“I am your guardian, you’ll always have me, even if the whole world turns cold.”

            -EXO-M (Angel/Into Your World)

[Kai and Suho]

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Suho had every reason to be on guard.

After all, it wasn’t every night that a werewolf got a knock on the door at 2:30 in the morning. Well, to be more accurate, scratching and whining at the door at 2:30 in the morning.

Especially not on mornings where it was raining and thundering outside.

But after he had opened the door, his heart melted.

Sitting pathetically on the doorstep was a werewolf. Suho could tell that much.

But the werewolf looked more like a sad, drenched puppy at the moment. Its yellow eyes held Suho’s, begging him to let him in out of the storm.

He stared at the wolf.

The wolf stared at him.

Flattened his ears.

And let out a pitiful whine.

That did it.

“Oh, alright then, you.”

Suho stepped aside, and the wolf quickly stepped into the house.

“Wait right there, I’ll get you some towels. Please, please, please don’t shake out your fur, I finally got Sehun to clean the floor today.”

And Suho left for the towels.

The werewolf sat back on its haunches and sniffed.

He smelled different scents. Four different werewolves living in the same house. He had never come across this many werewolves in the same place before. So this is what they called a pack…

The house was illuminated by a flash of lightning that was followed by a loud crack of thunder.

The wolf gave a little yelp and stood up with its fur on edge, his head turned towards the door.

Another thunderclap and he whined and lay on his belly, putting his head between his paws.

And that was how Suho found him when he returned.

The wolf immediately scrambled to its feet and slammed into Suho, small whimpers coming from its throat.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe here,” Suho smiled, running his hand through the wolf’s wet fur.

“You can change back, dry yourself with these towels, and I stole some of Baekhyun’s pajamas. I don’t know how tall you are as a human, so I hope they fit…”

He turned around and waited as the wolf changed back and put on the clothes.

“S-S-orry to b-b-bother you so l-late in the evening, I-I’m Kai.”

Suho turned back and saw a shivering, young teen with black hair.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, you’re still cold. I’ll make something hot for you. I’m Suho, by the way.”

Suho placed a kettle in the stove and prepared teabags for them.

“Here, sit down.” They sat down on the couch, waiting for the water to heat up. Suho placed a blanket around Kai’s shoulders.

“It’s a bad one tonight,” Suho commented lightly, staring out the window at the pouring rain.

Kai stayed quiet.

“Do you… have a place to stay?” Suho asked, turning back to him. “I usually find werewolves around here that don’t have a home.”

“No, but I’m fine living on my own,” Kai said, not meeting Suho’s eyes. He didn’t want to give the other the impression that he was incapable of taking care of himself, he had already done a great job of that by asking to be let in.

“That’s dangerous, though, lone wolves are more easy for Hunters to catch. Especially in this area, they’re setting traps to catch us. Do you belong to a pack?”

“No, but I’m fine by myself, really.”

“I don’t understand, then why did you-”

The loudest boom of thunder shook the house.

Kai yelped and flung himself at Suho, whimpering just like he had when he was a wolf.

Suho stared at the shaking boy clinging to him in surprise.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I just can’t take lightning!” Kai stammered, tightening his grip on Suho’s shirt. “I’ll do anything, just please don’t send me back out into the storm, I can’t do it!”

If Suho was honest with himself, he had never really envisioned himself as the Alpha of the pack; he had been on his own until he had bitten Sehun, and as he was so much older than him, his position was assumed. He never had much experience as an Alpha. But right now he had a stray wolf to take care of, and doggone it he was going to take care of him even if he didn’t know how.

Oh well, it had always worked with Sehun when he was upset, so why not?

He pulled Kai into a hug.

“Lightning’s nothing to be afraid of,” Suho said softly. “It’s just Nature doing her thing.”

He pulled back and smiled at the trembling wolf.

“Y-You don’t understand,” Kai whispered, trying to control his breathing. He found it to be quite easy, the presence of the other wolf was very calming.

“Then help me to understand.”

“I wasn’t always afraid of lightning. But the night that I was bitten… there was a lightning storm. The wolf mauled and bit me and left me there all alone and there was cold rain and flashes of lightning and I was bleeding and then there was so much pain…”

Kai cringed as the memory of his first night as a werewolf came back to him in full force.

“I haven’t been able to handle storms ever since.”

Suho didn’t say a word. He stared at the floor.

The kettle began to wail, signaling the water was ready. He got up, made the tea, and gave the cup to Kai with a gentle smile on his face.

“It’s okay to be afraid, Kai. Everyone has things that they’re scared of.”

“But werewolves are supposed to be strong and immortal and they’re not supposed to be afraid of things like lightning,” Kai mumbled, trying to keep the tears of frustration in his eyes from spilling over.

“Whoever said that?” Suho asked. Kai stared at him.

Suho looked down at his cup, at his steaming reflection in the tea.

“There’s nothing wrong with being afraid, fear is part of human nature, and we’re still human, figuratively speaking. I’m scared of things, too, but I don’t beat myself up over it.”

Suho turned to Kai.

“You don’t have to go back out there tonight, feel free to stay.”

Another thunderclap. Kai flinched and tried not to spill tea all over the place.

Suho smiled. “Do you want me to sleep with you tonight? At least until the storm’s over?”

Kai nodded meekly.

Later, Suho turned off the lights and drew up the blanket so that it covered both him and Kai.

“You can stay with us, if you want,” he said. “You’ll have a pack and a family, you won’t ever have to be alone anymore.”

Kai opened his eyes, startled that a werewolf he had known for an hour could be so kind and compassionate.

“Thank you, I’d be honored to be a member of your pack.”

The lightning boomed again, but Kai didn’t flinch.  He wasn’t scared of the lightning anymore. Not when he had Suho by his side.

“How the other kids can sleep through this storm is beyond me,” Suho muttered drowsily.

Kai hummed. “What are their names again?

“Chanyeol is the Beta by age, Baekhyun is his friend, or should I say mate, the two are so intimate with each other already, and Sehun is the pup.”

“Cool.” Kai yawned.

Suho grinned and shoved him playfully. “Go to sleep.”

The two were nodding off until Kai spoke up again.

“Hey, Suho?”

“Mmm?”

“You’re the best.”

Suho laughed and wrapped his arms around Kai. They both fell asleep listening to the soothing rhythm of rain splashing against the window.