A/N: Thanks a bunches for the reviews, alerts, and favorites!

Disclaimer: In first chap.

Warning(s): None…

"Okay, you can open your eyes now…"

Sephiroth sighed before opening his eyes and frowned at what he saw. Was Cloud fucking around with him or what?

"A room?" This was what he wanted him to see so badly? He knew that Cloud was up to something since he would ask him what his favorite colors were and what shade of wood was his favorite and other stuff that he could've cared less about, but he didn't expect for it all to lead to this… Cloud nodded his head with a small smile on his face as he motioned for him to step inside. Granted, the room was large and resembled Cloud's, but he wouldn't exactly call it a present. Then again, he remembered the time when Zack brought home a dead raccoon and yelled happy birthday to him in excitement while placing it on the counter where he was making bread at, letting him know that he was serious about the raccoon being his birthday present. With that in mind, he immediately reconsidered the room a present since there was no telling what dead animal that Cloud could have presented to him instead.

"I've decided to give you your own room since I figured that you might want some personal space…"

"Oh? How ever did you figure that out?" Sephiroth said as he glared at his captor. Even though it has been a few weeks since the incident in the forest, Sephiroth made sure that he avoided the asshole of an alpha wolf by all means necessary. Even though he couldn't leave the bedroom because of the guards Cloud stationed outside of the bedroom, he still was able to find his own methods of avoiding the wolf. When Cloud would walk into the bedroom and ask him to attend breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the dining room, Sephiroth would make sure that he was buried inside of the walk-in closet sorting out the yukatas that would and would not wear while ignoring all of the questions and commands from the blond. Whenever Cloud asked him if he want to do something with him, he never acknowledged his question. When Cloud told him that it was time for bed, he would grab a pillow off of the large bed and the blanket that Angeal gave to him and sleep on the bathroom floor with the door locked so that Cloud couldn't walk in and pick him up to carry him to his bed. Sephiroth didn't wait for Cloud to answer his question before climbing on top of the bed and lying against the soft bed sheets while turning his body away from Cloud.

"You can leave now…"

He frowned when he heard Cloud sigh before speaking.

"Sephiroth…I know that you are still upset with me, but-"

"Get out."

Cloud let out a warning growl and Sephiroth snorted while rolling his eyes.

"Don't piss me off Sephiroth… I did what I had to in the forest because I was concerned about your safety."

Sephiroth laughed before rolling over to face the narrowed eyed blond.

"Concerned for my safety? Please…the only thing you were concerned about was me happily fucking a wolf that wasn't you."

Sephiroth's eyes widened in shock when he felt a hand wrap around his throat and squeezed it tightly to the point where he was almost choking.

"Just because I let you avoid me these past couple of weeks doesn't mean I'm going to let you talk to me in any way that you choose to… I'll admit, my jealousy may have been apart of my actions but it was my concern for your safety that made me the way I was…"

"Bull…shit… Zack would have…protected me!" Sephiroth managed to say before he forced Cloud's hand off of his neck and shoved him away with narrowed emerald eyes. He wasn't surprised when Cloud tackled him onto the bed and placed his hands above his head as he straddled himself to where his face was aligned with Sephiroth's.

"I didn't know my mate to be was foolish enough to believe a beta wolf would protect him against a rogue wolf…"

"He-"

"Do you know what beta wolves do when they see a rogue wolf?"

"Obviously I don't since I'm not a fucking wolf!"

Cloud smirked as he leaned down and licked Sephiroth's ear.

"They submit…and hand over any food that they have before becoming food themselves if the rogue is still hungry or they didn't have any food to offer. And you, my dear Sephiroth, are considered food to rogues…" Cloud whispered into Sephiroth's ear in amusement as Sephiroth's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"You're lying… Zack wouldn't have done that… He wouldn't have handed me over to save his own hide…"

"Oh really? Then tell me why he allowed me to take you away from him without putting up a fight? If he loved you, he would have done anything to protect you from me…right?"

"Stop it…" Sephiroth said as his eyes filled up with tears.

"What's wrong, Sephiroth? Finally realize that Zack isn't the wolf you thought he was?"

"Stop it."

"Heh. Welcome to our world, where it's survival of the fittest every damn day and I'm afraid that Zack won't make it…"

"STOP IT!"

Cloud's eyes widened when Sephiroth broke the hold that he had on both of his wrists and pushed him on to the floor with tears streaming down his face. Cloud quickly got up and glared at his crying mate.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you insist on resisting every attempt I make to get you to love me?"

"BECAUSE I WILL NEVER LOVE YOU IN RETURN!" Sephiroth yelled with his voice filled of rage and hatred. It was enough to make Cloud stop glaring and stare at Sephiroth blankly. He opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it before turning and walking out of Sephiroth's bedroom and slowly closed the double doors. Sephiroth saw the hurt in his eyes when he turned away from him, but he didn't care… Cloud just tore a new wound in his already battered heart about Zack and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew that Cloud was telling the truth about how beta wolves cower before rogue wolves. Sephiroth lay back on his bed before pulling the comforter and sheets around him and cried himself to sleep.

Cloud sighed as he leaned against the closed doors of his mate's bedroom, listening to the sobs that drifted through them. He knew that he went too far when he told him the truth of how betas act around rogues, but he needed for Sephiroth to see that Zack had placed him in danger and that he was worried about him.

"You are never going to get anywhere with him if you don't get your jealousy and anger under control…"

Cloud looked up and his eyes widened in shock when he saw that Angeal looked angry. It was very rare to see Angeal angry and when he was, that usually meant that he fucked up.

"Did you stop to think about how he may be feeling about all of this? He's a human Cloud; they don't just change at the drop of the hat because you say so. It takes time for them to fully accept their new surroundings that have been forced upon them and at the rate you're going with him, he'll grow to reciprocate your feelings in the next life."

Cloud growled in frustration.

"Then what am I supposed to do? It's not like I have all the time in the world to produce an heir… The mating ceremony feels like it's just around the corner and Sephiroth hasn't given me the time of day just to eat with him…"

"Well, would you eat with the wolf that destroyed everything that meant something to you? Hell, you don't even allow him to explore the castle and you expect for him to eat with you?"

"I-"

Cloud sighed in defeat. Angeal was right…

"I don't know what to do…"

"Then allow for me to point you in the right direction. Remember how you felt when she was taken away from you?"

Cloud nodded before he looked down at the carpeted floor underneath his feet. That was still a tender subject for him...

"Sephiroth is in the same state of mind as you were… Give him time to be by himself and I'm sure he'll come around eventually. Let him come to you on his own terms and just so you know: it's going to be a very long time before he does so because of what you put him through."

"What happens if he doesn't?"

"If he doesn't, then you have to let him go…"

Cloud sighed. He didn't want to consider that as an option, but he had no choice.

"I'll…I'll give it until February… If nothing changes, I'll let him go back to Midgar and I'll choose a mate from Hojo's selection…"

Angeal nodded.

"Sounds like a plan, now if you'll excuse me; I need to go make some tea for Sephiroth…"

Cloud dismissed Angeal and walked down the hallway to his bedroom, feeling more depressed than he normally did.

One Month Later…

Sephiroth breathed in the winter air with a smile on his face. This was his first time outside without any guards and to say he was excited was an understatement. Even though the pine trees that surrounded the castle acted like as a fence since Cloud told him that was as far as he could go, he didn't pay that any mind since there was plenty of space around the castle to get some form of an exercise. He could tell that January was close to ending by how much snow was on the ground and since the snow was up to his calves, he'd say that February would be next week or this weekend.

He walked over to the pond that was near the pine trees and smiled when he tapped a foot against the surface of it to find that it was frozen solid. He stared at his reflection in the ice and sighed when he saw that he was about to form bags underneath his eyes. Granted he was happier that he now had more freedoms than when he first arrived at the castle and that Cloud hasn't bothered him for quite some time now, but it wasn't enough to make him happy like how he had been. He missed his bakery, he missed his cottage, he missed the townsfolk of Midgar, and he missed his way of life before he arrived here. Then again, his new way of life had its good moments.

Instead of how the townsfolk wouldn't look at him when they bought his breads, he found himself receiving comments about how beautiful his eyes were everyday from the wolves with smiles on their faces as they walked around the castle, not to mention that he was now allowed to make his favorite breads in the kitchen. All it took was him asking Cloud if he could cook in the kitchen and he immediately said yes, which made his heart sing out in happiness since he could finally show the chef of the castle how to make bread properly and because his hands missed kneading dough. Instead of his cottage where he had to chop firewood in order to keep it warm, the entire castle was kept warm and he didn't have to wear extra clothing in order for him to stay warm and he also didn't have to clean up on a daily basis like he normally did. The maids of the castle took care of everything for him and when he tried to pick up after himself, he found himself scolded by Aeris and Yuffie, his two favorite personal maids, for not allowing them to do their job, much to his amusement.

It was like he was a queen to the wolves of the castle and he must be taken care of at all times, not that he minded, but it did get lonesome since he knew that the wolves underneath Cloud had to respect him and be nice to him since they valued their lives and didn't want to be on Cloud's bad side.

"Except for one…" Sephiroth said to himself while laughing. If there was anyone who got him through the day, it was Tifa. The brunette didn't know when to quit, which made it even more hilarious when she would leave dead rats on his bed, in his bathroom sink, in the tub, in his closet, and anywhere else that was associated with him. What made him laugh every time he found one was the expression on Aeris' face as he held it up for her to see before she fainted as Yuffie screamed while yelling for him to get rid of it. Sephiroth chuckled as he remembered when they found one rat in his bed after Aeris sat on it and screamed before fainting in shock. It took Angeal three hours to calm her down after she regained consciousness, all the while he was laughing at the pissed off expression written on Tifa's face for Aeris finding it instead of him.

"I bet she's planting one in my bed right now…"

Was he going to tell Cloud it was her doing it? Of course not. It would mean that he was affected by the rats and it also meant that he had to talk to Cloud more than he already did, which was something that he wasn't ready to do just yet. He changed his mind about his new life. He was enjoying it, but it was missing something… Sephiroth was too focused in his thoughts that he didn't sense the presence of two wolves that were grinning at him from the other side of the pond.

"Good afternoon…"

Sephiroth gasped at the sight of a brunette wolf and a black wolf in the ice before lifting his head up. His eyes widened when he saw that they were close to the size of Cloud in his wolf form, only about six inches shorter.

"Our apologies for startling you…we couldn't help but do so since you looked so lonely just sitting out here by the pond with no one around you." The brunette wolf said as his eyes quickly moved around to make sure that no one was near. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.

"You two are rogues…aren't you?"

The black wolf with red eyes grinned.

"However could you tell?"

"Your friend gave it away when he looked around. What do you want?"

"I believe you know what we want since you knew how to spot us." The brunette wolf said as he placed a paw on the ice. Sephiroth felt fear run up his spine, but he wasn't going to run away from them. It would only prove that he was weak and he wasn't about to let that happen again.

"Then what are you waiting for? If you're going to kill me then kill me now and stop playing games." Sephiroth said as he stood up and glared at the large wolves in front of him. The brunette wolf stopped walking across the ice and raised a brow at him before turning to look at his friend in confusion. The black wolf looked back at his friend before walking around the pond to stand next to him and sniffed him before laughing.

"You're the alpha's mate… I heard rumors that the he took a human as his mate and here you are... Quite a bold little human isn't he Tseng?"

"He sure is Vincent. And a beauty as well… Cloud would've had adorable little pups…" Tseng said sarcastically, making Vincent laugh even more. Sephiroth snorted.

"I don't understand what he hell is so goddamn funny. If you actually think that I am going to give that bastard children, then you two are stupider than you look."

Sephiroth smirked when the rogues stopped laughing and looked at each other before looking back at him with smirks on their faces.

"I take it that there's trouble at home?" Tseng asked.

"Why the hell should I tell you anything?"

"He took you away from the one you loved, didn't he?"

Sephiroth gasped before turning to face Vincent.

"How did you-"

"We met a wolf by the name of Zack a few days ago… He told us a sad story about how he became a rogue… Are you the one that Cloud took away from him?"

Sephiroth nodded slowly and Tseng and Vincent awed.

"I tell you what; we'll make you a deal. If you bring the almighty alpha out of his castle and to the edge of the forest at this time on Saturday, we'll distract him long enough for you to run back to your real fiancée who's at your old home in Midgar." Tseng said as he sat down on the other side of him and scratched his ear. Sephiroth's eyes widened in disbelief. They couldn't be serious…

"You're lying…"

"Just because we're rogue wolves doesn't mean that we don't look after our fellow wolves in their time of need…and Zack needs you…" Vincent said as he wrapped his tail around his hand in a comforting gesture.

"So what do you say my dear? Will you help us help you?"

"…Yes… Yes I will…" Sephiroth said with a small smile on his face, despite the horrible feeling he had in his stomach.

"Excellent!" Vincent and Tseng cheered.

"Wait. What's in this deal for you two? What do you get out of helping me?"

"Nothing but the satisfaction of helping out a friend in need… See you later little human…" Vincent said as he and Tseng began to walk back into the forest. Sephiroth watched them go, never noticing the smirks on their faces. He looked up at the sky and smiled before walking back to the castle, feeling nervous about what was to come…

To Be Continued…

A/N: Hmm… I sense trouble afoot in the next chapter…

R&R

-Ktk