Snow. It reminded him of blood, of gunshots, of sorrow - at least when it was snowing heavily, the wind blowing, the world silent and waiting. As the years passed he tried to disassociate the snow more and more from his past, but even as a twenty two year old he found himself watching the snow fall amidst vivid mental images. Screams, growls. Gunshots. And the feeling of the cold winter wind when you ran full speed, full speed in wolf form, trying to escape what was killing everything you had ever known and loved.

Luhan took a deep breath and began walking. He had to get to class, regardless of memories. His Father would want him to live in the now, not in the bloody and horrible past. And horrible it was. Fifteen years ago the government’s crackdown on human wolf hybrids came full force, destroying most of the packs in Korea. Those who were not killed or captured were forced into hiding in order to survive. Luhan was one of the latter, his parents were of the former.

Escaping with a few of the juvenile members of his pack along with his Aunt, he ended up in Seoul. Pretend to be human-or so his Aunt told him. It was hard, but easier than it would be for most he supposed. At least he had resources, a lot of resources. The Eastern Dawn pack had been known to certain humans for a long time. They had connections, powerful connections via hybrids that had long ago entered the human world. So when Luhan, the remainder of the Eastern Dawn pack and his Aunt showed up in Seoul they were given fake identity papers and money. Enough money to make more money, which they did. In fact they were very well off, even by human standards.

The snow was falling heavier, and the silence seemed to be more deafening than before. Luhan saw his Father’s face flash in his mind. His Father was the Alpha of the Eastern Dawn pack, a proud and wise man who led the pack well. He was his Father’s only child, born late in his Father’s life. He was seven when it happened – but it was like yesterday. His Father’s majestic white fur soaked with blood from the bullets. His Mother fallen only a moment later. Both murdered as the snow came down, heavier and heavier. Running, so much running.

The pack was his now – what was left of it. He was the Alpha of the Eastern Dawn wolves. There were only a handful of them left now, all except his Aunt were younger than thirty. He would protect what was left and the only way to protect was to pretend he was what he was not. He masqueraded as human, a “normal” university student, a “normal” young man. How far from the truth that was.

He picked up his pace, pulling up his jacket collar against the wind. It was time to stop the memories, he had a class to attend.

***

Minseok watched the man with curiosity. He was definitely a hybrid, he could smell him. Of course his sense of smell was stronger than most hybrids, he realized that when he was always the first to spot another of his own kind. It interested Minseok, but not enough to induce fear. He had met a few hybrids outside of his pack before. It happened, especially when the lot of them were living as they were, hidden in plain sight.

Living in the less savory parts of Seoul had conditioned Minseok to observe first, which had usually served him well when other wolves were about. But this wolf felt less threatening and…well, more wrapped up in being human than the others. Granted Minseok was playing the role as well – any wolf that wanted to survive had to either masquerade as human or go into isolation in the wilderness.

It was an interesting sight, this blonde haired boy trekking across the snowy campus. He was dressed well, and mingled well with the other passing students. No wonder he could attend school, he was conditioned perfectly to not let anyone know his true form. But Minseok knew, he could smell it. Was that part of what made him “special”?

Memories flashed before Minseok, only briefly but enough to shake his emotional state.

“You have something the others do not. Something that saved you.”

It was the lab. That damn lab. That place that he was taken to when his pack was captured. That place where he had barely escaped from so many years ago. That place where his parents and most of his pack presumably died. That place where they cut him and poked him and…..

Minseok bit his lower lip. Not now, he repeated in his head. Time to get down to business. He shook off his memories and started walking towards his fellow hybrid. If he was lucky the boy would never even know what happened. If he was lucky his behavior was not reckless. If he was lucky….hell, maybe he was being reckless.