To be completely honest, he is thoroughly bored to death by this plan. It was much too bland for his taste, and his part in it was too easy for his skill level. He was above what they were asking him to do, and it annoyed him that they gave him the most boring role of it all because he was "still young" and "didn't have enough experience". Sometimes, he questions his choice in joining this clan when they all they do is treat him like a baby he most definitely is not. 

"-ry. Have you even been listening to anything we've said?" he faintly registers his "boss" say. 

In his eyes, Leeteuk was no boss. He was a weak, spineless fool that couldn't do his own dirty work. To be frank, if Leeteuk wasn't the sole blood relative of the previous leader, there was no way he would ever get to sit at the head of this table in that stupid throne of his, telling everybody what to do and when to do it. He's surprised he managed to stay so long and not knock the man off of his pedestal to take for himself (he's thought about it multiple times though).

"Why should I? You never seem to listen to me when I have something to say," he snappily responds. 

"That is no way to speak to your leader! Do you want to get punished?" 

He scoffs at the rhetorical question, crossing his arms as he leans back in his chair. Like they'd ever lay a finger on him. He was too powerful, too strong for them to handle, especially when he got angry. They wouldn't dare "punish" him if they valued staying alive. 

A brief silence overtakes the conference room they're settled in, the people involved shifting their eyes from one person to the next, hoping someone speaks up and continues the meeting to relieve the awkwardness that had taken over. 

"As I was saying, we'll send our youngest to infiltrate their estate since he's new, and they won't recognize him as being a part of our clan. All you have to do is get in, take the boy, and sneak out undetected," Leeteuk says. 

"And after that?" Kyuhyun, the only one of the lot of them that he actually likes, comments, head cocked in confusion. 

"We wait. It won't take long for them to notice that Tao's gone. And if the information we have is correct, Kris won't hesitate to go on a rampage looking for him," 

Around the room, the others nod their head in agreement to the plan, but he can't help but find it absolutely stupid and full of flaws. If anything, Leeteuk was asking for them to get killed, and he was not about to sit by and let that happen - at least, he was not about to let this idiot put him in danger because of something as moronic as this. 

"This plan is such bull," he says, bravely voicing his opinion.

"Excuse me?"

"Kris isn't the you think he is. He's not going to blindly rush into an enemy's estate to find his mate knowing that said enemy is out to kill him nor will he leave Tao's side knowing that we're looking to kidnap him. If anything, he's going to up the security and stay by his side as much as he can. And it's all no thanks to Eunhyuk's stupidity-"

"Watch your mouth," 

"-that whatever you're trying to do is going to epicly fail. Now, if Mr. Motor Mouth would have just kept his lips together and did his job like he was supposed to, there would have been a slightly bigger chance of actually succeeding. Let's be real here; you need a better idea, because if you try to win with this bull, you're going to ultimately lose. Again," 

From the corner of his eye, he sees a lithe body rise from its seat and lunge at him, though it efficiently misses thanks to his quick reflexes. 

The man, who he identified as an angered Heechul, speedily walks up to him and buries his fist in the collar of his shirt.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You have no right to talk to any of us that way. If you're given an order, you go through with it, no questions asked. We don't need you mouthing off to us every time we tell you to do something, especially when we're your elders. What you say now is completely irrelevant to us; it doesn't and won't change a thing,"

"You know what? Fine. I'll go along with your idiotic idea. And when everything backfires, don't say I didn't warn you. Enjoy the peace while you can, because it's not going to last for very long. Good-ing-bye," 

With that, he twists himself out of his elder's clutches and storms out of the room, making a point to slam the door behind him. 

He was going to show them that he wasn't some weakling, that he was nothing like the thoughts that they had of him. He will not continue to let them stomp all over him because he was the youngest. 

He was bigger than all of them could ever hope to be, and he'd make sure they knew. 

"He still hasn't woken up?" 

Kris had been in the middle of fussing over a still unconsious Tao, when Kyungsoo burst into his room, quietly sauntering over to the bed and peering down at the younger man.

"Hasn't opened an eye for three days," he responds, patting down Tao's slightly rumpled, fading red hair.

"That's really odd. Vampire or human, it doesn't take long to wake up after Eunhyuk uses his compulsion," 

That was indeed very much true. Eunhyuk's compulsion had the side-effect of knocking people out in order for the given order to actually be carried out. While the compulsion lasted for however long the controller wanted, it didn't take but a few minutes to a few hours to wake up from the forced sleep. Never had he seen someone stay unconsious for so long after Eunhyuk used his power, and if he was honest, it scared him. 

"Maybe this is what Eunhyuk wanted," Kyungsoo voices as he gazes at the IV drip running nutrients into Tao's dormant body. 

"Come again?" 

"It's just a thought, but what if he compelled Tao to just sleep? It makes more sense than him ordering him to do anything else," 

"I know you're smart, but in what light does any of this make sense?" 

"It may sound stupid that there's reason to this madness-"

"Stupid is an understatement,"

Kyungsoo pauses to shoot him a chilling glare for his interuption before continuing.

"-but I've been thinking about this since we brought him here. Eunhyuk made it clear that his goal, or E.L.P's goal as a whole, is to kidnap Tao and bring him to their clan's estate," 

"Okay? And your point is?" 

"I've done a lot of kidnapping jobs since I've been in this clan, and I know that it's a -ton easier to carry out a body if it can't fight back. The fact that he came for Tao and knew who he was shows that he's aware of him being a martial artist that will - or at least will try - kick for his freedom; there's no way that he could possibly do that if he's unaware of what's going on around him. I know that this is just a superficial explanation, but it's the only logical thing I can come up with," 

Kris knew there was a reason that Kyungsoo was his go-to for just about everything; he came up with near perfect solutions to every sticky situation and always managed to bust out the best answers for every question that needed them. What he'd said made a lot more sense than every theory Kris managed to come up with in the lengthy, three-day period, and the fact that his subordinate always seemed to outdo him in almost everything they did made him feel a bit foolish. 

"You may be right, but as you said, it's only superficial. Knowing E.L.P, this isn't the only thing they have planned. There's more to this than Eunhyuk compelling Tao to sleep," 

"I know that, Kris, and I've been trying to figure out the possibilities of what they could do. I already ruled out the idea of them breaking in to take him. They're not the type to do something like that, so there's no chance of them showing up at random to ambush us," 

"Whatever it is they've got in store is more complicated than we think it is," 

"We'll be ready when the time comes. Tao doesn't know us, and we don't know him, but we're willing to fight for his safety. We all know how much a mate means to a person. I'd personally hate to see you lose him like I did my own,"

Kris can see that there's obviously more Kyungsoo wants to say that he chooses not to voice. He knows that the topic of mates is a sensitive one for the younger and that if he were to continue speaking about the subject, he'd more than likely break just like he did during the meeting they had about a month back. It made him feel guilty that he had a mate to love and cherish while Kyungsoo's was gone, just a pile of ashes they buried years ago. 

Not wanting to continue the much too serious talk any longer, Kris changes the topic of their conversation. 

"I'm assuming you came here for something other than checking up on Tao and me,"

"You're right. I didn't come all the way to your bat cave for just that," 

"Then, what did you need?" 

"Your permission to let a Chosen into the estate. His previous master was an old, lone vampire that lived  in a cottage a little ways away from us. He was recently found and slayed by hunters, leaving the Chosen behind with no place to go. Said boy had apparently been looking for a place to stay when he came across our estate. Kris, I don't recommend you take in this one," 

"Why not?"

"With what's happened recently, I just don't think it's a good idea to trust a random stranger, who claims to be a Chosen with no place to go. Think about it. What vampire do you know that lives out here, in the middle of ing nowhere, other than us? If there were, we would have found him a long time ago," 

Kris knows that Kyungsoo has a really good point, but he doesn't want to send the boy away if he truly has no place to go. Sure, there were plenty other estates that could use Chosen, but how long would it be before he found another? He could go days, possibly even weeks, without shelter or food, and Kris couldn't just sit by and let that happen when he can help. Even if it was a pretty bad idea, he had a soft spot for the homeless humans; he wanted to do something to better their living experience. Besides that, it'd be odd to outright send the boy away when he was known for kindly letting people like Chosen in. 

And it's because of this mindset that he ends up leaving Tao in the care of Kyungsoo, calling up a few more guards to protect the room while he's away to check out this young man for himself. It's not exactly an odd occurance. Kris has done this for just about every Chosen ever brought into the estate. It's the fact that he's even contemplating taking someone in at a time where he shouldn't trust any outsiders that has everyone - everyone as in everyone who knows about the growing tension between their clan and the E.L.P's - spinning into a frenzy. 

"Kris, I know how you feel about Chosen, but you can't take in every stray that comes to the door, especially not right now," Luhan says as he walks with the man to the set destination of their estate's garden, Sehun on Kris's other side. 

"I get that, Han. Kyungsoo's already tried to beat that into me," Kris responds, his oddly calm steps not faltering at his words. 

"No, you don't, hyung. Who knows who this guy really is? Eunhyuk told you to watch your back and not trust anyone, and I don't think you should be taking what he said so lightly. You're our leader; you need to put the clan's safety first. That Chosen can always go find another place to live that isn't our home," 

Kris abruptly stops in the middle of the hall, and the two at each of his sides can tell that they've clearly pissed the older vampire off if the blank, stoney look he gives at the pathway before them is anything to go by.

"A tired, worn out, starved human comes to your door in the middle of the day looking desperately for somewhere to stay so that he or she won't die. Oh, and you're in my position, the head of a clan, who has a knack for letting in people like them. What would you do? Would you let them in, let them live as they wish? Or would you reject them and risk having your people criticize and worry about your oddity? Not everyone knows what's going on right now, and I'm not going to alarm them about it. Yes, I do have a soft spot for Chosen, but I'm not only doing this for the boy asking to join us. I'm doing this for you guys. Please, try to at least think before you go blurting out insanity and making false accusations,"

With that being said, Kris promptly storms down the hall, face still as stoney as it was before Luhan and Sehun managed to snap a nerve. 

Honestly, they hadn't even considered the fact that letting the Chosen in could help. Everyone, by now at least, knows that Kris is one to take them in, escpecially in a state where they couldn't survive for much longer on their own to look for somewhere else to go. If he were to suddenly reject the entrance of a Chosen, the others would question him, wonder if something was going on with their friendly leader. Them finding out about anything regarding to the E.L.P planning something would raise unnecessary panic just like it did all those years ago, and it was a pain in the to deal with in a time where panic helped absolutely nothing; if anything, it made the situation just that much worse than it already was. 

"He's got a point, Sehun," Luhan says quietly as they make their way down to the first floor of the estate. 

And he hates to admit that he really does have a point. I makes him feel like more of an idiot than every other time he's screwed up by opening his mouth. He should have known better by now to not question Kris's choices. The man knew what he was doing more times than not, and Sehun needed to learn to accept that his opinion was not always needed.

"I know, and I understand what he's trying to get at: it's easier to deal with an intruder than a horde of panicked vampires," Sehun grumbles, head drooping.

"Exactly. We've already had to take care of that one too many times in a similar situation, and it would only make things harder than they need to be,"

Their conversation ends when the finally reach the first floor, where quite a few common vampires are lounging around, chatting with one another or goofing around. It's a serene image that both of them are going to miss in the coming days. 

They hastily head to the place where Kris is supposed to confront the Chosen, trying to blend into the background as much as they can, though a young vampire, one that's extremely fond of Luhan, notices them as they slink through the shadows. 

"Luhan ge!" an excited, blonde-headed, curly-haired boy yells as he runs over to them. 

Sehun shouldn't feel jealous over a seven-year-old that has nothing on him, but he does, especially because said boy is also Chinese and speaks the same language as Luhan, which is one he has yet to fully grasp and understand. When the two are together he feels a little out of the loop and left out. It's at times like these that he really does believe he acts like the two-year-old Kyungsoo always makes him out to be.

"Minghao! I thought I told you not to run around, or you'll hurt yourself," Luhan answers as the small body barrels into his side at lightning speed. 

"I'm sorry. I forgot," 

"It's okay. Just don't do it anymore,"

"Where are you going, ge? Are you going to the garden? Can you take me with you?"

"We are heading to the garden, but I don't think I can take you with me. We're going to handle adult business, and I don't think Kris will allow kids to be there," 

"Please? I'll be extra quiet! He won't even know I'm there!" 

It's obvious that Luhan's lost - again - to Minghao's famous puppy-dog eyes, as he sweeps the boys into his arms, ignoring the squinted glare Sehun gives him as he continues to walk towards their final destination: the graden. 

After what seems like a miles long journey, the finally reach the cobblestone path that winds through the frosted grass and vibrant, wintry plantlife. A little ways away, near the gate that allowed people to enter and exit the estate through the colorful area, the trio can see a large group of higher-placed vampires gathered around Kris, all of their backs turned to them as they focus on what's going on before them. 

Luhan and Sehun don't hesitate to move closer, Minghao tucked into the former's side as he looks around in curiosity. Once they get to where they want to be, they can clearly see that Kris is speaking with what Sehun assumes is the Chosen they'd been informed of. From the looks of him, he looks completely harmless, with chubby cheeks adorning his face, expressive monolid eyes, an almost fair complexion, and caramel-colored hair that brushes against his small forehead everytime a breeze brushes through. 

"Is this him?" Sehun softly asks Chanyeol, who is slightly less attentive to what's going on since the fluffball of a puppy in his arms is being a bit rowdy. 

"If you're talking about the Chosen, then yes, that's him," he answers, taking a swift glance at the younger. 

"He's looks kind of adorable. What's his name?" Luhan questions. 

"Henry. His name is Henry Lau," 

This was much too easy. Had he been wrong about Kris not being a total ? Getting into the estate of a clan this exclusive should have been more difficult, more challenging, but here he was, being welcomed with bright smiles and warmth he never felt from his own people. 

This couldn't be right. 

They had to be joking. That was the only way any of this would make sense. 

"I think you'll  fit right in with the others here, though I'd steer clear of the cute and cuddly ones. They're the most vicious," a tall, gangly man that went by the name of Chanyeol says to him, one of his lanky arms through over his shoulder. 

"They're only vicious to you because you get on their nerves, Yeol," a much shorter man with the face of a puppy, who he learned was Baekhyun, the giant's mate, retorts with a snort of amusement. 

"See what I mean? Cute but vicious," 

Henry, by now, has come to the conclusion that he came to the wrong estate. Maybe he took the wrong road and ended up in a house for crazies, because there was no way this was the clan of vampires posted on every hunter's wanted list. They seemed like softies that wouldn't, or couldn't, hurt a freaking fly. Were these really the same scary- people Leeteuk described? 

"And this is the east wing, also known as Kris's dungeon. It's really just his private quarters, but no one's ever been able to go pass this point," Baekhyun explains as he motions to a hall lit up by the light filtering through a few windows. It gives off an unwelcoming feel, one that wards visitors away instead of inviting them in.

"He has all of this to himself?" Henry questions as he gazes down the hall, where spots the movement of what looks to be a numerous amount of guards.

"We assume it's just him, so yes, he has it to himself. It used to be his father's, so when he passed and Kris took over, it became his. It's closed off to just about everyone except a select few," 

He has a pretty good idea of where Tao is now, if what these guys say is true. From what he can tell, it'd be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to sneak the man out of the estate undetected, seeing as there is guard upon guard blocking the entrance to Kris's famed personal space, and there's undoubtedly some elite vampire also watching over the human that won't be very easy to get by. Just as he thought, Kris was prepared and definitely not a . 

The three were about to move on to the next point in the tour of his new home, when a large shadow joined them, effectively scaring the living daylights out of Baekhyun. 

"Can you please make some noise when you enter a room?" Baekhyun pants out. 

"I see you're giving him a tour," he hears Kris say from somewhere behind him, ignoring the shorter's comment. 

"Of course. Can't have him getting lost," Chanyeol says. 

"Then, I'll let you continue. In the meantime, I'll be in my room," 

Kris turns to head into the creepy area that contains his living quarters and makes it about halfway down the hall before Baekhyun calls him back.

"I meant to ask this earlier, but is Tao okay? Has he woken up?" he basically yells. 

A solemn look takes over the leader's features, and his head drops a bit in pure dejection. 

"I don't know if he's really okay, and no, he hasn't woken up at all since he was brought here. We think it was intentional, but you never know with Eunhyuk. All we can do right now is wait and hope for him to open his eyes soon," 

He honestly feels sorry for the man. He's never had a mate, so he doesn't really know how much they effect each other; however, the look on Kris's face as he spoke about Tao slightly chipped a bit of his frozen heart. It gave him an idea of how much one means to the other, and it made him feel like an to have to rip them apart for the sake of starting another war that wouldn't end well, just like the one that happened quite some time ago, the one that caused so much grief and death it was unbelievable. 

"Poor Kris. He's been so down since he brought Tao here a few days ago," Chanyeol comments as they walk away. 

"I really thought all this E.L.P crap ended all those years ago. I guess it was only getting started," 

That night, when he's sure that everyone's been tucked into bed, Henry creeps out of his new room, taking the confusing, labyrinth-like halls to get to the east wing, where Kris, Tao, and way too many guards are supposed to be. 

He hides in the shadows cast by the moonlight shining through the crystal windows dotted along the walls and stops when he reaches the point Chanyeol and Baekhyun led him to earlier. From his spot, he can see the copious amount of guards from before watching over the entrance hall, more of them probably spread throughout this entire secton of the estate. 

It's hard to tell where exactly Kris's real room is, as there are no doors in the only hall he can see, and there is little to no noise coming from the areas beyond it. Though, if Kris is as smart as Henry thinks he is, he knows that it would be the least suspecting room, one that wasn't so grande or obvious. It had to be hidden somewhere no one would ever assume it would be, and that made his job all the more harder than the members of E.L.P made it out to be. He knew this plan was stupid; it wasn't going to work if he followed their original idea.

He had to do this his own way, if he wanted to succeed. 

Just as he rises to move a little closer to get a better look, a hand clasps itself around his throat, pinning him to the wall while letting his feet dangle at least a foot off of the ground. 

"I knew you felt a bit off for a reason. We shouldn't have let you in," 

Before him is a face he recognizes, one that Leeteuk labeled as someone he definitely needed to steer clear of if this plan was going to work. And he fit Chanyeol's general description to a perfect tee: cute but undeniably vicious beyond belief. 

"I don't believe we've had he chance of meeting," Henry whispers, not wanting Kris to pick up on his voice. He makes sure to seem a little afraid of the shorter man so as not to raise any suspicion, though he highly doubts it's going to work.

"That's a load of bull. The others may buy your fake innocence, but it's not going to get past me. Besides, I'm the one who spotted you standing at the gate first. You have damn well met me,"

Henry's countenance drops at his words, and his facial expression does a complete 180, switching from fake fear to an arrogant smirk and confident hazel eyes.

"You're right. There's no use hiding anything when it comes to you, Kyungsoo. You know, you're a lot cuter in person, but I don't see anything sweet about your personality," 

"How the hell do you know who I am?"

"I want to tell you, but I don't want to hurt you so soon. At least let me have a little fun before you go interrogating me while you wrap your hand around my neck,"

He's momentarily lifted away from the wall before his back is harshly slammed into it, the structure slightly crumbling from Kyungsoo's brute force.

"If you want to play, then we'll play. I'll give you two choices. You can either tell me how you know me and what the hell you're here for, or I can slowly beat you to death. You better choose quickly; the clock's ticking," 

Henry has to admit that he likes this guy. He kind of sees himself in those emerald-like eyes full of hatred, and their attitudes mirror one another's. If they hadn't been in rival clans that are constantly at each other's throats, he thinks he can see Kyungsoo and himself being close friends. 

Unfortunately, they are in rival clans that are constantly at each other's throats, so that can never happen. 

"Fine. I'll take you up on the first option. I do still have a mission to complete, and I can't have you killing me before I can even get started,"

Kyungsoo lowers him to the ground once he hears his decision, but he keeps a firm hand wrapped around his throat to make sure he doesn't try to get away.

"Speak," 

"To answer your questions, I'm here to do Leeteuk's dirty work. He's too much of a wimp to do it himself, so here I am being held against a wall in a chokehold instead of him. As to how I know you, I remember being told about you from your mate; he even showed me pictures of you he kept with him while he was held captive by the E.L.P, and I have to say, you've completely changed. No matter how much pain he went through, he never stopped thinking about you. He sincerely loved you," 

At the mention of his deceased mate, tears spring to Kyungsoo's eyes. This man, this innocent-looking man, couldn't have been who he thought he was. There was just no way someone like him could cause him this much pain. He had to be mistaken. Assumptions aren't always true, right?

"How? How did you know him? Answer me!"

"Why are you going through the trouble of asking? It seems like you've already managed to connect the dots. If you really want to hear it from me, I'll tell you," he pauses to take in a deep breath before he lets it out through his nose and begins to speak again. "I know him because it was me. I'm the one that tortured him while he was a captive,"

"That can't be. There's no way,"

"But, it is! It's the truth, Kyungsoo. It was all me. I took him from you. I'm the one who killed your mate!"

Henry doesn't hesitate to run away when the hand falls from his neck and Kyungsoo's body falls to the floor. 

Let me just start off by saying that I'm soooooo sorry for this way late update T_T. I know where I want this story to go; I just didn't kow how to put it into words and make it worth reading. Secondly, I sincerely thank all of you who still subscribed (63 may not seem like much but it's still awesome to me ^^) despite the wayyyy infrequent updates on this story. And a special thank you to those who upvoted ^^ sorry that the appreciation came so late ( CocoHugo, SleepyKitty14, & Rouranhyun ). I'll try to write and get chapters posted as often as I can. 

To thank you, here's two pictures of the two cutiepies introduced =D (Am I the only one who thinks The8 is absolutely adorable??? Also, if you didn't already guess it, Henry has the ability to hide the fact that he's not human.)