moonbound (II)
drifting from town to town was a life you took to far too easily. you’d stay in one place for a short period of time only to move on to the next village in need of a witch. then, one wrong move and you’re stuck dealing with lee minho and his wolf pack.
playlist | part I | part III
pairing: werewolf!lee know x witch!reader
genre: fantasy, comedy, angst, fluff, werewolf au
warnings: blood/gore, magic/witchcraft, threats, violence, manipulation, threats of war, corrupt government, mentions/depictions of scars, depictions of panic attacks, an oc used for villainy purposes, i.n is kind of an asshole for a while, mentions of ruts and heats, smut (fingering, oral, marking, slight voyeurism, dirty talk, praise kink, lee know being possessive, slight edging and orgasm denial, unprotected sex (wrap it up people), missionary, counter sex, light choking)
wc: 6.6k
small particles of light drift in from the window in the your room, rousing you from your slumber. the wind rustling the trees just beyond the panes of glass almost lulls you back to sleep, the warmth of an arm draped over your waist enough to make you lift your head. your eyes blink open and you're greeted by a head of dark hair nestled into the crook of your shoulder. confusion takes over and you blink again, but nobody is there. a sleep heavy huff escapes you, your head hitting the pillow hard. a hand comes up to rub at your face. it's been a couple of weeks since your meltdown in the apothecary and nobody had been able to get much out of you about what had happened. the tension from that day still weighs heavily on everyone. felix had told you what happened between the youngest members of the pack and guilt clawed at your throat from the rift your arrival had created. when you went to chan about it, he'd waved you a tired smile and said the issue would likely blow over, joking they'd be back to terrorize everyone worse than before. you don't know if you believe him, but you have hope in his words. despite your faith, the tension is still killing you. the stress of the day in town has you pulling away from the pack. you've been holed up in your home, using samhain preparations as a weak cover to keep the wolves from prying into your head. even minho had been kept at bay.
you hoist yourself out of bed, the cold wood beneath your feet sending a shiver down your spine. fall is around the corner and the weather reflects that. the sun is shining, but storm clouds in the distance roll closer by the minute. you think about the potential properties rain water would have under the light of tonight's full moon in order to escape the storm brewing in your mind. you stand and shift your weight onto your better leg, compensating for your aggravated injured ankle. your legs move you through your domicile like a ghost. the kitchen is in shambles. wormwood roots hang in the window to be dried by the heat of the sun while hawthorn berry residue splatters the floorboards. it almost reminds you of the time you blew up a cauldron with a potion and you had to spend weeks cleaning slime from the rafters of… no. now's not the time to reminisce. you busy yourself with making breakfast instead. before you know it, you're starting another project to distract from the swirling thoughts.
you don't realize that the sun has gone down until a knock at your front door breaks your concentration. "yn," chan calls from the other side of the door, "we're heading out now. we'll be back in the morning, so just… just get some sleep, yeah?" chan lingers on the other side of the door for longer than he should before sighing through his nose, whispering faintly to someone as he leaves. you let the breath you're holding out and grasp the edge of your kitchen table, a hand coming to cover your eyes. the sound of thunder shakes your home when your hand removes itself from your face, a bolt of lightning illuminating the sticky residue of pumpkin guts that you had just smeared on your face. the scent of petrichor weasels it's way into your nostrils, minho's image lingering in your mind. rain pounds gently on the roof and you take it as a sign for a break. and maybe a bath wouldn't hurt either.
minho is restless from where he lay atop the covers on his bed, the light of the full moon still managing to peak through the storm clouds and onto his sharp features. he didn't go with the pack tonight despite this full moon being the last one before it would disappear until the blood moon at summer's end. but, he didn't want to risk leaving you by yourself. rain taps gently on his bedroom window, making minho roll over onto his side. his thoughts drift and a swell on emotions over takes him. he's worried for you, you haven't been the same since that day in town. minho can tell whatever transpired in the apothecary lingers in your mind, making your smile fade. he's angry at himself for letting you out of his sight to selfishly purchase the jewelry you had admired at that first stall. his glowing blue irises flicker over to where the item sits on his desk, still wrapped in cloth to prevent tarnish. he growls in frustration to himself before sitting up, hands roughly pulling at his scalp. minho stands and takes quick strides towards the door. he needs to clear his head before his thoughts consume him.
the lake is warm compared to the rain thickened air around it, making goosebumps prick at the skin along your shoulders. you sit against a tall rock a few feet from the lake shore, eyes locked on the moon keeping watch above you. the night is quiet. there's no humming of insects or squawking of ravens, only silence and the occasional distant howl of wolves. so, when there's soft splashing coming from the shore, it pierces the stillness that had settled between you and the moon. you move to peer around the rock you're settled behind, hands gliding over the surface of its hard shell. your eyes widen when you see minho on the opposite side, chest bare as the water reaches just barely above his hip bones. your face feels hot suddenly and you're quick to move your gaze away, a blush curling up your neck and into your cheeks. water splashing grabs minho's attention, freezing him in place. "who's there?" he calls out to the source, muscles tense in case he needs to defend himself. minutes pass before your head starts to peek out from behind the rock, making minho relax. his eyes trail down from the muscles in your neck to your collar bone, the runes there on your skin emitting a faint glow from the moonlight. he wonders what the supple flesh around the area would like with his mark. his body moves towards you without him realizing it, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. "is this okay?" his voice cracks slightly in nervousness and he hopes you don't notice. and if you do, you don't say anything. instead, you give a nod, eyes lingering on his lips. the two of you move in unison over to the rock you had previously been sat against. you both sit there in tentative silence before you turn your head to look at minho. you study his face as if you'd forget it the second he turned his back. a hand reaches up to his cheek before you can stop it. his own hand rests over the back of yours, his eyes closing when he leans into your touch. a soft, content hum vibrates through minho's throat before his eye lids slowly open to look into your own. "i know," you say cryptically after a while, "i know we are bound by the moon's light."
warmth blooms in minho's chest. he almost doesn't believe your words. you know. you know and now there's nothing holding him back from loving you openly. minho starts to close the distance between you two, your hand falling away from his face. he stops short, eyes beckoning you to meet him halfway. you comply, your face inches from his. your breaths mingle together in the air. "you are mine and i am yours," he whispers, heart full, "can i kiss you?" you give him a shy smile and nod. minho's hands comes up to hold the side of your jaw, his lips brushing yours. the kiss is tender and raw, turbulent emotions subsiding from both of your minds the longer his soft lips linger on yours. his lips slot against yours perfectly when minho kisses you a second time, fingers slipping down to your waist to pull you closer. your own hands rest on his chest only to wrap around his neck when the kiss is deepened, minho's tongue asking permission to enter your mouth with a flick to your bottom lip. you oblige and the muscle tangles with your own. minho can't help, but pull you impossibly closer. it's almost like he's trying to mold the two of you into one being. soon, you both have to break the kiss for air, a single string of saliva connecting you. you breathe heavily, but minho's lips don't stop. they find purchase on the pulse at your neck. his teeth nip little red marks into the skin there, making quiet gasp and moan tumble from your kiss bitten lips.
a smirk plays on the wolf's face for a moment before he latches onto a particularly sensitive spot below your ear, leaving a purple bruise to blossom on your skin. "mine," minho mutters under his ragged breathing, maneuvering the both of you, so that your back is against the rock. it's smooth, cold surface sends a shiver down your spine, one leg hooking onto minho's hip naturally. he holds it there for you before diving in for another heated kiss, thumb rubbing gentle circles into the side of your thigh. that same hand moves higher to grip your ass cheek before moving back to set your leg down. he parts your legs with his knee and his hand moves to your clit, the pads of his fingers against the bundle of nerves sending a shiver down your spine. his other hand moves to the base of your throat to put pressure there, not enough to hurt you but enough to ground you. his lips move again from your lips, to your chin, then down your jaw. he nips at the skin there lightly while his fingers begin to rub gentle circles on your clit. the quiet moans he earns from you only encourage minho to keep going. "you have no idea how long i've waited to kiss you, my love," minho whispers the confession like a secret, lips skipping down to your collar bone, "to taste you like this." another purple mark is left on your skin and a finger slides gently into your folds. you gasp, unsure if it's in response to his words or the gentle pace he sets with his fingers plunging in and out of your aching cunt. he adds a second finger into you after a while and you have to bite your lip to prevent a filthy noise from coming out of your mouth. minho chuckles in response, "don't be shy, baby. let the moon hear you. let me show her you're mine." your hips rock with in time with your lover's fingers, his mouth back on yours to swallow the moans he wanted to hear from you. you clench around his fingers a few times, a knot forming in your abdomen. you whine when minho retracts his hand, making you feel suddenly empty without him inside you. he chuckles, giving your lips a peck, "patience, baby boy." you place your forehead on his collar bone, hands braced on his shoulders when he starts to push his cock into your sensitive cunt. "you're taking me so well, baby," he mumbles through gritted teeth. you feel so good wrapped around him like this, his cock twitching faintly inside you when he bottoms out. you let out a shaky breath once you've adjusted to him and he guides your legs around his hips, your back digging further into the rock behind you. the new position only buries him deeper inside of you, making your head roll back. open mouthed kisses are strategically placed along your neck and jaw before minho slides almost completely out of you. he snaps his hips into you suddenly, a loud moan ripping from your throat. a chuckle rumbles under your hand on his chest, your mate's lips brushing the shell of you ear, "that's it, baby boy. you’re doing so well." you let out a whimper at his words before minho rocks his hips into you again. his pace is steady as he kisses your lips again. the velvety walls of your cunt flutter around minho's cock as the knot in your stomach begins to return. you pull him closer to you when you feel your climax approaching. "i'm- fuck, i'm close, baby. come with me, god, please come with me," minho moans desperately in your ear. you pull your head up from his shoulder and your labored breathing becomes one with his, before your lips capture his own. your moans harmonize with his as the coil in both of your bellies finally snaps. minho swears he hears his name fall from your lips, your walls fluttering around him as he spills inside you. he kisses you deeply again, whispering sweet nothings between the space where your lips meet.
the rain subsides as morning sun rays part the storm clouds above. your naked bodies are tangled together between the soft sheets of minho's bed. minho is already awake and his fingers ghost over the various rune scars that surround the marks he'd left on your chest, occasionally placing his lips against your collar bones and neck with feather light kisses. a sleepy sigh escapes as you start to come to consciousness and minho smiles softly, placing a final good morning peck on your lips. an eye cracks open and a smile is immediately on your lips at the image of minho's hair sticking up in various directions. you’re left you unsure if it's sticking up that way from sleep or your illicit activities in the lake last night. you lean in and kiss minho's lips again, soft giggles resonating from both of you once you pull away. "good morning, love," he smiles at you, voice hoarse from sleep, "did you sleep well?" you nod at him. "good, i'm glad," he hums, a hand bringing your knuckles to his lips for a few kisses. he gets up from the bed soon after and you whine at the loss of contact, making him chuckle, "wait here. i want to give you something." minho crosses the room in a few swift strides before he's back under the covers with you, a small, wrapped package in his hands. "what's that?" you quiz him when he extends it out for you to take. you do so, fingers delicately moving the fabric away. two familiar circlets stare back at you once you unwrap them and your eyes shoot immediately to minho, heart swelling at his sweet gesture. "you didn't have to," you tell him. "no, i didn't, but i couldn't get your disappointed pout out of my head," he hums, kissing your temple. you grasp onto the bracelet from the set before taking hold of his right hand. you attach the bracelet to his wrist there, the charms on the gold band jingling lightly. "what're you doing?" he chuckles, "these are for you." "you heard the shop keep. they're partners, like us," you tell him, kissing his lips once before putting the anklet on your left foot, "two halves of one whole." a smile plays on both of your lips at your words before you lay back under the covers. you duck your head into the crook of minho's neck, lips attaching to the sun kissed skin there. minho lets out a quiet moan and it only spurs you to add a few more to his growing collection of possessive hickeys. you look up at him, mimicking his words from last night, "mine." minho smirks at you before you tuck your head into his chest. the rise and fall of his breathing begins to lull you into a sense of peace.
laughter echoes from outside suddenly, the rest of the pack now home from their night under the moon. neither of you move from your spots on the bed, minho muttering something about avoiding questions. once their voices quiet down, a knock on his front door echoes through his home. the wolf sighs and gets up, quickly throwing on a random pair of pants. chan greets him on the other side of the door. the alpha's eyes linger on the marks around minho's collar bone for a second too long before he holds up the sopping wet pile of clothes he picked up from the lake. "forget something?" chan teases lightly. minho snatches the clothes from chan quickly, ears bright red. the eldest chuckles, "i'll make a late breakfast." "thanks," minho nods curtly and his eyes dart to the floor, shyly. "hey," chan grabs his attention, "did you claim him?" minho shakes his head in response. "then don't fuck this up, yeah?" chan chuckles. minho nods again, a small smile gracing his features. "now get back to him," chan claps minho on the shoulder, "and i swear if i hear any suspicious noises near the pack house at all, you're sleeping in the forest for at least a week." "he's too quiet for that," minho quips, making chan grab the bridge of his nose. "i did not need to know that, i didn't want to know that, you're a freak," chan mutters, turning around to head back down the steps of minho's house, "an absolute freak." minho chuckles and shuts the door, looking through the soaked clothes the eldest alpha gave him. he finds both your clothes and his own within the mix of sopping wet fabric. you emerge from minho’s bed room a few moments later, one of his shirts hanging loosely off your shoulders. "cats out of the bag?" you ask minho. "more like the wolf," he jokes, making you snort. the two of you hang up your clothes in the sun to dry before minho picks you up and tosses you over his shoulder to take you back to his bedroom. he lays you gently on the covers before flopping on top of you. you giggle at his antics and let your fingers absentmindedly explore the muscles on his back.
it's only a couple of hours later that you begin to smell the most amazing breakfast being cooked by the pack's head alpha. you emerge from minho's home first, clothes now dry. minho follows you out the door, ignoring the stares his bruised neck was getting. you, on the other hand, were glad that your cloak covered most of your own blemished neck. jisung whistles at the marks as you two wander closer, but nobody says anything when jeongin emerges from his home. you and minho sit down beside each other and you feel the immediate heat of jeongin's glare once he spots the hickeys littered across minho's neck. the tension is back and you think you might vomit from it. "c'mon, people," chan calls from the kitchen window of the pack house, "breakfast isn't gonna eat itself!" you stand just as everyone else does before a hand grabs your own, preventing you from moving towards the smell of bacon and eggs. minho gives you a soft smile, "sit. i'll get you a plate." your heart swells and you nod, sitting back down. the wolves pile into the pack house, their conversations quieter than they usually are. hyunjin leans into felix's side to whisper something about a new patch of sunflowers he found while changbin comments on minho's neck, earning himself a light smack on the arm by your lover. despite minho's request for you to stay seated, you stand anyways and wander over to your house, wanting to grab a book to read while you eat. you're hoping it will assist you in ignoring the conflict everyone else was ignoring, too. you swipe a random tome from your bookshelf before quickly returning to your seat outside. flipping open the first page, your breath hitches when you realize you'd picked up the moon goddess and her children. you don't want to read this book. it has been giving you goosebumps since the first night it had come home with you, the note in the margins still making you feel faint. but, it was too late now. minho and changbin had now emerged from the pack house, both having two plates in their hands. minho extends your plate to you and you take it from him. setting it in your lap to pick at with one hand, your other flips open the pages of your book again, a slight tremble in your fingers. minho sits back down beside you, his knee brushing yours almost comfortingly. you read silently for a while, anxiety building at how detailed this book is about the moon goddess' history and her complicated history between werewolves and humans.
suddenly, your reading is interrupted by a head on your shoulder and jisung's voice beside your ear. "why are you reading a children's book?" you jump slightly and he apologizes with a small cackle, moving away when minho raises an eyebrow at his proximity to you. "it's not a children's story," you tell him before you look back down at the book, "or at least this version isn't…" everyone can see the shake in your hands when you sign that last bit, making hyunjin and felix share a strained look between them. "what do you mean?" seungmin inquires, a genuinely curious look on his face. you hesitate, trying to find the right words to explain, before minho takes the book from you and tucks it under his leg out of your reach. "questions about books later, food first," he lightly scolds the two of you, giving you a knowing look. you sigh in relief, glad minho picked up on your hesitation, and take a bite of your eggs. jeongin scoffs from his spot across from the two of you and minho puts his fork down, glaring over at the youngest. "what?" minho almost growls at him. "nothing," jeongin feigns ignorance, "i just didn't realize that yn being mute also meant he needed to be babied." "yang jeongin, watch your tone," changbin scolds. "you're toeing a dangerous line right now, kid," minho warns, the grip on his plate nearly shattering it. you place a hand on your mate's arm and he begins to relax. "i think we've all been toeing a line since he got here," jeongin mutters and now its your turn to glare at the youngest, finally fed up with how he's been treating you. "what's that supposed to mean?" you ask him. "it means that i don't trust you. my instincts are telling me there's something about you that is dangerous," jeongin snaps, "so, until you either leave or get killed, i refuse to accept you as part of our pack."
the room is frozen at jeongin's words, a pang of hurt spreads through your chest. changbin's jaw is set angrily while jisung beside him looks like he's about to cry. hyunjin stares at jeongin dumbfounded and felix is staring at you worriedly. seungmin looks like he's about to punch his brother, but someone else beats him to it. the second eldest tackles jeongin to the ground, teeth bared and eyes glowing an angry blue. the youngest growls back at him, his own irises now crimson, when minho punches him across his cheek. changbin rushes over to pull minho off jeongin as seungmin scrambles away from the chaos. felix calls for the eldest of their pack, hyunjin grabbing felix’s waist to move them both away from the two scuffling wolves. jisung is quick to move you back before jumping in to help pry the two wolves apart. jeongin grabs at minho's shirt as changbin tries to pry the two apart, his fingernails suddenly as sharp as claws and leaving marks on minho's skin. chan is thundering down the steps of the pack house not long after that. "hey! that's enough!" chan yells, but the command falls on deaf ears. minho somehow manages to get out of changbin's hold, then it's jeongin's turn to tackle minho. the two wolves tumble to the ground again, jeongin's fist raised in the air to punch minho.
"ENOUGH!"
the sound of your voice makes everyone freeze in place, eight pairs of wide eyes shift to where you now stand. you hadn't meant to speak. but in the heat of the moment, in the fear of watching the two fight each other had caught you off guard. you had used your voice on instinct and now the price must be paid. you stare back at the pack with a look of horror before your throat begins to burn. nobody moves, the sound of your voice still sending shockwaves through them at varying degrees. the burn is intense, making you claw at your throat as a coughing fit starts up. "yn?" felix whispers, brows knit together in both confusion and concern for you. the scent of copper fill the wolf pack's noses when you let out a strangled cough, crimson splattering onto the green vegetation under foot. the irritation in your throat only intensifies from there, the burning transforming into an unbearable level of agony. you cover your mouth with a hand, crumbling to your feet and gasping for relief. it only comes when you collapse onto your side, blood dripping from the corner of your mouth. "yn!" minho shoves jeongin off him and scrambles to his feet. your mate is quick to place your head in his lap once he reaches you, but keeps you on your side to make sure you don’t choke on any of the blood in your throat.
the sun is beginning to go down when you wake next, the white walls of the main pack house staring back at you. your throat is sore from the rebound of your curse. your hand comes up to rub at your face while you sit up. you register hushed voices coming from down the hall inside chan's office. you stand as silently as you can and make your way towards the hushed argument, ears tuning into the hushed argument on the other side of the cracked door.
"we don't know that, changbin," felix sighs.
"it does make the most sense," hyunjin comments, "the girl at the apothecary did say a lot of witches and warlocks are being contracted by the king right now."
"so what? we let him stay?" jeongin interjects.
minho growls at the boy in response, "watch it, yang jeongin. just because you think your alpha instincts are right doesn't mean you have the experience to use them correctly."
a growl sounds from jeongin before chan steps in, "would you two knock it off?" chan sighs at the two as they glare at each other. you don't wait to listen to the rest of it, body already moving to leave the home. your heart beats in your ears and you feel numb when you step outside, stumbling slightly through the front door of your abode.
"we don't have enough information yet to make the decision for him to stay or leave," chan continues, leaning forward in his desk chair, "we need to talk to yn."
"and let him lie to our faces again?" seungmin scoffs from his seat beside the window. minho growls at seungmin now, "weren't you just yelling at jeongin a few weeks ago for how he was treating yn?" "that was before the witch let us believe he couldn't speak. now i'm not so sure jeongin was wrong to distrust him."
"enough! i don't need any more fights breaking out today between stubborn wolves," chan snaps, standing to his full height in order to get his point across, "you're forgetting that 'that witch' is minho's mate." the room quiets at the eldest alpha's authoritative tone. chan sighs for what feels like the millionth time today, "we wait for yn to wake up and explain, then we make our decision. as a pack." minho huffs slightly and exits the office, his shoulder bumping into jeongin's as he leaves.
the second minho is out of that office, the tension in his shoulders subsides almost instantly. he's still angry, yes, but he's more worried about you than anything else. minho's eyes dart down the hall to the room you're resting in and his legs begin to take him towards it. he knocks lightly on the door, just in case you've already woken up. there's silence and he opens the door. his blood runs cold when he sees your empty bed, heart pounding rapidly beneath his chest. minho bolts down the hall, nearly running over hyunjin in the process. "hey!" hyunjin calls after the wolf only for the slam of the front door to be minho's response.
minho checks the last place he saw you - his own home. but, he finds it empty. he curses under his breath, the palm of his hand slamming into a nearby wall, before he takes off towards your home. he doesn't knock when he reaches the door, opting to just fling it open. his eyes scan your living room, finding it and the kitchen empty. a jingling catches his attention from the hall leading to your bedroom and he rushes towards it. your bedroom door is cracked, but it doesn't do much to quell his panic. he pushes the slab of wood open. he spots the top of your head behind the desk between the books there. his panic fades slightly, but something is still off. minho moves to you without thinking, ignoring the half filled satchel on the desk. he kneels down to your level when he spots the way your knees curl close to your chest. resting atop your knee caps, your head is cradled by your arms.
minho moves to sit against the wall, legs outstretched in front of him, "d'ya wanna talk about it?" he keeps his tone of voice even in an attempt to soothe whatever storm is brewing in your mind. seconds drag on for what feels like hours before you lift your head. minho's heart clenches at the tear tracks on your cheeks, his hand already moving to wipe them away with the pad of his thumb. "i'm cursed," you sign to him, "that's why i can't…" the words die in your hands, painful memories dancing behind your eyes. minho stays silent, letting you gather your thoughts before asking questions or jumping to conclusions. "i haven't been completely truthful with you or the pack. the night you found me, the king's guard chasing me, it's because i…" you hesitate. "i used to be one of the king's advisors. two years ago, a warlock managed to worm her way into the king's circle. she manipulated many people to get there, including the king himself. i discovered a plot constructed by her to curse the king… make him her puppet. when i found out her plans, she cursed me. any words i utter only cause me pain. so, yes, i did lie about talking, but i was trying to protect you in case…" tears prick at the corners of your eyes again and you screw your eye lids shut, swallowing hard. the rest of your explanation dies when you start to sob, painful memories forcefully brought to the forefront of your mind.
rage builds in minho's chest while he listens to your story. not at you, but at the warlock who's made your life a living hell. a growl threatens to spill from his lips, but he forces it back down his throat. his knuckles are white from where they've balled into themselves, eyes flickering back open to your crying form. minho pulls you closer into his side. one hand lays gently around your waist while the other buries your cries into the crook of his neck. your mate rocks the two of you back and forth gently until your sobs turn to hiccups, his fingers wiping away the remaining tears in your eyes. "i understand why," minho's voice breaks as he speaks once you're calm, "but, everyone else needs to hear the rest of this first." you nod in understanding. you don't tell your lover, but you're expecting the worst. after all, being cursed doesn't bring you fortunate endings.
chan's office is neat. the white walls match the exterior of the house, baby blues and midnight blacks accent the room. the sandy color of the top of chan's desk is littered with various pieces of parchment and writing utensils. it fits chan's personality well, you think, but this isn't the time for you to dwell on the interior designs of chan's office. seven pairs of wolven eyes glare at you, their sharp irises analyzing every movement and waiver of your hands as you explain your story to them. you see seungmin narrowing in on every detail you sign while hyunjin, felix, changbin, and jisung study your facial expressions. you notice felix's eyebrows knit together when he spots the streaks on your cheeks. jeongin is careful to analyze your body language as if he's looking for something that would give away the rouse he thinks you've set up for them. the eldest of the pack, however, is staring past all that. chan stares directly into your eyes as you tell your story. he watches the way your eyes dart down to your hands nervously while recalling your escape from the castle, the way the light behind your eyes flares brighter at the mention of your days as the king's advisor before dimming when you mention the guidelines of your curse.
when your story finishes, a pit forms in your stomach. no one moves or says anything for a while before chan, ever the diplomat of the group, finally opens his mouth to speak. "thank you for being honest with us." "it only took two months," jeongin mutters from else where in the room, earning a pointed look from changbin. "this doesn't undo the trust you've broken with us," chan continues, ignoring the youngest in order to avoid an argument. "i didn't lie to deceive you," you offer the alpha, "i lied because i didn't think i'd stick around long enough for it to matter. i didn't expect..." you trail off, your relationship with your mate coming to the forefront of your mind. chan's eyes soften as if knowing where your thoughts were at. your hands tighten for a moment before you continue, "i didn't expect to fall in love - regardless of my bonds with minho. i didn't expect to fall in love with the forest here, with each and every one of you, with the moon, with... with minho. you all have shown me more than any book could, so if this is the last time we speak, i want to be honest with you. it's the least i could do for everything you've done for me." "you say that like we're kicking you out," felix whimpers from where he sits beside chan. "it is a possibility now that you know i am a fugitive of the king," you reason with him. "it is, but, until we make a decision about whether or not you can stay permanently, you are welcome to make the choice to stay temporarily on your own," chan says, relaxing back in his desk chair. hyunjin and felix let out sighs of relief and changbin gives a knowing smirk before turning his attention out the window to where minho is pacing around the front yard. seungmin only nods in understanding, subtly nudging his brother who turns away sourly. chan nods for you to leave for the time being and you do, hands shaking as they shut the door. the pit in your stomach quells, but doesn't leave when you exit the pack house.
minho's head shoots up when he hears the front door close, stilling his repetitive walk in front of the house. "they're still deciding," you inform him, taking a seat on the bottom front step to the porch. "we could run away together," minho confesses suddenly. you stare at him, mouth agape in shock. "minho, no," you quickly tell him, "you have a life here. you have a pack that loves and cares for you. i'm not letting you leave this behind." "i don't care. if they won't accept you, then i'm not welcome here either." you sigh heavily, hands rubbing at your face in frustration. "minho, i refuse to let that happen. they love and care for you just as much as i do. if they don't want me here, i will go, but i'm not going to let you throw away everything you know and love just to be with me." "but-!" minho's lips suddenly slam shut when he goes to protest, your glare making it clear this wasn't something you were willing to argue with him about. he sighs heavily and takes a seat beside you, "fine. we wait for the verdict." the two of you sit in silence for a few moments before minho takes hold of your hand, his thumb rubbing anxious circles into the back of it.
hours pass by with the two of you sitting in apprehensive silence on the front porch, fingers tangled between one another while your shoulders brush whenever one of you shifts. minho can't fully hear the conversation happening inside the home, only catching occasional snippets of his pack's arguing.
"...understand, but we can't..."
"...jeongin, you need..."
"...supposed to trust..."
"...hyunjin saw how..."
"...magic can't always..."
"...the treaty can't help..."
minho's grip on your hand tightens slightly with every raised voice. you pick up on it after a while, laying your head on minho's tense shoulders, and he relaxes under your touch. a shaky sigh escapes through minho's nose after a while before his head turns towards the door just before it opens. the both of you stand as the rest of the pack of stray kids emerges from the entry way. chan stares at the two of you for a beat too long for your liking, his tongue darting out to wet his lips before he speaks, "sorry to keep you both waiting so long. we had to weigh everything out. yn, with a vote of six to one, you can stay." a sigh of relief you didn't know you were holding escapes your chest before it returns with the head alpha's next words, his diplomatic tone never once wavering, "but, you have two conditions. one, regain the trust of those who are still upset at you." you nod at him enthusiastically. "two, you have to be truthful with us from here on out. no more secrets, no more hiding things." you nod again, glad you and chan were already on the same page. "lastly," chan speaks again, interrupting your thoughts, "though this isn't a condition, i do think it's in everyone's interest that we speak about what this means for everyone. the treaty between wolves and the kingdom is fragile and, with the added knowledge someone is looking for you, we don't know what this means for our pack much less the packs around us." "chan, if i may," you sign in response to the blonde, equally as diplomatic as he's being - old habits die hard, you suppose. chan's hand comes up to stop you, "but, not today. we can have that conversation a different day. focus on your conditions first and then we can talk." you nod and minho's hand squeezes yours supportively.
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