A Bad Moon Rising *part 1/2*
Pairing: Krisyeol
Rated: High end of PG13
Length: 10K+
Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.
It was near midnight by the time he got away from the rest of the pack and on his own. His father always told him it wasn't natural the way he preferred loneliness over the group. Wolves were supposed to run together like a family, he often repeated.
But Kris preferred the silence over the loud laughter and teasing taunts in his head when he ran. The only sounds were him and the wind whooshing through his ears, the click of his claws on the rocks as he headed towards the mountain.
He ran for miles, only stopping to lap hurriedly at the stream so he could wetten his dry tongue.
Days could have passed up there, alone in the quiet hills, if he hadn't of smelled the blood.
Human blood.
And it was fresh.
He looked longingly at the tallest peak where he was heading before he was stopped. It wasn't his responsibility, he told himself. No one would know that he had been here, that he had ignored the thick smell in his nose and fuck- was that someone moaning?
Sighing at his always unfortunate luck, he turned towards the sound and came out at the bottom of a hill.
A boy lay sprawled out at the base, his head almost completely covered in dirty blood, his leg bent at an unfortunate angle.
Another cry of pain sailed out of his lips before Kris realized he had been sitting frozen for a few minutes.
He circled the body not the slightest bit worried about frightening the boy. He had lost so much blood that he was probably verging on unconsciousness.
The nearest hospital was about ten miles away. The thought of carrying him that far was already putting an ache in his back. Maybe he could just turn around and pretend. It wasn't his fault the idiot fell and hurt himself. Darwinism and all that shit. Kris Wu was responsible for only Kris Wu.
As if had somehow heard his internal dilemma, which was impossible, only mates could do that, the boy turned his head to look right into his eyes.
"Hello." The surprisingly deep voice spoke up calmly.
Kris stared at him with unblinking eyes. Was he so far out of it that he was actually expecting a response?
"You're the prettiest puppy I've ever seen." He tried again. He chuckled at the warning growl from Kris before wincing at the pain it caused him. "You don't like being called a puppy? I'm sorry. You're a big, strong doggie."
Kris snapped his teeth at him, not appreciating the brat's attitude. When you're lying helpless in the middle of the woods and a giant wolf is staring you down, your first though shouldn't be sass.
But the way those bright eyes twinkled at him in amusement was enough to make Kris's anger melt. With a grimace he dropped down onto the ground beside him and started lapping at the blood covered cheeks. He was going to have to carry him and he did not want blood matting into his fur.
“That feels good.” The boy closed his eyes and reached his good hand up to tangle into Kris’s brown fur. “Good doggie.”
Kris nipped playfully at his jaw, drawing a quick laugh and then a pained grimace.
“Am I dead?” He questioned slowly, looking up into Kris’s dark eyes. “There’s a giant dog taking care of me who acts like it understands everything I’m saying. I have to be dead, right?”
With a huff, Kris ignored the dog comment and carefully used his teeth to drag him up by his t-shirt. When he had him somewhat in a sitting position, he sunk down to his haunches and motioned for him to get on.
Licking his torn lips, the hurt boy managed to climb awkwardly onto his back, hands tugging almost painfully hard on the fur around Kris’s neck as he tried to hang on.
“Don’t drop me okay?” His voice trembled. “I’m trusting you puppy.”
This comment he ignored, because the breath in his ear was making his stomach roll and if he didn’t stop panting like that against him then Kris was going to buck his body off in shock.
The way back into town was going to be long and slow, especially since he didn’t want to jostle him by moving too fast. But if he could find somewhere where there were clothes then he could change and move a lot faster.
“You’re warm.” The more tired he got, the deeper his voice became. “When I get home you can live with me okay?” His words were starting to slur as he let himself relax, feeling safe on his wolf’s back. “I’ll take good care of you. Our house is small but you can sleep in my bed. You’ll be mine.”
Kris stumbled at the images he was putting into his head. For god’s sake, he didn’t even know what the kid looked like under all of the dirt and blood covering him. All he knew was that his eyes were wide and deep and he smelled like the forest. It wasn’t just the environment rubbing off on him, it was his natural scent. Kris could smell it in his pores, in the roots of his hair, even his heartbeat pounded against his back like the roaring of the river.
“Good, good doggie.” He mumbled under his breath, finally drifting into a deep slumber.
Kris rolled him carefully into the grass before changing back into his human form, head cocked to the side as he finally got a good look at him.
In wolf form he was ran by emotions and let his sense of smell and natural instincts take over. But as a human he had time to slowly look him over, noticing right away that he was young, possibly even a teenager still. And attractive, much to his annoyance. The boy’s curly hair was littered with leaves and sticks, but when he gently combed them out he could feel how soft each strand was, the boy’s scent sticking to his hands like glue.
When he pulled away he tried rubbing it off on the grass but it seemed to envelop him like a cloud, the smell covering his body like a second skin, crawling all over him no matter how much he tried to rub it away. It pulled at the fine hairs on the back of his neck, whispered into his ears and tickled the thin skin around his wrists, pulling him towards the prone body like a magnet.
“Fuck.” He muttered under his breath as he carefully lifted the heavy body into his arms, effectively bringing the problem closer to him instead of pushing it away like he wanted. “You look like you’re sixteen, why do you weigh as much as me?”
The boy groaned slightly in his sleep, brows furrowing as his sore body rubbed against Kris’s firm one. “Hurts.”
He trembled in Kris’s arms until his hold tightened, a soft hum leaving his lips as he tried to soothe the pain out of him. “Shhh. We’re going to get help, I promise.”
Even though the hospital was still eight miles away, he managed to get there in half the time than it would have taken if the boy was awake. He knew how to run fast and how to run carefully, keeping the broken body still as he maneuvered his way through the trees.
He looked around cautiously to make sure no one was around so that he could gently lay the lifeless body in front of the emergency room without being seen. The hands that were clenched into his hair had to be pried off, a whine of discontent sounding when Kris had to detach them.
“Good-bye.” His deep voice murmured, taking one last stroke through the dirty curled hair.
Without a single look back he stole away into the night, hoping that his presence would be forgotten, much like he wished to erase this night from his memory.
---
“You were gone all night.” His cousin smirked at him from the doorway, pulling him out of a deep sleep filled with soft skin and heavy pants against his ear.
Kris groaned and pulled his pillow over his face. “Fucking hell, Luhan. It’s not even noon!”
The smaller boy shrugged, tongue darting around the sucker in his hand. “I was told to use whatever means necessary to get you up. You should feel glad I only turned on the light. God, this room is a hole.”
“I like it dark.” Kris’s voice was muffled as he refused to come out. “And quiet. No Luhan’s allowed.”
Luhan snorted and ripped the sheet off the window, the immediate brightness making Kris flinch and call him a few names that would have made their mothers cringe.
“I hate him.” Kris mumbled after kicking the laughing boy out so that he could fix his window and plunge the room back into darkness.
When he finally decided to drag himself out of bed, it was to a welcoming committee of his mother and father.
And his grandfather.
That was never good.
Kris grimaced as he leaned against the awaiting chair to wait patiently for the tongue lashing he knew was coming.
“Yi Fan.” His grandfather spoke first, the authority rumbling through his bones and making his teeth chatter.
“It’s Kris.” He replied stubbornly, ignoring the painful clenching of his chest when he tried to suppress the Alpha influence.
His father growled, eyes flashing blue for a moment as the wolf’s anger was tapped into. “We do not approve of your attitude, Yi Fan.” The tone held a warning, but it wasn’t for his son’s well-being, but rather for his own. Any slight towards one was a slight towards them all and Shing Wu hated to be looked down on, especially by his father, the Alpha.
His son was going to be the next in the line to take over that roll if Shing had to drag him there kicking and screaming.
“Sit.” It was not a request.
He refused to look at them when he sat, clenching his jaw and staring angrily at the carpet below his feet instead. If they wanted to teach him a lesson then it was going to be by force.
“You didn’t come home until daybreak. Where did you go?”
Shrugging off Jinah’s, his mother’s, question, he impatiently tapped his fingers against the arm rest.
“How about you start with telling us why you smell like a human.” The Alpha’s voice resonated through him like a hammer on steel, his body vibrating with pain.
“I don’t…” He groaned until the command subsided. “Maybe because I am a human.”
“You are not a human!” Shing slammed his hands on the desk and snarled at him. “You may look human and you may act like a child sometimes, but your wolf controls you whether you like it or not.”
Kris finally snapped, his brown eyes glinting with flecks of ice blue as he glared angrily at them. “I went running in the mountains! I lost track of time and that’s it!” An inner voice inside of him told him to keep the boy a secret, one that no one could find out about him. The thought of his grandfather tracking down the soft eyes and trusting voice made his chest throb for some reason. “I’m sorry.” He forced out through gritted teeth, head bowing in submission.
A sly head tilt from his grandfather let him know that his story was not one hundred percent believed.
“Whose smell is that then?” Jinah asked carefully. She could tell how jumpy the other two males were and she was worried for her son. “And why is it covering you?”
He had no idea what they were talking about. Surely the boy didn’t rub that much of a scent off on him. He only carried him through the woods, they didn’t bond or anything. “Uh, well, I borrowed some clothes from a house by the river. I haven’t taken a bath since then that must be why it’s still be on me.”
Shing narrowed his eyes at his son. “You are not allowed in the woods until the smell disappears. We don’t want the rest of the pack being alarmed by it when you’re out there. They might think you have taken someone and become intimidated by you. It’s time you were joined and we need all the willing females we can find.”
He shuddered at the thought of mating with one of the girls from their village. Even if some were so distantly related that it shouldn’t matter, there were still the few cousins he knew they would aim for. His own parents were second cousins and he hated that aspect of pack life. Joining’s were allowed outside of the village, but the Alpha had to approve it and he rarely did.
“Yes sir.” He bowed his head, hoping that looking submissive would get him out of this easier. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t let it happen again, Yi Fan. You are the future Alpha and you need to behave as such.” Grandfather pointed to the door, signifying their conversation was done.
He nodded and ran out of the house towards his cousin’s, waiting for the half-dressed boy to come to the door.
“What do you want?” Luhan yawned and scratched his belly. A flushed girl in a sundress and torn sweater smiled shyly at him as she pushed past. “Thanks Feng, I’ll call you.”
Her face drooped and she forced the smile back on her lips as she walked away.
“Her name is Fen.” Kris told him dryly, shoving him back to enter the house. “How can you not know that, she lives over by the edge of the clearing.”
Luhan shrugged and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. “I have more important things to remember than the names of little baby wolves who can’t even keep their dignity intact.”
“And what do you call yourself then? You lost your dignity years ago.”
His eyes suddenly flashed with hurt making Kris regret the callous comment. He knew his cousin hated the way he lived and was desperate to find someone, but he tried to replace the loneliness with women. No matter if he knew them or even if he was in the mood, he had a different girl in his bed multiple times a week and never came through on his promise to call.
“Grandfather told me I need to act more like an Alpha.” Kris changed the subject much to both of their relief. “All I did was take a longer than normal run through the forest.”
Luhan snorted and pulled leftovers out to make a snack. “It smells like you rolled around in someone’s bed, Kris. It’s not insanely strong, but it’s definitely there. Hey, no judgment. But I make sure and don’t let any scents stay attached to me. It’s a mental thing. You must have obviously accepted it.”
He groaned and dug his palms into his eyes. Maybe he should have just left that kid to die.
The wolf growled threateningly, whispering into his brain that he wouldn’t have been allowed and he wanted to skin it alive.
Goddammit he hated it when his cousin was right.
---
For two weeks he had been going slowly crazy.
Kris was almost positive he was hallucinating. He could hear a deep voice murmuring in his ears as he slept, could feel the fingers scratching across his fur every time he was in his wolf form and he was about to go insane from the insatiable need for something in his chest that wouldn’t go away.
“You still smell.” Luhan woke him up with a wrinkle of his nose and a plate of pancakes. “Whoever this girl is she must have fucked you up good.”
“Go away.” He muttered, curling back into his pillow and wishing he could escape into his dream filled with soft touches and meaningful words whispered against heated skin. “I’m off patrol until the scent goes away so I don’t have to get out of bed until I want to.”
Luhan pulled the blanket away ignoring the shouts of protest. “Your dad told me to wake you up. Even if you’re off patrol you can still be stuck on errand boy duty. You have to go into town and pick up supplies.”
He hated errands but if it got him out of the village for a few hours he would gladly take the job. “Help me up.”
Huffing, Luhan hauled him to his feet and shoved the plate at him. “You’re lucky you’re my favorite cousin or I would just poison you and no one would ever know.” His eyes gleamed. “Then I would be next in line for Alpha.”
Kris snorted. “You wouldn’t like being in charge and you know it. You’re looking forward to being second in command and having all the power with none of the responsibilities.”
“Hmm. That’s true. You better snap out of this funk then because if both of us can’t step up then that means it’s your father.” They both grimaced at the thought of Shing in charge. His ego at being the son of the current Alpha and the father of Kris was already sky high. He didn’t need any more of a boost.
---
“You are to come right back when you are finished.” His father ordered him, handing a list of everything they needed over. “I don’t want you hanging around in town. The last time you were out of my sight you didn’t come home until the sun had risen.”
“Yes sir.” Kris muttered, snatching the list out of his hands and slipping a pair of shoes on.
Shing watched him go with a frown on his lips. His son was hiding something and he was bound and determined to find out what it was soon.
Mumbling to himself as he walked, Kris named off everything he hated about being a wolf from the first day of school when he was stared at when he entered by all the kids who had heard from their parents about the future Alpha, to today where he just wanted to run in the wood for hours all by himself without a single worry in his head.
He had made it all the way to town before he realized that he was being tugged, his feet moving him against his will towards the opposite side that he needed to go. All of the stores he had to go to were on the side where the forest opened up. But he was being pulled towards the busiest streets near the center.
The beast awoke with a roar, his attention perked up at something that Kris couldn’t quite see yet. By the time he made it to the deli district he was almost running and he had to grab ahold of a light pole just to stop his feet.
He could feel the wolf clawing at his skin, threatening to break free and it made his flesh itch and he thought he was going to pass out if he didn’t acknowledge it.
Thankfully there was an alley on the next block up and he managed to escape down to the end of it and could breathe a little better when he wasn’t surrounded on all sides by dozens of people and smells. That smell.
He whimpered embarrassingly loud and was glad no one was around to hear it. God, if Luhan was there he would never hear the fucking end of it.
What was he reacting so strongly to and why did it make his wolf so hysterical?
The odor was thick in the air around him, almost feeling like he was walking through water. His body was abnormally heavy as he collapsed in a heap with no care at all for the filth that was surely covering his clothes.
Another high-pitched whine escaped his lips, the wolf seeing the chance to slip through and desperately trying to take it.
“Not now.” He muttered through clenched teeth. “We’re in public.”
With a huff of displeasure the beast finally quieted down and went back to its home deep inside of his chest. But they both knew that he was just lying in wait for the next opportunity to assert his dominance over the weak-minded human body it had been saddled with.
Ever since he was born it had been the pride of his father’s life that his son was the one with the most dominant inner animal. He had made it a point to brag to any family member that would listen that Kris was born to be an Alpha. Even his grandfather acknowledged that there hadn’t been such a strong wolf born in generations.
But Kris despised it. It wasn’t fun knowing that at any point it could decide to burst through. No matter how many years humans had evolved, the wolves never went past basic dominant characteristics. He could be in school and feel the prickle crawling up his spine and knew it was only a matter of minutes before he would be exposed for what he really was.
No, Kris most assuredly was not proud of his inheritance.
With a wince, he finally was able to stand up and brush the unidentified dirt and mess off his pants. He was hesitant to go back up the way he came, but he had been sent on errands for his father and the punishment for not following orders was a million time worse than the world finding out that a man could turn into an animal at will.
His heart beat started to speed up again when he rounded the corner and the familiar smell once again invaded his senses. It was like walking out of his house and into the woods, the deep smell of tree bark combined with the fresh scent of new green leaves and it was all he could do to keep upright.
The beast started murmuring into his ear, low growls that he could barely hear, but rather felt, his body following orders, feet carrying him to wherever he was told to go.
He half walked/half ran with no clear destination, bumping into passerby’s without a second of hesitation until he was finally thrown to a stop in front of a local sandwich shop’s door. Inside, his beast urged him. Insidegoweneedgo.
With a stiff body, Kris pushed his way into the building, his muscles only unclenching when he finally locked his eyes onto his target.
Him.
That boy he had saved so many days earlier. With the swollen cheeks and bloody body and the sweet smile as he petted him with absolutely zero fear.
Chanyeol.
The excellent eyesight might have been a side-effect of his jumbled DNA, but for once Kris wasn’t going to complain about it. He could read the name tag from across the store and he knew his name and it was Chanyeol and he was his and the beast was howling in his throat in happiness.
“Can I help you find something?” That voice was one he would recognize anywhere. And even though his eyes were no longer puffy and bloodshot, they still were the same ones that had been torturing him every sliver of sleep he had managed to get over the last two weeks.
He took so long controlling the screaming in his chest that the boy, no Chanyeol, started to look worried.
“Are you okay?” He gripped the edge of the counter nervously and eyed his crutches out of the corner of his eyes just in case he needed to grab them and attack. “Do you… Do you need me to call someone for you?”
Kris realized he had been standing there for an embarrassingly long amount of time with an open mouth and wide eyes and covered with the dirt from the alley. “S-Sorry.” He cleared his throat and motioned towards the menu. “Can I have a sandwich?”
Chanyeol waited for him to continue. “You have to tell me what kind.” He supplied helpfully.
Well fuck. Decisions like that were way over his skill level at the moment. “Surprise me?” He gave him an awkward shrug.
With a hesitant nod, the boy eyed Kris for a moment with judging eyes. “You look like you eat healthy.” He finally decided. “Salads, vegetables, all that boring stuff.”
Kris huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “There is nothing wrong with being in shape!”
Rolling his eyes, Chanyeol grabbed two pieces of the whole grain loaf. “But the other stuff is so good! Ice cream and chocolate bars and candy!” Dark eyes lit up in excitement as he gushed over all of his favorite foods to an amused Kris.
By the time he had finished putting together a sandwich, Kris was well-versed in how yogurt and ice cream were actually two very different things thank you very much, and that if you covered potato chips in melted chocolate it was so good you practically cried.
He presented Kris with a wrapped square, his face still lit up in delight. “Here you go. One overly healthy, boring sandwich with absolutely nothing delicious on it whatsoever.”
Kris’s lips twitched as he handed his money over.
“Why are you working if your leg’s in a cast?” He could see the grimaces that crossed his face every time he moved and the pained expressions stabbed at his heart like a knife. “Shouldn’t you be at home resting?”
He got a shrug in response. “I took a few days off after I got hurt. Got to keep working though. My uncle owns this place and he depends on my help.”
Loyalty.
That trait went straight through him. Telling a wolf you’re loyal was one of the smartest things you could do.
“Come back tomorrow and I’ll make you a real sandwich.” The boy’s eyes widened almost scarily high when he grinned and his whole face lit up and Kris ached.
“Deal.” He replied, finally letting a rarely seen smile cross his lips.
When he left he felt lighter, his expression still one of joy, the wolf inside of him was even content. He doubted that anything could dampen his mood.
“You smell like a human.”
He always forgot about Luhan.
“Who is it? Is that why you stayed out that one night? What’s her name? She hot?” Luhan danced around him in glee. “Does she have nice boobs?”
“Shut up.” Kris growled, pushing the troll out of his way. “I was in town today. Of course I smell like humans.”
Luhan smirked. “You don’t notice it, do you? It’s not humans, Kris. It’s human. As in one. I can still smell one particular scent on you. And it’s so fucking strong no one could miss it, trust me.”
He groaned and sniffed his shirt. “I don’t smell anything.” There was a light trace of the woods on his shirt, the heady scent of fall leaves just barely tickling his nose.
“Kris?” Luhan cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Have you mated and not realized it?”
Sputtering, he jumped away from his cousin, worried the crazy might catch. “What? Of course not! What are you talking about?”
Luhan reached over and ripped Kris’s jacket off before he had even realized what had happened. He slipped it over his shoulders and raised an eyebrow. “Well?”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s n-“ A snarl burst out of his lips when the smell suddenly hit his nose. Chanyeol mixed in with Luhan. As if Luhan had claimed him. “Take. It. Off.” He warned, eyes flashing blue and canines enlarging against his will.
The beast was screaming at him to demolish the enemy, tear him into tiny pieces, devour him.
“Mine.”
“So you wanna tell me who she is?” Luhan carefully threw the jacket back at him, recognizing the threat of an angry future Alpha.
“No.” He muttered, cradling the material preciously in his arms.
It never failed this asshole always managed to ruin his day. He had just come back from finally seeing the person who had been haunting every second of his days and he had eaten the most amazing meal he had ever had. It was like the boy knew exactly what he wanted and knowing that his hands, his perfect hands, had put it together just for him was making him prouder than he had ever been in his almost thirty year long life.
“You know I can sniff her out, right?” His cousin’s smirk was back on his damn cherubic face. “You may be the strongest wolf in the pack, but we all know I’m the best tracker. And besides, I have fun sniffing out girls who are in heat.”
“They’re not in heat.” He tried to push past him to no avail.
Luhan chuckled. “Oh trust me, anyone strong enough to cover you in their scent like this is definitely ready to be mated. I’m surprised you were even able to hold back.”
“It’s not like that.” He disagreed, continuing to sniff his arm. Now that Luhan had threatened his wolf the smell was all he could concentrate on. “I just saved… them.” Wincing, he realized he couldn’t even tell him the truth. That it wasn’t a her but a he.
It wasn’t that mating with a boy was unheard of. Kris had seen a few cases in his years. But the future Alpha? That might cause problems.
Children wouldn’t be a cause for concern. You only needed one parent with the wolf gene to make a full-blooded hybrid. The other parent didn’t matter. And if he inseminated a donor with his sperm then they could easily h-
He slapped a hand over his mouth in horror when he realized he was pondering their future children like it was already in motion.
“Dude.” Luhan’s eyes were wide with shock. “You just went into heat. Hardcore.” He took a step back, not dumb enough to be close to a newly mated Alpha in heat. That was akin to a death wish. “I’m just gonna…” He pointed awkwardly to the door before running out in a panic.
Kris was near panting by this point, the ache filling his body and seeping out through his pores. Anyone in a mile radius would be able to sense it and know to stay away. He glanced down at the newly formed bulge in his jeans and groaned. It was just going to get worse. He could jack off a hundred times and it would still be this painful. Until he fully completed the mating process it would never get better.
He needed Chanyeol. And he needed him now.
---
It wasn’t difficult to find his house. Now that he was covered in his scent it was practically a GPS guiding him to wherever he was. The problem arrived when he smelled two other bodies inside the house. He sniffed again. Both were female. One in her mid-forties and the other not quite at puberty.
Mother and sister he decided.
Chanyeol was in the back bedroom, the faint sound of snoring emanating through the walls, along with a slight whimper every now and then. His dreams were probably a lot like Kris’s had been in the last two weeks. Full of familiar eyes and a deep need for something even if he wasn’t sure what it was yet.
He carefully removed his clothes and hid them beneath a bush behind the house so that he could change easier. Changing with clothes on was a rookie mistake.
The dark blue curtains were closed so he nervously scratched a claw down the window and prayed it didn’t echo throughout the small house. After a few moments he tried it again, a deep sigh of relief when Chanyeol pried them apart to peer curiously out.
He hung his head and sat back on his haunches to try and appear submissive. He didn’t want to scare him. Now that he was better he might not even remember what had happened and who had saved him.
“Puppy!” A muffled voice yelled excitedly through the glass accompanied by a bang on the glass. The window slid open and a messy head of hair poked through, grin wide on his face. “You came back!” He eyed the drop to the ground in trepidation. “It’s too high for me to climb out…”
Kris took a step closer, still going slowly so as not to frighten him. When he was against the house, he jumped up to put his front paws on the wall beside the window.
Chanyeol clapped happily, his hand immediately going to the wolf’s head, sliding a warm palm down and over his neck, ruffling the brown fur between his fingers. “My doggie.” He murmured, scratching behind his ears and earning a hum that vibrated through Kris’s whole body.
His face had a long scratch down his temple and into his hairline. It was going to leave a scar. Kris wondered how he could have even thought about leaving him there to die that night. What would the world be like without this energy inhabiting it?
When his tongue lapped at the pink scar gently, Chanyeol’s giggles were so sweet he felt like crying and he hated Luhan for being so right and goddammit, this was his mate.
“I knew you were real.” The voice was too innocent and trusting to be this deep. “I told everyone about you but no one believed me. They put me on so much medicine after the accident that I didn’t know what was happening for three days until I finally realized I had to stop talking about you or they would just keep giving it to me.” His hands cupped Kris’s muzzle and he rubbed his cheek across his nose. “But you were real. And you came back.”
He whined and nuzzled his neck, breathing him in and feeling his whole body relax for the first time in ages. This was the person who was meant to take his stresses away, the only one who would ever be able to calm him down and keep him sane.
“Are you staying?” The voice asked a little while later. He sounded so hopeful and Kris hated the dejected look in his eyes when he pulled away. “You’re leaving again?” Chanyeol bit his lip and rested his cheek on the window sill, his fingers still playing absentmindedly with Kris’s ear. “Please stay?”
Kris remorsefully motioned his head towards the mountains in the distance.
“Will I see you again?”
He licked a stripe up the side of his cheek, growling playfully under his breath.
Chanyeol nodded but his lips were still frowning. “Goodnight.” He smirked and patted Kris’s head roughly. “See you later, puppy.”
Kris left his house with a jaunt in his step, not even caring that Chanyeol’s scent was going to be back on him even stronger than before. He didn’t care that his family would find out, that he might get kicked out of the pack, he didn’t care.
That was a mistake.
---
Luhan was waiting for him when he got up the next morning, his eyes lined with worry. “They know, Kris. The whole damn town knows. What were you thinking? You brought that scent in like a freaking tail.”
He rubbed his eyes and bit back a yawn. “What am I supposed to do about it? We can’t always choose who to mate and I’m pretty sure that he chose me, not the other way around.”
“He?” Luhan froze and dropped the glass of milk he was drinking to the floor, glass shattering around his feet. “Kris you didn’t… Tell me you didn’t mate a boy.”
With a helpless smile he shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the broom to sweep up the shards. “Surprise? It’s not like I planned it. And I wouldn’t be the first one.”
His cousin was silent behind him as he thought hard about the situation. Kris was right, he wouldn’t be the first wolf to mate with someone of the same sex. But he would be the first Alpha. And that was what worried him.
“Does anyone else know?” He asked carefully, stepping out of the broken glass so that Kris could clean it up. “That it’s a boy?”
Kris shook his head. “I don’t really tell people my personal business, you know that. I only just found out his name yesterday.”
“This is trouble, Kris.” Luhan looked worried for him. “This is big, massive trouble.”
He felt a smile grow on his lips and patted him on the head. “He’s worth it. Having a mate is completely worth it.”
---
He continued going to Chanyeol’s house every night. It was hard to sneak past the guards posted at all of the main entrances to their village, but as children he and Luhan used to make a game of who could find the most hidden exit. They had discovered an old creek bed that ran through the woods. It was so full of sharp rocks that it wasn’t able to be guarded and that was their go-to spot when they needed to sneak out. Through this abandoned creek he was able to visit and touch his mate every night before bed.
“You’re not an ordinary dog are you.” It wasn’t a question and he couldn’t speak to answer anyways. “You come at the same time every night and you always leave the second I try to ask you a question.” Chanyeol may not have been the smartest person in the town but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew this animal was different. But it had saved his life and he was no more afraid of it than he was of his little sister.
Kris jumped down from the wall and backed away from the suddenly serious boy. He liked their relationship the way it was. Three weeks of seeing him every night was enough for him right now. It kept Chanyeol safe and he didn’t look at him with fear in those wide eyes.
“Will I see you again tomorrow?” Chanyeol leaned his head out of the window and whispered loudly to his back.
He let out a small bark and wagged his tail, the smile that formed on the other boy’s face never ceasing to be any less beautiful.
Since he had been coming to see him in wolf form, he only dared to go back to the sandwich shop as a human just a handful of times. Each time Chanyeol would greet him with a big grin, his lips immediately opening to chatter at him as if they were long lost best friends. Anyone else would find it weird or maybe even creepy, but Kris just fell harder and harder the more the overly-excitable boy spoke to him.
“Did you like the sandwich I made for you last week? I added olives because they’re good for you and I know you like that. But I really, really wanted you to try the spaghetti and meatball one because it’s my favorite.” He rambled on as he continued fixing the customer in front of him’s food, not paying an ounce of attention to anything but Kris.
“This time why don’t we go with a mix of the two.” Kris suggested when it was his turn. “Give me some healthy stuff but put whatever else you want on it.”
Chanyeol bounced excitedly on his toes, the cast finally off and his leg just wrapped in a tight bandage to keep it straight. It was still hard for him to move around but he looked a lot happier and his bruising was gone at last. The scar was still there though. It was always be there reminding Kris of how he almost passed him by.
“Don’t come crying to me if this gives you a stomachache.” Chanyeol warned, handing over the package. “I just threw whatever looked nice on it. Why do you buy my food when all I feed you is junk?”
He smiled and ran his finger down Chanyeol’s scar without thinking, the same thing he did with his tongue every night as the wolf. “I buy it because you make it.”
With a gasp, the other boy jumped backwards, his hand covering the pink scar and hiding it from Kris’s view. “Why did you do that?” He demanded shakily.
Kris realized what he had done and felt his stomach turn. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” He took a step towards the door, his face burning with shame. He had upset him and it hurt Kris more than it did Chanyeol. “I’m sorry.”
He ran all the way home with the sandwich squeezed between his fingers, the bag a ripped, soggy mess when he arrived back in the village. With a loud growl he threw it to the ground, knowing he didn’t have the right to even eat it anymore. He had ruined it, ruined everything.
That night he didn’t go to Chanyeol’s. It was the first time in over three weeks that he didn’t fall asleep with the feel of his fingers still on his skin and it made him restless. He paced his bedroom for hours fighting against the wolf’s cries that it needed to see him.
“I know, I want to go there, too.” He muttered as he dug tracks into his carpeted floor. “But we can’t. Not tonight.”
With a final cry of disappointment, it settled back down, in too much sorrow to fight back.
He wondered what Chanyeol was doing at that moment.
---
It took him four days to get the courage up to go visit him. Four days of him snapping at anyone who got near him and four days of Luhan threatening to cut his balls off if he didn’t go back to town and fix whatever was wrong.
For the first time since he had started coming, Chanyeol was outside when he arrived. He was sitting on the back porch with his face in his hands and deep breaths puffing out of his parted lips.
And Kris ached for what he had done to him. The pain of being apart had to hit him just as hard but at least he knew why and what was happening. Chanyeol probably had no idea why he was feeling so desolate.
With a quiet whine he nudged his muzzle against the sobbing boy’s shoulder.
“Wh- Puppy?” Chanyeol choked back a sob and wrapped weak arms around Kris’s neck, his face buried against his brown fur and he cried and Kris hated himself. “You’re here. I thought you weren’t coming back.” He pulled back and Kris lightly lapped at his tears until his face shone as brightly as his eyes did when he realized it wasn’t just his imagination.
Chanyeol scooted back on the porch and patted his lap waiting for Kris to sprawl across his legs, head pressed firmly against the boy’s soft neck.
“You’re heavy.” Chanyeol laughed, fingers stroking down his sides and back up his spine, relaxing Kris until he was growling low in his chest whenever he took too long with each pass. “God, I missed you.”
They sat in the quiet of the night for over an hour. He finally realized he was squishing the smaller boy and climbed off to curl his body around him instead.
“I hated going to sleep without seeing you.” Chanyeol whispered. “It felt weird. I thought my questions had finally driven you away.” He chuckled humorously under his breath. “I drove someone else away this week, too. Just because I’m such an idiot.”
That caught Kris’s attention. He perked his ears up and hoped he got the hint to continue.
“There’s a man that comes into the shop every week. He’s so… He’s so perfect and he laughs at all of my jokes even when they don’t make any sense. And when he touched me I felt guilty and I just- I’m so, so stupid.”
Kris nipped at his elbow, angry at the insults he was hurling at himself.
“I like him.” Chanyeol admitted. “Is that okay?”
With a final lick at his sweaty skin Kris gave him the go-ahead. Yes, it was okay.
---
Kris took a deep breath as he stood outside the shop door, an apology gift of a bag full of candy and chocolate in his hands. As soon as he knew the store was open he had ran off from the village, racing straight to the convenience store to buy him the presents.
When the last customer inside had left he figured it was now or never. He pushed the door open and licked his lips as Chanyeol finished wiping down the counter before turning to him, the greeting falling away when he realized who it was.
“Hi.” Kris breathed out, forcing his feet towards him. He awkwardly held the bag out. “I’m sorry.”
Chanyeol grabbed it hesitantly and nodded. “I freaked out. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I’m Kris.” He blurted out, wishing he had some of his cousin’s smoothness right about now. “That’s my name, I mean. Kris.”
“Kris.” Chanyeol gave him a small smile, a blush forming across the tips of his ears. “Hello Kris.”
They stared nervously at each other, neither knowing what to say to break the silence until Chanyeol peered into the bag and let out a bark of laughter. “You bought me candy!” He ripped into one of the packages and tilted his head back to pour the sour candy into his mouth. “Thank you.” He mumbled around a mouthful. “This is the best present ever!”
“Do you want to go out sometime?” Kris wondered if he was actually throwing up these words. “With me?”
Chanyeol waited until he had swallowed the mound of candy before answering. “Yes.” He said plainly. “Tonight? I get off at six. We could go eat and then just… hang out?”
And the wolf rejoiced.
---
“You’ve never swung on a swing set?” Chanyeol laughed hysterically as Kris tried to unsuccessfully pump his legs to get higher. “That’s pretty much child abuse!”
He huffed and kicked his legs forward wondering what the hell he was doing wrong and why did the brat make it look so easy? “I was taught how to fight when I was little.” He tried to make excuses. “My cousin and I beat each other with sticks for fun.”
Chanyeol snorted and jumped off his swing to stand behind him. “Just sit still and I’ll push you.” Kris relaxed and let Chanyeol’s hands push him forward higher and higher until he finally saw what the fuss was all about. “Fun now?”
He nodded and waited until the other boy had come around the side to watch him swing before reaching out with an arm and grabbing him around the waist as he swung by him. With a shriek of surprise, Chanyeol clung to his neck and slapped him on the side of his head.
“Jerk!” His words were meant to be mean but his smile showed otherwise. “You’re lucky you’re strong. If you had dropped me I would have punched you in the face.”
Kris didn’t care what he called him as long as he felt his weight heavy in his lap and Chanyeol continued to hold onto him so tightly. “I wouldn’t drop you.” He promised, tightening his grip around the slim waist and pulling him closer. “Trust me.” When they stopped, Kris refused to let go of him. “I told you I’d keep you safe.” His voice was soft as his thumb slipped under the boy’s t-shirt and rubbed against his skin.
Chanyeol’s arms slid further around his neck, bringing them nose to nose, breath mingling between them.
“I trusted you.” When he spoke their lips brushed together and it pushed Kris over the edge, his body closing in on the last bit of space between them. They were chapped and perfect and fit against his, stealing his breath and his heart.
With a soft breath of contentment, Chanyeol tilted his head to the side to kiss him deeper, hands tangling tightly into Kris’s brown hair.
Kris had only ever kissed a few of the girls around town before, just someone who was there when he needed to not be alone for a few minutes. But it was nothing like this. They never made his skin heat to boiling and his lips never met theirs stroke for stroke, both trying to dominate and equally failing.
The wolf slipped through for a split second before Kris was able to shove him back down, its growl echoing through the quiet night and forcing Chanyeol back for a moment as he fought to regain his breath.
“Jesus.” Chanyeol gasped, his forehead pressed against Kris’s. “Wow.”
Kris tried to keep himself in control but the sight of Chanyeol’s tongue coming out to wet his red lips was just teasing at this point. He captured it between his lips, sucking it inside of his own mouth. Chanyeol moaned at the feeling of his tongue being massaged with Kris’s until he let him loose and darted back in again, this time forcing it back so his own could enter the younger boy’s mouth. He wanted to taste him and feel every part of him, every groove, every ridge, and every taste bud belonged to Kris.
When he finally felt like he had taken everything Chanyeol’s palate had to give, he slowed his movements down, tangling their tongues together and sliding a hand further up the back of his shirt. He palmed his soft back with his rough hand, the other letting go of the swing chain to squeeze his thigh and push him harder down into his lap.
“K-Kris.” Chanyeol tried to speak but it was drowned out by his moan when Kris’s palm found its way over the seat of his jeans and rested snugly there.
Lips detached as Chanyeol trailed his tongue down Kris’s sweat-slicked neck and sucked his skin into his lips, giving it the same treatment Kris had given his tongue.
“I want you.” He murmured, rocking his hips downward with a whimper. Teeth bit down sharply making Kris jerk up in the swing. “I want you, Kris.”
This had gone too far, Kris realized. The feeling of being connected with your mate was like nothing else, the emotions taking you over until you didn’t know what was right or wrong anymore and he didn’t want Chanyeol to ask for something he might regret later. This cloud of lust would dissipate as soon as they were apart again. At least that was what Kris was hoping as he firmly lifted him up off his lap.
“We need to stop.” He said gently, patting Chanyeol’s messy hair back into place the best he could. He tried to ignore the swollen lips and heavy eyes but it was hard. Everything about Kris was hard at this point. Even his muscles were pulled taut with the effort at holding himself back. “It’s late. You should go home.”
Chanyeol whined needily in his throat and gave him a childish pout. “Will you call me?”
He started to nod before he remembered he didn’t even have a cell phone. “Give me your number and I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“And text me?” Chanyeol pulled a receipt out of his pocket and scribbled his number on the back quickly.
“A thousand times.” Kris promised him.
He walked him home, hands braided together and small smiles on both of their faces. When they reached the front door Chanyeol turned to him suddenly shy again. “Goodnight Kris.”
“Goodnight.” He lifted his chin and gently brushed their lips together, afraid that anything more might lead to him losing control again.
This was it, he decided as he happily strolled home, Chanyeol’s phone number clutched tight in his fist. This was why everyone made such a big deal about mating. It was life-changing in more ways than one.
---
Are you coming over tonight? My mom promised to make you that barbeque meal you liked last time!
Kris grinned and typed back a reply on the cell phone he had went and bought the day after their date. He had originally bought the smallest plan but after the first few days of the two texting nonstop and talking for hours every night he realized he needed to move up to the expensive one. But if it was for Chanyeol then it was fine. Money was nothing compared to the intense feelings he had found.
Two weeks and he had never been happier. Even Luhan had commented that he was a completely different person. He could see the envy in his cousin’s eyes and wished he could find someone to be with and care for just like him.
But he knew there was no one quite like Chanyeol in the world. The boy who had managed to flip his whole world upside down when he least expected it. The only person to put an ear-splitting smile on his face that showed everyone just how happy he really was. That was Chanyeol.
All good things come to an end.
His phone rang a month after their first date and he knew, he fucking knew. It wasn’t Chanyeol’s ring. The phone didn’t draw him in like a magnet, his heart didn’t pound for Chanyeol’s voice. Even the wolf grew alert, his senses awake and fur prickling in alarm.
“Kris?” Chanyeol’s mother’s voice came across the line. She sounded frantic and near tears making his heart stop in his chest. “Have you seen Chanyeol?”
“N-No.” He tried to swallow through a dry throat. “Why, what’s happened?”
If his mate was hurt there was no reason at all for him to even breathe anymore.
“He’s missing. He left work over three hours ago and he never came home. Chanyeol never does this. And he said you were coming over tonight before bed so I know he would be here waiting by the door. His cell phone keeps going straight to voice mail and I’m worried.”
“I’ll find him.” He promised her. “Give me two hours.”
If Chanyeol was missing there were only two people who would have done it.
---
Shing met him at the doorway to the barn, arms crossed over his chest. “You are not allowed entrance, Yi Fan.”
A growl left his lips. “That is my mate you took.”
“You have not completed the mating ceremony yet. We have time to fix this.”
“How did you find him?”
Shing smirked, his pride at their actions making Kris sick. “It wasn’t hard, Yi Fan. You throw hi scent around like a trophy. We found him easily.” His eyes turned down in disappointment. “No wonder you were so ashamed to admit you were marked.”
He could feel the wolf in his throat and for once he had no qualms about releasing it.
“Move or I will let it tear you into shreds.” He promised him, no care at all that it was his father he was threatening. “And I will take every single person and wolf in this building down with you.”
His father’s loyalty to himself was a lot stronger than his loyalty to the pack. Shing jumped out of the way without a moment’s hesitation.
Kris ran through the barn to the room he knew they would have Chanyeol in. It was normally used to torture some of the young children, the ones who didn’t have strong wolves. They needed to get close to death for the beast to take over and make itself known.
The Death Chamber was what he and Luhan used to call it.
That would be where they took his mate.
The wolf snarled. It would kill everyone inside of that room.
“You and me both, buddy.” Kris muttered.
There were only two guards in front of the door. He rolled his eyes. They should have had at least a dozen for him. His strength combined with the threat to his mate made him practically unstoppable.
He let his teeth elongate into fangs and bared them at the two boys shaking in their spots. “You have two seconds to get out of my way.”
One was smart.
The other found himself pressed face down against the dirt floor, arm bones crunching underneath Kris’s foot.
He threw the door open with a bang, his eyes locking onto the battered face of his mate. Someone had worked him over until he was in tears, wet tracks staining his dirty cheeks and blood pooling under his tied wrists as he struggled against the rough rope.
“Chanyeol.” He breathed, his heart shattering at the terrified look in his eyes. “Baby.”
The door shut behind him, his grandfather’s voice ringing out loud and authoritative in the small room. “This is for the best. It’s for the good of the pack, Yi Fan. You and this boy are not an acceptable match. You cannot bear children together!”
Kris was still watching the way Chanyeol’s eyes brightened when he saw him and ignored the words spit at his back. He trusted Kris to save him. His mate trusted him.
“Don’t worry.” His hand rested on the sweaty curls, the boy’s cheek moving to nuzzle against his palm. “When we get out of here I’m gonna make you a big fucking sandwich okay?”
Chanyeol tried to smile through his torn lips. “Deal.” He rasped out, eyes staring at his feet as he started to lose focus. “But make it my way. None of that disgusting healthy junk on it.”
Turning back to his grandfather, Kris steeled himself for the onslaught he knew was coming.
“Release him.” He demanded. “He is mine and I have claimed him. That makes him exempt from this. You know the rules, Grandfather.”
The Alpha slowly shook his head. “If the mating process has not been completed then he is not fully protected. Only the Alpha can give that order.” A smirk passed his small lips. “And I do not.”
Kris knew it was only a matter of seconds before the wolf seized control and turned this into a blood bath.
“Stand down, Yi Fan.” The order came at him like a cannon shot to the gut. He was jerked backwards to the ground, waves of Alpha authority rolling over his body. “Leave this room.”
It was as if a rope had tied itself around his waist and was dragging him towards the door. He tried to resist but the pull was so strong and his fingers couldn’t find anything to latch ont-
“Kris?” The meek voice whispered behind him. “You’re stronger than him. You know you are. I trust you.”
With a roar, Kris scrambled towards the words, his body shifting between man and wolf as they both fought to take control.
His eyes were pale blue when they looked desperately up at his mate. A whimper was pulled from his lips at the thought that Chanyeol might be frightened of him now that he had seen what his body could do.
“Good doggie.” The smooth voice murmured into his hair. “I knew my puppy would come out and take care of me. Just like always.”
Kris snorted through the pain. This was why the wolf had chosen Chanyeol to be their mate. This crazy curly haired boy that made him laugh even when he felt like every bone in his body was breaking, his organs melting in the heat from the Alpha’s ignored orders. No matter what, Chanyeol was in his corner and fighting for him and he had to do the same.
“No.” He stood up and stared his grandfather down. Even though it hurt, his need to keep his mate safe was stronger than the pain. “I’m not leaving him.”
The blood drained out of his grandfather’s face, leaving him pale and stricken. “Yifan, I gave you an order. You are under pack obligation to follow it.”
He took a step closer. “I will not.”
The wolf howled with pride in his chest. This was the time for it to assert dominance over the village. It had been waiting for this for almost three decades.
“This village and the pack now belong to me.” He clenched his jaw, pushing the waves of power away from him easier than before. This was no more than a few bee stings, he could handle this. “My mate is guaranteed protection from the pack under penalty of death. All Alpha responsibilities now belong to me.”
“You will never get away with this.” Hissing at him, the older man threw the door open in anger and stormed out, no doubt looking for someone to back him up and come back swinging. But he wouldn’t find anyone. Kris knew there was no one left who would follow him over a proclaimed Alpha.
“Kris?” Chanyeol’s voice rang out behind him, his voice slurred and tired. “Can you untie my hands?”
He rushed towards him and undid the ropes, pulling the weak boy into his arms. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry baby. This will never happen again, I swear to you.”
Chanyeol hummed a response, his fingers curling into Kris’s hair and slipping half into sleep. “Take me home?”
“Anything you want.” Kris brushed the pad his thumb across the split lip and bruised cheekbone, anger at himself just as high as it was at his grandfather. If Kris hadn’t of fallen in love with him then this never would have happened.
He would be dead, the wolf haughtily reminded him in his head. We saved his life. He belongs to us.
“I love you.” Kris whispered to his relaxed face. “I love you so much, Chanyeol.”
-------
Part Two (pwp)
Rated: High end of PG13
Length: 10K+
Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.
It was near midnight by the time he got away from the rest of the pack and on his own. His father always told him it wasn't natural the way he preferred loneliness over the group. Wolves were supposed to run together like a family, he often repeated.
But Kris preferred the silence over the loud laughter and teasing taunts in his head when he ran. The only sounds were him and the wind whooshing through his ears, the click of his claws on the rocks as he headed towards the mountain.
He ran for miles, only stopping to lap hurriedly at the stream so he could wetten his dry tongue.
Days could have passed up there, alone in the quiet hills, if he hadn't of smelled the blood.
Human blood.
And it was fresh.
He looked longingly at the tallest peak where he was heading before he was stopped. It wasn't his responsibility, he told himself. No one would know that he had been here, that he had ignored the thick smell in his nose and fuck- was that someone moaning?
Sighing at his always unfortunate luck, he turned towards the sound and came out at the bottom of a hill.
A boy lay sprawled out at the base, his head almost completely covered in dirty blood, his leg bent at an unfortunate angle.
Another cry of pain sailed out of his lips before Kris realized he had been sitting frozen for a few minutes.
He circled the body not the slightest bit worried about frightening the boy. He had lost so much blood that he was probably verging on unconsciousness.
The nearest hospital was about ten miles away. The thought of carrying him that far was already putting an ache in his back. Maybe he could just turn around and pretend. It wasn't his fault the idiot fell and hurt himself. Darwinism and all that shit. Kris Wu was responsible for only Kris Wu.
As if had somehow heard his internal dilemma, which was impossible, only mates could do that, the boy turned his head to look right into his eyes.
"Hello." The surprisingly deep voice spoke up calmly.
Kris stared at him with unblinking eyes. Was he so far out of it that he was actually expecting a response?
"You're the prettiest puppy I've ever seen." He tried again. He chuckled at the warning growl from Kris before wincing at the pain it caused him. "You don't like being called a puppy? I'm sorry. You're a big, strong doggie."
Kris snapped his teeth at him, not appreciating the brat's attitude. When you're lying helpless in the middle of the woods and a giant wolf is staring you down, your first though shouldn't be sass.
But the way those bright eyes twinkled at him in amusement was enough to make Kris's anger melt. With a grimace he dropped down onto the ground beside him and started lapping at the blood covered cheeks. He was going to have to carry him and he did not want blood matting into his fur.
“That feels good.” The boy closed his eyes and reached his good hand up to tangle into Kris’s brown fur. “Good doggie.”
Kris nipped playfully at his jaw, drawing a quick laugh and then a pained grimace.
“Am I dead?” He questioned slowly, looking up into Kris’s dark eyes. “There’s a giant dog taking care of me who acts like it understands everything I’m saying. I have to be dead, right?”
With a huff, Kris ignored the dog comment and carefully used his teeth to drag him up by his t-shirt. When he had him somewhat in a sitting position, he sunk down to his haunches and motioned for him to get on.
Licking his torn lips, the hurt boy managed to climb awkwardly onto his back, hands tugging almost painfully hard on the fur around Kris’s neck as he tried to hang on.
“Don’t drop me okay?” His voice trembled. “I’m trusting you puppy.”
This comment he ignored, because the breath in his ear was making his stomach roll and if he didn’t stop panting like that against him then Kris was going to buck his body off in shock.
The way back into town was going to be long and slow, especially since he didn’t want to jostle him by moving too fast. But if he could find somewhere where there were clothes then he could change and move a lot faster.
“You’re warm.” The more tired he got, the deeper his voice became. “When I get home you can live with me okay?” His words were starting to slur as he let himself relax, feeling safe on his wolf’s back. “I’ll take good care of you. Our house is small but you can sleep in my bed. You’ll be mine.”
Kris stumbled at the images he was putting into his head. For god’s sake, he didn’t even know what the kid looked like under all of the dirt and blood covering him. All he knew was that his eyes were wide and deep and he smelled like the forest. It wasn’t just the environment rubbing off on him, it was his natural scent. Kris could smell it in his pores, in the roots of his hair, even his heartbeat pounded against his back like the roaring of the river.
“Good, good doggie.” He mumbled under his breath, finally drifting into a deep slumber.
Kris rolled him carefully into the grass before changing back into his human form, head cocked to the side as he finally got a good look at him.
In wolf form he was ran by emotions and let his sense of smell and natural instincts take over. But as a human he had time to slowly look him over, noticing right away that he was young, possibly even a teenager still. And attractive, much to his annoyance. The boy’s curly hair was littered with leaves and sticks, but when he gently combed them out he could feel how soft each strand was, the boy’s scent sticking to his hands like glue.
When he pulled away he tried rubbing it off on the grass but it seemed to envelop him like a cloud, the smell covering his body like a second skin, crawling all over him no matter how much he tried to rub it away. It pulled at the fine hairs on the back of his neck, whispered into his ears and tickled the thin skin around his wrists, pulling him towards the prone body like a magnet.
“Fuck.” He muttered under his breath as he carefully lifted the heavy body into his arms, effectively bringing the problem closer to him instead of pushing it away like he wanted. “You look like you’re sixteen, why do you weigh as much as me?”
The boy groaned slightly in his sleep, brows furrowing as his sore body rubbed against Kris’s firm one. “Hurts.”
He trembled in Kris’s arms until his hold tightened, a soft hum leaving his lips as he tried to soothe the pain out of him. “Shhh. We’re going to get help, I promise.”
Even though the hospital was still eight miles away, he managed to get there in half the time than it would have taken if the boy was awake. He knew how to run fast and how to run carefully, keeping the broken body still as he maneuvered his way through the trees.
He looked around cautiously to make sure no one was around so that he could gently lay the lifeless body in front of the emergency room without being seen. The hands that were clenched into his hair had to be pried off, a whine of discontent sounding when Kris had to detach them.
“Good-bye.” His deep voice murmured, taking one last stroke through the dirty curled hair.
Without a single look back he stole away into the night, hoping that his presence would be forgotten, much like he wished to erase this night from his memory.
---
“You were gone all night.” His cousin smirked at him from the doorway, pulling him out of a deep sleep filled with soft skin and heavy pants against his ear.
Kris groaned and pulled his pillow over his face. “Fucking hell, Luhan. It’s not even noon!”
The smaller boy shrugged, tongue darting around the sucker in his hand. “I was told to use whatever means necessary to get you up. You should feel glad I only turned on the light. God, this room is a hole.”
“I like it dark.” Kris’s voice was muffled as he refused to come out. “And quiet. No Luhan’s allowed.”
Luhan snorted and ripped the sheet off the window, the immediate brightness making Kris flinch and call him a few names that would have made their mothers cringe.
“I hate him.” Kris mumbled after kicking the laughing boy out so that he could fix his window and plunge the room back into darkness.
When he finally decided to drag himself out of bed, it was to a welcoming committee of his mother and father.
And his grandfather.
That was never good.
Kris grimaced as he leaned against the awaiting chair to wait patiently for the tongue lashing he knew was coming.
“Yi Fan.” His grandfather spoke first, the authority rumbling through his bones and making his teeth chatter.
“It’s Kris.” He replied stubbornly, ignoring the painful clenching of his chest when he tried to suppress the Alpha influence.
His father growled, eyes flashing blue for a moment as the wolf’s anger was tapped into. “We do not approve of your attitude, Yi Fan.” The tone held a warning, but it wasn’t for his son’s well-being, but rather for his own. Any slight towards one was a slight towards them all and Shing Wu hated to be looked down on, especially by his father, the Alpha.
His son was going to be the next in the line to take over that roll if Shing had to drag him there kicking and screaming.
“Sit.” It was not a request.
He refused to look at them when he sat, clenching his jaw and staring angrily at the carpet below his feet instead. If they wanted to teach him a lesson then it was going to be by force.
“You didn’t come home until daybreak. Where did you go?”
Shrugging off Jinah’s, his mother’s, question, he impatiently tapped his fingers against the arm rest.
“How about you start with telling us why you smell like a human.” The Alpha’s voice resonated through him like a hammer on steel, his body vibrating with pain.
“I don’t…” He groaned until the command subsided. “Maybe because I am a human.”
“You are not a human!” Shing slammed his hands on the desk and snarled at him. “You may look human and you may act like a child sometimes, but your wolf controls you whether you like it or not.”
Kris finally snapped, his brown eyes glinting with flecks of ice blue as he glared angrily at them. “I went running in the mountains! I lost track of time and that’s it!” An inner voice inside of him told him to keep the boy a secret, one that no one could find out about him. The thought of his grandfather tracking down the soft eyes and trusting voice made his chest throb for some reason. “I’m sorry.” He forced out through gritted teeth, head bowing in submission.
A sly head tilt from his grandfather let him know that his story was not one hundred percent believed.
“Whose smell is that then?” Jinah asked carefully. She could tell how jumpy the other two males were and she was worried for her son. “And why is it covering you?”
He had no idea what they were talking about. Surely the boy didn’t rub that much of a scent off on him. He only carried him through the woods, they didn’t bond or anything. “Uh, well, I borrowed some clothes from a house by the river. I haven’t taken a bath since then that must be why it’s still be on me.”
Shing narrowed his eyes at his son. “You are not allowed in the woods until the smell disappears. We don’t want the rest of the pack being alarmed by it when you’re out there. They might think you have taken someone and become intimidated by you. It’s time you were joined and we need all the willing females we can find.”
He shuddered at the thought of mating with one of the girls from their village. Even if some were so distantly related that it shouldn’t matter, there were still the few cousins he knew they would aim for. His own parents were second cousins and he hated that aspect of pack life. Joining’s were allowed outside of the village, but the Alpha had to approve it and he rarely did.
“Yes sir.” He bowed his head, hoping that looking submissive would get him out of this easier. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t let it happen again, Yi Fan. You are the future Alpha and you need to behave as such.” Grandfather pointed to the door, signifying their conversation was done.
He nodded and ran out of the house towards his cousin’s, waiting for the half-dressed boy to come to the door.
“What do you want?” Luhan yawned and scratched his belly. A flushed girl in a sundress and torn sweater smiled shyly at him as she pushed past. “Thanks Feng, I’ll call you.”
Her face drooped and she forced the smile back on her lips as she walked away.
“Her name is Fen.” Kris told him dryly, shoving him back to enter the house. “How can you not know that, she lives over by the edge of the clearing.”
Luhan shrugged and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. “I have more important things to remember than the names of little baby wolves who can’t even keep their dignity intact.”
“And what do you call yourself then? You lost your dignity years ago.”
His eyes suddenly flashed with hurt making Kris regret the callous comment. He knew his cousin hated the way he lived and was desperate to find someone, but he tried to replace the loneliness with women. No matter if he knew them or even if he was in the mood, he had a different girl in his bed multiple times a week and never came through on his promise to call.
“Grandfather told me I need to act more like an Alpha.” Kris changed the subject much to both of their relief. “All I did was take a longer than normal run through the forest.”
Luhan snorted and pulled leftovers out to make a snack. “It smells like you rolled around in someone’s bed, Kris. It’s not insanely strong, but it’s definitely there. Hey, no judgment. But I make sure and don’t let any scents stay attached to me. It’s a mental thing. You must have obviously accepted it.”
He groaned and dug his palms into his eyes. Maybe he should have just left that kid to die.
The wolf growled threateningly, whispering into his brain that he wouldn’t have been allowed and he wanted to skin it alive.
Goddammit he hated it when his cousin was right.
---
For two weeks he had been going slowly crazy.
Kris was almost positive he was hallucinating. He could hear a deep voice murmuring in his ears as he slept, could feel the fingers scratching across his fur every time he was in his wolf form and he was about to go insane from the insatiable need for something in his chest that wouldn’t go away.
“You still smell.” Luhan woke him up with a wrinkle of his nose and a plate of pancakes. “Whoever this girl is she must have fucked you up good.”
“Go away.” He muttered, curling back into his pillow and wishing he could escape into his dream filled with soft touches and meaningful words whispered against heated skin. “I’m off patrol until the scent goes away so I don’t have to get out of bed until I want to.”
Luhan pulled the blanket away ignoring the shouts of protest. “Your dad told me to wake you up. Even if you’re off patrol you can still be stuck on errand boy duty. You have to go into town and pick up supplies.”
He hated errands but if it got him out of the village for a few hours he would gladly take the job. “Help me up.”
Huffing, Luhan hauled him to his feet and shoved the plate at him. “You’re lucky you’re my favorite cousin or I would just poison you and no one would ever know.” His eyes gleamed. “Then I would be next in line for Alpha.”
Kris snorted. “You wouldn’t like being in charge and you know it. You’re looking forward to being second in command and having all the power with none of the responsibilities.”
“Hmm. That’s true. You better snap out of this funk then because if both of us can’t step up then that means it’s your father.” They both grimaced at the thought of Shing in charge. His ego at being the son of the current Alpha and the father of Kris was already sky high. He didn’t need any more of a boost.
---
“You are to come right back when you are finished.” His father ordered him, handing a list of everything they needed over. “I don’t want you hanging around in town. The last time you were out of my sight you didn’t come home until the sun had risen.”
“Yes sir.” Kris muttered, snatching the list out of his hands and slipping a pair of shoes on.
Shing watched him go with a frown on his lips. His son was hiding something and he was bound and determined to find out what it was soon.
Mumbling to himself as he walked, Kris named off everything he hated about being a wolf from the first day of school when he was stared at when he entered by all the kids who had heard from their parents about the future Alpha, to today where he just wanted to run in the wood for hours all by himself without a single worry in his head.
He had made it all the way to town before he realized that he was being tugged, his feet moving him against his will towards the opposite side that he needed to go. All of the stores he had to go to were on the side where the forest opened up. But he was being pulled towards the busiest streets near the center.
The beast awoke with a roar, his attention perked up at something that Kris couldn’t quite see yet. By the time he made it to the deli district he was almost running and he had to grab ahold of a light pole just to stop his feet.
He could feel the wolf clawing at his skin, threatening to break free and it made his flesh itch and he thought he was going to pass out if he didn’t acknowledge it.
Thankfully there was an alley on the next block up and he managed to escape down to the end of it and could breathe a little better when he wasn’t surrounded on all sides by dozens of people and smells. That smell.
He whimpered embarrassingly loud and was glad no one was around to hear it. God, if Luhan was there he would never hear the fucking end of it.
What was he reacting so strongly to and why did it make his wolf so hysterical?
The odor was thick in the air around him, almost feeling like he was walking through water. His body was abnormally heavy as he collapsed in a heap with no care at all for the filth that was surely covering his clothes.
Another high-pitched whine escaped his lips, the wolf seeing the chance to slip through and desperately trying to take it.
“Not now.” He muttered through clenched teeth. “We’re in public.”
With a huff of displeasure the beast finally quieted down and went back to its home deep inside of his chest. But they both knew that he was just lying in wait for the next opportunity to assert his dominance over the weak-minded human body it had been saddled with.
Ever since he was born it had been the pride of his father’s life that his son was the one with the most dominant inner animal. He had made it a point to brag to any family member that would listen that Kris was born to be an Alpha. Even his grandfather acknowledged that there hadn’t been such a strong wolf born in generations.
But Kris despised it. It wasn’t fun knowing that at any point it could decide to burst through. No matter how many years humans had evolved, the wolves never went past basic dominant characteristics. He could be in school and feel the prickle crawling up his spine and knew it was only a matter of minutes before he would be exposed for what he really was.
No, Kris most assuredly was not proud of his inheritance.
With a wince, he finally was able to stand up and brush the unidentified dirt and mess off his pants. He was hesitant to go back up the way he came, but he had been sent on errands for his father and the punishment for not following orders was a million time worse than the world finding out that a man could turn into an animal at will.
His heart beat started to speed up again when he rounded the corner and the familiar smell once again invaded his senses. It was like walking out of his house and into the woods, the deep smell of tree bark combined with the fresh scent of new green leaves and it was all he could do to keep upright.
The beast started murmuring into his ear, low growls that he could barely hear, but rather felt, his body following orders, feet carrying him to wherever he was told to go.
He half walked/half ran with no clear destination, bumping into passerby’s without a second of hesitation until he was finally thrown to a stop in front of a local sandwich shop’s door. Inside, his beast urged him. Insidegoweneedgo.
With a stiff body, Kris pushed his way into the building, his muscles only unclenching when he finally locked his eyes onto his target.
Him.
That boy he had saved so many days earlier. With the swollen cheeks and bloody body and the sweet smile as he petted him with absolutely zero fear.
Chanyeol.
The excellent eyesight might have been a side-effect of his jumbled DNA, but for once Kris wasn’t going to complain about it. He could read the name tag from across the store and he knew his name and it was Chanyeol and he was his and the beast was howling in his throat in happiness.
“Can I help you find something?” That voice was one he would recognize anywhere. And even though his eyes were no longer puffy and bloodshot, they still were the same ones that had been torturing him every sliver of sleep he had managed to get over the last two weeks.
He took so long controlling the screaming in his chest that the boy, no Chanyeol, started to look worried.
“Are you okay?” He gripped the edge of the counter nervously and eyed his crutches out of the corner of his eyes just in case he needed to grab them and attack. “Do you… Do you need me to call someone for you?”
Kris realized he had been standing there for an embarrassingly long amount of time with an open mouth and wide eyes and covered with the dirt from the alley. “S-Sorry.” He cleared his throat and motioned towards the menu. “Can I have a sandwich?”
Chanyeol waited for him to continue. “You have to tell me what kind.” He supplied helpfully.
Well fuck. Decisions like that were way over his skill level at the moment. “Surprise me?” He gave him an awkward shrug.
With a hesitant nod, the boy eyed Kris for a moment with judging eyes. “You look like you eat healthy.” He finally decided. “Salads, vegetables, all that boring stuff.”
Kris huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “There is nothing wrong with being in shape!”
Rolling his eyes, Chanyeol grabbed two pieces of the whole grain loaf. “But the other stuff is so good! Ice cream and chocolate bars and candy!” Dark eyes lit up in excitement as he gushed over all of his favorite foods to an amused Kris.
By the time he had finished putting together a sandwich, Kris was well-versed in how yogurt and ice cream were actually two very different things thank you very much, and that if you covered potato chips in melted chocolate it was so good you practically cried.
He presented Kris with a wrapped square, his face still lit up in delight. “Here you go. One overly healthy, boring sandwich with absolutely nothing delicious on it whatsoever.”
Kris’s lips twitched as he handed his money over.
“Why are you working if your leg’s in a cast?” He could see the grimaces that crossed his face every time he moved and the pained expressions stabbed at his heart like a knife. “Shouldn’t you be at home resting?”
He got a shrug in response. “I took a few days off after I got hurt. Got to keep working though. My uncle owns this place and he depends on my help.”
Loyalty.
That trait went straight through him. Telling a wolf you’re loyal was one of the smartest things you could do.
“Come back tomorrow and I’ll make you a real sandwich.” The boy’s eyes widened almost scarily high when he grinned and his whole face lit up and Kris ached.
“Deal.” He replied, finally letting a rarely seen smile cross his lips.
When he left he felt lighter, his expression still one of joy, the wolf inside of him was even content. He doubted that anything could dampen his mood.
“You smell like a human.”
He always forgot about Luhan.
“Who is it? Is that why you stayed out that one night? What’s her name? She hot?” Luhan danced around him in glee. “Does she have nice boobs?”
“Shut up.” Kris growled, pushing the troll out of his way. “I was in town today. Of course I smell like humans.”
Luhan smirked. “You don’t notice it, do you? It’s not humans, Kris. It’s human. As in one. I can still smell one particular scent on you. And it’s so fucking strong no one could miss it, trust me.”
He groaned and sniffed his shirt. “I don’t smell anything.” There was a light trace of the woods on his shirt, the heady scent of fall leaves just barely tickling his nose.
“Kris?” Luhan cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Have you mated and not realized it?”
Sputtering, he jumped away from his cousin, worried the crazy might catch. “What? Of course not! What are you talking about?”
Luhan reached over and ripped Kris’s jacket off before he had even realized what had happened. He slipped it over his shoulders and raised an eyebrow. “Well?”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s n-“ A snarl burst out of his lips when the smell suddenly hit his nose. Chanyeol mixed in with Luhan. As if Luhan had claimed him. “Take. It. Off.” He warned, eyes flashing blue and canines enlarging against his will.
The beast was screaming at him to demolish the enemy, tear him into tiny pieces, devour him.
“Mine.”
“So you wanna tell me who she is?” Luhan carefully threw the jacket back at him, recognizing the threat of an angry future Alpha.
“No.” He muttered, cradling the material preciously in his arms.
It never failed this asshole always managed to ruin his day. He had just come back from finally seeing the person who had been haunting every second of his days and he had eaten the most amazing meal he had ever had. It was like the boy knew exactly what he wanted and knowing that his hands, his perfect hands, had put it together just for him was making him prouder than he had ever been in his almost thirty year long life.
“You know I can sniff her out, right?” His cousin’s smirk was back on his damn cherubic face. “You may be the strongest wolf in the pack, but we all know I’m the best tracker. And besides, I have fun sniffing out girls who are in heat.”
“They’re not in heat.” He tried to push past him to no avail.
Luhan chuckled. “Oh trust me, anyone strong enough to cover you in their scent like this is definitely ready to be mated. I’m surprised you were even able to hold back.”
“It’s not like that.” He disagreed, continuing to sniff his arm. Now that Luhan had threatened his wolf the smell was all he could concentrate on. “I just saved… them.” Wincing, he realized he couldn’t even tell him the truth. That it wasn’t a her but a he.
It wasn’t that mating with a boy was unheard of. Kris had seen a few cases in his years. But the future Alpha? That might cause problems.
Children wouldn’t be a cause for concern. You only needed one parent with the wolf gene to make a full-blooded hybrid. The other parent didn’t matter. And if he inseminated a donor with his sperm then they could easily h-
He slapped a hand over his mouth in horror when he realized he was pondering their future children like it was already in motion.
“Dude.” Luhan’s eyes were wide with shock. “You just went into heat. Hardcore.” He took a step back, not dumb enough to be close to a newly mated Alpha in heat. That was akin to a death wish. “I’m just gonna…” He pointed awkwardly to the door before running out in a panic.
Kris was near panting by this point, the ache filling his body and seeping out through his pores. Anyone in a mile radius would be able to sense it and know to stay away. He glanced down at the newly formed bulge in his jeans and groaned. It was just going to get worse. He could jack off a hundred times and it would still be this painful. Until he fully completed the mating process it would never get better.
He needed Chanyeol. And he needed him now.
---
It wasn’t difficult to find his house. Now that he was covered in his scent it was practically a GPS guiding him to wherever he was. The problem arrived when he smelled two other bodies inside the house. He sniffed again. Both were female. One in her mid-forties and the other not quite at puberty.
Mother and sister he decided.
Chanyeol was in the back bedroom, the faint sound of snoring emanating through the walls, along with a slight whimper every now and then. His dreams were probably a lot like Kris’s had been in the last two weeks. Full of familiar eyes and a deep need for something even if he wasn’t sure what it was yet.
He carefully removed his clothes and hid them beneath a bush behind the house so that he could change easier. Changing with clothes on was a rookie mistake.
The dark blue curtains were closed so he nervously scratched a claw down the window and prayed it didn’t echo throughout the small house. After a few moments he tried it again, a deep sigh of relief when Chanyeol pried them apart to peer curiously out.
He hung his head and sat back on his haunches to try and appear submissive. He didn’t want to scare him. Now that he was better he might not even remember what had happened and who had saved him.
“Puppy!” A muffled voice yelled excitedly through the glass accompanied by a bang on the glass. The window slid open and a messy head of hair poked through, grin wide on his face. “You came back!” He eyed the drop to the ground in trepidation. “It’s too high for me to climb out…”
Kris took a step closer, still going slowly so as not to frighten him. When he was against the house, he jumped up to put his front paws on the wall beside the window.
Chanyeol clapped happily, his hand immediately going to the wolf’s head, sliding a warm palm down and over his neck, ruffling the brown fur between his fingers. “My doggie.” He murmured, scratching behind his ears and earning a hum that vibrated through Kris’s whole body.
His face had a long scratch down his temple and into his hairline. It was going to leave a scar. Kris wondered how he could have even thought about leaving him there to die that night. What would the world be like without this energy inhabiting it?
When his tongue lapped at the pink scar gently, Chanyeol’s giggles were so sweet he felt like crying and he hated Luhan for being so right and goddammit, this was his mate.
“I knew you were real.” The voice was too innocent and trusting to be this deep. “I told everyone about you but no one believed me. They put me on so much medicine after the accident that I didn’t know what was happening for three days until I finally realized I had to stop talking about you or they would just keep giving it to me.” His hands cupped Kris’s muzzle and he rubbed his cheek across his nose. “But you were real. And you came back.”
He whined and nuzzled his neck, breathing him in and feeling his whole body relax for the first time in ages. This was the person who was meant to take his stresses away, the only one who would ever be able to calm him down and keep him sane.
“Are you staying?” The voice asked a little while later. He sounded so hopeful and Kris hated the dejected look in his eyes when he pulled away. “You’re leaving again?” Chanyeol bit his lip and rested his cheek on the window sill, his fingers still playing absentmindedly with Kris’s ear. “Please stay?”
Kris remorsefully motioned his head towards the mountains in the distance.
“Will I see you again?”
He licked a stripe up the side of his cheek, growling playfully under his breath.
Chanyeol nodded but his lips were still frowning. “Goodnight.” He smirked and patted Kris’s head roughly. “See you later, puppy.”
Kris left his house with a jaunt in his step, not even caring that Chanyeol’s scent was going to be back on him even stronger than before. He didn’t care that his family would find out, that he might get kicked out of the pack, he didn’t care.
That was a mistake.
---
Luhan was waiting for him when he got up the next morning, his eyes lined with worry. “They know, Kris. The whole damn town knows. What were you thinking? You brought that scent in like a freaking tail.”
He rubbed his eyes and bit back a yawn. “What am I supposed to do about it? We can’t always choose who to mate and I’m pretty sure that he chose me, not the other way around.”
“He?” Luhan froze and dropped the glass of milk he was drinking to the floor, glass shattering around his feet. “Kris you didn’t… Tell me you didn’t mate a boy.”
With a helpless smile he shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the broom to sweep up the shards. “Surprise? It’s not like I planned it. And I wouldn’t be the first one.”
His cousin was silent behind him as he thought hard about the situation. Kris was right, he wouldn’t be the first wolf to mate with someone of the same sex. But he would be the first Alpha. And that was what worried him.
“Does anyone else know?” He asked carefully, stepping out of the broken glass so that Kris could clean it up. “That it’s a boy?”
Kris shook his head. “I don’t really tell people my personal business, you know that. I only just found out his name yesterday.”
“This is trouble, Kris.” Luhan looked worried for him. “This is big, massive trouble.”
He felt a smile grow on his lips and patted him on the head. “He’s worth it. Having a mate is completely worth it.”
---
He continued going to Chanyeol’s house every night. It was hard to sneak past the guards posted at all of the main entrances to their village, but as children he and Luhan used to make a game of who could find the most hidden exit. They had discovered an old creek bed that ran through the woods. It was so full of sharp rocks that it wasn’t able to be guarded and that was their go-to spot when they needed to sneak out. Through this abandoned creek he was able to visit and touch his mate every night before bed.
“You’re not an ordinary dog are you.” It wasn’t a question and he couldn’t speak to answer anyways. “You come at the same time every night and you always leave the second I try to ask you a question.” Chanyeol may not have been the smartest person in the town but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew this animal was different. But it had saved his life and he was no more afraid of it than he was of his little sister.
Kris jumped down from the wall and backed away from the suddenly serious boy. He liked their relationship the way it was. Three weeks of seeing him every night was enough for him right now. It kept Chanyeol safe and he didn’t look at him with fear in those wide eyes.
“Will I see you again tomorrow?” Chanyeol leaned his head out of the window and whispered loudly to his back.
He let out a small bark and wagged his tail, the smile that formed on the other boy’s face never ceasing to be any less beautiful.
Since he had been coming to see him in wolf form, he only dared to go back to the sandwich shop as a human just a handful of times. Each time Chanyeol would greet him with a big grin, his lips immediately opening to chatter at him as if they were long lost best friends. Anyone else would find it weird or maybe even creepy, but Kris just fell harder and harder the more the overly-excitable boy spoke to him.
“Did you like the sandwich I made for you last week? I added olives because they’re good for you and I know you like that. But I really, really wanted you to try the spaghetti and meatball one because it’s my favorite.” He rambled on as he continued fixing the customer in front of him’s food, not paying an ounce of attention to anything but Kris.
“This time why don’t we go with a mix of the two.” Kris suggested when it was his turn. “Give me some healthy stuff but put whatever else you want on it.”
Chanyeol bounced excitedly on his toes, the cast finally off and his leg just wrapped in a tight bandage to keep it straight. It was still hard for him to move around but he looked a lot happier and his bruising was gone at last. The scar was still there though. It was always be there reminding Kris of how he almost passed him by.
“Don’t come crying to me if this gives you a stomachache.” Chanyeol warned, handing over the package. “I just threw whatever looked nice on it. Why do you buy my food when all I feed you is junk?”
He smiled and ran his finger down Chanyeol’s scar without thinking, the same thing he did with his tongue every night as the wolf. “I buy it because you make it.”
With a gasp, the other boy jumped backwards, his hand covering the pink scar and hiding it from Kris’s view. “Why did you do that?” He demanded shakily.
Kris realized what he had done and felt his stomach turn. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” He took a step towards the door, his face burning with shame. He had upset him and it hurt Kris more than it did Chanyeol. “I’m sorry.”
He ran all the way home with the sandwich squeezed between his fingers, the bag a ripped, soggy mess when he arrived back in the village. With a loud growl he threw it to the ground, knowing he didn’t have the right to even eat it anymore. He had ruined it, ruined everything.
That night he didn’t go to Chanyeol’s. It was the first time in over three weeks that he didn’t fall asleep with the feel of his fingers still on his skin and it made him restless. He paced his bedroom for hours fighting against the wolf’s cries that it needed to see him.
“I know, I want to go there, too.” He muttered as he dug tracks into his carpeted floor. “But we can’t. Not tonight.”
With a final cry of disappointment, it settled back down, in too much sorrow to fight back.
He wondered what Chanyeol was doing at that moment.
---
It took him four days to get the courage up to go visit him. Four days of him snapping at anyone who got near him and four days of Luhan threatening to cut his balls off if he didn’t go back to town and fix whatever was wrong.
For the first time since he had started coming, Chanyeol was outside when he arrived. He was sitting on the back porch with his face in his hands and deep breaths puffing out of his parted lips.
And Kris ached for what he had done to him. The pain of being apart had to hit him just as hard but at least he knew why and what was happening. Chanyeol probably had no idea why he was feeling so desolate.
With a quiet whine he nudged his muzzle against the sobbing boy’s shoulder.
“Wh- Puppy?” Chanyeol choked back a sob and wrapped weak arms around Kris’s neck, his face buried against his brown fur and he cried and Kris hated himself. “You’re here. I thought you weren’t coming back.” He pulled back and Kris lightly lapped at his tears until his face shone as brightly as his eyes did when he realized it wasn’t just his imagination.
Chanyeol scooted back on the porch and patted his lap waiting for Kris to sprawl across his legs, head pressed firmly against the boy’s soft neck.
“You’re heavy.” Chanyeol laughed, fingers stroking down his sides and back up his spine, relaxing Kris until he was growling low in his chest whenever he took too long with each pass. “God, I missed you.”
They sat in the quiet of the night for over an hour. He finally realized he was squishing the smaller boy and climbed off to curl his body around him instead.
“I hated going to sleep without seeing you.” Chanyeol whispered. “It felt weird. I thought my questions had finally driven you away.” He chuckled humorously under his breath. “I drove someone else away this week, too. Just because I’m such an idiot.”
That caught Kris’s attention. He perked his ears up and hoped he got the hint to continue.
“There’s a man that comes into the shop every week. He’s so… He’s so perfect and he laughs at all of my jokes even when they don’t make any sense. And when he touched me I felt guilty and I just- I’m so, so stupid.”
Kris nipped at his elbow, angry at the insults he was hurling at himself.
“I like him.” Chanyeol admitted. “Is that okay?”
With a final lick at his sweaty skin Kris gave him the go-ahead. Yes, it was okay.
---
Kris took a deep breath as he stood outside the shop door, an apology gift of a bag full of candy and chocolate in his hands. As soon as he knew the store was open he had ran off from the village, racing straight to the convenience store to buy him the presents.
When the last customer inside had left he figured it was now or never. He pushed the door open and licked his lips as Chanyeol finished wiping down the counter before turning to him, the greeting falling away when he realized who it was.
“Hi.” Kris breathed out, forcing his feet towards him. He awkwardly held the bag out. “I’m sorry.”
Chanyeol grabbed it hesitantly and nodded. “I freaked out. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I’m Kris.” He blurted out, wishing he had some of his cousin’s smoothness right about now. “That’s my name, I mean. Kris.”
“Kris.” Chanyeol gave him a small smile, a blush forming across the tips of his ears. “Hello Kris.”
They stared nervously at each other, neither knowing what to say to break the silence until Chanyeol peered into the bag and let out a bark of laughter. “You bought me candy!” He ripped into one of the packages and tilted his head back to pour the sour candy into his mouth. “Thank you.” He mumbled around a mouthful. “This is the best present ever!”
“Do you want to go out sometime?” Kris wondered if he was actually throwing up these words. “With me?”
Chanyeol waited until he had swallowed the mound of candy before answering. “Yes.” He said plainly. “Tonight? I get off at six. We could go eat and then just… hang out?”
And the wolf rejoiced.
---
“You’ve never swung on a swing set?” Chanyeol laughed hysterically as Kris tried to unsuccessfully pump his legs to get higher. “That’s pretty much child abuse!”
He huffed and kicked his legs forward wondering what the hell he was doing wrong and why did the brat make it look so easy? “I was taught how to fight when I was little.” He tried to make excuses. “My cousin and I beat each other with sticks for fun.”
Chanyeol snorted and jumped off his swing to stand behind him. “Just sit still and I’ll push you.” Kris relaxed and let Chanyeol’s hands push him forward higher and higher until he finally saw what the fuss was all about. “Fun now?”
He nodded and waited until the other boy had come around the side to watch him swing before reaching out with an arm and grabbing him around the waist as he swung by him. With a shriek of surprise, Chanyeol clung to his neck and slapped him on the side of his head.
“Jerk!” His words were meant to be mean but his smile showed otherwise. “You’re lucky you’re strong. If you had dropped me I would have punched you in the face.”
Kris didn’t care what he called him as long as he felt his weight heavy in his lap and Chanyeol continued to hold onto him so tightly. “I wouldn’t drop you.” He promised, tightening his grip around the slim waist and pulling him closer. “Trust me.” When they stopped, Kris refused to let go of him. “I told you I’d keep you safe.” His voice was soft as his thumb slipped under the boy’s t-shirt and rubbed against his skin.
Chanyeol’s arms slid further around his neck, bringing them nose to nose, breath mingling between them.
“I trusted you.” When he spoke their lips brushed together and it pushed Kris over the edge, his body closing in on the last bit of space between them. They were chapped and perfect and fit against his, stealing his breath and his heart.
With a soft breath of contentment, Chanyeol tilted his head to the side to kiss him deeper, hands tangling tightly into Kris’s brown hair.
Kris had only ever kissed a few of the girls around town before, just someone who was there when he needed to not be alone for a few minutes. But it was nothing like this. They never made his skin heat to boiling and his lips never met theirs stroke for stroke, both trying to dominate and equally failing.
The wolf slipped through for a split second before Kris was able to shove him back down, its growl echoing through the quiet night and forcing Chanyeol back for a moment as he fought to regain his breath.
“Jesus.” Chanyeol gasped, his forehead pressed against Kris’s. “Wow.”
Kris tried to keep himself in control but the sight of Chanyeol’s tongue coming out to wet his red lips was just teasing at this point. He captured it between his lips, sucking it inside of his own mouth. Chanyeol moaned at the feeling of his tongue being massaged with Kris’s until he let him loose and darted back in again, this time forcing it back so his own could enter the younger boy’s mouth. He wanted to taste him and feel every part of him, every groove, every ridge, and every taste bud belonged to Kris.
When he finally felt like he had taken everything Chanyeol’s palate had to give, he slowed his movements down, tangling their tongues together and sliding a hand further up the back of his shirt. He palmed his soft back with his rough hand, the other letting go of the swing chain to squeeze his thigh and push him harder down into his lap.
“K-Kris.” Chanyeol tried to speak but it was drowned out by his moan when Kris’s palm found its way over the seat of his jeans and rested snugly there.
Lips detached as Chanyeol trailed his tongue down Kris’s sweat-slicked neck and sucked his skin into his lips, giving it the same treatment Kris had given his tongue.
“I want you.” He murmured, rocking his hips downward with a whimper. Teeth bit down sharply making Kris jerk up in the swing. “I want you, Kris.”
This had gone too far, Kris realized. The feeling of being connected with your mate was like nothing else, the emotions taking you over until you didn’t know what was right or wrong anymore and he didn’t want Chanyeol to ask for something he might regret later. This cloud of lust would dissipate as soon as they were apart again. At least that was what Kris was hoping as he firmly lifted him up off his lap.
“We need to stop.” He said gently, patting Chanyeol’s messy hair back into place the best he could. He tried to ignore the swollen lips and heavy eyes but it was hard. Everything about Kris was hard at this point. Even his muscles were pulled taut with the effort at holding himself back. “It’s late. You should go home.”
Chanyeol whined needily in his throat and gave him a childish pout. “Will you call me?”
He started to nod before he remembered he didn’t even have a cell phone. “Give me your number and I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“And text me?” Chanyeol pulled a receipt out of his pocket and scribbled his number on the back quickly.
“A thousand times.” Kris promised him.
He walked him home, hands braided together and small smiles on both of their faces. When they reached the front door Chanyeol turned to him suddenly shy again. “Goodnight Kris.”
“Goodnight.” He lifted his chin and gently brushed their lips together, afraid that anything more might lead to him losing control again.
This was it, he decided as he happily strolled home, Chanyeol’s phone number clutched tight in his fist. This was why everyone made such a big deal about mating. It was life-changing in more ways than one.
---
Are you coming over tonight? My mom promised to make you that barbeque meal you liked last time!
Kris grinned and typed back a reply on the cell phone he had went and bought the day after their date. He had originally bought the smallest plan but after the first few days of the two texting nonstop and talking for hours every night he realized he needed to move up to the expensive one. But if it was for Chanyeol then it was fine. Money was nothing compared to the intense feelings he had found.
Two weeks and he had never been happier. Even Luhan had commented that he was a completely different person. He could see the envy in his cousin’s eyes and wished he could find someone to be with and care for just like him.
But he knew there was no one quite like Chanyeol in the world. The boy who had managed to flip his whole world upside down when he least expected it. The only person to put an ear-splitting smile on his face that showed everyone just how happy he really was. That was Chanyeol.
All good things come to an end.
His phone rang a month after their first date and he knew, he fucking knew. It wasn’t Chanyeol’s ring. The phone didn’t draw him in like a magnet, his heart didn’t pound for Chanyeol’s voice. Even the wolf grew alert, his senses awake and fur prickling in alarm.
“Kris?” Chanyeol’s mother’s voice came across the line. She sounded frantic and near tears making his heart stop in his chest. “Have you seen Chanyeol?”
“N-No.” He tried to swallow through a dry throat. “Why, what’s happened?”
If his mate was hurt there was no reason at all for him to even breathe anymore.
“He’s missing. He left work over three hours ago and he never came home. Chanyeol never does this. And he said you were coming over tonight before bed so I know he would be here waiting by the door. His cell phone keeps going straight to voice mail and I’m worried.”
“I’ll find him.” He promised her. “Give me two hours.”
If Chanyeol was missing there were only two people who would have done it.
---
Shing met him at the doorway to the barn, arms crossed over his chest. “You are not allowed entrance, Yi Fan.”
A growl left his lips. “That is my mate you took.”
“You have not completed the mating ceremony yet. We have time to fix this.”
“How did you find him?”
Shing smirked, his pride at their actions making Kris sick. “It wasn’t hard, Yi Fan. You throw hi scent around like a trophy. We found him easily.” His eyes turned down in disappointment. “No wonder you were so ashamed to admit you were marked.”
He could feel the wolf in his throat and for once he had no qualms about releasing it.
“Move or I will let it tear you into shreds.” He promised him, no care at all that it was his father he was threatening. “And I will take every single person and wolf in this building down with you.”
His father’s loyalty to himself was a lot stronger than his loyalty to the pack. Shing jumped out of the way without a moment’s hesitation.
Kris ran through the barn to the room he knew they would have Chanyeol in. It was normally used to torture some of the young children, the ones who didn’t have strong wolves. They needed to get close to death for the beast to take over and make itself known.
The Death Chamber was what he and Luhan used to call it.
That would be where they took his mate.
The wolf snarled. It would kill everyone inside of that room.
“You and me both, buddy.” Kris muttered.
There were only two guards in front of the door. He rolled his eyes. They should have had at least a dozen for him. His strength combined with the threat to his mate made him practically unstoppable.
He let his teeth elongate into fangs and bared them at the two boys shaking in their spots. “You have two seconds to get out of my way.”
One was smart.
The other found himself pressed face down against the dirt floor, arm bones crunching underneath Kris’s foot.
He threw the door open with a bang, his eyes locking onto the battered face of his mate. Someone had worked him over until he was in tears, wet tracks staining his dirty cheeks and blood pooling under his tied wrists as he struggled against the rough rope.
“Chanyeol.” He breathed, his heart shattering at the terrified look in his eyes. “Baby.”
The door shut behind him, his grandfather’s voice ringing out loud and authoritative in the small room. “This is for the best. It’s for the good of the pack, Yi Fan. You and this boy are not an acceptable match. You cannot bear children together!”
Kris was still watching the way Chanyeol’s eyes brightened when he saw him and ignored the words spit at his back. He trusted Kris to save him. His mate trusted him.
“Don’t worry.” His hand rested on the sweaty curls, the boy’s cheek moving to nuzzle against his palm. “When we get out of here I’m gonna make you a big fucking sandwich okay?”
Chanyeol tried to smile through his torn lips. “Deal.” He rasped out, eyes staring at his feet as he started to lose focus. “But make it my way. None of that disgusting healthy junk on it.”
Turning back to his grandfather, Kris steeled himself for the onslaught he knew was coming.
“Release him.” He demanded. “He is mine and I have claimed him. That makes him exempt from this. You know the rules, Grandfather.”
The Alpha slowly shook his head. “If the mating process has not been completed then he is not fully protected. Only the Alpha can give that order.” A smirk passed his small lips. “And I do not.”
Kris knew it was only a matter of seconds before the wolf seized control and turned this into a blood bath.
“Stand down, Yi Fan.” The order came at him like a cannon shot to the gut. He was jerked backwards to the ground, waves of Alpha authority rolling over his body. “Leave this room.”
It was as if a rope had tied itself around his waist and was dragging him towards the door. He tried to resist but the pull was so strong and his fingers couldn’t find anything to latch ont-
“Kris?” The meek voice whispered behind him. “You’re stronger than him. You know you are. I trust you.”
With a roar, Kris scrambled towards the words, his body shifting between man and wolf as they both fought to take control.
His eyes were pale blue when they looked desperately up at his mate. A whimper was pulled from his lips at the thought that Chanyeol might be frightened of him now that he had seen what his body could do.
“Good doggie.” The smooth voice murmured into his hair. “I knew my puppy would come out and take care of me. Just like always.”
Kris snorted through the pain. This was why the wolf had chosen Chanyeol to be their mate. This crazy curly haired boy that made him laugh even when he felt like every bone in his body was breaking, his organs melting in the heat from the Alpha’s ignored orders. No matter what, Chanyeol was in his corner and fighting for him and he had to do the same.
“No.” He stood up and stared his grandfather down. Even though it hurt, his need to keep his mate safe was stronger than the pain. “I’m not leaving him.”
The blood drained out of his grandfather’s face, leaving him pale and stricken. “Yifan, I gave you an order. You are under pack obligation to follow it.”
He took a step closer. “I will not.”
The wolf howled with pride in his chest. This was the time for it to assert dominance over the village. It had been waiting for this for almost three decades.
“This village and the pack now belong to me.” He clenched his jaw, pushing the waves of power away from him easier than before. This was no more than a few bee stings, he could handle this. “My mate is guaranteed protection from the pack under penalty of death. All Alpha responsibilities now belong to me.”
“You will never get away with this.” Hissing at him, the older man threw the door open in anger and stormed out, no doubt looking for someone to back him up and come back swinging. But he wouldn’t find anyone. Kris knew there was no one left who would follow him over a proclaimed Alpha.
“Kris?” Chanyeol’s voice rang out behind him, his voice slurred and tired. “Can you untie my hands?”
He rushed towards him and undid the ropes, pulling the weak boy into his arms. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry baby. This will never happen again, I swear to you.”
Chanyeol hummed a response, his fingers curling into Kris’s hair and slipping half into sleep. “Take me home?”
“Anything you want.” Kris brushed the pad his thumb across the split lip and bruised cheekbone, anger at himself just as high as it was at his grandfather. If Kris hadn’t of fallen in love with him then this never would have happened.
He would be dead, the wolf haughtily reminded him in his head. We saved his life. He belongs to us.
“I love you.” Kris whispered to his relaxed face. “I love you so much, Chanyeol.”
-------
Part Two (pwp)