“Scared you didn’t I?” the Lycanthrope hissed as it returned to its human form—revealing the scarred face BaekHyun promised he would never forget. It was Henry—one of the demonic hyenas involved in the first invasion and also, Kris’s death.

            “I’m not in the ing mood to mess around with you,” BaekHyun retorted as he turned his heel on him.

            “Why so serious, BaekHyun? Are you already upset? The fight hasn’t even started yet and you already seem so stressed out. Are you afraid that you’re going to lose to us, perhaps?” Henry sneered tauntingly.

            BaekHyun tensed at the mentioning of the battle, knowing exactly what he and his family were going to have to face soon. Lycanthropes, half human half hyena shifters, were sent from the deep hot depths of hell into the world of Thellion—which was where BaekHyun’s father—and the general population of wolves and various other divine creatures—had come from. They caused disruption to everyone’s peace, turned the world corrupt, and even dared to kill others whom are weaker than them. Unfortunately, the chaos began to expand as the Lycanthropes found their way through the portals of the mortal world. Now, they hunt for their preys at twilight—occasionally feasting on humans if lucky to find one wandering around alone at night. No one truly knew of their intentions, but most understood that they came onto the world craving for complete sovereignty and power over all. It was a definite possibility that they were scheming to take over the mortal world as well, and that was why Eden—the royal king of Thellion—decided that he was not going to allow this disarray to continue on for any longer. Therefore, he sent a few of his best men into the human territory—which included Han, and now his offspring with his lovely human wife, BaekHyun and his brothers—to put a complete end to the devilish hyenas. However, this was going to be an extremely challenging task. Those who dared to rebel against the Lycanthropes did not have a good ending. Many wolves have injured themselves severely, or even died, while attempting to duel against the hyenas. Kris, BaekHyun’s brother, was one of the unlucky victims. And that was why BaekHyun was anxious and somewhat afraid. He knew he and his brothers were still at a huge disadvantage compared to the Lycanthropes. Although they were strong, they were unable to match the hyenas’ prowess. Training definitely helped, but only to an extent. If failed to protect both Thellion and the mortal world, the Lycanthropes will surely tear everything thing apart and leave everyone in despair and misery. With this cumbersome responsibility, BaekHyun knew the outcome of the future was heavily relying on his family and the rest of the Thellion men. The last and final battle—that determined the overall results of whether the wolrd was coming to an end or not—was still months away, but even so, there was little time to prepare.

            “Get the hell out of my way,” BaekHyun grumbled, pushing right past Henry.

            “Give it up already, Baek. You’re nothing but a useless and weak piece of . You’re going to lose to us and you know it,” he voiced out from behind.  

           “Don’t be in a hurry to make assumptions; no one can predict the future. But either way, whether we lose or not, it doesn’t matter. I’m just grateful knowing that I’m not an ugly hyena that goes around acting like I’m the when no one really likes me,” BaekHyun cleverly insulted as he continued to walk away.  

           However, before he could leave the area, Henry blurred past him—pinning BaekHyun up against a tree by the throat. Although his enduring lungs were able to hold up without air for longer than most humans, they soon began to collapse within time. As he began gasping helplessly for air, Henry smirked pleasingly. 

           “You better watch what you ing say,” he threatened. Henry pointed at the long gash—that was now hardened into thick scar tissues—on his face and warned, “That son of a Kris did this to me in battle and you’re going to be the one paying for it sooner or later, so it’s best that you watch yourself. Make another wrong move and you’re going to hell along with your brother before you even get the chance to battle against us.”

            Despite the painful struggle, BaekHyun managed to shift into his wolf form—breaking right out of Henry’s tight grasp as he knocked him over onto the ground. Caught completely off guard, Henry was not alert and attentive enough to shift into his divine form; therefore, BaekHyun was at an advantage. Trapped under BaekHyun’s dense weight, Henry’s futile attempts to escape only make BaekHyun crush him even more.

            As soon as he got the chance, Henry turned into Lycanthrope form and began dominating. The two continued to fight viciously—violently clawing and biting at one another until BaekHyun knew he was unable to hold on for any longer. Using as much strength and power as possibly could, he heaved Henry off of him—creating a miniature loophole for him to escape while Henry helped himself back up—and began to flee the scene.

            Dripping heavily in his own blood, BaekHyun forced himself to run as fast as he possibly could. At the moment, he couldn’t help but to feel like the most humiliating coward on the planet. However, he knew it had to sacrifice his pride in order to save himself—knowing that he had to continue to live on in order to avenge all of the innocent lives that have been lost under the Lycanthropes control.

           The familiar city lights came into view—indicating that BaekHyun was now out of danger. He finally allowed himself to slow back down to walking pace and began limping home. Before he could even make it halfway, BaekHyun felt his body shutting down in fatigue and pain. Although he contained the supreme ability to heal himself, the recovering rate was not quick enough to help him sustain consciousness. BaekHyun collapsed in front of a small apartment complex—still in canine form. The last thing he recalled hearing was Chen’s signaling howl ringing out from a very far distance—desperately calling for him to come home.  

            A piercing crash rang out from downstairs, startling her out of slumber. As soon as she heard a recognizable wail, April quickly rushed downstairs. She found her father—who was holding a broken beer bottle by its neck—hovering over her mother, who was now crumpled miserably on the floor. Scattered around her were millions of transparent green glass shards.

            “OEMONI! Are you alright?” April quickly rushed to her mother’s side. She darted her eyes up towards her father. His face was swollen and flushed—two recognizable traits that he had been drinking once again. “ABOJI! What the hell happened?!”

            “I’M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!” he slurred as he pointed a shaky finger at his wife’s teary face. “SO WHAT IF I GAMBLE? SO WHAT IF I DRINK? IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT THEN LET’S GET A ING DIVORCE. YOU THINK I’M SCA—“

            “ABOJI! THAT’S ENOUGH!” April shrieked as frustrating tears began to build up within her eyes. “Umma is right. All you do is gamble and drink your life away without even taking into consideration of how your actions affect others around you. I have to work part time to help support you and mom because you refuse to get a job. I could be spending all that time studying for my exams so I could get into a good college—so I could have a solid foundation. And that’s not even it, aboji… Those gangsters always come looking for you through ME—threatening that if I don’t hand you over, they’ll make me your replacement instead. You’re selfish, inconsiderate, and incompetent! SOMETIMES I WISH I WASN’T YOUR DAUGHTER!”

            “APRIL! Don’t say that… Apologize to your father!” her mother hissed.

            “Ani,” she refused stubbornly as she glared at her father with animosity in her eyes. “It’s the truth.”

            Her father stood there—completely speechless. Although he had set up a façade that he was a tough, merciless, and apathetic person, he truly was hurt by his daughter’s words. However, soon, the pain soon turned into fuming anger. Without saying another word, he stormed out of the house through the back door—slamming it loudly shut behind him.  As soon as the house was at peace and quiet once again, April escorted her mother upstairs and retrieved back to her bedroom.

            Disturbed and still greatly troubled by her burdensome family problems, April was unable to resume her sleep. After hours of lying on her bed—wide awake—she gave up on sleeping in general and allowed herself to leave outside for some fresh air.

            Her heart jumped in fear as soon as a large wolf-like creature lying lifelessly before her doorstep came into view. April quickly shut the door closed for her own safety and watched the thing through her peephole. Even through the thickness of her wooden door, she was still able to hear the creature wheezing heavily. Extremely afraid and unsure of what to do, she quickly returned back upstairs and slipped under her protective covers. Before she knew it, exhaustion soon took over, and April successfully back asleep without realizing it.

            “APRIL! Aren’t you going to grab some breakfast?!” her mother’s remindful voice rang out from within the kitchen.

            “No thanks! I’m going to be late for school! I’ll see you later Umma!” she hastily replied as she slipped on her uniform jacket while simultaneously putting on her shoes.

            All set and ready to go, April opened her front door—prepared to sprint off to school when she noticed clusters of people standing near her house. They all seemed to be focused on one thing on her doorstep. Following their gaze, she found a young man lying unconsciously before her—coincidentally in the exact same spot where the creature from last night had laid. Who he was, April was unsure of, for his arms were positioned in an angle that completely covered his face. His clothes were wrinkled and bloodstained, and any skin exposure was covered in dirt and muck. The man was obviously not in a good condition.

           The small crowds eyed her carefully—as if waiting for her to take action. As much as April didn’t want to get involved, she knew she had to do something about it. The man was lying in front of her house after all. She swiftly rushed back inside and called for her mother. As soon as the two returned back outside, however, the young man was nowhere to be seen.