“W-wha… what!” You stared at Sehun like he’d just taken his head off his shoulders and started playing basketball with it right there in the kitchen. 

“Ha-ha, Sehun, very funny,” Tao scoffed with absolutely no amusement in his voice. 

“It’s not a joke.” His face was flat, only the tiniest bit of scrunch between his eyebrows showing his frustration. 

“Sine when was the witch your mate?” Baekhyun questioned. 

Jongdae shook his head. “If she was your mate, we would have noticed by now.”

“I don’t know, I think it explains a lot,” Harper said with a shrug.

Luhan frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on. I’m not the only observant one here, am I?” When everyone just continued to stare at her, Harper rolled her eyes. “Sehun was disappearing more and more after she showed up, he always made sure to eat on the opposite side of the kitchen during meals, and he was aware of the fire before anyone else on the second floor even smelled the smoke.”

Glances were exchanged between the pack members, epiphanies widening their eyes. You, however, were still trying to process the confession. Though you weren’t too familiar with the process of mating in the wolf world (it wasn’t exactly a heavy topic that was squeezed in between herbal antidotes and natural energy), you were starting to connect the dots. Could that really be the explanation for how Sehun’s presence and touch made you feel?

“Sehun, you aren’t just saying this so we don’t make them leave, right?” Junmyeon asked. The younger wolf stared him down, his other arm crossing over to hold onto your shoulder as if you might be snatched away from him at any moment. Taking that as the answer, the alpha side and turned to the other leader. “This changes things.”

The struggle was written all over Kris’ face. He still didn’t trust you and with his daughter to protect… well, you couldn’t entirely blame him. You’d scared yourself with the fire. Lsoing control in that aspect was not normal. The vision was making even you doubt yourself and where you were headed. But for some reason, leaving this place terrified you more.

“Kris.” Reluctantly, he turned to his mate who’d called out so gently to him. Evie gave him a half smile, her eyes soft and warm enough to make all the tension in Kris’ shoulders melt away. She adjusted her child on her hip to a more comfort position as she said, “It’ll be okay, sweetheart. She belongs here.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as those last three words. Belonged? How did she know that you belonged here with them? Sehun could say you were his mate over and over, but that didn’t automatically give you a place amongst them. Her words were breaking you.

Reaching up, you gently removed Sehun’s hand from your shoulder. He didn’t fight you, but a muted whine in his throat told you that the action was indeed hurting him. Not physically, of course – you weren’t strong enough to really hurt a werewolf – but it was hurting him inside. “I need some air.”

“But, (y/n)-”

“Give her some space, Sehun,” Junmyeon said.

Grateful for the insertion, you took the opportunity to slip out of the kitchen and through the house until you were outside again.

It was still raining, the droplets coming down hard enough to create a curtain between you and the forest, blurring the trees and field as if you were looking at it through warped glass. Considering you just showered and weren’t really in the mood to be soaked all over again, you stayed on the porch, wandering over to the swing that hung off to the side. You pulled your feet up and focused on the slight back and forth motion of the swing. The sound of the rain against the overhang was enough of a distraction that you weren’t completely overwhelmed by what had just transpired.

Mate? Really? You? Were you even worthy of such a title? You thought over each and every girl tied to the wolves and concluded that there had to be some sort of mistake. You didn’t fit in with them. They all melded together cohesively – even Harper with how well she got along with Hae In and Lottie. There couldn’t be a place for you. Perhaps Sehun really was only trying to help stop Kris from kicking you out and the truth would come out eventually.

The squeak of the swing made you look up. Soomi sat down in the empty space, placing a hand on your knee. An expression of sympathy decorated her face, but you could see the smallest hint of sadness behind it.

“How are you doing?”

Lowering your eyes, you picked at a piece of wicker that was sticking up from the seat. “I… don’t really know.”

“It’s not something to be scared of,” Soomi insisted. You wanted to scoff, but you held it back. Yes it is. In her motherly way, Soomi caressed your temple with her delicate fingertips. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Why can’t I choose anything?” you blurted out to your own surprise.

Soom’s hand stopped. “What do you mean?”

Frustration starting to boil over, you looked up at her with a hard expression. “Everything that I’m supposed to get to choose in my life, I can’t. I never got to choose what branch of magic I wanted to study, the mothers did. I didn’t choose to come here, you did. And now? Now the person I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life has been chosen for me by Mother Nature herself? What did I ever do to have all of that taken away from me?”

“But Sehun isn’t a bad guy,” Soomi argued. “Out of the people to be mated to, he’s-”

“Don’t! Don’t try to sell me some crap about how I should be thankful that at least he’s a good guy. I’ve seen that. It doesn’t make this feel any less unfair.”

Soomi nodded. “So, are you going to tell me that you didn’t have any sort of feelings for him before you knew you were his mate?”

You opened your mouth, but no argument was to be found. Because, sure, you were developing feels for him. But did that matter? You didn’t even get to choose to have those feelings….

**

Sehun pushed off the doorframe, deciding that he didn’t want to hear anymore. He wasn’t exactly sure what your reaction would be in that split second that he decided to spill out his secret there in front of the whole pack, but… well, this was the opposite of what he was hoping for.

Of course you needed space to process. His plan had been to tell you at the construction site, but then he took the sudden rain fall as a sign to wait. The kitchen was the first time that the wolf had completely taken over and the words were out before he could think it through. He should have told Junmyeon as soon as he’d realized the connection between the two of you. He should have told you by the river or earlier today or in the garage. So many times. So many could haves, should haves, and would haves. But he couldn’t change anything now. He’d simply have to lie in the bed that he made.

“Sehun.”

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Junmyeon was standing in the living room waiting for Sehun to reemerge from the front parlor. He had that look on his face: the stern, get-ready-for-a-lecture type face.

“If you’re going to tell me that I should have told you sooner,” Sehun grumbled, “you can save it. I’ve already given myself that speech.”

Exasperated, Junmyeon rana hand down his face. “That’s kind of important information, Sehun. Why didn’t you say anything earlier? If not to me than at least to (y/n)?”

Sehun snorted. “You’re one to talk.”

“I would have hoped you learned from my mistake.”

Okay. Well played. Sehun in his lips, mulling over his terrible excuse before finally releasing it. “I was kind of hoping to… ignore it.”

“Ignore it?” Junmyeon didn’t look like he was about to start yelling, but looks could be deceiving. “What made you think you could ever ignore something like this? Especially after Jongdae?” He shook his head with visible disappointment. “You know, as the last one to find their mate, I’d hoped that you’d learned from the rest of us on how to avoid it being a mess. How to not screw up and hurt your mate.”

“That’s all I ever do,” Sehun said in a quiet voice. “I make dumb decisions. I try so hard, but I’ll never be like the rest of you guys. I’m not as fast as Kyungsoo and Minseok or even Luhan. I’m not as strong as Chanyeol and Kris. I’m just average in everything. Even in this.”

“Now, Sehun, don’t-”

He didn’t want to hear it. “I’m tired. I’m going to go lie down.” He managed to dodge Junmyeon as he passed and escape down to the basement. He ignored the stares of the others that were gathered down there after the end of the “meeting”. It was painfully obvious that they’d been whispering about him, but he didn’t care. With a hard tug, he threw back the blanket that covered the pullout couch, dropped onto the lumpy, thin mattress and closed his eyes. He wasn’t actually trying to go to sleep, but this seemed like the best way to sulk without too much risk of interruption.

Several hours later, Sehun was cursing at himself as he ascended the stairs. He’d fallen asleep after everyone else had left the basement and leaving behind silence in the small space. It hadn’t taken too long for his mind to drift off, giving him the tiniest taste of peace.

Unfortunately, he’d slept through dinner and no one had bothered to come get him. It was probably safe to assume that they were trying to be nice and give him time to recover from the meeting, but that didn’t mean he had to like missing out on fresh food. Now it was well past midnight, the house pitch black. It didn’t take long for his wolf eyes to adjust to the darkness, but his mind was still sleepy and too preoccupied with the notion of finding food to pay too much attention to where his feet were going.

Eyes still half closed from the blinding light of the fridge, he fumbled through the shelves to find any remnants of food that didn’t require to be cooked or heated up. In the middle of his search, his ears caught the sound of slight shuffling and soft, sleepy moans. Curious, he closed the fridge door with as little sound as possible and snuck into the living room.

Lying there on the couch, sprawled out still in yesterday’s clothes, you were sleeping away, although not so peacefully it seemed. A frown formed harsh lines on your forehead and you continuously tossed and turned. What were you doing down here? Sehun knew from personal experience that sleeping on the stiff couch cushions would make you sore in the morning. Releasing a heavy, but noiseless sigh, he bent down to scoop you up – then he hesitated.

The notebook that you’d been carrying with you since you’d arrived was haphazardly laying on the floor, pages bent and scrunched under its own weight. You must have fallen asleep with it still in your hands. Fully knowing that it was an invasion of privacy but still unable to help himself, Sehun picked the notebook up and flipped through it. Even by skimming, he could tell that the rambling scribbles were of your visions. It was hard to decipher in the dark at first, given your half sentences and random descriptions. But one particular vision was not like the rest. The details were more cohesive, as if a story were being told. You spoke of a white wolf and a clearing near the river. You even describe your emotion: happiness. No fear was in your words as you spoke about the wolf approaching you and the softness of the fur against your fingers. Sehun couldn’t help the smile on his lips. If your visions were true, perhaps there was a chance after all.

Finally content, Sehun carefully closed the notebook so all the pages were flat once again. It was difficult to do so without waking you, but he managed to scoop you up from the couch before heading for the stairs. Your features smoothed as you clung to his shirt. The wolf in his chest purred at the proximity. He tried to push the euphoric feeling down, but when you buried your face into the space near his collarbone and sighed contently, it was useless. His arms tightened around you, not wanting to enter his bedroom and let you go. You could spend the rest of the night in his arms with him standing out there in that hallway and he’d be happy, completely gratified. However, come the morning, you might not be.

So, he gave in, managing to open the door with one hand while keeping a steady grip on you, and shuffled over to his bed to put you down. Shoving his hands in his pockets to avoid the temptation of caressing your face, he stared down at you for another minute or two. Creepy? Yeah, most likely, but he couldn’t help himself. Seeing you so… relaxed and void of tension was comforting to him. He wanted to make you this way all the time, even when you were awake.

“Sehun?”

He jumped, at first thinking it was you who had called out his name. But you were still fast asleep, which only meant…

Turning around, he cringed at being discovered by Soomi. He thought he had been quiet enough, but the witch must have been a light sleeper. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I just thought she’d be more comfortable up here.”

“I’m sure she will be,” Soomi agreed with a nod.

With an awkwardness now hanging in the air, Sehun pressed his lips tightly together and started for the door with a mumbled, “G’night.”

“Wait.”

He held back a frustrated groan before glancing over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“She’ll come around eventually,” Soomi said.

Sehun nodded, but gave no other verbal response. That was always the answer, wasn’t it? Give the mate time. They didn’t have the same understanding of the pull, of the desire that the wolves did. But hearing that didn’t make things any easier.

**

Confusion was a normal mental state whenever you’d had a long, hard sleep. However, this morning it had been more than just a deep slumber that caused the confusion. You were sure the last thing you remembered was being on the couch in the living room, reading over that vision with the wolf for the millionth time. And yet, when you opened your eyes, you were in the second floor bedroom, your notebook placed nicely on the nightstand next to you. Someone had to have carried you….

Cheeks heating up with the possibility of who had moved you to more comfortable sleeping spot, you threw the covers off and got out of bed as slowly and quietly as you were capable of. Soomi was still fast asleep on the other side of the room and you wanted to keep it that way. Boots in hand, you snuck out of the room, going down the stairs before making it out the door to the safety of the porch.

The rain had stopped by now, but the grass was still visibly wet and the soil was a thick, sticky mud. It didn’t stop you, though. With the rest of the house still soundly asleep, you were taking the opportunity to get some air and really think through your current predicament. The trees created a nice cover in which to lose yourself to the inner workings of your mind.

The truth was… you liked Sehun. A lot. And the fact that the want from yesterday had turned into a truth was giving your stomach a strange, bubbling feeling. Maybe it was just the magic behind the mate pull, but the more you thought about it, the more you were okay with the idea. At least you’d have someone on your side at all times. And he’d never looked at you once like you were a freak or abnormity the whole time you’d known him. He’d fully accepted you, just as you were.  

You’d been walking for while along the river, watching the sun rise higher as you came to terms with the new card life had dealt out to you. It wasn’t a bad draw, just another event that you could deal with.

This was what Soomi had meant by time in your conversation by the swing. You only needed time to work out the situation and you’d be fine. It wasn’t the end of the world. And, despite what you’d said yesterday, you were appreciative that Sehun did seem to be a good guy. He hadn’t shown you any reason to hate him. Not yet, at least.

A howl ripped through the air, startling you and causing you lose your footing.

Splash!

You landed right on your backside in the cold water. Immediately, your teeth began to chatter. You tried to push yourself back up to your feet, but only managed to lose your balance again and landed forward on your palms. Now your legs and arms were soaked. Fantastic.

To add insult to injury, a wolf emerged from behind the trees, howling once again as he trotted down the hill and sat in front of you in the trench that contained the river. He watched with amused eyes as you climbed out of the river and rung out as much water from your clothes as you could.

Huffing, you put your hands on your hips. “Thanks for the help.” The wolf simply stared at you, even cocking his head to the side. It was embarrassing to be caught like this and frustrating to no end. “What, Sehun? What are you staring at?”

“Actually, that’s Luhan.”

Minseok – obviously holding back a laugh of his own – came carefully down the slope and stopped next to Luhan. “It’s easy to get them confused. They look the same in human and wolf form. Kris can’t tell them apart if he’s just woken up.”

After clearing your throat, you said, “Oh, Sorry. I just-”

“(y/n)!”

You cringed. Oh, great. More of an audience.

Sehun now became visible as he came over the hill. He wasn’t as graceful coming down as his pack mates, but he still made it over to you, cupping your jaw in his hands as his eyes search for any sign of major injury. “Why are you all wet?”

“I tripped,” you said. You couldn’t see your own face, but you were sure that you were blushing with how warm your face felt. Or maybe it was just Sehun’s palms against your cheeks. Either way, you were no longer shivering from the cold water and that was nice at least.  

He shook his head. “What were you even doing out here so early?” He frowned, biting on his bottom lip. “You weren’t… running away, were you?”

You scoffed as you rolled your eyes. “No. I just wanted to go for a walk. By myself. Thinking tends to be easier that way.”

By the way his mouth twitched, it was evident that Sehun wanted to argue against you coming into the woods by yourself, but the smart boy kept it to himself. He dropped his hands from your face and took a step back.

“Look, can we talk?” You asked. After a quick glance over his shoulder, you added, “Alone?”

He nodded eagerly. The other two didn’t need to be told.

“Come on, Luhan,” Minseok patted the wolf’s back. They hiked back up the hill and were out of sight. Sehun waited, head cocked as he listened to their retreating footsteps.

“Okay,” he sighed, “we’re alone now.”

In a swift motion, you the balls of your feet and head back in the direction that you’d came.

“I thought you wanted to talk?” Sehun said.

“I do. But I’m also wet and need to change.” You held up your arm for emphasis. “I just thought we could walk and talk.”

“Oh.”

However, there wasn’t much talking between the two of you as you moved in the direction of the farmhouse. The words were right there, whirling around in your head, trying to make their way to your mouth so they could escape, but nothing made it out. You’d come to a decision, so why was it so hard to tell him so?

“So, I’m your mate,” was what finally came out. The worst choice, really, in stating the obvious.

“Yes.”

“And you’ve known since you first saw me.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Your mind drifted back to the garage and the other time by the river. “So, have you just been playing with me to see how far you could take it before you finally told me?”

“What? No!” Sehun looked hurt that you would even suggest such a thing. “It’s just… hard to control sometimes, being around your mate. Our instinct is to be near you. To be as close as possible.”

“Ah,” you nodded. “I think an ex-boyfriend used that excuse once, too.” It was meant as a joke, but the look on Sehun’s face told you that he didn’t take it that way.

“Have you dated a lot? In the past?”

You stopped mid-step. While you were never the popular girl in the coven, there were still a few who’d asked you out. Nothing ever lasted, but you still had a history. “Yeah. You’ve got a problem with that?”

“No. Not at all.” He didn’t look at you, keeping his hands firmly in his pocket. It was kind of cute to see him pout.

“What about you?” you asked. You didn’t care all that much, but you thought you should return the favor.

His reply was a shrug.

You huffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He glanced at you in the corner of his eye. “It means I’ve never had anything serious.”

“But you have dated?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Jealous?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Too bad.”

You rolled your eyes, not giving that the dignity of a response. The farmhouse came into view much sooner than you’d expected and you broke through to the clearing.

“I know you said you weren’t running away earlier,” Sehun said as you came to the porch, “but are you still running from me?”

Fighting the smile on your lips, you turned to him, stopping just short of the steps. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I think… I think I’ve accepted that I’m your mate. I was starting to like you anyway and this – well, it sort of uncomplicates things.”

Sehun frowned. “Uncomplicates?”

“Well, yeah. I saw what Soomi went through with Junmyeon and I didn’t want to get attached just to get my own heart broken.”

“I’d never do that to you.” There was nothing but sincerity in his voice and eyes. “I will never hurt you.”

You swallowed back the tears that were building behind your eyes. “Promise?”

“Promise.” Reaching out to you, he gently took your jaw in his hands, the pads of his thumbs gently caressing your cheeks. He pulled you in close and met your lips with his. There was no hesitation on your part. You gladly returned the kiss, wrapping your fingers around his hands in an effort to bring you closer to him. If you thought his touch brought you warmth and comfort… it was nothing compared to the feeling of want and belonging his lips conveyed to you.

Only a few seconds went by before Sehun stopped. You opened your eyes to see why and followed his gaze. That’s when you spotted them.

Several bodies were scrambling away from the door, but it was too late. They’d already been caught. Your first kiss with Sehun had had an audience.

“So that’s what that feels like,” he mumbled under his breath.

So privacy was not going to be an option here. Smiling a bit mischievously, you looked back at Sehun. “Wait here.”

An actual whine left his throat as you ascended the stairs. He had a grip on your sleeve when he asked, “Where are you going?”

You held up your other arm again to remind him. “I’m going to go change. My clothes are still wet and it’s freezing. After that I thought we could go back… to the other house?”

Something flashed in Sehun’s eyes and you didn’t need to be a genius to figure out the cause. He let go of your sleeve. “Okay. But hurry.”

You snorted. “Down boy.”

Sehun rolled his eyes. “Just hurry up.”

You ran into the house and headed for the stairs, barely paying attention to the group of people pretending to be busy and “natural” in the living room. Thankfully, your room was empty and you made quick work into changing to fresh, dry clothes before bouncing back down to your wolf waiting for you below.