Jeno was beginning to grow restless as Mark continued to freak out in the back of Chanyeol's pick-up truck. He sat in the middle with his head in his hands and his teeth worrying his lower lip. Jisung sat to his right, his hand a delicate touch on Mark's shoulder. Renjun was on Mark's left with his hands clasped together against his lap, but it was easy to tell that he was just as worried as Jeno expected. Their history makes it difficult to ignore. Jeno, himself, was seated in the passenger seat of the car, with Chanyeol taking the driver's seat.

"I told them not to come!" Mark cried, finally lifting his head long enough to look Jeno in the eye. "I told them that I'm okay and that I was getting the best treatments available! Why are they coming?"

"Because they're worried about you." Jeno spoke carefully, sporting his small gentle smile that Mark was very familiar with over the course of their friendship. "They're your parents, of course they are going to be worried about the fact that their youngest child was attacked by wolves. They don't know any better.. they think that you're holed up in a hospital bed incapable of anything-"

"But I'm not!" Mark shrieked, making everyone in the car hiss at the sound. Well, everyone but Renjun who simply rolled his eyes.

"Clearly." Renjun muttered beneath his breath, but no one gave him their attention.

"No," Jeno agreed. "You're not, but we can't let them know that you're completely healed. Which is why we're going back to campus."

Mark had already been told the plan, alongside everyone else earlier that morning. But in his panic-filled anxiety he clearly forgot all about the conversation.

This happened before when Mark was stressed out about missing his lectures after he broke up with Renjun, so Jeno was pretty confident in how he was approaching the situation since it was almost identical to the previous.

"Why are we going to campus?!" Mark's breath was getting harsher. "Chanyeol said that it would be a really bad idea to go back before the full moon!"

"That's why he's coming along man." Jeno gently rested his palm against the curve of Chanyeol's shoulder. Mark's breathing calmed when he noted Chanyeol's presence.

Jeno reached around the seat and gently coiled his fingers against Mark's ankle, making his grip firm so his best friend could feel it, but light enough not to hurt. "Trust me." Jeno held his gaze. "All you have to do is listen to what I have to say and everything is going to be okay."

"Okay." Mark nodded his head, blowing a thin tunnel of air from his lips. "Right, sorry man. It's just ... you know how my parents are-"

"I know." Jeno stops him from speaking about it anymore. It wasn't something that Jisung and Chanyeol needed to hear, not now when Mark wasn't in complete control of his actions. "Just follow my lead."

"Always." Mark agreed before completely collapsing against the back of his seat.

He looked relieved, like the weight of the world had lifted from his shoulders. Jeno let out a sigh of content, squeezing his best friend's ankle one last time before dropping his hold. When Jeno turned back around in his seat, he faintly saw a small smile on Chanyeol's lips.

They still had an hour before they would arrive back in the capital. Now that Mark was content and Jisung was distracting him with some videos, Jeno allowed himself to get comfortable in his seat. His legs spread out, one knee knocking against the door, the other hitting the driver's console. His head fell against the window and gently coiled his arms against his torso for warmth. His eyes closed before he could think about closing them.

5 hours ago...

This morning when he was being brought back to the world of the awoken, Jeno found himself letting the dream slip between his fingers. He didn't try to dig his heels into the metaphysical ground in the hope that his mind would let the dream linger for a few more moments. Instead, Jeno let the dream go willingly.

When he finally became aware of his surroundings, Jeno allowed himself the opportunity to wallow in the heat of the sun that crept through the semi-closed curtains. He snuggled deeper into his pillow, but didn't demand to be let back into his fantasy realm. Instead he listened to the noises around him; Mark was blabbering downstairs - possibly still frustrated by the fact that he wasn't invited to the last minute movie-night. He could faintly pick out Renjun's voice through the noise. Haechan had to be amongst it, though his voice was still fairly difficult to locate since they hadn't spoken to each other in the short time he and Mark had been there.

Beneath the chaos of the downstairs noise, Jeno realised that there was a quieter sound, a softer more gentle echo coming towards him. A gentle tapping of socks against carpet and the ever so faint clatter of ceramics tickled Jeno's ear just enough to raise his eyelid just in time to watch pink flood into his room.

Jaemin stepped in quietly, the door letting out a villainous noise that he tried to cover with a faint whimper. Jeno tried to muffle his laughter by shoving his head deeper into his pillow, but his body still shook from the harshness.

"Oh come on!" Jaemin groaned, his lower lip jutting out in a small pout. "How long have you been awake?"

Jeno rearranged himself on the mattress, lifting his hips upwards to propel himself in a comfortable sitting position against his headboard. "Since you came up the stairs," he admitted, voice riddled with sleep. He heard Jaemin's sudden intake of breath, but he didn't mention it, allowing his gaze to fall to the two mugs in his hands. "What's that?"

"Coffee." Jaemin seemed happy for the distraction, coughing to clear his throat. He moves towards the bed, offering Jeno a cup. He takes it with a small smile, drawing it back to his chest. The heat it radiated was a welcoming one, his shoulders sagging from the comfort it provided. Jaemin remained by his bedside, rocking back and forward on the tip of his toes. "I asked Mark how you liked it this morning."

"I'm assuming that he wanted something in exchange?" Jeno wondered, recalling Mark's devious actions when it came to getting his own way. Jaemin's lips pull upwards.

"Access to the movie morning," he explains. "Haechan was pretty upset about it, but it was a small price to pay."

Jeno raised the mug to his lips and allowed himself to take a sip. It was perfect. "Thank you."

"I figured that you might need it, since we're up pretty early." Jaemin pulled out his phone and showed Jeno the time; 8:34, not the earliest he's been up but definitely earlier than he was expecting today. "I was going to make breakfast too but I figured it might be a little early for that.. I mean you did just wake up.."

"You can cook?" Jeno gapes.

Jaemin's brows furrow but he nods his head regardless. "Yeah?"

"Sorry," Jeno apologizes, shaking his head and placing his mug down on the bedside cabinet. "I live in a dormitory with Mark Lee. I have seen eggs being butchered in literally too many ways to count, we live on take-out and the campus catering. I don't know how we have survived as long as we have..."

Jaemin laughs. He laughs so much that he almost falls backward and spills his coffee everywhere. Jeno has to throw back the covers and catch him before he does.

The sudden position has Jaemin immediately stop laughing, eyes wide as he stares up at Jeno. He's shirtless, again. His warm arms are wrapped around Jaemin's waist and his close proximity lodges the coffee mug between their bodies preventing it from tipping over and spilling all over the floor.

"Careful." Jeno announces, taking one arm back to withdraw the mug from the space between them. He bends over and places it beside his own on the cabinet before turning his attention back to their position. He instantly jumps backwards.

"Um..."

"Right yeah, you wanted to talk to me this morning?" Jeno rushed to change the topic of conversation, not wanting them to linger on the fact that Jaemin could literally feel the outline of his abs through his pajama shirt. Jeno needed to make a mental note to himself to start wearing a shirt to bed. They had been in this scenario too often, it wasn't good for his heart.

"Right!" Jaemin agreed, nodding his head. "I was supposed to talk to you about my history.."

"I would like the record to show that you don't actually have to do that, if you don't want to." Jeno explained, recalling their interaction yesterday. He didn't want to place Jaemin in a position that would replicate his emotional outburst. "If your classification is too complicated, I don't mind waiting to understand it."

His words seemed to have a positive effect on Jaemin, since the pink haired boy seemed to visually relax at them. "No, it's fine." He stated, standing taller now. "I spoke with Renjun and Haechan about it yesterday when you were gone. I know that it would be better if I just told you everything so we could understand each other a little better. I've just... I've never had to explain it to someone before. Everyone else has just known."

"Well if it makes it easier for you I could always speak to someone else about it?" Jeno offered, but Jaemin shook his head in denial.

"I want to be the one to tell you." He admits. "I just need a minute."

"Take all the time you need."

"Can I.." the words trail off before he could ask. Jeno raises a brow. "Can I get into your bed?"

Jeno stands stupefied by the question, Jaemin wanted to get into his bed to have this conversation? His hesitation clearly seemed to disturb Jaemin who rushed to try and take the words back.

"It's fine I can sit at the table-"

"Of course you can." Jeno blurted before he could even register the words coming from his lips. "Just stay away from the left-hand side." It was the side closest to the door. If Jaemin was going to claim a side of Jeno's bed it was going to be the spot furthest from the door. "I like sleeping there."

"Okay." That beautiful pink blush had dusted itself back onto his cheeks, Jeno would count it as a win in his book. He watched as Jaemin walked around the bed and came to a complete stop on the other end. He gently tossed back the blankets and dove right in, pulling the blankets up and over his legs. He waited patiently for Jeno to join him back beneath the covers.

Once they were comfortable, Jaemin lay on his back and Jeno with a hand keeping his head level above the pillow. They just sat staring at each other for a few minutes, Jeno didn't mind the silence, willing to let it linger until Jaemin was ready to start.

"My entire family was killed right in front of my eyes and I was taken prisoner by the people who did it."

Jeno blinked, but didn't say anything.

"Okay word vomit seems to be the best way to go about this..." Jaemin awkwardly giggles, hiding his face beneath his hands. "This was better with Renjun and Hyuck-"

"You're doing fine." Jeno encouraged him, gently letting his fingers brush through that mop of pink hair occupying his extra pillow. "Take a deep breath and keep going, I'm not going anywhere."

Jaemin's hand came up to take Jeno's away from his hair. Jeno figured that he might not want to be touched, but then Jaemin interlaced their fingers and didn't ease up on his grip. Jeno got comfortable with the new position and Jaemin continued.

"They took me back to their lair and threw me in with the rest of the people they had taken in similar situations. They put us through a lot but the experiments were the worst. I was the only one to survive the process. It made me a favourite of the leader. I lost myself that day and became a monster, I'm still trying to find that part of me that I lost..."

"How'd you get out?" Jeno wonders, lightly tracing patterns against the back of Jaemin's palm.

"Baekhyun-hyung." Jaemin explained like Jeno was supposed to know who he was talking about. "He has a long history with the leader of the group who took me. He was taken by them when he was my age and got out when he was in his early twenties, they've been looking for him ever since. He's not like me, he was never experimented on in the way that I was, but he was expected to become the leader's mate... Chanyeol hasn't told you about what a mate is, right?"

"No, but Suho did mention it when he was introducing himself to me, what does it mean?"

Jaemin's cheeks pinken and his grip gets a little tighter on Jeno's hand. "Nothing, let's just pass that for the moment." Jeno stayed quiet and Jaemin took a deep breath, releasing his crushing grip and holding his hand gently again.

"Anyway, hyung was forced to undergo experiments that would ensure that he became the mate of the leader. They spent four years looking for him when he escaped and then one day he just showed up in the lair. I met him there and I guess that I made an impression on him because, when he planned his next escape he took me with him. We were on the run for a whole year before we caught wind that they had put a bounty on our heads, every supernatural creature was to be on the lookout for us. I didn't want to leave him, but he drove us here where he told me I would be safe. Apparently he and Chanyeol had crossed paths before and Baekhyun knew that I would be safe here, so he dropped me off, told everyone my story and left. I wanted him to stay with me. I told him that if Chanyeol could protect me, then he would be able to take care of him. He told me that he was only running because he needed people to think that I was still with him so we all would be safe."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Jeno whispered, taking notice of the tears collecting in Jaemin's eyes.

"Two years ago. When he hugged me goodbye and left. He never keeps the same phone number, so I don't have an opportunity to text him very often but Chanyeol says that he's always checking in on me. I was so young when I was taken, that I've started to see him as my parent." Jaemin giggled quietly, drawing their linked hands up to his lips. Jeno felt the plushness of Jaemin's bottom lip hover over the vein in his hand, never touching but lingering.

"Chanyeol too. He took in a lot of us against his better judgement. He was a lone wolf before we started showing up on his doorstep. He took us in, listened to our stories, taught us everything he knew and gave us a home. Baekhyun gave me my life back, but Chanyeol gave me a home. They mean the world to me, I just wish that they could stay in the same room for more than twenty minutes."

"Maybe they need to push each other up against walls, I hear that's pretty effective to get people talking." Jeno said, watching as Jaemin's eyes crinkled and his chest raised with the laughter bubbling past his lips. Jeno could feel Jaemin's breath ghost over the back of his palm, his pulse quickening.

"Yeah," Jaemin agreed. "That's a good idea, definitely something I should implement if he ever stops by."

"So," Jeno lightly pulls on their linked hands closer towards him, Jaemin goes along with it. His shoulder gently presses against the centre of Jeno's chest. "Throughout that explanation you never did explain what your classification is."

"Didn't I?" Jaemin teases, tears now long gone and mischief returning to his bright eyes. "I must have, weren't you listening?"

"To every word coming out of those pretty pink lips," Jeno leans himself closer and lifts his coffee mug from the cabinet behind Jaemin. He pulls back with a smirk on his lips, taking note of Jaemin's frustrated expression. He takes a sip before continuing. "I'm pretty sure I would have picked up on a classification."

"I can recall calling myself a monster." Jaemin deadpanned, though he held no venom in his words. "That should be enough for you to figure it out."

"You give me too much credit," Jeno countered. "Let me remind you that I was only introduced to this world three days ago."

"You've already been introduced to what I am."

"Werewolves, vampires, magic practitioners," Jeno checked off the list. "You don't turn into a unicorn do you?"

"Be serious." Jaemin laughed, using his shoulder to gently bump against Jeno's torso. "I'm not like Renjun."

"So werewolf or vampire?"

"Both."

Jaemin holds his gaze, looking up at him like he was expecting Jeno to crash out or go berserk. Instead, Jeno just kept tracing patterns along the skin of Jaemin's hand. Their fingers often interlock throughout this whole ordeal, but Jeno still doesn't say anything. Eventually, Jaemin gets impatient.

"I just told you what I am-"

"A vampire and a werewolf, yeah I heard you." Jeno nodded his head, his eyes still lingering on Jaemin's gaze.

"The technical term is hybrid," Jaemin lectures. "Why aren't you freaking out?"

"Why do you think you're a monster?"

"Because I've killed someone. Because I can't control my bloodlust. Because I haven't been able to contact my wolf since I became this thing!"

Jeno leans more of his weight against Jaemin's shoulder, keeping him against the mattress and restricting his limbs from jerking around.

"From your logic I should be considered a monster too." Jeno spoke, his voice eerily calm despite Jaemin's louder pitch. "I may not have the last two, but I've killed someone too." Jaemin goes slack in his arms. "I thought they were a monster when it happened, they were attacking Mark and I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed a rock and smashed it against its skull and didn't stop until it stopped moving. It was only when I came here that I learned that it wasn't a monster, it was a man named Caleb. Sure, in Mark's opinion I saved him, but I still took a life and that's a hard pill to swallow."

"But you did that for a reason, Mark's right, you did save him. Caleb was evil and he -"

"Was still a human being beneath all the fur." Jeno interrupted him. "Your situation may have been different, and I'm not condoning either of our actions, but what happened doesn't change the way I think about you, it's not going to change anything about us. Your story just makes me realise that you've been through a lot, and that you deserve to live the life that you deserve. Na Jaemin you are not a monster, you're a human being. Maybe not in the literal sense, but we fight every day to survive in this world. You might not see it right now, but you will. You're meant to be here"

The with me goes unsaid, but the words still hit home.

Jaemin lays stiff against him, looking up at him with such mesmerizing eyes that Jeno would love to spend every waking moment like this. There was something so magical about seeing Jaemin's honey eyes be exposed to the sunlight, the golden speckles in his orbs enhancing the meager sunlight around them.

"...No one has ever said it like that before."

Jeno can't help but shrug his shoulders, smiling sheepishly beneath the latter's intense gaze. "Maybe you just needed a human to give you some perspective."

"Thank you." Jaemin whispers.

"You're welcome."

"Jeno..." he immediately becomes attentive, giving Jaemin's hand a small encouraging squeeze. "This thing between us-"

"Jeno!" Mark's voice echoed throughout the room. Jeno and Jaemin both jump at the noise, as they haven't been expecting it. "Jen!"

Before either of them could get out of the bed, Mark burst through the door with everyone else hot on his tail. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo rushed in after the younger members of the household, their brows raising at the sight before them.

"Dude we have a serious emergency."

"Literally the story of our life lately, but go on." Jeno encouraged his best friend, patting the covers by his feet. Jaemin still lay pressed against his chest, unmoving as Mark collapsed against the mattress.

"My parents," he heaved, trying to catch his breath after taking the stairs two-at-a-time. "They finally managed to return my phone call and it's not good news."

Jeno can't help but groan. Seriously? When will they be able to catch a break?

"Let me guess," he huffs from his new position against Jaemin's hair. "They're after booking a flight and are on their way to Korea as we speak?"

"They called me last night," Mark squeaked, face pale with worry. "They booked the red eye..."

"So that means that they're almost halfway here?"

"Yeah... dude what the hell are we going to do?"

"Have you talked with Chanyeol?" Jeno finally pulls his head away from Jaemin's surprisingly soft strands to look at the taller standing by the doorway.

Chanyeol looks beyond surprised by the sudden inclusion, especially since he needed to close his mouth from the shock he got from seeing Jaemin so comfortable in Jeno's bed. "Just to tell me what was happening before he dashed out of the kitchen to come and look for you."

"Figured." Jeno sighed, taking a moment to lightly squeeze Jaemin's hand before he tossed the blankets to the side. He pulled himself out of the blankets and stood in front of his best friend with his arms crossed over his bare chest. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. Renjun-"

The called member blinked himself out of his trance, his eyes snapping up from Jeno's torso. "Y-Yeah?"

"You're a whiz at makeup right?"

"Yeah, I did your guys Halloween makeup last year-"

"Exactly, we're going need that again." Jeno turned to look at Kyungsoo who seemed to be the only one in the room not currently staring at him. "Where is Yixing?"

"In his clinic where he always is... why?"

"He's going to have to get a room ready, Mark's moving back in."

"I am?" His best friend questioned, leaving the mattress to stand beside his friend who was now facing everyone else in the room.

"Yeah," Jeno deadpans. "You are. We are very obviously not in a hospital right now, so we're going to make it look like we are. We're going to lie and say that there is an overflow of patients in the nearest hospital so after you were cleared and bandaged they sent us here where Yixing had space to treat you, but you're still receiving daily check-ins from one of the doctors that Yixing can manipulate into helping us."

"Where exactly do I come into this?" Renjun gaped. "His parents already know me, won't they be suspicious that all of a sudden I'm here?"

"First of all you're going to be in charge of giving us wounds, I'm sure that Yixing knows enough about wolf bites to be able to give you some guidance on what to put on him. I'm obviously going to need something too if we want them believing our story. As for why you're here, can't you fill the worried ex role for a few days until they clear out? I'm sure the two of you can handle that for a few hours."

"Dude!" Mark hissed, hitting Jeno square in the chest. It didn't affect him, but he did feel slightly hurt by the gesture. So far, this was being marked as a very creative plan.

"Fine but what about everyone else? What excuse do you have for them being here?"

"We could be a home for wayward souls?" Jaemin offered, smiling shyly as everyone returned their attention to him. He had pulled himself out of the blankets and off the bed, choosing to stand in front of the cabinet still holding his coffee mug. "Kids who ended up here instead of foster care?"

"That works," Chanyeol agreed. "We do have a psychologist in the house so I'm sure that will work in our favour. The others can pretend to be staff and since I obviously owe the property I can be in charge of the place."

"We'll have to sort out another room for them since I doubt they've had time to book a hotel. We should probably head back to campus and get a few things, we need it to seem like Renjun came out here after hearing about the accident, he would have had to bring us a few things."

"Not only does he possess the body of a Greek god but he has a brain in that head of his as well, Jaemin let me have him for just a day!" Haechan begged, pouting across the room at his pink haired friend.

Jeno suddenly realised that he really needed to start wearing a shirt to bed. It seemed like Mark also realised that he was standing next to his shirtless best friend, except he also seemed to have realised that he walked in on his best friend in bed with Jaemin. Mark's mouth drops open and Jeno is quick enough to slam his hand over it to muffle the noises.

"Right well I obviously need to get dressed so I'll meet everyone out at the car in about ten minutes?" Jeno looked over at Chanyeol who was trying desperately to hide his laughter behind his own palm, it wasn't working since his shoulders were shaking and his face was getting redder by the second.

"Sure." He heaved, voice clipped through the gap in his laughter. "Meet you out front in ten!"

And just like that he had grabbed Haechan and Kyungsoo and began leading them from the room, though Haechan's eyes continued to linger long after he was gone. Jisung was next, sporting an evil grin as he raced Mark from the room calling shotgun again. Renjun was next, walking with an evident pep in his step. He lingers at the doorway long enough to send both Jeno and Jaemin a wink before he disappears into the hallway.

Jaemin goes next, but Jeno's fingers link through his own and pull him right back. He collides against the still very bare chest of his crush and tries to push his pooling blood back into his neck, but his cheeks still blossom.

"I'm not entirely finished with you right now." Jeno admits, voice quiet barely a whisper. "I don't think it would be a good idea to leave you alone after such a trauma inducing conversation, do you want to come with us to campus?"

Jaemin's heart raced in his chest, his pulse coming alive. "I'd love too.." he admitted, but his tone gave him away. "But I can't. I meant it when I said that I couldn't go with you yesterday. I can't be outside the property line. If I am there's a chance that any lingering wolves might catch my scent and report back to the group and I don't want that to happen, not when it could endanger everyone here."

Jeno takes hold of both of Jaemin's hands, giving them each a small squeeze. He stands a few inches taller than him, having to slightly bend his head to hold Jaemin's gaze. He's the perfect height to gently press a kiss to his forehead, but he doesn't despite his instincts telling him that it would be okay to.

"Is there a way to mask it?" Jeno wonders, his lack of supernatural knowledge piercing through.

"Yeah," Jaemin admits, but he doesn't sound excited by the revelation. "It's a process called scent marking-"

"How can I do that?" Jeno wonders, tilting his head to the side.

He didn't expect Jaemin to gasp and draw himself away from him. Great, he had messed up again.

"Jeno, you don't know what you're saying." Jaemin laughs, but it wavers with his nerves. He begins pacing the flooring right next to Jeno's bedroom window. "Scenting is a very intimate process that werewolves go through. It's special. You don't just offer it up so easily, shit, if that was the case, the wolves here would have offered to scent me already."

"But I'm not a wolf," Jeno deadpanned. "It's not going to be that way for me-"

"But I am." Jaemin admits. "I know I don't have a connection with it anymore but... I know how special the process is, it's the last thing I remember my parents doing before they died. Sharing your scent is held to a very high degree, I can't ask you to do that for me."

"You're not asking." Jeno clarified. "I'm offering."

"And I can't put into words how much that makes me feel," Jaemin refills the space in front of Jeno, his hands resting comfortably on the curve of Jeno's pecks. "...you don't know how much you make me feel. But this.." he tries to pull away, but Jeno now has his hands on his waist. "You can't do this, at least without knowing what it means."

"I'll ask."

"Okay." Jaemin nods his head, smiling lightly. "I'm not going to get my hopes up because this might not happen but..." he presses his lips to Jeno's cheek. When he pulls away his own are red but his eyes shine brightly. "Thank you for offering anyway."

Present...

"Wake up sleeping beauty!" Mark's voice hollered from his left side. Jeno pulled back his eyelids and watched as his best friend leaned over his frame to unlock the seat belt, keeping Jeno safely in the car. "Are you ready to finally see the dorm?"

Had this conversation happened more than twelve hours ago, Jeno probably would have said yes. The first day they arrived at Chanyeol's property Jeno couldn't wait to go back to the dormitory and get back to his safe place and relax like at the end of a long day. However, he's surprised to say that his desire of returning to the dormitory had been diminished after spending the night in his new room.

It wasn't a secret that Jeno has grown accustomed to this new lifestyle. His body had been telling him that he was safe once he got into that stranger's car and had continued to flood his neurons with serotonin the entire time they'd been there. It would be nice to return to his bedroom, he could do with some of his physical lecture notes coming back with him. And his vehicle wouldn't be a bad inclusion either, it would stop the campus from taking the parking fee from his bank account for a while.

As Mark led them into the building, Jeno lingered behind with Chanyeol. He was already beginning to make a list of everything that he wanted to bring back, it wasn't much since Jeno didn't have much to begin with. It would probably fit in a corner of the back of Chanyeol's truck. He could pack his school bag up with his necessities and take it with him on his bike.

"I would have called a taxi to bring me to you guys so let's just stick with some clothes and personal items for the moment." Renjun announced once Mark had keyed in the code to the dormitory.

When they walked inside, it was like they had never left. The cereal box was still out on the counter in the kitchen from when Jeno made himself a bowl while Mark was in the shower. Mark's hair dryer laid across the expanse of the couch after he had blow dried his hair after said shower. Their ice hockey equipment was still in the corner of the room from their last season and the winning puck still lingered on the glass table in the living room.

Jeno walked by everything and went straight to their study room. Previously it had been Jeno's old room, but when Renjun left Jeno had moved his bed into Mark's room in the hope that it would help him ease his best friend's constant nightmares. They had moved Mark's furniture into Jeno's old bedroom and the space acted like a miniature library with books and shelving units taking up a majority of the space.

It was only once he entered the room that Jeno realised that Renjun didn't know they had moved everything. He thought about reminding Mark of that fact, but his best friend seemed far more interested in sorting through what would be needed and what wouldn't for his parent's arrival. Renjun already seemed to have grasped an understanding of the situation since he seemed to be grabbing a bunch of important stuff and stuffing it into Mark's bag.

Jeno didn't have a family to be sentimental about but he did have a plushie from his childhood that he had kept throughout his upbringing. He took it with him wherever he went, but hadn't figured that he would need it for the field trip so it remained at the dorm on his desk. He plucked it straight up from its position and carefully placed it into his already semi-full backpack. His laptop and connector cables soon joined it as did his lecture notes and assignment prompts.

In another bigger gym bag he placed all the clothing that he figured he would need. A bunch of hoodies, some of his favourite shirts and his leather jacket. He had bought more underwear, socks, shirts and jackets when they went shopping yesterday, but these pieces were his favourite and he was far more comfortable in them than the new stuff. He decided to pack just one extra pair of workout clothing since he had made the choice to get more yesterday. He threw a few novels and textbooks into the bag and zipped it right up before hesitating when he realised that there was something else he could bring.

It wasn't as much of a gift as it ought to be but Jeno somehow felt compelled to place the object into his bag. He grabbed a pair of socks that he had already packed and used them to protect the object from breaking in the rush to return home, his heart content once it disappeared past the zip.

He met Chanyeol in the living room, the elder sitting a little awkwardly on the couch. Jeno placed his bag down next to him and scooped up the keys to his bike, pushing them into his jacket pocket.

"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Jeno wondered, sitting himself down on the glass coffee table so he was right in front of Chanyeol.

"Sure, what's up?"

"You said that you were going to teach us about the supernatural world now that Mark's a werewolf right?" Chanyeol nods his head, though his brows slightly raise as he waits for Jeno to continue. "I need you to explain scent-marking or scenting to me."

The words knock Chanyeol back against the pillows lining the backboard of the couch, his eyes are wide and his mouth is agape but he can't find the words to reply. Jeno lets him linger in the silence, patiently waiting for him to get his breath back from the shock.

"Who-?"

"Jaemin." Jeno explained. "He told me about his past, it was broad but I understand the implications. I don't think that he deserves to be holed up in the house by himself when everyone around him can move about freely without potentially drawing the attention of a lunatic. I asked if there was something that could help and he told me scenting? He freaked out when I offered to-"

"You offered?" Chanyeol shrieked, eyes blown so wide Jeno felt like he needed to cup his hands in case they fell out of his head.

"Yeah? Like I tried to explain to him, I'm human so I don't know what I'm doing-"

"Clearly!"

"But I want to help."

Chanyeol's lips let out a long sigh, but eventually he raised his head and met Jeno's gaze. "It's important to werewolves, it's special because when we're born and as we mature our parents scent us. It's a way of ensuring that other wolves know that they have someone looking after them. That's the first time it happens. But when we reach puberty and we develop an interest in dating or marriage, one could scent their partner. It's slightly different then when our parents did it, but it still holds the same sentiment - someone is looking after me. However, because it's your partner, it now means that you're claimed."

"Claimed? Like ownership?"

"Not really. It's more of a possessive thing. By agreeing to scent someone, you're essentially coating them in your scent. Giving them a part of you that no one else can possess. Wolves -as you know- have high senses so we know that everyone in the entire world has a distinct smell that's purely their own. When you agree to scent someone, you're quite literally giving that person a piece of yourself. It also broadcasts to other wolves that you're in a relationship and the person scented shouldn't come to harm otherwise they'll have you to deal with. Wolves are territorial, so it sort of transfers to us as well."

"So by offering my scent to Jaemin, I'm essentially asking him to be in some kind of werewolf relationship?"

"To the outside wolves, yes." Chanyeol agreed, nodding his head. "The rest of us, at least in the house, will know why you're doing it and that you're just trying to help."

"How would it work?"

Chanyeol's cheeks pinken at the question, his mouth stammering over the words as he rushes to get them out. "I guess the best way for you... would be to, um.. Give him your clothing?"

"Why are you freaking out so much?"

"Because there is another way that he's too chicken to tell you." Renjun announced his presence and inclusion into the conversation with a smile on his face. "Bodily fluids."

"I'm sorry?"

"The best way to get someone smelling like you is by coating them in bodily fluids. As you know actual wolves pee to establish their territory, when scenting their children they lick their fur, but when they scent their partners they usually engage in sexual-"

"Stop talking!" Mark gagged walking into the room with his own collection of bags. "If you finish that sentence I might just throw up."

"How...How does the clo-clothing option w-work?" Jeno stammered, turning back to Chanyeol who looked relieved by the sudden question. Renjun grumbles out a distasteful curse.

"The longer you wear the item, the better the lingering scent."

And that was the end of that conversation.

A sudden bone-chilling vibration rattled through Jeno sending him slightly forward against the glass table. He felt an immediate sense of foreboding, like something terrible was about to happen but he couldn't put his finger on directly what.

Then, as if hit by the same bolt of lightning, Chanyeol shot up from his seat on the couch. His eyes were frantic and his eyes flickered red for just a second before they returned to their deep chocolate brown.

"Everyone in the car. Now."