This first week of class had been the hardest Junmyeon had ever been through. Even more so than his first semester as a professor at the college. The off days that you weren’t in his class were better than the three days you were in attendance. He didn’t have to calm himself down to be in your presence or worry about losing his train of thought when he spotted you. But that was only two days out of the week. For the Wednesday and Friday that followed, he’d steeled himself up at the beginning of that first class. To his reluctant relief, you sat near the back, far out of his eyesight unless he strained to look for you. It would be easier to avoid your gaze, to not get caught staring at you so far back. Not only did he want to avoid scrutiny and gossip from his students, but he also didn’t want to scare you off.

As under the radar he tried to be with the rest of the pack, he was failing monstrously. For the past week, he’d been avoiding the house, taking the time away from everyone to try and work up a plan. A plan he was still trying to formulate. But everyone had noticed his jumpy and sketchy state. Of course, his constant absence left Kris mostly in charge, but he had a hard time feeling guilty about that. It was about time that Kris got a little taste of the chaos Junmyeon had been dealing with for the past few years on his own.

Coming down the stairs the morning of the second week of class, he overheard Sehun talking to Kris, trying to see if Junmyeon had spilled anything to his fellow leader. But he hadn’t and it hurt Junmyeon to hear the worry in Sehun’s voice.

Kris sighed, “Well, I have no clue. I think you should just give it some time and he’ll-”

Junmyeon stepped into the kitchen, keeping a smile on his face, even if it was fake and forced. “Morning everyone.”

Murmurs of “good mornings” echoed around the room, but no one looked him in the eye. They were trying hard to pretend that everything was normal and that they hadn’t just been talking about him in his absence. It was sweet, if a little useless. Best to not stick around so they could all relax again.

Filling up one of the rarely used thermoses with fresh coffee, he headed for the back door. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Just before he could escape, Sehun called out to him. “Are you going to run with us tonight?”

Junmyeon almost whined. There was so much hope in the youngest member’s voice and he was about to crush it.

“I can’t. I’ve got… other things I’ve got to take care of.” It was a complete lie, but Junmyeon couldn’t chance shifting while his focus was so disorganized. His wolf was strong these days and only his human logic was keeping it at bay. In his other form… there was too great a chance of the wolf taking over completely and he’d shoot off running from the rest of the pack, following his instincts until they led to you. That would be the second least okay thing for him to do.

Today was another day with you in class. Again, you sat all the way in the back. Too far. Too far away from him.

Focus, Junmyeon.

Why did this class have to only be an hour and a half long? As much as it was torture for him, it was also soothing. He knew you were close and he knew you were safe. Not that much could actually happen to you around here. There were no more threats of witches or hybrids as of late. The only difficulties recently were the mates themselves. Really just the inconvenience of them.

Not that you were inconvenient! Not in the slightest!

It was just the situations. Nothing could just be easy in his life, could it?

He nearly laughed at himself, trying to defend his thoughts against an imaginary version of you in head.

The next day, Junmyeon gave up. He still hadn’t been able to come with any solid plan on how to approach you. No one in the pack yet knew about his mate and, well, he figured it was time to tell them anyway.

All the way home, Junmyeon went over how he would approach the subject with his brothers. He could already hear Jongdae and Baekhyun’s laughter ringing in his ears. They were going to have a field day. But Junmyeon was at the end of his rope. He couldn’t just approach you and say, “Hi, I know I’m your teacher, but I’m a werewolf and you’re my mate. Want to go out on a date and get to know each other?”

He banged his head up against the steering wheel. Why was this so hard?

Sighing, he finally got out of the car, bracing himself for the circus to come.

But no one was home.

Concerned, he called Chanyeol, who answered after two rings.

“Hey, hyung!”

“Hey, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon continued to roam the house, scanning for any form of life, “where is everyone?”

“We’re getting pizza!” Chanyeol replied, clearly chowing down on a mouthful of food. “We were going to ask you to come along, but you’d been so busy lately we didn’t think you’d be up for it.”

Junmyeon tried not feel left out. He had been both absent and constantly turning down their offers the past week so he couldn’t blame them. Still, pizza sounded really good at the moment.

“Are all of you there?” he asked.

“Everyone but Kris. I sent him a text, but he hasn’t responded.”

“Okay,” Junmyeon sighed, “make sure you all make it home safe.”

“Always do. I think we’ll be heading home here soon.”

“Alright. See ya then.”

With nothing else to do, Junmyeon went upstairs to his room to take a shower. Usually he kept his showers short and conservative, but, being the only one home, he gave himself extra time, letting the water pellet his back and warm his skin. The dotting pattern against his muscles felt good, relieving just the smallest amount of stress.

He felt better after getting out of the shower even if his thoughts were still bouncing around chaotically. Slipping into a simple pair of sweatpants and a tank top, it felt nice to shed the put together appearance of the professor and to just be a guy - a regular guy with no issues, no hidden secrets, and no facade to keep in tact.

Heading back down the stairs, it seemed one person had come home. Junmyeon caught the tail end of Kris’ call for anyone who might be around.

“No one’s home,” he answered, entering the kitchen. In front of Kris he didn’t feel the need to keep up the happy face. “They all went out for pizza a few hours ago. Chanyeol said he texted you.”

Kris pulled out his phone and frowned at the screen. He just shrugged, turning his attention back to Junmyeon after slipping the phone back into his pocket. “What’s going on with you?”

Now faced with the chance to answer, he didn’t know how to let it out. Instead, he just shuffled his bare feet over to the breakfast booth and collapsed down in it, sighing.

His fellow leader sat down across from him. “Junmyeon?”

Looking up, that’s when Junmyeon finally noticed the familiar conflicted look in Kris’ own eye. “You don’t look much better.”

Kris scoffed. “Yeah. I just got the surprise of my life today.”

Junmyeon raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? I bet I can beat it with what happened to me last week.”

That just made Kris smirk as he leaned back in the chair. “Really? Fine. We’ll say it at the same time and see who wins.”

Junmyeon couldn’t believe he was laughing at the moment, but the situation was too hilarious not to. “Alright. Deal.”

Kris held a hand up along with three fingers that went down with the numbers. “Three. Two. One.”

“I found my mate.” “I found my mate.”

Junmyeon felt his jaw drop. That was not what he was expecting from Kris. Far from it. “Well,” he gulped, “this is quite the development.

“Yeah,” Kris half-laughed, half-scoffed, “you got that right.”

Before either of them could elaborate on their confessions, tell-tale stomps echoed off the floor and walls and ten young wolves came clopping into the kitchen.

At first, they were all normal, putting each other in choke holds and dodging punches as they loudly and happily chatted about nothing. Then they all noticed the not-so-cheerful looks on their alphas’ faces and the silence was immediate.

Pushing his way to the front, Minseok looked at them back and forth. “Anything you guys want to share?”

Being quicker than him, Kris waved at Junmyeon. “You first.”

Traitor. Junmyeon dropped his face into his folded arms on the table and groaned.

“Junmyeon?” Sehun called out. “You said that everything was fine.”

And there’s the guilt trip.

Sitting back up, Junmyeon looked to them. “Technically, everything is fine. It’s just….”

“Junmyeon found his mate,” Kris finished for him.

Junmyeon shot him a dirty look.

“Shouldn’t you be happier about that?” Chanyeol asked innocently.

“Yes, well,” he cleared his throat. “It’s complicated.”

“Isn’t it always?” Tao snorted.

“Maybe we can help?” Yixing offered.

Exhaling deeply, Junmyeon shook his head. “I’m not sure exactly how you’d be able to help. You see… she’s….” Junmyeon braced himself for the worst. “She’s one of my students.”

At first, there was nothing but stunned silence. And then the howling hit.

It was loud and thunderous, coming from only four of the members, but their volume was enough to make up for the rest of the quiet, open-mouthed pack.

Jongdae and Baekhyun were holding onto each other as they struggled to breathe. Chanyeol was doing his usual full body laugh, at first slapping Kyungsoo on the shoulder before earning a death glare and moving on to Tao, who was giving off his signature high cackle. Even Kris was struggling a bit with holding back his laughter, lips pressed together and avoiding Junmyeon’s gaze.

Feeling a bit like a child, Junmyeon pointed to Kris. “He found his mate, too.”

Once again, silence over took the room.

“Kris?” Luhan gasped. “Are you serious?”

The other alpha shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Yeah….”

That really shocked the pack. Junmyeon had wanted to find his mate, but Kris had made it very clear that he was perfectly fine on his own. There was a running bet that Kris would be dead last in finding his mate. Looks like some people would be paying up here soon.

Tao frowned. “Who is she?”

“She’s….” Kris stared down at his folded hands on the table, “an old childhood friend.”

“How is that possible?” Baekhyun asked. “Wouldn’t you have known she was your mate back then and never have- ow!”

Kyungsoo had elbowed Baekhyun before he could finish that train of thought. A few other members shot Baekhyun dirty looks out of the corners of their eyes. Better to keep those memories in the past where they belonged.

“You don’t feel the mate pull until after you’ve shifted for the first time,” Junmyeon explained. “Considering Kris moved here before he ever had his first transformation, I’m assuming she was from your hometown?”

Kris nodded, still keeping his gaze down.

“Wow,” Minseok mused, “so Kris has it really easy, huh?”

“Not exactly,” Kris countered. He tapped his index finger on the table. “She’s engaged.”

Junmyeon nearly choked. “W-what?”

“Yup.”

Junmyeon now didn’t seem to be in that bad of a situation anymore. At least you seemed to be on your own. Granted, he wasn’t completely sure about that, but there wasn’t a ring on your finger, at least.

“I’m suddenly thankful for the witches,” Jongdae commented.

“At least Lanie was just stubborn,” Chanyeol added.

“Good luck with that, ge-ge,” Tao saluted. “Better you than me!” He disappeared up the stairs, still laughing to himself. Kris definitely wasn’t going to let that slide.

It didn’t take long for the others to disperse, murmuring clearly among themselves. A majority of the boys headed out the back door to go for a run, not bothering to invite the two of them along. Junmyeon didn’t stop them either. Luhan and Minseok were going with them so they shouldn’t get into too much trouble. Hopefully.

A hiker had spotted the group from afar just a few weeks ago. Nothing to worry about really, but Junmyeon preferred for them to go completely unseen.

“Life’s pretty screwed up, isn’t it?” Kris chuckled.

Junmyeon nodded in agreement. “I just wish it would be nice to us for once.”

**

“You need to stop freaking out,” Gemma chastised for the millionth time. “He’s just your teacher.”

“Her teacher that is smoking hot and makes her heart thump,” Cam snickered.

From your spot on the couch, you threw a pillow at Cam. It was a pathetic throw and she blocked it with her arm easily.

Tomorrow was the first time you’d have to hand in a paper for class and Professor Kim apparently wasn’t very uptodate on the twenty-first century. While every other teacher had students hand in papers through the school’s site electronically, Professor Kim insisted on them being hand delivered on paper… in class.

The paper was written, printed, and carefully placed inside your bag for the next day, but you were still freaking out. You were going to have to walk up to him and somehow hand in the paper without turning red or freaking out in any way. Any visible way, that is.

“I don’t get why you’re making such a big deal out of this,” Gemma added, flopping down sideways on the matching gray loveseat. “Plenty of students have had a crush on Professor Kim. It’s nothing new.”

“I know,” you groaned. “I just- I can’t explain it. I just freak out whenever he’s near.”

“Look, (y/n),” Cam was suddenly serious, giving you a pitiful look, “I get that ever since freshman year you think all guys are scum-”

“That is not true!” you countered. “I know that there are nice guys out there! One relationship with a jerk has not made me think that all men are horrible. I just realized that having a relationship is a big distraction. My grades tanked and I was barely able to save them before the end of the semester. It wasn’t worth it. I refuse to get any more attachments like that. I’ll love you guys forever, but I don’t need anyone else trying to convince me to stay.”

“We love you, too, but you are still blowing this little crush out of proportion,” Gemma laughed. “Just hand the damn paper in and leave it at that.”

You opened your mouth to argue, but stopped. Maybe you really were blowing this up more than it was. Crushes were fine to have. Your heart could use the exercise, the occasional rise in beats per minute. Wasn’t that kind of blood pumping good for you?

Why were you freaking out like this? Why couldn’t you just be normal?

The next morning, you were completely calm going into class. Okay, “completely” was a bit of a stretch, you were much better than you had been last night. Walking into class, you even took the brave step to sit more towards the middle of the lecture hall, more in the line of Professor Kim’s eyesight.

Yes, you could do this.

Professor Kim also noticed your new seat, his eyes flickering towards you every few minutes. It sent your heart into a frenzy, but you simply repeated to yourself that it meant nothing and you just needed to focus on the lecture.

You made it to the end of class, very proud of yourself indeed. Almost right after you were all dismissed, your phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey!” Cam greeted on the other end of the phone. “Have you seen my my packet for biology?”

Your mind now on a single track, you packed up your things and headed out of the hall. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure?” she whined. “I can’t find it and the last thing I remember was printing it off on our printer last night, but now I can’t find it.”

Outside, you stopped, wedging the phone between your ear and shoulder as you looked through your bag for any sign of Cam’s packet. Then you saw your paper.

“!”

“What is it?” Cam asked.

You whimpered. “I forgot to turn in my paper! I’m sorry, Cam, but I’ll look for your packet a little more in a bit, I have to catch Professor Kim!”

Hanging up, you didn’t give Cam a chance to say goodbye as you ran back to the lecture hall. It was completely empty of students or the professor alike. Groaning, you pulled out your syllabus to get Professor Kim’s office number before taking off in that direction. Hopefully, he’d still accept the paper since now it was technically late.

The door was shut when you arrived, but the light was on, shining through the cracks around the frame. Lifting your hand to knock, you froze when you heard voices inside.

“I hardly need your style of expertise, Baekhyun,” Professor Kim grumbled. The name sounded familiar to you, although you couldn’t place where it’d be from in your consciousness.

“Okay, fine,” the one you assumed was Baekhyun huffed. “Moving on, are you going to run with us tonight?”

“Yes, I’ll be there tonight.”

“Good. It’s about time you started stretching your paws again.”

Paws? What the heck was that supposed to mean?

“My paws are just fine, thank you. But I have missed running with you guys.”

“Of course you have,” Baekhyun scoffed. “Us wolves have to stick together. Isolating yourself isn’t in our nature.”

You swallowed back a gasp. W-wolves? Their nature?

There was no way he was alluding to what you thought he was… right?

People who could turn into wolves didn’t exist. Those were just stories. A section of your class that you would be covering in a few weeks. A fairytale, folklore. There was no such thing as werewolves. And your professor certainly wasn’t one.  

“As a leader of the pack,” Professor Kim chuckled, “I think I understand that a little better than anyone.”

Your heart was about to jump out of your chest. Needing to get out of there and find a rational explanation for what you just heard, you shoved your paper into the mail slot next to the door and took off down the hall.

What the hell was going on at this college?