Warning: Language

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I couldn’t help myself as I gaped at my surroundings. We were in a city, a big city with buildings that touched the sky. It was late at night, but the streets were alive, pulsing. As we drove down the main road, stopping for red lights occasionally, I watched as the lights colored the night.

“Have you never been in a city before?”

“No.” I really hadn’t. I was born and raised in a village and then I was confined to Suho’s house and the woods around. I had never seen so many people in one place or buildings so high.

“Really? Well, what do you think?”

“It’s . . .” Beautiful. Claustrophobic. “It’s different.”

“Different, huh?”

I didn’t say anything as I focused on the people outside, crossing the street, completely unaware of the monsters so close to them. I remembered how, at one point, all I could think about was immersing myself back into the human world. I had thought that by doing so, that humanity would seep back into me. I thought I could suppress everything that I had changed into. But Suho had shown me just how impossible, and dangerous, that really was.

I was suddenly knocked breathless as I became hyperaware of everything around me. I could smell Kris, his scent permeating the air like a cologne. It was nauseating and made my wolf uneasy. My heart was hammering against my ribcage and it physically hurt. My breathing started picking up and all I could smell was Kris, right next to me. I didn’t like it! I felt like all around me the car was closing in, forcing me closer and closer to Kris and his smell.

“Stop the car.” I gritted out.

Kris glanced at me. “What? Why—”

“Stop the car!” I screamed. I clawed at the door handle. I had to get out, away, away from Kris and his smell!

“Hyorim!” Kris shouted as I flung the door open. He slammed on the breaks and I jumped out, taking hurried steps away from the car, breathing as deeply as I could to wash away his scent. My heart was still hammering away, but it didn’t hurt as much and I was able to start breathing normally.

Someone grabbed me, no, I knew who it was. Kris. I panicked and twisted my arm away, snarling and backing away. I wanted him away from me. But he wasn’t like the others who would raise their arms and back away. He just snarled back a warning and held his ground.

“What the hell was that!?” He demanded.

“You’re too close!” Honestly, I had no idea why was I freaking out so bad—I had no idea where these intense emotions were coming from and it was scaring the hell out of me, only adding fuel to the raging emotions inside me.

“What does that mean?”

“I-I don’t know. I can’t think right now. Just . . . stay there. I need to breathe, I need to think.” There was a bench nearby and I sat down on it, placing my head between my knees. The more I breathed, the calmer I was becoming. Though the air here in the city was far from clean smelling, it was washing away Kris’s scent and the fear that had been pumping adrenaline into my veins.

“Will you talk now?” Kris asked after some time. I looked up at him. He had a cautious look on his face. “What just happened?”

I rubbed my face. “I don’t know.” The look he gave me was doubtful. I glared at him. “I really don’t!” I snapped. “I just . . . panicked.”

“Why did you panic?”

“I don’t know, I just—” I froze as the air changed for just a moment. I stood up and caught hold of the scent that I had just identified. “He’s nearby.”

“Who are you—”

“The one who kept me locked up. He just came into the city.”

The grin Kris threw me was savage. “Looks like your little episode helped us find our prey.” I concentrated on the scent, engraved it into my senses, so I wouldn’t lose it, as Kris called someone. “Luhan? Meet me at Meili Park. Bring Chen. We have some hunting to do.”

Kris turned to me. “Ready to go get this bastard?”

I nodded, clenching my fists. He would never understand how ready I was. I was going to get revenge for Sehun, for me, and for those terrified girls and any other person they had hurt.

It only took Luhan and Chen a couple of minutes to reach us, and only a few more for Kris to explain what was happening. Kris suddenly turned to me. “I want to make this clear. We are capturing him, so he has to be alive. I want answers, not the blank stare of a dead man. Is this understood?”

I bristled at the commands, but nodded my head.

“Good. Miss Song has the scent. She’ll be leading us to this Feral.”

Kris nodded at me and I shot off, with them right at my heels. The scent was faint, but growing stronger and my blood raced and my wolf howled as we got closer. An hour later, I tracked the scent to a rather crowded nightclub.

“Well .” I looked over at Luhan. For a man with such a cute face, he sure had a foul mouth. The contrast was very . . . interesting. “What now, Duizhang?”

“We need to draw him out. Confronting him in there will result in human deaths.”

Draw him out. They started talking to each other, about how they were going to do that. But the answer was clear to me.

“I’ll draw him out.”

All three turned to look at me, but Kris was the one to speak. “And how will you do that?”

I remembered the days I was held captive, how persistent he was in forcing me to obey. And yet he was lenient, as if he did not want to injure me unless he had to—at least, that’s the way it seemed when I compared my situation to that of the other women. Some of them had been bruised, cut, malnourished. He had treated me like a queen in comparison.

And why wouldn’t he have? She-wolves were rare. Human women were not, but if his entire reason for capturing women was to breed them—I gritted my teeth—human women weren’t the best option. They often died in childbirth when giving birth to a Were child—the very reason Suho was so overprotective and worried when it came to Sumi. She-wolves have never died giving birth, not unless there was an outside force involved.

He desperately wanted me for whatever was going on. “He wants me. He probably thinks he can still beat me, so he’ll follow me. But you need to stay down wind—he’ll already be on guard.”

I started heading for the door, but Kris’s voice stopped me. “I don’t like this plan. This places you in too much danger.”

And what did I say to that? I wasn’t sure. I looked at him, trying to decipher what he meant. Was he afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it? That I’d fail? “This is the best plan we’ve got. Distract the bouncer and wait for me in the alleyway.”

And I was gone.

I waited in the shadows as I watched Luhan and Chen walk up to the bouncer. I’m not sure what they did, but the bouncer looked pissed and he swung at them. They easily dodged the punch and taunted him, and the bouncer followed. Alright then.

I entered the club and for a moment I was paralyzed. The pulsing music washed over me and the scent of too many bodies jammed into one place invaded my senses. For a moment, I was dazed and confused, staggering a bit to the wall to regain my senses. Once I had myself composed again, I grabbed ahold of his scent and started following it. I kept my surroundings in mind, catching sight of the alleyway door.

And then I heard his voice and it was like it was just me and him as everything in my honed in on it. He was by the bar, sitting casually on a stool, talking to some young girls who twittered and giggled as he smiled charmingly at them. I stared at him and sure enough, he sensed it and turned to look. His curious expression turned into one of surprise and then triumph as a smile slid onto his face. He got up and brushed off the girls who tugged at his sleeves. Offended, they got up and left.

I turned my back thought my instincts screamed at me to never bare my back to an enemy. I walked to the alleyway door, knowing full well he was following me. I had been right—in his eyes was the look of a man who’d just won the jackpot. The door closed behind me and I walked to the far wall, turned around, and leaned against it. I checked my peripherals but didn’t see Luhan, Chen, or Kris anywhere. Where the hell are you guys?

The door opened and my attention darted to it as the Feral stepped out. The door closed behind him before he spoke. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

“Life is often full of surprises.” I said tonelessly. My wolf was barely being controlled as she demanded I tear his throat out.

“True.” His smile widened. “You’re one cocky . Coming here alone, when you knew I was here. Just what were you thinking?”

Where are you, Kris?

“Did you come here to get revenge? Make me pay for your little friend? Is he alive, by the way? Last I saw him, he couldn’t walk and was barely breathing.”

I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands into tight fists. My nails bit into my skin as I fought back the urge to kill him. We need answers, I reminded myself, he’s the only one who knows anything. Keep him talking. Just be—

“It was a shame those ers attacked when they did. If I remember correctly, that was the day your training was supposed to start. I was looking forward to it. Breaking a like you would have been fun.” I took a step forward, growling, losing control. His smile only widened.  “Does that make you angry, ?”

Kill him! Tear out his throat!

“Too bad I couldn’t you, though, like those other women. He wanted you—”

I couldn’t take it. I snapped. I lunged at him, shifting into my wolf form. Both my wolf and I were in agreement—this son of a needed to die. He just smiled and dodged my attack. My body slammed into the wall, but I was so blood thirsty, so crazed, I didn’t feel anything.

“I think you’ve forgotten something,” He said.

I wasn’t listening anymore, couldn’t. All I saw was red; all I wanted to hear was him screaming as he died, choking on blood; all I wanted to taste was his life fluids. I lunged at him again, but then I howled as something grazed my shoulder. I whimpered and pulled away, my shoulder burning like crazy. And it wasn’t healing.

Wolf’s bane. I remembered and felt like I had been hit by a wall. . , , . He aimed the gun at me again, and both I and my wolf panicked. I scrambled to get away as he shot, the bullet barely missing us. The smell made my eyes water and my limbs sluggish. And then I screamed as another bullet slammed into my side. My wolf whimpered and I collapsed onto the ground. I was about to change back into my human form, weak and helpless. The man laughed and walked towards me, his gun ready to fire another. How many had it took last time?

“You’ll be ours again. Doesn’t that make you happy?” He laughed.

I was terrified. Where was Kris? Luhan? Chen? Where the hell were they? I tried to get up onto my feet.

“Uh-uh. Don’t get up.” He raised the gun to shoot me again, when a snarl made him whirl.

A huge wolf, the biggest I’d yet to see, tackled the Feral to the ground. The scuffle was short and by the end, the wolf had his jaws wrapped around the Feral’s throat.

“Remember, duizhang, we want him alive. Or have you forgotten your own orders?” Luhan jogged up to the wolf. Kris? That was Kris? I’d never seen a wolf so huge. Another wolf joined us and I assumed that was Chen. Kris growled and the very sound shook the air.

“You ers, I’ll—” Kris tightened his grip and the Feral choked. Kris threw the man away and shifted. Chen followed suit.

Without any warning, Kris punched the man upside the head. The Feral passed out. “Bind, blindfold and gag him and take him to our prison. Make sure you keep a close eye on him.” Luhan and Chen nodded, getting to work on the restraints.

Kris came to my side and knelt, keeping a safe distance away. I was panting really bad, bleeding all over the place. He raised a hand to his mouth as he inspected me. I was so tired, so damn tired. I couldn’t keep this form any longer, the bullets and the wolf’s bane seeping into my blood. I whimpered as I changed. It never hurt to change into my human form—it must be the wolf’s bane.

I cried out when my shifting was complete. I laid on the ground, huffing and puffing. I stared at Kris and my vision blurred as my anger subsided and fear slammed into me. “You’re late.” I choked out.

Kris gave a sad smile and removed his jacket, settling it over me. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

I cried, hating myself for it, for showing weakness. I buried my face into my arms, curling into ball, trying to hide. I couldn’t let him see me like this. I couldn’t.

“God, Hyorim, I’m so sorry.” I could tell he had come closer. “I tried to get here sooner, but his men attacked us and we weren’t ready for it.”

But he didn’t understand. I was mad at him for being late, true, but that wasn’t the problem. I had been weak, helpless. I should have been able to take care of him, kill him, at the very least detain him. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I hadn’t gotten stronger, I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t protect Sehun or myself. Useless. I cried and cried and cried until I out.

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Author's note: Sooo . . . the romance between Hyorim and Kris is taking a long longer than I'd imagined it would. -_- Like, seriously, Kris, stop being so uptight and Hyorim JUST FALL IN LOVE. *le sigh* 

What do you guys think about their relationship? Is it going too slow? Just right? Personally, I think it's just right because . . .  actually, shutting up because if I say more, I'll give some stuff away and that's not fun. 

ANYWAY!!!! Let me know what you think!!! No, seriously, let me know. It really helps in the editing/story making process. 

ALSO! I have stories lined up for Lay, Luhan, and Kai. But I'm cuirious, does anyone want me to write stories about any other member of EXO in particular? Do you want to know the story behing Suho and Sumi?