Little King (Seoksoo)

Seokmin

Goddamn Mingyu.

The car was silent. Joshua, normally so chatty, hadn't spoken a word since their initial greeting upon Seokmin picking him from work. Ever intuitive, he seemed to sense Seokmin's need to think and was instead holding Seokmin's nondriving hand quite firmly. The contact with his mate soothed the restless rage Seokmin's demon was stirring within him but just barely.

Goddamn Mingyu.

The police had apparently received a tip about some suspicious men loitering around the hospital. With the recent attacks in town, they'd taken the tip seriously, showing up in full force.

Jeonghan and Seokmin had successfully compelled the police officers, convincing them the duo were just innocent bystanders. They had avoided being brought in for questioning and even avoided giving any contact information for follow-up. Seokmin was aware that, without Jeonghan, he might have had a harder time doing so. He wasn't as skilled in compulsion as his older friend.

Mingyu hadn't killed the man after all. A small miracle.

Seokmin thought that perhaps he had not had time to drain the human thoroughly and still make a clean exit. He must have been wary of facing off against both Seokmin and Jeonghan in one go.

An ambulance had arrived shortly after the police cars to take the unconscious man away. Seokmin just now realized his mate might have seen him being brought in to the hospital, might even have taken part in his care.

He looked over to the boy beside him—brown hair mussed and brown eyes tired, but just as lovely as ever—and considered asking him but in the end stayed silent. The bitten man wasn't his focus right now. That man was nothing.

But Joshua. Joshua was everything.

Mingyu had to have known his impromptu little trap wouldn't hold them for long, had probably been only looking to stall so he could make his getaway. Which still left the question of his bigger plans for them.

Seokmin parked the car in Joshua's driveway, reluctantly releasing his mate's hand to exit the vehicle. Just that simple act of forgoing contact had his demon raging again.

As soon as Joshua was out of the car, Seokmin rushed over to grab his hand again and pull him into the house, still without a word. He knew he was being a brute, but was hard-pressed to care. His demon was pulsing in him. Needing to touch. Needing to protect. Needing to claim.

Ours. Ours. Ours.

As he tugged Joshua to the stairs, they passed Jeonghan in the kitchen.

"Seok, we need to talk."

"Not. Now," Seokmin barked out. He continued forward, pulling his mate up the stairs, ignoring Jeonghan's protests. Joshua didn't argue, seeming for his part content to let Seokmin be as much of a beast as he needed to be.

In the bedroom, Seokmin pushed Joshua down to sit at the edge of the bed. He found himself pacing in front of the boy, unable to stay still. "Mingyu paid me a visit," he managed to grit out.

"I see." Joshua's voice was calm, gentle.

"I do not know what his end goal is."

"I'm not sure he does either."

That brought Seokmin up short. He paused his pacing. "What?"

Joshua shrugged. "It's just the vibe I got from him when I saw him. He seemed...curious about me. Threatening, sure. But it didn't seem like he had some nefarious plan all figured out. He seemed a little...lost, maybe?"

"It does not make him any less dangerous," Seokmin snapped, hating himself as he did it. Mon Dieu. He'd tried to be so careful, so controlled around his human, but he could feel himself unraveling.