RAVI'S POV

      There was something cold and wet pressed against my right cheek. In fact, my entire stomach and chest was cold too. I shivered, reaching out to dig my fingers into the ground in front of me. I opened my eyes, looking around groggily. 
    I was lying on a stretch of packed mud. The wet earth clung to my clothing, weighing me down when I tried to sit up. I coughed, bringing my hand up to my mouth and wiping my lips with the back of my hand. My wrist came away stained red, and I looked down at it in confusion. My jeans and t-shirt were shredded and streaked with blood and dirt, soaked with water. 
    The sound of rushing water made me turn and I looked at the river behind me. I tried to stand and hissed through my teeth in pain, looking down at my leg. 
    "What the hell?" I reached down, wrapping my hand around the shaft of an arrow embedded in my thigh. I tugged on it, grunting in pain as I slowly pulled it out of my leg. It finally came away in my hand with a sound and I threw it away into the trees, staggering forward to plunge my hands into the river. 
    The water was icy cold and I crawled forward on my stomach, lying down in a shallow part right by the bank. The water numbed the pain from my wound, washing away the sticky feeling of the mud and blood coating my skin. I sighed, turning over on my back and digging my fingers into the silt of the bank to keep from floating away. 
    I opened my eyes, looking around me. I was in a small clearing of trees, fog filtering through the darker pines that surrounded me. The sky was covered in clouds and the sun looked like it was just coming up, barely making light appear through the blanket of fog. A thick mat of leaves covered the ground, more stirring down from the trees in the breeze. 
    I shuddered with cold, finally crawling out of the river and collapsing on the bank. Water poured off my clothes and I pulled off my shirt, my breath puffing out in white clouds above me. I looked down at my right side in confusion, staring down at the large tattoo across the right side of my ribcage. It was identical to Yongguk's pack tattoo, except for the letters TR under the wolf. 
    "When did I get that?" I mumbled out loud. I traced the tattoo with my fingers, looking at the blood that came from it. The tattoo was fresh, the skin around it still swollen and raw, and I let my hand fall to my side. 
    I tipped my head back, closing my eyes and trying to remember how I had gotten here. When nothing happened, I sighed and stood up. My leg had healed but I was shaking with cold, stepping towards the trees in a random direction. I had no idea where I was, and I scuffed through the leaves slowly. 
    I looked up at the sky again, trying to figure out where I was going, and tripped over something on the ground. I winced when I sprawled on the leaves, looking up for the source of my fall. 
    "Jiyong?" I whispered in disbelief. Jiyong was unconscious in the leaves in front of me, lying on his back with his arms spread to either side. 
    "Jiyong?" I reached out and shook him, watching the limp way he shifted in the leaves. He was deathly pale with dark shadows under his eyes, dried blood on the side of his cheek. 
    I reached out, pulling the hem of his black shirt up. I swore at the black blood that dripped from a hole in Jiyong's chest, touching my fingers to the bullet wound carefully. It was hot and swollen, the skin around it smoking slightly. Jiyong moaned, more black liquid dripping from his mouth down his chin. 
    "What am I supposed to do?!" I asked rhetorically, praying Jiyong would wake up and tell me what to do. I reached out, prodding the wound again. 
    "What did Yongguk say?" I mumbled, trying to remember. He always said to remove anything embedded in your skin so you can heal...
    "I'm sorry." I said quietly, reaching out and digging my fingers into the wound. Jiyong sat up with a strangled yell and I pushed him back down again, forcing my way deeper until my fingers brushed a piece of metal. I hooked my fingers, grabbing it and yanking it out as quickly as I could. 
    I looked down at the bullet in my hand, yelling when it started to burn my skin. I threw it away from me as quickly as I could, sending it flying into the trees while I looked down at Jiyong. 
    "Alright, you're healing now, right? You're healing?" I asked frantically, shaking his shoulder. Jiyong coughed, sitting up and vomiting black liquid into the leaves next to him. 
    "Why doesn't that look like healing?!" I picked him up, shouldering his weight carefully and beginning to run through the woods. While I ran, I prayed. 
    Please let me get out of here. Please let me find Leo so he can heal Jiyong. Please let my own healing abilities come back when I finish changing into a wolf. Please, please, please...

24 HOURS EARLIER

    I put my arm around Youngmin as we walked into school, smiling when she leaned into my side. We swung by our lockers, dropping off our books and then heading off to class. 
    "I'll meet you at lunch?" I confirmed, kissing the top of her head and smiling back at her. Youngmin nodded, waving goodbye as she walked off to her math class. 
    I couldn't stay focused in any of my classes. My thoughts kept wandering back to the pack I had met last night. More importantly, whether or not I wanted the pack tattoo. 
    It was protection and family and everything I ever wanted. But I couldn't help being reminded of Mistress carving my new name into my side and claiming me as hers. I wasn't ready to belong to someone anymore. 
    I sighed, rubbing my face with my hands and jerking in surprise when the bell rang. I stood, walking towards the cafeteria and stopping in the men's room to wash my hands. I was about to walk out when a hand on my shirt pulled me around. 
    Someone pushed me against the wall, my backpack dropping my from hand as I wrapped my fingers around their wrists. Sunggyu's furious face glared up at me, his hands tightening around my neck as I stared at the bruise blooming across his right cheekbone. 
    "Sunggyu?!" I tried to push him off, looking at Myungsoo and Hoya standing behind them. They all sported bruises and cuts on their faces, Hoya's split lip by far the worst I'd ever seen. 
    "You got shot." Sunggyu snarled at me. He lifted the hem of my shirt, exposing the unmarked skin of my side briefly before I yanked it back down. 
    "How the hell are you walking around totally fine after you got shot?" Sunggyu's voice was low and deadly, hissing questions at me. 
    "I-I didn't get shot! He missed." I said. Sunggyu shook his head, tightening his grip around my neck. 
    "I saw it. You got shot right here." Sunggyu dug his fingers into my side, making me wince. I growled low in my throat, shoving him back off me. 
    "Get away from me!" I exclaimed, clenching my fists as I looked at them all. Hoya wouldn't meet my eyes, staring at the ground while Myungsoo glared at me. 
    "Who beat you guys up?" I asked, genuinely curious. 
    "Some idiot with a wolf tattoo; why do you care?!" Myungsoo snapped. I felt a little bubble of satisfaction, stepping back to open the door. 
    "His name is Yongguk. And he's not an idiot." I snarled, slamming the door behind me. I started walking down the hallway, pausing when Sunggyu's voice stopped me. 
    "I'm gonna find out what's up with you! You're going to tell me...one way or another!" Sunggyu yelled. I sighed, pulling my backpack strap higher on my shoulder and continuing to walk towards the cafeteria.  

    I looked over at Tablo, trying to relax as I lay down on Yongguk's kitchen table. I had called Yongguk after school to pick me up and take me to get the tattoo; I just hadn't expected to find myself stretched out shirtless on Yongguk's kitchen table with a guy named Jay Park using a sharpie to mark a tattoo on my side. 
    "Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it." Jay said, patting my leg reassuringly before pulling out a box of tools. He had tattoos all up his arm and disappearing into the sleeve of his tank top, another one showing on the back of his neck and behind his right ear when he bent down to start setting up. I looked up at Taeyang and Yongguk above me, feeling butterflies twist in my stomach. 
    "Is this going to hurt?" I asked. 
    "No," Taeyang said at the same time Yongguk said, "Yes." 
    "What is that supposed to mean?!" I started to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Yongguk. 
    "The tattoo isn't going to hurt. But the linking will." Tablo said, moving to stand near my legs. 
    "Here." Jay passed me a kitchen towel, leaning in to prod at the sharpie on my side gently. 
    "What is this for?" I looked down at the towel in my hand, looking up anxiously when Yongguk and Taeyang each leaned on one of my shoulders, pinning my upper body down. 
    "Here." Yongguk reached out and stuffed the towel in my mouth, holding my hand down to the table. Taeyang did the same, and I glared up at them in confusion. 
    "Alright, here we go." Jay said. Tablo leaned over on my legs and I felt something cold press into my side. 
    The needle on the tattoo gun broke through my skin and I relaxed, thinking the slight burn would be the extent of the pain. Yongguk and Taeyang kept pressing on my arms, forcing them uncomfortably into the wood of the table. 
    "Hey, could you guys ease up?" I slurred through the towel, looking up at Yongguk. He shook his head, his hands digging into my shoulders. 
    "Come on, I'll be—" I cut myself off with a scream, entire right side on fire. My teeth clamped down on the towel and I writhed on the table. 
    "Keep him still, I'm almost done." Jay said calmly, planting one hand on my stomach to hold me down. I heaved with my arms, trying to shake Yongguk and Taeyang off to escape this pain. 
    "You're going to be just fine." Yongguk said reassuringly, trying to hold me down. I shuddered, closing my eyes and in a deep breath through my nose. 
    "Guys, he's going." Jay said, looking up towards me and calmly continuing. I opened my eyes to see what he was talking about and fainted abruptly, rolling back limply on the table. 

    I opened my eyes slowly, looking around at the unfamiliar bedroom in confusion. There was someone snoring next to me, and I rolled over to see Yongguk, Taeyang, Tablo, and Jay dog-piled with me on Yongguk's bed. I stood up, easing Yongguk's head from my thigh to Jay's arm and Taeyang's leg from my neck to Tablo's waist. 
    When I had properly disentangled myself, I stumbled towards the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. I looked down at the large bandage spread on my ribs, picking at the edges and turning around to find Jay standing behind me. 
    "Don't pick at that. Come here." Jay said, pulling me forward. There were more tattoos on the backs of his hands and I looked at them curiously as he led me to the bathroom. 
    "Here, sit down." Jay closed the lid of the toilet, patting it invitingly as he dug through Yongguk's bathroom cabinet and pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some cotton balls. 
    I obeyed, trying to relax when he leaned forward and started to peel the bandage off. The cotton stuck to the dried blood and pus on my skin, tugging slightly as it came away. Jay wet the cotton ball with hydrogen peroxide and gently ran it over the tattoo, revealing the inked skin. 
    "This turned out really well." Jay said with an appreciative smile, prodding the skin and dabbing it softly. 
    "Go take a quick shower, but don't scrub it too hard." Jay said, turning and closing the door softly. 
    I undressed and got into the shower, letting the water pour