I still remember birthdays when I was human. I remember cake and seaweed soup, presents and family and friends. I remember laughter and smiles and for a moment, being happy. I hated my birthday now. All it ever did was remind me of what I used to have. Suho had made it known to me immediately that I had to cut all ties with my past. I couldn’t ever see my mother or father or little brother again.

Birthdays were a stupid thing to celebrate anyway since I would now live forever—well, for a long time. The blood in our veins regenerated quickly, replacing aging and dying cells. It was like water from the fountain of youth in a erse way.

But Sehun wanted to celebrate my birthday. His intentions were good, but misplaced.

He was already at the location we agreed on, shifted and pouncing around like an idiot. It was a new moon tonight but I could still feel the pull of the moon on my blood. I closed my eyes and breathed in the night.

I hated changing. It hurt, every time. Bones broke, shifted, elongated, and became heavier. Sinew unraveled, twisting, shortening, elongating as it slithered over a new form. In order to shift, you had to break your entire body; in order to be powerful, you first had to be at your weakest.

I also had to let go of control for just that small moment and quickly gain back control or I’d be lost forever. I’d turn into a Feral and be driven by the most primal urges. I’d turn into a monster. At least, that was what Suho said.

The wolf in me sensed the need to change and was pushing against the control I had on it. I took a deep breath and let her go so I could change. I dropped to my hands and knees and cried out as pain wracked my body. My skin peeled off like paper as fur replaced it, my teeth falling out as fangs replaced them. I could hears my bones snapping as they broke and shifted.

Soon enough it was over and I reined back in my wolf and stood a moment to regain my breath. As much as I hated being in this form, I also loved it. My senses were sharper. The world was clearer and I could see colors my human form could not. I could hear the shuffle of a mouse a mile away and smell that three days ago deer had passed this way. Sehun sidled up to me, tail between his legs as he playfully nipped at my throat.

“Hunt?” He asked.

That was one thing I found frustrating. Unless you formed a pack bond with another werewolf, you were never in tune enough in wolf form to form complex sentences. Communication was always staggered and choppy. But, though I liked Suho and his pack, it never seemed right for me to submit to Suho and join them. I was a lone wolf they were housing.

“Hunt.” I affirmed.

And then we took off running.

“We need to head back—Suho will be worrying about us.” I sighed, got up and stretched. After being in wolf form, being human just felt . . . all wrong and dull. And that’s how the wolf took over most of their hosts. They made the human experiences pale in comparison to the other form, made it seem like the only way to live was in the demon form. Suho had warned me to never listen to those temptations or I’d lose myself.

I looked over at Sehun who was bright red and looked anywhere but at me. It was funny how uncomfortable he was around me when we just changed into our human form. When we changed, we were , something I had had to come to terms with. What’s more, I had quickly learned that wolves loved to touch—it was sign of affection, of companionship, of comfort. I couldn’t handle that, all the touching, and had quickly established the no-touch-or-lose-a-body-part rule. Speaking of which, Kai loved pressing the envelope on that one, which led to injuries on his part.

But in any case, it was funny how Sehun acted around me. He should have been used to it by now or at least prepared himself since he was the one who wanted to go running together. His reaction was . . . cute. A bubble of playfulness burst in my chest and without thinking I pounced on Sehun. He yelped in surprise and then he started laughing as we wrestled. Of course I pinned him down first and grinned, baring all my teeth.

“I win.” I declared triumphantly.

Sehun laughed. “That’s not fair!” he whined.

I got off of him. “Last one to Suho’s has to cook the other a meal!”

I dove and quickly changed into my wolf form and Sehun was close on my heels. We barked at each other in laughter, goading each other to go faster. I howled in joy as my body stretched to its fullest, working my muscles. Sehun quickly caught up and then easily surpassed me. Though the boy was the omega of the pack, he was fast, faster than all of us.

Needless to say he was waiting for me half a mile from the house. If wolves could grin, he would have been. We quickly changed and went to grab some clothes from the stash we always kept just in case. We slipped on a tank and some sweats when I froze as the wind shifted.

There was a burning smell in the air. I had never smelled this before. It smelled . . . cold, so cold it burned. And it reeked, like mildew and, well, and something old. Very old. I looked at Sehun. “You smell that?”

Sehun nodded, but though he seemed tense, he didn’t seem all that worried. “Suho has a visitor.”

We approached the house and I was surprised to find the entire house was lit up. It was well past midnight—why was the entire house up? Whoever this reeking visitor was, apparently he or she deserved the entire pack’s attention. And that worried me a little.

Sehun opened the door for me and as I walked in, the smell only got stronger. Without much though, I followed it and found myself in the lounge. I paused when I saw Suho. He barely acknowledged me, his attention focused intently on a man sitting in one of the chairs. He was the one emitting the stench. Without meaning too, I let loose a snarl.

That got Suho’s attention. He quickly looked at me and the look he shot me made me go rigid. “Sit.” He ordered.

Though he wasn’t my Alpha, I felt the command anyway. I obeyed and sat down on the loveseat, my eyes never leaving the intruder. The man in turn watched me with a cold expression, studying me.

“I don’t remember this one, Suho.” He finally commented.

“You came here for a reason.” Suho said, ignoring the man’s comment. “What is it?”

I noted how tense Suho was and I burned to know who this man was. The man was beautiful, there was no denying that. His entire appearance was immaculate, not a strand of hair out of place. He looked human enough, if it wasn’t for the way he sat and the way his eyes seemed to trap a person. His very movements were deliberate, like a predator calculating what to do next to capture his prey. And his eyes weren’t a natural color. They appeared brown but every once and a while the light would hit them just right and they turned a blood red color.

“What are you?”

The man gave a small smile and turned to look at me. “She was bitten, wasn’t she, Suho? By one of yours?”

Suho was even tenser and glanced at me. “Yes, but not by one of mine.”

“Shame. I would like your immaculate record to be tarnished once. But to answer your question, I am a vampire. I’m sure your Alpha has told you of my kind.”

I didn’t like how smooth he was, how his voice seemed to draw me in. I visibly shook myself and refrained from correcting his assumption that Suho was my Alpha. “All I know is that because of you bastards, we exist.”

“Hyorim!” Suho yelled.

“You have a sharp tongue. I like that. But yes, that’s true. And I am also your master. Remember that, girl.”

“You came here to tell me something, Jaejoong. Now tell me, it’s growing late.” Suho’s voice was filled with venom.

“That’s true.” Jaejoong suddenly looked worried and glanced at the gold watch he wore. “I’ve spent too much time here. I need to be back when she wakes up.” Jaejoong mumbled and then turned to Suho. “Tonight my . . .  something of mine was attacked by werewolves.”

“What?” Suho gaped.

“Not one of yours, unfortunately. Ferals.”

My ears perked up. “Ferals?”

“I was only able to kill one—the rest ran away while I was . . . distracted. I just thought I’d let you know of the infestation in your land. Take care of it Suho.” He turned to me. “And I hope I get a chance to speak with you again. You don’t hide your dislike of me at all. It’s fun.”

And then he was gone. I blinked in surprise and turned to Suho. “How did he—”

“You need to keep your comments in check. That was Jaejoong, an Ancient. He is the prince of the stories I told you of and incredibly powerful. You’re lucky his long years have taught him patience or we could all have been dead!”

I shrank back at Suho’s scolding and heat filled words. Suho was panting from his raging, and he sat back, trying to regain his composure.

“I’m sorry.” He finally said. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper. But you have to understand—I have an entire pack to worry about.”

I bit back the retort I wanted to spit at him and instead said, “I know.”

Suho ran a hand through his hair. “You can come in now. He’s gone.”

Slowly the pack filed in through the doors. I hadn’t noticed how they were all waiting outside the doors in case something went wrong.

“Another Feral pack?” Baekhyun said incredulously.

Sehun sat down next to me on the loveseat. My mind was racing. Ferals? All I could think about was that night so long ago but I’d always remember like yesterday. They had gotten away before Suho could deal with them. What if . . . what if this was the same Feral pack? Images of that night had me gritting my teeth and clenching my fists. I was stronger now. What if . . .

“Apparently. We need to take care of this before someone else gets hurt.” Suho declared.

“Alright!” Kai hopped to his feet. “I’ve been dying for a fight.”

Suho nodded tiredly. “Kai you’ll head the hunt. Pick two others to go with you. You’ll start the hunt tomorrow.”

It was an obvious dismissal and everyone started filing out quietly. Suho left the room quickly—with everything that happened, I wouldn’t be surprised he was worried about his mate and their unborn baby. That man would die of worry.