CHAPTER THREE
❧ W O L V E S & W A R R I O R S ❧
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"I thought of you all night,
Now inside the fog, there is some light."
Now inside the fog, there is some light."
- All Right, Lim Kim
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C H A P T E R
T H R E E
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What's wrong, man? You're not focusing at all today," Kai said as he watched Kris from behind one of the microphones in the studio.
"You okay?" Luhan asked, grabbing his water bottle from his bag and bringing it over to him. "You don't have a cold or anything, do you?" Kris shook his head to signal no, but his head was throbbing, and for some reason, he could sense something in the building.
Something from the accident five years ago.
After that night, Chanyeol had vanished into thin air without leaving a single trace. It was as if he'd never even been alive - and, despite his efforts, D.O was unable to sense him even though they both knew that he wasn't dead. Suho's body had also never been found, and after that, Kris vowed to take revenge on Chanyeol. Not only did he betray the trust between them as one of their brothers and their trusted pack member - but he'd also murdered their leader in cold blood. And Kris promised that if the time came, he would kill him - because of Suho, and because of that girl. He had pulled her out of the car before it exploded in a burst of flames, bringing her and his brother nearer to the paramedics before running into the forest. But he still watched her until she was safely sent to the hospital, following the car from behind the dense foliage of the trees, not stopping until he knew she was safe.
He had no idea what Chanyeol wanted from her, but he would protect her until he found out.
Yet now, he could sense something that reminded him of her - He would never mistake that scent, which reminded him of fresh, running water, and the subtle fragrance of the forest he'd once loved. Closing his eyes, he tried to pinpoint the location it was coming from, but he registered nothing.
"Why don't we take a break? Be back in five?" Chen asked, seeing the anxious looks on the members' faces.
"BREAK IN FIVE GUYS!" Lay shouted, whooping with glee as he put down his headphones and nearly danced out of the doorway. They'd been cooped up in the recording studio all day long, trying to prepare for their next comeback, and Kris knew that even although he was distracted, the other members were finding the recording process tedious as well. It was especially hard to get motivated when they were unable to stretch out their legs and take a run - they were all starting to feel anxious and restless at being cooped up in the room all day. Getting up from his chair, he grimaced when he saw that out of the corner of his eye Sehun looked frustrated, angry that they were taking another break. He was the only one not part of their pack - he was fully human, and despite the members' disapproval, he had joined the group under orders from the CEO. Because he didn't understand, it had been especially hard to communicate and work together with him, and they couldn't tell him their secret, either.
"We'll be back soon, Seh," Kris mumbled. "I'll bring you back something to drink."
Sehun nodded, quietly looking back down at his music, before Kris left the room. Looking behind him to check that no one was following, he started running, closing his eyes to focus harder and find out where she was.
What was this? Am I going crazy?
As he ran up the stairs, he could now feel something, like a rising warmth in him when he neared the third floor. Dashing quickly and scanning the area, he was shocked to see that he was now standing in front of Yong Guk's office, and even more surprised to see how much of a mess the room was in. His rival, Yong Guk, who was meticulous about being neat as well as just as precise in his music, was now standing in the middle of a mountain of stray papers and strewn garbage. And it was his rival who Kris felt uncomfortable with, because he knew Yong Guk had some kind of a sixth sense, an ability that allowed him to see through others. His inner wolf could sense it humming within him - like an energy that Yong Guk possessed, which was similar to Kris's - but there was no way that he was a wolf as well. Immediately switching off his heightened senses and compressing back his wolf form which was fighting to chase after the scent, he went to the doorway, grinning as he saw that there was another person in the room.
The last whispers of the scent emanated from her, and Kris knew that she was the one.
Found you.
"Don't argue with your hyung. Hyung is cuter than you," Baekhyun teased Kai as the younger boy glared at him.
"It's not fair that you have a damn phone just cause you're older," Kai frowned. "Come back soon, we're recording your vocal part next."
"Okay, appa," Baekhyun rolled his eyes, sneakily flicking Kai's ears as he left. "Brat."
He swore Kai stuck out the middle finger at him as he walked, but Baekhyun just chuckled and pulled his phone from his pocket. Glancing behind him to make sure that no one had followed him, his heart almost leaped out of its chest when Tao walked out into the middle of the hallway. "Yah, what are you doing?" Baekhyun asked, watching Tao, who held his wushu stick and his nunchucks in his left hand. "Are you mad at me about something?" He joked, even though his palms were sweating - damn, Tao would surely use those on him if he found out what he was going to do. Tao just gave a small smile, however, before walking back to his locker. "I forgot to bring them back to my room, but don't worry, I have lots of excuses to use it on you, hyung," he said, before ducking into another doorway so that Baekhyun couldn't hit him. Sighing in relief, Baekhyun walked until the end of the hallway, leaning against a door so that he would be able to see anyone who walked into the area.
Finally sensing that it was safe, Baekhyun put the phone to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Have you decided yet?" The cold, masculine voice responded in a clipped manner, and it was hard to even believe that a while ago, they had all been closer than brothers. Growing up as a pack, they'd relied on each other and knew exactly what one another was thinking. And now, Baekhyun had to decide between them, to pick a side even though they had grown up as a united front, more loyal to one another than anything. Those years that they'd trained together, that they were forced to go through their first shedding - the first time they'd looked upon a full moon and transformed - that meant nothing to the cold hearted, soulless being on the other end of the phone. "Why should I help you after five years of not contacting me, of not telling me what's going on? After what you did? How dare - how dare you ask me to join you, Chanyeol?"
He couldn't help his voice from breaking, from parting like bitter splinters against his former best friend.
"You wouldn't answer my call unless you wanted some answers, Baekhyun," The voice replied again. "I promise you, if you trust me, I can show you what this is all truly about."
Baekhyun sighed, in as much air into his lungs as possible, but he still felt like he couldn't breathe.
"I don't have the right to decide what's good for the pack anymore. I believed in you that night. I goddamn believed in you. And do you know what you did? You murdered Suho, you bastard!" He clenched his forehead with his other hand, a massive headache beginning to pulse in his mind, causing him to be unable to think straight. "I won't let you kill Kris too - do you understand how much you hurt him?" He snapped back, furious at his complete lack of control as well as Chanyeol's insolence.
"You think I killed Suho?"
"I know you did," Baekhyun responded. "And that's why I will never face you again - for what you've done, and for what you're going to do to Kris."
"Well, you might want to choose again, Baekhyun," Another voice suddenly said, the cooler tone and higher pitch a stark conttrasting Chanyeol's. Baekhyun dropped the phone, the metal rattling with a loud clatter against the smooth tiles on the floor. He froze, feeling as if suddenly time had sped up, and he was the only one who had stopped moving. He didn't know how long he'd stood there - he just stayed still, staring at the phone in horror until his hands shook uncontrollably, and he slowly picked up the device again.
"W-w-who a-are y-you?" He stammered.
"It's Suho, Baekhyun.
I'm back."
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