Areum felt her eyes droop closed, but she forced herself to open her eyes and keep awake.

"Where are you?" She mumbled as she leaned head against the mattress.

No one had entered the room after she kicked Mino out and all she was left to do was wait for Jackson to come and find her.

But how was he supposed to find her?

There was no doubt in her mind that the panthers' house was in the middle of nowhere. She hated how useless she was. She couldn't do anything to save herself because she was up against supernatural creatures that were stronger than her and had abilities way beyond her.

She knew that she didn't stand a chance and she wasn't stupid enough to try.

But she had faith.

Jackson may give her a lot of for asking him for help but she knew that when it really came down to it, he wouldn't, for a second, hesitate to come save her.

She trusted him.

How could she not trust the man she was in love with?

Even in the oddest moments, she felt her heart race. She loved him and he loved her. She had a smile on her face as she rested her head back.

She couldn't wait to say it to him. He'd probably make a huge scene about it.

She was snapped out of her daze when she heard a loud crash outside the door. She jerked up, thinking it was Jackson and stood up.

She stepped slowly towards the door and reached for the knob. Her eyes widened when the knob turned, allowing her to open the door.

The panther must have forgotten to lock the door after he left the broom for her. She opened the door, just a crack, and peeked in the opening.

She held in a gasp when she saw the 4 panthers ganging up on the one of their own.

The one that tried speaking to her.

"What the hell, Mino! Is it true?" Seunghoon hissed as he slammed his pack mate into the wall.

Mino winced on impact but managed to glare at him, "What if it is? What are you going to do about it?"

Jinwoo scoffed and shook his head, "A human? A ing human for a link. Incredible. You could've chosen anyone else, but you chose a human. The prince's human, too."

Areum's eyes widened and she felt her heart thumping in her ears. She was the prince's 'human', they were talking about her.

What's a link, though?

Seungyoon's fists were curled, "How could you link with someone who was already taken. She's the enemy. We're not keeping her around for long. What the were you thinking?"

Areum tried to quell the sinking feeling in her gut.

They weren't going to keep her around for long.

"I didn't do it on purpose. It happened before I found out she was his mate." Mino snapped, irritably.

Seunghoon looked incredulous and tightened his grip around Mino's neck, "She's a human. Do you know what we do to humans? We eat them, we don't ing link with them."

"We don't do that anymore." Mino fired back.

"Yeah we haven't done it because of the wolves. You think we won't go back once we get rid of them? It's out diet Mino, that's how we were born. The longer we abstain from human meat, the weaker we get." Seungyoon snarled.

Jinwoo chuckled, "Now that I think about it, you never really did take a liking to what we eat."

Taehyun tilted his head with a blink, "Wait, go back. You said that you linked with her before you found out she was his mate. She didn't accept him as his mate until recently. So if you got her first, why isn't she with you?"

Mino looked away, "If I knew, do you think I'd just sit by and let him have her?"

"What else have you been hiding from us?  Is that why she got away from you when we cornered them at the camp grounds?" Jinwwo barked.

Suddenly, the door Areum was hiding behind was yanked open and she was dragged out by the hair. She grunted in pain and held her scalp when she felt the roots of her hair burning.

Seungyoon dragged her into the middle of the room where Mino's eyes widened. Areum whimpered and held in her tears of pain as she felt strands of her hair get pulled out.

"You're risking everything for her? Are you insane?"

Mino couldn't move and just stared at Areum whose lips were trembling. He couldn't find it in himself to tell Seungyoon to stop or even to let her go.

He just watched her pain silently.

Seungyoon clenched his jaw and slammed Areum into the wall, making her scream on impact. Mino's body jerked, but he still stayed silent.

"She's not your link. Either kill her, leave the pack or find a different link because as long as we are alive, we won't let this human into our pack." He growled.

Areum's body was trembling and her skin was freezing from the cold sweat. Seungyoon gave her hair one last harsh yank before tossing her on the ground.

"Get your head out of your . The wolves are coming soon and I don't need you being a crutch because you're too busy worrying about her." He spat out.

Mino watched as he walked away, the other following closely behind.

"Remember which side you're on." Seunghoon mumbled before letting go of Mino and retreating.

Once they were gone he glanced at Areum who was in a heap in the middle of the floor. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped when she staggered up. She shoved herself off the ground and swayed back and forth as she tried to balance herself.

"A-Areum." He choked out.

She turned to him, her face blazing red and her eyes frozen over behind a layer of pain, "Why are they calling me your link? What is that?"

Mino felt his stomach churning as he slowly took a seat on the couch.

"If wolves have mates, panthers have links."

-----

Jackson sat on his bed and stared at the picture in his hands.

Was he being dramatic? Maybe. But he missed her too goddamn much.

He was staring at the only framed picture he ever had of anyone in his room.

It was a picture of Areum.

Funny enough, Jinyoung was the one that took the picture of the two of the two of them kissing. It was the most perfect picture he could ever imagine.

It was one kiss out of the countless he gave her, but his eyes were open, staring at her fondly and her eyes were closed but her lips were turned up in a smile.

, he loved her so much that it was stupid.

He spent the whole night running and searching for her, but he came up empty handed. He howled, hoping she'd hear him but when the sun started to rise, he came back to the cabin with his ears plastered down and his tail hanging low.

What was he thinking?

Marriage?

Areum made it clear that she wanted a nice, slow, normal relationship and he should've respected that. He should've been grateful that she was even willing to accept him as a wolf and been satisfied with that.

But it was because he was scared that something like Mino would happen.

That someone else would claim her and take her away.

And now she was gone.

If only he showed her an ounce more of respect. If he wasn't such a baby to storm out of the room just because she said no to him.

How was she supposed to trust him if she couldn't even feel comfortable to disagree with him without him throwing a ing tantrum?

He laid on the bed and reached his hand out to the empty space that he wanted no one else to occupy but her. It scared him how quickly he had adapted to feeling her body pressed up against his as they slept or her body heat, though not as high as his, still able to warm him. But that warmth was missing.  If he concentrated long enough, he could smell her on his sheets.

He glanced out his window and noticed the cloudy skies and the heavy rain.

It had been a while since his emotions forced the weather to act up.

Ever since Areum came into his life, he found that he was sub-consciously controlling his emotions. Even when he was sad, angry or happy, the weather wouldn't be overly affected as long as she was nearby.

Unless of course, like the stars, he chose to bring them out.

"Hey."

Jackson looked up at the door where Jaebum was standing.  "We're going to head out. You coming?"

He nodded and forced himself up. Jaebum looked at him softly. He took in the way Jackson's whole body looked drained and saggy as he moved towards him.

It was clear to Jaebum and the rest of the pack that Areum hadn't just become a part of their little family, but she had embedded herself into Jackson's system.

"Don't worry, okay? The elders will know what to do. This isn't the first time they dealt with panthers, especially a pack as weak as the ones that took Areum."

Jackson's eyes flickered purple as the two of them walked down the stairs, "I know that we try to be peaceful with other species, but I swear to ing god, the second I find out where they're keeping her, I'm going to burn that ing building to the ground."

"And we'll let you." Jaebum said firmly.

"But." Jackson said as they stood in front of the door, "But Areum is my first priority. She comes before the panthers at all costs."

"Oh trust me, we know."

-----

"So…so you basically imprinted on me." She muttered, stunned, after Mino explained to her the connection he created with her.

She almost wished the other panthers broke up their conversationa nd just barged into the room. She didn't want to deal with this. It was too overwhelming and too much for her to handle.

Mino had followed her around for months without her knowing. It sent shivers down her spine. So many times when she was