His hate for the human beings didn’t exist from day one, it grew, and he didn’t like it- initially he had tried reasoning out- but then he realized how humans were pretty much like any beast would be; heartless.

At the young age of 5 he realized the place he lived in along with a bunch of other kids as called an Orphanage, he grew up thinking of it as home, the other kids were his siblings and his possessiveness and love for them was exactly of how a sibling would love his own brothers and sisters.

Once they were taken out to play by one of their resident ‘mothers’, he being one of the eldest naturally lead the group of kids, something the mothers would be proud of and give him extra candy because he did a good job taking care of everyone, he would be told that he would grow up to be a big responsible man and lead people, he would smile brightly at them, large brown eyes twinkling, little chest swelling up with pride at such words. He looked forward to becoming such a man one day.

11 Years old, one day in the park while he swung happily along some of his sisters, his ears twitched to a cry. He abruptly dug his shoes into the ground, making the younger girls wonder why he had suddenly stopped. He stared at them in wonder; it seemed they had not heard it. There it was! Again, a scream, louder and familiar, it was quickly followed by another one and he knew it was one of his brothers. He hurriedly told the girl to stay there, wait for him and then he bolted, his nostrils flaring, he didn’t know why they flared like that, he just knew it helped him pick up different scents better, he had sharp ears as well, so he sprinted on his little legs, glad he was one of the fastest runners amongst the siblings he finally came across a bunch of tress, there was a scuffle behind one of them accompanied by whimpers and rough grunts. Not hesitating one bit he pounced upon strange men, they were two, they held one of his brothers down on the ground as he thrashed to break free, the tears rolling down his chubby cheeks just fueled his anger and he clawed and bit and practically did everything and anything to make the men cry out in pain and flee.

He heard the vague word of ‘freak’ as they ran off.

He was oblivious to how his chest had been heaving, his mouth wide open, drool dripping down his chin, eyes glinting a vicious orange.

And deep-throated, wolf-like growls reverberating in his throat.

Apparently someone had called on the mothers and they had come rushing to the spot, shocked at the site they beheld.

He moved to help his ‘brother’ off the ground but the boy scuttled away in fear, this time those wide fearful eyes were directed at him.

Puzzled he tried to gently coax him up, afraid he was injured but one of the mothers quickly shoved him away, looking petrified as they heaved the little boy up.

That’s the first time he felt eyes on him, like a cornered and confused puppy he looked about, softly calling out  to them, feeling a lump in his throat form because he wanted to know what he did wrong, why was none of them giving him a hug, had he not done a good job today? He inquired with a shaky voice.

The mothers just gasped words he didn’t understand.

‘monster’

‘devil child’

He knew those words were not good though, or else they would be giving him candy, so he finally cried because his heart felt heavy.

He was kicked out of the orphanage, suddenly homeless…

Confused, shocked, scared and hungry.

Fast forward a year or two, living on scrapes and wandering, looking out for himself. These things constructed a strong sense of independence within his persona.

Aged thirteen Hyukjae was able to defend himself against unwanted attention, he knew that he was not the only one of his kind, just that having had his trust shattered years ago, he was not willing to trust anyone, human or not. Over the years he had been approached by some ‘strays’- as he began to refer to his kind that had no home to belong to- Hyukjae would merely snarl in their direction, lips curling in the most malevolent manner that would make the others back out of his way. Back then his kind was locked upon with distrust and fear, hence most of them had to live like beggars, their days occupied with race to find food, better shelter, gaining more territory.

Hyukjae managed to gain some knowledge from here and there, somehow a few strays that came across him to fight for territory but ended up displaying submission to him, became his lackeys. So he would wander alleys and steal from shops and restaurants. With age his antics grew bolder and on wide-scale. He became to be known as one of the most intimidating figures in the society of shifters, the name travelled up the grape-wine into the circles of humans.

It was an unspoken law, Lee Hyukjae was not to be messed with.

Life improved for him and his fellow shifters. Shifters were of all kinds, their appearance perfectly human, they had the natural ability to shape-shift into creatures at will. Hyukjae had come across from feline shifters to reptile-shifters but mostly he had interacted with wolf-shifters like his own self and those were the ones who acknowledged his status as a dominant figure or one of the Alphas around.

More than anything Hyukjae was a loner, he tolerated and even accepted the company of other wolf-shifters- only those who made sure not to get on his nerves or those who didn’t try asserting themselves on him- but he never haughtily claimed being the ‘alpha dog’ around. He had been offered, from various strong and organized ‘packs’ to join them in their cause to seek equality for their kind. He did end up joining one, however after a brutal face-off with the local police, their numbers reduced to a handful. They scattered, Hyukjae who had suffered a great sense of loss and violence, shut himself away,however the hate within him simmered and boiled, he never let it cool off.