked off in some time must be annoying."

"It wouldn't have just come out of the blue though.." Luhan hummed, his eyes narrowing as he gently placed his palm back against his best friend's forehead. "Baekhyun did something unusual happen today that brought this all on? Preferably something that hasn't happened before?"

Baekhyun had been around Luhan long enough to sense when his best friend was hinting at something without drawing too much attention to the thing he was purposely asking about. Baekhyun knew that his best friend wanted to know if Chanyeol had done something a little more on the bolder side of things than before when things between them were still a little rocky. Baekhyun didn't even know where to start, he knew that the whole fever coming on was his own fault since he had been the one to tease Chanyeol that morning in the shower but he never expected for a fever to overcome him because of it.

"Yeah," he decided to admit, his head rising between his shoulders. "only recently too, will I have to do what Sehun said or-?"

"A cold shower might work." Luhan interrupted him with a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips, he wanted details but managed to hold his tongue in the presence of the wolves. "We'll finish up here if you want to go now before the party starts!"

After taking his friend's hand to help him down from the counter, Baekhyun sent a shy glance in Chanyeol's direction. Although the wolf was looking somewhat smug about the vampire's predicament, his eyes still showcased worry while his hand naturally came out to stabilize his mate and let him know that he was there if he needed him. Baekhyun's eyes were hazed over just like any other fever induced person, he didn't appear too stable on his legs and his paler face was alarming- had he been human Chanyeol would have rushed him straight to the hospital.

"I'll make sure that he's okay," he stated, gently pulling Luhan's arm off Baekhyun's waist. The vampire quickly realised just how dejected the Alpha looked, his eyes scanning over Baekhyun's figure making sure that nothing else was wrong with him. Luhan wasn't even able to thank him since Chanyeol pulled his best friend up into his arms, carrying Baekhyun back to his room bridal style. "you two should get a move on with the decorations though. Kris isn't very good at keeping secrets and I doubt that Tao can distract him long enough so that your plan goes well, I'd give it another half hour tops!"

"Don't worry about us dude" Sehun offered his hyung a smile, his arm wrapping itself around Luhan's waist as they both watched the couple retreat down the hallway. "just make sure that he'll be okay for the party later, I don't think Kyungsoo would be too happy knowing he's cooped up in bed. He'll feel responsible."

"I just need to lie down," Baekhyun explained, although his voice wasn't loud enough for the two currently standing in the kitchen to hear. "I'll be fine in a bit, I know I will be."

"I'm so sorry that I caused this.." Chanyeol whispered into his ear when they arrived at Baekhyun's room, he kicked the door open as quietly as he could and entered the hallway with steady steps. He wasn't sure if Baekhyun was feeling queasy after developing a fever but he didn't want to take any chances. "I was just trying to get back at you for what you did to me earlier this morning, I realise now that it was childish and I caused you to enter this uncomfortable feverish state. I really do apologise Baekhyun."

"You have nothing to apologise for Channie," although he sounded tired Baekhyun's lips still pulled back and released a beautiful grin that had the wolf's heart leaping from his chest. He pressed the palm of his hand against Chanyeol's cheek and coaxed the taller male to turn to look him in the eye (which he had been struggling to do so ever since Luhan explained the cause of the fever). "I was the one that thought teasing you was going to be an amusing thing for me. I thought it would be harmless since I've read about other couples doing it to each other in the books I bought when we first travelled to the village, I didn't know that I would end up hurting your feelings or cause tension to rise between us. I deserved what I got because it was what I put you through, it's only fair that we are both equal in our relationship though right?"

"It was more my pride than my feelings" Chanyeol chuckled, using one hand to pull open the blankets on Baekhyun's bed. When he was satisfied with the space he created, he leant forward and placed Baekhyun down on the mattress. The vampire's lips curled upwards as he appeared more awake now then he was out in the kitchen. "I thought that you were having second thoughts about what happened and left me alone to deal with my problem because you didn't, well- hate me anymore. I never thought about making love to you because I didn't think you were ready, I didn't want to overstep my boundaries and make you feel uncomfortable since the last guy you were with this life-time scared you so much. I didn't like the look of fear you sent me whenever we went head to head with our careless fighting in our early days of getting to know each other, I was afraid that if I acted on my desires that I would cross a line that I didn't think I could come back from as easily as I had with the others. But this morning I thought maybe you were offering yourself up to that possibility but when you stopped and left I felt like that possibility as a whole was officially off the table, like you would never consider it in the future."

"I knew you were holding yourself back from your natural wolf instincts," Baekhyun took a deep breath, his eyes staring down at the blanket that had now been placed back onto his chest by the wolf. "I just never realised how much. I never knew that you considered making love to me at all, but I do feel grateful that you were willing to wait for me- until I was ready to give you my all. I will admit that I did think about it and I have been thinking about it recently.." his voice trailed off, as his eyes closed. The burning against his cheeks was so hot it probably dulled the heat of the fever taking over the rest of his body. "This morning I hadn't thought about it and I really was going to aid you in finishing but I guess I thought teasing you would result in better outcomes later on, I should have expected that you would overthink the situation because I was being immature and unmindful of your own feelings and needs. But between you and I Chanyeol it will never be off the table, I planned to give you everything I had because you know how much I care about you and how much I hate you. To be honest the dreams I have of the two of us together really make me feel jealous, seeing us so close and intimate before makes me wish that we were like that again."

"I was only holding myself back because I knew you weren't ready baby," Chanyeol whispered, sliding down onto his knees as his hands found the vampire's on top of the blankets. He swiped against Baekhyun's forehead hoping to clear away some strands of hair while also checking to see how heated the skin was, thankfully it seemed to have cooled down ever since he had brought him in here. "I was ready whenever you were but I needed you to tell me when and not to feel pressured by anything. I'm not my brother and I would like to toot my own horn here but between us I would never do anything to hurt you, I know you're probably thinking of that time out on the football pitch where I killed you-"

"Let's just call that a mix-up, your strength got the better of you and I wasn't prepared for the landing. I already forgave you for that mistake Chanyeol, please don't keep beating yourself up over it." Baekhyun begged, his eyes filling with tears as he stared into the eyes of his mate. "I know you're nothing like your brother because I've seen it, I've been at the centre of the both of you for so long now that I know the differences and I know where my heart belongs. He has always thought that my heart would be with him forever but he doesn't know that my heart will continue to remain right by your side as long as you're willing to have to me, even if for some strange reason I find myself standing next to him for whatever reason know that my heart and soul will never stray from you. It will continue to love you as it has done for centuries before, we were the first mates Channie that's a major linkage between us both. You can't keep comparing yourself to Daehyun, I've learned to stop doing that so you need to stop bringing it up. Daehyun is not the man I am in love with, and I've chosen those words carefully because there is no way I'm dooming us now." they both released a laugh, tears cascading down their cheeks as they held onto each other's hands tighter. "Chanyeol let me give you my all, let me show you where my heart lies and how badly those three unspoken words mean to me whenever I'm around you."

"I don't doubt your loyalty to me" Chanyeol sniffed, shifting on his knees after he recognized the dull pain beginning to form in them. "I'm just scared that one day he'll arrive again and take you away from me, I feel like I won't be powerful enough to stop him or the army he's created with Maddix-"

Baekhyun shifted himself against his pillows and pulled the wolf's neck down to his level, they were so close that Chanyeol's cool breath hit against the vampire's heated cheeks. "Let me tell you something," he whispered, their lips brushing against each other as he spoke. "the only way that he will be able to separate us again is if he uses mind control."

"Exactly-"

"I'm not done." Baekhyun warned the Alpha, looking up at him with big bright brown eyes that looked so certain it was almost terrifying. "Daehyun used mind-control on me for so long that when Jessica tried it her efforts held no effect. I'm immune to that type of power now and if our theory on Jessica's rebirth is true she's probably already told Daehyun and Maddix that fact, which means that it won't be me they try to steal away."

"You think they'll do something to me?"

"Why else would Daehyun need my blood and your werewolf spell? He probably used my blood to take me out of the equation for your venom. The witch your mum called on used my blood so that I could identify as your mate when the time came for you to bite me, which your body has been wanting to do since it first saw me and has been wanting to do ever since then because your amber coloured eyes are a dead giveaway. Daehyun knows that this is the longest life we have both lived so far and I bet just like everyone else he's thinking that this is our last one, he's immortal so he doesn't have to worry about dying anytime soon. But we both know that he's been hellbent on killing the both of us ever since we arrived on this planet, because we are getting in the way of his plan to use the Kronas to stake his claim to the throne back on EXO planet. We came close to figuring things out before but we both unknowingly confessed to each other before there was anything we could do to stop him, but we've been stronger and more intelligent this time around. He's going to use mind-control on you to bite me because if I die so do you."

"But I've already been mind-controlled before?"

"You said it yourself, you were controlled by a witch which is a completely different species. A vampire has a higher outcome rate when it comes to controlling the mind, for a time I was controlled by a witch and then when it was time I was controlled by Daehyun. A witch and a vampire so I know I won't be so easily accessible like I was before, you and the others however-"

"Are going to be walking targets when the battle does commence, but he could also get any of the Alphas to bite you knowing that their venom could kill you."

"Daehyun wants revenge" Baekhyun shook his head, bringing their lips even closer to pressing against each other by doing so. "he thinks that you took me away from him when we were still princes, then we both took the throne out from underneath him. He will use you to inject the venom because you'll be left with the burden of causing my death and the Chanyeol in my dreams was hellbent on protecting me just like you are now, he will know that my death being your fault will make you go crazy probably become an equal opponent for him or something but you won't last long either since we both end up dying whenever the other does or so says your mother."

"How did you even come to this conclusion?" Chanyeol let out a chuckle, his eyes blown wide in surprise as his hands pressed against the pillow on either side of Baekhyun's head. "It's a brilliant theory, but you couldn't possibly come up with it so easily."

"I started realising things today," Baekhyun gently pressed his lips against the Alpha's chin, the corner of the muscles curling up as Chanyeol let out a small hum of content. "I guess I started putting the pieces together using the dreams I've seen, knowing Daehyun from this life-time, seeing how much our relationship bothered him, using pieces of what Ms Lee said... it is just a theory but it's the strongest one we have right now."

"Just when I thought that I couldn't want you more." Chanyeol playfully growled, retracting his face before pressing his lips against Baekhyun's forehead. The vampire was really beginning to like those kisses more, they were so sweet and innocent making his heart flutter so much it was concerning.

"Careful there tiger I'm still dazed from fever.." he laughed, playfully pushing the palms of his hands against Chanyeol's chest. The Alpha let out a laugh but surrendered with a small huff, he threw himself over Baekhyun's body and landed on the spot next to him with a smirk on his lips. "Want to help me out a little?"

"I don't know.." Chanyeol smiled awkwardly, his gaze falling onto his fingers which were fiddling around together on his stomach. "The mood was just kind of-"

"Ruined by my findings?" Baekhyun let out a laugh as he to his side, facing his Alpha with a teasing glint in his eye. "I'm sorry I dampened your mood but I did want you to know what I thought would happen, at least you know I won't willingly leave you."

"Wouldn't you?" Chanyeol scoffed, shifting around on the blanket so he too was facing Baekhyun who appeared stunned by his answer. "You just told Kyungsoo before the ceremony that you would do anything to protect your friends, to protect us, your family. Baekhyun tell me honestly... wouldn't you leave with Daehyun willingly if he promised to leave us all alone? If he promised that no one would get hurt? If he promised that nothing would happen to you and I if you just left with him?"

"I know it's selfish for me to say this, but no." Baekhyun admitted once he was able to overcome his shock at how easily Chanyeol thinks he would leave them. "Even if this is our last life I would much rather spend it fighting against him together than leaving with him and dividing us, I just found my family and all of you were willing to die to protect me when I came here. I know that some of us may not survive until the end of the fight but I want us all to stand together, to die together if need be. I'm not going anywhere near him again unless it's to end his life, I promise Chanyeol."

"Good because if you did leave with him I wouldn't be so opposed to Kris' declaration of a fight to the death, I don't know if I could live without you by my side anymore now that you've been here so long. It would be my own personal hell."

"Don't get so emo on me now Park," Baekhyun let out a giggle, moving closer to the Alpha from beneath the covers. "I hate that you put me in bed with this suit on. It's so uncomfortable."

"Is that your way of inviting me to take it off? Because if it is, you just did a horrible job." Chanyeol couldn't help but tease, wanting nothing more than to keep the sudden light air hanging over them now that their deep and serious talk was over. "Luhan also said that a cold shower will help, want me to run it for you?"

"Are you going to join me?" Baekhyun asked, somewhat hopeful as he stared up at the Alpha who had peacefully closed his eyes with a small smile on his lips.

"Just for you to leave me hanging again?" Chanyeol let out a teasing laugh, although when his eyes reopened they did look quite serious. "Absolutely not."

"You're honestly no fun!" Baekhyun huffed, tossing the blankets to the side and stumbling his way into a standing position. Chanyeol (although remained on the bed) stayed close just in case his boyfriend decided to take a tumble on his still very wobbly legs, maybe a shower wasn't what Baekhyun needed after all.

"Alright fine!" he surrendered, taking a fistful of Baekhyun's suit jacket before pulling him back onto the mattress. The vampire let out a strangled sound of surprise as his back met the white cover sheet protecting his mattress, the luxury design of the suit a direct contrast to the simple pattern on the bed. Chanyeol was a little surprised that the suit's material didn't slide off the cotton of the mattress which would have caused Baekhyun to fall on his bottom if he didn't have a stable grip on his clothes, the thought brought a smile to his lips. "Your legs are too weak to put your body weight on them right now, so instead of a shower how about a bath?"

"You do realise that I could get sick from sitting in a low temperature bath right? It wouldn't be very beneficial if I continued to get sick before we have a battle with your brother and his old friend right?" Baekhyun found himself laying on his back while his head was turned in Chanyeol's direction, the wolf was blinking back at him through narrowed eyes.

"Luhan said that you would only get sick if you haven't drank blood, ate solid food, managed your water intake and in Sehun's words- got ." Chanyeol declared, using his fingers to count the number of probable causes of the fever. Baekhyun let out a huff in response, his shoulders relaxing against the pillow.

"You're seriously not going to do anything because of a technicality?"

"You want me to do something?"

"Please tell me you're being coy because I will hit you in the face if you're not!" Baekhyun warned the Alpha, his hands crunching into fists as he sent a glare in Chanyeol's direction. "I'm willingly giving myself up to you and-"

His ramblings were cut off by a soft pair of lips he had gradually gotten used to over the past couple days, his heart going into overdrive when he realised just how delicate Chanyeol was holding him in his arms. "I get it," Chanyeol whispered after having pulled himself away, their lips were still touching but it's pressure wasn't as pleasurable as before. "and as much as I would love to indulge in all the wonderful fantasies going on in both of our heads right now. We can't, not yet." Baekhyun's breath hitched when Chanyeol's hand connected with his forehead. "Your fever has gone down ever since we've been in here, I guess your condition vanished at the mention of our protector duties huh?"

"My fever might have gone but my lust for you hasn't," Baekhyun wasn't afraid to admit it even though his cheeks were tingling in embarrassment, he could feel Chanyeol's warm touch seep into his skin as it travelled from his forehead to his cheek before trailing down to his lips and finally rested against his neck. "I want our mate mark back. I want us to have our powers back too, I'm not so sure that going home is an option but I really hope that we'll be able to go back to the life we once lived. I know things won't be the same as it once was since we've changed so much but, it's a fantasy that I would love to fulfil soon."

"If you're right about Daehyun's plan then our mate mark can't be rebranded in this time-line, at least until we are unable to reverse the spell or put you back into it. That was your theory right? That my bite would be the cause of our deaths this time 'round since we know that we can't tell each other our true feelings?"

Baekhyun's arms felt heavy as they lifted themselves up to wrap around Chanyeol's shoulders, their foreheads rested against each other as their breaths leveled out. Baekhyun knew that he was fighting a losing battle so he decided to hand in the towel now and wait just that bit longer for the right time, after all Chanyeol was correct. They couldn't possibly do it now since Baekhyun had made quite a big deal out of it being Kyungsoo's day and Kyungsoo's day alone. Baekhyun's eyes were closed but that didn't stop the Alpha from gazing at his mate with such an admirable look in his eye, his heart hurt at the thought of purposely killing Baekhyun but at least he was somewhat reassured that he wouldn't live long after him.

He instantly swiped that thought from his mind when he realised what was going on inside his mate's head. 

"I need you to promise me something," Baekhyun whispered, his grip tightening on Chanyeol's neck hair. The Alpha watched with bated breath as the vampire's eyes blinked open, they were filled with unshed tears. "I know you aren't going to like this idea and you're going to go against it until the end but I need you to follow through with it."

"Baekhyun.." Chanyeol started but couldn't go on since all of his energy was gone now seeing how broken yet determined his mate looked.

"There is a potion that can help fight against someone's mind control, I remembered Clara talking about it with another witch when I was still in Daehyun's pack. She was using it so that the likes of Daehyun or any other vampire under his command wouldn't force her into anything she didn't want to do, I know Kyungsoo has that recipe somewhere in one of his grimores so I'm going to get him to make it. As far as I know it isn't very complicated so it should be easy to brew once he finds it-"

"Baekhyun where are you going with this?" Chanyeol's voice cracked all throughout the sentence, he was getting nervous and the sight of the rolling tears cascading down Baekhyun's cheeks wasn't helping him either. The vampire's mind was racing a mile a minute, never settling on one thing long enough for Chanyeol to read. 

"Daehyun's had a plan to kill us ever since we got here, he's had more time to experiment and more time to think while we have been running constantly through a loop of living and dying. The youngest time we died was when we were six years old Chanyeol, I can't even imagine what Daehyun was doing during that life-time. He has years of intelligence and powerful people by his side probably since they've been born, but this time around he hasn't expected this. We have fallen victim to our feelings before and because of them we died, Daehyun thinks that we're just taking our time to confess this time around but he's wrong. We know things now, we are just as intelligent as he is and we also have powerful people at our side too. Daehyun thinks that we will cause our own dismay again, but this time I have a plan."

"You have a plan?"

"And it's a pretty ing epic one." he grinned, pulling the giant down so that now their lips were connected. Chanyeol let out a chuckle but it ended in a sigh of content, his hands found Baekhyun's and gently entangled their fingers together. "You just need to promise me that you'll go through with this..."

They were going to give Park Daehyun one hell of a fight.