____________________________________________

Minho didn’t understand it at first. His bond with Jinki was relaying back a kaleidoscope of emotions. Confusion, desperation, paranoia, more and more confusion, anger, sadness. He thought the array of feelings were a side effect of the adrenaline battle brought. He, too, was feeling a spectrum of things but….Jinki’s was too strong. The confusion was too strong, the sadness, the anger was too strong.

Toggo approached them from his camp, his face hard but...hopeful. Minho scoffed. He didn’t know what his uncle had to be hopeful about. If he thought Minho was going to spare his life, he was sorely mistaken. The man didn’t deserve his next breath.

There was a smaller woman at his side and Minho remembered her as the Den mage who was there when Ogg, Son of Ogg, attempted to kill him. She was the one who whisked Jungsoo away to that godawful place. Minzy gazed back at him with a confidence that betrayed their situation. Den mages were crazy so it was best to ignore her. The tall, willowy shifter that stood right behind him, though, that’s who had all of Minho’s attention.

He could feel something from him, something dark and ominous. A power seeped in negativity. Minho’s realization was sharp and clear. It was Domonkos. The dark mage controlling Jinki. His eyes danced as he stared at the Alpha Prime and everything became clear. The wild look on Jinki’s face, the emotions, scattered and disrupted.

He’s ing with Jinki right under our noses!

Minho didn’t care about a truce. He didn’t care about the rules. Their one weakness was right there! He’d shown his face! Revealed his power, the energy flowing off him like a homing beacon. He was going to end this!

He grabbed a spear from a soldier near him, his grip tight and sure. “DOMONKOS!” ripped from his throat before he began charging across the field. He was going to end this! He was going to free Jin–

A hand enclosed around his neck, hard, stopping his charge in its tracks. He was hoisted off the ground and everything was a blur as the hand clenched tighter around his neck and slammed him into the ground.

The air whooshed out of his lungs amidst the pain and he felt the warm glow of Onew emerging, his teeth bared. “Jinki, what are you doing?!” he growled.

Minho groaned and opened an eye. Wait. It was Jinki?

“Protegéieren,” Jinki intoned but it didn’t sound like his voice. Well, it did, but it sounded like another voice was layered over his.

Onew took a step back and crouched in front of Minho. “Have you lost your goddamn mind? You can’t cast spells! You can’t break them either!” Onew looked eternally torn between stopping his human and staying put to protect his human’s mate.

“I unbind thee...”

“JINKI, STOP!”

Minho’s eyes widen as he recognized what Jinki was trying to do. “Jinki…Jinki, stop! No!”

“Caleo from me...and Onew from thee.”

Onew screamed, a pain filled guttural scream that stopped everything and everyone in its tracks.

Minho’s heart slammed in his chest and he felt something being physically ripped from his soul. He gasped and clutched his chest. Minho wanted to scream, too. He wanted to curl up in a ball and cry and kick and yell and claw at the pain of losing Onew.

He couldn’t feel him anymore. How? How? his mind screamed. Jinki was not a mage. He held no mage powers! What did that mean? Why did–

Minho! Oh my god, Minho!

He hadn’t heard that voice in months! Caleo! “You’re here?”

I had no choice. I didn’t come back here on my own volition  Don’t get me wrong, I missed you and all but I promised Jinki I would stay with him until the end! Kos has Jinki. Completely. She had me too, I could feel her. She looked me in my eyes and I felt her ripping me away from Jinki.

Her? Who is Kos?

Minho needed to get it together. He needed to be the leader. He needed to get Jinki back. He tried to sit up but a heavy boot landed on his chest. He peered up. It was Jinki–he could see it now. The odd green color in his blank, lifeless, cold eyes. He could still feel the sporadic flux of emotions coming from his mate through their bond. He exhaled. At least he could still feel their bond.

“Yifan!” he heard Jonghyun scream.  “Get yer over here!  This is it! I think they’ve got him!”  

Toqto'a filtered in behind him, concern clearly on his face. “Is it not a crime here to discuss killing your leader?”

“Not if I give them permission,” Jinki stated quietly.

Jonghyun pulled up short. “Excuse me? You think this is your decision to make? It’s not. After you and Minho comes me. I get to make some decisions around here to for ’s sake.”

“Which is why you are here, Jonghyun. To make decisions. And I’ve known you long enough to know you’ll make the right one. You will not endanger this clan, our mates or our children because you hold affection for me. This applies to all of you.”

“Screw your affection,” Jonghyun snarled.  “You don’t know what you’re asking me to do. You’re asking me to kill you. And you won’t even have a memory of it! You will just cease to exist! You want me to say goodbye to you.”

Jinki inhaled deeply. “That’s a good idea. Let’s say goodbye. Here and now.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Jonghyun, Yifan and Nichkhun racing towards him and his mate.

No. Minho needed to keep them away. He needed to keep everyone away from Jinki. He wracked his mind for a spell, something, anything!

Try Evergreen!

Yes! Minho didn’t even hesitate. “Vintergröna!”

The ground below them vibrated, as if it were accepting Minho’s spell, before shaking hard enough to knock people to their feet. The earth split and fell away. Weeds and roots and branches erupted from the ground, forming a jagged fence of greenery around them. The branches twined together at the top, forming a dome, trapping Minho and Jinki inside it.

Jonghyun reached the barrier first and his first instinct was to try and break it down. “Minho...take this down. He’s–he’s not himself right now. He will hurt you! Let me,” he grasped at empty air again. “Let me handle him.”

Yifan and Nichkhun were next. “Yifan,” he said, glancing at Nichkhun. “Please take Nichkhun away.”

“He’s going to hurt you, Minho!” Nichkhun yelled.

Minho smiled while eying his mate out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t moved yet. “We have to be smart,” he whispered. “No one has given Jinki a command to move. I’m sure that won’t last long. Don’t disengage. Keep Toggo’s army at bay. We may have lost Jinki, but I am still a commander of this army.”

Some of the worry drained from Nickhun’s eyes. “We’ll alert Toghon and Gi Jao to bring Biligtü's troops to guard you.”

Minho shook his head. “No…They are better served fighting. Remember they also fight for my children. That has to be their main priority. And…Toqto'a pledged to kill Jinki if he lost control…just like you guys.””

Yifan’s head snapped to Minho’s. “You ...you knew about that plan?”

Minho nodded.

“I...we never meant…Jinki said–”

Minho cut them off with a raised hand. “Now isn’t the time. Jonghyun, go to Toghon and Gi Jao and let them know I’ve given you full command. I trust you to make wise decisions, tactically. Engage them for they have not surrendered. You’re free to do so at any time. Nichkhun can you and Victoria create a barrier around this one, but with Prae clansmen? I don’t want Iutus to think they can get rid of two bids with the same stone.”

Nichkhun swallowed harshly and nodded. “Yes, but lower this barrier. Let us help you. We can–subdue him...something!”

“I’m sorry, Nic. I can’t afford to believe you right now. If anyone has to kill Jinki it will be me.”

Silence descended on them but Minho could hear a shift in Jinki’s breathing. “Yifan,” he said hurriedly. “Find Bong Soo and Minhyuk. They should have felt Domonkos’ presence by now.”

Yifan nodded. “They have already have. Before it was hard to pinpoint him with all the battle energy floating around but they have their sights on him now that he has appeared. They are awaiting an order.”

“They have it. The spell is broken once he is dead.”

Yifan sighed deeply. “Keep yourself safe. Here take this.” Through a small space between the branches, Yifan dropped an ampoule into Minho’s hand. His fingers automatically curled around it. “Olfa. You might need it.”

Minho opened his mouth to thank him when he felt a rush of air. A moment later a claw came down hard, missing him by a breath. Minho turned and saw his mate, his eyes a deeper green than before.

“Go!” he said to his Bone Pack.

He has complete control. I can’t feel Onew anywhere. Not even a trace of him.

“He’s in there. Both of them are,” Minho murmured. He needed to prolong this as long as possible, give Yifan, Nichkhun and Jonghyun a chance to save them. He concentrated and felt what power he had flow through him, tingling under his skin. The barrier responded to his call, growing, tangling branches and roots along the ground and walls. By the time he was done, the barrier was an overgrown ring of greenery, denser than a forest. Foliage jutted from the barrier wall, creating shadows and hiding places. Jinki waited patiently for the roots and branches to stop moving, glaring at Minho the entire time.

Minho decided hiding would be the best plan and sunk back into the darkness. He slipped the olfa over his head and concentrated on his mate’s position. There was a rustle to the left of Jinki and in a shadow of a large trunk he could see a sliver of light glinting off something shiny. “Who are you,” he said before quickly moving to another section of the shadows.

“Edison,” he hissed. "I got...trapped in here with you!”

Minho cursed. “Stay as still as possible,” he said to his former enemy. “I’m sure he’s focused on me but don’t break his focus. I don’t want to fight for the both of us, but I will. You have to remain safe.”

“You want to protect me?” Edison said, his voice tempered in a strange tone.

“Of course,” Minho whispered. Jinki seemed to be having a hard time locating him, his green eyes shifting left and right. At least he isn’t following the sound of my voice. The olfa is blocking my scent. It must only be visual cues. “You’re an ally of ours. It’s my duty to protect you.”

“That’s very noble of you, Lord Minho. Stupid but noble. You’ve always been so sweet and kind. No one deserves you. You are too good for these people.”

Minho frowned. “Uh...yes, thank you? Anyway, please don’t move. I have a plan.”

“A plan,” Edison giggled. “Your plan won’t work.”

“Why not?” He wanted to trust Edison. That’s what you did with allies, you trusted them but...there was something that didn’t sit right with Minho about the older shifter,

“Because,” and Edison emerged from the darkness. As he walked through  a ray of light, the shimmer of Edison’s skin caught Minho’s attention.

A glamour spell?

Edison continued towards the center the barrier. His skin continued to shimmer and glow as he passed through each beam of light filtering inside of the barrier. The glamor spells glinted and shimmered in as he encountered each beam of light. When the light refracted off of him, the visage of Edison ebbed.

Who the is that?

It was a woman, with pale skin, long dark hair and green eyes. The same shade of green as Jinki.

Minho stuttered back as Edison’s appearance completely melted away and he was left with a woman he’d never seen before.

Mage. Caleo said. Can you sense it?

Minho shook his head. “Not over Jinki. He’s overwhelming. I can’t sense anything else but him.

The woman rolled her shoulders and rotated her neck as if her muscles were sore. “I’m so glad to be rid of that body,” she spat, shuddering in revulsion. “He washes his body in pine oil. Every day! Do you know how revolting the smell of pine oil is after a few hours? My gods!”

Caleo cursed in the back of his head. She’s not just a mage, Minho. She’s a dark mage.

How do you know?

Iseul and Danye taught me how to recognize them. The stench of negativity is so strong I could pass out. She is powerful. I don’t know how they’ve been hiding her all this time.

“I can hear you Caleo,” the woman sang. “Oh, you sweet wolf. No one has been hiding me. As if I would let myself be hidden away,” she sniffed. “Other dark mages can wear negativity. I store it, consume it. It makes it very hard to track down. They don’t call me the strongest for any silly reason,” she smiled. I’ve been here all along. I think introductions are in order since we will be spending a lot of time together. Possibly eternity if I have my way.”

What is she talking about?

I have no idea.

She walked up to them and as she drew nearer, Minho took a step back for every one she took forward. She tsked. “There is no reason to be afraid of me, love. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you. Remember that. It was I, Domon, who did everything she could for you.”

Domon?

Caleo was quiet for another moment. Minho. It's akwawitgu. Akwsugwgi is soul death. Akwawitgu is soul completion. There are two of them. This is the stronger half. What’s been parading around all of Prae is the weaker one.

“Oh, don’t let him hear you say that. Kos has always been jealous of me. But he adores me so…” She took a seat on a branch. “That’s beside the point. I’m here to offer you an ultimatum, my sunflower. That is a term of affection you call someone from your clan, right? See, I do not care about this war. I don’t care about this territory or that. I don’t care if you're an Alpha, Omega, Prince or pauper after this is all done. I just want…you.”

“...Want me?” Minho echoed, confused.

She nodded. “I know this isn’t the most ideal location for a proposal of this magnitude but your attachment to that mutt,” she eyed Jinki, “has made it very hard to appeal to you. I mean come on! I’ve tried everything!  You think Onew lost control on his own to attack you your first day together? Please. That wolf is strong but he isn’t that strong. I made his sister kill your friends and you still followed after him! I fed him distrust as he followed you to Wheph!” She cursed. “I was sure that would break your attachment. I was wrong. I’m never wrong but I was wrong.”

“Taeyeon...my fri–” The vision of three chest filled with eyes slammed into him. Black eyes stared back at him. The memory hit him in the stomach and he almost doubled over.  “You did all of that?”

Domon hummed. “Yes. I’ve done a lot to get your attention and I’ll continue to do more until I own it. Do you understand what I’m proposing to you??”

She’s nuts, Minho.

Domon giggled.

“You’re saying that you’ll end this war if I agree to be yours.”

Domon clapped and then laughed, a joyous one that echoed around the canopy, almost drowning out the battle that had restarted outside. “Yes! That’s exactly what I’m saying! I will make all of your dreams come true, Minho. I will make you the leader of this clan, a true leader, one they can all respect! You will be loved and adored and have such incredible power at your fingertips. Your enemies,” she said, gesturing towards where Toggo stood, “I will get rid of, those you do not love you the way you deserve to be loved, I will destroy. I will be the edge to your sword.”

Minho brow furrowed. “In exchange for what?”

“Your love,” she said simply. “’I’ve watched you for so long, Minho. So long. You were twelve, I believe, when I saw you the first time, snarling up at that wretched Artic Wolf when he came to your village. You were so adorable! I even came to the village for Mating Solstice only to find out you’d been hiding the entire time, you sly wolf.” She laughed. “It was when I saw your sorrow during the Savage Moon, that I knew you needed me.” She sighed. “You’ve suffered so much.”

“And yet you fight alongside the people who caused me that pain?”

She nodded. “Yes. They are an enemy of your mate. I am an enemy of your mate simply because has you.”  

Yeah. She’s ing nuts.

“Love makes you crazy, Caleo! Now,” she said, primly, “in order for this to work, I would have to keep him alive. I, unfortunately, do not have a wolf to replace Onew for you dear. But it would be nothing to give him back to you. Jinki would stay under my control. Indefinitely.”

“All I would have to do to end this war is forfeit my happiness…”

“Yes,” she agreed, “but you’d grow happy with me, Minho. And think of all the happiness you’d be ensuring!”

Minho looked down at his hands. The decision was simple.

“Think of all the lives you’d been saving!”

“No,” he said.

“Think of all the–” Domon frowned. “I’m sorry. What?” she asked.

“I said no.”

She chuckled incredulously. “I just offered to put the victory of this war into the palm of your hands without another life lost. I just offered your people the happiness they deserve, you the revelry you deserve. To turn that down? I know how these bonds work, your attachment to that man is sizable but you’re not seeing the bigger picture here!”

“I am. You’ve betrayed every person you’ve known to get to this point. You are untrustworthy. What are you going to do if your infatuation for me fades? Because believe me...it is not love. When you grow tired of me and my children and my loyalty to this clan, what are you going to do? Kill Jinki? My mother? My father? Brothers and sisters? Min Soo and Min Sun? Me? How can I entrust you to be a blade to a sword that might be held at my own neck someday?”

Domon’s frown deepened. “You’re being unreasonable.”

“No. I’m being a leader.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I appreciate somewhat your affections and your wishes to make me happy and all but…I belong to someone else. I cannot love you.”

Domon stared at him impassively for a long, accessing moment and Minho felt like she’d actually listened to his reasoning. Then she shrugged. “Drats. That felt too easy. Everything felt much, much too easy. I know you! You are stubborn.” She rolled her eyes. “I knew it would take more to convince you. You can beat unreasonable out of people, you know. It’s very easy. Pain tends to make people see common sense. Jinki,” she commanded. “Varkspha-Jinkituvarkspha!

The Alpha Prime of Prae’s body tensed and his green eyes rotated towards Minho. His body twitched and then he blurred, his body disappearing, then reappearing right in front of Minho, his arm pulled back for a punch. Minho threw up his hands in defense but it was too late. Before the blow could land, he  felt himself being yanked hard to the side, his body colliding with a thick root. “,” he groaned.

“Whoops! Are you okay? Your barrier spell is fighting outside magic so my aim is terrible!”  

He looked up between a small space in the branches and saw a familiar face. Victoria smirked at him. Standing beside him was Taeyeon, her hands glowing a soft blue. Minho looked down and saw a tendril of power wrapped around his waist.

“We can’t do much because of your  barrier magic but I’ll try…something.”

“Just help, though!” Minho commanded as Jinki swiped at him and he dodged. “Do not harm him!”

Victoria huffed. “That bullheaded pack of yours may have come up with the dumbest plan alive but the rest of us aren’t so foolish. When I said we got you, we meant the both of you.”

I’m here, too, Minho. Use me. I may not be able to protect you like I had the power to protect Jinki but I can still help. Remember what it’s like to have a wolf. Heighten your senses, feel everything around you.

Minho felt Caleo’s presence burn in him, flooding into his blood, his skin and his bones and instead of turning it away, or letting Caleo only exist in the lonely cavern of his head, he let him, let him aid him, let him become one with him.

Edison, somewhere, giggled.

Jinki lunged for him again and Minho parried with a hand, blocking Jinki fist. In that same moment, with his other, he caught Jinki in the rib with a powerful , slamming his palm against Jinki’s side, pushing him back. His mate stumbled back but recovered quickly, advancing again. Minho ducked left and watched as Jinki missed.

Disengage!

You read my mind, Minho thought. He backed away from the shadows and towards the center of the barrier. Then they entered a dance of Jinki’s offensive versus Minho’s defensive attacks. Every chance Minho got, he disengaged and backed out of Jinki’s reach, either finding a shadow to hide behind or a root or branch to hide behind.

“How close are they?” Minho called from behind a trunk. Below it was a large root jutting out from the ground. He peeked under it. There is enough room.  

“When Yifan had soldiers advance on Domonkos, he grabbed an Iustus soldier and broke his neck. Then he grabbed a Prae soldier and promised the same thing would happen to him. We are working around it. Just another moment.”

“Okay, because we’ve got a mage problem in here, too.” He glanced over his shoulder but the two were gone.

Minho slipped below the root and tried to calm his breathing. He knew Edison knew where he was and he would eventually guide Jinki in that direction but until then, Minho would to catch his breath. He could hear the sounds of battle outside and his heaved a breath.

“Breathe, Minho,” he said thinking of himself, thinking of his mate, his children and his clan. “Breathe.”

“This will work? Honestly?”

Minhyuk grimaced at the weird, tall, Alpha. He discreetly stood on his tip toes. “Of course it’s going to work! Toleran has a lot of tricks, you know. This is how we celebrate on full moons.”

Yifan looked at the sky. “It’s a crescent moon.”

“Close enough! Grab that rock and tie that rope around it,” the Toleran mage instructed.

Yifan grabbed it with a huff. “This just seems too simple.”

“That’s why it’s going to work. You guys ever thought that with all your sophisticated battle formations and offensive and defensive and diversion tactics that the last thing they would be expecting is something simple?” Minhyuk continued to unroll the long twine into a bucket of distilled spirits. “When you hear the signal, toss it as far as you can.” He paused and looked at him. “You can throw it that far, right?”

“I could toss you that far.”

Minhyuk looked at him for a long moment before nodded and smirking. “That works. Doesn’t matter where it lands.” Minhyuk frowned. “I mean don’t throw it too far or like in a lake, that would defeat the purpose.”

Yifan rolled his eyes at him and took off.

Minhyuk stuck his tongue out at his back before he sent his mate a mental message through their bond. “We’re ready.” He glanced at Yifan who had jogged off into the distance. They were northwest of the battlefield, just over a hill where the fighting was still going on. If this worked, it would give Bong Soon and Taemin the opportunity they needed.

He just hoped it was enough. They’d sensed something dark on the battle field but battle energy was funny thing. It soaked the ground in every emotion every shifter fighting had felt recently. It was a mess. Everything was a false signal. They would run from spot to spot thinking the darkness they felt was Domonkos but it was never him. It was always someone in the act of killing another or the fear someone felt as death came for them. Minhyuk honestly thought they would never find him.

Then the just revealed himself. Just like that. The energy coming from him was exact to the energy that felt when Hjärtat sjuk hit. They knew he was the one.

It was while Domonkos was being all weird and smirky at Toggo’s side did Minhyuk feel a twin energy reveal itself somewhere else. Inside of the barrier Minho had erected. They couldn’t counter Minho’s spell, it was quite strong despite Minho’s infancy in the arts and from the impassioned speech they’d heard from him, he’d kill them if they tried. So, they would have to attack them one at a time.

First up...the bold one.

There was a loud distinct whistle sound and Minhyuk knew it was his cue. He turned to Yifan and gave him a wave. Yifan cradled the rock between his shoulder and his neck, took a few running steps before lobbing the son of a into the air, clear over the hill and over fighting soldiers, the rock landing somewhere behind a tent.

“Avon thet,” Minhyuk whispered and a smile erupted on his face when the twine caught fire. The burning line swept across the field in a blaze of sparks. Most were surprised enough to jump out of the way. A few tried to stomp it out for no reason other than confusion but it wasn’t going to stop it. Nothing could.

The flame disappeared around the tent and Minhyuk ducked, plugged his ears and waited. Yifan came up beside him and looked at him like he was crazy. “What are you doing?”

Minhyuk yanked him down just as the fireworks lit up the Iustus camp, blues and greens and red sparks flying around in all directions. Minhyuk heard a frantic call from Jonghyun. “FALL BACK! FALL BACK!” No sooner than the words left his mouth did a firework spark land in the patches of land soaked to terminate the Vampyres. The sky lit in an orange haze as the flames rose so high they looked like they were burning the clouds.

“What the –I thought that was a rock!”

“Why would I have you throw a rock? It was a firework bomb.” Yifan opened his mouth to protest further but Minhyuk pointed towards the field.

The attention was torn between the raging fires and the firework display and it was all the distraction they needed. Bong Soon and Taemin were facing each other–Taemin with a bow and arrow in his hands, the bow taut and Bong Soon charging it with a white energy. Chanyeol barreled through the fighting, dodging soldiers, Iustus and Prae alike, crossing into Iustus territory and rushing up the hill. He angled his body, dug his feet into the ground and leaped, tackling the Prae soldier out of Domokos’s hands.

The dark mage whipped around as his hostage fled. At that moment, Taemin released his bow, the arrow sailing through the air with a whistle, streams of white energy trailing it.

Minhyuk stopped breathing and Yifan gasped as Domonkos threw up his hand to resist the arrow, trying to push it back but he wasn’t fast enough. The arrow flew through his hand and right through his skull.

The dark mage gasped. Then his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed.

It was a game changer.

Most of the Iustus armies knew that Domonkos was the only advantage they had over Prae. Nervous energy floated through the air before Iustus soldiers, left and right, dropped their weapons and fled the battlefield.

Cheers this time were hesitant from Prae because they remembered the last time they had the upper hand. It had evaporated quickly.

Minhyuk waited patiently to see what either side would do.

“Did we do it this time?” Yifan wondered beside him.

“I don’t–” Minhyuk’s breath caught in his chest as he eyes flew to the wooden barrier. “We didn’t. There is another dark mage.”

Yifan frowned, dismayed. “Another?” he yelled.

“Yes. And I think they just realized their other half died…”

“KOS! ANSWER ME!”

Minho peeked out of his hiding space. Domon was screeching over and over for Kos and it sounded so painful and full of sorrow. It sounded like someone had ripped her heart out.

“Minho,” someone hissed. He looked up and it was Taeyeon.

“Listen to me. We just assassinated Domonkos and it’s like all of the energy that was within him flew out of him...and into this barrier.”

“It’s not Domonkos. They are separate entities of the same being. You assassinated Kos,” Minho said, gazing at Domon between a set of branches. “His other half is in here and she is...aware she is alone”

“We can feel her. It’s a lot of ing power Min. You have to lower the barrier. No one can bypass it. It’s tied to your emotions.”

“Yes. To protect Jinki.”

“Trust me. I want to protect him, too but understand but I have no idea what is about to happen!”

They didn’t have to wait long. The barrier trembled and white light flooded the air. Minho looked away, shielding his eyes. When the light died down, Domon was glowing with it.

“She couldn’t have possibly absorbed Kos’s power,” Taeyeon wondered out loud, her voice tinted with horror. Which would have seemed like a good thing for her but…

“It’s too much,” she groaned. “It’s too much. I’ve never had this much...I can’t–” she stumbled and fell, her knees hitting the ground. “Kos...answer me. I can’t control this. I can’t control anything. I need you. Help me,” she uttered hoarsely, panicked and pained. “I have to release some of this–”

Her eyes fluttered back and opened. A large disembodied wisp of white s out of , down her body to the ground, looking for a new recipient. Minho realized it was raw mage power and he scrambled out of his hiding spot and gunned for it. It slithered across the floor aimlessly, searching, searching, searching as if it were looking for new host.

And it found one.

Jinki.

The Alpha Prime reacted violently as the power wrapped around him and forced itself down his throat. His body shuddered and rocked. He half transformed, whether if it was from trying to protect himself from the invasive power or because he was accepting it. His fangs elongated and his muscled bulged and fur began to cover his skin.

Minho gasped as the color of green deepened in Jinki’s eyes to the point they almost appeared black. He rolled hard back towards the shadows and tried to control his gasping breaths. . !

I can feel Onew again! Wait...no! No! It’s Jinki!

Does that mean we are getting Jinki back?

No, Caelo said slowly after a moment. Minho! Onew is the one being controlled. Not Jinki...

I...I don’t know how to get through to Onew.

You don’t need to connect to Onew! You need to connect to Jinki! Give him the strength to hold Onew back! Domon’s spell is still in place but with Onew being the one controlled. He’s…he’s fighting the spell but her energy is warping him. He wants to be free of her control and he knows the only way to do that is…to get rid of you. You have to get through to Jinki! He can hold Onew back!

That’s going to be really hard when he’s gone berserk. Wait! The twins!

No. Remember what Taeyeon said. Your barrier is too strong, it distorts their magic. Think, Caleo. Think!

Jinki’s head rotated back and forth, his eyes wild and ferocious and Minho tried to slink further in the shadows to avoid being found. The Lycan ripped his head back, roared, and blurred and Minho held his breath, hoping his mate hadn’t discovered him.

No. Not him. Minho wasn’t his target.

Domon’s back audibly cracked when Jinki slammed her into the wooden barrier. parted in panic and she began clawing at his hand around . Minho feared for moment because no matter how much of her power Jinki had accepted, Domon was still a very powerful woman.

Was.

The beautiful willowy woman Minho knew as Domon had transformed, aged, and looked pitifully weak. Her skin was weathered and dried up, her hair gray and brittle and the green in her eyes was dulled, like muddy water. That didn’t stop Jinki from yanking her body forward then slamming her into the wall again over and over and over and over again. Domon’s head slumped forward and when Jinki let her go, she crumpled to the ground.

He killed her! We didn’t have to get through to Jinki, Caleo! Onew is still protecting us!

Minho, wait! Don’t!

Minho rushed out of his hiding spot towards his mate when Jinki whipped round. The green was still there and so was the wild look but–

“Jinki? Onew?”

Jinki growled and then rushed Minho, throwing his shoulder into Minho’s midsection and ramming him into the wall. Minho, although in pain, reacted quick, rolling hard to the left before Jinki could give him the same treatment he gave Domon.

“Jinki! Can you hear me? Jinki!”

Jinki looked at him with dispassionate eyes before he bent down and picked up a branch. His hand glowed white and he ran it over the edge, the tip sharpening to a dangerous point. “Die,” he intoned.

Minho scrambled back but tripped over a root in the process and Jinki was quick, looming over him. “Die,” he repeated, hauling the sharpened branch above his head. He came down hard with it and Minho had enough presence of mind to yell out a white wall spell. Jinki’s sharpened branch bounced off the spell one, twice, before he shattered it on the third go.

The branch sunk deep into him and the pain was immense, rolling through his arm and shoulder like nothing else he’d felt before. He looked up at his mate, tears welling in his eyes. “Jinki, I don’t want to kill you. Please. Come back to me. You said you would always come back to me. Why aren’t you here?” he sobbed.

Minho could hear muffled sounds of those around the barrier yelling at him and Jinki but he couldn’t make much out.

“GET THIS BARRIER DOWN!” It sounded like Jonghyun’s voice. Although it may have been Xiah’s… he couldn’t tell “NOW! I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO! ARCHERS! TRY AND GET A CLEAN SHOT! DO NOT HARM THE ALPHA BETA!”

His senses dulled and he could only hear the sounds of his breath and his heartbeat. He wanted to feel Jinki in his chest again. He wanted to save him.

Jinki went for the branch again but Minho intercepted it, knocking his hand away. His hand landed on his chest. “Jinki. Hear me. Please. I am yours. You are mine–ama’il etandula ama’il etudala…” he whispered. “This heartbeat belongs to you.”

The Lycan’s eyes fluttered between green and gold and Minho’s own eyes widened. “Jinki, are you there?”

“Run,” he said between his clench teeth and fangs. “I can’t…”

Minho shook his head. “I’m not. I’m not leaving you.”

“Stupid,” he grumbled. “Stupid, stupid–” Jinki’s eyes began to shift again and Minho’s heart leapt to his chest when they reverted back to green. Roaring in Minho’s face, Jinki yanked the branch out of Minho’s arm. Minho gasped in pain but barely managed to get his forearm up to block Jinki’s powerful downward , one aimed for his throat.

Jinki let the silence settle between them. He lowered his nose into Minho’s hair and inhaled his scent, savoring it.

“Jinki, please,” he said through clenched teeth. Green lifeless eyes stared back at him. Jinki pushed harder, the tip getting closer and closer…

He loved the way Minho smelled because it calmed him.

Minho’s eyes widened and he grappled for the ampoule around his neck. With what little strength he had left, he smashed it to the ground.

Jinki snarled and knocked Minho’s arm away and raised the branch. Green glared down at Minho. Tears leaked out of the side of his eyes, trying to draw more strength for another spell, but he couldn’t. The branch got lower and lower and lower and–

Sniff. Jinki’s nose twitched. The olfa in the ampoule sizzled in the grass.

It calmed him and it centered him and he just loved it.

The Lycan above him paused and a look of confusion crossed his eyes. He inhaled deeply and his eyes fluttered.

He wanted to smell it forever.

The green and gold began fluctuating this time but instead of Jinki trying to talk sense into him he forced himself to his feet. He threw the branch way and lumbered over to where Domon lay still. Tiny puffs of air disturbed the dirt around and Minho realized she wasn’t dead.

Jinki placed a hand on her back and the energy, eager for familiarity, seeped out of Jinki and back in to Domon. She groaned deeply and weakly. She looked past Jinki to where Minho was laying, his chest rising and falling with exertion. “I just...wanted…to love you.”

Minho shook his head sadly at her. “You can’t have something that belongs to someone else…”

“He is mine,” Jinki growled weakly. “And I am his…”

A final shockwave of energy flowed from Jinki’s hands and Domon convulsed. parted in a silent scream as she began to rapidly decay, her skin shriveling, her eyes shrinking back into her head and the hair receding back into her skull. It didn’t stop until a shriveled corpse ay where Damon once lived.

Jinki turned to him and Minho could have laughed in relief. “Jinki.” Brown eyes stared back at him. Not green or gold...but brown.

Jinki smiled, a weak one, as his body powered down to his human form He stepped forward towards his mate and Minho struggled to sit up and open his arms. Jinki tried another step...before he canted and swayed and fell forward in a dead faint. Minho rushed to catch him, barely making it before he hit the ground. Jinki’s unconscious form shagged against him and his head rested on Minho’s shoulder.

Sounds rushed in all around him and Minho realized it was from outside of the barrier.

“Minho can you hear me! Are you okay? Say something!”

Minho blinked, tired, and tried to turn his head towards the sound. He held a clenched fist in the air and then opened it, his palm facing up. The branches and twigs and leaves and roots began to curl away from them until the outside world could be seen again. Moonlight shone down on them.

Nichkhun and Victoria were the first ones to greet him, followed by Taeyeon and Chanyeol. His mother broke through the crowd and looked down at him, her face torn between relief, anger, and something else. She reached for him and Minho smiled.

Then Minho passed out.