“How’s it look?”

You ran your fingers down the heated skin of his back, remembering the bloody wounds that were there last night. Now, no such thing was anywhere to be found. His skin was flawless and the sight was enough to cause a smile to form on your face. “Not a scar to be found.” You answered him as he faced away from you with one last swipe of your fingers from the base of his neck across his shoulder blades.

You saw him scowl out of the corner of your eyes, “You mom told me there were five bullets in my back. A bit overkill, don’t you think?”

“I wouldn’t say so. You’re sitting right in front of me as healthy as can be, after all.” You joked, to which he laughed. His back straightened up as he dipped his head back and turned slightly, locking eyes with you. On his lips was that happy smile you were relieved to see again now that he had more color in his face. Now that he, Jang Dongwoo, was back to being his much more optimistic self.

All of last night, you had stayed with him, holding tightly onto his hand. When you woke up, you found that he was already up. That he was sitting up on the couch, his eyes on you before he spoke a calming “Good Morning.” You would have been much more embarrassed with yourself. Much, much more. Except, last night, as you watched him sleep before you yourself gave into it’s bliss, you decided something.

You decided that now was not the time to be embarrassed about things. You decided you would no longer stall in your actions due to what being around the werewolves now did to you. You wouldn’t pretend it didn’t effect you, because it still did. At this moment, as your fingers lingered on Dongwoo’s , your body was hyperaware of him. He affected you to your inner core and you weren’t going to ignore that.

You would simply run with it.

You felt as though this is what would allow you to figure out what Jiyeon’s words to you in the Mambo Juice meant. That taking it in, basking in the feelings you were getting without hiding in a deep rabbit hole of shame from them, would be what allowed you to drag the answer from your subconscious to your conscious mind. To figure out what was beneath the water of this large iceberg that was you mind; your conscious already in plain sight whilst your much larger subconscious hid underneath the water line, masked in deep shades of blue.  

So, as you ran with it, you didn’t pull away from Dongwoo whose bandages you had taken off a little while before. You didn’t pull away as he inclined his head forward again, turning his upper body towards you as his left hand moved from in front of him and planted itself on the couch right beside your thigh. You didn’t falter as you felt your breath hitch at his closeness. At the proximity between the two of you that was, as far as you could remember, the closest you had ever been to him without him laying a single finger on you.

He noticed your heart beat in trepidation, something he was familiar with whenever he saw you interact with Myungsoo, or Woohyun, or Sunggyu, or Hoya, or with any of them. But, what was more intriguing to him was that whilst internally you had the same reaction, externally you were calm. Your eyes bore into him as he gradually got closer to you. As he closed the distance that he had never closed before. That he was merely experimenting with at the current point in time. He pointed it out to you, believing at first that you weren’t sure of what he was doing. That you weren’t sure of what he could do if he leaned in even further, “You’re not backing away.”

His doubts were thrown out the window as you answered him, your voice resolute, “I know.” He found himself insatiable then in the face of your newfound confidence. He was greedy to test his luck as the disheveled strands of his fringe tickled your forehead.

His eyes fell downwards, taking in the shape of your facial features he had never been so close to before. When they landed on your lips, his own parted and whispered, “You’re making it harder for yourself.”

You were making it harder for yourself? What was harder? Ignoring and pushing down what faced you now or standing in front of it, taking it in without hesitation? The answer was obvious.

“I don’t think so.”

Your voice sent trills of satisfaction flowing down his spine, taking the same path your fingers had earlier. Then, a twinge of guilt struck him, taking him over. Guilt that he was seemingly the first one who you hadn’t backed away from. Because he had always watched, watched you from afar, and never touched, he was able to deduce that he in fact was the first one. The first one who you had been so fearless with.

With that, he let his legs fall from the couch and place themselves on the ground, orienting himself towards you. His left hand which was previously a hairs’ width away from your jean coated thigh moved away, and up. Up to the back of your head. He entangled his fingers through your hair, weaving them through it, letting it resist him when it did. He reveled in doing the thing he had never done before but could count more than one person who had.

“Let me tell you what happened yesterday.” He murmured, his voice still huskily rasping from having woken up not long ago as he laid his warm forehead against yours.

He told himself that if it happened again, if he approached you again and found you remaining expectantly still, he would. He would what? His full lips curved upwards at his next thoughts. His next thoughts of what he would do.

Jiyeon stumbled as she walked nearer to the lit up entrance in front of her. The entrance to where her brother and his pack called home. She mumbled beneath her breath quite the number of curse words directed towards the woman she exchanged blows with in the forest around an hour ago. She had gotten calls and text messages from her brother about her whereabouts more than once, and each time she rebuffed them. She didn’t want him to see her like this. Him who? Her brother? Well, looking bad in front of her little brother was not on her to-do list but that’s not exactly who she thought of while she gingerly made her way down to the house, making sure to give herself as much time as she could to recoup. It wasn’t B-bomb she did this for. Instead, it was for the person who opened the door at the current point in time, having smelt her coming.

Pyo Jihoon.

Or, P.O., as he liked to be called. She liked Jihoon better though.

She immediately straightened up, fixing her posture despite the pounding of her right leg in complaint. She plastered a smile on her face to which he didn’t smile back. He stood there, staring at her. His expression was blank, his eyes blinking a few times. She balked, unsure of what to say to him to explain herself. While most of the time she was brutally honest with him, she didn’t want to admit that she had left the fight with the hunter in the same if not worse state as the hunter herself. It would make her seem weak. No one wanted a weak mate.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to explain herself right now as he stepped aside, allowing her room to enter the house, “Come on in. B-bomb is worried about you.”

She approached him, fully aware that his eyes were on her right leg that she willed to keep natural looking as she walked. Once she reached him, she meandered past him only to stop as soon as she entered the doorway. She turned to him, her eyes serious as she looked up at him.

“You’re mine, you know.” She was reasserting her dominance. She was reasserting her strength that she felt her weakened leg was yanking from her.

“Yeah.” He replied, not at all expressing his usual frustration whenever she said that. And she had, many times ever since she met him. Ever since she first laid eyes on Pyo Jihoon and decided that he would be her mate. He was going easy on her because he knew she was hurt, but she didn’t say another word as she moved past him, resigning to tell him off about it later. Later, when she regained her full strength and she could pummel him to the ground in a headlock for looking down on her. At that thought, she couldn’t help but smile.

“We were able to get them off our tracks so they shouldn’t be bothering us for now. Luckily, they were only on the outskirts of town and don’t know about us residing here quite yet.” Sunggyu spoke to the seven werewolves gathered in front of him now plus Jiyeon who had settled herself down on the couch next to P.O.

“Those scouts? Yes. Those female hunters? No.” Kyung distastefully clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth as he kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. “Who wants to bet they’re the reason Zico hasn’t shown up yet?”

Jaehyo responded from next to him, his own seat in being the armrest of the couch, “I’m willing to wager three cups of Wolfsbane.” He raised three fingers in the air as well as his eyebrows.

“Forget it, the bet’s off.” Kyung waved his hand in the air, his and Jaehyo’s banter effectively lightening the mood.

“We’ll be able to hear what happened in detail once Hoya, Sungyeol, Sungjong, and U-kwon return from Hyunjoo’s.” Sunggyu led the conversation again, not feeling as confident as he should have.

While in London, it was him and Zico looking after the two groups of six males. To Zico’s pack, Sunggyu became the second in command. He became the one they turned to whenever Zico wasn’t there to make a decision. To Sunggyu’s pack, Zico held the same position. Without Zico however, Sunggyu now had all twelve werewolves under his charge, all of whom looked to his leadership on what to do now. The pressure was immense. He had relied on Zico many times over the past few months and now, without him there, he felt as though the devil on his shoulder wasn’t there to say what needed to be said. To give him the final push he needed to take extreme action.

Still, he would lead them. He would lead all of them against this new threat to their existence; the hunters who now had settled in Springfield.

And his first action as temporary pack leader to all twelve wolves was that Hoya, Sungyeol, Sungjong, and U-kwon would go to you. To your house where Dongwoo was; something he knew via the many messages you had left him. You had called and texted both him and Hoya, however, both had been out at the time. They were at the time dealing with the sudden intrusion of hunters onto the borders of their territory.

He had sent the four of them for a reason. Sungyeol, Sungjong, and U-kwon were fast. Undeniably so. Hoya was a powerhouse, much like Dongwoo was. According to B-bomb, the female hunters, who were hunters through and through, had no problem letting off a shot if they could squeeze one in. They had no problem taking down one of them without a single second’s hesitation. Hoya could not move fast enough to evade a bullet. The other three, however, could. But, if the three, Sungyeol, Sungjong, and U-kwon, went alone, they stood a chance of being overpowered. This was the reason Hoya went as well.

“Do you think he’s alright?” Jiyeon turned to B-bomb as she asked the question on everyone’s minds, if Dongwoo was alright despite the barrage of bullets he had taken into his body. B-bomb was the one who saw him last now that Zico was gone with the wind. P.O. beside her tensed at the seriousness that coated her voice. He couldn’t help but think to himself how absurd she sounded when she herself wasn’t exactly the definition of “alright” either.

B-bomb didn’t answer right away. He pondered over it, over whether or not Dongwoo was still breathing at this very moment or if he had let his last one escape his lungs hours ago. He had pondered over it when he first heard from Sunggyu that Dongwoo was at your house, with you. And no matter how badly it may have been for the wolf, B-bomb had a feeling he was. That he was alright. That he was alright because he was with you. “Probably more than alright.” B-bomb mused, his lips hitching upwards slightly.

Jiyeon nodded her head as she crossed her arms against her chest, “He did seem like the tough type.” And of course, Jiyeon also knew you must have had something to do with it if Dongwoo was happy and healthy.

“He is.” Sunggyu spoke from across the coffee table, not even the slightest bit of apprehension coating his voice. Jiyeon felt herself nodding again, convinced with only that. Sunggyu’s eyelashes fluttered as he regained his original thoughts on where to go from here, snapping out of the slight daze he found himself in as he reminisced about a chapel with a young Dongwoo stubbornly sitting on it’s steps.

He breathed out before turning to Woohyun and Myungsoo who stood behind the couch, having not said a word the entire time. Both resigned themselves to silence to avoid disobeying Sunggyu and attempting to join the group that had started off to your house. They wanted to see you, yes, but more than anything they wanted to make sure Dongwoo was okay. “Woohyun, Myungsoo, and,” Sunggyu’s eyes flittered over the werewolves left in the room, past Taeil, Jaehyo, Kyung, P.O., Jiyeon, and then they landed on B-bomb, “B-bomb. You three will scout out my grandfather’s estate. Make sure no one has broken in and that it’s safe to return to in case, in the worst of circumstances, we must.”

The fourteen of them had, upon discovering hunters had started planting roots down in Springfield, decided to stay at Zico’s pack’s home. This was mainly because it was farther away from the center of town. However, Sunggyu’s words weren’t just precautionary. They were words of warning. Words said to prepare everyone for the worst. He was covering all of his bases, preparing everyone for the crisis that would follow if or more likely when the opposing team struck a home run.

The three, Woohyun, Myungsoo, and B-bomb, looked between each other, a smile on each and every one of their faces at the fact that the trio was to form again. The “Three Wolfketeers” as Sungjong called them. As soon as the three disappeared, B-bomb being patted on the back by Jiyeon softly before he left, P.O. turned to Jiyeon. He brought up the topic he hadn’t dared to while her brother was there.

“Taeil, Jiyeon is hurt.”

Jiyeon turned to him, a glare in her eyes as she threw a punch at his chest, “Who’s hurt?” She edged him on as she raised her eyebrows and she succeeded. His expression turned livid as he reached down and grasped tightly onto her leg, lifting it up as she let out a moan of pain. “.” She cursed beneath her breath at how easily she gave herself away.

“Her leg?” Taeil got up and approached her before kneeling down right there in front of her. When he pushed her jeans up, he found gashes running from her mid-calf upwards, disappearing beneath the cover of her pants. “Let’s go upstairs.” He whispered as he stood up and exited, expecting P.O. and Jiyeon to follow. She did, but not before kicking P.O. in his shin with her good leg. Unbeknownst to all those who watched, P.O. wasn’t hurt by it in the least. She hadn’t put a single bit of strength into it and P.O. knew it was her way of saying thank you for helping him without saying it at all.

“Our P.O. is growing up.” Kyung laughed to himself as he watched the three disappear into the hallway.

Jaehyo was also amused with the relationship between P.O. and Jiyeon but instead focused himself on Sunggyu who was left in the room with the two now. “I assume you’re not going to simply have us guard the house, are you?” Kyung diverted his attention to Sunggyu as well, whose body leaned back into the lounge chair he was sitting in.

“Of course not. I’m not going to let you two go to waste.”

Jaehyo slyly smiled, already knowing where this was going, whilst Kyung beside him eagerly sat up in his seat.

A sudden shifting of metal caused him to look up. His eyes were still blinded by the blindfold the female hunter who smelled like vanilla had tied around his eyes. The fabric was thick and pitch black and his eyes could never adjust to it enough for him to see through it. He thought she would be here again, that same hunter. But, she wasn’t. His nose told him she wasn’t. Instead, the subtle smell of roses filled the air. The subtle smell that was addicting despite it not smelling inviting upon first sniff. And the owner of this addictive smell was watching him. Watching him from afar in silence.

“Why just look when you can touch?” He let a laugh escape his throat and without questioning him, as he knew Miss Vanilla would if she were here instead, the person stepped closer. The woman, whose heels clicked on the concrete floor, stepped closer. She came to a stop right in front of him and soon, he felt something tugging at his hair. Tugging at the back of his head before silently, the blindfold around his eyes fell to the ground. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the new light, but when they did he was pleasantly surprised with what he saw in front of him. Of who he saw in front of him.

“I assume you are the leader, then?” He let his eyes scan her from head to toe, looking for a single point on her in which he could peel back. Searching for a single weakness that she had put on public display either through her dress, her attitude, or her stance. Everyone had one. Her’s however was more difficult to decipher. 

“And so are you, Woo Jiho. The leader of your very own pack despite being so young.” His eyes lifted from the curves of her waist to her eyes, coming face to face with her mocking expression as she had apparently done more research on him than Miss Vanilla had. She pursed her lips, her hands coming to rest on her hips as she leaned forward, her eyes gleaming under the single light that hung overheard, “Or should I call you Zico? Which one would you prefer?”

“That’s unfair, you know my name but I don’t know yours.” Zico responded, getting over his slight surprise at her knowledge of him. Hunters rarely went so far as to learn the names of their victims, their prey. That she had put in the effort to do so was in itself shocking to him. However, he didn’t once let his shock cross his face.

“That’s unfair,” She with his own words, matching his personality perfectly without missing a beat, “You still haven’t answered my question.”

“Zico. Call me Zico. Now should I call you Rose or are you willing to supply me with your real name?” He raised an eyebrow, not letting himself get pulled into her games.

She shook her head, displeased with his preferences and instead deciding to go by her own, “I like Jiho better.” Zico’s lips twitched in annoyance. He had met his match in the form of this curvaceous woman with short brown hair. “While I admire you taking the time to give me a nickname, and quite the intimate one at that, I insist you use my real one instead.” One of her hands lifted from her hip. She pressed her index finger against his bare wrist, tracing it down the length of his sleeveless arm.

Zico’s arms flexed, the chains wrapped around his wrists jingling as he did so. She pulled back her finger and met eyes with him again, finding him clenching his teeth in irritation, “Your name.” He barked at her, his voice commanding.

“I’m sorry,” she drew her eyes away from him, pretending as though she were as coy as a small puppy. A small puppy that was cunningly baring its fangs beneath the cover of shadow, waiting for him to crack underneath her, “Hyosung. That’s my name, Jiho. Why don’t you put away that scowl of yours now? It’s a waste for you to show such an expression.” Every time she said his name, it were as though she were daring him to shut her up, to stop her from uttering it himself.

“What’s more of a waste is that you’ve got me down here like a forgotten toy.” Zico directed his eyes to the restrictions around his wrists that held him hoisted up as he was now, displaying himself to her in his black tank top and his loose fitting jeans.

“It is a waste, isn’t it?” Her tone sounded regretful, but Zico knew better. “You’re probably asking yourself why we’re keeping you alive instead of just ending it. Instead of simply ending the existence of the forgotten toy.”

His cocky smirk returned as he felt the conversation being led by him once more without him having to say a word. He could simply sit back and listen to her spill everything to him, “You read my mind.”

“Well, it’s simple, you see.” Hyosung took steps back, her eyes looking him up and down now as he had been doing to her just moments before. To her, she was still in control of this situation, much more so than Zico realized, “I’m not bored playing with the toy yet.”

“Then, you came to Springfield to play with us?” The connotations of that word, “play,” were in no ways meant to be taken at face value. Zico knew the meaning of “play” when she used it. Like spoiled children who couldn’t find the joy of playing with a toy without dismantling it piece by piece, these hunters wanted to “play” with them. They wanted to enjoy the hunt to the fullest before they disposed of their broken toys. The toys being the werewolves and the spoiled children being the hunters.

Hyosung nodded, as though it were obvious, “We came here to eliminate you.”

“Why?”

She seemed confused. She seemed confused but Zico knew whatever she “seemed” was up for debate, “Because that’s what we do.”

Because that’s what they do. That statement struck a chord in Zico. It struck him because he remembered when he was like that, “I used to think like you do.”

Hyosung shook her head with at tsk of her tongue, “And look where that’s gotten you.”

Zico clenched his fists, tugging at his bonds despite the stinging sensation that followed, “Let me out and I’ll really show you where it’s gotten me.”

Hyosung’s confident stare clouded over with a different emotion; excitement. As though his suggestion sent her into a state of euphoric bliss, she purred her next words, “What are you proposing?”

“Fight me. I win and you let me out of here. I lose and you can play with your toy until you get bored.” He watched her with raised eyebrows, already knowing what her answer would be before it even left her lips.

“Deal.”

The phone rang, vibrating on the coffee table as the noise drowned out the sound of the  movie playing on the television. Dongwoo looked towards you where you sat beside him on the couch, the both of you waiting for Hoya whom Sunggyu had sent you a text was coming over. You went to it, picking it up with the thought that it was Sunggyu. Yet, when you looked to the glowing screen, you saw that it wasn’t him. It was an unknown number. Which meant it could be any one of the werewolves or disappointingly, a telemarketer. The former of possibilities caused you to answer it.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end replied, and you could tell it belonged to a male. A male you did not recognize. “Hello.”

For some reason, you found yourself greeting the unknown caller again for some reason, “Oh, hello.” You realized you already said that and mentally smacked yourself. You heard light laughter on the other end before they spoke again.

“I’m sorry, it seems I have the right number.”

And then, he hung up. The man hung up. You pulled the phone away from your ear, staring at it in utter confusion. He said he had the “right” number, didn’t he? That is what he said, right? “What was that about?” You questioned out loud, turning to Dongwoo who had listened in and simply shrugged in response.

The doorbell rang and was accompanied by a knock on the door. You stood up from the couch, making your way to the door that once you looked through the peephole, you opened without a second thought. You were embraced by two pairs of arms right after, and the mysterious phone call seemed miles away.  

A/N:

I actually have no idea what to say for this author's note. Complete and utter blank. That's what I'm drawing, a complete and utter blank. Um, well, yeah. Today was a long day for me. Not because it was hard or tiring but it just felt so long that this morning felt like nighttime and now it feels like I should be getting ready to go to class on Monday. An overall weird day for me. Oh! I just thought of something to talk about. They were playing a Pokemon marathon on television today. Pokemon just, I don't know, I always tear up when I watch it. I don't know why. Maybe it's my inner child reminiscing about my childhood. Just sobbing thinking, "Ugh, my childhood. There it is. Dead." Ahem conclusion: Yes, I still watch Pokemon. 

Now, onto the chapter! It was shorter than the last two (it was going to be longer but then I thought, why not end it here and add this and this and this and call it a day? So yeah, that's what I did). I really like the Dongwoo scene (I mean obviously, why wouldn't I?). There's the figuring out of who the man in chains is. Psst, if you didn't know, it's Zico. Congrats to all of those who knew! Then there's the scandalous relationship between Jiyeon and P.O. and a mystery man on the phone? Is that significant? Meh, probably not, right? Right?

Pokemon, my feels for you are endless. I'm drowning in them.