Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They’re on a routine supply run – one they have done many times before – so they shouldn’t run into any problems tonight. But Chanyeol’s luck quickly changes when he hears the sound of Jongin howling, and he pauses in the middle of the empty street, listening intently. The only reason to call for his attention is if one of them runs into vampires. Hearing Sehun growling soon after kicks Chanyeol into action, and by the time he catches up to his packmates, it’s to see a couple of vampires walking down the street toward them.

He calls out to the wolves and they are by his side in a second, taking a defensive stance on either side of him, the supplies they had gathered lay forgotten on the ground. The vampires in front of them do the same, straightening up and standing closer together, one slightly in front of the other, protective. They are both relatively the same height with a similar small build, but the sworn enemies of the wolves are not to be underestimated no matter how unimposing they seem.

Chanyeol has never seen these particular vampires before, doesn’t know what they’re capable of, but somehow he senses that there is something different about them. They’re almost like the wolves, they look scared, as if they’re not looking for a fight either.

Chanyeol knows that Jongin and Sehun would have his back, but he always waits until the vampires make the first move. And these vampires look like they’d rather feed on rats for the rest of their lives than be the ones to strike first. Chanyeol goes with what his gut tells him and takes a chance, taking a step back. His wolves follow, putting even more distance in between them and the vampires.

“What are you doing?” Jongin hisses, his eyes never once leaving their enemies. He doesn’t trust them and Chanyeol doesn’t blame him. They’ve all lost loved ones in the war against the vampires.

“We have them outnumbered,” Chanyeol replies quietly, cautious of being overheard. “They’re not going to attack us.” He hopes.

“They’ll just come back with reinforcements,” Sehun whispers. “Then we’ll be the ones that are outnumbered.”

“They won’t,” Chanyeol says, even if he’s not entirely sure that Sehun is wrong. Vampires may be faster, but wolves are a hell of a lot stronger; it’ll take more than a few of them to talk a wolf down. They should be fine as long as they can make it back to the forest before they’re followed.

So far, so good. The vampires haven’t moved a muscle, Chanyeol isn’t even sure if they’re blinking. And when Chanyeol gets to the end of the street, right where they need to turn their backs on the vampires, the wind picks up. Chanyeol sees the vampires’ hair sway and the wind carries the scent through the air, all the way to Chanyeol’s nose. He freezes, and beside him, Jongin and Sehun do the same.

“What is it?” Sehun asks.

“N-nothing,” Chanyeol replies, because he’s not sure how well it’d go over with his packmates if he told them that one of those vampires smells better to him than any wolf ever has. “Let’s get out of here. Go.”

Chanyeol waits until Sehun and Jongin have already started running in the direction of their den. With one last glance over his shoulder at the vampires, he takes off after them. Because if he stays any longer, he might be tempted to go over there and that is definitely a Very Bad Idea.

Jongdae doesn’t wait for Joonmyun this time. He wants some time alone, needs some fresh air again and he can’t even hear himself think over Joonmyun’s constant nagging. He waits in a dark corner of the mansion until Taemin moves into position, barely wearing anything so he can seduce Jongdae’s body guards. The guards easily fall into Jongdae’s trap, making a quick meal out of the human’s blood. Jongdae can hear Taemin’s quiet moans echo as he makes his way down the hallway towards the back entrance and he’s out the door.

It only takes a moment before he’s out of sight from the coven and into the streets. It’s still a bit crowded since the sun has only just set, but Jongdae doesn’t have to worry about that, easily blending in with the humans. He attracts a few stares from people as they go about their business, but they mostly leave him be. There’s something so relaxing about losing himself in between the humans, where he can pretend he’s still alive and doesn’t have the whole weight of a coven and a raging war on his small shoulders.

Out here, he is nothing more than a stranger, not a vampire, not a prince. Out here, he doesn’t have the pressure of someday taking over and ruling the coven, a position that once belonged to his brother, but now falls to Jongdae after Jongdeok’s unfortunate death.

Time flies the more Jongdae walks among the humans, and eventually it’s late enough that the crowds start to thin and he’s left alone in the night. He finds himself in a not-so-familiar part of town, too far away from the coven. Jongdae has been here before, but only once – the other night on a walk with Joonmyun, when they spotted three wolves stalking through the night.

Jongdae’s nearly standing in the same spot he was that night, when Joonmyun stepped in front of him at the sight of their enemies. Tonight the wolves are nowhere to be seen, but somehow Jongdae can still feel them there, sense their lingering hatred and fear.

Jongdae is young enough that he doesn’t know what started a war between the two kinds, and the elders refuse to speak of it. He wonders if the wolves remember why they’ve been fighting for the past several hundred years, or if they have just been taught to hate the vampires. He remembers the look in those wolves’ eyes when they had crossed paths that night. The wolves hadn’t attacked them, but pulled back instead. They left, lived to fight another day.

It was a good call for both sides. Jongdae and Joonmyun are not fighters. In the event of a battle, they both would have lost their undead lives to the wolves.

As Jongdae makes his way over to where the wolves had been that night, and movement in the shadows catches his attention. The beating of a heart takes over the silence of the empty street. It’s too loud to be an animal, too fast to be a human. That could only mean one thing...

A wolf in human form steps out from the darkness, but not just any wolf. It’s one of the wolves from that night, the biggest one, the one in charge. The main alpha, perhaps? He’s tall and broad, thick with muscle. The wolf could easily tear him apart before Jongdae would even know what is happening.

The monster takes a step toward him and Jongdae feels the panic overtake him, paralyzing him where he stands virtually defenceless in the middle of the street. To make matters worse, he’s completely alone, doesn’t stand a chance against this beast. “Please,” he says before he can stop himself, trying to keep the fear that’s creeping over him from showing.

“I won’t attack unless you move against me first,” the wolf tells him in a deep voice, but despite his words he continues to advance on Jongdae.

Jongdae should have brought Joonmyun with him, some guards. Or better yet, he should never have left the coven in the first place. That would look really great for the vampires, the last surviving member of their royal family sneaking out of the mansion to get himself killed by a wolf. Or worse, if they decide to take him alive. There are many secrets Jongdae could tell if they were to torture him. He takes another step away and shudders in fear when his back connects with the brick wall behind him. He’s trapped.

“What are you doing here?” Jongdae asks, attempting to straighten up, stand his ground. Maybe he can trick the wolf into thinking he’s not afraid.

It works, or at least Jongdae thinks it does. The wolf stops with a fair amount of distance still between them. “What are you?” he counters. “Why did you come here alone?”

Shit. “I’m not alone!” Jongdae lies, but the wolf doesn’t seem convinced. Jongdae can hear the rapid beating of his heart, adrenaline pumping as if he’s getting ready for a fight. Jongdae only stands a chance if he can make a run for it. If all else fails he can always outrun a wolf, he may be small but he’s incredibly fast. He just needs to get away without being captured.

“What’s your name?” The wolf asks and Jongdae merely blinks up at him. It’s not what he was expecting to hear. “I’m Chanyeol.”

“Jongdae,” he replies after a moment, not really sure why it’s important for the wolf to know his name, but he’ll do whatever it takes to distract him. If he’s lucky he can slip away before the wolf realizes it.

“Jongdae,” Chanyeol repeats, deep and slowly. And it’s not just fear that Jongdae’s feeling anymore, but something else. Something he can’t put a name to. Maybe it’s just the sound of his heart beating or the intense look in his eyes as he stares Jongdae down.

“I have to go,” Jongdae abruptly tells him and surprisingly Chanyeol doesn’t budge as Jongdae sweeps passed him.

Being too close to Chanyeol, too close to the rapid pulsing of the blood in the wolf’s veins serves as a reminder of just how long it has been since Jongdae last fed. It makes his fangs itch with the need to sink them into something soft and warm. He flees before he’s tempted to take a bite out of a wolf, out of Chanyeol. He’ll send for one of the human pets they keep at the coven and drink until his belly is full and all thoughts of the wolf have been erased from his mind.

Chanyeol had been coming back to this spot for days, as if he is drawn to it. Like the lingering scent of the vampire kept pulling him back. He never thought that he’d ever see the vampire again. Never thought he’d get to see Jongdae again. And now that he knows which one had been giving off the scent, he has a name and a face to blame for why he’s been so distracted lately.

He lets Jongdae go only because he can’t bear to stop him. He wants to keep Jongdae close, but at the same time he wants to get as far away as possible. He shakes the disturbing thoughts from his head. Jongdae is a vampire and Chanyeol is wolf, the only thing he should be thinking about is how to kill him. Take him out and there will be one less vampire for his pack to worry about.

In his wolf form, Chanyeol races back to the forest where his pack lives. He concentrates on nothing but the wind rushing through his fur, the sounds that his paws make against the ground, his heart beating wildly inside his chest. If he thinks about other things, there will be no room in his head for Jongdae.

“You’ve been spacing out a lot,” Kris comments, startling Chanyeol out of this thoughts. He’d been looking up at the wind rushing through the trees and got lost in thoughts about a certain tiny vampire.

“No, I haven't,” Chanyeol replies automatically, despite how obvious the lie is. There isn’t a moment when he can’t get that stupid vampire out of his head and it’s enough to drive him mad. If only he had these kinds of thoughts about a fellow wolf instead. Chanyeol feels like he’s betraying the sacred trust of his own pack.

“You have,” Kris insists, taking a seat next to Chanyeol on the deerskin blanket. “For one thing, it was too easy for me to sneak up on you. I didn’t even have to try.” And when Chanyeol stays silent, he asks, “Is there anything you want to tell me?”

Chanyeol sighs. He can’t possibly burden Kris with his problems. He’ll deal with it on his own. Somehow. Maybe he just needs to finally choose a mate out of the available wolves in his pack. But there is no one that has caught his eye yet. He’ll just have to deal with his need to be around Jongdae until he finds a suitable mate.

“Well, then talk about this,” Kris says in that tone that means trouble. “Our food supplies are getting low again. Are you planning on waiting until we actually run out before we go out for the next hunt?”

“Damn it,” Chanyeol curses. He’s been letting himself get too caught up in his own head that he’s been neglecting the needs of his pack. Some Alpha he’s turning out to be. “Go find Jongin and Sehun. We leave in ten minutes.”

Kris nods at the order, but he doesn’t leave right away.

“Is there something else you wanted to tell me?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kris asks. He knows Kris is asking as his best friend now instead of the pack’s second in command alpha.

“I’m fine,” Chanyeol assures him. He gives Kris the best impression of a smile that he can manage. Kris doesn’t look like he’s buying it. Chanyeol sighs. “I will be.”

Jongin comes to find him right away, while Sehun only shows up right before they’re about to leave. It doesn’t surprise him because he knows how lazy Sehun can be, always choosing the last possible moment to follow through with the orders he’s been given.

Chanyeol leaves instructions with Zitao and a couple other betas to go gather any berries and fruits that they can find near the den. He doesn’t want them wandering too far off without any protection, especially since he’ll be taking the strongest and fastest wolves with him on the hunt.

Once Chanyeol’s satisfied that the pack will be fine for a few hours without them, he leads Kris, Jongin and Sehun into the forest. They’re quieter, faster in wolf form, darting in between the trees as they race each other East, toward the edge of their territory. It’s not long until they reach one of their usual hunting spots. Kris slinks off like he always does, waiting in the shadows until Jongin and Sehun can sniff out their next meal.

Jongin picks up the trail of a buck and they follow his lead through the forest until they reach the stream that flows along the edge of their territory. There are a number of deer in the clearing and Chanyeol nuzzles his face against Jongin’s neck in appreciation for his great find. If all goes well they’ll be able to take down four or five of them and Chanyeol’s pack will be well fed for another week at least.

Chanyeol nudges Jongin and Sehun into action and as soon as they leap into the clearing, the deer take off straight ahead. Chanyeol’s only a second behind them, taking up the rear. Jongin works on keeping the deer together while Sehun’s howling into the night. Once Kris answers back, he steers them in that direction.

They’ve done this a million times, everything is going according to plan. That is, until Sehun gets his foot caught on a root that’s protruding from the ground. He stumbles and lands face first in the dirt. Chanyeol growls in Sehun’s direction but he doesn’t have time to stop because their food is getting away. Now that Sehun’s gone from their right, a couple of the deer have escaped and Chanyeol has to pick up the pace to keep the others from getting away too.

In the end they only manage to catch one deer, and Chanyeol is pissed. They’ll have to go out hunting again later and see if they can sneak up on any deer when they’re sleeping. It’s a lot harder to do though, but his pack needs the food. Chanyeol toys with the idea of not letting Sehun come back to the den until he catches a deer by himself. That would certainly teach him not to screw up on a hunt again.

“Take the buck back to the den,” Chanyeol tells Kris and Jongin. “I’ll go deal with Sehun.”

Except when Chanyeol reaches the spot where he had left Sehun, he’s not expecting to find the wolf in the same position he left him in. “Sehun?” He doesn't even budge, and Chanyeol rushes over to him, the anger from earlier dissipating into worry. Chanyeol carefully lifts Sehun’s head off the ground, brushing the dirt from his cheeks with his thumb. His skin is warm to the touch, much hotter than it should be.

“Sehun?” Chanyeol repeats, gently prodding at Sehun’s shoulder. “Can you hear me?” There’s no movement save for a slight fluttering of eyelids and the shallow rise and fall of Sehun’s chest. “Shit,” he curses, dreading finding out about whatever has practically sucked the life out of the youngest member of the pack.

Chanyeol quickly and easily lifts the unconscious wolf off the ground and cradles him protectively against his chest. He has to hurry back to the den, but with the extra weight and only using two legs, it’ll take a while. Chanyeol just hopes that Sehun will last the journey through the woods.

An hour later and Chanyeol is close enough to be heard when he howls. His pack comes out of the den to greet him, not expecting to see their alpha carrying Sehun in his arms.

“What the hell happened?” Kris demands, not afraid to be the first one to break the silence. “I thought you were going to teach him a lesson, not kick the shit out of him.”

Chanyeol growls, snapping his jaw threateningly in Kris’ direction for daring to insinuate that he had anything to do with Sehun’s current condition. “Fuck you,” he practically hisses. “This wasn’t me. Someone bring me Yixing. Now.” A pair of omegas rush off back toward the den.

“He’s going to be okay, right?” Jongin asks from Chanyeol’s right, nuzzling his cheek against Sehun’s unmoving shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” Chanyeol snaps and Jongin shrinks away, hurt by Chanyeol’s harsh tone. Chanyeol sighs. “He has some sort of fever,” he explains. “It’s best if no one else gets exposed to it. We won’t know if he’ll be okay until we can figure out what’s wrong with him.”

“Let me through,” Yixing’s soft voice comes from behind the crowd gathered around Chanyeol and Sehun. Chanyeol watches as the wolves part to make room for Yixing, the pack’s expert healer. “What happened?” he asks, placing his hand on Sehun’s forehead to check his temperature. “He’s burning up.”

“He was slower than usual earlier,” Chanyeol says, trying to remember every detail about Sehun from earlier. “He tripped in the forest during the hunt, or maybe he just collapsed, I don’t know. When I went back for him... He hadn’t moved an inch from where he fell.”

Yixing hums, gesturing for Chanyeol to bring Sehun back to the den. “He hasn't been eating much today,” Jongin pipes up, and Chanyeol’s thankful he decided to stick around. He spends the most time around Sehun, knows him better than anyone else. “He didn’t get up until around noon and then was napping the rest of the day. Until we needed to go hunt, that is.”

“I see,” Yixing comments as Chanyeol very carefully places Sehun down on the fur blankets spread out on the floor where Yixing sleeps in the den. “Thank you.”

Chanyeol waits around while Yixing asks the pack members to fetch him things for Sehun, water, more blankets, clean rags. Finally, when it’s just the two of them and Sehun, Chanyeol puts his hand on Yixing’s shoulder to get his attention. “You already know what this is, don’t you?” he asks, afraid to know the answer. “Is this what I think it is?”

Yixing covers Chanyeol’s hand with his own, giving it a quick squeeze. “Unfortunately, it’s exactly what you think it is.”

Chanyeol remembers quite clearly, the deadly fever that spread through the pack many years ago when he was just a pup. It took out nearly as many wolves as the war with the vampires did, including Chanyeol’s mother. He hasn’t forgotten how devastating the virus had been and he’ll be damned if he lets it happen again.

“There’s a cure for it though,” Chanyeol says. “I survived it and others did too.”

“Yes,” Yixing agrees, busying himself with tending to Sehun. “The cure is quite easy to produce, once I have all the ingredients.”

“Okay, tell the others what you need and–”

Yixing shakes his head sadly. “If only the ingredients were that easy to obtain. Then maybe we wouldn’t have lost so many wolves last time.”

“What are you talking about?”

Yixing thanks Jongin when he comes in with a fresh bowl of water for Sehun. He dips a rag in the cool water, ringing out the excess and drapes it over Sehun’s forehead. He uses another rag to wipe the sweat collecting on Sehun’s overheated skin. “One of the main ingredients, petals of a special kind of wildflower... Well, the only known location that it grows is on the grounds of the vampire’s coven. Everything else is easily obtainable.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Chanyeol groans, cursing his luck. “We’ve got no other choice, “I’ll have to go get it myself.”

“You don’t know what the flower looks like,” Yixing says. “I’ll go.”

“I need you here with Sehun,” Chanyeol argues. “How long is this pack going to last without a healer?”

“And just how long do you think we’d last without our leader?” Kris asks, stepping into the room as well. He glances down at Sehun’s unmoving form with worry before continuing. “I’m going with you.”

“Fine,” Chanyeol agrees. Turning to Yixing, he asks, “So what does this flower look like?”

Chanyeol and Kris will only be gone for an hour or two at most, but just in case, he leaves Jongin and Zitao in charge. They’re still pretty young, but they both know how to handle themselves in a fight. Chanyeol can count on the two of them to take care of the pack while he’s away.

“It’s time to go,” Chanyeol decides. With one last look at Sehun, he shifts. Kris is right behind him and they set off at a fast pace, racing through the trees. It’s not long before they reach the edge of the forest where they live and they jump the man-made fence into the human’s land.

They follow the road into town, where the buildings are closer together, rise higher into the sky. They’re getting closer. Chanyeol doesn’t know exactly where the vampire’s territory starts, it’s not like he’s had the opportunity to stop and ask one before, but he at least knows that they’re getting closer to it. In the heart of it lies their coven, a huge plot of land with a mansion on it. Chanyeol’s never been close enough to see it before, but he’s heard stories.

It really is hard to miss. The tall, four story high building looks small in the middle of all the apartment buildings and shopping malls, but no less luxurious. A large wall surrounds the perimeter, the only gate at the front entrance, guarded by surveillance cameras, and at least two armed human guards.

“This way,” Kris whispers. Chanyeol looks over to see him gesturing to the tallest apartment building closest to the coven. “We can get a better look from up there.”

Chanyeol nods, shifting back into human form as well. Kris gives him a boost to reach the fire escape and they’re as quiet as possible as they climb the stairs. “Are you sure this is the right place?” Chanyeol asks once they’re high enough to see beyond the walls. “I haven’t seen a single vampire yet.”

“There,” Kris points and sure enough, there is a pair of vampires circling the grounds just inside the wall.

“Damn it.” Chanyeol curses. This is going to be a lot harder than he thought.

“As soon as they’re out of sight, we jump the wall,” Kris suggests. “We stay out of the camera’s line of sight, grab the flower and get the hell out of there before any of the vampires even notice we’re inside.”

Chanyeol takes a moment to think it through, weighing the options in his head. It’s risky, but they’re all out of ideas. “Okay, but stay upwind from them. We’ve got one chance, if we get caught we’re dead.” And so is Sehun.

“We’ll get the flower,” Kris assures him. “Sehun’s going to be okay.”

“I hope you’re right,” Chanyeol says. “Now’s our chance, come on.”

Back in wolf form, Chanyeol leaps from the fire escape, easily making it onto the wall. An alarm sounds before Chanyeol can even think about getting to the ground. Shit. There’s no way that they’ll be able to get in and out with the flower now, not with the vampires aware of their presence. The wall is too tall for them to get over easily with humans and vampires crawling the grounds looking for intruders, they’d never make it out alive.

Voices fill the air, humans panicking while vampires shout out orders. Chanyeol hesitates, but in the end he jumps from the wall onto the street, internally cursing the vampires’ advanced technology. He should have known that their coven would have been protected by more than just cameras and guards. They’ll need to get out of here for now. At least now that Chanyeol has seen the place, he’ll have a better chance of coming up with a plan that will actually work the next time.

With Kris beside him, Chanyeol races back through the streets. Luckily at this time of night there are considerably less cars and stray humans that they have to worry about avoiding, and escaping is easy.

Jongdae and Joonmyun are away from the coven, getting some much needed fresh air, when they hear the alarm sound. They both turn in the direction of the mansion.

“Wolves?” Jongdae wonders, a feeling of dread washing over him.

“What else could it be?” Joonmyun replies in a hushed tone. “But they haven’t gotten that close to the coven in years... We should get back.”

“And end up right in the middle of a fight?” Jongdae snorts. “We’re better off staying right he–” Something large slamming into Jongdae’s shoulder knocks him off his feet.

“Wolves!” Joonmyun hisses and when Jongdae rights himself there is a pair of wolves standing only a few feet away from them. There’s a sense of deja vu, from that time when the two of them came across wolves when they were out for a walk a few weeks ago. Even more so because Jongdae swears that he’s seen one of the wolves before, there’s something strangely familiar about it.

For a terrifying moment, everyone just stares at each other. Joonmyun makes an attempt to hold his ground, but Jongdae can see that he’s shaking, scared out of his mind. But even so, Joonmyun bravely steps in front of Jongdae, blocking him from the wolves’ view.

The unfamiliar wolf snarls, crouching low to the ground. Its sharp claws scraping against the pavement is the only warning before it attacks, headed straight for Joonmyun. Jongdae can see Joonmyun freezing up, he’s not a fighter, neither of them are, so all he can do is push his best friend out of the way and hope for the best.

Joonmyun's gasp rings in Jongdae’s ears as he braces for an impact that never comes. As the most delicious scent of blood fills the air, Jongdae opens his eyes to an unbelievable sight. Never in a million years would he have ever thought that a wolf would defend him again its own kind, but there Chanyeol stands, in human form, in between him and the other wolf.

“Get back to the den,” Chanyeol’s deep voice orders. The other wolf doesn’t move an inch, its strong jaw still tightly clamped onto Chanyeol’s arm. And fuck, is that what a wolf’s blood smells like? Because the scent of it is driving Jongdae wild, as if he hasn’t eaten in days.

“Now!” Chanyeol shouts. The wolf rips its teeth from Chanyeol’s flesh, growling at him. Chanyeol snarls right back, louder, scarier. Eventually the wolf ducks its head a bit before making a hasty retreat.

Even though Jongdae knows that Chanyeol is a wolf, an enemy, he feels that they are safe now. Maybe it’s just the scent of his blood wafting through the air that makes Jongdae reckless. He finds himself taking a step toward Chanyeol, against his better judgement, eyes fixed on the wolf’s injured arm.

Jongdae's mouth feels dry. How long has it been since he last fed? Jongdae doesn’t even remember. He’s so hungry and Chanyeol’s already bleeding... If he could just get a taste–

Joonmyun rushes over to him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and he tugs Jongdae away from Chanyeol. His first instinct is to struggle, to fight back. He belongs with Chanyeol, why is Joonmyun taking him away?

“Jongdae!” Joonmyun’s voice rings in Jongdae’s ears. “What are you doing!?”

The panic in Joonmyun’s words snaps Jongdae back to reality. He blinks, completely coming back to his senses. Chanyeol is staring at him with wide eyes and Joonmyun’s still frantically trying to pull him away.

“Come on!” Joonmyun hisses and this time Jongdae listens. He follows as Joonmyun darts between two buildings, racing along the streets heading back toward the coven.

“What the fuck were you doing back there?” Joonmyun asks as they reach the safety of the front gate. “What were you thinking? He's a wolf, Jongdae. He could have killed you.”

“But he didn’t,” Jongdae says, stopping dead in his tracks as realization hits him. “Joonmyun, he... he protected me. Why would he do that?”

Joonmyun stays silent for a long moment. “I don’t know.” he answers eventually.

Chanyeol reluctantly watches them go, telling himself that he doesn’t want to follow Jongdae. It’s strangely difficult, as if his body can’t stand the increasing distance separating them. He almost gives into the urge, but he’s got more important things to think about. Like figuring out how he’s supposed to get his hands on that flower to save Sehun, and what to do about Kris’ disobedience. And he might need to get Yixing to take a look at his arm. It’s already started to heal, but not nearly as fast as it should.

Zitao is waiting for Chanyeol when he finally makes it back to the den. He rushes to Chanyeol’s side as soon as he’s in sight. “Yixing needs to speak–”

“Yixing can wait,” Chanyeol interrupts. “Where is Kris?”

“But Yixing–”

Chanyeol growls and Zitao flinches away from him. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Zitao stays silent at first, but it’s not long before he gives into the order from the alpha. “He took off into the forest soon after he got back,” Zitao says, pointing toward the path that leads to the stream that they use to collect their drinking water.

Chanyeol mutters his thanks and quickly follows the path, moving passed the stream. He knows where he’ll find Kris now, in the place where the trees are the thickest, where the leaves block out all sun or moonlight. There’s a boulder protruding from the earth, it’s Kris’ favourite spot, where he goes when he wants to be alone. Chanyeol seeks Kris out there anyway.

Kris is glaring at nothing in particular, pacing up and down the length of the boulder, when Chanyeol finds him. He doesn’t even bother acknowledging the alpha’s presence until Chanyeol growls at him.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Chanyeol starts.

“Chanyeol–”

“Shut up,” Chanyeol snaps. “What is the one rule that I made when I became the leader of this pack?” This time he waits to hear Kris’ answer.

Surprisingly, Kris growls back at him. “Don’t attack first,” he answers.

“Exactly,” Chanyeol says, the anger in him making his blood boil. “And what did you do?” Chanyeol’s aware that he’s shouting now, and that everyone back at the den can probably hear him, but he doesn’t care. “You attacked first!”

Kris shrinks back from a bit, but he steps forward, holding his ground. “I didn’t,” he insists. “I would never.”

“This–” Chanyeol says, holding up his right arm, almost shoving his still bleeding wound into Kris’ face, “–proves otherwise.”

Kris ducks his head in shame, turning away from Chanyeol. “It was the vampires,” he explains quietly. “One of them did something to me.”

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asks, narrowing his eyes at Kris.

“I don’t know,” Kris sighs. “He... bewitched me or something.”

Chanyeol snorts. “Do vampires even have that kind of power?”

“I don’t know,” Kris repeats, the frustration clear in his voice. He growls again, making his way over to a tree that is covered in claw marks and he rests his forehead against it. “It was like... I don’t know how to explain it.”

Chanyeol sighs. Even if Kris doesn’t say anything, Chanyeol knows exactly what he’s talking about. “Like.. you have a need for the vampire?”

Kris’s head snaps in Chanyeol’s direction. “I– You felt it too?”

Chanyeol shrugs. He doesn’t want to go into detail about all the thoughts he’s had about Jongdae. He would rather not admit that a vampire is the reason he’s been distracted lately either.

“That’s why you defended them,” Kris says. It’s not a question but Chanyeol nods anyway. He’s glad he doesn’t have to explain to Kris that he doesn’t know what he would have done if anything happened to Jongdae. He shudders at the thought.

“If it’s the vampires that are poisoning our minds, then we must put a stop to it,” Chanyeol says. He needs to get Jongdae out of his head, for once and for all.

Kris nods in agreement. “But first, we need to get that damn flower for Sehun and Jongin.”

“What?” Chanyeol frowns. “Jongin too?”

Kris pauses. “You haven’t gone to see Yixing yet, have you?”

“No, I came straight here to talk to you,” Chanyeol replies. Fuck.

As soon as Chanyeol wakes up the next night, he goes to see how Sehun and Jongin are doing. Sehun is fading fast, his chest barely rising and falling anymore as he struggles to breathe. Jongin, at least, is still conscious, but he won’t last long like that. And who knows how many wolves the fever will spread to before they can get their hands on that stupid flower.

Chanyeol only stays with them for a few more minutes, not wanting to get in the way as Yixing looks after them. He makes sure the pack is well taken care of before he slips out of the room, heading to the edge of the forest. When he gets to the start of town, he shifts and stays in the shadows as he makes his way back to the vampire’s coven. He needs to find a way to get in there and get that flower before Sehun and Jongin get any worse.

Chanyeol ends up wasting hours pacing outside the coven, trying to work out a way to get in and out without being seen. He can’t even risk the vampires seeing him or they might mistake his actions as an attack on their home. Chanyeol’s not looking for a fight, just a way to prevent his pack members from dying.

So he sits and waits, hoping that the answer will reveal itself in time.

The doorknob turns, startling Jongdae out of his thoughts and he automatically jumps back from the window, flustered at being caught staring.

Joonmyun takes one look at him and then narrows his eyes in suspicion. “What are you doing?” he asks. “I hope you’re not planning on sneaking out again. You know that the council isn’t pleased because of what happened last time, if anything had happened to you–”

“I’m fine,” Jongdae insists. He can’t resist turning back toward the window, but nothing has changed since he last looked. “Chanyeol saved me from that other wolf remember?”

Joonmyun makes a face, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t remind me. Those disgusting creatures are up to something. I don’t like them one bit.”

Jongdae hums in response. He knows that he should feel the same. He has even more reason to hate the wolves, since those animals are to be blamed for the untimely death of his beloved brother. But he can’t help feeling that he’s missing something and the answer lies with their so-called enemies.

Lost in his thoughts about the wolves again, Jongdae glances out of the window, momentarily forgetting about Joonmyun’s presence until his best friend steps forward. “What are you looking at?” he asks curiously.

“No-nothing,” Jongdae replies, trying to act normal but it’s a lost cause, Joonmyun already knows that he’s hiding something. He curses the fact that he’s like an open book to his best friend, never being able to keep any secrets from him.

Joonmyun steps in front of the window, gazing out into the night and it doesn’t take long until he spots what has been keeping Jongdae’s attention. “Another wolf,” he gasps turning to stare wide-eyed at Jongdae. “What’s it doing out there? We have to inform the guards at once.”

“No, Joonmyun, please,” Jongdae says, grabbing hold of Joonmyun’s hand before he can go anywhere. “It’s just Chanyeol and–”

“How can you– Never mind.” Joonmyun sighs, rubbing his fingers over his temples like he’s got a headache. “You’re our prince,” he starts over in a more serious, pleading tone. “And that wolf is your enemy.”

“If he’s my enemy then why did he save me?” Jongdae asks, looking out the window again to where Chanyeol is settled on the fire escape of the closest building to the coven. “He’s been there for hours, Joonmyun. Just sitting there. Do you think... Do you think he could be waiting for me?”

“What?” Joonmyun nearly yells, taken aback. “If he is, then it’s a trap.”

Jongdae sighs, his gaze softening the longer he stares out at the wolf. No, he doesn’t believe that Chanyeol would hurt him. There’s something different about this particular wolf. “I don’t think he’s like that. He’s hasn’t been unkind–”

“Don’t tell me you like him,” Joonmyun scoffs, shaking his head. When Jongdae doesn’t answer right away, Joonmyun rips his hand out of Jongdae’s grasp as if he’s been burned. “You do like him!?” he practically shrieks. “Have you gone completely mad? For fuck’s sake, he’s a wolf.”

“Keep your voice down!” Jongdae hisses, his cheeks burning red. The last thing he needs is the entire coven finding about how much he doesn’t hate the wolves like he’s supposed to. “I don’t know how I feel about him,” he continues softly. “But I can’t stop thinking about him.”

“Can’t you see that it’s a trick? That wolf has you under his spell.”

“If he was trying to kill me he would have let that other one tear me to pieces already,” Jongdae huffs. He can’t explain to Joonmyun how he knows that Chanyeol isn’t dangerous, it’s just a feeling in his gut. “I’m going out there,” he decides.

“Jongdae, you can’t,” Joonmyun hisses, placing himself in between Jongdae and the door. “The wolf has done something to you, clouded your mind. I won’t let you leave.”

Jongdae glares. He doesn’t want to do this but Joonmyun has left him no choice. “You will let me leave,” he says, voice low and dangerous. “I am your prince and I’m ordering you to stand down.”

Joonmyun’s eyes widen and his jaw drops. Jongdae’s never once used his higher status against him before and he’s too shocked to protest any further as Jongdae moves around him toward the door.

“Wait here,” Jongdae commands, just as he’s about to leave. “If I’m not back in a hour, inform the guards. Until then, speak to no one.”

Getting passed the guards is relatively easy. He quickly makes his way down to where they keep the humans in the basement. It’s a long hallway with small rooms connecting to it. He walks down passed a few of the doors, letting himself into one on the right. He finds the human he’s looking for curled up, fast asleep in his bed. “Taemin,” he whispers, placing a hand on his shoulder to wake him.

“Again?” is the sleepy reply Jongdae receives. He gives Taemin a moment to stretch out his stiff limbs before nudging him out of his bed.

“Yes,” Jongdae replies. “Quickly now, we don’t have a lot of time.”

Taemin follows obediently as Jongdae leads the way back up the stairs toward the closest exit. “Same as usual,” he tells the boy, gesturing to the set of guards standing on duty by the door. “Go.”

Taemin puts on a lewd grin as he slips out of the shadows and he has the guards’ attention at once. He saunters over to them with compliments dripping from his lips. They easily fall into his trap, letting him pull them away from the door when he asks if they want a bite, or are up for something a little more intimate.

As soon as they’re out of sight, with Taemin’s muffled moans echoing off the walls, Jongdae heads for the door. He checks that the area is clear of any patrol guards before he’s lets himself outside. With a running jump he easily makes it over the wall without tripping any of the other alarms.

Chanyeol does not move an inch as Jongdae cautiously approaches, climbing up the stairs to where he’s sitting on one edge of the fire escape. His eyes only flicker over to meet Jongdae’s for a moment before goes back to staring over at the coven. Despite being wary of Chanyeol, Jongdae sits down next to him, close enough that their arms are almost touching. He gazes over at the coven too, but he finds nothing special about it.

“Is it wise for you to be wandering alone at night?” Chanyeol asks after a moment of silence passes between them. “There might be wolves out.”

“Wolf,” Jongdae corrects. “You’re alone too.” Chanyeol barely cracks a smile in response and it eases some of the anxiety that is making Jongdae jittery. Chanyeol’s presence beside him is strangely calming. “What are you doing out here?” Chanyeol doesn’t answer, still staring down beyond the wall that surrounds the coven. “You’re not after our prince, are you?”

Chanyeol snorts, finally turning all his attention to Jongdae. He studies Jongdae with dark, unreadable eyes for a moment. If it was anyone else, Jongdae might be afraid, but somehow he just knows that Chanyeol isn’t going to attack him. “What would I want with a vampire prince?” he asks eventually.

So he doesn’t know Jongdae’s true identity, to Chanyeol he might just be another vampire from the enemy coven. Jongdae hums, pretending to think it over. “You could kidnap him?” he suggests. “Or just kill him, that’d make the vampires angry. It might lead to a battle that would finally end this war.”

“I don’t want anything to do with your prince,” Chanyeol scoffs. Jongdae feels irrationally hurt by his words and has to remind himself that Chanyeol isn’t aware that he’s actually speaking to the prince. “And I’d rather that this war came to an end without any more bloodshed.”

Jongdae wonders why they’re still at war if the wolves don’t seem to want to fight any more than the vampires do. "If you’re not here for a fight, then what are you doing here?" Jongdae asks. "If you’re caught this close to the coven, the vampires won’t hesitate to attack you."

“You already caught me,” Chanyeol reminds Jongdae, nudging him gently with his elbow. “I haven’t been attacked yet.”

Jongdae laughs nudging Chanyeol back. “We both know that I’m no match for you,” he admits. “Besides, I’m not like the rest of the vampires in my coven.”

“I noticed,” Chanyeol agrees. “There’s something different about you. You’re either very brave or very stupid to abandon the safety of you coven walls when you know there’s a wolf around.”

Jongdae hums. “Just too curious for my own good,” he says. It’s something Jongdae’s parents used to tell him when he was younger, back when they were still with him. His mother used to worry that his curiosity was going to get him into a lot of trouble one day. “But you’re not going to hurt me.”

Chanyeol’s sharply turns his gaze to Jongdae. Red flashes in Chanyeol’s eyes, but he does not look away. “What makes you so sure?” Chanyeol asks, voice low and eyes narrowed.

Jongdae just shakes his head slightly. “I can’t explain it,” he replies. He has no words to describe the feelings gently simmering inside his chest, but somehow he’s sure that Chanyeol isn’t going to harm him. “I just know that you’re not going to.”

Chanyeol studies him for a moment longer before he looks away. “You truly are different from the rest of your kin.”

A comfortable silence briefly falls between them. Jongdae almost gives up hope that Chanyeol’s going to say anything else when the wolf continues. “I need to get into the garden just inside the coven walls,” Chanyeol explains.

“I thought you said you didn’t want a fight,” Jongdae says, frowning. “If you go anywhere near there, the guards will be on you in seconds.”

Chanyeol sighs. “I know.”

“What is so important about the garden anyway?”

“No, I can’t,” Chanyeol says, shaking his head. “I’ve told you too much already.”

“Maybe I can help?” Jongdae offers, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he realizes what he’s saying. “I mean…”

“You want to help?” Chanyeol asks, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Why? What’s in it for you?”

Jongdae reaches out, putting his hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. The wolf growls, but he makes no move to shake Jongdae off. It almost hurts, having Chanyeol’s anger directed at him, and the scariest part is Jongdae doesn’t know why. There’s a part of him that wants to be close to Chanyeol, even if it’s just because his blood smells irresistible. “Just because our people are enemies doesn’t mean we have to be,” Jongdae says quietly, voice barely above a whisper.

Chanyeol takes a moment to consider Jongdae’s words. Eventually his expression softens and he leans into Jongdae’s hand. “There’s a flower that grows in your garden,” Chanyeol explains. “I need it.”

“A flower?” Jongdae echoes, trying to resist the urge to ask what Chanyeol needs it for. Of all the things Chanyeol could have asked for, a mere flower was not what Jongdae was expecting to hear.

“Yes,” Chanyeol confirms. “It’s a matter of life and death.”

Jongdae doesn’t understand how a flower can be so important, but he gives Chanyeol’s shoulder a squeeze before getting to his feet anyway. If Chanyeol needs the flower, for whatever the reason, Jongdae’s going to get it for him. “What does it look like?” Jongdae asks.

Chanyeol is caught off guard by the vampire yet again. Jongdae wants to help him? He’s wary of accepting any help from Jongdae when for all he knows, Jongdae is the reason Chanyeol’s hormones are all out of whack. Jongdae could be the reason why Chanyeol’s finding it difficult to concentrate on what’s important, like the health of his pack, and making him want to pull Jongdae close and bury his face into the vampire’s neck instead.

Jongdae doesn’t wait for an answer, but he does nearly give Chanyeol a heart attack when he jumps off the railing of the fire escape. “Jongdae!” Chanyeol yelps, peering down at Jongdae from over the edge. He lets out a sigh of relief when Jongdae grins up at him from the ground, completely unharmed. “Fucking vampire.”

“I heard that,” Jongdae calls up at him, laughing. He stares up at Chanyeol for a moment longer before he darts off toward the coven.

Chanyeol waits and after about a minute he sees Jongdae jump over the wall surrounding the coven. So that’s how he’s been getting in and out without his own people noticing. Chanyeol may have to try it the next time he needs to get into the vampire’s territory, if this doesn’t work out. He can hardly believe that he’s trusting a vampire, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

He paces back and forth along the small space of the fire escape landing, trying not to think about the increasing amount of space between him and Jongdae and how much it bothers him. It shouldn't bother him, Jongdae is a vampire, an enemy. But then why did he volunteer to help Chanyeol without knowing the reason behind why he needs the flower in the first place? It doesn’t make any sense.

Chanyeol nearly gives himself a headache thinking about it by the time movement from the coven catches his eye. He flattens himself against the side of the building, just in case Jongdae decided to return with guards or vampire warriors to try and take him out. Except Chanyeol only hears one set of footsteps climbing up the metal stairs and it’s not long before the vampire returns to Chanyeol’s side. He can’t explain the relief he feels as Jongdae holds open the bag in his hands, showing Chanyeol all the flowers he brought.

“Since I didn’t know which one you needed, I just took them all,” Jongdae explains, bowing his head slightly in embarrassment. Chanyeol didn’t think it was possible for a vampire, but Jongdae’s cheeks turn a bit pink, his face lit up by the moonlight. It’s almost... cute.

“It’s perfect,” Chanyeol replies. He’s not entirely sure which flower is the one he needs, but Yixing will definitely know. “Thank you,” Chanyeol continues and the words feel awkward being directed toward someone who he once considered an enemy, but it’s a feeling that he's getting used to now. “Really. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help.” He could kiss Jongdae right now.

“It’s nothing,” Jongdae replies, smiling. “I owed you one, after all.” And when Chanyeol frowns at him, he continues, “for protecting me and Joonmyun from that other wolf.”

Chanyeol shakes his head. “Kris shouldn’t have tried to attack your friend,” he says. “He disobeyed my orders.”

“Your orders?” Jongdae whispers curiously. “Are you the Alpha? The leader of your pack?” There’s a sarcastic, amused tone in his voice.

Chanyeol stays silent for a while, studying Jongdae. “I am,” he eventually confirms. It’s probably the growing need to be beside Jongdae that forces the truth out of him. He doesn’t want to lie, not to Jongdae. It’s a strange feeling, but it’s not all that surprising when he thinks about everything he’s been going through since he first laid eyes on Jongdae.

If Jongdae had been a wolf, Chanyeol wouldn’t think twice about what he wants. He could have Jongdae under him without any consequences. He could kiss Jongdae freely, like he’s been dying to for a while now. The idea of taking Jongdae as his mate stirs something deep inside Chanyeol, a need that’s more powerful than anything he’s ever felt before. He takes a step closer, intent on holding the vampire in his arms, but he comes back to his senses at the last second before he lets his primal urges take over completely. Jongdae’s not a wolf and Chanyeol needs to remember that. He’s not allowed to have the vampire. It’s wrong.

He plays it off like he was just reaching for the bag in Jongdae’s hand and he pretends that he doesn’t feel the wave of need flow through him when their fingers brush. It makes it easier when Jongdae shies away from his touch. “I have to go,” Chanyeol says and Jongdae nods.

“I should get back inside too,” Jongdae replies, gesturing back towards the coven. “Before Joonmyun comes looking for me.”

“Thanks again,” Chanyeol says, before putting the end of the bag between his teeth. After he shifts he takes a moment to stretch out his paws before he takes off down the fire escape as fast as he can.

Chanyeol heads straight to Yixing’s tent as soon as he makes it back to the den. He nearly collapses upon entry with how drained of energy he is.

“Chanyeol!” Yixing is by his side in a minute and Chanyeol barely has enough strength left in him to revert back into his human form.

“The flower,” Chanyeol says, holding the back up in front of Yixing’s nose.

Wordlessly, Yixing accepts the bag and opens it. “It looks like you picked the whole damn garden,” he says, after examining the contents.

“Just tell me one of them is the damn flower that we need,” Chanyeol puffs, trying to catch his breath. The wound Kris left on his arm aches terribly, but Chanyeol ignores the pain.

“Let me see.” Yixing walks over to the table, upending the bag onto the surface. He knocks a few yellow ones off the table right away, pausing to look up and raise an eyebrow at Chanyeol. “These are weeds.” Some delphinium end up on the ground as well, hydrangeas and snapdragons. Multicoloured lilies and orchids are also pushed away. Finally, Yixing holds up a flower that Chanyeol has never seen before. It has silver petals with tips the colour of blood, shaped almost like a rose, but it’s smaller. It’s beautiful. “This is it.”

“But will it be enough to save my pack?” Chanyeol asks.

Yixing picks up the other two flowers from the table, holding the mini makeshift bouquet up for Chanyeol to see. “This is more than enough,” he says, laughing. He sets the flowers back down on the table for a moment as he goes to fetch a deer pelt to throw over Chanyeol. “You did well,” he praises, gently running his fingers through Chanyeol’s sweaty hair. “Sleep now and let me take care of the rest.”

The door to his bedroom opens before Jongdae reaches it and nearly smacks him in the face. “Thank goodness you’re alive,” Joonmyun exclaims, immediately wrapping his arms around Jongdae in an almost bone crushing hug. “I was just about to send the guards to go looking for you!”

“I’m as alive as I’ll ever be,” Jongdae replies cheekily, returning the hug, though not as hard. “I told you nothing was going to happen.”

Joonmyun wrinkles his nose as he pulls away to give Jongdae the once over. “You smell like a wet dog,” he deadpans, covering his nose. “And you’re covered in dirt and grass.”

Jongdae just laughs, doing a sort of twirl on the spot to prove to Joonmyun that’s there’s not a scratch on him. “But I’m still in one piece.”

“Okay, okay,” Joonmyun relents. He shoves Jongdae into his bedroom, quickly closing the door behind them. “I get it, you’re not hurt, but I still don’t trust that dog. And would you stop moving around so much? You’re going to stink up the whole coven.”

Jongdae just hums, allowing Joonmyun to push him across the room towards the bathroom. He’s in such a good mood that nothing can bring him down. The only thing that would make the night better is if Chanyeol didn’t have to go, if he could spend the rest of the time until sunrise in the wolf’s arms.

He wonders why Chanyeol needs the flowers. He doesn’t care what Chanyeol does with them as long as it isn’t something that’s used to hurt the vampires. Jongdae doesn’t think Chanyeol would do that, but Joonmyun would convince him that it is a possibility. Joonmyun doesn’t need to know that he helped a wolf out; what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

“But he’s the alpha,” Jongdae says, beginning to strip out of his ‘smelly’ clothes so he can take a shower. He doesn’t understand why Joonmyun’s pitching a fit, he thinks his clothes smell absolutely amazing, just like Chanyeol.

“Who is?” Joonmyun asks, making sure that Jongdae has a clean towel and clothes for when he’s done.

“Chanyeol,” Jongdae clarifies. “He’s the Lead Alpha of his pack.”

“He told you that?” Joonmyun raises an eyebrow in question. “Why?”

Jongdae shrugs.

“You didn’t tell him that you’re the prince, did you!?”

“No,” Jongdae replies, turning the tap on to get the water heated up for his shower.

“Good.” The relief in Joonmyun’s voice is obvious.

“At least not yet,” Jongdae amends.

“What do you mean not yet?”

“Well, he’s the leader of the wolves,” Jongdae begins. “And soon I’ll be the leader of the vampires.”

Joonmyun rolls his eyes. “Just get to the point already.”

“What if Chanyeol and I can put a stop to this war?” Jongdae asks, staring into the water as it falls from the shower head. “If there was a truce between us…” he trails off. “Maybe we wouldn’t have to be enemies anymore.”

“Just get in the damn shower,” Joonmyun says, softly slapping Jongdae’s shoulder. “Day dream about saving the world some other time.”

Chanyeol wakes up to something warm and hard slamming into his chest. “Ow, what the fuck,” he grumbles, pushing away whoever dared to wake up the lead alpha when he was having a particularly pleasant dream about a certain vampire.

“Chanyeol,” a voice whines right next to his ear, and Chanyeol must be dreaming because that sounds like Sehun...

Another body lands on the two of them and finally Chanyeol cracks an eye open. This is no way to treat their alpha, Chanyeol needs to know whose ass he’s going to have to kick.

Turns out it is Sehun who is spread out over Chanyeol’s chest. And Jongin’s the extra weight that’s covering Sehun. “Wha–”

“Thank you,” Sehun says, nuzzling his face affectionately into Chanyeol’s neck. His nose is cold and it tickles where it drags against his skin.

Chanyeol just stares because he’s still not entirely sure if he’s dreaming or if he’s awake now. “How?”

“You,” is Jongin’s simple reply.

“Yixing told us that you went and got the flower for us,” Sehun says and he’s acting more like a koala than a wolf now, with how hard he’s clinging to Chanyeol. The alpha struggles for a moment to get his arms free and then wraps them around both around Sehun and Jongin, pulling them closer.

“I was so scared that I was going to lose you,” Chanyeol admits, holding back the tears that sting his eyes from how grateful he is to have his wolves back.

“Don’t cry,” Jongin says, soothingly licking at Chanyeol’s cheek. “We’re all better now.”

“Yeah, we’re alright,” Sehun says. He pulls himself out of Chanyeol’s arms for a moment to flex the muscles in his arms. “See, good as new.”

“Tell us how you got the flower from the vampires?” Jongin asks.

“I didn’t,” Chanyeol says truthfully. “It was given to me.” Chanyeol is saved from having to explain any further when Yixing enters the room carrying a pail of fresh water.

“What are you two doing out of bed?” Yixing shrieks. Water sloshes onto the floor when he motions for them to get back into the beds he had laid out for them. “Did I say you could get up and move around?”

Chanyeol laughs as the two young wolves scramble across the room and practically dive into the safety of the pile of animal pelts on the floor. Yixing shakes his head at them, continuing further into the room to set the pail down on the table.

“You’re not fully healed yet,” Yixing tells them, forcing a bowl of water into both of his patient’s hands. “If I catch you out of bed again, I will tie you both up.” Yixing is a soft-spoken wolf most of the time, but he’s scary when it comes to his job as the pack’s healer. Sehun and Jongin nod, not wanting cross him again. “And absolutely no shifting.”

When Yixing is done fretting over Sehun and Jongin, he turns his attention to Chanyeol. “How’s your arm doing?” he asks, fixing another bowl of water for Chanyeol to drink from. “Feeling any better?”

“It still aches,” Chanyeol replies, examining the dark scab keeping the wound closed. If it were any other wound, it would have been healed by now. It’s only taking longer than usual because it was inflicted by another wolf; their saliva slows down the naturally fast healing process. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Yixing hums. “I’ll fix up a salve for you. It should help speed up your recovery.”

“Thank you.”

“In the meantime, I suggest you let Kris take care of all the hunting.” Yixing gives him a look that says his suggestion is non-negotiable. “And you shouldn’t be shifting either.”

Chanyeol growls in complaint, but eventually he agrees. He can trust Kris with the task of feeding the pack. He knows that Kris isn’t likely to let him or the pack down, especially since it’s his fault that Chanyeol is injured in the first place. But at least Sehun and Jongin are on the mend now, and that’s all that really matters at the moment.

He hates that the first thing he wants to do after finding out that his wolves will live is go to Jongdae to celebrate. The only thing stopping him from doing so is the sun, still blazing high in the sky. There has to be a way to stop himself from feeling like this.

As soon as Chanyeol gets the okay from Yixing, he shifts into his wolf form. It’s been too long – only a little over a week, but to Chanyeol it felt like forever since he was in touch with his wolf side and the first thing he does is howl, long and loud. Chanyeol’s limb feels as good as new and he takes off into a run towards the city as fast as he can.

When he gets close to the coven, he picks up that familiar scent – the one that makes his blood boil with desire. It’s fresh. Jongdae must still be close by. Hasn’t he learned that it’s not safe for him to be outside the coven when there could be wolves out? Wolves other than Chanyeol.

He follows his nose and it doesn’t take long before he catches up with Jongdae. The vampire is out walking again with another one by his side. Chanyeol pushes away the jealousy, the feeling that he should be the only one beside Jongdae, not Joonmyun. Chanyeol shakes the thoughts from his head. He came here to put a stop to this, not to allow Jongdae to get under his skin even more.

He lets out a growl, startling the pair. “A wolf has come to attack us,” Joonmyun hisses, backing away and pulling Jongdae along with him. “I told you that it wasn’t safe to be outside after hearing that howl.”

“It’s just Chanyeol,” Jongdae replies, sounding almost happy. He pulls his wrist free from Joonmyun’s grasp, stepping closer to Chanyeol. Joonmyun’s hands fall back down to his side, a frown on his face and he mumbles something under his breath that Chanyeol doesn’t catch. “What is it?”

Chanyeol aims his deep growl at Joonmyun this time and surprisingly Jongdae nods in understanding. “Give us a minute,” he says, turning to Joonmyun.

A moment of silence passes before Joonmyun reluctantly agrees. “Alright, but I hope you know what you’re doing. I’ll be close by. Be careful.” His retreating footsteps echo in the alley and Chanyeol doesn’t shift back into his human form until he’s certain Joonmyun is far enough away.

“I need you to make it stop,” Chanyeol says. He can’t help advancing slightly on Jongdae, the vampire’s scent too much for him to resist. He’s already denied himself so much already.

“Stop what?” Jongdae asks, taking a step back for every step closer Chanyeol gets.

Chanyeol makes a vague gesture between them that has Jongdae frowning, his head tilting to the side slightly. “Make it stop,” he repeats, uncaring of the fact that it sounds like he’s begging. He hasn’t been able to think about anything but Jongdae since their last meeting and it’s driving him insane. “This–” What was the word that Kris used? “–bewitching. Whatever it was that you did to make me want you.”

Jongdae’s back hits brick and his eyes widen for a split second before he schools his expression. But no matter how much Jongdae is trying to act tough, Chanyeol can see that he’s still a bit scared. There’s something that makes him tremble and if Chanyeol didn’t know any better, he’d think that Jongdae is just as affected by their close proximity as Chanyeol is.

But that’s impossible.

“I didn’t do anything to you,” Jongdae replies, sounding slightly breathless as he looks up into Chanyeol’s eyes. Vampires don’t need to breathe, there’s no reason for the slight hitch in his breath.

“I don’t want to feel like this anymore,” Chanyeol says desperately. “Like I need to be beside you.” He traps Jongdae against the wall by placing his hands on the brick next to Jongdae’s head. “Like I can’t live without you.” He leans in closer, his nose brushing against Jongdae’s cold cheek. “I want you so badly, Jongdae please, make it stop.”

“That isn’t–” Jongdae’s eyes drop down to somewhere around Chanyeol’s mouth and Chanyeol growls, pressing closer still. “Vampires can’t do anything like that. I didn’t do that to you.” Jongdae tilts his head up more, their lips barely an inch apart.

If Chanyeol’s urges aren’t caused by Jongdae, then what? What could it possibly be? There’s no other explanation that he can think of. Except…

No. It can’t be. There’s no way.

Chanyeol couldn’t have imprinted on a vampire, could he? But it does explain everything – Chanyeol wanting to protect Jongdae, how he aches to be close to him, the feelings of affection and attraction simmering in his chest. It’s not just in Chanyeol’s head; it’s real. There’s a bond that has already formed between them and Chanyeol realizes that he shouldn’t fight it anymore. He needs Jongdae.

It’s that thought that has Chanyeol giving in to his desire, closing the last of the distance between them.

Chanyeol’s lips are soft and warm against Jongdae’s and it would steal Jongdae’s breath away if he still had any need for air. Jongdae kisses him back with just as much urgency, and he moans, eagerly parting his lips for Chanyeol’s tongue. Somewhere in the back of Jongdae’s mind is the thought that this is wrong, Chanyeol’s a werewolf, but he doesn’t give a shit, not when it feels so right to have Chanyeol finally holding him in his arms.

The sound of Chanyeol’s rapidly beating heart is loud in Jongdae’s ears and it only fuels his hunger. The sweet scent his blood gives off as it flows through Chanyeol’s veins makes it impossible to ignore. It smells just as delicious as it did the other day, just as irresistible. Jongdae whines, sucking on Chanyeol’s tongue as he fists his hands in the material of Chanyeol’s shirt as an anchor.

Jongdae grinds his hips against Chanyeol’s thigh, moaning when he can feel the bulge of Chanyeol’s impressive erection pushing back against him. Chanyeol breaks the kiss to growl lowly into Jongdae’s ear, his warm tongue dragging against the lobe before he gently bites down. Jongdae gasps, a pleasant tingling sensation spreading throughout his undead body. He wants more, needs more.

“Chanyeol,” he moans, not quite sure what he’s asking for, but Chanyeol responds in kind, saying Jongdae’s name back to him as he licks affectionately at Jongdae’s temple. It’d be cute if it weren’t for the fact that Chanyeol’s hips are insistently rutting against him, pushing his back further into the wall.

“I want you so bad,” Chanyeol whispers to him and it makes Jongdae’s knees weak with desire. He groans, pushes his face into Chanyeol’s neck as Chanyeol runs careful fingers through his hair, almost as if he’s petting him. Jongdae presses a kiss to Chanyeol’s skin, but it proves to be a bad idea because he can feel the pounding of Chanyeol’s heartbeat against his lips. The scent of Chanyeol’s blood is so strong, so good, that it makes Jongdae’s head spin. His fangs ache and his mouth waters at the thought of the blood that’s rushing just beneath the surface of Chanyeol’s flesh. He’s so hungry.

To distract himself from sinking his fangs into Chanyeol’s neck, he reaches up and drags Chanyeol down to meet him in another kiss. Except the warmth of Chanyeol’s lips reminds him that Chanyeol is full of blood for him to taste and it’s not just in his neck. Jongdae whines and he stop himself from biting down on Chanyeol’s tongue when it sweeps passed his lips again.

Chanyeol’s large hands find their way to Jongdae’s narrow hips, sharp claws digging into his skin through the material of his pants. He keeps Jongdae in place as he grinds against him and Jongdae can’t help himself from crying out as the pleasure builds in the pit of his stomach, spreading through his body in waves.

When was the last time Jongdae fed? All he can think about is how much he wants a taste of Chanyeol’s blood.

Chanyeol growls again, softly but directly in Jongdae’s ear. He mumbles in an impossibly deep voice about all the dirty things he wants to do to Jongdae. The wolf whispers about tearing off Jongdae’s clothes, spreading him out on the ground and having his way with him. Everything that spills from Chanyeol’s lips is filthy, and Jongdae groans at the thought. Surprisingly, he wants all of that too, and so, so much more.

He digs his nails into Chanyeol’s shoulders as the wolf licks a wet line from Jongdae’s chin up to his temple, kissing the flushed skin. “Kiss me,” Jongdae demands, titling his head up and Chanyeol immediately complies, starting a trail of kisses and licks as he makes his way down to Jongdae’s waiting lips.

Chanyeol’s tongue sweeps into his mouth so easily and thoroughly that it makes Jongdae’s knees weak. He tries to ignore the aching in his fangs as he kisses Chanyeol, but it’s too much and he can’t help digging his teeth into Chanyeol’s bottom lip. Chanyeol groans in response, his hands slipping down to Jongdae’s ass and under, lifting him up off the ground. Jongdae spreads his thighs for Chanyeol’s hips, moaning as Chanyeol’s erection digs into his own.

Another thrust from Chanyeol has Jongdae’s fangs accidentally sinking into Chanyeol’s lip. The metallic taste startles Jongdae, but only for a second, and he lets out a long moan as he savours it. He nearly comes from the delicious taste alone, but it’s not enough. Feeling like he hasn’t fed in ages, Jongdae greedily sucks at the broken skin on Chanyeol’s lip.

Chanyeol doesn’t seem to mind, but eventually he does break the kiss to press his nose to the side of Jongdae’s neck. He breathes in deeply and nips at Jongdae’s skin. “Fuck, Jongdae,” Chanyeol growls, sucking a mark into Jongdae’s pale skin.

Jongdae runs his hands through Chanyeol’s hair, forcing their lips back together. He whines when he realizes that the puncture wound on Chanyeol’s lip has healed over completely and he curses the wolf’s fast recovery rate.

“Jongdae?” he hears Joonmyun’s voice call from somewhere far away.

Chanyeol must hear it too because his arms tighten possessively around Jongdae and he growls threateningly. “Ignore him.”

“Jongdae, the sun,” comes the same soft voice of Joonmyun. He sounds like he’s a couple blocks away. Jongdae can hear him fidgeting nervously. “It’s almost sunrise.”

“Fuck,” Jongdae complains against Chanyeol’s lips. “I have to go.” He doesn’t want to leave, but he doesn’t want to stay here and burn up in the sun either. He curses again. The decision to leave shouldn’t be this hard, but knowing he has to part ways with Chanyeol makes this one of the most difficult decisions he’s ever had.

Chanyeol only holds him tighter still, his face pressed against Jongdae’s neck. He growls every time Jongdae tries to move but eventually he gives in, loosening his grip when Jongdae reminds him of what will happen if he’s caught out in the sun. Chanyeol kisses him again, slow and almost sweet as he lowers Jongdae back onto his feet.

“When can I see you again?” Chanyeol asks, cupping Jongdae’s cheek in the palm of his hand.

Jongdae leans into the touch, his eye fluttering closed. For a moment he forgets that he’s in a rush and just enjoys the feeling of Chanyeol’s warm skin against him. “Soon,” is his reply. His cock is still hard and aching for release, but he ignores it for now, smiling up at Chanyeol. He’d love to spend hours wrapped up in each other’s arms so they can finish what they started, but it’ll have to wait for now.

Chanyeol hums and presses his cheek against Jongdae’s. The wolf nips at Jongdae’s ear again and he nearly gives into the desire to kiss Chanyeol again, but time is running out. He needs to get back to the safety of the coven before the sun lifts above the horizon.

“It’s a promise,” Chanyeol declares. He finally pulls away from breathing into Jongdae’s ear to press their foreheads together. “I’ll break into your coven to see you if I have to.”

Jongdae laughs. While the idea is stupid and dangerous, he’s secretly pleased at the lengths Chanyeol would go to for him. He can’t help tilting his head up for one last kiss. “I promise,” Jongdae assures him. “We’ll see each other soon.”

Chanyeol makes some sort of pleased rumbling sound from the back of his throat and this time he doesn’t try to stop Jongdae as he moves to pull away. He just stares at Jongdae with longing as he walks in the direction of the coven.

“Soon,” Jongdae repeats with one last look at Chanyeol before he takes off in a run to go find Joonmyun.

Despite his promise to Chanyeol, Jongdae isn’t able to see the wolf again as soon as he’d hoped. As it draws nearer to his coronation day, the elders of his coven take up more and more of his time. From sunset to sunrise they have him making preparations to take control of the throne, his birthright now that his family has been killed by wolves and he has come of age to rule.

It’s shortly before sunrise when there’s a gentle knock on Jongdae’s bedroom door and Joonmyun lets himself in. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” Jongdae asks, marking his place in the book on his lap before he closes it.

“I’ve just been to see Minseok,” Joonmyun says, crossing his arms over his chest like he does when he’s upset about something. Jongdae thought that it’d be at least another few days before Joonmyun found out. He doesn’t want to have this conversation right now. Or ever.

“And how is our dear little human pet doing?” Jongdae asks, getting up from his bed as he makes his way over to the window.

“You’d know if you had been to see him,” Joonmyun retorts. “If you had been down to see any of them.” Joonmyun sighs when Jongdae doesn’t respond. He doesn’t have anything to say. “When’s the last time you fed?”

“The night we ran into Chanyeol.”

“That was days ago!”

“I know,” Jongdae replies. And the hunger is driving him mad. The craving for blood makes him antsy, unable to concentrate on anything else. His stomach hurts because it’s so empty and his fangs constantly ache. He can’t think about anything else. “Believe me, I know.”

“Are you actually trying to starve yourself?” Joonmyun asks softly, after a moment.

Jongdae scoffs. “No, of course not.”

“Then go down there and feed, damn it. They’re worried about you and frankly, so am I.”

“Thank you for your concern,” Jongdae says, sparing a second to glance behind him at Joonmyun. “But I can’t feed from them.”

Joonmyun stares blankly at him. “I don’t understand.”

“You’re not going to like it…” Jongdae trails off.

Joonmyun makes a sort of hysterical laughing sound, helplessly throwing his hands up into the air. “I haven’t been comfortable with a lot of things that have been going on lately,” he agrees. “Just tell me.”

“I’ll spare you the details,” Jongdae starts. “But Chanyeol kissed me.”

Joonmyun’s gasp is loud in the quiet room. “He’s a wolf!” he hisses, outraged.

Jongdae rests his head against the window frame, his eyes slipping shut. “That’s not even the worst of it,” he admits.

“You kissed him back,” Joonmyun guesses and Jongdae can hear the dread ringing in his voice crystal clear.

Jongdae nods, his body craving Chanyeol’s touch again from just thinking about it. “I tasted his blood.”

“Oh, Jongdae.” He hates how disappointed Joonmyun sounds.

“I know it’s forbidden,” Jongdae continues, trying to ignore the ache he feels for Chanyeol – like a part of him is missing. It hurts. “But I couldn’t help it. The scent of his blood was so strong and his heart was beating so fast; I needed to taste it.” He hangs his head in shame and at the same time, his knees give out from under him.

Luckily Joonmyun is there to catch him, scooping him up in midair before he has a chance to crash against the floor. “You’re even too weak to stand,” Joonmyun mumbles under his breath as he carries Jongdae toward the bed. “Wait here, I’ll go get Minseok. You need bloo–”

“I don’t want it!” Jongdae yells, frustrated. “I don’t want his blood.”

Joonmyun freezes, shocked at the outburst. He gives Jongdae a look that doesn’t need any words to get his point across.

“I already tried,” Jongdae groans, staring blankly up at the ceiling. “It tastes disgusting. Makes me sick.” He laughs, the hollow sound of it echoing off the walls. “The only thing I can think about is Chanyeol’s blood.”

The silence in the room is almost too much, but eventually it’s broken with another one of Joonmyun’s sighs. “If it’s his blood you want,” he starts off quietly. “Then you should go see him.”

“Ha,” Jongdae replies, bitterly. “First you want me to stay away from him and now you’re sending me to him?”

“You’ve got no other choice,” Joonmyun explains. “If you don’t drink soon, you’ll die.” He’s right. Jongdae can already feel his strength slipping away. His body will begin to break down soon and he’ll fade away if he doesn’t get any blood in his stomach.

“I don’t even know where to find him,” Jongdae mutters. “He’s always been the one to find me.”

“Then he’ll find you again,” Joonmyun assures him.

“I hope you’re right,” Jongdae says as he accepts Joonmyun’s outstretched hand.

Chanyeol wakes up from a deep sleep with a terrible feeling of dread washing over him. Something is wrong. He sits up, glancing around the room for anything amiss. He’s the only one awake; Sehun and Jongin are curled up together, sleeping peacefully on his right, and the rest of the pack is spread out around him in a similar state. Everything seems to be as it was when he fell asleep, but he can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.

The only other thing Chanyeol can think of is that’s something wrong with Jongdae. He wonders if the bond between them is strong enough to relay something like that from Jongdae to him. Either way, it’s too close to sunrise, Chanyeol’s pack had only just all fallen asleep and the vampires should be settling down to rest too.

There’s no way Jongdae would still be awake right now. But as he’s hit by another wave of panic, Chanyeol doesn’t care. He needs to figure out why he’s feeling like this. He carefully steps around his wolves, making his way out of the sleeping quarters as quietly as possible. He takes one last look at them before he shifts, heading to where the edge of the forest meets the start of the human city.

The feeling is somehow worse when he’s in his wolf form, the raw emotions eating away at him as he picks up the pace. A picture of Jongdae flashes in his mind, terribly weak and in desperate need of his protection. It spurs Chanyeol into running faster than ever, quickly darting through alleys as he avoids the few stray humans that are actually awake at this hour.

He’d willingly do anything for Jongdae. Chanyeol just has to find him first.

The scent of vampires is thick in the air as Chanyeol gets closer to the coven, his nose easily picking out the one he needs. He follows the trail straight to Jongdae, only a few blocks away from the coven. He finds the vampire leaning heavily against the wall of a bookstore, looking completely defenseless.

He shifts back into his human form about a foot away from Jongdae, close enough to scoop the vampire up into his arms as he stands on two feet again. “What happened?” Chanyeol asks, words dripping with worry. Jongdae feels stiff and too cold in his arms – a stark contrast from the last time they met on the streets.

“You came,” Jongdae breathes in a soft whisper, the corner of his lips barely tilting up in a smile.

Chanyeol holds Jongdae closer, arms curling around him protectively, possessively. “What the hell are you doing outside of your coven this close to sunrise?” He noses around Jongdae’s cheek, noting with horror that the sweet scent that usually radiates off of the vampire is fading. “Tell me what happened,” he pleads, licking along the delicate edges of Jongdae’s lips.

“Blood,” is all Jongdae says. His eyes flutter closed as he continues to grow weaker in Chanyeol’s arms.

“You need to drink?” Chanyeol guesses.

Don’t the vampires keep humans around so they won’t go hungry? Fuck, there’s no time for him to find a human for Jongdae to feed on.

Chanyeol shifts Jongdae until he’s cradling him in one arm, making sure to keep his head supported. He bites into the fleshy part of free hand, right at his pinky and he winces as he breaks through the skin, nearly all the way to bone. Chanyeol presses the wound to Jongdae’s parted lips, gently trying to coax him into accepting his offering.

He doesn’t know if it’s possible for vampires to survive off of wolf’s blood, but Jongdae seemed to enjoy the taste he got of Chanyeol’s before.

It takes a moment for Jongdae to latch onto Chanyeol’s hand, his lips slowly closing around the dripping bite mark. He hums, gently sucking and Chanyeol sighs in relief, fingers caressing Jongdae’s pale skin as he watches the vampire feed.

The more Jongdae drinks, the more of his strength returns. He starts to squirm as the minutes tick by and soon Chanyeol doesn’t need to support him anymore, but he continues to hold him close anyway.

“More,” Jongdae whines, pushing Chanyeol’s hand away from his mouth.

Chanyeol’s surprised to notice that the wound had closed completely, as if there was not even a scratch on him to begin with. That’s odd, it should have taken at least a week to heal. He ignores the thought for now since there are more pressing matters to deal with.

“Let’s get you to some place safe first,” Chanyeol says, pulling Jongdae with him as he makes his way to the edge of the building. He glances up at the sky, trying to see how much time he has left before the sun is above the horizon. It’s already started to rise; they don’t have a lot of time.

“This way,” Chanyeol says, linking his fingers with Jongdae’s as they cross the street together.

“Where are we going?” Jongdae asks. He’s still fairly weak so it takes a bit of effort for him to keep up with Chanyeol. “I can’t go back to the coven. I just need more of your blood.”

“What’s wrong with the food source you would normally feed from?” Chanyeol asks, hurriedly making his way toward the newest subdivision of the city.

“Your blood tastes better,” is Jongdae’s cheeky reply, giving Chanyeol’s hand a little squeeze.

Chanyeol turns back for a second to look at Jongdae, pleased to note that some of the colour has returned to his cheeks. He still looks a bit sleepy, but he’s definitely gaining his strength back. Chanyeol finds that he doesn’t mind the idea of giving up some more of his blood for Jongdae. In fact, he’s kind of looking forward to having Jongdae’s lips on his skin again.

The sky above them is steadily getting brighter, the colours changing from soft blues and purples to warm oranges and yellows. It won’t be long before the sun comes up.

“There are new houses being built a few streets up,” Chanyeol explains. He can see the buildings now, some more finished than others. “Some of them haven’t been sold yet. We can hide in there until sundown.”

Chanyeol chooses the house that has a big ‘for sale’ sign stuck in the newly laid sod and is the furthest away from the construction zone. He brings Jongdae right up to the front door, grabbing the lock pick kit he always keeps on him for just this reason; he never knows when he’s going to need it. And after making sure Jongdae is out of any direct sunlight, Chanyeol works on getting the door unlocked.

Chanyeol gets the door open not even thirty seconds after he started to fiddle with the lock. “After you,” he says, holding it open for Jongdae as the vampire darts inside. Chanyeol rushes inside after him, closing the door and locking it to keep the sunlight out. It’s not perfect – there are windows all over the house, but it’ll do for one night.

Chanyeol barely has enough time to turn around before Jongdae is on him, hands fisted in the material of his hoodie. His eyes are dark and smoldering with lust as he stares up at Chanyeol. “Can I have more blood please?” he asks sweetly, pressing the full length of his body up against Chanyeol’s.

Chanyeol gulps. “We’re not completely out of the sun’s reach just yet,” he replies. Jongdae frowns, pouting so cutely that Chanyeol nearly gives in, but the vampire’s safety is his top priority right now.

He pulls Jongdae along as he searches for the darkest part of the house. There is no furniture in the new house, nor curtains on any of the windows. If Jongdae needs complete darkness then their only option is the second floor bathroom, but it’s a very cramped, uncomfortable space. “How dark does it need to be in here for you?” Chanyeol asks.

“This room is fine,” Jongdae replies, tugging Chanyeol as he walks backward into what is supposed to be the master bedroom. “As long as the sunshine doesn’t touch my skin, I’ll be okay.” He pauses for a second, eying the jugular vein in Chanyeol’s neck before his heavy gaze flicks up to Chanyeol’s mouth. “You know what, how about you just kiss me instead.”

Chanyeol chuckles, opening his arms for Jongdae as the vampire steps closer to him. “I can do that,” he replies, cupping Jongdae’s cheek in his palm while the other snakes around his waist. It has only been a handful of days since they last saw each other, but Chanyeol had been missing the feeling of Jongdae’s lips pressed up against his as soon as they were forced to part.

He’s not at all surprised when he licks into Jongdae’s mouth and immediately cuts his tongue on sharp fangs. The vampire lets out a high pitched moan as he sucks happily on Chanyeol’s bleeding tongue, unconsciously grinding his crotch against Chanyeol’s thigh.

“Fuck,” Jongdae whispers as he pulls away, lewdly licking the stray drops of Chanyeol’s blood from his lips. “I never knew that a wolf could have such amazing blood.”

He sounds so breathless already, so wrecked, and they’ve barely even touched each other. Chanyeol can’t help pulling Jongdae closer, possessively holding the vampire in his arms. He doesn’t intend to let go of Jongdae, at least until the sun sets. Jongdae doesn’t seem to mind when Chanyeol manhandles him, going pliant in his hands as Chanyeol gets comfortable on the floor with Jongdae straddling his thighs.

“I never knew that a vampire could smell so good,” Chanyeol replies, dragging the tip of his nose down the side of Jongdae’s neck. Chanyeol suppresses the urge to claim him, though he longs to make Jongdae his and his alone.

“What do vampires normally smell like?” Jongdae wonders, allowing Chanyeol to rub his cheek all over his exposed skin, spreading his scent there.

“They smell terrible,” Chanyeol replies, pleased by the combined smell of both their scents. “But not you. Your scent is divine.” He takes a deep breath against Jongdae’s neck and lets out a content sigh. “I can’t get enough.”

Jongdae tilts his head, bringing their mouths together again. “I could say the same thing about you,” he admits, tightening his grip on Chanyeol’s arms. “I don’t even need to breathe, but I can’t stop around you. And your blood…” he trails off.

“What about it?” Chanyeol asks against the corner of Jongdae’s lips. He licks affectionately at Jongdae’s flushed cheeks.

“I need some more,” Jongdae demands but quickly ducks his head sheepishly and adds, “please?”

It’s so cute that Chanyeol doesn’t even think twice about how wrong it is for a vampire to be feeding off of a wolf. He only debates dragging it out more to watch Jongdae squirm in his lap. He makes a show of pretending to think it over. “I don’t know,” he replies.

Jongdae pouts and Chanyeol can’t resist kissing him until he has the vampire moaning again, begging. “Alright,” he eventually relents, baring his neck for Jongdae’s fangs. The smile that lights up Jongdae’s face was definitely worth the slight teasing.

Jongdae kisses a line down from Chanyeol’s jaw to his shoulder first, and then settles his mouth against where Chanyeol’s pulse is thumping through his veins. It doesn’t hurt when Jongdae’s fangs sink into his skin, instead he feels a sort of a tingling sensation, slowly spreading from the bite down to the tips of his toes. He moans at the same time Jongdae does.

Jongdae squirms in his lap, and Chanyeol’s not sure if the vampire is purposely grinding his cock against his stomach or not. He doesn’t care though, because at the same time Jongdae’s also rubbing his ass against Chanyeol’s crotch. He can’t stop his body from reacting, not with the way he can feel Jongdae getting hard against him as he sucks on Chanyeol’s neck.

Chanyeol groans as Jongdae shifts closer, rutting harder against his stomach. Chanyeol holds Jongdae tighter, one hand slipping from the vampire’s waist to palm his ass. Jongdae gasps, finally detaching his mouth from Chanyeol’s neck. He gives the wound a final few licks before he pulls away, panting.

“Your blood is delicious,” he says like he can barely believe it, as he drags his fingers over where his lips and tongue had just been. Surprisingly it’s already healed but Chanyeol is distracted from thinking about it when all he wants to do is kiss Jongdae.

Possibly more.

Okay, a lot more.

Chanyeol’s head spins as the vampire continues to rock in his lap, throwing his head back in a moan when Chanyeol finally gives in and angles his hips to meet each of Jongdae’s thrusts. A moment later and Jongdae is trembling in Chanyeol’s arms, whining loudly as he clings tighter than ever onto him. He cries out a mangled version of Chanyeol’s name before slumping forward. He’s breathing heavily as he presses his face back against Chanyeol’s neck. “Shit.”

It takes Chanyeol a second to figure out what happened. “Did you just...?”

Jongdae squirms again in his arms, from embarrassment this time. “Shut up,” he mumbles hiding his face from the wolf.

Chanyeol just chuckles lightly, running his hand up and down Jongdae’s back. “It’s okay,” he tells him, but Jongdae just makes a hmph noise in response.

“It’s not,” Jongdae insists and Chanyeol feels cool fingers slipping beneath his shirt, tracing along the contours of his abs. It almost tickles.

“That’s not necessary,” Chanyeol says, grabbing Jongdae’s hand to prevent him touching any lower, despite the raging hard on trapped inside his jeans. He’d love nothing more than to have Jongdae spread out before him, moaning and writhing as he takes Chanyeol’s knot, but... Jongdae’s still recovering from what happened earlier, his exhaustion showing quite clearly. His concern for Jongdae’s health and safety takes priority over his own pleasure. “You need to rest.”

“I don’t–” Jongdae starts to protest but Chanyeol cuts him off with a kiss.

“It’s okay,” he repeats, adjusting Jongdae in his lap until he has the vampire’s head pillowed on his shoulder. “Sleep now. I’ll make sure the light never touches you.”

Jongdae grumbles but eventually relents, shifting until he’s comfortable in Chanyeol’s arms. As soon as he closes his eyes, he’s out, and Chanyeol smiles down at the vampire, gently smoothing a stray strand of hair from his eyes. He really is the most gorgeous creature Chanyeol has ever laid eyes on.

Jongdae wakes up a couple times during the day whenever Chanyeol moves. The second time it happens, he realizes that the wolf keeps doing it every time the sunbeam coming in from the window gets too close. Every couple of hours, Chanyeol very slowly and very carefully picks him up to physically move him to the safety of darkness. Chanyeol’s devotion tugs at Jongdae’s heartstrings. He’s falling for the wolf – falling hard and falling fast.

Chanyeol nudges him awake when the sun finally sets enough so that they can move around the empty house freely without Jongdae getting burned. He feels guilty about the dark bags under the wolf’s eyes for making his stay up passed when he was supposed to be sleeping.

“Don’t worry about it,” Chanyeol says with a wave of his hand like it’s not a big deal. “You’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”

Jongdae feels something powerful bubbling up in his chest and he pulls Chanyeol down by the neck to crash their lips together. He’s overwhelmed with everything that Chanyeol is making him feel – emotions that he’s never experienced before. He feels giddy, almost as if he’s actually alive, sighing contently against Chanyeol’s lips as their kiss deepens.

“I should really get going now,” Jongdae murmurs against Chanyeol’s lips. Joonmyun is probably beside himself with worry by now. It’ll be a miracle if the whole coven isn’t out looking for him already.

“Okay,” Chanyeol agrees, though he makes no move to pull away or even stop kissing Jongdae. “Me too.”

Jongdae can feel the arousal pooling in his gut as Chanyeol kisses along his neck, sucking another mark into his skin. “I’m serious,” Jongdae insists, even as his grip tightens around Chanyeol’s shoulders.

Chanyeol hums, licking along Jongdae’s neck now, dragging his teeth across his cool skin. “Sure.” Jongdae gasps when he bites down lightly, his knees buckling beneath his weight.

“Chanyeol,” Jongdae warns, but when the wolf finally pulls back, he finds that he immediately misses his warmth. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t give to spend the entire night with Chanyeol, getting to know him more, getting to map each other’s bodies out properly, but he needs to go or there will be hell to pay.

“When can I see you again?” Chanyeol asks, obviously making an effort to keep his hands to himself. He fails at it.

“Soon,” Jongdae assures him. “Tomorrow?” Chanyeol grins so widely and Jongdae wonders how he was ever afraid of the wolf in the first place. He’s more like an overgrown puppy.

“I’ll walk you back to the coven,” Chanyeol volunteers, and when he sees the expression of horror on Jongdae’s face, he quickly adds, “or at least as far as I can without anyone noticing.” Jongdae thinks it’s a bad idea, but Chanyeol is stubborn, refusing to take no for an answer.

When Jongdae is finished bypassing all the alarms and climbs through his bedroom window, he finds Joonmyun waiting for him on the bed. He doesn’t say anything at first, just gets up and rushes over to his best friend, throwing his arms around him and squeezes him tightly.

“I’m okay,” Jongdae reassures him, rubbing his back comfortingly.

Joonmyun pulls away after a moment, eyeing Jongdae incredulously. “You stink,” he tells Jongdae before ushering him off toward the shower.

Jongdae’s just on his way back to his room from another long and boring council meeting with the coven elders. He knows it’s his duty as the crowned prince to sit in on these kinds of things, but they’re terribly boring. Jongdae would rather sit in a sunbeam than spend the rest of his undead life listening to the dull voices of those old fashioned vampires.

And they keep pestering Jongdae to find himself a nice vampire bride despite the fact that he’s told them many times that he has absolutely no interest in women. He wonders what their reaction would be if he told them that not only is he gay, but he’s actually kinda, sorta, maybe dating a wolf instead of a vampire. He’s sure it would be quite the sight, well respected vampire elders with wide eyes and a slack jaw. Hilarious.

But he keeps that information to himself for the time being. He may be prince, but he’s not in charge of the vampires just yet. His coronation is still a few months away and until then he is at the mercy of the elders.

“At least pretend that you still need to drink from the humans,” Joonmyun says out of no where as he grabs a hold of Jongdae’s arm. “Or you’re going to get caught real quick. Someone is bound to notice that you haven’t been down to see the pets in a while.”

“Oh, right,” is all Jongdae says. He hadn’t thought about it, so caught up in the rush he gets whenever he gets to see Chanyeol. He doesn’t protest as Joonmyun pulls him back in the direction he came from, down the hall towards the staircase that leads to the basement. “Yeah, okay.”

“Is there a human that you can trust?” Joonmyun asks as they descend the spiral staircase.

Jongdae doesn’t even need to think about it. “Taemin,” he says.

They head to Taemin’s room – the fourth on the right – and find him awake, reading a book on top of the covers of his bed. Joonmyun checks to make sure that no other vampires down the hall before closing the door behind him.

Taemin puts the book down immediately when he recognizes the vampires in the room. “My prince,” he greets, bowing respectfully toward Jongdae.

“Call me Jongdae,” he reminds the human. He doesn’t miss the way that Taemin’s eyes shift cautiously in Joonmyun’s direction. “Don’t mind him. Joonmyun doesn’t care what you call me.”

“So what’s up?” Taemin asks, relaxing a bit now that he knows that he can act normally around Joonmyun. “Are you hungry?”

“No, actually,” Jongdae replies. “We came to ask you for a favour.”

“Hold that thought,” Joonmyun says. Without another word he walks back out into the hallway, leaving both Jongdae and Taemin confused.

Joonmyun returns a couple minutes later with Minseok, having grabbed him from another room down the hall. He gestures for Minseok to take a seat on the bed beside Taemin and both humans exchange a brief glance when Minseok is seated.

“You’re not in trouble,” Joonmyun starts because of the nervous expression on Minseok’s sharp features. “We need your help.”

“I need your help,” Jongdae corrects. “I have secured an alternate source of blood from outside the coven, and I would like to keep it a secret.”

“So that’s why you’ve been getting me to help you sneak out all the time,” Taemin comments.

“You’ve been using humans to help you get passed the guards?” Joonmyun asks, eyebrow raised.

“It’s not my fault that they seem to have a bigger weakness to blood than anyone else in the coven,” Jongdae laughs, shrugging. It really has been way too easy to get Taemin to distract the guards so he can escape the coven walls.

“If you have someone willing to supply you with blood, why not bring them to the coven?” Minseok asks. “Why all the sneaking around?”

Jongdae tenses up at the question and Joonmyun puts a comforting hand on his arm. He knows Joonmyun wouldn’t have brought Minseok in here if he wasn’t completely sure that the human is trustworthy, and Jongdae trusts his best friend’s instincts. “It’s not someone the coven would approve of,” is all Joonmyun offers as an explanation. Minseok nods in understanding.

“What do you need from us then?” Taemin wonders. “If you don’t need blood, then...?”

“If anyone asks, tell them that Jongdae has been feeding from you lately,” Joonmyun tells them. “And only the two of you.”

“Let one of us know right away if anyone does ask,” Jongdae adds.

“Of course,” Minseok agrees. Taemin nods as well to show he understands.

“My prince,” a guard greets Jongdae when him and Joonmyun are on their way back upstairs after discussing the situation with the humans. He gives both Jongdae and Joonmyun a low, respectful bow. Not many of the guards do that for Jongdae anymore, not since his brother’s death.

“Evening Luhan,” Joonmyun says. “Did you come down to feed? We took some blood from Taemin and Minseok, just so you know.”

Luhan glances longingly at the closed doors where the humans are kept. “No, unfortunately I’m on duty right now,” he replies. “But I’ll keep that in mind for when I come back down to feed later, thank you.”

“What business do you have down here then?” Jongdae asks, equal parts curious and nervous that he might have been found out already. Luhan has soft, boyish features, but his looks are deceiving. Not only is he the Commander-in-Chief of the vampire army, but he is also the fastest and strongest vampire that Jongdae knows. He doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of Luhan’s wrath.

“Oh, just double checking that our pets are safe and secure down here,” he explains. “The scent of a wolf has been faintly lingering around the coven for a few days now. We’re just making sure that there are no weaknesses in the coven for any mutt to sneak through.”

“Oh,” Jongdae replies. “Do you really think one could get in?”

“Nah,” Luhan says, shaking his head. “But I think they’re up to something. Maybe planning an attack. They were probably testing out our security when the sensors on the perimeter wall were triggered a few weeks ago.”

That’s not at all what the wolves are up to, but it’s not like Jongdae can tell Luhan that. As far as the guards know, he only goes out of the coven once or twice a month, if that. And he wouldn’t be able to explain how he knows what the wolves are doing. So he keeps his mouth shut.

On the other hand, it is good news. No one has a clue that Jongdae sneaks out of the coven just about every other day to go see Chanyeol for a few hours. He will have to be more careful though, because he’s been unintentionally bringing traces of the wolf’s scent back with him each time he returns. But if they’re too busy looking for wolves, chances are that they won’t notice a vampire that smells like one.

“I should be getting back to doing my rounds now,” Luhan continues. “Just try to be careful anytime you’re outside of the coven, okay? Both of you.”

“Of course,” Jongdae replies with a smile even though he’s more worried about what would happen if a vampire found out about who he’s been seeing than he is about running into any wolf. “Thank you.”

“We’ll be careful,” Joonmyun promises with a wave as they resume climbing up the staircase and Luhan makes his way down.

When Jongdae sits up in his bed, having just woken up after the sun went down, he feels dizzy. It’s only been four days since Jongdae last fed, but he’s already started to grow weak. If he can’t meet up with Chanyeol tonight, he’s going to be in serious trouble.

And with the added security guards roaming the halls and watching the exits, it’s even harder for him to sneak out. The human guards are easy enough to get past; it’s the vampire ones he needs to worry about. He had almost made it out last night, but was seen by Kyungsoo just when he was about to jump over the wall. He chatted up the guard to avoid any suspicion but ended up wasting too much time and needed to go straight to his meeting with the elders after leaving the garden.

Jongdae keeps his fingers crossed that he will be able to make it out safely this time. It takes both Taemin and Minseok to distract the guards at the exit he’s chosen for tonight’s escape. Using the humans as a distraction never fails and soon the vampires on duty are pulled away by the promise of blood and possibly a quickie.

Once outside, Jongdae triple checks that none of the guards are around before he darts across the lawn. He easily makes it over but stumbles as he lands. Not quite as silent as he meant, but the guards don’t seem to have noticed. Free from the confines of coven, Jongdae heads over to where Chanyeol should be waiting for him.

When Jongdae gets to the house with the ‘For Sale’ sign still standing proudly in the middle of the lawn, the front door is already unlocked. He locks it behind him before heading straight for the stairs. He finds Chanyeol in the master bedroom, taking a few deerskin blankets out from his rucksack to spread out on the floor. Chanyeol smiles brightly when he notices Jongdae lingering in the doorway.

“Hey,” Chanyeol says, abandoning his current task as he makes his way over to Jongdae.

“Hey,” Jongdae echoes, allowing Chanyeol to pull him into a hug. He lifts his head, tilting it to the side in a silent demand, one he has never known Chanyeol to refuse. Jongdae melts into the kiss, relaxing in Chanyeol’s arms. He’s missed this. Coming back to Chanyeol after days apart feels like coming home.

“I missed you,” Chanyeol says when he breaks their kiss. He rubs his cheek against Jongdae’s, pulling him closer as he runs his fingers through the short hairs on the back of Jongdae’s neck. It feels so good, so comfortable that he’s nearly lulled to sleep. It took most of his energy to get here and now he can feel the exhaustion setting in.

“Missed you too,” Jongdae mumbles. He can hear Chanyeol’s heart beating steadily, and he’s hungry but he finds that it takes too much effort to lift his head.

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol asks, voice rumbling through his chest and into Jongdae’s as he speaks. Chanyeol pulls back a bit, so he can take a proper look at the vampire. “You look pale,” he comments. “Paler than usual.”

“I’m okay,” Jongdae replies sleepily. “Just hungry.”

Chanyeol narrows his eyes at Jongdae. “When was the last time you fed?”

Well, he would have found out sooner or later. “The last time I saw you,” Jongdae replies, and he sees something flicker across Chanyeol’s expression, but it’s gone before he can figure out what it is.

“You’re only feeding from me?” Chanyeol asks, surprised. “My blood can’t be that good.”

Jongdae manages a small laugh. “Oh, it is,” he assures the wolf. “But it’s also the only blood I can drink now. Human blood doesn’t sit well in my stomach anymore. I guess that’s why drinking from wolves has always been forbidden.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Chanyeol asks, brows furrowed. He’s upset, but Jongdae can’t blame him. He’d be upset too if he found out Chanyeol was hiding something as important as this from him. “What if something happened to you because you couldn’t feed from me in time?” Chanyeol pulls him closer again, pressing warm lips against Jongdae’s cool temple.

“I’m sorry,” Jongdae says. Chanyeol doesn’t reply right away, but Jongdae is shifted until he has his face pressed into the wolf’s neck. The scent of Chanyeol’s skin and the beating of his heart against Jongdae’s lips has his mouth watering in anticipation.

“Drink,” Chanyeol tells him, but it’s more like an order. He imagines that’s the tone Chanyeol uses when he’s with his pack. He wants to see how Chanyeol leads and takes care of his pack some day.

Jongdae’s so sleepy, but he doesn’t want to disappoint, so he obediently opens his mouth against Chanyeol’s skin. As he drags his lips and tongue along Chanyeol’s neck, he feels the wolf shudder, a tiny groan escaping. The corners of Jongdae’s lips twitch up as he gently sinks his fangs into Chanyeol’s flesh.

Delicious, warm blood pours into Jongdae’s mouth immediately and he greedily swallows as much as he can. Chanyeol keeps one arm securely around Jongdae’s waist and the other slides up his back, supporting him as he feeds. Jongdae squirms slightly as he feels his strength slowly starting to return.

As his belly fills, it also triggers his desire for Chanyeol, which isn’t nearly as strong as when he first fed off the wolf’s blood. After a couple months of living off Chanyeol’s blood, he’s gotten used to it warming his belly as it slowly gets digested and absorbed into his system. Oddly, it makes him feel physically stronger, and he swears that he can run faster now. His senses are sharper, but that just might be from whatever bond he’s been forming with Chanyeol. They are almost so completely in tune with each other that it’s a little scary sometimes.

Chanyeol shifts Jongdae’s weight in his arms, like he knows Jongdae is almost done feeding, like he’s ready for it. Jongdae smiles against Chanyeol’s skin, humming in satisfaction as he begins to lick at the puncture wounds, helping them close. And even long after the marks have healed, Jongdae keeps his lips pressed to the warm skin of Chanyeol’s neck, savouring the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around him. He feels safe, protected.

Loved.

Overwhelmed with emotions, Jongdae pulls Chanyeol in for another kiss and he makes sure to line their hips up so he can rock against the wolf. He’s worked up from feeding and judging by the hardness pressing back against him, Chanyeol is too.

“How long before you have to go back?” Chanyeol asks as his hand travels down Jongdae’s back to rest against his ass. He drags his fingers teasingly up and down against Jongdae’s jeans, just outside of where his entrance is. He’s always such a tease.

“A few hours,” Jongdae replies, moaning as he spreads his legs, pushing back against Chanyeol’s hands.

“Perfect,” Chanyeol says, making a pleased sort of growling sound as he presses one more kiss to Jongdae’s neck before he pulls away. It only takes a moment for him to remove his shirt. His pants and boxers are next, joining his shirt in a pile on the floor.

Jongdae stands frozen, mesmerized by the show of skin revealed before his eyes. Not matter how many times he’s seen it, the sight of Chanyeol, naked and hard for him, takes his breath away. He blushes at the smirk that Chanyeol sends him when he catches Jongdae staring and he quickly busies himself with taking off his own clothes, too.

Once they’re both fully naked, Chanyeol gathers Jongdae up in his arms, laying him down on his back on the fur blankets. The first thing that Jongdae does is stretch to grab the bottle of lube from Chanyeol’s rucksack, and he shoves it into the wolf’s hand as he lets his legs fall open.

Chanyeol chuckles, staring down at him with heated eyes. “You’re impatient tonight,” he says as he flips the cap open on the bottle before squirting a generous amount on his fingers.

Jongdae pouts, sending Chanyeol the best glare that he can manage with fingers wetting his entrance with cool lube. He moans as the first finger slides into him. “I missed you a lot,” Jongdae admits. “Missed this.”

Chanyeol grins, crooking his fingers into the spot that has Jongdae squirming. “Me too,” he returns. Another finger has Jongdae arching up off the blankets. “So much.” Chanyeol’s free hand comes up to rest on Jongdae’s hip, holding him in place as he works him open with his fingers.

Jongdae sputters a colourful mix of curses, whining as the pleasure builds. It’s too much, too soon and he doesn’t want to come without Chanyeol inside him. “Chanyeol–” he starts, but the wolf is already one step ahead of him. As soon as Chanyeol’s fingers slip out of him, they’re replaced with his dick. Chanyeol takes another moment to tease, smirking as he rubs the head of his dick gently against Jongdae’s hole. “What are you waiting for?” Jongdae hisses. “Fuck me already.”

Jongdae gasps as Chanyeol enters him in one swift movement. Despite the amount of prep, the stretch stings slightly and he needs a moment to adjust. Chanyeol uses the time to pepper Jongdae’s flushed skin with kisses, anywhere he can reach, and it helps him relax against the deer pelts. His own hands come up to wrap around Chanyeol’s neck, gently running his fingers through the soft hairs at his hairline.

Guiding Chanyeol’s mouth back to his own, Jongdae waits until they are kissing again before giving Chanyeol the okay. He breathes the word out against Chanyeol’s lips, emphasizing it with a wiggle of his own hips. It immediately spurs Chanyeol into action. Without taking his eyes off Jongdae’s, he pulls out almost all the way before thrusting back in.

Jongdae moans, clinging tightly onto Chanyeol’s shoulders as does his best to keep up, meeting the wolf thrust for thrust. He spreads his thighs wider, allowing Chanyeol to get that much deeper. With each push in, Chanyeol’s cock brushes against Jongdae’s prostate, making him gasp despite his lack of need for oxygen. He whines in an attempt to get Chanyeol to go faster, but the wolf just kisses him, muffling the desperate sounds that Jongdae makes.

“We’ve got time,” Chanyeol says softly, keeping up his steady pace of easing out gently before filling Jongdae back up with his cock. It’s slow, a lot slower than what Jongdae is used to from Chanyeol, but no less pleasurable. Chanyeol runs his fingers through Jongdae’s hair, petting him as he stares down at the vampire beneath him. “Just let me.”

Jongdae nods, unable to speak as Chanyeol rearranges him. He unhooks Jongdae’s arms from around his neck and laces their fingers together before pushing the back of Jongdae’s hands against the soft fur by his head. “There,” he says. “How’s that?”

“Good,” Jongdae replies, shuddering at the rough drag of Chanyeol’s cock inside him. It’s bigger than before, the knot starting to form. “Really good.”

Chanyeol had warned him, the first time they were about to have sex, that wolves fuck a bit differently. He had mumbled something about his knot, how his dick would be bigger than any vampire or human Jongdae had ever been with. Jongdae hadn’t quite understood what Chanyeol meant until he had it inside him. It was startling to feel Chanyeol’s cock grow deep in his ass, the stretch almost too much, but Chanyeol had prepared him well (he always does). Now being opened up impossibly wide by Chanyeol’s cock is something he looks forward to, and enjoys the time after, when he is so intimately connected to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol’s grunts mix in the air with all Jongdae’s moans, his thrusts slowing even more as his knot catches on Jongdae’s rim. Jongdae writhes against the pelts beneath him, crying out as the pleasure builds.

“I’m–” Jongdae starts, but the warning never makes it past his lips. He shudders as Chanyeol wraps his hand around his dick, stroking him hard and fast, a stark contrast to the steady movement of their hips. Jongdae whimpers as he’s pushed over the edge, spurting ropes of white between them.

Chanyeol groans, still gently rutting against Jongdae’s ass, knot stuck deep inside him. He buries his face into Jongdae’s neck as he comes too, affectionately licking and kissing his sweat damp skin.

When Chanyeol’s heartbeat starts to return to normal, he rearranges them so that Jongdae is resting comfortably against his chest while they wait for Chanyeol’s knot to shrink.

“Don’t hide something like that from me again,” Chanyeol says, content to run his hands gently through Jongdae’s hair, combing the tangles out. His other hand is resting against the small of Jongdae’s back, keeping him close.

He’s not really mad, only disappointed that Jongdae didn’t feel like he could trust Chanyeol enough to tell him.

Chanyeol feels Jongdae sigh in his arms, followed by a guilty look. “What?” He asks. “Is there something else you haven’t told me?”

“Well–” Jongdae starts.

Chanyeol’s heart sinks. “What is it?” He asks, worried.

Jongdae stares at a spot somewhere around Chanyeol’s shoulder. “I’m not... I’m not just a regular vampire from my coven,” he confesses.

Chanyeol narrows his eyes. “What do you mean? Are you trying to tell me that you’re not a vampire?”

Jongdae laughs, his whole body shaking with amusement. “No, of course not. I’m definitely a vampire.”

“Then what?” Chanyeol asks, brows furrowed in confusion. The longer Jongdae takes to respond, the worse he thinks it is. His mind runs away with all sorts of different possibilities.

“I’m the prince,” Jongdae explains softly. “And in a couple months, when I have my coronation, I’ll be king.”

“King,” Chanyeol repeats in awe. Definitely a lot better than any of the alternatives that his overactive imagination supplied. “That’s amazing. I have good taste.”

Jongdae laughs again, smacking Chanyeol playfully on the shoulder. “Be serious,” he complains. “What if we could join our two kinds? Have the vampires and wolves live together in peace.”

It’s not as if Chanyeol hasn’t already thought about it. In an ideal world there would be no more fights, no more death, no more living in fear. There isn’t much that Chanyeol wouldn’t give for a safe place where he and Jongdae could live together without having to sneak around behind his pack’s back.

Chanyeol holds Jongdae tighter. “That would be wonderful,” he says, pressing his lips to Jongdae’s forehead.

If only reality could be that simple.

“Who is the vampire?” Kris demands, appearing from behind a tree and startling Chanyeol as Chanyeol approaches the den. He looks pissed.

Chanyeol realizes now that he forgot to stop by the stream like he usually does to wash off the scent of vampire and sex from his skin. With Kris’ outburst, the pack is starting to gather around them. All of them must be able to smell it by now, Jongdae’s scent lingering on him. The wolves are staring at him in a various mixtures of shock, horror and confusion.

For once, Chanyeol doesn’t know what to do.

“I can’t believe this is where you’ve been sneaking off to all this time,” Kris continues in a snarl. He circles around Chanyeol, baring his teeth. He tries to use his slight height advantage to intimidate Chanyeol. It doesn’t work. “How many wolves have lost their lives to your little vampire slut?”

“Jongdae isn’t like that,” Chanyeol growls back, bristling at the insult toward his precious mate. “He hasn’t killed anyone. He’s not a fighter.”

“He’s still a vampire,” Kris spits, disgusted. There are murmurs of agreement from all around.

“I love him,” Chanyeol admits with a growl, startling himself as well as the pack. It’s the first time he’s admitted it out loud. He hasn’t even told Jongdae how he feels yet.

“Have you completely lost your mind? He’s an enemy. You disobeyed the rules for the pack that your own father implemented.”

“It’s not like that!” Chanyeol snaps, standing his ground. “I imprinted on him!”

Gasps echo from all around Chanyeol. Imprinting isn’t a rare occurrence, but isn’t all that common either nowadays. However, a wolf imprinting on a vampire is completely unheard of.

“Imprinted? On a vampire?” Kris barks out a laugh, sarcastic and hollow. Chanyeol thinks he’s the one that looks crazy right now. “You actually are insane.” He closes in on Chanyeol and shoves him roughly in the chest. “You’re no longer fit to be our Lead Alpha.”

Chanyeol narrows his eyes, hands clenching into fists at his side. “Is that a challenge?”

“You’ve become a threat to the wellbeing of this pack,” is all Kris says before he lunges at Chanyeol, knocking them both to the ground. The wolves surrounding them back up, not wanting to get caught up in the fight.

Kris has always been strong, but Chanyeol is stronger. He blocks the punch Kris aims at his nose and kicks the alpha off him. But it’s not enough to stop him and as soon as Kris is on his feet, he attacks again. Chanyeol easily dodges out of the way and he manages to hook his claws into Kris’ shoulders in the process, holding him in place.

“Just listen to me, please,” Chanyeol says, yanking Kris closer. He struggles with Kris for a moment until he gets his arm around the other alpha’s neck, trapping him in a headlock. Kris flails wildly, but he can’t get free. “Do you remember what you told me about when you tried to attack the vampires? It was the night we went to go get the flower for Sehun and Jongin.”

“You’ve just fallen more under their spell,” Kris snarls, ignoring him. Claws dig into Chanyeol’s arms, but he refuses to let go. “It was a trap and you fell for it.”

“No, I imprinted,” Chanyeol repeats. “But I didn’t realize it at the time.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s true,” Chanyeol says, unconsciously squeezing tighter around Kris’ throat until the alpha starts choking and gasping for air. Chanyeol curses, loosening his grip enough for Kris to breathe easily. “I think you imprinted, too, that night.” Kris tenses up in Chanyeol’s hold at his words. “On Joonmyun.”

Kris doesn’t react right away, frozen in his own thoughts. “Joonmyun,” he repeats in a soft whisper. Chanyeol knows what Kris must be going through, finally having a name to put to the face of a vampire that’s been stuck inside his head for so long.

“Stop fighting it, Kris,” Chanyeol pleads. He releases his hold on Kris’s neck and the defeated alpha falls forward onto his knees, the fight drained out of him.

With his victory over Kris, Chanyeol remains the Lead Alpha and he beckons the rest of his pack closer to him. “Jongdae, my mate, is the prince of the vampires,” he announces. This is an even bigger shock to the wolves and there are collective gasps sounding all around him. “Together he and I can put an end to this war.”

“But the vampires killed your father and sister, Chanyeol,” Jongin says from his spot in the front line of wolves gathered around Chanyeol. “And both of my sisters too.”

“We’ve all lost friends and family members to those monsters,” Sehun agrees, clinging tightly to both Jongin and Zitao’s arms. While the omega doesn’t mind hunting and killing animals for food, he is unusually sensitive regarding arguments and physical fights. Tao pets the back of his head comfortingly.

“I know,” Chanyeol replies, solemnly. “And I’m sorry. A truce between us and the vampires won’t bring back any of the wolves we’ve already lost. But it will prevent us from losing any more.”

Silence follows Chanyeol’s words, only broken when Kris gets to his feet. “The vampires are our enemies,” he says angrily. “They always have been and they always will be. Nothing is ever going to change that, imprinting or not.” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Kris shifts, kicking up dirt as he sprints away from the pack.

Chanyeol sighs as he watches Kris’ form disappear between the trees and bushes. It’s not going to be easy, but he hopes that someday his pack and the vampires of Jongdae’s coven can live together in harmony.

Tonight’s the night. Finally, Jongdae has gathered enough courage to speak to the elders on the council about his idea to end the war with the wolves. He makes his way toward the throne room with his head held high. He needs to be careful though, to not let it slip that he has already been meeting with the wolves – well, one wolf – about forming a peace treaty.

Arriving at the throne room, he heads to the back where the door to the council meeting room is. He takes an unnecessary deep breath to calm his nerves as he places his hand on the knob. He can already hear voices from the other side of the door, ringing loud and clear in Jongdae’s sharp ears.

“But where is that wolf scent coming from?” one of the head elders shrieks. Jongdae flinches. Joonmyun had told him that he’s starting to smell like Chanyeol, but he didn’t think it was that bad.

“It has to be one of the vampires in the coven,” another says.

“Perhaps it is one of our pets?” The youngest of the elders asks. “A spy for the wolves?”

“No human is smart enough to pull that off,” the head elder scoffs dismissively. “No wolf either.”

“We should tighten up security again until the guards find out who is betraying us.”

“Of course,” the head elder agrees. “It was bad enough when we caught Jongdeok having an affair with that wretched wolf girl.”

Jongdae feels as if the carpet has been pulled out from beneath his feet. What the fuck are the elders talking about?

There’s light shuffling from the other side of the door. “For our own prince betray us like that…”

“We’ll find the vampire who is responsible for this awful stench violating our precious home and we’ll deal with them just like we did with Jongdeok. We’ll put stake through their heart at once.”

Jongdae clamps his hand over his mouth, stopping the gasp from escaping his lips. His stomach feels as if it’s being turned inside out and if his heart was still beating, it’d be in his throat.

His own vampires killed his brother for being with a wolf? He was told that it was a wolf that got his brother, tore him to pieces. He never did see the body; they told him there was nothing left of his brother. But they had caught the wolf responsible and ended its life.

It was nothing but complete bullshit. The elders committed the worst form of treason imaginable by murdering their prince.

And they have plans to do it again, they just don’t know it yet.

Jongdae’s never been to Chanyeol’s den before – never even been anywhere near it. But he knows which direction it is and he just keeps running until he picks up the scent of wolves. He can smell Chanyeol, but the scent of other wolves are there too. He must be getting closer.

A twig snaps in the distance, and Jongdae freezes. It never crossed his mind that he might run into a wolf that isn’t Chanyeol. They might see him as a threat, it might look like he’s launching an attack on their den. This was a bad idea, he needs to get out here right now.

But it’s too late.

A wolf jumps out from behind the bushes in front of Jongdae. It snarls, crouched low as if ready to pounce.

Jongdae thinks there’s something vaguely familiar about this wolf. It’s definitely not Chanyeol, but perhaps the one that tried to attack him? What did Chanyeol say his name was…?

“Kris,” Jongdae says, more to himself than the wolf. The creature’s ears perk up slightly at the name and Jongdae repeats it, more firmly. “Kris.”

Something – confusion? – passes the through the wolf’s eyes as the wind picks up, carrying Jongdae’s scent over to it. It only takes a moment for the wolf to shift into human form, and standing before Jongdae is a man, and by the looks of it, he’s taller than Chanyeol.

“Your name is Kris, right?” Jongdae asks, desperately hoping that he’s right.

The wolf pounces, and Jongdae tenses, clenching his eyes shut as he waits for an attack that never comes. The only contact between them is a large, warm hand gripping harshly at the back of Jongdae’s neck. He pulls and Jongdae lets him, leaning in closer to the wolf. Thick brows furrow as the wolf presses his nose against Jongdae’s neck, inhaling.

“I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Jongdae is quick to explain. “I just came to see Chanyeol.”

The wolf growls at the mention of Chanyeol’s name. He lets Jongdae go as if he’s been burned, taking a couple steps back. He shakes his head.

“Please,” Jongdae tries. “I need to see Chan–”

“What do you have here, Kris?” another voice asks and Jongdae turns to see two more wolves in human form stepping out from the trees. The new wolves stare at Jongdae darkly. “It’s a vampire,” the wolf continues, growling.

The other, younger looking wolf takes a step closer to Jongdae. He sniffs at the air, a frown gracing his soft features. “He smells like Chanyeol,” he says, confused. “Are you Jongdae?”

Jongdae almost starts to cry, he’s so happy. “Yes! I need to speak with Chanyeol.”

The youngest wolf’s face lights up at once. “Of course!” he says, practically falling over himself as he makes his way over to Jongdae.

“You’re just going to bring a vampire into our home?” Kris asks, incredulously.

“He’s not just any vampire,” the wolf pulling Jongdae deeper into the forest says. “He’s Chanyeol’s mate.” Jongdae flushes slightly at the words. He and Chanyeol haven’t talked about it, but it sounds nice. Yeah, he’d very much like to be Chanyeol’s mate.

“I forbid you to take him any further,” Kris orders, standing in front of the other three in an attempt to block their path.

The wolves simply pull Jongdae around Kris. “You can’t stop us from taking him to see his mate,” the wolf, the one not clinging onto Jongdae, replies in an uninterested tone.

“Not you too, Jongin,” Kris complains.

Jongin just shrugs, following closely behind Jongdae. “He saved me and Sehun.”

“I what?” Jongdae asks. He’s pretty sure that he’s never seen these wolves before, let alone done anything to help them in any way.

“Chanyeol told us how you collected the flowers for him,” the younger wolf, Sehun, explains, squeezing Jongdae’s arm. “One of them was a special flower that was used to make an antidote. We were both really sick.”

“Oh,” Jongdae replies. He never did remember to ask Chanyeol what the flowers were used for. It’s a matter of life and death, was all that Chanyeol had told him. He’s thankful for his small part in saving these two wolves because he doesn’t think they’d be this friendly with him under normal circumstances.

He allows Sehun to continue pulling him through the forest for a long time, until the thick trees give way to a small clearing. There’s a campfire in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by logs for seats. Sehun pulls him into a cave where Chanyeol’s scent is the strongest.

Chanyeol is there, deep in conversation with another wolf. He abruptly stops when he notices the new additions to the room. “Jongdae?” he says, rushing forward at once to pull Jongdae into his arms. “What are you doing here?”

Jongdae opens his mouth to explain but the words get caught in his throat. How is he supposed to explain how his own people killed his brother? Tears well up in Jongdae’s eyes before he has a chance to stop them. Chanyeol doesn’t say a word, just holds him close.

“The-they killed him,” Jongdae eventually tells him.

“Who?” Chanyeol asks softly, comforting Jongdae however he can.

“My brother,” Jongdae replies, sniffing. “And now they’re going to k-kill me. They’ll blame you for it. Probably kill you too, if they can.” He clings tightly onto Chanyeol, as if he’s afraid of what might happen if he lets go. “Just like they killed Jongdeok and his wolf girlfriend.”

“Jongdeok?” Jongin pipes up, taking a step closer toward Chanyeol and Jongdae. “That was the name of my sister’s boyfriend… I had never met him. I guess that’s why.”

“I’m sorry,” Jongdae cries, tears streaking down his face all over again. “I’m so sorry.”

Jongdae doesn’t really pay attention to what happens after that. Chanyeol guides him over to a corner of the den and wraps him up in pelts that are covered in his scent. Jongdae snuggles into the blankets, still quietly sobbing despite the comfort the soft furs offers him. Chanyeol leaves him briefly and ushers everyone out of the room except for Kris. Jongdae hears them whispering, but doesn’t pay too much attention to the words. Eventually Kris nods stiffly and then storms out of the room. Chanyeol sighs, shaking his head.

Alone again, Chanyeol returns to Jongdae’s side. He opens the cocoon that surrounds Jongdae long enough to slip inside it as well. “I know that it’s hard,” Chanyeol begins, gently wiping the tears away from Jongdae’s cheeks with his thumbs. “But I’d like you to tell me what happened.” Chanyeol pulls Jongdae until the vampire has his head resting on his shoulder, nuzzling his face into Jongdae’s hair.

Jongdae stay silent for a long while, trying to figure out where to begin. He tells Chanyeol about his parents, about his brother being first in line for the throne. It’s only been a couple of years since Jongdeok was taken away from him, but the grief still stings like it happened yesterday. Jongdae was by his brother’s side for hundreds of years, and he tells Chanyeol stories of their childhood, how they were born, not made, and aged until they reached maturity. Chanyeol listens silently to Jongdae, doing whatever he can to ease the pain.

The more he talks about it, the more he realizes that he’s just a pawn in the elder’s game of trying to take control over the coven. They’re too set in the old ways, perceiving any change as a threat. If it were up to them, Jongdae thinks, the war between the vampires and the wolves would never end until one side is completely wiped out. He shudders at the thought.

Hours later, when Jongdae’s tears have dried up and his voice is raw from talking, Chanyeol asks him to sleep through the daylight with him, here, in the den. “You can’t honestly expect me to just let you go back there,” he reasons, tightening his grip around Jongdae’s waist. “You said it yourself, they’ll kill you if they find out.”

“But what about Joonmyun?” Jongdae asks. He doesn’t want to leave the safety and comfort of Chanyeol’s arms, but he’s not about to leave his best friend behind to stay with those murderers. “He couldn’t have had anything to do with any of this. I know him.”

“Alright,” Chanyeol agrees. “But I’m not letting you go back alone.”

“Chanyeol–”

“I can’t lose you,” Chanyeol interrupts, pressing his forehead against Jongdae’s.

Jongdae sighs, but eventually gives in. He doesn’t want Chanyeol getting caught too close to the coven because he can’t stand the thought of anything happening to the wolf either.

“I’ll take my strongest wolves with me,” Chanyeol is quick to assure him. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Okay.”

They’re ready to go when the sun sets the next day. As promised, Chanyeol has his best fighters lined up to make the trip to the coven to retrieve Joonmyun. Despite Kris’ hatred toward the vampires, it was stupidly easy for Chanyeol to convince his second in command to tag along. All it took was the mention of Joonmyun’s name, and Kris agreed to join them.

“I’m only doing this for you,” Kris reminds Chanyeol as they’re about to leave.

“Right,” Chanyeol nods, humouring him. He knows that the true reason Kris wants to go back to the coven is to see Joonmyun and make sure he gets it back to the den safely. Chanyeol knows all about the urges that Kris is experiencing, no matter how much he tries to deny it.

“Alright, it’s time,” Chanyeol announces and the wolves around him begin to shift. “A pack of wolves will draw too much attention, so we need to split up. No more than two wolves at a time.” He turns to Jongdae, placing a hand on the small of the vampire’s back. “You’re with me.”

“I’m faster than the rest of you,” Jongdae points out. “I can run on my own.”

“But I want you to ride me,” Chanyeol replies softly, so no one else can hear.

“Chanyeol!” Jongdae says, smacking Chanyeol in the chest.

Chanyeol laughs, pulling a squirming Jongdae into his arms. “Seriously,” he continues. “It’ll be safer if I take you there myself.” Jongdae reluctantly nods, face still red from embarrassment.

“Let’s go,” Chanyeol says, and then he shifts too. He growls, barking out orders for the wolves to start making their way toward the coven now. Kris and Zitao are the first pair to depart, followed by Chanyeol, with Jongdae seated comfortably on his back, and Jongin. Siwon and Minho are next, then Youngwoon and Donghae. Yixing, Sehun and the rest of the pack stay back at the den to protect it, just in case.

“Stop,” Jongdae says, tugging at Chanyeol’s fur to get his attention. “This is close enough.” They stop a couple of blocks away from the coven because Jongdae doesn’t want to risk having the wolves get too close. They’ll be able to get away with one or two wolves hidden away, but surely the guards will notice a part of Chanyeol’s pack hanging around.

Jongdae slides off Chanyeol’s back as he comes to a stop down a dark alleyway. “I’ll go alone from here,” he says.

“Wait a second,” comes Chanyeol’s deep voice right before Jongdae feels a hand around his wrist, pulling him into a warm embrace. Chanyeol hugs him tightly and Jongdae turns around in his arms for one last kiss before he goes. “Be careful,” Chanyeol whispers against his lips.

“I’ll be okay,” Jongdae promises. At least he hopes that nothing is going to happen when he gets back inside.

Chanyeol holds him like he never wants to let go. “I love you,” he tells Jongdae, loud and clear.

If Jongdae’s heart worked, he’s sure that it would have skipped a couple beats at Chanyeol’s words. “I love you too,” Jongdae replies, hugging Chanyeol back just as tightly. But after a moment, he has to tear himself out of Chanyeol’s arms. With one last longing look at Chanyeol, Jongdae takes off toward the coven.

Thankfully they haven’t tightened security in the short time that Jongdae was gone, and he still makes it through the window and back into his bedroom like he hoped. Joonmyun isn’t in here waiting for him this time, Jongdae notes. He could be anywhere in the coven.

Jongdae sneaks around the mansion, going to Joonmyun’s bedroom first, but his best friend isn’t there either. Nor is he in the library. Jongdae wonders if the elders have somehow found out about him already, if they know that Joonmyun has been helping him. Jongdae hurries down the basement next, and he’s at the bottom of the stairs when he spots Joonmyun stepping out from Minseok’s room.

“Joonmyun!” Jongdae calls, running over to him. Startled, Joonmyun barely has enough time to open his arms before Jongdae to run into them. “I was so scared that something happened to you!”

“What?” Joonmyun asks, confused. “I could say the same thing about you. Where have you been?”

“There’s no time to explain,” Jongdae says, releasing Joonmyun to grab a hold of his hand instead. “We have to get out of–”

The door to another human’s room opens and out steps Luhan. “My prince,” he says when he notices the pair standing in the hallway. He gives them the same deep bow as always.

Every muscle in Jongdae’s body tenses with fright. This is it. He’s been caught. They’re going to slaughter him just like they did to Jongdeok and he’ll never be able to see Chanyeol again.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Luhan continues. He pauses then, looking Jongdae over with concerned eyes. “Is everything alright? Are you hurt?” Jongdae can tell when Luhan catches his scent, Chanyeol’s scent, because his stance changes, like he’s preparing for a fight.

Despite the fact that he knows Luhan is much faster than him, Jongdae runs, pulling a stumbling Joonmyun along behind him. “He’s going to kill me!”

“Who?” Joonmyun asks, struggling to keep up.

“Luhan,” Jongdae answers, as he reaches the stairs.

But Luhan is too quick, easily jumping ahead of them to block the only exit out of the basement. Jongdae makes sure to keep Joonmyun behind him, there’s no point in both of them getting killed.

“Joonmyun hasn’t done anything wrong,” Jongdae says, trying to keep his voice steady. “It was just me. Release him unharmed, and I’ll go with you.”

“Jongdae, no!” Joonmyun hisses, but Jongdae ignores his plea.

“What are you talking about?” Luhan asks, surprised.

Jongdae pauses. “You don’t want to kill me?”

“Of course not.” Luhan frowns down at the pair. “What the hell made you think that?”

“Where does your loyalty lie?” Jongdae asks warily. “With me or with the elders?”

Luhan doesn’t hesitate for even a second. “With you, my prince. Always with you.”

“It was the elders that had my brother killed, not a wolf,” Jongdae says, watching Luhan’s reaction carefully. He sees the shock clearly in Luhan’s eyes before they darken with rage.

“I’ll kill them all myself,” Luhan hisses, already turning on his heel to go up the stairs.

“No, wait!” Jongdae says, grabbing hold of Luhan’s arm. “We can’t fight them, we have to get out of here.”

“But my prince–”

“No, we need to leave,” Jongdae orders. He’s already been in here for too long. Chanyeol must be worried sick about him. All he can think about now is getting back to his wolf.

“Alright,” Luhan agrees. “But we’ll need to take some of the humans with us. We won’t be able to go that long without feeding.”

“Taemin and Minseok,” Joonmyun says before rushing off to gather the boys.

Luhan also disappears into a few of the human’s rooms and when he returns there are more following him. He sends a man named Ryeowook off to go find Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, to bring them back down to Luhan. “It’s not going to be easy getting out of here with the pets,” Luhan explains when Jongdae gives him a questioning look. “We’ll need all the help we can get.”

Ryeowook returns ten minutes later with vampires on either side of him. “What’s going on?” Kyungsoo asks as he eyes the group of humans and vampires gathered around in the hall.

“The prince has returned,” Baekhyun says, bowing low as soon as he spots Jongdae in the crowd. “I’m glad you are safe, my prince.”

“Thank you,” Jongdae replies, and when he is finished a brief explanation about the elders murdering his brother, he is relieved to see Kyungsoo and Baekhyun with the same expression of hatred and shock that Luhan had. They spend about another half an hour gathering up more vampires, ones that they know for sure are still loyal to Jongdae.

“There’s too many of us to make it out of here without anyone noticing,” Baekhyun comments as they are getting ready to leave.

“I still don’t understand why we can’t just kill them all,” Kyungsoo complains.

“There has been enough fighting already,” Jongdae replies. “I don’t want to risk losing any more members of my coven.”

“Alright,” Luhan agrees. “But we’re going to have to leave by force, or we’ll never be able to get out of here.”

At Jongdae’s nod, Luhan begins giving orders. The plan is to take them all out through the front gate. The weaker vampires will take out the human guards, make sure none of the human pets get harmed. Kyungsoo, Baekhyun and the other vampire guards will take care of any vampires still under the elder’s control. Luhan will be protecting Jongdae and Joonmyun himself.

All goes smoothly until they make it to the main entrance to the coven. The other vampires are getting too suspicious of their large group and Luhan can’t explain away the group’s presence anymore. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun spring into action at the first sign of trouble, knocking out any vampires that try to get in their way. Jongdae’s other vampires efficiently disarm the human guards and Taemin even punches a guard in the face who tries to grab him.

The alarm sounds before they can get the gate opened and more of the elders’ vampires rush into the yard to try and stop them. Luckily Luhan’s override code still works, and he punches the numbers into the pinpad at the side of the outer security office. The humans are the first through the mechanical gate as it slowly starts to open.

“Wolves!” someone yells, and Jongdae whips around to see Chanyeol and his pack just on the other side of the gate.

“Chanyeol!” Jongdae calls and the wolf is by his side in an instant.

“Protect the prince!” someone else shouts.

Luhan attempts to get in between him and Chanyeol, but Jongdae steps in front of him. He puts his hand on the gun – loaded with silver bullets – that Luhan has aimed at Chanyeol. “It’s alright,” he says. “They’re here to help.”

“But–”

“Do you trust me?” Jongdae asks. He can see the struggle on Luhan’s face, between what he’s been trained to do for hundreds of years and Jongdae’s words. “It’s okay, really.”

Luhan lowers his weapon slowly, uncertainly. He stares in shock as Jongdae easily climbs onto the back of the huge grey wolf, as if that’s where he belongs. “Wha–”

“They’re here to help,” Jongdae repeats. It takes a moment, but eventually Luhan nods in understanding. “I’ll be fine with Chanyeol. Get the humans onto the wolves. The faster we can get out of here, the better.”

“Yes, my prince,” Luhan replies. He grabs the pet closest to him – Taemin – and lifts him onto Chanyeol’s back behind Jongdae.

“I thought the wolves were our enemy?” Taemin asks, confused.

“It’s a long story,” Jongdae replies.

When Jongdae looks around, he’s surprised to find Joonmyun on top of a wolf as well, Kris from the looks of it, with Kibum behind him. Joonmyun looks like he’s terrified at being on Kris’ back. Chanyeol notices too, snorting in amusement, even as it catches Kris’ attention and the big black wolf growls warningly at them. Chanyeol just ignores it, trotting around as he makes sure that his wolves and Jongdae’s vampires are safe.

They’re outnumbered and outgunned, but with the wolves and Luhan’s guards, Jongdae’s side is much stronger than the elders’ vampires. They seem to realize this as well, not daring to take a step outside the safety of the coven’s walls.

“Follow that wolf,” Jongdae calls pointing to where Jongin is trying to lead the vampires who cannot fight toward the den. Luhan, with Minseok thrown over his shoulder, stays close to Jongdae and Chanyeol, easily dodging any bullets aimed at them. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo have fallen back as well, taking up positions on either side of Luhan.

Jongdae stares regretfully at the coven. It makes him upset to leave the place he grew up, the only place he’s ever known, but he can’t live in a house where his subjects are plotting to kill him. “Let’s go,” Jongdae says, patting Chanyeol’s shoulder. Slowly the group begins to back away from the coven, making sure no one follows them as they make their escape.

When they arrive back at the den, it’s to the sight of the wolves on one side, and the vampires and humans on the other. Taemin hops off the back of Chanyeol as soon as he’s able, joining the rest of the humans gathered around the remnants of the campfire. Jongdae remains where he is, allowing Chanyeol to take him straight down the center of the divide.

There are murmurs coming from both sides, of fear and hate. He and Chanyeol need to put a stop to it before a fight breaks out. They worked together well enough when there was a common enemy, but now they look ready to fight each other.

It’s only when Chanyeol stops in the middle does Jongdae climb off his back. Chanyeol has shifted back into his human form by the time Jongdae turns around. He takes Chanyeol’s outstretched hand, linking their fingers together. The chatter surrounding them only gets louder.

Jongdae isn’t surprised when Luhan is the first to speak. “What’s going on?” he asks, taking a step forward.

Chanyeol squeezes Jongdae’s hand briefly before letting go again. “I’ll wait for you in my room,” he tells Jongdae, placing a quick kiss to his forehead. “But don’t wait too long. We still have to figure out sleeping arrangements for your coven.” With that, Chanyeol leads his pack into the den and out of sight from the members of Jongdae’s coven. He’s grateful for the privacy, but at the same time he doesn’t want to be separated from Chanyeol, not after everything that has happened.

He just hopes that his vampires are as open minded and understanding as the wolves are. Chanyeol’s pack has had a lot more time to get used to the idea of vampires and wolves working together, while Jongdae’s vampires have only had a couple of hours. He fears that the information that he’s about to share might be too much for some of his people to accept in such a short period of time.

It’s Joonmyun who stays by Jongdae’s side, comforting him as he starts the story from the beginning. He tells them all about the first time he met Chanyeol, and then about the second. He explains that Chanyeol setting off the alarm wasn’t because he was trying to attack them, that he just needed a flower to save Sehun and Jongin. He can see the shocked and confused expressions on their faces as they listen to his story. He wonders how many of them actually believe him.

Chanyeol wanders back to Jongdae’s side just as he’s about to explain everything he overheard the elders’ say. Chanyeol doesn’t say anything, only holds Jongdae’s hand again, but just that is enough to give Jongdae the strength to continue.

It takes both Kyungsoo and Baekhyun to stop Luhan from marching back into the coven to rip the elders apart once he hears everything in full detail. “Treason!” he shouts, outraged. “They’re supposed to be guiding the prince, not slaughtering him!”

“They would have killed me too,” Jongdae replies softly. “If they had found out about me and Chanyeol.”

Luhan easily shakes off the two vampires holding him down and marches straight over to where Jongdae and Chanyeol are sitting instead. Determined, he gets down onto his knees in front of them, bowing until his forehead touches the dirt. “I won’t fail you again, my prince,” Luhan declares. “I swear that from this day on, I will do whatever it takes to protect you and this coven.”

Jongdae glances around at the small number of vampires that they managed to save. “There’s not much of a coven left,” he replies sadly.

“No,” Luhan replies, looking up. “As long as you’re still with us, that’s all we need.”

Jongdae doesn’t know what to say, he just nods, trying to keep himself together as the rest of the vampires – and some humans – shout their approval. Even Chanyeol agrees too, pulling Jongdae close to his chest as he says, “You can start a new coven here, with my pack.”

Jongdae’s so overwhelmed with happiness that tears well up in his eyes and spill down his flushed cheeks before he realizes that he’s crying.

Despite the fact that everyone agreed that there is no reason to fight each other anymore, living together with the vampires is hard on Chanyeol’s pack. Some of them get along like nicely, but there are others who find it difficult to trust the vampires, who they have hated for so long. Chanyeol doesn’t blame them. After all, if would have taken him a lot longer to learn to trust Jongdae had he not imprinted.

Chanyeol finds that it’s the omegas that get along with the vampires the best, accepting them into their home as easily as taking in a lone wolf. Sehun especially has been making friends with a number of vampires, but there’s one in particular that he seems to favour. Chanyeol often sees him clinging onto Kyungsoo’s arm, happily chatting away. The vampire, in Chanyeol’s opinion, appears to be the type to have a cold attitude, but he doesn’t seem to mind Sehun’s company at all. In fact, he might actually enjoy it.

Even stranger still, Sehun is actually happy about the extra hunts they need to go on for the new mouths to feed. The vampires don’t need much, since they brought their own sources of food with them, however their humans’ snacks need to be provided for. Kyungsoo is one of the few vampires to join the hunts, much to Sehun’s delight.

Not everyone is as glad to have the vampires around during hunts as Sehun is though. Kris seems to be in a constant state of pissed off with the vampires around, which isn’t surprising since he still hasn’t accepted his feelings toward Joonmyun yet. Chanyeol knows he will, eventually. He just needs some more time.

Another wolf who has trouble with the vampires joining the hunts is Jongin. It’s odd, since he doesn’t appear particularly bothered by the vampires in general. Chanyeol knows he’s quite fond of Jongdae as he often sees Jongin laughing and joking around with the vampire. But when it comes to the hunts, Jongin is irritable. There isn’t a peaceful hunt with Jongin around.

Jongin even goes as far as lashing out at a vampire when he’s supposed to be focused on the deer he’s chasing.

“What the fuck is your problem, dog?” the vampire, whose name Chanyeol forgot, yells as he dodges Jongin’s attack. The rest of the wolves on the hunt take offense to the insult, growling warningly at the vampire.

Jongin barks, crouched low to the ground, and Chanyeol is forced to shift into his human form, stepping in between them before either of them get any more physical. “Jongin, stand down,” Chanyeol orders, and the wolf immediately backs off. “The rest of you get back to the hunt.” The vampire looks like he wants to argue, but Kyungsoo makes sure he does as he’s told.

“What were you thinking?” Chanyeol asks, once they’re left alone in the forest. “Are you trying to start another war?”

“No!” Jongin replies as he shifts back into human form too.

“Then what’s gotten into you?”

“I–” Jongin starts, but promptly shuts his mouth.

Chanyeol sighs, he knows how stubborn Jongin can be when he wants to. “Look, I know you don’t like the vampires being here–”

“That’s not true, I like the vampires,” Jongin corrects. “I just don’t like that one.”

“Oh?” Chanyeol raises an eyebrow at him.

“He’s a bully,” Jongin explains after a moment of staring at the trees.

“A bully,” Chanyeol repeats. It’s a poor excuse, but Jongin still nods insistently.

“Have you seen the way he treats the humans?” Jongin continues, a slight growl punctuating his words. “He acts like he doesn't care about their wellbeing. He’s just using them for blood.”

Chanyeol just stares at Jongin, confused. “The humans are there to provide blood for the vampires,” he replies.

Jongin huffs. “No they’re not!” he shouts.

“None of them are being held here against their will, Jongin,” Chanyeol argues, gently. “They’re here because they chose to be.”

“They have feelings too,” Jongin mumbles stubbornly. “They deserve to be treated better than that.”

“What’s with the sudden interest in humans? You were never interested in them before…” Chanyeol trails off as a thought occurs to him. It’s not all the humans that Jongin is concerned with, just one. “Oh.”

Jongin doesn’t reply, just turns away and looks at anything but Chanyeol as his face turns pink.

“It’s Taemin, isn’t it?” Chanyeol asks softly. “Have you imprinted on him?”

“I don’t know,” Jongin replies, shrugging. “I haven’t actually talked to him yet.”

Chanyeol hums. “Well, that’s a good place to start,” Chanyeol suggests, throwing his arm around Jongin’s shoulders. “Try getting to know him first and see how you feel after that.”

Jongin lets Chanyeol lead him through the trees as they take their time making their way back to the den. “Okay,” he eventually agrees.

Jongdae comes up to greet Chanyeol just as he returns from home from the hunt with Jongin. “We need to talk,” Jongdae tells him, looking rather serious as he pulls Chanyeol into the den, far enough away so that they won’t be overheard.

“What is it?” Chanyeol asks.

“It’s about Kris,” Jongdae replies and Chanyeol sighs in relief, thinking along the lines of something a lot worse happened, like they were under attack. “Joonmyun’s terrified of him!”

“I know,” Chanyeol replies. As if he hadn’t noticed the way Kris has been following Joonmyun around, stalking him like a predator hunts down its prey. And he’s seen the way Joonmyun shies away from Kris, hiding behind Luhan and Kyungsoo for protection.

“If you knew, why haven’t you done anything about it?”

“It’s not that easy,” Chanyeol replies. “Kris and I grew up together, I know him better than any wolf. The more we push him toward Joonmyun, the more he’ll fight back.” He pauses, sighing. “We’ll just have to wait until he comes around on his own.”

“But Joonmyun–”

“He’s safe here,” Chanyeol assures him. “I'm sure that Kris imprinted on him. He would never do anything to hurt Joonmyun, and he’d never let anything happen to him either. Try not to worry so much about it.”

Jongdae looks like he still wants to protest but he keeps his mouth shut. Chanyeol tries to ease the tension out of him by kissing it away. Jongdae easily melts against Chanyeol’s lips, reaching up to tangle his hands in the wolf’s hair.

“At least we’re not the only vampire-wolf pair anymore,” Jongdae informs him when Chanyeol breaks the kiss to lick a wet trail down Jongdae’s neck.

“Oh?”

Jongdae moans as Chanyeol gently bites down on his skin. “Yeah, Jungsoo has been spending a lot of time hanging around that one alpha.”

“Youngwoon,” Chanyeol replies. He had noticed that too. “It seems that Jongin also has a crush on Taemin.”

“Really?” Jongdae asks, but it comes out as more of a gasp when Chanyeol gets his hand down his pants. “But Taemin’s a human.”

“It shouldn’t have happened under these circumstances, but I think our people were always meant to be together,” Chanyeol explains as he works on getting Jongdae’s clothes off. Leaving kisses down Jongdae’s chest, Chanyeol continues, “At the very least, you and I were meant to be together.”

Jongdae would have probably voiced his agreement had Chanyeol not chosen that moment to wrap his lips around his cock. All thoughts of any other wolves or vampires are pushed from Chanyeol’s mind as he focuses on pleasuring Jongdae. His mate, though he hasn’t left his mark on Jongdae yet, hasn’t officially claimed him. With everything that’s been going on, he hasn’t found the right moment to ask.

Jongdae’s fingers tighten in Chanyeol’s hair, moaning as his hips buck slightly. Chanyeol smiles around Jongdae’s cock. He knows Jongdae so well now, knows exactly where to touch and how to hard to press to have Jongdae falling apart underneath him. Jongdae’s voice cracks as he comes, spilling against Chanyeol’s tongue.

“Tasty,” Chanyeol murmurs, licking Jongdae’s cock clean. Jongdae blushes from the compliment and oversensitivity, pushing Chanyeol away with a hand on his forehead. Chanyeol just smirks, admiring how beautiful a satisfied Jongdae looks spread out in his bed.

“What about you?” Jongdae asks, reaching over to palm the bulge in Chanyeol’s pants when the wolf makes no move of taking things further.

Chanyeol catches Jongdae’s hand just in time. He brings it up to his lips, pressing a kiss to the inside of his wrist. “Later,” Chanyeol promises. “I have important alpha things to do.”

Jongdae whines in protest but he quickly shuts up when Chanyeol kisses him. He’s already half asleep by the time Chanyeol covers him with a blanket as he leaves to go check on his pack.

Chanyeol wakes up shortly after the sun has set and he tightens his grip around Jongdae’s waist, pulling him closer. Jongdae stirs in Chanyeol’s embrace, curling towards the warmth. He easily finds Chanyeol’s hand, linking their fingers together.

In the other room, Chanyeol can hear the sounds of his wolves beginning to get up from a good night’s rest. The vampires are starting to wake up too and there’s a bit of chatter between the two kinds. They’re getting along easier, Chanyeol notes. It’s only been about a week, but the wolves and vampires are starting to fall into a routine of learning to work together in order to survive.

Everything is as it should be, but Chanyeol doesn’t want to get up just yet. He buries his face into the back of Jongdae’s neck, snuggling closer, content to just cuddle until he’s needed by his pack.

The first sign of danger comes in the form of a deafening howl. It has Chanyeol’s attention at once, his eyes snapping wide open and his ears perk up, listening intently. Whimpering follows the howl, and there’s a moment of silence before the panicking starts. The night is full with the sound of wolves growling, vampires hissing and humans screaming.

Chanyeol regrets thinking that they’re finally starting to get along, if they’re picking fights again so early after having just woken up.

Heavy footsteps ring throughout the den as Chanyeol and Jongdae scramble to pull on some clothes. It’s Luhan who bursts into the room. “Chanyeol, Jongdae,” he addresses them, not bothering with formalities. “It’s the old coven. The elders have sent vampires to do their dirty work. Be careful.” Luhan swiftly exits the room without another word, leaving the couple behind to stare at the empty spot where he had just been, bewildered.

“Shit,” Jongdae curses after a moment and he darts out of the room after Luhan.

“Jongdae, wait!” Chanyeol calls after him, following as well, but by the time he makes it outside, Jongdae is nowhere to be seen. He is pleased to see that Jongdae’s vampires and his wolves are working together to defend against the enemy vampires. Off to the side, Kyungsoo and Sehun have gathered up the humans, omegas and the vampires who don’t know how to defend themselves, taking them away from the danger.

“Chanyeol!” Kris yells, running over to him. He skids to a stop in the dirt just shy of knocking into Chanyeol.

“What happened?” Chanyeol demands, staring at the chaos around them. There’s a huge, bloody gash in Kris’ shoulder and that’s not even the worst of the damage that Chanyeol sees. “How did they find us?”

“They must have followed us into the woods that night,” Kris explains, wheezing harshly. “They’ve probably been scouting us out the whole time. I’ve noticed vampire scents lingering in the woods, but I thought they were our vampires. Damn vampires all smell the same to me.”

An enemy vampire chooses that moment to attack, wielding a bloodied silver knife aimed at Chanyeol’s chest. Chanyeol doesn’t see it coming, but Kris does. He strikes at the vampire before the weapon has a chance to connect with Chanyeol. Once Kris has the enemy pinned to the ground, he uses his good arm to drive the makeshift wooden stake in his hand through the vampire’s chest. It makes a sickening shrieking sound until it completely disintegrates into a pile of dust that is picked up and blown away by the wind.

“They’re fast,” Kris comments, getting back to his feet. “But once you catch them, they’re really easy to kill.” He tosses the stake in his hand, watching it flip around in the air before catching it again in one smooth motion.

Chanyeol nods, following Kris as they make their way over to where another enemy vampire is fighting one of Jongdae’s. Chanyeol distracts the enemy long enough for Kris to pounce from behind, knocking it away from Kyuhyun. After the enemy has been reduced to dust, Kris picks up the extra stake from the ground and hands it to Kyuhyun. “I trust you know what to do with this,” Kris says. Kyuhyun nods stiffly, and thanks them before he darts off to help Zhou Mi.

There’s no sign of Jongdae when Chanyeol looks around again, but they do appear to outnumber the enemy, even with the humans and omegas hiding somewhere safe. Chanyeol gets separated from Kris after a minute, when he goes to save Jongin, who has gotten himself cornered by three vampires. Chanyeol manages to scare away one of them and together he and Jongin have no problem taking out the other two.

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol asks, looking Jongin over for damage.

“I’m still in one piece,” Jongin replies, giving Chanyeol a crooked smile.

“Good.” Chanyeol returns the smile, ruffling Jongin’s hair affectionately until the younger wolf ducks away from him. “Keep it that way.”

“Have you seen Taemin?” Jongin asks, looking around. “And where’s Jongdae? I thought he was with you.”

“Taemin is fine. He was in the group of humans that was with Sehun and Kyungsoo. He’ll be safe with them.”

“And Jongdae?”

Chanyeol doesn’t reply right away. He’s upset with Jongdae for leaving without him and mad at himself for not being fast enough to keep up. “We got separated,” Chanyeol explains eventually.

“You’ll find him,” Jongin says, attempting to be reassuring. “There weren’t that many enemy vampires around anyway. I’m sure he’s okay too.”

Chanyeol pauses, staring at Jongin as something occurs to him. “You’re right,” he says, glaring.

“Chanyeol?” Jongin asks, confused. “Are you okay?”

“They’re up to something,” Chanyeol says, more to himself than Jongin.

“Up to what?”

“Gather all the fighters around the campfire,” Chanyeol orders, ignoring Jongin’s questions. Something isn’t right. The number of enemy vampires here is nothing compared to how many there were left at the coven. No, this wasn’t a fight, but a distraction. A sinking feeling of dread pools in Chanyeol’s stomach as he waits for Jongin to finish collecting everyone.

When the last of the elder’s vampires have been taken out, and everyone is standing around the campfire like he wanted, Chanyeol’s heart aches. He’s glad to see that he hasn’t lost any wolves, but most of them are sporting an injury or two – nothing time won’t be able to fix with a little help from Yixing. The vampires appear to be in a better state, just out of breath from outrunning the vampires who were trying to kill them.

But worst of all, Jongdae isn’t among them.

“Where is Jongdae!?” Chanyeol growls, fearing the worst. There’s a moment of silence as everyone looks around.

Luhan curses. “My prince, I have failed you again.”

“He’s not dead,” Chanyeol snaps. If he concentrates hard enough, he can still make out Jongdae’s scent lingering in the air. He follows his nose until it starts to lead them away from the den. The scents of other vampires are with him, ones he doesn’t recognize. They must have used the fighting as a way to get to Jongdae.

Chanyeol growls angrily. He should have never let Jongdae out of his sight. Or better yet, he should have known that those damn vampires wouldn’t have just left Jongdae leave like that. Of course they would have retaliated, Chanyeol just marched in there with his pack and took away nearly half their damn coven. There’s no way that they’d just let him go without a fight.

Jongdae is still alive, he has to be. Chanyeol would know if anything has happened to him, just like when he could sense the danger whenever Jongdae went too long without feeding. He’d be able to feel it if Jongdae was staked. Chanyeol shakes his head, pushing those dark thoughts out of his mind.

Jongdae is still alive and Chanyeol is going after him.

Jongdae regains consciousness with a terrible pounding in his head. He’s overwhelmingly dizzy and it’s a long moment before he even summons up enough strength to open his eyes. The world spins in front of him, slowly going in and out of focus. He knows one thing for sure though, he’s been in his room before. He’s been taken back to the coven, inside the throne room.

However, instead of being seated on the throne, he’s chained up to a post erected in the middle of the room. And it’s the oldest of the elders who sits on the throne now, Jongdeok’s crown resting on his head.

“That crown doesn’t belong to you,” Jongdae mumbles, words slurring together. He’s not sure if they understand him, but at least it gets their attention.

“Ah, he’s awake,” the elder calls. After a round of disapproving shouts Jongdae realizes that the elder isn’t talking to him, but addressing the rest of the coven, the vampires who stayed behind when Jongdae left. It’s only when the elder stands up from the throne, making his way over to where Jongdae is being held prisoner, does he speak again, directly to Jongdae this time. “For your crimes against the coven, you have been sentenced to be put to death.”

“Crimes?” Jongdae repeats, incredulously. “What crimes? I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Silence,” the elder snaps, raising his hand as if to slap Jongdae across the face. Jongdae doesn’t even flinch. After a moment the elder regains his composure, lowering his hand to brush off non-existent dirt from his shirt. “As I was saying, the coven has found you guilty on multiple occasions where you have broken our law.”

Jongdae lets out a sort of hysterical laugh. “I haven’t broken any laws.”

“Oh, but you have,” the elder insists, hissing. “Fraternizing with the enemy, plotting to take over the coven, to name a few. These are crimes that cannot be forgiven.”

“I’m the crown prince! I’m supposed to take over the coven one day.”

The elder turns his nose up at Jongdae. “You’re not a prince anymore. I’m the king now.”

“You’re nothing but a power hungry old man,” Jongdae snorts. This time he does get backhanded across the face for his words.

“Silence!”

“Did you have my parents killed too?” Jongdae asks, struggling against the ropes that hold his wrists above his head. “If I hadn’t ran away would you have killed me just like you murdered Jongdeok?”

There are murmurs spreading throughout the crowd of vampires behind Jongdae, as if they weren’t aware that the elders killed Jongdeok. The elder quiets the chatter with an impatient wave of his hand. “Your brother was punished for breaking coven law, just as you will be.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong and neither did I. You can’t do this to me!”

The elder laughs. “I can, and I will.” Turning to a servant, he says, “Bring me the stake.”

“I’m your prince!” Jongdae shouts, struggling even more against the bonds. Fear and regret bubble up inside Jongdae, paralyzing him as the servant obediently hands the stake over to the elder. Jongdae’s not afraid of death, but certainly doesn’t want to die. There’s still so much he has to live for; he’s supposed to spend the rest of his life happily by Chanyeol’s side.

The elder ignores him, raising the stake high in the air despite Jongdae’s pleas.

There’s really no escaping death this time, Jongdae thinks bitterly as he stares up at the sharp stake. What a horrible way to go – killed by the people who were supposed to love him. He wonders if it’ll hurt having the stake driven through his heart or if he’ll feel anything at all.

The elder pauses just as the stake is a couple inches away from piercing through Jongdae’s heart. His face twists and he makes a sort of screeching noise before he dissolves into dust that falls down into a pile at Jongdae’s feet. The stake bounces as it hits the tiles on the floor and rolls away, but the crown’s fall is cushioned by the pile of clothes the elder had been wearing. Jongdae looks around, trying to see what happened, but he’s held securely in place by the ropes digging into his skin.

The guards from either side of Jongdae disappear too, more piles of dust popping up in their place. That’s when he hears the growling and the shouts from behind him. From the sounds of it, his vampires and Chanyeol’s pack have come to rescue him.

His hopes are confirmed when a familiar grey wolf jumps into his field of vision. “Chanyeol!” he cries, relieved.

Chanyeol bumps his head briefly against Jongdae’s hip, before he lowers his muzzle to Jongdae’s feet. He clamps his teeth around the rope binding Jongdae’s ankles, biting and pulling until it snaps. Chanyeol does the same to the ropes around Jongdae’s wrists, standing on his hind legs to reach.

Jongdae would have fallen down to the floor if Chanyeol hadn’t been ready to catch him. Despite his stiff limbs and aching muscles, Jongdae throws his arms around the wolf, running his fingers through the soft fur. “I thought I’d never see you again,” he whispers, words catching in his throat as he clings onto Chanyeol tightly.

It only takes a couple of seconds for Chanyeol to shift into his human form, wrapping his arms securely around Jongdae in return. “Nothing could keep me from you,” Chanyeol replies, cupping Jongdae’s face briefly in his palms. “I love you.”

By the time Chanyeol gets to his feet, pulling Jongdae up with him, the fight is over. Jongdae’s vampires and Chanyeol’s wolves stand triumphantly throughout the room, standing in mounds of dust, clothes and abandoned weapons.

“We did it,” Luhan cheers, breaking the silence that had settled over the throne room. “We have take back our home!” The throne room erupts with cheers, from vampires and wolves alike.

Kyungsoo is one of the only vampires not participating in the celebration. He quietly make his way over to where the remains of the elder lies, picking up the fallen crown. He brushes as much of the dirt off of it as he can before holding it out to Jongdae. “Long live the rightful king,” he says.

Jongdae thanks Kyungsoo as he takes back his crown. The weight of it is heavy in his hands. “Jongdeok was the rightful king,” he whispers. “Not me.”

Chanyeol wraps his arm around Jongdae’s shoulder, tucking him into his side. “Your brother would be proud that you have finally put an end to this useless war.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Jongdae replies, nodding. He takes comfort in the fact that it’s probably what his brother would have wanted.

Chapter Text

It’s surprisingly easy for Chanyeol and his pack to adjust to their new life inside the mansion. After cleaning out all the unoccupied rooms, they settle into their new home quite nicely. But even though the wolves have left their den, they still keep control over the territory, continuing to use it as their hunting grounds and a place to stretch their legs whenever they’ve been cooped up in the coven for too long.

Fights still break out every now and then, but it’s mostly with wolves who are having trouble admitting that they’ve imprinted or anyone who gets in the way of pairs that are meant to be. These are the issues that they unfortunately look to their King and Lead Alpha to solve.

“But I’ve imprinted on him!” Jongin complains, stubbornly stomping his foot down on the tiles, making a loud noise that echoes off the walls of the throne room.

Chanyeol lets out an exasperated sigh, running his hand through his hair. No matter how many times they come to him and Jongdae with their problems, there really isn’t much they can do besides listen. “I know, but you can’t force him to be with you.”

“Taemin is just about as stubborn as you are,” Jongdae comments. “Why don’t you try to be his friend before you try to be his mate?”

Jongin opens his mouth to reply, but he quickly snaps his mouth shut. He ends up mumbling something unintelligible before throwing his hands up in air as he takes his leave.

“I thought you said that Taemin liked Jongin,” Chanyeol says as he stands up from his spot beside the throne when Jongin is out of sight. He stretches out his stiff muscles from being seated in one spot for too long.

Jongdae hums, slumping back on the throne. The movement pushes his crown too far forward and it rests crooked on his head. Chanyeol reaches out to fix it for him. “He does. I just think he needs a little more time to figure himself out before he starts anything with Jongin.”

Chanyeol nods. It sounds an awful lot like what Kris is going through. Except Kris still won’t even admit that he likes Joonmyun yet. He wonders how long it’ll take before everyone settles down with their other half.

“That was the last one, wasn’t it?” Jongdae asks. He stifles a yawn as he stretches his arms above his head, and Chanyeol’s eyes automatically drift down to the bit of skin showing beneath Jongdae’s shirt.

“I think so,” Chanyeol replies. The sun is coming up soon – most of the coven should be in bed by now or at least getting ready to settle down for the night. Which means that there most likely won’t be anyone around until the sun sets again tomorrow evening.

Jongdae doesn’t see it coming and he lets out a little yelp as Chanyeol picks him up from the throne. It only takes a second for him to relax in Chanyeol’s arms as their lips meet in a sweet kiss. Jongdae hums contently, wrapping himself around Chanyeol as the wolf makes himself comfortable on the throne with Jongdae in his lap.

“This isn’t our bed,” Jongdae comments, smacking Chanyeol’s hand away from where it’s sneaking up the back of his shirt. But despite his words, he lets Chanyeol pull him closer in his lap, cool thighs straddling warm hips. “Anyone could walk in and see us.”

“It’s late. Everyone’s already asleep.” It takes more kisses and love bites left along the column of Jongdae’s neck, but eventually Chanyeol succeeds in getting his shirt off. He smooths down Jongdae’s ruffled hair before setting the crown back on his head. “Or they should be.”

“Chanyeol–” Jongdae starts, but whatever he was about to say gets cut off with a moan as Chanyeol rubs the pad of his thumbs over Jongdae’s nipples. Jongdae’s hips buck in his lap and Chanyeol smirks at the feeling of the erection rubbing against his own. Chanyeol knows he’s won when Jongdae doesn’t protest as he tugs the zipper of his pants down.

Jongdae takes a small tube of lubricant out of his pocket before he lets Chanyeol get his pants all the way off. “Because I know how insatiable you are,” he says, answering the unspoken question when Chanyeol raises an eyebrow at him.

Chanyeol just chuckles in response and kisses him again. “You know me so well.”

His clothes soon join Jongdae’s in the pile on the floor, and once he’s naked he pulls Jongdae into his lap again with hands on his hips. Jongdae pops the tube open when Chanyeol reaches for it, squirting out enough lube onto Chanyeol’s fingers instead.

“Are you hungry?” Chanyeol asks as he brings his wet fingers down to Jongdae’s entrance, teasing him along the way.

“A bit,” Jongdae replies, shuddering in pleasure at the feeling of Chanyeol’s fingers brushing against his sensitive skin.

“Then drink.” Chanyeol guides Jongdae’s mouth to his neck at the same time he pushes his fingers into him. Jongdae’s breath catches and he grinds his ass down on Chanyeol’s hand as his lips press against Chanyeol’s neck. It takes him a moment to remember that he’s supposed to be feeding as Chanyeol works on prepping him, and he steadies himself with fingernails digging into Chanyeol’s biceps before biting his neck.

Jongdae quickly makes a mess as he tries to feed and ride Chanyeol’s fingers at the same time. He doesn’t need to be stretched as thoroughly as he had at the beginning because of their very active sex life, but Chanyeol very fond of teasing him so he keeps Jongdae on the edge of coming until he’s licked up every last drop of blood from Chanyeol’s skin.

“Chanyeol,” Jongdae pants. He pulls Chanyeol into another kiss, swearing that he’s actually going to go mad if Chanyeol doesn’t stop teasing him. “Just fuck me already.”

Chanyeol reaches up to fix Jongdae’s crown again before pulling him until their bodies are lined up. “Anything for you, my king.”

Jongdae would have smacked him for the cheesy line if he weren’t so desperate to get Chanyeol’s cock inside him. His loud moans echo off the walls in the throne room as he finally slides down onto Chanyeol’s cock. “Shit,” he curses, lifting himself up off Chanyeol only to slam back down again. The pleasure building in him as he rides Chanyeol’s cock is enough to make his toes curl.

Jongdae writhes in Chanyeol’s lap, moaning his name as he comes from the constant friction of Chanyeol’s cock driving into his prostate over and over again. Chanyeol takes over when Jongdae can’t take it anymore, the last drops of semen having leaked out of his swollen cock. Large, warm hands grip Jongdae’s hips hard enough to bruise, keeping him in place as he thrusts up into Jongdae’s pliant body.

The force of their lovemaking is enough to make Jongdae’s crown slide around on his head. Chanyeol pauses each time it falls down, covering Jongdae’s eyes, so he can reach up and put it back on properly. As Chanyeol starts to knot him and his thrusts become erratic, it gets to the point where Jongdae needs to keep one hand up, holding his crown in place as he uses the other to steady himself.

“I love you,” Chanyeol moans, when his knot is too big to pull out anymore and all he can do is grind up into Jongdae’s ass.

“Love you too,” Jongdae replies breathlessly because he’s hard once again, desperate for that sweet release that only Chanyeol can give him.

Chanyeol holds Jongdae close, until there is no space left between their chests. His hands slide up Jongdae’s back, all the way to his hair and he kisses him, licking achingly slow into his mouth. “I want to make you mine.”

“I thought I was already yours?” Jongdae asks between kisses.

“I want to claim you.”

Jongdae doesn’t hesitate for a second. “Then do it.”

Chanyeol lets out a feral growl, and with Jongdae’s permission, he carefully twists the vampire’s head to the side, biting down right where his shoulder meets with his neck. Jongdae gasps, surprised by the bite and the pleasure that sears through him from Chanyeol’s teeth sinking into his skin. He comes again, untouched, at the same time Chanyeol does, a flood of warmth filling him.

“There,” Chanyeol says, licking Jongdae’s wound to help stop the bleeding. “Now you’re officially mine.”

Jongdae smiles, but he still manages to summon enough strength to roll his eyes.