Getting across the border wasn’t half as difficult as Ryeowook expected.  Then again, when you had a vanguard of three small packs of werewolves, there wasn’t much of anything that might get in the way.  Additionally, they made rather good time with Kangin taking over during the evening.  Fuel stops and rest breaks for the passengers were necessary but they crossed the border during the later hours of the night, much to Ryeowook’s tense relief.

                The ‘little while’ that Kyuhyun had begged before they’d gotten moving again turned into several hours, during which time the vampire remained utterly still, trapping Ryeowook in his embrace.  It had given him more than enough time to think and he wasn’t sure he liked the conclusion he came to, though he dare not voice it yet.  Frankly, he was just glad his brother remained in the front seat and didn’t have a chance to see him actually with the vampire.  Though Luna seemed rather bemused by the whole situation, a wry smile hinting at the corners of .  Henry was simply puzzled.  And annoyed, but it was hard to say if it was at Ryeowook or at Kyuhyun.

                When the vampire finally did move away, he seemed strangely composed once more and back in control of himself.  The difference was almost painful in its extreme nature and Ryeowook was more than happy when they finally stopped at what was their tentative destination, approximately twelve hours after he’d gotten in the back.  Ironically, even given the time lapse, he had not been spared much opportunity to speak to anybody else rather freely in the trailer.  Kyuhyun’s presence and recovered poise seemed to deter it actually.

                Hissing to himself as he stepped into the cooler temperature of northern air, with just a dusting of snow and frost on the ground, Ryeowook looked around at the seemingly empty space of land they had paused in.  Oh, there were plenty of trees, which bore the majority of the remaining snow, and some hills but civilization seemed a ways off.  His breath fogged in front of him when he looked around, noticing a shivering JR who appeared as if he wanted to hide in the cab again.  “What’s going on?” he asked with a curious look at Kyuhyun and Kangin, both of whom were hovering nearby as they stationed themselves on the outer perimeter, their eyes silver in the pale moonlight.  There was no mistaking they were tense.

                “We’re waiting,” Kangin explained, head sweeping from left to right as they scanned the horizon.

                “F-f-for what?” JR shivered, stamping his feet and chaffing his arms for warmth.

                “Them,” Kyuhyun commented with a nod towards the horizon where shapes shifted and flowed over the ground.

                Six large wolves made their way from different directions, regarding each other standoffishly as they approached the vampires.  It appeared they didn’t know who to trust entirely, though they were all passingly familiar with each other.  Presumably.  JR gave a stifled cry and huddled close to the truck while the wolves took shape into human form, the sight difficult for a human to see in the dim lighting.

                Instinctively, Ryeowook drifted closer to Kyuhyun who spared him a glance and then turned his attention to the wolves.  Three were easily recognizable as Junsu, Yoochun, and Seunghyun but the other three were new…  Relatively speaking.  Ryeowook blinked in surprise when he realized that one of them was Yunho, if he recalled the name correctly.  All he could remember was that the wolf had yelled at him the first time they’d met.  As for the other two, they were completely new.  And young if appearances meant anything.

                When his nervous tension threatened to get the better of him, Ryeowook flinched in surprise as he felt Kyuhyun place a calming hand against his back, the contact light but reassuring.  “Look well, Wookie.  A meeting of the North American pack leaders is not something you’ll likely see again soon,” he commented without actually looking at the half-turned.

                All the nonhumans froze when a shadow among shadows peeled away from the trunk of a tree and sauntered their direction.  “Well, well,” the rich, feminine tone smiled softly as Victoria swung around the wolves to place herself between the pack leaders and Kyuhyun.  “I wasn’t sure I’d live to see the day we’d all be such strange bedfellows again,” she chuckled, all lithe grace and serene composure.

                A rustle of sound coming from the top of the trailer alerted them to the fact there was another unannounced guest and all eyes turned towards the tall young man perched atop it.  His eyes gleamed silver in the moonlight, their effect highlighted by the dark hair pulled back into a half ponytail.  A mischievous smile tugged at his lips while he looked at Ryeowook in particular and clucked.  “You weren’t kidding, Vic,” he conceded her direction, disregarding the wolves for the moment.

                “Would I lie to you?” she snorted with a dismissive wave of her hand as she turned to focus on the wolves who were starting to bristle at the slight and lack of proper greeting.  For some reason, Ryeowook felt he was the cause of the strange dialogue at present and he didn’t like it.  Neither did Kyuhyun if the increased pressure against his back was any indication.

                “No,” the vampire barked a laugh and shook his head.  “Not when hitting me is so much more satisfying to you,” he chuckled, hopping off the trailer and startling JR by his sudden appearance, though the human knew something was up top.

                “Changmin,” Kyuhyun greeted softly, eyeing the other vampire who continued to inspect Ryeowook instead, though he tilted his head when he heard the wolves drawing near.

                “He does indeed look like Shayne.  And Hyorin.  I can even see a bit of Erin in him,” he teased with a slow grin at Kyuhyun who curled one lip to bare a glimpse of his fangs.

                “Quit being a ,” Kangin barked a forced laugh as he slapped Changmin on the back in a hearty, distracting greeting that made the vampire cough in amusement.  “Stay there, JR,” he gestured for the human to remain out of range while he herded Changmin to greet the wolves in turn.

                Ryeowook stole a glance at Kyuhyun and saw the tight control back in place, though it was tenuous at best, and the irritation wasn’t quite gone from his eyes.  “Come,” the vampire murmured, one arm still looped gently behind Ryeowook’s back.  “We’ve the rest of the packs to introduce you to.”

                Changmin stopped and stiffened, sniffing the air in a testing manner as his brows dropped into displeased furrows.  “I smell a Hunter.”

                “In the trailer,” Kangin assured him with a pat.

                Incredulously, the vampire turned a raised brow at Kyuhyun and couldn’t help but comment, “You’ve never been one for taking in strays.”  A chorus of low growls made him smile sheepishly as the wolves took offense to such a term being used for a Hunter.  He raised his hands in surrender and shrugged, “So long as he’s collared, who am I to say.”  There was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes as the wolves continued to glare at him.  “What?” he laughed at the unblinking eyes settled on him.  “I think it’s kind of cute how you have a weird pet amongst you,” he chuckled, grunting when a snowball smacked him in the face.

                “You talk too much, Min,” Victoria shook her head as she dusted her hands off.  “If you let the wolves actually talk, we might get somewhere tonight,” she chided, one thin brow raised pointedly.  “Wolves?” she gestured with an elegant hand towards the six men who shuffled uneasily near each other.

                Ryeowook found out first hand how difficult it was for them to concede a semblance of hierarchy among all six of them.  Seunghyun and Yunho wanted it primarily, jockeying for dominance between each other, but in the face of the other four, they had very little ground to stand on.  Formal introductions were not given but Ryeowook did pick up on the fact that the two new faces were Hongbin and Sanghyuk, from the Lee and Han packs respectively.  Kyuhyun leaned close to fill him in with snippets of details as he observed the scene stoically, eyes flickering to Changmin every now and then since the other vampire was bound to hear him.

                As the half-turned had expected, they were indeed the youngest among the troupe and new to their stations so they didn’t speak quite as much as the others did.  The rest of their packmates were still lingering in the back or at the safe house so that they weren’t all too clustered together, keeping their numbers spread out for the time being.  Apparently N was with his clan in another location since he didn’t like the cold and the Chas weren’t entirely needed here.

                It was an eerie feeling knowing that the leaders of all the ‘local’ nonhumans were gathered in one spot.  If Ryeowook hadn’t felt just as safe as he was nervous in the company of so many powerhouses, he would be very afraid indeed.  And suspicious.  As it was, he had a hard enough time focusing on the brief meeting they had while going over what Changmin had said about him resembling certain people.  That alone was enough to tell him that Changmin wasn’t particularly young…

                “Enough talk!” Junsu urged at last when their conversation started to dwindle.  He gestured towards the trailer and added, “We’ve wounded to tend and I’d rather be in relative cover before we really try to get comfortable.”

                “Oh!  We’ve got a cabin nearby,” Hongbin urged, showcasing his neutral standing and ready healer status like Yoochun did.

                “Is it undetected?” Yoochun asked in honest curiosity.

                “Ne,” the Lee nodded emphatically.  “We don’t advertise ourselves as anything,” he shrugged with a disarming smile, brown eyes crinkling inside the natural framing of wavy, brown strands of hair on either side of his face.

                “Fair enough,” Yoochun conceded with a nod as he glanced around the rest of the gathered allies.  “And for the rest of us?”

                “There’s a bunker we call our own if any wolves need a place,” Yunho offered without looking at the gathered vampires.

                “I’m hurt, Yunnie,” Changmin mocked with a falsely pained expression on his face and a hand upon his chest.

                Bristling at the name, Yunho rounded on the slightly taller male and growled, “I told you not to call me that!”

                Judging by the amusement from the rest of the wolves, Ryeowook could understand why, even if he thought the name made the wolf slightly less intimidating.  He’d just keep that thought to himself but he did notice a tiny smirk on Kyuhyun’s face too.  Apparently, Changmin knew when not to push though and the vampire shrugged as he turned to speak with the other vampires.  “N and the rest of his clan is bunked down in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city,” he pointed to give them a direction.  “There’s room enough for three more,” he murmured as he counted those before him.

                “Four,” Ryeowook immediately corrected with a glance at his brother who was at least back in the cab and watching everything with wide, albeit tired, eyes.

                “More pets?” Changmin murmured with an undaunted smirk at Kyuhyun.

                “My brother,” the half-turned corrected just as quickly, frowning at the vampire.

                Changmin laughed aloud and nodded in concession.  “I like this one, Kyu,” he whispered just loud enough for the pair to hear.  “He has spunk.”

                “If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it,” Kyuhyun commented in an almost bored manner, though again, his irritation was evident only in the contact he shared with Ryeowook.

                “Ouch,” the taller vampire pouted, leaning back almost too quick to follow as another snowball zoomed in front of his face this time, startling Ryeowook who hadn’t even seen it coming.

                “Quit being a troll and get your over here,” Victoria rolled her eyes.  “We’re wasting good darkness with you running your mouth again.”

                “Yes mother,” Changmin answered cheekily, forcing him to dodge another snowball that was part debris as well since she was running out of ammunition.

                As Changmin obligingly headed towards Victoria, Kangin edged near the other side of Ryeowook and huffed, “And to think he’s the older one.”

                “I heard that,” Changmin murmured without looking back.

                “Good!” Kangin snorted with a raised fist, though the other vampire didn’t see it.

                He lowered his hand when he saw Junsu heading over to them.  “Kyu.  If you’ll just follow Hongbin, he’ll lead you to the cabin for the wounded and when they’re unloaded, you can join up with the vampires.”

                “Can?” Kyuhyun deliberately asked, a displeased frown pulling at his lips.  It took Ryeowook a moment to understand the point of contention and when he saw Junsu frown, he realized it was a matter of pride.  “I need your permission now?” the vampire murmured, reminding Ryeowook more and more of the vampire he’d first met.  He didn’t like it.

                Fortunately, Kangin spoke before he could, “Don’t worry, wolf.  We can deliver the rest of your pack before sunrise,” he snorted, waving a hand dismissively as he wandered to the other side of the truck, ignoring Kyuhyun and otherwise disregarding the wolf.  While Kyuhyun frowned disapprovingly after his companion, Junsu did the same to him in turn and Ryeowook felt distinctly uncomfortable by all of it.

                “I’m going to go check on JR,” he explained, stepping away to go before he was stopped by Kyuhyun’s hand on his wrist, keeping him in place.

                “We’ll be in touch, Kyu,” Junsu huffed, turning around to head back towards the dispersing wolves.  “Yah!” he yelped when a large, gangly, black hued one brushed by him perilously close as he sprinted after an equally transformed tawny red one.  “Hyuk!” he snapped before falling to all fours so he could shift as well.

                Ryeowook glanced down at Kyuhyun’s hand wrapped around his wrist and looked up to meet the vampire’s eyes.  “You’re annoyed.”  It was a statement and not a question.

                Frowning slightly, Ryeowook wasn’t one to just admit when things were bothering him either, preferring not to burden others.  “I’m worried about my brother,” he evaded instead.

                “With me,” Kyuhyun added additionally, his grip still firm.  When Ryeowook’s jaw tightened, he asked, “Why?”

                For a long moment, they looked at each other and Ryeowook gathered his resolve.  “Because you’re being a jerk,” he finally stated firmly, yanking his wrist free so he could do exactly what he intended to: check on his brother.  His back prickled terribly and he knew Kyuhyun was watching him as he moved, the feeling both uncomfortable and reassuring which was a terrible contradiction.

                Fortunately, JR was just fine after Kangin turned the heater on so he could warm up further and Ryeowook’s unintended protest won him just a bit of space from Kyuhyun when he did move back to the trailer so they could head on.  Their destination wasn’t too far, but Ryeowook lingered near Henry, Luna, and Minsoo in particular, filling them in on what had transpired.

                “Oh!  I heard Hyuk isn’t much more than a pup himself,” Luna grinned with a hand resting lightly on Minsoo’s shoulder, their contact constant in the company of so many people.

                “He’s definitely young, but so is Hongbin,” Ryeowook murmured as he shrugged.

                “Do you know if there will be more wounded in the area?”  The unexpected question came from Chaerin as she shuffled closer with Ken at her side, her sharp features unusually pinched.

                Ryeowook shook his head at her words.  “I don’t know.  They didn’t say anything about wounded people so I think you’ll be okay.”  Her hesitant relief was evident and he couldn’t help but feel a flash of pity for her that she so often gave up her body and her mind to the spirit within her.

                “What?” she asked when she noticed him inadvertently staring.

                “Nothing!” he yelped, ducking his head as Ken laughed at him in understanding.

                “It’s not as bad as you might think,” Ken explained with a nod at Henry who could vouch for their condition.  “Sometimes they even write us letters to let us know what happened while they took us around for a spin,” he grinned, tapping his head knowingly.  Chaerin nodded in reluctant agreement but it was clear she wasn’t as accepting of their lot as her younger brother.

                “Are you sure you guys should be talking like that around me?” Minsoo warned softly with a disarming smile on his face as he looked around the circle, clinging to consciousness and staying there with a mix of pain and adrenaline in equal measures.  “I am a Hunter,” he reminded them.

                “Eh.  You have bigger fish to worry about,” Chaerin laughed once, crossing her arms over her chest as her lips thinned.  “Besides.  If you actually were a threat, they’d have taken over by now.”

                Ken leaned close and whispered behind his hand as if he was trying to keep his sister from hearing, “I wouldn’t tempt L. Joe if I were you.”  He winced when Chaerin smacked his shoulder with an open palm, the warning half-hearted but sincere.

                Ryeowook wasn’t too sure what to do with that little tidbit of information but he could only presume the second spirit in Chaerin was much more combat oriented than the healer.  He blinked when he realized Henry was looking at him and he met the other’s brown eyes squarely.  “He’s watching you,” he murmured softly while his mouth twisted into a small frown.

                “I know,” Ryeowook sighed slowly.  He’d suspected as much anyway since the feeling of eyes on his back hadn’t actually faded yet.  The sensation was… bothersome.

                “I’m worried for you, Wookie,” Henry admitted as the others quietly conversed beside them, covering the majority of their words.

                “I kind of am too,” Ryeowook sighed while his teeth found his bottom lip.

                “Will you be alright with the vampires?” he asked, reaching a hand out tentatively as if to touch the other male.

                The half-turned nodded in slow confirmation.  “Kyu will make sure of that.”

                “Will you be alright with him?”

                There were so many possible levels to that question, Ryeowook didn’t even know where to begin.  His lips thinned and a furrow formed between his brows.  “Ne,” he finally responded, opting to leave it at that.  Whether he would be or not didn’t actually matter just then because he didn’t want to worry his friend with something he couldn’t change or do anything about.  “I’m more worried about you,” he laughed instead, reaching across the space to nudge Henry with just a hint of his unnatural strength.

                “Hey!” the wolf-kin scowled, understanding what the other had done.  “You’re one to talk.”  He shoved back with his natural strength and made them both laugh when Ryeowook actually held firm.  “Ugh, you ,” he frowned, maintaining the false cheer of their differences.  They managed to make light of their situation but it was another unintentional reminder of the wall between them.  Wolves and vampires just weren’t the best of friends and neither Ryeowook nor Henry would ever be as they once were before.

                It was yet another piece of his humanity he could feel slipping away and it was doubly hard to let him go when they finally stopped.  Unloading was a quick and efficient process, especially when the rest of the Lees and the handful of Hans hanging out nearby came to join them.  When the last of the humans had been cleared out, Ryeowook joined Kyuhyun on top of the trailer to see the location, which looked remarkably like Yoochun’s cabin had, and the rest of the wolves nearby.

                He had to laugh upon seeing Luna giving Minsoo a piggyback ride inside, her small form dwarfed by his though she had no trouble actually carrying him.  There were four new wolves that he could make out, but their names evaded him currently.  He made note of who they were so he could find out later and then headed back inside at Kyuhyun’s urging so they could rejoin the vampires.  The warehouse they ended up in was truly deserted and on the way to being dilapidated, but it was mostly clean and serviceable with more than a couple familiar faces.

                “Wookie!” a surprisingly energetic Himchan greeted, rushing towards the half-turned with a genuinely pleased expression.

                “Himchan!” Ryeowook called, hurrying to bridge the distance, though a frown crossed his face when something felt different.

                “You’re okay!” the other male exclaimed, hugging Ryeowook before he pushed him back at arm’s length to inspect him.

                “Ne,” the half-turned answered automatically, still looking at his companion.  “And you’re-”

                “A Cha!” he practically squealed in excitement, sprouting a pair of feathered, black wings so they could see for themselves.

                “Himchannie!”  He winced at the sharp reprimand when Hyosung came up, frowning as she noticed the ripped fabric.

                “Oops,” he pouted, turning apologetic eyes on her so that she sighed and waved both hands at him.

                “When did that happen?” Kyuhyun inquired with a raised brow.

                Hyosung gestured with her hand and explained, “A couple weeks ago.  We ran afoul of a small patrol when we didn’t expect it and he got hurt in the fight.”  Kyuhyun nodded in understanding as Himchan shrugged with a wince, obviously struggling to recall his wings now that they were out.  “Oh!  I see you have a new addition,” she added with a curious glance at JR.

                “Ne.  My brother, JR,” Ryeowook introduced, waving his sibling over so he could finish the greetings.

                They all chuckled at JR’s reaction to the wings and Kangin gave Himchan his congratulations.  N finally made his appearance when they were starting to wonder where he was, at which point he gushed over Ryeowook and JR equally and then berated Kyuhyun, as per usual, for not bringing them inside sooner.  Hyosung chided him in turn and for the first time in a while, Ryeowook felt a measure of ease in their company.  It was like a very strange family but that he understood and appreciated.

                “Quickly!  Quickly!” N gestured as he waved them all to follow him inside.  “We’re just getting word from Jinki and Sungmin,” he explained, trying very hard to contain his nervous excitement.

                “I know they can handle themselves,” Victoria spoke to Changmin as they joined the two vampires already in the modified communication room.  “But I’m just glad they’ve got backup from Minzy and Zhou.  That’s all I’m saying,” she huffed with her finger pointed at the taller vampire.

                “Hey.  Shims are better at not getting caught,” Changmin shrugged with both hands raised on either side of his shoulders.  “You can have your combat and escape methods,” he snorted with a slightly superior tone.

                “Quiet!” N snapped as he fluidly slid into the seat he’d apparently vacated a moment ago to greet the newcomers.  “Listen!” he commanded while he messed with some of the nobs and then clicked a button to put other person on speaker.

                “N.  We’re being tailed,” the young man explained over the patchy signal of what had to be a cell phone.  Ryeowook felt a shiver of dread run up his spine at the announcement and he found his hands grabbing onto both JR and Kyuhyun.

                “Just keep moving, Jinki.  You’ve got Zhou with you right?” N asked as if he was coaching someone along.

                “Of course.  He’s right behind me.  We’ve got to find cover now, but I had to tell you before we did,” he rushed in a quick jumble of words.  Nobody breathed as they strained to hear what the vampire was going to tell them.  “!” he yelped, the word almost drowned out in the sound of gunfire in the background.

                “Jinki?!” N cried as the entire room surged forward, filling the air with worry and tension.  Static answered him followed by the sound of more gunfire.  Someone cried out in pain and then there was a lot of wind howling in the receiver.  “Jinki!  Respond!” N shouted, standing up as he leaned over the communication board.

                “Jinki’s injured!” a new voice yelled into the phone, giving them no time to recover before he went on regardless.  “The half-breeds are being mobilized!  Strike zone unknown but they’re coming!  Be ready!” he announced, ending the call with a sudden finality none of them were expecting.

                “Zhou?” N called over the dead line.  He fiddled with the controls as if he could bring the other back online and then cursed quietly.

                They all jumped when Changmin shouted in pain.  “Ow!”

                “You jinxed them!” Victoria pointed at him in accusation as her target lurched to the side clutching his arm with a pained expression.

                “Vic!” he whined with an aggrieved air.

                Kyuhyun pulled free of Ryeowook’s hold and approached N, placing his hand on the back of the chair while he leaned close.  “Where are the nearest prisons with the largest death row inmate count?”

                “I don’t-” he tried to answer.

                “Then find out,” Kyuhyun murmured softly with a stern glance at the other vampire.

                “Why can’t you-”

                “Just do it, N,” the other vampire interrupted again, unaccountably weary.

                “That’s bad isn’t it?” JR asked, edging closer to his brother with real worry in his voice.

                “Very bad,” Ryeowook agreed as he wrapped his arms around his sibling and held him close, offering what quiet reassurance he could.  His eyes though, were on Kyuhyun’s back as the vampire leaned over the dash.  Inexplicably, he wanted to go over and offer what comfort he could to the hunched figure, but he didn’t.  He held his brother tight and stared while he reiterated, “Very bad indeed.”

(a/n: And we've almost met all the nonhumans!  We've got a couple more to name though you can probably theorize for the Hans and the Lees.  ;)  hehe  Ryeowook is finding his footing little by little and Kyuhyun has managed to strengthen his mental state right now.  Anyone wanna guess why he didn't want to help N himself?  lol

We also got a little bit more insight on our possessed people so that was something.  And I'm hoping Changmin came off as enough of a troll/trickster for everyone's satisfaction.  We'll see what happens in the next update since I'm not entirely positive what I want to fit in.  Probably some sort of action though we never know!  Thank you for being patient and I hope everyone enjoyed the latest update!)