“Welcome!” The cheerful male voice called out as the bell over the door rang, signaling another customer. The cheerfulness of the voice flowed over the young woman standing uncertainly in the entryway of the coffee shop, taking in the smells that mixed and blended into the unique smell that came from a well-loved coffee house.

“What can I get for you?” Yesung looked at the woman, frowning as she stood uncertainly in the doorway. Her clothes suggested she’d either run away from something recently or was just disheveled, he couldn’t really tell, but taking a deep breath, he recognized the sharp scent of fear she was emitting as she straightened her jacket.

“Hey, Soohyun.” Yesung hissed at his co-worker as he finished serving some lattes to a pair of businessmen.

“What’s up hyung?” Kim Soohyun asked, setting the tray on the counter.

“Take a deep breath.” Yesung said.

Soohyun breathed in, his face confused until he recognized the scent of fear. “The girl?” Soohyun asked, cocking his head towards her.

Yesung nodded, eyes narrowing as the bell over the door rang again, admitting a tall figure in a business suit. The woman’s scent of fear tripled as the man behind her placed a hand on her shoulder, pushing her gently forward. Yesung decided to watch the pair, seeing the way she’d tensed the moment his hand had landed on her. “Welcome!” He plastered a smile on his face, waiting patiently behind the counter as Soohyun went to clean off another table.

“You’re right Min Yeon, this place is homey.” The man smiled down at the woman. “Relax. You’ll do fine as my new assistant.” He added, striding over to the counter. “I’ll even buy your drink today.”

The woman’s face, soft and heart-shaped, relaxed a little as the man moved away from her. “Thank you Mr. Choi.” She said, trying to sound more relaxed to Yesung’s ears, but failing miserably. She kept her head down, preventing Yesung from seeing what color her eyes were as the pale olive look to her skin suggested she was mixed.

“I’ll have a caramel latte and she’ll have?” The man named Choi turned to her, eyebrows raised.

“A mocha-chino.” She replied quickly, stepping up next to him.

Yesung rang up the orders, and slid the man’s card through their card reader. Handing back the card, he murmured that their drinks would be out momentarily, so they could go find a seat.

‘I don’t like the way she smells of fear.’ Cloud told him, sullen and worried. ‘It’s like she wants to be as far away from that man as possible.’

Yesung sighed, steaming the milk for the man’s latte. The whole ordeal irked him, and Cloud becoming moody and sullen wasn’t helping. Thankfully he’d caught the first name of the man and was planning on looking him up once his shift at the café was over. The bell rang again, admitting Lee Jinki while Soohyun delivered the drinks. “YO! Yesung!” He belted, his voice smooth and melodic as he danced in front of the counter. “You’re moving up in the world buddy.”

Yesung raised an eyebrow. It was rare that Jinki sang, and in public no less. “What do you mean?”

“Did you not get the text that Jungsuk sent? He wants you over at the modeling agency.” Jinki smiled. “A job offer came in and BoA thinks you’d be perfect for it with your dark hair and bedroom eyes.” He leered, his bright brown eyes twinkling with mirth.

“Yah!” Yesung exclaimed, trying to keep his voice from attracting the attention of the customers. “Keep that down will ya?”

Jinki caught the double meaning, leaning over the counter and motioning for Yesung to come closer. “What’s up?” He took a breath, frowned and then looked around the café quickly, eyes narrowing in on the tall man in the corner dictating something to the young woman who typed furiously on a tablet. “Why is the girl over there smell of fear?”

Yesung shrugged. “I don’t know. She came in smelling like that. The guy’s name is Choi Siwon.”

Jinki in a breath. “Oh .” He swore softly. “Go to the back, we’ll talk there.”

Yesung motioned wordlessly to Soohyun to man the counter, the younger shifter happily doing so while Yesung went to the back. Jinki was tying an apron around his waist in the office when Yesung walked in. He shut the door so they couldn’t be overheard, getting the feeling that this was very important information Jinki was about to give him.

“Choi Siwon is one of the most destructive, ruthless businessmen that rivals our Pack.” Jinki explained, punching something into the time clock. “If he’s here, that means he’s looking into expanding his business sights on something that the Pack owns. It could be the café, or the bakery, since that’s areas he’s not ventured in yet.”

Yesung sat down at the desk, absorbing the information. “So he’s the one who’s been buying up the new businesses in the area and then liquidating them for new shops of his boutiques?” He asked, recalling some information that Jungsuk and Kangin had been discussing.

Jinki nodded, pointing at the computer. “Boot that thing up and see what you can pull out of the news about Siwon. I’m going to call Jungsuk.” Jinki pulled out his cell phone, hitting speed dial for Junsuk's cell phone. The Alpha's probably already felt the slight panicky feeling that Jinki was trying hard not to project onto the other wolves in the café. His foot tapped out an impatient tune as Jungsuk’s phone rang.

“Jinki, what is it?” BoA’s tired voice asked into the phone.

“Put Jungsuk on, please.” Jinki knew better than to order the beta around, so he’d phrased it as a request, putting a hint of fear and uncertainty into both his voice and the pack bonds.

The whisper of air ghosted over the phone’s microphone and Jungsuk’s voice came through the line. “What is it that’s got you upset?”

“Choi Siwon walked into the café about 10 minutes ago.” Jinki didn’t beat around the bush.

“.” Jungsuk swore. “Who’s with him?”

“Some new girl who stinks of fear.” Jinki said, wiggling his foot as Yesung typed furiously into the computer. “She looks like his new assistant.”

“So he’s gotten rid of the old bat.” Jungsuk sighed. “See if you can get any information out of her without alerting Siwon to what you’re up to. In fact, if Soohyun is there, have him do it. I’m sure Siwon’s going to recognize you from the bakery.” Many of the Pack members worked in the Pack owned businesses, and Jinki was no exception, working in both the bakery and the cafe while he plans his next business venture.

Jinki listened to a few more instructions to relay to Soohyun as Yesung yelped quietly, waving Jinki over. “He’s announced his intention to get into the modeling business about 3 hours ago.” Yesung said loudly enough for Jungsuk to hear over the phone.

A groan was heard loud and clear over the phone. “We’re going to have to keep an eye on him.” Jinki mouthed to Yesung. He talked with Jungsuk a few more minutes while Yesung went back out to see if the businessman was still there.

Soohyun knew something was up the moment Yesung beckoned to him. “Go to the back and talk with Jinki.” Yesung said, taking the cleaning cloth from him.

Yesung was glad this time of day was the lull in the café’s business. It allowed him to tidy up the lounging area whilst keeping an eye on Siwon and his assistant. Soohyun came out and nodded at Yesung just as Siwon stood and spotted the young shifter. Beckoning to Soohyun, Siwon gave him a look over before asking where the bathroom was, and Soohyun was glad to point to the opposite side of the café. As soon as Siwon was out of earshot, he casually sauntered over to the woman, turning on his soft charm that relaxed and comforted others without being too charming.

Yesung watched for Siwon out of the corner of his eye as he cleaned the last table. When Siwon came back, Yesung made a soft growl, too soft to be heard by normal human hearing, but Soohyun picked up on it and patted the woman on the back before Siwon could see it. He scooted away from the table, pretending to fix a painting that was crooked.

“Can we get a couple of drinks to go?” Yesung had gone back behind the counter, cleaning some of the machines before the afternoon rush would start, and was startled by the soft approach of the woman.

“Sure!” Yesung smiled at her, noticing how tired she looked now that she wasn’t cowering under Siwon. Her bright blue-green eyes startled him, making him wonder if Siwon was just using her as a pretty assistant to fool people. “Same ones as before?” He asked.

“Yes.” She nodded, fiddling with the card she held in her hand. “You make a really good mocha-chino.” She added softly.

Yesung hummed, hoping the action would sooth the woman. Her scent of fear had lessened, but he was sure the moment she came near Siwon it would come back full force. He quickly made the drinks, and pushed them at her, taking the card she handed him. When he handed the card back, he’d slipped a business card for the café that Jinki had written on into her hand. “Thank you very much for coming.” He said, holding her hand softly. “If you need anything, let us know. We'd love to see you here again soon.”

Soohyun must have said something to her earlier as her eyes widened and she nodded almost inconspicuously as she took the card and slipped it into a pocket. “Thank you.” She said quietly, taking the drinks.

**

It takes 2 weeks before Siwon is seen again around one of the Pack’s businesses. This time, Jungsuk’s got someone tailing the ruthless business man, reporting his every move. Yesung’s assumption that Siwon’s new assistant was only there for looks turned out to be true when people started to treat Siwon differently than before, even smiling and talking with the man as if they’d been friends for a long time. The change in attitude concerns Jungsuk, and even BoA and Jinki are getting nervous since Siwon hasn't actually done anything even remotely close to opening up his own modeling agency.

Jungsuk’s prediction about the popularity of the modeling agency skyrocketed when Seungri’s first photo shoot came out ended up being more than triple what they’d expected.  Something about Seungri had people clamoring to have him model their clothing line, or try out a new product.

All hell breaks loose around the modeling agency when the first spread for Ha Rae’s new fall clothing line she and Amber had been furiously working on comes out. Donghae’s astounded by the amount of fans he’s gained from one photo shoot, and even more astounded that people were just as enamored with Kyuhyun, though his wolf isn’t happy about the attention being lavished on his mate.

Jungsuk’s forced to get private unlisted cell phones for the group, and has to post security guards at the office so the rabid fans don’t force their way into the office in attempts to get a hold of the three popular models. Teh Pack elders are pleased that the new business has become very successful in such a short time, but concerns have been expressed over any possibilities of their very existance being leaked out into the public. BoA's sworn that if anyone or anything happens to compromise the existence of the Pack, she'll shut down the business immediately.

BoA’s gloating and smirking, prancing around the office and the Pack houses in lieu of her good fortune. It’d been her idea to start the modeling agency and feels like she’s struck gold. She’s at the office when Siwon calls to ask for an appointment to discuss business of common interests with her. She'd been wondering when the businessman would be contacting her, though the reason for the visit is not exactly what she'd expected Siwon to ask to meet with her over.

“Don’t let him try anything funny.” Jungsuk warns, his wolf restless and worried about the meeting.

“Don’t worry.” BoA’s got her fingers in his hair again, working to soothe his growing headache over the whole thing. She shifts behind him, moving a leg that’s threating to fall asleep on her. “I’m already prepared for when he tries to buy out the agency or buy shares into it.” She knows exactly how Siwon manages to take over companies before he liquidates them.

“The Pack Elders are all in a fit over you even accepting a meeting with him.” Jungsuk adds, though he knows that his mate is well aware of the dislike the elders have for Siwon’s business practices.

“It’s not like they can do anything about it right now.” BoA scoffed, her wolf humming in agreement through their mate bond. “I’m just going to feel out what Siwon’s intentions are, and then let him know firmly that I’m not interested in any partnerships or selling to him.”

The next day has the office tense as they know it’s the day of BoA’s meeting with Siwon. Donghae’s heard by now of the notorious businessman, whom, he finds after a little historical research, is the direct descendant of his former brother in law. He’s not forgotten the fact that he was once married, even though he's mated to Kyuhyun. It’d been a lesson hard learned by the group within a few months of arriving in their new home that everyone they’d known or been involved with has passed away and several generations later some of the descendants are named after their ancestors. Donghae had even felt some sadness learning of the fate that beheld his parents and wife.

Donghae busies himself with reading some book that he’s totally lost interest in, wanting to see what this descendant looks like. Zhou Mi was off on his photo shoot for Ha Rae’s clothing, and Seungri was sitting with Heechul in the front office, arguing over which hair color Heechul wants to use next when he goes in for a haircut. Kyuhyun was at the coffee house, filling in for one of the younger pack members who’d had a field trip for school and forgotten to tell them about it until the night before.

BoA’s muttering to herself in the office, pacing back and forth, her shifter nervous. ‘I can’t believe we are doing this!’ Her wolf chides her, feeding off the slight anxiety through the mate bond that Jungsuk is emitting even though he's nowhere near the office.. ‘He better not try anything funny or I swear that I will come out and give him a good scare.’

‘You will do no such thing Sara!’ BoA scolds her wolf. ‘It would be death for us all if you come out.’

‘Not physically.’ Sara’s tone is serious. ‘I just mean I would come out metaphysically through you. Like intimidate him?’

BoA stops with that thought from her wolf. ‘Sara, you may have something there. We should ask permission though.’

Jungsuk readily agrees through their mate bond to let Sara add some power to BoA’s words should Siwon prove to be difficult when he’s told no to any of his demands.

The phone buzzes, startling BoA only because she wasn’t expecting it. “Yes?” She answered the phone.

“Choi Siwon is here.” Heechul’s voice soothes BoA’s nerves. “Seungri’s escorted him to the conference room.”

“Thank you Heechul.” BoA is grateful that she has such calming Pack members suddenly, sending some warmth and love through the Pack bonds towards those in the office.

BoA takes a moment to ensure she looks calm and professional as she walks out of her office. The last thing she needed Choi Siwon to see was her being unprofessional, and this would cause him to think she’s not taking this business seriously.

Seungri’s standing outside the door, wearing a tight smile when BoA walks up to him. The feline is normally calm, so seeing him tensed and not calm is a bit unnerving, but then BoA remembers that all Seungri has heard of Siwon is that he’s a very formidable person. “It’s ok.” BoA soothes the shifter, smiling softly at him.

Seungri let out a breath, visibly relaxing at BoA’s touch. “Good luck in there.” He breathes as she turns to the door.

“Thanks. If I need anything, I’ll call on the desk phone.” BoA tells him. It’s standard Pack code to use technology when dealing with non-shifters if they need to call another Pack member even though the bonds are much faster and more accurate in relaying emotions.

Seungri nodded, already walking away from the door.

BoA takes a steadying deep breath, turns the handle and walks into the conference room, a smile on her face. “Good afternoon Mr. Choi.”