Minjun opens his mouth in disbelief, mirrorring  the rest of the boys' reactions to what just happened. “They just…”

“Imprinted.” Chan finishes the sentence for him, as if it wasn’t already obvious what Seungmin had just done.

Everyone watches as Hyunjin and Seungmin stare blankly into each other's eyes, mouths slightly agape, before the tallest begins to fall forward and into Seungmin’s arms. The omega continues to stare ahead for a couple of seconds and finally reacts by scrunching his eyes shut and wiping at the fresh set of tears that have started to fall. A small whine leaves the latter’s mouth from the vision the two just shared, a vision that he will never forget.

The whole house is completely silent save for the deep breaths Seungmin  keeps taking, attempting to prepare himself for what he’s about to do.

The omega takes a shaky hand, while the other holds Hyunjin’s waist tightly, and sweeps a lock of hair away from his face to see him properly. He then rests a palm along the younger’s cheek and down alongside his jaw, before moving the both of them in Jisung’s direction as if it physically pains him to do so. A fresh set of tears escapes his eyes, beyond reluctant of even the thought of being away from the other.

He rasps out, “G-go...take him. Keep. Him. Safe. ” while slowly handing Hyunjin over to Jisung and the entire room silently understands why he did what he did.

Jisung sharply nods his head and looks over to the leader once more, breaking away from the harder than stone look Seungmin has in his eyes. “We’re off then.”

All three boys flee out the back kitchen door and once they have enough space, both Minho and Jisung transform.

For the first time, Felix looks hesitantly at Minho’s larger form; beautiful tawny fur, almost glistening against the setting sun. He's gorgeous and if Felix wasn't mistaken, he notices Jisung do an actual double take at his friend.

Jisung's fur resembles that of a fox, with his orangey color and white patches along his mouth, chest, and at the tip of his tail. He too looks quite mesmerizing in the afternoon lighting and if they weren't in such a dire situation, Felix would compliment the both of them about their looks, but now is not the time.

"Alright, change of plans." Felix adjusts his grip on Hyunjin and looks between Minho and Jisung, their large azure eyes giving him matching worried looks. "How do you feel about carrying both of us, Jisung?" He remembers Changbin mentioning the redhead having some kickass speed and wouldn't doubt for even a minute that he could pull off this task with ease. Considering Hyunjin being passed out and what not, the slightly older boy couldn't possibly ride on either Minho or Jisung without assistance.

Jisung unsurprisingly gestures his black nose towards his back, giving Felix the go ahead he needed. The second Hyunjin is placed snug against Felix's narrow chest, the latter's grip tight around the taller, they take off into the hidden trail.

Minjun stares out the kitchen window and prays to anything out there that his boys make it out of the forest unharmed.

~*~

Everyone gathers outside and positions themselves along the porch in a line. Collectively, they're all hoping to appear somewhat intimidating, but they know deep down it won't mean to the pack coming.

Chan takes notice of Seungmin; the omega's eyes are screwed shut and arms folded across his chest, rubbing his biceps up and down as if to warm himself up. However, Chan knows that Seungmin is currently fighting a battle inside of himself.

“Are you sure you can do this, Seungmin?” The leader questions lightly. "There's still a little time to come up with-"

The wolf in question takes a deep breath and reopens his eyes. “I have to be here, hyung. They'll be even more suspicious if I leave now.”

And as if on cue, two black wolves, followed by even more members trickling in behind them, casually walk up to the middle of the Stray’s front yard, about four meters from where Chan and his own pack stands.

The bigger of the two black wolves transforms back into a human and s follow suit. The leader of the pack is a man looking to be around his late thirties, but any wolf can automatically tell you that the male is beyond that age. He has raven hair parted down the middle, a prominent chin, and pale complexion. His build is remarkable, wide shoulders and tall in height. If it wasn’t for all the horrible things that every pack around knows about, the head alpha could probably fool anyone into thinking he’s a wonderful man.

“Well. Well. Well .” A plastic smile beams across the man's face as he spreads his arms open in a grand gesture. “Mr. Bang Chan.”

The atmosphere was previously quite chilly due to the afternoon sun having already begun to set, but with the pack in front of them it almost seems like you could cut the tension with a knife from how thick everything feels- how wrong everything feels.

Chan counts the remaining members that walk up beside the head alpha and omega, quickly realizing something.

" How many were originally coming, Seungmin ?"

" At first I thought it was around twelve but when they got closer I could have sworn it was fifteen… "

Seungmin couldn't have been wrong, he rarely is. But if he was right, then Chan's hunch is correct, three wolves are missing from the original fifteen and he hopes to all the gods that they’re just back in their pack’s territory and not out to mess with the four boys he just sent away.

Chan quickly activates his power and immediately sees right through the smiling jester coming from the male in front of him, his powers signaling him that the other head alpha has nothing but malicious intent fluttering around his figure. “Seo Gwangho.” The silver headed leader greets.

Beside him Changbin makes a questioning face and, having yet to deactivate his powers, Chan instantly notices how the younger’s aura seems to belie a frightened feeling; Changbin has never been scared of his previous pack.

“What’s wrong, Changbin?” The head alpha inquiries through the pack bond.

“The three wolves missing are all ones with high combat skills. They’re definitely planning an ambush on anyone leaving our territory. They wanted us to be separated.”

“Just stay calm and play it cool. Jisung is more than capable of getting those three out and you know that better than anyone. The faster we get this over with and have them leave, the faster we can bring everybody back together. Am I clear with everyone?” Chan hears his pack reply with a collective ‘yes’ and a shaky one follows shortly after from Seungmin, but that’s to be expected. He really hopes the young omega can pull through.

“How are you and your pack today?" Gwangho questions while looking around the property from where he stands.

Chan watches the man carefully, making sure to never miss a single movement. “We were having a nice evening until some unexpected visitors decided to grace us with their presence.”

“Oh? Are we really that unexpected though?” The head alpha of the Seocha pack immediately brings his dark gaze upon Seungmin’s figure.

No words are needed to be exchanged by the two, only a heated stare off. Seungmin’s powers are no secret, in fact every pack around knows about the young omega, having an ability like his is a huge advantage. However, just as the vicious pack leader had strayed away from Chan, he refocuses just as quickly, hardened facial expressions replaced with mock sincerity.

Gwangho gestures between himself and the woman beside him; his mate, Cha Jihye. The woman is also pale, with silky black shoulder length hair, and couldn’t look a day over thirtyfive. “We just want to talk to our son, is that too much to ask for?” The head omega looks a little hurt as she nods along to what her mate is saying, but Chan and the rest of his pack weren’t born yesterday.

Chan scoffs and rolls his eyes at the ridiculous pair in front of him. “Since when have you ever treated Changbin as your own?!” 

The pout Jihye was previously wearing slowly slips off and as if her true colors begin to show, she replaces it with an almost cynically bored stare. “Well, since he was born of course. But what would you know about raising children, sterile alpha ? What a disgrace.” A few snickers from the Seocha park dance around the wolves, almost mimicking hyenas with their prey.

“Channie…” Minjun quickly looks over to his mate and even though his face reads as a strong leader that wasn’t affected in the slightest by the insult, his bond says otherwise. Minjun can only sense a great amount of melancholy from the man beside him. The omega grasps Chan’s hand in his own and transfers every ounce of positive energy he can muster up.

It’s true, Chan is unable to reproduce and him being sterile is the only reason why Minjun and him do not have a child of their own. But hell , Seungmin and Jeongin are their kids- blood born or not, Chan and Minjun love the two of them so much and would give the world to them if they could. Same goes for Changbin, Jisung, Minho, Felix, and Hyunjin. All of the boys are so precious to the older two that even harmful words from a grade A could never deteriorate their bond.

The silver haired man gives Minjun’s hand a reassuring squeeze, signaling that he’s fine. “I have all the family I need here. Nothing in the rule book says that I need to have my own blood born children to produce a family.” Chan lifts his head with confidence and levels a challenging glare  at the older male before him.

Silence falls over  the dangerous pack and all that can be heard are twisted chuckles coming from the visiting head alpha. The hysterical man brings his head back up and moves his bangs back into place, composing himself. “You call two cursed orphans, a lone alpha, a spastic runt, and a sorry excuse of a head omega, a pack? , Chan, I knew some packs were desperate, but you're on a whole other level.”

Gwangho smiles and begins to walk forward to the few bushes lining the grand front porch, ignoring the rumble of a growl slipping out of not only Changbin’s throat, but surprisingly Jeongin’s as well.

He then runs a pale hand along the thorny bushes, pricking his finger in the process. The alpha brings his digit closer to his face for inspection and watches as deep crimson blood slowly drips down his hand, all before the wound closes up completely. “Say, you did catch on to one thing, we definitely aren't here for Changbin, but we are here for his other half!”

“A little birdie told us that you imprinted and not just any old fashioned imprint- you imprinted on a human !” The pale woman's voice shrills with eerie excitement which only causes Changbin's right brow to twitch with agitation. He knows damn well what his mother's trying to do, but he will never lash out and let it slip where Felix is.

His mother's power is a particular kind. A sort of mind control that only works if a person is either weak or overwhelmed, allowing the woman to get inside the victim's head and gather any type of information she so desires.

Changbin takes a deep breath to tame his inner wolf before leveling his mother with a glare. "You'll never even come close to touching a single hair on his head."

“Hmm, is that so?” The woman tilts her head in an innocent manner and opens to say something more to her son, but a shiver running across a certain omega catches her attention instead. “Oh, my! Orphaned omega, you seem to be quite feverish on this chilly evening, wouldn’t you say?” Jihye’s naturally dark eyes begin to take on a deep purple glow as she activates her powers and zones in on Seungmin. “Almost as if you’re having withdrawals, hope you feel better soon.”

Once her eyes start to slowly fade back to normal, Changbin can already tell his mother got exactly what she came here for.

Information about Felix or really anyone’s lingering scent she can sense on the property who is currently absent.

“Did she get anything?!” Changbin frantically questions the young omega.

“I-I don’t know. I’m s-sorry, hyung.”

“Don’t be sorry, Seungminnie. You’re doing amazing, just a little longer.” Minjun adds hastily.

Beside Seungmin, Jeongin looks over towards his brother and rubs a hand along his back soothingly. He knows that his brother will most likely beat himself up for letting any information like that slip.

Jihye lifts a perfectly trimmed brow and looks around the handful of boys in front of her. Dark eyes reading as if she already knows everything and if she successfully got through Seungmin, then chances are, she probably does. “I thought the runt would be back by now? Is he out for the time being?”

“Jisung is still away on a business run and the human isn't here either, so you can all leave.” Chan speaks for his pack, tone becoming less friendly everytime he has to answer their questions.

“Aw, that's no fun. You don't mind if we come back to visit, now do you?”

“Yes, I do mind. Now leave, before I drop the hospitality and rightfully use the upper hand on my own territory.”

The other head alpha brings both hands up in defense and takes a step back from where he stands. “Alright. Alright. Alright. No need for violence.” He gives a look towards his pack and without a word being said the group begins to head back from where they came. However, Gwangho stays in place.

“Bang Chan? One last thing.”

Chan looks back at his pack, in silent agreement to stay put while he deals with this, and walks down to where the man waits patiently.

Gwangho practically closes any space between the two of them and leans close to Chan’s ear, the action sending a disgusting shiver down his spine. “You may have hidden the two humans and that half wolf, and this may be your territory- which no wolf is dumb enough to start a damn fight on - but just know, a time will come when everyone will be on neutral grounds. And that time isn't too far off.” The older alpha finally moves away from Chan’s face and takes two steps back before giving the younger a smile. “Maybe your little omega will see it happen, who knows?”

“ Leave !”

With fire burning in his eyes Chan watches as the alpha before him smirks and turns around with ease, slowly disappearing back into the forest. His chest heaves while taking deep breaths to calm himself. It’s only when Minjun places a warm hand along his cheek that Chan breaks out of his trance, momentarily being taken over by his inner alpha.

“Hey, look at me, they’re gone. Let’s get everyone inside, okay?” Minjun nods his head along with the end of his own sentence, silently asking for Chan to understand. “We need to prepare for who's going to patrol and keep watch tonight.”

Chan breaks eye contact to look at Seungmin’s shaky frame being supported by both Jeongin and Changbin, the omega clearly struggling. The leader then nods and takes one more breath, before going along with Minjun’s plan of bringing his family back inside.

~*~

Minho runs with all of his might, feeling the rush of adrenaline flow through him, still in his euphoria from imprinting moments prior. But that doesn’t do for how unfairly fast the wolf in front of him is running. Changbin wasn’t joking when he mentioned the omega’s speed.

He would tell Jisung to slow down a bit considering he feels like his body couldn't possibly match this pace for much longer. And Minho would simply relay that message through the pack bond, but the third year hasn’t completed the bonding ceremony for the entire pack yet, resulting in such an action to be impossible.

An acceptance ceremony was supposed to happen sometime tonight, considering every current pack member has to be present, but looks like those plans have been set aside for another time.

‘How the hell are neither of them falling off at such a speed?! One of them is passed out for christ’s sake!’ The half-breed thinks to himself, momentarily becoming distracted.

"Hyung, behind you!"

Minho hears Felix scream towards him and it’s at that exact moment pain erupts through his right hind leg. He immediately trips over his own rushing paws and rolls forward until his body slams into an unmoving tree with great force. For a split second, Minho sees nothing but white, his vision trying to bring everything back into focus. He then lets out a cry of pain when forcing himself to transform, only to instantly notice the wound around his ankle, the thing causing him great discomfort.

The sound of approaching steps catches him off guard and Minho tears his concerned gaze away from the ground and to the three wolves now circling around his body.

Minho continues to look between his wound and the wolves, to assess the situation at hand. Blood pools around his dark jeans and seeps into the forest floor, staining the dead leaves a crimson color. The half-breed lets out a few deep breaths once he realizes it’s not a major injury, but something just enough to leave him imobile and scared enough to make him shift- it's probably what the three wolves intended on doing.

Low growls coming from in front of him immediately drag his attention back to what's really happening; they are being ambushed. This is definitely not good considering Minho can’t even  defend himself at this moment.

The second Jisung had heard the cry from Minho, the omega quickly brought himself to a halt and turned back around only to skid to a stop once more, and gestured for Felix to get off.

Jisung immediately transforms and guides the passed out Hyunjin and Felix behind some large bushes. Although, there's quite a distance between the three wolves and Jisung, he still lowers his voice when talking to the boy in front of him. “Felix, stay right here and watch after Hyunjin. I’ll go deal with them and get Minho.”

“You can’t take all three of them on by yourself!”

The redhead gives him a cocky smirk before standing back up from his crouching position. “It’s them who you should be worried for, not me.” And with that he transforms back into his striking wolf form and quickly takes off towards Minho.

He comes into contact with the first wolf, and of course this one is definitely bigger than him- most of his kind are- but they have nothing on his speed. The two charge at each other and crash midair with a loud thud , having both jumped up to have the upper hand, but Jisung was faster. He bites down hard onto the enemy wolf's neck and rolls until the other has more or less passed out.

Once finished with the first, Jisung snarls and turns to where the other two are standing in front of Minho. He knows from just seeing the pool of blood surrounding the dark headed boy that they definitely aren't here for a friendly chat; Jisung practically sees red as dark as the liquid around Minho’s ankle. He should have known that pack would pull some sort of petty plan to ambush whoever tried to leave the Stray territory.

Jisung doesn't even know what comes over him, nor does he remember what he does to the other two wolves, but when he comes back to, he’s standing with his back to Minho, chest heaving, and watching the receding figures of three Seocha pack members. Jisung couldn't even tell you when he transformed back into his human form, but here he is, mouth covered in a bit of blood, arm aching a little, his already disheveled clothes covered in more dirt than the last time he saw his outfit, and god he probably looks like a wreck. But now is not the time to think about appearances or possible injuries.

In fact, now would probably be the best time to escape before those three come back with friends.

Jisung shakes the weird feeling he has coursing through his jittery body and turns to check over the boy behind him.

“Can you stand, Minho?” Jisung huffs once then twice, attempting to catch his breath, but the redhead- even after brawling with three other wolves- still wears a confident smile. He reaches out a hand towards Minho and pulls up the injured boy once the latter nods his head in confirmation.

“You’re incredible, you know that?” Minho states in wonder, which causes a smattering of pink blush to appear on Jisung’s warming cheeks. "Oh, your arm…" His mate reaches out and ghosts his fingers over Jisung’s injury, a pang of guilt flooding his senses.

Jisung spares a glance at the four bloody claw marks running down his arm, already beginning to heal albeit slowly. "It's fine,” He goes back to bending down towards Minho’s leg for inspection, completely unworried about his own wound. “No need to make a fuss over it. I'm more concerned about your ankle, they dug into it pretty good, huh?" He looks up from where he's crouched to make eye contact with Minho only to find the younger staring back at him with a mixture of emotions. Jisung needs to get everyone out of here as quickly as possible, however having a moment with Minho will have to wait until the four of them are safe.

Breaking eye contact, Jisung turns his head away, mentions that he'll be back in a second, and runs over to retrieve Felix and the still passed out Hyunjin.

He hikes the lanky boy up his back and secures a firm grip around the younger's legs, mindful of how he's handling the fragile human. “The edge of the forest is just down this hill.” Jisung tips his head in the direction they need to go and they make their way out.

The sun has already set, so the trio relies on Jisung's knowledge of where to go, trustful of the wolf they only just met. Every now and then Felix offers help to Minho's limping form, especially when attempting to move past the incline of land. When the faint light shining from nearby street lamps come into sight, only then do all of them let out a breath of relief.

“Is there somewhere we can wait until the coast is clear? Someplace to stay overnight might be best since Chan, Changbin, and Seungmin will most likely be scouting for anymore ambushes. That pack is a nasty one with lots of twisted morals and they definitely won't be too happy about what I did to those three."

Felix looks up in thought while continuing to walk forward. “My place will be too cramped, but Hyunjin’s apartment might work?” The younger supplies in thought. He's never been to the slightly older boy's home, but he assumes with how well off he seems at school and when they hangout in general, that wherever Hyunjin lives will be okay for now.

Minho gnaws worriedly on his bottom lip from not only the faint throb that beats through his ankle everytime he walks, but also from Felix's suggestion. Right now the situation lies in Minho's hands, he needs to do the right thing, even if it exposes Hyunjin’s private life. “I know the code to get in.”

They walk for quite some time and Minho, who was previously limping, begins to walk normally; and thank goodness for that, because their group was getting quite a few stares. Jisung shifts the taller boy currently on his back, making sure that he doesn't slip off, and suddenly realizes something. “What about his parents?” He questions randomly and it does take Minho and Felix a split second to realize what the redhead is talking about. “Won’t they find Hyunjin being passed out kinda, I don't know, alarming ?”

“They, uhm… They live abroad and just pay for his place.”

Both Felix and Jisung look towards Minho with shocked and curious faces.

“When’s the last time he’s seen his mom and dad?” Felix asks timidly.

“When they came to Korea for a business meeting in July.”

Even though it was Felix who asked the question, Jisung is the one who nods his head and lets out a hum. He then gives a smile towards both the boys beside him trying to lift the mood a little. “I guess it hasn’t been too long then-”

“Of last year…” Minho drops the bomb and just like that, Jisung's smile wipes off his face completely.

The half-breed knows he shouldn’t really be the one to tell Hyunjin’s story like this, but they’re going to figure it out anyways once they arrive at the boy’s apartment. So might as well tell them now. “It’s not even as if his parents are bad people, because they’re not , but they shouldn't have had a child if they were going to be absent for most of his life.” Minho lets out a sigh of both tiredness and relief once he notices how close they are to their destination. “Come on, his apartment building is down this road.”

When all three boys walk inside, with Hyunjin passed out on Jisung’s back, the two receptionists at the front give the group a suspicious glance. It’s only when the red head begins to put up an act and exclaim how the guy on his back had a little too much to drink that the receptionists throw a few laughs and one points them in the direction of the elevators. Not that Minho needed to be told, but with how beat up he himself looks, might as well play the silly drunkard card to avoid any further suspicion.

Minho directs everyone towards the correct apartment, punches in the code, and allows everyone to pile inside before him.

“Damn! He has this whole thing to himself?!” Felix gapes at the size of his friend's apartment, amazed at how his parents trust him with such a luxury. It’s way bigger than his cramped space he shares with his grandmother, even if it still couldn’t be compared to the pack house. However, there’s not much personalization to the place, other than a few knick knacks, some potted plants, and a handful of photos with a smartly dressed Hyunjin, placed along the entrance, and a couple smaller framed ones of a dog.

Felix quickly realized that there’s also no dog currently living in the apartment so he assumes the animal is no longer with the family; Which just leaves him even more upset at how Hyunjin must feel living in such a lonely place.

After Minho directs Jisung on where Hyunjin's room is, the omega comes back out to the common area to snoop around a bit; Just like Felix has been doing since stepping inside. 

To Jisung, the place is simple enough, nothing too extraordinary, but the place seems a bit off. “Anyone else find it a little odd that this place doesn’t have a single photo of his parents? Kinda freaking me out if I’m being honest. I can't even smell a trace of them...” He says the last part under his breath, but Minho and Felix hear him anyways.

The youngest of the three nods his head in agreement, looking at the handful of well kept succulents placed along a window. “What do his mom and dad do exactly? Hyunjin has never talked about them.”

“They’re both architects. They were recruited during his first year of high school to take a job overseas and that’s where they spend most, if not all, of their time. Before, they would come home late and leave early in the morning; Hyunjin basically raised himself.” Minho sits on the spacious couch situated in the living room and looks at the pile of magazines, school notes, and random slips of paper Hyunjin has littered his coffee table with. “I would spend the night most of the time, but once I got into third year it became harder to do.”

They talk a bit more about school and filling Jisung in on who they are until Minho notices just how tired Felix is and decides to point to a door down the hall. "You look like you’re about to join Hyunjin in passing out. Go ahead and wash up, Felix. There should be towels in the upper cabinet."

Felix does as he’s instructed, nodding sleepily, and heads to the bathroom, leaving Jisung and Minho alone.

“It seems like all of us have lost something or another.” Jisung gets up from the chair he was previously sitting in and gingerly sits beside Minho on the couch, not leaving much space between the two of them simply because he can’t really stand being far from the other right now.

“What do you mean?”

“You talked about Hyunjin’s parents with a sort of guilt and longing . I didn’t want to jump to any assumptions, but has something happened to your own?”

Minho looks down where his fingers are splayed across his thighs and rubs them nervously up and down. “They died long ago. First my father and then my mother.” Minho huffs out a humorless chuckle and spares a glance to the boy beside him. “It’s so ing sad that I don’t even know how or why they died… they just did.”

From his peripheral, Minho notices Jisung’s eyes grow wide and then shrink into a sad mold. “I’m sorry, Minho.” The red head reaches over and runs a comforting hand along the other's back, transferring soothing energy to the younger- or at least he attempts to; Jisung isn’t too sure how it’ll work if the two of them aren’t mated or officially in the same pack yet.

The half-breed shakes his head lightly and gives Jisung a tiny smile, letting him know that it’s truly fine. “Don’t be. Like I said, it happened a long time ago. But you’re right about all of us losing something. Felix lost his parents as well, he said it was a car accident.”

Minho thinks back to when he had first met Felix and how, when he told him this information, something seemed a bit off, but he trusts that Felix would never lie about something so heavy. Now was he telling the whole truth? Minho’s wolf senses seemed to have doubted it at the time and that alone caused suspicion.

“I could tell with the way his aura felt after you mentioned the word 'parents' .”

"What have the others lost?"

Jisung lifts his brows in surprise and nods his head, the atmosphere turning a little south. “Chan and Minjun hyung’s original packs were both taken out by hunters, that’s how they found each other, back in the late 50’s. This led them to inherit a lot of money, but they had one of the greatest losses one could have. They lost their family, two entire packs. It’s best if they tell you the whole story, since I can never do it any justice.”

“Jeongin and Seungmin’s parents were actually in the process of building their own pack when they got ambushed by a couple of hunters.” Jisung shakes his head softly and lets a sigh seep out. “The only reason those two are even alive is because Seungmin ran and hid the both of them. Jeongin was only seven at the time, still a pup. When their parents died they stayed cooped up in a literal dirt hole for two days until Chan and Minjun found them. They took them in and adopted them.”

Minho thinks about the two younger wolves and silently sympathizes with them, because he knows what it’s like to lose both parents at such a young age.

“As for Changbin hyung, his pack kicked him out and completely disowned him. His parents were too scared of his powers and what they would become, or that he would toss out their leader; his own father. It was the pack who came to our territory and ambushed us, not a very nice group if I’m being honest. If you only knew all the they’ve done!”

The half-breed remembers just how worried Seungmin was when warning Hyunjin about how dangerous the oncoming pack was. In fact, the omega was so worried about Hyunjin’s safety that he imprinted with Minho’s best friend just to get the stubborn male to stop arguing.

"Why would they do that?"

Jisung snorts in answer to Minho’s question, “Chase us or show up to our doorstep?” but quickly realizes that Minho was actually being serious, because of course he wouldn’t know about how horrible the Seocha pack is.

Minho stares at the small omega with bright and almost innocent eyes. “Both.”

“Well, they probably found out that hyung imprinted.” Jisung turns his whole body towards Minho and crosses his legs, getting more into the conversation. “The blonde one- Felix? I can smell Changbin’s scent all over him and vice versa, even though the two aren't even fully mated yet their bond is insanely strong. Also…” The omega turns his head slightly away and scratches behind his ear. “It’s not forbidden to mate with a human, since fate brings humans and wolves together occasionally, but it’s almost shunned, in a way? Mostly by the elders. They see their offspring- mixed breed wolves- as a threat.”

Now this catches Minho’s attention. “How come?”

“Because they can practically blend in, distorting senses and powers. Even though you told me you take suppressants, that only helps with transformation urges and emotional display. Some wolves might be able to tell that you’re in fact mixed, but it would take an extremely keen sense of smell to truly know. Now, if someone were to try and decipher your emotions or aura while you’re off the suppressants, it would be practically impossible.”

Minho makes a sound of confusion. “But you said just moments ago that you read me perfectly fine when I felt hurt about the mention of parents?”

A peppering of warm pink colors Jisung’s cheeks, which in return causes Minho to smirk. Minho actually finds the Oh So Confident Jisung blushing to be amusing. “Well, now I can. Since we’re imprinted, we have a sort of connection towards each other. Of course it’ll become stronger once we complete the bonding ceremony, and the same will go for the rest of the pack once you're officially initiated.”

“A-anyways, if someone with a physically manipulative/altering power, like Changbin, were to use their abilities on you, it wouldn’t work.” Minho lets out a quiet ‘Oh’ while nodding his head in understanding. He can’t actually believe that he’s able to do such things if he’s being honest. "In other words, you have a shield over you. Same goes for Felix and Hyunjin if they complete the bonding ceremony and turn."

“What’s Changbin’s power? I’ve never seen him use it.”

“You may have noticed it and never put two and two together. Hyung has the gift of life and death.”

Minho raises his eyebrows in an impressed gesture. It seems like Changbin has an incredible power, a very altering one at that! And now that Jisung has mentioned it, Minho did notice a vase of flowers that’s been sitting in the living room have a more vibrant appearance yesterday, from when he originally saw them the day before that, when there were petals with sickly brown splotches and leaves beginning to wither.

“He can bring things back to life, but if hyung isn’t concentrating fully then it kills them or drains their lifeforce. Hyung’s power is extremely rare, which is another reason why his pack abandoned him.” Jisung lets out a long yawn and widens his eyes, attempting to keep himself awake while having this conversation.

A smile creeps along Minho's features as he begins to stand up, dragging a reluctant Jisung with him. “I think we should get some rest, I’m sure you’re drained from all of your traveling.”

“Yeah I am pretty exhausted, but we’ll have plenty of time to talk about all of this, so there’s no rush.” The two of them go to where they left Hyunjin earlier and notice a sleeping Felix snuggled right beside him. “Looks like he crashed as soon as he got out of the shower.” Minho lets out an unattractive snort and closes the door, but makes sure to grab a few articles of clothing before exiting the room completely.

Jisung and Minho end up both taking a shower - separately of course - dressing in Hyunjin’s clothes like Felix had done earlier. Then Minho awkwardly leads the both of them to the room that’s supposed to be Hyunjin’s parents, but looks like a simple spare room. Minho stands in the doorway, hesitant, while Jisung looks skeptically into the mundane room beside him.

The half-breed then clears his throat. “So, do you want me to take the couch or-”

Jisung turns his head around quickly, wide eyes looking worriedly back at Minho. “Are you seriously suggesting that? We’ve imprinted-”

“Hey, I’m just making sure you’re comfortable in whatever we do…” He throws his hands up in defense, letting the shorter one in front of him know that he didn’t mean it to come across like that.

Jisung’s eye widen in surprise and for the second time that night he wonders what he did to deserve someone like Minho. Sure, common courtesy like Minho is portraying is just something everyone should do, but growing up in his pack he was taught that someone like him was never supposed to get something like this. He quickly schools his expression and begs the warm wash of blush to beat it because he probably looks ridiculous getting embarrassed by something so simple. “Thank you, but I think I’d rather not separate from you; I might go crazy.”

“Really?” Minho thinks back to the time when Changbin and Felix had imprinted, the two stayed together for the rest of the night and that entire next morning. He can’t even imagine what this means for Seungmin and Hyunjin.

“Yeah, me more so than you. Since you’re mixed it may be slightly different, but if I leave you right now I’m not going to get a wink of sleep.” The shorter man rambles on while pulling back the duvet and crawling into the spacious bed, waiting for Minho to do the same.

Minho pads over to the switch and kills the lights, washing the room in darkness, save for the blueish light being casted through the window. “Do you think Seungmin is okay?” Minho never thought those specific words would ever leave his mouth, considering the relationship the two of them share.

“I’m honestly not too sure. Sure, Seungmin has a crazy amount of restraint, but imprinting is a powerful thing. I’m kinda surprised he let us take Hyunjin.”

Minho makes a hum of acknowledgement to what the omega just said and gets into bed beside him. He’s shared a bed with Hyunjin countless times, even cuddling up with him when he felt a little blue and on top of that, just the other day Jeongin and him were cuddled on the couch watching some drama. But this? This is way different considering the rate at which his heart is currently pounding; that never happened with the others.

He doesn't really know what comes over him, but Minho carefully slings an arm over the smaller’s waist and scoots a little closer, feeling way more content. "Is this okay?"

"Y-yeah. I mean- yes. Yes this is cool."

"Cool?"

"It's nice…" Jisung adds in a softer tone, leaning just a tad bit further into Minho’s touch, silently craving it.

“Good.” A content smile slowly appears across the half-breed’s face and just as he begins to close his eyes and relax, Jisung speaks up.

"Can I tell you something kinda personal?" Minho stays silent and rubs his thumb along his waist ever so gently to let Jisung know that he is listening. "I never put a lot of thought into having a mate or how and if I would even end up with someone. My parents told me, ever since I was young, that… runts will never be good enough for a mate. So I've had this recurring voice in my head that always reminded me of how unworthy I truly am." The brave and confident Jisung that Minho has come to know so far is replaced with the current Jisung; curled in on himself, voice fragile, and his somber aura so strong, even Minho can pick up on it.

Minho didn’t know his heart could break so much for someone before, but it looks like he’s learning a lot today. "Look at me, Jisung." Minho guides his hand from Jisung’s waist to the latter’s cheek, turning his face back to him. "Since you were honest with me, I'm going to do the same with you. I don't know much about our kind, but I'm not dumb. Your parents should have never said such a cruel thing to you, what I saw from you tonight- taking on three wolves by yourself for three strangers-"

"You're not a stranger!" Jisung interrupts hastily.

"-and making sure all of us are safe and taken care of? I don't know about you, but that seems unbelievably brave if you were to ask me. Just because you were born different, doesn't make you any less stronger or normal than others. Okay?"

The boy in question nods his head and Minho hopes his words get through to him. He knows Jisung isn't just instantly going to be over the trauma his parents so graciously gave him, but it’s a start. "Thank you, Minho." And with that Minho brings his hand back to its original position on Jisung and scoots just a tad closer than before; instincts telling him to comfort the other.

Jisung curls his right hand up and tucks it even further towards his face, causing the piece of jewelry on his index finger to catch on the bit of light shining through a nearby window. The same emerald ring Minho has not only seen in every picture with Jisung present, but also in his dreams of the ginger-haired stranger. And just like that it all makes sense; it's him, Han Jisung is the one he sees in his dreams. Minho doesn't really know why he's there or how, but that mystery will have to wait. "Get some rest, sunshine."

Once Jisung’s breathing evens out and the entire apartment is silent except for the constant city life moving outside, Minho begins to whisper a few words while he himself drifts between sleep and awake. "I've dreamt of you for the past eight years. And I hope that… I hope that you can gain the strength and confidence that you have given me in my times of need. Be strong."

Let me know what you think in the comments! Likes and words of motivation are ALWAYS welcomed
And are always, thank you for reading!

Next Time:
-Minho's birthday
-Changlix ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
-Minsung ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
-Jeongin meets a boy??

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