That night, Wonsik could not  sleep.

How could he sleep after what he had seen and what he had done?

When the sun came up, there was a commotion throughout the whole werewolf settlement.

The Alpha was back and he was gravely injured.

Wonsik ran out of the house, only to meet the second-in-command of the pack, Lee Jeongmin.

“ How’s the Alpha?”, Wonsik asked as politely as possible. Jeongmin knew that the younger werewolf was impatient for an answer and without the Alpha or Hakyeon to calm him down, he doubted he could control Wonsik even with his position.

“ He’s fine. He’s not going to die. He just need to rest. His wounds could heal in time so you don’t need to worry. Umm, Wonsik, do you hear anything unusual last night?”.

“ Like what?”.

“ So you don’t hear anything”. Jeongmin frowned with confusion. He leaned down and whispered in Wonsik’s ear.

“ Something weird happened during last night patrol”.

“ Weird how?”, Wonsik asked calmly but inside he was afraid that his secret would be found out.

“ The hunters changed their strategy and managed to split us up. Usually, if we split up, we will hide ourselves and wait for the Alpha’ s howl to regroup. But there’s no howl at all. When the Alpha howls, it could be heard miles away but sometimes only  a selected  few can hear it according to the Alpha’s choice. That’s why I ask you, thinking if you hear anything that we did not hear”.

The Alpha did howled last night. But Wonsik could not tell that to Jeongmin.

“No, I’m sorry but I did not hear anything”, Wonsik felt guilty to lie at Jeongmin but he had no choice.

The Alpha himself told him to keep quiet.

Hey, have you seen Hakyeon?”, Jeongmin asked, focusing on another topic.

The boy stiffened, he did not know if Hakyeon had return or not. He did not mean for Hakyeon to follow him.

“ I’ll find him. He  must have gotten lost in the wood again”, Wonsik gave a sheepish grin before running away.

Wonsik knew of one place Hakyeon would go for safety outside the werewolves’ territory. He hoped he is safe.

When he reached the cave, he sighed with relief seeing Hakyeon safe and sound.

Then, his good mood was soured when Hakyeon told him about the two human that the Alpha had specially ordered him to take to safety.

They argued about the matter but Hakyeon could be a bit persuasive so he relented to his choice.

Now, they were walking to the Alpha’s house with the duo in tow. The older of the two seemed to be suspicious of them while the younger was reeking the scent of fear and nervousness.

Hakyeon tried to calm them down by talking to them on the way but when they entered the settlement, Wonsik could not blame them to be unnerved from all the stares they were getting.

It’s rare for them to see humans in the woods and they all talked among themselves with many speculations.

Wonsik knocked on the door of the Alpha’s house and Jeongmin opened it, his eyes widened at the sight of the two humans. He quickly ushered them inside and demanded an explanation.

“ I think we better talk about this with the Alpha present”, Wonsik said with a confident voice, hoping that Jeongmin would listen to his opinion.

Jeongmin sighed and without a word, he brought the four boys into a room. Inside it, there laid the a man who was lying on the bed with his eyes closed.

Wonsik gasped, not believing that the Alpha could be beaten down this bad.

His gasp caused the resting man to wake up and when he saw the people in his room, he gave out a small amused laugh before gesturing to Wonsik and Hakyeon to tell the truth.

“ They are right, Jeongmin though I’m truly sorry for not informing you earlier. But at that time I need you to focus on dealing the hunters’ situation during the split and also for my brief absence. I must really praised you last night for doing an excellent job leading the others in my stead and I feel better to know I have someone I can trust. ”, the Alpha said after the explanation.

“ It’s ok, Alpha. I know that you keep only keep secrets when necessary. But next time, if you decide to do something alone and get hurt like this again, I’ll give you a smack in the head for being an idiot, you know, just like the good old days”, Jeongmin said with a smile.

The Alpha laughed and then he looked at Hakyeon and Wonsik who both were trying to not look at him in the eyes.

“ Luckily the two rascals were there to save the humans but I have to remind you Jeongmin to keep an extra eye on those two. I will not having them in the way of the danger.”

Wonsik froze, noticing the way he said humans.

 Hakyeon saved two. He could have said two but he chose the word humans and that could mean anything to Wonsik.

He could not dare to think of the possibility of the Alpha knowing of his actions last night.

The Alpha then turned his gaze to Taekwoon and Sanghyuk and gave them a warm smile.

 “As for Taekwoon and Sanghyuk, I want you to know that the deal is not off. You both entered the woods during daytime but unfortunately got lost so it is my responsibility to ensure your safety. There will be no punishment on both of you and your village but you must secretly report this to your village leader.  Jeongmin, can you go to the kitchen with Taekwoon and Sanghyuk and give them something to eat and drink? I’m sure they are starving. I still need to talk to Wonsik and Hakyeon so you can leave first.”

The three said people exited the room leaving Wonsik and Hakyeon in the room with the Alpha who let out a sigh after the door was closed.

“ First thing first, Wonsik, you know how dangerous it is sneaking off last night especially with the hunters around. I told you to stay at home but as usual you did not listen to me. Now, tell me why Hakyeon is there too?”.

“ I did not ask him to follow me. But he would not let me go alone. Somehow we got seperated and then things happened and “, Wonsik stopped, not wanting to tell his secret.

“ It’s true, sir. It’s also my fault for not trying harder to stop him and stick with him in the woods”, Hakyeon quickly filled in the silence, not knowing that he gave Wonsik extra time to keep on hiding his own secret.

The Alpha shook his head.

“ Well, it’s all in the past. But both of you must not repeat this. As for your punishment, you need to Taekwoon and Sanghyuk untill they reach their village.”

 Both him and Hakyeon was surprised with the verdict. But the Alpha just ignored their surprised looks and continued on talking.

“ I predict that the hunters will not come back anytime sooner and it’s quicker if you move in a small group. Besides, this is the chance you are waiting for, Wonsik, to prove that you can be responsible with your actions.  I suggest you stop by the socerrer’s house. He’s out for a trip but I believe his apprentice will gladly help you. One more thing, use the Old Witch’s path. It’s quicker but be careful as always.”

The Alpha pointed at a table near the window. On it, was a letter.

“ Hakyeon, I recieved the letter yesterday morning and I need to you to read it so I can know what your response is”.

Hakyeon took the letter and Wonsik could not stop himself from reading over his friend’s shoulder. He was so immersed in what was written that he did not notice him.

He quickly stepped back as Hakyeon ripped the letter apart. He looked at the Alpha straight in the eyes and with a cold tone he said :

“ No.”, he burst out of the room and Wonsik tried to follow him but the Alpha was not done with him yet.

“ Wonsik, I know what you did last night”, he froze and he turned around to see the Alpha smiling sadly at him.

“ I know your reasons but I told you to do it anyway but you disobeyed. He did not mean to hurt me, you know. Now go out and finish your task. But remember Wonsik. Sometimes the things you did can come back to you. You can leave now and be careful....son”.

“ Yes, father”, Wonsik replied before closing the door.

A/N Hi. Sorry for this late update. I also need to apologise in advance for irregular updates in the future.

I will also like to say thank you for everyone who had read, subscribed and commented on this story.

It gave me the support I need to continue on with this story.

If there's anything I can improve on my writing, please leave a comment below.

For When a Starlight Imagines, I will try to my best to update it so please wait for me. Hehehehe.

That's all from me. See you later.

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