COUNTDOWN: 27 DAYS TO FULL MOON #3

It had taken two days less than last time for Kita to get back to normal. Whether that was because her body was getting used to healing magical injuries or she’d been more controlled in using it, she wasn’t sure. She was sat at the breakfast bar, waiting for D.O. to let her help making breakfast even though he seemed set on doing it all himself. He was humming as he worked, his melodious voice calm and effortless as he chopped green onions. It was almost putting Kita to sleep, until a nagging suspicion starting creeping along her ribs like an unwanted insect. It was sharp, like each leg dug into her a little before moving on, and Kita had her hand on her chest pondering what was going on when Baekhyun skid to a hectic stop at the kitchen door to force out a terrifying sentence.

“Kai says there’s vamps.”

D.O. immediately dropped the onions and ran out of the kitchen after him, Kita hot on his heels as they head to the back barn to arm up.

“What’s she doing here?” Kris was in full on alpha-mode as he looked at her. “You’re not coming, not this time.”

“He’s right,” Suho jumped down from the hayloft, “last time was just a couple ogres, this could be a whole pack of vamps, it’s not safe.”

“But-”

“You just recovered, we don’t want you taking risks and getting injured again. Go back in the house and into the basement, you’ll be safest there. Go into the library if you need to, no one but us can get in there.” Lecture finished, Suho jogged off to grab a blade as long as his forearm, and Kita bit back a shiver at how comfortable he looked holding it.

“Hey.” Kai was in front of her now, his eyes big and understanding at her reluctance to stay behind. “We’ve got this, it’s our job remember? The last thing we want is you getting hurt because of us. We’ll finish them off and be back here before you know it.” He smiled and ruffled her hair, laughing at the mess he made before jogging off to where Kris was calling for him. Then they were all gone, and Kita was left only with the acrid smell of exhaust fumes for company.

She went back inside the house, but chose to return to the kitchen. She wasn’t about to lock herself in the basement like a coward while they were all out fighting. She gingerly picked up the knife that D.O. had been using, and set about chopping the green onions he had left unfinished. Her cuts were much slower, and the pieces were uneven and haphazard when compared to D.O.’s even slices, but she wasn’t really used to actually making food. Her mother was a spectacular cook, but Kita had never really managed to replicate the ability.

She was glad that D.O. had already placed all the food he was using on the side of the counter, all she had to do was chop it and fry it. She was in the middle of peeling mushrooms when the uneasy feeling returned in her gut. It was like ants were crawling in her veins, venomous stinging, itching and spreading over her body. She resisted putting the food down, desperate to scratch at her ribs, knowing that the itching wasn’t real but she just wasn’t sure what it was. Could it be magic related? But she didn’t see how, she’d recovered from her injuries from creating the flower (which was still just as frail but at least still standing).

But it was still spreading, over her shoulders and twitching down her biceps. She breathed, grasping the handle of the knife, flexing her fingers along the handle. Her hand jittered, and she slowly put the knife down on the counter. What was wrong with her?

The counter was cool, a beautiful contrast to the way her skin was burning. She wanted to move around to the chairs but her stomach was churning. The air in front of her was spinning, changing colours like some king of erse bubbles. She felt sick, bracing both hands on the counter to keep herself steady. Her breathing was getting faster, shallower, needing more and more air like she was running herself dry even when she remained standing. She kneeled to the ground, there was no one around to see her anyway.

The colours in her vision were fading, receding to the edges and dancing there. But it was not the end, for now she was seeing sharpened lines that she hadn’t seen before; grooves where there had only been roughness, markings where there had only been shadows. The onions, had they always been this pungent? The birds, had they always sang so loud?

She raised her hands to cover her ears, squeezing her eyes shut, folding over on herself to try and shut out everything she was feeling and seeing. It was an overwhelming assault on her senses, everything higher than she was capable of.

But there was still a ringing in her ears like rushing water and clanging metal, lights were still flashing behind her eyelids, a bitter taste was prevalent on her tongue and she realised it was blood. The pricking on her skin was still there, now jumping over her skin like sparks of adrenaline. And in this state, the sharp pain that shot down her forearm was intense. Almost as bad as the magical injures she’d recently sustained, but when she cracked open her eyes to look, there was nothing there. Her arm was exactly as it had been an hour ago, no sign of injury whatsoever. And when she moved it there was no difference in pain, it was constant and throbbing, twitching every now and then.

She wanted out, she wanted to get rid of this pain, these sensations, and the answer came to her like salvation.

Magic.

Almost instinctively, she sunk down into herself, feeling around for the comfort of her magic. Her river wasn’t running smoothly like it usually did, it was like a storm being pulled by a vicious wind, but only in one direction.

West.

Where the pack was.

Where Kai was.

                She knew it was him, it was Kai. He was doing something out there with the vampires. And somehow, her magic was linked to him. His playful blue was threading through her magic, even without physical contact, but his magic too was hectic and that was what sparked her into action.

                She gripped the magic, pulling back harshly on it, slowing it down. Her first attempt barely made an impact, her own magic bolstering with Kai’s and running rampant like wild animals. Her second attempt was more successful, and she felt the magic slowing, both hers and Kais.

                She felt results immediately, the ringing in her ears lowering, the lights dimming behind her eyes, the pain lowering just a smidge in her arm. With progress and time, she brought her sense almost back to normal. They were still a little heightened, but she decided not to focus on that because it actually seemed to be helping her focus on what was going on.

                She let her head fall back against the cupboards, only now registering the sheen of sweat covering her skin.

                What on earth was Kai doing?

***

                 Kai was standing only by the strength of Sehun and D.O. holding him on his feet. His head was ringing, piercing notes in his ears and burning lights in his eyes.

                Vampire venom didn’t seem to sit well with a werewolf system.

                He’d barely seen it coming, the set of fangs sinking into his forearm being his first warning that things had taken a turn for the worse. Luckily, Lay had been there to rip the creature off and Suho had thrown Kai behind him, dealing with the next vamp to lunge itself at the newly weakened pack member. Baekhyun had taken place in front of him then, never moving until the group was subdued. It was obvious to his pack that something was severely wrong with Kai, and that it was more than just the venom searing through his veins.

                He didn’t know what had come over him, but it had hit him like a wave, thrashing his senses until he couldn’t tell right from left. He remembered his vision darkening as he staggered to his knees, vivid colours dancing along the edges. He could hear, he could see, and the clarity of it all hit him like a pile of bricks, because he knew this. He remembered it, how could he not when it filled his dreams and waking thoughts every full moon.

                After all, the senses of a wolf were not easily surpassed, and even less easily forgotten.

                He could feel magic pouring through his body, in a way he’d never been able to recognise before. But it was moving far more quickly than ever, and he felt his pulse rising with it-

                Until calm tendrils of white and gold thread throughout his body, slowing his racing heart and reigning in his magic.

                Kita.

                His body warmed at the thought of her, he could practically feel her tiny palms pressing on his chest, passing her magic to him as a source of strength. And he felt better, stronger, like he was the wolf again but without the wild ferocity.

                He focused his eyes on his pack again, looking past D.O. and Baekhyun’s worried eyes to see Kris stood over the last remaining vamp who had been forced to his knees and held there by Xiumin and Lay.

                “There’s more of us, more than you’ll be able to deal with that’s for sure.” The vampire shot a cocky smirk to the wolves surrounding him, shooting a wink at Kai “especially if you have such weak pups among you.”

                Kris didn’t waste a second, chopping the head clean from its shoulders and kicking it to Chanyeol who tossed it onto the fire with the rest of the corpses. Kai could feel the frustration radiating from his Alpha, and realised that the conversation may have been continuing before he tuned into it.

Kai might not have heard the whispered discussions around him, had it not been for his enhanced hearing. But he did, and it made him feel for the tendrils of her magic, because the vampires had been looking for her.

                 He ran home, outpacing all of his pack and slamming the front door open, following the yearning that pulled him to the kitchen where he found the Fey sat on the floor leaning against the counters, catching her breath. Without a thought, he let his legs crumble beneath him, to lay there with her, curling his body around hers and feeling his heart rate slow.

                And he knew, in the back of his mind, that magic really had nothing to do with it. Not this time.

                This was something else entirely.