“You know, I always thought Chanyeol’s mate would be… fluffier,” Jongdae commented.

Chanyeol him, growling deeply, only to be stopped by a hand on the chest from Kris.

“Don’t fall for it,” Kris cautioned. He turned to Jongdae, “Honestly, this is not the time for your mouth. This situation is complicated enough as it is.”

Jongdae threw his hands up in defense. He never really thought before he spoke when it came with a chance to tease the others. Usually, Chanyeol went along with it, but not when it came to you.

“I’d say it’s more than complicated,” Junmyeon bit, making Kris visibly flinch. “Why didn’t you inform the rest of us that there was an omega in town?”

Kris scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Because I know you. You would have driven him out of town, not wasting a second to actually hear his story.”

With a shake of his head, Junmyeon countered, “I don’t need to hear his story. He’s an omega for a reason. They don’t belong in territory protected by packs. There’s a reason they were kicked out of their own in the first place.”

“He wasn’t kicked out of a pack!” Kris yelled. “He was never in one!”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened. Several gasps echoed around him. “H-how was he never part of a pack? That’s impossible, isn’t it?”

“Not entirely,” Luhan replied. “But it’s incredibly rare.”

That was certainly news to Chanyeol. All the omegas he’d ever heard of or met had been banished from their packs for breaking their laws. Being a part of that kind of brotherhood was so ingrained in their DNA that the idea of never having sworn to one in the first place was a concept that was foreign and wrong. Chanyeol couldn't even imagine what life like that must be like.

“Explain,” Junmyeon ordered of Kris.

But the latter just shook his head. “I can’t. I never asked for the full story. I didn’t need to. All I know is that it’s just him and his sister and he just wants to live in peace.”

Chanyeol took a step away from his alpha. The two leaders were getting along better these days, almost like how it was before, but it still didn’t take much for Junmyeon slip back into the conditioned reaction of wanting to kill Kris. Or at least severely harm. Chanyeol didn’t think Junmyeon would ever actually kill him, it wasn’t in his nature to go that far. A majority of the time, Kris made sure not to step on any of Junmyeon’s toes and let him be the appointed alpha that he was, but Kris’ true nature couldn’t be fully contained.

Junmyeon’s hands were curling at his sides. “Well, that’s great. You think you can take one look at an omega and make that decision on your own?”

“He works in my shop, Junmyeon,” Kris shouted. “He’s a good kid. He’s had crap happen to him. I can see that in his eyes. And now we definitely can’t make him leave.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because if he leaves, she leaves.” With a hard jab, Kris pointed to Chanyeol. “Do you really want to sit back and watch what will happen to him? Can you live with that?”

No one spoke. The last thing anyone wanted to think about was the consequences of having a mate reject them. And that effectively would be what was happening if Junmyeon decided that the omega couldn’t stay. Chanyeol had promised to avoid you, but that simply was to give himself time to think about how to get you to trust him. Attacking your brother certainly didn’t get him any points in your book.

At Kris’ reminder, Junmyeon relaxed, seeing reason. “From now on, consult me before you make decisions. Please.”

Relieved that the fight was over, Kris nodded. “I will. I should have in the first place.”

“We should probably get back to the house and let everyone know that it’s all okay,” Jongin suggested. All them nodded in agreement and shifted back into wolf form before trotting back in the direction of the farm house.

All except Chanyeol.

With his four paws still firmly in the dirt, he stared off into the direction that you’d disappeared in. He tried to think of how he could see you again without breaking his promise to your brother. Did he even know about the connection between the two of you? Did he know that you were his mate?

Maybe he didn’t know. If he did, he had to know that staying away from you was too painful to endure.

Junmyeon barked at Chanyeol and he was forced to turn away, headed in same direction as his brothers.

**

It had to be your inner rebellious side. That had to be the root cause of this same thought that plagued you over and over again. Right?

Certainly, it was simply because your brother told you stay away from Chanyeol that you were itching to see him again.

Oh, yeah. You’d gotten your own earful of a lecture from Lon as soon as you’d gotten him dressed and back to the apartment. He went on and on about how if you needed fresh air or to take a walk, that you knew you were supposed to take it within the city and not out in the woods where you could get hurt. While he didn’t believe that the pack would ever hurt you (little did he know that they couldn’t hurt you, not without dire consequences), there were still other things that could come across you.

“And one more thing!” Lon added as you were walking away towards your room.

You resisted rolling your eyes, turning around to face him with a sigh. “What?”

“Stay away from that Chanyeol kid,” he ordered. “He’s trouble.”

You snorted. Chanyeol was a literal puppy from the few interactions you’ve had with him. He couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone you. Especially you.

Back in the woods, you’d been so worried about Lon that you’d been quick to believe that Chanyeol had attacked your brother without cause. But now - with a clear and calmed head - you could believe that Lon might have egged it on. In wolf form, their instincts took over. Human logic played very little into their decision making. And wolves were territorial. Dangerously so. And if Lon was dead set on finding you, not caring what got in his way, you could see how that escalated into a dog fight.

“I think I’ll be okay,” you assured him.

Lon shook his head. “I’m serious. There’s something about him. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sensing something. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt. So, just stay away from him, okay?”

Though you knew why Lon couldn't pin down what it was that was bothering him, you didn’t let him in on that bit of information. As an unmated wolf and an omega, he was extra sensitive to unclaimed mates. But he was also your flesh and blood, so he didn’t react to you the same way any other omega would. He could sense a chemical change in the air, but he couldn't decipher it. And you kind of wanted it to stay that way.

But you still didn’t verbally agree to stay away from Chanyeol. You didn’t want to agree. As much as you tried to keep your distance from Chanyeol, it was getting harder and harder. Each time you saw him again, walking away or even seeing his hurt facial expression due to your harsh comments was making the ache in your chest grow. It was getting more dominant each day. You were damn sure going to fight it as much as you could, even if it was a useless fight. The only question was: exactly how strong was your will power?

At this current moment, sitting on your couch all alone in your apartment, it was pretty damn weak.

Letting out a wordless yell, you jumped up and ran out the door. You’d made it a week, only leaving the apartment when necessary, staying clear of anything that might lead you to accidentally running into Chanyeol. But right now, you weren’t even exiting the safety of home just give yourself some fresh air or to keep some resemblance of therapy.

No. This time, you were going to purposely run into him.

As it was the middle of the day, you figured the best place to try and catch the overgrown giant would be at the university. Your hood was pulled up over your head as you waited at the bus stop just a few blocks away from home for your ride. The seats were nearly empty when it arrived, save for a group of old ladies at the front chattering away.

It took four stops and over thirty minutes, but eventually you made it to the university on the other side of town and got off the bus with an strange eagerness bouncing up and down inside of you. Hundreds of students milled about the campus, going from class to class or just hanging out on the dead grass or at the old rusted tables in their little groups.

How the hell were you going to find him in this mess?

You did the only thing that you could do, which was wander around and try not to stick out; a task that actually turned out much easier than you anticipated. The students mostly kept to themselves and - being around their age and all - no one suspected that you weren’t someone who belonged there.

After circling the main courtyard at least three times, you finally spotted him.

Chanyeol was exiting a building that was probably the music hall, guessing by all the people exiting from it’s doors with black instrument cases in their hands. The only issue was that Chanyeol was not alone. He was surrounded by other wolf boys - some that you didn’t recognized and others that you did, including Tao from the festival. Great.

Thinking of no other way, you decided to pull a stunt. A really stupid one. Taking your wallet out of your back pocket, you held it in your hand while keeping your head down and out of sight. You walked right up to the boys, bumping into Chanyeol and purposefully dropping your wallet in his line of sight. Without hesitating, you kept walking until you rounded the music hall out of sight of the group.

“Hey, wait!”

Bait taken.

As soon as he reached out and grabbed your shoulder, you whirled on him, shoving him up against the old brick wall.

He blinked at you in surprise. “(Y/n)?”

Snatching your wallet back, you stared at him silently. That stupid smile was growing on his lips again. He reached out pulled your hood off your head. Then his fingers twitched in the direction of your cheek before his hand dropped to his side, the grin disappearing from his face in a snap.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said in a low, depressing voice.

“I know,” you shrugged.

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at you, confused. “Then what are you doing here?”

Crap. You didn’t know how to answer him. Because I couldn’t stand sitting around and not seeing you anymore? Yeah, right.

“I came because….” You were hoping that starting the sentence would magically create an ending, but nothing came to fruition.

“Because?” The tiny sliver of hope was apparent in Chanyeol’s voice. His eyes were lit up like Christmas lights. And that was the straw that snapped.

“Because I needed to tell you that it’s never going to happen.” You tried to make sure that your voice was steady and sure, but you caught the little quiver of shakiness as the words came out. Did Chanyeol catch it too?

His jaw dropped, hanging slack on it’s hinges.

You took a deep breath to try and gain more courage. It didn’t work, but it was worth a try. “So, just forget about me, okay?”

You were doing this for all of you. This way, no one could get seriously hurt. Because if it came down to choosing your mate or your brother, you had to choose your brother. Chanyeol had his pack, he wouldn’t be alone. He could get on with his life, counting himself lucky that he didn’t get stuck with you. But you were all Lon had. If you chose to stay with Chanyeol, Lon would be by himself, no one to look after him. And you couldn’t do that to him.

“(y/n)-”

“Goodbye, Chanyeol.” Beating yourself up because of the huge mistake coming had even been, you turned to walk away. But your mate wasn’t letting you go that easily.

“(y/n)!” He grabbed your wrist, stopping you. With eyes full of pain, he stared - no, he glared at you in disbelief. “Do you understand exactly what’s going on between us?”

“Yes!” you screeched. “I know exactly what we are! I feel the stupid pull! Happy? That doesn’t mean I have to choose you over everything! So forget it, okay!”

Chanyeol visibly swallowed. “So, then, you know what will happen?”

You gave a hard nod. “I do.”

The hand that was gripping your wrist loosened. Chanyeol fell back against the wall. “Then go.”

You stared at him. Was he really letting you go this easily?

Apparently so.

“GO!” His face was red, his jaw clenched tight and his entire body was shaking.

You walked away, pulling your hood back up over your head.

The bus ride back home was a miserable one. Inside your chest was a constant fight to hold back the tears that were building up. Since when did you feel so guilty for looking out for what was best for you?

You couldn't stay in this town. You couldn’t stay where it was too easy to run to him, too easy to turn around and change your mind. You needed to leave. And there was someone else that needed you, too.

As soon as Lon came home, you ran out of your room, hoping that your red eyes had calmed down enough to not be noticeable anymore.

“Whoa, where’s the fire?” Lon teased.

Inhaling deeply, you braced yourself for the words that were about to leave you and for the answer that awaited you.

“I think we should leave here and move back in with Mom.”