Seonghwa wakes up the next morning warm in his bed, but with an excruciating headache. He sits up and his vision blurs for a moment from dizziness, grabbing a hold of his head in a groan. He frowns, not sure of why he feels this way. Seonghwa tries to remember what happened the night before, but everything gets foggy after he drank that drink one of the alphas gave him.

One thing that isn't hurting, however, is a small spot in the center of his forehead. Instead, there's a tingling sensation that reigns it's claim over the spot. Seonghwa lifts his finger to touch it and the tip of his finger feels like it's been shocked when he strokes it over the spot.

Throughout all of the other pain Seonghwa's head seems to be in right now, there's this one spot that feels the complete opposite. Trying to think of the reasoning causes Seonghwa's head to pulse with even more pain.

His stomach begins to churn and he looks down at it, wondering if he ate something last night that didn't settle well with him.

Seonghwa sits up, getting up slowly, not wanting to cause his vision to blur even more from standing up too quickly. He gazes at himself in the mirror, not seeing anything amiss from his appearance in particular. Perhaps he's getting sick...?

Seonghwa removes his robes and puts on his normal white day robes, running his fingers through his hair as he looks closer at himself in the mirror. He stares at himself for a while, studying his own face. He supposes that his skin does seem a bit more flushed than normal and his cheeks are an oddly rosier shade.

He tries to think back to last night once again and he's ridden by flashes of San's face, causing his heart to beat erratically from his wolf's pleasure of Seonghwa thinking about the man. He thought he smelt a different scent on his night robes when he woke up this morning and now he realizes.

He smelt the faint scent of roses.

Seonghwa feels his face heat up at the realization and reaches his hand back up to the tingling spot on his forehead. It's a similar sensation to whenever his and San's hands would touch or graze each other's.

Did San touch his forehead last night...?

Seonghwa mentally scolds himself for not being able to remember the results of last night clearly. What in the heavens did that alpha give him to drink last night? Seonghwa had never tasted anything like it before, remembering the burning he felt of the liquid going down his throat.

The longer Seonghwa stares at himself, the longer his mind is filled with thoughts of San. He can't lie to himself any longer and try to tell himself that he feels absolutely nothing for San. He just can't. Every time that San is in his presence, his internal wolf wants for Seonghwa to be around him and for his alpha to touch him. They really are fated mates, meaning the world has deemed the two of them to be perfect for each other and that they're destined to be together.

If they're so destined to be together, then why does it seem like there's so many things keeping them apart...?

Knock

Knock

Knock

Seonghwa turns his head towards the knocking on his door, seeing it slide open to reveal his mother's smiling face.

"Good morning, Seonghwa. How are you feeling" Hyejin asks, sliding the door closed behind her before coming to sit down at the end of her son's bed.

Seonghwa sees her sit down and he knows she has something to talk with him about, so he comes and sits down with her as well. He thinks about telling her how his head is hurting, wondering if she could know why he's feeling like this.

"Good morning," Seonghwa starts, "My head isn't feeling the best, I feel like I'm spinning..." He reveals, rubbing his head.

Hyejin studies her son, seeing his flushed face, "Do you think you're becoming ill, sweetie?" She asks, becoming worried.

Seonghwa just shakes his head, dismissing it. He really doesn't feel that kind of sickness, it's a different feeling that he can't really compare to another. He stays quiet, letting the awkward tension that usually follows him around rise up.

"How have the lessons been so far?" She asks, seeing that Seonghwa doesn't want to talk about illness.

"Fine," He hums, thinking back to the lessons and how San asked about breaking rules and about him. Seonghwa still can't believe he did that, it put him in a situation he would've rather not been in, and Seonghwa knows what his parents told San about the arranged mating with Eunji was not what he was hoping to hear.

"Have you made friends with any of the guests?" Hyejin shows a smile, but her heart aches knowing how that boy with Eclipse has been staring at him throughout the entirety of the lessons. She knows that it just cannot happen, she wants to stop this before it could potentially escalate any further. Hyejin doesn't think that anything has happened, since she knows her son, but she also knows how different he's been ever since they first went to Eclipse last year and since the guests have arrived at Chrysalis.

Hyejin can't let her son go through the same pain that she did so long ago...

"I-" Seonghwa starts and is about to mention San since he's been so prevalent in his mind recently, but he closes his mouth. Should he bring San up? He begins to remember when his mother pulled him aside after leaving Eclipse last year and his heart sinks. She does know something is up already, right? The silence befalls them as they both know what each other are thinking.

"Yes, I've made one friend..." Seonghwa finally says, his voice quiet and he doesn't dare look towards his mother. He knows his emotions have become more rampant recently and he hates it. Emotions give too much away in just one glance. That's why he's the stoic man he became as he grew up.

Hyejin lets out a soft sigh, "I'm glad you're making friends, honey. What's their name?" She asks, even though she already knows the name that will come out of her son's mouth.

Seonghwa nibbles on his bottom lip and starts rubbing his index finger and thumb together, "San."

"Ah... The alpha boy from Eclipse. Yes, I remember him well. He's the one who asked questions at the end of the lesson, right?"

"Yes, mother."

The air between mother and son grows thicker as the questions Hyejin has float around both of their heads. The two stay quiet for a few more moments before Hyejin shifts her head, "You know that Eunji will make a wonderful match for you, don't you, Seonghwa...?"

Seonghwa is confused at first about the sudden change in topic, but his heart rate picks up from indecision over the fact he doesn't want to be mated to the Han girl. He looks towards his mother, though, and nods, "I know, mother."

"She's... A really nice girl, yes?" Hyejin continues, her voice starting to catch in her throat as past memories begin to bubble up inside of her. It's almost like deja vu in a sense, sitting here with Seonghwa and talking to him about mating with someone when there's clearly something between him and another.

Seonghwa stays quiet this time and nods, seeing his mother's face start to twist into something he's never seen from her before. He's never seen his mother upset or conflicted much, aside from the sternness she shows when giving speeches with father. This is much different.

"Seonghwa, you know... When I was young, around your age, I had a friend too. She and I were probably closer than you and San since we knew each other from a young age, but we were also from different packs. She was from Nightshade and my father was friends with her father, so we would get to visit them often. As we grew older, our parents would talk about mates for us and we absolutely didn't want to be mated off at the time. We were so... Afraid of losing our friendship," Hyejin pauses, choosing to be cautious with her word choice, "and being from different packs meant that once we got mated, we would have to follow our mate."

Seonghwa takes everything that his mother says in, not wanting to think of some of the things she says incorrectly, but the way she words certain things makes him question that she's revealing the whole truth to him. He starts to wonder about their friendship, but stops himself when San re-enters his mind. He knows that once he's mated to Eunji, he won't get to see Seonghwa anymore and he knows it would be for the best, but his wolf doesn't want that. His wolf wants to be with Seonghwa...

And Seonghwa is starting to think that it's not just his wolf wanting it...

"I ended up telling her that things had to be different between us and I stopped going with my father to visit Nightshade because I knew seeing my... old friend... would be painful for the both of us. It wasn't long after that your father and I were mated together," Hyejin ends with a smile.

Hyejin really does love Gyungho, but there will always be a part of her heart that belongs to the girl she met back in Nightshade. She doesn't reveal everything to Seonghwa because, of course, it doesn't align with their pack rules. She could never tell her son that she once was a rule breaker of Chrysalis back in the day, but she will never forgive her father for making her stay home while he went to Nightshade. She had suspicions that he knew something, but they were found correct when he forbade her from coming with him anymore.

Seonghwa didn't even notice the increase of his heart rate until the end of his mother's story. She may not be saying it to him directly, but Seonghwa knows that his mother knows about him and San. She's telling him to let him go...

"What was her name, mother?" Seonghwa asks, looking up at her with wavering eyes.

"Youngmi," She says, the small smile still on her face.

Ring

Ring

Ring

"It sounds like it's time for today's lesson," Hyejin chuckles and stands up, flattening out her robe from sitting so long, "Come on, honey."

Seonghwa nods and stands, following her to the lesson building. On the walk there, he tries to remember the events of last night once again, but alas, no luck. He doesn't want to, especially after that talk with his mother, but he knows he could ask San about it and he would tell him honestly.

The whole situation with San has Seonghwa more confused than he has ever been. When they first met he was so cold towards him, but as the time passed and with them being away from each other... Now, seeing San once again, Seonghwa isn't so sure his cold exterior can hold up like it did a year ago. He can

feel himself slowly breaking down and he doesn't know how to feel about it. San is making him feel things that he never wanted to feel, especially not towards him.

What is he going to do...?

How did his emotions get strewn apart like this? Like they're streamers wrapped around a pillar at a party, except the pillar is San's finger. Seonghwa can feel himself becoming weak at even the thought of his fated mate, he can feel the ice that surrounds his heart melting away.

That's the thing about the story his mother told him, though... They couldn't have been fated mates like he and San are. Their dynamic is different. He's known that ever since the first time he experienced that excruciating pain in his chest due to being away from San that they were different.

Is it time he sees where things could go...?

Or should he listen to his mother's words of wisdom and distance himself since San will inevitably leave Chrysalis one day, and consequently, leave Seonghwa?

Seonghwa knows he will be mated off to Eunji in the near future, so maybe he should revel in the bliss that is Choi San while he's still able to...

His internal wolf is calling for Seonghwa to become closer with San and to just merely be in his presence, so maybe he should listen to his wolf for once. He's always suppressed him back, but he could be right.

Seonghwa starts to wonder if it would be so bad to get closer to him, to become real friends with San... He hasn't had a real friend in so long. He hasn't felt much in general in so long and the feelings San is making him feel makes him feel like he's been missing out on so much by putting on his mask of coldness.

Seonghwa's mind has never been so conflicted.

Seonghwa sits down in his usual spot beside his brother Dohyon and he can instantly feel eyes on him, yet he doesn't know how to feel. His mother's words are swirling around his mind, but Seonghwa knows how he and his wolf feel whenever he thinks about San. He's letting San take over his mind and he doesn't think he hates it anymore...

The tingling spot on his forehead burns brighter whenever he thinks of San and it lessens his pounding ache that still lingers in his head. He looks down at his fingers as he twiddles them, finding himself wondering how San looks this morning.

Seonghwa bites the inside of one of his cheeks and turns his head around, his eyes connecting with San's right away. Right when their eyes link, San's light up and a big smile spreads across his face. Seeing him smile like that sends shivers down Seonghwa's spine and his wolf internally calls for his fated mate sitting just a few feet behind him.

Seonghwa's eyes soften and his irises flash gold when he sees San's hand raise up and give him a subtle wave. Seonghwa is about to wave back when his mother's voice rings through the building.

"Good morning, everyone," Hyejin announces with a smile, causing Seonghwa's head to whip back around to the front. She didn't miss his and San's eye contact and it breaks her heart. She hopes that he will take what she told him into consideration.

"Hey, Dongwoo! Can I sit by you two, today?" The female beta says, coming up to Dongwoo and Yeosang with a warm smile on her face, motioning towards the open spot next to them.

Dongwoo looks up at her and nods, "Sure, Kyelin," He says, patting the spot next to him.

Kyelin looks over at Yeosang and her eyes light up, "You're Yeosang, right? I've heard so much about you from Dongwoo! It's great to meet you, I'm Kyelin from pack Essence. Dongwoo and I met in strength training the other day."

Yeosang looks at her and smiles at how friendly she comes off, "Yes, I'm Yeosang. It's nice to meet you too, Kyelin."

Yeosang feels happy that his mate made a friend, not surprised since Dongwoo is such a friendly and outgoing person. He makes friends just about everywhere they go and he's always been pretty popular back in Riverside. He sits supportively while Dongwoo and Kyelin talk, but they're soon interrupted by Park Hyejin starting today's lesson.

"Today's rules we will be discussing is that there will be no fighting, nor sparring without elder supervision on Chrysalis grounds. This is one of those rules that will apply to everyone..."

The lesson goes on as normal, but with the topic at hand... Hongjoong and Jongho can't stop glancing at one another with annoyed and bitter looks complete with furrowed brows and narrowing eyes. San notices them and rolls his eyes.

Here we go again...

"Are we there yet?"

"It won't be too much longer now, my love."

"Min... My legs are so exhausted. Can we take a rest for the night? We would be such a bother if we arrived at Chrysalis in the middle of the night."

"You're right, you're right. We can rest for tonight, Yun. Come here."

"They won't be too upset to see us, right...?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, my love. I'm hoping that they won't hold what my father did to Essence's head alpha against you and I. We will show them that we're different from their preconceived notions of us."

"I know we're not like him, but I'm still nervous."

"Let me help you ease your mind a little, Yun. It's going to be great, okay?"

"I love you, Mingi."

"Words can't describe how much I love you, Yunho."

End of Chapter Twenty