Five Months Later
Hongjoong and Jongho have been planning their visit to Eclipse with Yunho, Mingi, and Kyelin to see San for a while now, but what they didn't expect was to see their other three friends they hadn't gotten ahold of already there.
"Dongwoo?" Kyelin's the first one to speak as her eyes widened instantly when she saw him, having been missing him since their departure a few months ago.
Dongwoo chuckles and rubs the back of his head, "Hey, Lin."
"What are you three doing here?" Yunho asks, looking between Yeosang, Wooyoung, and Dongwoo.
"Ah... Well..." Yeosang starts, looking uneasy at the memories of when they were banished from Riverside and what happened to Wooyoung. It scared him seeing Wooyoung black out like he had done, but he and Dongwoo took care of him. Yeosang was thankful to still have Dongwoo as a friend, no matter how awkward and touchy the tension between the three of them would get.
Yeosang and Dongwoo were mated, so of course it's inevitable to have some discomfort when Yeosang is with Wooyoung now... The boy he had betrayed Dongwoo for. Yeosang hated thinking about it like that, but he knew there was no way to sugarcoat it. He and Dongwoo would talk often, with Wooyoung's knowledge, so they were able to get through things easier than most in their situation.
Yeosang cried when Dongwoo forgave him. He didn't think he deserved that forgiveness, but Dongwoo's heart was too big not to. He wanted to have Yeosang in his life no matter what, just as he said when they split up.
Wooyoung steps up to help Yeosang get the words out, holding his hand tightly for support, "Yeosang and I were shunned and kicked out of Riverside... Dongwoo came along to protect us, but we all ended up staying here in Eclipse with San," Wooyoung explains, smiling towards San, who he noticed had a hidden hurt look in his eyes when he smiled back.
"Like I said, everyone is welcome here," San says, the smile never leaving his lips, but everyone could tell it didn't quite reach his eyes. The bright look of San's eyes squinting down and his dimples' prominence wasn't there.
They all knew why.
As they looked around at each other, there was a clear piece of their puzzle missing.
The biggest piece, in San's eyes -- in his heart.
Seonghwa...
While San is hurt that everyone is there aside from his love, he really is happy to see everyone again. His hopes of Seonghwa coming back to him haven't left, not a single second of everyday does San go without thinking about him.
He will be home soon, San thinks to himself.
Jongho's face grows in anger as Wooyoung tells them what happened, "How dare they kick you out? What kind of pack even is Riverside if they were to banish two, nay, three, of their members?" His voice raises and Hongjoong lets it go until finish before he slips his hand into Jongho's, noticing the immediate ease of his mate.
Jongho looks over to Hongjoong and sees his mate with a subtle smile on his face, knowing his cue to calm down, but... Really? They kicked them out? Some fucking pack they are...
Dongwoo doesn't correct Jongho that he wasn't banished like Yeosang and Wooyoung, but he doesn't say anything. That's just how Jongho is.
Yeosang leans his head onto Wooyoung's shoulder, "We're better off here, really... I just miss my parents, but we've been able to meet up on the outskirts of the pack grounds before."
Hongjoong smiles, "I'm glad to hear that, Yeo. How's life been here with ole Sannie boy?" He teases, bringing San in for a hug, "How've you been holding up?"
San sighs into the hug, "I've been better, but so much has been going on in Eclipse that it's hard to not stay busy. I like it though, it keeps my mind busy. We've been reconstructing a lot of the lost structures and buildings that were once here with the help of some new pack members we got while I was gone."
Mingi pipes up with his deep joyous voice, "It really looks beautiful here, San. I can't believe I've never visited before."
San smiles as he looks behind him at his pack grounds and he nods proudly, "Not many people have, nor are they willing to travel this far out, but it's come a long way. I remember it being just desolate ground when I was a young boy."
The group all go off further into Eclipse, getting shown around mindlessly by San, but he introduces them to all of the elders and children. They're shocked to see that San was telling the truth when he would talk about his home pack. There really aren't many people their age at all.
San thinks about that fact often. In a place where he grew up with no one his age, he still managed to find friends and also love... Being surrounded by people older than him raised him to be more mature and patient than most people his age, and it showed as he was walking them all around Eclipse.
San made sure to observe his friends as they toured, wanting to pick up anything that he's missed while they've been gone. After all this time, Dongwoo and Kyelin may not have seen each other, but they reconnected instantly. San loved to see a genuinely happy smile on Dongwoo's face. Not that Dongwoo has been necessarily sad, but San knew. They all did.
A love like that doesn't go away so easily, after all.
They've been living here in Eclipse for him for months now, but seeing their mating marks on each other never ceases to make a smile come to San's face. He remembers the day he first saw the marks, and before he even saw them, he could feel the jubilance radiating off of the pair. They might have been in love before, but seeing them together without worries was a sight to see.
Even seeing them together today was refreshing, watching how different Yeosang and Wooyoung's relationship differed from Hongjoong and Jongho's or Yunho and Mingi's. They seemed more careful, if that makes sense. That's how San always viewed them, and he can only blame how much they had to hide their love and their past situations.
Yeosang was always so gentle and caring towards Wooyoung, looking after him as if he wasn't just his lover, but more than that. It showed most when they were with the pack children. They absolutely adored the couple, and not long after they arrived, they offered to watch them. Now, they're even teaching them with the elders of the pack.
Hongjoong and Jongho's relationship seemed more blossomed than when they first mated, and San couldn't help but notice how Hongjoong was always there to calm Jongho down. San found it incredible that he was able to put Jongho at ease with just a simple touch.
Small hints of their old selves come out in their still very surface-level bickering, but the quickness that they make up is... Surprising to say the least, and San can't bear to look at the disgustingly affectionate way they would make up.
San may enjoy seeing the easiness of Yunho and Mingi's love, the hard-fought love of Yeosang and Wooyoung, the blossoming relationship between Kyelin and Dongwoo, or even the dysfunctionally functional love that is Hongjoong and Jongho, but... Seeing all of his friends' happiness and lives going up into an even more love-filled dreamland hurts.
San hates to think about how much it really hurts to see everyone here and he hates that he feels like this. The selfish part of himself and his wolf wants for himself to be happy right along with them. His heart aches as he looks down at his empty hands and touches his unmarked neck, longing deeply for his missing love. Surrounded by love, he craves Seonghwa even more, wishing he were here with him to see the gathering of their friends once again.
"San, aren't you going to come with us?"
San looks up to see his friends walking towards the sauna room and he smiles at Wooyoung, who asked the question and took him out of his thoughts. San nods and starts walking with him, he has to try and get his mind off of Seonghwa for just a little while. The sauna will be perfect... Except that it brings back the memories he has of Seonghwa's first night here in the sauna with him.
Everything reminds him of his love.
~
Seonghwa wakes up early in the morning of his mating day to the sound of his door sliding open. His heart jumps at the prospect of it being San, even though he knows it's impossible. Every time he's heard his door open since San's left has made his heart beat faster, remembering all the times he had snuck into his room or come and seen him.
"Get up, Seonghwa," Eunji whispers, her cheeks lathered in rouge and her hair curled.
Seonghwa sits up quickly, disregarding Eunji's appearance, knowing she must've snuck away from her mother's hands this morning. He knows that was one of the things she was most worried about with their whole plan. Getting out of the mits of her mother.
It looks like it went well.
"Was Areum in her room?" Seonghwa asks back, tightening the string of his robe around his waist before putting on his backpack and securing it.
Areum was supposed to be up before all of them to scope out the grounds and their plan was to leave before the sun came up. Looking out his window to see the light coming up from over the mountains makes him sigh in fear, his breath shaky.
Eunji shakes her head, "No, she should be ready... Don't worry, Seonghwa. It will all work out," she says confidently, waving for Seonghwa to follow her out of his room quietly.
Seonghwa doesn't answer back, letting his mind drift off into his most common and comforting thoughts.
Thoughts of San.
The day he's been looking forward to most has finally come, and for some reason the fear of actually leaving Chrysalis behind is setting in on him as he and Eunji are hurrying to the spot they agreed to meet up.
Seonghwa looks down at his hands and sees as a water droplet falls onto his palm. He tilts his head up to the sky that has rays of light beaming through the darkness that still plagues it, the stars still managing to shine through, and sees that it's not rain.
He's crying.
The last thing he expected to do when leaving Chrysalis was cry, but here he is, turning his head back to look at the soulless grounds he grew up on. It's always looked so peaceful when no one is out and about, but now, it looks depressing.
Seonghwa bites his lip and keeps his head facing front when he realizes he had fallen behind a bit. He tells himself over and over that he's going to see San, and that's the only thing that keeps his legs moving forward. His wolf has been promised San's presence for so long, and he can't take much longer without him.
Seonghwa squints and puts his hand above his eyes as he sees his sister standing at the back exit of Chrysalis, between two trees, the sun's bright light coating all three of them and they know that they have to leave now.
Everyone in the pack was to wake up at dawn to prepare for the mating of Seonghwa and Eunji. The three of them just had to hope and pray to the goddesses that everyone would be so focused on their tasks for setting up the ceremony and getting well-rested for the day ahead, that no one would see or hear them going through the grounds.
By the time the first door slides open in Chrysalis, Seonghwa, Areum, and Eunji have already left.
Seonghwa tries his best not to look back at his home after they fully leave the grounds and disconnect from their pack's mindlink, but he feels the tugging in his chest to go back. It's all he's ever really known, and now that he's going to be out in the world alone, it frightens him. His wolf reassures him that he will go to San soon, and that's all the encouragement he needs to keep going.
The tugging to return to Chrysalis is combated by the tugging to run to Eclipse, run to San.
"I'm coming, San..." Seonghwa whispers to himself as the three of them shift and begin to run.
End of Chapter Thirty Seven
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Next week will be the last chapter plus the finale <3 let's get excited!! :) Thank you so much for reading, angels