Himchan woke up smiling, turning over to see the still sleeping Neris curled up beside him. Carefully, he brushed errant strands of hair from her face, causing her to twitch at the sensation while remaining asleep. As he gently rubbed her cheek with the pad of his thumb, Himchan thought to himself that he would gladly spend the day like this.

But fate was not on his side.

Sharp pounding on the front door echoed through the house, bringing Neris out of her sleep. Himchan was the first to pull on his clothes and make his way down the stairs, a sleepy Neris stumbling after him – though not after nearly falling while trying to pull on her pants. As he wrenched the front door open to scold whoever interrupted his morning, the words died on his tongue and turned into growls as he saw who was standing there.

“Where’s Neris?” Doojoon demanded, Hyunseung and Kikwang flanking their leader.

“That’s no concern of yours,” Himchan rumbled, “now leave while I still allow you to keep your legs.”

“Dude, relax,” Neris muttered, weaving herself under Himchan’s arms to stand in front of him. “Do you three have any idea what time it is?”

“It’s one in the afternoon,” Hyunseung answered, perplexed.

“I slept in that long?” Neris wondered rhetorically, looking impressed. “Go me.”

“There’s been another incident,” Doojoon informed her. “An Indian woman – ”

“Apparently a really beautiful one with big,” Kikwang gestured to his chest, a stern look from those surrounding him causing him to trail off awkwardly, “…yeah…and a lover of nature, apparently.”

“Probably a Yakshini,” Neris supposed. “Do you know if she had a birthmark on the back of her neck that looked like an ashoka tree flower? I can get my phone to show you a picture.”

“No need,” Hyunseung shook his head, “she had one.”

“This disappearance happened in another town, closer to this one.” Doojoon added.

“Don’t jump the gun and try to link the two,” Neris waved him off. “Once is an incident, twice is a coincidence. I mean, the first one is a little odd – I’ll admit that – but these are beings out of their natural habitat. It’s fine for werewolves and hunters; you guys are everywhere, you have someone to go to for species-related problems. Maybe they just couldn’t take it and returned home.”

“They found the body.” Doojoon cut her off, earning a surprised look from both her and Himchan.

“They what?” The pair asked.

“Her hands had been cut off and her head was completely shaved,” Kikwang elaborated.

Neris’ jaw twitched momentarily before speaking. “The Yakshini were said to be able to cure illnesses with a single touch, but it could never be proved because they’re so elusive.”

“And the hair?” Doojoon pressed.

“If the hair of a Yakshini was braided and hung around the neck of a pregnant woman until she gave birth, the child would be blessed beyond measure and rise to a position of great influence,” she explained ruefully. “That was proved. Alexander wasn’t called ‘Great’ for nothing.”

“I won’t tell you again, Neris,” Doojoon told her, “you need to be careful.”

“It’s just a coincidence.” She waved it off again.

“Bull.”

The curse came from Himchan, causing all eyes to turn to him in surprise. He’d been relatively silent until his outburst.”

“If the hunters are right – and believe me, it’s painful to even admit to the possibility – and someone is going after creatures pulled out of their native regions, you’re at risk. I mean, you certainly fit the bill.”

“It’s still a big ‘if’, and not one I’m willing to entertain.”

“You’re not invincible,” Doojoon argued.

“I never said I am, but think about it. Fomoire’s manipulate water, Yakshini are nature spirits that bless children and potentially cure illnesses. I’m a siren that has been pulled into the Underworld and branded by the god of Death and nearly became the minion of a revenge deity. I’m not an easy target.”

Himchan opened his mouth to argue but his phone began ringing upstairs, something that Neris was inwardly grateful for.

“This conversation isn’t over,” he informed her, turning to make his way upstairs.

As the sound of Himchan’s footfalls faded, Doojoon sighed and cast an exasperated look at the siren. “You’re incredibly stubborn, you know.”

“It’s one of my better points,” she shrugged. “Look, I’ve had my name put on a hit list and a bounty on my head. I don’t know how many times I can say ‘I can take care of myself’ before I have to tattoo it on my forehead to save time.”

“Is it really so hard for you to have people be concerned for your well-being?” Hyunseung wondered.

“Yeah…yeah, it is,” she admitted freely. “If there was cause to be concerned for my well-being, then the welfare of my friends was also in jeopardy. And we were usually too preoccupied with saving the life of the human townspeople to bother with anything else.”

“That was Yongguk” Himchan spoke as he returned to the group, now fully dressed. “One of the members of our ally pack has run off again; seriously, every time this girl fights with her parents she takes off. Anyways, they’ve asked us for help because she’s apparently masked her scent well enough that they’re having trouble finding her.”

“Masked her scent?” Neris wondered. “That’s possible?”

“It’s not a pleasant process, but it’s possible,” he confirmed. “She’s got a crush on Daehyun, so hopefully he’ll be able to lure her out.”

“You’re leaving now?”

Himchan smirked, “Miss me already?”

Neris snorted and rolled her eyes. “Just be back in time for school Monday. I don’t want to have to murder your fangirls if they think they can step out of line with you absent.”

“How romantic,” he chuckled, his smile slipping as he turned to the three hunters. “Regardless of whether or not Neris can protect herself, I don’t feel comfortable with her being alone – especially if I don’t know how long I’ll be away. Don’t make me regret asking you to look after her.”

He turned to Neris, almost as if looking for her approval.

“I’m just happy you didn’t ask them to protect me,” she remarked. “And thank you for acknowledging I can take care of myself.”

She lifted herself on her toes to press a kiss on Himchan’s lips, which he returned with a deeper one. A sickened groan came from the hunters, causing them to break apart.

“Yeah, we’re going to go now,” Doojoon grimaced. “We’ll keep an eye out for her, though we would have done that with or without you asking.”

Before any more antagonistic remarks could be thrown out, the three hunters departed from the Sangster home.

“I’d appreciate it if you called me often,” Himchan spoke softly, winding his arms around Neris’ waist. “Even though you can take care of yourself, I just want to know you’re safe.”

“Same goes for you, mister,” she retorted. “Running after errant teenagers and all.”

“Just admit it; you don’t want me to leave,” he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I admit nothing.” She shook her head stubbornly. “Now get out before I lock you in my closet.”

“Ooh, that sounds tempting.”

“Get out,” she laughed, kicking him lightly in the rear end to shove him off the front porch.

“I’ll be back before you know it!” Himchan called over his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she waved him off, obstinately ignoring the small pang in her chest as she watched his retreating figure.

She’d never admit it out loud, but Himchan was quickly becoming a reason not to return to Beacon Hills. It was now up to Neris – continue the ruse and go back to her pack, or throw normalcy out the window to stay with the wolf that made her heart flutter regardless of the short time she’d known him.

|||

It had been a quiet day, free of interruption. Neris had forgotten how boring normalcy was – though it may have been due to the fact that outside of the wolves and Taemi, Neris didn’t have any friends. She had texted Taemi earlier to see if she wanted to hang out, but Taemi had responded that it was a mandatory ‘family day’ since her brother was visiting from college.

So, Neris sat around and essentially did nothing.

She had just finished warming up some leftovers for dinner when her cellphone rang. Neris quirked an eyebrow when she saw her mother’s caller ID on the screen.

“Hey mom,” she answered. “You don’t normally call. What’s up?”

“Sorry sweetheart, I meant to text but I’ve got a bunch of files to sort and I need to be hands-free.” Her mother replied, the sounds of rustling paper in the background proof enough of her statement. “I just wanted to let you know I have a package coming that I need you to keep an eye out for.”

“The snake statue you sent? It already arrived; I set it on the bookshelf.”

“Snake statue?” Her mother repeated. “What are you talking about? I never – ”

Neris didn’t hear the end of her mother’s sentence. A sharp, stinging pain seared through her neck as she felt a needle jabbed through her skin. Her limbs went limp, the phone clattering to the floor, as her vision blurred into darkness.