He waited in the darkness, getting ready to strike the group of boys coming his way.
He grinned with anticipation, targeting the weakest member in the group : the tanned boy who could not stop talking.
He knew that attacking the werewolf first won't be as satisfying as his first target and the two new people following them had no special aura. That caught his attention but he would not take the risk of attacking them for there were too many unknowns.
In the end, he decided on the first target and he quickly muttered a spell.

"Ouch!!! Hakyeon hyung, why do you have to neck-chop me?", the attacker whined.

"Yah! You think it's funny to just suddenly materialised out of nowhere and dropped on me? I almost had a heart attack and it did not help that you are heavy!", Hakyeon nagged at the boy who had  brown hair and a large grin and he was dressed in a dark blue robe.

" First, I'm not that heavy and second, I was planning to appear behind you but I still can't do that simple teleportation spell".

It's ok, Jaehwan. You are going to get it someday", Hakyeon pat his back for comfort but Jaehwan's focus had shifted to Wonsik.

"Wonsikkie, long time no see!!! I really miss you. Yah, why did you not visit me? It's been so long", Jaehwan enveloped the werewolf into a squishing hug.
"Awww, Jaehwan hyung. It's not that long. We last met two days ago", Ravi grunted but he was smiling.
"How is your cute sister? Still having boyfriend problems? If so, I can be the perfect guy for her".
Ravi quickly let him go and glared at him. He laughed before he assured Ravi that he will not be going near his beloved sister.

It was then Jaehwan noticed the two newcomers, one was a boy with a cold expression looking at him blankly while the other one with a cute chubby face with curiousity and amazement in his eyes.
"Hi!! What's your names? Where are you from? I certainly had never see you guys before. Why did both of you don't have any auras? Are you guys humans?".

"Wow, Jaehwan. One question at a time. Yes, they are humans which is why it is a good reason for you to take it slow with your magic around them and I think it's better if we talk inside your house", Hakyeon said.

When they entered the house, Jaehwan chided himself for not tidying the house. Books were everywhere and bottles and flasks of many sizes scattered around the huge room.

However, the mess did not bother him and his brother because they both were too busy making potions and practicing spells to notice it. Besides, the cluttered feeling around him gave him a sense of comfort because only he and his brother knew where their things were and it could be fetch by a click of a finger.

But his brother had drilled him to master the tidying spell for their place was always visited by other creatures who wanted to buy a potion or request some magical help.

He chanted the tidying spell and all the books flew to their respective places in the ceiling-reaching shelves and the potions were neatly arranged on a huge table which served as a counter.

When he turned around, he saw the two humans looking at everything with wide eyes. Hakyeon and Wonsik  had already sat on the sofa, both of them looking deep in thought.
Jaehwan sighed and clapped his hands. Plates and cups flew from the kitchen and landed on a table in front of them. Jaehwan frowned in concentration and a huge bronze pot and jug made their way to the middle of the table.

" You guys can sit now", he told the staring duo and they slowly took their seat on the sofa.

"Hehehehe, watch this ", Jaehwan said with a huge smile as he opened the pot. Inside it was a big and juicy steak.
Taekwoon immediately leaned forward but to his disappointment, the steak magically flew to Wonsik's plate which snapped Wonsik and Hakyeon back to reality.
"Sorry Taekwoon. That steak was specially for Wonsik", Jaehwan apologised before closing the pot .

" Just now, when I opened the pot, I was thinking about Wonsik and the food he wanted now which is steak, no wonder, will appear in the pot. The jug also functions the same way", Jaehwan explained while gesturing to the jug which was now filling Wonsik's cup with coffee.

"Let's see what Hakyeon hyung wants", he opened the pot again and they saw it was rice ball and honey-covered chips.
"Seriously, hyung", Wonsik mumbled with his mouth full.
Hakyeon just smiled but that quickly vanished when he saw the jug moving towards his cup.
He slowly pushed it away and Jaehwan understood the reason why but he could not help himself from being miffed. If he wants to drink, then he should but Jaehwan just ignored it and focused on the two amazed humans.

Taekwoon wasted no time opening the pot and a small smile appeared on his lips when his plate was filled with delicious-looking pasta and a whitish foamy liquid. which he had never seen before. It smelled like coffee but he and his brother only drinks the regular black coffee with extra sugar of course.

"Latte", Taekwoon simply replied before digging in. Jaehwan was shocked to hear his soft voice which was a contrast to his appearence. It appeared that Jaehwan had a lot more to learn on reading people but Taekwoon's voice was really interesting.

Before you call him a creep, he likes to study about sounds but mostly voices. Usually people would assume that the eyes are windows to the soul. He did not say it is wrong but he thinks people's voices also had their distinct characteristics that could reveal who they are. Whenever a customer comes, he would sometimes closes his eyes and focuses on their voice.

His brother on the other hand did not think much about his interest. He never tried to stop him but he would always try to prevent him from going outside because it was too dangerous for him. As he got older, he really wanted to explore the outside world so they compromised with weekly visits to the werewolves settlement which was closest to them and his brother had a good relationship with the Alpha because of their guardianship status. Yes, his brother was one of the protecters of the woods. Another reason was his closest friend are Hakyeon and Wonsik lives there. Through them, he learned a lot about the other creatures of the woods and also befriended a few of them.

" Hyukkie!! What's wrong?", Hakyeon's loud voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked at the situation and was surprised to see the pot empty. Sanghyuk, who was holding the lid, was fidgeting nervously and there was a guilty look in his eyes. Jaehwan had seen that look before. It was how he look like everytime he fails to perform a spell in front of his brother.

Jaehwan just smiled and gently put his hands on Sanghyuk's, closing the pot again.

" Hyukkie, can I call you Hyukkie?", Sanghyuk just nodded wordlessly.

" It's ok. Just focus on what you want to eat or drink. It will appear. Don't worry. It's your meal and you should have what you like".

After another try, Sanghyuk succeeded and was happily eating the gopchang with a cup of orange juice beside his plate.

" Ok, you are telling me that you have to Taekwoon and Sanghyuk to their village, using the Old Witch's road and you need my navigation crystal which I had gave to both of you months ago", Jaehwan paced arond the living room after everyone had finished their meal.

" Yes and we are both sorry to lost it but we do really need it again. You don't want us to get lost in this huge forest, right?", Hakyeon tried to explain before being interupted by a scoff from Wonsik.

" Well, you  sure didn't look sorry when you gave it to that nymph, Jinwoo".

" He needed it at that time and I did not lost mine because I lost it in my messy room".

" Stop it!! Fine, I'll make some more and I'm going to make six", Jaehwan spoke up, trying to stop those two from bickering.

" Why six?", Sanghyuk asked with his hand raised.

"I want to give one each and I will also follow you guys. The extra one will be used for emergencies".

" You are coming?", Wonsik asked with surprise in his voice.

" Yes and I'll not take 'no' for an answer. So you guys can sit at the waiting room or go outside. I had some magical crystals to make".

He only packed a few things, having a magical backpack has its perks. After he squeezed everything into it, he checked on the crystals and was satisfied that they had formed perfectly and were ready to be used.

" Are you okay, Jaehwannie?", a familiar voice came from the door of the cluttered room.

" Of course I am. My brother is not here to stop me from going and I am looking forward to travel with you guys", he turned around and smiled at Hakyeon.

" Okay but if there's any problem, you tell me, okay?", Hakyeon tentatively asked, the concern in his eyes had lessen but it was still there.

" Are you okay, hyung? You and Wonsik were quiet just now".

Hakyeon sighed while rubbing his temples.

" Wonsik had done something and the Alpha knew about it. I don't know much about that but what I do know is that I hope this escorting task can open up his mind about humans".

" Well, I knew he had some bad past with them but Taekwoon and Sanghyuk? Even though Taekwoon looks scary, I still think he is a nice person and you can't think twice about Sanghyuk. He's a sweetie. But enough about Wonsik. What about you?".

" I received a letter from THEM, telling me this and that. I think they are stupid because there's no way I'm leaving", Hakyeon's eyes hardened and it was enough to send chills to his spine. Hakyeon was always bright and it was really rare to see him really angry.

Unfortunately, anything related to THEM was enough to rile him up. Jaehwan clicked his fingers and a jug and a cup flew into his hands. He gave the already-filled  cup to him and that drink managed to make him feel better.

" But it is near the time, right? I know you are scared and hurt but just know that I'll always be your friend. But why don't you tell Taekwoon and Sanghyuk? If you tell them, then you won't be embarassed enough to refuse my delicious drink".

" I don't want to scare them. They had gone through a lot. If you are done packing, let's go outside. I left poor Hyukkie watching Taekwoon and Wonsik playing football against each other and I don't want it to end with a brawl. Taekwoon is smiling when Wonsik challenged him to play and that smile does not look good".

" Oh, so that ball is his. He must really love it to bring it all the way here. Anyway, relax hyung. What could possibly happen?".

Then they heard a crash and a scream. They quickly went outside.

Jaehwan thought that both Taekwoon and Wonsik had gone into a wrestling match until he realised Taekwoon was silently standing far from the two wrestling figures, with a terrified Sanghyuk behind him.

"YOU LEFT ME TO DIE!!! YOU ARE A MONSTER!!! A MONSTER!!!", shouted the attacker.

Wonsik easily push him off and was about to transform when Jaehwan quickly chanted a stun spell on the attacker, not wanting anyone to get hurt.

Hakyeon rushed towards Wonsik, who looked in shock while Jaehwan braved himself to go near the attacker, who was starting to lose consciousness.

It was a boy, dressed in black. He had multiple scratches on his arms and legs and bruises on his face. But what shocked Jaehwan the most was the choker on his neck.

" Noona,noona, sorry Bin can't go home now, I'm sorry", was the words Jaehwan heard before the boy in front of him closed his eyes.