‘Alpha, can we speak in private?’

Yunho, who must have sat immobile on the porch for the entire time both Joohyun and Changmin spent with Jaejoong, jerked at the voice. The younger woman’s face must have looked more grave that she intended it to because the leader stood up immediately, walking further away from both Junsu and Yoona, the two people keeping him company. The doctor followed until they reached one of the buildings utilised as school premises for the younger pups of their pack.

Once they were inside, he locked the door firmly and finally properly looked at her.

‘Would you like to take a seat first?’ She could clearly see how distraught their Alpha had been for the past few days, so she was careful not to make it sound like an order. The last thing that they all needed was for him to snap.

After a short moment of hesitation, he did as instructed, albeit heavily. She took a place across from him.

‘How is- How is he?’ He barely noticeably stuttered when he posted the question. She kept voice neuter – that’s what she was good at. Her tranquillity was also part of the reason why she was so fitted for her position in the pack.

‘He’s good. Physically.’ She added after a moment. ‘His body has been-‘ Abused was what she wanted to say, but ultimately decided against it. In his state of mind, Yunho could easily interpret it in the worst of ways. ‘-has been through a lot, but it’s going to pass. Nothing that medicine cannot cure. What worries me more is his state of mind.’

She didn’t know how much longer she could stall, but the older seemed to have understood what was it that she was alluding to. He raised his head to look at her and she returned the gaze, apologetically.

‘I would never dream of intruding in your personal affairs with Jaejoong, but as his doctor, I think that I have the right to know anything that you can afford to tell me about his mental state. If we want him to get better, we need to work together.’

‘You’re smart, you have always been. You have probably figured out most of it, anyway.’ Yunho finally relented, his shoulders slumped in a deep sighed. She nodded a little.

‘What is the real reason for which Jaejoong was so reluctant to mate with anyone, you included?’ Just as Yunho expected, Joohyun went straight to the core of the matter. ‘You mated in human form, that much is obvious. It’s uncomfortable, especially for the first time, which means that you either did not want to mate in wolf form – or more probably, you couldn’t.’

‘You’re right, we couldn’t.’

Yunho meant to share only the most necessary details, but ended up pouring all his heart out to the young doctor. If he could think of anything other than Jaejoong and the predicament that they had found themselves in, he would have laughed at how wide Joohyun’s eyes had become. She was the legendary stoic person of their pack, always taking everything in stride, but this was too much even for her.

It felt also strangely comforting, talking to somebody not directly connected to the matter. He knew that he could always go to Junsu and rely on him for anything, but his best friend could never look at his problem objectively, being emotionally invested in it himself. Therefore, Yunho was thankful for any objective opinion that he could find.

The girl sat in silence the whole time he was talking, and even after he finished, it took her a moment to collect her thoughts.

‘I trust that this can stay between us.’ Yunho’s voice came out strained. ‘Jaejoong is vulnerable enough as it is, if the news of him having lost his wolf gets out, it might lead to many more dangerous situations for both him and us. For now it’s only you, me and Junsu in this, and I must insist that it do not go further. Your sister must stay out of it, at least for now.’

‘Of course, you need not ask, I understand. However, you are not entirely right in saying that your mate is human. I don’t know how but your physical actions induced his heat. Such cases do not happen often, but mostly because hardly anyone mates outside of the season, therefore we have no grounds to test this theory. Nevertheless, just the fact that he did go into heat, after all, already means that the animalistic part of him is still there.’

‘That’s a good sign then, isn’t it?’ Yunho prompted after a prolonged moment of silence.

‘Based on what we know about hybrids, it would seem so. But obviously, this is just the beginning. It would be ideal to try and learn more about what caused his difficulties, but for now we will have to be content with curing the symptoms.’

‘What do you suggest that I do?’ For the first time since the conversation started, Yunho actually leaned in attentively. It seemed that at least one person in this mess knew the way out.’

‘Right now, as you have probably guessed, Jaejoong had come to identify his pain with you. You had been there during his heat, and that couldn’t have been easy – both for him as somebody already guarded, and also for a wolf that is barely of age. I know how he must look at you right now and it certainly hurts a lot. However, this is exactly why you can’t abandon him right now. If you constantly send Changmin in your place, soon the two of you will become estranged.’

‘What else can I do?’ Yunho stood up, pacing and running his fingers through his hair impatiently. ‘He wouldn’t even let me come closer, let alone touch him. Was a supposed to just leave him there? I can’t let my unfounded jealousy about an unmated alpha prevent me from fulfilling my duty towards Jaejoong. I promised that I would take care of him, not just as a mate but as part of this pack, first and foremost.’

‘The way I see it, Jaejoong was never that comfortable with your presence in the first place.’ Joohyun’s voice was unwavering, bordering on clinical. Right now, she was clearly the doctor, not Yunho’s subordinate. ‘You have to start by changing it. You’re not a big, scary alpha. You are mate – home, safe haven, a person to go to. If Jaejoong can understand that and start trusting you, his healing will definitely speed up by tenfold. How his own good, you will have to force him sometimes. Gently but firmly. You inflicted pain on him – why don’t you start by explaining to him what really happened? You should have done that, instead of immediately sending Changmin in.’

‘I wasn’t thinking clearly.’ Yunho admitted. He stopped walking around and sat back properly, finally voicing out what he had wanted to ask all along. ‘What happened with Changmin..?’

When Changmin opened the door to the Alpha’s bedroom, he had already managed to school his features back to how he usually behaved around his younger friend. Even without prior warming, he was more than aware of the young doctor being there with Jaejoong, but he tried hard not to let that fact affect him. He was there for the latter, and that was what he needed to focus on right now.

He didn’t have to look, though, to sense just how tense Joohyun become in his presence. She was, of  course, no fool, she knew exactly what was happening between them and she seemed to be fighting it just as hard.

Changmin found Jaejoong still on the floor, enveloped in the blanket thrown to him by his mate, hidden from view up to his eyes. The older cleared his throat.

‘I haven’t seen you in days and that’s how you great me?’ He knew that he was being snarky, and that Joohyun’s disapproval of his approach oozed all the way from where she was seated across the room, but right now, a bit of normality was probably what Jaejoong badly needed, to Changmin was willing to try. He sat down on the floor, not too far away from him, but not close enough to second guess himself.

Jaejoong looked up, but didn’t reply. Changmin frowned and turned around to Joohyun, who would presumably have all the answers, but she looked equally concerned. Upon catching his gaze, she slightly shook her head. Changmin didn’t need any further communication to understand the meaning behind it: it was certain that Jaejoong had not let her approach him either.

‘You’re in pain, aren’t you? Why don’t you let the doctor take a look. She won’t touch you if you are uncomfortable with it. I swear.’ It was Joohyun’s turn to frown, but Changmin sent her a pleading look, so she just shrugged. I guess it can work, her eyes sent him an unspoken message, that is, if we even get him to move from the floor first.

To their surprise, Jaejoong made a small movement in attempt to stand up, be it the unbearable pain or sheer loneliness that pushed him to it. His legs wobbled, to which Changmin instinctively jumped in to help, but stopped himself at the last moment. He promised Yunho that he wouldn’t touch the younger unless necessary, and it didn’t seem to be the case here – he was perfectly fine on his own. As he watched Jaejoong slowly move towards the bed, Changmin briefly thought that while still an omega, his younger friend certainly was different. Most omegas lived their life shielded and having mated, became their partner’s responsibility. Jaejoong, however, was in clear control of himself. His past experiences had made him stronger, but also a recluse  - he had learnt to rely solely on himself.

His inner strength came from the fact that he had nothing more to lose and was ready for about anything. Under such circumstances, having mated couldn’t have been taken as a blessing, but as additional burden. As Changmin finally caught Jaejoong’s eyes, he noticed nothing but anguish in them.

Joohyun carefully approached, hands where Jaejoong could see them, and proceeded to ask him a few questions, to which he mostly nodded or shook his head respectively. Changmin remained standing in close proximity, but not distressingly so.

Jaejoong was laying on his front, with Joohyun inspecting his backside as attentively as she could without actually touching it, when Changmin chose to speak again.

‘Alpha is really worried about you.’ Jaejoong’s shoulders stiffened at the mention of the older wolf. Changmin sighed. ‘I haven’t mated yet, so my advice probably isn’t worth that much, but I imagine that as in every other human relationship, communication is key. I like to think that when I mate-’ His eyes briefly flicked to Joohyun, he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t be sure if she registered his attention or not. ‘- I will be the bigger man and give my partner a chance to explain the misunderstanding before I actually take action.’

‘Say what you really want to say, hyung. I’m very tired.’ It was the longest sentence that had come out of Jaejoong’s mouth since Changmin entered the room, but it was no more than a whisper.

‘Fine, then. The past three days you were in heat. I cannot possibly comprehend what that feels like, but you were completely out of your mind, and your body probably felt like you were burning alive. That was also the first time it had ever happened to you. You must have been scared.’

Jaejoong didn’t move, but he visibly gulped, still staring into empty space. The younger was horrified to the point of being immobilised just by the memory of it.

‘I’m not stupid, you know. It’s kind of obvious that there is so much more about you that you are not telling the rest of us. I don’t know how aware Yunho is of your state, but he was there for you all the way, doing everything that he could to help you ease the pain. You’re pushing away the one person that can support and protect you. Just… think about it, that’s all I ask. I appreciate your trust in me, but it’s not my place to be here for you. Not like this, anyway. Think of where that leaves me, and how that makes your mate feel.’

‘We left soon after that. As I have already said, Jaejoong’s body is healing relatively fast, but you need to give him a chance to explain his side of the story, just as much as he should try to understand yours.’

Yunho took a deep breath, nodding but said nothing.

‘I-I hope you don’t think that I overstepped the line. I didn’t mean to order you around, I want you to be all right, Alpha. I hope that my advice will turn out to be useful.’

‘No, no. Of course you didn’t.’ Hardly anyone had a chance to see the vulnerable side of their leader, but Yunho felt that he could trust the younger girl with his story. She had proved herself over and over again. ‘I’ll ask you to continue keeping an eye on his health when you can.’

‘It’s going to be our priority right now.’ She hesitated for a moment, before deciding that her next words were justified. ‘It’s probably a very sensitive topic right now, but with your permission, I could discreetly look into Jaejoong’s… condition more. There must be ways of enhancing his self confidence and help him heal his wolf.’

‘Would that really be possible?’

 ‘Even without knowing the first thing about the situation, I can assure you that your presence will be crucial for his recovery. It’s the most basic requirement for both partners’ happiness and well being.’

‘I understand.’

‘I know that… you seem to come with a lot of personal baggage-‘ Yunho flinched at the words, which were clearly a direct reference to Boa ‘-but try to keep an open mind. Give yourself a chance to love him the way that he deserves to be loved. Patience and trust can do more than any herbs ever will.’

In the next few days, Yunho didn’t manage to accomplish that much, save for having Jaejoong accustomed to being in the same room as him. He couldn’t completely abandon his responsibilities, but both Junsu and Leeteuk made it easier for him by taking over whatever job they could get away with. Yunho himself spent most of the day on the uncomfortable couch in their room, talking about everything and nothing, hoping to gauge a reaction from his mate.

The results were poor, but he didn’t count on anything, really, since the slow speed was exactly what he had been told to expect. He made sure to explain the situation that they had found themselves in clearly, starting with their mating and the side effects of Jaejoong’s heat. The younger seemed to have taken it all in relatively calmly, having already comprehend his own errors in judgment, but even with that part behind them, Yunho soon realised that what really drove them apart was not the painful ual encounter.

They just didn’t know each other well. Not really.

So Yunho talked, and talked, and talked. About his childhood, his parents, his friends. His life in the pack. He talked and Jaejoong listened attentively.  This blur of information could not, of course, make up for the lack of knowledge about the other on a more direct and personal level, but Yunho figured that it was at least a start.

Yunho had talked about almost everything, everything but the one subject that he couldn’t bring himself to mention. Jaejoong never brought it up, but somehow, Alpha sensed that his mate had not forgotten the promise that had been given to him on the night of their ritual. Yunho had to tell him about Boa eventually, but he just didn’t know how. He needed more time.

Time was not exactly on his side, though, because amidst one of the more tranquil afternoons, he had been alarmed by the frantic knocking on their door. He had locked the door firmly, like every time he sat with Jaejoong. Jaejoong was beginning to respond to him little by little, be it a short chuckle or a few whispered words, but Yunho relished in it.

Their eyes met for a split second, both looking equally alarmed, before Yunho jumped up to hastily open for the house for the impatient visitor.

It was Yoochun.

‘Is it…?’

‘Everyone’s safe, don’t worry. But a few men were doing their rounds in the woods and they smelled blood in the air.’ Yunho sniffed and indeed, one could clearly distinguish the metallic scent of blood around. He inwardly cursed – he had let his guard down, focusing only on Jaejoong these past few days. He should have smelled the intruder the moment he was carried into the village. ‘Upon further inspection, they found a wolf, barely breathing. His scent was not exactly familiar, but he seemed quite young and was badly injured, so they decided to bring him here.’

‘I’m coming. I need to see him.’

‘Alpha, Junsu recognised the scent.’ That stopped Yunho on his tracks. He looked over his shoulder for further explanation. Yoochun hurried along. ‘He said that it is somebody that you are familiar with. He said to tell you that it’s Chanyeol.’

Yoochun frowned, the name foreign on his lips. Yunho could tell that he was getting annoyed with not being informed about anything, and with all the secret that even his own mate was sworn to keep from him, but Yunho couldn’t be further from trying to comfort him about it at that moment.

Chanyeol. Had he heard him correctly?

Chanyeol. What was Boa’s younger brother doing on his pack’s territory?