Tiger Lilies in the Snow

24 - Appa, we need to talk

When he came home from university that night Taehyung passed his own home and headed up the street making it straight to the Pack Alpha's house. Other than the rest of the pack members as his son he could meet his father at any time and without notification if he thought it necessary. This was not a natural right given to many other children of Alphas in this country because their fathers' duties not only held a lot of responsibility but also claimed a lot of their time so other children often needed to ask for some spare time. But Yujun never wanted to hear of this custom and always allowed his children to directly come to him, especially after his mate had died and he had become the only person they could turn to whenever they were in need. And today Taehyung felt that meeting him even this late was justified. So, he went straight for Yujun's office. It was most likely that his father was still working. An Alpha never had the luxury of going lazy. Their work usually piled up faster than they would be able to work themselves through this and would make them do tons of extra nightshifts.

As expected, the light that was flooding under the hinges of the office door proved Taehyung right. Tonight like on most days the Alpha was still brooding over papers. It had always been his routine to rather work straight into the night than get up extra early, and he had never changed his habits. His father now oftentimes also used late working hours to cover up the silence that had befallen his household the day his mate died. All three his sons had tried to convince him that it would be ok to look for somebody new but both Yujun and his wolf Paws had agreed that they could not forget about their mate and rather stayed lonesome.

Now, Taehyung found himself standing in front of that door with his hand raised to knock on it. But somehow, he froze to the spot not being able to announce his presence to the man inside and he wondered why. He knew that he would only meet warmth, appreciation and loving support from Yujun, that each time he received this kind of affection made him feel like his son by blood. And yet, he started feeling shy and a little anxious. He had always said that he never cared finding his mate when being asked while talking in epic length about his dreams and wishes. And here he was now, in his beginning twenties ready to announce that he had found his mate, a man that he would eventually bond with and bear his pups because he wanted to, because he had fallen head over heels for him within the blink of an eye. He would admit that one day he would sacrifice all the plans he had been so red-hot about in exchange for being the stay-at-home parent that he said he never saw as his goal in life. Would he come across as a hypocrite?

He took a deep breath to steady himself and find the courage to finally knock on the door blade when he heard a voice from the inside calling him out: "Come in, Taehyung!"

Taken by surprise, the young man carefully opened the door and stepped into his father's office. The warm atmosphere that he had learned to love over the years welcomed him and his father smiled at him from his desk. His foster father who took over the duties of a parent when the little real omega had lost everything he had: his parents, his home, his whole pack. And still this man was more a father to him than the vague figure that he remembered. The man from his early memories did neither have a face nor a voice. The only thing that Taehyung remembered was that he was loved wholeheartedly when these strong arms embraced him warmly.

"Appa, can you see through solid doors, or do you have a new model of CCTV cameras installed that is invisible? How did you know I was standing outside?" the real omega asked.

"I could smell your distress and there is only one strawberry that could smell like that in our whole pack." Yujun's smile became even warmer, and Taehyung could sense the smell of his father's calming pheromones.

"Appa!" the younger whined and it made the Alpha giggle a little bit. He had fallen for this boy the moment he was placed in his arms as a baby. He had sworn that he would protect him the day he was announced his guardian and when he found him with the remains of strawberries smeared all over his mouth cuddled up in Namjoon's arms, he knew that he could love him just like his own son. This little being already had held his heart in his tiny hands and so did the young man that he had become. He did not need to be related by blood to love his sons.