Kris watched in horror as Kyungsoo was flung across the room, the antler of the elk head stabbing him in right the abdomen. The younger wolf struggled to get to his feet before finally passing out from the blood loss. After losing consciousness, his body instinctively transformed back to human. The wound might heal, but possibly not in time.

Rage spiking in him, Kris snapped at the hybrid while Junmyeon kept his attention, biting down on his arm and shaking his head to snap the bones. Yixing and Baekhyun were holding their own against their opponent. The way the hybrid’s breath was ragged satisfied Kris, gearing up his focus.

As his vision went red, Kris rippled his muscles, cracked his bones, and allowed his body to turn from wolf to man. Having height as an advantage, Kris jumped on the first hybrid’s back, getting his arm around the neck and cradling the head in his hands. The hybrid snapped his jaws at him while Junmyeon clawed at his chest.

One of Kris’ worst memories flashed in his mind. He’d been in this position before, too many years ago, filled with hatred and self loathing. He was done running. He needed to be with his pack, with his brothers. It was time to end this.

Using all the strength he had in his body, Kris ripped the head from the hybrid’s neck, ignoring the sickly sound of tearing flesh.

The now headless body dropped to the ground, the fingers and knees twitching. Turning his sights on the other hybrid in the room, Kris stalked towards him, careful not to accidentally turn his anger on his pack mates. They managed to get the hybrid pinned down to the ground, moving out of Kris’ way. Stepping on the hybrid’s chest, Kris let all his weight push him deeper into the floor, creaking the old wooden boards. Breaking his neck, Kris waited as the hybrid stopped fighting before decapitating him.

“Yixing.” Kris’ voice came out as a growl. He was sure his eyes were still glowing red. He wasn’t done yet, but Kyungsoo needed to get out of here. “Help Kyungsoo. Take him home.”

The half gray, half white wolf nodded and shuddered until it was Yixing again.

“Hurry,” Kris ordered.

Yixing nodded before running to Kyungsoo and throwing the injured wolf over his shoulder. Kris motioned for the others to flank Yixing and they protected him as they exited the house.

The remaining hybrids were winning against the rest of the pack. After making sure that Yixing was in the clear, Kris turned his attention to the remaining four hybrids. It was easy to take out the first one. Minseok and Jongdae were a well oiled machine, working with each other in perfect harmony to keep the hybrid off guard. Noticing Kris’ approach, they moved to keep the hybrid’s back to the alpha.

Roaring, Kris pounced, wrapping himself around the hybrid and made quick work of him. The three of them turned to help Jongin and Sehun. Tao was hurt, limping and growling as he circled the hybrid and the others, waiting for his opportunity. Kris wouldn’t let his condition worsen though.

“Tao, make sure Yixing makes it back to house,” Kris ordered. Tao growled at him, hating the idea of leaving the fight. “Now!”

Unable to ignore the wishes of his alpha, Tao turned and ran after Yixing. In his wolf form, he’d catch up to them in no time, injured or not.

Running at the hybrid head on, Kris dropped down and slid across the ground, the gravel ripping at his thighs and calves. He went under the hybrid’s legs and grabbed his ankle, yanking him to the ground. Apparently this hybrid wasn’t that agile of a fighter.

Kris ordered for Minseok and Jongdae to bite down on each leg and pull in the opposite direction while Kris kept ahold of the head. The hybrid clawed at him, tearing up his arms and drawing blood from deep wounds that would take longer to heal. And then the head came off and the body went limp.

The last two hybrids were doing remarkably well against the nine of them. They tossed each wolf that lunged at them away like a plush toy. Back to back, they covered each other’s weak spots.

Junmyeon barked at Minseok and Jongdae, ordering them to go around the back. Granted, that was just Kris’ guess as he wasn’t linked up to them in his human form.

Minseok and Jongdae carefully walked around the the side, keeping low to the ground and trying not to be noticed.

It didn’t work.

One of the hybrids noticed and had Jongdae pinned to the ground in the blink of an eye. Minseok jumped, clawing and biting at the hybrid who refused to let go, his hands wrapped around Jongdae’s throat. Kris ran to help while the remaining wolves just piled onto the last of the hybrids.

Minseok ceased his attack once Kris was able to pull the hybrid away from the blonde wolf. But Kris lost his footing and was now trapped under the hybrid. Gray fingers gripped his throat, cutting off Kris’ air as he tried to fight and gain the upper hand. Black dots obscured his vision.

No. He couldn’t die right here. Not when his revenge wasn’t complete. Not when the others were still fighting.

Suddenly, the pressure was gone from his throat and air swiftly filled his lungs. A wolf with a coat mixed with gray and brown had the hybrid’s throat trapped within it’s jaws.

Junmyeon.

Kris scrambled to his feet, working with his old friend to end the hybrid in a second.

The last one was easy. Too many wolves surrounded him, swiping their claws and slashing him with his teeth. Even as he instantly healed, he was still overpowered, unable to get up from his knees. Kris fought his way to the middle and ended it quickly.

As soon as the hybrid was dead, everyone changed back to humans.

“!” Baekhyun yelled. “I’m going to be sore for weeks.”

“Just be lucky that you didn’t get hurt worse since you refused to listen to us,” Sehun snapped.

“Enough,” Junmyeon commanded. “Let’s just be happy that it’s over with.”

“Not yet,” Kris corrected. “We have to burn them, too.”

“So that vampire trait didn’t get left out,” Chanyeol huffed between breaths. “That’s nice to know.”

“Just grab a body part and pile them in the living room,” Kris ordered. “We’ll set the house on fire and let it all burn.”

The boys nodded and ran around, Minseok gathering the heads, while the others split into groups and carried the bodies inside. Kris stopped Junmyeon before he could get too far.

“Thank you. For stepping back there. I thought I actually might….”

Junmyeon held out his hand. “From now one, we are one pack. It’s going to take time, but I’ll eventually be able to let go. You were right. You didn’t make Jiyoon go into the woods. And… it feels too right, having you all back here.”

Kris took the hand without hesitation. “That’s nice to hear. I don’t think Luhan and Tao want to leave anyway. Being home… it’s a bit addicting.”

The other alpha actually laughed. “Tearing those two away from Minseok and Sehun would be an impossible feat. Then we might just have a rebellion on our hands.”

“Hey!”Jongdae yelled from the front door. “Are you guys going to continue on like a married couple or actually help us start this fire?”

Frowning, Kris started towards the house with Junmyeon as Jongdae disappeared. “I thought maybe having a mate would mellow him out a bit.”

“Nope,” Junmyeon sighed. “It’s almost made him worse.”

**

You saw them coming as soon as they cleared the treeline.

You’d been sitting on the porch steps, wrapped up in a cardigan you’d found in Kyungsoo’s closet. With chattering teeth and shivering arms, you waited, needing to be the first person Kyungsoo saw when he made it back.

And he would make it back. He promised. And you believed him.

You shamed yourself for the way you broke down in front of him. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen you cry, but this was worse. You’d jumped to conclusions, letting fear take over you. How he was so patient with you, understanding that you weren’t perfectly healed yet amazed you. Shaking your head, you almost laughed at how pathetic you were. How broken. And yet, he was willing to patiently help you put the pieces back together.

Ji Yeon had come out once to check on you, bringing with her a fresh mug of hot chocolate for you. You took it gratefully, letting the heat melt your nearly frozen fingers.

“We don’t know when they’ll be back,” she’d told you. “You should come inside. Kyungsoo will be pissed if he hears that we let you stay out in the freezing cold.”

“He can be mad at me,” you’d argued. “I’m not going in.”

Sighing, Ji Yeon gave up. She hadn’t really put up much of a fight.

It’d been another forty-five minutes of waiting, of searching the horizon for any sign or movement, clinging to the now empty mug like a life preserver before you saw them. Only two bodies emerged from the trees.

You jumped up to your feet, tossing the cup to the side. They were running towards you and you moved out to meet them. One of them had a third pack member thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. All three were , but you didn’t care.

Noticing your approach, the tall blonde one sped up, coming towards you. It was Tao.

Before you could ask him where the others were, Tao collided with you, caging your waist in his arms and planting you in place.

“Tao, what’s going on?” Why was he doing this? The other wolf, Yixing, came closer and you could finally see who he was carrying.

No. No, it couldn’t be.

“Kyungsoo?” you gasped. When he didn’t stir at the sound of your voice, you knew it was bad. “Kyungsoo!” You fought against Tao’s vice, clawing and flailing to get free, to get to your mate. “Let me go! I need to see him! Let me go!”

Yixing didn’t slow down for a second at your screaming. Tao picked you up off the ground and carried you to the house.

“Just calm down, (y/n),” Tao grunted. “He’ll be okay.”

He still didn’t let you go as he entered the house. The other girls were grouped together in the front parlor. Little droplets of blood were splattered on the ground, leading out of the room and mounting your worry.

“How are the others?” Ji Yeon asked softly. She was obviously holding back her own anxiety, trying to remain strong like she always was.

“They’re fine,” Tao replied. “A few scrapes, but nothing bad. Kyungsoo got the worst of it.”

“And Baekhyun?” Hae In pushed forward to the front of the group.

“He’s perfectly fine.”

Hae In sighed with relief.

Seeing an opportunity with Tao distracted, you elbowed him in the stomach, feeling guilty when he let out a groan. But his grip loosened just like you wanted it to and you ran out of the room with no one stopping you.

You followed the blood trail to the kitchen. Kyungsoo was laying on the table, groaning and mumbling as Yixing hovered over him. Hearing you approach, Yixing called out to you without losing his concentration.

“(y/n)? Come hold his hand. It’ll help keep him calm.”

Not even taking a second to think about it, you were by Kyungsoo’s side, taking his right hand in both of yours. It seemed to work. While his face was still scrunched from the pain of Yixing’s sewing, the rest of his body relaxed.

“What happened?” you asked, taking one of your hands and brushing Kyungsoo’s hair with your fingers. It was sticky and coated in sweat.

“He got distracted and the hybrid we were fighting threw him into a wall, right where there was a deer with sharp antlers,” Yixing explained. “It pierced his side, deeply it looks like. It’s been healing since he transformed back, but, with how deep it is, it’s going to need a little extra help.” Stopping his work, he turned to you. “He’ll be alright after a little rest. Our bodies heal quickly and can take much more damage than yours. With you by his side, he’ll be better in no time.”

After a few more stitches, Yixing declared he was done and cut the leftover string. He called Tao into the room and the two of them together carried Kyungsoo up to his room with you closely behind. Gently laying him down on the bed, Yixing checked to make sure the wound hadn’t reopened before covering Kyungsoo with the sheets and leaving. As you closed the door, you heard that beautiful voice.

“Finally, they’re gone.”

Gasping, you turned and ran towards the bed, kneeling down next Kyungsoo. His eyes were barely open as he reached out to you.

“Don’t stay down there,” he mumbled, pulling on your hand. “Come here.”

You shook your head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Just come up here.,” he whined. You didn’t even know he was capable of such an action. “Please?”

Unable to resist, you rounded the bed and, as carefully as you could, you crawled up and pressed yourself into his side as he wrapped an arm around your waist.

“I told you I’d be back,” he said into your hair. Absentmindedly, he your face with his other hand.

“This hardly counts as one piece,” you pouted. He managed to kiss away your pout, turning it into a smile. Sighing, you pulled in closer to Kyungsoo. “So, is this what it means to be a mate? Constantly worrying and wondering if you’ll ever come back?”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “No. I swear, it’s not usually this adventurous. The others - minus Jongdae, at least - had a bit more of a smooth sailing. The timing has just been bad. But the others will take care of the hybrids. And things will go back to normal and we can just be.”

You felt the sincere determination in his voice. But you couldn’t help think of the two wolves that attacked you the day you found out about him. When you reminded him of the fight, he shook his head.

“They won’t stick around,” he explained. “Omegas, since they don’t have a pack, are drawn to power and conflict. They could sense the hybrids getting closer and wanted to come in time for the action, even though we drove them off before they could. It’s a very commensalistic relationship.”

Um… “What?”

Kyungsoo laughed. “It’s like barnacles on a whale. The omegas are hoping to benefit, either getting to join a new pack or joining in on the action. Its possible for the omegas to benefit from following the hybrids, but to the hybrids, they’re just flies that hang around. They’ve moved on to somewhere else to be someone else’s problem.”

“So,” you gave him a small smile, “we’ll get some peace and quiet here soon?”

“We’ll get all the peace you wa-”

Hoops and hollers from downstairs broke the tranquility. The others had arrived back and in victory, it seemed. Their voiced intermingled to the point of being indistinguishable. The joy of each of them coming back and no longer having to worry about the enemy radiated through the house.

Perhaps, once he was healed up, you could convince Kyungsoo to stay at your apartment for while. As much as you wanted to celebrate the success, the quiet time with your mate was just too tempting to join the others.