Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jeno was beginning to contemplate all the different ways one can violently dispose of an alarm clock. He would lose his security deposit if he threw it at one of the plastered walls, they couldn't afford to fix the glass if it was thrust through the bedroom window and Mark would be pissed to find more tiny pieces of metal if he broke it with his hands, again. 

Instead, Jeno had been coerced to put an alarm on his phone so he couldn't damage it as easily as all of his other physical clocks. He groaned as he tossed himself onto his side and slammed his hand into his phone screen. He missed the icon, causing the thrilling to echo off his forehead. 

"Dude!" Mark yelled from across the room. 

His urgency pulled Jeno from the blankets of his bed, his sleep-heavy eyes burning from the violent glare of his phone's screen. This time, Jeno was capable of correctly slamming his finger against the icon. The peaceful silence was enough to make the growing headache go away and a low moan from Mark's general direction was enough to know that he was also satisfied. 

"Do we have to go to class today?" Jeno wondered, allowing himself to fall back against his mattress. "I just want to go back to bed!"

"You just want to return to your imaginary life in that weird dream-world of yours!" Mark grumbles from under his pile of blankets. "Speaking of which," his head pokes out just enough so Jeno can make out his eyes. "Where were you this time?"

"You know that I don't remember what I dream about..." Jeno complains, hating the fact that he's wide awake right now. "It fucking sucks dude, I'm desperate to remember, but every morning I wake up and it's like it never happened. The worst part is that my body always seems disappointed, like I'm leaving something comfortable and safe. I've grown to love it because I haven't had a nightmare in months-"

"Yeah, Yeah I know!" Mark huffs, pulling himself up from the depths of his sheets. Jeno notices how his best friend's hair is all over the place, raised in various sections with no clear pattern. He muffles a chuckle into his palm as Mark's eyes try to focus on him through the darkness of their dorm room. "You get upset because you wake up feeling everything that you felt in your dream, but you can't remember anything about it. You sound like you're mourning the loss of a lover or something dude!"

"Well excuse me for wanting to remember what makes me have emotions for once in my life!" Jeno retorts, mumbling to himself as he lets the blankets close in around him again. "Maybe if I try really hard, I can fall back asleep and-"

"We have a field trip today." Mark interrupts him, his ears grown used to hearing Jeno's line of fruitful profanity. "The bus leaves campus in an hour so get up, have a shower and make sure to eat something. Woobin said that it was supposed to rain today so remember to wear your rain-proof shoes!"

"Yes Dad!" Jeno chirps but doesn't raise his head from the pillow.

He can see Mark's outline perfectly fine from where he is. He doesn't need to see through the darkness to know his best friend's lips are turned upwards in his typical coy grin. 

"Oh, and if you get on the bus before me, save me a seat! I do not want Stephanie to force me to sit next to her again, that girl is crazy!" Mark shivers, crawling out of his bed and in turn ruining Jeno's morning. 

If Mark was up, that meant that Jeno would have to get up. He did not want to get up and go on this stupid field-trip. He wanted to stay in bed a little longer, maybe even fall back into his dreamworld and experience his next dopamine shot early. 

His plans were foiled when Mark's fingers curled around the edge of his duvet, the elder ripping the blanket off before Jeno's tired mind could even register what was happening. His body was blasted with cold air, goosebumps raising on his forearms as his body cried out for more rest. 

Jeno growled as Mark jumped away, smiling innocently and humming a quiet song to himself as he rushed for the bathroom to snag all the hot water. Jeno let him, having grown used to showering in the cold. It didn't stop him from glaring at the door though, his teeth grinding against each other. 

"I loathe you!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, knowing that his roommate would hear him over the shower's spray. Mark's laughter echoed off the tiles, his response coming back muffled but Jeno could hear him perfectly. 

"Love you too man!"

Jeno found himself collapsing against his mattress again, only this time his legs bounced from the force of his own shove. He stared up at the yellow-tinted ceiling above him, his mind tracing out patterns in the paint. He had grown used to the sight over the past few weeks. He had also grown accustomed to his life as a third year college student and while it wasn't where he thought he would turn up, it was enough to make him feel the least bit content. Eve if the life of a college student came with annoying qualities. 

For some strange reason Jeno found himself regretting leaving home with Mark in tow. As a natural born introvert, Jeno typically didn't hold much interest in the great outdoors, but for certain circumstances -like a scheduled fieldtrip- he found himself overcoming that itch. 

And yet, today, it just felt strange. There was a pit in his stomach that made him think that there was something he was missing. Which was strange since Jeno always packed for emergencies. 

He had convinced Mark months ago to start bringing along extra clothing for field-trips. They always packed a decent lunch and Jeno typically made sure to pack a first aid kit for emergencies, duo battery packs, a spare water bottle, painkillers and a bunch of extra energy bars. And yet, for some reason, there was a queasy feeling lingering in his stomach that he just couldn't shift. Like he was walking into a lion's den completely unprepared. 

"Are you doing okay there buddy?" Mark wondered, halting them in their tracks.

His arm was heavy on Jeno's shoulder, almost forcing him down to the pavement. Had he been on unstable feet, Mark would have succeeded. 

"Yeah." Jeno agreed, though he wasn't entirely sure himself. "I think the milk I had for breakfast this morning might have gone off."

"Damn, do you think you'll be okay on the bus?" Mark sounded worried but Jeno couldn't find it within himself to care right now. not when every nerve in his body was running on high alert. 

"Yeah, I think-" he stammered. "I think I just need to sit down." He somehow managed a genuine grin, that seemed genuine enough for Mark's heart to ease a little. 

His best friend kept his hand on his shoulder, though thankfully not as heavy as before. He led the way towards the bus depo and towards Jeno's hopeful clarity. 

Unsurprisingly they arrived at the bus early. The only other people there was their driver and their lecturer, Mr. Kim but he preferred the name Woobin. He smiled at the approaching duo, getting out his clipboard and class roster to mark their attendance. Jeno let Mark handle the introductions, only smiling and nodding occasionally when needed. 

Eventually Woobin granted them entry to the bus, Jeno clambering up the steps first. He walked a decent way into the vehicle, stopping just shy of the back-row. He threw his bag in by the window and fell down himself immediately after. Mark sunk into the seat next to him with a tired huff. 

"How are we doing?" He whispered after a quiet minute. "Still feeling like you're about to puke?"

"I'm not going to puke." Jeno scoffed, a smile curling on his lips as Mark shrugged his shoulders in return. "I just feel a little lightheaded I guess, I can't really explain it."

"Hey," Mark gently slapped his thigh. "You have three whole hours to start feeling better, I wouldn't stress about it. Now, my turn to panic, did you pack any of my nausea meds?" 

Jeno couldn't help but roll his eyes, his fingers lingering on the straps of his bag before pulling it open. He stuffs his hand inside and roots around for a moment, pulling out a small line of pills. He cracks the back open and drops two into the palm of Mark's hand, he throws the rest back into his bag and pulls out his own water bottle. Mark smiles and takes it, knowing back the pills and chugging the water. 

"What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't bring my best friend his motion sickness meds?"

"A pretty shitty one, let's be honest." Mark jokes which causes Jeno to laugh wholeheartedly.

He takes back the bottle and makes sure that it's closed before slipping it back into his bag. He scouts out his headphones and all but wrestles his phone from his trousers' pocket. He slips the headphones over his head and links up both devices. He scrolls through multiple unfinished playlists before relenting and choosing one at random. 

Mark's fist ploughs into his chest before he can hit play. 

Truthfully the punch should have winded him, rendering him a choking mess at 8AM in the morning, instead all it does is draw his attention. 

Mark is sporting his fake-ass-grin at one of the girls who Jeno struggles to tie a name to her face. He has just enough time to realise that she's looking at him and Mark's hand (which is still tightly coiled around the front of his hoodie) is indicating that they're waiting for him to speak. 

"Oh sorry," he apologizes. "I asked if Mark would sit with me today, I have a couple questions about our architecture class." The practiced line forms so easily. 

He can tell that his words have hurt her, her lips unconsciously forming a small pout. She seemed to have realised her slip-up because the pout is gone just seconds after its arrival. Thankfully, Mark's grip loosens and his hand falls back onto the arm-rest between them. Jeno leans back into his seat, but remains attentive in case he is yet again pulled into their conversation. 

"Are you sure that you can't make an exception? I was really hoping to talk to you about that song you posted on Instagram, it was really incredible!" The girl all but screeches. 

Mark laughs but he's covering up a wince and Jeno has never been happier to have bought ridiculously overpriced headphones before in his life. 

"Thanks Stephanie, I really appreciate that.. but Jeno is really struggling with our architecture module." That was a big, fat lie. In fact, Jeno was acing that class. "He can't seem to be able to define the difference between Corinthian and Composite columns, it's been keeping him awake at night."

Mark somehow manages to make his retelling of Jeno's perfectly fine sleeping schedule sound like a Greek tragedy. Why his best friend didn't major in drama or theatrical studies is beyond Jeno's comprehension. 

"It's a terrible nightmare." He adds to the conversation for fun. Shrugging his shoulders when Mark glares at him. 

"And that will take the full three hours?"

"I'm a pretty slow learner." Jeno explains, scrunching his nose up for added effect. "Besides, when one factors in the pediment and the entablature, the hours go by really quickly."

Mark honest to God, groans. His head is falling back against his chair's headrest. Jeno smiles in fake apology to the girl who seemed to be growing more and more confused as the seconds ticked on. 

"I have a list!" Jeno continues, shuffling around in his seat to reach for one of his bag's strings. "I figured since I had Mark all to myself for three hours, I'd use the time to pick his brain about everything he knows about our architecture module."

The girl stammers as Jeno finally pulls the bag onto his lap, unzipping it and wedging his hand inside. He rumbles around for a moment, even sticking his tongue out for good measure. 

"Save yourself Stephanie," Mark begs. She quickly takes the out and scrambles down to the back of the bus. Jeno let's out a small victorious noise when he pulls out a bag of sour Skittles. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jeno counters, ripping the bag of Skittles open like he wasn't just worried about his stomach twenty minutes ago. "You honestly think that you can beat me with your limited knowledge of Classical architecture? I'm surprised that you even knew how to pronounce them correctly."

"Hey!" Mark hissed, colliding his fist against Jeno's chest again. 

"Dude!" Jeno hissed right back, scrunching up his bag of Skittles in one hand and allowing the other to knock right against Mark's left peck. 

The boy falls over immediately, letting out a pained wheeze. Jeno returns to his earlier position, allowing his bag to fall back to the floor, re-zipped. His bag of Skittles open for his enjoyment. 

"Serves you right for lying."

"You were doing the exact same thing!" Mark groaned, finally managing to pull himself up from his embarrassingly weak display of male strength. 

"I was not lying, I was rehearsing the lines that you would say had the situation reflected reality! You need my tutoring in all things architectural, not the other way 'round."

"Okay, fine!" Mark huffs, throwing his arms up in a dramatic state of surrender. 

Jeno pops a Skittle into his mouth, allowing himself a second to check outside the window. It truly was a bleak day. 

"You win!" Mark's voice pulls him back from the window to glare at him. "Are you happy now?"

"I'm going to have to spend the next three hours tutoring you," Jeno whispers. "Aren't I?"

He watches as Mark's head falls between his shoulders, a powerful sigh leaving his lips. 

Typical! 

Just when he thought that he would have a chance to switch off from the world around him and wallowing in the soothing pleasure of one of his unfinished playlists. He allows a steady breath to blow through his lips, the sourness of the candy already wilting away on his tongue. 

"I have my snacks ready." He states. "Get your iPad out, and let's get started." 

Mark nods along quietly to himself and grabs his own bag to snatch his preferred device. 

Jeno allows his headphones to fall against his neck, not having the will or the energy to take them completely off. Mark, on the other hand, listened intently to his best friend as he briefly began to explain the differences between Corinthian and Composite columns. 

"Wait!" Mark can't help but interrupt Jeno's lecture. "One is Greek, and one is Roman? Dude how do I find out which is which?"

Jeno simply stares at his best friend, really gazing at his features. Mark's eyes were bright brown and wide as his cheeks flushed slightly from the adrenaline no doubt coursing through his veins at their impromptu study session.

Jeno took a deep breath and pops another single skittle into his mouth, savoring the sting of the sourness. "Right," he begins, as calm as ever. "What you need to know is..."

Chapter Text

"Alright, everyone, gather around!" Woobin announced, clapping his hands together in the hopes of drawing everyone's attention. 

Mark stumbled off the bus and straight into Jeno's awaiting arms, his best friend thankful to have finally found some solid ground. His nausea meds would only work for another hour, but it certainly didn't make Mark's relief any less evident. 

He had let out a quiet cheer, thankful that he was no longer sweating profoundly despite the cold, and his skin colour was already starting to return to normal. Jeno couldn't help but crack a small smile at his friend's behaviour. 

He gently slipped an arm around Mark's waist to correct his posture and lightly coax him towards the assembling class. 

Surprisingly, there weren't a lot of people present. Jeno knew that their entire class had been separated into smaller groups for the mandatory field trip, but he didn't think their group would be this small. 

Typically their lecture hall would consist of just shy of 400 students, since it was a popular elective, but the group present today consisted of twenty, at most. Introduction to Archaeology was a first year module but it usually found itself on many third and final year student's timetable as it was believed to be a pretty easy A. 

Jeno initially did not have any interest in the elective. He still didn't. Especially when he would usually find his schedule filled with other classes that were similar to his own chosen study path. Mark, however, had managed to coerce Jeno into straying from his path and ending up in a completely unrelated class filled with enough people to cause an anxiety attack. 

When he found out that Stephanie was also present, Jeno was smart enough to be able to connect the dots. 

"Welcome to South Korea's heritage park!" Woobin yelled, voice riddled with excitement. "I want you all to get sorted into smaller groups, I'm going to give out some work-sheets, and realistically this should help you with the assignment that is due in two week's time."

Mark's grip on Jeno's arm grew harder, his nails almost piercing through Jeno's skin. Jeno was somehow capable of forcing his best friend's grip from his forearm one finger at a time, while smiling politely at Woobin who unfortunately found his eyes through the crowd. 

The whole class was quiet, listening quietly to Woobin explaining the security issues and the additional information regarding meet-up times and park trails. 

Mark was obviously not listening, his eyes darting through the crowd, keeping his guard up for Stephanie, who could pop out like a serial killer at any given moment. 

Jeno on the other hand had already put enough space between them, having clocked the girl when they left the bus. He somehow managed to grab two pieces of paper from the pile and pass them onto the next person while also wrestling against Mark's ridiculously unnecessary grip. 

"I want everyone to meet back on the bus at 1pm sharp so we can have some lunch before we start making our way back to Seoul!"

Mark groaned, having finally zoned back into the conversation. He slumped against Jeno's side, already feeling the effects of his motion sickness, which would no doubt return with a vengeance when they begin to make their way back home later that afternoon. 

Jeno was more than happy to be his best friend's pillar of support, even going as far as to shift his weight around to provide them both with a comfortable positioning. He was just grateful that Mark's nails were no longer trying to rip large pieces of flesh from his forearm, Jeno did not want to try and explain the situation to the campus nurse again. 

Some slight maneuvering from somewhere to their left had grabbed Jeno's attention, the younger shifted slightly in his stance so that he could look around Mark and towards the movement. His heart leapt to his throat when he spotted Stephanie trying to ease her way in their direction, smiling politely to the students she stepped on in her path to them. 

Jeno kept his groan to a low minimum. Immediately, he launched into operation SAVE MARK 2.0. He pulled his arm from Mark's waist and allowed it drop against the elder's shoulder. His best friend's eyes held confusion when he turned to look at Jeno who was already offering him a polite but strained smile. 

"What's going on?" Mark had grown used to that look on his face. 

They had been best friends for more than five years and he could tell when there was something going on around them, just by the look of concentration on Jeno's face. 

"You're going to duck down when I tell you to, then we're both going to make a run for it around the edge of the group and we don't stop until we come up behind Woobin." Jeno explained his plan of action, but like always, Mark just grew more confused. 

The only difference this time was that Stephanie was fast approaching, and Jeno needed to get them both out of there for his own sanity. 

So, without any further prompting or explanation, he shoved his entire weight against Mark's shoulder, forcing him to keel over with a pained grunt. Jeno dropped immediately after him, his knees cracking at the sudden gesture.

By some miracle, they managed to escape their former position without drawing attention from any of their classmates or from Stephanie, who had shown up just after their escape.  

When they were safely standing across from her but hidden behind Woobin, Jeno noticed her head shift in all different directions. Her lips were pursed, but she was scowling, frustrated by having missed them.

Mark let out a victorious shriek, though it was quickly overshadowed by Woobin's loud exclamation. They were finally free to explore the heritage park, and Mark wasn't going to stand around and get noticed when Jeno had just saved them again. 

Grabbing his best friend by his wrist, Mark yanked them towards the tree-line just behind them. Jeno was smart enough to refer to the map printed on their work-sheet, but Mark's only interest was putting as many trees between himself and Stephanie as possible. Which given the circumstances wasn't much of a problem right now. 

"Okay, new rule!" Mark announced when he deemed them safe enough to halt in their escape mission, leaving them in the middle of a small clearing. "No more yanking, pulling or pushing for the remainder of the trip! I don't think I'll ever be able to wear this hoodie again after you yanked the hell out of it!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Jeno wasn't afraid to let his sarcasm slip through his words. "I apologize for the horrible situation that I placed your hoodie into! Do you not think that you should apologize for trying to skin me alive back there?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Mark denied, shaking his head while his eyes found the sky. 

Jeno let out a frustrated huff, lifting his sleeve to showcase the damage his best friend had caused. Three prominent red rashes clearly stood out against Jeno's skin. The puffed up lines looked violent, but thankfully, they hadn't caused him to bleed.

"Okay... I really need to cut my nails."

"You think?!" Jeno shouts, his voice echoing off the blanket of quiet around them. 

"I would have done it sooner if you let up about your nail clippers-"

"Leave my nail care tools alone!" Jeno huffs, crossing his arms against his chest. The three gashes practically flashing up at him. "We both know what happened to my nail file after you asked to use it!"

"That was one time!"

"Once was enough!" Jeno retorts, but the rest of his insult gets swallowed by his throat. 

His ears began buzzing, his heart pounding in his chest, palms growing clammy, and he could feel his body temperature rising rapidly.

The sudden change leaves him winded, his lungs desperate for air. He can faintly make out his best friend through the mist forming in his eyes. Mark looks concerned, approaching cautiously. 

"Dude?" Mark's voice sounds so far away, like Jeno isn't supposed to be paying him the slightest bit of attention. His arms grow heavy and his head throbs. "Jen?"

It felt so strange. 

It's like the entire world went away before his very eyes. Jeno could hardly see what was right in front of him, but he could hear so much. He could hear the sound of the students back at the bus discussing their groupings, he could hear Woobin lingering around the park representative, and he could even pick up on Stephanie's frustration when she had to return to her group of friends empty-handed. 

But there was something else amongst the mix. Something that Jeno had never heard before, something that was making his entire body react like never before. 

"Mark," he heaved, struggling to speak through the strange fit. "We need to leave."

"Yeah, dude, absolutely." Mark was ever so kind, snapping out of the playful mindset he had been in when fighting about Jeno's nail care moments ago. 

Jeno coiled his fingers back into Mark's hoodie, keeping him close as they tried to make their way back to the bus. 

They weren't allowed to leave the clearing. 

Whatever had overcome Jeno was now waking up his fight-or-flight reflexes. Adrenaline was quickly forcing its way through his bloodstream and just as quickly as it appeared, the mist in his eyes was swiftly lifted. 

It was like someone had turned down the dial on the rest of the world because all that Jeno could now hear was the soft, low growls of the wolf standing before them. 

It stood with its front paws spread and its head tilted downward, bright yellow eyes staring right through them. Its snout was open just enough to witness the ridiculously sharp teeth lining its extended jaw. Saliva slipped through the crevices and dropped to the leaf covered ground with a light platter. 

"Dude..." Mark whimpered, slapping his hand against Jeno's shoulder. 

"I know!" Jeno hissed, keeping his eyes on the in front of him. 

"No dude, look..." Mark stressed, pulling on the neck of Jeno's hoodie. 

It wasn't until Jeno allowed himself to take a quick glance at his side that he realised that Mark was standing and facing in the wrong direction. While Jeno was facing the path they had entered through, Mark was facing in the direction they had come.

Jeno wanted to let out a frustrated yell. He knew that wolves ran in packs. It became clear without having to turn his head, that they were surrounded. 

"How many on your side?" He asked, surprised to hear how calm his voice was. 

"Two..." Mark's voice cracked, his lungs drawing in more air. "How many on yours?"

Jeno scanned the tree-line. There were no obvious shadows or any other wolf forms. It seemed like they were lucky in that there were only three of them. "One.. it's strange, I thought wolf packs were typically bigger than just three wolves."

"That's what you're worried about right now?" Mark raised his voice just barely above a whisper, but it still got the attention of the predators. 

Three howls went echoing off the dense forest, and Jeno couldn't help but close his eyes in frustration. 

"Well, now there's going to be more of them!" He hissed, raising one hand up to slap against the base of Mark's neck. "What the hell are wolves doing in the public heritage pack anyway?"

"This is because I didn't look at the map, isn't it?" Mark aimed his question at the sky. Jeno struggled to keep himself from rolling his eyes. "We should have stayed on the trail!"

"Well, whose to blame for that one?" Jeno wondered. 

He made it a point to keep his eyes on the world before him, not all that surprised when the predator's gaze remained fixed on him as well. A staring contest of sorts, that Jeno was certain that he was going to lose. Out of every possible emergency that he could have dreamt up for this field trip, getting mauled by wolves was definitely not on his bingo card. 

"What the hell are we going to do?"

"Get behind me." Jeno announced. His hands reaching out to gently pull Mark towards him, never once allowing his gaze to fall from the wolf before him. "We have to stand back-to-back and keep staring at them."

"You want me to stare at them? Are you crazy?"

"Just shut up and trust me!" Jeno hissed. Once he could feel the heat of his best friend against his back, Jeno coiled his arm through Mark's and joined their hands. 

"Are we going to die?" 

Trust Mark to always try and jinx a situation. 

"Maybe, with that attitude." He huffs. "Now, you're going to follow me. Take slow steps with me."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

Jeno continued to stare at the grey wolf in front of him, the creature looking more entertained than he would have expected. 

Regardless, Jeno took the first step to the right, happy to feel Mark do the same. Slowly and surely, bit by bit, they managed to creep towards the tree-line that was set as a barrier between the three wolves. 

Surprisingly, Mark never allowed himself to drop his gaze from both wolves. Thankfully, when they managed to get to the tree-line, all three of the wolves had joined together into a small group with Mark and Jeno no longer having to stand back-to-back to face them. Instead, they stood side-by-side, with Mark offering the wolves a small panic-filled smile. 

Then something otherworldly happened. 

Jeno released a painful yell, his hands rushing to his ears in a stumbled attempt to block out the sound. He fell back against one of the trees, with Mark rushing to support him as his legs gave out. 

Through crinkled eyes, Jeno watched as the wolves before them reacted in the same way he did. Their pitiful howls drew Mark's attention. The two best friends watching as the group of predators flattened their ears against their heads before they stumbled against each other as they rushed from the clearing. 

"What the hell just happened?" Mark yelled. 

Jeno's fist pounded against his stomach, watching as his best friend bent over on himself to release a pained cough. 

"Dude, my fucking ears!" Jeno scolded his best friend, gesturing to his ears for added effect. 

He was thankful that the sound was gone because it had really affected him in a way that he had never experienced before. 

"That noise was terrifying dude..." Jeno marvelled, his eyes fixed on the spots where the wolves had filled just seconds ago. "I've never heard anything like that before."

"What noise?" Mark wondered once he was capable of getting his breath back. 

Jeno craned his head to look up at him. Mark's brows were furrowed and he looked at Jeno like he had grown another head. 

"You didn't hear that roar?"

"What roar?" Mark questioned, his head tilting slightly as he looked down at his best friend. "Is that what caused the wolves to leave?"

Jeno observed his best friend for a moment. There really hadn't been any way of knowing if the sound he heard had been what caused the wolves to run off, but it had been so sudden that it brought Jeno to his ass. 

Seeing how unaffected Mark was after such a sound made Jeno momentarily wonder if he had dreamt the whole experience. The only certainty that he could admit to, was that something had happened and Mark did not hear what Jeno had. Mark was looking at him as if Jeno held all the answers, but he didn't. He was just as confused as Mark was, if not more. 

One thing was for sure though, Jeno knew that whatever that feeling he had this morning, the feeling that almost prevented him from coming on this field-trip must have been related to what just happened. It was too much of a coincidence. 

Something had just happened to them. They had been seconds from getting mauled by wolves. Perhaps there was something within him that was acting like a ... what was it that Mark always said?

A Spidey-sense?

But if that was the case... that was far too many questions that Jeno couldn't handle right now. 

"We need to get out of here." Jeno decided, already in the process of trying to get his feet to coordinate with his brain, which was practically screaming to return to the safety of the hired bus.

His legs were a lot more jello then he wished to believe, but he powered through the pins and needles and offered a hand out to Mark as well. 

As he was lost within his thoughts trying to comprehend what had just occurred, Mark had taken a seat next to him on the ground - probably for the same purpose. 

Regardless, Jeno's sudden decision to bring them back to the bus had sparked his friend's reaction and again Mark sat frozen looking up at Jeno. Only now, something else had gathered his attention, something that stood behind Jeno. 

Surprisingly, Jeno could sense the creature standing amongst the tree-line, just visible enough to draw Mark's attention. While Jeno could feel it's piercing gaze, he knew nothing about its swiftness. 

In the matter of mere seconds, Jeno was flying through the air as Mark's terrified yell rang out amongst the trees. The slamming of his own body against the ground sounded painful, but Jeno was thankful to find that it dulled into a quick numbness. 

For a moment, he couldn't breathe, body shocked into a momentary comatose state.

He was forced to stare up at the trees above him, their branches looking like long fingers stretching out to touch the beautiful blue sky. Despite there being a heavy grey cluster on campus, the mountainous heritage park swapped it for a beautiful teal blue with a few harmless cumulus clouds. For a second, Jeno marvelled at how peaceful his death would be. 

But then he heard Mark's heartfelt scream and felt the sharp press of his bag against his back. 

Jeno had no idea what brought him up from the forest floor. He had been ready to let his soul go on a pile of leaves. But clearly, the adrenaline was still in possession of his limbs. Jeno heaved himself up from the floor and took a second to breathe while the dark blotches clouding his vision quickly cleared. 

The sight before him brought a sick feeling to his stomach. 

A wolf stood taller than the other three he had experienced earlier. It stood on four equal legs and seemed to be lapping at a wound it had inflicted on Mark's abdomen. Its snout was covered in blood, and it would no doubt continue it's meal if Jeno didn't find something to even the playing field. 

As his eyes cased the forest floor below him, his head turned almost as if his brain was leading him towards his solution. 

A single large rock sat quietly amongst the Autumn leaves to the left of Jeno's impact site. He pushed himself from the ground and launched himself in the direction of the stone, landing against the ground with a less painful thud. 

The creature seemed so lost in the taste of Mark's blood that it hadn't even realised that the friend it had sent into the air had come back with vengeance. 

Jeno secured the larger rock in his hands before forcing his legs to grow accustomed to the additional weight. They carried him carefully and (surprisingly) quietly through the forest floor.

The creature only perked up when it was too late. 

Jeno slammed the rock against the side of the wolf's head and watched perplexed as it tumbled to the ground next to him. It lay as still as a rock on the floor, its chest no longer inhaling or deflating, just a long wheeze escaping through its snout. 

For good measure, Jeno took the stone to its head once more, only satisfied when its dark red blood was spilt on the yellow and orange ground below it. He left the rock to find its new home against the wolf's chest, turning his attention back to Mark. 

His best friend was shallowly breathing and bleeding quite a bit, but he was alive and that was enough to ease a little of Jeno's worries. He collapsed next to him, a small smile on his lips when Mark's eyes opened to welcome him to his side. 

They stayed silent as Jeno worked to find the first-aid kit in his bag, having already wrestled Mark out of his hoodie to place it on the wound for pressure. Mark kept it there with his remaining strength, but Jeno knew that if he didn't get him to a hospital right away, it would get a whole lot worse. 

"What did it do to you?" He wondered, letting out a victory screech when he found the gauze. 

He unwrapped it from its initial packaging and bundled it up against his palm. Mark hissed as Jeno gently pulled off the hoodie, replacing it with gauze and pressed down, hard. 

Tears flooded Mark's cheeks, his body shaking slightly from the mix of adrenaline and trauma. 

"It, it" he stuttered, pausing to swallow the extra saliva in his mouth. "It bit me."

"You're going to need a tetanus shot ad stitches." Jeno explained, allowing himself to smile compassionately at his best friend.

Mark was strong. He was going to pull through this. 

"It threw you in the air."

Jeno snorted. Yeah, he still hadn't fully comprehended that himself. "I know."

"Are you okay?"

"I probably have a concussion, but I won't know the extent of my injuries until my adrenaline wears off." Jeno pushes down on Mark's wound a little more, making the elder wheeze in pain. "Sorry!"

"Hopefully we'll be at a hospital by then." Mark somehow manages to break out a smile, his face growing pale as he winces when Jeno yet again applies consistent pressure. 

"Well you two look like you're in quite the pinch!" A new unrecognizable voice states. 

Mark has enough brain power for his reflexes to kick back in, his fingers latching onto the dressing as Jeno immediately turns around, bracing himself for another attack. 

"Calm down Sparky! I'm a friend!"

"Who the hell are you?" Jeno demands. 

He doesn't think twice to stand in front of Mark, blocking him from the stranger's view and potential attack. 

"I told you, I'm a friend." The stranger explains, casting his gaze down at the body of the wolf next to them. "Fuck, you really let him have it, didn't you?"

"Him?"

"Okay, I don't have enough time to explain everything and I'm not exactly ecstatic to be in this situation again, but you are going to have to trust me-"

"Why the hell would we do that after what just happened?" Mark somehow manages to find his voice, and apparently is not afraid to raise it as loud as he could. "Who the hell are you?"

"You cannot take him to the hospital," the stranger speaks solely to Jeno. "They'll just ask questions that neither of you have the answers to right now."

Jeno finds himself turning his head back to the monster laid out on the ground next to him, the thought of more of these creatures in the surrounding area was definitely not a pleasant thought. Especially since Jeno was pretty sure he just killed one of them. 

"Why the hell not?" Mark shrieks, desperate to be included in the conversation. 

"Not a lot of time to explain," the stranger announces, pulling a phone from his jean pocket. "I need to get you both out of here as quickly as possible."

It must have been the blood loss, but Mark asks a follow-up question. "Why?"

The stranger stands taller, though Jeno quickly realizes that the stranger is just slightly shorter than him. He wears a leather jacket, skinny blue jeans and black boots. 

"What your friend killed has friends and those friends are not going to be happy that someone just killed one of their own so easily. You heard that roar earlier, if you stick around, this is going to get a lot worse."

"What fucking roar?" Mark hissed, throwing his head back against the tree trunk. "I didn't hear anything!"

"How the hell did you know about that?" Jeno couldn't understand why he openly expressed that to a complete stranger, but still his mouth failed to notice the potential danger standing in front of his face. 

It gathers his interest regardless, his eyes gazing at him from top to bottom. Jeno felt a little uncomfortable beneath the stranger's gaze, but he really didn't have the energy to deal with a potential panic attack right now. He could do that later when they were out of this goddamn heritage park.  

"Can we please move on? He was just thrown ten feet in the air and got right back up!" Mark grumbles, drawing the stranger's attention. 

When he's finished, the stranger's neck snaps back in Jeno's direction, the poor boy holding out his hands impulsively in case the stranger's eyes fall from his head. 

"Well this is certainly an interesting turn of events..." he snaps a photo of the creature on the ground, moving in front of Jeno to get another angle. He straightens up and looks at him again. "Tell you what! I'll help you get your bitten friend to my car, and I'll send you both to a place that will help you, no questions asked."

"He needs a hospital." Jeno deadpans. 

"A hospital won't be able to help him when it matters." The stranger speaks kindly, even offering Jeno an innocent smile despite the urgency in his voice.

"Jen..." Mark's voice sounds so light and airy. 

Jeno falls back onto his knees, immediately inspecting the bandage. He feels his heart race when he realizes that no more blood has soaked through, but Mark still doesn't look good.

"I'm really not doing good right now."

"Can you help him?" Jeno wonders, looking over his shoulder. The stranger appears calm, taking a few moments to just observe them. 

He just dips his head, and no further words are needed. Jeno hated how easily he was giving into this complete stranger. This was already the weirdest day of his life, and now he was potentially placing himself and his best friend in even more danger by actually allowing himself to agree to the help. But when he's helping Mark into the back of he car and the stranger drops the keys into his hands, Jeno's tension evaporates. 

"I've already input the address into the car's mapping system. Just follow it and do not stop for any reason."

"You're not coming?" Jeno needed to be sure. 

The stranger only smiles. He glances down at the phone in his hand and shrugs his shoulders. "I don't think I'm ready for a family reunion just yet."

He slams the door to the driver's seat closed before Jeno can even think to do it himself. He then throws their backpacks into the trunk before returning to Jeno's side and lightly tapping on the glass. Jeno finds the button with ease and the window pulls down fairly quickly. 

"I think it is only fair that I learn the names of the two most peculiar boys I've ever met." The stranger's lips pull back and reveal his toothy box-shaped grin. 

"I'm Mark Lee." Mark easily supplies the information from the back of the car, a pain-filled smile on his lips. 

Jeno's hands grip tighter on the steering wheel, knuckles white as he too spills his identity. "Jeno Lee."

"Well, just a word of warning Jeno Lee," the stranger pulls away from the window allowing his hands to fall back by his sides. "From now on your entire life has changed. That does not mean that you have to restrict yourself to fit into it. Your best friend is now a special guy, but it's you that I'll have to keep my eye on." He winks, offering just one more piece of advice before he leaves. "When you get to where you're going, tell them you need Chanyeol, and if they ask who sent you, just tell them I'll be home soon."

Jeno steps on the alteration and speeds down the dirt-road, leaving the stranger on the edge of the woods. 

Unknown: [Files attached]

Unknown: Names are Mark and Jeno Lee. Your
primary concern is Mark - got bit by Caleb, so
transition is eminent. Jeno's the wild card -
protector - killed Caleb in self-defense.
WATCH HIM!

 SmartASS: Where are they?

Unknown: I'm sending them your way
now, GPS on the car says they're
about 15 minutes out. 
Careful, Jeno's jumpy.

SmartASS: This guy killed Caleb? How?

Unknown: I'm trying to figure it out

Keep him there

We don't want him getting in Chase's
claws when we don't know who he is yet

Mark needs medical attention, so make
sure Yixing is prepped. 

SmartASS: I'll call the house now.

Unknown: You're not there?

SmartASS: Last minute call from work,
I'm leaving now. I'll should make
it in time to get the kids, relax.

Unknown: If I was stressed about
where you are I would have went
with them myself. To panic would 
mean that I care and we both know 
I don't do that

SmartASS: And yet you continue
to send me messages every
now and again.

Unknown: You never change your 
number!

SmartASS: I never wanted to

Unknown: Not the time to get 
mushy Park, I know you 
secretly miss me

SmartASS: I'd rather take my
chances with Chase, thanks!

Unknown: Don't forget to send our
baby my new number. 

SmartASS: As long as you
promise to keep it for longer
than a week. He loves
talking to you, it kills him
to not hear from you for
months.

Unknown: I'm just trying to keep
him safe. 

SmartASS: Tell him that yourself
I'm noy being the bad guy
anymore.

Unknown: Nah you shouldn't have
that title, I've done enough to earn it!

Anyway, he will love seeing two new
people I'm sending his way!

Let them distract him for awhile so I
can work some stuff out. 

SmartASS: I'll believe you when
I see it

Be careful out there Baekhyun.
I don't want your death on my 
conscience!

Jaemin will never forgive you

Unknown: I'll see him soon, I 
promise. 

Now I gotta go before I catch a 
tail, I'll be in touch ;)

Chapter Text

Jeno made sure to keep his eyes fleeting from the road to the dashboard every few miles. He watched as the little blue arrow on the car's dash was leading him further and further into the forest, away from all signs of civilization. 

Why he had suddenly decided to trust a complete stranger was so unlike him. Jeno was cautious, always prepared for the unexpected, always weary of people trying to get too close. 

Mark had been the one and only exception in his life, and that was solely because Mark was a very persistent guy and they had more or less grown up together throughout high school, so he had grown well accustomed to Jeno's lack of social cues pretty early on. 

Still, he couldn't comprehend the overwhelming sense of security with the stranger. 

Obviously there had still been a bit of caution, which just came with the territory, but Jeno was still stumped by how easily he had rolled over and accepted this stranger's help. He knew deep down that if he really wanted to, Jeno could have gotten mark to the hospital by himself. 

Sure, there might have been a few complications along the way - since he had also taken a beating - but they still would have been capable of achieving on their own. Only now he was in the driver seat with his wounded best friend in the back, racing past the speed limit to get to some place in the woods, to meet with a person he had never met before. All because his body was telling that the stranger could be trusted. 

Why?

He wasn't sure, but he expected that he would receive some answers when they reached their destination. 

"How long?" Mark's voice was light from the back seat but Jeno could still hear him over his own racing heart. 

The boy sent the directions another glance, his tongue swiping against his dry lips as his eyes returned to the road ahead. "We're about ten-"

Jeno's nose drew in a scent he had never smelt before. It was almost like the entire air inside the car had turned stale all too quickly. He whimpered as it burned against his nostrils, his eyes filling with tears of disgust.

Somehow he managed to keep his water-logged eyes trained on the road, his fingers coiling around the top of the wheel. Knuckles grew white as he pulled the car back from the edge of the path and back onto the main road. 

"Dude...?" Mark sounded exhausted, the word slipping through his laboured breathing. 

Jeno shook his head and kept his eyes straight, gritting his teeth as his entire body prickled with goosebumps. 

"I'm fine." He hissed out through his tensed jaw, clearing the bile from his throat so Mark wouldn't get too suspicious. "We're five minutes away Mark, think you can stay with me until then?"

"I'll do my best!" He let out a breathy laugh and Jeno's heart thrummed in relief. 

Jeno pressed down harder on the acceleration pedal and allowed the force of the speed to push him gently back against his seat. 

"At least you didn't need your nausea meds!" Jeno jokes to break the tension, while also trying to keep Mark awake and alert. 

His best friend laughed from the back seat, wincing a second later. "Dick," he hissed, letting out another faint chuckle. "Stop making me laugh. I'm in pain!"

"I would rather have you awake and in pain, then passed out and lifeless." Jeno snapped, blinking the water in his eyes away as the sight of a house started to break its way through the foliage on their left side. 

"is that where we're supposed to go?" Mark wondered, his neck straining against the seatbelt as he peeked through his opposite window. "What is this place?"

"I don't know." Jeno admits, flicking down the indicator despite knowing that they were alone on the road with no other cars following them. "Let's just hope that this Chandler will know what to do."

"Chanyeol," Mark corrected him, smiling faintly as he felt the car jerk around the bend in the road. "The dude said you needed to get me to a Chanyeol."

"Chanyeol." Jeno said, nodding his head in understanding. 

He sent his best friend another quick glance before allowing himself to try and find a suitable parking spot, hopefully close enough to the doorway so he wouldn't have to carry Mark too far. 

He slammed on the brakes and quickly exited the vehicle. He glanced up at the house as he rushed around the back of the car and over to Mark's side. Jeno could faintly make out a silhouette from the doorway, but he disregarded the presence, in favour of dragging his best friend up from his impromptu hospital bed. 

Mark hisses in pain, groaning when he's forced upright and against Jeno's shoulder. He helps to steady him, gently placing his arm from Mark's uninjured side over his shoulder before going to a step in the direction of the house. 

Jeno couldn't stop the wince that escapes his lips when he realizes that the house they were approaching had several steps up to the main door, his body was still coursing with adrenaline so there was no real problem if he was to carry his best friend up the stairs. But, Mark would enjoy it far too much. 

"Am I going to have to carry your ass, again?" Jeno wonders, letting the humor slip out of his words. 

He earns a breathy laugh from his friend for his effort, Mark gently tightening his hold on his shoulder as he chuckles. "Probably," he admits with a shrug of his uninjured shoulder. "I find myself enjoying the princess treatment from you."

"Yeah," Jeno groans, shaking his head from the impending headache. "I figured you would. Don't get too used to it though," he pauses to breath through his pain. "I plan on knocking you on your ass when you're fixed and healthy."

"Deal." Mark agrees, also feeling a level of pain that he otherwise hadn't noticed from all the adrenaline coursing through his veins. 

They had arrived at the place the stranger had recommended, now their bodies were growing weary, tired, and very aware of the amount of pain they were in. 

Jeno knew that he could hold out a little longer though, the incoming headache only burning behind his eyes at this moment in time. He would have plenty of time to rest once he pawed Mark off on this Chanyeol person. 

When they reached the bottom of the steps, Jeno was mentally preparing himself to take on Mark's additional body weight when the door at the very top of the stairs opened and what could only be described as an otherworldly growl rang through his ears. His neck snapped upwards and his heart raced at the sight of guy, about their age, hissing at them with fangs and yellow eyes. 

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Mark hissed as Jeno's grip on his waist dropped in favour of blocking his best friend from the leaping monster. 

Mark sank against the staircase, body impacting the last step with a low thump, as his eyes watched as the body of the man at the top of the stairs leaped down the ten steps and collided against Jeno's. 

They both fell to the ground with a louder thump than Mark. Jeno somehow managed to get right back on his feet as the boy staggered up himself. 

His hair was a light brown and his eyes were a shimmering amber. The lower half of his face was definitely not human given that the guy possessed ridiculously long canines from both his top and lower jaws. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" The boy hissed.

It was at that Jeno realised that the guy was also packing claws, or what might have been acrylic? He couldn't tell. 

"I'm trying to get my friend over there some medical attention!" Jeno hissed right back at him, pointing with his forefinger at Mark who raised his hand in stunned welcome. "Why the hell are you attacking me?!"

"This is not your land, you're trespassing!" The latter growled, shimmering eyes growing brighter as his face started to contour to be filled with... more hair?

"Dude, I was told to come here, I'm not looking to cause any trouble,"

"By whom?" the other yelled. "Who told you to come here?"

"Some dude in the woods!" Jeno knew how ridiculous it would sound but he didn't really have any other option. The boy in front of him was starting to mellow out, but that didn't make him forget the fact that he had tried to attack them. "I didn't get his name, only that he told me to come and find Chanyeol."

At the mention of the other guy's name, the boy seemed to calm further. His glowing amber eyes retracted and the growing hair on his face seemed to subside too, giving way to a more baby-faced look than Jeno was expecting. The boy standing in front of him wasn't anything older than sixteen at best. 

"Oh," his voice was softer now, younger. "Sorry about that." He politely bowed and Jeno felt the whiplash already begin to take affect. "We don't get many out-of-towners and we didn't know if you would be a threat."

"You think I'm the threat? Dude you're the one that leaped from ten feet in the air and morphed into something out of a horror comic!" Jeno deadpanned, watching as the boy's lips pulled back to reveal a row of perfectly normal white teeth and not the sharp canines they possessed a moment ago. 

"Right," the boy laughed, though Jeno could tell by his body language that he was beginning to regret that. "Sorry about that and I'm sorry of I scared your friend, like I said, we don't get a lot of people out here who are all that friendly. I'm sorry for leaping at you and thinking that you were a threat, I'll help bring your friend inside-"

"No!" Mark squeaked from his spot on the steps. "I think that I would much rather stay outdoors and AWAY from the four walls of the house harboring a freak!"

 The boy shrugged his shoulders, looking at Jeno with a small smile on his face. Judging from the lack of murderous intent swirling in his brown iris, Jeno was certain that he had been used to people calling him a 'freak'. It was a lot better than the initial 'monster' term that Jeno had used when the guy leaped at him. 

"My name's Jisung, I'm the youngest of the house so I'm still not entirely used to new people so I apologize-"

"That's what you do to people you don't know?" Mark yelled, looking surprisingly better than when he did prior to getting into the stranger's car earlier. "I'm starting to freak out thinking about what you do to those you do know!"

"Is he okay?" Jisung wondered, looking at Jeno but his body was still facing in Mark's general direction. 

"He was bitten by a monster in the forest and I also think he's finally going into shock."

"Oh..." Jisung nodded his head, looking surprisingly like he knew exactly what Jeno was talking about. "Right in the torso huh?"

"Yeah..." Jeno agreed, allowing his eyes to cast over the youngster. He stood a little shorter than Jeno, probably to his collarbone, but Jeno could tell that he would tower over him in time. He wore a pair of jeans and a pair of old black and white converse. "How old are you anyway?"

"Oh?" Jisung's lips curl into a small smile. "I just turned seventeen in February!"

It was pretty close to Jeno's original estimate. 

"So, can I bring him inside?" Jeno wonders. 

"I thought he didn't want to go inside?" Jisung looked confused, his big brown eyes looking innocent despite how close he had come to killing Jeno a few minutes ago. 

Jeno shook his head and began leading the younger boy back towards the stairs and by association, his best friend. Mark watched them approach with bated breath, his eyes wide and his shoulders shaking from the draining adrenaline. 

"You're going into that house." Jeno announced much to Mark's dismay. 

"I am not."

"I will throw you over my shoulder." Jeno sighed, feeling tension rest against his neck. If he didn't get a drink of something sugary soon, he was pretty sure that he would be the one ending Mark's life and not the wide gashes in his stomach. "So do you want to show some dignity to our new host, or are you going to force me to make you look like an idiot? It's your choice."

"Fine." Mark grumbled, letting his famous puppy eyes and pout be seen. 

He raised his arm up and Jeno crouched down to place it around his neck and shoulder. The younger quickly looped his arms under Mark's legs and hoisted his best friend up into his arms, turning back to Jisung who regarded them both with a surprised expression. 

"Any chance you can grab our bags from the back of the car? I won't go too far-"

"I got them." The boy nodded happily, smirking at Mark's current positioning. "You can just bring him straight into the living room, the front door leads you straight into it! It shouldn't be long before Chanyeol comes home with Yixing."

"Yixing?" Mark wonders, stopping the boy in his tracks to their car. "Whose Yixing?"

"He's the guy that's going to make sure you heal up nice and easy, he's our inhouse medic. He takes care of all of us!"

"All of you?" Now it was Jeno's turn to sound surprised, the young boy only smirking back at him as he nodded his head. 

"There's eleven of us living here right now." Jisung chirped, somehow managing to get closer to the car without either of the best friends realising he did it. "Though sometimes there's twelve, but that's a pretty rare occurrence."

"Where the hell did you take us, dude?" Mark whispers into Jeno's ear when he finally starts making his way up the stairs. 

"Where I was told you would be helped." Jeno hisses, though he doesn't find himself straining from the incline. 

They manage to get to the very top of the stairs without any problems or pauses. Jeno uses Mark's leg to push open the front door a little more before entering over the threshold. He follows Jisung's instructions and enters the room directly in front of the main door, surprised to see how comfy and cosy the interior looks. 

He gently settles Mark down onto the largest sofa he sees and smiles gently as his best friend lets out a tired sigh of pleasure at the plush material beneath his back. Jeno props the pillow at his friend's neck and Mark hums his gratitude. 

"We made it in one piece huh?" Mark laughs breathlessly, somehow still holding on tight to the gauze that Jeno had placed on him about twenty minutes ago now. 

"Will you let me take a look?" He wonders, settling himself down on his knees beside his best friend.

Mark whines at the thought of seeing the wound again, but he relents and lets Jeno takes hold of the wrapping. 

They both watch as Jeno gently peels the gauze backward, the blood stained on the material still wet but drying. Mark releases a loud gasp at the sight staring back at him, while Jeno's pulse starts to thrum in his ears. The giant gash in Mark's abdomen is all but gone, just a single scar the length of the wound remaining. 

"This cannot be happening..." Mark splutters, eyes searching for his best friend's reaction. "This is not possible!"

Jeno had to take credit for his ability to possess a poker-face. Of course he was frightened. He had seen the wound himself. Saw it bleeding with his own two eyes. And yet, there was nothing there. Nothing to indicate that Mark was attacked, nothing to indicate that what they went through had been real. They could only account for trauma and mental exhaustion. What did they come all this way for? A doctor who could treat what was no longer there?

Jeno fell against his ankles, gaze still heavily set on his best friend's torso. He watched as Mark's torso rose and fell with his heartbeat, his hands having come to pull at the ends of his hair. 

"This cannot be happening," he whispered over and over again to himself. "This cannot be happening."

"It is happening," Jeno deadpanned, grabbing his best friend by the wrists. "This is happening whether you want it to or not. We have no idea what happened to you out in those woods and we're here to get some answers and to see what the hell else we're missing here."

"You can't leave me!" Mark gushes, tears welling up in his eyes as he turned their grip around and held Jeno by his wrists. "Please, you can't leave me alone with these people. I don't know what's going to happen to me, I can't do this alone-"

"You're not going to," Jeno interrupted him, wiggling his hands out of Mark's grip. "I'll be here as long as you need me, I promise."

"Jeno?!" A deep unrecognizable voice shouted from outside the room.

Mark's grip reappeared on his wrist, but his best friend managed to snatch his hand away again.  With a delicate nod, he pushed himself back up onto his legs and made his way back to the front door. He was met halfway by an extremely tall man whose lips had curled to call his name again. 

"Jeno?"

"Yeah," he nodded and smiled as politely as he could given the circumstances. "Chanyeol?" 

The taller nodded his head, a small smile of his own appearing on his lips. For a moment, Jeno was just glad to know that he didn't possess canines like Jisung, or - rather - that he didn't show them off like Jisung did. 

"I'm so sorry for the delay, I received word of your incoming but I couldn't get here quick enough to welcome you myself. I hope Jisung didn't give you too much trouble."

"He was fine." Jeno announced, surprising himself and the youngest whose eyes widened at his words. "Though you understand that I have a few questions."

"I would expect nothing else." Chanyeol agreed, nodding his head. "I've reached out to Yixing and he's making his way back here as quickly as he can, I expect everyone to be returning with the next ten minutes."

"Everyone? I'm assuming that this includes all eight other members?" He wonders, pausing for a moment to look at Jisung who blushed at the inclusion. 

Chanyeol observed them for a moment before smiling politely, though he chose to clear his throat first before continuing. "Yes, but I can assure you that Yixing will be completely devoted to ensuring that Mark's condition is approving-"

"The bite mark is gone." Jeno doesn't understand why he finds himself relaying the information so easily.  

Today has already been such a strange day, he didn't understand why his body wanted to continue to defy what his mind had been screaming at him the entire time. 

"It's all healed."

"So, he's in recovery?" Jisung announces his thoughts aloud, but Jeno knew that he was really asking Chanyeol a question that Jeno wasn't supposed to subject himself to figuring out. 

"Not completely," Chanyeol returned a sad smile back to Jisung who Jeno only noticed now had gathered both of their bags from the trunk of the stranger's car. His attention snaps back to Chanyeol who pauses to close the front door. "I'm afraid that it's only the beginning of his transition."

"Transition?" Jeno questions, watching as Chanyeol's lips straighten into a line against his chin. "What the hell do you mean by transition?"

"That guy in the woods told you that your entire life has been changed right?" Again, Jeno found himself nodding. "I'm willing to tell you both everything, but I need you to withhold from acting emotionally, we don't want anyone getting hurt here."

"I can't promise anything." Jeno admits, still blinking through his headache and the water in his eyes which was still present from that awful smell earlier. "But I understand and I'll hold my tongue long enough for you to explain everything."

"Then let's get you settled." Chanyeol declared, standing straighter as he led the way back into the living room. 

Jeno returned to Mark's side, smiling sadly at his best friend who looked back at him with tears trailing down his cheeks. Mark swiped at the trails and sniffled as Chanyeol approached the fireplace, intent on starting a fire to warm them up a little. Jeno didn't even realise that his best friend had been shaking, body still draining itself of the adrenaline. 

"Why don't you begin with what happened to your friend?"

"We're on a college field-trip to the South Korean heritage centre but we found ourselves away from our group and in the middle of a clearing." Jeno figured that he could avoid the details leading up to their isolation, especially since Chanyeol didn't seem the type to wallow in specific details. "We were surrounded by a small wolf pack, about three in total but we didn't know how many more were hiding in the tree-line."

"Then Jeno collapsed against a tree," Mark continues, shifting slightly on the couch to find a more comfortable position. Jeno reaches down to support him by the shoulder. "The wolves ran off and then he starts rambling about a deep howl that I didn't hear. Eventually he gets up and tells me that we have to leave the clearing, but I saw this... creature, in the tree-line behind him. I didn't have a chance to say anything before he was thrown in the air and landed about ten feet away from me. I just remember this blinding pain and the thing licking my wound."

"I grabbed a rock close by and slammed it into the thing's temple," Jeno explains, completely dismissing Chanyeol and Jisung's surprised expressions. "Then I tended to Mark. We were interrupted by a stranger, who helped me get Mark into his car, and then he gave me the keys and told me to come here and find you."

A momentarily silence filled the room as Chanyeol observed them both, first taking in Mark and then focusing his attention on Jeno. He studied him the longest, eyes narrowed and forehead furrowed. 

Eventually, he sat himself down in the armchair next to the roaring fire, turning to Jisung with a small smile on his face. 

"Find them two rooms upstairs, they'll be staying the night." He speaks calmly, and just like that Jisung leaves the room taking their bags with him. 

Jeno wanted to argue, to physically decline the offer but his mouth made no attempt to move. Instead, he sank down next to Mark's legs, his best friend moving them so Jeno could sit comfortably next to him. They both watched as Chanyeol slowly turned to them, content now that Jisung was gone. 

"The thing you in the woods was-"

"A monster." Mark offers, though Jeno wasn't so sure. 

The glowing eyes. How tall it stood in comparison to the other wolves. Sure, it was all very monster-like in appearance. But he had seen Jisung's eyes and had seen the abundance of hair grow within seconds before his own eyes. 

"A werewolf." Chanyeol corrected, leaning forward in his seat.

Both of his arms rested against his knees, but his eyes were trained solely on Jeno despite Mark making a fuss from the revelation. 

"A werewolf?" He screamed, eyes widening. "I got bit by a werewolf?!"

"So," Jeno silences his best friend down with a hand to his mouth, disregarding Mark's attempts to bite or lick him. "You said earlier that Mark's in transition. I'm assuming that because he was bitten by a werewolf, he's going to become one?"

"Last night was the full moon," Chanyeol explained, eyes shining in the glow of the fire beside him. "That gives us plenty of time to train him and prepare him. But," he hangs his head. "Yes. Your friend will become like that thing you saw in the forest."

"Is there a cure?"

"Once bitten, unfortunately not." Chanyeol really was trying to be as comforting as possible. His eyes grew weary of Mark's growing resentment. "But everyone here can help-"

"Is everyone in this house a werewolf too?" Mark shrieked, somehow managing to overcome Jeno's grip. 

Jeno allowed his had to return to his own lap, though his eyes never fell from Chanyeol. 

"Most of them." He agreed, though Jeno could tell that he wasn't very forthcoming with the information. Jeno wasn't going to push him. 

"Can they help him?" Jeno asked, hoping that it would steer Mark away from asking any further questions than they would be able to process right now. 

"With time." Chanyeol nodded, his hands clamped together in his lap. "But I should warn you that it is very dangerous for anyone who was bitten to be away from help. They need to make it to the next full moon before they can hope to return to society."

"Are you planning on keeping me prisoner?!" Mark hissed, baring the canines he did not yet possess. 

Jeno slapped him upside the head, earning an immediate howl in response. 

"Knock it off," he hissed. "you can freak out later! I need answers right now." When he turned back to Chanyeol, the taller was stunned back into responding. 

"No, of course not! You'll be able to leave the house whenever you want, but I think that it would be best that you never go anywhere alone, at least until the next full moon. Until them, we'll take care of you, feed you, give you a roof over your head, and help you process everything that's happening in your body right now. It's going to take a lot of work that neither of you are cut out for right now. I would like to offer some professional help from people who have gone through this similar situation, but of course, this is entirely up to you."

"Can you give us some time to think about it?" Jeno wonders, hoping that Chanyeol didn't need an immediate answer. This was a lot to process and Mark was too emotional to make any life changing moves so soon. They needed rest and time to regroup. 

"Absolutely, I've offered you both a bed for the night so please feel free to use them. Each room comes with it's own ensuite and we have a few essentials that you can use for the time being. But if it is alright with the both of you, I would like an answer as soon as you can provide me with one."

"Of course," Jeno nodded his head, finding himself approving of the idea. "thank you for the trouble."

"Before we completely dismiss this situation," Mark interrupts, shyly gazing across the room at the taller. "Say I do plan on agreeing to this whole thing, you cannot expect me to stay here without my best friend-"

"I wouldn't expect you to." Chanyeol is quick to explain, politely smiling as an excuse for interrupting Mark's rant. "I understand that you both would come as a package deal and I would expect that Jeno would like to be there throughout your training so that he is aware of everything for when you guys are ready to leave."

Mark bowed his head in gratitude, humming his approval as he collapsed against the pillow. 

Jeno felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, his legs pulling him from the couch as his entire body swung in the direction of a closed door. The door slammed open and a blur of pink rushed in. The air was ripped from Jeno's lungs as he collided against the wall just next to the end of the sofa in which Mark lay. 

Bright blue eyes burning into his own as fangs were bared against his face. Jeno was starting to grow frustrated with all these intense colours and power moves. The boy pressed his entire frame against Jeno's, a strong forearm pressing against his windpipe as the werewolf snarled and snapped. 

"Jaemin!" Chanyeol snapped, rising from his seat once he noticed Jeno's new position against the furthest wall. "Drop him!"

"Who the hell are you?" The boy hissed, fangs retreating but eyes still bright blue. 

Jeno heaved a tired sigh, tossing his head back against the wall. He raised a leg up and collided it against the werewolf's groin, slamming his forehead against the boy's and easily switching their position. The pink haired werewolf groaned against the wall, Jeno pressing his palm deeper into his neck as he kept him there. 

"I am too fucking tired to be dealing with any more surprise attacks today," he announced to the others trailing into the room, their eyes blown wide at the sight of them. "If anyone else tries to kill me or my best friend today I might start getting a little more murderous."

Laughter erupted from the werewolf pressed against him, Jeno turning his head back to him to level him with an undisrupted stare. He wasn't all that surprised to find that the bright blue eyes which had been staring him down a few seconds ago, had given way to a pair of deep brown orbs. He allowed himself to lightly squeeze the boy's neck a little more, watching slightly perplexed as the boy sagged in his hold and how his tongue darted out to lick his plump lip. 

"Got a name?" He wonders, letting his hands slip down to hold Jeno by his waist. 

Jeno immediately releases the hold he had on the latter's neck and takes a step back. The heat of the boy's palms lingers as he pulls his arms back to his sides. 

"Wouldn't it be polite to introduce yourself first?" Jeno wonders, tilting his head. "Not everyone throws me up against the wall in our first introduction."

"Jaemin Na, pleasure to have had you against me." He holds out a hand, mischief swirling in his gaze. 

Jeno can't help but roll his eyes, though he still finds himself raising his own. 

"Jeno Lee, pleasure to have overpowered a werewolf." 

They shake hands and Jaemin lingers a little longer than he probably should have, but Jeno lets him take his hand back nonetheless. He observes Jaemin a little longer, before turning his attention back to Chanyeol who is just as surprised as the rest of the room. 

"Can you stop being fucking Superman for five minutes?!" Mark hisses from the couch. "First it was getting up from flying ten feet, then it was killing that werewolf, Jisung was next and now Jaemin?"

"Everyone needs to stop trying to kill me today." Jeno huffs, crossing his arms over his chest as Mark huffs and deflates against the couch in defeat. "I knew we should have never gotten on that bus this morning, but you never listen to me!"

"Oh sure, blame me!" Mark groans, covering his face with his forearm. "I suppose that you want to pin this whole thing on me as well, huh?"

"You took us off the path!" Jeno yells, snapping a couple of the gawking men in the room out of their spell. 

"What? Did you two take the wrong path from Grannies?" Jaemin wonders, still leaning against the wall with a smirk on his lips. 

Great. 

Fucking great. 

Jeno was really starting to miss his own bed. 

Chapter Text

"Alright, that's enough." Chanyeol announced, gathering everyone's attention. "Yixing," he states, looking amongst the large group of people who had just entered the living-room. "This is Mark. He's just healed up from a werewolf bite, and I need you to check him out for any lingering complications." Jeno manages to find the man who dips his head in acknowledgement, his eyes lingering on Mark before they turn to Jeno in question. As if reading his mind, Chanyeol continues. "After you sort Mark out, I want you to take a look at Jeno too -"

"I'm fine -" he tries to dismiss the elder's concern, but his best friend is too quick at retaliating. 

"You flew through the air and landed ten feet away from me on uneven ground! You said it yourself! You think that you might have a concussion. Let the man check you out so I don't have to worry about losing my best friend to his stubbornness the same day that I become a werewolf."

Mark's gaze is intense and heated. Jeno has never seen him look so reluctant to oppose him, especially since they both knew that Jeno's usually the clear-headed one and that he's usually right in most cases. 

"Alright," Jeno groans, allowing his arms to cross against his chest. "But he's checking you out first."

"Deal." Mark's face relaxes, and a small smile slips onto his lips as Jeno approaches the couch. 

Mark's arm comes up to wrap around Jeno's neck, and Jeno slips his other arm beneath his knees. He pulls his best friend against his chest and turns in the general vicinity of the group. 

The group part like the red sea, that Mark's church always mentions in their sermons. Everyone's eyes were wide and mouths agape as Jeno carefully steps right past them all to follow Yixing back into the main entranceway. Jeno's gaze lingers on a familiar face in the crowd, his own eyes widening a bit at the sight of a ghost.

Jeno's tongue remains still, but his lips hold a line in the hope he can control the frustrated words from slipping from his mouth. He tightens his hold on Mark's knees and hopes that his best friend hadn't noticed the familiar foxlike eyes in the crowd. 

Jeno barely even registers the stairs that Yixing leads them to with a small but hesitant smile. If he hadn't been so preoccupied with the haunting ghost, he might have paused to note that the stairs lead downward. Instead, his body simply reacts on autopilot, his legs bearing Mark's weight as they rush down the stairs and into what Jeno guessed was the basement.  

The staircase led to a wide open space that looked like they had stepped into an actual hospital ward. Yixing regards them with a wider smile before disappearing into one of the rooms to the left. 

"Can werewolves cause people to teleport?" Mark whispers, though Jeno figured that Yixing could hear them despite the distance. 

"I think it's more likely that they're millionaires..." Jeno explains, allowing himself the opportunity to glance around the ward. 

Four rooms lined either side of them, making eight in total. Jeno could hear Yixing pottering around in the room closest to his left, humming a gentle tone beneath his breath. To his immediate right was a room with a bed and various other medical equipment, so Jeno took the opportunity to make it Mark's. 

They slip in without any restraint and gently places his best friend down on the soft comforter, Mark lifts his hips with a pained grunt. Jeno quickly pulls back the blanket. Mark gently lowers himself onto the mattress, his best friend placing the blanket across his lap before focusing on fluffing Mark's pillow.  

They smile at each other once Mark is settled, groaning in pure bliss as his muscles completely relax against the soft material. He slumps against his pillow as his eyes flutter shut, his lips part, and a gentle hum of approval slips from them. 

Jeno regards him with a small content smile, heart full and sated now that his best friend was being looked for. He allows himself to succumb to the seat by Mark's bedside, his feet weighing like lead against the floor. 

Yixing appears in the doorway carrying a few medical gadgets in with him. He's still humming the song Jeno heard him begin in the supply room. As the in-house medic makes the short journey from door to bed, Jeno finds his gaze return to Mark, who is stirred awake by the presence of another. 

"You've healed up really nicely." Yixing offers him a genuine smile, eyes crinkling and bright white teeth on display. "You have nothing to worry about. Healing means that your body has accepted the bite. Everything else from here will be as expected, but I do want to perform a few tests just to make sure that everything is functioning the way it's supposed to."

Jeno sees Mark's head turn towards him, his best friend's eyes boring holes against his cheek. Jeno tries to contain his laugh as Mark waits patiently for Jeno to give him permission to continue. Jeno dips his head, encouraging his best friend to submit to the medical process. 

"So, I hear that the both of you are in college?" Yixing attempts to break the ice as he wraps a blood pressure cuff around Mark's arm. 

"That's right," Jeno answers since he knows what Mark is like when he's around doctors. 

Mark is always afraid to say anything just in case it winds up with him spending an extra few hours for observation. Jeno, on the other hand, does not have a problem with conversing with doctors despite his personal anxiety with other humans. 

"We're in our third year. We're about to finish up for summer soon."

"You're graduating next year?" Yixing wonders, glancing back over his shoulder at Jeno, who simply hums in reply. "I just finished med school myself last year."

"Congratulations," Mark whispers, eyes wide in pure astonishment. "That's a really good profession you managed to get!"

"It definitely has its perks!" Yixing agrees with a little chuckle. He withdrew the blood pressure cuff and instead places a pulse monitor on Mark's finger. It's quiet for just a moment until the device registers Mark's heart rate and bleeps with a result. "Your blood pressure and pulse are steady, and your heart and lungs sounds pretty good too-"

"But you didn't use a statoscope..." Mark mumbles, brows furrowing as Yixing pulls the devices away from the bed and places them on a counter just next to the sink. 

He offers his patient a small embarrassed smile and Jeno was made aware of another werewolf superpower; super hearing. 

"Physically, I can't see anything that might be cause for any concern though." Yixing choses to ignore the comment, deciding instead to focus on his medical conclusions and nothing else. "I do know that with bitten wolves, you're not completely out of the clear just yet. There is still a small chance that your body could go into shock and try a last attempt to rid itself of the werewolf toxin. I suggest that you stay here tonight so I can monitor your progress and prevent any medical emergencies."

"Is there anything that you can give him to help him sleep?" Jeno wonders, somehow managing to find his voice despite the overwhelming exhaustion gripping his muscles. "He's been pumping adrenaline for a long time but his body won't fully relax in a place he doesn't feel comfortable in. Is there any way that you might be able to help him rest?"

"I can definitely do that." Yixing nods his head, looking back at Mark who looks genuinely delighted to have heard his positive response. "I'll be right back."

The two best friends watch as Yixing retreats back into the supply room across the hallway, both of them sharing a small smile with each other when their gazes meet again. 

"Thank you," Mark whispers, eyes finally filled with his usual brightness. 

"You don't have anything to thank me for." Jeno shakes his head, keeping his grip tight on the arms of the chair he had claimed. 

"You saved my life today man." Mark looks at him funny, like he can't comprehend Jeno's complete lack of recognition. "If you didn't kill that..." he pauses to contemplate his word choice. "thing, I would have probably been killed.. or worse, forced to join its freaky wolf pack or something!"

Jeno couldn't stop the building laughter from slipping through his lips. Mark's own curled upwards, though his eyes became hooded with exhaustion. 

"You killed it and brought me here." He continues, voice filled with emotion that stopped the laugh from Jeno's lips. "I'm safe here and getting looked after by people who know exactly what happened to me. You saved me."

"I couldn't stop it from attacking you in the first place." Jeno finally allows himself to admit to what had been plaguing him since that moment in the woods. "I could have put myself between the both of you, fought harder, protected you better-"

"Jen," Mark's voice is wispy and Jeno's vision was distorted by the water in his own eyes. "That thing could have killed you. It almost did. You have no idea what it was like for me to watch you get hurled into the air like that. I didn't even realise that I had been bitten because I thought you were dead! There was absolutely no way that you could have survived that... you should have died back there.. but you didn't. You got right back up and killed that thing, and protected me in the process. I will never stop thanking you for that."

"Well, let's just say that you owe me one." Jeno announces much to Mark's surprise. "I mean, you are a werewolf now. I figured that maybe you could look after me for a change."

Mark's sudden burst of laughter halted Jeno's train of thought. Instead, he simply watched as his best friend laid out on hospital bed laughing wholeheartedly in the basement of a werewolf den. Jeno was still missing their dorm. 

"As IF you need any saving!" Mark hollers before he is riddled with another laughing fit. 

Jeno remains slumped in his seat, unable to do anything but playfully glare at his best friend as they waited for Yixing to return to the room. 

The medic eventually returns to the room after another few minutes of one-sided laughter. The smile on his lips is radiant. "It's nice to hear something so cheerful echo off these walls."

"Jeno thinks that now that I'm a werewolf, I'll be able to look after him..." Mark pauses to laugh again, earning a gentle kick to the edge of his bed by his best friend. "As if he needs ANY saving! I still cower beneath his gaze despite the new wolf powers!"

"That's just because we both know that I can still beat your ass. Wolf abilities or not."

"I for one," Yixing announces, a bright smile gracing his thin lips. "would love to see that happen. I think everyone upstairs would love to make a bet on who would win, especially since Jeno manhandled Jaemin so easily earlier-"

"I didn't manhandle him!" Jeno squawked which just made Mark laugh again. "You seem to forget that he was trying to kill me!"

"Jaemin's a peculiar case," Yixing hums, a teasing smile on his lips as he pulls a moveable table from the corner and placing it over Mark's bed. "he likes accreting his dominance every chance he gets. Though, I doubt your manhandling did anything to diminish his ego."

Mark cackles. Jeno's patience is clinging to remain in place. His best friend splutters to gain oxygen as his chest heaves from the extensive exercise his laughing fits caused. 

"He actually seemed to enjoy it a little too much," Mark agrees, watching amused as Jeno's cheeks start to pinken. From anger or embarrassment, he wasn't sure. "I saw his arms reach for you when you pulled away from him. The sexual tension was immediate."

"Dude!" Jeno hisses and Mark springs back against his pillow and laughs again. 

"Okay okay," Yixing chuckles, approaching the bed again with two different modes of medicine in hand. "Would you prefer a tablet or needle for your sleeping aid?"

"Tablet-" Jeno answers when Mark surprises them both by saying "needle."

"Dude!" Jeno sighed, feeling an incoming headache brewing behind his watery eyes. "You hate needles!"

"I might have grown accustomed to them now that I'm a werewolf!"

The sting of his palm against his forehead unfortunately wasn't enough for Jeno to be rid of this ongoing nightmare. 

Instead, Jeno simply turns back to Yixing who is observing them both with a smirk creeping onto his lips. 

"You heard the idiot," he deadpans. "he's going to take the shot."

"Wait!" Mark shrieks before Yixing could even think to leave the room to grab the shot. "H-How big is the needle?"

Jeno allows himself to snuggle up against the back of the seat. He's surprised to find it so accommodating for his heavy limbs. If he didn't desperately want a bed, Jeno would have fallen asleep right there. 

Instead he allows his head to turn and watch as Yixing pauses in the doorframe. Jeno feels a bubble of laughter ignite in his lungs when Yixing's fingers come up to briefly display the length of the needle he was waiting to retrieve. 

Mark's offended gasp rips the building laugh from Jeno's lungs, his entire body shaking as Mark scrambles to verbally change his decision just like Jeno knew he would. 

Yixing produces a small brown bottle that rattled as he moved back towards the bed. He pops the lid off and drops two small pink pills into Mark's cupped hand. Jeno watches as Yixing's other hand pulls a small water bottle from one of the many pockets of his cargo shorts. 

"They'll probably take about an hour before it kick in, but when it does, you'll go out like a light." Yixing explains as Mark knocks back the pills and swallows them with the help of the water. "The hour will give me an opportunity to get some food into you before you sleep, so I'm going to head upstairs and get you something to eat. Are there any requests?"

"Whatever is easier for you to do," Mark admits, smiling politely as he places his water bottle on the table above his legs. "I'm not that much of a picky eater."

Yixing turns to glance at Jeno who perks up at the inclusion. "He doesn't like ketchup," he lectures, ready with his mental 'Mark' folder. "He's allergic to fish and his body can't tolerate spice."

"I have some frozen pizza upstairs, would you be interested?" Yixing wonders after a moment of contemplating. 

"That's perfect." Mark agrees, tipping his head forward in agreement. "Thank you Yixing, I really appreciate it."

"I'll leave you guys alone so you can talk, I'll be upstairs if you need anything." Yixing addresses the room, gazing first to Mark before turning his attention to Jeno. "Don't think that I forgot about examining you," he points his forefinger. "Once he's fed and asleep, I'm going to check you out and get you something to eat too. For now, you're not presenting any signs of concern, so just relax, but please don't fall asleep, if you can."

"I don't think I could rest even if I wanted to." Jeno admits. Yixing regards him with a knowing smile and a weight gets lifted off Jeno's shoulders. "I'll stay awake for my check-up, I promise."

"Jeno doesn't break his promises." Mark explains, though his voice carries the weight of incoming sleep. "He promised me that he would take me somewhere safe, and here I am."

"You're lucky to have a best friend like him." Yixing mutters with a small smile before finally leaving the best friends alone to speak privately when Mark was still lucid to do so. 

Mark knew to wait until Jeno deemed them both completely alone before he allowed himself to speak. Jeno waited until the footsteps no longer echoed off the walls of the staircase and the gentle creek of the door shutting before he nodding his head. 

"Did you see him?" Mark wondered. 

Jeno's heart stung when it became evident that, despite his best efforts, Mark had still seen that face in the crowd. Jeno hadn't been quick enough to get them out of the way. "Yeah," he admits when his lungs no longer ached. "I did."

"What the hell is he doing here?" Mark huffs, brows furrowing and the skin against his jaw tight against his chin. "How come he just vanished out of my life last semester without so much as a text message, or note, or fucking email? Instead he decides to show up in a freaking werewolf den on the exact day I become a werewolf!"

"Maybe he is one," Jeno speculates, but even he had his doubts. "Whatever the hell he is, maybe the reason he left you is because of all this." 

"He could have gone about it differently!" Mark hisses and Jeno can't it within himself to argue. He felt the same way. "He could have said something! He could have lied to me and said that there was someone or something! He could have given any stupid excuse but instead he decide to take the coward's way out! He left me with nothing but his memory and his haunting presence in the back of my head!"

"You don't need to anything about it today," Jeno explains, gathering enough strength to pull himself from his chair and approach Mark's bed. "You've already gone through enough today. You can handle speaking with him tomorrow or some other time when you're ready. Not everything needs to be dealt with today."

"I know." Mark sighs and sags back against his pillow, his eyes closing as his fingers gently swipe against the curve of his brow-ridge. "I just can't help it! I want to know why he did it. I deserve to have answers!"

"You have all the time in the world to get answers about your personal life," Jeno jokes, earning a playful scoff in return. "Just focus on getting some food and sleeping for as long as you can. We'll deal with everything else in the morning."

"Yeah." Mark agrees with a dip of his head. "That sounds like a great idea, thanks Jen."

"You really have to stop thanking me." Jeno groans, allowing his eyes to scrunch up as he mocks his inward hatred. "It will only inflate my ego."

"As if it wasn't big enough already!" Mark laughs, gently slapping his opened palm against his best friend's shoulder. 

"I'm going to go upstairs and find out where Jisung brought our bags. I would rather have you sleep comfortable than in jeans."

"Make sure to get yourself something sugary to drink!" Mark calls out for him as he leaves the room.

Jeno waves a hand to acknowledge the statement before making his way back up the same stairs that he had rushed down earlier. He gently nudges the door open and steps into the kitchen he hadn't noticed earlier. 

The tiles beneath his shoes were white and black in a checkerboard pattern. The cabinets were painted a sage green and the marble countertop sparkled in the fluorescent lighting above his head. There was a large rectangular dark oak table off in the corner with the opposite side blocking off a bayed window with a puffed cushion on top. 

There was a guy sitting at one of the placemats on the table, with an opened laptop, an A4 refill pad to his left and his cellphone on his right. His hair was a light shade of hazelnut, which really contrasted the strong blood red headphones draped over his ears. He jumped in his seat when he noticed Jeno looming in his peripheral. 

"Oh!" he shouted, lifting his hands to pull off his headphones. "Yixing just stepped into the living-room for a second. Can I help you with something?"

"I was wondering where Jisung brought Mark's bag? I was hoping to get him his spare clothes since sleeping in jeans doesn't agree with him."

"Oh, I can grab his bag for you if you want?" The boy was already pulling himself up from his seat at the table. "It won't take very long, I'll be back before you know it!"

"Thank you-" Jeno tried to say, but the boy was gone before he had the opportunity. 

Instead, Jeno lingered in the doorframe and examined the kitchen a little longer, taking note of the door closest to him. It seemed to led outside. 

The fridge was easier to find as its large metallic nature was enough to pull Jeno from the safety of the basement's threshold. His legs felt heavy as they trudged over to the machine, his fingers coiling around the handle as he mustered up the strength to pull it open. 

He released a tired sigh as his eyes took note of the contents, various packets of meat, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Finally a row of Coke cans lined one of the shelfs in the door. Jeno didn't care who it belonged to. He needed something sugary to function. He grabbed one from the back and cracked it open without delay. 

The sugar burst onto his tongue within a second of contact. A small moan managed to escape as Jeno tips his head back and gulps down the sweet beverage. He feels the strength return to his tired muscles almost immediately. 

"You're lucky that Jisung isn't much of a fighter. He would be really unhappy with the view I'm currently enjoying right now." A familiar voice utters from the doorway leading back into the main house. 

Jeno merely rolls his eyes and continues to take a drink from his stolen can. "I can always buy him another case when I've been cleared to leave."

"Unlike your new furry friend downstairs, you can leave whenever you want-"

"I'm not leaving without Mark." Jeno announces, turning to glare at Jaemin who merely smirks in a victorious manner. He's leaning up against one of the cabinets and gazes at Jeno through his eyelashes. 

"Quite a best friend he has, huh?"

"So everyone keeps telling me." Jeno confirms, allowing the fridge door to close. 

He finds himself leaning against the opposite cabinet, directly in line with Jaemin, who can't seem to fight the smile developing on his lips. 

Jeno takes another gulp of the soda in the hope that it would prevent his brain from thinking that the latter's grin was in any way attractive. 

"Why?" Jaemin wonders, pink hair falling against his long lashes. Jeno's brows furrow in confusion. "Why won't you leave him? You're not bitten. You aren't tied to this place. Surely you could think of at least five other places that you would rather be right now?"

"I'd rather be in my dormitory than in this conversation." Jeno admits wholeheartedly, pausing to run his tongue along the rim of the can to catch the remnants.

Jaemin's laughter is soft as he giggles quietly to himself, his heated gaze taking in every inch of Jeno's being from across the room. 

"No," he breathes, voice hardening. "Seriously, why wouldn't you leave?"

"Real friends don't leave when the going gets a little tough. They stick together because it's easier to get through something when there is someone there experiencing the same thing as you."

"I think that's the longest sentence to have ever come out of your mouth in my presence." Jaemin admits, voice returning to its light and airy cadence. 

Jeno simply rolls his eyes and finishes the stolen drink. He crinkles the can beneath his grip and relishes in the beautiful crunch before he throws it into the trash next to Jaemin on the order side of the room. 

He feels a small bubble of pride drift into his chest when he makes the throw, his eyes finding Jaemin's gaze immediately after. 

"Nice shot tiger." He smirks, which makes that uncomfortable feeling from earlier return to Jeno's stomach. 

He's about to go back into the basement, but the footfalls of an incoming tenant have him remain in his spot against the further counter. His eyes linger on Jaemin, who also turns at the sound of an intruder. His posture changes and his mischievous gaze dissolves from his eyes. 

The familiar face pops around the door of the kitchen, freezing when greeted by Jeno. The ghost quickly turns to look at Jaemin who merely raises a brow at his presence. 

"Renjun," Jaemin greets. "Won't you come in? Jeno won't bite you, but he might slam you up against a wall-"

"I wasn't the one to do that to begin with." Jeno hisses, watching as Jaemin sends him a sneaky wink before he pulls his gaze back to Renjun. 

"Actually," Renjun shuffles in, looking down at his hands so he isn't cohered into looking at Jeno and see the consequences of his actions. "I was hoping that you would give us a minute alone."

"I'm pretty sure that even I did that, I would still be able to hear your conversation." Jaemin deadpans, looking slightly perplexed that Renjun was even asking for privacy in a house filled with werewolves and other unclassified supernatural beings. 

"Can you - just- like, switch off your abilities for a few minutes?" Renjun pleads, finally pulling his head up long enough to meet Jaemin's gaze. 

"Can you stop breathing?" Jaemin snaps back playfully, though Jeno could see how his eyes harden.

It became pretty evident that Jaemin wasn't going to be leaving them alone to discuss their obvious private matters. 

"It's probably for the best," Jeno admits into the air. "You so that there are witnesses." His words make Jaemin's neck snap in his direction, eyes narrowed. 

Renjun finally turns to look at him, looking defeated that his wish wasn't granted. 

"I want to talk to him." 

"No." Jeno affirms with the definitive. 

"Please, I need to explain -"

"You left him!" Jeno spits, his words turning to venom before he could even think to stop himself. 

He had months of sour bitterness building up in his heart for his best friend and not once did he have an opportunity to let it out. The source of that bitterness stood right in front of him and Jeno couldn't stop it all from coming to the forefront. 

"He told you that he was in love with you." The words are so foreign to him. "You left the first opportunity you had. You finally decide to sleep with him and then break his heart at dawn.  No note, no text, no explanation-"

"I know. I know, and I am so sorry that it came to that but-"

"I don't need the explanation Renjun," Jeno shook his head, already in the process of heading back towards the basement entrance. "I just won't let you talk to him today."

"Why? I have a right to tell him-"

"He almost lost his entire life today!" Jeno hisses as Renjun's eyes widen in fear. "He was attacked, Renjun. He thought I died because of it. We came here expecting to just get him healed up, but no, instead, he has to find out that the life he has known since he was born is officially over because now he's a freaking werewolf! So, no, you don't have a right to come back into his life and drag up ghosts from his past. Not today. Today, he grieves the life he had, and tomorrow, he has to deal with his new one. If he wants to speak with you, let him do it on his own terms. Don't force it on him."

Jeno knows that he could have been kinder. He knows that he should have taken Renjun's feeling into account before he even opened his mouth. 

But Renjun wasn't there to see the effects of his actions. He didn't see how affected Mark had been when he woke up that morning to find the left side of his bed empty, with the warmth long gone. 

Renjun didn't see how long it took Jeno to convince his best friend to eat something and keep it down. He didn't see how restless Jeno was running between his own lectures and Mark's to make sure that his best friend didn't flunk out of college. He didn't see how Jeno had to move into Mark's room just to stop his best friend from having panic attacks. 

He wasn't there because he was too busy destroying Mark's life to realise the consequences of his absence. 

So, Jeno couldn't allow himself to feel upset about the harsh words he spewed in Renjun's general direction. He couldn't blame himself for reacting that way. Jeno was very protective of the one person whom he had let inside, and he couldn't stand to see him hurt. He knew that he could have handled it different, but a different outcome wasn't possible in this universe. 

If Mark decided sometime in the future to forgive Renjun for what he did, Jeno would learn to forgive him too. But, until then, Jeno was going to loathe the very man who broke his best friend's heart. There wasn't anything anyone could say that would change that. 

With his own words being spoken into existence for the first time in months, Jeno allowed the silence to fill his ears as he turned on his heel and walked right out of the kitchen and back through the threshold leading to the basement. 

He figured that the boy he saw in the kitchen would know to follow him down when he returned with Mark's bag. Perhaps Jaemin would be useful to pass the message on if he wasn't too shocked by the dramatic flare of conversation. 

Jeno walked straight into Mark's room and slammed the door closed right behind him. He could hear Renjun's laboured breathing upstairs and knew that he wasn't planning on following him down the stairs, despite how desperately he wanted to. He let out a gentle sigh at Mark's knowing smile. 

"I'm sorry." He apologized before his best friend could even think to open his mouth and reprimand him. "But he needed to hear it, and you need your rest."

"I know" Jeno chuckled, allowing himself to copy his best friend's response.

Mark playfully rolls his eyes and gently coaxes him over with a flick of his wrist. 

Jeno allows himself to pull away from the back of the door and trudge over to his best friend's hospital bed. Mark makes some room, sliding over as far as he could without falling out. Jeno clambers up on top of the blankets. 

When they're settled, Jeno lets out a tired sigh as Mark arranges himself so he's laying his head against his best friend's chest. Jeno lets him count his heart beats before gently ruffling his fingers through his hair. 

"You only get the princess treatment today dude." 

Mark grumbles his protest, but they both know that after tomorrow, he will no longer need Jeno's physical support. Mark was the only person in his life who stayed, the only one in his life who made an effort to be in his life. Werewolf or not Jeno was going to stay by his side until the end of the world. 

"Do you think Woobin will go crazy when he realizes that we're not on the bus?"

Jeno glances up at the clock on the wall in front of them, the hands pointing at 12 and 1. 

Woobin would have called the students back to the bus for lunch and would have done a roll-call to ensure that everyone had returned. When Mark and Jeno wouldn't call out at their names, he might check the restroom before declaring it an emergency. 

"Are you sure it wouldn't be Stephanie that would notice you weren't there?" Jeno wonders, which causes Mark to break out into a fit of laughter. 

"Probably!" He shrieks when he can pause long enough to inhale. 

Jeno simply smiles as he allows his head to rest against the pillow, while his thumb draws small circles through Mark's strands. He doesn't allow himself to get comfortable.

He still needed to speak with Yixing and Chanyeol before he could even allow himself a chance to catch up on his missed hours of sleep. 

"Do you want to talk about that conversation you had with Jaemin the kitchen, or are you just going to pretend that didn't happen?"

"Mark," Jeno hissed, feeling his nails dig into his best friend's scalp. "Go to sleep." 

Chapter Text

"Look up," Yixing encouraged him with a gentle smile.

Jeno followed the instruction while trying his best to keep his eyes open despite the blinding light being shone against them. 

"Perfect," Yixing hummed. "Now look down."

Jeno did so. 

"To the left,"

Jeno felt a gentle tug on his cheek, but didn't think anything of it.

"And finally, to the right." 

The tense skin returned to normal and the touch was gone. 

"Alright," Yixing announced, rising from his seat. Jeno was just thankful that the light was gone. "From what I've seen, you don't have a concussion and your scan definitely didn't bring up anything of concern. From a medical standpoint, you're perfectly fine."

"But my eyes are still watering and I can't stop sniffling." Jeno groaned, allowing himself to fall back against the pillow of his exam room. "You're absolutely sure that no one in this house has cats?"

"Positive," Yixing chuckles, returning his thin light device to his lab coat pocket. "I'm afraid that whatever you're going through right now, isn't a medical condition."

"But this is exactly how I get when I'm around a cat." Jeno grumbles, crossing his arms against his chest. "Either you're lying or someone snuck a cat in here without anyone taking notice!"

"Almost everyone has a heightened sense of smell," Yixing admits and Jeno decides to add it to the new 'werewolf' mental folder that he created when he learned of their heightened hearing. "We would take note of any peculiar presence pretty easily."

"Can you prescribe me anything to stop this?" Jeno didn't mean to sound desperate, but he always hated how his allergies made him feel. 

A blocked nose and two very sensitive eyes made it a lot harder to get stuff done. 

"Sure I can," Yixing admitted, slipping back into the hallway. "You should go and see Chanyeol."

Jeno rushes after him, a little confused. "Chanyeol? You're prescribing me time with Chanyeol?"

"Yeah." The medic spoke as if it was obvious. "A nice long chat with Chanyeol will be the perfect remedy."

"Is this a werewolf thing that I don't know about, or are you actually being serious right now?"

"Honestly?" Yixing pauses at the threshold of Mark's allocated room, he glances inside and nods quietly to himself when he realizes that the newly turned werewolf was still sleeping. 

Jeno decides to stay silent in case his words would stir his slumbering friend, but he still nods his head which Yixing takes notice of. 

"A bit of both."

He's walking again. Only this time, he was heading towards the staircase. Jeno follows after him, having full intent on asking more questions but finding that the words just weren't willing to form on his lips. Instead, he just silently climbs the stairs and follows after the medic like a lost puppy, unsure of where to go to find its new owner. 

Once the glare of the fluorescent lighting bounces off the white and black tiles of the upstairs kitchen, Jeno is already dabbing at his waterline to hold the tears at bay. 

Yixing lingers for just a moment, pausing to examine the rest of the pizzas that he had been coerced to make after everyone came scrambling in when Mark's was finished. He nods quietly to himself before leaving it behind and leading Jeno back into the main hallway. 

The house is a buzz with chatter, far louder than when he arrived. A majority of the conversational tones were coming from the living room but surprisingly the living space wasn't where Yixing was leading him. 

Instead, he turned down a different hallway, one Jeno certainly hadn't noticed when he was carrying Mark earlier. 

"All of the bedrooms are upstairs," Yixing explains, like he can hear what's going through Jeno's mind. "Chanyeol preferred to have his bedroom located on the ground floor."

"Ground floor access." Jeno mumbles to himself as he takes note of the pictures lining the walls in the hallway. "He'd be closer to an intruder that way, maybe even prevent them from entering any further and protecting everyone upstairs."

Yixing pauses in his steps, eyes wide when he turns to look at him. Jeno regards him for a moment before rising a brow. "Am I wrong?"

"Most people don't think that way." Yixing admits, eyes casing Jeno's entire frame before returning to hold his gaze. "Usually they assume he just doesn't want to take the stairs."

"Having a downstairs bedroom is convenient for that, yeah," he ignores Yixing's piercing gaze. "but since he's a werewolf, it would make sense that he wants to have control of the territory. Be the first one in line in case of an emergency."

"He's going to like you." Yixing declares after a moment's silence. "You think like him, he'll appreciate that."

Jeno feels his chest swell as he bobs his head in understanding. Yixing turns back on his heel and continues leading the way to Chanyeol's bedroom. 

"Come in!" His deep voice easily penetrated through the door. Which is how easily it was for Yixing to swing it open. "Everything okay?"

Jeno could sense the concern in his voice without even having to land an eye on the taller man. He followed Yixing through the threshold and lingered behind to shut the door. 

It was best to give them some privacy even if that might be hard to accomplish in a house filled with werewolves, Jeno figured that it was a thoughtful gesture nonetheless. 

"Mark's sound asleep with no lingering cause of concern other than a terrible sleeping schedule that I can easily remedy while he stays here." Yixing rambles off about his medical report and Jeno takes the time to look around. 

Chanyeol's bedroom was huge. 

His front door opened in full view of a big double bed, complete with a dark wooden frame and light grey bed-sheets. There were two pillows laying against the headboard on either side of the bed. A pair of twin cabinets sat on each side of the bed, furnished with a lamp on each. The side closest to the door seemed well used as there was a book balancing on the edge of the cabinet and a half drunk glass of water beside it. 

To the immediate right of the entryway, Jeno stared straight out into the trees that encircled the entirety of the house. Judging from their familiarity, he figured that this window overlooked the backyard, similar to the bay window in the kitchen. Like its kitchen counterpart, the entire wall was made of glass and a stoop had been crafted right against it with pillows and blankets to create a comfortable reading nook. 

On his left Jeno was surprised to see the room completely extend even further than he could have imagined. Against the further wall was a whole bookcase piled with books and other knick-knacks. In the centre of the space was a dark mahogany desk with a black leather swivel chair pressed against it. Papers and documents littered the tabletop, with faint blueprint maps dotted throughout the mess. 

Chanyeol was standing in the middle of the room, where a comfortable leather couch divided the sleeping and comfort space from his workspace. His body leaned against the back of the couch as he listened intently to Yixing's medical advice concerning Mark. 

Jeno allows himself to tune back in. 

"-he's healed up really nicely and I have no doubt that he should be ready to train whenever you deem fit." Yixing shuffles on his feet and Jeno can feel the light scald of a side-eye. "Jeno on the other hand-"

"Is completely fine except for the fact that my allergies have started to act up and my nose feels like it's never smelt air before in it's life." Jeno deadpans, holding himself back from rubbing at its tip with the palm of his hand. He would bleed if he did that again. "I'm only here because I'm following my doctor's orders."

"Jeno is allergic to cat hair and seems to think that someone isn't fessing up about a feline in their possession." Yixing chuckles. 

Jeno tries to send him a glare but his swollen eyes dampen its effectiveness. 

"Hyung seems to think that my condition isn't of medical importance," He doesn't mean to sound like a tantrum-prone toddler, but his head has been feeling like cotton wool for nearly three hours now. "I on the other hand beg to differ!"

"I'm afraid the issue isn't medical." Yixing continues with his doctoral rambles and Jeno's brain is struggling to comprehend it all because his nose won't stop watering. "I'm prescribing him Chanyeol time. Hopefully by being in your presence, the sniffles will calm before lunch."

"How?" Jeno groans, still not comprehending how spending anytime with Chanyeol could help him with his watering sinuses. "No offence hyung, but I don't see how he's my answer."

"Because he's the reason you're like this to begin with." Yixing explains, making the goo in Jeno's mind melt a little quicker. 

"What?!" He hisses, glaring through waterlogged eyes at Chanyeol who slowly raised himself from his spot against the back of the couch. 

"How in the hell did I do that to him?" Chanyeol snaps, looking at Yixing like his neck had just grown another head. 

"Jeno, will you please tell Chanyeol when your sinuses started happening today?" Yixing turns both of his heads and Jeno tries to blink one of them away, but then everything just turns cloudy again. 

"I was the in car with Mark and we were about ten minutes away from the GPS destination," Chanyeol nods and Jeno continues. "the car was suddenly overcome with a rancid scent coming from the air conditioning. I almost went off the road because of how surprised and vile it smelled, and since then my nose and eyes haven't been the same way since."

"Oh..." was the only response he got. 

Chanyeol had the audacity to look apologetic. 

So, Yixing was right. Chanyeol did this to him. His sniffles and watering eyes were Chanyeol's fault. 

"...would you like me to explain?"

The obvious answer should have been yes. 

Jeno would have liked nothing more than to understand what the hell was going on around him and why his current dilemma had anything to do with his host. But he was tired. 

The day had already been so overwhelming and additional information might end up corrupting his sensory system. So, rather reluctantly, Jeno dropped his head between his shoulders and outwardly announced his frustration in a deep groan. 

Once satisfied by the release of his anger, he returned to his proper posture and noted Chanyeol's pitying gaze. He squared his shoulders and forced a small tunnel of air to escape through his pursed lips. 

"No," he admitted after a moment. "I think I've heard enough for today. My best friend's a werewolf, his ex-boyfriend is living in his safe space, this house is filled to the brim with supernatural beings and now, you're the cause of the mucus coming out of me. I think I just want to go up to my room and die for the next 24 hours."

"Not before you eat something you aren't." Yixing snapped, drawing Jeno's attention back to him. "You can die later, only after you eat the pizza I have cooking for you."

Jeno can't help the laugh that escapes his lips. Somehow entertained by the whole scenario. He decides to hold Yixing to his warning and merely dip his head in submission. He wasn't going to fight a losing battle, especially since the pizza he saw Mark eat looked delicious. 

"There is somewhere I would like you to see though, before you turn in for the remainder of the day. It will help with the... mucus." Chanyeol spoke with a reassuring smile. 

Jeno considered the request for a moment. 

He could decline and go upstairs to his new room, get changed into suitable clothing and struggle to go to sleep. Or, he could at least get the cure for his ridiculous sniffles. It would certainly help him get to sleep later without having to breathe through his mouth. It would also help to pass the time for his pizza to cook. 

"Sure," he agrees, offering his host a tired smile. "It would probably help me sleep better anyway."

"It won't take long." Chanyeol promised him, smiling politely as he scooped up a set of keys from his desk before gesturing for Jeno to lead him out of his own bedroom. 

Yixing's lips were curled upwards in a smirk, his eyes playful as he sent Jeno a wink before heading out of Chanyeol's bedroom himself. 

"Wait!" He called out after the medic who immediately halted in his tracks. Yixing looked puzzled, brows furrowed in the centre of his forehead. "There were witnesses, we had a group of people from our class who saw us on that field-trip. They're going to know where Mark and I went off too. We need someone to call our lecturer and explain that we're okay, otherwise there's going to be a nation-wide search and that will not only complicate matters, but it will put the rest of you in jeopardy."

"Werewolves aren't very good liars," Yixing explains, though his eyes have fleeted from Jeno and lingered on Chanyeol's taller frame behind him. "but we can stretch the truth a little. I'll inform your lecturer that you are in my clinic, I'm a recognized doctor so if he has any suspicion my medical credits should cover that. I'll tell him that both of you were attacked by a group of wolves-"

"Wolves haven't been in the heritage park in a long time," Chanyeol interrupts. "Are you sure you want to use wolves as your reasoning?"

"They have trail cameras." Yixing explains, humming quietly to himself. "Hopefully the animal wolves were caught on camera and for our sakes the werewolf was hidden from sight. It will definitely give us some time to think of something to explain their absence, especially if we have concrete evidence to support it. You both will have to go back to college at some point, but in the hopes of not getting sued, I'm sure your university will be very accommodating for your elongated absence. Keeping the park on the look out for wolves will also be beneficial for us if a pack is in the area."

"Thank you." Jeno sighs. 

He can feel it in his heart that he means it. Yixing has made a towering concern appear as tall as the smallest bead. In what could be called another lack of judgement, Jeno slides his phone out of his back pocket and unlocks it. 

He potters around on it for a moment, sliding open his email and passing it over to Yixing who takes it without delay. He does look puzzled at the sight though, so Jeno takes a deep breath to explain. 

"We don't have any contact details for our teachers other than their email addresses. Woobin is an extreme control freak so he's used to checking it at all hours throughout the day. Hopefully our disappearance will make him continue to check it in the hopes that at least one of us will contact him."

"I'll do it immediately." Yixing nods his head and Jeno allows himself to follow after him. 

He pauses in the hallway when he recalls that Chanyeol wanted to show him something. His gaze continues to follow after Yixing who seemed to be going in the general direction of his underground hospital wing, taking Jeno's phone with him. 

"Did you build that clinic downstairs?" Jeno wonders, gazing at Chanyeol's back as the latter closes his bedroom's door. 

His head turns to gaze at Jeno from over his shoulder, his brows pinching again. "How did you know that?"

"The blueprints on your table." Jeno shrugs his shoulders, feeling a little guilty at the thought of seeing something he probably wasn't supposed to see. "The paper was really distinctive," he continues. "I'm used to it because of my degree."

Finally the elder manages to pull himself away from his door long enough for Jeno to draw in another lungful of air. He turns to face him completely, a small but genuine smile on his lips. 

"Walk with me."

They fall into step with each other, gliding through the hallway littered with photographs. Jeno didn't pause to take a better look, figuring that he could do it later when he wasn't so absorbed by everything happening around him. 

"I built this entire house by myself," Chanyeol explains as he leads Jeno back into familiar territory.

The front door stood right in front of him and the living-room where he had set Mark down in, beckoned from his left. The kitchen and entrance to the basement on his right. 

"I obviously had a lot of help, but I designed this place completely alone."

"From what I've seen so far, this place is really incredible." Jeno could honestly admit that he was excited to see the rest of the place. Especially since everything else he has seen so far has been enough to tickle the architect part of his brain. "Are you working on more stuff?"

"I'm planning on adding a garage along the edge of the house." Chanyeol explained, holding open the front door. 

Jeno passed right through, pausing on the porch so Chanyeol could catch up. The taller raised his hand and directed him towards the general area of his intended build. 

"Some of the kids are hoping to get their driving licenses so I figured it would be a good idea to build something for all the cars or bikes they're going to want to buy."

"It beats leaving them out in the rain." Jeno agreed with a curt nod. 

The space running along the side of the property was perfectly flat and would easily hold the structure without any kind of warp in the foundation. With the right material, and careful calculations, Jeno figured that it wouldn't take too long to complete. 

"Is this what you wanted to show me?"

"No," Chanyeol admitted with a shy smile. 

Jeno's question launched him back into moving as he trotted down the steps of the porch and back onto solid ground. He threw a glance over his shoulders before nodding in the general direction of the closest tree-line. "What I need to show you is in there."

"You're not going to try and kill me, are you?" Jeno wonders, not all that surprised to hear the bored tone in his voice. 

He's already had a morning from hell, he didn't need an afternoon of it either. 

Chanyeol releases a deep chuckle, throwing his head back against his shoulder blades. His tanned skin glows warm against the light rain falling against his face.

Jeno's breath hitches when he thinks he sees a faint red ring within the curve of Chanyeol's brown eyes.  

It's gone before he can even begin to believe it existed. 

Instead, he simply shrugs his shoulders and clambers down the porch. He looks up at Chanyeol who welcomes him to his side with a pearly white smile. 

"I'm not going to kill you," he admits as if he needs Jeno to know for certain. "After seeing you with Jaemin I know you're perfectly capable of handling yourself."

Jeno's cheeks burn at the mention of the other male. Jaemin keeps getting mentioned in a number of conversations that he's had since he's arrived.  

"You're not going to man-handle me against a tree, are you?" Chanyeol wonders, voice light in a teasing tone and Jeno tries to stop himself from reaching over to punch his host in the arm for his stupidity.

"Everyone seems to forget that he was the one to slam me against the wall first!" Jeno huffs, crossing his arms as they finally breech the tree-line. "I only retaliated!"

"Jaemin likes to show off his dominance every time we get a new member in the household. That's just who he is-"

"Some dominance," Jeno scoffs, rolling his eyes. "I easily overpowered him and I'm a human."

Chanyeol simply hums, though it's evident that there is something he wishes to say but choses not to. Jeno doesn't push. He meant what he said earlier. He didn't need any more information about their werewolf-y nature, that could be left until tomorrow when he's had a good dream in the safe space within his subconscious. 

"Since you don't want an explanation for why you're riddled with the sniffles, I figured this might be the next best thing." Chanyeol explains as they finally arrive at their destination. 

There isn't anything different in the area that separates it from the rest of the forest they passed from the house. Just a lonesome barren tree amongst blossoming ones. 

"When you broached the property line, you passed into my territory." Chanyeol stated, simple and clear. 

Jeno didn't need to be told anything else. He knew exactly what Chanyeol was referring to without the taller having to explain it to him. 

As far as he knew as of right now. Chanyeol was a werewolf. 

From his limited knowledge of lycanthropy, which mostly consists of terrible werewolf movies and CW shows, Jeno knew that, like a normal wolf, a werewolf could also establish a territory that would broadcast a signal to others in the area that this particular plot of land was off limits. 

Jeno dipped his head and groaned. It wasn't exactly a painful groan, or a groan that represented his brain overloading. If anything, it was a pleasant groan. One that easily announced his delight for having received an answer. 

"That actually makes sense." He concludes, sniffling once more. "So, how does being here help me overcome the effects it's having on me?"

"Since I'm the one who created it, I'm also the one that can stop it-"

"You're not going to pee on me, right?"

Jeno watches as Chanyeol's cheeks pool with blood, the redness coating his cheeks and upper ears. 

"No!" He shrieks. "That isn't even-" he splutters. "No! I'll teach you everything you need to know about werewolves - just, Jesus, it's not even like that!"

"Sorry."

"Just-" Chanyeol sighs, hanging his head against his chest. His hand is raised into a diagonal line, his fingers stretched out towards the barren tree. "Go over to that tree and come back."

"What?"

"You need to pass through the property line properly this time. With the permission and the correct rite of passage. So," he pauses, stretching out his arm again. "go past the tree, turn around, and come right back in."

"And this is supposed to stop my sinuses from excreting themselves from my body?"

"Only way to find out."

Jeno releases a frustrated huff, shoving his hands into the front pocket of his jeans. His sneakers squeak against the wet ground as he pushes through the leaves littering about.

He passes the tree and is suddenly overwhelmed with the freshness of the air around him. Despite standing so close to the property line, the smell of rancid acid has all but dispersed to give way to the beautiful scent of wet grass and fertile soil. 

When he's ready, Jeno fills his lungs with air and strolls back over the property line, surprised when his nose remains clear and the water in his eyes disappears completely. 

"That's incredible." He admits, glancing back over his shoulder at the tree. "What made you choose that one?"

"It remains barren all year," Chanyeol explains, gazing up at the tree with a longing look in his eyes. "I used to think that it signified death and mourning," he continues. "but I've come to think of it in a more positive light now."

Jeno too gazes at the tree, taking note of the winding roots at its base. It's lifeless branches and it's strong bark. 

Despite there not being any leaves clustered at its base, or lingering on its branches, Jeno can see how strong and steady it remains. While there are no evident signs of life, he can tell that the tree is alive. 

"What do you see in it now?"

Chanyeol remains silent for a moment, dropping his head back down before it turns in Jeno's direction. His facial features are soft and his worry lines aren't as potent. 

But his eyes remain fierce, stoic. His plump lower lip drops open and Jeno allows the breeze to carry the word to his ears. 

"Hope."

Chapter Text

They decided to head back in the direction of the house a little while later. Chanyeol had allowed Jeno a moment to compose himself, getting used to the scent of the pine needles and wet dirt beneath his feet. It was refreshing now that his eyes weren't watering and his nostrils were clear. 

Chanyeol's property was vast in all directions. The house seemed to have been placed in the centre of the territory, in a small clearing surrounded on all sides by foliage and tall trees. 

As they retraced their steps back to the house, Jeno was surprised to hear a faint bubbling sound coming from the west side of the property. 

"We have a lake on the property," Chanyeol explains, humored by the Jeno's sudden alertness. "it provides us with a good outdoor water source for when we go on our runs."

Jeno responded with a small nod to acknowledge the information, allowing it to slip into his mental 'werewolf' folder. Since Mark's transition, Jeno figured that they would be spending quite some time outdoors. It might be proven to be useful if he could recall any significant landmark that could keep them from getting lost on the property in the future. 

"None of us knew about Renjun's situation with Mark." Chanyeol yet again spoke through the silence, only this time, his words made the tension return to Jeno's shoulders. "We understood that he had an ongoing relationship with someone on campus, but he never explained anything further than that."

"So, everyone heard that, huh?"

"It's a little difficult to a quiet conversation when you're surrounded by people with enhanced hearing abilities," Chanyeol looked sorrowful, like he really was sorry that he heard what was obviously supposed to be a private conversation. "The only place in the house that's completely soundproof is the basement, there's also great reception down there for... you know, future reference."

"Thanks." Jeno means it. 

He turns his attention back to the ground beneath his feet. An urge to ask a question bubbles against his ribcage, his mind pulling a memory to the forefront of his mind. The phrasing of Chanyeol's earlier comment had been replaying in his mind for a while, but had been hindered from being spoken aloud by constant distractions. 

"This is going to become my life now, isn't it?" He wonders. 

"I might be a little biased, but I can say that it isn't all bad. For Mark, the enhanced abilities are useful and the presence of the wolf makes life a little less lonely... but I understand what you mean. You're not the same man who went on that fieldtrip this morning. The person that got back up is different to the one who was thrown in the air. It's a natural reaction and you're probably going to struggle with this new person for a while. But it will get easier with time, I can guarantee it."

"Did you mean it?" Jeno questions, allowing himself to come to a complete stop. He can see the clearing ahead of them, the house beckoning him closer, yet his feet refuse to move. 

Chanyeol looks confused, eyes hooded as his brows furrow. "What?"

"What you said in the living room. Can we really leave whenever we want?"

"Of course." Chanyeol nods his head. Though Jeno has often prided himself in being able to read a person's body language. Chanyeol's shoulders are stiff and his hands are curled into semi-hard fists by his sides. "I told Mark that-"

"Exactly." Jeno hesitates, holding the taller's gaze. "You said that Mark could leave whenever he wanted. Does that apply to me as well?"

Chanyeol visually slumped at the question, wide eyes shifting through the air by Jeno's head. His silence was loud as his gaze grew hotter. Jeno stood tall against the fallen tree stump by his leg, allowing himself the opportunity to sit and wait for the answer. 

"I figured that you wouldn't want to leave because he's your best friend." Chanyeol explains after a few more moments had passed. "We know that Mark was bitten, we know that he's going to turn into a werewolf, we know that it isn't safe for him to be out in public by himself because, remember those heightened senses I told you about? They are difficult to control for the first few weeks after you transition."

"Chanyeol," Jeno's voice is harder now. Stronger. More confident. "Am I allowed to leave?"

"I'm not going to stop you." The taller announces and Jeno feels a small dose of the tension ease from his shoulders. "But I wouldn't recommend it for you either. Unlike Mark, we have no idea what the hell you are. Caleb clearly thought that you were a problem, which is why he tossed you to the side to begin with. From what Mark described and Yixing's personal medical opinion, you should be dead Jeno, or at the very least, severely concussed. You think that you're running on adrenaline, but we both know that your body should have given up by now... succumb to it's injuries. But you're still standing. That guy in the wood could have sent the both of you to the hospital and let you deal with this problem by yourselves, but instead, he took one look at you and decided that you needed someplace to go. Somewhere to hide. Somewhere you can figure out what's really going on here."

"That... thing in the woods," Jeno looks up again. "His name was Caleb?"

Chanyeol dips his head between his shoulders, his muscled arms coming up to cross against his chest. 

"You have gone through enough today, I didn't want to add to the emotional and mental toll it would take for you to understand everything. I still hold that judgment. I'm going to spend the next month introducing the two of you to this new world and everything currently going on within it. But you have to let me do this in my own time. There are things that even I don't understand or things that I don't know how to explain. This will take time, but you have to start trusting me. I'm being honest by saying that I don't know what you are, you smell human, but then you managed to overpower Jaemin which shouldn't have been as easy as you might believe it to have been. He's the strongest one in the house and for you easily overpower him like that... well, let's just say that there is a reason why Yixing and I keep mentioning it."

"You're right," Jeno admits, pulling himself up from the seat he had fashioned out of the fallen tree. "You should tell me everything in your own time, and... thank you, for being honest with me. I've started to get a little freaked out by everything that I did today, so I'm kind of glad that there's someone else who's just as confused about me, as I am."

"There will be a day when we finally get our answers." Chanyeol smiles. He takes a step closer and Jeno doesn't stop him. Eventually the taller is coming close, but not too close as to intimidate. He stretches out a hand and gently presses it against the curve of Jeno's shoulder. "For now, let's just keep this between ourselves. No-one needs to know you might not be entirely human yourself."

"Mark will be pretty pissed if I steal his thunder." Jeno finds himself laughing at the craziness of it all. His laughter mixes with Chanyeol's in the air, before being echoed back at them from the trees. "I'll pay close attention to the lessons, see if there is anything that I hear which might sound familiar. Then we can discuss the possibilities."

"Deal!" Chanyeol announces, holding out his hand. 

Jeno accepts it with his own, their grip equal as they shake on it. 

They continue their way back to the house, the lingering scent of sandalwood tickling Jeno's nose. They pass the cars in the driveway and make for the stairs when the door at the top is slammed open. Jeno has half a mind to prepare himself for a fight again, when he notices that it's just Yixing slipping over the threshold. 

He has a phone pressed to his ear, and a hand politely pressed against the screen to hinder his voice from the phone's microphone. He smiles down at Chanyeol before turning back to Jeno with a far more serious expression on his face. 

"I have Woobin on the line, he wants to speak to one of you and because Mark is out for the count, I explained that you were getting an X-ray."

Jeno looks down at his limbs for good measure, which just makes Yixing wallop him in the shoulder while Chanyeol tries to cover his laugh with a giant hand. Yixing looks unamused as he holds the phone out to him. Jeno takes it with a small smile. 

"Hello?" He speaks clearly into the receiver, though he pauses to cough just for good measure. Yixing rolls his eyes and Chanyeol looks a second away from bursting a vein as his face grows darker. 

"Jeno? Is that you? Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for everything! I was reassured by the park's representative that we wouldn't have any problems - wildlife or otherwise- when we arrived at the park! I cannot believe that you and Mark encountered wolves in the area! I was under the impression that South Korea didn't even have a wolf population to begin with! I want to formally apologize for this situation and I want to express my sincere apologizes for the harm caused to yourself and Mark. I understand that Mark is currently in surgery-"

Jeno looks up at Yixing who is already holding his arms up and glaring right back at Chanyeol. 

"-and that you've just returned from an X-ray yourself! After we finish this conversation I plan on speaking to the Dean of Students and the board about this situation. Please do not fret about anything! Your coursework has been paused in my class and I will ensure that this is done in all of your other classes while you both recover. Jeno, please, is there anyone you wish for me to call?"

Damn. 

Jeno had completely forgotten that their impromptu 'hospital' visit would have required them to reach out to their next of kin. Jeno's situation was... difficult. But Mark's parents should know that something had happened to their son. 

He could let Woobin get a message to them and then he would tell Mark about it in the morning, when he awake and prepped on the situation. 

A glance at the two older men beside him had Jeno's heart momentarily skip a beat. They looked as pained as he felt. Whether it was because they would have more people to lie to, or the potential of their secret coming free. It was difficult to tell which one was worse. But Jeno wasn't going to wait around to find out. 

"Mark's parental contacts should be in his student file, his student number is 22-991-841. They're currently in Canada so the time difference might make them unavailable for the meantime. I will get Mark to speak with them himself when he wakes up from surgery, but it would probably be a good idea if someone tries to reach them before then."

"Absolutely," Woobin exclaims, pausing to scribble something down on a notepad. Jeno could hear how the pen paused across the paper. "And for yourself?"

Jeno was quiet. 

"Jeno? Is there anyone I can call for you?"

How was he supposed to say no? How could he tell a concerned adult that he didn't have any next-of-kin? If he spoke the truth right now, there was a strong possibility that Woobin would try to take the responsibility himself. Jeno couldn't afford for him to really comprehend the full extent of their situation. 

A hand waved in front of his face, pulling him from the liminal space he had found himself in. Chanyeol looked concerned, brows furrowed and mouth pinched. He frowned the longer the silence continued before he gestured for the phone. 

Jeno passed it over willingly. 

"Hello? Professor Woobin?" Chanyeol's lips curled upwards and the teacher's sudden shock was apparent through the phone. "This is Jeno's guardian speaking. Yes, Doctor Zhang called me when the boys arrived. I only got here myself so I'm not entirely sure about their conditions. Ah, yes..." Chanyeol's eyes find him and his hand presses a little harder against Jeno's shoulder. "We haven't had an opportunity to update his student file to include me as his emergency contact just yet. I have recently moved from the states myself, so I'm still struggling to grow accustomed. Thank you so much for caring about his studies during this matter, if there is anything that I can do, please let me know... you too, goodbye."

The phone was returned to its initial owner and Jeno was gently pulled into a firm chest. He had just enough time to realise that he was shaking, before Chanyeol's hands clamped down on his arms, pressing them firmly into his sides as his chin gently rested across Jeno's forehead. 

No tears threatened to spill this time, but the ache in his heart was loud enough for everyone to hear. Jeno slowly brought air into his lungs, letting them fill to capacity before blowing it through a narrow channel in his mouth. Chanyeol grounded him in the moment, keeping him firmly on the ground when all his mind wanted to do was run to avoid the problem. 

Jeno didn't have a family. Mark had been his only family. Now, his determination to stay alongside his best friend made sense. Jeno didn't have anywhere else to go. 

"Let's get you inside," Yixing's voice sweet against his ears. Coaxing just enough to make Jeno want to pull himself from Chanyeol's chest. They smiled at him with his staggered back onto his feet. "you must be hungry."

Yixing held the door open and Chanyeol guided him through. Jeno didn't even bother to listen to the sounds of the house this time, simply walking towards the kitchen with his mind otherwise preoccupied. The warmth from Chanyeol was enough to keep him grounded, but the ache in his chest was a little too harsh to completely overlook. 

The kitchen was overwhelmed by the scent of the pizza's dough and the creaminess of the golden cheese. A figure lingered by the over, curiously watching them as Chanyeol led Jeno to a seat at the table. 

"Kyungsoo!" Yixing greets him with a small smile. "What are you doing here?"

"It's my kitchen, what the hell are you doing here?" Kyungsoo snaps, though his painful smile made it a little difficult for him to appear annoyed. 

"I'm making pizzas."

"You almost burned them."

Yixing laughs and snatches the oven mitts from the latter's hand. He applies them before battling the furnace by his knees. Jeno is blasted by the heat, despite being well away from the device. He let out a quiet sigh as the scent of his dinner calmed his stomach. 

"Any particular way you want your pizza cut Jeno?" Yixing asks from the counter, already in the process of applying the pizza to the chopping board. 

Chanyeol nudges him into a reply. "Triangles! I guess?"

"Coming right up!"

"Here, kiddo." Kyungsoo's lips form a heart as he smiles at him from across the table. He's offering out a can of Coke from Jisung's shelf in the fridge. Jeno takes it with what he hopes is a genuine smile, before placing it down on a coaster in front of him. "New wolf?"

"He's down in the basement," Chanyeol explains. "Jeno's his best friend."

Kyungsoo simply nods and returns to a spot by the opposite counter, but not before smiling at Jeno again. 

"Get it while it's still hot!" Yixing chuckles, rushing to the dining table with a plate full of pizza. 

Jeno's stomach growls at the sight and his fingers are already reaching out for a slice before he can stop himself. Chanyeol simply laughs by his side, gently bumping their shoulders together to encourage him to take a slice. 

Jeno doesn't, instead he opens his can and takes a sip of the bubbles before sighing in contentment. Chanyeol rolls his eyes and snatches a slice for himself, uninterested in Yixing's clear squawk. 

"There is plenty to go around!" He shouts, holding up the pizza cutter. "If you wanted a slice you could have taken from the pile, not the poor boy's plate!"

"I'm sure that Jeno wouldn't mind missing a single slice." Chanyeol deadpans, mouth filled with saucy dough. Even Kyungsoo looks a little disgusted by it. 

Jeno humors them both by remaining quiet, simply reaching towards his plate and snatching a slice for himself. He bites into the tip of the dough and lets a peaceful moan escape his lips. He hadn't even realised that he hadn't eaten properly since dinner last night. His diet prior to this being soggy cereal and a bag full of sour Skittles. 

Suddenly the entire kitchen felt like it was going to become the focal point of an earthquake. A thundering sound of shoes on wood squeaked through the hallways and various bumps and thumps thrummed with his own heart. In a rush of blur, the kitchen was attacked by numerous figures who all rushed towards Yixing. 

"No!" The in-house medic screamed, pizza cutter at the ready. "You will all form an orderly line along the counter and I don't want to hear anyone bitching about what slices they get! We weren't expecting guests so we're down two pizzas-"

"TWO?!" One of the housemates groans, voice reaching an incredibly high octave that Jeno was pretty sure only KPOP idols and Mariah Carey could accomplish. He hissed alongside the rest of the supernatural beings. 

"Yeah, Jaemin's new boyfriend and his new werewolf best friend!" Another one chirps and then gets a really painful hit to the shoulder by the pink haired boy who had been plaguing most of Jeno's conversations. 

Chanyeol leaned back against his seat next to Jeno, a small smirk on his lips which Jeno had half a mind to slap off with a pizza slice. 

His attention is taken away by the appearance of a new member, who stalks into the room with small black bags beneath his eyes. He nods at Chanyeol and offers a small surprised smile to Jeno before skipping the queue and going straight up to Kyungsoo who was now by the fridge. 

The blond haired man easily reached over Kyungsoo's smaller frame and produces a hospital bag that Jeno couldn't recall being in the fridge when he inspected it earlier. 

Weird. 

What kind of house has a hospital bag in their kitchen fridge? Surely, they would be better down in the basement-

That was a blood bag. 

The liquid was a dark red in the bag and there was a giant B+ written in Sharpie on the front. 

Now the 'Supernatural Beings' category made sense. Chanyeol said that only some of the house inhabitants were werewolves. Maybe that included vampires now too. 

The blond appeared surprised when he turned back to glance at Jeno, looking at him in confusion as he raised the IV line up to his lips and started sucking. The skin beneath his eyes prickled with small grey veins as the white of his eyes bled red. It didn't look like the fiery red ring that Chanyeol's iris had taken, but it was a stark contrast to his earlier appearance. 

Yep, definitely a vampire. 

"Huh." Jeno exclaimed, falling back against his seat. He paused, bringing a pizza slice to his lips, allowing his gaze to fixate on the vampire currently making his way towards the other end of the table. The guy raised a brow and Jeno smiled sheepishly, gesturing to his blood bag. "Is there a particular favourite you prefer? Or is it just a case of whatever's easier to get?"

The guy looks genuinely surprised, his eyes wide and the IV line hangs against his lower lip from his shock. He swallows and the blood drains from his eyes, bringing them back to their original appearance. The veins beneath his waterline also disappear and Jeno makes the determination that the vampire is an attractive creature. 

"I don't really have a favourite," he explains, eyes trailing to the other members in the room. Jeno realizes too late that the room had become profoundly quiet, he takes another bite of his pizza and waits for the guy to continue. "though I do have a preference." He holds up the bag again and Jeno nods his head. He thinks that will be all they discuss, but the vampire shifts in his seat and leans forward ever so slightly on the table. "Can I ask you a question?"

Jeno makes sure to swallow his pizza before answering. "Sure."

"Aren't you frightened?" Jeno feels his brows furrow. "You're sitting in the same room as a vampire, who is currently drinking out of a blood-bag. How is your heartbeat so calm?"

"Would you prefer to hear me screaming...?" Jeno wonders, hearing a small giggle come from one if the other housemates to his right. He doesn't bother glancing, the fire in his chest already telling him who it would be. 

"I usually get that kind of reaction, yeah." The blond nods, suddenly looking uncomfortable as he gazes over at the group of people watching them. His eyes zero in on someone in particular and Jeno would be interested to know, but he is far too tired to tilt his head. 

"Sorry dude, if I can handle a werewolf, I think I can handle a vampire." He shrugs his shoulder, gently nudging Chanyeol's shoulder away from him. "I've already had enough supernatural shit happen to me today, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be zen about anything right now. Though, if someone did turn into a unicorn right now, I'd be pretty impressed."

"You have all scared him into being immune." Chanyeol hollers, throwing his head back between his shoulders with a howling laugh. Jeno simply rolls his eyes and takes another bite of a new pizza slice. 

Slowly, one by one, the inhabitants of the house come to take a seat at the table. Though Jeno takes note of the fact that Kyungsoo remains rooted at the counter closest to the fridge, a small apron on his waist and fingers covered in flour. 

What he doesn't take note of however, is Jaemin's deliberate placement. The pink haired menace chose the seat directly opposite Jeno so that throughout their meal, their gazes would be filled with the other person's presence. He wanted to keep his eyes on his pizza the entire time, but more and more questions kept being thrown in his direction from the other housemates. 

"So, you're currently studying in SM University in Seoul, right?" The guy who had gone to get Mark's bag spoke, cheeks pink as he smiled from his spot opposite Chanyeol. 

"Yeah," Jeno hums, trying not to turn his gaze down the table  to Renjun who visually stiffens in his seat. "I study architecture."

"Fascinating!" The boy sounds genuinely interested, but before he can continue speaking, another pipes up. 

"You guys were on a field-trip when you were attacked?"

"The National Heritage Centre," Jeno nods, gazing down at the man currently occupying the seat by the vampire's left. "We were there for our Archaeology class."

"Archaeology?" Jisung looks intrigued, his big brown eyes sparkling. "Like digging for bones and stuff?"

Jeno shrugs his shoulders. "Maybe. I don't have any interest in it myself. I only took it as my elective because Mark asked."

"And we all know what you would go through for your best friend." Jaemin's voice was like sweet honey from across the table, but his mischievous eyes were enough of a hint for Jeno not to take the bait. 

Instead he simply shrugs his shoulders again and raises a pizza slice into his mouth. If he shoves in more than he probably should have, no one says anything, though Jaemin watches the movement with wide eyes and slightly mesmerized look. 

"I think it might be a good idea if we introduce ourselves to Jeno properly," Chanyeol cuts through the mildly sexual tension, a thumb gently pushing into Jeno's pulse-point on his wrist. "some of you have already made introductions," he looked at Jaemin. "some more than others. But it would be a good idea for him to get to know everyone."

"What fantastic idea!" Kyungsoo exclaims from the counter. He waves a floured hand and starts with himself. "Do Kyungsoo, resident werewolf chef and nurse. If there is anything you want to eat that might remind you of home, let me know and I'll whip it up for you sweetie."

Jeno dips his head in greeting and smiles politely, hoping that there wasn't any pizza sauce on his face when he looks back down the table again. 

"Oh Sehun, resident troublemaker and vampire. If you're ever looking for something let me know, I have multiple contacts around the world who can get it for you."

Though slightly cryptic, Jeno still nods and smiles. He turns to the next person, a boy with cat eyes and a genuine smile. 

"Kim Minseok, resident werewolf who is a technology whiz. If any of your devices have any problems, let me know and I'll fix it as soon as I can."

"Well actually-" Jeno smiles as Minseok perks up. "our devices are back at the dorm. Is  there any chance that we can have access to a laptop?"

"Oh say less!" Sehun waves his hand. 

"I'll work with Sehun and we'll get you both laptops and monitors for your rooms. No sweat."

"Thank you."

"Kim Jongdae, werewolf and aspiring actor-to-be." The guy speaks around a weirdly shaped mouth, but Jeno acknowledges the name and the supernatural classification and looks onto the next person who perks up and speaks before anyone can think to cut in. 

"Huang Renjun, resident college-goer and practitioner of magical arts."

Jeno doesn't even bother to slump back down in his seat. It shouldn't surprise him, and it doesn't really. It actually makes a little more sense than the crazy conclusions he had been creating when Renjun and Mark were still together. 

"Now the plants make sense." Is all he says before he turns to the familiar face in the crowd who visually brightens at the thought of being included. 

"Park Jisung, youngest werewolf! Jeno, do you think you and Mark-hyung could play football with me tomorrow? No one else wants to play with me!" The kid throws a few dirty glares around the table and it takes a lot of strength for Jeno not to burst into a laughing fit. 

"Mark and I were planning on training tomorrow," he explains, once he gets control of his breathing. The kid looks heartbroken, but Jeno wasn't completely finished just yet. "If you think we can squeeze in a few games after breakfast, we might be able to make it work."

"Really?" Jisung shrieks and again Jeno tries to hold himself back from wincing, like the rest of the room. 

"Of course." He nods, finishing his final slice. "As long as you don't mind kicking Mark's ass for the entire game."

Jisung squeals for a moment more before his attention is returned to his plate of pizza. Jeno purposefully ignore Jaemin's expectant glance from in front of him and turns to the familiar boy sitting across from Chanyeol. He looks amused by Jeno's gesture, but smiles nonetheless. 

"Lee Donghyuck, though I prefer Haechan. Resident werewolf and a third of our '00 line."

From Jeno's memory, he can recall that Renjun's birthday was March 23rd 2000, so that explains two of the three members. 

The final housemate sitting next to Yixing and patiently waiting for his turn, smiles kindly. "Kim Junmyeon but you can call me Suho if it helps you remember. I'm also a werewolf and I'm actually Yixing's mate. I'm a therapist, so if there is ever a time when you need someone to talk to, my door is always open."

Where was he when Mark needed a therapist a few months ago?

"Thanks Suho," Jeno tested the nickname on his lips. "I'll be sure to let Mark know about that as well."

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself too?" Kyungsoo spoke up, making Jeno's heart throb in his veins.

He looks at Jaemin who is already looking at him, but he realizes that Kyungsoo is actually gesturing to the person on Jeno's right. 

"Kyung," Chanyeol sighs. "I'm pretty sure he knows who I am by now."

"It would still be nice of you to explain your classification to him, so he isn't guessing for the entire time he's here."

"Oh, I already know that he's a werewo-"

"Our protector?" Kyungsoo asks again, right brow raised. "A werewolf who opened his home to lone wolves?"

"So, what? Like an Alpha?" Jeno wonders, turning just in time to see a dark shadow appear along Chanyeol's brow-edge. 

"No," Chanyeol explains with a pained smile. "I'm not an Alpha. I promised that I wouldn't overwhelm you with information today, and your training will begin tomorrow, so let us just establish this now. I'm not an Alpha, despite what you might think. "

"Sorry." Jeno apologizes again, and Chanyeol nods in understanding again. 

"We usually have other guests at the house sometimes, so that's why I explains that there are usually twelve of us." Jisung pipes up from across the table and Jeno reminds himself to smile in response. 

He feels the heat of Jaemin's gaze bore into him again, a continuous burn from the moment the introductions began. Jeno takes a deep breath and slumps back into his seat. He watches out of the corner of his eye and everyone turns to look at them, even Chanyeol can't stop himself from shifting in his seat to get a better view of the show. 

Jeno swallows the building bitterness in his throat and smiles politely, watching as Jaemin's eyes twinkle in the fluorescent light above them. "Alright," he determines, pausing to sip at his cola. Jaemin watches his Adam's apple bob in his throat. "Go ahead," he nods, placing the can down on the coaster. "Introduce yourself."

"Na Jaemin," he smiles, mouth filled with white pearly teeth. 

"Yeah, I already knew that." Jeno deadpans, taking note of the growing tension in the air. "I wanted to know what you are."

"What I am?" Jaemin wonders, tilting his head to the side. 

"Werewolf? Magical practitioner? Gifted human? Succubus?" Jeno teases, watching as the corner of Jaemin's lips curl upward. 

"Why? Afraid that you'll find me in your bedroom tonight?"

"I was going to Google it so I know how to banish you from my personal space." Jeno responds. He faintly hears a few gasps go around the table, but none of them seemed to have bothered Jaemin. 

"Don't worry Tiger," Jaemin winks, seemingly adoring his new nickname for Jeno. "I don't have any plans of tossing you up against a wall anytime soon."

"Why?" Jeno asks, tilting his head to mimic Jaemin's earlier gesture. "Afraid to admit that you liked it when it was the other way 'round?"

"What the hell is happening right now?" Jongdae whispers, but receives a bunch of loud 'shushes' from the rest of the table. 

Jeno doesn't back down and Jaemin looks to be enjoying the situation for the both of them. 

"Just say you want me under you again." Jaemin rolls his eyes playfully. 

"So," Jeno tries to bring the conversation back around. "just Na Jaemin? No other relevant titles? I only ask since you don't want to tell me what you are."

"Do my blue eyes not give it away?" Jaemin asks, allowing his eyes to flash that familiar blue. 

"Would I have to ask, if they did?" Jeno counters, noting how deep blue they were. 

Completely unnatural and yet complicated the face they were a part of. Not that he would ever say that out loud. 

"Na Jaemin, the final participant of the '00 line." Jaemin relents and finally gives Jeno something worthwhile. 

It might not have been what he was after to begin with, but knowing something about him was a good start. 

"When?"

Jaemin's brows furrow in confusion, the blue disappearing. "When, what?"

"When in 2000 were you born?"

Jaemin chances a glance around the table, though his gaze obviously lingers on Renjun. 

"August 13th."

A puff of air comes from down the table and Jeno doesn't need to look to know it was his best friend's ex. Jaemin's neck snaps at the attention, his big brown eyes wide in question. 

"Why?"

"I'm April 23rd." Jeno admits like it's an afterthought. 

"Okay, and?"

"April 23rd 2000." Jeno places a stress on the year and can't help but wallow in Jaemin's reaction. 

"Ah, so he's older than me too?" Haechan sounds dejected from his spot across from Chanyeol and on Jaemin's immediate left. 

"Renjun's a month older than me." Jeno explains to the table. "Mark's a year older than us, but he's the same month as you." Jaemin acknowledges him with a nod, though his attention seems otherwise preoccupied. 

"So, what? Now that we know you're older than me, you want some special treatment?" Jaemin wonders, giggling quietly to himself. "Do you want me to start calling you Oppa?"

"Hyung is fine." Jeno teases, watching as the light diminishes in Jaemin's eyes just a little bit. "I suppose if you refuse, I could always start calling you baby, but I think you would like that too much."

Jeno feels his stomach leap at the sight of the pale pink blush dancing onto the apple of Jaemin's cheeks. He wants to continue making that blood pool, in the hope that it will turn an even darker red. But, it seems as if Jaemin no longer wishes to play their little game. 

"My classification..." he begins, changing the topic back to what had started this whole back and forth. "It's difficult to explain."

"Oh?" Jeno prompts, hoping that Jaemin will finally tell him what he is. 

He feels the bitterness raise back into his chest at the sight of the smirk lingering on his opponent's lips. 

"I'm complicated."

Chapter Text

"So there was nothing in your initial exam to suggest that Jeno is supernatural?" Chanyeol wondered, allowing himself the opportunity to take a sip of his tepid coffee. He gagged at the chillness and groaned at the taste, but it had been sitting on his office desk for hours, and it seemed like such a waste to get rid of it. 

"His pupils reacted like a normal human being when I performed the light exam," the Medic explains, shifting to try and get comfortable in the decorative chair. "there was no evidence of a reflective glow to indicate werewolf, and the sclera didn't indicate any red hue so he's definitely not a vampire. If he is supernatural, he's not anything we know of."

Chanyeol remains silent for a moment, the taste of bitterness attacking his tongue. The denial of being a supernatural creature came from Jeno's own mouth, but even the boy seemed uncertain. Chanyeol had seen the picture of Caleb's fractured skull, a mere human could not have done such damage, even with such a heavy weapon. Clearly, whatever Jeno is, hasn't made itself known to him yet. 

"Is there any way he's being blocked from showing signs?"

Yixing considered it, going silent as his mind pondered. Chanyeol took another sip of his coffee before deeming it completely unsavable, the mug gets placed right back on his desk and his arms come to rest against his chest. 

"It is likely," Yixing announces, pulling Chanyeol's attention. "especially is someone thought it absolutely necessary to shield him. But," he pauses, looking up. "Chanyeol... if this is the case and he has been blocked, we have to figure it out before something triggers it to break through."

"So it's possible?"

"Absolutely."

 Yixing agrees with a nod. 

"What do you suggest we do in the meantime?"

The medic grumbles, shifting again in the seat. Chanyeol regrets the day he even bought the chairs in front of his desk, they were a waste of space and obviously extremely uncomfortable. 

"I can conduct daily updates with him to try and catalogue any symptoms." Yixing offers, clasping his hands on his lap in an attempt to hold himself back from shifting again. "I only hesitate because my constant involvement might not be of any benefit if he's not actually blocked. My main suggestion would be to involve Skylar and see if she can help us determine what he is."

"Baekhyun seems to think that he's worth something." Chanyeol speaks his mind like an afterthought, forgetting for a moment that he's even speaking the words aloud. 

Yixing's face contracts at the mention of the latter, but he manages to school his expression before it can rest on hate. Chanyeol almost feels grateful for the adamant change, but unlike before the words go unsaid. 

"I don't know why I'm believing him so easily," he begins again, knowing their history. "We both know how much of a manipulator he is... but-"

"There's a kid on the line." Yixing finishes the sentence for him. Chanyeol feels his shoulders slump and a weight be lifted from his core. Yixing knew exactly what he meant and why this was so important to him. "You keep seeing yourself in every rogue werewolf out there Chanyeol. You take them in and give them a home, like Leetuck did for you. But Jeno didn't just stumble upon you like the rest of us did, he was guided. The last time that happened, we met Jaemin."

"And we both know what he is." Chanyeol's expression darkens. "We know what he went through, what he's still going through. If there is a way that I can help Jeno, I need to find it."

He can still vividly remember that night when Baekhyun showed up on his doorstep, with a teenager clinging to his side. Chanyeol was initially overwhelmed with frustration that Baekhyun had broken their rule of no-contact, but then he introduced Jaemin. His hair had been a lighter brown at the time, but his eyes would forever haunt Chanyeol's memories. 

"Skylar is our best chance," Yixing sighs, dragging Chanyeol back from his memories. "How long did she say that she would be gone this time?"

"She's due back after the next full moon." Chanyeol heaves, taking a glance down at his calendar. 

28 days until the next one. 28 days to get Mark under control. 28 days until Jeno could finally get some answers.

This was horrible. 

"Hey!" Yixing called for him, dragging him back from the edge. He was standing now, looking slightly relieved to be away from the awful seat. Chanyeol could feel his hands on his shoulders, keeping him straight and upright. "Let's just focus on our primary concern right now, which is getting Mark ready for his first full moon. When that's over and he's a little more experienced, we can turn our attention to Jeno and his situation."

"I'm getting really pissed off with all of this waiting around!" Chanyeol hissed, gently prying himself from his friend's hold. He goes stumbling backwards, gathering his wits and trying not to rip his own windpipe from his throat. "First, it was waiting to see if Chase would make a move during the full moon, then, it was waiting to see if Jaemin would finally access his wolf again, now, this? A brand new baby werewolf and a best friend I can't help!" He throws his hands up in the air. "What the hell is our life right now?"

It's quiet for a second before Yixing breaks it with a simple "Complicated". 

Chanyeol couldn't help but laugh at the situation. His laughter was hollow, but at least it seemed to cool his brain long enough for the rage to bubble away. 

"Look," Yixing starts for him again, and this time Chanyeol lets him come. "We can stay here all morning and debate about what Jeno could or might not be. But we both know that we won't get any answers until Skylar returns. Even then we don't know for sure that she'll be able to help us. So, let's just do what we agreed, okay? Just focus on one thing at a time, first; preparing Mark."

"Jeno doesn't want me to shield him from any of this." Chanyeol explains, watching as Yixing's shoulders tense. "We made an agreement and I plan on sticking to my word. I'm keeping him in the loop on this Yixing. I'm not going to let him drive himself mad with all of the possibilities. He already knows that we don't know what he is, the least we can do is tell him that there might be someone who could help him."

"Do you really want him to be stewing in that information for an entire month?" Yixing's word cut, but his voice is genuine. "Don't you think that he will be driven mad with the possibilities anyway?"

"He'll have a month of distractions," Chanyeol claims. It was his turn to place his hands on his friend's shoulders. "He'll be so focused on making sure that Mark's alright, that he won't even notice the time pass by."

Yixing's lips curl up into a gentle smile as he nods his head. "I believe that he will be preoccupied with protecting his best friend from Renjun. From what I've gathered the two of them ended on quite bitter terms."

Chanyeol couldn't stop the smirk from taking control of his lips. He lets his hands fall from either side of his friend's head back to his own hips. His eyes twinkle as Yixing turns his gaze downward.

"Am I hearing you correctly?" Chanyeol teases. "I thought Yixing, my medic, wasn't all that interested in teenage gossip?"

"They're young adults!" Yixing defends himself, but his cheeks burn brightly. "You heard Jeno and Renjun's conversation yesterday! We knew nothing about his relationship with Mark and we live here!"

"Well that conversation did reveal that there are a lot of unresolved emotions, for all three of them."

"Which won't be a good thing for a budding werewolf." Yixing groans, throwing his head back between his shoulders. Chanyeol winces at the position and gently massages his own neck. Yixing pulls himself back up, only now his dark circles are far more evident than before. "We should get Kyungsoo to teach him how to control his emotions, it will help ground him into finding a suitable anchor for the transition. Maybe I could ask Suho to act as their couple's therapist? I'll give you access to all the good gossip!"

"That's a breach of privacy," Chanyeol commented, gently turning his friend around so they were back-to-chest. Yixing leaned against him as Chanyeol began maneuvering them both towards his bedroom door. "Besides, I think Mark and Renjun need to sort things out themselves. The only good thing about this is that it will give Jeno something else to focus on throughout the course of the month. Though I do suspect that since Jeno is loyal, if Mark decides to forgive Renjun, Jeno may follow suit."

"He does seem quite protective doesn't he?" Yixing chuckles, his shoulders shaking in Chanyeol's grasp. "Very loyal too. Not every best friend would risk their own lives fighting against a werewolf."

"Especially one like Caleb." Chanyeol confirms, though he notices Yixing's lips twitch in a downward motion. "What?" He questions, halting their steps. "You're holding back, tell me."

"I only have concerns." The medic explains, his gaze falling to the floor beneath his feet. "Mark and Jeno..." he begins, turning around so that they're now face-to-face. "They're just kids. Heck, all of them in this house are kids, but... they're so new. They haven't been involved in our world, they've been thrusted into it against their wills. Everyone here has a reason to fight against the incoming war, but they don't. Their lives weren't affected, not really... Not to the same extent as the rest of us. How do we even explain this to them?"

Chanyeol could see the effect that this was having on his friend. Yixing always had such a good composure, it's how he made such a good doctor. But even the most level-headed person had their breaking point and for Yixing it was the people he held dear to his heart. He still had skeletons in his clost, ghosts lingering from his past. They would always remain with him but with time their voices would grow silent. For the moment he could ignore them, but there were times when they broke through and right now was one of them. 

"We tell them the truth." Chanyeol offers his longest friend a small but sure smile. "We tell them everything, our history, our way of life, what it is we're fighting for. We explain everything. It will be up to them if they want to stick it out with the rest of us. It's their decision. We can't blame them if they decide to turn heel and run. We aren't going to ask them to fight alongside us, this isn't their war. They didn't ask for this."

"I know." Yixing dips his head. When he raises it again, the sorrow in his eyes has disappeared and his face no longer looks frail. Instead, he has schooled his expression back into his everyday look and peered up at Chanyeol with hardened eyes. "I know."

"I was planning to begin telling them today," Chanyeol explains, pulling himself away to give his friend some room. "I was thinking of focusing on pack dynamics. Jisung has roped them into a football match so it gives me some time to think about what to address."

"It might be a good idea to allow him to join." Yixing offers with a small sly smile. "I know Jongdae will be happy to have a chance to annoy Minseok without prying eyes and I'm sure Ji will be happy to spend more time with them."

"Are you sure that Jongdae won't miss his Mini-Me too much?" Chanyeol chuckles, watching with amusement as Yixing shrugs his shoulders. 

"It will stop Minseok from coming into the clinic to talk my ears off."

"Hyung?" A delicate voice speaks up from behind them. They both turn to find Jisung hesitant in the doorway. 

"Ji!" Chanyeol greeted, encouraging the boy in with a wide grin. The youngest of the house enters the room with pink cheeks, excitement practically oozing from his frame. "How did you sleep?"

"I didn't get much," Jisung explains upon reaching them. "I've been too excited to sleep! I've been up all night thinking about football formations to play with the new hyungs later!"

"Have either of our guests woken up yet?" Chanyeol wonders, gently ruffling Jisung's hair. The youngest nuzzles into the touch, smiling widely. 

"Not yet!" His lower lips dips in a pout. "Haechan-hyung did say that he would take it upon himself to wake Mark up, since they haven't been formally introduced yet."

"And Jeno?" Yixing questions.

"As far as we can tell, he's still in bed. Jaemin-hyung did offer to be the one to wake him, but I think Kyungsoo cuffed him to the table leg just in case."

"I don't think something as simple as that will stop Jaemin," Yixing laughs, gently pulling Jisung towards him. Together they begin to walk towards the bedroom door. "He seems to be quite taken by Jeno, doesn't he?"

"It's just a shame that the guy who overpowered him is also his ideal type." Jisung grumbles, crossing his arms against his chest. "He was asking Renjun-hyung this morning about Jeno's sexual preferences - claiming that it was for science when Kyungsoo-hyung glared at him."

"Jeno has no idea what he's up against, does he?" Chanyeol couldn't help but feel a tad bit apologetic to the human. His best friend had just become a werewolf and now he seemed to have gathered the overwhelming attention of Jaemin who was known in the house for his overdramatic displays of affection. 

"I feel bad for him," Jisung suddenly announces, halting the two elders in their steps towards the door. "I know that it was Mark who got bitten, but it's always the best friend who suffers the most. I don't know Jeno-hyung very well yet, but he's been nothing but kind to me... even after I tried to kill him! Jaemin-hyung is already so interested in him that I'm afraid I won't have enough time to spend with him myself!"

"You and me both dude." Mark grumbles, walking into the room with a hand gently rubbing against his eyelid. He comes inside with a smile, gently placing a hand on Jisung's shoulder in an attempt to soothe him. "The only good thing about this situation is that Jeno is a complete idiot when it comes to displays of outward affection. It completely freaks him out!"

It wasn't every day that Jeno enjoyed the pleasure that came with sleep. For the past few months, his dreams had been plagued with stressful elements that portrayed his eventful college life. Usually, it was about a random professor failing him for a ridiculous reason, his coach lecturing him about the importance of social events, or the standard nightmare of showing up to class butt-naked. 

Jeno was pretty confident in his body, after all he had spent quite a lot of time working out academic frustrations in the campus gym. So, it wasn't necessarily the nudity part that freaked him out, it was just the other people seeing him naked that was the problem. 

Jeno was a very private person. He didn't showcase his emotions, and he rarely talked when it was someone he didn't feel comfortable with or unless it was absolutely necessary. 

Just a little over a month ago, Jeno started to have pleasant dreams. They were no longer plagued with the disturbing images or scenes he had grown used to. While he couldn't recall them when he woke up, his body reminded him of the blissful feelings he encountered leading him to conclude that his dreams were imaginary paradise. 

The only downside was that Jeno's body had been programmed to wake up early in the mornings, a feat he probably developed by from the numerous alarm clocks he had broken throughout the course of his degree. Today, despite knowing that he wasn't expected at lectures, his body betrayed him and decided that it was time to wake up. 

Groaning, Jeno didn't want to give in so easily. He pulled the covers of his bed up and over his head, fluffed his pillow and slammed his head back down. His entire body practically melted into the mattress at the chill his pillow now possessed. 

A delicate giggle tickled his ears, making him gently swat at the air next to him. He could feel his forehead crinkle in annoyance of being disturbed, but his tired limb fell back on the mattress and the sound thankfully stopped. 

Next he feels a finger poke at his cheek, and again, he finds himself raising his hand to swat at the air. The touch is gone and he can rest a little longer. 

"At least you don't drool in your sleep." A familiar voice whispers over the silence, except it's magnified in Jeno's ears due to their unexpected closeness. 

Fed up with the disruptions, Jeno forces his eyelids to pull themselves backward. His vision is a little foggier than usual this morning, indicating his well rested night sleep. He blinks the mirth from his gaze and almost suffers from a heart attack at the sight of someone else occupying his bed. 

Jeno holds back a groan. 

The pink hair is falling around him like a pretty pink halo. His brown eyes are filled with mischief, and his pink lips are pulled right back to reveal a dazzling smile.

Jaemin is in his bed, hiding beneath the covers with him. 

Jeno lets the groan slip past his lips. 

He tosses himself onto his back, pulls himself from beneath the blankets and glares at the ceiling. 

Apparently this is his life now. 

His best friend is a werewolf, he's miles away from his favourite comfort-zone, and now, he has an unidentified supernatural being in his bed... Why me? 

"Not much of a morning person, are you?" Jaemin giggles, coming up from the blankets to join Jeno back in the real world. He props an elbow up on Jeno's pillow and makes himself comfortable. "A handsome face and no weird sleeping habits, are you sure you're this perfect?"

Jeno merely closes his eyes, hoping that when he reopens them, this nightmare will end. Sadly, Jaemin's gentle giggle breaks the illusion and Jeno, unfortunately, had to pull them back open. 

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm in your bed?" Jaemin wonders, moving closer but not too close to breach Jeno's personal space. 

Jeno allows himself to turn his head, glaring up at Jaemin who simply looks back down at him with a mischievous smile. Jaemin gently tilts his head, anticipation bubbling through his veins. Jeno can feel it, but he's in no mood to play whatever game Jaemin is teasing him with. At least not right now, when he's still trying to wake up. 

"Not much of a talker this morning, are you?" Jaemin continues, unaffected by Jeno's silence. He lifts his elbow and falls gracefully to the pillow. Now, they're eye-to-eye. "That's okay," he reassures Jeno with a teasing smile. "I'm more of a night owl myself."

Their gazes linger on one another, though Jeno can't say for certain what Jaemin's purpose was. He, himself, was taking note of Jaemin's general appearance.

His dark honey eyes were a few shades darker than the glowing gold shade Jisung's eyes had been when he semi-morphed into his wolf. But they weren't exactly brown... maybe a honey-brown? Was that the correct term?

Jaemin's lips were a deeper shade of pink than his hair. His locks had to be the same shade of bubblegum that Renjun had gotten a couple of weeks into dating Mark. The boy was known for his ever changing hair colours, and since Jaemin had evidently been his housemate since that time, there was a possibility that they shared the same dye. Both of his lips were plump, but the bottom one jutted out just a centimeter further than his upper lip. Like he was in a constant gentle pout. It was cute. 

His face was oddly symmetrical with a sharp jawline separating his head from his neck. His skin was pale but not milky white. He didn't have any baby fat left in his face so there wasn't any plushness when he lay his cheek on Jeno's pillow. His chin was delicately covered by Jeno's blanket. His long eyelashes fluttering above the covers. 

"Please stop looking at me like that..." His voice was deep, but lighter than Jeno's and smoother than Mark's. "I won't be held responsible for the consequences if you keep it up."

Jeno had half a mind to take him up on that threat, especially since it tickled his curiosity so much. Instead, he refrained himself from falling into the trap and turned his attention to the pillow-sized gap between them. 

"I'm pretty stumped by you." Jaemin admitted so quietly that Jeno knew he wasn't supposed to hear it. Jaemin didn't move to correct himself, or tell him to forget he ever said such a thing. Instead, he just continues like nothing happened, adding to his statement. "Yesterday you were so talkative, speaking back to me was as easy as breathing... Now, you don't say anything... Why?"

Jeno shrugs his shoulders, watching as Jaemin's lips tremble through a laugh. His movement shakes the bed but neither of them seem too worried about the implications it might have to those who may be listening in. 

"Mark's awake." Jaemin explains, his fingers gently crawling along the space between them. Jeno doesn't bother to move his own. "Haechan woke him up in time for breakfast. Yixing looked him over at the table and he's pleased with his progress, he's a healthy wolf."

Jeno can't help but cringe at the new term his best friend was now associated with. He had already processed that Mark was different, but he hadn't exactly taken into account just how different. Maybe, he wasn't as chill about this as he had acted yesterday. 

Everything is different now, and yet nothing feels out of place. 

Jeno had spent most of his life trying to get accustomed to his surroundings, trying to find a place safe enough to calm his raging anxiety. It took months for him to settle into their dorm room. But now, he had managed to sleep an entire night without any problems. His body hadn't been fighting him here, instead it was relaxing, making him feel at home. 

And it was scaring the hell out of him. 

"Hey..." Jaemin's hand is warm against his cheek, the sudden skin-to-skin contact making them both snap back into reality. 

Jeno nearly falls out of the bed in his movement to get away, and Jaemin pulls his hand back so fast that he almost gets whiplash. 

"Sorry" he rushes to apologize, fumbling with the blankets on top of him. "You weren't paying attention anymore... I-" Jeno feels his heart stop at the serenity in Jaemin's gaze. "I thought you were having a panic attack."

"Sorry." Jeno finally speaks, his voice still riddled with sleep. He hears Jaemin's intake of air, but dismisses it. "I got lost in my own head for a minute."

He couldn't bring himself to pull his gaze up from the blankets. He didn't want Jaemin to see him like this. He doesn't let anyone see him being vulnerable. Mark had only got a glimpse one time and that was enough for him. Jeno wasn't going to let that side of him be seen by anyone else. Ever. 

Jaemin shifts along the mattress, head ducked just enough so their gazes lock above the blankets. "Sorry that I'm in your bed."

It's enough to draw a small smile to Jeno's mouth. "You don't look sorry."

"Okay," Jaemin relents, his lower lip pulling back beneath his teeth to stop himself from laughing. "I saw the opportunity to get into bed with you, and I took it."

"I was serious about that Google search, you know?" Jeno tosses the blanket aside and momentarily forgets that he doesn't wear a shirt to bed. He doesn't let it bother him as he approaches his desk, the chair in front of it held onto a new shirt from his bag. 

Jaemin snickers from the bed, though he hungrily watches every inch of skin before the shirt slips in front and Jeno is turning back in his direction. Jaemin forgot that it was his turn to say something. 

"Whatever you find won't work," he teases, waving his hand to physically dismiss the topic of conversation. "Aren't you going to shower before we get breakfast?"

"And let you get a free show? Fat chance." Jeno can't help but scoff. "I showered last night after Jisung gave me a tour."

"Bummer." Jaemin huffs, pulling himself up from the bed. The blankets slip back into the centre and for a moment it looks like a scene from a romance movie. 

Jeno doesn't allow himself the opportunity to funnel anymore fire into that thought process. Jaemin sneaks up on him when he's distracted and comes to rest an inch away from his face. 

"I figured that since I did get a sneak peek of the game," he winks, smirk enlarging. "you'd be willing to let me try out the controls." His hungry eyes slip from Jeno's orbs and slide all the way down his body before finally bringing his gaze back up to face him. 

"Nice try," Jeno humors him, sidestepping their little staring match and heading towards his bedroom door. "This game" he stresses the same word, feeling the burn of Jaemin's gaze on his back. "is only for premium players, better luck next time!"

Jeno quite literally gets the air knocked out of him when Jaemin suddenly appears in front of him and he's thrown back-first against his door. Jaemin's entire body is pressed right back against him again. 

Jeno kind of wants to strange him for his efforts. 

"Fancy meeting you like this, again." Jaemin smirks and for a moment, Jeno swears that he can see the tip of fangs beneath his upper lip. 

He lifts his leg up and attempts to ram it back where the sun doesn't shine, but Jaemin has learned since their previous encounter. Though, clearly, not a lot. Jeno forgoes his initial plan and brings his foot back down on Jaemin's, hard. He grits out a painful groan and his body's reaction is exactly what Jeno was counting on. 

Jaemin slumps forward and Jeno's opened fist gently collides against his chest, sending him stumbling backwards a few steps. His hands flay for a few seconds seeking balance, but Jeno clamps his own fingertips around his wrists. Jaemin looks like he's about to say something but Jeno easily uses the distraction to switch their position, Jaemin is slammed yet again against a vertical surface. 

"You should really stop trying to top me." Jeno can't help but grin, watching as Jaemin huffs back at him. "It's almost like you want this to keep happening."

The pink blush that spreads against Jaemin's cheeks is a small victory that Jeno will admit he was secretly beginning to like. Twice now, he has brought that pale pink glow to Jaemin's cheeks and both times made Jeno's ego inflate just a little. 

Jaemin tries to wriggle out of Jeno's grip, but it becomes apparent fairly quickly that he can't. For Jeno it wasn't all that surprising. Mark had always joked that Jeno possesses Superman's strength, so Jeno had grown rather accustomed to it. Though, granted, he never had to physically restrict someone else before. 

This was new for him. 

Jaemin on the other hand, seemed to find the situation a mixture of horrific and astonished. "Jeno, let me go."

"Why? So you can try and overpower me and throw me up against another wall? I wasn't born yesterday-"

"Please." Jaemin's voice was different now, it sounded wet and filled with... sorrow? Immediately Jeno drops his hold on Jaemin's wrists and pulls himself a few steps back. 

When he's out of Jaemin's immediate space, he's floored to see the latter's eyes swimming with tears. Jeno's heart rate starts to pick up in his chest. He fucked up. He doesn't know exactly what he did, but clearly his actions had consequences that he didn't expect. 

Jaemin tries to take a few calming breaths, his hand molded to Jeno's door handle, the other resting over his heart. 

"Jaemin-"

"It's not your fault." He interrupts, gulping air into his lungs. "This isn't-.. It's not... Isn't you." He keeps chanting, holding Jeno's gaze as he tries to calm himself down. 

Jeno knows panic attacks. He's dealt with enough of his own to know the signs. He has experience handling Mark's as well. But this... this was different. 

Jaemin's breathing is laboured, and there are tears in his eyes. But he's still trying to reassure Jeno that this reaction wasn't his fault. 

Jeno defies all logic and goes against his better judgement. He breaches the space between them, gently pulling Jaemin from the door by his sips since his hands were very much out of the question. Jaemin goes willingly, the hand on the door handle falling to his side before continuing up to twist into Jeno's shirt. 

"Listen to my heartbeat," he whispers between them, tucking Jaemin's head beneath his chin and maneuvering him just enough so he's in the correct position. "You can hear it right?" Jaemin nods, still struggling to breathe. "You're okay," Jeno continues, petting the pink hair tickling his nose. "You're safe," Jaemin sobs, his body wrecked by the process of struggling to breathe. His grip on Jeno gets tighter. Jeno holds onto him just as tight, heart thundering in his chest. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The reaction to his few words is almost instantaneous. Jaemin takes in a much needed gulp of air. His legs give out and Jeno easily brings them both to the ground. 

It's amazing how quickly Jaemin is capable of bringing himself back from the brink after that. 

He pulls away a few minutes later, eyes wide and cheeks stained with tears. He's looking up at Jeno like it's the very first time they have ever met, his pretty pink lips are now red and parted as if he wanted to say something. 

Jeno tries to ask him if he's alright, but he swears that he just blinks his eyes and Jaemin is gone. His bedroom door is open and all that lingers of Jaemin's presence is the faint smell of cookie dough and the tear marks on Jeno's shirt. 

Chapter Text

When Jeno could finally drag himself from his bedroom and come down for breakfast, he wasn't all that surprised to find a Jaemin-sized hole at the table. His empty seat stuck out like a sore thumb, and the unused place settings made an uneasy feeling settle in his stomach.

He said it wasn't my fault.

Jeno tried to keep himself calm, reminding himself to smile politely to the others who acknowledged his sudden presence. He didn't stop to chat with Mark and ask him if he had slept well. He could barely offer back a genuine grin to Jisung who had visually brightened at his arrival. He just couldn't bring himself to sit down at the table without Jaemin, not after everything that had happened.

Not right now.

Instead, he continued deeper into the kitchen until he reached Kyungsoo who seemingly stood guard over the stove. The spatula in his hand was raised like a sword, ready to fight the pancakes into submission. He welcomed Jeno to his side with a knowing smile, gently bumping his shoulder against the taller man's arm.

"Sleep well?" He asked, brow raised.

Jeno could only nod his head.

Kyungsoo seemed to sense his reluctance to answer and the topic of conversation was dropped. Not entirely sure what to do with himself, Jeno remained by the stove watching the cooking batter. Kyungsoo continued to flip the pancakes and transfer them to four separate plates located on the remaining sections of the stove-top.

Mark was happily interacting with his new housemates, introducing himself and gaining their names and occupations in turn. Jeno had heard it all the previous night so he found it quite easy to phase them back out again.

Sensing that there was something amiss happening right next to him, Kyungsoo decided that it was probably for the best that he started speaking to the poor boy. At least it would give him something to do, since he was obviously avoiding sitting down at the table behind them.

"Jisung is excited about that football game later." Kyungsoo explained, pouring more of the batter into the pan. "He spent hours talking my ear off about it last night... I finally got him to go to bed before midnight."

Jeno's lips curl upward all on their own. He turns his head back around and gazes at the table, his eyes zeroing in on the young boy who is sitting on Mark's left. He's practically vibrating with muted excitement as he watches Mark interact with Haechan about the orange juice container on the other side of the table.

"He's a good kid." Jeno's cheeks pinken immediately when he realizes that his statement might have been heard despite the noise.

Thankfully, Jisung doesn't seem to have taken notice, instead joining in on the conversation happening around him. Confused, Jeno turns to ask Kyungsoo who already seems to know his concern.

"While us werewolves do possess a supernatural hearing ability," he flips another pancake. "That doesn't mean that we constantly use it. Think of us like a child with ADHD without any Adderall. With it we're focused and able to get on with our lives a little easier, without it we're distracted all the time. If we didn't control it, we would be overwhelmed by everything happening around us. We wouldn't be able to focus, we'd be too busy jumping from sound to sound and getting an incurable headache more often than you would think possible. For example, when Haechan over there first arrived, he had managed to hone it down so he could only hear things in the locality." Another pancake got flipped. "He was constantly complaining about this cricket in the woods which he could hear from miles away. Eventually, with time, he managed to hone it even closer. But eventually even Sehun's irregular heartbeat was getting on his nerves. It's difficult for the first few days, but eventually you learn and with practice it gets easier."

"When will Mark start developing these abilities?" Jeno wondered, taking a longer look at his best friend before returning his attention to Kyungsoo.

"Could be in the next few days, or it could be in the next few weeks. It really just depends on how quickly his wolf is growing accustomed to his new body. In most cases everything comes before the full moon, but that doesn't always happen."

"You said that it takes time?"

Kyungsoo nods his head and plates up the finished pancakes, he scraps the residue batter from the bowl's circumference before pouring the remaining liquid into the pan. It makes four small circles, just enough for the remaining plates.

"With the addition of the wolf, the body quickly learns to adjust to the new abilities and chooses to hone them itself. But oftentimes it's just not enough and new wolves need something a little stronger to help them adjust."

"Adderall?" Jeno questions, tilting his head.

Kyungsoo can't help but laugh.

"Kind of." He admits. "Technically we call it an anchor because it does what a physical anchor would do-"

"Keep you anchored to the earth." Jeno interrupts, but he doesn't receive a scolding. Instead, Kyungsoo simply smiles at him.

"Exactly. The anchor keeps you weighed down in your surroundings, but it also dulls the overwhelming urge of distraction. It quite literally makes everything around you go quiet, so you react as if you never have supernatural hearing to begin with. Obviously our ability is helpful for our wolf when it's hunting, but it can be a bit of a nuisance for our human sides, hence the anchor helps to solidify your human side when you're not the wolf."

"What can act like an anchor?"

Kyungsoo takes a moment to delicately flip all four of the remaining pancakes. The gentle sizzle of the batter against the heated metal makes Jeno's stomach ache in hunger, but his curiosity outweighs his appetite.

"Anything." Kyungsoo announces, much to Jeno's surprise. "As long as it has a significant attachment to the person. It can be a physical talisman that they've had all their lives, or a memory."

Mark wasn't very sentimental and he had the memory of a gold-fish, so neither of those two options seemed plausible.

"It could be a person," Kyungsoo continues, gently teasing the edge of a pancake with his spatula. "Or it could also be an emotion. It differs for everyone and it can change as the person grows and learns more about themselves and the wolf. An anchor doesn't have to be a consistent thing, it can flow like water and shape itself into whatever form is necessary for you to survive."

"So it can change with time?"

Kyungsoo's lips curl up as he dares to turn his attention away from the pancakes long enough to hold Jeno's gaze. "You'll come to find that there are many instances in this world that can change with time."

Jeno wants to ask more questions, the fire of curiosity burning deep in his belly. Unfortunately so do the pangs of his hunger, which makes him shift his entire attention.

Kyungsoo smiles warmly at him as he hands him his plate of pancakes, his eyes twinkling with acknowledgement. Even though Jeno didn't have to say anything, it was like the elder knew what to do to keep his mind ticking away from his worries.

For a few minutes, Jeno had completely forgotten about his morning with Jaemin in his bed and then the strange occurrences that happened afterwards. Kyungsoo's ease of shifting the conversation away from a touchy subject, to stroking Jeno's curiosity radar was incredible and a feat that he would definitely file away for future reference.

Taking his plate, he stumbled away from the stove and back over to the table that he had passed by earlier. Mark's smile grew wider as he welcomed him back to his side, Jisung happily waving at him from his friend's opposite arm.

He could faintly register that everyone had fallen into the same seating arrangement as they had the previous night, except of course with Jisung falling one seat over to accommodate Mark's presence. And of course, the elephant in Jeno's mind; Jaemin's obvious absence.

Ever since the pink haired boy had completely disappeared from his bedroom, Jeno has spent that time wondering what had happened and why Jaemin had reacted in the way that he had. He had told Jeno countless times that his reaction wasn't based on anything that Jeno did, and yet Jeno couldn't help but think otherwise.

He had grabbed Jaemin's wrists and almost immediately the latter seemed to grow haunted with memories so deep in his mind that Jeno couldn't easily penetrate it.

This was crazy. Why was he so worried about a guy who he had met less than twenty-four hours ago? This didn't make any sense! If Jeno didn't do anything wrong, then why wasn't Jaemin here? Why wasn't he sitting in front of him right now, trying to get a reaction out of him with carefully picked words?

Mark interrupted his thoughts as he handed over the syrup. Jeno took it with trembling hands and tried to pour the sticky liquid all over his pancakes. A slightly larger than normal dollop pooled on the edge of the plate and in the absence of any of the pastry. Jeno figured he could use it as a dip.

"When you told me that he was a terrible player, I had no idea that you meant he was this bad..." Jisung whispered quietly into the air separating the two of them.

Jeno tries so hard to keep his laughter contained, especially since Jisung's stunned facial expression just made the situation far more hilarious.

"Like he can't even make a goal."

The youngest of the house had decided after breakfast that it would be the good idea to bring the newbies to the backyard, at least there they would have a wider placed to play without the possibility of damaging one of the many cars that littered the front driveway. The near-by tree-line would be perfect for their make-shift goal-posts so Jisung had pointed out two specific trees for them to use.

Jeno had gone first, demonstrating the small amount of football knowledge that he had. He had explained to Jisung from the very beginning that he considered himself rusty since he hadn't played football since middle school. Regardless, it appears that his skills seemed to satisfy the young werewolf who nodded his head approvingly after Jeno demonstrated his skill of keeping a ball in the air for longer than ten seconds with just his foot.

Mark on the other hand, had been a disappointment for the start. Not only did he almost end up in Yixing's clinic again for broken ankles, but he had also tripped over the ball every time the spherical object had landed by his feet.

Jisung thought that it would be best if they started off simple, by having Mark pass the ball to him in a short straight line. Instead, somehow, the ball completely flew over Jeno's head despite him being behind Mark at the time of the kick.

His best friend's capabilities were something that concerned Jeno greatly, especially since physics did not seem to operate at all when his best friend tried to kick a football. Apparently, each time Mark attempted to shoot the ball forward, it would change direction mid-air and fly in the complete opposite direction.

Even Jisung seemed stumped by the logic.

This time they set Mark up so he was right in front of their makeshift goal-posts. When his foot made contact, the ball propelled somehow changed direction and came flying towards Jisung and Jeno.

Jisung squealed as it approached, reaching his hands up to protect his face. Jeno with the far superior reflexes, managed to quite literally punch the ball out of the way. It then hit the ground a few paces to Jisung's left.

"Sorry!" Mark hollered over the wind, raising both of his hands up in a defensive pose. Jeno merely waved off the apology with his hand, while Jisung stared stupefied across the grass.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I don't know!" Mark huffed, bringing both of his hands down across his chest. Jeno went to retrieve the football. "I think there is something wrong with it!"

"It's not a magic football!" Jisung scoffed, beginning his march along the grass in Mark's direction. "I can't even begin to imagine what the hell is happening when you try to kick it! You're supposed to kick it just below the curve but above the ground."

"I have been!" Mark cried, pointing over to Jeno who was rolling the ball beneath his feet. "There is something wrong with it! This isn't what usually happens!"

"He's right," Jeno announces, balancing his left leg on the ball. "Usually he finds a way of breaking a window."

"You're not helping!" Mark yelled. His head lowers towards the ground when Jisung finally gets to him. "I'm sorry, but in my defense I really think there is something wrong with it."

Jeno rolled the ball out from under his foot, watching it slowly roll over the grass before coming to a complete stop a few steps away from him. He allows himself the opportunity to back up, before taking a running start at the ball. His foot collides along the edge and it gets sent flying in the air, right at Mark's head.

"Look out!" He screams but it's too late. His best friend gets hit in the head with the ball which goes bouncing off the ground on his right. Jisung is laughing hysterically as Mark winces at the pain.

"You did that on purpose!" Mark groans, his hand gently tending to the bump on his head.

"Yeah I was aiming for your head," Jeno admits with a nod as he jogs back over. "Just to show you that there is nothing wrong with the ball. Whatever the hell happened is because of your foot."

"Fine!" Mark hisses, glaring playfully. "I admit it! I'm terrible at football, there! Are you happy now?"

"I'm satisfied," Jeno shrugs his shoulders, turning to gaze at Jisung who is struggling to compose himself. "What about you Ji?"

"I kind of want to see if it keeps happening." Jisung admits, looking devilish. "Maybe this time we can have him face the house and this time get him to kick the ball, maybe then it will go backwards and into the goal."

Mark's eyes brighten at the possibility, his head wound long forgotten as he eagerly nods his head. "Oh that's a brilliant idea, let me go grab the ball-"

"Nope." Jeno grabs his best friend by the arm, preventing him from moving away. His eyes return to Jisung who seems surprised by his denial. "While I'm sure that your idea is a brilliant one, I am not taking the chances. Mark is a terrible shot, if he somehow manages to kick the ball this time, there is no way to say which way the ball will go. Knowing his luck it might actually go straight this time and hit into one of the kitchen windows. Do either of you want to feel Kyungsoo's wrath?"

A collective shiver seems to run down both of their backs. Immediately both of them shake their heads and Jeno feels confident to let go of Mark's arm. Both of them still look a little upset that their plan was denied, but before either of them could think of another activity, a shout echoes off the trees.

They all turn back to the house, surprised to find Chanyeol coming down the stairs with a small innocent smile on his lips. He's wearing the jeans that he wore the previous day and a long sleeved black shirt, his hair is peeking out from beneath a black cap and he's wearing pale brown Timberland boots. Everything about him screamed relaxed. Jeno's heartbeat eased and a small smile spread along his lips.

"Sorry for interrupting you guys." Chanyeol apologized, dipping his head in a slight bow.

"Oh don't apologize hyung we were just finishing up for the day!" Jisung chirped, bouncing excitedly on his toes. "Have you come to start their lessons?"

"I was hoping to get them started before dinner," Chanyeol admits with a nod. "I also figured that we might journey into town later to pick up any supplies that you both may need, since I'm still not sure how long it will be before you can return to campus for your stuff."

"I wasn't aware that you would do that," Mark sounded astonished, his head tipping downward at the gesture. "Thank you."

"What kind of host would I be if I couldn't provide the basic necessities for my new housemates?" Chanyeol chuckled, raising a perfect brow. His hands slipped into his jean pockets as he waited. "Jisung you are more than free to join us if you wish, you could still use some training yourself."

Jeno and Mark both turn to look at Jisung who politely smiles back at them. There is a small but noticeable blush across his cheeks, but he doesn't appear shy about it.

"I've only recently gained access to my wolf, so I'm still learning how to control myself."

"Wait," Mark states, holding up a finger. "Were you just recently bitten too?"

His question seemed to be funny to the other two wolves who shared a moment of eye contact before dissolving into faint laughter.

"No," Jisung explains. "I wasn't bitten. I was born a werewolf."

"Werewolves are born in their animal form," Chanyeol lectures, gesturing to the grass beneath them. Jeno instantly finds a comfortable patch and drapes himself over the ball which he uses as a prop to keep his torso up. Mark and Jisung quickly follow suit, getting comfortable on their own little patch. "They shift back to humans a few months in and for a time their wolves remain dormant. It isn't until they reach puberty that one feels their wolf awaken."

"Woah," Mark gapes, staring wide eyed at Chanyeol who finds his gaze the next moment. "So on top of getting a bunch of new hormones, you also have to deal with a wolf taking over? That doesn't seem like a fun time."

"Oh no, you mustn't understand, you and your wolf aren't two separate beings. You don't have another personality lingering in the depths of your subconscious, it's actually quite the opposite!" Jisung shifts into a more comfortable position before he continues. "We always have a connection with our wolf. They're a part of us, I like to think of my wolf as my Jiminy Cricket! Like my conscience telling me what to do. The wolf is you, because it knows all about you. It shares your memories, it shares your fears and your strengths, but above all it protects you and everything you hold dear."

"When you're young your wolf goes dormant but that doesn't mean that it's no longer there. It still experiences everything that the child does, still feels everything that the child feels, gets hungry when the child does, cries when it's in pain and whatnot. You just don't shift until later on in your life. Most times that is when puberty hits, but there are times where that also isn't the case." Chanyeol explains, looking over at Jisung who smiles at the inclusion.

"When one reaches puberty, the body is overwhelmed with new hormones and increased emotional receptors. Most of the time the human body will decide to push the wolf back into its dormant state so that it can go through these changes naturally without the additional stress that comes with the shift. However, there are other circumstances that might influence the wolf, itself, to remain dormant. Typically the transition into a wolf is triggered when you experience one consistent emotion, but when puberty is reached and one goes through heightened emotions that are always in a shifting and enveloping cycle, no one emotion is being felt and thus the wolf may find that it is not yet needed. Another example relates to if the wolf feels that it is threatened."

Jeno feels Chanyeol's burning gaze against his face though he quickly shifts his gaze before they make eye contact.

"How?" Mark wonders, now really intrigued by this new world.

"We no longer live in a society where we can truly live as we once did. Werewolves were a known supernatural creature who oftentimes lived in the forest away from humans. Now we live amongst them and as we have evolved into that, so has our wolf. It now knows that we can't simply shift whenever it deems necessary anymore, especially since shifting could cause a lot of problems and potentially awaken a long since forgotten trait amongst our counterparts; their hunting capabilities. Our wolves have learned to remain dormant in order to avoid drawing the eye of the hunters."

"But then how does one evoke the wolf?" Jeno questions, surprised to hear his own voice ask it.

Chanyeol turns back to him with a small knowing smile, though he doesn't mention what they're both thinking.

"Usually it's with an emotional response," Jisung explains. "Like hyung said earlier, one consistent emotion is enough to draw the wolf to the surface. Your wolf is always there, lingering, waiting to be unleashed. So, it's a two way street. The wolf has to understand that you need it and you need to allow it the opportunity to take control."

"So how did it break through for you?" Mark continues. "What consistent emotion did you have?"

"Oh that's just one of the many options," Jisung clarifies. "My body was holding my wolf back so that I could go through puberty without the additional stress, like hyung referenced. Now that I'm coming out on the other side of puberty now, my body allowed my wolf to slip through the cracks."

"We typically recommend that you hold onto one specific emotion when you shift." Chanyeol tries to answer Mark's question. "It makes the transition a little smoother while also providing you with an anchor to stabilize your human side throughout the ordeal."

"An anchor?"

"Oh..." Jeno gapes, turning to look at Mark when he speaks. "Kyungsoo told me about those this morning, he recommended that you would need one when you first shift into your wolf."

"Really?" Mark's brows furrow. "What else did he say?"

So Jeno told him. He explained everything as best as he could like Kyungsoo had for him earlier that morning. He references the anchor and the possibilities of it being an emotion connected to a memory, or a person. As Jeno continues to explain, he momentarily allows himself to wonder if Mark's current anchor would be the resentment or anger that he felt towards Renjun and that entire situation.

Instead, once again his best friend surprises him. Instead of asking any more questions or asking Chanyeol or Jisung to elaborate, he completely changes the course of the conversation.

"So, you're saying that I actually have superpowers?"

Jeno's shoulders sink into his chest cavity while Jisung's laughter rings in his ears. Chanyeol looks amused but he seems to accept the sudden change to the conversation without protest.

"In a way, yes." He explains.

They all watch as Mark's eyes widen and his lower jaw gently falls open. His arms start waving rapidly on either side of his torso and Jeno has to shift away before one of them hits him in the excitement.

"What can I do?" Mark demands, looking impatient as Jisung heaves for breath and Chanyeol seems too surprised by his reaction to form comprehendible words. Jeno sighs.

"Elevated senses." He concludes, watching through a pained scowl as Mark's neck swipes to look at him. "You have better hearing and sense of smell. I'm going out on a limb to say that you also have better eye-sight to see in the dark and you should also possess some sort of fast healing ability since there is no way your human form would be capable of shifting into a wolf without it." Jeno pauses for a moment, trying to recall any other piece of information that he had filed away into his 'werewolf' folder in his mind. "Oh yeah," he heaves when he recalls Jaemin's sudden and dramatic arrival and disappearance over the past two days. "You should also have the ability to move really fast, but apart from that I really have no idea."

The air surrounding them is quiet, each of them look at him like he just told them he kicks puppies for a living. Jeno regards them with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I notice things." He concludes, though clearly that isn't what has bugged them out so much.

"Dude.. I don't think I've ever heard you talk that much before." Mark looked spooked, his eyes haunted. "Are you okay dude?" Mark's hand gently pressed against his forehead. "Blink twice if you need help-"

"Get off!" Jeno huffed, shoving his bed friend off of him. Mark tumbles to the ground and lets out a howl of a laugh. "I'm right though, right?"

Chanyeol tries to hide his smile but nods his head nonetheless. "You got it in one."

"Hyung, since they know about the new abilities maybe you could tell them about pack dynamics!" Jisung offered, his eyes flashing that familiar golden glow.

"Does that cover your freaky eyes?" Mark asked, earning another hit to the torso from Jeno who glared at his best friend. "I'm being honest, they're freaky as hell!"

Jisung giggles and nods his head. "Yeah pack dynamics basically means what position you have within the pack."

"So like Alpha, Beta, Omega?" Jeno wonders if being a werewolf is anything like actual wolf packs.

"Yeah," Jisung grins. "Almost exactly correct. Though you guys should probably know that it's a little different than what you might think."

"Alphas are a pretty rare breed." Chanyeol explains, taking over from Jisung. "Betas are the more common breed and omegas are smaller but definitely outnumber Alphas."

"Wait, I thought that Alphas were the leader of the pack. They're the protector, they provide what's best for the pack."

"Jeno's right." Chanyeol nods his head. "That is what Alphas do. Or rather what they're supposed to do. To put it plainly there isn't a large number of packs anymore since civilization has grown so vast that it almost outnumbers the amount of wilderness. You get a lot of lone wolf omegas in the cities now-a-days. People find that they're better off by themselves since a pack could just bring more unwanted attention."

"What does the eye colours mean?" Mark pipes up, looking at Jisung who allows himself the chance to flash those golden orbs again.

"Gold is for Betas!" He grins. "Blue are for omegas and red are for Alphas!"

A cold shiver travels down the length of Jeno's spine. He can feel his skin prickle with goosebumps. A flash of a memory bolts across his mind, taking him back twenty-four hours ago. The clearing. Mark's scream. A flash of red.

"That wolf that I killed in the forest," he says before he can even comprehend what he's saying, he looks up at Chanyeol. "He had red eyes."

"Caleb was an Alpha." Chanyeol admits. "Only an alpha-wolf has the capabilities to turn you into a werewolf if you weren't already born one."

"So I was bitten by an Alpha?" Mark's eyes are wide again. "Does that mean that I have to join his pack?"

"If he had survived, probably." Chanyeol explains, smiling awkwardly. "But since Jeno killed him, you're free to make your own decisions. You'll be a Beta when you shift, but if you don't have a pack you'll become what we call a lonesome omega. An omega without a pack. They're different from those who were born omegas, who would typically remain an omega even if they are part of a pack."

"So you're saying that I need to join a pack if I want to retain my Beta levels?" Mark wonders. Jeno sighs at the game-play terminology. He looks to Chanyeol who seems a little confused by the wordplay, but eventually he nods his head in confirmation. "Damn, I was starting to like the idea of my eyes being golden."

"There are packs located all around the country if you are interested."

"Don't want me to stick around anymore?" Mark snaps back much to Jeno's surprise.

Chanyeol smiles. "You're welcome to join us if that's what you want. I won't force you to do something you don't want to do. I meant it when I said that you're free to leave when the full moon is over. We're a small pack but we make it work, despite the fact that we don't have any Alphas."

Now it was Jeno's turn to act surprised. It was only for a second but he could still recall the red ring that formed in Chanyeol's eye the previous afternoon. According to Jisung, red equaled Alpha, therefore Chanyeol should be an Alpha. Why the hell was he saying that their pack didn't have one?

"Wait really?" Mark gapes. "You're not the Alpha?"

Chanyeol's smile is painful and his eyes look haunted. Jeno wants to ask what he's holding back, but he also understands why he could be holding back. There was information that Chanyeol was withholding for their own good and while they may have questions, it was probably best that they didn't push, or at least it would be best to wait until he was ready to share.

"No," he announces. "I'm not an Alpha."

"Is there any chance that we might be able to head shopping now?" Jeno questions, hoping that he sounds a little apologetic for changing the topic again.

Chanyeol seems to take his intrusion with ease. His shoulders slipped lower on either side of his head and his chest deflated as well. "Absolutely. I'll just go grab my wallet, can I meet you in the front yard?"

"Sure!" Jisung shouts, jumping up to scream. "Shotgun!"

"That's completely unfair!" Mark scrambles up after him. The pair of them immediately start racing each other back towards the house, muttering curses at each other.

Jeno drags himself up from the ground and dusts himself free of any of the loose leaves on his trousers. He feels his phone in his pocket and realizes that he left his wallet in his bedroom. It doesn't bother him that much since Chanyeol already indicated that he planned on paying for their new purchases.

He's about to start making his way around the side of the house, when the door to the kitchen opens and Minseok calls out his name. Jeno halts at the edge of the home and throws his head back to look at him. The werewolf comes rushing down the stairs with a bright smile on his lips.

"Jen! Lucky I caught you before you all left!" He huffs out a breath when he finally stops in front of him. "I wanted to let you know that Sehun and I found you guys some laptops and monitors. I was going to ask if I could go into your rooms to set both of them up."

"Oh," Jeno hadn't expected this so fast. "Thank you. Yeah sure, go right ahead. I can speak for Mark too, he won't mind you guys going in to set it up for him though he will probably ask you if he can play games on it or something."

"Thanks for the tip," Minseok whistles, saluting him in the process. "Enjoy shopping! Oh!" He halts in his steps back to the house. "If I was you.. I would get some clothes that you can train in."

"Training gear?" Jeno's eyes narrow. "I'm not a werewolf."

"No." Minseok laughs. "You're not. But it would still be a good idea for you to train alongside us, just in case. Now that you're aware of the supernatural world, it might come in handy for the future."

"You make a good point." Jeno groaned, realising that this new life his best friend had entered was getting more and more complicated as the days wore on. "Thank you for the tip."

"Catch you later!"

And just like that he was gone, disappearing right in front of Jeno's eyes like Jaemin had done earlier that morning. Jeno was suddenly aware of the fact that he hadn't actually seen Jaemin since. His final memory of him being his face covered in tear trails and his lips significantly more plump than normal from all his crying.

"No!" Jisung screamed from up ahead. "I called shotgun!"

"But you cheated!" Mark yelled right back. "You said it before there was even an agreement to talk about it!"

"That isn't how it works!"

"You don't play fair!"

"I'm a werewolf!"

"So am I!"

"Oh My God!" Jeno screamed right back at them, stopping right in front of them with his hands crossed against his chest. "Knock it off!"

"Dude you can't just use my Lord's name in vain-" Mark spoke in a far quieter voice than earlier.

"Stop acting like a five-year old!" Jeno hissed right back at him, he turned to look at Jisung who was smirking. "And you, stop trying to rile him up!"

"But I wasn't-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Jeno cut in before either of them could speak. "Neither of you are going in the shotgun so knock it off and take it into the back!" When none of them moved, Jeno scoffed and went to drag them, only for the both of them to squeal and rush into the car.

The collective sound of the doors shutting was probably the most peaceful the space had been all day. Jeno sighed as he slammed the passenger door closed, taking a few more moments to wallow in the quiet of the air around him. He could faintly hear Mark mocking him from inside the car but he didn't care all that much, especially since he knew his best friend's deepest fears and could pull it off without warning.

His only problem was that he might not be able to locate a plastic spider in a house filled with werewolves, though for some strange reason he suspected that Sehun might have one, yet he had no idea why.

The door at the top of the stairs opened and Jeno took a glance up to see Chanyeol closing it behind him. In his hand he was carrying his keys and his wallet. He trotted down the stairs with a smirk on his lips.

"Ji not in the front?"

"They both wanted it so now they're both in the back." Jeno explained, still comfortable against the curve of the car's side.

Chanyeol laughed. "Were they that bad?"

"Let's just say that they're both lucky they're not in the trunk right now."

Before either of them could move to join the two idiots in the backseat, the front door opened again and the sound of someone rushing down the stairs drew both of their attention. Jeno's heart stopped in his chest.

Jaemin's pink hair bellowed in the breeze as he jumped down the last three steps. He was wearing a pink sweater and some grey sweatpants. He hadn't bothered to throw on some shoes so he stood on the cobblestones in his white socks.

"Hyung!" His voice sounded soft, softer than when he spoke to Jeno that morning. "If you don't mind, would you pick some stuff up for me in town?"

Chanyeol's gaze turned soft as he nodded his head, reaching out to take the slip of paper that Jaemin was holding out for him to take. He grabs it and adds it to his pocket with his wallet.

"Anything else that isn't on there?" Chanyeol wonders, and Jeno has the opportunity to see Jaemin's lips curl into a small smile.

"Some chocolate if you wouldn't mind."

"You know I don't. We'll be back before dinner so we shouldn't be long."

"I'll let Kyungsoo-hyung know in case he decides to make dinner early again." Jaemin nods, his fingers playing together against his waist.

"If he decides to make Chili again, please send me a text message. I'll stop by McDonalds on the way home and snag you a Big-Mac meal." Chanyeol moves around the front of the car and pops open the driver's side door.

Jeno doesn't move.

It seems like Jaemin doesn't want to either.

"I'll linger in the kitchen just in case!" Jaemin grins back, standing on his tip-toes to look over the height of the car. Chanyeol laughs and climbs inside.

Jeno still stands outside the car.

Jaemin attempts to go back up the stairs.

Jeno grabs his arm and then drops the hold immediately. The last time he had taken Jaemin's arm it ended in tears. He didn't want that to happen again. Jaemin turns to look at him, but Jeno can't bring himself to look him in the eye. Not when the memory of his crying face was burned into his mind.

"Do you not want to come with us?" He wonders, watching as Jaemin's fingers resume the anxious maneuver by his waist.

"I.." Jaemin pauses. "I can't."

Jeno finally raises his gaze and finds those bright eyes. "Can't" he wonders. "Or won't?"

"Jeno, this morning it wasn't-"

"My fault." He nods. "I know. You kept trying to tell me that when you were struggling to breathe. But then I noticed in the past twenty-four hours you were everywhere I looked. Then, after this morning you were nowhere to be seen." Jaemin's head falls between his shoulders. "You've been avoiding me. So, that makes me think that I did something wrong-"

"You didn't."

"Right." Jeno nods his head, finding himself growing annoyed by the constant bobbing action. Maybe this was the way they were supposed to be? Maybe those first two major interactions were just a fluke. Jaemin hadn't been flirting, he had just been interested in something new and was just making that interest known. But now that Jeno had unlocked a hidden emotional reaction, that interest was no longer there. Their game was officially over.

Jeno couldn't understand why it was affecting him so much. Why did this one random guy he had met less than twenty-four hours ago make him feel so many emotions in the few short minutes of interactions they had? Nothing about this made sense. Maybe this was just his life now that his best friend was a werewolf.

He turns on his heel and begins walking back to Chanyeol's truck. He doesn't even look back or wait to hear an answer when he says "I suppose that I won't see you at dinner since you weren't at breakfast."

The car door doesn't get slammed and Jeno doesn't release a frustrated huff when he pulls on his seatbelt. He merely melts into the seat and gazes out through the windscreen. Chanyeol doesn't say anything when he starts the engine and pulls out of the drive. Mark and Jisung were far too occupied in their own world to even begin to process Jeno's. 

Chapter Text

Jaemin watched with an aching heart as the car crunched over the cobblestones on its way out of the driveway. The miniature stones bore through the thin layering of his socks and pierced at the skin of his feet, but Jaemin remained still. He waited until the car had turned off onto the forest road, until he could no longer hear their breathing. Then he turned on his heel and returned to the house, trying to fight back tears.

He lingered in the hallway by the front door for a few more minutes, trying to gather his breath and calm his thundering heart. His initial reaction was to run straight to his sanctuary and lock himself in it until the emotions finally subsided, but he had made a promise. He had told Chanyeol that he would linger in the kitchen to try and get a glimpse of Kyungsoo's intended meal for the night. While his body wanted to run and hide, his mind was willing to risk it all at the thought of getting his favourite comfort meal.

So, Jaemin took in a few deep breaths, squared his shoulders and marched himself into the kitchen. He let out a relieved sigh when he noticed that Kyungsoo wasn't inside, though the presence of another heartbeat did intrigue him to look to his left.

Sitting in his claimed spot at the dining table closest to the window-seat sat Renjun who glanced up from his homework with a small tired smile. Jaemin found himself capable of returning one of his own.

Not wanting to disturb, he continued on deeper into the kitchen. He approached the fridge with a shaking hand. He hadn't eaten properly since the new additions to the household had arrived, the lack of his dietary requirements was making him a little jittery. Pulling open the metal door had never felt like such a weighed task and yet Jaemin struggled to shift his body weight to accommodate the force of the pull.

He stumbled backwards as the door flew open, almost knocking against his nose. He grumbled his displeasure as his cheeks burned in embarrassment. He reached inside and took a deep breath, his fingers curling along the soft plastic bag. He retrieved it from the back of the fridge and eyed the Sharpie scribble on its front.

His stomach growled in desire but his mind was still revolted by the taste. Two years had been and gone and yet he was still trying to comprehend his new lifestyle, Suho's therapy sessions were working but Jaemin didn't feel like he was making any progress. He had been in the home for a little over a year and yet he still felt ostracized by the people around him. The elder hyungs were accommodating and cared for him greatly but they were older and just couldn't understand Jaemin's humor. Those who were younger and closer to him in age viewed him as a monster, an experiment that had been wrongfully created on the order of a mad-man.

"I haven't seen you have that in a few days." Renjun's voice speaks up from behind him.

Jaemin's lips curl slightly at the edge of his mouth, but he doesn't move to gather a glass or mug like he usually does. This time he's struggling to decide if he should eat at all.

"I haven't had it in a few days." Jaemin admits, swaying forward the countertop. "I was supposed to have it yesterday but then we got new additions and-"

"You forgot?" Renjun tried to finish the sentence for him.

More like I'm purposely not taking it, Jaemin couldn't exactly say that out loud. He didn't need to hear Sehun's lecture about how abstaining from his meal would lead to bad recuperations, Jaemin already knew that. He had seen what happened the last time he neglected his body from having the other half of his balanced diet, it didn't end well.

But the taste had been horrid. Each time he drew the rim of the glass to his lips, his stomach churned in distaste and hummed its quiet approval. A shiver rattled his bones, each time he thinks that it will be different and each time he's left disappointed.

"You can join me." Renjun spoke again, pulling Jaemin from his thoughts. "I would actually like the company."

"Me too." He found himself admitting before he could even think to stop himself. Renjun looks surprised, but he doesn't say anything. He simply takes his headphones off and places them neatly on the table next to his laptop and lecture notes. Jaemin turns back to close the fridge and quickly takes a random mug from the cabinet above the counter, before making his way over to the table.

He feels disappointment rise in his chest as he sets his mug down on the place setting, his cooled meal resting in front of him. Renjun rises from his seat and rushes over to the snack cabinet, he lets out a victorious squeal as he comes back with a giant share pack of chips and a bowl of mixed jellies that Jisung hasn't been able to finish.

"I figured the sugar might help get it down," Renjun blushes as he sets the food down in front of Jaemin. He doesn't return to his allocated seat, but instead decides to sit directly across from him. Before Jaemin can even think to thank him, he's already in the process of ripping open the crisps and taking a handful into his mouth. "So," he says around the potato chips. "What's up with you and Jeno?"

Jaemin immediately feels a blush raise on his cheeks, his immediate reaction making Renjun's eyes go wide. "Nothing!" He exclaims, shaking his head. "Seriously, there is nothing going on between us-"

"Okay so you may not know this, but I know when someone is lying and you, my dear pink friend, are talking out of your ass right now."

Jaemin is flabbergasted by the use of terminology, having never heard such a phrase or Renjun using such language. It makes him pause for a minute, but his housemate doesn't seem all that worried. Instead, he simply watches him from across the table, curiosity swirling in his eyes.

"I won't deny that I'm attracted to him," Jaemin begins after he manages to compose himself. "I mean I am pretty sure that I've been very forward in our last few meetings."

"Oh no~" Renjun smirks, falling against the back of his seat. "You just eye-fucked him when he slammed you up against that wall. The sexual tension between the both of you yesterday at dinner was definitely all in my head as well."

The heat on Jaemin's cheeks was getting hotter now, his gaze falling past his meal and down to his lap. His lips rushed to touch each other, his thumb and forefinger gently massaging his right ring-finger. The cool metal band acted as the perfect fidget for his current situation.

"Yeah well..." He sighed, leaning back in his own seat. "Regardless of what was going on between us, I think I messed it all up this morning."

Renjun looked concerned, his brows furrowing in the centre of his forehead. He leaned forward again, resting his arms on the tabletop. He reached across the table and took Jaemin's damp meal bag from the table. He watched mesmerized as Renjun ripped open the top and poured the essence of the bag into the glass. He gently slid it back across the table and motioned to it with his head.

"Drink."

Taking the glass between his fingers, Jaemin rose it to his lips. He groaned at the smell of the liquid, but knocked it back nonetheless. It burned his throat but satisfied his stomach. Renjun reached for the glass again, Jaemin stole a jelly.

"What happened this morning?"

So Jaemin told him. Renjun acted like his bartender, providing him with refills of his meal and offering out the chips when Jaemin knocked back another glass-load. Pretty soon the sharp metal tang of the liquid was numbed by the sharp zang of the salt and vinegar crisps that Renjun had retrieved from their snack cabinet.

"Wait, wait, wait." Renjun gaped, looking back at Jaemin with wide eyes. "This whole thing happened because you were in his bed?"

"Yep." He knocked back the third glass and groaned as it pooled in his stomach. He slammed the glass back down onto the coaster and slid it back to Renjun who seemed to operate on autopilot mode.

"This is bizarre." He admitted, pouring another glass-full. When he's finished he slides it back over and Jaemin's hand prevents it from falling over the edge of the table and spilling all over his clothing.

"Why?" He wonders, tilting his head. Renjun's reaction is enough to distract him from eating so he waits for an answer.

"It's just that..." he pauses, gazing off into the air between them, losing himself into his memories. "When I was with Mark, Jeno was really protective over his bed. He was extremely territorial, he didn't like anyone going into his room, didn't like anyone sitting on his bed." He snaps himself back from his memories and throws a crisp into his mouth. "I remember once I had to go inside to use his shower since Mark's was broken, Mark was already using it and Jeno was studying at his desk. To avoid me sitting on his bed, he exchanged with me. I sat on his office seat and he sat on his bed with his laptop and books. It was crazy."

"What can you tell me about him?" Jaemin wondered, shifting forward in his seat. He allowed his posture to alter, his shoulders slumping and his spine curling. He let himself relax, Renjun wasn't disgusted in him, he was actually helping to make sure that Jaemin ate. He knocked back the fourth glass.

"I've already told you that I don't know his sexual preferences, he wasn't dating anyone when I was dating Mark." He laughed and it made Jaemin laugh too.

"No, I meant it like..." Jaemin watches Renjun fill up his final glass, this one a half of all the previous ones he had taken. He takes a handful of jellies from the box and lets them fall onto the place-mat in front of him. "What was he like with you? What were your impressions of him? What does he study? What makes him tick? That sort of thing."

"They come as a package deal," Renjun explains and Jaemin can't help but laugh. "I'm being serious!" He giggles right back, throwing one of the smaller marshmallows at Jaemin's head. "They do!" He slides the last glass across the table and with practiced ease Jaemin grabs it and downs it all in one go. Renjun pulls the crisps closer to him and purposefully knocks his elbow into the jelly-box to slide it closer to Jaemin. The pink haired boy smiles kindly at him and takes up one of the bears he had arranged on the table to his lips. "Jeno scared me."

"Really?"

Renjun nods, swallowing another crisp. "His entire demeanor was striking when I first met him. He's known around campus as Mark Lee's Ice Prince best friend. He doesn't talk much, only when absolutely necessary. His facial features are cute and everything when he smiles, but when he isn't his face is quite literally the definition of a bitch-face. Don't get me wrong, his features and his build are the talk of the school and there are a number of people on campus who find him attractive, but more-often-than-not everyone is terrified by him. He's the top student in his course and he's like freakishly smart. Him and Mark do sports so he's a bit of a gym-rat, but he doesn't have your typical gym-bro personality. He's quiet, just looks after himself, he doesn't go to parties and when the season comes around everyone on the opposite team is terrified of him."

"What do they play?"

Renjun's lips curl upwards. "They're on the ice-hockey team. Jeno's on defense and he makes his presence known on the ice. He's a maverick, you will never know what he's going to do next. He actually broke one of the opposing team's centers last year, the bone was broken in like three separate places. Mark calls him Superman because he delivers the injuries but never gets them."

Jaemin is pleasantly surprised by the information he had just obtained. He never expected Jeno to be on a university team but it seemed like the guy was the perfect amount of mysterious. It was fueling Jaemin's curiosity and his affection by the minute.

"We all know that he's your type," Renjun continues. "But I'm sorry to tell you that I'm not entirely sure if you're his. Like I said before, I have no idea of his sexual preferences, but based on what you've told me so far about what happened between you guys.. It's possible."

Jaemin's head snapped upward. "Really?" He gushed. "Do you think so?"

"You were in his bed and didn't get murdered," Renjun deadpans. "I don't think you're grasping the severity of this situation."

"But I fucked it up-"

"Jaemin, you had a PTSD induced panic attack brought on by an action that you haven't had since you were still captive in the madman's territory!" Renjun's eyes were wild and his hands were moving widely alongside his words. "Of course you're going to freak the fuck out! Mark has always told me about Jeno's strength so I can only imagine what it did to kickstart something as strong as that. But you told him it wasn't his fault-"

"Of course I did!" Jaemin interrupts him. "Because it wasn't his fault, he didn't know about any of it. We were both playing around, I just didn't think that I would be as effective as it was. So I had to make sure that he knew it wasn't his fault."

"Jaem," Renjun reaches across the table and gently tangles their fingers together. Jaemin's breath hitches at the touch, surprised to have gotten it so easily. "You were such an affectionate person before this happened to you. Then you closed off because you didn't want to hurt anyone else in the same way that you were hurt. But Jeno -despite only knowing him for a few hours- was able to touch you and not have you completely freak out. It was just one prolonged touch to your wrist that made your body realise that you had actually been letting him touch you ever since he arrived. We've been terrified to touch you since we all remember that night when you first came here. But look at us..." Renjun gestured to their clasped hands. "We're sitting here holding hands and you're not panicking. Jeno quite literally slammed you into a wall yesterday and you stood there smiling at him. That's the reason all of us were so confused and stunned. You let someone else touch you in such a way and you didn't completely crumble. This morning was just a fluke, a momentary emotional breakthrough. It's not either of your faults that it happened. Jeno will understand if you-"

"I can't tell him." Jaemin declared, pulling his hand back. It falls to his lap and he tries to hold back the tears in his eyes. "I can't tell him what happened to me. I can't have him looking at me like I'm some type of-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Renjun growled, almost climbing onto the table. "Don't you dare allow yourself to think that you're a monster. You're not. You got turned into this against your will, don't you ever forget that."

"But you guys must think-"

Renjun's eyes widen as he notices the tears start to trail down Jaemin's cheeks. Instantly he pushes away from the table, the chair going flying to the ground. Renjun quickly rounds the table and gently pulls Jaemin's chair out. He falls to his knees in front of the pinkette and gently cradles his chin.

"We don't." He whispers, finding his own voice wet with tears. "None of us think of you in that way. We just never knew how to approach you, we didn't know if we would only make matters worse if we did. I'm sorry if you misunderstood our actions, but we didn't mean to make you feel that way."

"I'm so sorry." Jaemin sobbed, his hands rushing to hide his face. Renjun reached out to take them away but halted when he remembered that Jeno had taken him by the wrists earlier. Instead, Renjun gently placed his hands near Jaemin's elbows. He soothed the boy with a tender whisper and eventually managed to pry his hands away from his face.

"Don't apologize." His voice sounded better now, more confident. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Jaemin collapsed against him, his head falling against Renjun's stomach. The brunette gasped at the touch, but wrapped his arms around Jaemin's shoulders nonetheless. He held on tight, keeping them steady as another sob wrecked Jaemin's body. Renjun kept him close, humming gently as he ran his fingers through the latter's pink hair.

After a while Jaemin managed to calm down, inhaling soothing breaths to keep himself grounded. His blue eyes looked up at Renjun who gently traced the outline of the veins beneath his striking pale orbs.

"You're not a monster Jaemin," he whispered again for clarity's sake. "You're a survivor. Don't you ever forget that."

"Yeah," Jaemin sniffs, squaring his shoulders and sitting up straight. "You're right. I am a survivor. I just need to keep reminding myself of that."

"We're all here to help you." Renjun explains, resting both of his hands on either side of Jaemin's head. "If you need something, don't be afraid to say it."

"There is something that I've been really wanting to do," Jaemin admits, looking shyly down at his fingers again. Renjun's lips curl up on their own accord. "It's probably a ridiculous idea, but I want to ask anyway."

"Okay." Renjun nods, taking his arms back and crossing them against his chest. He waits patiently for Jaemin to find the strength to ask his question.

"Would you be up for a movie tonight?" When Jaemin finally looks up again his eyes are sparkling but not with tears this time. "I've always wanted to have like a big family movie night where we can completely rearrange the living room and get a bunch of snacks-"

"Oh I am so down for that!" Renjun squeals, his excitement making him bounce slightly in place. "I've been desperate to hog the living room TV for ages! What movie do you want to watch?"

"Oh..." Jaemin sounds surprised, bright eyes widening. "I never actually got that far.. I'm okay with anything but horror!"

A shiver rolls through Renjun's bones, his mind dragging up forgotten memories. "Ditto." He agrees. "I still have nightmares about the Shining. Mark and Jeno forced me to watch it a few months before we broke up, I have never completely forgiven them for it."

"Renjun..?" Jaemin wonders, gazing up at his friend. "What exactly happened between you and Mark anyway? How come no one knew about it? Weren't you happy with him?"

Renjun's shoulders dropped on either side of his head, his heart aching in his chest at the memories. "There's a war coming our way Jaemin, whether we like it or not. I loved Mark, but I didn't want him to be caught up in this life... so I made the decision to leave. We didn't have any classes that overlapped and on such a large campus it was easy to just fade into the background. At the time I thought that I was doing the right thing, but now.."

"He's a werewolf like the rest of the house." Jaemin finished for him, nodding along. "I can understand that."

"I know that it was probably the coward's way out, but I couldn't see another option. I couldn't leave a note because there were no words that I could say to even begin to explain this and Mark is the type of person who deserves better than a lame apology. I figured that a quick disappearance would be beneficial in the long run, but I never planned to sleep with him that night.. It just happened. I thought about holding off and drawing it out longer, but I couldn't do that to him... So, I ran. I left before dawn and I forced myself to forget."

"But he's here now.." Jaemin gapes. "Do you think that you guys could maybe get back together?"

Renjun smiled despite himself. He shook his head and watched as Jaemin's hope slowly vanished. "I've thought about it," he admitted. "When we came home and he was on the couch I thought that we would have a chance. I finally had the perfect chance to explain everything to him, but then I spoke with Jeno. You were there, you heard what he said. My actions hurt Mark in a way I hadn't even considered. I know in my heart that I did the right thing, even if it meant that I ran the risk of losing him forever. We've both grown in such different ways now, we're two entirely different people. I think our relationship is finished, but I do have the hope that we might be able to continue to be friends."

Jaemin fell backwards in his chair, his gaze heavy as he watched Renjun slowly bring himself back to his seat. He seemed to walk straighter now then he did before, like a weight had finally lifted from his shoulders now that he had finally spoken about his situation with Mark. Jaemin had only heard one side of the story the previous day, now, he knew that there was far more to it than what meets the eye.

He felt proud of Renjun for finally admitting something that seemed to be weighing on him since yesterday. It seems as though there was a linger of growth in the air.

"Let's keep it strictly between us tonight," He proclaimed once his friend had retaken his seat. "No boy drama, just two friends watching a movie and enjoying their new bond for a change."

"I like that idea." Renjun's grin gets wider until he's smiling across the table at Jaemin. "But only if I get to choose the movie."

Jaemin holds up both hands in a defensive motion. "That's no problem with me!"

There's a sound of struggling in the hallway that catches them both off guard, but before Jaemin can move to investigate it, Haechan comes barreling in with a small panicked smile.

"Sorry!" He apologizes, bowing his head as he rushes over to the fridge. "I'll only take a minute, I don't want to intrude."

"You live here too, you know." Renjun remarks with a smile, watching as the second eldest in the room latches onto the snack cabinet's handle.

"Oh.." Haechan takes a deep breath and stands taller, smiling politely. "Right." he announces like he just remembered that himself. "Sorry, my head's all over the place this afternoon."

Jaemin's brows furrow. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," Haechan admits from inside the cabinet, his head completely disappearing inside. "I had a bad dream last night that has sort of just put me on edge all day. I asked Suho if he could squeeze me in today, but he's booked up until tomorrow morning. So I'm raiding the snack cabinet because it's my other source of happiness."

Jaemin hummed in acknowledgement, he knew how busy Suho was within his online therapy clinic. It had really shot off in the last few months with more and more people having recommended him. Not many were of the supernatural category, but the small few who sang his praises on the quiet online platforms. Jaemin had been the one to show him what they were saying a few months back, his hyung's shy grin was at the forefront of his mind for weeks afterwards.

"Where are the salt and vinegar crisps?" Haechan wonders to himself.

Renjun grabs hold of the bag and pulls it up. "Over here. We got jellies too."

"Brilliant!" He slams over the cabinet door and approaches the table with a packet of cookies and three bottles of coke in hand. The coke bottles are from Jisung's stack that he keeps in the cabinet for emergencies, he has absolutely no idea that Haechan has been stealing from his stash.

The three coke bottles get distributed amongst the three occupants, each one evilly grinning at their stolen merchandise. Haechan all but collapses into the seat closest to Renjun, his face pale as he tries to breathe.

"I just came back from a run, I figured that I best run off the trauma but apparently it didn't do anything other than make me lose my breath."

"Oof been there," Renjun declared, unscrewing his bottle. Jaemin raised his own "Done that." He concluded. The two of them knocked their bottles together before either of them took a sip. Haechan laughed at the sight and took a quick sip of his own.

"What's your plans for tonight?" Jaemin wondered, glancing at Renjun briefly before turning his attention to Haechan who seemed to consider it for a moment.

"I'm probably going to be up all night," He shrugged. "Can't risk falling back into that horror-show again. I was thinking of playing a few rounds of Call of Duty, before I eventually pass out."

"Sounds like fun." Renjun admitted, sneaking a glance back at Jaemin. "Do you want to ask him or should I?"

Haechan's brow raises in confusion, his plump lips pouting. "What?"

"Can I ask?" Jaemin wonders, practically bouncing in his seat. Renjun laughs but nods his head, turning back to Haechan with a nervous smile on his lips. "Renjun and I got to talking and we decided that tonight we were going to steal the living room for a movie night. We already agreed that there will be no horror films involved so you're more than welcome to join us if you want to."

Haechan's slumped figure rose immediately, his eyes wide. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly." Renjun jokes, stealing another crisp.

"Like a family movie night?" Haechan asks again for clarity.

Jaemin nods his head, his vision blurring from the quickness of the action. His entire body is abuzz with excitement. He's been dreaming about this moment since he first got here and now it is finally happening.

"That's what we've decided to call it." Renjun agrees.

"Absolutely!" Haechan cries, propelling himself out of his chair. "Oh please can we? I've been wanting to do that for ages!"

"That's what I said!" Jaemin gasped, staring wide eyed at his other housemate who he had believed hated him less than twenty minutes ago.

"You're joining us?" Haechan wondered, glancing across the table at Jaemin.

His blood went cold.

Oh.

Maybe this was just a fluke.

Maybe Haechan didn't actually like him and was just interested in having Renjun along for the movie night. That was alright, Jaemin could go back to his sanctuary, there was still a lot of work to do down there-

"He actually suggested it." Renjun announced, much to Jaemin's horror.

But then, the most unexpected thing happened. Haechan disappeared from right in front of his eyes. He felt a presence standing right next to him. Jaemin barely had to turn his head until he found Haechan's eyes again.

"Are you finally opening up to us?" Haechan wondered, his voice light and airy. He sounded like he was going to cry at any minute.

Jaemin sat stupefied on his seat, staring up at the bronze skinned boy with his heart beating wildly in his chest. Afraid of the words that could potentially slip past his lips, Jaemin simply nodded his head.

Haechan threw his arms around his shoulders and pulled him up from his seat. Jaemin stumbled against his hold, breath leaving his lungs at the action. His arms felt heavy in the air before him, not entirely sure what was happening right now.

"Finally!" Haechan cheered against his neck, sniffling now. "We've waited so long, Jaemin."

And just like that the dam broke. Tears spilled over Jaemin's cheeks and down his jawline before dropping onto the back of Haechan's shirt. He dropped his hands against his housemate's waist and pulled him impossibly closer. Haechan held on just as tight, crying but giggling cheerfully in his arms.

Pretty soon their hug had additional limbs as Renjun leaned against Haechan's back and coiled his arms around Jaemin's shoulders. One of Haechan's hands came back to squeeze him closer, bringing the three of them closer still.

"I'm so sorry." Jaemin spluttered, having no other words to say. "I didn't know that this entire time it was me that was making a bridge between us-"

"It was unintentional." Haechan pulled back just enough to look him in the eye.

Jaemin stared into the eyes of his new friends, giggling like a child as they both smiled back at him.

"I mean I know that we all have some sort of trauma in this house," Haechan declared, wiping the tears of his own eyes. "But you far outweigh the rest of us. We knew that it would take time, but I definitely expect it to be right now... what changed? What happened?"

"Jeno." Jaemin admitted. He was shocked with how simple it sounded from his lips. "It was Jeno. If he hadn't touched me this morning I wouldn't have been in here in the first place. I wouldn't have wanted to open up."

"He touched you?!" Haechan's eyes flared a dangerous gold. "How is he still breathing?!"

"Not like that!" Jaemin's cheeks burned, his mind unable to comprehend such a situation.

"Oh..." The gold in his eyes dispersed and his deep brown gaze returned. "Sorry."

"Well I initially thought that there was something going on when he told me as well." Renjun admitted. He was still standing against Haechan's back, his chin resting comfortably on his shoulder. "He was in his bed this morning."

"What?!"

"It wasn't even like that!"

"Oh I'm going to need the details!"

"Whatever details those are can wait until I'm finished cooking dinner." Kyungsoo announced his presence, walking into the room with his attention focused solely on his phone. "What is everyone in the mood for tonight?"

"Oh.. um... Kyung?" Jaemin whispered, using the distraction to his advantage. He sidestepped his way out of Haechan and Renjun's clutches and dashed after the chef of the household. "Chanyeol said that if you were making chili tonight, I had to text him and he would bring back McDonalds."

It seems to be enough to pull Kyungsoo's gaze from his cellphone. "Oh he did, did he?"

"Yep." Jaemin nods his head, balancing on the tip of his toes. "We were also thinking of holding a family movie night in the living room tonight and McDonalds sounds like a really good idea for a late night snack, don't you think?"

He was silent for a moment, processing the information. Then he shrugs and turns his attention back to his phone screen. "Beats me having a cook for the night! Thanks Jaem, I'll tell Sehun to pick me up something on his way home from work."

"You don't want to join us tonight?"

Kyungsoo halts in his steps out of the kitchen, he raises his head and looks at each of them in turn. "Nah," he claims. "Moments like this are for close friendships. Don't destroy my living room."

"Aye aye Captain!" The three of them choir before he leaves.

When they pull up into the driveway of the darkened cabin, Jeno finally lets out a tired sigh. He had spent the last four hours endlessly shopping for not only himself but for his best friend, who couldn't seem to find anything that suited his personal preferences. Jisung had been absolutely no help, as he just seemed to support Mark's cause and not offer any help whatsoever to Jeno or Chanyeol who were both growing tired from the elongated stay.

"I'm not a people person!" He had groaned when they were finally back on the highway going home.

"But you were speaking to that sale's assistant for what felt like ages." Jisung hollered from the back of the car.

"Because I had to ask him if he had any of Mark's ridiculous jackets in the back! He didn't even seem to understand Korean! I had to use like three other languages to try and communicate with him!"

"That's because you terrified him!" Mark shouted back, before laughing hysterically. "Would it kill you to smile for once when dealing with hospitality staff?"

"He has a point." Chanyeol agreed from the driver's seat. Jeno snapped his head to see him and glared. He was supposed to be on Jeno's side of this, not the others! "What!" He chuckles. "He's right. You walked straight up to the guy with a scowl and then asked if he had any of the things in your hand, in the back."

"I said please." Jeno announced, crossing his arms against his chest and sinking even deeper into his seat.

Needless to say, the entire journey was making him in desperate need of both a shower and his new bed. Finally, arriving back home made his shoulders relax, but for only a minute. Now that they were back and parked in the exact same position as when they left, Jeno was met with the unfortunate memory of Jaemin and everything that happened between them.

Jeno groans as his face hits against the window, Mark and Jisung looking at him curiously from outside. Chanyeol's fingers thread through his hair, gently guiding him backward.

"Come on Lee," He announces, reaching over to unlock Jeno's door. "Time to face the music."

"I'm going to bed!" Jeno declares when his feet hit the cobblestones. "I'm bypassing everyone and going straight to the stairs, Mark can take my bags with him to his room and I'll get them in the morning."

"What's your problem?" Mark wonders, having gathered most of their shopping bags from the trunk. "You're never one to delay putting away clothing?" Now was not the time for his best friend to grow observant. Jeno liked it when Mark didn't have a clue about what was happening around him, it made things easier. "You always say that you prefer to get it done and over with immediately so you don't have it crowding up your mind and space."

"Something is telling me that you really shouldn't have said that.." Jisung states as he walks past, a bunch of McDonalds bags in his hands.

"What did I do?!" Mark yells, rushing after him.

Jeno watches him go with his forehead vein popping. He turns back to Chanyeol who he finds giggling quietly to himself at the trunk.

"You're not funny."

"I just find it interesting that despite these new abilities that he's got, he still can't see what's exactly in front of him." Chanyeol admits, bumping their shoulders together. "It's obvious that you're uncomfortable with Jaemin."

"Kyungsoo said that it could take days or weeks for his new abilities to come in," Jeno lectured, gently pushing past the giant to get at the last few remaining bags. He collects them all and slips his fingers around the straps. Chanyeol closes the door and begins to lead him towards the stairs. "So, fortunately, for both of our sakes, Mark is still as oblivious as ever."

"What did I miss?" Mark wonders, reappearing at the top of the stairs.

"My text message explaining how important it was that you attend my architecture lecture when I was at home sick." Jeno replied with the easiest option he could think of.

Mark groaned and hung his head between his shoulders. "That was one time, let it go!"

"Oh like my nail clippers, fat chance!" Jeno yelled after his best friend who disappeared back into the house.

Chanyeol offered to take some of the food bags in his hands, but Jeno merely shook off the gesture. He carried Mark's heavy ass up these steps more than twenty-four hours ago now, he could handle the shopping.

"In here hyung!" Jisung called from the kitchen so Jeno moved to follow his voice. He almost stumbled over Mark's shoes at the entrance which he quickly made sure his best friend was aware of.

Mark comes to get them when he's at the doorway to the kitchen.

"Okay so Renjun-hyung I know I have some chicken nuggets in here somewhere," Jisung spoke from the dining table, where he was glancing through each of the bags to try and locate the chosen menu options.

"I think I have most of the food Ji." Jeno announces, walking right up to the youngest who helped him to set everything down on the table. Jisung took one bag and Jeno peered into the other. "Okay, I have a Big-Mac meal with no pickles and a Sprite."

"That would be mine." Jaemin's sweet voice came from directly in front of him. Jeno's breath caught in his throat.

The pinkette was standing against the seat where Jeno had breakfast that morning. He smiled across the table at Jeno, his pink hair tucked neatly beneath the hood of a pink hoodie. He was also sporting a matching set of pink pajama pants. In his hand he was holding onto one of the small cushions from the couch in the living room. He looked comfortable and adorable.

"Here you go." He placed each of the packages onto a plate that had been on the table. He slid it across the table and quickly withdrew his hand. He returned his gaze to the bag in front of him, realising that his own order was staring up at him. He scoffed at the irony and gathered up his order on a plate similar to the way in which he had placed Jaemin's. "Cheeseburger and curly fries?"

"Come to papa!" Haechan yelled entering the room in a bear onesie. He approached Jeno with a wide smile and outstretched hands. Jeno couldn't help but laugh at the gesture, handing over the plate as he did.

"Chicken wrap and fries?" Jisung announces, holding up the wrap container. Mark yanks it from his hand the next second.

"Mine!"

"Has everyone got their food?" Chanyeol asks to which the whole room answers in the affirmative. "Good," he nods his head. "Now I have some business to attend to so if anyone needs me at all I'll be in my bedroom."

"Night hyung!" The room shouted back.

"So I noticed that the living room lights are on." Jisung states looking mildly concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"We're having a movie night." Renjun explains with a smile, happily feasting on his portion of fries. "Us three only, unfortunately."

"Hey!" Jisung gapes, blinking widely. "I'm a part of this house too!"

"So are we!" Mark continues in the same tone. "Technically."

"It's only those born in 2000 who are allowed at the movie night." Haechan countered, sticking his tongue out.

"Jeno's allowed go?!" Jisung and Mark squawk looking completely defeated as they abandon their food in surprise. Jeno snags a couple of fries from both of their plates and doesn't say anything about it.

"Nope." Renjun pops the 'p'. "Afraid that it's only those who have been in this house longer than a year who can join."

"Bummer." He shrugs his shoulders making it a point to avoid Jaemin's gaze. "Anyway, I'm off to bed."

"Dude!" Mark shouts after him, making his halt in his tracks. "We cannot allow this! We have to fight our ground!"

Jeno was too tired to fight anything right now. He just wanted to take his Big-Mac and Coke and bring it upstairs to his room where he could die on his mattress and not be expected to wake up for the next fifteen hours.

"I've had a lifetime supply of social interaction today, I am not doing anything else other than eating this," he gently waves his plate. "And going to bed."

"We've lost him!" Jisung howls, his head hanging against his chest. He makes a sorrowful pose with his right hand on his left pec as if he was standing over Jeno's grave. "He's gone too soon."

"Goodnight." Jeno laughs, shaking his head at their antics. He turns on his heel and begins to make his way towards the main staircase. His feet linger on the first step.

"Jeno?" Jaemin's voice calls out to him. He turns around and meets his gaze as the latter comes through the hallway. "I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you before we both went to bed."

"Okay..?" Jeno gestures to his plate. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry about earlier-"

"Jaemin, we've already had this talk." Jeno tries to turn around to continue his way back up the stairs but Jaemin appears above him on the next step. He lets a sigh slip past his lips. "Do you mind?"

"I want to talk to you." Jaemin states, more firmer this time.

"Does it have to be right now?" Jeno wonders, longing for his bed. "I'm really tired and I've spent the whole day trying to figure out what I did wrong so I'm extra exhausted. I also need to sleep or I'm just going to ramble."

"Wait." Jaemin stands in front of him again, his brown eyes tracing over Jeno's facial features. "You thought about me the whole day?"

"More like what the hell I did to make you cry, but sure, take from that what you will I guess."

"Right," he shakes his head. "Sorry. That's not important.. What I wanted to tell is... i want to tell you something but it's a lot and it's about my past-"

"Hey." Jeno stops him because he can already sense another panic attack brewing. "You don't need to explain anything to me. I'll admit that I have absolutely no idea what's going on but when do you when your best friend just turned into a werewolf?"

It's supposed to be a joke and Jaemin admittedly laughs at it but he'll admit that he's mostly laughing at the awkwardness.

"Can we start fresh?" He wonders, head tilting. "Can we just forget everything that happened this morning and just start fresh?"

Jeno shifts on his legs, finding them growing more tired the longer he stands there. "I don't know." he admits wholeheartedly. "I don't really know you to actually try and start over. If we did I would just be afraid of causing you to go through that again."

"You won't."

Jeno couldn't help but scoff. How the hell could Jaemin say that?

"How can you say that?"

"Because despite what you might think I actually trust you, I know that what happened this morning wasn't meant to happen. You would never willingly hurt me. I know that."

"You don't even know me." Jeno chuckles humorlessly, shaking his head. "We haven't even known each other a day yet-"

"I know," Jaemin sighs, his fingers playing with each other again. "I know that. But I can't deny that I'm not interested in getting to know you. It's actually quite the opposite, I want to learn more about you."

"Why?"

"I don't know why." Jaemin finds himself admitting, shrugging his shoulders. "Can you feel it too?"

Yes.

And I'm terrified by it.

"What do you want from me Jaemin?" Jeno asks, hoping that this conversation would end so he could finally get some sleep. This day was just getting weirder and weirder as the hours ticked on.

"I want to tell you about my past," Jaemin announces, much to Jeno's surprise. "And if you're being good I might even tell you my classification while I'm at it."

"What?" Jeno splutters, almost making his meal fall to the carpet. "Why?"

"Because I meant it when I said that I trust you, I also admit that despite not knowing you for very long, I feel a connection with you. One I can't even begin to comprehend. Since you showed up, things have happened to me that never have before and while I'll admit that it scares me, I'm intrigued by it nonetheless."

"So, you avoid me for most of the day and now you want to tell me your life story?"

Jaemin's lips curl upwards and that familiar mischief light fills his eyes. "Aren't you curious?" He wonders. "Don't you want to know more about me? Finally hear about what I really am?"

"Of course I do." Jeno admits, with a dip of his head. "But only when you're ready to tell me, not just because you think I want you to give it to me."

Those words sounded better in his head. Spoken out loud they sounded like double meanings. Jeno inwardly groaned at Jaemin's morphing smirk.

"Good to know that you have patience, we'll definitely have to test that restraint out."

"Don't tempt me." Jeno declared, feeling his eyes narrow. "I won't be held responsible for the consequences."

"Let's just focus on one thing at a time." Jaemin giggles, gently tracing a finger down the expanse of Jeno's cheek. "Nice use of my line by the way."

Jeno shrugs his shoulders. "Felt right in the moment."

"When are you free tomorrow?"

Jeno pauses for a moment to rattle his brain. Jisung and Mark had decided that they wanted a rematch tomorrow morning after breakfast and then Chanyeol said that he had a couple things that he wanted to run through with them before dinner. Jeno was hoping to get a start on some of the missed college work after dinner so-

"I'm free before breakfast?"

Jaemin's eyes sparkled, his tongue swiping against his lower lip as he nodded. "What about your Google search?"

Jeno shrugs his shoulders. "What's one more day?"

Chapter Text

Jeno was beginning to grow restless as Mark continued to freak out in the back of Chanyeol's pick-up truck. He sat in the middle with his head in his hands and his teeth worrying his lower lip. Jisung sat to his right, his hand a delicate touch on Mark's shoulder. Renjun was on Mark's left with his hands clasped together against his lap, but it was easy to tell that he was just as worried as Jeno expected. Their history makes it difficult to ignore. Jeno, himself, was seated in the passenger seat of the car, with Chanyeol taking the driver's seat.

"I told them not to come!" Mark cried, finally lifting his head long enough to look Jeno in the eye. "I told them that I'm okay and that I was getting the best treatments available! Why are they coming?"

"Because they're worried about you." Jeno spoke carefully, sporting his small gentle smile that Mark was very familiar with over the course of their friendship. "They're your parents, of course they are going to be worried about the fact that their youngest child was attacked by wolves. They don't know any better.. they think that you're holed up in a hospital bed incapable of anything-"

"But I'm not!" Mark shrieked, making everyone in the car hiss at the sound. Well, everyone but Renjun who simply rolled his eyes.

"Clearly." Renjun muttered beneath his breath, but no one gave him their attention.

"No," Jeno agreed. "You're not, but we can't let them know that you're completely healed. Which is why we're going back to campus."

Mark had already been told the plan, alongside everyone else earlier that morning. But in his panic-filled anxiety he clearly forgot all about the conversation.

This happened before when Mark was stressed out about missing his lectures after he broke up with Renjun, so Jeno was pretty confident in how he was approaching the situation since it was almost identical to the previous.

"Why are we going to campus?!" Mark's breath was getting harsher. "Chanyeol said that it would be a really bad idea to go back before the full moon!"

"That's why he's coming along man." Jeno gently rested his palm against the curve of Chanyeol's shoulder. Mark's breathing calmed when he noted Chanyeol's presence.

Jeno reached around the seat and gently coiled his fingers against Mark's ankle, making his grip firm so his best friend could feel it, but light enough not to hurt. "Trust me." Jeno held his gaze. "All you have to do is listen to what I have to say and everything is going to be okay."

"Okay." Mark nodded his head, blowing a thin tunnel of air from his lips. "Right, sorry man. It's just ... you know how my parents are-"

"I know." Jeno stops him from speaking about it anymore. It wasn't something that Jisung and Chanyeol needed to hear, not now when Mark wasn't in complete control of his actions. "Just follow my lead."

"Always." Mark agreed before completely collapsing against the back of his seat.

He looked relieved, like the weight of the world had lifted from his shoulders. Jeno let out a sigh of content, squeezing his best friend's ankle one last time before dropping his hold. When Jeno turned back around in his seat, he faintly saw a small smile on Chanyeol's lips.

They still had an hour before they would arrive back in the capital. Now that Mark was content and Jisung was distracting him with some videos, Jeno allowed himself to get comfortable in his seat. His legs spread out, one knee knocking against the door, the other hitting the driver's console. His head fell against the window and gently coiled his arms against his torso for warmth. His eyes closed before he could think about closing them.

5 hours ago...

This morning when he was being brought back to the world of the awoken, Jeno found himself letting the dream slip between his fingers. He didn't try to dig his heels into the metaphysical ground in the hope that his mind would let the dream linger for a few more moments. Instead, Jeno let the dream go willingly.

When he finally became aware of his surroundings, Jeno allowed himself the opportunity to wallow in the heat of the sun that crept through the semi-closed curtains. He snuggled deeper into his pillow, but didn't demand to be let back into his fantasy realm. Instead he listened to the noises around him; Mark was blabbering downstairs - possibly still frustrated by the fact that he wasn't invited to the last minute movie-night. He could faintly pick out Renjun's voice through the noise. Haechan had to be amongst it, though his voice was still fairly difficult to locate since they hadn't spoken to each other in the short time he and Mark had been there.

Beneath the chaos of the downstairs noise, Jeno realised that there was a quieter sound, a softer more gentle echo coming towards him. A gentle tapping of socks against carpet and the ever so faint clatter of ceramics tickled Jeno's ear just enough to raise his eyelid just in time to watch pink flood into his room.

Jaemin stepped in quietly, the door letting out a villainous noise that he tried to cover with a faint whimper. Jeno tried to muffle his laughter by shoving his head deeper into his pillow, but his body still shook from the harshness.

"Oh come on!" Jaemin groaned, his lower lip jutting out in a small pout. "How long have you been awake?"

Jeno rearranged himself on the mattress, lifting his hips upwards to propel himself in a comfortable sitting position against his headboard. "Since you came up the stairs," he admitted, voice riddled with sleep. He heard Jaemin's sudden intake of breath, but he didn't mention it, allowing his gaze to fall to the two mugs in his hands. "What's that?"

"Coffee." Jaemin seemed happy for the distraction, coughing to clear his throat. He moves towards the bed, offering Jeno a cup. He takes it with a small smile, drawing it back to his chest. The heat it radiated was a welcoming one, his shoulders sagging from the comfort it provided. Jaemin remained by his bedside, rocking back and forward on the tip of his toes. "I asked Mark how you liked it this morning."

"I'm assuming that he wanted something in exchange?" Jeno wondered, recalling Mark's devious actions when it came to getting his own way. Jaemin's lips pull upwards.

"Access to the movie morning," he explains. "Haechan was pretty upset about it, but it was a small price to pay."

Jeno raised the mug to his lips and allowed himself to take a sip. It was perfect. "Thank you."

"I figured that you might need it, since we're up pretty early." Jaemin pulled out his phone and showed Jeno the time; 8:34, not the earliest he's been up but definitely earlier than he was expecting today. "I was going to make breakfast too but I figured it might be a little early for that.. I mean you did just wake up.."

"You can cook?" Jeno gapes.

Jaemin's brows furrow but he nods his head regardless. "Yeah?"

"Sorry," Jeno apologizes, shaking his head and placing his mug down on the bedside cabinet. "I live in a dormitory with Mark Lee. I have seen eggs being butchered in literally too many ways to count, we live on take-out and the campus catering. I don't know how we have survived as long as we have..."

Jaemin laughs. He laughs so much that he almost falls backward and spills his coffee everywhere. Jeno has to throw back the covers and catch him before he does.

The sudden position has Jaemin immediately stop laughing, eyes wide as he stares up at Jeno. He's shirtless, again. His warm arms are wrapped around Jaemin's waist and his close proximity lodges the coffee mug between their bodies preventing it from tipping over and spilling all over the floor.

"Careful." Jeno announces, taking one arm back to withdraw the mug from the space between them. He bends over and places it beside his own on the cabinet before turning his attention back to their position. He instantly jumps backwards.

"Um..."

"Right yeah, you wanted to talk to me this morning?" Jeno rushed to change the topic of conversation, not wanting them to linger on the fact that Jaemin could literally feel the outline of his abs through his pajama shirt. Jeno needed to make a mental note to himself to start wearing a shirt to bed. They had been in this scenario too often, it wasn't good for his heart.

"Right!" Jaemin agreed, nodding his head. "I was supposed to talk to you about my history.."

"I would like the record to show that you don't actually have to do that, if you don't want to." Jeno explained, recalling their interaction yesterday. He didn't want to place Jaemin in a position that would replicate his emotional outburst. "If your classification is too complicated, I don't mind waiting to understand it."

His words seemed to have a positive effect on Jaemin, since the pink haired boy seemed to visually relax at them. "No, it's fine." He stated, standing taller now. "I spoke with Renjun and Haechan about it yesterday when you were gone. I know that it would be better if I just told you everything so we could understand each other a little better. I've just... I've never had to explain it to someone before. Everyone else has just known."

"Well if it makes it easier for you I could always speak to someone else about it?" Jeno offered, but Jaemin shook his head in denial.

"I want to be the one to tell you." He admits. "I just need a minute."

"Take all the time you need."

"Can I.." the words trail off before he could ask. Jeno raises a brow. "Can I get into your bed?"

Jeno stands stupefied by the question, Jaemin wanted to get into his bed to have this conversation? His hesitation clearly seemed to disturb Jaemin who rushed to try and take the words back.

"It's fine I can sit at the table-"

"Of course you can." Jeno blurted before he could even register the words coming from his lips. "Just stay away from the left-hand side." It was the side closest to the door. If Jaemin was going to claim a side of Jeno's bed it was going to be the spot furthest from the door. "I like sleeping there."

"Okay." That beautiful pink blush had dusted itself back onto his cheeks, Jeno would count it as a win in his book. He watched as Jaemin walked around the bed and came to a complete stop on the other end. He gently tossed back the blankets and dove right in, pulling the blankets up and over his legs. He waited patiently for Jeno to join him back beneath the covers.

Once they were comfortable, Jaemin lay on his back and Jeno with a hand keeping his head level above the pillow. They just sat staring at each other for a few minutes, Jeno didn't mind the silence, willing to let it linger until Jaemin was ready to start.

"My entire family was killed right in front of my eyes and I was taken prisoner by the people who did it."

Jeno blinked, but didn't say anything.

"Okay word vomit seems to be the best way to go about this..." Jaemin awkwardly giggles, hiding his face beneath his hands. "This was better with Renjun and Hyuck-"

"You're doing fine." Jeno encouraged him, gently letting his fingers brush through that mop of pink hair occupying his extra pillow. "Take a deep breath and keep going, I'm not going anywhere."

Jaemin's hand came up to take Jeno's away from his hair. Jeno figured that he might not want to be touched, but then Jaemin interlaced their fingers and didn't ease up on his grip. Jeno got comfortable with the new position and Jaemin continued.

"They took me back to their lair and threw me in with the rest of the people they had taken in similar situations. They put us through a lot but the experiments were the worst. I was the only one to survive the process. It made me a favourite of the leader. I lost myself that day and became a monster, I'm still trying to find that part of me that I lost..."

"How'd you get out?" Jeno wonders, lightly tracing patterns against the back of Jaemin's palm.

"Baekhyun-hyung." Jaemin explained like Jeno was supposed to know who he was talking about. "He has a long history with the leader of the group who took me. He was taken by them when he was my age and got out when he was in his early twenties, they've been looking for him ever since. He's not like me, he was never experimented on in the way that I was, but he was expected to become the leader's mate... Chanyeol hasn't told you about what a mate is, right?"

"No, but Suho did mention it when he was introducing himself to me, what does it mean?"

Jaemin's cheeks pinken and his grip gets a little tighter on Jeno's hand. "Nothing, let's just pass that for the moment." Jeno stayed quiet and Jaemin took a deep breath, releasing his crushing grip and holding his hand gently again. 

"Anyway, hyung was forced to undergo experiments that would ensure that he became the mate of the leader. They spent four years looking for him when he escaped and then one day he just showed up in the lair. I met him there and I guess that I made an impression on him because, when he planned his next escape he took me with him. We were on the run for a whole year before we caught wind that they had put a bounty on our heads, every supernatural creature was to be on the lookout for us. I didn't want to leave him, but he drove us here where he told me I would be safe. Apparently he and Chanyeol had crossed paths before and Baekhyun knew that I would be safe here, so he dropped me off, told everyone my story and left. I wanted him to stay with me. I told him that if Chanyeol could protect me, then he would be able to take care of him. He told me that he was only running because he needed people to think that I was still with him so we all would be safe."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Jeno whispered, taking notice of the tears collecting in Jaemin's eyes.

"Two years ago. When he hugged me goodbye and left. He never keeps the same phone number, so I don't have an opportunity to text him very often but Chanyeol says that he's always checking in on me. I was so young when I was taken, that I've started to see him as my parent." Jaemin giggled quietly, drawing their linked hands up to his lips. Jeno felt the plushness of Jaemin's bottom lip hover over the vein in his hand, never touching but lingering. 

"Chanyeol too. He took in a lot of us against his better judgement. He was a lone wolf before we started showing up on his doorstep. He took us in, listened to our stories, taught us everything he knew and gave us a home. Baekhyun gave me my life back, but Chanyeol gave me a home. They mean the world to me, I just wish that they could stay in the same room for more than twenty minutes."

"Maybe they need to push each other up against walls, I hear that's pretty effective to get people talking." Jeno said, watching as Jaemin's eyes crinkled and his chest raised with the laughter bubbling past his lips. Jeno could feel Jaemin's breath ghost over the back of his palm, his pulse quickening.

"Yeah," Jaemin agreed. "That's a good idea, definitely something I should implement if he ever stops by."

"So," Jeno lightly pulls on their linked hands closer towards him, Jaemin goes along with it. His shoulder gently presses against the centre of Jeno's chest. "Throughout that explanation you never did explain what your classification is."

"Didn't I?" Jaemin teases, tears now long gone and mischief returning to his bright eyes. "I must have, weren't you listening?"

"To every word coming out of those pretty pink lips," Jeno leans himself closer and lifts his coffee mug from the cabinet behind Jaemin. He pulls back with a smirk on his lips, taking note of Jaemin's frustrated expression. He takes a sip before continuing. "I'm pretty sure I would have picked up on a classification."

"I can recall calling myself a monster." Jaemin deadpanned, though he held no venom in his words. "That should be enough for you to figure it out."

"You give me too much credit," Jeno countered. "Let me remind you that I was only introduced to this world three days ago."

"You've already been introduced to what I am."

"Werewolves, vampires, magic practitioners," Jeno checked off the list. "You don't turn into a unicorn do you?"

"Be serious." Jaemin laughed, using his shoulder to gently bump against Jeno's torso. "I'm not like Renjun."

"So werewolf or vampire?"

"Both."

Jaemin holds his gaze, looking up at him like he was expecting Jeno to crash out or go berserk. Instead, Jeno just kept tracing patterns along the skin of Jaemin's hand. Their fingers often interlock throughout this whole ordeal, but Jeno still doesn't say anything. Eventually, Jaemin gets impatient.

"I just told you what I am-"

"A vampire and a werewolf, yeah I heard you." Jeno nodded his head, his eyes still lingering on Jaemin's gaze.

"The technical term is hybrid," Jaemin lectures. "Why aren't you freaking out?"

"Why do you think you're a monster?"

"Because I've killed someone. Because I can't control my bloodlust. Because I haven't been able to contact my wolf since I became this thing!"

Jeno leans more of his weight against Jaemin's shoulder, keeping him against the mattress and restricting his limbs from jerking around.

"From your logic I should be considered a monster too." Jeno spoke, his voice eerily calm despite Jaemin's louder pitch. "I may not have the last two, but I've killed someone too." Jaemin goes slack in his arms. "I thought they were a monster when it happened, they were attacking Mark and I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed a rock and smashed it against its skull and didn't stop until it stopped moving. It was only when I came here that I learned that it wasn't a monster, it was a man named Caleb. Sure, in Mark's opinion I saved him, but I still took a life and that's a hard pill to swallow."

"But you did that for a reason, Mark's right, you did save him. Caleb was evil and he -"

"Was still a human being beneath all the fur." Jeno interrupted him. "Your situation may have been different, and I'm not condoning either of our actions, but what happened doesn't change the way I think about you, it's not going to change anything about us. Your story just makes me realise that you've been through a lot, and that you deserve to live the life that you deserve. Na Jaemin you are not a monster, you're a human being. Maybe not in the literal sense, but we fight every day to survive in this world. You might not see it right now, but you will. You're meant to be here"

The with me goes unsaid, but the words still hit home.

Jaemin lays stiff against him, looking up at him with such mesmerizing eyes that Jeno would love to spend every waking moment like this. There was something so magical about seeing Jaemin's honey eyes be exposed to the sunlight, the golden speckles in his orbs enhancing the meager sunlight around them.

"...No one has ever said it like that before."

Jeno can't help but shrug his shoulders, smiling sheepishly beneath the latter's intense gaze. "Maybe you just needed a human to give you some perspective."

"Thank you." Jaemin whispers.

"You're welcome."

"Jeno..." he immediately becomes attentive, giving Jaemin's hand a small encouraging squeeze. "This thing between us-"

"Jeno!" Mark's voice echoed throughout the room. Jeno and Jaemin both jump at the noise, as they haven't been expecting it. "Jen!"

Before either of them could get out of the bed, Mark burst through the door with everyone else hot on his tail. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo rushed in after the younger members of the household, their brows raising at the sight before them.

"Dude we have a serious emergency."

"Literally the story of our life lately, but go on." Jeno encouraged his best friend, patting the covers by his feet. Jaemin still lay pressed against his chest, unmoving as Mark collapsed against the mattress.

"My parents," he heaved, trying to catch his breath after taking the stairs two-at-a-time. "They finally managed to return my phone call and it's not good news."

Jeno can't help but groan. Seriously? When will they be able to catch a break?

"Let me guess," he huffs from his new position against Jaemin's hair. "They're after booking a flight and are on their way to Korea as we speak?"

"They called me last night," Mark squeaked, face pale with worry. "They booked the red eye..."

"So that means that they're almost halfway here?"

"Yeah... dude what the hell are we going to do?"

"Have you talked with Chanyeol?" Jeno finally pulls his head away from Jaemin's surprisingly soft strands to look at the taller standing by the doorway.

Chanyeol looks beyond surprised by the sudden inclusion, especially since he needed to close his mouth from the shock he got from seeing Jaemin so comfortable in Jeno's bed. "Just to tell me what was happening before he dashed out of the kitchen to come and look for you."

"Figured." Jeno sighed, taking a moment to lightly squeeze Jaemin's hand before he tossed the blankets to the side. He pulled himself out of the blankets and stood in front of his best friend with his arms crossed over his bare chest. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. Renjun-"

The called member blinked himself out of his trance, his eyes snapping up from Jeno's torso. "Y-Yeah?"

"You're a whiz at makeup right?"

"Yeah, I did your guys Halloween makeup last year-"

"Exactly, we're going need that again." Jeno turned to look at Kyungsoo who seemed to be the only one in the room not currently staring at him. "Where is Yixing?"

"In his clinic where he always is... why?"

"He's going to have to get a room ready, Mark's moving back in."

"I am?" His best friend questioned, leaving the mattress to stand beside his friend who was now facing everyone else in the room.

"Yeah," Jeno deadpans. "You are. We are very obviously not in a hospital right now, so we're going to make it look like we are. We're going to lie and say that there is an overflow of patients in the nearest hospital so after you were cleared and bandaged they sent us here where Yixing had space to treat you, but you're still receiving daily check-ins from one of the doctors that Yixing can manipulate into helping us."

"Where exactly do I come into this?" Renjun gaped. "His parents already know me, won't they be suspicious that all of a sudden I'm here?"

"First of all you're going to be in charge of giving us wounds, I'm sure that Yixing knows enough about wolf bites to be able to give you some guidance on what to put on him. I'm obviously going to need something too if we want them believing our story. As for why you're here, can't you fill the worried ex role for a few days until they clear out? I'm sure the two of you can handle that for a few hours."

"Dude!" Mark hissed, hitting Jeno square in the chest. It didn't affect him, but he did feel slightly hurt by the gesture. So far, this was being marked as a very creative plan.

"Fine but what about everyone else? What excuse do you have for them being here?"

"We could be a home for wayward souls?" Jaemin offered, smiling shyly as everyone returned their attention to him. He had pulled himself out of the blankets and off the bed, choosing to stand in front of the cabinet still holding his coffee mug. "Kids who ended up here instead of foster care?"

"That works," Chanyeol agreed. "We do have a psychologist in the house so I'm sure that will work in our favour. The others can pretend to be staff and since I obviously owe the property I can be in charge of the place."

"We'll have to sort out another room for them since I doubt they've had time to book a hotel. We should probably head back to campus and get a few things, we need it to seem like Renjun came out here after hearing about the accident, he would have had to bring us a few things."

"Not only does he possess the body of a Greek god but he has a brain in that head of his as well, Jaemin let me have him for just a day!" Haechan begged, pouting across the room at his pink haired friend.

Jeno suddenly realised that he really needed to start wearing a shirt to bed. It seemed like Mark also realised that he was standing next to his shirtless best friend, except he also seemed to have realised that he walked in on his best friend in bed with Jaemin. Mark's mouth drops open and Jeno is quick enough to slam his hand over it to muffle the noises.

"Right well I obviously need to get dressed so I'll meet everyone out at the car in about ten minutes?" Jeno looked over at Chanyeol who was trying desperately to hide his laughter behind his own palm, it wasn't working since his shoulders were shaking and his face was getting redder by the second.

"Sure." He heaved, voice clipped through the gap in his laughter. "Meet you out front in ten!"

And just like that he had grabbed Haechan and Kyungsoo and began leading them from the room, though Haechan's eyes continued to linger long after he was gone. Jisung was next, sporting an evil grin as he raced Mark from the room calling shotgun again. Renjun was next, walking with an evident pep in his step. He lingers at the doorway long enough to send both Jeno and Jaemin a wink before he disappears into the hallway.

Jaemin goes next, but Jeno's fingers link through his own and pull him right back. He collides against the still very bare chest of his crush and tries to push his pooling blood back into his neck, but his cheeks still blossom.

"I'm not entirely finished with you right now." Jeno admits, voice quiet barely a whisper. "I don't think it would be a good idea to leave you alone after such a trauma inducing conversation, do you want to come with us to campus?"

Jaemin's heart raced in his chest, his pulse coming alive. "I'd love too.." he admitted, but his tone gave him away. "But I can't. I meant it when I said that I couldn't go with you yesterday. I can't be outside the property line. If I am there's a chance that any lingering wolves might catch my scent and report back to the group and I don't want that to happen, not when it could endanger everyone here."

Jeno takes hold of both of Jaemin's hands, giving them each a small squeeze. He stands a few inches taller than him, having to slightly bend his head to hold Jaemin's gaze. He's the perfect height to gently press a kiss to his forehead, but he doesn't despite his instincts telling him that it would be okay to.

"Is there a way to mask it?" Jeno wonders, his lack of supernatural knowledge piercing through.

"Yeah," Jaemin admits, but he doesn't sound excited by the revelation. "It's a process called scent marking-"

"How can I do that?" Jeno wonders, tilting his head to the side.

He didn't expect Jaemin to gasp and draw himself away from him. Great, he had messed up again.

"Jeno, you don't know what you're saying." Jaemin laughs, but it wavers with his nerves. He begins pacing the flooring right next to Jeno's bedroom window. "Scenting is a very intimate process that werewolves go through. It's special. You don't just offer it up so easily, shit, if that was the case, the wolves here would have offered to scent me already."

"But I'm not a wolf," Jeno deadpanned. "It's not going to be that way for me-"

"But I am." Jaemin admits. "I know I don't have a connection with it anymore but... I know how special the process is, it's the last thing I remember my parents doing before they died. Sharing your scent is held to a very high degree, I can't ask you to do that for me."

"You're not asking." Jeno clarified. "I'm offering."

"And I can't put into words how much that makes me feel," Jaemin refills the space in front of Jeno, his hands resting comfortably on the curve of Jeno's pecks. "...you don't know how much you make me feel. But this.." he tries to pull away, but Jeno now has his hands on his waist. "You can't do this, at least without knowing what it means."

"I'll ask."

"Okay." Jaemin nods his head, smiling lightly. "I'm not going to get my hopes up because this might not happen but..." he presses his lips to Jeno's cheek. When he pulls away his own are red but his eyes shine brightly. "Thank you for offering anyway."

Present...

"Wake up sleeping beauty!" Mark's voice hollered from his left side. Jeno pulled back his eyelids and watched as his best friend leaned over his frame to unlock the seat belt, keeping Jeno safely in the car. "Are you ready to finally see the dorm?"

Had this conversation happened more than twelve hours ago, Jeno probably would have said yes. The first day they arrived at Chanyeol's property Jeno couldn't wait to go back to the dormitory and get back to his safe place and relax like at the end of a long day. However, he's surprised to say that his desire of returning to the dormitory had been diminished after spending the night in his new room.

It wasn't a secret that Jeno has grown accustomed to this new lifestyle. His body had been telling him that he was safe once he got into that stranger's car and had continued to flood his neurons with serotonin the entire time they'd been there. It would be nice to return to his bedroom, he could do with some of his physical lecture notes coming back with him. And his vehicle wouldn't be a bad inclusion either, it would stop the campus from taking the parking fee from his bank account for a while.

As Mark led them into the building, Jeno lingered behind with Chanyeol. He was already beginning to make a list of everything that he wanted to bring back, it wasn't much since Jeno didn't have much to begin with. It would probably fit in a corner of the back of Chanyeol's truck. He could pack his school bag up with his necessities and take it with him on his bike.

"I would have called a taxi to bring me to you guys so let's just stick with some clothes and personal items for the moment." Renjun announced once Mark had keyed in the code to the dormitory.

When they walked inside, it was like they had never left. The cereal box was still out on the counter in the kitchen from when Jeno made himself a bowl while Mark was in the shower. Mark's hair dryer laid across the expanse of the couch after he had blow dried his hair after said shower. Their ice hockey equipment was still in the corner of the room from their last season and the winning puck still lingered on the glass table in the living room.

Jeno walked by everything and went straight to their study room. Previously it had been Jeno's old room, but when Renjun left Jeno had moved his bed into Mark's room in the hope that it would help him ease his best friend's constant nightmares. They had moved Mark's furniture into Jeno's old bedroom and the space acted like a miniature library with books and shelving units taking up a majority of the space.

It was only once he entered the room that Jeno realised that Renjun didn't know they had moved everything. He thought about reminding Mark of that fact, but his best friend seemed far more interested in sorting through what would be needed and what wouldn't for his parent's arrival. Renjun already seemed to have grasped an understanding of the situation since he seemed to be grabbing a bunch of important stuff and stuffing it into Mark's bag.

Jeno didn't have a family to be sentimental about but he did have a plushie from his childhood that he had kept throughout his upbringing. He took it with him wherever he went, but hadn't figured that he would need it for the field trip so it remained at the dorm on his desk. He plucked it straight up from its position and carefully placed it into his already semi-full backpack. His laptop and connector cables soon joined it as did his lecture notes and assignment prompts.

In another bigger gym bag he placed all the clothing that he figured he would need. A bunch of hoodies, some of his favourite shirts and his leather jacket. He had bought more underwear, socks, shirts and jackets when they went shopping yesterday, but these pieces were his favourite and he was far more comfortable in them than the new stuff. He decided to pack just one extra pair of workout clothing since he had made the choice to get more yesterday. He threw a few novels and textbooks into the bag and zipped it right up before hesitating when he realised that there was something else he could bring.

It wasn't as much of a gift as it ought to be but Jeno somehow felt compelled to place the object into his bag. He grabbed a pair of socks that he had already packed and used them to protect the object from breaking in the rush to return home, his heart content once it disappeared past the zip.

He met Chanyeol in the living room, the elder sitting a little awkwardly on the couch. Jeno placed his bag down next to him and scooped up the keys to his bike, pushing them into his jacket pocket.

"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Jeno wondered, sitting himself down on the glass coffee table so he was right in front of Chanyeol.

"Sure, what's up?"

"You said that you were going to teach us about the supernatural world now that Mark's a werewolf right?" Chanyeol nods his head, though his brows slightly raise as he waits for Jeno to continue. "I need you to explain scent-marking or scenting to me."

The words knock Chanyeol back against the pillows lining the backboard of the couch, his eyes are wide and his mouth is agape but he can't find the words to reply. Jeno lets him linger in the silence, patiently waiting for him to get his breath back from the shock.

"Who-?"

"Jaemin." Jeno explained. "He told me about his past, it was broad but I understand the implications. I don't think that he deserves to be holed up in the house by himself when everyone around him can move about freely without potentially drawing the attention of a lunatic. I asked if there was something that could help and he told me scenting? He freaked out when I offered to-"

"You offered?" Chanyeol shrieked, eyes blown so wide Jeno felt like he needed to cup his hands in case they fell out of his head.

"Yeah? Like I tried to explain to him, I'm human so I don't know what I'm doing-"

"Clearly!"

"But I want to help."

Chanyeol's lips let out a long sigh, but eventually he raised his head and met Jeno's gaze. "It's important to werewolves, it's special because when we're born and as we mature our parents scent us. It's a way of ensuring that other wolves know that they have someone looking after them. That's the first time it happens. But when we reach puberty and we develop an interest in dating or marriage, one could scent their partner. It's slightly different then when our parents did it, but it still holds the same sentiment - someone is looking after me. However, because it's your partner, it now means that you're claimed."

"Claimed? Like ownership?"

"Not really. It's more of a possessive thing. By agreeing to scent someone, you're essentially coating them in your scent. Giving them a part of you that no one else can possess. Wolves -as you know- have high senses so we know that everyone in the entire world has a distinct smell that's purely their own. When you agree to scent someone, you're quite literally giving that person a piece of yourself. It also broadcasts to other wolves that you're in a relationship and the person scented shouldn't come to harm otherwise they'll have you to deal with. Wolves are territorial, so it sort of transfers to us as well."

"So by offering my scent to Jaemin, I'm essentially asking him to be in some kind of werewolf relationship?"

"To the outside wolves, yes." Chanyeol agreed, nodding his head. "The rest of us, at least in the house, will know why you're doing it and that you're just trying to help."

"How would it work?"

Chanyeol's cheeks pinken at the question, his mouth stammering over the words as he rushes to get them out. "I guess the best way for you... would be to, um.. Give him your clothing?"

"Why are you freaking out so much?"

"Because there is another way that he's too chicken to tell you." Renjun announced his presence and inclusion into the conversation with a smile on his face. "Bodily fluids."

"I'm sorry?"

"The best way to get someone smelling like you is by coating them in bodily fluids. As you know actual wolves pee to establish their territory, when scenting their children they lick their fur, but when they scent their partners they usually engage in sexual-"

"Stop talking!" Mark gagged walking into the room with his own collection of bags. "If you finish that sentence I might just throw up."

"How...How does the clo-clothing option w-work?" Jeno stammered, turning back to Chanyeol who looked relieved by the sudden question. Renjun grumbles out a distasteful curse.

"The longer you wear the item, the better the lingering scent."

And that was the end of that conversation.

A sudden bone-chilling vibration rattled through Jeno sending him slightly forward against the glass table. He felt an immediate sense of foreboding, like something terrible was about to happen but he couldn't put his finger on directly what.

Then, as if hit by the same bolt of lightning, Chanyeol shot up from his seat on the couch. His eyes were frantic and his eyes flickered red for just a second before they returned to their deep chocolate brown.

"Everyone in the car. Now."

Chapter Text

Jeno's pulse raced in his veins as he leaned forward on the bike, the vehicle humming beneath his thighs as he guided the bike around a sharp corner. The sharp turn forced Jeno to tilt his entire body towards the right, his leg ghosting just inches away from the asphalt. Once the corner was cleared, Jeno pulled the bike back up and repositioned his centre of gravity. He threw a glance at his wing mirrors and spied Chanyeol's truck drift around the bend behind him. 

How they hadn't been pulled over by the police force for speed through the city streets, Jeno didn't know. It wasn't as if they had been quiet about their journey, Jeno's engine had been revved countless times to encourage the traffic to move when possible. Regardless he was certainly grateful for their apparent absence since that foreboding dread still rattled his body.

He needed to make sure that Jaemin was okay. 

Chanyeol had said that most of the others had cleared out shortly after they had left for campus. Sehun had gone to work, Minseok and Kyungsoo had dragged Jongdae to help them gather supplies for Mark's parents arrival, Suho had gone to his office for a face-to-face meeting with a client, and Yixing said that he needed to run to the hospital for his weekly equipment haul. 

That meant that Jaemin and Haechan were alone in the house.

"Someone has crossed into our territory," Chanyeol had explained as they rushed to pack up his truck's bed with their collected items. "I can feel it. No one has texted me, so I know they're not quests. Mark's parents aren't scheduled until this afternoon so whoever these people are... we're not expecting them."

Jeno had been reminded of the first time they met. One of the first things that Chanyeol had said to them was that he had been told about their arrival, meaning that he was told to expect them. Clearly whoever had sent Mark and Jeno his way, hadn't sent anyone else. Those who were on the property right now were strangers, and Jeno was really hoping that they weren't connected to Jaemin's past. 

That would just be horrible timing. 

Jeno couldn't allow himself to funnel anymore ideas into that thought process, he certainly didn't need the added anxiety that it came with, not when he was still unaware of Jaemin's current state. Somehow Jeno found himself back in familiar territory, somehow managing to recall familiar landmarks that he had driven past in the stranger's car three days ago. Pretty soon they would be passing back through the property line. 

"Can someone remind me how to kill one of you again?" Jeno asked into his helmet which was connected to his phone which was currently linked to the speakerphone in Chanyeol's truck. 

"If it's a vampire, you have to take a wooden stake to their heart, or decapitation. If it's a werewolf..." Renjun's voice drifts from the back of the car into the speaker, Jeno's surprised that he can hear him over the sound of his own engine. "In their human form it's decapitation or ripping their heart out of their chest. If they're in wolf form it's a little easier, anything to the head or neck will do it."

"And if they're like Jaemin?" Jeno didn't want to outwardly announce the term 'hybrid' when Mark still wasn't aware of Jaemin's classification. Jaemin had been hesitant to tell Jeno so Jeno wasn't going to pass that level of information onto someone who Jaemin hadn't felt obligated to share it with. 

The immediate silence that followed was deafening. Jeno's grip on his handlebars grew tighter, his own knuckles turning white. Jeno turned onto the familiar stretch of road that led to the property-line, they were still more than ten minutes away. He glanced into his right-side mirror and saw Mark filling the passenger seat, he entire body was facing to the left. Jeno followed his line of sight to his left-side mirror, where Chanyeol's image blinked back at him. His forehead was crinkled in worry lines, both hands gripped tight on the wheel. 

"We don't know." His deep voice came through the speaker, his voice laced with unreleased frustration. 

Jeno turned his gaze around his shoulder to look at both of the truck's inhabitants before turning his attention back to the road ahead of him. A spilt-second decision made Jeno turn the dial of the throttle forcing the motorbike to exceed the speed limit, leaving the car far behind him. The weight of the pressure burned against Jeno's chest, but he didn't care. His lungs filled with a familiar, homely scent as he passed the territory's boundary. He started decelerating the bike for the turn off into Chanyeol's property, the wheels beneath crunching the cobblestones. 

He didn't even bother to kick down the balancing peg, instead he let the bike slip to the ground. It crashed against the pebbles along with his helmet and the ongoing phone call connected to his speaker. It would probably scratch up the paint job but Jeno was certain that he could swindle Sehun into getting him a can. 

Jeno's eyes scanned the area, his blood cooling in his veins when he noticed the first body. 

The victim was pressed against the bottom step of the staircase leading up towards the house, their blood coating the nearby cobblestones. He was a foreigner, a white male in his late twenties with rustic hair and dull blue eyes. Jeno made sure to step over him as he dashed up the stairs. 

"Jaemin?" He shouted, noticing another body just inside the entryway. This victim was a tall black man with dark brown hair. Jeno couldn't tell what colour his eyes were because he was laying on his stomach, a larger pool of blood surrounding him from a wound on his neck. 

Though small, Jeno noticed that there was a small trail of blood originating from the victim's head that continued in a continuous trail towards the left hand side of the house.  Jeno raised his gaze and found the door leading into the living room where Jaemin and the others had claimed for their movie night. Jeno practically burst through the door.  

There were another two bodies on the ground next to the couch. Jeno's mind flashes with a memory of Mark laid out on the cushions as he examined the wound on his best friend's torso. The bodies were piled on top of each other, like one had fallen above the other. There wasn't as much blood as the previous bodies, but there was still a small patch of red on the floor. It would be a nuisance to clean. 

Jeno couldn't help but feel like he had reached a dead end. 

He still hadn't found Jaemin and there was a strong possibility that if anyone had survived his wrath, Jaemin might not be on the property any more. The thought made Jeno's heart ache. 

Before he could turn around and make his way back towards the front entrance, Jeno heard something echo through the room. It was faint, but persistent. It generated from the other door in the room. He could recall it from his first day there, but he hadn't had the opportunity to ask about it. He didn't know where the door led, but he needed to find someone. So, he approached it, his hands fisted just in case. The lock burst in the palm of his hand. 

When the door opened, Jeno stared into the glassy eyes of Haechan who looked back at him with terror contouring his face. Jeno immediately offered him a small reassuring smile, holding both of his hands up in an elaborate surrender. Haechan let out a chocked sob at the sight of him, his body collapsing against Jeno's chest as he heaved out a breath of relief. 

"You're okay." Jeno whispered, gently rubbing calming circles against Haechan's back.

He was sobbing. His entire body trembling as he clutched Jeno's hoodie, his face buried into the neckline. Jeno's heart ached at the sound. Haechan's cries sounded like a young child who had just realised that they had lost their entire family. Jeno coiled an arm around his waist, gathered his legs against his opposite arm and lifted him straight from the ground. 

"Let's get you out of here." Haechan buried himself against Jeno's chest, trying to gain control of his sobs.

Jeno moved carefully back through the house, his senses heightened as he listened to the steady world around him. There didn't seem to be any sound of boots or shoes on the floorboards, there didn't seem to be elevated breathing or panicked whispers. The house around him was quiet, as if waiting for his orders. Jeno continued back into the front entryway, his eyes continuing to scan the area around him. While there may not be any sound of intruders, that didn't mean that they were in the clear just yet.  

As they passed the body in the entryway, Haechan let out a surprised gasp. His eyes were wide as he took notice of the victim and the wound on his neck. His fingers curled tighter into Jeno's hoodie, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just nuzzled right back against Jeno's chest and stayed quiet. Jeno rushes down the staircase and somehow manages to avoid tumbling over the final body at it's base. 

He decides that it's probably a good idea to get as far away from the staircase as possible while still keeping an eye on the house, so, he sets Haechan's legs back down on the cobblestones right next to his bike. Once that's over, Haechan makes the wise decision to uncoil his hands from Jeno's hoodie. He offers his savior a small thankful smile, but his tear filled cheeks sour the gesture. Jeno doesn't mind. 

"Thank you." He whispers, trying to control his breathing which hitches as more tears trail down his cheeks. 

"Don't thank me for something like that," Jeno says, gently reaching out and swiping the tears from the latter's chin. "I couldn't leave you in there by yourself. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Haechan nods, wiping away the rest of his tears. "Yeah" he continues. "I'm fine. I think I'm just in shock. I'm usually pretty calm around dead bodies, they come with the wolf." He tries to smile but he can't make it look genuine. "But, when they're in your home... it hits different."

"You're not hurt are you?" Jeno wonders, allowing his gaze to slip over Haechan's body. He's so small in the mint green hoodie that he's wearing. His bronze legs are a little bruised but there doesn't seem to be any bleeding or signs of defensive marks. 

"Just bruises," Haechan concludes. "I got them from falling down the stairs," his smile looks a little more sheepish, Jeno's heart eases just a little. "they'll heal in a few minutes..."

"Do you know where Jaemin is?"

"No.." He admits, voice growing wetter as his eyes trail back towards the house. "We were in the kitchen when we heard them drive up to the property line, they were on some kind of bike..." He turns his attention back to Jeno. "Jaemin told me to go to the basement, he said that he would be right behind me, but then he slammed the door closed and I slipped down the staircase... I didn't hear anything until-" he pauses to steady his breathing. "I heard them breech the house. It all happened so quickly, I didn't know what was happening. I just heard shouting, screaming and then bodies hitting the floor. I still don't know how many there were-" Haechan looks conflicted, his gaze moving from the house to Jeno's gaze and back again. "I can't hear his heartbeat... I don't know where he is!"

"Hey!" Jeno snapped, grabbing him by the shoulders. Haechan turns to look at him, tears welling up in his eyes. Beneath his panic he looks exhausted. There are black bags beneath his eyes and his face is pale from all his tears. His body is still trimming with adrenaline, if Jeno didn't have a good grip on his shoulders, Haechan would be rushing back into the house to find his friend. "Chanyeol is already on the way." Haechan lets out a relieved whimper, his shoulders sagging beneath Jeno's grip.

"Where did the last body fall?"

"What?"

"You said that you heard fighting, shouting, and then bodies falling, right?" Haechan nodded. "It's obvious that those people didn't kill each other, so where did you hear the last body fall?"

Haechan's eyes widen, his breathing becoming laboured as he takes another glance at the house.  

"The kitchen," he gaped, a tear slipping over the curve of his cheek. "I heard everything stop in the kitchen."

"Stay here." Jeno demands, glancing down the driveway. Chanyeol's truck still hadn't arrived yet. Gosh how fast had Jeno pushed the throttle? 

"I'm a werewolf, I heal quicker than you do." Haechan deadpans, eyes flashing a beautiful gold. Jeno bites back his frustration, unintentionally tightening his grip on Haechan's shoulder. The wolf whimpers at the touch and Jeno takes his hands off. 

"Stay here and wait for Chanyeol." 

Haechan's orbs return to their natural chestnut brown, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulps down air. He nods, signaling his submission and Jeno takes it as a win. 

Jeno rushes back into the house, turning to the right and heading straight for the kitchen. He has to step over another body by the doorframe, but his pulsing heart drives him further into the room. Initially, he doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The room isn't trashed and there doesn't seem to have been much of a struggle. The dining table still has two glasses left over from Haechan and Jaemin's lunch, while the draining board beside the sink still holds the cutlery and dishes from breakfast. 

He's about to give up and try the basement when pink hair suddenly fills his vision. In the corner of the room, right up against the back door, Jeno finds Jaemin. He's sitting on his butt, his legs drawn up tightly towards his chest. His head is laid back against the door and his eyes are closed. The sight of him brings the air straight out of Jeno's lungs. 

It announces his presence into the room and Jaemin's eyes fly open. He rushes to stand up, his eyes wide as his hand tries and fails to locate the door's handle. Jeno's own eyes widen at the sight of him. Jaemin's entire lower jaw is caked in blood. Large droplets dripped from his chin onto his green hoodie before pooling on the tiles below him. 

Dark grey veins pulse beneath his eyes, his entire sclera becoming a dark red mess. He gasps at Jeno's presence, his eyes immediately returning to their honey tinted form. Those bright honey brown eyes looked panicked and feral. 

"Hey," Jeno called out to him, halting Jaemin in his actions. "It's okay. It's just me."

Jaemin turns so that his back is the only thing facing Jeno. It's not enough to end Jeno from getting closer to him. He can still hear the elder approach by his sneakers squeak on the tile. Instead, Jaemin tries to halt him with his words. "I didn't want anyone seeing me like this."

"No one has to," Jeno admits, only stopping once he was completely behind him. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"I mean.." Jaemin sighs, his shoulders raising and slipping as he breaths. "I meant that I didn't want you seeing me like this." His voice is wet with unshed tears. Jeno keeps quiet. "I was just talking to Haechan about it when those guys showed up. I had it all planned and Haechan was going to help.. I was going to show you eventually.. but in a controlled setting, not when they decided to invade!"

Jaemin was still facing away from him, his head titled towards the ground. His shoulders lightly shook as he allowed his emotions to crack through, his tears creating clean trails through the blood on his face. Jeno's heart ached at the sound of it, Jaemin sounded completed defeated. 

"Are you okay?" Jeno whispers, gently placing a hand on Jaemin's shoulder. He tries to lightly pull him backwards in the hope that he will give in and let Jeno see his face. "This blood," he begins, "it's not yours, right?"

Jaemin allows himself to turn back around, though his eyes remain on the floor beneath their feet. "It's not mine."

"Did you get them?" Jeno wonders, letting his hand fall to grip on Jaemin's elbow. 

Jaemin seemed surprised by the question, his entire body freezing at the words. His legs still work as Jeno leads him over to the kitchen sink. "Did I- Did I get them all?"

"Yeah," Jeno nods his head. He turns on the water and lets it get a little warmer before grabbing the kitchen towel and bringing it beneath the spray. "Did you get everyone who invaded?"

"Yeah" Jaemin echoes, flabbergasted by the conversation. "There were five of them.." Jeno hums. "...How are you not freaked out by this?"

"The dead bodies?" Jeno turns to him, wet towel in hand. He lightly grasps Jaemin by the chin and lifts his head just enough for him to begin wiping away the dried blood. "I did tell you that I have killed someone before, right?"

"I meant this," Jaemin deadpans, gesturing with his bloodied hand to his blood-soaked face. "How are you okay with the blood drinking? I'm completely covered in it-"

"You're part vampire," Jeno states like it should have been the first thing out of Jaemin's mouth. "blood drinking comes with the territory."

They stand in silence for a minute, Jaemin watching through wide eyes as Jeno's entire attention is preoccupied by ridding him of the blood on his face. His brows are furrowed in concentration, his tongue poking out from the corner of his lips as he gets slowed down by a particularly stubborn piece in the curve of Jaemin's chin. 

"... you don't think of me any differently?" Jaemin's voice breaks, his tear filled eyes releasing more salty water to his bloodied cheeks. "... you still don't think that I'm a monster?"

"Hey," Jeno calls sweetly, his fingers gently brushing at Jaemin's forehead. Jaemin reopens his eyes, his gaze filling with the dark chocolate of Jeno's orbs. "I may have only been introduced to this world, but I'm pretty sure that a flirty pink haired coffee loving guy isn't going to become my worst nightmare. Like I told you this morning, I'm not going anywhere. You can throw me against a wall and threaten me with your fangs or claws every day of the week and I'll still find a way to flip things around." Jaemin can't stop himself from laughing, his jaw trembling in Jeno's palm. "Seeing this side of you doesn't make me think you're a monster Jaemin, it just makes me realise that there is more to you than what meets the eye."

Despite the five different blood types still coating his lower lip, Jeno still can't deny that Jaemin looks beautiful in the sunlight streaming through the window. He cleans off the rest of the blood with his towel. When he feels confident that he has got everything clean, Jeno dumps the towel into the sink and turns his attention to Jaemin's hands. 

Surprisingly both himself and Jaemin, Jeno grasps hold of Jaemin's wrists. He reminds himself to be quick as he guides them beneath the water. Jaemin doesn't say anything, though his cheeks turn pink and his heart races a little faster in his chest. Instead, he watches as Jeno pours dish soap onto his blood soaked hands. He figured that he could wash his hands by himself, but then Jeno's fingers glide against the back of his palms. Jeno massages the soap into Jaemin's fingers, making sure to evenly coat the skin between them. 

The water in the basin runs red but neither say anything. Jaemin is far too preoccupied realising how much Jeno meant what he had said. That morning Jeno had told him that no matter what Jaemin did or said, his opinion of him wouldn't change. Now, Jaemin had showed Jeno a side of him that not even the others in the house had seen before. Jeno didn't freak out, he didn't scream and try to run away. Instead he approached Jaemin carefully, giving him the opportunity to run if he wanted to. He asked if he was hurt and then quite literally helped him clean himself up afterwards. Jeno was certainly not what Jaemin was expecting, but what he needed. 

Jeno, on the other hand was far too preoccupied with making sure that every droplet of blood was washed away from the basin. He wallowed in the heat that radiated from Jaemin's body which was pressed against his side as they both stood in front of the small sink. He noticed how Jaemin's torso trembled, not from tears but most likely from the depleting adrenaline. He recalls how terrified Jaemin looked when he first took notice of him, his pretty honey eyes staring widely at him as he plastered himself against the back door like an abused animal watching the return of it's master. 

Jeno shivered at the thought. He chances a glance up at Jaemin who is staring out the kitchen above the sink, it overlooks the thin trail that links the backyard to the front driveway, Jeno had walked it the previous day before Minseok had halted him in his steps to inquire about his new monitor. He notices the blood coating the neckline of Jaemin's hoodie, the material making it appear dry though it continued to soak into the surrounding fabric. Jaemin had said that he didn't want anything to see him like that, so Jeno was going to do everything he could to ensure that wish. 

"Take your hoodie off." He commands once Jaemin's finished with drying his hands on a brand new dish-towel. 

Jaemin stares at him perplexed, his cheeks flushing pink as he glances down at his ruined hoodie. "I can't."

Jeno's brows furrow. "Why?"

"I'm not wearing a shirt underneath."

Jeno snatches the towel from the latter's hands and uses it to dry his own hands. He watches as Jaemin's cheeks blossom into a red tint, a smirk spreads itself across Jeno's lips before he could even think to prevent it. 

"So you've seen me half-naked for two mornings in a row, and I don't get a peek?"

"Do-" Jaemin stammers. "Do you want a peek?" Jeno watches with a smile on his lips as Jaemin's head tilts to the side, all evidence of his discomfort disappearing with the sudden shift in conversation. Jeno feels his heart swell, happy to find Jaemin returning to normal despite his emotional reaction a few moments ago. 

He coughs when he realizes that he was supposed to answer that question. Instead, he shrugs his shoulders, giving himself some more time by shifting on his feet. "I feel like I'm entitled to one."

"Entitled?" Jaemin laughs, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Are you claiming me?"

"Oh I learned about that one!" Jeno winks, putting away the towel after drying his own hands. "Apparently I can do that with my clothing. "

"You asked Chanyeol about it?" Jaemin's eyes widened. "Already?"

"Yeah," Jeno admits, brows furrowing at Jaemin's reaction. "Was I supposed to wait...?"

"I just didn't think that you would ask about it so soon? I thought that you would have wanted to wait-"

"For what? The apocalypse?" Jeno jokes and earns a harsh glare in response. He sighs before starting again. "Look, you seemed really freaked out about it earlier, I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable about anything anymore. I didn't like the way that I made you cry yesterday, and I don't want to do that again. So, I wanted to know as soon as I could so I could make a better, more informed decision."

"Have you?" Jaemin looked completely terrified, like everything between them weighed heavily on Jeno's answer. 

"Will the both of you please, shut the fuck up?" A new unfamiliar voice groans from the doorway. Jeno steps in front of Jaemin before he can even think about doing it, the two of them watching perplexed as the body by the door-frame pulls itself back up. The intruder cracks his neck and smirks at them, the wound on his neck beneath their eyes. "You could cut the tension in here with a knife," his fangs catch the sunlight while his eyes flash gold. "too bad neither of you will be alive long enough to act on it."

Jeno takes a quick glance around at his surroundings. He tries to stifle a laugh that wants to escape through his lips when he notices two weapon choices laid out on the draining board which were within his reach. 

"Before you do that," he announces to the intimidating intruder, who blinks in surprise at Jeno's complete lack of facial terror. "What exactly are you?"

"What?" The man asks, brows furrowing. 

"Oh my bad man," Jeno gently pushes both of his arms behind his back, coiling them around Jaemin's waist before using that grip to gently guide the both of them a few steps backward as the intruder stalks forward. "I'm still trying to figure out all the characteristics. "

The intruder blinks in confusion. 

"Dude," Jeno deadpans. "Are you a vampire, or a werewolf?"

"Werewolf... what are you?" The guy asks, watching as Jeno lifts one arm from the pinkette's waist to rest it against the counterspace. 

"Human, as far as I can tell." Jeno admits, allowing his eyes to crinkle into his amused smile. "Him on the other hand," he uses his head to gesture back towards Jaemin. "He's a problem."

"Yeah," the guy agrees, holding his neck where Jaemin's wound once lay. "A vampire living inside a werewolf den, count me surprised... only, he doesn't exactly smell like a vamp, he does look oddly familiar though..."

Jeno's breath catches in his throat, his heart racing in his chest when the guy seems to ponder in his mind for another few seconds. Jeno can literally see the realization blossom onto the stranger's face, his eyes widening as his gaze snaps back to Jaemin. 

"Oh," he smiles, teeth sharpening. "Not many people remember that you still exist, I almost completely forgot about you myself. Your memory is only told in stories now but, your hair is different but that scent.. you must be Jaemin, the hybrid that Chase is searching high and low for."

Jaemin's hold on Jeno's wrist gets impossibly tighter, his breathing becoming laboured against the nape of Jeno's neck. 

"That's such a shame," the guy sighs, hanging his head between his shoulders. Jeno grabs the knife's handle and holds it tight in his fist. "I really waned to be the one to kill you both, but I suppose that I should let you live long enough to say goodbye to each other..." Jaemin uncoils his hand long enough for Jeno to approach the werewolf, knife raised at the ready. "Make your last few hours count because Chase will see to it that they're the last ones you ever live."

Jeno brings the knife down into the werewolf's shoulder, behind his clavicle but at the base of his neck. The man rocks backward on his feet, howling sorrowfully at the action taken against him. Jeno uses the distraction to place his back right up against the middle of Jaemin's chest, the hybrid holding him close by his hips. They watch as the werewolf in front of them howls and hisses in pain, eyeing the knife's handle in his shoulder with a heated gaze. He looks back at Jeno with surprise evident in his features, he can't comprehend how a human was capable of approaching him without triggering his heighted senses. The guy bolted for the back door, throwing it open and staggering down the steps with a series of pained hisses escaping his lips. 

Jeno immediately returns his attention to Jaemin who is frozen in place against Jeno's chest. He grabs at Jaemin's cheeks and holds him close, lifting his gaze so that Jeno is the only thing filling his complete gaze. "You're going to go outside and wait for Chanyeol with Haechan. You're not going to have a panic attack. You are going to go outside and let your friend comfort you."

"Wh-What are you going to do?" Jaemin stuttered, his eyes filling with tears. 

"Go outside to Haechan," Jeno pulls himself away from Jaemin. He holds Jaemin's gaze long enough to curl his fingers beneath the rim of his hoodie, his arms flex as he pulls the black material up and over his head. It messes up his hair but Jeno can't find it within himself to care right now. Instead he crumples it up into a ball which he then presses it lighting against Jaemin's stomach. "I'll be back before you know it."

"You're going after him?"

"I'm not letting him get outside the territory," Jeno declares, his hands shaking as he gently pries Jaemin's hand from his wrist. "I'm not letting anyone put your safe haven in jeopardy. Now, I'm telling you go outside and wait with Haechan, Chanyeol is going to be here soon. "

"I can hear his car coming up the driveway." Jaemin sniffed, trying to keep the tears at bay. 

"Then go and get him, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Jeno didn't wait around to see if Jaemin actually listened to his commands. He simply rushed towards the backdoor and threw himself down the steps. His sneakers squeaked as he raced through the wet grass towards the intimidating tree-line. It wouldn't be very long before the knife wound would heal, but for the moment the blood trail that was leading him into the forest was enough for Jeno to find the direction the intruder was heading. 

The only problem with following the intruder was the fact that Jeno was racing against a werewolf with superior senses and capabilities than Jeno had. That being said, Jeno was strongly motivated. He couldn't let this intruder get past Chanyeol's property line, if he did there was a strong chance that he would lose him in the neighboring city just beyond the forest, and that definitely wasn't an option. Not when there was twelve lives on the line, the primary one being Jaemin's. 

Just as Jeno was beginning to give up hope of ever reaching the intruder before he crossed outside of the pack's territory, Jeno's gaze fell on a row of ATVs which Haechan made reference to when Jeno found him a little while ago. He rushed towards the one closest to him, turned on the engine and felt it burst to life beneath his legs. Jeno grinned as he turned the vehicle around, in the direction of his target. 

Pretty soon after that the distance between Jeno and the intruder decreased and Jeno could faintly make out his silhouette struggling through the brush. He pulled on the throttle of the ATV and it sped up against the foliage. Jeno watched as the intruder paused for a moment to grasp the handle of the knife still protruding from his neck. Jeno couldn't stop the whine from escaping his lips as he watched the werewolf pull it out from his shoulder before tossing it in the complete opposite direction. 

Surprising the intruder, Jeno managed to catch up alongside him. He slammed on the brakes and used his lower body weight to twist the vehicle to the left. The ATV came to a sudden stop which caused the back wheels to lift from the ground, performing a wide arc as it swung to the left and clipped the edge of the intruder's side, sending him to the ground in a mess of bloodied limbs. Jeno didn't even bother to turn off the engine, he simply climbed off the ATV and walked towards the crippled werewolf, who glare up at him. 

"You know I didn't think that silver would work on real-life werewolves," Jeno explains, glancing down at the leaf covered ground beneath them. "I'm also pretty sure that any doctor would have told you to leave the object in the wound, you know, to stop you from bleeding out."

"I'm a werewolf, I hear..." the guy coughed, eyes filling with unshed tears. Jeno also took notice of the mucus spilling from his nostrils. "just clearly not as quickly as I would like right now."

"That stench is a real pain in the ass, huh?" Jeno chuckles, watching as the guy somehow manages to pull himself back up. "I understand that that's what happens when you enter claimed territory, apparently you need to be invited in."

A loud growl rings out through the trees, halting them in their conversation. Jeno's head snaps in the direction of the noise, a dark furred wolf was stalking them from a couple of trees to their immediate left, his eyes bleeding red with warning. The intruder seemed terrified, his eyes wide and face growing ghostly white. Obviously this wolf wasn't on his side, which made Jeno feel another surge of confidence take hold of his being. 

"What the hell were you thinking?!" A familiar voice screams into his head making Jeno stumble a few paces backward. "You could have been killed! Why the hell did you think it was a good idea to run after him like that?!"

Chanyeol?

"I'm not letting him get over the territory-line!" Jeno screams back at him, physically straining his voice over the distance. "I'll be damned if he tells anyone about Jaemin!"

"You're human?" The werewolf intruder claims, his heated gaze returning to Jeno. "How the hell are you communicating with him right now?" 

Jeno shrugs his shoulders. "Hell if I know," he admits. "His voice just boomed into my head-"

"What the hell are you?" The werewolf screams, baring his fangs and rushing at Jeno who met his advances with a hand to the intruder's throat. 

Jeno groans when a tree trunk gets slammed into his back, the splitters breeching through his white T-shirt and piercing his skin. Jeno hisses at the action, gritting his teeth while his arms struggled to keep the werewolf at bay. The guy snaps his jaw, fangs bared hoping to find flesh. 

If it was flesh that he wanted, Jeno was going to give it to him. 

Jeno shoved the length of his forearm into the werewolf's mouth, the piercing burn of his fangs against the muscle of his forearm made Jeno groan in frustration. The werewolf's eyes widened at the gesture, his confusion providing Jeno with the perfect opportunity for Jeno to use to his advantage. With fangs impaled into his forearm, Jeno dragged the werewolf toward him. He quickly adjusted his head. They collided at the forehead, but with the additional strain of the werewolf's jaw against Jeno's forearm, the werewolf was forced into a tizzy. 

The intruder wobbled on his feet which, again, Jeno used to his advantage. The sudden blindness was enough for the stranger's jaw to release Jeno's forearm which freed Jeno's arm back into his own control. Jeno curled it into a fist before colliding it against the surprisingly sharp jawbone of the werewolf. The intruder fell to the ground and Jeno flexed out his hand, dulling the pain of the punch. 

Jeno realised that there weren't any stones around like he had hoped, meaning that he wouldn't be able to decapitate the man. 

His head boomed with Chanyeol's voice. 

"I'm coming."

Chanyeol didn't make it in time. 

The intruder was right back on his feet, shoving Jeno back up against the tree. Only this time Jeno's hand wasn't able to move any higher than the man's torso. The guy made a gurgling noise, his eyes growing wide as he gasped. His fangs retracted and his golden eyes returned to their human green. Jeno's hand felt wet, his fingers curled around a beating organ. 

"How did you-" the werewolf whimpered, his eyes wide as he glances down at the space immediately between them. "... you're human...?"

Jeno found himself following the stranger's gaze, his breath hitching at the sight before his eyes. Jeno's own hand was quite literally in the stranger's chest and that organ that pulsed against his fingertips was the latter's heart. 

"Can someone remind me how to kill one of you again?" His voice from earlier burned in his ears. 

"If it's a vampire, you have to take a wooden stake to their heart, or decapitation. If it's a werewolf..." Renjun's voice echoed towards the forefront of his mind. "In their human form it's decapitation or ripping their heart out of their chest. If they're in wolf form it's a little easier, anything to the head or neck will do it."

Decapitation was no longer an option. Somehow Jeno had managed to achieve the impossible. He had managed to push his fingers beneath the stranger's ribcage, angle his hand upwards - bypassing the lungs and other valued organs - to curl his fingers around the intruder's heart, all within the few seconds it had taken the stranger to shove him back up against a tree. 

"I don't have to do this," Jeno admits, giving the guy one final chance. "You were obviously sent here for a reason, maybe we could come to compromise-"

"If you were to let me go right now, I would do everything in my power to get a message to Chase. People may have forgotten about Jaemin but those of us who can remember the stories, know that he lives. If I found him by just stumbling upon him, can you imagine how many others there will be? I meant what I said earlier, you should make the most out of the little amount of time you have left. He might even be a good fuck-"

Jeno instantly pulled the pulsing heart towards him, feeling it detach from its surrounding supports. Jeno pulled it through the gaping hole in the latter's body, the both of them watching it pulse out in the open. The intruder went to say something else but nothing managed to escape his crazed mouth. He collapsed to the ground immediately after, giving Jeno the perfect opportunity to see Chanyeol's wolf blink up at him in surprise. 

Jeno dropped the heart and restrained himself from wiping the blood into his shirt. 

Mark was going to freak. 

"You," he points a bloody finger in the wolf's direction. "Have so much explaining to do."

The wolf whimpered, bowing it's head. Those bright red eyes gazed up through the thick black fur surrounding them. Jeno felt pride swell in his chest. He had been correct. Chanyeol's eyes had flashed red that day. Chanyeol's wolf was sporting those bright red orbs but, unlike with Caleb's gaze, Chanyeol's was far less intense. Sure, that colour was harsh against the deep charcoal colour of Chanyeol's wolf, but it didn't drag out Jeno's survival instincts. It calmed him. Brought his racing heart back down to a peaceful pace. 

"Only Alphas have red eyes, huh?" Jeno halted himself from crossing his arms against his chest. Chanyeol's wolf huffed, turning back around with his tail held high. "Hey!" he called out after him. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"To freak out a little!" Chanyeol's response came back harsh, his voice unstable as his wolf huffed. "I just saw you rip someone's heart out... a human no less!"

"Why the hell are you freaking out? I'm the one that did it!"

"You shouldn't have been able to!" Chanyeol's wolf snapped it's teeth, making Jeno freeze in his steps after it. "Humans don't have our strength, only a supernatural being can possess the capabilities needed to shove their hands into a chest cavity and pull a heart from it like it's nothing!"

"We both figured that I wasn't human," Jeno deadpans, hand still dripping blood. "This just confirms it!"

"It confirms that you're obviously supernatural, but neither I nor Yixing have any idea what you are. We will only continue to have more questions to ask until our friend returns from their travels after the full moon... I still have no answers for you."

"Okay."

Chanyeol's wolf stops in its tracks back to the house. "what?"

"I understand that you don't have any answers for me regarding my supernatural classification, I get that. I'm satisfied to know that I am something more than a human now, at least it's a start at getting some answers. You do have answers about some of my other questions though, like for starters, why the hell are you not classified as an Alpha when you're practically blinking red at me?"

"It's complicated."

"So is everything else in this part of the world." Jeno huffs, finding himself growing frustrated by the statement. It seemed like 'it's complicated' was everyone's go-to statement whenever he had questions about this supernatural world. "Look, if you want me to trust you, you need to start giving me something... anything."

"I will," the wolf comes up to stand right in front of him. Jeno holds his gaze as Chanyeol breeches the gap between him. The wolf's head gently rubs up against Jeno's legs. Jeno is suddenly very aware of just how tall Chanyeol's wolf was in comparison to Caleb's. "Just not right now. Let's talk later tonight. You have someone who really needs you right now, waiting at the house."

Jeno can't help but cringe at the memory. Jaemin's terrified eyes, his laboured breathing. 

Dread starts to pool in his stomach when he realizes that the white shirt that he's trying to avoid getting any blood on right now, was once a black hoodie. He lets a groan rip through his lips as he realizes what he did. 

"I gave him my hoodie..."

The wolf snorts and Jeno can tell that it was meant to be laughter had the werewolf been in his human form. 

"That was quick."

"I obviously wasn't thinking about it at the time!" Jeno snaps, throwing both of his arms in the air. He groans again when the dripping blood from his hand ends up splashing against his white T-shirt. Mark was definitely going to freak out. "Come on!" He screams into the universe, watching as the fluffy white clouds peacefully drifted by overhead. 

"He's wearing it... in case you're wondering."

"I wasn't.." Jeno cried without the tears. 

"He's not  going to see it as a gesture," Chanyeol tries to comfort him, but Jeno finds himself growing hurt by the reassurance. "He explained about the blood. We all got the idea."

"is he okay?"

"He's waiting to see if you come back." Chanyeol explains, red eyes blinking up at him. "He's grown really attached to you, you know?"

"I know." It was the first time he was admitting to it. It felt good to admit out loud for a change. "They all have, I've never felt this way with so many people before. It's nice, it feels like..." Home. 

Chanyeol seems to know what he's talking about, despite the fact that Jeno doesn't actually say it. The wolf continues to nuzzle against his legs, and Jeno even finds himself running his clean hand through the black fur. 

"Think we have time to stop by the lake before we go back?" Jeno wonders, glancing down at his hand. The blood was starting to dry in some patches, but for the most part his fingers still dripped onto the leaves below them. 

"He's panicking," Chanyeol explains, his voice riddled with sorrow. "I'm sure that everyone will understand."

"Mark's going to react terribly," Jeno groans, getting nudged by the wolf to start walking. He's led back to the ATV, the engine still purring. "He doesn't like the sight of blood." At Chanyeol's head tilt, Jeno feels an obligation to explain. "His own, he can handle. But if it's the blood of other people... not so much. He fainted once when we were in the campus clinic because he caught sight of someone else getting a blood transfusion."

"You did a really brave thing today," Chanyeol explained once Jeno was sitting comfortably on the bike. "Not just anyone would willingly rush after a werewolf to protect someone else."

"I think that we've established long ago that I'm not quite like other people."

Chanyeol's wolf lips pulled backwards, exposing his teeth. Jeno didn't feel threatened. He simply smiled back at Chanyeol and gave his head a light pat. The teeth imprints of the werewolf were bloodied but not bleeding. He counted himself lucky that the intruder wasn't an Alpha, otherwise this interaction would have been a very different one. 

Chanyeol led the way back through the forest, keeping his pace slower so Jeno could follow him through the rough terrain. He was happy for the slow pace, especially since it allowed him a few moments to think. 

Everything had happened so quickly, and it didn't look like it was planning on ending anytime soon. Usually Jeno considered himself capable of thriving amongst the chaos. The deadlines of his assignments and exams made him that way. Balancing his studies with ice hockey was difficult but Jeno quickly developed a routine to deal with the craziness of his schedule. That being said, even the strongest person needed time. Jeno figured that he might get some time to breathe when Mark's parents arrived later tonight. 

His stomach pooled with dread when he realised that house was completely trashed, there were bodies and blood everywhere and not a lot of time left before they had to welcome two guests to the property. Jeno wanted to groan in protest, beg the universe to give them a little more time. He even contemplated sending a message to Mark's God just to be on the safe side-

"I wouldn't worry about the cleanup." Chanyeol explains as if he were capable of reading Jeno's mind. He might possess that ability since he was telepathically communicating with him right now. Jeno wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, though he would definitely have to keep that filed away for future reference. "Renjun and Jisung started when we got back. The others are on their way. We'll have the place back up and running by the time they get in, don't fret."

It eased Jeno's racing heart for the rest of the journey back to the house. 

It wasn't until they had arrived a few trees away from the house and it's allocated clearing that Chanyeol started to halt in his tracks. They were still covered by the woodland so Jeno brought the bike to a halt, waiting for more words to fill his mind. 

"They can't see me like this, no one has in a long time."

"I'm honored to have had the opportunity."

The wolf snorts its laughter. "It was the only way I could reach you in time... I haven't revealed this form to anyone in the house yet, it would scare them too much. They're not ready."

"I think you need to give them all a bit more credit," Jeno admits, reaching out with his clean hand to lightly touch the top of Chanyeol's head. "you care for them in ways they haven't experienced in a long time. They love you as if you're family. Your appearance may be a little terrifying at first, but I can guarantee you that they'll understand with time."

"I'll show them soon," Chanyeol declares, his front paw lightly stamping the ground. "when I'm ready."

"Take as long as you need."

Chanyeol turns to look up at him, his red eyes searching for something that Jeno hoped he could provide. The wolf seemed satisfied nonetheless, turning to the left and racing off through the trees. Jeno wallows in the silence of the forest for another minute, controlling his breathing and calming his racing heart. With a deep breath, he pulled the throttle of the bike and pushes himself through the trees and into the backyard of the house. He raced the ATV over the grass and towards the front yard where he had left Haechan and instructed Jaemin to go to. 

When he rounded the corner of the house, Jeno let out a gasp at the sight before him.

Haechan was leaning against Mark's shoulder, while Renjun stood next to them conversing with Jaemin. Jisung had wrapped his arms around Jaemin's shoulders, holding him against his chest as they all stood in a semi-circle next to Chanyeol's truck. The bike that Jeno hadn't bothered to position properly had been righted and placed next to the truck, but on the other side of the group's huddle. 

For a moment Jeno saw Mark's life without him. A brand new werewolf surrounded by his fellow pack-mates. It seemed peaceful and loving. A bunch of people taking comfort in each other from the harsh reality of their lives. They looked like a family. 

But then Jaemin heard the purring of the engine beneath Jeno's legs. His head snapping away from the group to stare across the short distance. He was wearing Jeno's hoodie with the hood pulled up against his face and the neckline pooling against his neck. Jaemin looked like he was the exact same size as Jeno to a quick glance, but over the past few days Jeno had noticed that the latter's shoulders weren't as broad as his own, which made Jaemin look two sizes smaller than Jeno. 

His plush pink lips released a wet gasp as his eyes filled with tears. He struggled out of Jisung's hold which gave Jeno time to throw his leg over the ATV and stand on the cobblestones of Chanyeol's driveway. Jisung released his hold and Jaemin appeared in front of him within blinking speed, teary eyes locked on Jeno who let out a shaky breath at his sudden presence. 

"I can take a lot," Jeno admits, holding Jaemin's gaze. "but I'm still not entirely used to that thing you do."

"What thing?" Jaemin's voice cracked between his words, his lips struggling to hold back his relieved smile. 

"Where I just blink and suddenly you're everything I see." Jeno explains, watching as Jaemin's tears finally fall from his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"You're asking-" He pauses to breathe through his hiccups. "You're asking if I'm okay?"

"Yeah, you were threatened by him and-"

"You're bleeding." Jaemin interrupts him, his hands slipping through the holes in the sleeves of Jeno's hoodie. Jeno keeps his arms out of sight. "I can smell the blood and your shirt is covered in it."

"I'm fine."

"Jeno," Jaemin's eyes turn stern, his lips trembling as he tries to gain control of his tears. "Let me see. Please."

Glancing over Jaemin's shoulder, Jeno keeps an eye on Mark who watches them converse from the side of the truck. He's smiling, happy to have his best friend back and safe, but completely oblivious to the blood all over him. Haechan seems to be distracting him for the moment, but Jeno didn't want to take the chance. His attention turns to Renjun who, although happy for his return, raises a brow at him. Jeno gestures to his shirt and watches as Renjun takes notice of the blood smeared into the fabric. His eyes widen in alarm before he starts to walk over to Mark and Haechan, entering the conversation with practiced ease. 

Jaemin's eyes are harsh when Jeno returns his attention back to him. He clears his throat and bows his head, before bringing both of his arms back around. The bite marks and the blood makes Jaemin's eyes widen. Jeno watches as those unfamiliar grey veins develop beneath Jaemin's lower lids, pumping blood into his eyes which made his sclera bleed red. Instead of getting nervous about the possible implications that it could mean, Jeno is surprised to find Jaemin nuzzling against the neckline of his hoodie and breathing in the scent. The veins immediately disappear and his eyes return to those beautiful honey brown orbs Jeno had grown quite attached to. 

The hybrid's attention shifted from the bloody hand to the hand containing the werewolf's bite marks. Jaemin's lips tremble at the sight of them. His breath hitches and tears start to stream down his cheeks, his fingers lightly ghost over the outline of the wolf's bite. The touch sparked a tingling sensation against his arm, one that Jeno couldn't help but lean into. 

"You were bitten?" Jaemin's voice is quiet but it seems to have gathered the attention of the group behind him, they start to rush over to them but Jeno holds up the hand and they halt. 

"He wasn't an Alpha, golden eyes are for Betas only, right?" Jeno speaks to Jaemin but his eyes linger on Jisung who looks the most terrified out of the group. The youngest nods his head and his shoulders seem to dip from the clarification. "The blood isn't mine, I ripped his heart out."

The words make Jaemin stumble backwards in surprise. "You-"

"Can confirm," Chanyeol announces his presence with a small smile as he walked around the edge of the house. "Definitely wasn't on my Bingo card for this week, but the universe seems to like proving me wrong."

"You ripped out a werewolf's heart by yourself?"

Even Renjun stared on in awe. His surprise gave way for Mark's fainting spell, making him slide straight down to his knees before collapsing backwards onto the cobblestones beneath them. Jisung released a quiet squeak, but immediately returned his attention to Jeno who could only roll his eyes at his friend's expense. So much for making preparations for this. 

"I'm fine," he reassured the group, before turning his attention to Jaemin who he held contact with. "I'm fine." He echoed. 

"You idiot!" Jaemin cried, colliding against him. Before Jeno could even comprehend what was happening, arms were wrapped around his shoulders and a head was planted against his chest. Jeno took one look at the others who visually melted at the sight before allowing his arms to slip around Jaemin's waist. He tries to avoid getting any of the blood onto his borrowed hoodie, but Jaemin whimpers at the unfulfilled embrace and Jeno's forced to comply with his wishes.  

He coils his arms around Jaemin's hips and pulls him flush against his chest. Jaemin squeaks at the movement, but quickly accommodates himself against the base of Jeno's neck where he nuzzles his nose. A puff of air tickles Jeno's neck, before the man in his arms goes slack. Jeno catches him in his arms and holds on tighter as Jaemin completely comes apart in his arms. 

Chapter Text

"I can still remember it all as if it were only yesterday," Chanyeol began, after they had made their way out of the driveway. Jeno turned to look at him, buckled into his seat with his dominant hand wrapped in a bright blue bandage given to him by Yixing after careful inspection of his wolf bite. "My father was the second-in-command of a pack north of the capital. The Alpha at the time was Joonho, but he preferred his nickname; Jay. From what I gathered over the years, he was once a really reliable and respected Alpha."

"I should warn you..." Chanyeol continues, pulling onto the long stretch of road Jeno had grown accustomed to over the past few days. "Things back then were vastly different to the way that things are done now. In today's society, pack-less wolves will always be given a home whether if it was just for a few days or if it was to welcome them into the pack completely. But back then, times were different. People were far more suspicious, more guarded. They didn't care much for outsiders."

"I can't exactly blame them." Jeno admits, recalling the intruders who had invaded their home a few hours ago. "People can be incredibly cruel at times. It's one of the multiple reasons why I prefer my own space."

Jeno watches as Chanyeol's lips curl upward at his remark. He tosses a glance at Jeno before turning his attention back to the road ahead, his shoulders dipping as the tension evaporates. Jeno fiddles with the aircon and practically melts beneath the cool air blowing gently against his face. 

"My Mother was a lone wolf." Chanyeol announces after a moment of silence. "She arrived on their territory one day, alone and sickly. Jay was very hesitant to accept her since there had been a lot of discourse amongst the northern packs at the time. He felt obligated to show her care, so they checked her into the medical tent where she remained for a while gathering her strength. It was during this time that she met my father. He had been the one placed in charge of watching over her, just in case she did turn out to be a rival pack's spy."

Jeno observes Chanyeol's shoulders rise as they make their way through the boundary-marker. His grip gets a little tighter on the steering wheel, knuckles turning white. A shiver runs down Jeno's back, forcing him to gently curl his injured arm around his chest. 

"It was the first time that my father ever asked Jay for anything of substance. He had begged him to add her into the pack, claiming that she was unlike anything that he had ever met before. Jay was obviously still extremely suspicious, but eventually he relented and formally welcomed her. Others tried to oppose, claiming that she had manipulated him into a relationship. My parents solidified their union and she became pregnant with me shortly after."

"You wolves don't waste any time, huh?" Jeno jokes and Chanyeol laughs. 

"When she got pregnant with me, she was still extremely weak since she still hadn't fully recuperated from when she arrived. The doctors in the pack recommended bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy, that way they could keep an eye on her and make sure that she maintained a proper weight, and run tests to make sure that the baby was okay. I should specify that wolf pups are born earlier than human babies, but not by much. Jay asked my father to spearhead a campaign to expand the territory, in the hope that they'd get it done before she went into labor."

Jeno sensed a foreboding presence in the car alongside them. 

"I was born premature, even by wolf standards. My father was too far away to be notified about it so my Mum had to go through it by herself. According to the doctors she had been fine, but because of her already weakened state and the trauma that came with a premature birth, her body couldn't heal as quickly as it should have. She died before she could hear me cry."

Jeno hung his head between his shoulders. He had prepared himself for the worst, but hearing Chanyeol's tale was heartbreaking. There were no words that could even begin to express his condolences and judging by Chanyeol's tightened knuckles, he didn't need to hear them. 

Chanyeol knew that his story was heartbreaking. He had lived through the memories. He had been the one to feel all those emotions bubble up. He had been the only one to grieve them. 

There was nothing anyone could say to lighten that load, so Jeno wasn't going to try. Instead, he just adjusted the aircon, letting the warming air shift back to the cool breeze it had been. Chanyeol sighed as it brushed his cheeks, cooling him down. 

The knuckles on the steering wheel loosened their hold, returning to a pale pink. 

"When my father was made aware of my early arrival, he had tried to come home, but his responsibilities had kept him for another two years. I personally think that he grieved my mother in complete silence, he knew that I had survived, but he hadn't made any more attempts to come home. Without him, I was left in the care of an elder Omega who took me in as her own. She clothed me and made sure that I had a full stomach and a roof over my head for most of my early years. She let me call her Nana since Grandma made her feel too old."

Jeno spies the smile on the elder's lips, his eyes glazed over as he recalled the memory of her. They were finally on the freeway, nothing between them and their distinction except a long stretch of road that would continue on for another hour. 

"When my father finally did come home, he left me in the care of Nana and only visited me on the weekends. He tried to explain that his position was keeping him from bringing me home, but everyone knew that it was because I looked too much like his lost love. Nana didn't mind being left with me, she liked having someone else in the house after all those years alone."

He takes a breath before continuing. 

"In our world it's customary for wolf cubs to go through a medical exam which will help determine what your wolf classification will be later on in your life. This can change with circumstance as I have mentioned to you before, some wolves are born betas and can become omegas." 

Jeno nods his head to indicate that he was following along. 

"Well," Chanyeol sighs. "Nana performed my examination herself. She told me that my wolf has had red eyes since I was born. As you're already aware, red is an indication of the Alpha classification."

"Which you and Jisung indicated to me!" Jeno exclaimed, shifting in his seat. 

Chanyeol laughs at his reaction, stretching across the driver's compartment to lightly pat Jeno's uninjured arm. "Nana told me that from that day on, I was to address myself as an Omega-"

"Please!" Jeno shouted, tossing both of his arms up in quelled frustration. "That's a blatant lie! You've been an Alpha your entire life!"

"Trust me," Chanyeol turns his eyes away from the road long enough to hold Jeno's gaze. "I get that." He returns his attention to the road. Jeno finds his bubbling anger slowly beginning to settle. "I understand that this is all extremely confusing, but Nana had no reason to lie to me that day. She told me that I was to address myself as an omega to whoever asked and I made that promise to her."

"What happened to your father?" 

"Two years after my medical exam, I turned twelve years old. I heard whispers growing up about various uprisings spread all over the continent, each supernatural being was trying to grow more resources to overpower the next. Jay heard rumors of a group of witches that were conspiring against him. My dad and many other wolves were ordered to take them down. Almost all of them were killed in the battle. I can still vividly remember everyone turning to look at me when they informed us that my father had been among the deceased."

"This may be a little insensitive to ask..." Jeno admitted, pausing to let Chanyeol contemplate his words. The elder nodded, so Jeno continued. "Did it hurt as much as when you learned about your mother's death?"

"No." Chanyeol's voice was firm, confident in his word choice. "My father never wanted to learn about me, my mother never had the opportunity."

Jeno felt the weight of the words crash against his chest, rendering him completely speechless. 

"When I was told that he had been killed in battle, I just remember feeling numb. I guess it finally hit home that I was an orphan, but it didn't sting as you might think. I never had an emotional connection with my father, he was just the guy I would see every other weekend who would gaze too long at my face with a sorrowful expression on his face. I honestly felt relieved when he died.. I suppose that's the correct word, relieved because I didn't have to see him look at me with such sorrow anymore."

"That must have been hard to comprehend at such a young age." 

"I wouldn't know." Chanyeol admitted, clicking the indicator and merging into another lane. "I didn't have long to wallow in that revelation."

Jeno's brows furrow. "Why?"

"Nana dragged me back home shortly after the announcement. She was frantic or crazed. She kept babbling to herself words that sounded like complete nonsense to my ears. I quickly came to realise that she had been gathering my belongings and placing them into a rucksack."

"She was making you leave? After the announcement of your father's passing?"

"She didn't have a choice," Chanyeol huffed, eyes darkening as he again shifted lanes on the highway. "For years Jay had wanted everything to have to do with my mother destroyed. I thought he was superstitious since he claimed that a lot of the pack's misfortune had occurred after her arrival. According to Nana's rushed explanation, he had only been keeping me alive out of respect for my father."

"But because he was gone, that made it easier to get rid of you." Jeno finished for him, his eyes growing wide as Chanyeol nodded in agreement. "You were twelve, they were really willing to kill a child over some stupid superstition?"

Chanyeol shrugged his shoulders. "To them it would be like killing an enemy. I was a constant reminder of Jay's lapse in judgement, he had put his entire pack on the line when he allowed this stranger into their territory. Nana took me to the property-line, kissed me goodbye and I ran. I had no idea where I was going since I had never been beyond the pack's territory before, so I was confused but also definitely not ready for the rough terrain."

"You obviously escaped them though, right?" Jeno shook his head, correcting himself with a light slap to his forehead. "Of course you did, you're sitting right across from me."

"I barely escaped." Chanyeol chuckled, flicking the indicator one more time to take them off the highway. "As I said, I didn't have any sense of direction. I just knew that I had to keep moving. That night was the most eventful night of my entire life... It was the first ever time that my wolf broke free."

Jeno gasps. 

"The only emotion that I felt at the time was complete terror; my entire life depended on making it out of the woods and into the city. So, my wolf, having sensed the danger, decided that it was the best time to reveal itself. Under a crescent moon I transformed into the black wolf you saw today. My red eyes helped me to navigate the foreign terrain and my heightened senses made it easier to hear the others closing in on me. But as I have said, I didn't know exactly where I was, until a bitter tang knocked the air right out of my lungs."

Jeno is forced to recall his own frantic driving in the hope of getting Mark to Chanyeol before he bled out from the gaping hole in his torso. The scent had been so strange and potent that it had quite literally knocked the air right out of his lungs, as well as bringing on Jeno's allergies. Jeno felt a little better knowing that he wasn't the first nor the last to have experienced it. 

"I had crossed into a neighboring pack's territory unintentionally. While I was still fairly young, I had learned that if a wolf crosses into another's territory after being pursued by other wolves, those wolves couldn't follow any further. Pack law dictates that the pursuit of a wolf into known territory, the reigning Alpha of the property gains jurisdiction over the situation. Any wolves who disregard this order will be held accountable and the punishment could equal death."

"That sounds similar to if a criminal crosses state borders, right?" 

"Exactly." Chanyeol agrees, bobbing his head for extra clarification. "I knew to stay still and not appear threatening when the wolves of that territory then found me, I had to wait for the Alpha. I didn't have to wait long since he would have been able to feel my presence."

"Like how you knew of those guys earlier?"

Chanyeol nods. "I couldn't read people yet, so I couldn't tell if they were willing to welcome me or just let me suffer beneath the belief that I would be killed at any given moment. When the Alpha showed up he noticed my small stature-"

"Dude," Jeno laughs, gently patting Chanyeol on the arm in apology for interrupting again. "You are not a small wolf-"

"I was twelve!"

"You were probably the same height as other fully grown wolves at the time, because let me tell you, that wolf I saw in the forest earlier today looked like an extinct breed."

Chanyeol stayed silent. Jeno almost broke a rib from how hard he laughed. 

"Anyway!" The elder shouted, voice reaching higher than Jeno's cackle. "The Alpha obviously realised that I was a juvenile and asked my former packmates what they were doing. They told him what I already knew, which was that they had been ordered by Jay to kill me. They couldn't specify why, only that it was ordered and that it was enough to satisfy their bloodlust. The new Alpha took pity on me and mentioned what we just talked about; claiming that he had authority over me now that I was on his land. It seemed to satisfy my attempted murderers because they turned heel and ran home."

"That night," he continues. "I was introduced to Leeteuk, the Alpha who had taken pity on me. He took me back to his packhouse and introduced me to the other valuable members of the house. I stayed with them for the rest of my teenage years. They all welcomed me into their pack with open arms and taught me everything that I know about our world. They never questioned my eye colour, but some remarks about my wolf were made instead. I didn't mind the teasing, especially since it came from a warm and genuine place."

"That sounds like a dream after such an awful experience." Jeno spoke, hoping that his words wouldn't offend Chanyeol. He acknowledged them with a hum, smiling at the faint memories. Jeno just sighed in relief. 

"When I turned nineteen, Leeteuk and his people dragged me out into the middle of the forest and told me that they had bought me the land I still live on. They wanted to give it to me so I could start fresh, build a pack of my own; a family. They helped cover the costs of the build and a lot of the work I did myself, which inspired me to create my own construction business. Leeteuk's packmate provided me with valuable connections and within a year my business took off, I was asked by prominent figures to create specific and elaborate designs. The commissions that I got from them fueled my degree and pretty soon after that I went legit. That was just over ten years ago now." 

"What happened to Jay and the rest of your old pack?"

"Three years after I came to live under Leeteuk, he confessed that a majority of the wolves in the area had heard rumors of an Alpha pack. Chase was the son of the leader at the time, but the principles were still the same they are today. Find more Alphas, destroy homes, and expand the territory. Jay had crumbled beneath their force and submitted to them a few months after I left. Their building presence was one of the reasons that Leeteuk found me a place to call my own. He didn't want to lose me to their grip if they themselves fell."

"So what? You're an omega with red eyes? A red eyed omega?"

"That's what I was told to tell people," Chanyeol confirmed, fingers gripping the wheel to turn another corner. "And I've kept my promise."

Jeno hums, still not completely understanding but having learned enough to know that this was a hard topic for Chanyeol to face. If he had any more questions in the future, Jeno knew that he could ask. For now though, he wanted to let the dust settle. Chanyeol had revealed a deeper piece of himself, a far greater piece than Jeno had ever offered up about himself. 

"Thank you," he whispered, voice barely audible beneath the air conditioning. "For telling me everything."

"Thank you for listening." 

They stayed quiet as they pulled into the arrival's gate at the airport, Jeno taking a moment to check the information on his phone. Mark said that his parents were coming through Gate 103 and should be arriving at baggage claim at any minute. 

Once Chanyeol parked the car, Jeno unbuckled himself from his seat and stepped out onto the tarmac. The air was a little colder tonight as the autumn season began to drift into winter, but Jeno had left the house without thinking of grabbing a jacket. His arms felt unevenly balanced with his dominant arm feeling warm beneath the bright blue pro-wrap that Yixing used to cover the wolf bites, but the split skin of his knuckles still burned against the cold air. 

Jeno didn't stick around to cower beneath the chillness, especially since the plane should have already landed. He wondered if they would make it to the gate before Mark's parents, secretly hoping that the pair had been delayed by baggage claim. 

The airport was a sensory overload that Jeno had completely forgotten about. As the double doors of the building opened to welcome them inside, Jeno groaned at the sight of the packed lower floor. People raced from all directions, shouting and yelling over each other as they all engaged in their own conversations; some on the phone, others to their travelling partners. 

Chanyeol seemed to be in the exact same predicament that Jeno had found himself in. The elder seemed to mask his emotions well, but his face still revealed his utter distaste towards the overwhelming noise. 

They rushed through the main lobby and found their way towards the arrivals gate, where a small line of people were already exiting. None of them appeared familiar so Jeno's racing heart calmed a little when he realised that Mark's parents were still inside. 

Security wouldn't let waiting family members past the double-doors leading towards baggage claim so Jeno dragged himself to the top of the room. Chanyeol stood by him, providing him with the strength to not only stay awake, but to continue to function long enough to bring Mark's parents back to him. 

The doors opened and another larger group of people slipped through with their bags. 

"Jeno?" A familiar voice called out from the crowd. Jeno struggled to see through all the faces. "Jeno?" The voice seemed more frantic, desperate. Jeno continued to scan through the faces but was still not capable of pinpointing the direction. "Oh Jeno!"

Finally he saw her break out through the crowd. A brown haired woman with watery eyes and a pained smile on her face. She approached him with open arms, looking relieved to see him standing before her. 

Jeno folded right into her arms, placing his head against her shoulder and wallowing in the scent of her lavender shampoo. He smiled as Mark's father approached from behind her, looking equally relieved and pained to see him. 

"Are you alright?" Mrs. Lee sobbed, pulling herself away just enough to look him in the eye. Her fingers delicately swiped against his cheek, eyes darting across his face to inspect it for injuries. Jeno remained silent, simply smiling as she continued on in her assessment of his injuries. She gasped at the sight of the bright blue bandage covering his right forearm. "What happened to you?"

"Wolf bite." He admitted, smiling at the irony. He had been the one to come away with wounds after all. 

"Oh my... you poor dear." Mrs. Lee gaped, her eyes wide. "How could you put yourself between our son and that animal? We could have lost you as well!"

"Anna darling, you can't ask him that. It is because of Jeno's bravery that our son is still alive." Mr. Lee consoles his wife, wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. "We wanted to thank you Jeno, for saving our son's life. The professor we spoke to on the phone didn't mention anything about your injuries-"

"He was far more focused on ensuring Mark's safety." Jeno relayed, watching as both of their brows furrowed in anger. 

"Only Mark's safety? Did he seem to forget that you were there as well?"

"I didn't obtain as many injuries as your son." Jeno offered each of them a small polite smile.

Both of Mark's parents went silent, simply observing him with wide eyes. They looked exhausted, like neither of them had got any sleep. He supposes that they wouldn't have had an opportunity, especially when they weren't completely aware of Mark's condition. 

"I understand that he's no longer at the hospital?" Mr. Lee glanced up to Chanyeol who had remained by Jeno's side throughout the whole ordeal. "Where exactly is he?"

"We've prepared a room for you," Jeno explained, offering to take Mrs. Lee's backpack. She lightly scoffs and gently pushes his arm away, gesturing to his injured hand. "Mark has been waiting to see you both, so if you'll just follow me and Chanyeol-hyung here-"

"Oh yes, of course." Mrs. Lee smiles up at him, switching to speak her perfect Korean. "Sorry for all of the confusion Chanyeol, we're just so worried about our son."

"Of course," Chanyeol bows his head in greeting, offering to take Mrs. Lee's bag. The lady happily hands it over, noting that Chanyeol didn't have any wounds. "I am the head of the institution that Mark is now recuperating in. We're a home for lost souls so we have had many experiences of patients coming to us through overflow from the nearby hospital. We met with Mark a few days ago and he has improved incredibly under the watchful eye of our inhouse medic. Of course, he also received daily check-ups from an appointed hospital official. Mark and Jeno here have made friends with our kids, and they're all incredibly excited about your arrival."

"All of them are like me," Jeno explains, smiling politely as he leads the couple back towards the entrance of the building. "They don't have parents of their own or families to go home to. Chanyeol takes them in and gives them a place to live and prosper."

"That is an incredible gift that you have given to those children." Mr. Lee looks amazed, blinking up at Chanyeol who lightly blushes at the praise. "How can we even begin to repay you?"

"Let's worry about getting you to your son first." Chanyeol encouraged them with a small smile. 

Jeno leads the way towards the parking lot, using the silence to calm his racing heart. 

"Have either of you eaten yet?"

Mrs. Lee was the first to answer, giggling nervously. "No, we haven't. I was far too worried to eat on the plane and we thought that it would be better to rush through the arrivals section onto baggage claim. We would have stopped into the food court but I was worried that we were leaving you alone for too long."

"We understand if you have already eaten," Mr. Lee continued, smiling politely as Jeno held the truck's back door open. "But might we have an opportunity to trouble your chef-"

"I was actually planning on going through the drive-through on our way back to the house, if you're interested." Chanyeol held Mrs. Lee's hand as he helped her into her seat in the back of the truck. 

"Oh that sounds delightful!" Mrs. Lee gushes, collapsing against the back of her seat in relief. "We can pick up some food on your way to see Mark. Thank you so much Chanyeol."

"The pleasure is all mine." He states before gently closing her door. Mr. Lee closes the opposite door, leaving only Jeno and Chanyeol on the tarmac. Chanyeol leans in close. "Are you going to tell them that Renjun is there, or do I have to?"

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Jeno asks, eyes twinkling with mischief as he holds out his fisted hand. 

Chanyeol groans, but relents. 

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

Jeno lets out a victorious shriek, throwing his uninjured arm into the air. Chanyeol tried to protest and demand a rematch but Jeno was already rushing towards the passenger seat with a bright smile on his lips, chuckling quietly to himself as he buckled himself in. 

Pulling back into the driveway, Jeno let out a nervous breath of air. He could spy the cobblestones from his position in the passenger seat; they had been cleaned and tended to by Jisung shortly before they left. 

The lack of blood outside was reassuring, especially when they were accompanied by outsiders who weren't aware of the supernatural world surrounding them. Jeno sent a quiet prayer to the universe, secretly hoping that everyone inside was prepared for what was about to happen. 

The door at the top of the stairs opens and out rushes Jisung who welcomes Jeno and Chanyeol back to the house with a proud youthful smile. His cheeks flush when he spies the elder couple exiting the vehicle, bowing politely to each of them before rushing to help Chanyeol unload the back of the car. 

"That's Jisung," Jeno explains to the curious faces of his best friend's parents. "He's the youngest in the house. He's been really welcoming to Mark and I, he keeps up to date about sports and he's really big on making sure that we're entertained."

"He seems darling." Mrs. Lee slips back into her practiced English, her sly way of speaking about people directly behind their backs. Though she rarely had a bad thing to say about anyone. 

Jeno suspects that he might hear a few threatening words from her tonight though, once she finds Renjun amongst the chaos. 

"He's all alone here?" Mr. Lee gapes, watching as Chanyeol jokes around with Jisung by the truck. Jeno realised that they most likely could hear what they were saying, but were simply acting like they couldn't. 

"Yeah," Jeno admits, smiling sadly as he led the two parents up the staircase towards the front door. "I don't know his story yet, but he's been here a really long time, longer than two years at least."

"He seems so young." Mrs. Lee whispers, looping her arm through Jeno's uninjured elbow. 

They stepped into the front entryway and Jeno had the marvelous opportunity to watch as their eyes widened at the space. Chanyeol's house was elaborate but incredibly elegant, it would pull the heartstrings of even the snobbiest of people. Mark's parents weren't snobby by any means, but it still made Jeno's heart feel full to see their shocked expressions at his new home. 

"I told you," Jeno explained, returning the quiet tone to her. "They're all around Mark and I's age group."

"I know sweetheart," Mrs. Lee sighed, squeezing his hand. "But now I know that most of them have probably spent most of their lives here..."

You have no idea, Jeno wanted to tell her, but chose not to. 

"Oh Mr. and Mrs. Lee!" Renjun scrambled up from the couch, smiling politely as he dragged Haechan up with him. They both bowed politely, smiling at the two elder parents who observed them both with curious gazes. 

Jeno's gaze lingered on Mr. Lee more than he would with the man's wife. Mr. Lee was very protective over his son, especially now that he was gravely injured. Mr. Lee could hide his emotions very well, especially when he was standing in front of someone he felt uncomfortable with. Renjun wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but Jeno had grown up alongside the man and had learned how to read his emotional cues. The furrowed brow, the slight tension in his lips and the hooded brow ridge indicated that Mr. Lee was concealing chilled frustration. 

Mrs. Lee, on the other hand, always had a heart of gold. She would try to offer help to the wildest half-crazed zombie if it tried to approach her. Oftentimes Jeno had to be the one to direct her into a complete opposite direction just in case he saw a well-known scam in the streets, he couldn't allow her golden heart to fall into their intense grip. That being said, there was no way of knowing how the woman would react in the face of her son's ex-boyfriend. Mrs. Lee may be sweet-hearted, but even she could be a danger at times. 

She offered Renjun a warm, motherly smile. Jeno took his hand back and allowed her to approach him, her hands gently cupping both of his cheeks when she was close enough. "Oh darling, you are so sweet to have returned when you heard about Mark's accident. Thank you for helping my son in this time of need."

"Oh..." Renjun stammered, staring wide-eyed at the smaller woman before him. He chanced a quick glance at Jeno who could only cross his arms and lightly nod, encouraging him to speak with her and wallow in her generosity while she was still giving it. "It really wasn't a problem. I just brought him some stuff from the dormitory-"

"Well whatever your reasoning," Mrs. Lee squeezes his cheeks lightly. "Thank you for what you've done for him..." She turns her attention to Haechan who was still awkwardly standing next to his friend. She smiles at him, bowing politely. "Sorry sweetheart, where are my manners-"

"Oh no, you're fine!" Haechan holds out his hands, stopping her from continuing her rant. "It's nice to officially meet you Mrs. Lee," He turns and bows his head to Mr. Lee, including him in his introduction. "Mr. Lee, Mark has told us all so much about you both. We've been looking forward to finally meeting you. I'm Donghyuck, but please, call me Haechan."

"A vibrant name for a sweet soul." Mrs. Lee grins, stretching out her hand for a handshake. Jeno tries to hold in a laugh as Haechan stumbles to return it. 

He turns to look at Mr. Lee, who looks a little frantic to find his son. Jeno clasps him on the shoulder and gently tilts his head back into the hallway. The trio follow them as they head towards the kitchen, Jeno quickly explaining that the clinic they had was actually located in the basement. 

"Oh!" A familiar voice announces from the room. 

Jeno's breath hitches at the sight of Jaemin who stood on his tiptoes to reach into the highly mounted microwave. He was still wearing Jeno's hoodie, but now sported a bright smile as he turned away from the device to bow politely to Mark's parents. "You must be Mr and Mrs. Lee! It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Oh, you're so pretty!" Mrs. Lee gushes, almost knocking her poor husband to the floor in her rush to squish Jaemin's cheeks. 

The boy's squealing laughter was like music to Jeno's eardrums, Jaemin giggling happily as he pouted as Mrs. Lee continued to compliment his features. He gently takes her by her wrists and politely lifts them from his cheeks, only when he's certain that she will allow him to. 

"This is Jaemin." Jeno explains, stepping forward but then halting when he realizes that he doesn't need to. He smiles politely as Mrs. Lee raises a brow at his actions, though she quietly turns her attention back to her husband who comes to stand by her side. "He's the final member of the household, having arrived here two years ago."

"I hope our introductions aren't too overwhelming for you," Jaemin apologizes, letting a little bit of cuteness slip through. 

Jeno's fingers tighten into a fist by his side, he had never heard that tone of voice before. 

"We did have a whole plan to properly introduce ourselves to you both tomorrow, after you met with Mark and had a good night's sleep."

"That's extremely considerate." Mr. Lee comments, nodding politely. "I would love to speak with you all properly tomorrow morning, but I would really like to see my son right now."

"Of course." 

Jeno shakes his head and brings himself back to reality, bringing his attention away from Jaemin and back to his best friend's parents. He pushes himself to start walking deeper into the room, forcing himself to take the long way around the kitchen's outer cabinets - keeping the most amount of distance between himself and Jaemin. 

Jeno barely had his hand on the handle of the basement's door before it flung open. Somehow he managed to avoid it colliding against his cheek. 

"Oh hyung!"

"Jeno-yah!" Yixing grins, slipping through the doorway in his white doctor's coat. "I thought that I heard some extra voices up here," his gaze fell to Mark's parents who had dutifully followed after Jeno. Yixing's lips curl upward. "I've been expecting you two."

"Mr. Zhang, is it?" Mr. Lee wonders, brows furrowing in the centre of his forehead. 

"Please, call me Yixing." The medic turns his attention back to Jeno, offering him a coy wink. "I'll take it from here Jen, you are now being ordered by your doctor to rest that arm of yours for the rest of the night, no excuses. Be careful with the bandage, don't get it wet."

"Yes hyung." Jeno politely rolls his eyes, smirking up at Yixing who playfully glares right back at him. 

The medic turns his attention back to Mark's parents, offering them both a wide welcoming smile before opening the door to the basement a little wider to usher them through. 

Renjun took it upon himself to close the door behind them, his eyes wide and his chest heaving for air. He leans himself up against the back of the door, eyes closed and lungs desperate for air. 

"That was the hardest thing that I think I've ever had to do."

"Tell me about it." Jeno groans, turning on his heel.

He drags himself over to the fridge, pulling the door open. He spies a vacant space towards the back of the fridge and realizes that Sehun's blood-bags have disappeared. 

Jeno snatches a coke can and cracks it open, practically moaning as the sugar hits his tastebuds. 

"I have never had to lie to a person so often in one day, especially to them."

"I wasn't expecting them to speak fluent Korean..." Haechan admits, his cheeks blossoming in embarrassment. "I just figured that since Mark said that his parents lived in Canada, they wouldn't have had to use it often-"

"They speak it better than he does." Renjun jokes, sporting a small amused smile. "They forced Mark into Korean lessons when he was younger and encouraged him to go through with them again in high school. He only started properly getting the hang of it a few months before he came here."

"Mark's parents are first generation." Jeno explains to the room. "They moved to Canada shortly after they got married, Mark was born in Canada. They wanted him to learn their native language, while they worked on learning English. Unfortunately for my best friend, his parents were a lot better at adapting to the language than he was. When I met him I had to translate quite a few of his lessons for him-"

"Wait." Jaemin's voice tickles his ear, despite the distance between them. The sensation makes Jeno raise his gaze from his can and glance across the room. "You speak English?"

"I spent the last year of middle school in Canada," Jeno explains, nodding his head. "Mark was the first proper friend that I made and we then went to high school together. His family kind of took me in when my guardian died. For a while English was the language me and Mark used to communicate on the rink when we were playing hockey, you'd be surprised by how many people don't actually speak it here."

"We usually prioritize Japanese or Chinese," Haechan agreed. "English was always the least common class in my high school. Most people were interested in learning Japanese because there were always far more career opportunities over there."

"So you speak English?" Jaemin asked again for clarification, his eyes boring holes into Jeno's face from the intensity of his gaze. 

"Yeah," Jeno deadpanned, smiling beneath the glare. "I can, I just don't do it often."

 "Jeno-hyung!" Jisung happily yells, bursting into the kitchen with a vibrating cadence. "Hyung, do you want to watch a movie tonight?"

"I was just making the popcorn," Jaemin explains, turning back to the microwave and therefore dropping his intense gaze from Jeno's face. It allows Jeno an opportunity to breathe a little better. "Chanyeol texted that you guys stopped to get food earlier. So, would you like some or are you just going to head up to bed?"

Jeno turns his attention back to Jisung who seems a little disappointed with Jaemin who had given Jeno an option to leave. Jeno's heart felt full. He took another sip of his stolen coke-can and turned in the direction of the snack cabinet that Kyungsoo had shown him earlier that day. 

"If you're making the popcorn," he announces to the silent room. Jaemin visually perks up at his words. "I'll get started on gathering the snacks. Ji, you want to go pick the movie?"

"YES!" Jisung hollers, throwing his arms up and rushing from the room in a blur of movement. 

Renjun and Haechan took one look at the tension filled atmosphere around them before they raced each other towards the living-room claiming that they both wanted to snatch a particular seat. 

"I think Jisung's worried about you." Jaemin admits when they are finally alone. 

His eyes were still locked on the microwave, but Jeno could still make out the light dusting of pale pink along the top of his cheeks. 

"Oh really?" He wonders, grasping a hold of the handle to the snack cabinet. Jeno is shocked by the amount of options available. Since he still doesn't know everyone's preferred tastes, Jeno just swipes a wide variety of snacks in the hope that someone will be able to eat them. "Are you sure that he's the only one worried?"

"He's not." Jaemin giggled, offering Jeno a glance from over his shoulder. He watches as the human places his collection onto the nearby countertop. "I still think that you're an idiot for what you did."

"You're still wearing my hoodie..." Jeno states the obvious, clearing his throat. 

"Yeah, sorry." Jaemin apologizes, though there didn't appear to be any remorse in his voice. "I was planning on putting it in your room after you left, but I got too comfortable. Do you want me to give it back-"

"No-" Jeno speaks way sooner than he probably should have. "No." He paces himself, breathing deep. "You're fine. If you're comfortable with it, keep it. I brought more from the dorm earlier so..."

"Oh?" Jaemin peers back into the microwave which beeps at his sudden attention. "More for me to steal then huh?"

Jeno watches as Jaemin pops open the door, before tossing in another bag. He hisses at the steam billowing out from the top of the bag. He gently sets it aside, right next to Jeno's hoard of snacks he had pillaged from the cabinet. 

"Not if I can help it." Jeno admits, sneaking up behind him as Jaemin's back is turned to grab a bowl. 

He can't help but smile when Jaemin doesn't seem to notice his sudden presence, continuing on his mission of filling the plastic bowl with the finished popcorn.

"Ha!" Jaemin scoffs, shoulders rising from his giggles. "I'm pretty sneaky you know? You'd never know that I was even in your room." 

"I'd beg to differ," Jeno whispers, leaning forward to gently linger by Jaemin's neck. His breath brushes alongside the slope of Jaemin's nape, which makes a shiver run down the length of Jaemin's spine. Jeno places both of his hands on the counter, caging Jaemin between himself and the cabinets by their legs. "I seem to know exactly when you're around."

"Really?" Jaemin wonders, turning around in the small space that he had. He stares up at Jeno's eyes, mischief circling in his own. "This sounds exciting, tell me how exactly you always seem to know when I'm around?"

"It's a bodily reaction." Jeno concludes, watching in slight amusement as Jaemin's eyes grow wider in surprise. He allows himself the opportunity to lean in a little closer, their noses lightly brushing from their close proximity. "Want the details?"

"I think I can imagine..." Jaemin huffs, his breath tickling Jeno's lips. 

"Yeah?" Jeno wonders, leaning further forward. Their foreheads gently touching. "Do you often imagine stuff about me?"

"Don't ask a question that you're not ready to hear the answer to." Jaemin laughs, his chest trembling against Jeno's. 

Jeno snatches the full popcorn bowl from its position on the countertop and pulls it back to his chest. He steps backward and creates some space between himself and Jaemin. The hybrid smirks down at the bowl, his head lightly shaking at the sudden distance between them. 

"Sneaky." Jaemin giggles, looking up at Jeno through his long eyelashes. "You do that too well for someone without supernatural abilities."

"I have to keep you on your toes around here."

"And you plan on doing that by seducing me?"

"I think it's only fair." Jeno defends his actions, snatching a popped kernel to place into his mouth. "You are standing in the kitchen wearing my hoodie."

"That you gave me!"

"My actions were done out of necessity, you weren't wearing a shirt underneath and you didn't want anyone else to see the blood."

"We never did get to finish that conversation this morning," Jaemin announces, gathering the final bag of popcorn from the microwave. "I understand that the whole giving me your clothes can indicate to other people that we are in a relationship-"

"Hey," Jeno halts him from walking away with the popcorn bag in his hand, his fingers coiling around Jaemin's wrist. He quickly lets go, not wanting to bring about terrifying memories. "Look, I said that I would think about it and I have okay? I had already made my decision this morning, I just never had an opportunity to tell you with everything that happened today."

Jeno watches as Jaemin refills the gap that had come between them. He takes the popcorn bowl from Jeno's hands and places it down onto the counter beside them, leaving behind the bag he had in his own hands. 

Jaemin then takes Jeno's hands in his own. His cheeks are pink but his honey eyes are intense. 

"I don't mind being the person that can help you finally leave the house." Jeno reveals, watching as Jaemin's facial expression immediately changes once he realizes the weight of Jeno's words. "You've been stuck in here for two years Jaemin, how could I let that continue when I have an opportunity to help you?"

"Because this means something," Jaemin stresses. "Giving me clothing means something to me. I know that I haven't been in touch with my wolf in a long time, but this isn't something that I can just ignore. I'm still part werewolf, and the idea of you giving up for scent for me... that's-"

"I'm not asking for anything in return," Jeno pulls him forward. Jaemin comes willingly. "I'm just asking you to let me do this one thing for you. Let me help you finally get out of this house."

"Jeno.. I appreciate the offer but I-"

"Baby." Jeno calls in his near-perfect English.

Jaemin stops talking almost immediately. His eyes were blown wide, far wider than Jeno had ever seen them reach before. For Jaemin's sake, Jeno switches back to Korean. 

"Stop thinking so strongly, it's making you look unattractive right now. I can't in good conscience let you do that. Just accept my help or I will personally force you into my clothing from now on - on second thought, you might like that a little too much, huh? I'll admit that I wouldn't mind it too much either, I'd finally get a peek at what you have to offer."

"Where has this confidence come from?" Jaemin whimpers, leaning himself back against the counter to stabilize himself. "I liked it better when you didn't do the seducing."

"Why do you try to seduce me, by the way?" Jeno wonders, taking the opportunity to ask. 

Jaemin's eyes sparkle in the glow of the kitchen's fluorescent lighting, he pulls himself back up properly, smirking evilly. He slides his arms up and around Jeno's neck, their bodies burning against each other. 

"I like teasing you because I love seeing how much you want me, even if you can't see it for yourself yet." Jaemin admits, and Jeno just knows that he's being honest. "So tell me," Jaemin continues. "Why did you try to shake up our dynamic?"

"I told you before," Jeno states, gently placing his hands onto Jaemin's hips. He can feel the hipbones press against his thumbs, Jaemin jerks at the touch. "I need to keep you on your toes, to see if you really are interested. I'm not used to people trying to get close, most people have just walked out of my life without any explanations. I don't think I can go through that again."

He lightly pushes Jaemin away, trying to offer a sympathetic smile but he winces at the sudden growing tingling sensation on his arm. 

"Jeno..." Jaemin looks worried, pulling his arms to rest against Jeno's chest. He notices the uncomfortable look on Jeno's face and his brows furrow at look. "What's happening?"

"I don't know." Jeno admits, glancing down at his injured arm. 

Jaemin takes his hands away and lightly coils his hand around Jeno's bandage. Together they bring it closer towards their faces, Jaemin's breath dancing over Jeno's knuckles. 

"What's wrong with it?"

"My skin," Jeno groans, trying to shove his forefinger into the space between his arm and the bandage. "It feels like it's burning."

"Let's go get Yixing." Jaemin tries to use his grip on Jeno's arm to pull him in the direction of the basement's door, but Jeno won't budge. 

"Wait," he begs, lightly taking Jaemin's hand away. He offers Jaemin a genuine apologetic smile. Jaemin knows that he isn't supposed to take offence. Instead, he draws closer, stepping all the way back into Jeno's personal space. He watches as Jeno shimmies his forefinger beneath the gap in the bandage, a little coercing and the bandage snaps beneath his fingers. 

"Figures." Jaemin laughs, gently pushing Jeno's hand away from his now ruined bandage. "Calm down Heracles, I'll help you."

Jeno watches as Jaemin's focus turns solely to the bright blue bandage covering his right forearm. His tongue pokes out from his plump pink lips as he pulls one section of the bandage from the gauze. 

Pretty soon, the entirety of the blue pro-wrap has come off and placed onto the countertop. Jaemin raises the gauze and gapes at the sight before him. 

"What?" Jeno wonders, not able to see for himself since Jaemin's pink hair remains in his way. 

Jaemin's head snaps up at the word, his eyes narrowed. All sense of mischief long gone. "What are you?"

"What?" 

"You're healed."

Jeno's lower jaw drops open. He stares down at his own forearm. Two hours ago he had watched Yixing disinfect the wolf bite, counting a total of fifteen marks. They had cut through the dermis but weren't deep enough to pierce the bone, they didn't require stitches either but the medic had warned him that he may be left with scars nonetheless. 

Except, now Jeno was staring down at his forearm and there were no such marks to be seen. 

"How is that possible?" Jaemin whispers, eyes searching for answers in Jeno's gaze. He couldn't find any. "I didn't give you any of my blood, Sehun wasn't here to give his... and Yixing doesn't use any magical potions or ointments. You've healed in just over two hours, like one of us. Jeno-"

"I don't know." Jeno admits, watching as Jaemin's eyes welled up in tears. 

"You knew? You knew that you had some sort of abilities?"

"Chanyeol and Yixing think so." He explains, watching as Jaemin's fingers hover over his recovered skin. "When I showed up here I wasn't displaying any symptoms of concussion despite being in a position to get one. My strength has also been another factor but this-" He studies his arm again, his heart racing in his chest. "This is vastly different."

Chapter Text

When Jeno wakes up the following morning, he never would have expected to find himself having to press his thumbs against the curve of Jaemin’s hipbones in an attempt to keep him upright as the hybrid straddles him on their make-shift bed.

“Jeno!” Jaemin’s cries fill the room.

His pink hair bounces as he leans his head back between his shoulder blades. The skin along his neckline is smooth and completely void of any moles, but Jeno can’t wait to mark it up with his lips and teeth.

Jeno hisses as Jaemin’s hips roll against his pelvis, a rapid rhythm that has Jeno tightening his hold on the latter’s hips to steady him. The rhythm makes Jeno shift upward towards the backboard, but he keeps his hold on Jaemin who continues to whine on top of him.

With his arms otherwise preoccupied, Jeno didn’t have any other way of keeping Jaemin quiet for the sake of the slumbering members in the rest of the house. So, Jeno does the only thing he could think of.

He uses his strength to push himself up and shove Jaemin down onto the mattress instead. The new position forces Jeno’s groin further into Jaemin’s ass which immediately draws a brand new noise to slip past his lips. Jeno clamps his hand down on top of those beautifully lush pink lips before the sound could penetrate the air.

Jaemin tries to fight him off in the hope of returning to their prior positioning, with him on top and Jeno stuck beneath him. However, Jeno manages to press his hips against Jaemin’s pelvis to keep him against the mattress which allows him to capture Jaemin’s wrists and pin them above his pink hair with a single hand. Jaemin huffs in defeat, his heated eyes glaring up at Jeno’s triumphant smirk.

“Nice try baby.” Jeno whispers, which causes a pink blush to explode onto Jaemin’s cheeks.

Jaemin gets his revenge by rolling his hips right against Jeno’s groin. The new sensation makes Jeno groan and lower his head in a failed attempt to control himself. He can practically feel Jaemin’s smile press against his palm.

When they had finally pulled themselves away from each other in the kitchen the previous night, Jeno and Jaemin arrived at the movie night with armfuls of snacks and enough popcorn bowls to suit everyone’s personal tastes.

They had just sat down to start watching the chosen film when Jisung suggested that they morph the couch into a bed for ‘maximum comfort’. It was met with an unanimous agreement that Jeno didn’t take part in, as he sat happily on the coffee table watching the chaos around him with the accompanying popcorn.

Renjun and Haechan rushed off to gather the supplies, while Jisung and Jaemin worked on pulling out the extension hidden in the base of the couch. Again, Jeno didn’t want to overstep so he simply remained on his perch, crunching on his beloved popcorn. Jaemin playful glared at him for his lack of assistance but didn’t voice out any disapproval.

Shortly after Jisung had ensured that the bed was stable and wouldn’t recoil back into the base of the couch, Mark’s parents stopped in to say their goodnights. They were initially surprised to find the younger ones alone in the living-room with the lights dimmed and snacks all over the coffee table, but Jaemin had taken it upon himself to explain their movie-nights were slowly becoming a tradition.

The couple grinned from ear-to-ear before leaving them alone, following after Jisung who had been the one to allocate them a room upon their arrival. Mrs. Lee did linger in the doorframe, giggling quietly to herself as she watched Jeno stuff more popcorn into his mouth much to Jaemin’s veiled disgust. She took a photo of the moment to look back on when she returned to Canada, her heart feeling full at the sight.

Renjun and Haechan returned with enough blankets to keep a small village warm throughout the winter. Haechan threw the majority of them onto the make-shift bed before allowing everyone to take their own individual blanket. Jeno even found himself spoiled for choice, pausing for a moment to evaluate his options.

He finally landed on his choice when the room decided to divide themselves into seating arrangements. Mark quietly slipped into the room, creeping in like an intruder. His eyes were surveying the room in case his parents had lingered, Jisung returned to reveal that they were long gone with a happy smile on his face.

Mark quietly squealed in excitement at the sight before him. Without a word spoken into the room, he snagged the spot on the armchair, pulling a small display table beneath his feet which he then used as a footrest. He snatched a hold on a bag of marshmallows before making himself content on the chair.

Haechan supplied him with a combination of blankets before joining Renjun on the two-seater. Renjun’s head lay against one armrest with his back resting against around Haechan’s socked feet. Haechan’s head lay against the opposite armrest with his own arms wrapped around Renjun’s legs. 

They snuggled down into their respective pillows and cuddled close in their own individual blankets. Haechan lay closest to the back of the chair but Renjun still had plenty of space to lay without falling over. It was Renjun who snatched a bunch of the snacks from the coffee table, tossing a few to Haechan who quite literally moaned at their presence.

Jeno remained sitting on top of the coffee table, popcorn bowl still in hand. He munched on the salty treat as Jaemin and Jisung turned their attention to him.

When neither of them appeared to be moving to claim their own positions, Jeno decided to take the leap himself. He tightened his hold on his popcorn bowl before tossing himself down onto the mattress, he let out a content sigh as he nuzzled down against the plushness. He fluffed a pillow by his head and rearranged himself comfortably against it, a perfect position to continue watching their film.

Jisung was the next to move.

He quietly squealed as he jumped up onto the mattress, crawling against it to rest on Jeno’s left. He had brought his own pillow from his room so he grew comfortable fairly quickly. He practically cocooned himself into his blanket and rested his head against Jeno’s left shoulder.

Jaemin, on the other hand, lingered on the ground near their make-shift bed. Jeno watched as Jaemin’s fingers played together against his waist. He looked uncertain. There was still plenty of space next to Jisung’s noodle form, but his eyes kept scanning the remaining space beside Jeno.

Jeno decides to give Jaemin the space to let him make his own decisions, though Jeno does fool around with Jisung just enough to close the space by his side and widen the spot closer to Jeno. It doesn’t open either side up by a lot but Jaemin could still choose to sit next to Jisung if he wanted to.

Whether the fool around had any factor in Jaemin’s decision making will remain unknown, but the hybrid did carefully situate himself down next to Jeno with the veiled distraction of snatching his popcorn bowl clean from his lap.

The movie started and they all watched it together.

When Jeno fell asleep that night, he can still vividly remember that Jaemin had turned onto his side with his back facing Jeno. Jisung had untangled himself from his noodle-form and was sprawled in a semi-starfish style along his side of the mattress, the blanket resting against his waist.

It was an entirely different arrangement when Jeno woke up.

Jeno’s favourite sleeping position was on his back because it stretched out all his valued muscles so they weren’t stiff when he woke up in the mornings. It also didn’t bring about that awful sound of his heartbeat against the pillow, like when he laid on his side.

When Jeno awoke the first time, he was still on his back. However, Jisung and Jaemin had moved. Jisung was pressed against Jeno’s left arm, his nose squished against Jeno’s elbow. Jaemin’s head was resting comfortably on Jeno’s chest, his hand curled lightly beneath his chin.

They both looked adorable in the sunlight creeping in through the curtains. Jisung’s light brown hair looked golden in the sunshine, while Jaemin’s pink locks glowed like a pink flame.

Jeno settled back against his pillow, raising his left arm to pull Jisung closer against his side. The youngest hummed in quiet approval, snuggling closer and completely relaxing. Jeno realised that his other arm had slipped beneath Jaemin’s neck and had fallen against the hybrid’s side of the mattress, so Jeno curled his elbow upwards so his fingers came to rest against Jaemin’s back.

He allowed himself to gently rub calming circles into both of their backs, smiling slightly at their gentle purrs.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jaemin so well rested.” Haechan comments as he passes by the couch on his way towards the window. He battles with the curtains and blocks out the treacherous sun, releasing a quiet sigh of relief when the darkness refills the room. “He says that he doesn’t sleep well most nights, so it’s nice to see him so calm and peaceful… He doesn’t join pack bonding time often.”

“What time is it?” Jeno wonders, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t disturb the two slumbering against him.

“Six.” Renjun groans from his spot on the two-seater. “Plenty of time to get more sleep!”

“You guys look really comfortable…” Haechan admits, smiling longingly at the sight of the trio on the couch. “Do you think that maybe you have room-”

“Wolves like to sleep together sometimes.” Renjun yawns from across the room. “It strengthens the pack-bond that they share while also making their wolves register the scent of friends, so that there aren’t as many fights. Do you think we can join in on the cuddles?”

“Oh… sure.” Jeno agrees, somehow able to retain the information despite still being half-asleep himself. “Just try not to wake them up?”

Haechan quickly returns to the two-seater and snatches the blanket that had kept him warm throughout the night. Renjun stumbled up from the couch, trailing behind as they approached the mattress.

Haechan gently settles himself down on Jaemin’s opposite side, snuggling up next him with his head resting gently against Jaemin’s shoulder blades but far enough away for Jeno to continue his ministrations against the hybrid’s back. Renjun slips in behind Jisung, covering the youngest with some of his own blanket.

“He doesn’t join you guys often when you do this?” Jeno wonders, looking down at Jaemin’s peaceful face. His left cheek is squished against Jeno’s chest, which causes a flutter to erupt into Jeno’s stomach.

“No.” Haechan yawns, pulling his own blanket up to his chin. “He never liked physical touch until you showed up, we’re still getting used to the fact that he doesn’t growl at us anymore. It feels nice to finally be close to him now, he isn’t as isolated as before.”

Jeno remains awake for a little while longer, using the time to continue drawing circles on Jaemin’s back. He hears a delicate groan come from across the room. He watches slightly amused as Mark pulls himself up from the armchair and stumbles towards the couch.

He doesn’t say anything as he stalks closer, eyes half-open and mouth twisted in sleep. He grumbles to acknowledge his best friend, before collapsing next to Haechan and stealing his blanket. Haechan groans in protest, slapping Mark’s shoulder and trying to snatch his blanket back. It fails and Mark barely registers the hit, throwing his arm over Haechan’s waist and pulling him closer. Jeno watches with pursed lips as Mark throws the blanket over the both of them.

However, the sudden addition of his best friend, made the mattress strain under their combined weight, while also limiting the space for the others to sleep. Jeno feels how Jaemin is now squished between him and Haechan, constricted by their unrelenting bodies. Half-asleep he groans his distaste, pulling himself up from Jeno’s chest to glare in the direction of Mark’s sleeping form.

“I was so comfortable!” He softly cries, tossing his head back towards the ceiling. Jeno tries to keep his laughter to himself, especially when Jaemin begins to whimper in quiet frustration.

Before Jeno could even think of a solution for this unfortunate situation, Jaemin seems to have made up his mind. Still in his half-asleep state, he climbs out of the sliver of space he had between Jeno and Haechan and decides to climb on top of Jeno.

Jaemin’s head collides against Jeno’s chest as his entire body weight comes crashing down on Jeno’s limbs. The air is ripped from Jeno’s lungs, which makes him groan from the harsh pain inflicted by Jaemin’s actions.

“‘m sorry.” Jaemin mumbles against his neck, snuggling closer with his nose. His touch sends a shiver down Jeno’s back. “‘m sleepy.”

“Go back to sleep.” Jeno whispers once his lungs refill with air.

Jaemin nods against his neck, his breath tickling Jeno so much that his toes curl at the sensation. He has to physically re-adjust Jaemin’s positioning before he could be comfortable, the hybrid shifting willingly.

Once his breath was gone from Jeno’s neck and Jaemin’s breathing had finally laboured out again, Jeno finally managed to settle himself back down to sleep. He quickly realised that they no longer had a blanket to snuggle into, so Jeno grabs hold of the one that Jaemin had been using before Mark’s addition and gently settles it against Jaemin’s back. It falls down to cover Jeno too.

“Do that again.” Jaemin’s voice vibrates against his chest.

“Do what?”

“Your hand swirly things,” Jaemin raises his hand to replicate the gesture, but he fails terribly since he’s still riddled with sleep. “They feel really ‘ice.”

Jeno can’t help but quietly laugh, gently wrapping both of his arms around Jaemin’s body. One arm slips beneath the blanket and comes to rest against Jaemin’s waist, he pauses to gently pull the hoodie back down from where it had risen up in his haste to go back to sleep.

The warmth of Jeno’s hand against his hips makes Jaemin melt against him. Jeno’s other arms come to rest between Jaemin’s shoulder blades on top of the blanket. His thumb immediately starts to gently rub against the material of his stolen hoodie, the rhythm lulling them both back to sleep.

“Raise and shine kiddos!” Sehun announces loudly to the room. He strides in from the front hallway and darts straight over to the same curtains that Haechan had fixed earlier that morning. Jeno has just enough time to prepare himself for the sudden burst of sunshine.

The others weren’t so lucky.

Jisung immediately starts to whimper his distaste for the abuse, while Renjun actually hisses in frustration. They both flee from the mattress with a blur of movement, Jisung stumbling against a blanket that had fallen to the floor during the night. He collapses to the floor with a muted grunt. Renjun, on the other hand, can’t stop laughing from his perch against the doorframe.

Mark audibly groans at the noise, pulling his head up from his pillow long enough to send Renjun a glare before the weight of sleep physically drags his head back down. Haechan whimpers between him and Jeno, trying but failing to cover his gaze with his pillow.

Sehun appears by the end of the mattress within blinking speed, snatching the pillow from Haechan’s hands and using it to lightly slap Mark on the head. Jeno lightly shakes his head, still growing used to the whole super-speed ability.

“You’re not supposed to be up here, remember?”

Sehun’s words immediately pull Mark from the trenches of his slumber. Jeno watches slightly amused as his best friend throws himself up from the mattress, Sehun having to balance him to prevent him from falling over. They both walk from the room arm-in-arm. With the loss of Mark’s heat, Haechan whimpers in defeat. Jeno feels him shove his blanket off and shift so that he’s no longer laying against his pillow.

“To be fair, his parents are upstairs,” Jeno admits, which immediately earns him a glare. “If they came down and saw him in here with the rest of us, how would that have looked for our cover story?”

“He has a point.” Jaemin’s eyelashes tickle his chin. “We need them to think that we’re slowly introducing Mark back to the world after his injury, that would have been a massive leap if they came down and saw him with us.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion… I’m mourning my lie-in. He was really comfortable…” Haechan whimpers.

Jeno didn’t have anything to say back to that, he had never been on the receiving end of Mark’s cuddles. He had only ever been the one to provide them.

“I understand completely.” Jaemin echoes, sighing in contentment as he burrows deeper into Jeno’s chest.

It makes Jeno wheeze from the sudden abuse of his lungs, but he’s capable of gathering his breath back fairly quickly.

“This is so unfair!” Haechan pouts, arms crossing against his chest. “Why is your boy-toy still here?”

“I quite literally can’t go anywhere.” Jeno deadpanned, gesturing with his fingers to Jaemin’s entire frame. “And I’m no one’s boy-toy.”

“Oh that’s true,” Jaemin yawns. “He was extremely different last night. Haechan, he was actually the one to start flirting with me!”

“Oh really?” Haechan’s eyes widen. He turns to look down at Jeno who groans under the pressure of Jaemin but also beneath the intensity behind Haechan’s gaze. “Well that really is something.”

“In my defense I only did it to see if he was actually interested in me.” Jeno explains. Haechan’s eyes swirl with mischief. “I’m not used to people actually wanting to get to know me, much less flirt with me.”

“Please tell me that his entire face flushed!” Haechan shrieks, rearranging himself on the mattress so that he was sitting cross-legged next to Jeno’s right arm.

“It was pretty pink.” Jeno admits which earns him a light punch to his opposite arm.

“Obviously I was surprised!” Jaemin shouts, pulling his head up from Jeno’s chest. His legs fall on either side of Jeno’s pelvis and his ass presses against his thighs. Jaemin whips his head to look at Haechan. “You try and listen to him flirt, you’d do it too!”

“I would have folded to my knees if he tried to flirt with me,” Haechan admits with a shrug of his shoulder. “I still don’t know how you haven’t gotten on your knees yet, I mean-”

“Haechan!”

“What? I like getting dominated.” Jeno blushes beneath his intense gaze. “Jeno practically oozes Dom material, maybe not, like, the Christian Grey level of contrasts and whips but definitely but the quiet, caring and adventurous type!”

“I am literally right here, please stop talking like I’m not right here.”

“You’ve literally been acting like a brat in front of him ever since he got here!” Haechan determines, removing his intense gaze to focus on Jaemin instead. “He seems to know how to tame a brat though, so that will definitely come in handy in the bedroom.”

“Stop objectifying him!” Jaemin hisses, his vampire eyes flashing in his frustration.

Jeno watched starstruck as Haechan’s mouth continued to move.

“I know that wolves mate for life, but do you think you can let me have him for a few hours? I promise that I’ll bring him back in more-or-less pristine condition… he might be too tired to satisfy you during the first round though-”

Jeno latches his fingers against Jaemin’s hipbones, keeping him stable against Jeno’s pelvis despite his lunge for Haechan who quickly departs the mattress with a proud smirk on his lips.

“Is that enough for you?” Haechan wonders, looking solely at Jeno now. He rolls his eyes before continuing, arms crossing against his chest. “To prove to you that he’s interested?”

Jaemin struggles against Jeno’s hold on him, his eyes murderous as he tries and fails to follow Haechan from the room.

“Jeno!” His cries fill the room.

His pink hair bounces as he leans his head back between his shoulder blades. The skin along his neckline is smooth and completely void of any moles, but Jeno can’t wait to mark it up with his lips and teeth.

Jeno hisses as Jaemin’s hips roll against his pelvis, a rapid rhythm that has Jeno tightening his hold on the latter’s hips to steady him and keep him away from Haechan. The rhythm makes Jeno shift upward towards the backboard, but he keeps his hold on Jaemin who continues to whine on top of him.

With his arms otherwise preoccupied, Jeno didn’t have any other way of keeping Jaemin quiet for the sake of the slumbering members in the rest of the house. So, Jeno does the only thing he could think of.

He uses his strength to push himself up and shove Jaemin down onto the mattress instead. The new position forces Jeno’s groin further into Jaemin’s ass which immediately draws a brand new noise to slip past his lips. Jeno clamps his hand down on top of those beautifully lush pink lips before the sound could penetrate the air.

“That’s my cue!” Haechan squeals, rushing from the room. He was kind enough to close the door behind him.

Jaemin tries to fight him off in the hope of returning to their prior positioning, with him on top and Jeno stuck beneath him. It would allow him to break free and follow Haechan. However, Jeno manages to press his hips against Jaemin’s pelvis to keep him against the mattress which allows him to capture Jaemin’s wrists and pin them above his pink hair with a single hand. Jaemin huffs in defeat, his heated eyes glaring up at Jeno’s triumphant smirk.

“Baby,” Jeno whispers, which makes Jaemin’s cheeks blossom pink. “Want to tell me what that was about?”

Jaemin gets his revenge by rolling his hips right against Jeno’s groin. The new sensation makes Jeno groan and lower his head in a failed attempt to control himself. He can practically feel Jaemin’s smile press against his palm.

“I’m going to lift my hand now,” Jeno speaks calmly, gesturing with his chin to the hand he had pressed against Jaemin’s mouth. “Promise not to scream the house down?”

Jaemin’s beautiful honey brown eyes calculate Jeno’s facial expression, his brows still furrowed in quiet frustration. Eventually he relents and nods his head, but not before playfully licking a stripe of salvia against Jeno’s palm. Jeno gets his revenge by sliding the wetness against Jaemin’s cheek.

Jaemin lays with his hips still pressed against Jeno’s groin, his pink hair looking like a halo against the pillow. His chest is heaving for breath, his flushed cheeks and Jeno’s stolen hoodie on his body seemed to stir something up in Jeno’s stomach, a feeling he was familiar with but hadn't felt in a long time.

He immediately pulls himself away and sits at the edge of the mattress. Jeno tries to settle his own breathing, forcing his mind to imagine a bunch of terrible images. Mark’s wound, Mark’s laundry hamper back in the dormitory, Mrs. and Mr. Lee having sex. He really didn’t need to fuel that train of thought, especially since the image of anyone having sex right now would force his mind to enter into the delicious possibility sitting right behind him.

“Hey,” Jaemin’s voice tickled his ear, making Jeno snap back into reality. He is sitting right next to him, cheeks a faded pink but a giant smile rests on his lips. “Don’t listen to what Haechan said, he would never force himself onto someone like that. He was just doing that to get a rise out of me, he knows that I’m interested in you so he’s just baiting me.”

“You really are,” Jeno whispers, turning to look at him. “You actually are interested in me, aren’t you?”

Jaemin’s cheeks remain pink as he nods. “I thought that was pretty obvious. We did have this conversation last night..”

“I didn’t get off you because of what Haechan said,” Jeno admitted, turning his attention back in the direction of the television. He couldn’t look at Jaemin now that he had admitted to it. “It didn’t have anything to do with Haechan.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” Jaemin smiled, gently resting his chin against Jeno’s shoulder. “I’m dumping so much on your plate as it is.”

Jaemin hadn’t caught on to what Jeno had indirectly alluded to and Jeno wasn’t going to admit to it so soon, especially since he still had to understand everything for himself. So he takes the out.

“I have a question.” He admits, turning his head just enough to find Jaemin’s eyes.

The hybrid grins back at him. “Change of subject, okay, I can get behind that.”

“Last night, when we saw my arm?” Jeno rolls up the sleeve of his shirt and exposes his healed arm. “You said that you never gave me blood and neither did Sehun, what did that have to do with my injury?”

“Vampire blood has healing properties.” Jaemin explains, his fingers lightly tracing the invisible outline of the wolf bites that should have still been on Jeno’s arm this morning. “Our blood can heal a lot of injuries and help speed up even supernatural healing.”

“Seriously?”

“Care for a live demonstration?” Jaemin wonders, standing up from the mattress. He offers out his hand for Jeno to take. He smiles wider when Jeno does.

Once they’re in the kitchen, Jaemin speaks quietly to Sehun who he finds by the fridge. Jeno finds his usual seat at the breakfast table, where he piles a few pastries that Kyungsoo had prepared this morning.

He watches as Sehun nods his head and Jaemin rushes to join them at the table, a small but satisfied smirk on his lips as he winks at Jeno from across the table. Jeno continues to observe as Sehun slowly approaches Kyungsoo who is in the process of cooking up some bacon on the stove.

They exchange a few quiet words before the werewolf nods his head with a small fond smile on his lips. The chef shuts off the fire and sets the pan down on one of the cooler rings before joining Sehun on his journey towards the table.

“I understand that you and Jeno need to learn something important about our world.” Sehun explains, speaking to Mark but gazing at Jeno from the corner of his eye.

“Are you sure that this is an okay time to do this?” Mark looks nervous, his eyes flitting from the doorway to the ceiling. “My parents could be coming down at any minute-”

“They’re still sleeping in their bed.” Kyungsoo explains with a small smile. “I’ll keep an ear out for them, I promise.”

Mark nods, which allows Sehun to continue.

“As everyone already knows, I’m a vampire.” Sehun explains to the table, taking careful attention to Mark who still hasn’t completely gotten over that fact. “Being a vampire means that while I am different from you wolves, I still have a few abilities of my own that make me stand out.”

“Sehun operates like the rest of us,” Kyungsoo continues, linking their hands together. “He possesses the same abilities that us wolves have. However, one major difference is his healing abilities-”

“But don’t we have healing abilities too?” Mark wonders, stupefied. “How is yours any different?”

“Because your healing abilities only affect you and your wolf. Vampires have the ability to heal anyone, including humans. Supernatural beings have healing abilities of their own, but our blood could allow them to speed up that process, especially if you were wounded with a weapon specifically for you.”

“Like silver.” Jeno announces, recalling the gaping wound in the intruder’s neck the previous day. He hadn’t healed as quickly as he had expected.

“Exactly.” Sehun agrees, nodding his head like a proud teacher. “So, vampire blood can help you heal many injuries. Kyungsoo here has agreed to give you a demonstration.”

The chef reveals a smaller knife from behind his back. Jeno can already hear Mark’s whimper echo from beside him. Kyungsoo holds it up in the light and Jeno can recognise the handle; it’s from the same set of knives that he had used on the intruder. His cheeks burn at his sudden gaze, though it’s not intense or threatening. Instead, he simply observes Jeno’s reaction before proceeding.

Kyungsoo presses the blade of the knife against the palm of his skin, he whimpers as he cuts through the dermis and draws ruby red blood to the surface. He shows the wound to the members at the table, no one shows any major reaction - even Mark seems to stay awake long enough to see the experiment through to the end.

Jeno does notice how Jaemin quickly shifts his gaze from the blood pooling in Kyungsoo’s hand and turns his attention to the floor.

Then Sehun does the unimaginable.

He lets his sclera grow red and grey veins rise beneath his lower lid, his fangs elongate and he presses them into the depth of his wrist. When he pulls away, his teeth are tinted red from his own blood. Jeno sees the wound on his wrist before Sehun delicately passes his own wrist in Kyungsoo’s direction.

The werewolf gently takes it and raises his own hand to the group at the table. Together they watch as he draws Sehun’s wrist to his lips which coil around the wound, the ever so faint lines around his mouth indicate his suckling. Jeno’s breath catches when he watches the wound on the centre of Kyungsoo’s palm immediately stitch itself back up as if there was nothing there to begin with.

Mark’s head thuds against the table but no one turns to look at him.

Jeno raises his own hand and gazes down at the flawless skin. Everyone seems to take notice of the fact that his bandage had been removed. Only, now his skin was spotless. There were no signs of a werewolf bitemark evident.

“Jeno…” Kyungsoo gapes, his teeth stained with red. His owl eyes are wide and terrified as his gaze flips between Jeno and Jaemin.

“Jaemin, did you give him your blood?” Sehun actually sounded frustrated, like it was the worst thing that Jaemin could have ever done. “You know that we have my blood stored downstairs for reasons like this, you didn’t have to let him drink from you, that’s far too intimate for someone so young-”

“He didn’t.” Jeno stammered, flustered to find that yet again there were far too many instances where intimacy could bleed into simple gestures. “He never gave me a drop, that’s why he asked you for the demonstration, to see if you did.”

“Of course not!” Sehun deadpanned, gazing down at Jeno’s healed arm. “And I’m certain that Yixing didn’t give any to you. He doesn’t like using our blood very often, especially since the consequences are so high…”

“How is it healed?” Jisung wondered.

Jeno finds himself shrugging his shoulders.

“We were both in here last night talking, and then he started complaining that there was like a tingling sensation on his arm. I ripped his bandage off and we saw that.” Jaemin explains to everyone, his pointer finger gesturing across the table at Jeno’s clear arm.

Kyungsoo observes them both but never says anything.

“Well this just keeps getting better.” Haechan giggles from his new position next to Renjun. He had taken the opposite seat so he wouldn’t be in Jaemin’s line of fire.

Before anyone could say anything, Chanyeol slid into the room with a panicked look on his face. He walked straight up to the table and stopped right beside Jeno, he took one look at Mark’s slumped over expression. Jeno shakes his head and Chanyeol decides to continue on with his rant.

“We have a problem.” Haechan and Renjun clink glasses from further down the table, taking a shot of orange juice like it was an alcoholic one.

“Is this about those dickheads yesterday?” Jisung wonders. Even Jeno finds himself snapping to attention at that. Jisung blinks innocently, smiling politely at all of the shocked faces staring back at him.

“I think an angel just lost its wings…” Haechan didn’t even try to whisper to Renjun.

“Anyway,” Chanyeol snapped them all back into the elephant in the room. “Yes it does relate to those dickheads yesterday.” The word sounded strange coming out of Chanyeol’s mouth. “It turns out that there were actually six of them.”

“Six men who came into the territory?” Renjun gapes.

“I only fought against five.” Jaemin looks terrified when he turns to look across the table at Jeno who can practically hear his heartbeat racing in his chest. “I only managed to get five, I never seen the sixth-”

“Jaemin, relax.” Chanyeol leaned forward and gently placed his hand down onto the boy’s shoulder. “You never would have known about this one.”

“Where did he go?”

“He made it to Leeteuk’s territory but don’t worry, Leeteuk's pack took care of him. He didn’t know anything useful, he ran the second the fighting started-”

“Six guys?” Jeno asks again for clarity. “You’re sure that there were six?”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol’s brows furrow in confusion. “Five ATVs but six people in total.”

“Why?” Jaemin’s voice was rushed, his eyes blown wide as he stared at Jeno from across the table. “What’s wrong with the amount?”

“Because six guys are a recon team.” Mark groans, pulling his head up from the table. “Their purpose is to infiltrate territory and scope it out, get to know everything about it and report back. If there were six guys here yesterday, chances are that whoever sent them is hoping to follow.” At everyone else’s surprised expression, his cheeks redden. “I play CoD.”

“Do you actually?” Haechan gasps.

“What does this mean?” Kyungsoo asks, his grip growing insanely on the handle of the kitchen knife in his hand.

“It means that we have a problem.” Jeno admits, turning to look up at Chanyeol who had already craned his head to see him. “But I think we have some time before anything happens. Wolves have a keen sense of smell so they’ll know that the house has humans in it, and if memory serves werewolves don’t like shifting in front of humans so we should be okay until Mark’s parents leave.”

“Is that right?” Mark stares up at Chanyeol who nods his head.

“Yeah. The wolves will probably be circling the territory waiting until Mark’s parents leave to make their visit. That gives us about a week to prepare.”

“What about me?” Jaemin’s voice cracks, his eyes welling up with tears. “What are you going to do with me?”