h a l l o w [five | gamma]
title: h a l l o w [five | gamma]
Pairing: Chapter focus: Minho/Onew, Jonghyun/Kibum, Yixing/Yifan*, Sehun/Tao*
Rating: R/NC-17 (a b o u t damn time | note: see bolded for each chapter)
Words: 20,095 total [alpha | beta | gamma]
Summary: The Blood Moon Festival, the catalyst brought on by tragedy to usher in calamity, wants a new bonded pair...
A/N: Still safe to read the character guide at will at this point.
*mentioned
Minho sat on the highest level of the cave, watching a newly reunited mother fuss over her shifter son’s wounds. She slowly stitched up the small gashes on his side while Onew goaded him into telling her-her name was Areum-all about Jinki and his position in Prae.
“He’s…I mean you-you’re like…the King of Prae?” she said, her voice a mix of awe and confusion as she stared down at her son “We don’t have anything like that here. Everybody is equal.”
Minho chuckled softly. “Jinki is the highest ranked Alpha. I guess Onew counts too because he’s his wolf. I’m the second highest ranked. They treat us like Kings, but we’re no royalty. We’re just in charge.”
Areum’s nose scrunched like a bunny and Minho wanted to laugh because it was a something he’d seen Jinki do so many times. “Then what are you doing here? Don’t you have things to do?”
Minho cleared his throat and looked at Onew, who avoided his glare, instead tucking his arms behind his back and staring at the ceiling. “We do,” Minho said pointedly. “Which is why, Onew promised after we found you, we could go back.”
Areum nodded quietly as she tied off her last knot. She took a cold cloth and began to clean away the excess blood but the look on her face was contemplative and nervous. “Onew,” she said after some time. “What is your mother like? I don’t blame her for taking you. She couldn’t have known that you belonged to me. It was a hard winter, she probably thought you were abandoned but…is she kind? Did she treat you well?”
Onew gave his mother a half smile before he reached up and grabbed his hand. “She was good to him, very nice and she loved him a lot. I remember she used to sing to him. A really nice song. I can’t remember the words but…Iseul is Jinki’s mother. You? You are mine.”
“Thank you, Onew. I never thought I would see you again.” She squeezed his hand one last time, an affectionate smile on her face. As Onew laid back, she turned and dipped her hand into a small container and when she pulled her fingers out, they were covered in a silver green salve. She went to smooth the salve across his reddening skin but as soon as it touched his cut, Onew roared.
“Goddamnit that hurts!”
Areum pulled her chin in and looked at Minho. “He’s better behaved in front of other elders I hope?”
Minho hid is laughter behind his hand. “Him? Absolutely not. Jinki?” Minho smiled fondly. “You couldn’t find a finer gentlemen.”
“Oh, so now you like Jinki? Could have fooled me with all the bitching you-ow!” Onew reached up and grabbed his nose. “What’cha do that for?”
“Watch your mouth around me and your mate, love,” Areum said calmly as she stood. She turned to Minho. “Be a dear, take him to bed. The salve will stop stinging soon, but I want him in bed. I’ll have someone bring you guys some fresh meat.”
Minho winced remembering dropping all his herbs from the forest. Meh, more bland meat. Great.
Minho led Onew down the stairs, flight after flight, listening to him be a big baby all the way down.
“You’re hurting me! Slow down!”
“Are you serious? I can barely see those scratches!”
“Well, if you think they don’t hurt, let me jab you a few times and see how you like it!”
“And you’re supposed to be the most fearsome wolf in all of Prae,” Minho scoffed. “I’m mated to a crybaby.”
“A crybaby, I’ll show you a damn crybaby,” he muttered as they turned the corner of another flight of stairs.
Despite Onew complaining, Minho still considered his behavior sort of…endearing. Although his first introduction to Onew had been with this menacing lust crazy maniac, the real Onew, the one who behaved more like a stubborn puppy than a vicious beast, was okay to be around. He dragged things out of Minho, his temper for one, a willingness to fight, survival instincts, things only Onew would be good at goading out of him. But the most important thing he’d realized while spending this time around Onew, forced or not, was…he realized how much he missed Jinki.
It was a dull ache deep in his chest. Whenever Onew would smile at him, he would see Jinki. Whenever Onew touched him, grabbed his hand to guide him somewhere, he felt Jinki’s fingers on his skin. The muscles in his back, the way his hair cascaded down his back, his fat plump lips. All of it was screaming Jinki. And it forced him to think about all the time he’d wasted thinking about something that may or may not matter to him.
Minho made a resolution to himself. The moment he was back in Prae he would work towards a permanent solution to his issue if only for Jinki’s sake. He knew, finally understood, that Jinki cared for him, not because he was forced to, but because without even knowing it, he’d always cared for him. Onew was proof of that.
Minho led Onew to the bed and laid him down on top of the soft mattress. For as long as they’d been there, Onew had opted to sleep on the floor while giving Minho the bed. Considering Onew had come to his aid, the least he could do was give the mangy mutt the bed.
As soon as his head hit the pillow, Onew fell right to sleep. While he slept Minho spent most of the time above the room, exploring the cave more, speaking to those who lingered around long enough to hold a conversation. The most interested were the small children. Minho wore funny clothes, silk and cotton in bright colors while they were happy in their roughspun clothing in muted tones.
One especially curious child tugged on his pants, indicating that he should sit beside her. She had long black hair with ends tinted in a pale green. He wanted to ask how she did that but she spoke a mile a minute and Minho could hardly get a word in edgewise.
“Does every one dress like you do where you come from? What’s an alpha? Is that like a God or something? What do you eat? They said you cooked your food? Why? Why do you like burned food? Why would you do that? Do you love Onew? Hey, do you know what this is?”
Without much reason to, she took his hand and looped his pinky with hers. “This is called a pinky promise.” Then she let go. ”Nana Areum said you loved each other. Do you do what momma and daddy do? They are in love and they wait until it’s really really late and they make noises like a monkey. Like “uh uhuhuhuhuh-“
“Park Sooyoung!”
Little Sooyoung’s mouth rounded into an “O” and her eyes swept left and right. Areum pulled up beside her and pulled her up by her ear. “What did I tell you about telling everyone what your parents do?”
Sooyoung lowered her head. “That momma and daddy don’t sound like monkeys,” she mumbled.
Areum shook her head. “Take your sisters and go find Joohyun. She wants you to help prepare dinner for the incoming wanderers.”
Sooyoung lowered her head and started to walk off towards the stairwell, but she turned to Minho and scratched the top of her head like a monkey would before running off. Minho bit back his laughter.
“Excuse her. Excuse all the children. The adults around here are too busy sometimes to sit down and listen to their babbling. If they’d be patient, they’ll learn everything they need to know in their travels. Impatient whelps.”
“It’s fine. They were cute. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been around children.”
“Well, they are good practice for your own children. You’ll never know true weariness until you have children, I’ll tell you that. But you’ll never know a truer love and happiness. “ Areum said with a smile. “Are you a bearer?”
Minho tilted his head at the question. “A bearer?” Then it hit him. “Oh! Am I…will I ever bear children?” Minho smiled sadly. When he was younger, he often dreamed of it, being the father of a strong line of Alpha children but…
“No. I don’t believe I can.”
“That’s peculiar. You have the smell of a bearer. It’s very faint. A regular wolf wouldn’t be able to pick it up, but we wanderers have the best noses. We could smell a rose petal in a pile of shit, I tell you.”
Minho laughed nervously.
Areum twisted her lips to the side before she tapped them. “Minho,” she asked as she glanced out over the bluff. The sun was setting and the pink-orange glow made the land look ethereal. Romantic. “Do you love my son?”
“I…” Minho opened his mouth then closed it. Did he? No. No, he couldn’t honestly say that yet. He could say that he was beginning to feel very attached to Jinki. To care for him in a way he hadn’t allowed himself beforehand. “I do care for him greatly. I’m starting to realize that.”
Areum nodded. “Good. Love, it comes. Wolves mate for a lot of reasons. Love has never really been one of them. The mating process fosters attachment but it doesn’t guarantee love. I never loved Onew’s father. Care for? Yes, absolutely. Would have fought the world for him. But I never loved him.”
Minho never thought about Onew’s father. “Is he…around?”
It was Areum’s turn to smile sadly. “He died while wandering, a few months ago. That’s why Typhoon never leaves my side. He thinks he has to protect me now, be a foster husband. He’s ridiculous, way too young for me, but it’s nice having him around. Onew’s sisters and his brother are wandering right now. I don’t suspect they’ll be back for years. But they’ll be so surprised to learn their brother is alive.”
Minho put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s nice that you’re here now. Jinki has had it pretty rough. His adopted father treated him, his mother and his siblings pretty horribly, so bad that Jinki’s mother had to leave to survive. It’s made him…hard I believe? But he’s…he has a good heart. I’ve seen it. He tries really hard and…I’ve been stubborn but I think that’s all going to change now. “
Areum patted his cheek. “I can see it in your eyes, Minho, the affection. You’ll be good for my son. And he’ll be good for you. I know things like this. Volo te’amantellah-I wish you love.” With that, she left Minho alone. He walked to the edge of the bluff and turned towards the night sky.
Who would have thought being kidnapped would have changed so much?
When Minho returned to the bottom level of the cave, Onew was still sleep, strewn across the mattress like he didn’t have any home training. Then Minho thought about it. He didn’t.
Minho drew closer to the bed and grabbed a feathered pillow and a pile of furs and made a makeshift pallet on the ground beside the bed. Just as he was about to lay down, a low growl caught his attention.
“This bed is big enough for the both of us. I’m not about to allow you to sleep on the hard cold ground on account of me.”
Minho rolled his eyes. “I’ll be absolutely fine on the floor.”
“That’s nice. I will drag you into this bed if I have to.”
Minho huffed. “Fine.”
He picked up his feathered pillow and stood. Jinki had rolled to the far side of the bed with his back turned. He was still shirtless, and from his vantage point, Minho could see that he wounds were all but healed. That was some strong salve. He placed his pillow down and crawled into bed.
It was silent for a long time, enough for Minho to reacquaint himself with the softness of the bed and feel sleep tugging at him. Before it could claim him, Minho heard the rustling of sheets. He peeked open an eye to see Onew watching him.
“You going to stare at me all night?”
“Maybe. “ Onew shrugged. “I do it every other night.”
Minho frowned. “That’s not creepy at all.”
Onew shrugged again, his movement calling Minho’s attention to his bare chest. “You’re beautiful. You’re supposed to stare at beautiful things. So I stare at you. ”
Minho tilted his head toward Onew. “For a wolf, you’re rather poetic.”
Onew shrugged for the third time. “We wolves are more aggressive, we feed into baser instincts yes, but it doesn’t mean we are any less intelligent than our humans.”
Minho chewed on his bottom lip as Onew’s words made him think of another wolf all together. “Caleo. Do…do you-” Minho paused and then puffed out his cheeks in resignation. “Never mind…it’s stupid.” Minho began to turn on his side away from Onew, but the older wolf stopped him before he could with a soft gentle hand across his belly.
“Caleo is a lot like you. Gentler. More willing to submit, I’ll tell you that, but he still has your fire. The spirit that you fight with? That flame that keeps you going when you feel alone? The warmth that soothes when you’re lonely? That’s Caleo. Even when you try to push him down so far that you can’t feel him anymore, he’s there. He’s just as beautiful as you are.”
Onew’s eyes were soft as he gazed across the bed at Minho. Again, Minho was reminded of Jinki and his heart fluttered. “You know, sometimes I look at you, even with all of your brashness and rudeness and I still see Jinki.”
Onew grinned. “We’re the same person, Minho. Just…different parts. I’m his instinct…his first thought when he wakes up and his last thought before he goes to bed. He’s my sensibility, the emotions I don’t think I feel or know how to process.”
The hand on Minho’s belly trailed in soft comforting circles and Minho never wanted that feeling, that comfort, the feeling of security to ever stop.
“You want to know what Jinki’s first and last thought of the day are nowadays?” Onew whispered. His hand was moving lower, toying with the hem of Minho’s shirt. “You. If you’re okay, if you’re cold in your room, if he should order up more wood for your fire, if you’re hungry, happy or sad. His thoughts are always on you. I used to so angry because of it.”
Minho swallowed hard as Onew’s fingertips grazed the skin just below his shirt. He felt like wherever Onew touched him caught afire. “Why?”
“Because I want him to just take you. But he wanted you to come willingly and eventually I started to understand that.”
Onew’s hand slipped under Minho’s shirt and Minho sucked in his stomach at the contact.
“You’re so soft. You skin is so soft and all I’ve wanted to do was touch it since I’ve first saw you.”
Minho didn’t answer, he couldn’t.
“Do you want him, Minho? Do you want me?”
Minho, again, was speechless. This was a far cry from fooling around with Kibum in the dark, a far cry from finger fucking behind a storage shed with Minwoo, a far cry from a chaste kiss on the floor of in the Dongbang Library. Minho’s lust was full bodied and effervescent. He didn’t know what the right answer was in his head, but he did know that he didn’t want Onew to stop touching him.
As if Onew could read his mind, he sat up and moved closer to Minho, trailing a heavy leg over him until he had the younger shifter straddled between his legs. Slowly, with Minho’s head now braced between his arms, he lowered until his face was just a breath away. “Use me, Minho. Find out why being with him is what’s supposed to happen.
That in the end, this was meant to be. Use me. Let me touch you, touch every part of you. Let me hear you moaning and screaming for me to be inside of you.” Onew placed a wet kiss to Minho’s chin. The kiss felt electric, sending currents of want through him. But still he had to ask.
“B-but what about the mating bond?”
Onew reassured him with another kiss, this one just below his ear. “Shhh. I won’t claim you. Not yet. Tonight I just want you. I’ll never get this chance again.” He continued to carve a hot path down Minho’s neck to his collarbones. “Please, Minho. Please. I want you so bad. So very bad.”
Minho looked into the golden eyes of Onew, the softness, the desperation shinning in them and couldn’t deny that he wanted to give Onew this one thing. That he wanted this. Resolved, he reached down, hooked his fingers under his shirt and pulled it off.
“Mine,” he growled as he reached out and pressed his lips to Minho’s. At first Onew just held him there, his head clutched between thick strong fingers, Onew golden irises a mirror of Minho’s face. It was like he was searching for something in Minho’s eyes, and the emotion, the feelings Onew didn’t quite understand, reflected back at him.
Minho got it. He finally got it. When Onew said protect, he meant love.
Onew tilted his head slowly, and just like that the gentleness was gone. He licked the seam of Minho’s lips, demanding entrance, growling when Minho was slow in responding. Minho tentatively met the demand, dropping his jaw and welcoming Onew’s warm, slick tongue into his mouth.
Onew kissed him like breath could be created with Minho’s kisses, like it was food, sustenance, the elixir of life. His embrace was tight and Minho felt safe in his arms.
When Onew pulled back from the kiss he was smiling. The lopsided smile of joy on Onew’s face was awe inspiring, rugged and animalistic. Onew smirked a lot, a testament to his personality. His smile, however, lit his entire face up and it was the first time Minho had been close enough to take it all in. Yet, although Minho was entranced by the beauty of it, the light it cast was dimmed behind Onew’s transformation. The color of his eyes deepened to a molten gold, his fangs elongated, visible as it poked beneath his top lip.
Transformed, Onew trailed kisses down Minho’s face, his neck, his chest until he came to a dark nipple. Minho hissed a curse as Onew circled his nipple like it was chocolate tipped and he arched into his mouth, squirming every time Onew’s tongue flicked over the hard nub. Onew moved to the other one, but not before wrapping a firm but gentle hand around Minho’s neck.
“Still. Sit still,” Onew said, his voice full of warning. His tongue passed over a fang, as a warning that they were dangerous.
Minho tried to heed to his command but the sensation of Onew’s touch was making it very hard to do. Soon, Onew was moving onto better things like exploring the hard planes and dips of Minho’s sculpted abdomen. His wet lips ghosted over Minho’s tanned skin, his breath hot as he licked a stripe across his belly before blowing, cool breaths across the skin of Minho’s stomach. Each touch and his skin quivered and he finds himself squirming again. Onew’s fingers squeezed around his neck tightly as penalty Minho found the bottom of his stomach fluttering from the momentary loss of oxygen. Testing his theory, he squirmed again when Onew’s tongue dipped in his bellybutton-Onew growling, his fingers tightening and Minho’s cock getting harder with each trial.
Minho’s erection now was straining against his pants and Onew nosed at the hem, his breath ghosting right above the sensitive skin of his pelvis. Minho reflexively tugged at Onew’s hair, his fingers sinking into the strands. Onew purred and pushed up against Minho’s finger. Minho gave another tentative tug, the hair pulling at Onew’s scalp and his purr grew louder. The sound lit a fire inside of Minho.
Onew glanced up briefly before he hooked his fingers into the waist of Minho’s pants and slowly pulled them down, watching Minho’s cock spring out and plop against his stomach. Minho held his breath in anticipation but quickly released it in a deep throaty moan as Onew took him into his warm mouth, mindful of his teeth. It took everything, Minho’s concentration and Onew’s superior strength, to keep Minho’s hips pinned to the mattress. There were things Onew as doing with his tongue that made Minho’s eyes roll to the back of his head.
Onew hummed low in his throat as he took as much of Minho was he could, his nose brushing against the fine brown hairs on Minho’s groin. That was all it took as he felt his cock brush the back of Onew’s throat. Minho felt the bottom of his stomach fall away and the world go white as his first orgasm in years rocked his core. He felt his thighs shaking, his fingers balled tightly, fingernails pressing against his palm, his breath stopped short in his chest. Something deep inside of him pulsed with his release and Minho curled forward, his stomach contracting.
When he finally came down, his body lax and compliant, the glow of his orgasm suffused in every cell he had, he felt firm hands grabbing his hips and turning him over onto his stomach, his cock soft against the mattress.
A hand is slipped under Minho’s stomach and he is pulled up onto his knees. Minho looked over his shoulder, sort of knowing what to expect and his thoughts strayed to Minwoo.
When he was younger, confidently looking forward to shedding his teenage years, Minho remembered him as an ambassador from Julien’s clan who’d come to visit the older wolf. Minwoo was young and handsome, self assured and confident and Minho not understanding anything outside of familial love, was infatuated with his low steely voice and hazel captivating eyes.
A week into his stay, he’d caught Minho alone behind the storage behind his house. Soon Minho’s pants were around his ankles, he was bent in half and two fingers were coaxing his insides. Minho knew nothing about what he was supposed to do or how it was supposed to feel and he believed Minwoo when he said the hot drag of two spit covered fingers was supposed to feel good.
Here Onew approached him and Minho braced himself, trying to control his breathing to distract himself for the inevitable discomfort to come. He bit back a yelp when he felt something cold being dribbled between the cleft of his ass. Surprised, he twisted his body to find a completely nude Onew standing behind him, in his hands a clear jar of a thick oil like substance.
“I don’t want it to hurt,” Onew said simply.
Minho blinked because he didn’t understand. As so, his brow furrowed when the pad of Onew’s finger circled his hole with firm pressure spreading the oil around. The feeling was…strange but pleasant. The sensation was prodded along further as Onew inserted one digit to the knuckle. He kept still, just like that for a moment before softly calling out.
“Okay?”
Minho nodded and Onew continued his ministration, slowly adding another finger. He worked up a pace that, unlike Minho’s previous adventure, felt so good. Minho found himself whining, his head coming down to rest against his arms, the movement causing his back to arch and his ass to poke out further into the air. Onew slipped a third finger in. It was a tight fit, but Onew was patient and Minho was so stimulated at this point that he was pushing back against Onew fingers as he pumped them in and out of him. The move earned him a slap on the ass and a purr from the Alpha.
Minho feels the tip of a finger graze something deep inside of him, not enough for him to get a full sensation, but there was a promise of something and he pushed back to feel it again. Onew tsked, purposely avoiding doing it again and Minho wants to whine. The fingers are withdrawn and warm lips are on Minho’s back, kissing up his spine. He hums, relishing the feeling as the warm press of Onew’s member rested against him. Without warning, Onew pulled back and snapped his hips, thrusting into him and sheathing himself to the hilt.
Onew was huge and if Minho was in his natural state, where his body would accommodate such a large member, he would have been better prepared for the burn as Onew stretched him. He was not, however, in his natural state and he choked as Onew filled him completely.
“Okay?” Onew repeated and Minho wanted to say something along the lines of ‘hell no, I’m not okay,’ but he doesn’t. Instead, he concentrated on breathing again. After a moment of adjustment, he nods, giving his lover the go ahead. Onew placed his hands on Minho’s hips and withdrew slightly before pushing himself back in. He repeated the motion, burying himself in Minho’s warm heat and it’s then that Minho feels the first jolt of pleasure, fingers of lightening and titillating sparks crawling up his spine.
Onew adjusted his hands on Minho’s hips, his fingers digging into the skin there as he tried to show as much restraint as his instinct would allow, but when Minho meets him on the next upstroke, Onew’s control crashed. He grabbed Minho’s arm pulled it behind him, using it to keep Minho’s still as he begins to knock the air out of Minho with each stroke. It’s rough, it’s carnal and Minho can’t find the strength to scream in pleasure like his body is demanding.
There are sounds of skin slapping and grunting mixed with the deep moans ripping from Minho’s throat. Minho can feel himself getting closer; especially as Onew’s fat cock brushed a spot inside of Minho that had star exploding behind his eyes. Onew’s pace is deep and ferocious and Minho knows it won’t be long. Minho beat him to it as Onew changes his angle and slams back into Minho. There is a firm press against that spot deep in Minho and the moment Onew’s cock slid against it, Minho lost his composure. The feeling started low in his stomach, warm, hot, cold, everything and spreading to the rest of his body in robust demanding waves. Minho’s head hit the mattress and his mouth slipped up in a soundless scream as ribbons of white coated the mattress.
Onew dropped Minho’s arm and gripped his hips so hard, Minho knew there would be bruises. Amazingly, the alpha picked up his pace, slamming into Minho but his stroke has lost its equilibrium, its smoothness, its rhythm in his fevered race to climax. With a ravage growl, it breaks down into a stuttered frenzied pace.
“Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine,” he chanted, guttural as he came and Minho can feel the warmth filling him.
Minho’s arms give out as Onew collapsed against him and they both fall into the mattress, completely exhausted. Minho glanced at him once as Onew’s chest heaved against his back, but Minho didn’t move. He smiles at Onew, who is now nuzzling and licking the base of Minho’s neck, the place he would have bitten if he was claimed him. He recognizes Onew restraint in trying to claim him and his affection for the wolf grew.
They lay like that, quietly in the warmth of their lovemaking until they fall asleep.
The next morning, Minho woke to something warm and wet. He peeked an eye open and found Onew crouched over him, licking long stripes up Minho’s chest. It doesn’t look erotic; Onew looked concerned, his face a mask of concentration.
Minho cleared his throat, bewildered. Onew paused, turned toward the sound slightly, but continued his task.
“Onew,” Minho said, flatly. “What are you doing?”
Onew grunted. “Cleaning you,” he said in between licks.
Minho eyed the body of water in the far corner of the cave and raised a brow. “You don’t…you don’t have to do that. I can clean myself.”
Onew leveled a glare at Minho, full of stubbornness. “But I’m already cleaning you.”
Minho rolled his eyes and remembered who he was dealing with. A night of sex didn’t change that. “I see that,” he said firmly as he sat up. Onew released a whine mixed growl but snuck one final lick before he relented.
Minho scooted to the edge of the bed with plans to head to the pool, but paused when he noticed something laid carefully at the edge of the bed. His robe; the third gift from Jinki. Smiling with a faint glow of affection, Minho reached down and picked it up. As he did, something small and solid rolled from the red and gold silk. A pair of hands appeared, picking the brown object wrapped in twine up and softly placing it in Minho’s hands.
Minho looked up at Onew, puzzled. “What’s this? Food?”
Onew’s brow pinched. “Not food. Medicine.”
Minho’s confusion didn’t wane. “Medication for what?”
“I’m different. No matter how you are made, I would accept you. But…but Jinki can’t live like I can and I get that. He has responsibilities and people who stare at him and judge him. I can’t make decisions for him. But…I want to keep you. This,” he said tapping on the ball, “will permanently alter your scent. It’s my gift…for you being with me.”
“W-what?” Minho said unintelligibly, floored. He searched Onew’s face, to see if he was lying. But there was nothing but sincerity in his eyes. “Onew…how?”
“This place is plentiful. The ground is rich. Things that aren’t in Prae are abundant here. I was going to slip it in your food earlier…so they couldn’t track you down and I could keep you forever. But I’m not a monster. I’ll give it to you to make the decisions. But Minho…talk to Jinki before you do it, huh? Trust him. You have to trust he cares for you.”
Minho’s gaze trailed from Onew’s face back down to the medicine in his hands. Suddenly, he threw his hands around Onew’s neck and hugged him close. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you so much.”
Onew nuzzled back against Minho before he withdrew, his eyes sad, his lips turning down. “Hurry up and get cleaned up. We head back to Prae today,” he said solemnly.
Minho’s mouth dropped open, surprise getting the best of him again, stunning him into silence, but before he could get it together, Onew strode out of the door. .
The goodbyes were short and simple. Minho said farewell to all of the young friends he made during his stay, promising to visit again and bring them clothing from Prae. Sooyoung made him specifically promise to bring her back something green, and he sealed it with the pinky promise the young wander-shifter showed him the day before.
Behind him, Onew stood with Areum, the mother and son speaking softly amongst themselves. She placed a parcel filled with food and water in his hands, ignoring his protest that they didn’t need it.
“It’ll be a day tops. I don’t need this.”
Minho approached them just as she smacked him on the arm. “Minho will! Stop talking back to me, young man, and take what I give you!”
Onew rubbed his arms sullenly and nodded. His smirk returned when she laid a kiss to his forehead.
“My wandering days are over, Onew. So I expect you to visit me before I journey to the eternal caves.”
Minho gave her a look. “As young and beautiful as you look, that’ll give us plenty of time to return.”
Areum eyed Minho, impressed, before glancing at her son. “You picked good.”
“I didn’t pick him,” Onew muttered.
Minho scoffed. “Jinki didn’t pick me. You on the other hand? You picked me.”
A look crossed Areum’s face at the mention of Jinki’s name. “Tell Iseul’s son about me, Onew. Don’t let him believe he’s been abandoned all his life. I…I know I’m not his mother, that blood means nothing in situations like this but-“
Onew gathered her into a hug. “He’ll know you exist, Mother. I promise.”
She gave his butt a good natured pat before untangling herself from his arms. “Well, you two get on. Last thing we need is for you to bring your high and mighty village folk down on our heads. We are simple people while you people are not.” She waved her hands towards the path leading from the caves. “Get going.”
The trail was long and Minho refused to “ride” Jinki like he was a horse or something, so they walked leisurely until deciding to set up camp as night approached.
As they settled atop the soft leaves of the forest floor, Onew turned to Minho, a wistful look on his face. “Don’t tell Jinki we were together. I want the Mate Bond to be special.”
“Onew. You are Jinki. Isn’t that what you told me? So just as last night was special, so will our mating. But, if you don’t want me to tell him, I won’t.”
Onew set his shoulders and looked back at the stars above them. “It feels good being out, but you people are so bothersome.” He yawned. “It’ll be good to take a back seat again.”
Minho turned to him. He pushed a lock of Onew’s hair behind his ear, still amused by how the wolf managed to get it all over his head, no matter how many times Minho ran a brush through it. “Are you leaving?”
Onew nodded. “Yeah. I keep Jinki cooped up any longer and I’ll never see the light of day again. Plus, you two belong together. You can’t be if I’m out here running around.” Minho was silent and Onew reached out and tapped under his chin. “You still don’t believe me?”
Minho smiled in response. “I believe it. Both of you…you made me realize it.”
“Good, good. I’m going back to sleep.” Onew grabbed Minho’s hand and laid a kiss to the center of his palm. “I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah,” Minho said fondly. “You will.”
Minho watched the gold fade from Onew’s eyes just as his eyes closed.
“Bye, Onew,” he said softly as he lay beside him and fell asleep as well.
Jinki awoke feeling like someone had spun him in circles until he was sick. He refused to open his eyes, instead inhaling deep breaths to try and dispel the dizziness. His hand came up and shielded his eyes from the sun, frowning.
“Someone outside, for the love of everything good on this earth, close the curtains. And please some water and crackers if you can. I think I’ve upset my stomach.”
There was a deep chuckle to his right, one he recognized. One that shouldn’t be recognized because Jinki was in his bed. His bed that was far far away from another person’s bed, who’s voice he should not be hearing because that would mean he was also in Jinki’s bed-not that he was complaining. It was just a matter of fact.
He peeked one eye open.
Okay. Matters of fact can be very wrong.
He was definitely not in the Magnus Suite. He wasn’t even in the Magnus Pavilion. Hell he wasn’t even in The Fortress. Alarmed, his other eye shot open, and his concern for his location and company took precedent over his dizziness.
Minho sat next to him, his legs crossed in front of him and a parcel across his lap. He was diligently halving the chunks of bread and placing a slice of salted meat and cheese in between them. At his side were two skins of water. Jinki’s stomach rumbled. It was paltry at best, but it looked like a meal for a king at the moment.
Still, no matter how hungry he was, nothing was preceding his need for an explanation. Problem was, there wasn’t any explaining happening.
“Minho, help me,” Jinki said with a frown.”Why…why are we in the middle of a forest eating out of a sack?”
“Onew,” Minho replied simply as he handed Jinki his small meal.
He took it and placed it aside. “Onew, what?” Jinki said, his patience a little thin amidst his confusion.
Minho shrugged. “He got it in his head that he needed to protect me, so…he stole me away for a few days. But don’t worry. I talked him back off the ledge. We’re about a day’s walk from Prae. He says hi.”
Nothing in Minho’s posture said he was lying, but then again, nothing in Minho’s posture looked like he’d spent the past few days with a tunnel focused, smart mouth, belligerent wolf either. So either Jinki was still dreaming or someone had kidnapped his mate and replaced him with…this guy.
“Onew says hi.” Jinki parroted, lowly. “Onew says hi?” he yelled. ”You’re telling me that my wolf kidnapped you for an extended amount of time, to gods knows where and you’re just fine with that?”
Minho gave him a very dry look. “Of course I wasn’t fine with it. It took me three days to convince him to leave. I haven’t had a proper bath, my robe is dirty, I am dirty because all I had was stagnant cave water to wash in. He tried to get me to eat raw meat. Raw. Meat. Then he dragged me out to the middle of some godforsaken field and a drunk bear almost ate me.”
“A what almost ate you?”
“A drunken bear. Well, he was a shifter. He apologized, though.”
Jinki groaned and laid his head in his hands. He could feel a headache coming on.
“I missed you.”
Jinki’s head snapped back up. Minho was smiling at him, shyly, but it was definitely a smile. “W-what did you say.”
Minho giggled this time. “I said I missed you. You know, when you notice the absence of someone else? I missed you. Although Onew is not too bad of a wolf, I’m really glad you’re back.”
Jinki blinked and looked around. Now he was sure that someone had swapped his mate out. “That’s…strange because and I don’t want to start a fight it’s just the last time we spoke…”
Minho looked thoughtful for a moment. “I was apologizing for saying something mean to you, I recall.”
“Yeah…that sounds about right.”
“What was it? That I said. I don’t remember.”
Jinki’s face pinched. “See, the part about not wanting to start a fight? I meant that.”
“Stop being a baby and tell me.”
Jinki looked away, his eyes canvassing over the woods. He didn’t recognize this patch of forest, but he did recognize the red fern. Which means they were near Morocco Song. Minho, apparently didn’t care where they were and he pinned him with a stare. Jinki sighed.
“You remember the kiss?”
Minho hummed. “Yes, I remember the kiss.”
“Well, you said something afterwards. And it angered me.” He looked back at Minho, who was looking at him, his eyes softer than he’d ever seen them before. It confused him. “You implied that I only wanted you for sex.”
Minho’s brows rose and his mouth gaped open. A frown marred his features and he looked completely beside himself. “I don’t know why I would say that.” He placed the parcel with the food inside of it down and ran a hand through his hair. “I have no idea at all. That was a very mean thing of me to assume.”
“You cited your references, so I believe you meant it. Did you not?”
“If I meant that, I meant it in jest or…duress. I was drunk. But…I don’t feel like that, Jinki. Not at all. I,” Minho paused to inhale. “I actually think the opposite and I think it’s time I tell you how I really-“
The cacophony of sounds broke the quiet of the still forest air, interrupting Minho’s speech and drawing Jinki’s attention from his lips. A cloud of dust rose from the forest trail as a dozen or so people on horses raced towards them. Jinki frowned and glanced at Minho.
“Search party?”
Minho nodded and shrugged with his mouth. “Search party.”
They both stood and walked through the thick forest floor to get back to the trail. A horse pulled shy of them and whinnied as its rider pulled back on its reigns. A shock of black hair glanced over the horse’s head, a smirk pulling at her lips.
“You look like shit, Jinki.”
Jinki gave her a thin smile. “It’s good seeing you too, Vic.”
“Always a pleasure, my lord.” She said, giving a miniature bow from her saddle. She turned back down the path, put her fingers between lips and whistled hard. “Nic! Tiffany! I found them!” Soon another thirty odd horses joined Victoria’s section of the search party.
Nickhkun dismounted his steed, crossed over the dirt path and pulled Jinki into a tight hug. “Man am I glad to see you!” He pulled back, a smile crinkling his eyes into half moons. “We’ve had half of Prae looking for you!” He took a second and glanced at Jinki from head to toe. “Um I’m glad you’re alive and all but…you look like shit.”
Jinki threw his hands up. “What is with you Moroccan Song people? I do not look like ‘shit”!”
From atop her steed, Tiffany pushed her fire red hair to the side as she rummaged around in her saddle bag. She withdrew a mirror and cautiously held it in Jinki’s direction.
That was twice I have been wrong in one day. He did look like shit. His hair was all over his head, his clothes were ripped at his side. He looked down at his feet and groaned. For Jesu sake! He didn’t even have on shoes! He turned to Minho.
“You let that beast walk around for days without shoes?”
Minho gave a helpless shrug. “He doesn’t like them. I know you two haven’t exactly been in the same space at the same time, but forcing him into a pair of shoes would have been like forcing you to cut your hair.” Minho tilted his head. “And if we can’t get those tangles out, that might be a possibility.”
Jinki recoiled, his hands going to his hair, protecting it.
“Well, let’s get you guys back to Prae. I’ll have you know that Kibum has been brilliant in being a total bitch and I just managed to keep my balls, so the faster we get you back, the better off all of us will be. Maybe except for you, my lord,” he said as he looked at Jinki. “He is especially pissed with you and yours,” Nickhun muttered as he mounted his horse.
Two horses were produced and as soon as Minho grabbed all of their things, they were mounted and headed back to Prae, surrounded by the search party on all sides.
It wasn’t the privacy he wanted which he knew he would soon have, but Jinki couldn’t summon the patience to wait. He leaned closer to Minho. “So…you were going to tell me something back there.”
Minho glanced at him for a short moment before he returned his eyes back to the front. “I was. I am.”
“Just not right now, huh?”
Minho shook his head. “No. Not right now. But trust me, you’ll enjoy what I have to say.”
“Promise?”
Minho winked at him. “Promise.”
_____________________________________________________________
A|N: Literally, literally, Onew is this guy.
I was about 3/4ths through with this chapter and I said...He sure does act like Inuyasha. And then I was like...HE ACTUALLY DOES.
A|N: If you are unfamilar with Yixing x Yifan - Sehun x Tao ship, you can get acquatined with them if you want, but they are a major plot point (NOT A SPOILERS) coming up.
A|N: Can't think of anything else to update you on so...BYE!
Pairing: Chapter focus: Minho/Onew, Jonghyun/Kibum, Yixing/Yifan*, Sehun/Tao*
Rating: R/NC-17 (a b o u t damn time | note: see bolded for each chapter)
Words: 20,095 total [alpha | beta | gamma]
Summary: The Blood Moon Festival, the catalyst brought on by tragedy to usher in calamity, wants a new bonded pair...
A/N: Still safe to read the character guide at will at this point.
*mentioned
Minho sat on the highest level of the cave, watching a newly reunited mother fuss over her shifter son’s wounds. She slowly stitched up the small gashes on his side while Onew goaded him into telling her-her name was Areum-all about Jinki and his position in Prae.
“He’s…I mean you-you’re like…the King of Prae?” she said, her voice a mix of awe and confusion as she stared down at her son “We don’t have anything like that here. Everybody is equal.”
Minho chuckled softly. “Jinki is the highest ranked Alpha. I guess Onew counts too because he’s his wolf. I’m the second highest ranked. They treat us like Kings, but we’re no royalty. We’re just in charge.”
Areum’s nose scrunched like a bunny and Minho wanted to laugh because it was a something he’d seen Jinki do so many times. “Then what are you doing here? Don’t you have things to do?”
Minho cleared his throat and looked at Onew, who avoided his glare, instead tucking his arms behind his back and staring at the ceiling. “We do,” Minho said pointedly. “Which is why, Onew promised after we found you, we could go back.”
Areum nodded quietly as she tied off her last knot. She took a cold cloth and began to clean away the excess blood but the look on her face was contemplative and nervous. “Onew,” she said after some time. “What is your mother like? I don’t blame her for taking you. She couldn’t have known that you belonged to me. It was a hard winter, she probably thought you were abandoned but…is she kind? Did she treat you well?”
Onew gave his mother a half smile before he reached up and grabbed his hand. “She was good to him, very nice and she loved him a lot. I remember she used to sing to him. A really nice song. I can’t remember the words but…Iseul is Jinki’s mother. You? You are mine.”
“Thank you, Onew. I never thought I would see you again.” She squeezed his hand one last time, an affectionate smile on her face. As Onew laid back, she turned and dipped her hand into a small container and when she pulled her fingers out, they were covered in a silver green salve. She went to smooth the salve across his reddening skin but as soon as it touched his cut, Onew roared.
“Goddamnit that hurts!”
Areum pulled her chin in and looked at Minho. “He’s better behaved in front of other elders I hope?”
Minho hid is laughter behind his hand. “Him? Absolutely not. Jinki?” Minho smiled fondly. “You couldn’t find a finer gentlemen.”
“Oh, so now you like Jinki? Could have fooled me with all the bitching you-ow!” Onew reached up and grabbed his nose. “What’cha do that for?”
“Watch your mouth around me and your mate, love,” Areum said calmly as she stood. She turned to Minho. “Be a dear, take him to bed. The salve will stop stinging soon, but I want him in bed. I’ll have someone bring you guys some fresh meat.”
Minho winced remembering dropping all his herbs from the forest. Meh, more bland meat. Great.
Minho led Onew down the stairs, flight after flight, listening to him be a big baby all the way down.
“You’re hurting me! Slow down!”
“Are you serious? I can barely see those scratches!”
“Well, if you think they don’t hurt, let me jab you a few times and see how you like it!”
“And you’re supposed to be the most fearsome wolf in all of Prae,” Minho scoffed. “I’m mated to a crybaby.”
“A crybaby, I’ll show you a damn crybaby,” he muttered as they turned the corner of another flight of stairs.
Despite Onew complaining, Minho still considered his behavior sort of…endearing. Although his first introduction to Onew had been with this menacing lust crazy maniac, the real Onew, the one who behaved more like a stubborn puppy than a vicious beast, was okay to be around. He dragged things out of Minho, his temper for one, a willingness to fight, survival instincts, things only Onew would be good at goading out of him. But the most important thing he’d realized while spending this time around Onew, forced or not, was…he realized how much he missed Jinki.
It was a dull ache deep in his chest. Whenever Onew would smile at him, he would see Jinki. Whenever Onew touched him, grabbed his hand to guide him somewhere, he felt Jinki’s fingers on his skin. The muscles in his back, the way his hair cascaded down his back, his fat plump lips. All of it was screaming Jinki. And it forced him to think about all the time he’d wasted thinking about something that may or may not matter to him.
Minho made a resolution to himself. The moment he was back in Prae he would work towards a permanent solution to his issue if only for Jinki’s sake. He knew, finally understood, that Jinki cared for him, not because he was forced to, but because without even knowing it, he’d always cared for him. Onew was proof of that.
Minho led Onew to the bed and laid him down on top of the soft mattress. For as long as they’d been there, Onew had opted to sleep on the floor while giving Minho the bed. Considering Onew had come to his aid, the least he could do was give the mangy mutt the bed.
As soon as his head hit the pillow, Onew fell right to sleep. While he slept Minho spent most of the time above the room, exploring the cave more, speaking to those who lingered around long enough to hold a conversation. The most interested were the small children. Minho wore funny clothes, silk and cotton in bright colors while they were happy in their roughspun clothing in muted tones.
One especially curious child tugged on his pants, indicating that he should sit beside her. She had long black hair with ends tinted in a pale green. He wanted to ask how she did that but she spoke a mile a minute and Minho could hardly get a word in edgewise.
“Does every one dress like you do where you come from? What’s an alpha? Is that like a God or something? What do you eat? They said you cooked your food? Why? Why do you like burned food? Why would you do that? Do you love Onew? Hey, do you know what this is?”
Without much reason to, she took his hand and looped his pinky with hers. “This is called a pinky promise.” Then she let go. ”Nana Areum said you loved each other. Do you do what momma and daddy do? They are in love and they wait until it’s really really late and they make noises like a monkey. Like “uh uhuhuhuhuh-“
“Park Sooyoung!”
Little Sooyoung’s mouth rounded into an “O” and her eyes swept left and right. Areum pulled up beside her and pulled her up by her ear. “What did I tell you about telling everyone what your parents do?”
Sooyoung lowered her head. “That momma and daddy don’t sound like monkeys,” she mumbled.
Areum shook her head. “Take your sisters and go find Joohyun. She wants you to help prepare dinner for the incoming wanderers.”
Sooyoung lowered her head and started to walk off towards the stairwell, but she turned to Minho and scratched the top of her head like a monkey would before running off. Minho bit back his laughter.
“Excuse her. Excuse all the children. The adults around here are too busy sometimes to sit down and listen to their babbling. If they’d be patient, they’ll learn everything they need to know in their travels. Impatient whelps.”
“It’s fine. They were cute. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been around children.”
“Well, they are good practice for your own children. You’ll never know true weariness until you have children, I’ll tell you that. But you’ll never know a truer love and happiness. “ Areum said with a smile. “Are you a bearer?”
Minho tilted his head at the question. “A bearer?” Then it hit him. “Oh! Am I…will I ever bear children?” Minho smiled sadly. When he was younger, he often dreamed of it, being the father of a strong line of Alpha children but…
“No. I don’t believe I can.”
“That’s peculiar. You have the smell of a bearer. It’s very faint. A regular wolf wouldn’t be able to pick it up, but we wanderers have the best noses. We could smell a rose petal in a pile of shit, I tell you.”
Minho laughed nervously.
Areum twisted her lips to the side before she tapped them. “Minho,” she asked as she glanced out over the bluff. The sun was setting and the pink-orange glow made the land look ethereal. Romantic. “Do you love my son?”
“I…” Minho opened his mouth then closed it. Did he? No. No, he couldn’t honestly say that yet. He could say that he was beginning to feel very attached to Jinki. To care for him in a way he hadn’t allowed himself beforehand. “I do care for him greatly. I’m starting to realize that.”
Areum nodded. “Good. Love, it comes. Wolves mate for a lot of reasons. Love has never really been one of them. The mating process fosters attachment but it doesn’t guarantee love. I never loved Onew’s father. Care for? Yes, absolutely. Would have fought the world for him. But I never loved him.”
Minho never thought about Onew’s father. “Is he…around?”
It was Areum’s turn to smile sadly. “He died while wandering, a few months ago. That’s why Typhoon never leaves my side. He thinks he has to protect me now, be a foster husband. He’s ridiculous, way too young for me, but it’s nice having him around. Onew’s sisters and his brother are wandering right now. I don’t suspect they’ll be back for years. But they’ll be so surprised to learn their brother is alive.”
Minho put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s nice that you’re here now. Jinki has had it pretty rough. His adopted father treated him, his mother and his siblings pretty horribly, so bad that Jinki’s mother had to leave to survive. It’s made him…hard I believe? But he’s…he has a good heart. I’ve seen it. He tries really hard and…I’ve been stubborn but I think that’s all going to change now. “
Areum patted his cheek. “I can see it in your eyes, Minho, the affection. You’ll be good for my son. And he’ll be good for you. I know things like this. Volo te’amantellah-I wish you love.” With that, she left Minho alone. He walked to the edge of the bluff and turned towards the night sky.
Who would have thought being kidnapped would have changed so much?
When Minho returned to the bottom level of the cave, Onew was still sleep, strewn across the mattress like he didn’t have any home training. Then Minho thought about it. He didn’t.
Minho drew closer to the bed and grabbed a feathered pillow and a pile of furs and made a makeshift pallet on the ground beside the bed. Just as he was about to lay down, a low growl caught his attention.
“This bed is big enough for the both of us. I’m not about to allow you to sleep on the hard cold ground on account of me.”
Minho rolled his eyes. “I’ll be absolutely fine on the floor.”
“That’s nice. I will drag you into this bed if I have to.”
Minho huffed. “Fine.”
He picked up his feathered pillow and stood. Jinki had rolled to the far side of the bed with his back turned. He was still shirtless, and from his vantage point, Minho could see that he wounds were all but healed. That was some strong salve. He placed his pillow down and crawled into bed.
It was silent for a long time, enough for Minho to reacquaint himself with the softness of the bed and feel sleep tugging at him. Before it could claim him, Minho heard the rustling of sheets. He peeked open an eye to see Onew watching him.
“You going to stare at me all night?”
“Maybe. “ Onew shrugged. “I do it every other night.”
Minho frowned. “That’s not creepy at all.”
Onew shrugged again, his movement calling Minho’s attention to his bare chest. “You’re beautiful. You’re supposed to stare at beautiful things. So I stare at you. ”
Minho tilted his head toward Onew. “For a wolf, you’re rather poetic.”
Onew shrugged for the third time. “We wolves are more aggressive, we feed into baser instincts yes, but it doesn’t mean we are any less intelligent than our humans.”
Minho chewed on his bottom lip as Onew’s words made him think of another wolf all together. “Caleo. Do…do you-” Minho paused and then puffed out his cheeks in resignation. “Never mind…it’s stupid.” Minho began to turn on his side away from Onew, but the older wolf stopped him before he could with a soft gentle hand across his belly.
“Caleo is a lot like you. Gentler. More willing to submit, I’ll tell you that, but he still has your fire. The spirit that you fight with? That flame that keeps you going when you feel alone? The warmth that soothes when you’re lonely? That’s Caleo. Even when you try to push him down so far that you can’t feel him anymore, he’s there. He’s just as beautiful as you are.”
Onew’s eyes were soft as he gazed across the bed at Minho. Again, Minho was reminded of Jinki and his heart fluttered. “You know, sometimes I look at you, even with all of your brashness and rudeness and I still see Jinki.”
Onew grinned. “We’re the same person, Minho. Just…different parts. I’m his instinct…his first thought when he wakes up and his last thought before he goes to bed. He’s my sensibility, the emotions I don’t think I feel or know how to process.”
The hand on Minho’s belly trailed in soft comforting circles and Minho never wanted that feeling, that comfort, the feeling of security to ever stop.
“You want to know what Jinki’s first and last thought of the day are nowadays?” Onew whispered. His hand was moving lower, toying with the hem of Minho’s shirt. “You. If you’re okay, if you’re cold in your room, if he should order up more wood for your fire, if you’re hungry, happy or sad. His thoughts are always on you. I used to so angry because of it.”
Minho swallowed hard as Onew’s fingertips grazed the skin just below his shirt. He felt like wherever Onew touched him caught afire. “Why?”
“Because I want him to just take you. But he wanted you to come willingly and eventually I started to understand that.”
Onew’s hand slipped under Minho’s shirt and Minho sucked in his stomach at the contact.
“You’re so soft. You skin is so soft and all I’ve wanted to do was touch it since I’ve first saw you.”
Minho didn’t answer, he couldn’t.
“Do you want him, Minho? Do you want me?”
Minho, again, was speechless. This was a far cry from fooling around with Kibum in the dark, a far cry from finger fucking behind a storage shed with Minwoo, a far cry from a chaste kiss on the floor of in the Dongbang Library. Minho’s lust was full bodied and effervescent. He didn’t know what the right answer was in his head, but he did know that he didn’t want Onew to stop touching him.
As if Onew could read his mind, he sat up and moved closer to Minho, trailing a heavy leg over him until he had the younger shifter straddled between his legs. Slowly, with Minho’s head now braced between his arms, he lowered until his face was just a breath away. “Use me, Minho. Find out why being with him is what’s supposed to happen.
That in the end, this was meant to be. Use me. Let me touch you, touch every part of you. Let me hear you moaning and screaming for me to be inside of you.” Onew placed a wet kiss to Minho’s chin. The kiss felt electric, sending currents of want through him. But still he had to ask.
“B-but what about the mating bond?”
Onew reassured him with another kiss, this one just below his ear. “Shhh. I won’t claim you. Not yet. Tonight I just want you. I’ll never get this chance again.” He continued to carve a hot path down Minho’s neck to his collarbones. “Please, Minho. Please. I want you so bad. So very bad.”
Minho looked into the golden eyes of Onew, the softness, the desperation shinning in them and couldn’t deny that he wanted to give Onew this one thing. That he wanted this. Resolved, he reached down, hooked his fingers under his shirt and pulled it off.
“Mine,” he growled as he reached out and pressed his lips to Minho’s. At first Onew just held him there, his head clutched between thick strong fingers, Onew golden irises a mirror of Minho’s face. It was like he was searching for something in Minho’s eyes, and the emotion, the feelings Onew didn’t quite understand, reflected back at him.
Minho got it. He finally got it. When Onew said protect, he meant love.
Onew tilted his head slowly, and just like that the gentleness was gone. He licked the seam of Minho’s lips, demanding entrance, growling when Minho was slow in responding. Minho tentatively met the demand, dropping his jaw and welcoming Onew’s warm, slick tongue into his mouth.
Onew kissed him like breath could be created with Minho’s kisses, like it was food, sustenance, the elixir of life. His embrace was tight and Minho felt safe in his arms.
When Onew pulled back from the kiss he was smiling. The lopsided smile of joy on Onew’s face was awe inspiring, rugged and animalistic. Onew smirked a lot, a testament to his personality. His smile, however, lit his entire face up and it was the first time Minho had been close enough to take it all in. Yet, although Minho was entranced by the beauty of it, the light it cast was dimmed behind Onew’s transformation. The color of his eyes deepened to a molten gold, his fangs elongated, visible as it poked beneath his top lip.
Transformed, Onew trailed kisses down Minho’s face, his neck, his chest until he came to a dark nipple. Minho hissed a curse as Onew circled his nipple like it was chocolate tipped and he arched into his mouth, squirming every time Onew’s tongue flicked over the hard nub. Onew moved to the other one, but not before wrapping a firm but gentle hand around Minho’s neck.
“Still. Sit still,” Onew said, his voice full of warning. His tongue passed over a fang, as a warning that they were dangerous.
Minho tried to heed to his command but the sensation of Onew’s touch was making it very hard to do. Soon, Onew was moving onto better things like exploring the hard planes and dips of Minho’s sculpted abdomen. His wet lips ghosted over Minho’s tanned skin, his breath hot as he licked a stripe across his belly before blowing, cool breaths across the skin of Minho’s stomach. Each touch and his skin quivered and he finds himself squirming again. Onew’s fingers squeezed around his neck tightly as penalty Minho found the bottom of his stomach fluttering from the momentary loss of oxygen. Testing his theory, he squirmed again when Onew’s tongue dipped in his bellybutton-Onew growling, his fingers tightening and Minho’s cock getting harder with each trial.
Minho’s erection now was straining against his pants and Onew nosed at the hem, his breath ghosting right above the sensitive skin of his pelvis. Minho reflexively tugged at Onew’s hair, his fingers sinking into the strands. Onew purred and pushed up against Minho’s finger. Minho gave another tentative tug, the hair pulling at Onew’s scalp and his purr grew louder. The sound lit a fire inside of Minho.
Onew glanced up briefly before he hooked his fingers into the waist of Minho’s pants and slowly pulled them down, watching Minho’s cock spring out and plop against his stomach. Minho held his breath in anticipation but quickly released it in a deep throaty moan as Onew took him into his warm mouth, mindful of his teeth. It took everything, Minho’s concentration and Onew’s superior strength, to keep Minho’s hips pinned to the mattress. There were things Onew as doing with his tongue that made Minho’s eyes roll to the back of his head.
Onew hummed low in his throat as he took as much of Minho was he could, his nose brushing against the fine brown hairs on Minho’s groin. That was all it took as he felt his cock brush the back of Onew’s throat. Minho felt the bottom of his stomach fall away and the world go white as his first orgasm in years rocked his core. He felt his thighs shaking, his fingers balled tightly, fingernails pressing against his palm, his breath stopped short in his chest. Something deep inside of him pulsed with his release and Minho curled forward, his stomach contracting.
When he finally came down, his body lax and compliant, the glow of his orgasm suffused in every cell he had, he felt firm hands grabbing his hips and turning him over onto his stomach, his cock soft against the mattress.
A hand is slipped under Minho’s stomach and he is pulled up onto his knees. Minho looked over his shoulder, sort of knowing what to expect and his thoughts strayed to Minwoo.
When he was younger, confidently looking forward to shedding his teenage years, Minho remembered him as an ambassador from Julien’s clan who’d come to visit the older wolf. Minwoo was young and handsome, self assured and confident and Minho not understanding anything outside of familial love, was infatuated with his low steely voice and hazel captivating eyes.
A week into his stay, he’d caught Minho alone behind the storage behind his house. Soon Minho’s pants were around his ankles, he was bent in half and two fingers were coaxing his insides. Minho knew nothing about what he was supposed to do or how it was supposed to feel and he believed Minwoo when he said the hot drag of two spit covered fingers was supposed to feel good.
Here Onew approached him and Minho braced himself, trying to control his breathing to distract himself for the inevitable discomfort to come. He bit back a yelp when he felt something cold being dribbled between the cleft of his ass. Surprised, he twisted his body to find a completely nude Onew standing behind him, in his hands a clear jar of a thick oil like substance.
“I don’t want it to hurt,” Onew said simply.
Minho blinked because he didn’t understand. As so, his brow furrowed when the pad of Onew’s finger circled his hole with firm pressure spreading the oil around. The feeling was…strange but pleasant. The sensation was prodded along further as Onew inserted one digit to the knuckle. He kept still, just like that for a moment before softly calling out.
“Okay?”
Minho nodded and Onew continued his ministration, slowly adding another finger. He worked up a pace that, unlike Minho’s previous adventure, felt so good. Minho found himself whining, his head coming down to rest against his arms, the movement causing his back to arch and his ass to poke out further into the air. Onew slipped a third finger in. It was a tight fit, but Onew was patient and Minho was so stimulated at this point that he was pushing back against Onew fingers as he pumped them in and out of him. The move earned him a slap on the ass and a purr from the Alpha.
Minho feels the tip of a finger graze something deep inside of him, not enough for him to get a full sensation, but there was a promise of something and he pushed back to feel it again. Onew tsked, purposely avoiding doing it again and Minho wants to whine. The fingers are withdrawn and warm lips are on Minho’s back, kissing up his spine. He hums, relishing the feeling as the warm press of Onew’s member rested against him. Without warning, Onew pulled back and snapped his hips, thrusting into him and sheathing himself to the hilt.
Onew was huge and if Minho was in his natural state, where his body would accommodate such a large member, he would have been better prepared for the burn as Onew stretched him. He was not, however, in his natural state and he choked as Onew filled him completely.
“Okay?” Onew repeated and Minho wanted to say something along the lines of ‘hell no, I’m not okay,’ but he doesn’t. Instead, he concentrated on breathing again. After a moment of adjustment, he nods, giving his lover the go ahead. Onew placed his hands on Minho’s hips and withdrew slightly before pushing himself back in. He repeated the motion, burying himself in Minho’s warm heat and it’s then that Minho feels the first jolt of pleasure, fingers of lightening and titillating sparks crawling up his spine.
Onew adjusted his hands on Minho’s hips, his fingers digging into the skin there as he tried to show as much restraint as his instinct would allow, but when Minho meets him on the next upstroke, Onew’s control crashed. He grabbed Minho’s arm pulled it behind him, using it to keep Minho’s still as he begins to knock the air out of Minho with each stroke. It’s rough, it’s carnal and Minho can’t find the strength to scream in pleasure like his body is demanding.
There are sounds of skin slapping and grunting mixed with the deep moans ripping from Minho’s throat. Minho can feel himself getting closer; especially as Onew’s fat cock brushed a spot inside of Minho that had star exploding behind his eyes. Onew’s pace is deep and ferocious and Minho knows it won’t be long. Minho beat him to it as Onew changes his angle and slams back into Minho. There is a firm press against that spot deep in Minho and the moment Onew’s cock slid against it, Minho lost his composure. The feeling started low in his stomach, warm, hot, cold, everything and spreading to the rest of his body in robust demanding waves. Minho’s head hit the mattress and his mouth slipped up in a soundless scream as ribbons of white coated the mattress.
Onew dropped Minho’s arm and gripped his hips so hard, Minho knew there would be bruises. Amazingly, the alpha picked up his pace, slamming into Minho but his stroke has lost its equilibrium, its smoothness, its rhythm in his fevered race to climax. With a ravage growl, it breaks down into a stuttered frenzied pace.
“Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine,” he chanted, guttural as he came and Minho can feel the warmth filling him.
Minho’s arms give out as Onew collapsed against him and they both fall into the mattress, completely exhausted. Minho glanced at him once as Onew’s chest heaved against his back, but Minho didn’t move. He smiles at Onew, who is now nuzzling and licking the base of Minho’s neck, the place he would have bitten if he was claimed him. He recognizes Onew restraint in trying to claim him and his affection for the wolf grew.
They lay like that, quietly in the warmth of their lovemaking until they fall asleep.
The next morning, Minho woke to something warm and wet. He peeked an eye open and found Onew crouched over him, licking long stripes up Minho’s chest. It doesn’t look erotic; Onew looked concerned, his face a mask of concentration.
Minho cleared his throat, bewildered. Onew paused, turned toward the sound slightly, but continued his task.
“Onew,” Minho said, flatly. “What are you doing?”
Onew grunted. “Cleaning you,” he said in between licks.
Minho eyed the body of water in the far corner of the cave and raised a brow. “You don’t…you don’t have to do that. I can clean myself.”
Onew leveled a glare at Minho, full of stubbornness. “But I’m already cleaning you.”
Minho rolled his eyes and remembered who he was dealing with. A night of sex didn’t change that. “I see that,” he said firmly as he sat up. Onew released a whine mixed growl but snuck one final lick before he relented.
Minho scooted to the edge of the bed with plans to head to the pool, but paused when he noticed something laid carefully at the edge of the bed. His robe; the third gift from Jinki. Smiling with a faint glow of affection, Minho reached down and picked it up. As he did, something small and solid rolled from the red and gold silk. A pair of hands appeared, picking the brown object wrapped in twine up and softly placing it in Minho’s hands.
Minho looked up at Onew, puzzled. “What’s this? Food?”
Onew’s brow pinched. “Not food. Medicine.”
Minho’s confusion didn’t wane. “Medication for what?”
“I’m different. No matter how you are made, I would accept you. But…but Jinki can’t live like I can and I get that. He has responsibilities and people who stare at him and judge him. I can’t make decisions for him. But…I want to keep you. This,” he said tapping on the ball, “will permanently alter your scent. It’s my gift…for you being with me.”
“W-what?” Minho said unintelligibly, floored. He searched Onew’s face, to see if he was lying. But there was nothing but sincerity in his eyes. “Onew…how?”
“This place is plentiful. The ground is rich. Things that aren’t in Prae are abundant here. I was going to slip it in your food earlier…so they couldn’t track you down and I could keep you forever. But I’m not a monster. I’ll give it to you to make the decisions. But Minho…talk to Jinki before you do it, huh? Trust him. You have to trust he cares for you.”
Minho’s gaze trailed from Onew’s face back down to the medicine in his hands. Suddenly, he threw his hands around Onew’s neck and hugged him close. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you so much.”
Onew nuzzled back against Minho before he withdrew, his eyes sad, his lips turning down. “Hurry up and get cleaned up. We head back to Prae today,” he said solemnly.
Minho’s mouth dropped open, surprise getting the best of him again, stunning him into silence, but before he could get it together, Onew strode out of the door. .
The goodbyes were short and simple. Minho said farewell to all of the young friends he made during his stay, promising to visit again and bring them clothing from Prae. Sooyoung made him specifically promise to bring her back something green, and he sealed it with the pinky promise the young wander-shifter showed him the day before.
Behind him, Onew stood with Areum, the mother and son speaking softly amongst themselves. She placed a parcel filled with food and water in his hands, ignoring his protest that they didn’t need it.
“It’ll be a day tops. I don’t need this.”
Minho approached them just as she smacked him on the arm. “Minho will! Stop talking back to me, young man, and take what I give you!”
Onew rubbed his arms sullenly and nodded. His smirk returned when she laid a kiss to his forehead.
“My wandering days are over, Onew. So I expect you to visit me before I journey to the eternal caves.”
Minho gave her a look. “As young and beautiful as you look, that’ll give us plenty of time to return.”
Areum eyed Minho, impressed, before glancing at her son. “You picked good.”
“I didn’t pick him,” Onew muttered.
Minho scoffed. “Jinki didn’t pick me. You on the other hand? You picked me.”
A look crossed Areum’s face at the mention of Jinki’s name. “Tell Iseul’s son about me, Onew. Don’t let him believe he’s been abandoned all his life. I…I know I’m not his mother, that blood means nothing in situations like this but-“
Onew gathered her into a hug. “He’ll know you exist, Mother. I promise.”
She gave his butt a good natured pat before untangling herself from his arms. “Well, you two get on. Last thing we need is for you to bring your high and mighty village folk down on our heads. We are simple people while you people are not.” She waved her hands towards the path leading from the caves. “Get going.”
The trail was long and Minho refused to “ride” Jinki like he was a horse or something, so they walked leisurely until deciding to set up camp as night approached.
As they settled atop the soft leaves of the forest floor, Onew turned to Minho, a wistful look on his face. “Don’t tell Jinki we were together. I want the Mate Bond to be special.”
“Onew. You are Jinki. Isn’t that what you told me? So just as last night was special, so will our mating. But, if you don’t want me to tell him, I won’t.”
Onew set his shoulders and looked back at the stars above them. “It feels good being out, but you people are so bothersome.” He yawned. “It’ll be good to take a back seat again.”
Minho turned to him. He pushed a lock of Onew’s hair behind his ear, still amused by how the wolf managed to get it all over his head, no matter how many times Minho ran a brush through it. “Are you leaving?”
Onew nodded. “Yeah. I keep Jinki cooped up any longer and I’ll never see the light of day again. Plus, you two belong together. You can’t be if I’m out here running around.” Minho was silent and Onew reached out and tapped under his chin. “You still don’t believe me?”
Minho smiled in response. “I believe it. Both of you…you made me realize it.”
“Good, good. I’m going back to sleep.” Onew grabbed Minho’s hand and laid a kiss to the center of his palm. “I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah,” Minho said fondly. “You will.”
Minho watched the gold fade from Onew’s eyes just as his eyes closed.
“Bye, Onew,” he said softly as he lay beside him and fell asleep as well.
Jinki awoke feeling like someone had spun him in circles until he was sick. He refused to open his eyes, instead inhaling deep breaths to try and dispel the dizziness. His hand came up and shielded his eyes from the sun, frowning.
“Someone outside, for the love of everything good on this earth, close the curtains. And please some water and crackers if you can. I think I’ve upset my stomach.”
There was a deep chuckle to his right, one he recognized. One that shouldn’t be recognized because Jinki was in his bed. His bed that was far far away from another person’s bed, who’s voice he should not be hearing because that would mean he was also in Jinki’s bed-not that he was complaining. It was just a matter of fact.
He peeked one eye open.
Okay. Matters of fact can be very wrong.
He was definitely not in the Magnus Suite. He wasn’t even in the Magnus Pavilion. Hell he wasn’t even in The Fortress. Alarmed, his other eye shot open, and his concern for his location and company took precedent over his dizziness.
Minho sat next to him, his legs crossed in front of him and a parcel across his lap. He was diligently halving the chunks of bread and placing a slice of salted meat and cheese in between them. At his side were two skins of water. Jinki’s stomach rumbled. It was paltry at best, but it looked like a meal for a king at the moment.
Still, no matter how hungry he was, nothing was preceding his need for an explanation. Problem was, there wasn’t any explaining happening.
“Minho, help me,” Jinki said with a frown.”Why…why are we in the middle of a forest eating out of a sack?”
“Onew,” Minho replied simply as he handed Jinki his small meal.
He took it and placed it aside. “Onew, what?” Jinki said, his patience a little thin amidst his confusion.
Minho shrugged. “He got it in his head that he needed to protect me, so…he stole me away for a few days. But don’t worry. I talked him back off the ledge. We’re about a day’s walk from Prae. He says hi.”
Nothing in Minho’s posture said he was lying, but then again, nothing in Minho’s posture looked like he’d spent the past few days with a tunnel focused, smart mouth, belligerent wolf either. So either Jinki was still dreaming or someone had kidnapped his mate and replaced him with…this guy.
“Onew says hi.” Jinki parroted, lowly. “Onew says hi?” he yelled. ”You’re telling me that my wolf kidnapped you for an extended amount of time, to gods knows where and you’re just fine with that?”
Minho gave him a very dry look. “Of course I wasn’t fine with it. It took me three days to convince him to leave. I haven’t had a proper bath, my robe is dirty, I am dirty because all I had was stagnant cave water to wash in. He tried to get me to eat raw meat. Raw. Meat. Then he dragged me out to the middle of some godforsaken field and a drunk bear almost ate me.”
“A what almost ate you?”
“A drunken bear. Well, he was a shifter. He apologized, though.”
Jinki groaned and laid his head in his hands. He could feel a headache coming on.
“I missed you.”
Jinki’s head snapped back up. Minho was smiling at him, shyly, but it was definitely a smile. “W-what did you say.”
Minho giggled this time. “I said I missed you. You know, when you notice the absence of someone else? I missed you. Although Onew is not too bad of a wolf, I’m really glad you’re back.”
Jinki blinked and looked around. Now he was sure that someone had swapped his mate out. “That’s…strange because and I don’t want to start a fight it’s just the last time we spoke…”
Minho looked thoughtful for a moment. “I was apologizing for saying something mean to you, I recall.”
“Yeah…that sounds about right.”
“What was it? That I said. I don’t remember.”
Jinki’s face pinched. “See, the part about not wanting to start a fight? I meant that.”
“Stop being a baby and tell me.”
Jinki looked away, his eyes canvassing over the woods. He didn’t recognize this patch of forest, but he did recognize the red fern. Which means they were near Morocco Song. Minho, apparently didn’t care where they were and he pinned him with a stare. Jinki sighed.
“You remember the kiss?”
Minho hummed. “Yes, I remember the kiss.”
“Well, you said something afterwards. And it angered me.” He looked back at Minho, who was looking at him, his eyes softer than he’d ever seen them before. It confused him. “You implied that I only wanted you for sex.”
Minho’s brows rose and his mouth gaped open. A frown marred his features and he looked completely beside himself. “I don’t know why I would say that.” He placed the parcel with the food inside of it down and ran a hand through his hair. “I have no idea at all. That was a very mean thing of me to assume.”
“You cited your references, so I believe you meant it. Did you not?”
“If I meant that, I meant it in jest or…duress. I was drunk. But…I don’t feel like that, Jinki. Not at all. I,” Minho paused to inhale. “I actually think the opposite and I think it’s time I tell you how I really-“
The cacophony of sounds broke the quiet of the still forest air, interrupting Minho’s speech and drawing Jinki’s attention from his lips. A cloud of dust rose from the forest trail as a dozen or so people on horses raced towards them. Jinki frowned and glanced at Minho.
“Search party?”
Minho nodded and shrugged with his mouth. “Search party.”
They both stood and walked through the thick forest floor to get back to the trail. A horse pulled shy of them and whinnied as its rider pulled back on its reigns. A shock of black hair glanced over the horse’s head, a smirk pulling at her lips.
“You look like shit, Jinki.”
Jinki gave her a thin smile. “It’s good seeing you too, Vic.”
“Always a pleasure, my lord.” She said, giving a miniature bow from her saddle. She turned back down the path, put her fingers between lips and whistled hard. “Nic! Tiffany! I found them!” Soon another thirty odd horses joined Victoria’s section of the search party.
Nickhkun dismounted his steed, crossed over the dirt path and pulled Jinki into a tight hug. “Man am I glad to see you!” He pulled back, a smile crinkling his eyes into half moons. “We’ve had half of Prae looking for you!” He took a second and glanced at Jinki from head to toe. “Um I’m glad you’re alive and all but…you look like shit.”
Jinki threw his hands up. “What is with you Moroccan Song people? I do not look like ‘shit”!”
From atop her steed, Tiffany pushed her fire red hair to the side as she rummaged around in her saddle bag. She withdrew a mirror and cautiously held it in Jinki’s direction.
That was twice I have been wrong in one day. He did look like shit. His hair was all over his head, his clothes were ripped at his side. He looked down at his feet and groaned. For Jesu sake! He didn’t even have on shoes! He turned to Minho.
“You let that beast walk around for days without shoes?”
Minho gave a helpless shrug. “He doesn’t like them. I know you two haven’t exactly been in the same space at the same time, but forcing him into a pair of shoes would have been like forcing you to cut your hair.” Minho tilted his head. “And if we can’t get those tangles out, that might be a possibility.”
Jinki recoiled, his hands going to his hair, protecting it.
“Well, let’s get you guys back to Prae. I’ll have you know that Kibum has been brilliant in being a total bitch and I just managed to keep my balls, so the faster we get you back, the better off all of us will be. Maybe except for you, my lord,” he said as he looked at Jinki. “He is especially pissed with you and yours,” Nickhun muttered as he mounted his horse.
Two horses were produced and as soon as Minho grabbed all of their things, they were mounted and headed back to Prae, surrounded by the search party on all sides.
It wasn’t the privacy he wanted which he knew he would soon have, but Jinki couldn’t summon the patience to wait. He leaned closer to Minho. “So…you were going to tell me something back there.”
Minho glanced at him for a short moment before he returned his eyes back to the front. “I was. I am.”
“Just not right now, huh?”
Minho shook his head. “No. Not right now. But trust me, you’ll enjoy what I have to say.”
“Promise?”
Minho winked at him. “Promise.”
_____________________________________________________________
A|N: Literally, literally, Onew is this guy.
I was about 3/4ths through with this chapter and I said...He sure does act like Inuyasha. And then I was like...HE ACTUALLY DOES.
A|N: If you are unfamilar with Yixing x Yifan - Sehun x Tao ship, you can get acquatined with them if you want, but they are a major plot point (NOT A SPOILERS) coming up.
A|N: Can't think of anything else to update you on so...BYE!