Puer Lunae (Child of the Moon)

Chapter 23: Overthinking

Ryujin's POV:

It was already evening since the pack picked me up from the Qians and our house was back to being all so busy and noisy as they were telling me stories about what happened to Biyangdo island, it seems like they had fun despite almost getting themselves killed back there.

"Oh and we made peace with the Strays!" Beomgyu said enthusiastically so I gave them a surprised look.

"Among all the possibilities to happen there, that scenario didn't cross my mind" I said jokingly which made them chuckle as they all agreed because they didn't seem to think that it was possible as well.

"Putting Beomgyu, Hanji and Hyunjin in the same place is such a bad idea" Uncle Johnny said while shaking his head, Beomgyu only grinned devilishly as he kept on wriggling his eyebrows.

"They're actually good, they just made us sign an oath to never mention our height differences" Jisungie added which made me chuckle, I can clearly imagine their faces while settling their agreements about their newly found peace and friendship.

The little chatter continued until I noticed that Jeno wasn't around, usually Jeno is the last one to come around whenever we're gathering but it's been a good 30 minutes yet there was not a single strand of his hair was on sight.

"Excuse me for a while guys" I said which made the rest of my packmates nod as I stood up, I went upstairs to check his room but he wasn't there, I checked every corner of the house but Jeno wasn't here, that's weird?

I went out of the house and I looked around the place, Jeno isn't the type to leave the house when we don't have classes nor he rarely leaves without anyone with the pack to accompany him, I went to the woods nearby to check if he was there and I was right, he was sitting near a stream while playing with some rocks using a stick nearby.

"Hey what's wrong?" I asked as I sat down beside him, Jeno turned his head and he had that surprised look on his face and when he saw that it was me, he let out a tired sad smile which made me worried, something is definitely bothering this guy.

Instead of answering me, Jeno just dropped his head on his knees as he sighed deeply, I couldn't help but to pat his back as I tried to comfort him, he rarely shows his vulnerable side and once he does, I can clearly tell that he's genuinely hurt, I wonder what happened to him to make him act this way.

"That darn vampire" Jeno whispered under his breath, luckily I managed to get a grasp of what he said despite not having enhanced hearing.

"Did you get hurt Jen? Why didn't you tell me?" I asked sounding a little too paranoid which made Jeno chuckle as he shake his head, a hand reaching to hold mine.

"Just brought back some memories I've been trying to forget" Jeno said honestly as I felt his grip on my hand tighten, my eyes soften as I used my free hand to caress his arm, and as if that was his last straw, he bursted into tears and I didn't hesitate to pull him into a hug.

Jeno had always kept that tough and firm facade, he carried on being one of the foundations of this pack despite his young age because one day he's going to be the next alpha, he knows that he's going to be bestowed upon such a great responsibility to lead the next generation of this pack, but despite all of that he's just like me, both yearning for the love of a parent that didn't accepted us for who we really are.

"I wonder how my mom is doing right now" Jeno muttered as I caressed the back of his head, his story doesn't really much differ from mine, we're the total opposite yet we're so alike.

"I just hope she's living a good life" I felt my heart hurt while I listened to Jeno's pained voice, I would never get used to this, I would never get used to seeing him in pain even if he only let his guard down whenever he's with me.