STAY by MammaLlama. (stray kids band) wolf/ wolves AU

Chapter 40: IT CAN'T BE HIM

It had been two weeks since his rut and Felix's heat had ended, and he felt like he was going out of his mind.

He had been patrolling their borders as frequently as possible without drawing attention from the other members, and he was still finding lingering scents of an unmated Alpha.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could go without telling the others, but Minho was thankfully there to calm him.

"Chan, you need to breathe..." Minho frowned as they stood just outside of their clearing. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, and you can't keep it from them any longer." He frowned at the Pack Alpha when he went to argue.

"No... I promised I would keep an eye on it during your rut, and you promised we would talk to them when it was over..." He stared Chan down with such unwavering certainty that Chan really couldn't argue.

"Your rut is over, and whether Felix is carrying pups or not, they have a right to know." Minho crossed his arms over his chest. "I know you don't want to cause unnecessary stress, but don't you think it will be worse if something happens and you haven't told them, and we aren't prepared?" He quirked a brow.

Chan hated when Minho was right. Correction, Chan hated when he knew better and Minho put him in his place...

"I know..." Chan grumbled, looking through the trees into the clearing. They were all so happy, so carefree, and he hated that he was about to walk in there and ruin it.

"I just..." He sighed. "I wish-"

"I know. But if you don't tell them now, it will be worse later."

Again, Minho was the unwavering truth when he was battling with his own thoughts. Sighing, Chan nodded and trudged off through the snow into the clearing, clearing his throat when he got close enough to the others, six pairs of wide eyes looking up at him waiting to hear what he had to say.

Gods, he hated this part...

"There's something I need to tell you." He said softly, not bothering to beat around the bush. "Since the full moon, there has been an unknown, unmated Alpha camping out a little way outside of our borders." He frowned, taking in the shocked expressions from his mates.

"I didn't want to alarm you unless it was something worth mentioning, but they still haven't left." He admitted, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Felix was the first to move, rising from his seat between Jisung and Changbin.

"Is it..." Felix paused. "Is it them?" He asked, referring to the wolf that had attacked him the night of the full moon, the wolf who injured Changbin.

"As far as we know, yes." Chan nodded.

"We?" Felix chuckled humorlessly. No one dared to move. The others assumed that Chan was referring to Minho, but the energy rolling off Felix kept them all silent.

"I brought it up with Minho when I was in pre rut, before I triggered your pre heat." Chan explained.

"I promised to keep an eye on the situation until after your heat and we could all discuss it together." Minho tried to ease Felix, but the Omega didn't even spare him a glance.

"You've known they were out there since before my heat was triggered, and you didn't think it was something worth mentioning until now?" Felix frowned at the Pack Alpha, completely ignoring Minho.

"Of course not, Felix." Chan frowned back. "I didn't want to cause unnecessary tension during an already stressful time."

"Do you really think that not saying anything until now was the best decision?" Felix huffed.

"That's not what I'm sayin at all, I-"

"Then what were you thinking, keeping something like this from us?" Felix shouted. "What if he decided that your rut and my heat was the best time to come into our home, huh?"

Chan was taken aback for a moment as Felix stared him down. "How is waiting until now the least stressful option when it comes to someone staking out our home and waiting for their opportune moment to attack, huh?" His voice grew louder the longer he was left to speak. "You weren't there, you don't know how vicious they were with me, you weren't there when they attacked Changbin!"

Felix was crying now, fear washing over him as he thought of that Alpha lingering outside their borders.

"Enough, Felix!" Minho snapped, staring him down as the Omega's gaze shifted to him, eyes wide. "I told Chan that we needed to talk to you all, but I told him it was best to wait until after his rut, after your heat. If you're going to be upset with anyone, then be upset with me, but I stand by my decision."

He stared Felix down, challenging him to say another word. "Can you honestly say that it would have been better for us to say anything before your heat was triggered?"

"Alright, we get it." Seungmin rose to his feet. "We appreciate being brought up to speed on the current situation. I think we can all agree that-"

"No, I don't agree!" Felix snapped. "You don't speak for me, not on this!" Felix shot a glare at Seungmin. "You don't know how worried I've been that he would come back, and now to hear that he never left at all, do you know how that makes me feel!?" Felix was shaking, eyes wide as they darted between his mates.

"Felix, you need to breathe, baby." Seungmin stepped closer to the Omega.

"No!" Felix stepped back. "I have spent my entire life in fear, and I refuse to let him ruin this too!"

Everything was silent. They were all staring at Felix and he felt like his skin was crawling under their collective gaze. He didn't realize until he spoke his worries out loud, but now that he had...

"Felix, what-"

"He can't be here, he shouldn't be here, I won't let him!" Felix was hyperventilating now and Seungmin and Jisung jumped forward in an attempt to soothe their Omega before he had a full-blown panic attack.

Just as they were about to put hands on him, he jolted backwards, shaking his head. "No!" He sobbed.

"Felix, baby, you need to breathe, you-"

"No, he can't be here, I got away, I was supposed to be safe here, he can't be here!" Felix collapsed to his knees, Seungmin and Jisung catching him to stop him from hurting himself.

They wrapped him in their arms, holding him tight between them.

"Baby, who-" Chan tried, but Felix cut him off.

"He can't be here, I got away, he can't be here." Felix continued to sob. No one dared to move, all eyes on Felix, Jisung and Seungmin as the Beta's tried their best to soothe the panicking Omega.

"You said you only thought you recognized their scent, not-"

"It's him, he found me, it's him" Felix practically screamed, his scent rotten from the distress, making their eyes water.

"My father, he found me!"