It was during the late summer that many occurences had decided to take place one after another, breaking the peace of the pack for a while and keeping us all on our toes. Having sat for my exams at the end of the semester, I had to go back to my original house and bear with my mother's constant ragings throughout the whole two weeks. She had continuously rained insults and insults upon me, hitting me down and drowning me with so many complaints, as if I were nothing more than an annoying pest that badgered the hell out of her whenever I was around, like I was something she would rather live without rather than her own flesh and blood. It came to a limit where I exploded in her face.

"If you're going to constantly harass me about my existence, you could've just told me that you didn't want me around!" I shouted, red-faced and angry, "What am I? Some sort of punching bag?!"

To say that she was shocked was an understatement. It was clear from the expression her face that she had not been expecting this retaliation in the least. For a few seconds, opened and closed like a goldfish in need of air, not really knowing what to say in these circumstances. But then, almost like something had snapped her back to reality, her expression seemed to be pulled by a string so that turned taut and rigid, her eyebrows drawn in, and her nose pinched as if she just smelt something horrible.

"Young lady, do you even know who you're addressing?" She started with an angry glimmer in her eyes, "I'm your mother!"

"Well you clearly don't seem to be doing a very good job of it!"
"I fed you! I pay your school fees! And that's how you repay me?!"
"Then I think I got the message" I had gathered all my bags and personal belongings, setting in front of the doorstep before having turned to her and bidding her my final goodbyes. She was still my mother, no matter how badly she treated me. It hurt to feel her rejection when it was being emitted from every pore of her body. There was nothing in her brown orbs that indicated even the slightest, slimmest glimmer of love and despair.

She was damaged, she had been damaged, and ever since my father's departure, she had gone beyond control.

"So you're trying to act like your father now!" She yelled, and I almost did not catch the trembling of her lips when she did so, taking a step backwards and looking at me as if I was the most disgusting thing on earth, "go then! Go and see if I'll care! You're nothing more but a selfish brat! That's what you are!"

So you could guess that the final showdown hadn't gone well with my mother, especially when I had to turn up-- red-faced and ashamed-- in front of the werewolves' doorstep with nothing but my knapsack filled with my personal necessities. They hadn't asked anything, had merely ushered me in with warm smiles and comforting hugs. I was sure they could smell the frustration rolling off my body like waves, but they were all so decent not to mention it in the least.

But it didn't stop there. As I mentioned before, everything seemed to go downhill. Starting from Junhoe's sudden appearance at our doorstep, a panicked expression painted over his face and his jaw taut like he'd been gnawing on the subject of frustration itself.

"Junhoe-ssi, what a pleasant surprise" came Suho's light exclamation. Ever since the rogues started diminishing in number, we barely interacted with the Lynxes anymore. Not that we were on bad terms, on the contrary, but it was hard to accommodate more than what we could even in our house specifically designed to hold the twelve werewolves. Plus, the lynxes had been busy themselves, setting up their own base and finding day jobs so that they could split the rent easily and buy whatever they needed.

"What brings you here?" Suho asked as he was led to the kitchen. The girls-- including myself-- who had been sitting at the dinner table while exchanging funny stories and gossips of the neighborhood, paused to flash him their best smiles of greeting, "hey Junhoe!" They chorused like a pack of noisy birds.

I stifled a laugh at their behavior, knowing that he was the one and only weakness of all females in this house. They found his "bad boy" image refreshing and charming. One would be led to believe them as fangirls, even.

"Here! Have some cake!" Mihye, bouncing right into her position as host, swiped a piece of the said food onto a plate before dropping it in his hands, to the said boy's surprise.

"T-Thanks" he replied, ruffling the back of his head with embarassment.

"Would you like tea? Coffee? or something else to drink?" Suho took a seat opposite him, his smile unwavering. The guest shook his head and again I caught sight of his pursed lips. I frowned. Something was wrong, something was troubling him.

Suho's expression softened at the sight. Junhoe was impassive, cold, and most of the time could be misunderstood by most people if they did not try hard enough. It was rare to see such vulnerability cross his face.

"What's wrong, Junhoe-ssi?" Suho asked gently.
The boy sighed and replied, "you can drop the honorifics"

"Alright then," the leader of the pack chuckled slightly before folding his arms over his chest, "let's get right into it. What's bothering you?"

"It's-- kind of hard to explain" Junhoe stuttered his way through his words and out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of his grip tightening onto the table, "c-can I say this out loud?"

"Everything you say here will stay here" Suho said.

"A-Alright but--I don't--" Junhoe raked a hand through his thick black locks, then sighed. "Okay, here goes"

His eyes lifted up from the table, and though in his gaze there was nothing but hardness, the redness of his ears were enough to give his game away. I stifled a laugh upon noticing this, knowing exactly what was coming next.

"I--I have a mate"

The leader's face lit up, "that's awesome"

"No, you don't get it" Junhoe shook his head, almost as if he'd shake it right off his head if he tried hard enough, "I--she's--"

"-- she's a wolf."

It wasn't a real surprise when they all jumped and gaped at him like he suddenly had grown five heads. It took five seconds for them to realize the content of his words, and five more to give out a reaction for it. Krystal dropped her mug and if Sehun hadn't been getting out some milk out of the fridge it would have smashed to the ground without his aid. Haerim pushed a shocked cry while Lyn's hands flew to . Taehee suddenly knocked her chair down when she stood up abruptly, and Sarang was so surprised that she almost tripped over her feet when she took a step back.

"How--what--why?" Sehun opened his mouth then closed it until Haerim pushed it closed.

As I gazed at the sudden change in behavior, I noticed the tensed way in which Suho's knuckles had contracted, death-like white against the dark tone of the table, his shoulders held back as if an invisible string was pulling at his nerves.

It was a hard thing for Junhoe to have said out loud, and from what I'd gathered before, he was proud and had a huge male ego that couldn't be damaged no matter what circumstances. But for him to come out of his shell so quickly and surely, I had to applaud him for that effort. Sometimes, you lose the chance to say what's on your mind just because your own self doesn't want to admit it. It's hard to put aside your pride and that's what makes human so complicated. Because the chance can vanish with just one click of your fingers, only to have you realize that you lost that one strand of hope for you to make things right.

"Well," Suho lifted his head to the ceiling before he heaved a huge sigh, as if trying to shake the weight of the world out of his shoulders, "I think we need a meeting"

 

It was the first time I'd seen a meeting being arranged in such record time. Everyone had on serious expressions plastered on their faces like masks that one would wear in a theatre performance. Even the lighthearted ones like Baekhyun and Chen had their lips and jaw set. It was quite a scary thing, to be honest. I wasn't sure whether I liked it better when they weren't bugging the hell out of me.

"So you mean to say," Xiumin rubbed his chin, "that he's imprinted on a werewolf?"

"Does that mean that they'll have Were-Lynx babies?!" Baekhyun exclaimed.

"That would be cute as hell though" Chanyeol said.

"Either cute or ing creepy" Chen rubbed down the goosebumps across his arms.

"With cat heads and furry dog tails?"
"What about dog heads and cat tails?"
"What about their s?!"

"Shut up!" Kris bellowed, and instantly the room fell quiet. They stared at him like he'd just punished them, ears pressed back against their heads.

Tao crossed his arms over his chest with a frown dipping down his eyebrows, "what's the big deal about it?"

Junhoe was just sitting there and letting his head rest in his palm, elbow pressing onto his knee while making as if everything they were talking about had nothing to do with him.

"Actually, there isn't" Suho leaned into Krystal's touch when she ruffled his hair to calm his nerves down, "it's just that-- I've never heard of that kind of bond before."

"Does your mate know that she's imprinted with you?" Lay asked Junhoe gently, who shrugged and nodded his head.

"Can we meet her?!" Chanyeol bounced up from his seat, moving his head just in time to avoid Kyungsoo's arm that would've slapped him across his head.

"Of course not!" The latter hissed.
"Actually," Sarang quipped, "I think meeting her would be great."

"I think so too," Haerim leaned onto Sehun's shoulder and narrowed her eyes at the said Lynx, who had been as silent as a wall all this time, "have you talked to her about it?"

Only silence ensured.

"Junhoe" I spoke up, knowing that I'd have a little more of influence on him as I knew he trusted me enough to have spilled out his hear to me, "Did you?"

His gaze hardened upon meeting my brown orbs, his own flashing with a light of guilt, "No."

"What about your pack members?"
"No."

We took this in, letting the information simmer for a while. I knew without looking at him that Junhoe had straightened up and was now gripping his knees so tightly that his knuckles were white. Cold.

"I think that it's time you tell them" Kris said.

Junhoe's teeth bit down on his lower lip. "It's not that easy" he groveled out, "we made some kind of deal, me and my mate. That we'd ignore the bond, for the sake of our packs and ourselves, but--" he broke off and his expression tightened like he had crossed an unintentional line. We watched him mentally struggling with himself, as if he were in an emotional war of feelings with his own Lynx. Though he said nothing, I could guess what he was about to say.

"It's getting harder, isn't it, Junhoe-ssi?" came Haerim's harsh reply. The Lynx boy's head whipped up instantly in her direction, part shock and part gratefulness flashing through his gaze.

"I know how it feels" she nodded, then jutted her chin in my direction, "she does, too."

"I just--" his eyes flitted back and forth, back and forth like he was in the middle of a ping pong game. The veins on his forearms jutted out from the frustration, "I can't-- it's too ing hard--"

"Junhoe, no one told you to stay away" Suho leant over while placing a hand on his shoulder in comfort, "you shouldn't torture yourself this way. What did it bring you not to acknowledge your own mate?"

"I don't know, I just thought people would criticize and judge" he raked a hand through his thick raven hair, "I was confused, and annoyed at her because I didn't want this to happen. I wanted to be normal"

"Maybe it turned out for the best" Kris shrugged before leaning back in his seat, "that you've imprinted on a werewolf. Maybe it's a sign, a sign that we should all  start understanding each other and creating contracts within shifter packs."

"And anyway, it's not like you have a choice," Baekhyun suddenly stated from his seat, "the one who succeeds in resisting that bond is heartless, or is secretly a masochist that adores pain."

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes but didn't slap him this time, "what you said could've been so smart until you mentioned that last part"

"Hey, at least he got half of it right" Chen quipped. That earned him a playful punch from the individual in question.

So with that, Junhoe decided that he'd talk to her as soon as the chance was in his favor. I caught his eye on his way out, to which he mouthed a soft thank you before exiting the room with a lightness in his step and relief written across his face. It was clear that whatever storm brewing in his mind had been appeased for the time being, and I was happy for him, happy that he got to get it off his chest before waiting too long for the fire to burn his entire soul within its flames. He probably felt the same way I did when I had started ignoring Luhan's existence before, and it hadn't been a good experience in the least. Having an imprint with a werewolf -- or any kind of shape shifter for that matter -- required a lot of effort and sacrifices in order to accept the one whom you're supposed to be with. But once you give in to that temptation, it's almost like everything falls into place and you couldn't imagine anything else other than whatever you were experiencing now. It was a magical thing, something that was out of this world. Something that couldn't be explained. 

"Chanyeol and Baekhyun, start preparing the table" Kyungsoo called a bit too cheerfully from the kitchen. Snapping out of my momentary daze, I realized that everyone had resumed their previous activities, and it wasn't until the warmth of my wolf's hand was placed onto my shoulder that I blinked into consciousness, looking up at him with a question in my gaze. 

"You knew about this, didn't you?" Luhan asked with an edge that I identified as jealousy. Ooh, so the ahjusshi was giving in to his wolf's instinct, was he? He was finally showing some of the possessiveness that was buried deep within the chains of his stomach, the beast lying behind his ribcage. 

"About Junhoe? Why? Does it bother you?" my lips drew up into a smirk. I couldn't help it. It was so rare that I managed to catch Luhan off guard that when I did, it was for me a guilty pleasure. 

He snorted, "That's none of my business." And then turned a little too sharply away from me before stomping out of the room. From the corner of my peripheral, I watched Taehee stuff her face with the chocolate chip cookies made by Haerim, grimacing at Luhan's back as he retreated before flashing me a grin that said 'I listened in on your little conversation and you were awesome back there." 

I mirrored her grin before raising my eyebrows a the way she was wolfing down the cookies one after another. If she continued, there wouldn't be any more left for the rest of the pack. But Taehee and food were something else entirely, so I rather not dirty my hands in trying to pry it away from her hold. 

"You're gonna blow up if you continue." I remarked. 

She only shrugged and bit into another piece of chocolate dough, "I know, but I don't care. These are too good to resist." 

"She's already a fatty, anyway," Haerim commented as she breezed by with the laundry, "It wouldn't make much of a difference." then she ducked as soon as the said girl threw a cookie at her, laughing as she went about with her tasks. Krystal chimed in from the living room, voice floating towards us like bells, "I hope Baekhyung likes his girls round and full of grease!" 

"Real funny you guys, real funny!" Taehee grumbled. 

"We love you too, Taehee." 

A couple of days passed by with no additional drama. The year was slowly coming to an end, and it was that time again: the time for celebration and parties and an assortment of good food to spend some wonderful time and happy memories together. The fall had definitely moved on to winter, the wind now being joined by snowflakes that fell from the sky like white tissue paper that made the land appear magical and misty and just so pure. It almost looked as if nothing bad could ever happen in such a place, as if this was the place where miracles could happen and happily ever after's were destined to be. 

The werewolf pack had decided to spend some days out of the comfort of their house for a change in order to appreciate the good weather. So they moved to a wooden challet up in the hills and closer by the mountains, where there was plenty of fresh air and a beautiful scenery that could regenerate anyone's broken soul. It was just purely beautiful, magnificent, breathtaking. There was no other word to describe such sensations. The only catch was that up in the mountains, it was colder and much more chilly than down, and you'd always see the wolves chopping up more wood for the fireplace or others pulling out more blankets so that the small tv room was completely covered with their softness, almost like they were having a permanent sleepover. 

Having run out of quite a few groceries throughout the week, Kyungsoo decided that he had to run some errands in the grocery store that was just a few miles below them. And since there was no possibility of being able to carry all groceries alone, he decided to drag down with him Jongin and Chanyeol, much to the latters' protests. 

"You guys are the ones who eat the most," Kyungsoo reprimanded as he kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel, hating how the wind was shaking the car in its hold, "So, you guys are the ones that have to help." 

"But that's not fair! Why didn't you take Seulmi? She eats just as much as both of us!" Chanyeol exclaimed. He clearly was not satisfied by his current job. One glance at the reariew mirror told Kyungsoo that the tallest man had his arms crossed over his torso and a pout on his lips. 

"Seulmi has her own to deal with" Kyungsoo shot back. 
"Like what? Making out with Luhan?" Jongin piped up, only to be silenced with one of the latter's famous glares when he was not amused. He chose to ignore it nevertheless for he knew that him sitting in the back wouldn't give the older boy the ability to slap him like he always did in such situations. 

It was early morning, and the sun hadn't yet peeked through the clouds, the sky gray and void of color. The chilly bite in the air had Kyungsoo draw his scarf closer around his neck, shivering slightly with goosebumps when he stepped out of the warmth of the vehicle. The streetlights were still on, signalling that the town was still sound asleep, the citizens still buried under their covers. Even the chirp of the birds hadn't emerged yet, and the fod was like a presence of a ghost hanging in the air. 

Kyungsoo went about with his task, taking on a cart and pushing his way through the aisles as he dumped in whatever he needed, the two other wolves in tow. From time to time, they'd pop in their own favourite snacks and for that he had to roll his eyes, but let it slide. After all, they were sacrificing their precious time in order to help him out with house chores. As annoying and whiny as they were, they came with him filled with good intentions. He couldn't overlook that part. 

Spaghetti, tartar sauce, a sack of freshly picked potatoes...Kyungsoo tapped his lower lip in thought while gazing at the shelves. He hadn't cooked some proper korean food in so long, what with all the night shifts and the research they'd been undergoing and trying to resolve every night, they'd always either end up with takeout from the pizzaeria place so close to home or Mcdonald's meal. He must admit that there was a certain pleasure in finally shopping for real food, finally smelling the fresh aroma of ingredients straight from the fields, without any additives or anything else that might cut off real taste. Just the thought of one more night eating greasy slices of pizza had his stomach rumble in protest. He didn't want to go there, he didn't want to induce any of those calories with so much fat that he felt bloated. 

"Can I help you?" 

He realized that he had been daydreaming in front of the meat section, while the saleslady was looking at him expectantly, now with a hint of confusion flashing across her features when he snapped back to reality. Embarassment crawled up the back of his neck, and he rubbed it in thought. 

"Y-Yeah, Uhm, sorry about that," He pointed towards a roll of ham in particular, "I'll take that one. Forty slices, please." 

He was scared that she'd throw him a look of surprise and utter astonishment with the number of slices he had commanded, but she only nodded and told him to wait patiently before grabbing onto the roll and proceeding towards the slicers. The nape of his neck was still burning for no particular reason, the tingles making him bite his lip as he forced himself to be calm and regain his composure. 

But goosebumps were crawling up his skin, maybe it was because he was falling sick. Those were symptoms of a cold after all. He made a mental note to take some medication when he returned home. 

His palms started tingling wtih electricity. His chest felt hot and like someone was squeezing the air out of his lungs. He placed a hand over his chest, brow furrowed, in an attempt to halt the weird sensations. 

Jongin or Chanyeol were nowhere to be found, or else he would've the basket of goods in their hands and hurried to the toilet. He needed some water on his face. Maybe it was just his delusions, or maybe he was ill. 

The girl came back with the slices of ham wrapped in a plastic bag, and she extended her arm over the counter as she quickly taped the price over the bag. "Here you go," She murmured with a smile. 

He nodded, smiling slightly back as he made a move to take the bag from her hold. 

And that was when something in him snapped. 

Were you guys expecting that?! Were you?! Omg I'm so hyped for the next chapters because OH GOD Do i have things in store for you guys! 
Not much interactions between Luhan and Seulmi this time but I promise there will be more in the chapters to come, don't worry about that. Right now, I'm trying to move the plot as fast as I can because this story was supposed to be over by twenty chapters or so. Turns out that the characters of this story are forcing me to add on more to what's going to happen next. 
Anyway, what are your thoughts on this chappie?! :D What do you think has happened to Kyungsoo? And I gave a very subtle hint about an aspect of the plot in this chapter. Are you guys able to find out? Try to guess ;) 

Thanks as usual for always supporting and reading this story. I thank those who comment on all chapters and who are always there to write down kind words to someone who doesn't deserve them TT.TT THanks so much guys, you're the best. See you in the next chapter!~

love, nutmeggu.