#I’m writing this entire thing at like midnight sooo

[usgsnajs]

God I can’t wait until tomorrow’s episode of secret life… it’s obviously gonna be the finale, and unlike previous seasons I watched live, I have wishes for every server member except for the previous winners to win lol

I want Cleo to win because she deserves this story arc, surviving the zombie apocalypse and turning human as a result, being the last green name, and also getting back with her ex husband lolol (just so you know, I have essays of thoughts about Cleo and Ethos character arcs this season that I cannot put it into words. Just trust me that this and Ethos sections should be a lot longer)

I want Etho to win because oh my god??? What has he been on this season??? First off, he has somehow reached higher set cat status than he did in Limited life, which I thought was impossible, but he just struggles so. hard. in the earlier sessions especially. Secondly, he plays the secret aspect of the game really well, where he almost always comes up with a fake task for him to do in addition to his actual task, and sticks with it completely. He’s just really good at the secret part of it while also hiding what he’s doing really badly, which is the best thing to watch ever. But thirdly and most importantly, the fucking…zombie apocalypse session…He failed his task, and made the ENTIRE SERVER also fail their task just because he didn’t want to give up Cleo and Grian… He jumped in front of Bdub’s arrow to protect Cleo… ‘I’m a survivor’ this ‘I’d probably run’ that, you are a liar Mr Etho Slab!! Face it, you’ve had character development since Last Life!!! Stop thinking the worst of yourself!! Also, in addition to all that, he also fits the fact that all the previous winners played the game differently than how it was intended, with the previously mentioned failing of the task, so he also deserves to win because of that.

I want Scar to win because this entire season has been him fighting against what the secret keeper pushes onto him, with him not wanting to be the villain but repeatedly getting villain related tasks, so him winning in spite of that would be so satisfying. Also the idea of Scar, who has spent previous seasons constantly fighting to make friendships, winning the season where everyone on the server hates him does something to me the vibes are just immaculate. Also also! Please let him win he’s come so close so many times 😭

I want Gem to win because Geminislay next question. lol but actually I think it would be really funny if she joined the server for the first time, killed all her friends, won, and then left. Also something something her bringing the boogeyman curse to a season that was never supposed to be cursed in that way, and then fighting her way to victory is really cool. Also also Gem is just cool so I want to see that victory

I want Impulse to win because he’s gotten so close in like almost every season before this!!! He got second last time please just let him win and go apeshit, he deserves it I think. Also last yellow??? He deserves to pop off in the final session and take the win

I want Bdubs to win because this season has been peak Bdubs allying with half the people on the server, and he deserves to win at his worst /j But seriously his perspective so far has been one of my favorites this season because of how funny he is. He spent over an episode building the world when he didn’t even need to. He was murdered by Scar when both of them were green. He has a room in the Roomies base when he’s not even part of their group. He’s so silly he deserves to murder Scar in revenge for his first death and then gloat as he wins.

I want Joel to win because he deserves to go apeshit and then not die from recklessness. I think he should be insane and murder a bunch of people while still staying alive, like Last Life but without the ending part. His base is filled with joy but he is not, and that’s hilarious to me. Please let Joel win one of these he’s come so close

I want BigB to win because out of everyone in secret life he was the one to truly take the ‘secret’ part of the title to its very max. BigB gaslighting everyone he comes into contact with for literally no reason is my favorite part of secret life lol. He should win just for that as well as having the funniest life series base ever. Also his storylines tend to get ignored by a bunch of the fandom, and while it’s definitely improved a lot this season, it still could be better, so I’m hoping he wins just so more people will watch his perspective 😭

I want Skizz to win because like BigB, he is seriously underrated. He still doesn’t have 100k!! Subscribe to him right now!! But other than that, he also deserves to win just because it’d be funny if, now that he’s lived past the third death, he promptly switched his curse as far around as possible and just won lolol. Also also the Heart Foundation has been one of the silliest groups ever, and their base was really cute while it lasted, so any of the members of that group deserve to make it far if just for that. Plus him immediately going after Tango once he got infected with boogeyman was very funny. You go king! Drag your friends down with you! In conclusion Skizz is very funny and deserves to win purely because of that as well as the underdogness of it all.

I want Tango to win because of the Heart foundation stuff I mentioned with Skizz, but also he deserves to win just so he can break his curse of always having a kinda stupid final death 😔 I think it would be really funny if he broke that curse in the coolest way possible, and then in every season after this one he immediately goes right back to silly final deaths.

(Also if a previous winner won this season again I would not be upset as all of them have storylines this season that are really good for it, I just want them to win a little less than the others)

This season has been incredible so far, and it might even end up being my favorite season yet!

[sunmoonjune]

storm clouds at midnight

pairing: poly!ot8 stray kids x fem!reader [werewolf! au]

warnings: minors dni!! extremely suggestive themes!! there is no explicit smut, cursing, but it’s probably the closest to smut I’ve written, predator/prey, chasing, suggestive content is 100% consensual by all parties, vampires are assholes, fear, blood, biting, minor mentions of reader not liking their body (no reference to size/shape), the boys are dirty-minded, a lot of teasing, dirty talk, a little choking, sub!reader, seriously this is probably mostly definitely smut so minors dniI!! there are member x member relationships in this

word count: 26.3k (ok I know I’m insane)

a/n: ok,,, listen I was supposed to write like four other things and not this... but maxident came out and I've been in my skz feels sooo this is the result. also yes! this is in the same universe as dewdrops at dawn (two different places with two different views of the supernatural) also,,, I am physically incapable of writing non-soulmate au’s it seems 

again, this work is considered as suggestive, please do not interact if you are a minor. 

You knew the wolves were there from the moment you moved in. 

Even despite the little power you possessed, you could recognize the enchanting magical aura that lingered in the depths of the dark forest. Without a doubt in your mind, you knew that werewolves resided in the trees beyond your home. In the small clearing at the edge of the woodside town, you could feel the surge of power that marked the boundary of their territory. Despite lacking the keen senses of their kind, you can still feel the border flicker with their strength when you toe the line. 

The night after you first moved into the little cabin on the borders of town, your entire being could sense the moment the wolves descended on your new home. 

Eight forms hid in the darkness of the trees – keeping their bodies shadowed under the cover of night. You could feel their aura and their magic as they investigated your presence. They were scanning for trouble - that you could tell. As a witch, moving into the borders of their territory was bound to draw suspicion. 

Though you lacked immense quantities of magic, you still had the thrum in your veins and the swell in your chest that indicated your link to the supernatural. A witch was a witch, through and through - no matter how much magic they possessed. Despite the disdain of your spellbinding kin, the comfort of the sentiment allowed you to continue practicing using little magic you possessed. 

It’s long after midnight when you feel the auras descend upon your clearing. Eight werewolves, their strength and power undeniable as they linger on their own border. You can almost feel their eyes flickering over your body as they scan your small home. Their sharp pupils leave no belonging untouched. Each of your possessions is investigated for magical inclination. Despite the foreboding indication of their pack’s fortitude, there was some lingering sense of excitement when you felt their eyes on your form. 

You could not blame their caution. When another supernatural being moves into the borders of their territory, it was more than justifiable to investigate their prowess. However, it was not their discretion that caught your attention. 

Something fizzled in the air between you and the wolves, simmering as if connecting your emotions to the pack. It sets your body alight - every inch of your skin flickering with heat and your nerves humming with a warmth you could not place. In some way you did not yet understand, you were connected to this wolfish pack. 

Setting aside some fauna and other potion ingredients to be stored, you felt goosebumps prick under your skin when their gaze turned to your form. It was not an unpleasant feeling; rather one of unbridled curiosity. The notion of their eyes on your skin made you tremble with waves of both excitement and nervousness. They collided with each other in a storm of untapped emotion, and you vaguely wondered why the wolves’ presence made you react so strongly. 

When you carefully made your way out your back door, your slow steps were indicated by the crackle of leaves beneath your feet and the magical thrum in the air. You could feel the wolves’ apprehension in the way their own aura fidgeted, but you continued into your garden nevertheless. Under their direct gazes, something in your body hummed with delight. It was a little strange, and a more sensible part of yourself questioned the feeling. However, the magical pull overpowered that observation, and you found yourself peering into the woods - hoping to catch a glimpse of the wolves that caught your attention. 

They kept themselves well hidden. Your human eyes could not see as well as them in the dark, and you were left without a grasp of their forms. A lingering sensation of disappointment settled in your stomach, your lower lip pulling into your teeth in a pout at the feeling. 

The notion did not bother you as you understood their apprehension towards you, even despite whatever lingered in the air between you. With your limited ability, you pulled gently on the magical connection with your power. It simmered pleasantly between you, like a string that could not be severed. Pulled tight by the grasp of your magic, you felt your body shiver when one of the wolves responded with a deep growl. 

It was not a threatening sound - not necessarily. The sound rippled through the atmosphere with an air of warning. The leader of the pack was not comfortable with you messing around with magic upon your first meeting. The sensation rippled through your body and you felt your chest shake with his power. 

Holding your hands up with your palms out, you hummed quietly with apology. You had no intention of angering the wolves, simply wanting to understand the sensation that seemed to pull you closer. The sound seems to soothe the tension, hackles slowly lowering and magic softening in the air around you. 

From beneath the depths of the dark, wooden thicket, the pack leader stood strongly in front of his seven pack members. Chan had led his partners to the borders of their territory upon feeling the magical thrum of a witch in the air. He could sense the change in the atmosphere when you had arrived in their little town. Even without the bond that simmered between you and the eight wolves, Chan was exceptionally adept at deciphering the magical aura of supernatural creatures - a skill that came with being the Alpha of his pack. 

The shining silver of his wolfish coat was difficult to keep hidden under the moonlight, but Chan was careful. From behind the trees, he and his partners could easily investigate the homely wooden cottage the new witch had sequestered. 

His chest hummed with a pleasant feeling, one he knew connected him to the same witch they had come to examine. Though difficult, he buried it deep in his chest. There would be time to explore the connection later. 

“Careful, Jinnie,” his voice echoed through the link connecting each of the wolves. He addressed the dark form of Hyunjin, who had broken the line of his partners behind him. Though he kept low to the ground, Hyunjin had crept forward, seemingly very interested in the witch whose magic thrummed in the air around them. 

The dark fur of Hyunjin rippled under the alabaster shine of the moon, illuminating the pure muscle of his form. Hyunjin was one of the largest of their pack; his ebony coat standing tall over the bodies of his partners. He huffed at his leader’s call, seeming to shiver as another pulse echoed down the new connection between the wolves and you. 

Sending Chan a remarkably longing look for a wolf, Hyunjin backed away from the edge of the forest. He settles beside Felix, the younger shifting to rest his weight against his lover. The lighter brown color of Felix stood out against Hyunjin, and the darker wolf dropped his head to brush his nose against Felix’s muzzle. Inhaling a wave of his partner’s scent, Hyunjin relaxed some of his tensed muscles. Feeling some of the enticing turmoil seep from his form, Hyunjin let some of his own weight settle against Felix, knowing the younger savors any affection his lovers adore to provide. 

“She smells s’good, Hyung,” Jeongin, the youngest of the pack, rumbles. He stands at the rear beside Seungmin, both wolves a dark walnut color. Though they’re close, the elder of the two werewolves is less inclined to treasure affection. Seungmin leans away from the typical touch that his mates seem to adore. However, Chan and the others have known the wolf far too long to know that Seungmin only pretends to hate physical affection. He may whine when Chan wraps his body around him, but the eldest can feel the way Seungmin sinks into his form and how the bond between them warms. 

Chan’s only response to Jeongin is another hum. 

The silver wolf is too busy scanning your body, from where you have stepped out of your house to approach the tree line. Chan can tell that you know he and his partners are there. The bond wavers between you and Chan has to resist the pleasant shiver that thrums through him. Some of the others are unable to fight back the feeling, and Chan can feel Felix and Han’s excitement spike from their connection. 

The eight wolves stand at the ready. With your form slowly approaching the woods, another thrum of excitement echoes down both ends of the bond and this time it’s Minho that has to resist stepping forward. Whatever connection lingers between you is strong. The combination of your sweet scent and the magical connection is beginning to drive Minho mad. He swears he can almost feel the touch of your skin on his own despite the distance that separates you. 

As second-in-command, Minho stands at Chan’s side. The two are tense, but not out of apprehension – it seems all eight of the wolves are feeling the same thrum from your bond. 

At the edge of your yard, you slow to a stop. In the chilly night air, you rub your hands together for a little warmth, but find that whatever magic simmers in the air has kept you quite hot. Shifting on your feet, you attempt to find the eyes of any of the wolves that you can sense in front of you. 

You keep at least twenty yards between you and the wolves. Despite whatever connection you may have, you do not know how they will react if you approach closer. They are cautious of your magic - you can tell. Most supernatural creatures are. Though the notion saddens you, you can understand the apprehension; witches are typically solitary beings who don’t mix well with other supernatural creatures. 

Unable to find the irises of one of the wolves, you sigh and shift your own pupils to the floor beneath your feet. You mull over a few options in your head, attempting to find a solution. You want to show the wolves that you don’t mean any harm - that you’re more than willing to explore this newfound bond that seems to simmer in the air like it’s own magic. 

When an idea strikes you, you’re almost embarrassed to consider it. Heat rises to your skin and you feel a pulse of something hum in the air. 

Shifting on your feet, you lower your body a fraction in an attempt to appear smaller. Inclining your head, you tilt your chin to expose the skin of your bare neck: a show of submission. It’s awkward, but if you want to appeal to the wolves, you may as well act like one, you suppose. 

You feel a little odd as you stand, but after a solitary moment, the pleasant growl in response makes your knees weak. The sound seems to combine with a wave of heat and excitement that rolls through your body. Without even seeing the wolves with your own eyes, they seem to have a grip on both your mind and  body that you cannot fathom. 

From behind the trees, Chan has taken a step forward. At your show of submission, the pack leader cannot help the shiver of pride that echoes through him. Heat fills his form at the act, and the growl escapes his chest before he can stop it. He longs to break from the tree line. Every fiber in his being wants to step out and feel the skin of your form beneath his fingers. With your neck inclined towards him, proudly showing him the skin of your jugular, Chan’s fangs seem to press tight against his gums. They ache to sink into your skin – to mark you as his own, just as he has marked his partners, who stand at his side. It’s a little strange, as this is your first meeting, but Chan supposes the mating bond has something to do with it. He did, after all, mark Minho after their first meeting. 

Despite the heat that simmers under his skin, Minho can’t resist the chuckle that bursts forth at his Alpha’s reaction. Your show has affected their leader the most, as he is the head of the pack. Though he still feels the same pride and longing that fills Chan’s chest, it’s of a lesser degree and Minho can control the arousal that heats in his chest. 

“Careful, Chan-hyung,” Hyunjin playfully teases, throwing his leader’s previous words back at him. The intense aura of Chan’s emotions thrum in the bond between the pack, enticing all eight of the wolves to their Alpha’s dominance.

Turning to his partner, Chan snaps his jaws teasingly at the younger. Though the action is violent, Chan is careful not to harm any of his lovers with his sharp teeth - even when his dominance is questioned. 

“Shut it, Hyunjin. Or s’you I’ll sink my teeth into.” 

At his side, Minho and Changbin huff in silent laughter, enjoying the commotion at Hyunjin and their leader’s expense. Hyunjin is not affected by Chan’s threat, seeming to purr at the response. He steps forward with his head held high and sets his sights on his eldest lover. 

“Promise?” Hyunjin’s coo answers. 

He sends a flirtatious bolt of arousal down the bond he shares with Chan, feeling his entire body shiver pleasantly when his pack leader responds with a salacious look and a short, tempered growl. Chan’s response insights a promise - one he’s sure to fulfill when they return home. 

The other pack members huff good-naturedly, feeling the sweet effects of their partner’s banter warm their own chests. Minho enjoys watching Chan struggle with the emotions that simmer under his skin. Of course, it’s not in an antagonizing manner. Minho simply finds delight in challenging his pack leader's dominance – not in terms of pack order, but in more indecent manners. It’s always a battle between the two eldest wolves, and it’s usually difficult to determine who’s on the winning side. They both enjoy the thrill that comes with the frisky bickering. 

Changbin is the one to shift their attention. His eyes have not left your body, his senses trained pointedly on you. He’s laser-focused, analyzing each curve of your form and delighting in the way his wolf shivers at your scent. Darkened irises track your movement, inhaling a deep wave of your warm scent and enjoying the way his muscles relax when it wraps around his senses. 

“What do we do, Hyung?” his voice fills their heads. Shifting on his paws, Changbin itches to lunge into the clearing and claim you for his own. He promises he’ll share you, eventually – his other mates can wait their turn. 

Jisung trots up to Hyunjin’s flank, occupying the space on the opposite side of Felix. There’s a little tension between them – some sort of never ending love-rivalry making the two boys constant competitors. The younger chestnut colored wolf nudges Hyunjin with his shoulder. Hyunjin responds with a playful snap, already understanding what his younger partner is thinking. Jisung enjoys a chase as much as he enjoys competition, and Hyunjin knows he’s ready for both. 

Chan turns his focus back to your body. You’ve raised your head from its position, unsure of the wolves’ reaction. There’s a furrow in your brow and your lower lip is pulled into your teeth. You look apprehensive, as if their reaction is unclear. 

Standing tall and holding his head high, Chan lets his muscles relax from their tensed position. The heat still burns beneath his skin and a longing ache settles into his chest, but Chan knows it’s too early to pursue you as he and the others wish. You’re not wolfish as they are. 

If he and the others step out of the thicket of the trees, Chan fears they’ll scare you off. The courting customs of wolves are much different from humans - even if they are supernatural creatures of their own. If Chan is right - as he usually is - you may have an inkling of the bond, and that thought is enough to comfort him for now. 

For the meantime, Chan can only savor the waves of your scent as they reach him and his partners. It will be difficult to pull the others away, but Chan knows he can turn them towards each other to cope with the new yearning feeling that has settled in their chests. 

As he watches your hands drop to your sides with a wary look, a throb pangs in his chest. Heart surging beneath his ribs, Chan aches to make you smile once again. The apprehension on your face makes you look sad, and the expression makes him ache. 

Stepping forward with determination, Chan’s silver coat shines under the moonlight as he takes a single step towards the tree line. Felix yips once, a sound of mild concern for his eldest partner. Chan comforts his younger with a bolt of warmth down their bond, rumbling a purr to sate the sandy colored wolf. 

From across the yard, the gnawing feeling of trepidation sinks into your stomach. Despite the single sound from the pack leader and the wave of heat, you receive no other response from the wolves. The silence settles into the air and you begin to wonder if you’ve made a mistake. Your stomach twists as the moments of unsettling quiet sink into your mind. 

Then, you feel waves of warmth sink into you. A comforting blanket of affection sinks into your chest and your muscles melt into mush under the weight of the feeling. Your chest fills with delight and you nearly hum with the warmth heating you from the inside. The magic thrums in the air again, and you can tell the feeling was sent from the wolves. The sentiment strikes you with reassurance. 

In the darkness of the trees, you raise your eyes to the thicket of branches and greenery that bar your sight of the pack. Their magical aura still hums strongly, and you know all eight of the wolves still sit just behind the fauna, watching you. With the comfort from the pack leader, you raise your eyes to the dense woodland. Feeling sweet affection buzz under your skin, your irises scan the trees and feel a bolt of surprise strike you.

Behind the towering, coniferous trees, you catch a flash of silver. 

Shifting your gaze, you raise your sight to follow the shining color. Excitement fills your chest, settling atop the warm affection the wolves have given you. Then, from the darkness you catch a single, fleeting flash of onyx. 

Chan steps forward just enough. The alabaster moonlight illuminates just enough of his eyes and silver fur for you to set your sights on the barest glimpse of his darkened irises – his own act of reassurance. 

Your breath seems to leave your chest at the sight. You can’t see more than a single iris and the tiniest peek of glimmering fur, but it’s more than enough to leave you speechless. The glimpse, though short, is a message of the pack leader’s own. As he steps back into the trees, letting the darkness submerge his form once more, you understand. 

The pack leader has accepted you. 

You may not understand the waves of heat that suddenly fill your being, but their presence is a comfort you did not know you craved. Something in the air between you and the eight wolves hums violently and you find yourself reveling in its warmth. The longing surges with excitement, and you know the pack leader has incited a new challenge. You know enough about wolves and their customs to understand what will follow. 

It lingers in the atmosphere between you and the wolves and you nearly shiver with the thrill of this new adventure. 

The chase is on. 

Hyunjin and Jisung are the first. 

Three days after your first meeting, with the excited heat still warm in your chest, you venture into the wolves’ territory. Potions set aside for the evening, orders packed and cafe closed, you finally give into the yearning that has thrummed under your skin since that night. You could only take so much of the heat before you knew you would succumb to it.  

You don’t venture far into the woodlands, just a few hundred yards of dense trees lie between you and your little cottage. The air smells of coniferous pines and towering oaks. The chilly air settles into your lungs and you savor the clean scent. It feels freeing to explore the forest in the dark. All traces of apprehension and fear are wiped away with the presence of the wolves. This is their territory; you know you are safe as long as you remain inside their borders. 

Treading gracefully through the roots of trees and fallen pine cones, your thoughts are swept away by the rising excitement that begins to surge in your mind. You know the consequences that will follow your actions. 

You step into wolf territory, you are bound to be pursued. 

The thought is not frightening, but rather tantalizing. You are more than delighted to discover which of the eight wolves will come after you. With the enchanting bond that has settled between you and the pack, you know they would not hurt you for entering their territory. In fact, you know the consequences for your intrusion would be more enticing. 

The thought makes you shiver in delight. 

You understand that the wolves have marked you. There is no physical stain, but you know they have imprinted something to claim you for themselves. The bond is reciprocated, and you welcome the thought of the connection between you and the wolves. The thought of developing the relationship between you is exciting, and you want to see where it takes you. 

They wouldn't pursue you outside their own territory, you have learned. In the three days after your first meeting, they would never venture beyond their own borders. Every night, at least two wolves would settle at the tree line - waiting for something you did not understand. Sometimes they paced, impatient in their silence. On other nights, they stood solitary and quiet, keeping their eyes trained to your cottage as they waited for something – something you did not yet understand. 

On the third day, you finally deciphered their motive. 

The werewolves were not able to follow you outside their borders. Beyond the bounds of their territory, they were unable to shift into their wolfish forms, tied to the laws of the supernatural town in which you resided. Though it was occupied by more mythical beings than ordinary humans, there were still regulations in place to obscure the reality of supernatural creatures. They could not shift in front of humans. Outside their lands, they could not pursue you as they wanted, restricted by the laws of the land. In addition, despite the challenge incited by their pack leader, the wolves were courteous. They would wait for your acceptance before they started the chase.

So instead, they waited for you. 

When you ventured into the bounds of their land, you finally welcomed the unspoken challenge: they could have you if they could catch you. 

The chase incited a thrill, and you were excited to finally begin this new adventure. Aroused tension settled in your chest, and you buzzed with elation. Heat simmered between your thighs as you thought of what would occur should they catch you. Feeling your skin warm with embarrassed excitement, you shivered as you thought of the possibilities. 

You felt a little odd when you thought too hard about the situation, but something about the magical bond between you and the pack and the delight of a new adventure made you want to give into the primal urges. With the promise of something new, you felt an unexplained urge to pursue this new relationship as the wolves would. You wanted to explore their mating customs as much as your own, and the new discoveries made you buzz with heat. 

As you settled into a small clearing a few hundred yards from the one you resided, you slowed to a stop and scanned your surroundings. Magic thrummed in the air, and you knew the wolves were well aware of your presence. Regardless of the distance between you, you could feel traces of their emotions as if they were your own. 

It’s only a few moments later you feel the magical aura of two wolves. 

Hyunjin and Jisung were on border patrol that evening. 

They had been scouting the bounds of their territory as usual. Keeping an eye out for any changes and any new threats to enter their land, they walked with purpose and strength. Jisung, though still vigilant, was messing around as usual. The younger was inclined to teasing and playing around with his partners to reduce tension and fill the silence. 

When they’d first met, Hyunjin and Jisung had not been on good terms, and the younger’s playful nature had irritated Hyunjin. However, years of courting later, it was now one of the aspects Hyunjin treasured most. Though he fed into the playful rivalry, often butting heads with his younger partner, it was all in good fun. 

Jisung bumps purposefully into Hyunjin again, laughing with a yip when Hyunjin attempts to sink his teeth into the chestnut wolf’s neck in retaliation. It was difficult to not give into primal instincts when they messed around in wolf form. The urge to establish his dominance was strong, and Hyunjin almost nearly gave into temptation. He wanted to sink his teeth into his lover’s muzzle and stand over him with his strength and dominance surging beneath his skin. 

However, they were on duty. There were more important matters to attend to than sating their desires. 

“Hannie” Hyunjin playfully warned, the domineering sound echoing through the bond. 

The sound only made Jisung more excited. It always started the same. Jisung would tease Hyunjin until he snapped, and the two would give into the grasp of a carnal rivalry to sort their differences. 

Jisung hummed through their connection. He was still vigilant, keeping his senses turned to their borders as he should, but the excitement of his partner still pushed against the forefront of his mind. 

“What are you going to do, Hyung?” Jisung playfully taunted, stepping away from Hyunjin as his teeth attempted to close in on his scruff. “Aha! You missed!” 

It’s almost comical to watch Hyunjin’s wolf form roll his eyes. 

Continuing their patrol with Jisung’s taunts, a subtle whiff of scent stops Hyunjin in his tracks. The smell filters through his senses and the darker wolf is frozen still with his heart stuttering. 

“Hyunjin?” 

Jisung stops aside his lover, not understanding his sudden halt. He drops his nose to the dirt, smelling for whatever has startled his partner. Suddenly a little apprehensive, Jisung drops the teasing mood to shift into a ready stance. He inhales a wave of pine trees and traces of woodland creatures, filtering through the scents to find whatever has halted his lover. 

Then, Jisung finds it. 

Your scent filters into his senses and Jisung feels his body tense. Muscles tightening with preparation, the chestnut wolf understands Hyunjin’s halt. The excitement slowly filters into his mind, filling the bond between him and Hyunjin, 

You’ve accepted the challenge. 

They’re now free to pursue you as they wish. 

Hyunjin feels his stomach swell with a wave of salacious thrill. Your scent filters through his head and Hyunjin swears he’s never smelled anything more tantalizing. It’s as if you were teasing him with whiffs of your scent, enticing him and his partners to the chase. Hyunjin feels his body shake with the thought and his knees are weak with that weight of the bond. 

“Hannie,” Hyunjin murmurs, voice dripping with purring lust. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” 

He turns his head to face his lover, both their irises darkened with excitement. Bodies filled with the thrill that comes with a chase, Hyunjin feels a smirk pull at his lips. Jisung returns a similar look, sending a bolt of salacious heat down their own bond to make Hyunjin melt. Enjoying that look on his partner’s face, Jisung returns the sentiment. 

“First to catch her wins,” Jisung coos, feeling heat envelop him. “Last has to watch.” 

Hyunjin takes off first. 

Dirt kicks up from his feet, his muscles pumping as he follows your scent through the woods. Jisung is hot at his heels, an excited growl pushing from his chest as the thrill of the chase fills his mind. Giving into the desire that surges in the more primal part of his brain, Jisung feels the urge to howl to the darkened sky with excitement. 

Hyunjin feels his heart pump, hammering in his chest as his senses hone onto your scent. The delight seeps into the bond, and he wonders if you can feel their primal hunger from your position ahead. With his mind solely focused on pursuing you, Hyunjin’s consciousness filters through the thoughts of what he wants to do with you once he catches you. He feels the need push harder against his chest and his stomach turns with a heat. 

“Keep those thoughts to yourself, Jinnie,” Jisung warns with an informal tone, playfully mocking his elder. Hyunjin’s indecent thoughts subconsciously drift from his mind to his partner’s, his arousal warping his control of their connection. “After all, you’ll be the one watching when I fuck her.” 

Jisung’s words taunt Hyunjin, and the elder manages a gruff sound as he kicks up his pace. 

“As if!” 

Hyunjin’s head knocks back as he sprints through the thicket of trees, a primal howl leaving his lips as he pursues your scent. The sound is chilling, echoing through the forest and alerting the rest of his pack of the start of a pursuit. He feels the lingering excitement of the rest of his pack at the edges of his mind – their curiosity spiking as they sense the chase that has begun. However, Hyunjin doesn’t have the focus to think of their reactions, mind solely concentrated on being the first to reach you. 

Jisung is on his heels - literally. The younger attempts to cut his elder off at the ankles, playfully trying to take Hyunjin out of the race. The promise of being the first to sink his teeth into you is a notion that skews his mind and entices him to play dirty, Hyunjin dodges his attempt and a feral sound escapes Jisung’s lungs. 

Far ahead, your quiet night is startled at the sound of a wolfish howl breaking the silence. The alluring sound sends shivers down your spine as you feel several emotions strike you through the magical bond between you and the pack. Waves of heat filter through you and the thrill sinks into you with your stomach turning with a salacious thought. They’ve locked in on your scent.

The howl was a warning – the chase has started. 

You don’t know which wolves have been the first to feel your presence, but you can isolate their feelings in the connection from the others. The heat is easy to separate from the other six wolves, and you find yourself attempting to send a bolt of heat down the connection to entice them.

‘Come and get me.’

It must work, as another chilling howl breaks through the air. 

Shifting on your feet, you move quickly. They may be far away now, but the wolves move far faster than you. You know they’ll be on you in no time. 

Turning back the way you came, you take off on the balls of your feet. With your heart hammering with both the race and the excitement of the chase, you push yourself as fast as you can. Feeling the chilly night air fill your lungs with a startling cold, you break into a smile. Laughing freely, you leap over a broken tree branch as the heat in your chest swells. 

It’s only been a few moments, but you can nearly hear the thundering sound of their footsteps hitting the earth. They’re closer than before, catching up quickly as the prospect of your teasing nature entices them to run faster. There’s two of them, growling with a fierce but not scary sound as they follow your path with hearts racing and magical heat filling the air. 

Just a few yards behind now, you push yourself as fast as you can go. While the thought of being caught is exciting and you long for the indecent result of their capture, you know the chase will be much more fun in the long run. The thought keeps you running, feet slapping against the ground as you huff pants of air in an attempt to keep yourself running. 

You can hear them behind you. Wolfish pants leave their chests and the sound of one of their growls sends a bolt of heat between your thighs. The same wolf sends a lustful beat of heat through your bond, a deeper warmth making your knees weak at the lascivious feeling. It’s a dirty trick - one that almost works. 

But you’re so close. 

Just a few more meters and you’ll break through the tree line, into your clearing: your safe zone. You know the heat between your thighs will be a bother to deal with later, but the thought of what will happen in the long run is too promising an idea. 

You allow yourself a glance over your shoulder. Just a glimpse is all you want. 

At the sight of a dark onyx colored wolf on your heels, a chestnut one on his own, has your heart stuttering with a bolt of thrill. A smile stretching across your lips at the darkened look in their eyes and heat in your bond, you turn back to your front and keep pushing through the trees. 

Hyunjin feels his heart stutter as he realizes how close you are to their borders. Just a few more yards and he’ll lose his chance. The thought makes him growl fiercely. With a fleeting thought, Hyunjin realizes you’ve planned this. You have made sure to only venture so far into the woods, ensuring that you'll be able to escape their grasp just barely. In his frustration, Hyunjin feels his chest swell with desire. 

You’re smart. 

Sending his thoughts to his partner, Jisung hisses out a curse as you begin to slip from their grasp. Pushing himself faster, Jisung refuses to let you win. His lungs scream with each breath, but Jisung knows the prize will be oh so sweet. The thought of pressing his skin into yours and sinking his teeth into your throat in a mating bite has his mind going fuzzy. 

With his mind lost in thought, Jisung misses the moment you cross the borders of their territory. 

With a final pant, you dive across the line. Exhaling harshly and pushing a few feet into the clearing to give yourself space, you lean over and rest your hands on your knees as you breathe. Lungs screaming for air, you pant with a wide smile and heat between your thighs. 

Outside the borders of their land, you have won the first challenge.

You pant harshly and attempt to keep yourself from squirming under the carnal gazes of the two werewolves. The heat still sizzles fiercely under your skin and you have to resist rubbing your thighs together to cope with the ache. 

Hyunjin feels a shiver shake down his spine at your motion. His tongue swipes across his teeth and he swears he can taste your lustful scent in his mouth. Dark pupils nearly roll back into his skull and Jisung simpers at his side, pacing in his anger. 

“Ahh,” you sigh, voice weary from the run. “You two are quick.” 

Turning back to the trees, you spot the tense forms of the two wolves. They’re pacing, feet as close to their border as they can possibly get. Muscle ripples beneath fur and you know the darker wolf is holding himself back from transforming. The notion excites you, knowing he could turn back to his human form at any moment. Shivering with delight, you smirk at him. 

“But not quick enough.” 

Hyunjin snarls. His chest hammers and he can feel the disappointment seep into his head. The heat is still there, roaring under his skin and setting every nerve in his body alight. Jisung paces at his side, the same fire rippling under his own skin. The two wolves fight the urge to transform, longing and aching to continue their pursuit. Desire roars in their forms, keeping them pacing along the line of their territory in an effort to expel some of the heat. There's only so much they can do to keep them from ripping from their wolfish forms and crossing the border. 

“Hyung,” Jisung’s voice is dark and laden with a salacious weight, “Chan said-”

“To hell with what Chan said!” 

Jisung’s pacing seems to grow more fierce. Whipping his head back to his partner, Jisung feels his chest pull tight with both the weight of his arousal and the constraint of Alpha’s orders. 

“Hyunjin,” Jisung sternly murmurs. Despite the heat burning every nerve under his fur and your scent ensnaring his senses, the chestnut wolf manages to keep himself in control. He knows Hyunjin doesn’t mean the words that spill forth in his carnal rage. Too motivated by primal urges and the thrill of the hunt, Hyunjin lets his wolf speak for him. 

“Little fucking tease,” Hyunjin growls, feeling his wolf shake with the emotion.

Jisung growls another feral sound, and you smirk. The heat echoes through your bond and you feel excitement swell once more. Now that you’ve had a taste, you know you’ll never be able to give this up. This chase is the most thrill you’ve ever had - you’ll never be able to escape the heat from these werewolves. 

And you don’t think you want to. 

“Maybe next time, Boys,” you playfully murmur. “Let the others know I said ‘Hello.’”

Then you turn on your heel and disappear back into your little cottage, letting the heavy wooden door fall shut behind you with a final sound. 

With his heart hammering beneath his ribs, Hyunjin snarls with finality. Unable to accept his loss, the dark wolf whips around to face the chestnut fur of his mate. Jisung slows his pacing to face Hyunjin, head tilted to listen to what he has to say. 

In a wildly nimble move, Hyunjin turns quickly and sinks his teeth into Jisung’s chestnut scruff – a dominance bite. 

Jisung stills under his mate’s teeth, going limp in his grasp. He whimpers quietly, his lust warping as Hyunjin growls into his skin. The burning fire in his chest transforms from dominance to submission in one quick moment. Hyunjin has Jisung under his body, his body rippling as he stands over his partner with desire sizzling through their bond. Jisung is sure you can feel it - just as he knows his other six mates can. 

“Hannie,” Hyunjin purrs, voice echoing in the younger’s mind, “If I can’t have her tonight – then m’gonna have you.” 

Your next encounter with the wolves is a few days later. 

After the first chase, you were unable to shake off the exciting feeling for hours. The adrenaline and surge of sweeping heat kept you in its grip the entire evening. In fact, you were quite certain the two wolves were using the magical bond to tease you long after you had separated. The bond continues to thrum and seize with waves of emotion that keep you awake, swimming in the depths of their pleasure.

Heat addled your body, leaving you sweating in your sheets and panting in the darkened hours of the evening. Though uncomfortable, you could not seem to hate the feeling. The goosebumps that scattered your skin beneath the heat were not unpleasant - merely sensitive, as was any touch against your warming skin. 

After a few hours, you deciphered that the werewolves were toying with you. They kept you awake with the same rush of emotion you had incited in their bodies earlier that evening. Sitting upright in bed, you huffed a sigh as you came to the conclusion.

Shortly after, you came to another decision. 

You were going to start playing dirty. 

So, a few days later, when you had another chance to venture into the woods, you were well prepared to ensnare the wolves as they had you. In a loose dress that fell below your knees, you could barely resist the surge of pride in your chest as you maneuvered through the forest with a hum. 

The idea had struck you not long after you finally fell into the clutches of sleep that night. You knew it was a crazy idea, one more filthy than anything you had ever concocted before. While you were nervous, the waves of apprehension still rolling in your stomach, you were also very excited to see their reactions. 

As you found your way into the same clearing you had discovered a few nights ago, you shivered once in the night air with the dregs of worry seeping away from you. This was a crazy idea – one you would only be able to invent in your wildest dreams. You never imagined you would ever do something such as this, but it seems meeting the werewolves was a discovery that would help you explore new facets of life as well as within yourself. Perhaps your meeting was not so accidental. 

Shivering once more, this time with bursts of excitement, you shimmied your legs and maneuvered out of the simple pair of cotton panties you had donned that evening. Heat rose into your face at the action, your ears burning as you finally pulled them off your legs. You felt a little obscene but you found that you were not averse to the new feeling. 

When the dark material of the black cloth reached your eyes, you felt a burst of bubbling feeling in your chest. Beneath your ribs, both an anxious and an excited feeling slammed together in a stormy collision. You could barely keep yourself still as the adrenaline began to sink into your being. 

Stepping towards a raised stump on the forest floor, you felt the edges of a smirk pull on your lips. The darkened bark covering the stump was barely visible in the moonlight, but you found you did not have much trouble maneuvering in the lack of light. Placing the cloth onto the stump, where you were sure it would not be obstructed, you stepped away with an assured sigh. 

Content with your plan, you laid in wait for whichever wolves would be your predators tonight. 

The werewolves in question were not far from your little seclusion. Minho, the pack’s second-in-command, leads the two youngest through the trees. Thickets of green coniferous branches surround the three werewolves, each section of the woodland looking not so different from the next. Minho and the others, however, were well aware of their position. They knew this forest like the back of their hands – likely able to maneuver through the thicket without the aid of their eyes. Minho swears he could follow the entirety of the borders of their territory by scent alone. 

Jeongin and Seungmin follow behind Minho, the two youngest speaking quietly to each other as they scout for their patrol. Minho is quiet, allowing his partners the hushed conversation - finding he greatly enjoyed listening to their voices fill the silence of the night. As he led the way, he kept his attention split between the pleasant sounds of his younger mates and the sounds of the forest around them. 

Jeongin’s lighter walnut-colored coat pressed into Seungmin’s darker fur as they walked, leaning into him for a moment before stepping away. Both of the younger’s were considered less physically affectionate than some of their older partners. However, that did not mean they were ever far apart for long. 

They spoke quietly about Hyunjin and Jisung. The two wolves had returned from patrol long after they should have; fur ruffled and smelling of sweat and indecent substances, Hyunjin had smirked at his other lovers. He recounted the events that had led to their return, speaking joyfully of the chase that had occurred and gruffly admitting that you had escaped outside their territory at the last moment. 

Minho had let out a gleeful chuckle at the younger’s admission, laughing heartily at their expense. Hyunjin and Jisung had rolled their eyes, knowing their partner had an inclination to tease. The second-in-command took great pleasure in poking fun at his partners: a love language of sorts. 

Had Minho known he would be the next to fall victim to your game, he would have teased the two less. 

It’s only a few moments later that Minho lifts his head, picking up the slightest hint of your sweet scent. It filters through his senses, seizing his mind and shifting his attention. Seungmin and Jeongin are at his side a moment later, coming to a halt as they lift their noses to the sky. 

Inhaling deeply once, Seungmin picks up the same inkling his elder has likely discovered. Feeling a wave of delight shiver through him, Seungmin turns to face his two partners with what looks like a wolfish grin. He shifts on his paws, testing his weight as his muscles prepare to launch. 

“Hmm,” Jeongin hums with his eyes closing in a blissful feeling, “She’s s’sweet, Hyung.” 

Minho responds with a chuff, shaking his coat in an attempt to clear his senses. Pawing at the ground, he feels the dregs of the thrill of the chase begin to form in his stomach. As second-in-command, Seungmin and Jeongin will wait for his word before either of them move. The notion makes Minho shiver – he greatly enjoys the dominance. 

“You smell her, Minnie?” the youngest questions. 

Seungmin responds with a purr of his own, sweeping his head to the ground to breathe another wave of your scent. He feels light-headed, the notion of your proximity making him feel weak. Leaning into Jeongin’s side, he looks to Minho as he speaks through their connection, “She’s close, Hyung.” 

Minho nods his head, chocolate colored fur shimmering in the light of the moon. You’re only a mile or two ahead, he surmises. Downwind from your position, they can breathe your scent clearly in the night air. Underneath your pleasant scent, Minho picks up the challenge. The traces are obvious in both your sweet smell and though the bond. As he tugs his end, Minho feels a feral grin overtake his features at your alluring pull in response. Though you’re likely unaware of the reality of the bond, you definitely understand how to manipulate the metaphorical string. 

“It seems Hyunjinnie wasn’t lying,” he murmurs with a smirk. “Are ya’ ready? She wants a chase.” 

Seungmin is quick to respond with a deep growl, his younger mate springing to his side with a similar sound. Setting his shoulders back and getting ready to pounce off his feet, Jeongin gives Minho a silent look of confirmation.

Then the three wolves are springing forward, launching towards your direction with a ferocity surging from deep within them. 

You can tell the moment their pace picks up speed from your position. Despite being so far, the enchanting change in the air and the burst of emotion in your chest is indicative of the shift. Feeling the adrenaline begin to pump through your veins, you let a sprawling grin take over your cheeks as you turn back towards your cottage. 

Shooting a last glance at your ‘gift,’ you turn on your feet and start running. They may be a mile behind, but you know their superior speed and strength will catch up to you quickly. When the night air rushes past you with a chill, you grin as howls fill the silence of the forest. 

The chase is on once more. 

Blood pumping and breaths coming out in pants, you feel the thrill overtake your body. It’s so alluring to feel the delight overtake you in these moments. With the new bond roaring beneath your skin and your mind racing, you leap through the little path you’ve memorized. Soaring over fallen branches and hooting with glee, you let your voice fill the sounds of wolfish howls. 

Minho’s heart stutters as your own elated sounds echo after their primal ones. Pushing himself faster, he can sense your proximity – not too much farther from him now. He won’t let you get away, not like the others did, 

Jeongin and Seungmin respond with their own ecstatic hoots, picking up their pace as the elder did. Their own emotions surge and swell in a mighty storm, feeling lighter than they’ve ever been as they race through the towering pines. 

These three are quick, you realize as you close in on your cottage. They’re coming closer than the previous two had. With your heart slamming in your chest and stomach twisting with glee, you attempt to push yourself a fraction faster. Your lungs scream for air, as if the mouthfuls you inhale aren’t enough. However, you know the reward is far too sweet to give in just yet. 

With a few yards left, you think you can feel the hot breaths of the lead werewolf across your back. Skirt twisting in the wind, you feel your heart skip a beat as you decipher how close they are from you. Heart in your throat, but not uncomfortably, you judge how far you are from the boundary line. It’s not far, but the wolves are even closer. 

Nerves alight and goosebumps breaking across your skin, you decide to take a chance. With the tree line coming into view, you feel the forms of the wolves closing in. Oh, they’re much quicker than the other two – or perhaps less competitive. It seems the playful rivalry between the two previous wolves had impeded their ability to catch up to you. 

With their forms coming too close, you suddenly dive to the side. Feet skidding across the dirt, you almost topple over in an attempt to catch yourself from the risky maneuver. As you try to keep yourself upright, you spot the dark chocolate color of fur fly by your side. The lead wolf shoots by, missing your form as you dove to the side. He lets out a shout of surprise, claws skidding across the dirt as he spins back to face you. 

You smirk as you pick the pace back up. He’d played right into your trap, giving you the precious few moments you needed to cross the boundary line. Panting harshly and grinning in accomplishment, you throw your head back with a gleeful victorious shout. 

“Fuck!” Minho snarls. He’d fallen for your ruse. Hyunjin had been right - you were cunning. As he paces the boundary line with a defeated growl, he can’t help but admire how wolfish you look in your pride. The heat under his skin still simmers vibrantly, but Minho is adept at keeping his feelings under control. 

You turn back to the brown wolf, grinning brightly at his darkened irises and tense shoulders. Despite the monstrous look, you find you’re not at all afraid of the wolves. You are well aware they would never lay a hand to harm you. The magical thrum connecting you and the eight speaks to that promise. 

Giving Minho a smug look, knowing he doesn’t yet know of your plan, you watch him pace the line once more. Delight surges in your chest and the feeling is alluring. 

“Alright, Sweetheart,” he hisses to himself, “You win this one.” 

Defeat is not a pleasant feeling, but Minho admits that the chase had been thrilling. Adrenaline still pumps through his system and he feels the enchanting allure that Hyunjin and Jisung had spoken of. It had been more than fun to pursue you through the trees, keeping your back in his view and tasting you on his tongue, Minho had never felt more alive. Though he’d failed to catch you, Minho too, knows the reward will be so much sweeter than the chase. 

One day, he promises – one day, he’ll tear you apart. He can’t wait for the moment you lie beneath his form – weak to his whims and head thrown back in pleasure. Minho swears he will never see a more beautiful thing. Your beauty is perhaps only rivaled by that of his other partners. 

You don’t say anything to Minho this time, knowing he has yet to discover your trick. The two other wolves are not behind him, and you are fairly certain of what has caught their attention. The chocolate wolf does not seem to realize their absence yet, but you turn back to your homely cottage with a grin, waiting for the discovery to sink in. 

When the door falls shut behind your form, obscuring your body from his sight, Minho finally realizes his younger partners are not behind him. Shaking off the lusty haze that blurred his mind, he turns back to the darkened pines at his rear. Stepping back into the depths of their territory, Minho reaches out through the bond for Jeongin and Seungmin. 

There’s a strike of worry in his chest, the pang hitting uncomfortably in his ribs as he scans the trees for his younger mates. 

However, before he has a chance to call for them, the two wolves are bursting through the trees in front of him, already transformed into their human forms. Standing on two legs and feeling the night air brush against his bare skin, Jeongin’s eyes are blown wide. Darkened pupils fill the space of his irises, overtaking the space with lust clear in the swirling depths. He clutches something tightly in his fist, as if protecting the item of his desire. 

The youngest stumbles as he comes to a stop, clearly affected by something that has overtaken his senses. Jeongin’s head feels as though it may burst. It’s overcrowded with thoughts of you and the article of clothing he grips firmly in his fingers. It still smells fresh, as though you had only taken it off moments ago, and the thought makes Jeongin weak in the knees. It overpowers his very being, setting each of his nerves on fire with blazes of indecent emotion. 

Seungmin looks no different, panting breath and eyes wide, he stalks towards his lover with a salacious look. 

“Hyung,” he nearly whimpers, breath catching on the word. His chest is tight and his voice breathy. Speaking feels all too much, and as he inhales, he catches another deep whiff of the cloth clutched in Jeongin’s fingers. Feeling his knees go weak, he shivers in delight and leans into Minho, who has quickly shifted back to his own human form. The elder catches Seungmin in his arms, feeling his skin buzz at the connection. 

Eyebrows furrowing, Minho turns to look back at Jeongin with confusion evident in his features. He’s still reeling from his defeat, but the look on Seungmin’s face has bewilderment swirling in his chest. Jeongin looks back at his mate with a haughty smirk on his face, shining teeth catching in the light as he grins with lust evident. 

“Pretty Girl left us a gift, Hyung.” 

With his chest surging with carnal desire, Jeongin holds out his hands and lets the scraps of inky black fabric fall into the open air. Minho feels the breath leave his lungs as the scent that clings to the cloth seeps into the air, filling his chest and making his knees tremble. Now truly understanding Seungmin's squirming form, Minho lets his eyes trail from the pair of black panties in Jeongin’s grasp to the path that leads back to your humble cottage. 

With an enraged snarl, Minho feels desire warp his being as he shakes. 

“That fucking slut!” 

His words aren’t malicious, but Jeongin still shivers with the weight of them. The two younger werewolves are well aware of the indecent names that fall from Minho’s lips in the heat of the moment – they’ve both been on the receiving end more than once before. 

“Smells s’fucking good, Minho,” Seungmin simpers, sinking into his parter as his head swirls. “M’gonna go crazy, I swear” 

Minho knows all too well the feeling that warps Seungmin’s conscious, for the same emotion swirls in his own mind; it makes him dizzy and he has to step backward to balance himself. Your fresh scent is everywhere, it tingles on his tongue and he shakes with the feeling. He barely maintains control of his wolf, begging to break free and howl with desire into the chilling night air. Swaying on his feet, Minho is surrounded by you. There’s hints of his lovers intertwined in your scent, and Minho feels as though his heart may burst with both arousal and affection. He can smell stains of your arousal in the fabric and Minho understands what it feels like to lose his mind. 

Shaking his head to clear his senses, he tries to keep himself upright. It does not work, but Minho swears he can keep himself together for a few more minutes. 

“C’mon - Chan’s gonna want to see this.” 

Jeongin audibly whines. Seungmin’s throat hurts when he echoes a similar sound. It cuts short when Minho’s big fingers pull at the back of his neck, scruffing him despite the lack of their wolfish forms. Seungmin’s whine cuts short, going limp into Minho’s arms. 

“Minho-” Jeongin whimpers, feeling the desire surge again. He’s not quite sure he’ll be able to make it all the way back to the pack house in this state. His legs are weak and he feels as though you’ve sent him into a premature rut. 

Minho huffs a snarl, sending Jeongin a look. As second-in-command, his word is final. However, Minho is not cruel. He may be teasing with his dominance, but Minho knows when enough is enough. Duty always comes first in his mind – desire must fall second for the moment. With a smirk, Minho pulls Seungmin up his chest a little. 

“Enough. We report to Chan, and then you two are mine.” 

And the second chase ends quite similarly to the first. 

When Minho returns from patrol that evening, practically dragging his two younger mates by their scruffs, Chan looks up from his place by the kitchen counter with interest. He could tell something had changed in their bond, an electric fizzling that felt much like arousal had filtered through each of the wolves not long ago. However, Chan could feel a new and exciting rush of emotion that he rarely experienced. 

Unsure of the change that had occurred, he perked up when the door opened. It nearly slammed against the wall with the force at which Minho had flung it open. His second-in-command is visibly trembling, barely keeping himself at bay against the torrent of emotion that wrecks his form. Eyes blown wide and darkened pupils enlarged, Minho looks feral. 

“Minho?” Chan questions, standing from his position to step towards his partner. He’s confused and a little wary, unsure of the events that have led to such a reaction. 

From over Minho’s shoulder, Chan catches a glimpse of his two youngest mates. They’re leaned against each other, barely keeping themselves upright and pressing every possible inch of skin together. It seems as though they cannot bear to be apart. Their eyes are a mirror of Minho’s – pupils dilated and blown wide with lust swimming in their murky depths. 

Jeongin audibly whimpers under Chan’s gaze, his head tilted to bare his neck - where Chan’s mating mark glistens with a glimpse of sweat. The other wolves have their own; seven marks dwell on each of them, but only Chan’s mark sits in the crevice between shoulder and throat: the mark of an Alpha. 

Chan feels his own arousal spike at Jeongin’s show of submission, but the pack leader attempts to shake off this feeling until he understands the situation better. His stomach twists with the feeling, but Chan buries it deep. Seungmin is seemingly not paying attention. His eyes are foggy with lust gripping him tight, and Chan knows he will not get an answer from him. 

“S’going on?” Chan tries again, stepping forward towards Minho once more. It’s clear the three wolves are ensnared in desire’s hold, but there’s still something missing – something that has happened on their evening patrol. 

Minho’s hazy eyes glint in the light and a smirk lifts the corner of his mouth. Chan feels apprehension swirl in his chest at the expression, wondering if he even wants to know the answer to his own question. 

“Our little angel left a present for us tonight, Hyung.” 

The furrow in Chan’s brow seems to deepen at Minho’s comment. The pack leader is well aware of the challenge he has set forth - just as he knows of the first chase that occurred between you, Hyunjin and Han. He had been extremely pleased to understand that you were seemingly delighted to accept the mating bond. Wolves were strange creatures, and their courting customs were even odder. At first, he’d been unsure if you understood the challenge he issued upon your first meeting. 

However, when Hyunjin and Han returned to their home a few days later with their eyes blown wide and frenzied smiles on their lips - just as Minho and the others do now, Chan knew you were fully aware of the decision you had made. If the deepening breadth of the magical bond between you was any indication, you wanted this as much as they did. 

“A present?” Chan’s rumbling voice sounds. 

Minho’s vague response only leaves the pack leader with more questions, and Chan steps forward again to press his second-in-command further. The implication of a second chase had been obvious, and your teasing nature would be enough to leave his mates in a carnal frenzy. However, he was not prepared for how cunning you could be when it came to driving his mates mad. 

As he approaches his partner, Chan is halted when he picks up hints of your scent in the air. Just a glimpse of your serene smell is enough to stun him. It addles his senses, blurring his thoughts as they begin to transform into images of you. Chest beginning to ache with a burning longing, Chan shakes his head to clear his mind. 

Minho, barely clutching to the remnants of his ever-slipping sanity, smirks with a mirthful look and reaches his hand out towards his eldest lover. The pack leader can tell the waves of your scent originate from Minho’s closed fingers, and like a wolf tracking its prey, Chan’s eyes lock onto the outstretched appendage. 

Chan is so desperately unprepared for the barrage of emotions that crash into his mind when Minho’s fingers unfurl: revealing a dark onyx pair of panties, still overflowing with your fresh scent and clearly brimming with implications of your desire.

Minho has never seen his Alpha so weak. 

With his consciousness still blurry and body barely held back by the grip of his sanity, Minho watches his mighty leader tremble at the knees. It’s nearly instantaneous; Chan’s pupils dilate - the darkness in the inky masses overtaking the color that once shone lightly. His shoulders go lax and Minho can already smell the waves of lusty pheromones that Chan has unconsciously started releasing. 

From behind him, Jeongin and Seungmin keen, finally collapsing into a heap at their Alpha’s strong scent. Whining and pushing into each other, they rub bare skin against each other in the hopes of releasing some of the heat that burns so strongly under their flesh. Minho nearly gives in to temptation – he wants nothing more than to turn and descend upon his partners, letting the whim of desire command his next movements. 

Yet Minho is infatuated with the look that has fallen over Chan’s features. 

He cannot tear his eyes away from his pack leader, watching with a bated breath as Chan steps toward him. Under his primal gaze, Minho has never felt more weak to his pack leader than now. Somewhere deep in his gut, Minho feels a prick of excitement filter through him. Usually so dominant, the second-in-command is a little eager to see what happens next. 

A hungry, desperate sound escapes Chan’s lips when he halts in front of Minho. Skin almost touching, Minho extends his fist once more at his leader’s call. Offering the scraps of ebony cloth to Chan, Minho feels his spine shiver when Chan’s skin rubs against his own as he pulls the article into his grasp. 

“Fuck.” 

The sound is so unlike Chan. Minho had expected him to sound so much more daunting - as he himself had been filled with primal anger not so long ago. This sound, however, is so much weaker. The word escapes Chan’s lips barely louder than a whisper. It’s a weak sound, almost a whimper falling from his lips with a desperation Minho has seldom seen. 

Chan is overflowing with emotion, and he suddenly understands why his mates had been so unruly when they returned to the house a few days ago. 

His chest aches and surges with a torrent of desire and longing. Your scent surrounds him and Chan thinks his wolf may burst forth and take over the last threads of his dwindling sanity. Such a little thing, he manages to think – such a little thing can destroy them so easily. 

Only a moment later, Chan recedes back into himself. Transforming back into the dominant pack leader the others are used to, Chan growls out an angry, desperate sound. 

“Fuck!” 

He repeats the word, this time with the carnal rage Minho had been expecting. With shivers rolling down his back, the bond surges with emotion. Likely radiating to the rest of the pack, Chan sighs a deep whiff of your scent and lets himself sink into your aura. 

“Hm, this s’how she wants t’play?” he murmurs, feeling himself fade into the grip of desire. Chan lets his wolf press against the forefront of his mind, allowing it to control his carnality. Descending on Minho, his teeth ache against his gums as he presses his canines into his mate’s skin. Still human, they scrape against the smooth skin of Minho’s neck, and the younger grunts under the pressure, but does not move. Chan’s next words are moaned into Minho’s skin, gripping his partner tight to his body with your panties still clutched in his fist. 

“Oh, we can play dirty, Baby.” 

Letting out a huff as you stretch to reach the heavy bag of sugar on one of the taller shelves, you pull down the item and set it on the counter before you.

The cafe always slows down around the afternoon. You’re open later into the day, but there’s often time to restock and compile things in the back room as the hours get later. Not as many customers filter through your sweet little shop in the afternoon, but that’s no bother to you. It gives you more time to start ‘special’ brews in the back – potions and elixirs of the sort. 

While you operate as an ordinary cafe during the day, the evenings are targeted towards the supernatural. It’s not well advertised, but other creatures know what to look for. Commissions for specific potions and special elixirs are just the start of the wonders you can brew in the afternoon hours. 

You had just completed a very complex potion - one that had taken you nearly a month to finish with the utmost care. It had been an expensive request, but one you were more than willing to perfect for a friend. A potion of immortality; not an easy potion to brew, and even more difficult to prepare correctly. The commission had nearly run you dry of ingredients, and frustrated you to no end. Yet, they had compensated for your troubles with far more payment than you would have asked. 

Of course, when eight demons - let alone the eight princes of Hell itself - knock on your door and make a request, you were more than willing to drop everything to assist them. 

Besides, they were friends. You’d even given their sweet soulmate some mirthful advice when she had approached you a few weeks back – something about a salt circle and how it would hold against the High King of Hell. 

When the bell to the door jingles loudly from the front room, you look up from the counter. The sugar emptied in its proper storage container, you throw the bag into the waste bin and tie your apron tighter around your waist. Preparing to meet the customers who have entered your shop, you suddenly feel a wave of familiarity overtake your body. 

Fingers stilling on the tie of your apron, you inhale a deep breath and feel the recognizable aura of your wolves filter through you. The bond tugs teasingly from their end, and you're suddenly aware you’ve never seen any of the werewolves outside their territory. 

The thought is both daunting and exciting. Unbound by the laws that prevent them from pursuing you in wolfish form, you shiver at the thought of what mischief they will get up to now. You find yourself surging with delight and anticipating, wanting to see their human forms as well as finally speak to them.

You only recognize one of the auras behind the door that separates you from the front room. There's two other werewolves with him, but you can feel the familiar teasing bond that connects you to one of the wolves from the first night. You cannot tell which it is, as their auras had blended together that night, but you know for certain one of them lies beyond the wooden frame. 

Inhaling deeply to soothe the worried excitement and build your confidence, you step forward and push open the folding door to the backroom. 

There’s no one else in the cafe - tables empty of patrons and cleared of dishes for the afternoon. The only forms in your little building are the bodies of the three werewolves that stand at your counter, smiles on their lips and something glistening deep in their irises. 

You have to prevent yourself from staring. 

The three men at your counter are breathtakingly attractive. Your breath is nearly stolen from your lungs at the sight of them. The one standing in front is the shortest of the three, but he is outstandingly the most muscular. His biceps bulge underneath the dark shirt squeezing them, and you have to avert your eyes to keep yourself from lingering on their shape. His lips raise at the corner when he notices how your eyes have to shift away. Dark hair shifting when his head tilts, he looks incredibly alluring in the light of the afternoon.

Behind him, a slightly taller man stands with a wide grin on his lips, and you suddenly feel as though the sun itself has graced you with its warmth. 

His longer blondish, silver hair rests against his neck, blending beautifully with the smooth skin and darker freckles that coat his cheeks. Teeth white and shining in his sweet grin, you feel warm from the inside out under his eyes. This man is the embodiment of sunshine - and he radiates kindness coupled with a teasing mirth that you can only detect through the bond that buzzes between you. He’s so alluring, you have to shift your gaze to the final man to break your concentration. 

The blonde is leaning against the tallest of the three - and with a stuttering breath, you realize this is the larger black wolf that pursued you during the first chase; the one who stalked the edges of their territory, attempting to lure you back into his grasp with bolts of arousal sent down your bond. You remember his dark eyes and his dominating aura, feeling waves of thrill filter through your stomach at the memory. 

He stands to the side, his arm wrapped around the blonde’s waist with a smirk pulling the side of his mouth upward. When a rolling burst of delight shivers down your spine, you feel his satisfaction swarm you. You recognized him, and the thought makes him keen. 

The tallest of the three is beautiful in a way that makes you hesitate. He’s princely – dazzlingly pretty with smooth skin and the top of his long blond hair pulled into a ponytail behind his head. Strands of his bangs frame his face, dangling in front of his eyes as a headband holds the rest back from falling from its place behind his head. He regards you with a confident, sultry look that makes your legs weak. There's a little dark, freckle beneath one of his eyes and you are overcome with the urge to press your lips against it. 

As if he can read your mind, his head tilts with another smirk. Eyes racking over your form, you shiver again and the sight seems to excite him more. 

With excitement prickling under your skin, you manage to step forward around the counter with a smile pulling at your lips. 

“Hello,” you murmur sweetly, feeling genuine happiness at their arrival. “Can I help you three?” 

Stepping forward to greet them, you feel another beat of delight pull you nearer to their forms - almost as if their very existence draws you closer. The tallest hums, the sound warm as he regards you. His voice is nearly a purr when he answers you. 

“Oh, you most certainly can.” 

“Hyunjin!” the blonde murmurs with a smile, digging his fingers into the taller’s side. “What happened to ‘going slow?’”

You giggle fondly at their display, covering your mouth with your hand. The two look up from each other with their eyes glimmering. Looking back at you with smiles stretching across their lips, they seem to adore the sound that falls from your lips. 

“S’alright,” you tease, “I suppose there’s nothing ‘slow’ about how we met before, so there’s no need to hesitate now.”  

Hyunjin, the wolf you met the first night, smiles even wider at your words. Satisfied with your response, he looks back at his younger partner with the same grin. ‘See?’ the teasing look seems to say. 

The darker haired man in front rolls his eyes playfully. The action does not seem annoyed, more so mirthfully done as he appears used to the two’s antics. Uncrossing his arms from across his chest - an action you find yourself missing as your eyes leave his chest - he reaches a hand out with a smile of his own. 

“Changbin,” he offers with a deep voice. “We figured we should probably formally introduce ourselves if our ‘meetings’ are going to continue.” He says the word with a honeyed, crooning sound - one that makes your stomach turn with heat. 

You reach out your own hand with an offer of your own name, gently grasping his fingers as you speak. As your hand closes around his, you feel a striking beat of heat in your chest. You look up at him in surprise, and are met with a smirking smile. He seems to completely understand the feeling, as a pleased sound escapes his lips. You eye his hand with a look, then turn back to him with a questioning, teasing look. 

He shrugs off the look, letting you know it would likely be explained later. When he lets go of your hand, you miss its warmth and the flood of pleasant emotion that came with it. 

Though, his partner steps forward next, offering his own to replace the loss. 

“M’Felix,” he adds happily. His voice is deep, and you feel like you’re drowning in the waves of his soothing voice. You feel the same warmth filter through you at his touch. He truly is sunshine incarnate. When the same bolt of heat sinks into you upon contact with his hand, you feel it settle low in your stomach as you crave more of it. 

With his smile brighter than any other, you feel a strange urge to squeeze his soft cheeks and scatter the freckles and sunspots with kisses. It’s a little strange to have such thoughts upon your first meeting, but you suppose this magical bond is much odder. 

The last of them, Hyunjin, steps forward finally. His hand leaves Felix’s waist with difficulty, almost as if separating from him is painful. Yet, he reaches his hand out all the same. Long fingers dangling in front of you, you regard him with a mirthful look - one he happily returns. 

“Hyunjin.” 

You wrap your fingers around his hand, finally shivering in delight as you finally put a face to the name of the wolf who had chased you not so long ago. His touch is remarkably sweet despite the roaring pleasure that seems to spawn from it. Hyunjin seems to send the heat down the bond as he touches you, more than ecstatic to finally touch you after being deprived that night. 

“S’nice to finally put a name to a face,” you playfully respond. “Or - snout, I suppose.” 

Hyunjin offers a little growl, teasingly pulling you a fraction closer. His voice drops back to a purr, honeyed sound echoing through you as he speaks. 

“So you do remember me?”

“I remember you losing,” you respond with mirth in your voice, having to turn away from his darkened irises as you speak. Being this close to him makes you weak in a way you could not have previously imagined. It’s a wonder you’re able to respond without your voice shaking. 

“Oh, do you?” 

Hyunjin hums deep in his chest, the sound nearly making you tremble with delight. His hand has not left yours, but you don't want it to. You adore the feeling of their skin against yours, and you find yourself not wanting it to leave. 

Felix huffs a laugh into Changbin’s shoulder, leaning into his older mate with a grin. It’s very funny to watch the two of you playfully bicker. Changbin feels a smirk of his own drift onto his cheeks. It’s nice to see someone put Hyunjin in his place; as if he doesn’t get enough of that from him, Minho or Chan. 

You respond with a hum of your own, resisting the urge to lean into Hyunjin as you do. This close, you can breathe in the intoxicating scent that surrounds the blonde. In a moment of clarity, you wonder if he dyes his hair – his wolf being a deep brown, nearly black. 

You shake off the thought when he leans a little closer. Changbin smirks when you shrink bashfully under Hyunjin’s proximity. For all your mirth, it seems you are weak under their hold. The notion makes his chest swell, already imagining all sorts of scenarios in which he wants to corrupt that sweet, sheepish look. 

“Next time -” Hyunjin coos as he pushes closer to press his lips to the shell of your ear to murmur the words. “Next time, I won't lose.”

You physically shiver slightly as his breath tickles your cheek. His proximity makes your brain still, suddenly surrounded by him. Everything in your mind is now focused on Hyunjin. The smooth expanse of his skin and the warmth of it beneath your fingers pushes desperately at the forefront of your mind. You want to push closer - to bury yourself in his chest as you had seen Felix do. You wonder how his fingers would feel on your cheeks, or even perhaps, less decent places too. 

Hyunjin feels his stomach leap with pride when he weakens visibly under his motions. The dominating feeling presses into his throat and grips him tightly, and he knows he’ll have to coax one of the others into his bed to burn off the heat later. 

Changbin pulls Felix closer to his side as Hyunjin speaks, feeling his own burst of dominance pulse when Hyunjin begins to release intoxicating pheromones. You won’t be able to smell them, but he and Felix surely do. 

“Yeah?” you murmur weakly back, feeling much less confidence as Hyunjin leers over you with desire clear in his eyes. 

“Hmm,” he agrees, chest rumbling with the sound. You swear you can feel his ribs shake with the sound. 

When he pulls away, you nearly follow after him. Missing his touch and his warmth, you are desperate to feel his hands again. You have to shake your head to clear your mind of the thoughts as Hyunjin leans back. With your mind back on track, you question what the three have entered your cafe for. 

Suddenly in a different mindset, Changbin reiterates what Chan had requested: several stamina potions and an elixir that allows the wearer resistance to wolfsbane. 

You nod with a clearer head, writing down the orders on a pad from the pocket of your apron. Already taking mental stock of the material you have on hand on what you’ll have to collect, you agree happily. 

“They can be finished tomorrow evening,” you supply, setting down the notepad on the counter behind you. “Can you send someone to pick them up then?”

“Absolutely,” Changbin nods. He already knows which of his partners will be the next to vie for an opportunity to see you. With how much of a fight Han and Jeongin had put up when they left, Changbin knows convincing any of the others to meet you tomorrow evening will not be a difficulty. 

You nod with a grin on your cheeks, moving to step behind the counter before you’re stopped once more. Changbin leans forward, his hand gripping yours gently. Moving away from Felix, the dark haired man suddenly steps impossibly closer. 

His chest nearly presses against yours and you have to physically tear your eyes away for his muscle to meet his eyes. However, perhaps it would have been easier to continue staring at his chest, as the moment you meet his dark eyes you find yourself striking under the lust that seems to swirl in their depths. Changbin is perhaps more dominating than Hyunjin, and heat swells in your stomach when he scans your form beneath his. A smirk pulls up his lips and he pushes closer again, savoring the sweet squeak that leaves your lips when your forms meet. 

Felix cannot resist temptation. 

Both Changbin and Hyunjin have had the chance to get closer - to feel your skin under their own and feel the beat of your heart so near. With a dizzy feeling, Felix steps away from Hyunjin. His eyes are cloudy with something you can't place, but from beneath Changbin, you recognize that his eyes are on you.

Tearing your gaze from the darker haired werewolf, you manage to meet Felix’s pretty irises. He’s giving you a look – a question swirling in the darkness of his pupils. With your mind slowly succumbing to Changbin’s aura, you vaguely realize that Felix is asking for permission. 

A woozy nod is all the answer he needs. 

Felix slides behind you with his chest nearly pressing against your back. He’s so warm, so kind when he pushes closer. You feel his chest vibrate with a hum, the beat of his heart quickening to match the pace of your own. You vaguely notice that your pulse is the same as his - as Changbin’s, and if you were close enough, likely Hyunjin’s too. 

Rumbling softly, you feel his skin move under yours and you feel light-headed. Changbin feels his stomach twist with desire when he smells the barest wave of arousal coat your thighs. If he were any weaker, he would have you with your permission now. However, he knows what Chan has planned. The reward at the end of their hunt will be so much sweeter. 

Felix slides an arm around you to touch Changbin, unable to hold back from feeling the skin of his partner. His eyes close, head tilting back in the slightest as the touch of your skin registers in his mind. 

“Pretty?” he addresses you, leaning down as Hyunjin had to speak the words directly into your ear. The name makes you keen, elated to be referred to with such a moniker. 

“Hmm?” is the only sound you manage to offer in response. 

“Thanks for the gift, Pretty Girl,” he coos, moving his strong hand behind you to tuck something into your back pocket. Your body trembles under his touch, feeling the way he leaves his hand at your backside for a moment too long. He pushes something into the pocket of your jeans, humming pleasantly as he does. He adores the way you seem so weak underneath him. Oh, how he longs to corrupt you further. 

“Bring us a new pair, next time?,” Changbin continues, “Something pink – it’s Chan’s favorite.” Though you don’t know Chan by name, Changbin suspects you are aware of the reference to their Alpha. 

With a keen and your head knocking back to expose your throat, Changbin has to use all his strength to not lean forward to set his lips to the skin. It’s been made very clear that Chan will be the first to mark you – Changbin will have to wait his turn. But the sight of your skin bare beneath him, with you so willingly offering it to him, Changbin has to pull back his wolf as it cries to sink his teeth into your skin with a carnal desire.

Felix adores the way you shiver against him, feeling the brush of Changbin’s hand against the front of his jeans due to his proximity. He feels his own resolve weaken, his stomach twists with delight and heat rising to his cheeks as his partner moves. 

It takes great difficulty to pull himself away, and Changbin has to lean into Felix to stop himself from pushing back into you. With an acknowledging nod, the three finally turn to leave your little cafe. It all happens so quickly, you barely feel time pass until their forms disappear down the street. 

When you can no longer see them, all strength leaves your legs and you sag against the counter at your back. The bond roars under your skin and every nerve is on fire. So little touch manages to drive you mad – you cannot imagine how it will feel when they finally capture you. 

Taking a deep breath to cool yourself down and rubbing your thighs together, you shakily reach for your back pocket. Skin still buzzing from Changbin’s touch, you pull out the cloth that he has stuffed into the crevice of your jeans. 

Under the light of the dimming afternoon sky, you exhale harshly at the sight of the tattered cloth in your grip. Torn nearly to shreds, it seems the werewolves have greatly appreciated your gift from a few nights ago. The notion makes you buzz in anticipation. The implication of their strength is not lost on you. If they have torn this apart, you cannot wait for what they will do to you upon your capture. 

With the knowledge of their pack leader’s favorite color, your buzzing mind makes quick plans. It seems you’re in desperate need of a pair of pink panties – it’s Chan’s favorite color, after all.  

Minho mentions it when he returns from morning patrol. 

He’d gone out alone that morning, before the sun had broken through the trees and cast its golden light through the darkness of the coniferous pines. The air still clung to the chill of night, but Minho was not bothered - his fur was thick and his body temperature was higher than a human’s. The cold did not bother any of them. 

Just as the sun was breaking over the horizon beyond your cottage, Minho smelled it. 

He wasn't far from your home, just a couple of miles and he would be able to see the smoke from the crackling fire in your chimney. The knowledge of your proximity suddenly makes him very nervous. Hair standing on end, Minho's snout lowers to the floor. He tracks the scent until it reaches the border of their territory, far from your cottage. 

Vampire. 

Once he checked on your home once more, waiting to see your head emerge from the back door as you headed to work, Minho returned to the pack house. Your safety ensured, the second-in-command takes off. His paws slap against the earth as he bounds back to his pack leader with the news. 

“A vampire?” Chan questions, his words are tense but don’t reveal the anxiety that pushes at his throat. It settles there with a sickening feeling, but Chan ignores it. “Are you sure?”

Minho’s nod is immediate. He’s absolutely sure of what he smelled - there is no doubt in his mind. There was a vampire in their territory last night. After evening patrol had returned, it had likely slipped over their borders. Investigating or hunting, they were not sure. 

What Chan was sure of, however, was that you were no longer safe alone in their territory. 

“Shit, okay,” Chan curses. In the seclusion of just himself and his second-in-command, Chan allows himself a moment of worry. Minho is one of the only pack members he shows this side of himself to. Though his partners are extremely important to him, Chan doesn’t want them to worry. He keeps this anxious part of himself locked away, ensuring that the others shouldn’t have to experience the same.

However, this does not mean that the others don’t worry. God, if the others could take some of the stress from their leader’s shoulders, they would. They know Chan is unlikely to share the burden, feeling as though the pack leader should bear their burdens alone. So they find little things to ease the weight that holds him down. 

Minho and Changbin ensure that things run smoothly within the pack – ordinary everyday things that Chan shouldn’t have to worry about. Felix is an expert at eating tension need be, after all no one can resist his sweet smile and sunshine demeanor. Everyone takes part in cleaning and cooking, keeping the house nice so that these little things don’t pile on their leader’s shoulders. Jeongin brings food to Chan’s room when he secludes himself there to work. Seungmin drops by every few hours to refill his water bottle and make sure he’s drinking enough of it. Jisung is the mood maker, always managing to keep a smile on their faces despite the tension that may weigh them down. 

The pack runs smoothly when everyone has their part. No one is alone and no one is left behind. 

Minho’s hand reaches out to gently secure itself on Chan’s shoulder. He rubs his fingers gently, a comforting gesture that eases some of the tension in Chan’s muscles. 

Chan gives Minho a grateful look, nodding his head as he decides their next course of action. 

“Okay, we’ll meet her tonight,” he mutters. “Our challenge is put on hold for the next few days - at least until the vampire is gone.” 

Minho nods his head, agreeing with the command. He takes a deep breath that settles some of the worry in his stomach. 

“We can wait for her at dusk. Her cafe closes at 4 - she’ll be out not long after.” 

Chan’s lips press into a worried smile, nodding his own head. It makes sense, and Chan is comforted by the plan. If he can convince you to stay with them for a few days, he’d feel even better. Knowing there is a vampire at the edges of their territory, so close to your home, is an unnerving sentiment. Chan would give you his own room and have the others under lock and key if it meant he could ensure your safety. Though Chan doubts that any of them would bother you with your life in question. 

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Chan nods. He leans into Minho for a moment, enjoying the affection from his younger mate. Minho was honestly much more akin to a cat when it came to affection - careful and hard to understand sometimes. When he allowed it, or even reached out for it, the rest of the pack greatly enjoyed the affection from Minho. 

Minho ran his hand through the hair at the base of Chan’s neck, scratching gently and smiling at the hum of pleasure that escaped the pack leader’s throat. To reassure himself, Chan reaches out through your bond. He’s unsure if you'll understand the feeling, but he tugs his end of the string twice in question, praying you'll understand what he means. 

He waits a beat or two in silence, his head pushed into Minho’s neck. Then, his heart stutters as he feels the other end of the string tug back. Three pulses. Chan feels you pull lightly three times, sending back a beat of comfort to reassure him that you’re alright. 

With that comfort in mind, Chan allows himself to bury his face further into Minho. He breathes in the comforting, familiar scent of his mate and sighs deeply. Some of the tension has left his shoulders; the combined effort of both you and Minho easing some of his newfound worry. 

“S’fine, Hyung. We’ll see her soon.” 

Yet, hours later, when the sun has begun to set behind the trees and the air chills once more, you’re nowhere to be found. 

After closing up the cafe earlier that day, you had decided to do something a little spontaneous. A few nights had passed since the last time you’d engaged in a chase with any of your newfound werewolf prospects. Of course, you had seen the three in your cafe not too long ago, and had been introduced to three more the following evening. It was nice to finally put faces to names, and you found that knowing what they looked like only drew you in deeper to the mystical connection between you. 

The second meeting in your cafe had gone quite similar to the first. This time, Han, Jeongin and Seungmin had been the ones to greet you. The three werewolves had picked up their order and conversed with you for a few moments, teasing being passed between you as all three wolves had been stumped by you during their own attempt to catch you. 

Each of them had taken a chance to get closer, sliding a teasing hand over your waist or leaning close to whisper something into your ear. There was friendly affection too, like when Jeongin fiddled with your fingers while you spoke about the pastries you baked that morning. Or when it was time for them to leave, Seungmin leaned in for a sweet hug, gently pressing you into his chest to squeeze you tight. It was nice – to experience the intimate moments in between the salacious scenes of your chases. You found yourself falling deeper and deeper into the connection that linked the nine of you together. 

Of course, before Seungmin let go, his hands drifted a fraction lower. The playful, short squeeze of your backside had made you let out a short squeak, heat rising to your cheeks and your ears burning. Seungmin laughed at the sound, chest rumbling with his giggles as he offered an explanation. 

“Changbin said you had a nice butt,” he murmurs playfully. You swatted him across the chest lightly, moving before he could catch your fleeting fingers. 

“Well, tell Changbin I’m going to kick his when he comes out tonight.” 

They had left shortly after, smirks on their cheeks and laughter smiling from their chests. By the time they disappeared from your vision, you were left feeling both giddy and buzzing with arousal. The sweet ring of anticipation simmered in your gut, and you couldn’t wait for later that evening. 

With a smile on your lips and the thought of the wolves on your mind, you decided you’d venture out a little earlier tonight. Hopefully you would be able to scout a new path – something different from the previous two runs. It would be exciting to change the pace for both you and the werewolves. 

As you lock up the cafe behind you, the giddiness shows in your step as you practically skip towards your car. The drive home feels shorter than it usually does; perhaps due to your enthusiasm to reach the little cottage to incite another chase.

It’s not long after you set foot in the homely cabin that you leave once more. 

The new pair of sweet pink panties already donned, you feel the excitement surge again. Five of the eight wolves have partaken in the challenge issued by Chan, the pack Alpha. Assuming they will follow a similar pattern as before, you hope that the final three will be the ones to enjoy a chase this evening. Felix, Changbin, and the pack leader himself - would likely be the last to join the exhilarating mating challenge. 

An arousing shiver rakes down your spine as you think of the request Changbin had made of you. The memory of his warm breath on the crevice of your neck and the press of Felix’s chest against your back makes the longing in your chest grow deeper. You wonder how Chan’s touch will feel against your bare skin. The connection that binds you to the pack leader is strong, and you can feel nearly every twitch and tug of emotion from his end. The notion makes you wonder how contact with his exposed skin against your own will feel – if the ache in your chest will finally soothe upon relishing in the depth of his touch. 

Lost in your spiral of thoughts, you meander through the woods without a particular destination in mind. You only want to venture about half a mile into the trees, as you know the werewolves may be able to catch you if you go much farther. You cannot outrun them for much farther. 

With dusk beginning to settle over the area, that last remnant of golden sunshine peeking through the trees, you listen to the peaceful sounds of the woodland surrounding you. The thrum of the magic that encompasses the borders of the wolves’ territory flickers for a moment, a feeling you are not used to. The magical aura that coats the edges of their land wanes under your touch, but does not weaken. It allows you entry without the expense of magic, a sentiment you understand to connect you further to the pack.

This feeling, however, is strange.

Even as you wander away from the border, you can still feel the aura shift and change, as if someone has crossed it – someone it did not entrust to the wolf kingdom. Someone it did not want inside the bounds of their land.

Your feet halt, breath catching in your throat as you suddenly feel the air go still. The sounds of the forest - the chirping of birds and the whistle of the wind through pines - all begin to fade into an eerie silence. It feels as though the very oxygen you breathe has gone stale, itching at your skin as it touches you.

Pulse stuttering in your throat, you hesitate. You had not before had fears of being alone in the woods. As long as you were in pack territory, you knew you were safer than anywhere else. That comfort had kept you from being frightened in the dark seclusion of the trees in previous nights. Now, with the startling reality of the solitude of the forest around you and the ominous fizzling of another magical presence weighing on your mind, you were more than aware of the nonsensical decision you had made.

Moving quickly, you shrink low in an attempt to cover yourself with the foliage that shrouded the area. Staying low to the ground to hopefully make yourself scarce, you take a deep breath to soothe your nerves. Your heartbeat stutters in your chest, thumping in an almost painful manner. It roars beneath your ribs and you think you can faintly hear the pulse in your eardrums. 

Skin prickled with goosebumps and chest beginning to tighten with the grip of fear, you attempt to draw from the little magic you possess. It’s not much - usually just enough to sense the magical changes and auras from other supernatural creatures. You’ve never been able to cast your own spells as the witch blood that flows through your veins has long been diluted over the ages. Your witch-like nature was mostly expressed through the brewing of potions as it did not require magical prowess – only the spell books left to your possession by various ancestors. 

The reminder stings painfully in your mind, only ceasing to spark another bout of fear. As you hesitate, the eerie aura slips closer. 

In the darkening hours of dusk, you cannot yet see them, but you know they’re not far. With panic pushing into your throat, you do not have the conscious thought to alert the wolves. Falling back into base instinct, you are too new to the bond - too unfamiliar with its magic. In your panic, you can hardly recall its presence. 

When a stick cracks in the distance, you hold your breath. There is no telling what lurks behind the seclusion of your hiding place, and you do not know if they can hear each breath you take. 

Enraged tears push at the back of your eyes, suddenly furious with yourself for being so careless. There was much you could have done to prevent this, but you suppose there is no use in deliberating your mistakes. You force back the sweltering pressure that pushes against your eyes. You will not cry when there is something to be done - something to save yourself.

As another sharp, echoing crack of a fallen branch rings through the area, this time much closer, you try to puzzle through the aura of whatever being has begun to stalk you. It is quite clear they have learned of your presence. There would be no use in silent, slow tracking if they had been simply strolling through the woods. 

Reaching out with the barest traces of magic, you are stricken cold to discover what lies not far from your crouched form. Their aura is sanguine red, dripping with darkness and radiating with ill-intent. It’s suffocating as it descends upon you, seeming to fill both your lungs and your brain with its vile ambience. 

Vampire. 

You have not had much dealings with vampires. They’re solitary creatures, perhaps more so than witches. While some reside in covens, just as your own kind may, most chose a life of solitude. It’s easier to keep prey to themselves that way. They may not all be the bloodthirsty monsters of myth, but this one certainly is. With an aura so stark red and overflowing with hunger, you know you have become its next target.

Resistantly the urge to suck in a gasp of terror, you try to keep your breaths low and steady against the palm of your hand to suppress the sound. Before you can even attempt your escape, the chilling sound of its voice filters through the biting cold air that has begun to descend. 

“I can smell you, Pet.” 

The tears finally begin to squeeze from your eyes. Powerless to the burn in your eyes, the salty droplets fall from your ducts and wet your fingers. Terror has finally gripped you tight. You’re frozen to its entrapment, unable to move without fear of the vampire knowing your location – though you’re quite sure it’s already well aware. 

Stomach rolling with waves of anxiety, nausea beginning to burn acridly in the base of your throat, you feel as though you may vomit. You’ve never felt this pure, stirring form of fear seize you before. 

With desperation beginning to settle into your mind, you wonder if you can perhaps bargain with the vampire. It’s likely a fruitless venture, but you stand no chance if it comes to a fight. A vampire overpowers you in both strength and speed; you will not be able to outmaneuver it if you choose to run. 

Breath catching in your throat, you attempt to speak around the grip of nausea. Voice warbled with fear, though you try desperately to suppress it, you speak. 

“You don't want to do this.”

An unsettling laugh seems to spark a chill so deep into your form that you think it may nestle into the fiber of your very bones. They’re closer now. The eerie sound of their laugh comes from the thicket of pines to your right - back the way you came, towards your home. 

“And why not?” The vampire responds, ire rising in their tone. “You smell remarkably sweet, Little Witch – and it would be oh so easy to have a taste.” 

An uncontrolled shiver rakes down your spine and your hair stands on end. The frigid air settles into your skin, raising the goosebumps on the exposed flesh. His words are unsettling, only adding another wave to the already storming sea of panic in your stomach. The vampire seems to be enjoying the way you nearly tremble in fear, the smugness showing in his voice when he answers. 

Your brain races as you attempt to find a reason. Panic pushes at your head and your mind is moving too quickly. Ideas race past and you cannot seem to grasp one with a conscious thought. It feels as though you are drowning in the depths of your own mind, unable to grasp hold of a single thing to say. 

It’s only when you feel a single tug on the buried string in your chest, do you remember. The pull is strong, reaching out with a worried apprehension, and you can barely feel it over the tightness that keeps you still. 

“The wolves!” you gasp out, voice airy as you barely manage to stutter out the word. “This is werewolf territory – you can’t touch me here!”

The vampire snarls. 

You still once more, the sound seeming to strike you frozen. You almost expect the vampire to descend on you then, with sharp fangs and bloodlust surging within the vile creature. He sounds furious at your exclamation, as if the mention of werewolves was a personal attack. Well, you suppose it kind of is. 

“Werewolves,” he sneers. You can practically hear the way his lip curls over the word. Disgust lingers in his tone, the sound nearly making you angry on behalf of the wolves you’ve come to treasure. “As if I care for what wolves think.”

You shudder. 

If the strength of a wolf pack is not enough to stale the vampire, what can you do? A witch with so little magic, unequipped and alone in the woods. If you reach out now, with the reminder of your bond only just coming to fruition, will the wolves be able to make it to you? With so little space between you and the beast, you fear your dear wolves will only arrive to find your limp corpse, drained of blood and blank to the world. 

The thought is a sickening lump you cannot swallow. 

As the vampire closes in, the acrid feeling in your throat pushes into your mouth. Stomach swelling and turning with fear, your pulse stutters again. With so little options left, you decide you will take your chances. 

Acting with haste, you lift from the depths of your hiding place and immediately push off the balls of your feet. Taking off into the trees, you race away from the path in the hopes that the mass of trees and winding steps will allow you a little breadth from the vampire. Heart racing and feeling your lungs wheeze with each inhale, you push yourself beyond your limits. With your life in the balance, the adrenaline allows you to keep running. 

With your legs pumping, you finally reach out. 

You hope you can maintain enough distance between you and the vampire for the wolves to arrive. There's not much of a chance, but you hope that you’ll at least give them a chance. Any sooner, and you fear they’ll be finding your lifeless body. As you reach out now, panic fueled terror racing down the connection, you pull at any of the strings you manage to grasp. It’s so difficult to focus on the bond as you race through the trees, but you force yourself to continue. It’s your only chance. 

You do not have the conscious thought to feel how they respond.  

The vampire, seeming to have expected this, snarls and takes off behind you. 

His much quicker form descends on you quickly, easily keeping pace with you. He seems to be enjoying the chase, hooting as tears leak from your eyes and blur your vision. With your path winding between trees and dodging fallen logs, you're able to maintain a fraction of distance between yourself and the beast. 

This is far different from the chases between you and the werewolves. 

Those runs left you feeling light and excited, body rushing with a pleasant buzz of adrenaline and the longing humming in the bond. In those moments, the thrill was shared consensually between both you and the wolves, keeping the both of you ecstatic for each moment. 

This chase, between you and a monstrous beast who intends to drain your body of its precious life-force, is much different. 

The adrenaline that fuels you now is not of excitement, but that of terror. It pumps into your limbs and keeps you from shaking. However, it does nothing for the panic that crashes into your head. Your mind races with fear and you cannot push away the tears that race down your cheeks. With your thoughts solely focused on dodging the trunks of trees and the lashing of outstretched branches, you do not have a conscious track of mind to stop the salty liquid from blurring your vision. 

Legs pumping and calves burning, you are powerless to the vampire’s strength. With a pained cry, he collides with you. It’s a short moment, just enough for the monster to shove you off your feet. 

Heart a swollen lump in your throat, you weep out a sobbing sound of fear as you tumble down a short cliff side. Sharp branches cutting into your skin, exposing the bloody flesh underneath, you hiss in pain. Your fall is stopped when you collide with a fallen tree trunk. Back slamming into the pine, you squeak another miserable sound. 

Terror squeezes you tight. You can barely feel the stinging pain of the open wounds under the grip of fear. Blood drips down the bare skin of your arms, but you can barely feel it. The throb in your ankle burns from where you’ve likely sprained it, and you pull the limbs closer to you. 

Now openly weeping, you choke on the cry that tries to break free from your lungs. 

“Please!” you cry, the sound warbled by the blur of tears. Clutching your arms to your chest, you try to put pressure on the bleeding scrapes. Any attempt to cover the blood from the nose of the vampire is fruitless. 

The vampire laughs coldly as he emerges from the darkness. Sun now long gone from the sky, the vampire has nothing to fear. 

“Don't cry, Pet,” he mocks with smugness. “It’s only a taste.” 

Frantically now, you pull harder on the bond. Yanking as strongly as you can, ignorant to the pulses of fear you send alongside it, you furiously pull with the hopes they can discern your plea. 

As he descends towards you, a cruel smirk smeared across his face, you finally begin to tremble. Holding a single hand out, you summon every fiber of magic in your form and force it outward. It weakens you greatly, taking every thread of energy along with the flare of magic. The resulting burst of flame is only a momentary distraction, singing the vampire’s clothes as he pushes closer. 

Snarling at your attempt to fight, he laughs cruelly as he finally closes in on your shaking form. Weeping and trembling, you weakly drop your hand and finally curl upon yourself in an attempt to cover your vital organs. 

When the vile beast is inches from your skin, a startling moment passes as he hisses and suddenly draws back as if your very being is laced with poison. A frown twisting his features, you are no longer aware of his actions as you pull yourself tighter into your body. 

“You cunning witch!” the vampire sneers, disgust leaking into his voice. “You’ve been marked by a wolf clan!” 

The monstrous beast’s words are punctuated with the chilling sound of a wolf howl slicing through the bleak hours of night. 

It’s a broken, mourning sound – brimming with pain and a longing so fierce you feel it in your own heart. The howl is soon accompanied by more. Seven more wolves join the call, an aching fear conveyed in their fragmented sound. They’re in pain; but it is not their own. 

They’ve heard your plea. 

They had not been far. They had been following your train since dusk had settled. Knowing the vampire was still on the loose, Minho and Chan had tracked it to the eastern border that afternoon and carefully swept through the rest of the territory for signs of the beast. Yet, they had still come up empty. 

Hyunjin and Han had immediately picked up the hints of your scent. With the rest of their mates not far behind, the wolves had not been far behind when the red string binding your fates had come alive. 

Intense panic is the first to strike them. Filtering with speed through their bodies, the anxiety is laced with the grip of terror. It surges through them with an aching pulse, stronger than anything they’ve felt from you. Not long after, the frantic tugging of the bond yanks furiously at their chests. 

Hyunjin nearly collapses on his feet. Knees weak, his chest aches at the weight of your fear. It’s terrifying, and the dark coated wolf is suddenly struck with a sickening grief. His fur shakes when Hyunjin waves his head to force away the feeling. It is too soon to mourn you, and Hyunjin will not let the ninth piece of their bond be taken so easily. 

It’s blinding. The immense grip of pure despair grips them tight, each of your panic-laced emotions being sent down the bond. Whining out of desperation, Felix crumples into Changbin. Weak to the strength of your fear, he barely pulls himself back onto his feet. He cannot let himself fall now. Changbin buries his nose into the younger’s muzzle, breathing in the scent of his partner and hoping the smell, despite the souring tinge, will help him maintain his balance. 

Chan is the one whose head knocks back into the first despairing howl, the ache of your pain fueling the mournful sound.

With the weight of the world on his shoulders, Chan feels weaker than he’s ever been. The aching sound leaves his chest with a cry of overflowing pain. In his many years, he swears he’s never felt such a surge of grief – not even when Seungmin had gotten caught in a bear trap years ago. Even then, he’d been assured that he could protect his partner - could care for him and nurse him to health. 

Now, with the overwhelming grip of panic in his chest, Chan fears he may lose you before he's even had the chance to love you.

It all happens in a single moment. The fear knocks into them - Chan howls, and then all eight of the wolves are moving. Taking off with a blinding speed, they race through the forest with the traces of your scent fresh in their minds. Only you and your desperate plea for help present in their minds, they push themselves quicker. 

Seven baying sounds echo into the night not long after their leaders. 

In a combined harmony, the werewolves convey their mournful rage. Despite the fear, the sound is brimming with overwhelming anger, for a member of the wolf pack has been threatened; a notion that grounds for a revenge even the High King of Hell himself, could not prevent. 

The pack leader swears he’s never been this scared. Your desperate plea for help has struck him so deeply, he fears it will be the last thing he ever feels from your end of the string that connects you. The eldest can barely manage a weak tug on your bond as he pants in exertion, praying it can provide you some reassurance; they’re coming, it says - just wait a moment longer, they’re coming.

While the howling echo was meant to be a notion of fear for its prey, you can only exhale a sigh of relief. They’ve heard you, it reassures, they’ve heard you and they’re on their way. 

The vampire steps away for a second, seeming to filter through his options. He takes a glance at the trees behind him and then back at your frightened form, eyebrows furrowed as he tries to decide what to do. You’ve been marked by this wolf pack – their scents are strong on your form, intertwining under the sweetness of your own. If he harms you now, he is certain to face the wrath of the pack. Even if he leaves the borders of their territory, they are sure to hunt him down for laying a hand on someone they've marked. No mating mark may lay on your skin, but you are quite clearly bound to this wolf pack – scar visible, or not. 

He doesn’t have time to make a decision.

With the sound of your weeping guiding the werewolves to your location, the vampire suddenly has no time to escape. He turns fruitlessly to locate the easiest method of exiting the bounds of their territory, hair whipping into his face. 

Your chest aches with the dregs of terror, body so desperately weak from the magic you had expelled. Sagging into the trunk behind you and adrenaline waning, the burn of your wounds begin to settle. Fear still lodged into your mind and body still curled upon itself, you do not see the vampire attempt to run. 

You only hear the furious snarl of a wolf’s growl and the pounding of feet on the earth. 

The roaring of panic in your ears is suddenly replaced by the gnashing of teeth and sharp howls of anger. Branches snap and claws scratch against the dirt. Rustling of various footsteps and the sound of sharpened incisions snapping against flesh fill your senses as the wolves descend upon you and the vampire. Clutching your ears tightly with bloodied fingers, you curl tighter on yourself. 

You don’t want to watch. 

You know the wolves are strong, but you fear having to see the vampire harm them. 

Whimpering with tears still slowly dripping down your skin, you do not see the towering, angry form of Chan’s silver wolf break into the clearing. Nor do you see Minho’s enraged snarl as he bursts forth from behind his pack leader. His teeth drip with saliva as he lunges for the vampire. Eyes locked on the beast, he barely manages a glimpse at your terrified form, bleeding and curled tightly on itself against a tree trunk. The sight fuels his protective anger, and his jaws clasp tightly upon the vampire with a furious sound. 

Jisung is the first of the wolves who’s anger wanes at the sight of your crumpled form. 

Strewn against the trunk of a fallen pine tree, you’ve curled upon yourself and clutched your ears tight. Blood drips from your fingers, as if you’ve tried to ebb the flow of blood from the scrapes and scratches that litter your exposed skin. The scent of terror clings to your form, and Jisung nearly gags on the acrid taste. 

Yet underneath the fear, Jisung still smells the sweet, gentle honeyed scent that usually clings to your body. He can still imagine the excited smile that stretched across your cheeks after your first chase, and oh, seven hells - does Jisung want to see that smile again. 

Breaking through the line of his furious partners, Jisung is the first to descend on your trembling form. 

Transforming to bare skin, Jisung collapses to his knees at your side. Watery eyes wide, his hands hover over your skin - afraid to frighten you with his touch. Reaching out, with his heart still pounding and anxiety a sickening lump in his throat, Jisung pulls gently at the red string binding you together. His side pulses with waves of comfort, praying the warmth will remind you of his presence. 

“Shh, Darling,” his teary voice murmurs so quietly. He’s dropped low, whispering the words into your ear, so different from when Hyunjin had muttered salacious teases. “S’alright, Angel - s’just me, s’Hannie.” 

When your fearful eyes finally pry open, wet from salty tears and pupils blown wide, Jisung feels his heart clench in his chest. Seemingly separated from the chaos just behind him, Jisung can only see your sweet form – only feel the stuttered beats of surprise and grateful pulses from your bond. 

“Sungie?” 

At the watery, broken cry of his name, Jisung cannot hold back. Chest aching, he pulls you into his body. Both of your bodies are trembling, and Jisung finally allows the salty tears to fall onto his round cheeks. Weeping softly as he feels your shaking arms wrap tightly around his back, he clutches you tight. You respond with the same fervor, as if you fear that in the next moment, he’ll be torn from you. 

“Yeah, Baby - s’me, you’re okay,” his weeping voice murmurs, words spoken directly into the skin of your neck. His reassurances seem to help as you sag into his arms, finally succumbing to the adrenaline rush. “We’re here, s’fine - you’re safe.” 

From behind Jisung, Changbin is not far behind Minho, and he snarls as he grasps hold of one of the beast's legs. The vampire cries out, but they are not swayed. The werewolves are fueled by the protective rage that swells through their bond. You are terrified and in danger, and they go to the ends of the Earth to ensure your safety. 

Hyunjin is the next to descend on the vampire, teeth sharp as they pierce skin. Blood fills his mouth, but Hyunjin is used to the feeling. His head is split between approaching you and swaddling you in his arms, aching to reassure you, and the brimming rage that seizes him tight. But with how you clutch to Jisung, eyes squeezed shut and attempting to push out the sounds of a fight, Hyunjin knows he must expel the traces of anger before approaching you.

He will not scare you like this.

Tugging sharply on the vampire, Minho and Changbin understand the message and begin to drag the beast away. He kicks and screams, trying desperately to get away from the grip of the wolves, but his attempts are fruitless. And when Seungmin lunges forward, rage finally overflowing upon sight of your terrified form, he cannot help the way his teeth sink into the vampire's neck, silencing the beast once and for all with a sickening crack. 

Felix is already at your side before the sounds can reach your ears. Gentle hands settling over your ears, the blonde keeps the gruesome cacophony of noise from reaching you. His hands are trembling, but he keeps them steady enough to maintain coverage. Felix’s eyes are teary, salty tracks covering his cheeks as he does so. Nonetheless, the touch of your warm skin under his hands seems to reassure him and reduce the shaking. 

He hums under his breath, pushing his chest into your back and hoping that the sound of his voice will drown out the rest.

When the four wolves drag away the body, not wanting you to see the horrors of death, Chan finally steps forward. 

He trusts his mates to take care of the vampire. Chan knows he does not have to worry about the rage that still simmers in his chest, and though he aches to give the beast a beating of his own, Chan knows there are more important matters at hand. 

When Chan finally shifts from his wolfish form, silver fur giving way to soft skin and worried eyes, he’s already on you. 

“Baby!” he cries, a sob of his own swelling in his chest. Despite all the strength he upheld as pack leader, Chan finally succumbs to the worry and the fear that gripped him so tight. He collapses at your side, bond crying out with reassurance and sweetly attempting to comfort you. “Baby - oh fuck, Angel.” 

Over the lump in his throat, Chan leans forward, hands hovering over your skin. He’s scared to touch you. Now in front of you for the first time as a human, with terror still seizing your mind, Chan doesn’t want to scare you. His wolf whines pitifully, longing to pull you into him, but Chan waits. 

When you feel the sweet hum of his connection call out, your eyes crack open and pitifully peer at him from the depths of Jisung’s chest. The dregs of fear still pulsing through you, you cannot stop the trembles that still rake through you. 

“Chan?” 

Felix has never heard such a mournful whimper pull from his Alpha’s chest. 

Finally giving into the longing ache, Chan pulls you into him with a gasping cry. Jisung loosens his grip, allowing his Alpha the chance to feel your skin against his. Chan lets the fear escape his chest with a weeping sob, his own tears burning at his eyes. With your skin pressed against his bare chest, Chan knows you’re safe. The heat of your body is a pleasant burn he never wants to extinguish. 

Your first glimpse of the pack’s Alpha is halted as he draws you into his chest with muscular arms. You cannot be upset about the motion, feeling the shake of your limbs already beginning to settle as his bare skin presses against yours. The pack leader openly sobs out a saddened sound, pulling you tightly into him with your bond flaring strongly. 

Chan is beautiful. 

Your weary eyes barely glimpse full lips and dark eyes as they tiredly fall closed, but you know Chan is utterly gorgeous. There's a faint red scar across the bridge of nose, crossing across his cheeks, but the strength that it implies only makes him more gorgeous. With how brightly your chest swells with affection, quickly replacing the fear, you knew you would find yourself entrapped by his beauty soon enough.

Exhaling a shaky sound, you try to push yourself closer with weak limbs. Chan feels you shift and tugs you closer with a whimper, nose pressing into your hair as a tremble of his own shakes through him. He inhales deeply, savoring the honeyed glimpse of your scent beneath the acrid taste of panic. 

“You caught me,” you tiredly whimper into his chest, collapsing with the last glimpses of adrenaline finally leaving you. 

From behind you, you feel more forms push closer. 

Felix sobs out a weepy sound, and you find yourself saddened that you don’t have the energy to send a wave of comfort to him. His warm skin presses against your side, pushing you closer to Chan as another form piles into your sweet embrace. You vaguely recognize Jeongin’s sweet aura as he clutches you from your other side. The youngest is crying, tears wetting the skin of your neck from where he pushes his head into the crevice beneath your jaw, but you don’t care.  

You can sense that Seungmin is not far behind. Unable to reach you from the depths of the clutches of his older partners, you manage to reach out a hand through the mess of tangled limbs. Seungmin grasps hold of the appendage with a tight grip, squeezing happily as he pushes his face into Jeongin’s neck. 

It’s not long before the rest of the pack descends on your pile. Clutching each other in a warm, muddled clutter of relieved bodies, the remaining wolves pull each other tight. The fear that previously radiated through the bond slowly seeps away to reveal sweet relief and comfort. 

Chan weeps a laugh at your words, chest shaking with the combination of it and a sob. His next words are spoken into your hair, lips pressing a short kiss to the threads with warmth radiating from his mouth. 

“Yeah, we caught ya, Pretty,” 

When spring has finally settled in the forest, Lupin flowers blooming in bright hues of lavender and cornflower blue, you decide it’s finally time. Unbeknownst to you, the first few days of spring mark a shift between the werewolves. You can’t sense it, not with your human ability to smell. 

Mating season has begun. 

It keeps the werewolves high strung. The urge to incorporate you into the pack is stronger than ever. Every flash of your skin has them panting, and every hint of your arousal has their mouth watering. 

Hyunjin had been teasing you for weeks, playfully poking at you and trying to incite you into a final challenge. He managed to rope some of the others into his taunts, keeping the excitement of the chase fresh in your mind. 

Not long after you had settled into their lives, Felix had been the one to mention the mating mark. You had been eyeing the faded blush-colored scar with warmth in your gaze. Analyzing the teeth marks and attempting to identify which scars were the mark of incisors, you vaguely wonder whose teeth had left the mark. 

Felix’s lips had pulled into a wide grin when he noticed, pulling you closer to his bare chest with a laugh. His skin was warm against yours, and despite being subjected to their exposed skin in the weeks past, the notion of Felix's smooth, freckled skin still made you dizzy. With heat in your cheeks and ears burning, you buried your bashful look into the muscle of his chest in an attempt to hide from his prying eyes. 

“Baby!” he laughed, chest rumbling with the sound, “s’nothing to be embarrassed about. You can ask if you want.” 

From across the room, Hyunjin lifted his head from where it rested against the back of the couch. Jeongin, in between his legs - had too, raised his own head with interest in the conversation. 

“Yeah, Pretty – you can ask Chan-hyung to give you a mark of your own too,” the long-haired man mirthfully teased. Jeongin giggled in Hyunjin’s arms, his teeth shining when a grin stretched across his lips. The youngest’s own mark seemed to glimmer in the light when his loose shirt shifted across his clavicle. 

Your eyes followed the trail of teeth on Jeongin’s skin, spotting a second flash of teeth not far from the first. When Hyunjin titled his head, allowing his hair to fall away from his skin, you caught sight of the largest mark imprinted in the flesh to the side of his throat. Two more rosy rows of teeth rested in the smoothness of his skin aside the first.

You begin to wonder how many of these bite marks littered each of the wolves. 

Pulling your eyes from the ridges of Felix’s chest, you raised them to meet the teasing eyes of Hyunjin. “Do you all have them? The bite marks, I mean.” 

Hyunjin hums in response, a spark flickering across his gaze. His arms wind tighter across Jeongin’s chest at the reminder of how his partners have sunk their teeth into his skin. Face warming with the heat of the memory, his lids flutter with an indecent look.

“They’re mating marks,” Changbin cuts in, beside Hyunjin. His eyes were focused on the notebook in his hands, but he was clearly listening to your conversation. His dark eyes look up from the worn leather for a moment, catching yours with something similar to Hyunjin’s own arousal glimmering in the depths. 

“Mating marks?” Your tongue rolls carefully over the words. Spoken silently to yourself, your mind rolls with the implication. 

Felix’s chest rumbles with another answering hum. From where you lay on the floor beneath the couch, you feel something hot flash through the bond in a quick moment. It’s so fast you cannot tell from whom it originated. 

Minho is the next to fill in the blanks. Jisung is pressed tightly to his side, Seungmin not far, their eyes drawn to the television where they’re engaged in a fierce battle of Mario Kart. 

“When the bond is accepted and courting finishes, mating marks seal the connection between bonded packs. They lay claim over each other – everyone is bound to each other through ‘em.” 

A flush of heat fills your stomach. 

Something indecent rolls through your chest and you feel your skin becoming littered with pleasant goosebumps. You don’t know why the thought is so enticing. The thought of teeth pressing into your skin, claiming you once and for all, is something that makes your chest ache and your thighs rub together. 

Attempting to hide your interest, you look back into Felix’s chest, but your spiked acknowledgment is not missed by the others. If your bashful look doesn't give it away, the distant hum of arousal from the bond certainly does. New to the red string intertwining you with the wolves, you’re unable to stop the stronger waves of emotion from filtering through. 

Nonetheless, they wouldn’t need the bond to know you have become interested in the marks. The sweet, honeyed scent of arousal permeating the air and the twinge of your uncontrolled pheromones are evidence enough. 

Minho’s lips raise into a smirk. 

Catching the enticing scent, the wolf inside him howls with a challenge. 

“Oh,” his words drip with salacious undertones. “Are you interested, Pretty?” 

Your eyes dart up to meet him. Swallowing once, you attempt to speak around the lump that has risen in your throat. Suddenly feeling so small under his lowered, teasing eyes, you find yourself unable to respond. 

“Hm, I think she is, Hyung,” Jisung’s voice responds. He’s dropped his controller, looking away from the shining lights of the television at the sweet waves of your scent. His eyes have darkened, dilated pupils beginning to swell. 

Hyunjin soon joins the attack, leaning forward with Jeongin still clutched to his chest. 

“Yeah, I knew it. You want a mark of your own, Pretty Girl?” 

You withhold a whimper into Felix’s chest, but the silver blonde hears it anyway. His own shiver of arousal shaking through him, Felix clutches you tighter. He feels something stir in his gut, and the sharp sting of incisors press against his gums as he resists leaning forward to scrape the fangs across your flesh. 

When Chan steps through the doorway to the living room, the air is thick with the scent of arousal. 

Heart thumping and dominance surging, the pack leader hums to grab your attention. His eyes fall to your body, clutched tightly in Felix’s arms with your eyes wide and pulse racing. 

“S’going on in here?” 

Tension broken, eyes are immediately drawn to the Alpha. The air still simmers with pulses of lust, and Chan feels as though it will soon begin to drown him if he doesn’t do something soon. 

Minho is quick to respond, taking charge as second-in-command. “Angel was just telling us how much she wants a mating mark, Chan.” 

The pack leader’s aura flushes. 

Power radiates through the room, and the wolves feel Chan’s own surprised flood of dominance filter into the atmosphere. They’re under his command, tense and muscles ready to spring onto you at their Alpha’s command.

“S’that so, Pretty Baby?” 

You can’t look at him. Chan’s aura overflows with an assertive wave of power. He commands the room, and you fear if you meet his eyes, you’ll give in without the thrill of the chase. However, you do find yourself nodding into Felix's warm chest, making your consent well known. 

Not responding, Chan hums sweetly. With darkened irises and the pleasant hum of desire in his veins, Chan can feel his teeth push against his gums. His inner wolf howls to lay claim on you now, with your consent made apparent, all that’s left is to sink his teeth into your skin. 

But that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? 

Chan is quick to propose a final chase. 

One last race through the woods. With the mating mark made clear, the first to catch you can be the first to have you – of course, right after the Alpha lays claim. Chan will always get priority, even if he is not the one to capture you first. Though he severely doubts he won’t be. 

Everything happens so quickly. 

Felix pushes you gently off his chest, pulling you to your feet and guiding you towards your room. Well, you suppose it’s actually Chan’s room, but the leader has made it clear you have a place in it as much as he does. With a delicate command to prepare yourself, your heart begins to race with the familiar thrill of adrenaline - the good kind. 

You burrow through the mess of clothing in your drawers, a smirk pulls on the edges of your lips when you find what you’re looking for. After the incident with the vampire, Chan and the others had never seen your last gift. You had intended for that night to go so much differently, but you suppose now is as good of a time as any to present the pale pink lace of the lingerie. 

Tiny, rosy pink daisies litter the sheer fabric, intertwining with the blush and darkened hues of roses. Dark green stems connect the flowers, tastefully just covering the most indecent of places. The faint pink lace barely covers anything, and it’s by far the most lewd thing you’ve ever bought, let alone worn. 

When you slide it on, some sense of pride inflates your chest. It’s a fleeting feeling, one you find you don’t often experience in reference to your own body, but you thrive under its wave. It feels nice to admire your own skin and size for once, and you remind yourself to do it more often. Learning to love yourself is a hard road, but you hope you’ll learn to love your own skin soon. 

Choosing to forgo the complications of too much clothing, you slip on one of the boys’ oversize shirts. You can’t tell whose it is, as even their shirts run sizes too large so that they can be cut and loose, but the scents on it are familiar, as always. Hyunjin wore it last, that you can tell, and you hope the notion of nothing but lingerie beneath it will drive him mad. 

You honestly hope you’ll be caught quickly. Even despite the arousal and implication of mating marks, running with nothing but a large t-shirt is sure to cause your thighs some chafing. However, you cannot bring yourself to put anything else on, knowing the sentiment will make the chase more enticing. 

When you reenter the living room, all eight of the werewolves are standing. Murmuring amongst themselves, desire roaring in their stomachs, they turn to look at you when you enter the room. 

“Oh fuck,” Changbin murmurs, mouth going dry at the sight. He has to readjust his pants to hide the growing problem between his thighs. Cursing under his breath, running with a boner is sure to be a pain. 

“Hm, our little tease, isn’t she?” Minho coos, voice dripping with filthy undertones. 

Hyunjin nearly purrs at the expanse of your bare legs. Eyes scanning every inch of your exposed flesh, he feels his spine shake with a familiar arousal. 

“You wearing anything under that, Pretty?” 

Despite the weight of their dominating auras, you manage a hum in response to Hyunjin. “Mhm! It’s the present Binnie asked for.” 

Changbin snarls at your words, chest vibrating as he feels another bolt of heat twist his gut. Imaging the pretty pink lace underneath the darkness of your shirt, he and Hyunjin know exactly of the gift you speak of. Felix too, rumbles pleasantly at the reminder of your meeting so long ago. 

“Present?” Jisung murmurs in question. 

Changbin hums his gruff, deep response. “You remember her last ‘gift’? I asked her to wear something pink next time - Chan-hyung’s favorite and all.” 

The pack leader goes weak in the knees with a lusty groan. His eyes close and his head knocks back at his lover’s words. The reminder of the tiny pair of panties clutched in his fist, now imagining them pink and stained with your arousal, has his mind finally drowning a ferocious desire. 

“Oh Baby, you’ve done it now,” Chan’s deepened tone coos. When his eyes open, brown hair falling across his forehead and highlighting the red scar across his nose, there’s a fire burning brightly in the depths. “You sure you want this? Once we start, I won’t be able to stop myself, Sweetheart – not now that I know what’s under that pretty dress.” 

Your nod is immediate. You’ve never been more sure of anything. These eight wolves are yours now, just as much as you are theirs. Chest thumping, Chan purrs a hum in response. 

“Don’t make it too easy then, Pretty,” Chan murmurs, nose grazing your skin as he leans in close. “Gonna ruin you when I catch you - gotta’ savor our prize right?” 

And the final chase begins. 

They have given you a head start. Just two minutes, but it’s enough time to clear some distance between you. They aren’t wolves this time – just humans, but supernatural humans with enhanced senses and incredible speed and strength. They’ll still be able to catch up quickly. 

You know there’s not much you can do when it comes to hiding this time. With how strong your arousal thrums between your thighs, there’s no chance they won’t be able to seek you out by scent alone. 

Leaping over a fallen branch, you pant heavily with a wide grin on your face. Probably looking a little insane as you race through the woods with a manic smile, clad in nothing but a black shirt and lingerie beneath it, you laugh freely into the spring air. 

You don't know how much distance you’ve put between you and the pack house, unable to keep track of time since Chan had started the chase. Regardless, you continue pushing your calves to run through the trees with your chest sizzling with the familiar buzz of adrenaline. 

Only a few moments later, you hear excited hoots and shouts fill the air.

Your two minutes are up. 

Excitement bursting again, you force yourself faster. You know it won’t be long before they catch up, but you want to give them a chase worthy of being called the last. 

Distantly, you feel one of them tug on the bond, chest being pulled in their direction, but you ignore it. Dirty tricks didn't work before, and they wouldn’t now. Allowing a smirk to pull at your lips, you continued to race, kicking up dirt from the earthen ground. 

You feel him as soon as he breaks through the tree line at your back. Minho, second-in-command, was one of the fastest of the wolves in their human forms. Now, driven mad by you, he has a mission in mind as he pursues your racing form. 

You don’t have to turn to know he’s behind you. 

He’s closing on your fast, his strides longer than yours and heart pumping just as quick. You barely have the conscious mind to consider your options, but vaguely you wonder if the same trick will work twice. You can tell he’s a few steps in front of the others, so you’ll only have a moment’s chance if it’s to work. 

As Minho descends on you, breath in your throat as his hand reaches out, you lunge to the side again. Your heart leaps, skipping a pulse as Minho skids on his feet. He barely manages to catch himself before he falls, cursing loudly at your cheap trick. 

“Hah! I can’t believe you fell for it again!” 

A growl loosens from Minho’s chest, and he’s running after you again. 

Escaping Minho has allowed you a moment to maintain the distance between the boys, though it’s still not much. They’re still hot at your heels, fueled by carnal desire and thoughts of your skin beneath their hands. Heat still sizzles between your thighs, and you feel the lining of your panties dampen at the sound that escapes Minho’s chest. 

Distantly, you hear another let out a groaning sound, as if they smell the arousal slowly leaking from between your thighs. The thought makes you lightheaded. 

Another laugh leaving your lips, you duck under a low hanging branch, the boys hot at your heels. Confident in your lead, you allow yourself to miss the missing aura that is missing behind you. With your mind focused on keeping ahead of the werewolves, you’ve missed an alarmingly crucial clue: there are only seven auras behind you. 

You're smart. Hyunjin had Minho had both conveyed this when they returned from their individual chases. Able to outmaneuver them both, they were impressed by your ingenuity. 

Yet, even despite your intelligence, you could not outsmart Chan. 

Instead of joining his pack, pushing you from behind as the others had, Chan burned with the passion that would guarantee his success; and he chose another route. 

You don’t see him coming. 

Racing through the pines, his arms pumping and veins fueled with a primal lust, Chan had taken off in the other direction. Your scent clinging to his senses, he swears he can already taste the sweet arousal that leaks into your panties. A smirk tugging at his lips, Chan races for you head on. 

He pursues you from the front, rather than behind. Seeming to know exactly what routes you would take through the forest, he knew precisely where he could cut you off. 

When his panting, muscular form breaks through the trees in front of you, your slam to a stop on your feet. Skidding an inch, you pant with widened, surprised eyes. Chan stands in front of you, pupils blown and dark, sweat dripping across his forehead and down the bridge of his nose, smearing along the red scar. 

His muscular biceps bulge in his tight, black shirt, and your mouth waters at the sight. You only have half a moment to take him in before his smirk deepens and he pushes off the balls of his feet, lunging for you. A growl pulls from deep within his chest and you squeal as you try to dodge his strong hands. 

Your efforts are futile. Even as you attempt to evade his grip, twisting as you make for the forest, Chan’s already moving - quicker and stronger than you. Of course, if you had half a mind to focus on it, the thought of his superior size and strength would drive you wild, but you didn’t have the chance. 

“Chan!” you squeal, squirming as you attempt to wiggle out of his grip, wanting to continue the chase and feel the adrenaline pumping through you. The Alpha groans deeply when his name falls from your lips, already imagining the sound twisted into gasps of pleasure. Head knocking back, Chan’s muscles bulge as he wraps you in his grasp. 

Your skin hot against his, Chan moans out a sweet sound that has your stomach turning. His biceps flex under your squirming, and it’s so enticing to feel how he manhandles you into his chest. One strong hand manages to grasp both your wrists, pulling them behind your back as he tugs you close. Your back against his front, hands in his grip, Chan hums pleasantly with you now trapped in his hold. 

“Yeah, s’it, Pretty Baby – say my name.” 

Your knees weaken. 

Unable to move in Chan’s tight grip, you’re left defenseless to the seven wolves that soon descend. 

Unsurprisingly, Hyunjin is the next to capture you. The taller man’s figure leans over yours with a daunting smirk, his eyes shining with carnality. His chest pushing against your front, Hyunjin’s head leans over yours and you’re forced to look up at him when his hand reaches out. Thin fingers expanding over your throat, Hyunjin applies a little pressure to your neck, exhaling a groaning sound when you whimper.

“Dirty girl,” he purrs, fingers tightening across your throat in a pleasant pressure that makes your head spin. Hyunjin’s grin is wild as he does so, finding the sounds you let out make his chest swell with pride. “I told you I’d catch you next time, didn’t I?” 

You think you might leak through your pretty pink underwear. Legs trembling and head turning, eyes barely able to keep hold of Hyunjin’s lusty ones, you barely realize when the others join the fun. 

Minho, obviously holding a little grudge from missing you twice, is at your right. His hands are hot to the touch. Chan laughs a cocky chuckle when his second-in-command immediately drops to his knees. Minho rolls his eyes, lips already leaning forward to press into the skin of the inside of your knee. When you squirm, legs visibly shaking at the touch of Minho’s soft, full lips on your bare skin, his hand drifts higher. Gripping your thigh tight in his big hand, he murmurs his next words directly into the skin of your thigh.

“Stop squirming, Angel.” 

You whine again, head knocking back with a keen. Going limp in their hold, your head rests against Chan’s collarbone. The pack leader smirks in victory. He loves watching the bashful look on your face twist into something darker. 

“Hannie,” Minho commands, not looking away from his place on his knees, “Come help me, will you?” 

Jisung does not hesitate. Taking your other side, his hand slides around your waist to squeeze you once. Then, with a salacious grin at the dripping honey smell of your arousal, his hands drop. Sliding pleasantly down your stomach in between you and Hyunjin - of course, taking a moment to run gently over the skin of Hyunjin’s stomach - Jisung’s hands slide beneath the fabric of your shirt. 

This time, Jisung lets out an obscene sound when the tips of his fingers graze the soft lace wrapped around your hips. 

“Fuck, Baby,” he murmurs with a whining sound. Fingers drift, lifting the hem of your shirt higher, allowing Minho a glimpse of the fabric that lay beneath. He pushes closer, face lifting until his head is level with your hips, which are pushed against Hyunjin’s. The taller man groans when Minho’s hand comes up, cock twitching when his lover’s fingers toy with the bulge in his pants. When he leans away a little, leaving space for Minho to dive between, only your chest remains pressed against Hyunjin. 

Before Jisung has a moment to explore further, Seungmin reaches from behind, his fingers lightning quick as they rip your shirt upwards. Eight sounds of approval sound out when the material is lifted above your chest, allowing them a first look at the pretty pink lingerie you’ve chosen. 

Chan, however, does not have the best angle to see the sweet panties you’ve chosen for him with Seungmin lifting the shirt in front of his face. With a disgruntled sound, his eyes lift to Hyunjin’s, grinding his hips forward into your backside as he does so. You keen, and Hyunjin smiles. 

“Pretty Boy, keep her hands out of the way f’me.” 

Then, Chan releases his grip on your wrists and pushes them around to your front, where Hyunjin’s waiting grasp wraps securely around them once more. Now in Hyunjin’s hold, Chan has both hands free, and he doesn’t waste a second. Exchanging a look with Seungmin, Chan’s hands lift to grasp both sides of the color of your shirt. Biceps flexing, the pack leader grips the material tight and then tears it down the middle. 

His display of strength has you lightheaded.

Now exposed, the eight can admire the sweet little bra that adorns your chest. Tits practically spilling from the material, Chan hums pleasantly, his eyes going hazy. By now, he feels the growing need to release his dick from his pants, unable to take the throbbing against the tight material. Changbin shares the sentiment, the three remaining men finding the means to occupy themselves with each other. Felix is already under Changbin’s grip, his eyes having trouble drifting back and forth from you and his dark haired partner. 

Chan growls pleasantly at the sight of the pink lingerie, one of his hands sliding around to join Jisung in toying with the hem of the rosy panties. Minho’s lips are on your inner thigh, and he sucks in a heated breath when he catches a taste of your arousal on his tongue. Fingers inch closer, his forefingers rubbing gently across the thin material that separates him from your slit. Rubbing a teasing circle, your head knocks back again.

Yeah, you manage to think - they’re definitely stained now. 

“Oh, fuck me,” Chan murmurs, voice dripping with honey. “Look s’good in pink, Angel.” 

Minho hums in agreement, teeth skimming across your thigh. It trembles under the glimpse of his sharp incisors, and Minho mirthfully laughs. He knows exactly where he wants to put his mark. It’s a favorite of his, apparently, if the mating marks on Jisung, Hyunjin and Felix’s thighs have anything to say. 

“Better take a deep breath, Pretty,” Hyunjin murmurs directly into your ear, lips grazing the shell. “M’gonna fuck ya stupid when Chan’s done with you.” 

Chan laughs when you whine, and when Hyunjin’s hand slides away from your throat, they’re quickly replaced with the feeling of Chan’s teeth scraping across the skin. You squirm under him, feeling both so heavy and so light at the same time. You swear the combined touch from them will kill you. 

Felix seems to think similarly, a whine of his own skipping from his lips when Jeongin’s hand slides beneath the button of his jeans. The youngest smirks, obviously enjoying having Felix weak under his touch. However, he’s interrupted when Changbin slides his own hand down the younger’s back, making Jeongin shiver. You desperately want to open your eyes - to look at the blonde when he makes such pretty sounds, but you’re prevented when Chan playfully nibbles on the skin of your throat. They’ll have their turn with you soon. 

“Watch her, Lixie,” Changbin murmurs. Your skin seems to heat even hotter, and you feel as though you’ll pass out under their eyes. “She’ll be falling apart on Chan’s cock soon, don’t ya wanna’ watch?” 

The sentiment of the pack Alpha’s teeth against you strikes with a heated stir of your stomach: Chan’s going to claim you, just as the rest of them will. And though you don’t have the teeth to leave a permanent mark of your own, you are sure you’ll leave plenty of fading ones on their skin too. 

They’re yours now, just as much as you are theirs. 

You lean back into Chan with eyes closing out of ecstasy, despite only being teased so far. The leader smirks and you feel it on your throat. Jisung finally grows tired of toying with the fabric between his fingers and finally peels them away from your hips, giving way for Minho's lips to explore new territory. Chan feels his dick twitch when Minho lets out a pleased groan at your taste, finally able to suck you into his mouth as he wants. 

“Yeah, you like that, Baby?” Chan hums, teeth scraping over your skin, finding the place where he wants to sink them beneath the flesh. It won’t hurt, he knows. Rather, he thinks you’ll quite like the rush of pleasure that comes from a werewolf’s bite. “Get ready, Pretty - I caught ya,’ and m’not gonna be gentle.” 

Teeth sharpening and incisors sliding forward, Chan angles his head so that his mating mark will be candid for all to see. 

“You're ours now.” 

His teeth sink in. 

bonus: 

reader, sitting with the dewdrops at dawn!reader: ... 

reader: so,,, demons?

dewdrops at dawn!reader, nodding: werewolves? 

reader, also nodding: ...

dewdrops at dawn!reader: ... 

reader: are we monster fuckers? 

a/n: listen,,, I like skz, okay? this is totally not like 20k words written in a daze of hard hours, I swear. 

ngl tho sometime when I was writing this fic I was like omfg this is so ‘2013 wattpad girl’ of me,,, like sometimes I’d write a sentence and try not to think about the cringy werewolf fics I used to read xD either way I really like the concept of the supernatural and wolf chan is always in the back of my brain so this is what followed that brain rot. 

p.s!! did anyone catch the references to dewdrops at dawn? I had to connect the universes somehow xD I hope you guys enjoyed them <3

[silawastaken]

yes im the same anon!! yayyy for the post. I agree with everything. Regarding midnights? Hmmm I’d say Mastermind, the Great War and Midnight Rain are probably the most ssk coded :3 bigger than the whole sky COULD be ssk but only if chuuya had actually been a vampire and tried to kill Dazai I think :3 could also be post-divorce ssk but I don’t think the divorce was ACTUALLY tragic enough for bigger than the whole sky. OH AND KARMA!! CHUUYA IS SOOO DAZAIS KARMA!!! Actually!! Would’ve could’ve should’ve could be ssk coded but I think they aren’t toxic enough for wcs :/

For fearless like I said if this was a movie. Fifteen (lol), the way I loved you and uhhh forever and always?? Tbh all ts songs make me think of ssk the brainrot is THAT bad.

For lover it’s deffo daylight. For rep? I did something bad, don’t blame me, bla bla bla that entire album is 15/dark era core idc 🗣️ I said what I said!!! New Year’s Day? (Actually that song was kinda ruined for me because I used to love an edit associated with one of the very recently exposed exdsmp guys!! and now when I hear it I get very mad haha!!) Getaway car??? Call it what you want????

God I have to stoppp I’m actually going insane! :3 anyways slay glad to know im not the only one that very heavily links ssk to taylor swift.

GETAWAY CAR IS THE SKK SONG.

You're so right with all of these, midnights is very dazai coded and forever and always is so the divorce era ESP THE PIANO VERSION OMG

I think an skk au based off of lover would be such a cool idea because I think a lot of lover would fit a college au OR OR like a strangers/ex friends to lovers au where they've both ended up in the same place for summer break(great now i have ANOTHER fic I want to write 😭)

and i do think new years day is such a sweet song for skk but i think i know which edit you're talking abt so yeah... i get it unfortunately

I'm on my easter break so maybe I'll actually finish all my taylor swift skk comparison things and post them 🤞🤞

ALSO in regards to bigger than the whole sky, if you were thinking about it as a Chuuya pov after Dazai defected where he believes Dazai is dead... :DD would've could've should've is literally my fav on midnights, and I wouldn't compare it to skk, but more just Dazai, and his relationship with Mori sooo yeah!!!

[bybdolan]

As promised/threatened/announced, I compiled some of my favorite and least favorite metaphors/images/turns of phrases/everything that kind of falls under this category on Midnights and explained why they work for me and why they don’t. Enjoy! (Bevor we begin: @whiskeyswifty put together some of her least favorite metaphors on the album here and there probably will be some doubling. Points were made!)

FAVORITE

“From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes.” – What a genius way to signify the passage of time! Not only does it have a strong sensual element (the feeling of water on your skin, the smell and sound of a crackling fireplace), it also implies a certain loss of virility and innocence through going from an image usually associated to childhood to the scorched, burned wood of a fireplace. LOVE.

“The rust that grew between telephones.” – A little gem on a song I really dislike otherwise. It fits the color scheme of the song (very obviously the writing exercise Taylor set herself with it: “write about things that are red that you associate with the relationship” – not a bad approach per se but often led to weird moments on Midnights) and immediately communicates a loss of contact in a very sad, destructive way.

“I’m a monster on the hill. Too big to hang out, slowly lurching towards your favorite city. Pierced through the heart but never killed.” – LISTEN! I absolutely love this line because the idea of her as this large, scary being is thought through and expanded upon in a way that is so effective in evoking a very specific mental image in your mind. I can clearly visualize  this creature on all fours crawling towards a skyline or something 1930s-monster-movie like that. I also like this because it goes into this slight horror element that pops up at certain points on the album but is never all that realized and tbh… I want gore!

“Did all the extra credit, then got graded on a curve. I think it’s time to teach some lessons!” – again: a very solidly thought out use of school imagery that is gleefully condescending.

“I'm the wind in our free-flowing sails, and the liquor in our cocktails.“ – Great line in a song I never listen to lol. It is, again, kind of sensual (speaks to the feeling of wind on your skin, makes you think of the sea; there is the slight burn of alcohol) and just makes you think of freedom and fun and life being easy going, which is exactly what she is describing here.

“High Infidelity” – one of her BEST titles and arguably my favorite “writing exercise” song concept because wheeew! I know she was happy when she came up with that and rightfully so! Genius wordplay.

“And maybe it's the past that's talking, screaming from the crypt, telling me to punish you for things you never did.” – kind of using this as a stand in for the entire song because I find the war metaphor to work very well as a whole (although I carry sliiight issue with it from a personal standpoint, given that it feels very clearly connected to WWI instead of just ~a war~ and it’s a peculiar choice). It’s a very tight sing imagery-wise because every lyric connects back to the main theme in a way that also makes it makes sense on an individual level. I picked this lyric specifically because it reminds me a favorite song where the singer describes his duties yelling at him from beneath the floor but he can’t hear because he is hanging out with his favorite person. I like personifications like that, and the suggestion that these influences are outside of ourselves, rather than inside.

“The tomb won’t close, stained glass windows in my mind.” – Putting this one directly behind The Great War because a) crypt parallel and b) Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve also works sooo well as a whole because the imagery is so tight and is utilized perfectly. One of her strongest work ever in that regard, because it adds a very specific layer to the story being told without ever outright saying it.

[the entire chorus of Karma] – it’s soooo fun and tongue in cheek and every single comparison she does works so well to me. “Karma’s on your scent like a bounty hunter” is so good as well. The song genuinely has some very good metaphorical work.

LEAST FAVORITE

“He was sunshine, I was midnight rain.” / “All of me changed like midnight.” – I think my main issue with this song is also the underlying issue I have with all of my least favorite imagery moments on the album: It feels like they were forcefully included to fit the theme of the song or album, without actually thinking about how they work by themselves. Midnight rain as a concept is so broad that the lyric describing it feel weak? I suppose it is meant to signify that she is dark and moody, but it ends up feeling a bit basic (as weather metaphors sometimes do). And the idea of “changed like midnight” just escapes me because, apart from the striking of the clock in a New Year’s Eve or Cinderella way, I feel like midnights are not commonly associated with change. I get where she is coming from, but it feels so so flat to me. However, this is also the lyric I am willing to give grace considering it might simply. Idk. Go over my head.

“But your eyes are flying saucers from another planet.” – Hands down my least favorite lyric on the entire album (and one of my least favorite lyrics of all time). Again: I get the idea, but the mental image this puts into my head is just incredibly goofy. Joe Alwyn with big ol’ round cartoon eyes. Was somebody scrambling for a lyric that matched the cosmic imagery of the song but already blew “starry eyes” and “eyes full of stars” on two different songs? Mh? “Flying saucers” as an object and a word combo simply are not romantic to me. Couldn’t we at least have used spaceship to signify that he feels out of this world? Idk man

“Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man.” – Do I have to say anything about it? By itself it would be okay I guess but using internet speech from 2014 as an opening line to a song is. A choice. Also… I thought we didn’t dress for men (or women for that matter)? Why are u then thinking about him while doing your makeup, babygirl?

“You know how scared I am of elevators, never trust it if it rises fast.” – overdone! This is not a bad metaphor per se but it sure is a familiar one and IMMEDIATELY leaves your brain. Never use a metaphor/an image you have heard before, or whatever George Orwell said. (Great writing advice!)

“Spider boy, king of thieves, weave your little webs of opacity.” – Another one of those lines where you can feel the forced concept. I know somebody was super happy with “Spider boy” and then went looking for something that fit. “Weave your little webs of opacity” is SO clunky and heavy handed! I do like “my pennies made your crown” though.

“Sit quiet by my side in the shade, and not the kind that's thrown, I mean the kind under where a tree has grown.” – Bad. Very unsuccessful way of incorporating online lingo, and the “having to explain yourself” thing through the “I mean” is sooo… scrap it. I like the tree idea though, having grown something together, nurturing the relationship like a plant, etc.

“Freedom felt like summer then on the coast, but now the sun burns my heart, and the sand hurts my feelings.” – ok including this with a caveat: I think this actually is a good metaphor. Evocative, sensual, well thought out. However! I personally think “the sand hurts my feelings” sounds goofy and I think this line also would have worked had we stuck to the “real” nature impressions. Sun burning skin, sand getting into every crevice. Something like that. I think it would have communicated the idea equally well.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Having looked at a very specific part of the album like this, I wonder about the “writing exercise” thing she mentioned on the Graham Norton show. Multiple people have said that the concept album idea does not work for them, and I think I personally agree, but furthermore, Taylor developing entire songs about a word or a specific image appears to be pretty hit or miss, since we sometimes end up with these forced lyrics where you can just tell they needed that line and wondered how to make it fit with the rest of the song instead of having it come naturally. That said: as the good examples illustrate, Taylor is a capable writer and knows what she is doing.

[jayflrt]

OMG I JUST READ THE SPIDERMAN JAKE FIC IM SO LATE OMG BUT IT WAS LITERALLY SO GOOD WTF ????

ITS LITERALLY TEN MINUTES UNTIL MIDNIGHT AND IM CRYING OVER IT like literally theres real tears on my pillow right now idk why im crying BUT OMG IT WAS JUST SO PERFECT I WAS SCREAMING THE WHOLE TIME ?!?!

IT WAS SO GOOD IM BEVER GONNA STOP THINKING SBOUT THIS FIC LIKE OMG SPIDERMAN JAKE ?!?! AND VILLAINS JAY AND HEESEUNF MMMMMM I LIKE IT I LIKE IT A LOT THEYRE PERFECT

UR WRITING IS JUST TOO GOOD I NEED FHAT ENTIRE FIC TATTOOEED ONTO MY EYEBALLS SO I CAN JUST READ IR FOR THE RESR OF MY LIFE IM NEVER GONNA SHUT UP ABOUT IT OMG SPIDERMAN JAKE ?!!!2!82;&9283

ALSO CONGRATS ON UR INTERNSHIP WOOO SLAY !!!!!

AHHH FAI HOW HAVE YOU BEEN ITS BEEN SO LONG :o i hope you’ve been doing well and taking care love !! 🥰💖 ALSO PLEASE THIS REVIEW WAS THE SWEETEST THING EVER ??? please hold while user jayflrt implodes from your absolutely sweetness 💞💖💗💞💝💘

the fact that My fic brought you to tears like ……. i’m so 😭😭😭 so honored 😭😭😭💓💗💗💗 it’s so validating i’m just ?? a puddle of absolute mush 🤧💘 and all this high praise i’m just so overwhelmed that you think my fic is that good 😭 it truly means so much to me 🥺💗

AHHHH TBH I WASNT GONNA MAKE HIS FRIENDS THE VILLAINS ORIGINALLY but it seemed to tie in well with giving them a little redemption arc 🤧💕 i think heeseung hadn’t rlly turned ever but jay definitely has a lot of bonds to reforge 😵‍💫BUT PLEASEE THIS WHOLE MESSAGE IS SO SWEET i’m so touched that you enjoyed it that much 😭💖 i’m so happy that you liked reading it as much as i liked writing it, and appreciation like this always makes me remember how grateful i am to have such wonderful readers 🥰🥰🌷🌷thank you so much for reading angel and i’m so so happy you took the time to send this in !! ♡

and thank you so much !! IVE BEEN IN BLISS HAHAH i’ve just been sooo happy the entire week after i heard that i got the position and i’m basically living with my head in the clouds 🌸

[celestie0]

i love that i could understand gojo, yayyy!!! oh my, there are only a few reads that i’m looking forward too; next week’s jjk manga release, kickoff, the recent fic that you’ve teased. yep! thats the list.

i wont spoil which chap it’ll be but im alr so curious how you will receive it dear reader given how deeply youve given his character thought 🫶🏼💕

this makes me so curios, you don’t understand. i’m eager enough to invent a time machine, though idk if ill go back and experience reading kickoff for the first time all over again, or read the next chapters. super confused, i’ll probably experience it for the first time once more and them edge myself for the next releases.

you’re a folklore/evermore girlie too? SAME WOMAN SAME!!! my favourite songs ever are cardigan and august, oh and i very religiously vibe over you’re on your own kid and innocent, what are your favourites?

i actually enjoy the dynamic between gojo and his father so much, it makes me sniffle and giggle all the same. such a good man, papa gojo was 🫶🏻 i hardly ever find myself connecting with any sort of fatherly dynamic in fics unless its kafka’s father, but damn you wrote papa gojo so sweet and heartfelt that i break down :((( i really want more of him! he makes me feel what my own didn’t.

it’s absolutely adorable how much passionate reader is about her career, and it never ceases to amaze me how much dedication she has towards filmmaking, it’s hard to find such passion in today’s fast paced world, only a few can see their dreams to the end. also gojo’s relationship with soccer and how it originated? hands down the most heart-wrenchingly beautiful thing i know of.

they both need each other, and i need my own kickoff gojo, gonna manifest him for myself. (runs to her abracadabra-zoobiee-zoobaa-hoo-haa-room.)

THANK YOU AGAIN SM FOR YOUR WORDS I HAVE SM FUN TALKING AB KICKOFF W YOU omg its got me out here emotionallll. that’s so lovely you write poems my dear i could TELL honestly haha you have such a breathtaking way w words n deliberation

aww love, lots of warm hugs and fuzzies for you!!! your words uplift me so much, they make my entire day, like thank you so much!!!! you’re the sweetest ever ❤️

also im sorry for such late response, i haven’t been doing well the past couple days.

🫶🏼💌

the fact you’re looking forward to my works that much makes my heart feel so full 😭💕 thanks lovely. AND NOT THE TIME MACHINE HAHHA i’m screaminggg ur too flattering skskdjdhdhd

OMG cardigan is one of my absolute favesss pls. i also love exile, betty, tis the damn szn & rwylm. yoyok is sooo good def my fav off midnights ahh. i also adore red album in general i love her acoustic sounds. atw ten min is my FAVE SONG OF HERS. are you excited for tortured poets dept?? 🫣

ouuu im happy you love papa gojo 🥺 i got butterflies when i was writing ab how he met gojo’s mother haha it’s a love story i want so bad 💕 there will def be more of him, mostly in gojo’s last pov chap i’m super excited to explore more of himm. i’m glad you’ve connected w him :”)

plsss you’re so real haha i’m manifesting a kickoff gojo for you (version of him once he’s gotten past his commitment issues tho LOL)🕯️ you deserve ittt.

no worries dear i’m sorry you’re not feeling well still 😭 is it like a fever now? i really hope you feel better!! i’ll be thinking of you

[wrapped-up]

alright. if this one somehow gets erased i’m genuinely going to cry. 🌙

hi friend! how are you! how are you doing! it’s been a while! my god i’m getting deja vu this is the third time writing this but also i still have so many feelings so lets go.

okay, to start off. there are a few things i would like to say to you.

first thing: i want you to know that you posted chapter 20 of WNWTC quite literally 10 minutes before i clocked into work. i have not read anything so quickly in my entire life oh my fucking god

second thing: in light of reading and absorbing (as much as one CAN absorb 5000 words in the space of 10 minutes whilst sitting in the car park behind their workplace) the fic, i proceeded to then think about them quite literally through my entire shift. so if i somehow get flagged up for negligence at work or something because i was too busy thinking about remus and sirius.. well, technically thats your fault

third thing: my brain, after this shift, proceeded to be absolutely fried and bollocksed both in the 40 degree weather and just in life and so i quite literally didn’t get chance to reread the chapter and be able to truly absorb it until, like, right this second. well i say that but it was actually about an hour and a half ago now because i’ve written this THREE TIMES

fourth thing: right now probably isn’t the best time to do this because it’s midnight and i’m exhausted and i’ve written these exact words twice but i don’t care i just skimmed the chapter again and i am going to yell at you for it

OKAY SO. this chapter was PERFECTIONNNN. it was so good! so cathartic and lovely and wonderful and relieving after so fucking long. oh my god, remus’s bravery and his energy and determination to just fucking Ask sirius after so long felt so cathartic and then. THE BOARD MEETING. honestly you never disappoint with the confession scenes they’re always so brilliant! but i also kinda really loved the symbolism of remus finally professing his entire heart and soul in front of all of the people from the company that has essentially kept him from doing that for so long. there was something so wonderfully exciting about that and i was sitting there SCREECHING and rooting for him so badly. it’s kinda like, they’ve been hiding their love for so long the perception of it was exhilarating. absolutely perfect scene

and then! the conversations that happened afterwards! all of the witty banter and dialogue and flirtation, it was sooo good it was like a dam had been let loose and everything that has been so (wonderfully) frustrating about these two was just coming to the surface. i particularly loved the conversation they had over breakfast, and sirius saying “So shall we just cut the crap, Remus? Cut the crap, be together, make each other happy.” He folds his arms, as if to say ‘There! Your move, Lupin.’” ! it was so straightforward and blunt and it was just what they needed tbh. like, you cant stay away from me and i cant stay away from you. so what are you going to do about it?

everything was just. wonderful. there was no more fucking around (well. except for in the literal sense) (which was also magnificent) and the flirting was SO GOOD. the dialogue! i’ve said this before but you do dialogue like no other, honestly you should win an award for it or something. you make your characters feel so real and genuine and personable, even the silly little side characters! i think in both the wake of the pandemic and the whole social era we’re in nowadays when everything is a bit fake and glossy and people that you meet on the street or workers or servers or chefs aren’t treated as people with real thoughts and feelings but as accessories to your own life problems that you are so wrapped up (HA that wasn’t even intentional i swear) in. it’s kind of silly maybe to compare these things considering that. well, these characters really Are fake but what i’m saying is i think it’s really refreshing to be able to see real people just doing their normal real people things in your characters. they’re so personable and all of it comes down to your wit and your skill and i really applaud you for that.

in the space between me writing my first ask and the other two i saw that other anon you replied to who talked about hby. what they said about how i know you didn’t write this for me and i am just a stranger but it’s so nice to see them feel the things i feel and do the things i do is probably a better way of explaining it. and again, in the wake of the world atm that’s just… comforting i suppose.

okay this is entirely too long and i’m so sorry… oh GOSH it’s so long!!!! i waffled a lot i’m sorry! but thank you for your words! i also wanted to say in regards to that other anon, please don’t feel the need to reply quickly nor in detail to this if you don’t have the spoons to do so and also that i guess i hope you know how many people feel just like that person does. i know i do and my friends (including ⭐) do. 

have a lovely day/night whenever you read this, 🌙🌙🌙🌙

Hello darling 🌙

I can't tell you how privileged it makes me feel that you persevered despite multiple deletions of your ask. And it's still so long and delicious! Truly, you are an asset to the fandom and I'm very lucky to have you come back, time and time again!

I am okay, thank you. Bit covidy. Bit sad about it. But mostly fine. I'm just watching sport and being pathetic/unwashed/whingey while also demanding cuddles from my begrudging cats and husband (who gave it to me).

Thank you for your lovely words. I will take full responsibility for any of your shortcomings at work. And it's so lovely to hear from you!

Please never apologise for long asks. They are the best thing everrrr!

You're the best.

A x

[holdinbacksecrets]

hello! if it’s not too late could i please request boyfriend things with a prompt of when things get hard/life gets in the way/misunderstandings/growing pains lol i hope this makes sense i’ve never requested anything before

i just finished watching 25 21 and now my heart is absolutely shattered… it got me thinking how this concept would be like with the boys. you write so beautifully and thought you would capture these feelings sooo well with your writing!

thanks for all that you do and always bringing me comfort with your blog 💕

hello! thank you for sending this request. i enthusiastically watched 2521 until the second to last episode, made it halfway though, read spoilers for the finale, and i’ve yet to finish it… so i can imagine how you were feeling. 🥺 i hope i did your request justice! thank you so much 🤍 knowing you feel that way and your kind words are heartwarming💌

an: college au vibes going on with some of these warning: jealousy

namjoon: you don’t really care.. about what people think of you. maybe it’s because your mother never has. she puts money on a debit card, tells you good morning on sundays, and that’s about it. so you’ve adapted, and learned to be ok with what you’ve been given. you never let yourself think about more, or yearn for it. you stay away from the romcoms and YA novels, littered with hope and shining eyes and i love yous at midnight in open doorways. what happens if you start to change your mind? what happens if you want to see what it might be like? what happens if you start to care? because you feel yourself caring about him. you’ve started stopping by the record store he works at, perusing the rows of vinyls and buying one every once in a while. and you didn’t care, not until he mentioned knowing you from somewhere, recognizing the bracelet on your wrist, and the charm on your bag... you weren’t supposed to care

jin: you haven’t been sleeping. it’s been a couple days, and you can’t be bothered to try. maybe it has more to do with the emptiness and the cold, than a lack of exhaustion. everything happened in the bedroom. you loved. you laughed. you ate. you learned. you grew. you changed. cried. tried. became electrified. and now, the colors he brought to white walls and a spotless duvet have been taken away. so you stay awake. you drink coffee and set reminders to eat, and you hope, eventually, you’ll love again. you’ll open the bedroom door and see something special, whether it’s all you or someone new 

yoongi: “do you want breakfast?” “no. i’m not really hungry.” how could he expect you to eat after sharing such horrible news? news that should have you smiling and leaping for joy because he got the job, but shit… you’re just thinking about yourself, the distance and the time change, and the idea of him turning into someone completely different. maybe you won’t recognize him when you finally visit. “do you… we should probably talk about this.” “should we?” “we’re dating and i’m getting ready to move to a new country, so yes, we should.” “but you’re not going to say it” “say what? please, you know i hate this beating around the bush bullshit.” “saying it is humiliating. if you haven’t said it yet then you’re never going to.” his eyebrows raise, and he takes your hand, peeling it away from the mug. “of course i want you to come with me. that’s all i want, but how can i ask that of you when you’re still in school? isn’t that selfish?” “i don’t know. either way things are going to change. we’ll change. you know how i feel about change” i fucking love you, and if i lose you? shit…

hoseok: he’s known her his entire life. they have the photo albums to prove it and a box of old christmas cards because the pictures were too cute for his mother to throw away with the tree and torn wrapping paper. she’s known him for her entire life. she knows more about him than you, and you want to like her. you truly do, but there’s something nauseating about everything she’s seen, everything she’s come to know. you kept it far away- you keep your relationship with him for yourself, for private moments and safe spaces, but now she’s here because it’s his birthday: she wouldn’t miss it for the world. and it’s not that you don’t trust him. it’s not that you think she’s in love with him either. it’s just that she knows him, while he’s the only one who knows you

jimin: “i don’t understand why you’re being so quiet. it’s just me.” he’s laying beside you in the darkness of your bedroom, and his words are right. it is just him, but he told you he loves you, and something changed. it didn’t change because his feelings aren’t reciprocated, it’s because they are. it’s because you’ve suppressed all the desires that consume your mind when he’s around. it’s because you’ve told yourself the two of you aren’t right for each other to guard your heart. you’ve spent too many days as friends, with enough space between yourselves to allow room for other people: for romantic relationships that never outlast what your share with him. “i’m not trying to be quiet.” “are you… i shouldn’t have said anything, right?” “i don’t know. i really don’t. let’s just get some sleep” 

taehyung: whoever told you about college growing up left out a whole lot of shit. no one said that love is hard, and you’d probably end up wanting someone who doesn’t know your name or graduated already and spends his nights out with friends after work. you show up and look like a little kid with your backpack and reading glasses. you wonder if it’s worth it: staying together. he tells you it is, says he doesn’t understand why you’d want to throw it all away. “i’m only a year older than you. you’re acting like our lives are on paths moving in opposite directions or something.” “maybe i’m just insecure” 

jungkook: “you know i got my license for you in high school, right?” “you’re kidding… why?” he scoffs, taking the bottle of beer from your hand. “i was in love with you, and i wanted to take you out.” “we could’ve walked.” “sure, but i wanted to open your car door, and touch your thigh if i had the confidence to.” “you didn’t.” “oh come on! i got there! i made a move eventually” “you made a couple moves… i’m pretty sure a lot of firsts happened in that car. i guess i should be thanking a younger you. where would we have been without your lovestruck, hmm?” “we would’ve ended up here eventually. we’re fated.” “gross. get that hopeless romantic shit away from my beer” 

[steelycunt]

Number 3 for the mini fic if you’re interested!

hi! sooo sorry anon i fucking SUCK but i am finishing these now!! and to make up for it this accidentally became over 1k long, so!! here u are im sorry im sorry <3

3. things you said too quietly

“Right!” Marlene calls. Her sing-song voice tumbles in from the living room, splitting through a shimmering haze of cigarette smoke and sweet, liquor-soaked breath: “Not long now, everyone!”

A swell of glittering, slurred cheers rear up to meet her, previously scattered conversations mingling into one, toothy roar of noise. “NINETEEN SEVENTY-FUCKIN’-NINE!” somebody else shrieks back. Everybody sounds strangled, strangely desperate; you’d think the world was ending at midnight, fireworks biting at the sky like asteroids.

Bottles of spirits clutter the kitchen countertops, half-full and garishly colourful. They remind Sirius of a menagerie of exotic birds, though that might just be because he’s vaguely drunk, himself. Either way, he grins, nudges his elbow into Remus’ side. Bony, scrawny thing he is.

“Hear that, Moons?” he drawls. “Nineteen seventy-fuckin’-nine.”

Remus smiles, lopsided. A scabbed-over scar on his cheek is warped by the pit of his dimple. “Mm, quite. I’m impressed that anyone’s still sober enough to keep track.”

Elsewhere, as though in rebuttal, Gudbuy T’Jane is cranked up to ever more obnoxious levels. Remus’ lovely, large nose screws up a little, and—maybe Sirius is more than vaguely drunk, actually, considering the sharp, crackling lurch in his stomach. He wets his lips. I say, Slade yell hoarsely, you’re so young! You’re so young!

Sirius flicks his hair back. When he tips his head back down, the kitchen appears slightly skewed. His mouth feels tacky, gritty with sugar. He asks Remus, “any predictions for the year, then?”

A girl wearing green platform heels stumbles into the kitchen. She snatches up a tall bottle of vivid blue something-or-other, her iridescent nail polish flashing, and then marches back into the sweaty buzz of Marlene and Dorcas’ living room with all the determination of a soldier returning to battle.

They both watch her leave, and then Remus looks back at him, considering his earlier question. “Well. Judging from the strikes,” he says, “I predict that the muggles might get rid of Callaghan, actually.”

“Ah, right.” Sirius nods. “Yeah, that was my fault, I should’ve clarified—I meant, you know, do you have any predictions about things that are interesting, Moons?”

Remus rolls his eyes: “not all of us only read newspapers for the crossword, Padfoot. Did you know? There’s this whole section, see—after the nice shapes and colours—where people write all about the current goings-on—the news, if you will—”

“Oh, fuck, alright. Alright, you prick.” Sirius shakes his head, feigning exasperation. “How about—I predict that you’ll still be an intolerable git in seventy-nine, hm?”

Remus shrugs, folds his arms over his dubiously orange jumper (tonight, he’s paired it with faded stone-grey corduroys; is there any chance at all, Moons, Sirius had teased, that your new year’s resolution is to burn the contents of your wardrobe?). “The odds do look good,” he admits.

They both snicker quietly at that, arms pressed against each other as they stand side by side. Sirius flicks his tongue over his lip ring. There’s a smear of glitter beneath Remus’ ear, left over from hugging Lily at the start of the night. It looks entirely absurd, there, against his freckles and his wool and his dusty brown curls.

If the world really were ending, Sirius thinks, he’d probably still want to be here, right now, in the kitchen.

Wordlessly, Remus bumps his hand against Sirius’, fingers fumbling clumsily over his palm. In seventh year, Sirius’ Muggle Studies professor explained what a good conductor of electricity the human body is—something to do with water content, or whatever it was. Point is, in this moment, Sirius is quite sure he believes it, is quite sure he can feel the current climbing frantically up the length of his arm.

Remus shifts so that they’re facing each other, though his eyes stay fixed somewhere around Sirius’ bare collarbone, blinking quickly. Sirius frowns, catches himself, which is strange, since he hadn’t tripped in the first place. In the living room, the party shouts, “five!”

“Listen, Sirius, I need to—” Remus’ voice is very close. He swallows, and his throat jerks. The sterile, glaring kitchen lights make him look delicate, and jittery; they press bleach-white fingers into the sides of Sirius’ skull, prodding around for the start of a headache. “Four!”

The sight of Remus like this, so obviously, inexplicably nervous, is probably the only thing in the world that’d give Sirius the confidence to take his hand properly, squeeze it. “You alright, Remus?”

“Three!”

And Remus mumbles, “yeah,”, but he’s tapping his thumb erratically against the jutting bone of Sirius’ wrist, “yeah, I just—shit—don’t know why I thought this was—”

“Two!”

“—A good idea, but I s’pose I’m saying it now, so—”

“One!”

“—Sirius, I think I’m in lo—”

“HAPPY NEW YEAR, YOU TOSSERS!”

Just like that: the rest of Remus’ confession—whatever it is, whatever Sirius is desperate to believe it was going to be—is trampled by James’ shout; he barrels into Sirius, brakes cut, elbow sending a bottle of Advocaat hurtling towards the linoleum. Remus jumps backwards to avoid the wreckage—either the yellow puddle of glass shards and liqueur, or the tangled, eight-limbed, six-eyed Potter-Black monster—and has to wrench his hand from Sirius’ grasp in the process.

“Happy New Year!” James cries again, just to drive the message home. His eyes are bright and wide beneath his smudged lenses, gleefully oblivious to the Advocaat spattered thickly up the kitchen cabinets. He jostles Sirius, arm hurled around his shoulders. “Seven—seventy-nine, boys! Right fuckin’ on, hey! Hey!”

“Steady on, Prongs, you pillock.” Sirius steers James away, propping him up against the fridge as he hums a loud, loose rendition of Auld Lang Syne to himself. “Oh, thank fuck Evans’ is the one who’s got to sort you out now…”

“I ought to go and find her,” Remus agrees. In the chaos of James’ entrance, Sirius had forgotten what he’d interrupted, until now. He spins wildly as Remus weaves his way towards the doorway, slouching. His head is lowered.

Abandoning James, Sirius starts after him: “Moons, no, wait! Hang on, you didn’t—” he snags the sleeve of Remus’ jumper, tugs. Remus’ cheeks are pink, though he’s barely had anything to drink at all.

“Hang on, you didn’t, uh…I didn’t hear that last part. I didn’t—what were you about to say, before?”

“Huh?” Remus rubs a hand over the back of his neck, his gaze still evasive. “Oh—you didn’t…you didn’t hear,” he repeats, quiet, seemingly more to himself. His face relaxes. “You didn’t hear. Er, it was—nothing.”

Behind them, James stops humming in order to make a wet retching sound. Sirius does not dare turn around to look. Remus smiles: it’s weak, and there’s no dimple this time.

“It was just—Happy New Year, Sirius,” he says softly. “That’s…that’s all I wanted to say.”

[zukump3]

fixated ✰ s. aizawa

aizawa takes interest after you, but he doesn’t really know how to go about it.

genre: fluff, some smut in the second part! fem!reader

warnings: two parter!! aizawa has a CRUSHHHH, he pins after you heavily, counselor!reader. zawa used to have a thing with ms joke, black!reader

a/n: this idea was super cute so i had to write it. i hope you guys like it!!

requested: yes!!

part 2 (coming soon)

Aizawa has never been one for dating. Honestly, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had a relationship.

Back in high school, when he sat in the very desks his students sat in, he was often teased at by Mic about getting a partner. The hero tried to set him up on dates, give random people his number and all types of other methods, but Aizawa was just never interested. No one really caught his attention that way... until Fukukado came along.

She was everything he despised. She was loud, she talked too much, and she never took anything serious. But somehow she made her way into his cold heart and he indulged in her.

He enjoyed his time with her. Underneath all that goofiness she was a sweet woman who cared deeply for her job and her students. Aizawa felt emotions he had never felt with her, and was a bit peeved when they split. However, they remained friends. Since then, he hasn’t bothered dating with anyone.

“Have you seen the new counselor?!” Aizawa opened one eye to see Kaminari and Sero gushing as they entered the class. “She’s sooo hot. And she’s foreign!”

“Doesn’t she speak English and Japanese fluently though? She’s smart and attractive, jeez.” Sero huffed, and Aizawa furrowed his brow, zipping down his zipper on his yellow sleeping bag.

“Who are you talking about?”

“Miss L/N!” They both yelled, making Aizawa blink. “She’s our new counselor. She said parents were complaining that the students mental health wasn’t being cared about enough, so U.A hired her. She’s from America too.”

“America.” Aizawa groaned. He already had an image in his own eyes—a stereotypically one, but oh well. You probably had blonde hair and blue eyes. There was probably nothing special about you at all. His students weren’t as used to foreigners, so of course they would find you attractive.

Throughout the entire day he kept hearing his students chatter about you. About how kind you were, how pretty your voice sounded, how you looked so unique. He was getting peeved—why was everyone so hung up on you?

He carried the thought with him until the end of the day, when he headed down the hall to what seemed to be your room, just as you were leaving.

And—wow. He really understood why everyone was talking about you.

You weren’t blonde haired, blue eyed at all. Your hair was in a fluffy afro, like Mina’s but kinkier. You had the most supple brown skin and dark eyes that lit up when they caught his. His eyes widened a bit at just how radiating you seemed, your multi colored lips raising into a smile.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Aizawa! I’m L/N,” you spoke, your hand pushing out to shake his. He shook your hand silently, noting at how warm your palm was against his cold one. “I’ve heard a lot about you from your students!”

“You’ve met them?” he asked, voice deep with shock.

“Ahh, well, they kind of pranked me earlier,” you said sheepishly. “They came banging on my door and said there was a fire, and that I needed to leave as soon as I could. But then they said they were just joking when I was about to jump out my window,” you laughed, shaking your head. “They’re pretty goofy huh?”

Aizawa couldn’t help but note at how good your Japanese was. He knew English and Japanese were two different languages—you must’ve been pretty smart and hardworking to learn it.

“Well, I have to go do paperwork at my apartment-hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” you smiled once again. Aizawa only nodded and then you were off, with his eyes burning into your back.

His fists clenched. You were much more attractive than he originally imagined. But he wasn’t going to indulge—he knew that would only end badly.

Right?

The next day, Aizawa heard the same chatter about you. And the next. And the next. He didn’t see you again until about a week later, when he saw you chatting with Midnight and Mic in the lunch line. He cringed—the two were notorious for gossiping and he really hoped they weren’t telling you anything stupid.

“And then I—aye yo, Zawa! Good afternoon! Have you met L/N?!” Mic screamed, and Aizawa’s eyes went to meet yours ago. Your hair was styled differently to the point where he could see your eyes better, and it framed your face so nicely. You waved at him and he smiled sheepishly.

“We were just talking about our high school days~” Midnight’s voice rang out. “American high school is reaaaally different from Japanese high school, according to L/N.”

“The students here are really well behaved, especially in Aizawa’s class,” you smiled at him. “You’re doing a damn good job with them. They’re some of the most charming students I’ve seen! The ones in American high school can be really rude and nasty... I haven’t experienced any of that here. It’s nice.”

Aizawa breathed shakily. Thank god his students weren’t embarrassing him.

“L/N here’s got a degree in psychology and all that mental stuff!” Mic yelled once again as you all moved down the lunch line. “She understands da brain! We really needed someone like her here, with all the breakdowns our students have!”

Aizawa huffed. Teachers, too.

“I’m here for everyone,” you spoke. “Students, teachers, even the Recovery Girl if she’s got a lot on her mind. I’m just here to help everybody as much as I can.”

“Aizawa needs some of that help fo sure!” Mic yelled, smiling so hard all of his long, white teeth showed. “Motherheffa never talks to anyone about his feelings, keeps em balled up! That’s not healthy!”

Aizawa’s ears turned red. “No, I don’t need-“

“I’ll help ya!” you offered, moving so your body was right next to his. He couldn’t help but inhale your scent—it was strong and sweet, something he’d never smelled before. “Don’t worry—whatever we discuss in my room stays in my room. It’s something I pledged to do when I became a therapist.”

Aizawa laughed nervously, shaking his head. “I really don’t-“

“It’s okay if you don’t wanna have a session immediately, no worries,” you shrugged. “But I’m here whenever you need me. I have more work to do later, but I’ll see you guys later!”

And then you were off, with Aizawa’s eyes still on your back.

“You’re staring pretty hard Aizawa,” Midnight raised perfectly done eyebrows. “She’s pretty—I would stare too.”

“Be quiet.” He spluttered, his ears still red as he made his way back to his classroom to eat.

Another week had passed of Aizawa admiring you from afar. You always came into work with a smile on your face, greeting students with handshakes and hugs—the hugs threw him off a bit, but Kaminari told him it was an “American thing.” He didn’t know how much he would daydream about it until he started to long for hugs from you, thinking of how your arms would wrap around his middle before class.

He wasn’t obsessed with you, no, but rather infatuated. You were intelligent and easy to approach, and your appearance matched your personality. He was attracted to you but due to him not having a relationship in years and also not having the best social skills, he had no idea how to approach you. He didn’t even know much about you. His students knew you more than he did and you were his age! It made no sense.

Time after time during the third week of you being here he tried to talk to you. During lunch, when Midnight and Mic would force you all to sit together, he would want to open his mouth but he couldn’t. He’d come by your room to start conversations after school but the most he’d say was “have a good evening, L/N.” and leave you alone. He even found your social media and took a quick look through your pictures—leaving your page when he saw you in a bikini, his cheeks red.

By the time the fourth week came around, his students and his work buddies were noticing his changes in behavior. He was getting distracted much more than before and whenever someone would mention your name he’d go scarily silent and look deep in thought. It wasn’t until Mina chatted with the rest of the Bakusquad that his students actually began to do something about it.

“Miss L/N!” you heard Jirou’s voice rang out from your doorway, with some other students from Class 1-A coming in behind you. “Good evening~”

“Good evening Jirou! Hey everyone,” you smiled warmly at the students that were entering your classroom, confused as how many of them were coming in. “What’s up...?”

You had formed a pretty close relationship with the class of 1-A during your short time here. You had sessions with most of them and got to know their personalities and feelings pretty well—even Bakugo, who was closed up and rude at first, but eventually shed a few tears in your room.

“Mr. Aizawa said he needed your help with planning lessons today—he said he’s asked everyone else and they’re all busy,” Mina told you, and your brows furrowed in confusion. Aizawa needs help from... you? That was odd. “He needs you to come by as soon as possible!”

“Oh! Well, alright,” you laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck as you stood up and grabbed your phone. “Thanks for telling me—you all get to your dorms and don’t cause too much noise okay?”

You heard rings of “yes, miss l/n’s” as everyone left your room and you locked it behind you. You started to make your way to Aizawa’s classroom, your palms a little sweaty against your notebook. You hadn’t talked to Aizawa in a while and it was weird that he had requested your help, but you didn’t mind getting closer to him. Truthfully, he had been on your mind a lot the past few days—you found him pretty attractive despite his quiet demeanor. Although, you were a new teacher, and didn’t want to be involved with anyone too early in your school year.

Aizawa jumps a bit when he hears sudden loud knocks on your door, and sees your face come into view. “Good evening, Aizawa. You needed my help?”

“Huh?” Aizawa asked, his face twisted in confusion.

“Jirou and Mina came by and said you needed my help with lesson planning—I’m not the best with planning stuff to teach but I don’t mind offering my assistance,” you offered him your normal, gentle smile. “So where do we start?”

Mina and Jirou? Ugh. Of course they would tell you that.

“Um-um-well,” he stuttered, his face already starting to heat up. “I just need a new quirk training game... yeah. That’s why I need help with.” Fuck. He hoped that sounded believable.

“Okay!” you nodded, suddenly taking a seat that was in the corner of the room and sitting right. Next. To. Him. He had to clench his fists to keep his cool, not used to such an attractive woman being so close to him at all. “Where should we start?”

He spent two hours with you discussing new games to play with his students that would also train their quirks, and those were some of the best two hours of his life.

He so enjoyed the time he spent with you. You were so easygoing and natural to talk to—he didn’t feel awkward or nervous talking to you which is what he feared he would feel in the first place. He cracked more smiles with you in the span of two hours than he did the whole week.

“You can’t just make them play dodgeball with their quirks! They’ll get hurt!”

“We have a Recovery Girl for a reason.” Aizawa rolled his eyes, smirking at the glare he got from you.

“Still! You know some of them—Bakugo—are going to take out their anger on other students,” you huffed.

“But it’ll be fun to watch?”

You were quiet for a moment, but inevitably started smirking along with him. “...you’re right. It will be.”

Together, the both of you planned for Class 1-A dodgeball, with you and Aizawa as the referees. You two even planned to go by the outfits together—and now he was out at a sporting store with you, looking for a fucking black and white striped shirt. He couldn’t believe this.

“I’ve never worn one of these before—you think I’ll look cute in it?” you asked him, raising your eyebrows repeatedly and he couldn’t help but chuckle gently at your antics. “I’m serious!”

“I’m sure you will F/N,” he told you, not even noticing his slip up until a few moments later. “I—I meant-“

“So we’re on second base huhhhh? Don’t worry, I’ve accidentally called you Shota a few times to Mic and Midnight. I’m not used to calling people by their last names, we don’t do that in America.”

“You talk about me?” Aizawa couldn’t help but feel a little proud of the fact.

“What?! Of course not, no.” you quickly shook your head, and he grinned at the flustered look on your face. “The only thing I tell them about is how you need more sleep. Your brain doesn’t function correctly on a small amount of sleep.”

“My brain doesn’t function correctly at all.”

“Wrong. You’re pretty smart, Aizawa. Pretty understanding too,” you hummed, you two walking through the aisles so you could get whistles. “Your students are always telling me how much you care about them, even though you don’t show it. They really appreciate you you know?”

He was expressionless, but his heart did warm a little bit at your words. “I know.”

You two bought the items and soon enough you were back at the school. You got out of his car, sending him a wave and a quick goodbye before heading to your own car, and Aizawa let out the longest sigh of his life.

“Shit.”

[thisisgonnafuxkinkillme]

So, you get got writers block eh? How about Toshi being absolutely smitten with the new teacher at UA and has been in love with her stern, hardcore attitude? And then he forces her into dancing with him while he serenades her (or them whatever is fine w/you) and then they date. This lives quite rent free in my head and I'm bad at writing sooo.... Here, it's your problem now.

Coming riggghtttt up! 

Violet Enigma

Toshinori Yagi x F! Teacher! Reader

Warnings: mentions of chronic illness (very very subtle), and that’s really it

Not many things have absolutely stopped All Might in his tracks. No, he's well used to seeing the usual gore and violence, the high stakes, the horrific circumstances. None of them have ever made him pause, not even for a moment.

But when she walked into the office, her heels clicking against the tile, he nearly tripped over his own feet.

She didn't notice, of course. She was much too busy staring straight ahead, cooly.

That was until her eyes caught his. In that moment, time stood totally still. It was almost as if, no, it couldn't be.

Her eyes seemed to flash purple.

But no, he assured himself, it was surely a trick of the light.

He could scarcely blink before her gaze was back to her target and she seemingly forgot all about him.

...

"Hey, uh... Who's that lady?" Toshinori whispered, cradling a cup of tea. Aizawa lazily pressed some buttons on the microwave, heating up last night's pizza.

"What lady? How can I possibly know who you're talking about?" He yawned.

Toshinori flushed at the realization that, in fact, not everyone had her image permanently implanted in their minds.

"You know...the one with the... hair? And the, uh...the new one?"

Aizawa sighed, thinking for a moment.

" I think that's y/n," he replied, plopping himself down next to his coworker.

"Thanks," muttered Toshinori. Just as he took a sip of his tea, an unfamiliar voice filled his ears.

"What's got you so curious about me, sir?" The woman asked. She was carrying a clipboard, scribbling something.

The blond had nothing to say. He was so shocked by her presence that he could just stare for a moment.

She sighed, biting the tip of her pen.

"Do you know where room number 512 is?" She asked, not even looking up from her work. Toshinori sighed in relief of her changing the subject.

"Its upstairs and to the right."

"Thank you, Mister...?"

"Toshinori. Or Yagi. Or...um...well, nevermind. Aren't you going to eat something?"

"I will. Just not right now. I've got a lot to get done, Mr. 'Nevermind.' "

And like that, she was gone.

...

The following day, Ms. Y/N entered the office once again, her pristine outfit looking as fresh as a pressed uniform.

She paused for a moment upon seeing All Might in his muscular form, however.

"I don't believe we've met," she mumbled, "You may refer to me as Ms. Y/N. And yourself?"

He subconsciously looked down.

"I'm All Might. Haven't you... seen me before?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"I can't say I have. I don't watch television. What's your real name?" She asked skeptically. For a moment, it almost looked like her eyes flashed again.

"Well, uh, you see-".

"It's fine. Do you know when the next meeting is being held, Mr... Sir?"

.....

At lunch, she was no where to be seen, as always.

Usually, Yagi would make himself comfortable in the staff room with a cup of tea and a book.

Today, though, he'd decided to find her.

He aimlessly wandered the now empty halls, passing rooms where classes were being held, the ever noisy lunchroom, peeking into each open door in an attempt to spot her.

Miss Enigma. That's what she goes by as a pro hero. But, she's not the type of hero you'd see get the credit. She'd much rather work alongside a group, blending into the background, and staying subtle.

He found that name quite fitting for her, though.

Especially because he didn't even know what her damn quirk was. No one did.

Finally, he reached the computer lab all the way at the end of the hall. The lights were off, which would usually signal that no one was in there, but based off of the rapid clicking of keys, someone had definitely snuck in there.

Probably a student. Kids like Shinsou and Deku would usually hide themselves here during lunch, getting their homework done in leiu of eating.

Upon opening the door though, he quickly realized that he was wrong.

It was her.

She jumped, startled terribly by the unwanted interupption. She quickly regained her composure as she turned around.

"What are you doing here, mister?" She asked, her eyebrow raised.

"I can ask you the same," he retorted with a small, semi confident smirk.

She sighed.

"Why does it concern you?"

Toshinori's face grew pink, embarassment growing in his chest, suffocating him.

"Uh, I...um, I j-just-"

"I'm busy. You may speak to me later," she stated, spinning around to face the screen once again. Yagi stood there for a moment in shock before closing the door and doing as she wished: leaving her alone.

He did not look for her, though. Her merciless tone was enough to slice him to the bone. He didn't want to hear any more.

It was right after classes ended when he was on his way to his dorm. He passed room 512, Ms. Y/N's class, and as he passed the room, he paused, hearing her scolding a student.

"There was absolutely no reason for you to earn this grade in my class, young man. None. You can do so much better than this."

"B-but, it was a 96," whimpered the boy. He couldn't see exactly who it was, but he could tell by his warbled tone it was Young Midorya.

Isn't a 96 good though?

She sighed.

"It was a silly mistake you made. It could have been 100. Listen, I know the kind of student you are. You're smart. You should be competing with students like Iida, who earned a 102."

She continued to speak, but Toshi had heard enough. He was exhausted as it is, but hearing something so silly as that just exacerbated it.

...

The next morning, a stiff hand squeezed his shoulder as he sipped his coffee.

He looked up, wide eyed, meeting Y/N's steely gaze.

"I didn't see you yesterday. Didn't you wish to speak with me?" She asked.

"Oh, uh...it was nothing, really," he stammered out, looking down. She squinted her eyes.

"That feels like it's not entirely true. Either way, I will be available for a...chat... If that's what you were hoping for, this lunch period. If you'd like," she offered, her hand still on his shoulder.

"Really?" He squeaked, his shyness peaking through. She nodded silently before delicately seating herself at her desk.

It took centuries, but finally, lunch period arrived.

And so did she.

Before Toshinori even had the chance to get up to find her, she was standing at his desk.

"Are you ready?" She asked, holding a lunch bag in each hand.

He nodded. In response, y/n handed him one of the bags.

"You never eat anything. It's not healthy, you know."

He chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah, I've survived a lot worse."

"...Like?"

"Well, I'd rather not say. Not...now, at least," he scratched the back of his head, praying that she'd change the subject.

She didn't. Instead, she simply stared blankly at him.

"Where are you taking me, anyways?" He asked. He internally screamed as he waited for her to use that to spark a conversation.

"I don't like being around people. We could go to the library, or my dorm, or your dorm, or anywhere where it can just be you and I."

He nodded.

"L-lets just go to your dorm," he mumbled, realizing his was quite in a state of dissarray at the moment.

She nodded.

The walk was pleasent enough. As pleasent as a near silent walk could be.

One thing about Ms. Enigma is that everything she does, no matter how seemingly miniscule, is done with a sense of urgent purpose. Her eyes are always fixed upon some sort of goal, and each with each breath, she is calculating her next move carefully.

It helped her be an efficient, yet stern teacher, but a hard person to chat with.

Finally, the pair reached her dorm. Number 111.

The door opened to reveal an utterly spotless bed and kitchenette, surrounded by piles and piles of books, scribbled notes, calculators, and empty soda cans. She stepped over the piles gracefully, scarcely looking down, while Toshinori carefully tip toed around every discarded item in order to avoid damaging a single item.

Frankly, he feared what a scolding from her would comprise of for him.

She sat herself onto her bed, cris crossing her legs. He, on the other hand, took his place at the kitchenette.

The silence was unbearable.

“So, um...what did you wanna chat about, Enigma?” he muttered.

Pushing up her glasses with one finger, she replied plainly, “You tell me, Yagi.”

He shrugged.

“Eat,” she ordered.

Captured by her spell, he obeyed her, eating the food she’d prepared. It was a humble little meal, one that she’d surely planned out, and was in a word, delicious.

Thankfully, the silence changed from an uncomfortable one to one that he would be content with curling up and living in for quite a while.

...

After that day, Y/N would always be somewhere near Toshinori during lunch period. Whether it be in the same room, or right next to him, she was there.

She usually was hard at work or silently eating. That didn’t mean, though, that she wouldn’t urge him to eat something. He’d find small lunches made up for him at his desk on days where she wasn’t there, and on days she was, she’d silently pause every once in awhile to glare at him if he hadn’t eaten.

Despite that seemingly caring action, though, she didn’t seem at all interested in the blond. He didn’t attempt to flirt, or anything that could possibly elicit a raised eyebrow, but that was simply because he felt as if he couldn’t.

What if she rejected him?

I mean, she works right across from him. They see eachother every single day.

It’d be hell.

But...

What if she didn’t?

...

“Alright, we need a couple chaperones for the spring semester dance. Who’s up for it?” Aizawa asked boredly. Miss Midnight and Present Mic raised their hands excitedly.

“Alright, I’ve got you both down. I need two more.”

“I’ll do it,” offered Y/N. The entire conference room grew quiet for a moment.

“You do realize that you can’t give out detention slips at a dance, right?” Hizashi scoffed.

“I am aware of that, sir. Are you aware of the existance of an ‘inside voice’?” she gritted with condecention seeping through her teeth.

He put his hands up, indicating that she’d won that particular battle.

“I’m free on that night, too,” Toshinori added. His comment broke through the thick silence that had fell onto the room.

“Thank you, A- ahem, Toshinori,” Aizawa nodded, penning the final name down.

After the meeting, Y/N was the final one to leave, alongside Toshinori.

“You know, there’s gonna be a lot of people there on that dance,” he whispered.

“I know. Maybe I’d like that. You seem like you do,” she replied, a tiny smile pulling at the edges of her lips. No one else would’ve noticed it, but after spending so many monotone days with her, he recognized the new expression instantly.

“I don’t, particularly. But...”

“But?”

“Nothing. It’s...nothing.”

“If you say so, Mister. I’ll see you then,” she allowed herself to smile as she once again, left him in silence.

...

That week passed by without much issue. There was the usual ruckus coming from class 1-A, but nothing too serious.

The night had arrived. Just outside his dorm, he could hear the clamour of excited chatter coming from students on their way to the gymnasium.

He sighed, tying a red tye around his neck, a nice contrast against his suit.

He hadn't exactly planned on dressing like this, but upon realizing that he didn't have anything less fancy than this and more fancy than what he usually wore to work, he settled on being a little extraordinary.

As soon as he exited the dorm and was greeted with the wave of students pushing past each other in the halls, he knew he'd made a mistake.

"Oof! Oh, hey, um...?" Midoriya squeaked, pressed against the wall and cramped. He’d caught himself before he called him by his hero name, but his real name slipped his mind at that exact moment.

"Toshinori. What is it, my boy?" He smiled, ruffling the boy's messy hair.

"Uh, I dunno, I don't usually do stuff like this. Are... Why are you wearing that? Isn't it a little fancy?"

Toshinori blushed instantly.

"Oh my God. Who is it?" Izuku squealed excitedly, cursing himself for forgetting a pen to take some notes.

"Geez, kid, keep it down a little, won'tcha? It-she-"

"She?!"

"Single file line or none of you will be attending tonight's dance," stated a voice that ascended effortlessly above the crowd's noisiness.

Instantly, everyone calmed down and began to form a line, neatly making their way to the gym.

Toshinori closed his door as he whisked the boy away, urging him to go have a good time, and to 'enjoy being young while you can.'

It was merely seconds after he was standing alone, against the wall, waiting for the crowd to die down as he noticed her.

Y/N had been standing there for quite a few minutes, in the same position as he, and just about 4 feet away.

It was hard for him to believe that he'd missed her. The dress she'd worn was absolutely more extravagant than any gown he'd seen in an event like this. It was sparkly and red, reflecting every ounce of light that hit it from all directions. It accentuated her body beautifully and perfectly fit.

In short, she was stunning.

"My, my. You sure do look nice today," she grinned.

He nodded dumbly. He was just about as red as the dress she was wearing.

Finally, it was time for them to make their ways to the dance.

"Are you ready for this?" She asked.

"I hope so," he replied, toying with his tie.

...

Music boomed in Y/N's and Toshinori's ears, accompanied by dealing with the antics of goofball teenagers and breaking up silly fights.

Once things began to calm down quite a bit, Y/N approached Toshinori, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and leaning in close to his ear.

"Meet me on the rooftop," she whispered before dissapearing into the crowd.

So, he did.

She sat near the edge, staring into the inky violet sky.

Toshinori took his place next to her, handing her a much needed bottle of water.

She thanked him before turning to him with a deep sigh.

"There's something I'd like to tell you," she mumbled. For the first time, she actually looked nervous.

Taking a sip of the water, she continued, "You know, I never really do things like this. You've probably gathered that by...my nature. But, I must admit, you are one person I can't seem to get off of my mind. And, well, frankly...I like you, Toshinori. To quite a degree."

He blinked, slack jawed, shaking his head.

“How could someone like you like someone like me?

“Good question. I like you because you're...well, I suppose I don't really know. You're just you, and that's what I like about you. Plus, I know you’ve done so much for so many people. Why dont you like you?”

He paused, his heart absolutely seizing at that for more than one reason.

"Oh! I suppose I should tell you about my quirk. But...I expect full confidentiality from you. Essentially, I can find out one's secrets by looking at them. Surely, you've seen me activate it before."

He nodded, covering his mouth.

"W-what do you...know?"

"Don't worry, not much. I respect you too much to dig that deep. All I know is that, in some point of your life, you were probably some type of hero. All I know, is that in your life time, you've saved many lives, and touched countless others. As to why you'd want that to be a secret, I have no idea. But, I do find it interesting," she explained.

"What do you do with the secrets you know, then?" He asked, his voice still pinched with fear that his secret could be compromised.

"With yours? Nothing. I have no friends to share it with, and not enough details or desire to post about it online. Frankly, I don't give a damn about who you used to be. I care about who you are. Your secret will always be safe with me."

He sighed deeply. It wasn’t as if no one was aware of his secret; plenty of people knew. But the more people who did, the higher at risk the school, as well as the students and staff, were placed at.

Plenty of people,too, wanted him dead. Even being retired, he is still considered a threat to villians across the globe, thanks to his notorious acts of heroism throughout the decades. With him in his sickly, weakened state, he’d be easy to assasinate, and the people who would go that far wouldn’t be opposed to taking others down with him.

He...couldn’t have that.

So, before Y/N was scheduled to begin work, it was decided that she’d be left in the dark about his identity, as well as any newcoming staff from thenon out. It’d be safer that way.

Her eyes dreamily stared off into the infinate stars as she silently pondered on what to say next.

“Would you like to know the rest?” he asked. His voice shook a little, causing her to look at him.

She nodded.

“I’m All Might.” “Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding!” giggles y/n, dumbfounded.

“Yeah, yeah, I know I’m pathetic,” he sighes. He rubbed his forehead, looking away ashamedly.

“No, no! I mean, I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier! I mean, you guys do look pretty similar.”

He shrugs.

“I’m serious! Plus, I mean, it’s kind of obvious now that you mention it. I mean, I guess you guys do wear the same clohtes to work everyday, and I haven’t seen you two in the same room before, so yeah, I can definiately see it,” she paused, her eyes growing wide and her cheeks bright red.

“God, I’ve probably said ‘Good morning’ to you and...er...you, twice every day. Why’d you let me do that like a fool?!” she teased, play punching him in the arm.

He laughed, absolutely relieved that she didn’t ridicule him for how he’d taken care of his body for the past few years. It seemed that her attitude had completely changed from the one he’d known for so long, but in a good way.

In a happy way.  

She stood up, still smiling, “We need to go back to the dance, Mister. We have a duty, you know.”

“Oh, I know. I’m well aware. You can almost hear the music all the way up here, can’t you?”

She nodded, walking towards the door to the stairs. He grabbed her by the arm before she could escape, though, and leave him alone with his thoughts and hopes and dreams like she had so many times.

“You... you didn’t get my answer,” he breathed, pulling her in. She raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“What exactly- oh!”

The music from downstairs was slow, romantic, and jovial. Perfect for this moment.

He gently took her other hand, guiding her into a dance.

“I-I can’t...I don’t know how to dance, Mr. Yagi,” she mumbled, looking up at him.

“I’ll teach you. Just follow my lead,” he smiled back.

And just like that, the Enigma was gone, leaving just Y/N in her place. She was no longer an Enigma, but rather a glimmer of what he’d never gotten a chance to be: in love.

[meloingly]

Drunk In This Love They Have

@carlosreyesweek Day 7: Writer’s Choice

Summary: Owen wakes up with a start. He's not sure what exactly roused him, but he's awake now. He rubs his eyes, taking a moment to stretch out on the bed. The flicker of the clock attracts his vision, and he reads the blue "1:23 AM" with a frown. Why did he wake up after midnight?!

The lights inside turn on, and the door finally closes. Owen takes a few moments sitting in the car alone, in the dark. He supposes he should feel some loneliness, but he doesn’t. All he feels is happiness and giddiness for his son, amusement regarding the entire situation, and hope for the future that TK and Carlos will be sharing together.

Tags: Carlos Reyes, TK Strand, Owen Strand, Established Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Soft Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Sweet Carlos Reyes (9-1-1 Lone Star), Drunk Carlos Reyes, Good Parent Owen Strand.

Warnings: Drunk flirting and awkward dad existence. 

This is such a crack, dumbass fic but I love it so much. It has just been finished too. I have two settings apparently. Finish a fic a month before the event, or three hours before the end of the event.

This idea came from the  "Mi Amor Tarlos" discord server. Major kudos to Kate <3

As usual, @lire-casander is the best human to ever exist. I am, once again, writing this as she goes over the final edit of the fic. She's beauty, she's grace, she's right about the best thing I've gotten out of this fandom <3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters depicted, they belong to their creators. I'm writing just for the fun

Read on AO3.

---

Owen wakes up with a start. He's not sure what exactly roused him, but he's awake now. He rubs his eyes, taking a moment to stretch out on the bed. The flicker of the clock attracts his vision, and he reads the blue "1:23 AM" with a frown. Why did he wake up after midnight?!

He turns to a side, pulling his blanket up around his shoulder and trying to find a position that'll send him back to slumber when his phone pings. He decides to ignore it, the edges of sleep tickling his consciousness when it pings again, and again.

With a sigh, he reaches forward and grabs his phone, the glare of the screen blinding him for a moment until he turns on the bedside table. He looks back at the phone, finding five messages from Carlos.

A chill runs through Owen. For a moment he thinks something happened with TK. But then he remembers that they're both off for the next day, and he knows that TK is asleep in his room down the hall. He relaxes immediately, only to frown again when his phone pings with yet another message. He opens the thread.

Carlos Reyes: HIIIIIII TJ

Carlos Reyes: TL***

Carlos Reyes: TK********

Carlos Reyes: i drank sooo mucj

Carlos Reyes: i am frunk

Carlos Reyes: i lobe yoi sooo muvj

Owen stares at his phone, blinking in confusion. Carlos is… drunk, that much he's sure of. And he loves his son, which he's glad about. But he also seems to think that Owen is actually TK. Which is unfortunate. He's about to reply with a clarification when he gets four new messages in quick succession.

Carlos Reyes: i niss tou too

Carlos Reyes: van i see yiu when I het hone?

Carlos Reyes: i wamma cuffle

Carlos Reyes: cuddle

He can't help the smile that graces his face. Seeing how Carlos still thinks about his son, even in a drunk state, warms a deep corner of his soul. It's the kind of love he's always hoped for his son.

Carlos Reyes: amd kiss tou

Carlos Reyes: ans fuck yoi

And then it's no longer wholesome. He groans, dropping the phone and covering his face, as if that'll somehow erase the image that's been painted in his mind. He moves his phone away, putting it down on the table when it pings again, and again, and again.

He groans out loud again, reaching for the phone as he takes a deep breath. Two more pings come in during the time it takes him to do that. He turns the screen on, bringing the thread back up.

Carlos Reyes: uoire thw best thinj to eber hapoen to me

Carlos Reyes: i wanma lobe yoi forevr

Carlos Reyes: ill dhow yoi wiyh endless kissed

Owen glares at the phone, as if it can travel through the phone and reach Carlos. He sees the three dots bubbling about and he makes a decision, bringing up his own keyboard to type a reply.

Owen Strand: Carlos, this is Owen. You're texting the wrong Strand.

The bubbles pause for a moment, and Owen thinks he's going to get an apology text, or maybe even he'll get ignored and that will be tomorrow's problem. But they come back on the screen three seconds later and then he's getting a message.

Carlos Reyes: anf lobing sex

Carlos Reyes: yoi shoufl pivk me up do we cab habe s fucj

In a decision made over a split second, Owen is getting out of bed and marching down the hall to TK's room. He pauses at the door, straining to listen for movement. When he doesn't hear anything he softly knocks on the door. He gets a soft "hmm" almost immediately. So he swings the door open.

He finds TK in bed, blanket crowded at his feet and a book in his hands, eyes wide and awake. He pauses for a second, he was sure TK would be asleep. They did just return from a twenty-four-hour shift a few hours ago. He’s about to ask when TK beats him to it.

"You okay?" TK asks, looking at the clock on his bedside table. "It's almost one-thirty, dad. Why are you still awake?"

Owen sighs, remembering the reason he came in search of TK in the first place. There's a lot of things he would have seen himself telling his son, his own blood and flesh, at an hour after midnight. This is not one of them. And yet.

"Your boyfriend is drunk and wants to have sex with you," he says, going straight to the point.

TK stares at him, head turning to a side in pure confusion as his forehead creases into a frown. "My what? What?!"

"Your. Boyfriend. Is. Drunk. And. Wants. To. Have. Sex. With. You," he repeats.

"Wait, how do you know, what are you talking about?!" He asks, putting the book down and coming to a weird half-seated position where he has one leg half bent out in front of him and the other is tucked underneath him.

As if on cue, Owen's phone pings two more times. He brings the phone up, reading the messages quickly and then he's stepping into TK's room, scrolling up to the beginning of the messages and handing the phone over.

Carlos Reyes: r u oivking me uo?

Carlos Reyes: ill oay you eith sex

He watches as TK's eyes move from one side to the other on the screen, smiling at parts and then eyes widening at others, before he ends with a hand to his face, hiding away behind his palms.

"Oh, god," he groans. "He's so drunk."

Owen can't help the snort that rises through his throat, shaking in head in amusement. "Yes, that's an understatement."

The phone rings again in TK's hand. They share a look before TK turns the screen on and reads the messages. Owen doesn't want to know what the contents are when they're the cause of a bright red flush that takes over TK's face and neck. Still, he can't resist when the opportunity presents itself like this.

"What's he saying?"

TK stutters, looking up at Owen then down at the phone. "He's asking if I'm picking him up. The designated driver is drunk too."

Owen might have not been there for the large part of his kid's life, but he still knows when he's hiding something. And right now, TK is hiding something. But he understands; he knows his relationship with TK isn't usual, he knows that they are way too comfortable discussing their sex lives, but Carlos isn't. And Owen can't do much more than nod in acceptance when his son is trying to protect and respect his boyfriend's dignity.

"Okay, get dressed. Be at the door in ten minutes," he gets off the bed, heading to the door.

"Wait, wait, what?" TK calls. "Where are we going?"

Owen turns around slowly, facing TK, as if the answer wasn't obvious. "We're going to pick him up. You don't have a license yet, so I'm driving," he explains. "So let's go, your man is waiting."

It takes TK a moment, but then he’s getting on his feet and moving around the bed into his closet. Owen closes the door and walks to his own room, changing his pyjama pants to sweatpants and slipping into a pair of sneakers. He’s at the front door in minutes, keys and wallet in hand. TK comes barrelling through the house behind him in seconds.

They’re in the car, Owen turning the ignition on, when a quick succession of four or five messages ping through. TK glances at him out of the corner of his eye before he focuses back on his hands and turns the screen on. Owen catches the edge of a picture, and, from what he could tell, it’s just a selfie of Carlos and his partner, Jack. He decides to focus on the task in hand, asking TK for the location of the bar and swerving out of their driveway.

The drive isn’t that long, the bar a mere fifteen minutes away from their home. They spend the ride singing along to the music coming from the Bluetooth speakers, until a few messages ping through, at which point TK would stop singing, pull up the messages, type something in reply, and then get back to the singing.

They’re about half-way there when the ringing sounds around the entire car. Owen recognises the call notification and presses on the reply button a little too fast for his brain to remember that Carlos is texting him right now, and this is probably Carlos calling, and the phone is connected to the car’s Bluetooth system.

“HIIIIIIIIIII!” Carlos’ loud, clearly drunk and slurring voice fills the car a bare second after he’s pressed the button on his steering wheel, his tone so high-pitched Owen finds himself wincing.

“Hi! Hi, baby, hi,” TK is already screaming in reply, bringing the phone to his mouth only to pull it away when he realises it’s all around him, and then just saying it into the void. “Are you okay? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, everything is perfecto,” Carlos answers with a sigh, his voice muffled and mixing with the bar around him now that he isn’t screaming. “I just miss you, so, so, so much. And I’m sad.”

Owen glances at TK, the look of worry on his face mirrored on TK’s.

“Why are you sad? Is everything okay?”

“Jack is hugging and kissing Alana, and I’m here, alone and lonely,” Carlos replies in a tone that makes Owen right about a hundred percent sure that he’s pouting. He shakes his head as TK chuckles.

“You’re not lonely baby, you’re there with your friends,” he reminds Carlos.

“But my friends are kissing each other and making out and I think Alana has her hand in Jack’s pants and I’m here without your hands in my pa-”

The rest of his sentence is cut by a short scream from TK as he fumbles with the phone, finally pressing the button that disconnects the Bluetooth. Owen manages to resist laughing out loud but he has no power against the grin that splits his face wide. He feigns ignorance as he listens to TK whispering his replies. Somehow, even through the phone and the distance, he still hears Carlos, loud, loveable and oh so drunk.

A few minutes later and they’re finally pulling up the bar, pulling into the parking lot. Owen finds the closest free spot, putting the car in park and turning to face TK, who has his head down, the phone still pressed to his ear. He seems to have not even realised that they’ve arrived at their destination.

“Hey,” he nudges TK, nodding towards the bar when TK looks up at him. “Go get him.”

TK smiles at Owen, opening the door and dropping his phone into the seat. “I’ll call you if I need anything?” he asks, closing the door and moving towards the bar when Owen nods.

He follows TK until he disappears into the threshold of the bar, then closes his eyes and rests his head on the backrest of his seat as he sighs. He isn’t sure how his night came to this end, but here he is. He’s also sure he would have never done the same for any of TK’s previous boyfriends. But Carlos isn’t any boyfriend. Carlos is… Carlos is good. Carlos is a different type of man than the ones TK has been with. Carlos is nice, and respectful, and sweet. Carlos loves his son.

He supposes that’s what this all comes down to. The fact that he knows that Carlos loves his son, the way he always knew TK deserves to be loved. And he knows that TK loves Carlos, too. It’s the love that he’s only ever dreamt of TK having, a dream that seemed to get farther and farther away with every new man TK introduced him to. Until Carlos walked into TK’s life. He doesn’t want to undermine TK’s own work and tribulations to make himself better, but Carlos has no doubt been a large part of the support system he’s had during that time.

And so, if Owen has to wake up at one-thirty in the morning to drive his son to a bar so he can pick up said son’s drunk boyfriend, he’s willing to do that in a heartbeat.

A dull crash against the side of the car has Owen opening his eyes in alarm and looking at the side-mirrors of the car. He doesn’t see anything in the driver’s side of the car, but when he looks towards the passenger’s side, well, he sees TK, back pressed to the side of the car. And he sees Carlos, hovering over TK. And he sees two tongues fighting in the middle of the space between them before their mouths slam back together. And then, through the car, he hears the loud, unmistakable moan.

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” he groans, looking back in front of him. It’s one thing for him to read what Carlos wants to do to his son, it’s a completely different thing for him to see it starting to happen. He takes a few deep breaths, glancing at the mirror every few moments. When he sees that they’re still in the same position, he leans over the console, knocking on the window until TK breaks the kiss and turns around.

His eyes widen when he sees Owen, hands coming up from wherever they are to hold Carlos around the shoulders. TK might have seen Owen, but Carlos seems to still be in his own fairyland; he trails kisses down TK’s neck until he gets to a spot and then his head stops in there. Owen doesn’t need to guess what Carlos is doing right now, the way TK’s eyes flutter shut tell him all he needs to know.

But no, this is too much. He leans over, knocking on the window again until TK’s eyes open and takes a deep breath, hands tightening around Carlos’ shoulders as he slowly pulls him away. Owen did not need to see the line of saliva connecting Carlos’ lips to TK’s neck.

He hears them exchange a few sentences, voice low and sultry, if he has to guess. Carlos’ eyes are blown wide, a smile permanently glued on his face, even as he nods and shakes his head in reply to whatever TK is saying. He hears Carlos giggle one last time and then TK is moving them back enough to open the back door.

“Hello, Mister Strand,” Carlos greets him the moment the door is open, words slurred, smile wide and eyes bright. “How ya doin?”

“I’m all good, Carlos, how are you?” he asks, chuckling as TK helps Carlos settle in.

“I’m fantastic! Did you know that TK came to pick me up because I asked him to?!”

This time Owen really can’t help the laugh that booms out of his chest. He hears TK snicker as well, Carlos joining in at the end. “Did he now?”

“Yes, yes, he did,” he nods his head almost aggressively. “He’s the bestest ever. I love him so much.”

“I love you too, baby,” TK replies, kissing Carlos softly on the lips as he finally finishes securing the seatbelt. Owen turns around, focusing on turning on the car -as if it takes that much concentration- to give them a moment alone. He hears them exchange “I love you’s” a few times and then TK retreats, closing the back door and opening the front one to get his own self into the car.

TK is barely a foot into the car when Carlos calls from the backseat. “TK?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” he asks, turning around in his seat to look at Carlos.

“Why are you so far away? How am I supposed to hold you?” Carlos speaks in the same tone as earlier, the one Owen thought was coming from a pouting face. Looking at the rearview mirror, he sees that there is indeed a pout on Carlos.

“I’m right here, baby,” TK answers, extending an arm to rub at Carlos’ curls.

“But, you’re so far away. I’m all alone in this big seat! You should sit here! With me! You can even sit on m-”

“OKAY!!!!” TK interrupts yet again. “Let’s not do that, baby. We need to be safe.”

Owen hears a sigh and then Carlos is mumbling his approval. He waits until TK is twisted back in his seat and has put his seatbelt on before he starts the journey back.

It’s only then that he realises they haven’t discussed where they would be driving back to.

“Where are we going, TK?”

“TO SEX LAND!” Carlos screams, and a perfectly coordinated groan leaves both the Strand men.

“Carlos, no!” TK retorts.

“Carlos, YES!” Carlos says back.

Owen sees TK opening his mouth from the corner of his eye, but Carlos evidently isn’t finished speaking.

“Hey, Owen, you should take us to my house, that way we can make as much noise as we want,” he says, much to the dismay of everyone that isn’t Carlos. He doesn’t seem to realise what’s wrong with what he’s saying, he just keeps talking. “TK gets really loud at times, and I do too to be honest, and it’s so hard to stay quiet when we are in your house, so we should go to my house.”

As funny as this entire situation is, the conviction with which Carlos says it leaves Owen no choice but to respect him, even as TK tries to sink deeper into his seat in an attempt to blend with the upholstery.

“Okay, Carlos, I’ll take you guys to your house,” Owen says, shaking his head at both Carlos and TK’s shenanigans.

“Thank yooou, Owen,” Carlos says. Owen is about to focus back on the street when Carlos gasps, and the sound of skin hitting skin echoes around in the car.

Owen looks through the rearview mirror, finding Carlos with his hands covering his mouth, and eyes wide, as if he just saw something from his nightmares. The empty streets make it easy for Owen to cross two lanes and stop in the sideway, both Strands turning around to face a now teary-eyed Carlos.

Owen turns on the overhead lights as TK fumbles with his seatbelt, trying to get it undone, even as he keeps his eyes on Carlos, asking him what’s wrong. It’s only when he’s in the backseat with him that Carlos unclutches his face and wipes his tears.

“I was rude to your dad, TK. I was so rude to your dad, my mom is going to be so mad at me,” he whispers. “I didn’t say mister, TK.”

Owen feels the concern -so thick a moment ago- melt and dissolve into nothing. He sinks into his seat, turning to sit straight. TK stays back with Carlos, wiping his tears and whispering sweet nothings as he assures him that his mother would not be mad at him. Carlos tries to fight him on it, saying that she most definitely would be, but he stops pretty quick once TK asks if he trusts him.

He uses the distraction to grab his phone from the glove compartment, where TK disposed of it earlier. He brings up the camera, making sure that the flash is off, and presses on record.

He can’t see the screen and what he’s filming, but through the rearview mirror, he sees TK wiping Carlos’ tears, forehead leaning on him as he presses kisses to his temple in between whispers and smiles. He sees Carlos hold onto TK’s arm, looking up at him with a soft smile and wet tears. A few moments later Carlos giggles and TK smiles at him, pressing a final kiss to his forehead before he straightens up and buckles himself next to Carlos.

He’s about to turn off the camera when Carlos presses a kiss to TK’s shoulder and lays his head onto it. His hand runs along TK’s arm, intertwining their fingers. “I love you,” he whispers.

TK takes a breath, a soft smile gracing his face as he turns his face to another kiss atop Carlos’ curls.

Owen turns off the screen, putting the phone away and switching off the light. He turns on the car, focusing back on the journey.

By the time he’s pulling up into Carlos’ driveway, the back seat is quiet. He switches the car off, looking back to find Carlos -head still on TK’s shoulder- with his eyes closed and mouth open in soft, almost inaudible snores. TK has the fondest expression on his face as he looks down at Carlos, a hand wrapped around his, the other sweeping around Carlos’ head, playing with his curls.

He almost regrets bursting their bubble, but he doesn’t think the car is the most comfortable place for them all to be right now. So he lays a hand on TK’s knee, waiting until he looks up at him, looking almost dazed. “We’re here,” he whispers.

TK looks out of the window, recognition dawning on him. He nods in reply before he focuses down on Carlos, whispering to him softly as his eyes flutter open and he slowly rouses from his doze.

Carlos looks up at TK, a brief moment of a smile coming onto him before he stretches his limbs out as much as the car allows and then he curls back into his place, mumbling incoherence.

“Come on, baby, we’re here,” TK whispers. “Let’s go inside.”

Carlos opens his eyes at that, staring up at TK. “We gon’ cuddle?” he asks.

TK chuckles, shaking his head, the loving look never leaving his face. “Yeah, let’s go cuddle.”

Owen watches as TK helps himself and then Carlos out of the car, and then holds Carlos around the waist as they walk up the porch. TK takes a moment to slip his hand into Carlos’ front pocket, producing a set of keys that he inserts into the front door lock.

As they move into the house, TK turns and nods at Owen, and he returns it. When Carlos looks at him though and turns to do the same, with much more enthusiasm, waving at him, face scrunched with a wide grin, Owen can’t help but repeat it to him, waving back at the giant dork.

The lights inside the house turn on, and the door finally closes. Owen takes a few moments sitting in the car alone, in the dark. He supposes he should feel some loneliness, but he doesn’t. All he feels is happiness and giddiness for his son, amusement regarding the entire situation, and hope for the future that TK and Carlos will be sharing together.

[yelena-bellova]

Hiii, I love your writing and I was wondering if you could do a Female! Reader X Daniel Sousa where he says prompt 13: “I’ve fallen for you and it’s becoming difficult for me to get anything done.” (Sorry for my English, is not my first language)

The Way You Look Tonight

Plot: Y/n and Daniel Sousa go on an undercover mission, but Daniel seems...off.

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1.6k

A/N: It’s sooo weird to write Daniel back in the 40’s/50’s after watching AOS. But I hope you enjoy! (And your English was perfect! 👌🏻)

————

13: I’ve fallen for you and it’s becoming difficult for me to get anything done

————

It was a warm summer night in Los Angeles, on the swankier side of the city filled with fine hotels and nightclubs. The SSR had been trailing a former HYDRA operative for months but he’d escaped us each time we’d tried to bring him in. We’d gotten a tip that he’d be at a club tonight and I’d been assigned to go undercover and arrest him. Though I’d been fine with going alone, Chief Sousa had volunteered to go with me. We were arriving separately to preserve the facade that we were strangers meeting spontaneously. I was already sat at the bar, dressed far fancier than I typically did and sipping the drink I’d ordered.

“Pardon me, miss,” a familiar voice began behind me, “Is this seat taken?”

I turned to face Daniel, dressed in his smartest suit, who upon meeting my eyes looked almost dumbstruck. I couldn’t help but allow myself a few seconds to admire how handsome he looked.

“By all means,” I answered with a flirtatious smile, gesturing to the free barstool.

He scooted his seat closer to me so we could talk and ordered his drink, before turning back to me,

“Anything yet?” he asked quietly.

“Not yet,” I whispered, “But I’m going to excuse myself to the ladies room in a moment, that’ll allow me to get a full view of the place. If I spot him and he tries to bolt, I can chase him down but I’ll need you backing me up.”

He hadn’t answered me yet or even acknowledged my plan, he was simply staring at me.

“Daniel, are you with me?” I asked with a small laugh, nudging his arm.

He seemed to shake himself out of whatever daze he’d been in, “Uh, yeah, sorry. Sounds like a plan.”

I nodded and rose from my seat, walking past the dance floor and past various tables as I headed towards the bathroom. Selfishly, I needed a minute to pull myself together before continuing with the mission. Once I was within the privacy of the room, I locked the door and began giving myself a very familiar pep talk in the mirror,

“You are an SSR agent, under no circumstances are you to let your feelings for Daniel Sousa get in the way of this mission.”

It was taking an enormous amount of self control to keep my focus on what we’d come to do when all I wanted was for Daniel to pull me into his arms on the dance floor. We’d worked together for almost a year now and had become fast friends, somewhere along the line I’d fallen for him. It was grueling each day to go in and work so closely with him when I couldn’t do anything about my feelings.

I took a deep breath, collected myself and exited the room. I surveyed the dance floor once again, unable to find the man in the crowd. I scanned a couple of nearby tables, nothing but happy couples laughing and staring at each other lovingly. Okay, definitely not helping in my attempts to focus solely on the mission…

Finally, I spotted him. The ex-HYDRA member was seated at the same bar that Daniel and I had been at, only a few seats down. Upon Daniel seeing me again, I nodded towards the man and inconspicuously reached into my clutch to retrieve the pistol I carried. Daniel didn’t leave his seat but was alert and ready to move if the guy gave us the slightest bit of trouble.


“Care to buy a girl a drink?” I asked in my most sultry tone as I stood behind the man.

He turned to take a look at me only to be met by a pistol pressed to his abdomen, “SSR, you’re under arrest.”

He ran his eyes over my figure before meeting my eyes, gave me a smug grin and bolted towards the nearby backdoor of the club. I took off after him, not waiting for Daniel to catch up knowing he’d catch up. I slammed my body into the door the guy had escaped out of and spotted him sprinting down the alley towards a car. Even in high heels I was a remarkably fast runner, something this guy was not, and was quickly gaining on him. Just as he was approaching his car, I tackled him to the ground and pinned his hands behind his back.

I pointed the gun at him, “Like I said…SSR, you’re under arrest.”

I heard Daniel panting behind me and whipped my head around, he’d just caught up to us.

“Sousa, cuffs,” I said, as the man tried to squirm out of my grasp to no avail.

Daniel seemed to be stuck for the second time of the night, all his attention focused solely on me.

“Sousa,” I repeated, “Cuffs.”

“Oh, right,” he snapped himself back into reality as he reached into his suit pocket and tossed me the handcuffs, “Sorry.”

—————

Back at the SSR, we’d interrogated the guy and found out he was at the club for an illegal weapons dealing. While he wouldn’t give up his contact, we were smart enough to narrow it down to a few names. It was almost midnight by the time we’d handed the man over to the cops, the office was completely empty except for me and Daniel. Since it was just us, I’d slipped off my uncomfortable heels and Daniel had removed his suit jacket and tie. For once, the atmosphere of the office was very relaxed.

“All in a day’s work,” I remarked as I leaned against the door of his office.

He smiled at me from behind his desk, but I could tell there was something going on he wasn’t telling me about. He wasn’t usually this quiet, at least not around me.

“Something bothering you, Chief?” I asked, stepping into the room.

“I wouldn’t call it a bother,” he said as he fiddled with his hands in his lap, “But there is something on my mind.”

I grabbed a chair and slid it over to his desk next to him, he rotated until we were face to face. Our knees brushed against each other lightly, I tried to ignore the adrenaline in my veins from being in such close proximity to him. I waited for him to start talking as he drew a deep breath,

“I’m no good at this kind of thing, but for the sake of the agency,” Daniel chuckled, “I think I have to at least try.”

I furrowed my brows in confusion but let him continue speaking,

“Y/n, I’ve fallen for you and it’s becoming difficult for me to get anything done,” he said with a small smile, “I come in here every day and have the hardest time doing my job because all I find myself doing is thinking about you. Like tonight, how many times did you have to wake me up from whatever daydream I was having?”

“Twice,” I answered with a laugh under my breath at the memory.

Daniel echoed me, “Twice. You wanna know why? Because I couldn’t stop thinking about gorgeous you looked sitting at the bar. Or in the alleyway, how fearless you were taking down that guy,” his smile lessened as the conversation went on, “I know that by doing this, I’ve probably scared you off and messed up our entire friendship but…I just couldn’t let another day go by without telling you how crazy I am about you.”

Words couldn’t begin to describe the joy that I felt in that moment. I’d pined after Daniel Sousa for months now, wishing every day that something would happen between us. Now here he was confessing to feeling the exact same way and thinking I would want nothing to do with him.

“Daniel, I-I…” I began but as he carefully took hold of one of my hands, I lost my train of thought.

“It’s fine if you don’t feel the same, Y/n. I will get over it, I promise.”

“What if I don’t want you to get over it?” I said, locking eyes with him as I placed my other hand over his.

He looked so hopeful as we sat in expectant silence, wondering who would break it first. Slowly, he stood up and pulled me up with him, clutching my hands to his chest. I took a step closer, leaving only a sliver of space between us. Giving me every opportunity to back out, he cautiously leaned down with me as his destination. I threw caution to the wind and rose to meet him, crashing my lips against his only to be met with the same enthusiasm. Daniel’s hands released mine to gently grasp my waist, while I gripped his white shirt to anchor myself to him. Our lips moved together slowly, there would be time for more passionate kisses, but this was a sweet moment that was to be savored.

After we pulled away, I kept my eyes closed and pressed my cheek to Daniel’s as he enveloped me in his arms. He started softly humming a Bing Crosby tune, one of my favorites. I’d always loved it when he sang, he was convinced he was terrible but even if he was, I wouldn’t have noticed.


“If we wouldn’t have been on duty tonight,” he whispered close to my ear, sending goosebumps down my skin, “I’d have asked you to dance. I’d have held you close like this and wouldn’t have let you go even for a second.”

“Who says we still can’t have that?” I replied as I gently began to sway, picking up the song he’d been humming where he’d left off. Daniel caught onto what I was doing and quickly took over, moving our bodies back and forth as we sung the song together. I don’t know how long we stayed like that but however long it was, it wasn’t nearly enough. Luckily, I saw many more moments like it in mine and Daniel’s future…

Oh but, you're lovely

With your smile so warm, and your cheek so soft

There is nothing for me but to love you

Just the way you look tonight

————

900 Followers Celebration

[lady-grace-pens]

A Rant-ish HTKAG Update:

YO

New final word count estimate just dropped boys are y’all ready for this

ALMOST TWO HUNDRED FUCKING THOUSAND

NEARLY 200,000 WORDS

have you ANY IDEA how many PAGES THAT IS

YEAH NEITHER DO I

Actually I think… it should be… around 600 or so pages maybe?? That’s on a Google Doc formatted to be like 6x9, NOT the standard. (I’m pretty sure that’s what it is anyway…)

But still

Yeah

It’s gonna be a bit more than 150k that’s for sure 😂😅😭☠️

The thing is

I don’t even know WHY or HOW this babe got to be so damn big. Like legit I haven’t the slightest idea. It just kinda sorta happened y’know?

But that’s not to say I don’t have theories regarding to how. Because I do.

I think it might be because of the way I write.

Because like, I’m one of those writers who writes in first person and I like to state the pov character’s direct thoughts as well. That happens pretty stinking often because I also write in present tense.

Sooo yeah, there is basically no 4th wall here 😂

And like, all that adds up I guess. Especially when you take into consideration the amount of events that happen and secrets and subplots there are.

I write anywhere from 10-15k (at my worst) to 20k (at my best) per month so assuming that things keep going steady, I’m still on track to finish in fall of this year.

And of course I know this is a first draft, and the word count is bound to change with editing. I know I don’t need to focus too much on it right now. I usually don’t, but it’s just fun making estimates on how many words it’ll turn out to be.

As far as my progress at the current moment goes:

I’ve made a lot since the last update! I hit 130,000 recently. I’ve FINALLY gotten to reveal a major secret that was introduced in the beginning of the story, Allister is currently officially on a DATE with a certain special someone !! Legit he shows up at her door with a necklace and a dozen roses and her mom gives him The Talk (have her home by midnight or else. That one, y’all know the one). And just- nJJSJSJJjsjdjJj I love them

Sooo yeah, lots of progress has been made 😂 I’m in the middle of the book I’d say. Possibly nearing the end of the middle. I estimate that I’ll hit the climax scene sometime in September, and all of August will be building up the tension required to launch the climax scene. And once I do, it should be smooth sailing from there on out to the ending.

As I’ve said I’ve reached another word goal, so another excerpt is due! I have some good options but I might do some sort of ask game again, or something special like that just for a change. If y’all want anything special lemme know bc I really don’t have anything in mind yet 😂

Buut I’ll get out of y’all’s hair for now. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day or night!

Taglist (let me know if you want to be added or removed!): @vampire-with-a-pen @kazenokaori @writingonesdreams @justyouraveragewriter @dahladahlabills

—

Hot hot secret if you’ve made it this far into the post:

After the climax scene, I’m planning on telling most of the falling action through journal entries. I can’t say why (because spoilers, duh) buuut it’s going to be suuper super fun! And honestly depending on how long these journal entires take for me to write, I might finish htkag in October. Might. It depends on a lot. The amount of them, how many of them I have The Vibes for, good vs bad writing days… etc. So I might fly through them, I might not. I’m not there yet so I’m not sure. Hey, fingers crossed tho!

[sky-is-torn]

omg don’t ask me to talk about Hamilton I will never shut up about it! So it’s obviously the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton but my favorite character is Thomas Jefferson mostly bc that character is one of the funniest in the show. And obviously i stan only fictional TJef not the real person aksksk! But overall I think I like it bc the music is just really first of all but it’s so interesting to also tell history in that rap and singing way!

Aww I’m sorry you had issues but I’m glad you had some chill time with yoga and your sister! (Which are coincidentally two of my fav activities too)

As for Harry songs I loveee medicine, only angel, kiwi, and golden!

My fav singers are Taylor (obviously hehe), Harry (also ofc) Kesha, Olivia Rodrigo, Marina, and Aly and AJ!

I’ve always been a casual Taylor fan but I really became a full on swiftie starting with 1989 I just loved the whole album sooo much and then rep was my first midnight release I think! What about you?!

🧣

Hi lovely! Sorey for the late answer, I got your ask but I got swamped with rl things🙈🙈 I can't wait to be on holidays!

How was your week?💕

Please ramble abt Hamilton or anything you like, there's nothing more interesting than someone talking abt their passions!☺️

I listened to a few of the hamilton songs, I don't care much for rap but the lyrics had a nice rhythm to them! Do you like singing?😊

Ooh you like yoga too? *high five* That's so cool!! I started this summer so I don't know a lot of things but I'm having fun with it! What about you? What made you start yoga in the first place? ^^

Do you get along well with your sister? Is it an older or younger sister? (If you want to tell ofc!)

Kiwi is a strong choice, I love dancing like a fool in my living room singing to the top of my lungs to this song!! But I'm entirely unable of listening to it in public😂😂 Golden is great, it stays in my head but not in an annoying way, in a nice, oh-I-like-this-song way🥰 (cherry is sometimes stuck in my head, specifically the voice recordings "coucou... coucou! tu dors?"... and it drives me **insane**, I like the version without the recording much better!!)

Ooh I've listened to Olivia rodrigo's album *a lot* since it came out! I love listening to it while reading or writing, it's got a nice flow to it (although I keep brutal & good 4 u for the times I'm stomping through my neighbourhood, full of 'teenage' angst xD)

I started with Lover, I noticed someone in my lecture listening to the album and I was intrigued so I looked it up and I fell in love more and more with each track I discovered!! So I thought 'wow she made really cool music I only knew about two songs from her, I should look up other songs'... Then that was it, I fell down the rabbit hole🙈🤪

[oncefutureemrys]

Oh oh okay so I hope I'm not sending too many

But

Meet Me After Dark [For A Midnight Rendezvous]

You already know who🥰

ahhh these are super olddd and I’m only now getting to all of them because I am slowww and I procrastinate a lottttt haha but I actually had an idea for this one and I actually like how this came outttt so hope you like it!

Merlin’s about to complain about how terrible of an idea this is — Arthur and Merlin were many things, but sneaky risk takers were not one of them — when Arthur cuts him off. “Come on Merlin, this is the last chance we’ll get to see each other before we go off to uni. I want to spend the remaining” — he checks his phone — “8 hours and 26 minutes with my best friend.”

Merlin wants to protest, to explain, in great detail, how horribly wrong this entire “plan” could go. But, glancing at Arthur’s hopeful expression, Merlin can’t bring himself to do it. So instead he groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”

Arthur simply grins back at him. “Oh, most definitely. Now come on!”

-OR-

The night before Merlin and Arthur plan to start their new, exciting lives as uni students, Arthur gets the bright idea to have one last adventure before they’re set to leave. What they expect is to spend two hours driving around aimlessly, revisiting their memories, and attempting not to cry, before hurrying back to their homes, praying their families never noticed they were gone. What they don’t expect is to experience multiple mental break downs, almost get into a car accident, make terrible decisions that lead to them nearly getting kidnapped, and most importantly, wind up possibly revealing their not-so-secret crushes to each other.

So yeah hopefully you enjoyed! Took me a little while sooo sorry about that but the next one will be coming out very shortly. And by shortly I mean like... in five minutes. 

But yeahh I think this would be very fun to write ahah so we shall seee!!

If you want another summary for some reason...send title or something