Chapter Text
Seonghwa sighed, tucking Yeosang closer to his chest as another bottle was thrown in their direction, just narrowly missing their feet. Beside him, Yunho whimpered and clung tighter to his sleeve, making himself as small as possible behind Seonghwa’s lithe frame. Normally, Seonghwa would endure the hurtled insults and attacks on his own and his fledglings would be in the relative safety of the rickety little shack they called home, but the two had insisted on coming with him this time after Seonghwa had returned with a large gash down his temple the last time he’d gone out to get their blood rations.
As a vampire, it was illegal for Seonghwa to get their blood from anywhere except the blood distribution center in the city and since acquiring his two fledglings, the blood was even more difficult to get. The center was only open one day a week and vampires were forced to stand out in the blistering morning sun until the center opened their doors and distributed each clan their allotted blood for the week. If they were lucky, a clan was supplied just enough blood to last each clan member for the week. Usually, however, it was far, far less than that amount given to each clan. Seonghwa had never been lucky, especially once he had registered first, Yeosang and then later, Yunho when he’d found the young fledgling wandering around the forest starving and terrified. Registering two new vampires less than a year apart was a harrowing experience and he’d nearly lost Yunho when the scouts had come out to do a property check and caught sight of him tracking a rabbit.
He’d still been in the blood-hunting stage of his transformation and Seonghwa had allowed him to track the small wildlife on their property under his watchful eye but the scouts hadn’t cared and had nearly staked his newest baby on sight. To this day, Seonghwa still wasn’t entirely sure how he’d talked them out of executing Yunho but he was forever grateful. His fledgling was an angel and even the thought of what could have happened brings him to tears every time.
“Is it always like this, hyung?” Yunho whispered in Seonghwa’s ear as he was dragged back to the present. Yunho’s words could barely be heard over the cajoling of the humans lining the opposite side of the street behind the barricade. They shuffled forward a few more steps as the line inched forward.
Seonghwa nodded, threading the fingers not combing through Yeosang’s hair with Yunho’s. “It is,” he murmured, squeezing their hands together. “I shouldn’t have let you come,” he continued softly. “Hyung’s sorry."
Yeosang shook his head, pulling back slightly from Seonghwa’s hug to fix his sire with a glare. “You’ve been enduring this on your own for years, hyung,” he scolded. “We’re a clan, we should endure hardships together.”
“You’re fledglings,” Seonghwa argued weakly. “And it’s my responsibility to keep you safe and fed.”
That made Yeosang roll his eyes and shift so that he was holding Seonghwa’s other hand, bracketing the older vampire on his free side despite how it put him right in the line of fire for the volatile humans across the street. “You’re barely an adult by fledgling standards yourself, hyung,” he reminded gently.
Seonghwa shook his head, shifting Yeosang so that he was in the center instead, wrapping his arm around the fledgling to keep him from moving back to his previous position. “Young sire or not, I’m still your sire,” he chided. “And I shouldn’t have let you come. Heaven knows my sire never let me come along when he was still alive.”
“We would have followed you,” Yunho insisted, ducking his head in fright as another glass bottle was thrown in their direction. “Not after last time. I don’t like that you got hurt and didn’t have anyone to help you.”
Seonghwa sighed and squeezed Yeosang’s waist tighter as they were able to take another few blessed steps closer to the front door of the center. He knew it wasn’t worth fighting any more. His fledglings were stubborn and so full of love in their hearts that letting Seonghwa continue to endure the ration lines on his own was out of the question the second they got a hint of what it really was like for him. The best he could do was keep himself between his babies and the mob and pray they got a decent supply this week.
He reached around Yeosang to adjust Yunho’s wide brimmed hat, tugging at the collar of his shirt to ensure that as much skin as possible would be covered. While sunlight didn’t kill a vampire like many fables suggested, long term exposure was detrimental to their health. Too much sun made them lethargic and ill and could only be treated with excess blood consumption which was nearly impossible to do so close to the city.
More than once, Seonghwa had contemplated relocating further out into the forest, finding a small village miles and miles away from any city center where they could possibly live in relative peace and hunt small game in the forest without anyone the wiser but packing up and leaving wasn’t as easy as it seemed. There were patrol scouts constantly littered in the forest surrounding the city and keeping the vampires from wandering too far into rural areas where they couldn’t as easily be monitored. If they got caught trying to leave the city boundaries, they’d be executed on sight. And while a better life awaited them outside, Seonghwa could never risk his fledglings like that.
It took another two hours before they were finally entering the ration center and splitting off into their line.
“Clan of Park Seonghwa,” Seonghwa said once they’d made it to the clerk’s desk.
“Clan of Park Seonghwa,” the clerk intoned, typing some notes into his computer before printing a receipt and placing it on the desk for Seonghwa to take. “Pick up at window C.”
Seonghwa bowed, his two fledglings copying his movements a step behind him before taking the receipt and leading his boys to another line where they had to wait for another hour before they finally were able to exchange their receipt for a small styrofoam cooler. They each bowed in thanks to the bored ration worker before making their way out the exit door.
“Stay on my right,” Seonghwa ordered once they were out of the building and walking down another barricaded sidewalk. There weren’t as many angry humans on this end of the ration center but there were still quite a large handful hurling insults at every clan that exited the building with their rations. His two fledgling obeyed, clinging onto each other as Seonghwa led them down the barricaded path until it ended and turned into a normal sidewalk. “Eyes and ears open,” he murmured, keeping his head on a swivel as they made their way to the bus stop.
They waited in the vampires only section, keeping a wide berth between themselves and the few humans also waiting for the transport. By the time the bus arrived another clan of two had joined them and were eyeing their rations hungrily. Seonghwa tightened his grip on their food and gestured for them to get on first before letting his fledglings get on and following after. He sat as far away from the other clan as he could in their section at the back of the bus and gestured for Yeosang and Yunho to sit between them. He would have much rather had them closer to the window and taken the aisle seat himself but with their very limited rations, Seonghwa didn’t want to risk their food for the week being stolen and he definitely wasn’t going to put a target on either of his fledglings by handing the cooler off to them.
Miraculously, they made it to their stop and got off hastily, his fledglings bracketing him the rest of the walk home until they were finally, safely inside.
“I don’t know how you’ve done that every week on your own, hyung,” Yeosang exclaimed softly as he stretched his arms over his head and shook out his tense muscles. “I thought for sure that other clan on the bus was going to try something.”
“They’re just hungry,” Seonghwa murmured, tucking their blood away in the fridge as he counted how many bags they’d been allotted that week. Seven. Hardly enough for one vampire let alone three. He sighed sadly, resigning himself to the hunger pains he knew would grow to near unbearable levels after their third week of limited rations. “Same as us.”
Yunho sighed sadly, hooking his chin over Seonghwa’s shoulder as he eyed their measly rations alongside his sire. “They’re trying to starve us, aren’t they?” he asked, wrapping his arms around Seonghwa’s waist as the older man closed the fridge.
“Their supply is based on donations,” Seonghwa explained. “And as you saw there’s not a lot of humans that aren’t scared of us. Most of this blood is donated by morgues and butchers when they drain the bodies of the deceased.”
Yeosang shuddered. “Please don’t remind me,” he begged. “It already tastes bad enough without having to think about why it tastes so bad.”
Yunho hummed in agreement, scrunching his nose at the thought of the bitter coagulated sludge they were forced to drink in order to survive. “I ate a squirrel once,” he reminisced as they all settled on the mattress in their living room that also doubled as their bedroom. “Before you found me. It was the best damn blood I’ve ever tasted.”
His first fledgling moaned, pressing his face into Seonghwa’s stomach. “Don’t rub it in,” he begged. “The wildlife smell so good.”
Seonghwa sighed, carding his fingers through Yeosang’s hair while Yunho tucked himself over his back, effectively caging their sire between them. “I’m sorry I can’t give you more,” he whispered mournfully. “I'd give you the world if I could.”
“We know, hyung,” Yunho murmured, pressing a series of kisses over the scarred expanse of his sire’s neck. “You do more than enough. We love you.”
“So much,” Yeosang agreed. “We just wish we could do more for you in return.”
Seonghwa released a soft laugh that sounded more like a sob. “You do more for me than you’ll ever know,” he assured. “I wouldn’t be here without my babies.” He helped his fledglings settle down more comfortably on the mattress, tucking both of their heads to his chest as he gently lulled them to sleep. “You’re my world,” he murmured to the silent room, hands still carding through his sleeping fledglings’ hair. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
The storm came out of nowhere, catching Seonghwa off guard on his way home. He’d somehow convinced his fledglings to stay home for this ration pick up and now he was extra grateful. He’d hate for his babies to be caught out in this weather with him even though he knew that this would mean that they’d be worrying endlessly until he got home. Luckily he was nearly there, just a few more miles of walking.
He wasn’t sure but the cooler felt heavier than usual and he couldn’t help but be hopeful even though the more rational side of his brain insisted that it only felt heavy because he was so tired. It had been unbearably hot and sunny outside all morning, forcing him to wait in the blistering sun for hours before he’d finally been able to go inside to collect his clan’s rations, the clouds only coming out once he was on the bus heading to the outskirts of the city.
Seonghwa had to pause, setting the heavy cooler on a tree stump as he caught his breath and shook out his tired limbs. Two more miles and he’d be home and could dry off and cuddle his fledglings. With a heavy sigh, Seonghwa braced himself to pick up the cooler once again just as a loud crack of lightning lit up the forest quickly followed by the terrifying sound of a tree snapping and falling to the ground.
There was a pained yelp, canine in nature before the sound turned to human groans and whimpers. Seonghwa gulped, turning his head as he followed the sound. If he was smart, Seonghwa would gather his cooler and continue on to his tiny little cottage before the man’s pack sniffed him out. It was clear that the groan was from a werewolf, even with the rain suppressing the man’s scent. Only werewolves could shift between canine and human at will and where one wolf was, many more were always close behind.
Unfortunately for Seonghwa, he never claimed to be smart and he found himself following the pained noises, barely remembering to pick up his cooler along the way. It didn’t take long for him to find the wolf, now human, trapped underneath the still smoking fallen tree. His eyes were closed and his face twisted in pain.
Seonghwa approached fearfully, fingers digging holes in the styrofoam out of fear. “Are you alright?” he asked, immediately feeling stupid. Of course the wolf wasn’t alright— he had a tree on top of him.
The wolf’s eyes shot open, glowing red as he instinctively tried to shift before panting in pain. “What does it look like?” he gasped out, hands braced on the heavy log as he tried and failed to shift it off of himself. “A little help would be appreciated.”
Seonghwa glanced around fearfully. “Is— is your pack coming?”
The man huffed out a pained laugh. “They don’t even— they don’t even know I left the den,” he admitted, the anger in his voice quickly turning to distress. “And the rain will— it’ll have washed away my scent. Please— just please help me.”
Seonghwa gulped and set his cooler down at the base of a nearby tree before crouching down next to the wolf, noting that he looked quite young despite his stocky stature and had left his den in only a pair of shorts that were completely soaked through at this point, not that Seonghwa’s outfit was doing any better. “I’ll— I can try,” he stuttered, shifting to check what exactly of the wolf was pinned under the tree. The tree laid across his hip and one of his legs and Seonghwa couldn’t help the hiss of sympathy that escaped his lips.
The wolf below him flinched as much as he could in his position, whimpering. “Please don't eat me,” he begged.
“I—” Seonghwa stuttered, pulling away from the wolf. He knew that he was classified as an evil and bloodthirsty creature that had no remorse but he hadn’t expected that level of terror from a werewolf. Werewolves were accepted and often highly revered in society. Humans and other creatures looked up to them for leadership and guidance and while they rarely held positions in the government, they were still consulted regularly. Werewolves certainly didn’t have anything to fear from vampires. Even at full strength, Seonghwa would have nothing on the injured wolf below him. “I don’t eat people,” he finally said. “I have my rations.”
He pointed to the styrofoam cooler sitting at the base of the tree.
The wolf shook his head softly as though chiding himself. “Right— sorry. I’m a bit— ah, stressed at the moment.”
Seonghwa nodded and turned his attention back to the tree. “You’re going to have to help me lift it,” he warned. “Vampires aren’t nearly as strong as wolves.”
“I’m Jongho,” the wolf said as he braced his hands as far under the log as he could get them. “Thank you— for helping me.”
“Seonghwa,” he mumbled, pressing his palms to the rough bark. “On three. One— two— three—”
They both pushed at the same time; Seonghwa away from them and Jongho up, giving him just enough room to shimmy out from underneath the tree before it fell back to the earth.
“Fuck,” Jongho swore, collapsing back onto the grass in relief. “My leg is definitely broken.”
Seonghwa frowned, stretching out a hand to block as much of the rain as possible from hitting Jongho’s face. “Can’t you, like— call your pack or something?”
Jongho huffed out a laugh. “Not in my human form,” he said. “And I can’t shift with my leg like this. I’ll be stuck here for a while it seems.”
“My home isn’t too far,” Seonghwa offered hesitantly. “I— I won’t be able to carry you there but I can go get one of my fledglings and you can rest there until you’re well enough to get back to your pack.”
Jongho blinked up at Seonghwa in shock before breaking out into a wide smile. “Thank you, Seonghwa-ssi,” he replied. “I would appreciate it. It might take a couple of days though before I can shift. I don't want to inconvenience you.”
“It’s not an inconvenience,” Seonghwa assured, gently helping Jongho sit up and scoot back until he could lean against the base of the tree his blood rations sat. “I wouldn’t be able to rest knowing you were out here alone and injured in this weather.”
Jongho smiled up at Seonghwa. “Are all vampires this nice?” he asked in awe. “Or are you the exception?”
Seonghwa shrugged. “My ancestors were perhaps as bloodthirsty as some of the legends imply but I’ve never met another vampire that ever committed violence for the fun of it.”
The wolf nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense, I suppose,” he mused, tilting his head back to rest on the bark as he looked up at the vampire. “There are still vampire attacks though.”
Jongho wasn’t wrong— there were still plenty of vampire ‘attacks’ as the media put it. Any altercation where a vampire was involved counted as a vampire attack in the government statistics, including vampire on vampire violence and executions of vampires for breaking the law. Seonghwa didn’t think it’d be wise to try to argue for his species though as all it had done in the past is get himself and others in trouble so instead he just shrugged again. “All species are violent in their own rights,” he said instead. “Stay put, I’ll be back with Yunho.”
He bent down and grabbed the cooler before disappearing into the trees. At the path, he stopped to pull a rather large branch onto the trail to mark where he had to go before continuing on towards home. The second his little cottage was insight, some of the tension left him. He was home, and his fledglings were already running down the muddy path to bracket him between them.
“Where were you?” Yeosang scolded, cupping Seonghwa’s cheeks as he turned his sire’s head to and fro, looking for any visible signs of injury. “What happened? I knew we should have come with you? God— you’re soaked, hyung.”
“I’m alright,” he soothed. “The rain slowed me down and then the storm struck a tree and injured a werewolf—”
Yunho sucked in a terrified gasp, fingers clenching painfully around Seonghwa’s arm. “A werewolf? Are you okay? You stayed away from it right?”
That made Seonghwa laugh as he shook his head, gently herding his boys into the house and making his way to the fridge to deposit their rations. “Have you ever known me to ignore someone in need?” he asked. “The wolf was pinned under a tree and the rain had completely washed away his scent so his pack won’t be able to find him.”
“So you helped him move the tree and he let you go with your life, great. All’s well that ends well,” Yeosang concluded decisively even as his weary eyes met Seonghwa’s guilty ones. “Right, hyung?”
“His leg is broken,” Seonghwa confessed, closing his eyes against the exasperated hiss Yeosang released. “We can’t just leave him, baby. It wouldn’t be right! It’ll only be for a few days and then he’ll be well enough to go home to his pack and we’ll never see him again.”
“Werewolves hunt our kind for sport, hyung,” Yeosang hissed. “We can’t let him in our home.”
Seonghwa shook his head. “Werewolves hunt vampires as often as vampires attack humans unprovoked,” he countered. “And besides, he seemed more scared of me than anything. He thought I was going to eat him.”
“Bet he’d taste good,” Yunho grumbled, eyeing the now-closed fridge with resentment.
“We’re not going to find out,” Seonghwa scolded. “And we’re certainly not going to suggest that he’d be a good meal, joking or otherwise. The last thing we need is to anger a pack of werewolves.”
Yeosang sighed and nodded his head. “Where is the mutt then?”
“Down the path,” Seonghwa admitted. “I can’t— I’m not strong enough to carry him on my own.”
That made Yunho snort as he wrapped his arms around Seonghwa’s lithe frame. “Our sire is delicate. That’s why he took us in— someone needs to have muscles in this clan,” he teased, pressing a kiss to Seonghwa’s cheek immediately after as an apology for making fun of him.
“I’ll show you muscles,” Seonghwa grumbled, no heat to his voice as he gestured towards the door. “We should go get the puppy. The storm doesn’t look like it's going to let up any time soon and the cover from the trees can only do so much for him.”
His two fledglings nodded in unison and followed him out the door, bracketing him on either side like they preferred to do whenever Seonghwa let them.
Unsurprisingly, Jongho was exactly where he’d left him and looked up the second they broke through the trees. “You came back,” he breathed, his shoulders sagging in relief as Seonghwa approached.
His fledglings hung back, eyes fixated on Jongho in apprehension. “I told you I would,” Seonghwa chided playfully, trying to lighten the atmosphere between them. “Now, do you still want to come back to our home to dry off and wait out your injury?”
“If you and your clan are comfortable with me being in your home,” Jongho replied timidly.
Seonghwa glanced back at his fledglings, waiting for their input, knowing that no matter how much his heart begged him to help Jongho it was, ultimately, his babies’ decision.
“I’m Yeosang,” his oldest fledgling said, bravely stepping forward until he was close enough to the wolf to hold out his hand in offering.
Jongho took it hesitantly, shaking their hands for a few seconds before releasing each other. “Jongho,” he replied.
“And I’m Yunho,” his other fledgling replied, putting on his golden retriever smile that Seonghwa knew could win over almost anyone. “You’re welcome to come heal in our home.”
Jongho smiled at the larger man gratefully. “I’d really appreciate it,” he said. “And I know my alpha will be indebted as well for your kindness.”
Seonghwa released an uncomfortable laugh at the mention of the kid’s alpha. “As long as your pack doesn’t attack us for harboring one of their packmates we’ll call it even.”
The wolf’s eyes widened in horror as he shook his head. “My alpha would never!” he exclaimed. “Hongjoong-hyung might be a little hot headed but he’d never attack you for helping me!”
Yeosang shrugged halfheartedly. “We’re vampires,” he explained. “We don’t have to do anything to be attacked.”
The walk back to the cottage was a bit more somber than it usually was with the added wolf hanging onto Yunho’s back. Jongho seemed to be deep in thought, a cute frown furrowing his brow and pulling his lips into a dangerous pout.
“You’ll have to sleep with us,” Seonghwa declared as they finally made it to the house and open the door for the younger men to march through. “We only have one bed.”
Jongho shook his head. “That’s okay, I can sleep on the couch. It’s really fine. I don't need a bed.”
Yunho snorted, gently lowering Jongho down onto the bed in the middle of the living room. “We only have one bed,” he reiterated, gesturing for Jongho to look around the small space. “So you’ll have to sleep with us.”
“Oh,” Jongho breathed as his eyes widened in understanding. “I— you have a beautiful home.”
Seonghwa smiled down at Jongho fondly before making his way to the bathroom to grab a couple of towels. “It’s not much, I know,” he admitted. “But it’s ours.”
Jongho nodded, bowing as much as he could in his position in thanks when Seonghwa handed him a towel.
“How’s your leg, Jongho-yah?” Seonghwa asked, glancing down at the black and blue limb.
“Doesn’t hurt as much anymore,” Jongho admitted. “Healing factor’s kicked in so I just need to rest and keep it still. I’ll also— I, uh, I’ll need to eat too.”
That made Seonghwa frown. He’d completely forgotten that other species needed to consume food regularly in order to survive. He suddenly realized that he had no idea what a werewolf even ate.
“Um... well, we have blood?” Seonghwa offered unhelpfully.
“There’s some berry bushes lining the east side of the clearing,” Yunho added excitedly. “And I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some wild vegetables growing in the forest around our house.”
Jongho nodded. “That would be fine,” he said. “Well— except the blood— please don’t feed me blood.”
Yeosang snorted. “Good, because we didn’t really want to share our rations.”
“I’ll also eat small game,” he offered. “And I don't mind if you drain the blood from the meat first.” All three of the vampires reared back as though they’d been slapped, startling Jongho so badly he flinched too. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, glancing between their matching expressions of horror. “Did I say something wrong?”
“We’re— we’re not allowed to hunt, Jongho,” Yeosang finally said after a few more moments of silence. “That’s why we get blood rations. If we’re caught hunting we’ll—”
“We’re not allowed to hunt animals,” Seonghwa concluded, shaking off the residual horror as he pulled out some clean clothes for all four of them now that they were mostly dry. “It's the law.”
Jongho frowned but nodded his head in understanding nonetheless. Most people knew that there were a multitude of laws in place to regulate vampires and keep them in check. So even if Jongho hadn’t known about the hunting law it wouldn’t have been that much of a shock to discover that vampires weren’t allowed to feed themselves by hunting their own prey. “Berries and vegetables are just fine with me,” he concluded, albeit slightly shakily.
“Do you need to eat now?” Seonghwa asked. “Or can it wait until morning when the storm breaks?”
“I could eat,” Jongho replied with a helpless shrug. “Doesn’t need to be a lot, just— something to kick start my healing? You said the berries were close by, right?”
Yunho nodded enthusiastically, setting down his clean clothes to gesture towards the door. “I’ll go get you some!” he declared, already skipping out the door and back into the storm without another thought.
Seonghwa sighed and shook his head before continuing to change his clothes, knowing that Yunho knew better than to stray too far from the cottage on his own at night. Sure enough, just as Seonghwa was finishing helping Jongho change into borrowed clothes, Yunho came trampling back inside, his wet t-shirt stretched out and dripping all over the floor as he smiled bashfully. “I forgot something to carry them in,” he admitted.
Yeosang rolled his eyes but went into the kitchen to find something to put Jongho’s dinner in. He came back a few moments later with the fishbowl Seonghwa had had for decades. Before his fledglings and after his sire had passed Seonghwa had been painfully lonely and had gone to the pet store in the hopes of curbing the loneliness. The only pet that the store owners would sell to him was an overpriced goldfish and Seonghwa had bought in a heartbeat, naming it Matz and talking to it every day until it had died. He’d never had the heart to get rid of Matz’s home and now, he supposed, his unintentional hoarding had come in handy.
Yeosang helped Yunho deposit the berries into the bowl before passing it over to Jongho who hummed in delight. “I love strawberries,” he declared, immediately biting into one of the fruits. “Thank you, Yunho.”
The three vampires breathed a sigh of relief before they moved towards the refrigerator to get themselves something to eat.
“How’d we do this week?” Yeosang asked Seonghwa as he wrapped his arms around his sire’s waist from behind, watching the older vampire pull out a nearly empty blood bag left over from last week’s rations and one of the new bags.
“Nine bags,” Seonghwa declared, albeit dejectedly.
Yunho huffed, folding his arms across his chest as he glared at the blood bags in disgust while Seonghwa portioned out three cupfuls. He slid the two fuller cups to his fledglings only for Yeosang to pour some of his own into Seonghwa’s cup.
“You need to eat too, hyung,” he scolded, evening out all of their glasses while Yunho put away the leftovers. “You keep giving us the larger portions and you’ll wither away to nothing before winter even hits.”
Seonghwa sighed and accepted his fuller glass, taking a sip and trying to suppress the shudder as the cold, rancid, molasses-like liquid made its way down his throat. “Thank you, Sangie,” he said once he’d swallowed.
“Did they short you?” Jongho asked, drawing the three vampires’ attention. “On your— on your blood this week?”
Seonghwa shook his head. “They give what they can allot for each clan,” he explained. “We’ve had more... but we’ve also survived on less.”
That made Jongho frown, biting at a strawberry contemplatively. “And you’re not allowed to hunt to substitute the missing blood?” he asked in confusion. “So you’re just supposed to— what? Starve?”
“Welcome to the luxurious life of vampirism,” Yunho said, carefully dropping down on the other side of the mattress with his cup still cradled in his hand. He winced as he took another tentative sip, making Jongho cock his head.
“Is the— is the blood they give you not even good?” he asked wearily. “You all look like you’re being forced to drink dirty toilet water.”
Yunho shuddered and shook his head. “It’s probably comparable,” he mused, making Seonghwa sigh and settle down on the mattress next to his youngest fledgling.
“It’s better than nothing,” he surmised. “We’re grateful we’re allowed any rations.”
“I— as long as you don’t drain me... I don’t mind if you drink a bit from me while I’m recovering here,” Jongho offered.
Yunho and Yeosang’s eyes lit up in excitement, both looking towards Seonghwa pleadingly.
“Absolutely not,” their sire said, shooting down any hope of fresh blood they may have had. “How do you think his pack is going to react when they see bite marks on him? I will not risk your safety like that. And besides, neither of my fledglings have any practice eating from living beings. I don’t know if they even could stop themselves from draining you, Jongho. It’d be wisest not to even attempt it. Thank you for the offer but we’ll stick with our rations.”
Jongho nodded, wide eyed, even as he opened and closed his mouth in a possible attempt to argue his point, though he never found the words to insist. He, instead, carefully set the finished fish bowl of fruit on the floor next to the mattress and laid back. “Thank you for taking care of me,” he murmured as his eyes began to flutter, the exhaustion from the events of that day pressing down heavily on his eyelids. “Even if I can’t give you my blood as thanks, my pack and I will find some way to express our gratitude.”
Seonghwa smiled sadly, not believing for a second that any self-respecting wolf pack would go so low as to thank a vampire clan. He suspected that Jongho was quite young and naive, that he still saw only good in the world and that was why he still believed that they’d be able to find common ground with his pack. Seonghwa was under no illusions. He’d be grateful if Jongho walked away once he was healed and they never heard from him or his pack again.
“Just worry about getting better for now, pup,” he murmured instead, cautiously resting a gentle hand on Jongho’s wrist to squeeze for just a moment. “Everything else can come later.”
He got up to lock their front door and turn out the lights before tucking in his fledglings and draping an extra blanket over Jongho before settling himself between his babies and the wolf and tucking in for an uneasy night’s rest.
The morning dawned with blessedly overcast skies and Yunho was up and out of bed before Seonghwa had even been able to come back to full awareness. His youngest fledgling had already dumped out the bits of the strawberries Jongho hadn’t eaten the night before and was halfway out the door by the time Seonghwa caught up with him.
“Stay in my sight,” he warned as he watched Yunho skip down the path towards the berry bushes. Seonghwa stood in the doorway, keeping an eye on a still sleeping Yeosang and Jongho and the other eye on where Yunho was now crouched down by the bushes and was carefully selecting berries for their unexpected guest.
It didn’t take long for Yunho to come back with the bowl half full and a disappointed frown painted across his face. “This was all that’s left,” he declared sadly.
“We can go further into the forest for more food for Jongho later,” Seonghwa assured. “But I don’t know how close his pack is and I don't want them to either wander in here or catch you off guard alone out in the woods.”
Yunho nodded. “I know, hyung,” he murmured, pressing a fond kiss to his sire’s cheek as he passed by the older man and made his way back to the bed where Jongho was stirring into wakefulness. “Good morning, Jongho-yah,” he sang softly, not wanting to wake up a still-snoozing Yeosang on the other side of the bed. “I brought you some more berries. I’m sorry it's not a lot... I couldn't find many more red ones. You can’t eat the green ones right?”
Jongho shook his head, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he pushed himself upright on the bed to accept the bowl. “Yeah, no, the green ones are not ripe yet. Definitely not for eating. This is plenty though, Yunho. Thank you.”
The fledgling beamed, puffing up his chest slightly before climbing back in bed and watching Jongho with an intensity that made the wolf squirm.
“How’s your leg?” Seonghwa asked, trying to divert both of their attention in the hopes that Jongho could excuse the staring and Yunho would get the hint to back off before he did something to insult the wolf.
Jongho frowned, reaching out to press on the limb in a few places. “Definitely still broken,” he declared with a wince. “But it’s healing for sure. As long as I don't put pressure on it I should be all healed up in a day or two.”
Seonghwa nodded as he gently roused Yeosang, tucking his sleepy fledgling in his lap as he pressed kiss after kiss to the younger man’s face to keep him from going back to bed. “That’s good, Jongho-yah,” he murmured. “I’m glad you’re healing well then. If there’s anything you need, please let us know. We’ll do what we can to help.”
“Do you have a phone?” Jongho asked. “I completely forgot about it last night. I don’t have mine with me otherwise I would just call my alpha myself but if I could borrow yours, I could call him and get out of your hair sooner.”
“We don't,” Seonghwa muttered with a wince. “Phones aren’t exactly a luxury we can afford unfortunately. Sorry, Jongho.”
Jongho shook his head. “It’s not a big deal,” he said. “It’s my own fault for forgetting mine at home. My alpha will worry but he’ll be fine for another day until I’m healed enough to shift and let him know I’m okay.”
Seonghwa hummed, biting back his worried thoughts at Jongho’s statement and praying that he was right and that his alpha really would be alright not hearing from his packmate for another day otherwise Seonghwa doubted he and his fledglings would make it out of their reunion alive.
“I, um... I also have to pee,” Jongho added, ducking his head in embarrassment. “I could probably make it to the bathroom myself but, ah... if one of you wouldn't mind helping me stand that’d be appreciated."
Yunho jumped to attention, immediately reaching down to Jongho in offering. “I’ve got you, Jongho-yah,” he declared, wrapping an arm around Jongho’s waist as he helped the wolf to the small bathroom in the back of their cottage.
“He’s getting attached,” Yeosang murmured sleepily, hooking his chin over Seonghwa’s shoulder.
Seonghwa jumped, having not realized that Yeosang had woken up fully. “He is,” he finally admitted once the jitters from his sudden shock had calmed some. “Nothing we can do to stop it now though.”
Yeosang hummed softly, turning his head to press a few kisses to the column of Seonghwa’s neck as tangled his fingers in the fabric of the older man's shirt. “Our Yunho’s heart is too big,” he whispered into Seonghwa’s skin like a secret. “I hope Jongho doesn’t break it.”
“I’m more worried about his alpha, if I’m honest,” his sire replied, just as quietly. “I didn't think really about that when I offered to help him. Jongho seems genuine enough but— I’ve never met an alpha that didn’t attack first and ask questions later.”
“It’ll all work out,” Yeosang assured. “We’re due some good karma or whatever. Backlogs of it.”
That made Seonghwa laugh and he pulled Yeosang away from his chest just enough to press a kiss to the younger man's lips. “Pretty sure I used up all of my good karma points when I found you and Yunho.”
“No matter how much backlogged karma you had, I still would have found you, hyung,” Yeosang whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Seonghwa murmured back fondly, pressing a kiss to the top of Yeosang’s head only for his fledgling to pull back and steal another kiss from his lips instead.
“It’ll all work out,” he assured, his lips tickling Seonghwa’s. “It has to.”