a/n: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, but I just finished all of my final exams for the school year, so I'm free to write! But I'm sure you guys all know how the studying goes, etc. So hopefully, this chapter will appease you guys! It's way longer than the other ones so enjoy!

Part Four

“Daesung is asking after you again.”

Junmyeon paused, the knife hovering in mid-air over the lettuce on his cutting board for a few moments. Then, he resumed chopping, his hands moving at a steady even pace. “Is he now?”

“He brought you flowers.” Jongdae sighed, and then sneezed when he inhaled the flower pollen. “Where do you want me to put them?”

Junmyeon sighed and put his knife down so that he could go fetch a pitcher for Jongdae to put the flowers in. “I don’t understand why he’s still at it.”

Jongdae shrugged and held the flowers at an arm’s length while he waited for Junmyeon to fill the container with water with his power. “I don’t know. Maybe he finds you to be a particularly desirable mate.”

“Why though?” Junmyeon mused aloud as he lifted the pitcher on to the counter and then took the flowers out of Jongdae’s arms. “Sorry about that. I know you have allergies.”

“It’s no problem,” Jongdae sniffed and looked around for the tissues. “He’s still here, he wants to know if he can see you.”

“Um…” Junmyeon shifted slightly. “Can you tell him I’m busy?”

“Sure. Don’t feel bad about it, every wolf has turned down a suitor at least once in their life time,” Jongdae flashed a winning smile at him and exited the kitchen to go talk to Daesung, who was presumably waiting out on the door step.

Junmyeon sighed and lifted the pitcher of flowers up to the window where the light would hit them. He’d been in Exo for over two years now, and his heart had healed and progressed incredibly far. He no longer wanted to die—in fact, he couldn’t even imagine it, he’d grown so close to Exo, and they’d become so deeply rooted in his heart.

However, he was still unsure about mating. Heart break took a long time to get over, and Junmyeon wasn’t sure what he felt about his old alpha anymore. He thought he’d moved on, but still, remembering that night and his alpha’s broken confession always brought tears to his eyes.

Despite that pain though, Junmyeon had found himself subconsciously surveying his pack members for a potential mate; even though Minseok had come on to him a while ago, he had never found it in his heart to desire the other wolf. (Lately he’d actually taken to shoving Minseok and Jongdae together in hopes that a spark could catch.) Junmyeon had concluded that the heart was a very confusing entity—he could still cry over his old alpha, but look for new prospects at the same time. It was both exciting and disheartening, and Junmyeon wondered whether he was so shallow that he could do both at the same time.

At that moment, Yifan stepped into the kitchen, his air of authority breaking Junmyeon’s daydream.

“Where did those come from?” Yifan wrinkled his nose as the overly-perfumed smell of the flowers permeated the kitchen.

“Apparently Daesung came by. Jongdae’s shooing him away now.”

Yifan raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know he was going for Jongdae,” he joked. “Who’s next? Kyungsoo?”

Junmyeon snickered as he went back to cutting lettuce. “I don’t know.”

Yifan stopped snickering and his expression calmed and grew into something more serious. “You know, Junmyeon…”

“Yes, Yifan?”

“There’s nothing stopping you from mating with Daesung, if that’s what you want. Our packs have an alliance.”

“It’s not what I want, though.” Junmyeon put his knife down and scraped lettuce off of the cutting board and into the bowl. Then, he moved over to the sink and began washing some tomatoes.

“Are you certain? Be straightforward with me, Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon turned off the water and looked over at his alpha. “I’m being straightforward with you, Yifan. He’s not…I don’t want to mate with him.”

Yifan looked at him sharply. “Nothing’s stopping you from mating with Minseok either, Junmyeon.”

“I don’t…” Junmyeon paused, worried that Minseok might be nearby. He lowered his voice and continued. “I don’t want to mate with Minseok either.”

“Why not? Minseok’s a great guy, he’ll be a great parent.”

Junmyeon averted his eyes and turned back to his cutting board to chop the tomatoes. “He’s just not what I’m looking for in a mate.”

“What is it you’re looking for in a mate?”

“Why are you so full of questions today?” Junmyeon snapped at him, a sudden wave of embarrassment and irritation rising in him. He had only recently began to believe that he was worthy of being a mate, and he was still sensitive about his personal thoughts on the issue.

Yifan seemed to sense his deep-seated discomfort and backed off. “Sorry, Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon sighed as he transferred chopped tomato into the salad he was making. “No, I should be sorry.”

“But…just so you know, Junmyeon. None of us will stand against you if you choose to mate with either one of them.”

“Do you want me to mate with one of them?” Junmyeon suddenly asked. He could see why Yifan might want that; it would further cement their alliance with Bigbang, or it could strengthen the bonds within Exo itself.

“No, I don’t actually.”

Junmyeon blinked in surprise. “Why not?”

Yifan smiled and walked over to give Junmyeon a back hug, his long arms encircling Junmyeon’s slight waist. “I’ve seen you grow so much, and I’ve gotten so close to you, my sweet Junmyeon. Of course I don’t want to send any of my pack members off.”

Junmyeon blushed at the warmth of Yifan’s words and turned his head to the side so that he could nudge affectionately at Yifan’s cheek. At first, he’d been a little frightened at Yifan’s natural clinginess to all members of the pack, but he’d learned to enjoy it and even treasure it over his time with Exo. “I wouldn’t want to go away either, Yifan.”

At that moment, Jongdae burst back into the kitchen with a very harried expression on his face. “He’s not going away. He says he can tell you’re there, and he just wants to see you for a few minutes.” Jongdae raised an eyebrow when he noticed the position they were in. “Or not.”

Junmyeon rolled his eyes good-naturedly and gently patted at Yifan’s arms to try and get him to let go. “If he’s really not going away I’ll see him for a few minutes. Thanks for dealing with him, Jongdae.”

Yifan let go of Junmyeon’s waist and instead ambled over to clutch at Jongdae, whining something about how Jongdae spent too much time studying and how they needed to cuddle more. Junmyeon left the kitchen with the sounds of Jongdae’s indignant squawking and Yifan’s playful whining ringing in his ears as he hurried down to the doorstep.

Sometimes, Daesung’s persistence frightened him. With Minseok, it was more of an off and on thing, with some periods of time being more intense, and some periods of time when Minseok wouldn’t even pursue him at all. On the other hand, Daesung had been actively pursuing him ever since he’d found out that Junmyeon had joined Exo. Junmyeon was flattered, but still—two years was a lot of dedication. And Junmyeon couldn’t help but hate himself a little when he couldn’t find any interest in himself with Daesung.

Daesung was leaning against the doorjamb patiently when Junmyeon made it down the stairs to the front step. “Hello, Junmyeon.”

“Hello, Daesung,” Junmyeon smiled patiently at him. “I’m sorry, but I really am a little busy right now. What is it you wanted to see me about?”

“I was wondering if I could take you out to lunch after your work tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, but my schedule is all full this week.”

Daesung shrugged, just as he always did whenever Junmyeon politely rejected his offers to hang out. “Maybe another time?”

“Daesung…” Junmyeon sighed quietly when the other wolf didn’t respond, and just looked at him steadily.

After a few moments, Junmyeon relented and gave him a small nod. “Maybe another time, Daesung.”

“Alright.” Daesung pushed himself off of the door jamb. “Enjoy the flowers…I’ll see you around, Junmyeon.”

“Good-bye.” Junmyeon shut the door with a firm click as Daesung turned his back.

“Junmyeon? Who was that?” Luhan poked his head into the hallway.

“Daesung.”

“What did he want?”

“He invited me to spend some time with him.” Junmyeon left the doorway and went back into the house, nudging affectionately at Luhan’s arm as he passed by. “How’re you? Anything special you want me to put in the salad?”

Luhan huffed. “I’m just fine, thank you.” Luhan had recently had a very serious conversation with Junmyeon about his desire to have a litter with Sehun, and afterwards, Junmyeon had taken to cautiously checking in on him every few days. “Put in lots of tomatoes, will you? Sehun likes them.”

Junmyeon rolled his eyes. “Sure, Luhan. But I asked if there was anything you wanted.”

“I want peanut butter, but I don’t think you should put that in the salad,” Luhan chuckled as he followed Junmyeon back up to the kitchen. Both Yifan and Jongdae were gone, although Junmyeon eyed the bowl of salad suspiciously; he was certain that there had been far more tomatoes when he’d left than there were now.

“Junmyeon?”

“Yeah?” Junmyeon began digging around in the cupboard for a cover.

“You know it’s almost time for one of our pack outings to the countryside again.”

“Yeah, and?”

“Yifan’s been feeling a little nervous about some of the packs in the neighboring area. He wants a few of us to stay behind and guard the base.”

“Ok.”

“Jongin is an obvious choice, because if anything does happen, he can bring the rest of the pack back to fight. But Yifan also asked that you stay.”

“Me? I thought he would pick Jongdae or Minseok, he’s been complaining that they’ve been spending too much time out of the house lately.”

“Well, he wants you.”

“Will you be staying as well?”

“No, I’ll be leading the pack on the outing.” Luhan the peanut butter off of his spoon and put the jar of peanut butter away. “Junmyeon, do you not know…?”

“Do I not know what?” Junmyeon tilted his head to the side in curiosity.

Luhan shook his head and turned away. “Never mind. I’m going out on a stroll, I’ll be back in an hour if anyone asks.”

“Are you going with Sehun?”

“No, I’m going on my own.”

“Ok, bye Luhan.” Junmyeon watched Luhan walk out of the kitchen, his eyebrows creasing slightly in confusion. What is Luhan hiding from me?

Then, all of a sudden it hit him, and Junmyeon froze in shock.

Does Yifan want to mate with me? Junmyeon felt sweat breaking out on his palms and he gripped at the counter to stay upright. Oh dear god, not this again. Please, I don’t—I don’t, I don’t want to get hurt again!

Junmyeon forced himself to calm down when he felt the other members of the pack become alerted to his distress. He was going to have to find a way to deal with Yifan’s feelings towards him on his own; he couldn’t involve the rest of the pack, even though he knew that they wouldn’t be envious or jealous. This wasn't about self-preservation anymore: about Junmyeon finally getting on the last leg of his search for closure for his heart.

“Which packs are you worried will try and attack us once they’ve realized that the others are gone?” Junmyeon, Jongin and Yifan were eating dinner in the kitchen when Junmyeon brought the question up; the rest of Exo had headed off to the countryside in the early morning.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t been able to pinpoint a single source, but it seems as if several smaller packs are trying to plan to take over our territory and push us from the city.”

Junmyeon frowned and poked at his food. “But that doesn’t make sense; who are they going to split the territory? Are they going to merge and form a larger pack and live on our territory?”

“I didn’t say that the attack was well-planned. And it doesn’t matter what their plan is anyways, because they aren’t going to take our territory Jun.” Yifan set his chopsticks down in his half-empty bowl. “We’ll be fine. Jongin has done this with me several times before; at the first sign of attack, he brings the rest of the pack back, and we easily beat off the newcomers. You’ve improved a lot in your fighting skills, so you don’t need to worry. The packs we’ll be facing will be pretty weak, from what my informants have told me. It should be an easy win against them.”

“If you’re sure.” Junmyeon brought a clump of rice up to his mouth and chewed slowly.

Suddenly, Jongin stood up. Junmyeon noted how flushed his face was, and felt a twinge of anxiety. “Are you alright Jongin? You look a little red in the face.”

“No, it’s just a warm night. I finished eating, I’m going to go study,” Jongin muttered hastily and fled the kitchen.

Junmyeon’s heart started beating faster when he realized that he and Yifan were alone in the kitchen. After his epiphany from a few days ago, Junmyeon still wasn’t quite comfortable being alone with Yifan. “Actually, I’m not hungry…I’ll just go, um…read. Yeah.” Junmyeon laughed uncomfortably and picked up his bowl of rice with shaking hands. “Do you want to finish my rice, Yifan?”

“Are you alright Junmyeon? You’ve been acting a little strange lately.”

“I’m fine, Yifan.” Junmyeon gripped the bowl even tighter as he tried to hide the anxiety he felt. “Do you want the rice or not?”

“Put it in the refrigerator for later, you’ll probably get hungry again in a few hours.”

“Ok.” Junmyeon took a step towards the refrigerator, only to trip over the back leg of Jongin’s stool and go flying forwards. The bowl of rice flew out of his hands and shattered on the floor; luckily, Junmyeon caught himself before his face got smashed into the tiles, but he whimpered slightly when he realized that he’d put his palm directly over a shard of the bowl.

“Junmyeon!” Yifan was by his side in an instant. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Junmyeon gritted his teeth and cradled his hand. Upon inspection the shard was quite small, but his hand still stung a lot.

“Here, you go wrap your hand while I clean up the mess.” Yifan gently prodded Junmyeon to his feet and towards the medicine cabinet. “Are you sure you’re alright, Jun? You’ve been very anxious lately.”

“No really, Yifan, I’m alright.” Junmyeon walked over to the sink and carefully pulled the ceramic shard out of his skin and checked the rest of his hands for any other small particles.

“Everyone felt a spike of distress come off of you a few days ago, Jun. You know that you can talk to us about it—any of us.”

“Thanks.” Junmyeon stuck his hand under the faucet and began to wash out the small wound. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Hm.”

Junmyeon took a deep breath and steeled himself for what he was about to do next. Maybe he was being absolutely stupid, but perhaps he’d read into things wrong. He had to go forward with a clear perception of everything that was happening to him.

“Yifan?”

“Yes?” Yifan walked over to empty the dustpan he was holding into the trash bin under the sink. He straightened up and set the pan and broom off to the side before turning on the sink and washing his hands beside Junmyeon.

Junmyeon shifted his weight uneasily from one foot to the other. “Um…”

“What is it?” Yifan shut the water off and began drying his hands, the worry in his eyes sharpening as he noticed Junmyeon’s obvious anxiety.

“Do you…do you want to mate with me?”

Yifan stared at him for a few seconds, and then gave him a dry smile. “Was that an offer, or a question?”

“It was a question! Not an offer. Not—not an offer,” Junmyeon gasped out quickly.

Yifan chuckled. “Don’t worry, it was a joke, albeit in poor taste. And yes, Junmyeon, I do want to mate with you.” He spread the towel out to dry and turned to face Junmyeon. “Is that why you’ve been so worried lately?”

“A little bit,” Junmyeon admitted, his eyes darting away from Yifan’s face. “I…I Just wanted to know. To try and look at things clearly.”

“Of course. Don’t feel pressured to accept me, Junmyeon. Especially with Minseok and Daesung on your case.”

“You already know I don’t want them.”

“Do you want me?” Yifan leaned against the edge of the sink and eyed Junmyeon closely.

“I…” Junmyeon hesitated. “Do you know why I came to Exo, Yifan?”

“You told us that you were looking for a way to die.”

“Right. But do you know why I wanted to die?”

“I heard something vague about betrayal and broken hearts from Luhan,” Yifan said carefully, unsure of where Junmyeon was trying to take the conversation.

Junmyeon nodded, still refusing to make eye contact with Yifan. “I wanted to die because my old pack banished me because my former alpha had fallen in love with me and wanted to me to be his mate. And you’ve heard enough stories from me about how my pack treated me. The very notion was entirely unacceptable to them, and so they threw me out.”

“Oh.” Yifan stared at Junmyeon, his emotions slowly spinning into a small thundercloud of jealousy, anxiety, concern, and anger. “But Junmyeon, you know that we wouldn’t throw you out.”

“I do know that. Exo is very, very different from my old pack. We love each other too much here,” Junmyeon smiled slightly, and finally raised his eyes to meet Yifan’s. “But, it takes time to heal, Yifan. And I…I don’t know if I’m healed yet.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to say that I don’t know if I want to mate with you or not.”

Yifan’s eyes softened, and he moved closer to Junmyeon until they were standing toe to toe. He tenderly cradled Junmyeon’s hands in his own larger ones. “Of course you don’t. You know that you can take your time and decide. There’s no rush.”

Junmyeon felt his heart flutter at Yifan’s close proximity. “Thank you,” he whispered softly. “I’m trying not to prolong my decision any longer than I need to but—”

“But heart break takes time to get over. And even when you think you’re over it, it turns out that you’re not,” Yifan finished for him. “Junmyeon, let me tell you a secret.”

“Ok.”

“Back in the early days of Exo, I used to love Luhan.”

“Oh.” Junmyeon blinked in surprise. Of all the things Yifan could have said, Junmyeon hadn’t been expecting this. “But…”

“It took me a long time to move on when Sehun joined the pack. It was a rough time for all of us. But I made it, and here I am now, loving you.” Yifan instinctively dipped his head lower when Junmyeon tipped his face up to look at his eyes. “And I want to believe that someday, you’ll be able to move on, and that you can love me back.”

Junmyeon felt his eyes instinctively slipping shut at the close proximity of their faces. “I want to try,” he whispered softly, afraid that he might break this precious moment between them. “I want to try, but I’m scared…”

“Scared that you’ll get hurt again.”

Junmyeon nodded slightly, and his breath puffed softly against Yifan’s lips.

“I won’t hurt you.”

Junmyeon smiled shakily. “You sound so sure.”

“I am sure. I won’t hurt you.” Yifan brought an arm up and wrapped it around Junmyeon’s waist, anchoring them in place. When Junmyeon didn’t try and shrug him off, he leaned even closer and finally nudged their mouths together, his eyelids fluttering shut when their lips met.

Junmyeon sighed softly and pressed forward lightly, a feeling of relief and safety washing over him as he stood in Yifan’s arms. This was the second kiss he’d ever shared with someone, and Junmyeon found himself getting lost in the moment. The tenderness he’d felt from his first kiss was the same, but this time there was no sadness and no heartbreak; instead, Junmyeon felt a wave of happiness rising up through him, until he finally had to break the kiss because the way his corners of his lips were tilting up made it difficult for them to sustain the kiss.

Yifan pressed their foreheads together and Junmyeon’s eyes fluttered shut again. “Give me a chance, Junmyeon. Let me show you that I won’t hurt you, and that I can be a good mate for you.”

“I…”

Yifan waited patiently, enjoying the warmth and softness of Junmyeon’s small frame. “Give me a chance,” he said softly. “Please.”

“But what will we tell the others? And Minseok? And Daesung…” Junmyeon trailed off uncertainly.

“Minseok will be fine. I think that the pack’s collective attempts to get him interested in Jongdae are working. He hasn’t tried to pursue you lately, has he?”

“I guess not…” Junmyeon bit his lip and Yifan stopped resting his forehead on Junmyeon’s so that he could get a proper view of Junmyeon’s face. “I just don’t want to mess up the pack dynamics.”

“It can’t be helped. Even if you aren't sure if you want to be with me, you’ve been tripping everyone up with your anxiety,” Yifan said as gently as he could. “It’s already all been put out of balance. This won’t change anything.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I’m the alpha, wouldn’t I know best?”

A small smile wormed its way onto Junmyeon’s face. “You just want me to say yes to you.”

“Well, that too,” Yifan chuckled. “But really, it won’t be too different. We’ll just spend more time getting to know each other, spending more time together. It won’t be a big change from the way we are now.”

“We’ll just know that we might have feelings for each other.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know, that seems like a pretty big difference Yifan.” Nevertheless, Junmyeon smiled and bowed his head. “I’ll accept you, Yifan.”

Yifan grinned and squeezed Junmyeon in a one-armed hug. “I’m honored. I won’t let you down, Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon hummed softly and then stepped out of Yifan’s embrace. “Thanks for cleaning up the floor.”

“No problem.”

Junmyeon shifted awkwardly. “Um…”

“Are you going to go read now?”

Junmyeon gave him a hesitant nod.

“Go on, then. I’m going to finish eating.”

Junmyron nodded again and left the kitchen. It wasn’t until he reached the safety of his shared room with Jongdae that he had a sudden thought.

“Poor Jongin…he knew all along, didn’t he?”

Junmyeon smiled when he heard Jongin muttering “Poor Jongin indeed” as he passed by Junmyeon’s room in the hallway.

Five weeks later, Junmyeon found himself taking a day off of work to enjoy a spring cleaning day with the rest of the pack. They’d spent all morning and afternoon airing out bedding, cleaning out the attic, and then compiling all of their junk to either throw out or donate to a homeless shelter. Now, in the evening, they were doing outside chores in the balmy spring weather.

 Junmyeon finished watering the last patch of squash growing in the backyard and flicked his fingers to stop the flow of water. On the other side of the patio, Luhan was washing clothes with Sehun who was helping to dry them.

Junmyeon turned around when he sensed Minseok approaching him. “What’s up? Weren’t you making shaved ice with Jongdae?”

“We finished, he’s dishing it out now.”

“What did you want to speak to me about?”

“Yifan says that you two are going out tonight.”

“Oh.” Junmyeon blinked, and he felt a small rush of nervousness. “Yes, we are.”

“You two have been going out a lot lately.”

“Yes, we have.”

“Are you…?”

Junmyeon nodded softly. “I’m sorry, Minseok.”

“No, it’s fine. I mean, I sort of…I’m trying to move on, if you couldn’t tell,” Minseok chuckled quietly. “Perhaps this will make things easier.”

Junmyeon’s eyes filled with pity and a touch of sympathy. He knew what it was like to have a broken heart, but he couldn’t bring it in himself to try and stop himself from inflicting the wound. “Oh, Minseok…I’m sorry.”

“No.” Minseok pulled himself together with a visible effort. “First of all, don’t say things that you don’t truly mean, Junmyeon.”

“But I am sorry.”

“If you were sorry, you wouldn’t have picked Yifan.”

Junmyeon glanced over at Luhan and Sehun, who thus far hadn’t seemed to notice that anything was amiss. “It’s not that simple, Minseok.”

“But it is!”

“I wish that I didn’t have to hurt you to make this choice, but it has to be done.”

“You could give me one more chance.”

“You could give Jongdae a chance and open your heart and your eyes!” Junmyeon snapped, his voice rising.

Silence fell across the yard and Junmyeon sighed heavily, lowering his voice when he spoke next. “Please, Minseok. I tried to open my heart to you too, for the longest time, but I just…couldn’t.”

Minseok scoffed, but his eyes seemed weary and resigned. He glanced over and saw Jongdae’s worried face peeking out over the window and looked back at Junmyeon.

“I just want to say that I’m sorry for attacking you like that, the first time I told you that I wanted to mate with you. And I hope that you and Yifan are happy.”

“Minseok—“

Minseok his heel and headed off into the house. Junmyeon didn’t try to follow him, his eyes filling with worry and sadness as he watched Minseok disappear.

“Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon turned around to look at Luhan and Sehun.

“Is everything alright?”

Junmyeon shrugged, his mouth twisting into a thin line. “I don’t know.”

“He’ll be alright. Give him time.” Sehun turned back to the laundry and began blowing a gentle breeze through the clothes. “Heavens know, we’ve all been through heart break at least one time or another. Go and enjoy yourself with Yifan, Junmyeon, you’re already running five minutes late.”

Junmyeon smiled weakly and smoothed his hands down his t-shirt. He looked over his shoulder to see Jongdae and Minseok standing in the kitchen window. Junmyeon shook his head and turned away, walking over to the side yard. “Thanks guys. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid, alright?”

Luhan gave him a small wave, and Junmyeon continued out of the house. He had known that there was no way that Minseok would take the rejection smoothly, even if he was off trying to pursue Jongdae. Nevertheless, Junmyeon tried to pull his spirits up; Yifan had been in meetings with other packs all day, and Junmyeon wanted to try and boost his spirits and have fun at the festival.

Junmyeon stopped short when he noticed a lone figure standing on the front doorstep. Junmyeon was tempted to sneak through the towering rose bushes and hop into the car Yifan was waiting in. It would be so much easier, especially right after everything with Minseok happened. But then, he thought of how Daesung would feel, waiting out on the doorstep, and he stepped forward. “Daesung?”

“Junmyeon!” Daesung turned to see Junmyeon standing off to the side. He took in Junmyeon’s graphic tee and neatly pressed capris. “You look nice.”

“Thank you.” Junmyeon walked over and sent a quick glance over to Yifan, who was watching them patiently from the driver’s seat of the car. “What are you doing here so late, Daesung? You usually come over in the afternoon.”

“I was wondering if you’d like to go on a walk with me. It’s the perfect temperature for a walk right now.”

“I’m sorry, Daesung, I can’t. Yifan is waiting for me.”

“Are you guys going somewhere?”

“Yes, we’re heading out to the second night of a local apricot blossom festival.”

“I see.”

“Daesung.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve…I’m…” Junmyeon struggled to find the right words to say to the wolf before him.

“What is it?”

Junmyeon lost his resolve when he saw the innocent curiosity shining in Daesung’s eyes. He’d broken enough hearts tonight.

“It’s nothing. I’m sorry I can’t go out with you tonight.”

“No, it’s alright. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to accept tonight.” Daesung gazed at him thoughtfully, sadness shining through his eyes. “Well…have a good evening, Junmyeon.”

“Thank you. You too, Daesung.”

Daesung nodded shortly and turned away, transforming into his wolf form and streaking off of the lawn in a flash of dark brown fur. Junmyeon watched him go, and then walked down the front driveway and got into the passenger side of Yifan’s car.

“What happened?”

Junmyeon sighed heavily and shifted in his seat. Of course Yifan could see straight through whatever barriers he tried to put up. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Are you ok?” Yifan waited for Junmyeon to buckle his seat belt before pulling away from the curb. He took one hand off the steering wheel and patted Junmyeon’s knee comfortingly.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll tell you about it later, I just…I just need some time.” Junmyeon covered Yifan’s hand briefly, and then gently pushed his hand back over the divide. “You know it makes me nervous when you do that. Both hands on the wheel, sir.”

“Sorry.”

They remained silent until they got to the festival. Junmyeon observed the bright lights and the sounds of people talking with quiet anticipation; he’d gone with the whole pack to this festival last year. He hoped that he would have just as good of a time with Yifan as he’d had with the larger group last time.

Yifan stepped out of the car and locked the doors before coming around and putting his arm around Junmyeon’s waist. “Where do you want to go first?”

Junmyeon leaned into Yifan’s embrace and sighed softly. “Why don’t we just start walking down towards the river? We’ll see some performances on the way down, I’m sure, and it’ll be cooler by the water as well.”

“Whatever you want, Junmyeon.” They set off and began chatting about their days; Junmyeon had spent the day off of work at home doing housework while Yifan had met with several other city packs to discuss the recent murmurings of the ambush from a few weeks ago.

“Taeyeon says that she wasn’t sure why the wolves suddenly decided not to attack while the rest of us were gone, but she doesn’t think they’ll come back any time soon at this point.”

“That’s good,” Junmyeon shivered softly, and Yifan drew him closer under his arm. “Yifan?”

“Hm?”

Junmyeon opened his mouth to say something, but then paused by a crafts stand, his train of thought derailed by the glimmer of glass. “Oh, these are pretty!” He leaned over a shelf of glass turtle magnets. “Aren’t they cute, Yifan?”

Yifan smiled and let go of Junmyeon. “Pick one you like, I’m going to go buy us something to drink from the vendor over there ok? I’ll be back in a moment.”

Junmyeon nodded and continued looking through the glass turtles. Finally, one with mauve, sky blue and silver swirls inside its shell caught his eye. It was rather small, but Junmyeon hoped that Yifan would like it. He felt the heaviness of his emotions lifting from his shoulders as he picked it up in his hand, the heavy glass settling firmly in his palm—

And then he froze in shock. He knew that scent; he hadn’t smelled it for nearly three years or so, but he would know that smell anywhere. A warm hand landed on his shoulder, and Junmyeon stiffened and then spun around, knocking the hand off of his body.

“Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon stared at the wolf before him, his mouth half open in shock.

“…Alpha?”

a/n: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN

You guys still love me right? Ahahaha /hides from all of the burning stares/

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed all of the krisho fluff in this chapter! Poor Minseok, but really, he had it coming...if you break Junmyeon's trust once, it takes a very long time to gain it back. Hopefully Minseok and Jongdae will find happiness though! ^_^ Anyways, I also have no idea how many chapters are left in this story because like I said, this fic has no plot and no direction...but I'm sure I'll come up with something. It'll probably be a little while before the next update because once again, I'm struggling with direction for this story, and I also have to work hard for a bunch of exchanges I joined.So please wait patiently for the next chapter, it should be up in another week if not sooner.

Thanks for reading! (200+ subscribers to the story! Wow!!!!) Please comment with your thoughts, and upvote and subscribe if you enjoyed :)