Seonghwa

"Again!" A series of loud hits and punches echoes in the basement.

"Again!!" Seonghwa's father and alpha of the Crescent moon pack, Junsu orders in a loud voice to his first son as said male completes his drills of explosive high kicks and blows to a large leather punching bag hanging from the ceiling.

Seonghwa was breathless but he wipes the sweat from his eyes and flexes his wrist a little before getting in an offensive position in front of the heavy punching bag that dangles in the air ever so slightly.

His knuckles were lifted in front of him, wrapped up and stained with dirt and dried blood from his fists due to the numerous drills his father had him doing nearly everyday for hours. He was shirtless had nothing but loose fitting shorts on. Sweat rolled down his face and toned chest and solid abs.

Pah pah. Pah pah, kick. He throws punch after punch followed with a side kick.

"You're get sloppy. Straighten that form up!" His father shouts with annoyance. Seonghwa grips the swinging punching bag in order to hold it in place. He was exhausted but tried not to show it. The bruises and red marks all along his legs from all the kicking probably spoke for itself.

Plus he knew if he showed any signs of frustration and fatigue, it would only his father more angry.

This is how it had been for weeks now. Ever since he'd returned home from Lloth... no, ever since Yeji died.

It seemed like with her died the soul of their family. His father had become a lot more cold and ruthless, not just towards Seonghwa but to Hyunjin, his youngest son too. As a matter of fact the younger male probably dealt with the brunt of their father's anger.

He was always aggravated at the boy at any little thing and every little mistake. One time Victoria, their mother, had to step in and protect her son when Junsu snapped at the younger werewolf simply because he was too exhausted and had stumbled to the ground mid drill. The man slapped Hyunjin so hard it sent his head whipping to the side and left an angry red mark on his face for hours. Their mother was able to calm him down before he could land another hit.

It'd been hard for everyone. The loss of Yeji in such a meaningless way at that... it created a hole in the family that Seonghwa wasn't sure could ever be mended.

Her death didn't just affect their family. It affected their entire pack. She was the alpha's daughter after all. Damn near every member of their pack was all for launching an attack in retaliation on Naex and specifically target one of the princes. Blood for blood.

And that everyone included his own parents.

But the idea was shut down at a weekly council meeting with the alphas of the 7 other packs of Boulia. They voted on it and it was unanimous.

"After centuries of tyranny, Jaejoong has finally been taken down as Lloth's sovereign and conflict with the vampires has, thankfully, slowly calmed down. It would be foolish to launch an attack now and reignite the fighting. Too many blood has been shed" One of the alphas had said.

"I agree. Attacking would only provoke more fighting. And to go after one of the princes? It would not end well"

"What about the blood they shed?!" Victoria shouts with glossy eyes as she slams her fist on the table. The startled table just looks at her with guilty expressions. "They took my daughter away from me.." She says through gritted teeth. Her full eyebrows were furrowed, brown eyes wide with anger. You could tell she'd been alot recently due to the puffiness around her eyes. Indicative of a mother mourning her child. "Dammit, you're all cowards. Every single one of you" Her voice cracks and she quickly pushed out of her chair and stormed out of the meeting room.

The whole time Junsu, her husband, had his head down and a pained look on his face. Seonghwa remembered glancing over at his father and watching him rub at his eyes in mournfulness as if fighting back his own tears in front of a bunch of pack leaders who didn't seem to care enough simply because it wasn't their own daughters that had been murdered.

One of them had sighed at Victoria's outburst then clasps his hands on the large round table as he looks over at Junsu. "Our deepest condolences, Junsu, but we simply cannot go ahead with your plan-"

Seonghwa couldn't remember what else was said because he too had stood up and left the meeting, desperate for air. They don't care.

He'd admit he didn't want an attack to be launched on Naex. Mostly because he knew his mate would be affected as well as countless of innocent people would be caught in the crossfire. But he still wanted them to take this a little more seriously. But they just... didn't care.

He was angry and sad and bitter at everything. What's worse, he still hadn't told anyone that he'd even found his mate. And that said mate is Jaejoong's first son and current sovereign of Naex.

Once he'd made it outside the meeting hall and in a secluded veranda he slid down the wall and cried, pulling his knees up to his chest for comfort. He blamed himself for being weak and unable to do anything to save Yeji. It's all my fault... A sob escapes his lips and pain claws at his chest.

That's why he needed to become stronger. Train harder. Push himself to his limits. Even if the skin was peeling off his knuckles. Even if his legs hurt or stung at any small contact, he wasn't going to keel over. Not again.

He grits his teeth, takes in a deep breath and straightens his posture then resumes his drills of punches and kicks as his father watched him like hawk.

"Again!!"

Knock knock

A soft knock startles Seonghwa out of his thoughts. He looks behind him from where he was seated on the wooden stairs of their back porch.

Hyunjin was stood at the sliding glass doors, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The moon was a crescent shape that night but still light up the dark sky just as well enough for Seonghwa to notice that bruise near his younger brother's left eye. The male tried to hide it with his dark hair but his attempt was ineffective.

Seonghwa immediately turned to him with brows furrowed with concern. "What happened to your eye?" He eyes the young werewolf's eye even as he goes to sit beside him on the stairs while avoiding his big brother's gaze. "Hyunjin" Seonghwa's voice was firm.

"It's nothing. I was just sparring with father earlier" His voice was quiet. He picks up a pebble and ran in between his fingers.

"Father did this?" Seonghwa was stunned. "Look at me, let me see" He places his hand under his chin and forces him to look in his direction. "Aish- won't you try and speed up the healing a little" He cringes at the sight when he brushes the boy's bangs away. His eye swollen, it wasn't fully shut but he knew he could barely see out of it. All in all, it probably hurts a lot. Seonghwa sighs.

"He said not to. I told you it's nothing" Hyunjin leans away, turning to look up at the night sky.

"It doesn't look like nothing. You should put some ice on it then" Seonghwa advises and faces forward as well. A silence settles between the brothers.

"I'm sorry he's been so hard on you" Seonghwa breaks the silence first. He can see Hyunjin shrug out of his peripheral.

"You don't have to apologize for him" His voice was flat. These days that's how he often sounded. His tone never has the same lightheartedness it used to. "I kind of deserve it anyways"

Seonghwa turns to look at him with an unreadable expression. "Don't say that. He's been basically abusive to you. No one deserves that"

Hyunjin just laughs lightly. It was sad and desolate. But he doesn't say anything for what felt like an eternity. "I'm the reason Yeji is dead. And he knows it, that's why he's punishing me for it. So yes, I do deserve it"

Seonghwa just stares at him waiting for him to explain himself. When he doesn't elaborate Seonghwa pushes further, "You couldn't have done anything. The both of you were ambushed and outpowered. No one expects you to have taken down a coven of witches"

"It was my idea to go find you" He finally blurts. "We told father before we left but he said no and that it was too dangerous but I was stupid. I'm the one that forced Yeji to sneak out with me. It's all my fault. She's gone when I could've just acted like the older sibling and listened, protected her. Fuck" His bottom lip quivered as he spoke like he was holding back tears. He refused to meet Seonghwa's eyes, scared of the hate he'd see in them.

The older male didn't know the full story and Hyunjin kept it to himself for fear of how Seonghwa would react. The silence that follows after his words came spilling out was deafening.

"You wouldn't have felt the need to sneak out if I had just returned home. Ultimately it all comes back to my poor decision" Hyunjin sniffs and turns to look at Seonghwa. A singular tear on the younger's cheek, sliding from his unswollen eye. "But it doesn't matter anyways. I guess in a way we're all to blame. We've still got each other, that's all that matters" Seonghwa flashes a small smile at him. One that Hyunjin weakly returns.

A calm silence takes over as they settle in their own thoughts. Hyunjin immediately perks up and reaches for one of the many pockets on his pants. "Ah- I almost forgot to give this to you. You're lucky I saw it before father" He takes out an envelope and hands it to the older male.

"A letter?" Seonghwa's brows crease. "Who from?" He turns it to see his name printed in a neat cursive. The next thing that caught his attention was a stamp of an emblem on the top right corner of the envelope. Not just any emblem, it was Naex's.

"I noticed it was from Naex and hid it before anyone else saw" Hyunjin adds. "Were you expecting anything?"

Seonghwa just quietly shakes his head. "No" But he had a pretty good idea of who it was from.

"Well... you gonna open it?" The younger male was curious.

Seonghwa thought about waiting till he was in private before opening it but he decided against it. He didn't want to hid anything anymore from his sibling. That's what led to Yeji's death in the first place. And he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

So he hastily pulled the envelope open and took out a letter with neat lettering. His eyes immediately flies down to the name signed at the bottom. San.

Of course it's him. He hadn't seen the half drow in nearly 3 months. Which was back in Lloth when he lost his sister. San had sent him letters, a total of 2 to be exact, but Seonghwa had read them and kept them hidden away. Not bothering to write back.

It was hard. He missed him, of course he did. He missed his friend. But everytime he remembered San he would also remember the other princes and Jaejoong. And a fury so ugly would burn in him at the thought of Jaejoong and all that the monster took from his family.

Seonghwa bit his lip as he began reading it.

'Seonghwa,

How are you doing? I know that's kind of a weird question to ask considering all that's happened the last time we talked in person. I've been writing to you but I'm not sure if you've even been getting them. Anyways here's me writing again but under slightly different circumstances. Before I get to that I just wanted to catch you up with all that's been happening with me. Lloth is getting better. Most of the destroyed homes are now fully built and things are slowly going back to normal. I finally saw Wooyoung again after weeks apart haha. You should see how clingy he is. Him, Jongho and Hongjoong are all doing well. Woo sends his regards! Speaking of Hongjoong though, he's crowned sovereign of Naex now. Kinda cool. I think the title suits him but he's still and always will be that shy, dorky nerd hahah. Oh and I'm engaged-'

Seonghwa froze at those two words, 'I'm engaged'. Oh...

'Yup. Wooyoung proposed and we're getting married soon. Gosh it still sounds so surreal especially writing it down on paper. But I'm happy. There's been a lot of planning for the wedding. I actually just got my measurements taken earlier this morning of me writing this. Y'know for all the outfits and suits or whatever. I kept telling the wedding planners that I was fine with a small get together but they somehow manage to convince me everytime that a big wedding is necessary. I think being a master sweet talker must come with the job hahaha. I know either way I'll still be happy. But what would make it even more magical is if you were there. I want you there with me on that super special day Hwa. I miss you a lot. But I'll understand if you're unable to come. I know it must be difficult being in a room full of vampires. And I know you're still healing from losing Yeji. I'm so so sorry about everything. Take care and please write back soon.

Sincerely,
San

Seonghwa finishes reading and felt his chest tighten. Hyunjin, who was also silently reading beside him slumps back and glances up at his older brother upon finishing reading as well. He knew how Seonghwa felt about San. Even though the male had told him that they'd agreed to be friends, Hyunjin didn't buy it. He knew deep down he still had some feelings for him.

And now, to finding out his crush was getting married to someone else. Through a letter of all things. Seonghwa's expression was downcast as he knawed on his lip.

"Are you gonna go?" Hyunjin asks him as he studied his face.

Seonghwa doesn't say anything for a while. Then he nods. Hyunjin's eyes widen with shock. "Hyung, I really don't think that's a good idea" A room full of vampires, watching the man he fell for walk the altar and into another man's arms. It might turn out to be a huge mess.

"Hyune, what I'm about to tell you right now you cannot speak of to anyone" Seonghwa's voice was firm.

Hyunjin nods hesitantly. "Swear it. Swear you won't tell anyone" Seonghwa presses further as he looks the younger dead in the eyes.

"I swear, I swear. What is it?"

Seonghwa takes in a deep breath. "I found my mate. And it isn't San"

Hyunjin reels backwards at the news. Then a smile stretches on his lips. "That's great hyung! Why are you acti-"

"They're not a werewolf. Or female" Seonghwa cuts him off. Hyunjin wasnt too surprised at the fact that they weren't female. He never pictured Seonghwa settling down with a woman. "It's.. it's Hongjoong. The current sovereign of Naex"

Now this surprised Hyunjin. "What?!" The boy shoots up on his feet, eyes as wide as saucers.

"Shhh" Seonghwa warns with a deadly glare as he glances behind him to make sure either of their parents weren't standing at the door. "Quiet down"

Hyunjin slowly settles back down on the stairs beside him but the shocked expression never leaves his face. "Are you fucking with me? It's not funny" Hyunjin whisper screams.

"Does it look I'm fucking with you?" Seonghwa snaps back in a loud whisper as well. "I saw him and I could smelled his pheromones. It's the real deal Hyune. And everytime my rut comes all I think of is him... about mating. Fuck, I don't even know the asshole" He runs his hands through his hair in frustration.

Hyunjin just watches him with widened eyes. "So.. is that why you wanna go to the wedding?"

Seonghwa bit his inner cheek guiltily. "If I could just see him. Smell his pheromones, just for a little bit. That's it"

"You're not gonna tell him? He's your mate, he needs to know" Hyunjin points out.

"He doesn't need to know. I read around for a bit and werewolves are able to live away from their mates for their entire lives. It'll be ok"

"You're forgetting the part where the longer they're apart the more painful their ruts/heat becomes and the more likely they are to die during every passing cycle" Hyunjin glares at him. "And I'm not willing to lose another sibling"

"That's why I'll just find reasons to visit Naex every couple months-"

"That's not gonna work and you know it!" Hyunjin cuts him off, an agitated tone in his voice. "Shit" He stands up and paces and Seonghwa just stays seated with his hands in his hair while leaning forward on his knee.

"I don't get why you're more stressed than I am" Seonghwa mutters underneath his breath and Hyunjin snaps his head at him, a small scowl on his face.

"What part of 'I'm not willing to lose another sibling' did you not understand" Seonghwa kept quiet and simply bit his inner cheek. "If you're going to the wedding then I'm coming too" Hyunjin adds after a brief silence.

This causes Seonghwa to look up at him with furrowed brows. "Like hell you are" He mutters.

"What wedding?" A female voice cuts in, causing both boys to flinch. They whip their heads around to see their mother pushing the sliding doors to the house open and stepping outside with her hair loose in long waves of dark brown and a silk robe over her pajamas. "What are you two talking about?"

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The next 3 or so chapters are primarily gonna be about woosan's wedding but split into parts cuz the chapter would've been crazy long. Lots of fluff and feel good moments you have been warned 😩👩🏾‍💻

I'm honestly excited to end the book on a happy note given how the first ended lmao.

side note: anyone else really enjoy xikers' debut? Oh my gosh is my fav off the album. I'm rooting for the babies, they have so much potential 🙏🏾