ETY | MW [✔]

08.

Wonwoo should have known that they'd gotten off a little too easy in Mingyu's transition from the cottage to the main house. The first few days, they stayed within his rooms, Mingyu sleeping a lot and pacing when he was awake. Wonwoo managed to distract him now and then, but he knew Mingyu wanted some time outside.

"How about we go for a walk?" Wonwoo suggested as they ate breakfast.

Mingyu looked up from the bacon he was chewing on.

"Outside?"

"Yeah. Fresh air, a chance to stretch your legs. We can show you some of the house on the way out. There's so much you haven't seen."

Mingyu seemed cautiously eager though a little on edge with the four shifters escorting them downstairs. They took a detour through the kitchen, Wonwoo snagging a couple of oranges for them to eat while they walked.

They were in the corridor leading to the back entrance when things started to go wrong. Though Wonwoo had made it known that they would be going outside, and people had been asked to keep out of their way, evidently the message hadn't reached everyone. As they got in sight of the door, it swung open, and a group of laughing children armed with water balloons ran inside, shouting and screaming as they threw them at each other.

One of them misjudged their throw, sending the balloon sailing toward Wonwoo. A second later, he was slammed against the wall as Mingyu moved to shield him. He grabbed for the alpha.

"They're just kids, just playing. There's no danger."

Taehyun and the other surrounded them, moving the kids on into the house. Mingyu's muscles were tense under Wonwoo's hands, his breaths coming quick and fast, his eyes tracking every movement around him.

"Mingyu, everything's okay. Just try and—"

The alpha jerked under his touch, his whole body shuddering, and Wonwoo knew what was happening.

"No, Mingyu. Stay calm, stay with me. Don't—"

But it was too late, he'd already started to change. Taehyun grabbed Wonwoo by the arm and yanked him out of the way as the others moved back, giving him a wide berth.

"Shit, this was a bad plan," the other alpha said. "We moved too quickly."

Wonwoo couldn't tear his eyes from Mingyu, watching as the man became the beast, a bear with dark brown fur that matched his hair.

"Give him some space," he said before calling softly to the bear.

"Mingyu, it's Wonwoo. Listen to my voice, stay with me."

A sudden shift like that might have tipped him back into his feral state. If that had happened...

Mingyu's head whipped around, his eyes staring at Wonwoo and Taehyun. He growled once, low in his throat as he took in his surroundings, then he threw his head back and roared, the walls shaking. The roar cut off abruptly as he caught sight of the door and ran.

"Mingyu, no—!" Wonwoo shouted.

Taehyun was already moving forward. "He's gone feral again. We have to catch him, stop him, whatever way we can..."

But Wonwoo had seen the look in Mingyu's eyes. It hadn't been the empty fury of the Beast.

"No," he said, pushing past Taehyun to the door. "He wasn't feral, just overwhelmed. I'll go after him, bring him back. Just in case, spread out, cover the boundary."

"Won, wait—" Taehyun called but he ignored the alpha, shifting into his cheetah form and racing away.

Mingyu's trail was easy to follow, broken branches guiding him through the trees. Wonwoo could hear him in the distance, crashing through the undergrowth. He hoped no one else was wandering outside or that if they were, they were smart enough to keep out of Mingyu's way.