Destiny Decides (Minsung 18+)

Part 3

Chan's and Minho's mothers sit together, the flower crowns they were weaving for children abandoned in their laps as their jaws hang open. Minho's mother bursts into tears as he stands, unmoving, just as pale and shaky as Chan looks.

The alpha's mother just shakes her head and stands up, places the flower crown on the chair where she was sitting. "There has to be a mistake. There's no way. Fated mates are a long-forgotten myth. And fated to the savages? The Moon would never-"

"Mother, I saw it, myself," Chan mutters. Minho looks up, stands tall even though he feels like his world is spinning. He wishes he had a moment to process this on his own, to speak with Hyunjin about it, but he was rushed here the moment the Savland pack left their territory.

One month. Minho would see them- see Jisung- again in a month. He needs to have everything figured out by then, somehow. He needs to do research, play through the meeting in his head over and over until it puts him to sleep each night. A part of him preened, felt excitement the moment that Jisung showed his symbol.

A part of him wanted to run.

The part of him that won, was the one that wanted to comfort his best friend. How- he doesn't know. But he wants to be there for Chan, help him through the cacophony of chaos they both seemed to be in, which is how he ended up in front of their mothers immediately after the Savland pack left.

"We're going to figure everything out, I pr-" Minho tries to speak up, realizing that his hand holding Chan's is shaking slightly. The tremors aren't his own. But the moment he does, Chan's mother holds up a hand, silencing them both.

"I need to think. And your mother needs time to process," Chan's mother says to Minho. He needs to stop worrying about the alpha, then.

Minho needs to process things too. His connection to Jisung- if they truly are fated mates, or if the symbols are a freak act of coincidence. What all it impacts- what it means. How he's going to bring up the territory with Chan, now that his fiancé is acting like his world was flipped upside down, which- fair. If, and subsequently how, he should bring up that Jisung's pack had a point, and Minho's voice should be heard. He's tired of feeling inferior. He's tired of being worried about asking for "too much" when "too much" is just the ability to speak up and be heard. He's tired of planning a wedding he doesn't care about and he's tired of being stuck behind the border and he's tired of fighting himself internally. He's tired of being tired.

"I think I need a little space, too." Chan says, sighing deeply as he walks away, their mothers doing the same.

That, too.

He's tired of not being asked what he needs. It feels like it doesn't matter, and he doesn't know if he should agree.

─── ∘°❉°∘ ───

"You know Chan better than most of the pack. How do you think he feels right now?" Hyunjin asks, chewing on overly-salted boar jerky while Minho stews in a pot of pettiness and stress.

"Why do I have to care about how he's feeling when he didn't even bother to ask how I'm-"

"Hey. No." Hyunjin swings his satchel over his crossed legs and hits Minho's shoulder with it lightly enough to make his point. "Don't be petty. You have a reason to be upset, but so does he, whether you like it or not."

"Right, but... I'm supposed to acknowledge that he's upset, and take care of him, when I'm not afforded the same?" Minho shakes his head in disbelief. Absolutely not. A partnership should be equal- not whatever this is. Right?

"You don't have to cater to him when you're upset and have a lot on your mind. But he doesn't, either, Min. My point was to get you to realize that you're both a little fucked up in the head right now." Hyunjin sighs, breaking off the bottom half of his jerky and handing it to Minho before leaning back in the grass atop their hill.