Lon was gone for work by the time you woke up the next morning. A tiny twinge of guilt sank your stomach when you walked into the kitchen to find it absent of any evidence that you’d made dinner last night. The pots and single pan were completely dry on the dish mat on the counter and all the leftovers were packed up in plastic containers on the shelves of the fridge. You’d expected to clean that up yourself once you were out of bed, but Lon had beaten you to it. Where was all this adult-ness suddenly coming from?

After making a simple breakfast, you changed into an old t-shirt and your favorite pair of comfy shorts and pulled out all the cleaning supplies.

Over the next few hours, you scrubbed nearly every inch of the apartment, even the parts that could technically be counted as still somewhat clean. The bright white bathroom practically glittered and the living room looked more like the setup of a showing rather than your most used space. The only place you didn’t touch was Lon’s room. You didn’t have a hazmat suit to tackle that disaster zone.

Satisfied in your handy work, you flopped down on the couch for a little bit of relaxation. There you stayed for the next hour as you worked yourself into the mood to take a desperately needed shower. You reeked of sweat and cleaner and the odor was starting to bother you. The ability to transform into a wolf may not be something you possess, but your hearing and sense of smell had always been just a tad more sensitive than the average human.

Eventually you were able to command your muscles to push you up from the couch and shuffle you into the bathroom.

The water came down hot but low in pressure area. You had to make do, though, and closed your eyes to pretend that you were bathing under a hot spring waterfall rather than a dingy apartment bathroom to make the experience not so drab. However, your imagination ran too far for you to catch it.

With your eyes still closed and your mind lingering under that waterfall, a pair of thick, strong arms wrapped around your waist. There was nothing ual about the embrace. You just felt… loved. Protected. Matching lips softly grazed your cheek before settling next to your ear.

Stay with me, a low voice whispered. Though you hadn’t heard much of that voice, even in your mind, it managed to send a shiver down your spine.

And, god, did you want to. In that moment, in that fantasy, you allowed yourself to stay with him, wrapped up in those non-existent arms. Never would you do something like this in real life. By now you would have shoved him away. You were someone that took care of yourself and didn’t really need someone to protect you. Even Lon knew when to back off and you handle yourself - at least, he used to.

But there in your imagination, you pretended that you were someone who wanted to be held just like that. Someone who wanted home to be Chanyeol’s arms. He was certainly built like a protector. Strong arms and a tall frame that was packed with muscle, but not too much that his hugs would be uncomfortable and unwanted. No, he was just perfect.

The sudden appearance of icy water broke you out of the scene and brought you back to reality.

Right. You were the girl who stood on her own two feet. You were a leather jackets, torn up jeans, and middle-fingers-up kind of person. Enough of this romantic bull. Besides, your feelings weren’t real. It was the mate pull messing with your head and that was it.

Finishing up your shower, you walked back to your room and threw on clean clothes. The sound of the front door opening and shutting alerted you to Lon coming home from work. Still towel drying your hair, you stepped out of your room to greet him.

Lon was sitting on the couch looking exhausted. He was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers gripping the roots of his hair.

“Hey, is everything okay?” you asked, greatly concerned.

Glancing up at you, Lon tried to slap on a smile, but he gave that attempt up fairly quickly.

When he didn’t answer, you tried to think of something that would break up the tension. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday. I really do promise that it won’t happen again. I hate worrying you and-”

“(y/n), sit down.”

Confused, you obeyed, taking the empty cushion next to him. You threw the wet towel onto the chair next you. Lon reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He held it out for you to take.

“I got this letter from Mom yesterday,” he explained. “It was forwarded from our last address. It’s about three weeks old, judging by the date Mom put in the corner. She always so old fashioned.”

You didn’t take the letter, fearful of its contents. “What does it say?”

Instead of just telling you outright, Lon forcefully placed the letter in your hand before standing up. “You should read it yourself.”

Leaving you alone, he went down the hall to his bedroom.

As you curled up into the corner of the couch, you unfolded the letter. For a minute or two, you simply stared at it, not absorbing any of the letters scrawled on the page or the words they created. With closed eyes, you inhaled deeply before reading whatever it was your mother had to say.

My Little Pups,

It’s been too long, hasn’t it? I still remember the day you two left. It was too sunny for such a sad day. I know it was the best thing for you both to do, but my motherly heart is still broken over it. I hope you have stuck together and watch out for each other. I know you have.

The reason I’m writing now isn’t just to say hello and that I love you and miss you. I wanted you to know in case the doctor’s prediction comes true. You see, I’m sick. They aren’t entirely sure the cause of it, but something is wrong with my heart. It’s too weak and not pumping blood like it should be. At least, not at the pressure the doctor’s would like. I’m not seeking further treatment or taking anything that they try to prescribe to me. It’s simply my time. Perhaps then I can see your father again.

I miss him dearly. I know you do, too. Markus is watching over me and making sure my affairs are in order for when the time comes. And I know your pride might try to stop you, but, please, come see me. Let me see my children’s faces one more time. Please.

I love you to the big, bright, beautiful moon and back,

Mom.

As much as you tried to hold them back, ugly sobs were pushing themselves out of your throat. Tears trickled down your cheeks. Blots dotted the page and smeared the ink where your mother had shed tears of her own.

“We should go see her.”

Jumping to your feet you whirled to face your brother who had emerged once again from his room.

“How could she let that monster take care of her!” you snarled. “It’s his fault!”

“He was also the one who convinced the pack to spare the rest of us,” Lon reminded you.

It didn’t matter. Markus was still a traitor in your eyes. The reason your father was dead and your brother and you had lived like nomads for the last five years.

“I-” You were fighting with yourself. Your mother was dying; you needed to go see her. But she was right. Your pride - as well as hatred for Markus - was stopping you. Shaking your head, you pushed passed your brother, dropping the letter on the way to your room. You shoved your feet into your shoes and grabbed your jacket. Wet hair or not, you couldn’t stay in the house right now.

“Where are you going?” Lon asked.

“Out,” you snapped. “I need to take a walk.” You slammed the door behind you and rushed down the steps. Turning left on the sidewalk would take you close to downtown. But you turned right, to the path that led close to the woods. And then you left the predetermined concrete path for the welcoming embrace of the trees.

No, you couldn’t shift into a wolf, but you could still take comfort among the empty branches and soft floor of the forest. Spring was approaching soon and then you could spend all your time in the trees without worrying about getting too cold. Right now, the temperature was the least of your worries.

You knew that if you didn’t go see her, you’d regret it for the rest of your life. She was your mother, after all. The one who gave birth to you and spent her glory days raising you and making sure you turned into a relatively good person.

But if you saw Markus…. Screw his rank. You’d punch him in the face.

You were deep in the woods now, to the point where you couldn’t make out even a vague outline of the buildings.

A howl pierced through the air, making you jump. It was followed by nasty growls and snaps of teeth. Your first instinct was to run away, but then Lon flashed in your head. If he came looking for you and ran into another wolf-

Without hesitation, you ran towards the danger, the only thought being to protect your brother.

**

Chanyeol hadn’t gone on a solo run in months. At first it was just an order from Junmyeon to make sure none of them got cornered by a hybrid. After that, there were now so many of them in the pack it was nearly impossible to go on a run without someone else begging to tag along. This time, he was just lucky.

What he really wanted to do was march up to your front door and steal you away. Make you see reason. You knew about wolves so by extension, you had to know about mates, didn’t you? You had to feel the draw to him, right?

So, how could he help you to let him in? How could he get you to see that he was good for you, could protect you, and make you happy?

All these questions were bouncing around in Chanyeol’s head to the point that he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings. His paws slipped in the mud underneath him, making him trip and collide with something hard. Shaking his head, he whined, waiting to be yelled at by one of his brothers.

Except it wasn’t one of his brothers that he ran into.

A brown wolf was pushing himself up to his feet, a low, irritated growl rumbling in his chest. One sniff of the air told Chanyeol exactly what this strange wolf was.

An omega.

What was he doing here? The pack had driven all of them out that had come in hopes of joining the hybrids. How could they have missed one? Did he just arrive here?

Straightening up to his full height, Chanyeol let out a threatening growl. If the omega left peacefully, Chanyeol wouldn’t have to fight. But the omega just barked at him in an authoritative tone. Giving one last warning, Chanyeol pawed the ground.

To be honest, he couldn’t remember exactly who pounced first. They might have both jumped at the same time. All he could say was that they collided in the air in a fit of snarls and claws. Chanyeol got a good grip on the omega’s foot with his jaws. The omega let out a howl before managing to throw Chanyeol a few feet away.

Multiple kinds of footsteps reached his ears. Most were of the four legged kind, but one set, coming from the other direction, was daintier - human.

Five wolves joined Chanyeol at his back. But where he thought they were going to have his back, Kris jumped in front of him, blocking Chanyeol from attacking again.

“No!”

If Chanyeol was in his human form, he would have gasped at the newest addition to the party.

You ran into the area where the wolves were all gathered. What were you doing here?

To throw him off even further, you ran to the brown wolf and threw your arms around his neck. Chanyeol growled, taking a step forward before Kris snapped at him. The omega shifted back into a human and you helped him to his feet. It was the new guy from Kris’ shop, the one that Kris said was your brother.

“Lon, are you okay?” you cried as you looked over the omega.

“I’m fine.”

The rest of the wolves also changed back to their human forms, the danger seemingly passed.

Kris turned to the omega. “Lon, are you sure you’re alright?”

The omega - Lon - nodded. “Really, I’m good.”

So the wolf Chanyeol just mildly fought was your brother. Fantastic.

“What the hell is going on?” Junmyeon demanded.

“I was just trying to find my sister after she ran off,” Lon explained. “I’ve always tried to avoid any of you when I’ve gone on my runs. Then he,” he pointed to Chanyeol, “just attacked me after running into me.”

“You’re in our territory!” Chanyeol yelled.

“By my okay!” Kris shouted back.

Junmyeon narrowed his eyes. “You knew there was an omega here?”

“Yes, I did,” Kris answered. He showed no remorse on not sharing that important piece of information. “He doesn’t pose a threat. I saw no reason for him to leave.”

Chanyeol was torn. The omega being your brother certainly explained how you knew about wolves. But your brother was the lowest in rankings. He didn’t even have a rank. He was a loner, someone with no pack, no brotherhood. No wonder you wanted nothing to do with Chanyeol. Joining him would mean leaving your brother behind. Accepting Chanyeol meant becoming part of his pack and there wasn’t a place for Lon among them. Omegas were rarely accepting into new packs and even then, they were always on the outside.

“I’ll trust your judgement, Kris,” Junmyeon said begrudgingly, “but if something like this happens again, I’ll have to reconsider.”

“That’s fine,” Lon huffed, leaning on you a bit for support. Apparently their brief fight had taken a small toll on him. His eyes darted towards Chanyeol. “Just make sure that one stays away from me and my sister.”

Kris shot a look of concern to Chanyeol. “But-”

“Okay,” Chanyeol replied. “You won’t have to worry. I will.”

Your eyes widened in shock at him, not quite believing that he would agree so readily, but you didn’t stick around for long to see why. Lon was tugging you away from the area and away from the pack.

Watching you go was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. But with this new information, getting you to come to him was going to be even harder than he thought it would with your initial disdain. Hope was fading quickly and he wondered if he would be the first in the pack to have his mate truly reject him. The odds certainly weren’t looking good.