Part 4: 아파 (Hurt) 

And I hold a piece of yours

– Tori Kelly

Chanyeol was worried sick. The sun was fast setting and his cub was nowhere to be found. Usually, it wasn’t that unusual for the youngling to forget that Chanyeol was waiting for him came dinnertime, that Chanyeol existed. That little brat. But it was usually solved when Chanyeol called for him and the happy thing naturally would roll around, fur a bit matted with an assortment of twigs and leaves, and the occasional mud he got from playing near the river. The cub’s goofy show of tiny fangs resembling a grin absolved him of his sins to Chanyeol. No matter how many years had been shaved off of Chanyeol’s life in the past year. (God, it had been a year). Where could the cub be? Chanyeol worried his thumb and before long he was shrugging off his clothes and landed on four legs, zipping out of their tent.  

It was a snap decision to move their home further in the forest for fear of the child drowning when Chanyeol wasn’t around. It was around six months in that the cub was capable of sneaking out that once Chanyeol found it almost putting its itsy-bitsy paw into the water out of sheer child curiosity. He only looked away for a second! He felt miffed and was pretty sure he had a heart attack. The cub was properly chastised when Chanyeol growled at him into submission and nose-butting the young one into the tent for more lecture on danger and safety. That’s when they moved, far closer to land food sources, a growing patch that he gardened, that Chanyeol dabbled with in case his money ran out. Running water and raising an active cub did not go well together. True, it was a longer walk when Chanyeol wanted to get some drinking and bathing water but his protectiveness flared brighter, triumphing over the issue of ease in distance. It was only recently that Chanyeol felt a bit better letting the cub near the body of water. He was already big that Chanyeol would know when his cub planned to play by the river. And time and time, the little one would get a warning to never cross the river, no matter what.

Chanyeol felt like his heart was rattling against his bosom. The cub’s scent was everywhere, of course and his calls were neglected. Thank god the sun was taking pity on him that it was still shining brightly despite the time being almost dusk. His instinct, whatever you’d call it; a caregiver’s intuition, gut feeling, good sense of smell, led him first to the river.

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach when he reached the bank. He saw nothing. But he did smell the faint trace of his cub’s scent. Oh god. 

Chanyeol felt like crying but he was closer to shock, probably. He turned his head up and scented the air. His kitten must have played by the river; he must have crossed over or something. The scent here was thicker and fresher than anywhere but Chanyeol refused to believe something bad had happened until there was proof, certain evidence of it. Yes, he must have crossed the river and was probably on the other side. Yes, that must have been why the kitten didn’t hear his calls.

In his panicky and worried state and with a single-minded determination Chanyeol pushed his way through until he got to the other side of the forest. He had never set foot here and the unfamiliar feeling almost overwhelmed him that he almost missed it.

His cub was here!

He was rushing to where he smelt the scent was strongest that he almost missed another, much foreign smell that once it registered on his olfactory, warning signs flashed in his head. Without meaning to, Chanyeol let out a harsh and unfiltered growl as he stalked closer to the source.

He must have been suicidal when he snapped his teeth at a werecat the colour of sepia but he was seeing red, and all of him urged to rip the intruder away from his sleeping cub. All he saw was a threat and that thing must get away from his cub soon, or else.

Stay away from my cub. 

He was surprised he even managed to say something when all he wanted to do was attack and demolish. 

The other werecat lifted its head so fast that Chanyeol could see its deer-caught-in-headlights look. But it didn’t move, only stared at Chanyeol that the latter stepped closer and his chest rumbled some more.

It finally looked like the stranger got his message. Keeping its pale grey eyes on Chanyeol, the cat slowly lowered its head, ink-dipped ears flat against its head, like in greeting and submission that Chanyeol realised that he was posturing. Chanyeol’s talon-like claws slowly retracted, feeling a slight embarrassment for his actions.

I can explain, the sepia-coloured puma suddenly said to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol almost jumped when he heard its-his voice. He didn’t say anything after that but as he rose, Chanyeol realised that the other werecat was actually massive in build. Instantly, he felt uneasy when the other finally stood in full height and slightly towered over Chanyeol. His snout was level with Chanyeol’s eyes. If he wanted to, he probably could rip Chanyeol to shreds. And Chanyeol really wanted to grab his cub and ran.

Here, the strange werecat finally said, head gesturing to the tiny youngling. He fell into the water and I was only providing him body heat so he’d stop shivering. 

Chanyeol let out a relieved whimper when he saw his sleeping cub. The other werecat slowly distanced himself and Chanyeol was so grateful for that. He immediately nuzzled his cub, feeling some wet patches and exhaling at the fast yet strong heartbeat of the cub. The stranger’s scent was on his child, and it took everything in Chanyeol to not bundle the cub up in his own scent. The little thing had the decency to let out an annoyed huff at Chanyeol ministration. After all that he’d put Chanyeol through.

You scared me, god, never ever, never again, Chanyeol whispered, and the tiny sleeping face.

-II-          

Kris was certain he was going to get at least a mauling but the dame all but crumbled at the sight of her cub. He felt a slight pang. (They would have been the cub’s age if they-)

He looked away when he heard the dame’s plea as she scented her young. This cub was definitely loved. And he felt like he was intruding on a family moment. He should leave them and never come back. He was thinking of leaving when he heard her.

Thank you, she said, eyes so expressively grateful and Kris shook his head in reply. I’m sorry for almost attacking you…and for how I behaved, I wasn’t thinking straight.

I understand.

No, I feel bad, at least let me repay you…with food, she insisted.

Kris should’ve declined but the sabertooth (Oh Sol, she is a sabertooth) looked like she was expecting a yes and Kris was raised to be a courteous ailure. Silently, he nodded and was struck when the beautiful ailure practically beamed at him. She really was regal, the diamond-adorned head tipped gracefully as she picked her cub up and walked toward the river, strides purposeful. Her head ce, making sure Kris was following her and he did.

-III-

Jonghyun narrowed his eyes, pursed his lips in deep thought. The Alpha was nowhere to be found, not uncommon, but Sol was already painting the sky rosé. Wherever he was during the day, Kris was usually back before night fell. Jonghyun went looking for the elusive leader to tell him the good news of his new mating to Seungyeon.

When he caught sight of Seojun and his mate on patrol by the Alpha’s residence, he called out a greeting before asking either of them the location of Kris.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t seen him since this morning,” Seojun said. “Well, I saw him last during breakfast,” he turned to his dame. Hyungsik shrugged at Jonghyun, telling him the same.

“Maybe he’s visiting Yoona or out hunting,” Hyungsik suggested.

Jonghyun nodded his thanks and the paired couple went to continue their rounds. He watched as the two conversed, the gentle smile on Seojun’s face suited him. Hyungsik was animatedly telling his mate a story and both had that undeniable sparkle in their eyes as they looked at each other.

Jonghyun remembered when they first met. It was not pretty. Their fights were constantly the source of exasperated sighs from their elders. They had gone head to head almost the moment their eyes met; the usually levelheaded Seojun poised to retaliate if attacked and Hyungsik’s radiant smile replaced with a vicious snarl. Once, their fight was so physically brutal that the younger dame almost lost his life. But that was all in the past. There really was a thin line between love and hatred.

Thinking that his search for Kris was going to be in vain, he sighed. Maybe today was not the day to relay the news.

-IIII-

Wait a moment. I’ll prepare something for you to eat.

Before Kris could decline, the young sabertooth dame made her way into a well-worn tent he only just noticed. She quickly disappeared behind the flaps, carrying her sleeping cub along. She must have felt cautious still, with Kris an unknown alpha ailure in her territory. It was a wise move to want to hide your young from an unknown predator.

With nothing better to do, Kris settled where he stopped. The weather was too cold for him to shift into his human form and he did not bring any warm clothes. He surveyed the area again. The living space was modest. Almost minimalist, in fact. There was a patch of upturned soil and some rather lush-looking vegetables neatly planted in patches. If Kris were not mistaken, he could spot some garlic, spinach and asparagus. The tiny vegetable plot was desirable, and Kris wondered how the dame managed to grow them. The alpha could also see that another patch was in mid-construction, probably planned for more plants, maybe for spring. The place was quiet too, Kris realised the place was strategically hidden. The dame must have marked her territory well. If Kris did not know better, he would never have expected somebody to live here. By the sun, how long has she been living so close by?

Author's Note: 

This was written a long time ago, it was collecting (imaginary) dust in my laptop. I wrote this during GOT7's turbulence era and when I was addicted to the song, hence it became this chapter's title. I hope you enjoy this and the ones to come, thank you! Please do comment and/or subscribe because it'll make me so happy! Let me know who you guys are so I can reply! Cheers! x