Chapter 11. The Most Of Spent Time

Luhan looked out of the window and saw Minseok standing there in the snow, he sighed and dug his nails into his palm, something was bothering him. He remembered seeing something odd, something you wouldn't usually find on a wolf. Minseok had an unnatural marking on his back, an angel wing and a demon wing, they were large images and stretched right down to his lower back. Even with his limited knowledge of wolven kin, he knew that they were not normal, and if it came with the power of being a Tree Guardian then Luhan would have it too, so he decided to consult the one who knew most about magic. Luhan walked into the main room and saw Lay was reading a large, ancient looking book, "Lay, I need your help... what are you reading?"

"The History of the Healing Unicorns," he shrugged.

"... Okay..." Luhan raised a brow, "anyway, there's something I need to ask you."

"Then by all means, ask away," Lay smiled.

"Do you know if wolves are supposed to have markings?" Luhan tilted his head.

"This is about Minseok isn't it?" Lay sighed.

Luhan nodded, "how did you know?"

"... well, Minseok is... not exactly... a wolf," Lay scratched his head, "it is very difficult to say exactly what he is, but his blood is a mixture of many creatures. The most infamous creature of them all is Orochi, his father."

Luhan's jaw dropped, "I was told about Orochi when I was just a kid, the eight headed dragon right? There's no way Minseok could be his son... right?"

Lay placed his book on the nearby table, "it's about time I tell you who Minseok's mother was, after all, she is the reason Minseok is still living now."

Long ago, there was a human who fell in love with an angel, the two were forbidden to ever lay eyes on each other, but when the sky darkened, they would find each other in the darkness. They may not have seen each other but they could live as blind lovers, but the angel could only watch as the days stretched into months and then years. The angel knew her lover was rotting away as time went on and that something had to be done, she took a blade and cut her hand, letting the blood drip to the ground, the human did the same. As their blood merged together, it formed a small child, this child grew up with the angels and its mother but it had no wings, as a young girl she was teased and pushed around for her lack of beauty until she fell from the clouds. This child landed within a dragon's nest, the mother Dragon took care of her and raised her along with her own hatchings. As she grew she became the most beautiful woman and all the dragons fell for her, she was given the name Kaida and she was the strongest warrior among the dragons, even if she was not one herself. As a gift, she was given wings of her own, Dragon wings that shone golden like the sun. Kaida found a mate in the powerful alpha wolf of the Celestial Blood pack and then, a queen was born to them. She was a small wolf with eyes that shone as golden as her mother's wings and she was very special.

​This little wolf grew quickly and easily learnt the skills of both her parents, she was admired across the lands. They named her Mika, she was the great ruler of all the wolves in the Celestial Blood pack and a powerful warrior to the dragons. Mika fell in love with a powerful eight headed dragon named Orochi who already had a mate, and he gave her a pup as they hid their love for each other. Then came the darkness in the light, Mika was chosen to be the Tree of Life's champion and she accepted the role willingly. But as she returned home, her parents had discovered she had a pup and no mate, they saw her new power and her white fur and cast her away. She was humiliated and shunned wherever she went, carrying her unborn child with her, she raised him and took care of him as best she could. Until... she died along with the Tree of Life, leaving her child in the care of another.

In the care of you, Luhan.

Lay sighed and looked over at Luhan, "those markings are the two wings that belonged to Minseok's ancestors, and his father Orochi gave him the power to..." Lay hesitated.

"To what?" Luhan tilted his head.

"...to take life rather than give it," Lay bit his lip.

"So you're telling me that Minseok, as the Life Breather cannot kill, but because of that power... He has found a way to bend the natural order?" Luhan's eyes widened.

Lay nodded, "I'm afraid that he has used this power once before, it is well known, but Minseok has been altered to another wolf in the story, thank goodness."

"What happened?" Luhan looked up at him.

"It is called the Fate of a Thousand, Minseok slaughtered many that day, he killed both wolf and Dragon. I hoped it wasn't true but I confirmed my suspicions not long ago," Lay explained, "do you remember when Xiumin made himself known in that valley?"

Luhan nodded, "yes, he was so different to Minseok."

Lay scratched his chin, "his eye colour had changed to a vibrant gold, like his mother's. We know that Minseok and Xiumin both share a host body, but I have recently discovered that there's more to Xiumin than we thought. A split soul is usually born with their other half, but in rare cases, the second soul will transfer itself into the body at a young age. If I am correct, Xiumin is actually Mika's soul taking another form, it would certainly explain why they share the same eye colour and why Xiumin is Minseok's stronger side."

Luhan listened and understood Lay's reasoning but one thing still bothered him, "Minseok wouldn't just kill innocents, he had to have had an explanation."

Lay looked at Luhan with a serious expression, "Minseok has no control over his abilities when he unlocks that power, it is his own Pandora's box. But you Luhan, have the ability to control it for him.

"What do you mean?" Luhan frowned.

"You are the key to helping Minseok, only you have the power to keep him under control," Lay spoke with a stern voice.

Luhan tilted his head, "with my telekinesis?" 

"With your love!" Lay groaned.

Luhan grimaced, "that's way too cheesy."

Lay sighed and shoved a book into Luhan's hands, "what's this?" He raised a brow.

"It's a Creature Compendium, read about all the creatures Minseok shares his blood with, it may help you to help him," Lay explained.

Luhan watched as Lay left the room and he scratched his chin, he opened the book and scanned the first page. It had the names of beasts in alphabetical order and in different categories, "demons, faeries, shadows, pixies, goblins, trolls, orcs, split souls, nymphs, dragons, legendary creatures..." He mumbled aloud.

He flicked through the pages until he found the legendary creatures section and looked down the long list, "ah, Death Reaper," he nodded.

Luhan turned to the page and looked at the illustration, the text was about his abilities and power.

 Death Reaper

Also known as: 

The Crimson Eyed Beast

The Dark Angel of the South

 Soul Stealer

King of the Shadows

Death Reaper is a Creature born from the Tree of Death's power, when the Tree is reborn, it will choose a champion from among wolven kind and give it great strength above most. It is the opposite to the Life Breather, and will mostly hold grudges against them. The life of great wolves is shortened greatly, and odd things may occur in their short life span. Occasionally, opposites may become mates, this may cause a disturbance in the force of power. If the Death Reaper's strength gets too powerful, it will go on a rampage and take form of a much larger wolf with crimson markings. If he sees you then pray that your life may be spared, the beast will not stop until blood coats the ground thickly.

Luhan stared at the page with fear, the thought of him killing everyone he cared about chilled him to the core. He quickly went back to the list and looked for Life Breather, he turned to the correct number and read the information.

Life Breather

Also known as:

​The Great Snow Wolf

The Spirit Speaker

 The Guardian of Frost

 The Snow Angel of the North

This creature is often depicted as a god, godess or divinity. It is born of the Tree of Life's power, once the Tree is reborn, it will select a champion from among wolven kind and give it strength above most. It is the opposite to Death Reaper and will often hold a grudge against them. Unlike its opposite, every Dark Sun, the Tree of Life shall wither and die, the Life Breather will die along side it, shortening its life significantly compared to Death Reaper...

 Luhan slammed the book shut before he could finish reading, "it can't be true..." He breathed.

Lay walked back in the room and as he saw Luhan's expression his eyes widened, "what did you read?"

"Lay... is Minseok?..." Luhan couldn't finish his sentence.

"...yes," Lay bit his lip.

Luhan felt his rage building up inside him, "and you didn't tell me!?" He roared.

Lay stepped back, he saw Luhan's eyes glowing red, "you didn't tell me that my own mate is!..." 

"Dying," Minseok finished.

Luhan felt himself growing weaker at Minseok's presence, "I'm dying Luhan, there's nothing more to it."

"Nothing more to it? You... I can't... Minseok?" Luhan was lost for words, "I've only just found you again..."

He sighed and knelt down beside Luhan, "I know, but we can't be upset about it, let's just try to make the best out of the time I have, okay?" He whispered soothingly into his ear.

"Minseok," Lay spoke from behind him.

"Yes?" He turned to him.

"You've been flying haven't you?" He folded his arms.

Minseok froze, "how could you possibly know about that?"

"Your markings are still glowing," Lay pointed out.

Minseok cursed under his breath, "you do know how risky that is?" Lay sighed.

He nodded, "I needed to and I found a way to control it anyway."

"How?" Luhan looked up at him.

A light blush covered his face, "I... I thought of you."

Luhan smirked and got to his feet, he pressed his lips against Minseok's and he pulled away quickly with his face bright red, "what was that for!?"

"You said to make the most out of the time you had left right?" Luhan grinned.

Lay smiled, "he does have a point."

"Oh yeah, and one more thing," Luhan remembered.

"What?" Minseok tilted his head cutely.

Luhan leaned over to his ear, "Merry Christmas Minnie," he whispered.

A/N  hey guys! Hope you have a great Christmas, I feel like this chapter wasn't as good as my last ones but now Luhan knows about Minseok and he's gonna do something about it. Oh yeah, and don't think I forgot Kris, we're gonna save him in the next chapter ;) 

Merry Christmas :)

EXOdarkwolf