A Wolf and a Beauty

Chapter 1

Suho shivered and clutched his jacket tighter around himself as he walked briskly through the swiftly darkening forest. It had all started with a stupid argument with his older brother; Suho had gotten so frustrated that he’d just stopped yelling, had pulled on his shoes, and then stormed out of the house so that he could vent his feelings somewhere else.

His brother was so overprotective of him all the time! Just because he was four years older didn’t suddenly turn him in to his father. Suho scoffed and kicked at the grass by the edge of the path.

Now that he’d spent a good hour walking through the woods, he felt much calmer, but his annoyance still bubbled to the surface when he thought about his stupid older brother.

He shivered again when a sharp wind whistled through the trees, and hastened his pace. He shouldn’t have stayed out so late; true, he was close to the entrance in to the woods, but it was nearly nighttime.

He sighed in relief when he saw the path open out towards the small arch that led back to the outside world and began to jog forward—

Only to pause at the sound of something cracking behind. He spun around, his eyes searching the darkness behind him; there hadn’t been anyone behind him on the entire way back. Was there someone there?

Shrugging, he turned around and began jogging home once more. Even his annoying older brother and mother were better than the forest at night.

XXX

Suho sighed softly and nestled in to his soft red jacket. It was a nice day today, but within the shade of the forest, it was considerably cooler than the city streets.

He smiled and crouched down by a small flower blooming by the edge of the path. “How pretty,” he breathed softly, running his hand over the soft petals. He straightened up and began walking once more, a smile set at the corners of his mouth as he reveled in the peace and the beauty of the forest.

He often went on short walks through the forest after getting home from school; they relaxed his mind and body, and helped relieve the stress of being a top student.

He turned the corner of the path, and then froze in the shade of the boughs of a great pine tree.

Down the path, a strange figure stood by the side of the road, silently gazing up at the trees. Suho bit his lip and internally debated whether or not to go forward; most people in the area were frightened by the forest and the strange tales that surrounded it. The only people that Suho ever passed on the path were hikers, or the occasional drunk college student.

However, this man was…different. He was tall and slim, with sleekly styled blond hair and long limbs. He gave off a powerful aura, and his clean-cut figure gave Suho an ominous feeling.

However, before Suho could make a decision to run away or to go forward, the man turned around. “Is anyone there?”

Suho gasped audibly at the terrifying scowl on the man’s face.

The man’s eyes narrowed and he began to move towards Suho. “I said, is anyone there?”

Suho pressed a hand over his mouth and began backing away quietly.

“Show yourself,” the stranger growled. “I can smell you, you know.”

What? Suho stopped moving for a moment, feeling completely bewildered. He can…

Suho stood, frozen in fear at the sight of the ominous silhouette at the end of the path.

The tall man with long blond hair stood still, looking at him intently almost as if...

Suho swallowed hard.

Almost as if he wanted to eat him whole...

Suho shook himself, turned around, and sprinted down the path, away from the man, and out of the forest.

When he returned home, he began to wonder why he hadn’t started running in the first place. Could it be that he had been curious about the stranger?

Suho firmly shook his head and leaned over the edge of his chair to pull his bag towards him. As they said, curiosity killed the cat: it was probably best to stay away from the forest for a while. Exams were coming up, and he couldn’t afford to get distracted if he wanted to maintain his position in class.

Suho stayed true to his promise, and stayed away from the forest for an entire month until his winter break. On the first day, he pulled on his thick red jacket and went outside to walk through the forest.

“Don’t stay out too late! Those stories of wolves have started circulating around again. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’ll be careful, mom.” Suho smiled at her. “I won’t be out long, I promise.” His mother sighed in resignation and waved him out the door, and Suho eagerly took off towards the forest. He’d missed the soothing nature of the woods, where there was always a soft silence that was only broken by the twittering of the birds and the sound of his footsteps against the path.

Suho doubted that there would be birds in the forest though, now that it was winter. He hummed softly to himself as he walked through the forest, admiring the frost formations and the cold pine needles of the evergreen trees around him.

He was so lost in his own world that he didn’t notice a second and third set of footsteps joining his own until it was too late.

Someone grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around; Suho gasped in surprise when he was met with the face of an older college student.

Suho shoved the man away and moved backwards a few steps, his body poised to run. “What do you want?”

“What’s your name pretty boy?” A second young man came up behind the first man’s back.

Suho felt a drop of sweat run down his back, even though it was the middle of winter. “It’s none of your business!”

The two older men laughed at him. “How old do you think he is? Sixteen? Seventeen?” the first one asked speculatively.

“He’s a high school student for sure,” the second one said thoughtfully.

Suho trembled inside of his coat; he wasn’t sure what these two people wanted, but he was sure that it wasn’t good. “What is it that you want from me?”

The two men ignored him. “You don’t think he looks too fragile?”

Suho’s eyes widened and he began to edge away.

“No, he’ll do the trick.” The men winked at each other, and then turned towards Suho.

Suho had no idea what to do. He knew that he had to get out of the situation, but he couldn’t exactly run back in to the woods—there was only one path, and it would only be a matter of time before he was either lost or caught, neither of which was a desirable option.

However, in order to go forward, he would have to get past the two creeps. Suho wasn’t stupid; he was a dancer and an athlete, but he definitely wasn’t strong enough to take the two men on at the same time.

“You look cold. How about we take you someplace to warm up?” the first man said invitingly.

“N-no. I’m not going anywhere with you!” Suho kept backing up from the two men until suddenly, his back hit something warm. The two men stopped walking towards him and regarded the man behind Suho with wary eyes.

A large hand gripped Suho’s shoulder and pulled him backwards. “Stay away from him,” the stranger said quietly, his deep voice cutting through the air like a knife.

“Or what?”

The man smiled pleasantly. “Or else I’ll kill you,” he said softly.

The two men turned around and ran. The stranger didn’t release Suho until the two men vanished out of sight.

Suho stepped away from the stranger, and then gasped in surprise when he recognized the man in front of him. “You!”

The stranger tilted his head to the side, looking down at Suho. “You…you’re that person who was there, on the path. You ran away.”

Suho’s eyes widened, and then he took off down the path, not caring if he had to run past the two college students to get away from this strange man.

He didn’t make it very far before he was yanked back in to the stranger’s chest. “Why are you running?”

Suho fought against the stranger’s arms to no avail; he was simply too strong.

“Damn it, stop fighting! I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You threatened to k-kill those two men,” Suho stuttered. “Why should I trust you?” Especially with a scowl as terrifying as that one. And the last time we met, you said that you could smell me. What kind of creeper says that?!

The stranger paused, his grip slackening, and Suho took the chance to twist out of his grasp and start running again.

Suddenly, the tall stranger was standing directly in front of him; it all happened to fast, and before Suho had a chance to even try and veer off to the side, the stranger had pulled him close and wrapped and arm around his waist so that he couldn’t even try and push free.

“Why are you running from me?”

Suho noticed that the stranger wasn’t even breathing hard. “B-because…” Something is telling me that there’s something not good about you. Not good at all.

“Is it my face? I can smile too, you know.” The stranger smiled down at Suho, and Suho watched in disbelief as the stranger’s face suddenly transformed from being absolutely terrifying to being warm and open. The stranger relaxed his hold around Suho’s body, and brought his other arm up to ruffle his hair. “I’m Kris.”

Suho was so dazzled by the smile that he responded without thinking. “I’m Suho.”

“Suho. Guardian.” Kris frowned, and then leaned down so that his face was closer to Suho’s. “What are you protecting? Hm?”

Suho finally regained enough presence of mind to step out of Kris’s hold. “Do I have to be protecting something?”

“No.” Kris leaned back and folded his arms, surveying Suho for a few seconds. He’s even more beautiful than I remember.

“I suppose I should thank you,” Suho said softly, after an awkward pause. “For saving me, back there.”

“It was no trouble.” Who wouldn’t want a beauty like you? You shouldn’t thank me, boy…Now all I want to do is claim you for my own.

Rather than speaking his thoughts aloud, Kris continued the conversation. “Do you live close by? I can walk you home. Those two men might be waiting for you down the path.”

Suho looked at Kris speculatively. He was still frightened of him, and something was still off about him but…well, Kris was very handsome. And he had been kind to Suho, and he did have a point. “You don’t need to take me all the way to my house. I’ll be fine once we’re out of the woods.”

Kris just shrugged. “As you wish.”

They began to walk down the path. “Kris…are you an American?”

“No. I was born in Canada.”

“I see.” Suho bit his lip, and wondered if Kris was telling him to take a hint with his short, clipped responses. “Are you attending one of the local colleges in town?”

“No, but my friend is going to one of the high schools.”

“Ah.”

“My friend’s name is Xiao Lu. Perhaps you’ve heard of him?”

“It’s a small town, but it’s not that small,” Suho smiled. “No, I haven’t heard of a Xiao Lu.”

Kris felt his pulse quicken. That smile just makes me want him even more. “Well, he’s enjoying himself out here.”

“Are you just out of high school then?”

“No, I graduated two years ago. I attended a college for freshman year, but I’m choosing to take this year off…you know, see the world and all that,” Kris waved his hand dismissively.

“Seeing the world seems a little hard to accomplish if you live in a small town on a mountain.”

“There are plenty of things to see around here as well. You just have to know where to look.”

“What do you mean?”

“This forest is why I came here,” Kris said simply. “There’s more to seeing the world than living in a crowded city.”

Suho flushed. “Ah.”

Luckily, they were saved from the impending awkward silence by their arrival at the entrance of the forest.

“Thank you for helping me, Kris. It was nice meeting you,” Suho smiled politely. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it out for Kris to shake.

To his surprise, rather than simply shaking his hand, Kris lifted his hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss to Suho’s cold fingers.

Suho blinked, and then quickly pulled his hand back. “I—“

Kris chuckled softly. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. See you around sometime, Suho.”

“S-see you.”

Kris smiled slowly as he watched Suho scurry away from the forest in his bright red jacket.

a/n: Arrrrgh!!! So it started out as an idea for a really intense story in my mind, but slowly degenerated...*cries* Oh well. I hope you guys still like this though!