I stood in the hallway before the large window that provided the perfect view of the forest. My eyes trained on the very spot where Yongguk would be coming out of because I wanted to be sure that he’ll uphold his promise – so, I am expecting another person to be with him.

I straightened up seeing a large brown werewolf breaking out from the forest and running towards the castle. A werewolf’s body flung over his shoulder as he dashed. An act that is slowly reassuring me that I didn’t have to doubt Yongguk. Within seconds, Yongguk draws closer to the entrance of the castle and out of my sight. He should be inside and at the thought, I hurry there.

By the time I got there, my Knight and the new presence were nowhere to be seen. I looked at the guard. “Where are they?” I asked through pants. It only had to have been five minutes for me to get here.

“Red said he’ll be taking the Werewolf up to the prison tower,” the guard innocently responds.

“The prison tower?” I sighed loudly at the news. I should have known Yongguk would do that. Everything certainly is a threat to him, isn’t it? I turn back and head to where Yongguk had taken the injured guest. I quickly cross the bridge and go straight up to the entrance.

And undesirably, Sungrok cross my mind again only for me to push the thought of him away. There is something else I need to worry about. “You know the drill,” I greet the guards as they bow at my appearance. Without a single objection, the two guards move to the side and allow me in. “Wait a minute, did Yongguk tell you where he was taking the Werewolf?”

“I believe the third floor, Princess,” one of the guards give me an answer.

“Thank you and I appreciate you guys not giving me a hard time.” They were starting to get used to my visits.

In a rush, I speedily make my way up the stairs, paying close attention to the number of floors I needed to get passed.

But before I could reach the ending of the staircase to the third floor, Yongguk was already there, waiting for me. “Princess, don’t come up here.” Normally, I would fight him on that but the look on his face and the rushed tone of his voice made me stand there, frozen with confusion. Something was wrong.

“Is he okay?” I asked carefully. I wasn’t sure what the situation was. I looked at his hands that clutched the bindings used to transport criminals. “Tell me what’s going on.” Yongguk stood there hesitantly and I glowered at him, “Yongguk, we talked about you hiding things from me.” It was only 20 minutes ago, there’s no way he could have forgotten.

He opens his mouth but no sound leaves and it only makes me more nervous.

“I don’t know,” he finally says.

“…What do you mean?”

His hands clutched the bindings tighter before pressing onto his earpiece, “this is Red. I need Steel here at the prison tower.” He looked back down at me, “Princess, please just go back for now.”

“You will come see me later.” And I didn’t mean it as a question but rather, I was demanding.

“I will come see you later,” Yongguk agrees and I reluctantly head back down the stairs and back to my bedroom to wait.

***

Yongguk heads back to the third floor of the prison and stands before the prison cell.

This usually didn’t happen. He has never felt so confused in his life and when he realizes he didn't have any answers, that simply made him anxious.

“Red, what do you need me for?” Steel passes through the doorway.

Yongguk points into the cell, “father, look.” It was better for his father to see than for Yongguk to explain.

Steel walks over and looks into the cell and is also rendered baffled by the sight.

Yongguk looks down at the bindings in his hands, “at first, I had thought that there was something wrong with the bindings but…”

Steel’s hand makes its way up to his ear and he presses on his own earpiece, “get Hero. Red and I are at the prison tower.”

Minutes later, the Knight meets up with the two – also confused by the same sight that they all shared. “Well, that’s…strange.”

The three looked into the cell to see that propped up against the wall was an unconscious Werewolf…who has not shifted back into his human form. The simple sight was alarming.

“Was there anyone with him?” Steel turns to Yongguk, who shakes his head in response.

“I found him in the woods, alone. Whoever or whatever attacked him was already gone from the scene.”

“You actually helped a Lone Werewolf?” Steel couldn’t hide the surprise from his voice. His son would never do such a thing as that.

“Princess Haewon made me,” he quietly answers.

“So, what exactly happened?” Hero cuts in and focuses the two Knights back on the current problem.

Yongguk begins to speak, “I found him unresponsive in the forest and I placed bindings on him. I gave it a few seconds but he never shifted back. So, I thought it was defective.” That’s why he had no choice but to carry back a Werewolf over his shoulder. “Then, I tossed him in here, expecting him to turn back into a human and here he is –“ Yongguk motions towards the current state of things, “ - still in his Werewolf form.”

“He’s injured too,” Steel says under his breath as he looks at the cuts and dried blood stuck on the fur around the various wounds that decorated the guest’s body.

“But, Red could probably do that also,” Hero cuts in, “he can probably stay in his Werewolf form in the cell.”

“That’s on a good day,” Yongguk emphasizes. “And that’s if I’m healthy and all that, the Werewolf is injured and unconscious, so what does that say?”

“We need to figure it out,” Steel concludes and turns to the other Knight, “run some tests, Hero. While you’re doing that, I need to go let the King know.”

“On it.” Hero leaves along with Steel and while Yongguk remains behind.

The more he observed the Werewolf, the more it was evident that there was something seriously wrong about the situation and it only raised the danger level of having this Werewolf here.

After running to get his case of tools, Hero quickly returned back to the prison tower but was once again caught by surprise due to an unexpected sight that followed the first. He stood outside the cell with Yongguk right beside him. “…Do I still run tests?”

Where the Werewolf once was, now is a young man, his back up against the back of the cell and his head tilt forward – still not awake. While Hero was gone, the Werewolf had shifted back and was now bare to the two Knights.

“All we had to do was wait,” Hero reasoned. “The injuries look like they will heal by tomorrow so I guess I’ll go back first.”

“Hero, can you still please do it?” Yongguk wasn’t going to simply let this go. He wanted to get to the bottom of it. “I don’t like how we can’t explain what is happening.”  

Hero sighs and watches Yongguk unlock the cell while trying not to groan. He should have known how stubborn the younger Knight is. With a syringe in his hand, Hero walks into the cell, kneeling down beside the Werewolf. He reaches for the Werewolf’s arm to locate the blood vessel in his forearm. But before he could do anything, his eye catches something out of place.

Making sure he was seeing right, Hero brings his face closer to the sight and scans the skin on the Werewolf’s forearm.

“What is it?” Yongguk caught Hero’s hesitation and goes into the cell.

The older Knight’s brows furrowed, “there’s something here.” There on the Werewolf’s forearm was a scar from a previous punctured wound. Located right upon the skin above one of the body’s major blood vessels.

Yongguk leans over to take a look himself, “it’s a scar?”

Hero was sure. judging by the size of the wound, it must have come from a needle. “Something like this would heal without scarring over,” he said mostly