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Chapter Text

(poster by TONI_LUV )

 ~Present Time~

Strong winds raged as heavy snow fell from the dark sky, blanketing the grounds of the University of Beonyeong. This suited Changmin just fine as he stomped out of the neukdae house, across the courtyard and over a hill where the goyangi house stood.

The creature he was looking for was already waiting for him on the balcony, a feral glint of anticipation in his eyes. Snow flakes were coming down on Changmin, obscuring his vision and soaking his clothes but doing nothing to dampen his rage.

"You son of a bitch!" Changmin yelled over the storm.

"No, that would be you, my mangy dog," Junsu mocked.

Rearing back to leap and transform, Changmin was halted by a strong arm. Panting, Yoochun had caught up with him. "No, pup, I need you to calm down!"

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

Behind Junsu, the rest of the gayangi house assembled in a row behind their alpha, all feline males licked their lips and appeared ready for a fight.

"I refuse to let you start a war over this!" Yoochun reasoned. "Let go back home and think about this rationally."

Changmin shrugged off Yoochun's hand and shouted at Junsu. "Why would you do this? You've changed their lives forever, you conniving feline!"

"I like expanding my family," Junsu rang clear across the yard. "Now run along, puppy. I have new babies to take care of. I'll be sure to mention you two came by."

Yoochun gritted his teeth and forcibly dragged away an outraged Changmin. "It's over, Min-ah!"

When they managed to make it over the hill, Changmin growled, his body contorting as he transformed and ran into a cluster of trees in the distance.

"Changmin, come back!" Yoochun called desperately.

A tortured howl ripped through the freezing, tumultuous night.

~Six Months Earlier~

Changmin was taking attentive notes in Music History II when Yoochun's elbow slipped off the desk and distracted Changmin. Looking over, he noted Yoochun's open mouth and half-shut eyes.

Well, that's a little scary. Changmin rolled his eyes and stabbed his hyung with the butt of his pen. Yoochun cringed and curled into himself. "Stooop...sleepy time..."

Out of the corner of his mouth, Changmin said in undertone, "Look alive. Professor is glaring at you."

Yoochun yawned and waved lazily at their professor. Changmin pushed up his glasses and edged away from his bum-of-a-friend. When their professor moved on to a slide show about the progression of music in the 60's and 70's, Yoochun murmured, "How's puberty treating you? You humping your bed yet?"

Changmin felt a prickle up his spine. "It's not puberty, dickwad. I get the occasional hard-on and intense craving to mark someone, but it's no big deal."

"Aw, puppy growing up!" Yoochun cooed, scratching Changmin behind one large ear. Suppressing a happy whine at the pleasurable contact, Changmin complained weakly, "Stop, hyung."

Yoochun laughed quietly and pulled his hand away before putting his head down for another nap. Changmin went back to taking diligent notes for the both of them. A ball of paper bounced off the side of his head and turned his head to the right in fury. Junsu smiled innocently at him but Changmin didn't buy it for a second. That feline was evil. Pure evil! Nobody would believe it with Junsu's dorky laugh and so-called "cute" image...but Changmin knew...oh he knew the truth...

Licking his incisors, Changmin opened his mouth and pointed at it in a threatening manner. The wolf inside him craved to rip that fluff ball apart. Plus killing would work off some of the sexual frustration storming inside of him.

Junsu seemed unconcerned and refocused his attention on the slide show.

The professor suddenly stopped talking when the classroom door opened. Changmin was doodling a gigantic jaw consuming an ugly cat with some twisted satisfaction when he heard the professor's voice announce, "Welcome a new student, Jung Yunho!"

Then he heard it...a sexy baritone addressed the class, "Thank you! Please take care of me!"

Many in the class simultaneously sighed. Changmin's eyes connected with the sweetest, most captivating brown eyes for a human - eyes that left him breathing shallowly as they drifted over him to connect with every other student in the class.

"Clean up your drool, pup." Yoochun sounded amused, gesturing to the corner of his mouth. Changmin swallowed his saliva and wiped his chin.

There was empty space on the bench next to the student in front of them, Jaejoong, so Yunho slid effortlessly on it and began taking out supplies from his backpack.

Changmin stared at the back of his new student's head and realized the human had pink hair. It should look ridiculous. It should make the male look tacky. But, damn if this Jung Yunho didn't pull off the bubblegum pink like a rock star.

Changmin wasn't able to concentrate on the lecture to take proper notes for the rest of the class period. Yoochun had slipped back into a coma and Changmin studied the back of Jung Yunho's head.

What a pretty, small head it was. He wished Yunho would turn back...

When the professor dismissed them, Yunho introduced himself to Jaejoong and they seemed to form a silent agreement of friendship as they made their way out of the classroom.

Changmin fell over himself trying to get to the front door so he could introduce himself to Yunho but Yoochun got there first to block Jaejoong's path.

"Hi," Yoochun said, voice deep and breathy.

Jaejoong flipped his long, dark bangs away from his eyes and poked Yoochun in the chest with one manicured black nail. "Hi."

That's it. That was the entire exchange. If Changmin's shin wasn't throbbing from ramming it into one of the benches, he would keel over laughing.

Yunho took Jaejoong by the arm, demanding a tour of the campus. Jaejoong smiled and indulged him as they walked away together.

Yoochun appeared irked but then laughed and pointed at Changmin's fail. "Oh, pup, you have a lot to learn."

Their professor was discussing a paper with another student so Changmin figured it was safe to snap at his friend, "Fuck off. Like the way you acted just now was smooth! Your level of intellectual conversation must be winning Jaejoong over. It's been how long? A year?"

Yoochun gave Changmin a sour look. "Don't make me smack you. Get up so we can go already!"

~*~

It seemed Jung Yunho was a music major and was very much interested in drums as Changmin found out in the band hall one evening. Changmin stopped practicing guitar to watch the new student bang on the drums. One of Junsu's feline minions, Siwon, approached Yunho and taught him an easier way to hold the drum sticks. Siwon's boyfriend and fellow feline, Heechul, came storming up to them to pull Siwon away by the ear.

"Stop flirting!" Soon those two were making out on the piano Yoochun was playing on and Changmin was about ready to vomit.

Yunho brushed back a pink tendril from his cheek and Changmin swooned a little. Who was this guy and why was he having this effect on him?

He must have been staring for a while because a familiar voice said in his ear, "He might be your destined mate." Yoochun had abandoned the piano to come counsel Changmin.

"Mate?" He repeated. Well, he had been craving a mate for quite some time after hitting the age of 20. Yoochun had warned him this would happen...

"Yes, a mate. I'm guessing this Yunho is making you feel the way Jaejoong makes me feel," Yoochun said wistfully.

"So, it's official, Jaejoong is your mate?"

"I don't know but I want him to be. You can't force these things." Yoochun pinched Changmin's side. "Go. Try to make friends with him. I'm gonna go stalk Jaejoong in the choir hall."

Taking a deep breath, Changmin walked slowly over to the drum set. Before he could utter a word, Junsu shouted to the room, "Soccer try-outs tomorrow morning! We're looking for some new talent!"

Yunho jumped up from the stool and raised his hand. "OH me! I love soccer, can I try out?"

"Of course!" Junsu purred and skipped over to Yunho to talk about kicking techniques.

Changmin glared at the pair then went back to his guitar. Next time...

~*~

Changmin had Stage Theater II in the mornings but he couldn't wait for after lunch when he got to see Yunho in Music History class. One day he worked up the nerve to walk by Yunho's desk and speak, "Can I borrow a pen?"

Yunho smiled politely at him and dug through his pencil bag. When the pink-haired man handed him the pen, their fingers brushed. Changmin felt an electrical zap straight to his heart and an immediate tightening in his groin. Yunho appeared unaffected as he continued a conversation with Jaejoong, "I'm on the soccer team!"

Shoulders hunched, Changmin dropped into his seat and rested his chin on his hand, sighing. Great, now Yunho was going to spend a lot of time with Junsu. It seemed like Jaejoong was occupying most of Yunho's attention too.

"This sucks cat balls."

Yoochun blinked sleepily, slowly focusing on the back of Jaejoong's head. "Stop being a bitch and ask him out."

"Why don’t you stop being a bitch and just ask Jaejoong out, eh?" Changmin resorted testily.

Yoochun snapped his mouth shut. His friend spent the rest of the day locked up in the naukdae house writing emo songs.

Late afternoon, Changmin decided to play basketball on the outside court. Chanyeol, Tao, and Luhan, fellow brothers from the naukdae house, were already on the court when Changmin arrived. The three young men tackled him to the ground. Changmin knew that if they were in their wolf form, he'd be licked all over the face, but luckily, the worst they could do in their human form was cuddle.

Changmin had to shove them off. "Okay, enough! On the court with you pups!" The three scrambled to follow orders. They played two against two: Changmin and Chanyeol versus Luhan and Tao.

When they were getting a drink from the outdoor communal water fountain, Changmin heard some shouting from the soccer field. The team, led by their captain Junsu, was running laps across the field. Changmin immediately located Yunho; that pink hair was hard to miss.

Forgetting basketball, Changmin decided to watch Yunho practice. It was apparent that the new student needed some more work to be up to par with the rest of the team, but from the looks of it, Yunho was determined to improve.

He felt Chanyeol shuffle up beside him and lean against him. "Why are you watching that cat, sunbae-nim?"

Changmin scoffed. "I'm not watching that cat. I'm watching...the human...with pink hair."

Luhan walked up beside them and sighed while removing his baseball cap. "Yunho-sunbae...isn't he amazing?"

Looking towards the effeminate-looking male, Changmin almost choked when he saw Luhan sporting pink hair. "What the fuck, pup? What's with the hair?"

Holding up two palms in defense, Luhan explained, "Yoochun told us about him. Sehun and I got curious one day and tracked him down. He's so cool and handsome! You should see Sehun's hair...it's pink too!"

Wonderful. Changmin threw the wolf cub a look of disgust then went back to staring longingly across the field. Yunho got water squirted on him by another teammate and Yunho's laugh reached all the way to Changmin's ears, making them flush.

What a nice laugh it was.

~*~

One evening, after basketball practice (coach really worked them on the court), Changmin entered the locker room ready for a much-needed shower. There was somebody in one of the stalls...pink...

Yunho!

Gulping, Changmin let out a hesitant, "Hey."

Yunho spun around, eyes tense then relaxing when they spotted Changmin. "Oh, hi! I know it's the basketball team's turn in here so I'll be quick!"

"Were you practicing?"

"Yeah," Yunho shrugged his supple shoulders. "I don't want to get behind, being new on a soccer team and all."

Other players started filing in, all greeting Yunho like he was their best friend. Grinding his teeth, Changmin stepping into the stall next to Yunho's. He didn't dare peek over the bricked edge. Oh, how he wanted to, though. This human, even when sweaty and dirty, smelled like heaven. Changmin didn't desire to eat him...no, his wolf was begging him to claim this human. His masturbatory fantasies only starred Jung Yunho now and he wasn't even an inch closer to becoming friends with the man.

A sudden screech caught his attention. Yunho had slipped on some soapy ground and was holding onto to the edge of the stall. Changmin acted on instinct and grabbed his arm. "Careful, Yunho-nim!"

Yunho's eyes sparkled as he appraised Changmin directly for the first time. "Thank you, Changmin-nim." Then he straightened up and rinsed off before grabbing a towel and leaving the locker room.

He knows my name! Changmin was floating on cloud nine as he finished his shower and walked to the neukdae house.

Yoochun was passed out on the couch with the TV remote in his hand. Creeping up to his friend, Changmin heard a lot of muttering: "Jaejoong...oh Jae..."

He snorted and grabbed the black marker on the coffee table to draw a mustache on Yoochun's upper lip.

Ah ha. Changmin admired his work then went up to his room. He loved their frat dorm. This was their domain. They only allowed wolves in. The felines were kept out since they had their own domain, the goyangi house. Humans were unaware of the distinctions and assumed the two groups were just a small elite. Besides, humans had their own clubs and frats to associate with on campus.

Changmin stretched out on his bed, yearning for a mate he could hold at night. He thought of Yunho and smiled. A quick masturbatory fantasy and he would sleep soundly tonight.

Chapter Text

"Nice mustache!" Junsu called out from his desk as Changmin and Yoochun walked in.

Changmin edged away from his friend. Yoochun glared at the feline and then Changmin but said nothing as he made his way to his desk. Jaejoong reached out and grabbed Yoochun's arm before the young man sat down. "It's an interesting style. I think it kinda looks...sexy."

Lowering onto the desk bench, Changmin watched in amusement as Jaejoong stroked Yoochun's arm, turning his friend into a pile of goo. When Jaejoong released Yoochun, Changmin had to stretch over to drag his friend into his desk before he embarrassed himself further.

"I'm gonna do it," Yoochun whispered to him after class started.

"Do what?"

"Ask Jaejoong out. I need you to distract Yunho after class!"

Sifting through different topics of conversation he could strike up with Yunho, Changmin fidgeted nervously all through the class period. When the professor finally dismissed them, Yoochun shoved Changmin forward and hastened to Jaejoong's side, opening with a "Can I talk to you?"

Pushing himself to act quickly, Changmin stood in front of Yunho, blurting out the first thing on his mind, "Your pen!"

Yunho cocked his head to the right. "Hm?"

"Your pen...that I borrowed, Yunho-nim." Changmin fumbled to get to the pencil bag in his backpack. He offered the pen to Yunho, who shook his head.

"It's okay, Changmin-nim, you can keep it."

"Changmin."

Yunho did the cute head tilt again. "Huh?"

"Please, just call me Changmin, no need for formalities."

Smiling softly, Yunho said, "Sure. And you can call me just Yunho."

Hiding his clammy hands in his pockets, Changmin walked with Yunho out the door, leaving Jaejoong and Yoochun leaning intimately into each other in the classroom. They walked quietly together until they arrived at the courtyard. It was a hot day and he didn't think either of them had a class to attend immediately.

"So, Yunho..." Changmin began after taking a deep breath. "Would you like to go get a snow-cone? It's kinda hot out."

Yunho stopped walking and turned to him, surprise written across his face. "Oh...I...well - "

"Yunho! Over here!" A guy Changmin recognized as a senior in the theater department waved at Yunho and approached them at a brisk pace. What was his name? Sangwoo?

"Oh, Changmin, let me introduce you to someone."

He had a bad feeling about this...

When the other guy reached them, he immediately wrapped his arms around Yunho.

Yes, definitely a bad feeling! Changmin held back a growl.

"This is my boyfriend," Yunho introduced, after the senior released him. "Sangwoo, I'd like you to meet a new friend of mine, Changmin."

"Hey, I know you...you're one of the sophomores I've seen around the theater department." Sangwoo grinned pleasantly and extended his hand. Changmin reluctantly took it and very hastily let go. "The professors rave about your acting talent."

Through clenched teeth, Changmin said, "Thanks. I've heard about you too." The professors always use Sangwoo as an example in his acting classes. Any kind of admiration Changmin held for this human disappeared at that moment. The guy was still holding Yunho around the waist.

Yunho piped in proudly, "Yeah, Sangwoo just finished up an understudy position in Busan. He's been gone for several weeks."

Changmin simply nodded, unable to speak. Jealousy and anguish churned in his gut.

"Speaking of which, I've missed you," Sangwoo cooed sweetly in Yunho's ear. "Wanna go grab a bite?"

Hatred for this human mounted inside Changmin when Yunho turned to Sangwoo and smiled. "Sure, we need to catch up. Um, another time, Changmin? Bye." Yunho looked at Changmin apologetically as Sangwoo led him away.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Changmin couldn't move until Yunho was out-of-sight.

~*~

Lying face down on the bed, Changmin grunted when something heavy jumped on his back. The wolf's bark brought him a tender sort of relief. Changmin twisted his head around and saw it was Jongin, another pup in the neukdae house, making himself comfortable on top of him.

Changmin rested his cheek on his pillow and tried not to whine as he said, "He was supposed to be my mate!"

The black wolf, Jongin, licked the side of Changmin's face and barked: "What happened?"

With a heavy heart, Changmin retold what happened after class. After a brief silence, Jongin jumped off his back to the floor and rested his muzzle on the bed next to Changmin's face. He reached out and petted the pup.

Jongin softly barked: "He can still be yours. He is your friend now."

Friend...?

Changmin realized what the pup said was brilliant insight. "Yes, a friend. I could become Yunho's closest friend! Then, he might see I'm better for him than this Sangwoo guy!"

He heard the door slam just then. Jongin jumped and hid under Changmin's bed. Stepping out of his room, he peered over the second floor balcony and observed with shock (and a bit of horror) as Yoochun and Jaejoong stumbled up the stairs, making-out the entire way. The new couple didn't take notice of him at all. Watching with fascination as Yoochun's alpha wolf took over and slammed Jaejoong against a wall.

"You finally asked me out, you asshole!" Jaejoong gasped, twisting and pulling Yoochun's t-shirt. "Took you long enough!"

Voice dropping to a mere low rumble, Yoochun confessed, "I know...I'm an idiot. But you and I, we're official now. You're my mate!"

Jaejoong threw his head back as Yoochun attacked his neck with suckling kisses. "Uhgh! Call it whatever you want, just fuck me!"

Before Changmin could fling himself off the balcony from the sheer agony of watching those two fuck into next week, Yoochun dragged Jaejoong down the hallway, literally howling.

Jongin had transformed back into a human and popped his head out of Changmin's room, eyes rounded and scared. "Are they gone?"

"Thankfully." Changmin shuddered and made his way to the bathroom to wash his eyes out.

~*~

"We literally had sex for 12 hours...my dick is sore," Yoochun grumbled happily as they walked to class the next morning.

"You traumatized the pups and me all night, just so you know." Changmin punched his friend on the arm. "By the way, that was a risk bringing Jaejoong back to the neukdae house...what if the boys were in their wolf form? Jongin was, in my room. And during the night - "

"It's fiiiiiine."

"No, it's a risk!" Changmin halted outside the classroom. "Besides, did you two even go on a date before fucking each other's brains out?"

"Sure, we had a snow-cone," Yoochun said with a close-lipped smile. "Apparently, Jaejoong has wanted me since forever. We figured there's no point in waiting to find out if we're compatible in bed."

Changmin noted, "That's not how it usually works. You date for a while then have sex."

"There's no protocol that says you have to do it that way, pup! We wanted each other and I finally made him mine!"

Holding up his hands in surrender, Changmin asked, "Are you going to tell Jaejoong about what you are?"

"Tell Jaejoong about what?" Jaejoong popped out-of-nowhere behind Yoochun.

With true sleaze, Yoochun said, "Tell you what a sex god I am."

Jaejoong rolled his eyes affectionately and slapped Yoochun on the butt before he entered the classroom first. Changmin raised an eyebrow. "He has more fire in him than I expected."

Yoochun's eyes widened comically. "You have no idea. He rode me like a horse. My wolf couldn't dominate him for very long. Fuck, it was glorious."

"Too much information, hyung!" Changmin plugged up his ears.

Yunho and Sangwoo were approaching the classroom. Sangwoo kissed Yunho and patted him lightly on the butt. Changmin had to take three deep breaths to stay calm: Don't kill the human, don't kill the human!

Yoochun muttered, "What's going on? Yunho has a boyfriend?"

Changmin only managed a nod before nudging through a few other students to get to his desk. He stared as Yunho walked up to his desk, smiling at him. "Wanna have those snow-cones today?"

Suddenly remembering the idea of becoming close friends with Yunho, Changmin smiled back. "I want to if you do."

~*~

At the snow-cone stand on campus, Changmin asked Yunho which flavor he wanted.

"Strawberry, please."

"Okay. My treat, Yunho."

Changmin paid for two snow-cones: one strawberry and the other blueberry. They took a seat at one of the picnic tables, digging in to their cone.

"Mmmm," Yunho hummed. "So good!"

"I figured it would be cooling during this heat wave," Changmin caught the ice melting off the edge of the cone with his tongue. Soon his lips were stained blue, whereas Yunho's were a bright red.

"So you want to be an actor?" Yunho started conversationally.

"Yeah, definitely. I'm double-majoring with music because I figured that perks up my resume. Plus I enjoy singing." Changmin finished up his snow-cone quickly so he could devote full attention to the fascinating human across from him. "How are you liking Beonyeong University? Where did you transfer from?"

After a flash of confusion, Yunho laughed. "Oh no, I'm not a transfer student. I started here freshman year but in pre-law...way on the other side of the campus."

Taken-aback, Changmin asked for clarification, "You went from a pre-law major to a music major?"

"Yes, I know that sounds crazy," Yunho swallowed down the last bit of his snow-cone. "But I only started pre-law because I saw my dad practicing law since I was a kid. I thought it would be exciting and challenging. Instead, I was bored out-of-my-mind. My parents were shocked when I told them my decision."

Changmin leaned in, listening attentively. "How did they react, especially your dad?"

"Well, he wasn't pleased to say the least," Yunho admitted. "But my mom has been quite supportive considering. My sister too. My dad will come around one day, I hope."

Waving a hand over Yunho's pink hair, Changmin shrewdly deduced, "So, is that why you dyed your hair pink? As an act of rebellion?"

Yunho laughed again. "Yes! How'd you guess? No one understood me when I did it. Even Sangwoo wondered why I ruined my dark hair."

"I love the pink," Changmin stated firmly. "I think it's sexy. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Thank you..." Yunho bit down on his red bottom lip and Changmin's wolf salivated at the sight.

Backing off so he didn’t make Yunho uncomfortable, Changmin informed the cute human about Luhan and Sehun dying their hair pink too. Yunho appeared so flattered. "Really? Aw, those boys were adorable. They came up to say hi to me once. I didn't think I left an impression."

"They practically worship you," Changmin told him, annoyed with the enthusiastic waves of said pups watching him and Yunho just across the picnic area. When Yunho bent down to tie his shoes, Changmin made a slicing motion that should have told Sehun and Luhan to go the fuck away. He saw from a distance Chanyeol grab the pups by the neck and drag them away.

Good boy, Changmin needed to remember to thank Chanyeol next time he saw him.

When Yunho began to stand up, Changmin fumbled to stand with him.

"I'm practicing the drums after dinner time today in the band hall. Are you going to be there to practice on your guitar?" Yunho asked all this in a rush and seemed to be struggling with himself.

Heart singing with joy, Changmin handed Yunho his backpack and replied, "I'll be there."

~*~

Barely any students were in the band hall that evening, only Baekhyun and Joonmyeon, brothers from the neukdae house, were practicing their singing to some instrumentals. Changmin picked up his guitar and sat on a stool near Yunho on the drums.

"I'm surprised you don't have a date with Sangwoo," He commented in a casual tone.

Yunho paused his drumming. "He has a dinner meeting with a director. He's very busy since he's graduating this year."

"I see." Changmin moved his body closer to Yunho's. "Does that make you feel lonely?"

"No!" Yunho responded too quickly. "He's very driven and focused on acting. He's preparing himself for the future. I can't fault him there. We've been together since I started pre-law."

Changmin didn't want to ask but at the same time he wanted to know everything. "How'd you two meet, if he's in theater and you're in law?"

"We met in the library by accident. I was a freshman and lost. He helped me out." Yunho reminisced on the memory with a tiny smile.

"Do you think he's...you're one and only? Your mate?"

"Mate?"

"Yes...the one you're going to be spend the rest of your life with." Changmin stared intently into Yunho's eyes, hungry for any flicker of doubt.

Yunho maintained eye contact. "I don't know. He's my first boyfriend - all I've ever known. He was my first in everything."

"So you don't think - " Changmin cut himself off. No, he wouldn't pressure Yunho. He doesn't want to break them up, per say. He wanted Yunho to come to him, but how could he reach out when the human was in a devoted relationship with another?

In order to move on from the conversation, Changmin turned his attention to his guitar. Closing his eyes, he began to strum the strings, playing a country twang. Not long after, he heard Yunho join in with drumbeats - gentle and steady.

Changmin hummed - Yunho hummed along too. Almost at the same time, they stopped, stared at each other before sharing a laugh.

Later, on their way out of the band hall, Changmin asked, "Do you like dogs or cats?"

"I definitely prefer playing with a dog!" Yunho clapped his hands together. "Dogs are friendly and joyful. I have a dog at my parents house but he's too big. I couldn't bring him here to live in the dorms."

With a skip in his step, Changmin bumped shoulders with Yunho. "I have a friend then I want you to meet...tomorrow night okay? I think you'll like him."

Judging by the sparkles in Yunho's eyes, the human was excited.

Changmin had a plan. He was fairly sure it wasn't allowed but to hell with that. Anything that might embed him deeper into Yunho's heart was worth a try!

Chapter Text

The following night, Changmin put on athletic shorts and a shirt. As he was slipping on a pair of sandals at front door, Chanyeol came up to him, munching on a piece of steak. "Where are you going, sunbae-nim?"

"Out."

Chanyeol hooted, teeth flashing. "With Jung Yunho?"

Sehun popped his head from around the corner to ask, "Is he going to be in our pack? 'Cause I want that happen." The pink-haired boy then called out to Tao and disappeared behind the wall.

"You and me both, pup," Changmin muttered to himself. Pocketing his cell phone, he firmly said to Chanyeol, "Watch the rest of the boys...I don't want things to get out-of-hand. Yoochun is out with Jaejoong and probably won't be back till morning."

"Will you be back with Yunho hyung?" The tall boy asked him curiously.

"Not tonight," Changmin answered. "I'll call anytime I do plan to bring him back so you'll know. I'm responsible, unlike that horny alpha of ours."

Chanyeol said around a mouthful of meat (and making Changmin's mouth water), "Of course, sunbae-nim!"

In about ten minutes, Changmin was standing by the goal post of the soccer field. This morning, in class, he had suggested Yunho meet him here. It was a perfectly open and neutral place for what he had planned.

Nervously wringing his hands together, Changmin worried Yunho might forget to come. Just as he thought this, a slim figure in shorts and a sleeveless top jogged onto the field.

"Hey, Yunho!" Changmin called out, smiling toothily.

"Hi! So, is your friend coming?"

The way in which Yunho skidded to a stop in front of him, breathless and eager, left Changmin in a tizzy. As steadily as he could manage, he answered, "He is. But he's shy. I'm afraid he's better one-on-one. Do you mind if I go fetch him and let him introduce himself?"

Blinking owlishly, Yunho response wavered, "I - I suppose..."

"Don't worry." Changmin placed his hands on Yunho's shoulder. "I promise he's safe and so excited to meet you."

Yunho visibly relaxed; the corners of his eyes crinkling with an easy smile. "Okay! Go fetch him, I'll wait here!"

So trusting and sweet, Changmin cooed to himself as he darted to the trees behind the goal net. He stripped off his clothes in the darkness and slammed his eyes shut, summoning his wolf. The blood beneath his skin began to boil - muscles jerking and spine arching. Gray and white fur sprung out form his hair follicles as his face elongated into a snout, canines lengthening and claws growing out of his newly formed paws. A minute later, he was a fully grown wolf, standing proud on all fours.

In his wolf form, Changmin saw the world more acutely; he could hear the tiniest noises, smell the most subtle scents, and still retained all of his human memories and intelligence. Right now, only Yunho filled his senses. It prompted him to move out from behind the trees and on to the field.

Yunho was rocking back and forth on his heels, staring at the ground and whistling under his breath. Though Changmin was slyly stalking, the grass rustled under his paws alerting Yunho of his presence.

Bug-eyed and swaying backward, gasps flew out of Yunho's mouth. "Wolf!"

Changmin sniffed the air and got a strong whiff of Yunho's terror at the sight of him. If Yunho had been a wolf, Changmin would have licked the male out in a request for submission then mounted him. But he couldn't do that with this precious human.

He heard Yunho mutter shakily, "Don't run. Changmin said he's safe."

The human's outward trust and bravery increased Changmin's desire to make him his.

The wolf strolled around the goal net, careful not to bare his teeth since his size was intimidating enough. To demonstrate his non-threatening intensions, Changmin knelt down on the grass and sat with his head up, observing the curiosity spreading across Yunho's adorable features, and wagged his tail for good measure.

When Yunho finally dared to stand a foot in front of him, Changmin purposely turned his snout to the side and tilted his head, in a blatant effort to get Yunho to pet him.

Long, soft fingers sifted through the fur behind his ears. Eyes fluttering closed, Changmin released a contented whine.

"Unbelievable!" Yunho exclaimed with a breathy laugh.

As the other male became more and more comfortable, even squatting down to brush through the wolf's coarse coat, Changmin turned his snout to bury in Yunho's armpit.

Wobbling on the heels of his feet, Yunho giggled. "That tickles!"

Changmin continued to rub his nose on that spot until Yunho collapsed in a heap on the ground near his paws. Mindful of his claws, Changmin patted at Yunho's chest.

"What, boy?" The laughter quieted. Yunho was staring up at the wolf in wonder. "You are so beautiful. Wolves hunt humans. Why aren't you hurting me? Is it because Changmin raised you?"

The wolf barked softly to indulge the human, then bent his head to bury his nose in Yunho's neck. Changmin could hear the male's heart pounding loudly in his ears. The air was thick with anticipation. With a sudden desire to taste, Changmin swiped his large tongue along Yunho's tender flesh.

If he bit the skin, he'd make Yunho a wolf. This male would make a magnificent wolf, he reckoned.

Adam's apple bobbing, pulse throbbing, Yunho was trembling underneath him. The fear was back.

To give his human peace of mind, Changmin moved on to enthusiastically snuffle through that tuft of pink hair. In the wolf's attempt to play and mess up every perfect strand, laughter shook Yunho's body once again.

"I wonder why Changmin wanted me to meet you..." Yunho pondered after the wolf's teasing subsided and he sat back on his hind legs. "Did he think you and I would become friend?"

The grayish white wolf barked, bobbing his head up and down. Yunho shot up off the ground, holding a hand to his mouth. To emphasize his understanding even more, Changmin raised one of his front paws towards Yunho, who lowered his hand and took the wolf's paw.

They were shaking hands, making a silent pact of some sorts.

On that note, the wolf left his human, who mumbled a dispirited good-bye.

~*~

Changmin came back out from behind the trees as a human and stumbled when he suddenly had an arm full of Yunho.

"Where did you go? Oh my God, Changmin, why didn't you tell me you had a wolf? I was scared to death when he came out!" Much to Changmin's disappointment, Yunho released him much too soon and demanded, "I want to see him again! When can I see him again? What's his name?"

"You can see him whenever you want," Changmin answered straightaway. "And you can call him Max, he'll answer to that name." He high-fived himself on coming up with that on the fly.

"Max...cute Max...beautiful Max!" Yunho chirped, twirling in place. "I loved him!"

"He loved you too," Changmin insisted quietly. His plan had been risky but worth all the joy he put on Yunho's face.

~*~

On most days, Changmin rarely got to speak to Yunho. The boy was too popular and involved not only in the music program and soccer, but now an officer in student council.

Changmin wished to scream: Slow down, I want to hold you and kiss you!

Sadly, that pink-haired bundle of energy couldn't be stopped...and there was still the small (okay, huge and problematic) matter of Yunho having a boyfriend. Changmin wished he could say Sangwoo was a terrible and neglectful boyfriend. Really, aside from the busy schedule that kept him away sometimes, the senior was attentive and sweet towards Yunho.

Changmin tore his eyes away from Sangwoo, who was giving Yunho a small gift and kissing him on the cheek. If he was in his wolf form, he feared nothing could stop him from biting Sangwoo's head off.

Well, alright, maybe not the head. Probably his dick, so he wouldn't be able to fuck Yunho with it.

Speaking of biting heads, Changmin watched from afar as Junsu approached the happy couple and asked to speak to Yunho alone. His shackles went up when Junsu slugged an arm over Yunho's shoulders and began whispering something.

Yoochun slumped next to Changmin, where the younger sat atop a short brick wall. "I really hate that cat."

Honestly, Changmin was surprised to see his alpha at all because he was usually sucking face with Jaejoong at this time in the afternoon. "Where's your boyfriend?"

Yoochun pointed forward. Jaejoong was approaching Junsu and Yunho and immediately joined in on their private conversation. "He tells me Junsu is nice, and that even if he's not on the soccer team, he likes to hang out with that fur ball and your human."

Changmin's gaze followed Yunho, who had skipped back into Sangwoo's arms. "Have you showed Jaejoong your true form?"

Yoochun stared. "No. Not sure how to do it. I don't want to scare him off. You see, Jaejoong is a...cat-person."

Changmin shuddered and praised the heavens Yunho preferred dogs. "I've shown Yunho, but he doesn't know it's me.

Brow furrowed with concern, Yoochun advised him to be careful, that the plan could blow up in his face, and then his alpha hurried off to join Jaejoong.

Heedless of the warning, Changmin smiled widely when Sangwoo finally left to go to class and Yunho's eyes found his. Hopping off the wall, Changmin jogged towards his human.

"Hey!"

"Hi, how are you?"

I missed you. Instead of saying that and embarrassing himself, Changmin replied with a, "Fine. What are your plans for tonight?"

"Dinner date with Sangwoo..."

With the corners of his mouth turned down, Changmin failed to hide his disappointment. "Oh."

"...then he has lines to memorize," Yunho continued with a wink. "I'd loved to spend some time with Max again!"

Yes!

~*~

Standing up on his hind legs, Changmin placed his paws heavily on Yunho's shoulders.

"Whoa! You're taller than me!" The admiration in Yunho's eyes was enough to make Changmin preen.

Tonight, Yunho brought a squeeze toy with him. "Wanna catch the duckie, Max?"

Sitting down on his hunches, he threw Yunho a bored look. I'm not some household mutt, honestly.

The duck flew across the field. Changmin's instincts sparked and he scrambled to run after the chew toy. He caught it in his mouth before it landed on the ground.

Yunho punched a fist in the air. "That was awesome, Max!"

The wolf wagged his tail and spit the duck on the ground. Yunho picked it up and threw it again.

Changmin was ashamed to admit how much fun he was having.

Less than an hour later, they lied on the grass next to each other. Changmin's tongue was out as he panted, exhausted from the rigorous game of catch. Yunho hesitated briefly to pet him, so Changmin nudged the human hand and whimpered for attention.

Beaming beautifully, Yunho told him, "As we came up to the field, Changmin said I can tell you whatever I want and that you'll listen and comfort me."

Changmin licked Yunho's palm.

"Oh, Max. Thank you. Well, first let me just say I have a boyfriend named, Sangwoo - "

Changmin growled while he licked down to Yunho's wrist.

Yunho snorted a laugh, then went on, "He's wonderful, an absolutely wonderful person...but..."

As the cute human stuttered through a few more words, then finally a few confessions and details about his current relationship, Changmin soaked in every word.

He could be everything Sangwoo wasn't, and make Yunho happier!

Chapter Text

"Sangwoo is very affectionate towards me, Max. We eat and watch movies and sleep together. But I wish we did more fun and interesting things on our dates." Yunho nuzzled into Changmin's coat.

"Max, you know I really love bowling, bike-riding, long-walks, ping-pong...you and I should go on walks together sometime! Although, I fear you'll have people pissing in their pants at the sight of you, haha!" Yunho encircled Changmin's neck with his arms, and hid his face in the wolf's thick fur.

"Max, what do I do when Sangwoo isn't interested in doing more stuff with me? We never really have any deep conversations either. He's so focused on acting...I can't fault him for it, I suppose." Yunho reclined against the goal post, sighing contently when Changmin licked his cheeks. "Are those kisses? Do you love me, Max?" The wolf bobbed his head, making Yunho giddy with chuckles.

Changmin strummed on the guitar strings, and closed his eyes as he recalled the past few nights he'd spent with Yunho in his wolf form. Yes, he loved that boy who, Changmin quickly discovered, was beautiful both inside and out.

Spotting Yunho entering the band room and sitting down at the drums, Changmin decided to approach before the boy got swarmed with attention from others. "Hey, Yunho, do you want to go bowling with me sometime?"

Yunho looked up from the drums with a taken-aback, wide-eyed expression. "I didn't know you liked bowling."

"Truthfully, I don't go often since I'm not that great at it...kinda hoped you'd teach me the proper way to bowl."

"Sure, I'd love that!" Yunho nodded vigorously.

They had a blast bowling. Changmin embarrassed himself on more than one occasion by slipping as he reeled back to throw the bowling ball. Yunho valiantly held in a laugh and patiently showed Changmin a few techniques that helped.

"You are really good at bowling, Yunho!" He praised the other boy on their way out of the bowling alley.

"Thanks! God, it felt so good to bowl again." Yunho nudged Changmin on the shoulder. "Thank you for suggesting this...you're so fun to be with."

Changmin - one, Sangwoo - zero, on the friendship-bonding scale. He refused to give Sangwoo starter points for being the current boyfriend, since the senior was lacking in making Yunho this happy.

The next time he approached Yunho was a few days later outside of class. Yunho was sitting alone on a bench, studying, occasionally wistfully gazing up at the sky, then lowering back to the textbook.

Snapping himself out of staring like a doofus, Changmin strolled up to the boy and asked, "Hey, Yunho, wanna go bike-riding with me this weekend?"

That pink head lifted, crescent dark-brown eyes shining and teeth flashing, "Wow, sure!"

On Saturday morning, Changmin rented them two bikes from a local shop, and they spent a couple of hours riding around the large university campus, over sidewalks, as well as, the small grassy plains underneath a canopy of trees. It was great exercise and they rode side-by-side so they could also talk about whatever topic took their fancy.

"You must be hungry. Wanna grab a bite?" Changmin suggested as they skidded to a halt near the university café. This place served mouth-watering burgers...Mmmmm, meat.

"Famished, actually!" Yunho wiped his sweaty brow and offered a grateful smile.

Once they had settled on a table and ordered, Yunho gave Changmin a bashful glance as he said, "You are really thoughtful. This is wonderful..."

Changmin - two, Sangwoo - zero.

The be-friends-and-woo-Yunho plan went on for weeks. One some days, Changmin invited Yunho to a ping-pong match in one of the dorm game rooms.

"I won!" He announced smugly. "And you suck."

Eyes sparkling with good humor, Yunho put on a big pout and smacked Changmin's arm. "You're mean!"

Unable to help himself, Changmin ruffled Yunho's pink hair. "You can keep beating me at bowling, though, I don't mind."

On other days, he invited Yunho on long-walks around the community park and talked about the future. Changmin found out that he and Yunho shared the same life principles, which sparked lots of musing over the other boy joining his wolf pack.

They also enjoyed many more snow-cones and lunches together. Changmin itched to hold Yunho's hand on those walks (or anytime, really), but was skittish about overstepping his bounds.

Changmin's score was at least ten by now, and he couldn't be happier.

He became privy to the best part of Yunho during their time alone; the playful, goofy, open-hearted side. While Sangwoo immersed himself with acting classes and did nothing more than charm his way through his relationship with Yunho, Changmin swooped in and claimed the empty territory in Yunho's life. Changmin may not be as suave and mature as Sangwoo, but he was perfectly aware of Yunho's growing feelings for him, since Yunho had started politely blowing Jaejoong and Junsu off to hang out with Changmin.

After soccer practice one day, Yunho appeared on the sidelines of the basketball court, watching Changmin practice with his team. He whooped loudly when Changmin scored a point.

Dripping in sweat and breathing shallow, he strolled up to Yunho, stopping at a close distance and staring down into the other boy's eyes. Yunho didn't hold his stare for long, looking away and complimenting Changmin on his basketball skills.

Yunho took a short step back. "Your skin is radiating heat. Do you have a fever?"

Smiling cryptically, Changmin moved forward. "No, I'm just warm. Come closer and feel."

Lifting a hand to Changmin's face and running it along a cheek, Yunho inhaled a sharp breath. With a low whine, Changmin tilted his head toward Yunho's fingers and whispered, "Rub behind my ear...I love that."

The fingers tracing his ear froze as Yunho surveyed him, bemused and panicky. Although his wolf senses were dulled by his human form, Changmin still caught the hint of arousal from the other male's pale skin.

In that moment, he wanted to kiss Yunho, and make him his. Not as a wolf but as a human capable of taking this adorable creature under the bleachers and fucking him into oblivion.

Yunho's fingers twitched and inched back to stroke the tiny space behind Changmin's ear.

Changmin - fifty, Sangwoo - negative ten!

~*~

Something was terribly wrong.

Sangwoo was around more during the day and strutting around with Yunho latched to his arm. The senior immediately became tight-lipped and tense-faced when he spied Changmin watching them.

Over the course of the next several weeks, there had been much more that caused him to worry...

Walking into class, Yunho headed straight to his desk and turned to Junsu, laughing about a particular episode during soccer practice. While Jaejoong and Yoochun made kissy faces at each other, Changmin sat stone-faced in his chair, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement that never came.

In the band hall, Yunho hopped from person-to-person, swapping stories and learning more about the other instruments. Yunho even introduced himself to Baekhyun and Joonmyeon, and the pups nearly wet themselves.

Unbeknownst to Yunho, Changmin followed his human to the choir room, where the boy met up with Minho, Key, and Jonghyun - three felines from Junsu's pack - and discussed typical vocal techniques with them.

Changmin promptly glowered in the corner.

The stalking recommenced and Changmin found himself in the dance hall, where Yunho met with Taemin - the youngest of the felines in Junsu's pack - and Changmin grew suspicious of that hairball's physical proximity with his human.

By the end of the third week, Changmin had had enough of being ignored. He strode up to Yunho, who was kicking around a soccer ball by himself one cloudy evening, and demanded to know what was going on. "Why have you been avoiding me? We haven't hung out alone in weeks, and you won't even talk to me!"

When Yunho simply tilted his head to the side and replied, voice lacking in its usual chipper cadence, "I don't know what you're talking about," Changmin's nostrils flared, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You're starting to like me and it's scaring you!"

That last, presumptuous statement escaped his mouth without his consent but it was too late to take them back. They certainly had an effect on Yunho, who went crimson with embarrassment and kicked the soccer ball hard into the goal. "I'm in a relationship, Changmin. You can't just barge into my life and confuse me this way. I've been with Sangwoo for almost two years!"

"Confuse you?" Changmin stood in Yunho's way. "I shouldn't have confused you at all if you had a happy and fulfilling relationship with Sangwoo."

"And what makes you think I don't?"

"Because he doesn't give you what I give you!" Changmin burst with conviction. "Did he tell you stop seeing me, is that it?"

Yunho didn't deny it, but wondered aloud, "Tell me what you give me that he doesn't then?"

"A true friendship, fun, enjoyment of life! You two never do anything fun together, you don't even have deep conversations!"

Eyes rounding, Yunho sputtered, "I - I never told you that...how did you know that? I told Max, but you left..."

Changmin bit his tongue, waiting to see if the boy could piece it together.

Gazing into Changmin's eyes, Yunho whispered, "Impossible. You listened in...you had to have listened in!"

Heart beating loudly in his chest, Changmin opted to remain silent. How did one go about divulging to a human that werewolves exist?

Taking a cautious step forward, Yunho requested, "May I see Max right now?"

"Of course, I'll go get him." Changmin's relief that Yunho wanted the wolf was short-lived because the next part of the request had his body stiffening.

"I want you to come back here, with him by your side."

Nerves tingling, Changmin muttered, "I can't do that."

"Why not?" Trepidation creeping up in Yunho's tone.

There's no point denying it. He had to tell the truth. "Because I am Max."

Yunho shook his head and spun away. Changmin fought the urge to physically reach out and beg the boy not to leave him.

"If that's true," Yunho started faintly, "then you've been deceiving me all this time."

What? Changmin dashed forward. "No, you've got it all wrong, I was trying - "

"It was all a lie."

Changmin came to an abrupt halt as Yunho spun back around, face pinched with betrayal. "It's unbelievable how you could be Changmin and Max at the same time, like some science-fiction fairytale. It doesn't matter to me, though...there have been stranger things in this world. What matters is you used Max to get to me, acting like perfect boyfriend material, and making me believe it would be better if I was with you. Now I'm not sure who you really are."

How did good intentions and love land me in such deep shit?!

"Who am I, really?" Throwing caution to the wind, Changmin declared boldly, "I'm your friend. And I'm in love with you. Everything I did was because I believe you belong with me."

"Then you shouldn't have tricked me, I trusted you," Yunho stated plainly. "I told Max personal things...my God, I even talked about my sex life!" Cheeks as pink as his hair, Yunho's fingers curled into his palms.

"I've always had very tame, sweet sex with my boyfriends, Max...I wonder what intense passion feels like...Sangwoo does this thing sometimes that..."

"I don't want to see you again, Changmin...Max...whoever you are."

I've lost him...!

Changmin's eyes stung. In one last desperate attempt as Yunho furiously walked away, he shouted, "But you're my destined mate...mine, not Sangwoo's!"

Almost half-way across the field, Yunho turned, face screwed up with a multitude of emotions. "I am no one's - not Sangwoo's - and, least of all, yours!"

Thunder had rolled in and rain was falling lightly. Changmin paid it no mind and stayed right where Yunho had left him. He heard Yoochun's disparaging howl in the distance, and it seemed to echo his wolf's own despair.

Chapter Text

Like an empty shell of misery, Changmin returned to the neukdae house in the middle of the night, dripping from head to toe. He took his clothes off at the door and transformed because he couldn't stand to deal with the pain in his heart as a human for a moment longer. He needed to release his wolf and seek the natural comfort of his pack.

Immediately upon entering the living room, Changmin was tackled by all the pups, all lapping their tongues on his face and neck. The pups could sense his sadness and pain, offering whimpers of comfort as they led him to the couch. He distinctly heard Jongin and Chanyeol barking out questions: Are you okay? Did something happen with Yunho?

He couldn't summon the will to respond, and so laid his head down in exhaustion, allowing the pups to curl up around him. The boys sort of saw him as their papa, each one eyeing him pitifully, saddened by their inability to brighten his mood.

Changmin slumbered in this cocoon of warmth till morning, when the sound of the door opening and closing loudly alarmed him and the other pups. Yoochun entered the room and looked as wretched as Changmin felt. The pups around him bowed their heads respectfully, waiting for orders from their alpha.

"I lost Jaejoong," Yoochun announced, visibly holding back tears. "Everyone leave me be, I don't want to talk about it."

Changmin watched his alpha until he disappeared upstairs. Next to him, Luhan barked softly: "Will Yunho-hyung visit us here?"

"It's over, pup." Changmin jumped off the couch and went to his room to lick his wounds in peace.

~*~

Classes became a hollow ordeal. He went from class to class, alone. Yoochun became a ghost, and stopped showing up to Music History class to avoid Jaejoong.

Changmin wanted to do that too, but his papa was a professor at this university and it did not bode well for him to be skipping classes. He rarely saw the older wolf due to schedule conflictions and his office being located clear across campus in the Korean Language department, yet, somehow he just knew Papa Shim would find out and tell Mama Shim, and then the she-wolf would bite his head off.

So, he kept going to class, kept staring at the back of Yunho's pink head and replaying their last fight over and over again in his head. Each replay had his stomach curling. If I had just been honest from the beginning...!

It was a little too late to dwell on it, though. So what if losing Yunho felt like his heart got ripped from his chest? So what? There are plenty of other attractive people, even some young, fertile wolves his mama was always raging to introduce him to.

He tried to tell this to Yoochun one night as they roamed through the trees around campus. Upon even suggesting hooking up with other people, Yoochun grumbled and snapped at him, "No one will ever be like Jaejoong for me! And no one will ever be like Yunho for you! We're doomed to mourn them forever!"

Changmin slowly backed away from his alpha. As a beta, he could challenge the male, but who was he kidding? Yoochun was right. The way Yunho had taken Changmin's breath away from the moment he had stepped foot into the classroom could not be rivaled by another. Yunho with his shocking pink hair, pouty ruby lips and ruddy cheeks...Yunho with those sweet eyes staring at him with contempt the last time they spoke...

Changmin slumped down onto the dirt and took deep breathes to calm his frayed nerves. Yoochun left him for a while and returned with a limp rabbit clamped in his jaw. They shared the kill, chewing and swallowing in silence.

After they transformed back into their human form, as they dressed, Yoochun finally admitted out loud why Jaejoong rejected him. "I decided to do what you did and reveal my true form. It seems that Jae is not only a cat-person, but he's afraid of dogs. I'll never forget the look of horror in his eyes as he backed away from me. I transformed back and tried to reason with him but he shouted for me to leave him alone."

The similarities in their tragic tales upset Changmin further. He figured Yunho and Jaejoong must have shared what happened to each other because they seemed united in ignoring the wolves' existence.

Towards the end of the semester in December, Luhan rushed into the neukdae house with news about Yunho, the object of the pup's weekly stalking.

"Yunho-hyung and Sangwoo-hyung broke up!"

Changmin fell off the couch. "What...how do you know?"

"I heard them arguing and break up outside the theater hall," Luhan confirmed proudly while plopping down on Baekhyun's lap.

Before thinking it through, Changmin ran out the door, feet pounding on the ground as he made his way to the soccer field. As he'd guessed, Yunho was out there, in the cold, kicking ball after ball into the goal.

Instead of approaching the male and risking another awful human confrontation, Changmin entered the swarm of trees next to the field and transformed. With extreme caution, Changmin slinked towards Yunho.

When his human spotted him, a puzzling mix of anger and fear and determination charged the air between them. "Go away, Max!"

The wolf didn't listen and pressed forward. Yunho threw a soccer ball at Changmin, missing him by a wide margin. "I said go away! It's over between Sangwoo and I. Is what you wanted, to drive a wedge between us? Well, you succeeded, now leave me alone!"

It wasn't Yunho's words that stopped him from getting too close, it was the awareness of a new scent. Changmin stretched his neck out and sniffed. The human smelt a bit like his ex-boyfriend (not surprising) but also something completely different, yet not at all unfamiliar.

Junsu's scent.

The wolf in him couldn't help but bare his teeth. He didn't like this development, not one bit. Was Yunho hanging out with Junsu that much?

Unable to withstand the scent for much longer, Changmin transformed back into a human, right before Yunho's eyes. Heedless of the warnings going off in his head, Changmin drew closer and closer to a very alarmed Yunho. His manhood began to harden when the human lowered a curious gaze to his crotch. A whiff of sweet, human arousal reached Changmin's nostrils.

"Come with me," he said.

"Stay back." Yunho held two hands up as if raising an invisible wall between them.

"Yunho?" A voice behind Changmin startled both of them. It was Sangwoo, staring at Changmin's nakedness and his ex-boyfriend with wounded eyes. "What is this? I came to reconcile with you but it seems you've moved on."

Before Yunho could get himself out of the embarrassed state he was in, Changmin answered, "Yes, he's moved on." He turned, penis standing proudly and itching to pee all over Yunho as a way to mark his territory.

Sangwoo was shaking his head, mouth pinched with disapproval, the senior walked away from the awkward scene. With a glowing sense of pride, Changmin faced Yunho again only to get a smack in the face. But the smack was nothing; light and almost cute coming from the pink-haired spit-fire in front of him.

"How could you do that?" Yunho spat. "Put some clothes on, it's freezing out here!"

Without a second thought, Changmin bent and lifted Yunho over his shoulder, carrying a protesting Yunho into the woods. Setting the human down, he wasted no time in pressed the other boy into the jagged bark of a tree. "You smell of that twat Junsu...stop hanging out with him, he's bad news."

Jutting his chin, Yunho said, "Jaejoong and I have been enjoying our time in the goyangi house and you can't tell me what to do!"

Fear stabbed at his heart. He wanted Yunho no where near that feline. In order to send a clear message to Junsu, Changmin began working his bare, toned body up and down Yunho's supple one, drawing a gasp from the human's pretty lips. He wanted his scent all over this boy!

The hardness pressing on his upper thigh told Changmin he wasn't the only one effected by the languid rubbing. If only Changmin had turned Yunho into a wolf when he had the chance; the other male would have been his omega-love, dripping wet and ready to accept a thorough fucking against this tree, and after which Changmin would spill inside Yunho, marking him as his forever.

Lost in a lustful haze, Changmin didn't realize Yunho had pushed him away until he stumbled backwards. "Why do you keep torturing me?" The boy's dark-brown orbs crazed and suffering, as he scrambled back and disappeared out of the woods.

I'm not torturing you at all, my human, if you're not the one torturing yourself with thoughts of us too.

Changmin stayed out in the cold till dusk, desperately hoping Yunho would return.

He never did.

~*~

Over Christmas break, Changmin spent a week at his family's ranch on the outskirts of Seoul. He enjoyed racing through the fields and scaring the small animals, as well as, finding immense pleasure in hunting the larger ones.

He did have to suffer through one of his mama's lectures about mating, and succumb to his overzealous sisters, letting the cubs gnaw at his ears and climb all over him. His papa was quiet and reserved during most of the holiday, which was nothing out of the ordinary.

By the end of the week, Changmin was back at the neukdae house with Yoochun and the pups, who had already returned from their own family visits. Within a few minutes of greeting them, he sensed something was off with his pack. Yoochun became distraught and pale-faced when Changmin asked him what was wrong.

Soft-spoken Joonmyun calmly took Changmin's arm and told him, "You need to sit down for this Changmin-nim. There's been some troubling news."

Perusing all the down-turned expressions, Changmin shrugged off Joonmyun's hand and demanded, "Tell me what's happened!"

He heard a sob to his right. Luhan was crying in Baekhyun's arms. "What the fuck..." Chanyeol was holding a frightened-looking Jongin. Sehun and Tao sat glued to each other, wearing twin scowls.

Yoochun, their alpha, looked near tears when Changmin met his eyes. "Hyung, I swear, if you don't tell me right now what's going on - "

"Junsu turned Jaejoong..." Yoochun sucked in a breath then released it with a noisy whoosh. "...and Yunho."

Time stood still. It took some time for Changmin to process what Yoochun told him. An unbidden image of Yunho clawing, hissing, purring, and licking himself clean came to the forefront of his mind and an agonized cry tore from him. "No!"

Before anyone could stop him, he was out of the door, trembling with the urge to transform and break down the goyangi door. He heard Yoochun running after him in the snow storm and tuned out all orders from his alpha. He didn't care if Yoochun punished him later, right now, nothing could hurt more than his mate turning into the species he despised the most by nature.

~*~

Junsu stared at the two wolves, smirking with dangerous eyes from the balcony of the goyangi house.

Changmin snarled, "You son of a bitch!"

"No, that would be you, my mangy dog."

"Why would you do this?" Changmin's gut twisted horribly."You've changed their lives forever, you conniving feline!"

"I like expanding my family...now run along, puppy. I have new babies to take care of. I'll be sure to mention you two came by."

Dismissing all of Yoochun's calls of concern, Changmin transformed and tore into the trees, paws pounding on the thick layers of snow. Each one of his howls a cry for Yunho.

~*~

Changmin wandered for days, refusing to return to the neukdae house. Consumed with anguish, the forest gave him the isolation he craved. His appetite was lost, stomach churning whenever Yunho came to mind, which was about every minute. However, by the end of the third day of isolation, he was growing dizzy with hunger.

In his peripheral, he spotted a hedgehog crawl out of a small hole. Getting into a crouching position, Changmin traced his teeth with his tongue. I'm gonna get ya!

Then he smelt it. Out of nowhere. Cats.

Two male leopards, one a golden-white and the other a blackish-white, leaped off a tree and boxed the hedgehog in. With a low snarl, Changmin broke out into a run towards the felines. They stealing his prey!

When he got within a few feet, the cats hissed and jumped back. The hedgehog squawked in fear and scurried away from the tussle. Damn them, that was my lunch!

The blackish-white cat decided to chase after the hedgehog while the golden-white one stood up to the wolf. Long incisors snapped at him but Changmin dodged each attack easily, guessing the feline was either inexperienced or wasn't really trying to hurt him. The cat's eyes and scent were familiar...

Changmin ceased defending himself to stare. Those feline eyes were electrifying; their slant and color were like...

Letting his guard down briefly gave the cat leeway to pin Changmin to the ground at astonishing speed. The wolf didn't bite or push the cat off. Instead, he breathed in the creature's scent and stared some more.

"Yunho?"

The golden-white cat hissed, "You drove me to do this, Max!"

Changmin yelped softly, "I love you, why?"

"You tricked me into loving you! I needed you to stay away!" Yunho meowed aggressively; the noises were getting louder, like cries for help.

Suddenly, the tree branches above them were lined with leopards of whites, blacks, greys, and oranges. A sleek black cat dived down and lightly bit on one of Changmin's legs. The wolf gnashed his teeth and wiggled out from under Yunho, ready to attack Junsu. Today, he would tear this fur ball limb from limb, leaving nothing left in his thirst for revenge.

Changmin and Junsu circled each other, eyes glittering with lust for blood. Before either one could react, loud howling echoed in the silence of the forest and neared them - Yoochun and the pups were surrounding them in no time.

All the leopards sprung down from the trees and stood behind Junsu, deep growls rumbling in their chest. The blackish-white leopard from earlier had returned, hedgehog clutched in his jaw, slinking towards them with pride.

There was an immediate reaction from the alpha wolf: soft whimpering and edging towards the blackish-white cat, who must be Jaejoong, judging by Yoochun's need to be closer to the feline.

The hedgehog dropped from Jaejoong's hold as Yoochun drew closer; the cat appeared skittish, frightened by the wolf's advance. Junsu stepped in Yoochun's path and hissed. "Leave my baby alone, mutt!"

"You demon! He was my mate!"

As the alphas proceeded their verbal attacks, Changmin's eyes drifted to Yunho. Despite becoming the most despicable species to a canine's existence, Yunho was still breathtaking as he observed Changmin with caution. There was a new, peculiar scent coming from the golden feline, though...and it had Changmin drooling in his mouth.

He felt a lick on one of his front legs and looked down. Jongin was soothing Changmin's wound with his tongue - it was like instant relief - and he bent down to nuzzle the young wolf's coat in thanks. He could hear the pups behind him note Yunho's presence and their desire to approach the cat.

Changmin barked for them to stay. The other leopards instantly gathered Yunho and Jaejoong into a small circle for their protection as Junsu backed up towards that circle.

Yoochun's eyes only left Jaejoong when he ordered all the wolves home, and turned to lead the pack. "No bloody fight today. Let's go."

This time, Changmin obeyed - fatigue tugging on his muscles while his stomach rumbled; he needed proper rest and food.

A distinctive purr seized his attention.

Changmin looked back.

Seated down on his hunches, long tail swiping from side to side, Yunho's unblinking, feline eyes were filled to the brim with fury and lust.

Chapter Text

The spring semester began. The mundane routine of class-homework-study-class again was in progress. As fate would have it, both Changmin and Yoochun had a Music and Composition class with Yunho and Jaejoong.

The class population itself was comprised of leopards, wolves, and humans. It created a tense atmosphere, which the professor picked up on after the fourth lecture.

"I would like you all to work together more," their professor voiced, "so I've created a project that will count as part of your final exam grade."

Following a sea of groans, the professor smiled and read down his roster, pairing the students up and telling them to sit together. Yoochun's fists clenched and sweat broke out on his forehead when he was paired with Jaejoong. Changmin's gaze lowered to his desk with an aching sense of dread.

Please, don't, not Yunho.

Yes, Yunho. You know you want an excuse to be near him.

"Shim Changmin with Jung Yunho."

The second voice in his head yelled in triumph while the first one screamed a series of "No's" that went unacknowledged because suddenly his legs were carrying him to Yunho's desk.

The pink-headed feline appraised him with a glare, and then turned his attention back to the professor when Changmin sat next to him. He tuned in enough to hear the directions for the project: write and compose a full song using techniques taught before the last exam. Then he concentrated on getting his body under control, for Yunho's proximity was making him light-headed. Feline or human, this was the boy he loved. It may go against nature but Changmin would still take Yunho as his mate in a heartbeat.

Everyday they sat together, the tension between them built. Yunho purposely averted his eyes whenever Changmin tried to catch them and, out of spite, Changmin purposely sat as close as possible to Yunho. He thrived on drawing any kind of reaction from the feline, even if it's simply irritation for now.

A couple of weeks into the semester, Changmin spotted Yoochun making moves on Jaejoong in class. Hand-grasping and thigh-stroking under the desk, at most. Although Jaejoong stared ahead with frightened eyes, he didn't push Yoochun away. In fact, today, the cat whispered something that had Yoochun grinning with mischief in his eyes.

Staring at them with envy, he had to wonder if they were working out their differences and trying to be mates again. Changmin noted Junsu looking daggers at the couple and delighted in the alpha cat's rage.

With a sly glance at Yunho, Changmin leaned over and said in a hushed tone, "I have some lyrics in mind for the song. Once I write it, will you proof-check it and compose it for me, kitty?"

Yunho drew in a sharp breath with the barest of nods. When the professor dismissed the class, Yunho stood to pack up his notebook and stretch his back. There was a sensuality to the movement that wasn't present when Yunho was human; it pulled Changmin's eyes from the swell of this male's hips to his slim waist and up to the curves of his chest. Wetting his dry lips, Changmin said, "I'll get on writing those lyrics..." deliberately adding, "...during my walks and bike-rides."

Students were filing out of the classroom, Yoochun and Jaejoong were waiting at the door, and Junsu hadn't moved from this desk as he redirected his glares towards Changmin.

Yunho, who had slugged his backpack over one shoulder, paused mid-step and seemed to be considering the subtle implication behind Changmin's words. "You...still take walks and bike-rides?"

"I haven't for a while," Changmin admitted, paying no heed to Junsu's glowers. "But I'd like to. I missed it." He breathed the last statement as if to say: I've missed you.

Yunho tugged on his lower lip with his teeth, appearing conflicted as he threw Changmin one final glance before exiting the classroom with Jaejoong. Yoochun came up to Changmin's desk, smiling like he hadn't in months.

Changmin didn't bat an eyelash when Junsu strutted up to them and said, "They are my babies. I will not have two mutts defiling them."

Biting back an ugly resort, Changmin raised a brow towards Yoochun, who nodded and told the alpha cat, "Guess that's up to your babies if they wish to be defiled by us."

Junsu huffed out the door, fists at his side. Changmin and Yoochun high-fived on their way out.

~*~

Indeed, Changmin took lots of walks and bike-rides for meditative purposes; inspiration for lyrics hit him at the most random times. During one of his walks in the park near campus, he happened to spot Yunho attempting to climb a tree with Heechul and Taemin.

"It's much harder this way!" Foot slipping off the bark, Yunho's face flushed with exertion. "Let's transform!"

Heechul and Taemin laughed at Yunho's struggle, and cuddled up to the new feline in their pack. The unspoken affection was clear as day.

Lyrics streamed through Changmin as he watched the pink-haired beauty finally succeed in the climb. Keeping his distance from the felines, he pulled out a small notepad and pencil from his pocket and wrote:

Your dazzling, unruly, tangled hair makes it hard for me to hold it in... I’m your man, I’m still thirsty for you Your body calls out to me, I’m stubborn, it has to be you Make luv luv make it right make

As he glanced up, he was slammed with Yunho’s dark brown eyes. This time he met the glimmering lust he found there with a narrowed, hungry stare.

“Oi! Mutt! What’re you doing here?” Heechul shouted at him from his spot on the tree. Taemin made a noncommittal noise and wrapped an arm around Yunho’s waist.

Changmin moved under the tree’s long, leaf-less branches with a bounce in his step, whistling a tune. “Well, well, well, three little kitties up in a tree. Isn’t this the part where I bark and wag my tail in excitement? Come down and play.”

“No, thank you, wolf!” Taemin tightened his hold on Yunho.

“What if I just want to play with one kitty?” Changmin pretended to mull it over. “The pink-haired one?”

Yunho stared down, jaw set. “I don’t want to play with you.”

“Aw, c’mon. I won’t bite, much…unless you’re scared.”

Eyes flashing, Yunho said, “I’m not scared of you. I just don’t particularly like you.”

“But I like you…a lot.” Desire clawed at his chest as Changmin eyed the ruddiness of Yunho’s cheeks and red, parted lips. “Will you take a walk with me?”

“No.”

“Please. I have some important things to discuss about…our project.”

That did the trick. Yunho gently pulled away from Taemin and shuffled with careful footing down the tree.

Taemin appeared perturbed to let Yunho go. Heechul looked upon Changmin with suspicious curiosity and advised Yunho loudly, “If he tries anything, transform and rip his head off.”

With an eye roll, Changmin paid no mind to the hostility projecting towards him like bullets, and turned to walk off at a slow pace, hoping Yunho would follow.

He did. And they walked in silence for about three seconds before Yunho started, “So, about the project – “

“Forget the damn project,” Changmin interjected. “I want to properly apologize.”

Yunho’s steps came to an abrupt stop. “I have to go.”

Changmin grabbed his arm. “Please don’t. I haven’t forgotten what it was like to be your friend. And I was your friend. You have to believe me.”

“Even if that were the case, you deceived me from the beginning.” Yunho kept his gaze to the ground.

“And that’s what I want to apologize for.” Changmin grew desperate to make the other understand. “I’m sorry. I should have told you I was Max. I should have been honest before trying to be your friend. But I knew no other way to capture your heart. You’re always surrounded by people who adore you, and a boyfriend who adores. From the moment you walked into the classroom –“

“Enough.” Yunho was taking in shallow breaths and backing away. Changmin went along with it and steered him to closest tree.

“ – I wanted you to be mine. You told me in the woods that I made you love me. You loved me?”

Face scrunched up, Yunho spun and tried to climb the tree. Changmin’s wolf instincts kicked in and he pulled the feline down and pressed him against the trunk of the tree. “No, no, kitty. You can’t run away. No matter how it came about, you adored Max, you adored our times together. Tell me the truth.”

Arms wrapped securely around Yunho’s waist, their groins pressed together, Changmin breathed in the same peculiar scent he’d smelt in the woods and suddenly realized what it was: arousal.

It’s different from when the boy was human, but it had the same effects. The unusual scent was becoming more potent by the minute, infiltrating Changmin’s nostrils and diluting his brain. Yunho’s pupils were dilating.

“Are you wet down there, kitty?” He croaked.

A grouchy purr vibrated from Yunho’s throat. “I’m in heat; it has nothing to do with you!”

“It has everything to do with me. Do you get wet around Junsu? Around the other cats?”

Yunho flattened his back against the tree, studying Changmin strangely. “We are two different species now. You cannot touch me or mate with me. Ever.“

You drove me to this, Max!

Changmin’s face twisted with pain. “Is that why you did it? To put as many barriers as possible between us?”

“Junsu and the others were very compassionate towards me and Jaejoong,” Yunho mumbled. “You hurt me so much…I found security with the cats. When they revealed their true forms, I knew that the only creatures dogs generally hated were cats, and visa versa. I thought it would keep you away, and make things easier for the both of us.”

Changmin’s hands dug under the back of Yunho’s jacket and shirt to caress the smooth, warm skin. “I can never stay away. My canine instincts are torn; I hate what you’ve become. But I will always love you.”

Yunho arched into his hands with a moan, holding the position. Changmin bent his head and pressed his lips to Yunho’s, pausing and savoring their softness before tenderly working them open. With another moan, Yunho accepted Changmin’s tongue, letting him taste. Hands roaming into the back of Yunho’s jeans, he felt around and growled when wetness from the feline’s hole seeped onto his fingers. Omega. Mine. Claim!

Yunho pulled back with a gasp. “How can you still make me feel this way? It was a struggle enough to resist you as a human, but now this is ten times worse!”

Changmin wanted to leap with joy, sing in victory. But it was all short-lived. Yunho tore himself away and broke into a quick run, back to where the other felines were still lounging in the tree.

With a wistful sigh, he glanced down at his cock and said, “Not today, buddy.” Then pulled out the notebook in his bag and wrote:

Ah I’m standing next to you, burn like a fire,

If I say I’m already filled up with you,

I’m a liar The night overflows with our own tap,

I’m your man, I’m still thirsty for you.

~*~

The snow was beginning to melt; it left the sidewalks glossy with moisture and slippery enough to cause accidents. Though it wasn’t an ideal condition for bike rides, Changmin enjoyed the cold breeze flowing through his hair and cooling his face. He rode across campus, stopping by his papa’s office.

He worked up the nerve to tell the old man about Yunho, about everything. Silent, his dad took in the story with little reaction, except for the pursing of the lips when he found out his son was in love with a cat.

“What do should I do, papa?”

The old man steepled his fingers, staring at Changmin over the rim of his glasses. “I cannot say I approve but you cannot choose who captures your heart. My advice to you, son, is you two must bond together in your true forms. That may soften Yunho to accepting you.”

Changmin considered the advice. Yunho had not hurt him in the woods, despite the frontal attacks. Deep down, he knew Yunho loved Max - they needed to meet again!

Riding his bike to the soccer field, Changmin parked it near the goal post and made his way into the woods. He stripped and transformed. Stretching his limbs, Changmin threw his head back, howling, and then charged ahead.

He soon came across two figures. The telling grunts and whimpers indicated exactly what was happening. Peeking around a bush, Changmin discovered Jaejoong and Yoochun, in their true forms, fucking. The alpha wolf had the leopard down on his hunches, purring with pleasure.

Watching with fascination, Changmin kept hidden behind the bush as the mating couple transformed and rolled around on the ground, naked and panting. Yoochun, up on his knees, resumed his place behind Jaejoong and entered him again. Moaning with elation, both males were too lost in a frenzy of passion to notice they had an audience.

Changmin strode away, having seen enough. He moved a good half a mile from the couple before howling again, barking and whining for Yunho. Exhausting himself, Changmin laid down on the ground and waited, hoping the feline heard his calls.

His drooping eyes popped open when his ears detected paws squishing against the wet dirt. Sniffing, he recognized Yunho before the cat became visible in the distance. Holding back the canine urge to attack, Changmin stood and stayed, tail wagging but ears pinned back with caution.

Yunho moved with grace, head high and mighty, tail curled up for balance. The leopard stalked towards the wolf cagily, whiffs of arousal intensifying as Yunho grew nearer. Changmin’s manhood lengthened into hardness; the urge to maim was replaced with the urge to fuck and conquer.

“You came.” Changmin edged forward.

“I tried to ignore.” Yunho hissed, already starting to escape against the wolf’s advance.

“I want us to be friends again.” The wolf began circling the leopard.

Yunho meowed accusingly, “You want more!”

“So do you.” Changmin sniped back, and placed his front paws on Yunho’s behind in order to lift himself on his hind legs. His hard shaft nudged the heavy set of balls to tease the wetness of the hole above it.

The feline purred, tail swinging back and forth. But when the wolf nudged inside, Yunho emitted a dangerous growl. Changmin had no time to thoroughly claim, for Yunho sprung forward and scampered away from him. “You can’t catch me, Max!”

Changmin howled excitedly. The game was on!

Chapter Text

“Gotcha!”

After chasing the cat for hours, Changmin was still a bundle of energy when his body finally slammed into Yunho’s. The leopard roared, huffing through his nostrils, thrashing and hissing threats of mutilation; Changmin yelped at the claws hanging onto his body. With soft whimpers, he nuzzled his nose into Yunho’s golden fur. “I’ll take care of you, kitty. Just be mine.”

The leopard somehow slithered from the wolf’s hold and darted away. “Not today!”

Outside of class, Changmin met Yunho in the woods every day after. They usually sniffed each other and made feeble attempts at grooming one another. However, when Changmin ever dared to stick his cock in the other, Yunho ran. Their meetings always ended with a game of chase – and the wolf had yet to capture that stubborn cat!

Except one day…Changmin finally got him, tackling him to the ground.

The cat struggled half-heartedly, his defiance ebbing rapidly. Only their raspy breathing filled the air. Head buried in Yunho’s furry chest, Changmin somehow trusted the cat not to attack and sunk lower to rest on the body underneath him. When he felt a coarse tongue lick his head, Changmin perked his head up and barked happily, wagging his tail and surging forward. “I want to be inside you! Please, I love you!”

The feline’s gaze was cold as it considered the wolf’s plea. Then, with a shudder, Yunho transformed. Changmin eagerly followed suit.

As their naked human bodies met, they both moaned.

Without a word, Yunho flipped over and rose up to his knees. “I’m so wet. I’ve been this way since you recognized me during our tussle in the woods. Changmin, I need you to do something. I – I can’t stand it any longer.”

Trembling with need, Changmin parted Yunho’s ass cheeks and swiped his tongue, greedily slurping the sweet Omega nectar designed for his taste buds only. He pulled back to whisper thickly, “Once I take you, you’re mine forever.”

Quivering, Yunho shoved back against Changmin's mouth. “I know.”

That’s all he needed to hear. Giving his cock a few pumps, Changmin lined himself up against Yunho’s wet entrance and pushed in. Nails sinking into the dirt, Yunho pushed back forcibly, burying Changmin to the hilt.

Gasping, he jackhammered into Yunho’s beautiful body, his mind fogging with desire. The pink-haired male mewled and matched each thrust with a force that seemed to shake the ground underneath them. Changmin glanced down, admiring the lewd show of his cock fucking in and out of Yunho. “You fit me like a glove…a warm, wet glove…shit!”

Changmin was dripping sweat down on Yunho’s back as he slowed to drive in with longer, deeper strokes. Yunho cried out, neck exposed, “Come inside me!”

“Not yet, kitty.” Changmin kept one hand heavy on Yunho’s muscular back and glided his other hand down to grasp Yunho’s thick, hard cock. He stroked the incredible shaft after each long, languid thrust. His own cock swelled and grew harder with every minute that ticked by, stretching Yunho until the adorable male freed tiny, choked screams from his throat.

Lifting his mate up, he continued his thrusting and stroking as he asked, “Kitty wants to come, right?”

Yunho cursed, wrapping a hand over Changmin’s and pumping faster. Changmin bit the side of his mate’s neck, marking the feline, denying any objections from his canine nature. This cat was his and no one could have him now!

Head resting back on Changmin’s chest, Yunho came, shooting over their laced fingers and dribbling on the dirt below. Whining throatily at the beautiful sight, Changmin poured come straight into Yunho, coating the male’s inner walls and marking him again as his.

From now on, Yunho would never smell like that fucker, Junsu. The thought made him smile against Yunho’s shoulder and kiss the soft, pearly skin lovingly.

Yunho purred, looking very satiated. “So. That’s what it’s like.”

“What’s like?”

“To be so utterly filled and satisfied.

Regarding Yunho with misty affection, Changmin said earnestly, “I never meant to hurt you before. I just wanted to make you happier.”

“I know. And you have,” Yunho confessed, whirling to throw his arms around Changmin’s neck. “Kiss me now. A cat’s heat is nothing to be trifled with.”

“Neither is a wolf’s. I’ve been in puppy heat for months.” Changmin's brow arched as he grinned. “I’m ready to take you on, kitty. Over and over again.”

In jesting manner, Yunho nipped him on the lips. “Where would we go? Are we doomed to do it forever in the woods?”

“I’ll take you back to the neukdae house,” Changmin decided. Before Yunho could protest in panic, he shushed him, “Shhhh, the pups will love you. They loved you as a human and they’ll love you still. Help me raise them? Yoochun is useless now that he and Jaejoong are back together.”

Yunho appeared convinced but insisted, “I still need to visit the goyangi house. Those cats are a part of me now. A lot of them, their claws are worse than their bites. I think they can grow to like you.”

Changmin snorted, seriously doubting it. Yunho tugged Changmin down until their lips grazed. “Let’s start over. Forget the past. We are here, changed since we first met, and mates in love.”

“You love me?”

“I love you, Changmin…Max…I love you.”

With a flutter in his heart and heat coiling in his stomach, Changmin swooped down for a quick, searing kiss. “A fresh start. You and me.”

The next time Changmin went bike riding, Yunho was straddling the small, second seat behind him and whooping with laughter. The time for recreating old memories was now!

~*~

In a matter of days, Yunho and Jaejoong were moving out of the goyangi house with their respective wolves waiting outside like guard dogs. Junsu was on the porch, with the rest of the felines looking on, spiting fire and threatening to rip the wolves apart in their sleep.

As they passed Junsu with a suitcase in hand, Yunho and Jaejoong nodded at each other and leaned down to kiss Junsu on either side of his face. Jaejoong cooed, “Don’t worry. We’ll come by a lot. But we have mates now, Su. Please calm down.” This seemed to mollify Junsu a tad, though, he still looked displeased.

Heechul began hollering death threats with a desperate Siwon trying to calm him down. Taemin was pouting while Jonghyun enthusiastically sucked on his neck. Key and Minho had grown bored with all the drama and started making out.

Yunho walked down the porch steps, deep chocolate eyes bright and smiling at Changmin. Eyes promising a lifetime of honest and sweet memories together.

~*~

Staying late in the band room for the tenth night a row, Changmin finished the lyrics to “Heaven’s Day” – the song he had written for Yunho. It was just a class project, nevertheless, he wanted to make it special.

When he entered the neukdae house at midnight, the usual scene presented itself: Yunho lounging lazily on the couch with the pups climbing and nipping at his ears, paws, and whiskers. The most astounding thing about this inter-species behavior was the feline's patience and kindness towards the pups, occasionally even licking the boys' faces and purring with love. The pups were so delighted and hyper to have a mommy figure around, Changmin feared they’d have accidents right there on the wooden floor, embarrassing him in front of his cat companion.

Almost always (unless they were angry with him for taking away their Yunho-time), the pups gave him some love and attention before reverting back to Yunho. Only Chanyeol and Jongin remained loyal and followed him around the house on occasion. Today was one of those days where the boys missed him, and so he got slobbered all over.

Once he was mostly freed from the rambunctious wolves, Yunho got up and arched his back sensually, surveying Changmin with a predator's keen eyes. Changmin cooed and blew a kiss. Instantly, his mate transformed and dragged him to the bedroom, buck-naked and calling back to the boys, “Taemin will be here in a few minutes, be good! And don’t interrupt mommy and daddy in the bedroom.”

They stumbled into the bedroom as Yunho fumbled to get Changmin naked. Wasting no time, he pushed Yunho onto the bed and shoved his ready cock into Yunho’s awaiting hole. Rutting and stroking, pushing and pulling, growling and howling, they fucked for hours. Until they'd thoroughly wrecked each other and the sheets were soaked in sweat.

During the afterglow, Changmin held Yunho in between his legs, back-to-chest, and presented him with the completed song. “I finished it today! It’s ready for you to compose!”

Taemin’s roar suddenly reached their ears, worrying neither of them. The youngest feline of the goyangi house was the third that dared to step into the wolves’ den, and the rascal thoroughly enjoyed torturing the poor pups into submission.

Yunho slumped back against Changmin’s chest and read the lyric aloud:

In my dark room, the sound of breathing that just can’t be hidden

The heart fluttering feeling can’t be hidden either

It feels a bit awkward, I’m already stiff

Your softly batting eyelashes tickles me

I want to block the light from the windows and fill you up

It’ll be engraved in our hearts, heaven’s day

Be my chou-cream yeah scream yeah

So you can’t leave me

Please take my breath away

Right now, we’re yeah, scream, yeah

Just for once, I hate the clock hands for not stopping

Our hands are entwined with no space left

There might not be enough air here

Keep going on and on

It makes it hard for me to hold it in,

Your dazzling, unruly, tangled hair

A kiss sweeter than chocolate, a scene that I’ll never forget

Ah I’m standing next to you, burn like a fire

If I say I’m already filled up with you, I’m a liar

The night overflows with our own tap

I’m your man, I’m still thirsty for you

Your body calls out to me, I’m stubborn, it has to be you

Make luv luv make it right make

Even after tonight, be mine

Hoping for a spellbound magic

A beat of silence followed.

Cradling Yunho’s precious head and threading his fingers in the pink locks, Changmin whispered, “It’s for you. Everything I do is for you.”

And suddenly Yunho was all over Changmin, keening and crooning indistinguishable words of adoration.

Who ever said cats and dogs couldn’t fall in love was wrong.