Kira took a deep breath as she stepped into the den. She was clueless. What was she going to tell the boys? She could lie and tell them that everything went well, but they would figure out eventually, and when that happened; she would be dead.

“This is hopeless.” She mumbled to herself as she walked towards the cave she knew you were resting in. And if you were there, she would find them there too.

“What’s hopeless?” She looked up at the sound of a familiar voice. Her breath stopped for a split second as she stared into the familiar dark eyes in front of her. “Did something happen?”

“N-No, why would anything happen?” She silently cursed herself for stuttering. Sehun was already suspicious enough about her. She didn’t need it to get worse.

“Are you sure?” Sehun asked. Her stuttering and not acting cold or rude made him doubt her. She usually wasn’t like that.

“Of course I am! Now stop standing there and question me like an idiot and take me to the two other idiots!” Sehun blinked at her in surprise, but he didn’t say anything. He just turned around and started to walk before she could see the smile forming on his lips.

Kira let out a silent sigh of relief. She had to tell them, she knew that, but she wanted to wait until they were all there. It would save her some of the trouble.

Chanyeol walked back and forth. His hands were folded on his back, his eyes fixated on the ground, and a frown had spread across his face. Sehun calmly leaned against the wall. Arms cross over his chest, face blank. Kai sat on a chair. His hands folded under his cheek, elbows resting on his knees. He was looking at the ground, thinking.

“Why didn’t you stop them?” Kai raised his head and looked at Kira. He just couldn’t make any sense of it. “We all know that you could’ve taken down Xiumin if you just wanted to. You’re a great hunter, and killer.”

The two others turned their heads towards Kira. Both looked at her questioningly. Kira was one of the strongest wolves in the pack, even though she was female and looked a bit fragile.

“I would have, if he hadn’t pressed a knife against my back! What did you expect me to do? Rip his throat out and hope that I would take him by surprise before he shoved the knife up my spine?” She snapped back at them. It wasn’t her fault. They shouldn’t blame her. After all, she had volunteered, and that wasn’t something that happened often.

Chanyeol let out a sigh and shook his head as he took a few steps towards her. “No, of course not. You did what you could. We shouldn’t have let you do it on your own.” He gave her a weak smile; she gave him a nod in return.

“What are we going to do about it? We can’t just let them be. Avry’s going to flip if she wakes up and figures out that her brother and ex-lover is taken by the ‘evil guys’” Kira said. Looking at Kai at them mentioning of Luhan. Kai glared at her.

“We won’t tell her.” Sehun said before Kai got the chance to answer. “We won’t tell her anything about it, and when we know more about their whereabouts, we’ll just go get them.” Chanyeol exchanged a quick glance with Kai before he nodded. “That could work.” He said as he nodded slowly, making up a plan in his head. “There is just one thing…”

“And that would be?” The three others said in unison as they looked curiously at him.

“We have to get them back before the next full moon.” Chanyeol said as he looked at all of them after turn. “Avry is sure to find out about it, and we can’t become careless. If she goes after them we won’t be able to get her back.”

Their heads all turned towards you as you shifted in the soft moss you were laying on. Cyrus given you the antidote not long ago and it was starting to cure you. The cure wasn’t painful like the poison, but it wasn’t very pleasant either.

You squinted your eyes. Even inside the cave, your surroundings were bright. You blinked a few times. Trying to make the blurred vision go away, and your eyes adjust to the light. After a few seconds, you could see more clearly, though you still squinted your eyes. Shortly after, you felt something in the moss beside you. A shift of weight. Someone had sat down right next to you. You turned your head and looked at the silhouette beside you. Behind him were three other silhouettes.

You could make out one of them. It was Kira. She was easy to separate from the three others. The others however, you knew well who they were, but you didn’t know which one of them was where. You assumed that one of the two that was standing was Chanyeol. He looked taller than the other did.

“Hey” You heard a soft voice next to you. Your eyes shifted from the unclear silhouettes, to the person beside you. You smiled a little at the feeling of a warm hand on your cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Terrible.” You said with a raspy voice. “Better, but terrible.”

“It’ll be over by tomorrow” You recognized Chanyeols voice as he took a step closer to you and crouched down beside the person you had figured out was Kai. “Do you want to get some air? Or would you rather just sleep some more?” You thought about it for a few seconds before you smiled. “I’d love to get some fresh air.”

The two boys nodded, and Kai helped you to your feet. You wobbled a little at first, after all, you had been asleep for a few days, but when they tried to help, you just waved them of. You wouldn’t let them believe that your legs were as weak as they felt like. They both had to smile a little at you act.

You made your way to the cave opening with a little help from the boys; though you wouldn’t let them help you any further than a meter. You didn’t want to seem week. Not now, not ever, no matter how weak you actually felt. You wanted to stand on your own legs, even if they felt like they were going to give inn from exhaustion.

You squinted your eyes and raised a hand to protect your eyes from the strong sunlight. You wrinkled your nose at the sound of laughter next to you.

“I can’t see what’s so funny about my eyes burning at the sharp light.” You complained as you walked over to the shadows. The only response you got was the sound of footsteps following you.

You sat down on a boulder and stretched your feet and arms. Kai sat down next to you and Chanyeol remained standing and leaned against the tree that provided you the shade you were sitting in. You looked around for Sehun, but you could find him or Kira. A thought sneaked up from the back of your head and a smile started to form on your lips. You had managed to make Kai spill the details he knew about their relationship. Maybe they had a normal conversation without arguing. Maybe they would become friends again. It was a good thought. You were sure Sehun would be happy about it, and if he were happy, that made you happy. You almost told Kai and Chanyeol about the thought you had, when you heard loud shouting from the direction you came from. You turned your head and saw Kira stomp out of the cave. An angry frown on her face and her arms crossed over her chest as she hurriedly walked away. Sehun came shortly after. He didn’t look too happy either as he walked towards you.

You were about to ask him about what happened, but Kai shook his head. Better not to mention it. You followed Sehun with your eyes as he leaned against the tree Chanyeol were leaning against. You could hardly see him; however, he didn’t seem too happy.

“What’s with all the yelling? I’m sure they could hear you on the other side of the mountains!” You looked up at the sound of a voice from not too far away. A boy was approaching you. He looked to be around your age, maybe a year or two older than you were. His eyes looked big and his black hair a little tousled. He looked friendly nonetheless. His eyes looked at Sehun, who did not even bother to acknowledge his existence. The boys’ eyes then wandered over to Chanyeol, who gave him a smile that he returned. Then his eyes went to Kai, before they landed on you and he stopped in his tracks. He blinked a few times as he looked at you, as if he was studying you with his eyes.

“Is that the girl?” He asked in a monotone voice. You looked to Kai who nodded at the boy. “Yeah, it’s her.”

“She’s been here for long?” He slightly furrowed his brows at the question, something that made you feel a little uncomfortable. Maybe he wasn’t as friendly as he looked like. “A few days.” Kais reply was short. The big-eyed boy shook his head and let out a sigh. Then his eyes locked with yours for a few seconds before his face burst into a smile. “Well then it’s about time that I finally get to meet you!”

The boy walked towards you with a smile. You blinked confused at him before looking up at Chanyeol. He just smiled and shook his head. You looked to Kai, but he was just smiling too. You were clueless. You looked up at the newcomer when he stopped in front of you. You thought he was going to introduce himself, but instead he turned to Kai and slapped the back of his head.

Kais hands instantly shot up to the back of his head where the hand had hit him. He narrowed his eyes at the boy and opened his mouth to complain when he was cut off. “That’s for not introducing me to her sooner.” The boy simply said which made Kai pout. He didn’t have a strong enough comeback for that comment. Then the boy finally turned to you again.

“They call me D.O” He said with a friendly smile and sat down on a big stone in front of you. “And you’re Avry?” His question caught you off guard. How did he know your name? You nodded a little, your eyes watching him closely. This made him laugh. “You don’t have to be scared! Even though I can turn in to a huge wolf and easily rip your head off I’m not dangerous.” He looked shortly over at Kai. “And even if I tried to hurt you, I bet Kai would tackle me to the ground before I even got near you.”

You nodded a little. A tiny smile formed on your lips. You were about to speak up and answer him when another voice came before yours. “D.O! You said you would wait for me you idiot!” A girl came towards you. She had the same dark hair and big eyes as D.O. You thought it might be his sister.

D.O scratched his neck and looked down as the girl approached. When she stopped in front of him, crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground he looked up. “Sorry, I got a little eager.” He looked up and nodded towards you. “I just met Avry. You know, the girl everyone’s been talking about?”

“The human?” The girl asked with big eyes. D.O nodded and her eyes moved over to you. “Wow… You’re the first human I’ve ever met!” She said with a big smile, and walked closer to you. “I’m D.Os sister, Hana. It’s nice to finally meet you. Everyone’s been talking about you. It really tickled my curiosity.”

“Wait, hold on a second.” You said and waved your hands in front of yourself. “What? How am I the first human you’ve met, and why would people be talking about me? I thought no one even knew I was here.” You looked at Chanyeol for an explanation. He was good with that, but this time he shook his head, which made you turn to Kai. He nodded shortly and started to explain.

“Humans don’t come to the den. They’re either scared away or killed for trespassing.  Wolves and humans don’t cooperate very well. We haven’t cooperated well for generations. You’re the first human to enter a den without being dead or about to be transformed.” A smile played on his lips, and you nodded slightly. It didn’t tell you as much as you had hoped for. “What do you mean by transformed?” You asked curiously. This time Chanyeol answered.

“Most of us are born like this. Half human, half wolf. Some of us are transformed from normal humans to, well, half humans. It’s rare to come across someone who was born just human. For someone to become one of us they have to go through a ritual. It’s actually a very simple ritual, but it’s what happens after that makes it so rare.” He looked at D.O, who picked up where he left. “After the ritual is completed, the human will still be human until the next full moon. This gives the person a chance to reconsider becoming one of us, even though it’s almost impossible to stop it once it’s begun. What happens is that the body uses the following month to prepare for the first transformation from human to wolf. For us, the ones who are born like this, it’s in our genes and it’s only a little bit painful the first few times. However, for a human it’s a change in DNA and body structure. It’ll be fine after a while, but in the beginning its painful. Most of them die during their first transformation, some during their second. It’s not a pretty sight.”

You nodded slowly. That explained a bit more. It felt weird to know that people could actually go from being normal humans, to become supernatural hybrids. It just seemed so unnatural. Like it was unreal. Could you become one of them? Were they planning to turn you? Would you even survive the transformation?

“Hey,” Hana said to tear you out of your thoughts. “Do you want me to show you around? I know all the good places for everything, and most of the good and bad people here in the pack. I could show you if you want to, since you’ll most likely be staying with us for a while.”

You looked at her smiling face and nodded. You might as well just get to know the place. After all, she was right. Who knew how long you would be staying? A week? A month? Maybe even a year? You stood up and walked over to her. Hana grinned brightly. The boys got up to and got ready to follow you when Hana stopped them.

“Not so fast. Girls only.” She said with a stern voice. The boys all looked at her with confusion written all over their faces. Hana let out a sigh. “Don’t you think she wants some girl-time after spending so long with only boys?” You had to smile at this. It was true. Being surrounded by boys was fine, but you missed hanging out with just girls too.

“Sorry guys, but she’s got a point.” You said and smiled weakly at them. You could see a bit of disappointment in their faces, but in the end, they nodded their heads and turn to walk in another direction. Hana smiled at you and started to walk in the opposite direction of the boys. You were about to follow her, when someone gripped your elbow and held you back. You turned around and to your surprise Kai was holding on to you, a little smile played across his lips.

“Don’t tire yourself okay? I’ll stop by the cave tonight. There’s something I want to show you.” A smile curved your lips upwards and you nodded your head. Kai smiled and let go of your elbow. “I’ll see you then.” He said and gave you a quick peck on the cheek before he followed the others. You smiled for yourself as you turned around and followed after Hana.