The next day, I looked outside my window and saw the Evergreen construction trucks piled up at the entrance to woods. The big logo was plastered alongside the trucks’ bodies and I felt stupid for not noticing it before. 

What I did notice, though, was that this time there were more than just trucks. The crew had brought floodlights, bulldozers, dump trucks, backhoes, and much, much more safety equipment. I gasped. They were serious this time. 

The only thing that didn’t make much sense was that the crew had greatly reduced in size. Only about ten men were down there in their neon safety vests. Obviously the previous crew had shared their tree felling story and it had adequately spooked the rest. I found myself smiling, proud of the wolves for protecting their territory.

Suddenly, the crew started to gather some supplies, and what I saw concerned me. 

At least three of them had guns on them. 

I felt my blood run cold. That was not okay. Surely, bullets could kill werewolves, right? Or maybe they had to be silver? I wasn’t too sure, but I didn’t like what I was seeing no matter what. I had to warn the wolves. I had to tell them they could be in danger. 

As soon as the thought crossed my mind and I had begun to reach for my flashlight, the crew members gathered together briefly before walking into the dense woods. Some carried their guns, others carried knives, and one had an axe. They were clearly trying to go in prepared.

I held my breath, waiting for something—a sign to go in and follow them, a sign to warn the wolves.

And moments later, a familiar figure appeared in the distance, answering my unspoken prayers. I recognized Luhan immediately. He looked incredibly cute in a light pink sweater and jeans. How was it he could look so cute but also manly at the same time? It made me want to fight him.

As Luhan came closer to the Evergreen equipment, it seemed like he was just going to pass by. I quickly realized that he was only pretending to be a passerby in case anyone was still there. To his relief, the equipment camp was empty. I saw him begin to trifle through their stuff. He flipped through their clipboards, their plans, anything he could get his hands on. 

He paused, holding a large scrolling piece of paper. I couldn’t make out what it was from my window, but whatever it was made Luhan furious. He crumped up the paper and seemed to enjoy doing so. As if that wasn’t enough, he threw it at the ground and stomped on it. I giggled. The usually graceful boy I had been trying to get closer to was full of emotion. I wasn’t sure if I felt anything romantic toward him, but I surely felt something warm up inside me seeing him express himself so freely.

The next thing he did, though, made me freeze. Luhan entered the woods.

I bit my lip. He was a wolf, right? Right? He could take care of himself. 

And then a part of me remembered the first night I had gone into the woods. My need to protect him before I even knew who he was. He had just been a stranger back then. An innocent boy who walked into some scary forest. 

But now, my heart felt even more protective. What if he didn’t know the crew was armed? What if they caught him in his human form? Could they kill him then? How did that even work?

I groaned at all the unanswered questions. They were giving me a headache. 

One way or another, I knew that I had to go down there. There was no point in just standing up here anymore like I had in the past. I had to act fast if I wanted to warn Luhan and the other wolves in time.

When I got to the edge of the woods, my eye was caught by the piece of paper Luhan had crumpled up and stomped on. I bent down to examine it. 

My eyes went wide. It was a map of the future construction site. An even larger part of the forest was absent in this depiction. According to this plan, Evergreen was going to build not just one new dorm, but five, along with what looked like a small plaza for eating and shopping. My stomach twisted. The new development went all the way back up to the eastern edge of the property. The entirety of Luhan’s woods were going to be demolished.

I dropped the paper, understanding now why Luhan had been made so angry by it. 

Just then, a scream resounded through the woods. My heart sped up. It was now or never.

I entered the woods, feeling like I knew them like the back of my hand now. Noises can be deceptive in the forest, so I had to stop every few feet and listen out for new noise. The construction crew was loud, thankfully, and they also were wildly stinging their flashlights everywhere. I found myself within earshot soon.

“You stupid er. You had us all scared,” one man said, turning to another. He punched the latter on the shoulder and said man winced.

“It was just a prank. You guys are . There’s nothing out here! It’s just a normal forest with normal animals,” the guy stated. I concluded that this second guy who spoke must have been the one to scream, but it had just been a joke to freak out the other men.

Another man replied, “Really? I don’t think so.” He sounded afraid. 

“Yeah, Jaesup told us about the huge claw marks on the tree. You know he can’t lie,” another spoke.

The non-believer chuckled a hearty laugh. “I’m not saying he lied. He just exaggerated,” he clarified.

Suddenly, a loud growl erupted nearby. I felt my senses go into overdrive. Was that Luhan? Or one of the others? Did they know the crew were armed? How could I tell them? If Luhan was near, I could probably get the message to him unharmed. Otherwise, I wasn’t too sure.

“Did you hear that?” A crew member asked. I could hear the tremble in his voice.

“Yeah, I think we should get out of here,” another commented.

“Bull,” the idiot crew member spat, “We face this thing head on.”

As soon as those words were spoken, a large, golden wolf came into view. All of the crew pointed their flashlights at it. 

Who is this? I haven’t seen this wolf before. I think he’s even bigger than the other two I saw.

“Oh my god,” a crew member breathed. 

“Let’s run!” Another shouted, but just when they turned around, they were greeted by another wolf. It was the one with uneven, russet fur. The crew members yelled out, surprised. The russet wolf seemed to appreciate this, because he stepped a paw closer and let out a menacing growl. 

The crew was trapped in between the wolves. Suddenly, I heard a gunshot and covered my ears, ducking in surprise. 

I quickly looked up to see if either wolf was harmed. I could see the gun of the man who had taken the shot. He was shaking with fear, and sunk to the ground. I could see why. The bullet had sunk into the golden wolf’s chest, but had gone no further than the fur. I let out a relieved sigh when I realized the wolves weren’t going to get hurt by any guns tonight. 

And then, when it seemed like the men couldn’t take it anymore, they scattered. I was quick to get out of their way, edging closer toward the side of the golden wolf. 

When the men were gone, it was pitch black in the forest again, and I realized I was alone with these two wolves, who most certainly were not the wolf I felt a safe connection with. 

I heard a snort close behind me and I whipped around, turning on the flashlight. 

It was the gray wolf, my wolf. The wolf I was 100% more or less sure was Luhan. 

I pointed the flashlight at his paws so I didn’t hurt his eyes and walked closer. The wolf didn’t move, which I took as a good sign. I approached him so that I was close enough to reach out and touch him, but didn’t.

“Hi,” I squeaked, unable to tear my eyes away from his. He was beautiful.

I felt a wave of that feeling hit me again. For whatever reason, it was stronger when he was in his wolf form. I could have cried from how good it felt to be around him.

“I…” I started, but realized I had no idea what to say. I hadn’t planned on encountering the wolves any time soon and I surely hadn’t planned on confronting Luhan eit