Chanyeol stood there dumbfounded as he watched your back running away. He couldn’t understand. You were his mate. You shouldn’t be running from him, should you?

Back at the festival, he wasn’t sure. A strange, angry feeling had come over him when he saw Tao flirting with you, but he’d played it off as annoyance that his recently returned brother couldn’t exactly read the signs that you weren’t up for his attention. Fists were clenched by your side and Chanyeol was sure you were going to end up giving Tao a good clock to the face. Thankfully, Kris stepped in before it escalated to that. Tao still didn’t have the greatest control of his temper and the last thing the pack needed was for him to accidentally transform in the middle of the festival.

As Kris manhandled Tao away from the crowds, Chanyeol was transfixed in his spot. The wolf inside him was purring, urging him to take a step toward you. And then you disappeared into the river of the people. A growl had erupted in his chest. The wolf pawed at him, barking at him to go after you, to find you. But you were already gone.

“Chanyeol!” Kris had called out to him from the edge of the festival. “Let’s go.”

Reluctantly, Chanyeol turned from the direction that you had taken off from to follow the others back home.

Over the course of the next week, Chanyeol was antsy. He had no idea who you were or if you even lived in the area. Too many people from neighboring towns came in for the art festival making it impossible to be sure where you came from. Concentrating in class was a hopeless task. At night, he hardly ever wanted to go running with the rest of the pack. Instead, he’d just sit on the porch, strumming his guitar mindlessly.

Being a little slow on the uptake, it took him a few days to realize exactly what was going on with him. He’d never had this much trouble wrestling with his inner wolf before. The beast that lived in his chest was growling and scratching to get Chanyeol off his and find you, even if he had to tear up the towns all over the area to do it.

Baekhyun was the one who spelled it out for him, picking up on the sad melodies that were ringing out from the strings that Chanyeol played out on the porch steps.

“Who is she?”

Chanyeol jumped a little, not paying attention enough to hear his best friend sneak up on him. He also thought that Baekhyun had either gone out running with the pack or drove into town to spend the night at Hae In’s, making the surprise even more shocking. The two wolves hardly ever hung out anymore since Baekhyun got his mate. It wasn’t his fault, not completely, anyway,  since mates just took priority. It was an instinct that couldn’t be ignored.

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol frowned, putting his guitar to the side.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Come on. You’re out here every night serenading the moon. You’re cranky, snappy, and frankly a pain in the to be around. Granted, it’s not as bad as how Jongdae was, but it’s still annoying.”

Knitting his eyebrows, Chanyeol thought it over in his head. He certainly was acting a bit like Jongdae when he was away from his mate for those seemingly endless summer months. And your face was bouncing around his head like an old computer screen saver. He’d only seen you for a few seconds and from far away, but this was more than a simple school crush.

“I don’t know who she is,” he admitted.

Whatever the reaction Chanyeol was expecting – be it sympathy, mutual problem solving, or just a pitiful pat on the shoulder – he really should have been prepared for another type of response knowing who he was talking to.

Laughter erupted from Baekhyun. He was nearly bent in half from the action and tears were building up in his eyes. Chanyeol whipped the hat off his head and smacked the older wolf with it.

“Ow!” Baekhyun rubbed his shoulder with a pout.

“What’s going on out here?” Kris stepped out of the front door and onto the porch, staring down at the two of them with a raised brow.

Did anyone go out for a run tonight?

“Chanyeol doesn’t know who his mate is,” Baekhyun teased with a snicker. He flinched when Chanyeol raised his hat to hit him again.

Kris sighed, shaking his head. “Welcome to the club, kid. A lot of us don’t know who they are. It’s not that big of a deal. They’ll come along at some point.” Kris looked out into the field and murmured so low that they probably weren’t supposed to hear, “Whether you want them to or not.”

It was no secret that a mate was the last thing Kris wanted. He was the only one who didn’t add to the sad atmosphere among the unmated wolves when the girls were around or when the others started talking about when they could possibly meet theirs or took bets on who would be next, he either stayed quiet or walked out of the room all together.

Tao and Luhan had let it slip one day to Chanyeol when the three of them were on a perimeter run that Kris still had nightmares about Jiyoon on occasion. Throughout the years, they’d faded to only a few nights a month, but they were still there, waiting for him. Chanyeol had heard one just the other night as his room was right next to Kris’. They weren’t loud, screaming kind of night terrors. From what Chanyeol had picked up on, they were the sadder kind, the kind where Kris just kept muttering “No, please, no” and even cried. He kept this bit of information to himself, not wanting to embarrass his brother.

“It’s the girl from the fair,” Chanyeol explained.

Kris’ eyes widened, suddenly interested again. “The one Tao was hitting on?”

Chanyeol nodded.

A low whistle was let out between Kris’ teeth. “Good luck with that pal.”

Giving no signal as to why the sudden departure, Baekhyun jumped up to his feet and ran past Kris back into the house. Not even a minute later, laughter echoed in the living room followed by Tao shouting, “What the hell! That’s not fair!”

Chanyeol groaned.

“Come on,” Kris clapped him on the back before tugging his shirt off. “If we go for a run now we can get a good head start on them.”

Seeing no other choice if he didn’t want to be harrassed by his brothers, Chanyeol slowly and reluctantly stood up on his bare feet and stripped off his clothes as he followed Kris towards the woods, leaving a knowing trail behind. He knew the odds of their clothes still being there when they got back were low; it was a prank Chanyeol had pulled a hundred times on the rest of the pack. Since the others were denied their chance to to his face, they’d take their revenge another way. As if he hadn’t already walked around the house before.

Running with Kris was helping his state of mind. Kris didn’t try to make conversation or work through a plan to track you down. The silence was strangely nice, not something that Chanyeol felt often. Typically, he always needed some sort of noise going on in the background, music preferably. It was a peaceful stimulation that calmed him down and kept his thoughts in a straight line. This was the first time where the silence was more comforting.

Chanyeol skipped class the next couple of days, spending the time he should have been studying, doing homework, or concentrating in lectures to try and find you again. A few times he thought he had caught your scent, but it was always old, a day or so faded.  And it was all over town. He couldn’t find a concentrated area that would give him a hint to where he could find you next.

Baekhyun and Sehun were chuckling at his pouting face as they ate in a diner off campus. Those two never needed an excuse to not go class or to “move” their study sessions in the library to a different time. All the food on their plates was long gone and Baekhyun and Sehun were having a random conversation about whether or not they should put fake bugs in Tao’s bed to scare him.

A phone vibrated against the table and all three of them checked their cells. It was Chanyeol who received the text. Two simple words from Kris.

Shop. Now.

Frowning, Chanyeol showed the others the text before quickly paying the tab and high tailing it out there. Kris’ auto shop was close by and they made it there fairly quickly on foot. At first, none of them had any idea what the hyung wanted. But as soon as Chanyeol stepped foot into the shop, he understood.

You were here.

And suddenly Kris was Chanyeol’s favorite.

There was only a brief moment he caught the fact that you saw him walk in before you quickly turned away again, going back to talking to the man you were with. Who the hell was he?

The atmosphere between the two of you was too friendly, too joking and comfortable for Chanyeol’s liking.

“Kris!” Baekhyun cried out. He and Sehun were still in the dark as to why they were called here.

Kris looked up from the car he was currently inspecting. “Hey, guys! What’s up?”

Sehun frowned as they walked up to him, confused as to why Kris was acting like he hadn’t called them here. Kris motioned for them to follow him into the office away from the other mechanics. Chanyeol took one step with them but then whipped his head around. You were leaving.

“Hey, wait!”

You took off as soon as you heard his voice. Chanyeol groaned as soon as you did and he ran after you, catching up to you in just a few seconds. Seeing as you wouldn’t stop, he had no other choice but to reach out and grab your arm. He tugged a little so you would turn around and face him.

“What!” you snapped.

Chanyeol blinked. He hadn’t thought this far ahead. What exactly was he supposed to say?

Hey, you’re my mate so can I take you out on a date?

To be honest, whenever Chanyeol pictured his mate, he thought he would get someone warm, someone soft who would smile at him and make him shy. In the past, he’d always like girls who were like delicate flowers that bloomed in the sunlight. Someone he could just pulled into his arms and would fit perfectly in his embrace. Someone who would take care of him.

You… didn’t exact fit that description. A rose bush fit you better. Yes, you were beautiful, but prickly if anyone got too close. Chanyeol’s wolf was purring in satisfaction at seeing you and being near you again. But you were hostile towards him, making it clear that this was not where you wanted to be. You glared at him with daggers in your eyes. Well, you weren’t really looking at him, just in his general direction, waiting for an answer from him. Yes, you were a rose covered in thorns. He would have to be careful to not prick his finger around you.

“I’m Chanyeol,” he introduced suddenly. He felt that he needed to say something and that was all that would come out. Your presence intimidated him and he wasn’t sure if it was because he actually wasn’t prepared to be mated or just because of the aura you emanated.

Your right eyebrow rose on your forehead. “So?”

While Chanyeol searched for another sentence to speak that would make sense, you finally met his eyes. The harsh look on your face softened just a bit. It was a subtle change, one that he only caught because he was trying to memorize your face. Thanks to his wolf hearing, Chanyeol caught on to your heart rising in speed. Even if your mind didn’t know what was going on, your body was responding to him. That was a good sign.

Whether you were what he imagined or not, Chanyeol couldn’t deny that he was happy. He’d finally found you. An uncontrollably smile spread across his face.

“What’s your name?”

You shook your head. “Not a chance.”

With a hard yank, you freed yourself from his grip and took off. Too dumbfounded, Chanyeol didn’t chase after you.

It didn’t take a genius to conclude that your name probably wasn’t “Not a chance.” But why be so stingy with your name? He thought he’d asked politely enough. Okay, so he probably should have let you go as soon as the two of you were stopped, but touching you - even if it was through a few layers of clothing - was just elating him. He’d even wondered what it would be like to hug you. Would it be softer than what you presented in your outer shell? It was a battle won with sheer willpower not to just pulled you into his chest. An action that was egged on by the wolf. But now he didn’t have to fight it because you were long gone.

Hanging his head down low, Chanyeol turned to head back to the shop. Then something caught his eye.

A purple beanie.

Picking it up, he got a plentiful whiff of your scent. It must have fallen out of your pocket. Stuffing it into his own, he deaded back to the shop.

The others were still in the office. Chanyeol tried to enter quietly, but that was a useless attempt.

“How’d it go?” Kris asked.

Chanyeol ruffled up his hair while scratching his scalp. “I think I might be in the same situation as Kyungsoo.”

Sehun let out a short laugh before covering up his mouth with his hand.

“That ,” Baekhyun commented with very little sympathy.

The pout on Chanyeol’s lips couldn’t be helped. Why did Baekhyun and the others have to have it so easy when it came to finding their mates? The first four had minor bumps in the road, nothing too out of the ordinary. This was getting ridiculous.

“So, she ran away?” Kris guessed. Chanyeol nodded. “Don’t worry about it for now. Just keep trying to see her. It’ll work out eventually.”

“At least no one is in a life threatening situation this time,” Sehun offered.

“I dont know,” Baekhyun said mischievously. “She’s kind of scary looking. Chanyeol’s life might be the one that’s in danger.”

Chanyeol growled, taking a menacing step forward. Kris stood to his feet and placed a hand on his chest to stop him.

“I think you all should back to class now,” Kris not-really-suggested. He glanced at Chanyeol. “Look, her brother works here, so I’m sure she’ll be around more often. I’ll let you know when she’s here, but it can’t be every time. Then she’ll get suspicious.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol nodded. That made him feel a little better.

The three younger wolves left the shop and walked back to Chanyeol’s Jeep. Not really feeling up to his afternoon classes, Chanyeol dropped Baekhyun and Sehun off at the university before taking the long drive back to the farm house. They could find rides with their other brothers or even run back. No one should be home now and Chanyeol had some pent up energy he needed to work out.

Not even bothering to park the Jeep in the garage, Chanyeol ran up the front steps and inside the house, all the way up to his bedroom.

Grabbing his guitar and notebook, he immediately went to his happy place.

A melody was playing in his head as he thought of your face and your voice. Every few bars, Chanyeol would pause and stick his pick between his teeth while he wrote whatever he’d just played on the strings down on the paper in front of him. You were a new genre for him, one that he hadn’t explored before. It would an uphill battle, but he was sure that soon, a harmony between the two of you could match up beautifully