Chapter Text
Seonghwa had gotten sloppy. It was the only thing he could think of as he stared down the sharp end of the crossbow in front of him. Well, his mistakes and his fledglings— how he was going to get them out of his mess.
He really should have anticipated the visit from the scouts. Especially since they'd stopped getting their rations, that was sure to have put a red flag on their file. Seonghwa had been so caught up in the excitement of the pack and everything that they brought with them that he'd completely forgotten that scouts would have been alerted by their lack of rations. It was even more foolish of Seonghwa to dry their meat out in the open and a quick glance inside of the cottage gave the scouts even more evidence, the stack of hides Yeosang had been turning into blankets sitting right out in the open.
“It's mine,” Seonghwa begged, pushing Yunho further behind him when the younger man tried to come up beside him. “I— please, don't— please don't punish my fledglings for my crimes. It was all me— please—”
One of the scouts barked out a laugh. “You're all disgusting monsters,” he spat. “Why should we ever spare a bloodsucker?”
Behind him, Yeosang whimpered, pressing his face into Seonghwa's back. “Take my life,” Seonghwa pleaded. “My fledglings are innocent. Please— they're just babies—”
“Hyung,” Yunho whimpered, fingers clenching painfully around Seonghwa’s arm.
Seonghwa pushed him further behind him, silently begging him to stop talking— to not draw attention to himself. If Seonghwa could just get the focus on him— if he could find a way to convince these scouts to spare his mates then he could die peacefully. Maybe Hongjoong would take them in. If Hongjoong did that, Seonghwa knew he would have no qualms about sacrificing himself then. As long as his fledglings made it out alive.
“They didn’t know,” he continued, trying to keep track of where all of the humans were through his tears. “I never— I didn’t teach them right but— but they can learn from my mistakes. Please— please spare them.”
“A monster isn’t capable of learning,” one of the scouts hissed, moving his finger to the trigger on his crossbow. Seonghwa’s eyes clenched shut, his arms tightening their hold on his fledglings as he tried to shield them with his body.
This was it. Seonghwa knew this was it. And he had so many regrets but the only one that mattered was that he hadn’t been able to save his mates from this terrible end too. He knew what was coming— had seen it when Eden had taken the stake for him— the horrible sound of the stake being launched from the crossbow, the wood piercing his chest with a dull anticlimactic thud. The pain— so much pain— as the stake slowly disintegrated in his chest cavity and spread outward like a poison.
It would be a slow death— it always was— and all Seonghwa ever wanted was for his boys to never experience that pain and now— now they would. And it was all his fault.
“I’m sorry,” he whimpered. “I’m so sorry— I love you.”
Any response his fledglings might have had for him were cut off by a terrifying snarl ripping through the clearing. Seonghwa’s eyes snapped open, widening when he easily recognized Hongjoong in his wolf form practically flying towards the scout who had been about to shoot him and cleanly latching onto his arm.
The alpha threw the human to the ground, teeth digging further into the man’s arm as the other scouts raised their weapons towards Hongjoong now instead— not that a wooden stake would do much damage to a werewolf.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Jongho shouted furiously, breaking through the trees as he stormed across the clearing, the rest of the pack only a few steps behind him. He was the only one in his human form, the rest of the wolves looking just as agitated and bloodthirsty as Hongjoong was, digging their paws into the earth as though preparing to pounce.
“Call off your mutt!” One of the scouts screamed, his crossbow now flickering wildly between Hongjoong, Jongho, and Seonghwa, unsure of where he should be aiming. “We’re— we’re here on official business.”
Jongho raised his eyebrow in defiance, taking a few more daring steps forward until he was fully shielding Seonghwa with his own body. “What kind of official business involves threatening my packmates?” he challenged.
“Call off the dog and we won’t have to threaten you!” another scout screamed desperately, his crossbow focused on Hongjoong who was still snarling and shaking the downed human’s arm like a chew toy.
“That dog is my alpha,” Jongho hissed. “And if I were you, I’d think very carefully about the next words that come out of your mouth.”
The first scout laughed uncomfortably, the only one still composed of the bunch even if his eyes still gave away his fear, as he raised one hand in an attempt to diminish the tension. “Listen, kid,” he started. “I think we got off on the wrong foot and this is all some big misunderstanding. You wanna convince your alpha to let go of my partner and shift back so we can talk about it like adults?”
Jongho huffed in mock amusement before flicking his eyes to Hongjoong. “Hyung,” he called. “Let go of the meat sack and come check on your pack.”
Hongjoong growled, tightening his grip on the scout’s arm for a few seconds longer before releasing him and backing away to shift. The second he was human again, Hongjoong darted over to Seonghwa, cupping the vampire’s face between his hands as he checked him over for injuries before doing the same for the other two fledglings behind him.
“Are you hurt?” he fretted, fingers combing back Yeosang’s fringe and he checked over the younger man. “What did they do to you, baby?” He turned to glare at the humans. “What did you do to them?” he snarled.
The center scout frowned, looking confused and mildly terrified. “Nothing yet,” he declared. “What’s it to you? They’re just a couple of bloodsuckers that broke the law and need to answer for their crimes.”
Behind him, Yunho whimpered, pressing his face into the back of Seonghwa’s head in an attempt to hide from the humans.
“What crime?” he barked. “What could they have possibly done to warrant five crossbows pointed at them?”
The one scout rolled his eyes. “Look around, dude. They’re not even trying to hide the evidence.”
Hongjoong took a quick glance around the property, not seeing anything out of place.
“The meat, Joong,” Seonghwa whispered shakily. “They think we’ve been illegally hunting.”
The scout nodded his head in agreement, seemingly pleased that Seonghwa had apparently confessed to his wrongdoings. “Exactly,” he declared. “So if you don’t mind moving out of the way, we have an execution to carry out.”
“If you even think about harming a single hair on any of their heads I will rip you limb from limb,” Hongjoong threatened darkly.
Now looking more annoyed than frightened, the scout rolled his eyes. “Listen dude, it’s illegal for leeches to hunt if they’re not in a pack— you and I both know this— these monsters were caught with animal remains on their property which is grounds for reasonable assumption of illegal activities which is grounds for immediate execution. We can’t let monsters like this just roam free. They’re a detriment to our society.”
“I hunted those animals,” Hongjoong snarled. “Those are my kills. Not theirs. They were gifts.”
The scout sighed in annoyance. “Listen, dude, we’re just talking in circles now. Let me make it real simple for you, okay? They’re packless and unchecked. They were caught with animal remains. And now they have to die. That’s just the law, buddy. So why don’t you step aside and let me do my job, yeah? What’s it to you anyways? It’s not like their lives mean anything. No one will miss a couple of bloodsuckers.”
“They’re not packless,” Hongjoong declared. “They’re a part of my pack.”
The human raised his eyebrow, not looking swayed in the slightest. “Then where’s their packmarks?” he challenged. “And why are they living separately? It’s against the law for mated bloodsuckers to live separately. And according to our records they haven’t declared a pack status which is also illegal and grounds for the execution of the entire pack. Listen, man, just stop unless you want your mutts to be executed too.”
“Hongjoong,” Seonghwa breathed, gripping his wrist tightly as he whispered into the alpha’s ear. “Don’t do this. Not for us.”
Hongjoong huffed and turned around, grabbing Yunho’s arm and dragging him forward and out from behind Seonghwa’s protective stance before either of them could react. “They are marked, asshat,” he snarled, tugging the collar of Yunho’s shirt down to show the human the scarred over bite mark from the first time they’d met. “We just made it official last night which is why they’re still living here and not registered as our pack yet. We get a three day grace period if the mating happens directly before or after the full moon. Or did you conveniently forget that?”
The scout eyed Yunho’s mark intensely before slowly lowering his weapon and nodded tersely to the other men to return to their truck. “You have until tomorrow evening,” he announced gruffly. “Otherwise your whole pack will be held accountable for their crimes.”
With that, the man turned and followed the other scouts to the truck where they all piled in and drove off. The eight of them stood rigid until the truck was out of sight. The second it disappeared, Seonghwa collapsed, painful, heaving sobs clawing their way from his chest as he grappled for his fledglings in urgency. Yunho and Yeosang held on just as tightly, pressing kiss after kiss into one another’s skin.
Hongjoong dropped down next to them, wrapping his arms around Seonghwa as he helped all three of them lean against him, the rest of the pack creating a circle around them as they comforted one another.
“I’m sorry,” Hongjoong murmured. “I’m sorry I did that— it was the only thing I could think of to keep you safe.”
Seonghwa shook his head, turning slightly so that he could cup Hongjoong’s cheeks. “No, I’m— I’m sorry,” he blubbered. “You’re— you’re going to have to claim us now. I’m so— I’m so sorry, Hongjoong. I never wanted to burden you like that.”
Hongjoong sighed and returned the gesture, cradling Seonghwa’s face with the utmost care. “No, my love,” he murmured. “You misunderstood. I’m not sorry that I have to claim you. We were heading in that direction anyways and I’ve never thought of claiming you as a burden. I’m just sorry we didn’t get to finish courting you three before I did.” Hongjoong carefully leaned his body forward, giving Seonghwa plenty of time to pull away if he wanted to before connecting their lips in a sweet kiss, sending jolts of electricity through his body. It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening but Seonghwa quickly melted against Hongjoong, letting the alpha take control.
Their lips lingered against one another even after the kiss ended, until San cleared his throat cheekily. “As lovely as you two are together,” he started. “The rest of us would like our kisses too. And we should probably start packing up the cottage. Those idiots didn’t exactly give us a lot of time.”
Mingi nodded his head in agreement and lurched forward to capture Yunho’s lips for a kiss of his own. This spurred on the rest of the boys who gleefully overpowered Hongjoong and pushed him out of the way as they took turns kissing each of the vampires through their happy giggles.
Eventually they did all get their kisses and pulled back to form a loose circle. “One of us should go get the pickup,” San suggested. “So we only have to make one trip.” No one volunteered, each of the wolves latching onto the three vampires until the only one left standing was San who sighed and threw his hands up in the air in defeat. “Fine,” he grumbled. “I’ll go. But you all better have the whole house packed up by the time I get back.”
Wooyoung saluted him cheekily while Jongho waved as he stomped off into the forest theatrically but not before stealing another kiss from all three of the vampires with a pleased smile stretched across his lips. The rest of them got to work packing up the few possessions the vampires actually wanted to keep. Most of their furniture and such were decades old and falling apart and had quickly been deemed not worth taking with and so it was relatively easy to pack everything up and set it by the front door.
Hongjoong wrapped his arms around Seonghwa, tucking his chin over the vampire's shoulder as he stood solemnly in front of the mantel, a small jar of what looked like soot cradled in his hands. “What’s that?” Hongjoong asked, pressing their cheeks together and startling when he realized Seonghwa’s face was wet. “Hwa?”
“This was Eden-hyung,” he whispered. “It’s all— it’s all I have left of him.” He released a shuddering breath and set the jar back down before turning around and burying his face in Hongjoong’s chest, his arms coming up to cling onto the wolf tightly. “You— you saved my fledglings from having to— from having to see me die like Eden-hyung. You saved them from having to suffer the same fate as— as him. I can never thank you enough for that.”
Hongjoong shook his head solemnly. “There’s nothing to thank,” he murmured. “You’re my pack. I’d do anything for you. We can give Eden a proper resting place back home, if you’d like.”
Seonghwa swallowed and nodded his head, squeezing Hongjoong even tighter. “Yes, please,” he whispered. “I’d like that a lot.”
Seonghwa sighed, dropping down onto the couch next to Mingi and laying his head down on the taller man’s shoulder. They’d just finished unloading the truck and after the events of the morning, Seonghwa was utterly exhausted but he knew that his day was far from over.
Yeosang dropped down on his other side, pressing his cheek to Seonghwa’s arm as he used the limb as his own personal cuddle pillow. “Why is moving so exhausting?” he complained softly. “We don't even have that much stuff.”
“It’s been a stressful morning,” Hongjoong agreed as he entered the living room with the rest of the pack in tow. “But we can’t rest yet. I need to claim you three and then we need to go downtown to register you as a part of my pack before those idiots decide to start a war over a couple of deer.” He huffed, dropping down onto the other couch and patting the space between his legs for Yunho to fall into. “I never knew the laws for vampires were so outrageous. If I’d known, I never would have waited so long to claim you three— I want you to know that.”
Seonghwa shook his head, smiling tiredly at the alpha as Mingi brought a hand up to card his fingers through the sire’s hair. “We never blamed you,” he assured. “And we never expected you to claim us either.”
Hongjoong rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Yunho’s waist, pressing a feather light kiss to the younger man’s neck. “That’s because you don’t know how special you are,” he chided. “But we’ll show you. One day you’ll see your worth the way we do.” He pressed his nose to the column of Yunho’s throat, lips trailing up and down the expanse of skin until he found the spot he was looking for and kissed it. “This will hurt,” he warned, words muffled slightly against Yunho’s skin. “But only for a second. It won’t be like last time— I promise.”
Yunho’s eyes fluttered close, tilting his head a bit more to the side to give Hongjoong more space. “I trust you,” he breathed. “Claim me, Alpha. Please.”
Hongjoong released a low, animalistic growl and opened his mouth, canines elongating before their eyes seconds before he buried them in Yunho’s neck. He held on, pushing his teeth even deeper before slowly pulling his mouth away, licking at the rapidly healing wound languidly. Hongjoong’s growl turned into a pleased purr as he admired the mark now displayed high on the side of Yunho’s throat, still pink and raw but very obviously a claim mark.
From the other couch, Wooyoung snorted. “Possessive little alpha,” he remarked softly, unable to hide the fondness under his snark.
Hongjoong just rolled his eyes and pressed another kiss to Yunho’s mark, making the vampire whimper happily. “Like you’d be any better,” he retorted, giving Yunho’s waist a gentle squeeze before releasing him and nudging him to go curl up next to Jongho. “Sang-ah, your turn, love.”
Yeosang nodded, releasing Seonghwa’s arm to go settle between Hongjoong’s legs, much like Yunho had been moments before.
Hongjoong’s hands trailed up and down Yeosang’s neck as he and Wooyoung took a few moments to bicker back and forth before San inevitably shut the younger wolf up with a firm hand over his mouth. “Please, for the love of everything sacred,” San bemoaned, his hand following Wooyoung’s mouth when the other wolf tried to shake him off. “Shut up and let our alpha claim our mates.”
“Thank you, Sannie,” Hongjoong breathed with a fond chuckle, his hands shifting on Yeosang’s neck as he helped the vampire to tilt his head just right before pressing a few kisses into the younger man’s sensitive skin.
Yeosang shuddered in his arms, leaning into the alpha’s hold just as Hongjoong’s teeth pierced his skin. As soon as it had started, Hongjoong was licking the wound closed, that contented purring sound once again making its way past his lips as he admired the mark now sitting high on the column of Yeosang’s throat, matching the mark that the pack and now Yunho carried perfectly.
“Beautiful,” Hongjoong murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to the mark that made the vampire whimper. He gently handed the younger man off to San who happily tucked Yeosang into his lap, nuzzling their cheeks together.
Before Seonghwa could stand up to join Hongjoong, Mingi lifted him up himself and cheerfully deposited him into his alpha’s lap, ignoring Seonghwa’s indignant squeak. “Mingi-yah,” he scolded breathlessly, even as Hongjoong helped him settle more comfortably in his lap.
“What?” Mingi asked playfully, dropping back down onto the sofa and tucking Wooyoung into his arms. “I was just helping. Didn’t want our alpha to forget about you.”
Hongjoong snorted, his arms tightening around Seonghwa’s waist. “Like I could ever,” he huffed, pressing a soft kiss right behind Seonghwa’s ear. The vampire shivered, eyes fluttered closed when Hongjoong’s lips made their way up and down his throat. “I’m always thinking about you. I can’t wait for you to be mine— ours.”
“Please,” Seonghwa whispered, tilting his neck to the side and he wrapped his long fingers around Hongjoong’s wrists desperately. “Please, Alpha.”
Hongjoong snarled possessively and bit into Seonghwa’s tender flesh immediately. He hadn’t lied, there was pain at first but it was quickly overtaken by a feeling of belonging, of puzzle pieces falling into place. He wasn’t certain, but Seonghwa thought he might have made some sort of noise when Hongjoong’s teeth finally pulled away after what felt like a blissful eternity, the wolf’s tongue gently lapping at his neck.
“Will it always feel like this?” Seonghwa asked breathlessly, turning around in Hongjoong’s lap to wrap himself around the smaller man and bury his nose in the wolf’s neck.
“Like what?” Hongjoong asked, fingers dancing up and down Seonghwa’s back as he tilted his head to the side to give Seonghwa more room to seek his comfort.
“This warm,” he shuddered happily.
From somewhere behind him, Yunho hummed his agreement. “It’s like you’re hugging me from the inside,” he admitted, sounding half asleep and content.
“Safe,” Yeosang murmured from San’s arms. “Feels safe.”
Around him, Hongjoong’s arms tightened as he released a pleased rumble. “You’re always safe with me,” he promised. “No one will ever hurt any of you again.”
“What the fuck is this?” Hongjoong hissed, glaring down at the contract sitting on the desk between the caseworker and his pack. “What do you mean ‘monitor and restrict blood intake?’”
Seonghwa gently hooked his hand around Hongjoong’s elbow and squeezed in warning.
“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” the caseworker replied, eyeing Seonghwa’s hand disdainfully. “We need you to acknowledge that you’re legally responsible for not only their blood supply but their continued monitoring and disciplining should your vampires get... out of hand.”
“This is ridiculous,” Hongjoong hissed, the pen nearly snapping in his grip until Seonghwa gently took it from him.
He pressed his cheek to the top of Hongjoong’s head and pet the alpha’s baby hairs with the hand not holding the pen. “It’s okay, Alpha,” he soothed. “You’re just agreeing to do what you’ve always done for us. It’s just worded a little differently here.”
That made Hongjoong snort as he rolled his eyes before taking a deep breath and taking the pen back. “That’s a nice way of putting it,” he grumbled as he signed the document and handed it back to the unimpressed caseworker.
She filed the paperwork and typed a few things into her computer before motioning towards a blank piece of the wall to her right. “Right— leeches need to strip,” she announced as she grabbed a camera from one of the drawers in her desk.
“Excuse you?” Hongjoong hissed.
“Down to their underwear,” she intoned dully. “I need to document their marks.”
“They don’t need to strip for that!” Hongjoong exclaimed. “Their marks are visible above their clothes.”
The woman rolled her eyes in annoyance. “They need to strip,” she repeated. “It’s policy.”
“They’re not taking their clothes off— especially out in the open like this,” he argued.
“Sir, with all due respect,” the caseworker started looking seconds away from calling over one of the guards. “If you’re not willing to register these violent monsters properly then you will not be legally allowed to possess them and we’ll be forced to put them down for the sake of public safety.”
Seonghwa gripped Hongjoong’s arm tightly while the alpha gaped at the woman. “Please, Alpha,” he whispered in the wolf’s ear. “Just let them do it. It’ll be okay. We’ve had to do this before.”
Hongjoong glared at the caseworker for a few more tense seconds before sighing and releasing a fraction of the tension in his shoulders. “Fine. But you don’t touch them,” he warned, making the woman snort.
“Like I’d ever willingly touch a disgusting bloodsucker,” she grumbled, pointing for Seonghwa to make his way to the wall.
Seonghwa did as he was told, stripping out of his clothes and handing them to Hongjoong to hold while the woman got photos of his body from every angle and close ups of his pack mark, sitting pink and raw at the top of his throat on full display. The second she was done Yunho switched places with him, having already taken his clothes off in preparation.
Sooner than Seonghwa had expected they were all re-dressed and Hongjoong was being handed a certificate that proved that Seonghwa, Yeosang, and Yunho were under his pack. Hongjoong practically ripped the document from the woman’s hands as he quickly herded the vampires out of the building and towards his car.
“It’s over,” he murmured once they were all safely tucked away in the car. He dropped his forehead onto the steering wheel as he took a few deep breaths while Seonghwa gently rubbed at his back.
“You did well, Joong-ah,” he praised softly.
“I wanted to kill her,” Hongjoong bemoaned. “I wanted to tear every single one of those bastards apart.”
Seonghwa smiled sadly and leaned over the center console to press his cheek to the smaller man’s shoulder. “But you didn’t,” he praised. “You held yourself back and kept us safe— kept your pack safe.”
Hongjoong shivered pleasantly, lifting his head off of the steering wheel as he turned in his seat just enough to wrap his arm around what he could reach of Seonghwa. “You’re my pack,” he murmured. “Love hearing you call yourselves my pack.”
“We’re yours,” Seonghwa promised. “Thank you, Hongjoong-ah.”
Hongjoong shook his head. “Thank you,” he insisted. “You three have opened my eyes and my heart and I’m so grateful and honored to have you all in my life and in my pack.”
Three Months Later
“Hwa-yah,” Hongjoong called seconds before wrapping his arms around Seonghwa from behind and peppering the back of his neck in butterfly kisses. “Have you eaten?”
Seonghwa smiled and shook his head, turning the dial down on the stove to let the soup simmer before twisting around in Hongjoong’s arms so that he could kiss the wolf properly. “Not yet,” he announced once they’d parted from the kiss. “Why, what’d you bring me?”
Hongjoong smirked and tightened his hold on Seonghwa’s waist— the only warning the slightly older man got before Hongjoong lifted him up and held him to his chest as he carried him into the living room where the rest of the pack was sprawled out across the two sofas. “I didn’t bring you anything,” Hongjoong declared teasingly. “I wanted to try something else, if you’re up for it.”
“And what might that be?” Seonghwa asked, a small teasing smile stretching across his own lips as he got comfortable in the alpha’s lap when Hongjoong sat down.
“What if I said I wanted you to drink from me?”
Seonghwa’s breath caught in his throat as he stared at the smaller man in wonder. “I— Are you sure?”
Hongjoong nodded, teasing smile melting into something much softer as he cupped Seonghwa’s cheeks. “I think all three of you have more than proven your ability to control yourselves,” he declared. “I’d still like to be the first— just to be sure— but if the others would like to feed any of you after me then I won’t stop them.”
“Yes!” Jongho exclaimed, jumping up from the couch as he pumped his fist in the air. “Finally!”
“Do you know how long we’ve waited, hyung?” Mingi bemoaned, looking pleased as punch at the prospect of being able to feed his packmates.
“I’m well aware,” Hongjoong deadpanned. “You never shut up about it. But I needed to be sure that our vampires could handle it. I promised to protect all seven of you and I had to make sure that I could keep that promise.”
Seonghwa smiled and nodded his head in agreement. “I wouldn’t have agreed much earlier anyways,” he added. “We needed time to acclimatize ourselves to drinking from a pulse and none of us would have been able to forgive ourselves if we’d taken too much from one of you.”
Wooyoung huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well I believed in you,” he grumbled, though it was clear as day that he was not actually upset and was rather holding back his excitement.
Yeosang giggled and wrapped his arms around Wooyoung from behind, tugging him backwards until he was resting fully on the vampire’s chest.
“Well,” Mingi huffed when no one said anything for more than a few seconds. “Get on with it so we can feed our packmates!”
“I get to properly feed Yunho-hyung first,” Jongho declared. “I’ve wanted to feed him since he brought me a giant fish bowl full of strawberries.”
“You can feed him after me,” Hongjoong said as rolled his eyes fondly before turning his gaze back to Seonghwa. “Want to take the first bite, my love?”
Seonghwa sucked on his bottom lip, eyes flitting between Hongjoong’s exposed neck and his open, honest eyes. “If you’re sure,” he hedged.
“More than sure,” he promised. “Take a drink, I trust you.”
He held back for another moment, eyes assessing his alpha, before slowly leaning in and pressing his mouth to Hongjoong’s neck. The alpha didn’t flinch like he expected him to, instead, he tilted his head further to the side, inviting Seonghwa in. He opened his mouth, letting his fangs trail across Hongjoong’s skin for a moment longer before sinking into the soft flesh.
Hongjoong’s blood was so delicious and warm and Seonghwa couldn’t stop the moan from escaping his mouth as he latched on, taking a few deep pulls from his mate until Hongjoong gently tapped the back of his head, signaling for him to stop. He pulled away, taking a few seconds to lick the blood clean and seal the wound before sitting back on Hongjoong’s lap fully.
“I take it I taste good?” Hongjoong teased, reaching up to catch a bit of blood that escaped from the corner of Seonghwa’s mouth, pressing his thumb to the other man’s lips until he opened up and bashfully licked the blood from his finger.
“Better than anything,” Seonghwa confessed, ducking his head to hide against Hongjoong’s chest as the wolf laughed fondly.
Hongjoong held him for a few more seconds before gently patting his butt and nudging him to sit beside him and letting Yunho and Yeosang take their turns drinking from him.
The second they were both able to prove that they could stop when they were told, Jongho had Yunho in his lap, tilting his head to the side and tugging the vampire’s mouth to his neck with excitable urgency.
Yunho didn’t hesitate either, biting into Jongho with gusto. He only held on for a moment before pulling back, his face equal parts wonder and smugness. “I knew you’d taste good,” he declared, not giving anyone time to respond before diving back into Jongho’s neck with a happy hum.
Seonghwa snorted, shaking his head at his fledgling fondly before tucking himself against Hongjoong’s side, content to watch as San and Wooyoung decided to battle it out over who got to feed Yeosang, Mingi waiting until they were both distracted to tug the smaller vampire into his lap and offer his neck with a cheeky grin that Yeosang happily accepted.
“Thank you, Hongjoong-ah,” Seonghwa murmured, pressing a kiss to the alpha’s already healed bite mark.
Hongjoong smiled, wrapping his arm around Seonghwa as he watched San and Wooyoung’s theatrics once they realized Mingi had stolen Yeosang from them. “Thank you, Hwa,” he replied, dropping a kiss onto the top of Seonghwa’s head. “I never knew how incomplete my life was until I met you and your clan. I love you.”
Seonghwa closed his eyes, threading his fingers through Hongjoong’s as he listened to his excitable pack around him. There was no longer any fear simmering in Seonghwa’s gut, no hunger pains in his stomach, and no dread in his heart. For the first time in his life, Seonghwa felt content and he knew that feeling would never leave him— not while he had the pack.
“I love you more.”