The wolves near the border [SKZ fanfiction] | HanJisung

Chapter 14

"Oh my moon! Get back here, Jisung!" Heikin yells frustrated at him while Jisung takes a leap.
He doesn't care that his clothes are probably ripped up and useless now. He doesn't care that he's acting cowardly. He has to run away.
He can hear Heikin catch up to him and when he looks around he sees her wolf sprinting after him. He is so embarrassed! Stay away! Don't follow me! Let me bury myself into the ground! He thinks to himself with heated cheeks and an annoying giggle in the back of his throat trying to escape from his pure awkwardness.
Her galloping closes in and when he tries to look behind him for a second time he gets ambushed when she jumps up to pounce him. With a big yelp he loses his balance and tumbles to the ground. How did he manage to get in this situation?

Heikin had been restless from the moment she arrived with her sister at the base. Jisung had noticed her behavior when she kept looking over to her sister who was glued to Felix like usual. Jisung tried to ignore it for the longest time but eventually meddled in when the sisters started bickering.
"No, I don't want to be scented, Heihei. I'm fine!" Nelaya whined annoyedly when Heikin tried to nuzzle up to her for the fourth time within the hour.
"Just— Just let me do it once. I need it," the female alpha muttered, but her younger sister wasn't having it.
"Hei, please leave me alone. I'll be with Felix. Go do something else. You know I want my alone time."
Jisung had stepped up when he saw Heikin becoming possessive and had asked her if she could accompany him to the dunes to gather some herbs and sea buckthorn berries, knowing the alpha liked the sour taste. She had contemplated whether to go or not, but with the pleading face of her sister she gave in.
Thus the two of them went berry picking in the dunes. At first in silence, but after half an hour Heikin had sighed.
"Thanks," she mumbled. "I think I would've snapped at her if we continued to fight."
Jisung simply shrugged.
"Happens all the time. Jeongin and Chan do the same when they see my emotions get the best of me when I argue with Hyunjin or Changbin."
She had snickered and asked him if that happened often.
Jisung replied with; "Not as often anymore, but I was pretty annoying when I was younger."
She had joked she could imagine and Jisung had scoffed playfully at her.
"But it doesn't seem that normal for you two. So why now?" Jisung asked.
Heikin huffed and popped a few berries in her mouth. Jisung had looked at how her nose scrunched up before she smiled cutely, enjoying the sour taste.
"It's just— I'm overprotective of her," she confessed.
"Would've never guessed," Jisung said sarcastically, earning a playful push against his arm.
"I know, I know. I can't really help it. We're each other's only family. I need to protect her. But lately I think she doesn't need me that much anymore."
She sighed, scratching the back of her neck. "I don't know. I forget she's all grown up. No pup anymore."
Jisung understood it and nodded. "Being the youngest isn't always fun, but I get that she'll always look small in your eyes."
He saw Heikin thinking and hesitating with her next words. "Ji... Maybe this is a bit insensitive— You know what, nevermind."
But Jisung's curiosity had already been woken up and he glanced over to the alpha with genuine interest. "What? No, please. Ask away," he answered, pushing her to finish her question.
She took a deep breath and swallowed. "Uhm, can you tell me a bit about how you experience... your heats?"
Jisung was thrown off with that question and Heikin quickly waved her hands in front of herself. "You don't have to answer if it makes you feel uncomfortable. I— I just want an-another point of view. I think Nelaya her pre-heat started a few days ago and maybe that's why I'm on edge," she rambled, avoiding his face and waving her hands around.
Jisung couldn't help but chuckle at her frantic behavior before calming her down.
"I-It's alright," he had said. "I'm no expert and my view is from a male's perspective, but I can tell you. What do you want to know?"
She had stuttered in search of her questions before asking how he felt in general when entering his heat.
"Well, mostly feverish and warm, but those are general symptoms. Do you want to know more about the mindset or the body?"
She had asked about the mindset and Jisung had closed his eyes. "Hmm... I mostly get a little more grumpy. Like, more sensitive to small things. Smell, taste but also to words or behavior from my pack members. One day I can get irritated by everything someone does and the next day I would be clingy. That's how the others are mostly picking up on it if I haven't myself. Then there's the intrusive thoughts. Most of them set on mating. Ash, this is embarrassing. Do you want me to continue the topic?"
Heikin nodded her head and Jisung scraped his throat. He had talked about the heat mindset multiple times before with Minho. As the omega's from their pack they had to. To educate each other and to vent. But Jisung couldn't remember the last time he had talked openly about it with his Luna. Maybe it was around the time Changbin arrived and Jisung became aware he now was the only mateless omega in the pack and the two others only had thoughts of their mates and he... Yeah... His thoughts and longings were all over the place.
"Well, if you have mates, the thoughts will mostly be about them. Longing, wanting, being desperate for their attention and their... You know." He looked down, emphasizing his words and Heikin blushed a little.
"But what about an unmated omega?" she asked.
Jisung bit his lower lip. Was he really gonna tell her? He could try to keep it vague and general, but she did ask about his specific view.
"Uh... For unmated omegas the thoughts are rather... vague? Unhinged? It doesn't matter who or what, your mind is filled with thoughts about scenting and mating in general. Sometimes I picture an unknown alpha or beta in my head. And sometimes... Ones that are close."
His first thoughts went back to one of his heats right after Felix had presented. Jisung had been so confused and longed for him all throughout his heat. Even though he knew it was nothing more than his biology calling for the closest unmated wolf there was. He was still processing the thought of Felix being an alpha and thus not a reasonable option as mate if he ever wanted children and his heat didn't make it easier.
He had looked up to Heikin and noticed how her stare had become intensified.
"So," she had started off. "I really don't want to be rude, but... hypothetically— it would be possible for you to think about unmated wolves like Felix. Or like Nelaya and... me?"
Jisung had felt how his left leg started to tremble and how he nodded with a stiff neck.
"And because some aren't compatible... You automatically think more about the ones better fitting?"
He nodded again slowly and Heikin had placed her hand on her chin to think about the information given.
"Uhm, and how is a pre-heat supposed to smell? I mean, when there's potential wolves around?"
"I only smelled that once. It was when Changbin came to live with us. He hadn't been official mates with Hyunjin and Seungmin yet. They were in the courting stage, but had already bonded to a certain degree. I can only remember his scent was... heavier? Like, a tad more over the top, out of balance. Too sweet to be nice, but still pleasant enough. I think it is supposed to be like that to attract possible mates. When mated, it will even out with the pheromones of your mates. So yeah, I think the best way to describe it is being there."
"So... Like how you're smelling right now?"
He had to do a double take to be sure he heard that right and when she had sheepishly looked at him he had blinked slowly.
"You me— Am I? Do you smell my pheromones?" he had stumbled, trying to sniff his arm.
Of course he couldn't smell anything on himself. But then he had thought back to what his pack alpha had mentioned.
"Oh gosh," he had groaned, staring up to the sky and then back to the female alpha. Then the realization trickled in. "No...." he had wailed while turning around and dragging his hands over his face. "Nooooooooo... I don't want to!"
He got all giggly and embarrassed before becoming desperate and miserable. He looked Heikin right in the eyes before whining again and walking away to calm his thoughts.
"Jisung?" she had asked uncertainty. "Are you? Should we go back?" She had tried to reach out to him and that was when he jumped away and maundered something before deciding to run away. Not caring about his clothes, just wanting to escape the pre-heat thoughts that were now awakened.
I don't want my mind to be clouded again with people who I don't intend to mate! He thought whilst running away. Having his mind lusting for Felix was worse enough in the past, but now he would have to deal with Heikin being there as well! Both are compatible as mates, but not for having a family and Jisung wouldn't have any brains when hitting his heat to filter those two things out. The embarrassment! And he wasn't even aware he was projecting pheromones on the female alpha all this time! Gosh, how could he be so stupid!

"Oh my moon! Get back here, Jisung!" Heikin yells frustrated at him while Jisung takes a leap.
It brings him back to the moment and he closes his eyes when the impact of their fall reaches the ground. Twigs and sand fly through the air and although their fall is soft in the sand, Jisung still holds his breath.
When he opens his eyes he's met with the blue greenish eyes of Heikin's wolf staring down at him. She panting heavily whilst pinning him down and her ears are flat on her head. She growls softly at him and Jisung can't help but whimper. She's not emitting pheromones herself and honestly Jisung is surprised by it as normally the others would use them to overpower the others when they want them to obey. He doesn't smell anything from her, but he still feels obliged to show his neck to her.
Heikin seems confused with his behavior and shakes her nose. Her squinting eyes widen and Jisung slowly looks her in the eyes, confused as well as why she doesn't react at all. He should be afraid and she should punish him right now for even daring to look at her face, but for some reason they both have no idea how to react to each other.
They are close, that's what Jisung notices. She has both her front paws on the sides of his head and his exposed belly is almost touching her chest. Too close.
Both are staring at each other's eyes, figuring out what the other thinks. He doesn't understand her, but he does know his stomach is making somersaults when she keeps staring at him like that. He lifts his head a little, but right before he can touch her scruff with his snout they hear someone howling in the distance.
Heikin's ears stand up and she looks around where the sound is coming from. She backs off of Jisung who scrambles himself up from the sand and also looks around to see who called them. A few seconds later they see the wolf of Felix hurry over to them with haste and Jisung immediately knows something is off.
"Lix?" he asks through their pack bond. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at home?"
Felix looks panicked and out of breath when he stops near them. "I-It's Nelaya. I can't find her!" he stutters and Jisung has to bump his head against the alpha to calm him down.
Meanwhile Heikin watches worriedly as the two of them have their silent conversation. She whines, not being able to know what's the matter and Jisung contemplates if they should swift and ignore their nakedness for now.
"Lix, you have to elaborate. What do you mean you can't find her?" he asks.
Felix whines and paces up and down. "I-I— She ran off and I don't know where to," he says.
Jisung glances over to Heikin and softly bites Felix to keep him from pacing. "Stand still. I'll mediate between us."
He swifts behind Felix and uses the alpha as a shield to hide his body. Heikin glances over from Felix to him unsurely what to do.
"Lix doesn't know where Nelaya is," Jisung hurriedly starts off, making the female alpha's eyes widen with concern.
"Can you tell me why she ran off?" he asks Felix who tries to avoid both their looks. "Lix!" Jisung grumbles and the wolf lowers his head even lower in shame.
"W-we were alone at the base. Just talking when she asked me if I liked her. She- she confessed to me a-and..." He lowers his tail under his body and closes his eyes for a moment before continuing. "I-I rejected her, Ji. She became upset a-and then she ran off. And now I can't find her and I'm worried. I've searched all around our cave and the others aren't back yet from hunting. You two were the closest by. I-I'm so sorry."
Jisung tries to comprehend everything he just heard and Heikan scoffs to get his attention.
"Euh, right. Nelaya seems to have confessed she wanted to be mates with him and Felix said no. She ran off and he still can't find her."
She gives the male alpha the same confused face Jisung gave him, looking at him as if asking why? But Felix doesn't dare to look at her and keeps his head and ears low. His body is making little restless movements and Jisung has trouble keeping himself behind the wolf's body.
"Fe—, Felix. Stay still. I think it's best if we go back to base where you saw her run off and see if the others have returned. Chan hyung probably knows what to do."
He looks at Heikin to make sure she's okay with that. She's already pacing to hurry them up and Jisung changes without further ado.
"I have so many questions right now," Jisung says to Felix while they run home. "We'll talk when we have found her, you promise?"
Felix is running behind him while Heikin is sprinting in front of them. They can feel the tension of the female alpha.
"Y-yeah," Felix answers out of breath.
He must've run for a long time to be this exhausted already, Jisung thinks. When they see the outlines of their base Heikan doesn't hesitate to transform and grabs the first piece of clothing she sees lying around - a vest belonging to probably Hyunjin or Jeongin - which barely covers her lower parts, but she doesn't seem to mind. She strides back to Felix and grabs him by his scruff.
"You better explain things right now," she hisses at him and the poor boy evades his snout.
"Heikan, Give him some space first," Jisung says, running out of his room, struggling with his pants and reaching spare ones out to Felix.
Felix swifts whilst Heikin is holding him and she only releases when she sees her hand now wrapped around his neck. She looks away and scoffs while Felix miserably picks up the spare pants to put them on.
"A-again, I'm so, so sorry Heikin. W-we were just talking and then s-she confessed. I-I know you care about her a lot a-and she is such a sweet girl. B-but then— I said— and she—," he stutters when Heikin interrupts him.
"I don't care, Felix. Tell me where she ran off to."
His face shows how hurt he is with her cold tone and he points towards the river.
"She went that way. I-I wanted to go after her, but she seemed so upset I thought it would be better to leave her alone for a moment. B-but after half an hour she wasn't back a-and I went searching near the river to talk it out. I swear, I've searched up to the lake and back, but it's like her scent has vanished. I -I can't trace her."
Jisung sees how Heikin curses softly to herself, mumbling something he can't quite catch when behind them Chan and some of the other pack members arrive, frowning upon seeing the distressed situation. Jisung hurries over to them and tells his pack leader the short version of what's happened and Chan and Jeongin immediately jog over to Heikin and Felix.
"She can't be far. We've been at the hill side and haven't picked up on any weird movements. We should check the obvious places first. Felix, did you check their home?"
Felix nods. "I went there before I went to the dunes in search of Heikin and Jisung. She wasn't there."
Jisung sees Chan think and weigh his options. He looks up to Changbin and Jeongin behind him and makes his decision.
"Lix, you stay here with Changbin and Jisung. I'll take Heikan and Jeongin with me. We'll go to the forest and gather Minho, Seungmin and Hyunjin. I'll send Minho and Hyunjin back along the riverside to search there for a second time. Seung will go with Heikin to the plum trees and I'll take Jeongin to search around the borders. Howl as soon as you think you've found something."
All of them nod except for Felix who wants to help as well.
"No," Chan firmly says. "You stay here. If you can't trace her, she's probably trying to hide her scent. Smelling you will only cause distress and make it harder to find her. I need you to stay here with the omega's. Protect them."
Chan removes his tunic and unbuttons his pants while giving the young alpha a last firm glance. Jisung grabs Felix by his arm and pulls him back when his pack members shift and run off into their territory.
"Be careful!" Changbin yells at them while they stare at the wolves sprinting away.
Jisung doesn't know why, but his stomach is cramping up and he knows it's not his pre-heat messing with him. No, he has a bad feeling about this.