The freezing winds and the flurries that floated down in the night were bad news for the campers and backpackers who were trekking through the mountains. The deer, the owls, even the small squirrels restlessly moved through the trees seeking shelter from the cold.

    But not the wolf.

    The wolf sprinted through the trees, paws tearing up the fallen pine needles and loam, bellowing pants joining the already melodious whispers of the wind. It’s reddish-brown coat, streaked with white, camouflaged beautifully with the snow flurries and tree trunks.

The air reeked of humans. The wolf wrinkled its nose in distaste, a growl emitting from its snout. It avoided the border fences like the plague. The guards stank of violence and selfishness, reminiscent of the men and women back in the experiment room. Although the wolf and the human sometimes conflicted within their shared body, neither wolf nor human had regretted the decision to rip them to pieces.

The wolf felt a slight tugging in its chest, most likely remnants of the human’s emotions. It tugged him southeast. The feeling was obtrusive enough where the wolf couldn’t ignore it, and the wolf found itself following human instinct in the direction of the pull.

The stench of humans remained, and with it the powerful smell of civilization, of pollution, asphalt and gasoline. But as the wolf followed the pull in its chest, it caught a whiff of another smell. Pine needles and something floral that hinted at lands far away.

It brought up nearly-forgotten memories of a girl in a white room, separated by a wall of thick glass. A girl whose eyes were filled with fear but lacked hatred, only curiosity.

The wolf’s paws thudded against the ground. Its large headed turned right and left, scenting the air. The scent thickened as the tug became more insistent. The wolf slowed as it creeped upon a gap in the trees where the pine needles had been cleared away and replaced with cold grey material. It narrowed its eyes as it approached the edge of the clearing, noticing one lone vehicle in the center of the lot.

It was a girl and she seemed familiar.  

DaeSung sat with Jiyong in front of their wall of camera monitors, bucket of fried chicken in his embrace. He pointedly ignored the dirty looks that his team leader was giving him. It wasn’t his fault that the rest of the team ate all of the rest of the chicken. This particular bucket was his. His precious bucket of chicken.

JiYong suddenly leaned forward, eyes narrowed at a central screen.

“He’s running.” He muttered, tracking the wolf’s progress with his eyes. DaeSung shuffled the bucket of chicken around in his lap before following JiYong’s gaze.

“He’s headed east.” DaeSung noted, pointing a drumstick at the screens. He tilted his head in confusion. “But that’s weird. Theoretically if we hadn’t cordoned off this section, all the campers would be congregating over there. Usually the wolf avoids anything to do with people.”

“Well, we’ll see.” JiYong leaned back into the couch. “He’s moving fast, we’ll see where he stops soon.” DaeSung nodded in agreement, settling happily back into a semi-conscious state of mindlessly staring at the screens and chomping down on the crispy pieces of glory in his hands.

True to his words, JiYong soon began to see a change in the Chen’s movements. Before, the wolf seemed to be mindlessly running, but now he occasionally lifted his head to scent the air, sniffed around the pine needles and foliage. Once he caught a hint of something, he would speed up and begin sprinting again. JiYong scanned the course that he was taking, and was hit with a bolt of realization.

    Chen was taking the path that he and Jordan had hiked to reach the uninhabited area. Chen was following Jordan’s scent. Once the realization took hold, he called out to his team. DaeSung jolted at the sudden noise and glared at him, which JiYong smirked at. One by one, the sleeping members filtered into the room. TOP slumped straight onto the floor once he entered, curling into a fetal position facing the cameras. YoungBae wandered in, shirtless as usual, scratching at his chest.

    “What’s up, Team Leader?” He mumbled sleepily.

    “Chen is scenting Jordan.” JiYong pointed at the screen. “He’s most likely headed towards the parking lot. At the rate he’s going, he’ll get there in about 5 minutes.”

    “Do you think he’ll attack her?” TOP questioned from his place on the floor. JiYong tilted his head in thought.

    “I don’t know.” He admitted. “I think it depends on what goes on in his consciousness.”

    “You mean how much of it is controlled by Chen and how much by the wolf?” DaeSung mumbled through a mouthful of food. JiYong nodded in response.

    “We all know that Chen is attached to Jordan, and he won't hurt her. But we have no idea about the wolf. We’ll just have to see which instincts win out.” A small chill went over the room at the words. No one replied; they only sat quietly, staring intently at the screen.

    No one wanted to see Jordan dead. Not this far into the experiment. Somewhere along the line, through her snarky remarks and the small pranks she pulled, Jordan had established for herself a place in the research team’s hearts.

    Chen was no different. The werewolf now was so drastically different from the bloodthirsty killing machine that he had been at the beginning. At first when they said the name ‘Chen,’ the first thing they had thought of was of a blood-coated figure with a mangled corpse at its feet, wild eyes searing a hole through the glass. Now, they could only recall the way he snuffled around the house, his curiosity triggering him to gently inspect everything. They couldn’t help but soften when Chen had dashed into Jordan’s bedroom when he heard her screaming. He too, had somehow wriggled his way into their conscious, and the research team was now worried about when he would have to get out.

    “He’s arrived.” JiYong straightened in his seat and leaned in further to better see the screen. The rest of the members echoed his action, while TOP uncurled from his ball on the floor and straightened to join s in watching the proceedings.

    The wolf halted in its tracks when it felt an unfamiliar warmth flood through its system. The tugging grew increasingly persistent, trying to force him in the direction of the girl.

    She seemed panicked. The wolf’s sensitive nose could detect a hint of the salty tang of sweat and tears on the air. Its ears flicked at the sound of panicked hyperventilating and sobs wrenching themselves from a heaving chest. Its eyes saw the girl hunched next to the vehicle, rocking herself back and forth, arms wrapped around her torso.

    A whine ripped itself from the wolf. The wolf felt another consciousness clawing its way forward, worry and sadness permeating its essence. The tugging grew painful, and the wolf cautiously took two steps forward, heeding the unknown pull. Relief immediately followed. The tugging lessened, but the worry did not. The wolf was filled with the sudden yearning to go to her. To wrap itself around her shivering figure to protect her from the stinging cold. To the tears from her face, because she should not be suffering.

    The wolf shook its head left and right, confused by the sudden onslaught of human emotions. But it took a few more strides forward, compelled by that unknown force.

    But the wolf was forced to a stop when brown eyes met its cobalt ones. Warm brown eyes that flickered with recognition and a tinge of fear.

    It felt itself moving forwards. The wolf didn’t want her to be afraid. Soon the girl was within two steps. She dug her heels into the ground, pushing herself closer to the tire. Fear flared in her eyes, yanking another whine from the wolf’s snout.

The sound seemed to relax her, as her eyebrows quirked in confusion. The wolf was tugged another step forward by that unknowable force, but this time the girl did not back away.

    She called out a sound. A sound that the wolf didn’t recognize, but deep down, it seemed so familiar.

    “Chen?” She said it again. She raised one hand towards the wolf, palms to the side, unthreatening. “Chen?”

The wolf hesitantly stepped forward, this one of its own volition.

Her finger twitched, and the wolf flinched away, before carefully making its way forward again.

Both human and wolf seemed the hold a breath as slowly, the wolf bumped its nose against the girl’s palm.

JiYong and the team watched with bated breath as Chen approached Jordan in his wolf form. They eagerly leaned in as the wolf bumped its nose against her palm. Its shoulders relaxed, almost as if the sensation was calming. Its eyes closed momentarily before suddenly opening, shining a brighter blue. It shook its head, a growl permeating through the air. Jordan lowered her hand quickly and flinched as the wolf turned and ran back into the forest.

“Fascinating.” JiYong muttered. “Seems like Chen has more control over his wolf than we thought.” He turned to the members. “TOP, track where Chen goes throughout the night, YoungBae and DaeSung, you keep track of Jordan. I need to coordinate the next couple of months with the forest service." The members nodded, each going to their respective tasks.

TOP settled back further into the couch, chuckling as DaeSung immediately captured YoungBae in a headlock as soon as JiYong left the room. For the next couple of hours, he toggled with the camera controllers, tracking the reddish brown wolf throughout the woods.

Chen’s behavior did seem somewhat odd: despite his speed, he only ever went a small distance in one direction before turning back to the direction where he started. On occasion he would speed off, only to abruptly stop, almost as if he had been yanked on a hypothetical leash.

TOP zoomed out a bit, mentally mapping out where the wolf had traveled. His paths seemed to revolve around one area of the forest. He never traveled for than half a mile from it. Estimating the general location of the point, TOP zoomed back in. A grin spread across his face as a familiar parking lot came into view. In said parking lot sat Jordan’s white SUV.

TOP couldn't help but chuckle as he thought of the wolf, forever circling around the object of its fascination. But he also could not help but feel guilty as he saw one lone figure pacing around the edges of the parking lot. He was on night watch the night before. He’d seen through the car’s camera how the nightmares had plagued her. Jordan didn’t seem to want to suffer the same fate this night. She walked around the parking lot and traced the parking lot lines with her steps. Around and around she went, for hours, until the sun rose on the horizon.

Jordan slumped against a rock at the top of the trail. She had successfully evaded sleeping for two full days. She did it by hiking every minute of the day and walking circles around her car and the parking lot. However, it did not come without its consequences. Jordan could barely move her head without nausea flooding through her system. Her head pounded, her pulse knocking against the insides of her skull. She could barely keep down the dry food she brought along  due to the bloating and gurgling in her stomach. To be honest, she wasn’t even sure if she could summon up the energy to find Chen later.

Wearily, Jordan lifted her hand and slightly shifted her head to glance down at her phone. It was midday. She still had hours until the moon would start to wane. She let her hand drop back to the ground with a thud as she tilted her head back. The sun beat down on her skin, unmerciless in its attack. Jordan mumbled under her breath, be the heat. She almost preferred her prison cell. Almost. She was a hacker, for goodness sake. She was used to staying indoors in a dark room. Outside did not agree with her. Groaning, she heaved herself to her feet. The hike back down the trail would take a couple of hours and she wanted to eat something before she started her trek to look for Chen.

The hike back down the mountain was infinitely worse than the trek up. Every lengthened stride downhill, every heavy impact upon the trail sent a bolt of pain through her head, pain that no amount of water could alleviate. Jordan could hear her heartbeat pounding through her skull. Exhaustion was a constant ache in her mind. After several hours she finally reached the bottom of the trail and almost collapsed against the door of her car. Scrambling, she opened the door and flopped into the seat.

All she wanted to do was sleep.

With a sigh, Jordan inserted the key into the ignition. She sincerely doubted if it was safe to drive. She paused. Did she want to find Chen on her own? Did she want to go who knows where to go look for him? Jordan leaned her head back against the headrest. Jordan was just going to have to bite down on her pride and ask for help. She hadn’t done it this entire time. She could do it this once.

She dialed a number on her phone.

“How can I help you, Jordan?” A different voice than usual answered the call. Jordan raised an eyebrow.

“Isn’t this Bangs’s phone?”

“He’s busy at the moment. You’re stuck with me. I’m the guy who never wears a shirt, remember me?” Jordan rolled her eyes.

“I’m too exhausted to look for Chen.” Jordan sighed. “Tell me the general region where he is. I’ll drive to it and look for him from there.” Jordan thought that she could hear someone chuckling on the other line.

“What is this? Is the stubborn Jordan Chang actually asking for help?”

“Don’t make me regret it.” Jordan gritted her teeth. “Just remember, you don’t like wearing shirts, which makes chopping off your s that much easier for me. Do you want to suffer that fate?” The line went silent.

“He’s in the Green Mountain region, about two miles from the trailhead. We can keep him semi-contained for now.” The line clicked silent. Jordan snorted in laughter at the reaction.

“Green Mountain it is.” She opened the passenger compartment and pulled out the trail map. Once she checked her route, she exhaled and clenched her fingers around the steering wheel. “Let’s go.”

Driving was dangerous. Jordan could feel her vision drifting in and out of focus as the hum of the engine tried to lull her brain to sleep. She drove much slower than normal as she navigated the muddy mountain roads. She pulled into the Green Mountain trail parking lot nervous about the drive back at home. That drive was more than an hour long, and she could barely handle a three minute drive.

The parking lot was oddly devoid of people, especially for a weekend afternoon. Most people took advantage of the cooling temperatures. Jordan suspected that the scientists had pulled a lot of strings. She grabbed her bag and water, heading up the trail.

Before long, the sound of a chopper interrupted her forced focus. She was grateful, however, since she surmised that it was a marker of where Chen was.

She was right. As Jordan approached the area underneath the helicopter blades, she saw a figure collapsed in the pine needles. Once she reached the collapsed body, the helicopter peeled off, leaving nothing in its trace.

“Chen.” Jordan shook his shoulders. “Chen, wake up.” A small moan answered her, sending relief through her system. She wouldn't have to drag him back after all. “Chen, come on. Please.” She tugged on his arms.

He blearily opened his eyes, blinking a few times to bring her into focus.

“Chen!” Jordan tugged again on his arm. She would feel bad for her rough treatment, but she wanted to get both of them off of the mountain. They both needed to rest back at the house. After a few more tugs, Chen groggily heaved himself into a sitting position. Jordan slipped a hand around his waist to help him to stand. Her knees trembled as she heaved up his weight and her head pounded as she bent over to help him. But Jordan successfully hoisted Chen to his feet and slung his arm across her shoulders.

She felt slight vibrations under her fingertips, and heard a deep rumbling at her ear. Chen was doing it again, making that purring sound. Jordan couldn't imagine why. He was exhausted, barely able to stand, fresh off of a transformation that distorted his bones and snapped his joints. What could he possibly be pleased about?

The sound continued, even as Chen and Jordan stumbled their way through the brush and trees.

Chen reached the vehicle, joints aching and skin stinging. He couldn’t help the purring that rolled from his chest. The tug in his chest was nonexistent, no longer an uncomfortable tugging but a warm and enjoyable hum. He hopped into the seat, settling into the comfortable upholstery with a groan.

Jordan heaved herself into the driver’s seat, equally exhausted. Chen leaned back in the seat, getting ready for the rumbling to start, the signal that they were going to move. But it never came.

Chen glanced curiously at the girl next to him. His eyebrows quirked in concern as he saw her slumped against the steering wheel. A small whimper escaped her lips, instantly drawing him closer.

A memory flickered in the back of his mind, a memory from a creature that was and wasn’t him. A memory of a girl frantically pacing through the empty parking lot for hours upon hours throughout the night.

Jordan leaned back, resting her head against the headrest. Her hands clenched around the steering wheel. Her eyes narrowed in focus. Chen could feel the exhaustion emanating from her. He was almost certain of why she was tired. He knew that terrors kept her up at night. But all he wanted for her to know was that she could sleep when he was around. He could keep those imaginary terrors at bay.

Carefully, Chen reached across the space between them and brushed his fingertips across her forehead. Jordan startled, eyes darting to Chen. Chen gave her a gentle smile before brushing him palm very gently across her eyelids. He covered her vision with his hand, trying to convey to her that it was safe when he was here. Jordan brushed his hand away, sending him a questioning stare. The corners of Chen’s mouth tugged up as he sent her a gentle smile, and carefully placed his palms against her eyelids again.

Chen was pleased to see that she seemed to get the message this time, as he felt the brush of her eyelashes against the skin of his hands. He gently withdrew his arm to find that her eyes were finally closed. Her body posture was still stiff, seemingly unwilling to let itself go. Chen shifted in the passenger seat for before running his fingers through her hair, returning the gesture that she had done so many times for him. She stiffened at first, but slowly, she found the same comfort in the motions and the tension leached from her shoulders. Gradually, her breaths evened out as she finally slipped into sleep.

Chen took a moment to examine her, pausing in his ministrations. The lids that hid eyes that glinted with intelligence and bravery. The scars on her arms, legs, and hands that were the trophies of the sufferings that she had overcome. The lips that tugged upwards into a smile that rivaled the glow of a sunset.

The hum magnified into a warm blossoming in his chest.

The warmth stuttered, however, as Jordan shuddered in her sleep. She jerked back and forth, head shaking. Chen resumed running his fingers through her hair, but it didn't soothe her; her fingers only clutched at her shirt while sweat began to bead on her forehead.

Chen didn't know how best to comfort her. Jordan, he could tell, was never one to admit her own weaknesses, and he didn't want to make her compromise that. He decided to take the route that he’d taken before, a route that worked consistently.

Chen ignored the aching and pain in his bones and reached over the center console to get to Jordan. His joints protested as he gently lifted her into his lap, carefully maneuvering her body over the center console. Chen tucked her head under his chin, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He pressed his cheek against her hair and let a rumbling purr escape. He wasn't particularly happy at the moment, but he knew that Jordan always seemed to lighten whenever she heard the sound.

He swayed back and forth, trying to pull her into a more peaceful sleep. He brushed his nose against her hair, closing his eyes to breathe in her scent.

Gradually, Jordan’s breaths evened out. Her fists unclenched and relaxed against Chen’s chest. The muscles in her face lost their tension until she leaned into Chen’s touch. Chen’s purring heightened, reveling in the close contact. He gently tightened his embrace, rested his cheekbone against Jordan’s hair and let himself succumb to sleep.

***

A great big thank you to Shooka24 for beta-ing. Thank you my dear for tolerating my excessive commas and typos. You are a lifesaver.

Special shoutout to: Shiningold for upvoting! Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!

Lastly, y'all. Please leave comments! I really want to know what you guys think. I want to know what you guys think is going to happen next, is the story moving too slow, do you want more of a certain character, what do you think I can improve? Literally, anything goes, I just want to know what you guys think. I live for comments, I really appreciate every single one of them!

Thank you so much for reading, I'll see you next update!