You jumped at the howl that pierced through the air. It sounded far away, and yet it was so loud the wolf could have been right beside you. 

Yixing.

Ji Yeon reached across the booth and covered your crisscrossed fingers with her own. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

You shook your head. “That didn’t sound like nothing. And he was supposed to be in town - as a human. Something had to have happened.” You kicked yourself for not insisting that you go with him. But he’d turned down his brothers so quickly that you doubted he’d agree to your presence as he confronted the witches. 

“I know it’s tempting, but Yixing will kill me if I let you run out of this house after him.”

A growl rumbled from the dining table. 

“Oh, hush,” Ji Yeon snapped at her wolf. The roll of her eyes made you chuckle softly. 

They were a playful pair - Minseok and Ji Yeon. Always quick to tease, never afraid of what they were - perfect mates. 

You had caught Minseok on more than one occasion staring openly at Ji Yeon with pure adoration while she fiddled with her camera or was hunched over the table, slaving over homework. His eyes would slowly tickle down to the curve of her neck before jumping back up to her face, a satisfied gleam in his gaze. It confused you each time. Then you caught sight of a faint scar partially visible around the collar of Ji Yeon’s shirt. It was jagged and seemingly curved. And then you were even more confused. 

Junmyeon came running down the stairs then, bolting out the back door without a look or word to any of you. A long, responding howl broke through the stunned silence. 

“How come Junmyeon was the only one to go?” you asked Minseok.

“He was the only one Yixing called for.”

You were shocked. “You could understand exactly what he was howling?”

“Not in a word for word, but we could tell he was only calling for the alpha. Yixing is one of Junmyeon’s right hands, so the rest would only come if Junmyeon said to.”

Wolf dynamics were… interesting, to say the least. You doubted you would ever understand it all. 

“I’m still confused a majority of the time,” Ji Yeon confessed as she read into your expression. “They have a hierarchy that I hardly ever see played out. And apparently, when they’re in their wolf forms, they can talk to each other.”

“Talk to each other?” Your brain imagined the wolves physically moving their lips and words coming out of their throats. Though not a zoologist, you were pretty sure the physical structure of a wolf made that impossible. 

“Through our minds,” Minseok clarified, tapping his temple with his finger. “It’s all silent. Telepathy.”

“How?”

“It’s the bond,” Chanyeol answered instead as he entered the kitchen. Taking the seat next to Minseok, he stretched his long legs out so his feet rested on the chair across from him. “The thing that connects us to each other. It’s another nice piece of magic that resulted in the witch creating us.”

Wait… “Witches created you?” 

“The first werewolves,” Minseok clarified. 

“That might be a story for another time,” Ji Yeon jumped in. Her eyes honed in on the back door as if she had wolf hearing and was expecting someone to come in at any moment. 

There was so much that you didn’t know about this world. Their history, their abilities, hell even their daily lives. You had so much you wanted to ask Yixing. But when would you ever get the time?

Yixing and Junmyeon walked into the kitchen, neither of them looking towards the booth. Your eyes jumped up to the ceiling. No one had brought them clothes this time. ends scurried through the kitchen and up the stairs. Yixing didn’t look at you or acknowledge your presence before he disappeared up to his room. From the quick glimpse you’d gotten of his face, he wasn’t happy. Angry might have been a good word to put to his expression. Or maybe even fuming. 

You didn’t hesitate. You followed your own instincts to go up to his room. 

“Wait-”

“Let her go,” Minseok told Ji Yeon. 

No one else said anything as you ascended the stairs. Your steps were quiet, almost non-existent while you walked across the hallway. Your knuckles rattled softly against Yixing’s door. The movement coming from the other side stopped. Then came painfully slow, defeated shuffling. The hinges of the door creaked like a wailing cat. Yixing wasn’t visible when the door opened wide enough to let you in. It closed with the same haunting creak. 

Yixing was leaning against the door when you turned to face him. Apparently, you’d only given him enough time to put on a pair of jeans. At first glance, though, he seemed relaxed, his arms hanging loosely by his side. But his face held tension, giving him that hardness that made him unrecognizable. None of his usual softness and warmth rested within his features. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

The silence stretched on so long you had taken it as a firm no. Until he surprised you. 

“I lost her.”

“The witch?” 

Yixing shook his head. “Zara.”

Your jaw dropped. “You… saw her?”

His head barely bobbed enough to be called a nod. “I had her. I should have been able to end this, but I was too slow.” A clenched fist shook the door as it met the hard surface with force. 

It was probably a stupid decision, but you ignored the warning bells and stepped forward. Yixing, still not looking at you, didn’t put a stop to it when you rested your cheek against his bare chest, your arms wrapping around his torso. Pure heat radiated off his skin. There was no cloth to absorb some of it. You were feeling pure Yixing. Like you had hoped, he relaxed against you. 

Maybe that was your own superpower. Yixing could transform into a wolf, you could calm him with a simple touch. 

His arms came up and returned the embrace. He pressed his cheek into your shoulder, breathing in your scent. At least, that’s what you thought he was doing as he took in a deep breath that ruffled your hair. His arms were strong around you, keeping you close to him. You couldn’t pull away even if you wanted. You were going to stay here, where he knew everything was fine. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” you whispered. 

“I could have ended this. Then you would have been safe. It’s my job to keep you safe.”

“You will. It’ll be over soon.”

“Not soon enough.” His hand started caressing your back. “I don’t know if you would… If you would be willing-” He sighed. “I know you can’t stay here, but knowing she’s out there-” His swallow was audible in your ear. 

He wasn’t going to force you to stay here, which was a relief. You still had your life to live. But the way he was clenching up again told you that he was struggling with the idea of Zara still out there running around. 

“Would it make you feel better if you came and stayed with me?”

Yixing stiffened against you. “Are… are you sure?”

No. No, you definitely were not. 

It was very out of character for you to invite a male over to stay the night - or several nights. But you didn’t want him to worry or to make himself sick with guilt. You hoped that your nearness would keep having this calming effect. And you certainly didn’t want to stay in this house with multiple other boys who seemed to enjoy teasing the two of you. 

So, you nodded. 

“I’ll pack a bag and tell Junmyeon.”

**

This was a new type of nervous feeling.

All throughout high school, your aunt told you stories of how she would try and sneak in boys through her window or the back door without your grandparents knowing. She’d gotten caught a number of times, but it never dulled the thrill of it. 

Heh. Thrill. 

You would hardly call this “thrilling”.

Yixing pressed his lips together to keep from snickering as you listened through the door for any sign that your roommate was home. No music blared from a bluetooth speaker nor did any other noise echo on the other side. As quiet as metal on metal could be, you unlocked the door and poked your head in. You looked around the living room. No sign of Ran. 

You let out a sigh of relief. Pushing the door open further, you motioned for him to follow. His steps were light, almost silent, like a predator stalking its prey. You swallowed at the thought. The second he crossed the threshold, you shut the door, locking it up again. 

“You can put your bag under my bed,” you told him. 

Yixing raised an eyebrow at you. “Will Ran have a problem with being here?”

“No,” you said quickly. You lowered your voice so you were talking mostly to yourself. “She just wouldn’t let me live.”

He smirked. 

While he put his bag where you instructed, you sat on the couch, curling up in the corner with your arms around your legs. 

“Is everything okay?”

You jumped, having spaced out in those few seconds. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Lie. 

You were still nervous. 

The last time you’d been alone with Yixing in your apartment, it had been a rollercoaster. The high of kissing him followed closely by the sudden drop of watching him leave. 

That wouldn’t happen this time. The secret was out. And yet, you were nervous about something unnamed. The couch dipped next to you. You didn’t move. The space Yixing kept between you was painfully obvious. 

“She won’t get at you,” Yixing promised. 

You turned to look at him, confused. “I know that. I know you won’t let her get that close again.”

“Then….” He frowned, but it wasn’t the hard type of frown. It was a softer… almost cute kind of pout. “Are you scared of me?”

“What?” It came out almost like a giggle. “No. I’m not scared of you.”

His eyes trailed down from your face to your feet, taking in your posture. “I don’t understand-”

“I’m just nervous. That’s it.” Your teeth clamped down on your bottom lip. The embarrassment of your confession made your whole body feel like it was on fire. 

“Nervous?” 

Egging it on, he shuffled closer. A strange gleam flashed in his eyes. You could have sworn for a second that they had glowed amber. But the thought was quickly shoved away as Yixing hovered mere inches from you. 

Your throat flexed as you swallowed. Yixing had one hand on the back cushion and the other on the arm rest, locking you in. Everything about his stance and expression was predatory. And yet, you knew that if you wanted space all you would have to do was ask. 

You didn’t. 

Instead, your lips pressed to his, overcoming that last bit of space between you. As your hands cupped his neck, Yixing moved his own to your hips. He supported your weight as he sat you up, your knees falling to either side of his own legs. A soft hold contradicted the eagerness and thirst of the lips that moved against yours. The anxiety and nervousness from before melted away. Now you just wanted more. 

Yixing nipped at your bottom lip, pulling a giggle from your throat. You were surprised by how much you… liked that. It was encouragement enough as he moved from your lips to your neck. The lightness of his lips tickled at your skin as he pressed kisses all the way down. His hands drifted over your hips. Sharp teeth scraped pleasantly where your neck curved into your shoulder. Shivers puckered your arms into goosebumps as your fingers dug into the hair at the back of Yixing’s head. He bit down a little harder and drew a hissing gasp from your lips. 

Yixing snapped back suddenly, his breath heavy, shoulders heaving. “I’m sorry,” he said breathily. 

Your fingers left his hair and went to your neck, rubbing the skin without thinking about it. “It’s… fine. Really.”

He didn’t seem comforted by that. “Actually, we should probably talk… about that.”

You tilted your head, unsure of what he was getting at. “About what exactly?”

A strange, shy smirk tugged at his lips followed by a nervous laugh. “About mark-”

The lock on the front door rattled. 

Crap. Ran. 

It was too late to hide him. So you grabbed the textbooks that had been left out on the coffee table, shoving one into Yixing’s lap while you flipped open a notebook, pretending that you were going over notes when Ran came inside.

“Oh, hi!” Ran greeted. If she could see through the facade of the study session, she didn’t let it show. “It’s nice to see you again, Yixing!”

“And you, Ran.” His face was covered in mischief. Like he was enjoying this a little too much. Or maybe you were just imagining it. 

“Big test coming up?”

Actually, yes. The midterm was only a week away. You had completely forgotten about it. Perhaps that’s what the two of you should have been doing instead. It was just kind of hard to concentrate on the circulatory system when your life was possibly in danger - and learning that you were the mate of a supernatural creature you had thought was merely a fairytale a week ago. 

“Midterm,” Yixing replied out loud. “I’ve been struggling since entering the new class.” 

“Well, good thing you have (y/n) to help you out!”

Yixing glanced at you. “Yes. I’m very thankful for her.”

Surprise lit up Ran’s face. “Well, then, I’ll leave you two to it.” She sent a wink your way before disappearing into her room. 

You barely bit back a whimpering groan as you sunk into the couch. Yixing failed miserably to suppress his cheeky smile. 

“Stop it,” you mouthed. It only made him smile more. 

A few hours went by while you waited for Ran to leave again. Surprisingly, you and Yixing actually did manage to squeeze in some studying, although you couldn’t really say that you’d absorbed much with your wolf right there on the couch next to you. Every nerve in your body was on the fritz from him being so close. They stretched out on their own in a desperate attempt to touch him, to curl up next to him. But Ran was a mere wall away so you refuse to risk it. And unfortunately, she never left. 

She did come out of her room a few times to get something to drink or eat. Sometimes, she would wave causally at you, stop and ask how studying was going, while other times she came and went without a single glance. It seemed like she really was in for the evening. She would know if Yixing never left, so you only had one choice.  

You had to pull a stunt your aunt would approve of. 

Closing the textbook and taking the one away from Yixing, you motioned with your head for him to follow you out of the apartment. You didn’t stop until you were out on the sidewalk next to his parked car. 

“Are we going somewhere?” Yixing asked. The sun was setting in the background. Streetlamps all along the street were already flickering on. Soon, it would be dark. Perfect. 

“No,” you sighed. “But I had to make Ran think that you’d left.”

Yixing frowned, but it was a teasing type of frown. “And how do you expect me to get back into the apartment?”

With a straight face, you pointed to the corner of the building. “The fire escape.” 

“I’m not even surprised.” He leaned in to kiss you and then stopped. His eyes flickered up and then he straightened.

“She’s watching, isn’t she?”

He nodded, laughing. He understood that you weren’t quite ready for that conversation with your roommate. You didn’t think you would ever be ready. “I’ll see you in a minute.” The strain of not kissing you goodbye was obvious, but he managed as he hopped into the car and pretended to drive away as you headed back inside. 

“Study session over?” Ran asked as soon as you came back into the apartment. She was leaning against the wall next to the couch, fresh glass of orange juice in hand. 

“Yup,” you nodded, hoping that it was coming out casually. 

“He still seems sweet.”

“He is.”

“I still think he likes you.”

Your shoulders slumped. Yes, he did. And you liked him. Perhaps “like’’ was too small a word. It didn’t quite feel right. You wanted to correct her with the right terminology. But Yixing’s secret wasn’t something you could go around sharing with anyone, even Ran. And - well - really it was your secret now, too. 

Not replying, you headed for your room and closed the door, making sure to lock it behind you. 

“She’s right,” a voice whispered. “I do like you.”

You whirled around with a gasp. Really, you should have expected the supernaturally gifted being to be waiting right outside your window, but you hadn’t thought he would be that fast. Or stealthy. Not a single rattle had come from the rusty fire escape. 

Yixing came in the rest of the way, shutting the window slowly behind him and the flicking closed the lock. You were suddenly feeling giddy. Hearing him say that he liked you - it was new, a grander gesture than simply explaining how the two of you were mates, destined to be together. 

But right now was not the time to sit in that giddiness. If you did, it would form itself into obnoxious giggles that Ran would surely want to investigate. 

“You’re tired,” Yixing whispered. He kicked off his shoes and settled on the bed. “Come on.”

“I’m not tired,” you countered. Which was true. You weren’t tired. Physically, anyway. But a small headache was threatening to make an appearance. The past two days had been… a lot. You weren’t even sure if you would be able to fall asleep. You wanted to sit on the floor and talk about so many things. But there was a slight anxiousness in Yixing’s face, so you grabbed your sleep clothes and went to the bathroom to change. When you came back, the anxiousness had been replaced with something similar to irritation.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he murmured. 

You looked down at the shirt and shorts you’d slipped on. “Do what? Change?” You were not going to spend another night sleeping in jeans.

“Go all the way to the bathroom to change. You could have changed here.”

You didn’t say anything as you shifted from foot to foot a few inches from the bed. Yes, technically you could have. But you needed to take this in baby steps. 

Yixing laughed soundlessly at the look on your face. He pulled you down onto the bed. He had his arms caged around you, his chin on top of your head. You smiled against his chest, a little warm, but comfortable. 

And safe. 

It didn’t take long for Yixing to drift off to sleep. Soon, to your own amazement in the back of your mind, you followed, led hand in hand by his breaths.

**

A cellphone trilled, pulling both you and Yixing from the deep sleep you had been cradled in for the past several hours. The sun had been up for a while from what you could make out. Your bedroom was bright. Neither you nor Yixing had closed the curtains after he’d come in through the window and sunlight covered every inch of the room. 

Groaning, Yixing reached over you with half opened eyes and snatched up his jeans where his phone was still ringing in the back pocket. When had he taken those off? He squinted at the screen before answering. 

“Junmyeon?” 

You sat up with him, stretching out your muscles to wake the rest of your body up. Joints popped as you moved, relieving the stiffness. You tried to concentrate on what was being said. The faintest of voices could be heard through the speaker. The alpha was talking too quickly for you to pick up any word, save one. 

Zara. 

That hardness was back in Yixing’s face and he was suddenly wide awake. “I’m coming.” He hung up the phone and leapt over you. As he pulled on his jeans, he explained, “I have to go. They’ve found Zara.”

You nodded, suppressing a yawn. “Go.” There were things that your half-asleep brain pouted at not being able to discuss, but the two of you would talk later. He would come back and then you ask him about what he wanted to say yesterday before Ran came home. And about his world and being a wolf. And about life after this semester. 

Yixing kissed your forehead. “Stay here, please? And keep the door locked.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice.” You would rather not have a repeat of the chase in the woods. He gave you a smile that didn’t reach his eyes before he hurried out the door.