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Taehyung "This isn't working" changkyun sighs, looking down at me after having knocked me on my ass for the sixth time in a row. "He's not attacking, just blocking. You can't win a fight by just blocking. You need to attack your opponent" he scolds me, helping me up to my feet. Hyungwon bites his lower lip as he tries to think of a new training regimen for me, my self - esteem plummeting. "You are doing all the right moves taehyung" hyungwon tries to cheer me up, but I find it hard to believe given how long we have been at this. I've been in training all week, exercising my silver wolf gifts with hyungwon and and learning how to utilize my mind control, telepathy, and projection abilities better. As it turns out, my mind control ability does not work on hyungwon or his twin brother jungle, but it works on pretty much any other wolf. I do have a limit on how many wolves I can control at once, my magic number being four. Aside from silver wolf training, I've been working closely with Gamma changkyun, building up my muscles, endurance, and flexibility while also working on hand to hand combinations but all my efforts seem futile when I'm put in a sparring circle. "We just need to find the right ... motivation for you" hyungwon adds with his timid smile, changkyun handing me a water bottle while we take a break. I try not to sulk as he and changkyun brainstorm when hyungwon starts to squeal excitedly. "Kihyun?" Changkyun asks, scratching his head in confusion. "Why my mate?" "Just trust me," hyungwon smiles, flicking his wrist to open a portal and disappearing into it. Changkyun only shrugs, tapping me on the shoulder. "So, how's the mate? He like you yet?" He chuckles. Like us? Mark scoffs. He loves this dick-Stop talking, I mutter, forcing a smile and nodding at changkyun. "Listen, if you need any tips, I got you" changkyun grins mischievously. "I never had a brother I could pass on my wisdom to and I don't wanna know what hyungwon and minhyuk do behind closed doors." He shivers to emphasize his disgust and sticks out his tongue. I let down my walls and build a connection between us "but your the fem-male in your relationship right? Doesn't that mean that your the child barer" he gives me a look and blushes "so what, that doesn't mean I can't be dominant when I want too" he snaps all of his cockyness gone I smile and nod awkwardly, unsure how to add to this conversation. I am still not comfortable using my voice around people other than with min-jun or hoseok but it seems changkyun doesn't mind my silence . "You remind me of hyungwon" changkyun observes, my ears perking up at this. When he notices my peaked interest, he sits down on a mat. "He was not always the strong fem-male king that you see now. He is still very shy and timid, but he was once also afraid. Very afraid." I look down at the Gamma curiously. What could a wolf like hyungwon have to fear? "Hyungwon was abused by his old pack, white snow, for years" changkyun explains. "His family used to torture him every day and to be honest, I still don't know most of the things he went through. All I know is he showed up here with a lot of scars, both mental and physical, and it took us a while to get him to open up to us and even longer for him to trust us. He still has bad days, though not as often." I saw this in his memories, but I did not know the extent of his abuse. He seems so happy now. I would have never guessed he is still struggling with his past. "Look, all I'm saying is ... you don't have to be ashamed of your past and your fears. There is nothing wrong with needing a little help and guidance, especially with training. Healing is an ugly process and sometimes you're gonna stumble. No one expects you to always have your shit together, silver wolf or not. Hyungwon is the most powerful wolf on the planet and he goes to therapy every week because it helps. I won't lie, therapy sucks, but it's not meant to be easy. lt takes a lot of strength to face your demons. I am only giving you this sermon because I can tell you're struggling with something. Don't hold it in no matter how ashamed you are. There's literally nothing to be ashamed of. You didn't ask for your past, so why would anyone hold it against you?" I like this wolf, mark says. I tell you the same thing but you never listen to me. I don't get the opportunity to thank changkyun for his words of encouragement because the next thing I know, hyungwon and changkyun's mate, kihyun, pop out of a portal. Changkyun jumps to his feet to greet his mate with a kiss and asks hyungwon to explain his idea. "Don't worry about it" hyungwon smiles, instructing kihyun to move to the middle of the sparring circle. "Taehyung, get in your fighting stance." Kihyun spreads his feet apart and raises his fists as he faces me. Okay dude, this should be better, mark says, you don't have to hold back with a full male, getting into his own fighting stance. His punches will hurt more when he knocks you on your ass. Thank you for the encouragement, I mutter, mark grinning from ear. Once in position, kihyun begins to circle me and I shuffle my feet like changkyun taught me to keep him within my vision. A small smirk curls on his lips before he lunges forward on his right leg and kicks up with his left. I block the kick with my forearm and retaliate with my own weak high kick that he easily slaps away. Come on, dude, mark groans. You can do better than that! Punch him! I do as I am told and swing my arm towards his face, but kihyun ducks and slams his fist against my jaw. He then spins around for a roundhouse kick to my stomach and I stumble back to recover. Dude! Mark growls. I make a quick kick to his thigh, luckily landing the blow, but he then backs away before I can land a punch to his jaw. Quick on his feet, kihyun turns around and donkey kicks me in the stomach, nearly knocking the wind out of me. The abrupt sound of min-jun's scream somewhere in the trees behind me startles us, both kihyun and I putting down our fists. "He's hurting eomma!" Min-jun wails, every instinct in my body telling me to run to him. Suddenly, a group of guards appear, one of them stepping towards the fem-male king. "Your Majesty, we received word that Alpha Jason and his men have breached the northern and western borders! We are under attack!" he says with urgency, everyone now on high alert. "Eomma! No!" Min-jun screams, my heart beating a mile a minute." Changkyun and I will lead the men to the north, kihyun, take the west. We are getting in position." "Taehyung, you go protect your family. I will send back up immediately," hyungwon adds, shifting into his white wolf and rushing towards the north with changkyun and the guards at his heels. I don't need to be told twice and race off in the direction of min-jun's screams, anger burning through me at the thought of my pup and my mate being hurt. I attempt to shift to get there faster, but for some reason mark won 't activate. Mark, what the hell? I snap. I don't know, mark replies, equally confused. I can't come out. l don't have much time to dwell on my wolf form because min-jun once again screams. I will just have to do this on my own. Not far from the training grounds, I find that stupid American Alpha, jacob, cornering hoseok and min-jun by a tree, hoseok shielding our pup with his body. Jacob throws a punch at hoseok, hitting his jaw and sending him flying to the ground. Min-jun wails just behind him, his large eyes widening when he sees his eomma lying very still. Mark nearly goes feral as min-jun shouts at his eomma. "Eomma!" he screams, sheer terror taking over as he crawls towards hoseok. "Eomma, wake up!" All see is red as I run up behind him but jacob hears me and dodges my punch, retaliating and slamming his fist on my jaw. I stumble back, hearing min-jun's screams as he shields hoseok's face with his hands to protect him. Jacob makes a series of combination kicks to my face and stomach, most of which I manage to block or dodge. He then dives and wraps his arms around my waist, dropping into a roll so that he lands back on his feet while I fall on my knees. He tries kicking at my stomach, but I slam my elbow on his knee cap to stop him. He then flings his arms around my neck to strangle me but I grab onto one of his arms and flip over onto his back. He lands with a groan and staggers onto his feet, giving me the opportunity to stand up again and grab him on either side of his shoulders. I slam my knee into his stomach over and over again, Jacob grunting with every blow. When that doesn't satisfy me, I let him stand up enough so that I can deliver a punch to his left cheek, then his right and then left again. Weakened and disoriented, he does little to fight back and I push him away to deliver the final blow, kicking him in the chest and knocking the wind out of him. He goes flying back, his body crashing against a tree. Blood trickles from his nose, temples, and lips but my thirst for revenge is unquenched. I stalk over Jacob's slumped body, grabbing him by the collar with one hand and punching his face with the other. "STOP!" A voice commands me, my body resisting the urge to obey but submitting to the order. I raise my head up to see kihyun and hyungwon watching me and I quickly realize I'm no longer in the forest but back in the sparring circle at the training grounds. Min-jun and Hoseok are nowhere to be found and I look down to see I have changkyun by the collar of his shirt, his face bloodied and bruised. I let go of his shirt, completely confused by everything. I'm just as lost as you 내 친구(nae chingu/my friend), Mark mutters. Noticing my confusion, Hyungwon begins to explain . "Kihyun is a silver wolf with the gift of illusions, hallucinations, and dream contortions," he says . "I remembered how fast you reacted to min-jun being in danger so I knew you had a fighter in you. I also blocked your wolf connection a little to keep you in human form temporarily. I just didn't calculate how much of a fighter you really are even in your human form" he smiles nervously at changkyun. "Damn, you are one angry man, pretty boy" changkyun groans, wiping the blood from his nose and getting back on his feet. "Hyungwon, I ain't fighting him no more. Hell no! He done almost killed me. Heal me now! This is bullshit!" "Aww, does poor little changkyun have a booboo?" Kihyun snickers, changkyun narrowing his eyes at his mate. "Can't take a punch?" "Haha, very funny. Now you get in the ring with him. See how fucking funny it is" changkyun snarls, kihyun giggling to herself. "I'm sorry changkyun" hyungwon apologizes, cupping both of his cheeks and healing him. He mutters curses at hyungwon, but it's obvious he's not really mad at his male-Luna or his mate, especially when kihyun kisses him playfully on the lips. I hold out my hand to Changkyun as an apology and he takes it but not without him complaining. "You're lucky you're a silver wolf" changkyun mutters at me, shaking my hand. "I would have knocked your ass out if it were a fair playing field. Just saying." Kihyun and hyungwon burst into laughter, changkyun scowling at them for their lack of faith in him, but I only smile knowing he is very likely right. The three of them help me refine some of the combinations I used on changkyun during the attack, giving me pointers on how to deliver impactful blows without wasting too much of my energy and being lighter on my feet . "We'll keep working on the footwork next week" changkyun says. "You've been assigned to River Moon since this is most likely to be Alpha jason and jacob's first target." I nod silently at him as he offers his hand up in a fist bump. It takes me a moment to recognize what he wants me to do and I blush in embarrassment as I bump fists with him. He doesn't seem to mind my awkwardness and walks me to the daycare center which is on the way to the River Moon pack house. We wait patiently with the other moms at the gate until we hear a loud bell announcing the end of the school day, several pups pouring out of the daycare to greet their parents. "Look! Look taehyung, look! We did colors today!" Min-jun cries as he runs to greet me, a string with four beads hanging from his hand. He holds the beads up to me and proudly shows changkyun and I his creation . "It's for you!" he smiles. He places the string in my hand as I kneel down to his level. "It's a bracelet for you, see?" He says eagerly. "Red is eomma cuz he's pretty like a flower" min-jun explains as he points to each bead. "I am blue cuz I like, blue like the sky blue. You're green like the trees and ji-won is yellow like the sun!" he adds proudly. "It's our family. Do you like it?" he asks, a large grin on his face. I nod my head, unable to find the words to describe how amazing this is . "Put it on!" Min-jun squeals. I waste no time wrapping the bracelet around my wrist, min-jun gasping with pride . "How come I don't get a bracelet?" Changkyun pouts, min-jun bursting into laughter. "I don't know" he shrugs, turning to me and grinning. "Taehyung, can we play horsey in the desert" he said this in the most innocent voice making my embarrasement almost worse. Oh dear goddess, I blush, wishing the earth would swallow me. l shake my head at min-jun in hopes that changkyun does not understand, but as always, things never go my way. "Hold on. What is Horsey in the Desert?" Changkyub asks, raising an eyebrow at me. Before I figure out how to respond, min-jun answers for me. "Eomma and taehyung take off their clothes cuz it's hot and then eomma rides taehyung all night long through the desert" he explains, my face competing with a fire engine for the reddest item on the planet. "Eomma won't let me play , but I wanna play Horsey too!" he sighs. Changkyun looks like he's about to explode from holding in his laughter, biting his lip to keep it together for min-jun's sake, while Mark howls with laughter. "All night, huh?" He pats me on the back and winks at me . "nae chingu. You know I'm a pro at Horsey in the Desert, myself. It's a 'hard' game," he laughs, bending over and wheezing like a tea kettle. "I'm sorry. That was outta pocket. I'll leave you two to your games" he chuckles as he backs away. "Might I suggest Horsey in Antarctica as a substitute. It's cold so you keep your clothes on and watch the penguins march by" he laughs. Mortified by this entire experience, I try to persuade min-jun to play airplane pilot with me instead, but he insists on riding a horse. Left with no choice, I grab min-jun and sit him on my shoulders, pretending I am a horse while he's the jockey riding me as we race through Antarctica. At home, min-jun helps me prepare a chicken and rice dinner and when ji-won comes home, we do our daily sign activity. "P-please" I say, putting my open hand over my chest and moving it in a circle . "T-this is p-please." "Please" he smiles, showing ji-won his sign. "H-help" I say, holding one of my hands open with my palm facing up close my other hand into a fist with my thumb sticking up and put it on my palm. "H-help." "Thank you" he signs and says aloud. He then turns to min-jun and mimics my signs. "Please. Help." I repeat the motions with him several times, saying the words aloud to match the sign. It takes him a couple of tries but it makes me happy he wants to learn. l give min-jun a quick bath before hoseok comes home, min-jun eager to show his eomma his new signs of the day. "You are learning so fast" hoseok giggles, pulling him into a hug. "Because you are super smart." "I know" min-jun shrugs. Hoseok greets me with a kiss. "How was training today?" "G - good" I blush. I still get nervous when Hoseok asks me to speak . "I-I beat ch-changkyun." His brows raise in amusement and he gives me a congratulatory kiss . "We should celebrate. How about a date? Tomorrow?" He asks, biting his lip nervously as he waits for a response. His question catches me off guard but I nod my head eagerly . "Have you ever been bowling?" Hoseok asks, gasping in shock when I shake my head . "Then we will go bowling tomorrow." "Yay!" Min-jun squeals, clapping his hands in excitement. "What is bowling?" "It's a game" Hoseok replies . "Like Horsey in the Desert?" Min-jun asks, both hoseok and I turning "A different game" he mutters, carrying min-jun into the dining room. We have a lovely dinner together, hoseok explaining his progress with the girls and fem-males at his new job, and waiting patiently for me as I stutter through my training progress. After dinner, we settle down for a movie in the living room and hoseok brings out a pack of Oreos and pours some glasses of milk for each of us. "I remember you liked the Oreo Dippin ' Dots" hoseok explains as he runs his fingers through his hair. "I thought you might like to have the real cookies" he smiles timidly. "You don't have to eat them though. l could have totally misinterpreted that" he rambles nervously. "I just thought they might make a good treat since you liked them so much or that ji-won might like to try them. But if you don't like them-" I press my lips against his, Hoseok shutting up instantly and melting into my kiss. He has no idea, but his simple gesture is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me in a long time. Min-jun and ji-won giggle at us but I don't care. I am the happiest man in the world right now and nothing and no one will ever take this from me.
