Kyungsoo let his eyes flicker back and forth between his alpha and Kris. There was a silence amongst the wolves for once, as if everyone was afraid to even breathe.

“Jiyoung,” Jongdae whispered. “I think you should go home.”

Nodding, Jiyoung reluctantly peeled away from her mate and made her exit to the back door. Kyungsoo could hear her footsteps against the grass and then finally her car driving away.

With a heavy sigh, Junmyeon took a step back, allowing the three wolves to step inside the house. Still, the only sound was of the door clicking shut behind them. Perhaps everyone was too stunned or worried to make any sort of conversation beyond the original acknowledgement and Jongdae asking his mate to leave. Junmyeon simply stood in his spot, eyes cast downward, focused on nothing, and his hands in his pockets.

Leave it to the maknae to finally break the tension.

“Oh, screw it.”

Sehun pushed through the others until his path to Luhan was clear. The two twin-like wolves embraced, releasing just a fraction of the tension in the air.

“Let’s take this to the table,” Junmyeon suggested and turned around before getting an answer from anyone. He was already sitting at the head of the table, still not meeting anyone’s eye, as everyone else shuffled in.

Kris, Luhan, and Tao were hesitant to take a seat, waiting for the others to be settled first. Sehun yanked on Luhan’s arm, making sure he took the seat next to him. Tao glanced at Kris before dropping in the seat beside Jongin. The only chair left was right next to Junmyeon.

Kyungsoo could tell Kris was trying to save face as he took determined steps. Without a word he took the chair and turned towards Junmyeon.

“Did you get my letter?” Kris asked in a hushed voice.

Junmyeon nodded, still not looking at the other alpha. “Yes, I did. How did they find you?”

Throwing his hands up, Kris shook his head. “I don’t know. Last I’d heard, they were in a completely different country. We’d been staying low, never settling in a town, never engaging with other packs. I thought I had it handled.”

“Yeah,” Junmyeon scoffed, looking at Kris for the first time. “That was your specialty, wasn’t it? Handling things. Isn’t that what you said when–”

“Stop!”

Everyone whirled to look at Yixing in shock. Usually during meetings, he was the levelheaded one, never raising his voice or speaking out of turn. But now a pained, twisted expression painted his face.

“Can we please not fight?” Yixing asked in a tone closer to his normal voice. “Just let what happened in the past stay there. If you want, it can be revisited in the future, but after we figure out how to take care of the hybrids and keep our mates safe.”

“Mates?” Tao echoed in surprise, his eyes big and round. They might have sensed the bond between Jiyoung and Jongdae, but the other girls were still in town, just getting out of class and not at the house where the wolves obviously wanted them to be.

Minseok nodded proudly. “Yeah, we’ve got our mates. Six of us have, at least.”

“Five,” Kyungsoo corrected.

Jongdae shook his head. “Oh, no. You still count. Just because she doesn’t know, doesn’t mean you aren’t mated.”

“You’re one to talk,” Baekhyun mumbled.

“Hey!” Jongdae whined. “I thought we agreed to drop it!”

“What happened?” Luhan said, fighting a losing battle to hold back a laugh.

“I’ll tell you later,” Minseok offered. “Yixing’s right. We need to stay on topic with the hybrids.”

“Omegas are coming into town already,” Junmyeon informed the three other wolves. “Kyungsoo encountered one just over an hour ago or so. So, if the three of you are to stay, you stay and help protect the town. In turn, we’ll help you when the hybrids arrive. Deal?”

Kris looked to Tao and Luhan, who nodded encouragingly. He turned back to Junmyeon. “Deal.”

“Alright.” Standing up, Junmyeon headed for the stairs. “Your old rooms are still free.”

Kris was frozen in his seat, staring out at nothing with his hands folded together in front of his mouth. Sehun tugged Luhan away with Tao trailing behind. A few others splintered off, going their own ways to get out of the tension still left behind.

“Hyung.”

Taken out of his trance, Kris lowered his hands, looking to Chanyeol. “Yeah?”

The usually obnoxious giant was stoic now, careful with what he said next. “Are you okay?”

Kris nodded. “Of course. I’m always okay.” His eyes flickered over to the younger wolf. “Kyungsoo?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t ever let her go.” With that little piece of advice, Kris stood up and walked out the back door.

“He still blames himself,” Chanyeol stated, keeping his eyes on the door.

Kyungsoo stood from his seat. “You would, too.”

Before the other could respond, a heart wrenching howl pierced through the night.

**

As soon as your eyes opened from your deep sleep, you threw your pillow across the room. It was just a reflex, a way to release the built up frustration brought on by your brain’s betrayal. You’d dreamt of him.

You didn’t even know his name. But your mind decided that he should star in your dream.

It wasn’t even that elaborate of a dream. Just the two of you, walking along a river hand in hand. You couldn’t remember any of the things that he said to you, although you sure they were sweet and kind and nothing that you deserved.

Thinking back to the night before, you sudden felt guilty. He’d helped save you from that and then you yelled at him, told him to go away without even a thank you. You were too defensive, you knew this about yourself, but you couldn’t help it.

The sudden urge to see that boy hit you like a snowball to the face.

“No, nope, no way,” you scolded yourself, jumping out of bed and ignoring the pillow that was now lying on your floor as you made your way to the bathroom.

He was just a boy.

A cute boy.

With cute lips and big brown eyes that you could stare at forever and a softness that seemed impossible and –

You slapped yourself.

Looking in the mirror, you stared at yourself as if you were crazy. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

You shouldn’t be thinking about him like that. You shouldn’t be thinking about him at all. Thinking led to attachments. Maybe this place was a bad idea. Maybe you should have chosen another town.

But you couldn’t leave now. You still have several months to go on your lease and you liked your job at the bakery. After talking yourself up as a reliable person, the last thing you could do was tell him you were leaving. He depended on you quite a bit and you couldn’t just leave him out dry.

Sighing to yourself, you figured you could stay and that this weird momentary lapse in judgement would soon pass. Besides, it was time to get ready for work.

That little thought put you in a better mood until you reached your kitchen and caught a glimpse of your calendar. It was your day off.

Days off weren’t good for you.

Everyone else relished in them, but you had no idea what to do with yourself when you didn’t have a schedule. Your whole life had been one big schedule and so free time was a concept you didn’t quite get, never knowing what to do with it. But you could only wander around your apartment or watch TV for so long.

So, on a strange whim, you packed up a messenger bag with your sketch book and other essentials before taking those brave steps out your front door.

It took you a while to settle down. You must have circled the business district four times in the past forty-five minutes. Finally, you spotted a coffee shop that didn’t seem to be swimming in customers. You liked the feel of the place as soon as you walked in. The shop was one of those nicer coffee shops where the furniture all matched and the walls were a decent color but it also wasn’t an overpriced Starbucks. However, as soon as you walked up to the counter you had to catch a groan in your throat.

The girl manning the register was one of Kimberly’s friends from two days ago. You were praying that she wouldn’t recognize you, but the way her face lit up when you made eye contact told you otherwise.

“Hi!” she greet.

You gave a pathetic wave of your hand that had been clutching to the strap of your bag for dear life. “Hi.”

Sensing your hesitation, the girl, whose nametag read “Jiyoung”, quickly went back to cashier mode. “What can I get for you?”

“Just an iced mocha,” you replied.

Nodding, Jiyoung rang you up and told you that your order would be right out.

You found out a small round table free that sat near the window, taking in the unusually warm sunshine. Absentmindedly, you just let your fingers draw whatever they wanted.

You weren’t the best. Hardly an artist. In your opinion, your drawings were mediocre. Nothing too fancy, but at least you could get some details right.

Jiyoung came up to you and placed your drink down on the table wordlessly. Something in her smile seemed mischievous, but you shook it off to your imagination and sipped at your drink.

A chime went off a few minutes later, startling you. Then you panicked.

He walked through the door, along with the boyfriend from yesterday, Kimberly, the girl you recognized as Ji Yeon, and another boy that you hadn’t seen before.

In a flash you were packing up your things, not even caring about the fact that you’d only finished about half your drink. You practically ran out the door, probably looking like a maniac in the process. You got stuck at the crosswalk, both signs giving off the bright orange hand telling you no.

“Wait!”

A whimper actually escaped you as you reluctantly turned around. The boy was standing just outside your personal bubble as if he could see the invisible line and graciously chose not to cross it.

“You forgot your drink,” he said, holding the plastic cup out to you.

Taking it, you mumbled a quick, “Thanks.”

After a few second of silence, he spoke again. “My name is Kyungsoo.”

You battled whether or not to give him your name as well. But as distant as you were, you still didn’t want to seem rude.

“I’m (y/n).”

His face lit up with the smile he gave you and you lost the battle against your muscles, smiling back, but not as bright.

“It’s nice to meet you, (y/n).”

Again, silence. You shifted from foot to foot anxiously. Your mind wanted you to just turn around and run away, but something else, something stronger that you didn’t understand, kept you rooted there.

“I’m sorry, by the way,” you said suddenly, startling yourself. The guilt you felt when you woke up this morning was still lingering. At his confused expression, you clarified, “About last night. You were just trying to help and I was completely out of line. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

“Don’t worry,” he replied. How was that voice even real? “I wasn’t upset. I understand.”

“Okay,” you nodded. “Good.”

The crosswalk light changed to the walking man and you leapt at your chance to escape. Except he was faster.

Grabbing your hand to stop you, Kyungsoo held you in place. You looked at him with surprise, but it wasn’t from his actions. It was from the heat radiating from his fingers that held your own. The touch… it was nothing that you had ever experienced before. Like electricity, but softer somehow, and more effective. It kept you there, like a statue, too stunned to move.

“Can I–” Kyungsoo visibly swallowed. “Can I take you to dinner?”

Shaking your head, you pulled out of his grip. “No.”

The blow of the rejection was so evident on his face that you wanted to tell him yes just to make him smile again. But he’d asked you on a date. There was no way you could do that.

So, instead, you took off across the street. Safe on the other side, you glanced over your shoulder to find him still standing there, still staring after you. This time, your mind was stronger and you pushed yourself back to the apartment before you could even think about turning around.