Of Flesh, Fur, and Fang - Chapter Three
Of Flesh, Fur, and Fang
Chapter Three
They stared at each other for what could have been hours or minutes, until the figure of their homeroom teacher appeared in the doorway behind Kyuhyun. “Zhou mi,” Mr. Park said warmly. “What brings you over here?”
“Mom made cake,” he said holding out the box and immensely grateful that something had interrupted the impromptu staring contest.
The older man smiled warmly. “I see that. Why don’t you come in? We were just all sitting down to dinner. We would love it if you would join us.”
“Uh sure,” Zhou mi replied cursing himself as he did so.
“Kyuhyun,” their teacher said with a meaningful look.
“Yeah,” Kyuhyun said blinking. “Here let me take that.” He reached out and took the box from Zhou mi and disappeared into the house.
Mr. Park smiled and held the door open for him and Zhou mi offered a tentative smile as he stepped inside. At the sound of it clicking shut behind him, Zhou mi tried to squash the feeling that he had just been sealed inside his tomb. He removed his shoes by the door and tried to smile as his teacher escorted him through the house.
“I smell sugar!” a male voice called excitedly.
“I smell too much energy,” a female voice answered.
“Sit,” a more gruff voice ordered.
Mr. Park led him around the corner and into a large dining room. The table was huge and a quick count, showed place settings for ten and another one being added. On the surface of the table was enough food to feed a small army.
“Let me do introductions,” Mr. Park told him warmly. Zhou mi nodded and tried to pay careful attention to what he was being told. “This is Kangin,” he said indicating the man at the head of the table. Zhou mi knew from his limited knowledge of pack dynamics that that would be the alpha. No alpha would settle for being introduced anything but first.
“In this home I am known as Leeteuk. This is Siwon,” Leeteuk indicated the man creating a new place setting for him, and Zhou mi made a mental note of the probable second in the pack. “Kyuhyun you have already met.” Zhou mi swallowed thickly at that. If his guess was correct, that meant Kyuhyun was third in order of dominance, which made him a relatively strong wolf. Stepping between him and the student earlier that day had probably been the dumbest thing he had ever done.
“This is Yunho, Jaejoong, Shindong, Yoona, Eunhyuk, and Taeyeon. Everyone, this is Zhou mi.” Zhou mi nodded politely to each as Leeteuk pointed them out but kept from looking directly at any of them. Wolves were picky about that. There was a pecking order in any pack and for him, an outsider, to challenge that would be completely foolish. To a wolf, direct eye contact was just as good as a full verbal challenge.
“Have a seat,” Leeteuk gestured with a smile to an empty chair.
Thankfully as Zhou mi slid into it, he found it to be beside his teacher and Kyuhyun. It wasn’t as nice as a chair in his own safe quiet home would have been, but it was better than sitting beside people he didn’t know.
Once they were all seated, Kangin cleared his throat meaningfully and a chorus of “Thank you Leeteuk,” rang out from the gathered people.
“You are welcome. Eat,” Leeteuk replied cheerfully. “Help yourself Zhou mi.”
Zhou mi nodded and took a bit of several dishes while he tried not to stare at any of the people who were now comfortable chatting and eating at the same time. “So Zhou mi,” Kangin said conversationally. “Leeteuk tells me you just moved in next door.”
“Yes sir,” Zhou mi answered studying his plate.
“How do you like the neighborhood so far?”
“It is a nice neighborhood sir,” Zhou mi responded.
“Really, because I heard you didn’t like your neighbors,” Kangin said off handily. Zhou mi’s head snapped up, his eyes filled with shock. Kangin watched him entirely amused.
“I never said that. I don’t mind the neighbors at all. I mean the ones on the other side of us are sort of strange but I don’t mind them,” Zhou mi said hastily.
Leeteuk looked between the pair and scowled. “He is just joking with you Zhou mi,” he said gently, and then he glared at the man on the other side of him. “Knock it off,” he ordered. Kangin grinned and shrugged, returning to his food.
On Zhou mi’s other side Kyuhyun snorted and took a large bite of his chicken. “Chill new kid. You are acting like one of us is going to jump you or something.”
“No,” Zhou mi said returning his eyes to his plate. “I’m just not very good at meeting people.”
“Funny,” Kyuhyun said with a smirk. “You didn’t have too much trouble jumping in the middle of a fight.”
“Instincts I guess,” Zhou mi said with a shrug as he visibly tried to relax himself.
Leeteuk smiled and offered him a bowl of rice, which Zhou mi accepted with a small word of thanks. “So Zhou mi,” Leeteuk said warmly. “Tell me about yourself. I like to get to know my students.” Zhou mi nodded, that sounded like something he could do.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
Zhou mi had tried to sneak out after dinner, but Leeteuk couldn’t let him sneak away that easily. It didn’t take much for the older man to see how excited every person in that house was to have someone new over, even if they had no idea who or what he was. Eunhyuk and Shindong were practically vibrating at their excitement to have a potential third player to their adventures. Leeteuk couldn’t deny them that, so he had insisted that Zhou mi stay for a bit longer.
He had shooed everyone from the kitchen after extracting a promise from Siwon to keep the kids in line should they get out of control and then he had set about cleaning up. When they had first purchased their house, Kangin had insisted on getting a dish washer. Leeteuk rarely used the thing. He found the cleaning after a large meal to be soothing and a reminder of everything that he had now.
Besides, it wasn’t as if cleaning up was hard. There was never any food left to put away and besides the occasional bone from whatever meat they had been eating on that particular day, there wasn’t ever anything left on the dishes. This evening was no different. He collected the numerous dishes and piled them on the counter beside the sink, then began to fill it with water.
He was just depositing the first dish into it when he heard the quiet call of, “Leeteuk.” It was immediately followed by hands that slid along his sides, moving until one of them settled low on his stomach and another on his hip. He smiled and leaned back into his alpha, appreciating the verbal declaration of approach even after the three years together. While he enjoyed the feeling of the solid man behind him, he began to work on cleansing the dishes.
Kangin managed to remain silent through the cleansing of all of the silverware before he heaved a heavy sigh. “What?” Leeteuk asked with a smile.
“Nothing. A man can’t sigh and not have in mean anything?” Kangin grumbled.
“A man can, but you can’t. Especially when you have your hands on my body like this and they aren’t trying to do anything inappropriate,” Leeteuk replied with a smile.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing other than the fact that you are currently distracted by some thoughts, giving me the impression that your sigh means something,” Leeteuk replied calmly.
“You don’t miss anything do you,” Kangin placed a gentle kiss on Leeteuk’s neck.
“I try not to,” Leeteuk agreed. “Someone has to keep track of these kids.”
“It is my job to keep track of them,” Kangin replied gruffly.
“No it is your job to keep them in line and mine to pay attention to details,” Leeteuk replied simply, adding more dirty dishes to the water.
“I was thinking about Zhou mi,” Kangin admitted after a minute.
“I figured,” Leeteuk agreed, knowing he didn’t have to prompt Kangin to elaborate.
“He is frightened by being here,” Kangin told him. Leeteuk nodded. “I’m guessing that he has dealt with a pack that has treated him badly before. He obviously knows how to try to turn aside the anger of a dominate.”
“I had noticed that,” Leeteuk agreed.
“It makes me angry. No one should act that scared of a pack no matter their rank in it, especially a Quieter,” Kangin growled.
“I don’t think he knows what he is,” Leeteuk mused. “But remember how I was when you found me. You have to be patient with him.”
Kangin let out a noise that sounded akin to an animalistic snarl and his arms shifted and tightened around Leeteuk. “I don’t even want to think about the way I found you. It makes my Beast very unhappy.”
Leeteuk smiled and paused in his task for a moment to give his alpha his full attention. “I know Kangin, but I am safe now here with you. We can make it so that Zhou mi is safe too. We can help him beat his fear like you helped me.”
The teacher wasn’t too surprised when he was suddenly spun, pressed back against the counter and kissed fiercely. Leeteuk submitted to it, his damp hands finding purchase on the other man’s waist and Kangin’s lips softened immediately. “Sorry,” Kangin murmured as he pulled away to brush sweet fleeting kisses against Leeteuk’s lips and then his neck. Leeteuk smiled for a minute as he enjoyed the feeling of being held securely in his mate’s arms, even if the counter was cutting into his back painfully.
“I guess even a Quieter can’t keep me calm where you are concerned,” Kangin said with a laugh.
Leeteuk returned his smile. “There isn’t much that can keep you calm,” he said lightly. “As much as I enjoy this you need to move before my back flairs up.”
Immediately Kangin released him and took several steps backwards giving Leeteuk space. Guilt was clear on his face. Leeteuk laughed and took several steps forward to curl his fingers in Kangin’s shirt and drag him closer. “I didn’t mean you were hurting me,” he murmured. “I never mind if you want to hold me and press me against something, I just prefer if it is against something a bit softer, like our mattress.”
“Sorry,” Kangin replied, running his hands over Leeteuk’s back.
“No harm done,” Leeteuk reassured him, offering him a gentle kiss. When they pulled their mouths apart, he smiled. “I’ll go get Zhou mi. I know you want to talk to him.” Kangin nodded and released Leeteuk, moving to sit at the table.
Leeteuk smiled and crossed through the house to the living room. Kyuhyun was sitting in a chair with his laptop on his lap. Siwon was curled in an arm chair with a book open on his lap. Eunhyuk and Shindong were wrestling on the floor while, Zhou mi was seated stiffly on the couch with a game controller in his hand. The rest of the pack was nowhere to be seen.
“Controllers,” Leeteuk said sharply. From the tangle of limbs on the floor, two video game controllers flew out into the air. Leeteuk caught them easily and set them safely on the television stand before stepping neatly around the pair to Zhou mi. “Would you like to come talk with Kangin and I in the kitchen?”
Zhou mi looked around as if weighing the options before nodding. He set the controller on the couch and followed Leeteuk from the room. “Don’t break anything,” Leeteuk called over his shoulder as they entered the room.
Kangin looked up when they entered and gestured to a seat at the table. “Have a seat,” he said with a friendly look. Leeteuk smiled fondly and moved to the refrigerator. It was that same look that Kangin had worn when they had first met. It could probably make anyone spill their guts to him and trust him. Zhou mi slid into the seat nervously and intently began studying the grain of the wood on the table.
“Do you want anything to drink?” Leeteuk asked. Zhou mi shook his head and Leeteuk retrieved a beer from the door of the refrigerator. He walked to the table and placed it in front of Kangin, kissing him gently on the top of the head before returning to his dishes. He could just imagine the look of irritation on Kangin’s face at the display of affection in front of others.
“So Zhou mi,” Leeteuk heard a pause as Kangin opened his can. “We aren’t the first pack of werewolves you have met, are we?”
“No sir,” Zhou mi’s voice was quiet.
“Were you a part of the other pack that you knew?”
“No sir. I, my,” there was a pause as if Zhou mi was trying to find the right words to express himself.
“Zhou mi,” Kangin said gently. “I am not a sir. You may call me Kangin, just like any of my pack. In fact I dislike being called sir because it makes me feel old.”
“Sorry, Kangin,” Zhou mi’s voice said quietly.
There was the sound of a chair moving and a quiet gasp. Leeteuk smiled. He didn’t need to look to know that Kangin had just gotten off of his chair to kneel on the ground at Zhou mi’s feet in order to look up into his lowered eyes. For an alpha to put himself lower than anyone was not only unthinkable, but nearly impossible as the Beast within would never allow it. Yet not only did Kangin manage it but it was the same trick he had used to win Leeteuk’s trust years ago.
“Zhou mi,” Kangin said gently. “You don’t need to be afraid of me. I would never hurt you and I will never let anyone hurt you again. Here in my pack we are normal people that are able to turn into wolves whenever we want. I won’t lie to you and say that we aren’t like normal werewolves after our change, but we try very hard not to be.”
“Your pack is really small,” Zhou mi offered tentatively.
“It is,” Kangin replied and Leeteuk could head the smile in his voice. “See Zhou mi, I never wanted to be an alpha of a pack. I was going to live my life in seclusion as a lone wolf, but I have a thing for strays. How much do you know about werewolves, Zhou mi?”
“Only a little bit,” Zhou mi answered.
“Well when a person is changed into a werewolf they typically feel an intense need for a pack. This forces them to seek out packs to have companions to exist with. Sadly just like human society has those that it doesn’t want, so does werewolf society. I have a strange way of finding them and them a strange way of stumbling into me,” Kangin explained.
“But they all seem so normal,” Zhou mi admitted.
“Not a single one of them are. For example, Siwon is too gentle and strongly dominate at the same time. It doesn’t make for a good combination. Shindong’s wolf form looks more like a ball of fluff then a wolf and he was shunned because of it. Both of our females were too dominate for females and then tried to stand up for themselves and find their own place without a mate,” Kangin told him.
“What about Kyuhyun?” Zhou mi asked, his voice was finally beginning to sound relaxed.
“Well Kyuhyun is just too smart for his own good. Add that to the fact that he is strongly dominate but doesn’t see any use in playing the games of dominance even though he could beat nearly anyone at them. He likes it here because we avoid that as much as we can.”
“How, I thought all packs had rankings?” Zhou mi asked, he sounded curious.
“They do and we do too, we just tend to settle them through games or mutual agreements. Shindong and Eunhyuk are constantly switching their places with each other through their little wrestling matches.”
“That isn’t anything like the other pack,” Zhou mi said softly. “I have seen wolves kill each other for their ranks.”
“We are strange here,” Kangin replied. Leeteuk could hear the shift that signaled him standing and stretching. “That sort of fighting isn’t needed. We can sense instinctively how dominate another wolf is.”
“You can?”
“Yes, that is how we can function as we do. It is instinct to defer to those more dominate then we are. You don’t feel that instinct do you.”
“No,” Zhou mi responded after a moment. “I can feel you are an alpha but I don’t feel like I need to submit to you except that I know it is a bad idea if I don’t.”
“Zhou mi, do you know what you are?” Kangin asked gently.
“No,” Zhou mi admitted. “Not really.” The ease of his words and the sound of his voice told Leeteuk that Kangin had him nearly completely relaxed.
“Would you like to learn?”
“You know,” Leeteuk heard surprise from Zhou mi.
“I do,” Kangin replied. “But if you want to know you are going to have to trust me. You are going to have to be able to talk to me, and trust my pack. Can you do that?”
“I don’t know,” Zhou mi’s voice wasn’t full of fear anymore, it was simply unsure.
“That is alright. You can think about it. Our whole pack is going on a little retreat this weekend. Would you like to come along? It would be a great way for you to get to know some of your classmates,” Kangin offered.
“And it would give me a chance to catch you up on what you have missed in school,” Leeteuk added not turning from his dishes.
Zhou mi sighed and Leeteuk knew he had him. “I’ll ask my mom.” There was silence for a few moments before Zhou mi cleared his throat. “Mr. Park, how did you not fit in?”
Leeteuk smiled and pulled his hands from the water, drying them on a towel before turning. “I was the second in a pack when the pack discovered that I was attracted to males.”
“A second?” Zhou mi asked eyes wide. “How could they do anything to you?”
“When your alpha exiles you from the pack it messes up everything you are. There is no agony quite like it,” Leeteuk said gently.
“I’m sorry,” Zhou mi said simply.
“I’m not,” Leeteuk countered, walking over and laying a hand on Kangin’s shoulder. “I have so much more from my alpha now, that I would never change it for even an instant.”
Zhou mi nodded and glanced away as Kangin wrapped a possessive arm around Leeteuk’s waist. “I should probably be getting home,” Zhou mi suggested.
“Sure,” Kangin agreed. “I’ll walk you home.”
“Uh,” Zhou mi paused for a moment. “My mom isn’t real big on alphas, I don’t know how she will react.”
“I’m sure she won’t mind. I have to thank her for that wonderful cake,” Kangin said with a smile. He turned and gave Leeteuk a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Take your time,” Leeteuk replied. He waited until they had left the room to return to the dishes. As he picked up a plate, the smile that settled onto his face was huge.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
Hankyung sincerely hoped that the sound of that particular ringtone was a part of a horrendous nightmare and not something occurring in reality. His hopes were dashed however when the tone began screaming all over again at him. There was only one creature on this planet that would have the gull to change his cell phone ring tone.
He grabbed the offending device and flipped it open to answer the call. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t come down there this minute and run a stake through your heart,” Hankyung snarled.
‘Because you would miss me too much,’ was the immediate reply. ‘Besides we aren’t really sure if that will destroy me or not and I don’t really fancy being stabbed with any sort of object. The healing time is ridiculous and painful.’
“Heechul,” Hankyung’s voice carried warning in it.
‘Yes my dear Chinaman?’ Hankyung could just see the smirk on the other man’s face.
“Tell me why you called or we will be seeing how it feels to lose and re-grow some rather important bits of your body,” Hankyung growled.
‘You wouldn’t,’ Heechul’s voice sounded entirely reassured of that fact. ‘You like them too much.’
Hankyung shrugged. “There isn’t a bit of you that I like enough to deal with this crap. I’m going back to bed.”
‘Don’t you want to know why I called?’ Heechul’s voice teased.
“At this point,” Hankyung said flatly. “I don’t care in the slightest.”
‘Fine,’ Heechul responded miffed, although Hankyung wasn’t sure if it was true or faked. ‘I won’t tell you the information I have then.’
Hankyung sighed. “What information?”
‘It doesn’t work like that. I’m not saying it where just anyone can hear. You have to come to me.’
“I am not coming to you until you tell me what it is about. I will not travel half way across the city just to hear about the plot of your newest soap opera,” Hankyung replied.
‘Fine,’ the reply was bratty, as if his favorite toy had just been snatched. ‘It’s about the new kid in town. I know what he is.’
There was a pause as Hankyung looked to the clock beside his bed and sighed. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” he said and then immediately hung up the phone.
Chapter Four
Masterlist
AN: Firstly, I would like to apologize to any of you waiting patiently for the next chapter of Dragon Prince. I had four chapters written and I quite honestly hated them, but I did not have time to fix them. Today I printed them and attacked with pen and after a huge rewrite, I am happy with them. I will post the next chapter as soon as I get it back from my wonderful beta.
Now this little gem is giving me no trouble and is going so nicely it is just writing itself. It is like my two loves have met and meshed beautifully, supernatural creatures and Super Junior. I am very happy with this thing. I just want to say thank you to my beta, she sent this chapter right back to me edited only a few hours after I sent it to her. My stories would be awful grammatically without her.
(And sorry people who are only following me on miracle. I have to wait until after midnight my time because the little tidbit I put up last night was a few hours after midnight... Last time I didn't wait I got in trouble...)
Chapter Three
They stared at each other for what could have been hours or minutes, until the figure of their homeroom teacher appeared in the doorway behind Kyuhyun. “Zhou mi,” Mr. Park said warmly. “What brings you over here?”
“Mom made cake,” he said holding out the box and immensely grateful that something had interrupted the impromptu staring contest.
The older man smiled warmly. “I see that. Why don’t you come in? We were just all sitting down to dinner. We would love it if you would join us.”
“Uh sure,” Zhou mi replied cursing himself as he did so.
“Kyuhyun,” their teacher said with a meaningful look.
“Yeah,” Kyuhyun said blinking. “Here let me take that.” He reached out and took the box from Zhou mi and disappeared into the house.
Mr. Park smiled and held the door open for him and Zhou mi offered a tentative smile as he stepped inside. At the sound of it clicking shut behind him, Zhou mi tried to squash the feeling that he had just been sealed inside his tomb. He removed his shoes by the door and tried to smile as his teacher escorted him through the house.
“I smell sugar!” a male voice called excitedly.
“I smell too much energy,” a female voice answered.
“Sit,” a more gruff voice ordered.
Mr. Park led him around the corner and into a large dining room. The table was huge and a quick count, showed place settings for ten and another one being added. On the surface of the table was enough food to feed a small army.
“Let me do introductions,” Mr. Park told him warmly. Zhou mi nodded and tried to pay careful attention to what he was being told. “This is Kangin,” he said indicating the man at the head of the table. Zhou mi knew from his limited knowledge of pack dynamics that that would be the alpha. No alpha would settle for being introduced anything but first.
“In this home I am known as Leeteuk. This is Siwon,” Leeteuk indicated the man creating a new place setting for him, and Zhou mi made a mental note of the probable second in the pack. “Kyuhyun you have already met.” Zhou mi swallowed thickly at that. If his guess was correct, that meant Kyuhyun was third in order of dominance, which made him a relatively strong wolf. Stepping between him and the student earlier that day had probably been the dumbest thing he had ever done.
“This is Yunho, Jaejoong, Shindong, Yoona, Eunhyuk, and Taeyeon. Everyone, this is Zhou mi.” Zhou mi nodded politely to each as Leeteuk pointed them out but kept from looking directly at any of them. Wolves were picky about that. There was a pecking order in any pack and for him, an outsider, to challenge that would be completely foolish. To a wolf, direct eye contact was just as good as a full verbal challenge.
“Have a seat,” Leeteuk gestured with a smile to an empty chair.
Thankfully as Zhou mi slid into it, he found it to be beside his teacher and Kyuhyun. It wasn’t as nice as a chair in his own safe quiet home would have been, but it was better than sitting beside people he didn’t know.
Once they were all seated, Kangin cleared his throat meaningfully and a chorus of “Thank you Leeteuk,” rang out from the gathered people.
“You are welcome. Eat,” Leeteuk replied cheerfully. “Help yourself Zhou mi.”
Zhou mi nodded and took a bit of several dishes while he tried not to stare at any of the people who were now comfortable chatting and eating at the same time. “So Zhou mi,” Kangin said conversationally. “Leeteuk tells me you just moved in next door.”
“Yes sir,” Zhou mi answered studying his plate.
“How do you like the neighborhood so far?”
“It is a nice neighborhood sir,” Zhou mi responded.
“Really, because I heard you didn’t like your neighbors,” Kangin said off handily. Zhou mi’s head snapped up, his eyes filled with shock. Kangin watched him entirely amused.
“I never said that. I don’t mind the neighbors at all. I mean the ones on the other side of us are sort of strange but I don’t mind them,” Zhou mi said hastily.
Leeteuk looked between the pair and scowled. “He is just joking with you Zhou mi,” he said gently, and then he glared at the man on the other side of him. “Knock it off,” he ordered. Kangin grinned and shrugged, returning to his food.
On Zhou mi’s other side Kyuhyun snorted and took a large bite of his chicken. “Chill new kid. You are acting like one of us is going to jump you or something.”
“No,” Zhou mi said returning his eyes to his plate. “I’m just not very good at meeting people.”
“Funny,” Kyuhyun said with a smirk. “You didn’t have too much trouble jumping in the middle of a fight.”
“Instincts I guess,” Zhou mi said with a shrug as he visibly tried to relax himself.
Leeteuk smiled and offered him a bowl of rice, which Zhou mi accepted with a small word of thanks. “So Zhou mi,” Leeteuk said warmly. “Tell me about yourself. I like to get to know my students.” Zhou mi nodded, that sounded like something he could do.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
Zhou mi had tried to sneak out after dinner, but Leeteuk couldn’t let him sneak away that easily. It didn’t take much for the older man to see how excited every person in that house was to have someone new over, even if they had no idea who or what he was. Eunhyuk and Shindong were practically vibrating at their excitement to have a potential third player to their adventures. Leeteuk couldn’t deny them that, so he had insisted that Zhou mi stay for a bit longer.
He had shooed everyone from the kitchen after extracting a promise from Siwon to keep the kids in line should they get out of control and then he had set about cleaning up. When they had first purchased their house, Kangin had insisted on getting a dish washer. Leeteuk rarely used the thing. He found the cleaning after a large meal to be soothing and a reminder of everything that he had now.
Besides, it wasn’t as if cleaning up was hard. There was never any food left to put away and besides the occasional bone from whatever meat they had been eating on that particular day, there wasn’t ever anything left on the dishes. This evening was no different. He collected the numerous dishes and piled them on the counter beside the sink, then began to fill it with water.
He was just depositing the first dish into it when he heard the quiet call of, “Leeteuk.” It was immediately followed by hands that slid along his sides, moving until one of them settled low on his stomach and another on his hip. He smiled and leaned back into his alpha, appreciating the verbal declaration of approach even after the three years together. While he enjoyed the feeling of the solid man behind him, he began to work on cleansing the dishes.
Kangin managed to remain silent through the cleansing of all of the silverware before he heaved a heavy sigh. “What?” Leeteuk asked with a smile.
“Nothing. A man can’t sigh and not have in mean anything?” Kangin grumbled.
“A man can, but you can’t. Especially when you have your hands on my body like this and they aren’t trying to do anything inappropriate,” Leeteuk replied with a smile.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing other than the fact that you are currently distracted by some thoughts, giving me the impression that your sigh means something,” Leeteuk replied calmly.
“You don’t miss anything do you,” Kangin placed a gentle kiss on Leeteuk’s neck.
“I try not to,” Leeteuk agreed. “Someone has to keep track of these kids.”
“It is my job to keep track of them,” Kangin replied gruffly.
“No it is your job to keep them in line and mine to pay attention to details,” Leeteuk replied simply, adding more dirty dishes to the water.
“I was thinking about Zhou mi,” Kangin admitted after a minute.
“I figured,” Leeteuk agreed, knowing he didn’t have to prompt Kangin to elaborate.
“He is frightened by being here,” Kangin told him. Leeteuk nodded. “I’m guessing that he has dealt with a pack that has treated him badly before. He obviously knows how to try to turn aside the anger of a dominate.”
“I had noticed that,” Leeteuk agreed.
“It makes me angry. No one should act that scared of a pack no matter their rank in it, especially a Quieter,” Kangin growled.
“I don’t think he knows what he is,” Leeteuk mused. “But remember how I was when you found me. You have to be patient with him.”
Kangin let out a noise that sounded akin to an animalistic snarl and his arms shifted and tightened around Leeteuk. “I don’t even want to think about the way I found you. It makes my Beast very unhappy.”
Leeteuk smiled and paused in his task for a moment to give his alpha his full attention. “I know Kangin, but I am safe now here with you. We can make it so that Zhou mi is safe too. We can help him beat his fear like you helped me.”
The teacher wasn’t too surprised when he was suddenly spun, pressed back against the counter and kissed fiercely. Leeteuk submitted to it, his damp hands finding purchase on the other man’s waist and Kangin’s lips softened immediately. “Sorry,” Kangin murmured as he pulled away to brush sweet fleeting kisses against Leeteuk’s lips and then his neck. Leeteuk smiled for a minute as he enjoyed the feeling of being held securely in his mate’s arms, even if the counter was cutting into his back painfully.
“I guess even a Quieter can’t keep me calm where you are concerned,” Kangin said with a laugh.
Leeteuk returned his smile. “There isn’t much that can keep you calm,” he said lightly. “As much as I enjoy this you need to move before my back flairs up.”
Immediately Kangin released him and took several steps backwards giving Leeteuk space. Guilt was clear on his face. Leeteuk laughed and took several steps forward to curl his fingers in Kangin’s shirt and drag him closer. “I didn’t mean you were hurting me,” he murmured. “I never mind if you want to hold me and press me against something, I just prefer if it is against something a bit softer, like our mattress.”
“Sorry,” Kangin replied, running his hands over Leeteuk’s back.
“No harm done,” Leeteuk reassured him, offering him a gentle kiss. When they pulled their mouths apart, he smiled. “I’ll go get Zhou mi. I know you want to talk to him.” Kangin nodded and released Leeteuk, moving to sit at the table.
Leeteuk smiled and crossed through the house to the living room. Kyuhyun was sitting in a chair with his laptop on his lap. Siwon was curled in an arm chair with a book open on his lap. Eunhyuk and Shindong were wrestling on the floor while, Zhou mi was seated stiffly on the couch with a game controller in his hand. The rest of the pack was nowhere to be seen.
“Controllers,” Leeteuk said sharply. From the tangle of limbs on the floor, two video game controllers flew out into the air. Leeteuk caught them easily and set them safely on the television stand before stepping neatly around the pair to Zhou mi. “Would you like to come talk with Kangin and I in the kitchen?”
Zhou mi looked around as if weighing the options before nodding. He set the controller on the couch and followed Leeteuk from the room. “Don’t break anything,” Leeteuk called over his shoulder as they entered the room.
Kangin looked up when they entered and gestured to a seat at the table. “Have a seat,” he said with a friendly look. Leeteuk smiled fondly and moved to the refrigerator. It was that same look that Kangin had worn when they had first met. It could probably make anyone spill their guts to him and trust him. Zhou mi slid into the seat nervously and intently began studying the grain of the wood on the table.
“Do you want anything to drink?” Leeteuk asked. Zhou mi shook his head and Leeteuk retrieved a beer from the door of the refrigerator. He walked to the table and placed it in front of Kangin, kissing him gently on the top of the head before returning to his dishes. He could just imagine the look of irritation on Kangin’s face at the display of affection in front of others.
“So Zhou mi,” Leeteuk heard a pause as Kangin opened his can. “We aren’t the first pack of werewolves you have met, are we?”
“No sir,” Zhou mi’s voice was quiet.
“Were you a part of the other pack that you knew?”
“No sir. I, my,” there was a pause as if Zhou mi was trying to find the right words to express himself.
“Zhou mi,” Kangin said gently. “I am not a sir. You may call me Kangin, just like any of my pack. In fact I dislike being called sir because it makes me feel old.”
“Sorry, Kangin,” Zhou mi’s voice said quietly.
There was the sound of a chair moving and a quiet gasp. Leeteuk smiled. He didn’t need to look to know that Kangin had just gotten off of his chair to kneel on the ground at Zhou mi’s feet in order to look up into his lowered eyes. For an alpha to put himself lower than anyone was not only unthinkable, but nearly impossible as the Beast within would never allow it. Yet not only did Kangin manage it but it was the same trick he had used to win Leeteuk’s trust years ago.
“Zhou mi,” Kangin said gently. “You don’t need to be afraid of me. I would never hurt you and I will never let anyone hurt you again. Here in my pack we are normal people that are able to turn into wolves whenever we want. I won’t lie to you and say that we aren’t like normal werewolves after our change, but we try very hard not to be.”
“Your pack is really small,” Zhou mi offered tentatively.
“It is,” Kangin replied and Leeteuk could head the smile in his voice. “See Zhou mi, I never wanted to be an alpha of a pack. I was going to live my life in seclusion as a lone wolf, but I have a thing for strays. How much do you know about werewolves, Zhou mi?”
“Only a little bit,” Zhou mi answered.
“Well when a person is changed into a werewolf they typically feel an intense need for a pack. This forces them to seek out packs to have companions to exist with. Sadly just like human society has those that it doesn’t want, so does werewolf society. I have a strange way of finding them and them a strange way of stumbling into me,” Kangin explained.
“But they all seem so normal,” Zhou mi admitted.
“Not a single one of them are. For example, Siwon is too gentle and strongly dominate at the same time. It doesn’t make for a good combination. Shindong’s wolf form looks more like a ball of fluff then a wolf and he was shunned because of it. Both of our females were too dominate for females and then tried to stand up for themselves and find their own place without a mate,” Kangin told him.
“What about Kyuhyun?” Zhou mi asked, his voice was finally beginning to sound relaxed.
“Well Kyuhyun is just too smart for his own good. Add that to the fact that he is strongly dominate but doesn’t see any use in playing the games of dominance even though he could beat nearly anyone at them. He likes it here because we avoid that as much as we can.”
“How, I thought all packs had rankings?” Zhou mi asked, he sounded curious.
“They do and we do too, we just tend to settle them through games or mutual agreements. Shindong and Eunhyuk are constantly switching their places with each other through their little wrestling matches.”
“That isn’t anything like the other pack,” Zhou mi said softly. “I have seen wolves kill each other for their ranks.”
“We are strange here,” Kangin replied. Leeteuk could hear the shift that signaled him standing and stretching. “That sort of fighting isn’t needed. We can sense instinctively how dominate another wolf is.”
“You can?”
“Yes, that is how we can function as we do. It is instinct to defer to those more dominate then we are. You don’t feel that instinct do you.”
“No,” Zhou mi responded after a moment. “I can feel you are an alpha but I don’t feel like I need to submit to you except that I know it is a bad idea if I don’t.”
“Zhou mi, do you know what you are?” Kangin asked gently.
“No,” Zhou mi admitted. “Not really.” The ease of his words and the sound of his voice told Leeteuk that Kangin had him nearly completely relaxed.
“Would you like to learn?”
“You know,” Leeteuk heard surprise from Zhou mi.
“I do,” Kangin replied. “But if you want to know you are going to have to trust me. You are going to have to be able to talk to me, and trust my pack. Can you do that?”
“I don’t know,” Zhou mi’s voice wasn’t full of fear anymore, it was simply unsure.
“That is alright. You can think about it. Our whole pack is going on a little retreat this weekend. Would you like to come along? It would be a great way for you to get to know some of your classmates,” Kangin offered.
“And it would give me a chance to catch you up on what you have missed in school,” Leeteuk added not turning from his dishes.
Zhou mi sighed and Leeteuk knew he had him. “I’ll ask my mom.” There was silence for a few moments before Zhou mi cleared his throat. “Mr. Park, how did you not fit in?”
Leeteuk smiled and pulled his hands from the water, drying them on a towel before turning. “I was the second in a pack when the pack discovered that I was attracted to males.”
“A second?” Zhou mi asked eyes wide. “How could they do anything to you?”
“When your alpha exiles you from the pack it messes up everything you are. There is no agony quite like it,” Leeteuk said gently.
“I’m sorry,” Zhou mi said simply.
“I’m not,” Leeteuk countered, walking over and laying a hand on Kangin’s shoulder. “I have so much more from my alpha now, that I would never change it for even an instant.”
Zhou mi nodded and glanced away as Kangin wrapped a possessive arm around Leeteuk’s waist. “I should probably be getting home,” Zhou mi suggested.
“Sure,” Kangin agreed. “I’ll walk you home.”
“Uh,” Zhou mi paused for a moment. “My mom isn’t real big on alphas, I don’t know how she will react.”
“I’m sure she won’t mind. I have to thank her for that wonderful cake,” Kangin said with a smile. He turned and gave Leeteuk a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Take your time,” Leeteuk replied. He waited until they had left the room to return to the dishes. As he picked up a plate, the smile that settled onto his face was huge.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
Hankyung sincerely hoped that the sound of that particular ringtone was a part of a horrendous nightmare and not something occurring in reality. His hopes were dashed however when the tone began screaming all over again at him. There was only one creature on this planet that would have the gull to change his cell phone ring tone.
He grabbed the offending device and flipped it open to answer the call. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t come down there this minute and run a stake through your heart,” Hankyung snarled.
‘Because you would miss me too much,’ was the immediate reply. ‘Besides we aren’t really sure if that will destroy me or not and I don’t really fancy being stabbed with any sort of object. The healing time is ridiculous and painful.’
“Heechul,” Hankyung’s voice carried warning in it.
‘Yes my dear Chinaman?’ Hankyung could just see the smirk on the other man’s face.
“Tell me why you called or we will be seeing how it feels to lose and re-grow some rather important bits of your body,” Hankyung growled.
‘You wouldn’t,’ Heechul’s voice sounded entirely reassured of that fact. ‘You like them too much.’
Hankyung shrugged. “There isn’t a bit of you that I like enough to deal with this crap. I’m going back to bed.”
‘Don’t you want to know why I called?’ Heechul’s voice teased.
“At this point,” Hankyung said flatly. “I don’t care in the slightest.”
‘Fine,’ Heechul responded miffed, although Hankyung wasn’t sure if it was true or faked. ‘I won’t tell you the information I have then.’
Hankyung sighed. “What information?”
‘It doesn’t work like that. I’m not saying it where just anyone can hear. You have to come to me.’
“I am not coming to you until you tell me what it is about. I will not travel half way across the city just to hear about the plot of your newest soap opera,” Hankyung replied.
‘Fine,’ the reply was bratty, as if his favorite toy had just been snatched. ‘It’s about the new kid in town. I know what he is.’
There was a pause as Hankyung looked to the clock beside his bed and sighed. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” he said and then immediately hung up the phone.
Chapter Four
Masterlist
AN: Firstly, I would like to apologize to any of you waiting patiently for the next chapter of Dragon Prince. I had four chapters written and I quite honestly hated them, but I did not have time to fix them. Today I printed them and attacked with pen and after a huge rewrite, I am happy with them. I will post the next chapter as soon as I get it back from my wonderful beta.
Now this little gem is giving me no trouble and is going so nicely it is just writing itself. It is like my two loves have met and meshed beautifully, supernatural creatures and Super Junior. I am very happy with this thing. I just want to say thank you to my beta, she sent this chapter right back to me edited only a few hours after I sent it to her. My stories would be awful grammatically without her.
(And sorry people who are only following me on miracle. I have to wait until after midnight my time because the little tidbit I put up last night was a few hours after midnight... Last time I didn't wait I got in trouble...)