Running Into You
Title: Running Into You
Pairing: Luhan/Kyungsoo; side!Yixing/Soojung, Jongin/Sehun
Rating: R
Length: 9.4k
Summary: Paradise: an ideal or idyllic place or state. For Lu Han, he finds it in the clearing he made for his friends and in Kyungsoo.
Notes: originally for deerofdawn.
Warnings: [spoilers]rated r for mentions of blood, violence, violent images, and minor character deaths
There are cracks in the walls, some newer than the rest, and Lu Han stares through one of the older breaks where rays of light are starting to shine through. He wonders how long this building has been standing, squinting as he sees the trees of the forest in the distance, and he hums thoughtfully before moving on his way.
Murky puddles of water from broken pipes line the hallway, discarded papers and sheets strewn all over the floors, and Lu Han takes care in stepping around syringes and anything that looks sharp. He has shoes on but with his face being covered in a gas mask, he can’t scent anything potentially dangerous coming near him.
“There are sharps over here,” Jongin suddenly calls out down the hall. It makes Lu Han’s ears twitch at the noise, looking away from a tattered doll and to the man dressed in dark hues of grey in front of him. “They smell like years old blood.” The hidden message of be careful rings loudly in the stale, silent air.
The pictures hanging on the walls look fairly new compared to the rest of the building, strange, but Lu Han smiles beneath his mask as he walks into a room and sees a framed drawing, obviously created by a child who saw a brighter future. He cleans it of the dust gently, taking care in removing it from the wall before putting it into his backpack to take home. It doesn’t hurt to take a piece of sunshine from a place many considered deadly in the past.
He’s not surprised when he steps out to see Jongin coming back towards him, speed always superior, and shifting his bag on his shoulder.
“I got it,” Jongin says, putting his own gas mask back on his face. His eyes bleed red, voice hoarse, as the rotten scent of the hospital finally takes its toll on him. “Let’s leave before somebody else comes by here.”
The sun is infinitely brighter outside, warming their chilled skins as they walk away from the desolate building and through the quiet town. It’s barely past sunrise, but time moves quickly when they’re on the search for something precious that it’s enough to bring supposed immortal enemies together in peace.
In fact, Lu Han can’t recall the last time they went out together by themselves, always in his pack or Jongin’s group, and he side-eyes his friend once they reach the forest and take their masks off. He breathes in the scent of nature surrounding them. “How’s Sehun been doing lately?”
“He’s good,” Jongin says, humming. He sounds disinterested, but Lu Han can see the way the other’s lips curl up at the corners. The red fades from his irises and there’s a sparkle to his eyes when he turns to face him again. “He’s recuperating.”
Lu Han smiles at him in return, truly glad that the bonded vampires are doing better, but he doesn’t say anything else. He simply returns to listening to the forest, making sure there’s nothing happening out of the ordinary, and he trusts that Jongin is watching every single move as well, the leaves rustling in the bushes and trees and the single bird that caws overhead.
It’s peaceful, their part of the world, and it helps them forget that humanity is slowly dying. They can’t keep up the resources needed to keep the entire race alive and it’s gotten to the point where medicine hasn’t caught up to the diseases that stain their world. The government has been trying, last Lu Han had heard from his old packmate in the system years ago, but there can only be so few serums and vaccinations created to keep the human race in tact without destroying the very source of where those medicines came from.
But out in the forest, where humanity almost destroyed the last of it to take for their own materialistic needs, it’s starting to grow again. The trees have been growing and the plants have been taking back what’s theirs. It makes him smile when he sees squirrels that almost became extinct running through the trees again, jumping across branches, and stopping to stare down at them before scurrying away again. They’ve survived the end of an almost-apocalyptic era and are witnessing the rebirth of a planet.
They shudder when they suddenly pass through a barrier, never getting used to it no matter how long it’s been in place, but keep walking until they can hear the chatter of their friends filling up the empty clearing deep in the forest.
It looks like a festival where they live, species of all kinds living in peace and celebrating life together, and it makes Lu Han laugh when he sees a blur and all of a sudden Jongin is being pushed back against a nearby tree with Sehun kissing whatever life is left of both of them. He can hear his friend groan, but he can’t tell if it’s from the pain of being slammed against something hard or the pleasure that always seems to come from Sehun always wanting his attention.
“Did you find it?”
Lu Han smells him before he hears him, like roses from his birth city, and he can’t help the smile that stays on his face when he turns and sees Kyungsoo standing there, staring up at him curiously and holding a piece of what smells like duck up to his lips. “Yes, omega,” he says, opening his mouth and letting the other feed him, “Jongin has it in his bag.”
The way Kyungsoo leans over to look around him and crinkles his nose at what he sees has affection swelling in Lu Han’s chest. “I’ll ask him about it later,” Kyungsoo mumbles, looking back up to him before turning away to gather more food and Lu Han immediately trails after him, “Sehun is keeping him occupied.” They don’t mention anything about the moans starting to pour from the two, the strange scent of vampire pheromones now wafting through the air.
The rest of his pack is littered about, one of the remaining wolf packs in the East Asia area, and he raises a brow when Baekhyun, his alpha second-in-command, randomly salutes to him in the midst of talking to one of the Faes joining their sanctuary. “Captain!” he calls out, and Lu Han has to remember that Baekhyun has always been an interesting wolf ever since he came up and tackled him into a hug after their first meeting.
He bumps into Kyungsoo when he stops in front of him next to the tables of foods, turning to glare at Baekhyun over his shoulder. “Alpha!” he corrects, and Lu Han swears the affection bursts when Baekhyun immediately amends his title with “Alpha! Sorry, Omega Soo!” and all Kyungsoo does is roll his eyes at the other.
“Have you-” Lu Han chokes when food is suddenly shoved into his mouth, Kyungsoo’s brute force appearing out of nowhere and pushing Lu Han back a step. Really, he should’ve expected the treatment, but he didn’t know Kyungsoo would do it in the middle of him speaking. He glares at the omega, watching as amusement fills Kyungsoo’s large eyes, and can’t help but sigh at himself. He’s always been weak to Kyungsoo and speaks when his mouth is empty again. “I was trying to say-”
“Soojung is fine,” Kyungsoo answers anyways, interrupting him and opening his mouth so Lu Han will mimic him. He does and Kyungsoo smiles as he feeds him more food. Lu Han has never liked being babied, considering he’s The Alpha and one of the strongest and stealthiest wolves in this region, but he indulges in Kyungsoo’s attention, lets him do whatever he wants to him. “She’s given birth to three pups, and it looks like one might be another omega. Yixing looks exhausted though.”
Laughter bubbles out of Lu Han’s mouth at that, imagining the other alpha panicking despite his usually calm demeanor and Soojung slapping him repeatedly because she’s the one going into labor and not him. But it makes him happy with delight too. No other omega has been born since Soojung, the cruel experiences and hunters of the world taking them out to try and rid the world of the wolf race, and he’s heard that there are only a few omegas left on the planet. They’re considered a rare gem, all the omegas having gold in their hair since birth, and they’ve all been fiercely protective of the ones left.
“I suggest steering clear of their small cabin though,” Kyungsoo informs, lifting more food up to his lips, “Yixing’s exhaustion means he’s almost to his feral instincts. He wouldn’t even let me near the place to see if Soojung was okay after the birthing.” He shrugs as he reaches out to wipe away crumbs left on Lu Han’s lips, both of them ignoring the wolf whistles probably coming from Baekhyun at their act. “Based on Chanyeol’s relieved smile when he left and Sooyeon staying inside, everything thankfully seems to be fine.”
“Well, that’s good to hear,” Lu Han says in-between bites, smiling when Kyungsoo starts to alternate between themselves for food, “I was going to ask how you were though.” He stifles a laugh when Kyungsoo’s ears quickly turn pink. “But I would think you’re okay as well since you’re feeding The Mighty Alpha of the East.”
He really does deserve the punch to his chest.
“Shut up, alpha,” Kyungsoo mutters afterwards, falling silent to continue feeding him. He doesn’t even need to feed him. Lu Han is more than capable of grabbing what he wants to eat and filling his stomach to the brim, but the underlying knowledge that Kyungsoo is now technically higher than him in ranks is what keeps him in place.
Since the near-extinction of their omegas, the past council had declared that all surviving omegas should be ranked higher than alphas. They should be protected at all costs and even those of other species should help protect them to keep some sort of balance in the world. In return, the wolves would help protect those of the Faes and vampires, the witches and nymphs. And it’s the reason why Kyungsoo and Soojung are so treasured in their sanctuary.
They’re the remaining two omegas in Eastern Asia, and Lu Han is glad he found them both before they were hunted and possibly sold off to who knows what. They’re also the reason why this sanctuary exists in the first place. Lu Han frowns when someone purposely bumps into him and Minseok’s crooked smile suddenly appears next to him.
“Hey, strong alpha,” the witch greets, plucking a strawberry from the table next to them and popping it into his mouth, “Did you get what I asked for?”
Kyungsoo suddenly slips away from them, causing Lu Han to frown harder, and Minseok laughs at the turn of events. Kyungsoo has never liked standing next to the witch even though he’s the one who cast the protection spell over their now large camp. He always claimed they were never to be trusted, but it’s clear as the barrier itself that he trusts them more than he lets on.
“Yeah, we did,” Lu Han mumbles, pouting and reaching out to grab his own strawberry now that Kyungsoo stopped feeding him, “Jongin has it with him though and you know how Sehun’s been lately since he apparently recovered.”
“Oh, I know,” Minseok says with a wink before leaning up to whisper in his ear, “What about you and Kyungsoo?”
Lu Han growls at the witch, annoyed, even though everybody in the whole entire clearing knows of his obvious adoration for the omega. He leaves Minseok laughing, nothing going on between him and the omega, and walks away before the witch can slip a truth serum or spell into his system.
“Soojung is not drinking anything created by that witch.”
Lu Han frowns as Yixing growls in front of him, Minseok and Kyungsoo by his sides with the former holding onto the concoction brewed specifically to help Soojung with her blood loss. His friend looks feral, indeed, still, and Lu Han would like to blame this on the fact that this is the first time Soojung has carried pups throughout her life and has delivered all three of them safe and sound.
“This is to help promote blood cell growth and regeneration,” Minseok softly says, gold glittering his irises in hopes he resembles an omega of some sort, “It will help her recover faster.”
“My final answer is no,” Yixing barks, suddenly transforming into his wolf and ripping the clothes he’s wearing. He barks once more, taking a step forward, and growls at them in warning.
Opening his mouth to overrule the other alpha, Lu Han quiets when Kyungsoo takes the initiative and walks towards the drained wolf instead. He feels a hand on his arm and when he looks, Minseok is giving him a small, reassured smile.
“Yixing,” Kyungsoo softly says, no fear in any ounce of his body as he kneels in front of the larger wolf, gestures slow and confident. His voice is strangely enchanting, calming, and Lu Han wonders if it’s only him or if the others feel it as well. He sticks his hand out, all of them watching as Yixing’s growl softens and he stares at the hand in front of him before looking back up to Kyungsoo. “Are you sure? We will not force her to drink something you believe will harm her in the future.”
Yixing whines softly, sure of his answer, before Kyungsoo speaks again.
“If she does not recover quickly and you worry, will you come to us to help each of you?”
It’s strange how two of their wolves were each born with a blood disorder, Soojung with anemia and Yixing with hemophilia, and it’s even stranger that Soojung’s anemia remained with her throughout her whole life while Yixing’s completely healed on its own. Although, Lu Han supposes it might have to do with the fact that Soojung turned Yixing long ago, hoping to save him from the brink of death, and it messed with their internal organs altogether.
Lu Han smiles as Yixing moves forward and nudges his head underneath Kyungsoo’s smaller palm, accepting the conditions, before returning to his front door and waiting for them to leave so he can shift and return inside where they can hear Soojung breathing heavily but steady, as if she’s in sleep.
A growl erupts again and Lu Han rolls his eyes before turning away from the house. “Yes, Yixing. I respect your wishes.” He laughs when the bark that sounds after resembles a dog waiting to play, and he sends a smile over his shoulder when he sees Yixing’s gaze happier than it has been the past couple of days. He’s nothing but a fair alpha.
Suddenly, someone’s cozying up to him as they walk and Lu Han would like to say it’s Kyungsoo, but Kyungsoo is frowning on his free side while Minseok is making his way under his arm to drape across his shoulders and cling onto him as they return to the main base of camp.
“What am I going to do with this serum then?” Minseok whines, fingers clenching onto Lu Han’s shirt, “The whole reason you and Jongin got it was for Soojung and Yixing, but if they don’t want it-”
“Why do you always cling to Lu Han every time we go somewhere?” Kyungsoo cuts off, irises tinting on gold but fading just as quick. Lu Han likes to think he’s jealous, his heart speeding up at the possibility. “He has other things to do than tend to your constant whining.”
“As I see it,” Minseok says, corner of his lips tugging up into a smirk, as he looks to him across Lu Han’s chest, “He has nothing else to do now that his little mission is over. He has all the time in the world to listen to me whine.”
“On the contrary,” Jongdae pipes up, walking up to them with an orb in hand, “There are hunters closing in from the western city.” He eyes the situation then, mouth curling up even more as twinkles of amusement appear in his eyes. “What is this? A new development in The Almighty Alpha’s nonexistent love life?”
Lu Han growls at the comment, feeling Minseok release a soft ‘oh’ against him. “Don’t test my patience, you inferior witch.” Pride swells in his chest when Jongdae immediately holds his hands up in surrender even though his expression doesn’t change at all. There are dots moving in the glass ball, fleeting images of rundown buildings appearing, and Lu Han frowns when he sees more less-defined dots moving. “Gather Jongin and Baekhyun. It appears that there are three hunters in your orb.” He didn’t know humans were starting to move back into that city, probably trying to restore the buildings to what they once were.
Jongdae winks at him before walking away, Minseok suddenly being tugged right from under him, and Lu Han and Kyungsoo watch with wide eyes as the elder witch struggles against invisible bonds and shouting at Jongdae to let him go. “Oh, you see clearly, my handsome wolf,” Jongdae calls out before they suddenly disappear in front of them, “They will be at your cabin within the hour.”
There’s a moment of silence before the scent of roses strengthens again, like earlier that morning, and Lu Han turns to silently follow Kyungsoo back into their cabin. It’s one they share, even though there have been protests about it, but Lu Han uses the excuse that he needs to keep one of the remaining omegas alive and safe by having Kyungsoo close to him. He’s pretty sure Kyungsoo has already seen through his act years ago, but he hasn’t done anything to suggest otherwise.
Kyungsoo disappears down the hall, Lu Han moving to get his own things needed for a hunt, and reappears with Lu Han’s gas mask in one hand with a pile of clothes in the other. It shouldn’t make Lu Han smile as wide as he does, but he can’t help it when Kyungsoo moves closer and stuffs the clothes in his pack, hooking his gas mask onto his belt loop right after.
Even if they’re not mates, they still act like it.
“Now,” Kyungsoo mumbles, ears turning pink again, “If The Mighty Alpha of the East doesn’t come back safely, I will go hunting for you myself and make sure those who harm you suffer ten times more than you did.”
Laughter bubbles out of Lu Han at the words, affection swelling in his chest in the only way Kyungsoo can do, and he drops a kiss to the top of Kyungsoo’s head because he can’t help it. “I’ll come back safely, omega,” he murmurs, watching as Kyungsoo runs away right when the door slams open and Jongin is standing there with his mouth and eyes wide open in shock, hand poised as if to knock. In fact, he looks appalled at the disrespect shown right in front of him.
“I heard we’re going hunting today,” Baekhyun exclaims with glee, walking ahead and jumping on the pile of blankets on the floor next to the windows in the corner of the living room. His own gas mask is dangling from his neck, strapped loosely, just in case it’s needed later. “I haven’t gone hunting in a while for something other than for food.”
Lu Han sighs in resignation at his packmate, not even sparing him another glance, before nodding to Jongin who’s still standing outside his house. “Come on in, Jongin.” He smiles when Jongin does, endeared with vampires’ polite nature. He waits until they’re all seated comfortably in his living room before going over what little information Jongdae gave him.
“Jongdae should’ve given us more information other than that there are three hunters in this city,” Baekhyun shouts out, voice muffled behind his gas mask, as he runs and slides under a half-opened garage after Lu Han. His eyes bleed red as he stares at his friend, Jongin standing on top of a beam and watching out the windows as the hunters run past their hiding spot. “He didn’t say they were from the government,” he whispers, Lu Han frowning because they might need backup.
With the masks on their faces, they can’t transform into their wolves to take these men down. They have to rely on Jongin, but the last time this happened, Sehun bit into one of the hunters to drain them and drank poison instead. They don’t need a repeat of that episode.
“Shit,” Jongin whispers, jumping off from his beam and tugging each of them along, “They’re coming back. We have to go!”
Lu Han and Baekhyun follow quickly, hearing a click and something rolling underneath the door, before the garage explodes and they’re all flown from the back door. He growls as he turns in the air and lands on his hands and feet. Jongin and Baekhyun are behind him and he can hear each of them mimicking his warning growl. He tosses his bag to Jongin, hearing the man strap it on, before he takes off his mask as well and gives it to him to put on and protect himself from whatever fumes might come their way.
He can feel his bones starting to shift, crack and mend itself together, to transform into his wolf and he lets out another warning growl to Baekhyun. Leave. He hears a concerned whine in return, but just as the hunters appear, he transforms completely and attacks. He knows they’re gone when the wind shifts and he can’t scent them any longer.
Entering the mind of a wolf is considerably more dangerous than what those fairytales led humans to believe. All Lu Han can see is red and all he can smell is fear and strength, and it takes him past the realm of his rational side and into his instincts to protect those he loves and respects. He knows who he needs to hunt and he uses that to his advantage when he lets go and lets his wolf take over. He doesn’t even know when it’s the end until he feels arms circling around him and he can suddenly smell gravel and cinnamon.
His internal wolf retreats a few steps, enough for him to see clearly, and he can see the mangled bodies of the three hunters threatening their paradise. Their telecoms had fallen out in the struggle and he watches as Jongin crushes each one, digging through all of the hunters’ personal belongings and destroying whatever else can be traced back to them.
“Lu Han,” Baekhyun murmurs in his ear, the scent of plastic wafting over his natural scent of cinnamon, “We have to go. Jongin will dispose of the bodies.” And when he looks up, he can see Sehun and Seungwan standing there next to them, eyes crimson as they try not to stare at the blood covering his face and neck. “They’re here to help speed up the process.”
He doesn’t understand the severity of the situation until his second-in-command moves him. Pain shoots from his back and his leg, his chest heaving hard, and he whimpers softly when he’s jostled too much.
“Han, come on,” Baekhyun urges and Lu Han follows slowly, “I need to know what you can move and what you cannot.” They all visibly wince when Lu Han can barely move a paw. “Okay,” Baekhyun breathes, eyes wide with concern before looking to each of the vampires, “I’ll injure him more if I carry him over my shoulder. I need you to gently lay him across my back after I shift.” He pauses, cradling Lu Han’s muzzle gently in his hands. “Seungwan, make sure he doesn’t howl when you move him. And come back safely, all of you.”
Seungwan nods before Baekhyun takes off his mask and gives it to her. He shifts, Lu Han whining when Sehun and Jongin gently maneuver him to lie on top of his friend, and Baekhyun lets out a small whine when Lu Han needs to be shifted again to run more quickly. Lu Han’s mind slips when someone pulls on his leg too hard and he tries to break out of Seungwan’s hold on his muzzle to bite her hand off.
“I apologize, alpha,” Seungwan says, bowing her head to him briefly before moving away and strapping the mask over her face, Sehun taking Lu Han’s mask from Jongin and putting it on himself.
“We will come back safely,” Sehun informs after, hefting one of the larger men onto his shoulder. “We’ll cover you two as soon as we can.”
The first step jostles Lu Han, feeling something crunch within him, and he whimpers every few minutes his leg is moved and his chest hits Baekhyun’s back. He hasn’t been injured this badly in a long time and, in the midst of hurrying to their sanctuary, he wonders how these men were even trained to be that strong. Hunters never used to be difficult in defeating. They used to be predictable, basing their strategies off of novels and guides created by so-called ‘professionals’ of their species, and it would make avoiding and defeating them easy. He doesn’t even remember seeing any mortals wandering the streets either, can’t remember seeing any traces of them in the buildings they ran past trying to get away from those sworn to kill them.
Lu Han loses consciousness between the city and the depths of the forest. He stumbles into a restless sleep and whimpers with each movement Baekhyun makes as he tries to get them back home safely.
Silver chains bind Lu Han to the stone wall, the stadium around him seeming larger than it had the past week, as he fights against the metal burning into his skin. Kyungsoo is standing before him, looking uncharacteristically weak and small in the hands of two alphas and two vampires, and it makes Lu Han’s own alpha rise dangerously because he can hear his whimpers. Lu Han remembers his parents going through this, entering the first Tournament of Beasts, and somehow lasting until the end.
He was young then, still a pup, and he couldn’t understand why The Council of Creatures would create a tournament for the strongest species to play and fight in. He couldn’t understand why it was so important for wolves and vampires and cunning fairies to enter and figure out who would be the strongest, most reliable, of all the species known to them.
“It was supposed to be for wolves only,” his mother told him before she entered the last round, combing fingers through his hair. Most of her previous wounds had already healed, but Lu Han still saw one on her wrist and kept licking at it hoping it would go away. It made his mother chuckle and the faint scent of flowers grow even more in the room. “But they ended up including whoever could produce an entertaining show.”
Lu Han couldn’t catch the bitterness in her voice at such a young age, but as he struggles against the bonds holding him back, he can hear it clearly in his head, like she’s still there talking to him and guiding him through life.
“The only alpha unwilling to kill in the tournament,” the announcer says, voice sounding proud and echoing in the large arena, “Let’s test your strength further, Alpha Han, like your parents The Great Alpha and Strong Omega of the East.”
Lu Han smells the bitterness of the medication before they bring it out, his nostrils flaring and growl erupting low and deep in his chest at the threat. Don’t stay here, Kyungsoo, he had told the omega, You know what will happen if you stay. But the omega wouldn’t leave no matter how many times he threatened him. He tried to use his status as an alpha to make him submit, but he could never do that to him, not when the world was already slowly dying around them.
He eyes the witch holding the syringe, his vision slowly bleeding red, and he shouts when he sees the witch go up to Kyungsoo. His omega is fighting, but it isn’t enough. “He’s an omega!” he yells, snarling and barking at the creatures holding the other back. “Omega!” He can hear the angered shouts of Baekhyun and Yixing in the distance and Chanyeol, Soojung, and Sooyeon barking. “Kyungsoo!”
Kyungsoo doesn’t speak a word until the serum is injected into him. He continues to fight, howling in pain, and Lu Han watches with red eyes as Kyungsoo slowly quiets. His heart squeezes in pain, the silver burning into his skin, and he fights harder when Kyungsoo finally locks gazes with him, silently pleading for him to do something.
He growls when he hears the support in the wall break behind him and he struggles more, panic flaring in his chest when Kyungsoo suddenly starts moving on his own again. His irises bleed gold and he’s running for him, claws extended.
The chains break but Lu Han doesn’t kill. He maims those who get close to him or his omega and fights Kyungsoo until the medicine wears off.
“The Last of the Tournaments,” the announcer declares, cheers erupting throughout the stadium, “The Mighty Alpha of the East.”
The scent of roses is strong. Lu Han sees a field of them in his head, stretching as far as the eye can see, and it calms him. He moves willingly with the winds, whining when he feels a sudden sharp pain shoot throughout his body.
“Han,” comes Kyungsoo’s voice, soft and soothing, “I need you to shift.” Small hands cradle Lu Han’s head gently, fingers scratching behind his ears, and he growls deep in his chest only to whimper when it hurts him more. “Han, please.”
Anything for you.
The howl Lu Han releases is loud and painful, vision blacking out, as his bones try and mold back into his human body despite the breaks and cracks already in them. He doesn’t register Kyungsoo gently holding his head in place and murmuring calming words into his ear until he falls limp on the ground, trying to suck in as much air as his chest can handle.
“Easy, Han,” Kyungsoo whispers against him. A hand is moving from his head down to his arm, and Lu Han’s breath catches in his throat when it stops at his hand and suddenly their fingers are lacing together.
Lu Han stares up at Kyungsoo, shocked, only to see a pained expression in his eyes. He squeezes his hand, not understanding why, until Kyungsoo leans down and their foreheads are gently touching. He can see the gold in his eyes clearly at this distance, can lean up just that little bit to leave a small kiss to his inviting lips. “Chanyeol, now.”
There’s a pull. More cracks are heard and Lu Han howls at the pain it brings. He fights against them, pulling away from Kyungsoo to see Baekhyun suddenly holding down his other arm and Chanyeol trying to reset his leg in place.
It hurts, of course it does, and Lu Han clings onto Kyungsoo’s hand because none of his wound sites look clean and simple at all. He suffered a lot and he tries to lose himself in the way Kyungsoo whispers words into his ear and places soft kisses all over his cheek and forehead, trying to distract him from kicking the other alpha and beta off of him.
Lu Han finally calms when something cool and soothing is placed over the burning parts of his body, wearily looking down to see Chanyeol putting some type of herbal paste onto his wounds, and he tries to suck in a deep breath when Kyungsoo gently places a hand over his chest to keep it from expanding too much.
“You were damaged here too,” Kyungsoo says softly in warning, and Lu Han doesn’t know if he means emotionally or physically. “Take your time.”
Kyungsoo is suddenly moving away from him and Lu Han panics, Baekhyun watching him curiously, as he scrabbles to grasp Kyungsoo’s hand again. It makes Chanyeol chuckle in the midst of trying to help heal him faster and he knows it’s amusing Baekhyun too because Kyungsoo simply gives him a reassured, albeit teasing, smile before grabbing his hand again and squeezing. “Kyung-”
Lu Han groans when Kyungsoo leans down and starts licking at the deeper cuts along his side and abdomen. The omega’s tongue is soft and strong along his skin, the wounds starting to stitch itself back together slowly simply from his touch. It reminds him of the tournament years ago. “They had wolfsbane,” he breathes out, yelping when Kyungsoo suddenly pinches his arm.
“I know,” Kyungsoo says, gaze flicking up to give him a knowing stare, before he returns to his task at hand, “That’s why I’m licking you.”
“Or he could be licking you for a different reason altogether,” Jongdae says as he suddenly walks into the room, gaze teasing and smile cheeky, “Lick you somewhere else you’ve been- Ow!”
“Ow!” Lu Han mimics, throwing the bowl of leftover herbs at the witch and jostling his chest too much in the process. He growls in annoyance at the laughter that bubbles out of the other alpha and beta but it’s the sudden bite on his hip that jolts his attention back to his damaged body. “Soo!”
Kyungsoo growls at him in warning, glaring at him. “Stop moving or you’ll open up all your wounds again.”
There’s a moment of silence as Kyungsoo resumes his task and Chanyeol looks over all his wounds approvingly before Jongdae speaks up again and Baekhyun is scrabbling for a book to give to Kyungsoo when he holds his hand out at him expectantly, quickly throwing it at the mischievous witch.
“I remember some humans were entranced by vampires because they received pleasure from biting- Ow!”
Kyungsoo growls. “Get out of here, damn witch!”
Watching Yixing trying to handle three pups on his own is amusing. His two sons, both unknown in their alpha or beta status, keep him occupied plenty on their own. They keep shifting in the middle of running towards him and he’s always taken by surprise when a wolf barrels into his side while he’s sitting or a child suddenly falls into his lap. His daughter, inherently an omega because of the natural born gold in her hair resembling her mother, is a different story.
Soojung and Lu Han burst into laughter when Soojung’s daughter shifts before sneaking up on Yixing and pouncing on his back, toppling both of them over before her brothers join in on the pile and Yixing is yelling out nonsense to try and save his body from keeling over many years too early.
“Soojung!” Yixing manages to scream out in the midst of stopping his children from licking at his face and neck, “Soojung!”
Sitting next to Lu Han on the grass in front of their house, all Soojung does is smile and wave. “They need to spend some bonding time with their father!” she yells back and Lu Han falls over from laughing too hard.
They spend the rest of the day watching Yixing have fun and struggle alternatively every few minutes, keeping an eye out for the other creatures stopping by to play with the children before moving on their way. Like this, they easily forget about the rest of the world. They forget that there are certain government factions trying to find and hunt or take them in to be their personal toys in the wars made by humans.
“When are you and Kyungsoo going to mate?” Soojung suddenly asks, smiling as they watch Kyungsoo walk up to the four wolves in the middle of the clearing and offer them snacks and a playing partner.
This question has been asked one too many times before, but it never fails to bring a smile to Lu Han’s face when he hears it. He’s dreamt of finally asking Kyungsoo to be his mate, years before he was involuntarily entered into the primitive Tournament of Beasts and Kyungsoo still chose to stay by his side throughout the tiring ordeal. He’s thought of bearing children with him, having his own three little pups to spoil and endure while Kyungsoo sits back and watches them fondly from afar. He’s had so many dreams about the two of them, ever since his parents saved their family and the little omega tackled him to the ground because his alpha presence was simply annoying to him.
“Han,” Soojung calls again, laughing as she brings him out of his thoughts. She has a knowing smile, like it contains all of his secrets behind her beautiful teeth, and Lu Han frowns when she just laughs some more at him. “You’re unbearable, Sir Alpha. You know that, right?” He forgets she’s lived in Europe before as well.
Lu Han pouts at her, gaze drifting back to Kyungsoo who has one of her sons sitting in his lap preening at the attention he’s getting as Kyungsoo runs fingers through his unruly hair. “I think I’m the right amount of bearable,” he counters, lips tugging up into a smile unwillingly when Kyungsoo catches his gaze, “For the head alpha that is.”
Soojung shoves him on the arm then, causing him to tip over, and Lu Han returns to frowning at her. “You’re insufferable,” she corrects, reaching out to hold his face in place by squeezing his chin and cheeks to stare at her, “You need to make him yours before you get killed out there one day.”
Lu Han tries to scoff at her despite the iron grip she has on him. “I’m not going to get killed out there,” he mumbles out, “I can’t die out there.”
“Says the idiot alpha who took on three experienced hunters and took four whole days to recover.”
“I didn’t-” Lu Han winces when Soojung digs her thumb into his jaw.
“You took four whole days and all Kyungsoo did was watch over you the entire time you were out,” she whispers, glancing at her mate and Kyungsoo briefly to make sure they couldn’t hear them, “And it took you another day to wake up completely. You haven’t been out of your house for a week and Baekhyun had to take your spot in surveying the cities and the entire forest.” Her grip on him softens then, gently running her fingers over the imprint she left on his cheek. “You may have won and we may have long lives,” she softly says, looking up into his eyes, “But you’ve waited too long for him.”
It may be because Soojung’s an omega, but Lu Han can’t find it in himself to lie or joke with her any longer. He whines low in his throat as he tilts his head forward in submission. “I will wait for as long as it takes,” he says in response, feeling her fingers reach across his cheek to gently scratch her nails behind his ear.
“And how long have you decided for yourself?”
Lu Han closes his eyes at his answer, whispering, “Too long.”
Soojung releases a soft laugh. “Then what are you waiting for now?” Lu Han doesn’t know. He honestly doesn’t, and he’s surprised when he feels soft lips touch his forehead. He can’t believe Soojung is younger than him. “Kyungsoo loves you as much as you hope. It’s clear in his eyes and in his smile when he looks at you, ever since back then. Be the strong alpha you have already proven yourself to be.”
It’s a habit of older wolves, Yixing the only one understanding of his actions, and Lu Han can’t help it when Soojung pulls back her hand and he turns to lick at it affectionately. It catches her off-guard but she laughs, Yixing smiling at them from the distance and Kyungsoo staring at them curiously.
One of Yixing’s boys tackles him again and he yelps when he falls over, hitting his face in the grass. “Soojung! Help me!”
“Left,” Jongdae whispers, disappearing from around the corner of a building.
Lu Han follows his direction, Sehun and Jongin at his sides, and he narrowly misses the hunter’s bullet coming from behind. He hides behind garbage bins while Sehun and Jongin jump to the roofs. When the hunter appears, cautiously taking steps forward, the vampires attack as Lu Han monitors them.
He eyes the hunter, watch as he puts up a fight, and he sees something glint in the daylight before he’s running out and tackling the man to the ground. He can’t risk it being silver, going for the neck and biting the juncture where it meets the man’s shoulder. He feels the crack before he hears it.
The hunter is dead within seconds and Lu Han backs away slowly to allow Jongin to sniff the man of poison and silver before they drink from him. He sniffs the air for the man’s partner, a woman with red hair, but he can’t scent any other human near them. Instead, he scents a witch and turns, expecting to see Jongdae there.
What he sees is Jongdae, but in the hands of the female hunter. He growls at the other in warning, alerting Jongin and Sehun behind him, and he barks when Jongdae looks at him with pleading eyes. There’s barely any difference between his friend and the hunter’s scent.
“I told the suits I could do this on my own,” she speaks, eyeing her dead partner between them, “Obviously, they underestimate us.” Her grip on Jongdae’s hair tightens and he winces, turning and suddenly releasing a spell at her.
It doesn’t do much, but it allows Jongdae to run towards them and Lu Han to run past him to pounce at the witch. Jongin and Sehun follow right after, latching onto her after she tosses Lu Han aside, and Jongdae recites an incantation to keep her in place. Only when she’s struggling to find her voice and move does Sehun remove his teeth from her shoulder and take a step back, Jongin moving in to keep her wrapped in his arms as he starts to drink from her.
“Since when did they send creatures to come after us?” Sehun whispers, looking to Lu Han who looks uncertain about it too, “The man was government, but what is she?”
“I think she’s their first witch finally in the system,” Jongdae murmurs behind them, still concentrating on keeping the other witch in place, “After years of trying to find one to take in.” There’s a look of pain in his eyes, but he keeps his place until she’s dry. He closes his eyes when she falls to the ground.
Silence falls between them as Lu Han walks up and nudges his head underneath Jongdae’s hand, hoping to comfort him for losing one of his own.
The run back is quiet, Jongdae holding tightly onto him as he cries into his fur, finally finding another witch and having to kill her immediately after taking its toll on him.
Jongdae has been doing the same thing every day. He stays in their clearing and sticks around Baekhyun and the fairies, smile never reaching his eyes, and Kyungsoo sighs at the sight from inside Lu Han’s cabin. “I’ve never seen Jongdae stick around the clearing for so long,” he murmurs, having heard the story right after they returned from the trip and saw red, puffy eyes. “It must’ve been tough.”
“You’ve seen me put down a wolf,” Lu Han mentions, thinking about his old packmate in the system, and getting angry just thinking about it. He frowns as he accidentally crushes the apple he was eating in his hand. “It was tough for us too.”
“I stopped going out on hunts with you after that,” Kyungsoo adds, finally looking away from the window and to him across the living room. He’s biting his lower lip, brows furrowed together, and Lu Han hastily tosses his apple in the trash and wipes his hand on a spare towel before walking over to him. “I remember.”
Lu Han doesn’t need to think twice to pull Kyungsoo into his arms, lets the younger cling onto the back of his shirt, because that time was rough. Fighting his old second-in-command who used to follow them everywhere dug a deep wound into their hearts, even Yixing still remembers from time to time when he snarls at nothing in particular. “I know,” is all Lu Han says, carding fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair soothingly until he loosens up in his hold. They’ve already been through so much together. He’s forgets about it all sometimes.
Suddenly, Kyungsoo is tilting his head, his hair tickling Lu Han’s cheek, and the alpha smiles when he feels the omega’s nose hitting his neck and breathing him in deep. He can tell it calms Kyungsoo. He always allows the younger to slip his hands underneath his shirt and rest his palms against his back, because it always helps simmer the omega’s worries.
“How can you kill so many people?” Kyungsoo whispers against him, lips moving along his skin. “Even after killing our friend, you still do it.”
Lu Han smiles despite the situation, shifting around until he can kiss Kyungsoo’s temple and feel him stiffen in his arms. His fingers are pressing into his lower back and he licks the shell of his ear affectionately. “Because I’m protecting those I care about,” he answers, leaning away enough to stare Kyungsoo in the eyes. “If I keep that in mind, then I can fight for all of you.“
“You two are so troublesome,” Sehun suddenly voices, causing Kyungsoo to yelp in surprise and Lu Han to growl at the disturbance. He’s standing right outside the window peering in and a curious Jongdae is looking at them too, eyes finally lighting up with amusement the longer he stares at them. “You two should just officially mate already.”
“Or you can do the deed without mating,” Jongdae comments after, smile widening even more, “It’s really up to you two.”
Lu Han barks at them as he pulls the curtains closed right in front of their faces. He quickly locks the front door as well, finally having some use for it after all these years, and freezes when he turns to see Kyungsoo staring at him with a soft look in his eyes. He frowns in confusion, looking around to see if there was anything else he needed to do before walking away back towards the pile of blankets. “I guess Jongdae is feeling better,” he mutters in annoyance, hearing Jongdae’s peals of laughter echo outside their cabin.
“Yeah,” Kyungsoo breathes out, Lu Han turning just in time to see Kyungsoo running for him and then tackling him onto the blankets in the corner of the room. It’s a rough landing and Lu Han makes sure Kyungsoo doesn’t injure himself on the way down.
“Ow.”
“Mates?” Kyungsoo questions, a smile on his face as he lifts his head up to see him clearly. “You have the worst friends,” he laughs out, reaching back down to nuzzle the underside of Lu Han’s jaw, appearing much happier than minutes before. “They’re always teasing you.”
Lu Han’s heart won’t stop going into overdrive at all the affection Kyungsoo is giving him. “They’re strong enough,” he wheezes out when Kyungsoo randomly pushes on his chest, “Do you feel better?” He thinks he passes out when he feels soft lips touch his Adam’s apple.
“Yes, alpha,” Kyungsoo whispers, lips smiling along his neck, “I do.”
Finding and killing one of the largest boars in their forest has possibly been one of the toughest missions Lu Han has ever given himself in a long time, disregarding that time he almost died fighting those three hunters and the entire Tournament of Beasts. He hasn’t even hunted in who knows how long, usually giving the task to Baekhyun and Chanyeol given their natural high energy, and it’s clear how long it’s been when he makes it back to his pack’s clearing and all but dumps the dead animal in front of Kyungsoo’s feet in front of his cabin. It isn’t graceful in any way possible, but Lu Han doesn’t care, not when Kyungsoo is looking up at him with impossibly wide eyes.
“Han,” Kyungsoo trails off, sounding uncertain of what he just witnessed, “What?”
Feeling accomplished with Kyungsoo’s reaction, Lu Han smiles brightly at him. “For you.”
“For me?” Kyungsoo asks, gazing down to the boar before staring back up at him. He looks adorably confused. Lu Han wants to tackle him to the ground and keep him there while smothering him with hugs and kisses. “Where did you even find a boar this big?”
Lu Han deflates at the question, smile falling off his face, before picking up the boar again to go personally clean and cut it himself. Surprisingly, he doesn’t do well with rejection. “Running along the stream right outside the barrier.” He catches his pack’s knowing gaze across the field when he turns and sees the fairy sitting next to Baekhyun giggle at his actions. He frowns, not even knowing how to go about finally asking Kyungsoo to be his mate when Sehun and Jongdae blatantly told them to just do it.
“Outside the barrier?”
“I’m going to take care of this,” Lu Han announces to nobody in particular, not hearing Kyungsoo’s question. “I’ll be back.”
He’s already halfway towards the edge of the clearing when he hears someone running towards him, catching his arm before he can even turn around, and he’s surprised to see gold eyes staring back up at him. With the fading sun, Kyungsoo looks even more beautiful.
“Were you trying to court me?” Kyungsoo pants out, like he’s just run miles, and Lu Han can’t help the red he knows is bleeding into his irises because of Kyungsoo.
“Yeah,” Lu Han answers, short and sweet. He eyes the omega in front of him, watches as pink infuses his cheeks and the tips of his ears, and he feels his heart skip a beat when he sees the corner of Kyungsoo’s mouth twitch upwards. A resulting smile blooms on his face when Kyungsoo suddenly walks around him and starts dragging him towards the fire in the center of the clearing. “Kyungsoo?” He almost chokes when Kyungsoo’s scent strengthens right next to him.
“You haven’t cooked in a long time, alpha. I need to make sure you don’t injure yourself while holding the knife again.”
Sputtering at the sudden memory, Lu Han almost drops the boar from his shoulder. “I did not injure myself!” he exclaims, struggling to keep the animal from falling to the ground and keep up with the laughing omega. “That knife slipped!”
“I’m pretty sure your hands aren’t that smooth,” Kyungsoo comments, suddenly thoughtful as he looks over his shoulder at him. “From what I remember, they’re pretty rough. Steady.” Then he moves his hand from Lu Han’s shoulder down to Lu Han’s hand and he can’t breathe. Kyungsoo laces their fingers together loosely and Lu Han whines when the fairies take the boar from his shoulder and they have to separate to cook.
It becomes a new part of Lu Han’s strange routine. In between finding items for the witches and getting rid of all the threats coming near their paradise, he takes the extra time and energy to find items he knows Kyungsoo will love. One day it’s a bouquet of flowers the nymphs helped him pick and the next it would be one of those red hearts humans used to sell in stores during the month of February.
This week though, it’s been a bit busier than usual. There has been word about another wolf trying to escape the system and Lu Han with his pack and Jongin’s small clan have been on high guard waiting for the wolf to track their scents to the outside of their barrier. They hear she’s coming for them and Lu Han vaguely remembers her name from the Tournament of Beasts and he ended up sparing her life when she proved to be a strong opponent.
But she doesn’t come for weeks, Kyungsoo finally coming out to keep watch with them while the witches and fairies swear to protect Soojung and her children in the center of the clearing. It keeps him on high alert, Lu Han smelling the anxiety coming off of him in waves, and the alpha moves in when he thinks Kyungsoo’s about to break.
“I’m fine,” Kyungsoo grumbles immediately, backing away from Lu Han. He’s shaking his head as if trying to rid himself of something, the memories. “I’m okay.”
Lu Han frowns at the omega’s words, managing to back him up against a tree and reaching out to gently cup the back of his neck. It calms Kyungsoo instantly, slackening against the hard bark, and he smiles when Kyungsoo lets out a deep breath. “I need you to go back and watch over Soojung,” he says, hearing Yixing whine at hearing his mate’s name meters away from them, “Yixing is reeking of anxiety as well and we need his full strength in case this is a trap.”
“But I remember her too,” Kyungsoo whispers, looking up at him with wide eyes, “She was strong. She’s a strong alpha and I need to be here for you.”
Lu Han’s heart bursts at the memory, smiling as he leans down to gently rub his cheek against Kyungsoo’s temple. “You’ve already suffered enough staying with me during that time. I don’t want you to repeat it if you can help it.” He looks over his shoulder when he hears Yixing growl. “I need you to be safe,” he hurriedly says, leaning down to kiss his forehead again, “I need you to go back to Soojung and the others. Howl if danger comes near you.”
Something is pressed into his hand then and Lu Han looks down to see a small red stone in the shape of a heart in his palm. He looks up at the omega shocked.
“I asked Baekhyun to find me something similar to what you gave me a month ago,” Kyungsoo explains, blushing, “Keep it in your pocket to help keep you safe.”
Lu Han feels himself heat up, his pheromones probably going out of control, and he pulls Kyungsoo in for a hug. He crushes him, hearing the omega yelp at the tightness of it, and he laughs despite Yixing groaning behind them.
“Were Soojung and I that bad?” he asks, before he’s growling again and turning towards the barrier, “Get out of here, Kyungsoo. We’ll keep each other safe as well.”
Lu Han smiles into Kyungsoo’s hair before kissing the top of his head. He hurriedly pushes the omega away, gently bringing the stone up to his heart and bowing, before slipping the stone into his pocket for safekeeping. He doesn’t expect Kyungsoo to run back towards him, pulling him down until their lips meet and all Lu Han can think of is Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo.
“I expect you to come back safely,” Kyungsoo softly says, kissing him once more before leaving. It makes affection and love swell even more in Lu Han’s chest. “I’ll send Minseok over to reach inside her mind and see if she is safe.”
Kyungsoo is really the best wolf he’s ever seen and met. Lu Han is proud to finally have his heart to call his own.
The smile Kyungsoo gives him before he runs away is nothing compared to the sun finally coming out above the trees and shining down on them, infinitely bright and holding happiness in its depths.
“I also expect the next bite I give you to stay. Permanently.”
Yixing bursts into laughter, Lu Han shocked still once again.
He can’t deny an omega’s wishes.
Pairing: Luhan/Kyungsoo; side!Yixing/Soojung, Jongin/Sehun
Rating: R
Length: 9.4k
Summary: Paradise: an ideal or idyllic place or state. For Lu Han, he finds it in the clearing he made for his friends and in Kyungsoo.
Notes: originally for deerofdawn.
Warnings: [spoilers]rated r for mentions of blood, violence, violent images, and minor character deaths
There are cracks in the walls, some newer than the rest, and Lu Han stares through one of the older breaks where rays of light are starting to shine through. He wonders how long this building has been standing, squinting as he sees the trees of the forest in the distance, and he hums thoughtfully before moving on his way.
Murky puddles of water from broken pipes line the hallway, discarded papers and sheets strewn all over the floors, and Lu Han takes care in stepping around syringes and anything that looks sharp. He has shoes on but with his face being covered in a gas mask, he can’t scent anything potentially dangerous coming near him.
“There are sharps over here,” Jongin suddenly calls out down the hall. It makes Lu Han’s ears twitch at the noise, looking away from a tattered doll and to the man dressed in dark hues of grey in front of him. “They smell like years old blood.” The hidden message of be careful rings loudly in the stale, silent air.
The pictures hanging on the walls look fairly new compared to the rest of the building, strange, but Lu Han smiles beneath his mask as he walks into a room and sees a framed drawing, obviously created by a child who saw a brighter future. He cleans it of the dust gently, taking care in removing it from the wall before putting it into his backpack to take home. It doesn’t hurt to take a piece of sunshine from a place many considered deadly in the past.
He’s not surprised when he steps out to see Jongin coming back towards him, speed always superior, and shifting his bag on his shoulder.
“I got it,” Jongin says, putting his own gas mask back on his face. His eyes bleed red, voice hoarse, as the rotten scent of the hospital finally takes its toll on him. “Let’s leave before somebody else comes by here.”
The sun is infinitely brighter outside, warming their chilled skins as they walk away from the desolate building and through the quiet town. It’s barely past sunrise, but time moves quickly when they’re on the search for something precious that it’s enough to bring supposed immortal enemies together in peace.
In fact, Lu Han can’t recall the last time they went out together by themselves, always in his pack or Jongin’s group, and he side-eyes his friend once they reach the forest and take their masks off. He breathes in the scent of nature surrounding them. “How’s Sehun been doing lately?”
“He’s good,” Jongin says, humming. He sounds disinterested, but Lu Han can see the way the other’s lips curl up at the corners. The red fades from his irises and there’s a sparkle to his eyes when he turns to face him again. “He’s recuperating.”
Lu Han smiles at him in return, truly glad that the bonded vampires are doing better, but he doesn’t say anything else. He simply returns to listening to the forest, making sure there’s nothing happening out of the ordinary, and he trusts that Jongin is watching every single move as well, the leaves rustling in the bushes and trees and the single bird that caws overhead.
It’s peaceful, their part of the world, and it helps them forget that humanity is slowly dying. They can’t keep up the resources needed to keep the entire race alive and it’s gotten to the point where medicine hasn’t caught up to the diseases that stain their world. The government has been trying, last Lu Han had heard from his old packmate in the system years ago, but there can only be so few serums and vaccinations created to keep the human race in tact without destroying the very source of where those medicines came from.
But out in the forest, where humanity almost destroyed the last of it to take for their own materialistic needs, it’s starting to grow again. The trees have been growing and the plants have been taking back what’s theirs. It makes him smile when he sees squirrels that almost became extinct running through the trees again, jumping across branches, and stopping to stare down at them before scurrying away again. They’ve survived the end of an almost-apocalyptic era and are witnessing the rebirth of a planet.
They shudder when they suddenly pass through a barrier, never getting used to it no matter how long it’s been in place, but keep walking until they can hear the chatter of their friends filling up the empty clearing deep in the forest.
It looks like a festival where they live, species of all kinds living in peace and celebrating life together, and it makes Lu Han laugh when he sees a blur and all of a sudden Jongin is being pushed back against a nearby tree with Sehun kissing whatever life is left of both of them. He can hear his friend groan, but he can’t tell if it’s from the pain of being slammed against something hard or the pleasure that always seems to come from Sehun always wanting his attention.
“Did you find it?”
Lu Han smells him before he hears him, like roses from his birth city, and he can’t help the smile that stays on his face when he turns and sees Kyungsoo standing there, staring up at him curiously and holding a piece of what smells like duck up to his lips. “Yes, omega,” he says, opening his mouth and letting the other feed him, “Jongin has it in his bag.”
The way Kyungsoo leans over to look around him and crinkles his nose at what he sees has affection swelling in Lu Han’s chest. “I’ll ask him about it later,” Kyungsoo mumbles, looking back up to him before turning away to gather more food and Lu Han immediately trails after him, “Sehun is keeping him occupied.” They don’t mention anything about the moans starting to pour from the two, the strange scent of vampire pheromones now wafting through the air.
The rest of his pack is littered about, one of the remaining wolf packs in the East Asia area, and he raises a brow when Baekhyun, his alpha second-in-command, randomly salutes to him in the midst of talking to one of the Faes joining their sanctuary. “Captain!” he calls out, and Lu Han has to remember that Baekhyun has always been an interesting wolf ever since he came up and tackled him into a hug after their first meeting.
He bumps into Kyungsoo when he stops in front of him next to the tables of foods, turning to glare at Baekhyun over his shoulder. “Alpha!” he corrects, and Lu Han swears the affection bursts when Baekhyun immediately amends his title with “Alpha! Sorry, Omega Soo!” and all Kyungsoo does is roll his eyes at the other.
“Have you-” Lu Han chokes when food is suddenly shoved into his mouth, Kyungsoo’s brute force appearing out of nowhere and pushing Lu Han back a step. Really, he should’ve expected the treatment, but he didn’t know Kyungsoo would do it in the middle of him speaking. He glares at the omega, watching as amusement fills Kyungsoo’s large eyes, and can’t help but sigh at himself. He’s always been weak to Kyungsoo and speaks when his mouth is empty again. “I was trying to say-”
“Soojung is fine,” Kyungsoo answers anyways, interrupting him and opening his mouth so Lu Han will mimic him. He does and Kyungsoo smiles as he feeds him more food. Lu Han has never liked being babied, considering he’s The Alpha and one of the strongest and stealthiest wolves in this region, but he indulges in Kyungsoo’s attention, lets him do whatever he wants to him. “She’s given birth to three pups, and it looks like one might be another omega. Yixing looks exhausted though.”
Laughter bubbles out of Lu Han’s mouth at that, imagining the other alpha panicking despite his usually calm demeanor and Soojung slapping him repeatedly because she’s the one going into labor and not him. But it makes him happy with delight too. No other omega has been born since Soojung, the cruel experiences and hunters of the world taking them out to try and rid the world of the wolf race, and he’s heard that there are only a few omegas left on the planet. They’re considered a rare gem, all the omegas having gold in their hair since birth, and they’ve all been fiercely protective of the ones left.
“I suggest steering clear of their small cabin though,” Kyungsoo informs, lifting more food up to his lips, “Yixing’s exhaustion means he’s almost to his feral instincts. He wouldn’t even let me near the place to see if Soojung was okay after the birthing.” He shrugs as he reaches out to wipe away crumbs left on Lu Han’s lips, both of them ignoring the wolf whistles probably coming from Baekhyun at their act. “Based on Chanyeol’s relieved smile when he left and Sooyeon staying inside, everything thankfully seems to be fine.”
“Well, that’s good to hear,” Lu Han says in-between bites, smiling when Kyungsoo starts to alternate between themselves for food, “I was going to ask how you were though.” He stifles a laugh when Kyungsoo’s ears quickly turn pink. “But I would think you’re okay as well since you’re feeding The Mighty Alpha of the East.”
He really does deserve the punch to his chest.
“Shut up, alpha,” Kyungsoo mutters afterwards, falling silent to continue feeding him. He doesn’t even need to feed him. Lu Han is more than capable of grabbing what he wants to eat and filling his stomach to the brim, but the underlying knowledge that Kyungsoo is now technically higher than him in ranks is what keeps him in place.
Since the near-extinction of their omegas, the past council had declared that all surviving omegas should be ranked higher than alphas. They should be protected at all costs and even those of other species should help protect them to keep some sort of balance in the world. In return, the wolves would help protect those of the Faes and vampires, the witches and nymphs. And it’s the reason why Kyungsoo and Soojung are so treasured in their sanctuary.
They’re the remaining two omegas in Eastern Asia, and Lu Han is glad he found them both before they were hunted and possibly sold off to who knows what. They’re also the reason why this sanctuary exists in the first place. Lu Han frowns when someone purposely bumps into him and Minseok’s crooked smile suddenly appears next to him.
“Hey, strong alpha,” the witch greets, plucking a strawberry from the table next to them and popping it into his mouth, “Did you get what I asked for?”
Kyungsoo suddenly slips away from them, causing Lu Han to frown harder, and Minseok laughs at the turn of events. Kyungsoo has never liked standing next to the witch even though he’s the one who cast the protection spell over their now large camp. He always claimed they were never to be trusted, but it’s clear as the barrier itself that he trusts them more than he lets on.
“Yeah, we did,” Lu Han mumbles, pouting and reaching out to grab his own strawberry now that Kyungsoo stopped feeding him, “Jongin has it with him though and you know how Sehun’s been lately since he apparently recovered.”
“Oh, I know,” Minseok says with a wink before leaning up to whisper in his ear, “What about you and Kyungsoo?”
Lu Han growls at the witch, annoyed, even though everybody in the whole entire clearing knows of his obvious adoration for the omega. He leaves Minseok laughing, nothing going on between him and the omega, and walks away before the witch can slip a truth serum or spell into his system.
“Soojung is not drinking anything created by that witch.”
Lu Han frowns as Yixing growls in front of him, Minseok and Kyungsoo by his sides with the former holding onto the concoction brewed specifically to help Soojung with her blood loss. His friend looks feral, indeed, still, and Lu Han would like to blame this on the fact that this is the first time Soojung has carried pups throughout her life and has delivered all three of them safe and sound.
“This is to help promote blood cell growth and regeneration,” Minseok softly says, gold glittering his irises in hopes he resembles an omega of some sort, “It will help her recover faster.”
“My final answer is no,” Yixing barks, suddenly transforming into his wolf and ripping the clothes he’s wearing. He barks once more, taking a step forward, and growls at them in warning.
Opening his mouth to overrule the other alpha, Lu Han quiets when Kyungsoo takes the initiative and walks towards the drained wolf instead. He feels a hand on his arm and when he looks, Minseok is giving him a small, reassured smile.
“Yixing,” Kyungsoo softly says, no fear in any ounce of his body as he kneels in front of the larger wolf, gestures slow and confident. His voice is strangely enchanting, calming, and Lu Han wonders if it’s only him or if the others feel it as well. He sticks his hand out, all of them watching as Yixing’s growl softens and he stares at the hand in front of him before looking back up to Kyungsoo. “Are you sure? We will not force her to drink something you believe will harm her in the future.”
Yixing whines softly, sure of his answer, before Kyungsoo speaks again.
“If she does not recover quickly and you worry, will you come to us to help each of you?”
It’s strange how two of their wolves were each born with a blood disorder, Soojung with anemia and Yixing with hemophilia, and it’s even stranger that Soojung’s anemia remained with her throughout her whole life while Yixing’s completely healed on its own. Although, Lu Han supposes it might have to do with the fact that Soojung turned Yixing long ago, hoping to save him from the brink of death, and it messed with their internal organs altogether.
Lu Han smiles as Yixing moves forward and nudges his head underneath Kyungsoo’s smaller palm, accepting the conditions, before returning to his front door and waiting for them to leave so he can shift and return inside where they can hear Soojung breathing heavily but steady, as if she’s in sleep.
A growl erupts again and Lu Han rolls his eyes before turning away from the house. “Yes, Yixing. I respect your wishes.” He laughs when the bark that sounds after resembles a dog waiting to play, and he sends a smile over his shoulder when he sees Yixing’s gaze happier than it has been the past couple of days. He’s nothing but a fair alpha.
Suddenly, someone’s cozying up to him as they walk and Lu Han would like to say it’s Kyungsoo, but Kyungsoo is frowning on his free side while Minseok is making his way under his arm to drape across his shoulders and cling onto him as they return to the main base of camp.
“What am I going to do with this serum then?” Minseok whines, fingers clenching onto Lu Han’s shirt, “The whole reason you and Jongin got it was for Soojung and Yixing, but if they don’t want it-”
“Why do you always cling to Lu Han every time we go somewhere?” Kyungsoo cuts off, irises tinting on gold but fading just as quick. Lu Han likes to think he’s jealous, his heart speeding up at the possibility. “He has other things to do than tend to your constant whining.”
“As I see it,” Minseok says, corner of his lips tugging up into a smirk, as he looks to him across Lu Han’s chest, “He has nothing else to do now that his little mission is over. He has all the time in the world to listen to me whine.”
“On the contrary,” Jongdae pipes up, walking up to them with an orb in hand, “There are hunters closing in from the western city.” He eyes the situation then, mouth curling up even more as twinkles of amusement appear in his eyes. “What is this? A new development in The Almighty Alpha’s nonexistent love life?”
Lu Han growls at the comment, feeling Minseok release a soft ‘oh’ against him. “Don’t test my patience, you inferior witch.” Pride swells in his chest when Jongdae immediately holds his hands up in surrender even though his expression doesn’t change at all. There are dots moving in the glass ball, fleeting images of rundown buildings appearing, and Lu Han frowns when he sees more less-defined dots moving. “Gather Jongin and Baekhyun. It appears that there are three hunters in your orb.” He didn’t know humans were starting to move back into that city, probably trying to restore the buildings to what they once were.
Jongdae winks at him before walking away, Minseok suddenly being tugged right from under him, and Lu Han and Kyungsoo watch with wide eyes as the elder witch struggles against invisible bonds and shouting at Jongdae to let him go. “Oh, you see clearly, my handsome wolf,” Jongdae calls out before they suddenly disappear in front of them, “They will be at your cabin within the hour.”
There’s a moment of silence before the scent of roses strengthens again, like earlier that morning, and Lu Han turns to silently follow Kyungsoo back into their cabin. It’s one they share, even though there have been protests about it, but Lu Han uses the excuse that he needs to keep one of the remaining omegas alive and safe by having Kyungsoo close to him. He’s pretty sure Kyungsoo has already seen through his act years ago, but he hasn’t done anything to suggest otherwise.
Kyungsoo disappears down the hall, Lu Han moving to get his own things needed for a hunt, and reappears with Lu Han’s gas mask in one hand with a pile of clothes in the other. It shouldn’t make Lu Han smile as wide as he does, but he can’t help it when Kyungsoo moves closer and stuffs the clothes in his pack, hooking his gas mask onto his belt loop right after.
Even if they’re not mates, they still act like it.
“Now,” Kyungsoo mumbles, ears turning pink again, “If The Mighty Alpha of the East doesn’t come back safely, I will go hunting for you myself and make sure those who harm you suffer ten times more than you did.”
Laughter bubbles out of Lu Han at the words, affection swelling in his chest in the only way Kyungsoo can do, and he drops a kiss to the top of Kyungsoo’s head because he can’t help it. “I’ll come back safely, omega,” he murmurs, watching as Kyungsoo runs away right when the door slams open and Jongin is standing there with his mouth and eyes wide open in shock, hand poised as if to knock. In fact, he looks appalled at the disrespect shown right in front of him.
“I heard we’re going hunting today,” Baekhyun exclaims with glee, walking ahead and jumping on the pile of blankets on the floor next to the windows in the corner of the living room. His own gas mask is dangling from his neck, strapped loosely, just in case it’s needed later. “I haven’t gone hunting in a while for something other than for food.”
Lu Han sighs in resignation at his packmate, not even sparing him another glance, before nodding to Jongin who’s still standing outside his house. “Come on in, Jongin.” He smiles when Jongin does, endeared with vampires’ polite nature. He waits until they’re all seated comfortably in his living room before going over what little information Jongdae gave him.
“Jongdae should’ve given us more information other than that there are three hunters in this city,” Baekhyun shouts out, voice muffled behind his gas mask, as he runs and slides under a half-opened garage after Lu Han. His eyes bleed red as he stares at his friend, Jongin standing on top of a beam and watching out the windows as the hunters run past their hiding spot. “He didn’t say they were from the government,” he whispers, Lu Han frowning because they might need backup.
With the masks on their faces, they can’t transform into their wolves to take these men down. They have to rely on Jongin, but the last time this happened, Sehun bit into one of the hunters to drain them and drank poison instead. They don’t need a repeat of that episode.
“Shit,” Jongin whispers, jumping off from his beam and tugging each of them along, “They’re coming back. We have to go!”
Lu Han and Baekhyun follow quickly, hearing a click and something rolling underneath the door, before the garage explodes and they’re all flown from the back door. He growls as he turns in the air and lands on his hands and feet. Jongin and Baekhyun are behind him and he can hear each of them mimicking his warning growl. He tosses his bag to Jongin, hearing the man strap it on, before he takes off his mask as well and gives it to him to put on and protect himself from whatever fumes might come their way.
He can feel his bones starting to shift, crack and mend itself together, to transform into his wolf and he lets out another warning growl to Baekhyun. Leave. He hears a concerned whine in return, but just as the hunters appear, he transforms completely and attacks. He knows they’re gone when the wind shifts and he can’t scent them any longer.
Entering the mind of a wolf is considerably more dangerous than what those fairytales led humans to believe. All Lu Han can see is red and all he can smell is fear and strength, and it takes him past the realm of his rational side and into his instincts to protect those he loves and respects. He knows who he needs to hunt and he uses that to his advantage when he lets go and lets his wolf take over. He doesn’t even know when it’s the end until he feels arms circling around him and he can suddenly smell gravel and cinnamon.
His internal wolf retreats a few steps, enough for him to see clearly, and he can see the mangled bodies of the three hunters threatening their paradise. Their telecoms had fallen out in the struggle and he watches as Jongin crushes each one, digging through all of the hunters’ personal belongings and destroying whatever else can be traced back to them.
“Lu Han,” Baekhyun murmurs in his ear, the scent of plastic wafting over his natural scent of cinnamon, “We have to go. Jongin will dispose of the bodies.” And when he looks up, he can see Sehun and Seungwan standing there next to them, eyes crimson as they try not to stare at the blood covering his face and neck. “They’re here to help speed up the process.”
He doesn’t understand the severity of the situation until his second-in-command moves him. Pain shoots from his back and his leg, his chest heaving hard, and he whimpers softly when he’s jostled too much.
“Han, come on,” Baekhyun urges and Lu Han follows slowly, “I need to know what you can move and what you cannot.” They all visibly wince when Lu Han can barely move a paw. “Okay,” Baekhyun breathes, eyes wide with concern before looking to each of the vampires, “I’ll injure him more if I carry him over my shoulder. I need you to gently lay him across my back after I shift.” He pauses, cradling Lu Han’s muzzle gently in his hands. “Seungwan, make sure he doesn’t howl when you move him. And come back safely, all of you.”
Seungwan nods before Baekhyun takes off his mask and gives it to her. He shifts, Lu Han whining when Sehun and Jongin gently maneuver him to lie on top of his friend, and Baekhyun lets out a small whine when Lu Han needs to be shifted again to run more quickly. Lu Han’s mind slips when someone pulls on his leg too hard and he tries to break out of Seungwan’s hold on his muzzle to bite her hand off.
“I apologize, alpha,” Seungwan says, bowing her head to him briefly before moving away and strapping the mask over her face, Sehun taking Lu Han’s mask from Jongin and putting it on himself.
“We will come back safely,” Sehun informs after, hefting one of the larger men onto his shoulder. “We’ll cover you two as soon as we can.”
The first step jostles Lu Han, feeling something crunch within him, and he whimpers every few minutes his leg is moved and his chest hits Baekhyun’s back. He hasn’t been injured this badly in a long time and, in the midst of hurrying to their sanctuary, he wonders how these men were even trained to be that strong. Hunters never used to be difficult in defeating. They used to be predictable, basing their strategies off of novels and guides created by so-called ‘professionals’ of their species, and it would make avoiding and defeating them easy. He doesn’t even remember seeing any mortals wandering the streets either, can’t remember seeing any traces of them in the buildings they ran past trying to get away from those sworn to kill them.
Lu Han loses consciousness between the city and the depths of the forest. He stumbles into a restless sleep and whimpers with each movement Baekhyun makes as he tries to get them back home safely.
Silver chains bind Lu Han to the stone wall, the stadium around him seeming larger than it had the past week, as he fights against the metal burning into his skin. Kyungsoo is standing before him, looking uncharacteristically weak and small in the hands of two alphas and two vampires, and it makes Lu Han’s own alpha rise dangerously because he can hear his whimpers. Lu Han remembers his parents going through this, entering the first Tournament of Beasts, and somehow lasting until the end.
He was young then, still a pup, and he couldn’t understand why The Council of Creatures would create a tournament for the strongest species to play and fight in. He couldn’t understand why it was so important for wolves and vampires and cunning fairies to enter and figure out who would be the strongest, most reliable, of all the species known to them.
“It was supposed to be for wolves only,” his mother told him before she entered the last round, combing fingers through his hair. Most of her previous wounds had already healed, but Lu Han still saw one on her wrist and kept licking at it hoping it would go away. It made his mother chuckle and the faint scent of flowers grow even more in the room. “But they ended up including whoever could produce an entertaining show.”
Lu Han couldn’t catch the bitterness in her voice at such a young age, but as he struggles against the bonds holding him back, he can hear it clearly in his head, like she’s still there talking to him and guiding him through life.
“The only alpha unwilling to kill in the tournament,” the announcer says, voice sounding proud and echoing in the large arena, “Let’s test your strength further, Alpha Han, like your parents The Great Alpha and Strong Omega of the East.”
Lu Han smells the bitterness of the medication before they bring it out, his nostrils flaring and growl erupting low and deep in his chest at the threat. Don’t stay here, Kyungsoo, he had told the omega, You know what will happen if you stay. But the omega wouldn’t leave no matter how many times he threatened him. He tried to use his status as an alpha to make him submit, but he could never do that to him, not when the world was already slowly dying around them.
He eyes the witch holding the syringe, his vision slowly bleeding red, and he shouts when he sees the witch go up to Kyungsoo. His omega is fighting, but it isn’t enough. “He’s an omega!” he yells, snarling and barking at the creatures holding the other back. “Omega!” He can hear the angered shouts of Baekhyun and Yixing in the distance and Chanyeol, Soojung, and Sooyeon barking. “Kyungsoo!”
Kyungsoo doesn’t speak a word until the serum is injected into him. He continues to fight, howling in pain, and Lu Han watches with red eyes as Kyungsoo slowly quiets. His heart squeezes in pain, the silver burning into his skin, and he fights harder when Kyungsoo finally locks gazes with him, silently pleading for him to do something.
He growls when he hears the support in the wall break behind him and he struggles more, panic flaring in his chest when Kyungsoo suddenly starts moving on his own again. His irises bleed gold and he’s running for him, claws extended.
The chains break but Lu Han doesn’t kill. He maims those who get close to him or his omega and fights Kyungsoo until the medicine wears off.
“The Last of the Tournaments,” the announcer declares, cheers erupting throughout the stadium, “The Mighty Alpha of the East.”
The scent of roses is strong. Lu Han sees a field of them in his head, stretching as far as the eye can see, and it calms him. He moves willingly with the winds, whining when he feels a sudden sharp pain shoot throughout his body.
“Han,” comes Kyungsoo’s voice, soft and soothing, “I need you to shift.” Small hands cradle Lu Han’s head gently, fingers scratching behind his ears, and he growls deep in his chest only to whimper when it hurts him more. “Han, please.”
Anything for you.
The howl Lu Han releases is loud and painful, vision blacking out, as his bones try and mold back into his human body despite the breaks and cracks already in them. He doesn’t register Kyungsoo gently holding his head in place and murmuring calming words into his ear until he falls limp on the ground, trying to suck in as much air as his chest can handle.
“Easy, Han,” Kyungsoo whispers against him. A hand is moving from his head down to his arm, and Lu Han’s breath catches in his throat when it stops at his hand and suddenly their fingers are lacing together.
Lu Han stares up at Kyungsoo, shocked, only to see a pained expression in his eyes. He squeezes his hand, not understanding why, until Kyungsoo leans down and their foreheads are gently touching. He can see the gold in his eyes clearly at this distance, can lean up just that little bit to leave a small kiss to his inviting lips. “Chanyeol, now.”
There’s a pull. More cracks are heard and Lu Han howls at the pain it brings. He fights against them, pulling away from Kyungsoo to see Baekhyun suddenly holding down his other arm and Chanyeol trying to reset his leg in place.
It hurts, of course it does, and Lu Han clings onto Kyungsoo’s hand because none of his wound sites look clean and simple at all. He suffered a lot and he tries to lose himself in the way Kyungsoo whispers words into his ear and places soft kisses all over his cheek and forehead, trying to distract him from kicking the other alpha and beta off of him.
Lu Han finally calms when something cool and soothing is placed over the burning parts of his body, wearily looking down to see Chanyeol putting some type of herbal paste onto his wounds, and he tries to suck in a deep breath when Kyungsoo gently places a hand over his chest to keep it from expanding too much.
“You were damaged here too,” Kyungsoo says softly in warning, and Lu Han doesn’t know if he means emotionally or physically. “Take your time.”
Kyungsoo is suddenly moving away from him and Lu Han panics, Baekhyun watching him curiously, as he scrabbles to grasp Kyungsoo’s hand again. It makes Chanyeol chuckle in the midst of trying to help heal him faster and he knows it’s amusing Baekhyun too because Kyungsoo simply gives him a reassured, albeit teasing, smile before grabbing his hand again and squeezing. “Kyung-”
Lu Han groans when Kyungsoo leans down and starts licking at the deeper cuts along his side and abdomen. The omega’s tongue is soft and strong along his skin, the wounds starting to stitch itself back together slowly simply from his touch. It reminds him of the tournament years ago. “They had wolfsbane,” he breathes out, yelping when Kyungsoo suddenly pinches his arm.
“I know,” Kyungsoo says, gaze flicking up to give him a knowing stare, before he returns to his task at hand, “That’s why I’m licking you.”
“Or he could be licking you for a different reason altogether,” Jongdae says as he suddenly walks into the room, gaze teasing and smile cheeky, “Lick you somewhere else you’ve been- Ow!”
“Ow!” Lu Han mimics, throwing the bowl of leftover herbs at the witch and jostling his chest too much in the process. He growls in annoyance at the laughter that bubbles out of the other alpha and beta but it’s the sudden bite on his hip that jolts his attention back to his damaged body. “Soo!”
Kyungsoo growls at him in warning, glaring at him. “Stop moving or you’ll open up all your wounds again.”
There’s a moment of silence as Kyungsoo resumes his task and Chanyeol looks over all his wounds approvingly before Jongdae speaks up again and Baekhyun is scrabbling for a book to give to Kyungsoo when he holds his hand out at him expectantly, quickly throwing it at the mischievous witch.
“I remember some humans were entranced by vampires because they received pleasure from biting- Ow!”
Kyungsoo growls. “Get out of here, damn witch!”
Watching Yixing trying to handle three pups on his own is amusing. His two sons, both unknown in their alpha or beta status, keep him occupied plenty on their own. They keep shifting in the middle of running towards him and he’s always taken by surprise when a wolf barrels into his side while he’s sitting or a child suddenly falls into his lap. His daughter, inherently an omega because of the natural born gold in her hair resembling her mother, is a different story.
Soojung and Lu Han burst into laughter when Soojung’s daughter shifts before sneaking up on Yixing and pouncing on his back, toppling both of them over before her brothers join in on the pile and Yixing is yelling out nonsense to try and save his body from keeling over many years too early.
“Soojung!” Yixing manages to scream out in the midst of stopping his children from licking at his face and neck, “Soojung!”
Sitting next to Lu Han on the grass in front of their house, all Soojung does is smile and wave. “They need to spend some bonding time with their father!” she yells back and Lu Han falls over from laughing too hard.
They spend the rest of the day watching Yixing have fun and struggle alternatively every few minutes, keeping an eye out for the other creatures stopping by to play with the children before moving on their way. Like this, they easily forget about the rest of the world. They forget that there are certain government factions trying to find and hunt or take them in to be their personal toys in the wars made by humans.
“When are you and Kyungsoo going to mate?” Soojung suddenly asks, smiling as they watch Kyungsoo walk up to the four wolves in the middle of the clearing and offer them snacks and a playing partner.
This question has been asked one too many times before, but it never fails to bring a smile to Lu Han’s face when he hears it. He’s dreamt of finally asking Kyungsoo to be his mate, years before he was involuntarily entered into the primitive Tournament of Beasts and Kyungsoo still chose to stay by his side throughout the tiring ordeal. He’s thought of bearing children with him, having his own three little pups to spoil and endure while Kyungsoo sits back and watches them fondly from afar. He’s had so many dreams about the two of them, ever since his parents saved their family and the little omega tackled him to the ground because his alpha presence was simply annoying to him.
“Han,” Soojung calls again, laughing as she brings him out of his thoughts. She has a knowing smile, like it contains all of his secrets behind her beautiful teeth, and Lu Han frowns when she just laughs some more at him. “You’re unbearable, Sir Alpha. You know that, right?” He forgets she’s lived in Europe before as well.
Lu Han pouts at her, gaze drifting back to Kyungsoo who has one of her sons sitting in his lap preening at the attention he’s getting as Kyungsoo runs fingers through his unruly hair. “I think I’m the right amount of bearable,” he counters, lips tugging up into a smile unwillingly when Kyungsoo catches his gaze, “For the head alpha that is.”
Soojung shoves him on the arm then, causing him to tip over, and Lu Han returns to frowning at her. “You’re insufferable,” she corrects, reaching out to hold his face in place by squeezing his chin and cheeks to stare at her, “You need to make him yours before you get killed out there one day.”
Lu Han tries to scoff at her despite the iron grip she has on him. “I’m not going to get killed out there,” he mumbles out, “I can’t die out there.”
“Says the idiot alpha who took on three experienced hunters and took four whole days to recover.”
“I didn’t-” Lu Han winces when Soojung digs her thumb into his jaw.
“You took four whole days and all Kyungsoo did was watch over you the entire time you were out,” she whispers, glancing at her mate and Kyungsoo briefly to make sure they couldn’t hear them, “And it took you another day to wake up completely. You haven’t been out of your house for a week and Baekhyun had to take your spot in surveying the cities and the entire forest.” Her grip on him softens then, gently running her fingers over the imprint she left on his cheek. “You may have won and we may have long lives,” she softly says, looking up into his eyes, “But you’ve waited too long for him.”
It may be because Soojung’s an omega, but Lu Han can’t find it in himself to lie or joke with her any longer. He whines low in his throat as he tilts his head forward in submission. “I will wait for as long as it takes,” he says in response, feeling her fingers reach across his cheek to gently scratch her nails behind his ear.
“And how long have you decided for yourself?”
Lu Han closes his eyes at his answer, whispering, “Too long.”
Soojung releases a soft laugh. “Then what are you waiting for now?” Lu Han doesn’t know. He honestly doesn’t, and he’s surprised when he feels soft lips touch his forehead. He can’t believe Soojung is younger than him. “Kyungsoo loves you as much as you hope. It’s clear in his eyes and in his smile when he looks at you, ever since back then. Be the strong alpha you have already proven yourself to be.”
It’s a habit of older wolves, Yixing the only one understanding of his actions, and Lu Han can’t help it when Soojung pulls back her hand and he turns to lick at it affectionately. It catches her off-guard but she laughs, Yixing smiling at them from the distance and Kyungsoo staring at them curiously.
One of Yixing’s boys tackles him again and he yelps when he falls over, hitting his face in the grass. “Soojung! Help me!”
“Left,” Jongdae whispers, disappearing from around the corner of a building.
Lu Han follows his direction, Sehun and Jongin at his sides, and he narrowly misses the hunter’s bullet coming from behind. He hides behind garbage bins while Sehun and Jongin jump to the roofs. When the hunter appears, cautiously taking steps forward, the vampires attack as Lu Han monitors them.
He eyes the hunter, watch as he puts up a fight, and he sees something glint in the daylight before he’s running out and tackling the man to the ground. He can’t risk it being silver, going for the neck and biting the juncture where it meets the man’s shoulder. He feels the crack before he hears it.
The hunter is dead within seconds and Lu Han backs away slowly to allow Jongin to sniff the man of poison and silver before they drink from him. He sniffs the air for the man’s partner, a woman with red hair, but he can’t scent any other human near them. Instead, he scents a witch and turns, expecting to see Jongdae there.
What he sees is Jongdae, but in the hands of the female hunter. He growls at the other in warning, alerting Jongin and Sehun behind him, and he barks when Jongdae looks at him with pleading eyes. There’s barely any difference between his friend and the hunter’s scent.
“I told the suits I could do this on my own,” she speaks, eyeing her dead partner between them, “Obviously, they underestimate us.” Her grip on Jongdae’s hair tightens and he winces, turning and suddenly releasing a spell at her.
It doesn’t do much, but it allows Jongdae to run towards them and Lu Han to run past him to pounce at the witch. Jongin and Sehun follow right after, latching onto her after she tosses Lu Han aside, and Jongdae recites an incantation to keep her in place. Only when she’s struggling to find her voice and move does Sehun remove his teeth from her shoulder and take a step back, Jongin moving in to keep her wrapped in his arms as he starts to drink from her.
“Since when did they send creatures to come after us?” Sehun whispers, looking to Lu Han who looks uncertain about it too, “The man was government, but what is she?”
“I think she’s their first witch finally in the system,” Jongdae murmurs behind them, still concentrating on keeping the other witch in place, “After years of trying to find one to take in.” There’s a look of pain in his eyes, but he keeps his place until she’s dry. He closes his eyes when she falls to the ground.
Silence falls between them as Lu Han walks up and nudges his head underneath Jongdae’s hand, hoping to comfort him for losing one of his own.
The run back is quiet, Jongdae holding tightly onto him as he cries into his fur, finally finding another witch and having to kill her immediately after taking its toll on him.
Jongdae has been doing the same thing every day. He stays in their clearing and sticks around Baekhyun and the fairies, smile never reaching his eyes, and Kyungsoo sighs at the sight from inside Lu Han’s cabin. “I’ve never seen Jongdae stick around the clearing for so long,” he murmurs, having heard the story right after they returned from the trip and saw red, puffy eyes. “It must’ve been tough.”
“You’ve seen me put down a wolf,” Lu Han mentions, thinking about his old packmate in the system, and getting angry just thinking about it. He frowns as he accidentally crushes the apple he was eating in his hand. “It was tough for us too.”
“I stopped going out on hunts with you after that,” Kyungsoo adds, finally looking away from the window and to him across the living room. He’s biting his lower lip, brows furrowed together, and Lu Han hastily tosses his apple in the trash and wipes his hand on a spare towel before walking over to him. “I remember.”
Lu Han doesn’t need to think twice to pull Kyungsoo into his arms, lets the younger cling onto the back of his shirt, because that time was rough. Fighting his old second-in-command who used to follow them everywhere dug a deep wound into their hearts, even Yixing still remembers from time to time when he snarls at nothing in particular. “I know,” is all Lu Han says, carding fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair soothingly until he loosens up in his hold. They’ve already been through so much together. He’s forgets about it all sometimes.
Suddenly, Kyungsoo is tilting his head, his hair tickling Lu Han’s cheek, and the alpha smiles when he feels the omega’s nose hitting his neck and breathing him in deep. He can tell it calms Kyungsoo. He always allows the younger to slip his hands underneath his shirt and rest his palms against his back, because it always helps simmer the omega’s worries.
“How can you kill so many people?” Kyungsoo whispers against him, lips moving along his skin. “Even after killing our friend, you still do it.”
Lu Han smiles despite the situation, shifting around until he can kiss Kyungsoo’s temple and feel him stiffen in his arms. His fingers are pressing into his lower back and he licks the shell of his ear affectionately. “Because I’m protecting those I care about,” he answers, leaning away enough to stare Kyungsoo in the eyes. “If I keep that in mind, then I can fight for all of you.“
“You two are so troublesome,” Sehun suddenly voices, causing Kyungsoo to yelp in surprise and Lu Han to growl at the disturbance. He’s standing right outside the window peering in and a curious Jongdae is looking at them too, eyes finally lighting up with amusement the longer he stares at them. “You two should just officially mate already.”
“Or you can do the deed without mating,” Jongdae comments after, smile widening even more, “It’s really up to you two.”
Lu Han barks at them as he pulls the curtains closed right in front of their faces. He quickly locks the front door as well, finally having some use for it after all these years, and freezes when he turns to see Kyungsoo staring at him with a soft look in his eyes. He frowns in confusion, looking around to see if there was anything else he needed to do before walking away back towards the pile of blankets. “I guess Jongdae is feeling better,” he mutters in annoyance, hearing Jongdae’s peals of laughter echo outside their cabin.
“Yeah,” Kyungsoo breathes out, Lu Han turning just in time to see Kyungsoo running for him and then tackling him onto the blankets in the corner of the room. It’s a rough landing and Lu Han makes sure Kyungsoo doesn’t injure himself on the way down.
“Ow.”
“Mates?” Kyungsoo questions, a smile on his face as he lifts his head up to see him clearly. “You have the worst friends,” he laughs out, reaching back down to nuzzle the underside of Lu Han’s jaw, appearing much happier than minutes before. “They’re always teasing you.”
Lu Han’s heart won’t stop going into overdrive at all the affection Kyungsoo is giving him. “They’re strong enough,” he wheezes out when Kyungsoo randomly pushes on his chest, “Do you feel better?” He thinks he passes out when he feels soft lips touch his Adam’s apple.
“Yes, alpha,” Kyungsoo whispers, lips smiling along his neck, “I do.”
Finding and killing one of the largest boars in their forest has possibly been one of the toughest missions Lu Han has ever given himself in a long time, disregarding that time he almost died fighting those three hunters and the entire Tournament of Beasts. He hasn’t even hunted in who knows how long, usually giving the task to Baekhyun and Chanyeol given their natural high energy, and it’s clear how long it’s been when he makes it back to his pack’s clearing and all but dumps the dead animal in front of Kyungsoo’s feet in front of his cabin. It isn’t graceful in any way possible, but Lu Han doesn’t care, not when Kyungsoo is looking up at him with impossibly wide eyes.
“Han,” Kyungsoo trails off, sounding uncertain of what he just witnessed, “What?”
Feeling accomplished with Kyungsoo’s reaction, Lu Han smiles brightly at him. “For you.”
“For me?” Kyungsoo asks, gazing down to the boar before staring back up at him. He looks adorably confused. Lu Han wants to tackle him to the ground and keep him there while smothering him with hugs and kisses. “Where did you even find a boar this big?”
Lu Han deflates at the question, smile falling off his face, before picking up the boar again to go personally clean and cut it himself. Surprisingly, he doesn’t do well with rejection. “Running along the stream right outside the barrier.” He catches his pack’s knowing gaze across the field when he turns and sees the fairy sitting next to Baekhyun giggle at his actions. He frowns, not even knowing how to go about finally asking Kyungsoo to be his mate when Sehun and Jongdae blatantly told them to just do it.
“Outside the barrier?”
“I’m going to take care of this,” Lu Han announces to nobody in particular, not hearing Kyungsoo’s question. “I’ll be back.”
He’s already halfway towards the edge of the clearing when he hears someone running towards him, catching his arm before he can even turn around, and he’s surprised to see gold eyes staring back up at him. With the fading sun, Kyungsoo looks even more beautiful.
“Were you trying to court me?” Kyungsoo pants out, like he’s just run miles, and Lu Han can’t help the red he knows is bleeding into his irises because of Kyungsoo.
“Yeah,” Lu Han answers, short and sweet. He eyes the omega in front of him, watches as pink infuses his cheeks and the tips of his ears, and he feels his heart skip a beat when he sees the corner of Kyungsoo’s mouth twitch upwards. A resulting smile blooms on his face when Kyungsoo suddenly walks around him and starts dragging him towards the fire in the center of the clearing. “Kyungsoo?” He almost chokes when Kyungsoo’s scent strengthens right next to him.
“You haven’t cooked in a long time, alpha. I need to make sure you don’t injure yourself while holding the knife again.”
Sputtering at the sudden memory, Lu Han almost drops the boar from his shoulder. “I did not injure myself!” he exclaims, struggling to keep the animal from falling to the ground and keep up with the laughing omega. “That knife slipped!”
“I’m pretty sure your hands aren’t that smooth,” Kyungsoo comments, suddenly thoughtful as he looks over his shoulder at him. “From what I remember, they’re pretty rough. Steady.” Then he moves his hand from Lu Han’s shoulder down to Lu Han’s hand and he can’t breathe. Kyungsoo laces their fingers together loosely and Lu Han whines when the fairies take the boar from his shoulder and they have to separate to cook.
It becomes a new part of Lu Han’s strange routine. In between finding items for the witches and getting rid of all the threats coming near their paradise, he takes the extra time and energy to find items he knows Kyungsoo will love. One day it’s a bouquet of flowers the nymphs helped him pick and the next it would be one of those red hearts humans used to sell in stores during the month of February.
This week though, it’s been a bit busier than usual. There has been word about another wolf trying to escape the system and Lu Han with his pack and Jongin’s small clan have been on high guard waiting for the wolf to track their scents to the outside of their barrier. They hear she’s coming for them and Lu Han vaguely remembers her name from the Tournament of Beasts and he ended up sparing her life when she proved to be a strong opponent.
But she doesn’t come for weeks, Kyungsoo finally coming out to keep watch with them while the witches and fairies swear to protect Soojung and her children in the center of the clearing. It keeps him on high alert, Lu Han smelling the anxiety coming off of him in waves, and the alpha moves in when he thinks Kyungsoo’s about to break.
“I’m fine,” Kyungsoo grumbles immediately, backing away from Lu Han. He’s shaking his head as if trying to rid himself of something, the memories. “I’m okay.”
Lu Han frowns at the omega’s words, managing to back him up against a tree and reaching out to gently cup the back of his neck. It calms Kyungsoo instantly, slackening against the hard bark, and he smiles when Kyungsoo lets out a deep breath. “I need you to go back and watch over Soojung,” he says, hearing Yixing whine at hearing his mate’s name meters away from them, “Yixing is reeking of anxiety as well and we need his full strength in case this is a trap.”
“But I remember her too,” Kyungsoo whispers, looking up at him with wide eyes, “She was strong. She’s a strong alpha and I need to be here for you.”
Lu Han’s heart bursts at the memory, smiling as he leans down to gently rub his cheek against Kyungsoo’s temple. “You’ve already suffered enough staying with me during that time. I don’t want you to repeat it if you can help it.” He looks over his shoulder when he hears Yixing growl. “I need you to be safe,” he hurriedly says, leaning down to kiss his forehead again, “I need you to go back to Soojung and the others. Howl if danger comes near you.”
Something is pressed into his hand then and Lu Han looks down to see a small red stone in the shape of a heart in his palm. He looks up at the omega shocked.
“I asked Baekhyun to find me something similar to what you gave me a month ago,” Kyungsoo explains, blushing, “Keep it in your pocket to help keep you safe.”
Lu Han feels himself heat up, his pheromones probably going out of control, and he pulls Kyungsoo in for a hug. He crushes him, hearing the omega yelp at the tightness of it, and he laughs despite Yixing groaning behind them.
“Were Soojung and I that bad?” he asks, before he’s growling again and turning towards the barrier, “Get out of here, Kyungsoo. We’ll keep each other safe as well.”
Lu Han smiles into Kyungsoo’s hair before kissing the top of his head. He hurriedly pushes the omega away, gently bringing the stone up to his heart and bowing, before slipping the stone into his pocket for safekeeping. He doesn’t expect Kyungsoo to run back towards him, pulling him down until their lips meet and all Lu Han can think of is Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo.
“I expect you to come back safely,” Kyungsoo softly says, kissing him once more before leaving. It makes affection and love swell even more in Lu Han’s chest. “I’ll send Minseok over to reach inside her mind and see if she is safe.”
Kyungsoo is really the best wolf he’s ever seen and met. Lu Han is proud to finally have his heart to call his own.
The smile Kyungsoo gives him before he runs away is nothing compared to the sun finally coming out above the trees and shining down on them, infinitely bright and holding happiness in its depths.
“I also expect the next bite I give you to stay. Permanently.”
Yixing bursts into laughter, Lu Han shocked still once again.
He can’t deny an omega’s wishes.