Silver Lining

~~~~~☽~~~~~

Rumors spread like wildfires: that fact is indisputable.

Talk in such a small town doesn't take long to reach every nook and cranny in a fifty mile radius, word of werewolf packs taking after their feral cousins and attacking villagers in a cold-blooded desire to witness carnage. And of course none of this talk is true but it definitely doesn't help the tension within the Skz house.

Chan's pack was not happy with him, hurt that the leader had been secretly seeing an omega in the village instead of being around to help out within the territory and disappointed in him for getting provoked by some snobby brat right in the middle of the walkway for anyone to see.

He hasn't been back to the village in a week, unable to get away from his member's prying eyes and also hesitant to show his face there again. Minho and Jisung had tried to pick up a few housekeeping things from the market a few days ago but were faced with so much hate and threats and overall hostility that they had to leave before one of them was inevitably hurt.

This scared Chan, not because he thought that his pack couldn't handle themselves, but because Felix was still there, alone, and lacking full use of his right arm: he wouldn't even be able to transform if the situation called for him to have to defend himself.

And just to make things worse, the ferals made their move on the Exo pack as soon as Baekhyun's heat hit, just like Suho predicted.

So now Chan had yet another reason to be worried about the lone omega.

He needed to see him; he doesn't know if he'll be able to rest until he does.

He puts on his cloak and sneaks out early in the morning, hoping that he'll be able to catch Lee just as he's opening up shop.

The sun is barely risen when he arrives at the village, pulling up his hood and keeping a wary eye out as he makes his way to the familiar store.

It appeared less familiar when he actually arrived.

The florist's building was covered in graffiti, nasty words like "beast keeper" painted over Lee's name and messages like "go home stray", "humans forever", and "go back to your kind" littering the door and windows for Felix in particular.

It makes Chan's gut churn with guilt, a nasty taste of bile tainting his tongue.

The door is unlocked when the hybrid tugs on it but the open sign is nowhere to be seen; he hesitantly enters, the bell jingling above the entrance as he lowers his hood and calls out, "Hyung?"

The backroom's door swings open, Lee walking out and planting his hands on the counter as he leans forward with narrowed eyes.

"You have some nerve showing back up here; do you see the hell you caused out yonder?" The old man grumbles, tone accusing, "I don't care what you did or didn't do, you're lucky I don't throw your ass out right now."

Chan swallows, head hanging in shame. "I-I'm sorry, Hyung-"

"I know you are but that doesn't change the fact that I'm losing business and my pup is afraid to step foot outside of his room. Lord only knows how that blonde maggot figured out that the pesky rumors he's been spewing for months are actually true."

"Y-Yeah... I can't exactly apologize for punching him now," the alpha confesses nervously, unsure whether to feel relieved or completely terrified out of his wits that they don't know that he was the one to reveal Felix's true identity; he can't bring himself to admit it to them either way.

"As you should; he had it coming, would have done it myself if my arthritis wasn't so bad in my knuckles. Just where and when you did it was the worst." Lee's glare returns. "Stupid pup."

Chan sighs, a wilted whimper escaping his lips as well. "They... They haven't messed with him again... at least... right?" he mumbles with a tad of hope in his eyes.

Lee's brows raise in unamusement. "Messed with how, hm? Physically, no; verbally, yes. Did you not hear me when I said that he's afraid to go outside?"

"I did but-"

"But nothing; you've been gone all week, completely abandoning him to the sharks after you were the one to chum the waters. He shouldn't be struggling with this alone; he shouldn't have to be carrying the weight of the aftermath from your mistakes. He needed you and you never showed up."

Chan's taken off guard; Lee had wanted him here? After everything he clearly caused? He was more upset that he wasn't there to support Felix than he was for starting the mayhem in the first place?

"I-I," his head is spinning, chest hurting with a different kind of guilt now, "I thought that you'd want me to stay away."

"I do."

Chan stares in confusion.

"But not from Felix. Stay away from the village, but don't stay away from Felix; he needs you, you need each other." Lee shakes his head, like the answer was so obvious, "It's not safe here for your kind anymore; such a shame, I thought people were getting better but these darn coots are just as prejudiced as they were twenty something years ago when your parents first moved here."

The brunette anxiously shuffles from foot to foot, not expecting this change of direction in the conversation. He knows that his heart should feel warmed with the knowledge that Lee approved of Bang Chan being in the omega's life but it's only twisting at the thought of how quick that could all change if he knew the full truth.

"Pup," Lee says noticeably softer than before, making Chan look at him with his undivided attention, "Promise me something, alright?"

Chan's eyes slightly widen but he nods all the same.

"Promise me that, if something were to ever happen to me, you'd take him away from here."

The alpha's mouth instantly opens to protest but Lee holds up a hand.

"It's not good for Felix here, I know that. He's attached to the lifestyle and doesn't want to admit that it isn't sustainable but if the occasion arises, remove him from here. He deserves a life free from all this; he deserves a pack and a mate and a chance to actually be a wolf. I could never convince him but I know you can; he thinks the world of you. So you take care of him, you hear me? Please take care of him at an old man's humble request."

There's a lump forming in his throat but he can't deny Lee this; he just can't. The old man is right and Chan completely agrees with him but... there's that reminder of the delicate balance again, there's that hesitance to make Felix choose. And even if their hyung is the one telling Chan that a choice has to be made eventually and he wants it to be the pack life... the last thing the alpha wants is for the omega to feel betrayed and spoken for by both parties.

But this is all an if something happens to Lee, right? Maybe he can just plant little seedlings of the idea but not totally push for it? He supposes that he'll have to see the state Felix is in first before making such a decision.

"O-Of course, Hyung. I think the world of him too."