Despite being quiet, Jaejoong’s wolf had always been a curious one. That said, he was still surprised at himself when upon seeing their Alpha leaving for the woods, he left his books behind and followed him. The Alpha of the pack he had recently joined half interested and half terrified him to death. As a low ranked member of the community, Jaejoong didn’t suppose he would ever find out what it felt like to be able to silence people with just one stare or make people feel nervous just at the mention of his name. Jung Yunho could do all that and more.

He didn’t dare approach any closer, following the Alpha as quietly as he could, keeping distance so big he nearly lost him twice. Their village was situated in higher parts of the Eastern Mountain Range, which prided itself with countless forests and lakes. It came as no surprise then, that their destination was a small pond hidden away by tall trees and a hill, with the stream running down right into it, creating a peculiar waterfall. In Jaejoong’s opinion, the area looked very out of place, as if someone squeezed it in between the masses of soil forcefully, which would probably also explain its shapelessness.

The Alpha clearly didn’t mind since he removed his shirt and immediately dived right into it. Judging from how long  it took him to resurface, Jaejoong decided that the waters were indeed treacherous – despite looking small, it was deathly deep. With the Alpha yet again diving underwater, Jaejoong made a few steps forward, aiming to squat on the edge of the pond which was still densely covered with trees and bushes, allowing him to remain hidden. However, two things happened. Firstly, he couldn’t see clearly neither the ground nor what was directly in front of him. On top of that, a big black bird chose that exact moment to make a sound so agonising that Jaejoong jumped and while trying to turn around, looking for the potential danger, he fell into the water, back first.

Jaejoong couldn’t swim.

He made a few desperate arm moves, futile attempts to bring himself back to the surface. He had no basic knowledge of how to do it, he fought only with his self preservation instinct. It felt like he had been falling down forever – if Jaejoong had the mind to open his eyes and look around the water, he would have noticed how dark and deep the lake was. As it was, he just felt the temperature of water around him lower. Just as his strength was about to give up on him, he felt hands circling his middle, and he was suddenly dragged back upwards.

The first breath after such a long time literally hurt his lungs, he started coughing, focused only on spitting out the water he felt running down his nostrils and throat. After the initial shock passed, he froze with the realisation of the position he found himself in.

His back against the rocky edge of the pond, not quite seated but instead kept afloat by the strong arms he was now trapped with. Jung Yunho was watching him with those impenetrable eyes of his that always made Jaejoong want to immediately submit or better, pretend he didn’t exist. Except this time he had nowhere to hide – he’d been caught.

‘A pup who doesn’t know how to swim.’ The Alpha remarked almost casually, if not for the flat tone of his voice. Jaejoong couldn’t help but whimper and immediately blushed at his actions. However, he felt incapable of turning his eyes away as he was staring right back into those black eyes which seem to have hypnotised him.

‘I am not a pup.’ He responded quietly, his voice still hoarse. He immediately regretted his words. What on Earth possessed him to challenge the Alpha? He wanted to disappear. But he was also quite sure that the Alpha could make him disappear any moment he chose to.

‘Not yet twenty, not yet mated. Hasn’t gone into heat once. That’s a definition of a pup, if you ask me.’

Jaejoong gulped. He belatedly realised he was literally plastered to the dominant. With Yunho embracing him tightly like that, he had no choice but to keep his arms around the other’s neck. Not the smartest choice. Could he try and strange the bigger wolf should the other want to harm him? Jaejoong gave up the silly thought before he could even fully comprehend it. Never mind the lack of strength, his submissive nature would not allow him to become violent, especially against his direct superior.

‘Where I come from, there is no water. There was no need to swim. I-‘ Yunho sighed which surprised Jaejoong to the point of losing the plot.

‘I am aware of it.’ But before Jaejoong could even process the information and decide what the Alpha’s judgement meant for his current situation, Yunho added: ‘However, that does not explain you following me all the way here. I do not appreciate or condone such behaviour, especially from the young ones. Understood?’ His tone left no tone for argument. Perhaps because of that, Jaejoong responded rashly, before he had time to bite his own tongue.

‘Pups, young ones… Don’t treat me like a child. I am not one.’

And again, he immediately regretted his words. The problem was, while Jaejoong had absolutely no problem with authority or his new alpha, that very same alpha made him lose his mind just a little bit, every time he was in Jaejoong’s immediate proximity. Just for this reason alone, Jaejoong seemed to not have any control over his mouth and kept blabbering, instead of just hanging his head in shame and take the suitable punishment. Adding to it the fact that right now was the closest they had ever been to each other… Enough said that Jaejoong himself did not understand his behaviour at all.

He felt the arms of the Alpha tighten around him and his mind started panicking. He’s going to crush me. I defied the Alpha and he’s going to kill me. And he is probably right.

However, the older man just tightened his embrace, but not painfully so, and lowered his head so he could whisper directly into Jaejoong’s ear.

‘No one is more aware of the fact you are not a child, believe me.’ He stayed this way for a mere second or two, but just enough time for Jaejoong to feel the water drops from Yunho’s hair fall on his shoulder and for the distinctive musky smell to invade his senses. If he were standing, his legs would give under him right then. As it was, he was still pinned to the rocky wall by Yunho’s weigh. All wet. He shivered at the sensation.

After what felt like eternity – while in reality it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds – Yunho effortlessly put him up to seat on the edge and got out himself. He went over to the other side to grab his shirt and made way to leave. He paused when he reached Jaejoong and said.

‘Don’t make a habit of following people who do not want to be followed, especially the dominant wolves. Did you really think I wouldn’t sense you walking behind me? I am your alpha, pup. You should really give me more credit. Now let’s get going. It’s not the wisest idea for an unmated omega to be wandering here alone.’

Jaejoong stood up and tried to fall into step with the older as much as he could.

‘I have a name, you know.’ He muttered, resigned.

‘I know your name… Jaejoong.’

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