All you wanted was to pick up a box of hot chocolate at the grocery store on your way home. You’d had an amazing few hours spent in the woods with that peculiar wolf and now just wanted a drink to help warm you up in your apartment away from everyone. It was supposed to be an in and out trip. But life apparently didn’t quiet agree with that.

Just as you were reaching for the last box of your favorite brand of hot chocolate, another hand coming from behind snatched it first. You turned around to find a particularly tall stranger smirking down at you.

“Excuse me,” you said politely, “I was going for those first. May I please have them?”

The stranger shook the box mockingly. “Maybe.”

Rolling your eyes, you decided that this was not a game you wanted to play right now. You grabbed an off-brand box off the shelf and started to walk away. An arm flew out and grabbed the metal bar shelving, blocking your path. The hand of the other arm pushed your shoulder into the non-perishables behind you.

You barely managed to shove the stranger’s hand away, but he still kept you trapped, unable to leave.

“What is your problem?” you hissed.

His smirk just grew as he leaned down to you. “I just want to get to know you.” Coming in closer, you felt the air move by your neck as he took in a deep breath. “That smell is… intoxicating.”

A strange chill ran down your spine. What smell? The shampoo you used was nothing special. You pushed him away, the current situation frightening you for a reason you couldn’t explain.

“(y/n).”

To your left, Kyungsoo marched up and stepped in front of you, facing the stranger.

“Well, would you look at that?” the stranger smirked, straightening up. “Is an MR going stand up for the pretty girl? I’m so scared.”

A strange urge to wrap your arms around Kyungsoo and cower into his back came over you. You shook the feeling away, utterly shocked.

What was that? Typically, you would have been annoyed at Kyungsoo’s interference, like that first night you met. You were someone who could take care of themselves, you’d done it before. But this time around, all you felt was relief. It was a strange emotion, not one that you were used to.

“Better an MR than an omega,” Kyungsoo spat. What did any of that mean?

That just angered the stranger more. “You little punk.” He grabbed Kyungsoo by the collar of his sweater. “Why don’t you – ah!”

Your eyes widened. Kyungsoo had simply grabbed the stranger by his wrist, twisting it at an unnatural angle so he’d let go of the fabric, the stranger’s face contorting into a look of pain.

“Get out of here,” Kyungsoo ordered. He let go of the stranger’s wrist, who then tripped over his own feet multiple times as he ran for the exit. Picking up the box that the stranger had dropped, Kyungsoo held it out to you.

“Thanks,” you whispered, taking the box and replacing the less desirable one back on the shelf. Amazingly, he didn’t stop you this time when you turned to leave. With each step, your pace to hurry away from him slowed until at the very end of the aisle you came to a complete stop.

This twice now that he had saved you from someone who thought you looked like a new toy to play with. He didn’t have to step in, but he did. And here you were, acting ungrateful. Not to mention the small part of you that didn’t want to leave him.

Spinning on your heels, you said in a voice louder than necessary, “Do you want a cup of hot chocolate?”

His eyebrows jumped up in surprise. “W-what?”

Taking a deep breath, you walked back to him. Lowering your voice, you repeated, “Do you want a cup of hot chocolate? As a… thank you. This is twice now, so I think I should stop being so rude.”

This smile that lit up on his face nearly blinded you. How could a smile be shaped like a heart? Your own heart was picking up speed in your chest. Using the cardboard box in your hands, you covered the area up to avoid detection.

No. No thinking like that. It was just a thank you. You don’t know this boy at all. Think rationally.

Says the girl who just spent several hours with a seemingly intelligent wild animal that could kill her in ten seconds. All rationality has left you.

“I’d love to.”

You were a bit frozen at the moment. Never had you seen such warm brown eyes before. They were comforting and shining. You could just inside them forever. Opposite of that icy blue you were used to in the past.

“(y/n)?”

You blinked. “Yeah. Right. Um, did you need to grab something real quick?”

You’d actually spaced out and been caught staring at him. What other embarrassing thing could you do?

Kyungsoo shook his head. “No. They’re out of what I wanted.”

“Right,” you nodded. “Okay, then. I’ll just… check out.”

Was this the result of isolating yourself from the rest of mankind? You couldn’t even hold a simple conversation. But he wasn’t helping any. It was like his presence was sending your senses into overdrive.

Rushing past him, you went straight for the self-checkout, quickly scanning the hot chocolate and finishing out the transaction in a hurried fashion. Kyungsoo was right there next to you. You could feel his eyes on you. It took a few tries to get your card in the slot reader. You grabbed hold of the bag carrying your single item and turned to your companion.

“My apartment is just about two blocks away,” you informed him. Glancing down at his sweater, you frowned. “Don’t you have a coat?”

“No,” he replied. “I don’t get cold.”

“Lucky,” you mumbled, bracing yourself for the chill that was about to hit you as you walked through the automatic doors to the dreaded outside.

The two of you walked in silence to your apartment. You tried to come up with multiple conversation starters, but none of them would leave the tip of your tongue. This had to be proof. You really were broken, no longer able to function socially like a normal human being. Fantastic.

Groaning internally, you managed to unlock your apartment and flip on the light. Then you flinched at the sight. There were still boxes stacked against the wall containing the objects you owned but hadn’t needed to unpack quite yet.

“Are you leaving?” Kyungsoo asked. He sounded… worried? Almost panicky?

You shook your head. “No. I’m just….” Keeping things packed just in case, “lazy at unpacking. It’ll get put away eventually.” You scratched your scalp, embarrassed. “I just never have people over so I wasn’t thinking about it.”

Obviously fighting back a smile, Kyungsoo nodded while slipping his hands into his pockets.

While you warmed up a pot of water on the stove, Kyungsoo wandered around your living room, pausing at the entertainment stand that held your TV, a plant, the only two pictures you owned. One of you and your father when you graduated high school and the second of you and Mina on your twenty-first birthday. Right before you met Chace.

“Is this your father?” Kyungsoo asked, pointing to the first picture. The hot chocolate was done and you brought a mug over to him, for which he thanked you for.

“Yeah,” you smiled. Your dad was your best friend, although Mina pretended not to know that she was only in second place. He tried so hard to be there for you even when work had to call him away. Lately, he’d been hard to reach, stationed in the desert with spotty satellite connection. “He’s in the military, so I don’t get to see him much.”

Kyungsoo gave you a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry.”

You shrugged. “I’m used to it. We’d bounce from base to base. It’s probably why I can’t stay in once place for long. The idea of settling is… weird to me.”

For just meeting this guy, you were being way too honest. In just a few short minutes, he was suddenly easy to talk to. One little question and you were an open book. Had the lock broken so effortlessly? You’d need to watch it before you revealed the things you had to keep to yourself.

“Maybe if you met… someone?”

The expression Kyungsoo was giving you was simultaneously making you melt and want to build up a wall. A very high wall. Maybe one with a moat around it. With alligators.

Shaking your head, you took a sip of your drink. “I don’t really meet people.”

“Hmmm,” was how he replied. There was a moment or two of silence. “And this is Mina?”

You whirled on him. How the hell would he know your friend’s name? Noticing your look of horror, he picked up the picture. “It’s on her nametag?”

Her nametag?

You snatched the picture out of his hand, scanning it. Oh, right. There it was on her shirt. Of course. You’d given her crap all night because she accidentally agreed to stay an extra hour at her waitressing job to help with the random rush. She had to come straight to the bar from the restaurant, making you feel weird as you were all dressed to celebrate and she was still in her uniform. It didn’t matter in the end, as you two still ended up having a blast.

“Yeah, that’s Mina,” you nodded, handing the picture back to him. “She’s a riot. I miss her sometimes.”

“Understandable.” Kyungsoo returned the picture to its place. Then something else caught his eye.

A movie that you had taken out with the intention of watching yesterday but never got around to actually putting on was sitting on the second shelf of the stand. It was an old Hitchcock movie that not many had heard of. Kyungsoo picked it up, smiling.

“You like this movie?”

You nodded. “It’s one of my favorites. Have you seen it?”

“No,” he admitted. “But I’ve always wanted to.”

“Do you want to watch it?” The question was out before you could stop yourself. He was just supposed drink the coco and leave. So, then, why were you hoping he would say yes? You chewed on your bottom lip. Shouldn’t you be hoping he’d say no?

“Sure,” he smiled.

Damn it. If he kept smiling at you like that, you were going to end cooking him dinner. Why did you have to be a er for a nice smile? And it wasn’t even nice. It was brilliant – breath-taking.

What was wrong with you?

Without any sign from you, Kyungsoo went right into turning on your DVD player and popping the disk in. You settled on your old worn out couch, squeezing into the corner after placing your mug down on the ring-stained coffee table.

On the other side sat Kyungsoo, keeping his distance in a gentleman-like manner. Even as the opening narration began, you still couldn’t concentrate on the screen. Stupid urges plagued you. It had been too long since you sat and watched a movie with someone. Of the opposite , no less.

You kept wondering if he was warm. If he was soft. Would you meld perfectly into his side?

Stop it!

Huffing to yourself, you grabbed a throw pillow off the floor and repositioned yourself so you were halfway laying down but still on your side of the couch, your head resting on the pillow.

About thirty minutes into the movie, your eyelids became heavy. You fought them bravely but in the end, even with a stranger sitting in your living room, you drifted off to sleep.

**

Kyungsoo knew it the second you fell asleep. He could hear your heartrate and breathing slow. He smiled to himself. That meant that you were getting comfortable around him, at ease in his presence. When you asked him to come over for a warm drink, he could hardly believe it.

Granted, he knew that the reason you were opening up to him was because of the time you were spending with him in his wolf form. Even if you weren’t consciously aware of it, the mate bond between the two of you was growing, pulling you in more.

At your sleeping figure, the wolf inside whined. Kyungsoo had to fight against his instinct to nudge in behind you and wrap his arms around you, snuggling you in close to his chest where you were safest. Waking up to that just might take away all the progress he’s made.

But this was certainly something. You let him know just a little more about yourself. Apparently there were only two people in your life. Could you maybe make room for one more?

Kyungsoo shook his head. No, with him came at least a dozen more or so.

With a high toned shrill, his phone went off in his pocket. Glancing over at you to make sure you hadn’t woken up, he answered it, speaking softly.

“Hello?”

“Kyungsoo, its Junmyeon. Where are you?”

“I’m….” How was he supposed to answer? “I’m still in town.”

“Okay,” his alpha sighed. “Can you get back to the farm house as soon as possible? We’re about to go over new perimeter assignments with the others. I’d like you here.”

The others? Did he mean Kris, Luhan, and Tao? Junmyeon hadn’t even been in the house at the same time as Kris since they arrived. This could be good. Or a terrible argument waiting to happen.

“As soon as possible,” Junmyeon added.

“I’m on my way.”

Great. He’d have to run.

He hated leaving you there, but he didn’t want to disturb your sleep either. Covering you up with the blanket form the back of the couch, he let himself take in the view of you for another minute before exiting the apartment.

Making back to the house in record time, he was completely exhausted. Everyone else was already there and gathered around the table. Kyungsoo tossed his sweater in the direction of the laundry room, earning a glare from Minseok. He didn’t care. He was too hot to put it back on, leaving him in just the white t-shirt he’d worn underneath.

“Good, you’re here,” was Junmyeon’s greeting to him. He started passing out different papers to everyone. “This is the perimeter schedule from now on. I’ve paired you off in groups. No arguments.”

There were a few grumbles around the room as everyone looked over the schedule. After reading his running mates, Kyungsoo sent the alpha a silent death glare. Of course he would get saddled with Chanyeol and Sehun. This wasn’t going to end well. At least his runs were at the time that you were usually at work. A relatively safe place for you to be.

“Anyone have any updates?” Junmyeon asked. Most of them shook their heads. Kris was the only one who spoke up.

“We’ve lost the hybrids’ trail, so we don’t know where they are exactly now, but I’ve got friends in a neighboring town that are keeping their ears open. They’ll let me know if they hear anything.”

Junmyeon gave a single hard nod, barely acknowledging his old friend.

“There was another omega today,” Kyungsoo advised. “He went after (y/n).”

“Why do they keep doing that?” Baekhyun asked.

“It’s an unclaimed mate thing,” Luhan answered. “All mates have a scent that only their wolf is supposed to be able to smell. No one knows why, but omegas are able to pick up on the smell as well when the mate is unclaimed. It’s like cooking meat right in front of a starving dog. Almost impossible to resist.”

“This mate thing sounds complicated to the point where I’m not sure I want one,” Sehun sneered.

“You’ll get one whether you like it or not,” Chanyeol reminded him. “Right, Jongdae?”

“Stop!” Jongdae groaned. For once, Kyungsoo was on his side. The joke was getting old. Fast.

After a few more rounds of throwing verbal punches, everyone dispersed, Junmyeon being the first one out of the room to who knows where. Kyungsoo was itching to get back to you. Your apartment wasn’t close to the edge of town, but he’d go back tonight anyway as a wolf, keeping a close eye on any other omegas that might roll into town. If you really smelled that irresistible to those dangerous wolves, then he was going to have to work harder to speed up getting you to trust him and then fall for him.