It was a bit of a tough night, they simply couldn't get much sleep and they also weren't allowed to enter their Alpha Leader and Luna's bedroom. And slowly, they all retreated to their own rooms waiting for the night to pass and for the morning sunshine to take the pain away.

 

Vernon and Seungkwan peeked from where they were hiding a few feet away from the library

"Lights?" Seungkwan asked and Vernon nodded "Yeah, how about the candles? the candles, did you get the candles?" Vernon hurried whispering under his breaths

"Yes I got the candles, do they even like the candles?" Seungkwan asked and Vernon paused

 

"I don't know, it's your brother" Vernon scoffed

"And how would I know if they like—"

 

The scents that were getting closer stopped them in their trails, it was their cue to leave the place. The house was a bit dark since everyone left to get some rest and they knew for sure that Joshua and DK will end up in the library anyways so they thought they should ... humm how to say this? Lighten up the mood for them?

 

Dokyeom slowly trailed behind Joshua, the other hasn't said a word since Lay and Suho left.

Dokyeom just followed him around silently and even though Joshua didn't notice the gentle scent that he had towards him, Dokyeom didn't care and did it anyways.

 

Joshua pushed the library door open to find it luminous with what seemed to be last year's Christmas lights and the smell of scented candles was a bit unexpected. He stood there with a puzzled look on his face

 

 

 

Joshua stood by the door frame, simply looking around his library with a funny face, he turned around to stare at DK. He didn't say a word but his face said "Did you do this?"

DK looked around and shook his head "I have no clue Shua, but ... it's pretty"

 

And it really was

 

Joshua took another quick glance around the place before he took a step inside. His face softened at the place and yes, it looked nice and smelled even nicer with all the scented candles.

 

He walked inside and sat on the sofa silently facing the window.

It was a long day and he was exhausted he just wanted to curl right there and then and just sleep until things felt a bit better.

 

He felt DK sit by his side

"Shua? You haven't said a word in a while are you sure you're okay?"

DK asked concerned about his lost connection and Joshua simply nodded

 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

 

Joshua shook his head but leaned into Dokyeom and let his head fall on his lap. DK was a bit taken a back but eventually he put an arm around him and brought him closer.

It was too silent as Joshua tried to get some sleep and DK was just sitting by his side enjoying the view from the window, the lights that covered the library and the sweet scent of the candles. He slowly watched as Joshua drift to sleep.

 

He gently placed Joshua down on the couch with a pillow under his head and reached for the small blanket to cover him. Before he left, DK leaned forward, closed his eyes and left a soft kiss over Joshua's forehead

 

"If only you knew" he whispered thinking that the younger was sleeping but was completely thrown off guard when Joshua fluttered his eyes open looking straight at him

 

"If only I knew what?"

 

He asked, his voice tired and sleepy but he definitely heard what Dokyoem just said

 

"N-nothing, I thought you were sleeping" DK tried to avoid the conversation but Joshua wasn't going to fall for that.

He sat up and faced Dokyeom "What is it that I need to know Dokyeom"

 

"That you mean the world to me?" ... "That I can't handle seeing you this quiet, that I really want to just ..."

 

Joshua was almost breathless, he didn't expect Dokyeom to burst like that, they had this conversation before, they can't be together, they've lost their connection and there was no going back.

His face softened and a sad look was painted on his face "Just what Dokyeom, what do you want to do?"

 

"Just ... hold you ... holding you will be enough"

 

Dokyeom had his heart on his sleeves, his emotions all over the place, his eyes glittering with a soft yellow as his spirit manifested itself

 

"Dokyeom don't ... please" Joshua pleaded his eyes watering and about to break "I don't need this tonight please"

 

"Shua please" ... "I have so many things sitting on my chest, I know tonight is not the best time to talk about them but I want to talk about them sometime soon"

 

Joshua softened, he couldn't escape this even if he wanted to.

He stared into DK's face for so long, the other's eyes showed nothing but love and kindness. He was asking him softly to give him a chance and get closer to him.

Joshua knew for sure that even if he couldn't feel or hear his wolf, he knew that it would probably say yes, that it would probably dance around and demand to be with DK as soon as possible.

 

He leaned closer to bring him into a hug, resting his head over DK's shoulder and squeezed him hard.

Dokyeom was startled at first, he didn't expect Joshua to be so ... understanding.

He was trying to get a step closer to him for years and tonight was different for some reason, Joshua softened and cracked his heart open for a bit.

Dokyeom wondered for a second why tonight? Why now?

 

But soon, he didn't even care and he hugged him back. He was holding him the way he always wanted, he was holding Joshua in his arms and it was the only thing he wanted to do for a long time.

Joshua didn't say anything after that but yes, they probably should talk, it was about damn time they talked actually.

Not tonight, but some time soon, because now, all he wanted was to feel safe and sound in DK's arms, he needed his presence, he needed it more than anything else.

 

—————

It was early in the morning when Mingyu woke Wonwoo up and asked him to get ready and follow him downstairs. Wonwoo woke up a bit confused but soon understood that something only Mingyu could catch on was going through the air. Scoups aroma was around, he finally allowed them to come closer and Mingyu waisted no time.

 

When him and Mingyu headed downstairs, everyone seemed to slowly wake up and joined them a while later.

Scoups was sitting on the sofa in the living simply asking everyone for an emergency meeting.

Jihoon and Soonyoung were the last to join and everyone was concerned on how Jeonghan was doing. The Alpha leader looked exhausted and he was, he smiled at them and reassured them with his calm scent that everything was okay at least for now.

 

"He's resting for now but it's been a tough night" he tried to answer the many concerned questions they all had for him

"Lay was right, this is a nasty poison and he's feeling really weak" he looked up at Dino "He wants to see you though, he's been asking for you since dawn" Dino nodded happily, he slowly stood up and walked up the stairs to go see Jeonghan.

 

"I'll try to bring him down for breakfast please keep it quiet and comfortable, I was thinking we can just hang out here, he needs some fresh air"

 

It made sense, Jeonghan deserved to be surrounded by people he cared about, it will definitely make him feel better.

 

—————

Dino sprinted his way up the stairs, he felt the mini heartbeats in his chest speed up. He really wanted to see Jeonghan earlier but he couldn't and he couldn't sleep last night being so worried about him

 

He stood in front of the bedroom door for a few seconds just to tell Jeonghan that he was about to come inside before turning the knob and taking a few steps inside.

Jeonghan looked up from where he was laying on his bed, he smiled at the younger as he was expecting him.

 

Dino run to his side but couldn't say anything, his face changed and was about to  burst crying

 

"Hey baby" Jeonghan reached to cup Dino's face "I know I scared you I'm sorry"

Dino wasted no time to bring Jeonghan in a hug sniffing a few tears away while Jeonghan kept whispering "I'm sorry" softly over his head

 

Dino finally broke the hug to take a good look at Jeonghan. The older looked pale and tired "Did you get any sleep?"

 

"Not really no, it's been a long night for me, I couldn't stop vomiting but I'm so much better now, Cheol was with me so I'm okay"

 

Dino nodded "I'm glad" ... "You should rest, do you need anything?"

 

"No kiddo I just need to lay down for a while that's all, I'll be fine"

 

"Okay I'll stay with you until Coups get back"

 

—————

Jihoon was resting his head over Soonyoung's shoulder snuggling into him. He was sleepy and a bit needy this morning, he felt Soonyoung wrap his arm around him and bring him closer

 

"What is it?" He mumbled asking him with a soft tone

 

"You mean besides a sleepless night, Jeonghan getting poisoned, Coups loosing his scent for hours and Wonwoo being exposed to Lay and Suho?"

 

Soonyoung chuckled "Yeah besides that"

 

"Besides that ... I'm tired and" he snuggled into Soonyoung a bit more wrapping his arms around his waist "Just ... sleepy"

 

"It's okay, you can sleep right here" Soonyoung smiled fondly watching as Jihoon slowly blinked "I'll wake you up when Jeonghan is here"

 

"I should go help making the food though"

 

"I think Wonwoo and Joshua got it covered, it's okay sleep, Mingyu will help them if they needed anything"

 

He placed a soft kiss on Jihoon's forehead and wondered how did they even get this far? He waited patiently for a long time and Jihoon finally gave him a chance and the moment he did, everything seemed to be so easy and so good.

 

Ever since ... Wonwoo came around.

 

Soonyoung thought about it for a second, he thought he owed the Human boy one after all.

He owed him for changing Jihoon's mind and it was the best thing that happened to both of them in a while.

 

————

Wonwoo was cutting some vegetables and Joshua just collecting other things here and there.

DK and Mingyu stood clueless for a second, both a bit tensed up because they knew that Joshua and Wonwoo didn't quite get along but they seemed to be doing okay for now.

 

Wonwoo threw a reassuring look at Mingyu that soon faded away when his hand slipped and he hissed.

He got distracted and cut himself while cutting the vegetables.

Blood dripped from his hand and Mingyu jolted but Joshua was there first

 

"Gently, it's okay" Joshua softly said, bringing Wonwoo to the sink and putting his hand under warm water. Mingyu was on his other side "Let me see" he demanded and Wonwoo hissed a little and seemed a bit nervous having both Joshua and Mingyu by his side while DK watched a few feet away from him

 

"I'm f-fine" he tried to retreat his hand from Joshua's grip and Joshua simply let him go

 

"Mingyu will help you bandaid it and Dokyeom and I will take care of this"

 

"Thanks, I'll be back to help" Wonwoo sounded grateful and immediately jumped to Mingyu's side.

Mingyu put an arm around his shoulders, he was worried and he took him to Jeonghan study room. Wonwoo haven't been there before and I looked like an infirmary.

Wonwoo sat on the chair while Mingyu fetched the ointments and bandaids.

 

"It's fine Mingyu, it's nothing but a small cut" Wonwoo called when he noticed the way Mingyu was rummaging through the cabinet.

He thought about the way Scoups felt with Jeonghan last night, and figured that it's in their nature to worry too much about their mates or in this case, connections but it wasn't much and Wonwoo smiled a little when Mingyu ignored him and kept looking around the cabinet for the bandaid.

 

"Mingyu?" ... "It's really okay"

 

Mingyu came back with a worried look on his face but didn't say anything.

He kneeled in front of Wonwoo and held his hand gently as he applied the ointment. Wonwoo hissed and Mingyu stopped "I'm sorry" he mumbled "I'll be gentle I promise"

 

Wonwoo smiled "I know" ... "Mingyu?"

 

He was blowing on Wonwoo's hand after finishing applying the ointment reaching for the bandaid "Humm?"

 

"You know that I never had anyone care about me or my wounds before" ... "This feels nice" Wonwoo smiled fondly looking at Mingyu up and down

 

"I'm sorry Won, I do care more than you think"

 

Wonwoo nodded "I know, and I think I feel the same"

 

The look on Mingyu's face was the softest and happiest look Wonwoo has ever seen. Mingyu leaned closer to close the gap between them and bring Wonwoo in a warm gentle kiss that lasted longer than the two of them had expected.

 

They soon broke it and Mingyu finished putting the bandaid over Wonwoo's hand. A while later and they decided to go back to the kitchen and help Joshua and DK.

 

————

Scoups was dozing off on the arm chair next to Jeonghan.

 

"Coups I'll go join the others downstairs" Dino announced from where was lying next to Jeonghan on the bed refusing to leave the older "You need to rest"

 

Scoups sighed but finally nodded, "We'll join you guys later when Jeonghan wakes up, please tell them to stay put for a while, no noise or distressed scents for now please"

 

Dino smiled and nodded, he slowly retreated and closed the door as he left the room. He was walking through the hallway when it hit him again.

That feeling

It wasn't new

In the middle of it all, him running to find Scoups and trying to see what was wrong with Jeonghan, a fragment of his memory seemed to give him a similar feeling.

Like a Deja vu, Dino was a bit confused, he doesn't remember much about his past and he certainly doesn't remember this feeling, something was off and he tried not to think about it but it kept hunting him.

 

Dino tried to push everything aside for now at least. He wasn't sure if he wanted to remember his past, everything was too painful first when he woke up and he wasn't sure if he wanted to ask the questions he had out loud yet.

 

—————

It's been a few hours, Jeonghan stirred a little and opened his eyes to find himself right into Scoups arms. He wasn't so sure how he got there but he was too comfortable to care. He must have followed his scent while he was sleeping and just snuggled into him.

 

He smiled to himself lazily trying to get up only to be pinned right back down by his Mate "Where do you think you're going?" Scoups mumbled sleepily holding Jeonghan tightly close to him.

 

"Washroom" Jeonghan replied "I want to take a shower before we go downstairs I feel sticky"

 

"You are sticky and smelly too" Scoups teased but still not letting him go

 

"Hey that's not nice, I've been through a lot last night" Jeonghan was a bit offended, he sulked while Seungcheol chuckled "I know baby and I'm so sorry for that ... I'll give you a bath? What do you say?"

 

Jeonghan liked the idea and he nodded but was still too lazy to move from where he was laying on top of his mate until Scoups decided to help him up. He helped get him into the tub and they took a warm bath together and soon, they were on their way downstairs.

 

Everyone was waiting for them, too gentle and calm. Jeonghan came down the stairs slowly holding into Scoups, he was still feeling a bit dizzy not being able to leave the bed almost for two days now, his legs were weak.

 

He smiled at everyone joining them in the living room. Everything seemed perfect, warm and cozy. Jeonghan couldn't be more grateful for having everyone by his side right now. He walked down the stairs with Scoups by his side, slowly walking him over to the living room.

 

Scoups placed him gently on the sofa and put a blanket over his legs. Everyone else sat around him and they kept asking him different questions about how he was feeling so far and sure, Jeonghan was still weak and couldn't use his spirit yet but he was doing a lot better.

 

Wonwoo kept a close eye on the way Seungcheol was treating Jeonghan. He uncontrollably finds himself staring at the couple more often than usual. He admires how they cared for each other and how they loved each other so much in a way that didn't make any sense to Wonwoo.

He glanced over at Mingyu sitting by his side close to him. Could it really be? Could he ever share something like that with someone? With Mingyu?

 

He wondered how his life would turn out to be. He had no plans and yet, he looked around and found himself surrounded with a ... family of some sort.

 

They had dinner together and simply sat talking to each other, gossiping and chatting about random things. Everything seemed peaceful and quiet for a change even ... Joshua.

He was joking around and seemed in a really great mood, a mood that Wonwoo liked and thought about approaching for a while.

 

Dino suggested if they could set up the Tv and watch a movie.

They had a TV? Wonwoo wondered to himself? Of course they did, they just didn't like technology that much, Mingyu already explained to him.

 

It was nice though, he was really enjoying the movie until Mingyu tapped his shoulder.

 

"I know you can't sense it but we should go"

 

Wonwoo looked up at Mingyu with a puzzled look "Huh?" He turned around and every was gone

 

"They are having a ... moment"

Mingyu smiled and pointed at Jeonghan and Scoups on the sofa. Jeonghan dozed off in Coups arms a while ago after taking his antidote and felt too tired to finish the movie.

Scoups was too soft for him, his spirit manifested itself almost unintentionally and just kept glowing with a soft red shade watching over his mate.

 

 

 

Jeonghan was enjoying the warmth of Seungcheol's spirit all over his body. He was slowly dozing off and Scoups arms were the best place to just do that.

 

Wonwoo nodded seeing the two together and slowly stood up following Mingyu to the terrace.

Wonwoo walked outside and immediately was hit by the cold air. He gasped and wrapped his arms around his body for warmth. Mingyu stopped and turned around to find Wonwoo shivering "" he cursed under his breaths, Wonwoo can't stand the cold like they do, how did he forget that?

 

He took quick steps back to meet him

"I'm sorry it's too cold for you let's go inside"

 

Wonwoo agreed but something caught his attention "Look it's snowing" He smiled looking at the sky while the little white droplets found their ways through the air to fall on the trees decorating the floor. Mingyu softened looking at Wonwoo's mesmerized face

 

"Do you like the snow Wonwoo?" He simply asked bringing Wonwoo's attention back at him "I usually don't ... no" he sighed "It's cold and it's hard to stay warm"

 

"I see" Mingyu mumbled a bit sad thinking of the many things Wonwoo experienced in in old place and the many things he wasn't telling him.

 

"But I have a feeling that I might like it more from now on"

 

Wonwoo stared right at Mingyu with a soft smile. He had no idea where things were going but for now, he liked the way Mingyu felt like the safest and most comfortable place to him. He smiled and Mingyu couldn't help but to pull him closer in his arms.

He wasn't sure what he wanted but all he wanted was Wonwoo. His spirit manifested in a soft blue shade, almost the same soft shade Scoups had while holding Jeonghan earlier. It wasn't fully on but soft and dim and warm ... pretty and appealing.

 

Mingyu got closer and soon they were kissing again. Only this time, it was a full on kissing scene that last lasted for a sweet satisfying long time. Wonwoo was warm inside and out, his hand trailed over Mingyu's sides and clutched into his shirt tightly.

 

Mingyu was too gentle, trying his best not to hurt him, not to use all of his strength, melting with Wonwoo's lips with every move, with every breath. He stopped when he felt that he overdone it again, leaving Wonwoo almost breathless. He scanned his face and bit his lips "Sorry" he whispered softly almost inaudible and left a trail of sweet kisses over Wonwoo's cheeks, jaw and down to his neck.

 

Wonwoo whined a little.

Mingyu snapped and backed away.

 

"Wonwoo ..." Mingyu was lost in a trance, both of them were actually. Wonwoo opened his eyes to look up at Mingyu, he didn't want him to stop, why did he stop?

 

"I ... can I ... mark you?"

 

Wonwoo didn't know too much but he knew this. To be marked is to be labeled as Mingyu's forever. He knew that he probably won't be able to feel it but Mingyu will and every other wolf will too and it was important to Mingyu so he ... said yes.

 

Mingyu took him by the hand and they went upstairs to Mingyu's room.

 

He placed Wonwoo gently on the bed and hovered on top of him.

 

When he started kissing him again, Mingyu couldn't stop for a long while.

 

He trailed many kisses down Wonwoo's jaw and neck.

 

Wonwoo's stomach twisted and he felt too good, too safe, too warm and most importantly he felt like he belonged, he belonged to Mingyu.

 

Mingyu continued kissing his neck, and having his way with that delicate spot while Wonwoo squirmed underneath him.

 

When he was done, Mingyu cupped Wonwoo's cheeks stealing yet another passionate kiss from him.

 

"So does this make you my boyfriend now?" Wonwoo asked trying to break the silence that took over for a few seconds after that simply staring into each other.

Mingyu chuckled "Yeah something like that" ... "Will you be my boyfriend Wonwoo?"

 

Wonwoo smiled happily "I'll be happy to"