In the wintery cold mountain, metal doors made a noisy clanking sound as the hinges were ripped off and a figure appeared through the dark entrance. Then suddenly, the figure crouched down and a wolf took its place. The grey wolf moved further away from the prison doors, its piercing ice cold eyes glowing grayish blue.

“Wait for a little longer, I’m coming for you…”

In a midst of a crowd of people, a deer-like boy sneezed. He was in a party held by his parents and relatives.

“Luhan, Are you okay?” He saw the worried eyes of his cousins, Kyungsoo and Xiumin.

“Yeah, it must be the new moon…”

“Hm, you’re right. It’s coming in two days. We have to be careful.” Xiumin said.

“Hyung, are you sure that we can’t leave tonight?” Luhan shook his head.

“No, if we leave tonight, I have a feeling that the curse will not end.” Kyungsoo and Xiumin nodded.

“But tomorrow, we really have to leave. Or else we’ll be transforming here in your house.”

***Three days ago***

Anguish gripped his chest, the cold from outside seeped into his skin through the blankets despite the fur covering his body. The young wolf opened his blue eyes and sniffed the cloth he was wrapped in. It was barely there as if he had just imagined the scent of his other half. What happened? He refused to leave the cocoon of blanket that surround him, fearing that the scent would totally disappear if he so much as moved a muscle. For a few seconds, he just stayed wrapped. His ear twitched and his tail swayed slightly to the right. Without really thinking about it, he twitched his body and inched toward the open end of the blanket to stick his nose out.

The air was cold and he wanted nothing more than to go back into the blankets until a scent hit his nose. Although unwillingly, the young wolf left the cocoon of blankets and made his way to a small rectangular item on the floor a few centimeters away from him.

He sniffed at it and backed away with a growl as it suddenly lighted up and it rang a small tone that echoed in the cave. He sniffed more at it and backed away again when the screen darkened. Within three seconds, the phone lighted up again and this time he stuck his nose on the screen. Not knowing what to do, he moved his nose around the cold surface and was surprised when a voice rang out.

“Sehun?” It was a familiar voice. He gave a small bark as the voice sounded more worried without his response.

“Ah, you’re in your wolf form right now. That makes sense.” Sehun brought a paw on to the screen and suddenly, the voice was louder. He barked before running to and fro. The voice was laughing he realized as he laid down in front of the device.

“Hunnie, I’m sorry for leaving suddenly. But don’t worry, I’ll be back.” The voice was sad so Sehun gave a slight whimper of comfort. His ears twitched again as he heard the voice chuckle lightly.

“It’s just like you to comfort me even when I’m at fault. Thank you, Hun.”

***Present***

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll be back in Gangwon Province soon. I just need to make sure.” Luhan shook his head as he turned his back to Kyungsoo and Xiumin, looking outside the window to see the waning moon.

“Lu-ge…” He looked behind him to see Tao and Suho, followed shortly by Baekhyun who was on the phone.

“Guys, what happened? Why are you all here?”

“It’s not like we could just leave you alone. No matter what happens, we are still a pack.” Suho said with a determined face that left no room for arguments as he pat Luhan on the arm. While Luhan talked with the others, Xiumin glanced at Kyungsoo before excusing himself and Tao.

After meeting with a couple relatives, Xiumin and Tao approached Luhan’s parents.

“Mr. and Mrs. Lu, may we speak to you for a second?”

“Oh, sure, sure! Please excuse us.” The four of them moved to the kitchen to talk.

“We assume you are already aware of who we are.” Tao translated.

“Yes, Luhan has mentioned you guys to us. To be honest, it seems like a fairy tale, but we can tell that this is important to all of you.”

“We need to return tomorrow night at the latest.”

“We understand. It’s just…it’s been a long time since Luhan was with us.” Xiumin held a hand up.

“No, it’s ours. If things go well, things will get better. Luhan might even bring someone for you to meet.” Luhan’s parents smiled and hugged Tao and Xiumin.

“We’ll look forward to that then. We leave him in your care.” Just then Luhan’s mother said a cheerful ‘oh’.

“What is it, Mrs. Lu?”

“Actually, I have something for this boy Luhan seems to talk about a lot… Sehun, I think?” She disappeared out of the kitchen only to return with a small pouch.

“It was my mother’s. I wanted Luhan to give this to him, but he won’t take it so if you don’t mind, can you take this with you to give to Sehun?”

“We will. Thank you for understanding.”

***Gangwon Province, Present***

Five wolves stood in front of the grey wolf with blue eyes. He growled at them, but they stood their ground. The youngest wolf gave a howl before dashing to the sides and although the cold stung his nose, he did not stop running.

Suddenly, a brown wolf with silver eyes jumped in front of the grey wolf and growled tall and proud. The grey wolf looked defiantly before running around and jumping on the stream, not resurfacing.

This is bad! The grey wolf thought as he howled. The other four wolves met with him, the snow was slushed and moved as they ran near the stream. They tried scenting but nothing came up.

A brown wolf with green eyes snorted.

This is bad, alright…

A few meters down the stream, a human resurfaced to side and out of the water. He panted hard, white puffs of air visible in front of him. His eyes were still flashing blue.

***

Author’s Note: Here’s some things to clarify: one, Luhan was actually gone for two months to meet and spend time with his family because family is important. Two, Sehun was the youngest wolf so it was best that he had to be with Luhan; if not, he retains his wolf form. Sehun has been asleep, recuperating if you will, for the last four and a half weeks—meaning Luhan should be returning soon. But he woke up earlier, which is not supposed to happen, before Luhan got back. Third, since things were changed in this lifetime, it signifies the end of the cycle. If they are able to keep each other grounded in time for the new moon, the century-old curse will be broken and they’ll be human. Also, I chose Gangwon Province randomly…not so familiar with geography in South Korea. Hope you guys liked this new chapter!