Title: The Wolf Within
Pairings: YunJae
Rating: NC-17
Genre: romance, supernatural, mpreg
Chapters: 9/11
Summary: In a world where inhuman beasts have infested the land, Jaejoong meets the nation's hero, werewolf hunter Yunho. One fateful night spent together changes Jaejoong's life in a way he never thought possible as he leaves home to journey to a place no man has ever gone before - literally.
A/N: I'm out of town so I haven't had the time to reply to all comments yet, sorry about it ;^; Anyways, only a couple more parts left~ Are you guys excited for the babies? ;)
Chapter 9
"Hear that, Jaejoong?" Yunho exclaimed with a thick voice, taking a seat next to Jaejoong on the examination table. "We're having two babies."
"Hah... Ha..." Jaejoong let out a tense, shuddering laugh, feeling awfully dizzy. He was both relieved everything was okay and extremely nervous for their future - how were they going to be able to raise two kids instead of just one? What if he would become a totally lousy parent and accidentally drop the babies on their heads or forget to feed them? How was he going to be able to feed them - how indeed when he wasn't female? "How are we... How... Ugh."
"We'll get a house here and I'll work while you can rest at home and take care of yourself," Yunho mumbled against his shoulder amorously as ever. Though Jaejoong was glad Yunho was back to himself he still didn't know what to feel.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," said the healer lady and took a seat opposite of the couple while Junsu passed around cups of herbal tea to everyone. "You can spend the night here and I will answer all of them as well as I can."
"How will I give birth?" Jaejoong muttered, unaware of the kisses Yunho was placing on the skin of his shoulder. "How will I feed the babies?"
"I'm not entirely sure," she answered, "But I'm sure it'll go the old fashioned way. Your body has already changed and it's probably going to change more... But if all goes wrong Junsu here is quite excellent at performing surgery."
"How about the... You know, milk?"
"It's fairly easy to acquire a milk substitute in this village. And besides, werewolf children will start eating normal food sooner than normal. They have a hunger for meat after all."
"Oh," Jaejoong let out a nervous breath, again feeling light headed. He didn't know anything about this world yet they were supposed to raise their kids in it? "When do we know for sure whether they're human or not?"
"I started changing shape when I was six, Junsu when he was five," Yunho explained softly, clearly understanding Jaejoong's discomfort. "But we'll know. My mom used to say she just knew it."
"And you'll have me, Changmin and Yoochun there with you," said Junsu helpfully, "We'll help you the best we possibly can."
"We're not going back there!" Yunho turned to look at his younger brother, "How can we live there when they hate my guts?"
"You don't really have a choice, you can't stay here forever with Madam. This cabin is already way too small for the two of us - or do you plan to have your pregnant mate out there in the woods?" Junsu replied snarkily, both of their tempers clearly rising.
"I'll... I'll get a job... Find a house," Yunho tried to reason but failed. "Maybe if I work at a farm they will let us have a spare room or..."
"You know how it is here, people are poor," Junsu continued, "They'll never agree to feed four other mouths once the puppies are born. Why even try when you already have a home? You just have to make up with Yoochun, I'm sure Changmin will be more than happy to see you."
"I... I..." Yunho stuttered, stood up and stayed there for a short moment, obviously fuming while trying to decide what to say. It appeared he couldn't come up with a good enough reason - only let out an angry huff and left the room to go outside.
Jaejoong and Junsu looked at each other in mutual understanding, and figured it would be best to let Yunho gather his thoughts for a bit. As a matter of fact, Jaejoong thought Junsu was quite right. They should at least try to make up - even Yoochun couldn't be entirely evil.
"So, what do you think you'll name the kids?" Junsu asked like the argument had never even happened as he sipped on his drink.
An hour passed before Jaejoong left the house to talk to Yunho. Hoping the other man hadn't gone too far, Jaejoong opened the front door only to find Yunho sitting on the porch with his face in his hands. The weather was still extremely hot, even more so now that the sun was shining directly to the front of the house, casting everything in a pale orange glow. There were sounds of crickets coming from the unkempt garden around them, and a distant noise of splashing water coming from inside where Junsu was washing the dishes. Taking a seat next to Yunho, Jaejoong huddled closer to press his chin on Yunho's shoulder.
"Hey," Jaejoong whispered, "Did you know they have a bathtub here? We could get you washed up and those scratches on your hands and legs cleaned."
"They hate me," Yunho groaned darkly and ignored Jaejoong's words, shaking a bit from the emotional turmoil raging inside him. "They'll hate you too, just because you're human. They'll hate the kids as well."
"You don't know that," Jaejoong spoke softly, knowing he could get Yunho out of his dark place with carefully chosen words. "From what you've told me you used to have a really good time growing up here all together. All that can't just mean nothing."
"I burned all my bridges after I left, I thought I'd never be coming back," Yunho continued, "The fights we had were ruthless on both sides. I made sure they knew exactly how I felt about killing innocent people."
"I never thought I'd end up tied to a werewolf for the rest of my life or giving birth to twins and look, it's happening," Jaejoong kept going as his fingers softly brushed the back of Yunho's head, "Things change. People change."
"If we go back we'll have to deal with all that again," Yunho's voice was filled with pain, "Unlike me and Junsu, they can't control the wolf inside them. Sure, they won't hurt you because you're mine but I'll have to watch them turn and go crazy with hunger for human flesh."
"Junsu said whenever he felt the hunger he'd just go and run until the urge disappeared. Can't they do that?"
"They most likely could, but when you give in to the craving it takes over," Yunho sighed, "I never understood it. It's always been different for me."
"But Yunho, can't we at least try?" Jaejoong asked as Yunho finally turned his eyes to him. "No harm in trying, right?"
"We'll try," Yunho agreed and let out a sigh, unable to resist the look in Jaejoong's eyes, "I'm so scared."
"I'm scared too," Jaejoong admitted, closing his eyes when Yunho leaned in for a brief kiss. He had always thought of Yunho as someone who wasn't exactly sensitive or easily able to show weakness but it felt comforting in a sense to see it in him too. The fact that they were having children had somehow brought that out of Yunho, and Jaejoong liked it quite a lot.
"I thought it was my fault... I wanted to selfishly sleep with you and the next thing I knew you were shaking with pain, I thought I caused it," Yunho then changed the subject, "Back at the creek. You were out for so long."
"You heard her, it was just the combination of all things. I was exhausted from traveling and riding on your back. The babies didn't like it. It wasn't your fault."
"I'm sorry," Yunho suddenly pulled him closer and gave him a fierce hug. "I'm so relieved everything is okay."
"Besides, I'm the first human to ever get pregnant by a werewolf - the first man - some trouble is to be expected."
"From now on I'll keep you safe, Jaejoong," Yunho vowed, "No more traveling, no more riding, no more funny business. And you'll eat and drink like a horse."
"More like a cow," Jaejoong looked down at the roundness of his stomach, "I'm starting to really become huge."
"You look great," Yunho told him heartily, something in his gaze changing slightly, "Greater than ever to be honest."
"You think so?" Jajoong smiled as he wrapped his arms behind Yunho's neck, wanting the other man close to continue softly. "To tell you the truth I really feel like... You know... Doing it... I just want to feel you on top of me..."
"Uuhh," Yunho let out a strange sound, somewhat wolf-like, but Jaejoong was already used to it. "But we can't. Not until you're better, lets not take any risks."
Jaejoong pulled back from the embrace to stare at the other man. He couldn't believe his ears - Yunho was turning him down? Then Jaejoong remembered the fact that Yunho had never been able to keep his hands away from his body. Back at the inn - which now seemed like it had all happened a thousand years ago - Yunho had only been able to resist for two days and even then it had almost broke him. Yunho would never be able to stay away now that they were bonded for life and there was no fear of his wolf side appearing.
"You worry too much," Jaejoong only smiled without taking Yunho seriously, "You can stop now, we'll stay here until the babies are born."
"We aren't safe yet," Yunho concluded, "Still have to meet up with my beloved brothers."
The following night was spent uncomfortably, sleeping on the floor on top of blankets while Junsu's snoring filled the room. Yunho was curled up behind Jaejoong's back, holding him close and Junsu slept on the kitchen bench where he apparently usually spend the nights at the small cabin. The air was hot, making it difficult to fall asleep, and the fact that Yunho was only dressed in his underwear bothered Jaejoong slightly. The other man was sleeping soundly but all Jaejoong could think about - now that he knew the babies were alright - was the way Yunho's slightly sweaty skin felt against his back.
After washing up both of the werewolf brothers had fell asleep almost instantly, where as the herbal medicine tea Jaejoong had consumed earlier had clearly done it's job. He felt in perfect health and wide awake even though it was way past midnight and he ought to have been sleeping. Jaejoong couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he'd had with Yunho out on the front porch. Oddly, he wasn't scared to meet Yunho's brothers even if they'd turn out to be horrifying. The mark Yunho had left on his neck made sure he and the babies would be completely safe. He rolled over, and tracing his fingers over the damaged skin of Yunho's chest, Jaejoong wished he could give Yunho a mark too to ensure his safety. Surely Yunho's brothers couldn't be angry enough to risk an attempt at his life?
Jaejoong closed his eyes and wiggled back closer to Yunho, chest now filled with a burning sensation of worry. It felt like barely any time had passed at all when Jaejoong opened his eyes again and found Yunho sitting up next to him, looking down at the younger and smiling lovingly. Junsu was still snoring but it was apparently morning for there was bright light shining in from the foggy windows and the sky outside seemed to be pale blue. The air was already hot and humid, and it looked like it was going to be another particularly hot day. Yunho hadn't put on a shirt yet and without realizing it, Jaejoong's eyes traveled up and down the other's magnificent body. It was good to see him all nice and clean - it reminded Jaejoong of the bliss they had experienced together while living in the hunter tavern back at the big city. Jaejoong couldn't wait until he and Yunho could finally get some alone time again.
"Sleep well?" Yunho asked, brushing a loose strand of hair out of Jaejoong's eyes.
"Uh-huh," Jaejoong hummed, rolling over to his back and hearing noise of cooking coming from the kitchen nearby. The scent of fried eggs reached his nose and Jaejoong rubbed his stomach hungrily - until suddenly felt a strange thing. It hurt a bit, but with the palm of his hand he had clearly felt the baby give a kick. His expression must have said it all because Yunho instantly pushed a hand under Jaejoong's shirt and felt it too.
"Holy shit," Yunho cursed, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Was it baby one or baby two?"
"I don't know," said Jaejoong, now trying to feel with both of his hands, "We should call them something. Something other than babies or puppies."
"What's wrong with puppies?" Yunho grinned, but Jaejoong gave him a severe look.
"They aren't some dogs," Jaejoong pouted, "Besides we don't even know if they're boys or girls."
"I'd like one of each," Yunho informed, rubbing over the skin of Jaejoong's lower stomach but there were no more kicks. "One girl puppy and one boy puppy."
"I suppose you're going to want to name them strawberry and blueberry or something stupid like that too," Jaejoong rolled his eyes at Yunho's silliness but instantly regretted his words. Yunho was suddenly looking all teary-eyed as he bent down to press a kiss on Jaejoong's stomach to hide his emotions.
"That is so cute..." he mumbled with his mouth pressed against Jaejoong's bellybutton. "My little Strawberry and my little Blueberry... He was probably the one that kicked you, he's going to be the feisty one I just know it."
"Yunho..." Jaejoong sighed but he too, was unable to stop smiling. Threading his fingers through Yunho's hair, Jaejoong let him babble syrupy things to his stomach, suddenly feeling immensely happy.
"You guys are so gross," came Junsu's voice from the sofa, "I'm getting a headache from listening to you two."
Yunho decided to leave Jaejoong's stomach alone for now and sat back up to throw a pillow at his annoying younger brother.
After eating breakfast in silence, Junsu joined Yunho and Jaejoong to visit their old home. They packed their belongings just in case - the two brothers carrying it all - while Jaejoong was finally permitted to walk again but only if he stayed close at all times. Heading back to the grey, impermeable forest, Yunho and Junsu went first to make room for Jaejoong to follow through. It was going to take them a good few hours to reach Yunho's and Junsu's childhood home but the time went by incredibly fast when there was something as unnerving ahead of them. The closer they got to the said house, more frightening it became. Dangerous thoughts were circulating in Jaejoong's head - what if the two other brothers were so angry they would kill them all without a second thought? What if they took them as prisoners, or what if they wanted to hurt the babies?
On the way there, Yunho and Junsu weren't talking much either. Junsu was still in good enough terms with the other two even though had left home as well, but according to Yunho, it was very different with him. Junsu hadn't left home to kill his own, he'd simply ran away from it all. Clutching Yunho's hand while walking in his footsteps, Jaejoong hoped to God it would all go well. As they proceeded through the forest and deeper into the forest, more and more houses started appearing as well.
The werewolf village certainly didn't look at all like the extravagant and beautiful town they had visited before. The buildings were all extremely shabby, some collapsed, and looked like they had stood there for ages, withstanding horrific weather conditions. Jaejoong also saw loads of kids, running around in the gardens and a few adults too, who looked much like Yunho and Junsu with their tan skin and outdoorsy appearance. Truthfully, Jaejoong had imagined other werewolves to look much more scary. These people were smiling, even though a few had nasty scars and cuts on their bodies, and most greeted Junsu happily as they walked past house after house. A strange sensation of nervousness caused Jaejoong's heart to start beating faster - would he and Yunho end up having a family as happy as those people looked? Would they have their own house and a dozen kids playing out in the yard?
"Not long now," Yunho said quietly, causing Jaejoong's heart to now jump differently. "Behind that corner..."
Not realizing he was holding his breath, Jaejoong pressed in closer next to Yunho and followed Junsu until they arrived at the wooden gate of another, weary looking family home. The garden was as wild as the healer's, but the house had two whole storeys and much larger windows. There was smoke coming out from the chimney - regular smoke unlike the green steam in the city - and Jaejoong could quite clearly distinguish the scent of coffee. He looked up at Yunho standing next to him and smiled widely, wanting to see the other man's reaction, but Yunho seemed to be frozen in shock. Jaejoong turned his gaze back to the house and saw that a young man had just stepped out of the front door.
He was tall like Yunho, handsome as well, and even though their faces were different, he resembled Yunho very much. Nobody said anything for a while, for it was clear the the new brother and Yunho were both equally as shocked to see each other. Jaejoong could have probably started dancing around naked rubbing his baby belly and they wouldn't have noticed it.
"Hey, Changmin," said Junsu, finally breaking the silence. So this was Changmin, Yunho's youngest brother. He seemed much older than Junsu, probably because of his superior height. He also looked much more serious.
"Yunho?" Changmin muttered incoherently, taking a hesitant step closer. Then someone else burst through the front door and also froze in shock. The other man was a bit shorter than Changmin, but had a fierce look on his face and long, black hair pushed back from his face. Where as the look on Changmin's face had been pure astonishment, Yoochun looked terribly pissed off.
He pushed Changmin aside and before Jaejoong knew what was happening, had turned into a wolf right before his eyes. Glancing sideways to look at Yunho, Jaejoong only saw that he had changed shape as well and then, the two giant animals both leaped up at the same time and attacked each other. It was nothing like the play fights he and Junsu had often had, witnessed by Jaejoong many times. It was ruthless and brutal, both beasts trying to sink their teeth into the other wolf's skin, claws out, wrestling on the ground. Yoochun's wolf was pitch black and it looked like it was slightly smaller than Yunho's auburn one. Jaejoong gasped, placing a hand over his mouth, immensely worried, as Yoochun's teeth ripped a deep wound on Yunho's side but the fight was nowhere near over yet.
The auburn wolf got back up and leaped again, cunningly evading Yoochun's heavy paws and claws, until striking as well. Yunho's wolf took a firm hold of Yoochun by the neck and pressed him down, forcing it to submit. For a moment Jaejoong thought it was never going to happen. Yoochun kept growling and barking as Yunho held him there, several minutes passing before the black wolf closed it's eyes and stopped moving. To make sure he would stay there Yunho kept holding him down for a bit more before turning back human. The other wolf was left lying on the ground, ashamed and breathing shallowly. The wound Yoochun's teeth had managed to cause was now a mark on Yunho's back, but it didn't seem to bother the other man as he approached Jaejoong and Junsu again, naked.
What was left of Yunho's clothes was on the ground, ripped strands of fabric, and Jaejoong knealed down to fish out clothing from their backpack for Yunho to wear. Passing a pair of pants to Yunho, Jaejoong got back up and looked worryingly at the beast now slowly getting back up from the ground.
"Why isn't he turning back?" Jaejoong asked, but Yunho already had an answer to him.
"He can't, he's not able to control it at will," Yunho explained as he got dressed again, "He'll stay like that until his feelings cool down a bit."
"And what about..." Jaejoong started, frighteningly looking up at Changmin who hadn't moved an inch like he had been expecting something like this to happen.
"I'm not going to turn," Changmin said, startling Jaejoong even more by directly speaking to him. "I'm not stupid enough to attack Yunho."
"I thought Yoochun would have forced you to forget my name by now," Yunho mumbled coldly, directing a distasteful glance at Yoochun's wolf that had now dragged it's feet under one of the rose bushes where it was laying now, yellow eyes gleaming at the other four. A gentle breeze played with Jaejoong's hair as the three of them stepped closer to approach the youngest brother.
"Believe me, he has tried," Changmin grinned, much to Jaejoong's surprise, "What brings you here, Yunho? You said you'd never return. And with a human, what is that about?"
"This is my Jaejoong," Yunho introduced, gently pulling Jaejoong closer by his side. "He's marked so nobody will be able to pick up his scent."
"I can see that," Changmin said, sniffling slightly like he was trying to smell him, "There's no scent. How strange, I never knew that would happen if you mated with a human."
"I never thought so either," Yunho agreed, "But I figured that out soon enough."
"And he's...?"
"Expecting," Yunho finished Changmin's sentence. "Could we move inside?"
"So that's why you're here," the youngest brother said while turning around and heading back to the house.
"We needed to find a healer that could help us," Yunho continued to explain as they entered through the front door and placed their bags down on the wooden floor of the corridor. "And now he's unable to travel and we're going to have to stay there."
"I was just making coffee," Changmin stated, gesturing at the kitchen table surprisingly politely. Jaejoong was extremely taken a back by Changmin's good manors - he seemed so much older than Junsu who often babbled away like a twelve year old kid. The kitchen, as well as the corridor, were completely spotless. It seemed like either Changmin or Yoochun really enjoyed cleaning.
"You've taken good care of the house," Yunho seemed to notice too as he sat down between Jaejoong and Junsu, while Changmin took a seat from the opposite side of the unusually long table. Smiling, Changmin shook his head and poured coffee to four, obviously self-made ceramic mugs.
"Now that you and Junsu aren't around it's been easier to keep things tidy," said Changmin disapprovingly, causing both of the brothers to let out laughs.
"So you haven't missed us at all?" Junsu asked eagerly while Jaejoong took a sip of the steaming hot drink. It was a bit bitter to his taste but Jaejoong drank it anyway not to be rude.
"You've barely been gone a year, Junsu!" Changmin exclaimed and then turned his eyes to Yunho, "But we... I mean, I have missed you a little. What has it been? Six years?"
"Seven," Yunho corrected. They looked at each other pleasantly for a moment, drinking coffee like it was the most natural thing ever. It was like back at the inn where Yunho had sat at the table with all of Jaejoong's family, but now it was the other way around.
"You don't have a place to go?" Changmin asked then, looking slightly worried, "There are no werewolf healers anywhere else but here?"
"The problem is that this has never happened before," Yunho explained, "Human healers can't help us, nor can anyone else, because nobody knows anything it seems. We tried our luck with countless healers but all of them refused. Jaejoong is still human and the babies could be human too, we don't know. It's a risk we're going to have to take."
"Babies?"
"There are two," Jaejoong told him, already quite liking Changmin in a little brother sort of way, "That's all we know."
The look in Changmin's eyes changed dramatically. His eyebrows disappeared to his hairline, mouth falling open in surprise - but his expression was strangely eager. Jaejoong noticed that his eyes were mismatched, which did indeed make Changmin look his age.
"Two babies? Whoah... How long?" he asked, now grinning wildly exactly like his oldest brother. "Will I be able to play with them?"
"Can't be more than a couple of months left," Yunho replied, equally as pleasantly surprised at Changmin's response - he too had been expecting a quite different reaction, "Certainly, you will... If you allow us to stay here. There's no place better for the babies to grow up than here. You remember how nice it was."
At that Changmin looked more puzzled. They weren't bringing up the reason Yunho had left in the first place, clearly avoiding the topic, but it couldn't all just be brushed aside like there had never been any differences at all. Truthfully, Jaejoong was hoping they could ignore all the problems until the time the babies were grown up and they could all leave together, but knew it to be highly unlikely. They couldn't possibly pretend everything was alright for decades.
"I'd like it if you stayed," Changmin said with a strong voice, "I don't care what you've done, Yunho. We've all killed, either people or werewolf. It is what it is."
"Changmin..." Yunho started but Changmin interrupted him by speaking again.
"It would be nice to have some life around here... But..."
"But?"
"The problem is Yoochun."
All four of them turned to look outside the window, where the wolf in question was still lying over grass, in the shadow of the rosebushes. At that distance, he looked quite harmless, but Jaejoong had paid attention to how reluctant he had been to let Yunho enter their home again. He had tried his best to hurt Yunho enough to make him leave but luckily, Yunho had won. How on earth were they going to change Yoochun's mind?
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