ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Mika ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

After the incident, I wasn't sure if we were being feared or respected here. Turns out we weren't the only ones Ulysses and his patrol unit were giving a hard time, they seemed to have picked on just about anyone who they deemed would give them a satisfying reaction during their power trip.

However, Yulin finally came to a decision (one that didn't include killing or exiling them) and decided that the unit would be disbanded and that all the members would now be handling the chores around the pack grounds.

Which included many a things such as cleaning the garden, picking the weeds, washing dishes, hanging the laundry, etc...you get the idea.

And trust me, it wasn't me who spoke on their behalf for the light sentence. I pretty much wanted them dead just as bad as the next guy but Lisa thought Yulin could gain some points in society if he showed that he could be anything but the rumored ruthless leader everyone spoke about.

It's been about two weeks since the incident and I guess you could say that since then it's been pretty peaceful aside from the occasional rogue or two found at the border.

The tension that had remained between Yulin and I had eventually dissipated, neither of us seeming to want to mull over the small disagreement we'd had.

To my even greater surprise, Yulin had begun to ask me to accompany him for meals. I wasn't bothered by it, if anything, I figured it was actually something we needed to get over the few hectic days that we started with.

The first couple of meals were carried with a small bit of awkwardness but it somehow eased over the courses. Yulin had made ample efforts to only ask simple questions, the type that didn't make me uncomfortable or feel like he was trying to pry into the life that I had no particular interest in sharing at the moment.

I was grateful for this, naturally, but I kept that feeling tucked in my pocket as I was unsure as to how long it would last.

Yulin on the other hand didn't seem to have a problem answering any of the very few questions I threw out just to keep the conversation going, his grey eyes never leaving me at times and that only made tremors pass through my entire being at the thought of what's going on in that head of his.

Anyways, apparently this childhood friend of Yulin's he'd mentioned before is due to make his return next week and I can tell Yulin's been pretty happy about that.

I've heard a little bit about him every now and then whenever the subject would arise, Yulin saying that he believes I'd be very good friends with this mystery doctor. He apparently has a calm and mature demeanor so everyone naturally just gets along with him.

The time had flown by pretty fast and before I knew it, tomorrow was the day that Yulin's best friend would arrive. I wouldn't say that I was nervous or anything, not in the slightest honestly, I actually hoped it'd be as easy as Yulin says it it'd be to make friends with this guys.

That way, I can ask questions about Yulin without having to actually ask the man himself because unfortunately, I'm not bold enough to do that right now.

"When do you think we'll be able to go back to the cabin? Our things are still there you know?" Raven had quizzed that night as we laid side by side.

"If it hasn't been ransacked by someone already" I said and Raven sighed.

"Olivia's necklace is there. We have to go back soon, I won't leave it there to be taken and pawned by some asshole" Raven said and I nodded.

"I'll try to see if we can go as soon as possible, first thing in the morning" I said and Raven smiled.

"Good" he said before closing his eyes, even though he's not actually trying to go to sleep.

Raven's been riddled with unease ever since we smelled that strange scent a few days ago and while I've offered to stay awake so he could rest, he refused every time.

The scent never did come back so I began to think we were wrong but there's no way both of us were mistaken.

Turning to my side, I closed my eyes in an attempt to get some shut eye for the likely busy day ahead of us tomorrow.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ as he sleeps... ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

The soft sound of whimpering in the dark of the night had caught my attention, my eyes darting to the source as I walked further into my brother's room.

I'd woken up in the middle of the night when hearing them and I was already well aware of what was going on so I rushed as quickly as I could to make it to Raven.

"Raven, wake up" I whispered as I shook him gently, the feeling of Raven's body trembling passing onto me through the small contact.

Nightmare's constantly riddled Raven, for more than a year now since Olivia's death, he hadn't been able to sleep properly and has since been on the verge of becoming an insomniac.

I knew how much Raven hated going to bed because as soon as he loses consciousness, the terrors in his mind were right there to torture him for however long it liked.

"Raven" I called, this time a bit more louder as I shook him harder, Raven finally responding with a startled look in his tearful eyes.

"Raven, it's okay. I'm right here" I said as I grabbed Raven's hand but my brother remained silent, tears threatening to stream down his small cheeks.

"I'm sorry...I-" Raven's words came out like a lifeless mutter but I had already put him to a stop before he could finish his sentence.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to apologize? You're not doing anything wrong, so there's no need" I said.

The feeling I got as I looked at Raven was a distant one, his eyes were averted as if he were too ashamed of himself to look at me.

"Still doesn't change the fact that I feel guilty" he whispered and I gripped his hand firmly.

"I know" I said before letting go of his hand.

"Are you going back to sleep?" I asked and Raven curled into himself as he stared at his knees.

"I...don't know" he said.

Seeing that he wasn't making any moves to get himself situated again, I decided to crawl on the bed and sit next to him, putting our shoulders together in the process to offer some comfort.

"I'll stay" I stated.

"You don't have to if you don't want to" Raven said, his eyes still refusing to meet mine.

"Why would you think that?" I asked suspiciously, getting the feeling that I knew very well what was the cause of Raven's sudden anxious emotions.

"...I'm always crying and being annoying, it's no wonder you don't hate me already" he said.

"I don't know what lies you're letting yourself believe, but I don't feel that way at all. I never have and I never will, it's hurtful that you would even think that after all we've been through" I said as I frowned.

With no response, I decided I'd have to continue to try and get at least one word through to his stubborn head.

"You're my brother and my best friend. I'm always going to be here for you, no matter how 'annoying' you may think you are"

Raven finally looked at me, eyes glistening with fresh tears ready to shed after hearing my words.

Finally.

"Thank you..."

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ morning time  ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

I haven't dreamed about something like that in a long time, the feeling of sadness being the first thing that I feel as I woke up from the short slumber.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I noticed Raven was already gone, most likely going to find the source of the scent of the food that woke him up.

A knock on the door startled me a bit as I wasn't expecting it at all, and judging by the scent I know as one I've come to subconsciously seek out constantly, I knew exactly who it was.

Giving permission to Yulin, the man opened the door after hearing my voice and he stepped in but only a few paces as if not wanting to barge in despite being given permission to enter.

There he was, perfect as ever with not a hair out of place and here I am, stuck with bed head and a tired expression.

So embarrassing.

"Good morning. I thought I'd drop by and see if you were up to meeting Nova. Did you sleep alright?" Yulin asked.

"Yeah...actually, I have something to ask you" I said and Yulin's expression turned inquisitive as he waited for my question.

"We need to take a trip back to our cabin to grab some things but...it's not as if we're exactly sure of where we are right now so we'll need someone to take us there" I said.

With a hum and short nod, Yulin spoke up.

"Okay, we can go tomorrow if you'd like" he said.

"Thanks, I'll let Raven know" I said.

After saying that, for the first time since being here, I saw a look that I never knew Yulin could make.

It was one akin to playfulness if anyone were to ask me to describe it, Yulin's eyes narrowing a tad bit while a smile with an unknown meaning to me graced his features.

"How about just me and you?" he said and that made me stop in tracks I hadn't even made yet.

"Huh?" I let out dumbly.

"Is there a problem?" He asked, tilting his head ever so slightly while still holding that smile, no actually, that's more of a grin or a smirk when looking closer.

"I mean, you could have just had anyone else do it. I'm sure you're busy" I said, not sure how else to respond other than sincerely.

"That's what you're concerned about? Not the fact that we'd be alone together for a few hours?" He asked and my cheeks suddenly erupted at the insinuation.

"I-I wasn't thinking about it like that..." I said.

Shit, I stuttered. I never do that!!

Yulin merely chuckled at my response.

"That's a shame" he said which only had me biting my lip in an attempt to stop myself from saying anything potentially embarrassing in turn.

"I supposed your brother can tag along if that's what you want" He said while obviously feigning dejection.

Was he...teasing me?

Unsure of what kind of face I was making, I tried to keep myself composed as this new sensation of heat remained on my face as if it were it's new home.

"Yeah, I do" I replied as curtly as I could.

Giving a small smile, Yulin gave a nod.

"I'll wait for you outside" he said before closing the door behind himself.

What was that? What made him decide to just tease me like that?!

With the perpetrator out of the room, my heart finally let itself go and thumped wildly. I've never felt a rush of emotions like this before and I knew the reasons and causes so before I could let the memory of what just happened consume me, I got up to get ready.

After showering and brushing my teeth, I dressed myself before finally leaving the room where I was greeted with a patiently waiting Yulin.

"I haven't told Nova anything yet so let's see how long it takes him to figure it out" Yulin said, smiling at the thought of surprising his long time friend.

Ah, I see. He's in a jovial mood today because of Nova's return, perhaps that's why he felt playful earlier.

He's just happy.

A faint smile reached my own lips as I gave a mental sigh. I guess I can let him slide for the teasing earlier.

"Nova" Yulin called out as we entered the infirmary room and inside, the man was seated at his desk.

For some reason though, his eyes widened considerably as he stared directly at me. I was sure that I've never met him a day in my life so I was unsure as to why he seemed to be startled by my presence.

"Uh...Nova?" Yulin called again.

Seeming to finally snap out of whatever trance he was in, Nova stood and walked over to us.

"Sorry, I was a little distracted. So, you finally made time to come see me?" Nova said, playing that whole bit off as nothing important but I could tell by the way his hands remained clenched by his sides that something was up.

"Yeah, I got held back for a little bit but I'm here now and with someone I've been meaning to introduce you to" Yulin said as he gestured to me and I did my best to give a friendly smile but I think it came out a bit awkward given that I was still surprised by Nova's earlier reaction towards me.

"Is this...?" Nova trailed and Yulin nodded.

"Yes, this is my mate, Mika" he said. Yulin's words only seemed to conflict Nova as he looked to me skeptically.

Getting annoyed with the strange looks from this guy that I've just met, I decided that I deserved an explanation.

"Is there something about me that bothers you?" I asked.

Yulin looked between the two of us, likely just as if not even more so confused than I was.

"Uh...actually, yes" Nova said and I frowned but waited for him continue.

"Spit it out Nova" Yulin said, his jovial behavior from early quickly souring at the thought that his best friend had something against me.

"My wolf is getting confused but he's convinced that you're either my mate—" Nova was quickly interrupted when Yulin let out a warning growl.

"Well, for starters, he's definitely not your mate. He's mine" he stated, shifting so that he stood in front of me to obscure me from Nova's view.

"...or you've spent a lot of time with them" Nova finished, his eyes locking on to Yulin's, seemingly unfazed by his friend's sudden possessive anger.

Those words didn't really seem to soothe Yulin at all as he still remained on guard so I decided to place my hand in his in an attempt to do so.

Yulin silently gripped it firmly.

"I feel no attraction towards him so you can rest assured I have no interest in taking your mate from you" Nova said.

Seeing as this tension was only growing, I decided to cut in since I'm pretty sure my answer would put this...argument (?) to rest.

"Well the answer to that is easy enough, your mate is most likely my brother" I said.

Instead of his expression lighting up like one normally does, I sensed unease from Nova instead.

"You don't seem too excited" I commented.

"For my own reasons, no. I'm not" Nova said.

As if being able to tell that I had more unspoken questions, Yulin shook his head at me.

"Leave it be. And for now, hold off on telling Raven anything. If he happens to find Nova on his own then there's nothing we can do from there" Yulin said.

"Thank you" Nova said.

"But that doesn't mean for you to hold yourself up in here either" Yulin said with narrowed eyes to which Nova just waved his hand dismissively as if saying 'I know'.

"We'll take our leave now. It's good to see you, let's catch up later okay?" Yulin said, finally offering the smile he's been waiting to give likely since hearing of his friend's return.

Nova returned the gesture with one of his own and a small nod.

As we left the room, I immediately spoke what was on my mind.

"Raven's going to find out the moment he sees me, you know that right?" I said.

"I don't think so, we weren't in there long enough for his scent to stay on you. Besides, I can easily fix that" Yulin said, eyes falling to me and I got the feeling that his gaze wasn't all that innocent.

Yulin had stopped walking and grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers with a grip that he made sure would let me know that he's not letting go unless I say so.

"W-What are you doing?" I said, the heat from earlier returning to me but this time even stronger.

"It doesn't take much to leave my scent on you, holding hands is okay but hugging would be more effective" Yulin said, bringing our joined hands to his face and nuzzling his cheek on the back of my hand, all while looking at me to see my reaction.

To put it plainly, I was malfunctioning like a computer that had water spilled on it. The heat that was now traveling and spreading to the rest of my body told me that this was affecting me more than even I or Yulin would realize.

I could feel my wolf going quite literally insane, my heart beat matching his unruly behaviors and if I hadn't known any better, I'd say that I didn't mind this feeling.

"Yulin..." I muttered, finally managing to rip my eyes from the enticing sight that was my mate.

I felt Yulin smile against my hand and that caused my heart to skip another beat or five.

"Calling my name in such a sweet voice...I wanted to be the one to woo you and yet it seems I'm the one being seduced" Yulin said.

He's so...embarrassingly truthful. How can anyone say something like that with such a gentle expression?

"Seriously..." I grumbled in disbelief.

His wooing wasn't working...is what I wanted to say but I knew it was working. I'd never have let him touch me if I didn't want it, and this fact only fueled more truth to the next one;

I like this alpha.