You were lost. You didn’t know what to do. You couldn’t even function properly. Lon thought your current state might be because you were worried about your mother and you didn’t bother to correct him. Walking around the house like a zombie, you couldn’t find it in yourself to laugh at his jokes or put more than minimal effort into dinner. Everything around you just seemed less important.

Was this how Chanyeol felt after you rejected him?

You felt like you were falling apart. You felt like the world had just stopped spinning and now nothing was moving forward. How long you stayed on your bed just staring at the wall day after day, you had no idea. Maybe this was your world now. This constantly empty hole would never be filled and you would just simply… exist.

Before you left to come back home on that day you’d found out everything, your mother had pulled you aside while Lon and Markus talked one last time.

“Have you decided what you’re going to do?” she’d asked.

You’d shrugged. “I guess I don’t really have a choice. I don’t exactly want to be the reason he dies.”

“That shouldn’t be your only reason,” she’d scolded. “You should get to know him. Maybe you’ll find that you quite like having a mate. Maybe you’ll end up liking him. It’s nice to have someone on your side. Someone to protect you.”

You had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes at your mother. “I don’t need anyone to protect me. I’m fine taking care of myself.”

“It’s not always about ‘needing’, sweetheart.” She caressed your cheek with her too-thin fingers. “Sometimes, things just are. And maybe you’ll find out that you like the feeling of them.”

“I already said that I was going accept him. Let’s not push it past that, okay?”

Neither of you had expected this outcome. The pull was supposed to be so strong for the wolf, nearly impossible to ignore. You still felt it so there was no way it could be broken. That was impossible anyway. Mate bonds were for life. You fully understood that now.

Another sigh left your lips as you rested the side of your head against the wall, curled up on your bed with your knees pulled up against your chest. You just wanted to be normal again. You wanted to stop feeling like this. But you didn’t know how.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

You perk up at the sound that was coming from your window. When it was silent once again for a minute you went back to your pity party of one. It was probably just a squirrel anyway.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Frustrated, you stood up and went over to your window, pushing the curtains aside and pulling the blinds up. Outside on the ground was Chanyeol, playing with small rocks in his hand. You could hardly believe your eyes. Was he really here?

As quickly was your fingers could, you unlocked the window and shoved it open.

“About time you answered.” A smile, although small, was back on his lips as he looked up at you.

“What are you doing here?” Your words came out breathy. Whatever hopelessness had been with you before was now completely gone.

“We need to talk,” he said. “But since your brother told me to stay away from you.”

“He’s at the garage with Kris.” Thank goodness for that, too.

As it was a Saturday, Lon was usually home. The trip to your mother’s had been canceled when she called and said that she wasn’t feeling well enough for visitors. That worried you even more but Markus sd she was just tired and would be in bed a majority of the day. You’d have to try again next weekend.

So, instead, Lon called Kris and took his truck to the garage to see why it was making a strange clicking noise. He hadn’t even bothered asking if you wanted to come along. If he had, you might have said yes, just to get out of the house, even though your undead state would have been pretty much the same. Thank goodness that didn’t happen.

“Am I allowed to come up?” Chanyeol asked.

You nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go unlock the door.”

Chanyeol smirked as he tossed the pebbles aside. “Actually, I’ll take a different route. Stand back.”

“What are you-”

Taking a few steps back, Chanyeol gave it a running start before climbing the side of your building, gripping the windowpane and flipping into your bedroom. The wolf look immensely proud of himself. Considering you were on the second floor, that was quite impressive.

“Couldn’t just go the normal way, could you?” Although you meant the words come out scolding, somehow your tone was more playful.

Chanyeol looked down bashfully before clearing his throat and bringing up his gaze to you once more.

“I’ve been thinking….” he groaned, roughing up his own hair in frustration. The tiniest bit of black roots was visible within his silver hair. “I know that… right now, you just don’t want to be the reason that I die, but… I thought that… maybe… we could actually try… to get to know each other. If… you want to, that is….”

His nervousness matched yours to a tee.

“I’d like that,” you whispered. At the sight of his sunlight-infused smile, your nervousness bubbled away to some more. Something close to excitement. “I’d really like to get to know you, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol’s body twitched towards you like he was moving to do something, but held himself back. Standing with him so close, you felt an ache in your muscles. Something about how shy he was being now, so vulnerable was making you want to comfort him. You weren’t really the comforting type. But you found yourself giving into anyway.

At a pace slower than a snail, you raised your shaking hands, biting your bottom lip, and slid your arms around Chanyeol’s neck, pulling him close to you. There was no hesitation on Chanyeol’s side as he wrapped his own arms around your waist, locking you into the hug. A vibrating rumble echoed in his chest that made you laugh.

“Sorry,” Chanyeol chuckled softly. “It just came out.”

“That’s alright.” A whine replaced the rumble when you pulled away. You giggled, raising your hand to pat his cheek. “You can’t hug me forever, you know.”

He jutted out his bottom lip. “Wouldn’t hurt to try.”

As a compromise, you held out your hand for him to take. “Come on.”

Chanyeol slid his fingers between yours, interlocking them as you tugged him over to your bed. Scooting all the way, the two of you leaned against the wall, sitting leg to leg and shoulder to shoulder, leaving no space between you. The electricity that flowed through the contact was driving you insane. In a good way.

“Can I ask you a question?” Chanyeol rubbed your knuckles with his thumb.

You nodded. “Of course.”

A harsh line formed between his eyebrows, he was frowning so hard.

“Why-” he stopped, shaking his head.

“Why what?” you whispered.

He sighed. “Why did you hate me so much when we first met? Was it because I was a wolf? Did I come on too strong?”

“I never hated you, Chanyeol.” The fact that you’d made him think so severely in the direction made you hate yourself. “I just….” You sighed. “Growing up, I was around wolves all the time. How could I hate them when they were my normal? But when I was a teenager, my father was accused of stealing from the pack. He was found guilty and shunned. He ended up being outnumbered and killed by another pack for traveling into their territory as an omega. I thought he was innocent for so long and that made me hate wolves in general. I couldn’t trust any of them. Any of you. I thought politics and laws of the pack were evil and biased. I’d vowed to never be a part of a pack ever again. So, when I met you and felt the pull, I fought against it. It was never you specifically, Chanyeol, but I did judge you before you even spoke one word to me. And for that, I’m sorry. No, actually, I’m sorry for this whole mess.”

You couldn’t quite read his expression. It seemed thoughtful, like he was mulling over your sad excuse.

“What changed?” he finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

“He wasn’t innocent,” you replied, biting back tears. “He really was stealing from the pack. It was to help our own family, but he couldn’t bring himself to actually ask for help. They all would have done it without hesitation, but he was too proud. I can’t say that I completely trust wolves again, but… it’s getting there. I’m getting there.”

“I’m glad.” Chanyeol looked down at you, smiling just a little bit. “I want you to be able to trust me.”

“I do,” you admitted.

Chanyeol looked surprised, but it was true. Looking into his eyes, you trusted him completely. It wasn’t a feeling that you could explain, not fully. Whether it was the mate bond or just the way that Chanyeol looked at you, you weren’t sure. But you knew, sitting there with his hand in yours, that he was the person you could always depend on and always trust, even with your life.

“What about you?” you asked suddenly, shifting so you were facing him a little more. “What’s your life story?”

The grin he’d been sporting started to slip. “It’s not very exciting.”

You pursed your lips. “I thought we were getting to know each other.”

Sighing, Chanyeol nodded. “You’re right. You shared with me, so it’s only fair that I do the same.”

With a feeling that you were about to hear his own sad story, you placed your other hand over his.

“I lived a pretty nice life for a while,” Chanyeol started. “Just me and my parents. But…” he inhaled deeply, “they were killed by hunters while on vacation when I was fourteen.”

“Hunters?” you gasped. “I didn’t think they existed anymore.”

“There’s one group left. One group that kills without mercy.” Chanyeol’s grip on your hand was tightening to a concerning strength. “They didn’t even give my parents a chance. They’d never harmed anyone and yet they were killed, hunted like wild animals. They-”

“Chanyeol!”

His grip on your fingers had become too much and you’d cried out in pain. Realizing what he was doing, Chanyeol quickly let go of your hand.

“(y/n), I’m so sorry!” He started to reach for you again, but stopped. “I’m sorry.”

You knew it wasn’t his fault. Memories that hurt that much… you forget about the world around you, blocking out your vision and hearing as they consumed you. If you were to count the amount of times you’d experienced that, you would need both of your hands and maybe even Chanyeol’s.

Reaching out to him, you ran your fingers through his hair to let him know that it was okay. “I’m sorry that happened. It’s not fair. They had to be good people, to raise someone like you.”

Tears were rising up in Chanyeol’s eyes. Without warning, he lifted his arms and pulled you in close to his chest, squishing your face into his shirt.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I just feel better like this.”

You couldn’t help the small laugh that tickled your throat. “It’s okay. Whenever you need a hug, you can have one.”

“That’s a dangerous offer,” he mumbled as he buried his face in your hair. “I might want them all the time.”

“I’ll let you know when it gets too much,” you promised.

Chanyeol made his own promise to you. “I won’t let anything like that happen to you. Ever. I’ll protect you. Always.”

Your mother’s words echoed in your head and you found yourself not hating the idea of it after all. Maybe it was partially due to the fact that Chanyeol had you securely in his embrace and how it felt so right, so safe. Shifting your head so you were looking up at Chanyeol, the strange urge to kiss him until he was smiling again came over you.

Sighing, you sat up. It was too soon for that, but maybe someday.

For the next several hours, the two of you continued to get to know each other, talking about your favorite foods to favorite movies to the things you disliked. He preferred superhero movies to romantic ones (your secret guilty pleasure) and the guitar was his favorite instrument to play. The boy was practically a walking one-man band.

“Can I hear you play sometime?” you asked shyly.

Dusty pink blush painted Chanyeol’s cheek as he nodded. “I know just the song, too.”

“Really?” You honestly shouldn’t have been that surprised that he already associated you with a particular song. From the brief encounter at the music store combined with your talk now, Chanyeol and music just seemed synonymous to you now. His eyes lit up talking about it and you figured it was only out of politeness that he wasn’t dominating the conversation with it.

He nodded. “I’ll let you hear it sometime soon.”

“I can’t wait.”

Sometime during Chanyeol’s story about the time he and two of the other wolves in his pack  named Jongdae and Baekhyun tried to pull a prank on their brother Kyungsoo, you started to drift off. Perhaps it was the the soothing sound of Chanyeol’s deep voice, but just as he was telling you about the prank backfiring and Kyungsoo coming after them with a can in a sock, you fell asleep with your head on his shoulder.

**

Chanyeol didn’t bother to finish his story when he heard a very soft snore beside him. Your head was resting against his arm and your hand was slack in his. He took in the moment, letting the ecstasy of finally touching his mate, being with his mate, and talking to his mate ride out in the moment. When you’d pulled in him for that first hug, he thought his heart would explode. Could you feel it thumping against his chest?

As he stared at your peaceful face, Chanyeol couldn’t help but contemplate what you had told him about your past. His kind hadn’t been the most charitable to you, even if all they did was obey the laws of the pack.

With your defensive wall and sensitive nature, you reminded him a bit of a raven. Beautiful, if often misunderstood birds. They were quick to defend themselves and people often preferred they go away because they weren’t as loving on the surface like other more cherished birds.

But ravens were smart birds. They knew how to survive. They learned from experiences and rarely forgot those who crossed them. However, if you treated them kindly, cautiously, letting them make the first moves, they often made loyal companions.

That’s who you were. His beautiful, mysterious raven. You’d been hurt in the past, but he was sure with time, you’d come to find that the cracks of past hurts could be sculpted into something magnificent.

The sound of the front door unlocking and swinging open simultaneously pulled Chanyeol out of his thoughts and you from your sleep.

You blinked a few times until the situation became clear.

“!” you hissed, jumping off the bed. You ran to your stereo, turning on the music at a loud, possible complaint-level, volume. “You have to go.”

Nodding, Chanyeol ran to your still open window. He knew he was dead if your brother caught him in your bedroom. Before he stuck one foot out the window, he turned back to you. “When can I see you again?”

Your eyes flickered to the door.

“(y/n)?” your brother called.

“Tomorrow,” you answered quietly, elated Chanyeol’s mood instantly. He didn’t want to leave you, but if the next time was only a short night away, he could do it. “I’ll meet you downtown by the clock tower around seven.”

“Okay.” Chanyeol wanted to whine about having to wait all day, but he’d suffer through it. Climbing through the window, he turned around and clung to the windowsill. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Taking a huge risk, Chanyeol kissed your cheek before dropping to the ground and running off towards the woods.