Kyungsoo was tense as he looked over his pack-mates, all of them sporting similar looks of surprise, except for his alpha, Jongin – who watched him with a eating grin almost as wide as any in Jongdae’s repertoire. Behind him Chanyeol and Baekhyun were still struggling to process what they were witnessing as Jongin raised his hands and began to applaud. “A ing Tundra?!” He laughed. “Brilliant! I had you picked for a Tibetan, but , a ing Tundra.”

Tundra? Kyungsoo had no idea what Jongin was talking about, but he assumed it was good, judging by the smile on Jongin’s face, though he couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe he was being laughed at. Kris, ever perceptive, quickly noticed Kyungsoo’s uncertainty and crouched down in front of him, “Soo, do you know what you are?” he asked, gently.

A cocked head was enough of an answer for Kris to decide to explain. “You’re a Tundra Wolf, Soo, and a big one at that.” The blank expression on Kyungsoo’s face must have been obvious even out of his skin.

“It’s your subspecies, Soo.” Luhan explained, stepping forward, “I’m Tibetan, so are Sehun, Chanyeol and Jongin. Suho behind you, he’s a Great Plains Wolf, and Tao’s a British Columbian. Each of us belongs to a subspecies. You just happen to be one none of us have ever seen.”

“Well, this is just further proof that I know how to pick ‘em.” Jongin boasted, pulling his phone from his pocket and tapping quickly at the screen. “I mean what’s this? The third rare subspecies I’ve brought into the fold.” He paused for a moment to take Kyungsoo’s picture. “Clearly, I am just that awesome.” He stated matter of factly as he saved the image.

“Awesome, my .” Kris scoffed, standing up to clip his arrogant mate behind the ear. “You never found, Kyungsoo. That was Suho. And who was it that found Tao? Huh?”

“Yeah, but I found you and I’m pack alpha. So…I’m awesome.” Jongin stated petulantly.

Kris gave a long suffering sigh, “Just shed your skin already before that big head of yours gets in the way.” He knocked his mate’s shoulder as he passed, calling out to the rest of the pack as he started ing his shirt. “Ok, it’s time to stop gawkin’ at Soo, and get this run under way.”

With that discarded clothes and flesh flew as the rest of the pack raced to shed their skins. It was a macabre and disturbing sight, but Kyungsoo couldn’t seem to bring himself to look away, even though it made him feel sick to his stomach.

Kris was the first to emerge from his skin. A stunning pale wolf, almost matte white. The broad shoulders and trim hips of his human form translated into an impressive barrel chest, heavy set shoulders and surprisingly slim haunches. Compared to Tao and Suho, he was undeniably smaller, but clearly heavier and obviously built for taking down big game.

Jongin wasn’t far behind, and wasted no time barreling into Kris’ side the moment he was free of his skin. It happened so fast that it caught Kyungsoo off guard, one second Kris was standing by Tao, the next a lithe streak of gold and tan was knocking the wind from pale wolf. But the smaller wolf, despite his speed failed to force his mate to lose his footing. Kris responded with a playful nip aimed at Jongin’s ear that missed.

Suho came up on Kyungsoo’s right as Yixing shook off the remains of his skin from his tawny coat, the shades of brown and black in the singing teacher’s fur moved in ripples as the shake traveled the length of his body. Like Suho, Kris and Tao, Yixing was bulkier than their alpha, but unlike Kris, his musculature was more evenly spread over his frame. He was a big game hunter, but his features were noticeably smaller and rounder than those of his other large pack-mates. Something that became more obvious when Suho nuzzled affectionately at Yixing’s neck.

Two wolves, Xiumin and Luhan judging from their scents, bounded past the pair with an excited yip. The smaller of the two, Luhan, a shaggy wolf with a dusty yellow coat, deliberately smacked Yixing’s rump with his tail as he passed. Xiumin – a considerably larger wolf with a gray and black coat – ran ahead to the edge of the clearing only to stop and wait for Luhan before disappearing into the trees.

Yixing and Suho glanced back at Kyungsoo, the look in their eyes expectant. Kyungsoo stepped forward and Yixing turned tail running for the trees, Suho and Kyungsoo gave chase, passing a rusty colored Chanyeol as he shook off his skin.

Up ahead Yixing darted under a fallen tree and bounded over another as he disappeared into the forest. Kyungsoo and Suho followed his lead, ducking low, weaving and leaping as they chase the singing teacher through the trees, copying every move and struggling to make up ground. It was exhilarating. Yixing was faster and more nimble than Kyungsoo had expected for a wolf his size and Suho, despite his size, managed to keep pace better than Kyungsoo, who quickly realized just how unfit he is.

After a couple of minutes Kyungsoo stumbled over a tree root, and used it as an excuse to drop out of the chase. Suho glanced back briefly to check that Kyungsoo was okay, before continuing on. Legs trembling, and lungs burning Kyungsoo slowed down to a walk, taking a moment to scent the air. He could smell all of his pack-mates to varying degrees. There was the sweet, almost bubble gum scent of Sehun and the more earthy musk of Tao to his left. The soft citrus of Yixing and cinnamon of Suho ahead –

The crunch of dead leaves behind him caught Kyungsoo’s ear. He turned just in time to dodge as Baekhyun pounced. The telemarketer stuck the landing despite missing his intended target and quickly flashed Kyungsoo the closest thing to a sly grin that a wolf could manage. His tongue lolling out over his canines. Kyungsoo grinned back, and lowered his stance. Baekhyun responded in kind, shifting his weight back on to his haunches, accepting the challenge.

Kyungsoo took a moment to size his opponent up. Baekhyun’s coat was short - a shade of burnt orange and black - and he had a similar build to Xiumin. Perhaps they were from the same subspecies, but Kyungsoo didn’t know enough about subspecies to be sure. Baekhyun was on the leaner side of muscular, more streamlined than Yixing, though not as slight as Jongin or Luhan. Kyungsoo could only assume that Baekhyun was built for speed and hunting down smaller game. He had two options, chase Baekhyun down or take him down. The latter being the more appealing of the two. Kyungsoo doubted he could last long in another chase like the one he'd had with Yixing.

He knew Baekhyun was watching him - ready to run - so Kyungsoo eased his stance. A feint that he hoped Baekhyun would buy. Noticing Kyungsoo pull out of his stance Baekhyun straightened up. Kyungsoo, seeing his chance, drove all of his strength into his haunches and pounced. Baekhyun, caught off guard, had no choice but to try and stand his ground, but Kyungsoo was bigger and heavier. He had at least 20 pounds, possibly more, on Baekhyun so the telemarketer didn’t stand a chance as over 100 pounds of muscle crashed into him, knocking him to the ground.

They tussled, Baekhyun struggling to get back on his feet, while Kyungsoo tried to keep him down long enough to be considered the victor. It didn’t take long for Baekhyun to go limp, belly up, conceding victory to Kyungsoo. Pleased with his first win, Kyungsoo stepped back, tail whipping back and forth as Baekhyun stood up.

Playfully nudging at Kyungsoo’s shoulder as he passed, Baekhyun made it clear that he had no intention of letting Kyungsoo’s victory stand long. Kyungsoo returned the gesture as a howl rang out. Baekhyun cocked his head, an indication for Kyungsoo to follow, before taking off in the direction of the call. As expected Baekhyun was fast and Kyungsoo had a hard time keeping pace with the gamma wolf as they moved through the forest.

Baekhyun led him to an old river bed where his pack-mates were gathering, Kris and Suho back in their skins. With their clothes still back at the cars, they stood among their pack-mates. Jongin sat on his haunches at Kris’ side, head resting against his mate’s thigh, while the junior lawyer absentmindedly scratched him behind the ear. Suho spotted Kyungsoo and Baekhyun approach and called out to Kyungsoo, waving him over. As Kyungsoo drew close Suho gestured to the center of the circle that his pack-mates were forming.

“Kyungsoo, for the past two months you have lived with us, shared meals with us and tonight you have shed your skin with us. I think I can safely say that all of us would be honored to call you brother. So it’s time you became part of our pack officially, unless anyone has a problem with that?” Suho glanced around, but is met with silence. Kyungsoo shifted his weight nervous and uneasy. Up until now he had been under the impression that he was already part of the pack, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

“Looks like you get the okay from everyone.” Suho remarked with a smile, “No surprise, really. If we could have we would have done this right after you moved in, but we need Jongin. So…” He trailed off with a shrug.

“Well, he’s here now.” Kris interjected. “So let’s get this done, before the moon sets. I’m meeting a client in the morning.” He stepped away from Jongin and crouched down in front of Kyungsoo. “Soo, just so you know what you’re getting yourself into, to become pack you have to submit to Jongin and take the bite. Once you do you’ll be one of us and we will be in your head, literally 24-7. You won’t have any secrets, no privacy, if you don’t think you can handle that tell us now, because once you’re pack you can’t take it back.”

Kyungsoo balked at that for a moment. His whole life he’d been a lone wolf, alone in every sense of the word for more than two decades. Could he handle having 11 other men in his head all day, every day for the rest of his life? Did he even want that? What good could even come from it? Maybe he would be better off on his own?

Kyungsoo could feel Kris and the rest of the pack watching him as he tried to digest what he’s just been told. Could he sacrifice his privacy, his secrets and his insecurities? He glanced around at each of the wolves he had been living with for the past months in turn.

Energetic, boisterous and shameless Chanyeol, who slept with his mouth open and had a habit of shedding his skin in the house after a long run. Spoilt, pampered and mischievous Sehun, addicted to coffee, bubble tea and T.V. soaps, and capable of worming his way out house chores with frustrating ease. Vain, childish, high-maintenance Tao, who refused to wear a towel for the 12ft walk between the bathroom and his room and insisted on draping himself all over other pack-members while watching T.V.

Snide, sarcastic, but ultimately good-hearted Jongdae, who had made it his life mission to make Kris go gray prematurely with his antics, yet found the time to talk Suho down when he was too wound up after work. Vivacious, dramatic and out-going Luhan, an obsessive neat-freak with impossible standards who had just as much trouble keeping still as Chanyeol. Quiet, patient and level-headed Xiumin, Luhan’s polar opposite and the pack’s voice of reason when tensions ran high. Sweet, flaky and compassionate Yixing, absent minded to a fault and incapable of keeping track of anything that wasn’t physically attached to him.

Responsible, organized and diligent Suho, who always put the empty cartoon back in the fridge and left the radio in his room playing even as he slept. Wisecracking, attention seeking, mood-maker Baekhyun, who insisted on making himself the center of a conversation and was incapable of accepting defeat, often resulting in flying game controllers.

Observant, calculating and perceptive Kris, who shouldn’t be allowed near potentially dangerous cooking utensils and thought it was ok to trim his toe nails in the living room then not pick up the clippings. And Jongin, cocky, competitive, and reckless. Kyungsoo’s future alpha if he chose. Did he want to be one of them at the cost of laying everything about himself bare? Maybe? Kyungsoo had never really had a family before.

Kyungsoo dropped back onto his haunches, stretching out his legs as he eased himself down onto the ground and rolled on to his back. Jongin stepped forward and scented him, nuzzling and nipping around Kyungsoo’s neck and exposed belly. Satisfied that Kyungsoo was not going to back out, he bit down suddenly on the soft flesh just above the junction of Kyungsoo’s right hind leg. Kyungsoo yelped in pain as Jongin’s canines pierced deep. His head began to spin and for a second he was convinced he was going to pass out when –

…be a beta?

Nah, gamma, maybe.

                                                        He’s too timid for beta.

Great, just what we need another gamma.

Not necessarily. Suho ain’t exac- ow! 

Voices, or rather words and strings of sentences in muffled, indistinguishable tones started running though Kyungsoo’s mind. Like his own inner voice, except not his thoughts, not his words.

Hey!

My money’s on delta.

                            What? I’m only telling the truth.

Jesus, Su. What the !

Done. 10?

                                                                                   So much for timid.

20.

As he listened Kyungsoo tried to make out the voices, but they all sounded the same.

                                                                      What does it matter what he is? 

Oh, I don’t know, pack dynamics maybe?

Deal.

                            What if he’s alpha? 

                                                                      Fat chance, Jongin would have sensed it.

Maybe not, lone wolves don’t have a hierarchy, so-

Lone wolf or not, if he’s alpha he would have been showing traits well before Suho met him 

                                          Going by size, I’d say delta.

I’m calling bull, right there.

                                          What? He’s got the build.

Explain Luhan then.

                                                                                    you!

Only if Xiumin doesn’t mind shar- 

Somewhere on Kyungsoo’s left one of his pack-mates yelped in pain.

Ow, !

Jongin released his bite and Kyungsoo twisted himself around, ignoring the sharp ache in his leg to see a white and black wolf of a similar build to Yixing that smelled like Jongdae, nursing one of his front paws. Next to him sat a rather peevish looking Luhan, the fur on his hackles raised.

                                                                                    Serves you right.

Shut up, Kris.

Alright, time to cut the crap. Kyungsoo’s one of us now, so no one thinks anything unless they have something nice to think!

So my all my French maid Kris fantasies are ok then.

Suddenly in Kyungsoo's mind’s eye an image of Kris dressed in a scandalously short French maid outfit began to form –

                                                                                    Dae!

The image disappeared.

What?! It’s a compliment.

                                          Jesus, Dae.

              Kyungsoo, doesn’t need to see your wank material.

                                          You could have at least made the skirt a little shorter.

                                                                                    Don’t encourage him, Jongin!

                            Here we go again.

                                          You’ve got great legs. Only a mini will do them justice.

                                                        Is this going to turn into another war?

See, your boy toy likes my fantasies, why can’t you?

If so I have some doozies ready.

                                          Boy toy?

                                                                      No, it’s not. And don’t you dare Chanyeol.

              Ooo, you better run Da-

                                          BOY. TOY! You…

Barely managing to follow the overlapping conversations, Kyungsoo turned to back to Jongin just in time to see the alpha, throw himself after Jongdae, who sensing danger scrambled to his feet. He didn’t get far, maybe two feet at best before Jongin knocked him to the ground.

                                          You bastard. I’m your alpha. 

As he watched the pair scuffle, Kyungsoo wondered what exactly he had gotten himself into.