When Mir came to, rough, coarse rope bound his ankles together and his hands behind his back.

“So, Seungho, what do you think of the plan?”

Opening his eyes, Mir gulped loudly. He didn’t remember what had happened, he remembered bidding Jia farewell, he remembered leaving the clearing and then…darkness.

He was tied to a stake driven into the ground. He was in a sitting position, but his wrists were tried around the stake, meaning he couldn’t move much. He was by the campfire, the area where the pack had their war councils.

Seungho, Joon, Sanghyun and others (nearly the whole pack) was gathered around.

Joon and Seungho stood a little in front of him, Seungho looking thoughtful while Joon looked smug.

Mir chewed his lip, nervous. If he was tied up by his own people, it could only mean they had found out that he had been friends – well, more than friends, he guessed – with the Red Riding Hood. He remembered Joon’s warning from earlier. Mir struggled to keep his breathing even. This could very well be his last night on earth.

The others hadn’t noticed him awake yet.

“I say it’s a good plan, Joon.” Seungho nodded, patting Joon on the shoulder. “Very good. What did time did they arrange to meet at?”

“Nightfall,” Joon replied. “Ah, look! The man himself is up.”

Joon crouched down to Mir’s level. Mir tried to lean away, but his current position prevented that. Joon gave Mir a hair-raising smile, before pulling his hand back and then crushing it into Mir’s face. Mir let out a yell as he felt his nose crack. He could feel hot blood running from it. Joon laughed and stood up.

“What is her name, Mir?”

So they knew. Mir desperately tried to think, of an excuse, of an explanation, of an escape plan but nothing came to mind. With a sinking feeling in his stomach he realized he was going to die. He would never she Jia again, he would never run through the woods, he would never even fetch water from the well again.

Well, if they thought Mir was going to go down without a fight, they were wrong. Determination crinkled on Mir’s brow as he looked up defiantly at Joon. “Who’s name?”

That earned him a sharp kick to the ribs from Seungho. Mir gasped, the pain shooting through him. He tried to curl up, but the damn binds stopped him.

“Don’t play dumb, kid. We know about your little lover, our sworn enemy,” snarled Seungho.

“What’s her name Mir?” Joon kicked him in his injured shoulder. That was the worst pain so far, and Mir screamed.

Smiling, Joon continued kicking him in his weak spot. “What – is – her – name?” he asked between kicks.

The pain had brought tears into Mir’s eyes. “Jia,” he hissed as they rolled down his cheek.

 Never losing the sadistic smile, Joon patted Mir on the head. “Good boy.” Turning to the other Wolves, he said; “Prepare your weapons, we meet Jia at nightfall. And boy, will she be surprised.”

The sky was gradually growing darker and the stars began to peep out behind clouds. Jia stood alone in the clearing, waiting for Mir.

She was nervous. She had heard footsteps in the forest earlier, and Mir had spoken of something that happened earlier with one of the Wolves. She hoped he wouldn’t be in trouble.

Hearing footsteps, she put a smile on her face. “Hello Jia,” said a voice as she was turning around.

Her smile faltered as she realized it wasn’t Mir speaking. And she gasped when she saw what was in front of her.

The Wolf that had threatened her a few nights past stood in front of her, flanked by eight other Wolves. In one hand, he gripped Mir by the shoulder; in the other he held a wicked curved blade up to Mir’s throat.

Jia knew instantly they were both in trouble, but it was the look of Mir himself that frightened her most.

His hands were bound with rope, and were chaffed and bleeding at the wrists. There was blood on his tunic and in his hair. His nose looked broken, and a trail of not-quite dried blood led from his nostril to his chin. He sported a black eye and a broken lip, and he looked like he had lost a tooth. His eyes were the worst; the usual affection and humour she saw every day in them had evaporated, leaving fear, desperation and despair.

“Run,” he mouthed.

Jia slid a hand into her cloak, where her dagger was concealed.

“I wouldn’t do that Jia,” said the Wolf holding him. “If you move to run, or move to fight I’ll slit his throat.”

Jia froze, her heart hammering against her chest. Mir was the only one she could truly trust, she loved him, and he got her through all these months – if anything were to happen to him because of her, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself. But she couldn’t just give herself up – Huang Shi needed her to protect them.

“So Jia,” Joon said with a smile on his face. He was enjoying the whole thing. “Here is what is going to happen. You’re going to put your bow and quiver on that rock in front of you, along with that knife you keep. Then you’re going to put your hands in front of you and let Seungho here tie them up. If you do anything but what I’ve just said, your lover here is going to die. Understand?”

Jia’s breathing quickened. She nodded slowly. She could feel fear’s cold fingers around . She was terrified they would do something terrible to Mir, and terrified they would do something terrible to her.

She realized that the footsteps earlier must have been a Wolf, who saw them together and decided to use Mir against her. Wasn’t that what Qian had warned her about not so long ago?

Jia carefully placed her weapons on the rock and put her hands out.

The Wolves sneered and laughed. Joon patted Mir on the back. “Whoa, you must have caught yourself a devoted lover, brother! I thought she would have notched that bow and killed us all, but I guess she cares too much about you!”

Mir had tears in his eyes as he slowly shook his head. “Run Jia! They’re going to kill you!” he shouted, before Joon shut him up with an elbow to the face.

“Stop!” Jia screeched. “Let him go, and I’ll –” Jia took a deep breath, blinking away her tears. “And I’ll go with you,” she finished. Jia knew that if she went with them she would die. But seeing Mir this way was too much for her.

Her magnified feelings were blowing her love for the person in front of her and her fear for his life way out of proportion, so much so that she wasn’t thinking rationally. Her heart was telling her to help the one she loved, and hadn’t Qian told her to trust her heart?

Taking a deep breath to stead herself, Jia held out her hands, ready to let Joon bind them.