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He was in the middle stage, his heart on every word he sang. At first, his voice caught Taemin’s attention, but when he walked through the crowd, he saw him; ginger hair, some freckles over his cheeks and nose, and green eyes, but he was sure there were some blue spots on them.
Taemin wanted to get closer, hold his hand, wrap his arms around him, bury his nose in his neck and cloud his mind with nothing but the scent that reminded him of sunny days, vanilla, and the forest. He smelled like home, and he couldn’t understand why, but the boy singing on the stage smelled like home.
Taemin promised Minho he would visit him in the bar he worked to get his mind off homework and classes, and Taemin did, but he wasn’t expecting to be falling for the singer. He ran towards the bar and pulled Minho almost over the counter, he needed to find his words, but it looked like the simple work of doing it was impossible.
“Taem, breathe. What happened?” at first, Minho thought something had happened, but when Taemin pointed to the stage and looked back at Minho with big eyes, he understood what was happening. “He is Lee Jinki”
“Lee Jinki,” Taemin mumbled, and he was sure his heart jumped and did a small backflip, the hairs on the back of his neck rise, and Minho was smiling like a mad man.
“So you just found it,” Minho said. “Your other half, your mate,” Minho kept going, glass in one hand and a cloth in the other “Does he smell like home?” he asked, or at least that was what Taemin heard. He simply nodded. “And you want to know everything about him, the good and the bad, be there for him, see him at his best but also his worst, and be his support,” Minho said, and Taemin nodded. “And you felt like a lost puppy at this moment. Everything inside you is scream, home, family, pack” Taemin nodded again, and Minho offered him a glass of water. “He is your mate, just like Kibum is mine.”
“But he is human,” Taemin said, a little worried that could make everything harder, not for him but for Jinki. Humans knew about their existence, but not all of them, or at least not the majority, accepted them. Humans believed they were monsters and animals; for years, they hunted his kind. Werewolves hid for years, and with time they started to accept their existence but not fully into their society; in the end, they were something humans could not understand, which was scary for them.
“He is not like that,” Minho assured him, eyes focused on the stage again. “He is very kind and open-minded.”
“You wouldn’t be his friend if he wasn’t like that, right?”
“More like Kibum wouldn’t introduce us if he wouldn’t trust him.”
That was something that calmed Taemin. Kibum was human but had a soft spot for animals, especially dogs, and werewolves. At first, Minho and Kibum didn’t get along, and that was very frustrating for Minho. He wanted to be everything for Kibum, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be around him and hear him but then he couldn’t stop thinking about him and how everything that upset him was perfect. Taemin remembers those days clearly and the fun he had watching Minho lose his mind for Kibum, for good and for bad, and even now, when they are together, the bickering never stop, but he was able to see the love they have for each other.
“Kibum is very protective about what we are,” Taemin mumbled and then looked at Jinki; his heart did another funny thing and shook his head.
“Yeah, and if he knows the people around him will reject us, he won’t bother to make them part of our world. Jinki is not from those.” Minho smiled at him and held his hand. “You can take this day to accept what just happened, but the sooner you start to get closer to him, the better.”
—- Sorry I barked at you —-
That night Taemin did what Minho suggested, but he kept doing it for the next night, the night after that one, and the one after that too, and he kept just doing it. He arrived at the bar, sat on the boots at the counter, and watched Jinki sing. At first, Minho thought it was cute; he remembered himself being like that when he tried to get close to Kibum, but as the days passed, he started to get worried and frustrated about Taemin’s actions or more like the lack of it. At such point, he talked about it with Kibum and asked for his help. Kibum was more than happy to be part of that; first, he loved Taemin, he was like his little brother; second, Jinki was one of his dearest friends and third, he knew how wonderful it felt when a wolf chose you to be their mate, the way your life looks complete, how your heart was whole and the amount of love you felt for and from them.
The plan should have been easy, invite them to hang out without letting Taemin know Jinki was coming, and when he realized it, it was too late to run away, but the plan didn’t go as planned. Minho told him where they would be, the day and hour, but a few hours before, Minho got a text.
“-I’m STUCK-“ At first, Minho didn’t understand what Taemin meant by that, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. His expression changed from confusion to worried, and that alert Kibum.
“What happened?” Kibum asked, following Minho around their home.
“Taemin is stuck, literally,” Minho said. With a foot at the entrance, he was already holding his keys and said, “He can’t change back.”
“You have to be kidding me,” Kibum said, not believing what he was hearing
“It happens if we are under a lot of stress. Having our mate help us to change back, but he doesn’t have one, and the one he wanted is not….”
“I don't know if I should be laughing or not,” he sighed and pushed his hair back. “Where is he?”
If Taemin had to change, he could be anywhere. I can follow his scent, but... Minho looked at Kibum, his cheeks were pink, and he avoided looking at him.
“But?” Kibum crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrow. Minho didn’t reply; instead, he handed him a collar and a leash. “You have to be kidding,” Kibum mumbled, looking at the collar and then back to Minho.
“This way, we can move freely without having anyone calling the police because of a free wolf.”
“You know I love the idea of you wearing a collar, but I hate why we are using it right now,” Kibum said, moving closer to Minho, hands resting against his chest.
“I know you don’t see me like that.” Kibum smiled and pressed their lips together in a soft kiss.
“Good, now change. We need to find Taemin before the police.” Kibum said, moving away from his mate, giving him the space Minho needed for the change.
The wolf in front of him was gorgeous, with black fur, deep red reflects, and blue eyes. He was big and powerful. Kibum always felt safe around him since the first day he shift for him. The black wolf was his Minho, and he knew that they belonged to each other since their first bickering.
—- Sorry I barked at you —-
“Jinki?” Kibum said when he looked at his phone. “Min, hold on. Jinki is calling” The black wolf stopped and sat next to him, ears up trying to catch their conversation “Old man, what is it?” Kibum asked, and Minho huffed. Not even with him, Kibum could greet him properly.
“Is Minho with you?” Jinki asked, his voice sounding worried and out of breath.
“He is right next to me. Why?”
“I was walking to your place when a wolf appeared out of nowhere.” Jinki explained.
“A wolf?!” Kibum asked, and Minho started looking around, sniffing the air, searching for Taemin.
“Yes. I thought it was Minho since he looked at me for a while, but then the wolf looked scared and barked at me before running away. I tried to follow him because I thought he was Minho, but I lost him…”
“Where are you right now?”
“Near your place. Do you remember the small forest we found? Well, near that, the wolf ran in that direction.”
“Don’t move. We are going” Kibum ended the call and started running back to their place. If they weren’t in the street, he would be riding Minho; that would be faster, but that was weird and almost prohibited in the town.
It didn’t take long for them to see Jinki. Just as he said, he was behind their place and looked surprised to see the black wolf next to Kibum.
“Is he… Is he Minho?” Jinki asked, offering his hand to be sniffed. Minho licked his hand, looked at Kibum, and ran away, following Taemin’s scent.
“Yeah, that’s Minho, pretty, right?” Kibum said, and it was easy to hear the pride in every word.
“He is beautiful, but that other wolf…” Jinki mumbled the last part, but it didn’t escape Kibum’s earing.
“What about that other wolf?”
“He was gorgeous.” He said he had turned to the forest at some point as if he could see both wolves.
“So you accepted him too.” Kibum hummed and put his hands inside his pockets. Jinki was looking at him, confused, making him laugh. “That other wolf is Taemin, the boy I wanted to introduce to you today, the same kid you saw in the bar all night. He wanted you to be his mate.” Kibum said and chuckled. Jinki’s face was red, and his heart was beating fast. Something inside him felt complete, like hearing those simple words made everything make sense. “Let’s wait for them. I’m sure you want to hear what Taemin has to say and why he barked at you” Jinki nodded and sat on the grass, waiting for both wolves to return.
They didn’t have to wait that long for Minho to return and be followed by a smaller wolf with white fur and purple eyes. He looked at Jinki and almost hid behind Minho, but the moment Jinki saw him, he was up and running toward him. He wrapped his arms around his neck and hid his face in Taemin’s white fur.
“Please, never do that again.” Jinki said, and as magic, the wolf was gone, and Taemin was there, a very nacked Taemin.
“Guys, we should get inside and get them some clothes before both of you talk.” Kibum suggested, and Jinki almost jumped away in embarrassment, but instead, he took his jacket off and covered Taemin with it.
—- Sorry I barked at you —-
“Taem, I need to go.” Jinki said, his arms around Taemi’s body while the other rested his head on his chest. “I’m going to be late.” he tried again but didn’t do anything to move his mate from over him.
It was funny how things had happened, their paths had crossed, and they knew they were meant to be. The day they finally meet was one of Jinki’s favorites. He remembered clearly how the white wolf appeared in front of him, and after the initial shock, he barked and ran away; the explanation behind it was the cutest thing he had ever heard. He couldn’t help but chuckle softly at the memory.
“Jinki?” Taemin asked, looking up at him, eyes half opened.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Even though Jinki tried, badly, to wake him up before.
“It’s fine. You should be going.” Taemin said and kissed Jinki’s neck and jaw. “Why were you laughing?”
“I remembered your words in our first meeting.” Jinki chuckled again, his fingers playing with his white hair.
“Ugh… you are never going to forget them, are you?”
“Nope, it is one of my favorite memory.”
Taemin rubbed his face and hid it on Jinki’s neck. “It was the first time I had you in front of me, and I forgot I was in my wolf form. I tried to say hi and introduce myself, but when I heard my barking, I knew I had screwed it, and I panicked and ran away.” Taemin said. He moved from his spot and straddled Jinki. “You laughed so much that day and called me cute over and over again.”
“I still think that was adorable, the way you barked because you were saying hi and how you tried to apologize because you barked at me” He chuckled again, his hands on each side of Taemin.
“And you kept going. Every night after I found you, I tried to get closer, but I always backed off, and that day I was so stressed and anxious that I couldn’t turn back after I took a run, and the last thing I was expecting was… well you. You looked so handsome.”
“I don’t look handsome anymore?” Jinki asked, teasing Taemin, and got hit as a reply.
“You are more than handsome, and I love you so much.” Taemin said, pouting over his lips.
“You know, Kibum said he wanted to introduce me to his friend and that he had a good feeling about it. He didn’t explain further, but after Minho ran searching for you, he told me I was your mate, and suddenly everything made sense.”
“You never told me that.” Taemin mumbled, and Jinki rolled them, changing their positions.
“Well, I wanted to know you and spend time with you, and I forgot about it with time. Kibum's words helped me to understand why I always searched for you in the crowd and why I wanted to move closer, but I didn’t know how.” Jinkis said, kissing his cheek. “And when you explained everything, I felt I found my home, my family, and I was complete.”
“I told you, you were my mate, my moon, the reason I breathed and wanted to give you the best. You were my most important person. You didn’t have to give me an answer, but you did, and after that, everything felt perfect.”
Jinki smiled, and Taemin mirrored that. The way they looked at each other was full of love and adoration. They moved closer and kissed, Taemin’s arms around Jinki’s neck, their bodies pressed against each other, and their hearts beating simultaneously. Jinki would be late that day, but he couldn’t care less if the reason was his wolf, his mate, his home, his pack.
“Sorry I barked at you, I just wanted to say hi, but I forgot I was a wolf, and you looked so handsome and surprised, and I panicked. I’m Lee Taemin, and you are my mate. It may look hurried, but I love you, and you don’t have to reply right now, but give me a chance. I can make you happy.”
“I’m Lee Jinki, and I think I love you. Everything inside me screams home, pack, family.”