Brothers

44

San was exhausted.

Even after their little makeup session, Mingi and Jongho bickered the remaining two and a half days it took to reach the city the zoo was in. All he could think the entire time was how annoying Alphas could be when they were upset. They had no ability to think rationally.

And it was because of that thinking that San was now standing by himself in front of the zoo. It had sent Jongho into another frenzy when he suggested it, but his reaction ended up proving San's point even more.

Mingi and Jongho were not in enough control to handle being in a zoo full of humans. None of them knew what to expect when they got inside, and neither of them needed to 'wolf out' and cause a panic.

Unfortunately, the motel they were staying at was just out of range of their link, so I San was on his own for this one. He tried linking Yunho and Wooyoung as soon as he stepped into the zoo, but he got no response. He didn't know if it was from the time apart, or the constant noise from everyone talking, but whatever it was gave San a constant headache.

His senses were all out of sorts. He couldn't focus on any one scent and his head was pounding. It was too much. San whimpered and stepped off to the side and pressed the heels of his hands to his temples. "Jongho..." He bent his knees and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart.

No one stopped to ask if he was okay. They were all in their own little world, only concerned about what animal they were going to see next.

He needed to get somewhere quieter to try and focus. None of them had ever heard of or experienced a zoo before, but San decided it had to be the worst place for anyone of their kind to end up.

Forcing himself up on shaking legs, San stumbled down one of the busy paths. The humans around him jostled him back and forth and would give him odd, disapproving looks if he got too close to them or their kids.

A few of the animals would cry out in alarm if he got too close to their exhibit, as if sensing what he really was. The humans ate it up though because the creatures were doing more than just standing there.

At one, a bear reared up on its hind legs and roared, trying to show that it was in charge.

San just glared at it and kept going.

He stumbled around for a while longer, still trying to clear his overworked mind, when he picked up on some kids running past him.

"Hurry up! I want to see the new wolves before things get new crowded!"

"They aren't new, they've been here for a couple of weeks."

"Well I haven't seen them yet, but I hear they are HUGE!"

San hurried after them, making sure to stay focused on their voices in the crowd. Everything seemed to slow down around him when he saw an exhibit in front of him that drew the biggest crowd.

There had to be almost a hundred humans gathered around, if not more, looking into a giant exhibit filled with bushes and rocks. Two sides of it were cement walls, designed to look like the side of a mountain, and a deep trench separated the other two sides from the humans.

A large, clear barrier divided part of the exhibit.

San's eyes fell to the smaller side and he had to cover his mouth when a sob threatened to escape him.

Yunho, Hongjoong, and Wooyoung were huddled together in the far corner. It looked like they were sleeping at the moment.

A few wolves were pacing on the other side of the barrier, showing interest in the three newcomers.