Description: Sehun reveals part of his plan to keep you around, but Chanyeol has other ideas.
A/N: Part 8 was kind of just a filler so, part 9 has a lot more important info and exciting things. I’m trying to update so I don’t fall behind. Enjoy^^
Chanyeol remained still, his eyes never leaving Sehun’s. He grabbed your hand and pulled you along with him. You didn’t understand why you couldn’t just run, why couldn’t you just leave Sehun standing there. You instantly started thinking this was another trap and your heart started racing, you wanted to pull your hand out of Chanyeol’s and just run until you couldn’t anymore.
Sehun sat in a chair, his legs crossed as if this were a business meeting still holding the ice to his head. He motioned for the both of you to sit on the sofa. Chanyeol stood still, you directly behind him. Sehun sighed with impatience.
“Well, you’ve both always been extremely stubborn so. I guess I’ll start.” he cleared his throat, tossing the ice filled towel onto the table. “Let me start this off by saying, you can’t leave. I mean physically, you can’t leave.” Sehun straightened his suit before pulling papers out of his jacket. “I made a contract with your folks a long time ago. You parents traded you for a lifetime of luxury.” he made a face you weren’t familiar with, remorse? “Our parents were good friends when we were younger, a past you’ve forgotten with a nasty accident.” you shifted from behind Chanyeol, getting a better look at Sehun.
“My parents? An accident?” you had endless questions, but didn’t know where to start or if what he was saying was even true. Sehun nodded seeming amused with himself. Chanyeol tightened his grip on your hand and you couldn’t be more thankful. You left your thoughts to return to reality. “What is this ‘contract’ exactly?” your voice came out harsh and cold.
“I thought you would never ask.” Sehun smiled to himself, pushing the papers across the table. You hesitated before letting go of Chanyeol’s hand, sitting on the couch. You lifted the papers, but even skimming through it all you could see is a bunch of legal words.
“Do I need to get a lawyer to translate this or are you going to spit it out?” you snarled, patience running thin. His smile grew, clearly enjoying the game that you played right into.
“It basically means that you will become my bride, you will always be by my side unless I say otherwise. In return your mother and father receive a monthly amount that is more than generous to live out their lives. They have inserted their own conditions of making sure that you never contact them, something about guilt.” he waved his hand through the air uncaringly, dismissing their reasonings. You continued to look at the papers in your hands as if looking through them, you squeezed them so hard they started to rip. “You can keep that copy, I have several.” he joked, standing from the chair to move closer. Chanyeol was instantly at your side keep Sehun at bay.
“So you took it into your hands to make her a prisoner?” Chanyeol spat at Sehun. “How noble of you.” Chanyeol balled his fists, desperately wanting to throw a few punches. You lightly brushed Chanyeol’s arm and saw his shoulders relax.
“What do I have to do to void this?” you asked, your voice low. You were afraid you were about to break at any moment. Your world was on the verge of crashing. Sehun picked stray hairs from his jacket tossing them to the floor.
“I don’t want to void it. I made sure that there are absolutely no loopholes. Impeccably impenetrable.” you swear he’d give himself a pat on the back in that moment if it didn’t make him look utterly ridiculous. “I’ve always wanted to be with you, you’d never give me the time of day. You were always in a different world, helping others, making sure everyone was part of something. You were my world. You ARE my world. Your parents provided a situation that benefited me and I took hold over it.”
“Enough of this. We’re leaving.” Chanyeol grabbed your arm pulling you up, dragging you towards the door. “You’ll have to find us first.” he swung open the door.
“There are no limits to my power.” Sehun stood in his same spot, not bothered by the fact that his possession was about to make a run for it. He placed his hands in his pockets. “See you soon, love.” the wicked grin on his face forever imprinted in your mind.
Chanyeol yanked you into a car that you assumed he drove here, you still didn’t know why he was there in the first place. Once he got in on the drivers side he slammed his fists into the steering wheel. “Shit!” you winced at the sudden outburst.
“Chanyeol…” you started to say, but you had no idea what to say at that point. What more is there?
“I have homes all over the place. I used them for work, completely off the grid. We can move between those for now.” his words were rushed, he started to drive. You could see his full concentration on what to do next.
“He will find us, Chanyeol. Just live your life as you have been, it will be better this way for the both of us…” you choked on your words, knowing each one was a lie.
“I can’t. I don’t want to.” he took a deep breath. “No one deserves to live like that. You are not someone’s property. You’re a human being!” he yelled, his rage turning into sadness. Your heart caved in on itself, you couldn’t remember the last time someone was on your side, the last time someone fought for you. You didn’t realize you still had the contract in your hand, crumpled up papers that were nothing but a reminder of where your prison was and who your Warden is. You decided to fold up the contract to read it word by word later, hoping to find something, anything to benefit you.
You both sat in silence for a long while, you weren’t sure where he was driving to but you trusted him. Chanyeol laced his fingers with yours, kissing the back of your hand, ignoring the dried blood. “You’re a mess.” he laughed lightly, afraid to break the silence. “In a few more hours we will be somewhere safe to get you cleaned up.” he smiled, kissing the back of your hand again. You felt the butterflies in your stomach and in that moment you realized that you’d do anything to keep Chanyeol safe.
Chanyeol drove until you reached a small little house in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Both of you got out of the car walking up to the front door. Chanyeol knocked twice, rang the doorbell then knocked once more. A smaller man answered the door, his hair jet black and a stare that could kill.
“You’re early.” he said lazily, opening the door wider to get a better look at us.
“You know my driving.” Chanyeol replied, nudging the other man. “This is Kyungsoo, he’s a…”
“Coworker.” Kyungsoo replied. “A normal, everyday coworker.” he moved aside letting Chanyeol and yourself walk in. “Bedroom is upstairs, it has its own bathroom. The clothes you requested are also up there.”
“Thanks man. I always knew I could count on you.” Chanyeol slapped his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. If looks could kill, Kyungsoo would have killed Chanyeol ten times over. You followed Chanyeol up the stairs into the bedroom. Everything was in pristine condition, not a single thread was out of place. Even the clothes he brought for Chanyeol and you were folded extra neatly. “He’s a bit of a neat freak, you won’t get used to it. Ever.” he laughed. “You can shower first.” he handed you a towel. You grabbed onto it and he pulled you into him. “Or maybe we should save water and shower together?” your face turned red, not quite expecting something like that from Chanyeol. “I’m just kidding.” he burst out laughing, placing a kiss on your forehead.
“Animal.” you joked back, whipping him with the towel. His laugh grew louder as he made his way out of the bathroom. You took your time in the shower, making sure you thoroughly cleaned your wounds, no matter how minor you couldn’t risk any infections. A hospital was not an option at this point.
You walked out of the bathroom in your towel looking for night clothes that were ever so neatly placed on a dresser. You hadn’t realized how long you spent in there until you saw Chanyeol passed out half naked in bed already. You smiled to yourself, admiring his toned back, the endless scars that trailed his body. You’d hope that one day he told you the stories, but there was a time an place for everything and this was neither. You dressed yourself in the nightgown that fell to your mid thigh and crawled in bed. You couldn’t help to trace the scars with your fingers, gently kissing each one as if it would somehow heal them.
Chanyeol turned over, groaning as he scooped you into his chest. “Mmmm, so clean.” he kissed the top of your head, tracing circles on your lower back. You felt his breath on your face and wanted nothing more than to give into every temptation that screamed at you. You gently kissed his lips, sliding your tongue along his bottom lip. He cupped your face, returning the affection, his lips moving more roughly. His hand snaked to the back of your neck, deepening the kiss. His other hand trailed down your side, his thumb trailing down your breast and stomach, gripping your hip. You let out a small noise, wanting more, wanting all of him, but you knew better.
“I don’t think Kyungsoo would approve of us messing up his beautiful sheets.” you teased, placing your hand on his chest. Chanyeol sighed.
“He always does ruin everything.” he joked. “But he’s a really good friend so I guess we will play by his rules tonight.” he let out a dramatic sigh to emphasize his internal struggle. You laughed, kissing him one last time on the lips before resting your head on his chest.
“Don’t ever leave me.” you whispered into his chest, breathing in his scent.
Description:After Chanyeol’s greatest betrayal, what else is there to live for when you’re just a prisoner in your own home.
A/N: It has been a year since I last updated, more than half this fic was written from a year ago so I kind of just added a few tweaks and that’s about it. I don’t remember where I was going with this so, rip.
You spent days, weeks, maybe even months locked up in the place you used to call your home, your home with Sehun. You lost all track of time, the idea of it no longer mattered. You knew you would be living the same life even 20 years from now.
Sehun kept a handful of his men at the house, surrounding the perimeter to keep people from entering and you from leaving. Sehun would be there sometimes, but his appearance was even more scarce than before, you assumed he didn’t trust you, and he shouldn’t.
You’ve spent enough time trying to figure out ways to hurt Sehun, but the fact that Chanyeol chose money over you, always returns to mind. Killing Sehun would only result in momentary satisfaction, ultimately followed by your own death from one of his many followers.
Keeping still was easier said than done, you couldn’t help but pace the quiet studio. The silence that used to be comforting was now suffocating. You memorized how many steps it takes from each room to another, counting out loud as you went, the only time you ever spoke was then.
Sehun would visit, but you made sure to never let out a word when he was near. Giving him any form of satisfaction made you sick and you were done being his toy.
You walk from the living area to the kitchen, counting 22 steps as you did so, when the front door opened. Sehun entered, leaving his body guards outside per usual. You turned away from him and busied yourself with making food. You picked up a knife and started cutting a cucumber, you weren’t sure what you were making, but you were ready to put your attention on anything but him.
Sehun walked up behind you, snaking his hands around your waist as he bent over to place his head in the crook of your neck. You felt his lips graze your neck and tried your hardest not to shake in anger.
“No hello?” he whispered into your neck followed by a sigh. “How long do you plan on being like this for?” his finger playing gently under the bottom of your shirt. You couldn’t believe he could ask such a dumb question and wanted to yell at him, but that’s exactly what he was doing, baiting you. You know his mind games all too well, he would have to think of new ones if he wanted to break you further.
Sehun broke away from you leaning against the counter as he tossed one of the cucumber pieces into his mouth.
“Chanyeol is doing well. As his new employer, I think he enjoys my tasks more so than his previous.” he spoke as if bored. “Plus he’s loving the increased pay.” You stopped cutting as your grip tightened around the knife, your knuckles as white as can be. It took everything in your power not to plunge the simple blade through his chest. You took a few breaths before returning to cutting.
Sehun failed to notice your reactions as he turned towards you. “What? You don’t care anymore?” he almost sounded giddy. “I will take your silence as my golden answer.” he smiled wickedly, turning your face towards his as he placed a kiss on your forehead. With your attention on another planet, the knife slipped and cut your finger, hissing in pain you quickly wrapped a hand towel around your hand mentally cursing yourself. Sehun grabbed your wrist, ignoring the force he used naturally. Not even a second passed by before you pulled your hand away and made your way to the bathroom to further care for it.
You gripped the edge of the sink, closing your eyes as tight as you could trying to steady your emotions. “How could he do this?” you barely whispered to yourself. No matter how hard you tried to wrap your head around what happened that day, nothing made sense. You rummaged through your brain trying to think of anything that Sehun could hold over Chanyeol as leverage. Deep in thought you didn’t notice Sehun come into the bathroom until he whipped you around to face him.
“No more of this.” his voice came out harsh, cold. “You WILL abide by my rules. You WILL be my wife. There is a lot you don’t know and it’s best you just do as your told.” Sehun lifted you onto the sink, pulling your hair back as he moved to your ear, whispering with a clenched jaw. “Or, I will kill him.”
You felt your breath leave your lungs, it never returned. You sat there stunned with shock and realization. You felt the pieces connecting bit by bit, but had no time to think of them. You acted on impulse, slamming the base of your palm into Sehun’s temple until his head hit the wall full force. The air finally returning to you as you jump off the sink counter, running towards the door. You quickly grab your jacket and shoes, swinging the door open. You completely forgot Sehun kept bodyguards outside the door at all times.
One of the guards called for backup while the other reached out for you. You ducked under his reach and dashed forward making a break for it when a tug on the back of your shirt sent you flying backwards. You felt where you hit the back of you head, seeing blood on your hand but not knowing if it was from the blow or your unbandaged cut finger. You tried to stand up, but the world was staring back at you in twos. You felt hands restraining your own from behind, slamming your cheek into the building. All your senses felt as if they stopped working, the throbbing pain you felt from your finger, head, and cheek all combined as one, joining the emotional pain. The tears came at their own will as you stood there, you were sure Sehun would rid of you after your stunt.
You felt the pressure holding your wrists disappear followed by a gurgled noise. You slowly turned to see the dead bodyguard lying there, blood slowly draining from his mouth. Turning towards the other bodyguard you saw him fall to his knees, his eyes wide, Chanyeol standing behind him with a knife tainted in their blood.
You stared at him in disbelief as if he wasn’t real. He threw the knife down, walking towards you cautiously with his hands up as if dealing with a scared animal. “I always did have impeccable timing” he mused nervously.
“What are you doing?” your voice came out, barely audible. You wrapped your arms around yourself instinctively.
“I’m here to save the damsel in distress.” he smiled softly. You felt your insides turn to mush, after everything his smile alone was enough to make you feel safe again. Your happiness quickly turned to anger remembering what he had done. You took one swift step, slapping him.
“I don’t need you.” you managed to force out. He ignored your harsh words, pushing your back to the wall, cupping your face with both of his hands. You saw the beads of tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
“But I need you. I’m sorry.” he choked out. “I made a decision and I’m paying for it. He said he would have-”
“Killed me.” you cut him off. “I know, that seems to be his go-to threat.” you felt the corner of your mouth pull into a small smile, thinking of how one person could be so low.
“He would have done more than that..” he trailed off as if trying to erase the memory of the threat. “What matters now is that I’m going to get you out of here and spend my life making it up to you. I’m too greedy to let you walk away.” He brushed his thumb under your eyes, the dark circles must have been worse than you thought. You saw every twinge of guilt in Chanyeol’s eyes and believed him. You smiled at him ruffling his hair, kissing his palm. He pulled your face to his, gently kissing you lips, his gentleness turning to neediness.
“Well isn’t this touching?” Sehun leaned against the doorframe, holding a towel wrapped in ice to where you slammed his face into the wall. A large bruise was already forming and you imagined he wasn’t too happy with you right now. Chanyeol stepped in front of you, nuding you to stay behind him.
“Run.” Chanyeol whispered. “Go. Now.” his eyes remained on Sehun. You didn’t want to leave Chanyeol, you knew he just wanted you to be safe, but you wanted him to be safe as well. You were a team now.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Sehun smiled, removing the swaddled ice from the side of his face. “Do you think I wasn’t prepared for this? Sometimes I wonder if you really know me at all.” he mused. He motioned for us to come back into the studio, like a host inviting guests.
But we knew, it was a predator inviting his prey into his domain.
Prompt: You kind of-sort of said you had a boyfriend and now you both are invited to a ‘couples only’ party and now you have to find a boyfriend ASAP
Pairing: Chen x Reader
Warnings: Alcohol, poor dating history, a little bit of smut.
Word Count: 9,118
A/N: This was for a one-shot challenge. We had a really cool idea for a Valentines prompt but life decided to come in and drop multiple anvils on all of our progress. Life can be shit like that sometimes but at times like that you also have to step back and realise that the writing can wait. We made a group decision to kind of call off the challenge but still post if/when we finished. This is my contribution.
Anyway, let me know what you think - apparently I cannot write a short one-shot to save my life so here is an almost 10k present for you.
My very good friend had to remake her blog 6 months ago so I want to share her work with you! Please give her fics a read, they are funny and sexy and so well written.
This fic is how we started talking and I just want everyone to read it! It’s honestly so good!
“6, 7, 8… you have all the moles too. Might as well have named it after me too.” You heard him laugh bitterly as he stood in front of the painting, your painting of him, knowing that you were behind him.
This was your moment of honour, what you had worked so hard for since years, finally hosting your own exhibition. You had spent a few months deliberating whether to include the piece in question or not, but had gone for it because no matter how much you didn’t want to remember the events that had transpired between the two of you, it was a beautiful piece of art, one of your best.
“Baekhyun I -” you started, before he cut you off.
“I want it.” He took out a checkbook and signed impulsively, your eyes widening as you saw him write a number with a few too many zeroes.
“Why are you doing this?” you asked, unsure of what to do.
“I want to have something to remember the old you by. The one that I used to love.” He clenched his jaw as he walked away this time, no longer the heartbroken boy that you had once left behind.
Another wolf-finds-his-mate story, but I kicked it up a notch and created a whole new world around it.
Pairing: Chanyeol x Reader
Genre: Supernatural (EXO as wolves, but more species involved in the storyline)
Word count: 8912 words
Warning: Long read, Somewhat angsty, Dork! Chanyeol, five second sex scene that I have not written like I would write smut but more held-back, lots of things happening and after a while you won’t even be able to tell what the biggest problem is. I promise it’ll all make sense later on.
New to the series? Start your adventure here:Prologue(Don’t skip it, it contains info you’ll need later on.) The posts will always contain a link to the next part, unless that part hasn’t been posted yet.
Part 4
Chanyeol leaned his bum onto the table top of the chestnut brown, wooden desk, allowing him to compromise some of his tallness and spread his legs spaciously for (y/n) to stand in between them. Owing to his long legs, his dress shoes remained settled on the floor, though the idea to wrap them around her legs had emerged from his cerebrum several times. As if holding her waist in his arms was not enough, he wanted to capture her prisoner of love and hold on to her like there was no tomorrow.
He acted as much out of desire for her as out of necessity. Since the day they had intensified their mate-bond, Chanyeol would wake up to minor headaches that disappeared by virtue of a few kisses, hugs and minutes of physical contact, shared with his girl.
He wished for things to be different, but for now he had to make do with sneaking around like teenagers at locations where (y/n) was not supposed to be; empty lecture-hall back offices having the amplest space were at the top of Chanyeol’s preferred list. He felt guilty for urging her to have rendezvous with him like these. Unfortunately, there weren’t many other options considering the dangers of abstinence.
(y/n) didn’t seem too bothered with the situation as he imagined her to be. Be it the back office of a lecture hall for an elaborate make-out session or the janitor’s closet for a quick kiss, she seemed genuinely happy to be with him. She had only complained once, stating she had become unable to focus on the course material during his lectures because he was too attractive in both his looks and voice.
Surreptitiously, Chanyeol had been trying to find a solution to that problem and was planning to put some of those solutions to the test on their next legitimate date. From the get-go, he resolutely reserved illegal college appointments for experiencing and showing his love. He held no wish to squander their limited time together in explaining the process by which information is transmitted from the presynaptic cell to the postsynaptic cell, which change occurs in the postsynaptic cell and whatnot. He just wanted to be close to her. As simple as that. As simple as (y/n) holding onto his white shirt with her small clenched hands, as simple as their kiss. Slow but passionate, contributing to a whole new level of intimacy. It made Chanyeol’s heart do things inexplicable; slow down and skip at the same time.
“Aren’t you a sneaky little thing?” He pulled away unhurried, the tip of his nose brushing over (y/n)’s. Chanyeol opened his eyes to find hers were still closed and smiled at the thought of her enjoying their kisses as much as he did.
“How so?” (y/n) asked, opening her eyes to drown into Chanyeol’s.
“You’ve been holding onto my shirt for less than five minutes and somehow you’ve managed to pull it out of my pants. Go on like that for an hour and I’ll be naked".
“Sorry!” (y/n) laughed and let her head fall in the crook of Chanyeol’s neck to hide her embarrassment, causing her grasp on his shirt to tighten haphazardly. When she noticed, she decided to draw them around his waist instead, capturing him between her arms.
“You’re too cute”, Chanyeol chuckled and gave her a kiss on the head. He rested his chin upon her hairs as he combed through them with his long fingers. “Hey, promise me you’ll stay the night tomorrow?” he whispered, maybe because he was aware those kind of requests were not what one would call taking things slow; it was barely the fifth day he could address her as his girlfriend. Then again, nothing in their relationship was normal. Lecturer-Student relationship, sex after a first non-official date. Rationally, he blamed everything on their magical bond but emotionally, he couldn’t help but blame it on his feelings for her that grew stronger by the minute.
(y/n) nodded silently, then nuzzled her head deeper into Chanyeol’s neck.
“Promise!” Chanyeol requested as he smiled broadly to her response. He had felt her nod but still wanted to hear her say it, just because it would spike his happiness.
(y/n) untangled herself from Chanyeol, staring deep into his eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck instead. “I swear on Charles Sherrington’s and Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s graves that I will find an indisputable excuse for when my mom hears me out on why my bed remained unslept on a Friday night”
“Swearing on the founding fathers of neuroscience’s graves. That’s a heavy promise”, Chanyeol said. “Now add the part where you’re going to spend that night with me, and swear it on Otto Loewi’s grave”, he demanded with a smirk.
“Who the hell is that?”, (y/n) burst into laughter, causing Chanyeol to laugh along with her as he explained.
“Module three point two. We saw it yesterday. Neuroscience and behaviour lecture. His frog experiment that won him the Nobel prize?” He remembered how he re-read the third module on Monday afternoon for teaching purposes and how the textbook mentioned the funny details on how Loewi awakened one night with the sudden idea, wrote it down on a note, went back to bed and then woke up unable to read his own note. The next night, Loewi woke up to the same idea and rushed to the laboratory instead.
“Sorry, I can’t recall”, (y/n) shook her head as she tried to regain composure from her laughter. Bad student, Chanyeol thought. You’re ought to read the modules before the lectures. Then again, back in his days he wasn’t any better so he held his tongue. “So Otto Lewis’s grave it is?”
“Otto Loewi”, Chanyeol articulated. “Not Lewis”.
“That’s what I said!”
“No, it’s not”, he shook his head, earning a pout from (y/n). “Fine, for once I’ll do with Otto Lewis, whoever he may have been. He better be worth a lot”, Chanyeol made a mental note to google that name later on.
“I solemnly swear on Otto Louis’s grave I will spend the entire night in your presence”. Chanyeol shook his head, hearing another wrong pronunciation of the name Loewi. She’s never going to get that right, he sighed to himself, and hoped she’d get it right in writing.
“Ah, we got a lot of work to do”, Chanyeol pulled her close to him again, wrapping her in a tight hug.
__
There were many perks to a small town. Even more to a small town with mainly supernatural inhabitants that had impeccable hearing skills. The alpha’s long howl was audible for the entire pack throughout the town. As each family contained at least one wolf, information could be passed on quickly, allowing emergency gatherings to be organised last-minute.
It was to say the least unusual that they had requested all adults to gather in the barn. In fact, it was the first time this ever happened, as far as Chanyeol could recall. All non-adults were requested to gather in the Main mansion or to be brought there by their parents for babysit arranged just in the nick of time for the meeting, whilst the adults fidgeted to find a good spot beside their preferred groups of friends or family.
This was what a real pack looked like. Not small groups of ten or twenty people, but an entire legacy of people, most descendant from one same wolf that existed a thousand years ago. Taking into account not only the wolves but also all mates, be them wolves, witches or humans and large groups of lost pack-members killed at devastating battles throughout history, two hundred would be the more accurate number.
For a wolf pack, this was not an exceptionally large number. South Korea had three big wolf packs, according to Chanyeol’s knowledge, and one of them was rumoured to have at least double the amount of members. As for the biggest one known? Russia, apparently, rumoured to have a pack consisting out of no less than a thousand members.
There were also smaller wolf packs, but they were in the vast minority compared to the large ones. The only way to create a new pack is for one to become an omega and start a new pack from one’s offspring. Wolves, being herd animals, however, rarely left their pack, the only frequent recurring exception being when one found their mate in another pack. This would cause a non-wolf member of the pack to move to the wolf’s pack, and if both were wolves, the one with the smallest pack would move to the bigger pack.
To manage such large groups, most alpha’s opted for having their own advisory board or council, much like mundane politics. Every six years, adult members of Chanyeol’s pack could vote on who they preferred to be on the board, the only difference being that there was no political war nor contestants or advertisement to endorse people. People just chose who they deemed fit for the position. Last time, it had caused Chanyeol headaches, not knowing if he’d vote for his mom or his dad. Unable to make a decision, he ended up flipping a coin when he was in front of the ballot and to his luck, both his parents made it onto the board.
The lucky one, or maybe unfortunate one, - Chanyeol could never tell if it was a blessing-, to be the alpha of their enormous group? Joonmyeon’s father Kim Yongha. He had become their alpha after killing their previous one, a result of a policy which stated that alpha’s should be killed when they reach the age of eighty. Enough reasons not to sign up for becoming the next himself, Chanyeol thought as he tried to squirm himself through the huge amount of inhabitants with a can of beer at hand, looking for his friends. Thanks to his wolf abilities, he had found them quickly.
“We saved you a seat”, Jongin patted on the square straw bale next to him. As usual, it was the young adults that secured the spots to sit on. Chanyeol plopped down on the bale, taking another sip from his drink.
“You’re late. You were calling (y/n)?”. Minseok, who was sitting behind him on the straw bale, hovered his head between Jongin and Chanyeol’s shoulder.
“I’m not late. It hasn’t even started yet”.
“You’re avoiding the question. How is the absence sickness?” Minseok asked instead.
“Slight headaches in the morning but we’re making up for that tomorrow”, Chanyeol tried to stay cool about it. He wasn’t going to tell them how he would sneak (y/n) into places she was not supposed to be at, at College, for make-out sessions. His friends were well aware of their Lecture-Student relationship and providing them with such details would just feed their dirty imaginations. Chanyeol knew some of them could not help but think of their statuses as some sort of fetish in the bedroom.
“Oooooooh. Huge fireworks tomorrow night”, Jongin laughed and Chanyeol gave him a dead glare, remembering how he still had to kill Baekhyun for timing the festival’s fireworks to the minute he found ‘his release’. He turned to look behind him, finding Baekhyun playing a game of cards with Kyungsoo, then back in front of him to the wolf pack. Maybe now was not the right time to do so
“Your parents really didn’t tell you anything?” Minseok figured it’d be best to switch subjects.
“They didn’t”, Chanyeol shook his head, sipping from the can once more and looking in front of him to the huge crowd that had gathered.
“That’s curious. Your parents tell you everything”, Jongin pointed out.
“We don’t have a witch in the family to do privacy spells and with an entire town full of supernatural hearing wolves who could pass by our house and overhear everything, that can mean only one of two things. Either they’ve got no clue what’s going on, or something bad is happening”, Chanyeol said, assuming that if his parents withheld information from him, it’d be not to cause panic in the entire town.
“I guess we’re ought to find out now, aren’t we?” Minseok nodded. “This is what the meeting’s for, right?”
“I guess. I don’t see why else”, Jongin agreed.
From the looks of it, their group was not the only one who had been left guessing on what the fuzz was about. Many of the pack members seemed confused, turning the entire event in a bring-your-own-booze festivity. Some believed that this assembly meant exceptionally good news, reason enough to start the party early and drink away, whilst others suspected bad news, also reason enough to get a head start on the alcohol. Compared to others, Chanyeol conveyed the impression of a good boy with his plain beer.
Although it was not in Chanyeol’s hearing focus, he noticed immediately the sound of a candle that was blown out, hinting the board had finished their private pre-discussion. He was not the only one, as everyone suddenly fell silent and turned their heads into the direction of the board members that marched inside the barn, the alpha in their middle.
The board members spread to stand with their families, Chanyeol’s dad joining Yoora. His mom did not seem to be present. Maybe she’s on babysit-duty, Chanyeol thought. Their alpha, Joonmyeon’s dad, however, secured a place in the middle of the barn.
“May I have your attention please”, he broke the silence and raised his voice so that even non-wolf pack members could hear him clearly. Chanyeol could barely see Yongha as he did not stand on a platform or foundation to stick out from the crowd. “First of all, I’d like to express my extreme gratitude for everyone who without doubt had other important matters to attend to and had to abandon those responsibilities in order to join us for this emergency announcement”. Damn, he always blows things up as if we all live extremely busy lives. I was just calling (y/n), Chanyeol thought. Loosen up, alpha.
“As many of you have gathered, this meeting covers our official statement concerning all the reports of strange mundane behaviour, we have been fortunate to receive from many of you”. You make it sound like it’s a good thing, Chanyeol remembered how he first informed his parents of the bizarre demeanours.
“I, your alpha, and the board would like to express our apologies for the investigation to have taken so long since it was not a frivolous matter to investigate as we have done many in the past. You see… it appears that our town, our inhabitants, we, you, are being watched. We are being observed by none other than the South Korean government as a result of an unresolved incident that took place mid-August. I, and the board, we fear we have been discovered as wolves and that we are being threatened to be either massacred or turned into living experiments”. High-pitched deep inhales could be heard from mainly women, fright striking them. Human mates clung onto their wolf partners in search for protection. In Chanyeol’s group of friends, calmness remained. They knew their alpha would not provide them this information without offering a solution.
“From the information we have been able to gather, the government is checking with the army to invade our town. We have examined our options and concluded that moving our entire pack is not one of them. Finding a new home will not settle the issue and neither will many of you be willing to leave behind all the memories that have been created here. This town is too precious to all of us. This is our home”, people nodded in agreement. “We have contacted our ally-packs to request help in resolving this matter and following the code, there will be no blood-shed. We are kind-hearted and we are proud of that. We will not harm any South Korean citizen, even if they pose a threat to us, just because they have been requested to carry out a task. Is that clear?”
“Clear”, all wolves shouted in unison. Some Yes’s could be heard, uttered by the human mates who had no idea how to respond to the alpha. Despite being threatened, there was a gargantuan feeling of solidarity.
“We are no vampires or sirens, but for now a massive human brainwash is our only option. Starting tomorrow we will be providing temporary housing for witches from other packs and together with our witches, we are certain that we will find a human way for them to forget everything they know. In addition to this, the board has decided to implement some additional rules for you to follow until a vast plan of action is decided. Note that these rules apply with immediate effect. Rule number one. No-one, no single exception, will take on their wolf-form until further notice. Not in our town, not in our woods, nowhere! Remember that you could be followed as an individual”. We can hear when they’re nearby, Chanyeol thought, but was immediately shook when the alpha raised his voice as if it was aimed at his thoughts. “NO EXCUSES. Equal goes for the witches under us. No magical activities shall take place without permission of the board”.
“Second rule. Nobody leaves town without permission. Right now we have no estimation on when they are planning to invade our town and we want to make sure that when they do, we are at our strongest, should we have no concrete plan of action yet. For that, we need everyone present. We are betting our luck that they have not figured out the majority of our abilities and the presence of witches and we will most certainly make use of that advantage in case of need. The only approved exception for now, concerns our children who may leave for school in groups. As customary, a bus will leave in the morning to drop the children at school and will pick them up. University students, employees and self-employed adults stay here. For those in need of proof of illness, Doctor Oh will help you with that”.
Chanyeol’s eyes widened. He was not allowed to leave town anymore? He was not allowed to go to College for his lectures? He was not allowed to go see his mate?! No, they had to make an exception for him. He would become useless if he couldn’t see his mate. He’d get absence sickness. They would understand that he couldn’t ask a human mate to move in with him after a few weeks, right?! How was he supposed to explain to his mate that he was fit enough to see her in his town, but not to lecture?
“Additional questions?” Yongha shouted.
“What was the incident?” Chanyeol recognized Jaemin, one of the wolf students he had over the summer, his father speak up. “The incident… you mentioned it was caused by an unresolved incident”, he swallowed deeply, fearing he was not allowed to ask that question. Yongha sighed, emotional pain visible in his eyes.
“It was a wolf… A wolf who killed a twenty-two-year-old male college student in our woods”, he responded, not raising his voice anymore. He was in deep thoughts with the boy and his family. “Apparently, similar incidents have happened across Seoul since that day. Many… serial killers… make their first victim close to home and that’s why they chose to keep a close eye on us. Most probably, we are falsely being accused for murder”.
Grief covered the entire barn. One would think that in a supernatural world, homicide was a regular occurring thing. Part of that may be true, but this did not apply for wolf packs. Wolves were love-hung, kind-hearted, compassionate creatures. To them, murder was unforgivably horrendous and happened scarcely ever, which only raised more questions as to which rogue wolf would turn serial killer.
“You boys stay in the Main mansion”, Chanyeol’s father was suddenly standing next to him and his friends. “We don’t want an empty house for them to prepare their last ammunition or… whatever. I imagine you’re all going to spend a lot of time together anyways, with the town-arrest. You might as well live together. Better make a party of it, but don’t get drunk”
“You sound like we’re counting our last days, Papa Chanyeol”, Yixing pointed out. “What’s the use of partying if we can’t get drunk?”
“You can have fun without. Besides, I don’t want to see you drunk. You already look like you’re on weed half of the time; I don’t want to see the combo”.
“If I thought you did, I wouldn’t have mentioned it so casually. Relax”. Chanyeol’s dad then turned to his son, who had become exceptionally quiet. “Hey, what’s wrong? We’re going to get through this, promise”, he flashed his son a small smile.
Chanyeol sighed deeply. “The plan isn’t remarkably promising, is it?” His dad took a seat next to his son on the straw bale, giving him a few pats on his back.
“There are still many things to sort out first, with the arrival of other pack’s witches”, his father nodded. “I know that’s not reassuring but our pack has survived worse throughout history. You read our history books, you should know. Besides, they’ve been watching us for weeks already. I’m certain we’ll have a waterproof plan before they invade. What happened to my ever so optimistic Chanyeol?”
“It’s just a really bad timing”, Chanyeol traced his fingers through his hair, then scratched his jaw nervously.
“If there’s anything I can do for you”, his dad gave him a few more pats on the back.
“Dad”, Chanyeol looked up to face his dad for the first time, his eyes twinkling in a begging sadness. “I need an allowance to go to college. You can give me that, right?”, he asked. His dad was going to give him at least that much, right? Considering his situation.
“Son, you know I’m really proud of you? You’ve grown up a lot and you feel responsible to teach those bachelor students, but you don’t have to feel guilty about this. Just stay home”.
“Pa, you don’t understand-”,
“Of course I do. Your mom and I are closing our businesses as well. It’s just temporary. You can work on your thesis instead and like that, your time won’t go-”
“No no no, dad”, Chanyeol cut him off, slightly panicking and shaking his hands in front of him to show his disagreement. “You really don’t understand. I need…”, he felt a bit shy to say it and lowered his head to watch the straw-covered floor. “I need… skinship”, his heart skipped a beat when he uttered the last word.
“You need what?”, his dad raised an eyebrow. He had never heard of the term before. Despite being a cool dad, engaging in music and having his own bar, he was not up to date on the present-day slang words used by the youthful adults.
“You know…”, Chanyeol exhaled deeply, having to go in detail. “Touching… kissing- I have a mate!”, he blurted it out. Although it had been no secret to his friends, the friends of his friends and his sister, his parents had no clue on the recent developments in Chanyeol’s love life.
“You found your mate?” Chanyeol’s dad’s face lit up, excited. “Why haven’t I met her yet? She works at your college?” He bombarded his son with questions. “Why didn’t you tell us? What’s her name? What’s she like? How far-”
“Dad!” Chanyeol interrupted him, stomping his feet. “Stop! She’s one of my students, alright?” Chanyeol’s frustration had caused not only his friends, but also some of the people standing in the barn, to shift their focus onto him. Great, just great, Chanyeol thought. Now everyone knows I’m screwing one of my students. Could this day get any worse?
“Eh”, his dad wasn’t sure what to respond. “Well…”, he looked around discovering various eyes on him, awaiting his response, and concluded he had to handle the situation as mature as possible. “That’s… unfortunate”.
Oh, really? Chanyeol judged his father’s observation and was boiling inside as a result from all the unwanted attention he was getting. On the outside, he tried to remain calm as his father contemplated on what to say.
“I admit I’m not a fan of those kind or relationships, but if she’s your mate, I have no doubt that what you’re both feeling is pure and I fully support you”.
“My husband was married when I was hired by his pregnant wife as their cleaning lady and at first, we had an affair for-”, an elder woman started telling her unfortunate wolf love-story to the people around her, causing others to turn their heads into another direction.
“Alright Grandma. Everyone knows that story”, her granddaughter interrupted her and tried to calm her down. Chanyeol chuckled. He wasn’t the only one who had overstepped boundaries.
“Listen, son, I’m not the one who can grant you permission to leave town, only Yongha can. I’ll need some details on how advanced your relationship with this girl is but we’ll do that at home, ok?”
__
Chanyeol was being Chanyeol. There was no other way to explain or bring into words the idiocy of the situation. When he was in his element, he did not hold back the dork within him. He was the type to get over-excited over the most foolish things and go all-in whenever an opportunity rose for him to act like a buffoon. He should’ve worked in the entertainment industry.
Chanyeol was testing one of the solutions he had come up with to handle the attractiveness-problem. He knew the solution he was to test first, was going to flunk terribly, but he still wanted to see how far he could go with his stupidity for (y/n) to handle. Quite frankly, he needed this. He needed this to take his mind off his other problems. Whilst the witches were searching for a solution to the army-threat and he was waiting for permission to leave town, life went on, and he still had some conquering to do. He had to get his girl to become as comfortable as possible with him before he’d break to her about being a wolf.
The ceiling of his room was decorated with a bunch of helium-filled balloons in an expanded diversity of colours, one of his new preferred objects; the green ones being his absolute favourite. Dressed in nothing less than a ridiculous white-pink rabbit-onesie, (y/n) stared at him with mouth agape as she watched him jump up to try and catch hold of one of the wires that hung loose from the balloons.
“And you also said my voice was too attractive”, Chanyeol grinned and untangled the wire from the balloon he had caught, guiding the mouthpiece to his lips and inhaling deeply from the inflated material. “So, Otto Loewi”, he sounded like a chipmunk. (y/n) let herself fall onto her back, on the bed, from laughter. Her tears were evident in her eyes. She hit Chanyeol’s giant Rilakkuma several times with her palm, unable to restrain herself from rolling in the aisles. When she finally started to regain her composure, Chanyeol inhaled from the balloon once more.
“He won the Nobel prize for his frog experiment that-”, he couldn’t finish his sentence before he found his girlfriend bursting into laughter again, holding onto Rilakkuma for support to stay seated.
“Grant the frog some attention, princess”, Chanyeol said in his normal voice after (y/n) stopped snorting, leaning his hand on his hip impatiently but looking amused himself.
“I thought you were a bunny, not a frog”, (y/n) wiped away her tears.
“Oh no, I am a frog”, Chanyeol inhaled what was left of helium in the balloon. He then crouched down, his hands flat on the floor between his knees, pretending to be one. “Kiss me, princess”.
“Ieuw yuk”, (y/n) giggled.
“Kiss me kiss me kiss me”, Chanyeol demanded, still in his high-pitched helium voice, puckering his lips and closing his eyes.
“No, gross!” He had a cushion thrown to his head.
“If the princess doesn’t kiss the frog, how can he ever turn in a prince huh?” Chanyeol pouted, back with his normal, deep voice.
“Never!”
“I guess the frog will have to take the initiative then”, Chanyeol jumped towards (y/n) in his frog posture. When he reached the bed, (y/n) jumped off it quickly, trying to run. A one-minute chase later however, Chanyeol had managed to corner her, locking her in against a wall, sitting down.
(y/n) pretended as if she found him disgusting as his lips got closer to hers, pinching her eyes fearful and trying to pull away further against the wall. Chanyeol gave her a slow kiss, lingering onto her lips for a few seconds before he pulled away and she opened her eyes.
“Ya! Why are you still a frog?”, she played along and raised her voice at him, finding him in his frog position still.
“Because it’s you who has to do it!”, Chanyeol defended. “Come on, it wasn’t that bad, was it? Just kiss me already”. Still acting as if she was disgusted by the frog, (y/n) gave him a hasty peck.
“See. You’re still a frog! Hopeless case! You’re just a frog”, she complained.
“Aren’t you the most impatient princess ever? Magic takes time! It won’t work with such a quick kiss. Do it properly!” (y/n) eyed Chanyeol out of disbelief. He could imagine her thoughts. How was this her lecturer? How was this her boyfriend? Nevertheless, a few seconds later she complied and leaned in, swinging her arms around his shoulders to pull him closer for a deep, sweet kiss. She can definitely handle the idiot within me, Chanyeol thought, no, she loves the idiot within me. He leaned forward so his knees sank to the ground as she kissed him, transforming from a frog into a prince.
“Where’s my prince? All I see is a man-child”, (y/n) pouted.
“What?” Chanyeol’s eyes grew wide. “You don’t like me?”
“Give me back the frog. I liked him better”.
“Ya! You’re really a rude princess!” Chanyeol shouted at (y/n). There was a short moment of silence before (y/n) finally spoke, sticking her lip out.
“How is it that I find this bunny-with-a-chipmunk-voice-pretending-to-be-frog person so charming?” The comment made Chanyeol’s face lit up.
“Because you like meeeeeeee!” He sang happily.
__
(y/n)’s nails pinched into Chanyeol’s back as she held on to him closely, her heavy breaths aligned perfectly to Chanyeol’s movements. With the same frequency, his mind flooded with the thoughts of how much he loved this girl he was being intimate with, how he wanted to be even closer to her. He sank his lips to her neck, planting kisses at her most sensitive spots which caused some moans to escape from (y/n)’s lips.
Getting a kick out of (y/n)’s sonority, Chanyeol continued leaving pecks in her neck when all of a sudden, he felt an excruciating pain in his mouth. His wolf fangs were forcing their way out beyond the bounds of his will. He had the begrudging need to mark her as his mate and tried to force his fangs back in but the more he tried, the more his body retaliated. He felt his chartreuse yellow eyes rise to the surface, too and he knew he would not be able to hold back if he didn’t get out of bed soon.
“Sorry”, Chanyeol quickly shot up from the bed and ran towards the bathroom, smacking the door closed with a loud bang after he entered. Hastily, he locked the door, switched on the lights and observed himself in the mirror. His fangs had come out completely. Touching one gently with his index finger, he tried to use his wolf-powers to suck them back in, without result.
He let the tab water run, splashing some of the cold water in his face in hopes of his wolf eyes and canine teeth disappearing, but nothing he did have any effect.
“Chanyeol, are you ok?” he heard (y/n) knocking silently on the door, concerned.
“I-” He tried to think of an excuse. “Eh- I’ve got something in my eye. It stings”, he made up through his fangs.
“I can have a look. Maybe there’s something in it”, (y/n) offered but Chanyeol was quick to refuse her help.
“No, it’s ok. I get this more often”, he lied.
“You should let a doctor check that. Wash it out with some water”, she advised him.
“Yeah I will. You go back to bed already, I’ll join you once I’m done”, Chanyeol assured her.
“Oh, ok”. He heard she was disappointed for not being allowed to help whilst she strolled back to the bed.
__
Chanyeol opened the door to Soo’s coffee House, gesturing for (y/n) to walk inside first as he held the door open for her. He was in real gentleman mode today, contradictory to his squirrelly behaviour of the night before. It was a tee bit of an interesting paradox as to which Chanyeol would surface for his girlfriend. Sometimes it’d be the dorky one, mostly the sweet one, but either were equally adorable and lovable and he never failed to make his girl smile when he was around.
(y/n) stood still in the opening, waiting for Chanyeol to follow her inside and guide her further as she admired the place’s interior. Brick walls, fireplace, dark wooden tables and chairs, Bordeaux and beige couches. It screamed the perception of being home. No wonder Chanyeol promised it to be one of the most interesting places in town. He had just given her a tour around town, a two hour walk, Soo’s coffee house being the final stop.
They weren’t the only customers. In a corner close to the bar, an elder man was sitting. Spread at the table section, there were a few others enjoying their coffee, each of them entirely alone. With everything that was going on, many had to take some time to clear their thoughts, Chanyeol thought.
He slid his hand to hold (y/n)’s waist, guiding her towards a Bordeaux couch at the fireplace. As they both took a seat, Chanyeol quickly grasped something what looked like a thick but not too heavy medieval book from the coffee table in front of them.
“Ladies first”, he handed it over to (y/n) who kindly took it from Chanyeol’s hands and stared at the cover before opening it. It was made out of leather and had an old flap binding. From the sides, you could spot that if not real, the parchment inside was an exact replica of the animal membrane. “It’s the menu”, Chanyeol explained. “The first four pages are the menu and all the rest are, or used to be blank pages in which people can write with those feathers”, he pointed back at the coffee table that had three small jars of ink and two feather quill pens, one with a white feather and one with a Persian blue feather.
Curious, (y/n) opened the book in the middle and flipped through the pages, looking for the last piece of text someone left. To her surprise however, the writings were spread throughout the entire book, leaving open pages in between. “Ah yes, people write on random pages so you can’t tell which one someone wrote. They’re scared someone would check after them”, Chanyeol leaned over her shoulder to read along.
“She seems scared”, (y/n) said, hazarding a wild guess that the note she landed on was written by a female. The handwriting was very neat and elegant.
“It’s part of the concept. You can come in here and write your thoughts. If you’re scared, if you’re depressed or frustrated. Seldom, you will find a happy writing in those books. Most people use metaphors throughout their entire writing so people can’t tell what’s really going on but when you read through them, you can feel the emotion and you know you’re not alone. If there’s one coffee house where you’re not judged for coming in alone, it’s this one”, Chanyeol said.
“You wrote in these books too?”, (y/n) asked, lifting her head to the ceilings as she noticed that there was also very relaxing and lyricless music playing in the background.
“Sure. In several of them. Maybe one day you can tell which one is my handwriting and you can hunt through all the books looking for my entries, hmm?” He didn’t mind that much. Before she was going to be able to tell which one was his, he’d have a stable relationship with her without wolf-secrets. Part of him hoped that one day, she’d read his memo’s about his worries concerning her and she’d fall in love with him all over again.
“I like this place. I’m going to come here more often”, (y/n) flipped to the first pages and scanned the menu. “I think I’m going to go for the milk-tea-flavoured bubble tea”, she nodded after going through the options again.
“No coffee?”, Chanyeol frowned. “Kyungsoo has the best coffee you’ve ever ta-”
“And I believe you”, (y/n) stopped him. “But I’m a tea person”, she flashed a smile at him.
“Please tell me you’re not like my friend Sehun who’s obsessed with bubble tea”, Chanyeol pouted.
“Haha, no”. Chanyeol got up from the couch.
“I’ll go make the order. Also part of the concept… My friend Kyungsoo doesn’t want to disturb anyone so if you need anything, you have to go to the bar. Be back in a jiffy, ok?” he asked and (y/n) nodded.
“Double espresso with little milk, no sugar and a milk-tea-flavoured bubble tea?” Kyungsoo asked when Chanyeol arrived at the bar. He was a regular customer and Kyungsoo knew by heart his order. As for (y/n)’s, he heard using his wolf abilities.
“Exactly”, Chanyeol leaned his elbows on the bar, waiting patiently.
“She’s cute. Wish we got to spend some time together to get to know her, too”, Kyungsoo started working on the bubble tea.
“I’m waiting to meet Miss. D.O. as well. When is she coming along?”
“I don’t know. Five years from now?”
“Let’s hope not”, Chanyeol turned his head back to steal a glance at (y/n) who had started making her very own first entry in one of the menu’s. “Hey, would you happen to know what factor activates the involuntary need to mark one’s mate?” he then asked.
“I’m not sure. Why?” Kyungsoo poured syrup on the black boiled tapioca pearls. “Wait”, he realised and put down the syrup. “Are you there already? Was that what I heard yesterday? When she was asking if you were alright?”
“This growing onto your human mate thing is becoming difficult. First she’s my student, second I meet her during mating season and now I can barely touch her without feeling the need to mark her. Someone up there must be finding a lot of joy in giving me a hard time”, Chanyeol sighed.
“I’m convinced that’s not the case”, Kyungsoo consoled him. “I’d switch places with you pronto to have my mate”, he explained. “Anyhow, I think it has to do something with the mate herself. My mom always told me that when this happened to dad, she was ready to be marked and wanted to be marked. I’m not sure it’s the same for human mates. It rarely happens for them”.
“I haven’t even explained mine the concept of marking, how would she be ready for it?”
“It’s possible if she’s deeply in love with you”, Chanyeol heard a man sitting in a corner whisper. The grey-haired, older wolf had been eavesdropping on them. “Maybe you should consider telling her that you’re a wolf. I’m certain she can take it”, he kept reading his newspaper as if he wasn’t talking.
“How is it that I’ve known from the start this moment would arrive and I haven’t spared a single second to think about how I’m going to tell her?” Chanyeol cursed himself and ran his hand through his hair.
“One piece of advice”, the older man whispered back. “Don’t transform in front of her. Not until she has gotten used to the idea of you being a wolf. You can show off your eyes but don’t turn completely until she’s gotten comfortable with the idea. For humans, it’s a scary experience at first”. Not that transforming was allowed at the moment, Chanyeol thought. Nevertheless, it was good advice to begin with.
“You know what they say, Chanyeol”, Kyungsoo encouraged him. “If you’re destined mates, you will find the perfect way to convey the message”, he shoved the bubble tea and coffee to Chanyeol. “There you go”.
“Thanks”. Chanyeol turned around and looked at the old man with his newspaper, whispering another thanks to him as well, resuming his walk back to the Bordeaux couch where (y/n) was sitting.
“Here you go”, he handed the bubble tea over to her and she gave him a quick kiss to thank him. She placed the menu back on the coffee table.
“The ink dries fast”, she pointed out. Yeah, because the witches spelled all the goddamn books, Chanyeol remembered.
“Lucky you. Wait until I’m sitting here to correct your exam papers. I’ll find your entry straightaway”, he scoffed.
“There’s no name on those, only student numbers”, (y/n) reminded him. “Anti-discrimination policy”.
“What makes you think I don’t know yours by heart?”, he teased back.
“You’re not being fair!”, her tone sounded disappointed but she smiled. “You weren’t planning on giving me straight A’s were you? If I deserve an F, I want an F”.
“I swear I wasn’t. And why would you think you’re going to fail? This girl… You complained you couldn’t pay attention to my teaching and when I came up with a working solution, it appeared you had studied by yourself last Thursday evening. You don’t even need to come to my lectures…” Chanyeol made a long face.
(y/n) placed her bubble tea on the coffee table and turned ninety degrees so she could lay with her head in Chanyeol’s lap. “I wouldn’t want to miss those for the world”, she assured him. Chanyeol held on to one of her hands, running his thumb in circles over her hand’s back.
“I don’t want to go home”, she suddenly wailed. “I want to stay here with you”, she nestled her head against Chanyeol’s abs.
“It’s already close to noon. Your mom is going to get worried”, Chanyeol didn’t like the idea of parting ways either but tried to stay rational. In his town, their relationship was well known, but outside, it had to stay a huge secret. She couldn’t go home and tell she had found herself a boyfriend.
“She doesn’t get worried, only angry”, (y/n) corrected him. Chanyeol looked down at his girlfriend with her head resting on his thighs, her eyes closed. She was snuggling close to him as if she was looking for comfort from experiencing a nightmare.
“Hey”, Chanyeol asked silently. “Your mom… You mentioned she was very strict. She-”, he paused a second, scared to ask. “She doesn’t beat you up, does she?” (y/n)’s eyes shot open and she lifted herself from his lap.
“She used to”, she admitted silently, but immediately defended her. “Only a little! And it hasn’t happened in years anymore, I do everything she asks me to!” Chanyeol’s eyes grew wide, staring at her in disbelief. Was she telling him that it was alright?
“This is a serious matter. Why didn’t you tell me before? What would happen if you don’t follow her orders, would she still get physical?” He asked worried.
“I don’t know”, she looked down, not willing to face Chanyeol as she answered.
“Ok, now you’re lying to me”, Chanyeol read her. “Was that why you didn’t pick up last Wednesday? I couldn’t reach you the entire evening. What happened that day?!” He was connecting dots and determined to get to the bottom of it.
“Nothing”, (y/n) responded, slightly panicking. “Like I said, I fell asleep early”.
“Stop feeding me lies”, Chanyeol raised his voice. He was losing control over himself because he was concerned and cared deeply for her.
“Chanyeol, stop. You’re making her uncomfortable. She’s not ready to tell you this”, Chanyeol growled when he heard Kyungsoo whisper those words to him from the bar. “If you keep this up, she’s going to distance herself from you and you’ll both be worse off”.
“I swear, nothing happened. You can check. I’ve got no bruises or cuts or anything”, she stuck out her arms. “You would’ve noticed yesterday”. Chanyeol reminisced about the night before, how he had traced his fingers over her entire skin. She was right. He would have noticed.
“Promise me you’ll come to me when this kind of thing happens”, he begged instead, taking hold of her hands in his.
“Yeol-ah”, she asked with a low voice as her eyes twinkled. “I have to tell you something. Can you promise me you won’t get mad?”
“Of course”, he raised one of her hands to his lips, giving it a kiss.
“My mom wants me to marry Hae-Won”, she confessed. “I know I’m your girlfriend but I have to go on another date with him tonight”. Chanyeol’s mind turned blank. It took him a few seconds to process the information, causing him to lose control over his temper when it finally hit him.
“Hae-Won?! That annoying latecomer who hangs around you the entire time during my lectures?”, Chanyeol’s voice rose through the roof again.
“Chanyeol! You promised not to get mad”, (y/n) pouted. “It’s just to meet in the middle. That way my mom stays happy and I can still sneak out to see you without her getting suspicious”.
“You’re saying you have to date him to date me?”, Chanyeol asked, tears bottling up in his eyes.
“I promise you, I’m not marrying him. Not ever. Never ever. I want to be with you”, she held her hand to cup Chanyeol’s cheek.
“You’re asking me to trust you on this, aren’t you?” It hurt him. It hurt him badly that she was asking him for permission to do so and that she was driving him to say it was ok, even though it’d be against his will.
“Please? Things are complicated enough already. Just for now”, she implored. Chanyeol leaned in to kiss her. He did not want to speak the words she had requested him to, so he decided to grant her his promise with the touch of his lips.
“I hate your mom”, he said as he pulled away.
“So do I”, (y/n) climbed over him to sit on his lap, throwing her arms to hold his neck and pull him in for another desperate kiss.
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Chanyeol’s big paws ran over the forest terrain, hard ground, dried leaves and log roots at an incredible high speed. He was not conserving his energy, reaching his top speed. Like his human form, he was also slightly taller than others in his wolf form. He was a grey wolf, one of few who had the same shade of fur as the name carried; soft, warm, dense, fluffy and grey. He had a broad snout, narrow chest but a longer tail that swung behind him with every movement of his build, together with dainty, small and slightly triangular ears. Needless to say, he looked graceful.
Whilst he ran, he kept his head at the same level as his back, looking in front of him with his sparkling, chartreuse eyes that distinguished him from non-magical grey wolves. The moonlight reflected on his fur and his wolf-irises made it possible for him to identify and jump over every hindrance that came his way.
He was breaking the entire set of new rules that had been set up by his alpha at once. Running in his wolf-form, having left town. He had pondered for a long time before deciding to do so, but after crying intensely for hours, he decided to take his chances to blow off some steam.
It was becoming too much for him to administer. A threat to his town and pack, his girlfriend that was facing an arranged marriage, the possibility he wasn’t allowed to go to College and see her, him not being able to get too intimate with her anymore due to unwillingly having the need to mark her and the pressure of finding a way to confess to her that he was in fact, a wolf. How did it progress to this?
Chanyeol stopped running when he reached the edge of a cliff that provided him with a beautiful scenery of Seoul at night. His mouth slightly agape, his tongue stuck out a little, teeth becoming apparent as he breathed heavily from the effort. It had been a while since he had run that fast, yearning to run away from his problems even if it were just temporary and literally.
After recovering from the pressing lack of air, he jerked his head up to face the sky and let out a long loud howl, increasing his pitch gradually until he had raised close to an entire octave from his initial mournful note. With every centilitre of air that escaped from his lungs past his oesophagus, relief washed over him and soon he found himself panting for air once more.
If it hadn’t been for the sudden cracking sonance of leaves behind him, he would’ve never considered the possibility he wasn’t alone. Alarming, he turned around into the direction of the sound, panicking as he sought the source. How could it have been so close? He should’ve heard something earlier. He should be able to smell its presence. All his senses were failing him. He ran his eyes through the tree trunks, back and forth. His heart started to race and his breathing became unstable. What was happening? Why could he not trace the sound again?
Golden. Bright golden. Bright, golden eyes suddenly met his from afar, holding his stare. It was puncturing, sucking out his soul with every passing second and Chanyeol realised, he had to run if he cherished his life and wanted to live to see tomorrow.
In a matter of nanoseconds, he turned around and sped out of the woods, looking behind him in fear of the golden eyes chasing him down. For unknown reasons, the golden eyes stayed put, not moving an inch but Chanyeol still had the tendency to run with the want to stay alive, scratching his body against a tree by accident as he ran out of the forest without being careful.
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“I know who killed the boy!”, Chanyeol ran inside the Main mansion, his mother, father and alpha standing in the living room. They had been waiting for him to provide him with the results of their discussion on his permission to leave town, only to find out that he wasn’t there. Waiting along with them were his friends and his sister, who had been worried something had happened to their dearest friend or brother.
“Chanyeol!” His mom ran towards him and embraced him, relieved he was ok. Glad he was still alive himself, Chanyeol hugged his mom back whilst he leaned his chin upon her shoulder to face the others.
“The golden eyed, they’re in town”, Chanyeol looked up at Yongha. “They kill”, he said, still petrified from what he had just experienced. Confused, his mom let go of him and shot a terror-stricken stare at her son.
“No. That’s impossible” Yongha said headstrong and shook his head. “Impossible!” he suddenly yelled as he repeated the word.
“I saw one. With my own eyes. They’re here. In Seoul”, he said between breaths. “It explains everything”.
“Young Mee”, Yongha ordered Chanyeol’s mother. “Get the board witch”, he did not let go of his stare that was pointed at Chanyeol. “NOW!” He yelled.
Chanyeol’s mother left the mansion hurriedly, following the alpha’s instructions. Aside from Kyungsoo, Joonmyeon and Yoora, the rest of his friends were baffled by what was happening. They seemed to have no idea as to what was going on.
“You went out of town and you turned, didn’t you?” Yongha asked with a strong voice. Instantaneously, Chanyeol got on his knees and bowed deeply for his alpha, admitting his wrongdoing and apologizing. He let out a soft squeal as he did, feeling the cuts on his lower abdomen stretch open.
“Hmmmph”, Yongha huffed. “I refuse your request to leave town. Consider it your punishment. When your mother arrives with the board witch I expect you to wait for us in the integration room for investigation”.
“Yes, sir”, Chanyeol tried to hold back his tears, thinking of (y/n). Why had he been so stupid to break all the new rules at once?
“Who are the Golden eyed?” Jongdae whispered to Joonmyeon curiously.
“It’s the Flaithius family’s wolf pack”, Joonmyeon explained.
“Who are they?” Baekhyun joined the conversation.
“The most powerful wolf-family line in existence”.
“Why’s that?” Everyone’s attention was on Joonmyeon. He looked up at his father who gave him the approval to explain it to the guys as they already knew too much anyways.
“Because they found a way to defy freaking nature”.
-> Part 5
Author’s note: Wow, am I glad this chapter is finally finished. Sorry for the long wait and I hope you like it because now it all seems a huge mess but I swear it’ll all make sense as the story develops further :( Pinky promise! Also, I need Soo’s Coffee House in my life. Desperately!
