The wind blew Yiru's hair as she sat on the roof of the cabin. Her thoughts were scattered all over the place, and the only way to help her get her mind back together was to sit on the rooftop and think. Every timeYiru was having a hard time, she would escape to the rooftop. She didn't know why, but being at a high place helped her think more clearly. It was as if her thoughts were being lifted from her as the wind blew.

"So you still come up here?" a voice broke into her thoughts.

Yiru looked up to see Kris towering over her, his shadow blocking her from the sun's rays. "How'd you find me?"

Kris sat down next to her and sighed. "We used to come up here together, remember?" The girl only nodded. "What's on your mind, Yiru?"

Silence was the only response to his question. 

"I know something's wrong. Why else would you come up here?" he said. Again, Yiru didn't reply. "Did you go to the border again last night?"

With that said, Yiru stiffened for a moment before relaxing again - she could not give anything away so easily.

"I know it was you who talked to the Cinereo wolf last night at the border."

"If you know everything already, why are you still asking?" Yiru spat out.

Kris closed his eyes. He was losing his patience. He knew the girl was stubborn, but this was way out of line. "So you're not denying it then. You broke the rules, Yiru."

Yiru smirked. "Are you going to have me killed, now?"

In response, the male wolf grabbed her hand firmly. "I would never have you killed. I'd have to die first before anyone could get to you."

She softened at his words. "I know that, but you don't know what you're getting yourself into, Kris. You can't protect me forever."

Kris knew that, but he'd try his best to do whatever he could to protect her now, while he still had the chance. "You're hiding something, aren't you?" he asked. "Tell me what it is, and I'll do my best to make sure that you're safe."

"It's no use. You nor I can do anything about what's going to come." Yiru stood up. "Now, come on. We have border duty today." She jumped off the roof and joined the other Exo-M members, who were waiting on the front porch. 

Kris was left dumbfounded. What was coming that he couldn't handle? He was the alpha of the Tenebris wolves - he would face anything to secure the safety of the wolves of his clan, especially Yiru.

"Had a nice talk?" Chen smirked as Yiru strode passed him.

"Shut it, Chen," Yiru snapped.

The said wolf raised his hands up in defense. "Touchy."

Kris jumped off from the roof and started to run once he hit the ground. "Let's go!" he called out to his pack behind him. As a group, they ran off to the border.

Along the way, Yiru caught up to Kris and said, "And for the record, how do you know that whatever is going to happen has something to do with me? You know nothing." She dashed off before Kris could say anything to her. Kris growled at her words. It was true, he knew nothing, but he had a bad feeling that whatever Yiru was hiding was very big and life-threatening. 

They reached the border in no time, and Kris commanded the previous guards to leave, now that they were there to take their place. Once the guards left, the seven wolves positioned themselves along the river to stand guard. It was going to be a long and boring five hours of doing nothing - or so they thought. 

"Hey, let's go out for another run," Baekhyun blurted out as the Exo-K pack ate their breakfast. Everyone stopped eating to stare at Baekhyun.

"Again?" Sehun asked with a hint of annoyance in his tone. "Sereiously, Bakhyun, we went for a run yesterday, then you went out last night, and then you went for another run before breakfast. Aren't you tired yet?"

Baekhyun blinked three times before shaking his head. 

"Come on, guys. Give Baek a break. He's in his mating phase," Yejin defended Baekhyun. "He'll probably be there for you guys when you all go through the phase."

Suho agreed with his mate. "Yeah, we should be there for him, so why don't we go for a light run after breakfast?"All the other wolves agreed with their leader, some hesitantly though.

"You can count me out though," the only female wolf said, while standing up from the table. "I have better things to do in town." She left the six other wolves with a wave before exiting the dining room.

As they agreed on, the Exo-K pack went out for a run after breakfast. Baekhyun led the way as they ran through the forest. It was a nice day - sunny skies with a light breeze; not too hot nor too cold. They laughed and joked around by shoving each other over and racing to a certain point. Of course, Baekhyun always won the random races, which was very odd, since before he was in his mating phase, he hardly ever won a race. Sehun or Kai were usually the ones who got first place.

A few meters into their run, Suho ran up to Baekhyun and asked him, "Where are you leading us?"

"I'm not sure, actually. I'm just going wherever my feet are taking me." He was lying though. Baekhyun knew exactly where his feet were leading him. The border.

Lay looked around sneakily and saw that all of his friends and his sister were preoccupied. He took the chance to walk up to Kris and tap him on the shoulder. "Hey, Kris," he whispered loud enough for only Kris to hear.

Kris turned to his friend and nodded at him in acknowledgment. "What is it?"

"I heard you and Yiru talked this morning on the roof."

"Yeah, something's wrong her," Kris said with pursed lips. "I can feel it."

Lay rolled his eyes. "I know that already. She's in her mating phase."

"W-What?!" Kris exclaimed in a whispered tone, while his eyes widened to the size of saucers. "How would you know?"

"It's quite obvious," the younger wolf stated as-