When you arrived at work the next morning, there was a voicemail left on the answering machine. Kimberly had called back and was letting you know that some friends would be in later to pick up the school ID as both she and Ji Yeon would be in a pre-session class all day. You shrugged it off, putting your focus more on the fact that the next voicemail was from your boss who was apparently now sick and leaving the running of the store to you.

Thankfully, there were plenty of sweets that were still good in the display cases and no large orders that needed to be completed right away and could be left for tomorrow. No one came in for the first few hours, letting you sit in the back and decorate another batch of sugar cookies just for fun.

Since this town was surrounded by forests that went on for miles, you were feeling a bit inspired. Birds, moons, trees, whatever you could think of, you mixed up the icing and covered every inch of those cookies with scenes of nature. You kind of felt bad for whoever would be consuming the treat given the amount of sugar you were piling on.

The bell that signaled the entry door opening chimed off and you reluctantly left your artwork to man the front.

Three boys walked into the store, looking around.

“How can I help you?” you asked, wiping excess frosting from your hands with a paper towel.

One of the boys came up to the counter, leaning against it with his forearms. You immediately stiffened, willing yourself not to take a step back. At this point in your life, it was just a learned reflex.

“I’m here to pick up my ma- er, my girlfriend’s ID,” he explained. The tallest of the boys giggled behind him. Elbowing him in the stomach, the remaining one with black hair sent a death glare as well.

You relaxed a bit, now fully realizing the situation. He wasn’t going to hit on you or flirt. “Yeah, let me go grab it.” Coming back with the ID, you handed the card over to the sharp eyed boy on the other side of the counter. You felt a pair of eyes trained on you, but you refused to look up to meet the stare.

“Thanks,” he smiled as he slipped it into his pocket. He whipped his head around just in time to catch the tall one reaching out to take a cookie from the open display. “Chanyeol, no!”

The tall one – Chanyeol – actually pouted his lips. “But Minseok–”

“We just ate,” the third one interrupted in a soothing, deep voice, his eyes finally leaving you.

You were a bit startled that that kind of voice could come from someone like him. He was the shortest out of the three, his face seemingly cold and void of any emotion. His black hair wasn’t quite as long as the others, styled so what would have been the bangs were away from his forehead sticking out in a sort of wave motion.

When Chanyeol didn’t put the cookie down, the third boy added more authority in his voice. “Put it back.”

Feeling sorry for the guy who’s pout had actually deepened, you went to the back and quickly put a few of the cookies you’d completed earlier in a clear plastic bag, tied together with a green ribbon.

“Here.” You held the bag out for the first boy to take when you were back in the front, but the shorter one took it instead. His face had pulled into a frown, but not out distaste of your offering. It was more… confused. His eyes wouldn’t leave you and you felt like a bunch of cells shining under a microscope.

The first boy started to pull out his wallet but you waved it away. “Don’t worry about it. Those weren’t for sale. I was just practicing.”

“Making them?” Chanyeol asked cautiously.

You chewed on your lip to keep from chuckling. Laughing opened you up to more conversation and really you just wanted to go back to solitude. “No, decorating.”

“They look pretty,” the shorter one commented.

Clearing your throat, you stepped back, running your hand over your hair. “Have a nice day.”

You all but ran to the back, needing the space. Once you heard the bell chime above the door, you peeked back around. Through the storefront window, you watched them leave. But when you thought you were being sneaky, the third boy looked over his shoulder, the corner of his mouth pulled up into a half smile. With a gasp and as fast as you could, you hid behind the wall, getting a strange thumping in your chest. You put your hand over the pounding, realizing it was your heart speeding up.

No. Not again.

You breathed in through your nose and out your mouth, willing your circulatory system to calm down. What was wrong with you?

Yes, he was… cute, but thoughts like that led to attachments. You didn’t create new attachments. That just ended in disaster. The few you had were enough for you.

Shaking off the strange encounter, you went back to your decorating. No one else really came in for the rest of the day and even after you locked up for the evening, you stayed an extra hour or so, just working on your decorating skills and coming up with new designs to offer.

The sun was completely gone by the time you left the bakery. You kept your eyes ahead, walking at a quick pace back to your apartment. You were just two blocks away when a shadow stepped out from a passing alleyway.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

You kept walking, ignoring the loser that was trying to catch your attention. Apparently, he didn’t appreciate that very much.

Before you could get out of his reach, he grabbed your upper arm, yanking you back. You dug your heels into the ground trying to keep away from the alley he was now guiding you to. The only light source was the corner street lamp.

Lifting a leg up, you kicked at his thigh, digging your heel into the muscle, your goal giving him a dead leg achieved. Letting out a loud yelp, he let you go. You took off towards your apartment, heart thumping your ears with adrenaline. This place was supposed to be safe and yet you were currently being chased by a delinquent who wanted to make you his plaything.

Said criminal caught up to you easily and practically tackled you to the ground. Even though your jeans, you could feel the roughness of the sidewalk scraping your skin.

“That wasn’t very nice,” he huffed, flipping you over to your back. You tried to fight back, but he had your wrists trapped in his hands and slammed them down to the concrete on either side of your head as he straddled your waist. “Now the real fun begins.”

“Get. Off.” Your teeth were clenched as you shifted and kicked, trying anything to get away. He was too strong but you wouldn’t give up. Not until you were dead.

A strange growl ripped through the air and suddenly the man was off of you before you could blink. Someone had come to your rescue, pinning the man against the brick wall, his feet over six inches above the ground, wiggling to gain some sort of traction or stability.

The man growled down at your rescuer, struggling against his grip that was wrapped within the ratty t-shirt.

“Stay out of our territory,” the newcomer warned in a familiar voice. He threw the man down to the ground and watched him scramble up and run away into the darkness.

Your guess was right as the stranger crouched down to get a better look at you. It was the third boy from the bakery. His eyes scanned over every inch of you as he tried to help you up. His worry seemed genuine and, given the fact that you didn’t even know his name, it made you uncomfortable.

Ripping your arm out of his hand, you got to your feet by yourself. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” He stayed close to you, a hand resting on your elbow. “Did he hurt you? I’m sorry i didn’t get here sooner.”

“I’m fine!” you insisted. You were irritated, but you couldn’t figure out why. Your body was reacting to him in such a weird way that you didn’t understand and it was freaking you out.

“Can I see you home the rest of the way?” he asked.

You shook your head. “No. I can get there by myself.”

He tried to stop you after you took a few steps. “But-”

“Just leave me alone!” You were nearly shouting, but you didn’t know how else to get him to go away.

Finally understanding, he let you go. Looking over your shoulder, you made eye contact with the person who had come to your rescue. Worry, frustration, and something else you couldn’t read was written all over his face and you felt guilty all of a sudden. The thought of agreeing to let him walk you home lingered for just a second, but you shoved it aside. Shaking your head, you kept going and made it back to your apartment without any other incident.

**

Kyungsoo still followed you back to your apartment, keeping a fair distance so you weren’t aware of his presence. He couldn’t believe another wolf had shown up in town, not to mention tried to take his mate like a bone he’d found to play with. Thankfully, the omega was easy to deal with, weak from being alone.

Nothing else happened, but that didn’t mean he felt any better leaving you relatively safe inside behind the locked door.

Kyungsoo kept walking, ignoring the whining wolf inside his chest, until he was lost within the trees of the forest’s edge. Pulling his shirt off over his head, he stripped down before letting his wolf go, fur exploding from his skin as his body morphed from human to animal. The pain of the transformation had turned into a numbing ache years ago. Now, his main agony was the distance growing between you and him as he ran deeper through the trees.

He couldn’t believe that he was next. After watching his hyungs and even Jongin find their mates back to back, he wondered who would have been the lucky one to find their mate. Packs tended to find them together, the magic of fate working in their favor. If you’d asked Kyungsoo, he would have said that Junmyeon would have been the next to gain his mate. Actually, he’d hoped it would have been their alpha so he could stop pining over the witch. Junmyeon was so noble that he just let himself be in misery rather than giving himself just a taste of happiness.

The ground felt different beneath Kyungsoo’s paws. Or maybe Kyungsoo himself was just different. Finding his mate was even more elating than he’d expected. Too bad you seemed to be too fond of strangers. He would have to be careful not to accidentally over do it in his excitement. He was determined to not be like Jongdae. He’d embrace you completely, letting you go at your own pace while he waited for you. All he needed to do was make sure he gained your trust. Something told him that was easier said than done.

When the house was finally in view, Kyungsoo slowed his pace and turned back into his original human self. He was covered in sweat, somewhat regretting telling Minseok and Chanyeol to go back in the car without him even though they wanted to stay.

Kyungsoo knew that while Minseok would have been able to handle the long hours, Chanyeol would have been bored and whining fifteen minutes in. So Kyungsoo stayed behind by himself, watching the bakery and keeping an eye on you. He’d stepped away for a few minutes to go grab a drink at the gas station and you’d chosen that exact time to finally leave your job and walk home. In the dark. Alone. It frustrated him to no end, but he wasn’t exactly in the position to scold you for it.

“Hey! Look who’s back!” Chanyeol yelled as soon as Kyungsoo walked in the back door.

He simply threw the obnoxious giant a look that told him to shut his mouth.

“Did you talk to her?” Jongin asked hopefully.

Kyungsoo shook his head. “No. A lone wolf attacked her. I scared him away, but she didn’t want anything to do with me.”

“They never do in the beginning,” Jiyoung murmured, giving Jongdae the side eye. The latter whined, but went ignored. It was his own fault he’d given his mate the perfect ammunition.

“Congratulations,” Junmyeon said sincerely from his usual spot at the counter stool.

Kyungsoo smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

Grabbing a glass out of the cabinet, he filled it with icy water out of the fridge, gulping it down quickly and cooling his system greatly.

“So, there was an omega in town?” Yixing asked worriedly. Apparently he’d taken Kyungsoo’s place as chef tonight and was now cleaning up the mess.

Joining him at the sink and helping with washing the dishes, Kyungsoo nodded, “Yeah. It’s not a good sign. I’m sure a lot more are going to come through town if the hybrids really are on their way.”

“I guess that means you’ll be spending a lot of time in town as well.”

“We’re going to starve,” Baekhyun huffed, slumping down in his seat at the booth.

“You could learn to cook,” Kyungsoo shot over his shoulder. That just earned him a stuck out tongue from the childish wolf.

“I think we’ll all be spending more time in town and the surrounding woods,” Junmyeon concluded. “We’ve sworn to protect our home. That’s what we’ll do.”

“You really think the hybrids are coming?” Sehun asked, straightening up from his spot on the wooden floor.

Junmyeon shrugged. “We can’t take the chance that it’s not true. It’s too risky.”

Knock, knock, knock.

All nine pairs of ears perked up at the sudden interruption. Were they really here?

Everyone scrambled to the front living room. Junmyeon had to shove through the excited pack to get to the front door. Taking a deep breath, he put his hand on the knob and slowly pulled the wooden barrier open. All breaths were held as the reveal happened.

Just as Kyungsoo was expecting, three people that they hadn’t seen or heard from in years stood on the porch, their heads hung low in a bow.

The tallest and head of the formation straightened up and swallowed.

“Kris,” Junmyeon said in a small, barely-there voice.

“Hey, Junmyeon.”