Of Flesh, Fur, and Fang - Chapter Nine
Of Flesh, Fur, and Fang
Chapter Nine
It took less than five minutes of stalking after the pack for Zhou mi to realize that this must be what a true pack was. They worked together, slipping silently through the underbrush and around the trees as they looked for something to hunt. Instead of the sporadically spread pack that he was used to, this one moved with precision, as a unit and whole.
Zhou mi stalked after them, relying on his scent of smell to keep track of them as they moved through the forest. They didn’t make a sound that his sensitive ears could pick up and anything in front of them would be upwind and unable to even have the advantage of smelling them, giving the pack the element of surprise.
It took about ten minutes before he noticed a change in the way they were moving. Instead of creeping close together they had fanned out, Kyuhyun and Siwon scents disappearing to the right and left respectively while everyone else spread out further.
He was in the middle of pondering whom he should follow when a howl broke the silence. It was a single clear and pure note and he recognized it immediately as Kangin’s voice. No one answered his call and Zhou mi picked up the pace, settling on following Kangin’s scent at a slow trot.
Roughly five minutes later a howl began again, led by Kangin and picked up by the rest of the pack until all of the wolves were singing together. Zhou mi followed the sound, using it to judge the distance so that he didn’t simply burst from the cover and stumble right into them. When he neared where he believe them to be, Zhou mi crouched low to the ground and slunk through the underbrush.
It began to thin in front of him and he stopped abruptly as the dense undergrowth suddenly ceased. He laid himself flat on the ground, blending in seamlessly with the darkness as he studied the area before him. Just in front of him the trees and bushes gave way to grass and then sand, leading to the edge of a river. Near the river’s edge the wolf pack milled around their fresh kill.
Zhou mi had to force himself to sit still even with the animalistic excitement running through his body at the sight and scent of it. Kangin sat near the kill watching as his pack surround it. Leeteuk sat beside him licking blood off Kangin’s muzzle in a way that appeared affectionate and submissive all at the same time. Kyuhyun and Siwon pulled a leg apiece off the carcass and trotted a few feet away with them.
Then Yunho and Jaejoong moved forward and crouched, beginning to eat. It took a moment more before Shindong and his mate Yoona crept forward and joined them unobtrusively. When Eunhyuk tried to creep forward, Yunho growled in warning. Immediately Kangin returned his growl with one of his own and sharp bark in reprimand. Yunho immediately quieted and dropped to his belly. Unopposed Taeyeon and Eunhyuk joined the pack at the kill.
Zhou mi contented himself with simply watching, no matter how much he longed to join them. He would have to hunt before returning to the cabin to satisfy the animal side of him now. A sound just to his right startled him and he nearly jumped, giving away his cover. Thankfully his animal instincts clamped down and kept him frozen where he was, searching for the source of the noise as the sense that he was every bit the predator that the wolves were, filled him and gave him enough reassurance to stay put. Just in front of the bush and to the right he saw Kyuhyun, looking right at him and deliberately making noise as his large paws padded over the ground.
It was impossible that Kyuhyun could have seen him or smelled him, the wind was blowing in the wrong direction for that, yet it appeared as though he knew without a question that Zhou mi was there. He stopped just a few paces from Zhou mi and dropped the leg, his share of the kill, to the ground. Then he backed up a few steps and sat, like a puppy displaying his catch proudly, complete with a lightly wagging tail.
To his human side, the sight of the bloody leg of a creature just recently killed turned Zhou mi’s stomach, but his animal side found it incredibly appealing. He inched forward debating with himself and the instincts that called to him to take the offering, yet his human side knew he should be cautious. There was no telling what it could mean to a wolf to offer him a part of his kill and that gave even his animal side a moment of weariness. As if sensing his hesitation, Kyuhyun uttered a small playful yip and gave him a wolfish grin, leaving Zhou mi baffled as to what to do.
He flicked his ears around, taking stock of the location of the rest of the pack. Most of them were contentedly eating with Kangin watching over, most of them but one. The wolf that Zhou mi recognized as Jaejoong lifted his head and glanced towards them. He turned from the kill, shifting slowly as if he didn’t want to be noticed. Then suddenly his ears pinned back and he growled viciously, springing towards Kyuhyun before anyone could move to stop him.
Kangin was quick in coming to his feet and moving into action, but Zhou mi was faster. He moved from the bush, springing forward and slamming his full weight into Kyuhyun who had only just realized what had happened. The impact sent them sprawling to the ground and Jaejoong sailed by, the leap he had aimed for Kyuhyun missing by several inches.
The next several moments play through Zhou mi’s senses in slow motion. He caught sight of the entire pack moving forwards towards them. Beneath him Kyuhyun was growling and shifting to move. Jaejoong’s leap had taken him past them and Zhou mi knew he would turn for another attempt the moment he found his feet. Zhou mi had seen that look in a wolf’s eyes before, the look of one who wanted to die and would use any means necessary to do so, even attacking a much more dominant wolf in a challenge that he could not resist.
His experience had taught him what that would mean. Kyuhyun would not be able to keep himself from fighting back; his Beast and every instinct in him would demand he do so. Jaejoong wouldn’t stop until he had forced Kyuhyun to do what he wanted and Zhou mi knew that Kyuhyun would never forgive himself for killing someone.
The entire thought process only took a split second. By the end of it he knew with certainly he couldn’t let anyone die here tonight. ‘We will give them peace,’ a strong voice whispered in his mind and he found that with the voice came the knowledge to do exactly as it said.
Zhou mi reached within himself and reversed the change in his body. In a single second fur receded and his limbs reformed leaving him sprawled human and naked over Kyuhyun’s furred body. The moment he had human lips again, he opened his mouth and began to sing. The song didn’t matter; in fact he wasn’t sure what language he was singing in, let alone what song. It was the feelings within him that made the difference.
He found that place within, as the book had described, where he felt safe and at peace, where he could always return to. It was a memory of his childhood laughing in the front yard and riding on his father’s back in wolf form while his mother worked in her garden. A memory of the love of his parents and father who tucked him under one arm and his mother under another as they lay beneath the stars and picked out strange shapes among them. The feelings from the memories welled up in them and he put them into his song, giving them out and to the wolves.
Jaejoong was the first affected and he stopped just before he would have sprung again and simply laid down where he was. Zhou mi closed his eyes, trying not to think of the danger that surrounded him, danger that was all the more real now that he had a fragile human body again. He buried his hands deep in Kyuhyun’s fur, taking comfort from the wolf that remained still beneath him and weaving it into his song. Slowly, he could feel the tension leaving the body beneath him as the song of a Quieter lulled Kyuhyun into a peaceful rest with the rest of the wolves.
Zhou mi wove one song into another not stopping his singing until Kyuhyun had lain completely relaxed beneath him for several minutes. Slowly, as if afraid of what awaited him, he opened his eyes and glanced around. The entire pack lay as if in slumber around him, seeming completely relaxed. He let the note he was singing drift off as he shifted cautiously, moving his weight off of Kyuhyun until he was crouched on the ground beside him. With the end of his song he felt the peace that had been flowing around them begin to dissipate.
He had no real way of knowing when the wolves would wake up, the book hadn’t exactly covered that sort of information, but he sincerely hoped they would wake happy and much more settled then they had been. If they didn’t it could be deadly for him. Angry wolves were never easy to deal with and in his human form they would be lethal. That thought encouraged him to shift and he pulled the magic from within him, feeling as it rippled over his body shifting him back to his cat form, protected by fur and claws. He would still never be a match for the weight or strength of a wolf, but the form gave him a small sense of comfort.
The smart thing to do would be to meld with the shadows and melt away into the forest, leaving the wolves to their own devices as they awoke, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave them. As they were, they were defenseless, and while he could hardly protect them from anything that might be strong enough to think of taking on a werewolf, he couldn’t bring himself to leave them. Certainly not when he was responsible for the state they were in.
Without the cover of the trees, the full moon illuminated the clearing making it hard for him to find anywhere to blend. He settled in to wait, crouching beside Kyuhyun’s slumbering mass and feeling strangely secure with the wolf pressed against his side. Zhou mi didn’t have to wait long. Only a few minutes after he had stopped singing, Kangin surged to his feet snarling in anger. His golden eyes glared around savagely as if looking for something to direct his anger towards. When they fell on Zhou mi he flinched in fear at the anger there and pressed closer to Kyuhyun’s side.
Kyuhyun growled suddenly, shifting against him and rising to his feet. The motion was slow and strained as if Kyuhyun was fighting against the grogginess of sleep. When he was standing, he took a stumbling step forward and placed himself between his Alpha and Zhou mi. Kangin snarled at him and Kyuhyun growled back, as if challenging Kangin to try something. Zhou mi glanced around at the other wolves and every other one seemed to be still deep in slumber, unaffected by the waking of their Alpha.
When he turned to look back at Kangin, the wolf’s body look strange and contorted, and Zhou mi realized he was shifting back to his human form. It made him feel a bit safer, if only marginally. A werewolf was easily just as dangerous in human form as in their wolf form.
It took several minutes for the shift to complete, during which Kyuhyun didn’t move from his spot in front of Zhou mi although his growling did subside slightly. When he was finished, Kangin crouched on his hands and knees, panting. Zhou mi had never experienced it, but he imagined the man was waiting for the last tingles of pain to fade.
“Knock it off Kyuhyun, before I have to do something about you,” Kangin growled, turning glowing golden eyes on Kyuhyun’s form. “I’m not going to hurt him, but he needs to understand what he could have done.” Kyuhyun offered a particularly cocky humph that ended his growling as he lowered his head slightly. “Kyuhyun,” Kangin said in warning again and the wolf in front of him heaved what sounded like a heavy sigh before sinking back down onto his belly. The position put his body lower then Kangin’s who was balanced on his hands and knees.
Only once he was down did Kangin sigh and close his eyes. When he opened them they were still golden but no longer glowing. “Better,” Kangin agreed, shifting his weight so that he was crouched only upon his legs. “Now, come here Zhou mi, let me look at you.”
Zhou mi felt the pull of an order from an Alpha as it slid across him. Its pressure was only there for a moment before it fell away, leaving him free to choose what he wished to do. He thought about going the other way, back into the safety of the forest, now that Kangin was awake and able to protect his pack but he could never directly disobey an Alpha even if their orders didn’t work on him. He had been shown the consequences of doing so. Slowly, careful to keep his head lower then Kangin and not meet his eyes, he slinked forward to the man.
“Beautiful,” Kangin murmured, reaching out and stroking a hand along his back. Zhou mi had to resist arching into the hand and demanding more as a pleasant sensation ran through him at the touch. “I have never seen something quite like you. You are gorgeous,” Kangin told him. Zhou mi could hear the honesty in the man’s voice and he could feel the genuine feelings of being pleased running through the Alpha, a sensation which was strange as no one but the pack should be able to feel what the Alpha was feeling.
As soon as Kangin removed his hand from Zhou mi’s fur the feelings vanished with it. “But I see you have good reason to fear wolves,” Kangin said gently looking pointedly at his side and the silvery lines there. Zhou mi pressed himself lower to the ground in a natural reaction of guilt and submission.
“I would never hurt you,” Kangin told him gently, looking down at him. “I was scared when I woke up. Zhou mi, you can never do that again do you understand? And if I had known that you were able to do that I would have warned you before you did it.”
From a little bit away Kyuhyun offered him a small yip. Zhou mi had no idea what it meant but Kangin evidently did because he smiled. “You kept me from having to put down and possibly kill one of my wolves, for that I thank you. Let me deal with them, they will be waking up soon, then we will talk later alright?”
Zhou mi chanced a glance up at him and Kangin smiled, ruffling the fur on Zhou mi’s head in a move that could only be affectionate. Then he rose stiffly, as if it pained him, and stepped gracefully over Zhou mi’s crouching form. When he had moved Zhou mi realized that Leeteuk’s brilliant blue eyes had been watching them the entire time from where he lay. The white wolf offered him a wolfish grin and then turned his attention back on his mate.
With Leeteuk’s attention gone from him, he realized belatedly that the wolves around him were beginning to wake and that made him nervous. What if they were angry with him for what he had done? Zhou mi felt exposed and in danger out in the open amongst them and he looked around frantically for a safe place he could move, a moment later Kyuhyun was there, laying beside him and digging his cold wet nose into the ruff of fur at Zhou mi’s neck in affection. The motion calmed him instantly and he relaxed against the bulk of Kyuhyun, able to watch what was occurring without fearing it.
Kangin was standing in the middle of his pack watching as they climbed slowly into wakefulness. Siwon was the next to wake, shaking his head to clear it and climbing slowly to his feet. Leeteuk rose gracefully and padded to Kangin’s side. The man buried his fingers in the white wolf’s soft fur as Leeteuk sat at his feet much like a great guard dog. When he was seated, Siwon moved over to Kangin’s other side. The Alpha ran his fingers over the wolf affectionately as he sat beside him as well.
One by one the wolves awoke in what Zhou mi realized was their order of dominance and moved to Kangin. He gave each an affectionate pet, before it move off and found its spot around him. Zhou mi wondered if maybe they Kyuhyun should get up and join his pack and he inclined his head as if to ask him that. Kyuhyun lifted his head and offered him a grin before simply turning to watch.
All of the wolves had gathered around Kangin, with the exception of Jaejoong who lay pressed to the ground and staring out into the forest. Yunho whined softly from his place in the pack and Jaejoong didn’t even lift his head to look at him.
“Jaejoong,” Kangin said gently. “Come to me.” There was an order in Kangin’s voice that even Zhou mi felt and there wasn’t a chance that Jaejoong could have resisted it. Reluctantly and whimpering the entire time Jaejoong inched along the ground on his belly until he was laying at Kangin’s feet. When he stilled Kangin knelt and gently lifted the large head of the wolf. “When you joined this pack, I promised you that if your wolf took control I would take care of it and give you what you wanted. That does not mean that you get to try and force what you want on me and my wolves. You are very lucky that the Quieter sensed your intentions and was able to stop you.” Jaejoong whined pathetically and Kangin soothed him gently.
“There are worse things than this life Jaejoong,” Kangin told him softly. “But you will never see that if you don’t allow us to show you just what this life can be. Let us show you what it means to be a pack.” At his words the wolves shifted, moving forward and surrounding Jaejoong. They pressed close, covering his body with gentle nudges and motions of affection. In the middle of them Jaejoong shook and whimpered, looking as though he would be sobbing if he were human.
“Kyuhyun,” Kangin summoned and the wolf rose quietly. Zhou mi watched as he walked silently to the pack and they shifted, allowing him access to Jaejoong. The other wolf lay on the ground unable even to look up at the wolf above him. Kyuhyun bent and took the tip of Jaejoong’s muzzle in his powerful jaws. He closed his mouth slightly, administering what Zhou mi recognized as a form of reprimand and discipline. Then he released him and dragged his tongue wetly across the other wolf’s face in a form of affection. When he was finished he yipped softly and wagged his tail once. Zhou mi wasn’t a pro at speaking wolf yet but he was realized that must be a form of forgiveness.
Kangin smiled and stepped forward, rubbing Kyuhyun’s head affectionately as he reached down past him. He grabbed Jaejoong by the scruff and hauled his body upwards until the wolf found his feet. “Let’s go home,” Kangin said when the wolf was standing. He kept one hand buried in Jaejoong’s fur as he turned and lead his wolves back into the forest.
Zhou mi watched as the pack disappeared back into the woods and he felt a sudden pang of loneliness. He hadn’t given the words that Heechul had told him any further thought, but it seemed as if the vampire had been right. He felt the need for a pack stronger than ever before. Zhou mi wondered what it would feel like to be surrounded by ones who cared about you enough to forgive you for almost anything.
At the edge of the woods Kyuhyun stopped and turned to face him. He let out a strange bark and wagged his tail slowly. Zhou mi flicked his ears towards him, completely unsure of what he meant. The wolf yipped again, almost in encouragement and Zhou mi climbed carefully to his feet. When he was up, the speed of Kyuhyun’s tail increased and he offered Zhou mi another delighted sound. Zhou mi took a step forward and watched the reaction of the wolf then took a step backward to see what it would do. With every step forward Kyuhyun’s tail wagged faster, with every one backwards it slowed. The entire thing amused Zhou mi greatly, even more so that the wolf didn’t seem to understand that he was doing it.
He offered a feline grin and trotted forward, watching the tail intensify only to stop and back up just as many paces. Kyuhyun watched him for a moment, his features moving to confusion and then finally to irritation. Zhou mi knew he was caught when Kyuhyun sat down suddenly and held his tail firmly to the ground, scowling at him.
Zhou mi grinned and in a sudden rush of playfulness, bounded forward and into the wolf. The move sent Kyuhyun sprawling backwards releasing a startled yip as he fell. A moment later Zhou mi froze as he realized exactly what he had done. Tackling a werewolf was never a good idea, no matter how playful they seemed. Kyuhyun’s growl didn’t seem near as menacing as it could have been and he rolled, using his considerable more bulk to easily tip Zhou mi off himself. He tried to pin the cat to the ground, but Zhou mi was much more agile then he expected and slid easily from beneath Kyuhyun, dancing away.
Kyuhyun crouched low to the ground, growling and waging his tail a single time. Zhou mi took it as an indication that the wolf wanted to play and he saw no reason why not too. The large cat lowered to the ground as well. His tail swished back and forth, the tip flicking from side to side as he waited for Kyuhyun to make a move. Without warning the wolf bounded forward and Zhou mi leapt lightly to the side. They began an intricate dance of lunging and dodging with Zhou mi managing to stay just a step ahead of Kyuhyun the entire time.
A sharp bark rang through the forest and Zhou mi turned his head to it curiously. The distraction was just enough that he didn’t catch the blur of fur and muscle that slammed into his side. They fell sideways, Kyuhyun pressing down on top of him so that he wouldn’t have any chance of squirming away. Zhou mi hissed in disgust and squirmed, being careful to only use his claws on the ground to try and pull himself free and not as a weapon against the wolf.
A second bark rang through the forest and Kyuhyun lifted his head and sighed. He bounced up and off Zhou mi, leaving the cat free to rise to his feet and shake. Zhou mi offered Kyuhyun a glare and the wolf simply grinned in return. The sharp bark came again and this time Kyuhyun answered it with one of his own. He nosed Zhou mi in a way that seemed overly affectionate before trotting off towards the forest again. When he reached the edge he glanced back and offered Zhou mi a look showing that he clearly expected him to follow.
Zhou mi padded quietly after him and they moved together back into the trees. Just inside the shelter of the forest Leeteuk waited for them. Even in wolf form the look he sent them was both reprimanding and knowing at the same time. With a shake of his head he turned and led the way back to the cabin, expecting them to follow.
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The process of shifting back to human from the werewolf form wasn’t ever any easier then the shift to it. It looked just as strange and contorted and Zhou mi was almost positive that it hurt just as much. He looked away as Leeteuk and Kyuhyun shifted outside the cabin, wanting to give them privacy as they did so.
He could tell they had finished when Kyuhyun released a very human sounding groan. Zhou mi pulled for the magic within himself and reversed his change smoothly, standing straight on human legs a moment later. “However you do that, you have got to teach me,” Kyuhyun said, pain still in his voice.
“I don’t think I can,” Zhou mi admitted, keeping his eyes to himself. The wolves may be comfortable with nothing on their bodies around each other, but he couldn’t say that he had ever completely developed that comfort.
He felt fabric on his shoulders a moment later and pulled the soft robe on gratefully. The fabric smelled like Kyuhyun and he couldn’t stop himself from inhaling deeply as he pulled it around himself and tied it. “Thanks,” he said honestly.
“I thought you might want it and I don’t at the moment,” Kyuhyun said with a shrug. Zhou mi glanced at him and Kyuhyun looked away almost as if he was guilty of something.
“Come on,” Leeteuk, still standing in the nude, gestured to the house offering them both a smile.
Zhou mi nodded, following them into the cabin keeping his eyes trained on Kyuhyun’s shoulders and no lower, as the teen walked in front of him. In the living room they passed a piled of fur and limbs sprawled out across the rugs. Zhou mi realized that every wolf in the pack with the exception of Kangin was laying there with Jaejoong in the middle. He was struck again by a pang of loneliness as he walked by them and followed Leeteuk into the kitchen.
Kangin stood in the middle of the kitchen clothed in only a pair of loose fitting boxers. Two neatly folded sets sat on the table and Leeteuk and Kyuhyun grabbed them and slid them on. Zhou mi tried to ignore the wince that Kyuhyun gave as the fabric slipped over his skin. After shifting back to human, their skin would feel raw and even the slightest thing brushing against it would be hard to bear for a while.
“So,” Kangin said conversationally as Zhou mi slid into a chair. “How exactly did you know how to do something I didn’t even know you were capable of?”
“I read it in a book,” Zhou mi answered quietly, looking away as he suddenly felt a strange pang of guilt.
“What book?” Kangin asked confused.
“A book that I got from Heechul,” Zhou mi regretted saying the name a moment later, when Kyuhyun snarled angrily and Kangin growled.
“Zhou mi,” Leeteuk said gently, moving around the table. “How do you know Heechul?”
“I, uh,” Zhou mi found himself hesitant to say how he knew of the other man.
“Tell us Zhou mi,” Kangin demanded and he felt the power of the command slide over him.
“I went to his house with a friend,” Zhou mi admitted.
“You what?!” Kyuhyun exploded. “Do you even understand what could have happened?!”
Zhou mi looked up and caught Kyuhyun’s glowing golden eyes. “I know Heechul is a vampire. He said he wouldn’t hurt me. In fact he implied that I was in more danger here then I was in his home.”
Kyuhyun calmed immediately at his words and sank into a chair slowly. “I would never hurt you,” he murmured.
“Not you,” Zhou mi said softly. “Heechul called Kangin a man killer.” When he looked at the Alpha there was both question and challenge in his eyes.
Kangin sighed heavily and sank into a chair while Leeteuk moved behind him and rubbed at his neck slowly. “Heechul was talking about my past,” Kangin said softly. “Talking about something that I’m not anymore. I used to hunt humans at the full moon, but I haven’t not since,” he paused for a moment, “not for a long time.”
“Zhou mi,” Leeteuk said after a moment. “You need to understand what Heechul was trying to do. He would like nothing better than for you to join his seethe. With your help he could be completely protected against the threat of werewolves.”
“You saw what you were able to do with just a song,” Kangin continued. “Calming an Alpha is no small feat, but not something you should ever do again. Zhou mi, your abilities don’t work on a wolf gone savage. You were very lucky tonight that Jaejoong is not lost entirely.”
“Is that why you were angry when you woke up?” Zhou mi asked fiddling with his hands.
“Yes. You took away my edge and I had no idea if he had escaped your control or not. It is my aggression that allows me, as the Alpha to control the wolves. Without my wolf awake and aggressive I can order them to do nothing.”
“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” Zhou mi replied calmly.
Kangin sighed. “I would love to tell you that no one was in any danger, but I don’t know if I could have stopped Kyuhyun from attacking like I could have Jaejoong.” His gaze shifted intently to Kyuhyun and the teen held it for a moment before looking away. “Would you care to explain why that is?”
“No,” Kyuhyun answered flatly.
Kangin stared at him for a moment longer but didn’t press the matter. “Zhou mi,” he said, shifting his attention back to the teen. “I need to know that you understand how dangerous what you did tonight is and how vulnerable it leaves us.”
“I understand,” Zhou mi replied after a minute. “I won’t promise that I won’t do it again, but I understand,” he said with more confidence then he felt. There wasn’t a chance he was going to give up his new found protection, not when it was the first thing that had made him feel safe around wolves in a long time.
“Fair enough,” Kangin agreed somewhat reluctantly. “I think you both should head to bed. I have half a mind to split you but I won’t.” He waved them away and Zhou mi rose from the table puzzled to what that comment could possibly mean.
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Kyuhyun stalked after Zhou mi as they moved through the cabin and to their shared room. As much as it satisfied him to see the other teen clothed in his clothing and therefore his scent, he couldn’t get over the feeling of wanting to seclude him in a room until the camping trip was over. Worse his human half felt that way as much as the wolf did. They made it to their room and he carefully looked away as Zhou mi changed into pajamas. He wasn’t bothered by nakedness in the slightest but Zhou mi possibly wouldn’t appreciate being jumped before he got his pajama pants properly in place.
It was that urge that was partially from the wolf but also from him, that had him settling on the floor and declaring, “We need to talk.”
Zhou mi gave him a puzzled look as he turned and pulled his shirt over his head. “Alright.” He settled on the floor so that they were facing each other with their knees just barely brushing. “What did you want to talk about?”
Kyuhyun thought for a moment and then bypassed what he had originally wanted to talk about. “How do you change so fast?”
Zhou mi shrugged at that. “I’m not really sure. I think it is because of my witch blood. See witches are born instead of what everyone thinks. You can’t choose to be a witch, not a true one, because every witch is born with a special ability. My mother thinks mine is tied with my werewolf side. She thinks it is my ability to change quickly and painlessly into my animal form, by passing all the painful stuff, sort of like a shape shifter.”
“Handy,” Kyuhyun said with a grin.
“Yeah,” Zhou mi agreed. “I also don’t have to deal with a Beast and I don’t have to change during the full moon, although I get itchy all over if I don’t.”
“Very convenient,” Kyuhyun mused, although he didn’t think that Zhou mi was completely correct on the lack of a Beast side.
“Can I ask you a question?” Zhou mi asked curiously. Kyuhyun nodded and he continued, “How dominate are you? I mean I noticed Kangin was the first to wake up and then you did before anyone else. Not to mention you can look at him without immediately looking away.”
Kyuhyun blinked in surprise. Of all the people he had thought would ask that question, Zhou mi wasn’t even on the list. “I don’t know,” Kyuhyun said honestly. “I don’t feel the need to submit to Siwon,” he admitted. “But I do submit to Kangin and he can force his will on me. I’ve never thought to find out. Why?”
“I was just curious,” Zhou mi said with a shrug. He glanced over at their beds and then sighed. “We should probably go to bed,” he said climbing to his feet.
Kyuhyun swallowed thickly as he watched the other teen climb to his feet. In his mind his Beast chuckled something about him not having the guts to even tell the other man. It was the creatures chortling calls that made him blurt out his next words. “Zhou mi you are our mate.” Zhou mi froze as they spilled from his mouth and Kyuhyun could have died right in that spot. “I mean,” he clarified quickly, “My Beast has chosen you as his mate but you can still say no. I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything, I just thought you should know, just in case.”
Zhou mi didn’t turn to look at him but he saw the tension start to ease in Zhou mi’s body. “Okay,” was all he said before climbing up into the top bunk and slipping under the covers leaving Kyuhyun with nothing to do but flip off the light and climb in his own bed.
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Zhou mi rolled over in his bed, pulling the covers closer to his chin and staring at the wall. He wasn’t sure what to make of the sudden revelation that Kyuhyun had given him. It wasn’t as though he was stupid. He understood what it meant to be the mate of a werewolf and not only how rare that was, but how special.
Most werewolves could happily marry, but the Beast inside of them would never accept their spouse as their mate. Some did, but most never did. To be a mate of a wolf was to truly have a partner for life. The wolf would do anything to protect and hold onto its mate, anything that was required of it. In rare cases the Beast found its mate before the human side did, doing everything in its power to secure that mate and over rule any arguments its human side would have. His father’s Beast had chosen his mother as its mate long before his father’s human side did.
He had never seen himself as attracted to men, although Zhou mi had to admit he wasn’t as opposed to the idea as he thought he would have been. Perhaps his upbringing had prepared him to accept anything that wasn’t normal as easily as he could the ordinary. Whatever it was, it wasn’t the fact that Kyuhyun was distinctly male that bothered him. It was more the fact that he had sworn to himself he would never end up with a werewolf and deal with the sort of heartache his mother had. Still he couldn’t deny that something inside of him was incredibly pleased with Kyuhyun’s declaration.
Zhou mi rolled over again and sighed. No matter what he felt, what kind of response was ‘okay’? He could hardly figure out what he meant by it, how did he expect Kyuhyun too? Zhou mi’s mind turned things over and over in his head until he simply gave into sleep with the questions still unanswered in his mind.
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The scent of bacon woke Zhou mi with the late morning sun and he rolled from his bed and was half way down the stairs before he had even regained complete consciousness. “Good morning,” Kangin greeted him from the living room where he sat with a cup of coffee and his feet buried beneath the furry body of what looked like Siwon.
“Morning,” Zhou mi mumbled in response, waving his hand casually in greeting. He absently noted that most of the wolves were still lounging on the floor in their four legged form, in various states of wakefulness.
A wolf, Eunhyuk he was fairly certain, ran from the kitchen with a slightly pained yelp. “Get them out of my house while I am cooking!” Leeteuk’s voice came from the kitchen carrying with it an unspoken threat.
Kangin grinned and nudged the great body on his feet with a toe. The wolf turned his head and offered him a curious look. “Take the pack out on a morning run, will you?” Kangin asked.
Siwon offered him a wolfish grin and then rose to his feet. He moved across the room, nudging the still slumbering wolves into wakefulness. When they were all on their feet and moving towards the door, Leeteuk’s voice called from the kitchen, “And take Kyuhyun with you!”
Zhou mi turned and saw the mentioned teen standing by the bottom of the stairs and staring at him with glowing golden eyes. Something akin to hunger was reflected in them and Zhou mi swallowed thickly and took a step backward. A firm hand pressed against his lower back, keeping him from backing any farther. “Never show fear to a werewolf and never back away. A wolf will take it as a sign that you are for sure prey and they will not be able to resist the urge to hunt you,” Kangin murmured to him.
Siwon moved to Kyuhyun and nudged him roughly in the chest with his head. The teen blinked blearily and then shook his head as if clearing it. “Sorry,” he mumbled, and then he turned and followed the rest of the wolves out the door.
“Well don’t just stand out there like idiots! Get in here and help me!” Leeteuk ordered from the kitchen.
Kangin laughed heartily and Zhou mi turned following his lead into the large room. He had never heard an Alpha take orders from another so well but he imagined that Leeteuk and he had worked this out between them. When they entered, Kangin crossed the room and embraced Leeteuk from behind, pressing a kiss to his fabric covered shoulder. The other man indulged him for a moment before shaking him off and pointing to the refrigerator with a pair of chopsticks. “You make us some kimchi scrambled eggs. And you,” he turned towards Zhou mi and then gestured to the three toasters lined neatly against the wall and the loaves of bread in front of them. “You make some toast.”
Zhou mi obediently moved to the first loaf, opened it and inserted several slices into the toasters. Kangin offered him a large plate with a container of butter and a knife placed on top as well as a knowing smile, before he returned to his assigned spot beside Leeteuk at the stove.
“Zhou mi,” Leeteuk said casually after a while. “You will have to forgive most of the members of this family. Kangin hasn’t been a very good example when it comes to courting a mate,” he slanted a meaningful glance at the Alpha who suddenly found the frying of the kimchi to be very interesting. “What I mean to say is that they can be very forward when announcing what they have decided to do.”
Zhou mi nodded in understanding. He wondered if Leeteuk had any idea what Kyuhyun had said to him the previous night and if he did, how in the world had he found out? “The fact of the matter is,” Leeteuk continued conversationally as he flipped the bacon on the stove, “that a wolf never chooses a mate lightly. Almost always if a wolf chooses a mate then the other person has chosen to be their mate, even if they don’t know it. However, if you choose to, you can still say no.”
Leeteuk trailed off, focusing more on his cooking then talking at the moment. “We also,” Kangin began suddenly, “wanted to invite you to join our pack.”
Zhou mi paused halfway through buttering a slice of toast, frozen by his words. He had ran with a pack of werewolves and grown up around them, but he had never been asked to join them. In fact he had always been told quite the opposite, that is was impossible for him to truly join a pack. “I didn’t think I could.”
“You can join it just as any other could I assume,” Kangin told him confidently. “You don’t have to make up your mind now; I just wanted to let you know that you are welcome here with us. The ceremony can’t be performed until the next full moon, so we have plenty of time for you to decide if you want to or not.”
“We love having you here Zhou mi, and not just because you have the unique ability to keep everyone calm,” Leeteuk added.
“Thank you,” Zhou mi murmured, honestly grateful to both of them. Leeteuk smiled at him before turning back to his cooking.
Several minutes later, Zhou mi was carrying a plate piled down with toast to the table as Leeteuk carried over a large platter of bacon and Kangin a huge bowl of kimchi scrambled eggs. “Breakfast!” Leeteuk yelled and Zhou mi wondered what he was yelling at.
Only a few moments later, the members of the pack began to stream in the door, back in their human forms and covered in their bathrobes. “Alright food!” Eunhyuk exclaimed happily.
“Ladies first,” Leeteuk scolded him as he reached for the bacon. He immediately pulled his hand back sheepishly.
“Ladies and guests first,” Yoona corrected patting the seat beside her and looking at Zhou mi. He smiled and sat beside her, accepting a few strips of bacon and helping himself to the strange egg mixture.
“Thanks,” he said with a grin. It was always a good thing to get access to the food before the ravenous werewolves did.
The moment the women had finished filling their plates and settled into eat, the men fell on the food as if they had never eaten before. Leeteuk laughed heartily but didn’t stop them. Zhou mi nibbled absently at his food as he watched them, catching Kyuhyun’s eyes just after the teen filled his own plate to heaping full.
Kyuhyun made to look away guiltily, and Zhou mi cleared his throat, holding the teen’s attention. Slowly he moved his hand and patted the empty seat on his other side. Kyuhyun look stunned at first but then his face broke out into a smile that warmed Zhou mi from the tip of his toes to point of his nose. Grinning, the werewolf settled happily into the seat he had been offered and picked up his utensils. Without a word Kyuhyun began to eat and Zhou mi smiled to himself noticing, for the first time, the part of himself that was entirely content with the werewolf at his side.
Chapter Ten
Masterlist
AN: Well here is another long chapter but I guess you deserve it after as long as I made you wait! lol. In my defense I was camping and whatnot so I was fairly distracted. The good news is that the next chapter is almost done already so that shouldn't be too long. And the cat is finally out of the bag so to speak. ^_^
(I'm also adding this hit counter because I'm curious...)
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Chapter Nine
It took less than five minutes of stalking after the pack for Zhou mi to realize that this must be what a true pack was. They worked together, slipping silently through the underbrush and around the trees as they looked for something to hunt. Instead of the sporadically spread pack that he was used to, this one moved with precision, as a unit and whole.
Zhou mi stalked after them, relying on his scent of smell to keep track of them as they moved through the forest. They didn’t make a sound that his sensitive ears could pick up and anything in front of them would be upwind and unable to even have the advantage of smelling them, giving the pack the element of surprise.
It took about ten minutes before he noticed a change in the way they were moving. Instead of creeping close together they had fanned out, Kyuhyun and Siwon scents disappearing to the right and left respectively while everyone else spread out further.
He was in the middle of pondering whom he should follow when a howl broke the silence. It was a single clear and pure note and he recognized it immediately as Kangin’s voice. No one answered his call and Zhou mi picked up the pace, settling on following Kangin’s scent at a slow trot.
Roughly five minutes later a howl began again, led by Kangin and picked up by the rest of the pack until all of the wolves were singing together. Zhou mi followed the sound, using it to judge the distance so that he didn’t simply burst from the cover and stumble right into them. When he neared where he believe them to be, Zhou mi crouched low to the ground and slunk through the underbrush.
It began to thin in front of him and he stopped abruptly as the dense undergrowth suddenly ceased. He laid himself flat on the ground, blending in seamlessly with the darkness as he studied the area before him. Just in front of him the trees and bushes gave way to grass and then sand, leading to the edge of a river. Near the river’s edge the wolf pack milled around their fresh kill.
Zhou mi had to force himself to sit still even with the animalistic excitement running through his body at the sight and scent of it. Kangin sat near the kill watching as his pack surround it. Leeteuk sat beside him licking blood off Kangin’s muzzle in a way that appeared affectionate and submissive all at the same time. Kyuhyun and Siwon pulled a leg apiece off the carcass and trotted a few feet away with them.
Then Yunho and Jaejoong moved forward and crouched, beginning to eat. It took a moment more before Shindong and his mate Yoona crept forward and joined them unobtrusively. When Eunhyuk tried to creep forward, Yunho growled in warning. Immediately Kangin returned his growl with one of his own and sharp bark in reprimand. Yunho immediately quieted and dropped to his belly. Unopposed Taeyeon and Eunhyuk joined the pack at the kill.
Zhou mi contented himself with simply watching, no matter how much he longed to join them. He would have to hunt before returning to the cabin to satisfy the animal side of him now. A sound just to his right startled him and he nearly jumped, giving away his cover. Thankfully his animal instincts clamped down and kept him frozen where he was, searching for the source of the noise as the sense that he was every bit the predator that the wolves were, filled him and gave him enough reassurance to stay put. Just in front of the bush and to the right he saw Kyuhyun, looking right at him and deliberately making noise as his large paws padded over the ground.
It was impossible that Kyuhyun could have seen him or smelled him, the wind was blowing in the wrong direction for that, yet it appeared as though he knew without a question that Zhou mi was there. He stopped just a few paces from Zhou mi and dropped the leg, his share of the kill, to the ground. Then he backed up a few steps and sat, like a puppy displaying his catch proudly, complete with a lightly wagging tail.
To his human side, the sight of the bloody leg of a creature just recently killed turned Zhou mi’s stomach, but his animal side found it incredibly appealing. He inched forward debating with himself and the instincts that called to him to take the offering, yet his human side knew he should be cautious. There was no telling what it could mean to a wolf to offer him a part of his kill and that gave even his animal side a moment of weariness. As if sensing his hesitation, Kyuhyun uttered a small playful yip and gave him a wolfish grin, leaving Zhou mi baffled as to what to do.
He flicked his ears around, taking stock of the location of the rest of the pack. Most of them were contentedly eating with Kangin watching over, most of them but one. The wolf that Zhou mi recognized as Jaejoong lifted his head and glanced towards them. He turned from the kill, shifting slowly as if he didn’t want to be noticed. Then suddenly his ears pinned back and he growled viciously, springing towards Kyuhyun before anyone could move to stop him.
Kangin was quick in coming to his feet and moving into action, but Zhou mi was faster. He moved from the bush, springing forward and slamming his full weight into Kyuhyun who had only just realized what had happened. The impact sent them sprawling to the ground and Jaejoong sailed by, the leap he had aimed for Kyuhyun missing by several inches.
The next several moments play through Zhou mi’s senses in slow motion. He caught sight of the entire pack moving forwards towards them. Beneath him Kyuhyun was growling and shifting to move. Jaejoong’s leap had taken him past them and Zhou mi knew he would turn for another attempt the moment he found his feet. Zhou mi had seen that look in a wolf’s eyes before, the look of one who wanted to die and would use any means necessary to do so, even attacking a much more dominant wolf in a challenge that he could not resist.
His experience had taught him what that would mean. Kyuhyun would not be able to keep himself from fighting back; his Beast and every instinct in him would demand he do so. Jaejoong wouldn’t stop until he had forced Kyuhyun to do what he wanted and Zhou mi knew that Kyuhyun would never forgive himself for killing someone.
The entire thought process only took a split second. By the end of it he knew with certainly he couldn’t let anyone die here tonight. ‘We will give them peace,’ a strong voice whispered in his mind and he found that with the voice came the knowledge to do exactly as it said.
Zhou mi reached within himself and reversed the change in his body. In a single second fur receded and his limbs reformed leaving him sprawled human and naked over Kyuhyun’s furred body. The moment he had human lips again, he opened his mouth and began to sing. The song didn’t matter; in fact he wasn’t sure what language he was singing in, let alone what song. It was the feelings within him that made the difference.
He found that place within, as the book had described, where he felt safe and at peace, where he could always return to. It was a memory of his childhood laughing in the front yard and riding on his father’s back in wolf form while his mother worked in her garden. A memory of the love of his parents and father who tucked him under one arm and his mother under another as they lay beneath the stars and picked out strange shapes among them. The feelings from the memories welled up in them and he put them into his song, giving them out and to the wolves.
Jaejoong was the first affected and he stopped just before he would have sprung again and simply laid down where he was. Zhou mi closed his eyes, trying not to think of the danger that surrounded him, danger that was all the more real now that he had a fragile human body again. He buried his hands deep in Kyuhyun’s fur, taking comfort from the wolf that remained still beneath him and weaving it into his song. Slowly, he could feel the tension leaving the body beneath him as the song of a Quieter lulled Kyuhyun into a peaceful rest with the rest of the wolves.
Zhou mi wove one song into another not stopping his singing until Kyuhyun had lain completely relaxed beneath him for several minutes. Slowly, as if afraid of what awaited him, he opened his eyes and glanced around. The entire pack lay as if in slumber around him, seeming completely relaxed. He let the note he was singing drift off as he shifted cautiously, moving his weight off of Kyuhyun until he was crouched on the ground beside him. With the end of his song he felt the peace that had been flowing around them begin to dissipate.
He had no real way of knowing when the wolves would wake up, the book hadn’t exactly covered that sort of information, but he sincerely hoped they would wake happy and much more settled then they had been. If they didn’t it could be deadly for him. Angry wolves were never easy to deal with and in his human form they would be lethal. That thought encouraged him to shift and he pulled the magic from within him, feeling as it rippled over his body shifting him back to his cat form, protected by fur and claws. He would still never be a match for the weight or strength of a wolf, but the form gave him a small sense of comfort.
The smart thing to do would be to meld with the shadows and melt away into the forest, leaving the wolves to their own devices as they awoke, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave them. As they were, they were defenseless, and while he could hardly protect them from anything that might be strong enough to think of taking on a werewolf, he couldn’t bring himself to leave them. Certainly not when he was responsible for the state they were in.
Without the cover of the trees, the full moon illuminated the clearing making it hard for him to find anywhere to blend. He settled in to wait, crouching beside Kyuhyun’s slumbering mass and feeling strangely secure with the wolf pressed against his side. Zhou mi didn’t have to wait long. Only a few minutes after he had stopped singing, Kangin surged to his feet snarling in anger. His golden eyes glared around savagely as if looking for something to direct his anger towards. When they fell on Zhou mi he flinched in fear at the anger there and pressed closer to Kyuhyun’s side.
Kyuhyun growled suddenly, shifting against him and rising to his feet. The motion was slow and strained as if Kyuhyun was fighting against the grogginess of sleep. When he was standing, he took a stumbling step forward and placed himself between his Alpha and Zhou mi. Kangin snarled at him and Kyuhyun growled back, as if challenging Kangin to try something. Zhou mi glanced around at the other wolves and every other one seemed to be still deep in slumber, unaffected by the waking of their Alpha.
When he turned to look back at Kangin, the wolf’s body look strange and contorted, and Zhou mi realized he was shifting back to his human form. It made him feel a bit safer, if only marginally. A werewolf was easily just as dangerous in human form as in their wolf form.
It took several minutes for the shift to complete, during which Kyuhyun didn’t move from his spot in front of Zhou mi although his growling did subside slightly. When he was finished, Kangin crouched on his hands and knees, panting. Zhou mi had never experienced it, but he imagined the man was waiting for the last tingles of pain to fade.
“Knock it off Kyuhyun, before I have to do something about you,” Kangin growled, turning glowing golden eyes on Kyuhyun’s form. “I’m not going to hurt him, but he needs to understand what he could have done.” Kyuhyun offered a particularly cocky humph that ended his growling as he lowered his head slightly. “Kyuhyun,” Kangin said in warning again and the wolf in front of him heaved what sounded like a heavy sigh before sinking back down onto his belly. The position put his body lower then Kangin’s who was balanced on his hands and knees.
Only once he was down did Kangin sigh and close his eyes. When he opened them they were still golden but no longer glowing. “Better,” Kangin agreed, shifting his weight so that he was crouched only upon his legs. “Now, come here Zhou mi, let me look at you.”
Zhou mi felt the pull of an order from an Alpha as it slid across him. Its pressure was only there for a moment before it fell away, leaving him free to choose what he wished to do. He thought about going the other way, back into the safety of the forest, now that Kangin was awake and able to protect his pack but he could never directly disobey an Alpha even if their orders didn’t work on him. He had been shown the consequences of doing so. Slowly, careful to keep his head lower then Kangin and not meet his eyes, he slinked forward to the man.
“Beautiful,” Kangin murmured, reaching out and stroking a hand along his back. Zhou mi had to resist arching into the hand and demanding more as a pleasant sensation ran through him at the touch. “I have never seen something quite like you. You are gorgeous,” Kangin told him. Zhou mi could hear the honesty in the man’s voice and he could feel the genuine feelings of being pleased running through the Alpha, a sensation which was strange as no one but the pack should be able to feel what the Alpha was feeling.
As soon as Kangin removed his hand from Zhou mi’s fur the feelings vanished with it. “But I see you have good reason to fear wolves,” Kangin said gently looking pointedly at his side and the silvery lines there. Zhou mi pressed himself lower to the ground in a natural reaction of guilt and submission.
“I would never hurt you,” Kangin told him gently, looking down at him. “I was scared when I woke up. Zhou mi, you can never do that again do you understand? And if I had known that you were able to do that I would have warned you before you did it.”
From a little bit away Kyuhyun offered him a small yip. Zhou mi had no idea what it meant but Kangin evidently did because he smiled. “You kept me from having to put down and possibly kill one of my wolves, for that I thank you. Let me deal with them, they will be waking up soon, then we will talk later alright?”
Zhou mi chanced a glance up at him and Kangin smiled, ruffling the fur on Zhou mi’s head in a move that could only be affectionate. Then he rose stiffly, as if it pained him, and stepped gracefully over Zhou mi’s crouching form. When he had moved Zhou mi realized that Leeteuk’s brilliant blue eyes had been watching them the entire time from where he lay. The white wolf offered him a wolfish grin and then turned his attention back on his mate.
With Leeteuk’s attention gone from him, he realized belatedly that the wolves around him were beginning to wake and that made him nervous. What if they were angry with him for what he had done? Zhou mi felt exposed and in danger out in the open amongst them and he looked around frantically for a safe place he could move, a moment later Kyuhyun was there, laying beside him and digging his cold wet nose into the ruff of fur at Zhou mi’s neck in affection. The motion calmed him instantly and he relaxed against the bulk of Kyuhyun, able to watch what was occurring without fearing it.
Kangin was standing in the middle of his pack watching as they climbed slowly into wakefulness. Siwon was the next to wake, shaking his head to clear it and climbing slowly to his feet. Leeteuk rose gracefully and padded to Kangin’s side. The man buried his fingers in the white wolf’s soft fur as Leeteuk sat at his feet much like a great guard dog. When he was seated, Siwon moved over to Kangin’s other side. The Alpha ran his fingers over the wolf affectionately as he sat beside him as well.
One by one the wolves awoke in what Zhou mi realized was their order of dominance and moved to Kangin. He gave each an affectionate pet, before it move off and found its spot around him. Zhou mi wondered if maybe they Kyuhyun should get up and join his pack and he inclined his head as if to ask him that. Kyuhyun lifted his head and offered him a grin before simply turning to watch.
All of the wolves had gathered around Kangin, with the exception of Jaejoong who lay pressed to the ground and staring out into the forest. Yunho whined softly from his place in the pack and Jaejoong didn’t even lift his head to look at him.
“Jaejoong,” Kangin said gently. “Come to me.” There was an order in Kangin’s voice that even Zhou mi felt and there wasn’t a chance that Jaejoong could have resisted it. Reluctantly and whimpering the entire time Jaejoong inched along the ground on his belly until he was laying at Kangin’s feet. When he stilled Kangin knelt and gently lifted the large head of the wolf. “When you joined this pack, I promised you that if your wolf took control I would take care of it and give you what you wanted. That does not mean that you get to try and force what you want on me and my wolves. You are very lucky that the Quieter sensed your intentions and was able to stop you.” Jaejoong whined pathetically and Kangin soothed him gently.
“There are worse things than this life Jaejoong,” Kangin told him softly. “But you will never see that if you don’t allow us to show you just what this life can be. Let us show you what it means to be a pack.” At his words the wolves shifted, moving forward and surrounding Jaejoong. They pressed close, covering his body with gentle nudges and motions of affection. In the middle of them Jaejoong shook and whimpered, looking as though he would be sobbing if he were human.
“Kyuhyun,” Kangin summoned and the wolf rose quietly. Zhou mi watched as he walked silently to the pack and they shifted, allowing him access to Jaejoong. The other wolf lay on the ground unable even to look up at the wolf above him. Kyuhyun bent and took the tip of Jaejoong’s muzzle in his powerful jaws. He closed his mouth slightly, administering what Zhou mi recognized as a form of reprimand and discipline. Then he released him and dragged his tongue wetly across the other wolf’s face in a form of affection. When he was finished he yipped softly and wagged his tail once. Zhou mi wasn’t a pro at speaking wolf yet but he was realized that must be a form of forgiveness.
Kangin smiled and stepped forward, rubbing Kyuhyun’s head affectionately as he reached down past him. He grabbed Jaejoong by the scruff and hauled his body upwards until the wolf found his feet. “Let’s go home,” Kangin said when the wolf was standing. He kept one hand buried in Jaejoong’s fur as he turned and lead his wolves back into the forest.
Zhou mi watched as the pack disappeared back into the woods and he felt a sudden pang of loneliness. He hadn’t given the words that Heechul had told him any further thought, but it seemed as if the vampire had been right. He felt the need for a pack stronger than ever before. Zhou mi wondered what it would feel like to be surrounded by ones who cared about you enough to forgive you for almost anything.
At the edge of the woods Kyuhyun stopped and turned to face him. He let out a strange bark and wagged his tail slowly. Zhou mi flicked his ears towards him, completely unsure of what he meant. The wolf yipped again, almost in encouragement and Zhou mi climbed carefully to his feet. When he was up, the speed of Kyuhyun’s tail increased and he offered Zhou mi another delighted sound. Zhou mi took a step forward and watched the reaction of the wolf then took a step backward to see what it would do. With every step forward Kyuhyun’s tail wagged faster, with every one backwards it slowed. The entire thing amused Zhou mi greatly, even more so that the wolf didn’t seem to understand that he was doing it.
He offered a feline grin and trotted forward, watching the tail intensify only to stop and back up just as many paces. Kyuhyun watched him for a moment, his features moving to confusion and then finally to irritation. Zhou mi knew he was caught when Kyuhyun sat down suddenly and held his tail firmly to the ground, scowling at him.
Zhou mi grinned and in a sudden rush of playfulness, bounded forward and into the wolf. The move sent Kyuhyun sprawling backwards releasing a startled yip as he fell. A moment later Zhou mi froze as he realized exactly what he had done. Tackling a werewolf was never a good idea, no matter how playful they seemed. Kyuhyun’s growl didn’t seem near as menacing as it could have been and he rolled, using his considerable more bulk to easily tip Zhou mi off himself. He tried to pin the cat to the ground, but Zhou mi was much more agile then he expected and slid easily from beneath Kyuhyun, dancing away.
Kyuhyun crouched low to the ground, growling and waging his tail a single time. Zhou mi took it as an indication that the wolf wanted to play and he saw no reason why not too. The large cat lowered to the ground as well. His tail swished back and forth, the tip flicking from side to side as he waited for Kyuhyun to make a move. Without warning the wolf bounded forward and Zhou mi leapt lightly to the side. They began an intricate dance of lunging and dodging with Zhou mi managing to stay just a step ahead of Kyuhyun the entire time.
A sharp bark rang through the forest and Zhou mi turned his head to it curiously. The distraction was just enough that he didn’t catch the blur of fur and muscle that slammed into his side. They fell sideways, Kyuhyun pressing down on top of him so that he wouldn’t have any chance of squirming away. Zhou mi hissed in disgust and squirmed, being careful to only use his claws on the ground to try and pull himself free and not as a weapon against the wolf.
A second bark rang through the forest and Kyuhyun lifted his head and sighed. He bounced up and off Zhou mi, leaving the cat free to rise to his feet and shake. Zhou mi offered Kyuhyun a glare and the wolf simply grinned in return. The sharp bark came again and this time Kyuhyun answered it with one of his own. He nosed Zhou mi in a way that seemed overly affectionate before trotting off towards the forest again. When he reached the edge he glanced back and offered Zhou mi a look showing that he clearly expected him to follow.
Zhou mi padded quietly after him and they moved together back into the trees. Just inside the shelter of the forest Leeteuk waited for them. Even in wolf form the look he sent them was both reprimanding and knowing at the same time. With a shake of his head he turned and led the way back to the cabin, expecting them to follow.
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The process of shifting back to human from the werewolf form wasn’t ever any easier then the shift to it. It looked just as strange and contorted and Zhou mi was almost positive that it hurt just as much. He looked away as Leeteuk and Kyuhyun shifted outside the cabin, wanting to give them privacy as they did so.
He could tell they had finished when Kyuhyun released a very human sounding groan. Zhou mi pulled for the magic within himself and reversed his change smoothly, standing straight on human legs a moment later. “However you do that, you have got to teach me,” Kyuhyun said, pain still in his voice.
“I don’t think I can,” Zhou mi admitted, keeping his eyes to himself. The wolves may be comfortable with nothing on their bodies around each other, but he couldn’t say that he had ever completely developed that comfort.
He felt fabric on his shoulders a moment later and pulled the soft robe on gratefully. The fabric smelled like Kyuhyun and he couldn’t stop himself from inhaling deeply as he pulled it around himself and tied it. “Thanks,” he said honestly.
“I thought you might want it and I don’t at the moment,” Kyuhyun said with a shrug. Zhou mi glanced at him and Kyuhyun looked away almost as if he was guilty of something.
“Come on,” Leeteuk, still standing in the nude, gestured to the house offering them both a smile.
Zhou mi nodded, following them into the cabin keeping his eyes trained on Kyuhyun’s shoulders and no lower, as the teen walked in front of him. In the living room they passed a piled of fur and limbs sprawled out across the rugs. Zhou mi realized that every wolf in the pack with the exception of Kangin was laying there with Jaejoong in the middle. He was struck again by a pang of loneliness as he walked by them and followed Leeteuk into the kitchen.
Kangin stood in the middle of the kitchen clothed in only a pair of loose fitting boxers. Two neatly folded sets sat on the table and Leeteuk and Kyuhyun grabbed them and slid them on. Zhou mi tried to ignore the wince that Kyuhyun gave as the fabric slipped over his skin. After shifting back to human, their skin would feel raw and even the slightest thing brushing against it would be hard to bear for a while.
“So,” Kangin said conversationally as Zhou mi slid into a chair. “How exactly did you know how to do something I didn’t even know you were capable of?”
“I read it in a book,” Zhou mi answered quietly, looking away as he suddenly felt a strange pang of guilt.
“What book?” Kangin asked confused.
“A book that I got from Heechul,” Zhou mi regretted saying the name a moment later, when Kyuhyun snarled angrily and Kangin growled.
“Zhou mi,” Leeteuk said gently, moving around the table. “How do you know Heechul?”
“I, uh,” Zhou mi found himself hesitant to say how he knew of the other man.
“Tell us Zhou mi,” Kangin demanded and he felt the power of the command slide over him.
“I went to his house with a friend,” Zhou mi admitted.
“You what?!” Kyuhyun exploded. “Do you even understand what could have happened?!”
Zhou mi looked up and caught Kyuhyun’s glowing golden eyes. “I know Heechul is a vampire. He said he wouldn’t hurt me. In fact he implied that I was in more danger here then I was in his home.”
Kyuhyun calmed immediately at his words and sank into a chair slowly. “I would never hurt you,” he murmured.
“Not you,” Zhou mi said softly. “Heechul called Kangin a man killer.” When he looked at the Alpha there was both question and challenge in his eyes.
Kangin sighed heavily and sank into a chair while Leeteuk moved behind him and rubbed at his neck slowly. “Heechul was talking about my past,” Kangin said softly. “Talking about something that I’m not anymore. I used to hunt humans at the full moon, but I haven’t not since,” he paused for a moment, “not for a long time.”
“Zhou mi,” Leeteuk said after a moment. “You need to understand what Heechul was trying to do. He would like nothing better than for you to join his seethe. With your help he could be completely protected against the threat of werewolves.”
“You saw what you were able to do with just a song,” Kangin continued. “Calming an Alpha is no small feat, but not something you should ever do again. Zhou mi, your abilities don’t work on a wolf gone savage. You were very lucky tonight that Jaejoong is not lost entirely.”
“Is that why you were angry when you woke up?” Zhou mi asked fiddling with his hands.
“Yes. You took away my edge and I had no idea if he had escaped your control or not. It is my aggression that allows me, as the Alpha to control the wolves. Without my wolf awake and aggressive I can order them to do nothing.”
“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” Zhou mi replied calmly.
Kangin sighed. “I would love to tell you that no one was in any danger, but I don’t know if I could have stopped Kyuhyun from attacking like I could have Jaejoong.” His gaze shifted intently to Kyuhyun and the teen held it for a moment before looking away. “Would you care to explain why that is?”
“No,” Kyuhyun answered flatly.
Kangin stared at him for a moment longer but didn’t press the matter. “Zhou mi,” he said, shifting his attention back to the teen. “I need to know that you understand how dangerous what you did tonight is and how vulnerable it leaves us.”
“I understand,” Zhou mi replied after a minute. “I won’t promise that I won’t do it again, but I understand,” he said with more confidence then he felt. There wasn’t a chance he was going to give up his new found protection, not when it was the first thing that had made him feel safe around wolves in a long time.
“Fair enough,” Kangin agreed somewhat reluctantly. “I think you both should head to bed. I have half a mind to split you but I won’t.” He waved them away and Zhou mi rose from the table puzzled to what that comment could possibly mean.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
Kyuhyun stalked after Zhou mi as they moved through the cabin and to their shared room. As much as it satisfied him to see the other teen clothed in his clothing and therefore his scent, he couldn’t get over the feeling of wanting to seclude him in a room until the camping trip was over. Worse his human half felt that way as much as the wolf did. They made it to their room and he carefully looked away as Zhou mi changed into pajamas. He wasn’t bothered by nakedness in the slightest but Zhou mi possibly wouldn’t appreciate being jumped before he got his pajama pants properly in place.
It was that urge that was partially from the wolf but also from him, that had him settling on the floor and declaring, “We need to talk.”
Zhou mi gave him a puzzled look as he turned and pulled his shirt over his head. “Alright.” He settled on the floor so that they were facing each other with their knees just barely brushing. “What did you want to talk about?”
Kyuhyun thought for a moment and then bypassed what he had originally wanted to talk about. “How do you change so fast?”
Zhou mi shrugged at that. “I’m not really sure. I think it is because of my witch blood. See witches are born instead of what everyone thinks. You can’t choose to be a witch, not a true one, because every witch is born with a special ability. My mother thinks mine is tied with my werewolf side. She thinks it is my ability to change quickly and painlessly into my animal form, by passing all the painful stuff, sort of like a shape shifter.”
“Handy,” Kyuhyun said with a grin.
“Yeah,” Zhou mi agreed. “I also don’t have to deal with a Beast and I don’t have to change during the full moon, although I get itchy all over if I don’t.”
“Very convenient,” Kyuhyun mused, although he didn’t think that Zhou mi was completely correct on the lack of a Beast side.
“Can I ask you a question?” Zhou mi asked curiously. Kyuhyun nodded and he continued, “How dominate are you? I mean I noticed Kangin was the first to wake up and then you did before anyone else. Not to mention you can look at him without immediately looking away.”
Kyuhyun blinked in surprise. Of all the people he had thought would ask that question, Zhou mi wasn’t even on the list. “I don’t know,” Kyuhyun said honestly. “I don’t feel the need to submit to Siwon,” he admitted. “But I do submit to Kangin and he can force his will on me. I’ve never thought to find out. Why?”
“I was just curious,” Zhou mi said with a shrug. He glanced over at their beds and then sighed. “We should probably go to bed,” he said climbing to his feet.
Kyuhyun swallowed thickly as he watched the other teen climb to his feet. In his mind his Beast chuckled something about him not having the guts to even tell the other man. It was the creatures chortling calls that made him blurt out his next words. “Zhou mi you are our mate.” Zhou mi froze as they spilled from his mouth and Kyuhyun could have died right in that spot. “I mean,” he clarified quickly, “My Beast has chosen you as his mate but you can still say no. I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything, I just thought you should know, just in case.”
Zhou mi didn’t turn to look at him but he saw the tension start to ease in Zhou mi’s body. “Okay,” was all he said before climbing up into the top bunk and slipping under the covers leaving Kyuhyun with nothing to do but flip off the light and climb in his own bed.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
Zhou mi rolled over in his bed, pulling the covers closer to his chin and staring at the wall. He wasn’t sure what to make of the sudden revelation that Kyuhyun had given him. It wasn’t as though he was stupid. He understood what it meant to be the mate of a werewolf and not only how rare that was, but how special.
Most werewolves could happily marry, but the Beast inside of them would never accept their spouse as their mate. Some did, but most never did. To be a mate of a wolf was to truly have a partner for life. The wolf would do anything to protect and hold onto its mate, anything that was required of it. In rare cases the Beast found its mate before the human side did, doing everything in its power to secure that mate and over rule any arguments its human side would have. His father’s Beast had chosen his mother as its mate long before his father’s human side did.
He had never seen himself as attracted to men, although Zhou mi had to admit he wasn’t as opposed to the idea as he thought he would have been. Perhaps his upbringing had prepared him to accept anything that wasn’t normal as easily as he could the ordinary. Whatever it was, it wasn’t the fact that Kyuhyun was distinctly male that bothered him. It was more the fact that he had sworn to himself he would never end up with a werewolf and deal with the sort of heartache his mother had. Still he couldn’t deny that something inside of him was incredibly pleased with Kyuhyun’s declaration.
Zhou mi rolled over again and sighed. No matter what he felt, what kind of response was ‘okay’? He could hardly figure out what he meant by it, how did he expect Kyuhyun too? Zhou mi’s mind turned things over and over in his head until he simply gave into sleep with the questions still unanswered in his mind.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
The scent of bacon woke Zhou mi with the late morning sun and he rolled from his bed and was half way down the stairs before he had even regained complete consciousness. “Good morning,” Kangin greeted him from the living room where he sat with a cup of coffee and his feet buried beneath the furry body of what looked like Siwon.
“Morning,” Zhou mi mumbled in response, waving his hand casually in greeting. He absently noted that most of the wolves were still lounging on the floor in their four legged form, in various states of wakefulness.
A wolf, Eunhyuk he was fairly certain, ran from the kitchen with a slightly pained yelp. “Get them out of my house while I am cooking!” Leeteuk’s voice came from the kitchen carrying with it an unspoken threat.
Kangin grinned and nudged the great body on his feet with a toe. The wolf turned his head and offered him a curious look. “Take the pack out on a morning run, will you?” Kangin asked.
Siwon offered him a wolfish grin and then rose to his feet. He moved across the room, nudging the still slumbering wolves into wakefulness. When they were all on their feet and moving towards the door, Leeteuk’s voice called from the kitchen, “And take Kyuhyun with you!”
Zhou mi turned and saw the mentioned teen standing by the bottom of the stairs and staring at him with glowing golden eyes. Something akin to hunger was reflected in them and Zhou mi swallowed thickly and took a step backward. A firm hand pressed against his lower back, keeping him from backing any farther. “Never show fear to a werewolf and never back away. A wolf will take it as a sign that you are for sure prey and they will not be able to resist the urge to hunt you,” Kangin murmured to him.
Siwon moved to Kyuhyun and nudged him roughly in the chest with his head. The teen blinked blearily and then shook his head as if clearing it. “Sorry,” he mumbled, and then he turned and followed the rest of the wolves out the door.
“Well don’t just stand out there like idiots! Get in here and help me!” Leeteuk ordered from the kitchen.
Kangin laughed heartily and Zhou mi turned following his lead into the large room. He had never heard an Alpha take orders from another so well but he imagined that Leeteuk and he had worked this out between them. When they entered, Kangin crossed the room and embraced Leeteuk from behind, pressing a kiss to his fabric covered shoulder. The other man indulged him for a moment before shaking him off and pointing to the refrigerator with a pair of chopsticks. “You make us some kimchi scrambled eggs. And you,” he turned towards Zhou mi and then gestured to the three toasters lined neatly against the wall and the loaves of bread in front of them. “You make some toast.”
Zhou mi obediently moved to the first loaf, opened it and inserted several slices into the toasters. Kangin offered him a large plate with a container of butter and a knife placed on top as well as a knowing smile, before he returned to his assigned spot beside Leeteuk at the stove.
“Zhou mi,” Leeteuk said casually after a while. “You will have to forgive most of the members of this family. Kangin hasn’t been a very good example when it comes to courting a mate,” he slanted a meaningful glance at the Alpha who suddenly found the frying of the kimchi to be very interesting. “What I mean to say is that they can be very forward when announcing what they have decided to do.”
Zhou mi nodded in understanding. He wondered if Leeteuk had any idea what Kyuhyun had said to him the previous night and if he did, how in the world had he found out? “The fact of the matter is,” Leeteuk continued conversationally as he flipped the bacon on the stove, “that a wolf never chooses a mate lightly. Almost always if a wolf chooses a mate then the other person has chosen to be their mate, even if they don’t know it. However, if you choose to, you can still say no.”
Leeteuk trailed off, focusing more on his cooking then talking at the moment. “We also,” Kangin began suddenly, “wanted to invite you to join our pack.”
Zhou mi paused halfway through buttering a slice of toast, frozen by his words. He had ran with a pack of werewolves and grown up around them, but he had never been asked to join them. In fact he had always been told quite the opposite, that is was impossible for him to truly join a pack. “I didn’t think I could.”
“You can join it just as any other could I assume,” Kangin told him confidently. “You don’t have to make up your mind now; I just wanted to let you know that you are welcome here with us. The ceremony can’t be performed until the next full moon, so we have plenty of time for you to decide if you want to or not.”
“We love having you here Zhou mi, and not just because you have the unique ability to keep everyone calm,” Leeteuk added.
“Thank you,” Zhou mi murmured, honestly grateful to both of them. Leeteuk smiled at him before turning back to his cooking.
Several minutes later, Zhou mi was carrying a plate piled down with toast to the table as Leeteuk carried over a large platter of bacon and Kangin a huge bowl of kimchi scrambled eggs. “Breakfast!” Leeteuk yelled and Zhou mi wondered what he was yelling at.
Only a few moments later, the members of the pack began to stream in the door, back in their human forms and covered in their bathrobes. “Alright food!” Eunhyuk exclaimed happily.
“Ladies first,” Leeteuk scolded him as he reached for the bacon. He immediately pulled his hand back sheepishly.
“Ladies and guests first,” Yoona corrected patting the seat beside her and looking at Zhou mi. He smiled and sat beside her, accepting a few strips of bacon and helping himself to the strange egg mixture.
“Thanks,” he said with a grin. It was always a good thing to get access to the food before the ravenous werewolves did.
The moment the women had finished filling their plates and settled into eat, the men fell on the food as if they had never eaten before. Leeteuk laughed heartily but didn’t stop them. Zhou mi nibbled absently at his food as he watched them, catching Kyuhyun’s eyes just after the teen filled his own plate to heaping full.
Kyuhyun made to look away guiltily, and Zhou mi cleared his throat, holding the teen’s attention. Slowly he moved his hand and patted the empty seat on his other side. Kyuhyun look stunned at first but then his face broke out into a smile that warmed Zhou mi from the tip of his toes to point of his nose. Grinning, the werewolf settled happily into the seat he had been offered and picked up his utensils. Without a word Kyuhyun began to eat and Zhou mi smiled to himself noticing, for the first time, the part of himself that was entirely content with the werewolf at his side.
Chapter Ten
Masterlist
AN: Well here is another long chapter but I guess you deserve it after as long as I made you wait! lol. In my defense I was camping and whatnot so I was fairly distracted. The good news is that the next chapter is almost done already so that shouldn't be too long. And the cat is finally out of the bag so to speak. ^_^
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