To any normal person, the amount of time that's passed so far would be nothing, just two seemless weeks of the same-old routine. There are many -- tens -- of weeks in a year. This is just another one flown by. 

To Kris, however, these weeks have been endless, far too lengthy for his liking. He wants time to stop just long enough for him to crack the code, to figure everything out. Two weeks have passed, and he's no closer to finding Tao than he was when first started. He hasn't gotten a single step closer to finding the man in two weeks, and it's driving him insane.

"Kris, I think you need to give it a rest. I know how badly you want to find him, and I respect that; but you've been going at it since he went missing. You need to feed, sleep, take a breather, just something that isn't this," he hears Joonmyeon say. The man is standing directly behind him, voice loud and clear, but Kris has a hard time understanding him. His thoughts are too noisy to comprehend the words his right-hand is saying.

"He's right, you know. You've been at it for more than a week straight and have already managed to push away everyone who's tried to help. I know you don't want to stop, but take a break. At this rate, even if we do manage to find him and bust him out of wherever, you're going to be too weak to do anything. Stop doing this to yourself," another, he registers it as Luhan after some thought, tries desperately, placing a gentle hand on his left shoulder. 

He blinks. And he blinks again. He chews on his thumb nail, like he always does when he's antsy and anxious, but doesn't make a move to abide by any of their requests. Are they stupid? He can't waste time with trivial things like that. Who knows what those kidnappers could be doing to his Tao? What if he ends up dead because he decided to take a stroll in the garden? What if they don't find him in time, and he ends up like Kyungsoo's own mate because he went to play with Minghao for a few moments? He can't stop. He won't.

"I know that look. I've known you for far too long to not know that look. I don't care if I have to drag you by your teeth; you need to get out of this room, and let us handle it! That's why we're here: to help you! Don't go trying to be Superman, because sad to say, you're not invicible. Even he has his weaknesses. So listen, Kris, and leave. Go do something other than drive yourself crazy by pacing and sitting in this room during all 24 hours of the day. Trust us for once, and let us share the burden."

Baekhyun's words put everyone else's pleas to shame, a cold silence sweeping the room as they all, minus the shorty with the scrutinizing gaze, cautiously eye their leader in fear. Kris is easy-going and usually never loses his cool, yes, but when as stressed, tensed, and anxious as he is at the current moment, yelling at him like Baekhyun just did has to have been a suicide mission. Had he not seen what he'd done to his own room when Tao was discovered to be missing? What in the hell is he thinking? Is he even thinking at all?

The harsh sound of a chair being scraped across the polished, wooden floor breaks them from their reverie, and all eyes turn to the reason behind the sound: their leader. 

His footsteps are loud as he crosses the room, though what shocks them is the fact that he isn't making his way over to Baekhyun to pummel him like they all expected. Instead, he's worldlessly making his way over to the menacing double doors of his study, grasping the handle of one in his colossal fist. He spares them a single glare, before he huffs in aggravation and leaves the room entirely, slipping out as if he were just a phantom in the night.

"Great job, Baek. You managed to make him more pissed than he already was," comes Sehun's snarky comment as he sighs and plops onto the arm of a leather sofa. He doesn't dare sit out of fear of ticking the fragile Kris off for something as small as unknowingly rubbing his scent on the cushions.  

"I only told him what he needed to hear. It worked, didn't it?" Baekhyun snaps in response, proudly folding his arms over his chest. 

"He's right, Sehun. Even though he made him angry, he still got Kris to listen. That's all that matters," Suho says as he steps between the two. Knowing them, it wouldn't take long for a full blown argument to break out. 

Chanyeol inches over to his restless mate and wraps a long arm around his waist. He feels the petite male relax in his hold as he releases a sigh through his nose, signifying that he's calmed down enough to have a civil conversation. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Luhan doing the same to Sehun, the more lanky of the two burrowing his nose into his mate's neck despite having to contort his elongated spine. 

"Moving on to more important matters then, we're all in agreement that this is definitely the work of the E.L.P, correct?" Suho starts once everyone is pacified and focused. 

"Who else could it possibly be? I mean, of course there are hunters and other clans that want us, but they haven't bothered us at all for quite some time, since the last scuffle. The E.L.P, on the other hand, have been chasing after us since I was turned and would do anything to get back at Kris. It only makes sense that it would be them," Chanyeol answers, shifting his weight from foot to foot as an uncalled for rush of adrenaline pumps through him.

"Right? And we can't forget those hunters that saw Kris with Tao that one day while they were on one of their little dates. They must be the reason Leeteuk knows about the latter's existence. That's the only way any of it adds up," adds Luhan.

"But that doesn't answer the question of where exactly they hid him. They've got tons of property under their name, so he could be literally anywhere in Korea. Surely they wouldn't hide him in the main estate, right? That would be too obvious, unless their plan is to lure Kris into a death trap." 

"They wouldn't do that. If the main estate falls, they fall with it, as we've already witnessed them do. That would mean that he's in one of their other hideaways. I would imagine it'd be in a congested city where it's hard to pick up scents or someplace extremely rural where little to no people live. We have to keep in mind that they feed quite wildly despite having numerous Chosen in every estate they own, and any place where they can easily blend in or hide is perfect for their habit." 

The room falls quiet as each swims in his own thoughts of where their new companion could possibly be. They honestly figured it'd be a walk in the park, finding Tao's location that is, if they simply just sat and reasoned their way through what they already knew, but it was proving to be much more challenging than the simple puzzle they were expecting. It's no wonder that the brains of their clan had thrown in the towel and called it quits after sitting in the conference room for hours on end with no result when they finally broke apart for some rest. 

"Can't they just be stupid again and be at the main estate? That'd be so much easier than doing this -- whatever this is. Even if we do decide on where they've hidden him, there's no telling that it's the right property unless we check for ourselves, and that's nearly as dangerous as picking a fight with Kyungsoo," Baekhyun whines as he throws his arms up in irritation, a frustrated grunt leaving his lips, "We're basically just going in circles. We're no better than those horrendous werewolves that chase their tails all day." 

"No kidding," Sehun agrees.

Their moment of chatter is broken though by Chanyeol, who was still lost in thought, minutes later when he snaps his fingers. His face is one of excitement, like he's just had the greatest epiphany in his entire immortal life.

"I know how we can find him, but I think you'll hate it," he mumbles, sinking his face into his mates soft head of caramel-colored hair.

"So what if we hate it? If it helps us find him, then we can deal with whatever it is that you've come up with, so spill!" 

"But, Baek, you're really not going to like this plan. Not in the least." 

"Look, Chan, I appreciate the concern, but if you figured out a way to straighten this mess out, then tell us! I can give my two s later."

Chanyeol cringes at the yelling in his ear and looks bashfully at the eyes glued to him. 

"Well, Tao has a scent, doesn't he? Our sense of smell is more hightened than a human's, but it couldn't possibly pick up on it if he's in some bustling city or if his captors have washed it away," he pauses to clear his throat, "However, vampires are not the only creatures living alongside the humans, and one in particular has a nose thousands of times better than ours would ever hope be." 

It's silent, when he's done talking. It stays like that, the other's faces twisted in confusion at what he's implying they do, until Baekhyun's shocked gasp breaks the trance.

"No. No, no, no. We are not asking them for help, Park Chanyeol. We don't even know any that would be willing to help us anyways, so it would never work. I refuse to work with mutts," he all but screams in his mate's face.

"Oh, come on, Baek. It's not that hard to find them; they live in the woods and the forests. We're literally surrounded by them! It wouldn't be that hard to find a pack. I don't even understand why you hate them so much. What happened to the promise of giving s later?" 

Sehun's face lights up in understanding, and ignoring Chanyeol's outburst completely, he says, "You want us to ask werewolves for help? Have you actually lost your mind?" 

"Apparently-" 

"There is no way Kris would agree to that, Chanyeol, and you know it."

"Unless he's desperate. And Kris is most definitely desperate right now. They might ask for some type of payment, but that's not a problem for us; this could work. Contrary to popular belief, Chanyeol's plan isn't as awful as we think," a smile spreads across Suho's face as he says this, and he sends an approving nod Chanyeol's way. 

"You can't be serious, Suho. They're mutts. Werewolves. We're enemies, for crying out loud! We'll end up killing each other, before we can even formulate any course of action!" 

"And Baek, we're mosquitoes, ticks. Vampires. Yes, we're enemies by nature, but that doesn't mean we can't work with them. As long as we're civil, that's all that matters." After a brief pause with no response, Suho turns to Baekhyun. "I do hope you can at least be civil with them, Baek." 

"Civil my . I refuse to work with overgrown dogs." 

The discussion is over when he storms out of the study, followed by Chanyeol who leaves to calm the irate vampire down before he let's his power loose and goes around snatching sight and scentencing people to darkness. An angry Baekhyun is not a Baekhyun anyone would like to have the pleasure of meeting.

"I guess we'll be working with them then. We should at least let Kris know before we go around calling over wolf packs," Luhan concludes as he moves to leave as well, Sehun attached to his side.

"I guess we will. I have a pack in mind that I'll send a group out to find. They live around here, so they shouldn't be too hard to reach."

"Or you could just leave them alone, and we can do this without their help," Sehun sneers.

"It won't be that bad to work with them, Sehun. They're just werewolves. It'll be fine." 

It would be fine. It would be fine, wouldn't it? They could work together without starting another war, right? 

They're appalled, really. A majority of them have been in the clan for years on end, yet they have never seen something as unbelievable as this. Even when the previous clan leader, one they cherished despite how harsh he tended to be, had perished, he hadn't shed a tear, so the sight is unsettling. Something must be wrong for this to happen, for their leader to sulk by himself out in the garden.

In all his years as leader, Kris was never one to cry, to show any sort of melancholy, yet here he is sulking by himself. He was always happy to play with the children that often times than not followed him whenever he was in the commons area, but today, said children sat curiously staring at the poor man through the glass door that allowed a person to stroll amogst the flowers their gardeners so carefully tended to. He was usually quiet and quite gruff, but he seemed even more silent lately, not even uttering a greeting to them when he finished his descent down the stairs.

Not once has he moved from his spot by a bush of vibrant winter-blooming camellias. 

No one dares to walk up to him and ask him what's wrong for the sake of his privacy and not acidentally angering him, so when a flurry of caramel hair, a clumsy giant, and a sighing Suho barge into the garden making a racket about who knows what, everyone freezes. 

"Kris, you can't let them do this!" Baekhyun shouts as he faces the taller, who seems hypnotized by the pink flowers.

Kris turns in his direction, ready to snap that he wants to be alone, but stops short when he registers the words that tumbled out of Baekhyun's mouth. 

"What exactly am I not letting them do?" he questions, clearly out of the loop.

Chanyeol reaches Baekhyun before he can say anything more and throws a hand over his mouth.

"Ignore him, please. Look, Kris, this might sound ridiculous, but it's one of our only options if we want to find Tao," he says, though it sounds strained, and Kris notices it's because Baekhyun has sunk his teeth into the hand preventing him from talking.

At the mention of a way to locate Tao, though, his face noticeably perks up, and he listens attentively to what Chanyeol has to say. He knows Chanyeol beats him in the smarts department, but how in the world had the man come up with a way to save Tao in a matter of the twenty some odd minutes Kris had left the study? 

"Baek, stop acting like a child, and let Chanyeol tell me what he came up with," he commands with hidden giddiness at the prospect of a plan that might work.

Chanyeol takes a deep breath before he speaks, "No matter how stupid it sounds, just hear me out, okay?" he waits for Kris to nod and says slowly, "I thought it would be a good idea to ask a pack to help us track down Tao's scent." 

If Chanyeol thought Sehun and Baekhyun's judgemental stares were terrifying, Kris' is the absolute worst. He feels like a madman from another century that's spouted the most ridiculous idea to world domination, and it makes him feel a bit idiotic. Kris obviously isn't buying the plan he's trying to sell.

"Are you insane? They're our enemy, Yeol. We can't trust them to help us with something so important. No, I'm afraid that this plan is immensely stupid. There is no way I'm going to let that even come close to happening, and you know this." 

"But Kris --"

"No, Chanyeol. As smart as you are, I can't believe this is all you came up with. They'll ask for payment, Yeol; they'll want something in return, and I can guarantee that. Having to deal with greedy mutts at a time like this helps no one. Besides that, we simply don't get along. I'd rather prefer not to throw out a bunch of dead dogs." 

"That's not the poi --"

"Yeol, I already said no." 

"Will you quit inter --"

"Yeol, I said no."

"Kris, if you would stop interupting me for all of five seconds, I can explain everything to you!" Chanyeol shouts, and it's clear as day that he's more than just pissed off at the older, who slightly cowers at his luminescent, red face and tightly balled fists. Kris has never seen the other so angry. 

Once Chanyeol realizes that Kris won't try to speak again, he begins, "Sorry to say, but you really need to get over the stick shoved up your . I know you want to find him, but now isn't the time to be so damn stubborn. Before you so rudely cut me off, I was trying to say that they're more useful than you think. As much as you hate to admit it, they're a bit superior to us. The nose of a werewolf is thousands of times better than a vampire's and can point out the faintest scent, Tao's scent. And werewolves actually care about the others of their kind, when they're not fighting for territory. Each pack is interconnected somehow, and if we can negotiate a payment, we can have both their nose and their connections at our disposal to narrow down Tao's location. Suho agreed, didn't you, Suho?" 

Suho flinches when Kris' questioning gaze snaps onto his smaller form. He feels a strong urge to deny anything Chanyeol has said about him, but he can't do that. As bad and reckless as it sounds, it's their best and only bet at getting closer to finding Tao. They have to at least try if they wanted to get anywhere with this search. Besides, he couldn't just abandon Chanyeol like that and let everyone believe he is actually crazy.

"It's not as bad of an idea as you think, Kris. It's been two weeks. In those weeks, this is the only plan we've come up with. Do you honestly want to waste more time trying to formulate something that has a low probability of working when we've got one right in front of us that could get us where we want to be much sooner? I know you don't like them, but give them a chance. Who knows? It could work, for all we know. Don't pass this up just because of some petty, natural rivalry. This could be our only shot." 

It takes a minute to fully sink, but Kris is sold. The mere thought of having to deal with a bunch of meat-eating mutts angers him, but Joonmyeon and Chanyeol have a point. It could take them another week, two weeks, three weeks, to come up with something else that would bring them closer to finding Tao. Not only that, but their cooperation could warrant for an alliance in the future, and an alliance with a werewolf pack, of all things, could help them in a million ways and one -- now that he thought about it anyways. Even if he didn't like it, this is all they have, and for all he knows, it really can work. This can help him find Tao. This can allow him to have him in his arms again.

When Baekhyun sees Kris slowly agreeing, his temper flares.

"You can't seriously be agreeing to this, Kris. Vampires are vampires. Werewolves ae werewolves. They're not supposed to mix! They don't mix! Bringing them some shiny peace offering so that they can do our job won't change the fact that we just don't get along!" he yells, capturing everyone's, even the other clan members, attenton.

"Doesn't mean we can't try. Joonmyeon, I'm assuming you've already sent a group to find a pack?" 

Suho stutters, "N-no, sir. I have a pack in mind that I've heard a lot about; I'll send one immidiately to find it. Should I have them lead the wolves to the estate?" 

"Yes. And bring them to the conference room. We'll need to negotiate as soon as possible if we want to put our plan into action. Speaking of, thank you, Chanyeol. Like I said, you'd make a much better leader any day." 

The group disperses to carry out their individual tasks, Suho gathering a team to search the forests surrounding their estate, Luhan calming down those who witnessed the tiny dispute, Sehun assisting Suho much to his chagrin, and Chanyeol trying to comfort Baekhyun as much as he can without getting himself injured again (Baekhyun's teeth are no joke). 

Kris impatiently paces his room after the whole ordeal, biting his thumb nail as he does. 

He honestly just hopes this works. He just wants Tao back, to put his mind at ease. 

But he mostly just wants Tao. 

Another chapter done ^^ Also, so that there's no confusion as to why I switch between Suho and Joonmyeon, it's because Kris prefers to call him by his given name, since they're much closer to each other than the others who just refer to him as Suho. Anyways though, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please do comment on what you think or any of your ideas for future chapters ^^