“Mir! Where are you off to?” Joon asked the younger man as Mir prepared to leave the camp.

Mir look slightly taken aback at the question, and he hesitated a bit before answering. “I’m going to the well.”

Joon smiled, showing his teeth. He had thought that Mir might say that. “Do you want me to go with you?” he asked. “It can’t be easy collecting water when your arm is injured. In fact; you stay here, I’ll go.”

Mir tried to keep a calm expression. He had arranged to meet Jia on the track to the well; if Joon went he would see her. Mir struggled to appear neutral. “Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. I’m fine, I can manage this.” Mir nearly kicked himself when his voice wavered slightly.

Joon was studying him intently, his dark eyes never leaving his. Mir found it hard to meet his gaze, but didn’t break eye contact. If he looked away Joon might suspect him of lying (if he didn’t already).

There was silence for a moment, and Mir was afraid that Joon might insist going to the well in his stead. For a dreadful moment, Joon looked like he would, but then he shrugged, giving Mir an easy smile.

“If you insist, I won’t go. Don’t strain your arm Mir; we need you able to fight as soon as possible.”

With a nod, Mir turned and began walking towards the well. He was feeling a bit uneasy; Joon rarely ever spoke to him, let alone offered to do his chores or give him smiles. As if hearing his thoughts, Joon called out.

“Mir, if you’re going to the well, why don’t you have a bucket?”

Damn. Mir froze, his heart thundering. What should he say? How could he throw Joon off his tail? Mir decided to go on the defensive and hope that Joon would back off. He turned around to face Joon, frowning.

“I said I was going to the well. I didn’t say I was getting water. What I do is none of your business Joon.”

Joon’s eyes narrowed into a glare. He took a few steps closer to Mir. Mir resisted the urge to move back. He suspected that Joon knew something more than he should, but he wasn’t sure exactly what he knew. When he was barely a foot away, Joon spoke.

“Listen Mir. I know you’re up to something. And I want to warn you. When I was young, my father used to be in contact with the leader of Huang Shi. He used to tell them when the tribe would be close, and he’d warn them on the rare occasions when the pack was planning an attack. Do you know what happened to him? He was beheaded, in front of the whole tribe. We don’t take strangers kindly here. So just to let you know; if you’re involved with someone you shouldn’t be involved with, I will find out and kill you myself.”

His voice was low and dripping with malice. Mir found he had lost his tongue. Instead of saying anything, he nodded curtly and walked away.

Joon waited fifteen minutes after Mir had left before heading to the clearing he had found the previous day. He was going to get Mir for being a traitor, but he needed to think of a plan to ensnare the Red Riding Hood first.

Joon, padding softly through the trees, remembering his father’s death.

He was there when his father had been executed. He remembered the battle axe swinging down. It had only taken one blow to kill the man, but it took three for the head to come off. A five year old Joon had stood there, not quite understanding but still horrified, as his father’s blood sprayed onto his face and the executioner hacked away.

Joon pushed the thought out of his mind. He remembered it as clear as day, even though it had happened over twenty years ago. His mother had died giving birth to him and he was an only child. The Alpha at the time, Seungho’s father took him in, and he was raised like a brother to Seungho. Yet still there was some resentment, he always felt second best to Seungho.

“The tribe won’t think me second best when I bring in the Red Riding Hood,” he whispered aloud to himself.

A quarter of an hour had passed when Joon reached the clearing. Through the trees, Joon could see the two love birds. His stomach twisted in anger, seeing Mir consort with the Red Riding Hood.

Mir was sitting with his back against a tree at the edge of the clearing, while the girl lay with her head in his lap. Mir played with a strand of her hair as they talked. Joon crept closer to hear their words.

“Listen, Jia. I think Joon – one of the pack – is onto me. He knows I’m doing something I shouldn’t, so I think we should m-”

“What was that?” The girl sat up quickly, looking around, frowning.

“What was what?” Mir’s frown matched hers.

“I thought I heard something in the woods.” The girl stood up, the crimson cloak flowing around her shoulders as she reached for her bow, which was resting on the ground beside her.

Joon held his breath, pressing himself into a tree.

Mir looked worried as he stood. “Someone might have followed me,” he said. “We should go, before someone sees us. You go first; I’ll wait a few minutes. I need to talk to you tomorrow, though, I’ll meet you here, at nightfall.”

The girl nodded and leaned in for a kiss. Joon spat at the ground in disgust. “See you later,” she said, before running on light feet into the trees.

When she was well out of earshot, Joon picked up a broken branch from a tree. Hiding in the shadow of an oak tree, he watched as Mir stretched, looked over his shoulder, and walked out of the clearing. He headed between two trees…one of which was the one Joon was behind. However, Mir was oblivious to Joon’s presence.

As Mir passed by, Joon swung the branch. It hit him in the back of his head, hard. Mir fell forward, hitting his head on the ground. He didn’t get up. Joon smiled.