Jeonghan was still resting, he was sleeping a lot lately with Scoups almost never leaving his side.

Things have been a bit rough on Jeonghan, not being able to get enough sleep, feeling uncomfortable and trembling in pain from time to time throughout the night.

 

"Baby? Baby you're shivering" Seungcheol said putting Jeonghan down on their bed gently and covering him tightly. When he didn't get a response, he reached his hand to comb through Jeonghan's beautiful blond hair gaining his attention no matter how weak it was

 

"It's just the medication Cheol, I'll be fine in a bit"

 

Seungcheol sighed and leaned over to place a loving kiss over Jeonghan's forehead

"I'm right here okay?"

 

"I know" Jeonghan reached over to hold onto his Mate, his scent alone was able to calm him down and Seungcheol wasn't going to leave his side until he made sure he was okay.

 

—————

When they woke up the next morning, things were a bit awkward and embarrassing but they wouldn't have it any other way.

Wonwoo was marked by Mingyu last night and everyone was just taking their own time to get their heads around it.

 

Shockingly, Joshua seemed to be okay with it. He smiled when the new scent radiating from Wonwoo filled the place. He was happy for Mingyu mostly, no matter how strange this relationship was, things seemed to be going well enough and things seemed to be calmer in the house again.

 

Jeonghan woke up feeling better and wanted to go outside for some fresh air. Scoups was hesitant at first but soon caved to Jeonghan's wish.

It was cold but not snowing anymore ... Jeonghan hated the snow and that's the main reason he wanted to go out before it started snowing again.

 

They all simply walked to an open field by the river banks.

Vernon and Seungkwan took some time to pass by Sophia and say Hi while the rest slowly continued their way toward the river.

It was pretty and a bit breezy cold.

They brought food and it felt more like a picnic than a walk in the forest and Wonwoo seemed to be enjoying very much, he was walking side by side with Mingyu holding hands and talking softly to each other.

 

"I don't want you to be afraid but there's one more thing I want to show you"

 

Mingyu announced a while later and Wonwoo was all shades of curious but didn't hesitate to follow Mingyu and see what the other had in mind.

Mingyu let go of Wonwoo's hand and took a few steps away from him

 

"Don't be afraid okay?" He insisted sounding sweet and reassuring "He's just been dying to meet you in person"

 

"What? Who?" Wonwoo asked and before he could say anything else, Mingyu's wolf  form appeared.

 

A big brown and white wolf with bright Blue eyes.

 

Wonwoo was shocked to see it appear from nowhere, it almost came from inside Mingyu himself.

Wonwoo took a few steps back a bit scared, shocked but also somehow ... curious too.

 

He never thought about actually having to meet Mingyu's wolf form before but there he was.

 

And soon,

The others joined as well

All except Jeonghan and Joshua

 

Mingyu's wolf tiptoed around Wonwoo, not wanting to take a closer step until the other was comfortable enough with it.

 

He was almost as big as a tree and Wonwoo felt too small standing by his side. He promised Mingyu that he won't be afraid so he tried to regain his own breaths and composure

 

"M-Mingyu?" He called and the wolf simply titled his head to the side waiting for another reaction but Wonwoo simply froze not knowing what to do.

Joshua came closer "Here" he said holding Wonwoo's hand and taking few steps toward Mingyu's wolf "You can get closer, he's not at all scary don't worry, you can touch him"

 

With Joshua by his side and Jeonghan watching them from a few feet, Wonwoo reached his hand slowly dying to touch the big wolf.

He placed his hand gently over his fur and Mingyu's wolf kneeled immediately in front of him. Right at his touch, the wolf seemed to bow?

 

Jeonghan was watching them but soon got distracted by Scoups wolf finding his way to him almost immediately after his transformation. Scoups fiery wolf was almost twice Mingyu's size and a bit more scarier too but Wonwoo didn't seem very interested in him but rather with Mingyu.

 

It was a bit strange, even to Joshua.

He eyed Mingyu for a while but soon forgot about the bow when he saw the way the wolf started playing around with Wonwoo. Sniffing him, him, jumping around him and brining him ... Humm? gifts.

 

"This is the forth stick he got me ... and two dead squirrels"

Wonwoo laughed and chuckled holding yet another large stick that Mingyu's wild Wolf thought was a good idea to bring

 

"What do I do with these?"

 

Joshua and Jeonghan were laughing so bad, Wonwoo looked up at Mingyu and patted his head "Thank you I guess?" He himself laughed at the way the wolf won't stop bringing him stuff like a happy puppy and saw it joining the others by the river

 

Wonwoo was too curious about so many things "Why is Scoups wolf is bigger than the others, aren't they Alphas too?" ... "Can they hear us if they are in wolf form" ... "Does the wolf have a mind of its own or are they connected to the human form too?" And so many other questions

 

"I can lend you some books from the library if you want" Joshua suggested "You can go through them I'm sure you'll find more answers there"

 

Wonwoo didn't think much and simply nodded.

When Jeonghan was feeling tired again, it was their cue to go home. Soon, everyone was back in their human forms and were heading home

"You brought me four wooden sticks and two dead squirrels" Wonwoo laughed about it the entire way home

 

"I did no such thing" Mingyu was trying to defend himself "My Wolf did"

 

"Same thing" they bickered for a while on their way home and behind them Joshua and DK were slowly walking listening to the way the two were arguing and Joshua couldn't help but to smile at the newly marked couple.

 

"They seem to be getting along well" DK pointed out and Joshua nodded

"He's very soft spoken and ... kind" he looked away for a while "I feel bad for all the bad things I said about him and all the things I ... did''

 

"He understands I'm sure, no one can blame you"

 

Joshua had a sad smile on his face "I guess" he said before reaching to hold DK's hand. It was rare for him to seek DK on his own and there was no way DK was going to let him go now. He entwined their fingers together and tightened his grip around the other's hand and wasn't going to let go

 

"Dokyeom?"

 

"Humm?"

 

"That talk you wanted us to have?" ... "Let's have it ... soon"

 

DK stopped in his trails, he couldn't believe what Joshua was asking him. He nodded endlessly

"Tonight, we can talk in the tree house?"

 

Joshua nodded "I'll wait for you, we can go together"

 

 

—————

"How are you feeling?" Seungcheol asked the moment he was left alone with Jeonghan.

Jeonghan nodded leaning over his Maye for support "Tired but better I guess, I just want my spirit back I feel weird without it" Jeonghan closed his eyes obviously wanting to get some rest.

Seungcheol tightened his grip around him bringing him closer and patted his head "It will be back for sure, you need to get your strength back that's all"

 

"Humm I know" he mumbled snuggling himself further into his mate's neck

"What about what Lay and Suho said? Do you think we should tell Mingyu and Wonwoo?"

 

"Yes Angel we probably should but let's give it some time, they seem to be doing well for now ... Wonwoo's marked now" Scoups smirked and Jeonghan smiled

 

"Yeah I've noticed" he giggled a little "That brat actually did it"

 

"Yeah ... even though it's a bit weird having a human around, Wonwoo is simply ... different"

 

"I told you" Jeonghan weakly teased a little closing his eyes again to rest for a bit

 

"Yeah I know you did, stop rubbing it in my face"

 

Jeonghan giggled a bit more "He seems to have an effect on all of us, even Joshua opened up to him, hopefully he'll have the same effect on him and DK"

... "They are not that much different after all, maybe he'll see something in Wonwoo and Mingyu's connection and accept DK?"

 

"I hope so Angel but we can never get our hopes up again you know that right?"

 

"Yeah I know"

 

Jeonghan sounded sleepy so Scoups left him to rest. He placed a soft kiss on his forehead and whispered

"I'll be in my study room, I hate to leave you but I'll be back soon okay?"

Jeonghan simply hummed in reply "I love you" he heard Seungcheol say and he replied it tiredly and soon drifted to sleep.

 

Scoups went downstairs, he passed by the living room and to the kitchen to get some coffee and snacks before burying himself with work in his study room. He saw Wonwoo and Mingyu sitting chatting about something, to his surprise he saw Joshua and Dino there too, the four of them having a great time.

 

He smiled at the rare moment they were having and simply walked past them. The energy was amazing and the house was so warm, he wished that everything would stay just the same for a while at least. He wished nothing but for everyone to be happy and safe, he wished for nothing but for Jeonghan to feel better soon.

 

————

Wonwoo was having a blast, he was getting along with all of them even with Joshua and finally felt like he belonged somewhere.

 

They had lunch together and sat in the terrace with Mingyu, he was watching him train a little with his spirit. The way he manipulated the water was just like a magic trick and Wonwoo almost couldn't believe that he got to see something like that.

 

It was a bit cold outside, no snow yet but still cold. Wonwoo felt a sudden chill down his back and a couple of sneezes escapes him.

He immediately covered his mouth with his elbow and sniffed cutely but didn't think much of it.

 

He saw Mingyu finally coming out of the lake with a grin on his face

"They are back" he announced but Wonwoo was only puzzled

"Humm?" He questioned looking at Mingyu and soon, Seungkwan and Vernon came out to join them at the terrace. The two giggled looking happy "They are back" they announced again

 

"Who's back?" ... "What?" Wonwoo questioned with a yet another cute confused look on his face and Mingyu couldn't help but to pinch his cheek

 

"Jun and Minghao"

 

Wonwoo's eyes widened

 

He heard the names before but he never really have the chance to ask properly

 

"They were on a very long honeymoon of some sort" Mingyu snorted but looked really happy to have them back. Wonwoo couldn't see them yet but he knew that everyone else probably could catch up on their scents getting closer and they'll be here soon.

 

Soon, Jeonghan and Scoups joined and everyone was on the terrace simply waiting for the new couple's arrival.

 

Wonwoo tucked on Mongyu's shirt "You never told me about them"

 

"Humm sorry, I guess it never came up"

"But they are no different than us, Minghao is really artistic you too might get along more than you think and Jun is like our second lead Alpha, less scary though" Mingyu smirked and Wonwoo nodded a bit nervous on meeting the new comers.

 

"Don't worry, your big wolf boyfriend is scary too" Mingyu winked and Wonwoo chuckled slowly nodding and slightly hiding behind him.

 

It was only about ten minutes later that two big wolves emerged from the forest.

One a dark grey and the other much lighter tone.

One almost as big as Scoups wolf and the other smaller, with really gentle features.

 

Jun walked in with a big grin on his face immediately hugging his long friend Scoups while Minghao simply headed to his Luna first and Jeonghan engulfed him completely in a tight hug.

 

Jun glanced up the terrace with a big smile and excited to see everyone waiting for him and Minghao but soon he stopped to look again

"Coups what is that scent I'm picking up?"

 

Scoups chuckled and glanced over at Jeonghan "Jun, my friend, it's been a while and we definitely need to talk"

Minghao was confused as well at first but soon it all vanished seeing the way Jeonghan welcomed him warmly

 

"How was the honeymoon?" Jeonghan asked and the couple simply glanced at each other "I guess we need to talk too" Minghao said with a blush over his cheeks walking over to the mansion with Jeonghan by his side while Jun tagged along with Scoups bickering about how long it took him to come back.

 

—————

They were sitting in the living room.

 

Minghao had his feet up on the sofa and Jun sitting right next to him.

 

Their faces a bit shocked and confused staring right at Wonwoo and Mingyu in front of them

 

"WH~~AT" Minghao screamed blinking the confusion away

 

"I'm sorry what?" Jun seemed to be in a much more serious but calm mood

 

"Yeah that's what happened" Jeonghan mumbled and saw the way Minghao shook his head in disbelief ... to say the least, the drama queen is definitely back

 

"Wait ... Waaii~~~~t"

Minghao sat up properly to face all of them, his face all shades of shock and ... drama

 

"So we go on a honeymoon ... you get poisoned" pointing at Jeonghan "You get drugged" pointing at Vernon "Lay and Suho were here?" Pointing somewhere in the air

"You two are officially together?" Pointing at Jihoon and Soonyoung

 

....

 

"And You found a Mate? A HUMAN mate?" Pointing at Mingyu "A PURE SOUL HUMAN Mate?"

 

 

Everyone nodded "That's about it yeah" Seungcheol confirmed and Minghao flopped back on the sofa, his hand reaching to hold Jun by the collar

"Baby I need a do over" ... "I need another honeymoon to recover from the last ten minutes I spent here" ... "We basically missed everything, this is not fair"

 

He gasped and shook his mate rather roughly while Jun was still trying to process everything. He finally grabbed Minghao's hand away from him and blinked eyeing Mingyu and Wonwoo

 

"Well, I guess it's nice to meet you Wonwoo and welcome to the family? It's a bit late but we just got the news so"

 

Wonwoo smiled shyly and hid a little behind Mingyu again.

He loved their chemistry, Minghao was a full on drama person and Jun more or less another version of Scoups just less scarier as Mingyu mentioned. He particularly loved Minghao's personality, he was too bubbly and had a style of his own.

 

Denim jackets and jumpsuits?

Funny bucket hats and cool colorful glasses simply unique and ... artistic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soon, Minghao started talking in a language Wonwoo couldn't understand and Jun closed his eyes for a second trying to calm himself down before replying to him.

 

Mingyu explained that they were Chinese and talking in mandarin was kind of their thing, nobody knew what the two were saying. But soon, it ended up with Jun squeezing Minghao's cheeks to shut him up

 

"Stop complaining will you? We just go back"

 

"Fine" Minghao scoffed his eyes reverting back to Wonwoo "It's nice to meet you Wonwoo, I trust that Mingyu is treating you well?"

 

Wonwoo nodded

 

"Good" Minghao tried to hide the awkwardness and soon diverted his attention to Jeonghan "So how are you feeling now?" Jeonghan smiled "Much better actually it's been about a week already I'll survive" he chuckled

 

"Vernon?" He called for the younger who seemed to be feeling guilty about the entire thing "Yeah all good here too" he mumbled and simply diverted his eyes toward the floor

 

"Jihoon? You better tell me EVERYTHING" he stood up holding Jihoon's hand and dragged him outside where Jeonghan trusted the two will be gossiping for a while. Jun sighed

"I think he just needs some time to calm down" he chuckled and yes sure, they all knew how Minghao was, they've missed him around with all of his *too much attitude* and loud bubbly self.

 

Now that they are here, the house was more alive than ever and Wonwoo simply fell in love with his new family a little more.

 

————

It was late in the afternoon already, Minghao and Jun excused themselves to rest for a while and will meet them later for dinner.

Wonwoo seemed to be wondering off somewhere when an another sneeze caught him off guard. He looked up to find Mingyu staring at him worriedly "That's the third time today" he stated the fact that went somehow unnoticed by Wonwoo himself

 

"You're counting me sneezing?" He asked amused by the attention he was getting from Mingyu

 

"I'm counting your everything, how many times you blink, how many times you scratch your little nose ... everything" Mingyu seemed to be getting closer and a blush was painted all over Wonwoo's face

 

"Aren't you a little too cheesy today?" He said avoiding Mingyu's gaze

Mingyu shrugged "I'm just in a good mood I guess" ... "Come on we're having another BBQ party tonight for Jun and Minghao it's the best way to say welcome home"

 

Wonwoo nodded and followed Mingyu outside to the terrace, again another chilling felling run through his body as he went in and out helping with setting the table and cooking here and there. He was chatting with Dino and Jihoon, Joshua joined them a while later, he seemed to be talking with DK about something and he left with a smile, he was in one of his good moods.

 

They were talking casually until Minghao and Jun joined them. The two changed into more comfortable clothes and looked refreshed,

 

"Guys let me help" Minghao asked entering the kitchen with an excited look on his face

 

"Sure here" Joshua said immediately handing him a bag of onions

 

"I just got back and you're giving me a bag of onions?" He complained with an eye roll

 

Joshua laughed "Well do you want to help or not?"

 

"Yeah yeah" Minghao scoffed finding his way to start peeling the onions for the BBQ

 

Wonwoo was a bit quiet but soon got into a fun conversation with Minghao when Dino and Seungkwan kept asking him about the honeymoon. He seemed to get a bit shy but at the same time really excited. Him and Jun went on an all around the world tour, so many different places, some were really good and others were really bad, but being together and alone for the first time felt really nice.

He had a lot of stories to tell but romance wise, he was really shy and couldn't go into full details. Something that Dino, Vernon and Seungkwan really appreciated, they didn't want to know the details.

 

————

Having spending a few hours with the newly weds, Wonwoo came to see that the two were almost opposite from each other and yet, they completed each other perfectly.

Hao was bubbly and loud, loved colorful clothes and funny looking hats and glasses while Jun was well composed and a calm warm person. Wonwoo couldn't help but to see the difference in their personalities but loved the way they simply fit together so perfectly.

 

Mingyu eyed Wonwoo as the boy slowly ate off his plate. He was still a slow eater and didn't really finish his food often but he was getting better. Bite after bite, Wonwoo was able to take in one more bite every day. He was too slim and thin when he got here but now, he seemed to be doing better.

 

Mingyu took his jacket off and placed it over Wonwoo's shoulders when he saw the way he kept rubbing his arms. Even though he was wearing a thick hoodie and a jacket himself, the weather was really cold for him still. Wonwoo only smiled giving him a silent thank you.

He was feeling colder than usual today and the sneezing turned into a little cough the same night.

 

When it was time to go to bed, Mingyu held Wonwoo by the hand and walked to their room. They washed up and changed into something more comfortable and simply got under their blankets but Mingyu was in a mood for cuddles so he turned over at Wonwoo with a smiled and simply pulled him over.

The boy giggled over his shoulder but accepted the hugs, it was his favorite thing to do in the entire world.

Wonwoo is a kiss and hug person, and simply let himself rest in Mingyu's embrace.

 

"Wonwoo?"

 

"Humm?"

 

Mingyu cupped Wonwoo's face placing a cute kiss on his cheek "Is there anything you need?"

 

Wonwoo couldn't think of anything "Like what?"

 

"Like more clothes—"

 

"No" Wonwoo cut him off almost immediately "No more clothes"

 

Mingyu chuckled "Okay, how about a laptop? A phone?"

 

"And call who?" Wonwoo was in a mood to tease Mingyu tonight, he cupped his cheeks "You're right here no?"

 

Mingyu scoffed "Yeah I'm right here" he leaned over to place a sweet kiss over Wonwoo's lips so soft and sweet

"What else? Is there anything you want? We can go to the city and you can pick anything you want and I mean anything"

 

Wonwoo seemed to stop for a second "You know that I don't like the city Mingyu"

 

"I know but I'll be there"

 

"I don't need anything I promise, and if I do I'll let you know for sure"

 

Mingyu smiled "You promise?"

 

"Yes I promise"

 

A warm hug and a safe place that's all what Wonwoo needed. He couldn't help but to bury himself in Mingyu's scent. He had a family, someone who cared enough about him to ask about his needs. He was a part of a magical place, something he could never dream of having. He rested his tired eyes and clutched into Mingyu tightly. He wanted to have a fresh start and wished for nothing but for his past to leave him alone ... but could he really escape his past?

 

—————

In the tree house:

 

Joshua was crying, tears falling down his cheeks "You lied to me" he mumbled hands intertwined with no one other than Dokyeom.

 

Dokyeom leaned closer letting his forehead collide with Joshua's. He closed his eyes trying to be strong holding back his own tears.

"Only because I didn't want to see you in pain anymore"

 

"But what about you?" Joshua asked finally looking up at him "All these years, you told me that you lost the connection, it must have been hard on you"

 

"I didn't really care" Dokyeom stared back at Joshua's teary eyes, his heart and stomach twisted as he was waiting for this moment for a long time. If Joshua rejects him again now, DK won't be able to take it anymore, he doesn't think he can live in this place anymore knowing that Joshua wouldn't accept him.

 

"I can't feel it Dokyeom"

Joshua sobbed "I have no wolf to guide me", I can't feel our connection, I can't feel anything" he shook his head not really knowing what else to say

 

"I don't care Shua" ... "I love you that's all I know"

 

Joshua was silent for a second frozen upon hearing those three words. Dokyeom loved him for far too long, having a connection or not didn't mean anything to him, his feelings were stronger.

 

More tears fell and words got stuck in Joshua's throat.

 

He squeezed Dokyeom's hand tighter into his own ... all he knew was that he didn't want to let go, he didn't want to loose him again ... yes, he loved him too and maybe that's enough

 

"I love you too" he confessed

 

He confessed his feelings and oh my Gosh it felt so good to finally say it.

 

If there was one thing they learned recently, is that they can make this work just like Mingyu and Wonwoo, they can make this work. Dokyeom didn't care if Joshua had a wolf or not and it shouldn't matter.

Joshua was sure about his feelings, yes he loved Dokyeom so much but for a long time he thought that he couldn't be with him because he couldn't feel their special bond. Just like Wonwoo, Joshua was no different than him, he should give it a chance, he should give both of them a chance.

 

Dokyeom's warm hand cupped Joshua's right cheek.

He wiped Joshua's tears away with a smile and Dokyeom was over the moon. His eyes sparkled with joy hearing the words he longed for so long to hear coming out Joshua's rosy lips.

 

They were lost into each other for a moment, time stopped and nothing mattered around them anymore.

There was so much passion in that confession: Tears, happiness, sadness and anticipation. It was the result of years of accumulated hardships and suppressed feelings.

 

They were still holding hands, they were still so close to each other and burning with the desire to finally be together.

His hand rubbing Joshua's cheek, it was warm and soothing looking into each other's eyes for so long.

 

Until Dokyeom took the first step.

 

Joshua wasn't hesitant anymore

No,

He wanted this, he wanted this for so long.

 

Dokyeom's arms around his waist pulling him closer.

Their breaths brushing against each other.

The closeness and the warmth.

 

Their lips finding their ways to each other so effortlessly feeling the way they perfectly matched one another.

 

It didn't matter if Joshua had an inner wolf or not, it didn't matter if he could feel the connection or not ... he had feelings for Dokyeom and he was definitely sure of them.

 

They spend the night in each other's arms. Dokyeom taking Joshua's pain away, soothing him, promising him that he'll never leave him or lie to him ever again. He let his head rest over him as they talked some, kissed some, cried some and shared a lot .

Dokyeom playing with his hair, his cheeks while Joshua's fingertips trailing all over DK's entire body memorizing every detail.

Finally, they fell asleep.

Like two lost lovers who found themselves again in each other's arms.