I leave the bathroom and go back to my room, thankfully Kris and Chen have left so I flop down on my bed suddenly exhausted from the realization of what I’m planning to do in a couple of hours. All I want to do is crawl under the covers and not think about anything but I know I can’t do that; the guys would start to worry. So I drag myself off of the bed and make my way downstairs, I have to act like everything’s normal so the guys don’t suspect anything.

My plan works for awhile, in between playing cards, eating lunch and just doing random things I manage to avoid my problems for a while but periodically I catch myself gazing out the window dreading when the sun will set and the moon will dominate the sky.

       “Hey we should play a game.” Tao suddenly says from his place on the couch. Everyone is lounging on the couches and even the floor as we watch an episode of Running Man.

I’m tired of just lazing around because it allows my mind to wander and think about important things. Like how am I going to run away from six werewolves that have supernatural hearing and smelling abilities? I need a distraction so I ask, “What game?”

There are a few groans from my response, Chen, who is sitting next to me being the loudest, “Shush, don’t say that! You’ll encourage him.”

How can they be so lazy? Tao turns around and smiles at me, then jumps off the couch, “Really? Yes! I knew you would be up for it! Okay how about... arm wrestling? It’s a full moon, and we’re all at our strongest! It should be interesting!”

He looks around expectantly. I smile, liking the sound of it, I open my mouth to respond but Luhan beats me to it.

“Uhh...No.” he points to me, “She’s a girl remember? We can’t arm wrestle her!”

I scoff and throw a pillow at him, hitting him right in the face “Hey! I’m stronger than I look okay! You're just scared that I’m going to beat you~”

I smirk as he looks at me in disbelief throwing the pillow back at me but it lands in Chen’s lap instead.

Chen sighs and places the pillow behind his back, “Now you’ve done it. All I wanted was to rest a little bit. But noooo~.”

Kris chuckles and stands up from where he’s sitting on the floor, “This is going to be fun.”

Lay and Xiumin bring over a small table for us to use and Luhan turns off the TV and replaces it with some fighting music. Eye of the Tiger come blaring through the speaker and I can’t help but laugh.

  “Is this really necessary?” I ask when I finish giggling.

          “Oh yeah you asked for it, I don’t do anything half-assed ya know.” Luhan says cracking his knuckles. I shake my head, these guys are too much.

The first match is naturally between Luhan and I, so we walk over to the small wooden table.

       “Let’s just get this over with.” Luhan pretends to yawn and then lazily drops his hand on the table. I roll my eyes at how dramatic he’s being. We clasp hands and I make sure to hold his hand tightly to show him my strength. This boy is too cocky for his own good. For whatever reason I feel compelled to beat him and something inside me tells me I have the power to.  

Luhan sends me a mischievous grin, “I’m not gonna go easy on you just because you’re a girl.”

I smirk, “I wouldn’t want you to.”  

Lay plays referee and stand over us. “Are you guys ready? Start on one okay?” we nod in understanding, “Alright. Three...Two... One!”

As soon as we start, we’re locked in tight combat, neither one having the advantage. Until Luhan puts some extra oomph into it and starts pulling me over to his side, it seems like he’s about to win. I let out a rush of air in surprise, Luhan's pretty scrawny for a werewolf but he’s still considerably stronger than me. The outcome of this match seems sealed; I'm on the losing side.

        I close my eyes in anticipation for when my hand will hit the table signaling my defeat. But then a surge of strength wells up within me like a new battery has been swapped in and with a low growl I pull our hands over to my side, slamming Luhan’s hand down like it’s nothing.

The fight is over. An almost deadly silence cascades over the room. Everyone stares at me in shock and I can't help but feel the same. Luhan gapes at me, blinking a few times as he tries to comprehend what just happened. He stands up frowning and steals a glance at me, his cheeks flush from embarrassment.

 “I was going easy on you because you’re a girl okay!”

Everyone snickers and Luhan folds his arms over his chest and shuffles over to the couch pouting like a little kid. I look down at my hands, not sure exactly how I won. My body feels weird like electricity is running through it, seeping into my skin and flowing into my blood. I feel energized like I could run three marathons back to back.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts when Chen suddenly appears in front of me. “Marina?”

 “Yeah?” I look up at him then at my hands again, my eyes twitch, I think that strange electricity has reached them causing my irises to feel weird.

“Whoa~” Chen yanks my chin up so I’m looking at him again and he leans in, staring into my eyes. I can't help but notice how long his eyelashes are, it’s almost unfair.

 “What?” I say blushing from his close proximity to my face.

“Hmm. Nothing, that’s weird. It just looked like your eyes flashed red for a second. Like Shifter red. Guess I saw wrong.” He lets go of my chin and sits down in front of the table since he’s up to wrestle next.

I stare at him puzzled. Red? Why would my eyes be red?

 Kris POV

I stare wide eyed at you. Did you just beat Luhan in arm wrestling? Luhan may not be super strong, but he is a werewolf which means he’s stronger than any human. And it’s a full moon tonight, which means he should be even more unbeatable.

 I smirk, I’ve always found strong girls attractive, that’s one more thing I can add to the list of reasons I like you. Okay I admit it, I like you. A lot. Maybe I’m finally admitting it because of what happened this morning when we were fighting over that letter and somehow we ended up wrestling on your bed. Or maybe it’s because as werewolves get closer to a full moon, which is tonight, our emotions go crazy. We tend to run more on instinct than logic which can be dangerous.

 I was so tempted to kiss you right then and there but Chen just had to walk in and interrupt us. And now it looks like he’s trying to kiss you as payback. From where I'm sitting on the couch I can see Chen tilt your chin up as he leans in. A growl builds up in my throat when I see him touch you. I tightly clench my hand into a fist from jealousy.

Oh hell no, I'm not going to watch you guys kiss in front of me. I quickly walk over to where you guys are but Chen let's go of you and sits down on the floor before I get there. I freeze, letting out a sigh of relief. Why is Chen acting all flirty with you? In the beginning he wanted me to kick you out, but now you two are inseparable.

 You turn around and I can see how badly you're blushing as you look down at your hand. Did Chen hold it or something? Is that why you're looking at it? I can't stand watching you two being all lovey dovey while you continue to ignore my heart. It hurts too much, I wish I could push my emotions down so deep that I could forget them, but I can’t. So I do the next best thing. Escape. I storm out of the room and race upstairs making sure I slam my bedroom door so everybody knows not to bother me.

Your POV

“What’s his problem?” I ask when Kris storms out of the room and a few seconds later we hear a door shut with a loud bang! sound that seems to rattle the whole house.
 

Xiumin shrugs, “It’s that time of the month for him.”

When I look at him with an eyebrow raised waiting for him to explain he adds,                              “Werewolves get really emotional during the days leading up to a full moon, today’s a full moon so our emotions are going haywire. That’s why Luhan is over there pouting and crying unnecessarily.”

He points to Luhan who is silently crying in the corner. I nod like I understand when I really don’t. I don’t think I’ll ever understand these werewolf things. But then I remember what Xiumin said about tonight being a full moon, so I decide to question him about the red moon to see if it has any significant meaning.

“It’s a full moon tonight huh? But I thought I read somewhere that tonight’s going to be a red moon?” I ask walking over to the couch and sitting beside him as we watch Chen and Tao’s match.

“Where did you read that?” Xiumin asks, forehead crinkled in confusion as he shifts his attention to me rather than the exciting arm wrestling match.

 I backpedal, worried that he’ll somehow find out what I’m going to do, “Oh nowhere... never mind. I probably read it wrong.”

 I stand up ready to leave and escape being interrogated but Xiumin grips my arm, gently but firmly stopping me from moving.

“No, you're right. Tonight is a red moon.” I sit back down at his words waiting for him to continue.

“A red moon is also called a harvest moon. It was a symbol to the ancient people that it was time to start harvesting for the long winter ahead of them. The moon actually turns red, but only humans from very old ancient families can see the true color of the moon, but most Shifters can see it unless you're a werewolf that has been bitten not born. For werewolves it’s a symbol to start training the new pups or any strays that got adopted into the pack and to teach them about their history. We call it the blood moon because you learn about your bloodlines and where you come from. The term is very old and isn’t used by many humans anymore. That’s why I was so surprised that you said you read about it somewhere.” Xiumin explains, as a small smile forms on his lips before he turns to look at me.

“I guess its fitting. You’re kind of like our stray pup.” He ruffles my hair and I can’t help but smile back. There will be a real new pup after I find the last Shifter. I’m about to question him more about it but he’s already back to cheering for the arm wrestling match between Chen and Tao, Tao on the winning end. Boys will be boys I guess.

  I stand up and walk over to the window because I see that the sun is lowering in the sky, soon the moon will be out and it will be time for me to leave. The woods look dark and ominous, I take a deep breath as fear starts to creep into my mind at the thought of who or what I might find out there.

“Hey.” a male voice makes me jump back in surprise because I didn’t even hear him walk up behind me, he moves like a shadow. I turn around with my palm over my racing heart and come face to face with Lay. He smiles that cute adorable dimple filled smile of his but then his face hardens as he tilts his head up smelling the air.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, I don’t miss how his eyes turn red due to whatever he caught a whiff of. I stare at him perplexed because he’s acting strange, must be another case of Werewolf PMS.

I shake my head. “Nothing’s wrong. Why?” He frowns as if he can tell I'm lying.

“Werewolves can smell fear you know that right?” Lay tells me. I mentally roll my eyes, Of course they can. Lay tucks his hands into his pockets then puts all his weight on one leg as if he’s waiting for me to say something.

“What?” I ask as he continues to stare at me with that knowing look of his.

He leans in and whispers into my ear “So… what are afraid of?” I hear the tease his tone, as his hot breath tickles my neck. When he pulls back I peer at him with an eyebrow raised. Usually Lay is very gentlemanly when he talks to me, I guess this is the moon’s doing.

Recap, so Kris gets angry, Luhan gets sad and Lay gets...flirty? I cut a glance to the other three guys wondering how they change during a full moon.  I decide to play along, wondering how far I can take this. I rake a hand through my hair and bat my eyelashes. Lay watches my every move.

“What would I be afraid of?” I ask.

He moves closer, diminishing the space between us by an inch or two, “You tell me.”

I gaze into his eyes, they look so warm and comforting like I can tell him anything or confide in him. I just want to bury myself in his arms and tell him about my plan to find the last Shifter but catch myself before the words can slip out. I slightly shake my head to shake the thought away and quickly exhale taking a step away from him hoping the distance will help me not be pulled into the familiar comfort of Lay. Pull yourself together girl!

For some reason all day I’ve been feeling all lovey dovey like some romance deprived girl. Whenever one of the guys come in close contact with me, I would either want to kiss them, like this morning with Kris, get all shy and giddy, like how I was with Chen earlier and now with Lay I just want to cuddle with him.

They’re werewolves. There’s nothing comforting about them. I need to just focus on finding the 13th Shifter then maybe I can find out what I’m doing here and finally find answers as to why I can’t remember anything.

In the reflection of Lay’s eyes I can see the picture painted through the window behind me. I turn around and my eyes drown in the sunset that takes up the whole sky. The heavens are painted an array of pink, orange and yellow, and the pale reddish glow of the moon is beginning to show. The clouds hold the promise of a calm, peaceful night but I knew it was going to be anything but when I look down below the beautiful sky to the woods. Filled with scary unknown things, but also the person I’m searching for.

All the nervousness and fear from earlier comes rushing back but also a cool sliver of courage creeps in, it will have to enough for now. Commence Operation Find the Lost Shifter!!!

“Excuse me Lay, I need to umm... GO TO THE BATHROOM!” I race past him hoping he didn't catch anymore of my emotions with that werewolf nose of his. I reach my room and quickly close the door behind me. Earlier I had packed the things I would need. A backpack filled with water and warm coffee, a blanket, food, clothes, a flashlight and other necessities. I had swiped a coat from Kris’ room because I know that when the boys find out I’m gone they will want to track me but they won’t be able to if I smell like Kris and not like myself. I hope this will throw them off.

I change clothes and put on the thickest sweater in my closet which is a grey sweater with a black heart in the middle. Then I pull on black, warm, fleece leggings before putting on my comfiest black jeans pairing them with fuzzy socks and my combat boots.

 I hull Kris’ military style jacket on and allow myself a second to inhale his scent and smile at the comfort it gives me before I place a wool beanie over my head and gloves on my fingers. My hands shake during all this but I try to ignore it and focus on what needs to be done.

I sling the backpack over my shoulders and take a deep breath as I walk towards my balcony doors. I slap my cheeks in a way to psyche myself up, “You can do this. All you have to do is open those doors.”

My hand reaches out to grab the old fashioned glass door knob, but then I hear footsteps reaching my door. The creaky floorboards whine under the weight of whoever is approaching my room. Without a second though, I quickly jump into my bed and wrap my elf in the blanket, feigning sleep. My head just hit the pillow as the door swings open.

 “Hey. Oh…you’re already sleeping. You’re such a little kid sometimes.” Kris’ voice reaches my ears even though he’s talking in a whisper and is some 20 feet away from me. Strange.

“Dream of me. I’ll see you when you wake up.” Kris whispers, I can hear the smile in his voice.

Only when I hear him close the door and the same creaky floorboard groan followed by his heavy footsteps down the stairs do I open my eyes. But you won’t Kris. By the time morning comes… I’ll be long gone. I shove the covers aside and put my beanie back on that fell during my frantic leap onto my bed.

I take a deep calming breath then reach for the balcony doors again. Nothing interrupts me as I pull the two doors open, allowing the wintery air to wrap me in its arms. From the time I left the boys downstairs to now, the sky has darkened and snow has begun to fall. Though the snow is beautiful it is also cold and sharp as it bites my fingers like a wolf with its sharp icy teeth. I walk out from the comfort and warmth of my room and into the darkness, closing the doors behind me as the wind kisses my cheeks like an old friend.

Moving closer to the railing and the balcony, I have designated my means of escape, I look at the ground which is a little more than three stories away and something inside tells me I can make that jump, I can jump from even greater heights. So I decide to trust my instinct and leap off the balcony without caution. After a few seconds of nothing but the wind rushing past me, I land on the ground unharmed. I gaze up at the moon that is in fact crimson red, and smile because of its uncannily resembles to the red that forms around the black pupils of the werewolf boys that reside in the house behind me.

 I stare out into the daunting woods but this time I don’t feel fear. I feel a sense of unexpected longing. Like I’m meant to be out there. With nature and the luscious trees and the scurrying animals. Something pulls me into the forest, inviting me in. I know deep down that I’m going to find more than I bargained for out there. But I race forward into the darkness as the red moon illuminates my path in a coppery hue anyways.
 

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A/N:  Update: 1/23/2014