You can feel the forest's magic soaking through your body, the morning air making your sweaty skin shiver. You close your eyes for a moment, picking up the pace, running faster, not looking under your feet. You don't have to. You know this path well enough to be able to tell when exactly you're going to stumble upon that one tree root, when you might slip on wet grass, when the path is gonna get a little harder because of the rocks covering it.

You know it as well as you know yourself.

The tattoo on your neck gets warm and you open your eyes to see Kai running on your left, a soft, competitive smile visible on his lips. He turns to look you in the eyes, gives you a once-over, and outright smirks. 

"I'm not going to race you," you say, pointing a finger at him. You slow down to a fast jog. 

"Sure," Kai replies, nodding, and runs past you. You stare at his back, at his quick legs, and something inside you gets very dissatisfied.

"Kai," you call. The boy doesn't react, just runs faster, you realize. "Hey!" 

You pick up the pace. Kai lets out a chuckle that somehow reaches your ears. You pump your legs until you catch up to him, your breathing becoming rigged because of all the pace changing, and you gasp a little once you turn towards him again. 

"You're cruel," you tell him. 

"I'm just running." 

"Uh-huh," you mutter. "I'm not going to race you." 

"Oh, but you just did." 

And at that, he runs past you again, pumping his legs so fast he's practically a blur. You snort under your breath, call your magic, and then you feel your legs regain their strength as you run after him, trying to catch up. Kai turns his head to look at you, giving you an approving look, and smiles. Then his eyes seem to gleam mischievously.

"Oh my gosh," you say. "Wait! No! Your—"

Kai jumps and transforms mid-air, his clothes turning to complete shreds, his magic hitting you full-force and making you giggle.

"—clothes!" you shout, catching up to his huge, wolf body.

Kai barks happily and circles you as you're running, nipping at your leg and arms playfully. You yelp away from him, turning sharp right, laughing loudly, gathering more magic in your arms and legs to run even faster. In a wolf form, Kai doesn't even have to run to be able to catch up to you; he's trotting right beside you, barking, nibbing at your back and , and making it almost impossible for you to run in a straight line. 

When he tries to at your ear again, you grab at his enormous head, swing your legs up, and land on the top of his muscular back.

Kai jumps a few times, half-heartedly, trying to throw you off his back, but you plaster yourself to his back and curl your arms around his neck; even as you embrace it, your fingers or hands don't meet, that's how thick his neck actually is. You laugh loudly, then almost fall off and yelp. Kai lets out a worried squeal that makes you laugh again.

"Are you a wolf or a duck?" you ask him, petting his ear. So naturally, Kai raises his head and howls.

You yelp again, grabbing at his fur as he tilts his whole body. His howl pierces the air, echoes through your body; a shiver runs down your spine at how beautiful and pure it sounds, how loud and warm. He stops abruptly, taking off to a run, and you hug him while also making sure you don't fall off his back. After a minute or two holding onto him in a horizontal position, you finally straighten up your back, squeezing his middle with your legs and grabbing handfuls of his fur to hold on. The wind is strong and every step he takes makes you fly a little. You've learned how to ride him without your hitting his back repeatedly, and now you're pretty sure that you'd be able to ride a horse.

Comparing Kai in a wolf form to a horse is hilarious enough to make you snort. 

You reach the spot where Kai's loft used to be. Now it's mostly remains of the foundations and a few walls that are still standing; you feel your magic tingling around the place, making it buzz a little. You cross the magic circle that's made to protect anyone from anything magical that wants to harm them, and that's when Kai throws you off his back by shaking his whole body. You squeal and slide down his side, legs dangling above the ground for a few seconds before Kai lowers his whole body, and therefore puts you onto the ground. You still manage to hurt your while falling because you don't manage to catch your balance, and you roll onto your back, surprised.

Kai comes to snuggle, that bastard. He treats you like a toy when he's a wolf sometimes - right now he slides his snout under your neck, making you sit up, and once you do, he lies down behind you, curls around your body, and puts his heavy head on the top of your thighs, demanding nose rubs.

Yes, nose rubs. He apparently loves it when you rub the top of his head and particularly the top of his snout. It's ridiculous.

"You were planning this all along, weren't you?" you ask with a huff. His head is heavy and massive, but the warmth of his body around you is incredibly pleasant. "Fattie." 

He glares at you with his animal eyes. It's amazing how expressive they are. You laugh, bending down a little to kiss the top of his furry head, and then you begin to rub his nose. Kai's whole body deflates and his head becomes even heavier than it was a second ago. "Oh my God, lose weight!" 

He puffs out air, then picks up his head to at your nose. "Eww," you voice, wiping away the wetness. So he again. "Okay, stop it already!" 

You lean back comfortably, letting your body sink in Kai's fur and warmth. You wait for the pain wave to come and are pleasantly surprised at how light it feels this time. Your legs ache a little, throbbing for a few short moments. When it's gone, you reach out to Kai. You like how his fur feels under your fingers, particularly the one on his ears and head. You rub his snout all over, play with the loose skin around his mouth, annoy him by poking at his huge canines (he reacts to that by snapping them at you and almost giving you a heart attack) and pet the frick out of his adorable ears. You love his ears. They're soft and big and a little twitchy if you touch them too gently. 

You also adore his eyebrows. And whiskers. You never thought wolves could have such long whiskers (or eyebrows) but Kai is apparently part cat. That's the only possible explanation. 

"I was thinking," you say, "about asking Father to help me find Jessica. Since I can't seem to do it myself. Maybe Father knows someone that could help me find her." 

Kai lets out a huff. He's closed his eyes and is visibly falling asleep. 

"I want to find her before I go to uni," you add, quieter. "And I was thinking that I could ask Father to train Amber and Sulli, too. Maybe he could even teach Sulli how to use her magic whenever she wants to. Imagine how much stronger she could get. And imagine if Amber learned how to use her powers to the fullest. There's a few months left before the exams, and I really want to, you know... Sort the things out here before I go."

Kai looks up at you, looking as if he's frowning. 

"Before I go to the Police Academy, of course," you tell him. "Don't give me that look."

He puts his head back down, rubbing it all over your sweatpants, and lets out a tiny whine. You can feel his throat rumble, sending vibrations down your legs. 

You still haven't talked to him about you leaving, but you both know that at some point, you'll have to leave. Not forever, of course, but to get proper education. Your heart aches when you think about leaving the town, but there's no Police Academy here, and the closest one is right next to where Sehun studies. That makes it a two-hour drive. And Kai can't leave the town for now. It needs him. 

You bend town to put your cheek over the top of Kai's head, curling your arms around his neck and hugging him. Kai curls even more protectively around you, nosing at your elbow. 

"We're gonna be fine," you whisper. "We'll live. As we always do. Vicious witches and other universe's villains didn't kill us; no university will, either." 

Okay, so regarding the previous Xiumin x Min chapter: Min is NOT a new character, y'all. And she and Xiumin have been dating since the end of RWW XD
If you don't remember, she's the girl that the three evil male witches turned into a monster and sent after the pack. They turn her back in chapter sixty. And she and Xiumin were all touchy-feely in chapter sixty-one. I might've not made it as clear as I wanted, it turns out XD They're childhood friends that found each other after the years.

Q&A submissions still open :)

Ily gingerbread cookies!