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How does one go and tell an amesic teenage (maybe) boy that they're mates? 'Oh hey, I know you're feeling very much alone and scared right now, the fact that you're living with werewolves (and a not-so harmless vampire) might not really help the cause either, but you know even though you might not feel it you're my mate so we should go ahead and make out on every available flat surface'

No, Yongguk didn't think that was going to cut it. The main issue here was the fact that Junhong didn't feel the bond. Yongguk could sense it's edges and even if he wasn't 100% sure he knew deep inside that it was true, it was just that the bond couldn't be formed properly if it wasn't met from the other side. This was one of the main reasons why that kind of magic was banned in the first place. Those times were too dark and bloody for anyone to be worried about the moral aspects of such distructive spells but when it came to mate bonds every, every creature in the supernatural world reacted.

Even though mate bonds developed differently from couple to couple it was usually the dominant one that felt it first. Then they had the option of either letting the other part know or just wait until the unavoidable happened.

When it came to the idea of a mate Yongguk had double personality. It was the sole aspect in his life where he wasn't decided what exactly he wanted. There were days when he longed for a mate more than anything else, when he'd give all he owned in exchange for that one person that would complete him...

But of course there were also dark days, when he wished he'd never meet his mate, never have to know how it is to be so dependent on someone, to not be able to live without them. Take that in the most literal way possible because it was often true, if one of the mates dies soon after the mating it's unavoidable that the other dies as well. Yongguk had seen that a lot, it was so easy to attack someone indirectly, great leaders have fallen to their doom when they took mates unable to stand on the same position.

Days alternated but now he realized that there was nothing more to do. A person had only one true mate and even though they could bond with someone else that bond wouldn't hold a candle to the original mate bond.

Yongguk stretched and made his way to the kitchen cursing rather loudly. It was one of those annoying moments of the year when he felt twitchy in his human form. Werewolves often experienced that, those born wolves less than the ones turned but it seemed to be Yongguk's time to endure it.

After gulping down a beer without it helping to calm his itching he decided to do the only thing he could do to get rid of the annoying feeling.. turn. These past weeks he didn't shift to his wolf form often, he'd rather do that when he was out and far from the city and recently he didn't want to be even 50 meters away from Junhong.

His wolf form was not appropriate for their home. Everyone was always surprised when they first saw Yongguk shift because he was big, even for a werewolf. He ditched the clothes as fast as possible when he reached his room and within seconds, morphed into his other form. It was surely way less uncomfortable. Sadly not the same thing could be said about the bed which was inadequately small to sit in any other way than curled.

Despite having natural red hair, his fur was pitch black, people often didn't believe him when he told them that but he noticed that no one dared to comment if he just switched and growled.

~ * ~

"So, let me see if I got this right" Junhong muttered in between trying to catch his breath and laughing some more "the first time you saw Daehyun you just went ahead and tackled him?!"

Youngjae had the decency to blush as he remembered the event before whining as he carefully entered the code to their penthouse.

"It wasn't my fault, it was just instinct, I just had to!"

Junhong kept laughing as they both made their way into the hallway. He bent to untie his shoes before continuing with the questions he's been asking Youngjae the whole day.

"How did Daehyun hyung react?"

When he didn't get any reply even after he slid off his shoes and took off the thick coat he turned to the young werewolf. The boy's face was crimson and his eyes were glued to the patterns on the carpet.

Junhong was ready to poke some fun at his hyung's red ears when the elder answered without even glancing up "He didn't... we kind of felt to the floor..."

The whole story was just priceless to Junhong. The mixed couple was usually more outgoing than the other two werewolves. The boy rarely had the chance to witness Jongup and Himchan hyung being very affectionate even though they shared hugs and kisses here and there. Daehyun however seemed insatiable when it came to Youngjae. It was like he couldn't bare being in the same room as the younger without some parts of their body being in contact. Junhong felt his own ears burn when he distinctively remembered some sounds coming out of the DaeJae bedroom, it was a very embarrassing experience, even more when he couldn't seem to forget the event.

The boy was ready to reply when they entered the living room and his words seem stuck in his throat. Instead of the usual small coffee table situated between the couch and the tv, now laid a massive black wolf. The creature was stretched, head laying on his front paws and eyes closed. Junhong had no doubt the animal couldn't fit on the couch.

"Oh, this is so rare, Yongguk hyung doesn't turn in the house"

Youngjae's words made the blueish haired boy realize that the creature in front of him was none other than the alpha of the pack. Junhong realized instantly why Yongguk held that title.

Their presence seemed to wake the other up. The wolf's eyes opened slowly and he raised his head slightly in acknowledgement.

~ * ~

Youngjae fought the urge to scream and cry as he felt another blow, on his side. The only thing helping him stay focused were the sounds of footsteps coming towards the door. As expected, after a brief knock, the bedroom door opened.

"A letter arrived from Kang my alpha"

Youngjae recognized the voice of the beta and thanked every god he knew for the blessing. His father sneered and the young werewolf tensed, anticipating another kick. It never came, instead the alpha headed to the door and left the room without a word.

Truthfully, the wolf wanted nothing more than to stay curled there, on the cold stone floor but a quick glance at the window told him that would be a bad idea. The sun was setting and that meant he didn't have much time left. As soon as he tried moving the damage done became obvious. His pained groans filled the room but despite the broken rib he focused on his task. He pulled open the closet doors and tossed aside a painting before retrieving the small bag he had stored there. The pack contained all the items he held dear and without further thought he tossed it on the bed and stuffed it under the pillow before calling a maid.

The beating he received was a blessing in disguise. Usually he'd be questioned about taking a bath (something werewolves didn't necessarely enjoy) but now he had the excuse of cleaning the blood. The boiling hot water in the improvised tub hurt him more than he wanted to admit but he didn't want to show weakness in front of the maid. She was one of the awful ones.. a human who knew exactly what they were and sticked to them in hopes that one day she'll be turned and made member of the pack.

He didn't have to be a mind reader sorcerer to know what she thought of him. Her hateful stare spoke her mind well, she despised him for his status, his upbringing and his attitude. It didn't take long for the blood to stop flowing out of the wounds and Youngjae internally rejoyced before stepping out of the tub and into a comfortable and clean set of clothes.

"You should wear something appropriate for dinner" the maid spoke up and he glued his eyes to the floor before replying.

"I won't dine with the pack today"

He knew everyone would be happy he chose not to join, his father especially would be inclined to believe he was so hurt he couldn't attend dinner and that served him well.

He stood on his bed, a poems book in hand, for hours. He never bothered to turn a page or bulge from his spot. All he'd do is glance between the bedroom door and the window and just listen. His frown turned into a smile when the loud voices lowered in volume as dinner ended. His stomach turned nervously as one after another bedroom doors were opened and closed but at almost three hours after midnight there were goosebumps all over his body.

It was time.

Youngjae knew that he wasn't the strongest in the pack, he was probably weaker than all of them really but the one thing he had as advantage was the fact that he was light. He could move at a decent speed without being noticed and tonight he was going to make use of that for the first time in his life.

He grabbed the bag from under the pillow and secured it on his body as he walked barefoot to the open window. It was an almost 30 meter jump and that was more than he had ever done before but it was now or never so without a thought he stepped on the window and jumped. His feet hurt badly when he hit the ground and he was sure his knee was badly scraped, he stood still for painful 10 seconds just listening to the noise coming from inside the walls of the estate. When he was sure no one had been alerted, he bolted.

It was a painful run, every bone in his body told him to stop, rest a bit. He couldn't, no matter what his body said. This run would be easier in wolf form but changing would alert the pack and that was the last thing in the world that he wanted right now so despite the ache he kept on moving.

His vision began to blur and he cursed inwardly his choice of not eating before this night, it would have helped to have a full stomach. Just as the thought passed through his mind his body collided with someone else's. The wolf tensed for just a moment before recognizing the amazing scent coming off the other person's body. Looking up shily he was greeted by a pair of welcoming warm eyes and almost shining white smile.

Daehyun's cold arms grasped him tighter and he felt the cold slip through the material of his shirt. They both needed this, the closeness, the connection. The vampire's right hand went up to the young werewolf's jaw and the smooth skin slowly before lifting his chin up.

"You're here, you're okay and you're late"

Youngjae blushed knowing that the vampire must've been worried, he just didn't want to risk leaving before everyone was soundly asleep.

He glanced curiously as Daehyun took out a pouch from his cape and passed it to him.

"Drink it"

Youngjae opened the small recipient and grimaced at the smell "What is it?"

"Something a witch friend made. It will make you leave no trace for them to follow"

The wolf's eyes widened. He didn't know witches could make things such as this. Ignoring the foul smell he drank all the liquid and shivered as he felt it spread through his body. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Daehyun smiled again before leaning down and placing a small peck on his mate's lips, he took advantage of the other's surprise to lift him off the ground and carry him towards the waiting carriage.

~ * ~

Junhong blushed crimson as he waved Daehyun and Youngjae good bye. It seemed that his endless questions about the time they met made Daehyun very .. happy. The teen blushed harder when he recalled the look in Daehyun's eyes when Youngjae talked about the beginning of their relationship.

Truthfully, Junhong was slightly jealous of the relationship the vampire had with his mate. They seemed to be a perfect match in everything. The boy pondered on their bond as he sat on the sofa, idly browsing through tv channels and stuffing himself with muffins. Just as he was about to take out his phone and ring Jongup to ask why he and Himchan hyung were so late, the alpha entered the room, still in wolf form.

Yongguk didn't stop until he reached the empty spot in front of the sofa before sitting down, just like he had earlier in the day. The young boy thought it would be awkward but the wolf's presence was actually comforting so, half an hour later they were both still in the same place, Junhong watching Friends again while Yongguk seemed to take a nap. It was unconscious but sometime during the episode, the boy's hand trailed to the wolf's head and without even realizing, began the soft fur. When he realized what he had done, Junhong froze, but noticing the wolf's lack of reaction he continued the action, passing his fingers lightly over the big pointed ears.

If werewolves could purr then Yongguk would be doing just that. Feeling the boy's slim fingers pass through his fur coat was probably the most amazing thing the old wolf ever experienced. It could even beat Himchan's amazing back rubs.

The nimble fingers stopped only when the front door opened and Himchan's loud voice filled the air, covering the tv. Instead of paying attention to that, Yongguk raised his head swiftly and turned to look at the boy who was now watching the arcade leading to the hall. Ignoring the couple that was currently having a playful argument, the alpha placed his head on the sofa, close to Junhong's neck, and glanced up at the teen.

Junhong was surprised but instead of speaking up he just trailed his fingers over one of the pointy ears and smiled brightly. Neither one of the two was aware of the couple frozen in the doorway. Himchan's face turned from a small pout to a full on grin as he witnessed the action which was so rare in werewolf behaviour, Himchan knew that a wolf as dominant as Yongguk would let no one but his mate get away with that.

~ * ~

A couple of weeks worth of affectionate touches, brief hugs and plenty of man-wolf cuddling led Junhong to a few very curious thoughts and a long due analysis of events.

Despite having no memory of his life prior to a few months ago, he was a very smart person and that made him understand things faster than others would. He knew that the recent interactions between him and Yongguk were not natural for a werewolf and a stranger. Even more, he couldn't but wonder why the alpha allowed him to walk out of that place when they first met. Other wolves would have ripped him to pieces but Yongguk gave him a home. To add to that, the rest of the pack considered him to be one of their own so all that added to a very scary yet somehow comforting idea.

The boy walked through the empty halls, deep in thought, without noticing anything before coming face to face with a tired looking alpha. Junhong's face colored red as he walked in to sit on the armchair near Yongguk's desk.

Yongguk was confused by the young one's behaviour and even though his instincts told him to reach forward and hug the boy, he settled for less.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked in his usual low voice.

"Hyung.." Junhong's voice was soft and silky "what are we?"