Chapter 5. Wake Up Luhan

Tao and the others wolves leapt up in alarm as his golden time barrier shattered with a loud smash, a brilliant light emanated from the tree as the snow beneath them slowly melted to reveal emerald grass beneath their paws, Tao squinted at the tree and saw the silhouette of Luhan standing there, "Luhan!" He sighed in relief.

As Tao padded towards Luhan he noticed that his friend's eyes were pale, Tao nudged his motionless friend with his snout and Luhan looked at him with a blank expression, "Luhan?..." He spoke concerned.

Luhan climbed onto Tao's back without speaking a word and started fiddling with his fur, Sehun looked over at them confused, "so... what happened?"

Tao shrugged and Kai walked up to him, "anyway, do you have a pack omega?" He asked hopefully.

Tao nodded, "and you want to meet them?"

Kai raised his muzzle expectantly and Tao hesitated, "... follow me," he mumbled.

He looked at the Tree of Life and was fascinated by its mystic appearance, he smiled at the thought of Minseok waking up and started running back towards the others in the Ice Claw pack...

Lay sat beside the sleeping Minseok and frowned at the terror filled expression of the powerful wolf, he watched as Minseok suddenly began smiling and jumped as two entrancing, vibrant purple eyes stared intently at him, "where's Luhan?" He smiled warmly at Lay.

"L... Luhan is on his way back here..." Lay spoke still in shock.

Minseok nodded, "thank you Lay, first born of the Healing Wolf of the East, rightful ruler of the Forest of the Rejuvination." 

Lay's jaw hung low and Minseok laughed, "anyway, can I get ready?"

Lay nodded and backed out of the room, he breathed heavily, "Luhan... you lucky fool..." he muttered under his breath.

Minseok sighed and dressed into some of Luhan's things, he breathed in his scent... orchids. Minseok had something strange on his mind though, something had happened and he was clueless as to what, but there was definitely something wrong. He opened the door to him room and clasped the necklace tightly in his hands, the necklace he had never taken off since the day it was given to him, Luhan's necklace... 

Minseok walked down the stairs cautiously when he detected the small gathering of wolves, Chen, who helped Luhan find Minseok was among them and his eyes shone at the sight of him. He ran over to him with his brown tail wagging furiously behind him, "Minseok hyung! You're awake!" He hugged him tightly.

Minseok raised a brow, "hyung?" 

"You sound just like when I first called Luhan hyung, you are my wolf brother, or... would you prefer I call you oppa?" Chen smirked.

Minseok slapped him over the back of the head, "WHY DO YOU AND LUHAN KEEP HITTING ME?!" He yelped.

"Probably because of your witty remarks Chen," Minseok sniggered.

The front door slammed open and Minseok panicked, scrambled to the top of the steps and hid away from sight of those downstairs. He sensed unfamiliar wolves that certainly did not come from the North, he watched as Suho shifted into his wolf form and prepared for an attack. "Suho! It's just us!" Tao's panicked voice trembled.

Suho glared at the giant grey wolf behind him and growled, "you brought other wolves into our territory?! You know how dangerous that is?!" He scolded Tao.

Minseok concentrated on the large grey wolf and discovered his name was Kai, alpha male of the Moon Shard pack from Eldertree Wood in the South. Suho nudged Tao inside with his muzzle and stared at Kai, "name and status."

"Kai, alpha male," the grey wolf nodded.

"Chanyeol, beta," a crimson wolf spoke behind him.

"Baekhyun, omega," a light brown wolf smiled.

"Sehun, omega," a silvery wolf groaned impatiently.

Suho hesitanly moved away from the door and allowed the wolf pack in, Minseok didn't want to reveal himself over fear that these wolves could capture him, after all he was still recovering with the tree and wasn't at full strength yet. Luhan was beside Tao with an emotionless expression, he just the wolf's fur silently while Suho sat the other pack down. "We are the Ice Claw pack, I am the alpha Suho, now tell me... what is a pack like you doing up here in the North?" He spoke in important tones.

"We're looking for a wolf, to help us, the problem is... no one has ever spoken to this wolf before," Kai answered truthfully.

"Why do you need to find this wolf?" Suho asked nervously.

"He has great power, we... recently lost many of our pack members and we now have nowhere to go, we need guidance from the great snow wolf... His legend stretches far down into the South and we have come to find him," Chanyeol said sadly.

Suho stared at them with sympathy and Minseok realised that he had to make the next move, he sighed and stealthily swung off the banister of the staircase and landed silently beside the doorway, "now or never..." He muttered under his breath.

Minseok leaned against the door frame, "looking for me?" He smirked.

There was no mistaking the pure white fur and purple eyes, "are you?... impossible!" Baekhyun stared in shock.

Kai stared questioningly at Minseok, "prove it..."

Minseok gladly obliged and concentrated on Sehun, "you are Oh Sehun, born beside Brittleback Brook and son of the well known Wind Whisperer of the West, and currently you are very afraid of me..."

Sehun looked at the others in shock, "how... how did you?..."

Kai nodded, "your knowledge seems legit but I'm sure we all want to see you shift into your pure wolf form."

Minseok sighed and walked into the bathroom, locking it behind him before undressing and shifting into his huge wolf form, he may have been an omega but he could very easily be mistaken for an alpha due to his great power and agility. Chen unlocked the door and Minseok walked out into the living room, Kai bowed to him, "so it is truly you..."

Minseok bowed his head slightly and grunted, "what is it you wish to know?"

Kai looked at Minseok nervously, "we have to... we NEED to live somewhere else, our old home..." He sighed, "anyway please guide us."

Minseok nodded and signalled for Kai to follow him, Kai shifted into his wolf form and followed the white wolf into the other room. Tao looked at Luhan and saw his empty eyes, "guys... something happened to Luhan hyung..."

Suho turned to Tao and looked at Luhan curiously, "what's up with his eyes?"

"I don't know he was just like that after the time barrier broke!" Tao looked at the alpha nervously.

"Wait... the time barrier broke? You didn't open it for Luhan to wake up?" Lay's eyes widened.

Tao nodded, "yeah why? I mean... it's never happened before, but it didn't seem like an issue at the time."

Lay inspected Luhan and looked at his eyes, "he appears to be... stuck..."

Tao grunted, "he's right here how is he stuck?"

"He's not stuck here you numb skull! He's trapped in between the time gap, he's stuck somewhere in the past," Lay sighed, "but because the time barrier shattered, his soul stayed there but his body remained here."

"So this Luhan is basically an empty body?" Suho asked.

Lay nodded, "we need to send someone back to help him."

Kris stepped forward, "I'll go... I owe Luhan a lot."

Suho nodded, "Tao we're gonna need that power of yours again."

Tao muttered an enchantment and a golden barrier formed around Kris, "come back with Luhan and dont let us down," Lay sighed.

Kris smiled slightly as his vision faded to black.

Luhan opened his eyes and was greeted by a dark sky, he looked around in shock and realised he hadn't returned to the present, he wandered aimlessly across the dark ground and looked as ash floated down from the sky like snow. The world looked like it was stuck in an apocalypse, Luhan heard a distant howl of pain and ran towards the sound, he stared at a beautiful white furred female wolf as she stumbled across the plain. She was very similar to Minseok in her wolf form and even from a distance Luhan could see her vibrant golden eyes that shone through the darkness. She carried a small wolf cub in her jaws, it had brown fur and it looked dull compared to the alpha female, she suddenly collapsed onto her side and the small pup tumbled over and fell beside her. The pup stood up and nudged his mother's head with his muzzle, the alpha female smiled weakly at the small pup, "dont stop running, never stop running... I need you to stay brave for me okay?"

The pup had tears rolling down his cheeks now and he placed his paw on his mother's leg, "no... please get up mama... please?!"

She smiled again, "go to sleep Minnie."

The pup sobbed and cuddled beside his mother as her breathing slowed, she gasped and then... silence... the pup continued to cry and whimpered as the warmth of his mother's fur vanished. He and Luhan both stared in wonder as the body of his mother turned into beautiful orbs of light and floated off into the sky, the pup stared down at the necklace left on the ground where his mother once lay and wriggled it around his neck. Luhan stared in shock as he saw a small snowflake pendant hanging from the chain, snow began to gently fall from the sky and replaced the ash entirely. Luhan looked at the wolf and held his breath, "Minseok?..." 

The pup stared at the snow with a faint smile on his face and his big brown eyes sparkled, his expression faded as he heard a distant howl and he quickly buried the necklace in his fur and out of sight. A familiar laugh rung through the air as Minseok was pounced on by another wolf, "hey there brother!" He laughed.

Luhan's eyes widened, "is that... me?" He breathed.

Young Luhan's eyes were filled with concern as he saw that the other pup had been crying, "hey... are you ok?"

Minseok smiled and rubbed his eyes, "I'm fine... anyway what's your name."

"Luhan, but you can call me oppa," he winked.

Minseok stuttered, "WHAT!? I'm pretty sure I'm older than you!"

Luhan smirked, "really? I was born April 20."

"March 26..." Minseok spoke blankly.

"Wha?!... Okay you win hyung," Luhan pouted.

Minseok giggled and wagged his tail, young Luhan looked at the white snow and smiled, "I don't know what this white stuff is... but it's beautiful."

"You've never seen snow?" Minseok's eyes widened.

Luhan shook his head, "unless you've got a pack could you show me what this stuff is?"

Minseok smiled, "I have no one and nowhere."

Luhan looked at him with excitement, "come live with me!"

Present Luhan watched over the scene and smiled, memories flooded back to him, the times he had spent with Minseok and the fun they always had in the snow... but he never recalled seeing that necklace, and Minseok was an omega so... how did he get it from his mother, it was completely unheard of. Luhan suddenly felt his heart sink, he wasn't even a wolf anymore... he was so out of place.

A voice suddenly echoed his name behind him, he span around and saw a panting Kris. "Luhan! Hurry up and come back to the present with me, we're all waiting for you," he breathed.

Luhan sighed, "go without me..."

"What? I'm your brother! I would never leave you!" Kris exclaimed.

"Well... thats just it... you're not my brother..." Luhan smiled.

Kris stayed silent, "I belonged here once... but that Luhan died along with his wolf, and I don't belong here anymore."

"Of course you do Luhan, you didn't die, you were reborn," Kris tried to see reason.

Luhan laughed, "I'll go back... but then you can't stop me from going back to Beijing."

Kris smiled, "deal!"

He held Luhan's hand and grinned "I won't need to," he muttered under his breath.

Tao felt Kris hold Luhan's hand in his mind and he opened the time barrier, Kris' eyes opened wearily as he yawned and Luhan's eyes flooded with colour as he woke up back in the present. Luhan saw Minseok staring curiously at him and he smiled, "hey baozi..." he croaked.

Minseok's purple eyes lit up and he wrapped his arms around Luhan, "it's you!" He laughed.

Kris grinned at them and nudged Lay, "they are cute together aren't they..." he whispered.

Lay grinned, "although, it may take a while... they haven't even really had a proper conversation yet."

"Let's leave that to another chapter," Kris smirked.

"way to break the fourth wall idiot..." Lay mumbled.