You

9

"Wait, we're turning into dogs?" Jisung questioned, still in shock. Felix nudged him hard, noticing the offended looks on the faces of the two men in the room.

"Oww, I'm still injured, you know," Jisung protested.

"You do realize those 'dogs' are wolves and they can kill us at any time they choose, so I suggest you shut up," Felix said, panic and fear in his voice.

"Oh, shit, sorry y'all," Jisung said, holding up finger hearts to them. Chan found it amusing, but Minho felt a pang of jealousy, wishing Jisung's smiles and hearts were meant only for him.

"Before we go any further, how about we get to know each other?" Chan suggested.

"I'm Bang Chan, and I'm 25."

"Ooh, we love an age gap," Jisung teased, nudging Felix and wiggling his eyebrows, only to be pushed backward onto the bed by Felix.

"Don't mind him. I'm Lee Felix, and I'm 21."

"I'm Han Jisung, and I'm 21 too," Jisung said, bouncing back up.

"I'm Lee Minho, and I'm 24," Minho said, flashing a gentle smile toward Jisung.

"Anyways, I'm guessing you know what mates are?" Minho asked.

"Yeah, we do," Jisung replied.

"Okay, well, not to freak you guys out, but Felix, you're my mate," said Chan.

"And Jisung, you're my mate," Minho added.

Both boys looked at Chan and Minho, then at each other, and started laughing.

"Okay, that is the worst rizz I've seen in my life," Felix said, still laughing.

"I know, right?" Jisung added. They continued laughing but gradually stopped when they noticed the other two weren't laughing.

"I'm sorry, but were you guys being serious?" Felix asked.

"Yes, of course," Chan replied, clearly hurt, feeling his mate might reject him.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not really interested," Felix said.

"Me neither... sorry," Jisung added.

"But maybe if you give it some time—" Felix was cut off by Minho abruptly standing up, followed by Chan. They both left the room, leaving the two very confused.

What they didn't realize was that they had just rejected the two alphas.

After a few minutes of Jisung and Felix lying in bed, discussing the bewildering encounter, they heard a knock on the door. Jeongin peeked his head in, flashing them a huge smile, and ran up to give them a big hug.

"Well, mission failed successfully," Jeongin said enthusiastically.

"How successful? We are still here," Felix asked, bitterness in his voice, clearly unhappy with the situation.

"Well, Minho requested that I put you in bedrooms," Jeongin said, throwing his hands up for high fives, which both boys gladly gave.

"Wait, really?" Jisung asked, a wide smile spreading across his face.

"Yeah, now let's go," Jeongin said, pulling them up. Jisung stumbled and leaned on Felix, who quickly caught him.

"Sorry, I forgot about that," Jeongin said apologetically.

Jeongin led them down a long hallway with many doors. He pointed to the two bedrooms at the end of the hall, across from each other, with a bathroom in between. He made sure they both liked their rooms, brought them clothes and toiletries, and then bid them goodnight.

Jisung sat cross-legged on his bed, staring out the window into the moonlight. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't shake off Minho's expression when he said he didn't want to date him. It wasn't that he wasn't interested, but the whole abrupt "date me" thing didn't make sense to him.

Jisung noticed that his hearing and sense of smell had heightened. He could hear more than he wanted to and smell every odor, which bothered him—why did he need to smell that much?

Felix was experiencing the same changes, but unlike Jisung, he didn't like to be alone at night. Not wanting to disturb Jisung, he decided that a glass of warm milk might help him sleep. He quietly crept out of bed and into the hallway, trying to be as silent as possible. As he made his way down the long hallway, he noticed the last door on the right was wide open. He saw Chan at his computer, looking very stressed and exhausted.

Felix hesitated but decided to check on the older man. "Knock, knock," he said, taking a timid step forward and leaning on the doorframe.

Chan took a shaky breath, his hands still raking through his hair and harshly pulling at his scalp, not turning to face Felix.

Felix instantly knew he was crying, so he took a small, hesitant step into the room. His senses were invaded with a woody scent with undertones of sweetness, and he was instantly hooked. He inhaled deeply, and something about the scent made him drowsy. The mission of finding milk was long forgotten. He watched as Chan wiped his eyes and turned around in his chair to meet Felix's gaze.

Felix didn't know what came over him, but seeing Chan with tear-stained cheeks, a red nose, bruised and rosy lips, and those sparkly eyes filled with longing and sadness, he didn't hesitate to walk the short distance to Chan and hug him. Slowly patting his head, Felix let Chan melt into his chest, releasing uncontrollable sobs. They basked in each other's arms, each scent driving the other crazy.

Felix noticed how Chan was slumping against him, his sobs reduced to occasional sniffles. That's when Felix realized just how sleepy he was. He slowly pulled away and looked at the very fluffy alpha before him.

"You alright, cutie?" Felix asked, not regretting the nickname.

Chan's cheeks blushed a bright pink. He nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. Chan then stood on shaky legs, and Felix supported him to the bed. Chan lay down, and Felix tucked him in, ensuring he was comfortable. Just as Felix was about to leave, he heard shuffling on the bed.

"Come back."

Felix froze at the door, then walked back into the room and closed the door behind him. He looked at Chan, who sat up with hopeful eyes. Felix sighed and walked to Chan's bed, plopping himself right beside him. They were both hesitant to get close, but Chan made the first move and pulled Felix to his chest, inhaling the strawberry scent from Felix. They each fell asleep in the comfort of the other's arms.